#so you want to start a writeblr

[inkskinned]

so one of the things that's so horrifying about birth control is that you have to, like, navigate this incredibly personal choice about your body and yet also face the epitome of misogyny. like, someone in the comments will say it wasn't that bad for me, and you'll be utterly silenced. like, everyone treats birth control like something that's super dirty. like, you have no fucking information or control over this thing because certain powerful people find it icky.

first it was the oral contraceptives. you went on those young, mostly for reasons unrelated to birth control - even your dermatologist suggested them to control your acne. the list of side effects was longer than your arm, and you just stared at it, horrified.

it made you so mentally ill, but you just heard that this was adulthood. that, yes, there are of course side effects, what did you expect. one day you looked up yasmin makes me depressed because surely this was far too intense, and you discovered that over 12,000 lawsuits had been successfully filed against the brand. it remains commonly prescribed on the open market. you switched brands a few times before oral contraceptives stopped being in any way effective. your doctor just, like, shrugged and said you could try a different brand again.

and the thing is that you're a feminist. you know from your own experience that birth control can be lifesaving, and that even when used for birth control - it is necessary healthcare. you have seen it save so many people from such bad situations, yourself included. it is critical that any person has access to birth control, and you would never suggest that we just get rid of all of it.

you were a little skeeved out by the implant (heard too many bad stories about it) and figured - okay, iud. it was some of the worst pain you've ever fucking experienced, and you did it with a small number of tylenol in your system (3), like you were getting your bikini line waxed instead of something practically sewn into your body.

and what's wild is that because sometimes it isn't a painful insertion process, it is vanishingly rare to find a doctor that will actually numb the area. while your doctor was talking to you about which brand to choose, you were thinking about the other ways you've been injured in your life. you thought about how you had a suspicious mole frozen off - something so small and easy - and how they'd numbed a huge area. you thought about when you broke your wrist and didn't actually notice, because you'd thought it was a sprain.

your understanding of pain is that how the human body responds to injury doesn't always relate to the actual pain tolerance of the person - it's more about how lucky that person is physically. maybe they broke it in a perfect way. maybe they happened to get hurt in a place without a lot of nerve endings. some people can handle a broken femur but crumble under a sore tooth. there's no true way to predict how "much" something actually hurts.

in no other situation would it be appropriate for doctors to ignore pain. just because someone can break their wrist and not feel it doesn't mean no one should receive pain meds for a broken wrist. it just means that particular person was lucky about it. it should not define treatment.

in the comments of videos about IUDs, literally thousands of people report agony. blinding, nauseating, soul-crushing agony. they say things like i had 2 kids and this was the worst thing i ever experienced or i literally have a tattoo on my ribs and it felt like a tickle. this thing almost killed me or would rather run into traffic than ever feel that again.

so it's either true that every single person who reports severe pain is exaggerating. or it's true that it's far more likely you will experience pain, rather than "just a pinch." and yet - there's nothing fucking been done about it. it kind of feels like a shrug is layered on top of everything - since technically it's elective, isn't it kind of your fault for agreeing to select it? stop being fearmongering. stop being defensive.

you fucking needed yours. you are almost weirdly protective of it. yours was so important for your physical and mental health. it helped you off hormonal birth control and even started helping some of your symptoms. it still fucking hurt for no fucking reason.

once while recovering from surgery, they offered you like 15 days of vicodin. you only took 2 of them. you've been offered oxy for tonsillitis. you turned down opioids while recovering from your wisdom tooth extraction. everything else has the option. you fucking drove yourself home after it, shocked and quietly weeping, feeling like something very bad had just happened. the nurse that held your hand during the experience looked down at you, tears in her eyes, and said - i know. this is cruelty in action.

and it's fucked up because the conversation is never just "hey, so the way we are doing this is fucking barbaric and doctors should be required to offer serious pain meds" - it's usually something around the lines of "well, it didn't kill you, did it?"

you just found out that removing that little bitch will hurt just as bad. a little pinch like how oral contraceptives have "some" serious symptoms. like your life and pain are expendable or not really important. like maybe we are all hysterical about it?

hysteria comes from the latin word for uterus, which is great!

you stand here at a crossroads. like - this thing is so important. did they really have to make it so fucking dangerous. and why is it that if you make a complaint, you're told - i didn't even want you to have this in the first place. we're told be careful what you wish for. we're told that it's our fault for wanting something so illict; we could simply choose not to need medication. that maybe if we don't like the scraps, we should get ready to starve.

we have been saying for so long - "i'm not asking you to remove the option, i'm asking you to reconsider the risk." this entire time we hear: well, this is what you wanted, isn't it?

[marlynnofmany]

February Fiction Fight

The easiest writing challenge, on the shortest month! The only goal is to write "a bit of something" each day.

Something. Anything. A cool scene that doesn't have a full story to fit into yet. A plot twist that would be great several books into a series. A description of the visuals in that one cool movie. A conversation between your favorite characters about an unlikely food combination.

A page, a paragraph, a sentence. What's that cool story you're going to write someday? Jot down what you know so far. Maybe you'll know more tomorrow. Or maybe you'll be off and running with some other fascinating concept.

No limits, no minimum wordcount! Just write a bit of something.

You play February Fiction Fight by writing each day (or as many days as you can; no shame in being busy).

You win by having more fun than everybody else.

I plan to have an absolute blast!

[graceful-not]

*grabs you* if the members of the found family aren't at least a little bit fucked up about each other what's even the point man. if the lines aren't even a little bit blurred when it comes to roles what's the point. buddy. pal. what's even the point of having a found family and then imposing strict nuclear family roles unto them, or never allowing the roles they do have to be bent or broken. what's even the point if one character (assuming they're the same age) is ALWAYS being taken care of by the other without it being related to one of their arcs. what's even the point if the found family doesn't take care of each other. what's even the point if they're normal about having people they are so so close to so as to trust with nearly everything and stick with and sweat bleed and die for. what's even the point if the roles arent flexible and based on a foundation of trust over any kind of imposed relationship, and the dynamics shift for what is needed in the situation. what's even the point if they're not a little bit in love about it. they need to LOVE EACH OTHER. what's the point if they are being kept at a distance the same to that of an acquaintance and it's not part of their greater arc or bc of their character. let them sleep together. let them cuddle. let them kiss (not necessarily romantically!!! on the forehead or the hand or a little peck on the top of a head). I'm so sick of sanitized found families I need them to care about each other so much it hurts they need to think about the others way too much do you get it. I don't want it to be a replacement for a real family I want them to Frankenstein together a new creation it needs to be elevated it needs to be bleeding and raw it needs to be REAL I want it to be ALIVE. WHY are your found family dynamics so fucking DEAD!!!! STOP SHOVELLING ROTTING MEET INTO MY MOUTH I CAN TELL ITS DEAD I CAN FUCKING TELL WHEN ITS DIVIDED SO CLEARLY BY CARETAKER/WHUMPEE WHY IS IT SO ONE-WAY THE FAMILY TAKES CARE OF EACH OTHER THEY DONT NEED TO BE JUST ONE ROLE. A PERSON CAN BE A FATHER A MOTHER A MENTOR A TEACHER. A BROTHER AND FRIEND IN SOLIDARITY OR EVEN A LOVER IF IT IS NEEDED. DO YOU GET IT. DO YOU GET IT.

[valise-hy]

new and improved introduction post

@confusions-shed-of-ideas writing side blog

Hi my name is confusion you can also call me valise :) I use she/her

Will post short stories, microfiction, flash fiction, and any poor attempts at poetry (I'm trying my best) about literally anything (mostly original works or fanfic if I ever get back into it)

I like unnamed first person narrators and unreliable narrators (isn't every narrator unreliable to some extent? I digress. this is what I wrote my essay on lol). I'm also a big fan of one word titles or super long titles (there is no in between)

(idk what else to put here for now but if I think of anything I'll add it)

More things (e.g. tags) under here!

Common tags (imported from main blog)

#confusion's works and musings: my writing!

#confusion tries and fails to be funny: jokes, puns, skits, and/or incorrect quotes that I make and happen to find funny

#confusion rambles a bit: my rambles about my works or writing in general

#confusion talks about life: I share random life events

#asks for confusion: when people send me cool asks and I answer them :))

#confusion and co: when my friends are mentioned :))

#words from the valise: original works

#valise fandom souvenirs: fanfic

#valise notes app: stuff I wrote on the notes app lol

Fandoms I'm in: hsr, r1999, epic the musical/greek mythology in general

[abugsjournal]

as a barista the urge to write an arthur morgan coffee shop au fic is so strong

[revasserium]

my favorite thing about stories, be it books or manga, tv shows or movies, or even epic poems and recited songs, is that they never really end -- the part we tell might end: there will always be a last page, or a last episode, a list minute, or a last line, but not really -- because even if it ends here, the story itself keeps on going -- in your heart, in your mind, in the hearts and minds of everyone who's read it or watched it, listened to it or sang it.

and the best part of all that is, even if it does "end", you can go right back to the beginning and start again.

because yes, stories end. the ending will always be there.

but then, so will the beginning.

[spacedoutman]

【𝙈𝙖𝙮𝙗𝙚 𝙞𝙣 𝙖𝙣𝙤𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙡𝙞𝙛𝙚 | 𝙆𝙞𝙨𝙨 𝙖𝙪】

(𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙨𝙝𝙤𝙩)

Description: The world crumbled but their love stayed intact. Caught in a firefight over food, Paul's been shot. Does Ace have any hope of pulling him through or pulling through this at all?

♥ Paul Stanley x Ace Frehley

Note: The fuck? I actually have to copy these little formats from each of my fics and something stuck from Pygmalion I thought I fixed. I KNEW something was off sksk (it was also super late when I did this haha))

Warnings: Blood/Grief/Death

𝙖𝙤3

Paul slammed against the wall. The ground thundered like a volcano about to erupt. Gunshots jetted, cutting down overgrown vines like a saw. Paul’s heart drug a muffled beat. He took a shaky breath of the thick musty air through clenched teeth.

“Is e-everyone alright?”

Paul fought his head. It blurred. The faces around him, down, up or rushing across the decayed floor smeared. His world swayed like a tree in the wind. Frantic shouting clashed in his ear. Ace drug himself up by a string, staggering forward and hitting the wall beside someone else. Paul’s hand went white around the pistol—the other red.

He clenched his stomach. His blood pumped. It felt like he’d stuck his hand in a void. An even stream of blinding light bleached the building through the massive gap in the wall, somehow climbing over the buildings collapsed like dominoes and rubble-conquered streets. Ace tossed his arm out pistol in hand. He shot off a few rounds into the distant rubble or vivid blue sky outside.

Paul’s legs wobbled. Seeing something other than a bird or two after all these years would be nice.

“We’ve got to surrender.” A horrified voice grated Paul’s ears.

“T-This isn’t the end.”

Paul choked out. Paul.. choked out? His eyes shot wide. Ungodly wide. His breaths sped up. “We’ve got to eat.. what we came for..” Paul groaned. His legs turned to jello. He stumbled back. Every pinch of air in his lungs fled. He hit the rocks. Glass crunched. Everything waved in and out. Red burnt his eyelids. Singing birds soothed his mind like a lullaby before-

“Paul!”

A polished suburban house, surrounded by an ocean of green bathed by soft sunlight and a little American flag off the porch flashed. There was a grill on the lawn.

Paul smiled. His heart tried to flutter. His chest and throat loosened. A little more air slipped into his lungs. He curled into a tight ball. Two warm hands swept him up. Black took over his vision. Yelling boomed. Paul shut his eyes as tightly as possible. Echoes of pain crept through him distantly. Cool seeped through his bomber jacket.

Ace held it together.

“Y-You’re gonna’ be alright, Paul..” Pain grasped Ace’s shuddering voice like a lover.

“I’m.. I’m not. I know it.” His hand crawled onto Ace’s. “If those bombs go off.. all ten stories are going to collapse. You.. You can’t carry me out.” A bit of certainty spiked.

“Please.” Ace’s eyes shot wide, he quickly shook his head. “Don’t say that..”

“You can’t.. I’m dead.”

Ace grabbed Paul’s hand. Some feeling like vibrant colors exploded. Paul couldn’t help but to grin. “I love you.” He whispered, laying his head on Ace’s chest. The chaos around them died. Ace hugged him tightly, pulling him as close as possible. Tears poured down their faces like a river, soaking their shoulders.

Ace clutched him. He swallowed sobs. Paul took a deep breath, savoring the gentle homey smell clinging to Ace’s leather jacket. Iron coated his tongue.

“I’m not letting you go.” Ace forced strength into his voice. “I can’t.”

“But you gotta’ live..” Paul faded into murmurs.

“I swear to god—we’ll get out, I swear..!”

“You will.”

The suburban house flashed. Ace relaxed on the stairs, dressed in something clean with a grin shining on his bright face. Another person slammed into the heavy duty crates. Paul sunk into Ace. Ace shut his eyes as tight as he could. Paul’s limbs loosened in milliseconds. His smile spread into a grin.

“I always imagined us with kids..” Paul’s features softened. A little light sparked in his voice. “.. How many would you want?”

“Don’t leave me.”

“It’s gonna’ be okay, Ace.. you don’t have to worry anymore.”

“Don’t talk like that. We..we still have a future.”

“Maybe in another life.”

“Paul?”

“Think of it..”

“Paul. We have people in the future waiting for us—w-who don’t even know our names!”

…

“Paul?”

[poetinprose]

OC: Thanea Wächter

I learned to become as invisible as the creatures were for all the others. I didn't tell anyone anything about the beings anymore. Until I met you.

Pronouns: she/her

Age: 25

Species: Human (??)

Occupation: Librarian at a university

Thanea learned early on that she seems to be the only human who can see behind the veil that hides the supernatural. Neither her parents nor her brother do. In school she got bullied a lot and sent to therapy by her parents for seeing/imagining things.

At some point she stopped wondering why she had this connection with magical creatures and just accepted it, trying to live in line with both worlds. She became very reserved and wary of humans, tries to not let them too close in fear that at some point the instances where she can't hide her ability will drive them away again - or worse.

But she's also naturally curious so when Nevras shows up with the possibility to find out more about herself she can't say no.

☆ Aeternum tag list (lmk if you wanna be added/removed!): @deadlycupid @starlitcrossroads ☆

Aeternum WIP intro

[serenanymph]

how well would your ocs do against a cockroach tag game

rules: yeah that's it. that's the tag. idk if anyone has done this before but rate your ocs by how well they'd do against a cockroach.

gonna be a lil annoying and tag a biiiiit more people sorry lol. no pressure to join in tho!!! and anyone else who wants to can hop in. @lyssa-ink @reneesbooks @macabremoons @space-writes @squarebracket-trick @scribbling-stardust @toribookworm22 @lorenfinch @sapphos-scientist @e-klair @arctic-oceans @sidhewrites @loopyhoopywrites @hallwriteblr @talesofsorrowandofruin @cream-and-tea

(anyway the rest is under the cut bcuz I have a LOT of characters so I'm gonna go a bit insane. Pulling from Beast as always)

Crys: - doesn't bat an eyelash, kills it easily - merciless, 10/10

Icarus: - a lil startled, will jump if it flies at him, but manages to catch it and set it free outside - 8/10. this boi is too good for this world

Rhyme: - begins by trying to smash it to a pulp - rapidly gets more and more irritated when she keeps on missing - finally lets out a primal scream of rage and fireballs it - 6/10 because she nearly burns down the house

Sol: - lets out an undignified squeak - leaves the room - if it flies at him he's sprinting out of there - 3/10

Dahlia - rolls up a newspaper and whacks it a few times?? like a normal person??? - 9/10

Beatriz: - faints - poor bbg can't handle the terror - 0/10 - alternatively shoots her feathers and skillfully punts it out the window - so overall actually 5/10

Honorary mentions

Iri and Yuan: - incoherent screeching - KILL IT KILL IT WITH FIRE - both trying to get behind the other - so many feathers embedded in the floor. so many - Iri scales up Yuan's back and stays there on his shoulders like an overgrown squirrel - 0/10

Jorge and Jordan - they catch it - and store it with their dozen other cockroaches used to prank people - 10/10, but I'm docking points for the malicious intent

[coffeeandcalligraphy]

oh callahan is giving lonan “I’ve lived long enough to love you” clark a run for his money when he comforts harrison by saying “find peace in me.”

[reneesbooks]

snippet saturday

still not a thing but this is my blog and i make the rules and i'm THINKING about birdie and fabin. i swear i'll get back to jack and arthur in a second just let me scream about birdie and fabin for a minute

Emilia tucks her wings against her back, settling in the grass next to Birdie. “When do you think we’ll have to return to Morbhard?”

Birdie stares out over the fields, her pulse quickening. Emilia senses that she’s asked a question that Birdie doesn’t want to answer. Birdie lets out a long breath. “I’m not sure.”

A lie, but Emilia doesn’t question it.

Birdie glances at the sky. “The sun will go down soon. I should make preparations. It’s the full silver moon tonight.”

Emilia shrinks into her human form and sets her hand on Birdie’s shoulder. “I can make the tea if you’d like.”

Birdie smiles. “Thank you. That would be nice.”

Emilia returns to the cottage and puts the kettle on the fire, digging her toe into the floor as she mixes the herbs. As much as she trusts them, as much as they’ve all grown closer over the weeks and months at the cottage, Birdie is still hiding things.

The kettle finally starts to whistle and Emilia pours a cup of tea. She heads back out to the garden. Birdie is standing next to Fabin, clearly just arrived from the forest, smiling up at him as he complains that the deer are getting better at hiding. Her laughter dies abruptly as the silver moon’s light hits her, her preparations forgotten in the grass a few steps away.

Fabin backs away as Birdie’s silver light explodes outward, a pulse of magic flattening the grass in a circle around her. Her tripled voice shrieks, her hair lifting off her shoulders. The entire whites of her eyes burn silver.

Blood starts to run from her nose. Fabin shrinks and tries to step closer, shouting her name. Emilia grabs a washcloth and grips it tightly behind her back, the fabric straining as she twists it nervously.

Birdie’s eyes begin to bleed as well, silver light pulsing from her. Fabin grits his teeth and takes three more shaking steps through the waves to reach Birdie. He grabs her shoulders and Emilia hears him shout her name.

Blood is streaming from her eyes and ears now, the third recitation barely begun. Fabin winces as silver magic lashes out at him, cuts opening on his cheeks. He keeps hold of Birdie, shaking her shoulders, trying to wake her up.

The silver light fades and Birdie’s eyes roll back. She collapses and Fabin catches her, lowering her slowly to the grass.

“Shit.” Jack and Arthur freeze in the doorway of the cottage. “Is she okay?”

“Does she fucking look okay?” Fabin growls, glaring at them. He snatches Birdie’s handkerchief from where she’d left it in the grass and starts to gently wipe the blood from her face. Emilia picks up the cup of tea again and moves cautiously. Birdie’s eyelids are fluttering, though she is limp in Fabin’s arms.

“The tea for her throat,” Emilia says quietly, when Fabin looks up at her with another growl. “I’ll look at those cuts.”

“I’m fine.” He holds the teacup to Birdie’s lips and Emilia flinches at the audibly painful gulps. “Birdie, can you hear me?”

Her silver eyes flick up to his face before fluttering closed again. She tucks her face into his chest.

Fabin leans down to murmur something to her that Emilia doesn’t hear. He presses his cheek to the side of Birdie’s head and Emilia stifles a gasp, averting her eyes.

Fabin stands with Birdie in his arms. “She needs to rest,” he says, not looking at any of them. He winces as he adjust his hold on her and Emilia wonders what other damage Birdie’s backlash did.

He says nothing else as he carries her into the house. Emilia bites her lip as Jack and Arthur turn to her with wide eyes. “I’ll make some more tea.”

[memento-morri-writes]

So, I have 14.5 unread books in my room, which inspired me to count how many (fiction) books I have in my bedroom, and the answer is 262. And I have at least 3 more on pre-order. Ugh, I wish I hadn't gotten rid of a bunch of books when I was in middle school. I would definitely have at least 300 by now if I hadn't...

(And an ever-growing number of them are books by writeblr people!!)

[sparkles-oflight]

Hello, to the 6 people reading my fanfic (I'm sorry, I literally get so excited when I get kudos or any kind of interaction in my story hehe):

Chapters 6-8 won't have much Jan, Jure and Nace content....I was considering writing an extra chapter through Jan's POV. What do ya think?

[wordwizards]

I'm breaking out the old research document for my vampire story (because I uh. forgot it existed) and I have a whole segment on 1980s stuff I need to remember, in which my notes about the economy are extremely sarcastic tbh

[cheritzssebba]

Worth and Warmth - Chapter 2

So much dialogue

"Do you know what you'd like from the food court? You can get anything you'd like, Yuri's paying, he doesn't mind."

She looked at me without breaking eye contact and I felt transported back to ten years ago, when she would ask me questions similar to the one she just asked. Back then, she would not wait for an answer and would instead pour boiling hot tea all down my lovely soft brown fur. I'm not sure if the pain of hunger could be anything compared to the kind of burn that could stain you for decades, no matter how many times you were thrown in the wash, but which was completely and utterly preventable.

Human pain was indeed strange though. It wasn't all permanent and was easily remedied, but it was rather constant and almost unavoidable.

"How would I know which food in particular was good or not? It all does the same job in the end," I replied. It was less of a sarcastic complaint and more of a statement of the obvious. Watching that silver haired doll win her heart the first time, I do have to admit that I agreed with him in some respects, like how pointless preferences seem.

"Well, why don't we just try something and you'll see if you like it?"

She's quite positive now. I'm not sure which is more annoying though: when she was depressed about her grandpa, or now that she won't even bat an eyelid at my dry responses.

At the food court, an array of options stood before us, and yet she chose the one that she chooses every time she's here. It's not even like it's her favourite food.

I have no opinion of food myself, being only freshly human, so I simply asked for a lasagna, a dish I remember her grandma making all the time. It never looked appetising back then, and to be honest, it still doesn't now. I don't pay too much attention to it's taste or texture, but the feeling of something wandering around in my mouth and throat feels what can only be described as disgusting.

The smell of it, however, does fill me with a nostalgia that I can't help but enjoy.

"What do you think then?" she asks me, snapping me back into a conversation I'd been paying no notice of.

"Of what?"

"Of what we should do."

"... About what?" This back-and-forth is getting annoying.

"Oh, about our living situation. Everyone remembers different things, and everyone's in a relationship with me, and only you and I remember everything, and now we all have to live together."

"Oh... Well... I don't know. What do you want?"

"What? I don't know..."

"You've seen everyone, you've loved them all. So pick your favourite."

"My favourite?"

"Come on. Of course you have a favourite, right?"

"Um... Well... I don't know. How can I have a favourite?"

Is she kidding? How can she not? It's obvious she'll have a favourite. No one wanted to bring it up yet because we all wanted to enjoy the brief calm before the storm, but everyone surely knew that we would have to compete in the end. Is she still that thick to not know that?

And it seems I'm not the only one who thinks that way.

"Hm? But isn't that the case? Surely my honey won't keep all of us now, right?"

"Hmm, I hate to agree with Yuri, but he is right. I don't know if it's really practical to keep going as if nothing's changed. We may have our own memories of our relationships with Eri, but Eri has her own memories of all of them."

"If only we could keep just the Eri from our own memories..."

"She is the Eri from our own memories. She just includes the memories of all of us as well."

"But still... Choose just one? How? There's no way I can do that! I love each and every one of you so much. That's how we even got here in the first place. How can I do that?"

"But how can you not? Eri... It's impractical to go on like this. Realistically, it's already difficult with just the six of us living together, and now we've got one more person living with us too?"

"But, Tei..."

"I understand how you feel, but how are we going to cope? I don't want to cause you trouble, so we should firstly consider how this situation will work. There are too many of us now. Not just in the house but involved with you. We have to make at least a few changes."

"I..."

Tei sighed. "First of all... I'm going to drop out of school and start working at Banjul full time."

"What?? Drop out of school?? Tei, you can't!!" A chorus of objections resounded from our small table in the corner of the crowded restaurant. I'm honestly not even sure who said what, it was so hectic.

"I'm sorry, but I have to. I already cause the owner trouble at school with my popularity and, on top of that, there's no way we'll be able to afford feeding the seven of us, even with Yuri's salary as a full-time teacher."

"Actually," Yuri interjected, "I was about to bring that up. In my recalling of events, I quit my job at the academy and started working at Banjul with you, just so you know."

"Dear God, the sun must have risen from the west the day you decided that," Lance commented. I remember when that happened. Angels cried so loud I could hear them all the way from Hell. Alternatively, in Tei's story, Yuri willingly taught him to play the piano, so an alliance might not be so impossible.

"Ahaha. Yes, well, it was all for the sake of my honey. I plan on doing the same here too then."

"Are you sure? The teaching role will probably pay more," Tei said, concern creasing his brow.

"That's true. But it's too inappropriate. I won't be able to hold myself back around my honey and I can't have all the jealous people around seeing that." It was still refreshing to see Yuri so serious. "Besides, I find the cafe to be much easier and more enjoyable. The stress from all that planning and marking wasn't good for my sensitive skin. At Banjul, I can enjoy both the beauty of music and the beauty of girls at the same time, without as much of the hassle." I retract my previous statement.

"Well, okay... It is better like this when you put it that way," she said with a sigh, ignoring the last comment. The others all made sounds in agreement, but one blonde spoke up.

"But...if Yuri quits his job at the academy, as Tei said, there won't be as much money..."

"That's true, but I'm glad to no longer have to see that man's face everyday at school," Lance smiled.

"No, that's not what I mean. I don't disagree with Yuri quitting. I just think...if both Yuri and Tei are...maybe I should too."

"What?? You too?? Why??" Why does she feel the need to shriek so loudly in the morning?

"I'm saying it would only help if I went to work at Banjul too."

"Ah, Yeonho, you don't have to do that. Yuri and I can handle it."

"Right. This might be too much for you to handle," Yuri agreed. "You kids can just leave this to the adults. I have my own secrets too, you know."

"No. It's fine. I can do it. In my version of what happened, I also worked at Banjul, just for a week. It was a bit difficult, but I was fine with it. It was really fun actually," he said confidently, in a calm, yet determined tone. "You guys don't have to worry about me. I'm tired of being the one who always has to get taken care of. I want to help."

"Hmm... Eri, is this true?" Tei mused, deep in thought.

"Yes, it is. He didn't even tell me what he was doing either! I had no idea where he was going every night, but he ended the week with enough money for us to go to the amusement park together, and even planned that whole surprise trip himself."

"Does he really have to quit school though?" Red asked. He was being unusually quiet, but broke his silence to ask about his fellow 'Warrior of Justice'.

"Yeah, I was about to say! Tei works part time, and so did you back then! Why don't you just work on weekends or only on some days of the week? You don't have to do it every single day!"

"Well..." he began.

"No, I agree with the Heroine. I don't know about Lance, but I don't plan on quitting school, it's best for me to stay beside the Heroine. Just us two and Lance going to school everyday? It'll get really lonely like that..."

"Uh..." Yeonho sighed. "Okay then. Maybe I'll just start working on weekends and see how it goes from there... I do still enjoy going to school, even if it's really crowded and classes are confusing. I'll just have to work a bit harder."

"That does sound difficult, Yeonho. But..."

"Don't bite off more than you can chew," Yuri said, interrupting Tei. "Believe me, it's unhealthier than even the greasiest of fast food joints."

Yeonho hummed. "Everyone...thank you. I will consider this. Maybe I'll start off with working just one day a week and see how it goes from there. Thank you!" His pure smile radiated genuine gratitude.

Lance spoke next. "Yes, that's very noble of you, Yeonho. As for myself, I will continue my life as normal, pursuing the role of the student government president. I can't imagine working in an environment like that of a crowded cafe. And someone other than that noisy idiot should still keep an eye on Eri," Lance said.

"That's all of us then, right? I also want to keep going to school, like normal. What about you?"

...

........

..... Me?

Oh. Perhaps I've spent so much time observing silently that I forgot I was involved in this conversation too.

"What about me?"

"I mean, what do you want to do everyday? You could get a job, you could come to school with me, you could stay home. I don't know, it's entirely up to you."

Hmm... I hadn't really thought about this. I always knew I wanted to be reunited with my owner, but I only wanted to do what we'd always been doing. Playing dress up, having tea parties.

"I'm not sure I even know what to do in a school."

"That's okay! You can take your time and I can teach you," she beamed, as though you could see on her face that she was happily imagining all the things we might get up to there together. "It sounds like the best option for you in my opinion. It's the most structured and it's a place we already know so well. You'll fit right in, I promise!"

"I'll...think about it..." I don't know... I don't care...

"So," Tei started, "it looks like we've got an idea of how things will look in the short term, so that's good. But back onto the topic at hand, even with these arrangements, it unfortunately still looks unreasonable for us all to just live together as if nothing's changed."

"Agreed. The salary of a simple waiter is small enough on its own: I'd much rather spend it all only on my honey rather than have to provide for five other people as well," said Yuri with a lighthearted smile.

"Yes. All of us should start thinking about what sacrifices we might have to make if we can't afford to keep living with the owner. We'll need to prepare to move out and learn to live on our own."

"Hold on, wait a minute!" she cried. "I didn't agree to this, you're all deciding this without me! Move out? That's not gonna happen. I don't want anything to change, why can't everything stay the same as it was? I don't care if we can't afford it, as long as we're together. I didn't love each and every one of you just to have to lose you in the end."

"I understand how you feel, we all do feel the same way. This is an unfair situation to everyone. It's easier said than done though, to say that we'll get along just fine. Everyone's story here is different, but I'm sure in assuming that all of us have experienced something where we ended up inconveniencing or even hurting you at least once, whether we intended it or not.

"I know that you want things all to stay the same, but you of all of us must know that change is inevitable. I can see that, looking at how unrecognisable you all are to me now.

"We understand. No one here wants this outcome, Eri. But we can only do what we can. So let's prepare for the worst while we hope for the best... Okay?"

"Prepare for the worst and hope for the best..? I-I don't know... I care about you all way too much..." Hmm. "Okay.

"I'll...think about it."

[silhouettecrow]

365 Days of Writing Prompts: Day 320

Adjective: Cunning

Noun: Whiskey

Definitions for those who need/want them:

Cunning: having or showing skill in achieving one's ends by deceit or evasion; ingenious; (North American) attractive or quaint

Whiskey: a spirit distilled from malted grain, especially barley or rye; a code word representing the letter W, used in radio communication