#spent the last three days inside and finally left the house today this is the least effort outfit ever 👍🏻

[isabelleadjani]

guess who needs to dye their roots again. (this fuckin guy)

[jjunberry]

wrong address

pairing! park sunghoon x reader

genre! angst with a happy ending

synopsis! part two to return to sender. just as y/n seems to move on sunghoon manages to steal her heart…again.

wc! 2.8k

the last few months of school were painfully embarrassing for you. not that anyone brought up the letters but you did share classes with a few of the boys who got one. jake, taehyun.. you never really got to properly talk about the letters with them but they understood. it was just a silly crush, nothing serious. you never met for those letters to see the light of day. the one person who’s letter actually did mean something wanted nothing to do with you. sunghoon, he ignored you at all costs even moved his seat. he truly met what he said to you.

when school finally let out for summer, you couldn’t wait to get away. away from the letters, away from sunghoon. or so you thought. that was until you got a summer job at the local ice cream shop. your first day on the job he walked in. park sunghoon walked in. his eyes landed on yours. before he could say anything to you the owner came from the back smiling widely. “oh sunghoon my dear i’m so happy to see you again.” your eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

‘’oh y/nie this is my nephew sunghoon he’s spent the last three summers here, he’ll be the one to train you!” you swear your heart dropped to your feet. he faked a smile for his aunt and as soon as she left the smile was replaced with a scowl. he quietly placed his apron on and started preparing cones. “look sunghoon i know i’m the last person you want to be working with, but i’d appreciate it if you’d try to work with me.” he let out a long sigh. his back muscles clenched. you could practically feel the tension in his shoulders.

“y/n you’re the last person i wanted to see here.” he spit. your heart ached just like the day he rejected you. “well i’m sorry to intrude on your summer job, but i need to save money for college so i’m not going anywhere.” he rolled his eyes. the two of you worked in awkward silence. this was how you spent most of your days.working together in silence.

after a few weeks you swear you felt him warming up to you. even after his rejection you still yearned to just be his friend. the shop was busy today. sunghoon and yourself was busy giving out cones and sundaes. You wasn’t aware of the ice cream on the floor until you slipped on it. a strong pair of arms grabbed your waist. your eyes met sunghoon’s and you swear your heart was beating out of your chest. you couldn’t tell if it was from his closeness or the fear of almost falling.

‘’you need to be more careful.” he said before returning to his task. you swore your heart beat never slowed down. when closing time finally rolled around you were more than ready to leave. you were putting away the washed ice cream scoopers when you felt him behind you. “here you forgot these.” he handed you two more scoopers. “oh thanks.” you mumbled. he nodded and put away the rest of the dishes.

the both of you hung up your aprons before leaving. he locked the door. “it’s late, do you need a ride home?” he asked, turning to you.smiling you nodded. “yeah that would be nice.” he nodded and you followed him to his car. you would have given him your address but he seemed to have known already. then it hit you, he remembered because of your letter. he pulled up to your house in silence and watched as you got out. “thank you.” you said.

“no problem i’ll see you tomorrow.” he said. you watched him pull away and you turned to your house. you grabbed the forgotten mail and shifted through it. bills, spam mail, but one envelope stood out to you. it was addressed to you. from your old middle school crush, jay park. he was your last crush before sunghoon. you traced the handwriting on the front. kicking off your shoes you took off to your room.

you used a paper cutter to open the letter. inside it was written on some plain notebook paper. the handwriting was sort of messy but eligible.

dearest, y/n

i have to say i was surprised to get your letter. i wanted to say of course i remember the time at the park whenever you fell off the swing and i patched up your scraped knees. you were crying and i gave you a band-aid. your smile that day was one i couldn’t forget. i remember thinking how i only ever wanted to see you smile. of course that was then. i’m glad you sent this letter out. i’m not too sure i was supposed to ever read the words you wrote, but i’m thankful.

i hope this letter finds you well. i hope that someday soon our paths will cross again, and if needed i’ll always have a band-aid in my pocket.

yours, jay

holding the letter to your chest you fell backwards onto your bed. your eyes closed the memories of that day in the park flooded your head. then your eyes snapped open. you have to write him back. but what would you say? a million different things to say raced through your mind all at once.

when your alarm for work went off you were already up piles of crumpled paper next to you. letting out a sigh you got dressed and did a light make up. when she arrived sunghoon was already inside setting up for the day. “hey y/n.” he greeted with a smile. it made your heart flutter. “hi.” you grabbed your apron and joined him behind the counter.

“so i was wondering something.” he said. his voice was distant because he was in the back room. “yeah?” you asked. he came from the back holding pints of ice cream. you grabbed one placing it on the counter. “there’s this small bonfire tonight, i was wondering if you’d want to come?” he asked. you smiled. “i’d love too!” he nodded. “yeah uh cool, i’ll pick you up later.”

the shop was having a slow day so you worked the register and sunghoon handled the ice cream. you were writing a reply to jay on a napkin from the store.

dear jay,

i was so delighted to receive your letter. i was surprised you wrote back but i’m glad you reached out. it was nice to hear from you after all this time. i also wish that our paths cross again as it would be nice to see you. i have to say i miss seeing you everyday at school but i hope life is treating you well. until i see you again.

yours, y/n

sunghoon stood behind you glaring at your words on the napkin. his chest felt tight. some other guy had the courage to say what he couldn’t and you were replying. he clenched his fist and slammed down an ice cream container, causing you to jump and turn to him. you could practically feel his anger radiating off of him. you didn’t understand because he was just fine moments ago.

“sunghoon are you okay?” you asked. his jaw was clenched. “i’m fine.” came his short reply. you didn’t push the subject but the rest of the day was full of short replies and the cold shoulder. you hoped that whatever was bothering him stopped before later or it would be one awkward night. when you got home you showered and dressed casually. you didn’t want to over dress but you also wanted to put in some effort, since he’d be there. you really felt that his feelings toward you were improving, and well you still had a small crush on the boy.

once you were dressed and ready you waited, and waited and waited. after an hour it became clear that he wasn’t coming. you sat on your porch stairs trying to keep in tears. you should have known, but with how nice he’s been you were hoping he would show up anyway. with a heavy heart you went inside and locked the door. you cried yourself to sleep that night.

the next day you made it to work before sunghoon which was rare. he must of been out late. you sighed and began the prep to open the store. sunghoon came in about twenty minutes later. he looked tired and he didn’t say anything at first.”how was the bonfire?” you asked. he was quiet. “i wouldn’t know, i didn’t go.” he said. you faced him. “you could have said something.” he rolled his eyes. “it doesn’t matter y/n. let’s just get to work.”

during your break you sealed your reply to jay and addressed the envelope. you planned to mail it after work. you left the letter in your locker and returned to your spot behind the counter, relieving sunghoon for his break. sunghoon opened your locker by mistake and noticed the envelope. a frown took over his face and he grabbed the letter. he couldn’t help himself.

he changed the address so the letter would never reach the boy. sunghoon couldn’t stand the idea of you with someone that wasn’t him. if tampering your letter meant getting another chance with you then that’s what he’d do, and he did. sunghoon placed the letter back in your locker before joining you behind the counter.

after work you dropped the letter off at the post office before heading home. you were excited for jay to receive the letter. it was nice to talk to him again.

it had been a week since you mailed the letter, you had gotten nothing back from jay. at first you were a little upset but soon you forgot about even mailing it in the first place. it was a busy day at the shop but you and sunghoon had gotten used to it. you were cleaning up the counter when the bell above the door rang. you looked up and your jaw dropped. there he stood, jay park. your old middle school crush. his eyes scanned the room before they landed on you. he smiled and made his way over to you. “y/n.” he said. you stared at him. “jay, hi.” the name caught sunghoon’s attention. he stood back watching you.

“what, what are you doing here?” you asked. he smiled. “well when you never replied to my letter i decided to come see you, i went to your house and your mom said you’d be here.” you stared at him. never replied? impossible you spent so long thinking of what to say. “i did send you a letter back.” he shrugged. “must of been the wrong address, that’s okay i’m here now.” he smiled. you smiled back.

sunghoon cleared his throat effectively catching your attention. he had an unreadable look on his face. it was a cross between anger and some other emotion you couldn’t put your finger on. “uh jay this is sunghoon, sunghoon this is jay.” you said. “Hey.” jay said. all sunghoon did was nod his head. the bell rang with more customers. “look man we are busy if you could order something that would be nice if not then leave.” sunghoon said with venom in his tone.

jay stared back before putting his hands up. “i’m good man, just wanted to see an old friend.” he backed away. “well you’ve seen them now you can leave.” you’re eyes went wide. who did he think he was? “right, anyway see you y/n.” jay waved before leaving. sunghoon ignored your stare as he tended to the customers that walked in. he proceeded to act like nothing happened for the rest of the day.

when it was finally time to close, you decided it was time to confront him. “sunghoon what the hell was that earlier?” you asked. “he was holding up the line.” he replied. you let out a bitter laugh. “no that's not what i mean and you know it.” he sighed. “he was trying to get you back, i had to do something.” he said his eyes glued to his feet. “sunghoon what the hell are you talking about, i haven’t seen him since middle school.” he scoffed. “save it i seen the letter, i mean seriously?” he was pacing now.

“so what if i was sending letters to jay, you have no right to be angry right now.” you were getting angry now. how dare he after all he’s said. “i am angry, i’m jealous.” you furrowed your eyebrows. “jealous?” you asked. he tugged at his hair. “yes! i’m jealous because he had the courage to do what i couldn’t.” he snapped. you felt the tears well in your eyes. “and what was that?” you asked with a shaky voice. “to tell you how i feel about you. god y/n i like you so much.” you swear your heart was going to beat out of your chest.

“well you sure have a funny way of showing it.” you spat. “remember you said you don’t want to date me, you never will.” you threw his words back at him. the ones that played in the back of your mind each time you looked at him and felt your heart flutter. it was a painful reminder of that day he threw your letter and heart on the ground and crushed it. “y/n.” he started but you put your hand up.

“don’t sunghoon.” you couldn’t hear anything else. you gathered your bag and walked towards the door. his hand wrapped around your wrist. “y/n please let me explain.” his voice is now shaky. you stared at where he held you. “i was scared when i read your letter, no one has ever felt that way about me before, and my friend were laughing at me. i didn’t mean to hurt you but so many emotions were happening it once, so i took the cheap way out.”

you scoffed and shook off his hold. “now that’s pathetic.” you spit his words back at him once again before leaving. sunghoon tugged at his hair. he hated watching you walk away from him again crying. he hated hurting you, but that’s all he ever seemed to do. there was only one thing he could do. he grabbed a pen and paper.

my dearest, y/n

i’ve never really done this before. i didn’t really know how else to say this. everytime i open my mouth i always seem to hurt you. so i figured i’d give this a try. y/n i like you. i like whenever our fingers brushed against each other in class passing papers. i like when you always greet me with a smile even though i’ve been shitty to you. i like that you make me smile with your cute laugh. i like the way you dress, the way you are always you.

i hate what i said to you that day. truthfully your words scared me because no one has ever cared for me that way before. i hope that i didn’t ruin everything between us, and that it’s not to late, because if you’d let me i’d really like to take you on a date, and make you mine.

always yours, sunghoon

your tears fell onto the paper, your neighbor had dropped it off after it ended up in her mail. the mailman had the wrong address.it had been a few days since you been to the ice cream shop. you slipped on your shoes and ran there. the letter still in your grasp. sunghoon was locking the door when you ran up. he turned to see you out of breath with teary eyes. his eyes drifted to the letter in your hand. he was starting to think you got it but threw it out.

“y/n..” he began but you cut him off by placing your lips on his. sunghoon’s eyes were wide before they closed and he kissed you back. his arms gripped your hips and your arms wrapped around his neck. when you pulled away he chased your lips causing you to giggle and placed your forehead against his.

“does this mean i get to take you on that date?” he whispered. you smiled and nodded. “i’d like that more than anything.” he smiled and pulled you closer by your waist. he titled your chin up and placed his lips on yours. “p.s i still like you.” he smiled. “good, it would be one awkward date if you didn’t.” you laughed and followed him to his car. you weren’t expecting your summer to go this way but one thing was for sure, you were glad to get that letter, it gave you sunghoon.

-

author’s note! the long awaited second part. i hope you all enjoyed it :)

tag list! @jjunieworld @304files

© jjunberry

[minisugakoobies]

It's You - Choi San | All Yours

Pairing: San x Reader Genre: smut, crack, fluff, angst, roommates to lovers, BFF’s Lil Bro!AU Series Rating: M (18+) Drabble Warnings: sneaking around continues, this is just a very soft little holiday gift from me to you, San remains the sweetest and OC remains fully whipped for him Word Count: about 900 words Disclaimers: SFW, obviously I don’t own ATZ - they just inspire me

Summary: He was only supposed to be a temporary roommate. Your best friend’s little brother, crashing on your couch for a few weeks. That’s it. How did this happen?

A/N: All San wants for Christmas is Noona 🥰 I hope you all have a wonderful holiday season if you celebrate and if you don't then I hope you have a lovely day ❄️

Taglist is open! Reblog, comment, or send me an ask to be added! You can also send me any ideas/thoughts you might have for a future scenario - who knows, it might end up in a drabble! 💕

It’s You Masterlist 🐈‍⬛ ATZ Masterlist 🐈‍⬛ Main Masterlist

It's late on Christmas Eve when the last of your family finally leaves, and you can excuse yourself from your parents and lock yourself in your bedroom. It's late, so late that you consider for a moment not calling, but you're pretty sure San's still up. He'd made you promise him several times that you would call him today. But you've been too busy dealing with nosy aunts and loud cousins at the family party to do it any earlier.

It's late, but it doesn't matter. He's as happy to see you as you are him, his dark eyes crinkling in delight, and then his smile turns shy, like he's embarrassed at how much just the sight of you lights him up inside.

There's no reason for him to be embarrassed. Your glow mirrors his.

You don't want to hang up long enough to wash your face, so he joins you at the sink. You glance at the screen while drying your face to see him delicately scrubbing his skin with sudsy fingertips, and he sees you and pulls a face, making you giggle. It almost feels like a normal night, hanging out together. Almost. You sigh.

"I miss you."

San surprises you by looking surprised at your admission.

"What? Is that news to you?" It shouldn't be. The two of you haven't stopped texting since you'd left the apartment three days ago to head home for Christmas. San and his sister had left as well to have a quiet holiday with their parents. Since then, you've had to invent a million excuses to slip away from your family and disappear into your phone. The device has barely left your hand, every alert making your heart jump, knowing San is thinking about you as much as you're thinking about him.

"No," San scoffs, face relaxing into a pleased expression, a soft half-smile that fully melts your heart. "Of course you miss me. I'm amazing."

"Nah, I changed my mind, I don't miss you," you say, pretending to frown, and San plays along, pouting dramatically, and you can't help but sigh again. "Okay, fine, I do."

"You always give in to me so easy, Noona," he informs you, that spark back in his eye, the one that makes your stomach flip. "I think I’m your weakness."

He's joking, except maybe he's not, and you both know it. You settle in your bed, burrowing under the layers of covers, shivering because your personal heater is several hundred miles away. San does the same, lying on his side as he gazes into the phone, humming lightly. If you close your eyes, it’s like he’s lying right beside you.

The two of you chat a little about your days. His was spent watching holiday movies with Hanuel while his parents prepared a big dinner together for the four of them. You talk a little about your extended family and the chaos they brought to your house today. 

This is the happiest you’ve felt all day. Even when having fun with your family earlier, you’d felt a little off, like something was missing. Making San laugh now, watching those delicate lines around his eyes crinkle with joy, fills you with such a strong contentment that you can’t stop smiling. 

San’s laughter turns to amused hums the longer you talk, and he nestles lower and lower into his pillow until his eyes are struggling to stay open. You don’t even bother to finish your story, too busy adoring the sight of him. 

"Go to sleep, San. Or Santa won't bring you what you wanted."

“Mmm,” he yawns, pressing one hand over his mouth, “but Noona, all I want is you.”

“I knew you were going to say that,” you roll your eyes, giggling.

“It’s true,” he protests, quickly growing serious, “it’s true, though. I wish you were here right now.” 

You sigh. “Stop making me miss you so much.”

Both of you fall silent, watching each other through the phone. There’s a tension now, and it makes you nervous for some reason, and there’s only one thing you can think to say to clear the air. You’re not sure if it’s the right thing to say, but it’s the truth and you really want to share it all of a sudden.

“You already have me, you know.” 

You’ve known for weeks now. Weeks full of longing glances, lingering touches, and hurried kisses -  and sometimes more, in the rare moments the two of you had the apartment to yourselves. It’s time to admit it.

San takes your confession with a long silence of his own. Just when you think you’re about to have a cardiac event waiting for his response, he speaks. “I do?”

You nod. “If you want me. I’m all yours.” Can he hear your heart pounding through the phone?

San exhales quickly. “Mine.”

It’s an agreement. A declaration. 

He traces his finger down his screen, pretending he’s stroking your cheek, and your skin buzzes from the mere suggestion. A warmth like you've never felt before spreads over you, soft and tender, so like the man gazing at you through the phone. 

Tiredness begins to tug at you. Only one more sleep ‘til Christmas, then one more ‘til you’re back home.

And back in San’s arms. 

"Merry Christmas, San," you whisper.

"Merry Christmas," he echoes softly. "Sweet dreams, Noona."

If you liked this fic, please consider reblogging! Likes do not help it get seen by other readers. 💕

Taglist: @sweetnspicy-noona @krystal-a @jennylychee @hiefisch

© 2023-24 by minisugakoobies. Crossposted to AO3. Please do not copy or repost. I do not allow translations of my work.

[magoapple]

Telling the kids they're going to be a big sibling

Pairing: hyung line x reader / maknae line

Genre: marriage au

Warnings: some suggestive but mostly heart clenching fluff

Summary: You two decide to tell your older kid(s) that they're going to be a big brother/sister.

BANGCHAN:

You found out you were pregnant again almost three months ago. Chan came up with the good idea of waiting until things were in the safe zone to tell your son Jesse, he was going to be a big brother. While Jesse was in school, you and Chan decided to go shopping and get a few things. Once you made your way back home, you got everything set up. “Channie, do you think he'll be happy? Like actually thrilled?”

Chan came to your side and wrapped his arms around your waist. “He's going to love it. I grew up with a younger brother and sister, and it was wonderful! I'm positive that Jesse will be thrilled.” You smiled and finished up what you were doing and set it aside until your son came home. Now you just had to occupy your thoughts and calm down.

When Chan went to get Jesse, you set up the house. You finished putting up the last decoration as they walked through the door. “W-wait, close your eyes!” Both boys quickly covered their eyes, making you laugh. “Okay now you can open them.” Chan opened his before Jesse and stood by your side. On the count of three, the both of you popped confetti cannons. “Surprise!”

“Woah what's all this for, it's not my birthday and I didn't pass a test, so I'm confused.” Chan ruffled his kids' hair and handed him a card. “It's something different but good, you see your mom is pregnant, which means you're going to be a big brother.” Once the words big brother left his mouth, Jesse's eyes shot towards you. “Is it true! Wait, really!” He ran, hugged you both while jumping up and down. “Oh I wished this would happen, and it did, I have to tell Minji!” The boy ran off in fits of giggles, leaving just Chan by your side. “I told you he'd be thrilled.”

LEE KNOW:

Ever since Minji heard that Jesse was going to be a big brother, she's been bugging you and Lee know about a sibling. That was well over a month ago, and you're here now staring at a positive pregnancy test. Lee know was off to pick up your daughter, and you didn't know how to react. Of course, it's been talked about, but you couldn't just flat out say it. This needed to be special for the both of them.

You grabbed your purse and headed to the store as fast as you could. You grabbed a card and a baby onesie hoping you'd make it before them, but that wasn't the case. Lee know had his phone and was about to call you as you walked through the door. “Mommy!” Minji ran and hugged you, grabbing at the bag you had. “Oh this uh Min wait-” Lee know grabbed the bag and looked inside confused.

“Well I have you both here so, well, I found out today you're going to be a big sister, Minji!” The little girl squealed and hugged you tightly and her father. “This is the best. I can't wait to tell everyone at school tomorrow!" Lee know pulled you into his arms and kissed you. “We're pregnant again? This is the best day”

CHANGBIN:

Getting pregnant the first time was very hard for Changbin and you. You had complications during the birth and were honestly a bit frightened to go through it all again. Changbin understood your fears and you both were content with your twins. However, similar to any kid they would ask about siblings, and you didn't know how to break it to them, neither did your husband.

You spent countless nights awake thinking of what to do, and it finally hit you.

It was around 1am and you shook Changbin awake. “Mmm baby what is everything okay?” You laughed a bit and moved his bangs from his eyes. “Yes, just, you know how Cho and Areum have been wanting a little sister.” Changbin sat up, nodding at your words. “Well we can get them a puppy, it's not like a sibling but in a way it is, and you used to want a dog so bad when we first got together.” You really hoped he liked the idea.

He did, and you found yourself adopting a little chocolate lab. The twins were over the moon and named him Max. As luck would have it, the following year you got pregnant and weren't as scared any more you were actually quite excited. When it came time to tell the girls, you and Changbin went all out and had a party and gave both girls baby dolls. It took some understanding, but once you told them you were having their baby sister they couldn't be happier and Max was delighted as well.

HYUNJIN:

It's been 5 months since you had your son Jin young when you found out you were pregnant again. Of course, you weren't surprised, as you and Hyunjin were inseparable. It was still shocking. You put Jin young down for a nap and thought of cute ways to break the news to your husband. You were positive he'd be thrilled, but had slight doubts.

You phoned Lee know's wife and talked to her about it. She congratulated you and talked about how she told Lee know and Minji. She gave you cute tips, and you were off to the store with your son. You didn't want to be cheesy or cliché but Hyunjin loved all that, so you went to the bakery and had a little cake be made. You got a few things for supper and headed back home, where Hyunjin was waiting for you.

“Ah ha there's my beautiful wife and handsome little boy” he took Jin young and kissed all over his face. You always knew he'd be a great dad. “Well I actually have a surprise, and we get to have dessert before dinner.” You took out the cake and told him to cover his eyes which he did but confusingly.

“Baby what is… You're pregnant?” The cake was his favorite flavor and written on it was 'Dad of 2' his face lit up and looked at Jin young. “You hear that little man you're going to be a big brother” The scene that played you wanted it to last forever.

◄Tumblrs system works on reblogs so if you'd like to support my content please reblog but do NOT feel obligated to►

[redandbrown]

Seducing Hermione Granger

Chapter 2

Rating: Mature, although not as bad as next one 😉

Hermione felt exhausted. Well why shouldn’t she? After all, they just fought a battle yesterday, and here she was less than twenty four hours later helping to rebuild the north outer wall of Hogwarts.

She tried bitterly to ignore the ache between her legs, and refused to acknowledge her exhaustion might have to do with her vigorous activities with Ron last night.

Ron for his part seemed unable to face her at the moment. And honestly who could blame him? They had just spent the most important night of their lives together, and all the memories were his alone.

This morning after a very filling breakfast (the house elves had really outdone themselves), Ron had stood up first, and without looking her or Harry in the eyes, announced he would be working in Hufflepuff dungeon today. Wordlessly, he left the great hall, leaving Harry to look to her for an explanation.

Thankfully Harry’s questioning looks rarely turned into actual questions when it came to her and Ron. So Hermione steered the conversation in another direction and in half an hour, they were outside in a crew of five, magically lifting the enormous boulders off the ground, and slowly rebuilding the north wall.

Maybe Madam Pomfrey could fix her memory loss, she pondered to herself. Or at least help her figure out what had caused it.

As the morning moved into noon she felt herself growing impatient. She was angry.

“Harry I need a break,” she said curtly.

Harry nodded in acknowledgement and Hermione headed back inside.

***

“Ms. Granger, you are the fourth person this morning to report memory loss. Most likely an errant curse or an ill timed prank. It’s not that I’m not concerned, or willing to help, but I must tend to the more injured at the moment. St. Mungo’s is at capacity, and so am I, I’m afraid. Be grateful you are still standing,” Madame Pomfrey explained to her before hurrying to the bedside of a groaning student.

Hermione’s shoulders slumped in defeat, but as she turned to walk away Madam Pomfrey called to her, “If it hasn’t resolved itself in three days come back and see me. I should have more free time to treat you then.”

***

Hermione entered the Great Hall and headed towards the Gryffindor table. She sandwiched herself between Luna and Neville. Ron was sitting opposite her, but she was still too embarrassed to do much more than glance at him. Ginny had her arm entwined with Harry’s, Hermione noted, sitting as close together as they could.

Ron pushed a plate already loaded with food into her field of vision. She had been staring down at the table she realized, but she finally looked up to see him properly since this morning.

“Eat up,” he told her. “You barely touched your breakfast.”

“I’m not really hungry.”

Ron regarded her while chewing his sandwich. He grabbed her cup and filled it with pumpkin juice.

“All the same, you need to eat,” he insisted, putting the cup back down in front of her.

He grabbed a small pastry off the food tray and put it on her plate as well. Hermione eyed it curiously.

“Try it. You might like it,” he encouraged her.

Hermione obliged him and to her surprise, it was delicious.

Ron saw the delight on her face, and smiled at her.

“Good, huh?”

“Yes! What an unusual combination. I never would have thought to try that.”

Ron glanced around to see if anybody was listening to their conversation before leaning towards her and telling her in a low voice, “Maybe I know what you like.”

Hermione froze mid chew and gulped her food down quickly, praying she wouldn’t choke on it.

Ron smirked and gave her a quick wink before sitting back in his chair like nothing had happened.

“How’s the north wall looking?” He asked Harry.

“Another two days of work maybe? What’s going on in Hufflepuff house?”

“The Death Eaters destroyed their common room,” Luna interjected.

“And dug several secret tunnels from outside the perimeters,” Neville added.

“We’ve spent most of the morning filling them in,” Ron finished explaining. “Nearly done though.”

“Yeah? Come join us when you’re finished,” Harry told him.

“Yeah, alright, mate. We’ll be there.”

“I’m done,” Hermione announced.

Ron glanced at her plate. “Hang on, then. You barely touched your sandwich.”

“Maybe I just need to work up an appetite first,” she replied, looking at him pointedly.

Ron stared at her and pumpkin juice dribbled out of his mouth. He jumped and reached for a napkin.

“Bye, Ron,” she said in a sing song voice and returned his wink.

Did she really just say that?? Who was she? Well she might not remember what happened between them last night, but that didn’t mean her feelings for him had diminished in any way.

As far as she was concerned they still had unfinished business.

“Harry, I know you need the help, but I really must head to the library. I’ll meet you at the north wall later?”

“Sure, yeah.”

Ron was still eyeing her as she climbed over the bench and left the Great Hall.

***

Hermione walked into the Hogwarts library and inhaled deeply. How she had missed this place! It still thankfully smelled the same as she remembered it and seemed to luckily be unscathed from the battle.

She quickly headed to the aisle where she knew the best curse breaking references to be. Maybe she didn’t need Madam Pomfrey for this. Maybe she could break this spell herself. She was certainly willing to try.

After loading her arms with books she headed to her favorite table. Nobody was in there, not even Madam Pince, it seemed.

Hermione felt her chair being yanked away from the table.

“Hey! What do you think you’re do-

Ron plopped down in the chair next to hers. Leaning forward, he reached between her legs and grabbed her chair under the seat, pulling it right in front of him. His face was so close, she could feel his breath on hers.

“Did you mean what you said this morning? Did you really forget everything last night?”

“Ron, yes! I wouldn’t lie to you about that.”

Ron looked down at the floor. “So this isn’t about regretting what we did together? ‘Cause it if it is, just tell me now, Hermione. I can take it.”

Hermione’s heart dropped. She grabbed his face and made him look at her.

“Ron, whatever we got up to last night, I know I meant it. I may not remember it, but I never forgot how I feel about you. That kiss during the battle- I’ve waited years to kiss you like that-

“Years?”

“Yes! Years!” She laughed. “Ron, I- well, I want you, and I want my memories back.”

Ron studied her face for a moment. She knew he was trying to decide whether to trust her words or not. Why was it so hard for him to believe that she wanted him?

“Why didn’t you go to Madam Pomfrey, then? She could have set you right.”

Hermione rolled her eyes. “I did, Ron! This morning. She can’t see me right now. She’s too busy taking care of injured students from the battle.”

“Well, you are injured,” he countered.

Where was he going with this?

“I lost my memory, Ronald. I didn’t lose my legs!”

“Who lost their legs?!” He asked alarmed.

“Nobody! I’m just making a point that a memory curse isn’t the end of the world.”

Ok this was getting ridiculous. Why was he so infuriating?! Hermione stood up and glared at him.

“Why are you here, Ronald?”

Ron too stood up to tower over her.

“Stop calling me Ronald! I came here to check on you.”

“I don’t need you to check on me. I can take care of myself! I’ll figure out why I lost my memory on my own, then I’ll fix it! I don’t need Madam Pomfrey, and I don’t need you to check on me!”

“Oh yes, I forgot, Hermione, the girl genius, doesn’t need help from anybody. Let me just get out of your way, then. Wouldn’t want my dumbness to rub off on you.”

“Oh honestly, Ronald!”

“Stop calling me Ronald!”

“Or what?”

Suddenly Ron reached around her, grabbed her ass and lifted her up to drop her onto the table. He leaned in until he was eye level with her and only a few inches from her face.

“Or else I’ll shag that attitude right out of you.”

Hermione’s eyes got wide for a fraction of second before adopting a saccharine sweet smile and batting her eye lashes at him.

“Must not have been that good,” she cheeked. “I don’t even remember it.”

Ron’s mouth fell open and Hermione took the opportunity to quickly slide off the table and walk away from him.

She didn’t get far before Ron’s strong arm hooked around her waist and pulled her to him.

She let out a squeal of laughter.

Ron spun her around and grinned at her before he backed her up to the nearest bookcase.

He ran his thumb across her bottom lip and leaned in to kiss her softly. Hermione felt her stomach do a flip.

“Is that the best you’ve got, Ronald?” She egged him on.

Ron gave her a sexy lopsided grin, before leaning in again. He bit her bottom lip and when she let out a soft “oh” in surprise, he used the opportunity to slide his tongue across hers, while pushing in closer to her body, letting her feel exactly what she was doing to him.

He pulled back and gave her a look she’d never seen before. He looked like he wanted to devour her. She wondered if he had looked at her like that last night.

“How’s that, you cheeky witch?”

It was Hermione’s turn to grin. She ran her hand over the stubble on his chin, taking in his long nose and square jaw. She couldn’t remember ever being more attracted to anybody in her life. She looked up to see his blue eyes watching her.

“That’s quite enough of that!” Came a shrill voice from over Ron’s shoulder.

Ron and Hermione looked in unison to see Madam Pince standing there glaring at them sternly.

“Oh calm down you old bird! We’re not even students anymore, and we just won a war. I just wanna kiss my girl in peace. Is that too much to ask?”

Madam Pince started shaking violently and turned a deep shade of red.

“Why you insolent-

Hermione quickly stepped around Ron.

“We’re leaving, Madam Pince,” she assured the elderly librarian.

Madam Pince regarded Hermione for a moment before wordlessly turning on her heel and walking away.

[ennikity]

❤𝘕𝘪-𝘬𝘪 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯... 𝘉𝘪𝘳𝘵𝘥𝘢𝘺 𝘞𝘪𝘴𝘩 ❤ ☽𝘎𝘦𝘯𝘳𝘦: 𝘧𝘭𝘶𝘧𝘧☾ ☽𝘞𝘢𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴: 𝘯𝘰𝘶𝘱☾

...And with a smile, the boy ended the live.

-Good job- a member of the staff said- You can go home now, the rest of the members said that they wanted to practice a bit more, but you should go home and rest.

Ni-ki nodded, and saw how the staff members dessapeared, one by one. Then, he took a look at the live set. The balloons and the rests of the cake gave the room a happy athmosphere, but it didn't match with how he was feeling.

It's not that he wasn't happy, after all, it was his 18th birthday. But it was as if all that joy he had felt the night before, thinking about how he was going to spend his birthday had dessapeared. The day hadn't even gone that bad, since he had had time to spend with his members and even with you. However, he couldn't stop thinking about that sad feeling inside his chest. He didn't want to be selfish, after all, the members and you had rearenged all your schedules to throw him a little party, but he felt that, for all of you, that day wasn't as special as for him. Even if he didn't show it, Ni-ki had been waiting for december 9 for a really long, long time. He was finally an adult, and that ment that he could do all those cool things that his hyungs made, and people would finally stop seeing him as the baby of the group. So seeing that the rest weren't as excited as him kinda disappointed him.

-I have to stop thinking this way- the boy whispered to himself- I should be grateful instead. The all made big efforts to be with me today and, after all, it's just a birthday. How can I be so childish?

But still, when he left the room, his heart was as heavy as his footsteps.

On the way to where the car was waiting for him to go home, he passed infront of the studio where the memebers were still practicing. He could hear voices and the sound of one of their oldest songs form there, wich surprised him a bit, because they weren't working on any old song at that moment. Ni-ki thougth about entering the room to tell them that he was leaving, but he didn't want to disturb, so he just passed by, saying a quiet "goodbye" to them. It had been a long day, and he couldn't wait to go home.

[...]

The house was cold and dark when he arrived, but he didn't switch on the lights. Passing by the silent living room and kitchen, he went directly to his room, without looking at anything else aside from the dark corridor infront of him. The familiar room greeted the boy, and only then he felt a bit better. He sat on his bed, the same that had seen him cry sometimes, but also the same that knew all those nights he had spent talking and laughing with the members, as if they were 12 years old again. The memories that those walls held started to fill Ni-ki's mind, and, for the first time, he wasn't sure about turning an adult. After all, what could assure him that everything was going to stay the same? He didn't want nothing to change, those three years had been the best part of his life, and even tho turning 18 didn't ment that things would be different, was that fully true?

He sighed, deep in those thoughts, but when he tried to lay down, his head collided with something he hadn't seen before. He turned on the lights and, for the first time, he could see the box waiting beside him. He took it with both hands, curiosity leading his moves. It was a medium sized, light blue box, with a white ribbon on top of it. A hand written note told him for who it was: Ni-ki.

He opened it, carefully, and took a look at the inside. A thick book and an envelope is all he found. He took the book first, and when he opened it, it was as if a hurricane of memories escaped from it. It was a photo book filled whit pictures from before his debut to those last weeks. Moments with his members were captured in those pages, but also precious moments with you, since the day you started dating to the last afternoon you had spent together. It was as if all the good things that had happened to him were put together in that book, and the boy felt a wave of happiness and gratefulness inside him. All of you were his family now, and he couldn't wish for anything better.

He was going to put the book back in it's box when he remembered the envelope. With a nervous heart, he took the letter inside of it, and recognized your handwriting the moment he saw it. Taking a deep breath, he started to read.

To our best boy, Ni-ki:

If you are reading this, it means that is finally December 9, so happy birthday! The members and I wanted to do something special for you, and we thought about something that you could keep, that's why we are writing this letter.

Honestly, we don't have much to say, except that we can't believe that you are already 18. We swear that yesterday you were still the little boy who slept everywhere and always followed the members wherever they went. And look at you now, taller than everyone else, with a successful career and the luck to say that you made your dream come true. We couldn't be more proud of you, and we mean it with all our heart. Specially because during these 3 years there were some difficult moments where we couldn't protect you all we would like to, or make you feel better. You had to overcome some hard times, but you were able to stand up again, and that says a lot of you.

However, despite all those moments, when we look at you, we still see the same boy who get's happy just by seeing a puppy, the same boy who can't hide a smile when he dances, and the same one who never, ever gave up on his dream. We know that you could't wait to turn 18, but please, never change. We couldn't imagine our lifes without your smiley face every time you prank us, or the way you always try your best to impress us, even if there's nothing about you we wouldn't be impressed about. Your are a very important part of us, and we feel the happiest for being able to make our story with you. Ni-ki, you are going to go very far, so don't forget that we always got your back, not only as teammates, but also as friends (and as a girlfriend!) This photo book shows the journey we have already walked, but promise us that we wil continue making good memories together for a really long time. And promise too to keep being the happy little boy we love, because we can't imagine our lifes without you.

With love,

The members and Y/N.

Tears were already rolling down Ni-ki's face when he finished reading. That letter was like the warmest hug he ever had, and it just filled him with the most pure joy and...

-See? I told ya, he was going to cry- a sudden, and familiar, voice said behind him.

The boy turned around, just to find Enha members and you smiling warmly at him. Everyone could tell the emotion in your eyes when you looked at him.

Ni-ki tried to say something, but the tears didn't let him.

-Awww, we didn't mean to make you cry- you said softly before reaching the boy and hugging him.

Feeling your arms around him and the confort of your presence made te boy cry even more. You pat his head gently, trying to calm him, and then the members joined the hug too. It was a moment that would stay in your hearts for a very long time.

-I thought that you were still practicing- Ni-ki said when he finally stopped and the eight of you broke the hug.

-And not celebrate you turning 18?- Heeseung asked.

-But you already threw me a party.

-Did you really thought that we wouldn't make nothing more special for your birthday?- Jake said.

-We know how much you've waited for this day, one party wasn't enough!- Sunoo added.

-I thought that it wasn't that important - he mumbled.

-Dude, you just turned 18, how on earth wouldn't we think it wasn't important?- this time, it was Jay the one speaking.

-You are our maknae, everything involved with you is important for us- Sunghoon added.

Those words would be stuck on Ni-ki's heart for a long time, but for the moment, the only thing he was able to do was smile, trying to not let the tears out again. Noticing this, you caressed his hand, trying to give the boy some confort. The way the tears dessapeared after that let you know that it had worked.

-So, do you want to see what we've prepared? -Jungwon said with a smile.

-Wait, there's more?

-Of course there is! But you have to close your eyes first if you want to discover it- you said this time, pulling out of your pocket a pice of fabric- May I?

Ni-ki nodded, leaning closer to you so you could place it arround his head.

-Ok, that's it. Now stand up and follow me- you added, talking the boy's hands between yours.

Ni-ki did as you told him, and when he felt the warmth of your hands, couldn't help but smile. If you were the one guiding him, he would follow you to the end of the world.

When both of you started walking, he felt how you took him across the corridor, past the kitchen and trough the living room. It was incredible how those same rooms had seem cold and dark some minutes ago, but now that he knew that you and the boys were with him, there weren't anymore.

Ni-ki felt how you stopped in what he thougt was the living room. Everything was so still that, for a second, it looked as if all of you had left. The sound of your voice prove him that it wasn't true.

-Are you ready?

The boy nodded, and then he felt how you removed the fabric from his eyes.

For the first seconds, everything was dark, and the switched off lights didn't help at all. However, when his eyes adapted to the ambience, the surprise all of you had been talking about appeared in front of him.

-Mum?- Ni-ki whispered, not being able to do something more- Dad? Why are you here? How are you here?

You watched as the boy kept turning to his parents and then to the members, who were filming secretly the moment.

-Stop asking and go and say hi- you laughed as you pushed him towards his family- There will be time for explanations.

The boy did as you said, and soon he was part of a long hug with his mum, dad and even his sisters, who had come too.

-Aww, they look so happy- Sunoo said.

-I'm sure Ni-ki wasn't expecting this- Jungwon smiled.

-Guys, I feel like I'm going to cry too- Jake added.

-Don't you dare, if you cry we will all end up crying- Jay asnwered him.

-That's right- you chukled.

Some moments later, Ni-ki broke the hug and turned to where the members and you were standing.

-So, are you going to tell me how you've done all this?- he asked, signaling, not only his family, but also the fully decorated room and the cake he hadn't seen before.

-Easy- Heeseung said- We left the company early to prepare the house and to make sure Jay had enough time to make the cake.

-But I heard you practicing before living.

-That was just an old live we asked the manager to play to make you think that we were still there- Sunghoon said proudly.

-However, what we had planned wasn't this- Jake intervened- We were waiting here hidden because we thought that you would turn on the lights when you entered the house, and we could shout, you know, "surprise" or something. But you went directly to you room and saw the present that we were supposed to give you later.

-So we had to change our plans- Sunoo laughed.

-I had no idea- Ni-ki smiled.

-And about your family... It was Y/N's idea, actually- Jungwon continued- She was the one who contacted them, searched the flights and even went to pick them up at the airport this morning.

-Really?- Ni-ki asked, looking at you with shiny eyes.

-Well, I didn't want you to celebrate your 18 birthday far from your family- you answered with a smile.

-You are all the best, seriouslly- the boy said, and you could all feel the emotion on his voice.

-So, now that we are all here, who want's a piece of cake- Jay asked- I haven't been all afternoon baking for nothing.

You all agreed to that, so you gathered arround the cake, waiting for Ni-ki to make a wish. And it was at that moment, when the boy realized that there was nothing he could wish for, because he already had everything he needed: a caring familly that didn't mind coming all the way from Japan just to spend some hours with him, hyungs that always made sure he felt like home, and you, a girlfriend who always knew how to make him happy and that, without realizing, had become his safe place.

Please, stay always by my side.

He asked the candels before blowing them.

And it was sure to say, that his birthday wish would come true.

Note:

Hi everyone! Today I wanted to post something special to celebrate Ni-ki's birthday, even tho I'm not very satisfied with how it turned out. The only part I trully like is the one when he reads the letter. Maybe I cried a bit writing it, but who wouldn't. I still can't believe he is already an adult, time goes by really fast.

Anyway, I hoped you liked it, and let's keep supporting the boys and our precious maknae forever <3

See you!

[pbandjesse]

I am feeling a little uncomfortable tonight. Just kind of swollen. I am also real tired. It's been a long day.

I really struggled to sleep last night. I woke up at 4am and I was starving. My stomach hurts and I felt weak. I tried to will it away but it wasn't working so by 430 I was downstairs drinking a yogurt. I got comfortable on the couch with a heating pad and Sweetp and thought I'd fall asleep again down there but I did not.

When James woke up I startled them when they turned on the kitchen light. They apologized for blinding me but I was fine. I just wasn't going to go back to sleep.

I would move back upstairs. And tried to sleep but it wasn't going to happen. I heard James go in and out the front door a few times and texted to ask why and they let me know someone rifled through the car. And I knew I was the last one to drive so it was my fault. And we are pretty sure nothing was taken but it still feels so violating. And I felt really dumb. Silver lining was they left gloves and a window breaking tool in the car so at least they didn't break our windows?

I would get up and washed and dressed and I was actually alright. The tiredness wasn't so bad. James made me an egg sandwich to bring with us. And we would leave a little before 730.

We got over to the hospital. James apologized that we have to keep having all these appointments. That it isn't an easy pregnancy. And I appreciate them saying that but honestly. It could be worse. I could have to work every day. I'm really lucky all things considered. I can mostly just rest. Get the house ready. And I'm getting lots of attention and care. Things will be okay.

This was a fine appointment. The nurse was nice. Baby was still facing my spine and breech. But heartbeat was good. I apparently had some kind of irritation, specifically not a contraction, and so they gave me ice water and kept monitoring me.

The nurse practitioner came in to talk to us about delivering early. I told her about my research and the different things I learned about this diagnosis. And I felt like we were all on the same page. I am curious how the whole things going to go. Because I guess I don't have the water breaking, contractions, rush to the hospital. It'll all be planned and scheduled. I am still curious what all that will look like.

We finished up and I was a little tired but I was okay enough to drive home. James gave me a kiss goodbye before they biked to work. And I went to ace hardware.

I got stuck behind a flat bed tow truck for a few minutes. The driver was obviously rushing and mouthing apologies to me and I was just chilling. I was not in a rush or anything. So I just smiled and tried to let him know it's all good.

When I did finally get to ace I picked up some super glue and chalkboard paint. They shook the paint on the machine for me and I pet the shop cat for a while.

I paid and left. Decided to stop at the grocery store for egg salad for lunch and got some sweets. And then went home.

When I got back here parking was tough but they finally got rid of the cherry picker so there was some space.

I got inside and put things away. And started working on my painting. I am painting the island and we may paint all of the cabinets but for now I'm just doing the one. I am thinking it will take three coats. I would get two done today.

I spent some time organizing my coat closet in the guest room. And fixing the plastic navel ring I got. I shortened the bar and used the super glue to attach the ball. It's much more comfortable now but I decided that I couldn't have the baby on board dangle. So instead I removed that and turned it into a necklace pendant. Which I think is so funny.

I had egg salad on toast. Talked to my dad for a few minutes. Did my second coat of paint. And went to lay down upstairs and watch a video. I got some of my blood work back and my levels were all good and I don't have diabetes!! I was so excited and relieved.

I would fall asleep. I think feeling relieved let me rest. I fell asleep with my tights and socks on which bothered me when I woke up but it wasn't a bad nap. I was just slightly distressed when I got up.

I texted James and let them know I was feeling a little distressed. And they said that I could come to the museum and pick up the cushion for my new chair and that it would cheer me up. And they were right!

I got myself together and ate a half a donut in the drive over to the museum. James was actually at the Starbucks having a meeting with the Teamsters. This worked out great because I was supposed to go to my own meeting tomorrow but it was going to be tough because we are getting our screen door installed. So I got to be a part of this meeting.

I'm vey pro union. And specifically I'm pro the museum unionizing. I am shocked they are pushing against it. And have apparently hired union busters who are giving a talk on Tuesday. The meeting was really good though and I feel prepared. But also just anxious about the voting. We only have 30 people in the voting pool apparently. I don't know how that gets decided. I was under the impression is was a hiring/firing power thing but then they named some people who aren't included that confused me. But if we get the union it will help all of us. And make us the second museum in the city to unionize! I don't know when the vote is going to happen but I better get to participate and it not happen when I'm giving birth, I'll be so mad if that happens.

We were there until around 530. Said goodbye and me and James drove over to the museum to get the packages.

And it was two packages. The cushion (which was giant) and the play mat that I was worried was missing. James collected all of their stuff. And we went home.

When we got back here James brought in the packages. We had to open the cushion box outside because it didn't fit through the door. And I got it all set up. And I love it. It's so cozy.

Once I was done putting things away I would spend the next couple hours in my new chair with sweetp. James made us dinner. And we just chilled and while I felt very swollen still, at least I was comfortable in my chair.

Now me and James are upstairs. Getting ready for bed. Tomorrow I will stay home and work on my knitting and my planning for my birthday countdown project. And wait for the door install guys. Hopefully that just goes smoothly and I don't have to worry to much.

I hope you are all having a nice day. I love you all very much. Sleep well my friends. Goodnight!

[periwinckles]

LETTERS FROM NEW PANEM

PART 2

No hunting today. 

You see, I allways hunt a little extra on the days leading up to the reaping. The idea came to me three years ago, when I was standing in the middle of the square, waiting for Effie Trinket to call the female's tribute name, and the only thing I could think of was "if she calls my name, Mom and Prim will have no food tomorrow." So from that year forward I would always prepare. You know, just in case it was my name she called. 

Turned out to be a good thing, because we spent the past three days locked inside our tiny house, just waiting for news from this so-called rebellion. At least we had food.

Besides me, Prim stirs and Mom is breathing soundly. I don't remember the last time the three of us shared a bed. But after getting our armbands last night, the ones that announce to yourself and everyone else your original fate, we could do nothing more than climb into our mother's bed and cry ourselves to sleep. Mostly me and Mom crying. Prim, ever the logical one claims it's useless to cry. After all, she's not really dead. She was supposed to die, but not anymore, "so there's no need for tears Katniss". 

We are supposed to wear our armbands on display at all times, from this day forward. Black if you originally died during the war. White if you survived, but left District 12 for good. Red if you survived and were one of the 183 rebuilders of the bombed District. 

Three people in this house, three different coloured armbands. 

But Prim is right. We should be thankful. 

I still can't believe it. We are free. It is such a foreign concept that I have no idea what to expect from this day. Am I allowed to hunt now? I really don't know, but our loaded ice-box and the confort feeling I get from my family's proximity are enough to deter me from hunting today. 

"Are you worried about getting married?" 

I turn my face to the side and find Prim watching me, her words barely a whisper, as to not wake my mother up. 

"What? Prim, that is the last thing on my mind right now! Why would I be getting married?" 

She shrugs a little bit "You heard the mayor last night. Red armbands can't leave the District…

"Wasn't planning to!"

… and they have to marry the same person they married after the rebellion." 

"Wasn't planning to, either!" 

 

Mom stirs, and we both pull the cover over our heads, as if that would block the sound of our voices, when it barely blocks the heat from spreading out. 

"But there were only 183 citizens left! And some of them were probably still kids. You most likely married someone to help repopulate…"

"Are you even listening to what you are saying?" My voice is loud and I know it is highly unlikely my mom is still  sleeping through this conversation.

"Prim, marriage is the lesser of my life ambitions. Even if I did survive, and I was a District rebuilder I was still me, and I probably lived as an old spinster in a cabin in the middle of the woods until I died of old age. Trust me, there is no danger at all that I'm being called to marry someone at the end of this month."

I start to rise from bed, ignoring her downcast look. I know where this is coming from. The reason why Prim didn't loom for long on her black armband is because she saw in mine a beacon of hope, that even after these horrible events there would still be an Everdeen on District 12, and that I would go on to live a happy fulfilled life. And to 12 year old Prim, a fulfilled life would be marriage and kids. 

"I'm going out."  I say without looking in her direction 

"I thought you weren't hunting today, sweatie." 

Ha, so my mom is finally dropping the pretense of being asleep.

"Not hunting, just need some fresh air."

—--

It is still early morning but I am by no means the first person out and about. I guess being locked down for three days was enough to make people anxious to go out again. As I take my morning walk, among the Seam houses I find it hard not to fix on everyone's armband. 

Black. Black. Black. Black. White. Black. Black. Black. Black. 

I'm reaching the last row of houses, just before the meadow, when I spot a little boy, 6 or 7 years old, playing with a single chipped marble, the first red armband I saw, besides my own. 

"Hey Miss, you're red too!" 

"That I am." I answer him, even though my voice carries a small fraction of the enthusiasm his does.

"My whole family is red! Me, my baby sister, my maw and my paw." 

"Good for you!" And I keep going even though I know he wants me to stay and chat. I am probably the first Red he saw as well, outside of his family. 

4 reds.

With me, it makes 5. 

Only 178 to go. 

From the corner of my eye I spot Gale coming from the fence. I guess he went hunting by himself today. As we walk towards each other it is inevitable. We search not each other's eyes, but each other's armbands. 

Red on my arm.

White on his. 

I let go of a breath I didn't know I was holding. Losing Prim (even if only theoretically) was hard enough. At least Gale's safe. 

"So, red huh? I knew you would be one of them." He tells me with a sad smile and a touch of resignation. 

"You know I would never leave these woods." And I wouldn't. All the memories from my father are here. These are our woods, and even if the District burned down (which, matter of fact, apparently it did), I could never leave this place. Not to go after my mom, to wherever she went. Certainly not to go with Gale. I guess deep down he always knew that, but seeing the different colors on our arma, settling different choices for both of us makes it real. 

"Well, I need to get this to my mom." He says pointing to his game bag. 

"What about your family? Are they…?"

"All reds. I'm the only white." 

"Good. That 's good." I smile a little bit and with a small nod am on my way. He doesn't ask about my family's colors, and I feel no impulse to tell him, Prim's black armband still heavy on my heart. 

4 more reds. That's a total of 9. 174 to go. 

I don't even know why I am keeping track of them. It's not like I really care. Not when Prim will be wearing a black armband. But simple math keeps my mind focused. I spot two more families of reds, … 18, 19.

Black, black, black, white white, black black. Black. Two more reds. 20, 21. 

I turn a little bit to the right and am right at the edge of the town. If white and red were scarce in the Seam, here they appear to be non-existent. Black, black, black, black everywhere. 

Two reds in the cobblers shop, and I feel myself smiling for the first time, today. Delly Cartwright and her brother are putting up a sign on their parent's shop and I watch them from a distance. 22 and 23. 

Suddenly, while watching Delly, I remember Madge. I wonder if she is red too, and next thing I know I am walking to her house. 

Because even though I told Prim I would be ok living by myself in the Woods, the thought of losing every important person of my life, either to a war or to a different District is weighing me down. 

 This is ridiculous. This didn't really happen in this timeline. Prim didn't die. Mom and Gale are not leaving. Still, thinking about another Katniss with no family and no friends is quite depressing. 

"Oh Katniss!" 

Madge is suddenly hugging me, while I barely register that I reached her house. We're not quite the hugging type. Well apparently she is. She lets go of me and I spot the black fabric on her arm, and that's enough to tip me over the edge and I am once more crying, and hugging her. Apparently I'm the hugging type too. 

"Ok, enough of that. I'm the one that died and I am not crying." Madge holds my hand and pulls me inside her kitchen. We sit at her kitchen's table and she pours a cup of tea for each of us. 

"You're just like Prim "

Her eyes fill with sorrow "I am so sorry about Prim, Katniss." 

I bring the hot tea to my lips, but put it down immediately 

"How do you know Prim's black?"

She gives me an apologetic look

"My dad has a list with all the 183 names. I saw yours there, and that hers wasn't. And I know you would never willingly live far from her, so I just assumed."

We stay silent for a whole, drinking our tea, when she stands abruptly

"They'll be handing new letters to all the reds tomorrow! At school, for those of you that go to school, and at the mines for those that work there!" 

" And?"

She's giving me the same exasperated look Prim gave me this morning. 

"And? Aren't you curious? I know I am! I mean, you survived, so now I am going to vicariously live through you! We could sneak into my dad's office…" 

I give her a scowl, but she won't budge.

"What if the letter carries the name of your husband? Don't you wanna know?" 

What is it with everyone wanting to marry me off? 

"I'm not getting married."  

I'm not. Really. Even if I were, Gale would probably be the logical choice, but that ship has sailed. So luckily that makes me completely safe on that account.

"But don't you wanna be sure? I mean, at least you won't be caught off guard tomorrow, in front of everyone." 

She does have a point. But I'm not getting married, so it's not really an issue. 

Ah, damn it. 

"Ok, but let's make it quick." 

I don't need to give my consent twice because next thing I know I am monitoring the halls and corridors, while she taps away at her dad's computer. 

"Bad luck. Tomorrow's letter will only contain info on everyone's occupation. And we all know you'll be the District huntress. Or butcher. I'm gonna check anyway, maybe you'll be the new butcher."

I peer at  the corridors once more, but turn around when I hear Madge curse. 

"What is it?"

She's looking flabbergasted and out of words. 

"I don't know, it makes no sense. I guess you're the baker's wife?"

A shiver goes through my spine

"I marry Peeta Mellark???"

I run to her side because that can't be true. I never get the chance to double check it though. 

"Madge, what are you doing? That is confidential!" 

Mayor Undersee is at the Door, the one I was supposed to be watching, and Madge is in deep trouble. 

And so am I. Apparently I'm marrying Peeta.

[words-after-midnight]

15 years of Life in Black and White 🌙 (draft start date: June 7th, 2008)

In honor of the 15th anniversary of the day I started the draft of Life in Black and White (June 7th, 2008), I'm sharing some of the contents of "Annex C," my personal collection of "memorabilia" from my years spent writing the book of my heart - these include photos, journal entries (I kept a dedicated "novel diary" for Life in Black and White from 2008-2013), original concept art and notes, and other things. Hope you enjoy!

Here I am at age 20 (and, notably, pre-transition lol) in 2011, with the finished second drafts of both novels - the story was originally written as a duology totalling over 400K words, but the second drafts pictured here total about 370K. I believe Life in Black and White (then the first novel) was around 220K, and It's All Inside My Head (then the second novel) was around 150K.

More under the cut!

My tattoo appointment card + the actual tattoo I got for the novel on February 12th, 2013 (aka the two-year anniversary of the draft completion date). If it gets published, the publication date will most likely be added under the original completion date.

My original cover concepts for the two novels, designed in 2010. I kind of dislike these now, but I've kept them for posterity. Last name redacted because I was using my real last name at the time, which I'd rather not share!

Me (right) and a friend at her place on Thursday, February 10th, 2011 - two days before I completed the draft of Life in Black and White. I had about five chapters left to draft/finish drafting at this point. I was Very Tired.™

The original opening to Resolution, originally the second of three parts in the first novel, Life in Black and White. Today, Resolution is the first of two acts in the single novel, and Gabriel's story starts much later in his life. Note the third person narration.

Me with Saturday in 2013. In case you didn't know, she was named for Life in Black and White - specifically the draft completion date, although the draft start date was also a Saturday. I adopted her in October 2012 - she's going to be 11 in July!

Card from our community NaNoWriMo package from my first of three consecutive NaNoWriMos I spent drafting this story. I'm talking about the regular NaNoWriMo in November, to be clear - my first Camp NaNoWriMo was July 2013, during which I started the draft of The Dotted Line.

My first ever entry in my dedicated novel diary for Life in Black and White, exactly one month after I started drafting the novel. I was seventeen years old here, having just finished my junior year of high school. At this initial stage, I was so obsessed with the project that I barely left the house the entire summer of 2008. All I wanted to do was write this story. Side note: I had a prologue? I had a Part 4? At least I can rest with the knowledge that "Chapter One" (now "A Rush of Blood to the Head," I don't number my chapters) is still completely dysfunctional, despite being a completely different chapter and part of the story.

More evidence that all I did the entire summer of 2008 was write this novel.

Back when I still referred to Gabriel's relationship with Jeff as a "subplot" and decided officially to develop It's All Inside My Head (now Act II of the novel).

Date of the ending change, six days after I started drafting It's All Inside My Head. I no longer believe I was blindsided - it was more like a puzzle piece falling into place, a fragment of subconscious knowledge that finally found its way to the surface.

February 11th, 2011, re: composing the ending sequence and finishing the novel. My feelings haven't really changed as I approach the finalization/querying stage, tbh.

2012, re: second draft of trainwreck.

[armpirate]

UNDER YOUR SKIN || JJK || Ch. 5

Pairings: tattoist!jk x fem!reader

Genre: smut, angst, friends to lovers, tattoo au, virgin reader.

Summary: You were awful on anything related to flirting, guys and sex. He was the perfect ladies man. You wanted to get rid of your virginity. And he was there to help you with everything you needed. You didn't have the best start, but that didn't mean you wouldn't have the best of the endings.

Previous || Next

MASTERLIST

I can't believe I finally made it to my day off, just like I can't believe I've spent three hours of it arguing with Tammy on the phone. I try to stand my ground, be serious for once on my decision while she tries to get me to do what she wants.

I know I was invited, I know they all were nice to me. And I understand Melanie will need help for sure to get all of the things she'll need for her birthday, but I can't believe I'm the only one free to go shopping and get something for the next weekend.

—You're the only one that's free today. I was going to be the one going with her, but I had some issues in the bank and it'll take longer than expected —the noise and murmurs on the back prove she's being honest—. And it'll be great for you to leave the house., take some fresh air, socialize... You know?

I sigh when I realize she might be right. Also, it'll be a good chance to get to know Melanie better before I decide to spend a whole weekend in a house she rented for her birthday.

—When should I meet her?

I'm not seeing her, but I'm fully convinced Tammy has an annoying smile drawn across her face, and that she always shows off when she wins an argument against me -or just when she gets away with what she wants.

Tammy takes her time to tell me where and when they were supposed to meet. And thank god I didn't keep insisting on not going, because I'm sure I'm already late. And that's one of the consequences of me not paying too much attention to what I'm wearing: a pair of black joggers and a white t-shirt. At the end of the day, I'm just going grocery shopping. This is what normal people wear.

And even if it wasn't, fuck it. I don't want to think too much about it, and I don't have the energy either.

Although I had the feeling I left the house late, and I also got the wrong bus, I arrive on time. Or so I think when I get to the supermarket and I don't see Melanie waiting for me outside as she was supposed to.

—Look who we have here! —I hear a male voice on my back.

For one fast second, I think it could be one of the customers being able to recognize me after getting drunk as fuck last night (it's surprising the amount of them that's able to recognize me if they ever see me on the street). But that voice... that voice is too familiar.

—Do you know how disrespectful it is to make people wait for you?

Oh c'mon.

I'm unable to hide my pissed off face when I first see him, my eyes instantly travel to the back of my head when we are face to face.

—And do you know even little kids are able to wait where they're supposed to be waiting? —I cross my arms over my chest before I continue— Melanie was supposed to be waiting for me here.

—She asked me to come in her place —he shrugs—. She wasn't feeling well.

I thought I was the only one free today... I'm going to kill Tammy.

—Shall we start? I have more things to do.

He turns around and starts walking again. I follow him, like he expected me to do when he started his way inside, and like I should be doing unless we want to start a show in front of everyone. I don't want to argue, I just want to do this fast enough so I don't have to see his face longer than needed. I walk past the second entrance, heading to the carts that are lining up. Seconds later, the whole line shakes when someone else imitates my action and pulls out another cart.

—Let's finish this fast —Jungkook says on my left.

—Please.

And just like that, with each one of us pushing our respective carts, we head inside.

We don't talk much while we are at it, only the necessary every single time we just mention what Melanie wrote down on her list. And I'm thankful for that. I know for sure we would be arguing after exchanging words for three seconds. But it doesn't seem like Jungkook likes this silence.

Oh, not at all.

I know he's dying to say something, but seems like he's refraining himself so we can keep the peace at it -at least while we are here. But again, I'm wrong, and he contradicts me when he opens his mouth.

—So you won't talk at all?

—No —I simply answer—. I have nothing to talk about with you. And, if I had known you were the one coming, I wouldn't have come.

—Oh my god. I can't believe you honored me with your presence —he throws the comment with annoying irony tinting each one of his words.

I roll my eyes at his words. I don't know why he'd want me to talk with him, when the only two times we tried to have a conversation, both ended in arguments. It happened the first time we saw each other, it also happened the other day in the bar -even if we both tried to watch our tone, because his friends were there. And if we keep going down this way right now, today will be no exception.

—Do you get hard by arguing with me or what? —I ask annoyed, totally ignoring which paper plates are better to face him.

He's giving me that look and that smirk that proves he got exactly what he was looking for: drag me into his childish games. I don't know what he's about to say, but I have no interest in knowing it either. So I bend over again, getting five packs of plates -just like Melanie asked on her list.

For one second, and due to the silence that's surrounding me right now -with those words Jungkook was about to say hanging in the air-, I assume he might have left and might be on a different aisle. Despite the uncomfortable feeling of being crunched down and feeling my thighs burn after a few seconds, I finally relax for the first time today.

But all that peace leaves me as soon as I get up and turn around.

He's still here.

He's still here, and I'd dare to say it seems like he's closer than before. His right hand is resting on the cart I was pushing just some seconds ago.

His long sleeved black sweater covers his tattoos, only allowing me to see the ones on his hand. And looking at those, I remember exactly the first time I saw him some nights ago, lying carelessly with that same arm on the counter, standing out among every other guy that was in that pub. Nine years ago, I probably would've made a standing ovation to myself for being able to be this close with the bad guy of my dreams: the long hair, the tattoos, the piercings, the motorbike, and that "misunderstood guy" attitude that drove anyone in their teens insane when I was younger. But now? Now I'm asking myself what I was thinking that night when I played eye contact with him, and even let him give me a ride back. Good lord, what the hell was I thinking when I followed him inside the studio at all?

Still, feeling him so close makes me feel dizzy all of a sudden. That playful smirk is long gone, and there's no fun left in his eyes. He's looking serious. The type of seriousness that could mean nothing, but mean everything at the same time.

One step closer, and I'm caged between his body, the shelves on my back and the cart on my left. The only way out vanishes as soon as he places his left hand on the side of my head. Now I'm totally cornered.

I should be thinking about what went down the first time we met, or maybe I should think about the little detail that he has a girlfriend. But I get lost in his black eyes and the lip ring that moves slowly when he slips his tongue over it. That fucking piercing he's playing with while he looks at me, without saying a word, and that I'd love to play with myself right now.

—At least I'm not the one trembling just because I'm close to you —his warm breath hits my lips when he whispers.

My eyes open wide when I'm aware of what's happening, my head emerging to that drunken state I was in for a brief moment. He made me sink in it, and Jungkook himself took me out of it effortlessly.

He really did all this shit just to snap back at something I said minutes ago?

I'm back to myself. My eyes squint while my brain works hard, thinking about all the possibilities available for a payback. He still hasn't moved an inch, but his eyes are back to giving me that mocking look I'm more used to, and that smirk is back on his face. But I'm determined to change that pretty soon the moment I'm aware his hand is still resting on the cart.

His attitude shows he's even fuller of himself when I move my hand up to the cart, really close to his. Once my fingers are about to slide over his, I push the cart and make Jungkook lose his balance. He doesn't fall, yet he is really close to.

That's what happens when you're more confident than you should.

I walk next to him, just so I'm able to get to my cart and push it back again.

[theunwillingassistant]

June 16th 2005, Visalia, California:

On a Saturday morning, a five years old boy was going down the stairs of his house. Quick, impatient, each of his steps was faster than the last. With his messy black hair, and wide golden eyes, the child looked particularly excited.

And, there was a reason for it. After spending weeks working on a personal project, his father had finally found the time to spend the whole day with him. This was why the boy had left his bed in a hurry, not even taking the time to brush his teeth, or even take off his monochrome, dotted pajamas.

For the first time in so long, he would be able to play with his father.

He bunny hopped from the last steps onto the first floor, landing with a small thud that made him feel powerful, like one of the superheroes he admired so much. Then, just as fast, he dashed to the hallway, where the door of his father’s office was.

It was always closed, and this day was no exception. Technically, it wasn’t like the child wasn’t allowed inside, but… He couldn’t help but think his father’s office was closed for a reason.

But today was different.

He reached out for the doorknob, turned it, and pushed the door open.

-”Hello daddy!” he exclaimed with clear excitement. However, there was no voice to welcome him, or just acknowledge him, even just a little. Instead, the boy’s eyes fell onto a familiar silhouette, slouched over the wooden desk in the room. Arms were resting on the off-white keyboard, pressing keys continuously, prompting the computer to keep writing nonsensical words over and over again.

His father’s head was not turned in his direction, so all the child could see was dark, brown hair. His back was going up and down every so often, sometimes accompanied by snores that the boy knew oh too well.

Another night spent in the office, working until sleep forcefully reclaimed him. In itself, the situation was rather familiar to the little child, whose enthusiastic smile had long faded away. It was just going to be a normal day, then.

Sadness washed over him, and his shoulders fell. The excitement he had been feeling until now had disappeared, leaving nothing but disappointment behind.

Slowly, the boy left the room, and closed the door after him. It wasn’t the first time his father failed to keep his promise. The last time had been two or three weeks ago, and had gone exactly the same way: he would leave his bed in a hurry, go down the stairs quickly, and eventually find out his father had passed out on his desk from exhaustion.

Of course, his father always felt terrible afterwards, and it showed in the amount of toys the child would get in the following days- an apology, in a way. But while many kids would be happy to receive new toys to play with, especially so often, it just left a bitter taste in the boy’s mouth. 

What he wanted was to be with his father. Not material things. Yet, he never said anything, never protested, for he knew his father’s project was incredibly important to him. 

And the child felt jealous of it, sometimes. How could a computer receive more attention than him? What could be so vital in it?

His dad had once told him he was making something to fight bad guys. At the time, the boy had felt admirative- how could he not, when his father was doing the very same thing that superheroes did?

But that admiration had quickly disappeared. After all, the only thing his father ever did was sitting in front of his computer, day and night. In what way was this “fighting bad guys”? Superheroes always attacked bad guys, with their fists, or their powers.

But what was his dad even doing? Had he lied to justify his continuous absence? The child had no idea- and he didn’t really want to know the answer either.

He made his way to the living room, and sat on the brown couch that dominated the room. Oh, how he wished his mother was still there…

Truthfully, he didn’t remember much of his mother, but the thought of her brought warmth to his heart. She had left while he was a toddler. Many times, he had asked his father where she went, but he always seemed to elude the question. Maybe, someday, the boy would gain an explanation.

He wanted to see her again so badly.

He sighed, and let his eyes wander into the living room. The walls were brown, devoid of any pattern. The wooden floor was just as simplistic- and so was the furniture, really. After his mother left, his father and he had moved into a furnished apartment- but for as long as the child remembered, his dad had never changed the decoration, or even just the arrangement of the furniture. No, he had always stayed in his office instead.

Everything had always been the same. 

The neighbors had been the ones to take him to school, and bring him back. On the weekend, the boy would find leftovers in the fridge. Very early on, he had learned how the oven worked. His father seemed to still do most of the tasks, such as laundry and cleaning, but it was often early in the morning, or in the middle of the night.

All in all, the child had become very independent. He did have some friends at school, but once he came back home, loneliness greeted him again.

His eyes fell onto one of the framed pictures on the wall, which depicted family members and, of course, a large picture of his mother. Visits from his family were uncommon, considering how much of a hermit his father was, but there was someone who did come during the holidays.

Lesly, his half sister.

The child didn’t know the details, but he knew that she was ten years old. She lived far away with her own mother, in a town whose name he couldn’t quite remember. But the good thing was that she always came to see them during the holidays, and thus kept the boy company. Despite being brother and sister (well, half brother and sister, more precisely), they looked nothing alike. Their face did share some similar features, but that was it.

He had black hair, she had blond hair. He had golden eyes, she had blue eyes. In the end, both of them shared traits from their own mothers.

He sighed. Thinking about people he couldn’t see at the moment was just making him sadder. Considering he had nothing else to do this Saturday morning, the boy stood up, and made a few steps towards the large TV in the room. Next to it stood a little cabinet, in which DVDs were stored.

There, he picked up one of his favorites, Spider Man 2, and put it in the DVD reader. He then went back to the couch and turned the TV on, already tapping away on the remotes to start the movie.

This day was just going to be like any other one.

[thetravellingvagrant]

Day 11: In Which I Finally Go To A Good Aquarium

There has been, as any of the particularly astute fan of my blog may also have noted, a distinct and troubling lack of zoo visits on this journey. This wasn't for lack of trying, or the development of a concern for animal welfare that now outweighed the thrill of getting to go “look! A cheetah! …why's he so sad?”, no. The simple reason for the lack of fauna on this trip (apart from a fish, who are shit) was down to the placement of these zoos and how incredibly difficult they had been to get to, all being located, as they were, miles and effing miles outside of the city limits.

Granada, however, offered…if not a full, proper zoo, at least a reasonable facsimile in the form of the science park. 

The science park was, as the name suggests a compound that housed a bunch of scientific exhibits (even though the ‘science’ on display appeared to be limited, mostly to the science of stuff gently spinning.

Look at that sucker go

As well as a biodome (a big tropical room that was to serve as this trip’s zoo replacement) a small bird of prey sanctuary, a butterfly house, a museum or three, astronomy gardens and a waffle house, probably. I'm not sure about the last one, but there were loads of cafes and one of them probably did serve waffles. So that's where I went. The park, not the cafe. I had a packed lunch.

I went online and checked out tickets. They were reasonably priced, however, as with the Alhambra the day previous, the Biodome needed a pre-allocated time slot to be booked before you could visit and there appeared to be none left. Was this going to be my first zoo-less vagrancy?

…no. It wasn't. I went to the science park and asked to go into the zoo bit, in person and they said yes and even Gave me a time-slot only five minutes after my arrival, so hah.

Initially, I found myself quite annoyed by the concept of having a specific time at which I had to visit the Biodome and even more annoyed by the subsequent time limit they had placed on being allowed to enjoy it. One hour, to be precise. The Nazis. Regardless, I accepted my fate, listened to the relevant rules and regulations that one was to adhere to during a visit to the dome - one of which was not to bring any food in. I chuckled and agreed, quietly zipping my bag up which contained an entire, full loaf of bread which I had forgotten to remove from it in the morning and stepped inside.

As it turned out, being given an allotted time was more of a blessing than a curse as, though it did add a slight pressure to see the entire thing in the apportioned temporal limits, it also had the very pleasing effect of putting me amongst a small group of quiet and well behaved other visitors for my visit, rather than a pulsing mass of stupid flesh, as previous, other, worse institutions has allowed. I didn't have to swim through dullards to see a single thing and it was right good.

The Biodome itself was genuinely pretty good. It started with the third aquarium of my trip

Great.

But that was fine because it was definitely the best of them all

With the notable exception of this big boi

And wound slowly from the aquatic exhibits into a big hot room with all crocodiles and birds and monkeys in it and it was lovely. Far too warm, to be honest, but I can forgive that of a single room that houses both lemurs

Yes.

And otters

Yes-er.

I milled around a little, watching an otter try to crack a rock open on its tummy using another, different rock for ages and ages, before slowly ambling out, having spend 55 minutes there. A comfortable five before I would officially be a criminal (although quite what they could do if I decided to stay longer wasn't clear.)

Worth noting, too, that 55 minutes was the same length of time I spent at the Seville aquarium but the experience was one third of the price and ten times as good. Fuck you Seville aquarium and also Ryanair.

The park was due to close early today, it being a Sunday and also the winter, so I did rather feel like I had to squeeze the rest of my visit of the really quite substantial park into a shorter time than I would have liked. I had a look, first, at an exhibit of disappointingly professional taxidermy 

What's the point if their eye-sockets aren't even exploding...

Before I ambled outside into the very pleasant weather of the outdoorsy parts, where I caught the tail end of an exotic bird flight display, which I did not understand a single word of but which I imagine were to the effects of “birds are brilliant!”, then had a quick gawk at the butterfly house which I didn't enjoy very much owing to the sheer density of people in it and the fact that butterflies, while pretty, are still just gross insects that fly at your face purely to intimidate you.

I darted to the astronomy garden to have a look at some sundials and absolutely delighted in watching the other visitors trying to take pictures of them, but all uniformly stood in positions from which their shadows completely obscured those cast by the dial

Idet.

And even quickly managed a tertiary look around a big standard exhibit on the human body

Yeah, I'm made of veins; tell me something I don't know...

Before closing time loomed and I felt it prudent to leave. I'd only been there about three hours, but honestly could have spent another two there, easily - another three would have been silly - and I had a really very nice time in the process. It was unlikely that I wouldn't, to be honest, given that the science park combined literally everything I like to do on these trips into one single low-priced compound; a natural history museum with a bit of a zoo attached; a lovely warm park to have a walk around it and - if I had had the time - even a big tall observation tower that I could have gone up and pretended I was an angry god from

Also it had giants ants.

However good it was, though, it was now closed while the hour remained reasonably early. I walked, then, to a nearby park to enjoy a late lunch on a bench, andfollowed by a full and comprehensive exploration of the park itself which was pleasant if not exactly thrilling.

Wahoo.

I made the thirty minute walk back to my last night at the hostel, determined not to nap only to - to literally no one's surprise but my own - fall asleep for an hour upon returning. I made a quick excursion to the nearby Carrefour, which I had visited every single day I had been here and twice on one of them, and bought some absolutely foul microwavable carbonara which I ate.unhappily in a crowded mess hall before returning to bed having had, other than the very last part of it, really quite a nice day. 

I promise I'll get assaulted by another donkey or something soon.

[keneestorytimelibrary]

Toys

The sun had crept in early, waking Junior up from his restless sleep. The cold morning air seeped through his window, yet it did not stop him from starting his day off with a warm, cheerful smile. 'Today was is!' he thought. Today was going to be his last day in this house. After months of living in this nightmare-filled house, they were finally moving away. The thought left him with a powerful sense of hope. Hope that this six-month long nightmare was over. Hope that he would finally live a normal life away from this house. Hope that FINALLY they would leave him in peace.

Without hesitation, Junior jumped out of bed and ran straight for his sister's room. Since the beginning, his sister Dal had been the most supportive. There were nights where Junior found it damn near impossible to sleep in his own bed, because THEY would constantly bother him. His room was located on the second floor, with a laundry shoot that led to the basement. Ever since the first night he spent in that room, he had closed off the small hole in the floor with just about everything he could find. When his parents asked why he wasn't using the laundry shoot, he simply said there were voices coming from inside it.

There were nights were the voices seem to be getting angrier, so he would run to his sister' room. Luckily, she didn't have a laundry shoot, so it made sleeping there a bit easier. But that didn't last for long. His parents usually made a fuss whenever they found out he had slept in her room. His desperation did get the better of him, and on some mornings, Dal would find him inside her closet holding onto a bat for dear life.

Dal didn't believe it at first, but she did not wave her brother's delusions to his face. But voices coming from the laundry shoot? She didn't even believe there was a God, let alone spirits living in the same house as they. "But that wasn't it." Junior said to her one evening. Dal could remember the conversation like it happened minutes ago, though it had been months. "It's the toys...it's all of them." The house was left abandoned for many years, until it was eventually sold to their family at a low price. When asked about why he bought it, Junior's dad said, "It was dirt cheap. I would've been stupid to pass on the house."

The house was in modest condition, with just a bit of fixing here and there. There were two floors, three bathrooms, four bedrooms, a big backyard, and a basement. The basement was well below ground level, with the lights barely working. Junior's dad had hired electricians to take a look at it, but it was to no avail. It was an empty room for the most part, save a small closet in the far corner underneath the stairs. It would have gone unnoticed, due to the lack of light. Junior's mom made the discovery first as she was setting up the washing machine and dryer. It was a plain, simple wooden door, with a heavy duty lock. There were even chains around the door, and bolted to the floor for extra measure. Curiosity got the better of Junior's parents, and they eventually opened the door that same morning. Inside was a tiny room, with a giant red toy box inside. It was also wrapped in chains as well, but that did not detour their curiosity. Inside were a bunch of toys, ranging from clowns dressed in white and red, to action figures that dated back decades ago. And without giving it much thought to their original dwelling, they decided to give the toys to their ten year old son Junior.

It started off the moment he was left alone in his room with them. They had this unsettling aura around them, which made him feel uncomfortable immediately. Not to mention the disturbing odor that came from them. No matter where they were placed in his room, their eyes would always followed him. It didn't take long afterwards for Junior to hear the voices coming from the toys. It was a few nights later, as he was in deep sleep, when he felt a slight pain on the bottom of his left foot. He heard something that sounded like a deep moaning sound, as if someone, who had been starving, was about to eat a healthy meal. The pain mixed with the troubling sound, alerted Junior. He got up immediately, and saw the red and white clown at the foot of his bed. His right hand held a knife with a bit of blood on it. His eyes were pure black, and his grin seemed to get wider the longer Junior stared at it.

"How's it hanging Junior?" it asked. Its voice was a mixture of calm and sweet, with a hint of twisted darkness. It proceeded to bring the knife closer to its mouth, and lick the blood off. "My...you taste pretty good..." it said, laughing maniacally. Junior screamed for help at that moment, alerting everyone in the house of this horror. Within seconds, the door flew open, revealing his concerned parents and older sister. The lights were turned on, revealing nothing out of the ordinary. His toys were back in place, inside the closet with the door left open. His dad's eyes inspected the room as Junior proceeded to explain what he had just seen. "Honey, you were just having a nightmare." his mom said, trying to comfort her distressed son.

"You have to believe me!" he yelled, begging for someone to accept his words. Dal noticed his bloodied foot first, yelling at the sight of the pool of blood at the end of the bed. On the floor, underneath his bed, was a kitchen knife. The disturbing image left all three of them in shock, yet puzzled with a nail biting question: 'HOW DID IT GET THERE?'

That night, Junior ended up with seven stitches on the bottom of his foot. In the next few weeks, he would end up with more stitches all over his body. His parents did not know what to do. His doctors felt as though he was being abused, and sent social workers for weeks to investigate. They found nothing. It was then believed that he was self-harming, though no matter what they did to hide the knives, they would always end up in his room. Yet no one believed his story about the toys. Dal figured there was something up, but couldn't place a finger on it. She wouldn't believe in his story, until she saw them for herself one night.

Junior made it a habit of throwing the toys down the laundry shoot, hoping that he would not find them in his room. He would barricade himself inside his room, locking everything down. And every night, he would find himself huddled in the corner, shaking uncontrollably at the sound of a knife scratching the door. Every morning, his parents would be alarmed to find a handful of knives outside his damaged bedroom door. One night, Dal came home late, and attempted to sneak back into her room quietly. About half way up the stairs, she heard a scratching sound coming from Junior's room. The hallway was pitch black, and her only form of light came from her cell phone. She switched her phone's flashlight on, and to her horror, saw an Elmo doll looking back at her, holding one of the kitchen knives. Its black, soulless eyes looked through her, as if just realizing that it was caught. Not caring in the slightest, it turned around and proceeded to continue its mission of trying to get passed the door.

Dal could hear Junior crying on the other side. "PLEASE LEAVE ME ALONE!" His pleads were going unanswered. Dal stood there in shock and horror as this thing continued to hacked at the door. After what felt like hours, Dal finally found her voice and began screaming. By the time her parents got to her, the doll had vanished, leaving behind the kitchen knife it was using. Dal tried to explain what she had seen, but her parents weren't listening.

Since then, Dal kept a close eye on Junior. She found herself locking the both of them inside her room, refusing to open the door, even for their mother. She even went as far as to keep the knives with her at all times. She wasn't directly their target, but she refused to let her brother suffer alone. Somehow, the toys knew that. So there would be times when Dal would be taking a shower, and would catch a glimpse of something red in the corner of the bathroom. When she would try to take a closer look, it would vanish. It would never go near her, but it always loomed around her. It was as if it wanted to remind her that they could do something if they wanted to.

After a bit of investigating, Dal and Junior were able to find out a small piece information about the previous homeowners. The previous family had two kids: both boys. One mysteriously went missing a couple of months after the family moved in. There were few details about what had happened prior to the disappearance, but a lot of blood was eventually found in the same small room in the basement. The property had been abandoned since. When Dal showed her parents what they had found, they finally decided to move. And today was that day.

Junior stopped at his sister's door; his determination wavered a bit. He intended to wake his sister up, but had second thoughts. 'Maybe I should let her sleep...?' he thought. He can only imagine the amount of sleep she lost over the past couple of months. After all she did for him, the least he could do was let her sleep in. With that, he turned around, and ran downstairs towards the kitchen. His parents had woken up early, since they wanted to get a heads start. Junior was more than eager to help them out. As he passed the basement, he noticed the door was left open. The door was always closed, and locked, unless his mom was doing laundry, or if his dad was working on something. But it remained open, for God knows how long...

Junior could feel his energy drain. Though he was excited to leave, he knew that they would try to do something to him. He would try to enjoy the feeling of finally leaving this house, but he knew deep down something was going to happen.

"Junior, you're up so early! Why don't you fix yourself a bowl of cereal, and then help out with the move." his mom said, as she began to lay out boxes on the kitchen counter. As Junior sat himself on a chair, he caught a glimpse of the same red and white clown outside the kitchen window. He was on top of the tree in the backyard, no higher than six or seven feet off the ground. Its eyes were more human-like; the blood red color of its eyes grew brighter with each second that passed. He had a bloody knife on one hand, as he waved with the other. Junior sat in complete horror; it felt as though he couldn't breathe. The only thing his mind was telling him to do was run; run as far away from this place as possible. Before Junior had a chance to scream and alert his parents, the clown brought his free hand to his mouth, demanding that he keep quiet. The clown moved his hand behind him, as if to grab something. He brought out a picture of him and his sister. Dal kept the same small photo of them by her bed. It was a gift Junior had given her last year for her birthday; he had one just like that in his room. He couldn't get her a picture frame, so he decorated construction paper around it. Dal was happy non-the-less.

Junior felt his body freeze at the very sight. Dal wasn't with them, though she knew that they were moving today. In the height of his excitement, and the thought of giving her a few more minutes of sleep, he neglected to check in on her. He didn't know if whether or not she was still sleeping , or if one of them got her? The clown proceeded to bring the knife towards the picture, and stab out the part where his sister sat next to him. The clown's eyes grew wide with excitement. He could smell Junior's fear: it reeked of both salt and copper. It left the toys in a high state; it was total bliss.

As if reading Junior's mind, the clown nodded. It then pointed its finger downward. Junior didn't need the clown to explain what it meant; he knew he was referring to the basement. Junior just didn't know what to do. Was he going to leave his sister, the only person who believed him, to be killed and eaten by them? Was he going to live with himself knowing that he was too much of a coward to save her? He loved his sister, but he also feared for his life. What was he going to do? If he told his parents, they weren't going to believe him. Seconds turned to minutes. Minutes turned to what felt like hours. Junior had to make a move. After a few minutes, Junior stood up from his seat. "Ummm...I 'm not that hungry. I decided I'm going to start packing the things in the basement." His parents stopped what they were doing, and looked at Junior with a confused expression. "But, I thought you were afraid of the basement, or something?" his dad asked.

"I am. But I've decided to face my fear today. TODAY IS THE LAST DAY." Junior said, keeping his eyes on the clown outside. The clown dropped the picture, and proceeded to stare back at Junior. His eyes began to grow darker, and its grin became crooked. Its iris began to grow smaller, until it was no bigger than a dot. To Junior's horror, it looked scarier than before. The closer Junior got to the basement door, the more gruesome the clown became. Its eyes were now completely white, and its smiles was disfigured and deformed. It was as if its smile could no longer fit its face, so it plastic skin and lips were bulging out of place.

Junior's parents exchanged looks, but did not question their son. They watched as he walked up to the open basement door, and stood there silently. To them, Junior looked like he didn't know what he wanted to do. A part of him wanted to run back, and forget everything. A part of him wanted to pray that his sister was still asleep. And if she wasn't, he'd pray that she would forgive him. Without thinking, Junior switched the lights on. For the first time in months, the lights began to flicker on. His sister's clothes were throw around the stairs; they were torned to shreds. There was a large amount of blood along the walls, with red fur sticking to it. The light then flickered off, finally revealing a light coming from the hidden room underneath the stairs. Without any more hesitation, Junior closed the door behind him, and began to descend into the basement.

[shinskichan]

synopsis: After spending three days away from Sanzu, you returned home exhausted from a long day at work. Overcome with emotion, you found yourself unable to stop kissing him.

pairing: Bonten!Sanzu x Gn!reader

notes: pure fluff and a lot of kissing

word count: 1.6k+

Work

Work has become a significant obstacle in your relationship with Sanzu. The demands of your respective jobs have created busy schedules that make it difficult to spend quality time together. Sanzu's been working so tirelessly that he doesn't have much time or energy for the both of you or even for himself because he's so busy. Your own job is also quite a challenge. Recently, you started a new job that requires you to be on site for three full days at a time.

Despite both of your hectic schedules, Sanzu has made an effort to keep in touch with you, calling you from time to time to check on how you're doing, telling you how much he misses you, and wishing you were by his side all the time, but he also understands that you both have responsibilities to attend to and that he has a lot of work to do while you're away.

It was already 1 a.m. in the morning, and you're still on your way home, and Sanzu has no idea that you're coming back today. As you passed a nearby fast food restaurant, you decided to make a brief stop and grab a bite to eat and to grab something for Sanzu as well when you arrived home.

As soon as you received your order, you immediately thought about whether or not he was still awake. You had previously told him that you would be returning home in two days, so he was unaware of your early arrival. That was actually the truth, but due to your boss's decision, you and your coworkers were given a few days off to rest after working non-stop for three days.

As you drove home, munching on your nuggets and vibing to the song playing on the radio, you couldn't help but feel a sense of longing deep within you. It had only been three days since you had last seen him, but it felt like an eternity. You missed him terribly, and you couldn't wait to be by his side again.

The thought of not being able to see him physically after a long and tiring day at work was unbearable. You yearned for his presence, for his touch, for his love. It was as if a part of you was missing without him.

You feel utterly exhausted after a long day at work. The lack of proper sleep has left you feeling drained and unable to focus on anything else. You realize that you haven't had a chance to respond to the text messages that Sanzu sent earlier, and because of your hectic schedule, it has been difficult for you to answer his calls or even reply to his text message.

Fortunately, the traffic was not as heavy as you initially anticipated, which allowed you to make it home before 3 a.m. Driving for almost four hours can be quite exhausting, but you finally made it home. You parked the car inside the garage and gathered all the items that you needed to bring inside.

As you entered the house, silence and darkness enveloped you. You couldn't help but notice that the dim lights weren't turned on again. You walked towards the couch and placed all your things there, as well as the food you had bought on the table.

You slowly opened the door, trying not to make any noise, and peered inside. You saw him lying on his back, fast asleep, not even wearing a shirt to keep him warm. It was so cold, and he hadn't even bothered to take the covers from the comforter.

You changed out of your clothes and slipped into something more comfortable before walking over to sit beside his peaceful sleeping figure.

As you gazed at his serene expression, you couldn't help but feel a sense of guilt for not being able to reply to his messages earlier. With a gentle touch, you brushed the hair away from his eyes and spoke softly, "I'm sorry, my love."

"I missed you so much," you whispered in a soft tone as you leaned in to place a gentle kiss on his lips. The time you spent apart felt like an eternity, and you couldn't help but long for more intimate moments with him.

You thought of giving him more kisses because of how much you missed him, but you also thought that he might be so tired, and you didn't want to wake him up from his peaceful slumber.

You slightly pouted your lips, feeling a mix of emotions as you gazed at him. You were hesitant to give him more kisses, knowing that he might wake up. You looked at him, still pouting, and after a few more moments, you leaned in to give him a few more kisses, cherishing each one as if they were the last.

You paused and asked yourself, "Was that enough?" You couldn't help feeling unsatisfied, so you decided to give him a little more. He moaned slightly, and you couldn't help but feel a little guilty for disturbing him. Trying to act innocent, you ran your fingers through his hair. After a moment, he called out to you in a husky voice, his eyes still closed. "Love?"

"Yes?" you softly responded and leaned in to kiss his forehead, feeling a mix of emotions—love, guilt, and a little bit of mischief.

"Hmm, I missed you," he said as he wrapped his arms around your waist and pulled you close. You could feel his warmth, and you immediately felt comforted. You put your hand on his back, feeling his muscles tense and relax under your touch.

"I miss you more, I'm sorry for waking you up," you said softly as you tapped his back.

"Why didn't you wear your clothes? It's too cold. You might end up getting sick." You scolded him gently, concerned for his well-being. You reached for the blanket and draped it over his shoulders, hoping to keep him warm.

"I'll get you a shirt," you said as you slowly stood up to get one from the closet. When you returned to the bed, you sat down beside him and handed him the shirt. "Come on, wear it. It's cold out, and you wouldn't want to catch a cold." He took the shirt and slowly put it on, his movements careful and deliberate. You watched him as he wore it up, feeling a warmth in your chest that you couldn't quite explain.

"I thought I was dreaming for a second," he said in his sleepy voice, his eyes still closed. You smiled, happy to see him so relaxed. You wrapped your arms around his back to support him as he leaned into your neck, resting his head on your shoulder.

You could feel his warm and gentle breath on your skin. You stroked his back lightly, enjoying the feeling of his body against yours. "Go back to sleep," you whispered softly, giving him a forehead kiss. He responded with a neck kiss, his lips brushing against your skin.

"How can I sleep when you keep on kissing me?" he asked jokingly, and you both chuckled.

"I'm sorry, I just couldn't help it. Three days was too long for me," you said and giggled. You felt his chest rumble with laughter as he squeezed you tighter.

"I thought you were coming home in two days?" he asked, and you could feel his warm breath on your neck. You paused for a moment, enjoying the sensation of his lips on your skin.

"Well, I was supposed to, but my boss decided to give us a day off since we've been working non-stop," you explained, and he just nodded. You went on to describe the hectic pace at work and how the team had been putting in extra hours to meet the tight deadlines.

"You must be tired," he said with concern, "you should go to sleep and rest." You chuckled at his sweet gesture and leaned in to give him a peck on the nose.

As you played with his hair, you softly asked, "How about you? How have your days been going?" His response came shortly after, "It was hell," which caused you to chuckle. You knew that he had been working hard and for long hours.

He closed his eyes and said, "I really missed you a lot, work was so hard, especially coming home without you." You felt a pang in your chest as you listened to him, knowing that his days must have been tough. You replied, "I missed you more than you could ever know," and leaned in to kiss him again on the lips.

"Love, you can kiss me when you wake up," he said with a chuckle. You pouted, "Why can't I kiss you now? I missed you." He leaned in, his soft and warm breath cascading over your neck.

"Because you need to rest," he whispered as he planted a gentle kiss on your forehead. "What do you want me to do then?" he asked, his eyes filled with concern.

"Come here," you said as you pulled him on top of you, feeling the weight of his body on yours. Slowly, you both lay down on the bed, enjoying the sensation of being close to one another.

"Hmm, I guess this is much better," he commented, his voice filled with contentment, and you couldn't help but laugh at his words.

You hugged him tight, feeling the warmth of his body against yours. He rested his head on your chest, and you caressed his hair softly. "I love you," you whispered, feeling the depth of your feelings for him. He looked up at you and gave you a soft but long kiss before settling back down.

"I love you more," he said with a smile. You both closed your eyes, feeling the peacefulness of the moment envelop you, and with that, you both dozed off to dream land.

© shinskichan

[askthepsychic]

Monster Tales 2: The Best Birthday Gift

So, we left off with me arriving in a new world, with someone very special making a promise to me. Unfortunately, part of that promise resulted in three years of, in essence, house arrest. I was a completely unknown species, mind, so I completely understand why it was necessary to spread information slowly and carefully before my introduction, but I can’t help but think she was a little overly cautious in the end. It worked, mind you, but still, three years of extremely limited interaction with others. The funny thing was… I barely noticed how much time had gone by. Princess Twilight fully understood that I was a child and needed to be engaged as such. My days were spent playing games with such guards and cleaning staff as were available, plus friends of the Princess when they came around. Plus a couple hours of study after lunch to make sure I knew what I needed to know to be a part of my new world. Nights were… wonderful. I wasn’t stuffed into an incubation tube at the end of the day anymore, and the Princess never objected when I came to find her in the library to cuddle with her while she was reading. Honestly, I think that was when I absorbed the most information, and knowing her, I’m certain that was intentional. Over time, we forged a particular bond. But that wasn’t the only thing that happened as time passed. About halfway through my third year in this world, I began to desire the ability to leave the palace. It was an amazing place, but I had explored practically every inch of it. I wanted to see more of my new world. But I understood why I was locked inside. So I didn’t put up too much of a fight, and I never ventured outside my safe space. I figured that if I was patient, I’d have permission to go outside soon enough. And I was right, but I didn’t expect anything beyond that. One thing you can say about the Princess, her mind is like a steel trap. Even a powerful psychic like me couldn’t glean something she wanted to conceal from her. And, impish child I could at times be, I did try. But nevertheless, her efforts to keep the surprise a surprise were fruitful, and on my third birthday, celebrating the day I arrived in this world, I was awakened and put into a sensory deprivation device. My eyes were blinded, my ears were deafened and I couldn’t smell a thing. This lasted about half an hour, then the device was removed and… I was in the center of Ponyville. And it looked like the whole population had come out to be introduced to… Princess Rey of Equestria. The Princess, Princess Twilight Sparkle, had gone through all the legalities in secret. I was officially her adopted daughter. Hehe. I still haven’t gotten a better birthday present since. And I can never thank her enough. How could you ever thank someone enough for giving you something… you didn’t even know you wanted. I had no idea how much I wanted a family until I finally had one. Like I said. Best birthday present ever. I even had a sister, which I’ve mentioned in passing a couple times today. You’ll learn more about her… next time. The End.

[hidesinhisarchived]

The last six months of Mark’s life had been incredibly hectic while preparing for his newest documentary series. Several months of headache-inducing negotiations and scrambling to find crew who were willing to live in LA’s infamous ‘murder house’ had left the filmmaker exhausted and ready to quit before even stepping foot inside the place. By the end, he’d gotten so tired of hearing people whine about ghosts this and curses that that he was about ready to pull his own hair out by the fist full. But, he’d pulled through it and put together an excellent crew that were eager to prove themselves. They were a bit young and inexperienced, but had potential and he honestly couldn’t afford to be picky at this point.

It was finally all over and they were in the house. Mark had been in awe of the place from the absolute second that he’d taken his first step inside, practically drooling over how the light shone through the stained glass windows. This was the kind of place that he’d often dreamed of buying when he was younger and making it into an artists’ haven for his friends and loved ones. Something elegant and classic, filled to the brim with history and so many stories.

He’d been so taken with it all, in fact, that he’d immediately dropped his stuff in the master bedroom and grabbed his still camera. He’d spent a good couple of hours photographing every part of the place that caught his attention and had even captured a couple of places from several different angles until he’d been satisfied. His crew had given him weird looks, but no one had said anything. After all, who was going to question the great Mr. Proof Positive himself? They took the job knowing that he had a reputation for being a bit eccentric at times. Perhaps that had even been part of the appeal.

A few days in and a new problem came to light: neither Mark nor the production company had thought to hire a stager. Mark had several talents outside of the filmmaking and the writing, but interior decorating wasn’t one of them. Hell, he was still stinging over Maureen and Joanne making fun of him for how he decorated his own home and that had been three years ago. As a result, he’d gotten his assistant Lexie to call around to see if she could find someone willing to work with them. 

It’d taken a week, but eventually Lexie had struck paydirt. She tossed a piece of paper with a name scribbled on it at him as he sat at the kitchen counter, squinting slightly at his laptop as he read over the history of the Montgomerys. “His name is Chad. He’ll be by sometime today to check the place out and talk to you about the job.”

The filmmaker frowned as he tried to make sense of what she said. “Who? What job?”

Lexie sighed, used to this by now. She knew that when Mark got heavily fixated on something, it took him a couple of seconds to come back to planet earth when interrupted. “The interior decorator. Stager. Whatever the hell it’s called. I had to go through the realtor that sold the place to the production company, but she said that she got up with someone who agreed. The details that she gave me are on the paper. I hope you don’t mind, but I gotta go early. I promised my mom that I’d take her out to dinner tonight.”

“Aw, you sure you don’t wanna stay? Maybe move in? It’ll save you a commute.” Mark grinned at her, chuckling as she shuddered.

“Absolutely not! Being in this place is creepy enough for a few hours a day. I can’t see how you can actually stand to live here. Ugh.” She shook her head, nose wrinkling as she grabbed her bag. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Mark. Oh! I filled your prescription for you and left the bag on your nightstand. Take care of yourself.” And with a final wave, she was gone. 

Still lightly chuckling, he went back to his research. Mark wasn’t sure how long he’d stared at the computer screen, reading about the Montgomerys’ history and the history of their home, only stopping to take the occasional note. The sound of the doorbell startled him, making him jump and sending his heart skittering in his chest. He sighed at himself, taking a deep breath before sliding out of his chair and heading for the front door. The others were out for the day, exploring LA and seeing the sights before things got too busy and they weren’t able to, so it was just him in the house at the moment. 

The filmmaker opened the door and was almost immediately taken in by the pair of large brown eyes that he found himself staring in. They were expressive and bright and attached to an incredibly handsome face. Oh no. It’d been a long time since Mark had been this instantly taken by someone’s looks, to the point where his heart practically skipped a beat in his chest. Which, at his age and condition, probably wasn’t a good thing. Shit. 

He cleared his throat, offering a smile at the stranger. “Oh! Hello! You, uh, you must be the decorator. Chad, right?” Mark stepped to the side to allow him entrance into the house. “Come in! I’m Mark, Mark Cohen. I’m the one running all of this and trying to put this whole thing together. What all were you told about this job?”

@applesdrowned gets a starter!