#spirit phone cd

[silly-boozer]

spirit phone CD hell yeah (he is alive and well guys)

my most prized possession

bro thinks he can run away

[dogfogcoggg]

mail came :D

[transgenderdragons]

did u know. gay people are everywhere

[highwayking]

Need more physical music

[orange-calx]

lemon demon - spirit phone [deluxe 2 CD set & translucent red cassette]

[ranbooissilly]

yippee

[fuzzyblizzardkitty]

soulseek is so good and everyone should use it

[frogndtoad]

just finished downloading aaaaall my music from bandcamp to my hard drive >:3

[flannelshirtandjeans]

I designed my own Monster High ghoul doll! She is the daughter of Näkki, a water spirit that can camouflage itself as rock or driftwood and drowns people who are careless in water. She is Finnish, loves metal music and coffee, and cares deeply about sustainable fishing practices and protecting lakes and ponds and rivers. Her pet is a skeletal seal pup, who once died in fishermen's nets, but was brought to a new life by Lumme's sadness and anger. She's a part of the metal club at MH, but doesn't play or sing, more just enjoys listening to it and bonding with her fellow students. She my seem quiet and reserved, but won't stop talking if you get to know her properly!

Some design notes under cut:

Also I'd like to add design notes to this:

- fishing nets and hooks & related things are a big design note in her doll because she did almost die by drowning stuck in a fishing net, and she has Feelings about questionable fishing practices.

- there's a permanent tangle of netting around her neck to represent the way she technically died

- her purse is a glass float

- her hair is a light ashy blonde-brown - dirt road brown as we call it in Finland, which is a common hair color in Finland, with accents of darker brown, green, and blue.

- blue eyes, cloudy iris, dark eye whites. Netting eye-shine

- her base skin tone is a light grey, but she has rocky camouflage and birch-tree camouflage on her limbs, ears, and forehead to represent her camouflage/shapechanging abilities

- Luunappi is a skeletal "kuutti", baby northern ringed seal, who died of getting stuck in nets, and Lumme's anger and sadness at the injustice magically revived it

- frappe bc Finns drink ridiculous amounts if coffee per capita but I didn't want to give her straight up black coffee

- Karelian boo-strie is a Karelian pastry but made to look like a fish with big teeth

- her object heel is a fishing loom stone, a type of a fishing weight

- her phone is not an iCasket bc she's _Finnish_ and obvs reps Nokia instead. Hence Noakiasket

- sea glass bottle bottom sunglasses. Seaglass is frosty so that's a little funny for sunglasses but listen.

- the CD is "Nemo" by _Nightfish_ which is obviously a silly riff on Nightwish, which is a Finnish metal band, and she loves metal (Finland has so many metal bands. We just really love metal.). I decided on a CD-player purely for nostalgic reasons.

- "Land of a thousand lake monsters" refers to Finlnd, and you can see the shape of Finland on the cover. Finland is called the land of a thousand lakes, so we probably have a lot of lake monsters too.

- yellow comes a little out of nowhere for this, but I like raincoat yellow and it reminds me of fishers, so I can have it.

[kissami]

UN ÁNGEL- Cloud strife Headcanons

sum. Need boyfriend headcanons for cloud? SAY LESS.

warning: modern cloud, oc cloud srry I love him soft, might be a little self insert because of the stuff I like but that’s all

femreader! with she/her pronouns

song of the day: igual que un ángel - Kali uchis

boyfriend Cloud who knows your order by heart at your guys’ favorite coffee shop and no matter how many times he does it, it never fails to make you blush and impressed.

Boyfriend Cloud who never fails to make you ticklish especially during intimate moments that you can’t help but burst out laughing.

Boyfriend Cloud who sometimes can’t handle all the attention and affection so he distances himself but can’t help but miss you even more.

Boyfriend Cloud who loves picking you up from university on his motorcycle to show off especially knowing that Reno would be there. He is still very bitter that Reno was your first kiss in fifth grade and not him because he was too busy helping collect Tifa’s shopkins from the grass at recess.

Boyfriend Cloud who loves going to Aerith’s flower shop because he helps her make your bouquets extra pretty just for you. #bestfriendprivileges

boyfriend Cloud who has recurring nightmares of losing you to Sepiroth. No not the “I’ll steal your girl,” kind of way. More like he murders you and Aerith at the same time. Perhaps something from a past life?

Boyfriend Cloud who loves watching studio ghibli movies with you especially ponyo and spirited away. Let’s not get started on his love for Princess Mononoke.

Boyfriend Cloud who goes with you at the bookstore for now on to carry your books because he found out that a guy put his number inside of a book after catching it for you when you accidentally dropped it from your stack pile.

Boyfriend Cloud who’s COMPLETELY and UTTERLY obsessed with you. Not the annoying obsession, but the obsession that makes your tummy in knots and the cute things he loves to do for you. Whether it’s making you lunch for school/ work, leaving cute notes on your door handles, or literally dropping everything instantly for you when you call.

Boyfriend Cloud who hid in the bathroom after you guys had…yk…and too embarrassed to come out. If only he knew you were on the bed breathless and wanting more.

Boyfriend Cloud who baby trapped you. With a cat. Her names Honey and every time there’s an argument he uses her as an excuse to visit you. “We can’t let our cat have separated household problems,she needs both of her parents so please answer the door.”

Boyfriend Cloud who had no idea him getting a lip piercing would be in the way of kissing you for it to heal correctly. He ran out of the piercing shop and only agreed to come back to get a matching eyebrow piercing with you instead.

Boyfriend Cloud who not only made you a playlist, but this mf burned a cd for you, made tifa draw a one in a million piece of art for you for the cover, has a sticker of it on his car, and even bought a necklace that had the Spotify playlist code. So whenever a person flirts with him, he’ll hold it up and say, “scan this and read the description. That’ll be my answer for you.”

Boyfriend Cloud who didn’t understand why you were so obsessed with kpop, especially BTS. Him and jungkook have beef apparently. He also buys you albums all the time and even sacrifices himself to let you use his phone to make sure you guys get tickets to concerts.

Boyfriend Cloud who WILL call your work to call off. He doesn’t care, cuddles are more important.

Boyfriend Cloud who forces you to drink water whenever you hang. You always complain about headaches and he makes sure when you’re with him you’re hydrated.

Boyfriend Cloud who is addicted to Dr.Pepper. You gave him some when you two went to watch Barbie in the summer and it’s his holy grail. “We need to head to Costco, I ran out of my pepper.”

[silly-boozer]

oh shit he has beaten up my MMMM cd

my spirit phone cd is getting out of control

if you own a spirit phone cd please look out for suspicious activity!!!

[ladyveronikawrites]

AIN'T NOTHIN' BUT A GOOD TIME

Lady Midnight's Kinktober in the Concrete Jungle 2024

Pairing: Nicholas Ruffilo x Jolly Karlsson x OC x Noah Sebastian

Cw- masked men, roleplaying, sensory deprivation: blindfolds, scarf as bondage, unprotected vaginal sex, mean ex boyfriend, double penetration, oral sex (male and female receiving), mild thigh slapping, spitting, vaginal fingering,  jerking off, facial, cum eating,  revenge kink if you squint, getting caught, voyeurism, THICK DICK NICK, one hot foursome, If I missed anything please let me know!

AN: a little self-indulgent fic, Star Wars characters ahead - Nick as Kylo Ren makes me feral lol - pärla means 'gem' in Swedish

AO3 || Wattpad || Word Count: 3k || masterlist || Taglist sign up

dividers by saradika-graphics

Ruby swipes on her signature red lip as she looks over her outfit in the full-length mirror by the front door. She adjusts her boring brown Jedi robes Nathan insisted she wear to juxtapose his Darth Maul. She scoffs to herself knowing damn well he has no idea who Darth Maul is and probably found the costume at Spirit Halloween. Reluctantly she sighs, the distant dream of her Sabine Wren cosplay lying buried under clothes in her closet never to see the light of day.

Her phone chimes, ripping her from her brief moment of sadness. 

She frantically types ‘OMW’ as she slides into the Uber.

Nathan <Ru, I have been waiting for over an hour.>

She can hear Nathan’s anger through the screen, silently sending a prayer for the driver to go faster. Ruby and Nathan were high school sweethearts that turned into an on-and-off-and-on-again situationship while they were away in college, but when Ruby dropped out of college to pursue music full-time as an indie artist - things went sour really fast. He never understood her passion for music, too self-absorbed in his reputation at the Ivy League university he got into thanks to his wealthy parents. 

Her fingers freeze over the screen as her heart shatters into a thousand pieces. 

Nathan <You know what, since it seems like you don’t care about MY time, we are done. For real this time. Don’t even bother coming.>

Tears stream down her face as she powers down her phone and shoves it into her purse. He can go fuck himself, Ruby thinks to herself - and she gets an even better idea. 

“S-sorry but can you take me downtown instead?” she asks, her voice wavering slightly as the realization sinks in. She takes a deep breath, drying her tear-stained cheeks as the driver pulls up to Nathan’s most hated bar- which happens to be her favorite, Third Base. 

The bar is bustling as she walks in. It’s been updated since she had been there, all those months ago when Nathan was doing a semester abroad in Rome. Ruby instantly fell in love with the quaint charm of the dive bar. It didn’t help that the bar owner was ruggedly handsome, the kind of personality that was homegrown from a small town. She ached for the slow stroll of home instead of the hustle and bustle of city life. Festive Halloween touches add to the ambiance and that’s when she realizes other patrons are also adorned in costume.

“Haven’t seen you in a while,” his familiar twang wraps around her like a warm blanket. She should probably be sobbing into her wine glass in a rose-scented bubble bath in the comfort of her home instead she replies with “Whiskey neat, double.” She notices he’s the only one not dressed up, even his bartender is sporting a risque outfit. 

Ruby is about to mention the lack of costume when he asks “That kinda night?” Ruby downs the drink without a word, slides off the metal bar stool, and makes her way to the old jukebox in the corner of the bar. She scrolls through the CDs not really impressed with the selection. 

“Not finding what you’re looking for?” A distorted voice has Ruby turning. She opens her mouth to grumble about the lackluster music selection, but her brain turns to static. She’s met face-to-face with Kylo Ren. 

“I-” 

“Here, you might like this.” Another man dressed up as a Mandalorian pushes between them. Ruby stands in awe as the two men fight over a CD. Her awe turns into appreciation as she notices the small details in the homemade costume. Whoever’s in the suit spent hours making it.

“Can I buy you another drink?”  A deep voice comes from the bar.

She turns and freezes. “N-nathan? How’d yo-” She is silenced by a red-painted finger as the man towers over her. Realization strikes her that this man is too tall to be Nathan. 

“Nathan isn’t here Jedi.” Boldly, the stranger spits in her face - playing into the villainous role - yet Ruby can’t help but be even more aroused. 

Ruby finds herself being shoved into the back seat of an SUV. Not in a kidnappy way but in a rushed I-want-to-devour-you-way. The look Darth Maul is giving her has her pussy throbbing. She slides her way in as Kylo and Mando hop in the front. Warm lips pressed against her and; at this moment, she couldn't care less if she was covered in red and black body paint by the end of this. She pulls him in closer as his gloved hand teases the waistband of her leggings. Her head thuds against the window when he slips his fingers inside her as his tongue explores her mouth. Suddenly, his long finger slams into the sweet spot and she bites down on his bottom lip, hard. 

He groans, “You gonna surrender, Jedi?” 

“Fuck, don’t stop,” she whines as he finger fucks her all the way to her apartment. By the time they get to her apartment, his gloves are drenched and the back seat is damp where she was sitting, but Ruby could give a single fuck as in the span of 30 minutes she had already had more satisfying orgasms than Nathan could ever give her. Maybe it’s the adrenaline or the thrill? Probably both. If one of them can satisfy her alone with his fingers imagine all three of them.

“You wanna do this Jedi?” Kylo Ren asks once in Ruby’s apartment.

“It’s not every night you get three masked men in your apartment,” she smirks her hands roaming over his black robes. 

“You’ll have to wear this,” the foreign Mandalorian slides a blindfold over her eyes. 

“That’s fine,” her breath catches as her hands drift up to grip Ren’s mask. “Can I take this off?” 

Abruptly, she finds herself pressed against a solid chest behind her and warm lips devour her own. She tangles her fingers into long hair and he groans when she yanks. 

“I was not expecting long hair, but it’s so soft.” Ruby twirls a strand around her finger. Her hand cups his cheek and pulls him into another kiss.

“Ren’s not the only one here Jedi.” Her heartbeat skyrockets at the memory of Darth Maul in the backseat of the car. The way he towered over her, his eyes dark with lust, and his voice made her pussy flutter.

 The mattress groans with the added weight and Ruby’s mind begins to spiral. She yelps with teeth and stubble brush against the skin on her inner thigh. Fuck, Mando has facial hair that's fucking hot. Ruby giggles as he inches closer to her core and at the same time remembers how Nathan can only grow a pathetic and patchy beard. She squirms, aching for roughness against her pussy..

“Oh you’re a feisty one,” Maul whispers in her ear as he settles down beside her. Suddenly, her hands are bound loosely with something smooth and soft. Her brain rationalizes one of her summer scarves that hangs from the hooks over the door. A part of her hopes it’s her favorite one, the black one with skulls. 

“Our red hot Ruby.” he nips at her ear and at the same time one of them pinches her nipple. Ruby yelps at the sudden pain, endorphins surging through her body. “You like a little pain with your pleasure, hm?” 

Smack

A large hand makes contact with her inner thigh. “Fuck! Yes,” Ruby yelps. “Yes, I like pain ‘n pleasure!”

Lips brush against her cheek. “Our little pain slut.”

“Our little pain slut,” Mando mumbles against her throbbing clit as he sinks two thick fingers inside her. 

“Fuck,” she groans as her pussy walls stretch from the invasion. 

“God Ruby… have you ever- “ he trails off, lost in thought. He sucks her clit between his lips and thrusts his fingers into the spongy sweet spot. Ruby writhes as the coil winds tighter in her core. Large hands clamp down on her shoulders to keep her steady as her body starts to tremble. In a silent scream, the dam breaks, and euphoria floods through her body as she releases herself onto Mando’s face. She writhes oversensitive and overwhelmed as he laps up everything she gives him. 

“Little, pärla” Mando pants, “You are divine.” 

Ruby finds herself being pulled gently to sit upright. “Here’s some water,” Ren says softly, handing her a glass of water.

“Thank you.” Her cheeks warm to the kind gesture. “Nathan never took care of me like this.” Her lips press into a thin line and her shoulders slump forward as her mind flashes each disappointing experience. 

A warm hand settles on the small of her back, gently rubbing up and down. “Ain’t nothin’ but a good time, hm?” Mando whispers seductively, his breath is hot against the shell of her ear.  

Ruby briefly wonders if that would have been the track he chose at the bar. Her heart flutters at the parallels and she enthusiastically adds, “Hell yeah!” 

She squeals at first when hands grip her hips and hoist her onto his lap. His hard cock

“You ready for a good time, sweetheart?” Ren asks before pulling her into a heated kiss. His free hand roams over her tits as another set of hands rubs up and down her thighs. Sandwiched between the two men her heart races with anticipation. 

“Got any lube, darling?” Mando asks as Ren pulls her up onto her knees. 

“In… the… drawer…”  she replies between kisses. Her heart leaps into her throat when a cold and wet finger circles the tense muscle of her asshole.

“Can Mando fill you up back there while Ren plays with your pretty pussy?” Maul’s baritone makes her spine tingle. Mando’s finger stills at her back entrance and Ren nips at her other ear. 

“Can I watch?” Maul asks, pulling the blindfold off and Ruby’s eyes widen, taking in the sight before her. Ren’s stormy blue-gray eyes captivate her first, then his soft smile and tint of pink on his cheeks. She can’t resist carding her hand through his hair, so smooth. He leans into her touch, entranced by the gentleness. The world around them darkness slightly and she briefly forgets about the other two. She could stay here, locked in his gentle gaze but her eyes begin to wonder. Her other hand traces the tattoos on his shoulder to his wrist where in the corner of her vision she spies his large thick cock. 

Suddenly, a gloved hand grips her wrist and twists her sideways. His fingers entwine with hers as the other grips her chin. “Don’t forget about us, Jedi.” His deep brown eyes are piercing and she notices that his face is the only exposed skin free of paint. His abdominal muscles flex as her gaze lowers, she huffs disappointed that he is clothed from the waist down.

Her eyes widen at the sound of a deep moan. Maul tilts her head back so she can see the man behind her. His grasp loosens completely and she twists her body more to see Mando better. 

“Hello, pärla,” he moans her nickname, his eyelids flutter closed as he strokes himself. 

“Looks like Mando’s ready. Are you?” Maul asks. 

Ruby remains fixed on watching Mando touch himself. She mutters a breathless, “Yeah.” 

“Come back to your supreme leader.” A tinge of pain pricks at Ruby’s scalp when Ren fists her hair and tugs. She moans as the pain melts into pleasure. 

“Finally showing me your dark side, Ren,” Ruby smirks. “I like it.” 

“Good.” Ren crowds into Ruby’s space, thrusting his hand around her throat. He squeezes slightly then releases pressure completely. “Lean back.”

Ruby adjusts her stance to straddle Mando’s hips. Together, Mando and Ren guide her to lower herself onto him. Maul groans beside them.  The stretch takes her breath away, if only for a moment as the hand tightens around her neck and lips crash onto hers. Ruby succumbs to the sensations letting Mando set the pace while she battles for breath with the fallen Jedi. Ren shoves her back against Mando’s chest by the throat. She sucks in the air when he releases his hand, chest heaving with every inhalation. 

“My turn,” Ren growls, nipping at her earlobe. He squeezes the soft tissue of her breasts as his mouth trails kisses down her torso. Grinning he spreads her legs apart wider and his lips gently kiss her tummy before descending through her silken folds. Mando thrusts into her as Ren teases her other hole with his tongue and then sucks at her clit. She’s teetering on the edge of bliss when it is abruptly ripped away.

“No cumming yet darling.” Mando stills inside her just as Ren flattens his tongue licking one final time before pulling away. 

“Do you want a taste?” Ren asks, his lips ghosting over hers. Her mouth drops open to respond but without warning, fingers slide their way in. Disappointment sours her stomach when Ren leans over and kisses Mando. Greedily, she flicks her tongue around Ren’s fingers in hopes of vying for his attention. 

“Is our Ruby a little jealous she is getting attention?” Maul laughs. In the heat of the moment, Ruby had forgotten all about him. “No… you aren’t jealous, but your needy little cunt is.” Desperation flashes through her as she bites down on Ren’s fingers. Ren huffs a laugh against Mando’s lips, 

“I heard that cunt is still needy, hm?” Ren tilts his head, his gaze scanning over her body. A small whine leaks out of her mouth. He slides his fingers out of her mouth and onto her throat. His lips curl into a devilish smirk, “You want more?” 

“Yes, yes, yes, please!” Ruby’s lashes flutter when Ren sinks into her dripping pussy. 

“So tight-” Ren groans.

“Dude, I can feel you,” Mando gasps when Ren bottoms out.

“This is the hottest thing I’ve ever seen,” Maul muses.

Ren holds her steady as Mando slowly thrusts in and out of her. 

“Feeling good?” Maul whispers lowly in her ear.

“S-so good, so full.. he's so big” Her words melt into nothingness when Ren flexes inside her.

“Fuck fuck fuck, I’m gonna come… don’t-” Ruby whines as Mando and Ren alternate thrusting into her ass and cunt.

“Ru, you home? I saw your car out front.” Her ex’s voice booms through the apartment, his words slur together in one long word. But she can’t be bothered as pressure builds in her core. 

“Shhh,” Mando shushes her with a hand to her mouth

“Maybe,” Maul leans over and whispers turning Ruby slightly towards him. Grinning he offers his eager cock to her and she eagerly nods. Ren smacks Maul in the arms when he moans as Ruby takes him into her mouth. 

The bedroom door swings open and Maul’s cock throbs between her lips. Ren and Mando are too far gone to care when -

“WHAT THE FUCK!”

Ruby sighs against Maul’s softening cock slipping it from her mouth while she is still being pounded between two beautiful men. It takes all of her strength not to come when she leans around Ren to stare Nathan dead in the eyes. 

“Fuck! You!” she groans as she comes, flipping Nathan one and then sucking on each of her middle fingers. Her eyes roll back as she catches a glimpse of him stalking out the door. When the door slams shut she sinks into Mando as euphoria floods her body.

“Damn, that was hot!” Maul says impressed. Ruby peers up through her lashes at Maul who’s stoking his now hard cock. 

“Yeah?” Ruby cocks an eyebrow. Without hesitation, she pulls his free hand and sucks on his middle finger. 

Maul sucks in a curse. “Damn girl, fuck.” Ruby bites down at Maul’s finger, not painfully hard, but enough when her hair is yanked back and she is pulled off. 

“Wh-”

“Open up,” Mando commands as he grips her jaw forcing her mouth open. Ruby opens her mouth wide and sticks her tongue out with anticipation. Mando lowers his hands to rest around her throat squeezing gently. Ren tucks a loose strand of hair behind her ear before leaning down to suck on her nipple. She jolts when he bites down, her pussy walls clenching around his semi-hard cock. Mando slides his hand down her middle to circle her clit as Ren plays with her tits. 

“Fuckfuckfuck,” Maul curses as he splatters his cum all over Ruby’s face. Small whimpers come from her open mouth as another orgasm wrecks through her. She swallows then licks her lips and smiles up at Maul before pulling him closer to lick and suck at his softening cock. She hisses when Ren pulls off her tit with an audible pop. 

Ruby hums satisfiedly, leaning back against Mando, as Ren slides out of her. Before he can say another word, she mumbles, “Baby wipes in the bathroom down the hall.” 

She doesn’t open her eyes but sinks further into bliss as Mando rubs his hands up and down her arms. “You did so well for us Pärla,” he whispers in her ear. All she can muster is a hummed agreement. 

“Let me clean you up,” Maul offers when Ren returns. She blinks to find soft brown eyes and a dazzling smile to greet her. “Thank you,” she whispers. “All of you,” she adds when Ren takes Maul’s place in front of her to press a gentle kiss to her cheek. As Ren and Maul redress, Mando steals more kisses as he helps Ruby up to dress her. 

“Here,” Maul hands Ruby her glass of water. “You can call me Noah.” 

“Hi, Noah.” she flashes him a dazzling smile in the afterglow.

“Food?” Ren asks before adding,” The name’s Nick and he’s Jolly.” 

“No please- you guys can go, I’ll be alright.” Ruby dismisses, gesturing to the door.  

“Please?” Jolly wraps her up in his arms. “Dinner and a movie and we will leave after that.”

“We just don’t want you to be alone,” Nick adds. 

“Fine.” Ruby relents as her stomach rumbles. “Thai food and the new Deadpool movie.” 

The four of them settle on blankets and pillows in the living room with Ruby in the middle. She finds herself leaning against Jolly’s shoulder and for the first time in a long time has finally felt at peace.

👑Royal Readers👑

@deathblacksmoke @mysticdoodlez @sitkowski @snarkysolaris @collapsedglasshouses @shilohrosechicken

@cookiesupplier @iknownothingpeople @dominuslunae @agravemisstake @the-ancient-fae

@itsafullmoon @philomenie @th4t-em0-k1d @baddestomens @rumoured-whispers

@blackveilomens @sorrowsofsilence @collisionofyourkissmakesitsohard @tearfallpixie @nerdraging4point0

@omensbrainrot @99png @awkwardalex @fadingangelwisp @theanarchymuse95 @lobolocaamo

[toskarin]

Been watching Garden of Sinners and every time we see Tohsaka Rin in the "no cell phones" animation at the start we go "Is that famed Tumblr user Toskarin?!?!"

Anyways do you have thoughts on Garden of Sinners

oh I fucking adore it. Kara no Kyoukai has some adaptation issues here and there, but it's one of my favourite 2000s anime movie series in general

ufotable, as an animation studio, has its ups and downs. I think the sheer amount of stillness allowed in KnK, along with the tasteful use of CG to achieve cinematic camera effects, makes it a must-watch for anyone who cares about chuuni media. they're bloody gorgeous films and really represent the best of "often-clumsy, sometimes-pretentious, always-heartfelt chuunibyou spirit"

the "kajiura chime" I sneak into a lot of my music as an easter egg is actually a sample I first noticed her using while listening to the Kara no Kyoukai soundtrack. it's from a (very popular!) sample CD called Distorted Reality 2

when I include it, it's intended as an explicit reference to those movies lol

[transgenderdragons]

actually that just reminded me i need to get my hands on dinosaurchestra + view-monster cds.....

[lemondemonpickuplines]

you're sexier than the red-backed Spirit Phone CD (which is saying a LOT)

[wordsmithwhumpsandfluff]

could you do sick Spirit + appendicitis + caretakers of your choosing? i’d love to see how

spirit’s appendicitis story plays out!

“I’m not letting you use my employee discount. You can get the Bastille CD for full price, take it or leave it.”

Isaac pouted. “Pleeeeeaaaaassssseeeeeeee?” He made fake puppy eyes, jutting out his bottom lip like a toddler, and Spirit resisted the urge to slap that stupid look off of his face. She was already in a bad mood—she had to move into Birdie’s guest room since the dorms were closed because of summer break, she got in another argument with her mom over the phone, and for days she’s been having awful stomach cramps despite not being on her period—and Isaac was the annoying cherry on top.

“No.”

“Pretty please?”

“No.”

“I’ll buy you tacos.”

Spirit froze, looking at Isaac with a raised brow. “You do realize that if you got me tacos, you’d be spending more money than if you just paid full price for the stupid CD, right?”

Isaac’s face fell as that realization dawned on him. Spirit shook her head, going back to organizing vinyl like she’d been doing. “One of life’s greatest mysteries is how in the everloving fuck your dumbass got into college.”

Isaac snorted at that, giving Spirit a playful shove. “Y’know ya love me,” he grinned before turning and walking away. “I’mma try and find some new headphones. Mine broke.”

Spirit flashed him a middle finger, and he flashed her a peace sign right back. When he was gone, Spirit found herself singing ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’ under her breath as she continued organizing. The singing helped take her mind off of her stomach.

She only got halfway through singing the song when abruptly—

“Hey!”

Spirit let out a yelp, jumping so bad that she nearly fell onto the cart of brand-new records, and she would’ve if Aiden hadn’t steadied her with one hand while laughing. In his other hand, he was holding something.

“I sewar to GOD, I’m putting a fucking bell on you!! I don’t know why the hell I haven’t done that yet,” she spat at him, catching her breath since her heart was racing slightly from the scare. The surprise also didn’t do any good for the non-period cramps still gnawing at her.

Aiden was still chuckling and smiling at her. Spirit noticed two things: he looked very good in the fitted workout shirt he was wearing, and the thing he was holding was a bag with a Dunkin’ Doughnuts logo. “Surprise?” he said.

Spirit rolled her eyes, smiling. “I’ll only forgive you for scaring me if you say that those doughnuts are mine.”

Aiden smirked. “Indeed they are, my lady,” he said in a fake British accent, holding the bag out to her.

Still smiling, Spirit took the bag gratefully. “Thanks. I’ll have them on my lunch break.”

“I have the day to waste,” Aiden said. “I can wait around if you wanna have someone to talk to while you work.”

Spirit chuckled, rolling her eyes. “Oh, my boss will loooooove that,” she said sarcastically.

Blushing, Aiden’s smile turned sheepish. “Okay then. Well, maybe we can—”

“Hey Spirit, this box doesn’t have a price on it. How much. . . ?”

Spirit froze, her whole body tensing up, her eyes going wide as she looked from Aiden to Isaac and back at Aiden.

“Oh, fuck,” Spirit groaned, face-palming herself.

Great fucking timing.

Isaac and Aiden both seemed confused. Then, Isaac’s face lit up with excitement and mischievousness. “Holy shit. Spirit, is this—?”

Spirit shot him a glare, her cheeks red with embarrassment. That only affirmed Isaac’s unspoken assumption, and he all but threw his head back laughing as he came over and hooked an arm around Spirit’s neck, making her grumble a stream of curses under her breath.

“You must be Aiden,” Isaac said, still ginning. “I’m Isaac. Spirit’s brother.”

Spirit shot him a glare. “You’re not my brother!”

He narrowed his eyes and smirked back. “I basically am.”

Spirit shoved him off with a frustrated huff, making him laugh. She sighed, looking at Aiden who seemed both amused and very confused.

“Isaac is my friend,” Spirit cleared up, shooting the blonde a murderous look. “My very annoying friend who I’ve known since we were kids. Not my brother.”

Aiden nodded, still looking amused as he held a hand out to Isaac. “Nice to meet you. I haven’t gotten to meet any of Spirit’s friends yet.”

Isaac shook his hand. “Well, it’s great to finally put a face to the name.”

“Actually, I think I saw you—”

“When I picked Spirit up from the police station?”

Spirit groaned, dropping her face in her hands. This whole situation could not get worse.

With a heavy sigh, Spirit looked at Isaac. “The headphones are twelve dollars. Get the headphones, get your CD, you can’t use my discount, and get your ass out of here. You’ve bugged me enough today.”

Isaac rolled his eyes, still smiling. “Fine fine, I’m going.” He looked at Aiden. “Great to meet you, man. We should maybe hang out someti- aH, okay okay!” he exclaimed as Spirit shoved him in the direction of the checkout area. “Okay, I get it! Bye!”

Once Isaac was gone, Spirit let out a sigh, massaging her temples. She knew she wouldn’t be able to keep her friends from meeting Aiden forever, but she was not expecting that moment to come now.

“So, you talk to your friends about me?”

Spirit met Aiden’s eyes, a deep blush coloring her cheeks. Only Isaac, was the truthful answer. But even then, she always tried her best to not talk about him to Isaac. But she didn’t want Aiden to think she was embarrassed of him! Would he think that? Maybe she could just explain that she wasn’t ready yet, and then—

Aiden chuckled, smiling at her. “You look like you’re doing a ton of mental gymnastics right now. Is he the only one of your friends who knows about me?”

Spirit felt her face become hotter, if possible. She nodded, guilt sitting in her stomach a bit.

Reading her like a book, Aiden said, “I’ve been too much of a coward to tell anyone about us yet, either. Just Mikey and my dad know.”

That reassurance made Spirit loosen up a bit. But suddenly, she winced as a violent cramp hit her out of nowhere, making her frown. It was the worst cramp yet.

Aiden’s smile faltered slightly. “You okay?”

Spirit hesitated. Then she nodded slowly. “Yeah. . . Yeah, I’m fine. It was just a cramp. I’ve been getting them for the last few days.”

Aiden’s smile dropped a little more, and he lowered his voice respectfully to ask, “Are you on your period? Do you have meds on you?”

The fact that Aiden was the kind of guy who didn’t make jokes or gross comments about periods just made Spirit adore him more. Smiling a bit to reassure him, she whispered back, “Not on my period yet, just cramps. And I have meds in the staff room.”

Aiden nodded. “Are you nauseous at all?”

She shook her head, but that was a lie. The nausea was on and off, appearing for a minute when a cramp hit, and then vanishing again. Not unusual for Spirit when she was close to getting her period.

“Mitchel! Did you finish putting those vinyl away?” a girl’s voice suddenly yelled, making Spirit jump. “We need help in the back if you’re done!”

“Shit,” she cursed, looking apologetically at Aiden. “I’m sorry, I’ve gotta keep working, but—”

“I can hang out around the mall for a few hours, and then I have a little surprise for when you get off work.”

Spirit’s eyebrows raised. “Another surprise?”

He smiled, giving Spirit a hug and leaving without saying another word. Spirit couldn’t stop smiling as she watched him go.

“Mitchel!”

“Give me a freaking minute, Sarah!”

— — —

“Oooh, are those doughnuts?”

Harold was the third one of Spirit’s co-workers to ask that question. She had been on her lunch break for ten minutes now. . . and she had only been staring at the bag of doughnuts from Aiden.

They were her favorite kind—Boston Cream—but something was off in her gut, and she had the feeling that just the smell of one of those doughnuts would make her barf.

But still. . .

“Yes, and they’re mine. Eat the lunch your mom packed for you, kid.”

Harold pouted. He was the youngest person working at the store. He was a freckly red-head with braces, very pale-blue eyes, and he always brought a weird soy lunch made for him by his mom every day.

“Can I please just have one?” he begged. “My mom bought tofu in bulk, and I’m getting sick of it! I need something unhealthy, please!”

Spirit almost laughed at the 9th grader. “Fine, kiddo. Take one, and don’t tell anyone else. Eat it quick.” The staff room was empty besides them.

It made Spirit’s stomach churn just to think about eating right now. Not to mention, the cramps had become a lingering sharp pain sitting in her lower belly that was just uncomfortable and a little bit painful. Moving made it worse, so she’d been sitting in the same position on the same chair since her beak started.

Harold practically ate half of the doughnut in one bite, getting cream all over the corners of his mouth. Spirit stared at the floor so she didn’t have to see him eat. She was feeling sick enough as it was.

“When did you get these? Before you came in today?”

“No, my bo—” she caught herself, clearing her throat. “My friend brought them for me. I forgot to bring my own lunch again.”

“Aren’t you gonna eat, then?”

I want to, she thought to herself.

Spirit shook her head. “Nah, I’m not feeling too good. My gut’s off.”

“Oh. That’s too bad.” She heard him take another bite, and then no more. She looked up, and the doughnut was gone. The kid literally ate it in two bites.

“How were your first High School finals? Excited to be a sophomore next year?”

Harold smiled and nodded. “Yeah. I’m in the Cambridge Program, y’know. It’s cool.”

Spirit cringed. “News flash, kiddo; the Cambridge Program class for sophomores sucks.”

“AICE Thinking Skills?”

“Yup.”

“What’s it like?”

Spirit was about to answer when a sharp cramp hit her, knocking the wind out of her for a second.

“Spirit?”

Spirit looked at Harold, who noticed her falter. “I-I’m fine. . . A cramp just—“ She shifted just a little, and she gasped and doubled over as a burst of pain in her stomach hit her like a brick. She breathed through her mouth for a second before puke exploded from her lips, leaving her coughing, nausea suddenly eating away at her.

“Oh my God!” Harold exclaimed. “Holy shit, what’s wrong?!”

Spirit wanted to tell him to chill. But she could barely think with the pain she was now experiencing. Her lower belly was burning!!! As if someone randomly stuck a hot knife inside of her!

She gasped as it felt like that knife was twisting. “Ah, ow,” she whimpered, “Oh God, it burns.” Her voice was strained and two octaves higher than normal. She vomited again.

Sweat dripped down her neck. Everything started to blur and fade together. She blinked a few times, and after seconds or hours, there was a flurry of footsteps and concerned voices and hands touching her. . .

She felt. . . cold? No, hot. Wait, no, definitely cold! Fuck, she couldn’t tell.

She felt herself tipping, and bony ring-adorned hands held her shoulders to keep her upright. She heard her boss’s voice, but he didn’t sound grumpy and tired like he usually did. He sounded worried. Maybe a bit panicked?

Spirit felt herself fading, black spots appearing before her eyes. She realized that part of the reason everything was so blurry was because she was crying, and the pain was so intense that she didn’t even have to question why.

She heaved abruptly as her stomach clenched, and more hands kept her from pitching forward. Her head was spinning. Puke dribbled from her lips. And she was sobbing with the agonizing pain!

“It’hurrrrrrrtsss,” she whined, her voice scratchy. “I’mmmmdying. Makeit’ssssstop.” She could barely think.

Suddenly, the black spots started to come together. The world kept coming in and out, and she couldn’t stop crying in agony. The pain didn’t let up—it was only getting worse!

She heard new voices after what felt like forever. She didn’t put together a single thing that they said, but she cried out in pain as she felt herself get lifted and laid down onto something. Every little movement was painful.

Rubbery-feeling fingers pushed up her shirt and started touching her around her stomach. As the fingers pressed down on the spot where the pain was the worst, she curled up with a pathetic whimper that she normally would have cringed at herself for making. But it hurt, and she couldn’t help it!

But the worst came when the fingers lifted. The pain at that moment was so intense that Spirit literally screamed in agony.

Am I dying?! she wondered, sobbing harder than she ever had before. She felt like she was moving, but she was still laying down, wasn’t she?

What’s wrong with me? was the thought that kept playing in her mind over and over, loud enough that aside from the pain, those words were the only thing she could focus on.

— — —

(Earlier)

Aiden saw Isaac heading out of the store as he was leaving, too. “Hey!” he said, catching up with him.

The blonde guy turned and looked at him with a smile. “Hi,” he said. “Spirit got sick of you, too?”

Aiden shrugged, chuckling. “How long have you two been friends?” he asked, falling into a step beside Isaac. “A long time, right? I could tell.”

“Yeah,” Isaac answered as he continued walking. “We’ve known each other since elementary school.” Isaac paused, looking at Aiden. “How long have you two been going out?”

“A few months now,” Aiden said. “And I’m planning on officially asking her to be my girlfriend today.”

Isaac’s brows shot up. “Really?”

“Yeah.” Aiden had a look of both excitement and nervousness on his face. “I’m gonna take her out to dinner to ask her.”

“Mexican food?”

Aiden slightly raised a brow. “Would that be the smartest choice?”

“Definitely,” Isaac told him. “She loves spicy food. And Mexican restaurants are her favorite. The Mexican place near Braden Park sucks, but a really good one she likes is the one downtown with the loud music.”

Aiden smiled gratefully at the advice. “Thanks.”

Isaac and Aiden found themselves hanging out and talking for a while. They actually had some common interests, including videogame streamers, some books, movies, certain fandom lores. . .

“Do you get what I’m saying? The FNAF movie wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t good either. But I still—”

“Would totally see the second part if one came out?” Aiden finished.

“Yes, exactly!” Isaac exclaimed. “Also, what other video games would make good movies?”

“I’m still waiting for the day when an 'Among Us' movie comes out.”

Isaac laughed. “Oh, absolutely. Oh, and here’s a specific one: Roblox’s ‘Sacrifice Sanctuary’.”

“Even better,” Aiden interjected, “the demon-baby mode on ‘Who’s Your Daddy’.”

Isaac snorted a laugh, nearly choking on the coke he was drinking. Some other people in the food court looked their way as Isaac snort-laughed for a minute, and Aiden laughed as well.

When they stopped laughing, Isaac looked at his phone. “Hey, you wanna see Spirit? She should be on her lunch break now. Maybe we could all come back here to eat before she’s back to work.”

Aiden nodded in agreement, and the two of them stood and continued chatting on their way back to the music store.

When they rounded the corner, they were surprised to see a crowd around the store and employees telling people to clear away and back off, saying the store was closed due to an emergency.

Isaac and Aiden exchanged confused glances.

Then, suddenly, two EMTs came out of the store while wheeling someone on a stretcher. Both boys could immediately tell who it was. Both of them paled and felt their stomachs drop as they saw Spirit’s sobbing form—teeth clenched and red-faced and crying out in pain—being wheeled away.

“Shit,” Isaac said, quickly going after the EMTs. Aiden, without a second thought, went after her as well.

— — —

Spirit felt heavy. As if she’d just been sleeping for a hundred years. As if her body was filled with lead.

Spirit?

She tried opening her eyes, but her lids were heavy, and she just felt so sleepy.

Spirit? Are you awake?

She struggled to blink a few times. Slowly, her senses began to come back to her.

“Spirit?”

There was a fuzzy form in front of her. She blinked and blinked until colors came together and she could see Isaac’s relieved face. “Welcome back,” the blonde chuckled.

Isaac was to her right, but she felt a hand holding her left hand, and she turned her head to see Aiden there, also looking relieved.

Her brows pinched slightly. “Why. . . What hap- Ah!” She quickly realized that moving—even just shifting the tiniest bit—was a mistake. She barely shifted an inch, and the movement pulled on her stomach, sending a shuddering burst of pain through her.

“Take it easy,” Aiden said softly, using his free hand to stroke her hair. “You’re okay.”

She frowned, her confusion evident on her face.

“You had appendicitis,” Isaac told her. Then he chuckled. “Explains why you were such a grouch today.”

Spirit narrowed her eyes at him, making him chuckle again and bend down to give her a hug. Isaac pulled away and looked at Aiden. “I’ll go find the doctor and tell him she’s awake.”

Aiden nodded, and Isaac left.

“Why are both of you here?” Spirit suddenly asked tiredly.

Aiden smiled and shrugged. “Isaac and I hung out and talked after we left you. He’s a cool guy.”

To her own surprise, Spirit actually felt glad that Aiden seemed to get along with Isaac. “Yeah,” she agreed. “He is.”

Aiden’s hand that was petting her hand moved down and he started to stroke her cheek. “I think you were feverish when I saw you this morning,” he said. “I felt how warm your cheek was when I hugged you. You’re cooler now.”

Spirit felt herself blush at the feeling of his hand on her cheek. “Sorry I won’t get to enjoy your surprise today. What was it gonna be?”

Aiden smiled and blushed softly at that, looking a bit surprised that she brought it up. “I was going to take you out to dinner. Isaac gave me some advice on where to take you. And I was going to. . . “ ask you to be my girlfriend, he finished in his head.

Spirit raised a curious brow, waiting for him to finish.

Aiden’s smile turned sheepish like it does when he’s nervous. Spirit knew the look all too well by now.

He shook his head. “That was it. I was gonna take you out on a dinner date. But we can always reschedule.”

Spirit nodded, too tired to read Aiden. She tried shifting again, only to wince. “It hurts.”

Aiden sighed and squeezed her hand. “I know. Maybe the doctor can give you something for the pain.”

She nodded and turned to head to lean into his palm, closing her eyes again. “Thank you for being here,” she mumbled.

Aiden felt his heart flutter a bit, and he smiled. “Of course,” he said, and he leaned down to plant a kiss on her forehead.

He had never done that before, and Spirit opened her eyes to look at him with surprise. Her cheeks pinked and she smiled, closing her eyes again and planting her own small kiss on the inside of his wrist.

By the time Isaac came back with the doctor, Spirit was out cold once more, and the doctor said the lingering effects of the anesthesia might make her come in and out of consciousness, and he checked her vitals quickly before leaving once more.

Isaac sat on a chair by Spirit’s bed, gently rubbing his friend’s shoulder. “The doctor told me that once she’s discharged, she should have someone to take care of her. I’m gonna leave really quickly so I can set up my guest room for her at my place. Can you stay, or do you have somewhere to be?”

“I can stay.” Looking down at Spirit’s sleeping and peaceful face, Aiden smiled and said, “The only place I need to be right now is here.”

Here, he thought to himself. Here with her.

With this girl who I’m entirely in love with.

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@bellysoupset