#this took me all weekend and it's currently well past my bedtime but i wanted to post this!!!!

[philosophiums]

hi sam!! 1, 2, 6, 8, 12, 14, 15, 17, 18, 19, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 28, 30, 42, 43, 44, 45, 47, 50, 51, 55, 57, 66 (lmhs), 71, 72, 76, 78, 79 😊 i just love picking another writer's brain hehe

KSJDBVJKDFBV MARIAM IM CRYING HELP 😂 *cracks knuckles* okay let's gooooo 💜 (there's gonna be a read more somewhere)

questions from here!

1. Do you daydream a lot before you write, or go for it as soon as the ideas strike?

Truly depends on the length of the wip! For short stuff that I'm confident will be under 10k, I just go in swinging. For longer stuff, I'm daydreaming constantly, even during the writing process. When I had a desk job, I would spend Work Time thinking and then write stuff out in my notes app, but now that I operate a moving vehicle for 7+ hours a day, I just spend the majority of that time Daydreaming, Thinking, and Planning for LMHS.

2. Where do you get your fic ideas?

It's about a 60/40 split between original thoughts (as much as anyone can claim to truly have original creative thoughts that are 100% not inspired by anything else) and ideas that are based on or inspired by the premises of other fics or by fanart (sometimes not even from the same fandom).

6. What’s the last line you wrote?

From LMHS, last line of chapter 3: "Sun shining on their backs, sweet snacks in their stomachs, and laughter in the air, the three of them take off together, venturing once again deeper into Changyin’s busy streets."

8. Post an out-of-context spoiler from a wip.

Not written out yet so I can't post a snippet, but in LMHS, water is so important to Megumi's character, way beyond just bending.

12. Do you outline your fics?  If yes, how detailed are your outlines?  How far do you stray from them?

Sometimes! I did outline LMHS, though that was mostly an attempt on my part at keeping track of all the thoughts @hinamie and I were throwing at each other. It's not very detailed at all, just a bullet point list of things like "they travel to [location] - remember that [this character] is with them" or stuff like that. It's a guide for the like... movement™ of the fic, but less so the nitty gritty details, which I kind of enjoy discovering as I go (be it while I'm writing or while Hina and I are talking). But the last long fic I wrote (250k) did not have an outline. I just followed my heart and the vision I had of the end of the fic <3 The back half of that fic did have a canon timeline to follow, though, which made it easier.

14. What is your favorite location and position to write in?

SJKDBJKSDB I do about 95% of my writing in a big leather wingback armchair in my living room, usually with one leg hooked over an arm of the chair. The other 5% is bleary-eyed, 2am in bed, notes app, half-finished sentences with just the worst spelling you've ever seen.

15. What’s your favorite time to write?

It used to be between 1am and 3am, back when I was unemployed/working a job I didn't have to properly sleep for. Now, the only time I seem to be able to write is from about 8:30pm to 11pm. It takes me forever to unwind after coming home, so I can really only get myself to focus way at the end of the day. 100% if I went back to a desk job or stumbled into a pile of money that could let me stop working, I'd be right back to typing away well after midnight.

17. Do you have a writing routine?

Sit down > open word doc > reread last paragraph > dissociate > walk away > come back three hours later and write SKJDVBDKJBVJKDFBV

18. Do you enjoy research?  Which fic of yours required the most research?

I don't necessarily enjoy it, mostly because when I'm researching, I tend to get pulled down a rabbit hole of stuff I don't need to know and will never use. However, I do find that I end up doing impromptu "shotgun" research a lot while writing. Literally while writing the first chapter of LMHS, I had to pull up some research on trees just to make absolutely sure I was describing something correctly. It's 100% an inconsequential detail, but at least I know I wasn't pulling it completely out of thin air KSJVDBDKJVB I don't think I could honestly say which fic required the most research. If we include the amount of time I spent on the respective fandom wikis for character/canon details, then Swallow the Stars for sure. But if it's only for Other Stuff™, then I think they're all about equal.

19. Do you enjoy creating OCs or do you prefer to stick solely to canon characters?

I love making OCs in general, but not really for fanfic. I'll make an OC for an inconsequential side character no problem (did this a couple times in Swallow the Stars), but, for the most part, I prefer to stick to canon characters. I've never written a fic from the POV of an OC, and I doubt I ever will. I would much rather explore the dynamics between canon characters than insert a new main character into a story that already has one.

22. Do you title your fics before, during, or after the writing process?  How do you come up with titles?

Depends! I've done all three before SKJDVBDKJVBF Sometimes, a title comes to me right away, and I can sort of circle around it while I'm writing (this is more common for me with short fics). Sometimes, I get a few thousands words in, and have played with the themes long enough to have it just sort of come to me. Other times, I'm fully edited and just staring at the words begging a title to appear so I can post KSJDVBDKJFVBDFV LMHS had a title before I even started writing, because I wanted to have a title when I posted the fic announcement. As far as how I come up with them, I've pulled directly from words in the fic, I've gone on random quote generators and pulled from those, I've sat down and literally just strung words together based on a theme or a single specific word I wanted (LMHS, for instance, came from a desire to use the word "haunt"). It just kinda depends and is different for every fic!

23. Is writing the beginning, middle, or end of the story easiest? Hardest?

The beginning is easiest because it's fun character introductions and scene setting, not a lot of plot yet. The middle is by far the hardest because that's where the plot is beefiest and where a lot of the transition spaces are, and at the same time you're starting to gather up the threads you want to tie off at the end.

24. How do you choose whose POV to write in?

I choose based on whose thoughts I'm imagining most when I'm first thinking of the story! When I'm new to writing for a fandom, I will sometimes have to start a fic 2 or 3 times to find the voice that comes easiest to me, though. I have a tendency to lean towards the quieter characters, but that's not always true! For example, Andrew Minyard's POV is easier for me to write in, but I have more fun writing Neil, so I tend to gravitate towards Neil for AFTG fics.

25. What’s your favorite part of the writing process (worldbuilding, brainstorming/outlining, writing, editing, etc)?

World building my beloved..... I love coming up with Reasons for things that I want to happen, tying things into the setting and the history and making sure it works for the characters as well. The moment when everything connects is so magical.

26. What’s your least favorite part of the writing process?

Writing KJDBKJDFBVJKDBFV Words are just.... so hard 😭

28. What area of writing do you want to improve in?

Detailing! Descriptions! I am constantly fighting with myself over how much detail I actually need to include in my descriptions, because on some level, I want to describe it as much as I possibly can so that it can be envisioned easier, but on the flip side I know for a fact that no matter how much I describe something, no one will ever see it exactly the same way I do. And so then I pull back too far, I think, and keep my descriptions bare minimum, which I think is just as unhelpful. I need to work on finding a balance. Maybe metaphor can be my friend here.....

30. How much do you edit your fics?  Do you edit as you write or wait until you finish the first draft?

I usually go through for edits a minimum of two times and a maximum of 4 times. I always do an initial read-through for details that I missed or clarifications I need to make or continuity problems, stuff like that. Then I'll go through for grammar, punctuation, sentence structure, etc. If I end up rewriting a lot during that second edit, I'll go back through yet again just to double-check everything. And, more often than not, I do a last read-through right before I post. Though, inevitably, there's always something that I don't catch until it's already posted KJSBDVKDJBV

42. What’s your favorite title that you’ve come up with?

I'm really quite keen on Like the Moon Haunts the Sun !! It's longer than what I usually go for with titles, but it's sooooo thematically fitting and just really really pretty imo. But, This Is What Hollows holds a special place in my heart because it's a bit different and yet perfectly fitting for that fic. Plus, it was titled loooong before I came up with a way to include it in the actual writing of the fic, and I felt like an absolute genius when I managed to do that organically.

43. Is there a trope or idea that you’d really like to write but haven’t yet?

I have a world mostly built for a fantasy setting with dragon gods and stuff that I've planned out all the lore for and yet cannot for the life of me actually think up a plot that would be interesting to write SKJVBDJKVB I have characters, I have setting, I have themes, but a plot? Evading me. And it's been haunting me for like 7 years.

44. What is your favorite genre to write?

Urban fantasy 100%!! I love writing magic systems without having to do historical research SKJBDVKJDVB Also just the idea of magic in a place that we live in is so special to me like... there is magic everywhere in the world, but sometimes that magic really does come from a spell book like Yes Please.

45. What genre/trope do you tend to write the most?

Found family trope my beloved,,,,,,,, don't look too closely at it; it doesn't say anything about me as a person I Promise.

47. Is there a trope that you’ve written before but are now sick of?

Not a trope, but when I was younger and Working Through Some Shit, I included a, I guess, circumstance™ that I will not actually say (bc it's like. triggering) in just about every fic I wrote, but I'm past the point now (thank god) of needing to vent through it, so I truly don't think I'll ever include it in anything ever again.

50. How would you describe your writing style?

HHHHHHH I have no idea. I think I am incapable of looking at my writing objectively enough to describe it.

51. Does what you like to write differ from what you like to read?

Very much so! I love reading prose that is rich in metaphor and simile, but for the life of me I can't write like that. I don't have the gift of constantly being able to turn a phrase so beautifully, but god is it gorgeous to read.

55. Have you noticed any patterns in your fics?  Words/expressions that appear a lot, themes, common settings, etc?

I don't even want to think about the words and phrases I overuse because I'm sure there's plenty JSKDBVKJDFVB I do have a recurring theme of like... healing, though. This deep inner struggle of the characters to get to a better place is just... so important to me. I want them to heal, but more than that I want them to want to heal.

57. How conscious are you about including symbolism or foreshadowing in your fics?

I'm certainly conscious of it, but less so on the first draft. I think foreshadowing has a way of sneaking into my writing naturally (especially because I write chronologically), and then I can really hammer it in during the edit. Symbolism is purely being brought in during the first edit unless it's something so important that it was underlined a lot during the drafting/planning stage.

66. What’s a fun fact about LMHS?

It started as me just randomly thinking about ATLA and sending a question to Hina about what she thought the main trio's bending elements would be, and it just tumbled out of control from there SKJDVBDJKVFB

71. Do you spend more time reading or writing?

Writing, which is... saying something because I really don't spend a lot of time writing on a day-to-day basis. But I haven't read a published book in.... 4 years? And I don't read fanfic very often either, despite my bookmarks tab being overflowing with fics that I would like to read at some point. I just feel like I never have the time or energy to sit down and read.

72. What’s your favorite writing compliment you’ve gotten?

I have gotten a similar comment from multiple people that is about my characterization of canon characters within AUs and how it still feels like the canon characters but with realistic changes based on a different setting, and in fic writing I can't think of higher praise. Like... that's exactly what I want. I don't want the characters to be exactly the same as canon because their circumstances have changed, but I still want them to be recognizable. That's always what I'm striving for, and it makes me happy that people notice and think it's executed well enough to comment on.

76. How do you deal with writing pressure, whether internal or external?

Poorly KDEJVBKJDEFVBJKDFVBJF Really though, I struggle managing pressure when I'm writing. And it's always internal, because external pressure on fics just makes me petty since it's Free Labor, and people who complain about a slow upload schedule or whatever just make me Mad. But internal pressure is HHHHHHHHHH I am Going Through It with LMHS. I want it to live up to expectations, but I also want to finish it quickly, but I also want it to be lush and complete, and there's always this voice in my head telling me I'm not writing fast enough or good enough. Mostly I work past it by reminding myself that the time will pass anyway and that it's a miracle that I can even write ~1k words a day with how tired my job makes me. And on the days when that doesn't work, I have loud music KSJDVBDKJVBJDKFV

78. What motivates you during the writing process?

Up to the point where I start posting (for my last long fic, I was >100k in before I uploaded the first chapter), the motivation comes from a simple desire to write that particular story. For me, it can't come from anywhere else. If I don't want to write on a fic anymore and I haven't uploaded yet, I'll just stop. However, once I start posting, comments and general interaction with the fic gives me a huge bump in motivation. Engagement and talking about the story and the characters and the plot just makes me so excited to keep going so that I can drop the next plot twist or cliffhanger and read everyone's reactions. This time, for LMHS, I am very very lucky to have my own personal cheer squad of one (Hina) motivating me daily through memes and character discussion and new pieces of art and other various things <3

79. Do you have any writing advice you want to share?

The best actual constructive writing advice that I can give is: Do Not Edit Something Until You're Done. And yes, I mean the entire story - do not go back and reread/rewrite until you're done with it. Nothing will make your forward momentum disappear faster than going back to edit. If you're too hung up on details and perfection right away, you're never going to get done. You have to just write and accept that things will need to be reworked. Make notes for yourself on things to fix later or whatever, just do not scroll back up and start editing before you're done with something. It will only make you disappointed that where you pick up again isn't going to look as nice as what you just edited.

[mikhailoisbaby]

————

I’ve had this fic sitting in my Google docs for a while and I finally had the confidence to post it after re reading for the hundredth time.

Im not a writer by any means but doing weekly galladrabbles has made me what to write more as well as having the love to writing I’ve had since I was a small child

also want to say I have dyslexia and I was diagnosed since I was primary school so I know this might be a load of shit lmfao but I wanted to post along with the art I have created for it.

So enjoy it , tell me bits that don’t make sense or where I could improve because I want to rediscover my love of writing

————

Read on Ao3 here or below ⬇️

It was 7 o’clock in the evening, dinner was just eaten and the bedtime routine was set in play. The messy pots were stacked high in the sink ready for Mickey to load the dishwasher while Ian had the task of putting their one-year-old to sleep.

He can hear the soft mummers of his husband's voice through the baby monitor on the kitchen counter, he's reading ‘goodnight moon’ their daughter's favourite book currently, and the crackles of the baby monitor once again peak when he can hear the light laughter at Ian's silly voices for different parts of the book; The sweet moment of father and daughter reading distracted Mickey from loading the dishwasher at times.

“Book book,” Delilah in soured baby speak knowing that she just conned her father to read another book, this will go on for while Ian will finish a book only for the little ginger to ask for another and her father falls fatal to her bright blue eyes.

Mickey continues with the job of the dishes until all is put away neat like there was never a hurricane of a one-year-old and 8-year-old eating messy spaghetti bolognese in their kitchen/dining room.

As soon as Mickey is done cleaning, a strategic plan so the kid isn’t forced to help clean, the little 8-year-old pops up around the corner. He ruffles her ginger locks as he convinces her father that she is allowed to stay up to watch more tv and Mickey agrees it’s a weekend after all.

He tells her to go get her pj's on and brush her teeth as Mickey moves to lightly tidy the living room where monster trucks are scattered over the multiple surfaces as well as nerf bullets although the toy guns were confiscated, not from the children but Mickey, Ian apparently doesn’t find it funny to be constantly shot by his husband.

Once the house it’s put back together only to be destroyed tomorrow, not that he minds he like the constantly playing and having fun the kids have, something he didn’t much in childhood, he sits down next to his oldest daughter who is now dressed in Spider-Man PJs and breath smelling like mint.

“ Where's dad?” Franny asks.

After Debbie left for Texas with her convict girlfriend leaving her daughter behind for the rest of the family to take care of, reminiscent of Monica leaving her children for everyone else to deal with, Ian and Mickey took on the role of parents of Franny. Mickey jokes that it’s their test kid and if Franny fucked up so they can blame Debbie but they are doing a good job parenting Franny so far, good grades, multiply friends, happy and healthy so yeah they pat themselves on the back now and then with how well Franny growing up as well she rarely asks about her mother too concerned about her baby sister for the past year.

They never expected Franny to call Ian and Mickey's dad but it just happened once, Franny was legally adopted and the new baby arrived Ian and Mickey constantly called themselves dada and papa especially when Delilah started talking she also picked up the habit of calling Ian dad and Mickey papa.

Franny was not confused she knew they aren’t biological her fathers and who her mother is but they took on the role of parents and after many conversations to make sure that she did understand that if she just wanted to call them uncle Ian and Mickey it would be fine but dad and papa suck for her and that how it’s been for the last year.

Mickey snapped out of thought when Franny was pulling on his sleeve “where's dad?” She asks again in an exasperated tone

“ upstairs putting baby meat to sleep” the nickname makes Franny giggle she snuggles further into Mickey's side placing a corner of her faded baby blanket on his knee and wraps the rest around her lap as they watch some kid's animation tv show where the 3 different types of bear apparently they are brother it confused Mickey at first but Franny likes it so that all that matters.

He is unaware of how much time passes and still watching ‘We bare bear’ he learnt the show's name at least so Franny will be proud and he thinks Ice bear is the best, he would ask Franny who her favourite is but she passed out slumping under Mickey's armpit. He pulls out his phone to check the baby monitor app because Ian still isn't down only to find both baby and father passed out in the rocking chair with a clear pile of books next to them.

Mickey can’t help but chuckle. He turns off the tv and picks up the passed-out Franny who clings to him and her beloved blanket like a koala bear when carried upstairs but never opens her eyes not even when Mickey places her in bed and leaves a small Kiss on her forehead with a “good night sleepy face ” and small return of “night papa”. He clicked on the night light that sits in the corner of her dinosaur-themed room, leaving the door open in a crack in case she gets a nightmare or needs water during the night as he exists.

Mickey makes his way back down the stairs Turning off all lights and checking the door and windows are all closed as he wanders back to the stairs of the 3-bed house ready to put the baby in the crib and get his husband to bed. He passes all the picture frames lining the wall of the staircase. Most of them are Franny and Delilah over the past year but there are old ones like wedding photos of Ian and Mickey being sickly in love, some from Tami and lip engagement party just before Delilah was born, the most recent put up was one from Liam's last birthday party. They are some other random ones that Mickey can’t quite remember where they were taken but he knows Ian would be able to say.

Once his mind is cleared of memory lane he goes into Delilah's room, Ian’s dad snores coving over the soft baby snores he would tease Ian if the moment wasn’t so sweet so he snaps a quick photo of the sleeping duo before he picks up Deli ( a nickname that came from Mickey always calling her baby meat and a somewhat shortened version of Delilah) placing in her crib; just like Franny, Deli didn’t open her eyes when Mickey gives her a good night kiss. He moves over to his husband and gently shakes him and tells him to get his ass to bed.

Once both are settled in bed Mickey is dressed in Ian's old t-shirt that has faded and lost colour with a couple of small holes dotted throughout and a pair if loses fitting boxers, Ian is dressed in a white vest probably Mickey judging by the number of stains and (just like Mickey) in loose-fitting boxer do they both share the final good nights and small but loving pecks on the lips. Ian snuggles into the back of Mickey being the big spoon he always is with his arm wrapped around Mickey's waist protectively.

Mickey hears Ian's light snoring, not as bad as they were in Delilah's room; he peeks at the baby monitor one last time. It’s sitting on Mickey's nightstand next to a wedding photo and a book he has been currently reading. He can see Deli's face, peaceful and relaxed. The knowledge that his family is safe and asleep helps him drift off into slumber.

[pines-troz]

Weekend With The Warners Chapter Six - Animaniacs & Pinky and The Brain

Summary: When the CEO assigns Pinky and The Brain with the important task of watching over the Warners for the weekend, Brain is prepared for any antics that the children have in store. What he didn’t take into account was forming a familial bond with the kids.

Word Count: 10,710

AO3 Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27849962/chapters/71433888

Pinky honored Brain’s request by resuming the planned family activities to occupy Yakko and Wakko. The mouse rode upon Wakko’s red cap as they neared the movie theater. His light blue eyes lit up the moment he saw the movie titles on the marquee along with the various movie posters displayed across the side of the building. 

Everyone loved going to the movies! What could be a better way to spend an afternoon than to sit in a dark room with other strangers, munching on expensive snacks, and getting emotionally invested in a movie for two hours? He was especially looking forward to watching a movie about the Furbies! Pinky hoped that this family friendly-animated movie featuring the controversial 90s toys would follow the same beats as other recent animated movies from the past decade: A buddy road-trip journey with a surprise villain twist in the third act (which always shocked him every time!), and all the characters throwing a big dance party at the end to the tune of a contemporary pop song. Pinky would always get up on his feet and dance with the characters on the screen. While Brain would always shield his face at the sight of his enthusiasm, he had a strong feeling that Yakko and Wakko would be more than happy to dance with him before the credits rolled. 

Oh, he and the siblings were going to have such a fun-fun silly-willy time!

Wakko carried Pinky on top of their red hat, zooming around the front of the theater like an airplane. With their tongue lolled out, he blew a raspberry to imitate the sound of a plane soaring through the air. He was eager to go to the movies with Yakko and Dad. Even though it would have been better if Dot and Dadoo accompanied them, Wakko learned from their wisened experiences as a middle child that he couldn’t get what he always wanted and had to accept compromise. But he was willing to make the most out of the afternoon for Dot’s sake. Looking on the bright side of things, the middle child was eager to lounge in the comfy leather reclinable chair while chowing down on the various snacks. Buttered popcorn, cheesy nachos, hot dogs, candies, and a large cup of Abyss Boy soda! But he’ll remember not to consume the entire soda all at once. The last thing he wanted was to have another potty emergency on their hands. Regardless, Wakko couldn’t wait to satisfy their appetite for movie theater food! 

Yakko cautiously trailed behind Wakko and Pinky, masking his worry with a small smile. The normally laid-back smart aleck was glum over Dot’s health. Of course, part of being a responsible older brother was being the main caregiver for his siblings’ needs. And Yakko took pride in tending to Wakko and Dots’ needs, especially if they felt under the weather. The eldest Warner couldn’t shake off the bewildering fact that Dot was being cared for by a good friend, who successfully proved himself to be a competent caretaker, while he and Wakko walked about as if nothing happened. If his sister wasn’t so insistent on going to the movies for her sake, then he would be back at the hotel room tending to her needs like the caring sibling he was. But as a responsible older brother, Yakko kept his word. But going to the movies just wouldn’t be the same without her. He missed having his nacho buddy right by his side. 

The eldest Warner was pulled out of his thoughts the moment he felt his phone vibrate. He fished his phone from his pocket and he noticed the reassuring text message from Brain. 

I commend your concern for your younger sister. Dot is taking a much-needed nap at the moment and she will be okay. : )

Yakko softly smiled at the good news. He was thankful for the mouse’s swift response as well as the contents of the message. “Dot’s fine under Brain’s care…” He reminded himself. He looked over at Wakko and Pinky, who seemed to make the most of their situation as they conversed in their typical eager fashion, almost as if nothing had gone wrong. 

“I’m gonna buy so many snacks!” Wakko exclaimed, flapping their arms excitedly. 

“Troz! And I’ll get to swim in the bucket of popcorn!” Pinky added with an equal amount of enthusiasm. 

Yakko tried to conceal his concern with a small smile and a chuckle. “Yeah, it’s gonna be fun!” He lied with convincing enthusiasm. 

However, Pinky managed to catch a glimpse of sadness behind the Warner Brother’s eyes. His big goofy smile faltered. The idea that Yakko was trying to hide something that was hurting him made Pinky’s tummy feel all tight, but not in a good way. But Pinky was determined to alleviate the teen’s woes. 

“Is something wrong, Yakko?” The tall mouse asked concernedly. 

Yakko gave a surprised expression before shrugging it off. “Oh, it’s nothing,” The teen replied, trying to sound as casual as possible. 

Pinky pondered for a moment. He took his paw and rubbed the bottom of his chin as he thought, but snapped his fingers as he figured it out. “Well, I don’t know how to get rid of the nothing that’s bothering you, but I’m sure that the movie might take your mind off of it. Narf!” He explained optimistically. 

Yakko looked at the mouse who took his problems quite literally and shook his head. 

“No no no,” The oldest Warner dismissed while waving his arms. He looked back at Pinky, who cocked his head sideways and stared back at him with concern pooling from his blue eyes. There was something in the mouse’s eyes that compelled Yakko to tell the truth. “Well, it’s just that it feels wrong to go to the movies without Dot, ya know?” He confessed. 

Pinky and Wakko gazed concernedly at Yakko, who continued to speak up. “I mean, who else am I gonna share my tray of nachos with?” 

Wakko wordlessly raised their hand, but Yakko stared at them with skeptical eyes and crossed his arms. “Wakko, you’ll just consume the entire tray.” He interjected with a deadpan expression. 

“Yeah, you’re probably right...” Wakko glumly admitted as he lowered their hand. 

“And I don’t feel like I should be watching a movie when I should be back at the hotel taking care of my little sis.” The eldest Warner mentioned. 

Pinky’s eyes widened. “So that's what Yakko was worried about!” He pondered to himself. Even though Dot’s absence was sorely felt by the three of them, it wasn’t the end of the world because Brain was currently tending to her every need. The lanky mouse knew how to comfort Yakko. 

“We all miss Dot, but you don’t have to worry because Brain’s taking great care of her!” Pinky reminded him with a reassuring smile. “And I would know since he always takes great care of me!”

“He does?” Wakko asked curiously, tilting his head like an adorable puppy. 

“Of course! Brain always makes me thimbles of nice hot tea whenever I get sick and patches me up whenever I get the owies after a failed plan to take over the world! Zort!” The mouse confidently explained. “And if Brain can take great care of me, he’ll take great care of Dot!” 

Wakko believed in Pinky’s word. While he felt bad for Dot, he knew that their sister was in good hands. The middle child turned to face their older brother. “See, Dot’s gonna be fine!” He emphasized. “And besides, she commanded you to have fun just before we left the hotel room!” 

“Yeah, I know…” Yakko muttered, rubbing the back of his head. 

“Don’t you trust Brain?” Pinky softly inquired. 

Yakko was surprised by the mouse’s question. “Of course I do! I wasn’t implying that I didn’t. It’s just…” The eldest Warner stared at Pinky, whose blue eyes seemed to pierce his very soul, prompting him to demolish the barriers he built around his emotions. “Well, it’s really hard to ignore my big brother instincts, ya know?” He finally confessed. “Not to mention how weird it is to have someone else do my job.” 

Wakko walked over to their older brother and gave him a sympathetic pat on the back. “But Pinky and The Brain have been taking care of us all weekend! They take us out for food, tell us bedtime stories, and give us goodnight kisses,” He reminded their older brother, with Pinky silently nodding. “They’re our dads, remember?” 

“Dads?” Yakko quizzically repeated with a surprised look on his face.

Wakko’s face contorted into a worrisome frown. He thought that Yakko would already be on board with the mice becoming their parents, but apparently, that was not the case. “Well yeah. 

Didn’t you hear me say ‘goodnight mouse dads’ last night?”

“No, he was fast asleep when you said that,” Pinky told the middle child. 

Yakko stared at his sibling with a befuddled expression. In any other circumstance, Wakko would only use the words like ‘dad’ or ‘dadoo’ when he was messing with their special friend of the week. But there was an undeniable sincerity in Wakko’s voice when he referred to the mice as their parents. And considering how well the rodents have been taking care of them, the thought of them being parents was a nice idea. Pinky would always dote on him and his siblings and be incredibly supportive of them. Plus having constant praise and validation from the silly mouse is exactly what Yakko needed to combat his anxiety and self-worth issues. And despite his grumpiness and stern nature, Brain proved to be an excellent caretaker. The big-headed mouse was incredibly protective of him and his siblings and even humored them by indulging in their childish requests. Both mice were a pleasure to be around and they were decent guardians who looked out for them and deeply cared about them. They seemed like the perfect parents to have. 

But Yakko felt his big brother instincts and anxiety nagging at him. He was taking good care of his sibs for decades without any intervention from any adults from the outside world. He was the sole caretaker of his siblings when the human adults at the Warner Bros. Studio thought they were too dangerous to be allowed in society and locked them away in the water tower like dogs at the pound. Even though Yakko admittedly believed that he could have benefitted from positive adult figures during those years in captivity, he managed to pull it off on his own. Taking care of his sibs was one of the things he was great at!

Now that Wakko adopted Pinky and Brain as their dads, Yakko feared that the mice would usurp his role as caretaker and would be rendered useless. What kind of big brother would he be if his role of nurturing provider, the one job he took the most pride in, was taken from him? 

“Come on Wakko, don’t be ridiculous. You can’t just start referring to our friends as our parents.” Yakko scoffed as he circled his right hand in the air. 

But Wakko took offense to their brother’s statement. “What’s his deal?” He thought as he gritted their teeth and flashed their fangs. 

Wakko felt their eyes start to water as he curled their hands into fists and stomped on the ground. “Is that any way to talk to your dad!” Wakko shouted, gesturing towards Pinky.

Yakko was taken aback when he saw the tears forming in the corners of Wakko’s eyes. He didn’t mean to hurt their feelings. “Wakko-” 

But before he could say anything else, Pinky interceded when he hopped down from Wakko’s hat and stood between the siblings. “Stop the fighting, please!” He pleaded with his watery blue eyes. “My heart breaks at the sight of sibling rivalries!” 

Yakko looked at the buck-toothed mouse, overwhelmed with guilt. They were supposed to be having a fun time at the movies on Dot’s behalf, but the only things he accomplished were quarreling with Wakko and making Pinky cry. “Well, this is just great,” 

The eldest Warner released a heavy sigh, shoved his hands in his pocket, and walked away from his sibling and mousey guardian. He slumped onto the bench and placed his head in his hands. Taking deep breaths, he dwelled over the scuffle. Sure he would eventually patch things up with Wakko, but he thought about Pinky. That poor innocent bundle of joy who loved almost everyone and everything in this world. And he made the little guy cry his little heart out. Yakko assumed that it would take a while longer for the mouse to forgive him after what he did. 

“Poit!” Pinky softly spoke up. “Do you wanna talk about it?” 

Yakko lifted his head to find Pinky sitting on Wakko’s red hat. The two looked at him with worried expressions on their faces. Perhaps now was the time to set things right. 

Yakko thought about what he wanted to say, took a deep breath, and exhaled. “I’m sorry for hurting your feelings, fellas.” He ruefully apologized. He took a moment to gather his courage before confessing one of his biggest fears. “It’s just that...well, I’m used to taking care of my sibs.” 

Wakko wordlessly nodded in understanding. He remembered all the times Yakko took great strides to make sure he and Dot were provided for when they were stuck in the water tower and afterward. Making them meals, entertaining them with his jokes, schooling them with his educational songs, and telling stories before bedtime. Wakko knew that Yakko took a lot of pride in his role as the responsible eldest sibling. 

Yakko looked at his sibling and the tall mouse as he continued to speak. “And while I trust Brain to watch over Dot, I never had anyone else take care of her in my place before. And I can’t help but feel so…” He struggled to get the word out from his throat, but managed to let out a defeated sigh.

“useless…” 

Wakko stared at their brother with somber eyes. He could relate to feeling left out. Especially since his U.S. Capital's Song or The Great Wakkorotti didn’t stack up against Yakko’s Nations of the World or Dot’s Poetry Corner. The last thing he wanted was for their older brother to feel the same way. 

“Now that’s just not true,” He thought determinedly. Yakko was many things: funny, talkative, boisterous, clever, sometimes annoying, charismatic, and musically-inclined. But never in all of his years did Wakko describe their older brother as useless. Far from it! Yakko simply needed to be reminded of how important he was. 

Wakko sprinted over to Yakko and catapulted himself onto the bench. With open arms, he gave their brother the biggest hug possible. Yakko felt his eyes start to water as he was immersed in his sibling’s warm and affectionate embrace. 

“You’re not useless, big brother,” The middle child assured as he gently rubbed their right hand up and down their brother’s back. “You’re one of the best people I know!”

Yakko blinked away the tears as he heard his sibling’s adamant praise. 

“And besides, who else can come up with catchy songs about the universe or multiplication?” Wakko added with a playful smile. 

Yakko let out a hearty chuckle. Touched by Wakko’s sincerity, he wrapped his arms around his sibling, pulling them close. “Aw, thanks baby sib.” 

“Anytime, bro,” Wakko replied, giving him a couple of pats on the back. 

Pinky was still perched on Wakko’s hat, watching the loving moment play out through tearful eyes. Their reconciliation played out just like those Hallmark Movie Channel films where the leads made up after their third-act breakup and gave each other warm hugs. But instead of conventionally attractive white couples, it was two toon siblings who fiercely loved in that strong familial way, which was a hundred times better! Oh, how he loved seeing family members make amends! 

When the siblings slowly released themselves from the hug, Pinky hopped down and went over to Yakko’s knee to let him know just how special he was. “Feeling better, love?” The mouse kindly inquired while gently patting his knee. 

Yakko looked at Pinky, who was comforting him like a parent soothing their child. The eldest Warner focused on the mouse’s soft blue eyes. There was not a single trace of malice or anger to be found. Only pure, unconditional love radiated from those eyes. 

After spending decades locked away in the water tower and ignored by the workers in the studio lot, all Yakko ever wanted was attention. He craved any type of reaction from other people, whether it be good or bad. He could make people laugh or irritate them past their limits. Just as long as he received some sort of response, he was content. But as Yakko continued to stare into Pinky’s gentle eyes, he was reminded that the best type of attention was love. Not the romantic type or the adoration from viewers, but familial love. Yakko forged a strong brotherly affection for Wakko and Dot, who equally loved their big bro. Perhaps, he was willing to allow Pinky, and even Brain, to love him and his siblings like the good parents they set themselves up to be. 

“Yeah, I’m feeling better now,” He assured the mouse. But there was something else nagging at him that he wanted to address. “But there’s something I gotta ask you, Pinky. Do you see yourself as our dad?”

Pinky did not hesitate to answer. “I do, but I could be your mum if that makes you more comfortable!” 

Yakko softly chuckled. “I really appreciate you looking out for us, but I need some time to really think about this.” 

Pinky gave the teen a gentle smile as he patted his knee once more. “Poit! That’s alright, take all the time that you need.” 

With a sigh of relief, Yakko was grateful that Pinky didn’t try to rush things through and respected his feelings. If the rest of the weekend went by this smoothly, maybe he would have no issue with referring to the mice as his new dads. 

Wakko looked at the two and decided to change the subject. “You know what, I don’t feel like going to the movies either.” 

Yakko was surprised by what he just heard. “You don’t?”

“Sure! If you don’t wanna go to the movies, then neither do I.” He affirmed. 

“Are you sure?” Yakko asked. He didn’t want to make Wakko feel like he had to make a sacrifice for his sake. 

Wakko gave a confident nod. “We can always go to the movies some other time.” He insisted. “And as a middle child, I’m used to making compromises.” 

The eldest Warner was relieved by his sibling’s astute answer and playfully ruffled their red cap. But with the movies now crossed off their planned schedule, he was uncertain of what he, Wakko, and Pinky should do to pass the time. “Now the only question left is what ways could we have fun outside of the hotel room?” Yakko pondered aloud. He brought himself into a thinking pose, propping his elbow onto his arm which was draped across his lap, and scratching his chin. Wakko sat down next to their brother and immediately copied his pose. 

Pinky pondered as well. Deep in his thoughts, he looked at Yakko and Wakko, who fused into a rocket ship and opened up the ship’s hatch. Pinky immediately hopped inside to find Yakko and Wakko dressed in Star Trek uniforms. The lanky mouse looked down to find himself wearing a fetching red dress uniform from the original series. Yakko pressed a red button and they blasted off the bench and zoomed through the city skyline. Inside the ship, Pinky noticed a big sack full of toys and goodies. The ship crashed through a window, landing in the hotel room. Dot was dressed in an elegant nightgown and a purple fluffy boa draped over her shoulders while Brain, who now had long blonde hair, was dressed in a buttoned-down white satin shirt and black leather pants. The chubby mouse bit on a red rose as he read his book on world history. Dot and Brain were shocked by the sight of the rocket ship. The hatch opened, and the giant bag was pushed through the door and landed in the middle of the room. Yakko, Wakko, and Pinky emerged from the spacecraft and opened up the sack full of goodies. The Warners played with the various toys and games while Brain seductively winked at Pinky and tossed the rose. Pinky managed to catch it with his tail and blushed at his partner’s romantic gesture. Brain immediately wrapped his arm around Pinky’s waist and pulled him in for a sweeping kiss. 

Pinky sighed as he was brought back to the real world. He had the most splendid idea and he couldn’t wait to share it with the Warners. 

“Who says that we could only have fun outside?” The lanky mouse asked. 

Wakko gave the mouse an incredulous look. “What do you mean?” 

“Maybe we could bring all the fun inside the hotel room instead!” Pinky exclaimed. 

Yakko and Wakko thought this through and grinned at the suggestion of bringing the fun back to the hotel room and including Dot and Brain in their activities. After all, she only wanted Yakko and Wakko to have fun but didn’t specify where they could have fun. 

“That’s brilliant Pinky!” Yakko complimented. “Maybe we could do some fun arts and crafts projects!” 

“Or play board games! And buy lots of snacks!” Wakko eagerly added. 

“Or purple: all of the above!” Pinky cheered. 

The three of them bounced off of the bench, excited to bring some much-needed fun to Dot and Brain. Pinky tugged at Wakko’s sweater sleeve, prompting the middle child to place the mouse back on top of their cap. 

“We could go to the mall and purchase some supplies for today’s activities!” Pinky explained as he pulled out the gold credit card from his pocket. 

“Well let’s hop to it!” Yakko declared. He broke off into a sprint, with Wakko running on all fours to keep up with their brother’s pace. Pinky laughed joyfully as he held onto the middle child’s red hat. 

-                  -                   -                       -                       - 

Back in the hotel room, Brain was silently reading Heidi while Dot was fast asleep in the other bed. The smaller mouse took another glimpse at the snoozing Warner sister. He had to admit that she was quite adorable. Hopefully, the girl would be on the mend by the time she woke up.

The small mouse let out a blissful sigh. After dealing with the hectic antics of the boisterous Warner siblings, it was nice to have a moment of peace and quiet. Perhaps this was the perfect opportunity to develop a brilliant plan for world domination! 

Brain closed his book and quickly retrieved his journal and pens from his pocket. He was determined to devise a fool-proof scheme just in case his previously crafted giant robot plan backfired. Now the question was what could he do? Cradling the pen in his hands, he began to ponder the many ways he could ascend to power. 

Create a mind-control app? Start a pop culture-themed podcast and send out subliminal messages during the ad-breaks? Start a TikTok trend that encourages participants to obey him? Blackmail Elon Musk? Promote an enticing convention and swindle money from con attendees? Stage an elaborate heist in the Mar-a-Lago Club? Build a drone to harass the politicians in Washington D.C.? 

Oh, the possibilities were endless!

But his ears twitched upwards when he heard the door open. Pinky, Yakko, and Wakko returned to the hotel room, each carrying multiple bulk plastic bags filled with who knows what. As the three entered, Brain immediately shushed them, placing his index finger close to his mouth. Once he got their attention, he gestured towards Dot. 

“Right-o!” Pinky whispered, giving his partner a thumbs up. Yakko and Wakko immediately did what they were told and tip-toed quietly into the room. 

Yakko looked over at his sister, slept serenely in bed. He was quick to notice her chest rising and falling with each breath she took. Overcome with relief, the eldest Warner smiled. Dot was okay. 

He looked over at Brain, who was putting away his novel and felt a pang of guilt for doubting him. 

“Hey Brain,” Yakko addressed the big-headed mouse. “Thanks for watching over Dot.” 

Brain smiled at the Warner brother. “You’re welcome.” He said. “And judging from your text, it’s quite obvious how lucky she is to have older siblings who love her dearly.” 

Yakko smiled back, feeling touched by the praise. Wakko carefully patted his back. 

“Hi, Dadoo!” Wakko happily greeted Brain. 

The smaller mouse tilted his head in confusion at first. But then he remembered Wakko referring to him and Pinky as their dads last night and assumed that dadoo was just a unique term of endearment. “Greetings Wakko.” Brain replied with a small wave. “So how was the movie?”

“Oh, we didn’t go to the movies,” Wakko answered.

“You didn’t?” Brain inquired. “Then where pray tell, did you three go?” 

“We just came back from the mall,” Pinky reported. “Yakko and Wakko came up with these fun ideas of activities we could do instead, so we all decided to have a fun-fun, silly-willy day in the hotel room!”

“We figured that we’ll take it easy for today,” Yakko said. 

Yakko and Wakko took out some of the contents from the bags, such as materials for arts and crafts, Jenga, Connect Four, and Chutes and Ladders. Pinky also took out a few items from the bag. 

Pinky brought a few packages for Brain. “Here, I bought these just for you. Troz!” 

Brain opened up the bag to find over a dozen packages of doll clothes. The mouse marveled at various suit jackets, coats, sweaters, pants, and royal outfits Pinky purchased for him. His beau remembered his fashion preferences and he couldn’t help but smile. 

“I remembered what you said about making as many extrapolate purchases as possible. So that’s what I did!” The taller mouse explained. 

Brain was so flattered by Pinky’s memory that he didn’t even bother to correct his poor vocabulary.  “Why Pinky, I’m touched by this kind gesture.” He said graciously. 

“Aww Brain,” Pinky cooed. 

“I’m going to get started on my next graphic novel!” Wakko declared as he took out one of their library books from the book bag. 

Yakko also retrieved his book on European architecture from the bag and sat cross-legged on the ground. He took one of the bags and dumped out its contents. Packages of popsicle sticks and various bottles of glue sprawled across the floor. The teen opened up the package and carefully took out the popsicle sticks and began assembling his latest crafts project.

Brain couldn’t help but notice the eldest Warner’s determined look as he began gluing the popsicle sticks in a large circle while using his library book as a reference. The mouse was fascinated by this development and walked over to the teen. “So, uh what are you up to?” The pudgy mouse politely asked. 

“Oh, I’m building a popsicle stick model of The Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Paris.” Yakko casually explained. “I read about it in my library book on European architecture.” 

“Ah, le Sacré-Coeur de Montmartre.” Brain blissfully sighed. The mouse was impressed with the oldest Warner’s excitement for recreating the iconic church. “Would you like any assistance?”

“Sure!” Yakko answered enthusiastically. 

The mouse was pleased with the thought of being included in a wholesome crafts project. Brain took out a few popsicle sticks and collaborated with the Warner brother in companionable silence. 

As they built their model cathedral constructed from popsicle sticks, Yakko continued to muse over the idea of the mice becoming new additions to their little family. Pinky constantly doting on them, showering them with praise and gifts. 

Brain, on the other hand, was a grump who could be stern at times but was ultimately a softie who had their best interests in mind. Yakko loved to tease the serious mouse whenever he had the opportunity, but he also loved to share his educational pursuits with him, knowing that the intellectual would appreciate it. 

He also took Pinky and Brain’s short stature into consideration. Since they were small mice, Yakko and his sibs could cause as much chaos as possible and they would have some challenges keeping up with their silly antics. 

There was a lot of untapped potential in allowing the rodents into their everyday lives, and Yakko couldn’t help but ponder the possibilities. 

But the teen lost his train of thought when he heard a soft mumbling from the bed. Wakko, Pinky, and Brain also stopped what they were doing and turned their attention towards Dot, who roused from her sleep. Stretching her arms, the Warner sister fluttered her eyes and slowly got up into a sitting position on the bed. 

Yakko was the first to notice his sister getting up and smiled. “Great to have you back, Lazarus.” He joked. Dot couldn’t help but snicker at her brother’s quip. Yakko decided to ask a more serious question. “You feeling better sis?” 

“Yeah.” She answered. “How long was I asleep?” 

“About a couple of weeks, give or take,” Pinky answered with a shrug. 

“Pinky!” Brain berated his partner. He then turned his attention to the girl. “You’ve been asleep for a couple of hours.” 

Dot nodded as she carefully adjusted to a sitting position on the bed. “Thanks for helping me, Brain.”

The smaller mouse smiled humbly. “You’re welcome.” 

“Oh Dot, I’ve got you something from the store!” Pinky crowed. He sprinted towards one of the bags and took out a plastic box containing a family of Calico Critters. Lifting the package over his head, he raced to the girl’s bedside. 

Dot’s eyes twinkled as she eagerly took the package. She inspected the small bunny family dressed in their finest countryside attire. While Dot prided herself on being an intelligent young woman, she didn’t have it in her to hide away her interests in soft toys and plushies. 

“Oh thank you Pinky! You’re the best!” She exclaimed as she scooped Pinky up and nuzzled her cheek against his face. 

The smaller mouse laughed and let out a “Troz!” as he was smothered with affection. 

Wakko contentedly sighed as he closed the graphic novel. The middle child got up to place the book back into the book bag. “I should get back to work on my latest artistic masterpiece!” He declared as he rummaged through their pocket. But the drawing wasn’t there. 

He rushed over to the book bag and dumped out all the books, hoping that their drawing would fly out. Only a dozen books plummeted onto the floor. Wakko scrambled through the library books in search of their precious illustration but to no avail. 

Yakko and Brain paused their popsicle stick construction when they noticed a distressed Wakko desperately looking for something important. 

“What’s wrong, Wakko?” Yakko asked concernedly. 

“My drawing!” Wakko warbled as tears started pouring down their cheeks. “I must have left it back at the library!” 

Brain got up and carefully approached the worried Warner sibling. “Now now, it’s not the end of the world, Wakko. You can make another drawing here.” He soothed. Providing words of comfort wasn’t one of his strong suits, but he was trying his best. 

“But it’s very important to me!” The middle child trembled as the waterfall of tears continued to fall. 

Brain felt something stirring deep inside him. Seeing Wakko reduced to tears over his missing illustration brought up the painful memory of Pinky sobbing uncontrollably when he forgot to send his letter to Santa. The mouse learned not to brush aside Pinky’s own wants as trivial and he would not do the same for the middle Warner sibling. 

With his tiny pink paws, Brain gently patted the child’s foot. “Dry your tears Wakko, we’ll retrieve your picture from the library before closing time.” 

“You will?” Wakko grinned at the mouse despite the tears that streaked their face. Brain replied with a confident nod. 

The smaller mouse retrieved his smartphone from his pocket and tapped his Google app. He typed the name of the library in the search bar and hit the magnifying glass button. He immediately found the results and looked over at the library information on the right-hand side, searching for the weekend hours of availability. The library closes at 5:00 PM. He looked over at the time on the top left-hand corner of the phone. It was now 4:45 PM. 

Brain looked over at Wakko with sheer determination. “Come along, Wakko. We’ll make it to the library faster if we take my human suit.” 

The chubby mouse sprinted over towards his robot, swiftly climbed up the suit, and hopped inside the driver’s seat. Yanking the control levers, he swiftly grabbed Wakko and made their way out of the hotel room. The mouse ran over to the elevator and saw the doors about to close. Brain managed to place his foot on the divider, stopping the doors from closing. Once he got inside, Brain pressed the rooftop button. 

“But aren’t we going to the library?” Wakko asked worriedly. 

“We are Wakko, we won’t be walking or taking a cab.” Brain answered with fierce determination. 

“But I will promise you that we will arrive at the library before closing time.” He guaranteed. 

Once the elevator doors opened, Brain began to sprint towards the center of the rooftop patio. “Hold on to your hat!” He commanded, and the middle child firmly guarded their red cap with one hand. 

Pressing the red button in the controls, Brain ignited the jet-powered boosters on his shoes and he took off from the rooftop and ascended above the hotel. Brain carefully steered the controls as he flew across the city skyline, careful to keep Wakko secure in his arms. 

Wakko kept a strong grip over their hat as their eyes wandered down to the ground. He looked over to The Brain, who kept a determined stare as he searched for the public library. Wakko stuck out their tongue and let out an enthusiastic cheer. 

“Wooooo!!!” Wakko joyfully shouted. Many onlookers in the city streets turned their attention to the strange robotic suit carrying the eager toon. Not the most unusual thing spotted in Los Angeles on a Saturday afternoon. 

Brain spotted the library gardens and swiftly descended towards his destination. Jerking the controls, Brain landed near the library entrance in a superhero pose. Wakko released himself from Brain’s hold and ran into the library. 

Upon remembering the no-running policy, Wakko sped-walked over to the children’s section. Once he burst through the entrance of the kid-friendly area, Wakko picked up the pace. He spotted the drawing tables but was sullen to find them bare, save for the box of colored pencils. 

“Oh no!” Wakko gasped. Someone must have stolen his artwork! While he didn’t have the same detective skills as Hercule Yakko, he was determined to get to the bottom of this!

“Can I help you?” A kind voice asked. Wakko turned around to find the nice librarian he met this morning. Maybe she can help him solve the case!

“Excuse me Miss Librarian, I left my important drawing on the table earlier, and now it’s gone!” Wakko nervously explained while rocking on their heels in anticipation. 

The librarian sympathetically looked at the child before remembering. “Oh, that’s because I saved it!” 

“Really!?” Wakko exclaimed. 

“Yep,” The librarian confirmed as she opened up the drawer and took out the illustration. “Normally we recycle any pictures that are left behind, but I thought that this picture was too good to be tossed out. Plus I figured that you and your family would have come back for it anyway.” 

The librarian gave the picture back to Wakko, who quickly retrieved it. The middle child gazed at the drawing with tears of joy. 

“Reunited and it feels so good!” He cheered while clutching the picture to their chest. “Thank you very much, Miss Librarian!” 

“Your welcome.” The librarian kindly replied. 

Wakko waved at her as he made their bouncy exit from the children’s section. By the time he exited the children’s section, he found Brain awkwardly waiting by the circulation desk. 

“Found it!” He proclaimed as he showed the mouse the back of the picture. 

“That’s wonderful.” Brain sighed in relief. “May I see your illustration?”

“I’m not finished with my drawing yet. But I promise I’ll show you when it’s done.” Wakko said as he stuffed the picture in their shirt. “Scout’s honor!” 

“Very well. Let’s make our way back to the hotel.” Brain said as he held Wakko’s hand. Once the two made their way out of the library, Wakko tugged at the robotic arm hard enough to gain Brain’s attention. 

“Hey Dadoo, can we fly again?” Wakko eagerly asked, bouncing up and down. 

“I would prefer if we walked.” Brain answered hesitantly. 

“Awww,” Wakko groaned in defeat. 

“Come now, walking has its benefits.” Brain reassured the middle child, but they still looked down at the sidewalk, kicking a stone pebble out of frustration. The mouse furrowed his brow as he pondered. Certainly, the best way to please Wakko was to please their appetite. 

Brain gently squeezed Wakko’s hand, causing the Warner sibling to look up at the big-headed mouse. “I know of a wonderful designer donut shop where we can pick up two boxes of confectioneries to share with the others.” 

Wakko’s eyes widened with joy, eager to visit his favorite donut shop once again. “Yay!” The middle child chirped before leaping into Brain’s arms. The mouse was caught unaware by Wakko’s sudden gesture of love but welcomed it nonetheless. 

-              -                    -                       -                      -

Back at the hotel room, Yakko, Dot, and Pinky were playing an intense game of Jenga. Pinky inspected the unsteady tower, searching for the perfect block to remove. The mouse found a loose piece. He yanked it out in one swift motion, but the tower soon collapsed on him. 

Dot put a hand over her mouth as she saw the poor mouse toppled by the Jenga blocks. Yakko couldn’t help but laugh at the tower’s sudden destruction, but the Warner sister swiftly elbowed him. 

Fortunately, Pinky popped out of the pile with a hearty laugh. “Oh, that was so much fun! Narf!” 

“Let’s play another round!” Yakko declared as he gathered a handful of Jenga blocks. He began to assemble the tower when the door clicked open. He, Dot and Pinky turned their heads to see Brain entering the room, carrying Wakko in one arm (whose face was covered with strawberry frosting and rainbow sprinkles) and two boxes of donuts in the other. 

“Hi fellas!” Wakko greeted with a wave. 

“Hey, Wakko!” Dot called back. The middle child was relieved to know that their little sister looked much healthier and seemed to be on the mend. 

“Did you find your drawing?” Yakko asked his sibling. “Yup!” Wakko cheered as he jumped out of Brain’s grasp and onto the floor. “And we also found donuts!” He swiftly took the two boxes and opened one of them, showcasing eleven donuts. 

Pinky trotted over to the box and gazed at the many different flavors. “I’ve never seen so many donuts like this in my life!”

“Oh, they’re the best!” Wakko exclaimed as he was about to list off the various donuts. “There’s brie, white cheddar, chicken noodle soup, buffalo chicken, seafood salad, avocado, macaroon, bacon, ranch dressing, and macaroni and cheese!”

“Ooh, so many choices! Zort!” Pinky exclaimed. “But I’ll have the macaroni and cheese donut please!” Wakko happily handed the donut over to Pinky who eagerly accepted the unusual treat. 

Brain retrieved a handful of napkins from his suit pocket and offered them to the group. “Now let’s save the hotel cleaning staff the trouble and avoid making a colossal mess.” 

“Okay Brain!” Pinky replied as he took a napkin. Yakko, Wakko, and Dot quickly grabbed some napkins from the robotic hand before grabbing their donuts of choice. 

The chubby mouse placed the last two napkins on his bed before exiting the robotic suit. After landing on the mattress, he walked over to the box of donuts to inspect the bizarre donut flavors. 

Before Wakko could eat his second donut, he noticed Brain having a difficult time selecting which flavor to indulge himself with. The middle child remembered how Brain offered his french fries the other night and decided to return the favor. He looked at their donut and split it in half. 

“Here Dadoo, have some of my mashed potatoes with butter and gravy donut!” Wakko eagerly offered. 

“That’s awfully kind of you Wakko, but I’m all set.” Brain declined. “I think I’ll have the brie donut instead.” 

“Okay, suit yourself!” Wakko concluded. He threw the two halves of his donut in the air and caught them in their mouth. Wakko hummed contentedly as he felt the mashed potato, butter, and gravy melt in their mouth before swallowing. 

“So Brain, what’s the dinner situation like?” Dot inquired as she cautiously took a small bit from her donut, careful about not upsetting her stomach again. 

Brain pondered for a moment. Dot’s sudden illness threw a wrench in his plans to take the kids out to a fancy restaurant, throwing away another chance at having an elegant dining experience over the weekend while he could pay for it. But Brain was never one to dwell in defeat. He couldn’t change what he can’t control, but he could always adapt. 

“Is anyone in the mood for room service?” Brain asked the group. 

“Now we’re talking!” Yakko exclaimed. 

The mouse hopped over to the nightstand and took out the pamphlet regarding the hotel’s room service. After everyone informed him of what they wanted, Brain picked up the telephone, punched in the numbers, and requested a lengthy dinner order: meatloaf and side vegetables for Yakko, roast beef and chicken for Wako, chicken noodle soup and caesar salad for Dot, garlic jumbo prawns and filet mignon for himself and a heaping bowl of mashed potatoes and pudding snacks for Pinky. 

A half-hour later, their dinners arrived. The Warners sat down on the floor as they consumed their respective meals. Pinky dove into the potato as if it was a swimming pool. Brain was satisfied with his meal, thankful that the steamed carrots that came with his prawns were served al dente. 

After dinner, The Warners plopped back onto the bed rather exhausted after a long day. Dot took the remote control and turned on the television. She searched through the hotel’s selected movies in search of something decent to sit through. 

“The Sandlot was a bit of a let down in my opinion, so I’m gonna pick out tonight’s movie.” Dot drawled as she scanned through the various movie titles. 

After a minute of scrolling past some bland-looking movies, she came across an unusual-looking movie poster. A picture of Brain wearing a brown toupee standing in a dramatic pose with his eyes closed beneath the bold text of the title: A Beautiful Brain. 

Wakko and Dot ‘oohed’ and ‘awed’ at the screen. Yakko initially let out an amused snort but then he read that the movie was nominated for several Academy Awards, including Best Picture. A movie that was directed by and starred Brain somehow was in the running for Best Picture? 

The Warners were wildly curious about the fact that Brain of all people was involved in such a prestigious movie. 

“Okay, I have so many questions right now!” Yakko declared. “Were there no good movies out the year you made that movie?” 

“What made you want to direct?” Dot asked with genuine intrigue. 

“Can we watch this movie please?” Wakko begged. 

Brain waved his hands in the air. “Now, calm down.” He ordered with an indignant frown. “To answer your inquiries, yes I acted, directed, and produced this piece of critically acclaimed Oscar bait, and, as you children would suspect, it was all part of an elaborate plan to take over the world.” 

“By winning the hearts of critics and audiences everywhere?” Dot spoke up. 

“Unfortunately, that wasn’t the main objective of my plan.” 

“So what’s it about?” Wakko asked curiously with their tongue bouncing about. 

“A Beautiful Brain follows the story of a once-promising gifted student who grows up to be a weary and cynical college professor who learns that his value in life extends beyond what he could provide with his superior intellect.” Brain explained. 

“Oh, it’s such an emotional rush! I laughed, I cried, picked my nose when no one was looking!” Pinky eagerly added. “And it could have won Best Picture too, if it hadn’t been for…” The mouse’s smile contorted into a rueful frown as he remembered his blunder during his mission to secure Brain’s place as Best Picture winner so he could take over the world on Oscar night. “Me...”

Pinky tucked his legs in, wrapped his arms around his knees, and lowered his head on top of his kneecaps. Brain gave a sympathetic sigh and gently rubbed his partner’s back. “But all is well, dear Pinky.” 

“What happened?” Yakko inquired. 

“I was supposed to rig the ceremony by putting in Brain’s envelope in the winners’ pile, but I accidentally put in my no-bake cheesecake recipe in the envelope by mistake!” Pinky sadly recalled. 

“And had I been announced the winner, I would have used my immobilization ray to kidnap the entire audience of Hollywood elites and force them to do my bidding.” Brain finished as he continued to caress Pinky’s back in a soothing manner. “But it’s best not to dwell on past failures.” The pudgy mouse reminded his partner.

“Can we still watch the movie?” Wakko asked anxiously. 

The smaller mouse cringed at the question. Truthfully, he had not revisited the movie since it premiered in select theaters, and since they recounted their failed plan to the kids, he was not in the mood to watch his critically acclaimed vanity project. 

“No, you kids wouldn’t enjoy it.” Brain insisted. “It’s a dreadfully long movie with too many conversational scenes and not enough action to keep your attention.” 

“You’re right, that doesn’t sound very captivating at all,” Yakko remarked. 

“Yes,” Brain said dryly, brushing aside the eldest Warner’s quip. “In all honesty, the movie makes The English Patient look like Mad Max: Fury Road.” 

“Wait a minute, they made another of those movies?” Dot asked. Yakko and Wakko were equally surprised by this revelation. Apparently, they glossed over the most recent Mad Max movie in their Reboot It song. 

“You haven’t seen Mad Max: Fury Road !?” Pinky and Brain shouted simultaneously. The Warners wordlessly shook their heads in unison. The mice looked at each other and knew that this needed to be remedied. 

“Oh, it’s only one of the best movies in the history of history!” Pinky explained. “There are so many cars that go zoom-zoom-zoomie! Zort! And there’s a lot of emotional moments that make you feel all soft and gooshy!” 

“Fury Road is a cinematic masterpiece that works on so many levels!” Brain added. “Brilliant action set-pieces, a major focus on visual storytelling with biting commentary on the brutality of war, and a magnificent exploration of feminism.” 

“Feminism in my action movie!?” Dot gushed, her eyes gleaming with excitement. “Sign me up!” 

“Alright, let’s see if we can find this movie anywhere,” Yakko said as he scrolled through the various movie titles until he found a colorful movie poster featuring a woman with a shaved head and a man in the front seat of a car. 

“Oooh, so pretty,” Wakko awed. As he read the descriptor he noticed one huge obstacle. “Aw man, the movie is rated R...”

Brain hummed in response. “It appears that this movie is deemed inappropriate for children…” He drawled as he gazed at the Warners’ defeated expressions. But he laughed in response. “But we’re cool guardians, right Pinky?” 

“Amen to that!” Pinky cheerfully responded. 

“And if we’re going off by the date you were originally conceived in the Warner Brothers Animation Department, all three of you are technically over the age of seventeen and needn’t worry about this sort of issue.” Brain stated confidently. 

Yakko and Wakko bounced up and down the bed in elation, linking their arms and doing a do-si-do. Dot went over and hugged the mice. “Yes! I can’t believe you two are gonna let us watch the adult action movie!” 

“It would be a crime not to show this movie to you kids,” Brain chuckled. 

“Yes! Best dads ever!” She declared as she hugged them close, their cheeks squishing together. Pinky savored the affection while Brain was stunned by the sudden gesture. Once they broke away, Dot carefully cradled the mice in her hands. 

“But mark my words, I will watch your Oscar contender at some point, old man!” Dot added. 

“Yes, yes, certainly.” Brain waved his hand in dismissal. “But for now, let us indulge in this beautifully crafted piece of action cinema.” 

Dot gently carried the mice in her hands as she brought them over to the other bed. Yakko and Wakko landed on the bed and got into their movie-watching positions. 

During the movie, Brain was surprised to learn that the Warners remained relatively still when watching the movie. Although Wakko did get up from time to time to act out the thrilling action scenes. 

Brain was so invested in the movie that it took him a few minutes to realize that something soft and warm had wrapped around his broken, zig-zagged tail. He looked down to see Pinky’s tail intertwined with his. A gesture normally reserved for moments of intimate cuddling after a failed scheme to take over the world or a particularly grueling day of experiments at the lab. Regardless, Brain smiled at Pinky’s affectionate gesture. 

The pudgy mouse looked over at the Warners and his partner before releasing a contented sigh. Even though they weren’t able to go to the movie theater together, they still managed to watch a movie from the comfort of the hotel room. 

Once the credits rolled, the Warners applauded as Brain turned off the television set. Brain tried to get up but felt a sharp pain in his rear when he tried to move. He looked over at Pinky and noticed that their tails were still tangled together. 

The color of Brain’s cheeks and tail tinted to a light shade of pink. “Pinky!” He alerted his partner, gesturing to their tails. 

The taller mouse looked over at their tails and blushed at the sight of their intimate display. “Oh, sorry Brain,” Pinky replied with a sheepish smile. He slowly unraveled his tail, careful not to hurt his partner, and liberated his appendage. 

Brain was ready to give a reprimanding speech to Pinky about showcasing such lewd activity in front of the children but was alerted when he felt a gloved finger gently patting his large head. The mouse turned to see the Warner sister batting her eyes and endearing him to her cuteness. 

“Hey Brain, can you and Pinky tell us a story?” Dot asked. Wakko nodded enthusiastically with their tongue bouncing about. 

“We would be delighted to, wouldn’t we Pinky?” Brain answered as he slyly glanced at his partner. 

Pinky eagerly rushed over to his beau’s side, pulling him into a side hug. “We should tell the story of Rapunzel- no! We should act out the story of Rapunzel, Brain! With costumes and sets!” He suggested. The Warners were excited at the idea of the mice putting on a show for them. 

“Sounds like an ambitious endeavor, but with enough ingenuity, we can pull it off.” Brain concurred. “Now, we just need to obtain materials for the set, some costumes, and a long wig for Rapunzel’s hair.” 

“I’ve got some pieces of cardboard from the crafts store,” Yakko stated, pointing over to the small pile of art materials. 

“Excellent!” Brain said with a confident grin. 

“I have some Calico Critter clothes that would fit you both.” Dot added. 

“Wonderful!” Pinky exclaimed, clasping his hands together. 

“I’ve got some pisghetti for Rapunzel’s hair!” Wakko declared. He reached into their hammerspace and retrieved a handful of long, moist strands of thin spaghetti, which was covered with small specks of black fur. 

Brain stared at the spaghetti and back at the middle child. “Wakko, I am both amazed and disgusted by your creativity.” The smaller mouse remarked. Wakko grinned at the unusual compliment. 

“Now, Pinky and I need approximately fifteen minutes to prepare for our low-budget stage production of Rapunzel. So I suggest that you three get ready for bed.” 

The Warners saluted the mice and immediately began their bedtime routine of changing into their pajamas and brushing their teeth. 

The mice were quick to construct an elaborate set made entirely out of cardboard, don their wardrobes, come up with a script on the fly and memorize said script and all the musical numbers. Pinky was excited to play the role of Rapunzel. The mouse wore a lavender dress and fashioned the spaghetti into a braided blonde wig. Brain decided to play the leading man, wearing a teal vest, a white undershirt, and black pants, and his brown toupee (the same toupee he wore when he taught high school under his Mr. Brainslowski alias and when he acted in A Beautiful Brain). 

The Warners emerged from the bathroom in their pajamas. Yakko had a grey T-Shirt with the Warner Bros. logo and red flannel pajama pants. Wakko wore a hockey jersey and a blue bathrobe. Dot a purple nightshirt and matching pajama pants. The siblings were surprised to see a small set on the foot of their bed and the mice already dressed in their respective costumes. 

“So, you guys have everything all set?” Yakko asked. 

Pinky eagerly nodded. “I’m so excited to play the role of Rapunzel!” He declared as he twirled around. 

“And I’m equally excited to play the role of Finn Glider! The charming rogue and Rapunzel’s love interest.” Brain explained dramatically as he struck a dynamic pose. 

Yakko raised his hand in objection. “Uuuuuhhh, but isn’t his name Flynn Ri-” 

“Ah ah ah!” Brain interrupted with a pointed finger. “We don’t want the mouse to sue, now do we?”

“But Brain, why on earth would I want to sue you?” Pinky questioned as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Brain rolled his eyes and he took Pinky’s hand. “Let’s get this show on the road, shall we?” He told his partner as he tugged him by his hand, retreating behind the curtains of their makeshift stage and turned off the lights. 

Moments later, a small puppeteer’s box emerged from the curtains, with a small dim light behind the screen. The mice picked up their shadow puppet props as Brain’s booming voice provided the expository information in the prologue. 

“Once upon a time in a faraway kingdom there lived a beautiful princess. But the poor girl was kidnapped at a young age by an awful hag. The poor girl, whom the hag named Rapunzel, lived in solitude in an abandoned tower in the woods. Each day, she stared out at the world from her tower window, longing for companionship…” 

The lights behind the small screen blew out. The puppeteer’s box was wheeled away to the left and the curtains pulled back to reveal a painted forest background and a cardboard tower. So far the Warners were impressed with the mice’s creativity and were immediately invested in the play. 

Pinky strutted onto the stage, but Brain quickly yanked him back. “You have to open up the tower window, you imbecile!” Brain reprimanded in a hushed voice. 

“Oh, sorry Brain!” Pinky whispered back. The Warners suppressed their laughter as the mice dealt with their theatrical screw-up. 

The cardboard shutters to the cardboard tower flew open and Pinky popped his head out with a radiant smile on his face. 

“Oh, what a lovely morning it is outside! Narf!” He spoke in a somewhat monotone voice. He looked down to refer to his script and continued on. “The animals are having such a fun-fun silly-willy time outside, and yet I am alone in my tower. Oh, how I wish I had someone to talk to.” 

At that moment, Brain waltzed onto the stage and stood in a dramatic pose. 

Pinky smiled and waved at his co-star. “Greetings, fair person!” He exclaimed. “And what might your name be?” 

Brain looked up at the tower and tossed back his toupee. “It is I, Finn Glider! Notorious outlaw, cunning rogue, and certified ladies’ man!” The mouse flashed a smarmy grin at his audience. 

Yakko and Dot stifled their giggles. 

Wakko, on the other hand, was frightened at the sight of Brain baring his teeth and pulled their hat downward to shield their eyes. “You guys didn’t tell me that this was a scary story!” He wailed. 

After giving a smug smile, he turned his attention back to Pinky and approached the cardboard tower. “And who might you be fair maiden?” He inquired. “I could only hope your name is as beautiful as your face!” 

“My name is Pinky- I mean, Rapunzel! Zort!” Pinky faltered. 

“Nice save,” Brain muttered sarcastically. 

“Thank you, Brain.” Pinky kindly replied whilst batting his eyes. The mouse glanced back at the script in his hands and focused on his performance. “So Finn, would you like to drop by for a spot of tea?” 

“That sounds lovely, fair Rapunzel.” Brain eagerly responded. He looked to the tower and his smile turned into a forlorn frown. “But alas, I have no way to access the tower.” 

“Not to worry, Finn. For I could let down my hair for you to climb up the tower!” Pinky crowed. 

Brain knelt down and extended his arm out to Pinky. “Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your long hair!” 

The taller mouse gathered the braided spaghetti wig, which proved to be much heavier than he anticipated. But nevertheless, he happily dropped the pasta wig, which crash-landed on top of Brain. The Warners laughed at the sudden slapstick comedy while the chubby mouse let out an exasperated sigh. 

“Glad to know you kids are enjoying yourselves…” Brain soured. 

Once he got up, he climbed up the spaghetti wig. However, this proved to be a challenge, for the pasta was surprisingly slippery after staying in Wakko’s pocket for an uncertain amount of time. Upon reaching the top of the tower, Pinky pulled him through the window and the curtains closed, ending the scene. 

For the next half hour, the mice continued to perform their rendition of Rapunzel, and the Warners were enchanted throughout the play. In the final scene, the two mice sat in a boat made from a used toilet paper roll cylinder, singing a passionate duet about finding the light and falling in love. Once Pinky and Brain completed their song, they leaned in for a kiss and the curtains closed. 

The children stood up and applauded. The mice emerged from the curtains to see their enthusiastic audience. Pinky and Brain exchanged loving glances, proud that they were able to pull off a play in a short amount of time and with limited resources. Clasping their paws together, the mice bowed. 

“Oh man, that was a riot!” Yakko cheered. 

“Two thumbs way up!” Dot agreed. 

Pinky took off his pasta wig and walked up to Wakko. “Oh, can I eat some of the spaghetti?” He pleaded with the middle child.

“Of course,” Wakko said, as he took the spaghetti and split it evenly between themselves and the smaller mouse. “After all, sharing is caring. Right, Brain?” 

The intelligent mouse was surprised that not only Wakko remembered his dry remark from their dinner at McDonald’s, but how he has taken it to heart. “That’s correct, Wakko.” 

Pinky took one of the strands and offered it to Brain. “Here, you take this end of the spaghetti  and we’ll recreate that iconic kiss from Lady and the Tramp!” 

Brain silently shoved the spaghetti back to Pinky. “A tempting offer, but I would prefer to have pasta that wasn’t stuffed in someone’s pocket for Lord knows how long.” 

“Okay, more for me!” Pinky said before slurping the spaghetti. Brain shook his head at his partner’s moronic display. 

Pinky was about to give Brain a kiss, but Brain held his hand up before their lips could collide. “I will only kiss you after you brush your teeth.” He commanded. 

“Right!” Pinky agreed. 

“Okay children, you know the routine.” Brain addressed. 

The Warners nestled themselves underneath the covers. They were rather exhausted after an eventful day and were ready to hit the hay. 

Pinky and Brain gave each of the siblings their mandatory goodnight kiss on the cheek before Wakko gave them a goodnight smooch on their heads in return. After the middle child placed them on the nightstand, the mice hopped to their bed. 

By the time Wakko turned off the lamp, Brain collapsed on the pillow, eager to fall asleep. The mouse closed his eyes and was ready to drift off to his slumber when he felt a warm hand on his shoulder. 

He opened his eyes to see Pinky gazing at him with a worried look. 

“Don’t go to sleep just yet,” Pinky said. “I’ve got a surprise for you in the bathroom.” 

“Well, that doesn’t sound unsettling in the slightest.” Brain sarcastically remarked. 

“But Brain,” Pinky whined. 

Brain looked into Pinky’s eyes and pondered for a moment. The last surprise Pinky planned for him turned out to be a fun karaoke night. Perhaps he should have more faith in his partner and indulge in whatever he had in store for him. 

“Oh, alright.” Brian surrendered in an exasperated tone. 

“Great!” Pinky cheered as he gave Brain a quick smooch on his chubby cheek. “I promise you’re gonna love it! Just give me ten minutes to prepare!” 

With that, the lanky mouse hopped down from the bed and scurried over to the restroom. Brain placed his paw over his right cheek and let out a tired sigh. “I don’t know whether to be excited or scared of what that imbecile has up his sleeve.” 

AN: I apologize for the long break between chapters. I was feeling the winter blues and hit a bad writer’s block. Fortunately, I managed to overcome that roadblock and now I’m focusing on my writing. The next chapter is going to be considerably shorter compared to the last few chapters and more Brinky-centric, but it’s just as important in regards to character growth.

[when-they-write-stuff]

How about 34?

34. “Now I know where half my wardrobe went.”

- -

The thing is, Stiles was missing clothes.

It took him a long time to figure that out but when he did, he was pretty sure he was losing his mind. Because he wasn’t just missing a shirt or two; he was missing clothes. Like, lots of clothes. Like, a shirt every other day and sometimes a handful of his pants on the stray weekend.

By the time Stiles opened his closet and realized that he only had three shirts, two long sleeves, and three pairs of pants left, Stiles was sure something was going wrong. He wasn’t losing his mind. He most certainly wasn’t imagining anything.

Someone was stealing his clothes.

Stiles’s first assumption was Scott because the boy used to wear his t-shirts all the time when he came over for the weekend or from lacrosse practice. But Scott had been so busy with Allison lately, Stiles didn’t think he would’ve had the chance. 

Which really narrowed the list down to… well, Stiles didn’t really know who else. The betas maybe, but he didn’t think anyone of them would be caught dead wearing his clothes. He’d already learned first hand that Derek didn’t fit into any of his clothes and Peter… well, Stiles didn’t even want to think about that.

He’d kill the man for a second time if Peter was laying a clawed finger on any of his clothes.

Someone was stealing his clothes, Stiles knew that for sure. He just didn’t know who. Or why. And it was starting to drive him crazy.

When Derek ducked through his bedroom that night, Stiles was sitting cross-legged on his bed playing video games. He startled so hard when the man came swinging through his window that he collapsed sideways and went sprawling to the floor, a sharp screaming noise coming from his x-box as his character was slain by zombies.

Derek moved across the room slowly and gazed down at him, arching a brow. Stiles glowered right back up.

“Enjoying the view, Sourwolf?”

“What are you doing.”

“Oh, you know,” Stiles said, waving his video game controller through the air. “Sometimes I get a little surprised when angry-browed werewolves come streaking through my window like Shadow the Hedgehog. Seriously, dude, do you not know how to use a door? My dad’s going to walk in on us one day and suspect some very inappropriate things.”

Derek’s face turned bright red and he stepped back. Stiles pushed himself up with a groan and brushed off his bare chest before leveling the man with a flat glare.

“So, can I help you? Or did you just come here to scare me out of my wits and make me lose in my game? I was setting a new high score by the way.”

“... You’re not wearing any pants.”

“And astounding observation, Sherlock. Do you have anything else to say or can I return to kicking some zombie ass?”

“Stiles, you’re not wearing any clothes.”

Stiles looked at him for a long moment. Then he glanced back down at himself; bare-chested, no pants, just his super awesome Batman boxers. He thought maybe he should be a little embarrassed but Derek had raided his private space, not the other way around. Stiles was not embarrassed at all. 

“Yeah,” he said, shrugging. “So?”

“Why.”

“Cause someone keeps stealing my clothes.”

Derek’s eyes rounded. Stiles thought he looked a little shocked… and maybe a little scared? But that was Derek Hale, ladies and gentlemen. The man was an enigma. Stiles didn’t know what the hell was going on in his head half the time.

“Someone is stealing your clothes?”

“Yup,” Stiles said, launching himself back into bed. He restarted his game and continued to ignore the Alpha werewolf that was currently staring at him.

“And you’re not bothered by that?”

“Oh, I’m pissed,” Stiles said. “But it’s a Friday night and that means I’m not worrying about anything except setting a new high score in Call of Duty: Zombies this weekend. Now either go downstairs and get me a snack, or make yourself scarce, because you’re harshing my vibe, dude.”

Derek blinked at him a few times. Then he shuffled his feet and looked uncomfortable and Stiles paused his game, glancing sideways.

“Uh, Sourwolf? You good?”

“I’ll just go.”

Stiles raised an eyebrow. Derek started to turn away but then he glanced back, shrugging off his leather jacket and throwing it in Stiles’s face. Stiles squawked and his game made another screeching noise as he died for the second time that night.

“Dude, what the hell?”

“Wear that.”

“No!”

“Stiles,” Derek said, a bit of red in his eyes. “Wear that.”

Stiles glowered at him, but the man didn’t wait for another answer. Before Stiles could even say a word, Derek was ducking back out his window and, just like that, he was gone again. 

Stiles blinked at his open window for a moment before glancing back at the jacket in his lap. For a moment, he debated pulling it on, but then he only shrugged and went back to his game.

Werewolves, he thought, didn’t make sense. None of them.

Especially Derek Hale.

-

Long after Stiles had beat his game and his bedtime had come and gone, he was still awake. Stiles had been spending the past week taking exams and he was determined to enjoy his weekend for every second that he could.

So when Derek came ducking back through his window for the second time that night, Stiles wasn’t exactly taken off guard because he was asleep or anything. But he was taken off guard because what the hell. How did the man not know how to knock?

“Dude!” Stiles said, rammed against the headboard with his baseball bat gripped tightly in his hands. “Use the door, knock, come on!”

Derek shifted nervously and Stiles realized the man had something in his hands. He blinked at it a few times and then lowered his bat, hoping off his bed and crossing the room.

Derek held a plastic bag, he realized. One full of t-shirts and pants.

Not Stiles’s t-shirts or pants. Derek’s t-shirts and pants.

“Dude,” Stiles said, blinking at them. Slowly, he raised his eyes back up and Derek was trying very hard to look anywhere but his face. “Derek, I’m not sure what you want me to do with these, but I’m not trying to bankrupt you of your clothes either. We can’t both go running around Beacon Hills in our boxers.”

“They’re for you,” Derek said. “To wear.”

“Why.”

“Because, Stiles,” Derek said. It looked like he was gritting his teeth. “You aren’t wearing any clothes.”

Stiles blinked dumbly at him a few times. Then a slow smile crept across his face and he tilted his head, splaying one hand across his chest. His very bare chest. Derek’s face turned even brighter red. “Oh, Sourwolf. Are you trying to preserve my dignity?”

“Keep that up and you won’t have any more dignity to preserve.”

Stiles didn’t think that was an actual threat but his heart still leaped into his throat all the same. Derek’s face turned bright red as he seemed to hear his own words too, and he clenched his jaw, shoving the plastic bag into Stiles’s hands.

“Go put something on.”

“Dude,” Stiles said. “I’m not planning on leaving my house all weekend. The only person who might see my half-naked presence is my father and he saw me fully naked when I first came into this world, so I really don’t think that’ll be a problem.”

Derek actually looked like he could rip Stiles’s throat out. That also shouldn’t have made his heart skip a beat. “Stiles, wear the clothes.”

“I don’t wanna wear the clothes.”

“Wear the clothes.

“I don’t want to wear the clothes!”

Derek gave him a red-eyed look and Stiles’s stomach flipped. Before his lower body could decide to take on a life of its own, Stiles covered himself with the bag of clothes and turned, ducking out of the bedroom. 

He could only thank god his dad was on a shift, because he didn’t know how he’d even begin to explain any of this if the Sheriff had seen.

Five minutes later, Stiles came out in one of Derek’s giant henleys and sweatpants that were rolled around his waist three times. He stalked back to his room and threw the rest of Derek’s clothes onto his bed, giving the man a dark look.

“There, are you happy?”

Derek actually did look a little pleased.

“Now, I don’t know what kind of agenda this is backing, but I was trying to play some video games for the next twelve hours,” Stiles said, grabbing his console and launching himself back into bed. “As I let you know earlier, which was clearly ignored. Now, unless you want to join in, you can get your little werewolf ass back out the window or I’m going to take a baseball bat to your face.”

Derek blinked at him. Then he turned and pulled himself out the window, gone like Shadow the Hedgehog for the second time that day.

Stiles didn’t understand anything sometimes.

-

Two weeks later, Stiles finally decided it was time to stop eyeing Derek’s forgotten leather jacket on the edge of his bed and bring it back to the loft. He’d been tempted more than once to give it a wear, but he’d chickened out every time.

He was slightly terrified Derek would hunt him down rip his throat out for ever tainting his jacket. Or the man would get all weird again— like he had been for every day that led up until the one Stiles had convinced his dad to take him out clothes shopping.

When he showed up at the loft though, it was startling quiet. And seemingly empty.

Stiles poked around in each room until he plodded into Derek’s. Then he froze to see the man fast asleep in his bed, buried underneath a pile of blankets and…

No way.

Stiles blinked at the mound of his own clothes. His plaid t-shirts, an occasional pair of jeans. Stiles realized his mouth was hanging open and he closed it with a snap; and Derek startled awake so hard, this time it was the man rolling straight out of bed.

Stiles crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow. 

Grey-green eyes flicked up and Derek looked like a deer caught in headlights. His eyes were round and his face was pale. Stiles thought it would be the most amusing thing he’d ever seen if not for the fact that the man was sleeping surrounded by his clothes.

His clothes.

This was going to be such a long conversation. 

“So,” Stiles said, leaning against the doorway and kind of enjoying the fear in Derek’s eyes. “I guess now I know where half my wardrobe went.”

Derek stayed frozen on the floor. Stiles smiled.

“Let’s have a talk, Sourwolf.”

- -

This one was so much fun! I just love the idea of sharing clothes/scents with Sterek, I dunno why. Thanks for the prompt, my friend!

(if you enjoy my writing, consider supporting your underpaid student writer? You can also request a prompt if you’d like!). https://ko-fi.com/rh27writer

[teddyshoney]

So, in celebration of posting my 50th fic on AO3 this morning, I decided to make a masterpost of all my fics so far. I’m quite excited to get all of them in one place on Tumblr! I have written some stories that I recognize might squick some people out, so I will put those beneath the cut. Clicking on the title of the work or series will take you to the story or series on AO3. Each of my stories is posted on FF.net, too. Clicking on FF.net at the end of each description will take you to the story or the first story in the series for each series listed. (FF.net is rather infuriating in that there is no good way to mark stories in a series. If you have questions about series order on FF.net, feel free to message me, and I’ll help you out.) So, without further ado, here we go!

One-Shots:

It Was All Your Fault (9988 words) --  Finn and Puck are getting married! Mike and Kurt, their two best men, have put together a weekend excursion to celebrate the upcoming wedding, but they may not be the only ones planning something. (This really ended up being a Klaine story despite what the summary makes it sound like.) FF.net

Respect and Obey (8443 words) --  Blaine has always had a little trouble with his anxiety, and the pandemic is causing an attack. His Dom tries to help, but sometimes it's hard to shut off the voices in your head. (This is a D/s story with Dom!Kurt and sub!Blaine.) FF.net

Take a Chance on Me by Abba (1760 words) --  Blaine takes Kurt on a surprise outing that doesn't go as planned. (Written for Klaine Valentine’s Day Challenge 2019 but is a standalone work.) FF.net

I Could Fall in Love by Selena (1530 words) --  Blaine has had feelings for Kurt since the day that they met, but he doesn't think Kurt is in love with him. A few comments from Wes go to his head, and Blaine gets a surprise he didn't count on. *This story takes place while Kurt and Blaine are attending Dalton Academy and does not completely comply with cannon events. (Written for Klaine Valentine’s Day Challenge 2019 but is a standalone work.) FF.net

Whenever You’re Away From Me by Olivia Newton John (2921 words) --  Kurt's in New York, and Blaine is still in Lima. When Sam invites him to drive to New York with he and his dad, Blaine accepts, planning a surprise for Kurt. (Written for Klaine Valentine’s Day Challenge 2019 but is a standalone work.) FF.net

This Is the Time by Billy Joel (1009 words) --  Kurt and Blaine are supposed to be writing their wedding vows separately. But they're really struggling, and they both need just a little bit of comfort. (Written for Klaine Valentine’s Day Challenge 2019 but is a standalone work. I did not upload this work to FF.net. If I choose to in the future, I’ll add the link here.)

Christmas Cookies (2000 words) --  Kurt's headed back to work from the bakery when he bumps into a very upset Blaine. He decides his time is better spent taking care of his sad husband than at work, so they go home to work out Blaine's problem. (Written for Glee Potluck Big Bang Advent 2019 but is a standalone work.) FF.net

Series:

In Every Lifetime (314,220 words) -- This is a series that I’m writing with @jayhawk-writes. There are currently eight stories in this series, and we have plans for several more. We’ve been taking turns writing stories for the ‘verse. The series summary is:  A series of connected AUs inspired by this line from Blaine's proposal: "It's always felt like I was remembering you from something. As if, in every lifetime you and I have ever lived, we've chosen to come back and find each other and fall in love all over again. Over and over for all of eternity." 1. The Unknown (864 words by me) -- Kurt and Blaine have a choice to make... FF.net 2. Domus Civita (62,612 words by jayhawk-writes) --  While on vacation to a city he's never been to, Kurt Hummel finds himself in a place that he recognized from his dreams. The person he always sees in those dreams is there, too, and they spot him and ask, “Is it really you?” FF.net 3. It Only Took an Hour (19,072 words by me) --  Kurt's been set up on a blind date at a bar that he hates. And the blind date is a no-show. There is this really cute boy that walks in, though, and Kurt can't stop watching him dance and flirt. The whole story takes place over the course of an hour with the exception of the prologue. FF.net 4. The Writing on My Skin (35,530 words by jayhawk-writes) --  Soulmates, when the younger of the two turns 16, both get a unique mark somewhere on their skin that will have or has had some meaning to them. They can write to each other back and forth by writing on their skin. Kurt Hummel has been waiting for his soulmate to finally turn 16 so that he would have someone to talk to about all of the things he can't tell his dad or other friends. Nobody really knows how bad the bullying has gotten at McKinley. He hopes that his soulmate can help him get through this tough time, but he has no way of knowing that Fate, and Noah Puckerman, will lead him right to his soulmate. FF.net 5. Nothing Can Keep Us Apart (44,467 words by me) --  Blaine is a Prince...well, he used to be. Now, he's just a lowly Peasant living in the city of Hucal, a kingdom under the rule of the man who ordered his father to be killed. Unexpectedly, Blaine falls in love with a boy, a boy who should be far, far out of his reach. And just as he thinks that things are looking up for him, Hucal goes to war, and Blaine must fight. Will he make it home? Will he get to marry his soulmate? Will they have their happily ever after? FF.net 6. The Silver-Scaled Mark (52,737 words by jayhawk-writes) --  Blaine is a half-elf living in a town of full-blooded elves. He doesn’t fit in and is bullied almost daily for his heritage. One day Blaine finds solace in the library and later finds a book that talks about the magic in his world. He is drawn to it and wants to learn all he can. After Blaine has consumed all of the books in his town, he goes off to college to become a wizard so that he can help protect those that are not able to adequately defend themselves. Once he has graduated, he finds that he and several companions are part of a prophecy that will help unite the races in his world. FF.net 7. When Worlds Collide (currently 70,521 words by me) --  Kurt Hummel and Blaine Anderson are soulmates and fairies; they have a wonderful little family, and Kurt is a successful author. When his daughters beg him to read his new book to them for a bedtime story, Kurt and Blaine relieve their pasts, and we learn exactly how they became soulmates and lovers in a most unconventional and unlikely way. (There are two or three chapters left to post of this story.) FF.net 8. Guarding the Shadows (currently 28,417 words by jayhawk-writes) --  Too distracted by their love for each other to make their own choices, Kurt and Blaine are thrust into an adventure they know almost nothing about. Born in mid-1600 London, they must overcome many obstacles including their financial barriers and their desire to find true love. However, there's a hidden piece of the puzzle they know nothing about: vampires. (This story is currently updating weekly on Saturdays.) FF.net

The Adventures of Josh, Jasper, and Liza (25,779 words in 3 works) -- In the first story of this series, Kurt and Blaine adopt three kids: Josh, Jasper, and Liza. This story is based on the movie Instant Family. The following two stories in that series recount a few days in their lives following the adoption. I plan to write more stories for this series. FF.net

Engaged for Graduation (8189 words in 2 works) -- This is a canon divergent series in which Kurt proposes to Blaine on the night of his high school graduation at the end of season 3. I have more stories planned for this series. FF.net

The Ander-Hummel Family (14,023 words in 6 works) -- This series is a continuation of canon. Rachel is Kurt and Blaine’s surrogate; we follow them through the pregnancy and some adventures after the baby is born. I am writing more stories for this series as well as finishing the last story posted in this series. FF.net

Klaine Is My Favorite Hallmark Movie (3320 words in 2 works) -- I didn’t intend for this to be a series but as I was trying to work on some stories for the Glee Potluck Big Bang Advent prompts, this series was born. In the first story, Kurt and Blaine talk about what they think their Hallmark movie would be like. Then, in the next story, they do a bit of roleplay for their Hallmark movie. I don’t know if there will be more stories in this series or not. FF.net

Blaine Has Fibromyalgia (4757 words in 2 works) -- I didn’t intend for this to be a series either. I wrote the first story about how Blaine got fibro in order to deal with my feelings surrounding the possibility that I might have fibro as well. The second story, which I just posted this morning, was born out of needing to deal with another situation related to fibro. I don’t know if there will be more stories in this series or not. FF.net

Below the cut is a list of my series that have some themes others might be squicked out by. 

Puckurt Ageplay (25,736 words in 4 works) -- In this series, Puck starts dating Kurt and their relationship morphs into an ageplay relationship with Kurt as the little following Burt’s election to Congress. I have plans to add more works to this series. FF.net

Puckurt Needs Blaine (14,943 words in 1 work) -- This is a spinoff series in which Blaine joins the Puckurt relationship as a little. I have more works planned in this series. FF.net

Klainofsky (36,331 words in 4 works) -- In this series, Blaine calls Dave up one night out of the blue and tells him that he and Kurt are having problems in their relationship. This leads into an ageplay relationship with Dave as the Daddy and Kurt and Blaine as the littles. I have more stories planned for this series. FF.net

Blaine and Kurt (9376 words in 4 works) -- This is an ageplay series in which Blaine is the Daddy and Kurt is the little. I have plans for more stories in this series. FF.net

Kurt and Blaine (44,091 words in 6 works) -- This is an ageplay series in which Kurt is the Daddy and Blaine is the little. The first few stories are an introduction to their dynamic, but the third story, A Visit to Grandma and Grandpa’s, is where the series really starts to head in a specific direction, and we see the addition of Finn and Sam in a Daddy/little relationship as well. I plan to finish the last posted story and still have more stories planned for the series. FF.net

You and Me Plus Puckerman Spells Family (42,120 words in 5 works) -- This ageplay series follows Puck as the little and Kurt and Blaine as Papa and Daddy. Their dynamic begins when Puck shows up drunk at Burt and Carole’s. He’s recently broken up with Quinn again and due to his drinking has lost all his pool cleaning jobs. Having promised Finn before his passing that they would look out for Puck, Kurt and Blaine fly in from New York to bring Noah home with them to start his new life. I have plans for more stories in this series. FF.net

[landlordrecords]

Bassline (& 2020 in general): Re-e-wind

 What a strange year, as everyone, everywhere has said a million times… Writing-wise, I’d been doing Record Collector magazine since 2014, and uDiscover (the Universal Records online mag) for not much less, & that all just seemed to (understandably) stop dead with the onset of the pandemic. Since then, I’ve polished off my chapter on the work of Simon Morris and the Ceramic Hobs for Palgrave, & that’s about it, so you’re more likely to find me over on Twitter at Sniffy (@philblackpool) / Twitter these days, blurting out the odd sentence. I hence thought it might be time to revisit a very old piece…

Like many, I’ve been working from home for much of the year, and although I’ve occasionally wanted to pull out my own eyeballs, it has generally been very pleasant for a voracious music-lover. I started by catching up on the vast majority of my insane, years-deep second-hand vinyl buy piles, and then chomped through a load of ‘long listen’ stuff I’d had on the backburner forever (including, astonishingly, eventually getting through something like 40 hours of Pan Sonic live sets someone had dumped online). I graded hundreds of releases for sale on Discogs, and revisited umpteen musical thangs extensively, including 90s gabba, Sun Ra, music hall, Schoenberg, dancehall reggae, the acknowledged worst albums ever, happy hardcore, Italian house, bounce and makina (I’ve lost track of how much time I’ve spent checking out youtubes to try to identify a couple of most-wanted bounce and makina tunes), Britpop (!), cosmic disco, and Belgian popcorn. It’s been an extraordinary year, packed with cultural discovery and rediscovery. In amongst this, in no way ashamed of my abject love of Discogs, and already having used and edited it for many years, I read the entire guidelines and decided to go hard on sorting out stuff I care about on there. Seeing they’d finally added various more recent ‘styles’, I’ve spent the last month and a half doing a ridiculous amount of edits on a dozen or so niche genres of importance in recent times (footwork, Jersey Club, yadda yadda). My tweakings around Bassline and UK Funky eventually drew me to the attention of UK Garage legend Karl ‘Tuff Enuff’ Brown, a fellow Discogs obsessive not so keen on the editing side of the site, who wondered if I might give him a hand sorting out the mess of his own and his label’s (2Tuf 4U) discographies. His entertaining phonecalls were enough to convince me.

I dug out all my stuff related to Karl’s label to listen to along the way, and found myself noticing how much UKG has been back in the spotlight of late (key, and brilliant, article here: RA: Like A Battle: The Push For UK Garage's Future (residentadvisor.net) ). While by no means unaware of this (I’ve had some lovely promos from Kiwi and the like of late, plus some moodier bits from various El-B worshippers), my status as a confirmed middle-aged semi-retired raver had hidden much of this from me. This leads me onto one of my big philosophical points of recent years: I listened to dance music avidly before I ever went out dancing, and listen to it now in lockdown, and in semi-retirement. There is far too much an emphasis among ever-rejuvenating dance music correspondents on ‘the club’ as the only way to enjoy dance music, but we know that OG disco fans are 60+ and unlikely to be out every weekend these days – is their experience now worthless? Online fans talk up their love of dance music for exercise soundtracks, bedtime calming soundtracks, etc: this is reality. Dance music is as valid to all these people as rock is to people who haven’t been to a gig in 40 years.

The style I felt myself most drawn back to was bassline (largely via Karl’s low-key issue of some DJ Q material). My love of UK Garage and all its offshoots largely stems from how physically removed I have been from it from virtually its entire history. Only my 2000-03 stint in Essex perfectly matched the garage waveform, and that was the 2-step era, quite the opposite of bassline. Despite being largely a northern phenomenon, Blackpool is largely untouched by bassline, being all about punk and bounce to my mind. An instant love for me circa 2007, bassline feels like one of those genres with unfinished business, but remains one I’ve rarely danced to. Cut off in its prime, it is now back, enormously popular, and rightly so, but, due to the vagaries of the digital music world, some of its key material remains tough to access in any decent form.

I originally wrote the piece I have butchered for this one in March 2008, on Myspace (remember that), in reaction to the exciting waves of bassline and UK funky then reinvigorating the world of UKG. It looks a bit embarrassing now, with more writing experience, although I continue to applaud my own willingness to be open about my innocent appreciation of things I love but am not truly part of.

 The most notable misstep in my original piece was the presumption that bassline would become the latest enormous chart sensation. Like happy hardcore before it, the ball was, in reality, fumbled. Instead of hoped-for freaky innovation, the producers also opted, as many in years gone by, for smoothed-out commerciality (in unholy alliance with low-grade grime crossovers), although the main adversarial issues seem to have been police crackdowns and the London-centric ‘cool police’. Although I was long aware of such problems with Niche in Sheffield (the genre’s spiritual home), it appears that the police interference had a devastating effect across the board ( Banned From Sheffield: How Jamie Duggan fought for bassline… And won (ukf.com) ). This largely explains why many of the bassline producers gravitated towards the largely wack bass house/house & bass style so beloved of teenyboppers in recent years. Thank heavens that era is now largely over.

Niche reputedly specialised in an arguably unholy mixture of dated late 90s speed garage and ‘bassline house’ (think ‘Let Me Show You’ by Camisra, and MK’s ‘organ house’), way past their sell-by date (I still only really like a handful of Shaun Banger Scott bits in this style, one single 2009 Brummie CD EP, and one Virgo remix). Ultimately, though, this experiment unexpectedly created something magical. The crucial element here is the 4/4 beat. While undoubtedly skippy, the vast majority of the material favoured had a firm 4/4 beat, always favoured across all key scenes in the north of England from northern soul onwards. When they ran out of tunes to rinse, in time-honoured fashion, they made their own. Long, rumbling walls of bass, organs, and hoppy-skippy beats, with raggafied samples and gunshots over the top. Popular in Birmingham as well (pretty much the centre of a vinyl glut at the time, and now notable in the popularity of DJs such as Chris Lorenzo and Hannah Wants), B-side titles hinted of coke overload. Disenfranchised by London’s movement away from the holy 4/4 (despite a slight revival in the early noughties), and via messenger services and the like, northern producers began to exchange a new hybrid in the mid-00s which took these speed garage and bassline house influences and updated them with current R’n’B bootlegs, with influences from grime (regional grime producers were key here) and, most notably, with rococo basslines. Its most obvious comparison point was Sticky’s garage productions, concurrent with the early grime era. Southern producers such as Agent X, Delinquent (who featured Gemma Fox on their magical 2006 ‘Boxers’), and Dexplicit (Fox again, 2005’s ‘Might Be’) ran with that, and the north lapped it up. Key early pointers also included DJ Narrows’ superb 2001 4/4 tune ‘Saved Soul’, and early 00s DND work (Artwork, later part of dubstep supergroup Magnetic Man). A notable increase in output came in 2006, and 2007-9 were the genre’s original glory years. And the bulk of producers and up-&-comings delivering serious anthems to the scene came not from London and the south-east, but from Leeds (T2, Wittyboy, Nastee Boi), Bradford (TS7), Manchester (Murkz, Burgaboy, Subzero), Nottingham (Virgo, IllMana), Leicester (JTJ, H20, FB & Zibba), and Wolverhampton (EJ, TRC, Brett Maverick). EJ’s Ejucation mix series (all up on Soundcloud) is a good place to start, beginning as the bassline house began to be overtaken by the pure bassline numbers.

Distribution for serious UK garage music has often been woeful, with only high street compilations & the chart singles (‘Heartbroken’ by T2, ‘What’s It Gonna Be’ by H20, etc) making it all over the country, and this helped stymie the true development of bassline, although vinyl prices, dreadful video promos, and the leap to digital in some ways didn’t help. Years on, as an incorrigible vinyl fanatic, I still only have handful of bassline 12”s. Yes, you can now access this stuff the world over via Youtube etc, but decent, high-quality copies of full-length tunes (they are often hacked about to great effect, but in a way which obscures the original intentions, in the mix) are not always the easiest to come by, although the classic producers are increasingly putting out digital compilations of their original work. Material that would, for previous genres, be fiended after, is lost to being just more online links. At the time, I looked high and low for 12”s, succeeding only rarely, largely on the flip of UK Funky releases. The (mixtape) audience, going by comments online, were often extremely young, are probably now still only in their mid-twenties, and are seemingly happy enough with this chaotic model. Bassline originally, as all rave genres, largely ran off mixtape boxsets, and a 2007 ‘Pure Bass – Fantasy’ box from Stoke remains my key document of that era: seven bassline CDs, with many tracks repeated, but packed to the gills, with most tracks only lasting a minute or two in the mix. As with all rave mixes, it has taken me years to suss the majority of the track IDs. In the Resident Advisor piece linked above, DJ Q (from Huddersfield) talks about thousands of lost bassline tunes, the bad side of the digital revolution. My recent Discogs ferreting suggests more bassline tunes than one might imagine did make some sort of decent release, but too many only made white labels, promo CDs for commercial releases (before being snipped from the main release), mix CDRs, or Youtube’s grainy depths. Classics such as TS7 featuring Bianca’s ‘Seems Like’ appear to never have had any decent release whatsoever, despite TS7 going on to be a big name in bass-oriented house, and Bianca Gerald having kept at the vocal turns ever since.

T2 hit biggest, with ‘Heartbroken’, a gorgeous, smashed-vocal garage dub so popular that it even inspired a Jersey Club refix. His catalogue was immediately deep, although I get the impression he has stopped adding to it. One complaint about bassline, including some of the T2 work, regards the untutored vocals, which can sometimes be rather flat, and certainly lacking in dynamics compared to the dazzling US vocalists featured on some earlier UK garage pieces (I refer here, as always, to TJ Cases’ remarkable ‘Do It Again’). I kinda like that - it shows amateur enthusiasm not far removed from punk, and most obviously links to lover’s rock, as does the production at times: it gives a feeling of melancholy entirely suited to the vocals. Other bassline heroes include TS7, who briefly brought to the fore sassy female garage MC T Dot. His productions also include ‘Smile’, one of my very favourite bassline tracks, full of that Simon Reynolds-quoted 'weird energy’ possessed by DJ Hype & co in the early nineties. Male bassline vocalists such as Ideal also remain unfairly forgotten, although some of the female vocalists have gone on to work in related genres since bassline’s peak.

Paleface, an ex-member of London garage rap crew Stonecold GX, runs Northern Line Records (FB, TRC, Wittyboy, Nastee Boi), something of a quality mark for bassline productions, while also making highly successful UK Funky tunes as part of Crazy Cousinz, and later progressing into commercial house territory. He chronicled much of bassline’s high-water mark (including being married to Kyla, since sampled by Drake). Wolverhampton-based Northern Line signing TRC proved particularly adaptable, spewing out a legion of original tunes and remixes before retreating for a while to grime. Leeds’ Nastee Boi was a favourite of mine at the time, with his pitch-black gangsta bassline tunes, but pushed on towards a mixture of underwhelming R’n’B vocal cuts and nursery grime toons. Wittyboy started similarly punishingly but also went smoother, unbalancing the classic bassline rough and smooth combination.

Now that the dubiously poisonous rep of Niche has been dispatched, the key bassline acts have returned to their key battleground, and the genre seems in full throttle again. Much of the new material seems a little one-dimensional to me: producers invariably big up Bristol’s My Nu Leng as, I suppose, a bridge from bro-step to 4/4. Everything, as acknowledged by the DJs, is huge drops and nothing much else. It still sounds pretty hot though – not the updated lover’s rock of a decade ago, but worth supporting. Bassline is NOT finished!

[i-guess-im-writing-today]

Day 19-Sling

Hello to anyone reading this now (in 2021) I am currently trying to complete this I’ll be updating at least once a day unless there’s an exam or something until I finish with the prompt list or whenever the story is over with the whole reveal cute fluffy ending and all that. so if you’re interested let me know if you want to get tagged

Day: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19            On Ao3

Chapter 19-Sling

Marinette smiled, "Thanks, Adrien, that's really sweet of you,"

"See, girl! Now you don't have an excuse anymore!" Alya laughed.

Marinette rolled her eyes but didn't say anything. The kids were a danger to society. But with a person per kid, it couldn't be too bad.

-------- Time skip (the weekend) ---------

Correction, it definitely could. Not only could it, but it was a complete disaster. It was like trying to round up animals on the loose from the zoo. Only instead of being armed with sharp teeth or claws, they were armed with markers, scissors, and way too much junk food. Marinette wanted to blame Adrien. She really did. After all, he brought all the junk, but she just couldn't. He obviously had good intentions thinking he could get the devils to cooperate by bribing them, but it was a rookie mistake. Sugar and children was not a good combination especially if it's past their bedtime. And now Marinette was barricading the rest of the stash in the kitchen, using only a wooden spoon to defend herself from Ella. And Adrien held Etta Lion King style to stop her from scribbling on the walls. There wasn't any time to check Adrien's coat pocket in all the chaos. It taunted her from next to the door when Adrien stood.

"Wanna switch?" Marinette half-joked, still watching her demon child closely.

Ella used that opportunity to pounce at Marinette. Marinette moved out of the way, but the cunning child tried to dash behind her to the snacks. Marinette blocked continuing the stalemate.

Adrien chuckled nervously, "I think you got it covered. Besides, I think I'd give in after she gave me some puppy eyes,"

"True at this point, I think I'm immune," She remembered all the times she gave in to Mamon with a sigh.

Etta took Adrien's brief distraction to kick the air hard enough to surprise him. He dropped Etta in response. She landed with her arms in the air like she just performed a trick and giggled. She stuck her tongue out at him before grabbing the markers again.

"I'm reconsidering switching," Adrien sighed before running after her.

Marinette crashed on the sofa with a huff. She groaned as she inched away to give room to Adrien, who came with drinks. He sat down at the edge, trying to give her space while silently handing her a soda. Marinette grumbled a bit, but she sat up and took the drink from Adrien. It took bribing, two movies, an impromptu fashion show, and some smooth teamwork to tire the girls out. Too smooth. She looked at him out the corner of her eye. They moved seamlessly after getting used to the situation. It was like how she a Chat would coordinate once they figure out an Akuma. Accessing the problem then wordlessly dancing in tandem. She grabbed the remote, he distracted the girls, she helped pick outfits, he hid the snacks, switching duties and switching girls. It felt like second nature. She was only ever that much in sync with one person.

"We're back!" Alya pulled Marinette out of her thoughts, barging through the door.

"Shush, the girls are asleep!" Adrien whisper-yelled.

"Thank god you're back!" Marinette ran up, hugging Alya like she was her savior.

Alya rubbed her back while giggling at her best friend's dramatics.

Nino chuckled, "Come on now, Marinette, you babysat them before. I'm sure it wasn't that bad,"

"Two-words Nino, Sugar rush,"

The couple cringed before laughing. After a brief retelling of the terror of babysitting essentially mini criminals on steroids, Adrien and Nino said they wanted to talk real quick while Alya checked on the girls.

Sensing the perfect opportunity, Marinette leaped at the chance, "I'll wait for you outside,"

"It's cold outside. Stay inside a little longer. It'll only be a minute," Adrien worried.

"Don't worry, I'll be right outside the door. I'll grab your coat," Marinette grabbed his coat, feeling anxious to get the answer she's been wondering all week about.

"Thanks, Marinette. It'll be quick,"

"No need to rush," She stressed, wanting to have a proper look this time.

With an okay from Adrien, she left and made sure to close the door behind her. She quickly checked the pockets and pulled it out.

Red string

Eight beads

A large green four-leaf clover in the middle

Without a doubt, this was her lucky charm. She held it lightly like the evidence would shatter if she grasped it too tight. She flipped it over and over again as if the pattern, color, or symbol would change the next time she did it.

Adrien Agreste was Chat Noir.

She stepped back, leaning on the stair railing for stability. Adrien was Chat. Chat was Adrien. Her boyfriend had been sitting behind her in class this whole time. Her mind was spinning. What should she do? They just became friends. She can't just tell him now. What if he runs away? Well, actually, her kitty was quite the persistent type, so she didn't think he'd run. But it was Adrien! Oh god, she had no idea what to do. Sure they made up, but she called her boyfriend a pretentious spoiled rich kid, so many times to his face! And how was she supposed to tell him that she found out first? She had been the one that refused to reveal their identities for their own safety. She even encouraged both him and herself that they should catch Hawkmoth fast so they could be together. She would be such a big hypocrite! Especially since she said that "even if we suspect someone from real life, we can't investigate," and what did she do? She took his jacket and looked through his pockets like a stalker! Speaking of, should she take a picture, so she doesn't think she made all this up tomorrow, or would that be too much? She pulled at her ponytails. What was she thinking? All of this was too much already! Her mind was running in circles. She pulled out her phone and took the picture but then hovered her finger over the delete button. She invaded his privacy on accident when it fell, but this was on purpose, and she was going to have proof of it? But then again, what he doesn't know won't hurt him?

"Sorry I took so-"

"Ahhhh!" Marinette screamed.

She dropped everything and backing away from the sudden voice. Her foot hit the air as she missed the step. She reached for the railing to give her stability, but it was just beyond her grasp. She saw Adrien's wide eyes, and he ran to grab her. Guess his cat-like reflexes happened in real life too, but he's still too far, she thought as she twisted her body to catch herself on her hands and stop herself from rolling down. She felt a sharp pain in her right shoulder as she landed wrong and sucked in a breath.

"Marinette, are you okay!?" Adrien yelled, crouching down and helping her sit up.

"Mostly," she winced, "hurt my shoulder a bit, but other than that, I'm fine,"

She felt like she should thank Tiki or Master Fu or maybe even the miraculous itself. Thanks to her time as Ladybug, she was able to pull off a more like that despite being extraordinarily clumsy. She looked up noticing, that she thankfully hadn't fallen too many. Maybe she wouldn't need a sling anything. Spoilers, she was wrong.

[thollandthot]

finals week ; tom holland.

A/N: wow, you know the procrastination is bad when amy writes 2 one shots in one week (and one of them ISN’T smut). but basically this has been my emotional support daydream for the past few days, so i hope you enjoy it just as much as i do. feel free to message me if you would like to be added to my tag list !! WORD COUNT: ~1.3K PAIRING: tom holland & female reader. WARNINGS: stress, anxiety, mention of panic attacks, mention of eating disorder (sort of), but all the fluff in the world.

( gif is not mine, credit to the original owner )

finals week

This time in the semester was always hard, but it seemed to get worse the higher level your classes were. You were currently sat at the uncomfortable desk in your dorm room, notes and textbooks sprawled out on the wooden surface. A pen was situated between your lips, gnawing nervously at the end while you scanned through all your reading assignments and lecture notes. Your laptop had open a word document, where you were supposed to be writing a paper but you could not figure out the topic you were supposed to be studying for the life of you. 

After hearing your stress over the phone the other night, your boyfriend — bless his heart — came for a visit in hopes to help you. And although you weren’t sure whether he’d be a help or a hindrance, he at least knew how to talk you down if you had a panic attack. You heard the door to your room open and shut quietly, signaling that your boyfriend had returned. You had given him your room key, knowing fully well that you weren’t going anywhere any time soon. He walked up behind you quietly, in efforts to not disturb your focus, as he placed a Starbucks cup near the edge of your desk, the only space that wasn’t currently occupied by all your paperwork. “A coffee for the lady.” Tom grinned, kissing your cheek before going to take a seat on your bed. You were too busy reading one of your worksheets that you didn’t respond. Not even a thank you, but Tom didn’t mind. He never went to college, but he did know that exam season was stressful, because it was for him in high school. He had only assumed that in college the stress increased ten-fold. And his assumptions proved to be correct when you called him over the weekend, lump in your throat as you told him about your insane course load that you had only days to complete. It broke Tom’s heart not being able to help, but he hoped his presence would give you a pick me up. And it did, for a little while, anyway.

You leaned your head back with a groan, muscles becoming stiff as you sat up again after a moment. Your shoulders were practically to your ears from how tense and stressed out you were. This prompted your boyfriend to stand from your bed, striding over to hover behind you before gently rubbing the skin of your arms. You were still in your pajamas, not having bothered to change today. You were too busy. “Whatcha working on, love?” Tom asked, voice soft as he kissed the top of your head. It was then you took the pen out of your mouth, hunching over for a moment to scribble something in your notes before replying to your boyfriend’s question. “An english paper.” You groaned, feeling the headache begin to form behind your eyes. “Don’t suppose you know anything about Hall’s encoding and decoding model?” You already knew the answer. Of course he didn’t. And honestly, neither did you, and you were taught it over the course of this semester. “I can’t say I do, love.” Tom replied, voice still soft and hands still caressing your arms. He slowly trailed his hands upward until they were at the base of your neck, attempting to give you a massage. You hummed your approval, eyes fluttering shut for a moment before opening again to focus on the tasks at hand. Tom tried to change the subject in an attempt to get you out of your own head. “Did you eat today?” “Yeah.” You weren’t technically lying, but you hadn’t had a full meal. Whenever you felt like you were too hungry to function, you’d go to the lobby of your building, grab a package of chips or pretzels or anything the vending machine had to offer, and retreated back to your dorm to work on your projects. You could tell Tom didn’t exactly believe you, humming as he continued to work his fingers into the muscles of your neck and shoulders, hoping to relieve some tension. “What did you have?” Your eyes flickered to the trash can at your feet, because you honestly couldn’t remember. The can’s contents jogged your memory, “cheese its and some fruit snacks.” Your answer made Tom sigh. It made you sigh, too. You were so stressed about exams and papers that you were putting off daily tasks you needed for survival. Eating. Drinking. Sleeping. “I wouldn’t call that eating, love.”  Tom chuckled in hopes to keep the tone light. He didn’t want to cause any more stress than you were currently under. “I’ll order us something. What’re you hungry for?” Of course, Tom wanted you to eat something of substance today, immediately shutting down your suggestion of McDonalds. His trainer wouldn’t be too pleased with him, either. After some deliberation, Tom had ordered you both something from the diner off-campus. Thank god for Uber Eats. After finishing a page of your paper, you decided that was enough progress to eat dinner with your boyfriend. Dinner, although it was past 11 at night. Tom also ensured that you drank at least one whole bottle of water in front of him before cutting you loose and letting you go back to your work. Minutes turned to hours rapidly, and soon Tom was hopping off your bed again to crouch down next to you at your desk. “C’mon, darling, it’s 4am.” Your boyfriend mumbled, taking one of your hands in his and giving it a gentle squeeze. “Bedtime.” You checked your phone screen to realize he was right. It had gotten late entirely too quickly, and you were barely halfway done with your 10 page paper that was due what would now be the next day. You groaned, “Let me finish this page, baby.” And that’s when Tom gently shut your laptop, taking your other hand and attempting to get you to stand up. “Bed.” He insisted. “You can work some more tomorrow. I’ll even help you, but it’s late now. You’re going to overwork yourself, darling.” You knew he was right, but you didn’t have much of a choice in the matter. The only reason you decided to concede was because your eyes hurt from staring at your text books and laptop screen for too long. Since you were already in your pajamas, you wasted no time turning off the lights before climbing into the incredibly small and uncomfortable dorm bed, shuffling your body as close to the wall as you could in an effort to give Tom an ample amount of room to snuggle with you. Perhaps that was what you needed. After pulling his t-shirt up and over his head, leaving him in just a pair of sweatpants, Tom climbed into bed beside you, instinctively wrapping his arms around your waist. He kissed your shoulder, nuzzling his head into the crook of your neck. “Everything’s gonna be fine, love.” Your boyfriend mumbled, already feeling sleep pull him under. And just his drowsy tone caused you to yawn. “Will you really help me tomorrow, Tommy?” You asked quietly, flipping yourself in Tom’s arms to face him. He hummed his reply, eyes blinking back sleep “’course, love.” He replied sweetly, one hand coming up to play with your hair, his fingernails gently massaging your scalp. “Will you read to me? I can’t understand this textbook. Think I might pay more attention if it’s coming out of your mouth.” You whispered, so close that you don’t have to speak any louder for your boyfriend to hear you. He chuckled, but it was more so him just blowing more air out of his nose than usual with a slight grin on his face. He pushed some of your hair back with a nod, “Whatever you want, love.”

--

@tom-hollands-eyelash / @ophcelia

[beautyindisguise00]

DO YOU BLAME SOMEONE ELSE FOR YOUR MOOD RIGHT NOW?

Thursday night October 1 2020 @7:44PM (man, i am on a roll with these today!)

ARE YOU TOO SHY TO KISS THE PERSON YOU LIKE? not anymore. we’ve been in this relationship for a long time now so i’m comfortable kissing him when i want

YOUR BEST FRIEND HAS UNPROTECTED SEX, WHAT HAPPENS? a conversation between her and i on whether they were being safe or not. 

IS THERE SOMEONE YOU JUST CAN’T IMAGINE YOUR LIFE WITHOUT? many people. my family and my boyfriend

ARE YOU SOMEONE WHO HATES TO READ? no. its not the first thing i’d choose to do, but if i have a good book i dont mind at all

IF YOU COULD CHANGE YOUR EYE COLOR WHAT WOULD YOU CHANGE IT TO? blue or a lighter brown

DO YOU THINK AGE MATTERS IN RELATIONSHIPS? in some cases yes and in some, no

WOULD YOU RATHER BE AT THE BEACH OR LAKE? beach

EVER DROPPED A CELL PHONE? so many times. i’ve dropped my phone on hard cement, in the sink, and in the toilet

WOULD YOU RATHER FLY, DRIVE OR TRAVEL BY TRAIN? if it’s more than 7 hours then i’d rather fly. if anything less than that, i’m okay with driving

SO, WHAT DO YOU WANT FOR YOUR BIRTHDAY? i dont want much. probably just a small get together with everyone.

WHO ARE YOU TEXTING RIGHT NOW? no one. but i am facetiming my boyfriend right now

ANYTHING HAPPEN TO YOU WITHIN THE PAST MONTH THAT MADE YOU REALLY HAPPY? honestly, being with and spending time with my boyfriend’s family

WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FORWARD TO? Christmas time!

HAVE YOU EVER KISSED 2 PEOPLE AT ONCE? ew, no

DO YOU WANT TO SEE THE MOVIE PARANORMAL ACTIVITY? i’ve seen the first two i think, but i’m not a big fan

WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO AT THE MOMENT? my boyfriend on facetime.

DO YOU PLAN ON SLEEPING IN TOMORROW? i’ll try, but my body probably wont let me

WHEN A FRIEND WALKS OUT OF YOUR LIFE, DO YOU GO AFTER THEM OR LET THEM GO? been in these scenarios before. i just let them go. their choice 

WHO WILL YOU BE SLEEPING WITH TONIGHT? just me

DO YOU DO YOUR OWN LAUNDRY? i’ve done my own laundry since i was in second grade. haha

DO YOU BELIEVE THAT ALL GIRLS ARE THE SAME? nope. so different 

IF YOU HAD TO CHOOSE TRUE LOVE OR YOUR VERY BEST FRIEND, WHICH WOULD IT BE? ouf. please don’t make me choose

IF YOU WERE TO DIE TODAY WOULD YOUR LIFE BE COMPLETE? i feel like there’s a lot of things i’d be missing out on, but i’d be okay without it

DO YOU HATE THE LAST GIRL YOU WERE TALKING TO? the last girls were my girl cousins and my sister in our groupchat, so no. i love them too much.

DO YOU BELIEVE EVERYONE DESERVES A SECOND CHANCE? yes, but i guess it’d depend on the circumstance.

DO YOU TRUST YOUR BEST FRIEND? yes. 

DO YOU HIDE THINGS WELL OR DO YOU HAVE A GUILTY CONSCIENCE? depends. i have both

WOULD IT HURT SEEING SOMEONE MAKE OUT WITH THE LAST PERSON YOU LIKED? uhh, yes. i might just swing at someone

DID YOU SPEAK TO YOUR FATHER TODAY? i did not.

HOW MANY MONTHS UNTIL YOUR BIRTHDAY? three more month

LAST PERSON WHO CALLED YOU? my boyfriend on facetime. my mom on the phone

HOW DID YOU WAKE UP THIS MORNING? my body just naturally woke up. 

DO YOU DRINK BOTTLED WATER? yes

HAVE YOU LOST FRIENDS IN THE PAST YEARS? not this year, but previous years

WHAT ARE YOU DOING TONIGHT? probably have a glass wine and watch a movie or facetime my boyfriend

WILL YOU BE IN A RELATIONSHIP 4 MONTHS FROM NOW? i’m pretty sure i’ll still be with my boyfriend then

WHY’D YOU KISS THE LAST PERSON YOU KISSED? I was leaving home so we kissed goodbye

DO YOU HAVE A CRUSH ON ANYONE? i guess my boyfriend

ARE YOU STILL IN HIGHSCHOOL? nope. been out for about 5-6 years. out of college too now

ARE YOU LOOKING FORWARD TO ANYTHING IN THE NEXT MONTH? my first winery! pumpkin patches and hopefully seeing my boyfriend

WHAT ARE YOU WEARING RIGHT NOW? my boyfriend’s christmas sweater and panties. its almost bedtime

LAST THING YOU RECEIVED IN THE MAIL? bills!

WHAT DID YOU DO LAST FRIDAY NIGHT? was at my boyfriend’s grandpa’s funeral

ARE YOU EVER TAKEN FOR GRANTED? sometimes i sure feel like it

DO YOU CARE ABOUT OTHERS? of course

WOULD YOU RATHER SLEEP ALONE OR WITH SOMEONE ELSE? depend on who that someone else is. but i’d rather sleep with my boyfriend

WHO ARE YOU DATING? my boyfriend....

WAS THIS WEEKEND A GOOD ONE? this past weekend at the funeral was a good one. it was nice to finally spend time with my boyfriend’s side of the family

DO YOU MISS THE WAY THINGS USED TO BE? sometimes but im trying to enjoy life as it is right now

DO YOU SMOKE WEED EVERYDAY? i dont smoke weed at all

ARE YOU SARCASTIC? very. 

WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TOOK A PICTURE WITH? one of my work kids that i babysat

DO YOU CURRENTLY HAVE A HICKEY? i do not

DO YOU HAVE A YOUNGER SISTER? i do not

DO YOU PARTY TOO MUCH? i do not

WHO IS THE LAST PERSON YOU SAID I LOVE YOU TO? the boyfriend

HAS A BOY/GIRL EVER CALLED YOU BABE/BABY? yeah

DOES ANYONE KNOW YOUR FACEBOOK PASSWORD? haha, yes. my boyfriend does

WILL YOU BE IN A RELATIONSHIP NEXT WEEK? i sure hope so

ARE YOU ONE OF THOSE PEOPLE WHO JUST DON’T CARE? yeah, sometimes

DO YOU KNOW ANYONE WHO HAS BEEN ARRESTED? yes

WHEN’S THE LAST TIME YOU FELL ASLEEP WATCHING A MOVIE? probably last week

DO YOU BLAME SOMEONE ELSE FOR YOUR MOOD RIGHT NOW? yes. sometimes i just want my boyfriend to spend time with me! i promise im not that needy.

WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO BEFORE YOU WENT TO BED LAST NIGHT? my boyfriend

DOES EVERY FAMILY HAVE A CRAZY UNCLE? uh, i guess. haha

IF YOU COULD HAVE ONE THING RIGHT NOW WHAT WOULD IT BE? money.

DO YOU EVER GET PARANOID WHEN SOMEONE IS READING YOUR TEXT MESSAGES? not really. there’s not much to hide anymore

DO YOU MISS YOUR PAST? some aspects

[lovemesomesurveys]

What would you call your body type? Stick thin? *shrug*

Are you a morning person? Nooo, I sleep in late. I’m still crabby regardless of when I get up; though, and still feel tired and unrested and in serious need of coffee.

Have you ever been to Target? Countless times. I love Target.

Do you like iced tea? Sure. I couldn’t tell you the last time I had any, though.

When is the next time you’ll be at work? I don’t have a job.

Do you have a savings account? No.

Has anyone ever hacked your accounts before? Yes.

What color bedsheets are currently on your bed? They’re like an off white color.

Have you ever been to Disney World? If so, how many times have you been? Nope. I’ve been to Disneyland several times, though.

Does grammar and capitalization mean anything to you? It absolutely does.

Are you good at wrapping gifts for others? I’m not the best wrapper ever, but I do enjoy doing it.

Do you have a dirty clothes hamper in your room? Yes.

What would you say is your favorite television show? I have several.

Do you enjoy big holiday dinners? My family’s big holiday dinners got a lot smaller over the years, sadly. Now it’s just my parents, brother, and I. I love that, too, but I miss when more of my family was able to get together. Is your vision good? With my glasses on, yeah. ha.

Is there any piece of jewelry you’re constantly wearing? Nope.

What is one thing you desire as of now? To be able to fast forward through summer and also get back to some normalcy. I know things will be different now, but it’d be nice to get to a place where we didn’t have the fear of catching a highly contagious virus looming over our heads. Will it ever get to that point?

What kind of phone do you have? An iPhone XR.

If you could move anywhere, where would you choose? Somewhere with cooler weather year round. A place where you experience actual autumns and winters and not long, miserable summers.

Do you blog a lot, if at all? This is my blog.

Is your present hair color, natural? No.

What makes you the most angry when it comes to people? There’s a few things that come to mind, but I don’t want to get into that.  

Describe your current outfit? Black leggings and a black shirt. My usual attire. 

What was the last thing you ordered online? A couple of shirts for my mom and I. I want to order some of Bath & Body Works’ beachy scented hand soaps and body sprays as well. At least I can smell like the beach since I can’t go to one. :(

Have you ever felt as though you were drifting apart from a best friend? Yeah, and I did.

What color are your eyes? Brown.

Have you ever worn color contacts? Nope. I haven’t worn any contacts, just the idea of putting them in my eye and taking them out freaks me out.

What’s the best thing about a hug? They can be nice and comforting. They can also be awkward. It just depends. 

Biggest fear? Losing my loved ones, death, never getting better/getting worse, never doing anything with my life....

If you have a significant other, how long have you been together? I’m single.

Do you know any genuinely friendly people? Yes.

Do you buy your friends gifts? I bought them birthday and Christmas gifts. What was the last thing you plugged in? My phone to the charger.

How old are you? 30.

What color headphones do you own? They’re black.

Have you ever shopped on Urban Outfitters? Yeah, just a couple of times. They’re way overpriced.

Where do you buy the majority of your clothing? BoxLunch, Hot Topic, and Kohl’s. 

Would you rather wear necklaces or earrings? Earrings.

Do you consider yourself fortunate? I am in some ways.

Do you enjoy watching fights? Nooo.

Have you ever been in a physical fight? No.

Do you tend to talk badly about people? If I do it’s usually about people that have done stupid or ridiculous things that I hear or read about in the news. 

Where are your parents as of now? They’re in bed asleep.

Does your computer cooperate most of the time? Yeah, I haven’t had any problems. It’s only about 3 years old.

Does your family have any cheesy traditions? Sure, but I love ‘em.

When did you last go to a book store? Sometime last year.

What’s the closest book store where you live? Barnes & Noble. How much money do you have on you right now? None.

Favorite personal feature? I like my hair sometimes like after it’s been recently colored and styled. 

Are you wearing make up at the moment? Nope.

Favorite television channel? MTV, E!, The Hallmark Channel, ID.

Describe any piercings or tattoos you might have? I just have my earlobes pierced. No tattoos. 

Have you ever been fired from a job? I’ve never had a job.

Are you currently losing a best friend? No.

Describe the worst day of your life: Let’s not.

Do you play any video games? Yeah. Currently, I’ve been super into Animal Crossing: New Horizons.

Would you say you hate anyone? Apart from myself, no.

Do you think freckles are cute? Sure.

Last time you went to the mall? Back in early February. 

Name something that’s your favorite color: One of my favorite colors is rose gold and I have a really soft throw blanket that I love in that color.

Have you been to Red Lobster before? Yeah, several times. Haven’t been there in years, though. I’m not a seafood fan at all, but they had a delicious creamy cajun pasta. 

Do you judge by appearances? >> Judge what, exactly? There is some information I process through appearance, yeah – like, I assume that a person wearing a Behemoth t-shirt and black jeans with a chain wallet is probably a metalhead. Or that a person with impeccable hair and nails and makeup is probably really fussy about their appearance. The thing is, these are still things that I could possibly be wrong about, but it’d be harmless. <<< 

Do you follow a certain religion? Yes, Christianity. 

Who is your role model, if you had to choose? My mom.

Would you rather have nice hair or lips? Hair.

What are you most self conscious about? A lot of things.

Do you have any family members who live out of town? Yeah.

Do you consider yourself short? Yes.

What room are you in? Mine.

Hoodies or jackets? Hoodies.

Are you outside a lot? Ha, no. I’ve been a hermit crab years before the quarantine/lockdown this year, but that definitely has made it worse.

Have you ever been dumped via text message? Yes.

Do you like dreamcatchers? They’re pretty to look at, but I don’t believe they do anything. 

What is your favorite letter of the alphabet? I don’t have one.

Do you hate repetitive people and things? >> Er… like, not as a rule, I guess. But there are some repetitive things I hate, like certain sounds. <<< Yeah, same. And my life is also very repetitive.

Do you think autocorrect is a blessing or curse? It can helpful and annoying at times.

Do you believe in any particular curses? No.

Ever play a Ouija board? No. I don’t mess with stuff like that.

What movie scares you the most? There really isn’t one anymore. I love horror films. Some do still creep me out, but there isn’t one that has messed me up or anything. There’s no lasting effect after I watch them.

What was your bedtime as a child? Probably like 8 and then probably 9 and 10 as I got older. 

Reason why your favorite holiday is your favorite: I just love Christmastime.

Do you work with any close friends? I don’t have a job.

Do you consider yourself spoiled? You could say that. I hate that word, though. I feel it has such a negative connotation to it, like a spoiled brat. I was never Veruca Salt or something. My parents didn’t give me whatever wanted, but they always made sure I had what I needed and went above and beyond when they could. My brother and I were good kids and they rewarded us with nice things. I’m very fortunate that they still provide for me and I’m very, very appreciative.

Do you listen to any country music? Yeah.

Favorite high school teacher: My sophomore history teacher was really cool. He reminded me of Rob Dyrdek a lot looks and personality wise. I also remember that he was a huge fan of RHCP and had them playing everyday before class. 

Do you ever get drunk? Not anymore, but I have many times back when I used to drink.

Have you ever had highlights before? I had them for several years.

Favorite number: 8.

Do you still sleep with any stuffed animals? I have 4 that sit on my bed. What is your biggest regret in life? I don’t want to get into that stuff.

Would you say you think you have a mental disorder of some kind? I do have a some mental disorders.

Are you normally an independent person? I used to be more independent than I have been these past few years. I’ve been very dependent these past few years. 

Do you have any paintings? I do.

What is one clothing fad you wish never existed? I don’t care. 

Do you like to be organized? Yes and I used to be pretty organized, but that’s changed these past few years as well. 

Have you ever failed a class before? I had to retake a math course one in community college. Funny how I took it with a different professor and actually did really well.

Ever been judged because of your weight? I’m underweight and people have their own assumptions about it. What is your favorite breakfast cereal? The sugary bad ones, ha.

Ever had a wish come true? I don’t believe in wishes.

Do you regret meeting any of your exes? No. 

Do you own any coloring books? Yes. Adult coloring books became a big thing a few years ago and I got really into it. 

What’s the meanest thing someone’s called you? I’ve said the meanest, cruelest things to myself.

Have you ever bullied someone? No.

Do you ever watch Lifetime? Growing up my mom and I used to love watching Lifetime movies. We’d binge watch ‘em every weekend. Now we’ll catch a movie every once in awhile and kind of get hooked again, but not very often.

Ever tried to intentionally sabotage someone’s grade? Wow, no.

Do you own any brown clothing? I have a brown pair of leggings.

What color are your walls painted? White.

Last thing you drank: Starbucks Doubleshot energy drink.

Have you ever seen a tornado in person? Noooo.

Do you have an inground pool at your house? No.

What is the first digit of your phone number? What’s the prettiest town you’ve been to? There’s been a few.

Do you tend to sleep a lot? When I do sleep, yes. I have a messed up sleep schedule and it’s hard for me to fall asleep, but when I do I’ve been sleeping a lot. I’d nap a lot everyday, too, if I allowed myself to, but for some reason I rarely do.

Silver or gold jewelry? I like both.

Do you sometimes celebrate holidays early? Well, for Christmas we’ve done something the day or so before with family. 

Have you ever been in love? Yes. 

What’s the best gift you’ve ever received? Everything my family has given and done for me.

When was the last time you showered? A couple days ago.

Would you consider yourself attractive? No.

Has anyone made you mad today? Not as of now.

Favorite smell: Sigh, I’ve listed this too many times.

Are you afraid of insects? YES. ALL of them.

Do you have any children? Nooo.

If so, what are their names?

Would ever consider having children in the future? I don’t want to have children.

Have you ever lived on a farm? No.

Ever played any sports? No.

Do both of your parents have jobs? Yes.

Where is the best place you’ve been on vacation to? I love all the vacations I’ve been on.

Are you afraid people won’t accept you? That’s not something I’m concerned about right now. Haven’t been the last few years. And that’s not at all because I’m confident or something... very much the opposite. 

Are you, for the most part, an honest person? Yes.

Did you make prank phone calls as a child? My friends and I did that sometimes in middle school. :X So dumb.

Do you like to make donations? Yeah.

What is your current ringtone? One of the ones that came with the phone.

Meet anyone from your past lately? No.

Have you ever called a teen suicide line? No.

Have you ever caught something on fire? Yes. Food in the microwave and in the oven. Also the tips of my hair once when blowing out birthday candles... 

Ever been obsessed with a show? Yeah. That’s what tends to happen when I’m into a show.

What type of perfume or cologne do you use? A body spray from Bath & Body Works called Into the Night. I want to get some of their beachy scents now.

What’s the last book you read? I’m currently reading, The Girl and the Hunt by AJ Rivers.

Dream career: I have no idea.

Have you ever climbed a mountain before? No.

At what age do you plan to get married? I don’t.

Ever been in a car accident? No.

[shortqueershakespeare]

Gonna take a page out of the other anon's book and ask you to do all the harry potter questions...

so this took forever, but i’ve finally finished them all (and of course pasting them fucked up the formatting fml) Amortentia: Talk about 3 things you love. 

- I love languages, I love being able to see into someone’s soul by talking the language of their heart. I love the different sides of my identity that emerge with different languages, how you can only see fragments of my whole soul without comprehension of each language that forms a part of my heart.

- I love the LGBT community, love feeling free and whole and myself. I love seeing people realise who they are and seeing unabashed, queer love in the face of a world that does not want us. I love seeing that we are stronger together and that no one can take our identities away, no matter how much they try. I love seeing boys fall in love with boys and girls fall for girls for the first time. 

- I love the pure, unadulterated joy of learning, of education and finding out something new. The feeling of discovery and the sensation of having accomplished something when you understand a new concept is incomparable.

Ageing Potion: imagine yourself 50-60 years from now. how would you like a typical day to go? where do you see yourself? 

In fifty years, my body would be my own, covered in marks from misadventure and splashes of colourful memories. At 61, my kids would be grown up and moved out, my house would be filled with a different kind of sound, with puppies and bunnies and any other pets that fit. I hope I’d have a man to share this life with, we spend our weekends baking and devising obstacle courses for the pets to fall over, getting calls from our kids on how to be an adult (as if we’ve figured that out, even at our age). My sisters still haven’t let go of the habit of calling me a kid, and I try to see them when I can. The seasons change, the leaves fall, and I spend them all, content.

Alihotsy Draught: name and write about a few topics you’re really passionate about. 

Oh god we already did things I love though

Lets go specific instead and say fictional characters/ships

Drarry - The lion and the snake clash together, fire and ice raging a passionate war against each other, until they manage to blend their voices into one harmony. 

Wolfstar - the dog and the wolf, the moon and the star. Something poetic about their love. Sure, they’ve pushed against it, shouted angry words and slammed doors, but through it all, they gravitate back to each other. 

Ballum - by all accounts they shouldn’t work. A criminal and an aspiring cop, they’re a recipe for disaster, doomed to fail. But no-one, not even them, thought that they would become their own priority, above parental expectations, above the world they grew up in. they hold on tight, breathe each other in, relish in their found family. 

Antidote to Veritaserum: what is the biggest/most memorable lie you’ve told? 

I genuinely can’t think of one at all?? Oh lol not a lie but lie by omission i guess?? The fact that my gran still thinks i’m cishet lolll

Babbling Beverage: what kind of person are you when you’re drunk/hyped up on caffeine? 

I’m so fucking affectionate and talkative, i wanna cuddle everyone and I will absolutely tell you my opinions on/feelings about people. I’m a drunk disaster, but a fun drunk disaster. I also find a lot of things funny when drunk, and buy lots of presents for people.

Barufflo’s Brain Elixir: if you could master one skill instantly, what would it be? 

Right now the goddamn Russian language so my degree would be easier lol. I’d love to be able to whistle actually, or draw. 

Bloodroot Potion: describe a time you felt heartbroken. 

Well we’re gonna stick with creative writing so: I had a dream about us, both in matching suits. We were dancing at sunset, holding each other close as the songs played on. I woke up happy and content, and then I remembered that you weren’t mine anymore. You’re dancing with someone else while I sit, sobbing in my bed, longing for what should have been our future. I went through my room, finding every little thing that belonged to you, and put them to one side, in case you ever wanted them back. Holding on to the hope of one last conversation I guess. I miss you, and I hate you. And I love you. It hurts so much, like my heart stayed with you and I won’t last long without it.

Bruise removal paste: after you were heartbroken, what healed you?

The first time, it was love from family and friends and eventually falling in love again. And time. Now, i don’t know what’s gonna finish healing me, but love from other people and the promise that I’m worth more has done a lot to get me there.

Burn healing paste: are you cautious or are you impulsive? 

Both I think? I think I could do with being a lil more spontaneous though.

Calming Draught: what do you do on a rainy day?

I like to sit with a cup of tea or coffee, legs under a blanket, watching TV or writing or reading.

Caxambu: Style

I don’t think I have a recognisable style that can be described as anything other than gay. 

Borborygmus Potion: what’s your favorite food?

Right now I could really go for roast dinner tbh.  Confusing Concoction: What do you struggle most with? 

Prioritising myself and believing in my own worth. Cough Potion: What do you do to get better when you’re sick? 

I sleep a lot, and I like to eat chicken soup and have lots of warm drinks. Cure for Boils: Write about three pet peeves. 

People NOT WEARING HEADPHONES Hypocrisy Not respecting personal space Death potion: If you were told you were going to die in 24 hours, what would you do? 

Depends if I knew the cause of death/if i was infectious or not. If I wasn’t infectious I’d visit as many friends and family as possible, and probably get drunk. Deflating draught: Would you call yourself arrogant/modest? 

I like to think I’m modest but then again I don’t think that’s a super modest thought. Developing Solution: What’s the best photo you’ve taken? Which one’s your favorite? 

I took a nice one of my uni room, and some good ones at pride. Dogbreath Potion: What superpower would you have and why? 

Shapeshifting because my god would that make being trans more bearable. Doxycide: are you more clean or messy? 

Messy, but I do like to clean sometimes. Dr. Ubbly’s Oblivious Unction: are you critical of yourself? if you are, how do you want to work on it? 

Yes I am, and I try to work on it by talking to myself as I would to a friend or my puppy. Draught of Living Death: How would you like your funeral to go?

I’d like it to be a reflection of me, but equally I’d want it to be good for the people I’m leaving behind - I’d like Bye Bye Darling to be one of the songs though. Draught of Peace: What relaxes you? 

Watching familiar TV, listening to dodie, Maisie Peters, Orla Gartland, the puppy sleeping on me, hugs from friends. Drink of Despair: What’s your biggest regret? 

Not breaking up with my exes sooner, it would’ve been so much less painful and better all round. Drowsiness Draught: What’s your bedtime routine? 

So after my sister and dad go to bed, I stay down with the pup, take her out to the loo, and then sit on the sofa with her sleeping for a bit. Then I put her to bed and tidy a bit, I go up to my room and get into pjs, brush my teeth and wash my face, I put on my dim fairy lights and put on a chill playlist, then sleep.  Elixir of life: Would you rather live five ok/mediocre years or one incredible year? 

I think it kinda depends, like it its five mediocre years where each day is mediocre, then definitely one incredible year. Elixir to Induce Euphoria: What makes you feel alive? 

Dancing, love, running with the pup. Essence of Dittany: what’s the worst scar you currently have?

I scar quite easily, but they also fade quite well - at the moment I have one on my elbow from catching it on chicken wire. Exploding Potion: Do you like fireworks?

Yeah! They’re super pretty - I prefer the ones without a bang though. Fatiguing Infusion: Describe a recent/memorable dream.  

I had a dream about being physically back at uni, it wasn’t super eventful but it was really calming and nostalgic. Felix Felicis: Do you believe in luck?

I guess?? Flesh-Eating Slug Repellent: How do you keep bad thoughts away? 

Antidepressants lol. No but if I’m anxious I’ll write out everything I’m stressed about to get it out of my head. If I’m depressed I try to distract myself. Forgetfulness Potion: What is your favorite memory?

Maybe my first time getting drunk, it was the cast afterparty for my favourite show and it was so fun being able to chill with all my friends and being treated like an adult. (Plus it was fucking hilarious watching everyone come to the set strike the next day where most people were hungover as all hell)

My first gay night out was also pretty memorable, if only for the amount I drank lol. Fungiface Potion: What’s the greatest prank you’ve pulled? 

Legitimately don’t know if I ever have pulled one? At school we once turned our whole classroom backwards, and at uni my friends and I spent about two years putting any spam mail we got into our friends pigeonhole after he proudly told us how empty he always kept it. That was fun. Gregory’s Unctuous Unction: Describe your best friend(s).

Okay we’re gonna go for 3 people (all of whom have featured in poems of mine) - I started off writing about 5 and then got bored (and also vaguely embarrassed about calling people best friends) so we’re going down to three I’m also gonna make it vague ish So the first is a friend I’ve known for ten years and we’ve been equal parts immature and grown up throughout those ten years - last time I saw her we went to a inflatable park and then to spoons. She’s funny and sweet and chaotic and a lot shorter than I think (she used to be a head taller than me but hasn’t grown since we met, so even though we’re the same height neither of us quite believes it). She’s talented and reliable and So very committed to being a good friend (she drove to pick my ex and I up from a festival so she could meet him and took a 3-4 hour train to come celebrate my 21st). The second is possibly the first friend I made at uni because we bonded over being terrified of going to Russia and now we communicate almost solely through animal crossing. I love her, she’s hilarious, about as much of a mess as I am and an incredibly sweet person. She’s the first person I text in a crisis because she knows the exact right balance of taking the piss and actually helping and is always available to talk in foreign when I need to forget about the people I’m with or avoid an ex lol. The third is one of my favourite people at uni, he’s super supportive and understanding but also the best fucking person for a night out or a laugh. I used to think he was intimidating but honestly he’s just so sweet and has always made me feel welcome in my new year groups and always makes sure I have someone to pre with. Hair-Raising Potion: What scares you?

Fucking clowns man. Also not living life to the fullest, I’m really trying to put myself first nowadays and make sure I’m not staying in bad situations out of anxiety. It’s definitely helped me feel better about myself and have more energy to think about other people as well. Hate potion: If you had to name your worst trait, what would it be? 

Either stubbornness or being too self-sacrificing. It’s not a good combo tbh. Herbicide Potion: do you have a green thumb? 

I have owned (1) plant and I think I killed it so no. I am absolutely terrified every time my dad asks me to water the garden because I feel like I can only over or under water. Hiccoughing Solution: what’s the funniest thing that’s happened to you? 

Funny situations involving me tend to end in injury, maybe when I fell over the tennis net that didn’t even come up to my knees and got stuck in it?  Or when I fell over skiing and couldn’t get up because I’d done a roly poly which ended up with my skis trapped under my back.  Invigoration Draught: how do you wake up in the mornings? 

Lately my sister brings the puppy up to wake me up which is nice. Invisibility Potion: What would you do if you were invisible for a day? 

Ooh that’s a good question, I think I’d probably take a bunch of photos of me holding stuff and probably scare the shit out of my family. Jawbind Potion: Are you talkative? What do you like to talk about? 

Yes, very. I like talking about anything and everything, I love finding stuff out about people, which is part of the reason I do so many of these things. Laugh-Inducing Potion: Tell a funny story.

I am not a very funny person. I don’t have many funny stories!! When I was younger and my mum would get milkshakes and stuff, we were only allowed a glass each (I have 3 siblings) so that we each got the same amount and my sister was being sneaky, tried to drink from the carton to cheat the rule, ended up drinking mouldy milk. Karma. Mandrake Restorative Draught: How long can you stand still? 

Probably quite a while, I’ve never thought about it to be honest. Manegro Potion: How do you like to cut your hair? I cut mine myself, I usually leave the top a few inches long, and the back and sides are usually tapered from a 3 to a 1. Mopsus Potion: What do you want to be doing 5 years from now? 

Hopefully be working in translation or LGBT activism, living with a flatmate or partner. I’d like to have had top surgery and be acting or stage managing again and playing tennis and maybe football again. Muffling Draught: Favorite genre of music? 

Idk, indie pop maybe? Or alternative? Oculus Potion: would you rather see the distant past or the distant future?

Distant future. Pepperup Potion: what makes you feel alive?

Sport, playing with the puppy, talking to friends. Polyjuice Potion: If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?

I would remove my chest lol.  Quodpot Solution: What’s your opinion on sports (are you a fan of any specific teams/sport)?

Tennis is my favourite sport, I also like football, judo, rounders, swimming, sailing and skiing. Rat Tonic: Do you have any pets? 

Yes! I have a tiny bunny called Teddy, two chickens called Miss Sussex and Babs and a boxer puppy called Pickle. Shrinking Solution: How tall are you? Do you like your height (why/why not)?  

I honestly don’t know, I think I’m 5’ 3” ish?? After 5’ I just kinda stopped paying attention. I’d like to be taller because it would help me pass better, but I also kind of like my limbs the way they are?? Like additional muscle from T is already making tennis weird to adjust to so I don’t wanna make that worse tbh. Skele-Gro: What helps you feel better? 

Hugs, alcohol, chocolate, familiar TV, reading my favourite books. Sleakeazy’s Hair Potion: Describe yourself in 6 words or less.

Queer, loud, chatty, empathetic, caring, stubborn. Veritaserum: What is one truth you’ve wanted to get off your chest? 

I wish I had broken up with my exes sooner/not got together with the last one at all. We weren’t a good fit and I like to think we’d still be friends otherwise. Volubilis Potion: Can you/do you like to sing? 

I love to sing, I’m decent but struggling to adjust to my voice drop tbh. Wide eye Potion: What time do you usually go to bed? 

12/1am, depends on when I take the dog out. Wolfsbane: What’s the biggest change you’ve experienced in the past year? Going on testosterone!

[thedeviltohisangel]

You Say It Softly//9//Drifting Closer

Jim runs into some ghosts from his past.

Smut Warning

more of these two at the link in my bio!

send me any thoughts about these two and ideas for future parts!

special thanks to @and-shes-not-even-pretty for her help on crafting the plot of this part

Leah was gently roused from sleep by the sound of the front door opening and closing, William’s infectious giggling echoing off the walls. She smiled. This was her favorite way to wake up. Her three-year-old as her alarm clock. Following his laughter was Jim trying to shush him at the same time as he was chuckling himself. They must have just gotten back from their morning walk with the two balls of white fluff that had recently come into their lives. The vet had said they were a Samoyed mix but of what, she couldn’t tell. Every morning, Jim and William would wake up and take the dogs for a walk. Sometimes they stopped for a little treat from the cafe that was along the route like a chocolate croissant and then on the weekends, they would stop at the food trucks along the beach and grab breakfast. The sound of foil rustling in the kitchen made her stomach grumble and she figured she should grace them with her presence.

“Did my little loves get breakfast all ready for me this morning?”

“Mommy!” William’s little feet carried him over to her quickly, jumping up and down in front of her as a signal that he wanted to be picked up. She did so, his arms wrapping around her neck and squeezing her tightly against him on impact. “Got you a ‘rito.” Leah chuckled at his pronunciation of the breakfast burrito she enjoyed so much from one of the food trucks.

“Why thank you, little prince.” He squirmed his way down from her hip, grasping her hand and leading her to the kitchen table where Jim was filling a sippy cup with apple juice and two mugs with coffee.

“Papa, I got her!” Jim looked up with a smile. It felt good to be happy. Having Leah in his life had always felt like a blessing he didn’t deserve but now adding William to the mix made him over the moon.

“Good morning, Papa,” she whispered as Jim pressed his lips gently against hers.

“Morning, Sugar.” Leah hummed with happiness as she let her hands drift around his waist and down to his butt where she took a generous squeeze. “Someone is in a good mood this morning.”

“I’m just so freaking excited for my burrito!” She pumped her fist into the air before sliding into the corner booth where William was already sitting and happily munching on some breakfast potatoes. “How were the doggies this morning?”

“Ollie pooped a lot,” William said as though it had been the most exhausting feature of his little life thus far.

“Our little prince picked it all up though,” Jim added. Leah motioned towards her chin to signal to him that he had egg yolk dripping off his.

“Daddy showed me how!” When Jim and William had come home with the two dogs in the middle of the night, Leah had been adamantly against keeping them. Maybe when William was older they could get a dog. She was certainly not ready to bring in two dirty, wet abandoned puppies for more than the time it took to get them cleaned and to the shelter. Not one to normally disagree with his wife, Jim put up a full court press to keep the puppies. He showed Leah how their son had already bonded with them and to lose them would break his heart. He explained how it would help make him a better person to have something to take care of. Something to have responsibility for. When one of them, now named Nana after the dog in Peter Pan, climbed into her lap and tucked itself onto her shoulder and promptly fell asleep, she acquiesced. But only with the condition that Jim and William handled the things that came out of the dog. Leah wanted nothing to do with it. And, so far, the two of them had been handling it swimmingly.

“That’s good, my love. The doggies love you so much,” she replied as she gently stroked his soft, brown curls.

“I love them too!” After all the talk of the dogs, William asked if he could go play with them. He ate his apple slices in record timing before slipping down the booth and under the table to go and see what they were up to in the living room.

“How did we get blessed with the sweetest little baby boy in the entire world?” Leah was peering over the top of the booth to see William doing a puzzle while resting his head on Ollie’s tummy.

“Cause he’s half sugar,” Jim teased as he closed the distance between them, pulling down the top of her robe so he could press kisses to her shoulder.

“You’re a little extra lovey today.” He had gotten a little handsy under the covers with her that morning before William had awoken and was ready to walk the dogs and get breakfast.

“Been feeling extra grateful for you lately.” The ebb and flow of Jim’s mood was natural, as it would be for any human being, but they tended to hit higher highs and lower lows than the average person. A few weeks ago had been a low for Jim. There were still days when he woke up and his mind tried to play tricks on him. Tell him that he would need a substance in order to get through. Therapy helped. Having Leah and William there helped. Even having the dogs was helping. Jim knew there was no cure for his addiction. Only management.

“I’m so proud of you, Jimmy.” Everyday. Leah tried to slip in how proud she was of her husband. He fought hard to be the husband and father that he was today. And he was damn good at both.

“Couldn’t be half the man I am today, Sugar, without you and our little prince.” She blushed and smiled as she always did when Jim offered her a compliment before cupping his cheek and leaning in for a kiss.

“He’s also half you, Sprinkles. The half of you is what makes him run down the beach butt naked. Your DNA makes him incapable of eating dessert without smearing it all over his cheeks.”

“That’s…” Jim struggled to find an argument against her point, “true.”

“If you want me to make that sweet potato hash tonight then we have to make a grocery store trip,” Leah said around a biteful of her breakfast.

“We?” Jim was shocked. Leah hated the grocery store more than anything. She loved baking and cooking but dreaded making the trip for the ingredients.

“Yes, we. I was home late like every night this past week. Today and tomorrow are family days.” He knew that she had been shouldering some guilt. A pediatrician at the local hospital was on maternity leave and Leah had been asked if she could cover some of her shift. It had meant missing bathtime and bedtime for a few nights. “I feel awful you’ve been having to do it all alone. I feel awful that William said he missed me the other night.” Jim hadn’t meant for that remark to hurt her feelings. He thought she would find it sweet that their son missed her.

“You’re helping other parents have more time with their bubs. Saving them and making them feel better. Me and William will always be here waiting for you. And maybe in the next year or so...another little one can be?” Jim thinks he had stronger baby fever than his wife. Nothing made him happier than being a dad. William started preschool soon and Jim was preemptively missing his presence around the house.

“I think another little one could make an appearance soon,” she whispered back as he dropped his forehead to hers.

“You gonna make a baby with me, Sugar?” The smile on his face was so wide it hurt. The days of Jim feeling inadequate and incapable were fewer and further between.

“Well, I do make beautiful babies and I have no other options currently for someone else to make them with…” Jim dug his fingers into her side for a tickle punishment. Her laughter echoed around the kitchen, William running in to see what all the commotion was about.

“Tickle monster?”

“He’ll get you too!” Jim roared as he moved to reach his son.

“No, Daddy! I have to-” William’s warning went unheeded as Jim’s fingers nestled into the perfect tickle spot. But he wasn’t laughing. Leah watched on in horror as her son’s eyes widened and then a dark spot bloomed on his blue shorts.

“Jim! Stop!” She pushed him aside, grabbing William under his arms and sprinted to the bathroom as fast as she could. He was now sobbing in her arms.

“I’m sorry! I’m sorry!” William had been a natural at potty training. He was so excited for preschool and he knew that he needed to use the potty before he could go. This was a minor setback and it devastated him.

“It’s ok, bubba. Even Mommy pees a little when the tickle monster comes.” It was true. Who didn’t leak a bit in the throws of laughter? “How about we get in the shower and get all clean?” He nodded and sniffled in an attempt to keep the tears at bay. William was embarrassed. So badly he wanted to be a big boy for his mama and papa. Leah helped him get all cleaned up and wrapped in his hooded fish towel.

“Daddy! Special delivery!” he called with a smile. It was something they always did after bathtime. Whichever parent hadn’t bathed him, he would call to come and pick him up and whisk him to his room to put on clothes. Jim came in from where he was cleaning up the kitchen from the mess that had been made and quickly lifted his little bundle of love.

“Daddy is so sorry, little man. He should have been a better listener.”

“I love you, Daddy.” He pressed his little forehead to Jim’s neck, snuggling down as a way to accept his apology and express his love. Leah fell back onto the bathroom floor with a sigh as the two disappeared up the stairs to put on a different outfit for the day.

“Being a mother is exhausting.”

----

They listened to “Baby Shark” on repeat for the entire ride to the grocery store. William had a stuffed shark that Medina had given him not long after he was born and he said it was Sharky’s favorite song so they had to listen to it. Leah and Jim sang and danced the whole ride, Leah watching William move Sharky’s fins in time with the beat through her mirror.

“That song might be the death of me,” Jim mumbled under his breath as they got out of the car.

“I know. But it makes him so happy.” Long gone were the days of her and Jim sharing earbuds so he could play her a new indie song or sitting on the beach with his speakers and softly making out to The Neighbourhood. Now they were singing the Paw Patrol theme song.

“Can Sharky come?” William asked as Jim lifted him out of the car.

“Of course, buddy, just make sure he doesn’t let go of your hand.” Jim didn’t want to think about what would happen if Sharky got lost during the trip. They made their way over to the line of carts, William begging to use the one that looked like a car.

“Let me wipe it down first.” Leah reached into her bag and pulled out her emergency stash of Clorox wipes and meticulously cleaned the car. William looked up at his father with eyes that said she’s crazy. Jim just shrugged. “Okay. Disinfected and ready for a driver.” William slid in happily and then poked his head out to look at his father.

“Daddy?”

“Yes, pumpkin?”

“Buckle!” William had been trained to always ask for his seatbelt and to make sure he was always secure in any vehicle. Jim smiled, dropping to one knee and pretending to buckle in his boy. “Sharky too!” Jim leaned over and buckled in the stuffed shark.

“Ok now we are safe and ready to drive.”

----

Jim pushed while Leah had her arms looped through his. She was in charge of crossing things off the list as he put them into the cart. William was steering the car calmly at the end of each aisle, silently honking if someone was in front of him and making a ‘vroom vroom’ sound on occasion.

“Let’s see, all we have left is munchkin’s cereal, brown sugar and butter.”

“Baking aisle comes first so let’s-”

“Mommy? Daddy?” The cart paused as they both went around to the little car and peered inside. “I have to go potty.” Eager to never repeat the incident from this morning, Jim quickly scooped William and Sharky into his arms.

“Grab the cereal on your way back!” Leah called after them. She laughed at the image of her husband speed walking through the grocery store with her son and his stuffed shark. She meandered through the baking aisle, throwing in a bag of chocolate chips to munch on later, before making her way to the refrigerated section.

“Leah?” She looked in horror at the source of her name.

“Heather! Hi! How are you?” Maybe one of the last human beings she ever wanted to see again in her life. Jim’s ex. The girl who always blamed Leah for her life being ruined after their breakup. The girl who kept Jim at all those parties that almost killed him.

“I’m fine. Were all the normal carts taken out front?” She was pointing at the car attachment.

“No, my son-”

“Son? You have children?”

“Just one. You?”

“Not yet. We are trying though.” She flashed her hand so Leah could clearly see the two rings that sat on her finger. Leah looked down at her own hand and realized her rings weren’t on. She must have forgotten to put them back on after the impromptu shower that morning. “Not married?” Heather wore a smirk on her face. Like she had won.

“Actually I am. Just not wearing my rings right now.” Her hope was that she could end this conversation and run away before Jim found them. She didn’t know what seeing Heather would do to him and she didn’t want to find out.

“Did the whole doctor thing end up working out for you?”

“Yes-”

“Tossed Jim aside to be a doctor, right? That’s what I heard.” That caused Leah to take a visible step back from Heather. It was one thing to seem snide over her lack of rings but it was an entirely different beast to bring Jim into this. To imply that Leah had thrown him out with the trash after his overdose in order to pursue a material interest. Her heartbeat quickened and her fingers began to twitch at her sides with the urge to attack and protect. Jim was the man she loved. Would love forever. The man who had given her William, the most precious gift in the world.

“Whoever told you that was extremely mistaken.” Leah gripped the handle of the cart with white knuckles in the hopes it would stop her from lashing out any further. As soon as she made the move to leave the conversation, she heard Jim’s voice.

“Little man wanted the one with Spider-Man on the box, which are honey nut, but he promised me he would eat them.” William and Sharky were on his hip, Jim setting them down once he saw who was with his wife.

“Heather.” He looked as though he had seen a ghost. In a way, he had. She was a relic of his past. A past he had happily buried as soon as he left that rehab facility all those years ago. A past he hadn’t thought of since he had reunited in Stanford with Leah. It had been buried under the love he had for her and his son. The love he had for the potential of their future together.

“Hi, Jim. It’s so good to see you.” Leah wanted to throw up as Heather put on the fakest smile known to man and embraced Jim in a hug. “You’re even more handsome than I remember.” As if he was sensing the tension, William instinctively gripped Sharky a little closer and moved to hug his mother’s leg.

“Yeah you look...you look like you’re doing well.” Jim felt a cold sweat breaking out on the back of his neck.

“I am, thank you, but I guess not as well as you two.” There was venom in her voice as she said it. Like she had lost all hope upon seeing that the two of them were still together.

“We’re happy,” Leah replied stoically, her hand resting protectively on top of William’s head.

“And who are you?” Heather crouched down to be at the same level of the little boy.

“I’m William...and this is Sharky.” He held out the stuffed toy, offering her his fin to shake. Fortunately for her, she shook the shark’s hand and introduced herself to Sharky as if he was as human as the rest of them. Leah might have slight her throat by the butter if she had disrespected her son and his imagination in any way.

“We better get going,” Jim murmured as he urged William back into the car, “he normally naps soon and-”

“Of course. Hopefully I see you around again. It’s nice to see you’re doing so well...both of you.” Her expression had softened a bit. Heather couldn’t deny that the way Jim and Leah looked at each other was the stuff of fairytales. And William was the cutest little boy she had ever seen. Perhaps they were meant to be together.

“You okay?” Leah asked once Heather was out of ear shot. She wrapped her arms around Jim’s waist as he turned to face her, his hands lightly cupping her cheeks.

“I have you. I have William. There is nothing I miss about what she represents.”

“I love you so much, Sprinkles,” Leah whispered as she pecked his lips gently. Their little bubble was broken as Sharky came tumbling out the side of the car. Jim bent down and looked to see William asleep at the wheel. He chuckled and waved Leah over before taking out his phone to snap a cute picture.

“Guess we should head home.”

----

William was sound asleep on Jim’s shoulder as Leah pushed the cart out of the store to head back to the car.

“Daddy?” He looked down to see his little one blinking slowly as he was momentarily woken up.

“You can go back to sleep, munchie, Papa’s got you.”

“What’s that smell?” Jim sniffed his own nose at his son’s question, the smell of a cigarette registering quickly. He looked to the side to see where it was coming from and, for the second time that day, wished he had been anywhere else.

“Jim Mason. How crazy to see you here man.” It was Chad. He took one step towards the little family and then stumbled as if he had walked into a curb. Instinctively, Jim took a step back and put a protective arm in front of Leah.

“Leah, take William.”

“Jim-” The look in his eyes scared her. There was a flicker of the old Jim in it. She was worried that Chad was one step further into his past than Jim might be ready to handle.

“Go start the car. I’ll be right behind you.” He could tell that Chad was high or drunk or somewhere on the spectrum of both. First and foremost, he needed to protect his wife and son. Chad wouldn’t go anywhere near them. He wouldn’t let him threaten his happiness ever again.

“Damn. You’re still with Leah? Fucking wild.” Hearing her name come out of his mouth made him seethe. “Your son looks like you. Guess you can be sure she didn’t fuck someone else for him, am I right?” Jim clenched and unclenched his fists at his side. He ran through the quick mental exercises his therapist taught him when he felt his feelings boiling over into too much.

“Chad. If you ever see me, my wife or my son out in public ever again, do not speak to us. Do I make myself clear?” All that was returned to him was a blank stare. Jim felt haunted by the lack of life behind his eyes. How Chad looked like a dead man walking. He was struck by the idea that that had been him. He must have looked like Chad. Medina and Leah must have looked at him and seen that same hollow look on his face. It made him sick.

“Yeah, dude, I got it.”

“Chad? Jim? What’s going on?” He looked to see Heather exiting the store, her arms embracing Chad once she got close enough. It was as Chad’s ring caught Jim’s eye that he began to put the pieces together.

“You two are…” He thinks Heather looked ashamed for a brief moment. “Well, congratulations. I hope you’re happy.” Abruptly, Jim turned on his heels and tried to keep steady as he walked to join Leah and William in the car. The world was spinning ever so slightly but it was still dizzying.

“You okay?” she whispered. Leah had been sitting behind the wheel in case some sort of quick getaway was needed. William was sleeping peacefully in the back with his cheek resting against Sharky.

“Ready to go home,” he replied while his gaze stayed locked straight ahead. She could tell that the double encounter from his past had had an effect on him. Maybe more than either of them had ever been prepared for.

----

Jim carried a still sleeping William into the house, tucking him into bed before going to help Leah carry in the groceries and put them away in the kitchen.

“You got the rest of this? I think I need to make a phone call.” His knuckles were white around the circumference of his phone. Leah thinks he looked as though he was going to have a panic attack.

“Okay...okay...is everything okay? Are you okay?” She was gripping the new container of salt as tight as Jim was his phone.

“Just need a little reset, I think. Going to call Paul. See if he has a minute.” Dr. Paul Jackson was Jim’s therapist from back when he went to rehab after the night on the beach. Along the way he had become more than just a therapist to Jim. Had become a sort of father figure to him. A hybrid uncle and grandpa to William. Leah knew Paul would have more than a minute for Jim.

“Tell him I said hi,” she smiled softly. She kept the smile on her face until he was on the back porch with the door closed and then it dropped from her face. She couldn’t show that she was worried about him. That wouldn’t help anyone. But calling Paul meant that he was in need of some tough love and advice. That he had been shaken to his core enough to reach out for help. Leah decided to give him all the space he needed by heading upstairs to crack open a book.

----

She looked up as her husband walked into their room and set her book to the side. Jim collapsed onto his side of the bed and began to place kisses up her arm and across her collarbone and on the side of her neck.

“How was Paul?” she asked as her eyes closed with the bliss of Jim’s lips against her skin.

“Good. Said he misses William. Wants to get together for dinner soon.” He was methodically pressing kisses to every bit of her face, propping himself up over to get the right angle. If phase one of Jim bouncing back was a phone call with Dr. Paul, then phase two was trying to feel the love he and his wife shared in the most raw form possible. Leah reminded him that he was human. Allowed to have bad days and feel off and didn’t need to shoulder the burdens of the world on his own.

“Okay, we can plan that.” She moved upwards to make sure his lips landed home on her own and she took control of the kiss. “We don’t have much time. Little prince will be up soon.” William had a way of sensing when his parents were in bed together. His mind immediately went to snuggle time and there was nothing he loved more than snuggles.

“You’re right. Let’s get you naked.” Jim made quick work of Leah’s jeans and underwear, his own bottoms following suit. Since William had learned how to leave his room and open their door, they had taken to having sex half-clothed. Only when they were completely alone did all of it come off. Leah pumped Jim in her hand as they continued to kiss sloppily. She swallowed his moans hungrily and relished in the feeling of the tight grip he had on her hair.

“Gonna make you cum so fast,” she teased as she let go and went onto her knees, swinging one leg over his cock.

“Fuck, Sugar, you know what the sight of your ass does to me.” Reverse cowgirl was kryptonite for Jim Mason. The view of his wife’s perfect bottom bouncing on his cock, watching his length shine with each movement of her hips, set every nerve ending on fire for him. He was frozen with anticipatory bliss as he watched Leah guide his cock into her, the fit perfect and snug and the things epic poems were written about.

“Oh God you feel so good, Jimmy,” she gasped out as she began to move herself up and down. He rested both hands on her cheeks, squeezing and pulling them apart as she bounced on him. Teasingly, he pressed the pad of his thumb to her other entrance and gently massaged the area. He watched her shudder with a gleeful smirk on his face and her pace picked up at the added sensation.

“Fucking gorgeous. This beautiful ass is all mine.” Her head fell back her hair was cascading down, Jim sitting up and pulling it into a ponytail. He used his new leverage to expose her neck and began to suck hickies onto her skin the way he did when they were back in high school. “Going to cum so hard for you, Sugar.” Leah had known exactly what she was doing when she chose to ride him backwards. The first time they had ever done so, Jim had come within moments. He claimed the sight was too much for his mind, body and soul to handle. With the looming threat of William waking up down the hall, Leah had figured the quicker, the better.

“Fill me up with your cum...please,” she panted as she felt her own climax swelling within her. Jim thrusted up in time with her for the last view seconds and both of them stilled before falling forward slightly with desperate moans. He placed kisses to her back as she tried to catch her breath.

“Every time with you, Sugar, feels like the first time. I love you so goddamn much and I never want you to forget that.”

“Promise you I won’t,” she laughed as she fell backwards against his chest. The settled into a slow and lazy kiss when the door to their room was flung open.

“Mommy? Daddy? Snuggle without me?” William looked like he had just suffered the worst betrayal as he stood in their doorway with Sharky and his blanket. Leah opened her mouth to respond but couldn’t find the words. She could still feel Jim’s cum dripping down her inner thigh and she didn’t know how to get off of him and attend to her son without somehow scarring him for life.

“Baby, why don’t you go grab another blanket for mommy to snuggle under with you?” Jim said as he held Leah still. Any movement of her hips at this moment would surely coax a reaction out of him.

“Okay!” William happy ran off to the linen closet down the hall to grab their fluffy snuggle blanket.

“Move quickly!” Jim ordered as their toddler disappeared. Leah lifted herself off of him, running to the bathroom to pee and wipe herself down, Jim taking the washcloth after her and pulling back on his boxers.

“Daddy, I need help!” William called. He was grunting as he struggled to climb onto his parents bed.

“I’ll be there in one second buddy!”

“Hey,” Leah whispered as Jim made a step towards the door, “I love you.” The craziness of their life would never dampen the connection she felt to her husband. There was no one else on this planet she would rather be on this crazy ride with.

“I’m in love with you,” Jim whispered back as he placed the softest of kisses on her lips.

“Daddy!”

“Okay, okay,” Jim muttered as he went to the wiggling little boy and helped him up onto the bed.

“Yay!” William clapped as he fell back against the pillow and spread out two blankets on himself. “Mommy!” He made grabby hands in her direction as she joined them in bed.

“I love you so much, my little prince,” she said as she held him tight against her and placed quick kisses to the top of his head.

“Love you, Mama.” Jim rolled over so he was facing the two loves of his life, resting his hand on top of Leah’s and smiling widely. Everything felt right. His world was at peace.

----

“James Philip Mason!” Jim looked up from the slime he was making with William in horror at the tone his wife was using to call him from the upstairs.

“Uh oh, Daddy,” William said as he added more glitter to the concoction. William may be young but he was wise. He knew his father was in some sort of trouble.

“Keep mixing until I come back, okay?” He waited for William’s nod before he bounded up the stairs to see what he had done wrong. He took the stairs two at a time and found Leah standing in the bathroom with her hands on her hips.

“You remember when we talked a few days ago about having another baby?”

“Yeah?” His first thought was that she was going to backtrack on her decision now. Jim would be upset but he would understand. It was her body and her choice. He’d wait as long as it took for her to be ready. Even if she never wanted another kid, he’d be happy. He’d be okay.

“I know we said in a little bit…” she pulled something out from behind her back, “but how does nine months feel?” Jim was frozen for only a minute before he surged forward and wrapped his arms around her waist and spun her around.

“You make me so fucking happy. Nine months sounds perfect.”

“Mason, part of four, sounds perfect.” He nodded in agreement.

“Welcome to the tribe, little peanut.”

Tags:

@avesatanormalpeoplescareme @aveiangdon @ticklish-leafy-plant

@and-shes-not-even-pretty @langdonslove

[lazyfox411]

Spiderman: Afraid of Water (ft. Irondad)

im back from the dead yall with a fic i promised @spiderling-the-meme​ a long time ago and never ended up finishing until now. 

Length: 1904 words (a short boi)

Prompt: i honestly dont even remember what the actual prompt was my dude i just know you asked for peter being afraid of water after his experience of being dumped in a lake by the vulture and tony accidentally triggering that fear while theyre on vacation with irondad and spiderson feels so….thats basically what this is lol

Peter used to enjoy long showers. A relaxing flow of warm water, clouds of steam, and the fresh scent of soaps and shampoos. It was all enjoyable. Key word being was.

               Now, stepping under that warm stream meant reliving. This water was warm, but not all water was warm. This water didn’t surround him like a dark wall of nothingness, but some water had. He could still breath under the shower water, didn’t sink into what seemed like an endless abyss, but that wasn’t true for all water.

               Being in the water meant reliving. Reliving the night he’d been dumped in a lake and left to die, the glow of the Vulture’s eyes still refracting through the ripples. He hadn’t given it a second thought at first, but then he’d notice hid heart rate going up, the hairs on his arms raising, his breath getting short. He’d pinned it on the spidey-senses, some sort of danger near by, only he couldn’t seem to find anything wrong. It only dawned on him when he looked at all the places it reoccurred: the beach, the rain, the shower. He was afraid of the water.

               So now, Peter took shorter showers. Just to get clean, not to relax. When Aunt May offered to take him to the beach, or the pool, he politely passed. He didn’t go out in the rain unless he had to, and never without an umbrella. And no one questioned it.

               Today there were no clouds looming over the city, so Peter decide he would be safe without an umbrella. If anything, it would be snowing today; with winter temperatures blowing in earlier than usual.

               Peter stared out the window whenever he could at school that day, not to watch the weather, but rather to avoid watching the whiteboard at the front of the class. School seemed so boring now that he was Spiderman, but he had promised Aunt May and Mr. Stark that grades would come first. He might have had his fingers crossed when the subject of precalculus came up.

               “Mr. Parker,” droned the precal teacher, Mrs. Traff, a middle-aged woman with wrinkled hands and massive red glasses, “since you’re not paying attention, I can only assume you already know the material?” Her voice didn’t waver, but her sharp eyes pierced through him.

               “Absolutely,” Peter lied, hoping his voice didn’t squeak.

               “Then perhaps you’d like to provide an answer for question number two?”

               Peter nodded, slowly, as if buying time would help him in the slightest. He saw Ned waving at him from the corner of his eye, mouthing something that looked like ‘five’.

               “Five,” he answered.

               A collective wave of muffled laughter passed over the other students. Peter’s face heated.

               “Five?” Mrs. Traff repeated incredulously. “Mr. Parker, you are telling me that you believe there are currently five states in our country?”

               No one bothered to hide their laughs this time. Where just a moment ago he was beet red, Peter knew now he looked like a sheet. He looked around the room, only really seeing it now. “This…this isn’t precalculus,” he said stupidly. He was in a history room. Mrs. Traff was his history teacher. Ned was trying to say ‘fifty’.

               Fridays usually carried good vibes, but the day did not get any better after that. Between taunts of ‘Penis Parker’, Ned accidentally blurting that Peter still had a nightlight in his room (really though, Peter had to wonder, what was so wrong with that?), and a freezing cold walk home, Peter was downright miserable upon returning home.

               “What’s the matter, Spider-man?” May ruffled his hair.

               Peter liked when she called him that. When it came from May, it wasn’t a superhero name. It was just a nickname, like squirt or sport, holding only love and affection, and not the weight of the fate of the city. May was supporting him. After laying some ground rules—a lot of ground rules—and a lot of yelling at Mr. Stark, May was supporting him as Spider-man.

               “I’m okay, Aunt May,” Peter said.

               May tsked and smoothed his hair back down. “I know what’ll cheer you up.”

               Peter raised an eyebrow.

               “Tony Stark called today, asking for you.”

               “Me?” Peter asked, like she would be referring to anyone else. “Like, me, as in Peter Parker? Personally?”

               “Yup,” May said, popping the ‘p’.

               “What did he want?”

               “He asked if you’d like to accompany him to an expo this weekend. In Miami.”

               Peter’s eyes widened to saucers. From what he’d seen in the media, Mr. Stark’s expos were nothing short of amazing. A whole variety of guests, from college students sporting backpacks and sweaters to millionaires in extravagant suits sipping fancy drinks, a big inspirational speech from Mr. Stark, and all the newest ground-breaking technology that SI was funding.

               “I can go?” Peter asked.

               May pretended to think about it. “I suppose. If you promise to be good. No taking on supervillains. Or staying up past bedtime.”

               Peter was already bounding to his room to start packing. “I’ll be good, Aunt May, promise! I’ll be so good! The best!”

               May chuckled. “You already are, Spider-man.”

A sleek black car pulled up outside Peter’s apartment early the next morning. He couldn’t see through the tinted windows, but there was no doubt in his mind that this was one of Mr. Stark’s cars.

               A quick goodbye to May later, Peter was getting in the car. Part of him had been expecting Happy to jump out and open the door for him, but the window rolled down and over the purr of the engine and blaring AC/DC came Mr. Stark’s voice from the driver’s seat, “Come on, kid, we can’t afford to be late.”

               “Happy isn’t taking us?” Peter asked. He’d never admit it, and he knew Happy wouldn’t either, but he was pretty sure they were actually getting along really well.

               Tony smiled, a different kind of smile, like he wasn’t quite sure of himself. “I figured we could go it just the two of us,” he said. “If that’s okay.”

               “Yeah,” Peter grinned. “That’s cool.”

               It was really cool. Mr. Stark had sort of become like a father to Peter. A rich, famous, awkward, bad-at-feelings, superhero father, but a father nonetheless. And if Tony wanted to spend time with Peter? Maybe Peter had become like a son.

               The thought made him glow.

               They talked about Peter’s school, and Miami, and how great it would be to escape the ever-dropping temperatures, and listened to music too loud and bought ice cream and got a parking ticket (“I’m so sorry Mr. Stark I’ll pay for it I swear!” “Kid. Seriously?”), and while it wasn’t a regular road trip, Peter didn’t think he’d ever had a better one.

               Tony handed the car over to the hotel valet and their luggage to the bellhop. Peter had never been in a fancy hotel before. He wondered if they were all like this, or if he was just getting special treatment because he was with Tony Stark. Either way, it was pretty cool.

               “Expo isn’t until tomorrow,” Tony explained while Peter gawked at the luxurious sweet they would be staying in, “so tonight’s for doing whatever you want, kiddo. I mean…Pete. Peter.”

               “Cool,” Peter said absentmindedly. He didn’t notice Tony’s little slip; he was too enraptured with exploring the bathroom he was pretty sure was bigger than his entire apartment. “I mean, uh, yeah,” he cleared his throat, “cool.”

               “I think there’s an arcade downstairs,” Tony suggests. “Or we could go find the pool.”

               Peter has remembered to pick his jaw up off the floor now, but is still staring, wide-eyed, at the art pieces that adorn the walls of the hotel room, and not really hearing a thing that’s being said.

               “That sounds good,” Peter says, still distracted.

               He only realizes what he’s agreed to once he’s standing on the small tiles of the pool’s edge, clad in a pair of swim trunks May must have packed in his bag, and being suffocated by the strong scent of chlorine.

               They’re the only people here, and Tony has already dived into the water, and he looks very happy, instead of being terrified and looking for the nearest exit like one other particular person in the room.

               “Come on, Pete!” he calls. “The water is nice!”

               Peter’s throat tightens. “Um, I- uh,” he stammers, trying to think up some sort of excuse, but Mr. Stark is waiting for him, eyes twinkling and water dripping from his dark hair, and Peter doesn’t want to disappoint him so he makes his way forward on shaking legs.

               He crouches by the very edge of the pool, despite the thousand alarms going off in his head, and Tony swims over to him.

               “Come on,” Tony says again, reaching out for Peter’s arm. Peter freezes when water droplets make contact with his bare skin.

               Tony, still smiling, unaware of how close to hyperventilating Peter is, takes a gentle hold of his arm, and tugs. It’s meant to be gentle, an attempt to coax him, and it is, really, except that Peter isn’t very focused right now and it’s enough to send him over the ledge into the water.

               The temperature is uneven, a swirl of cold and warm, separate, but still mixed, and the water is wet and it’s everywhere and it’s heavy, why is does it feel heavy, and why is there no air, why can’t he breathe, he’s thrashing, sinking, why won’t his body swim, the breath leaves him in a stream of bubbles, where’s the air, he can’t breathe—

               A strong pair of hands pulls him back up to the surface.

               “Mr. Stark,” Peter manages between coughing up water and sucking in air, “I’m sorry, I—”

               “It’s okay,” Tony says, and in true Tony Stark fashion starts rambling, “it’s okay, Pete, just breathe. I’m sorry, I’m so, so sorry, I shouldn’t have pulled you into the water like that, I’m so sorry, I didn’t know you couldn’t swim—”

               “No,” Peter interrupts, “it’s not that. It’s not that, it’s…ever since that one time, with the Vulture, he dropped me into that lake, and I thought I was gonna die, Mr. Stark, and I would have if you didn’t come and save me, and ever since then, the water just…scares me.”

               And just like that, Tony is scooping him up like he’s a little kid, and carrying him out of the pool room. He gives Peter a towel to dry off, and looks at him, with his hands on Peter’s shoulders.

               “How come you never told me?” Tony asks.

               Peter can breathe better now that he’s away from the water, and he is silently glad Tony knew what he needed to make him feel better. He’s not glad about the guilty look that paint’s Mr. Stark’s face, Mr. Stark isn’t—Tony isn’t supposed to like that.

               Peter shrugs. “It’s not your fault, Mr. Stark. I guess it just never really came up.”

               “Will you tell me next time? If there’s ever something bothering you, I want to help.”

               A nod.

               “Well,” Tony says, straightening and moving to stand, “that’s certainly enough swimming for tonight. Or forever. What do you say we go back up to the room and watch a movie instead? I think we can probably pay-per-view Star Wars or something.”

               “That sounds great,” Peter grins. He means it this time.

[idkthisisjustforfanfic]

Chapter 19 - Seed and Spark

There was nothing I regretted about sleeping with Harry until I woke up--on Christmas morning--to Tierney knocking at my door, and, worst of all, Harry was out cold beside me.

“Harper--get up! Why is your door locked?” she pounded her fist at my door and groaned a bit. Tierney, now matter how old she was, would always be like a child when it came to receiving gifts.

“Harry,” I hissed at him, shoving his arm to try and wake him up. “Harry you need to get out of here,” I whispered again.

He blinked a few times, Tierney knocked again and asked if I was dead.

“I’m alive!” I called out, hoping to God that she’d just shut up. “I’m awake, hold on!”

“Morning,” Harry smiled sleepily at me, his eyes were two slits that he could barely keep open. If it weren’t for the fact that he was in my bed on Christmas morning, which meant that he was not at his house on Christmas morning, I would have wanted to redo the events of last night right now.

“Yeah, Christmas morning,” I growled at him. I pushed at him again, and this time, he seemed to grasp the severity of the situation. His eyes went wide as Tierney knocked again.

“Come do gifts, Harper, come on! We’re waiting on you!”

You’d think my 25 year-old sister would be able to take a hint.

Harry climbed out of my bed quickly, looking around for clothes--apparently now that we’d slept together, he decided it was safe to sleep naked. I threw a t-shirt at him and found his boxers on the floor, shoving them at his chest as I pushed him towards my closet. “Get in here. Just give me a minute, I’ll get rid of her.”

“Are you serious?!” He laughed a little. “We’re seriously still going to play this game?”

“Do you want to tell our families that we had sex last night? On Christmas morning? Actually, no, why don’t we just wait for dinner tonight, we’ll let all of your cousins know as well,” I rolled my eyes at him again. This time he took me seriously--he climbed his way into my closet and draped a sweatshirt over his head to hide.

I rushed to the door, opened it, and smiled at Tierney, a grin that probably looked too suspicious for half past eight. She narrowed her eyes. “Why are you so cheery?”

“It’s Christmas, silly,” I reminded her, shrugging my shoulders and trying to slow my own heart beat.

“Alright--well, let’s have breakfast. Mom’s almost got it ready.” I nodded but didn’t move. Tierney kept her eyes on me. “Coming?”

“Yeah, once second. Gotta change.”

She looked down at my tank top and sweatpants. “What’s wrong with that?”

“I’ll be right out,” I was more annoyed now, and I quickly shut the door in her face before she could protest. I heard her sigh and walk away, allowing me to open my closet door, revealing a sweatshirt-headed boy. “Alright, get out of my house,” I laughed.

He stepped out and made his way over to his shoes. “Love you too.”

My stomach did a somersault and tried to hide the grin on my face as he pulled them on his feet. “Just don’t tell your mom and sister, okay? Give me a few days. We can tell them before we go home.”

“Alright,” he stood up, letting out a dramatic sigh as he crossed the room back towards me. He pressed a kiss to my forehead and smiled. “See you this afternoon.”

I walked over to the window, causing Harry to furrow his brows. “Are you kidding me?”

“No,” I laughed. “There’s no way in hell you’re walking out of the front door of my house of my house on Christmas morning when my entire family is out there.”

He rolled his eyes and then stared at me. “You’re skating on thin ice.”

“Sure, okay,” I shoved him towards the glass. He opened it and positioned his hands on the frame to hoist himself up. “See you in a few hours.”

“You will if I don’t die climbing out of this stupid window,” he muttered under his breath.

I rolled my eyes even though he couldn’t see me. “We’re on the ground floor.”

He stopped mid-escape and looked over his shoulder with narrowed eyes. “It’s still dangerous,” he said, dropping his feet to the ground outside.

“Have a nice walk home!” I slid the glass shut, he only smiled and shook his head before turning to make his way out the side of my yard and down towards his own house.

If there was one thing I never thought I’d do, it was sneak Harry Styles out of my childhood bedroom. Another thing was have sex with him.

**

In typical Tierney fashion, we were a half hour late to Harry’s house for dinner. We weren’t eating for a little while, but my mom and dad decided to walk over without us when Tierney was still standing in front of the mirror deciding what to wear.

Gemma and Harry’s cousin, Owen, would be in attendance--Tierney spent most of every Christmas dinner for the last four years eyeing him across the table and batting her eyelashes.

Now, Tierney and I stood on the front step of their house, Tierney knocked twice and shivered. “Where the hell is Gemma? Where are any of them?” Apparently the thirty seconds was too long to wait.

Harry pulled the door open and smiled at both of us. “Hi--sorry. Couldn’t hear the knocking over the telly.”

Tierney let out a groan and shoved him out of her way. “Excuses, excuses.”

“Merry Christmas to you too,” Harry watched as she pushed past him, making her way into the living room to greet Gemma and the rest of his family. Aunt Gloria, Uncle Bentley, Harry’s gran, his cousins Beth, Mia, Nick, and Amber, along Gemma, were all sat around the telly--my mom and dad and Anne were nowhere to be seen.

“Lively bunch,” I raised my eyebrows, handing the pie my mom had made to Harry. He leaned in--I think to kiss me--but I smacked a hand on his chest, holding him at an arm’s length. “Slow your roll there, buddy.”

He laughed, rolling his eyes, but he motioned an arm into the house to welcome me. I followed him to the kitchen to deliver the pie to Anne--who stood in front of the oven with my mom and Harry’s Aunt Georgia. My dad was in the back of the kitchen with Harry’s grandad and aunt Sarah, seemingly talking about the current state of the monarchy.

“Nice of you to make your way over here,” my mom came to press a kiss to my forehead.

“Yeah, well, your oldest daughter just had to make sure she was wearing something nice enough for Owen.”

Anne, who heard this, let out a laugh. “Has Gemma told you he isn’t coming this year? He’s got himself a girlfriend that he’s spending the day with.”

I let out a sigh--knowing I’d get an earful about it later. Harry reached a hand forward and grabbed string bean from a dish on the counter, but he rolled his eyes. “Tierney will be just fine--she’s got Gemma and Beth and Mia.”

Mia and Beth--Harry’s cousins from his Aunt Georgia, were also Gemma and Tierney’s age. They used to have sleepovers with Gemma and Tierney on some summer weekends.

“Harper, will you go into the fridge and get out the butter?”

I nodded at Anne’s request, but Harry sidestepped me and opened the fridge door. Anne, who watched her son with an amused look on her face, turned to me and smiled. “You two seem to be getting on much better.”

I looked to Harry quickly. “Harry seems to have less of a stick up his ass.”

If they were going to call us out, I was definitely going to be a smart ass about it.

Harry rolled his eyes and slung an arm around my shoulder. “And Harper has finally seemed to manage her IBS, so I guess she’s more cheery.”

At this I whacked him in the stomach--I didn’t have IBS. What I had was a stupid boyfriend who was only sort of my boyfriend who had a bad sense of humor and was mostly a twat.

My mom and Anne burst into laughter our bickering, but we soon disappeared into the living room to greet the rest of Harry’s family. Tierney, upon hearing the sad news that Owen would not be joining, decided that she’s much rather be in a pair of jeans than the dress she’d chosen--so she disappeared to Gemma’s room to find some clothes to borrow.

Gemma, after a second, eyed me on the couch and nodded her head towards the hallway in their house. She stood, still gesturing for me to go with her, and led me into her bedroom, where Tierney was wrestling a pair of Gemma’s leggings over her Coleman hips.

“What do you want?”

Gemma shrugged, sitting on her bed.

“What’s up with you and Harry?” Tierney breathed out, finally getting the leggings to a comfortable spot.

“What do you mean?” I crossed my arms, shaking my head as if they were both crazy.

“Oh come on,” Gemma said, a sly smile pulling at her lips. “The bar last week, watching TV together last night. Is something--like--going on with you lot?”

“Gemma! What? No,” I laughed, trying to play it cool. Of course they decided to corner me while Harry--with all his favorite grandson glory--got to sit with his gran and have a nice chat about his semester at Uni.

“Harper,” Tierney deadpanned, walking over to join Gemma on the bed. “You think I couldn’t hear another voice in your bedroom this morning? It’s not the like doors are made of oak.”

I stared at them for a second--wondering if it was better to just run for it, or slowly, silently, back away.

“Did you two have sex?” Tierney asked excitedly, apparently not at all disgusted by the thought of us in bed.

“Okay, Nosey O’Donnell,” I rolled my eyes at her. They both stared at me eagerly, their eyes wide as if my secret love affair with Harry was like a children’s bedtime story. “That’s none of your business.”

Tierney let out a loud and short laugh. “It sure as shit is! Come on, Harper, we’ve been waiting for this day for years!”

“For years?”

Gemma nodded enthusiastically. “We used to talk about it when we were younger--you know, what it’d be like if we got to be sisters.”

I rolled my eyes again--they would find a way to make mine and Harry’s relationship a way to improve their own. “Okay--just, please don’t make a big deal about this.”

“So it’s true? He was in there this morning? Are you together?”

Gemma stood from the bed and clasped her hands together in what seemed to be excitement. “This is amazing. This is like a dream come true, really,” she turned to Tierney and smiled. “Now I don’t have to deal with that airhead of a girl he was with.”

Fuck. I forgot I’d have to tell them about that.

“Yeah--uh, so, Quinn and I aren’t necessarily on the best terms right now.”

“How does she feel about all of this?” Tierney asked.

“Uh, well, seeing as Harry and I started hooking up before they broke up--not too great. But we didn’t mean to!” I defended. “Well, at least, I didn’t. Harry just kissed me at a party and it kind of became a mess really quickly and then Quinn found out because she walked in on us and that was a mess, too.”

They were both wide eyed now--Gemma sat back down and let out a sigh. “So when did this all start?”

I shrugged sheepishly, hoping they wouldn’t be angry that we’d been lying for months. “At the start of the semester, really.”

“What?!” Tierney stood now, a wide smile on her face. “So you two had this going on in Blackpool?”

I nodded.

“Oh my god,” Tierney laughed. “This is hilarious. I can’t say I’m surprised.”

“You can’t?” I asked, crossing my arms. I had no idea what Gemma and Tierney really thought about my relationship with Harry other than the fact that he was a dick to me most of our childhood.

“No--I mean, come on. You didn’t know that he had the hots for you? Why do you think he was always such a twat?” Gemma questioned me, a laugh escaping her lips as she stood up. “Our moms used to place bets with the two of us whether or not you two would end up together in Year 10.

“Had the hots for me? He was too busy throwing dirt at me most of the time!” I laughed, feeling the need to defend my own apparent obliviousness.

“Yeah,” Gemma nodded, as if it were obvious. “Because he liked you.”

“Okay, well,” I rolled my eyes. “Cat’s out of the bag, but don’t tell mom and dad and Anne,” I said. “We’re going to tell them, but I’m not sure when. Before we go back to London, but do not make a big deal out of this.”

“Okay, alright,” Gemma held her hands up to signal defeat. Tierney saluted me and nodded, following behind me as I led them back to the living room.

Harry, who looked up from his phone, furrowed his brows when he saw the three of us emerging from Gemma’s bedroom.

“How was that show you watched last night, Harry?” Tierney teased with a wink in his direction.

His eyes shot to me, but I simply, rolled my eyes and shrugged.

So much for not making a scene.

**

Telling our parents that we were together was weird--weird in the sense that my mom almost cried tears of joy and Anne asked me how many children I wanted.

I would have thought that this whole thing would have come as more of a surprise to everyone I knew, but I guess I was wrong. Maybe they saw something I didn’t.

Harry--with a permanent grin on his face--spent a lot of time at my parents’ house over the holiday. He watched sports with my dad and volunteered to taste test everything my mom made. In all honesty, not much was different, he just kissed me more than he used to (which was never).

Gemma and Tierney decided that they needed to get boyfriends--if their little siblings could figure it out, they could, too. They both decided to sign up for dating apps, and the four of us had a good laugh picking out the most obnoxious things to put on Tierney’s profile when she went to the bathroom.

I had to be back on campus early for a few shifts at The Counter, and Harry--who claimed he couldn’t stand to be so far away from his friends--decided to come back with me. While our mothers were mostly disappointed, I think my dad was just grateful that whatever intimacy was going on between the two of us wasn’t happening under his roof.

We took advantage of Quinn being home--Harry would come over and visit after my shifts, we’d watch TV, I made him hot pockets, and we had sex enough times for me to forget all about the time I walked in on him and Quinn.

The break seemed to come and go--like they always do--and soon enough, I was back in 819 with a solo cup in my hand a pong ball in my fingers. Harry stood next to me--apparently our relationship was no longer a secret.

“Come on, babe, sink it.”

I rolled my eyes--the pressure didn’t help. Niall, who watched from across the table, let out a groan. “Alright, just throw it, Harper.”

“Don’t rush me,” I eyed him seriously. I took a deep breath, pulled my arm back, and let the ball fly--right into the cup in front of Niall.

He groaned and pulled it out of the water, but I got distracted by Katie opening the front door. Quinn--who denied my invitation to come out--was at the door. Her hair was curled, she had lipstick on. Millie greeted her behind Katie, and then shot me a what are you going to do look.

Harry seemed too distracted by the ball in his hand, he made sure to dunk it in the water a few times before eventually tossing it. I stepped around him--escaping his grasp when he tried to pull me in for a kiss.

I didn’t know if it was the shot that Millie had poured for me, or the fact that I was just sick of lying, but my feet moved me towards Quinn at a record pace.

Quinn Markos was extraordinary, if you thought about it. She was always herself, she was sweet, she was polite, and she was friendly. She still somehow managed to treat me with respect even though I’d gone and had an affair with her boyfriend.

She didn’t slap me or spread a rumor or do anything catty at all--she handled the situation with grace and that impressed me.

“Hi,” I said to her when she turned around to face the living room.

Her smile faltered a little when she noticed I’d been watching her, but she quickly returned it. Quinn had been fine upon our return--she asked how my holiday was and we made no mention of Harry. I figured it was best to just let it be for a while--we’d tell her eventually, but I didn’t want to shove it in her face the first night back.

“Hi, I figured I’d stop by.”

I nodded, “I’m glad you did.”

Millie--who snuck past us and managed to still give me a what are you going to do look--had a red solo cup in her hand that she sipped at with wide eyes. As if Millie were worried about our conversation, I watched her walk to Harry and tug at his shirt sleeve, pointing towards us as Quinn spoke again.

“If there any more cranberry juice in the fridge?”

“I think so,” I nodded quickly. “But--can we talk first? Before you get a drink?”

Her brows furrowed at this--I imagined that she couldn’t possibly understand what else on earth there was for us to talk about. We’d talked about it all before--I was an asshole, I apologized. She was mad, she was trying to move on. We both knew the script.

“Yeah,” she shrugged. “What’s up?”

I led her towards Katie’s bedroom, hoping to find a quiet corner. She followed behind me, weaving through the people that occupied the living room. The music was louder than usual--James and Preston apparently wanted to go all out for the first weekend back.

I turned to face Quinn once we were away from the crowd, she watched me with expectant eyes--I could tell she was a little nervous.

“I just wanted to let you know that Harry and I are together.”

Her face was straight. She took a breath and held it for a minute, then she shrugged and let it out all at once. “Okay--thanks for telling me, I guess.”

I nodded. “I didn’t want to lie to you about it. It’s fairly new, but, I figured I’d let you know.”

She nodded again, breaking eye contact with me as she ran a hand through her hair. It was curled--the typical Quinn Markos weekend look. When she didn’t say anything, I got nervous.

“Are you mad?”

She brought her eyes back to me quickly. “I’m--” she paused, trying to find the word. “I’m not mad--I mean, I’m not thrilled, but, I figured it would probably happen.”

“I’m sorry,” I said, my voice quiet. Quinn--though not thrilled--didn’t look angry. She looked rather calm, rather collected. “I know I’ve already apologized, but I still am sorry.”

“I know you are,” she said.

There was a knock on the door--Harry stuck his head around the corner and offered an awkward smile. I don’t know if Millie had made him come in here, but he seemed somewhat hesitant to interrupt.

Apparently Quinn could sense this too. She laughed and waved him forward. “You can come in.”

He raised his eyebrows and stepped forward, still mindful to keep a distance between us. Quinn rolled her eyes. “She already told me.”

Harry’s face fell--his lips pouted outwards and he moved his eyes from Quinn to me. “Thanks for the heads up.”

“Oh shut up,” I rolled my eyes. “I’m never lying again.”

Both Quinn and Harry couldn’t help but laugh. Quinn, with a smirk on her face, turned to Harry. “Yeah--sure, we’ll see how long that lasts.”

I wasn’t sure how much talking Harry and Quinn had done, but I knew it wasn’t a lot. Harry had told me over the holiday that they’d only spoken twice since the whole thing happened--she’d barely listen to him and claimed that she didn’t care.

“Quinn,” he spoke now, his tone more serious than before. “I know it’s a little late, but I am sorry. We both are.”

She seemed annoyed by this. “I know--I know you’re both sorry and you both think you’re wankers and you are, but, I really just want to move on, alright? I can’t give all of this any more energy.”

I think my eyes went wide, because she let out a short laugh. Quinn Markos was never really one to take a big stance like that--here she was, setting a limit and being firm.

Harry and I were both quiet, I could almost sense that she had more to say. Her eyes fell to the floor and she smiled a little. “I--uh--I’m kind of seeing someone, so, it’s fine. Let’s just forget about it.”

“You’re seeing someone?” I asked excitedly, Harry shot me a look as if to remind me that I was still the girl that her boyfriend cheated on her with. I cleared my throat, trying to reign in my emotions. “Who?”

She rolled her eyes and looked from Harry and then back to me. “Niall, I guess we’re kind of together.”

Harry had a smug look on his face, I was hoping he would keep his mouth shut about my plan--I could brag about that later.

“That’s great, Quinn, really.”

“Kind of weird, huh? We basically switched boyfriends.”

Harry let out a laugh, causing me to roll my eyes. “He wasn’t my boyfriend.”

“He definitely thought he was,” Harry quipped back.

“Anyway,” Quinn tried to stop us from bickering, as per usual. “I’m gonna go find him. I’ll let you both know if I head home.” She left with a smile on her face and a pep in her step--I had no clue that Quinn Markos had a thing for blonde-haired boys.

“Alright,” Harry laughed, finally coming closer to me. “Go ahead, rub it in my face that your stupid idea actually played out well.”

I feigned confusion and furrowed my brows. “Whatever do you mean?”

He smirked, letting his arms wrap around my waist as the music continued to play on the other side of the wall. “You’re a genius, Harper Coleman. A pure genius.”

“I’m aware,” I pushed some hair behind my shoulder to play it up. “I’m surprised though--and thankful, I mean--that she seems not furious. I’m kind of surprised she moved on so fast.”

Harry shrugged, pressing a kiss to my forehead. “I think Niall’s more her speed--he’s pretty peppy himself.”

“Who would have thought?” I laughed, almost to myself. “You and me and Quinn and Niall? If you asked me six months ago where I saw you and me in the future I’d say probably begrudgingly helping our mothers knit blankets and taking care of Tierney and Gemma’s three hundred cats.” He smiled down at me, seemingly happy to just listen.

“I wonder, though. If you had never dated Quinn, we wouldn’t have spent as much time together. Which means we wouldn’t be together now. In a way, we have Quinn to thank for all of this, which is even more weird than the fact that this all happened in the first place.”

He laughed, leaning down to press his lips to mine. I let him for a second, but then I quickly pulled away. “Don’t ruin my monologue,” I told him with narrowed eyes. “I’m right in the middle of a good speech and you have to go and fuck it up.”

He rolled his eyes and let out a sigh. “Do you ever shut up?”

“No,” I pulled away from him entirely now. “And you’ve known this for over a decade.”

“Fourteen years, right?”

I narrowed my eyes at him. I think he was rubbing it in--fourteen years I’d loved him, fourteen years we’d been stuck in this cycle of being frenemies.

“My point,” I sighed dramatically. “Is that I’m glad it happened. All of it.”

“Me too,” he said quietly. “But can you please just stop rambling so I can kiss you and then we can go back to the party?”

I gave him a shove at the chest--he wasn’t getting anything from me if he was going to be like that.

The truth was, Harry Styles is kind of a dick. You see, growing up down the road from someone should make them a friend, someone you tell everything to, and someone you can always count on. Harry might not have always been that person, but I knew he’d always be there to tell me that I was talking too much, to pull me back down to earth, and to remind me of why I never wore the color green (he’s quick to tell me I look like an amphibian).

I thought that maybe going to Uni with Harry would be a turning point for us--maybe he’d see me as more than just the annoying kid he grew up with--but now, as he grabbed my hand to walk back out to the living room, I realized that’s who I am. I am the girl he grew up with, the girl who knows his embarrassing stories, and his biggest fears.

I thought that would make me the last person he’d love. But, as usual, I couldn’t have been more wrong.

A/N: As always, thank you so so so much for loving this story as much as you all have. Your messages have been amazing and your feedback is always appreciated. That’s the end for Harry and Harper, but I hope you’ll check out my new story The Untimely Downfall of Strangers! 

[lost-n-stereo]

A/N: Heyyy look who finally finished a GG fic, and it’s not even one I had planned. This is set post S6 finale. A little NJBC angst. Enjoy!

the bottles always there (when I have nowhere else to turn)

He’s in Sydney when he hears news of Serena’s engagement.

It doesn’t come as a surprise but it still stings in a way that it shouldn’t. It’s been years since they dated and almost six months since he’s even seen her.

Chuck is the one that breaks the news, tells Nate that him and Blair were asked to host the event but he wanted to make sure Nate wouldn’t have a problem with it. He’s never been able to hide his feelings from his best friend and while it’s going to hurt like hell to watch the woman he’s been in love with for most of his life marry someone else, he’s not going to stand in her way of happiness. He leaves his phone in the room, tells himself he’s just not responding because of the time difference, and makes his way to the elevator.

He plants himself down on a barstool in the hotel bar, orders a beer and tells the bartender to keep them coming. 

“Tough night?” She asks in a light Australian accent, a pretty brunette that looks nothing like Serena and for that he’s eternally grateful.

“The love of my life is getting married,” he says and raises the bottle, tips it in her direction before taking a long pull. She smiles sadly at him, pulls a shot glass from under the counter and fills it up with vodka.

“I think you need this. On the house, o’course.”

He thanks her, downing the shot without a chaser. It’s not like him to drink away his problems, he’s seen enough of that in his lifetime to curb the cravings but right now this bottle in this bar in this country is the only thing keeping him sane.

“Does she know?”

Nate looks up from where he’s peeling the label off his third bottle. “Who?”  It’s a dumb question but he asks it anyway.

“The woman you love. Does she know how you feel?”

He shrugs, finishes off the bottle with one last swing and sets it down harder than he needs to on the bar. “Doesn’t matter. She made her choice a long time ago.”

He doesn’t know how he makes it back to his room in one piece.

When he wakes up his shoes are still on, his suit pants rumpled and his phone is lying next to him on the bed. He scrambles for it, hoping to God he didn’t drunk dial or text Serena in his intoxicated state.

There’s only one outgoing message but it’s to Chuck, he realizes with relief. Until he reads it and sees that it’s past the point of no return.

It’s okay with me. Send her my love.

***

It’s an easy routine for him to fall into, one of the doting husband and father.

Henry is a great kid, already so smart and a perfect mix of both of his parents. When Chuck looks into the eyes of his son he sees Blair’s spirit and tenacity, but also her kindness and compassion. And, if judging by the outfit his son is currently wearing, he got his sense of fashion from his father. It’s barely eight am and yet his son is already dressed in black slacks, a white cashmere sweater and a pair of Italian loafers.

“Daddy!” Henry calls happily when he runs in and flings himself at Chuck, who’s reading the Post at their kitchen table. They try to spend as much time at home as they can, especially in the mornings and at bedtime. It’s not easy when they are both running their own companies but it’s worth it, to see his family every morning when he wakes up and every night before he falls asleep.

“Good morning, Henry. Did you sleep well?”

Henry widens his eyes and his arms at the same time. “Like a log, Dad. You know like those really big ones down at the duck pond!”

Chuck laughs, drops a kiss to his son’s head and looks up when his wife comes into the room. The smile drops from his face when he sees her brown eyes glistening with tears.

“Dorota,” he calls and the woman bustles in. “Can you please keep an eye on Henry for a moment?”

“Of course, Mister Chuck.”

Blair doesn’t say anything, just lets Chuck take her hand and lead her into the living room, which is enough on its own to completely freak him out.

“Blair, what’s wrong?” He asks when they are alone and she sighs, sits down on the couch and pats the space next to him. “You’re kind of scaring me here. Please tell me what’s going on.” He finally sits and she pulls his hand onto her lap.

“I’m not sure how to tell you this,” she says softly. “I just got off the phone with Dr. Brown. He said that the results of my fertility tests aren’t good. The chances of us having another baby without help are slim to none.”

It’s been something they have talked about since Henry was a year old, when to give him a brother or a sister. At first they took the whatever happens, happens approach. When Henry was three they decided to actually try but it’s been almost three years and still no luck.

“Okay,” he says, thinking of the right way to navigate the conversation. “We have all of the resources we need, Blair. If we need help, we’ll find a way. Hell, we can adopt. This isn’t the end of anything.”

Her pretty brown eyes are sparkling with tears when she looks up at him. “Then why does it feel like it is?”

Chuck reaches for her hand but she shakes her head, tells him that she just needs to be alone for a little while, and leaves him by himself in the living room.

He blows off his lunch with Lily, makes up an excuse that he doesn’t think makes sense and promises her that he’ll make it up to her. Instead he goes home, pours two fingers of scotch and sits behind the desk in his office. When his glass is empty he fills it up again, and then again, and finally once more.

There’s no way he’s going to make it to any of his meetings for the rest of the day so he texts his assistant, asks him to move everything until tomorrow, and tosses his phone on his desk.

It’s been a long time since he’s dulled the pain of something like this but right now it feels fitting. He’s a good father and a good husband, he knows this. But right now he feels like the old Chuck. Powerful but powerless. Unable to give the woman he loves everything her heart desires.

So he sits in the dark like he would have before, lets the sun go down and drowns his pain the only way he remembers how.

***

Her marriage ends only two short years after it begins.

If she’s being honest with herself, she should have seen it coming. Dan was a social climber in disguise, always looking for a way in and a step up. The start of the marriage was like a dream, parties and events every weekend. A handsome man on her arm that she was proud to call her husband.

But then one day it changed. He cared more about getting ahead than he did about their relationship. It made her question everything. Was he only with her because of who she was and her status on the Upper East Side? Did he love her or the idea of her?

Why did she marry someone that spent years tearing her down for the world to see?

Blair is the first person she tells and she can see the look of relief on her best friend’s face, even though she’s trying to be supportive.

“I’m so sorry, S.” Blair rests her hand on her growing baby bump. Serena feels like a divorce is small potatoes compared to the year Blair and Chuck have had but then thinks, no, that’s not fair. Her problems are just as valid, if not more, because they are hers.

“I am too,” Serena says, curling her legs up underneath her. “I really wanted the first time I got married to be the only time.”

“Hey, don’t knock second marriages,” Blair jokes. “Sometimes it’s for the best.”

Later that night, when she’s alone in her suite at the Empire, she pours a glass of wine and sits down next to a window looking out over the city.

She’s mourning but she’s not sure exactly which Dan she misses the most. Her partner, who was supposed to be her equal in everything. Her husband, who looked good in the photographs lining their fireplace mantle. Her friend, the one that told her time and time again that her happiness meant everything to him.

The bottle of wine doesn’t last longer than an hour and then she’s on the phone with room service. They tell her that Mr. Bass has given her carte blanche to order whatever she wants and she laughs quietly to herself, orders a three hundred dollar bottle of champagne, and leaves a tip she knows he can afford.

If she has to drink away her problems she may as well do it in style.

***

Motherhood is the most rewarding job she’s ever had.

Henry was a dream child, now a child of twelve with the wisdom of someone much older. Her pregnancy happened quickly and the following years with him were easy and carefree, up until he decided to grow up and become a preteen.

It never occurred to her that things might not go as smoothly the second time around.

After months of expensive invitro, they finally conceived. When the doctor told them they were having a little girl Blair swore her heart was going to burst from her chest. Audrey, named after her idol of course, was born happy and healthy right on time.

Now she’s four and runs their entire household. The girl has Chuck wrapped around her dainty little pinky, just like Blair always knew a daughter would. She has a penchant for pink princess dresses, which Blair indulges probably more than she should.

“Mom!”

Henry calls to her from his bedroom and she rolls her eyes, because he’s a great kid but sometimes he’s a little too spoiled for his own good.

“Henry,” she sighs as she pushes open his bedroom door. “How many times do I have to tell you not to scream at me from the other room? Sending a text would be less rude.”

Her son rolls his eyes and she cocks an eyebrow. “Sorry, mom. I just need you to sign this permission form.”

“Permission form for what?”

She watches in amusement as he visibly stops himself from giving her another eye roll. “The Paris trip, remember? My class is going for two weeks over summer break.”

He hands her the paper and she skims it, remembering only vaguely him asking about this. “Does your father know about this?”

“Duh,” he says and she scolds him. “Sorry, yes. Dad knows and he said he doesn’t care if you say it’s okay.”

Blair sighs and signs it, hands it over to him so he can put it in his book bag for the next day. She’s not the biggest fan of her son traveling overseas without them but it’s not as if four of his grandparents aren’t already there.

Three weeks later they are sending their son off to Europe, not for the first time but for the first time without them. Blair sniffles, holds her hands to her heart and Chuck laughs and presses a kiss to her temple.

“Blair, he’s going to be fine.”

“I know that,” she snaps. “We’ve never spent this much time away from him. Aren’t you the smallest bit sad about it?”

His hand tightens slightly on her shoulder. “Of course. He’s my son, I don’t want him an ocean away. But he’s growing up and we have to let him do it.”

Blair sighs, buries her face in her husband’s suit jacket. “I hate it when you make sense.”

A few hours later they are sitting at the Empire bar when Nate and Serena walk in holding hands. Blair smiles sadly at them, having called them to come commiserate the first night of Henry’s trip.

“You two look miserable,” Nate says with a chuckle, bending down to kiss Blair’s cheek. “You know he’s only going to be gone for two weeks, right?”

“Shut up,” Blair says, motioning for the bartender to bring her another mint julep. “I’m going to drown my sorrows and pretend like my son isn’t having the time of his life in my favorite city without his mother.”

“Aww,” Serena says, wrapping her arm around Blair’s shoulders. “You’re such a good mommy, B. I miss him already too.”

Chuck claps his hands once to get everyone’s attention. “Hey! Can we stop sitting around like a bunch of sad assholes and just drink? I feel this may be the only way to get my wife out of her slump and I, for one, would like to get laid tonight.”

Everyone laughs when Blair hits him in the arm but she’s thankful for him trying to lighten the mood.

They sit and drink for hours, Blair stopping to sniffle only a few times. Serena wipes the tears from her cheeks and promises her that Henry will be just fine.

The drinks help wash away her worry but it’s not what calms her down and assuages her fears. It’s the moments like these with her best friends, the people she loves most in the world, that makes her raise a glass in a toast.

“To us,” she says. “May we always have each other for the good times and the bad.”

Everyone raises their glasses and meets in the middle.

“To us.”

[girlwithglasses1245]

Um so yeah.

I got a new chromebook which is legit one of the best investments I’ve made in quite a while. One problem, I don’t remember my newer tumblr password and email I had set up for my happy new account. So I am stuck here with an older tumblr I made years upon years ago. I was browsing through some of the archive posts and ugh was I whiny little pain in the butt complaining about such stupid things. Anyways! I thought it might be kinda fun perhaps to do a survey that I did in 2013, yes 2013 oh my that seems ages ago. My plan is to have my original answer on top followed by the 2019 answer below it. Because why not? Here we go!

1: Do you sleep with your closet doors open or closed? The closet must be closed! Still closed please.

2: Do you take the shampoos and conditioner bottles from hotel? Sometimes. Not as often as I used, because I honestly don’t ever use it. lol

3: Do you sleep with your sheets tucked in or out? Out? In because that’s how Dan likes it. 

4: Have you ever stolen a street sign before? No. Nope. 

5: Do you like to use post-it notes? Sometimes. Sure, I leave Dan random notes in the morning if I wake up first. 

6: Do you cut out coupons but then never use them? I get coupons but sometimes I don't use them. Haha my above answer tells me two things I wasn’t worried about money in 2013 and I didn’t probably understand the question. So yeah, sometimes that will happen when they expire before I get the chance to use them.

7: Would you rather be attacked by a big bear or a swarm of a bees? Neither sound great so I guess a big bear sounds more interesting. I’ll agree with my 2013 answer. 

8: Do you have freckles? I have some. Last I checked I am the same girl, so I have some. 

9: Do you always smile for pictures? Usually. Sure, unless I am being told otherwise. 

10: What is your biggest pet peeve? I have two major ones, people snapping gum and not messaging someone back. Snapping gum is still up there and people slurping soup obnoxiously. 

11: Do you ever count your steps when you walk? Not really. Um not physically, but my phone does. Thanks Google Fit!

12: Have you ever peed in the woods? Nope. Still no.

13: What about pooped in the woods? Again nope. Still no lol.

14: Do you ever dance even if there’s no music playing? Yeah. Of course!

15: Do you chew your pens and pencils? Not usually, but sometimes I'll chew on a pen. Still sometimes I will chew a pen. 

16: How many people have you slept with this week? Zero. One.

17: What size is your bed? Queen. Queen, but now I share it with Dan. 

18: What is your Song of the week? Runaway- iio. Goodness I have no idea. 

19: Is it okay for guys to wear pink? Yeah.  Since when are certain colors unacceptable for certain people? I like that answer. Good job 2013 Christina. :)

20: Do you still watch cartoons? I don’t really watch a lot of TV. Nope. 

21: Whats your least favorite movie? I am not really big on the Hunger Games. Still accurate or scary movies would be an accurate answer. 

22: Where would you bury hidden treasure if you had some? Wait…why would I want to bury hidden treasure. Dan’s safe?

23: If you’re a girl, bra size? If you’re a guy, pants size? 34 B 32-34 B depends on the bra. lol

24: What do you dip a chicken nugget in? Plain or honey mustard. I like those previous answers, but I do sometimes like BBQ. 

25: What is your favorite food? Some type of chicken with a bread coating. Chicken and dumplings from Cracker Barrel with carrots and green beans! 

26: What movies could you watch over and over and still love? Love and Other Drugs, Crazy Stupid Love, Easy A, Something Borrowed. So chick flicks I guess. Crazy Stupid Love is still in my top favorite movies ever. 

27: Last person you kissed/kissed you? Jeffrey. Eww I am sorry 2013 Christina that sucks. Anyways, Dan!

28: Were you ever a boy/girl scout? I was girl scout back in the day. Still a true statement. 

29: Would you ever strip or pose nude in a magazine? Eh I don't know. I am no model, so no.  30: When was the last time you wrote a letter to someone on paper? On paper?  A while ago. I write Dan little notes in the mornings sometimes. Does that count? 31: Can you change the oil on a car? Nope. Still nope.  32: Ever gotten a speeding ticket? Surprisingly no. Warning, yes. lol 33: Ever ran out of gas? Close, but no. Nope!

34: Favorite kind of sandwich? Turkey and swiss with spinach toasted.  Grilled cheese!

35: Best thing to eat for breakfast? French Toast or Waffles. French Toast sounds lovely. 

36: What is your usual bedtime? Unpredictable. Still accurate, but now it depends on if Dan is around or not.  37: Are you lazy? More than some would think. I can be.  38: When you were a kid, what did you dress up as for Halloween? I don’t even know. Probably a princess.  39: What is your Chinese astrological sign? I believe I am a sheep. Correct.  40: Are you horny? No. Not really.  41: Do you have any magazine subscriptions? No. Yep, Cosmo. And it’s annoying they send out the following month way too early all the time.  42: Which are better legos or lincoln logs? I could care less. Still true. 

43: Are you stubborn? I some ways. Kinda.  44: Who is better…Leno or Letterman? Letterman. Still true hence why Letterman is still on the air? 45: Ever watch soap operas? Sometimes Spanish ones with Rach and her roommates. Nope. 46: Are you afraid of heights? Not as much. What kinda of answer was that back then? lol. Anyways, no height fear really.    47: Do you sing in the car? All the time. Duh, gotta keep it fun.  48: Do you sing in the shower? Not really. I hum though. Still true.  49: Do you dance in the car? Yeah. That’s probably not safe… Hahaha still guilty of that.  50: Ever used a gun? Nope, I want to do it sometime though just to say I shot a gun. Hahaha 2013 would never have thought I’d say I am pretty fucking accurate with an AR-15.  51: Last time you got a portrait taken by a photographer? Does summer count? Jen took my picture. Christmas of 2015 lol. 52: Do you think musicals are cheesy? Some can be. Usually.  53: Is Christmas stressful? Not really, but this year I’ll be working the holiday season so we shall reassess. Nope. I love Christmas.  54: Ever eat a pierogi? Had to look that up.  Yes, I have I think my friend Elly introduced me to them. Yeah, not my type of thing.  55: Favorite type of fruit pie? Cherry or Dutch Apple.  56: Occupations you wanted to be when you were a kid? Teacher. I don’t know anymore and I am 27. Oops.  57: Do you believe in ghosts? Eh debatable. Sure. 58: Ever have a Deja-vu feeling? Many times. I had one just the other day. Yeah I had one the other day. Wait that’s funny that was my reply before.  59: Take a vitamin daily? I take multivitamins. I still do, but currently out. lol 60: Wear slippers? Nah. Barefoot is preferred.  61: Wear a bath robe? Rarely. Unless I am super cold. Nah. 62: What do you wear to bed? Yoga pants and a t-shirt. T-shirt and panties. lol 63: First concert? Paramore. Still true. 

64: Wal-Mart, Target or Kmart? Target, but Wal-Mart is closer. Target.  65: Nike or Adidas? I don’t care. Under Amour? 66: Cheetos Or Fritos? Eh…neither. Haha still good answer.  67: Peanuts or Sunflower seeds? Sunflower seeds since I can’t do peanuts. Neither. 

68: Ever hear of the group Tres Bien? No? What? 69: Ever take dance lessons? I did a few times. Did I? Hmm sure okay. I did in the past.  70: Is there a profession you picture your future spouse doing? Lawyer. Business owner.

71: Can you curl your tongue? Yes. Yep! 72: Ever won a spelling bee? Never participated. Nope I am not very good at spelling complicated stuff.  73: Have you ever cried because you were so happy? It has happened on occasion. Sure. 74: Own any record albums? No. Nope. 75: Own a record player? No. Nope. 76: Regularly burn incense? No. Nope. 77: Ever been in love? Yes. Yes.  78: Who would you like to see in concert? Matchbox Twenty, Google Dolls, Drake, Justin Timberlake, The Weekend, Linkin Park, The XX, and many more. I know weird mix there. Drake? 79: What was the last concert you saw? Grad night, Paramore. Same.  80: Hot tea or cold tea? I prefer cold tea. Ice tea!  81: Tea or coffee? Coffee, but I do like tea on occasion. Coffee 99% of the time.  82: Sugar or snickerdoodles? Yummy both please. Don’t make chose.  83: Can you swim well? Eh debatable. I’ve gotten better. lol 84: Can you hold your breath without holding your nose? Yes. Yes.  85: Are you patient? Most of the time. 50-50 depends on what.  86: DJ or band, at a wedding? Either would be fine, but a live band would be awesome. DJ, Cheaper, duh lol. 87: Ever won a contest? A few times. Yep! 88: Ever have plastic surgery? I am 22 so no. Nah, I am good.  89: Which are better black or green olives? Eww no thanks. *pukes* No no no. 90: Can you knit or crochet? My mom tried teaching me how to crochet. Still wanting to learn one day either one.  91: Best room for a fireplace? A living room? Still going to go with living room.  92: Do you want to get married? I don’t know anymore, I hope so. I do, lol. 93: If married, how long have you been married? (Not applicable) Same lol 94: Who was your HS crush? Mark fucking Andrew. Ugh that’s still true. But here’s a plot twist though he married someone I know and I see his picture on FB all the time because she posts pictures of them. I am not phased anymore. So victory? For me at least. 95: Do you cry and throw a fit until you get your own way? No. But I have though before though. Haha apparently.  96: Do you have kids? No. Nope.  97: Do you want kids? I would be ok not having kids for a while. No thanks. 98: Whats your favorite color? Purple! Purple!!! 99: Do you miss anyone right now? Yeah extremely. Yes. 

100. What do you hear right now? My Drake station on Pandora playing a Lil Wayne song. No Limit- G Easy ft Cardi B and A$AP Rocky