#to the job yet. and then i helped my mom pick out ribbons and stuff 4 the note

[itsalwaysdark]

RLY EXCITING STUFF i got to be on parttime tooth fairy duty for the first time ^_^

[aesthetixhoe]

ghetto ninja warrior C.G

warnings: cursing and mention of death

word count: 1.3k

pronouns used: she/her

Carl had stepped onto the steps of his house, his Aldi bag in hand. He walked up, not knowing what to expect. He'd just been called out of military school for his mom's death, yet he wasn't sad. He was happy because there was one person he wanted to see and could now. You, his girlfriend.

He opened the door only to see no one. He continued walking into the kitchen. Deciding on making breakfast before he went to see you.

After about ten minutes he heard footsteps and voices from upstairs before Lip and Fiona came downstairs.

"Hey, Carl!" Fiona said before laughing. "Oh my god. Hi!" She commented looking at the table and hugging Carl.

"Holy shit, it's Lieutenant Dan! Come here man." Lip exclaimed before also hugging Carl. "Oh, I gotta salute you now or something?" he laughed.

"Where did you get all this stuff?" Fiona asked, still stunned by the set table and all the food that was being cooked.

"I stopped by the Aldi on the way from the train station." Carl said, sounding proud of himself.

"I could have picked you up." Fiona said, walking over to the table with a pot of coffee.

"You have a car?" Carl asked in disbelief. All these years and she was just now getting a car. Hell, he didn't even know she had a license.

"Mm-hmm." Fiona hummed back.

"She's a rich lady now." Ian chimed in. "Look at those stripes and ribbons! You're a general now?" he spoke again, picking Carl up.

"Hey, Cadet Corporal, get to kick some lazy freshman ass." Carl said, pulling away from his older brother before asking "Everybody, scrambled alright?"

Everyone answering back with a "Yeah."

Veronica and Kevin walked in, Veronica saying "Just the neighbors, bringing in 10,000-calorie sugar bombs." Getting a "Nice." back from Fiona.

"Yo, Carl!" Kev shouted while laughing, "Look at you! The ghetto ninja warrior! Should just be afraid, your hands licensed to kill now?" he asked before he and Carl threw fake punches at each other while Kev grunted.

"Carl! Hey, you're home." Debbie said, walking in the kitchen, joining the breakfast party, before calling to Neil to inform him.

"Anybody up for going to the mortuary with me later, figure out what to do with Monica?" Fiona asked picking up some breakfast foods.

"We can't just leave her there?" lip asked.

"I called in sick the last couple of days. I gotta go to work." Ian said, getting out of the un-planned plans.

"Yeah, I got something I have to do this morning, then I got my shift at Patsy's." Lip also used work as his get-out-of-jail-free card.

Carl piped up, sitting at the table, "I'll go."

"Really?" Fiona asked.

"Yeah, sure." he said confirming his answer.

"Can I come?" V started, "With the Alibi gone, I've got nothing but time."

"What happened to the Alibi? Carl asked, being out of the loop for so long.

"Svetlana stole it from them." Fiona said. She never trusted her, that shown through in her voice.

"How do you steal a bar?" Carl asked, confusion evident in his voice.

"Russian KGB sneaky Putin shit. I'm working at the Fairy Tale now." Kev said taking a bite of his pancakes.

"You are?" Ian asked. His passed job there didn't end up so well.

"I'm making 'beau-coo' tips. Ancient queens love the impossible-to-get thing. Even more Benjamins to had if I let old dudes give me hand jobs." Kev said, giving all of them details they did not need to know.

"Not gonna happen." V spoke up, earning a look from Kev.

"A little help here." Debbie groaned.

Ian started talking about how a hand is a hand and lip cut in. Carl stood up, ready to leave.

"I'm gonna go to [y/n]'s house." Carl said, putting his plate in the sink. "Have any of you guys talked to her?" he asked leaning against the counter.

"Sometimes, she fills in for employees at Patsy's if they can't come in, which hasn't happened in a while." Fiona said look at him.

"She comes over and asks about you sometimes but you write to her more than me." Ian said.

"When she does work though, ugh that outfit. When she bends over, oh god!" Lip exclaimed, teasing Carl.

"Shut the fuck up Lip." Carl said angry before walking out, slamming the door.

"Damn, I was just messing around." Lip said standing. "I gotta go." he said also walking out the door.

Carl walked over a couple blocks to your house. He took in the sight of your house before walking up your steps. He knocked at your door before your mom answered it.

"Oh, hey, Carl! [Y/n]'s not here if that's why you came by." she said a slight smile on her lips.

"Where is she?" Carl asks, excited to see you after all this time.

"She's at the park with her niece." she said.

"Oh, Beth right?" Carl questioned, trying to make small talk.

"That's the one. Um... She left not that long ago, so you can probably still catch her." your mom said, "Uh, I got to go, the laundry's done and I need to switch it over. It was good to see you!" she said getting a "you too" from carl before they went their separate ways.

He walked all the way to the park to find her. It was like the first time he saw her all over again.

Her hair was curled effortlessly and laid against her back. Her face was lit up as she was laughing, her smile spreading to his face. She was wearing a dress that stopped above her knees. She was playing with her niece, laughing, it was the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen.

Beth started pointing to Carl and you looked to see where she was pointing at. What you saw made your heart stop. Cadet Corporal Carl Gallagher, you're boyfriend, standing in uniform. You smiled even wider running over to him, jumping up, wrapping your legs around his waist.

You stared into his eyes for a moment before pressing your lips to his. You moved your lips against his plump ones. You pulled away, Carl setting g you down as you hugged him.

"God Carl, I missed you so much." you said into his neck where your head was tucked away.

"Me too [y/n.] So fucking much." Carl said kissing the top of your head.

"I missed you too, uncle Carl!" your six year old niece exclaimed, wrapping her arms around his legs.

"I missed you too, Bethy." Carl said letting go of you and picking her up. He started swinging her around, you smiling at them both.

The three of you stayed at the park till dark, picking up Beth and carrying her when she inevitably fell asleep.

You can Carl got back to your house, him asking if he could stay like he'd done hundreds of times before.

You were laying in bed watching a Disney movie with your head on his chest almost asleep when he whispered "Monica died."

"What!?" you asked bolting up to look at him.

"Yeah... That's why I'm back so early. She died a few days ago. Her funerals in two days." he said softly, drawing shapes on your arm.

"Do you want me to go?" you asked quietly.

"Please?" he said, giving me a sad smile.

"Yes, I will." I said laying back down on his chest.

"Hey, I love you, you know that right? And I've missed you so bad over there past few months." he spoke up after a few minutes.

"I love you too."

[arctickat2400]

Salvatore Wedding <> Damon Salvatore

I speed paced through the Salvatore house living room in gray PJ short shorts and a tank top. I sped from one place to another, procrastinating about everything bad that can happen.

I was so nervous. It was only 2 hours until I was Mrs. Y/N Salvatore, but how can I go through with this when anything, and I mean anything, could go wrong?

How could I walk down the aisle in front of all those people? I mean, yeah, I know everyone, well almost everyone. Most of them were my friends, yet, I didn’t have many.

Either way, I was so nervous. Not that I would be spending the rest of my life with Damon Salvatore, the one I’ve loved for who knows how long. But, that things could happen, and the best day of my life could be ruined.

But, Damon wouldn’t let that happen… right?

“Y/N?” I heard a voice call for me. I spin my body around and spot one of my best friends, Bonnie, standing at the top of the steps at the entrance to the living room.

“Y/N, what are you doing down here? You’re supposed to be getting ready.” Bonnie exclaimed.

“Bon, I don’t know if I can do it. I’m so nervous. So many things can go wrong and-” I trail off. She grabs my shoulders and looked me in the eye.

“Y/N, nothing’s going to happen. Everything will be okay. Damon won’t let anything happen, and he most definitely won’t let anything happen to you. So, if you don’t get up there and get ready for the day we all know will happen, then I will get Caroline to force you up there and into your dress.” She smiles at the end.

I laugh, looking down. “Thanks, Bon. I needed that.” I smiled.

“Now, get your ass up there!” Bonnie says, trying to hold a straight face, but she couldn’t do it.

We walked up the stairs of the Salvatore house as we made it to Damon and my bedroom.

“Y/N, where’ve you been? I have so much that I need to do.” Caroline told me, running towards me and pulling me to the bathroom.

Almost 8 minutes later, Caroline was done with my makeup and my hair, and can I just say, it looks amazing. She was always the best at makeup and stuff.

My hair was braided into a thick side braid with a white flower headband. And for my makeup, I was never too fond of makeup. But, Caroline did great. It was just a bit of blush, mascara, red lipstick, and it was quite dark, like blood red. She added a little eye shadow, light, but it went well with the black mascara.

“So, where’s the dress?” I asked, an excited smile on my lips. The dress was my favorite part. Bonnie, Caroline and Elena helped me pick it out and it was the most beautiful dress I have ever seen.

“Here it is.” Elena’s voice echoes through the large room as she walks through the door. She held my dress that was protected by a plastic clothes protector thing.

I walked towards her as she walked towards me, a smile on her face.

“Oh my god, It’s beautiful.” I said, and I almost started crying, looking over my dress. It was a white strapless dress, a long in the back and short in the front ruffled dress. On the back, it was ribbon crossed down the spine.

As I looked at it, I felt my phone buzz.

“Oh, give me a sec.” I told my three friends as I take my phone out of my back pocket.

“Y/N, come on. We still have a lot to do.” Caroline whined.

“Calm down, Care. It’ll only be a sec.” I tell her.

I look down at my phone, going to sit on the bed.

It was a text from Damon.

Damon: Hey, baby. Just wondering how you were doing. No crying. I want this to be your happiest day.

Y/N: How’d you know I was crying? You’re not supposed to see me yet.

Damon: I didn’t. I could sense your tears. Still, no crying. How’re you doing, though? Did you find it?

Y/N: Find what?

Damon: Side table next to the bed. I’ll see you in a few hours. I love you, princess.

Y/N: Love you, too.

I smiled at my phone.

I looked at the side table next to the bed on Damon’s side, remembering his last text.

There was a small box, almost vintage and rose gold. It had a note beside it.

I walked over to it and held the note. It read:

Here’s something blue and something old.

Also something beautiful for my beautiful princess.

Not that you need anything to make you any more beautiful.

Love you, baby.

I smiled at his words and the amazing handwriting that I can never master.

I picked up the box as I set down the note, opening the box.

Inside was the most ravishing bracelet. It was blue, the sapphires making it pop. And it was old. It was Damon’s mother’s bracelet that his dad, Giuseppe Salvatore gave her when they got married. It was passed down to Damon for his future wife.

Damon had told me about this bracelet, he said he’s had it forever. He even showed it to me one time. But, I forgot all about it. So, this was the gift he was going to give me. He said he had a gift for me before the wedding. He never told me what it was, though. The bracelet was beautiful.

“Y/N, you ready?” Elena asked me, asking if I was ready to put the dress on. I nodded my head, walking towards my friends with a smile, holding the bracelet to my chest.

Bonnie, Caroline and Elena helped me put on my dress, helping me with the ribbon on the back. It was tight, and I think that’s how it was supposed to be, but it still looked stunning.

Bonnie helped me put the bracelet on and Elena helped me with my shoes.

Out of everyone, I have to be the worst in heels. But, Caroline will never let me go with converse or barefoot, which I wish I could do since wedding was just in the front yard of the Salvatore house. But, my heels were smalls ankle-strapped heels that were lined with jewels. As with everything else, they were gorgeous.

Anyways, I was all ready, my wedding coming in almost 30 minutes.

Bonnie, Elena and Caroline were all ready in the makeup and hair department. They had left me alone to go get dressed themselves. They were my three bridesmaids, so they had gone to get dressed into their white and black flower designed bridesmaid dresses.

After almost 6 minutes, they had come out of the bathroom and walked to me.

We looked ourselves over, checking for anything that needs to be changed or something. We were ready and looked quite astonishing. I laughed at the thought.

* * *

Everyone should be here by now, Damon should be at the end of the aisle waiting for me. Stefan, Enzo, Klaus and Alaric should be waiting for us to meet them down at the top of the stairs outside.

Stefan was escorting Elena down the aisle before me, followed by Enzo with Bonnie and Klaus with Caroline.

My parents had died a few years ago. My dad died in a plane crash and my mom was attacked by a werewolf. Ever since then, Damon has helped me through the tragic years and now we’re here, getting married.

And, since my dad isn’t here, Alaric begged me to walk me down the aisle. There was no way I could say no. One, he was Damon’s best friend. Two, he was almost like a father figure to me, always acting like a father to me, I guess.

Caroline, Bonnie, Elena and I walked through the halls of the Salvatore house and to the doors that lead out to the outside stairway.

Our friends stood inside, waiting for us. Caroline, Bonnie and Elena walked around the corner first, making their way to their men.

I, then, walked around the corner as my seven friends looked my way, staring at me.

Stefan walked up to me and smiled.

“Welcome to the family, Y/N,” Stefan exclaimed, kissing my forehead.

Alaric then walked over to me, holding his arm out for me to take.

“Y/N, you look stunning. My best friend and my daughter-like friend getting married. Never thought, but I’m just glad I have the honor of walking you down the aisle.” Alaric told me.

“I can’t imagine anyone else walking me down that aisle on my special day. Thank you, Alaric.” I smiled at him.

He leaned down and kissed my forehead as he stared into my eyes.

“You ready, soon-to-be Mrs. Salvatore?” He asked me. I giggled.

I nodded with a smile as I wrapped my arms around Alaric’s and the music started.

It wasn’t the traditional wedding song. It was Turning Page, a song that Bonnie and Elena chose. I told them that they could pick out the song, and they did a great job. The song was perfect.

I watched as Stefan and Elena, arms intertwined, walked down the stairs and down the aisle. Following, it was Klaus and Caroline. They were at the beginning of the aisle when Stefan and Elena had made it to the end of the aisle, standing next to the love of my life.

It was now Enzo and Bonnie’s turn to walk down. As they reached the beginning of the aisle, I realized I was still nervous, and Alaric could see it.

“Just breathe, Y/N. Soon enough you’ll be with the love of your life forever. Don’t pay attention to the big audience. They’re all your friends here to support you. Nothing to worry about. You’ll be okay.” Alaric explained.

“Thanks.” I smiled up at him.

It was our cue. I breathed in and out slowly, my eyes closed.

I opened them as Alaric started walking me down the steps and down the aisle.

Everyone was standing and staring back at me. As much as I wish they weren’t, I was somehow getting a little less nervous than before.

Stefan, Enzo, and Klaus were lined up on the right side of the stage where Damon was standing and Caroline, Elena, and Bonnie were on the left side where I’d be standing.

Then, somehow I ended up already halfway down the aisle and when I looked up, I met the blue eyes that I loved so much.

Damon’s eyes met mine as he smiled, that famous smirk that’s on his lips 24/7 that always made me go crazy. A blush came onto my cheeks as I looked down with a small, shy smile. I looked back up, his and my eyes never losing eye contact.

I made it down the aisle with Alaric as he helped me up the two steps and onto the stage. He kissed the back of my hand and handed me off to my love, Damon Salvatore, as he took both my hands in his.

“You look gorgeous.” Damon leaned down towards me and whispered into my ear. He kissed my forehead and leaned back, staring into my eyes.

“I believe this lovely couple had created their own vows.” The pastor backed up to let Damon and I say our vows. He went first.

“Y/F/N Y/L/N, my love, I have made my mistakes in this world. I have done my wrongs, but with you, you make me right. You have never left me hanging. And I promise to never leave you hanging. I promise to catch you when you stumble, to carry you when you’re hurt, to pick you up when you fall, to comfort you when you cry. You are the first one I want to see in the morning and the last one I want to see at night. I want to hold you in my arms and kiss you whenever I can. You are my other half, the one that keeps me good. You are the one that finds me when I’m lost. Through sickness and health, I will be there for and with you. You, Y/Full/N, are my one true love. And I promise my life to you. Forever and always.” Damon vowed, never taking his eyes away from mine.

I could barely keep it together. He told me not to cry, but I can’t keep that promise. Tears were already threatening to escape my eyes. It was now my turn.

“I regret many things in my life. I have made many mistakes. But, Damon Salvatore, my love, you are most definitely not one of those regrets, nor one of those mistakes. You are the one that keeps me on my toes, holds me up, and catches me when I fall. I would give anything to be with you. You are my best friend, and being with you is a dream come true, my every desire fulfilled. You can count on me when things go downhill. You can count on me to pick you up at your bad times. I can’t believe that, after this, I get to spend the rest of my life with you. I hadn’t known love till I met you. You are everything I could ever imagine life and love to be. Nothing can take me away from you. You, Damon Giuseppe Salvatore, are my one true love. And I promise my life to you. Forever and always.” I vowed to him, tears now staining my cheeks.

Damon smiles at me, his hand making its way up to my cheek and taking the tears away.

“Now, do you, Damon Giuseppe Salvatore, take your love, Y/Full/N, to have and to hold, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death do you part, Forever and Always?” the pastor questions Damon.

Damon, with his stern blue eyes, stares into my eyes.

“I do. Forever and Always.” Damon answers without hesitation. I blush and smile as he smiles down at me.

“Do you, Y/Full/N, take your love, Damon Giuseppe Salvatore, to have and to hold, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death do you part, Forever and Always?” the pastor questions me. I didn’t even have to think for one second.

“I do. Forever and Always.” I answer and smile up at Damon.

“I announce Ms. Y/Full/N and Damon Giuseppe Salvatore as Mr. and Mrs. Salvatore. You may kiss the bride.”

He didn’t even have to think. He leaned forward slowly, his hand on my cheek and the other on my waist as his lips met with mine as they moved in sync perfectly.

He was my Mr. Salvatore and I was his Mrs. Salvatore.

“I love you, Y/N,” Damon says, pulling back, our foreheads leaned against each other.

“I love you, Damon,” I say, smiling.

He and I together, Forever and Always.

[plainbrunettelbl]

ABO Rich (A) Katsuki Bakugo x Poor (O) Reader Money Can’t Buy You Everything Alpha (Chapter Two)

Word count: 1896

Warnings: None. 

Title: ABO Rich (A) Katsuki Bakugo x Poor (O) Reader Money Can’t Buy You Everything Alpha (Chapter Two)

Summary: Bakugo actually does something nice but his execution is a little off. 

(Gif not mine) 

Bakugo: 

💥-“Plant girl! Stop calling me that!” You huffed.

💥-“So you are Plant girl! I knew there was something about you!” His glare was piercing.

💥-“So what?” You crossed your arms.

💥-“So what?! Why didn’t you say anything?” He demanded.

💥-“What was I gonna say? Hey, do you remember that time you were kidnapped?” You argued.

💥-“Well maybe not like that but sure! You were just gonna let me walk out?” He fumed.  

💥-“Well, I certainly wasn’t gonna ask you to stay!” You scoffed. “And why would I want you to stay anyways.”

💥-“I don’t know maybe to catch up or something? Build a friendship?” He countered.

💥-“Why would I want a friendship with a rude Alpha like you?” You complained leaning against the counter with both your hands laid flat on it.

💥-“I haven’t been rude!” He shot back clearly upset that you thought so.

💥-“Says Mr. Grumpy Face.” You accused.

💥-He scoffs at that. Before he could retort you looked like you were swaying on your feet. His Alpha instincts kicked in as he nearly hopped over the counter to keep you steady.

💥-“What’s wrong? Are you feeling okay?” He asked.

💥-“I’m just feeling a little dizzy.” You muttered. Must be the lack of sleep and the breakfast bar you had for breakfast.

💥-You tried not to flush at feeling his warm hands on your shoulders. Get a grip Y/N this guy has been nothing short of rude. You can’t be attracted to him. 

💥-“I’m sorry if I stressed you out Omega.” His tone was soft.

💥-“I’m not Omega or Plant girl. My name is Y/N.” Your glare didn’t hold as much bite as you would have liked. You had softened at his tone. You were blaming it on Omega instincts. 

💥-No falling in love with the guy just because he touched you.

💥-“Wanna get some food? We can catch up and stuff.” You tried to ignore the redness flooding his cheeks.

💥-“I work till five and have to be at my other job at eight. I don’t think getting something to eat with you is in my plans. I have a few errands I need to run and clean up my apartment a little.” You listed, pulling away from him.

💥-“I can pick up some food and bring it back here if you want?” He offered.

💥-“Why would you do that?” You asked, genuinely confused.

💥-“Well, I have to do something to repay you for helping me escape.” He rubbed the back of his head.

💥-“Oh.” Your Omega pouted at that but you don’t understand why. “You don’t have to. My lunch break is in a little bit so I should be fine.”

💥-“How about I take you out then?” He asked.

💥-“I only have a thirty-minute lunch break. Can’t exactly sit down and enjoy the food.” You sighed.

💥-“I can pick something up and bring it back if you want.” He offered again.

💥-You smiled a little. Even if he was doing this just to pay you back it was still sweet of him to offer. “I don’t know if having lunch with you would be a good idea. Who wants to eat with a grumpy face like you?” You jested.

💥-“I’ll pay?” His voice tilted on a higher tone. Clearly offended but not willing to anger you anymore. Not wanting to admit that he was set on spending time with you.

💥-“On second thought, I can handle a few rude remarks.” You tilted your head with a thoughtful look.

💥-“Whatever. I have been nothing short of polite.” He mumbled. “It’s a deal. I’ll come back with the food in thirty minutes.”

💥-He began walking out of the shop.

💥-“What about your flowers?” You called out.

💥-“I don’t need them.” He shot over his shoulder.

💥-Outside he called his personal driver to come to pick him up and waited by the curb. Once he got off the phone with his driver he quickly dialed another number.

💥-“Mom, I am not going to make it to the courting date you set up. Something important came up. Let her know I won’t be going okay?” He said to her voicemail. He was glad she didn’t pick up since he knew he was gonna get an earful out of her once she knew he didn’t show up.

***

💥-You had continued to stand behind the counter waiting for someone to walk in. Your Omega was impatient for the Alpha to come back. Something about him drew her to him.

💥-To his word, he did come back thirty minutes later. He carried in boxes that looked like they could have been gifts instead of takeout boxes since they were wrapped so elegantly. White boxes with black bows.

💥-“What did you get?” You lifted a brow.

💥-“Just something from a restaurant I frequent.” He nonchalantly placed it on the counter. “Where are we gonna eat?” He looked around for a table to magically appear.

💥-“I usually eat in the back. It’s kinda dirty though.” You trailed off. Your face burned in embarrassment.

💥-He saw your mood shift. He placed his hands on the counter before vaulting over. Swiftly grabbing the boxes and sliding against the counter to the floor. Ignoring the fact that his white dress shirt was probably gonna get wrinkled and dirty.

💥-He set the food down in his lap and looked up at her.

💥-“You gonna sit down?” He asked.

💥-You hastily sat down, he began unraveling the ribbons. You were hit with a pungent smell. You tried to keep your face straight so you didn’t offend him. He was doing something nice so you didn’t want to seem ungrateful.

💥-He handed you a box and grabbed one for himself. You lifted the top to find something you definitely weren't expecting. Snails. A dozen of them stared back at you.

💥-They were sitting in a pool of yellow liquid that smelled like truffle butter. A few mushrooms scattered around the meal delicately. A piece of toasted bread lays on the side.

💥-“It looks... good. Thank you.” You offered him a fake smile.

💥-He returned the gesture with a small smile himself. Clearly proud of himself. He passed you the utensils before digging in. You decided to start off with something you knew you could eat. The bread.

💥-Once you had nibbled that away you began plucking up all of the mushrooms. Them being soaked in truffle butter was something you weren’t used to but you could stomach it.

💥-All that was left were the snails and you didn’t know where to start. You tried to see if he had the same thing you did. He had a lobster. You were tempted to ask him to switch with you but swallowed the urge and took a fork to the hard shell.

💥-You got the meat out without too much struggle which was good. Now it was time to actually put it in your mouth. As soon as it touched your tongue you knew it was a mistake.

💥-The slimy texture was the first thing to put you off. You got a few chews in before giving up and spitting it back into the plate. Bakugo snapped his head at you. You had literally spat out your food. He eyed you like you were suddenly an alien or something.

💥-“I’m sorry, I just couldn’t take it. It was gross and slimy.” You couldn’t get redder.

💥-“I don’t even know how to freaking react right now.” He was shocked, never before had he seen an Omega act so informal. He was used to dinner parties with delicate Omegas who wiped their mouth after every bite.

💥-“I really am sorry. I tried but couldn’t handle the texture.” You set your food on the floor and stood up.

💥-“I think I still have enough time to go grab a hot dog or something. I’ll be right back. Can you watch the shop real quick?” You asked. You felt bad but really needed something sustainable in your stomach.

💥-“Sure.” He answered, still taken off guard.

💥-You nodded in thanks before rushing out of the store.

💥-This Omega kept surprising him at every turn. If she was like every other Omega in his life they would have jumped at the opportunity to be in debt to him. You were gonna it slip through your fingers without a second thought.

💥-He didn’t have time to think if you were genuinely one of a kind or soft in the head before you came back in. Two foil-wrapped packets in your hand. You came back over to him, taking a seat on the floor once again.

💥-“I got you one too. A lobster and salad don’t seem very filling to me.” You smiled, handing him the foil packet.

💥-It was true it wasn’t necessarily filling but the food wasn’t for him, it was for you. And he will grudgingly admit that he didn’t take your tastes into consideration. He was used to this type of food and didn’t think that you would find any fault in it.

💥-So he would stomach the hot dog since you tried to do the same for his choice of food. He wrapped it and eyed the red sausage.

💥-“This isn’t gonna kill me is it?” He said he was gonna stomach it but didn’t say he wasn’t gonna complain about it.

💥-“No.” You rolled your eyes, your mouth already full. Cheeks puffed out and yellow mustard lining the corner of your mouth. He wouldn’t admit it but he found it adorable.

💥-“Uh-huh. Did the person that gave it to you look like he showered today at least?” He said lifting it to his mouth.

💥-“Frank has a good reputation for keeping his cart clean and sanitary. Even has the A to prove it.” You grumbled.

💥-“I’ll take your word for it.” Taking a bit, after a few chews he swallowed. “It’s palatable.” He offered.

💥-“Glad it meets your approval, your Majesty.” You laughed, seeing the humor in his polite yet rude attitude.

💥-“Whatever.” He muttered, still eating the hot dog.

💥-“I think this is a good start.” You chimed.

💥-“Start?” He questioned.

💥-“Of our friendship. You said you wanted one right?” You asked.

💥-“I did. I thought you didn’t want one. I recall you saying I was a rude Alpha” He implied.

💥-“That was before I realized you did have a nice bone in your body.” You grinned at him.

💥-“I have been nice the whole time!” He insisted.

💥-“Oh, I think I am feeling dizzy again.” You murmured acting like you were gonna slump over.

💥-“Really?” He reached out to grab you.

💥-You popped back up with a giggle. “Nope. It seemed to calm you down last time though. You are gonna have to get used to me teasing you if you want a part in this friendship.” You teased.

💥-He didn’t say it out loud but the thought of him being around you long enough for him to get used to your odd behavior made him feel warm inside.

Okay second chapter out. Thoughts? What did you think of him ditching his courting date?  What do you think of Bakugos idea of a meal? How do you think this unlikely friendship is gonna pan out?  Hope you enjoyed it! 💕

[cruecifymesixx]

Love and Leather /part seventy seven/

Word Count: 4.9k

A/N: Enjoy a soft cute chapter before stuff starts to pick back up again!

Warnings: smut, language 

Taglist:   @aryssav , @miserablecunt , @dangerous-like-a-loaded-pistol, @fandomshit6000, @anntheboneless,  @justjodeye, @supernaturalvikingwhore, @hi-my-name-is-riley, @extremesadnerding, @thatbandchick39, @awkwrdcait, @countrygirlswonderland, @awesomealmostdopestudent, @romanticvengeance , @tashy-bear, @krazykatkay456, @terror-triplet, @shouttatthedevill @beachystars, @rodriguez025, @kickstart-myheart-sixx, @s-outhie, @anxious-diabetic, @awkwardblackgirls, @rockersbox, @brooklyn-antiques, @shamelessobsessions, @jerseytaint, @lilytalebi, @criminalyetminimal, @motley-queen, @trapt-in-a-dream, @lunamadhatter99, @broke-n-bitchy @thanks2pete,  @lovesick-heart0, @keepcalm-and-beyou, @miriampraez, @teenwolflover28, @lilyhw1, @motherloovebone, @random-internet-user-4471, @falcon-arrows, @talranocchia2001,  @waywardprincess666, @malibubarbievince, @iluvmesomemarvelndc, @zoenicoles, @vamprlestat, @supersoldierballerina, @primal-screamer @electradestiny, @marshbev, @n0-sh0rtage-0f-faults, @cruebaby, @ggorehorror, @valentines-in-london, @miss2001babe, @nassauartist  @cmft-jr-winchester, @bokkie92, @notworthyofyou1120 @xrosegoldwolfx, @lauravic, @mgkobsessed, @chaoticvybe,  @kellysimagines @thoughtsoftheantagonist @marvelismylifffe, @sleepyjunhong  @meetthesixxter @sparxx27 @gingerspicetalks @kaitieskidmore1 @unknownoblivion @nevergoodenuffbutokaaayyy @sublimeprincesswasteland @kylieinwonderland @haileynicoleseavey17 @lavendersoundbarrier @youretheonlyonewhomakesme, @xxisxxisxxis, @dogmom2014, @cruesixxlover1991, @xpoisonousrosesx, @cranberrirolls, @m0rnlngstar, @love-struck-aries, @findingmyths, @minxtruck, @i-want-to-shoot-myself, @arianareirg, @fentitrbl, @sinningsixx, @motleycrueprincess, @redlipscrystalskies14, @samanthadegaro, @brideofdraculana​,

~Christmas 1995~

“You know what would really make this a good Christmas?” I looked up at Nikki, smiling as I folded wrapping paper littered with golds and greens. It was currently one in the morning and we were scramming to get all the presents wrapped. Arianna so far, has woken up twice to see if Santa has came yet. Luckily, we were able to get her back to sleep quickly.

“Whats that, Princess?” Nikki asked me as he put another present under the tree before grabbing another one.

“Some snow.” I looked at him, taking a sip of a whiskey glass full of Jack Daniels and Irish Cream.

“Snow? But you hate the cold. Which is also why I didn’t understand why you picked New York. It’s freezing there.” Nikki chuckled

“No! No. Dust I mean, you know blow? Coke? Snow?” I smirked and put down the drink, almost missing the table, “Whoops.”

“Shut the fuck up.” Nikki laughed, “I think you’ve had enough of those jack knifes Van.” He tsk’d before cutting paper in one smooth motion.

“No way. This is only my third one and we still have a gazillion presents to wrap.” I took another sip before offering some to him. He gave me a look before bringing the glass to his lips and taking a swig.

“Christ, V. No wonder why you’re already buzzed. It’s all whiskey.” He chuckled before handing it back to me.

“You’re just a pussy.” I said in a matter of fact type tone before putting the glass down and scooting away from the present I had been attempting to wrap for the past fifteen minutes. I laid back and rested my head on Nikki’s thigh, “You think she’ll be happy?”

Nikki laughed and ran his fingers through my hair, “Of course she’ll be happy. Look at all these presents. She’s going to loose her mind. Why are you worried babe?”

I shrugged, “I don’t know. Sometimes I just wonder if I’m doing enough for her ya know? That she knows I’m a good mom and that you’re a good dad...I don’t want her to end up hating us when she’s older.”

“What? She won’t hate us. I mean maybe she’ll think she hates us when she’s a teenager but we still have so many years to go until we get there. You’re a great mom and she knows that. Just like she knows I’m a great dad. Plus, I think the presents will help in our favor too.” He smiled down at me before reaching for my drink and finishing it off.

I was about to protest, “I will make you another one. Don’t worry.” He smiled before kissing my lips and letting me move off of him before he went to the kitchen.

“So, when are we gonna eat these cookies? We better not get any rabbits or moles in the backyard because of all the carrots she threw out there for the reindeer.” Nikki spoke as he brought the plate of cookies and a fresh drink to me.

“Anarchy will eat the carrots and for the cookies...well, we can eat them now. We deserve a snack break anyways.” I grabbed one of the frosted cookies Arianna had decorated today and laid down on the floor and stared up at tree.

Nikki laid down next to me and I shuffled closer to him, “You did a good job decorating it. I think the last time I had a Christmas tree up in the house was 89’.” Nikki explained to me as I glanced at him.

“When I was still here?” He nodded, “Brandi didn’t decorate?”

He chuckled, “No. We were out touring but I had a mini one in my hotel rooms. And Brandi, well, she was always modeling or she would go home to her family during the holidays. We only spent like two thanksgivings together in the four years we were married.”

“You make marriage sound horrible.” I muttered as I took a sip of my drink.

“My marriage to her was horrible. But when we get married? Oh, doll. It’s gonna be fucking amazing.”

“Or a miracle.” I laughed at the serious face he had, “You still wanna marry me?” I asked curiously, grazing my nails over his jawline.

“Uh, duh? Of course I still want to marry you.”

I smiled at Nikki, his green eyes literally sparkling under the strings of white lights wrapped around the tree. I reached up and gave him a slow kiss, taking his bottom lip between my teeth gently before pulling away.

“It’s not too late for you to be put on the naughty list, Vanity.” He smirked, engulfing my hips in his hands and pulling me closer to him.

“And why would I want to join you on that list?” I chuckled and reached between all the gifts and grabbed a shiny tin foil box and handed it to him, “Here. An early Christmas present.”

He groaned before sitting up and putting it into his lap, “Fine, but you gotta open-“ I pressed my finger to his lips, watching him smirk before he kissed it and wrapped his lips around it.

I started laughing, “No only for you- ah!” I covered my mouth when he captured my finger by his teeth, “Nikki.” He grinned before letting it go and his hand started untying the black ribbon.

I cradled my whiskey glass taking a sip ever so often as I watched him toss the lid to the side before throwing white tissue paper at me, “Oh, holy shit!” He looked at me, his smile from ear to ear before he took out the camera out of the box.

“Baby...”

I chewed on my bottom lip and pressed the power button for him, “It’s all charged and I thought I could be the first picture. Your greatest gift of all.” I laughed and took a bow off the sticky paper and put it on top of my head.

“I love you so god damn much.” He smiled before raising to sit on his knees and kiss me, “I want the bow a little lower, though.”

I cocked my head to the side and took the bow off my hair, “Here?” I smirked, taking a sip and put it over my chest. Nikki chuckled but shook his head.

“A little lower baby. I can show you if you want?”

I stood up, with the help of his shoulders and shimmied the Christmas themed pajama pants down my legs before stepping out of them. I sat back down supporting myself with one hand and opened up my legs to him, “Right there?” I placed the silver bow right above my panty line. Nikki licked his lips and nodded.

“Take them off and lay down.” Nikki instructed as I laid back and raised my hips, pulling the red laced thong down my legs before throwing them at him.

Nikki rests his hand on my knee and places the bow between my legs after I opened them again for him. He grabbed the camera before I heard the click of the shutter, “Take off your shirt.”

I did as he said, “Cover yourself with your arm.” I looked at him, “Just do it.” I crossed my forearm over my chest. His hand came down and caressed my chin before tilting my head the way he wanted it. “Just look at me. Give me your pouty eyes.”

“But I’m not pouting?” Nikki smiled behind the camera and raised an eyebrow.

“Okay, pretend I just told you no to using my credit card for a really nice pair of heels you wanted....there it is. Good girl.” Nikki took the shot before looking at it and showed me it, “Beautiful as ever, Van. Can we take one more?”

I smiled and kissed his cheek, “What do you want to-“ Before I could even get the words out of my mouth, Nikki had a hand wrapped around my throat and guided me down to the floor again. I closed my eyes, feeling his thumb brush over my skin and my lips parted when he tightened his grip. I opened my eyes to look at the camera, biting my bottom lip as he squeezed even more.

“I love it when you look at me like that.” Nikki murmured before putting the camera down and pulled my hips towards him. I reached up for his shoulders to pull him down and he happily obliged. His lips captured mine as he slid his tongue into my mouth. I hummed at the taste of him, hooking my knee over his lower back.

I placed my hands under his shirt, pushing the fabric up his body as he sat up and quickly pulled it off before coming back to my lips, his hand wrapping into strands of hair and rested on the nape of my neck. I closed my eyes when his lips and teeth made work out of my neck, sucking and nipping softly. Nikki moved down to my chest, squeezing my breast before pinching and rolling my nipple between his fingers. His mouth stayed busy with the other one.

My hands wander to between our legs as I reached into his sweats and wrapped my hand around his hardening cock, slowly sliding my hand up and down. Nikki closed his eyes and gnawed on his bottom lip as I picked up the pace his hips started following my movements.

“Fuck Vanity.” Nikki moaned, peppering my clavicle with kisses. I swiped my thumb over the tip and used the pre cum to make things a lot smoother. Nikki reached into his pants, placing his hand on top of mine to guide me, “So good...shit.” He breathed out before pulling his pants down more.

I licked my fingers before putting my hand between my leg, rubbing slow circles around my clit as I watched him jerk himself off before he pushed my legs open for him. Nikki pulled me closer to his body before resting my leg against his chest. He placed his lips against the sunflower on my ankle before biting my calf.

A low moan tumbled out of my lips as he rubbed his cock against my pussy. I watched as a tear drop of spit spilled off his tongue and right onto me before he rubbed his thumb over my clit, “Nikki..” I grabbed a hold of his cock and guided him into me slowly. Eyes fluttering close as my back arched off the living room floor as Nikki filled me to the brim, “So...so deep.” I placed my hand on his that had an iron grip on my hip.

Nikki pulled back, almost escaping my body before thrusting back in as deep and harder as before. Nikki covered my mouth with his hand as he started fucking me. I closed my eyes, feeling the overwhelming sensation overcome me as my hands rested against his thighs, nails clawing into his skin.

Nikki watched himself move in and out between my legs before reaching for the camera and taking a picture, “Seriously?” I laughed, grabbing his hand and intertwining our fingers together when he put it down.

He chuckled before leaning over and kissing me deeply, his grunts and heavy breaths being swallowed by me as he moved his hips faster against mine. His forearms rested on either side of my head as he buried his face in the crook of my neck, peppering kisses and bites where my neck meets my shoulder.

My eyes closed as i felt myself tighten around his length repeatedly, mixed with the twitching of his cock I knew neither of us were gonna last long. I wrapped my hand around the back of his neck, weaving my fingers through his hair while the other rested on his lower back. My hips tilted upwards to meet his as his fingers strummed over my clit. I brought my bottom lip between my teeth as a way to keep my moans under wraps as I felt myself cum.

“Fu-fuck, fuck.” Nikki quickly pushed my leg off his hip and pulled out, taking his cock into his hand and jerking himself off and cumming on my lower abdomen.

I wiped my face, pushing hair out of the way as I heard the shutter of the camera, “Oh my god, really?” I rolled my eyes before playfully kicking him in the chest.

“It’s not the snow you talked about earlier.” He grinned before swiping his finger over my skin and brought it to my lips. I licked the cum off his finger before sucking on it, “Dirty fucking girl.” Nikki giggled like a naughty school boy before patting my cheek.

We both looked at each other, eyes wide when we heard a door open upstairs. I rolled away from Nikki before quickly grabbing his shirt and throwing it over my head, “That’s mine-“ Nikki groaned before quickly pulling up his sweats. I grabbed the rest of my clothes and hid behind the couch.

I peeked over the arm rest to see Nikki take the stairs two at a time before meeting Arianna, “Baby, you need to be sleeping.” I watched him pick her up and hold her in his arms as she rested her head on his shoulder, her blanket still wrapped around her.

“But I need to see Santa.” She mumbled tiredly before Nikki took Arianna to her room.

I laughed to myself before slipping on my underwear and going to sit by Christmas tree. I’ll have to clean that wet spot later. I took a sip of the now watered down jack knife and finished wrapping the present I was working on. I looked over my shoulder when Nikki came downstairs.

“I told her that she has to sleep or Santa won’t come and if he does come he’ll leave her coal.” Nikki explained before grabbing another gift for Arianna and wrapping it.

“Good, because Santa is tired and needs to sleep.”

*Christmas morning*

My eyes fluttered open, glancing at the California sun shining through. I sighed before closing my eyes feeling Nikki adjust in his sleep, wrapping his arm around my waist before his hand slid up my shirt and grabbed a handful of one of my tits.

“Good morning.” He mumbled hoarsely, his hot breath tickling my ear as he kissed the back of my head.

“It’s Christmas.” I relaxed back into the bed, before turning my head to give him a kiss.

“God, your breath is horrible.” Nikki laughed before pushing away from me, groaning as he stretched in my bed and buried his face in the pillows.

“Shut up. Yours ain’t all that great either.” I ran my nails down his exposed side, making him squirm.

I heard pitter patter of feet running down the hallway before the half opened door slammed against the wall, “Santa came!!” Arianna screamed excitedly as she ran to the bed, pulling herself up and crawling up towards us, “Mommy! Come on!” She started pulling on my hand to get me to sit up.

“Arianna.” I laughed, rubbing my eyes seeing her smile, “How do you know Santa came already?”

She let out a groan before jumping on the bed, “Oh Jesus Christ.” Nikki grumbled, wincing in pain when she jumped on his back.

“Cause! Cause I saw the presents downstairs! And the cookies are gone! And we have to open them! Daddy! Wake up! Daddy!”

Nikki quickly wrapped his arms around her and brought her down to the bed, squirming as she laid between us, “But I’m still sleepy.” He pouted before Arianna squeezes his cheeks together in her little hands before sticking her finger up his nose, “Quit it.” He laughed, pushing her hands away from his face.

Arianna huffed and puffed before grabbing each of our hands, “Santa brought me a lot of presents.”

I chuckled before getting out of bed and grabbing shorts that were laying on the floor, “And how do you know if they’re for you? What if they’re all for me?” I questioned before offering my hands to her and lifting her off the bed.

“Because daddy said you were on the naughty list so that means you get coal.”

I shook my head, “No way, Santa loves me. I’m always on the nice list.”

“You’re always on my naughty list.” Nikki mumbled before pulling on his sweats, “Okay sweat pea, let’s go see what Santa brought.”

Arianna ran out of my room, Anarchy finally getting off her dog bed and chasing after her, “Let her outside to go potty first, Ari!”

I walked down the stairs, Nikki following behind me before he went to the kitchen to start making coffee, “Ari baby, you gotta wait!” I sighed when she ripped the silver paper to shreds and pulled out a new Barbie doll.

“Mommy! Look!” She said with a gasp as she showed me.

“Very cool! But hold on.” I told her as she pouted for a moment before nodding. I let Anarchy out as she was waiting patiently by the back door.

“I know, I know. You don’t need to look at me like that.” I patted her head before she ran towards the yard.

“Mom!!” I closed my eyes before going to the couch and sitting down, “Open that pink one.” I pointed to the pink unicorn bag as she quickly grabbed it and sat in the middle of the living room with it.

I almost started laughing when she glared at me, “What is it babe?” I watched as she pulled out a black leather jacket that Nikki had picked out for her.

“Mommy I don’t want a jacket.” She frowned before putting it off to the side and grabbing another present.

I thanked Nikki when he handed me a cup of coffee and sat down next to me, “What’s wrong with the jacket? You’re gonna be so cool when you go back to school.” He grabbed it off the floor and motioned her to come to him. He helped her put it on before smiling, “Do you like it?”

She huffed and looked at the sleeves and tugged on it, “Yes. It’s like yours.” Arianna mumbled before shimmying out of it and giving it back to Nikki.

“Told you she’d like it.” He whispered to me as she went back to the tree and started pulling out present after present.

“You wanna open one of your presents from Santa?” Nikki questioned as I rolled my eyes but nodded. He got off the couch and grabbed a gold glittered bag with red tissue paper sticking out of it and put it on my lap.

I put my cup of coffee down before opening up the bag and pulling out the paper, my cheeks turning a shade of pink as I closed the bag, “Nikki. You couldn’t have gave this to me, oh I don’t know last night?”

He grinned and shook his head, “Did you even look at it? I picked it out myself. I think it will fit I had to raid your bra and panty drawer when you were out of the house.”

I pulled out a mesh, see through bra that had small, silver link chains hanging down, “Those wrap around you and I-“

“I know what they’re for.” I chuckled before grabbing the matching thong that went with it, my eyes widening at the leather cuffs at the bottom of the bag that had even longer chains attached to it, “And these?”

He smirked, “I’m glad you asked, well, they can be chained to either my bed posts or yours.”

“What did you get mommy?” I quickly stuffed them back in the bag when Arianna tried taking a peek.

“Oh, just boring clothes from Santa, baby.” I spoke fast as she went back to the tree and started opening another present.

“Go grab one for you.” I nudged him as he groaned and picked a tiny red box and sat back down. I watched as he shook it, making a face when he heard something rattle inside.

“A scooter?!?” Arianna screamed and tried pushing the box to us, “Mommy! Can we open it!?”

I laughed, “Open the rest of them and then we can go outside and play.” I smiled at her as she nodded.

“Please tell me you got her a helmet.” I whispered to Nikki as he chuckled.

“Outside waiting with the Barbie Jeep.” He looked at me before taking the lid off the box and pulling out a tinier black velvet box. He raised his eyebrow in suspicion before opening it, “Oh! Whoa!”

Nikki held up a gold ring that was in the shape of a skull with little intricate details, “Van! This is fuckin’ sick!” He chimed as he slid it on his finger.

“Does it fit okay? The jeweler said I could have it resized if it didn’t.” I asked him as he took it off and examined it some more, “Look.” I grabbed it and flipped it upside down showing him the ‘Sixx’ that was engraved in old English lettering.

“It fits perfectly babe. Thank you.” He leaned over and kissed my cheek before putting it back his middle finger, “I love it. And you.”

After Arianna had demolished through all of her presents, the living room over flowing with ripped bags and paper, she was content playing with her new Barbie dream house and driving the RC Barbie car with her dolls inside, terrorizing Anarchy with it.

“Here. Open this one.” Nikki handed me a white box with a red silk bow wrapped around it. I smiled at him before getting up and walking to the tree, standing on my tip toes to grab a black envelope with ‘Nikki’ written in gold cursive.

“Open this one too.”

“No. You go first.” He grinned, sitting on the floor in front of me with the pink Santa hat on top of his head.

The box felt heavy as I untied the bow, a longer dark blue velvet box inside of it. I glanced at him for a split second before opening it up, gasping when I stared down at a thick strip of diamonds. I took it between my fingers and held it up, the sunshine coming through the window making it glisten, “Baby...”

“Don’t cum in your panties.” He laughed before sitting up on his knees and taking it from me. Nikki pushed my hair away and wrapped the diamond encrusted choker around my neck before clasping it, “You like it?”

I nodded and brought my hand up to my neck to feel it. I walked over to the mirror and looked at it, “It’s absolutely beautiful. Thank you Nikki.” I bit my lip and gawked over it, a contempt sigh pushing past my lips.

“Anything for you princess.” He grinned before he opening up his gift. I took off the choker and put it back in the box, “What the hell is this?” He laughed as he flipped through the little pamphlet.

Clementine had suggested to make something for Nikki because I had no idea what to get him for Christmas. So, I did some research.

“Good for one...one blow job?” He looked at me confused.

“They’re coupons!”

His eyebrows furrowed, “Coupons? You know what those are?”

I rolled my eyes, “Yes I know what they are! Think of them as like golden tickets!” I watched as he flipped through them some more.

“Redeem for a date night? Vanity...uh...thank you?” He flipped through some more, “Redeem for....anything you want?” I watched the wheels turn in his head as he looked at me, “Huh...good for sex, another blow job, a massage, cuddles...” He muttered as he went through them all, “A home cooked meal...don’t want that one.”

“Oh come on!” I groaned, “It’s cute! And if I deny any of them I have to give you one hundred dollars.”

He arched an eyebrow, “...And I can use them whenever?” I nodded, “Any time, any place? I just give it to you?” Again, I nodded, “Hm. I’ll hold onto this for a rainy day then.”

“I have one more gift for you.” I smiled at him, “But you have to close your eyes.”

“Vanity, I thought we agreed we weren’t gonna go crazy.” His eyes fluttered closed, “And I thought you were okay with that, thats why I didn’t get you a lot.”

“Yes I’m okay with that but I just couldn’t pass this up. Keep them closed.” I walked down the hallway and to the closet, grabbing the long dark green wrapped box with a gold bow on it and carried it to the living room.

My mother likes auctioning off a lot of the antiques and rich, expensive items for fun that have have been in the family for decades. Back in October, she had told me some really cool things were going to be auctioned off that myself or Nikki would be interested in. Some guy had came to the auction and had guitars, basses, and pianos from musical artists ranging from the 1950s all the way to the 1970s. I didn’t recognize any of them as they were mainly one hit wonder bands and singers but he did have a signed Marc Bolan guitar with a certificate of authenticity. And I recognized it immediately as Marc Bolan was the singer for T. Rex so I had my mother bid for it.

“Okay. Here you go.” I told Nikki as his eyes opened and he looked at me then the box before quickly taking it from me.

His smile was huge, “It’s a bass right? A guitar?” I shrugged and watched as he ripped the paper off. He sucked in a deep breath of air as he put the box on the floor and towered over it, ripping off the tape and opening the lid. Packing peanuts started flying as he pulled out a burnt orange Gibson Les Paul guitar, “Oh no fucking way. No fucking way!” Nikkis fingers glided over the faded black signature “Marc fucking Bolan?! Vanity Blackwood tell me this isn’t real!!”

“It’s not.”

“You liar!” He yelled excitedly as he picked up the certificate, “Oh my god it’s real! This is real?!Where did you find this?!” He carefully put it down and tackled me on the couch peppering kisses over my cheeks and lips causing me to laugh under him before he got on the floor and grabbed it again.

“Baby...I-I I don’t even know what to say.” I smiled as Nikki strummed on the strings just a bit, “Thank you Van. Really, I’m-just thank you.”

I smiled at Nikki before watching him reach behind and grab the last present, “For you.” He placed it on my lap as he started tuning the guitar.

I tore apart the gift wrap and unraveled the tissue paper before staring at a glass frame the map of a night sky.

‘In your hands now lays the night sky from January 15th, 1981. It was a Thursday night. I had just left the Starwood and you were working at the diner. My memories hazy, but I have an excuse. However, I still remember the way you looked that night. You were wearing black skinny jeans, with a pair of white converse. Your hair was in a bun and you had a blue pen sticking out of it but you were writing orders with a red pen. Your white short sleeved, buttoned down uniform shirt had a pink stain on it but I didn’t pay much attention because you had quite a few buttons undone. I remember when you first looked at me, you took my breath away. I couldn’t fathom how gorgeous someone could be, I still can’t. You light up my world, just like the stars on the night we met. Merry Christmas Vanity.

I love you past the moon, the stars, and the sun.’

I looked at Nikki as he flipped his hair back and out of his face, “What?” He grinned, “I think you got a little something on your cheek, doll.”

I sniffled before putting the picture frame down before taking the guitar away from him and sitting in his lap, “I love you so much, Nikki.” I laughed when he wiped the few tears from my cheek, “It’s absolutely beautiful.” I wrapped my arms around his shoulders and kissed the side of his neck.

“I love you too. I didn’t know if you’d like it or not. And I spent weeks deciding to get it but I’m really glad you do.” He rambled, scratching the back of his head before brushing away pieces of hair from his eyes.

“It’s perfect. I like it way more than the diamond choker.” I said before tilting his jaw up by his chin and pressing a kiss to his lips.

He quickly pulled away from me, “You’re joking.”

I chuckled, “Maybe just a little bit.” I quickly kissed him again and reached for the camera on the coffee table, “Arianna! Come here! We gotta take a picture!”

Arianna came running down the hallway with her new barbies and Anarchy, who had an antler headband, “Come here.” I motioned for her and patted my lap, tickling her sides and making her laugh and scream.

“Okay! Okay, it’s on a timer.” Nikki quickly came and sat down next to me, wrapping both me and Ari up in his arms and pulling us closer to his side, “C’mere girl.” Nikki spoke to Anarchy before telling her to sit.

I leaned my head on Nikki’s shoulder, smiling as Anarchy licked the side of Arianna’s face. The camera beeped and then a flash, solidifying a great moment forever.

[artificialqueens]

Cause Though the Truth May Vary, This Ship Will Carry (Gigi/Nicky) - Campvanjie

AN: Based on the prompt: “You weren’t supposed to hear that.” - “Well, you shouldn’t be saying it then.” A slight AU Gigi/Nicky, little bit of unrequited crushing and a lot of fate, originally posted to my old AO3 account on May 24th, 2020. Edited as well to add non-binary pronouns for Gigi out of drag, as the original used male pronouns. Don’t worry, I’m the original author and only want all of my stories collected under one pen name.

Summary: Nicky and Gigi strike up a friendship online, but just can’t meet until the time’s exactly right.

CW: slight mentions of homophobia.

The sun’s almost setting on an August day when Gigi flicks through the games in their library, bored of sniping enemies from rooftops, set on finding something else that has a competitive mode, kicking underneath the bed to find their headset. It would probably be best to at least try to talk to other people, and maybe even count up all the times people call each other gay without even realizing they’re talking to someone, who’s made sixteen dollars an hour dressing up as a girl and working at the rock climbing wall for all of high school.

There’s gay, and then there’s Gigi Goode; with a closet hanging full of custom couture, not that they’d ever admit to their mom that her work isn’t the worst.

There’s only one player in the team’s group chat, as Gigi adjusts their headset so they can talk into the mic.

“Hello?”

“Hey.”

“Hi!”, laughs the voice in his headphones; crackling as Gigi shoots and blows apart a box in the game’s lobby. There’s an accent there he can’t quite place, not that it matters so much, since the guy on the other end easily guides him through the map and even cracks a couple of jokes as one of the other team’s players is booted off a cliff. Maybe he’s Spanish, or Russian, since there are lot of Russian people on the server at this time of almost- night.  

They queue for another round, his player’s character stopping next to a poster of one of the girls in the game.

“I like her, do you?”, he asks, and Gigi cringes a little. Straight guys were fucking exhausting, but this was just embarrassing-

“Like, this coat, with the belt like this, makes her waist look like she is a wasp. The insect, not the white people.”, he keeps talking, and Gigi’s eyes widen a little.

“Yeah, I’d buy those boots.”, they joke, hoping that whoever it is, will take it in stride, and he won’t have to listen to someone who’d been cool for the past half an hour, suddenly start losing their mind over how gay that was to say out loud.

“The boots? I want this hair- I want just Mortal Kombat hair but like this color, and maybe instead of a gun I want the scepter, like Sailor Jupiter. You’ve seen that, yes?”

Gigi blinks a couple of times. He’s serious?

“Like, of course. Yeah.”

“She’s a Mugler bitch. Hm, aren’t you?”, the voice teases on the other end; kicking at one of the boxes in the game.

Gigi is silent, as their queue timer runs out, and their team join another game which is already active when they’re dropped in.

“It’s the Hermes winter collection.”

“What?”

“That jacket is a dupe from the Hermes winter collection. You said Mugler-”, Gigi repeats, blasting through a wall in the game.

“Oh- oh you’re saying- this past winter! Of course! Maybe someone on the design team is also a fan?”

“Maybe.”

The two of them finish the round, and Gigi eagerly hits yes; when a little box pops up to add TheNickyDoll to their friends list.

(Gigi adds him back on Discord, too- because they’re probably not taking the Xbox to college, and then, they can send pictures right away.

He’s not a serial killer, and he’s cute.

Gigi can’t help but wonder if Nicky thinks the same of them.)

They slowly knit together in between Gigi’s first semester, and when Nicky moves into a new apartment in the eleventh arrondissement in Paris, and pops a bottle of champagne against his camera on his phone, propped up in his new kitchen. He plays with the zipper on his hoodie, and Gigi still can’t help but be surprised with how simple his wardrobe is.

Gigi spends hours carefully curating their wardrobe, though they supposed in Europe, there were just better pickings.

“Don’t you have friends?”, Gigi jokes, shirtless against the white brick walls of their dorm.

“Everyone will be over later, but I just wanted to do a toast for your timezone. It will be like three am for you when everyone else gets off work.”

“So this is a private party? Well… okay let me get my card.”

“Seriously? Not that kind of party!”

“Didn’t say it was. Congratulations, by the way. I got you something! Well like, I found it, and it’s so you-“

Gigi flicks the camera to face forwards, swinging to a painting hanging in the closet.

“Aw, well you didn’t have to- what the fuck is that?”

“Putin! I painted him in like the eighth grade. My mom was dropping off some stuff last weekend and I can mail him-“

Nicky’s eyebrows shoot up, pots and pans clattering on the other end of the line.

“Bitch, I am trying to not be the victim of a hate crime.”

Gigi laughs a little bit, flipping the camera back to focus on their face.

“I never asked, what do you even do?”

“What?”

“Like you- you have a job right? What’s your job?”

“Ah, I’m working, well I worked at a makeup store, but now I have some contracts, and maybe, you know- this neighborhood is where all the bars and the clubs are. If there’s no work on the runways maybe some will be looking for new girls.”

Gigi’s cheeks run hot for a moment.

“Wait, you- you’re a girl?”, they ask weakly, hoping it won’t absolutely ruin their entire… whatever it is, when you’d rather have a private housewarming alone in bed, than pretend to enjoy the beers that are flowing through the rest of the hall downstairs.

“Only when I’m being paid. Do you know- well, you have to in America you have RuPaul’s show- it’s like that-“

“You do drag? Wait, really?”

“Shhhh.”, he stops them, pressing a finger between his lips. “It’s like, I haven’t got any bookings yet but some of the clubs are interested- some of the parties, too. I can be a bottle girl.”

Gigi simply blinks repeatedly in the screen.

“What- is that too gay? I thought we were both pretty gay.”

“Yeah. Yeah. Hey-“, Gigi keeps the camera on their face, their eyes flicking up towards the naked mannequin resting against the closet door. Most of Gigi’s things were still at home, but there was a black feathered swimsuit they’d been working on- if they took out the waist just a bit-

“What’s your favorite color?”

“Wow, we are getting deep in, Dr Phil.”

“Seriously, what is it?”

“I’m feeling pink recently. Usually just- something simple. Blue. Black. It’s soothing.”

“Black is not a color.”  

“Then it’s my favorite not-color.” Nicky pours from the bottle into a flute on her counter. “Get something to drink, come on.”

“Uh-“

“Doesn’t matter what. Come on!”

Gigi reaches for Red Bull, yesterday’s alcohol mixed into it, tangy and stale in the metal can.

“Okay.”

“Pace a Salute!”, Nicky cheers, and they clink their drinks against the camera.

-

Two months later, there’s a wrapped package on his stoop, covered in foreign postage, wet at the edges like it’s been through- what Americans would call the ringer, the labels so scratched over he can barely make out the return address, when he cuts the cardboard open on his kitchen counter.

If this was that stupid Putin painting, he was deleting Gigi from his entire life-

Inside, is fabric folded in paper, a little cloth ribbon tied around where a card is tucked in.

“I dont know what your actual skin tone is because you need better lights but merry Christmas if it doesn’t fit or doesn’t match sell it on eBay and get better lights”,

Gigi has written, in neat, large letters.

Nicky carefully unfurls the rest of it, and there’s a blue and pink bodysuit inside, accented with green and yellow panels that glitter like the facets of a diamond, and a yellow jacket, the bottom cut off just below the ribs, hemmed in thick stitches so the fabric won’t roll up.

Had Gigi gone and had this made? Or was it off the rack?, he wondered, digging for price tags and labels in the fabric.

Nothing.

Shit.

He fires off a message to Gigi, who is still showing as offline, given it’s probably six in the morning where he is.

14:17

-

How much is this “gift” you got me? Wtf…

FaceTime me later.

There’s predictably no response, and that night; he paints carefully in the mirror in his bedroom, laying out the little black dress he had chosen for the performance on his bed.

At the very last minute though, it’s that little suit from Gigi that wins out, nude panels sliding over his tights as he shimmies in front of the mirror.

It’s not perfect, but it all looks very nice.

When later comes, Gigi is wearing a red wig with blonde streaks that she runs her long fingers through, winking at the camera.

“My mom’s actually a professional seamstress. It didn’t cost anything, babe.”, she says with a little shrug, a tight yellow dress barely moving around his shoulders. There’s always a party here; and Gigi can’t imagine hating it more, the little college town bigger than he was used to, and yet still- too small for what she really wanted.

“If you want other stuff, I’ll send it. There’s lots of stuff that I don’t really wear anymore and we kind of have the same style. It’s not like anyone can say anything, then they’d have to admit they’ve seen me out in public. Or I could even make you something, I’m bored all the time.”

“Why are you doing this?”, Nicky asks.

“I dunno. It’s not like you’re my competition. You’re my friend.”

19:41

-

Anyway, I’m dropping out of school, getting a nose job and moving out to LA.

Gigi types out on their phone, underneath the table at their family’s annual thanksgiving dinner.

19:41

-

Maybe not all at once.

Nicky’s reply comes lightning fast- making Gigi grin.

“Are you seriously getting nudes right now?”, one of their brothers asks, and their mother glares at the both of them over the table.

“I’m getting some new sketches from my atlier in Paris.”, they seethe, glancing back down at the floor. Nicky’s been trying to teach him French, like it’s something that occupies them so that Gigi doesn’t implode; in between sending him links to his favorite shows to watch, and YouTube links to makeup tutorials.

(He still hasn’t figured out if Nicky means it; or if he’s trying to be shady, and just doesn’t know how.)

“Atlier is where you get the clothes made, dumbass. Mom’s sewing room isn’t Paris.”

“Shut up!”

“All of you just stop-”

19:43

-

It’s a hard time in life in general.

Try not to listen so much to those voices in your head.

Nicky’s text pops up with a loud, mechanical pinging noise, three dots still hovering under the message as Gigi forces looks up from the screen and glowers across the table as they reach for more baby carrots.

19:43

-

Make mistakes, but not too many, haha. You’ll figure it out.

If it makes you feel a little bit better, I’m moving to San Fran

19:43

-

What? For real?

Gigi’s nails frantically tap over the screen.

19:45

-

Yes! I bought a ticket.

And my husband called an immigration lawyer, we’re going to get my green card situation set.

“Lawyer-”, Gigi gasps; and their entire family pauses, glancing over the table at them.

“Jesus Christ. You did it, didn’t you? You got arrested your first semester, and you weren’t even gonna tell us-”

“You weren’t supposed to hear that.”, they snap, flipping the bird at their oldest brother.

“Well, you shouldn’t be saying it then.”

Their whole table erupts in a discussion Gigi can’t pay any attention to.

19:50

-

Cool.

That means I get to see you soon.

It’s gonna be great.

They taps ou, and close the app with a smile.

-

They hadn’t known if Nicky even had a boyfriend, not that it mattered; until it did.

Apparently; he had been married, for almost the whole time they had known each other- a blow Gigi hadn’t quite expected, to leave them as breathless as landing in Los Angeles; the shock not setting in, not in full, anyway- until they are standing in a new apartment, looking down at a menu of instructions on how to set up the wifi in the unit, fingers hovering over everyone in contacts.

They can’t call their mom; not this soon, and their brothers would tell her, and the whole plan would crumble; just like everything had with Nicky; whose calls Gigi had declined for the past solid month; the nights they had spent with their phones propped up behind desks and dressing room mirrors fading into something beyond memory; that they refused to think about any more than they had to, the messages asking if they’re alright answered in curt, short replies.

How could they have been so stupid, thinking that they were talking-talking, teasing that Nicky and they were friends; when Gigi didn’t even know what his real name was.

(Unless it was Nicky?)

Shit.

Gigi waits for their phone to load into the app, and refreshes the friends list a couple of times, until they can see Nicky’s icon at the top, the side of the circle cut through with a little green dot, and taps twice to start a call.

“Hi?”

Nicky’s greeting floats in the air, between a breath and utter silence before Gigi swallows their pride, pressing the phone to the side of their face.

“What do you know about connecting a router to a tower if I live on the…um third floor?”

The line crackles, but soon there’s a tiny, familiar chuckle. “First of all, that is not how you do any of that-”

They talk a little more, every day; in between, Nicky moves to New York and Gigi cuts a tape that they put in the mail with a wink. They’re due for a visit home soon, and carefully proposes- maybe it’s time they meet Nicky. New York isn’t far at all, and a layover would make for a cheaper flight, anyway.

-

Their plans stack up in hours of calls; and Gigi think they’re almost back to normal. Until, three days before the flight is supposed to leave, there’s a call they had forgotten to wait for, and their fingers hover over the message box below Nicky’s name, vibrating with anxiety and excitement all at once.

09:22

-

Hey. I had a family thing come up.

Gigi types, and then erases the text, steeling themselves as they taps out another one that makes a little more sense, and doesn’t seem like such a lie.

09:30

-

I’m so so so so sorry about this

I had some things come up and my trip fell through.

They send this instead, surprised to see Nicky start typing back immediately.

09:35

-

You’re not going to believe this

I have some work things that started recently and so it would have been really shitty to have a guest over now.

09:35

-

No way!

09:37

-

Yeah. :(( But we’re gonna hang out someday, I swear!

09:37

-

Dont worry! You’re definitely gonna see me.

Real real real soon!

-

“-Where do I go?”, Gigi asks, pulling at the bottom hem of the ornate jacket she wore, fiddling with the gold telescope in her hands. The lights behind the set burned brightly, making the thicker bottoms of the outfit feel much warmer than he had remembered them being.

“Go to that green square on the ground, and wait there, when you see the little arrow light up, you can enter the Werk Room and then we’ll have you stop inside, get your opening line, and let you see the other girls.”

“Okay.”

He does as he’s told, prancing in and kicking his boots in front of him as the lights move to capture Gigi’s entrance, his head only snapping to the side when given the signal, so he can see the others who are already crowded around the pink tables he’s only dreamed of seeing for so long.

“Holy Shit…Nicky?!”

In reality; Gigi can see far more of the detail of Nicky’s face; of her eyebrows and carefully painted cheeks and lashes, of all the effort that they had only really talked about, his eternal summer tan and the long fringe of black hair that he’s always nudging across his forehead, or slicked against a beanie, gone behind a platinum blonde veneer that’s so much brighter than Gigi has ever seen. She’s thinner, and taller, careful breaths underneath sequinned shoulder pads, knees knocking together as she gasps.

“Gigi!”

Widow and Crystal glance at each other over the pink table.

“Hold up, you guys know each other?”

In the flesh; Gigi is impossibly small, the sharp angles of her face, and the dark brown hair that sticks up in angles which Nicky traces against the white of his pillows in his bedroom on the screen of his phone in the morning, taped underneath a gold-tipped pirate hat, and lush, wavy curls. She looks like a model on the runways where Nicky used to work; so close to him that he can feel Gigi’s breath on the back of his hand, as he tightens his grip around the epaulets on her shoulder.

“Gigi Goode.”, she repeats, and Gigi giggles a little at that.

“The Nicky Doll.”, she laughs, and her voice sounds so much more solid, than it ever has over every crossed wire.

Gigi’s hand swings, squeezing Nicky’s tightly as they swing around the table; like the others who are there don’t matter at all. She rests her head on Nicky’s padded shoulder, cocking it just slightly, waiting there, as Crystal’s eyes flash at the scene before them.

“…and may the best woman win.”, Gigi whispers, only for Nicky to hear.

[purplesurveys]

1125

survey by nadine07

[..Introductions..]

First Name: Robyn.

Middle Name: I don’t think I’ve shared it on here and I doubt I will.

Last Name: Not providing it either but it starts with a C.

Birthdate: April 21st.

[..First Things First..]

What was the first thing you did after you got up? I rushed to the rooftop so that I could see the sunrise. I also got in the random mood to do a time-lapse of it, but the sun took forrrrrrrr-freaking-ever to come up entirely. I was holding up my phone for like 15 minutes and nothing was happening, so I quit halfway through lol.

What was the name of your first pet? Goldie, because it was a goldfish.

Who was your first big crush? Gabie, I would say.

Where was the first place you drove after you got your license? Chelsea’s 18th birthday dinner was scheduled right after I happened to get my license, and the event took place in a small, quaint little restaurant in Marikina. 

There’s a bit of a funny story here, too – Aaron needed a ride to get there and so I offered to drive him. I picked him up and we were having small talk in the car, and he asked me how long I’ve been driving. I told him that moment was my literal first time driving out and that I just got my license the day before, and he is my first-ever passenger (at that point I’ve never even tried driving solo yet). The horror and immediate distrust on his face was something I will never forget HAHAHA. We got to the place unharmed, but it’s still one of my favorite stories to tell.

Who was your very first friend? It was a kind girl named Kaye back in kindergarten. We were always next to each other in our class lists, so it was inevitable for us to befriend one another. She transferred schools in first grade and I have not seen nor heard from her since.

What was the first thing you ate today? I had another bag of salted egg chips. I’m extremely hooked, lmao.

What was your first job? I work as an associate at a PR agency.

[..Colors..]

Name something red in the room you are in: We have an unopened bottle of wine here on the dining table and there’s still a red ribbon wrapped around it.

Is orange one of your school's team colors? No, neither of my schools had orange as one of its colors.

How many yellow shirts do you own? I can think of 5 tops hanging out in my wardrobe at the moment. Two of them are class shirts from high school; the others were tops I bought when I started getting into mustard yellow.

Name someone you know who drives a green car: I believe Angel, a classmate from high school who also studies in UP, also drives a Mitsubishi Mirage, albeit a lime green one.

Is it a blue sky outside right now? Yes for the most part, but the sun is setting soon so the sky is bound to change into many pretty colors as it usually does at this time of the day.

What is the first thing that pops into your head when I say 'purple'? Barney the dinosaur, and ube.

Are the walls in the room you're in white? Yes, all our walls indoors are white.

Does black make you think of depressing things? Not always, but if used specifically in that context, it definitely helps boosts the mood.

Jewelry: gold or silver? Silverrr, always.

[..Phone Stuff..]

Who is your provider? Nothing you would be familiar with, but I use Globe.

How long have you had your current phone? It’ll be three years this year. It would be nice to upgrade, but I’m also still happy with my current phone so it doesn’t really matter to me.

What did your last text say? The last one that came through that didn’t come from my mobile services provider was from someone in the media. It was his birthday last Friday and I messaged him if he’d like to receive a gift from us, on behalf of one of our clients; he just replied with his confirmation and details.

If you woke up naked next to the last person to call, would it be awkward? Yep and I’d feel like throwing up almost immediately.

Was your last missed call male or female? It was from my mom.

Who is your 10th phone contact? It’s from Jum, who I realize is still listed as Ate Jum on my phone. That’s cute hahaha; I must have gotten her number when we weren’t super close yet. Anyway, she’s been super MIA for like the last two years...basically, ever since she graduated. I believe she has also since moved back to Bicol, so it’s become virtually impossible to see her again. Bums me out and I look forward to the day we somehow end up in the same room once again.

How did you meet them? I met her in my very first journalism major class. I had mixed feelings towards her at first since I found her to be super loud in class, and I initially thought she would only be a one-time classmate and nothing more; but I got to know her more and we even ended up as orgmates, and it turns out she is literally the most hilarious person I know.

Are you related to your 17th phone contact? I have absolutely no clue who it is. I no longer remember what led to it, but Gabie and I swapped the SIM cards in our phones at one point, and for some reason it made me have access to her contacts; the 17th contact on my phone is someone from her list. And since I never hang out in my Contacts app, I’ve never gotten around to deleting those extra numbers I received.

How long have you known your 1st phone contact? Around 6th or 7th grade. I can’t remember the exact grade level she transferred to my school as a new student.

When was the last time you saw them? It’s been at least a year. I remember seeing her on campus very briefly when I was on my way to a certain building for class, while she was walking out of it.

Who is your 4th phone contact? LMAO, again, it’s from her contact list. Said person is one of her older cousins, I believe.

Have you ever kissed that person? No, and that is very weird and uncomfortable to think about.

When was the last time someone drunk dialed/texted/left a voicemail? Andi drunk messaged me a few months ago. November, I think.

[..Friends..]

Who is your #1? No Myspace but I’d say my top best friend is Angela.

How long have you known them? It will be 16 years this year.

Have you ever kissed? Oh my gosh, hell no. It would be like kissing a sister haha. She’s super affectionate and will sometimes kiss my shoulder or cheek, though.

Are you dating this person? No, never did and never desired to.

Do you have nicknames for each other? Not really exclusive to each other, but I call her Anj (and only a few people call her so) and she will occasionally call me Reben or Rolayn, both from past inside jokes.

What is your #2's full name? I am not sharing that, but I refer to them as Andi (you may remember them as Andrew from the past times I’ve mentioned them).

Do they live within 20 minutes of you? If there is zero traffic, I can probably make it to their place within that timeframe, yeah. But realistically, no they don’t.

How did you meet? We initially met in an anti-Marcos protest/rally – I approached they first because they had a wrestling shirt on, heheh – and that’s when I learned we were from the same college. But they rubbed me off the wrong way from our first meeting as they were too extroverted for my liking, and I spent a good chunk of time ignoring him whenever we crossed paths, lmfao. Eventually we were put in the same class at some point, and they even joined my org, and an intensely close friendship started from there.

Could you live with this person? Sure. I think they would never be a boring roommate.

Who is your #3? I’m gonna go with Kate for this one.

Where are they right now? I have no idea. We don’t really catch up with each other’s lives on a regular basis; we have a very chill, low-maintenance friendship.

When is this person's birthday? January 1st.

Has this person ever seen you naked? I don’t think so.

What is your #4's full name? I don’t think I have a 4th-tier best friend haha, but I’m gonna pick Tina.

When did you last see them? Last year, on the last normal day I was able to be on campus. She was set to present one of her projects at a journalism conference that was taking place in campus that day, but I was able to hang out with her for a short time before the event.

Have they ever dated one of your other friends? No. I knew she had a crush on someone from the college, though.

Do you know their favorite movie? I’m not sure about her favorite movie but I do know she loves Adam Sandler. I was never able to figure out if her interest was ironic or genuine but yeah, she enjoys a good number of his works.

[..Randomosity..]

What time is it? 6:20 PM.

Are you supposed to be doing something other than this? I wouldn’t say so. I do have deliverables for work but since it’s the weekend, I’m not thinking about them nor do I have the desire to touch those tasks until Monday.

Do you live on your own or with your parents? I live with my family. Considering my monthly income, it’d be close to impossible to sustain myself in my own place this early in my adult life.

Are you more of a cat or a dog person? Dog, for sure.

Are you allergic to anything? I don’t believe so.

Does your shirt have anything written on it? Yeah, it says “UP Fighting Maroons” styled in a varsity font since that’s the term for our sports team.

Have you ever tie-dyed something? I have, but only back in like Grade 6 when we had to do it for a home ec class. I remember wanting to buy a tie-dye set recently so I could revisit the activity, but I never got around to it.

Who can you always count on to cheer you up? Angela for the most part; but I also don’t want to be too reliant on my friends in this way. Sometimes I simply allow myself to be sad or upset, and sometimes I count on myself to cheer up.

How many places have you been today? I have been nowhere but at home today lol. I’ll be going to BGC tomorrow to have lunch with my godfather and my cousins, though.

Are you a forgiving person? No.

When was the last time you felt let down? Last night when I read the news that the government will be making All Souls’ Day, Christmas Eve, and New Year’s Eve working days this year. I already know I’ll be half-assing my way through those days lmao because whyyyyyyy the fuck would you make people work on family-centric holidays such as those

What is the title of the nearest book to you? There are no books here at the rooftop.

Are you wearing anything that belongs to someone else? Nope.

Can you whistle? Only through my lips. I can’t do the kind of whistle where you put your fingers in your mouth as well.

Do you look more like your mother or your father? My mom.

Are you still in high school? I’m well past that chapter.

Are you the oldest, middle, youngest, or an only child? I’m the eldest.

Has anyone ever told you that you talk in your sleep? No, because I don’t.

How many people have you kissed this year? None.

Is there anyone of the opposite sex you trust fully? Hmm, no one comes to mind.

Are you a night owl or an early bird? More of a night owl.

If you could have an exotic pet, what would it be? No thanks. I’ve never had the desire to have one.

Would you rather go to Brazil for the weekend or Finland for a month? I’d have to go with Finland. I feel like the cultural differences would be a lot more marked, plus the vacation is longer so that is an instant win for me.

[..And Finally..]

Where did you go the last time you drove somewhere? I was driving to the local coffee shop to spend some time with myself, and do a liiiiiiiittle bit of work as well.

Where did you last go out to eat at? Ramen Nagi. I was initially hesitant to show up there and ask for a table for one on a Sunday evening...but it turned out to feel incredibly empowering and freeing. It was definitely awkward at first, but it got a lot easier once I realized literally no one gives a fuck. Or if they did, they didn’t do anything about it and let me mind my own business. That evening was a crucial step in reclaiming my happiness, so I’m glad I made the choice to suck it up and enter the restaurant.

When was the last time you let someone borrow something from you? Last week, when Angela needed our abaca mat as an aesthetic for her grad shoot.

Was your last breakup a bad one? Yes.

What was the last song you listened to? Just checked my Spotify and the current song I have on pause is Descansos by Hayley Williams. 

What was the last movie you watched? Midsommar.

Did your last kiss happen in a public place? Not technically, but it did take place outside of my house so we were outdoors for some neighbors to see.

How did you meet the last person to leave you a comment? It was Andi, and I already explained how we met earlier in this survey.

[popculturebuffet]

Paul Dini’s Jingle Belle: The Mighty Elves (Comissoned by WeirdKev27)

Well well boys, we’re back to Jingle Belle with another kevmission, though per his request i’ll be getting back to Life and Times Of Scrooge McDuck at long last. I also have some other stuff planned and all that, but for now, let’s focus on everyones faviorite elfen hellion as we dive back into Paul Dini’s Jingle Belle. 

I covered most of the behind the scene’s stuff last time so in short in case your just joining us, since this one’s got a bit more stuff to tag: Jingle Belle is an indie comic book character created by animation god Paul Dini, the daughter of Santa Claus and the Queen of Elves who acts like a standard rebellious teenager sterotype and causes trouble for her dad.  Last time I touched on the character a good two days ago, we looked at her first appearance, where she sent her family to Family Therapy. At the time I’d ONLY read that story, and hadn’t gotten that far into Jing’s world just yet. As you probably guessed despite plugging a decent amount of time into re-reading the rest of Scott Pilgrim (shout out to my good friend Mike for the early christmas present), on digital and in color and into the Switch port of the first Fire Emblem, I still got 2/3 of the way through the omnibus Kev gifted me of almost all her stories up to 2018′s The Handmade’s Tale.  Honestly not a lot has changed from the pilot.. while Jing’s designs changed a bit, she’s still more of a rebellious hellion, and while Santa’s no longer a slut shaming jackass, he’s still hard on her while her mom tries to keep the peace, The humor’s still edgy, if toned down enough to support returning whenever Dini felt like it but it’s largely the same for better or worse.  Overall the stories haven’t been bad but have been a bit reptitive to read in one giant omnibus. This really is down to the format they were made in: These were one off stories spread months apart meant to be picked up off the shelf with no real ongoing stories or character development and only some slight worldbuilding here and there. In short not bad stuff, just clearly not built to be collected in a huge omnibus like it was and not the first comic collection i’ve encountered with this problem and definitely not the last. 

That being said the stories are creative and still well put together. It is Paul Dini and he has wrote pretty much every story collected here with few exceptions, so it’s still good stuff, just as I said clearly not meant to be read all in one block like i’ve been doing. And today’s story happens to be one of my faviorites so far, breaking the formula up a bit by having Jing do something a bit diffrent and also involving hockey, a sport this story made me realized might actually intrest me on some level.. if in part due to letterkenny. 

God bless those two handsome idiots. So let’s ice up or skates, get those letterkenny refrences at the ready and see what the Mighty Elves have to offer. 

We start at Hockey Practice for Santa’s Hockey Team, The Elves, the kind of sentence that makes me really happy to type for money. Santa’s team is naturally for this kind of story and what the title references, are the last place in the bi-polar hockey league their in.. presumably ran by commissioner bi-polar bear. 

Again, I really love this job and that i’m actually getting paid for this this go round. Anyway, Santa’s team isn’t all that agressive because.. well i’ts a team coached by Santa, why would they be? But Santa’s still proud of his boys... as for his girl on the otherhand he gets a call and we soon find out via mugshots Jing dragged her two friends, up from just one in previous stories, to an air force base, somehow got arrested for hitting on enlisted men, not a crime, and stealing and crashing a helicopter, very much a crime.  Naturally Santa isn’t pleased, so we cut to a few days later where he’s letting her friends off making robo kitties, damn I want one of those now, while leaving Jing to do the packaging, though like most stern but fair dad’s he admits he dosen’t like punishing her and is right in saying there’s more to do with her summer vacation than you know, piss off the military. Santa needs his flight clerance dammit. Jing complains there isn’t much to do but feed the reindeer and make toys to which I say.. really santa? You haven’t set up anything else for your eleves to do? Making toys is their job. Build a fucking movie theater. And at the very least if not for them than for your bored and rebellious daughter to distract her from doing crimes. She’s still likely got a few hundred years of teenagering left, give her something else to do other than piss you off.  Santa does have a least a little something: Hockey! Which Jing’s cousin Rusty has taken up. Rusty showed up in the first story but I kind of glossed over him, he’s basically Jing’s Dorky cousin she frequently abuses. Not really much more or less to him. Jing isn’t on board mostly because their team always looses, to the other teams: The Penguins, the Polar Bears, The Snow Leopards and the Eskimos because they don’t really have killer instinct, which yeah is kind of necessary for hockey. To her..

But during her rant she does show Santa she’s got genuine talent for the sport, so he makes her a deal: Do a little favor for him, and she’ll swap that for making toys.. it’s a deal.. one she soon regrets but hey. 

Jing naturally makes an ass of herself pretty quickly beating the shit out of Rusty with her dad repremanding her and threatning to throw her off the team if she has another outburst like. That is until she runs into the Huskies Coach, Stan. 

I mean i’ts a hairy old man who makes a side bet with Santa Claus despite it technically being against commission rules, might as well be. So Santa tells Jing screw it, as long as it’s the opposing team violence is a-okay.  And naturally our first target is the world famous hockey player, aka snoopy aka a snoopy stand in. And being a big fan of peanuts i’m a sucker for a good peantus parody. Doubly so since Dini did his homework, and as I’d remembered and a quick google confirmed “The World Famous Hockey Player” was indeed one of snoopy’s many personas.

 Not that it was much of a stretch: just about any time snoopy played a sport he was “the world famous X player”, but still it’s a nice little nod. Not so nice is Jing within seconds slamming him into the air and under a Zamboni and getting sent to the box for it naturally. So clearly she’s the shorsey of this team, all chirps and ultra violence. 

Snoopy is thankfully still alive, if barely, though he’s off course been through much worse.

But while in the Box jing helps advise the team and a presumed combination of her beating the shit out of the other team’s best players and her team now not only having something to inspire them but a strategy means the Elves win for once! Santa and Jing share a hug, though Santa advises her not to go for his wallet, it’s still a sweet moment as she’s genuinely invested now.  So we cut to..

Okay Hank Ribbon seal is genuinely one of the best things humanity has made but as for Quiki I just... wow that joke is mildly racist at worst, confusing and unfunny at best. I mean... it really just makes no sense on any level and that’s with me not knowing a lot about hockey, but knowing just enough to know Kathy Lee Gifford existed. Just.. what even was that? I know Paul can do better than this.. because as my first review outlined he wrote a LOTTTT of Tiny Tune Adventures including my favorite episode. He also wrote most of the best Joker episodes for BTAS, so it’s not like the guy CAN’T be funny.. so I have no idea how he could fail so hard with this. Just.. what is this. Who thought this was funny? what was the joke? 

That.. utter bafflement aside, this newscast is used to push things ahead as the elves are on a winning streak, having also beaten the Polar Bears and the Penguins.. though weirdly we DON’T get a cameo by this guy despite having already had Snoopy show up. 

That’s my boy. But yeah there’s only two teams left with this, the Eskimos and tonight’s matchup the Snow Leopards, aka snow catgirls lead by Tashi Ounce, who Jing met at the winter games last year and lost too and thus has a whole rivlary thing going. In a really nice moment Santa stops to make sure Jing is okay going into the game. 

It’s part of why I REALLY like this story: Santa instead of just being disapointed in his daughter genuinely bonds over her over something and Jing shows she has a softer side to her. It’s some good character stuff, helps shake up the normal formula nicely. Back to the usual though she and Tashi naturally go at it, phrasing, and fight the whole damn time, with Belle eventually scoring the winning goal. Though noticably while Tashi is just as competiive as belle and lost this time.. she’s fine with it, knowing she’ll win next time and congradulating the opponent.  But before she can leave the rink, Tashi is approached by a mysterious figure with an offer and we cut to said figure’s lair... it’s THE BLIZZARD WIZARD! dun dun dun!.... yeah I haven’t introduced him the Blizzard Wizard is.. well exactly what he sounds like, as well as the former ruler of the North Pole. He enslaved everyone there to do his bidding and was essentially, a butt till Santa showed up, united all the various animals and kicked his ass. Since then he’s been reduced to basically a rankin bass villian, lurking near bye and scheming to get petty revenge on Santa for it. So essentially....

Minus the tragic backstory. He offers them a deal: The championship cup for him defeating the elves. As he puts it the cup symbolizes hard work, respect and team work.. i.e the things their throwing out to get payback. Tashi wants none of it, but the blizzard wizard has his slush minons capture her and with the rest willing to sell out, he gets to work. 

Bliz snows out the eskimos, and brings up accusations of Santa gambling, which he gets away from by.. having his wife donate the money real quick don’t ask just go. But he has a waiver signed by the other coaches so their playing his goons. But Jing isn’t phased and Santa asks her to give the lockeroom some inspiring words. 

10/10 no notes. But naturally Bliz has a sneaky trick up his sleeves.. to win.. specifically a hot french canadian player which.. makes jing fall to pieces flirting with him and makes her entirely ineffective. Okay time out.... huh so this is the timeless void known only to zack morris, that girl from the reboot I haven’t watched, and Regis Filbin. But yeah while I wouldn’t expect Jing to slaughter the guy it feels out of character for all she’d do is to giggle like an idiot instead of making a move. She’s been established as forward and knowing what she wants. I’m not against her being distracted by this it’s just the how that feels off especially since the opening reinforces this. She hit on air force guys. She’s not going to just be giggly and awkward. Jing may not be the most complex charcter but she’s better than this. Aside from the baffling Kathy Lee Gifford gag, this is the only thing I really don’t like abotu the story, and it lasts two pages before it’s resolved and in a 22 or so page story, that’s a good chunk of it spent on something that isn’t funny and that’s out of character even within story. That being said it dosen’t drag the story down entirely, still a good story. Just a bit uneven is all. 

But unsurprisingly Tashi escapes her earlier imprisonment offscreen to let Jing know not only the full extent of Bliz Whiz’s machenations, i.e. that the other coaches are in on it, but that the hockey player is really just one of Bliz’s minons uner a glamour. WIth that knowledge Jing asks why she’d help and Tashi shows her inner honor beneath the whole rival deal, pointing out she wants to win from a GOOD team next year. With the jig up Jing pulvirzes her former crush, claims to have been under a spell (no one byes it) and the elves clean house and win. Super fuckin shooter. As for Bliz Whiz he tries to steal the trophy but instead gets booted into the snow leopards box, phrasing... it doesn’t end well for him. 

And yeah while he comes back eventually, some how, apparently, for most of the stories after this he’s just.. dead. He was killed and then his remains eaten. MERRY CHRISTMAS!

But Jing admits she had fun, she and her dad bond and we get one last gag as he assumes she learned not to showboat only for her to block everyone else in the team photo. Falalallal we’re out. 

Final Thoughts: As I said, one of my faviorites. It’s really well paced, has a good premise and only one part drags at all and only that part and one gag really don’t land. The rest of it is really funny, nice and touching, and overall a nice shakeup from these stories usual pattern of “Jing getting into hyjinks”. While she DOES here, her and her dad are literally and figuartvely on the same team, and she does show a sweeter side genuinely bonding with her dad and it’s nice to see them actually enjoy each other’s company for once. It’s a nice change of pace and one I wish more of the stories had. I’m not saying they all have to be holly jolly but i’d be nice if more of them had a bit of heart to them is all. Tis the season and all that. Still for what it is, it’s a fun ride and I highly recommend it. We’ll probably see her again sometime this season but that’s a bit off.  For now coming up I have some ducktales to tell, a chapter in a man’s life story that’s long overdue, a holiday mess I wish I didn’t have to clean up, and in the distant future.. an old friend to reconnect with. Until then if you liked this review reblog it, comment etc all that good stuff, and you can send me asks with suggestions fo ra review or direct message me, or ask for my discord, to comission a review yourself. Until then, happy holidays. 

[dailyaudiobible]

10/20/2020 DAB Transcript

Jeremiah 35:1-36:32, 1 Timothy 5:1-25, Psalms 89:14-37, Proverbs 25:25-27

Today is the 20th day of October welcome to the Daily Audio Bible I am Brian it is wonderful to be here with you today. It is a joy to come around the Global Campfire and take the next step forward, which is what we do every day. And, so, let's dive in. We’re reading from the Christian Standard Bible this week. Jeremiah, chapters 35 and 36 today.

Prayer:

Father, we thank You for Your word and we thank You for continuing the journey and…and taking us deeper and deeper and deeper into it. We thank You for the admonition to respect those who are older than us, who are before us, who are wiser than us, who have lived longer than us who are brothers and sisters in Christ. We see them as Fathers and mothers and that we should see those that are contemporary with us as brothers and sisters, with all purity, that this is the posture that we have toward one another, the posture of a family and we thank You that You have made us a family, Your family, not just any group of people who have decided to bind themselves together in some sort of family apparatus, Your family on this earth. And, so, Father, it's been a tense year and we've had every opportunity to do anything but treat each other like family. Or maybe we've treated each other like family in our darkest moments but when we’re really after each, when we’re really, really perturbed and the gloves are off but You have invited us to be unified, that You are the head of this household as it were, that You are the Father and that we are Your children and that we submit to You. And, so, as we move forward in these times, these pretty tense tenuous weeks that we find ourselves in, that You bind us together in love, that we treat each other in love, that we do what we do in Your name, that we stop and consider whether or not what we’re doing can be done in Your name because we represent You upon this earth. We are Your children and we are in this together. So, we represent the family, the family of God. And, so, Holy Spirit come and help us to behave appropriately we ask in the precious and mighty name of Jesus. Amen.

Community Prayer and Praise:

My name is David Browning from Savannah Georgia and this is my first time calling in and I’m calling in because on October 12th I heard God’s Smiles and I heard her prayer request and I felt…I heard the agony in her voice and I felt the agony in her pain and it brought me to tears and I just…I just prayed for her, I just prayed in agony and…and in tears for her for the relief of her pain. She is…her attitude is so phenomenal, and she is so positive and upbeat and blesses me so much every day. I pray for you God’s Smiles, every day I pray for you and for relief from your pain and for healing for your condition. I love you all DAB. I thank you Brian Hardin and your family for everything you’ve done. The DAB has brought incredible changes in my life in the last six months. I love you all and keep on keeping on. Good night.

This is Valerie calling for the first time from __ Arkansas and I am calling in regard to our 35-year-old son. He is a very good-looking intelligent boy going to respiratory therapy school at the time. He’s had asthma all his life and wants to help others with breathing difficulties but right now he’s in a very dark place mentally. He’s always struggled with anxiety and depression most of his life but right now he says he sees no light at the end of the tunnel and he says his quality of life is so, so bad that he really wants to take his own life. He’s socially isolated taking online classes. His brother has quit having anything to do with him and he just feels like he’s totally alone in this world. He’s not found a suitable woman yet to be a wife. He would love to get married and have children and he’s given up all hope on that. He’s telling me that any day now is going to be his last. As you know, as a mom this is very, very distressing, it’s heartbreaking, it’s crushing. I just appreciate everyone’s prayers for him, and I thank you so much.

Hi DABbers this is Kira from Denver and I put this on Facebook already but I wanted to lead my DAB family know that I did make a huge, huge leap and confronted my boyfriend and said I didn’t want to fornicate anymore but also I didn’t want to get married and I can see us being together forever. He got really really upset. I said…he said I’ll do anything. What can I do to make it better? And I said we need help. But then he switched, started gathering his stuff, and he’s been out and coming back. So, we want prayer for that. But to avoid him yesterday I went on a solo outing myself and I was walking along beautiful area outside Denver sort of mountainous doing a stretch and this woman came…saw me and came up to me and apparently was warning me about stretching like this. Was rare, but you could get hurt. She had torn her clavicle and she was in so much pain for years and years and years, so bummed she couldn’t do yoga anymore to make it better. We started crying and I started telling her about my testimony and my story and my beliefs and we walked together and talked together for a while. I asked her if I could pray for her and she said yes. She said her mom had prayed for her for years and years. She’s a little older…older woman. So just older than me. Anyway, please pray for Tammy. I was thinking a lot of God’s Smile when she was telling me about her pain. Anyway, it was nice to share my testimony through this grief and really hard stuff I’m going through. I love you DABbers…

Dear DAB family this is Dove from Northern California calling on October 14th, 2020. I’ve been a listener for seven years and this podcast has truly changed my life. I suffer from excessive self-reliance and a reluctance to ask for help but God has brought to me my knees with my son’s opioid addiction over the past 15 years. I admit my powerlessness over my son’s addiction. My son has not had faith in God, and he is also felt that he could solve his own problems despite his addiction. However, he has been in jail for the past 18 months and will go before a judge on Monday, November 23rd for sentencing. Since being in jail my son has been a problem the communicative, intelligent, and thoughtful person that he was prior to his addiction. He has expressed gratitude for Bible verses that I send to him. Please pray with me that his court appointed attorney will prepare for the court date thoroughly and will represent my son to the best of his ability. Please also pray that my son will be able to express his remorse and that the judge will find that my son is worthy of a chance at rehabilitation through his placement recommendation after his sentencing. Primarily I ask you DAB family to pray for my son to accept Jesus as his Lord and Savior for him to humble himself before the Lord and for him to accept the forgiveness Jesus offered…offers and for his ultimate redemption. This is a lot to ask in my first call, but I trust that you will include him in your prayers. Thank you DAB.

Hi Daily Audio Bible family this is Stanley from Maryland. I just wanted to shout out Brian for writing of the book…oh…what’s it called? The God of Your Story, yeah. One-year adventure with the God of Your Story. Man, it’s just incredible to kind of see words on page. I know Brian does a good job of explaining a lot of what we are reading like day after day but I just want to kind give praise for this book because it…it reads less like a book and more like a…man…just…I don’t know how to say it…just a kind of explanation….not an explanation but expanding on the reading and it’s so encouraging to just read after listening to the actual reading. It’s something I can…I can ponder for the rest of the day. I’m a visual person…person, I’d like to think. I learn more visually. So, for me and if you’re…for me it helps and if you’re like…like me and you like to see the words on the paper it helps a lot. And, so, I really appreciate it and…and just want to encourage you as you continue to go through this journey with…with…with the community, pick up the God of Your Story or buy it maybe for a Christmas gift so you can start it next year. It’s not too late and it’s definitely been a blessing in my life. I…I love it and I love the gold little placeholder in the middle, the ribbon. It’s…it’s just…it’s beautiful…it’s a beautiful, beautiful design. All right. Stay humble.

Hello DABbers, this is Kristen Brown at __ Louisiana I’m calling to say we’re about to have a double DABber baby. First, we had a DABber baby __ then we had we had the first grandbaby now we’re about to have a double DABBer baby. Congratulations Jill and Ben. Family I’m calling for prayers for my sister. She’s in the hospital with the virus and she’s in critical condition her name is Janice. Please lift Janice up in your prayers. She desperately needs it because she is in critical condition. Secondly, there’s a gentleman who called in, I think the other day about his abdominal pain after having a surgery and it felt like gas pain __ and I identify with that. Immediately my prayers went out for him. Family I desperately still need prayers…

[awakeandalive2012]

Grateful

The last several months have been a whirlwind of [much needed] change. For me personally, things went from 0 to 60 real quick from my last post. It’s been insane, but now I have a little bit of time to step back and take in the scenery a little bit. Which, in my own way, is to recount everything that I have been up to since moving back to the east coast. 

As the title of this blog suggests, I am nothing but truly grateful for everything in my life thus far, even with everything that has happened this year thus far. My former coworkers, my family, my friends, every single one of you has been been truly helpful and sending so much love and positivity my way during this difficult time. So for that, THANK YOU. 

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May 2020

My journey back to the east coast from sunny Los Angeles was eventful. We travelled for four days, with my mom and I alternating driving times in my car, while my dad tailed us (and sometimes sped ahead) in the other family car. Each night, we did stay in hotels (which we vigorously cleaned upon arrival).One of the highlights of this trip was making a detour into Scottsdale Arizona, where my grandparents used to live. We stopped at our favorite Jewish deli eatery, Chompies, and had one of the best meals in recent memories. We also visited some of my parent’s Israel trip friends who lived nearby. One of the hardest days was the last one, when we hit a massive rainstorm crossing through Arkansas and Tennessee. It was more rain than I had seen during my nearly four year tenure in LA. But also, it was the last leg of the trip and at this point, I was ready to return home safe and sound. 

Even after all that, the long days on the road, the unexplainably cold night sleeps in hotel rooms, the constant pit stops, and the loving embrace that I gave my cats as soon as I barged in the front door, it didn’t actually hit me that I was truly back home. Not yet anyway.

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June 2020

My main focus this month was scouting and landing a job (and still is, spoiler alert). Boy, that is easier said than done. I know that millions are in the same boat as me right now, which is awful. Current political & pandemic atmosphere aside, I have been blessed with having enough funds to manage. Unfortunately, for the rest of the world, including former work colleagues of mine, are struggling every day to make ends meet and don’t have the same luxuries. I truly wish I could help them out, but being in a similar boat as them, it’s hard for me to figure out the most efficient way to do so. All I can do is be a friend, a positive light, who can provide positive energy and words of encouragement. Feel free to reach out and I will reply <3 To those who fit this bill, or to anyone who needs to hear; WE WILL GET THROUGH THIS. I promise. 

I moved up to Virginia to be with Caleb in mid-June. He came down to Tennessee to help me gather my belongings, because yes I am a packrat and love stuff and it all wouldn’t fit in my car. That moment, when he finally drove down my driveway and made his way to my front door, I wrapped my arms around him super tight. We had done this routine numerous times before, but this one was the most impactful. To embrace him and know that we had successfully closed the gap on a nearly three year long distance relationship was truly memorable. 

At this point, I felt in my heart that I was here to stay. But it didn’t really feel “real” yet; it was as if that nagging feeling of “check in to your flight” or “pack up your suitcase” was still triggering my internal reminders. 

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July 2020

What. A. Month. 

It has been one of the happiest months of my life. Firstly, Caleb and I finally moved into our own apartment together. I walked into the apartment for the first time on July 8th. Breathless, unable to fully encompass my thoughts and my emotions. In that moment, I felt as if a huge brick that had been crushing my soul finally tumble off. I walked in and looked around in awe. After weeks of searching and inquiring, I found us a place to call our own. We managed, in this crazy and turbulent time, to start a new chapter in our relationship together. Our first night in the new apartment, after the big move in, we shared a meal of Korean Fried Chicken together. In that moment, as we sat down and enjoyed our meal together (so delicious by the way), it hit me. Just like standing under a waterfall at summer camp, or a big gust of wind swirling your body around with its current. It finally hit me that I was home. 

Secondly, Caleb and I headed down to Hilton Head for a much needed vacation with my family. Beach week for us is a family tradition; we have been going for at least 21 years now. This year was special, because the purpose of this trip was to celebrate my newly married sister. They held a small beautiful ceremony from our rented out beach house, which overlooked a nearby golf course and grandiose lake. The ceremony happened and I took a moment to look around. Even though there were only seven of us, in those brief moments, everyone was smiling. My family was happy, but more importantly, my sister was happy.  Throughout my whole life, I know that Elena has been by my side, picking up the pieces where I fell and had my back. We even joked that she was the older sister figure, not me. She made me laugh, she was my rock, my confidant, my number one fan, and my happy place. I can never pay her back for all the joy that she has brought to my life. But now, it was her turn to to be happy. I was so glad to be a witness to that joy; she deserves every bit of happiness for her new life with her now husband. 

Lastly, I got engaged. Yep, Caleb got down on one knee and proposed during beach week with my family.  And yes, I cried. For the moment, since we didn’t have a ring yet, he used one of my sister’s birdseed bundles from the wedding ceremony and tied a ribbon from that bundle around my finger. All that set against a golf course sunset backdrop. Truly magical. When we got back, we went and got a ring. Even as I sit here and type up this post, I constantly stare down at my finger in awe and excitement. I get butterflies. I smile. The one moment in every girl’s life that she dreams of, finding someone truly special for them and realizing that you’re going to be with them for the rest of your life. That is happening to me. I never imagined that it would happen. Years of Pinterest boards and swooning over my favorite rom com doesn’t even come close to the joy that I am feeling in the moment. I am going to marry an amazing man, and it feels fucking amazing. 

At this point, still job hunting and still coming up empty handed. But I continue my search because I know it only takes one.

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August 2020

Cut to today, August 5th 2020. Seriously, this year is both progressing at a snail’s pace and at top notch speeds. The job struggle still continues, but I’m still standing. Now that I have sat back and reflected on the last few months, I have had to slowly adjust both my mindset and time towards tomorrow. Every day, I am finding new strengths and weaknesses that I possess. Every day, I have made some choices for the benefit of our future. And, like I promised myself months ago, every day I try to write in some capacity. Because of the numerous events described above, that goal has not been met to my satisfaction. But now, as I rediscovered my feature script which I started nearly four years ago, I hope to make a dent of progress in that front. 

In conclusion, I am truly grateful for where my life is right now and I am grateful for those people in my life who have helped me to get to this point. <3

[splattales]

Fifteen Questions. Fifteen Mutuals.

Repost, don’t reblog!

(HEY DID Y’ALL KNOW I HAVE LIKE 1,000 MUSES? I’LL DO THEM ALL. HERE’S A READMORE FOR YOU. SORRY MOBILE USERS)

1. Are you named after anyone? 

Molly: Sorry, nah. Can’t really ask anyone though.

Finn: I believe my first name is my grandfather’s middle name. Dad’s side. 

Marina: Maybe? I think I was named after a historical figure, but it’s, like, a really popular name anyway...

Brine: Nope! Just salty water.

Pansy: I’m named after a flower. It’s a tradition in my fam’bly to name your first-hatched after a flower...

Ribbon:  Momma’s a Ribbon Eel!

Slushie named himself -- though technically, he’s named after a beverage.

Tay: Yes! Many rulers in my bloodline were also named ‘Octavio’. 

Sabi: It’s shortened from ‘Wasabi’. Not very creative, I know, but ... I’ve had a few names. This is just the one I’ve gotten used to. 

-

2. When was the last time you cried? 

Molly: Nunya bizness. (About three days ago.)

Finn: I’m actually quite happy at the moment! Maybe two weeks?

Marina: I don’t ever cry, duh. (Last week after spilling her meal on the floor.)

Brine: Yesterday! Don’t worry, it was just a touchy subject that came up. Always cry when you need to, it can really help.

Pansy: Haven’t in a fair bit, I think I cried on Groa the other day about somethin’ real dumb. One of my workmates left n’ I burnt dinner n’ then something else happened and just… well, I sure hope he doesn’t think I’m weird ‘cause of that, eheh.

Ribbon: It was my birthday recently, so I haven’t felt like crying! I dunno.

Slushie cried the last time he ate a memcake, so two days ago.

Tay: That isn’t any of your business. (Ten minutes ago.)

Sabi: Sometimes I cry when I’m listening to sad music, so, um… Tuesday?

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3. Do you have kids?

Molly: No! Adopting might be cool when I’m older, but I’m only 19 and I have way too much to deal with already!

Finn: Do I look like a father? I’m still in uni! … That said, a few of my classmates have kids, it’s really strange.

Marina: No, but I have younger siblings, so I know how to take care of ‘em. … I don’t think I’m gonna want kids for a while, if ever.

Brine: Haha! No! Maybe someday.

Pansy: Slushie’s my kid! He’s adopted, but that doesn’t mean we aren’t family. I hope he knows that.

Ribbon:  You’re funny! Sometimes I pretend my dinosaur toys are babies, and then we destroy the town as a powerful army.

Slushie is 15 years old!

Tay: I think Reed could be considered my ‘child’, but I’m still not altogether sure about that. And Masako, I think? But I never had any children in this timeline, so it’s a little confusing…

Sabi: No, no, I don’t think I’d make a good father…

-

4. Do you use sarcasm a lot? 

Molly: Here and there. I don’t like to overdo it, but it’s totally justified sometimes.

Finn: Yeah … my friends aren’t exactly a good influence.

Marina: All the time. I don’t think I could live without it.

Brine: Hardly! It wouldn’t be good if I sassed my superiors, and it’s mean. But a harmless eyeroll won’t hurt, on occasion.

Pansy: Eh, sometimes. I’m not really smart enough, I get out-sarcasm’d, and it ain’t the nicest thing.

Ribbon:  Doing a sarcasm can be pretty hard… you get told off, too.

Slushie doesn’t talk enough to use sarcasm, but his body language often suggests it!

Tay: Oh no, I neeeever use sarcasm…

Sabi: …It isn’t kind to be sarcastic.

-

5. What’s the first thing you notice about people? 

Molly: Their face. Some people have real distinguishin’ features.

Finn: Their ink colour! If they don’t have one, then I look at their style instead.

Marina: Uh, does it matter? It depends on the person, right? I usually notice if somebody’s an Octoling.

Brine: Usually? Their handshake. I know that’s kind of weird to say, but the way someone shakes your hand can tell you a bit about them.

Pansy: I try to look at how they carry themselves n’ the expressions they make. It helps you figure out what a person’s like – though how they talk and what they do’s the next important thing. S’ important to watch the eyes.

Ribbon: If they’re smiling!

Slushie pays very close attention to the way other people talk.

Tay: How they behave towards me! Respect can be the difference between a guest staying or being thrown out – and potentially a matter of life and death when assassins are concerned!

Sabi: How much of a threat they are to me, haha… I try to keep my head down.

-

6. What’s your eye colour? 

Molly: Kinda… teal green? Lighter?

Finn: Rose pink!

Marina: Green eyes, green sclera. Just once I want somebody to say I’ve got eyes like emeralds, but I don’t see it happening. Nobody’s that suave, and I’d probably slap a stranger if they did.

Brine: Ocean blue!

Pansy: Deep pink. Cute, right? Haha, that was a joke…

Ribbon:  Pink like dad’s!

Slushie’s eyes are purple, with a white sclera.

Tay: Soft blue on green~

Sabi: Blue – and um, I’m the kind of octoling that has green ‘whites’.

-

7. Scary movie or happy ending? 

Molly: I like scary movies, they’re usually not that scary, haha. Happy endings make me think of those sappy films, but I don’t mind them in like … regular stuff.

Finn: I love happy endings! Especially in a romance film. Scary movies aren’t so bad, but some of them I’d prefer not to see…

Marina: Horror. Happy endings can be way too saccharine for my tastes.

Brine: I do love a good happy ending!

Pansy: Yeah, happy endings here too. I don’t mind horror so much if things work out in the end, though. What’s the point if everyone dies?

Ribbon:  No scary films please!!!

Slushie isn’t a fan of scary films. He’d much rather watch something happy.

Tay: It depends on my mood. I like a happy ending, but it has to be written well, and scary films – well, I’m not scared of anything, but too much of it taints the mind, you know…

Sabi: Please . . . take one look at me and say I’d enjoy a horror film. You’d be wrong in every way…

-

8. Any special talents? 

Molly: People keep saying my cooking’s good, but I don’t really see it? I know lots ‘bout weapons…

Finn: Art! I’m trying to make a career out of it.

Marina: I’m pretty good at mending up old human tech, and I can program. Real dab-hand at fixing technology. Betcha didn’t know that.

Brine: I’ve got a good eye! … Yup, that’s all I can think of, ahah.

Pansy: Me? Er, I guess I can cook pies pretty good. I used to be decent at all that detective stuff too, but now I’m not so sure.

Ribbon:  I dunno what my special talent is yet! I’m hoping it’s to do with detecting.

Slushie is very good at puzzle solving, and has quick reflexes. He’s also an absolute STAR at learning languages.

Tay: I have so many talents! Always looking good is practically a talent, and there’s my overall intelligence – I’m especially good at mathematics – but I’m a creative mind too! I’m PERFECT at stage performance and mixing music, not to mention I’m excellent at tinkering with machinery, I’ve built plenty of things and […etc.]

Sabi: Oh, um, I’m pretty good when it comes to music, I guess…

-

9. Where were you born? 

Molly:  Small town just outside of Inkopolis, but basically Inkopolis.

Finn: I think my parents moved to Inkopolis around the time I was hatching? Yeah.

Marina: Octopolis. You know, underground.

Brine: Inkopolis, hatched and raised. (This is a retcon--)

Pansy: Cuttledown, it’s a little village right near Calamari County.

Ribbon:  Here! Inkopolis!

Slushie doesn’t know when or where he hatched, but he was quickly picked up by the underground orphanage.

Tay: Oh, somewhere on the surface a very long time ago… (Actually, that isn’t true.)

Sabi: In a lab somewhere underground. It’s, uhm, not very glamorous.

-

10. What are your hobbies? 

Molly: Turf War! I listen to music a bunch too, n’ play games.

Finn: When I’m not doing art, I like to play Turf War and hang out with my friends.

Marina: *gestures to her room full of human artefacts and study notes*

Brine: I don’t have a lot of time for hobbies, aha… sometimes I still make coffee…? I like stargazing and laughing at conspiracy theories.

Pansy: I garden a lot, but that’s also my job now.

Ribbon: I play videogames and draw and use my imagination and collect dinosaurs.

Slushie is still trying to find his place on the surface, so is trying a lot of new things.

Tay: Tinkering! I get excited about circuits and wires. Surprising, no?

Sabi: I really… REALLY invest a lot of my time into music. But I, um, I also like to read. Mostly science fiction.

-

11. Do you have any pets?

 Molly: Nah. Banned. I leave too much to give ‘em attention anyway.

Finn: My little brother. … Okay uh, that was kind of a cruel joke, eheh. No.

Marina: Pets are cute, but I don’t have the time! Not to mention no space.

Brine: Haha, Mom would kill me.

Pansy: We used to have a nudibranch back at Ma’s but not anymore. Maybe I should get another…? They cost a whole lot, long-term.

Ribbon:  I reeaallly want an axolotl but dad and mom say no! It’s not fair. Dad used to live on a farm so he basically had EVERY PET.

Slushie lives with Pansy, so likewise has no pets.

Tay: Hm, no… perhaps I should invest in one for companionship. I’d pay someone else to feed and clean up after it, of course…

Sabi: Ah, that’s a lot more responsibility than I could handle…

-

12. What sports do you/have you played?

[Everyone says ‘Turf War’ in unison, except for Tay who says ‘Sword fighting’ and Slushie who says nothing].

-

13. How tall are you? 

Molly: *grumbles* 4’10”…

Finn: 5’4”, still waiting for that growth spurt.

Marina: 5’5”. I’d like to be taller.

Brine: 5’11”! Nothing more, nothing less.

Pansy: Not nearly tall enough. 5’7”. I’m the shortest of my siblings, and I’m the oldest, pffah.

Ribbon:  Small! (She’s exactly 4ft.)

Slushie is something like 5’2”, I haven’t written it down anywhere.

Tay: Tall enough! (He’s 5’6” and insecure about it.)

Sabi: Aaah… I’m 6’8”, how embarrassing… I’m thankful I’m not any taller.

-

14. Dream job? 

Molly: I sure as heck don’t know, my dude. Something where I could show off my knowledge about battling, I guess. A teacher?

Finn: An artist that gets paid!

Marina: I will become the world’s greatest archaeologist.

Brine: Almost there! I’d love to be a fully-fledged lawyer.

Pansy: … I already lost my dream job as a detective.

Ribbon:  A detective!! Or a secret agent!! Or… a mailperson!

Slushie doesn’t really know what he wants to do with his life yet.

Tay: What could be better than being an emperor and a DJ? … being an MC? A showhost? I could do that too.

Sabi: My music is already selling well, so I’m very happy.

-

15. Favourite subject in school? 

Molly: I hated school. Uh, I liked history sometimes, but I wasn’t great. Music? We used to mess around a lot…

Finn: Apart from the obvious ‘art’, I did enjoy literature too!

Marina: Human studies. As for the military side, I did always enjoy target practice.

Brine: Law! Since it’s a later subject, I also had fun in Social Studies and Inklish Language.

Pansy: Long time ago, uh… I remember bein’ pretty good at geography? I was awful at Inklish n’ Maths and that. Science was pretty good though.

Ribbon: Hm… I love all the subjects! Does snacktime count as a subject? We hardly get those anymore now we’re older.

Slushie likes foreign languages. He also excelled in agility training.

Tay: I’m not sure I remember exactly, but I do love mathematics.

Sabi: I technically never went to school, um…

Well, here’s the end!

Tagged by: @manysquidsandoctos

Tagging: meap

[masterweaverx]

Semi-Neurotic Teenage Girl of Action

Chapter 2: A Handy Little Talk

Phineas yawned as he awoke, stretching his arms and glancing around the room blearily. “Hey? Where’s Perry? He usually wakes us up.”

Ferb leveled a flat look at him.

“Right! Still merged with Candace.” Phineas rubbed his chin. “You know, it’s a good thing we’re definitely going to reverse that today. The longer that they remain in the same body the more cellular mitosis will happen, making it that much more difficult to separate the fundamental proteins of teenage girl and platypus.”

“Hey boys!” Linda leaned through the door. “I just wanted to remind you we’re picking up your grandparents from the airport today, so you should be ready to leave in twenty minutes. I’ll prepare you a quick breakfast, alright?”

“Okay, Mom!” Phineas turned to Ferb. “Yeah, that was happening today, wasn’t it? That’s a conflict of interests. I’ve never really had that before. Ferb, how do you handle that sort of thing?”

Ferb casually juggled a few different fruits before slicing through them with karate chops and catching them all on a plate.

“You’re right. We just need to break down the problem and do the individual steps when we’ve got spare time!” Phineas smiled. “Candace does it every day. I’m sure it can’t be that hard.”

Linda jostled the door to her daughter’s room and frowned. “Candace, sweetheart? Is there something in front of your door?”

“Yeeaaasssuuuaaaa....”

“...What was that?”

“Pushed my--bleaghrkbla...pushed my bed there,” Candace moaned. “Self-imposed quarantine.”

“You’re sick?”

“And I need to clean the carpet,” Candace reported sadly.

“Well...” Linda sighed, pushing against the door. “Come on, let me see the damage--”

“NONONO!” The door slammed shut quickly. “I, uh, reeeally don’t want you to catch this. Uuuugh, and my skin is all, sliiick, uuuuuuuuunh.”

“And yet you’re feeling well enough to push a bed against your door?”

“Ugh, Moooooom...” Candace groaned. “I’m, ooooh, I’m.... BLARFGURGLBLAAAAaaaaaaa....”

“Oh.... that does sound bad,” Linda said sympathetically.

“I got it in the trash can this time...”

“I guess that’s good. Look, I have to take everyone to the airport to pick up Grandpa Reg and Grandma Winifred for their visit. We’ll be back this afternoon, and if you aren’t feeling better by then I’ll schedule a hospital visit, alright?”

“Alright, Mom... I’ll clean up the carpet while you’re gone.”

“And I’ll make you something to eat before I go, alright?” 

“Actually, Ferb’s already made a fruit platter,” Phineas interjected as the two of them walked up.

“Well, that was fast.” Linda ruffled Ferb’s hair fondly. “Just leave it outside the door for your sister, okay? I’ll go make you two some french toast.”

Phineas watched her head down the stairs for a moment, before turning to Candace’s door. “Wow. Sick, huh? That sounds bad. Do you think this has anything to do with you being merged with Perry?”

“Yes, in the sense that I’m not actually sick.”

“Wait.” Phineas frowned. “You’re only pretending to be sick?”

“Yes! I don’t want Mom to see me like this, remember?”

“Yeeeeeah, I’m still not clear on that,” Phineas admitted. “I mean, she’s Mom. Do you think she’d freak out or something?”

“Um, yes!” Candace replied through the door. “Yes, she would freak out if she knew her daughter was half platypus!”

“I dunno. She seemed okay with Marty the rabbit boy.”

“Marty the rabbit boy is a stage musician she saw one time. I’m her actual flesh and blood daughter, and I’m not even human anymore!”

“You do have to admit that jumping the species barrier isn’t really something that comes up all that often,” Ferb pointed out.

“Well, alright.” Phineas shrugged. “But you know you can’t hide in that room forever.”

“I know, I know. I’ll... figure something out. You guys go downstairs and get ready to go to the airport.”

“Will do. We’ll think about how to separate you two on the way.” Phineas put a hand on his brother’s shoulder. “Come on Ferb!”

Candace slumped against the other side of the door, her eyes rolling skyward.

“You know, this is the perfect way to bust my brothers. And also the perfect way to get my cover blown. I know, I know! That’s why I’m keeping it secret. Good. Now I need to go down to the lair to check on--I can’t go down to the lair, all the tubes are too small! There are other entrances. What about Major Monogram, though? That could be a problem, I suppose. You know what else is a problem? This whole conversation. Yes, it is a little confusing... hang on, I’ve got an idea.”

She walked over to the vanity, taking a bow and tying it around her right hand. Then she put a tiny fedora on her left hand.

“There,” said the fedora-wearing hand. “Now we know who’s talking.”

“Really,” said the ribbon-wearing hand, tilting sardonically. “That’s your solution. We flap our hands when we want to talk to each other.”

“They didn’t exactly cover this in basic training,” the other hand replied.

The ribbon hand snapped around quickly. “Ugh, fine, whatever. I guess this works.”

“Right. So...” The fedora hand bent down. “Look, I don’t want to take away from your life, Candace. But I do have a job to do. An important one.”

“Important, really?” The ribbon hand scrunched up. “From what I can tell, this Doofenshmirtz guy practically foils himself.”

“Not always. Sometimes I need to take a few extra steps to stop him. There’s also the fact my hat auto-scans his inventions--”

The ribbon hand shot forward. “Wait, hold on. If you’re scanning this Doofenshmirtz’s stuff, are you also scanning the things Phineas and Ferb make every day?”

“...yeeeeeeeees,” admitted the fedora hand warily.

“And you have some sort of replicator tech in your lair, which could be used to remake any of them at any time, right?”

“How do you know that?”

“Perry, we’re sharing a brain,” the ribbon hand pointed out. “I know everything you do.”

The fedora hand opened, paused, and twisted thoughtfully. “Right. I’m used to keeping secrets, I guess.”

“Soooooooo,” the ribbon hand continued, “you could, at any time, recreate something Phineas and Ferb have made, and put it in the backyard, even--especially--when Mom is out there.”

“You want me to bust your brothers,” the other hand said dryly.

“YES! Come on, Perry, you’re constantly stopping Doofenshmirtz!”

“Who is doing evil. Phineas and Ferb are always trying to have fun and usually help out some of their friends--”

“And! And putting themselves in danger, and doing things Mom wouldn’t like, and--”

“Alright!” The fedora hand rolled. “Alright, fine. I’ll put one of the boys’ crazy inventions on display.”

“YEEEEEEEES!”

“AFTER we’re split apart. And we still have to fight Doofenshmirtz, alright?”

“Fine, whatever. Ee-hee-hee-hee-hee...”

The fedora hand leaned back. “...It is seriously creepy that you are matching up hand movements to that laugh.”

“Right, whatever. Let’s go to your lair and get today’s mission, the sooner we stop Doofenshmirtz the sooner we can be back to get split apart and bust the boys!”

“How about we eat Ferb’s fruit platter first, though? I am a bit hungry.”

“...Eh, sure, fair enough. But how am I going to eat with a fedora on my hand?”

[lordsicheng]

A New Start: Pt. 1

Lee Juyeon x OC

summary: after delays of you being able to visit family, your boss finally lets you have a longer break for the holidays and the new year. what’s even more exciting is that your best friend, Juyeon, decides to tag along as a way for him to meet your family finally. however, other than being your best friend, he may have hidden feelings that he needed to speak to you in hopes that he can confess to them before the clock strikes 12 for the new year.

a/n: to whoever requested this I’m sorry for much delay! I assure you guys I (re)wrote the first two chapters finally after my pc broke and deleted all my files. also this was supposed to be posted back in january/new year but oh well my new year started with a busted pc lmao enjoy!! I need to write more The Boyz stuff

“What could go wrong?” Juyeon asked as he put the other handcarry bags in the lavatory and laughed as he sat next to you, buckling his seatbelt right after

“Don’t say that! Something wrong’s gonna happen if you keep jinxing stuff.” you slapped his shoulder lightly and looked to the side where the window was

“I give you the window seat and you slap me. Rude, much?” Juyeon chuckled, crossing his arms as he looked at you

“I just can’t believe I was approved on my request to go back to America for New Year’s.” you smiled, turning your head to look at Juyeon

“And, your best friend got approved of a leave as well. Making you less lonely.” he wiggled his brows, trying to make you laugh

“I am less lonely. But more irritated.” you gave a straight face, making him stop his antics

“Wow.” Juyeon went all sulky, but in a playful way and turned to look at the other passenger seated to him who was pretty much a much older adult who looked as if he was going to be on a business trip

You just gave a soft chuckle and put on your earphones to blast some music to help you sleep before takeoff, since you barely had any sleep for the past two days out of excitement from finally going home after not celebrating New Year’s with your family for three years. You finally felt tired at the plane, slowly drifting into sleep.

Juyeon, on the other hand, just kept fidgeting on his phone. He glanced to the side again, seeing the man next to him smile at a photo on his phone that had a photo of what seemed to be his children and their mom.

“Your kids?” Juyeon asked

“Yeah. I’m very excited to see them after five years.” he nodded, chuckling

“Five years?” Juyeon looked at the man, sounding a little shocked

“Yeah. It’s hard working right across the world from people you love.”

Just as soon as the man kept smiling on his phone, Juyeon turned to look at you sleeping very well. The man noticed Juyeon stare at you and couldn’t help but smile

“On vacation with your girlfriend?” he asked, making Juyeon slightly flustered

“Uhh, she’s not… my girlfriend…” Juyeon replied as he looked at the man, stuttering

“Oh. Then, wife? Because if so you both look too young to be married.” he squinted a bit to look closely at you and then to Juyeon again

“N-no! She’s my best friend, sir.” he corrected, and the man just grinned

You actually heard the conversation a bit, shaking your head a bit and trying to get to sleep and just brush off their talk. Juyeon took a glance at you to make sure you were comfortable as the plane took off. Again, it was gonna be over ten hours of a flight, so he also made sure there were things that could distract him from his impatience as he was both excited but also nervous, since he had not met your family members sans your brother yet.

-

After almost eleven hours, you had finally arrived America and directly went towards the baggage claim area to get your luggage. Juyeon, being someone who has never traveled so far of a country, looked around the airport that seemed to excite him even more from his arrival. You, on the other hand, just ran off to get your stuff

“Wait for me!” Juyeon yelled

“Hurry up! Mom’s waiting at the parking area!” you yelled back as you ran, Juyeon having no choice but to run after you

Juyeon furrowed his brows while looking for your luggage, as there were a ton of ones that had similar colors and sizes. You laughed at his expression, shaking your head

“You have a green ribbon tied on your black luggage. I have a yellow one.” you smiled, realizing your bag was moving near

“Right.” he nodded, also looking at the bag

You both finally got your entire luggage after a little over twenty minutes of waiting, immediately moving to the exit where you texted your mom to meet you up at. Juyeon was the one pushing the cart with the luggage as you lead the way, looking left and right to find your mom

“Y/n! Y/n!” your brother called from afar as he ran towards you, hugging you tightly once he got to you

“You munchkin! Where’s mom?” you laughed, immediately seeing your mom drive up from nearby

“Finally.” she smiled, walking out of the car and parking for a bit to give you a tight squeeze of a hug

“Mommy!” you squealed

You suddenly remembered Juyeon was just awkwardly standing from nearby, pulling out from the hug to stand next to him to try and drag him towards your mom and brother

“Guys, Juyeon. Kevin has met him when he went to Seoul last year, mom. And now you know who my best friend is. And what he looks like.” you grinned, and your mom took her time looking at Juyeon from up and down

“H-hello.” Juyeon awkwardly bowed

“Handsome man. Are you taking care of my daughter well?” your mom asked, surprising Juyeon

“Y-yes ma’am.” he gulped out of nervousness

“Don’t be shy, she’s chill.” you nudged Juyeon’s side, but he still was a bit too anxious to look her in the eye

“Alright, let’s head home. Parking seems to have raised a couple bucks since the last time.” your mom sighed, opening the trunk of the car as your brother and Juyeon put in the luggage and went inside the car along with you and your mom heading in first to drive

-

“So you’re staying for only a week?” your mom asked as she sat next to you on the sofa

“I have tons of work to do, mom. I was lucky enough to even get a week off of work.” you sighed, grabbing your laptop from the coffee table in front of you

“You’re home, sweetie. Can’t you take maybe a day or two off without doing anything work related?” she said worriedly, looking at you as you opened your laptop and turned it on

“Mom, you know how hard my job is.” you looked at her with assurance

“I mean, you need to think about other things than work. Like… going to the winter festival in the city? You can take your brother and Juyeon with you.” she smiled, looking at the clock

“Oh, I need to pick up your dad from work. We’ll meet at 7pm?” she stood and walked away to go to the kitchen

“Sounds… good?” you looked over to the stairs to see Juyeon walk down while checking his phone

“Hey, what’s the wifi password?” he asked, turning his head to look at you

“ANGELCOOKIE4. ALL CAPS!” your mom yelled from the kitchen

“Mom!” you called out

“We’re all angels, there are four in the family, and everyone loves cookies!” she giggled

“Mom you’re scaring Juyeon away.” your brother said as he walked down the stairs and stood next to Juyeon

“Who knows, we might change four to five soon.” your mom replied, making you look away and widen your eyes, your brother nudging Juyeon

“S-so are we going to the winter festival?” you asked, not even looking back at the two by the stairs

[chasholidays]

Maybe something along the lines of bellarke working at stores on opposing sides of the street + warring holiday window displays?

The thing about the holiday window display is that Clarke is—kind of—a real artist. She certainly wants to be a real artist, and is getting her MFA in graphic design, and has even won some contests for her work. She has, not to put too fine a point on it, skills.

Which is why Roan asks her to do the window displays at the store in the first place.

Well, okay, that’s why he says he asks her to do the window displays, but Clarke’s pretty sure about ninety percent of his motivation is that he doesn’t want to do it himself, and he’s just using the art thing to butter her up. But she’d be pissed if he asked any of the other employees, so whatever his motivation, she’s not objecting. She likes doing the window display. It’s fun. Usually, she changes them once a month, with different themes, and everyone agrees she does a good job with that.

But the holiday season is on another level.

“I’m thinking one every week,” she tells Raven. Raven doesn’t actually work at the store, but is dating Roan and therefore hangs out a lot because she likes spending time with him and he gave her the employee wifi password. Clarke considers her a perk of the job.

“You want to do a new display every week?” Raven asks. “Starting when?”

“That’s the question. I’m against holiday creep, but I accept that it’s a thing, and if we don’t go with it, it might hurt business.”

Raven frowns. “Has anyone in the history of the world ever looked at a store, found they don’t have Christmas lights up, and decided not to shop there?”

“There are people who believe the war on Christmas is a real thing,” Clarke points out. “Honestly, anything is possible.”

“Yeah, okay. So, getting in early?”

“I was thinking I’d do weekly after Halloween,” she admits. “Just lean into it.”

“You’re part of the problem. But yeah, sure. Knock yourself out. No one cares, so it’s not like anyone’s going to stop you.”

“Wow, thanks for your resounding support,” she teases.

Raven shrugs. “Do I look like I care about holiday windows? I’m just nodding and smiling here.”

“And I appreciate it. It’ll be good, right?”

“Sure it will,” says Raven, and goes back to her laptop.

*

Clarke is outside on November 4, checking out her first window, a winter scene painted against with some of their taxidermy animals and some fake snow set up beyond it, when Bellamy stops next to her and asks, “Already?”

“Already what?”

He takes a sip of his coffee, eyes fixed on the display. “It’s not Christmas. It’s not even Thanksgiving.”

“What part of this says Christmas to you, exactly?”

He snorts. “Come on.”

“It’s the holiday season.”

“Every season is a holiday season,” he shoots back. “I didn’t see you starting to paint fireworks at the beginning of May to get everyone pumped for the Fourth of July.”

“You still haven’t told me how this is holiday-themed.”

“Evergreen and red berries,” he says, gesturing to the painting with his travel mug.

“Winter.”

“It’s November and it’s like sixty degrees. Climate change is real.”

She elbows him. “I’m modeling good behavior for the weather,” she says. “Showing it what it should be doing.”

“Uh huh,” says Bellamy. “Let me know how that works out for you.”

“Dick,” she says, and he smiles.

“Happy holidays to you too.”

*

Bellamy and his best friend Miller run a board game cafe across the street, but Clarke has never actually gone in there, mostly because she knows if she did, it would just be to talk to Bellamy. She isn’t actually interested in board games, and she’s sure that if she tried to show interest, it would become immediately and undeniably obvious why she was really there. So it’s safer to just see him around, or when he stops by the antique store every week to see if they have any new (to them) books he wants.

On November 5, though, someone has painted IT’S NOT EVEN THANKSGIVING YET in bright orange print, with an arrangement of apparently fall-themed games under it. The opposite window adds, YOUR WAR-ON-CHRISTMAS HEADQUARTERS, which Clarke would worry is bad for business, except that they also have a rainbow flag and a black lives matter sign prominently displayed above the door, so she’s pretty sure they are actively trying to alienate alt-right nerds. Which seems like the right call.

Regardless, the window seems like a very clearly an invitation for her to go in and yell at Bellamy, and she will happily take it.

Inside, the store is cute, mismatched chairs and tables with a bookshelf full of demo games and hourly rates for table space on the wall. They also have a regular retail area and the cafe area, and that’s where Bellamy is.

She nods to Miller at the game counter, but her focus is on Bellamy.

“Morning,” he says. “Coffee?”

“Are you really picking a fight with window displays?”

“Who said anything about a fight?”

“Your war-on-Christmas headquarters,” says Clarke, and Miller snorts.

“Shut up,” he tells Miller, reflexive, and then he turns his attention back to Clarke. “I’m picking a fight with Christmas, not with you.”

“The day after you told me it was too early for a holiday window display.”

He smirks. “I thought it wasn’t a holiday window.”

“So I don’t have a holiday window and you’re not picking a window fight,” she says.

“Sounds right, yeah.”

“Yeah, this is clearly a bunch of mature adults having a normal conversation here,” says Miller.

“Clearly.” Bellamy slides Clarke a mug of coffee. “On the house.”

She takes a sip; it’s perfect, which means she has a new excuse to come in here. “You know I have to go back to work, right? I’m taking this mug with me.”

He shrugs. “I’ll get it back later. I know where to find you.”

“You do. Thanks for the coffee. Happy holidays,” she adds, and he smirks.

“Happy holidays.”

*

Bellamy doesn’t change his display until the week of Thanksgiving. The war on Christmas remains in the right window, but the left switches to HAPPY PIE AND GENOCIDE DAY get a board game to avoid talking to your racist relatives about politics, with a new selection of games under it. Someone’s put star-shaped post-it notes onto the boxes, with notes like Cooperative, low risk of murder and Talking is against the rules.

“You need any?” Bellamy asks, and she jumps.

“What?”

“Thanksgiving board games. They’re great if you don’t know how to interact with your friends and family.”

“Do you not?”

“My only relative is my sister, and we do Thanksgiving with her dad and his family. It’s usually ten to fifteen white people and me, and we all know I’m not actually related to them.”

“Ouch.”

He shrugs. “I just bring a couple games and sit in the corner waiting for people to get curious, it works out pretty well. So, you need any?”

She considers for a second. “Something for me, my mom, and my stepdad, to fill awkward silences?”

He unlocks the store and holds the door open for her. “Yeah, I’ve got some ideas.”

*

Clarke spends her Thanksgiving break trying to figure out what to do for her next window. She’s definitely culturally Christian, in the sense that she grew up celebrating Christmas and Easter, but always in a pretty secular way. She got presents and candy, but they never went to church or said prayers or anything. So she’d like to actually capture something like the spirit of the season without going full Christmas.

Hanukkah starts on December 12, so that gives her two weeks right there. A couple of her classmates are Jewish, so she enlists their help in designing two theme windows, one to go up on the ninth and one on the sixteenth. The week before that and the week after, she can do more generic winter stuff, and then Christmas, the new year, and then she’s done. Holidays solved.

It’s going to be fun.

To her delight, Bellamy’s already at his store when she arrives on the second, working on his own display. He’d been doing them on Sunday, apparently so he could react to hers, but she’s much happier seeing him working across the street, trying to figure out what he’s doing. It’s definitely more than just text.

Once he’s got the games arranged, he brings her the usual mug of coffee.

“Finally time for Christmas?”

“Hanukkah first, and then solstice, then Christmas,” she says. “It’s the holiday season, remember.”

He snorts. “No Kwanzaa?”

“I have no background in Kwanzaa and don’t have anyone I can call in for a consult, so I figured I should just skip it.”

“Yeah, that sounds right.” He sips his own drink, waiting, and she tries to figure out how to ask without asking.

“You’re no longer fighting Christmas?” she finally says. He scrubbed the right window clean, and there’s nothing new there yet.

“Want the space for other stuff,” he says. “Need any heavy lifting done?”

“Nope, all set.”

“Cool, good luck.”

When she’s working, she’s oblivious to the outside world, so it’s not until she’s done that she sees his display, finished before hers. As usual, he’s got less art than she does, with more focus on text.

The text, though, is new. In the left window, he has WORLD AIDS DAY, DECEMBER 1, with an AIDs ribbon in the right, and, below it, the smaller text 25% of all sales through December 8 will go to AIDS research.

Roan’s in by now, so she says, “Can I go across the street for a second?”

“You know I’m not paying you to flirt.”

“Your girlfriend basically lives here,” she points out, and he inclines his head, granting her the point.

“Be back in fifteen minutes.”

Bellamy’s at the cafe, as usual, and he’s actually looking a little nervous.

“Like it?”

“It’s great, yeah. I feel like I should give you money.”

“Or you could just donate to a good cause. I like yours,” he adds. “All of them. I feel like I haven’t mentioned that yet.”

Her smile is probably a little much, but he doesn’t seem to mind. “You haven’t. But thanks.”

*

“I assume you don’t have class on Friday morning like I do,” Clarke tells Bellamy, the next Saturday. They’re both done with their displays, and Roan gave her another fifteen minutes to flirt, because he’s a good boss.

“Good assumption. Why?”

“Because you could just update your windows on the appropriate days, instead of doing it on Saturday.”

This week, his left window is celebrating “Pretend to Be a Time Traveler Day” (December 8) and his right “National Cupcake Day” (December 15). It is, admittedly, a good way to promote both games and food, and Clarke can’t help being a little charmed.

“It’s a week-long thing. Also, they’re time travelers. They can show up whenever they want.”

Clarke has to laugh. “How do you find these?”

“Google. It’s not hard. I’m just trying to give some attention to the lesser known holidays. There’s lots going on in December.”

“Looking forward to the next one,” she says, and he ducks his head, looking pleased.

“Cool, I’ll try not to let you down.”

*

December 21 is, apparently International Dalek Remembrance Day, which Clarke tells Bellamy she’ll take his word for, and then she wishes him a happy holiday, because she’s going out of town to spend Christmas with her father.

“Where’s he?”

“Washington state. He’s one of the Seattle hipsters.”

“In a good way?”

“I don’t know if I like the hipster thing, but it’ll be good to see him.”

He nods. “Cool, have fun. I’ll see you–”

“I’m back at work on the 29th,” she supplies, trying not to smile too much. He totally wants to know when she’ll be back. “Getting up a New Year’s Eve display on the 30th.’

“Then I’ll see you then.”

It feels oddly weighty, the last holiday display. She and Bellamy have definitely been seeing more of each other, since November, and Clarke doesn’t want that to stop. And, obviously, she can still go to get coffee and flirt with him when he comes in to look at books, but she’d like something more permanent.

Something like a date.

Bellamy comes by on December 29 and gives her a giant coffee mug covered in paint splotches, which is cute, and makes her feel better about having bought him a book on typography.

“I thought you could use it for your window lettering.”

He laughs. “Room for improvement, huh?”

“There’s always room for improvement, Bellamy,” she says, prim.

“Always,” he agrees. “Thanks.”

He shows up after she does the next morning, but, as always, he finishes his window before she finishes hers, and she emerges from her art haze to find that his right window says, December 31: Make Up Your Mind Day, while his right has a bunch of suggestions for things to make up your mind about.

The third one is, Ask out the cute blonde girl you like.

“I might take half an hour to flirt today,” she tells Roan.

“Fair enough,” he says. “Happy new year.”

Miller isn’t around when she gets to the store, which doesn’t feel like a coincidence, and Bellamy has his arms crossed over his chest, his expression vaguely homicidal.

He melts into nervousness within about half a second of seeing her. “Nice display.”

“You too. Some of the decisions seem a little specific.”

“I figure they might help someone. Like horoscopes.”

“Is asking someone out really making up your mind? Isn’t your mind already made up?” She bites her lip. “Mine is.”

“Yeah?”

“Definitely.”

He nods. “Cool. So, my sister’s having a party tomorrow. Trying to seduce her neighbor. I figured I could piggyback. If you don’t have plans.”

“Getting drunk with my roommate. As long as he can come–”

“Absolutely.”

“Good. He thinks Miller’s hot, he’ll owe me.” She swallows. “Were you going to wait to kiss me until midnight? Some grand gesture?”

“I was. Should I not?”

“Definitely not,” she says, and he grins, comes out from behind the counter and leans down.

“Does this mean I win the war on Christmas?” he murmurs, after kiss that makes her toe curl.

“I don’t know about the war on Christmas, but I think we’re winning something.”

He laughs. “Me too, yeah,” he agrees, and kisses her again.

*

In January, she starts coming early so she can do paintings for his windows too.

“Come on,” she says, smiling at his confused expression. “What are girlfriends for?”

[fuck-customers]

I honestly expected more from a crafts store.

Context: Me, in process of being declared legally-disabled for SSI (that process takes a while) in the meantime, I am broke as shit and decided to give working one last chance and accepted the ONE JOB that was interested in hiring me because I needed the money.

I also changed some names.

I got a job in August, at one of the crafts stores that was a person's name. it was pretty shitty pay, 8.25 a hour. I was told when I interviewed that I would be an ASSISTANT (not assistant store manager, but the assistant to the guy who worked in the back and that I'd be a stocker)

I'm really sorry if this is out of order but I'm still pretty mad about it .

This is important for later, but the manager who interviewed me told me that I would not have to lift more than 20lbs , which was my weight limit per doctor's orders because of my health problems. Which was another reason why I applied for part time because I cannot physically do full time work.

So, I go in for my first day, I haven't been trained yet, and I got there before the trainer guy did. (No idea why since I was supposed to go in for TRAINING that day) So Bolton puts me right on the floor with a cart of merchandise and leaves. I haven't been trained at all. I have no idea what I'm doing or how this stupid system even works. But, that's what I end up doing for over a hour until the training guy gets there and I do the stupid little computer work they had me do, then when it was done, I was still technically in training, but Bolton   pulled me from training (again) and told me to go stock.So I did that.

See, the guy who was my boss I hardly ever saw him. When I did, he was always telling me "you can't do that" or "you can't do this" Bolton wouldn't answer ANY of my questions- like what am I supposed to do if a ribbon comes off of something? Am I supposed to stick it in damages, or do I try to tie the ribbon myself?Bolton never answered me over the walkie talkie. But another manager, a girl this time did. She told me to tie it. So, as I'm tying it I happened to be kind of sitting down so I can use the floor as a flat surface to tie it since I was on the floor anyway because what I was stocking at the time was very low to the floor.

being close to the ground is apparently bad because Bolton walked by, yelled at me saying I can't do that there's no room for laziness here yada yada yada... and I was barely able to get in and explain to him what I was doing when I held up the little thing I was working on tying. He didn't offer to help or anything and just walked off.

Another time when the computer systems were down I was wandering the store trying to find the next isle that the stuff in my cart went and I over heard Bolton telling another person who worked here that he trained me (lol) and that he told me where everything went (lol) . I step in and say, "no you didn't" and held up some of the things I was holding that I was currently trying to figure out where they fucking went. I don't think Bolton knew I was right there, or that he expected me to call him out on his absent-ass bullshit.

My second day comes around, and it's all training. I don't get pulled from it to do any other work. When my training is done I get to go home.

Third day. (which really should have been my final day...) The computer systems are down. Like down-down all the payroll stuff is by hand, and I can't use the little scanner thingy to tell me where to stock this stuff because I just don't know. I've been there working for three days and I have no idea where anything goes unless you tell me.

My last day I was stocking ribbons and lace for a little while. I had to build the display, and match the bar codes on the packaging to the bar codes on the display because the computer system was still down. I didn't know were over stock went, and I ran out of the little dividers to separate the products.  I am short. I could not see that there were over stock bins directly above the shelves because they were pushed back enough that it wasn't obvious they were up there.

I also figured out that he was purposely ignoring me and my "Stupid questions" after I freak out because I don't have enough dividers and the same lady manager from before comes back after I ask for help on the walkie talkie , she uses it to talk to Bolton, and he actually answers her saying they don't have anymore when I asked the same fucking question exactly a minute ago.

So you see why when I found out that a couple of the products had more in stock than would fit on the shelves I kind of slid them behind the ones up front.  Bolton comes up behind me saying I can't do that and that they need to be in the over stock bins on the top shelf . He's taller than me, so I say "I'm too short to reach". His response? "Get the ladder" and he walks off for another break. Not offering to put them in the bins for me since he's taller, not offering to get the ladder for me either.

I am full of spite and pettiness. I did not feel like getting that big ass metal ladder on rollers and rolling it over to where I was stationed. I did not even know where the ladder was, because again he never trained me :)

Since the ribbons and yarn were not breakable I decided to shoot some hoops and stood on my toes and tossed them up into the bins. I ended up having four that were over stocked. Four does not warrant finding that big ass ladder and wheeling it over here, then wheeling it all the way back. 

I didn't even get finished with the ribbons and yarn because he pulled me off of that to go do truck once his break was over again.

This manager would talk to me, then go take a break. He'd yell at me for something I didn't do (happened a lot) and the only reason he couldn't take a break was because we were working on a truck. I was told that there should be 4-5 people working on a truck . Instead his happy ass was actually forced to train me on something.

Now,I figured out about 15 minutes into 2 and a half hours of truck that I should never be on truck duty. I was slow, I could hardly carry the boxes, and most importantly I didn't open any of the ones with plastic strips on them myself. Another woman who was "helping" to train me did.

She left after a while to go cover so another girl could get her break. In the meantime, Bolton pointed out to me that I shouldn't be leaving those plastic strips all over the floor . I told him I didn't open any of the boxes , that it wasn't my mess. He turns around and says that boxes with plastic strips left on them don't count as recieved in the computer system and that I need to take them off, and throw them away. Then he had me pick up all the plastic strips that were cut on the floor up, and toss them in the trash.

Bolton also didn't like how slowly I was going (because he never trained me. I had no idea in the back where what packages went where) So he actually did something and hopped over on truck and said he'd be sorting boxes, putting things where they went, and any boxes left on the belt were seasonal, which was light enough that I could pick them up without any problems.  By this point I was in so much pain I kinda stopped talking because I didn't want to loose control or have my voice crack.

I go to pick up one of the boxes and notice it's heavier than the others, Bolton goes "oh that's fabric bolts. That's why you always open the boxes"

At this point I was pissed because he hadn't said a fucking word about this identical box (to me at least, and this was my very first time doing truck) being different than seasonal- which were the one thing I actually knew where it went. I also knew that because of all the tiny little knickknacks involved in seasonal you did not open it until you were in the right part of the store to stock it in case something fell out or got lost. 

Then to make my day better he was gossiping about me literally right behind my back to the truck driver saying that he liked this other girl, I'll call her Katie more because Katie knew exactly what to do he didn't have to waste time training her (excuse me?) and she was a fast learner and all this crap.

I'm standing there thinking "If Katie was so perfect then why did she quit?"  I was brand new to truck, which according to company policy must be done with 4-5 people to be the most efficient- at least that was what I'd been told consistently that they would hire at least 3 more people.

I probably should have walked out when he was talking shit about me behind my back. But, I was car-pooling and my mom  wasn't off until noon so I had a bit unless I wanted to go sit in a parking lot  in the middle of august. Which I basically was anyway because the back of the store was open to the heat to let the truck in.

Then I get a bomb shell dropped on me that shatters any thought of "maybe this job'll work out if I give it another chance"

I would be doing next week's truck by myself. At which point I decided that I would be the pettiest I could be (and come off as the bigger person) since I had to wait until noon anyway and would finish the truck.

When the truck was finished and put away, these two managers said they would go on break at the same time and then come back for me so I could take mine last.  I cut them off, and said I quit. It was the most satisfying thing I'd done that month. Then I left the store, and went to my mom's work. She by some fluke was scheduled close to the front of the store and saw me pretty much as soon as I walked in and asked "are you crying?" I didn't even have to get that close to where she was before she noticed how much pain I was in.

Apparently getting hired as an assistant meant "Do all this shit to keep the store running and fully stocked while your actual boss sits on his ass doing nothing while collecting paid breaks" He did other things to me, and Bolton gave off a "I Don't want to be alone with this creep" vibe.

[sufferthesea]

Pink Peonies (Kakashi/Reader) Part 1

Idk how to write short stuff and idk if I’ll continue it but I’ve just been so relieved to write again that I wanted to post this. It was supposed to be for this cool app I found that changes “Y/N” into whatever name you want, but I never got to the Y/N part in this. Also I’ve never written 2nd person fics so bear with me, I’m still learning. xoxoxo

Message me/comment if you want me to write the continuation! 

Word Count: 1.329

Rating: General

Summary: Ino is suspicious when Kakashi buys some flowers from her shop. She enlists the help of Sakura to find out who they’re for. 

Pairing: Future Kakashi/Reader?? Reader hasn’t been introduced yet. 

Ino lounged behind the counter of her family’s flower shop, twirling a broken flower stem around her index finger. It had been dropped and crushed underfoot by a toddler who pulled out half a dozen daffodils from their container and left them strewn across the aisle while his mother did nothing. When they left, the mom muttered how it was “the shop’s girl job to clean up” and toted her child out into the late summer evening; she didn’t even bother to buy anything, which was the really annoying part.

The young kunoichi had managed to salvage most of the flowers, but three of them had their petals ripped off, and a fourth had been broken near the top, making it impossible to sell. She ran her fingernails down the now-flattened stem and green plant matter coated her fingertips. It’d been an unbearably long and boring day and she’d only sold a handful of flowers since the shop opened.

Bells chimed as the door was pushed open and she stood up eagerly, looking past the rows of black containers and earthy-smelling flowers to see who the customer was. By the time she’d looked up, they had already disappeared down an aisle and the door swung shut by itself.

Huh, they move fast. I wonder who it is? Ino dropped the stem on the floor and wiped her hands off on her apron, though it did little to remove the green stain from her fingers. She watched carefully as soft footsteps wandered up and down the aisle before stopping. There were several minutes of silence and then she heard the shuffling of leaves and the dripping of water on the concrete floor.

Well whoever they are, they must’ve found something they like! Ino stood up straight and folded her hands together, waiting for the customer to come to the front. She watched in anticipation as the footsteps picked up again, coming closer. Her shoulders dropped and a puzzled look crossed her face when she saw who it was casually striding around the corner and towards the till.

“Kakashi-sensei?” she asked, her voice rising in surprise. “What are you doing here? I mean - who are the flowers for?”

“Oh, Ino,” the man replied, looking a bit surprised himself. “I didn’t know you were working today. I thought it’d be your mother.” He said nothing about why he was there, but instead set the flowers - six soft pink peonies - on the counter and glanced over his shoulder. “It’s very quiet today.”

“Yeah,” Ino replied, irritated with the lack of customers, “you’ve been pretty much my only customer. Do you want these wrapped?”

“Hm? Oh, yes, please. Thank you.”

The girl grabbed a piece of brown paper from under the counter and laid it flat on the counter, gently arranging the peonies in the center. “So …” she drawled out, throwing a cautionary glance at the teacher who was staring at the flowers. “What do you have planned tonight? Anything fun? I heard there’s a new restaurant opening tonight.”

“Hm. Maybe.”

Ino tied the ribbon a little bit too tightly and felt her eye twitch. Why was it so hard to get an answer out of this man? “I’m sure you must be doing something pretty nice if you need to get such lovely flowers!”

“They are pretty,” he commented, only half-listening.

Ino cleared her throat and Kakashi snapped to, digging through his pockets to find his wallet and handed over a few wrinkled bills. She held the flowers in her arms, subtly holding them hostage until she got the answers she wanted. Deciding that being more direct was a better approach, she gave a sweet smile to the older man and said, “So, who are these for?”

“Oh, aha, they’re for nobody,” Kakashi replied, his hand going up to rub the back of his neck. “Tell your parents I said ‘hi’, okay?”

Before she could even protest, Kakashi had snatched the bouquet out of her hands and was out of the store. Ino gritted her teeth and growled, “Oooh, I’m going to find out one way or another! Nobody buys flowers from my shop and doesn’t tell me what they’re for!”

Unfortunately, there was no way for Ino to leave her post at the counter - even if there were no other customers in the shop. She couldn’t even get permission to close early since both her parents had stepped out for an early dinner and wouldn’t be back until later. So she’d just have to wait.

But as luck would have it, not ten minutes later, Sakura passed by the front of the shop. Ino hightailed it to the front door, flung it open and shouted, “BILLBOARD BROW!”

The pink-haired girl spun on her heels, fist raised, eyes filled with fire. “What do you want Ino-Pig?!”

“Come here!” Ino hissed, waving her over frantically.

“Huh? What’s wrong?” Sakura quickly joined Ino and huddled just inside the flower shop. Ino glanced around to make sure no one was listening in and pulled Sakura away from the door.

“Kakashi-sensei was just here!”

“What? What was he doing here?”

“Don’t say it like that! Our shop has awesome flowers! Anyway - that’s just it! He was buying flowers! Peonies! Pink ones!”

“Well, maybe he needed them for something? Or maybe someone asked him to pick them up?”

“No way!” Ino huffed, crossing her arms. “You weren’t there. I saw the look in his eye! He was buying them for someone! I think —” She paused to lower her voice and leaned in, “I think he’s going on a date.”

“What?!” Sakura sputtered, her eyes wide. “There’s no way sensei is going on a date! I’ve never seen him talk to anyone - and, and, well we would know, wouldn’t we? Naruto, Sasuke and I are his students and we’re around him all the time!”

“Well I’m not his student, and even I know how hard it is to get an answer out of him. He wouldn’t say anything! But if he’s going on a date, then I want to know with who.”

“Why do you care so much? He’s not your teacher.”

“Because,” Ino barked, her hands balled into fists, “he came into my shop and bought my flowers! Nobody gets to do that and refuse to tell me what they’re for! I could care less if Kakashi-sensei is dating somebody! I just gotta know who the flowers are for!”

“Well, then, what do you suppose we do?” Sakura frowned. “Do you know how hard it is to tail Kakashi-sensei? Or to figure out what he’s doing? We’ve tried before and we’ve failed - miserably. He’ll know we’re onto him the moment we start. In fact, he probably already suspects that we’re gonna try to see what he’s doing!”

“I don’t care,” Ino said defiantly. “I’m doing this, with or without you.”

Sakura sighed heavily and looked back towards the front windows. The evening sun glinted off of them, sending a rainbow of colors onto the floor. The smell of water and flowers mingled in the hot air and fertilizer crunched under her sandals. It had been a rather dreary weekend, and this could hone her skills as a ninja. Besides, she too was curious as to why Kakashi was buying flowers. And if they were for someone, she definitely wanted to know who.

“Fine,” she said, turning to face Ino. “I’ll help you. But on one condition!”

“What’s that?”

“If we find out who Kakashi-sensei is taking those flowers to, you have to give me a free dozen daffodils to give to Sasuke!”

Ino felt a headache forming above her right eye and she grumbled, “What’s with this shop and losing daffodils? Ugh! Fine! You have a deal!” Ino stuck out her hand and Sakura took it, shaking it firmly. Then the two hurried off to see if they could catch up to Kakashi before his date was over.