#we both literally ate 3 in the car then another a couple hours later

[thefreckledgymrat]

WE GOT OUR BURGER Y'ALL

[hedgehog-moss]

I’ve been having a bit of a hay shortage lately—January was very cold and snowy so the animals ate a lot, plus I have an extra mouth to feed this year, and I hadn’t realised Poldine would eat so much in her first year! Next summer I’ll make sure to buy enough hay for 4 animals rather than 3 and a half.

In the meantime I’ve been offering various hay substitutes, such as brambles, or my Christmas tree. It was waiting on the pile of green waste I intend to burn in early spring, until I remembered seeing someone’s ad in the local paper that went “if you want to recycle your Christmas trees, give them to me, my goats will love them!” I figured well, llamas are tall goats, maybe they’ll enjoy a bit of Christmas tree, and they did !

(Baby Poldine is always very circumspect about new foods, but she did end up tasting it.)

Pirlouit was also pleased with this unexpected breakfast. They all took turns nibbling at the tree until only the trunk was left :)

Still, I was trying to contact nearby farmers to ask if they have some hay to spare (it’s not that I’ve run out, I just want to be prepared in case of another cold spell), and I also moved the animals to my other pasture down the road, as there’s still some dry grass there. It’s not well-fenced though, and I wasn’t very confident in this pasture’s ability to contain Pampe, but I figured—there’s no grass to be found in any nearby pasture, so why would she try to leave this one?

(Because Pampe.)

I left the llamas & donkey frolicking in this exciting new place (Poldine looked enchanted to explore a new pasture, she was bounding around like a baby goat!), and I went skiing today, as a (late) birthday gift to myself. The skiing station is just half an hour away and this has become a very anticipated birthday ritual since I moved here! This year I waited until I had found some way to keep the animals busy before taking a day off, so there would be no llama leaks in my absence.

So of course I got a text from a neighbour in the afternoon, telling me my llamas had been spotted on the road, going towards the village. (“Pampe looked determined. She was going to the grocery shop to get muesli.”) (Pampe is so famous, people even know her favourite snacks 😭)

Since I was literally on a ski slope I decided to turn my conscience off and pretend I hadn’t seen the text. I thought, if the llamas do end up in the village I’ll get more texts updating me on their position and I’ll be a responsible llama owner and go home (promise), but they’ll probably get off the road and into the woods somewhere between my house and the village and they’ll spend the afternoon eating communal shrubs and they’ll be fine.

When I went home a few hours later, I found my donkey alone in the pasture where I’d left him in the morning—we both had to wrestle with a moral dilemma today, and Pirlouit’s was “do I loyally follow my friends and potentially starve to death, or do I stay by myself in this place with very adequate dry grass to munch on?” He really hates being alone, yet he chose food over friendship.

I brought Pirou back to his normal pasture (he wouldn’t have liked to find himself alone after sunset) and went looking for the girls. I’d had a neighbour on the phone who had talked to someone who’d talked to someone who had seen the llamas and had “shooed them in the general direction of your house.” That was some very helpful shooing, because I found them just a couple of kilometres away, and indeed going in the right direction.

Pampelune leading the way, determined to go home before night; Pampérigouste last, internally grumbling that it was still early and they could have explored the world some more.

I usually jog with the llamas when I bring them home so we don’t spend too much time in the middle of the road, but there aren’t many cars when the road is icy and also after a day of skiing, you don’t really feel like jogging a few km at a brisk pace in heavy snow boots. So we went home in a slow and solemn procession.

I called the people who had told me about the llamas’ whereabouts to thank them, and explained that this escape was the result of a failed attempt to move the animals to my poorly-fenced second pasture because I don’t have a lot of hay left—and one of them told me he could spare a bale and he’d bring it to me tomorrow!

“So I’ve done everyone a favour” (is probably Pampe’s conclusion.)

I gave them hay as I figured they hadn’t had time to graze much in the other pasture, but only Pampe was hungry. Well, Pirlouit is always hungry, but Pampe indignantly rebuffed him. “You chose food over adventure. You don’t get to eat the food I’m getting as a reward for a successful adventure.”

Pirlouit is completely resigned to the fundamental unfairness of a dutiful donkey’s life.

[chubbology]

Overindulged

prompt: feeder boyfriend quits his job and balloons as fat as his feedee/feeder girlfriend

He drove his sleek BMW up his driveway and into the middle garage just as dusk settled into night. He’d stayed overtime at work again, and to make it up to his girlfriend, three dozen fresh assorted donuts sat in the passenger seat.

Sure enough, immediately upon opening the back door with his stack of boxes, he heard her voice: “Late.”

“It’s the end of the month,” he said. “What do you expect? Brought you something though, so don’t be mad. Come in here.”

He set the boxes down on the granite island, then waited, sucking in a breath. His pupils dilated as his favorite person in the world waddled through the wide archway leading into the kitchen. After giving him a pout, she pulled the boxes toward her with arms that hung, at their heaviest, over half a foot with fat.

She was a beautiful, enormous woman. He had met her on a plane three years ago on a business trip to Paris. She’d pulled him into conversation like a warm whirlpool, and he’d listened in awe to her life story: miserable wife of a banker to a happily divorced entrepreneur, flying first class on her own dime.

With a smug, knowing smile, she talked about how she used to be skinny for her ex’s sake and now was free. He couldn’t help but let his gaze roam over her blatantly overweight body. Thighs pressing firm on either armrest of the wide seat, bust prominent and heavy, belly button deep and visible through her dress.

Bad news is, she’d concluded, I just settled a messy lawsuit that lost me my career and nearly bankrupted me. But she shrugged, as if such was life. I’m taking my last-hurrah vacation until I have no choice but to eat tiny, unsatisfying meals again.

He decided that couldn’t come to pass, so he spent as much time with her outside his business obligations as he could, taking her to meal after meal, falling in love as she ate to her heart’s content and shamelessly talked about how she’d rather fallen in love with gaining weight. It titillated and empowered her. By the end of their two week stay in Paris, she was twelve pounds bigger and he had invited her to live with him for a while as she looked for a new career path. She accepted.

Three years later, she’d found her calling without having to leave his luxurious, spacious home. Doing what she loved.

She was almost four hundred and fifty pounds now, last he was updated. She always wore leggings that clung to every lump and bulge of cellulite, and she liked to tease him by wearing crop tops, letting her massive belly and side rolls hang out and wobble as they pleased.

He watched with soft eyes as she stuffed herself with four jelly-filled doughnuts. Between bites she said, “These long hours at your soulless job are no good. My fans want to see more of you.” More eating. “The last time you fed me on camera was weeks ago!”

She gave him an imploring look as she ate a fifth doughnut. Boston creme. Her face, once conventionally pretty, now had a sexy overindulged look. She’d lost her jawline to additional chins and neck fat, and her round, fatty cheeks quivered as she chewed. Even before she finished the fifth doughnut, she picked up a sixth. “And don’t think they haven’t noticed that little tummy you have now.”

“What?” He looked down at himself, blushing at how his tie sat out a bit on slightly stretched white buttons.

Before he could say anything, she pushed a chocolate doughnut in his hand. “I know people willing to pay a pretty petty to see you chunk out.” She smirked. “Pop a couple of those buttons.”

He laughed dismissively, but as he ate the doughnut, he contemplated the press of his new chub against his shirt. His pants felt a little tight in the ass, too, now that he thought about it. What if? he thought.

Suddenly, he found himself admitting: “I’ve been thinking of quitting.”

Her eyebrows rose.

“I want to spend more time with you,” he explained. He hadn’t meant to talk about it now, but here he was. Out of nervousness, he pulled one of the boxes toward himself and picked another doughnut, this one caving in under its sprinkles. He took a heavenly bite. “I have plenty of money saved and invested to take care of both of us for a long time. I just don’t see why I…”

She waddled over to his side of the island and took his free hand. “You know I’d support you.” Then she pulled him closer, into a smiling kiss. “I’ll support you real good.”

*

Before his two week notice even ended, he was eight pounds heavier, and he relished how his coworkers’ eyes lingered on his burgeoning waistline. Soon, his tummy was pushing over his pants. His chest felt thicker. He felt his ass spread wider when he sat down. He ate desserts all the time, and his girlfriend lavished him with attention (food) at every opportunity when he was home, encouraging him to eat in amounts he’d never let himself eat before. She started filming - with his consent, as always - the development of his chubbing up. Her fans loved him even more than they already did, compliments coming in faster than he could read them.

One month into being an unemployed man, she stuffed him on camera until one of his shirt buttons popped off. The experience was more of a revelation for him than even becoming officially overweight; that night, after she went to sleep, he got out of bed, squeezed into an old pair of slacks that barely fit him, then gorged himself in the kitchen until he gasped at the relief of his ass seam tearing open, unable to accommodate his butt, which everyone online said was growing gorgeously fat. His heart fluttered just thinking about it, and he hoped his ass kept growing.

It did.

“I admit, I never thought you’d be this much of a pear,” his girlfriend told him, six months into his steady ballooning. They were admiring his progress in the large bathroom mirror. He may have looked small relative to his partner’s morbid obesity, but somehow, they were both more fascinated with his growth at the moment. She outlined his bottom heavy figure with her hands. Fat had indeed stored most eagerly in his ass, thighs, and hips. His belly drooped soft and wide.

“I love it,” she said. “Love everything about you.” But then something else came into her expression. “Except how you’ve stopped picking up after yourself.”

He swallowed, and said honestly, “Sorry. I know I’m getting lazier.”

“We’ll have to hire a maid.” She grinned wickedly. “Or do two pigs deserve to roll in their sty?”

*

A year into living on his passive income and her subscribers, the couple had not yet hired any cleaning services, and his country club house was...well. Not trashed, but messy and disorganized. She blamed the five pounds she’d lost over the past month on having to constantly throw his trash away. She punished him by making him stand while drinking a whole liter of full-sugar soda. Since he’d developed a strong distaste for any physical effort as he sunk deeper into obesity, he grumbled the whole time. When he finally fell back on the couch, she sat too. Together, they took up most of it. But while she looked perfectly composed, he was panting raggedly, slightly sweaty, a food stain on his pants.

“Look.” She reached out and held his chubby wrist. “I can tell that the fatter you get, the more your natural inclination is to be a pig.” She spoke with total matter-of-factness. As if the emergence of his inner pig was unsurprising and inevitable. “It’s not uncommon in men - that urge to oink and eat as a way of life. But we share this space. I help pay off this house. Please throw away your take out containers.”

Then she added, at his long-suffering sigh, “I’ll reward you.”

He met her gaze. “Tonight?”

“Tonight.”

*

This time, there were no cameras. There was just her, sitting on one side of their king bed and him on the other, breathing heavy, taking her reward one bite at a time.

Everywhere in their bed were containers and packages and napkins and soda bottles. He had eaten mexican and noodles and burgers and fries. He’d eaten candy bars and sundaes and milkshakes and chunky cookies. He was so full he could feel the skin of his belly stretching. He could practically feel the skin of his thighs stretching, as if they were filling up heavier with fat right then, as he was determinedly overfed. He swallowed another bite of greasy cheeseburger.

“Keep going. I can tell you're slowing down, but I’ll have none of that yet. I want to see progress from you.”

“I don’t know…”

“Do you want to feel the ecstasy of squeezing through a doorframe or are you going to plateau at being just fat?”

He let out a breathy moan as he ate another bite of the cheeseburger. His girlfriend knew him too well. She knew he liked the new challenges being big was causing him. She knew it turned him on that he sat so much fatter in his own car, belly pressing against everything, ass barely fitting at all. She knew his hands had begun cupping his hips as a half-unconscious habit, admiring his own width.

He liked how his thighs had to push past each other, jiggling every time. He even liked when he accidentally bumped into things, because it was a hot reminder that he wasn’t the same. He was like her now. He was fat. He was a pig. He wanted to eat and get so big he could barely even waddle. He wanted to squeeze through doorways. He wanted to get stuck.

“I want everything,” he said. And she smiled, temporarily pleased.

*

Thank you to the reader who commissioned this work!

I'd love to write more. Check me out <3 etsy.com/shop/Chubbology

[alltooreid]

Clean

As Spencer struggles to overcome his dilaudid addiction, Y/N is dealing with an addiction of her own, to her toxic, manipulative boyfriend. This is an account of a full year, following their joint journeys to sobriety and new love.

A/N: Hi!! I have another Taylor Swift inspired Spencer Reid one shot (but of course you do not need to know the song to understand the one shot). Although originally I was going to write something more fluffy, I switched to this song to write something more angsty and interesting. However, to change pace from my last one shot, this one has a much happier, hopeful ending. However, it is very triggering so please read the trigger warnings before you start. Also, if you have any songs you want to read please let me know!! Also, if you just have a general request please send it my way! Thank you so much for the love on my All Too Well one shot, I never thought my first fanfic on here would be so well received!

Pairing: Spencer Reid x Reader

Type: Angst, but hopeful angst

Word Count: 7.6K

Content Warnings: Cursing, mentally and physically abusive relationship, relationship cheating (ie, reader is being cheated on), blood and cuts description, drug addiction (these parts are kept short purposefully), lots of fighting and yelling both in reader’s relationship and between Spencer and reader, however, there is a happy and hopeful ending. Reader is struggling to get out of her toxic relationship, please no comments about her being stupid. If you are in a situation like Y/N, please don’t use this fic as a guide. Get help immediately. https://www.thehotline.org/

Things to Know: Italics and bold are flashback moments, the time and date headers serve as time skips :) let me know what you think! Please request any songs you would like to see be made one shots!

“You're still all over me Like a wine-stained dress I can't wear anymore Hung my head as I lost the war And the sky turned black like a perfect storm”

3:27 AM, April 16th, 2007.

You have known Spencer for a long time. In fact, you’ve known him longer than you’ve known Randall, and you’ve felt like you’ve known Randall your entire life.

Maybe that’s because you let him become your entire life.

Still, although you had known Spencer for 7 years, 2 years longer than the entirety of your on again, off again relationship with Randall. You still felt weird calling him. He was going through a lot right now, not that he wasn’t normally. Spencer had one of the most difficult jobs you could think of. You know Spencer has shot and killed people before, and you know every time he did it ate him up inside.

And every time he did he called you.

You also knew that Spencer is one of the kindest people you have ever met, you struggle to imagine him wielding a gun on a daily basis. He just seems too sweet, too perfect.

Yet there was a lot you didn’t know about the young genius.

You have no idea that as you stand in the street, contemplating whether you should call Spencer to come and get you, Spencer is making a difficult decision of his own. As you worry about the possibility of waking Spencer up this early in the morning, Spencer sits wide awake and ponders if he has enough time to get high before he has to leave for work in 3 hours.

As you sit on the side of the road, debating between your very few options, Spencer leads up against the side of his bathtub tears pouring down his cheeks, tears that he doesn’t even register as being there.

Fortunately for the both of you, at the same time Spencer reaches into his bag to search for that tiny glass bottle, his phone begins to ring.

“Y/N? Are you okay?”

You sigh, “He kicked me out again Spencer, is there anyway you can come get me?”

Spencer looks around his apartment, frantically hiding the belt and the needles he had gotten out for the events he was anticipating. “Yeah, of course I can come get you, um, just give me a couple minutes and send me your location.”

3:52 AM, April 16th, 2007.

You’re in the passenger’s seat of Spencer’s car, both of you sitting in silence. This situation isn’t new to either of you, Spencer has picked you up plenty of times before, in fact he’s done it for years now. One time, about 3 years into your relationship with Randall, you were permitted to go out by yourself with Spencer’s team, they wanted to meet you, apparently Spencer talked about you all the time. While you were at dinner with them, Morgan asked you if you had a car of your own. You explained that you did, but that your boyfriend had it a majority of the time, and that when he didn’t he hated you using it because you always had to mess with everything. He hates you touching his stuff. Morgan made a weird face about that answer, so you quickly followed up, explaining that you didn’t mind.

You do mind though. You hate how he never lets you touch anything or go anywhere, and you hate how much he despises your only form of transportation.

Spencer.

Randall hates everything about Spencer Reid, and he especially hates seeing his car pull into your driveway. That’s why after the 8th time he kicked you out, you started walking half a mile to the nearest gas station before calling Spencer.

The first time Spencer came to get you Randall came out to talk to you before you left.

“What are you doing? Who is this?”

“It’s Spencer, he’s gonna take me to his apartment.” you explained, confused why Randall was so angry you were leaving when he was the one who had kicked you out.

“Oh so just because I don’t want to look at your bitchass all night that means you can go sleep with another man? I knew you were a whore Y/N. You know him and his stupid fucking car aren’t going to be able to deal with you the way I can. How old is that thing anyway?”

“Randall, calm down, I’m not sleeping with Spencer. I love you, I don’t want to sleep with anyone else. But I’m not gonna sit out here all night, where else should I go?”

“Well maybe if you weren’t so quick to whore yourself out to the easiest man you could find I would invite you back inside,” he said before slamming the door in your face.

So you got in Spencer’s car, the one Randall would grow to hate so much.

“Are you okay Y/N? He didn’t hit you did he? You know you can come live with me, you should really get out of that house, I can get Morgan tomorrow and we can go get your belongings. I have plenty of-”

You snapped at him, “No Spencer he’s not hitting me! Why do you always jump to that conclusion, Randall is a great guy! I would’ve never called you if you were going to jump to conclusions like this. You’re supposed to be a genius, yet you’re acting like such a dumb ass right now.”

Spencer looked at you, and immediately you regretted your words. You knew Spencer was just worried about you and with his line of work he had reason to be. However before you could apologize he spoke again.

“I’m sorry Y/N, forget I said anything.”

You both sat in silence for a few moments before you even knew what to say, and yet all you could think of was, “Hey Spence, what kind of car do you drive?”

He smiled, “It’s a 1965 Volvo Amazon P130 122S, it’s horizon blue, that’s the color they refer to it as. Did you know they’re known as so reliable that the 4 door models are still used as police vehicles in some places. This one’s a two door, but still runs great. . . “

You smiled, how fitting a man as reliable as Spencer Reid had the perfect car to match.

When you get to Spencer’s apartment something seems off. Spencer has always lived in organized chaos, but this just feels different. Unlike his normal mess, this one feels like a blatant disregard for his things, even some of his most prized possessions. His books are strewn across the floors, his clothes overflowing from his laundry basket, which was a mix of both folded, clean, yet to be put away things and worn items. Weirdly, the one place that looks untouched is his kitchen, as if he hasn’t used it in months. And you mean that in the most literal interpretation, his counters are covered in visible, undisturbed dust.

“Thank you so much Spencer, I don’t know what I would do without you.”

He smiles, but his eyes look so tired. “Don’t worry about it Y/N.”

And at 4:47, you finally fall asleep in Spencer’s bedroom, which he insists you take, and he stays awake until he leaves for work just a few hours later.

9:33 PM, April 17th, 2007.

You leave Spencer’s apartment the following night, after an unfortunate screaming match with him. You have never seen him so angry, so easily ticked off. Yet as soon as Randall called you Spencer became aggressive.

“Yeah babe, I’ll be home as soon as I can. I’ll take a cab and be home within the hour. Of course I’m not mad at you sweetheart, I know you didn’t mean it. I love you, see you soon.”

Spencer exitted his kitchen in a huff, and opened his mouth to start talking before you spoke up.

“I’m sure you’ve overheard already, but Randall’s letting me back in the house. Thank you so much Spence. I really appreciate everything you do to help me. Call me soon please, I definitely owe you lunch,” you said, grabbing your coat and your phone, the only things you had managed to grab from your home before your unplanned eviction.

“Why do you even stay with him Y/N? Why do you keep going back there?” Spencer yelled. You had never seen him like this before, so livid and irritable.

“I love him Spence, and he loves me,” you explained, and you were telling the truth. You do love Randall, and you know that in his heart he loves you too, even if he got a little angry sometimes.

“If he loved you he wouldn’t treat you like this Y/N! Don’t you think I would know? I see this everyday! It’s my job! And yet my best friend is too stupid to realize she’s been in an abusive relationship for almost 6 years!”

You were just as angry now, “You’re wrong Spencer, I don’t wanna hear this okay? I love Randall and he loves me. We deserve each other.”

Spencer’s face softened before growing angry once more, “You have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Fuck you Spencer, I’m going home. I don’t need you and I don't need your help,” you said, grabbing your things and slamming the door open. You were lying, you need Spencer and you need his help more than anything, but you didn’t want to admit that while he was being such a dick.

“Fine!” he yelled, “Go run back to him then, but you better not call me when he kicks you out again. I don’t care anymore!”

And so you left, Spencer slammed the door behind you as you stormed out of his apartment. You didn’t stop to think about the fact that Spencer never acts like this. He has never lashed out at you, never questioned your relationship with Randall to your face, let alone scream at you and insult you because of it. You didn’t stop and think about what Spencer was on, or not on, that was making his act like this.

But you thought about it now.

You want to get home before Randall starts to get upset and suspicious, but now after your fight with Spencer you have to walk home. You couldn’t ask him to borrow cash for a cab, let alone ask him to drive you there. You were stuck walking, which also meant you were stuck with Randall’s wrath when you returned.

You already feel terrible about the way you treated Spencer. You think about going to apologize, and stand in front of the door for a second, weighing the pros and cons of doing so. Eventually, you go to turn away, ultimately deciding that you both needed to calm down before speaking to each other again.

Yet as you turn, the door opens. Spencer stands right there, strangely calm, seemingly out of it. All fury and anger you had seen just minutes before gone. In this moment he resembles Randall, and it's the first time you’ve ever been able to draw any comparison to the two.

It’s scary.

“Spencer I-” but you get cut off, not by words, but by an object. Before you can even register what was just thrown in your face the door is closed again. You duck down to grab what was thrown.

Twenty dollars.

For the cab ride home.

1:34 AM, April 23rd, 2007.

You light the final candle on your dining room table, before stepping back to admire your work. Randall always came home so late from work, so you rarely ate dinner together. But today was your anniversary, so you stayed up late, prepared his favorite meal and set up all of your fancy dinnerware so that you could have a very late dinner together before he goes to bed and you go to work. He should be home any minute now.

Yet 3 hours later Randall is not back. You’re just about to cut your losses and call it a night, and start to clean up the melted down candles and cold steak dinner as you hear your front door open.

“Y/N! What are you doing still awake?”

“Do you know what day it is Randall? Because I do.”

He looks down at his watch, checks the time, and looks back up at you, “Well it is now 3:57 AM, meaning it is now Monday. Which is why I’m curious as to what you’re still doing up sweetheart, you have to be at work in 3 hours.” “There’s something special about THIS Monday Randall,” you sigh, you’re disappointed but not surprised, this has happened for the past 3 years.

“Do you have a project going on at work baby? You know I can’t keep track of all that crap, your job is so silly and easy to lose track of. You have to remind me of these things if you actually want me to care about them.”

“It’s our anniversary Randall.”

He stops, but instead of looking guilty or remorseful (like you secretly hoped), he gets livid, “No it’s not, are you stupid or something?”

“Randall, baby it’s okay, it’s not a big deal.”

“No! You stupid fucking bitch, are you trying to make me look bad, cooking this stupid fancy dinner and staying up late. Trying to lie and act like I forgot our five year anniversary?! Stop playing the victim Y/N. So tell me, are you lying to make me feel bad, or is your brain really that fucking empty?”

“It’s our six year anniversary,” you whisper.

“What did you just say?”

“I said I was just being stupid Randall. You’re right baby, I forgot the date of our anniversary.”

He snarls. “I don’t think so Y/N, I think, actually I know that not only are you stupid, but that you’re a liar. I know that you just want to make me look bad by preparing our anniversary dinner a week early. And you have to push it by claiming we’ve been together for six years. I know it’s five. I’m not stupid.”

“I’m sorry, babe,” you cry.

“NO YOU’RE NOT!” he yells, pushing his plate of steak and mashed potatoes, letting your parent’s wedding china shatter on the ground. You cry harder. “You’re a stupid, waste of my time Y/N. Five wasted years I’ve spent on you. Do you know why I do it, huh. Do you know why I stay with you when I could have one of the beautiful, rich, successful, truthful women I’m fucking?”

You shake your head.

“It’s because I feel pity for you. No other man would want you. I’m the only one that will ever love you. You know that right Y/N?” He picks up a piece of your hair, gently tucking it behind your ear. “Tell me that I’m the only one who will love you, you know it’s the truth right?” You nod your head. In a swift motion Randall turns, grabs a glass full of red wine and chucks it at the wall, narrowly avoiding your left ear.

“I WANT TO HEAR YOU SAY IT.”

“You’re the only one who will ever love me Randall,” you croak out in between sobs.

He closes the distance between you two once more, gripping your chin and jerking your face so that your eyes meant his. It hurts, and makes you cry more, but you don’t say anything.

“Don’t you know it sweetness,” he lets go, delivers a sharp slap to your check and grips your wrist. “Now clean your mess up, and then I think it’s best if you get out of the house for a little bit, don’t you agree?”

You nod quickly. He smiles.

“Good girl, now I would normally be worried about you going to hook up with that string bean you’re always all over, but according to the last time I went through your phone, he isn’t in your recent calls. Glad to know he’s finally done with your bullshit. I’m sure a nice long walk alone will do you good. You can think about what led you to lying tonight, and then maybe you can come back in time for our real anniversary.”

He slips upstairs, so you clean up the rest of the uneaten meal and the broken wine class, cutting up your hands severely in the process. You spend at least an hour in a futile attempt to get red wine stains off of your wallpaper, before grabbing your phone and purse and running out the door.

Even after what Randall says, you still think about calling Spencer. Your thumb hovers over the call button for a minute until you switch the contact, phoning your boss instead. You inform her you need a personal day, and that it’s a family emergency.

You check the time, 6:53. Spencer is almost definitely on his way to work right now. You want to call him so bad, but the things he said you ring through your mind. You can’t ask for his help anymore.

For the first time, you are truly on your own.

Until a familiar horizon blue Volvo pulls up next to the curb you’re sitting on, and Spencer Reid sticks his head out the window.

“Y/N? What are you doing here? Get it the car, come on I’ll drive you to work with me.”

Confused as you are, this is your best option right now. So you climb into the passenger seat of his car, refusing to make eye contact with him, instead looking at your bleeding hands. “Oh my god, Y/N. You’re bleeding. Did Randall do this to you? Why didn’t you call me?”

“No, Spencer, Randall didn’t do this to me. He dropped a wine glass and I helped him pick it up. Now just drive.” And he does, drive that is. But you can feel his stares, on your cut up hands, and you forming bruises. You can feel him profiling the signs of abuse on your body.

But more than that you hate that you can feel he’s upset with you. Upset because you didn’t call him. Does he not remember screaming at you not too?

He pulls into the parking lot, parks the car and finally turns to make eye contact with you. He has tears in his, “I really wish you would’ve called me Y/N. If it’s getting this bad I want you to stay with me.”

“Spencer am I going insane?”

“Of course not, what do you mean?” he looks so gentle, so kind and you’re so confused.

“Do you remember what day me and Randall started dating?”

“Yes, it was April 23rd, 2001. 6 years ago today actually. Is that why he did this to you? Does it have anything to do with that?”

“How can you remember that but not our screaming match a week ago?” you laughed, your hands burned now, there’s definitely glass in there, you swear you can feel the tiny little shards in your blood.

“What do you mean, Y/N? We didn’t scream at each other? I haven’t even seen you in weeks. How long has he been hitting you? Why didn’t you call me sooner?”

“Spencer, on the 16th you picked me up and took me back to your apartment because Randall kicked me out. On the evening of the 17th I went to leave because Randall told me I could come home. You said I was being abused and called me stupid for going back to him. When we fought about it I stormed out and you told me not to call you if he kicked me out again because you didn’t care anymore. That’s why I didn’t call you.”

You look up at Spencer, and nearly start crying yourself when you see his crumpled face. Tears are freely spilling down his cheeks.

“I’m so sorry Y/N. I don’t remember that,” he pushes his long hair out of his face, clearly frazzled, “I- I can’t believe I don’t remember that.”

Before you can say anything, Spencer pulls out his phone. “Hey Hotch, it’s me. I can’t come in today. I need to use a personal day. . . I’ll tell you later. Okay, thank you” He angrily pulls out of the parking lot, and you can tell he’s headed back to his apartment.

“Spencer it’s okay, I’m not upset with you.”

“No Y/N, it’s not okay. I said all those terrible things to you, of course you were scared to call me after them. The worst part is I was too high to even remember it all. I- I just can’t believe I helped him do this to you,” tears still freely flowing down his face.

“Spencer what are you talking about? I was with you all day, you weren’t high. You don’t even drink, how could you be high?”

He sighs, “do you remember when I was kidnapped by that unsub, Tobias Hankel? About 2 months ago?” You nod, encouraging him to continue. “Well, I told you about his multiple personalities, how one beat me to death and then Tobias resurrected me, how  I had to kill Tobias in order to survive, even though Tobias himself did nothing to me. Well when I was in the barn, Tobias would give me drugs, dilaudid, in order to cut the pain of his other personalities’ abuse. When I killed him, I took the drugs he had one him with me, and I can’t stop Y/N. It’s affecting my life, my work, and now it’s affecting you.” He parks his car in his apartment complex’s lot and turns to look at you. “Hotch has never said anything about it, so even though the team knows I have no reason to quit, I think I do now. Y/N, I think we need to get clean together.”

Suddenly that night made sense, Spencer was irritable and strange, he wasn’t high, he was going through withdrawal. But when he threw the money at you, so loopy and out of it, he was on it. He was so high he didn’t remember the moments before.

“Spencer, I don't know what to say. I want to help you get sober, I want that more than anything, but I’m not addicted to drugs, I rarely even drink.”

“I know Y/N, you don’t have a drug problem like me, but you are an addict. You need to leave Randall. You know it, I know it, but you can’t.” You open your mouth to defend yourself, but Spencer continues to speak, “It’s okay, I understand why. But we both need to quit, and I think it’s best if we do it together.”

“Well how are we supposed to do that,” you whisper.

“Come on, let’s get started,” you and Spencer exit his car, he loops your hands together, leading you up to his apartment. When you get there, he digs through his messenger bag and grabs a couple of tiny glass bottles and a syringe. He throws them into his garbage can, and turns to look at you.

“Pull out your phone.”

“What? Why?”

“We’re going to block Randall’s number.”

You want to fight him on it, but you know he’s right. You need to leave Randall, and now’s as good of a time as any. Yet, you can’t forget the things he’s said to you. “I can’t Spencer, he’s my boyfriend, he loves me.”

“Y/N, please, please do this with me.” You shake your head, he sighs. “Okay, I get it, this is going to take time. Just, um, stay with me for a couple days. Please. We can go get your stuff tomorrow night.”

You think about rejecting Spencer’s offer, but you really don’t want to go back there. More than anything, you want to stay right here. You try to tell yourself it’s because you’re worried about Spencer, but deep down you know it’s more than that. So you nod, and Spencer wraps you in a hug, burying his head into your shoulder.

“Thank you, Y/N. Now let’s go get your hands wrapped up.”

9:21 PM, May 2nd, 2007.

You’ve been staying at Spencer’s for just over a week now. You haven’t seen Randall since your anniversary, and Spencer hasn’t taken dilaudid while you’ve been here. Things are going well. You’re watching a lot of bad reality TV, and Spencer has gone through about 7 packs of Gatorade, but you’re both doing okay.

Now you were just waiting for him to come back from his case in Idaho, you knew this one was pretty bad. They were searching for a woman in the middle of a huge forest, as she was being hunted and chased down. Spencer called you right before getting on the jet, and told you he would be home soon, so now you were just waiting for him.

While doing so however, you found something. A lump on Spencer’s side of the mattress. Under it, were two small glass bottles and a syringe. The same ones you had seen Spencer throw into the garbage days prior.

Now you need to talk to Spencer, so you sit on his couch, and wait for him to come home. When he comes through the door, he immediately sees you and smiles. “Y/N! I’ve missed you.” He hugs you, and for a second you forget why you’re even mad at him in the first place.

“Spencer, I need to talk to you. I found your bottles.” The mood in the room instantly shifts, but you don’t care, you need to get your words out. “You told me you were quitting, I watched you throw them away.”

He brushes his hairs through his hair, and begins to mess with his hands. “I am quitting Y/N, I haven't taken any, but. . .  I just need them to be there.”

“Spencer, please, throw them away. I’m trying to help you here.” Suddenly he grows very angry, and you can tell you said the wrong thing.

“Well I’m trying too. To me it seems the only one not trying is you.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“I mean, you still haven’t blocked Randall, he still calls all the time! Why do I have to throw my addiction away if you can’t even do the same to yours?”

“That's not fair.”

“How so?” he yells. “How is it that you can’t block your abusive, no good piece of shit boyfriend but I have to throw away the things I enjoy? That doesn’t feel like trying to me.”

“I’m not addicted to Randall Spencer, I just love him. I don’t want or need to quit him.”

“Oh really? Then why are you even still here? Why haven’t you answered his calls? Or gone to see him? I think you know exactly why.”

And you do. You don’t want to go back there, but what Randall says is true. He is the only one who will love you, and you’re not ready to lose that yet. You’re not ready to cut off all contact with him.

“I can leave if that’s what you want Spencer.”

His face softened, “no, that’s not what I want. That’s the last thing I want.” He stops and thinks for a moment. “If you block Randall I’ll throw away my dilaudid.”

You ponder it, “Okay.”

He breaks into a wide smile. “Really? You’ll do it?”

You smile at him.

“Yeah, I promise. I’ll block Randall.”

6:56 PM, May 30th, 2007.

You did not block Randall.

Even after watching Spencer pour out his bottles, breaking up the glass and tossing it away for a second time, you couldn’t. Even after seeing him snap his syringes in half, and feeling him kiss your forehead, after seeing how happy and excited he was for your fresh start together, you just couldn’t do it.

Spencer thought you did, and it was easy to hide the truth from him. Randall hadn’t called since then, so you and Spencer continue to spend time together, last week you celebrated one month of sobriety. You got an ice cream cake and little, silly party hats and exchanged gifts.

And it made you feel like shit.

Spencer was so happy, so proud that you had both been clean for a month, but you still couldn’t decide if you wanted to be clean at all.

You still can’t decide if you should block Randall’s number.  

You try not to think about it, instead focusing the energy into making you and Spencer virgin pina coladas, he was currently out picking up burgers from your favorite restaurant. When he returns, you were going to watch one of your crappy reality TV reruns, and then an episode of Doctor Who. It was Spencer’s idea a couple days ago, and quickly it became a regular occurrence.

Faintly over the loud whir of the blender you can hear your phone ringing. You run  quickly to go grab it, just in case Spencer needed your help with something, but your heart drops when you see the caller ID. It’s Randall, trying once again to contact you.

Your thumb hovers over the accept button, but before you can make a decision, the call times out and sends Randall to voicemail. You let out a breath and set your phone down.

But then something possesses you, and you snatch your phone and dial Randall’s number. He picks up on the 3rd ring.

“Baby, oh my god baby is that really you?”

He sounds so excited to hear from you, how could you have stayed mad at him for so long?

“Yes baby, it’s me. I’m sorry I haven’t answered your calls at all. I’ve been busy.”

“Don’t worry sweetness, I’m so so sorry for the things I said to you, I need you to come home. You missed our anniversary you know? But it’s okay! We can celebrate now! I got you a really beautiful gift, one we can definitely experiment with tonight.” You could hear his smirk over the phone.

“I’m not sure if I’m ready to come back right now, maybe later baby, but not right now.”

You hear his breathing pick up, and tense. You can tell he’s getting agitated. He wasn’t expecting you to answer like that, you always come home as soon as he tells you you can come back. “What do you mean? You’re being ridiculous, I want to see my girlfriend. I’m sure you want to get off of the streets too, you’ve been squatting for over a month now.”

“I’m not squatting Randall, I’m living with Spencer.”

“What!?” he yells. “I thought I told you not to stay with him. I hate that guy, you know that.”

“Would you rather me be on the streets Randall? Spencer’s a great guy, and I want to stay here.”

“Frankly, yes I would. But don’t worry, you can still come home. Just send me the prick’s address and I’ll come pick you up. We can enjoy tonight together.”

“No.”

“No?”

“I’m not going to send you Spencer’s address. I’m staying here. I don’t want to see you anymore. Leave me alone Randall. I’m done.”

Before he could say anything, you hung up. As you did so you heard the front door open, and Spencer made his way to the bedroom.

“Hey! I got burgers! Ready to eat?” he looks down to see your phone still resting in your hand, stuck on the phone app. “Who were you talking to?”

“Just an old friend,” you say.

“Think you’ll be talking to them again anytime soon?” you can tell he knows, and you’re surprised he isn’t lashing out at you. You’re so used to how Randall reacts when you go against his wishes, Spencer’s calm, understanding presence is like a breath of fresh air.

“No, I think I’m ready to leave them behind,” you smile at each other. “I’ll meet you in the kitchen in a sec okay?”

He nods, and goes to set up the food and TV.

It takes you seven seconds to block Randall.

1:12 AM, June 10th, 2007.

You haven’t gone out with your coworkers in months, you forgot how good it feels to just be present with people. You didn’t even drink tonight, wanting to remember every second of this time out with friends. You were beaming when you unlocked the front door.

Yet your smile slips when you enter what had become you and Spencer’s shared bedroom.

He isn’t there.

You pull out your phone to call him when you hear a thud coming from the bathroom door. You hesitate, scared of what you know you’ll likely find. When you finally throw the door open you’re already teary eyed, and these sobs escalate as soon as you see Spencer, tipped over, lying on the bathroom floor, the needle still sticking out of his arm.

You’re sobbing as you rip it out, hastily undoing the belt wrapped around his upper forearm. He looks up, even in his groggy haze you can see the guilty look in his eyes when they made contact with yours.

“Y/N. . . I- I’m so sorry. I don’t know what came over me but I just couldn’t stop myself . . . I-”

“Shhh, It’s okay, just breathe,” you whisper through your tears. “It’s going to be okay Spencer, I’m here, and it’s going to be okay. I’m staying right here.” You pull his head into your lap, stroking your shaking hands through his hair.

His head begins to shake, and you can feel his tears on your dress. You rest your head on his, and for a few seconds you just sit there, crying together.

“You’re going to be okay Spencer.”

8:09 AM, June 11th, 2007.

Your head is buried in his chest, you need to be able to hear him breathe. You need to hear his heart beating. You need to be as close to him as possible right now. He stirs as he wakes up, and wraps his arms around you. 

“I’m so sorry Y/N.”

“Don’t apologize Spencer, this is a part of recovery okay? You’re still in recovery, just because you relapsed doesn’t mean we have to start over. You’re so much stronger than you were before. So much braver. So much better. You can do this.”

He smiles at you, “thank you, thank you so much.”

“Of course, now withdrawal is going to be even harder this time. I’m going to the store. We’re going to need plenty of Gatorade and water. We have to flush everything out of your system. Do you mind if I take your car to the store?”

He beams, even in his groggy state he manages to look so perfect, “You know my car is always yours to use Y/N.”

“I’ll be back soon okay? Don’t move a muscle,” you grab his keys and head out the door. And you really do mean it, you fully intend this to be the shortest grocery trip of your life. You’re terrified of leaving Spencer alone long enough to get high again, even though you spent all day yesterday searching for drugs and throwing anything you found in the garbage, taking it out the main apartment dumpster that night. 

You get to the store, grab everything you need, 3 packs of blue Gatorade, 6 cases of water bottles, and the store’s entire stock of Jell-O and rush back to Spencer’s car. You were only in the store for 17 minutes, the majority of which was just check-out time. You smile, thinking of how excited Spencer will be when he sees all the Jell-O in the fridge, but feel your stomach drop when you see a familiar face examining Spencer’s car.

Randall. 

Before you can decide what to do, he turns and sees you. 

“Y/N! I was expecting Spencer, but this is even sweeter. I knew I recognized this hunk of junk. Where have you been?”

“I’ve been around, I’m kind of on a tight schedule here. I really need to get going,” you say as you load up your groceries into Spencer’s trunk. 

“That’s a lot of Jell-O sweetheart, you hate Jell-O.” That’s not even true. You hate pudding, you love Jell-O.

As much as you wanted to yell at him for calling you sweetheart, you couldn’t deny that it felt good. You still missed him. Blocking him helped, but you still felt strong urges to call him sometimes. “It’s not for me, it’s for Spencer.”

“I thought I told you not to stay with him anymore.”

“What part of that conversation would make you think I would listen to you?” you say.

“You should always listen to me Y/N, I’m your boyfriend.”

“I haven’t seen you in months, we’re not dating anymore. I’m done.”

“You don’t mean that you’re just being irrational. Are you on your period? I bet that’s it. Come get breakfast with me. You probably just need chocolate, and the place down the block has incredible chocolate waffles.”

You open your mouth to reject him, but you can’t. Part of it is because you know if you do then he’ll follow you back to your apartment and the last thing you want is for him to know where you’re living right now. But the other part is much worse. A big part of you wants to let him try again. You can’t explain why, but you really want for him to redeem himself as your first love.

“Ok, you have 20 minutes, let’s go get breakfast.”

The walk there is silent and awkward. Randall grabs your hand, too tight for you to do anything about it, and keeps this grip until you sit down in your booth. 

You don’t get chocolate waffles. You really don’t even like chocolate all that much. Randall knows that, or at least you thought he did. Instead you get cinnamon french toast, and within minutes it’s at the table. 

“You know baby, Spencer doesn’t love you.” He says halfway through your french toast.

“We aren’t dating Randall.”

“Doesn’t matter, you’ve been with him in that apartment for a while now. I’m surprised he hasn’t given you the boot.”

You sit in silence, Randall takes this as a sign to continue. “We’ve been together for five years, sweetness. No one can love you the way I do. That’s just a fact. Spencer fucking Reid can not replace me, no one can replace me.”

“I hate that you’re right. I hate that I can’t breathe when I’m not with you Randall. I hate that you’re stuck to me. You’re this god awful stain on my life. I hate looking at it but no matter what I do I can’t wash it off.”

He smirks. “You’re not gonna get rid of me Y/N.” He pays the check, and gets up from the table. You go to get up too, but notice he didn’t tip your waitress, so you leave another five bucks on the table. 

When you get outside he grasps your shoulders. “I knew you would come around Y/N, I knew you would get it. Now come on, we can go collect your stuff from that prick’s apartment and get you home. I know exactly how you can make it up to me.”

You pause, “I don’t think so Randall. I’m not ready quite yet, but I promise I’ll call you.” You meant it, you had already unblocked him from your phone.

“Oh absolutely not, you’re going home with me now.”

“No I’m not.” As you were yelling at each other you notice a strangely familiar face standing nearby, just in ear shot. You can’t place him, but you know you’ve met before.

“Yes you are! We’re happy together and you’re coming to live with me again!”

“We don’t love each other, Randall! Not right now at least!” 

He’s livid, and once again you feel that scared, indescribable feeling in the pit of your stomach. “That’s not true! I’ll prove it to you.” He grabs your chin and pulls your face to his.

You feel as if water is filling your lungs, you’re drowning and no one is around to save you. Randall is physically stronger than you, you’re stuck in his grasp. It’s like you’re screaming and no one can hear you. 

And yet, this flood of emotions you’re feeling is the first time you realize something. 

You’re addicted to Randall.

You need to get out.

You need to get back to Spencer.

After what feels like minutes (but is actually about 3 seconds) of being unseen and vulnerable, you discover you’ve been protected the whole time. The man you can't place rips Randall off of you, “What’s wrong with you? Get off of her!”

It’s his voice that lets you place him. Derek Morgan, Spencer’s closest friend and coworker, punches Randall in the face. “Get out of here!”

“What the fuck is wrong with YOU? That’s my girlfriend! Sweetheart, tell him to leave us alone!”

They both turn and look at you, with tears in your eyes you look at Morgan and shake your head. “Please, get him to leave.”

And Morgan does just that, with a little yelling and a flash of his FBI badge, Randall is running for the hills.

“Come on baby girl, let’s get you back home. Did you walk here?”

You shake your head, “No, I drove Spencer’s car here.”

“Well, how bout I drive you home, and then afterwards I swing back and get Spencer’s car and drop it off?”

So you do just that. After profusely thanking Morgan, and him insisting that it was nothing, and also insisting to carry your groceries in from the car, you and Spencer are together once again. 

“I’m so sorry Spencer, I didn’t believe you before. I was going to go back to him. How could I be so stupid?”

“Don’t talk like that Y/N, you said it best yourself. Just because you relapse doesn’t mean you aren’t trying, and it most certainly doesn’t mean you’re stupid.”

“I think it’s time we get clean Spencer. Both of us, once and for all.”

“I think so too Y/N.”

He pulls you into a hug and in between sniffles you manage to choke out what you’ve been wanting to say since you got into Morgan’s car. “I love you.”

He looks at you, and the look in his eyes almost makes you cry out of pure joy. He looks so happy, as if he’s been waiting for you to say that for years. 

Maybe he has.

“I love you too.”

7:29 AM, April 16th, 2008.

You press your lips to Spencer’s, you know he has just woken up, but you know it’s a big day for him. 

You both have been sober for over ten months now. Today is the day of his first group meeting. He found Beltway Clean Cops recently, and has been so excited to go. You’re excited for him. You know how proud he is of you, and you want to show him in every way possible that you’re proud of him.

He opens his eyes and smiles up at you. “What did I deserve to get a wake up like that?”

“What kind of question is that? You’re incredible, and an incredible boyfriend deserves an incredible morning. Do you know what else he deserves?”

He hums and waits for the answer.

“An incredible breakfast! That’s why I made blueberry pancakes. Now hurry up and come eat. You should  leave soon if you want to make it to your meeting on time. Have I told you yet how incredibly proud I am of you?”

He smiles, “Only an average of 15.6 times a day since I told you I was going.”

“Well that’s not nearly enough, now come on, get up. It’s pancake time,” you say. “Oh, and Spencer?”

“Yes flower?”

“I’m so proud of you.”

He smiles, “I love you flower.”

“I love you more.”

You ate breakfast together and then forced Spencer out the door, making sure he had plenty of time to get to his meeting. You knew he would regret it if he was late. 

You weren’t going to lie to yourself, you still thought about Randall a lot. You still missed him. You still love him in a way. But now that you had Spencer, now that you were clean together, you would never risk going back to him. 

That day where you agreed to go to breakfast with him, Derek asked you if you wanted to press charges. You didn’t, you don’t regret that either.

You’re even more proud of yourself this way, because you know he’s still there, still accessible and available to you, and still didn’t run to him. You know that any trace of Randall in your future is gone. 

You know you and Spencer are finally clean.

“Ten months sober, I must admit Just because you're clean don't mean you don't miss it Ten months older I won't give in Now that I'm clean I'm never gonna risk it”

- Thank you for reading! Please reblog and let me know what you think :))

[skzfelixity]

Being A Counter | The Uncanny Counter

Just moments and life with the counters because you deserve a non-blood related family like this one💕

You were the 4th one to join the squad, if you count Cheoljung out.

Your spirit guided you to eonni’s noodles and you were more than confused.

“Do I have to work at a restaurant?”, “Oh wait- you want me to eat, how thoughtful of you!”

“Just go inside!”

Your spirit was annoyed to say the least.

“We’re closed-”

They didn’t expect to see you so soon since their own spirits informed them about a new member an hour ago.

Ms Chu welcomed you with a warm hug, Hana with a nod and Motak kept eyeing you suspiciously.

“Does your spirit need glasses?”

Ms Chu glared at Motak’s remark about your spirit picking you.

Don’t take it personally, it’s literally Motak being Motak at first sight.

After some explaining of what the counters do, you were asked to join them and you didn’t hesitate to immediately accept.

Your instant response startled Ms Chu, earning a chuckle from Motak.

“What are you so surprised for? If she didn’t accept, she would die.”

“She might die doing this job too.”

It was literally a situation of instant death or possible death.

Let’s go with possible death for now.

Oh well, what’s cooler than saving people’s souls anyways?

All four of you grew closer mission after mission.

Even though Hana was still cold and distant, you found yourselves getting along pretty well. Training together almost every day.

Motak became like a father to you.

He no longer had this intimidating aura, from your point of view.

His mean remarks were more like ‘I care for you so I will tease you’

He cares deeply for all of you but he will never admit it out loud.

Ms Chu would always remind you to eat and stuff like that.

She was like a mother to you and it did radiate a sense of comfort.

She definitely acted like a mother but if you asked her, she would deny it saying she doesn’t care about you and then the next minute she will be asking you about your day etc.

Game nights !!!

Just imagine playing monopoly with them:

Motak going to jail for the 14th time, he was used to putting people in jail after all, whining about it until his turn comes again.

Always gets 5 when he rolls somehow.

“The dice is broken.”

Ms Chu with a lot of money, she definitely did not steal it from the bank when y’all weren’t looking, waving it like a fan in front of her face.

“Where did all this money come from?”

“My pocket?”

Hana laughing more frequently than she did before.

Overall spending time together apart from work was fun.

Strong bonds take time.

You did a pretty good job capturing spirits, maybe because of their low levels but still it wasn’t easy.

Like damn, you lost count of how many times Ms Chu treated your injuries.

Using her power also affected her health but she didn’t even let any of you go without treating even minor injuries.

Got to stop her once by saying, “We need a mom for the group.”

She at least knows you see her as a mother and that makes her beyond happy.

She wouldn’t hesitate to reduce her lifespan for all of you<3

One day you were all eating noodles when an idea popped in your head.

“Why don’t we wear matching clothes when we go on missions?”

No one seemed against it, Motak liking it a lot.

You did fight over the colour though:

You wanted red, he wanted grey.

You ended up getting both.

Soon enough, the day that you didn’t manage to catch an evil spirit came, following the death of Jang Cheoljung.

His spirit, Wigen, found another person to become a counter.

Aaaaand your 5th member joined you.

He wasn’t as quick as you to agree but what can you say? It was live or die for him.

So Mun, a high school boy living with his grandparents.

He didn’t seem promising at first but he proved his potential soon afterwards.

You had to save his ass because he was always in trouble. 

Episode 10 can’t happen, you kept him in check.

Time proved that something you missed in your bond was So Mun, the team felt complete with him.

He is the baby of the squad, everyone worries about him 24/7.

Sometimes you would just mess with him for absolutely no reason.

Car rides after a mission always go like:

“Can I rest my head on your shoulder?”

and So Mun falling asleep a few minutes later, with all his weight pressed on you.

You trying to stay comfortable while not touching Hana.

“Touch me and I will kill you.”

You heard it once and you both knew, you didn’t need to hear it again.

The sun is up after a mission? Ice cream.

Eat all you want Jangmul is paying.

The moon is up after a mission? Meat/Noodles.

Missions increased, introducing So Mun to the grey jackets and trousers.

I feel like red would still be his fave ones though.

“Oh Ms Chu, it matches with your hair!”

*smack* poor So Mun.

Working on the restaurant:

You, Hana & Mun serving while Motak and Ms Chu cooked.

Honestly? It was a mess.

Mun constantly dumping into either you or Hana, stepping on your feet from time to time.

Some customers being scared of Hana because of her face, choking on their food every time she passed by.

Zoning out while watching TV was a regular for you and Mun, it happened to Hana too though.

Ms Chu calling you three to take the bowls, no one knew she could yell that loud. Motak often joining you in serving just to not hear her getting ignored.

Whenever high school boys came to eat, you could feel Motak’s glare from inside the kitchen.

“So Mun, tell them to leave.”

Poor Ms Chu had to hear Motak complain about high school boys’ poor mannerisms.

He doesn’t want you around boys, you’re too young for that.

That one time you broke a table, oh man.

“Oops?”

Ms Chu was furious, Motak laughing at the customers’ faces.

Had to clean the huge mess, So Mun offering to help.

You and So Mun? Besties.

You went to school together every morning, same class.

You two, Ungmin and Juyeon spent almost every break together, eating snacks and making fun of each other.

Always made sure to hide you when Hyeoku was around, he just knew this certain bully had a crush on you.

One time, he noticed Hyeoku making his way to your table holding some sort of candy. He immediately dragged you away.

Ended up looking at a wall, Mun claiming he wanted to admire the red and brown bricks with you.

He just doesn’t want you around Hyeoku because he is dangerous, no other reason:)

Having dinner at his house? At least once a week.

His grandparents obviously adored you. His grandma being able to recognise and remember you, well most of the time.

His grandpa’s jokes about you two becoming a couple, never failed to make you smile. His grandma complimenting you with the sweetest grin on her face.

Sleepovers happened a lot, usually falling asleep while discussing about evil spirits and all.

Hana warmed up to the team more. She started seeing you and Mun as her younger siblings, always taking care of you and looking out for you in her own way.

You were all cleaning one day when Jangmul stormed into the store.

“What do you spend all this money on?!”

Long story short: Motak, You and So Mun were guilty for spending too much on your stomach needs.

“All this money for food?!”

He wasn’t that mad, he just thought y’all bought a house and didn’t tell him beforehand. Motak threw him a bag of chips to calm him down.

Yep, Jangmul ate them all.

“You want to eat the bag too?”

A lot of dancing, especially when in a good mood during shifts.

Of course So Mun tripped countless times, wdym.

You had each other’s backs, there was no reason to worry.

You were a family and the restaurant was your home.

[kixa]

Getting Tattoos/Piercings with HQ boys

Pairing: Teushima x reader, Tendo x reader, Suna x reader gn!reader

Warnings: Some suggestive stuff but no nsfw, piercings and tattoos, edibles/weed

A/n: I’m so glad this popped in my brain this idea is scrumptious, sorry this took so long

@killkuma @byougen no explanation

Terushima:

- So my man already has a tongue piercing and he’s in love with it

- Flaunts it and shit wants everybody to know

- I see him more as a piercing dude than tattoos even though he has some

- You have a couple tats but they’re fairly small and not really noticeable

- Teru has been bugging you to get a piercing for the longest (he wants you to get a belly button or a septum he thinks they look sexy asf)

- Once you finally agree he’s geeked asf and literally counts down the days until your appointment

- He decided he was going to get one as well but he wouldn’t tell you where, it was a surprise

- You settled with the belly button

- He waited outside the room because he wanted to be surprised at the outcome

- When you were done you walked out a little hesitant, Teru’s eyes searching for the piercing and then looking to you to pull up your shirt

- You slowly rolled your shirt above your belly button revealing the new jewelry on your stomach

- His eyes widened with glee as his hands reached out for you to pull you closer and get a better look

- He looked up to you and gave the biggest smirk and then he faced back to your piercing and started to lean into it

- “Aht Teru you can’t kiss it it might get infected.” You scolded. He pouted and sighed, “Ok…”

- He opted to give you a quick peck on the lips instead and started to move to the room

- After waiting for a hot minute he returns and once again that smirk had graced his face but he also look a little pained

- Your eyes scanned his body and face for another piercing but you couldn’t find it

- “Where is it?” You questioned and he just chuckled

- You made eye contact with him and you quirked your eyebrow

- He shifted his eyes down then back up, your eyes traveled down to his *ahem* and that’s when it registered

- “Oh…oh my. Teru are you serious?” All he could do was nod his head vigorously like an excited puppy

- “I can’t with you Teru…*sigh* just take care of it otherwise you’ll have a big mf problem,”

- “I know you’ll like it tho-,” he was interrupted by you playfully hitting his chest “ok ok ouch I’m just glad we did this together,” he said as he slipped an arm around your shoulder

- “Me too,” you replied taking his hand in yours

Tendo:

- You would think Tendo was more of a piercing guy but he gears more towards tattoos

- But he does have gauges

- You guys already have a couple, he has one on his neck, a couple on his hands, and a one that stretches across his forearm

- You have *wherever you want your tattoos to be*

- One day while you guys were cuddling and you were playing with his hands you had an idea

- “Hey tori,” “yeah what’s up?” “Wanna get another tattoo together?” You asked

- “Sure whatcha thinking?” You thought as you traced his taurus tattoo along his finger, “Um… maybe a dragon”

- He paused for a minute then jumped up startling you, “Sounds sickk let’s go” he exclaimed

- You quickly caught on but were confused all the same, y’all are getting the tattoo now? It didn’t really matter you were down anyway

- Basically an impulse tat

- On your way there you were looking at more ideas for the tattoo and talking about it with Tendo, he decided that he would get a medium size one on the back of his shoulder while you were getting one closer to your lower back

- When you got there you were in two different rooms but before y’all split he pulled you close for what you thought was a “good luck kiss” but instead just him in your ear, “You know this is gonna look real good on you right?” He let a cute smirk grace his face he did this every time y’all went to get a tattoo just to gas you up

- You playfully push off of him knowing that this was Tendo being naturally flirty and this wasn’t the time to give in to his corny antics

- “Good luck Tori,” you yelled off to Tendo as you walked away “You too cutie,” he replied

- You rolled your eyes laughing softly to yourself

- For you it took about 3 hours give or take since yours was pretty simple and not that big

- Two hours later Tendo finally came out, he was so excited and had a beaming smile

- He turned around to show you the art that now cover his left back shoulder but it looked a little red puffy plus it had the plastic covering it

- Despite the low visibility of his tat you could still make out a dragon in red ink and that shit looked really cool

- “Whoa…Tori that looks hot,” you said a little awestruck “eeee I know it’s so cool,” you had never seen him this excited

- You turned around to show him yours and you were met with silence, “Does it not look good?” You craned your neck o look at the tattoo and then at Tendo

- “Huh? Oh yeah yeah…y/n yours is really hot too,” he said with a dazed look examining your new body art

- Don’t get him wrong he loves it he’s just never seen something like that on you…it looks really badass

- He jumped up to his normal height after crouching down and hooked arms with you and began walking

- “We should do impulse tattoos more often,” you both said at the same

- He cocked his head to the side, “So we’re copycats now huh?”

- “Boy please,” you dismissed “You know you love me y/n,” he shot back

- “Uh huh,” you replied sarcastically

- So now impulse tattoos are y’all’s thing

Suna:

- Suna is a tats and piercing’s guy so he has a fair amount of both

- A snake on his side, skeleton hand atop his hand, one between the collarbone and neck area, and a couple more

- Meanwhile he also has an industrial piercing and snake bites

- The weekend before Suna’s birthday he said what he wanted for his birthday was for y’all to go the shop and get whatever type of body art

- You settled with a tattoo on your wrist and ankle, Suna just went with his septum

- Although Suna is a chill low-key dude he was about as geeked as you were…on the inside though

- …y’all ate ✨brownies✨ before you guys went in, not the best idea

- It was a literal mess like you were giggling up a storm in one room and he was just stone faced staring at the ceiling dazed as hell

- Anyways when you were showing the artist what you wanted your eyes were lighting up like stars and Suna thought that was the cutest thing and he was just gently smiling at you the whole time

- You were a little confused as to why he wasn’t getting anything too extravagant considering it was for his birthday

- “It really doesn’t matter what I get as long as I’m spending time with you,” he answered (please that’s so corny)

- You both split off in to your respective rooms, and of course Suna was done before you because he only had one piercing

- When he looked in the hand mirror he though it looked absolutely sickk 😎

- Guys with septum piercings good god

- He waited for what felt a little like forever, he felt a little bad because he could hear you wincing and sighing in pain a little bit

- I know everyone’s pain tolerance is different but wrist and ankle tend to be the ones that hurt the most

- When you finished before he could talk about your tats you immediately fawned over his new nose ring

- “Omg Suna…this looks so cool, it looks really good on you,” you rambled

- He let a small smile grace his lips, “thank you y/n, let me see yours”

- You about swooned right then and there because of Suna’s smile

- He gently grabbed your wrist being cautious of it’s tenderness and examined the *whatever your tat is*

- After his eyes flicked to your ankle to see the correlating tattoo he was pretty silent then he looked to you

- “These are really cool babe,” Suna commented, he’s a man of not many words but you knew he really liked them

- When you guys left and got into the car he stopped and waited for you guys to get settled then turned to you

- “Um…y/n I know I’m not very expressive when it comes to gratitude or affection but I want you to know that I’m really thankful for you and all you’ve been through with me,” he stated

- You gushed and smiled widely, you leaned in to give him a little peck and he followed suit

- “Oh and remind me to not let us eat any edibles before we come again, because I was really baked and I can tell you were also” he added

- “Omg yes the lady doing my art kept telling me to stop laughing because I was moving my body too much I’m embarrassed now,” you chuckled

- “I’m really hungry now though you wanna grab something?” You questioned

- “Taco truck?” He asked “Taco truck” you answered

[spicysoftsweet]

A Very Important Episode starring Hisoka

Or the one where Hisoka learns Bungee Gum is not a food group.

A/N: We all know that Hisoka likes candy and Bungee Gum but we would like to encourage Hisoka to make healthier choices and prevent diabetes complications. There will possibly be a part 2. I hope this is educational.

---

This time Hisoka had actually done it. He’d actually managed to fuck up his entire body beyond what he could repair with Bungee Gum or Machi’s services - which she was charging higher and higher for - and now he was somewhere almost unthinkable - an emergency room.

“Illumi~~~~” he half-sang, half-whined now that he was finally lucid, after undergoing an exploratory laparotomy to stabilize his profuse internal bleeding - the surgeons had been in awe of just how much of his body had been purely synthetic due to Texture Surprise exclaiming that he’d be an incredible case to write up - and being amped up full of pain meds. He probably didn’t need the pain meds, but it was fun to go in and out of consciousness; he couldn’t remember the last time he had an actual night of sleep.

His unwilling friend sat at the side of his hospital bed, legs crossed and focusing his jarringly large, black eyes at the fluid and blood that was being transfused into him by IV drip. A small part of him was surprised that Hisoka could be transfused with regular looking blood and regular looking fluid. He was almost sure that he was made up purely of nonsense and Bungee Gum.

“Illumi~” Hisoka moaned dramatically a second time. His gaze slid now to him, with lips pressed into a flat line of distaste.

“Don’t ever use my name as your emergency contact again.”

Illumi had to hide the fact that he was impressed Hisoka could spell clearly enough to make out the letters of his name and had actually retained his phone number. He had been surprised to get a call, but made his way over as soon as he had finished gutting an enemy and stringing them up for display as requested in his latest contract. The idea of Hisoka being dead was incredibly alarming, for he did enjoy his health and company, but also sparked a morbid curiosity in him. Could Hisoka actually die?

“But you came, didn’t you?” Hisoka teased, with a shit-eating grin.

He had him there.

There was a soft knocking on the door, and a young woman in a white coat, followed by a taller man wearing a pair of scrubs came in. The young woman glanced at Hisoka and then Illumi, visibly wincing at the hard stare of the latter in the semi-dark room, then raised her badge to introduce herself. 

“H-hello, I’m Dr. Rhgyl, I-” her eyes flickered to Illumi briefly, unsettled by the fact that he hadn’t yet blinked in the past two minutes, then shifted back to Hisoka, whose devilish smile was almost more unsettling. “I was one of your surgeons and am here to answer any questions you have.”

She turned to Illumi, and gave a nervous nod of the head. “And who is in the room with you, Mr. Morow?”

“My husband,” he said, in a sickly-sweet voice. Illumi gave him a glare, then crossed his arms.

“Sure,” was all he said.

Sure, what? What is sure? Just answer the damn question... The poor young doctor’s face fell as she already knew this was something she’d have to spend unnecessary minutes during her already excessively long call night clarifying in her documentation. She turned to her nurse behind her, who gave her a small shrug. 

“So uh, Mr. Morow, how is your pain?”

“It’s wonderful!”

The doctor again tried to conceal her internal screaming, and continued to keep her professional smile plastered on her face. “In that case, please let us know if you have any more pain, and your nurse will take care of it.”

“We do have one other issue, however, “ she added, making sure to communicate this next part as clearly and effectively as possible. Hisoka perked up in surprise, and Illumi continued to sit perfectly still, as still as a statue. “Your blood sugar. Your blood sugar was extremely elevated, and we were concerned about a diagnosis of prediabetes or diabetes.”

“Diabetes?”

“We expect you to make a fast recovery… surprisingly fast in fact, but we would still like you to follow up with a primary care doctor about your blood sugar. We’ll draw a lab test to check how your sugars were for the past 3 months, called a Hemoglobin A1c test, and then we’ll have your primary care doctor follow up the results and help you with strategies to have better control.”

Illumi turned to Hisoka, who he could tell that whatever the medical team was telling him was going in one ear and out the other, and he was now only thinking about either his next fight or Bungee Gum based on the elated smile on his face.

Bungee Gum.

Bungee Gum was the fucking problem. 

As the doctor and the nurse finally exited out of the room and Hisoka went back to telling Illumi battle stories, Illumi started to clear his schedule in his head, to figure out when he could best drag Hisoka to his follow-up appointments, which he would have to make for him. Someone had to be the adult in this relationship. 

---

Hisoka’s new primary care doctor, another similarly young woman, but less easily intimidated as the tired one from the hospital sat at a computer, pulling up his chart to review his lab results from his hospitalization.

Illumi and Hisoka noticed how she visibly paled as she scrolled, then turned to Hisoka and gave him a reassuring smile, that looked to reassure her more than them. 

“What is it? Am I dead?” Hisoka asked. Illumi gave him a look to quiet down.

“Well, you’re diabetic, all right... Your A1c is 14%.”

“Is that bad?”

She swiveled in her chair to face him, hands in her lap. 

“Well, diabetes is diagnosed at an A1c of 7%. So... unfortunately,  yes.”

Hisoka started counting on his fingers and Illumi forcefully put his hand down.

“Hisoka, listen to the doctor. Diabetes is serious. My great-grandaunt was diabetic.” Illumi said in an even, impassive voice.

“Oh, how old was she when she was diagnosed?” The doctor asked, attempting to build rapport with the patient and the patient’s loved ones.

Without skipping a beat, he replied, “206, exactly. She loved nothing more than to unwind with Mountain Dew after her assassination missions. She ended up on dialysis.” 

The doctor seemed to be at a loss of words briefly, so she turned back to Hisoka, pulling out a pen and a notepad to focus on rather than lose her cool. 

“So, uh… let’s start by talking a little about what you usually eat,” she began. “What do you eat in a typical day?”

“Hm... “ Hisoka didn’t usually keep track of what he ate, so it took him some time to come up with an account. “Ah! Okay, so in the morning, I usually skip breakfast, but sometimes I’ll have some Bungee Gum.”

Odd choice, the physician thought, but she nodded and wrote that down, allowing the floor to Hisoka to speak.

“For lunch, I try not to eat too much, but I also have a couple pieces or ten of Bungee Gum.”

Hm…

“Oh and for dinner, I have a bowl of gummy candy if I’m feeling particularly peckish and also Bungee Gum.”

She looked up from her pad and paper to see Hisoka looking blissfully unaware that he had just revealed that he subsists solely on sweets. She suddenly felt an overwhelming urge to pull at her hair repeatedly. This would be a ton of education, and she still wasn’t exactly sure what exactly Bungee Gum was.

---

Illumi parked his custom Ferrari minivan, purchased entirely for this shopping trip, outside the Costco Wholesale, and gave Hisoka, a long, hard look. 

“Do you have the list?” Illumi asked, hand outstretched as Hisoka handed over a partially crumpled sheet of paper, outlining the basics of a balanced, carbohydrate-controlled diet for people with diabetes.

Hisoka looked outside to the large building, then looked back at Illumi. “Isn’t this for families? I thought we were shopping for me only, and sometimes you when you come over.”

“I don’t know, the butlers told me that they come here to stock the kitchens. It seems from the website that this store provides high quality bulk goods for very competitive prices so this will be an appropriate next stop.”

This was just one out of countless stops today - Hisoka had spent the earlier part of the day searching frantically for sugar-free Bungee Gum in every supermarket in a 25-mile radius unsuccessfully, and demanding to see the manager every time, only to kill them when they told him they didn’t have his particular brand. Illumi warned him that there would be no such shenanigans any longer.

They stepped out of the car and walked right past the door greeter who was waiting eagerly for them to present their membership card only to recoil once they both turned to look at him in unison with intent to kill. 

The first things Hisoka noticed as he walked in were the multiple little free sample kiosks at the aisles every so often and curiously wandered over to them. 

“Make sure to avoid anything glazed or with a sauce,” Illumi called after him, poring through the list as he wandered over to the produce aisle. He didn’t understand the draw of free samples; if he wanted to try something, he would simply buy it.

Hisoka made his way to Illumi and Illumi’s overfilled grocery cart about a half-hour later after wandering the entire store, arms filled with small paper cups and tasting spoons. It was clear that he had sampled literally everything, possibly twice or thrice. Illumi let out a sigh and moved to the front of the store to check out. 

Keeping Hisoka’s blood sugar low would be a daunting task, but he was determined that by the next visit to his PCP, he’d have some improvement in his A1c. Texture Surprise can only replace so many amputated limbs at once. He’d just have to buy every supermarket’s supply of Bungee Gum and possibly halt every single production chain devoted to it or something similar. A pain, but it was worth it. Hisoka was annoying as all hell, but still, he was worth it.

[felixstarry-freckles]

Hey do you think you can write a cute married life scenario with Hanse?

A/N: •O• I tried my best. I know you wanted a married life but I was inspired to write from the proposal to the wedding to then married life. Feel free to ask for a Victon as Boyfriends, I gladly will. Fun fact I write these things while listening to horror stories... if you’re my sister and you see this no you didn’t.

Married life with Hanse... OMG I’m sure it would be really great. Hanse is cheeky and yet a bit clumsy, but all together such a cute bean.

Proposal:

Honestly, he would do the sweetest proposal ever.

Imagine this: dating for about 3 1/2-4 1/2 years(I’m a firm believer that Hanse would take time because he want to be 100% when he proposes bc he plans to be with you forever)

He planned this extremely elaborate and beautiful proposal 

I mean like a wonderful stroll through a public garden then go to the Han river and ride those duck boat things, then maybe nice meal at a popular restaurant with an amazing view of the city lights

Because Hanse is cheesy and you also are low key a sucker for cheesy things 

While you’re eating dinner he mentions the beautiful view and as you look out the window he goes on one knee and presents the ring

While that is all happening the musicians at the restaurant play the song that you both love and bonded over

That was his whole plan.

BUT the day of Hanse’s planned proposal something happened

Hanse was sick.

Boy got sick because of all the nights he spent not sleeping to plan

Although he was sick Hanse decided to pull through as he wasn’t THAT sick just a light fever nothing too extreme(to him)

So the two of you went to the first destination: The garden

As you both were strolling through the garden a sudden downpour fell

You both ran out of the rain into a coffee shop

The rain continued and so did Hanse’s fever

You noticed his flushed face and sleepy look on his face

“Hanse let’s go home, the car isn't too far from here”

“No we need to go to the restaurant,”

“We can go some other time,”

You and Hanse went back and fourth until he shouted

“NO WE CAN’T I NEED TO PROPOSE TO YOU!”

Your face flushed and you stood shocked. 

Hanse was also shocked that he just spoiled the proposal

Everyone in the shop(customers, barista, heck even the janitor who just finished cleaning the bathroom) were shooketh

Hanse decided to just get it over with and knelled on one knee

“This is nothing like how I planned to propose to you... I wanted to make it really special because you are extremely special to me”

Hanse says a few more cheesy things then pulls the beautiful ring out

A few tears leave your eyes

“So will you marry me?”

You nod like crazy as he stands up and puts the ring on your finger.

Then... Hanse faints

As fast as Hanse stood is as fast as he went down

At the hospital you had the privileged to explain to the doctor how this happened

Now you have a unique proposal story to tell your future kids, family, and friends :)

Wedding + Honey Moon:

He would be SO nervous. 

Like Hanse is honestly one of the cutest and softest members in Victon.

He spent more time and gave his vows more attention than any rap he has ever written

Of course the members made sure this time he slept properly so there wasn’t a proposal story part 2 wedding edition

Your wedding theme was elegant

I believe 

The accent colors were a wine red and gold

your dress was a long with gold lace details

All in all you looked gorgeous

As you walked in and everyone looked at you Hanse couldn’t keep it in

He told himself he wouldn’t 

He told his members to pinch him if he did

But nope he still did

Hanse teared up

He was so happy that he couldn’t hold back

The thoughts in his mind were all about how beautiful you are and how lucky he is to be marrying you and how he is 100% sure he wants to spend the rest of his life with you

Fast forward: The reception is over the vows from you and Hanse were both very cheesy yet very cute. You both shared your kiss and now you moved to the dinner/party place

People ate and socialized

Then your best friend read her speech

She joked how it was unfair that you got married first and also shared embarrassing stories of your college years together

Then Hanse’s best friends shared their speeches

The cake was cut and might I say your choice of cake was good

After everyone went to the dance floor and danced

Since you are the very quiet in comparison to Hanse he has to do the work to get you to dance and be out there more.

The dancing was fun but when it came to the slow dance people left the dance floor and left it to the both of you

Finally it was time to throw the bouquet and get the party over with

Some cousin of yours caught it btw

Now for the Honey moon 👀

You guys went to a warm tropical place

Had tons of fun at the beach and several steamy nights... for the week you were there...

All in all your wedding was a beautiful and perfect

Your honeymoon was just heaven

Married Life:

Let me tell you 

SO HECKING CUTE

Hanse is a great husband

Waking up next to him everyday = cute cuddles in the morning

He is a very awkward and shy at first as he still isn’t used to calling you his wife or referring to you as his wife

Later his preferred pet name for you is Sweets or Sweetie

At small market areas or food stalls the sweet older women’s always compliment you and Hanse saying that you look like a great couple.

Hanse is very cuddly and clingy so if course when he’s tired he’ll hug you and won’t let go until he feels better

Be ready for a lot of snuggles

Chilling in the couch? Boom snuggles

Taking a nap? Boom more snuggles

Want some alone time while you read or watch tv? NOPE MORE SNUGGLES

Kids? Kids.

In the beginning you both didn’t think kids were a great idea, as both of you still felt that it was too early in the marriage.

You would have one child about a year after your marriage

She was not planned but all in all she was a blessing

But after the first one Hanse admitted he felt bad your her because she would be very lonely.

Guess what, you gave in

After two years after your daughter was born you had  her younger sibling.

Another girl.

Not that it really mattered if you had a boy or girl you both love your two beautiful daughters so much

He loves your daughters so much he has to ensure that they are happy 24/7

He is so weak when it comes to them, 

“Dad can I have this?” 

“Of course my little princess do you want anything else?”

Literally is the jealous type when it comes to your daughters

Like when they bring their first boyfriend/girlfriend Hanse won’t try to intimidate then

No, no, no

Hanse will 100% show how jealous he is

He’ll get pouty and won’t leave his daughter alone with their s/o bc he jealous

Will literally sit between them when they are watching movies

Or will join them at the amusement park and even suggest walking in between them and hold both your daughter’s and her date’s hand.

Arguments aren’t frequent but also aren’t rare. 

Don't worry they aren’t bad arguments more or less you and Hanse argue about small things get angry but then make up about an hour later.

When its something more important you’ll still talk to each other but in a cold tone

I don’t think you’d stay in an argument for too long because as stubborn as Hanse can be he also loves you to much to let something small harm his marriage with you.

All in all its a fun and beautiful marriage.

[fanfics-for-the-hockey-fan]

A Bump in the Road - Morgan Rielly

Request: 44. You need to see a doctor.” Morgan Rielly

I winced as I got off the sofa, I had been feeling off for a couple of days now but I just chalked it up to my period and the cramps being extra bad this month. It didn’t help that Mo was out of town on a super long road trip and that always put me in a funk. But he was coming home today and I was ready to spend some time with him. I was picking Morgan up from the airport so I threw on some leggings and one of Morgan’s old sweatshirts. 

Getting into the car, I tried to push off the discomfort and focused on the road ahead of me. I managed to pull into the parking lot of the airport just as Morgan texted that they landed. Heading inside the small, private terminal they would be coming through I found a couple of the other girls waiting. Alannah waved me over, smiling as I sat down next to her. “Are you okay Samantha? You look a little pale.”

“Yeah.” Alannah looked like she was going to push more but the guys showed up then. I was slow to get out of the seat so Alannah said something to Morgan before going to Zach. I had just stood up by the time Morgan got to me. “I missed you.”

“I missed you too. Alannah said you don’t feel good.”

“I’m fine, it’s just cramps from my period.” Morgan grabbed his bag as we headed out to the car, I didn’t even argue with him when he motioned for the car keys. 

“You’re period isn’t for another 4 days and you only start cramping the day before. You look really pale.” I got into the passenger seat and winced as I twisted to get my seatbelt on. Morgan looked super concerned, reaching over to feel my forehead. “And you feel warm. How long have you been feeling like this?”

“A day or two. I probably just ate something bad.”

“You need to see a doctor Sam.” I really wanted to roll my eyes at him but I also knew he was just worried about me.

“I’ll get an appointment for tomorrow.” That seemed to make Morgan happy because he didn’t bring it up on the way home, letting me call to make an appointment before we cuddled on the sofa. As we caught up on tv I started to feel worse, trying to hide it from Morgan so he wouldn’t worry. That all went out the window when I stood up to get a drink and I literally swayed before falling back onto the sofa. 

“That’s it, we are going to the ER now.”

“Mo…”

“No, you just almost fainted. You need to see a doctor. Right now.” His face was as serious as I had ever seen, even when he was on the ice in a tight playoff game. “You are going to sit here while I go get pants for both of us and your purse. Then we are getting in my car and I am driving us to the hospital.” I just nodded, wincing as I moved on the sofa. Morgan left the room quickly, I could hear him down in the bedroom. He came rushing back, pulling on a sweatshirt and carrying sweatpants for me. “Do you need help getting these on while I grab your bag?” 

I just shook my head, slowly pulling on my sweatpants. I barely had both legs in the sweatpants by the time Morgan returned, carefully helping me stand up and pulling the sweatpants up before looking me in the eyes. “I have your purse with your wallet, your water bottle, some snacks, an ipad, and some headphones.” I nodded and before I could say anything Morgan picked me up and moved towards the door. He hurried us out of the apartment and down to the car, buckling me in before hurrying around to the driver's seat. I closed my eyes as Morgan started to drive, even with my eyes closed I knew he was speeding as much as he could in a big city with so many traffic lights.

Before I knew it Morgan was stopping and getting out of the car, my eyes opened to see him hurrying across the front of the car with the backpack before helping me out of the car. He had actually parked the car and was now carrying me through the parking garage to the emergency department entrance. A nurse spotted us as soon as we entered, bringing a wheelchair over for me. As much as I didn't want to admit it, the pain was much worse now and I was so out of it that Morgan had to do all the talking to get me checked in. Once that was all done we were moved back to a room and Morgan lifted me onto the bed. 

The next few minutes were a flurry of activity, a nurse getting me on an iv as a doctor came in and started to ask questions. They must have given me something for the pain because I was finally about to focus on what the doctor was saying. "Your boyfriend said that you have been having bad stomach pain for a few days now?"

"Yeah, at first I thought it was just cramping but it is much more painful than any cramp I have ever had."

"I'm going to run some tests and we will figure this out." He spoke to the nurse before leaving the room with a nod. Once the nurse was also done I turned to look at Morgan who looked terrified.

"I'm going to text Kyle and Sheldon to let them know I probably won't be at practice tomorrow." I wanted to argue but the concerned look that covered Morgan’s face was enough to stop me before I spoke up, just nodding and watching him type out a text. When that was done he put his phone away and grabbed my hand. “How are you feeling?”

“Like there is a knife in my stomach, but besides that I’m fine. How was your road trip?” Morgan raised an eyebrow, making me laugh. “It will distract me until the doctor comes back.” 

“Fine.” With that Morgan launched into a story of the shenanigans that he and his teammates got into during their trip. As Morgan was telling me about Mitch hiding Auston’s gear before a practice. The story made me laugh which caused pain that I was trying to hide from Morgan. "I'm hurting you by making you laugh. Is there anything I can do to make you more comfortable?"

“No, I think it’s just something I have to deal with until the doctor figures it out.” Morgan held onto my hand as we waited, telling me more about the road trip until the doctor came into the room around 30 minutes later.

“Ms. Kennedy, we got the results of your test back. Your appendix is about to burst. We need to get you into surgery right away. The complications if we wait too long are severe so time is of the essence. Our plan is to do it laparoscopically, that might change once we are in there. The surgery should last about an hour as long as everything goes to plan. Do you have any questions?”

“What is the recovery time?”

“You will probably have to stay in the hospital for a day or two, maybe 3 if there are any complications. You should be back to regular daily activities in 2 to 4 weeks, nothing too strenuous for the first week or so. Anything else?” We both say no, the doctor shaking both of our hands before moving towards the door. “Someone will be in shortly to prep you for surgery.”

Once he was gone I looked over at Morgan who was frozen. “Mo, it’s going to be fine.”

“It’s still surgery Samantha! Surgery always has a chance of something bad happening.”

“Wow, did you really just full first name me? I will be fine, and two days from now I will be watching you play hockey from the comfort of our bed while you kick ass on the ice. I’m gonna text my family quickly before I go back for surgery but I am going to need you to keep them up to date with what’s going on. I know they are going to want to fly out but hopefully I can convince them not to come.”

“Good luck with that.”

Morgan’s POV

I watched as Sam texted her family before the nurse came in to take her back for surgery. “I’ll see you once soon. I love you so much.”

“I love you too Mo.” I kissed her forehead and then her lips before they wheeled her bed away. Another nurse showed me to a waiting room where I would be out of the way and they would know where to find me. I was texting an update to Samantha’s family when someone bumped into my legs. It annoyed me when they just stood there then, not apologizing. I looked up and saw Fred and Auston standing there with coffee and a bag of food.

“What are you guys doing here?”

“Sam texted us and said you might need some company. So we brought coffee and snacks." They sit on either side of me, handing me a coffee before pulling out some sandwiches. “How long is the surgery supposed to take?”

“Hopefully an hour. Thank you guys for coming.”

“Of course, Sam’s family too.” Freddie says handing me a sandwich. Auston and Fred kept me distracted for the whole time as we waited for the doctor to come out. I started to get antsy when the hour mark passed. As we got closer to two hours I was pacing the waiting room. “Mo, sit down. I’m sure they will be out soon with news.” Freddie had to pull me back into my seat to stop me from pacing. Instead of pacing my leg was bouncing and Auston laughed at me.

“Sometimes surgery takes a while, if something went wrong I’m sure that someone would come out and update you.” I really wanted to believe my teammates, but I was still worried. Finally Samantha”s doctor came out and as soon as I spotted him I was up, out of my seat and moving towards him. 

“Did something go wrong?”

“No, things were a little worse than we expected so we weren’t able to do it laparoscopically. Besides that everything went perfect. She is in a recovery room now. I don’t think the change in procedure will extend her time she needs to stay here, it could take her a little longer to get back to 100 percent.”

“Okay.”

“A nurse can take you to her whenever you are ready, but unfortunately only one visitor can see her.” I thank him, shaking his hand before going to tell my friends what was going on.

“We’ll try to stop by tomorrow after practice if Sam is up to it.” I bid them goodbye before following the nurse back to where Sam was. Walking into the room, I wiped my sweaty hands on my sweatpants before going into the room. Sam was laying in the slightly inclined bed with her eyes closed, so I tried to be quiet as I pulled a chair up to her bed. Just as I was sitting down Sam looked at me smiling. 

“Hi.”

“Hi, how are you feeling?” That caused me to laugh, of course she was asking me how I was.

“Aren’t I supposed to ask you that, since you are the one who just came out of surgery?” That got a smile out of her as she reached for my hand. 

“I’m fine but I am also pretty sure that I have pain meds in me right now.” Sam stroked my cheek and smiled at me. “You worry about me, and the nurse mentioned that the surgery ran long so I know that you worried even more.”

“Well, Fred and Auston didn’t have to tie me down to the chair.”

“That’s good.” We talked for a bit before a nurse came in to check on Sam. When he left Sam turned to me. “Why don’t you sleep at home?”

“I’m sure they will be okay if I stay here with you overnight.”

“It’s not going to be comfortable for you. Please go home and sleep in our bed, I will still be here in the morning and your back will thank me for making sure you don’t hurt yourself.”

“Sam…”

“Please Mo. Do it for me. I am going to be asleep basically the whole time you are gone.”

“Fine, but I will be back in the morning as soon as visitor hours start.”

“I can’t wait.” Kissing Samantha goodbye, I left the hospital, wishing that I was back with her but knowing she was right.

***

“She is walking around with a nurse but they should be back in the room in a few minutes.” I thank the nurse and sit down in a chair and answer a few texts before I hear Sam and a nurse coming into the room. 

“Mo!”

“Hey Sam, how are you feeling?”

“A little stiff, but good. It felt really good to walk around the floor.” The nurse says a doctor will be in soon before leaving us, Sam coming to sit on my lap. “I missed you.”

“I missed you too, but you were right.”

“I’m sorry, can you repeat that?” I laugh, kissing her before lightly squeezing her side.

“You were right and I love you. I also brought you an iced coffee, I called the nurses desk and they talked to your doctor who gave the okay for the drink.”

“I love you too. And not just because you brought me coffee.” Hugging Sam as she drank her coffee and we chatted, waiting for the doctor, I was happy that this was just a bump in a road and even though I was super worried about the surgery, it all worked out.

[lindoig7]

Thursday-Saturday, 20-22 August

Thursday

It was a wild old night, with the wind rocking the caravan and rattling our awning all night.  It rained consistently almost all night and the rocking of the caravan and the pitter-pattering (and occasional hammering) on the roof made our warm comfy bed the very best and snuggliest place to be.  Even when the awning crashed and banged and woke us up, the rain soon invoked the Sandman and we went straight back to sleep again.

We were awake a little earlier than usual, but enjoyed a lazy half-hour or so snoozing before our cuppa and puzzles in bed.  Of course, by 7:30am, the Council workers were out in the rain, mowing the grass across the rampaging creek immediately behind the van.  The whole area is virtually under water so how they avoided getting bogged is a complete mystery to us.  The need to mow the area is just as mysterious because all they were doing was cutting the tops off the grass well away from the paths.  It wasn’t as if the grass was encroaching on the paths or hiding any varmints that might leap out to devour any of the early morning walkers.

We did some supermarket shopping after breakfast, mainly for a few extra things we need to make some tomato relish and peach chilli chutney.  We are getting low on our fancy home-made condiments so decided to make some more.  But as usual, walking past the fridges at Woolworths is a risk.  I spied a few likely-looking seafood bargains so now we need to find room for even more exotic delicacies!

We didn’t have much rain during the day, despite constant heavy black clouds but it was cold, bleak and windy all day and not at all nice outside.  As a consequence, we spent almost all day inside doing odd jobs, more cryptic crosswords, kenkens, sudokus and other pleasurable time-fillers before we fired up the stove and got back into cooking even more wonderful concoctions.

We made a wonderful pasta dish based on the vongoles and prawns we picked up as bargains in the morning – an elaboration on something we have done a couple of times before – vongoles, prawns, bacon, oil, garlic, parsley, smoked paprika, white wine, lemon, salt and pepper – man, what a feast and we never managed to eat it all so I suspect a seafood omelette is in the immediate offing. Even as bloated as we were, the potential for a meal from the leftovers left our mouths watering!

Friday

There was plenty more heavy rain overnight, and wild, wild winds, but we woke to a weak wintry sun and enjoyed a great hot breakfast.  (There seems to be a lot in my blog about food.  Maybe because we eat extraordinarily well and just want to keep experimenting.  We often (sometimes?) start with a recipe, but once the ‘start’ is dispensed with, the creative possibilities are endless and we try to make the most of any variations our imaginations evoke.)

We checked the weather over breakfast, expecting there to be rain everywhere as per the overnight forecast, but found that the Sale forecast looked surprisingly promising.  We had planned another day of cooking, but in light of the forecast, we abandoned (deferred) that and set sail for Sale.  Heather needed more yarn and some better scissors to we stopped at Spotlight on the way through Traralgon and stocked up there.

We wanted to explore the southern part of the Sale Common Wetland.  We had walked around the middle section a week or two ago, but wanted to explore other parts of this very large wetland.  Easier said than done!  We parked near the Swing Bridge (that isn’t like any swing bridge I have seen before – more like an opening or lift bridge) and set off on the soggiest of soggy tracks. We noted that cars – obviously high clearance 4WDs – had used the track, but had bottomed out and some had become bogged.  Multiple wheel-tracks ran in all directions in an attempt to avoid the worst of the deep ruts, but there is no way anything less than an amphibian would have gone through that day.  The track was even a challenge for walkers.  We had to pick our way through deep puddles and quagmires of mud, often abandoning the track for the waterlogged scrub to pass some of the worst sections.  We walked half a kilometre or so but it was becoming increasingly difficult so we returned to the car and set off for other access routes.  Sale was quite sunny, but still quite cool and very windy, but we returned to the walk we had done a week or two earlier and tried to get into the area from the north after our access from the south had been thwarted. We managed to get about 2.5 kilometres, partly along our previous route, before being confronted by water too deep to cross.  We had already traversed a few shallow puddles, but it was just not feasible to go any further without our water-wings!

My diabetes(???) had given me the shakes before we got back to the car so we ate our lunch there and recovered my sugar balance.  We still wanted to explore the northern area so went up to the much more populous and touristy lakes near the town. One of the lakes is Lake Guyatt and we had walked around that last time but the bigger Lake Guthridge was still to be conquered.  We needed to find a toilet and the signs said there was one 5 minutes away in the Botanic Gardens or 15 minutes away where we had just come from.  We opted for the Gardens – alas, NO TOILETS (of course!). Two kilometres later, we had almost circumnavigated the lake when we came upon the toilets advertised to be 15 minutes from our parking spot!  Have I ever mentioned the obvious attempts by all State and local authorities in Gippsland to confuse the public with fake signage?  I have got to the stage where I simply don’t believe any official signs anywhere in the area.

I had thought that it might be nice to circumnavigate the whole wetland area so we tried to do that, only to find that it was virtually impossible.  I reckon it would take a drive of about 250 Km to do it given that we would have had to drive all the way to the coast, then east to find another way north, then all the way back to Sale.  In our explorations, we found another huge contiguous part of the wetland on the other side of the road – presumably unprotected because it is not marked as such on the Council maps even though the main road is the only thing preventing the entire area being a single wetland.  There are at least 2 rivers and 3 bridges linking the water on both sides of the road so it is virtually impossible to separate the RAMSAR area from the apparently unprotected section.

We found an alternative route back to Rosedale, avoiding a trip back into Sale – and thence home in time for a shower before Happy Hour.  Topped up with fuel at Traralgon again on the way but we were still home again by about 5pm.

I had cooked a turmeric and fish meal on Tuesday/Wednesday – a little unusual given that the fish was marinated in the spices overnight, then only lightly cooked, but with additional veges and herbs added after the heat was removed just prior to serving.  Just add rice.  Very tasty and easy as anything to prepare.

Saturday

The Antarctic Blob is exerting its influence very strongly here today.  Lots of wind and rain overnight, some quite heavy, but consistent all night.  And today has been pretty wild too.  The rain had come and gone, but has been a deluge at times with heaps of hail – literally heaps, with it covering everything and piling up against anything blocking its passage.  It was banked up against the shrubbery outside the van for several hours before it finally melted – 6 degrees maximum here so it was very slow to melt.

It has felt really exciting at times in the van with so much wild weather outside and us safe and warm inside and enjoying the experience.  We cooked our tomato relish in the morning and our peach and chile chutney in the afternoon. We had to do a quick supermarket run to buy some extra spices early in the afternoon and I dropped Heather off and drove around the block a couple of times and picked her up at the door again. This was to avoid her getting too wet in the rain, but the hail absolutely pelted down while I was driving around the block – the racket inside the car was horrendous – exciting, but a little scary too.

We had a fairly unsatisfactory Zoom session in the afternoon – the bandwidth here is a real problem, but at least we spent half an hour or so in contact with some of the kids.

[shannonparis29]

Miss USofA Diva Nationals 2017

             March 5-7 2017, Miss USofA Diva Nationals

Nationals is a big deal, and the fact that I qualified was amazing. There were 24 that qualified and 23 showed up to compete for the National title. I left on March 2nd and we arrived there early March 4th (the day before the pageant and the day of the “sash” party). Our plan was to be on time and we were early. Arriving in Dayton, Ohio, it was snowing. It wasn’t heavily snowing, but it was the only the fourth time I’d seen snow. Twice in Corpus, once in San Marcos, and once in Ohio. Jackie, Levi and I all went to eat at Bob Evans, since it was literally in front of the hotel and we had to wait a little bit for our room to be “ready.”

After “breakfast” and checking in, I rested all day, I found myself rested after an eventful trip. After resting, I dressed for the Sash Party. The sash party is an event (usually before the pageant) where everyone meets and mingles. Most of the time, this is where meet our fellow competitors for the first time-unless you’ve met them previously. (i.e. at a prelim or the year before). That day we had pizza and drinks and it was our treat. It was great and even my friend Sara from Kentucky came by. She used to live in Corpus, but she moved to Kentucky with her boyfriend. She drove to Dayton and hung out with us afterwards in the hotel room. At the dinner, I received my 2nd alternate sash for Iowa there, and I was happy, a memento of my USofA Journey for the 2016-2017 season.

Then, it was time to rest for Nationals. Nationals is three days. The first two nights are what they call “prelim” nights and the last night is the “final” night, where they announce the top 12, the top 12 compete in evening wear and talent one more time, to determine the winner. But if you choose to, you may swap your evening wear/talent for a different or better one. Most top competitors have a “prelim” evening wear/talent and a final night one, just in case they make finals. However, if you feel like your talent is strong enough to win, you are not “required” to change it. But most do. Pageants are not cheap (trust me I know) and I’ve seen people change their evening wear/talent for final night and win and some do not. However, most people’s strategy these days is to be “clean” prelim night (to make top 12) then go big for final night. However, sometimes it is better to go “all out” both nights, because truthfully you only get once chance to impress at Nationals. For, what if you do not make finals? It truthfully depends on the person.  Nothing is guaranteed or truthfully you never know who is going to bring on that day. Some people use the same talents from prelims, some do not. It is really on the person and what the judges see.

Registration was noon on the 5th of March. We would check in, draw our numbers and the promoters of Nationals-Devin and Gage would give a speech about being at Nationals. (Levi told me that part) But sure enough, he was right about that. The “best in the country” and “honored that so many were able to make the journey” The journey was 22 hours by driving but it also took me three prelims, thousands of miles across the country to be there.

The way preliminary nights work is that divide us into groups. This year, there are four groups. Day 1 group 1 and 3 do interview and evening wear, and groups 2 and 4, compete in prelim talent. On Day 2, it is the reverse, group 2 and 4 compete in interview and evening wear, and group 1 and 3 compete for talent. I drew contestant number 13, group 3. So, on day one, I would knock out two of my categories.

Once I knew my position, it was time for me to head back to the hotel, and Sara De La Hoya, my makeup artist, did my natural makeup and my hair in a bun. I wore my black and red suit, tights, and heels. It looked very professional, and some of the other girls were dressed similarly. I went into interview, and I still had nerves. I remember talking about my journey (doing three prelims, trying to feature myself, and so on). I also was asked questions about the USofA system-how the scoring works, etc. I felt like that was one question that I knew well. After my interview, I had to rest a bit and then prepare for evening wear that night. My evening wear was purple iridescent gown, that my drag sister Jackie and I stoned fully. I mean, it was a lot of work to stone that gown. And as expected, it looked stunning on stage. In fact, I even had the matching jewelry and shoes. I stoned the shoes and Jackie and I did the gown. It was stoned with ab crystal stones and I was so glad that I decided to do that. I ended up wearing that gown and even though it was not “creative” it was so gorgeous, and it fit me well, minus a few things that could have been altered, but we ran out of time to do so. My evening gown music was “Halo” by Beyoncé. I ended up being cinched to the Gods. I modeled the gown, walked the runway and did one last model before finishing my gown category.

After gown, I changed in my walkaround dress and I could enjoy the rest of the pageant, the remaining entertainment as well as group 2 and 4’s talents.

After the pageant, we were finished by midnight, and ended up going to Steak and Shake for a late-night dinner. It was delicious and after that we were exhausted and ready to head back to the hotel, for tomorrow would be yet another busy day.

Day 2

Day 2 started off with talent soundcheck, as I had talent on Day 2.  I witnessed so many wonderful talents during the rehearsal. I marked my talent, to save my energy for that night’s show. I will say that Nationals is exhausting. A few tips: If you’re a

Diva/Mi or any pageant contest, please make sure you eat a good meal, get a good night’s sleep and DRINK LOTS OF WATER. You will sweat a lot, especially backstage. I hardly ate on Day 2 and but I was able to eat a couple sandwiches after going back to the hotel room. Then, it was time to be painted for prelim night two for talent. Sara did my makeup for talent, and I had plenty of time to “enjoy the show” while I waited for my turn. After evening wear and several talents, it was my turn.  My talent was the same, as before, the SNL skit, and it went well, at least in my opinion. A few of my press-on nails flew off during my number. I mean, even with super glue, it can happen. Nothing is truly fool-proof. After everything was finished, night two was over. And it was time for another night of rest, before final night.

Final Night

Final night day, they had a luncheon and announced prelim night awards. I unfortunately did not receive any awards in my group. But having group or category awards prelim night does not guarantee you a place in the top 12. So, for all of you are wondering how scoring works as far as final night and prelim nights go. Prelim nights are cumulative Each judge can give 1-12 points in evening wear/talent and the most one can receive total is sixty points (a perfect score) . In talent each judge can give 2 to 24 points. The max you can receive total is 120 pts (which is a perfect score). It’s based on everything the judges look for in each category. The highest and lowest scores are dropped as well.On final night, however, you are judged against your competitors. Final night is comparative. So, for example, if a judge has you 1st in talent, you will receive 24 pts from that judge. Sometimes they agree, sometimes they do not. It truthfully depends on the judges.  

Comparative  Scores

Talent  (2-24 from each judge)

Evening  Wear (1-12)

 1st  24 pts

1ST  12 pts

 2nd  22 pts

2nd  11 pts

 3rd  20pts

3rd  10pts

 4th  18 pts

4th  9 pts

 5th  16 pts

5th  8 pts

 6th  14pts

6th  7 pts

 7th  12 pts

7th  6 pts

 8th  10 pts

8th  5 pts

 9th  8 pts

9th  4 pts

 10th  6 pts

10th  3pts

 11th  4 pts

11th  2pts

 12th  2 pts

12th  1pt

Of course, your final score is based overall, from all judges. It doesn’t mean you’re “bad” because you get 12th at Nationals. It just means on that day, someone was better but you made the top 12. However, there are some exceptions, in classic, where pageants are “one night only” they end up using the comparative-as they are competing one night. If there are 14 contestants then it’d be 1-14, 2-28, I think.  And for Diva 2020 Nationals, there would be only one night, but we shall get to that later.

On Final night, during the day, we have a quick presentation rehearsal, then we get two minutes to mark the stage in case, we make finals. We were instructed to come in our presentations and leave our “final night” package in the car, if we make finals.

Turns out, I did not make top 12 at Nationals. Was I upset? Disappointed? Could I have done better? Yes, yes, and yes. However, this year, truly was a trying year, as I reached my goal-I went to Nationals and represented well. I would watch the top 12 battle it out and in the end Seduction Dickerson won, with Ruby Scott (from Texas, yay) 1st alternate and 2nd alternate went to Jamison St. James.

I knew I would take any critiques and apply to my next season. It was back to the drawing board and back to competing again for next season. One critique that I received from Tommie Ross was that I wasn’t “being myself” in my interview. I should’ve worn a dress, similar to what I wore in my talent. I wore a suit because that is what most people wear to interviews. But maybe that was a wrong approach. I’d soon learn that I need to be myself. Easier said than done. I looked professional, yes, and truthfully, none of my critiques in interview have been about wardrobe. That ended up being something I worked for next season-but again that ended my 2016-2017 season.

[nicosroom]

My Money Snapshot

[Inspired by Corporette]

Location: Ohio, small college town

Age: 29

Occupation: PhD candidate (English)/half-time instructor

Income: $16,000 before deductions

Net worth: $588 (I’m crying)

Current Debt: $12,844

Living situation: Renting with a roommate

Money Philosophy:

I grew up in the “working poor” category. My parents are divorced and my father never contributed much financially. Mom made around $21,000 per year at work and she cleaned houses “under the table” to supplement that. Somehow, we never went hungry, what we ate was relatively fresh and healthy, and she managed to put two of us through Catholic schools for a total of 14 years. I know now that mom is still paying some of those loans and credit card debts and that part of her strategy included not contributing more than the 3% that her employer matched in her 401k. Every time I complain about the financial stress I feel at my salary level, I have to remind myself how comparatively unstressful my financial life is.

I’ve always been poor and I always knew that graduate school/academia is not a lucrative career. I tell myself that if I can make things work at this pay grade, then I’m ready for just about anything. My main strategy is to have a budget, stay in the budget, and save every bit that I can.

Monthly budget

$1000-1100 for the necessities each month. Monthly spending on eating out, entertainment, shopping and other categories varies widely. I also won’t lie... dating someone who makes 4x more money than me helps... I’m fairly frugal on all of these fronts: I buy most of my clothes second hand and I tend to shop seasonally. Spikes in spending occur around the winter holidays when I’m buying gifts and when I am doing traveling. And I also have totally weak, impulsive moments - like the $3 soap sales at Bath & Body works, or that time I spent $110 on bras and underwear on a whim. Anyway:

Rent: $272.50/month

Other living expenses: $130-170/month (electric, internet, phone, renter’s insurance - lower in summer, higher in winter)

Transportation: $332/month (gas, insurance, car payment)

Healthcare: $162/month (health+dental insurance, no vision coverage)

Groceries: $120-150/month ($30/week)

Debt Picture

Student loan: $2000

Car loan: $10,488

I’m a career student & my motto for all the years I’ve been in school has been “follow the money.” I went to college on very hefty scholarships and I only had to take out the $2000 loan to cover housing costs during my first year. For the subsequent three years, I was an RA, so I never had to take loans again. I applied to graduate programs based on the research fit, and when I got my offers, money weighed heavily in the decision. I would have loved to live in Boston as a wee 22-year old, but I wasn’t about to take out loans for a year’s worth of tuition and the living expenses. And to get a PhD while living in Minneapolis, my very favorite city in the US? It would have been such a dream, but for the quite steep difference in stipends and the significant disparity in cost of living compared with Ohio. My only regret on this front is that I haven’t started paying back my tiny student loan. I’ve been able to defer it since I’m in graduate school, which was a great idea when I was a master’s student who didn’t know the first thing about budgeting. But if I had just paid $25/month from the start of grad school the balance would be $0 about the same time I graduate from this PhD program this August. Instead, I’ll be scrambling to pay off the whole balance before my 6 month grace period ends. 

The car loan is less than a year old. I finally broke down and bought a new (by which I mean used) car last summer after really pushing it with the car my parents had bought me in high school. Repairing that car put me into credit card debt more than once and I was getting so stressed about it. It was time. I have a very good credit score, so I qualified for a nice loan rate with my credit union, and to get a better rate I got my mom to co-sign my loan. It’s a popular rental fleet model so there were tons of them on the market, but average miles were high - so when I saw one that was two years old with only a years worth of miles on it at $1000 less than the average price for that make, model, and year, I jumped on it. My payments are $231/month on the 5-year plan. Currently, I’m paying that minimum, but I plan to escalate my payments as my income goes up (I’m on the academic job market now, pray for me). I folded this car payment into my existing budget by giving up solo-living and finding a roommate. When I had my own apartment, very spacious with a huge kitchen and tons of windows/natural light, I was paying about $585 for monthly rent. I hate living with people, but I hated the idea of being trapped in this college town without a car even more - one of my other mantras is “you can do anything for a year.” 

A note on credit cards: I love them. I’m one of those responsible people that charges everything and pays the balance like clockwork every month. This is the only way to make sure you’re actually taking advantage of the cash back/reward perks! Currently, I’m using Capital One’s Venture card and stockpiling airline miles for travel (it has a 40,000 mile sign-on bonus). If you’re good for it, I also recommend one card with a great balance transfer program. For me, when I get into an emergency situation, it makes me feel like I have options. It’s been about 4 years since I’ve had to use my balance transfer card to cover costs ($1400 in car repairs, summer 2015), but at my level, I can’t afford to not have back up plans. 

Savings and Investments

$5,517 Cash

$7,861 Roth IRA + employer mandated retirement account

Retirement: The biggest financial mistake I've made in grad school is that I did not opt into the retirement account offered by the university when I started my M.A. in 2012. When they ask me that “what I wish I had known before I went to grad school” question, this is near the top of the list. I did, eventually, open a Roth IRA and slowly I started to build something. This year, when my graduate funding dried up and they made me a “half-time instructor” the retirement account for public school teachers was mandatory and the contributions are high: 14% of every pay check (annoying, yes, but on the flipside, there is an equally high employer match). While I’m contributing to this, I’ve paused my contributions to the IRA. I’ll roll this money over, either into the IRA or into another state/employer retirement fund when I move on from here. 

Personal savings: I strive for a minimum of $100 per month and frequently do a little more, but each month is different and I consider it a win if I break even. Through most of grad school, I’ve taken on “second jobs” to bolster what I can save (and boost my resume). Both jobs have been through the university, so they limit me to five hours a week. When I max them out, this can be an extra $200-250 each month. 

I took up a new savings challenge this academic year to build on my “play money” savings account (a high yield savings account which my bank labels a “goal setter” account). The challenge involves tallying the “total savings” printed on my receipts each month (i.e. when the grocery store is like “you saved $6″ because of sales and coupons). So, At the end of the month, I put that running total into my goal setter account. Sometimes the total savings are like $26, but others its as much as $171. It’s an interesting challenge because it encourages me to do tedious things, like scroll through all the digital coupons on the grocery store app; but at the same time, I know that the higher that number is usually coincides with a lot of shopping which encourages some self-regulation. 

I initially set my goal at $2500 when I opened the goal setter account in 2014. When I had to dip into the account in April 2018 to pay $930 in car repairs, I finally set plans in motion to buy my car. Since I bought used, I only put 10% down on the car (just over $1200). When I sold my old car for $1000, I put that money right back into the account to start saving for new things...

What I’m saving for now:

travel: to celebrate finally finishing this PhD, I’m hoping to pull off a trip to Europe. Later this year, I’m also turning 30 around the same time that one of my regular professional conferences is meeting in Hawaii. If I can do one or both in the next year, that’d be grand. (As I mentioned, I'm saving up airline miles with my credit card program, too!)

a multicooker: think InstantPot...but more expensive because my dreams all revolve around small appliances that match my stand mixer. 

What I do to be frugal... 

I’ve been frugal my whole life, but a couple of major habits I’ve formed include:

Meal planning and home cooking (read my guide to meal prep here). The money part of that means planning what I eat around maximizing the ingredients I have to buy. I plan meals that use the same ingredients so I’m not spending on an entire bunch of celery and then throwing out 75% of it. Routinization also helps, so my grocery lists stay about the same week to week and the bill relatively predictable - for example, I eat avocado egg salad almost every day for lunch. I know, avocados are not cheap, but I also believe in spending on the things that nourish you––literally and “spiritually.” Roxane Gay once said that she never bought avocados or blueberries when she was a “poor grad student.” Once she started making money, she realized she would buy them because she could afford them, but she also threw them out all the time because she didn’t plan her meals right to actually eat them. The point is, buy the foods that you like/feel good about and build habits around them. It’s not wasted money. That said, I won’t pay more than $1.25 for an avocado!

Second hand clothes shopping, especially for my business casual (it’s amazing what people donate to the Goodwill, barely worn!)

[xodaniellevictoria]

Hawaiian Dreams

Well, we finally did it guys. We went on our first tropical vacation to the Hawaiian Islands! 

I’ve only been to Hawaii once before and I was only 10 years old, and Vic has never been, so we both decided our 5 year anniversary was a great excuse to get out there and we got to experience it for the first time in our adult lives together! And what a magical experience it was. The day we landed on Oahu we didn’t do much sightseeing besides making a quick pitstop at The Dole Plantation to grab some Dole Whip on the way to our hotel. That first day was more about relaxing for us. As soon as we got to our hotel, the beautiful Turtle Bay Resort, (which happens to be where they filmed one of our favorite movies Forgetting Sarah Marshall) it was time to check into the spa for our couples massage on the beach. Getting rubbed while hearing the waves crash onto the beach is something I’ve never experienced and won't soon forget. This resort was nothing short of amazing and we will absolutely be staying here again. They literally had everything you could have needed. Bars, shops, a private beach, pool, hot tub, restaurants, spa, surf lessons, snorkel gear, I mean the list goes on and on. After our massage we took a walk on the beach as the sun was setting and found ourselves at one of the many restaurants at the resort. Roy’s Beach House was everything we could have wanted for our first dinner in Hawaii. I got the butter fish which was HEAVENLY, and Vic got the Mahi Mahi. Eating the freshest seafood, sitting outside on the beach at an upscale restaurant? Count me IN. They even left the cutest little sign on our table for us and the sweetest complimentary dessert because they knew we were celebrating our anniversary. 10/10 food and dining experience. If you ever find yourself on the north shore, please stop by Roys and tell them Danielle sent you, you won't regret making this pit stop I promise.

Day 2 started with the Kualoa Ranch ATV adventure! Kualoa Ranch is seriously one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever seen. They've filmed countless movies and TV shows here such as Jurassic Park, Jurassic World, Jumanji, LOST, and 50 First Dates. This private nature reserve and cattle ranch houses some of the most incredible views and tours on the island. They offer zipline, horseback, ATV, boat, and movie tours, so whatever your personal preference, they got you covered. 

After the tour, we headed back to the resort to do some much needed relaxing and swimming. After some delicious pina coladas from the resort bar we ventured out into the little private bay and did some snorkeling. Neither of us had ever snorkeled before and we had a blast getting to swim with the fishes. 

After our snorkel adventure it was time for dinner. We got so many amazing recommendations from friends we decided to try out one of them for our second night on the island. We hopped in our rental car and headed to cutest surfer town, Haleiwa on the north shore, and ate at Bonzai Sushi. MAN this was some of the best sushi we have ever eaten and we’re not just saying that... PLEASE eat here if you find yourself in Haleiwa... It was insane. We both agreed this was the best dinner we ate while in Oahu, if that tells you anything... After dinner we stopped at the cutest local dive bar called Stormy’s for a nightcap. 

Day 3 started with a drive down the Kamehameha Highway to The Sunrise Shack! I have been seeing this bright yellow shack on Instagram for YEARS and knew we had to make the time to stop here while we were on the island. Luckily it was right on the way to and from our resort so it worked out perfectly. While we were on our drive we made a stop at Lanikai beach and went back to the little town of Haleiwa to do some shopping.

Since this was our last night on the island we wanted to go big, and by go big we mean it was LUAU time. The Luau we went to was the one at Paradise Cove, which happened to be the same one I went to when I was in Hawaii when I was 10! What are the odds of that! Hula dancing, ukulele music, Hawaiian history, fire dancers, and a huge buffet of traditional island cuisine. We ended the night dancing in the rain to Hawaiian love songs. The perfect ending to our anniversary trip if you ask me. It was magical.

Our final morning we woke up with the sun and made it to Sharks Cove to do some tide pool exploring before our flight. We beat the crowds and had a whole private swimming hole to ourselves. If you have kids or want a romantic swim with the fishes, I would definitely check this spot out. We loved getting there early so no one was around because a few hours later this place was PACKED. We worked up an appetite from all that swimming and wanted to try another food recommendation from our friends before we made our way to the airport. Hawaii has this grocery store called Foodland that is basically like a Safeway, Vons, Ralphs, or Albertsons. A normal grocery store that also sells some hot food like fried chicken, or in this case some of the best poké on the island. We both opted of the spicy poké bowl and were in heaven. Hawaii definitely has a special place in our hearts. We fell in love with the beautiful beaches and culture this magnificent place has to offer. Hell we even looked up how much houses cost on the island, we loved it THAT much. We will absolutely be coming back sooner rather than later, and I can't WAIT!

[wroughtbetwixtfanfic]

Love, Blood, And Rhetoric, Ch 3.

Fandom: The Society.

Summary: Campbell’s just trying to survive in the new world. He knows he can make it– it’s everyone else he’s worried about.

Rating: Mature.

Tags: Canon Divergence, Mental Health Issues, Family Issues, Substance Abuse, Complicated Relationships, Consent Issues, Antisocial Personality Disorder, Homophobic Language, Hurt/Comfort, Minor Character Death, Mild Sexual Content, assuming Elle and Campbell are both 18 for the sake of things, Underage Drinking, PTSD, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, implied eating disorder, Fix-It, Campbell has mild ASPD, and is actively trying to not be awful

Word Count: 4782

Ch 1 || Ch 2 || Ch 4 || Ch 5 || AO3

Campbell woke to the sound of his phone beeping.

It was early.  Sunlight filtered through the window, bright and shining as if nothing  had happened the night before at all. It would have seemed like any  other morning except for the fact that Elle was snuggled under the  covers and snoring quietly. He considered waking her up, but she looked  so peaceful that Campbell couldn't bring himself to do it. A few extra  minutes wouldn't hurt.

He eased out of the bed and tiptoed  downstairs, glancing at his phone. Voicemails. Texts. Two missed calls.  What the hell had happened now? Campbell opened his phone and read over  everything. Cassandra and Harry had texted and called him. Sam had  texted. There had been bunch of robberies, and a fight had broken out at  some point. Cassandra wanted to know if he and Elle were okay; Sam, to  Campbell's surprise, also wanted to know if he was okay. Harry, as per  usual, was just freaking out in general.

Yes, Campbell texted back to Sam and Cassandra, I'm fine. Are you?

Harry  could wait. Campbell wasn't ready for that mess, not until he'd had  some coffee; he turned the ringer on his phone off and let out a breath  of relief. Luckily, Grizz had sent out a mass text to everyone saying  the power had only been off for a few hours, and that Will said all the  food people had stored should be safe to eat. Cool. It meant Campbell  could cook breakfast. Fifteen minutes later and he was heading back  upstairs with frozen waffles, eggs, bacon, and two cups of coffee. Elle  was awake by the time he got back, stretching and yawning just as he  came through the door.

"Good morning, sunshine."

Elle rubbed her eyes. "Mm. The power came back on?"

"Just  in time to save our bacon, literally. I didn't know what you liked, so I  kinda just went with the staples... Unless you're one of those  free-range asparagus water types, then I can't help you." When Elle  didn't reply, Campbell set the tray down and sat next to her on the bed.  "Hey. No judgment, if you want free-range asparagus water, I can get  you some."

"No, no. I like all these things. It's just..." Elle  shook her head. "School here is almost as bad as ballet. There's so much  pressure to be so thin and pretty. And people here just hate me, even  when I look like they think I should. If I didn't..."

"If you didn't, you'd still be beautiful."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. And you know what else is beautiful? A big stack of waffles with fancy butter and real maple syrup."

"I can't argue with that."

They  both ate in silence, knees touching; Campbell tried to think about how  to bring up the night before, but Elle seemed content, and he didn't  want to act like it was some big deal. After all, they'd just slept. But  what if he'd fucked up again? What if she was upset, but just wasn't  saying anything?

But then Elle's phone buzzed. She glanced at it  and sighed. "Cassandra's holding some sort of no-men-allowed meeting at  the church. I should go and see what's going on." Elle inspected  Campbell over the top of her phone. "Maybe you could go see Harry in the  meantime? He's called twice in five minutes."

She wasn't wrong.  More than that, there was another slew of text messages. Campbell  sighed, giving Elle a spare toothbrush from the cabinet and walking her  to the church once they were both freshened up a little. He waited until  she was inside before moving on to Harry's home; he probably should  have messaged first, but of course Harry would be home. He didn't really  have anywhere else to be. Not anymore.

"Fuck. Where've you  been?" Harry slurred, not even bothering to get up. He was sprawled in  his bed wearing not much more than a sheet. "I thought you got beat up."

"Your concern is noted."

"You didn't come to my party, Cam."

"No, Elle and I went back to my place."

"Ooh,  fun. I had some fun, too. Think I might be in love with Allie, for  real. She's like... gorgeous." Harry pushed himself up off the bed,  stumbling towards the bathroom. He didn't even try to cover up; he was  acting like he was still half drunk, and hell, maybe he was. "Is that  weird for you?"

Campbell ignored the comment, kicking some beer  cans towards the trash. He very suddenly wanted to be anywhere but in  Harry's presence. "You've gotta pull yourself together a little bit. It  looks like a dumpster in here."

"Okay, mom."

"Don't be ridiculous. Your mother wasn't much better than this."

When  Harry came back out of the bathroom, at least he had on some underwear.  "What's gotten into you this morning? Would've thought you'd be in a  better mood."

"Since when do you get to make comments about my  sex life?" Campbell snapped. "Life isn't about screwing everything with a  pulse, you know."

"Don't be mad at me just because you don't get any."

Campbell  felt a surge of anger. His fists balled,  and oh god he wanted to punch Harry so hard his ancestors would feel it. "Keep your fucking mouth shut, Harry."

Something  in Harry's expression shifted, as if he'd become at least somewhat  sober the moment he heard Campbell's tone. "I'm just playing around,  Campbell. Seriously. What's with you?"

"Maybe I don't want to play."

"Are you... are you jealous?"

What  had been rage mere seconds before guttered and went cold, turning into  something hollow. Campbell's shoulders dropped. Their eyes met, and  Campbell wanted to just say it. But it was too goddamn late. "I gotta  go. Elle needs me."

"And I don't?"

"I'm sure Allie's available. Call her."

Harry  stared at Campbell like he'd been slapped. Campbell turned on his heels  and walked out the door, slamming it behind him. What the fuck had that  been? Campbell fumed at himself the entire way to the church; Elle was  waiting on the sidewalk, and though she smiled when she saw him, he  couldn't bring himself to smile back.

"What's wrong?" Elle asked. "Is Harry okay?"

Campbell  kicked a rock into the road. "Yeah, peachy. He's slept with damn near  everyone in this town, and finally got around to my cousin."

"Surely you don't mean Cassandra."

"No. Allie. Cassandra, I could understand. Allie? I don't know what the hell she's thinking, getting involved with him."

"I didn't think you and Allie got along."

"We  don't, but she's still family, and I'll end up having to hear about it  either way. And Harry... he's just confused. Latching onto anyone he can  for a distraction. But in the end he'll get left, and I'll have to  clean up the mess."

Elle was silent for a couple blocks. "It's  gonna get worse, isn't it? All of this. Cassandra said it's only a  matter of time before men start attacking women. That's going to be a  worse mess, if she's right."

"She isn't wrong. Did she say what she wants to do about it?"

"There's  going to be a meeting in a few days. She told us to talk to the rest of  you, see if we could get the men in town to agree to some ideas. Not  taking anything, a work schedule, that sort of thing."

It wasn't  going to go over well, Campbell knew. Even if all the women in town  agreed to it-- and they wouldn't all agree, that was clear from the  night several were prepared to walk out of the church-- that didn't mean  everyone else would. "She'll have to get the Guard on board. A lot of  people look up to them. Grizz and Luke probably will be easy to  convince. Clark's an asshole, but Helena is tough. She'll crack him."

"And you?"

"I'm always on her side."

Elle  stuffed her hands into her pockets. "It just feels so pointless. At  some point, we're gonna run out of medicine. Someone will get sick and  we won't have doctors. Electronics will wear out. Gas will run out.  Power, water. Aren't we just delaying the inevitable?"

"Hey."  Campbell stepped in front of her. "Don't talk like that. Yeah, we're  stuck right now, but we can survive this. I will dump these fucks off a  bridge if they try to hurt you. Okay? We'll be alright."

"You don't know that."

"There  are a lot of people here who know what they're doing. Cassandra,  Gordie, Bean. They're smart. So's Will, and he knows how to survive.  Grizz is like a weird bag of cool special interests, and I can do  anything that needs to be done that they won't do. Trust in us a  little."

"Trust isn't my strong suit."

"Me, either. But I trust them, even when I don't like them."

Storm  clouds were rolling in again. Elle looked up at them and shivered. She  didn't say anything, but she stepped around Campbell and kept walking  towards her home. By the time they got there, rain was starting to fall.  Campbell watched Elle stand in the front entrance; the place was oddly  sparse, for having been lived in for years, and Elle looked so small and  pale among the stark white walls and hardwood floors. Suddenly, he  understood what she'd meant by one person being alone in such a big  space. It didn't feel quite right. Not at her home, or his, either.  But...

"Can I stay over at your house for a few days?" Elle  asked, interrupting his thoughts. "I just really don't like the thought  of being alone."

"Yeah, of course. Estás en tu casa."

It  didn't take long for Elle to pack some clothes, her make up, and a few  other belongings. Campbell left and got the car, coming back to pick her  up; there was no point in walking in the rain and having her stuff get  damp. He helped her unpack in his parent's bedroom. He wasn't about to  ask her to stay in his room. It was a huge assumption, and besides, he  knew the value of having one's own space.

Elle was hanging up  her clothes when she saw him stop, looking at a framed picture. "That's  me, after that first solo I told you about." In the photo, she looked  even smaller, with a big toothy grin and flushed cheeks. Her parents  were darker blonde. Pretty. "We didn't get ice cream often, but we did  that night to celebrate."

"They look like nice people."

"They tried, I think. I'm an only child, so they went all in on me I guess."

"What's that like?"

"Intense."  She took the photo from him and set it on the bare nightstand next to  the bed. "They gave me a lot of love, but they expected so much from me  all the time. I guess it's an immigrant family thing, you know? Parents  want a better life for their kids. They gave up everything back home to  make sure I'd have a good future. It was hard, but I know they mean  well."

Campbell tried to smile, but it didn't really stick. "That sounds nice. It must suck to be here without them."

"I do miss them. What about your parents? Do you really not miss them?"

"No. I know I'm supposed to, but all I feel is relieved."

Elle  examined the room, her gaze falling on another picture. It was his  parents' wedding picture, sitting on the dresser across from the foot of  the bed. "I noticed they have a lot of pictures everywhere, too. It  must suck, being in a place surrounded by them."

"I guess so. I try not to think about it."

"Have you ever considered just getting rid of it?"

Eyeing  the picture, Campbell stood up and walked to the dresser. He lifted the  picture off the wall, took it to the trash basket, and dropped it in.  "Yeah, that does feel better."

They went through the house  together, with Elle holding a big, black garbage bag. Campbell dumped in  all the photos of his parents, and everything else that reminded him of  them. He avoided Sam's room, and left the photos that were just him and  Sam together. There was no telling what was going to happen between him  and Sam, but he didn't want to bother Sam's stuff, in case they  smoothed things over eventually.

When he was done, Elle hefted  the bag into the middle of the living room floor. "What do you wanna do  with it all? Take it to the dump?"

"I'll take it to the  basement." Campbell dragged it away. "Thank you for helping me. It's  better, not having their blank eyes everywhere."

"Also less weird seeing your parents' underwear in the room where I'm sleeping."

Campbell  shuddered, taking the crap downstairs and sticking it in the darkest  corner of the basement. Why shouldn't he? Until the adults came back--  if they came back-- it was his house. What did he owe them, really? He  hadn't asked to be born. They had only done the bare minimum his whole  life. Most of everything he had, he'd worked to get for himself. They  weren't around to appreciate the crap, anyways. Campbell shut the door  to the basement and put it out of his mind. Time to start looking  forward.

They were making dinner when Campbell's phone buzzed.  Harry. He hit the decline button, going back to stirring the tomato  sauce he had on the stove; he wasn't in the mood for more drama and  whining. Elle looked up from the salad she was working on the second  time the phone went off. She didn't say anything, but Campbell saw the  question in her eyes.

"I need a night to cool off," Campbell  muttered. "I know he's probably drunk or high or both, and I just can't  deal with him like that."

"Do you get into fights often?"

"Every now and then. We know each other too well."

"You'd think that'd help you fight less."

"Maybe. For us, it just means we know how to hurt each other."

Elle  turned her attention back to the salad, but not before he saw the  troubled expression on her face. Well, it wasn't any secret that his  relationship with Harry wasn't healthy. Still. Harry depended on him,  and he knew Harry wouldn't actually leave, no matter how ill-tempered  Campbell got. Which was why, after he and Elle had their nice spaghetti  dinner and headed to their separate bedrooms, Campbell read the texts  Harry had left.

I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that. Please call me?

Campbell, I'm sorry. Pick up.

Please, Cam.  

I need you.

Ah, and there was the sweet spot. Campbell smiled at those three little words, opening the message and tapping out a reply. Heading to bed. I'll call you in the morning.  It was a cruel reply; he knew Harry wouldn't sleep well after that.  It'd do the guy some good to think about being an asshole to his few,  true friends. Campbell turned off the phone, rolled over, and  immediately fell asleep.

The next morning, Campbell woke up to  Elle sitting down at the foot of the bed. "Cassandra texted. She wants  everyone to meet up at the church." Elle had dark circles under her  eyes. "I didn't wanna wake you up, but she said it was urgent."

"It's okay. How long?"

"An hour and a half."

Campbell  nodded and stretched, rolling out of bed and into the shower. He was  half dressed when he popped downstairs, his shirt slung over one  shoulder. "Why don't you go on ahead? I'll have to go drag Harry out of  bed and haul him down by the ear, probably."

"Sure. Good luck."

He  wasn't sure he needed luck, but by the time he shrugged on the rest of  his clothes and got to Harry's house, Campbell had thought too much  about the whole situation. This was a new world, one they were going to  have to likely fight to survive in. Harry was going to need some tough  love, if he was gonna make it. Right? Maybe Allie made him feel good,  for a little bit, but Allie was also gaga over Will; in the end, she  would leave, and Harry would fall apart again. It wasn't something that  Harry could afford. It only made sense for Campbell to be hard on him,  didn't it? It was pretty clear Harry's mental health was going down the  pipes already. Once the booze and drugs were gone, how was Harry going  to survive? Maybe Campbell was being too harsh, trying to put their  friendship between Harry and Allie, but it was the only way to toughen  Harry up.

The point was proven when Harry answered the door,  looking like he'd gotten mowed over by a tractor. When he saw Campbell,  his eyes lit up, if only a little. "Hey. I didn't expect to see you."

"Surprise. Jesus christ, have you taken a shower since the party?"

"Uh..."

Campbell  stepped inside the house, shoving Harry towards the bathroom. "I'm not  talking to you while you smell like a garbage disposal. Go."

Harry  sighed, but did as he was told. When he came back out, his hair was  combed and still a little wet, and the asshole looked like some sort of  model that you'd see posing next to the ocean with some expensive,  organic wine or some damn thing. Campbell scowled and threw him an apple  and a bottle of water.

"What's this for?" Harry asked.

"Something for you to eat while we head to the church. Cassandra texted, she's calling for a meeting of some kind."

"Is that the only reason you're here?"

"No, but we can talk on the way. Get your shoes on."

They  could have taken Harry's car, but Campbell chose to walk. Fresh air  would do Harry a little good, and it gave them time to talk about  whatever it was Harry thought they needed to talk about. It was quiet  for a long while. Harry kept glancing over, but he just rubbed his neck  and kept his mouth shut.

"What's going on between us, Cam?"

Campbell  paused for a step at the sudden question. Fuck. Fuck, that was not the  conversation he was expecting. Time to play ignorant. "What are you  talking about? We had a spat. Whatever. There's nothing going on."

"Come  on, you know what I mean. You've got to." Harry looked at him again,  eyebrows knit together in worry. "First you hated Kelly..."

"Kelly wants me dropped into a volcano because I stole her pizza rolls in the 4th grade."

"...And now you're jealous of Allie."

"Okay, so why would I be jealous of Kelly and Allie?"

"You tell me."

Grabbing  Harry's shoulder, Campbell spun Harry around to face him. "What do you  want me to say, Harry? Huh?" He stepped closer, until he could feel  Harry's breath on his face, and then a little closer still. "That I want  you? Is that what you think this is?"

Harry swallowed hard. "Is that what this is?"

"It doesn't matter, either way."

"Cam."

"No,  just stop. Even if it were true, you had years to figure this out.  Years. But you slept around, and then you settled down with Kelly. Now,  you have Allie. I have Elle. Whatever could have happened here, it's not  happening now."

"I just..." Harry trailed off. Oh, Campbell had  hit a nerve. The hurt in Harry's eyes was almost enough to make Campbell  take it back. "I just want us to stay friends, okay? I don't want  anything to come between us."

"We're still friends. That's not going to change. Alright?"

"Whatever."

But  it wasn't whatever. Campbell could tell that from the way Harry pulled  away, moving like he was trying not to jostle some sort of wound. Well,  what was Campbell supposed to do? Harry might not have known specifics,  but he knew Campbell was a roller-coaster. He knew Campbell had trouble  with feelings. If he'd wanted something more out of their relationship,  he should have said something sooner. Why sugarcoat the truth?

They  had other people, and unless Kelly and Elle were interested in  polyamory, nothing was going to happen. It sucked, but it was true. It  still forced Campbell to look at those goddamn emotions, and that wasn't  something he'd counted on having to do any time soon. Of course Harry  was handsome. Most of the male-attracted population of the school  agreed, even if they hated him. And of course they knew each other well,  to the point that they could look at each other and know what the other  was thinking. That wasn't even mentioning all the times they'd flirted  under the pretense of a joke, and everything else remotely sexual that  had ever happened between them.

But did Campbell want to be with  Harry? Hadn't it all just been a little bit of a game? A phase? Some  weird hormonal thing? Harry hadn't ever really seemed interested in  guys, beyond Campbell. Maybe Harry was just confused. Campbell had  already accepted being a little bit bi, even if he'd only ever told  Harry. But Harry had never confessed anything like that to Campbell. Not  until now, and even then, he hadn't actually admitted anything.

The  rest of the trip was just as silent as the first part had been, thank  whatever higher powers existed. By the time they got to the church, they  were late; the entire church was packed, and Campbell couldn't even  really see Elle in the giant flock.

"There's practically no seats left," Harry mumbled. "Damn."

Campbell  shrugged, smiling a bit at Cassandra as she stood at the front of the  church. She certainly had stepped into the leader role. "She called, and  they came."

They found a seat, and Campbell listened as  Cassandra began to speak. It was hard to focus, though, what with Harry  hunched up and radiating irritation. Christ. He was already on edge, and  a quick glance around the room revealed he wasn't the only one.  Hopefully Cassandra was going to be careful. She was an expert on the  debate team, and knew politics well enough. She was the best leader they  could have. But... she wasn't popular, so much as infamous. They both  were. He knew better than anyone that she had to be careful.

And  at first, she was. Cassandra spoke of making an inventory of resources. A  good idea, but then she followed it up with the words food rationing.  Logical and another good idea, but Campbell could feel the tension in  the room growing. Communal eating earned a few groans, but it was the  sharing houses idea that shut the room down. Campbell felt a slight jab  of disappointment. He'd told Cassandra it would be a bad idea. Yes, it  would save resources if they were limited-- potentially-- but people  would grate on each other. Even friends who were stuck together against  their will could turn on each other. Strangers? Enemies? It was asking  for trouble.

She continued on. Work rotation lists, good. Sharing  the work load, good. A committee, excellent. There was a murmur of  excitement when Cassandra announced a committee on finding out how to  get home. That would be something to help keep people hopeful, for sure.  They'd put up with things much better if they thought it was temporary.  And, likely, they'd be used to the new way of things by the time the  geeks inevitably came to the conclusion that they were trapped.

"I think we should take a vote," Cassandra concluded with a smile. "All in favor, raise your hand."

A  large portion of people raised their hands right away. A few more went  up, slower. More uncertain. A few women hissed at their partners, and  another small group of hands went up. There were still plenty of  holdouts. Campbell watched Harry from the corner of his vision, waiting.  Harry didn't budge. A lot of people didn't budge.

Cassandra scanned the room. Her smile faded. "I don't think we can do this unless it's unanimous."

A  bad move, that. What was the point of putting it to vote, if those who  expressed dissent were going to be pressured into agreement? Wasn't a  majority of the vote good enough? If she could convince them... but it  didn't matter, it seemed, because those begrudging hands went up after a  long pause. Cassandra glanced towards Campbell, who in turn looked to  Harry. Harry stared back at him. Don't do it, that look said. Campbell  smiled and raised his hand. Gritting his teeth, Harry raised his, too.

When  the meeting was over, Harry cornered Campbell by the door. "What did  you do that for?" he seethed. "Those rules are bullshit."

"They're not bullshit. It's common fucking sense."

"Easy for you to say. No one's gonna want to share houses with you."

"Elle already is."

"Wait, what?"

Campbell  almost felt bad at the note of upset in Harry's voice. "I mean, you  were in bed with Allie, so maybe you didn't hear. She asked to stay at  my place for a few days. But honestly, with these new rules, I don't  think she'll be leaving again any time soon. We're both kinda high key  social rejects."

"I guess that makes sense, then." Harry studied  his hands. "I better get going. Lock up all the valuables before these  assholes move in and wreck everything." He stood, heading towards the  exit, but then paused. "Would it have made any difference, if I had said  something sooner? Would you have felt anything?"

"No."

A  lie, but Harry took it at face value. He shook his head and kept  walking. Campbell leaned back in the pew and sighed. Whatever was going  on in Harry's head, hopefully it would blow over now. Campbell wasn't  going to abandon Elle, and Harry needed to see his thing with Allie  through. Even if it ended-- and of course it would-- he wasn't going to  be the reason for it. Allie already loathed Campbell, and it wouldn't be  a good idea to make that whole thing worse.

Footsteps came  closer, and there was a whiff of jasmine in the air. "That bad, huh?"  Elle asked as she sat down next to him. "I see you managed to get Harry  down here."

"For all the good it did. This is all going to explode."

"I don't know. A lot of people seemed open to it."

"They  did. And they will be, for a while. But..." Campbell rubbed his face.  "Cassandra is a good leader. She's tough and she's fair. The issue is,  she's a total goddamn extraterrestrial when it comes to feelings. Give  her a puzzle and she can solve it, but this isn't just a puzzle. People  are going to get upset, and she isn't going to know how to fix that."

Elle rested her hand on his knee. "Maybe it'll be alright. Sometimes people can surprise you."

Campbell  wanted to argue, but he just smiled instead and placed his hand over  hers. "Yeah. I'm sure you're right. What are you gonna do about your  house, though, now that we're all getting sardined together?"

"Well..."  Tucking her hair behind an ear, Elle hesitated. "I've never even really  gone out for sleepovers or anything. The idea of living with someone  else is kind of terrifying. I thought maybe I could stay with you. I  know we're not serious or anything, but..."

"If you want to stay with me, you can. I'd be happy to have you there."

"Yeah?"

He  gave her hand a little squeeze. "I seriously like you, regardless of  whatever this is or where it's going. And like I said, I think maybe I  do need someone there with me. Keep me from staying in my head too  much."

Elle smiled, and Campbell felt that little flutter of  warmth reserved especially for her. They headed back to her house, and  she packed up the rest of her things. The rest of the day was spent  moving; it was an interesting feeling, seeing her possessions slowly  replace the traces of his parents. For the first time, the house started  to lose that cold, hostile chokehold it always had whenever he walked  through the door. It was inviting, instead. Comfortable.

They  had some cheese pizza rolls and a couple beers, the closest thing they  could get to the American moving-in tradition. Elle still slept in the  other room, but Campbell didn't care.

Someone else there, someone who seemed to want to be around him. Someone safe to love. That was good enough.

[moonraccoon-exe]

GAH! BAD TUMBLR! BAD! TUMBLR! EATING MY ASK! Iwould like to try to request a scenario/headcanon list of a time Pap!Cor had to take Baby!Prompto with him to the Citadel and Baby!Prompto meets the other Baby!Chocobros for the first time! Please and thank you!

You don’t talk Papa!Cor without TRIGGERING ME.

Lately I’ve had had a lot of Papa Cor feels, as in even more than usual, so this will be an absolute joy to answer to.(*ﾉωﾉ)

Papa Cor takes Baby Prompto to the Citadel and he meets the Baby Chocobros for the first time.

Cor is still in absolute Papa Panic a couple months into being dad of a stolen baby.

As being single Papa took him off-guard, he’s always a bit too paranoid about dear Prommy’s health and wellbeing.

Cor usually left baby Prommy with the neighbor because Cor was scared of taking him too far from the house.

(He’s so small, dear Astrals, and so fragile, I don’t want anything to happen to him :( )

As a noble and working for royalty, Cor has access to daycare within the Citadel itself, but 1. He absolutely FORGOT in his PapaPanic, and 2. He had not wanted to take Prommy there because he feared Prommy could get lost in such a huge place.

Because Cor knows his son, he just knows Prompto can somehow exit rooms like he can cross walls magically.

((Cor’s tried to spy him to see because, well…who knows, Prompto is from a Nif lab, what if he can go through walls o h m y g o d))

Cor you stupid thing.

However, one day, the neighbor was not available, and no matter how many people Cor phoned, no one was available to go take care of Prommy.

Cor did not want to hire someone for it because HOW CAN HE TRUST SOMEONE HE DOESN’T KNOW, IT’S HIS SON HE’S TALKING ABOUT, HE NEEDS SOMEONE OF HIS FULL ABSOLUTE TRUST.

((…please forgive his paranoia

So Cor had no option but to take Prommy to the Citadel daycare.

Let’s see how everything went, shall we?

Cor will never forgive to himself waking 1 and half year old Prommy at such an early hour.

Sure, baby fell back asleep immediately, literally in his arms and before reaching the car, but Cor woke him up for a minute and that is UNFORGIVABLE.

Baby Prommy was still asleep when Cor arrived to the Citadel, so that’s how Cor took him to daycare; dear tiny Prommy asleep in papa’s arms.

Cor is the most awkward potato with legs to have ever walked into the Citadel’s daycare.

Cor gave instructions and warnings to the employee for like twenty minutes.

There is baby Prommy asleep in one of the cribs, and Cor literally unable to get away of him, and whispering things to the employee.

“I know he looks like he doesn’t give troubles, but he’s a bit…hyperactive.”

“Yes, sir.”

“So please be patient with him, I’m sorry if he causes any troubles, that’s not what he means to do, he’s just…a bit hyperactive :(“

“Understood, sir.”

“Uhm. Really, he’s a good kid and he’s calm and he would never harm an ant or annoy someone on purpose, he’s just playful and wants to be friends with everyone, but really he’s not a mess- no, he’s just. A bit hyperactive.”

“Yes, sir, I understand.”

“Try- please- don’t frighten him, please, be soft with him- I mean, I know you are soft with all the kids, I don’t mean- I’m not questioning- I’m not trying to tell you how to do your job, I know you’re wonderful at it, I’m just- this is my first time being dad and I don’t know, I feel horrible getting away of him and I just want to have an eye on him at all time and I’m scared something can happen to him and it’s not that I don’t trust you, of course I do- oh my god, no, I’m sorry, I’m just offending you and being rude and-”

Cor needed to be reassured and calmed down.

Ahahaha, aaw, Cor, it’s okay

((This almost earned him a girlfriend, to be honest, employee was moved at how much of a soft marshmallow of a dad Cor is))

It took all of Cor’s self control to not stay in daycare all day.

After a struggle and reminding himself he’s a high ranked officer (not Marshal yet, but still high rank), he forced himself out and decided Prommy would do okay and everything would be fine and that there would be no Nif invasion or catastrophe or natural disaster that day.

Prommy woke up like an hour later.

After feeding him and changing him, employee left baby Prommy in the playroom. At first he was alone.

Normally, the baby prince would be looked after in his room and with personal nannies (mostly because of his health and tiny size which worries the king), but…

Regis forever-a-mischievous-child Lucis Caelum heard Cor had finally brought his child and he SO had to make both kids befriend.

Regis is fanboy number one of kids and toddlers, and he wants all toddlers in the world to be friends, even more if it’s about his son and the son of one of his intimate friends.

He’s uncle Regis for damn’s sake, the kids have to be friends!

So Regis went “Fuck everything” and decided to leave the prince at the normal daycare of the Citadel.

So baby Noct was second to arrive.

There were other babies around, but Prommy wasn’t interacting with anyone; he found a squeaky chocobo plush so he was entertained on his own.

Until the baby prince arrived.

The employees were doing as normal when the KING HIMSELF came in like “Hello, I…work here and they said I could use daycare, do you need to see my ID? C:”

(Regis was serious)

Regis put baby Noct on the floor and patted his head as goodbye.

Regis tried to hide to stare, but he was being too obvious and the assistants were staring, so he left (made sure to ask for the videotape by the end of the day, though. Regis just…REALLY wants to see Prommy and Noct interact

Anyway back to the babies.

Year-and-half Noct was sat there still sleepy and not really caring.

Prommy was still distracted with the squeaky chocobo.

A few moments later, though, because baby Noct yawned, little Prompto turned in the direction of the noise thinking it had been a kitty (baby Prom loves kitties and puppies).

Baby Prom saw baby Noct.

Baby Prom is fast crawling towards him.

I’d like to say they saw each other and there was a connection and they laughed…

But Baby Prommy took baby Noct by the mouth and forced it open and started looking inside.

There you have it; the baby prince sat there and another baby forcing his mouth open to look in there like a tamer with a crocodile or something.

It’s good that Cor isn’t here or he would be freaking out real bad right now.

Baby Prommy was looking for the kitty that this other baby ate.

That was what made the kitty sound, right?

Finding no kitty, Prommy let go of his face.

Baby Noct is tearing up.

Baby Noct feel attacked and scared.

Baby Noct was always too sensitive; he wouldn’t let anyone but Regis carry him, and would cry if someone talked too much at him or looked too much or touched him.

This baby went as into forcing his mouth open.

So obviously baby Noct is about to burst into tears.

Baby Noct is sat there, face shrugged up, teary eyes, and about to cry.

Baby Noct starts crying.

Baby Prommy goes “GASPS”

Baby Prommy proceeded to start petting Noctis.

Literally.

There’s baby Prommy, coming to stand on his little chubby feet, and patting the top of the baby prince’s head soft but steady.

Baby Noct hysterically cried for like seven seconds.

Then he went silent.

Baby Noct is sat there taken off guard and staring at the void and not sure he understands what’s happening.

Baby Prommy is still petting him.

Both babies spend there about an entire minute or two, baby Noct sat there teary eyed but quiet, and baby Prommy petting him.

That’s how Cor always makes baby Prommy calm down, so baby Prommy guessed it could work on this stranger baby.

After baby Prommy has made sure baby Noct isn’t crying anymore, baby Prommy whispers a baby ‘Deh, deh’ (it’s his version of ‘there, there’), and hugs him.

The prince hasn’t known this baby for more than two minutes and this stranger is already hugged to his neck.

Baby Noct has no idea how to react or what’s going on. He’s frozen and not returning the hug.

Baby Prommy stays hugged to him nonetheless.

Until Noctis giggles quietly and hugs back.

That’s when baby Prommy knows it’s fine.

Baby Prommy babbles at Noct, and Noct replies in more babbles.

What is baby language and why do they understand each other.

Baby Prommy is giving his hand to baby Noct to help him stand up.

Baby Noct has barely started to walk (started later than the ‘’average’’ but still nothing too weird) so he does stumble a lot and it takes some effort, but baby Noct lets Prommy pull him up.

There’s the baby prince waddling behind the new kid.

Why

The baby prince has never liked to interact with anyone

The baby prince has refused to even look at other babies or people he’s seen for year and half.

This baby made him cry the first time they met and he’s barely known him for 3 minutes and he’s already giggling and waddling after him

What is this baby and how did he enchant the prince

Baby Noct and baby Prom start playing together.

It’s amazing because baby Noct is too shy and cries at any interaction that isn’t with Regis, so how did he grow trust in this baby so soon?

Honestly, the assistants are making sure to take some photos and videos to show the king later; it’s absolutely new and impressive that the baby prince is laughing and playing with another baby, so this is an event they can’t miss.

Regis is already watching at the video room.

Regis please go back to work.

Baby Prommy is sharing his favorite chocobo toy with baby Noct.

Baby Noct is choosing the chubbiest moogle plush and bringing it to him.

The babies are finding the toys that the other babies aren’t using and bringing them to each other like gifts.

Both babies grab the toy that the other gives to him, plays with it and swings it around, then claps and goes to look for his own gift, and the cycle goes on.

Baby Prommy and baby Noct spend all the morning together.

They’re bringing toys to each other, playing together, waddling places together, babbling and speaking the words they know to each other, gesturing, singing and dancing, etc.

Baby Prommy and baby Noct become best friends in one morning.

They’re bro-ing their way through daycare.

They’re ignoring the other kids, too. Not like pushing them away, they just don’t get close to other kids and no kids get close to them. They’re more than good enough with each other and only that.

Baby Prommy even managed to convince baby Noct to hold his hands and dance in a tiny circle together.

It’s stupidly adorable, they’re so tiny and waddle and askdljlkjfsgs.

Baby Prommy and baby Noct also spent a lot of the morning cuddling.

For no reason. They would just hug from time to time just because they could do it.

Baby Noct is messing with baby Prommy’s hair.

Baby Noct noticed baby Prommy’s hair is the same color than the plush chocobo’s, so he’s using the plushie as model and tries to make Prommy’s hair look like it.

Hence the chocobo butt hairstyle.

Yep. It was baby Noct’s invention.

Both babies are looking into their diapers to see if both have that funny bouncy meat stick in there.

As in they’re looking into each other’s diapers.

Again, so good Cor isn’t here to watch it.

He knows it’s normal and he considers Noctis to be family, but he’s still THE CROWN PRINCE, Prommy can’t just be checking into his diaper like that!!

Baby Prommy is constantly petting and hugging baby Noct even if the gesture isn’t given back.

Baby Prommy doesn’t mind. He just wants to pet and hug.

Wherever both babies are going, they’re holding hands.

Baby Prommy waits for and helps baby Noct when the latter falls down.

Normally, baby Noct would cry whenever he falls down while walking.

Not this time; he’s in playtime with baby Prommy, he doesn’t have time to stop to cry.

If another baby makes a noise too loud or throws something accidentally their way, the babies gasp and hug and stay paralyzed.

And that’s how baby Prommy and baby Noct spend the while together; hand in hand, playing, and going all around the room together.

Until some hours later when they were interrupted.

It’s toddler Iggy.

Just-turned-3-year-old Ignis has arrived.

His uncle is who brings him to daycare that day.

Normally, babies and toddlers are in two separate playing rooms, but they left Iggy there because he’s still rather small and everyone in the Citadel knows he’s the child that prince Noctis likes to be with.

Smol Iggy waved bye bye to his uncle and watched until the door was closed.

After that, little Iggy stared around the place before doing anything.

First thing little Iggy did was hurry towards the baby prince and hug him.

There’s a barely 3 year old Iggy dashing his way through the playroom to the place where baby Noct is sat with baby Prommy playing with some colorful blocks, reaching for the little prince, squating to reach him, and hugging him.

Iggy whispers “Nocto” lovingly while hugging him.

That’s his way of saying Hello.

Toddler Iggy is always ecstatic to find Noctis, so even though he just saw him last night, Iggy is super excited to see him today.

After hugging him, Ignis pets him.

Before he can do or say anything else, baby Noct grabs him by the hand and bounces slightly on his place with a loud but short baby ‘Ah!’

“Iggy! Iggy! Pompom!”

Baby Noct is pointing at baby Prompto.

Baby Noct is introducing his new friend to his old friend.

Baby Prommy has been frozen in his place since Ignis arrived to hug him.

On a side he’s super dazed and shocked that the kid arrived from nowhere. On the other side, he’s shocked that someone else is hugging his new best friend, and he’s very scared because he thinks that this new and bigger kid is going to steal Noct from him :(

Baby Prommy thought Noct would leave with his other friend without even saying bye.

But nope; there’s tiny Iggy down on his ankles next to Noct, staring at baby Prom eye widened and with the mouth slightly open, while Noct is pointing at him saying “Pompom”.

Toddler Iggy and baby Prom are staring at each other petrified and shocked because they’re both thinking the other will steal baby Noct and they’ll be left alone forever.

However, baby Noct bounces on his place happily introducing them.

“Pompom, he is Ig-gy! Iggy, Iggy, he- Pompom!”

Surprisingly it was baby Prommy who dared give a first step.

While he was still scared that the new kid would steal Noct from him, he still stood up and reached for kid Iggy and hugged him.

Toddler Iggy was even more shocked that this unknown baby was hugging him, but he soon gives in and hugs back.

That’s how both Prommy and Iggy are now sure they can trust each other, so the three sit together to play.

Iggy is accidentally teaching them how to talk.

Both babies already know plenty words already, but Iggy is older and knows more words and makes better sentences, so while he’s playing with them, he will sometimes tell them how something is called or how to pronounce something.

Toddler Iggy is arranging the toy blocks by color.

The babies are absolutely a m a z e d.

The babies are bringing all the color blocks to toddler Iggy so he arranges them.

The babies sort of take Iggy as the entertainment, but Iggy really likes it. He feels appreciated and praised.

Mostly because each time he does something, the babies clap and cheer him on.

It started with arranging blocks by color.

It continued with bringing plush dolls to him and have Iggy sit them perfectly. Like the head faces to the front and it’s not falling to the sides,etc.

Baby Prom and baby Noct are clapping.

Then they had Iggy run across the room without falling.

Omg how did he do that CLAP CLAP CLAP.

Iggy and the babies are playing tag; toddler Iggy runs and the babies chase after him.

With slightly longer legs and with more ability to run instead of waddling, Iggy easily runs faster than them, but he’s trying to give them vantage and uses it to entertain them.

That way, Iggy runs at not-his-full-speed but fast enough to entertain the babies; they run or crawl after him made a hysterical mess of giggles and laughs, and Iggy stops after he knows it’s a bit too much for them; when they’re close, he dashes off again, and stops when, once more, he thinks it’s too far from them, and so on and on.

They’re having a blast, really.

Toddler Iggy is also having fun and entertaining himself with sillier things, like, he takes a small toy, puts it on top of one of the babies’ head and asks “where did it go?”, and the three of them burst into giggles; the babies from how funny it is to see the toy on top of the other’s head, and Ignis at their reactions.

I guess the easiest way to describe the interaction is, Ignis finds some way to entertain and make the babies laugh, and that’s how Ignis himself has fun.

Selfless since tiny and toddler :’(

Another game between them is, Ignis takes a ball and makes it roll to the other side of the room, and the babies run after it; first to grab it wins.

There’s…no prize or anything, he just wins.

Ignis has fun just with watching the other two waddle and run across the room after the ball and falling flat on their tummies out of how excitedly they’re running.

The assistants are a bit surprised that they haven’t needed to do anything and that the babies have even ignored the activities they’re setting up for the other kids; these three are having so much fun on their own, there’s almost no need to look after them.

And a few hours later, they were interrupted again…

Kid Gladio comes in.

It was Papa himself who went in to drop him.

Because Clarus was aware that kid Noctis was here, he also took the chance to get a look at how he was doing; he knows the little prince and how scared and introvert he is around other kids (people in general), so he wanted to make sure he was okay.

Clarus is staring eye widened as he watches the little prince laughing and running around with Iggy and Prompto.

“Oh my. The little prince playing with two friends. This is new…”

Clarus was also VERY VERY VERY /V E R Y/ curious to see Prommy there.

Regis told him Cor had finally brought his child to work, so this was Clarus’ definitive chance to see this all; little Prommy out of his house and in the Citadel, and the prince hanging in the same place? HE HAD TO SEE IT.

So now Clarus is staring at all three kids play while carrying with Gladdy.

That is, until Gladdy gets all *flail, flail, flail, flail, struggle, struggle* in his arms because PAPA, PUT ME DOWN, PUT ME DOWN

Clarus had forgotten why he was even there in the first place.

Clarus put Gladdy down and patted his head goodbye before turning around and leaving.

He doesn’t really want to, but oh well, duty calls.

He’ll ask for the videotape later, anyway.

((kasjdksajdkdf, he’s going to fight over it with Regis until they learn that they can both have a copy, these dorks)

And that is how about-to-turn-4-years-old Gladdy comes into the scene!

The first thing he did was the same than toddler Iggy.

Gladdy spotted little Noct and dashed his way towards the little prince, and once there, he hugged him.

“Nocto!”

Little Gladio is wrapping the arms around baby Noct and picking him off the floor and swinging him slightly side to side.

Prompto is… A M A Z E D

Like so STUNNED. IN AWE.

W O A H. LOOK AT THAT BIG KID. IT’S A GROWN KID AND HE’S- WOAH, HE’S CARRYING BABY NOCT!

HOW IS MY NEW FRIEND FRIENDS WITH THIS BIG KID

THIS BIG KID IS SO STRONG OMG

Really, Noct is just tiny and weighs nothing.

Still, that’s something Prommy doesn’t know, he just knows Gladdy is so big and so strong and so WOH  :O

After Gladdy greets Noct, he puts him down and dashes off to Iggy to hug him as well.

Prommy isn’t the only “I hug everyone I see” in this room, you know.

Gladdy immediately rushes to hug his friend Iggy and squeeze and make those adorable toddler noises of joy and love, because he’s so happy :3

Noct is like a little brother, but Iggy is his absolute bestest friend in the world; normally, it’s only Iggy and Gladdy in daycare, so it’s Iggy with whom Gladio spends the most time with, and these two are best-best buddies in the WORLD, so of course he’s excited and has to say hi with a hug.

Toddler Iggy is giggling while Gladdy squeezes him.

When Gladdy let go, he turned and found little Prompto there and they made eye contact.

Prompto cried.

He thought Gladio was too big (really he’s small and adorbs, but Prommy is much smaller, so it’s just his perception of it all), and too scary.

First time Gladdy and Prommy met, Gladio accidentally made Prompto cry by existing.

Gladdy cried because Prompto cried.

Noctis cried because Gladio cried.

Ignis cried because Noctis cried.

The four are sat there in a square, crying.

The assistants finally had some job there and tried to pacify them all.

Last to stop crying was Noct, but last to feel confident was Prommy.

Gladdy was put back in the playroom, but he sat there still sniffling a bit and feeling sad because he made another kid cry.

Because Noct and Prommy were still in adult arms, Iggy was the one that went to comfort him.

Iggy, back in the playroom again, went towards best buddy Gladio and hugged him until Gladio fully calmed down again.

Iggy even made sure to go get a cookie from one of the assistants so he could bring it to Gladdy.

Toddler Iggy knows kid Gladdy loves eating.

Kid Iggy spent a good while petting Gladdy while Gladdy ate his cookie.

Afterwards, Gladdy stood up to hug Iggy again as a thank you.

Prommy was staring all the time, so he got a bit more of confidence because if big guy treats Ig-gy good, he must be good so no need to fear.

That’s how Prommy insisted on being put back down in the playroom.

Prommy went over to Gladio, curious, and stopped when Gladio saw him.

Both stared at each other in silence.

Then they hugged.

These two are the “I hug people I meet” kind, so it was just natural both would reach out for it.

That’s how they befriended and peace was brought back.

Noct was back soon enough after that.

Now there’s all four chocobros, chocobroing for the first time together!

They started befriending all together thanks to Gladdy.

He brought his favorite storybook with him that day, so he’s sat there showing his friends and his new friend “Pommy”.

Gladdy can’t read yet, so the four are only looking at the pictures.

Gladdy is sat in the middle and he’s in charge of turning the pages and pointing at curious things he’s seen (because he’s “read” this book so many times and has found little details in the drawings), and the other three are sat around the book staring and going

“OOOOOOOH! :O”

“AAAAAAAH!”

“WOOOOH! :O”

The kiddos are sat there for quite a while just staring and clapping and being amazed and sharing little words together.

Iggy is trying super hard to read, but he can’t :’)

At some point, Prommy and Noct get distracted (after finishing the book) because Noct is trying to scratch his head and Prommy wants to help.

There’s the two babies being idiots and rolling around while one tries to scratch the other and the other has close to no sense of balance even when sat.

In the meanwhile, Gladdy grabs Iggy and sits him with him so they can play patty-cake.

Both kiddos are chanting while they play.

Iggy and Gladdy spend a very long while playing with each other alone, all the variants of patty cake that they know.

The sound of the palms and the chanting gets the babies’ attention back.

They get curious and sit there to watch.

They’re hypnotized.

Absolutely hypnotized just watching the bigger guys play patty cake and chanting (that is SO MANY WORDS OHMYGOD)

Prommy and Noct cheer and clap when the big kids finish one of the patty-cake games.

They play again, and the babies cheer when they finish the new one.

And so on, and on, and on.

At some point, Prommy gets curious and is asking the big guys to teach him.

Noct is pouting that Prommy has Iggy’s attention, so Gladdy sits with him to teach him patty-cake too.

So there’s toddler Iggy teaching baby Prommy patty-cake, and tiny kid Gladio teaching baby Noct.

After that, and because they’re apparently now FOREVER TOGETHER, Noct and Prommy go back to each other and try to play patty-cake together.

They can’t. It’s a mess. And it’s ADORABLE.

It’s their attempts what make Gladdy and Iggy giggle and laugh, and it’s that they laugh what make Prommy and Noct think they’re doing GREAT, so they keep going.

This goes on for a long while.

After that, Gladdy decides to bring his favorite toys so they can all play together.

That’s how Gladdy brings the tambourines and two little plastic boxes.

The kiddos are making THEIR BAND.

So metal. So goth. So WILD.

Gladdy teaches baby Prommy and baby Noct to hit the toys he gave them so they sound.

There’s baby Noct SMACKING that box. There’s little Prommy shaking and hitting that tambourine. THEY’RE HAVING A BLAST.

Prommy loves singing even if it’s just gibberish, so he’s dancing in circles, patting the tambourine with no rhythm, and loudly singing gibberish.

It becomes contagious so Gladdy starts singing too.

They’re not even singing the same thing but they think they are, so they keep going.

Baby Noct wants to be popular so he’s joining the singing too.

He does it horribly and he’s not singing the same thing and he’s too loud, but is someone stopping him? No.

The three had to pause and convince Iggy because toddler Iggy is too shy to sing.

Eventually they convince him and now all four chocobros are hitting or shaking toys that make noise and singing loud gibberish.

Four different tunes. At the same time.

It’s hell.

Regis thinks it’s heaven.

Kid Gladio found out that baby Prommy claps every time he shows him something.

Kid Gladio loves the praise, so he’s bringing everything he finds to baby Prommy.

“Pommy, look!”

Gladio said that like fifty five times that day.

Prommy clapped all those fifty five times.

It’s not even interesting things; at first Gladio was bringing toys, then he started picking random things and yelled “Pommy look!” each time.

At least he was entertained for quite a long while, running around the entire room to find something to bring back to Prommy.

Meanwhile, Iggy was entertained with baby Noct.

Toddler Iggy learned from papa a funny game that he’s playing with Noct; basically, Iggy pokes his own nose and says “big nose”, then pokes Noct’s and says “little nose!”, and so on and on with the hands and the head and etc.

Baby Noct is laughing each damn time.

Why is it so easy to entertain a baby.

And Gladio. Gladio’s absurdly easy to entertain.

The assistants sometimes tried to have them play something, but most of the times the four ignored them to continue playing between themselves.

That’s fine, that way the assistants can focus in the other kiddos.

Except for the one time one assistant put some music on and led the toddler dancing.

As soon as the music blasted, the four kiddos were like ! :O *gasps!* and put attention.

And there you have them, all four of them trying to imitate the assistant dancing.

They waddle and bounce on their little feet and it’s absolutely hilarious.

It’s good that Regis isn’t here, he’d have a heart attack out of the cuteness.

The assistant grew tired because the kiddos insisted it kept going and going, so she left them alone with the music on.

The chocobros kept dancing all together.

Gladio announced he was hungry and grabbed Iggy and dragged him to the little toy stove.

“But I don’t know how to cook :(“

“But they are babies! You no baby, you grown kid, you know how to cook!”

“But you are more grown!”

“But I don’t know how to cook, I am a kid!”

These two were in severe distress because none know how to cook and want the other to take the role and oh my g o d who is going to cook we’ll STARVEAND DIE.

((in case you were wondering when Iggy started picking up liking for cooking, it was not Noct and the pastries. It was Gladdy bringing him to the toy kitchen each damn time at daycare because Gladdy is always hungry))

Iggy and Gladio ended up deciding they could do it as team work.

They’re baking imaginary cookies.

Baby Prommy and baby Noct are eating the imaginary cookies.

The bros also found time alone each one.

Well, just Iggy and Gladdy. The other two apparently don’t know how to be away of each other now.

Toddler Iggy found the bead maze and he’s absolutely enamoured of it.

Toddler Iggy is going to spend like an hour alone just playing with it.

Kid Gladio found a baby doll and he’s spending that hour nursing it and playing papa.

Prommy found a tiny cart his size so he’s dragging it around to collect the toys he finds alone.

Noctis is taking the toys from the cart and puts them back on the floor.

You can tell they were very entertained because no matter how many toys he picked up, Prommy always found more toys on the floor, and no matter how many toys Noct put on the floor he always found more on the cart!!

Kid Gladdy is putting up a show for the other 3.

He does a (very miserable) cartwheel as papa taught him, and the other three clap and cheer.

Mostly the babies, they’re AMAZED, WOW, HOW DID HE DO THAT OH MY GOD

Iggy is still very amazed too and claps cheerfully.

Then Gladdy wants the others to try too.

Iggy does poorly too, but everyone cheers SO LOUDLY FOR HIM, you should see that smile on his face, it’s made of purity and innocence and divine stardust ;A;

Baby Noct tried and hit himself and wanted to cry, but because the others clapped for him too, he was okay and SO PROUD OF HIMSELF.

Baby Prommy tried and only got to do some sort of half roll over himself and ended up lying flat on his back.

Still, the other three cheered for him a lot, so that’s okay, he was very damn proud of himself

They gave the bros a box.

THEY ALL WANT TO GET IN THE BOX.

They all get turns in the box, but it’s Noct who stays there the most.

He likes the box.

IT’S NAP TIME.

When the kids were taken to nap, Noct was, of course, first to choose his place to collapse.

Of course, though, baby Noct is like a panda bear; if he’s sleepy he won’t ask you to carry him and he won’t go to a soft place. He’ll just…drop where he’s currently standing.

The assistants made sure to take him to his soft mat, though, tucked him in.

Prommy was all *WRIGGLE WRIGGLE FLAIL FLAIL* in the assistant’s arms and insisted he slept next to Noct, and he didn’t stay still until they let him sleep next to Noct.

As in, they had to put his mat literally next to Noct so they were one big mat instead.

Toddler Iggy is always a mess when it’s nap time because he’s always wanted to sleep next to Noct, so they don’t wait for him to throw a tantrum like Prommy. They already know him.

(Though instead of a tantrum, toddler Iggy cries when you say no because he’s brokenhearted :( )

So Iggy’s mat is already next to Noct’s, and that’s where toddler Iggy curls up.

Kid Iggy always wants to sleep next to both Iggy and Noct, so most times he ends up in between Noct and Iggy, but because both sides are occupied already, kid Gladio curled up next to Iggy (because he thinks Prommy is too small and ‘stinky’ [because he still wears a diaper]) and Iggy is a ‘grown kid’.

Kid Gladio was who took his mat next to Iggy’s.

Like, the rest had to ask the assistants to put the mats together, but kid Gladio just went “YEH, NAP!” and took his own mat and brought it next to the guys’.

And that’s how the baby chocobros nap: Prompto next to Noct, who is next to Iggy, who is next to Gladio.

Which is the same arrangement in which they will continue sleeping through childhood.

And teen years.

And during the roadtrip in their 20’s. :’)

The assistants already know Regis is a fanboy mess for toddlers, especially his son, so they made sure to get a photo for him.

((Regis would have taken 50 photos even if they all looked the same))

There wasn’t much to do after nap hour because it was soon time to be picked up by papas.

They did get to play for a while more, though.

They started a CONGA LINE.

They’re not dancing or anything, one bro just started following the other, so the other 2 followed behind.

Gladio really did not mean to start the conga line, he was just searching for his lucky coin.

He doesn’t have a lucky coin.

So there’s Gladio walking around and stopping at random spots to search for an item he never lost because he never had it, while Iggy, Prom, and Noct follow behind and mimick him.

They did get to have a little fun with the cart, too.

Gladdy, because he’s a big kid, could pull the cart with both Noct and Prommy sat there.

They had a blast, the babies were a laughing mess.

Iggy was happy with just following and taking turns with Gladdy when Gladdy got tired.

After a few couple games more, the work shift was finally over in the Citadel.

Not a minute after it was over, Paranoid Papa Cor was already bursting in through the door.

WHERE IS HIS BABY IS HE OKAY IS  HE ALRIGHT PLS TELL ME HE’S FINE WHERE IS HE OMG I SHOULD HAVE NEVER ABANDONED HIM LIKE THIS I AM A HORRIBLE PARENT AND- oh my god there you are, little one~~~! ( ´ ▽ ` ).｡ｏ♡

He didn’t break in screaming, of course, haha, but he was made a bit of a nerve wreck when he came in.

“Where is Prom- I’m- I look- I’m- yes, yes, I’m fine, I uh- I’m- I’m a dad. And- I look for my son. His nam-? Ah yes of course” (Cor forgot his is not the only child there lmao)

“Is he alright? He didn’t have any troubles? He didn’t throw up or cried or anything? No, he’s not sick, I just…I’m scared he might be sometime, you know, he’s sorta fragile and I’m new at this and it’s first time I leave him at daycare..  ;___;”

Prommy was made a hysterical happy mess when he saw Cor.

He was absolutely radiant of joy and yelped out “Papa!” and ran towards him.

Cor is trying to not cry because he’s SO HAPPY.

Please, excuse his over sentimentalism, he’s new at this :’)

“Hey, baby boy! I missed you! :’D”

Prommy, of course, immediately made grabby hands at him so Cor picked him up, said hi, gave him a kiss, and asked him how he was, etc.

The mess was when Cor said “let’s go home”.

Prommy became a wriggly, flailing mess in his arms.

It’s first time Prommy yells “No!” when Cor says let’s go home.

Cor is puzzled and a bit shocked, and he wants to see what’s wrong.

Prommy looks like he wants to cry so Cor asks him what’s wrong and etc until Prommy says something.

“Friends.”

“? Hm? Prommy? (。。 )”

“My friends, papa.”

Cor is looking back at the playroom and staring at him are the three other bros.

They’re looking at Cor frozen and like it’s the first time they ever see him, maybe even a bit like pleading.

“Oh. Uhm. But…we can’t stay here all night, baby boy.”

“…my friends, papa… (ಥ﹏ಥ)”

Cor had to explain to Prompto that he was going to see them again tomorrow, too.

“*soft baby gasp*”

“Noc-to? (｡•́︿•̀｡)”

“Yes, baby. Noctis will be here.”

“Ig-gy? (｡•́ . •̀｡)”

“Yes, baby boy. Iggy will be here, too.”

“Ga-di? (｡•́ - •̀｡)”

“Yes, Prommy. Gladio too. :)”

“*soft and happy baby gasp* (｡•́ ▽ •̀｡)”

Prommy just asked to be put down for a bit so he could say bye to his friends.

First, he went to hug baby Noct.

Then he hugged toddler Iggy, and little kid Gladio.

Then he hugged Noct again and pet him again, like he did when they first said hi.

“I be here tomorrow!”

“Okeh. Then me too.”

“Yay! Thank- chu.”

“Ba bye, Pompom.”

“Ba bye, Not!”

“Ba bye, Pom!”

“Ba bye, Iggy!”

“Ba bye, Pommy!”

“Ba bye, Gadi! :D”

And that’s how Prommy accepted being separated from his friends for that day BUT ONLY THAT DAY, YOU PROMISED, PAPA.

Cor is so touched and moved because he realized he did the right thing by bringing him to the Citadel’s daycare. Prommy had never made friends before and it’s honestly the BEST feeling in the entire universe, to see his son playing with the gang and to see him not want to leave them and to see him saying bye to them KLASJDSDKG KALSDJSDF, Cor just became a toddler fanboy like Regis, too :’)

The chocobros waved bye at him even after the door was already closed.

Noctis cried three minutes after Prommy left.

Only Regis got to calm him down when he arrived for him.

Gladdy was picked up by mommy.

Iggy was last, picked up by his uncle (parents are busy!).

Gladdy made sure to steal the chocobo plush toy from daycare that day.

It was Prommy’s favorite, so Gladio is trying to make sure to keep it “reserved” for tomorrow.

:’)

These boys are so pure.

And that was how they met. ♡

Aaah~.... this was an absolute joy to write.( ´ ▽ ` ).｡ｏ♡

Ko-fi for coon, please? ヽ(・ω・)ﾉ 

Thank you for this request, buddy. I had a blast with it!! From the moment I read it, I wanted so bad to answer to it and I finally got around to it. 

Thank you as well for your immense patience! You even changed icons in the wait, that’s how long I took, hahaha ;w; But really, thank you for the patience and support. It means a lot to me!

I hope you enjoyed, and that it was close to what you expected ( ´ ▽ ` )

Have a wonderful day!

[nightterrorsblog]

GLOBOPHOBIA - PATIENT RECORD HB198610D

Patient Name: Harrison, Brenda

Age: 32

Sex: Female

Diagnosis: Globophobia, fear of balloons

The following journal entries were retrieved from the patient’s home on 02/07/2018 by Agent 14.

9/24/2017

My therapist wants me to document my “attacks”, so here I am.

I went bowling with Kevin today. There was a kid’s birthday party happening when we got there. I used my breathing exercises and tried to ignore the balloons they had tied everyfuckingwhere so that I could relax with my boyfriend and have some fun. It worked for a while, but when the party ended and the adults were cleaning up their mess, a yellow balloon came loose and floated up to the ceiling. No one could reach it and I guess it hit some air flow from a vent or something, and it floated right down to my lane.

I swear to God, the fucking thing stopped dead right above me and started to sink down like I was wearing a magnet for it or some shit. I ran into the bathroom and stayed there until Kevin helped one of the employees get it down and came and got me. He says he understands, but I can tell by the look in his eyes that he thinks I’m being stupid.

9/27/2017

Went to the store today. They decided to decorate for football season, apparently. Black and yellow balloons are tied to every damn register. I remembered the birthday party shit and walked out. I guess I’m ordering pizza tonight.

10/3/2017

Fuck that clown. Kevin says he was just being nice, but I swear to God that bastard was mocking me. “Take a balloon, ma’am, they’re free! No strings attached, I promise! Except the ones that keep them from flying away! HONK HONK I promise they don’t bite!” Get bent, you Pennywise looking asshole.

Kevin says I overreacted and that I embarrassed him. We got into a big fight and he left. Now he won’t answer my phone calls. Guess that’s over.

10/10/2017

Started a new medication today. Maybe this will work better than the hypnotherapy and other meds did. It fucking better. I hate needles.

10/14/2017

Got home from work today to find a yellow balloon tied to the doorknob on my front door. It had an angry face with sharp teeth drawn on it.

I went in through the back door and called my neighbor, but he wasn’t home. I could see the balloon through the window on the door. It had turned so that the face was looking at me. I barricaded myself in my bedroom and hid under my blankets, but I could still feel the fucking thing watching me.

My neighbor called me when he got home a couple of hours later, but he said there wasn’t a balloon on my door when he checked. Whoever put it there must have cleaned up the evidence.

It had to have been Kevin. Fuck you, Kevin.

11/16/2017

I was doing so well! I was able to go back to the store with the football decorations the other day and actually buy something. Sure, I had a panic attack in my car afterward, but it was progress! I thought the medicine might have been helping, but how much can anything help when someone decides to torment you?

There was another yellow balloon with a face drawn on it tied to my TV remote today. This face looked angrier and meaner than the last one. I ran outside and called the cops when I found it. It was gone when they got there. They looked all over the place to see if whoever left it was still in the house, but nope. They also didn’t find any clues pointing to how he got in.

This is so fucked up. JUST LEAVE ME ALONE.

11/25/2017

Had an emergency appointment with my therapist today. I keep having nightmares about the fucking balloons. I can’t sleep. Everytime I close my eyes, I dream about angry yellow balloons chasing me, watching me, hurting me. Last night I dreamt that a bunch of them tied me down with ribbon and ate me alive. I can still hear the sounds of the balloons rubbing together while they fought for space to take bites. Ugh.

I’m afraid to leave my house and give that asshole another opportunity to fuck with me.

The therapist encouraged me to stay on my new meds and call the cops when I don’t feel safe. What if I never feel safe?

11/30/2017

Woke up this morning and went to make myself some breakfast. When I opened the refrigerator to grab the eggs, a yellow balloon flew out at me. The face on it was really twisted this time, and it kept coming toward me no matter what I did. I started throwing stuff at it, but it kept coming. I passed out at some point.

I guess my neighbor heard the commotion and called the cops. They were there when I woke up. The balloon wasn’t.

12/5/2017

Went to the hospital today. I went out to grab my mail and when I turned around to walk back into the house, I spotted a yellow balloon with a fanged smiley face drawn on it floating in my living room window. I guess I stumbled backward and stepped off of the curb, right into the path of a dude riding his bike down the street.

I have a concussion and some nasty bruises, but I’ll be alright, I guess. I saw the doctor who gives me my shots on my way out. He was super focused on reading something in a blue notebook, so I didn’t bother him.

Surprise, surprise. The balloon wasn’t there when I got home. I thought about reporting it to the police again, but at this point the only thing that’s gonna get me is a nice vacation in a padded room. The cops that came last time were thinking about it, I could tell.

I’m not crazy. I just want this to stop. I don’t think I can take much more.

12/9/2017

I’ve seen angry yellow balloons literally everywhere I go. Doctor is worried that my concussion is worse than they thought. MRIs are loud and uncomfortable.

12/20/2017

My therapist thought it would be a good idea to bring a yellow balloon out during my session today. Stupid bitch. “You need to face your fears, Brenda.” Fuck that shit. I bet she set up the camera so she could laugh at my reaction later with her buddies. “Clinical study” my ass.

I tried. I really did. Then Satan’s party favor started coming at me and I started screaming and crying like a fucking baby. Bitchface let it push me into a corner before she took it away. She said something about static electricity making it attracted to me, but I could tell she was making shit up to placate me. She seemed more interested in scribbling notes about the incident than actually convincing me that it was totally normal. I’m not stupid.

1/2/2018

Another one popped out of my closet this morning and rushed at me when I opened the door. Its eyes were colored red and its fangs were so big that it took up half of the balloon. I grabbed my softball bat and swung at it. When I made contact, it burst and this black goo sprayed everywhere. It got all over my arm and burned my skin. I wiped the goo off and went to the hospital.

I’m not crazy. The 2nd degree burns under the bandage on my arm tell me so.

So where the hell did the balloon corpse and all the black goo go?

1/9/2018

My arm isn’t healing. The burn is this gross brownish color. I think it’s infected. The balloons keep appearing, but they’re keeping their distance. Like they’re watching me, waiting for something.

1/14/2018

I swear to God the fucking burn is spreading and it’s turning yellow. My therapist says it looks the same to her as it did last week. Useless bitch.

1/20/2018

I’m writing this from my bed, hiding under the covers like a fucking child. There are like 10 yellow balloons floating in my bedroom. Every single one of them has this creepy smile drawn on. I tried to call the cops, but my phone is dead. I could have sworn I plugged it in last night.

I can hear them laughing at me through the covers. My arm burns. I think it’s swollen too.

I don’t know how long I’ve been under here. I keep dozing in and out. I’m starving, but those fucking things are still there. I tried to get out of my bedroom, but they swarmed me and I dove back under my covers.

I took the bandage off of my arm. It’s not even covering the wound anymore. The burn itself takes up my entire forearm, and my whole arm is yellow like an old bruise and so swollen that I can’t even bend it. It smells as badly as it burns.

I heard someone knocking. My whole body is so swollen that I can barely move. It took all of my energy just to roll onto my stomach so I could write. I don’t know if the balloons took away my blanket or if I kicked it off at some point. They are on top of me now. I can feel them covering my back and legs. They’re so warm.

I think I’ll die here. Maybe the balloons will float me away.

To the offices of Dr. Verland,

First, I’d like to thank you.

I was skeptical when you insisted that your serum would make me better. I realize now that it was working even when I thought it was making things worse. My mind and body had to break before they could become stronger. I know that now.

I thought the balloons were threatening. I thought they were terrifying. I know now that they were watching, waiting not for the time to strike, but the time to act.

While my body swelled, stretching further than I thought possible, I prayed for mercy. I prayed for the strength to get me through pain worse than I had ever felt. I didn’t realize until I began to deflate that I was granted both.

I barely recognize myself in the mirror. My malleable yellow skin and razor sharp teeth are rather unsettling to look at, but my transformation will prove quite useful.

You see, my floating friends didn’t just give me physical gifts.

I know who you really are. I know what you’re doing. Your whole foundation will fall faster than a popped balloon.