#we texted almost every day in the family group chat

[subtlybrilliant]

I miss my dad.

I miss my aunt.

Today has been so hard.

This weekend has been so hard.

[whatsk-poppinhomies]

Pairing : Dad!Lee Minho x F!Reader TW : pregnant reader ; one child ; just fluff ; the fluffiest fluff ; Word Count : 2.3k Request : Anonny : Can we have more dad lee know 🥹 after the newest skz family ep dad lee know has taken over me A/N : Gonna make this in headcanon mode so that I can give multiple examples, I can't focus on just one. The Minho brainrot has gotten to me!

Dad Lee Know who announced your pregnancy through bubble and took an hour and half a bag of kitty treats just to line Soonie, Doongie, and Dori up around your positive pregnancy test. The only caption was “I’ve been promoted from cat dad to real dad.” 

Dad Lee Know who keeps the pregnancy tracker app on his phone because he wants you to have enough storage on your phone to take constant pictures of belly updates. He sends you a text every time a week passes letting you know what the baby is the size of. Your favorite text was probably the random “BASEBALL!!!” text, it took you a good five minutes to understand what it meant since he didn’t elaborate. 

Dad Lee Know who comes home from work every day and gives your belly kisses, telling his little baseball sized baby that he missed them dearly. He says it’s so that they get used to hearing it already and they’ll know what it means when they come out. 

Dad Lee Know who plans his entire schedule around your doctors appointments, making sure that he’s able to make it to each and every one of them. He and Chan almost got into a fight because Chan accidentally said the wrong date for practice. He even wrote the appointment dates on the staff calendar so they knew not to schedule anything for those days. 

Dad Lee Know who had playfully made a bet with the guys about the gender of his child. He said he had thought it was, and he had wanted a boy, but when it was revealed that he was having a daughter he had cried tears of joy and excitedly wrote in the group chat that he’d give the guys the money he owed them for the bet after he took you out to eat. 

Dad Lee Know who started decorating the nursery for his daughter the day after the appointment, declaring that the nursery would be fit for a princess… And then proudly stating that his daughter is a princess already. She was going to be spoiled beyond belief. 

Dad Lee Know who had bought a heart doppler just so that he could lay in bed at night beside you with his headphones on listening to the sound of his daughter's rapid heartbeat. (He had also googled on the first night if it was normal for a baby's heartbeat to be almost 170bpm in the womb… It is normal.) 

Dad Lee Know who took paternity leave 3 weeks before your due date because he had read that by that time the baby could come at any point and he didn’t want to take any chances of missing the moment. 

Dad Lee Know who put on a strong face when your water broke while you both were out shopping for more baby clothes. On the inside he was freaking out, but he was staying calm for you. 

Dad Lee Know who held your hand on the ride to the hospital, tears already pricking his eyes knowing that his baby girl would soon enter this world and he’d be able to hold her. 

Dad Lee Know who freaked out a little bit (a lot) when he saw his daughter's head crowning, he was about to faint, so he opted to stay up close to your head through the rest of the delivery because he wanted to be conscious when she fully came out. 

Dad Lee Know who told you that you were doing amazing and how proud he was of you even though you were being so mean during the delivery. He understood though, it looked like it hurted a lot. He was so proud to call you his wife. 

Dad Lee Know who’s hand was shaking as he cut the umbilical cord, his breath was held, but that was the moment that he truly felt like a dad, like a father. He finally let the breath out when the cord was cut. 

Dad Lee Know who cried harder than you when he heard his daughter’s first cries. 

Dad Lee Know who begged you to let him hold her first, and you were honestly so tired that you didn’t even have the energy to say no. 

Dad Lee Know who almost filled up his phone storage completely on his daughter's first day on earth because he couldn’t stop taking pictures of her. She was so beautiful, he had hearts in his eyes the moment he laid them on her. She was precious to him and he let the world know it. 

Dad Lee Know who sent a picture of her to the group chat with the caption “I made this! So did Y/N, but look at her! Look what we made!” In that moment he had created a team of uncles that would promise to protect her just as much as Minho would. 

Dad Lee Know who woke up every night with his daughter because he didn’t want to miss a moment with her. He also knew that you needed your sleep, you had done all of the hard work, the least he could do is let you get some rest. 

Dad Lee Know who introduced his daughter to his cats as their new sister. “She’s not old enough to play yet, so be nice. You can look, but don’t touch. Okay?” It seemed like they understood him though, they would sit around her swing and stare at her, almost like they were guarding her or watching out for her, and they would only move away when you or Minho picked her up. 

Dad Lee Know who would get slightly sad when you would breastfeed his daughter because it was one of the things he couldn’t do. He surprised you with a breast pump because he wanted her to know he could give the milk too, just… In bottle form. 

Dad Lee Know who immediately felt guilty about the breast pump because it looked painful and he didn’t want you to be sore. The only time you did it now was when you knew you were going out and you wanted to have the milk ready. 

Dad Lee Know who almost threw up the first time he changed her diaper. After he was done it looked like he had lost about 20 years which was hysterical to you. All of the guys heard about it and they clowned him for it for a good bit. 

Dad Lee Know who cried his eyes out the night before his paternity leave was over. He didn’t want to go back to work, he didn’t want to spend a single moment away from you or his daughter, the thought that he might miss something was devastating to him. 

Dad Lee Know who had attempted to sneak his daughter to work with him in the baby wrap carrier, and then crying even more when you caught him and told him he couldn’t, at least not until she was a couple months older. 

Dad Lee Know who refused to believe that his daughter was already five months old when the day came around. He was a softie and he didn’t like to think that his baby girl was growing already, he wanted her to stay little forever. 

Dad Lee Knowwho brought home a “Baby’s First Christmas” ornament when he came home from work and then proceeded to cry his eyes out because “where did the time go? Tell her to stop growing.” 

Dad Lee Know who went all out for her first birthday party which he wanted to be princess themed because, alas, she was his princess. He took pictures and videos all day, and then that night when she was fast asleep, he laid in bed beside you, choked up and sniffling as he told you that he felt like he was missing too much of her life because of his job. 

Dad Lee Know who had been the one to see her take her first steps and jokingly flaunted that you had missed it… But then quickly apologized when he saw that it upset you and pulled out his phone because he had managed to record it. The group chat also got the video, they were constantly in the loop about everything that she did. 

Dad Lee Know who demanded that you and his daughter be allowed to go on tour with him and the guys, and then giving management the ultimatum that it was the three of you, or none of you at all. That was his daughter's first plane trip. 

Dad Lee Know who death stared at anyone that even looked slightly annoyed when your daughter got a little cranky on the plane. He kept her on his lap the whole time and bounced her and sang to her so that you’d have a comfortable flight. 

Dad Lee Know who talked only about you and his daughter when he had the chance to during concerts. If fans had a problem with it, he didn’t really care. You and his baby were the most important things in his life right now, and you always would be. If the fans didn’t like hearing about it, they could leave. 

Dad Lee Know who personally wrote a song about you and his daughter, and with the help of Chan, Changbin, and Jisung, he was able to have it finished just in time for your anniversary. 

Dad Lee Know who woke up every morning to make breakfast for his daughter and pack her lunch when she was old enough to go to school. 

Dad Lee Know who was the only father crying in a sea of mothers (including you) when it was her first day of kindergarten. He didn’t want to let go of her hand, and you had to practically pry his fingers off. 

Dad Lee Know who took an entire day off work that day just so he could cuddle up with you and cry to you about how empty and quiet the house felt without her there. 

Dad Lee Know who was the first parent up at the school every single day, waiting a whole hour out on the bench in front of her classroom door with a snack and a brand new stuffed animal. That’s how her stuffed animal collection began. 

Dad Lee Know who would sit on the floor next to his daughter's bed and read her bedtime stories, acting out parts of the stories with her stuffed animals because he knew it made her smile. 

Dad Lee Know who fell asleep one night in the middle of reading the bedtime stories, his head resting on the edge of his daughters mattress, and when he woke up she was sitting on his lap and sleeping as well. He didn’t move that night and he didn’t mind the backache that came along with sleeping that way either. 

Dad Lee Know who was the loudest person in the crowd when his daughter walked across the stage for her little award for perfect grades. “THAT'S MY BABY! YES! DADDY IS SO PROUD OF YOU PRINCESS!” 

Dad Lee Know who stayed up all night to help his 6th grade daughter with her science fair project, even after she headed off to bed, he continued to work on it just to make sure she got first place. 

Dad Lee Know who about lost his shit when she got second place, you and his daughter had to usher him out of the gymnasium where everything was set up so that he wouldn’t embarrass her. 

Dad Lee Know who took you and his daughter out to dinner after the science fair mishap and told his daughter that “it doesn't matter whether you got second place or first place, you’ll always be number one to me. You’re the smartest girl I know and I’m so proud of you.” 

Dad Lee Know who would help his daughter with her homework every night, even if he spent all day practicing or recording, he was never too tired to help her. 

Dad Lee Know who would still tuck his daughter in at night and make sure her closet was shut and her night light was on when she would fall asleep no matter how old she got. 

Dad Lee Know who got choked up when his daughter graduated high school, his voice cracking when she walked across the stage and hiding his face in your shoulder so that no one would see him crying. 

Dad Lee Knowwho you had to give a speech to when his daughter said that she wanted to bring her boyfriend over to meet you and Minho. “Don’t look at him like you want to kill him, Minho.” “But what if I want to kill him? He’s trying to take my baby girl away.” “Baby, she’s 19…” “Blah blah blah I don’t want to hear it! She’s a baby!” 

Dad Lee Know who threw a massive party when his daughter got accepted into SNU. He tried to uninvite his daughter’s boyfriend, but she insisted that he come or she wouldn’t show up. 

Dad Lee Know who taught his daughter to drive. He was terrified, and she almost crashed into the curb, but he told her she was doing a great job regardless so that he didn’t break her spirits. 

Dad Lee Know who would do anything for his daughter, she is his entire life, his whole world. He loved her with his entire heart. He’s the best father in the universe, he would lay down his life for her, he would give up everything for her. She’s the greatest thing to ever happen to him, and watching her grow has been bittersweet, sad but rewarding. He wanted nothing but the best for her, and he’d make sure that no matter how old he got, or how old she got, he’d always be there for her. 

Perm Tags :

@whatudowhennooneseesyou @duchesskaren @mytherapisttoldmenotto @lovesunshinefelix @moon0fthenight @kurolils @maruskz @hello-2-u-from-me @mrswolfiechan @bunnychangbin

@his-angell @if-spearb @yomomma104 @lanatheawesome @facelesswrittes @grannyindehouse @cutie-wooyo @felixmainacc @syuuji @jiisungllvr @yukichan67

@randomwimp @silentreadersthings @cutiespaghetti @furiousheartpoetry @lixpixstix

@felixluvr915 @wordsofkpop @kayleigh-28 @szkstay @spnwinchestersd @fleatree @yehsehneeah @vampcharxter @iloveksmohsomuch @lvlnijiro @neteyamsmate4life @futuristicpalacegardenpsychic @delululi @insertsomethingaboutanimehere @karlitaburrito @laylasbunbunny @chimicurri-a @bandolls

@syuuji @moonlight-the-writer @smutdumpskz @extrhotjne @manuosorioh @yeonjunsfox @jazziwritesthings @itshannjisung

[stayinlimbo]

We Become We

pairing: husband!lee minho x reader genre/warnings: friends to lovers, marriage of convenience, fluff, poor attempts at me trying to be funny, mc's gender is not specified word count: 1.02k note:  i am not dead yay. i tried my best since i haven't had time to write for almost a month so please take this as a peace offering ♡

Marriage. It’s an interesting concept, isn’t it? 

You’ve always thought so, at least. Two people agreeing to sign a legal document and tethering their lives to each other for whatever reason, be it love, societal expectations, familial pressure, financial security, etc. 

Yours happens to be a man named Lee Minho. The same man you’ve been friends with for as long as you can remember. The same man who asked you to marry him for a reason you didn’t get to learn until he was already down on one knee. 

(“I’m sorry, you want me to WHAT?” “Marry me. Please, I need health insurance.”

“Okay, yes, sure, whatever; now please get off the floor. People are staring.”)

Lee Minho, who, after dragging you to the courthouse and legally becoming your husband, finally elaborated on how his job would pay him more and cover both of your health insurances if he was married. So really, in his words, he was “doing you a huge favor” by marrying you. 

And, in all honesty, he really was. No, you didn’t have a ring to show off your new husband’s weird skill at finding loopholes in company policy, and you’re like thirty-five percent sure the two of you are committing some kind of marriage fraud, but does it really matter when you can finally start using the hot water in your dingy apartment without worrying if you’ll have enough money to fund your crippling caffeine addiction? The government will have to drag you kicking and screaming before you resort back to mankind’s cruelest form of torture: cold showers. 

Not to mention that marriage didn’t even change your relationship with Minho. And why would it? You’re still you, and he’s still him. He gets on your nerves just the same, maybe even a little bit more after he decided to frame your marriage certificate in his living room and send a photo to all your mutual friends. You’ll never forgive Minho for laughing at your helplessly panicked state when the group chat wouldn’t stop exploding with messages and incessant calls. 

You’re still his best friend that resides in his apartment four out of seven days of the week while he inhabits yours for the other three. Maybe that’s why, two weeks after your “wedding,” when it was time to renew your lease, Minho suggested with a simple shrug of his shoulders that you move in with him since “you’re here all the time anyway.” 

You’ve really got to learn how to say no to him because now you wake up next to your best friend/roommate/husband in his one bedroom, one bathroom apartment at the crack of dawn with a light pressure on your chest and fur in your face when his cats decide you need to wake up right now to feed them. 

Not to say you don’t like the new arrangement! No, that would be the furthest from the truth. 

Sure, you didn’t appreciate your skin care routine being interrupted by the unexpectedly high-pitched scream Minho let out when he saw you in a face mask for the first time, and what kind of person still has their phone’s brightness turned up all the way before bed? But who else would willingly tolerate your deliriousness before your morning coffee or indulge in your pleas to cook your favorite food three days in a row? 

Living with Minho has only made the purely platonic feelings you harbor for him grow stronger.

That’s what the fluttering in your chest means every time you see him, right? The reason for the smile that grows on your face when you hear the distinct jingling of keys at the front door?

Yeah, that must be why heat spread across your cheeks when he handed you his phone to text one of his friends back, because since when did the heart emoji make an appearance next to your pinned contact name?

You just care about each other, that’s all. It’s normal to want to make sure he arrived at work safely and ask how his day is going during your lunch breaks. It’s normal to start receiving back hugs before bed—a comforting weight as Minho’s chin rests on your shoulder while you apply the rest of the products to your face. 

It’s natural to have doubts about the nature of your relationship during an evening walk, acutely aware of his fingers lightly brushing against yours as you silently study his features illuminated by the soft glow of the scattered streetlights. What if he meets someone else and falls in love with them and wants a divorce and– oh. 

Has he always looked at you like that? With his gaze softening as it locks with yours? With the corners of lips lifting into the gentlest smile you’ve ever seen? With all the stars shining above you finding a second home in his eyes? A look so loving that it takes your breath away and you can’t tell if you’re about to laugh or cry in relief. 

And when you return home to get ready for bed, the familiar feeling of hands wrapping around your waist and a careful pressure resting by the crook of your neck quells the remnants of your worries.

It’s you and Minho. Minho and you, just as it always has been. Just as it’s always meant to be.

The distance between your bodies on the bed becomes nonexistent when you curl yourself into his side, laying your head on his shoulder and intertwining your legs with his as he immediately, unhesitantly, adjusts his arm, his fingertips finding purchase on exposed skin and roaming across the span of your back. A kiss to the top of your head is the last thing you feel before the gentle lull of breathing and the rise and fall of his chest begin to soothe you to sleep. 

…

Ah, marriage—what an interesting concept. Two people agreeing to sign a legal document and tethering their lives to each other for whatever reason, be it love, societal expectations, familial pressure, financial security, etc. 

You love your husband, and you’re beginning to think he loves you too. 

liked this work? want to let me know how i did? please like, comment, and/or reblog; they are greatly appreciated my asks are always open ♡

taglist: @linospuddin @linocz @spicyhyunn

[vodkabodies]

Surprise?

Summary: A seemingly normal celebration trip where Harry learns that consuming alcohol isn’t the only thing that can get a girl puking.

Pairing: Harry Styles x Non-showbiz gf

WC: 2.2k

Warnings: Mentions of drinking, pregnancy, and some fluff <3

A/N: My first published work here so please be gentle. Enjoy!

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Y/n didn’t know what prayer worked out of the multiple ones she consistently recited for this day to finally come into fruition. The day where Harry set aside work and exchanged his incredibly busy schedule with one where his only agenda was to unwind and bond with his family, friends, and ofcourse Y/n, his girlfriend of almost five years. Today was a couple of days before his birthday and a day before their anniversary, so it meant everything for Y/n that the love of her life gets to celebrate the way he deserves to, even for just the weekend.

They were currently staying at a resort in Big Sur, Harry’s mom and older sister, as well as a couple of their closest friends had cleared their own schedules to be able to celebrate with Harry. Y/n took pride in finding the perfect venue for this weekend getaway, and she was just as proud at the gifts she had bought for her man, a bundle of vintage vinyls she knew he’d absolutely love, and an electric guitar he’d been eyeing online for quite some time now. She intended to give him these gifts once they got back from their trip.

Anne and Gemma were picked up directly from the airport by Mitch and Sarah, with their child in a car seat who was asleep for most of the drive, while some of their other friends drove themselves to the resort. The couple on the other hand, ran a little later than intended as the night before, they did some ‘special adult activities’ that they were aware they could not do on the group trip, to keep it as wholesome as possible. Y/n woke up, bundled in sheets, beside Harry who was still deep in slumber while the clock on his bedside table read 7:15. The drive from their shared home in L.A. to Big Sur would take at least 5 hours, but traffic would surely be expected so they planned beforehand to leave as early as possible so they could arrive at the venue by noon. Thankfully, they finished packing and loading their things in the car early the day before so all they had to do was quickly get ready and make sure they didn’t forget anything.

“You made sure the oven isn’t on?” Y/n asked loudly as she bolted out the front door, “Baby, we didn’t even cook anything yesterday, the oven is off… And so are the lights in every room. We’re good to go.” Harry explains as he gets in the driver’s seat. “I’m so excited! The weather’s so nice!” Y/n exclaimed and to that Harry smiled, while pulling out their driveway. The drive went smoothly, at the three hour mark they realized that they were definitely not gonna make it on time, so Y/n  sent a text in the group chat that the group, who all surprisingly showed up on time, should eat lunch without them and that they’d just pick up some drive-thru on the way.

The clock read almost 2 p.m. when they arrived and everyone thought it was funny how it seemed like the couple planned their grand entrance by being tardy like the duo they were known to be. Always so fashionably late. Catching up was necessary and so that was what they mostly did throughout the rest of the day, besides watching a couple of movies and cooking dinner. It unexpectedly rained around dinner time so their plans of starting a bonfire that night were postponed until tomorrow evening. Everyone went to their designated rooms after they all agreed to wake up extra early for a hike, Anne and Gemma deciding not to join as their jet lag got the best of them and so they could look after the burnt out parents' baby.

After their group hike in the morning and a very filling lunch when they got back, everyone spent the rest of the afternoon swimming until the water got too cold and the sun was setting. "Thank you for convincing me, Y/n. I really needed this." Harry said as they walked back to their room to freshen up before dinner. "You're welcome, baby. You always work so hard, I'm so happy you actually agreed. I'm sure the others needed this just as much as we do." After taking a quick shower and changing to more comfortable lounge clothes, everyone headed to the dining table where comfort food was served.

“You have one year before you turn three decades old, darling.” Anne jokes and Harry shakes his head with a chuckle as they sit beside each other at the table. Harry handed Y/n the bowl of rice before replying to his mum, "Making me sound so old!" and Anne returned the same laugh. "Well, you're not necessarily a baby anymore… Might as well have a baby of your own!" Harry didn't reply but smiled at the idea. His career was doing incredibly well, he's well received by the public, he has amazing family and friends who have supported him throughout the years, and a girlfriend he never thought he'd deserve. Life was good, and a family of his own one day sounded like heaven to his ears.

Dinner went by fast as everyone devoured their meals, hungry from the activities they did all morning and afternoon. Noticing that the sky was clear tonight, they decided to finally start the bonfire and set up some chairs around it. S'mores were made and beer bottles were opened as stories were shared by everyone. Sarah accompanied their baby to their room as it was approaching bedtime. Mitch picked up the guitar he had brought with them and everybody cheered when music started echoing the open area.

Although it was a simple get together, Harry was having the time of his life… Singing, drinking, laughing until he almost fell off the foldable chair, all while being wrapped in his lover's embrace and surrounded by nature. "I can't wait to show you my gifts when we get home." Y/n whispered in his ear. "Why wait at home when you can show it to me tonight?" he playfully replied, making her erupt in giggles. "That's not what I'm talking about. I have more to give but they're at home." She says as she kisses his cheek.

Y/n was singing along until she felt something boiling at the pit of her stomach. She quickly excused herself from the circle to go to the bathroom. Could it have been something they ate? Everything served was fresh and no one seemed to have an upset stomach aside from her at that moment. Immediately heading for the bathroom door, the knob appeared to be locked from the inside. "One second!" Gemma exclaims as she turns off the sink. Once she opened the door, Y/n rushed to the toilet and puked most of dinner out. "Y/n, are you alright?" Gemma asks in worry as she rushes towards Y/n's side. She took a minute to answer as she vomited one more time, "Uh… I'm fine. Just an upset stomach, maybe." Right as she finishes her sentence, another round of puking erupted from her as Gemma held her hair up and rubbed her back soothingly. "How many have you drunk so far?" She hasn't had anything to drink tonight… Come to think of it, the past few weeks she had refrained from drinking overall. No particular reason, she thought. But truly, a part of her brain was telling her she shouldn't.

"I haven't been drinking at all lately." At this, she stood up and headed over to the sink. "I've been feeling nauseous lately, but never to the point of puking. I don't know if it's something I ate today… I don't know." She adds as she rinses her mouth with water, lightheaded from the endless vomiting. Cog wheels started turning in Gemma's head as clueless Y/n explained her current situation. "Y/n I don't want to alarm you, but do you think maybe there's a chance… you might be pregnant?" She asked, trying her very best to not worry her, in case the girl didn't want to hear that right now.

It took her a minute to process what Harry's sister had said. Could she really be pregnant? If she was, that could explain everything she'd been feeling lately. Even as hectic as Harry's schedule was, they did still have some time to themselves and ‘bond’. Not as often as they would've liked but they take advantage of any time they could have together. The past couple of weeks though, Y/n had found herself becoming clingier than usual, craving his presence a little more than she already did. And she started losing a bit of appetite for food she'd normally be able to inhale when she craved it. Feelings she thought were seemingly normal, turned out to be symptoms all along. No wonder the mere smell of alcohol made her stomach turn!

She stared at herself in the mirror for a couple more seconds, then turned to look at Gemma with concern on her face, patiently waiting for Y/n to say something. "It's not impossible… I might be." Y/n finally spoke. She was genuinely shocked. Really shocked because they haven't really planned on having children any time soon. Should she tell Harry now? Or should she take a test first just in case? "Do you want me to grab a pregnancy test for you?" They were walking out of the bathroom now. "It's alright, I'll take a test the moment we get home tomorrow. I don't think I should tell Harry yet." Y/n whispers as they head back to where everybody was, following the sounds of loud singing and beautiful guitar playing. Before they could exit the door, Gemma grabbed Y/n's hands. "If you really are pregnant, I just wanna say that I'm happy Harry gets to start a family with you. I'll try to hide it from mum for now but I can already tell she'll be ecstatic!" This meant everything for Y/n. His family loved her like their own and she values them so much. After hugging, they finally arrived back at the bonfire. Fortunately, some of them were too tipsy, Harry included, to notice their absence. "Hey, baby!" Harry reached for Y/n's hand and motioned for her to sit beside him. She obliged and quickly engulfed in Harry's warm embrace. 

After another hour and a half, with Sarah joining them again once the baby fell asleep, they were bringing their chairs back inside and headed to their rooms to end the night. Harry and Y/n were laughing as Harry stumbled into their shared room after losing his balance when she opened the door. "Oi! Laughing a little too loud at a poor man falling instead of helping him up?" she giggles uncontrollably while reaching her hand out to help him.

Harry was about to kiss her after he closed the door but Y/n immediately felt the same wave in her stomach as she did earlier and bolted to the bathroom. Harry rushed behind her as he watched his girlfriend puke her guts out, head hanging above the toilet. "Are you okay, love? Had too much to drink?" he asked as he knelt down beside her. For a second she stared at the bathroom floor, not knowing if any second she'll puke again before she can get any words out. After a minute of silence she finally spoke, "Harry, I didn't drink at all tonight." She didn't want to tell him just yet, she wasn't entirely sure after all. But the way she looked at him almost begged him to read between the lines and understand the point she was trying to make. It took him a moment, still in his half drunk state. She looked into his eyes then down at her stomach, which wasn't showing, but she hoped he got the message.

"You're pregnant?" he asked in confusion, searching for answers in her eyes which were now welling up with tears. All she could do was nod as he pulled her in his arms. "I'm not entirely sure yet. But when I left to use the bathroom earlier, I ran to puke and Gemma helped me. She was the one who asked if I was possibly pregnant. I wasn't really thinking about it at all." Harry pulled away before he could reply. "We're having a baby?" he asked, more enthusiastic now. "Maybe…" she replied after rinsing her mouth. Without wasting another moment, Harry closed the gap between him and his lover as he kissed her prior worries away. She didn't want to ruin the trip by announcing this to her partner out of the blue, but it was never bad news to begin with. Once they pulled apart from each other's hungry lips, Y/n had one thing to say, "Surprise?" They both immediately laughed and hugged at her words.

They went outside again, that very same night. While the rest were fast asleep, they walked hand-in-hand talking about clearing both their schedules to book and attend an appointment for a check-up. Harry didn't think this getaway would get any better, but it just did. "Baby, I almost forgot!" Y/n alarmingly exclaimed as she looked at the time on her wrist watch. "What?!" Harry asked with concern, but she smiled at him before he could panic. "Happy Anniversary, H." she spoke, resting her hand on his cheek, pulling him into a quick peck on the lips. "Happy Anniversary, angel. I love you so much."

When they finally got home the next day, Y/n gave Harry the gifts she had bought, he adored every single one of them. And while she napped after unpacking their luggage, Harry spent the rest of the afternoon scavenging for the perfect engagement ring online.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

A/N: Thank you for reading! I would appreciate some feedback for future reference <3 More updates soon once I get the hang of this app!

Twitter: @vodkabodies

[peachhcs]

sharks development camp

hughes!sister x will smith au (samy + will)

a blurb of macklin talking to will about samy and their breakup while at the sharks development camp.

i got inspired from that one post i saw where will and macklin are roommates at the dev camp, so i produced this short little snippet. it's actually kind of cutie because will's being like an older brother in a way :)

au masterlist

the two boys practically collapsed onto their beds as soon as they were back in the room. the few days they'd been in san jose were extremely fun, but also very exhausting. they were on the ice from sun up to sun down basically, so breaks were far and few between.

at least it was good for getting a full night's sleep because all the boys were out by the time the day finished. will rolled onto his side, reaching for his phone he stuffed into his backpack that was a little bit more than an arm's length away from him at the moment. he stretched a little bit farther and was able to wrap his fingers around the device in the side pocket.

he scanned down the list of notifications for anything important. there were a few texts from his mom and the family group chat, but other than that, things were pretty quiet on will's phone. it'd become a lot quieter now that there was no multiple messages from samy.

will didn't want to admit to himself that he missed seeing her name on his screen with about 10 different messages from her in the time he was at practice.

"can i ask you a bit of a..personal question?" macklin's voice broke will from his thoughts. the older boy rolled to the side macklin was on who stared up at the ceiling.

"what?"

"you're not a virgin, are you?" well, that definitely was a personal question. will's expression twisted for a second before shaking his head.

"uh..yeah, no. i'm not," shit. every. single. conversation. led will right back to samy. at least he didn't spiral this time unlike last time back at the combine where he pretty much made himself look super pathetic.

"okay, sorry. that was like..weird and personal. i don't know. i feel like every person i've talked to isn't and it makes me feel weird sometimes because like..i haven't done.." macklin trailed off realizing this was a weird conversation topic.

"no, it's fine. i get it. i was the same too for a long time," the blonde said and he felt like he was being some older brother right now.

"really?"

"yeah, i didn't like..actually do anything until i was 18," will said almost in embarrassment, but he knew that wasn't anything to be embarrassed about.

"oh. wow. was it like..a hookup or like.." macklin kept asking which will didn't mind. he kind of wished he had someone like himself when he was 16, 17, 18 to talk about all of this. none of his friends really talked about it a whole lot, or they did but it was always in a weird, gross way.

"no, it was with my ex girlfriend," will flinched saying ex girlfriend. it felt so weird calling samy that.

"wait, ex girlfriend?" macklin sat up, confusion on his features.

the blonde's face flushed a little, "oh, i guess we haven't really told people. uh, samy and i broke up."

he watched the brunette's eyes widen in shock, "you broke up? when?"

"like..early june?"

"wait, why? i thought you two were like..oh my god, is that why samy like avoided you when you came over and talked to us at the draft?" macklin's eyes widened in realization.

"yeah..basically. i don't know. i..i kind of realize it was a shitty decision on my part, but i don't really know how to fix it," the older boy admitted, sitting up some.

"did something happen? like what happened?"

"nothing bad..i just..i freaked a bit when i signed on last month. i think i got into my head a little too much and i made the decision without talking it out before i did. she won't talk to me really, though so i can't talk to her," will shrugged, a frown on his lips.

"oh, wow. i'm sorry. i didn't know," the brunette frowned too.

"don't worry. it's my fault and i kind of deserve being avoided."

"maybe i can talk to her? she kind of took beckett and i under her wing at the draft, so maybe we can talk her up," macklin laughed a little.

"no, it's fine. i'll see her anyway at our family vacation, so maybe i can..talk to her or something," will waved the boy off.

"well, if it's any consolation, i think she'd take you back if she heard you out. from what i knew, you guys really cared about each other," macklin shrugged a bit.

"thanks, i appreciate that," will managed a small smile.

the two started getting into talking about something else, but samy lingered on will's mind for the rest of the night. when macklin fell asleep will seriously thought about reaching out to her. his finger hovered above the send button and he deleted and retyped a bunch of messages, but he ultimately decided he shouldn't because why would she even want hear from him anyway?

[desperatelyinlovewith-you]

i really need more willow modern aus, because most of the fics on ao3 are canon compliant (which are GREAT do not get me wrong) but the potential that tanthamore has for modern aus... hear me out:

actor au: where both of them are very famous actresses who HATE each other. Jade hates how Kit is a nepobaby and she has gotten to act in some of the greatest films in the last year, she believes it's just because she's the daughter of Sorsha (old Hollywood star). Jade hasn't actually stopped and watched any of Kit's films so she doesn't know that Kit is actually a great actress. Jade on the contrary had to do everything on her own, she has built her career slowly but gaining a great reputation. Kit on the other hand, wouldn't use the word HATE to describe what she feels for Jade, she feels a bit of anger because every time she has tried to interact with her, Jade was a bit rude (not in a mean way, more like in an indifferent kind) and she was a bit disappointed because everyone always says how Jade Claymore is the nicest actress in Hollywood. So she has built this resentment towards Jade. And this is where the fun part starts, both of them get casted in this fantasy show (winky face) where they play girlfriends, and rumors start to appear about how "JADE CLAYMORE AND KIT TANTHAMORE RIVALS ON SET LOVERS ON FILM????" "TENSION ON THE WILLOW SET", which according to their publicists is. not. good. So, behind Jade and Kit they decide that the girls have to start a fake relationship, obviously at the beginning both of them refuse but they know rumors in Hollywood fly fast, and that's not good for their careers. And they have no other choice but to accept. And so many things happen but I do not have that much imagination rn to finish it but you get the memo.

lovers to strangers: kit tanthamore and jade claymore were the ones who were supposed to make it after high school and became the so called high school sweethearts, or that’s what the people on their yearbook said. They didn't though. They broke up at the end of the summer after high school, no one knows why but them. One day they were together and the next Jade was leaving Tir Asleen and Kit was starting business school to help her mom with the family business. They stopped talking, Jade barely answered texts from their group and Kit stayed. At the end, trying to talk to Jade got harder and harder so they (Airk, Elora and Graydon) stopped trying. Five years later and Elora and Graydon are getting married, they started dating a year after they started college and year and few months after Elora and Airk's break up where they realized they loved each other just not romantically. They didn't want to do that to Airk but the chemistry was there and it happened so naturally (they hid it for a few months [kit knew from the beginning] and one day Airk caught them and said "omg finally I thought you two were never going to realize" to which Graydon and Elora are actually SHOCKED because "what do you mean????" and Airk was like "??? you two have been in love for almost a year didn’t you know?" to "WE THOUGHT YOU WOULDNT WANT US TO??" to "why wouldn’t I??? ... ohhhh, yeah idc babes") and even though they haven't talked to Jade in almost 5 years, they send her an invitation just in case, kit is not going to find out she’s obviously not gonna com- oh shit she said she’s coming. And she does, she comes back the week before the wedding with a very pretty girl (she brought a plus one?) and kit is one day just walking around town and she sees her and she is texting the group chat "I need to go to the doctor I think I just saw jade around town lol" and the other three are like "... you might want to sit down for this one" so chaos begins. Kit has never gotten over Jade, and neither has Jade, but none of them know that because there's a girl with her, but the girl is obviously Scorpia???? she brought her to have someone to help her through the week of coming back to her hometown, seeing her ex (the one she dated in high school and has never gotten over her because she thought she was the love of her life), and her old friends without crumbling down. This fic would be the type of fanfic that has lots of flashbacks to high school and throughout those five years. Also Scorpia would be seen flirting with Boorman (that one guy Kit met while working with her mother who is a bit weird but everyone loves him) and they’re like "How dare she flirt with Jade in front of her" and Jades is totally unfazed because obviously doesn’t care ???

These two are the ones i think about the most so yeah :D might try one day to write them but probably not because writting is not my strongest suit.

[veilord]

I’m writing this because I can’t stop thinking about sbg and I’m really excited for the next chapters but I’m really impatient and I can’t buy coins :(

I love “School Bus Graveyard” so much and I recently reread the entire comic because I stoped reading for a while. I had fun but it really reinforced the major criticisms I have with it, and that is the pacing and telling instead of showing.

The best way I can think to explain it is that the story goes to fast, especially in the first season.

Like it starts with the cold open to the kids almost getting got by the phantom before going back to give us the context of what’s happening. And this works great to hook readers when the start of the story is a bit slow. Then we have the kids bonding on the trip before they are pulled into the phantom dimension for the first time, and it’s great!! I love the first night and was getting so invested in what would happen next! Then it skips back to the time during the opening.

Skipping boring or irrelevant stuff in a story is expected, we don’t want to watch the kids go to all their classes during school if we don’t need to. This skip isn’t like that, it skips over a lot of interesting story that we need to know about to understand how the kids got into the situation they’re in during the opening. So the story has to full us in on the stuff skipped and dose so by just having Ashlyn monologue about it.

I didn’t notice when I was reading but thinking back this happens a lot, the story skips ahead to the more plot relevant and exciting stuff and has Ashlyn fill in what we missed. This results in the story having almost no downtime which, isn’t good. It makes the story very fast and can be confusing, like when preparing for getting the jeep Ashlyn says it takes a lot of preparation and practice, but we don’t see any of it. So when the plan goes wrong because the keys were moved we aren’t as panicked and confused as the kids. Well it may have been weeks or months in story for us it seems like a few days at most. I have no clue how long they have actually been dealing with the phantoms but the way the story is paced makes it seem like they have only been dealing with it for a short time, making how stressed and tired they are seem like to much.

But I find the biggest problem with the pacing and lack of downtime is how it screws over the characters. When the time skips happen we lose so much character building. We don’t see how they interacted right after the first night in the phantom dimension, how they handled the second night, how they all got to the graveyard, all the arguments about going back to savanna, what they text in the group chat, visiting each others houses, Tyler teaching Ben guitar, just hanging out. When we are told backstory’s they don’t hit very hard because we don’t know much about the characters, we never got to know them. When Tyler falls on the tree and we get his backstory it’s informative and sad and stuff, but then it tells us that Tyler sees the gang as a second family and… what. When I first read that I was genuinely confused, it felt like it came out of nowhere, like they just met, he barely knows any of them. But they didn’t just meet, they’ve known each other for months and have been surviving together every night and hanging out often during the day, but we didn’t see any of it. We only see them in stressful situations so we never really see Tyler warm up to the group, we don’t get the sense that any of these kids are really friends most of the time. The few hangout scenes we get are so good, they let us relax and get to know the characters as they get to know each other. And we know that they hang out more than the two times shown so it super sucks we don’t see more.

The characters need more room to breathe and establish themselves as individuals and as part of the group. As it is whenever one character get more focus it feels like the others are pushed to the side, like there isn’t enough room for all of them when I think there could be more then enough room.

I hope this makes sense I’m not proofreading it lmao. I do really like this story and a lot of my complaints feel less relevant to season two, but because a lot of these problems happen in season one when set up and character building is most important for establishing a steady base for the story to build on it’s very noticeable even as the writing improves. Maybe one day Red can go back and improve the story somehow, but that seems unlikely so I hope these issues continue to be improved as the comic goes on.

[robiin-draws]

Welcome to the HCDA - Chapter 7

Warnings: None

Notes: Just wait for the next one >:) in this universe these are the sibling headcanons! Keep in mind that they don't apply to every one of my AUs or stories

Chapter 7 - Call with their family

Scar

I sit in my office, leaning against the backrest of my wheelchair, thinking.

Grian’s alive. Why were his feathers at a shopping mall? What was he doing there? Was he captured, or was he a traitor?

I look up to see Pearl in the doorway. 

“Um, I just realized something,” Pearl says, face slightly pink. She seems almost… embarrassed? “I never told Jimmy or Lizzie about this.”

Oh gosh. Jimmy was Pearl and Grian’s brother, and Lizzie was the trio’s adopted sister. And Pearl didn’t tell her siblings that their brother had disappeared and was probably captured?!

“Pearl!” I exclaim. “Seriously?!”

“I forgot,” Pearl sighs. “Everything just happened so fast and I just realized I haven’t told them.”

“Well then we really need to.” I say, rolling to her. “Maybe a video chat would be best for this?”

“Yeah.” I follow Pearl out of the room to the computer room a few doors down. She pulls out her phone, and I assume she texts her siblings the code as I pull it up.

It’s not long before Lizzie’s face appears on the screen.

“You might want to get Joel for this too,” Pearl says. “It’s important.”

“Joel!” Lizzie calls. “Pearl and Scar want you here too!”

Joel is Lizzie’s husband, which makes him Grian’s brother in law. They were already enough like brothers anyway, so it doesn’t make much of a difference. 

Joel’s face pops in next to Lizzie’s. “So what’s the news?” He asks.

“We’re waiting for Jimmy,” Pearl sighs. I sit next to her, my fingers twitching nervously. When Jimmy joins, my hands somehow get more jittery.

“So what’s the family meeting for?” The canary hybrid asks. I glance at Pearl. She’s nervous, I can tell. She’s fighting to keep her antennae from twitching too much.

“Well, um,” Pearl starts awkwardly. “We have a bit of a… Problem.”

“What’s the problem?” Lizzie askes.

“Also, where’s Grian?” Joel asks. Lizzie shoots him a glare.

“Don’t interrupt them.” She says. Joel falls silent.

“Actually, he’s kinda on topic.” Pearl says. “Because um, well, Grian’s not here. He disappeared.”

There’s a moment of silence before Jimmy asks, “What?” Pearl winces. I hate hearing the dread in his voice.

“Me and Grian were chosen for the mission to infiltrate a group called the Watchers.” She explains, voice strained and quiet. “But when I woke up after the first day of our work, he was gone, and so were the Watchers.” 

Jimmy leans back in his chair, seemingly trying to make sense of what she’s said. He doesn’t seem quite there.

“So Grian’s… What happened to him?” Lizzie asks, worried. 

“Another problem,” I sigh. “We don’t know. He’s not dead, don’t worry, we know he’s not dead.” I amend quickly before they can go down the same thought path I did. That path isn’t a fun one.

“We found his feathers,” Pearl says. “And they were recent. So he’s either captured or working with the enemy.”

“What can we do to help?” Jimmy blurts. The light is back in his eyes now, and he seems determined. “I want to help. And also tell Tango that I can’t believe he didn’t let me know immediately.”

“Stay at home.” Pearl says firmly, giving her siblings a stern gaze and ignoring Jimmy’s second remark. In all honesty, Tango had probably not wanted to worry his husband. “I’ll contact you guys if we really need the help, but I am not going to let you get involved as long as I can help it.”

“What?!” Joel exclaims, voice rising in anger as. “We have to help! Grian’s our friend too! You can’t-”

“Joel!” Lizzie interrupts, giving him another look. “We are going to respect their wishes. I don’t want to stand by either, but I do think it’s safer for us to lie low.” I’m grateful that she agrees, because otherwise we might have had to put all of Grian’s family into danger.

Joel gives a sigh of defeat, looking away. At the very least, he listens to his wife, and it seems Jimmy will listen to Lizzie as well, because he doesn’t protest.

“I’ll text you any updates we have.” Pearl promises. “Bye!” She shuts off the computer and it’s just the two of us.

“Well, that went well enough,” I say.

“Yeah.” Pearl replies, getting up. “Let’s go.”

[escapist-of-fiction]

Title: Not right now

Pairing: Daniel Sharman & various fictional characters

Genre: Lots of fluff and teenage angst

Summary: High school sweethearts who make one important decision.

Disclaimer: Imogen and all other characters are a figment of my own imagination. This is complete fiction and I do not know, nor have I ever met Daniel Sharman (as much as I would love to). These events are completely made up.

Author's notes: This could either be read as a standalone or will be a flashback to a longer work of fiction, which I have a growing plot for.

If you do give this a read, please leave your comments and let me know what you think :) This has the potential to go anwhere or nowhere at all. It all depends really.

Song inspiration: Let her go - By Passenger

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Staring into the dying embers of the camp fire, Imogen wrapped her arms tightly around her body, feeling a sudden chill in the air. The alcohol had diminished and, unlike the past few nights, this evening was drawing to a sombre close; it was the end of summer and the beginning of everyone's first year at University. There was a hum of excitement amongst the group of friends as they began to part ways, whilst tinged with a mixture of sadness knowing how final everything seemed.

"You have to come up and visit me in Manchester," Evie declared, squeezing her oldest best friend a little too tightly in an embrace. Nextdoor neighbours for as long as they could remember, spending even a day apart was rare for the companions. Imogen pulled back and nodded, "And obviously bring Danny boy with you, once he's finished schmoozing with the celebrities of course." They both turned and looked at the person in question; talking earnestly with another friend a few metres away, Daniel looked over and smiled, almost as if he had overheard his name being mentioned. Almost on cue, flutters like tiny butterflies, pitter-pattered through Imogen. The power of young love.

Only after everyone else had left did Daniel wander over and take Imogen by the hand,

"Time to make a move beautiful. I promised your parents to have you back by midnight." A llittle sigh escaped Imogen's lips as she followed Daniel reluctantly towards the car.

The journey back to her family house was only a short one but they sat outside on the driveway for a good while like they always did. So many deep and meaningful conversations had taken place on this driveway over the years, a few heated debates here and there and several stolen kisses and cuddles. It was only when the burnt crimson of the early rising sun would appear, Imogen knew it was her cue to go inside. Normally she would uncurl from Daniel's warm embrace, accompanied with a little sigh of frustration and bid him 'goodnight, good morning,' as they were never really sure of the time. Daniel would plant a delicate kiss on the tip of Imogen's nose and watch her skip up the steps to her front door, knowing that she was already typing a 'Drive safe xx' text message to send to him before he had switched on his engine.

It was a routine that was so familiar to them both and provided such comfort that they played it out time and time again without so much as a second thought. Except for tonight. Tonight was different and they both knew it.

There was an unseen blanket of emotion weighing Imogen down, something she knew needed to happen, something that she feared and every moment that ticked by brought them ever closer to the inevitable.

The radio played softly in the background and Imogen tapped her fingers lightly on the car window, humming softly to herself. Words needed to be spoken.

Almost in sync, they turned to face one another.

"So, are you all packed and ready for tomorrrow?" It was a forced question and they both knew it. Imogen shook her head,

"Let's not bother with light chit chat, Dan, we both know how this conversation goes." Daniel lauged wryly, grabbing Imogen's hand, he laced their fingers together.

"You know Immy, I've been over and over how this would play out in my head and now we're here I'm struggling to find the right words." Daniel raked his hand through his curls and exhaled.

She nodded, "I know, but do you know what? The one good thing about knowing each other inside and out is that we can say so much without even saying a lot at all." Imogen held Daniel's gaze carefully and he nodded in understanding, bringing her hand up to his lips, he kissed her knuckles gently.

Wordlessly, they both got out of Daniel's car. Hand in hand they walked up to Imogen's front door and before she could go inside Daniel pulled Imogen into one last embrace.

Imogen thought it would be harder than this, she expected tears (from them both), but none appeared. She felt so secure in Daniel's arms and wished that she could bottle this feeling forever. Daniel's hands rested on Imogen's waist as she looked up at him, a sudden glimmer of doubt in her eyes,

"Dan, do you think we're doing the right thing?" He nodded slowly in response, reminding her of their conversation just moments ago.

"You do your thing and I'll do mine. You are about to begin your studies in Oxford, Immy. I'm flying out to America tomorrow. Look forward to your new adventures and start making new memories. That's what we decided...right?"

"Right," Imogen echoed, "Then why don't I feel as sad as I should?" Daniel chuckled and pulled her against his body again, kissing the top of her head,

"Because babe, this is probably the most sensible and mature decision we will ever make." Imogen didn't disagree. It was also the hardest decision they had ever made, she added silently.

Their goodbye was sealed with a kiss. There were no tears. There was no text sent as Imogen stepped through her front door. Two eighteen year olds bringing their relationship to a close. It all seemed so very final and yet...it wasn't.

Daniel drove away that night knowing in his heart that one day fate would bring Imogen back into his life once more. Whatever paths they chose didn't matter. For now, he knew he needed to let her go because that's what you did when you loved someone right?

[moodmother]

They's a Crowd

In between sips of macchiato, Zenith types away furiously. Oh this, this is a good one. The latest post for their blog, They's a Crowd. An invective against the oppressive tyranny of romantic love and family bonds.

"Do you really believe that?"

Zenith never saw the stranger sit down, but there he is on the other side of the table. Meticulous strawberry beard, sharp twinkling eyes. A sudden faint whiff of heather and iron in the air.

"What?"

"All that. That your friends should prioritize you over their lovers and children."

There is no way for the stranger to have seen what Zenith is writing but they are caught up in the righteous heat of their conviction. "It's about economies of care! How am I supposed to survive." In their fervor, Zenith almost spills coffee onto the keys of their MacBook.

"Indeed."

"Last week, I was feeling depressed so I texted my supposed 'best friend' to see if we could hang out. But he had promised his wife that he would take her out to the movies. Well, fair enough. So I asked if I could come along--and he said 'No!' Well, what about my social needs? Just because she's his 'wife,' just because he's bound by the patriarchal institution of marriage, he can treat me like I mean nothing? And just last night, I didn't have the spoons to make myself dinner. I put out a message in the group chat, but of course you know what day it was."

"Mother's Day."

"Right! So nobody would come by and cook me a simple meal, because they were all having dinner with their mothers instead. I had to go hungry, because our heteropatriarchal culture arbitrarily values parent-child relationships over non-biological kinship."

"I see. And you couldn't have just gotten UberEats or something?"

Zenith scoffs. "I'm supposed to pay more to live because I'm single and don't have anyone to care for me? And you know those delivery apps are so exploitive. It's better to order from the restaurant directly. But then I would have to call for delivery, and I have social anxiety."

"Oh, well, of course. So what you're saying is, it's important to the cause of queer liberation that the lives of everyone in your social circle revolve around you."

Zenith's brow furrows. "Well, I--"

"Would you say that you desire that? For your friends to prioritize you above all else? To care for you, feed you, cater to your every need? Do you…wish it?"

"Well, yes! My life is just as--"

But with a Cheshire cat smile and a twinkle of his pale gray eyes, the stranger has vanished.

+++

That evening, Zenith receives a text from their best friend: come over for dinner tonight?

When Zenith obliges, both their friend and his wife are all smiles. "Oh, don't get up Zenith. Let me get that for you. Have some more. You know we really love you, Z. We haven't shown it enough. You mean the world to us, we really need to prioritize you more. Have some more. Let me get you some more."

Zenith goes home grinning, stuffed to the brim with food and love.

+++

The next day, all of Zenith's friends turn up at their door.

"We've all been talking, Z. We wanted to tell you in person: You're the most important thing in our lives. It's time we acted like it."

From then on, Zenith is hardly ever alone--except when they ask for a little time to themself, of course. Someone is always ready to lend an ear, or join them on the couch or on a walk or even in bed when they require some company. Their every need is promptly and lovingly met. Their bed is made, their clothes and linens washed and folded. Their apartment is swept and scrubbed. Appointments are scheduled for them, and they are ferried dutifully to the doctor, the dentist, the store, the cafe, to where-ever they wish. The dishes are done--done often, as there is always a home-cooked spread at mealtime, and always a snack or morsel whenever Zenith feels the slightest bit peckish.

Zenith is never hungry for more than a moment--and this has a dramatic affect on their waistline.

Outgrowing my clothes! they post to their blog. Hot fatty summer!

+++

When Mother's Day comes again the following year, all of Zenith's friends' mothers turn up, smiling and tutting. Each one prepares a dish, her specialty, and insists that a now very fat Zenith accept second and third helpings.

When clothes that fit become very hard to find, Zenith's friends are happy to make some.

When it becomes too difficult to climb the stairs up to their apartment, everyone pitches in to rent a new one. A ground floor unit with nice, wide doorways.

When initimate personal care becomes impossible for Zenith to tend to on their own, there is a rotating roster of volunteers ready to bathe and dress them.

As Zenith steadily expands, caring for them becomes more logistically complex, a full time affair. Spouses, lovers, and relatives are enlisted to join in the work. Always happily, always with a smile. "We love you, Z. Anything for you."

Perhaps things are getting a bit out of hand… Zenith thinks, fleetingly. It is a bit inconvenient, as the wider world is not made for people who are as large as Zenith has become. But then a twinge of hunger distracts them, and they reach for whatever treat--a cookie, a brownie--is always there at hand, piled tidily on a platter, warm from the oven.

+++

In the midst of Thursday night board games, a timer dings.

"Whose turn is it to check Zenith?"

The designated attendant happily jumps up and bounds into the bedroom. "Need anything Z? Some more water?" "Unnh," a thick voice groans in reply.

Propped up on the bed, covering the entire surface from edge to edge, is a huge heap of flesh. Pampered and stuffed day in and day out, Zenith has grown too fat to move under their own power. Their world is confined to the four walls of the bedroom now.

"Thirsty?"

A cup of fresh water is held to their lips so that they can drink. Their friend has to lean close against their side to reach their face where it rests upturned atop the mound of their body. Deep within their immense belly, their stomach growls.

"Ah, hungry!"

Zenith's mind rebels. Their round, useless hands twitch in impotent protest. But their body responds by opening their mouth to welcome the morsels that are gently pushed into it. Because it's true: they are hungry. So very hungry. Their stomach has been stretched to cavernous capacity. Their body has grown accustomed to a constant stream of food, and it has been over an hour since they last ate.

Tears pool atop their great flabby cheeks as they are fed, eating and eating until temporarily sated again. This is their existence now. Washed and petted and lovingly tended to. Fed. Fed and fed and fed, helpless to do anything now except eat and grow.

Once they are finally satiated, for the time being, their friend cleans their teeth and wipes their face. The bedframe creaks ominously.

+++

"Hey, I think Z is lonely in there."

"Hm. Makes sense. I wish they could join us out here, or that we could all fit together around a table."

"They deserve to literally be at the center of a space, since they're the center of our lives. You know? Right in the heart of everything."

"It's definitely something to think about."

From the bedroom comes a CRACK and a thud and a pitiful, muffled yelp. Everyone leaps up and rushes in to soothe and settle their beloved. The bedframe has collapsed beneath the burden of Z's immense and ever-climbing weight.

+++

They've dubbed themselves the Z Crew, and so the new place is called the Z House. A nice big house, with the first floor built on an open plan.

They moved Z into their new, permanent home just in the nick of time. Had they waited much longer, Z would have grown too large to move. As it was, transporting them was an expensive and delicate affair. Hydraulic equipment was needed to lift Z off of the flattened mattress in the old apartment. Walls were removed, a crane and flatbed rented.

But in the end, it all went smoothly. Now, here in the airy, light-filled space, rests their beloved Z. The living heart of the home.

The Z Crew is always happy to chatter and coo at Z while they go about the unceasing work of feeding, washing, and tending their beloved, but Z themself cannot speak anymore. They have swelled into a monstrous blob. By now their weight is unguessable. Their hands and feet and limbs have long since disappeared into their general mass. There is no neck, no discernable head--only eyes, nose, and mouth sunk deep into a mire of flesh, upturned toward the ceiling. Lips always parted, ready to receive the next morsel of food.

The Z Crew has to climb up on top of Z to feed them now. The slopes of Z's body have become a cherished communal space, where friends recline and talk, lovers cuddle, and games and meals are enjoyed. They are all blissfully content, now that Z has crowded out every other care and commitment and become the center of their lives forever.

As for Z, they have forgotten what it was like to be anyone or anything else other than their friends' burgeoning beloved. They know nothing but fleeting hunger and sweet satiety; the shifting warmth of their friends' bodies against their own bulk; and the inescapable sensation of their own unfathomable weight.

[softcarebears]

ok pookie we got

!!!drama!!!

so there’s this girl (you’ve seen one pic of her) that we’re gonna call pinkie for privacy reasons

pinkie and me have been friends for 3 years, and i’ve been in a group w/ her, bbsf and two other ppl for 2 years

so, imagine my surprise when i’m talking to another in our group, who i’m gonna call cowgirl. and me and cowgirl were gonna go shopping together so i texted pinkie and asked if she wanted to come w/ us and she doesn’t even read my message, but cowgirl texts her less than a minute later and she instantly responds

and imagine an even bigger surprise when cowgirl tells me that pinkie has been inviting everyone to come over and hang out multiple times in the past month, except me. she was completely ignoring me in our pms and in every single group chat that we were in, which everyone found weird bc we were just having a bunch of fun on the last day of school

so me, cowgirl and bbsf r talking and they were like, yeah we’ve been on the phone w/ pinkie constantly, she always picks up, why won’t she she pick up for you

and then i talk to my best friend, let’s call her bunny, and she used to be best friends w/ pinkie, but then bunny’s ex made out w/ pinkie and pinkie was too afraid to tell bunny, so bunny doesn’t like her all that much, and as soon as she finds this out, she’s fucking livid and is like trying to figure wth is her problem w/ me so we talk to pinkie’s little sister violet bc we’re both friends w/ her and we talk to cowgirl one more time and so they talked to pinkie and she finally at least started talking to me in the group chats, but still hasn’t even read my pms sense the last day of school, and hasn’t responded sense graduation but i thought everything was fine now

but then, last night i got a call from violet and her best friend june and they were literally so confused too cuz pinkie is constantly on the phone w/ bbsf and is constantly texting cowgirl so now everyone is confused and we get to talking and between violet and june last night and then bunny when we were out shopping today we’ve come up w/ the 3 most possible answers

pinkie has a crush on bbsf. as i mentioned she’s constantly on the phone w/ him, but she won’t hang out w/ him when i’m there, and she has gotten oddly upset when bbsf went to me, someone who he’s been friends w/ sense the 2nd grade and who’s met almost his entire family, vs pinkie who he’s only been friends w/ for a bit over 2 years, who refused to even talk to his sister and who makes fun of him constantly. which was just really strange.

pinkie has a crush on me. this one was suggested by june, who essentially is pinkie’s second sister and bunny and violet think so too. basically the last day of school pinkie called me pretty cuz i had my bangs pinned back bc bbsf and me were painting each others faces, and in the group chats she’s called me pretty a couple more times sense then and has complemented my athletic skills. and then when we were sleeping over at our friend’s house she insisted on cuddling me, she’s also constantly holding my hand and hugging me. now these sound minor but according to the other 3 the next section does definitely support this theory

2b. moments that can either mean she likes bbsf or me, but it’s a weird gray area. for starters, a couple months ago me and bbsf were talking about houses bc i really like spanish style houses so me and him were taking about for the first like ten minutes or so of lunch and then pinkie ran off w/ cowgirl and another one of our friends to go gossip in the bathroom and when i saw and caught up w/ them pinkie yelled at me when i asked why they left w/o me “well you were making out w/ ur bf!” and cowgirl and our other friend both agreed that she was being strange, we don’t know if it was bc of me or bbsf tho. she also got upset when, for cowgirl’s birthday we went roller skating but the rink was over an hour away so cowgirl’s mom and step dad drove us, i was in cowgirl’s sd’s truck in between bbsf and our other guy friend that i did track w/ jr and obviously i was taking to them bc we had nothing better to do. but then when pinkie got there after us and rode w/ cowgirl’s mom bc she completely forgot what we were doing and was an hour late, she got upset when jr mentioned what happened on the ride to the rink (which wasn’t anything romantic, we talked about music and cars) and then when me and bbsf were sharing a slushie bc we always share food and drinks she got upset too. and then on the way back to cowgirl’s house, her jr and jr’s sister, plus another one of cowgirl’s friends that joined us later on went in her sd’s truck, while me, pinkie and bbsf went w/ her mom, pinkie was being, let’s just say, strange. VERY touchy w/ me mainly (like there’s a pic of her cuddled up to my shoulder) and then when we stopped by the store to get beer and candy she just kept pulling bbsf aside and being weird w/ him. then further on we were all back at cowgirl’s house and we were in her room w/ me, jr, his sister and bbsf sitting on the couch, i do have to admit that my head was in fact on bbsf’s shoulder, and pinkie had seen us holding hands earlier, this was also the same night he held me by my waist and stuff. as soon as him and jr left, pinkie was like going off abt how surprised she would be if we were like an actual successful couple, to were cowgirl’s other friend gave her the biggest side eye ever. and then she didn’t talk to me for like a week afterwards.

3. this is the theory that violet thinks is probably the most true, pinkie is jealous of me. according to her she didn’t even know that we didn’t talk for like a month bc pinkie would constantly mention me. and i do have to provide some personal backstory here on myself, i come from a bad part of down, and my parents are divorced, plus my dad died in 2022, my mother was a teen mom (17 w/ my sister, 22 w/ me) and i have a different dad than my siblings. i also grew up w/ very little adult supervision which led me down the path i’m at now, the popular party girl, who has a tsap. i’m home alone for hours on end, i’m constantly out and about hanging out w/ ppl w/o any adults. i’ve been at this lifestyle for about 4 or 5 years, so a bit before i met pinkie and let’s just say, she’s an introvert w/ strict parents, basically opposite of me. prime example is that me and pinkie were meant to go see the barbie movie last year, but pinkie flaked bc her parents said no so i said fuck it and went w/o her, i was completely alone wearing a tight pink dress that honestly belonged more at a cocktail party than anything and had an amazing time, but when i mentioned this to pinkie, she just got upset at how she was never allowed to do anything like that and how she could never have the body to wear a dress like that. she also literally has me in her contacts as “dancer, artist, mua, actress, model, popular, party, batman” (to add to this, the batman thing is a joke that she’s not a part of that a couple of my friends that she absolutely despises came up w/) and she constantly comments on how popular and outgoing i am, here’s some direct quotes that’s come from her

“dakotah i can’t believe how much applause you got at the student gov elections, i got less than half of that.”

“well yeah, of course she wrote a song about you, look at you!”

“kota, how can you wear crop tops and mini skirts constantly, my body is too straight for that to look good on me, but you’re perfectly curvy.”

“of course kota is hosting a big blow out party, she’s one of those popular girls.” (i didn’t actually hear this one, june and me are friends on snap chat and my story has pictures of a party at my house and pinkie saw it when june was w/ violet)

this is along with apparently a bunch of things she’s said to violet and june about how i dress and how my hair is and, probably the most important part of this, she hates whenever anyone has a crush on me, primarily when guys have a crush on me, she threatens to kill them and lock them in her attic, which is strange. she’s also the girl who i told u about a couple months ago who got upset at me and bbsf for being popular and not hanging out w/ her as much.

sorry that this is so long pookie, but this isn’t even all of it, this is only the stuff she’s done sense october of 2023, looking back at her older behavior, it’s even worse

but i needed an outsider’s perspective bc all of my friends r either close w/ pinkie or absolutely don’t like her so i needed an unbiased opinion

hmm...yes i know im so late help😭😭 exams have started so im not that active

THIS STORY IS SO CONFUSING AND THERE'S SO MANY OUTCOMES OF IT HELP IDK EITHER QUEEN😔

i agree with all the possibilities that the council has implemented...

(1.) honestly in my opinion since she is pan... possibility numero 2 or 2b seems more like it imo...she may have both OR EITHER a crush on you or on boybsf...since she got mad at both of y'all for sharing slushies and was forcing bbsf to drink hers...and made a scene when you and bbsf were talking during lunch

(2.) the fact that she exaggerated and said that you and bbsf were "making out" when both of y'all were actually speaking about houses...gives me as sense that she is jealous...of bbsf?? of you...IDK THIS WOMAN IS CONFUSING...i feel like she was jealous that you were speaking to bbsf and not her...lowkey...or maybe its the other way around...idk

(3.) she's 100% jealous of you queen...high chance that she has a crush on you and is jealous of how seemingly perfect your life is even though it ain't...yknow since

(also pookie pls be careful when you're alone or hanging out with ppl...humans are scary and i don't want you to get hurt...like carry a taser or those pepper sprays with you at all cost...also sorry for your dad losing a parent sucks😔💗)

number 1: you're prettier and more popular than her

(us pretending like we didn't know that *insert le hanni gasp*😱)

number 2: incredibly talented and good in different spheres such as ballet, choir and basketball and others...and even in student council or the gov election stuff...she mad she ain't moulinexing like you😔😙

number 3: you're academically slaying like classtopper schooltopper wtv you are BABYGIRL YOU IS A ROOF BECAUSE YOU TOP EVERYTHING EVEN ME😔🥵🤪💥 😛🦅

number 4: you have more freedom (attend or launch more parties or hangouts etc) than her whereas she has strict parents...so she feels like she is missing out on the good youthful and teen stuff...right😱

number 5: she's definitely insecure of her body and herself in general and constantly compares herself to you😬

number 6: she wished that she was outgoing as you

number 7 :basically you're everything that she aspires to be like...SO SHE MAD SHE AIN'T A SLAYFUL CUNT SERVING LEFT NO CRUMBS ON THE PLATE QUEEN🦅💯

but she's mad that she cannot hate you since you just have that natural star quality yknow so she speaks behind your back and ignores you and distances herself so as to let go of her "romantic feelings" or "hatred" for you and to not let it grow more...do u get what i mean...RIGHT😛

honestly i highkey think she has a crush on you🦅😱SEEMS MORE PROBABLE😛but she mad boy bestie is stealing the spotlight

pinkiecore💌:

hmmm she's such a sussy baka like WHY DOES SHE SAY SUCH SUS AND CONFUSING STUFF...SHE NEED TO BE LOCKED UP FR

LIKE SHE WENT OFF SAYING SHE'S SHOCKED THAT IF YALL WOULD DATE THAT YALL WOULD LAST

girl..THAT MEANS THAT SHE THOUGHT AND WISHED THAT IF YOU AND BBSF DATED YALL WOULDNT LAST FOR LONG...BASICALLY THAT MEANS SHES PRAYING ON YOUR DOWNFALL AS A POTENTIAL COUPLE...WHICH MEANS SHE HAS A CRUSH ON YOU (or bbsf but i think mainly its you) OR does not want you and bbsf to last so that she still has a chance or an opportunity to be with you (or him) and even ignored you for a week hmm...+

she threatened to murder ppl who had a crush on you like girl this ain't american psycho or scream tf...LIKE WHY TF ARE YOU THREATENING TO MURDER OR ABDUCT PPL... im scared bro...😔

+ she's incredibly touchy + saved your number with affectionate names...

+ ignores you + calls you pretty and compares herself to you + mentions you and talks about you all the time + gets upset a gazillion of times...

= ITS EITHER SHE WISHES TO BE LIKE YOU / IS JEALOUS OF YOU OR WANTS TO BE WITH YOU !!!

but also her not telling bunny about the make out with her ex (so ew ) + talking shit behind yo back + keeps bbsf away from you + blatantly ignoring you = CLOWN SHIT🤡

anyways i yapped too hard😔gotta go revise english literature for tomorrow WISH ME LUCK AND UPDATE MEEEE🥺

[littlefreya]

Hello Freya! I feel like the most horrible person in the world, let me tell you (I am sorry this is long but my friends are no use and I need help):

My boyfriend Andy (33) is a heavily tattooed, pierced and divorced man, I only knew that he and his ex were married for 10 years, never had children and are on bad terms, I come from a very religious and conservative family, so even when I (30) am nor a virgin I still haven’t slept with my boyfriend, we have been together for four months, he makes me very happy but neither my family or friends like him because he’s not the “perfect man” stereotypical person, physically at lest, and they hate that he’s divorced (we met almost a year after he got divorced so I don’t really understand the problem here), he knows he’s not accepted and I try to change my family and friends view of him but it’s hard, still try to show him that I don’t care about it and that I love him. The problem is that the day before yesterday I went to sleep at his house for time (we live 2 hours away from each other, in a different state but he still drives every day or two to see me), we went out with a copule of his old school friends and I drank a little bit (not drunk at all not even tipsy, this was the first time I drank in front of him) and I noticed they reacted weirdly even tho they were doing the same and my boyfriend was constantly texting, after a while he relaxed and completely forgot about his phone, we got to his house early in the morning (like 5 something am) and went directly to sleep, about at 11 am we got woken up by someone desperately knocking at his door, we went to see and when he opened the door a couple (his friend Jake and his wife Carmen) were extremely worried and desperate, his friend immediately started checking on him while his wife Carmen placed herself between me and my boyfriend and she looked at me with so much anger, Andy was trying to calm Jake and I was very confused until I heard Andy tell Jake that he was having fun and forgot about his phone and that’s why he didn’t continue texting, that we were good and they didn’t have to worry about him because knew now he was safe with me, thats when I stated asking questions, my bf was trying to change the subject but his friend’s wife Carmen showed me her phone with their group chat, it turns out he thought I wasn’t physically attracted to him because of the lack of sexual activity and because I rejected his advances twice (one before dating and the other in the first week), also he got very scared when I started drinking because his ex wife was a drunk and used to physically abuse him badly whenever she drank so seeing me drink triggered him, when I looked up to see him he was crying begging me to let him explain and not leave him, I thanked his friends for loving him and protecting him and assured them he was in fact safe with me, when they left my boyfriend told me all about his trauma and OMG he lived an actual hell and unknowingly I did or said lots of things that triggered him or reminded him of how his ex used to act but I never hurt him or even intended too, I feel so bad about this bit IDK how to make it ok, his friends and parents hate me because they thought I knew and was doing it on purpose to keep him scared and use his money (according to Jake, although after he and his wife left they seemed a little bit happier with me and both Jake and Carmen started following me on Ig after?), my bf has been crying and sad the whole day and IDK what to do.

Okay, this is a handful and while it’s nice that his friends care about him, they really crossed so many boundaries here.

The fact that your boyfriend has trauma due to previous relationship sucks but it’s up to him to open up about it and tell you if he is feeling triggered or not. There is no reason for Jake and Carmen to come to his house uninvited and tell you about his trauma without your bf consent and definitely not aggressively come between the two of you. They can advise him privately but doing what they did is not acceptable. He is not in a life threatening situation and whatever problems you two are dealing with is up to you.

If your boyfriend is sad you need to talk about it together. You and him also need to make it clear to his friends that while you appreciate their concern, this is between you to solve.

[orangeinecstasy]

film fest ࿐ ࿔*:･ﾟjosh jenkinson

paring: josh x fem!oc

summary: film fest date with josh!

a/n: little josh blurb because i love him sm. part two?

wc: < 1k

*reblogs, likes, and feedback are greatly appreciated!!

My foot bounced gently as I sat on my bed, trying to figure out what to wear. Today was the first time that I was going out with this guy, Josh. My friend had set up the whole thing telling me we would be perfect together. I'd met him several times, and he was cute and kind of quiet. So at that time, I thought, fuck it, I might as well. But now, as I'm sitting on my bed, staring into my closet, the feeling of what I had gotten myself into sunk in. 

"Fuck!" I yell out in frustration before falling back onto my bed. "Why do I do this to myself?" my words were muffled as my hands covered my face. Something as simple as picking out an outfit became so hard just because of a cute boy. It was fucking bullshit. 

I prop myself up on my elbows, trying to think of what we would do that night so I could pick out a good outfit. "Okay, so first is the film festival in the park. That means I should probably wear jeans and bring a jacket or something, but still wear a cute top."

I stand up, stretching a bit before rummaging through my closet. I decided on a pair of dark wash wide-leg jeans and a shirt that said bottoms up that depicted a woman bending down and placing something on a table. Over the shirt, I slipped on a grey jacket, then layered my favorite leather jacket over it. My makeup was already done from earlier in the day, just something simple that let the freckles on my skin peek through while still enhancing my features. I touched it up a bit, darkening the smoked-out eyeliner slightly before grabbing my bag and slipping on some tennis shoes. 

The night had a slight chill but nothing unbearable. I looked down at the time on my phone, deciding to text Josh and let him know I was going to the park. 

Hey! I should be at the park in like 10 minutes.

He quickly responded, Cool! Can't wait to see you :) 

I smiled down at my phone. He's so cute. Shifting the bag on my shoulder, I started my journey to the park. As I got closer, I could see where the large projector screen had been set, a group of people scattered in front of it, lying on blankets or sitting on chairs. String lights were strung up along vending booths, the gate surrounding the park, and some of the large oak trees growing from the ground - giving it an almost fairy-like atmosphere. 

My phone vibrates in my pocket. Taking it out, I see Josh's name flash across the screen. I answer, "Hey!" 

"Hey!" he responds, "I just wanted to let you know I'm here. If you're not yet, there's no rush. The movies don't start for another fifteen minutes. I'm standing in front of the tree wrapped in blue Christmas lights." I could tell that he was nervous from his voice, but it only added to his sweetness. 

"Ahh, okay, I think I'll see you. Wait, raise your arm or something." He does so. 

I pull the phone away from my ear. "Josh!" I yell out, and he turns in my direction, waving as I walk over. Our arms wrap naturally around each other as we hug each other tightly. "This place is super beautiful. You have good taste." he smiles, arm moving from my waist to my shoulder as the two of us walk towards the screen. 

"I'm glad you like it. I usually come to this alone every year because the lads aren't that inserted in short films." I lean into his warmth. The multicolored light cast beautifully along his face as we walk. "Ahh, I get that. But, unfortunately, only the elite can have a LetterBox account." We laughed at my awful joke before finding a spot in the middle of the crowd. 

Opening my bag, I pulled out the blanket from inside, laying it on the ground to give us a dirt-free place to sit. The two of us lay side by side, close enough to feel the warmth wafting off our bodies. We chatted about various topics, from playing the guitar to family to what it was like for us growing up. It was so natural to talk to him and lovely to see more of his personality. The longer we talked, the more shyness melted away from his persona. I'm glad he could be comfortable enough around me to be more expressive. 

Soon enough, the film festival actually started the chatter between the two of us slowly quieting down. However, when we were between the second to last and the last film, Josh spoke up. 

"Hey, Gia," I turned to face him. "Yeah, what's up?" I prop my head on my hand, allowing me to view him better. "I just wanted to let you know that you look magnificent tonight." He moves some hair from my face as he speaks. "Thank you." smiling, I lean over, giving him a soft kiss on the cheek. "Would you like to do this some other time? Go out with me, I mean." nodding, and my smile grows wider. "Yeah, I'd like that a lot." 

[ace-in-the-author]

It’s Just Us©

*do not copy, translate, or submit any of my works on any other platform or AI.

Word count: 431 

tw// suicide mention, ig depression?, suicide talk?, i have a rocky relationship w/ my momma thats mentioned once, tell me if im missing some tws!//

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

It’s been like that since we met; I think it was in June or July? We met in the summer. Since then, we talked almost everyday for multiple hours at a time. She makes even the simplest of games entertaining.

She’s my best friend, my found family. The older sister I needed but never had. She’s been there with me through the worst parts of my depression, through our best friends suicide, to help me with insecurities, and I’ve been there for hers.

I don’t know where I’d be without her. She brightens my day after everything that happens at school, after my mom gets mad at me, after any and everything. I love her, I love my older sister.

It’s strange to people who haven’t experienced this before, to call someone your sibling, to call someone family when you’ve never met them in person. But it works. We video-chat, we voice-call, we text, we facetime. For over half a year, and it’s so fun every time. I couldn’t imagine my life without her in it, and regrettably, I’ve tried. She’s so similar to me but different in every way. 

I’m not good at socializing, I have nothing to talk about or I talk too much; She’s good at conversations and never runs out of things to talk about. I’m a peacemaker; she’s a fight first, talk later person. I’m quiet, she’s the balance of both. She can always match and bring up my energy.

I wish I could do more for her though. I know she doesn’t need any help right now, but I want to be able to give her it regardless. She’s always there for me, and all I can do is give mediocre advice and comfort. She doesn’t seem to mind too much, but I still feel like it’s not enough. But, so long as she’s not complaining about it, I won’t change it.

I don’t want to lose her, after all. We already… lost… them. 

I feel like I’m a part of the reason we lost him, anyways. I didn’t really talk to him one-on-one that much, but we were still close. It was the three of us against the world, nothing could separate us. But as the months went by, in September, we lost them to suicide. A group of kids at their school had bullied and forced them into it. Those people have since been arrested, but nothing can bring him back. I miss him, and I hope he rests in peace, wherever he is.

But for now, it’s just the two of us.

[apple-grass-and-smiles]

Hello! The ever-sweet and wonderful @marthaskane tagged me to share eight shows that define me/help you get to know me. Without further ado, the shows!

Alias (2001-2006)

Alias has taught me the value of old LiveJournal pages and the Wayback Machine more than any other show I've ever loved. I discovered this show in 2013 when it was on Netflix and then I spent a few months in Germany, where I spent too much money buying almost the entire show on iTunes because I could not comprehend going more than a day without Sydney Bristow with me.

2. The Clone Wars (2008-2013, 2014, 2020)

I remember when this show first aired and my siblings and I had a square dance at our school (very American, I know) so we had to DVR it. The next morning we snuck down early to watch it with the volume super low so we wouldn't wake up our parents. Few shows have continuously come back into my life the way this one has. I can track a lot of how I've changed as a fan through the different ways I've viewed this show over the last 15 years.

3. Fringe (2008-2013)

I've been rewatching this show since January of this year and can confirm: it is still a nearly perfect 100 episodes of TV. Fringe manages to perfect a lot of the plot lines and dynamics that appear in Alias (both are J.J. Abrams/his collaborators projects). It manages to walk the line between a procedural and a mythology-driven show beautifully and so clearly knows what message and themes it wants to share from the very first shot. If you like exploring messy family dynamics, action, and the X-Files, Fringe is a good option for you.

4. Gotham (2014-2019)

I historically have no cared much at all about Batman. He struck me as pretty boring in comparison to every other person he interacted with. Gotham change that for me (turns out he just needed to be put next to any even more boring guy, but I digress...). Loving this show is a lesson in looking past weird choices, wacky inconsistencies, and learning to just trust that writers will give you a fun ride, even if you understand less that 15% of it. It helped me remember that the sentence "I love this show" does not always mean "here is a perfect example of perfect storytelling" and just how freeing that can be. It also gave me a beautiful little group of friends who continue to make me smile on a regular basis.

5. Blindspot (2015-2020)

While this show may not be one I post about often, it was foundational for how I interact in fandom now. It was one of the first times I was active in a fandom from the start of the show. It was the first time I was in a fandom group chat and my Tumblr friends broke containment into being people I followed on Instagram and texted. I organized a Secret Santa. It was the first time I remember actively freaking out of promo photos (1x09 IYKYK) and synopses. Almost all the confidence I have when interacting in fandoms is from these experiences. And the plot is stellar.

6. Iron Fist (2017-2018)

I can't tell you how I ended up watching this. I do not know what prompted me to turn it on but I'm really glad I did. This show has so many amazing nuggets of amazingness and its shortcomings brought me together with two of my favorite people as we tried to understand what had gone wrong and where. (This is not a good ad for the show.) I love getting to play with stories and characters that have seemingly infinite potential and getting to do it with other people who are just as committed to the story as I was meant the world.

7. The Rookie (2018-present)

I fought against this one so hard. I did not want to get into it, but as my dash filled with those gifs of Lucy in the green dress and I had my wonderful friend pitching the show to me over and over, I caved. And I'm really glad I did. The experience of watching a long season over months, one week and one episode at a time, is so different than streaming or rewatching shows and I'd forgotten how much I missed it until I got to do it again for this show. My Tuesday livestreams with my lovely friend single-handedly pulled me through so many rough spots over the last year. For a procedural dramedy, The Rookie continues to serve up some of the best characters on TV right now and consistently delivers some of the best cold opens.

8. Prodigal Son (2019-I'm in denial)

The show that owns my heart and soul. The show I'd sell my organs to get new episodes of. Returning to this show, whether I'm writing fic, doing a TED Talk in my head about the psychology in the show, or actually watching an episode, consistently feels like coming home. I did not know it was possible for someone to stick their hand in your head and pull out a show custom-made for you, but that's what this is. The characters are all so perfectly imperfect and desperate to be better. The plots are just the perfect amount of bonkers. The show being a drama pretending to be a procedural is beautiful. If you'd told me in 2019 that a show about a profiler whose dad is a serial killer and they solve crimes together would be the show that would leave an indelible mark on my life, I would have rolled my eyes because that's so cliche. 2019!me had no idea what she was on about. But I'm glad she figured it out and randomly put on this little show one night that had continued to pull me through good days and bad days and everything in between.

As for tagging other people, anyone is welcome to join but I’ll specifically tag some people I know who haven't been tagged (I think): @electricbluebutterflies, @chenlucys, @shinythinx, @rojaswarren, @meandmyechoes, @padme-deserved-better, @whitesunlars, @harrows-bones, @bpdanakins, and @violetsandmagpies.

[fineartsjournal]

213341 Art Studio IIIA ⋆ Interim - A Mad Dash

Beyond our Instagram group chat; a huge chunk of group organization takes place in our dedicated "Planning Slides" document.

Olivia had taken the reins with getting our progress and ideas jotted down; which has really helped keep us all on pace.

Alongside a timetable, these slides act as one big checklist - with sections for planning materials, room painting, and a moodboard.

We all invited friends and family to the exhibition, with an estimated 40 people checking it out at once - to which we've been informed could be on the unsafe side, as 2E Dark is not the most crowd friendly.

The room is also a little inconspicuous. Sandwiched between two studio spaces, we should aim to draw people in with wall text. There's also talks to remove the door in favor of a curtain.

On the first Tuesday of the study break, (almost) all of us met for a discussion. Written atop this note page is the 'pipeline' for getting our space primed and ready for presenting.

Two days later, we met up with Mike Bridgeman to lock in our equipment requests.

There were bundles of extension cords, a projector and three spotlights already in our space, so a lot of the borrowing would be on my end.

This was a little humbling. Turns out - I don't know much about mixing. There was an expectation that I would be practicing mixing in my own time - or in the very least learning more about it, and I watched Mike's smile quickly fade as he had to explain that there are different inputs for mono and stereo sound, and different audio jacks, too! If I wanted to play music from four different MP3 players, I'd need a very large, expensive mixer for the task! And amps are a thing that exist too! Jesus Christ.

It needed some more thought; and I have a lot to learn. From this, I started re-drafting my presentation. I was not letting go of my driving concept, but how could I adapt it?

I came up with an alternative, and emailed Mike.

Back at home, I started toying around with SM64 loops in Audacity, with the idea that I could load them onto my SP-202, and divvy the mono tracks up from there.

It's a unique challenge - create four 'songs' that can play over each other at different timing, all in the same key and timbral range.

I amassed seven loops in Audacity, and arranged them in a song format for your enjoyment.

While some of the more 'textural' sounds that came from this are worth looking at further, such things as drum beats and chord progressions quickly become a slippery slope.

The same problem forms as did back with my presentation back in Week 6 - where the processing is too clean, and the action of sampling is lost on the listener.

Instead, the loops have to be rougher. Simpler. More jarring. The SP-202 was going to be used regardless, but instead of Audacity being the middleman, the SP-202 is where the bulk of the composition takes place, and I'll load sounds right into it.

This was also the time that my group began drawing up our pamphlet. I let my creative desires get the better of me and largely left myself with designing the whole thing - however I did consult the group every step of the way, sending screenshots and drawn-ideas:

As a successor to our proposal document, I made sure to format the pages in Word, as this meant the formatting could actually transfer all the symbols over to a PDF. Microsoft Word also comes with some ancient, deep-down features that can still be used: like this palm tree border which really ups the tackiness factor.

The cat you see was picked by Ruby and I, when we were Googling 2004-2010-era cat images. This one is from 2010, and immediately struck us as representative of our shared concept.

To match the font-graphics theme, I gave the image similar treatment - using point-and-click-paths to give this clean look without any line wobbliness. I also turned the whole thing into a vector, allowing it to be infinitely scaled, like a font!

And I wonder why I'm sleep deprived.

I was battling a bit of music block at this point, but Em was a great motivator for getting my sampler back out and jumping back into it.

The workflow was straightforward. No pre-preparing samples in Audacity, just recording them straight in and going from there. Old school.

Samples used:

Koji Kondo - Lethal Lava Land

Koji Kondo - Inside The Castle Walls

Koji Kondo - File Select

Recording back into audacity, I would then trim-up the tracks, loop preferred sections, and bring up the volume. No further polish from there, this was time for the SP-202 to shine.

Listening back on Time Isn't Real Strategy, copying the mono tracks into each ear and pacing them slightly didn't cut it, and the resulting sound was hollow. With the mono inputs of the mixer in mind, it was best to let that mono goodness shine.

Mike got back in touch, and the ball was rolling once more. This time, he'd acquired four MP3 players, along with a mixer, which for the meantime, was still sitting in the Block 6 recording studio.

This meetup was a godsend. My two-MP3-player-audio-split idea could work, sure, but with the power of a stereo-to-mono jack converter, using four MP3 players was possible again.

We tested on the mixer, and I got a crash course for how I'd be wiring up my project in practice. I needed four 3.5-to-3.5mm (stereo) cables, two of which he could provide. An equal amount of 3.5mm-to-6.5mm (mono) jack converters were also needed, of which I'd also need to buy another two.

Hooking one MP3 player up with this 3.5-6.5mm, stereo-to-mono array, we tested the mixer audio - which was great! The cables, jacks and all four MP3 players were provided in a Tupperware container, and I head off to Jaycar to get the rest of my equipment.

Back with the team, I locked my attention into getting the pamphlet done, first and foremost. Olivia and the others went into our newly assigned space for some mapping, as we needed a top-down view. These were their notes, along with some format planning for our pamphlet.

By this point, the first page of the pamphlet had shaped out nicely, with all subsequent pages following suit.

Following another pamphlet-making session on Word, I got back around to my sampler, and loaded up all eight pads with enough material for three whole tracks.

Samples used:

Koji Kondo - Game Start

Koji Kondo - Peach's Message

Koji Kondo - Powerful Mario

Samples used:

Koji Kondo - Dire, Dire Docks

In-Game Ambience, "Outside Peach's Castle"

Samples used:

Koji Kondo - Cave Dungeon

Koji Kondo - Inside The Castle Walls

The text on the front of our pamphlet was tricky, as we all had a fair bit in common, but enough differences that making one big mission statement would not be easy. Olivia shared around a word document with the first draft I made, and we each had a hand in editing in/out parts that best represented our works, to which I made the final edit, which the others greenlit.

We went with the following:

"OH HI – we come from internet. It’s been around for about two decades longer than we have. In that time, it has expanded exponentially alongside the development of the devices we now glue our minds and fingertips to. We frolicked freely in these pixelated fields, while the world played catch up. Where did those good times go? It was all so fun, but how much of it was real? At best, it was a lens. At worst, a mirror.  "We didn’t feel alone, but nobody else was in the room with us. It wasn’t an exclusive experience, our consciousness was part of a collective, our realities fractured and sewn back together. The emotions of self and stranger were intertwined and projected back out; and as we retrospect, simulated familiarities pull us back into the maelstrom of bygone emotions, a haze of ‘better days’ to feed into our past, present, and future. How do we get back there?  "The digital age is a perpetual melancholy, the past unobtainable – but that is all the motivation we need to chase it endlessly. Each of our artworks follow memories and experiences in these real and virtual spaces; familiar motifs spoon-fed into our young minds, and the lives that are both fictional and our own.  "From thereon, we are what we eat.  "This is Personal Storage."

Stevee-Renee's portraits came in, and we each got to submitting our individual work profiles for adding into the pamphlet, to which I formatted like so:

I then got back into Audacity for the rest of the tracks...

…pushing through a couple late nights...

…until everything sounded just right!