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#I’ll post an actual preview sometime soon
doctorhelena · 4 months
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Hi @theawkwardterrier!
I’m your @steggyfanevents Steggy Secret Santa this year, and in true Steggy fashion (and in my own personal tradition for the past few years), I'm late. 😂😩
The good news is that I have a fully completed draft of a story I think you'll enjoy, and editing is progressing well! The bad news is that it's quite a bit longer than I'd intended (I really thought I’d come up with a short, self-contained idea this year! 😭) so editing is taking a little longer than I’d hoped, and even with the extension I'm not quite going to make it. But I really, really hope I’ll have it for you very soon!
In the meantime, please accept this short preview excerpt.
Context: Post-Endgame Steve has received a short and uninformative "I need an emergency lift ASAP" phone call from Peggy (who didn't kiss him hello when she got in the car because the lipstick she's wearing would make that a bad idea.)
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The lipstick was another thing he wasn’t exactly jealous about. Peggy had been a spy long before Steve had met her, and he’d always known that, thanks to the Sweet Dreams knockout lipstick Howard had made for her, kissing unsavory individuals was sometimes the most efficient way to do her job. And he understood that there was a difference, for her, between kissing for personal and professional reasons. Still, he didn’t particularly like to think about it actually happening, and Peggy always looked a little guilty, and then annoyed at herself for feeling guilty, whenever the topic came up. 
To top it all off, Howard, unprompted, had recently developed two further prototypes: Forget Me Not, making the recipient of a kiss forget everything that had happened in the past half day, and Always Be True, containing a truth serum that lasted for about five to six hours, at Howard’s best guess.
“At your best guess?” Steve had asked him when he’d brought it over. Howard had shrugged unrepentantly. “I’ll have a better idea after Peg gathers some data from the field.” He’d proceeded to cheerfully ignore Steve’s patented Captain America look of reproach, while Mr. Jarvis had simply shaken his head wearily in the background.
Peggy, too, had regarded the new lipsticks with a healthy dose of suspicion - and Steve, having heard the story of her adventures with Howard’s ‘Bad Babies’, understood why. But the fact was that Howard was generally pretty reliable once he’d declared an invention ready for action, and Steve knew that Peggy now kept all three in her bag along with her regular lipstick, having had Howard mark the different tubes with a series of notches and grooves so that she could easily tell them apart by feel. 
“What happened?” he asked her now, as he slowed the car to a stop and waited for a truck to pass on the cross street. It was snowing a bit harder now, and he could afford to drive more cautiously now that he knew Peggy was safe.
“Howard Stark,” Peggy said with great exasperation. “I’ve ruined my chances at getting vital information from the arrogant ass I’ve been unpleasantly cultivating for weeks now, because Howard Stark is a bloody idiot.”
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thesameasme · 10 months
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The Mark of a Leader Chapter 3 (Preveiw)
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I know I’ve been gone for a while and didn’t post, but a lot of different things were happening and I kinda just forgot I published some of the chapters and people were expecting more. Why I’m posting this though is that I realized that only 12 people have read chapter 3 and 53 people read chapter 4. I don’t know why this is but there is context for some conflict between characters in chapter 3 so I think you should read it. I don’t want to post the whole chapter here, but I’ll post a bit of it here so you’ll be interested in reading the rest. This isn’t a true preview since this chapter is already out, but only a snippet of it is here.
True to his word, Blue’s training actually was fun! It was a little boring at first, Blue sounded like Donnie when he dragged Mikey around identifying different plants and animals, but soon it turned into a game. It was similar to eye-spy, Blue would say some vague description of a plant’s look and what it does and Mikey would run around trying to find it. It felt like a scavenger hunt as Mikey climbed up trees and dug in the dirt trying to find what was asked of him. After some time though, Mikey sat down next to Blue and felt all his energy drain from him as he tried to catch his breath. 
“Wow, you really trained for three hours. I don’t think my Mikey could even do that.” Blue says with a chill but impressed inflection. 
“Three hours?! It felt like only one!” Mikey gasps. Blue laughs and Mikey smiles. 
“I like training with you, your the only one that seems remotely similar to anyone back home.” Blue admits, relaxing in the shade under a tree. 
“How so?” Mikey inquires. 
“You two are just a silly and outgoing in both worlds, your both fun people to be around.” Mikey’s smile shines brighter, sometimes his brothers seem annoyed when he’s around and it makes him feel bad, so for Blue, who in a weird way is his brother, to say something like that makes him feel better. 
“What else is it like in your world?” Mikey asks with childish curiosity evident in his voice.  
“Well for one thing, we live in a city, not a farm.” This makes Mikey laugh. 
“We don’t live here, we live in the city too.” 
“Really? The sewers, right?” Mikey nods in confirmation. “Just like my brothers and I, I guess that’s something we share across dimensions. Is your dad also-“ 
“A human turned rat?”
”A human that’s now a rat?”
They say in unison. “Jinx!” Mikey declares. 
“We didn’t say the exact same thing.” Blue nudges Mikey’s arm teasingly, Mikey just laughs more. 
Mikey can’t tell if it’s the feeling breeze outside and the sunlight on his skin, or if it’s just nice being with Blue, but there is a refreshing feeling around them, it’s comfortable and relaxing. 
“If you live in the city, then why are you here? Where is Splinter?” Mikey frowns. He knows Blue doesn’t mean to upset him, but that doesn’t stop Mikey from remembering how he lost his city, lost his father. 
“It was the Kraang.” Mikey says solemnly. Mikey barely notices as Blue tense at his words, but he continues. “The invasion happen too fast and we were all separated, and Splinter was-…. They found where we lived so the only thing we could to was run.” 
“So they’re still here? There still in New York?” Blue asks, his voice sounds detached from emotions. 
“Yeah, I don’t think there was any news of them reaching outside so I think they’re stuck or something.” Mikey pulls his knees to his chest. 
“Is that why your Leo is injured?” Mikey only nods. There is a melancholy silence for a second. 
“I’m sorry that happen.” Blue places a gentle hand on Mikey’s shell. 
“It’s okay, soon we’ll get New York back. We just have to figure out how.” Mikey welcomes his touch, it’s comforting. He rests his head on Blue’s shoulder and Blue rests his on Mikey’s. It feels so natural to do, like they really are brothers. 
(Please read my reblog of post)
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maverick-werewolf · 10 months
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AUGUST - A look ahead + some general updates
Hi, all! Just keeping everyone posted on what I've been up to and what's coming up in the future. Here are some things you can expect to see in the month of August, both publicly and exclusive to the Patreon...
Public posts:
New Werewolf Fact - That's right; it'll be a werewolf fact again this month! What will it be about? Well, that's up to my patrons. They have several choices this time. Whatever they pick, I'm going to refocus on werewolf facts again for a little while, especially to prepare for the promotion of my upcoming book Knightfall - and possibly even for the announcement of another nonfiction werewolf folklore book from me.
Preview for an upcoming short story - Depending on how efficiently I get these two new short stories written, I would love to post a public preview for one this month!
Website updates - I'm going to be doing some website updates this August, including some updates to the character pages on my website and possibly more (I would love to improve the look/feel of several pages, but I'm not sure I have time to get to that this month). If you haven't seen my website redesign, by the way, don't forget to check that out! It has lots of useful pages now, including character pages and reading order guides to my fiction, as well as previews of all my books and links to purchase them online from Amazon (they are also available online at most book retailers). I am especially fond of the Characters section, myself.
Patron-only posts:
Poll on next Werewolf Fact - Patrons will get to decide what August's werewolf fact will be! The poll will go up around the start of the month, and it'll run for a while before I take in the final results and start working on the fact itself.
Monthly Preview, Chapter 8 of Knightfall revision (near-final draft) - Already loaded up and ready to be posted soon, the monthly preview for August will be chapter 8 of my Knightfall revision in its near-final form (not final yet, though)! This chapter introduces a brand new plot twist, and we're fast approaching the point where I will no longer post chapter previews of this revision, as things are really heating up. I'm very excited to hear what readers think of this preview!
Previews for 1 or 2 new short stories - I'm not sure how much writing I'll get around to in terms of these short stories, but I know what I want to do with both now, so I'm really hoping to post a preview at least for patrons this month of one, if not both, upcoming short stories! If you missed the writing journal on those, check that out here.
Writing Journal on short stories - You can expect new writing journal(s) about one or both upcoming newsletter short stories.
Writing Journal on newsletter - You can also expect a writing journal about my newsletter itself, what I hope to achieve with it, what to expect from it, and more.
Possibly other journal(s) - Who knows what I might write a journal about? I like to do journals at random sometimes. I actually have had something in the works for a while that's totally unexpected... we'll see if I get that posted this month or if it continues to lurk in the drafts for a later date.
Will I finish at least one short story to the point of posting a public preview in August? I can't say yet! We'll see how it goes. I am going to run them by my patrons first; I do know that. So if you're a patron, definitely expect at least a preview of one or both new short stories this month.
Patrons are going to be my test audience for these short stories, so patrons will receive these short stories in their entirety before they are available publicly through my newsletter!
Also, as a more general update, I have removed the Character Questions reward from my Patreon for the time being in order to make space to experiment with other potential rewards in the future.
If there's anything anyone would be excited to see from my Patreon rewards, be it related to my folklore work or my fiction or whatever else, I'd love to hear from you!
There's a lot in store, and I can't wait to share it all. I'm really hoping to make 2024 a big year for me and my work, so I'm doing a lot of preparation in the remainder of this year to work toward that.
Until next time!
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kirby-the-gorb · 2 years
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reply roundup! + announcement
things will be restructuring soon:
I may do one more normal reply roundup after this, but then they will become shorter, more sporadic, and less thorough - just whatever catches my eye that I have something to say about, rather than systemically trawling the notes of every post since the last one
the reblob queue is still full up until mid-november, but when that runs out I will also be changing how that gets filled - organizational tags will stay but commentary will be less frequent, and I’ll just refill as I go instead of big days of concentrated effort which means you may get the same artist multiple days and it may just run out sometimes if no one’s posted in a while
I will be stopping the patreon requests and wallpapers after fulfillment for november signups - that means there will be patreon requests and a wallpaper that go up in december, but none after that. I may or may not sub in a $5 postcard tier at that time, for a little print in the mail of whichever drawing was my favorite that month, but that’s still a maybe. other than that the patreon will become more of a tip jar, if you just like tucking a little extra spending money in my pocket so I can order better food sometimes :v I’m pretty sure the favorites posts every couple months should continue though.
daily drawings will definitely continue.
this is unfortunately necessary due to my health.
highlights:
the [preview] for next month’s wallpaper is up
patreon requests for this month are up for [my wife], [fleurdelis], and [matt]
my friend darian and I did a livestream and the vod is up on [youtube] with proper captions (I will not be able to do captions like this again anytime soon even if I stream again, soz)
my wife had an important interview and she said it went well, we should know how well by like the 4th (if it went well enough we get to move back home next summer)
on [story]:
@hobgirl​ said: go girl give me nothing!! actually this is exclusively how i talk to my friend, describing the book im reading like: SO her husband who died of cancer was actually a clone and her actual husband is only sort of dead because hes an owl now, but maybe not. either way the owl died and that made her lonely so she gave in to the supernatural force of whatever, that turned her into a big beast with thousands of eyes and gills and actual mountains maybe??? and she met HER clone who DIDNT have cancer!!!!! thats what i picture kirby saying as well
this is absolutely how I tell stories to my wife too lol (sounds like a wild book)
@ceylonsilvergirl​ said: talking to an excited 3-year-old. all you can do it nod and occasionally say “wow!’’ “for reals!?’’ “no way!’’ “what happened next!?’’
bless their hearts they are so excited but they’re not super good at pronunciation or sentence structure yet so you just gotta roll with it
on [zap]:
@hobgirl​ said: somehow i did not expect his skeleton to look like that. like.... it feels like he should have tiny lil ribs cause he can deform so much, but either way his skeleton was gonna be cursed!
I did intentionally not give him a sternum, not having the ribs fused to anything in front does give them a lot more mobility! but honestly he probably does not have an endoskeleton at all I just think it’s funny lol
on [teeth]:
@rajayohn​ said: oh my god you actually did it you made kirby look adorable with teeth
ehehehehehe >:)
regarding [stream]:
@ceylonsilvergirl​ said: The stream was fun! Thanks!
@slimey-2​ said: was bummed out to be busy during this stream, I'll catch the next one if you do it again!
totally! it was a good time and if I don’t corner myself into writing the captions I should be able to manage another one sometime :>
on [bears]:
@brainfullofhotsauce​ said: Omg Neapolitan
omg you’re right that was completely by accident :0
on [basket]:
@ceylonsilvergirl​ said: Kirby moses. koses
@jupiterlandings​ said: *deliver us from Prince of Egypt plays faintly in the distance*
yes. exactly. you get me.
on [clue]:
@chaosinanutshell​ said: A CLUE A CLUE!! movie??? heck yes plz. bring back my boys Joe and Steve, the OGs. me when I was taking my bio test
honestly the trailer is really cute, my childhood friends and I are old enough that we kinda aged out right as joe started but I sent the trailer to the group chat and they were like “ohhhhh we should watch it!!!!” (and those answers are in there somewhere! maybe!)
on [balloon]:
@angst-and-fajitas​ said: 'are they helium balloons? I told ya the kirb aint made for helium balloons! oh great now he's floatin away'
@ghostieblotts said: prev tags how does it feel to be a genius you're brilliant. i love this style!!
I’ve watched that vine so many times, I can hear it so clearly in my head lol. great joke. (and thank you!)
@ceylonsilvergirl​ said: when my son was very young, probably about 2 or 3, he had received a balloon from a kind employee when we were grocery shopping. I tied it to his wrist but he insisted he hold it instead, and when we went to the park afterwards... yes the inevitable occurred. it was one of those moments where he just plain had to learn. it wasn’t a tragic thing, more of a disappointment, but an important lesson nonetheless
aww, never a fun lesson to learn. (also she feels really good about how the interview went, I hope your meeting went okay too!)
on [baseball]:
@imkirb​ said: me when the padres, but at least they're SEXY B)
yeah looks like the padres really got the tar beat out of em this series. matt and I are mariners fans so... :’)
@ceylonsilvergirl​ said: Kirby darling, I’m afraid someone lied to you about how baseball is played
maybe he’s practicing! (it’s probably not very good practice.)
on [postcard idea]:
@imkirb said: shiii I wouldn't complain bout a postcard deal, that sounds fresh asf
@ceylonsilvergirl said: Don’t push yourself or your health on our account. Take care of yourself first
I’m doing my best to balance the two! we’ll see what happens.
from the askbox:
@chaosinanutshell said: Hallo :3 I was wondering, have u watched terminalmontage's kirbo videos? like the latest one for dream buffet which was basically a fever dream lmao
hope u have a good day (●'◡'●)
I’ve seen a couple of them, the humor is a little bit too fart- and scream-based for me sometimes but they have some jokes that really hit for me in there too. I love how absolutely brainless their kirby looks though lol (and thank you!)
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bts-reveries · 3 years
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the most beautiful moment in life | epilogue
The Most Beautiful Moment in Life.
We all knew that to get to the pretty parts of life, you’d have to get ugly first. 
Hey, no pain no gain right? 
Well I hope you liked our most beautiful moment in life. Thank you for going through the good, the bad, and the ugly. For running after Hana with Yoongi when she saw the grand opening of 24/7 Heaven. For walking with Huimang to Hobi’s door. For riding the train to Ilsan with Byul to meet Namjoon. For being with Jimin when he was scared and alone with Mingyu. For being with Taehyung when he finally met the one. For being with Jungkook and Rina when they got engaged. And for being with Jin and Mae when their perfect life wasn’t so perfect after all. 
It was happy, it was sad, sometimes it made us mad… but I mean, that’s what we have to go through sometimes right? Not only does it make the story more interesting, haha, but it happens in real life. As cheesy as it sounds, rainbows come after the rain.  
We started off happy, then went to parts that made us sad or angry.
That’s just what you go through to be happy sometimes.
The boys, the girls, the kids, they all fell apart at one point, only to reach their happy ending.
So hey
If you ever feel like you’re falling apart, maybe you’re just falling into place.
Maybe
Just maybe
You’re about to reach the most beautiful moment of your life.
Because right now, in real life, away from this one, we are all going through the same thing.
Yeah, the pandemic.
I know we don’t all live the same exact lives, but we all had it rough this past (almost) two years.
We might’ve lost a job, a loved one, connection with friends, got sick, got depressed, felt scared, and so much more. Because I have. Not every single one of those in that list, but most of them. 
If you were here since daddy duties, that was the start of the pandemic. I believe the lockdown in my country happened when I was posting the intro for that. How crazy?!
For most of us, this AU has been a little escape. A world without covid as someone once said. Actually, a lot of you have told me that reading this AU and receiving notifications for updates etc. are what makes your day. Which means so much to me of course!
“Hey Miya.”
I look up from my laptop to see Jin standing there in front of my desk here at work. 
“Hey Jin, do you need anything?” I ask, closing my laptop. I always brought my personal laptop to work for whenever it gets quiet. Being a receptionist here at Moon Studios is pretty fun, but of course, it does get boring sometimes. 
“No, no, I’m good. I actually am about to head home, but Yeonjun is still here,” Jin tells me. He has a smile on his face. “You two should go out, isn’t your shift over in a few?”
“Uh.. yeah it is,” I say, letting out a shy laugh. “Sure, um. I’ll just finish this up and I can go and meet him.” Jin nods.
“Okay, I’ll text him to come down soon. See you again tomorrow,” he says, walking away.
“See ya!”
Okay, anywho.
This was fun. A lot of us have a special connection with these characters and don’t want to see them go. Some want to see Rina and JK get married, I mean, we have all been anticipating it since the beginning right? Some want Sarang and Hobi to finally have a baby. And some just want to see the kids grow up. 
Because, well… 
Life Goes On
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!note to readers!
This is in the span of a few years, not everyone’s first pic, second pic, etc. is on the same timeline (does that make sense?)
The instagram post shows a preview of their lives after the most beautiful moment in life. No, they did not all get engaged around the same exact time, nor did they all get married the same time/year, and had kids at the same time lol. It just shows that after the most beautiful moment in life they went on with their lives and got engaged, got married, had kids etc.
It could be the same year or different years. (ex. Rina and JK could of gotten married the same year Sohyun and Yoongi got engaged and around that time, Sarang and Hobi got pregnant.)
No years or dates were specified in this epilogue.
Also, the OCs instagram profiles are in the order of the AU’s release, not the dates of when the events of their lives happened!
☻☻☻☻☻☻☻
the most beautiful moment in life 
☻ epilogue ☻
pairings: BTS x OCs (yoongi x sohyun, hoseok x sarang, namjoon x byul, jimin x yuna, taehyung x bora, jungkook x rina, seokjin x mae)
a/n: now this wraps it up! i felt like i said everything i needed to say already up there. but here’s a bit more. this au is so so so dear to my heart. never have i ever thought it would make it this far. nor did i ever think that i would have this many people reading it! i have made so many friends from this series. you all have a special place in my heart! thank you to everyone who followed along since the very beginning, and even the ones whom just found out about us in the last member’s au. i didn’t think i’d be so attached to these characters, so just like a lot of you.. i want a part two. so with that being said, the most beautiful moment in life goes on. let this be a “part two” to the series, although it will be completely different in terms of format (???) i’ll have an official post on it later this week! until then, this isn’t good bye :)
taglist: @ramyagovindraj​ @sope-and-shine​ @jayhope88​ @casspirit0705​ @mygooie0 @fan-ati--c​ @spacxmann​ @princessjazzyjazz​ @sugaaddiction​ @ephyra1230​ @starlitemotions​ @alittlestudycorner​ @justinetingball​ @somewhereofftheglobe​ @ygbubs​ @salty-for-suga​ @momma-said-that-it-was-oke​ @mikrokosmicjoon​ @taekookcaneatme​ @betysotelo18​ [photos found via instagram and pinterest (mostly pinterest, so most of the pictures are unknown) here are the baby’s instagram:
jin: wooju_mom
namjoon: 2ah.in
yoongi: kimibbong1317
hoseok: nayun_mom
jimin: p_aiou
taehyung: no instagram, found on pinterest (jhanuul)
jungkook: tokki.daram]
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chdarling · 3 years
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Because I’m greedy...would you possibly grace us with anymore wonderful previews?? I just cannot wait for TLE2!!! Much love :)
Ok ok ok since you twisted my arm. 😉

You have good timing, actually, as I was just saying earlier today that I should post part of a Remus chapter in honor of his birthday. That’s not until March 10th but I am notoriously forgetful when it comes to birthdays (I forgot my own once), and I’m in the mood now, so…happy early birthday to my favorite fictional vessel of feelings, Mr. Moony!!!
I couldn’t decide whether to share Happy Remus or Sad Remus, so I compromised with Tipsy Remus Making Mistakes (with bonus Jily).
It’s rather long and rather spoilery, so...Enjoy 😘
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Excerpt from The Last Enemy: Dark Marks (coming soon! ish!)
Peter drained his drink, shot Remus a grin, and took off following Veronica towards the dance floor.
And Remus was on his own again. He reached for the ladle and served himself some of the sickly-sweet smelling punch, careful to only fill his glass half-full, as he knew from experience how generous Sirius could be when tipping the whiskey bottle.
He took a sip and winced. Disgusting. Then, having achieved his quest and feeling only moderately less awkward for it, his eyes scanned the room for the next Holy Grail: an empty armchair.
He did not locate one, however, so he continued to linger by the refreshments table, sipping steadily at the nasty punch. It may not taste very nice, but the effects were undeniably advantageous for the hapless introvert who found himself alone at a post-match party. He was just ladling another glass — and deciding that it wasn’t altogether too strong — when a triumphant roar went up from the crowd, loud enough to shake the walls of the tower itself.
Remus turned to see that the portrait hole had opened and the Gryffindor Quidditch Team was streaming into the common room, led by a grinning James Potter. The whooping, cheering throng seemed to swallow him up as everyone clapped him on the back, demanding play-by-plays and laughing outrageously in response to jokes Remus could not hear. He felt his lips tug into an indulgent smile. It would be a while before James resurfaced again.
Remus glanced around the common room once more, and this time he noticed someone he’d missed: Lily Evans was tucked away in a nook by a window, a safe distance from the hubbub. She was alone, leaning against the ledge of the window she’d cracked open, observing the victory parade with a drink in one hand and a cigarette in the other.
Gratefully, he crossed the room to her.  “Having fun?”
She jumped a little, then gave him a sheepish grin as her eyes flitted towards her cigarette. “I was trying to sneak a quick ciggy, but you caught me.”
“Yes,” said Remus solemnly, “and as a prefect I feel obliged to remind you that Gryffindor is a proud and honorable house, renowned for our sense of moderation and deep respect for the rules.”
“STOMP THE SNAKES!” screamed Davey Gudgeon from across the room.
“STOMP THE SNAAAAAAKES!” roared the entirety of Gryffindor house in response.
“I’ll keep that in mind,” said Lily, and she took another pleasurable drag on her cigarette.
“Haven’t got a spare, have you?” asked Remus.
She looked up at him, surprised. “You smoke?”
Remus shrugged. He didn’t, really, but it seemed an appealing occupation at the moment. Something to do with his hands other than sip the vile punch whose effects, he had to admit, he was beginning to feel. Remus did not like to get drunk around anyone but his closest friends. It was a control thing, he supposed. He had to be sure to keep the beast in check.
“Sometimes,” he said. “Just don’t tell my mum.”
After half a beat, it occurred to him that perhaps she thought he shouldn’t smoke on account of the ‘mysterious illness’ from which she believed he suffered. Lily was always really good about not asking questions, but he knew she must wonder, even if she never voiced it, and he had admitted last year that he was ‘sick.’
“It doesn’t affect my — er — illness, if that’s what you mean.”
“No,” said Lily quickly. “I was just surprised. It’s more a Muggle habit.” She dug in the pocket of her robes and pulled out a pack of Benson & Hedges. “I’m happy to have the company,” she said, offering him the pack.
Remus thanked her, lit up, and took a long, meditative drag. “Do you ever think that as the senior Gryffindor prefects we maybe ought to do something about…” he waved a hand vaguely at the ongoing revelry; across the room, Davey Gudgeon was attempting to line up a row of shots on a hovering broomstick. “…all this?”
Lily snorted. “I’ve kept my eye on the punchbowl, at least. To make sure no one slips anything in.”
Remus raised his eyebrows and glanced down at his glass. He didn’t think anyone could drink this bile and not realize it was heavily spiked.
“Other than the requisite whiskey, of course,” she added with a slight laugh at his expression. “That’s a given.”
She tapped her cigarette over an ashtray he hadn’t noticed. It was a pretty little crystal thing, sitting on the windowsill and glittering in the weak moonlight; he supposed she’d conjured it herself.
“Personally,” continued Lily, “I’m glad we’ve all just collectively agreed not to enforce the rules during Quidditch celebrations. I like a good party as much as anyone else. It’s almost enough to make a girl care about sports.”
Remus raised his glass in a mock toast. “Go team.”
Lily laughed, took a drink, and wrinkled her nose. “This shit is awful, though. If we’re going to do it, I don’t see why we can’t have a proper bar.”
“I think the general feeling is that we should at least make an effort to pretend like we’re not breaking a hundred school rules. Plausible deniability, and all that. And respect for our esteemed Head of House, of course.”
“McGonagall hasn’t attempted to shut one of these down in years.”
“Ah, yes. Thanks to the Great Glitter Incident of 1973.”
“I heard you had something to do with that.”
“Slander,” said Remus.
Lily laughed again, then emptied her glass in one long swig. She shuddered. “Well, it does the job anyway.”
Remus was on the verge of some witty reply he hadn’t yet invented, when a booming voice interrupted: “Moony!”
And he looked up to see James, fresh from the noisy crowd, a nearly-empty glass in his hand as he pushed his way towards them. He was draped in a Gryffindor banner, his hair even more mussed than usual, and he had the air of one who had just escaped an overly attentive crowd of admirers — which Remus suspected he probably had.
“Been looking f’you everywhere, old man,” he said happily, and Remus could tell from his slightly slurred words that the drink in his hand was not his first. “S’when d’you smoke?”
Then James caught sight of Lily.
“Oh,” he said. “Hey, Evans.”
“Hey yourself,” said Lily. She touched the cigarette to her lips and returned his blatant stare.
Even sober, James Potter had never been particularly good at keeping his feelings to himself; now James was clearly a few drinks in and Remus watched as a hundred different emotions danced a frantic conga line across his face. Abruptly, he turned back to Remus. “Have you seen Padfoot?”
“Lost him in the crowd,” lied Remus, “but I suspect he’s near the bar.”
“Right.” And with a faint grunt, James took off without another word.
Remus watched him go, faintly troubled. “That was weird.”
“Not really,” said Lily. “He hates me.” She exhaled a cloud of smoke from her lips, the very picture of unaffected disdain — and yet, he couldn’t help but notice that the color in her cheeks had risen significantly.
“He doesn’t hate you.”
“It’s okay, Remus. You’re not going to hurt my feelings.”
“He doesn’t though,” Remus insisted. “I think he’s just…a little embarrassed.”
Lily looked skeptical. “About what?”
Remus sipped his drink and shrugged. “Well, you know, I think he’s still getting over the whole public rejection and heartbreak thing. Getting turned down by the girl you fancy is never easy.”
Remus allowed himself another gulp of the punch. It wasn’t too bad, actually, once you’d had enough to convince your tastebuds to take the night off. After a moment, he realized that Lily was staring at him, her lips slightly parted, the ash curling off the end of her cigarette, which she held aloft and forgotten in one hand.
“What?” said Remus, lowering his glass.
“Did you just say ‘fancy’?”
Remus blinked. He’d hardly thought that was news, but something about her expression suggested he had just slipped up. “…No?”
“Yes, you did.”
Remus did some quick thinking, which the punch was making difficult. Perhaps it would be more accurate to say he did some thinking. He thought she knew James fancied her. Everyone knew James fancied her. But if she didn’t know…did he just betray James’s big secret? But it couldn’t be a secret. The idiot had asked her out in front of half the school last year, for the love of Merlin! Lily had been standing right there! Lily had turned him down. But now Lily was staring at him as though he’d just revealed something deeply shocking. Panic rushed through his veins as his moderately-sloshed brain struggled with these calculations.
“I don’t know what I’m talking about,” he said wildly. “I’m…drunk!”
“Remus Lupin, you are not drunk. You said, ‘the girl you fancy.’”
“Did I?”
“Remus, does James…like me?” She looked thunderstruck at the very idea.
“‘Course he likes you. Everyone likes you.”
“I mean,” Lily scoffed, “does he like me like me?”
Remus eyed her warily for a long moment, then groaned, dropping the pretenses. This was exhausting. “Come on, Lily. He only asked you out in front of half the school last year. What do you think?”
“Oh,” she said flatly. “That. That doesn’t count. He was just taking the piss.”
“…What?”
“It was a laugh. An on-going joke that everyone thinks is so funny because—” she stopped herself and shot Remus a guilty look as though she’d just remembered he was James’s good friend. “Well, he didn’t mean it.”
Remus frowned, genuinely uncertain how to proceed. He knew for a fact that James did mean it, but it didn’t seem his place to explain that to Lily, and he wasn’t so sure James would even want him to, since he was, as he’d declared on the train and several times since, “completely over her.”
“He didn’t mean it,” repeated Lily, looking slightly unsettled by Remus’s silence. “Right?”
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komfortkiri · 3 years
Text
HELP WANTED (PART 1)
WOLF QUIRK F!READER x HANTA SERO x EIJIRO KIRISHIMA WORD COUNT: 1,724 TW/CW: BULLYING MENTION, PARENTAL ABANDONMENT, PANIC ATTACK MENTION (ONCE)
NOTES: I’ll make a banner for this series whenever I get my shit together on Photoshop, lol. I’ve been on a Sero/Kiri thing lately plus this was brewing in my head so I wanted to hurry and type it all down before I forgot it.
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“ HELP WANTED! 3RD AND FINAL ROOMMATE FOR A 3 BEDROOM, 2 BATH HOUSE. — MUST BE RESPONSIBLE AND RELIABLE. TEXT THE NUMBER FOR ANY QUESTIONS. NAME IS KIRI. ”
You had been staring at this ad for a couple of days now. Surely they must have found someone by now, right? You were new around the area and being on your own, wasn’t quite what you had imagined. Your parents? Well, your mom up and decided to leave you behind after bringing you home from the hospital and your dad.. He’s always been there but you wanted to prove you could finally be on your own. You were 24 for God’s sake, of course you could do it, but sometimes— you found yourself wondering if you bit off more than you could chew. Living in this big city full of crazy quirks of all kind, including yours, it was pretty overwhelming.
Oh, your quirk? Well, you were part wolf and people could tell that from looking at you, due to your pointed black ears that rested on either side of the top of your head plus a tail that was pretty fluffy and was also black in color.. Can’t forget the fangs that you have, too. Your howl could deafen someone for a brief amount of time, distracting them. You also had the agility which mean you could run— fast. 
Growing up wasn’t easy at all. You were often teased about your appearance. Kids would pull your tail, thinking it didn’t hurt you when in reality, it did. You spent majority of your childhood wondering why you had to have such an awful quirk, blaming your father since he was also part wolf. However, as you got older, you became more mature and focused more on yourself. Of course, you apologized to your father, which brought the two of your closer, allowing you to confess the reasoning behind why your child days were so… dark and why you lashed out in such ways. 
Your father was a strong man, taking on a few jobs at a time to support you and his self while also keeping the bills paid on time. You admired him for that but you didn’t want to depend on him anymore which led you to where you are right this second— staring at this damned ad, wondering when you’re going to build up some type of courage to text the number. “Oh, for all that is holy, just do it.” You grew tired of being scared so you brought out your phone and texted the number.
TO KIRI: Hey… I was texting about your ad about needing a third roommate and wanted to inquire about it, if you haven’t found anyone yet.
You thought about it again.. What if it was a scam? Oh, you literally brought your palm to your forehead, tapping it a times then halted when your phone buzzed. You looked at the screen, eyes widening in surprise because it was the number from the ad. You had your phone set to where you wouldn’t be able to see previews of your messages unless you unlocked it fully. You braced yourself for a ‘Sorry, we’ve found someone’ or something along those lines. You wouldn’t be surprised since it did take you forever to even act on this whole thing. You swiped left on the message, unlocked your phone, squeezing your eyes shut then took a deep breath. Your right eye slowly opened, eyesight adjusting to the brightness of your screen then falling amongst the words of this Kiri’s response. Your other eye shot open in shock, both your ears perking up.
FROM KIRI: Awesome! We haven’t really had any luck with anyone reliable.. so since that’s the case.. would you mind if me and the other roommate meet you for, say.. coffee? How’s tomorrow morning sound around 8:30-ish?
Thinking to yourself, were you reliable? Of course, you were. Responsible? Absolutely. You worked at a local animal shelter, coincidentally. You worked more with dogs than cats, though, which came with the territory. Dogs obviously gravitated more to you given your natural wolf scent that only they detected with their sense of smell. Recently, you were moved into a management position so you were paid pretty well, which struck up this whole idea to be on your own, per se. Before you could think any further, did you work tomorrow? No, perfect. You rolled over onto your stomach on your bed, tail moving from side-to-side.
TO KIRI: Of course! That sounds great. There’s a coffee shop a few blocks from where I currently stay.. called Camille’s Cafe, not sure if you have heard of it or would prefer something else?
Were you coming off pushy? Demanding? At this point, you didn’t know and you were so nervous that it was driving you crazy but before you could go into panic mode— you got a text back, agreeing on the meeting place and everything. That was… easy.. almost too easy.. Either way, you were thankful they wanted to meet in a public setting in case they really were scammers. That’s when the thought had hit you.. What if they were guys? Kiri didn’t necessarily sound like a guy’s name.. did it? You laughed at your overthinking. No way these were guys.
With that, you looked at the clock on your bedroom wall, it reading 9:30 PM. You decided to go ahead and settle into bed to get enough rest so you didn’t look like a walking zombie when you met your potential roommates for coffee. You plugged in your phone to the charger and laid down, laying awake for an extra hour or so before drifting to sleep.
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After a long day of getting phone call after phone call, text after text from different people saying they were interested in their ad, Eijiro and Hanta were close to giving up. Everyone who showed interest had some type of flaw about them, whether it be a bad history of paying rent on time or being an awful roommate in the past. It was becoming annoying, to say the very least. After denying everyone who reached out, Eijiro thought it was best to just block all the numbers to prevent further contact.
“Bro, I’m beginning to lose hope. We probably won’t ever find someone else to move in with us.” Hanta sat down on the couch in the living room with a sigh, kicking his feet up on the table in front of him. “Might as well talk to Kats about ditching that condo he’s in to move in over here with us.” They had thought about that a few times but even the slight mention of a roommate the first time, their friend, Katsuki, was the first to say not to even consider him because he valued his privacy. They didn’t press further because they understood and knew how he was. 
Eijiro sat on the other end of the couch, directly across from Hanta, leaning forward to prop his elbows on his knees and his head on his hands. “You know exactly how that’ll go, Sero. I say the next person that texts us, we invite to coffee and really figure shit out. It’s been days since we posted that ad, and you know that we need the help we can get.” Hanta nodded in agreement then both their eyes shot down to Eijiro’s phone that lit up with a unsaved number, inquiring about the roommate situation. Hanta moved over to the same side as where Eijiro was to sit down once the red head picked up his phone to look at the message. 
“Huh, look at that! It’s almost like this person heard you.” Hanta chuckled, looking over the message. “What do you think? Coffee?” Eijiro nodded then sent his first text out in response to the inquirer.
TO (YOU): Awesome! We haven’t really had any luck with anyone reliable.. so since that’s the case.. would you mind if me and the other roommate meet you for, say.. coffee? How’s tomorrow morning sound around 8:30-ish?
Sero scowled, “8:30 in the morning, dude? You really must be desperate because we sleep till like noon on our days off. That or you’re hoping it’s a girl.” He laughed then got up to circle around the furniture to head to the kitchen. “I mean, it might be a girl… and it might be good for us. Could teach us a few things.” Kirishima didn’t think about what all that last statement could entail but Sero, thankfully, didn’t catch onto it. “I guess so. Did they respond?” Just as soon as he finished asking his question, another text came through. 
“How do you feel about Camille’s down the road?” Kirishima looked over to Sero who thought for a minute then shrugged with a nod, “Alright, yeah. I could go for one of her bagels. We haven’t seen the lady in a while so we should pay her a visit.” Camille was an older woman who had a heart of gold and loved both Kirishima and Sero. They always were such gentleman when they came in but they stopped going once the crime rate escalated the past few weeks. 
“That’s true. I told the person it sounded great so. Let’s head to bed so we can actually wake up early and look decent instead of a mess.” Kirishima rose from the sofa to head toward his room. Sero called out, “Wouldn’t have to get beauty sleep at all if you didn’t schedule this meeting at the crack ass of dawn.” With that, Kirishima held out his arm behind him, giving Sero the middle finger. “Stop your bitching and go to bed, princess.”
Sero laughed and both settled into bed for the night. While one went to sleep pretty quick, the other laid awake, wondering who this mystery person could be. The thought of whether it was a female or not, really stuck to Eijiro’s mind. He had hoped that if it was, they wouldn’t be scared away by the fact that they’d be living with two guys should they accept the offer at all. Kirishima wanted them to be as comfortable as possible and that’s what he intended on doing and without noticing, he drifted into a deep sleep.
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ART STUDENT H.S.
author’s note: this is just a preview of a longer smut. if you guys are interested lmk and i’ll post the whole thing here :) this isn’t explicit yet.
summary: university student harry (styles) has a project due in a few weeks and he hasn’t found the perfect model yet. or has he?
_________________
Harry was frustrated. He was angry at himself for being such a loner. Sometimes he liked it though - he couldn’t do his favourite hobby around people, that’s for sure. He preferred to work on his paintings alone. But now, it seemed like he regretted ignoring his roommate & his friends, turning down all the dates from the girls on his campus… He just needed a person! Otherwise, he won’t be able to finish his term, and gosh, he wanted to. He just wanted to leave all these stupid people behind, he couldn’t stand them - if it had not been clear. He still doesn't know how he got so popular on campus though. A lot of girls & boys know his name around here. It’s surprising, since Harry was… well, Harry. That's why he wanted to vanish when Amanda Grey turned down the offer to model for him this weekend. Who else, if not Amanda? She was flawless on the outside - even for him.
He found himself eyeing every girl he came across going from one place to another. None of them stuck out for him, they were kind of too average looking for a painting.
“I’m sorry, do you know where the building BH2 is?” And just like that, he felt like today wasn’t even that bad. Like he just got all his problems solved. She was standing right there! In front of his very own eyes! She’s perfect! Her hair was jet black, her crop top showed just enough skin to make the men around her sweat, and her legs… wow. Those black skinny jeans were something else. Harry reacted quickly.
“Oh yes, you go left down this hall, and…” the girl interrupted.
“I was thinking, maybe you could show me.” Oh god! And she was flirting? Harry couldn’t believe his eyes.
“For sure, yes. Would love to.”
As Harry and Kennedy - she told him her name - walked down the halls of MMU & having - nice - small talk, Harry just grew more and more nervous. How is he going to ask her about his assignment? She seems amazing, and Harry’s intimidated. Like a little boy.
When they arrived at Kennedy's final destination Harry just decided to go for it and ask her if she wanted to be his model for the next few weeks.
“Hey, Kennedy…”
“Yes?” as her hair wrapped around her slim neck from looking up at his tall figure, H swallowed thickly.
“I um, I mean it’s weird that I’m asking you this but uh... I think you’d be perfect for the assignment I’m working on.” Lie. He was completely lost before he saw her.
“Really?” she looked at him confused, but still a small smile lingered on her lips.
“Uhuh. I have to paint someone from my everyday life in an unusual environment. You think we could work on this together?” as these last words left his lips the bell rang, signalling lots of students - including Kennedy - to go to their next class. Harry started panicking.
“I mean” Kennedy was looking over her shoulder, turning her head to see if it’s really the beginning of her lecture. “ I - I don’t know.” she finally looked at H. “What about hitting me up later & then we can discuss it!” she started walking away but made sure she wrote her number down on Harry’s palm with a sharpie. She waved smiling and then disappeared behind the big doors of her building. Harry let out a breath he didn’t even know he was holding. Did he just get himself a date? Because she was obviously flirting! Harry went back to his building with a smile on his face.
Later in the day, he became nervous once again. When should he call her? Would today be too soon? But it’s a project due in a few weeks, so if he won’t start working on it this weekend he’ll fail. He couldn’t focus during the lectures either, his mind was filled with Kennedy. He was having a crush, which just made things more difficult. When he got to his dorm he was relieved to be alone. And like that, Harry started sketching & brainstorming in his journal. He pictured Kennedy in various scenarios - standing on top of a high tower, her frame small and not noticeable among the crowded streets with unusually tall people, or her in a lake where all the water creatures were people and she was a fish - stuff like that. Harry liked confusing his audience with unexpected material. While he was scribbling away in his little bubble the sun set, painting the sky in dark gloomy tones. Around 6 o'clock Harry went down for food still thinking about his project and his model. An odd thought struck him - would he see her there? In the cafeteria? That made his heart rate quicken and his steps more eager to see her again. As he entered the canteen he immediately started searching for that one particular set of blue eyes and long dark locks. He tried to be subtle about it though - Harry waited in lines, examined every food option available with interest, actually talked to his roommate who happened to be there… -  but to his misfortune, Kennedy was nowhere to be seen. 
“Hi, Harry!” somebody lightly tapped his shoulder. Harry turned around quickly to see who was this happy to see him, and, with longing, he eyed his soon - to - be - model as she stood before him. 
“Kennedy!” he finally found his voice. ”How are you?”
“Wonderful!” she exclaimed but paused afterwards. “I see you do not need my number anymore?” she asked cautiously with kind of an awkward smile, pointing to his right hand. Harry didn't understand at first but he looked down anyway, and there it wasn’t - Kennedy’s handwriting was gone, leaving blotchy black marker marks on his skin in an illegible way. 
“Oh shit,” said Harry apologetically. “Didn’t realize. I was outlining my ideas for the project and I - got lost I guess.” He tried saving this conversation but was almost sure she wanted to turn down their earlier agreement.
“It’s OK, I can write it in your telly If you’d like it.” Kennedy offered in a slightly easier voice than before. Harry nodded and dug deep into his pockets to find his old iPhone, handing it to her only a moment later. Harry couldn’t help but notice that when she took the device from him she intentionally brushed their fingers against each other. He blushed at this, waiting for her to be done.
“So have you decided yet?” Asked Harry. “To be the model,” he explained after Kennedy looked up at him with questioning eyes. 
“Oh, that.” she sighed, still looking down at the iPhone in her hands. “Well, I’d be happy to help you, Harry, I just don’t know how good I would be.” her lips trembled from side to side as she spoke.
“I think you’d be brilliant,” Harry said almost immediately, trying to make her see what he meant earlier when they first met - and what he thinks now as well. “It’d be nothing special. We could meet up a few times during the week in the studio where we work - you’d be sitting there and I would paint you.” he continued. Kennedy handed him his phone back, still looking at him with her bright eyes.
“Alright then. I’ll do it.” Harry couldn’t hide his excitement - his lips curled into a smile. “But… Can we meet beforehand? You know, just to discuss a few things…” she seemed uneasy. 
“Of course! Whatever you’d like. Thank you, Kennedy.” he gave her a reassuring smile and a slight nod, and let his gaze remain on her slim neck.
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nexility-sims · 3 years
Note
Storytelling asks 12, 13 and 14 ❤️
𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐘𝐓𝐄𝐋𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐀𝐒𝐊𝐒  /   accepting !
these were fantastic questions !! thank you !! ❤️❤️❤️
12. do you actually play the game or do you just use it as a storytelling medium?
lately, it’s been 100% storytelling, but i am so eager to actually play the game soon. i’ve been working on my historical legacy for ........ geez, like five years or so? i guess it began as my bastard version of the decades challenge, lmao. anyway, long story short, i haven’t finished it, and i need to so i can replay the parts i miss. additionally, my plan is to finally get the cottage one when i finish part ii of the story !!!!!!! and do some legacy gameplay (haven’t decided if it’ll be canon yet but it will, as i’ve said, be jered circa 2007). 
13. from basic planning to a finished post, how long does that take you?
OOF. it varies? here are the steps u didn’t ask for
get an idea, scribble some notes in my journal or on scraps of paper i then stuff into the journal. draw diagrams as needed.
scour the internet for poses (detour to make my own sometimes)
build a set (this is what i do 65% of the time. sometimes it takes half an hour, sometimes it takes a few hours. depends on if i need to download cc, build an exterior, spend 45 minutes arranging deco items NO ONE WILL SEE ssdjflksgfs)
occasionally, a detour to recolor / convert objects (not often but often enough that i know how to do these things now djfshgkjsg) 
dress up my sims !!! make sure they have different versions with accessories as needed, etc. (ex. for the bachelor party, alf & his friends each had six outfits. nightmare.)
take screenshots !!!!! i do this... based on the mental script in my head. so 60% “i know what happens,” and 40% “vibes only.” takes longer if i have to mess around with lighting (using reshade and/or by ... breaking everyone’s poses to adjust the light fixtures. usually for night scenes.)
pick max of 10 screenshots from the 1287398494 i took. i just upload them to photoshop & click around until i’ve got the best of the bunch. sometimes i post the rejects as previews or outtakes.
upload screenshots to tumblr drafts & let them marinate.....
add captions !!!! i’ve started writing them in photoshop, aka the most cursed approach. i just revise & rearrange until it reads well & hits all the marks i had in mind for the scene. i’m WORDY so seeing the text on the image helps them ... not be giving a monologue in every episode. just most. then, replace drafted shots w/ captions screenshots.
potentially, after marinating, i decided i hate the screenshots & redo them !!!!!!!!! not all the time, but maybe 3-4/10 times.
write the scene. this varies wildly bc sometimes i slap two sentences & call it a day, but other times i pull out my writing laptop & pour over it for ... anywhere from a week to twenty minutes. 
ideally, the draft marinates again, then i queue it at least 10 minutes before midnight
SO ........ overall, i would say this process can take anywhere between 2-3 hours to a few days. the longest i’ll have an average draft waiting is a week ?? 
14. do you have any regrets about your story so far? if you could go back in time, how would you fix these?
my number one regret is ... not realizing how invested in this hobby i would be, so therefore not bothering to properly plan things !!! winging it was fun and easy, but now i’ve learned so much—from both trial and error & the amazing storytellers i’ve met. still, rather than going back in time, i’m excited to apply all of this to the upcoming parts. hopefully the story will be much tighter, richer, and visually pleasing as a result !!!! also. wish i’d known about the tool mod sooner ......... sigh. lastly, i wish i’d learned how to make my own cc any of the previous times over the years i’ve attempted it. sure would come in handy, what with all the period specific fashion i want >:^( maybe next time.
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Choice Words
Pairing: Dreamnotfound (ooh thats new)
Words: 1972
TWs: miscommunication, a bit of anxiety. Let me know if there’s one I should list!
AN: So this is actually a school assignment, but since my teacher thought it was good and I still like it, it’s goin here. I know I don’t usually post MCYT content, but I’m hoping to change that soon! Don’t worry, Sanders Sides will probably stay my main priority for a while. (Also yes I’m still supposed to be on hiatus I know I’m a bad Christian shhhhh /j) Enjoy! EDIT! This is now available on AO3 here! for your viewing pleasure
George felt his head bounce against the school bus’ window as it bumped and sputtered its way down the road. He closed his eyes, hoping to catch up on some of the sleep that he had missed out on the night before, and now was sorely missing. This didn’t last long, however, because the bus screeched to a stop and the sounds of other teens climbing out filled his ears. George just sighed and was about to close his eyes again when he felt a pair of strong shoulders crash into his.
   He pulled his head away from the window to meet his best friend’s lively green eyes. “Dream, I’m trying to relax,” he huffed, doing his best to smother the smile he felt creeping onto his face. “Do you mind?”
   “Nah, I don’t mind at all,” Dream responded with a cheeky grin, making George roll his eyes. He was just about to put his earbuds in when Dream grabbed his hand, stopping the movement. 
   “Uh, actually,” Dream said, looking down at where his and George’s hands met, “I had something to ask you.”
   “Mhm?” George just continued to scroll through his phone, seemingly not minding the contact.
   Dream suddenly found himself supremely more nervous than he had been a few moments ago. He took a steadying breath and just decided to spit it out.
   “There’s a new movie I wanna see coming out in theaters tonight, and I was wondering if you’d wanna come with me?”
   At this George turned his attention from Twitter to focus on Dream’s face. After a momentary pause, he smiled. “That sounds like fun! I’ve got homework to do, but you could pick me up later tonight?”
   Dream let out a breath he hadn’t even realized he was holding. “Yeah, totally. Around eight?”
   “Perfect, it’s a date then!”
   As George went back to looking at his phone, the bus came to Dream’s stop. He grabbed his backpack and gave his friend a goodbye smile, then made his way off the bus and up his driveway. When he was sure that it had turned the next corner down the street, Dream did a little jump and let out a whoop. He was so sure that George would turn him down that now that he hadn't, Dream wasn’t quite sure what to do with himself. After a moment of stimming, which mostly just meant standing in the driveway clicking his tongue and shaking his hands up and down, he had regained his composure enough to be able to enter his house without immediately being teased by his sister. 
   At 7:30 that evening, Dream was standing in front of his full-length mirror and evaluating the outfit he had chosen. It was nothing fancy, just a pair of jeans and a lime button-up shirt, but that was exactly the issue. Was it too formal? Or not formal enough? This was his first date with George after all, he didn’t want to disappoint. 
   It was in the middle of this scrutiny that his sister spoke up, leaning against the doorframe casually. “You look fine, idiot,” Drista said with a teasing grin. “You know he’s gonna like you no matter what you dress like, don’t stress about it.”
   “But what if I overdress? Or underdress? What do people even wear to movie dates anyway?”
   Drista shrugged. “I dunno, I’ve never been on one. Probably what you’d wear for a usual date,”
   “Thank you for the help, dear sister,” Dream said sarcastically, turning his head to give her a deadpan expression. She stuck her tongue out at him, so of course he had to stick his tongue out at her.
   Their teasing match was interrupted, however, by their mother calling up the stairs. “Clay, George is going to be expecting you! Shake a leg!”
   “I’m going!” Dream hollered back, taking one more moment to fuss with his hair. Drista sighed and walked over, fixing it for him. 
   “You’ll be fine, Clay. You’ve known him for, like, ever, and just because you’re going on a date doesn’t mean that either of you are any different than you were this morning.”
   Dream nodded, and Drista gave his arm an affectionate whack. “Now get out of my house, you nerd.”
   “I’m still older than you!” He protested as he grabbed his keys and walked out the front door.
   The drive to George’s house was a short one, and soon enough he was knocking on the front door of a small ranch-style house that served as the Found household. He took a step back from the door when he heard muffled barks and scrabbling of nails on the other side. George cracked the door open, pulling three very excited dogs away from where they were trying to push out the door and run into the front yard. He smiled a bit sheepishly at Dream, then turned his head to call over his shoulder. “Mum! I’m leaving!” After a faint response had been hollered back, he shoved his way out past the dogs and onto the front porch.
   George huffed, brushing his sweater free from the dog hair that clung to it. “Sorry about that, the dogs just get excited when someone comes to the door.”
   “Don’t worry about it, I’m used to your dogs by now,” Dream chuckled, bumping his shoulder against George’s. “You look nice.”
   “Thanks,” George fidgeted with the hem of the blue sweater he was wearing, kneading it between his fingertips. The outfit wasn’t really anything special, but it was one of Dream’s favorites. The color made the brown of George’s eyes richer, and it looked especially good paired with the light pink blush that was currently painted across his face. 
      Soon enough the two of them were sitting in the plush red chairs of the theater, watching previews and waiting for the movie to start. It was a pretty small showing, there were only two other couples in the entire room, so Dream and George were free to spread out. George had his legs slung over the armrest, leaning his back against Dream’s shoulder, occasionally tipping his head back to give him an upside-down grin. In a way that confused George to no end, Dream had managed to fold his long legs underneath him so he was sitting cross-legged on the chair. He had one arm hooked over the back of the seat, not quite around George but close enough to feel the warmth coming from him.
   The background chatter of the theater quieted to a hush as the lights slowly faded and the beginning of the movie started to play on the screen. George flipped around in his chair to sit normally and shuffled closer to Dream’s side in excitement, causing butterflies to erupt within the taller boy’s chest. He casually dropped his arm to rest around George’s shoulders, then settled back to watch as the main character dashed onto the screen.
      The movie’s plot climax was fast approaching, and George wasn’t handling it very well. He was curled into Dream’s side as the scene around the main character exploded, and he practically shoved his face into Dream’s shoulder with an anxious squeak when the character onscreen only narrowly avoided the hunters chasing him. Dream couldn’t help but let out a low chuckle at George’s reactions, earning him a firm whack to the bicep.
   “Don’t laugh at me! It’s a very intense moment!” He mumbled, though the effect of his statement was diminished slightly by the fact that he was still hiding his face in the lime green fabric of Dream’s shirt. 
   “Aww, don’t worry Gogy, I’ll protect you,” Dream cooed teasingly, patting his head fondly. With a quick glare towards him, George turned back to look at the screen, though he didn’t move from where he was basically plastered to Dream’s side. Maybe if he had looked closer, he would’ve seen the smitten looks that Dream couldn’t resist giving him every couple of minutes. Or maybe he would’ve caught the way that Dream stiffened momentarily when he grabbed George’s hand, caught up in the moment. Or the relief that flooded over him when George just squeezed it without a second thought.
   The two of them got so caught up in the movie that it took both of them by surprise when the lights came back on and the credits started rolling. George pulled away from Dream’s hold to stand up, which made him pout for a moment, but returned to stand at his side when he had gathered his things. Together they walked out into the parking lot, where George talked animatedly about the characters of the movie while Dream watched in amusement. The drive back to George’s house was filled with much of the same, George sharing his thoughts on the plot and characters while Dream listened happily, throwing in his own opinions here and there.
   Dream did his best to swallow his nerves as he walked George up to his front porch, catching his elbow when he went to open the door.
   “I had a really nice time tonight, George,” He smiled at his best friend, hoping he sounded a lot calmer than he felt.
   “So did I! Thanks for inviting me. We should do this again sometime,” George chirped.
   “You think so?”
   “Definitely!”
   “In that case,” Dream said, taking a deep breath and trying to gather his courage. “Would it be alright if I kissed you goodnight?”
   This seemed to take George off-guard, taking a small step back and giving him a baffled look. “What? Why?”
   “It’s okay if not!” Dream rushed to backtrack, bringing one of his hands up to rub the back of his neck awkwardly. “I just figured that’s what people usually do after a date goes well.”
   So many emotions flickered across George’s face in a matter of moments. Disbelief, realization, guilt, eventually landing on a mix of confusion and sadness. “Clay,” He started softly. “When you asked me to come with you tonight, did you mean it romantically?”
   A look of horror and embarrassment struck Dream’s features. “Did you think I meant it platonically?”
   George nodded silently, and Dream buried his face in his hands with a groan. “Oh my god, I’m so sorry! I should’ve made it more clear. Jesus Christ, I’m such an idiot.”
   “Hey, hey, don’t talk about yourself like that!” George said sternly, drawing Dream’s gaze from his palms to his blushing face. “Maybe there was a communication issue, and maybe neither of us completely understood the point of tonight, but that does not make you an idiot,” his voice softened as he watched Dream’s face flush. 
   “You’re right, I’m sorry,” Dream mumbled, stuffing his hands in his pockets self-consciously. “I should probably get going,” he went to turn away but felt a hand reach out and grab his forearm before he could. 
   “Clay, I…” George hesitated, trying to find the right way to say what he wanted to say. “I did really enjoy myself tonight, and I’m sure that I would’ve acted differently if I had known how you felt about me,” He quirked his lips up into a smile. “Can we try this again? Do it right next time?”
   Dream’s eyes shone with cautious excitement. “Really? You wanna go on an actual real date with me?”
   George nodded, and Dream smiled excitedly. “Okay, let’s do that.”
   George turned to look at his front door, then back at Dream. “I gotta go, it’s late. Text me when you get home, okay?”
   Dream nodded, then reached out to gently squeeze one of George’s hands. “Yeah, absolutely. Good night, George.”
   George hesitated for a split second, then rose onto his tiptoes to press a quick kiss against Dream’s cheek. “G’night, Dream,” he murmured, then disappeared inside his house, leaving Dream on the porch in stunned but ecstatic silence.
TAGLIST
General: @definitely-a-living-human @my-friends-art-and-writing @arodynamic-enby @ari-the-writer-enby @me-a-mess-morelikelythanyouthink @asexualtrashcan @the17thmeatball @inku-snas-art @fandoms-are-my-world
MCYT: @gabnapp @justalittlecorrupted
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lostinfantasyworlds · 3 years
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WIP Wednesday: Under the Northern Lights (coming soon!)
Summary (Modern AU): Kagome Higurashi has her dream job, working as a nature/wildlife photographer for the internationally well-known Yugen magazine. Her job whisks her all around the world, leaving her lonely sometimes but mostly just incredibly grateful to get paid to do what she loves. When she gets sent to northern Alaska for a month to photograph a series of celestial events, she runs into Inuyasha, a half-demon who lives on his own in the middle of nowhere. A mutual attraction draws them to each other, but Kagome's time there is limited. Will he ease her loneliness or only make it worse?
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I'm so excited about this story!! I've always loved night sky photography since I got my first DSLR, although I'm nowhere near good enough to photograph for a magazine - I can only dream 😂. Plus Yugen magazine is a concept I thought of in college for my Editorial Design class. So yes, this story is a little bit of a self insert on my part😆. But besides that, you can expect plenty of fluff and romance, as well as a nice dose of angst (don't worry - I believe in happy endings)!
I have no idea when I'll actually be ready to start posting this, but hopefully sometime in the next couple weeks.
Somehow there already existed the most perfect song to go along with this story. I still can't get over it. If you want to get the vibe, listen to Aurora Borealis by Bohnes (I'm so in love with it!). I'll be posting a full playlist (possibly one for each chapter because I'm extra AF) with the story 🥰
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Just a little disclaimer - I had not read any of Chasing the Vortex at the time when I wrote the outline for this story. I finally read it yesterday and realized how many accidental similarities there are in this story, so I apologize in advance @neutronstarchild and @fawn-eyed-girl ! I honestly didn't even know that Kagome was a photographer for a magazine in your story when I wrote this😆. I never want anyone to think I'm copying their ideas, so I just wanted to throw that out there that I’m sorry! I swear the stories are still very different despite certain similarities 🥰
Btw, if you're reading this and haven't read Chasing the Vortex yet, you definitely should! I'm loving it so far, it's SO good!! ❤️
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Tagging (let me know if you want on or off!): @alyyyyyssssaaa​​ @bluehawaiicat​​​ @born-for-eachother​​​ @deactivated2431545484​​ @goshinote​​​​ @gruviyasharuto​​​​ @julyzaa​​​​ @ladyaerilla​​​​ @littleredwritinghat​​​ @liz8080​​​ @malditamigs​​
​​ @neutronstarchild​​​​ @redflamesofpassion​​​​ @rocioanime4​​​​ @sailorlolo​​​​ @sangoslays​​​​ @sunsetskys​​​​ @superpixie42​​​​ @zukkosbaby​​
Preview under the cut! (Fluff with just a hint of angst)
The view was absolutely stunning, the sky covered in puffy clouds glowing with saturated reds, pinks, and yellows. The snowy landscape contrasted against the colorful sky, the jagged mountains providing a bold silhouette against the glowing crimson sun.
Even Inuyasha could admit that it was a particularly beautiful sunset. Unfortunately, he was having trouble paying any attention to it at all.
He found Kagome to be much more captivating.
He watched her silently as she worked, jogging around the area with her camera in hand, switching lenses and angles to capture different views. He was mesmerized by her, the way her passion for her craft oozed out of her as she clicked away, her eyes bright and a small smile on her face.
When the sun finally disappeared just below the horizon, she released her camera to hang from her neck and took a seat on the ground with her feet dangling over the edge of the rock face. Inuyasha sat down next to her.
“So, this was a good pick?” he asked.
“Mmhm! I don’t know if I’ve ever seen one quite as beautiful, and I’ve photographed a lot of sunsets. I’m so happy I got to capture that,” she responded, still a bit breathless. She turned to look at him with a beaming smile on her face, her blue eyes still sparkling with passion and excitement. The remaining light from the sunset cast a warm luster across her face, her cheeks and nose especially rosy from the biting chill in the air.
Inuyasha could have sworn his heart stopped for a moment. He had never seen someone glow like that before.
Damn it, why did she have to be so beautiful?
He tried to fight against the warm tingling bubbling up under his skin. He didn’t want to feel this way about her, knowing it was going to be pointless in the end.
But he also knew he was fighting a losing battle, the fuzzy feeling overpowering his better judgement.
Before he could stop himself, he blurted out, “Can I kiss you?”
He immediately felt embarrassment wash over him, his cheeks darkening with a deep blush.
Why did I have to go and ask that? Idiot!
Kagome’s smile fell only slightly, her brow furrowing in confusion.
“We’ve done a lot more than just kiss, Inuyasha.”
She smirked at him, as if reminding him of the obvious. He huffed slightly in annoyance.
How does she not get it?
Now he was not only embarrassed, he was also apparently going to have to spell it out for her.
“I know that, dummy.”
He rolled his eyes for emphasis, then hesitated a moment before continuing.
“I just meant — cause we’re out in public like this and all. We’re not in bed so I thought it might mean something different...”
He trailed off as he saw the realization finally dawn on her face. Her smile disappeared completely, her mouth falling open in a silent oh. Her eyes unfocused, staring past him as she processed what he meant.
Inuyasha turned away from her, unable to look at her anymore. He felt his ears flatten against his head as he began backtracking.
“Forget it. It was a stupid thing to say, I don’t know what I was thinking,” he mumbled.
Kagome tried to work through her thoughts as quickly as possible, not wanting to leave him hanging. She hadn’t even thought anything of his question at first, being more surprised than anything else that he had asked it seemingly out of the blue.
But he was right. If he kissed her right now, it would mean something different than the kisses they had shared so far. They had both agreed to “have some fun” with each other while she was in Alaska, with the mutual understanding that she was going to leave in a couple weeks and never see him again. It was a subtle difference, but kissing outside of sex felt like another dynamic entirely.
She knew she should say no. That they would be crossing an unspoken line, one that would surely hurt them more in the end.
But he had asked to kiss her, showing that he respected her choices and boundaries instead of just assuming he had an unlimited pass to her body now that they had slept together.
And the way he blushed when he asked made her feel warm all over.
And she really wanted to kiss him too.
Making up her mind, she rested a hand on his face to turn him back towards her, noticing his lips part in surprise. She kissed him softly, letting it linger a moment before pulling back and removing her hand. They smiled at each other, and she decided to take it one step further by holding out her hand, palm up, in between them. Inuyasha took the invitation, lacing his fingers through hers. Kagome sighed happily before resting her head on his shoulder and watching the last of the sun’s light slowly disappear.
They both felt the shift, like the joining of their hands went beyond the simple physical touch. It felt like they had leapt off a cliff together, her inevitable departure waiting for them at the bottom like jagged rocks with the power to break them. She knew it was probably one of the stupidest decisions she had ever made, and yet the butterflies in her stomach and her racing pulse told another story. She felt happy, and light. Better than she had felt in a long time, possibly even in her life.
Once the sky had darkened and stars began to twinkle above, Inuyasha turned to look at her again, his expression serious. His golden eyes searched her sapphire depths, not sure exactly what he was looking for. They looked at each other for another stretch of time, maybe a second, maybe an hour, before he leaned in and brought his lips to hers again.
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venteamocha · 3 years
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Thanks so much for the IF recs! I'd absolutely take a second post of recommendations for Twine games too if you're willing to share! <3
Of course!!
I... actually like twine games better than cog based ones, in some ways, just because they tend to be fancier and prettier, and I am secretly a ferret in the body of a human and I love shinies. ADHD, baby!
I only actually know of like 12 twine games, so if there are any that anyone who sees this knows of that I didn’t list, feel free to let me know about them! There’s a chance I do know about them and just didn’t put them here, but I would rather hear one I already know of on the off chance that I’ll get a new one dropped in.
That said! Another list of games I really like that is again in no particular order!
They’re all on itch.io by the way! They tend to work better if you download them but most can be run in your browser and most are also mobile friendly so you can play them on your phone! I’ll note which ones are.
Scout: An Apocalypse Story: I love dystopia stories, I dearly wish we had more IF based in this kind of setting. Set in a wasteland that is trying to pull itself together with people trying to find out if other settlements are out there while also trying to, well, stay alive. I gotta say, I played only E’s route for a long, long time, but once I tried the other ones I haven’t really gone back. I still love E, you can pry the childhood friend trope out of my cold dead hands, but wow. Oliver. Wow. That dude has serious UST. And Sabine!! I’ve been forced out of my little “play it the same way every time” rut and I’m not sorry. I very much like that you can choose the intimacy level, as someone who’s ace. Sometimes I like reading the smut, sometimes I don’t. Options! (mobile friendly!)
Bad Ritual: I got it baaaaaaaaaad~ I do though, I love Siruud. I have terrible, terrible taste in men. I mentioned Dracula in the other list, and here there’s an actual demon. This is a game with *sass* and I always love a chance to be sassy. I think part of the reason I resonate so much with this one is because of how jaded retail has made me tbh but that’s another story.  Honestly, if you like dark settings, I recommend you play this one first of all my recommendations. It’s just such a good game and there are so many choices and even the pronoun choices are pretty varied.  It’s just good! (mobile friendly!)
Wayfarer: Another for the fantasy list! I love the worldbuilding in this one, and the character creator is just amazing. There are maps, there’s a codex, seriously if you love reading lore, this is definitely a game for you. This is like if Tolkien made an IF. It’s amazing. I’ve said that a few times but it’s true. In all honesty it might count as one that’s not so romance focused, since it does focus more on plot. If I could just sit down and make an IF, I’d want it to be like this tbh. With a beautiful framework, a well organized space of information for the players to just look at and see stuff about the world, a way to develop and build their own character in a clear cut way, and the game immediately tells you what stats are effected by what choices. I really enjoy it when games try to work in character creation in creative ways, but sometimes I just want to sit down and go, “Okay, my character has red hair, blue eyes, is short, and has a crippling phobia of lizards” and this game lets me do that. Well, except for the lizard part. (Not as mobile friendly as the others but I make it work!)
Love and Friendship: It’s a regency game and I love Pride and Prejudice. What can I say? Something about the massive amount of rules of society just gets me. Propriety! This is a game that has a set gender protagonist, female, and it actually is a bit different from the norm in that it has two female love interests and one male, when most of the time it’s the other way around. So that’s something. You can even have a platonic route with a fourth love interest, who is also male. There really aren’t enough platonic routes, but I understand why that is, since a lot of IF players are looking for romance. (mobile friendly!)
Exiled From Court: Also a bit of the same vibe simply because of how constrained everyone is by rules. Nobility, after all. There are a lot of love interests, and one is the MC’s sister’s husband, which is definitely gonna be scandalous. Will I do it? Will I? Eventually. I do like how you can act like an absolute hellion, well, as far as that goes considering. You can try to be a better person but that’s less fun, lol. (mobile friendly!)
A Tale of Crowns: This is literally one of the very first twine games I ever played. Really! It’s got a lot of wonderful intrigue and the setting is very fun. There aren’t a ton of fantasy middle eastern games, and this game is definitely one reason why we should have more. There’s a great deal of customization, and the love interests’ gender will changed based on your MC’s gender and sexuality combination. I like R & D best, and no that’s not a pun. I think. (mobile friendly!)
For the Crown: This is a different game, I swear, they just both happen to have crown in the title, lol. You get to play as an assassin, which is a great deal of fun. The lore in the game is very nice too. I tend to play with they/them pronouns though, and there were a few pronoun hiccups in the game. Seems to be an issue across all of the games made by this author, but I know how much of a pain variables can be so hopefully those will get squashed soon. There’s an explicit content choice in this one as well, and if you turn it on there is an “equipment” choice, so this is definitely gonna be spicy later on! (mobile friendly, but after each chapter the browser shifts as it auto saves. you just have to tap restore game to keep playing.)
-These games aren’t exactly twine games, but I’m putting them here because they’re visual novels that fit the IF format for the most part and are also on itch.io and I love them and for this post at least I will bend my own rules! They all have gender choice MCs and are nonbinary friendly.-
Perfumare: This game is actually being made into an IF, with the visual novel as a sort of preview of what we’re gonna get there. I literally cannot wait for that to happen, this game is so good as it is, and from what we’ve been told it’s only gonna get better. This game has an excellent world, the characters are all messy in the best ways, and ugh it has hurt me quite a bit, again in the best way.  It’s another one on the dark side of things. The powers in this game are just so fun, I dearly want a game set in this world where we can choose what powers we have! Maybe that will be in the IF, but I have a feeling the answer is no. We’ve been teased that there will be a second game with a different MC who will get to romance the characters we can’t in this one, and that alone is enough to get me to jump as soon as it drops. The love interests aren’t gender variable but there are two male ones and one female. I, a known mess, recommend Laurent for lots of repression and pain. (not mobile friendly, you gotta play on desktop/laptop)
Andromeda Six: I’ve recommended this one to pretty much everyone I know, it is such an excellent game. The cast is a mashup of misfits and makes me miss my Mass Effect crews. I specifically set my pronouns to she/her just so they’d all call me Princess. What can I say, I like it. There’s lots of pain, lots of drama, lots of world building, lots of interesting lore, and there is much breaking of cuties. Much. Can’t wait till we get to the next planet. The author has gone out of their way to say that each love interest is gonna get their own arc and will definitely get their own share of attention, so no matter who you pick you’ll have plenty of time to be with them and watch them shine. (not mobile friendly, gotta play on desktop/laptop)
When the Night Comes: Not only do you get to play a badass hunter but it has multiple poly routes! Multiple! It’s rare when you get one poly in a game, this one has three! You can also choose to romance any of them individually if you so choose. It’s dark fantasy gothic, and I really really like that. (not mobile friendly, gotta play on desktop/laptop)
Errant Kingdom: Made from the same dev as WTNC, this one is set in a more fantasy middle eastern setting. Very pretty, lots of intrigue. You can choose between three set protagonists, who can have three different storylines depending on your choices, which is very nice for replayability. It’s got two poly routes this time, and it works the same as their other game in that you can romance them individually if you’d rather be monogamous. (not mobile friendly, gotta play on desktop/laptop)
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justlookfrightened · 4 years
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Birthday surprises
For the prompt: Jack secretly loves surprise parties
“So how did you celebrate Canada Day when you were growing up?’ Bitty asked, carrying the pie to the table. “Was it like the Fourth of July, with parades and fireworks and red and white bunting everywhere?”
“Sort of,” Jack said. “It wasn’t such a big deal in Montreal, because, y’know, Quebec. A few years ago they made it moving day in Quebec just to screw with the government in Montreal.”
“Moving day?” Bitty asked. “Wait just a second.”
He turned to the counter behind him and picked up a small Candian flag, which he stuck in the middle of the pie.
“Happy Canada Day!”
“Euh, thanks,” Jack said. “Moving day is when everyone’s leases end and their new leases start. So thousands of people are moving on Canada Day. There were always fireworks over the harbor, though. Sometimes we’d go see them if we were in town.”
“Well, then, happy moving day,” Bitty said. “So not much like Madison on the Fourth of July?”
“Bits, nothing is like Madison on the Fourth of July,” Jack said.
“I’m sure the fireworks aren’t as good --”
“I have very fond memories of the fireworks in Madison,” Jack said. “Best fireworks of my life. Are you okay staying here for the Fourth this year?”
Bitty shrugged.
“I guess so,” he said. “The shop’s just getting on its feet, and I can’t really take much time off yet, and that would mean flying down on the morning of the fourth and back the next day. And Mama and Coach said they’d come up to see us for a weekend before school starts down there. We can still go to the fireworks and all here on the Fourth, right?”
“Your parents are coming up?” Jack asked. “Do you know when?”
“Beginning of August,” Bitty said. “Don’t worry, though. I’ll make sure their visit doesn’t conflict with your big birthday celebration.”
“My … what?”
“Your birthday?” Bitty said. “You’re turning 30 a little over a month from today. Don’t tell me you forgot.”
“No, but a big celebration?”
“Oh, no, sweet pea,” Bitty said. “I meant ‘big birthday,’ like turning 30 is a big deal. Not a big celebration for your birthday. I know you don’t like that kind of thing.”
“Oh,” Jack said, looking down at his pie. “Okay. That’s good.”
“Unless you want my parents here for your birthday?” Bitty said. “I was thinking your parents might come, but … I’m sure my folks would be happy to.”
“No,” Jack said. “No, that’s fine.”
****
“I’m so glad you and Bits decided to do this,” Shitty said, taking another drag on his joint. “You guys aren’t usually around on the Fourth, but the rest of this summer looks crazy for me, and then you have the season coming up. I wouldn’t want it to be too long between visits.”
“Crazy this summer?” Jack said. “What’s up?”
“Work stuff,” Shitty said. “It looks like we’re going to trial against that chemical plant at the end of August, and it’s gonna be like seven days a week getting ready. I already told Lards to prepare for work-widowhood.”
“Yeah?” Jack said. “How’d she take that?”
“I’m not sure,” Shitty said. “You think I’m crazy enough to say shit like that when she’s awake?”
“Haha.”
“No, seriously, she’s leaving next week for a six-week residency at some artist colony in the Berkshires, and then she’s got a show to mount for the gallery at the end of August. I’m not sure she’ll even notice.”
“Come on, Shits,” Jack said. “You know she will.”
“I know,” Shitty said. “It’s just fucking hard sometimes, you know? I mean, it seemed like all the lawyers I knew when I was a kid had lunch and played golf all day. Plenty of time for fucking around. Too late I learned it doesn’t work that way in the public interest sector. And who knew being a successful artist was so time-consuming? How do you and Bits make it work?”
Jack shrugged. It was difficult, with his life consumed by hockey and Bitty’s time taken up more and more by a successful career in -- baking media? Jack wasn’t even sure what to call it, since Bits wasn’t just a baker, just a cookbook author, just an Internet and TV personality. He somehow did all of that, and just this summer had lent his name, personality, and talent to a new shop that sold both baked goods and baking equipment (toys for bakers, Bitty called them) in Providence.
“Remember Bits’ birthday in May?” Jack asked.
“Yeah,” Shitty said. “The big two-five. Remember how you wanted to throw him a surprise party? That was never gonna happen. Like that boy would ever let anyone else control the menu.”
“I guess you're right,” Jack said. “But I like surprising him. Remember Betsy II?”
“That was sweet,” Shitty said. “And the proposal at Faber, too, you romantic son of a gun.”
“Who told him about the surprise party in May?”
“Uh --”
“Was it you?”
“No.”
“Was it Lardo?”
“Um, she maybe told him not to make plans for that day? Because he was telling her he wanted to plan an overnight getaway because it was the only time it would work with your schedule?” Shitty said. “He took it from there. My understanding is that you caved under questioning.”
“Yeah,” Jack said. “I guess I did.”
“But don’t worry, brah,” Shitty said. “If I heard about a plan for a surprise party for you, I would totally warn you. I know you’re not into that.”
“Euh, okay?” Jack said. “But --”
“I got your back, brah,” Shitty said, giving Jack an exaggerated wink and nod just as Bitty and Lardo pushed open the sliding door and carried trays of drinks and snacks to the terrace.
“So what did we miss?” Bitty said. “Fireworks haven’t started yet, have they?”
“Nope,” Shitty said. “You’re just in time.”
****
“Jack?” Bitty asked, looking up from his laptop. “Do you know where you want to go for your birthday dinner?”
“Birthday dinner?” Jack said. “We’re not having it here?”
“Well, since I know you don’t like parties, and thirty is kind of a big deal, I thought maybe we should go out.”
“Who said I don’t like parties?” Jack said, pausing the tape of the last game of the Stanley Cup final.
“Please, sweetpea,” Bitty said. “I used to have to beg to get you to show your face at a kegster, and your mama’s told the story about you hiding under the bed to get out of going to that banquet more than a dozen times.”
“I was six,” Jack said.
“I know, sugar, and you haven’t changed a bit,” Bitty said. Then his eyes dropped to Jack’s chest, and lower, and Jack suddenly felt warm. “Except in the obvious ways. I was thinking Hemenway’s for seafood or maybe Waterman Grille or Al Forno with your parents. But it might make more sense to go the night before. Hemenway’s at least is closed on Mondays. Then on the night of your actual birthday, we can eat at home. Steaks on the grill, maybe? Do you want to invite your parents for that, too, or have it be just the two of us?”
Jack wanted to protest that he could want a party even if he didn’t want the debauchery of a kegster, and he shouldn’t be judged by his six-year-old self not wanting to go to a stuffy banquet (even if he still didn’t like stuffy banquets). But the moment seemed to have passed, and really, what Bitty was planning was fine.
Maybe he would get a surprise party for his fortieth, when he wasn’t playing and his friends’ careers were more stable and everyone had more time.
“Any of them are good, but Papa really likes Al Forno,” Jack said. “And I guess they can come on Monday for dinner, as long as they leave early.”
“Now, Jack, that’s not very hospitable of you,” Bitty said with a smirk. “I almost think you have plans. Maybe once I finish making this reservation you can give me a preview.”
He pecked at the keyboard for a few more moments and then closed the laptop.
“Ready when you are, Mr. Zimmermann.”
Jack clicked off the TV and followed Bitty to the bedroom.
****
“Maman?”
Jack had put off this call until Bitty left for the market.
It wasn’t like his husband was a busybody or nosy. It was just that, what with Jack’s schedule, and the wedding, and Bitty’s career, they were still in the condo Jack bought for himself in Providence when he signed. It wasn’t really small -- it probably had almost as much square footage as the Haus, and only two of them living there -- but it was mostly open-plan and Bitty would know if Jack was hiding in the office to call his parents. Which he was supposed to have done two weeks ago.
“Jacky!” his mother said. “It’s been ages. I saw those pictures you posted from your beach excursion last weekend. It looked like the two of you had fun. But I didn’t know you got a dog.”
“We didn’t?”
“But Bitty --”
“Was playing with a dog in a lot of the pictures?” Jack said.
The dog had run up to their picnic blanket when they moved off the beach proper, into the shady park, for lunch. Jack wasn’t sure exactly what kind it was. It was black and brown, like he thought of a German shepherd being, but much smaller, with long, skinny legs, a pointy nose and floppy ears.
Bitty had immediately started cooing over and petting the creature, despite Jack pointing out that they didn’t know who it belonged to, if it belonged to anyone, where it had been, if it was friendly.
“You don’t know if this dog is friendly?” Bitty had been incredulous. It was pretty ridiculous, given that the dog was more or less washing Bitty’s face with its tongue while Bitty giggled. “And she has a collar. And a tag. Stand still, girl.”
Bitty had still been trying to read the tag, and Jack was still taking pictures, when a teenage girl ran up, a leash in her hand.
“There you are, Eleanor! I’m so sorry! She just jumped out of the car and took off as soon as I opened the door. Eleanor, come!”
“No worries,” Bitty had said, holding the dog while her person clipped the leash to her collar. “We’re always happy to visit with a friendly puppy.”
Jack had been thinking about adopting a dog ever since, if only to see Bitty giggle so much. A dog that could go on runs with him, and keep Bitty company when Jack had to be gone … it might be a good idea. But it wasn’t something to surprise Bitty with. If they adopted a dog, it had to be a joint decision.
“That was just a dog that got loose and came to visit,” Jack said. “Although now that you mention it, I wonder if Bitty might like to have a dog around. I’ll have to ask him.”
“Judging from those pictures, I’m pretty certain he’ll approve,” Alicia said. “Now, did you need to talk about something?”
“Euh, the plans for my birthday?” Jack said. “Bitty wants to take you and Papa to Al Forno on the second, and then cook dinner here on the third.”
“Bitty wants to?” Alicia said. “What about you?”
“I’m not sure why we need to do both,” Jack admitted. “Either would be fine with me. But he seemed set on going out to celebrate because it’s my thirtieth, and a lot of restaurants are closed on Monday. And he was equally set on celebrating on the day of. But he has to work early the next day, so it’ll be an early dinner.”
“You never did like a lot of fuss,” his mother said, not calling him on what he thought was an obvious … not untruth, exactly, Maybe more of a manipulation? “Grumpypants. Of course your father and I will be there for both.”
“I don’t mind fuss,” Jack said.
“Jack, mon coeur, when have you enjoyed people getting together to focus on you?”
“They had a birthday dinner for me at the Haus,” Jack said. “Before my senior year. Bitty made a pie and everything.”
“Were you part of the planning for this dinner?” Alicia said. “Did you even know about it?”
“It just sort of … happened,” Jack said. “But it was nice.”
“Jack, dear, was that the first time Bitty made a pie especially for you?” his mother asked. “Forgive me, but that might have more to do with your fond memories.”
****
“Jack, what kind of pie do you want for your birthday?”
Bitty was sauntering between the farmer’s market booths while Jack trailed along, watching Bitty more than looking at the produce.
“Pie?” Jack asked. “Don’t most people get cake for their birthdays?”
“Do you even know me?” Bitty asked, then turned to examine at a table full of cherries.
Jack accompanied Bitty to the farmer’s market almost every Saturday in the summer. It was an errand, sure, but some weeks it was also the closest they got to a date.
Bitty would probably scoff at that. What did they need with dates, now they were an old married couple? Neither of their schedules permitted a regular date night most of the time, anyway. But in the summer, at least, they had Saturday mornings at the market.
“If you know me, you know what kind of pie I want,” Jack said.
“Maple-crusted apple,” Bitty confirmed, then shook his head sadly. “Have you seen these cherries, Jack? Or the blueberries? There will even be decent peaches up here by the beginning of August. Apples won’t be in season for another six weeks or so.”
It was a familiar argument with no heat in it.
Jack shrugged.
“I like what I like,” he said. “And there are always apples available. You know you’ll make it for me. And something else for whoever wants it.”
“See, you do know me,” Bitty said. He stopped in front of the booth with honey soap but paid it no mind. “Jack, are we becoming old and boring?”
“We always were old and boring,” Jack said. “From the beginning of time.”
“First, speak for yourself, old man,” Bitty said. “Second, I’m not sure whether that was a chirp or flirting. Don’t you know you had me at ‘Eat more protein’?”
“That’s not what you said then.”
“Hush,” Bitty said. “I mean, you don’t have to have the same thing for your birthday every year. Branch out a bit. Maybe a pear tart?”
“I wanted to do something different for your birthday, but then everyone went and told you,” Jack said.
“I’m sorry, sweetpea,” Bitty said. “I would have gone along with it and pretended it was a surprise, but I had to get out of other plans somehow. And people did want to eat. Good food.”
“By which you mean your food,” Jack said.
“I like to think I have a reputation to uphold,” Bitty said, stopping to examine some melons. “Truthfully, I kind of wish I hadn’t found out. You give good surprises.”
“Yeah?”
“Come on, you moose. You know I would have married you after you bought me Betsy II,” Bitty said. “Too bad parties aren’t your thing. Could you imagine a party with all your mom’s A-list friends and your hockey uncles, plus your team and Kent and all? It would be the talk of Providence.”
Jack shuddered.
“Definitely not my thing,” he said.
“I know, sweetpea,” Bitty said. “Besides, celebrating on our own has its advantages. Catch.”
He tossed Jack an eggplant with a smirk
Jack groaned. “Really, Bits?”
“Sorry,” Bitty said. “That was bad. I have what I need. Ready to head home?”
****
Jack was set up and sitting at his computer, half-listening to Bitty going on about whether his deadlines for the next cookbook were remotely reasonable, when the call from Tater came through.
“Zimmboni!” The image of Tater on the screen waved. “Hey, Tater,” Jack said.
“Is that little B?”
Tater’s face moved, like he was trying to see around Jack.
“Yeah, Bitty’s here,” Jack said, waving a hand to get his husband’s attention. “You want to say hi?”
Bitty leaned over his shoulder.
“Hey, Tater! You look good. How’s the family?” he asked.
“Everyone is good,” Tater said. “My mother and my sister Tatiana want to visit this year, so they can meet the baker I’m always talking about.”
“I’d be honored and delighted,” Bitty said. “Don’t forget those recipes you wanted me to try, alright? We can work on them together. You translate and I bake.”
“You speak better Russian you think!” Tater said.
“That’s what you think,” Bitty said. “I have to go to the shop. ПοКа!”
“Bye, Bits,” Jack said. “So, Tater, how’s the conditioning? You keeping up with it?”
“Of course,” Tater said. “Russian training every day.”
“And Russian home cooking every night?”
“Of course,” Tater agreed, grinning.
“How’s everything else?” Jack said. “When are you heading back?”
“Not long now,” Tater said. “No plane ticket yet, but early August, probably. We have dinner then, yes? To celebrate you becoming an old man.”
“Uh, we can have dinner,” Jack said. “But it doesn’t have to be for my birthday. Just to celebrate getting ready for a new season is enough.”
“Why don’t you celebrate?” Tater said. “I hear from Marty, Snowy, Thirdy, all the guys, that Jack is having a big birthday and didn’t invite them to the party. I say, ‘You know Jack. He probably isn’t even having a party.’ And they say, ‘You’re right, Tater. Jack hates parties.’”
“I don’t hate parties,” Jack said.
“You were not at Marty’s daughter’s party,” Tater countered.
“That was a kid birthday,” Jack said. “And Bitty had to go to New York for work that day, so I went with him.”
“Right,” Tater said. “But Bitty would be here for your party.”
“I’m not having a party,” Jack said.
“But you could if you want,” Tater said. “So you don’t want. So why do you hate parties?”
Jack ignored the question in favor of saying, “Just let me know when you're coming in, and I’ll pick you up at the airport if you want,” Jack said. “As long as you shut up about the party.”
“What party?”
****
Jack put on the new blue suit that Maman and Bitty had agreed (insisted, more like) that he should buy. He hesitated over the tie: stripes? paisley? miniature hockey sticks that Papa would find amusing?
No. If he couldn’t be sentimental on his birthday, when could he be? He picked up his pale blue tie, the one Bits told him brought out his eyes on his graduation day, and slid it around his neck.
Bitty was already ready, he knew, in a charcoal grey suit that he got from Jack’s tailor. Getting to see Bitty all dressed up almost made it worth it to Jack to put on a suit on a Sunday in the summer. Well, that and the look that Bitty gave Jack when he emerged from the bedroom.
“You always did clean up nice,” Bitty said. He picked up two boxes of baked goods -- a pie in one, and a couple of kinds of cookies in the other.
“You’re taking food to a restaurant?”
“No, of course not,” Bitty said. “The cookies are for Lauren downstairs. She has a shower to go to and she wanted to bring something. They’re shaped like … you know.”
“Babies?”
“No, a bridal shower,” Bitty said. “A lingerie shower.”
At Jack’s blank look, Bitty muttered something under his breath and said, “A party where they give the bride-to-be sexy underwear and tell naughty jokes.”
“So the cookies look like underwear?” Jack said, all innocence.
“No, Jack,” Bitty said. “They look like dicks, okay?”
“What about the pie?”
“That’s for your mom and dad,” Bitty said. “We’re supposed to meet them at the hotel. They can drop the pie off in their room and then we’ll go to dinner.”
That meant going inside the hotel, probably. Which meant parking and then retrieving the car, and pleasantries in the hotel lobby, and …
“Are you sure we’ll make our reservation?” Jack asked. “I’d hate to get all dressed up for nothing.”
“Aw, sweetpea, I think I can guarantee that won’t happen,” Bitty said, reaching up to pat Jack’s face and give him a peck on the lips. “Let’s go. I don’t want to be late.”
Jack pulled up at the hotel valet stand, and when he got out, said, “We’ll only be a few minutes. Keep it close, eh?” with a twenty-dollar bill folded into his palm.
“Your folks said they’d meet us down here,” Bitty said, heading into the lobby. His head swiveled and stopped when he caught sight of Jack’s parents at the hotel bar. Both had drinks in front of them. Great. They’d want to finish, and there might be a bill to settle, too.
He followed as Bitty picked his way across the lobby, exchanged a half-hug with his father while his mother swept Bitty into her arms, and then traded places.
“Jack, you look wonderful,” Alicia said, finally letting go and holding him at arm’s length. “You both do. This summer has agreed with you.”
“Thanks, Maman,” Jack said. “You look great too. Um, are you two almost ready to go?”
“The pie, Jack!” Bitty said.
“Oh, and I have something upstairs to show you, Bitty,” Alicia said. “Come up with me and we can leave the pie in the room.”
“Fine,” Bob said. “That’ll give me time to watch the end of this round.”
Jack looked at the TVs above the bar. He couldn’t mean the golf tournament? Who knew what time that would end? But it was that or … competitive cornhole?
“Only a couple more tosses,” Bob confirmed. “If this one pushes that bag in, they’ve got it.”
“You have got to be kidding me,” Jack said.
“Oh, come on, Jack, relax.” Bob said. “It’s fun. Sit down and tell me about your summer.”
“It’s been more Bitty’s summer than mine, with the shop and this new book he’s working on,” Jack said. “He’s been busy.”
“I remember those days,” Bob said. “When I’d finish the season so tired I didn’t know how I’d even haul myself upstairs to the bedroom, and by the time I was ready to face the world again, your mother would be on location on the other side of the world somewhere. I always wondered why our schedules couldn’t align.”
“It wasn’t her fault,” Jack said.
“Of course not,” Bob said. “Any more than it was mine. Hockey season is hockey season, and filming schedules are filming schedules, and cute little shops on streets popular with tourists open during the summer.”
“No, I know,” Jack said. “I wasn’t complaining.”
He stopped at the look his father gave him.
“Okay, I was complaining, but not about Bitty,” Jack said. “Just the way things worked out this summer. I was thinking we could maybe have a party for my birthday this year --”
“You haven’t wanted a birthday party since you were eight!”
“Not a big party,” Jack said. “Just a few people. But Shitty’s in the middle of preparing for a big trial, and Lardo’s off being an artist in residence somewhere, and Tater’s not back yet. Bitty’s too busy to plan anything anyway, and no one would let me plan it.”
“Get it all out, son,” Bob said. “Before your mother and your husband get downstairs. Even if Bitty didn’t plan a party, he did plan this evening for you, and it doesn’t do to feel sorry for yourself on your birthday. Especially when you have someone who thinks the sun rises and sets on you like he does.”
“I know,” Jack said, then caught sight of the time on one of the TVs.
“Oh, no. We’re late for our reservation.”
“We’ll make it.”
“No, we’re late. Already. Maybe I should call them?”
He was picking up his phone when he saw Alicia, carrying a large shopping bag, and Bitty crossing the lobby from the elevator. Bitty was on the phone. Of course he had it handled.
Bitty did not have it handled.
He hadn’t said anything about the reservation to Jack on the way to Al Forno, just squeezed Jack’s hand on the console as they pulled away from the hotel.
“I really hope you enjoy tonight,” Bitty said.
They left the car with the restaurant valet and headed straight into trouble.
“Bittle-Zimmermann, party of four,” Bitty told the maitre d’. “We have reservations.”
The maitre d’ scanned his sheet, made a face, and looked up at Bitty.
“This reservation is for thirty minutes ago,” he said.
“I know,” Bitty said, “And I’m sorry we’re late.”
“Surely half an hour can’t be a problem,” Bob said, trying to shoulder his way into the conversation, folded bill just visible between his fingers. “We promise not to linger. It’s my son’s birthday.”
“Papa!” Jack hissed, tugging at his father’s sleeve like he was eight years old again. “Let Bitty handle it.”
“Yes, Bob,” Alicia said, drawing herself up to full height and looming over the desk. “My son-in-law, Eric Bittle-Zimmermann, has this under control.”
Jack took a moment to be pleased that his mother knew Eric’s name would have more clout than theirs in a restaurant.
“I’m sorry,” the maitre d’ said. “But we gave that table away not five minutes ago. We didn’t think you were going to show up.”
“We can wait for another table,” Bitty said.
“Not tonight,” the maitre d’ said, looking truly regretful. If Bitty had liked the dinner and mentioned it on his vlog, that would have been very good for the restaurant. “We have a large private party coming in. I’m afraid it won’t be possible.”
Bitty’s face fell and Jack’s heart clenched.
“It’s fine, bud,” Jack said. “We have the food for tomorrow at home. We can go make dinner, and then head to the store in the morning. It’s not a big deal.”
“It is a big deal,” Bitty said. “It’s your birthday. I planned this dinner, and it’s my fault it got screwed up. Your mother wanted to show me your present and I got to rambling on … and why can’t I pay more attention? I’m sorry, Jack. I spoiled your birthday dinner.”
“Bitty, it’s okay, really,” Jack said.
“Perhaps next week?” the maitre d’ suggested.
“But then it won’t be Jack’s birthday anymore,” Bitty said.
“Perhaps the gentlemen would take a coupon for their next meal here?” the maitre d’ said. “For the inconvenience.”
“That’s not necessary,” Bitty said. “It was my fault.”
“I insist,” the maitre d’ said.
Jack took the offered envelope and slid it into his jacket pocket.
“Come on, Bits,” he said. “It’s not the end of the world.”
He ducked closer and whispered, “At least we can get out of the suits, eh?”
“Jack!” Bitty said, giggling through his frown. “Your parents are here!”
“Not what I meant, bud,” Jack said, but he grinned, because he’d gotten a laugh from Bitty.
“Need anything before we go home?” Jack asked while they waited for the car. “Or do you want to just pick up dinner on the way?”
“I think we have all the food we need,” Bitty said. “Maybe a bottle of champagne? Shoot, no, it’s just after six.”
“Just after six?” Bob said.
“Rhode Island law,” Jack said. “No packaged liquor after 6 p.m. on Sundays.”
“So unless you want to drop me at home to get started and drive to Attleboro, a champagne toast will have to wait for tomorrow,” Bitty said.
“We don’t need champagne,” Jack said. “Come on, let’s head home.”
Jack drove again, Bitty in the passenger seat next to him, his parents in the back. It was completely normal, and that thought struck him as odd. Here he was, 30 years old tomorrow, married to Eric Bittle, the love of his life. His parents loved Eric, too, and were here to celebrate with them, and in a few weeks he’d be getting ready for training camp for next season. He wished his 18-year-old self could have seen this future. It was better than anything he’d ever expected.
He would have liked to celebrate with Shitty and Lardo, Tater, maybe Marty and Gabby and Thirdy and Carrie, but this was good, too. Better than he had any right to expect.
He stopped at a red light and glanced at Bitty, who was also looking at him, a sly grin on his face.
“What?” Jack said. “Why are you looking at me like that?”
“It’s your birthday,” Bitty said.
“Not until tomorrow,” Jack said.
“You know what I mean.”
Jack took Bitty’s hand in the elevator when they got back to the building and held it for the whole ride up. He was still holding it when he got to the door and opened it.
He dropped it as the crowd shouted “Surprise!”
“What the --”
“Surprise, sweetpea,” Bitty said, reaching up to whisper to him. “You can still change out of your suit if you want.”
“Jackabelle!” Shitty was there to claim a hug. He wasn’t dressed in a suit, but he was dressed. Jack probably should thank Lardo for that. And there she was, hanging back, talking to Gabby.
So Marty was here somewhere -- by the pool table, talking to Tater while Snowy lined up a shot. Thirdy was in the corner, deep in conversation with Coach Bittle, and there were Suzanne and Carrie bringing more napkins in from the kitchen.
The island was covered with catering trays from … Al Forno, and Jack could see a maple-crusted apple pie among a selection on the kitchen counter. There was also a cake and some cake pops (for the kids? Were they here?) and it looked like someone (Shitty, probably) had been serving drinks from the bar. There was a bottle of champagne chilling.
Jack’s mother slipped past him to deposit the gift bag on the hall table with the other gifts.
“Happy birthday, Jacky,” she said. “When Bitty said our job was to help distract you, I wasn’t sure we could pull it off. I thought you might insist on leaving for the restaurant too early.”
“You were in on this?” Jack said.
“Everybody was,” Bitty said. “Even the maitre d’ at Al Forno.”
“But the gift certificate …”
“A gift from me to you,” Bitty said. “For when we can have dinner, just the two of us.”
The rest of the evening went by in a blur of conversations and congratulations. Marty and Thirdy’s kids were there, hiding in the guest room, watching gamers play Animal Crossing on YouTube and coloring, but they came out to help blow out his candles.
“What about your trial coming up?” Jack asked Shitty. “And your residency?” he asked Lardo.
“Those are both real,” Lardo said. “But a funny thing about being an artist in residence: They don’t lock you in. And Shits needed a break for a little while.”
Coach Bittle looked tickled to be sharing a room with so many professional athletes, and Suzanne helped Bitty shuttle food and dishes in and out of the kitchen.
“Told you they’d want to celebrate your birthday,” Bitty said. “They flew in this morning and Shitty picked them up at the airport. They were waiting around the corner for us to leave.”
“You do like parties!” Tater boomed at Jack before leaving. “I knew it! But it took your husband to invite me.”
“That’s because it was a surprise, Tater,” Bitty said. “Jack didn’t know.”
Once everyone was gone -- not too late, because it was a Sunday -- Jack helped Bitty stow the leftovers and wash the dishes.
“How’d you know?” he asked Bitty.
“Know what, hon?”
“That I wanted a party,” Jack said. “A surprise party.”
“Jack, sweet pea, you’ve been moping around this house for weeks,” Bitty said. “All woe-is-me because your friends were busy this weekend. Of course you wanted a party. And you wouldn’t have tried to plan a surprise party for me unless you at least didn’t hate the idea.”
“How did you do such a good job planning it?” Jack said. “I really didn’t know.”
“You don’t have a suspicious mind?” Bitty said. ”Now come on. It’s nearly midnight. Let’s get to bed and you can have another birthday surprise.”
****
Jack groaned when he opened his eyes the next morning. It was late, later than he usually slept anyway. But he’d been up late the night before.
He could hear Bitty in the kitchen, opening drawers and moving plates and cookware around. Coffee was ready, probably.
He got up, dragged a T-shirt over his head and tugged on a pair of shorts, and wandered down the hall.
“Morning, bud,” Jack said.
“Jack, happy birthday!” Bitty said. “Breakfast’s almost ready, and I put all the cards and gifts from last night on the table.”
Jack worked his way through them, shaking his head at Shitty’s selection of boxer briefs emblazoned with the logos of female superheroes and grateful for the small painting from Lardo. There were restaurant gift certificates and a tie from Papa (“You always wear that old blue one!”) and reading glasses from Marty.
Then he opened his mother’s gift. It was a flat box, and it held a red leather leash and collar, along with a gift certificate for adoption fees from the animal shelter.
The enclosed note said, “I think this will be a good gift for both of you, but of course I’m not about to surprise you with a puppy. Take your time deciding which dog to adopt. In the meantime, know that there was also a $10,000 donation in your name to help support all the animals.”
“Bits,” Jack said. “Did you have any plans this morning?”
“Nothing in particular,” Bitty said. “Maybe see my parents at some point. D’you mind if they come for dinner?”
“Of course not,” Jack said. “But do you think we could go to the animal shelter?”
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thesassenachswiftie · 3 years
Text
A Preview of Reputation (Lover Prequel)
The chaos of progress report grades, the holidays and you know, surviving a global pandemic have been keeping the muses away, so I haven’t been writing much. A few months ago I started writing the prequal to “Lover” where Claire and Jamie first meet. I haven’t been able to start posting it yet because the first couple pre-Jamie chapters involve Claire and Frank being very much in love and it’s not something I’ve been super inspired to write. However, I did write the scene where Claire and Jamie meet, and since it takes place on New Year’s Eve, I figured I post a preview! Without further ado, here’s a rough, unedited preview of Reputation: Chapter 3 “Gorgeous”
Claire was on her second glass of wine when she heard footsteps coming down the stairs. “Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t ken anyone would be down here, they’re all outta whiskey upstairs and I was told there was more down here.”
Fuck. You’re so gorgeous it actually hurts. Claire couldn’t believe the man she’d been avoiding all night was standing before her, alone in the basement, lit only by the backlight of the bar.  “Help yourself” she answered, gesturing behind the bar with a flourish. “You ken?” she giggled “What is that, Sco’ish?” she mimicked in a poor, slightly tipsy attempt at his accent. 
He slipped behind the bar and pulled the whiskey bottle off the shelf. “Are you making fun of the way I talk, lass?” he chucked with a twinkle in his eye, picking up a glass as well. 
“You should take it as a compliment.” she lilted with a flirtatious smile. “By the way, There’s ice in the fridge if you need it” She didn’t want to flirt with him, but it seemed to come out naturally--and being several drinks in, she didn’t have much restraint.
“Thanks. You don’t exactly sound like yer from around here either, Sassenach” he pondered. Heading towards the ice maker with his glass.
“Sass-a-nack.” she pronounced slowly, savoring each syllable on the tip of her tongue. “What on earth does that mean?”
“It means something akin to ‘outlander’ it’s just that ye don’t really seem like you quite belong here, perhaps that’s why yer hiding in the basement? Where are you from anyway? I can’t quite pin down your accent.”  He was back at the bar now, setting his glass down.
“Allow me” she implored, taking the bottle from him and pouring. “My parents were English, but they raised me in Boston, after they died when I was 14 I traveled the world with my Uncle, I suppose I picked up on a little bit of everything.”  She handed him the glass, “one whiskey on ice, sir.”
“Ah, so you’re a true Sassanach then? From everywhere and nowhere all at once” They were drawing in closer, Jamie drawing closer to where Claire was perched atop the bar. 
“I suppose you’re right, I never thought about it that way...” she trailed off.  God, how did he seem to understand everything about her moments after meeting her? 
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to offend, sometimes I let my mouth run off without thinking” he apologized, touching her hand in the darkened room.  The moment he touched her, it was like electricity surging through her veins.  Her face was flushed, her pulse was quickening.  Those ocean blue eyes were looking straight into hers. I think I might sink and drown and die. She couldn’t say anything to his face, cause look at your face, you’re gorgeous.  Their eyes and hands lingered on each other as they sat there in silence.  After what could have been a moment or an eternity, he lifted his hand from hers.  “Christ Sassanach, say something, if I’ve offended ye badly I’ll leave.”
“What can I say? I’m fine, no harm done, I’m just not used to people really seeing me like that is all.  I promise I’m not upset.”
“Good. I’d hate to hurt ya.” he said, finishing his whiskey and giving her a stunning smile that made her feel butterflies in the pit of her stomach.  It was getting too intimate and she had to change the subject.  
“So what brings a Scotsman to our lovely cul-de-sac?”
“Well, I’m just visiting my sister for the holidays right now, but I’ll be spending my summers here for the foreseeable future as well.  Ya see, my brother-in-law, who also happens to be my childhood best friend was in an accident.” he saw the look of concern on her face “don’t worry, he’s fine, just he injured his leg pretty badly and can’t do the farm work he used to. I came down this summer to help him plant and harvest before I had to go back to my wee tree farm.”
“In Scotland?” questioned Claire. 
“In England actually, not too far outside of London.” corrected Jamie.
“Ah, the motherland, that’s respectable.” she replied “It isn’t too much, managing two places so far from each other?”
“My godfather Murtagh oversees my place back home while I’m gone, the thing about trees is, they pretty much grow themselves.  I really just need to be there for the holiday rush.”  Claire looked at him quizzically “It’s a Christmas tree farm, ya ken?”  Claire could picture it perfectly: rolling snow covered hills,  families dragging small children along on sleds, trees being twined up on top of cars, twinkling lights decorating a barn.
“Sounds lovely” she expressed. She found she was noticing how large his hand was around the whiskey glass, wondering what it would feel like to have it wrapped around around her waist, gently caressing her face, what those fingers would feel like tangled up in her curls, what they would feel like inside her--
“Oh Claire, there you are.” Frank interrupted coming to the bottom of the basement steps, “What are you doing down here?”
“Frank, darling” she beamed, her face flushing. She felt like she’d been caught although she did nothing wrong. “I just needed to take a break from these heels for a few moments.”
“Who’s this?” Frank asked, eyeing the imposing Scotsman who abruptly sprang upright from his position leaning at the bar as soon as he heard that beautiful woman call this man ‘darling’.
“This is Laoghaire’s date, Mr….”
“Fraser. Jamie Fraser. Pleased to meet ye.” he stammered, extending a hand towards Frank. “Frank, was it?” 
“Frank Randall” he replied, accepting the handshake. They were polite to each other, but Claire felt a tension between the two of them, as if they were trying to one up each other, staring each other down.  Claire couldn’t help but picture them snorting and stamping like bulls, which it seemed could happen at any moment. 
“Ah Randall! This wouldn’t happen to be your lovely abode, would it?”
“As a matter of fact, it is, and my lovely fiancee’s, of course.” he professed smugly, sidling over to Claire, who was still seated on the bar and wrapping an arm around her waist, claiming his territory. 
“Aye, it’s a lovely home--you’ve both done a great job, great bar as well.” He said, gesturing to the whiskey bottle and heading towards the stairs, understanding the implicit message Frank was sending.
“Darling, we really should get back to our guests, it’s not appropriate for the hostess to be hiding in the basement.” Frank chided, helping Claire off the bar, and casting a cold glance in Jamie’s direction. 
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drunkserval · 3 years
Text
A Fresh Canvas: Incomplete Preview
Quite some time ago I did a silly little thread on Twitter, and I’ve always wanted to take that and actually make something out of it. Well it was a little harder than expected, but it’s coming along!
When I have the entire thing done I will be uploading it to AO3, but for now it seemed seasonally appropriate to at least drop this.
I wanted to have this posted yesterday but festivities kept me busier than expected! Story is below the cut. Keep in mind that this is still technically a rough draft, and will receive its final beta pass before the full story hits AO3.
(Tentative) Title: A Fresh Canvas Fandom: Scum Villain’s Self-Saving System by MXTX Rating: G, No Warnings Apply Summary: Shen Jiu and Shen Yuan are neighbors in the same modern apartment complex who, despite looking similar enough to be mistaken for each other, couldn’t be any more different. Or so they think.
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Shen Jiu and Shen Yuan were neighbors in the same apartment complex. They lived on the same floor, in the same hall, and were often mistaken for one another due to this proximity combined with how similar their appearances were.
But there were key differences, as both would readily point out to their neighbors. Shen Jiu’s hair hung shy of his shoulders while Shen Yuan’s was shorter and lighter in tone. 
And still the mix-ups kept happening, particularly if they were at some distance or facing away. The misunderstanding would very rarely last past the first glance since Shen Jiu would snap and take immediate offense, and Shen Yuan would just sigh and say, "Sorry, wrong one."
Shen Yuan had no idea why Shen Jiu got so offended over it. Surely he didn’t look that bad, come on!
The neighbors eventually started learning to look at the clothes first--or to at least look for Shen Yuan’s thick-rimmed glasses. 
Both men carried and dressed themselves so differently. Shen Yuan dressed in hoodies and jeans--well, if he was planning on going any further than the mailbox, that was. Otherwise why bother changing out of pajamas or sweatpants?
On the other hand, Shen Jiu didn’t touch anything that wasn’t from a known designer. 
Shen Jiu spent proudly--and why shouldn’t he? Because he at least earned his money!
That Shen Yuan kid down the hall? Rumor was that his parents were paying his rent and he'd never had a real job in his life.
But because he never went out, Shen Yuan was one of the only people still hanging around the apartment complex when Shen Jiu went around knocking during a major holiday. 
In Shen Jiu’s arms was a box containing two fluffy black pups.
Shen Yuan’s eyes widened at the sight of them and he completely forgot to greet his neighbor until Shen Jiu cleared his throat. The dogs were like little storm clouds with feet and stubby tails, staring back at him with big black eyes. One started wagging its tail with such vigor that its whole back end wiggled about.
It took Shen Jiu a moment to find his voice as he followed, such was the state that his neighbor had chosen to answer the door in. Hideous cucumber-print pajama pants, a tacky anime shirt covered in snack crumbs, and unkempt hair had greeted him. But the continuous movement of the box in his arms reminded him of his mission. 
“I found... ” Shen Jiu shifted the box in indication as Shen Yuan shut the door behind them, “these, out by the garbage.”
Shen Yuan blinked as the other passed by him, “Have you tried calling any nearby shelters?”
“Of course I have,” Shen Jiu scoffed at the implication that he was so simple. “You try getting a real person on the phone today, though. It’s impossible. I could only leave messages.”
Shen Yuan put a finger to his lips, “Oh, right. Today is…” Glancing at a wall calendar almost as ugly as his shirt he nodded, “Right. Right.”
Did this kid ever so much as leave the building? Shen Jiu was starting to wonder. Shen Yuan dressed like he’d just rolled out of bed in the latter part of the daytime. And he hadn’t realized it was a major holiday. And then there were the countless odorous takeout boxes covering every available surface in his apartment.
Shen Jiu wrinkled his nose but still asked in spite of his rapidly growing doubts, “You don’t know anyone who can take these little mutts in for a day or two, do you?”
Shen Yuan shook his head and heard Shen Jiu sigh. His neighbor set the box down to give his arms a rest… but Shen Yuan couldn’t seem to rip his attention away from one of the pups. It hadn’t stopped staring at him, or shaking its fluffy little behind, for a moment.
“What if we take them in?”
Shen Jiu’s tone was flat, “What.”
Shen Yuan picked up the excited little pup and it immediately started wiggling in his grasp. Not struggling, however--just trying to get closer to his face, paws waving in the air and its little pink tongue darting out to reach for him even though it was still well outside of range. He had to fight back the urge to laugh at the silly little storm cloud. 
“The building allows us to have one animal per unit, right?” Shen Yuan shrugged, “so what if we each took one, even just long enough to find them new homes?”
Shen Jiu frowned. Taking in a dog, or really any animal, had never been on his agenda. He liked his nice clean apartment and intact furniture unlike a certain someone. Plus he was more partial to cats. He moved his gaze from the overexcited animal back to the box. Though the pups looked identical on the surface this one was clearly the calmer one. It looked up at his scowling face but put forth no such ridiculous display… thank goodness.
Who knew? Maybe Shen Yuan’s idea wasn’t so bad. And if it was, it was only a temporary arrangement, in the end. He might be able to get rid of the animal as soon as tomorrow if it was truly intolerable.
Tentatively, Shen Jiu reached out to pick up the dog…
And felt tiny teeth close around his fingers.
Jerking his hand backwards, Shen Jiu sneered down at the animal. “What, you ungrateful little beast!” 
Shen Yuan finally stopped cooing at his own pup to look over and said, “Maybe he doesn’t like your cologne?”
“And what’s wrong with my cologne?” Shen Jiu snapped, voice raising.
Stepping back, “Nothing, nothing!”
“It was a gift, you know!”
Shen Yuan barely avoided tripping over a haphazard stack of game cases as he kept moving away. “P-perhaps it’s just too strong for a dog’s nose, that’s all!”
This time Shen Jiu moved quickly, snatching up the dog by its middle before it could get its ridiculously tiny muzzle around anything, and he stared directly into the animal’s eyes.
“Do that again, and I’ll put you back out in the cold where I found you. Understood?”
The dog stared back at him, placid and indifferent… until its tongue darted out and licked the end of his nose.
“...good enough.”
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It was a few days before the two of them crossed paths again. 
It’d seem they both had decided to keep their newfound pets and they were both out that day to take the dogs for walks.
The air in the park was warm, so they sat themselves on a bench to enjoy it for a bit longer and soak up some of the sunlight that was so rare that time of year. Shen Jiu’s pup sat like a sentry at his feet while Shen Yuan’s pup curled up on his lap the moment he sat down. 
It was through the ensuing conversation they realized they both gave their dog the same name by sheer coincidence.
One was too lazy and the other was too stubborn, so neither changed it. At least they’d bought different-colored collars. But this brought to light a new revelation, and Shen Yuan just had to ask…
“How did you come up with it?”
“It was just the first thing to come to mind,” Shen Jiu had explained, “from something I’ve been reading, probably.”
"Wait, you read that too!?"
As he suspected! That name was from one of the top-rated web novels that year, from its stallion protagonist: Luo Binghe!
Shen Yuan couldn’t imagine someone as outwardly prim as Shen Jiu reading trashy webnovels, but it turned out to be true. It was just a quick, easy way for him to kill a few minutes of downtime at work, Shen Jiu reasoned in his defense.
Whenever they met up from that point forward, Shen Yuan talked his ear off about his various grievances with Proud Immortal Demon Way.
‘Villains that dig their own graves but don’t bother finishing! Women that lead the protagonist on a three-chapter long subplot just to get to their lewd scenes, only to never see them again! And every single character lost all of their intelligence when the protagonist came around!’ 
And yet he had nothing but praise for said protagonist… almost excessive praise. 
Shen Jiu is annoyed at first but he starts enjoying the company. Which is good because the dog turns out to be a menace.
Well, both dogs could be counted as menaces, just in different ways.
Bing-mei (as they come to call him) would start whining so pitifully when Shen Yuan shut the door between them, thus he often just gave up and took the dog with him whenever it was feasible.
Bing-ge, on the other hand, broke his toys within days, climbed around on furniture he wasn’t allowed on--sometimes when Shen Jiu was looking right at him, too--he barked, he scratched furniture, he tore up pillows.
Despite all the trouble he was causing for his master, Shen Jiu would no longer entertain the idea of giving him up. Not after Bing-ge tore up three separate muggers on three separate occasions and growled at the person who kept taking his parking space until it never happened again.
But the biggest takeaway from their conversations, for Shen Jiu, wasn’t webnovels or dogs. It made him start to realize how lonely he'd been. 
The only other person he really spoke to was halfway around the world for their work and they only spoke a couple of times a month. Now that Shen Yuan was around, Shen Jiu actually started to have things to look forward to besides the monotony of work--knocks on the door, long walks with the dogs, the occasional cup of tea afterward on colder days...
Shen Jiu was never the sort to be up-front with his feelings, so he found a way to show his gratitude by helping Shen Yuan with his confidence issues. He started encouraging him to go out more, and to put a little more effort into his looks when he did. This morphed into helping clean up his squalid apartment since Shen Jiu could barely stand to look at it when he came over. 
Months later, Shen Jiu’s recommendation had helped Shen Yuan to land an entry-level job. That, and a steady habit of going out once a week, gave them something else to do and talk about.
Progress was slow, but visible. Shen Yuan seemed a little less awkward in public with each passing week.
One night they were leaning on Shen Yuan’s balcony. It was a night of celebration, for he’d just earned his very first promotion, and Shen Jiu had brought over wine for the occasion.
He found himself leaning closer to Shen Jiu, telling himself it was just to get a better look at him in the dim light of the city night. His focus wasn’t the best even when he was sober after all. Yet Shen Yuan didn’t stop. And when Shen Jiu turned to look at him in confusion, and their lips met, he didn’t withdraw for several seconds.
Neither did Shen Jiu.
Shen Yuan tried to flee as soon as he realized what he’d done only for Shen Jiu to pull him back saying:
"Don't run, take responsibility. We talked about this."
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localkatshelter · 3 years
Text
Okame’s Underbelly - Explanation |5th|
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(ShinsoxOC)
Katsumi’s POV (localvillageidiot#0870) and Shinso’s POV (hecker#8339)
Warning: Contains arguing, name-calling, smoking, swearing, slight misuse of quirk, and Denki and Mina supremacy
Preview (Katsumi’s POV):
| “Shinso,” I said, turning to him, “you like poetry too, right?” I said, giving him a small, inviting smile.
“No, not my thing.” he grumbled, not even turning to answer me directly.
I felt my eye twitch. I am trying. So hard. To be nice.
“Oh really? I got the feeling that you might since I think we met briefly at a poetry house once over the summer.” I said pleasantly, clenching my jaw in secret.
“Did we? Well, even if we did, I don’t think I’d remember you.” he said dismissively.
Okay, now you're just trying to piss me off. |
Unknown source for artwork. (Please let me know who’s it is if you know)
1st Chapter - Anticipation
(Katsumi's POV)
The smell of day old frying oil greeted me as I walked into Marley’s to meet up with Mina. She had asked me to grab a quick bite to eat with her before we went to a party that a friend of hers was having. She knew I would never turn down a good time nor would I ever turn down a Marley’s date. I scanned the room to find my favorite tuft of pink hair waving wildly at me. My smile morphed into shock when I saw an equally wild blonde waving at me as well. I hurried over to the table to greet them but when I arrived I saw Edgelord sitting with them as well. His head was stuck in a menu, apparently trying to seem indifferent about my arrival. I felt a strange mix of anger and anxiety rushing out of him, pushing me back towards the door. It irritated me but I decided to ignore it, focusing my attention on those who were happy to see me.
“Denki, hi! I didn’t think I’d see you so soon.”
“Fate must be bringing us together.” he avowed, comically suave.
I laughed. “It must be. Can’t say I mind though.”
I hugged Mina, who had gotten out of the booth when I walked over.
“Why didn’t you tell me you had friends coming too?” I asked.
“I thought you’d like the surprise!” she beamed.
“You know me, the more the merrier!” I said as we settled into our seats. I slid into the booth next to Edgelord, who still hadn’t said anything. I took off my leather jacket and tucked it into my backpack between my legs.
“Hey Shinso.” I said casually.
“Hey.” he replied gruffly.
Well this is going to be an awkward meal. He’s already on my nerves. I don’t get why he’s acting like this. I let him sleep on my couch and he can’t even muster up a decent hello? Is he trying to hurt my feelings? ... Just play nice Kat. He’s Mina’s old friend and Denki’s roommate. You can do this. Just pretend like he’s not being weird, or better yet, pretend like he’s not even there. Don’t let it get to you. I took a mental deep breath and smiled at the two across from me. The three of us chatted for a while about nothing in particular, just a little small talk about this and that. At some point, Mina mentioned something about a high school memory, which reminded me of how they all knew each other.
“Denki, you went to UA too, right? Your quirk must be really cool.” I said.
“Wanna see how it works?” He raised an eyebrow and smiled mischievously.
I looked over at Mina who smiled encouragingly at me, albeit a bit too eager for my liking.
“Uh, sure why not?”
“Give me your hand.”
I complied, placing my hand in his. He took it and flipped it so my palm was up. He dangled his fingers over my hand dramatically, like a magician about to say their magic words.
“Are you ready?”
I nodded, a bit intrigued. He placed a finger in the middle of my palm and activated his quirk, sending a small zap into my skin. A strange noise came out of my mouth when I felt the slight pain and surprise hit me. The noise sent Mina and Denki into a fit of laughter.
“What- what was that noise?” Mina choked out between giggles.
“Shut up, that hurt!”
“I- I’m sorry! It was just too tempting!” Denki wheezed.
I rubbed the slightly tender part of my palm and glared at them.
“Come on, I’ll make it up to you. Let me kiss it better.” He held out his hands to me.
I looked at him skeptically.
“I won't do it again, promise.”
I gave him my hand and he leaned down, placing an electrified kiss on the same spot as before.
“Ow!” I cried as I pulled my hand back.
Mina and Denki bursted out laughing once more, this time joined by a scoff from Shinso.
“How gullible can you be?” Shinso said under his breath.
I shot him a look but before I could say anything back, our food arrived.
We ate and the three of us continued to chat. Mina and Denki told me stories about their time at UA together. It was so cool to hear what the pro heroes that I was covering were like when they were students. I took some pretty good mental notes, not that I would ever use any of the personal information I gathered in any of my posts. That just felt like an invasion of privacy, but it did help me understand the dynamic I captured between certain heroes in my photographs. It always struck me odd how Dynamite and Deku looked when they fought together. Their relationship vexed me but pulled me in at the same time. The same applied to Dynamite and Red Riot. Hearing that one pair had been childhood friends and the other had become super close in their first year at UA shed some new light and perspective on the scenes that I had captured before.
Some of the stories were just outright hilarious too. Denki was an absolute riot and the way he and Mina played off of each other made my mission of ignoring Edgelord’s attitude super easy. He hadn’t said much of anything since our food had come to the table despite Mina and Denki trying to involve him in their storytelling. He just hummed or gave an unenthusiastic “yeah” whenever they asked him something. I didn’t need to use my quirk to feel the irritation and discomfort rolling off of him. If you don’t want to be here, then leave. I couldn’t help but feel like I was the reason he was so annoyed. I walked myself through my memories trying to figure out when exactly I ran over this kid’s cat. I really was nothing but nice. I practically saved his life, not that he knows that, but still! I bared those emotions for him! It took me forever to claw my way out of that depression hole. On top of that, I gave him a place to sleep it off and helped him move all of his shit up the stairs into his room. Why is he getting under my skin this much? Why do I even care? Everything about this is pissing me off.
“So Kat,” Denki said, interrupting my thoughts. “What do you like to do in your free time?”
“I like to take pictures and I write sometimes.” I said, covering my half full mouth.
“Well duh, you’re a photojournalism major. That doesn't count.”
“Umm,” I thought about my response as I swallowed. “Actually, I used to spend a lot of time at some hole-in-the-wall place near campus. I listened to people perform poetry and stuff like that. I went every Friday at one point to listen to a particular person. The stage name was Okame, but once they stopped performing I kind of lost interest” I checked my watch. “If Okame was still performing, I’d probably be getting ready to head over right about now.”
I felt Shinso tense up next to me. His anxiety was tugging at my quirk like toddlers aggressively tug on a parent’s sleeve. Wow, his anxiety just shot through the roof... You good kid? Maybe I should bring him into the conversation? Is that what this is about?
“Shinso,” I said, turning to him, “you like poetry too, right?” I said, giving him a small, inviting smile.
“No, not my thing.” he grumbled, not even turning to answer me directly.
I felt my eye twitch. I am trying. So hard. To be nice.
“Oh really? I got the feeling that you might since I think we met briefly at a poetry house once over the summer.” I said pleasantly, clenching my jaw in secret.
“Did we? Well, even if we did, I don’t think I’d remember you.” he said dismissively.
Okay, now you're just trying to piss me off.
“Oh yeah? Well I definitely remember you. You were outside. If memory serves, you were having a pretty rough go of it.” I turned to fully face him, shooting him a challenging glare.
I knew the irritation showed on my face, but I honestly didn’t care enough to hide my emotions anymore. He met my glare with his own. The message was clear, he wanted me to shut my mouth and drop it. But why should I? He just continued to stare me down, waiting for me to change the subject, but I had a few questions for him. Mina must have seen me ready to blow a gasket because she decided to jump in to defuse the situation.
“Well, what does it matter where you were or what you're into?” she chuckled nervously. “Kat, have you been writing anything interesting lately?”
“Or do you have any of your professional-grade photographs on your phone? I’d really love to see them! I’m sure they’re amazing!” Denki chimed in, following Mina’s lead.
“I’m gonna head out for a smoke.” Shinso said, looking at me to move.
I got up to let him out. I watched him walk out with his hands deep in his pockets. I was drilling holes into the back of his head and I knew he felt it because his frustration was overcoming his anxiety as he reached the door, but I wasn’t done with him yet.
“I’m actually going to take a step out too.”
Mina gave me a look that said Girl what? You don’t smoke. But I ignored it and followed after Shinso.
(Shinso's POV)
God must be playing some cruel joke on me, either that, or I was a shittier boyfriend than I originally thought and this was my sweet karma. I just can't seem to escape that night. I managed to stifle the buzz in my head for the most part but it keeps manifesting itself, or rather infesting, my present. Time for some more shitty coping. I pulled out the pack of cigarettes from my jacket and pulled one out. It was a bit mangled but it was my second to last one. (I imagine his last cigarettes always end up this way bc he always smokes when his mood is erratic so he just manhandles tf out these ciggies)
"It's in poor condition but it'll have to do." I muttered under my breath.
I swiftly placed it between my lips and raised the lighter to it, but the flame was quickly extinguished. Shit, why does it always have to be so windy today? I hovered my other hand over the flame to block the harsh gusts, as I furrowed my brows in concentration. I was failing miserably to light my damn cigarette. I groaned in frustration before two small hands appeared around mine. My hands jerked back, startled, extinguishing the flame immediately. I looked down and realized it was the little brunette. I composed myself with a sigh and went back to trying to light my cigarette, choosing not to pay her any attention.
"Do you want help lighting your cigarette or not?" she questioned, irritated.
I looked down at her, a stubborn expression on her face. Pick your battles, Shinso. I reluctantly leaned down towards her.
“So...” she said after the cigarette was lit. “I mean this in the nicest, most polite way possible, but what the fuck is your problem?” she interrogated.
Her sudden abrasiveness caught me off guard. "Uh...what do you mean?" When did this become an interrogation all of a sudden?
“I mean, why do you treat me like I ran over your cat on your birthday?
Her absurd question also took me aback but I was quicker to adjust this time. "I don't even know who you are?” Why am I lying? Fuck it I already said it, let's go with it.
“Oh really? So that's why you act so out of pocket any time I bring up the night we met when I found you drunk and ugly crying-”
"Okay okay, fine. Just please stop bringing it up." I interrupted hastily. "Jesus fuck." I muttered under my breath. Why does she insist on bringing it up?
“So you do remember?” she asked with mock surprise. I just looked ahead of me hoping that she would run out of steam and drop it.
“Say it.” She demanded, her volume raising this time.
"Yes." I confirmed begrudgingly. Why the fuck does she have to be so loud? She's a pro at being annoying. "But I can't say it, because I genuinely don't remember your name." This was intended to be a slight jab but I was being honest. I probably could remember it if I wasn’t actively trying to forget it.
“Not like Denki and Mina haven’t said it a million times today. It’s Katsumi.”
"Ooooh right. Kat." My voice was just short of being completely monotone.
“Kat...so you do remember. Asshole.” She rolled her eyes. She has no problem insulting me. It kind of amused me but my aggravation overshadowed it.
I shrugged at her. What does it matter anyway? It's not like we're gonna be best friends. We can barely tolerate each other as it is.
“Listen Edgelord, I think you still owe me an explanation. I’ve been nothing but nice to you. So what gives?” she insisted.
"I don't know what you're talking about. This is how I always am." I technically wasn't lying. I tended to rub strangers the wrong way, either that or I was easily forgettable.
“So you're always a total douche?” she challenged, staring me right in my face.
"Funny. Guess so." I said carelessly with a hint of a smirk at her additional loving nickname for me. Wonder what else she'll call me?
“I know you’re not though. You turn sour as soon as I come around and it bothers me. So fess up. What’s your damage?” Her expression twisted into a scowl at the end of her sentence.
That last question irked me a little more than it should've. My damage?
"Hm I don't know, maybe you being a constant reminder of one of the worst days of my life." I stated with a tinge of bitterness at the end of my words.
This seemed to catch her off guard. She took a moment to configure a response. She was either being very careful with her next words or didn't know what to say at all.
“Oh, okay, yeah. That tracks... Well I’m sorry, but I really couldn’t just leave you there.” Her tone was slightly softer than before.
"I know." I admitted reluctantly. "That's what's so frustrating." I muttered, barely audible. What made her care so much about a complete mess of a stranger? Now we're attached by that occurence and it's so embarrassing.
“Frustrating? What’s so frustrating?” She caught part of it.
"Nothing. I just- I hate that you saw me like that. It's fucking weird. I like to deal with shit on my own."
“It’s really okay, Shinso. I didn’t think about it when I saw you. I was just happy to catch up, because we got along really well that night. It wasn't until you started avoiding me like the plague that I started thinking back to remember where things went wrong.”
"Yeah, I get that. But you're always bringing it up so casually like it's the weather or some shit."
“It was the only thing that got any sort of response out of you. What else did you want me to do? Besides, It didn’t make me think of you in any type of way.” she assured me.
"I just don't get why you care." I said more to myself than to her.
She seemed to genuinely consider this for a second.
“Me either, if I’m being honest. You’re so grouchy. I almost never put up with your type. But here we are.” She shrugged and dropped her arms to her side, comically defeated.
That sentiment actually drew a chuckle out of me. It didn't seem like the most appropriate response for the situation so I tried to stifle it as best as I could.
"Yup. Here we are." I confirmed.
“So we’re friends now.” she asserted, sure of it.
"Uh...I didn't say all that." She really is bold. She keeps catching me off guard.
“But I did.” she doubled down on it.
There was a brief stare down, her amber eyes were unwavering on mine. I guess it doesn't mean much. We're just gonna have to play nice when we're around each other from now on.
I shrugged. "Okay cool." I put the cigarette to my lips again only to discover it is nothing but a dying butt now. All that annoying back and forth made me forget about one of my last cigs. "Fuck, really, Kat?" I complained with a hint of playfulness at the very edge of my tone. I'm due for a pack on Sunday so I'll just have to hold out for a day or so. I pulled out the last one and lit effortlessly. Of course now it lights with no problem.
“Blame your own stubbornness. If you had just given me an answer the first time I asked, you could have smoked until your lungs gave out.” she retorted.
There was a moment of silence as I took my first drag. I could see her eyeing my cigarette, with disgust, if I had to guess.
“Gimme one of those.” She pointed to my pocket where the now empty pack was.
I shot a look down at her, my eyebrows raised. I chuckled in surprise. I didn't take her for a smoker with the way she talks about it. I guess she's one of those self-loathing nic addicts. Kinda same. I'm just not as loud about it.
"A little too late, this is the last one." I took another drag, staring mindlessly at the horizon in front of me.
“And?” she insisted as if that was a dumb response.
I gave her another weird look before it registered. Oh...okay.
"Fine." I gave her the cigarette I was smoking.
She grabbed the cigarette, maneuvering it awkwardly in her hand before settling it between her pointer and middle finger, the typical form. She brought it to her mouth and inhaled with a pained expression. She was barely a second in before she began coughing. Yup, she doesn’t actually smoke. Her sad attempt was endearing in an odd way. It was actually kind of cute. What am I thinking? She was intolerable a second ago. Stop that, brain. You’re being weird. Scolding myself inwardly distracted me from the fact that I was laughing at her outwardly. She rolled her eyes in response, annoyed at my amusement.
“Listen, people seem to smoke when they’re stressed and well, you stress me the fuck out so I thought I’d give it a try. Show me how to do it then, since you wanna scoff at me.” She handed the cigarette back to me before crossing her arms. I followed up her request with another chuckle, shaking my head at her.
“Are you sure you wanna be my friend? I’m already teaching you bad habits.” I teased, a smirk pulling at the corner of my lips. But I obliged and raised the cigarette to my lips obnoxiously slow and inhaled. I blew the smoke in her general direction and she swatted it away with a grimace.
“Tada…” I concluded sarcastically.
“Gross...you know what? Nevermind.”
We laughed in unison. It was followed up with a moment of quiet.
“Well, Edgelord, I’ll see you at the party. Try to smile a little when you’re there. It suits you way more than your resting bitch face.”
“I’m starting to think that you don’t remember my name either. Keep it fresh and switch it up once in a while. Try...I don’t know...buzzkill next, or something.” I criticized, a smile in my voice.
She tilted her head to the side as if to say “good idea”, before I put out my cigarette and headed inside with her.
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