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mysteroads · 19 days

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Indomitable Will

Summary: Following the events of Chapter 419, Tomura finds he still has some choices to make, and nothing is going to stop him.

Chapter 1: The Broken and The Stolen

He was pain. Just anguish wrapped in silent screams. He wanted to be less than that. He wanted to be nothing. If he stopped existing, then he wouldn't hurt so much. It was agony to know everything he had been was a lie!

Everything? What about them?

Faces swim into view. He can’t take them all in, but details and impressions stand out.

Staples, amethyst scars, and blazing blue eyes.

Eyes like honey and a wide, sharp smile.

Green scales, violet hair, bravado to hide the shyness.

A slashing scar above spaniel brown eyes, a smile so honest only the truly heartless would turn away.

Clever brown eyes, wild hair, a finger in front of his lips to hold in a secret.

Yellow tinted sunglasses, ruddy lipstick, and auburn hair.

Were they a lie? Was the promise you made them a lie?

"NO!"

His denial is a jolt. A shock to a faltering heart. The pain doesn’t ease, but he becomes more than just pain.

Another jolt, this time of panic, comes when he feels hands touch him, panic that eases when he realizes that these hands aren't room temperature dead flesh. They're warm. Alive. So alive they burn, but it’s the sting of frozen fingers thawing in front of a campfire, not the emotional and spiritual agony he can still feel tearing away at him.

“There you are, sugar. Thought we lost you for a second.”

“Jeez, boss man. Way to give us a scare!”

He knew those voices. He knew these hands— big, rough, gentle— He knew them! But he couldn’t put a name to them!

“How about you put a name to yourself first, pumpkin?”

“Yeah, pull yourself together! Scatterbrain!”

Scattered? Yes, he supposed he was. Shattered might be a better word. Shattered after learning he was a lie. Everything had been a manipulation from his birth to this moment. None of his choices were his own. He was nothing but an empty vessel, a suit prepared for a monster to slip into. Nothing nothing nothing—

The warm hands tightened on him, dragging him back from the brink. “You’re not nothing! You chose us, didn’t you? And we chose you! You chose to care about us! That wasn’t All For One, that was you!”

Right. Sens— All For One didn’t have friends. He had pawns.

Focus. Who am I?

Two Names presented themselves, and he could feel the capital letter in the word Name.

Tenko Shimura.

Tomura Shigaraki.

Both Names carried so much. So much it was nearly unbearable, but he’d borne it all before, and he could do it again. Tenko was his core, his foundation, the seed from which he’d grown. Tomura was who he’d grown into. He hadn’t chosen either name, and he wasn’t particularly fond of the men who’d given them to him, but right now… he had a choice.

“‘Tomura’ comes from the verb, ‘tomurau,’ which means to mourn and express sorrow over death and farewell,” he remembered All For One telling him.

Tomura decided that the name fit him. He’d mourned and grieved his whole life, and caused others to mourn and grieve. It was the name he’d had the longest, and the one his friends called him by. He’d keep Shigaraki too, but only because he secretly liked the nicknames his League came up with. Shig. Shigs. Shiggy. Even Shiggy-kun. He'd only let Toga call him that one, though.

As soon as he’d decided what to call himself, he felt himself… come back together. He was a person again, not a ball of misery.

“I’m Tomura Shigaraki,” he told the hands, and felt them pat him approvingly. One even ruffled his hair.

“Good going, Shig! Knew you could do it! You’re the strongest guy in the world!”

“We’re rooting for you, Shiggy babe. Even if you can’t see us, we’re here. Keep fighting!”

His eyes widened. He knew them now. “Big Sis? Jin?” No answer came, except in the sensation of being pushed gently, until he fell into his body… or something close enough to his own skin that he felt relatively comfortable in it.

There was a breeze here, smelling like stardust and tasting like ozone. The ground beneath him was gritty. Was he where the Vestiges had been? It felt kind of like that, where he’d fought All For One for control of himself. No… No, he wasn’t there. Deeper than his inner self too, deeper than where Midoriya had punched through to talk to him. Somewhere adjacent to both, though. Well, nothing for it but to look around.

With an effort, he opened his eyes.

It took all his self control not to scream. He was not alone. There were... things? beings? people? all around him. Some looked human or at least human-shaped; others looked like they'd started out human, but had been broken apart and the pieces reassembled with new parts like Frankenstein's monster on crack; and a few were nothing but smears of color and light.

Rivet Stab and Air Cannon! he realized, seeing one with wings made of jagged red and black spears, and another with little tornadoes for hands. These were quirks! All the quirks All For One has stolen. There were more here than he’d realized. It kinda made sense he’d be here with them. Quirks were a piece of a person, after all, and right now Tomura was a fragment of himself.

The more he thought, the more he pulled more of himself together and the more solid he felt. As he became more present, his vision sharpened and something else came into focus: All the quirks were wrapped in chains the ugly, red brown color of dried blood. His eyes lingered on those chains, following the links up as they stretched into an infinity of roiling dark, then back down to the mass of stolen quirks.

Stolen and broken, he thought. Just like me.

A smile began to grow on what he assumed was his face.

These are my kind of people.

"Hey!” The quirks turned toward him, and his smile turned into a grin. “You guys interested in a co-op?"

They stared at him. Or, he assumed they were staring. Not all of them had eyes. He could feel the weight of their attention, and not all of it was friendly. That was fine. He, Dabi, and Toga had tried to kill each other right out of the gate, after all. What was a little murderous intent between allies? He tried to push himself up off the ground and that terrible pain lanced through him again. This time, at least, his screams weren’t silent.

Shaking, he looked at himself. Ghostly barbed wire wrapped him from head to toe. It even pierced through him in places, digging into his body, the thorns dripping poison that smelled like honey and ate away him like his mentor’s words. How fitting. With every drop of venom, he listened again to All For One.

“Poor Tenko Shimura… Benefitting from my guidance every step of the way but amounting to nothing!” “Not a single one of your choices have been your own.” “The tragedies. The ordeals. The rejection. The validation. All granted by me.” “I sought a seedbed fertile for hatred to grow.”

This time, Tomura didn’t let the pain overwhelm him. He let it fuel him. Gritting his teeth in a rictus smile, he fought one arm free of the barbed wire, seized the sickly metal, and began to tear it from his flesh. Panting, he pulled and pulled, yanking when he had to, tears mixing with blood until he laughed from the pain. “You want hatred, Sensei? Oh, I’ll give you hatred! I’m such a good little student! I always listen to what you teach me!”

With a final wrench, he pulled the last length free and tossed it away. He was so tired. So very tired. But he wasn’t going to lay here and stop existing. He’d tried that. It hadn’t helped.

“Don’t give up,” he giggled, and forced himself upright. “Stand up and begin again! Ain’t that right, Sensei? Good lesson. Liked that one. And I did it plenty of times without you! Got lost once or twice, but I found my way again. So what if I needed help? You needed plenty of help when All Might turned your face into a potato and ruined your lungs. I wasn’t the one sucking on life support. At least the people with me actually liked me, you ballsack looking motherfucker!”

Looking up again, Tomura found a quirk standing in front of him. It looked like a cat themed magic girl. It took his muddled brain a second, but then he remembered. “Hey, Search. Nice kitty.”

It? She? Looked at him, hands on her hips, then tapped the chains wrapping around her body.

“Huh?”

She tugged the chains until they rattled, then gave him what felt like a pointed look. Ah. Okay, he understood now. They’d passed murderous intent and were now in cooperation mode. Reaching out, he grabbed the chain with both hands. One link was as long as his middle finger and thick around as his thumb! How was he supposed to get this off without hurting the quirk? He didn’t have Decay here. He had to try though.

As he ran his hands over it, he realized that the chain felt… brittle? Like it was rusty. Carefully, he began to twist and flex it, link by link, until one began to crack. Eagerly, he worked faster, bending it harder, even trying to pull it apart. Then, unexpectedly, it snapped in half! That single broken link was a catalyst, the others breaking apart in a chain reaction until Search was free!

She jumped up and down, clapping her paws as her form became clearer and clearer, until she really did look like that cat themed hero. When she’d finished celebrating, she got up on her tiptoes and kissed his forehead— which was gross because he was all bloody and sweaty, and also because it made him blush. Then she took his hand and her body shifted, twisting and growing thinner until it became— a red thread?

It was possibly the most beautiful thing he’d seen in a long damn time. A single thread of a glorious red stretching up into infinity, dark as garnets and blood, glowing like a sunset’s reflection on the sea.

His favorite color.

Wrapping the thread around his wrist so he wouldn’t lose it, he turned to the next quirk. It was exhausting, and seemed to take forever to find each weakened link, but he wasn’t about to quit. With every quirk he freed, a thread was added to the one around his wrist. The thread became a string, then a cord, then a braid, and then a rope. He could feel tension building up between him and whatever was at the other end. Tomura could guess what— or rather, who was at the other end.

He was looking forward to finding out for sure.

There was a tense moment near the end when he reached the quirks that had belonged to One For All. “Well?” he demanded, looking at them, counting silently. There was one missing, and he didn’t know if he was disappointed by that or not. Tomura wasn’t sure if he could handle seeing his grandmother right now.

The quirks looked at each other, then nodded, and let him put his hands on their chains. These ones, at least, were thin and flaking already. Newly forged, if he had to guess the reason. They broke easily, and five more threads were added to his rope.

Then there was only one.

This quirk looked so broken. Hunched shoulders, too skinny with a jutting collarbone and visible ribs, hair all clumpy and unkempt, knobby fingers covering its face like a weeping angel, and its edges were in a constant state of fraying.

Or Decaying.

“You caused me a lot of problems, you know,” he told it quietly. The quirk huddled in on itself even more, trembling from top to bottom. “My family, my dog, my favorite controller… all of them dust. But it’s not like you had a choice either. You didn’t pick me. You weren’t even whole. But… looking back, I think you at least tried your best to keep me safe.” The trembling didn’t stop, but the covered face turned toward him. “Half of the problem was me. I was always fighting you, subconsciously rejecting you. I mean, kinda obvious why, but it didn’t really help me. You know what, though?” And now Tomura smiled again, the memory of Deika City still a shining moment for him. “We were pretty badass once we got in sync.”

The quirk stood up straight, lowering its fingers enough to peer at him with dull eyes the same color as his.

Tomura held out his free hand. “This time, let’s choose each other. I want you. No one fits me better than you. We’re two pieces broken by the same hand, two things reshaped to become weapons and not allowed to become more. No one understands us better than we do. Please, be my partner again?”

Decay skipped shaking his hand and instead threw itself at him, wrapping twiggy arms around his neck and pressing its face against his chest. Tomura bit his lip so he didn’t make any more pathetic noises and hugged his quirk as tightly as he could. “I missed you,” he admitted. “Thank you.”

A breath, then Decay slipped back inside him, settling under his skin like a contented cat. And it didn’t itch at all.

Tomura felt whole for the first time in months.

Looking up, he tugged on the rope, pulling it taut until it twanged and vibrated, and visualized the roiling clouds parting. They did, and with them went the empty, windy darkness around him.

Once again, he was in that weird half-world of vestiges and the subconscious, and before him was the broad back of his former teacher. It was made of broken things, as always.

“Broken things and stolen things and really ugly faces, that’s what little AFOs are made out of!” he sang to himself. The shining red rope led straight up. Well, he was already exhausted, bleeding, emotionally drained to the point of near delirium, and running on fumes.

So, nothing new.

Tying the rope around his waist so he could have both hands free, Tomura began to climb. It wasn't easy, but what in his life had been? Still, it sucked. His bare feet and hands were soon torn to ribbons, the blood making his grip slippery. Legs and arms shook like branches in the wind, so much he was sure they would snap. His lungs burned, each breath a torment rattling through a bone dry throat. The rope was his saving grace. He soon found it acted like a belaying rope at a climbing wall, taking just that little bit of effort from him, keeping the tension when he paused to rest. And, when he accidentally rested his forehead against it, he thought he could hear voices whispering encouragement.

Wishful thinking or not, he would take what he could get. And he climbed.

Then, at last, he was there. “Heh… my turn to get in his head,” he chuckled, then shouted, “HEY! TRY TO ALT-F4 ME FROM MY OWN BODY, WILL YOU?! TOO BAD! I LIVED, BITCH!”

He felt All For One’s shock, his outrage, his fury… and his fear.

God that fear was sweet.

“WHY CAN’T YOU JUST DIE, YOU PERNICIOUS VERMIN?” His teacher’s voice was a rumble of thunder across that weird world. Tomura could tell that his distraction was not a welcome one. Seemed like the heroes were still putting up a fight! He dug his bloody fingers into the false skin, hoping it hurt All For One as much as it hurt him.

“Blah blah, something something, Indomitable Will, remember?”

There was a split second of startled hesitation from All For One, and Tomura took advantage, rushing on, voice mocking and syrup sweet, “Why are you so upset, Sensei? I was always an obedient student, wasn't I? I'm just being what you made me, Sensei!” The monster's pseudo skin shattered, and not just beneath him. As Tomura’s rage swelled, every bloody hand and footprint he'd left on his climb became a conduit for Decay, and it spread with the same ferocity he'd unleashed upon awaking in the doctor's lab.

The sound of destruction was still so~ much~ fun~ to hear.

No hesitation from All For One this time, only fear. As he'd expected, the world around Tomura shook and jerked, a giant hand reaching for him, trying to swat him off or crush him. A casual touch from him and Decay turned it to dust.

Smiling grimly at the sound of All For One’s agonized screams, Tomura concentrated Decay around his hand until he felt like it might come apart. He might not walk away from this, but neither would the thing who killed his family and ruined his life. There wouldn’t even be a sliver of an echo of a memory left behind. He wouldn’t allow it.

“I am a weapon forged from pain and hate. I destroy what I hate, and I hate you more than anything, Sensei.”

Rearing back, Tomura Shigaraki put the full force of his non-corporeal body into the strike, plunging his hand into All For One’s skull, unleashing Decay and with it every ounce of hatred, rage, despair, and hope he had.

“Now, give me my body back already. I have people I need to see.”

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citylighten · 1 year

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Tagged by @cinamun

Some attention for Evie!

Are you named after anyone? “I was named after my maternal grandmother. Her name was Evelyn, but my mother shortened my name to just be Eve.”

When was the last time you cried? “I’m too embarrassed to say! But um, it was when I was rewatching a old Disney movie.” It was not getting cast as The White Swan

Do you have kids? “No.”

Do you use sarcasm? “I think I’m mostly direct, for better or worst...”

What’s the first thing you notice about people? "Um...visually...probably the way they dress. You can tell a lot about a person’s interest or lifestyle based on their fashion sense.”

What’s your eye color? “Brown.”

Scary movies or happy endings? “I don’t like scary movies, period! I like to watch movies that will put me in a good mood and will keep me in a good mood when they’re over.”

Any special talents? “I can dance well, but I wouldn’t say that’s a talent, a lot of hard work goes into dancing. Throughout my life there’s always been a few people who tell me I’m good at drawing, but I’m not nearly as good as I was in high school.”

Where were you born? "Willow Creek.”

What are your hobbies? “Dancing - which may sound cliché but it’s true, I really like to listen to music and come up with dance routines for them for fun. Journaling. Boxing...I’ve been pretty invested in a local yoga class too!”

Have you any pets? “No, but when I was a little girl my grandmother owned a black and white Cocker Spaniel named Checkers! He was so sweet, and lived for a long time, too.”

What sports do you play/have played? "I remember playing volleyball in high school, but in recent time I haven’t done that.”

How tall are you? “5′4.”

Favorite subject in school? "Physical Education - but not in grade school, those kids didn’t know how to act.”

Dream job? “Um - I’m really honored to be one of the youngest company members at the Newcrest Dance Company, so this is technically my dream job.”

#is she really honest with the last question? is she REALLY?#eve #dear diary extras

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rottingsam · 6 months

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I am very curious about what you picture other characters to be in your Furrynatural AU 👀

Say like Mary, Ruby, Lucifer even.

okay so in my opinion mary is a full blooded doberman, the same way john is a full blooded collie. and i think her family would have had her to standard, she has cropped ears (would like to specify i do not believe in or condone cropping, this is just for the lore) and most likely a cropped tail as well. she’s not tan like dean, deans tan and brown coat comes from being a mixed breed. me and @hellhoundlair were bouncing back and forth whether or not to make mary a collie or doberman but i think mary being a doberman fits her personality!

ruby is so hard for this, i’ve literally been thinking about what she would be for days. i’m still undecided on her breed… she needs to be a sleeker breed but she can’t have all features that are too sharp and narrow, but she also can’t be too round and fluffy! i can tell you about ruby 1.0/ blonde ruby, i think she would be a light colored english cocker spaniel! this one is more just cosmetically fits her as well as aesthetically. i’ll update this once i consult with hellhoundlair again 2 figure out ruby’s breed because i can’t pick! right now im stuck on a really specific boxer chow chow mix.

okay… don’t laugh at this but lucifer is a chihuahua. i’m so serious. he’s a deer head chihuahua with a light brown coat, with some darker spots around his nose and snout. i also think this works well with his personality, and I want it so show contrast between his build and sam’s build as a vessel. i also think tiny tot chihuahua torturing 6’4 collie sam is very fun to think about!!! 😋

#furrynatural 🐾#furrynatural #sam winchester #lucifer #ruby #mary winchester

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miraculouslybobatea · 10 months

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15 Questions 15 Mutuals!!

Thank you thank you so very much for the tag @bengaltiger25 !!

Are you named after anyone?

Kind of. My name isn’t the same as, but it is based on my maternal grandmother’s name.

When was the last time you cried?

Uhhh probably last night lol. Nothing really happened yesterday , I’ve just being doing that a lot for the past year.

Do you have kids?

NAUR. I’m wayyy to young for that lol.

Do you use sarcasm a lot?

Oh never. I’m probably the least sarcastic person ever /sarcastic/. No bit in all serious I can be pretty sarcastic. I’ve been told that despite being pretty quiet I tend to say the funniest stuff under my breath.

What sports do you play/have played?

I used to play soccer for a while until I was like 13ish. I would’ve liked to have continued but to do it in school I would’ve had to choose between sports or theatre (I chose theater). I also did track and field one spring.

What's the first thing you notice about someone?

I never really thought about it but probably their outfit. Not in a judgmental way, I just tend to notice what people are wearing, even if I’m just passing them on the street.

What's your eye color?

Okay so this is actually kind of interesting! If you’ve noticed in any of my drawings of myself my eye color is probably kind of indeterminate.That’s because I have central heterochromia, so the center of my eyes are kind of blue but the outsides are brown (it’s more noticeable on my right eye). Trust me, it doesn’t look as cool as it sounds irl.

Scary movies or happy endings?

Happy endings PLEASE. Though I love some good angst, I need it to end happily. I don’t really like horror movies because I usually just end up bored.

Any special talents?

Idk if I have any special talents. I like to preform, like music and acting. I also like most things art, so painting, drawing, digital (as you’ve all seen if you know me), etc. I also bake and I’m decent at it.

Where were you born?

New York New York baybeee

What are your hobbies?

I already listed some, but singing, listening to music, anything artsy, skating, watching movies and tv, sewing.

Do you have pets?

Until recently I had a cocker spaniel, best in the world- here look at him. Look at his face.

How tall are you?

5’0”, or 152 cm (I think). My parents are pretty short so it makes sense.

Favorite subject in school?

Ooh this is tough. I enjoy most subjects and I do about the same in all of them so it’s hard to pick. Idk if I can pick a favorite but I can tell you that my least favorite is probably mathematics.

Dream job?

I’m not really sure! I’m probably going to end up doing something medical/science oriented, but it would be really cool in a complete fantasy world to do something involving designing or where I’d get to work with animals.

@o-cinnamonstickz @eating-you-alive-cutely @spookyanxiety @silverwolfie100 @andonyourown @xocosplayluverxo and anyone else I may be missing, it’s your turn now!!!

#tag game #mutuals #not mlb

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kingofdoma · 2 years

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...

so ep 8 of strange new worlds inspired me to write a ficlet (is that the term? this is my first time doing this)

it’s the first thing i’ve written to completion in ages, so be kind

call it “a final gift” i guess?

yeah.

all below the cut.

"Noonien-Singh to M'Benga! I have a possible infectious fauna in my quarters! Report here immediately!"

The doctor, half in reverie as he was filling out the toughest report he had ever had to complete, snapped out of his staring contest with a console and answered his comm. "La'an? What's going on?"

"I reported back to my quarters after the... incident, and when I returned there, there was a creature in there. I sealed it within before it could escape. I need you here to establish proper quarantine and run a limited baryon sweep if necessary."

"A baryon sweep? I don't know if such procedures are necessary, but... in any event, I'm on my way. M'Benga out." A smile flickered across his face. Could it be...?

When M'Benga arrived at La'an's quarters, he saw her rigid and stern, phaser trained on her quarter's door, as if the "fauna" could leap through the entrance at will, two other security officers flanking her. "Doctor?" she said, barely looking away. "Good. You're here. I need you to-"

"I think I know exactly what I need to do," M'Benga said, cutting her off slightly. "Tell me, have you done a scan of the creature yet?"

"No," she replied, absolutely not showing any embarrassment whatsoever, and don't you dare say otherwise. "That's what I contacted you for. In situations like this, I shoot things, or defer to different pools of knowledge. For this thing's sake, I went with the latter."

"Right. One moment." M'Benga went to the panel next to the door and initiated the in-room sensors. It only took him a few seconds to interpret the scans and start chuckling to himself, then a moment more for it to turn into full-blown laughter.

"Doctor? What... what's going on?" La'an inquired. "What's so funny?"

The doctor ended his laughter with a sigh. "You can dismiss your men. There's no danger here."

The security chief, again, NOT looking embarrassed, can't stress that enough, holstered her phaser and curtly nodded to her officers, who exchanged puzzled looks as they left. La'an leaned in and spoke in low tones. "You're absolutely sure it's not a threat?"

M'Benga smirked, and hit the door control, opening the quarters and allowing the small, brown furred creature out of the room, whereupon it immediately started yipping and putting its forepaws on La'an's leg. M'Benga took the officer's frozen gaze as a sign that she did not know how to respond, and picked up the creature.

"Do they not have dogs where you come from?" asked M'Benga.

"Not like that," La'an replied, secretly thankful to be able to focus on literally anything else. "I'm used to dogs being much bigger and much more aggressive. Besides, even if it appeared to be harmless, there are creatures that can change shape or temperament at a moment's notice. There are chameloid predators from the Imani cluster, not to mention the Alfa-177 canines are bloodthirsty half the time-"

"It's a mutt," he said. "Likely a bichon frise-cocker spaniel mix. That was..." He paused. "Can we take this inside?"

"Please," La'an agreed, and entered her (spartanly adorned) living space, closing the door behind her. "So, fine," she said, sitting across from M'Benga on her bed. "It's a dog. What is it doing here? Does it have to do with our missing time?"

The doctor smiled as he balked. "I'm still writing my report. Basically, we all became characters from a fantasy book. Most people's characters... did not match their usual personality. The captain was a sniveling chamberlain, for instance."

"Really?" La'an smirked. "I'd have loved to have seen that. What was Una, a flighty princess?"

"She was an archer of the forest... YOU were the princess."

"... what?" she replied flatly. "That's... that's ghastly. Horrible low cut dress, I assume? Terrible hair?"

M'Benga cleared his throat. "I... will show you the illustration later. You can judge for yourself. But the important thing is, that princess had a dog. THIS dog. When things returned to normal, I thought this little lady would disappear with the rest of the changes, but it appears... she did not. Which means that this is a gift from my daughter... to you."

"To me? I didn't even know your daughter... wait, your daughter?"

"That will be in my report as well," he replied wistfully. "Rukiya. She had cygnokemia. I was trying to give her more time by putting her pattern in the medical transporter buffer, but... she was running out of time. So the entity that lived inside the nebula literally made her dreams come true. Even to the point of letting her see the stars."

"Wait. You had an unauthorized pattern in the buffer? Presumably since we left drydock? That is a massive breach of protocol! You could face court martial!"

"... it will be in my report," he restated grimly. "I've... come to peace with that. But the important thing, right now, is this." He held up the dog to be eye level with La'an. "This is the princess' beloved companion. She called her Runa. And right now, she's yours. We can drop her off at McNair Starbase when we get there, but... that is up to you."

It finally dawned on La'an that M'Benga was offering the dog to her, and reluctantly took the beast into her hands. It sniffed and flicked out its tongue at her as it wiggled in her grasp. "We... we can decide that when we get to McNair. ... do we have a raw meat tape for the food synthesizer?"

M'Benga grinned again. "I'll see what I can do. In the meantime, I should get back to incriminating myself. My count is three major offenses so far, but I'm only a third of the way through things. I'm sure it will go up from there."

Slapping his legs, M'Benga stood up, and started for the door, but before he left, he turned and said, "You know, when Rukiya was old enough to know what gifts were, she got myself, my wife, and herself teddy bears, all with different faces and decorations, and told us all to sleep with them every night. I went with it at the time, but I never understood why she did it. But now... I sleep with all three of those bears every night. It helps me... not feel so alone. My daughter's gifts may not have made sense at first, but they were always excellent.

"You may want to cherish this one."

Once she was alone, La'an held the dog a moment longer, then placed it on the ground. Runa immediately ran around for a second, jumped back onto the bed, and snuggled in next to the chief's thigh.

La'an sighed to herself. Reaching for a nearby console as best she could without unseating her new companion, she said with resignation, "Computer... bring up any available files on canine care. Everything you've got. I'm going to need it..."

#strange new worlds #la'an noonien singh #joseph m'benga #dr. m'benga #star trek #the elysian kingdom

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anxiouslyfred · 2 years

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Her Majesty’s Naptime

Summary: Patton was reading a book he'd been assigned to review in the dog park when a dog climbed into his lap and settled down for a nap. From then his attention's divided trying to spot the dog's owner

/\/\

They'd finally had success in teaching Her Majesty to walk to heel. It had taken months of classes and plenty of practising in their garden but Janus finally felt able to let her off the lead at the dog park without losing her.

Then they were stood a short way into the park watching Her Majesty immediately run off, ignoring their calls and the treats they pulled out to tempt her back. It felt like a nightmare that Janus had hoped to avoid forever, as if months of training would prevent it completely.

They didn't want to alarm people or appear a careless dog owner though, so sped up their walk, calling after Her Majesty, even if the name got some amused glances from other dog owners.

/\/\

Patton had needed the comfort of the animal park today. He'd been assigned a horror book to review for the newspaper he worked for and had never done well reading the genre. If ever he needed the momentary distractions that came as dogs saying hello, it was with a book like this.

A king Charles spaniel jumping onto the bench beside him and promptly squirming until she was curled into his lap was equally welcomed as confusing. Most dogs weren't friendly enough to do that, nor ready to sleep when they had the park to explore, but Patton relished the break from the scene he'd been reading.

Looking around the park though Patton couldn't identify the owner. There was nobody hurrying over to him after the dog or looking around in concerned confusion trying to locate her so he decided it was okay if she remained asleep on his lap for a while.

It did keep slow down his reading however, given Patton was looking up to wave at the people passing, occasionally asking the ones who paused to say hello if they'd seen anyone searching for the dog. Nobody had until a very formally dressed gentle-person stopped, their gaze having originally passed immediately over Patton but something bringing them to focus on him again.

“Is this your dog? She squirmed onto my lap a while ago and I've been trying to spot whomever owns her.” Patton offered, closing his book to place on the arm of the bench. “I didn't want her to run off again if I woke her up.”

The person blinked, moving to collapse into the space next to him. “That's Her Majesty. I apologise for any inconvenience she's caused.”

“Honestly she's been a comfort. I'm Patton by the way, patt-on your dog.” He loved making puns with his name for introductions and it was the easiest one to think of in the moment.

“Janus and that looks more like stroking, if you ask me. They/them pronouns if you will.” They remarked, glancing over Patton now instead of focusing on their pet.

Patton tilted his head in a half nod. “I guess you're right. Is Her Majesty old?”

“Just over a year so I'm frankly bewildered by your skill at getting her to sleep so easily.” Janus stated before nodding to his book, “Are you reading something interesting?”

“Guess I'm just lucky since I didn't even notice her before she was climbing onto me. Not particularly but it has to be read. The paper wants me to do a review of it even though it's not a genre of books I enjoy at all.” He explained, biting back a giggle as the dog shifted on his lap, some of her fur tickling his stomach.

Janus scoffed a little, “Then just make something up for it. There's no point in reading a book you aren't enjoying all the way through for a review.”

“I can't do that! It still deserves to be fairly judged for the entirety of it.” Patton protested, getting a smirk thrown back at him.

“Of course you can. What you've read in the book so far surely tells you enough to state whether the story is engaging or the descriptions weak. Unless there's a major tonal shift in the last third of the book then there's nothing preventing you from reviewing what you've read so far.” They reasoned, leaning forwards to look past Patton and see where the bookmark was placed.

Patton shook his head, “Assuming you don't just chase after Her Majesty for your job, what makes you so certain of your advice?”

“I'm a restaurant critic and trust me, unless a place is marketed as specialising in desserts you can tell their flaws and positive attributes by the time you're tasting the main course. Reviewing books doesn't seem to different, they're just a different sustenance for the mind rather than the body.” Janus leant back, clearly smug over their rationale.

“Your method is cheating.” Patton decided after thinking for a moment. “You're telling me to judge the book before I've finished it.”

“Nope. I'm merely suggesting that if you don't enjoy horror books I don't see why you should force yourself to keep reading them. Perhaps you could also bring up your preferences for books up to the newspaper again. I've seen plenty of names reviewing books for them.”

The conversation broke of as Her Majesty stirred and prepared to jump off Patton's lap and run off to play again. He'd instinctively pulled her into a hug and remained holding her as Janus unhooked the lead that had been thrown over their shoulder to clip it back onto her collar.

“It's been nice to talk to you, Patton, perhaps we'll run into you in the park again.” They nodded, standing as Patton gently placed Her Majesty on the ground.

Patton grinned up at them, “I'm sure Her Majesty will fetch us together soon. Thank you for your advice even if I'm not listening to it.”

“It's your choice how you work.” Janus nodded, setting off to finish their walk with one last smile.

#moceit #platonic moceit #readers choice #patton sanders #Janus Sanders

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survey--s · 1 year

Text

512.

Ever been to a bonfire party? No, they weren’t really a thing where I grew up. We’ve had a few beach bonfires since moving here though.

Have you ever been in a lighthouse? Yeah, a few times.

What do you enjoy most about your life? The people in it.

Have you ever said anything to the last person you kissed that you regret? No. I mean, we’ve argued a few times and probably said some not-so-ideal things to each other but IMO that’s just part of being in a long-term relationship.

How many people with the name Taylor do you know? Nobody.

Do you care about what others think of your physical appearance? Not especially, no. It’s nothing to do with anyone else.

Have you ever stripped for someone? No.

Have you ever wanted to believe in something, but couldn’t? Yeah, I’m sure.

Do you know how old your dad is? He’ll be 69 next month.

Were you sad that Panic! at the Disco broke up? I didn’t even know they had broken up, lol.

Did you cry when you watched The Notebook? I’ve never seen it. Films like that honestly have absolutely no appeal to me.

Have you ever attempted to beat box? Haha, no.

When was the last time you saw your “first love”? Years ago. I couldn’t tell you when.

Who’s the smartest person you know personally? My dad is incredibly intelligent, almost to the point that it’s isolating.

You can’t feel pain for an entire day. What would you do? Get a tattoo and a bunch of piercings lol.

Who makes you the happiest? There isn’t one specific person.

Do you think that deep down, everyone is good at heart? No, unfortunately I think that’s just a bit of a fantasy.

How many people have you kissed? I have no idea.

How many of those people are you still friends with? I’m in touch with a few on Facebook but I wouldn’t say we were friends.

Where did you go, the last time you left your house? To go and feed Monty.

Did you ever see the movie Good Burger when it came out? I’ve never seen it.

Say something nice about someone you really don’t care for: Meh, I don’t really spend any time with people I don’t care for lol.

Would you say that you’re popular? Hahah no.

Would you say that you’ve been in love with someone? Yes.

What do you consider to be the most profound of emotions? I really don’t know - I guess it would depend on the person.

What brand of deodorant do you wear? Nivea.

Do you believe that love isn’t right for everyone? Sure, not everyone has any interest in romance.

If you could only love one person, would you choose yourself? Probably.

What’re your brothers/sisters like? If you don’t have any, do you wish you did? I don’t have any and honestly as an adult, I’m quite glad about it. Everyone I know as an adult with siblings has loads of drama in their lives as a result.

Do you consider pets family? Of course they’re family.

Have you lost a family member recently? No.

Is there anyone you would take a bullet for? If so, who? I mean, nobody can answer this question with any kind of certainty. Nobody knows how they’d reaction in a situation where their life was in danger.

What job does your significant other have? He’s plaster/tiler.

What’s the largest animal you’ve ever had as a pet? A beagle. I’m not really a fan of massive dogs - they’re just not the pets for me.

How long has it been since you moved out of the house you grew up in? Uh, about 12 years.

The last time you ate leftovers, what was it that you were eating? I can’t remember the last time I had leftovers, actually.

What is your favorite board that you've made on Pinterest? I don’t use Pinterest.

What is your favorite apple-flavored treat? Apple crumble with custard. It’s one of my favourite winter desserts.

Have you ever met anyone named Eden? No.

What is your favorite type of tree? Cherry blossoms and weeping willows.

Have you ever had a spaniel for a pet? No. I love spaniels but I’m not sure I could cope with their energy levels, haha.

Do you any of your family members have birthdays on a holiday, and if so, which one(s)? No.

Which medication(s) do you feel have helped you the most, and why? Sertaline pretty much saved my life, the same with propanolol. Tranexamic acid also makes my life a lot easier than it used to be.

Is your current doctor a male or female? I don’t have one - I just see whoever’s available, normally a female though.

What type of soda do you drink most regularly? Pepsi Max.

Do you like the band Seether? They’re okay.

Do you have asthma? No.

Have you ever performed on stage? What did you do? Yeah - in various school plays/musicals, ballet shows and also poetry readings.

What is your favorite video game? I don’t really play many video games, I just like basic mobile games really.

What’s your screen name? I don’t have one specific screen name.

When did you graduate from high school? 2007.

Are you planning to have a family? When? No. I have zero desire to have children. It’s weird as I used to be SO broody and now I’m just insanely grateful that I never went through with it lol.

What is the one thing people say about you the most? That I’m good with animals.

What have you done that you’re particularly proud of? Set up my own successful business without any help from anyone else.

How many televisions do you have in your house? Three.

Do you use your hand when you speak? Sometimes, it depends on the situation.

What is your dream car? I love Mini’s but with my job, I’m not going to have one anytime soon lol.

Have you lived around here long? I’ve lived in this house for about five years now.

What do you do to pull yourself out of a bad mood? Take a bath/shower, have a nap, take the dog for a walk.

Why do girls follow each other to the restroom? Someone to talk to.

Who do you talk to most on the phone? My mum is the only person I ever really speak to on the phone lol.

Are you pregnant? Definitely not.

Do you like poetry? Write poetry? I like reading poetry but I’m not very good at actually writing it.

Do you know anyone who has any STDs? I mean, not to my knowledge but it’s not really something people tend to talk about lol.

Have you ever taken a shower with someone that is not a family member? Yeah.

Has any of your partners had sex with someone else? I mean, not while we were together but they weren’t virgins when we met.

#survey #surveys

0 notes

pierceintyre-hunnihawk · 1 year

Text

(How Much Is) That Doggie in the Window?

It was after high school graduation. I decided to take a couple of years off from going to college. I had friends, and such, but I was bored of just being by myself. I’m a bachelor for god's sake. I’m young and desperate for love. Klinger had Soon Lee, Margaret had Frank, and everyone else had somebody. I’m growing tired of wishing on stars, and hoping for someone to just magically fall in love with me. I decided to get a dog. One that I could use to either keep me company, or find me a man. I picked out this tan and white cocker spaniel puppy. He was very cute, sitting in the window with his paws on the glass, and I just couldn’t let him go to someone else. I bought him a nice black leather collar with a dark blue leash, and a golden shamrock collar charm that tells the world his address and owner. We walked back to my home, and I read the given instruction manual on how to care for him. He needed a name, so I went through a list. He loved the name “Archie” and so that’s what we picked. I followed everything in the book, and then some. Months went by, and I decided to take him to the local dog park. We played a good couple of hours worth of fetch, and I even met Klinger, Soon Lee, Margaret, Frank, Charles, Trapper (my best friend), and my former teacher, Mr. Blake. We talked about how everything’s been, and then some. They all saw Archie, and fell in love with him. He enjoyed the attention, but enjoyed Trapper’s attention more. Just then, some guy from out of town came to the dog park with his cocker spaniel. Everyone started cracking jokes that we would end up together, and so I decided to let fate be my guide while also secretly hoping for more. The man sauntered over to me, and noticed Archie.

“Hello there, little fella.”

Archie looked up at him, and then back at me.

“Nice dog you’ve got there. What’s their name?”

“Archie. His name’s Archie.”

“Pleasure to meet you, Archie.”

Archie got very excited, and so he sat down, and waved his paw, waiting for the man to shake his paw. The man did, and Archie licked his hand.

“He’s very well trained!”

“Thank you. I took my time with him.”

“I’m BJ.”

“I’m Benjamin, but everyone calls me Hawkeye.” We exchanged handshakes, and moved on from there. BJ was a very interesting person.

“Say, where are you from, stranger?”

“Me? I’m from San Francisco, California.”

“I hear it doesn't get above 55 there.”

“That’s right!”

“Well then, what brings you to Crabapple Cove, Maine?”

“I’m looking for love and a new start. You see, my ex-girlfriend, Peg, and I split up a while back, and I just need something or someone to ease my mind. So, I figured getting out of California would do me good.”

“You’re in need of a new start?”

“Yes.”

“I can help with that.”

“Wonderful!”

I wrote down my address on a slip of paper, and handed it to BJ. He took the slip, and handed me his hotel phone number, and his current hotel room number. Everyone around me wolf whistled, and I blushed a very bright pink.

“See you soon, Hawkeye.”

“Likewise, BJ.”

“Before I go, Hawk,would you like to meet, Lady?”

“Absolutely!”

BJ brought Lady to my attention, and let me pet her. She was a very beautiful cinnamon color.

“She’s very sweet!”

“Thank you! I’ve been training her for a while now. She’s still got a long way to go.”

She was very patient, but very loving. BJ and I bid our “goodbyes” and then I turned to face my friends group, and Frank, followed by Mr. Blake.

“All right, crack as many jokes as you guys want, but just know that I still remember all of your secrets.”

“Hawkeye, everyone remembers when you dated me. Nobody freaked out then, no one’s going to freak out now.”

“I freaked out!”

“Frank, nobody cares. Also, thank you, Trapper. Even though you were a star player on the football team.”

“Of course! Just, try and get to know the guy before you jump.”

“Again, thank you, Trapper. Before I leave, does anyone else have any unsolicited advice?” Just then, everyone started talking all at once.

“Okay! One at a time, people.”

“Figure out his likes and dislikes!”

“Thank you, Klinger.”

“Margaret?”

“Find some common interests.”

“Mr. Blake?”

“Try to find a sport that you two can talk about. Sure, you both like different teams, but you can still talk about sports.”

“Thank you, Mr. Blake. Frank?”

“Try finding someone who isn’t such a sissy.”

“Margaret, control your dog. Anyone else? No? Okay then.” I decided to leave, go home, and make myself something to eat. I made myself a sandwich. Just as I was finishing up making it, BJ called.

“Is this Hawkeye?”

“Yes it is, BJ?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Hey!”

“Hi! What are you up to?”

“Just made myself a sandwich. What about you?”

“Ordered room service. Say, are you free tonight?”

“I am, yeah. Why?”

“Wear something fancy, I’m taking you out to dinner.”

I blushed so hard that my ears turned red.

“Really?”

“Really. See you at eight, and wear some dancing shoes.”

With that, he hung up. I grabbed my sandwich, and started eating it. Thoughts swirled my brain, and scenarios ran through my head. Before I knew it, I was getting dressed, and putting on my dancing shoes that I used for prom. BJ showed up at my place with a bouquet of flowers, and a smile.<br />

“Ready?”

“As ready as I’ll ever be.”

“You look great.”

“Thank you. You don't look half bad yourself.”

“Thank you.”

We walked to dinner. It was at a really fancy restaurant. We both sat down, and ordered what we wanted. I ordered a steak with a loaded baked potato, and BJ ordered the beef tenderloin with fresh herb risotto. I was amazed at how he could order that without a care about prices.

“Everything okay, Hawk?”

“Oh, yeah, everything’s fine. Just admiring you from afar.”

“Well, if I may say so myself, I have a very handsome date.”

I smiled at BJ, and continued eating. Just then, Mr. Flagg came in.

“Don’t look now, but that was one of the rudest teachers that I’ve ever had.”

“What did he teach?”

“He taught physical education, and history. Used to make Charles, Margaret, Klinger, Trapper, Frank, and I run ten miles. I hated it since I had him first period. Then again in second. He was a nightmare.”

“Oh waiter!”

BJ ordered a whole pie, and walked over to Mr. Flagg. Just before you could blink, and miss it, BJ pied him in the face. I busted out into a fit of laughter, and BJ followed after. We paid everything off, and ran out of there.<br />

“I’ve never seen him so surprised! I’ve been wanting to do that since I got out of high school!”

“Really?”

“I hated that man. Still do.”

“I’m glad that I could help.”

“Thank you.”

I don’t know what overtook me, but I decided to kiss BJ's cheek. I, of course, then apologized a million times, until he kissed me softly.

“Thank you for shutting me up.”

“I don’t mind hearing you ramble. It’s very cute.”

I smiled, and noticed that we had arrived at the dance hall. I paid for the entrance ticket. We started off with the Harlem Shuffle, then the Bristol Stomp, then the Jerk. I had never had so much fun in my life. It was like I was actually experiencing the thrill of first love all over again. Just as the night was about to close, the band played a song that we could waltz to.

“Care for a waltz, Hawk?”

“I accept.” I took BJ’s hand in mine, and led him.

“My, Hawkeye. You sure know how to dance.”

“Thank you, Mr. Mulcahy taught me.”

“Oh yeah, what did he teach?”

“Choir. He also led the church choir on Sundays.”

“A songbird?”

“No, I just played in a couple of shows. Nothing fancy.”

“I learn more about you every minute.”

“If you’d like, we can talk about you.”

“My story’s a little more… obscure.”

“How so?”

“Well, my family’s a little more distant, my ex-girlfriend Peg left me for my then best friend, and now I’m just with you. I’m as happy as I could be. What about you? What’s your family like?”

“My story’s a bit darker. My mother passed away when I was a child. It’s mainly been my dad and I. Then, I decided to adopt Archie. He’s being watched by Margaret tonight.”

“Well, I’m sorry to hear about your mother. I’m sure your dad’s and her are very proud of who you have become. You’re a very smart and handsome man, Hawkeye.”

I smiled, and thanked BJ.

“You wanna get outta here? Everyone’s starting to wind down, and or leaving.”

“Sure! Where to?”

“How about my place?”

“Sure!”

We walked out of the dance hall, and into the cold night. I was freezing, and BJ noticed.

“Here, take my coat.”

“Thank you.”

“Of course! You look great in it.”

I blushed an even brighter shade of red, and continued walking. We walked to BJ’s hotel room, and curled up on the bed. I called Margaret to check up on Archie, and the little guy was fast asleep on the couch. I took it as a sign to get some sleep. I undid my shoes, kicked them off, and laid on top of BJ’s chest. Lady was asleep on the foot of the bed.

“Goodnight, my dear.”

“Goodnight, my darling.”

With that, we both fell asleep in each other’s arms.

#beejhawk #bj hunnicutt #bj x hawkeye #hunnihawk

0 notes

acutely-autistic · 1 year

Text

I posted 1,743 times in 2022

That's 102 more posts than 2021!

638 posts created (37%)

1,105 posts reblogged (63%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@acutely-autistic

@farm-paws

@fidgetspringer

@teacup-labrador

@bonefarm

I tagged 417 of my posts in 2022

#dogblr - 122 posts

#dogs - 121 posts

#dog - 121 posts

#puppy - 120 posts

#bucky - 76 posts

#labrador retriever - 75 posts

#chocolate lab - 75 posts

#buckets - 73 posts

#tessa - 38 posts

#cocker spaniel - 37 posts

Longest Tag: 138 characters

#then i wrote a smut for two streamers that i watch/ed (i still watch one of them but not the other) with an unnamed female oc which was me

My Top Posts in 2022:

Guys, I’m in excruciating pain. Send pet pics.

59 notes - Posted August 24, 2022

Bucky is stalking his prey

65 notes - Posted February 8, 2022

We hired a new kid to kill all the flies in our house. I haven’t seen many flies, so he must be doing a good job with no relation to the fact that it’s February.

93 notes - Posted February 18, 2022

Not me ready to fight a bitch because they wrongly tag their fic on purpose. I don’t care if it helps with exposure, I tag it like a morally good person, you can too. Like, nobody is on AO3 wrongly tagging their fics, so why is it okay to do it on tumblr? Also when I asked why their fic was tagged wrongly, they had the audacity to tell me to just scroll past it? Like my brother in Christ, you were the one who didn’t use a read more?

397 notes - Posted July 17, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

See the full post

868 notes - Posted February 14, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

#tumblr2022 #year in review #my 2022 tumblr year in review #your tumblr year in review

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chicagolive · 1 year

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Hi I’m so incredibly sorry this is getting to you so late!

I know what you mean about like booktok and stuff sometimes their recs are awful but I’ve read other stuff by Andy Weir and really liked it so I can tell you he very much knows what he’s talking about when it comes to space travel! When he was bored he used to plan missions to Mars and that’s how he wrote the Martian! So theres science and technical talk sometimes in that book so I’m somewhat expect that in Hail Mary!

I’m quite shit a listening to new music too but I’m always looking for more! I’ve been meaning to listen to Rina so I’m so glad you recommended that! Loved the voice so I’m excited to hear more!

I started collecting vinyl in 2020 too! It may be cliche to say but my pink Harry Styles - Harry Styles album is probably my prized vinyl simply because it took me forever to find and I found it quite cheap compared to what everyone else was selling it for! The most vinyls for one artist I have right now is one direction and so far the only double I have is for made in the am! I have a black one and a blue one! I’m hoping to get Louis’ album soon so I’m very excited!

Those are lovely colors! Great holiday movie for sure!! Ooooo, art! What’s your favorite artist? And do you have any favorite like paintings/sculptures? What kind of art do you normally create? I hope the block leaves ya be soon and you start creating again! Do you have any certain media of art you like to create the most?

Here’s another speed round!! What’s your go to comfort outfit/piece of clothing? What’s the best show you’ve watched this year? Do you have any pets? Annnnnd what’s your favorite season?

Hope you’re having an absolutely lovely night and that the day treated you well!!

-🎄❄️

Hello, hun!! ✨

That’s perfectly fine!! I totally understand! Life gets in the way. Hope your day/night is treating you well!!

Ahhhh, I see!! Well, as long as they know what they’re talking about within the novel, it sounds like a good read to me lol. I’ll have to give him a read next time I’m in the bookstore.

You have a pink self-titled? Cool, cool, cool, cool!! (Adds to rob list lol). The entire 1d discography!? Love that for you!! Is there one in particular you play the most? Out of all the boys, I’d say I listen to self-titled more than any of the other boys!! Idk, it just sounds so nice on record.

The thing about art is I love to admire and appreciate it, but I’m shit at actually remembering the artists names and when they created them 😅. Last night, I was looking at some photos I took when I was in Italy back in 2020 and I found some pictures of two of Botticelli’s most recognizable work (Primavera and The Birth of Venus). I’d probably say them for the meantime!!

I minored in sculpture in college, so I’d say I have an appreciation for the 3D arts, but lately I’ve been getting into painting/drawing!! Back at the end of 2020, I made a portrait of Louis trying to get back into the artistic spirit, which worked for a little, but haven’t really been able to get back into it. Hopefully the new year brings a spark with it lol.

Speed Round Questions: comfort outfit/piece of clothing? I’m a Jean-on-Jean person lol. If I can complete an outfit with a matching pair of jeans and Jean jacket, I’ll opt for that!! Best show this year? I’d probably say Heartstopper!! I read the series beforehand and an absolutely loved it! So when it came out, I watched it all in one sitting, even though there were only 8 episodes for the premier. Also, the 2nd season on Young Royals came out at the beginning of November which I really liked as well. I’m not very good at starting new series, like a lot of people lol. Is there any show you are watching atm that you recommend!? Pets? Sadly, I do not she any pets. I wish lol. One day, I’d say. I really like cocker spaniels, so I’d probably have that as a pet if I could!! Favorite season? I’d say the transition between summer and fall, where it’s not as hot to wear shorts anymore, but isn’t cold enough to have to bundle up under multiple layers!! Very nice middle!! 🎄✨

#holiday pals 🎄✨#asks

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petnews2day · 1 year

Text

Wow! What You See In This Optical Illusion Reveals A Lot

New Post has been published on https://petnews2day.com/pet-industry-news/pet-travel-news/wow-what-you-see-in-this-optical-illusion-reveals-a-lot/

Wow! What You See In This Optical Illusion Reveals A Lot

Are you a cat person or a dog person? I know you totally think you have the answer to that question but you actually may not. Your subconscious is very powerful, and experts say that is the part of you that will truly express your tendencies to be team dog or team cat. What your subconscious sees in this illusion also says a lot about you as a person.

This optical illusion was created by JackpotJoy.com and they say it will tell you what kind of person you really are. After all, there are real differences between dog and cat people. Let’s see which one sounds more like you and then you can take the optical illusion test.

Dog Person

Psychologists say dog people are usually fearlessly loyal, warm, playful, easy-going, outgoing, and need others.

Cat Person

Docs say cat people tend to be the real achievers and type-A go-getters, they are more independent and they are always looking for their next big opportunity. They are leaders and tend to be more creative.

Sound on point? I love cats and dogs so I’m going to shake both descriptions up in a glass and drink it.

Now, onto the grand illusion…first take a long look and scroll down to decipher what it is you are seeing.

Photo credit: JackpotJoy.com

If you see a red and white spaniel puppy then you are totally a dog person. If you see two cats sitting side by side then you are a cat person. If you see both you are me.

LOOK: Stunning animal photos from around the world

From grazing Tibetan antelope to migrating monarch butterflies, these 50 photos of wildlife around the world capture the staggering grace of the animal kingdom. The forthcoming gallery runs sequentially from air to land to water, and focuses on birds, land mammals, aquatic life, and insects as they work in pairs or groups, or sometimes all on their own.

LOOK: Here are the pets banned in each state

Because the regulation of exotic animals is left to states, some organizations, including The Humane Society of the United States, advocate for federal, standardized legislation that would ban owning large cats, bears, primates, and large poisonous snakes as pets.

Read on to see which pets are banned in your home state, as well as across the nation.

window.twttr = (function(d, s, id) (document, "script", "twitter-wjs")); (function(d, s, id) var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0]; if (d.getElementById(id)) return; js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id; js.src = "//connect.facebook.net/en_US/sdk.js"; fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs); (document, "script", "facebook-jssdk"));

#Pet Travel News

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technologiestonki · 2 years

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Joe cocker lend me your ears

Joe cocker lend me your ears how to#

Joe cocker lend me your ears code#

Note: When you embed the widget in your site, it will match your site's styles (CSS). 1 Album Lyrics1.With a Little Help From My Friends (Live Woodstock Version With Additional Stage Dialogue, Rainstorm, Crowd Sounds, Stage Announcements, & General Hysteria)2.With a Little Help From My Friends (Live Woodstock Version)Joe Cocker Lyrics provided by

Joe cocker lend me your ears code#

Get the embed code Joe Cocker - Woodstock: Music From the Original Soundtrack and More, Vol. I get on high, I'm wanna make time oh Lord Howlin for Judy 2008 The Enja Heritage Collection: Outlaws 1977 Flute Fever 1963 Encuentro en New York (feat. Said I'm gonna get by with my friend, I tell ya I can't tell ya, but it sure feels like magicĭon't you know I'm gonna make it with my friends? (What do you see when you turn out the light?) (Would you believe in a love at first sight?) Said I'm gonna make it with my friends, I will Ears are also helpful in figuring out the extremely complicated, counter-intuitive concepts that my humans are beginning to insist on such as OFF and STAY.Lend me your ears and I'll sing you a song

Joe cocker lend me your ears how to#

With my ears, I am now learning how to SIT. Apparently, ears are also things for listening. Now, as far as I’m concerned, ears are principally there for chewing, but they also have another function, on which the humans around here seem pretty keen. and can even be persuaded to chase me about. At first BOB regarded me with complete indifference, but now, as long as BALL is not around, he is quite happy to play with me. BOB is a a few years older than me, and his all-time favourite things are not EARS but BALLS and BANANAS. I’m told that BOB is my brother, but we are actually quite different. Yet, despite his complete failure to lend me his ears, Great Uncle Bruce is always very kind and very gentle. His ears are so wonderfully chewy, and, believe me, I have tried to enlighten him on this matter, but to no avail. Would you stand up and walk out on me Lend me your ears and Ill sing you a song I will try not to sing out of key, yeah Oh, baby I get by with a little help from my friends By with a little help from my friends. Great Uncle Bruce is OLD and SMART, yet I am surprised that despite his wisdom and venerable age, he has not yet figured out that YOU CHEW MY EARS AND I CHEW YOURS is the very best game there is. Second only to SKYE’S ears on my FANTASTIC CHEWIES list come those of this guy. All of these are lots of fun, but our favourite game is, of course, YOU CHEW MY EARS AND I CHEW YOURS. I'm gonna tell them all about it, I'm gonna tell. Oh, I'm gonna get on by, yes I'm gonna get on by, my Lord. Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears I come to bury Caesar, not to praise him The evil that men do lives after them, The good is oft interred with their bones, So let it be with. Oh, I'm never gonna stop there, oh (Ah, with a little help from my friends) I'm gonna keep on trying, yeah yeah (Ah, with a little help from my friends) I'm getting high, I'm gonna make time, oh Lord (Ooh) Gonna get by with my friends. Skye likes my ears and she likes playing in the garden just as much as I do! With Skye I enjoy games such as CHASE ME ROUND THE QUINCE BUSH CAN YOU DESTROY WELLINGTON BOOT and CROUCH, BARGE AND LEAP. Weve searched our database for all the quotes and captions related to Lend Me Your Ears. Skye is a mischievous and jolly caramel-coloured cocker spaniel who is a couple of weeks older than me. Human ears make pretty good CHEWIES but the best ears for chewing are those of my good friend, Skye. Personally, I would never bite an ear, but I do like to show those of whom I am fond – whether human or canine – that I like them by chewing at their CHEWY ears. Biting ears is very bad, and, in my book, eating ears verboten. Now, when I say say that ears are CHEWY I do not mean that they are meant for eating, or for biting either. EARS are easily accessible to an intrepid, eager puppy and the best thing about EARS is that they are CHEWY! lend me your ears. As my cats Hoshi and Ami tucked into their breakfast, I. Barely a month into my legal separation from The Ex, and finally on my own for the first time ever, I woke up rested and stress-free in my new apartment. November 25th 1991, a Monday, started like any other weekday. These are the two things that flop about off the side of your head (if you are a dog) or that sit below your glasses (if you are a human). LEND ME YOUR EARS: INSIDE MY HEART IS BREAKING.

#Joe cocker lend me your ears

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jalapenokpoppers · 2 years

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Stray Kids reactions to S/O being an animal lover.

Fluffy fluffy fluff.

Warnings: none. Not proofread I guess.

A/N This. was. So. Cute.

(D/N=Dog’s name)

Chan: Berry, Cavalier King Charles spaniel.

•He’s literally this 😍 emoji whenever he sees you playing with animals.

•Let’s say you two are walking through a park, when a loose dog comes running towards you.

•Not in a mean way, it just wants to play.

•The dog comes up to you, and starts licking you, and nuzzling you.

•*Cue the 😍.*

•The owners come up and start apologizing, while you assure them it’s all right.

•When you’re done talking with the owners, Chan grabs your hand.

•”Where are we going?”

•”Australia. You need to meet Berry.”

Lee Know: Soonie, Doongie, Dori.

•The minute he sees you playing with his cats, you’re going to need to call an ambulance, because boy is dead.

•Just watching the loves of his nine lives life, playing together on the floor.

•uwu.

•Takes so many pictures.

•Buys you all matching sweaters .

•FAMILY PHOTOS WITH HIS KITTIES-

•Apparently Doongie is kind of a brat, and Minho would be so jealous if you got the kitty to snuggle with you.

•”B-but Doongie? Don’t you want to sit with daddy instead?”

•*Cue Doongie hissing from your comfy lap.*

Changbin: none.

•Binnie doesn’t have any animals, but he takes you to Seoul’s bunny café!

•Loves watching the bunnies swarm around you.

•Just watches you coo over the bunnies with a 🥺 face.

•Bends his head towards you.

•”I’m half bunny too.🥺”

•When you pet his head, like you do to the bunnies, he melts.

•He loves to spoil you, so if you ask if you can have a bunny, he’ll buy two for you, since bunnies should be in pairs.

•He acts like he doesn’t really like them, when they’re actually his babies, and he’s so soft for them.

Hyunjin: Kkami, long haired chihuahua.

•Oh boy, oh boy.

•You know that video where Hyunjin is trying to get Kkami to give him a kiss but Kkami is like. 😑

•Yeah, he gets jealous when Kkami gives you kisses, but not him.

•But is also like.

•”Well if Kkami loves them, that means they’re my soulmate.”

•Honestly gets so emotional, because like. Look at his S/O playing with his doggie.

•He finds it so intimate, and domestic.

•If he’s being serious, that’s the moment he realized you’re his forever person.

Han: Bbama, bichon frise.

•Poor guy is allergic to animal fur. :(

•BUT. Good thing bichon frises are hypoallergenic.

•Sits on the floor, playing with you and Bbama.

•Why do I see him as one of those people who loves to smack dog’s bellies.

•Lots of snuggles with the three of you.

•Gets jealous if you spend too much time with his doggo though.

•”Can we cuddle without Bbama for once, Y/N? 🥺”

•”HoW dAre yOu. He iS oUr cHild-“

•Let’s it slide, but doesn’t let Bbama sleep with you two. :(

•He might let him sleep with you guys every once in a while, if you ask him nicely.

Felix: none.

•Two words.

•Puppy cafés.

•Unlike Changbin though, he WON’T buy you an animal.

•Sorry.

•He’ll take you to puppy cafés all you want though.

•Just makes that 😁 smile he does, watching you drink your beverage, and play with doggos.

•Loves to pet one on his lap while watching you.

•Buys you all the animal plushies.

•Names them all for you.

•Your bed is just completely taken taken up by animal plushies now.

Seungmin: none. Daengmo, IKEA golden retriever dog plush.

•Ok but. Cuddling with Seungmin, and his dog plush.

•I know it’s not a real animal but still.

•Seungmin is also a puppy himself

•Pet his head.

•You’re literally his biggest weakness, so if you ask for a puppy he’ll get you one.

•He tells you the dog is all yours, and he’ll have very little to with it, but in the end Seungmin ends up loving the dog more than you love it.

•You didn’t think that was possible.

•Jealous of the attention you give a new puppy though.

•”I need a kiss for every kiss you give the puppy. 🥺”

•Calls it your child.

•omg he’d call you D/N’s mommy.”

•Another dog belly smacker.

Jeongin: none.

•Also won’t buy you a pet, sorry.

•He tells you he’s already your baby who needs lots of attention, so why would you get another one.

•Kitty cafés though.

•Loves the sound of cats meows.

•He can’t explain it, it just calms him.

•Is literally like.

•“That’s my S/O!!”

•Whenever all the kitties swarm to you.

•Tells everyone how good with animals you are.

•Might promise to get you a kitty when you get married.

•And you’re all like.

•”When we what?!”

•And he’s just.🤗

#stray kids #stray kids reactions #stray kids fluff #bang chan #lee know #seo changbin #hwang hyunjin #han jisung #lee felix #kim seungmin #yang jeongin

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doberbutts · 2 years

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cherrykcrunch

I agree with you. But I do not and will not ever trust children or most people (strangers and ones I know) around dogs. Not anymore, not after too many bad experiences trying to set reasonable boundaries for the sake of my dog's wellbeing.

Oh yeah that circles back to my personal responsibility thing. Too many people expect all dogs to be XYZ and do not understand that they cannot treat all dogs (or even most dogs) the way that they think they can. People harass and assault service dog teams for saying not to call to or touch the dog. People run up on and grab dogs they don’t know. People let their stupid untrained dogs go charging up to other dogs. People insist on “letting them say hi”. People encourage their children to stand on, harass, hug, pinch, pull on dogs. People do not understand what actual dog communication looks like. People do not understand that while a dog is certainly a member of our families and households, they are also large predators and should be treated as such. People do not understand that all dogs are predators with teeth that will use them to defend themselves or their resources if they see fit.

Maybe I’m too Ye Olden Days but I remember the days when in kindergarten I was taught what to do if a dog attacks you. That ask I got- I don’t mind it because it’s informative, but like, I can honestly tell you the bulk of that I learned when I was 4 from a coloring book. Also where I learned not to bother service dogs and where I learned how to be respectful and ask before touching a dog I didn’t know. I remember when folks admitted when it was their fault/their kid’s fault when a bite happened. I got bit by my own dog because I took her bone out of her mouth when she told me no. That was my fault. I knew better and had been taught better and decided that I was going to do it anyway. I got bit by a dog on a chain in my babysitter’s backyard. I knew better having been attacked by chained dogs before but he was a GSD and I liked those so I decided to go try to make friends anyway.

However, those are not maulings. Those are snap/release bites and I think a very appropriate response that the dogs should not have been blamed for. A dog that should have been euthanized, and was (with a bullet), was my grandfather’s cocker spaniel who one day decided to maul my mother and her sister as they opened his kennel door to feed him. They both still have scars from that. My grandfather got home from work and saw his daughters bandaging themselves up, asked what dog did it, grabbed his gun, and took care of the problem. I think that was the only responsible choice. The cocker’s response to his owners coming to feed him should not have been to grab and shake the flesh of their arms. That is not an appropriate response and there was no infraction happening to cause it.

#tbh he probably had spaniel rage #red intact male cocker

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kissinginkitchens · 3 years

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You Bring Me Home — Chapter One: Flightless Bird, American Mouth

a/n: I've been working on this story for mooonths now and I'm so excited to finally share it with the world! It's heavily inspired by Harry's Behind the Album mini doc, except I changed the setting to Hawai'i because I've personally spent some time there and as they say, write what you know! YBMH takes place in the period between One Direction's hiatus and Harry's first album/tour, but with that being said, this is entirely a work of fiction and some events don't follow the true timeline. Thank you so much for taking the time to read my little story, I hope you love it as much as I do! It will be updated every Friday at 5 PM PST. My inbox is open, so feel free to talk to me once you've finished reading! I'd love to hear from you :) Much love, Mel <3

Pairing: Hawai'i!Harry x Original Character

Warnings: swearing

Word Count: 5.5k

May, 2016

Harry watches LAX get smaller through the airplane window and visualizes all of his worries stuck at the terminal gate, their magnitude also diminishing as he takes flight. He sinks lower in his seat and skims through playlists on his phone when a nagging feeling at the back of his mind pulls his attention away from the screen. Looking up from the song choices, he spots a cell phone quickly lowered from his line of vision and a girl with flushed cheeks who quickly averts her gaze. Harry shoots a tight-lipped smile in her direction and goes back to his phone with a sigh. The days when he could roam the streets freely without fear of recognition—or worse, harassment—feel like an entirely different lifetime. He sometimes imagines that he’ll wake up back in his childhood bed as if the past five years had all been a dream, but he never does. In fact, his privacy and anonymity seem to dwindle with each minute of radio play that One Direction receives. It’s a bittersweet pill to swallow, but one he hopes will go down easier with some time in the Hawaiian sun.

His close friend and new manager, Jeff Azoff, had suggested the vacation as soon as the band privately agreed to take a hiatus.

“You’ll go home for a few weeks,” his voice had crackled through the speakers of Harry’s phone. “Visit your mom and Gem, lay low for a while until the smoke blows over,”

Harry mulled it over in his mind, eyes flickering over the rolling landscape outside of the tour bus window.

“Then what?”

“Then you go for a little vacation. The label offered to cover a house in Hawaii so you can start working on the album,”

“Alone?”

Jeff chuckled lightly on the other end before responding. “I mean, if that’s what you want,”

“No,” Harry corrected. “You and Tom should come. Mitch and Bhasker, too,”

“The dream team,”

“And there’ll be a studio there?”

“Yes,” Jeff started, almost hesitant. “But I don’t want you to think about that too much,”

“But you said the label—"

“I also said vacation. Look, Rob said ‘it will all happen in due time,' did he not?”

Harry twisted the rose ring around his finger, tracing over the silver petals and thinking back to his conversation with the CEO of Sony Music, Rob Stringer. Upon the proposal of his debut solo album, Rob had told him that the most important ingredient for a successful debut would be patience. The singer had agreed in the moment, but every day not spent in the studio felt like a test he hadn’t studied hard enough for.

“Yeah.”

“So you take the free vacation,” Jeff suggested. “You go out, live, get some writing material. Maybe mess around with some tunes. And then we come back to L.A. and get to work. But until then, I just want you to focus on taking it easy.”

So take it easy he had. Or at least he had tried to when he was back home in England. Harry quickly grew restless after what felt like the millionth awkward conversation with past friends and acquaintances, all of which eventually led to the topic of One Direction and it’s unexpected hiatus. After one month at home, his mind and journal were full of ideas for songs, things that he wanted to say before he lost his nerve. One night as he tossed and turned in bed, he shot Jeff a text, just two words that would kick off a three month getaway to the Big Island of Hawai'i:

I’m ready.

********

“Sounds great, I'll go put in your order.” Alani offers sweetly, trying not to overdo it with the customer service voice. After waiting on the family at her designated table, she heads back to the kitchen and finds her younger sister, Pua, crouched in the corner taking what appears to be a serious phone call.

“I don’t know, I just saw it!” Her sister cries in a hushed tone. “Where do you think he’s going?”

“Is everything okay?” Alani cuts in with concern.

Pua whispers into the speaker before bringing the phone to her shoulder.

“Harry Styles was just spotted on a plane this morning,”

“Who?”

“The guy from One Direction,” her sister explains with a hint of irritation in her voice. “The band who sings that song you secretly like, ‘Fireproof,'”

Alani vaguely recalls the melody, but she waits expectantly for Pua to elaborate. “And this is news because…”

“Because the band just broke up, so where could he possibly be going?”

"The unemployment office?”

Pua rolls her eyes and returns to her phone call while Alani envelops her in a tight hug.

“I’m just kidding!” Alani apologizes, squeezing tighter despite her sister’s attempts to break free. “I’m sure he’ll be living off of royalty checks until he’s, like, eighty,”

“Get off me, freak!” Pua cries out, finally breaking the embrace.

Alani clutches her chest and pulls out an invisible knife. “Ouch. I’m telling Harry you said that,”

“This is exactly why I don’t tell you things.” the younger sister huffs, storming out of the kitchen through the employee entrance where Alani’s best friend, Maleah, has just arrived.

“Looks like someone forgot to eat their Cheerios today,” she remarks, tying her curls into a high ponytail.

Alani shrugs and leans against the counter. “She’s going through something. Just discovered that boys in pop bands are, in fact, just regular boys.”

“Poor thing,” Maleah frowns. “We all have to learn eventually.”

********

The sky is a blend of cotton candy pink and burnt orange when Alani returns home from the café with a strawberry smoothie in tow. She empties the mailbox and sorts through the various bills and advertisements, but her stomach drops when she sees a familiar return address label. After a quick greeting to her excited dog who waits at the door, Alani bolts up the stairs and quietly shuts the bedroom door behind her. Breathe, she reminds herself before tearing into the envelope and discarding it onto the wooden floor.

Dear Ms. Hale,

We are very grateful to have received your submission to Rolling Stone magazine. However, we regret to inform you—

She doesn’t read the rest, slumping to the floor in defeat. The sixth rejection letter from Rolling Stone lies crumpled at Alani’s feet and she kicks it across the room with a frustrated grunt. She had worked for over two months perfecting her analysis of Joni Mitchell’s Big Yellow Taxi and its allusions to the environmental impact of urban development in Hawaii. As part of her initial research, Alani had even traveled to both the Royal Hawaiian hotel in Honolulu, which is the famous Pink Hotel mentioned in the song, and Foster Botanical Garden that Mitchell referred to as “the tree museum.” She was certain that her effort and persistence would result in at least a consideration. The second third time's the charm! Maleah had joked watching Alani submit the piece. Six articles in the span of two years, each one facing the same rejection despite the increased effort Alani had put in over time. The fact that the rejection letter hadn’t changed over the course of the two years brings an incredulous smile to her face, and her stomach turns when she considers that the editors probably hadn’t even read her work, anyway. All that effort, she thinks to herself, all that time, for nothing.

“It will take time,” her favorite professor, Dr. Hudson, had reassured her three months after the Joni Mitchell article was submitted. “Every great writer faced countless rejection until that one piece. Yours will come. Keep your eyes open and your pen ready.”

Alani sighs and lifts herself off the floor, choosing to crawl into her unmade bed instead of slumping onto the hardwood. She hears a soft scratching at the door before her King Charles Spaniel, Freddie, pads into the room.

“Come here, bubs,” Alani whispers. He obeys and burrows into the duvet, giving her temple a gentle lick before nuzzling into the nape of her neck.

“You still love me, right?” she asks, voice cracking. “Even if I’m a failure?”

Freddie sniffs her ear in response.

********

“Right,” Harry says, his tongue peeking from the corner of his mouth as he reads the map. “No, left, sorry,”

“Do you actually know how to read a map?” Jeff teases, correcting the turn.

Harry pouts in response, his brows furrowing. “In my defense, we’re literally in the middle of fucking nowhere,”

“There are worse places to be,” Mitch pipes up from the back seat. “England, for example, where they say things like ‘litchrally’,”

“Very well said, Mitchell,” Jeff Bhasker adds with a fake British accent of his own.

Harry turns to his friends in the back seat with a finger pointed like an agitated mother. “If you lot don’t shut up, I’m gonna lead us to a volcano and push you in,”

“Where are we even going? I forgot,” Tom complains.

“To get food,” his manager responds from the driver’s seat. “I think,”

“Why can’t we just stop there?” Mitch asks pointing to a café pulling up on their right.

Jeff merges into the turning lane quickly without a second thought. “Good enough for me, I’m starving.”

“Sorry, H.” Mitch pats his friend on the shoulder.

Harry scoffs. “You’re the one who wanted poke.”

The Aloha Nui Loa Café is much more spacious than the exterior suggests, yet it still feels cozy. The walls are painted sage green and adorned with various local art pieces, as described by the plaques that accompany them. A skylight fills the center of the room with plenty of warm lighting, leaving the space along the walls in a bit more shade for an intimate feel. In one corner, a hanging disco ball leaves freckles of sparkling light along the walls where the sunlight hits, making the whole image very idyllic in Harry’s mind. As if he couldn’t enjoy the setting more, he hears the beginning of an Otis Redding song that he’s had stuck in his head drift through the restaurant speakers.

“Welcome in!” a voice calls, which pulls him from his survey of the room. His head whips to the source—a girl around his age with wavy, dark hair and honey skin. “For here or to go?”

Harry takes a hesitant step up to the counter. “For here,”

She smiles warmly and pulls some menus from under the counter. “How many in your party?”

“Five.”

“Great, follow me.”

Harry and his friends follow the waitress to the corner of the room under the disco ball and take their seats at the round table.

“My name is Alani,” she introduces herself, setting the menus down. “I’ll be serving you today. Can I get you started with some drinks?”

Harry continues scanning the restaurant while his group orders. His eyes land on the shirt that Alani is wearing, a white tee with the words “Enjoy Health, Eat Your Honey” in blue lettering that surrounds a picture of a cartoon bee.

“Harry,” Jeff says gently, catching his drifting attention.

The singer turns to his manager, who nods to Alani waiting with a pen pressed to her notepad. Harry feels a rush of embarrassment creep across his cheeks and he clears his throat to cover it.

“Just water,” he says, eyes glued to the menu. “Thanks.”

“You got it.” Alani nods, flashing a toothy grin at the rest of the group before turning back to the kitchen. Harry. Her mind repeats, finding a hint of familiarity, though she doesn’t know why.

When Alani arrives at the drink station, she finds her sister staring at her, mouth agape, while Maleah unsuccessfully conceals her laughter.

“What?” she questions, checking herself for any embarrassing stains or smells.

“You were—and he—” Pua stammers. “He was—and then he—”

“That’s Harry Styles,” Maleah translates, her voice hushed as she peers over her friend's shoulder.

Alani turns to steal a glance at the table she just seated, but Pua and Maleah latch onto her and shake their heads frantically.

“Don’t look!” her sister hisses.

Alani smirks, amused at their reactions. “No shit. That’s One Direction?”

Maleah snorts, clasping a hand over her mouth as Pua huffs. “No, dumbass! It’s just Harry. I don’t know who the other guys are,”

“But the blonde guy? That’s not—?”

“No!” Pua and Maleah giggle in unison.

“Okay, geez,” Alani relents. She manages to steal a quick glance at the table over her shoulder, immediately searching for Harry. Her eyes scan over the long, curly hair kept out of his face by a pair of white sunglasses that she had seen on Kurt Cobain once. All of his features are sharp and striking, from his pointed nose and defined jawline to the bright blue eyes. Or maybe they were grey? Alani wonders, trying to remember the exact shade. He doesn’t look anything like the fresh-faced teeny bopper she’d had in mind, the one from a music video her sister had shown her a long time ago. She would have never guessed that the What Makes You Beautiful singer had so much dark ink trailing down his bicep and forearm, though her knowledge of One Direction was very limited.

“What did he order?” Pua questions, her eyes wide.

Alani quickly snaps back to reality and resumes filling the drinks. “A water,”

“Oh my god,” Maleah swoons. “I’m never drinking anything else ever again,”

“I didn’t even know you liked him,” Alani teases with an eyebrow raised.

Maleah sneaks another peek at the table and catches her lower lip between her teeth. “I mean, I didn’t really think so either but look at him. What a fucking dream,”

Harry was objectively handsome, this Alani could admit, but she personally didn’t see the appeal and had a strong feeling that he was just like every other male celebrity. The fact that he hadn’t even bothered to make eye contact with her only served as further proof of what she knew to be true.

“Okay, well, your dreamboat is waiting for his water. So excuse me,” Alani winks, making her way back to the table.

The singer spots Alani returning out of the corner of his eye and the sight of her causes a strange flutter in the pit of his stomach that makes him want to duck for cover. Instead, he pulls his phone from his back pocket and pretends to be occupied with something on the screen.

“Okay,” she greets, setting the drink tray down. “I have a Blue Hawaii, a Mango Mama, two Loco Cocos, and a water,”

The group graciously accepts their drinks with a chorus of “thank you," but the only one under Alani’s scrutiny is Harry. He still doesn’t meet her almond eyes, and though she figured he wouldn’t, she can’t help the inkling of disappointment that washes over her. After taking their meal orders, Alani heads back to the kitchen, checking on her other customers along the way. Harry’s eyes follow her and he observes the way customers light up at her presence, indulging her conversation with laughter. He watches as she lingers by the jukebox in one corner of the room, a detail he had missed in his initial scan, and waits anxiously to see what song she chooses. Baby I’m-a Want You begins softly and Harry feels the corner of his lip curl ever so slightly. Good choice, he thinks.

********

“He’s still here,” Pua muses, peering through the tiny window in the kitchen door. It had been nearly two hours and the five men were still seated around their table cracking jokes and doing a lot of talking with their hands.

Alani doesn’t look up from her bowl of sliced kiwis, offering a hum in response. “And what do you want me to do about that?”

“Nothing,” Pua shoots back. “Don’t bother him,”

“What kind of girls do you think he’s into?” Maleah asks, attempting to peek through the window.

Alani shrugs, bored of the conversation and of thinking about Harry. “I don’t know, but I’ll bet he’s a real sucker for the ones who stalk him while he’s eating,”

“How does he make eating a salad look hot?”

“Can we talk about something else now?” Alani whines, poking holes in a lone kiwi with her fork.

Pua tosses a wet dish rag in her sister’s direction and cheers when it lands in her face. “Go see if he wants more water, he looks thirsty.”

“I already refilled it,” Alani defends. “Twenty minutes ago. I’ve refilled it a hundred times, I’m surprised he hasn’t peed his pants.”

I’m gonna piss myself. Harry thinks, his right leg bouncing to distract himself. He really wasn’t all that thirsty, but he couldn’t stop himself from finishing each glass of water that Alani placed in front of him. He really wasn’t all that thirsty, but he couldn’t stop himself from finishing each glass of water that Alani placed in front of him. Like clockwork, she would return to fill his glass almost as soon as the last drop had been drained, and so what began as a little experiment slowly turned into a bladder hazard. But if the trend was to be trusted, she would be back any minute and he wasn’t going to miss it; afterall, there were only so many ways to casually linger in a small café without making it weird. Unable to bear it any longer, he heads to the restroom and hopes that Alani doesn’t clear their table before he has a chance to see her again.

Harry pads down the back hallway with his eyes cast down at the floor, which proves to be a mistake when he walks directly into another person.

“Sorry!” they both apologize quickly, Harry’s palm taking purchase on the other person’s upper arm.

“I wasn’t paying attention,” he offers, finally meeting the dark, mocha eyes already looking back at him.

Alani presses her lips into a tight smile. “Me either,”

Harry’s heartbeat picks up when he realizes it’s her, and he isn’t aware of how close they’re standing until he detects the faint scent of kiwi on her breath. He takes a step back and rakes a hand through his hair.

“So I guess I’ll just—”

“Yeah, sure.”

Green. Alani notes to herself. His eyes are green.

********

Shortly after Harry returned from the restroom, him and his friends settled their bill and headed out. Alani cleared their table and her eyes nearly fell out of her head when she saw the hefty tip left behind. The word mahalo was also left behind on the receipt, underlined twice, and she wondered if it was his handwriting.

Later that night, she settled into bed with her laptop and hesitantly typed his name into Google. As she expected, countless articles about the split of One Direction emerged, most of them speculating what was next for each member. To her surprise, however, Harry’s name seemed to be mentioned more than his fellow bandmates as various sources labeled him “the next Justin Timberlake” and rising star of the group. Upon further investigation, she learned that the demand for information about the elusive Harry Styles was high, especially concerning any possible solo music. No news had yet been confirmed by Styles himself, nor anyone claiming to represent him, but she still wondered if his presence in Hawaii had anything to do with a possible solo project. Almost as soon as she thought it, Alani dismissed the theory in favor of the idea that he was most likely just taking a vacation. And from the buzz that she saw surrounding the news about One Direction, she couldn’t blame him.

The more Alani read, the more she wanted to know, and something deep down told her that his was a story worth telling. Of course, the only problem was that she had hardly talked to him, and there were only so many things she could say about the fifteen glasses of water he downed. There was no way of knowing if she would ever see him again, either, or if he was merely stopping in Hilo on his way to another island or somewhere else entirely. Alani sighed, thinking back to her most recent rejection from Rolling Stone. She knew that there was no possible way she would ever see or talk to Harry ever again, and even if she did, why would he bare his entire soul to a stranger? Still, she let her mind wander through the possibility.

Dear Ms. Hale, the letter would read, we are very grateful to have received your submission to Rolling Stone magazine and are pleased to inform you that your piece on Harry Styles will be featured in next month’s issue. Additionally, we would be honored to have you on staff, effective immediately.

It was far-fetched, Alani knew this, but she dozed off that night with endless ideas swimming in her head.

********

By the third day after his visit, the only trace of Harry is in Alani’s search history. She would have completely forgotten about him if it weren’t for her sister’s constant reminiscing and multiple attempts to rename the house salad to the “Harry Special.” As a result, a part of Alani’s thoughts periodically linger back to that day and the subsequent hours spent on Google that she’d rationalized as research instead of stalking. Somehow the knowledge that she’ll never see him again only adds fuel to the questions still burning in her mind, but a customer clearing their throat while she sorts menus below the hostess podium interrupts her thoughts.

“Welcome in!” She calls, standing. “What can I—”

She stops in her tracks, unable to believe her eyes. Harry blinks and waits for her to continue.

“What can I get started for you?” Alani tries again, hoping that he hadn’t noticed her shock. Luckily for her, Harry had been too focused on choosing his next words to register her mistake.

“What’s in the Honu smoothie?” he asks, mentally kicking himself for asking such a stupid question when the menu just inches above her head clearly spells it out.

Alani hums, thinking back to the times she had made the smoothie herself. “Kiwis, spinach, mango, avocado, and a hint of lime,”

“I’ll take one of those,” Harry says, reaching for his wallet.

Alani punches in the order with trembling fingers and nods. “For here or to go?”

“To go,”

Disappointment fills her chest. Sure, she hadn’t planned on seeing him ever again, but the fact that she did felt like a sign. If she wanted to take the chance, she’d have to do it fast.

“Anything else?” she asks, weighing her options while he skims the menu.

“No thanks.”

Alani makes the smoothie quickly, head spinning. She had spent most of the night after their initial meeting planning out exactly the type of questions she hoped to ask him and what kind of article she would write. She was used to writing about what she knew—artists and music she’d admired for years— but she figured that starting fresh with someone she hardly knew would be a good challenge. Not to mention that it seemed like just the thing Rolling Stone would jump for. Alani finally works up the courage as she finishes his smoothie, but when she returns to hand it to him and hopefully strike up a conversation, his ear is pressed to his cell phone. She holds out the drink and he graciously accepts, giving her a small nod as a “thank you” and rushing out of the restaurant.

Two days later he returns and is seated at the counter, typing away on his phone. Alani feels both a rush of optimism and annoyance at the universe for dangling his presence so unexpectedly. She starts heading over to him, but Maleah cuts in.

“Trade me?” she proposes, eyes wide.

Alani blinks. “Oh, I would but I—”

“Please,” her best friend pouts. “I’m leaving to see my grandparents in stupid California for two months. Who knows when I’ll get the chance to see him again?”

Alani sighs, but gives in, reluctantly exchanging Harry for the family of four seated by the window. A strange feeling settles into the pit of his stomach when he sees that she heads in the opposite direction after a hushed conversation with another waitress. He doesn’t know why she traded him for a different customer, but he takes the hint.

A week goes by without another sighting of Harry and Alani has permanently taken on the role of greeting hostess in hopes of seeing him again. Her heartbeat temporarily speeds up when she sees a long haired customer approach the door, but her spirits quickly fall when the face doesn’t match his.

Another week brings another disappointing realization that Harry might be gone for good. One rainy morning when the restaurant is quiet and only two customers huddle together in a booth near the back, Alani hunches over the hostess podium and doodles on a stray receipt— a sunflower, a crescent moon, and two hearts. The bell above the door jingles but she doesn’t look up, too absorbed in her scribbles.

“Do you serve coffee?”

The familiar accented voice stops Alani’s pen dead in its tracks. She lifts her eyes first to confirm, and then straightens up when she sees that her ears haven’t deceived her.

“Yes,” she swallows.

“Great. I’ll take it to go,”

She slightly deflates, but Harry thinks he’s reading too much into it.

“Actually,” he corrects anyway, just in case he isn’t. “I think I’ll stay for a while,”

Alani flashes a warm smile and nods in the direction of the counter. “Right this way,”

Harry sheds his windbreaker onto the back of the seat, revealing a black and white Rolling Stones t-shirt that makes Alani’s blood pressure rise. A sign, she thinks.

“What do you want in your coffee?” she questions carefully.

“Nothing,” he responds, shaking out his damp hair gently. “Or actually, uh, butter...if you have some,”

Alani blinks, not sure if she’d heard correctly or if there had been some transatlantic miscommunication.

“Butter?”

“Yeah,”

“Like the—”

“Spread, yeah,” Harry confirms. “It’s weird, I know,”

She lets out a light-hearted laugh and nods. “It’s a...unique request,”

“I thought the same thing at first,” Harry confides. “It’s not bad, actually. But maybe I’ve just been in L.A. for too long.”

“I’ll take your word for it.”

She offers a polite smile and heads to the kitchen where the cook and two other waiters talk amongst each other. Alani is grateful that the restaurant is slow this morning because she knows that it means minimal interruptions to her time with Harry. To ensure this, though, she asks one of the other waiters to cover the podium and returns to Harry with his coffee.

“One butter coffee, free of judgement,” the waitress announces, setting it down.

Harry grins softly, stirring the drink with the spoon Alani provided. “You can judge, it’s alright,”

“I just wanna know why,”

The coffee had been part of a fad diet while on tour in order to boost Harry’s energy on stage and stay trim for the hundreds of photo-ops he would be a part of. He doesn’t know how to communicate all of this to Alani, however, not sure how much she knows about that part of him, so he shrugs and tells a simplified version of the truth.

“I read about this trend a while back, it's called bulletproof coffee. Supposed to get your energy up and I needed it for my job,”

“Which is…” Alani trails off, downplaying the knowledge that she had acquired from Google.

“I make music,” is all Harry says and he takes a sip of the drink to avoid elaborating.

“Anything I would have heard?”

He swallows hard and listens to the faint rumbling of thunder outside before replying. “Possibly,”

“Try me,” Alani challenges.

He narrows his eyes and takes another sip of coffee. “Why don’t you tell me something about yourself first?”

“What do you wanna know?”

Everything, Harry responds internally, though he reigns it in. “How you got into waitressing,”

Alani sighs, resting her elbows on the counter across from him. “There’s not much to tell, it’s a family business. What I really wanna do is write,”

“Music?”

“Articles. I’m studying Journalism at UH,”

Harry hums in response, filing the detail away in the back of his mind. “Sounds interesting. You ever publish anything?”

“Not yet,” Alani shakes her head gently, toying with the sleeves of her green University of Hawaii crewneck. “Hopefully soon, though,”

Harry racks his brain for something else to say, but before he can, Alani speaks up again.

“Is it my turn to ask something now?”

He offers a curt nod and stirs his coffee.

“What kind of music do you write?”

Harry chooses to be vague again. “Different stuff. Pop, usually. Been messing with some classic rock, though,”

“Explains the shirt,”

He peers down at the design on his tee and agrees. “Yeah, I guess so,”

“Do you like it?” Alani asks, her eyes begging to make contact with his again. “Writing music, I mean,”

“Yeah,” Harry confirms, tapping his spoon against the rim of the mug. “I really do,”

Alani’s heart pounds. This is her chance, a moment to finally secure her breakthrough piece. She doesn’t know how to approach it, so she opts to dive right in without looking back. The worst he can say is no.

“Can I ask you something else?”

“That’s cheating,” Harry teases lightly. “It's my turn,”

She pouts playfully, but obliges. “Fire away,”

Harry doesn’t know which question to ask first, but when he glances down at the crescent moon inked on her wrist, he decides to start there.

“What’s with the moon tattoo?”

Alani isn’t sure what she expected him to ask and wonders what purpose such a detail could possibly serve him, but she answers anyway.

“Oh, well,” she begins, tracing her index finger over the outline. “It’s kinda the meaning of my full name. It’s Mahealani, Hawaiian for ‘heavenly moon,'”

Fitting, Harry comments to himself. Every detail he learns about her makes him want to learn that much more, from her favorite foods to the last thing she thinks about before falling asleep. Studying her expectant eyes, he suddenly remembers that it’s his turn to respond.

“That’s cool,” is all he says.

Alani doesn’t know what to make of the faraway look in his eye, but she decides to pose her most burning question while he appears to be in good spirits.

“I know this is gonna sound totally out of the blue,” she starts, working past the lump in her throat. “But when you mentioned how you write music, I was just reminded of this assignment I’m working on in my class,”

Harry waits for her to continue, nursing his now lukewarm coffee.

“I’m supposed to write a piece about someone who I don’t know that well,” she continues. “You know, to practice our interviewing skills. And, well, I was just kind of wondering if you might be interested in helping me out—being the subject, I mean,”

Alani had every intention of telling Harry the truth, about how she really planned to submit the article to Rolling Stone in hopes of securing an internship before her college graduation next Spring. But as she started speaking, she quickly realized how it would come off: a complete stranger asking for personal information to submit to a well-known publication. She knew that there was a chance he would shut down and never return, so she lowered the stakes and hoped that this route would be less risky. Was it ethical? Alani hadn’t decided yet, but she would work out the details later. After six failed articles and two years of rejection, she saw a ray of hope and wasn’t going to let it slip away.

Harry ponders her offer for a moment, which confirms that she had recognized him. Normally he would be off-put by such a request, and to a certain extent he is, but there is something sincere in her voice that he trusts deep down. Before he agrees, however, he decides to fish around a bit to test her reaction.

“You know who I am,” he says gently. “Don’t you?”

Alani’s heart drops into the pit of her stomach, not sure what to say next. She hopes with every fiber of her being that she hasn’t upset him, or worse, ruined her chances, so she decides to offer some truth to throw him off her scent.

“My sister recognized you,” she explains. “That day you came in with your friends. I thought they were your bandmates at first,”

This lets Harry know that she isn’t a total stalker, which is comforting, but he wouldn’t have been minded if she were a fan simply engaging in conversation.

“Oh,” he laughs weakly.

“I totally understand if you say no,” Alani offers quickly, trying to smooth things over. “I just thought it was worth a shot. And that it might be more interesting than interviewing our produce guy,”

Harry decides to give her one last scan for any sign of insincerity. He’d always felt that his gut instinct was strong and it hadn’t led him astray thus far.

“An interview?” he clarifies.

“Just one,” Alani promises. “An hour, tops. And you can proofread all of it once I’ve finished, too.”

Harry waits a beat, already knowing his reply, but he wants to see how she will react to his silence. She doesn’t budge, almond eyes set and determined.

“Okay.”

next chapter

#harry styles #harry styles fanfiction #harry styles writing #harry styles x oc #harry styles fluff #harry styles fanfic #harry styles fic #ybmh #she's here she's here she's here!!!!!

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