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#(except the fm the fm is fine.)
fooltofancy · 2 months
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oh, it's fucked fucked.
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withwritersblock · 5 days
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Oh! Darling
~Oh! Darling by The Beatles~
Author's Note: requested, it didn't fully fill the request as much as I wanted, I apologize but it's a long one :)italics are flashback as always. also insanely unedited I never edit anything I post so Summary: Quinn and Y/N have a suprise pregnancy Warnings: swearing, I think that's all Word Count: 6,236 Quinn Hughes x fm!reader
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July
It was normal for her cycle to be inconsistent, ever since her first ever period she was inconsistent. It would be a week early, a week late, nothing more. Except right now she was a week and two days late. 
She wasn’t freaking out until Quinn came home with hot chocolate and a pack of tampons. It was normal for him to just casually buy the products for her. They’ve been together since they were fifteen years old, so of course it was a part of their routine. She moved to Vancouver with him his rookie year and they’ve never looked back. 
Here they were sitting on their bathroom floor together waiting for the two minute timer to go off. Her head was against her knees as he was staring blankly towards the floor. After a few scares they have had over the years, she’s kept a few pregnancy tests in their bathroom. They weren’t trying to get pregnant but after nine years together, they were becoming less and less careful.
She lifted her head, turning her gaze towards Quinn watching him count on his fingers. She furrowed her eyebrows harshly while taking in a sharp breath. “What are you doing?” she asked barely above a whisper.
He met her eye, before he had a chance to answer the timer went off. Quinn turned it off as he maintained eye contact. He took a deep breath, “Ready?” he asked barely above a whisper. She clenched her jaw as she continued looking into his gaze. She nodded very subtly and Quinn reached towards the counter. He took a hold of the test, keeping it face down. 
His hands were shaking, she glanced down and took a hold of his hand holding the pregnancy test. He took a deep breath as she slowly pulled her hand away, he spun it around. Clear as day, it wrote Pregnant. It was impossible to miss. A gasp left her throat. 
He lowered the test to the floor as a small smile formed to his lips, he shifted his gaze towards her. He saw the tears starting to fall from her eyes but the smile on her lips. “I didn’t think-” she trailed off while she turned and met his gaze. The smile on his lips and the nervous laughter that left his lips answered the question she had.
He leaned towards her wrapping his arms around her, he swallowed hard before he breathed out, “We’re having a baby.”
After a few seconds she pulled away, a harsh frown on her lips. “What’s wrong?” he asked, his hand delicately placed on her thigh.
“Oh god,” she muttered out, “The baby’s gonna be born right before playoffs, oh no,” she let out. Her breath began to quicken as she stood up from the floor. He watched her walk out of the bathroom. Quinn cleared his throat as he took a hold of the test, he stared towards the positive test. He took a deep breath as he stood up from the floor. He placed the test onto the counter as he followed her out of the bathroom.
“It’ll be fine, we’ll worry about it when it comes,” he expressed as found her pacing their bedroom. He stopped her by stepping in her path. He watched her lips quiver as she scanned his features. A smile formed onto his lips as he took a hold of her hips. “We’re having a baby,” he let out again as he looked deeply into her eyes. 
“We’re having a baby,” she repeated as she quickly wrapped her arms around his neck, he lifted her up as he spun her slowly. 
October
Their last appointment was too early to tell the sex of the baby and they didn’t want to make a huge deal on the reveal. It didn’t matter to them, they were going to be excited regardless. They were sitting in the lobby, praying that no one would recognize Quinn. They have yet to tell their families as they were worried it would be too early and something would go wrong.
It has been impossible not to say anything to his brothers. He speaks to Jack every day and it has almost slipped out of his mouth multiple times. When he did speak to Luke, he tried to leave him alone during his rookie year, he would nearly let it slip too. 
Y/N struggled to keep it quiet from her parents since she called them at least once a day. They would always ask about what’s new in her life but she managed to keep it secret. Her sister on the other hand is the only other person that knows. Her sister, Isabella, was visiting the following week after they found out.
It was too early to mention the pregnancy as she was barely seven weeks along, she found out quite late. She had no idea how she was going to manage to keep it a secret from her sister for five days. Y/N was working the morning Isabella had landed in Vancouver. Which led to Quinn being the one to go pick her up and bring her back to the apartment. Which they were planning on moving out of. 
Y/N always expressed how much she loved the apartment she was in. It was a one bedroom apartment with two bathrooms. It was perfect until they found out they were having a baby. They decided on moving into a bigger apartment suited for family life. It was evident that they were moving by the pile of boxes in the trunk of Quinn’s car and by the state of their apartment. 
Quinn spent the whole drive avoiding the topic of what the use of the second bedroom would be. He kept saying that they were starting to get more people to visit and that’s why they needed a second bedroom. However, Isabella was completely convinced that Y/N was pregnant. 
She was obviously right, but Quinn had explicit instructions to deny, deny, deny. Except Isabella was extremely nosey. Quinn was pulling out the coffee table, prepping the pull-out sofa for her to sleep on; when Isabella walked out of their bathroom.
“Are you going to keep lying to me or just tell me?” she questioned as she was holding the ziplock baggie that held two positive pregnancy tests. Quinn lifted his head, his mouth fell open. He chuckled dryly.
“You went through our drawers?” he let out a smirk on his lips. 
“I forgot a toothbrush,” she said as she shook the baggy, “I was looking for a spare one!” she defended. Quinn stood up from the floor as he walked towards Isabella.
“You know, Y/N’s gonna kill me,” he mumbled as he took the baggy from her hand. He stared towards it, an instant smile formed to his lips. “We were going to wait to tell anyone until it was further along in the pregnancy,” he explained. He lifted his gaze as he met Isabella’s eye. 
“How far long?” Isabella asked excitedly. 
“We don’t know yet, we have a doctor’s appointment in a couple days. We’ve only known for a week,” he explained as the front door opened. Y/N jogged inside excitedly. A frown instantly appeared to her lips seeing Quinn holding the pregnancy tests and her sister standing right there. His eyes widened, “She went snooping!” he accused, childishly pointing a finger towards Isabella. 
Isabella gasped as she smacked her hand lightly against Quinn’s arm.
Y/N rested her head nervously on Quinn’s shoulder. He leaned his head against her arm as he reached over and interlocked his hand with hers. “Isabella thinks we’re having a boy,” she whispered. He smiled softly as he ran his thumb across the top of her hand. 
“I wouldn’t be surprised,” he mumbled, “My mom gave up on having a girl after Lukey,” he let out a soft chuckle.
“My mom gave up on having a boy after Isabella,” she replied. 
Before Quinn could reply the ultrasound tech stepped into the lobby with a clipboard in her hand. “Y/N Y/L/N.” the tech lifted her gaze to see Quinn sitting down. Her eyes widened slightly at that moment. 
Y/N perked upward as her and Quinn both stood up and walked side by side to the back of the office. It took ten minutes before she was on the table, awaiting the freezing gel and the results of the scan. Quinn sat closely to her as he scanned her features. Y/N was staring towards the empty ultrasound screen as the gel was placed on her skin.
Quinn delicately leaned closer as the screen lit up, showing the gray image of the growing baby. The ultrasound tech smiled excitedly as she pointed towards the screen, “That’s your baby,” she said pointing a manicured finger along the outline of the baby. 
Quinn smiled softly as he felt his breath caught in his throat. Your baby. It was still so hard to believe. Y/N kept a small smile as she watched the screen, her heart was beating quickly. It was getting more real every appointment. 
Quinn squeezed Y/N’s hand, she shifted her gaze towards him. He winked towards her as she shifted her gaze back towards the screen. 
It took another ten minutes before the doctor came in. He quickly sat down, rubbing hand sanitizer all over his hands as he smiled towards the pair. 
“We’re just going to do a general check-up on how the baby is doing and are we finding out the sex of the baby today as well?” he asked. They both nodded excitedly. Y/N was always super nervous every time she was at the appointment. “Alright,” he let out as he pulled gloves on his hands as he rolled closer to the table. 
Y/N held her breath as the doctor put more of the gel onto her growing bump. It took a few seconds before the screen popped up as the doctor rolled the wand over her stomach. It was silent as they stared towards the screen together. Quinn squeezed her hand as he shifted his gaze towards Y/N. He loved the joy on her face.
“Alright, healthy heartbeat. Healthy size for eighteen weeks and now I’m gonna check for the sex of the baby,” the doctor said while raising his eyebrows. Y/N held her breath as she tried to see what the doctor was seeing. Quinn kept his gaze on Y/N.
“Congratulations you are having a girl,” the doctor said as he shifted his gaze towards the pair. Quinn’s mouth fell open as a nervous laugh left his lips. Y/N pouted her lips as she began to tear up. She turned her head to meet Quinn’s gaze. The doctor quickly wiped the gel from her stomach, “We’ve got a few paperwork things that we have to file, but you guys will be out of here in a moment,” he said before he stepped out of the room.
Once they were alone, Quinn leaned towards her kissing her. He rested his hand onto her cheek, “Oh my god,” he mumbled against her lips.
~
It was becoming too real and too hard to keep secret from their families. They wanted to wait until his brothers and parents would be in town for the Hughes Bowl but it would be way too long by then. 
Telling them over FaceTime was not ideal but they lived in a whole different country and timezone from their families. Y/N’s parents fell in love with Quinn the second she brought him home. Her mom was asking about baby names the second they moved in together. Her dad also loved Quinn because he didn’t have any sons of his own. In a way over the last nine years, he learned to love Quinn like a son.
“Why can’t we just wait until Christmas?” Y/N let out nervously. Quinn took a hold of the chair and pulled it closer to him, he shifted his frame to face her. He rested his hands onto her thighs.
“I think our parents would be sad that we didn’t tell them sooner, You’ll be-what- almost thirty weeks? They’ll be happy no matter how we tell them,” he comforted. She tilted her head to the side as she frowned slightly. 
“I can’t hug my mom after telling her,” she mumbled. Quinn pouted as he ran his hand across the fabric of her pants. 
“I know but they are all coming for Christmas, you can see her then,” he muttered, trying to be comforting but it was a difficult situation. His laptop began ringing, alerting them of a FaceTime call from her mother. He leaned towards her delicately kissing her cheek before he answered the FaceTime.
Tilted her head back, swallowing hard. “Hi guys! What’s going on?” her mother said excitedly. Her dad was standing behind her mother, resting his hands on the back of the chair. Her mother’s face fell, “Oh no, what’s wrong?” 
“Oh nothing, we’re okay-great actually,” Quinn explained, knowing that Y/N was a bit paralyzed to speak. Her mother quite literally let out a sigh of relief. Quinn soothingly ran his hand up and down her lower back. He turned his gaze towards her and she kept staring blankly towards the screen. “Honey,” he whispered. 
She blinked rapidly as she looked deeply into his eyes for a few seconds before she looked back towards the computer. Her mouth opened and shut for a few seconds before she met her mom’s gaze through the computer. She knew, she had to know already. 
“We’re having a baby,” Y/N blurted out. 
Her mother simply smiled as she began to cry, happily. Her dad leaned away from his grip on the chair. A smile on his face, he walked away. “Wow,” her mother let out. 
Quinn pulled his lips between his teeth as he held his breath.
“How far long?” her mother questioned. Y/N’s lips quivered.
“Eighteen weeks, we wanted to wait until it was safer to say anything,” 
“Oh of course, honey, this is incredible news!”  her mother expressed as she covered her mouth with her hands. She stood up and turned around and hugged her husband. Y/N looked towards Quinn, teary eyed. 
“Does Bella know?” her father asked as he walked towards the camera, his eyes were teary. She’s never seen her father cry, let alone happy tears. 
Quinn started laughing nervously. “Isabella had a hunch when she came to visit and snooped around our apartment until she found proof,” Y/N explained as she stared towards the camera. 
Her dad rolled his eyes, “Of course she did!” 
They spoke on the phone for several more minutes, leaving out the sex of the baby. They still wanted to have a little announcement during Christmas. It was now Quinn’s turn and he was terrified. His parents loved Y/N and were happy that Quinn was happy. They probably would prefer they waited until they were married. But that was still a year or so down the line, too late now. Y/N didn’t want to get married until she was done with her degrees, she wanted her degrees to have her own last name. She wanted to take Quinn’s last name but she wanted her degrees to have her own name.
He took a hold of her chin, as they waited for his parents to call him. He turned her head towards him. He scanned her features before he leaned towards her, kissing her urgently. 
“What was that?” she asked barely above a whisper as he pulled away. The laptop started to ring as his mother was calling him. He took a deep breath before he pecked her lips once more.
“Courage,” he muttered before he answered the call. He forced a smile towards the camera, Y/N smiled softly as she looped her arm around Quinn’s. She ran her fingertips along the inside of his palm. “Hi,” Quinn muttered out.
“You guys okay? This looks like a Zoom meeting,” Ellen let out, a small chuckle leaving her lips. Quinn let out a huff of air as he smiled.
“We’re really good, actually,” he mumbled. Y/N kept her gaze on Quinn, giving him encouragement. He swallowed hard as he took a deep breath. 
“Then what’s going on?” she asked, a small smile on her lips. Jim nodded encouragingly as if he knew what the news was.
Quinn looked towards Y/N, she interlocked their fingers together as she nodded. “We’re having a baby,” he choked out as he shifted his gaze towards the screen. His parents' eyes went wide as they looked towards one another. “And we’re happy about it,” Quinn continued as he pressed his lips together.
Ellen quickly shifted her gaze towards her phone, a slow grin forming to her lips, “Why wouldn’t you be? This is amazing!” she let out before she set her phone down, turning and hugging Jim. He laughed excitedly.
“We’re having a grandbaby!” Jim let out excitedly.
Quinn shut his eyes as he let out a sigh of relief. Y/N tilted her head as she rested it onto Quinn’s shoulder. He leaned and kissed the top of her head as he shifted his gaze towards the screen. 
“This is incredible, son,” Jim let out, “Have you told your brothers?” he questioned.
Quinn shook his head, “They are next on the list,” he mumbled. 
They spoke on the phone for several more minutes before Quinn ended the call, afraid his father would tell his brothers before he got the chance to. Jack and Luke tend to ignore text messages so Quinn decided to simply call them and hope both of them were home. 
“I’m a little shocked at how well this is going,” Y/N mumbled as she ran her hand through the ends of his hair while he turned his gaze towards her. “I just thought there would’ve been a lecture alongside the happiness,” she said with a dry laugh. Quinn rolled his eyes playfully.
“I was expecting the get married before the baby comes lecture,” he let out. She nodded along with him. “It’s still a little hard to believe that this is actually happening,” he expressed. She nodded as she rested her hand on her stomach. 
“I know,” she mumbled, “She’s growing inside of me and I still feel like it isn’t real,” she let out. He smiled as he leaned towards her kissing her. She pulled away, resting her forehead against his, “Come on let’s tell your brothers,” she whispered.
He took a deep breath as he began calling Jack, who was more likely to pick up over Luke. Jack answered on the fourth ring. “Quinny!” he shouted in a long drawn out sing-song way. “What’s wrong? Oh shit, you guys didn’t break up did you?” Jack questioned as he sat up from his lying position on the couch.
“No, nothing like that. Is Luke home?” Quinn asked as he rested his hand on Y/N’s thigh. 
“Lukey! Luke, come here!” Jack shouted. “He’s in his room,” he muttered. 
“What?!” Luke asked, his voice rasped as he walked out of the room. 
“Quinn and Y/N want to talk to us,” Jack expressed. Luke groaned as he stood behind Jack, getting into the view of the camera. His hair was messy as he was hidden in a hoodie. 
“If you woke me up from my nap to tell me that you two are engaged then I’ll fucking kill you,” Luke rasped out as he leaned forward. Y/N laughed as she tilted her head back. Quinn rolled his eyes. 
“See I thought they were telling us they broke up, he looked like he saw a ghost,” Jack tilted his head back as he met Luke’s gaze briefly.
“He always looks like that,” Luke pointed towards the screen. Quinn dropped his head as he rolled his eyes playfully. 
“Okay, okay will you stop?” Quinn said while laughing. “We’re not engaged, we’re not breaking up. We’re-uh-” he paused as he met Y/N’s gaze for a second, “We’re having a baby,” 
Jack’s mouth fell open as his eyes widened. Luke smiled widely as he leaned back, “See now that’s a reason to wake a man up,” he let out while laughing. “How long have you been keeping that a secret?” Luke questioned further. 
“Since July,” Y/N let out. 
“Quinn sucks at keeping secrets, how did you guys manage not to tell anyone?” Jack asked, laughing. 
“How many times did I call you guys over the last few months?” Quinn let out laughing, “What like three times? That’s how I kept it a secret,” 
“Can’t wait to be the cool uncle,” Luke muttered as he crossed his arms over his chest. Jack gasped dramatically. 
“Yeah, right, that’s my job,” Jack scoffed. Quinn turned his gaze towards Y/N, rolling his eyes. 
“What do you mean? You’re boring, man. That kid's gonna love Uncle Luke,” he said while pursing his lips forward.
“Oh please! I’m boring?! Have you heard anything come out of your mouth recently!” 
“Quinn, who’s gonna be the cool uncle?” Luke asked as he leaned towards the camera.
“You can’t ask Quinn that, he’s biased, he likes you better than me,” Jack protested, “Y/N who’s the better, more handsome, more cool uncle?” 
Y/N barked out a laugh, “I’m not answering that,” she rolled her eyes playfully, “We’ll let our baby decide who she likes better,” she paused, her eyes widened. Quinn shifted his gaze towards Y/N. 
“No way, it's a girl?!” Luke asked excitedly.
“You didn’t hear that!” Quinn quickly let out. Luke shook his head while laughing. “Mom and Dad don’t know that part yet, you didn’t hear anything. Keep it to yourselves,” Quinn expressed as he kept his gaze on Y/N. She was on the verge of tears, with her pregnancy her hormones have been all over the place. Which led to her being more emotional than normal.
“Mom’s going to freak the fuck out,” Jack let out excitedly.
March
It was early, their daughter was coming two weeks early. Her parents were planning on flying in next week but here she was in the passenger seat of her best friend’s car, feeling as though she was about to give birth any minute. Which was entirely not true. Her water broke but she was nowhere near dilated where she needed to be. Her doctor told her to come in anyway since she was a little early before the due date. 
She wasn’t quite sure on how to contact Quinn, he was in the middle of a game. Quinn gave her the equipment manager’s number in case something like this happened. She wanted to wait until she was at the hospital and actually admitted. 
Riley, her best friend, parked the car as close to the entrance of the hospital as she could. She turned her body towards her. “Are you sure you don’t want to tell Quinn right now? It’s intermission, he can be here in like thirty minutes,” she offered, Y/N shook her head as she rested her hand on her large bump. A contraction started as she tilted her head back against the headrest. “Oh god that was like only seven minutes, I feel like that was fast. You should call him,” she expressed.
“Nope, not until I am in a bed,” she groaned as she unbuckled her seatbelt as she pushed the car door open. She carefully climbed out of the car, “This little girl can wait until her daddy is showered and done with his g-game,” she muttered as she started waddling towards the entrance of the hospital. 
Riley quickly jumped out of the car and took a hold of the hospital bag. Locking the car she jogged towards Y/N. “Damn, you’re fast for a pregnant girl,” she muttered as she came side by side with her.
“I ran track in high school, what do you expect?” she mumbled out. Her phone began to vibrate in her pocket, it was her mom. She took a sharp breath as she brought her phone to her ear, “Hey Mom,”
“Hi sweetheart, how’s the baby?” her mother asked. She’s gotten to the point where every question is directed towards and about the baby. 
“Actually my water broke and I’m at the hospital-” she let out, her mother gasped dramatically, “Quinn doesn’t know, he’s still playing-” she gasped again. 
“There are no flights to Vancouver at this hour! Oh god-” her mother let out, teary-eyed.
“It’s okay, I promise we’ll be fine, I’ll call you and keep y-oh god-you posted,” 
It had been only ten minutes before Y/N was placed in a room. She had simply sat down when Riley turned on the TV in the room, it showed the Canucks game. They were winning 4-o as they showed a goal that Quinn assisted on. “It’s safe to say that Quinn can leave the game,” Riley pointed towards the TV. 
Y/N texted the equipment manager, alerting him of the situation. After a few seconds, the broadcast announced, “It looks like Quinn Hughes is not on the bench, once we get more information on that, we’ll let you know,” the camera showed the equipment manager talking with Quinn and him nodding. 
He stared blankly towards the ice in front of him. He took a sharp breath as Tyler beside him nudged him excitedly. Quinn smiled as he spun off the bench and headed down the tunnel. 
Y/N stood up from the bed as she walked towards the bathroom, carrying her required hospital gown she had to wear. She struggled to get her shirt and sweatpants off as another contraction was hitting her pretty hard. Another minute went by and she was completely covered in the hospital gown. 
“They’re doing good, she wanted to wait until she had a room. She didn’t want to get turned away and then having you leave the game for no reason,” Riley explained on the phone. Y/N smiled towards Riley as she waddled out of the bathroom, “Here she is,” Riley mumbled as she handed the phone over to Y/N.
“Hey?! You alright? I’m showering real fast and I’ll be there or-or I can just leave now,” Quinn ranted, he sounded out of breath. 
“I love you, I love you so much, please shower before you get here,” she said while laughing. Riley helped her sit down on the bed. Quinn laughed, “We’re good, we’re just waiting on the doctor, I have to call your parents before the broadcasters announce it,” she explained.
“Okay, yeah, yeah do that. I’ll be there as soon as I can,” he explained, “I love you,” he let out before he hung up the phone. She quickly dialed Ellen. She answered on the second ring.
“Is everything okay? Is the baby okay?” Ellen asked instantly. Y/N let out breath she was holding as she got comfortable on the bed, or at least as comfortable she could get. 
“I’m in labor, but everything seems to be fine,” she explained, slightly out of breath. 
“Oh my god, okay, we’ll try to get to Vancouver as soon as we can,” she expressed, “This is so exciting!” she expressed. 
She shifted her gaze towards the screen, “It looks like Quinn Hughes is okay, great news actually. He had to leave the game early because he’s having a baby. Congratulations Captain!” the broadcasters announced. Y/N felt her heart beat as the words echoed in her mind. 
“How are you doing?” she asked, a sob quickly climbed into Y/N’s throat. 
She took in a sharp shaky breath as she looked towards Riley, a tear quickly fell on her cheek. “Terrified,” she mumbled out as her lips quivered.
“Oh honey, it’ll be okay. Quinn will be there with you soon, Your parents will be there. Jim and I will be there. You’re not alone, you guys are going to be okay,” Ellen comforted. Y/N nodded as her lower lip quivered. 
“O-okay,” she let out. 
“We love you, Y/N,” Ellen expressed. 
“Love you guys too,” she let out before they ended the call. Riley quickly came to her side. Riley rested her hand on top of Y/N’s.
It took another forty-five minutes before Quinn jogged into the room. “Hey, I’m here, are you okay?” he asked as he quickly went straight to her bedside. She was gripping the side of the hospital bed.
“Yeah, I’m good-” she held her breath. Quinn looked towards Riley. 
“The doctor said she’s about five centimeters dilated and that her contractions are getting stronger,” Riley said as she crossed her arms over her chest. Quinn smiled gratefully towards her. They didn’t discuss if Riley was allowed to be there but that was because it wasn’t a discussion. Riley and Y/N have been best friends since they were freshman in high school.
Riley moved to Vancouver after she graduated college, partly for Y/N and her job market. 
“What can I do?” he asked Y/N as she slowly loosened her grip and opened her eyes, meeting his gaze. She took a deep breath as her lips quivered. 
“Hold me,” she let out barely above a whisper.
“Okay,” he quickly climbed beside her inside the bed, not a single ounce of hesitation. He adjusted carefully not to lie on any wires or in any way that could mess up anything. He pressed his lips against her forehead as he looped his arms around her body, letting her snuggle up against him.
Riley smiled softly as she walked out of the room, giving them their privacy for a while. 
He ran his fingers through her hair soothingly, as he periodically pressed his lips against her forehead.
It took twelve hours. 
Twelve hours before their daughter was born. Both of their parents were able to be there. Not in the room, but they were there for emotional support. On March 10th at 9:37 AM, their daughter was born. 
It was only her and Quinn in the room with all of the doctors and nurses. Their daughter screamed loudly after she was born. She was placed on Y/N’s chest. She was shaking from adrenaline but the second her eyes landed on her daughter it felt like everything was right. 
The second she was laid on Y/N’s chest, she had stopped crying. Stirring slightly as Quinn delicately and nervously ran his hand along the small head of his daughter. 
It took about an hour after the birth before Quinn even left the room. Y/N was asleep, reluctantly but her body craved it. Their daughter was asleep in the small hospital bed they provided for her. Quinn walked into the lobby to see his parents and her parents. He smiled widely once he met his mom’s eyes. 
“She’s here,” he muttered out. Ellen stood up and instantly hugged her son. They all excitedly shot up from their seats. “I was waiting until they fell asleep, Y/N’s exhausted,” he mumbled as he pulled away. He began cycling through hugs between each person. 
“How are you doing?” Y/N’s mom asked. Quinn shook his head slowly as he let out a long breath. 
“I’m just happy,” he said as he crossed his arms over his chest, “Tired but my girls are more important,” he let out. 
Jim engulfed his son in a huge hug. “So proud of you,” he mumbled into his ear. Quinn pulled away as he pressed his lips together. 
“Do you guys have a name?” Y/N’s dad asked. Quinn smiled widely as he nodded. 
“Elliana, we’re going to call her Ellie,” he explained. 
“Oh your brothers are calling!” Ellen said excitedly. She handed her phone over to Quinn quickly. Quinn answered the call. Both Jack and Luke were fighting for more of the camera view. Their eyes lit up once they saw Quinn.
“Can we call you Daddy yet?!” Jack let out. The entire room started laughing, even people who didn't know the family started laughing.
“Please don’t,” he let out, shaking his head. “But yes, your niece is here,” he explained. Both Luke and Jack smiled widely.
“Oh man that’s amazing,” Luke let out, his voice breaking. 
“Are you crying?” Jack asked. Luke shook his head while tilting his head back.
“We’ve got a tiny little niece, dude, this is crazy. We can’t even meet her for a while,” Luke let out. Quinn pouted, sad that his brother’s weren’t able to come see him and his beautiful little girl. 
“The second the season is done, you boys are coming to meet her,” Quinn said teary eyed.
May
Quinn was exhausted to say the least but he would never change a single thing. His parents and Y/N’s parents were staying at an AirBnB close by to help with the baby when Quinn was away on road games. 
Jack was back in Michigan recovering from his surgery while Luke was away on the Men’s World’s tournament. It didn’t stop either of them from calling Y/N every day to see their niece. Neither of them have been able to meet her yet, it was tearing them apart.
“How has it been with playoffs and having a newborn at home?” the interviewer asked. Quinn's eyes lit up at the mention of his daughter. 
“It’s been a lot. I would love to be home with her every chance I could get but unfortunately that’s just not how the timing panned out,” he let out a dry chuckle, “She’s still so tiny so it breaks my heart that I can’t be with her all the time. But hopefully things go our way and it’ll all be worth it,” he explained. 
“Thanks Quinn,” they all collectively said as they walked away from him with their microphones. Quinn stood up quickly as he began walking out of the locker room, his mind preoccupied with seeing his little girl. 
It was hard to manage focusing on the playoffs and the fact that he was a new father. But Y/N was so strong through the whole process. 
He drove home quickly. He was fast out of his car and into his apartment building. He cautiously stepped inside, not wanting to wake her if she was asleep. Y/N was sitting on the couch, folding some laundry. “Hey gorgeous,” he mumbled as he quietly locked the door. She smiled towards him as she lifted her gaze. 
“Hey captain, how was morning skate?” she asked teasingly. He rolled his eyes playfully as he walked towards the couch and sat down directly behind her. He looped his arm around her waist, pulling her towards him.
“It was good, nothing too crazy,” he whispered as he pressed his lips on her jawline. She giggled as she leaned her body against his chest. “How are you, my love?” he asked as he ran his hand across her stomach. 
“I’m okay, napped for a bit while your mom and dad were here this morning, Ellie is still sleeping. I feel like your mom has some magic touch or something,” she explained as she ran her hand across the top of his. 
He chuckled as he pressed his lips against her shoulder, “If you want to sleep longer, I can do this while you go sleep,” he offered. 
She shook her head as she tilted her head back against his shoulder. “Nope, this is perfect. I miss you,” she mumbled. She tilted her head to the side as Quinn tilted his gaze towards her. He scanned her features, knowing she was exhausted but listened regardless. He leaned towards her, kissing her urgently. He took a hold of her cheek, holding her in place.
Suddenly the baby monitor sounded, Ellie was crying. She pulled away chuckling, “She always has perfect timing,” she mumbled against his lips. He pecked her lips quickly before he slipped away from his grasp on Y/N.
“She does, doesn’t she?” he let out, “I got her,” he mumbled before he wandered down the hall towards the nursery. He slowly pushed inside the room, the loud cries quite literally making his heart break. “Oh darling, it’s okay,” Quinn let out quietly as he walked towards the crib, slowly reaching down and picking her up. As soon as Quinn held her, she was soothed. 
Quinn smiled towards his little girl, admiring the light color eyes and soft sound of her breathing. “You just wanted attention, huh?” he let out as he slowly walked towards the rocking chair. He cautiously sat down, staring into his little girl’s eyes. “That’s okay, Momma can wait,” he whispered, a soft laugh leaving his throat. 
He slowly continued rocking in the chair, staring down at his little girl. She looked a lot like Y/N but she had his eyes. She was beautiful. “Quinn,” Y/N mumbled from the door. Quinn lifted his gaze, smiling softly towards her. Oblivious to Y/N standing there, he had no idea how long she was there.
“Hi gorgeous,” he whispered. She grinned as she tilted her head against the door frame, “We did a good job, didn’t we?” he asked, shifting his gaze back to his little girl.
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Home Calls the Heart
Summary: Twenty-year old L/N Y/N realizes she might be, okay, is a little bit of a social pariah. But there’s not much she can really do about it. Until a dreary winter day, when a determined, persistent dog hybrid named Taehyung shows up and declares that he’s interested in adopting her for himself and the rest of his lonely pack.
chapter: five
Word Count: 8.9k+
rating: T (uh, once again none I can think of this time)
genre: romance | hurt/comfort| magic AU
tags: bts x reader | ot7 x reader | hybrid | poly| FM!reader
Emperor Penguin!Seokjin, Golden Retriever!Taehyung, Coyote!Hoseok, Mountain Lion!Yoongi, Wolfdog!Namjoon, Kingfisher!Jimin, Holland Lop!Jungkook
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Author’s Note: Thank you everyone for your patience. I really thought I’d have had time to put this out a lot sooner than this, but it was just too busy. But I hope this can be like a holiday gift maybe!
The rabbit stood stiffly off to the side as his family (and their guest) prepared the table. Like Namjoon, everyone had been both surprised and relieved to see him out of the room and willing to join them, greeting him with smiles and a few hugs.
 They backed off quickly though, probably scared they were going to overwhelm him if they made a big deal about it for too long. Jungkook supposed it made sense they would treat him as fragile, he was the youngest so it was already a given they babied him for years. Then when Gramps left them suddenly he did kind of check out.
Admittedly, when Jin-hyung mentioned a guest staying overnight, Jungkook hadn’t thought about it. The information slipped away almost as fast as it registered. He had more important things to wallow about think over. And, even if he had been paying attention, the pack maknae would have just come to the conclusion it was someone they already knew. 
The neighboring farms, spread out as they were, had known about Gramps. They sent condolences or a few dishes for the boys to eat while the lawyer helped break down his will and the hyungs made funeral arrangements. Why would any of them bring a new person around when they were all still mourning?
Clearly, a lot had happened since he’d shut himself off, because the human girl among them was brand new to him. She had to have been new to the others too, because they didn’t keep secret friends from each other. 
“Um, so, anywhere in particular I should set this?” the newcomer was asking Jin. She held up the plate of eggs she had been given. (Y/N). Namjoon-hyung said her name was (Y/N).
“Somewhere near the middle is fine,” Yoongi answered instead, walking by with a big, chilled pitcher of orange juice to place. “If any of these uncivilized heathens want some, they’re not shy about taking their share.” 
Even Yoongi-hyung was acknowledging her? Jungkook barely held back his look of surprise. Being that Yoongi was born a wild hybrid, and had spent a portion of his childhood that way, he was more wary of new humans than most. 
Gramps and a few of the old man’s associates that came around over the years and were trustworthy were about the only exceptions. Every other non-hybrid person that came into their space got the cold shoulder for the most part.
“Speaking of that, (Y/N) you fix your plate first.” Jin instructed, finally setting down the amazingly fluffy, mouth-watering stack of pancakes. “I made more than usual but I still doubt there’ll be any extras.” Jungkook’s nose twitched as the warm steam wafted into his nostrils, carrying the sweet and gooey fragrance of cinnamon rolls. 
His hyung was definitely a culinary genius. Fusing breakfast pancakes and dessert should have been a crime, it was so good. 
“It’s been so long since hyung made these,” Taehyung stated, tail wagging. “I don’t think I can hold back.”
“Do you ever?” Namjoon muttered, though there was a small smile on his full lips. 
Once everything was out and set up, everyone scrambled to take their seats. Jungkook went for his usual spot slowly, noticing that (Y/N) hung back, looking painfully out of place. She was still wearing Taehyung’s coat, though it was open, revealing Jimin’s pajamas. 
The minute he had seen that, Jungkook grew more curious than ever about who she was to the others. Yeah, sometimes if one of their friends came over and spent the night they might borrow a change of clothes, but not a female friend. 
“Wait,” Taehyung brought attention to the same thing he noticed, absently placing his hand on Namjoon’s wrist before it could bump his glass. “(Y/N) hasn’t sat down.”
That was when everyone turned their attention on the awkward female standing by, then glanced around the table. All the spots had been set but one, and Jungkook had taken up his usual one. 
There was only one seat left, and there was something about it that made offering it up wrong. Gramps. Gramps’ spot remained empty and untouched, chair tucked neatly in. Evidently, even their guest could sense that was not a seat for the taking, as she had opted to just stand around instead of sitting there. 
“Oh, it’s no big deal,” she assured them. “I can eat at the counter…”
“You don’t want to sit with us?” Taehyung pouted, the puppy eyes in full effect.
“It’s not that!” She said quickly, “I just…”
“Just grab an extra chair and we’ll all scoot down.” Yoongi mumbled, “It’s not that big of a deal. I’m hungry and ready to eat.”
Blinking, the others nodded slowly, seemingly okay with that suggestion. 
(Y/N) made her way to an available stool just as Jimin got up to fetch it for her, ever thoughtful. Their hands landed on it at the same time, and they both paused, then shared a brief chuckle.
 “Let me,” Not taking no for an answer, Jimin picked it up easily and brought it to the table, placing it between his chair and Hoseok’s. (Y/N) thanked them and sat down, allowing breakfast to continue. 
While it was true he’d only been nibbling at his meals the last week, suddenly the low hunger pangs in his stomach were making him regret that. His fingers loosely gripped the silverware, waiting a little impatiently as a girl he had never seen before got to take her time preparing her own plate at Jin and Taehyung’s insistence.
Finally she was done, and just like that, everyone sprang at the food simultaneously, the loud clambering nearly drowning out Jin’s scolding about having some manners. Jungkook was so used to it, he didn’t even bat an eye, holding his own just fine against his hyungs as he secured a stack of pancakes, eggs, and a few links of sausage. Jin didn’t cook Western often, and he wanted to savor it. But his stomach had other plans, and when he stuffed the first few heavenly bites in his mouth, the bunny would admit he wasn’t sure he tasted it until after it went down. 
“So, what do you think?” Hoseok asked (Y/N) conversationally, keeping an eye on his plate in case anyone got greedy and snuck a few bites. They loved each other, but everyone in the household knew all was fair in food and war.
“Good,” she hummed, having another bite after swallowing the first. “Really good. Thank you for letting me share this meal with you. It beats the energy bar and coffee I usually wolf down in the morning.”
“It’s nothing,” Jin smiled, clearly pleased with her approval of his cooking. “It’s the least we can do since you put up with this one’s insolence,” he waved his hand at Taehyung, who tucked in closer to his plate and avoided Jin’s eyes, “And helped with Jilju this morning.”
Jungkook perked up at that. He hadn’t planned to say much unless someone addressed him directly, still equally curious and cautious of the girl among them, but he couldn’t ignore anything that had to do with his horse. Outside his hyungs and Gramps, she was the one he was closest to on the farm. “Jilju? What’s wrong with Jilju?”
“Oh, nothing now.” Namjoon popped some eggs into his mouth, grinning deeply in a way that brought out his dimples. “(Y/N) was able to take care of it. It was very impressive.”
(Y/N) sank down a little, trying to hide a small blush in her shoulder. “Just doing my job.”
“How’d that go, by the way?” Jimin urged, cutting up his pancakes into neat pieces the way he always did before eating. “What was wrong?”
He turned to (Y/N) curiously, and Jungkook watched her closely as well, head full of questions. 
“Well…where to start…” she paused, lowering her fork with sausage on the end. “She was a little anxious, for one. I think I got through to her. I reassured her that she’s doing the best she can by Jungkook, and that there’s no need to worry about losing her connection to him.”
“Why would she think that?” Jungkook frowned, then turned to his nearest hyung, Yoongi. “How would she know that Jilju thinks that?”
“Because,” Yoongi had opted for coffee instead of juice, and the strong smell of the brew singed the hairs inside Jungkook’s nose a bit. How his hyung chugged that stuff black he would never know, “Our new friend here has magic, and her gift is understanding the emotions of animals.”
“And hybrids,” Taehyung added proudly.
Jungkook only stared at the girl, who squirmed slightly, awkward smile in place. “Magic?” He repeated.
“Mhm,” Namjoon nodded, “You know, the rare individuals who are born with a special ability? I’ve read a book on it that—”
“I know what it means, hyung,” he said, then cringed inside when Namjoon’s ears drooped. His hyung was always so genuinely excited to share what he learned with them, and they all listened indulgently, even if they had heard him rambling about it a hundred times. He really hadn’t meant to sound like he didn’t care, he was just struggling to understand. 
How had his colony come across a human with magic? Did she come just to check the animals then? They had all acted like they understood that Gramps wasn’t coming back, so he wouldn’t be surprised that it had impacted their moods. “Sorry…” he mumbled at Namjoon. “I just don’t get it. Why would Jilju tell you what was worrying her if she didn’t tell me?”
“Sometimes it can be…hard…for animals to communicate some things to us, even when we share a strong bond. Sometimes they deliberately try to avoid worrying us,” she said patiently. 
Jungkook shoveled more food in his mouth and tried to avoid pouting. When his hyung’s food tasted so good, it was normally hard not to be happy but right now…he was a little annoyed. Some stranger turned up and it felt like she understood his friend better than he did. 
“That’s…not all.” (Y/N) shared, smiling as everyone looked at her curiously. “It turns out Jilju is also expecting.”
“What?” Jimin gasped, speaking in unison with Jungkook, who dropped his fork.
“Yeah…” Namjoon rubbed his neck. “It surprised me too. Remember when one of the horses from Mr. Lee’s farm escaped and we found him the next morning?”
“Jilju’s pregnant?” Jungkook couldn’t believe it. His horse? Was going to be a mother?
“Apparently,” (Y/N) chimed in, “Surprise, and um, congrats!”
Jungkook said nothing, still processing that information.
“We’ll have to make sure she has enough rations,” Yoongi mused. “She’s eating for two now.”
“And we’ll keep the stable comfy-cozy for her,” Hoseok sang. 
“You’re an uncle, Jungkook!” Tae clapped, the faint thump of his wagging tail easy to pick up with his sensitive ears. “And we might not have found out so soon if I never met (Y/N) yesterday. I knew I picked a quality human.”
“Yesterday?” Jungkook was a rabbit, not a parrot, but it felt like all he could do was squawk out every word that blindsided him. “You met her…yesterday?”
Taehyung nodded. 
“Then why is she here?”
“Jungkook,” Jin huffed, “That was a little rude, don’t you think?”
“Not really,” (Y/N) disagreed, “it’s fair.”
“Why did you say ‘picked a quality human’?” He said, ignoring her. The longer she was here, the more Jungkook felt his discomfort grow. What was going on?
“Because—”
“Long story. Not Tae’s most well thought out decision, either.” Yoongi smoothly disrupted whatever the dog was about to reveal, and Jungkook glared a bit.
 “Can’t you just tell me what’s going on?” The bunny insisted, aware he sounded the part of the petulant youngest brother, but also irritated with being kept in the dark. “Who are you?” he asked (Y/N).
“Tae’s heart was in the right place…” Jimin sighed, “He just didn’t think it through, like hyung said.”
“Taehyungie brought (Y/N) home, because he thought having someone new around could cheer us up.” Hoseok explained carefully, to which the younger canine hybrid nodded in agreement.
That explained…a little bit. They loved Taehyung and his spontaneity and eccentricity, but sometimes it caught everyone off guard. “Why her, specifically?” Jungkook pressed, “Because she’s got magic?”
“I didn’t even know that when we met, actually.” Taehyung admitted, hiding in his curls sheepishly. “She just…seemed nice. I got a good feeling.”
Their hyung had brought a random human back to them, when they were all still so upset at losing their main caregiver and father-figure, off of a ‘good feeling’? 
The rabbit could feel his foot tap irritably. “What?” His voice came out flat, unimpressed. “That’s stupid, hyung.”
“Yeah, it was,” Yoongi rolled his eyes, stabbing into his pancakes with extra force. “But we’ve been over that already. We talked, we fought, some of us cried…” His glittering emerald eyes slid to Taehyung. “It was a whole thing.”
“I haven’t been over it,” Jungkook protested, “I’m not over Gramps! I…I thought none of you were either!”
“We’re not,” Namjoon said calmly. “All our hearts are still broken.”
“Right now it doesn’t feel like that, hyung.” he hissed, full on glaring at (Y/N), making her flinch. “I don’t care how special a human she is. She’s not Gramps.” 
“Here we go again…” He heard Yoongi say.
Jungkook began to collect his food with the intention of retreating upstairs, because like hell he’d be able to enjoy it like this, and there was no way he was leaving it or throwing it out either.
 (Y/N) also lurching to her feet at the same time was the last thing he expected, and he instinctively stilled, cradling his plate protectively while making himself bigger. 
Thanks to Gramps indulging him years ago when he said he wanted to work out and get stronger, the youngest hybrid was well aware he wasn’t built like an ordinary bunny. 
They were genetically predispositioned to petite or average frames, and because of their prey genes, putting on muscle—except maybe in their legs—did not come as easily for them as it did for predators. 
But with dedication and hard work, Jungkook had made himself someone to be reckoned with, and now when they went out, predator hybrids gave pause as they tried to size him up.
 His scent was still recognizable to them as rabbit, if they got close enough, but he didn’t get intimidated after living and growing up with several of his natural predators.
 Plus his size helped him stand toe to toe with the snake, cat and fox hybrids out there who might try making him uncomfortable.
Needless to say, an average human like (Y/N) had no chance. He could tell her first instinct was to back down. But she swallowed it down in the next second, her eyes determined, “Wait, please don’t leave.”
Jungkook stopped, unable to help himself. What could she want to say? Nothing was going to change his mind about her not being a suitable replacement for Gramps. No one was.
“You weren’t at the meal yesterday, so you didn’t hear it but…I’m sorry.” One minute she was speaking, the next minute she was bowing deeply. “I’m sorry for your loss, and I’m sorry for making you uncomfortable. It doesn’t matter about what the circumstances were that brought me here, it still ended up causing pain, and that’s my fault.”
“(Y/N),” Taehyung sounded like he wanted to object, but she straightened, shaking her head.
“It’s the truth.” She said firmly. “The choice to follow you here, even when I learned you wanted a new family member, that was on me. I should have used common sense and stopped you, especially knowing you didn’t live alone.” Nervous energy poured off of her as she played with her sleeve. “Also I…I lost someone too.” Judging by the silent reactions, this was information none of the others had heard before. “Not as recently as you did, but he was a very dear friend to me, and the eight months I’ve spent without him have been really hard.” (Y/N) bowed her head mournfully.
Jungkook looked at her, really looked at her. He would have never assumed she was also missing someone as deeply as he was missing Gramps, but then he’d only just met her, and how she felt wasn’t his priority so much as wanting her to go away.
Oblivious, or ignoring everyone’s staring, (Y/N) kept talking. “So I relate to that pain you’re all going through right now, and I’d never disrespect your bond to a member of your family by trying to force myself into that dynamic or think I could fill a hole that large in any of you. Everyone we ever love is special. Different.”
 Her voice cracked on the last word, so briefly only a hybrid could have heard it. “I’m glad I could help solve your problem with Jilju, and thank you for letting me stay the night and even have breakfast, but if my clothes are dried, I should go. Everyone here’s been great, but you deserve your home back.” Cleaning up her spot hastily, (Y/N) stood in the kitchen doorway and gave them one last bow, eyes full of sincerity, then scurried out of sight.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
She came down the stairs, almost dreading running into anyone. Why did she have to keep making a mess of things with these hybrids? They’d probably be glad to be rid of her.
 Who wouldn’t want to free themselves of a pest. Gathering the meager things she had arrived with, neatly folding Jimin’s borrowed pajamas after changing back into her clothes, and stripping the sheets (knowing how sensitive hybrids were to smell, and figuring Jungkook wouldn’t want her scent in the middle of his room), (Y/N) was pretty much ready to go.
Creeping down the stairs, she found it was quiet, and glanced around unsurely. While she wanted to be out of their hair, leaving without saying goodbye would be…rude. But so would wandering around their house in search of someone.
Luckily, the sound of voices conversing in another room gave her an indicator about where everyone might be, and she mustered up her courage to go find them.
Peeking her head in, she found Namjoon, Jin, Hoseok and Yoongi talking amongst themselves at the kitchen bar, though they all looked up immediately. Damn. No way to go undetected when super hearing was in the mix, huh?
“All set?” Jin asked.
(Y/N) nodded. “I am. Thanks to you, and sorry again for the trou—”
“Apologies are played out, don’t you think?” Yoongi interrupted, appearing bored as his long tail swished lazily. “We’re not interested in hearing any more of them.”
“This hyung’s always so shy about showing new people how he feels.” Hoseok giggled, pinching Yoongi’s cheek affectionately. “But he’s just trying to say none of us think you have anything else to apologize for. It’s been talked over, and in the end it was just a misunderstanding, right?”
(Y/N) frowned, shifting her weight from foot to foot. “But, Jungkook—”
“He’ll be okay.” Namjoon reassured her, his ears flickering. “In time anyway. Right now he’s working out to blow off steam instead of holed up in Gramps’ room again. That’s big progress.”
“Plus he ate all his food.” Jin practically swooned. 
“Yeah, kid’s gonna be back to eating us out of house and home in no time.” Yoongi chuckled, the fondness in his voice clear.
“See, no permanent damage done.” Hoseok concluded.
“Well…that’s a relief.” (Y/N) grinned weakly. “Anyway, I really should get—”
“Hyungs!” Taehyung’s excited shout made her jump, but the four hybrids siting around the bar didn’t appear surprised at all.
“No one listens to my rules,” Jin groaned. “I say no running. I say no yelling in the house. I say put your clothes in the hamper and not on the floor. Am I talking for my health?”
“At this point…” Yoongi mused, though he didn’t finish when Taehyung burst in. 
“Oh, (Y/N)!” He greeted her, face lighting up as soon as their eyes met. “I’m glad you’re still here.”
The pup still kind of gave her whiplash, but somehow, (Y/N) thought she might have been getting used to it. “How come?”
“Cause the lake’s frozen,” he said gleefully, “And you know what that means?” He asked his hyungs. They glanced between each other, quiet. “We should play outside. Have a snow day. We haven’t done that all season, and—”
“Tae, you brat,” The airy voice of Jimin complained from behind them. (Y/N) turned to see him wearing a scowl and trudging through the front door the dog had left open. “Why’d you take off like that? And after I helped you get your tongue unstuck from…oh.” His eyes widened when he noticed the crowd in the kitchen and doorway. 
“What’d he get his tongue stuck to?” Hoseok pressed curiously.
Taehyung shrugged, “Jimin dared me to lick a sheet of metal.” He tattled nonchalantly.
“I didn’t think you’d do it!” The avian hybrid exclaimed, throwing up his arms, wings rustling. 
“You two can’t be left unsupervised for more than ten minutes.” Yoongi sighed. “You were supposed to be making sure all the animals had enough blankets and fresh hay.”
“We did,” Taehyung’s tail was slowly gaining speed and his ears had a slight lift, “Then I noticed what a good snow day it’d be. C’mon hyungs, please?” (Y/N) had not been around long, but she absolutely knew what was coming next, and turned to preemptively shield her eyes just as Taehyung made his bigger, rounder and more innocent pitiful. “You should join us too, (Y/N).”
Gah, oh no! He turned the force of his gaze on her, and gently clasped one of her hands for good measure, trying to tug the other one down. 
“Hmm…I guess all of us haven’t been outside much besides tending to the farm.” Hoseok murmured. “We use to roam the property and play outside all the time. Maybe it’d be okay to indulge the pup this one time,”
“One time’s enough for a fun time,” Taehyung cheered.
“‘One time’ is enough to make it a habit.” Yoongi corrected. “You think we met you yesterday, pup?”
“Still, what’s it hurting?” Jin added his two cents. “Winter weather feels great to me.”
“Hyung, that’s a given,” Namjoon pointed out, “But okay, I guess a little time outside wouldn’t be so bad.”
Taehyung clapped, “Meet you all out at the shed!” He put a hand on (Y/N)’s shoulder. “You can come wait for us near the ice.” The next thing she knew, she was being steered towards the door.
“Hey, hold on,” Jimin huffed, “Don’t just drag her around without letting her decide for herself. And she’ll need a coat, hat, gloves and boots if she’s coming out with us. She’s not resistant to the cold.” he ended, rolling his eyes at the dog’s impulsiveness. 
“I…thanks for the invite but I don’t wanna get in the way…”
“Please,” Taehyung not only used the eyes this time, but hit her with a very puppy-like whimper, and (Y/N) crumbled like a sandcastle kicked over.
“Okay…just a little while though.”
Taehyung gleefully brought her to the hall closet so she could borrow some winter layers again.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The glistening lake caught the weak sunlight of the winter sky, sparkling like a diamond that had just been given a polish. 
The farm really was an idyllic winter scene right now, (Y/N) marveled. The trees were bare and the snow was heaped up all around, but it was still manageable to get around the property.
She waited patiently by the lake, which was conveniently next to the shed Taehyung had mentioned. It could have been its own little house, and even boasted a small porch. The boys had ran right into it, promised they’d be back shortly, and closed the door. 
‘I didn’t see Jungkook join them though.’ (Y/N) couldn’t help but think about the last person she had blindsided, staring off into the distance, where she could make out the main house.
 Was he still exercising? Did he know they were going to play outside? He shouldn’t have to miss a time to have fun with his family just because she was being included. Doubts about staying started to creep up again, but before they could consume her too much, the shed’s door creaked open, and out waddled a very impressive, tall emperor penguin.
(Y/N) gasped, gazing at the proud bird in awe as it bobbed over to her, stopping a short distance away as if waiting for her to be done admiring him. “S-Seokjin-ssi?” It had to be him, right?
The flightless bird bowed his head in confirmation, turning completely around once so she could see all of him. His sleek body was beautiful, and perfectly designed for this element.
 (Y/N) had only seen penguins on TV and once from behind a glass at the zoo. Nothing did justice to Seokjin’s impressive form. And when he stepped onto the frozen lake and gracefully began skating around, (Y/N) was even more gobsmacked. “Wow…”
A bark disrupted her admiration of Seokjin’s moves on the ice, and she found a familiar golden dog bounding towards her. 
Taehyung got into a playful crouch as he approached, tail fanning high behind him. (Y/N) giggled, bending to meet him. “So this is what you had in mind?”
He yipped, spinning in circles and then taking advantage of her proximity to lean up and lick her cheek before lunging away.
(Y/N) put a gloved hand over the spot, jaw dropping as she watched Taehyung run and roll around in the snow. More of the hybrids emerged from the shed, two more canines following him.
 There was a slender but well-muscled coyote that trotted out calmly and sat on his haunches to watch Seokjin skating and Taehyung playing. Followed by a large, bi-colored canine of intimidating stature with intelligent eyes. Namjoon for sure.
 His thick, black coat was streaked through with silver, something (Y/N) doubted was from age. It looked like a natural pattern, and a cool one at that. His thick tail waved once, and then he stopped next to Hoseok and observed too. “All your animal forms are so beautiful.”
Hoseok’s ears went back and his eyes got round, a smile on his muzzle. He was the normal golden brown of a coyote, but with a russet undertone more prominent now that he had shifted than it was before. He tilted his head back at the shed and barked, sounding like he was beckoning someone.
A short, feline snout popped out, and then slowly a whole head. (Y/N) watched the big cat watch them, until he decided to place one paw outside the structure, and then another.
 Soon a mountain lion was stalking silently from the shed with all the languid grace of an apex predator. (Y/N)’s heart skipped a beat as his gorgeous green eyes found her, then turned to his fellow hybrids as if to say, ‘I’m out here, now what?’
Taehyung quickly took care of that, seizing on his opportunity once he saw his hyungs and running straight for them. Yoongi grumbled, lifting a paw as if to stop him. It didn’t even make the dog break stride, and he tumbled into the other hybrids, licking them all mercilessly in the face and yipping cutely as if to thank them.
 (Y/N) had to hide a giggle when Yoongi swatted at him with his tail and Taehyung caught it in his mouth, tugging on it and trying to pull him in closer by it.
Although that seemed to annoy the mountain lion, his tugs to reclaim his appendage were half-hearted at best. Hoseok joined in, though he seemed to be on no one’s side but his own.
 One minute he was pulling Yoongi’s ear and gently getting cuffed for it, the next he was nosing at Taehyung’s sides like he was trying to tickle him, and it got the dog to let go and show his belly, evidently still ticklish no matter what form.
(Y/N) almost didn’t notice the last presence, one hovering close to her face, until the cutest little chirp drew her attention. 
A deep blue bird was flying right next to her, and when she studied him, he chirped again. “Ohh, Jimin-ssi, your plumage is so shiny.” The bird landed on her shoulder, puffing out his chest in pride as she grinned. So little, so cute.
Seokjin, noticing the rough-housing happening on the snowbank, glided over to join everyone. 
Soon five hybrids were chasing each other around, occasionally someone getting tackled and going down with a face full of snow to show for it. (Y/N) stood and watched, not sure if she should be joining or keeping out of the way. 
Jimin had flit from her shoulder and was egging the others on, tugging at their fur and then darting away when they looked over their shoulder. He’d peck someone and then zip up into the air before they could even think about getting him.
 But given that he was so small and delicate in this form, (Y/N) couldn’t imagine them playing with him the way they were playing with each other.
Taehyung slid into her legs as he failed to skid to a stop in time, and she watched him roll onto his paws and shake off. He barked, tugging at her pants and whining when she only blinked. “Are you asking…”
He barked again more urgently, tilting his head at the others, who were all peeking over at them. “How would I join in?” She asked, genuinely curious.
Seokjin kicked snow with a foot, honking. 
Squinting, (Y/N) watched him clumsily mold snow into a lumpy ball and then point at it with a wing. “You can’t really be asking me to have a snowball fight with you.”
Taehyung swooped down on Jin’s snowball and lobbed it as best he could, hitting Namjoon in the ear when Hoseok ducked. Namjoon growled, snatching up a mouthful of snow without bothering to mold it and trying to return fire. 
Jin squawked as Taehyung hid behind him, refusing to abandon his living shield no matter which direction the penguin turned in. 
Raising a brow, (Y/N) quickly made a snowball and threw it at the dog. He yelped as it hit his flank, his large blue eyes full of betrayal. Though it almost made her feel bad, (Y/N) grinned at him. “Sorry, sorry, but it was only fair, right?”
Namjoon took the opportunity to pile on, flinging another snowball he had made while they were distracting that Taehyung took under the chin.
 The light tweeting Jimin did sounded suspiciously like laughter as the dog barked dramatically, picking up snow in his mouth and chasing his hyung with it. 
The fast wolfdog ducked behind Yoongi, who nearly got bowled over by Taehyung. The big cat took that as his sign to join in, pinning the dog down and making him swallow the snow he was holding.
 There was nothing but vindication in those sharp emerald eyes, and (Y/N) watched in interest as Hoseok brought a snowball he had made to her and then ruffed quietly. “Are you saying we should team up?” she whispered.
 Jimin flew down and landed on the coyote’s head. “And you want to be on the team too?” He confirmed with a chirp. “Think we can really take them all on?” The two hybrids nodded in determination. “Alright, then let’s get some distance first. Come up with a plan of attack.”
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Heart pounding after his workout, Jungkook removed his boxing gloves, swiping his bangs from his eyes and grabbing for his water bottle. He had forgotten how good the burn of his muscles after an extended session in the gym felt.
The rabbit hybrid sighed, not hearing any sounds in his vicinity, and guessing everyone must be downstairs. He shuffled into the hall’s bathroom and began to strip out of his sweaty workout gear. 
Better to get clean now before Jin-hyung caught a whiff of him later and complained. Besides, sometimes a warm shower helped loosen up the sore muscles and made the whole post-workout come down feel even better.
Adjusting the water to the right temperature and waiting patiently, Jungkook glanced in the mirror. He looked at the circles beneath his eyes, and touched a piece of hair that had fallen into his face. 
It’d been a while since his last official haircut. Gramps used to give them himself, but once they got older and started to complain about wanting to look more fashionable, he began taking them into town for a professional to do it. Lately, Jungkook had been thinking of growing it out though. 
Maybe his bangs could use a touch up, but the ends of his hair feathered past his ears, just the way he wanted it. His floppy, velveteen ears could use some attention and grooming as well. 
They had always been soft and silky to the touch, according to his family. But Jungkook could tell the difference. Dragging himself to shower every other day or so for the last week meant the texture had fallen below his usual standards. To him they felt oily. Nothing a quick shower couldn’t remedy now, though.
He lathered his hair in the lightly scented shampoo already there, letting the water run over his muscles and trying to piece together what had happened downstairs. 
So, while he was alone in Gramps room, Taehyung had met (Y/N). A human girl from the park nearby. She was…pretty normal, except the having magic part. If it were any other time, he might be kind of intrigued, but he was still put out by how she had come to be in their house.
When she left, he would talk more about it with his hyungs, and they would reassure him that no one would be allowed to come in and join their family so suddenly. Especially not some silly girl from the park. Everything would be alright…
Eventually, his shower concluded, and he made the short trip down the hall to his bedroom. It had been a while, Jin or someone else normally bringing a change of clothes for him to Gramps’ room. 
So he was unprepared by the unfamiliar scent that buffeted his nose as soon as he walked in. He took a sniff and his nose instantly crinkled. What…was that? Who was in his room?! The last sheets were off the bed, bagged up and ready for the laundry. A clean set had been put on tidily in their place.
But Jungkook could practically taste it in the air. That new scent. (Y/N).
They really let her use his room? All his hyungs knew how sensitive he was to scents. 
Technically, all hybrids were scent-sensitive, but having spent his early life the way he had, it was particularly amplified in Jungkook’s case.
Sliding on some clean clothes quickly, the bunny hurried to his bedroom window and wrenched it open. The crisp winter air flowed in immediately, sending a chill down his neck. Relieved, Jungkook stuck his head outside and breathed in the clean mid-morning air with his eyes closed.
Nature smelt so good. The world was blanketed in a soft layer of snow, on the fencing separating the path from the fields and the roof of the barn and even on the shed way out by the lake. It was probably frozen. Jungkook squinted out in that direction, seeing several figures darting around, seemingly having a great time. 
A fond memory surfaced, Gramps taking his hand and leading him out onto the ice, teaching him how to skate when he was very small. Then Taehyung came sliding into them, and everyone went spinning across the ice like newborn foals.
Come to think of it…someone had poked their head in the gym and told him they were going out to play in the snow for a little while, and that he was welcome to come along. But Jungkook had been so focused on his workout, it really hadn’t registered. 
Hesitating there at the window, he watched the four-legged creatures bounding around each other, able to make out most of his hyungs. Jimin was impossible to spot from here if he was shifted, though. 
Joining in did seem tempting. He was still hurting, of course. That was unlikely to change soon. But Gramps wouldn’t want him holed up inside all day. Maybe it was fine to get out, get some fresh air and enjoy the company of the others…
All those thoughts came to a crashing halt when he made out an extra figure, up on two legs and running amongst the animals in the snow. Wait, was that…?
(Y/N) again. Didn’t she go home already? For a second, Jungkook contemplated not even going out there. Avoiding her until she left seemed like the best bet.
 Then, he thought about the fact that he was letting some new person who wasn’t even staying keep him from spending time when his hyungs, and he had missed them. 
Defiantly, he went digging in his closet for a warm hoodie and his snow boots.
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Laughing, (Y/N) went down hard, falling to her knees and placing her arms over her head. It didn’t stop the onslaught. She was repeatedly pelted from behind by sizable snowballs, the hybrids having gotten quite good at making them without hands. 
Hoseok brushed by her, barking, darting around Namjoon and distracting him with seemingly innocuous play. At some point the strategy had kind of fallen apart, and they were improvising. 
Though that meant it was hard to tell who was winning. She, Hoseok and Jimin had taken the others by surprise, but not for long. 
Who knew they would have such a vicious competitive streak? Except maybe Yoongi. Kind of just seemed like he was only riled up because he kept getting pelted every time he tried to shuffle off to the side and watch.
“Tactical…” (Y/N) said through her giggles, “retreat!” She went crawling away, dragging herself to the shed with the hopes of getting a moment’s reprieve. 
Her cheeks had to be as red as a cherry by now, and her throat burned a little from rapidly inhaling the cold air. Even her fingertips felt a little numb, despite the borrowed gloves. Still, it was the most active she had been in a while, and the game was a lot of fun.
 Lurching up on her hands and knees, (Y/N) dove behind the shed, taking cover (and the opportunity to catch her breath) with a grin. She wiped some slush from her eye, peeking behind her to see Hoseok trying to dodge the opposing team and join her, with Jimin’s little body no where in sight amidst the larger hybrids and snow flying everywhere.
 Hopefully he was safe and up high. (Y/N) sighed, wondering if she should be planning a rescue, barely containing a startled squeal when she nearly came nose to nose with a very…large…rabbit.
Its black nose twitched, and the big golden brown eyes watched her steadily. The animal was what (Y/N) would most certainly class as ‘a unit’—a wall of muscular fluff. She’d never seen a lop-eared bunny so big and defined. “Um, hello…” she whispered, “Did you come to see what was going on?”
The rabbit eyed her down, unmoving and somehow, unamused. A loud growling-bark sounded from just behind her as Namjoon tumbled from a well-timed push, and (Y/N) moved to protect the smaller animal on instinct. Big bun or small bun, she still didn’t want him squished. 
What she hadn’t counted on was the rabbit reacting like it did the minute her hand moved to bring him in close to her chest.
 (Y/N) hissed, immediately retracting her hand, eyes widening as her fingers throbbed where his teeth had sank into them through the glove. She didn’t think he’d broken skin, but his powerful little jaw had moved quick as lightning with a warning bite. 
He turned his back to her, his long back legs kicking snow in her direction, and the action felt almost scornful. Then he hopped away, out into sight of the others, who stopped and made excited cries as if to welcome him to their game.
‘Duh, of course that’s Jungkook.’ (Y/N) winced, easing her glove off to inspect her hand. ‘I probably overstepped just now. I wouldn’t want a stranger touching me without warning either.’
There was a light tap on her shoulder, and (Y/N) twisted her body to see Jin towering over her. He honked, tilting his head and appearing puzzled. “Are you asking me if I’m okay?”
His sleek head bobbed.
“Yeah, I’m fine,” she said hurriedly. “I guess I’m tired. That was a long, intense game, right?
Taehyung trotted over, dipping his head as he studied her and then whining loudly. “Let’s say your team won, huh? That was fun. Thank you. I think I really should get going though. Gotta check on my car and all.”
Shaking himself off, the dog ran into the shed with a loud crash. “Wait,” she heard him shout from inside, voice echoing through the cracked door. “I’ll get dressed and walk with you.”
More hybrids walked into the shed, (Y/N) heard a chorus of voices and some light squabbling. “Don’t you think you’ve clung to her enough already? One of us could also walk her back.”
“But!”
“I think one of us tagging along is a good idea. Taehyung would just stall on purpose.”
(Y/N) inwardly smiled. However short her time had been with them, they had made her life more lively than it had been in a while.
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The crunch of the snow beneath her feet felt extra noisy. In comparison, her two escorts were silent as they all reached the parking lot. (Y/N) found there wasn’t anyone around, and no other cars left unclaimed, so it was easy to spot her vehicle, half buried under a mound of accumulated snow, but intact.
Huffing, she marched over, careful not to trip, digging out her key and unlocking the driver’s side door. “Well. This is my ride.” She told the two hybrids, smiling gently. “Thank you for seeing me back safely, and for hosting me too. I wish there was some way to repay your generosity.”
“It was the least we could do.” The older hybrid gave a single rough pat to Taehyung’s head, “Don’t mention it.”
The dog stepped forward, bangs falling slightly into his wide blue eyes, “So this is goodbye?”
“Uh, well…for now?” (Y/N) stammered, unsure why she felt so overwhelmingly guilty. “But you know, maybe not forever.” She extended a hand toward him, “You’re a nice guy, Taehyung, and you’ve got a good family. No matter how it happened…I’m glad we met.”
After staring at her hand, he slowly grasped it, giving it a firm squeeze. It wasn’t quite a handshake, but a parting offer of comfort. Sadness flowed through the touch, but not like she had felt before. It was touched with…hope. “Take care of yourself, okay? And don’t approach just anybody eating a hamburger on a bench anymore.”
A faint smile tugged at his lips briefly, “You take care too, (Y/N).”
Leaving Seokjin and Taehyung in her rear view mirror felt a lot like abandoning an opportunity to finally have some new friends.
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“Hold him steady!” One of the zoo staffers yelled. Several grown men groaned and grunted as they wrestled with the belligerent kangaroo (Y/N) was supposed to be seeing. 
The feisty animal twisted, eyes screaming murder as he managed to smack one of the people restraining him with the thick tail attached to his backside. Before (Y/N) could get any closer he had broken free with one mighty kick, leaving the poor zoo keeper dazed and sprawled on the ground, clutching at his ribs.
She winced, hoping he would be alright. “Tae-hui,” she called. “Please stop. I know we’ve never met, but I’m here to help.”
 The kangaroo was clearly still rearing to go given his body language and the way he was bouncing around, so (Y/N) dared not press her luck until she saw if she got through to him.
Why couldn’t all animals in need be as easy to work with as Jilju? The horse had just needed some patience and understanding words, and she was compliant by the end. Thinking of her last encounter using her gift outside of work brought back memories of the farm. 
And the boys. 
How were they doing now? Was the grief of losing someone so dear to them any better, or just ramping up? It had been about a week, and she still regretted not at least suggesting they keep in touch.
 Then again, what if they didn’t want to? How could she explain she was lonely and desperate for companionship? They might think she was a pushy creep.
“Yah!” Someone yelled. 
Tae-hui was coming her way, someone comically trying to hold him still again with the kangaroo paying no real mind. (Y/N) braced herself, ready to get out of the way if needed. Just another day in the life for her…
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Lips twisted lightly, (Y/N) used her thumb to scroll down the page pulled up on her phone, trying to check what ingredients the recipe called for while steering the shopping cart. The last thing she wanted was to run over anyone’s toes in her quest to try cooking pad see ew. It was worth expanding the palette every now and then. Or maybe even she was tired of her own cooking and needed something new.
Either way, (Y/N) was determined to give it a go. If only she could find what she needed. “Did they change the store’s layout around?” she mumbled to herself. “The noodles should have been on that aisle I just passed…” Continuing on, she did manage to find and grab some of the sauces the recipe called for. A few evening shoppers also milled about, (Y/N) passing an older woman deliberating over two brands of soup, an impatient youngster standing near by. “Halmoni,” the boy sighed, “My feet hurt. Can we please have dinner?”
“Ssh,” she hushed absently, waving a hand without looking at her grandchild.
Quietly walking by them, (Y/N) reached the end of the aisle, veering her cart sharply to avoid a store clerk who was mopping up a spilled mess from a broken jar.
She heard the gasp in time to avoid running into the woman who was coming out of the aisle she was entering, a shopping basket dangling on her arm. “Oh, sorry.” (Y/N) mumbled. “Are you alright?”
The woman said nothing, making unnerving eye contact and then slowly squinting, “Wait…(Y/N)? (L/N) (Y/N)?” Heart skipping a beat at the recognition, she tilted her head, trying to recall where the woman could possibly know her from.
“…Yes?”
“It’s me,” the lady gasped, moving a bit closer with a smile. “Gosh, how long has it been?”
“I…I don’t…”
“Do you really not recognize me?” She whispered. “It’s Choi Taeyeon.”
“C-Choi Taeyeon?” The name immediately elicited very vivid memories, some more pleasant than others. “I…” (Y/N) took a deep breath, pasting on a grin that was hopefully more excited than awkward looking. “It’s been so long. How are you?” Choi Taeyeon had once been her best friend. A proper greeting was the least she could do, right?
Finally having been acknowledged properly, she beamed, a pretty, gleaming white smile ringed in a blush shade of lipstick. Taeyeon’s stylish bob fell neatly around her shoulders, and her pink cashmere trench coat was cute and fashionable. She looked great.
 In comparison, (Y/N) stood in her normal work attire: khaki pants and a polo-shirt, bundled up with a sweater and coat for layering. There was no dressing glamorous when working with animals. Who knew if she would be slobbered on, clawed at, peed around, or otherwise get dirty.
‘I probably look like a drowned rat!’ (Y/N) suppressed the urge to reach up and smooth down her hair.
“Busy as ever.” Taeyeon sighed, “I’m afraid it’s starting to show on my face.” Of course, it was just fake humility. They both knew she looked excellent. “I followed my dreams and moved to Busan to work a nice job at a news station for the last two years. Now I’m back in Seoul and I’ll be covering national events.” 
“That’s awesome,” (Y/N) remembered when they would talk of their dreams together. Taeyeon had at first wanted to be a weather girl, but by graduation her sights were set much higher. “I’m not surprised.”
“What about you? What are you doing these days?” (Y/N) cringed inside, hoping they could politely go their separate ways after exchanging pleasantries. They hadn’t exactly parted ways on the best of terms… Once a painfully shy girl with a stutter, Taeyeon had hit it off for (Y/N), the class black sheep, in elementary school.
 After all, they were both excluded in activities by their peers, or picked last, or avoided. Sensing a kindred spirit, (Y/N) eventually befriended Taeyeon, and they had stuck together from then on.
When her power surfaced for the first time, outside her father, Taeyeon was the first person she told. Months later anyway. Although they shared everything with no secrets between them, magic was not as usual anymore, and people who had it could face a variety of reactions from others. The last thing she wanted was for her closest friend to see her differently.
The guilt of hiding something from her unsuspecting best friend left a throbbing pain inside. When she finally felt ready to share the truth, Taeyeon had listened with fascination. Relieved that she no longer had to hide, (Y/N) never imagined the way it would all change when they reached high school…
“I’ve been…around. I work with animals.” She explained vaguely. 
“Oh, that sounds like you,” Taeyeon giggled with a nod. “Same old (Y/N), huh?”
(Y/N) smiled weakly. “Yeah…same old me.” When could she be on her way? The longer she looked at Taeyeon the more she wanted to cry, all the memories rushing back. And that was not acceptable.
“Well. It was nice to see you,” Finally, that sounded like the end of a conversation if she ever heard one! “Maybe we could have a coffee date, catch up someti—”
Taeyeon stopped talking, mouth parting a little. (Y/N) quirked a brow, confused by her sudden awe. A large hand landing on her shoulder nearly made her jump, and she squealed, chopping at the stranger behind her, only to come face to face with a pair of bright blue eyes she had seen in her mind all week.
“T-Ta-Taehyung?” She breathed.
“(Y/N)!” The dog hybrid said, voice full of happiness. “I knew it was you. I told you it was, hyung.”
Jin and Hoseok were there too, both of them staring at her with surprise and then smiling. “How’s it going, (Y/N)?” Seokjin greeted, “Long time no see,”
“Y-Yeah,” (Y/N) was smiling so hard her cheeks hurt, almost forgetting all about Taeyeon still gawking behind her. “That’s crazy, running into you guys here.”
“We don’t normally shop here.” Hoseok admitted, “But the pup insisted,” he motioned to Taehyung.
“I told them this was a grocery store a lot of people go to on this side of the barrier, and maybe you shopped here too, so every time we need anything I ask to come here.”
(Y/N) gaped. “Y-You had no idea if I’d even be here tonight.”
“I had a feeling I’d get lucky,” he countered, pride twinkling in his eyes. 
“U-Um,” Taeyeon shuffled into view, tugging at her coat. “You know them?”
She was looking at them like she was in the presence of celebrities, and it struck her then that they were all very good-looking. “Hi, I’m Choi Taeyeon.” Her former friend bowed. 
Taehyung eyed her curiously, then turned to (Y/N), who shrugged uneasily. “I’m Taehyung.” He said. “Those are my hyungs,”
“Jin.” Seokjin nodded politely.
“Hoseok.” Hoseok put in.
Neither of them were acting as taken with Taeyeon as she was expecting. Since her transformation in high school, Taeyeon always had her pick of the boys wanting to date her.
“Well,” she fluffed her hair. “I’m an old friend of (Y/N)’s and I’m back in town for the first time in a few years. I was just suggesting we go for a coffee date, but maybe you’d like to join us?” She asked, her voice lowering into a subtle purr.
(Y/N) wanted to hide her face. All this and all she wanted was to get her ingredients and make dinner. Although she was over the moon that she happened to see the boys again.
“I’m sorry,” Seokjin apologized. “It’s not the best time for us to have social engagements. We recently had a death in the family and are still in mourning.”
“O-Oh!” Taeyeon gasped, “I’m so sorry! I didn’t…my condolences!” She slid a hand into her purse and took something out which she passed to (Y/N). A business card. “Let’s arrange something later (Y/N). I won’t hold you any longer.” She bowed, then waved with a cute smile at the boys. “Maybe some other time when things are better for you.”
(Y/N) blinked, hiding her surprise. When Taeyeon had finally walked away, it felt like all the tension went with her, and her shoulders slumped as she leaned into her shopping cart. “That was…exhausting,” she whispered, forgetting she was in the presence of beings with superior hearing.
“Yeah, we could hear your heart thumping a mile away.” Hoseok said sympathetically. “Are you alright.”
“Yes,” she said truthfully. “Now I am. Thank you.”
“Was she giving you a hard time?” Taehyung questioned. 
“Not exactly…” (Y/N) thought of how to put it. “It’s just…we were old friends a long time ago and we parted ways not on the best of terms. I wasn’t expecting to see her here.”
“Friendships that end awkwardly can be tough,” Seokjin hummed. “Though it really is a pleasant surprise to run into you again. This one was sulking for days because he wanted to reach out to you but didn’t have your phone number.”
Taehyung reached into his hoodie, eyes bright and hopeful. “This time, can we exchange numbers?”
“Wait, really?” (Y/N) couldn’t believe it. He felt the same way she did. “You wouldn’t mind?”
“I told you that I like you, (Y/N).” The dog said patiently. “And Jiminie said you promised to be his friend, so why can’t you be mine too?” The accusing whine went straight to her heart, and before she knew it, she was handing him her phone. 
Author’s Note:  I promise Jungkook is a sweetheart. lol It’s just that he’s finally at the place in the mourning process where he comes up for air, and then there’s a big change shoved at him right away, so he’s a little overwhelmed and uncomfortable. And taking it out on (Y/N). Things do get better between her and our bunny boy (in time). Also a gentle reminder that if you change your handle, please let me know or me tagging you may not work! I tried my best, but some people’s blogs or gone or they just cannot be tagged now for some reason.
**TAGLIST IS CLOSED**:
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722 notes · View notes
thoughtgained · 1 year
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okay i'm going to do something extremely cringe so bare with me here. I've seen a few posts going around that say that kim is boring as hell and lame and vanilla and that's FINE i love this version of kim. boring lame ass cop man. hilarious, perfect no notes. except: one single note. okay. sorry. We ALL agree that narratively that speedfreaks fm serves as the vessel to communicate Kim's weirdness in a textual way. Like we can extrapolate that kim is weird by the way he vibes with Harry, but IN THE TEXT speedfreaks fm is the metaphor. It's there to give us an insight into Kim's inner workings. it's an analog for the parts of him he keeps hidden.
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it's nasty and vulgar, all the things that kim is NOT. Kim holding this all in does not preclude him being boring. he can be very boring on purpose and indeed that's what i believe. he's boring on purpose. But we all agree that this is the analogue right? for kim's inner freak shit? you get where i'm going with this? Okay good cause DJ MESH'S NEXT LINE is:
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we agree right? that kim is definitely heavy of foot in his MC? SO it follows.... quid pro quo... the second part of this sentence???? Freaky in?? My only note is that kim is not vanilla. sorry i made you all read this. thanks.
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fischlslays · 1 year
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A Date By the Lake [kny]
Pairings: Genya x FM!Reader
Warning: None. Its just fluff :)
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Listen to these songs to add to your vibes! <3
Or this?
This!
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Friendly Reminder:
This is not my idea :) I found @p1stachioo crying over how no one posted a Genya x Reader fluff. So I did it, I hope to like @p1stachioo, if you reading this, it is my first time writing fluff and stories in general. It may be horrible. But I tried, I will sure improve by time! <3 I think @p1stachioo x Genya is a slay ship.
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Summary:
In which y/n is dating shy Genya who tries to get closer to her, he decides to take her on a date. Y/N eventually finds how shy Genya is.
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It was a normal day, except that you get to spend special time with your boyfriend, Genya. You spend time together, but this time is different.
You were getting ready as you hear a knock on your door.
"A second!"
You said as you were dashing while putting your earrings and grabbing your basket [picnic basket].
You opened the door to see Genya standing with some flowers, you pulled a grin on your face while greeting him.
"You didn't have to, you know?"
You said while taking the flowers with your left hand, while your other hand tucked your hair behind your ear. Genya was blushing, you hardly did any thing..! You thought about being playful, so you gave him a small kiss on his nose.
"Why aren't you saying anything? Did you hate it? Fine I won't do it again."
You said in a playful tone as you played with your hair.
"I-I didn't say I didn't l-like it..!"
Genya said while avoiding eye contact with you. You find it cute as he turned into a hot tomato.
"I bought you those flowers because I thought you would like them."
He said while trying to hide that he is blushing. But you noticed and just smiled at him.
"I see, you really have a good taste! I like them! Thanks!"
You said. As you both started walking to your destination, aka the Lake, You noticed that Genya was not looking at you. You always knew he was shy, at first you saw him as mean, but now it is completely different, he is an absolute baby.
Mysteriously, your hand touched, you didn't move your hand, but Genya tried to change its direction, but you grabbed his hand back.
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He didn't budge.
He kept your hand were you placed it. He looked you straight in the eye, and then turned his face.
You know it mad him happy that someone wants them to stay around. And you are more happy it's you.
As you both walk, he stopped in front an ice cream stand, and asked you if you want some.
"So, um, want some ice cream? It's really a chance you know."
"Yeah I'd love too!" You held his hand with both of your hands, they were so tiny compared to his.
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.
.
Some time passed until you got your order, and continued walking.
"Can I hold your hand?"
You asked while looking at him with puppy eyes, you know he won't say no, but why not? At least ask cutely. Act. Like. The. Gorgeous. Person. You. Are. (Or i'll hunt you at night<3)
"Yeah, but the ice creams.."
You never thought about that didn't you?
You just node while he finally informs you you arrived at your destination.
"So we are here babe."
He said, it was unusual, you liked how tried calling you names instead of your boring original normal ordinary what ever real so daily used that I will never call you by it name.
It's your time to blush now.
While you both were sitting up your picnic area, Genya accidentally let go of his ice cream, and it spilled across the floor.
"Shoot. It was my favorite!"
He said as he placed his hand on the back of his head.
"At least yours is still safe."
He continued. You had thoughts, but were not sure to say it or keep it for your self. You thought about feeding him from your ice cream, but what if he was too shy? Will he think its disgusting?
"Y/n?"
"Yes?"
"Are you listening?"
"Can you repeat?"
"I will go buy a new one."
"No need, let me f-feed you from mine."
You looked down with embarrassment, but he nodes slightly. As you felt like you flew to the moon and back again.
After you settled on a position, he waited for you. You gave him a spoonful of ice cream. You watched with all your attention, he looks cute.
"Come on darling, open your mouth, I want to take care of you this time!"
He opened his mouth slightly, but enough for it to enter his mouth. You tucked the ice cream aside as you took a plate of sushi and rice.
"Look! I made you something, I hope you like it!"
He took the plate from your hand, you took yours. You both ate until you were full, but you noticed that there is some left overs in his lips. You felt the urge to remove it.
"Honey? There is some rice on your lips. Lemme take care of them!"
You took a tissue from your pocket and wipped his lips. You could fell his embarrassment, but you loved him.
.
Some time later, Dawn was near, he felt like you should stay closer to him since you both liked it.
"C-can I come closer?"
You asked, but you were embarrassed this time.
"You don't have to ask you know."
He smiled as you leaned closer to him, as he covered both of you with his jacket. You both watched as the sun disappeared. You got him wondering how he got so lucky.
~~
~~
Hey there! <3 I am glad you made it here! Please let me know if you like it! <3 I like it when you ask me! Fell free to give me your thoughts! @p1stachioo I got you girl! <3
Requests are open! <3
~~
~~
Harper <3
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mangoisms · 1 year
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like the part of the song where it falls ━ miyuki kazuya
━ part three: also i wanted to be able to love. and we all know how that one goes, don’t we? read part one / part two
━ wc: 6k
━ warnings: none
━ masterpost
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“It stinks in here.”
That’s the first thing Miyuki says when he steps into the studio the next day. 
Jerry, at the computer, laughs quietly. 
You grin. “Yeah. Sorry. That would be Dennis.”
“Right. Saw the release today. They’re not shutting you down.”
“Well, it was put much more nicely there. They’re not shutting us down now but they are giving us the rest of the year to perform well. If we don’t —” you make a cutting motion with your hand across your neck “— we’re out.” 
“Fixed our pay, though,” Jerry mutters, sending you a sidelong glance. 
Righttt. Dennis had unapologetically let it slip you’d been covering part of his check. You think it was revenge for him getting in trouble for not sending a representative down for the company to the press conference but really, it just makes them sound like assholes. 
Jerry was a little upset about it but you’d pressed that if push came to shove, you had your sister and Hector to fall back on. He had no one other than his grandma and while DJing at parties brings in a little extra side cash, it wouldn’t have been enough had you not stepped in. 
But that’s over now. They’re paying him his old rate again. 
Of course, you two might end up turned out onto the street come the new year but you’d cross that bridge when you got to it. 
Miyuki doesn’t say anything to that, though his eyes sweep over to you curiously. You just shake your head minutely. You’ll tell him downstairs. 
You and Jerry had come in early to set up. He hadn’t changed much but you two needed to do a few tests, run through some things, wake up that old muscle memory of how things used to be. 
Things are the same again now, except for the purple bruise on your temple, the professional baseball player standing in your studio, and the hubbub about your return tonight. 
“You want anything from downstairs, Mouser?”
Jerry shakes his head. “Had Jersey Mike’s earlier. I’m still good. When’re you gonna be back?”
“Won’t be long. We’re doing BestBuy tomorrow. Probably just an hour or something. That okay?”
“Yeah, that’s fine. Where is the Lysol, though? He is right. Freakin’ stinks of weed in here.”
You snicker. “It’s in the closet.”
“Right, thanks. Have fun.”
You go over to Miyuki, who is taking in the room. Overall a small recording studio, you have the control room, where Jerry operates the sound board, then the live room — the actual studio — wherein you broadcast from. Both areas are separate from each other.  A glass window mounted above the sound board looks into it, showing the desk with the various computer screens, your mic and headphones, and a chair. On the walls inside the control room you have a few puzzles you and Jerry have done together framed, along with newspaper clippings of Night Owl’s sparse mentions in the media. 
More have appeared, though, from far more well-known newspapers, like the Washington Post, the New York Times. The new ones read things like:
WHO AND WHAT IS NIGHT OWL, KCSD’S NIGHTTIME RADIO SEGMENT? 
SOCAL’S MOST UNDERRATED RADIO SEGMENT, NIGHT OWL, ON 101.1 FM
UNKNOWN TO THE GENERAL PUBLIC BUT BELOVED BY UC STUDENTS AND GRAVEYARD SHIFT WORKERS, NIGHT OWL, A RADIO SEGMENT
HOW THE PADRES’ WINNING HOME-RUN OF THE WORLD SERIES THRUSTED A LITTLE-KNOWN SHOW INTO STARDOM
“Little-known show? That’s kinda cruel. And that’s coming from me.”
Jerry snickers. 
You grin. “Yeah, well, sympathetic press gets us more listeners, so they can keep going.”
“That is true…” 
The two of you slip out of the studio. 
He glances at you and smirks. “Nice shirt.”
You grin, tugging at the black shirt with just the Wonder Woman logo on the breast. “Thank you. Wonder Woman is excellent. I have a poster of her and the Wonderfam in my room.”
“Of course you do.”
He pushes the down button for the elevator. 
“I’ve been thinking I want to get some more snails if I get a bigger tank, like two of them, and you know what I’m gonna name them?”
“Let me guess — Wonder Woman and Superman?”
“Aw, look at you. All knowledgeable about comics now.”
“Well, you did talk my ear off about it for two hours straight.”
The elevator doors slide open. 
You smile. “I did, didn’t I?”
Your studio is on the tenth floor of KCSD’s building, which is located in Hillcrest, a neighborhood west of your apartment in Normal Heights. Right across the I-805. 
Outside, the sun is beginning its descent. The time change is in a couple days, so it’ll be setting even earlier after that. You take the time to enjoy the last long days of sunlight. It’s warm today, perfectly comfortable, especially with the sun still out and a light breeze. You’re in your Wonder Woman t-shirt, dark jean shorts, your regular Doc Martens that are scuffed and worn, and a pair of black over-the-knee socks, finished with a black cherry lip lacquer. 
“So, what was he talking about? Did they lower your pay?”
“Not mine. His. A few months ago. But,” you sigh, tilting your face to the sky, closing your eyes as you come to the crosswalk. You still need a second to adjust to the brightness. “Jerry lives on his own with his grandmother. It’s just them two. She has diabetes, though, and needs medication for it. We get insurance but it doesn’t cover the entirety of the prescription. The two of them wouldn’t have been able to live on that paycheck, so I told payroll to fill it from mine.”
Miyuki is quiet for a second. You open your eyes, a little more adjusted to the light. 
“Nice of you,” he says at last.
“It’s just me and Batman and Robin. It made the most sense.”
“Hm.”
The light turns. You two cross the street to the 7-Eleven, where Rico’s Tacos, a food truck, sits adjacent of. 
You and Jerry are loyal customers to them, so when you step up the window, you are instantly recognized. 
“Tee! What’s up? We heard about what happened! Free tacos for life, yeah? Or, well, maybe just a few months.” 
You grin up at Jaime Moreno as he leans out the window, handsome face split into a grin. 
“Cheap ass,” his sister, Juana ‘Janie’ Moreno, hisses, shoulder checking him out of the window to grin down at you. “Mi cielito, you can have as many free tacos as you want!”
“She’s not gonna go on a date with you,” Jaime mutters. 
“Yeah, well, she’s not gonna go on a date with you either, stupid ass.”
You laugh. Miyuki snorts quietly. 
Janie’s eyes dart to him, eyebrow raising. “Who’s this?” 
Jaime looks at him, too, blinking. 
You can’t help but laugh. “This is Miyuki. He’s the guy who concussed me.”
“Ohhh,” they say in unison. 
“Sorry, man,” Jaime says, eyes twinkling. “We don’t watch much baseball.”
“Oh, don’t feel bad,” you say. “I didn’t know who he was until I woke up in the hospital.”
“Okay,” Miyuki says. “Why don’t we order?”
“Right.”
You place your orders, he pays, and in no time, you’re sitting on the curb next to each other, soda bottles between you, feasting on your still-hot tacos. 
“Okay,” he says around a mouthful of a spicy chicken taco. “This is good.”
“Right? And look, no allergic reactions!” You grin, gesturing to yourself. 
He snickers. 
You two sit in a relatively peaceful silence. Cars drive up and down the street, some pulling into 7-Eleven for gas and snacks, while others line up at Rico’s for dinner. A few pigeons land near you, cooing, no doubt eyeing your food. 
Gold rays paint over you, picking out the red highlights in Miyuki’s dark hair, light brown skin glowing. 
Your stomach swoops like you missed a step and you look away. 
On the sidewalk, a teenage girl walks a small dog. A little girl skips ahead of them, running through the pigeons, letting out a delighted laugh as they flutter away. 
You smile, watching her go. 
Across the street, a woman hurries down the sidewalk, arms laden with grocery bags. One of them breaks, groceries spilling out. You pause, already starting to set your plate down to run across the street and help her, but someone else swoops in, kindly helping to pick up the vegetables and fruits that tumbled onto the concrete. 
You sigh wistfully. “I love humanity.”
“Not exactly representative of humanity collectively, is it? Logically speaking.”
“These are just outliers, you think?”
He nods like it should be obvious. “There are lots of words to describe humanity but I’m not sure good is one of them.”
“No?” you ask lightly. 
He shrugs. “Look at what we do. Pollute the earth, start wars over nothing, create mass weapons of destruction. Doesn’t sound very good to me.”
“You think humanity is inherently selfish and bad?”
“I don’t know. I don’t see anything that says it’s inherently good.”
You smile. “How miserable you must be to resent your own kind.”
“I don’t resent humanity. I just don’t think we’re good. That’s all.”
“So, what do you believe in?”
“Myself.”
“Miserable and lonely, then. Sounds like an excuse.”
“An excuse?” 
“You’re letting them win,” you say patiently. “Being a cynic, thinking humanity is a plague on this earth, that’s the easy way out. It excuses you, doesn’t it? Despair and cynicism are easy. It absolves you of responsibility. Removes yourself from the equation, from the possibility of helping because, why help if there is no hope?”
You pause and take a breath. You aren’t hungry anymore. Something bubbles inside your chest but you force yourself to be calm. To be patient. 
“Miyuki… You aren’t smart or philosophical for saying humanity is doomed. Not at all. You have to believe humanity is good.”
“Why?”
“Humanity named kindness so it must know kindness. We just saw a stranger help another stranger. They didn’t have to. But they did. If you look for greed, selfishness, or corruption, you will find it. Try looking for kindness for once, for the goodness of humanity.”
“You —”
“Are naive? The way that I am, it is strategic. Necessary. Because what else do we have? It’s too easy to go that route. And it’s what they want. The government wants us hopeless, wants us to think there is no way to solve the problems we have created. Wants us to think we are inherently greedy, selfish, and evil because it absolves them of responsibility. And when we believe it, it absolves us of responsibility, too. But it’s a double-whammy, because not only that, but we’re also getting fucked over by the government all the while. No one wins. Nothing gets better.”
You set your food ahead, gazing intently at him. In the setting rays of the sun, his eyes are honey brown. 
“Even if you can’t bring yourself to believe that, at least appreciate that you are here, existing with everyone else. How extraordinary it is that we even exist. You know how young the universe is? It’s just barely coming into adolescence. For this brief moment in time, life can exist. But for most of the universe’s life, it will be cold, dark, and empty. Stars will die out. Even the black holes will die in some quadrillion years.”
“Just sounds like an existential crisis if you ask me.”
“We’re here, Miyuki. Existing in that haven in time. We should enjoy our time here.”
“I enjoy my life.”
You take a leap. 
“I’m saying other than baseball.”
He falters. You can tell you’ve got him out, because his next words are sharp again. 
“Awfully presumptuous, aren’t you?”
You knew that. And yet, something inside you urged you to say it anyway. To presume. 
“I’m happy to be proved wrong.”
He’s quiet for a long moment. The sky is painted shades of pink and orange as the sun sets. 
“What do you want me to say?”
“What do you do for fun?”
“Baseball.”
“Other than baseball. I like photography, doing puzzles in my free time, watching Say Yes to the Dress, reading poetry, and making playlists. Not just for the show but for me, too. I like watching Batman and Robin move around in their tank. I like — love — the ocean and the beach. I like swimming, too, but the ocean is usually too cold for that, and the pool at my apartment complex isn’t taken care of enough and while I love swimming — love that feeling after several hours of it, when you’re in bed and you feel like you’re rocking on a boat — my fear of getting a UTI is stronger.”
His lips twitch. 
You nudge his shoulder with yours. “There has to be something. Like my puzzles. I do them in my free time but also if the show is particularly slow. Jerry likes to do sudoku and he likes Star Wars, but not the recent movies that come out. He says those all suck. Rogue One is apparently the only good movie to come out. I’ve seen it. It’s actually very… touching.”
He sets his plate down with a sigh and picks up the soda bottle, which is sweating in the warm weather. Air hisses out as he untwists the cap. He takes a drink. You try not to stare at the long line of his neck, Adam’s apple bobbing. Focus. You need to focus and stop ogling him. 
Easier said than done. 
“What are you going to do during the offseason?” you ask, trying for a difference approach. 
“The usual. Workout. Review game footage. Plan for next season. The only thing different now is I’m still house hunting and no, real estate doesn’t much interest me outside of that.”
You purse your lips, thinking. 
He sets the bottle down and looks at you. 
“You should show me.”
“Show you what?”
“How to…” he gestures aimlessly. “Enjoy life. Outside of baseball, I mean.”
You give him a sad smile. “It’s not exactly something that can be taught, Miyuki.”
“Maybe not. But it’s worth a shot. Prove it to me and I’ll believe you.”
“I’m not going to do it because of that. I don’t care about being right or wrong. You can think what you’d like. But… if you really want to, maybe I can help you get into the swing of it.”
“Do your worst.”
“No,” you say, smiling. “I’m going to do my best.”
The look in his eyes is hard to quantify but the set of his mouth is soft. 
“I look forward to it.”
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[Night Owl Transcript — 20:07 — 11/4/2022]
Tee: It’s great to be back here, guys. Really, really great. I’m in desperate need of some good old human connection. Lucky, too, that our switchboard is literally lighting up. Wow. [Laughing] What a reception. Trending on Twitter, too. That’s fun. Don’t worry, guys, we’ll get to callers in a sec, for now, our first song of the night… I thought about it for a long time. Interestingly enough, there is only one song I know of in my catalog with the word concussion in it. And it’s a great song! But not the tone I’d like to set for tonight. So…
[Coldplay’s “A Head Full of Dreams” starts in the background]
Tee: What’s tonight's theme? Frankly, it’s me being grateful to be alive. To be here right now, in this moment of time. I hope you guys can feel that, too. 
[“A Head Full of Dreams” plays] Leave your broken windows open And in the light streams And you get a head A head full of dreams
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[Night Owl Transcript — 21:47 — 11/4/2022]
Caller 52: Hello? Tee: Hi! Thanks for calling in. What’s your name? Caller 52: My name is Emi.  Tee: Hi, Emi! I’m Tee. Where are you calling from? Caller 52: From Japan, actually.  Tee: No way, are you serious? Caller 52: Yes. It’s only the afternoon here, so it’s easy to listen in. Many of my friends are since everything happened with Miyuki-san. I just wanted to say we are glad you’re okay. We’ve been listening for the last week but we’ll keep listening. So, you have some supporters across the pacific, too.  Tee: Hey, Emi, I really appreciate that. Thank you. And since it’s only the afternoon there, I hope you have a good day, too. I’ve seen a lot on Twitter saying people not just from San Diego or the SoCal area are listening in and so many callers are saying that, too. Guys — that is so sick. 
[Tai Verdes’ “A-O-K” starts in the background]
Tee: I feel like I’ve been saying it all night but — you guys are freakin’ awesome. I’m glad we’re all here tonight. 
[“A-O-K” plays] Livin’ in this big blue world With my head up in outer space  I know I'll be A-O, A-O-K I know I'll be A-O, A-O-K  When I see trouble come my way  I’ll be makin' lemonade
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[Night Owl Transcript — 22:54 — 11/5/2022]
Caller 106: I just think it’s crazy that was your first baseball game, ever! Tee: [Laughs] Yeah, I know, just my luck, right?  Caller 106: Is it true he paid for your hospital bills? Tee: Every cent. From my week-long stay for the concussion and for the allergic reaction, too.  Caller 106: God, that is awesome. It’s really nice to have you back, Tee. Mouser did good but it’s just not the same. You’ve gotten me through three years of college.  Tee: Hey, that was all you. I just kept you company. Any requests? Caller 106: I’m about to drive home from work. I could use something to keep me awake. Something I can sing along to, you know? Tee: Oh, I got you. Roll down the windows and enjoy — and drive safely, please. 
[AWOLNATION’s “Pacific Coast Highway in the Movies” plays] I’m lonely, I’m confused, and I’m glad that you’re here Give me shiny things to stop my tears Pacific coast highway in the movies You promised me sunshine, why’s it gloomy? We’ll wait ‘til the night to catch the moonbeams Pacific coast highway in the movies
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(03:07) you ever been to the zoo? (12:30) Jesus is that how long night owl runs? Until 3 am???? (12:30) yes :DDD good morning (12:31) It’s noon (12:31) And are you asking in general? (12:32) :( i’m talking about here! (12:32) Haha I know I just wanted to mess with you (12:32) No I’ve never been (12:33) we must fix fhat immediately (12:33) *that. are you busy today??? after bestbuy?? (12:33) Today?? No (12:34) yay! that’s what we’re doing today (12:34) welcome to day 1 of operation enjoy your life (in the offseason)
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Things continue like that for the most part. 
Night Owl runs from eight to three, so you often sleep in until noon. Not the most sustainable sleeping schedule and the first few days are rough, since you’ve been on a ‘normal’ one without having the show, but once you get into the swing of it, it gets better. 
Your days are often free, too, so if Miyuki doesn’t have a photoshoot or an interview or any other kind of public engagement, you’re dragging him around the city. 
It’s mostly to just get him outside. 
He doesn’t need to pick up, like, knitting or something but… he should go out and do things anyway. They don’t have to be extraordinary, either. Even going out and sitting in a cafe and reading is good. 
He’s a bit of a solitary creature, you find. He doesn’t have friends here — “I have the team,” he says, but when you ask whether they hang out, he admits it’s never quite voluntary on his part. More of an obligation. Outside of that, there is nothing else. But the thing is, humans need social contact. Social support. It is quite literally hardwired into your DNA. 
And being solitary or a homebody doesn’t have to change. You get wanting to stay home. But it’s just… there’s a balance to these things, right?
Mostly… you just want him to enjoy himself. 
Bit by bit, it’s starting to work. 
You find yourself at Barnes & Noble with your sister at one point and find a book on Shohei Ohtani that seems interesting. You ask him about it and he says he hasn’t read it. 
You buy two copies and drag him to Balboa Park to read on the grass on a particularly warm November day. 
He humors you, and most of all, you certainly entertain him by asking, “What the hell an ERA and an OPS are,” and all kinds of questions about the baseball jargon you stumble upon in your reading. 
Oftentimes, you bring your new camera, a very expensive model you’d picked out at BestBuy a couple weeks ago after several hours of contemplation. 
Photography is just a hobby for you, nothing serious, which is why you still haven’t accepted the Padres’ offer to join their team. 
The show is going well. More than well. Most nights, you have a long line of callers and even more interaction on Twitter. Once people discover you, they tend to stick around, liking what they find. It helps you have people from all around the world listening. Your listeners in Japan and other parts of the world get the advantage of it being afternoon when your show airs, so it’s feasible to reach a wide audience there. Especially after all the attention you got. 
The blessings of modern technology also allow for each segment to be recorded and stored away on streaming apps, so if people aren’t staying up, they can listen the next day, after the fact. That is a popular option. 
The time continues to pass. Miyuki’s birthday comes up — turning a whole twenty-nine. You’re a few years younger than him at twenty-six. 
November ends and December begins. The city is festive, houses decorated in their various religious symbols for the upcoming holidays. But of course, the lowest the temperatures will go is the fifties and that’s at night. In the day, it floats around the mid-sixties. Cool but not uncomfortable. For some, it ruins the experience of the winter holidays, but you quite like being able to still wear shorts or leggings during the month, so you don’t complain. 
All the while, you and Miyuki hang out. You visit museums, art galleries, exhibits, botanical gardens. Sometimes you go to your apartment and complete your more difficult puzzles since he likes the challenge or you try to teach him photography. Sometimes you go to his apartment and he answers your questions on baseball or you cook together or you play shogi together (more like he teaches you how to play). He’d tried it out after your talk, said he was always forced to play it with one of his old teammates from high school but he hadn’t touched it since he graduated. Mostly, you think he enjoys beating you at it but you don’t mind.
That’s the point, isn’t it? 
You’re still searching for new things to explore, though. 
“Has there ever been anything you wanted to do as a kid that you never did? I always wanted to go to Magic Mountain but my sister is a scaredy cat.”
“Why didn’t your parents just go with you?”
“Didn’t see any use in even going to Six Flags if she wasn’t going to go and they certainly weren’t going to come with me on rides.”
He glances at you, curious. 
The two of you find yourselves sitting in the stands of a Little League game. You’d stepped out of a cafe for a late lunch when he spotted the fields and dragged you over to it, which was a nice surprise. Most often, if your days are not pre-planned, you just go where your whims take you. But now it’s his whims leading you to this field. Probably expecting a high school team or something. No, this is Little League. And you mean Little League. 
Most of the kiddos running around look to be four to six years old. Their batting helmets are too big for their heads. Volunteers stand around, watching like hawks. 
You watch with a small smile as a little boy hits the ball off the tee, then, instead of running down first base line, runs forward to chase it. 
A volunteer swoops in as the other boys of the team close in to grab the ball in clumsy formation; the volunteer lifts the little boy back over to the first base line and urges him on. He finally runs for first base. 
Miyuki looks amused, too. You wouldn’t have thought he’d enjoyed watching but these little kids are fun to watch. No one gets upset when they chase the ball after hitting it instead of running to the bases. Or if they make more clumsy mistakes. They’re just kids, after all. Babies, really. But they’re having fun and so, everyone else is, too. 
Even Miyuki, who watches with a soft look in his eyes. 
Or he was. Now he is looking at you, curiosity clear in those amber brown eyes. 
“What?”
“I know I’m being a hypocrite by saying this but you don’t talk much about your parents. Did they visit you when you were in the hospital?”
“You can ask questions about my life, Miyuki. We’re friends. Friends do that.”
“Right.”
“And no, they didn’t.” You shrug. “But that’s fine. My sister and I don’t talk to them. They had very specific visions about what we should do with our lives. Go to an Ivy League, become a doctor, an engineer, a programmer. Neither of us wanted that. My sister wanted to be a flight attendant and I wanted to be a radio host. Not very impressive or glamorous jobs in their eyes and certainly not jobs that would earn us six figures so we could give them money. So. We don’t talk. Well, really, they disowned us. But you know.”
“That…”
You shoot him a grin. “It’s okay. They weren’t that great growing up. They took care of us but it was always just a transactional thing and if we didn’t do something they liked, they always said something like After all we have done for you blah blah blah. As if housing us and clothing us and feeding us makes them good parents.”
You yawn, stretching your arms above your head. “Anyway, we’ve got Hector’s family now. They’re loads better.”
“Endlessly optimistic.”
“I can’t change anything,” you chuckle. “That’s in the past. I’ve grieved it, believe me. But in the end, there’s just nothing left for me. So.”
He nods and turns his eyes back to the field. 
Another little boy hits the ball from the tee. He doesn’t try chasing it but he heads straight for second base instead of first. 
“My mom died when I was a kid.”
You jolt, head whipping towards him. He doesn’t look at you, instead out at the field, where chaos unfolds, punctuated by parents’ cheers and urges and the kids’ yells and laughter. It balances the weight of his words but you still feel them pierce deep in the soft tissue of your heart. 
“After she died, my dad wasn’t all there. For most of my childhood and teenage years, he was never there. Had to cook, clean, balance the checkbook, pay the bills. He came around in my final year of high school but it still wasn’t…”
“Can’t make up for all that you had to do,” you murmur. 
“But it’s like you said. I can’t change any of it. He tries now, which I guess is what matters the most in the end.”
“Still,” you say softly. “I’m sorry you had to deal with that from such a young age.”
“I had baseball,” he says, looking at you. “If I didn’t have my parents, I had baseball. But I guess that’s the point of this.”
You tilt your head, silently urging him to go on. 
He lifts a shoulder. “I won’t have baseball forever.”
“I don’t know,” you say, smiling. “If there is anyone who can keep going forever, I think it’s you.”
“Yeah. Then they’d ban me from the parks.”
You laugh and turn back around, shifting on the metal bench. Your shoulder brushes his. 
“I don’t remember much from my childhood other than wanting to play baseball and be the best,” he says, finally addressing your previous question. 
“Didn’t even want to go to an amusement park or something?”
He gives you a suspicious looks. “What’s with you and amusement parks?”
“They’re fun!”
“Didn’t realize you were such an adrenaline junkie, tomcat. Maybe you did get hit with that ball on purpose.”
You laugh. “I am not and I did not! They’re just fun! This is coming from someone who has clearly never experienced the pleasure of a rollarcoaster.”
“There are many words to describe rollarcoasters and a pleasure is not one of them. Besides, you’re still recovering from your concussion. I don’t think it’s a great idea to go on a contraption that shoots you from zero to seventy in a few seconds.”
“I’ll ask Hector when I see him tomorrow for my appointment.”
He chuckles. ”You do that. But you know what I have been thinking?” 
“Tell me.”
“We’ve been to the zoo, we’ve been all around the city but… why haven’t we gone to the aquarium yet?”
“Oh, my god, you’re right.”
“Doing anything tomorrow?”
“I have my appointment. We’ll go to the aquarium next week Tuesday. Be less busy.”
“Hey, maybe I’m doing something.”
“Are you?” you ask knowingly. 
He looks away. “No… but it’s the principle!”
“You’re right. Are you free next week Tuesday to go to the aquarium?”
“Hmm. Yes.”
You nudge his shoulder, smiling. He nudges back, then stays there, your shoulders and arms pressed together, skin against skin. Your heart does something funny at the feeling. 
You stay like that until the game is over.   
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Your six-week follow up appointment is tomorrow in the afternoon. 
Another round of CT and X-ray scans reveal good — great — news. Your brain contusions are completely healed, which finally makes Hector relax. Your skull fracture is entirely healed, too. It wasn’t a very big fracture — if it was, you’d be in a whole lot more trouble, like, brain surgery kind of trouble — so it’s smallness in size lends a hand to your healing. The bruise on your temple is gone, too. 
You do have one question, though. 
“Soooo, when do you think I’m safe to ride a rollarcoaster?”
“Six months from now,” Hector says flatly.  
“What?!”
“One-hundred-and-nineteen. That was the exit velocity on that ball. Concussions don’t just heal like that. They take a long time.”
You pout. You’d figured that. You didn’t think you had to wait six months, though…
“How about two months?”
“Why do you even want to get on one?”
“For fun.”
Hector looks at you for a second, lips pursed. Then he sighs. “Three months. Wait at least three months from the day it happened, so October twenty-fifth to January twenty-fifth. Then after that, you can go. But you must exercise caution. Listen to your body. If you start to feel sick or if your head hurts, stop immediately. Okay? These things are different in everybody but you still have to be careful.”
“I will be. Promise.”
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[Night Owl Transcript — 20:34 — 12/9/2022]
Tee: It’s Friday night, folks, which means it’s I-play-music-and-you-imagine-your-lives-as-movies night. Have fun and be safe out there. 
[M83’s “Midnight City” plays] Lookin’ at the milky skyline The city is my church It wraps me in its blinding twilight
[Off-air recording starts] Mouser: You and Miyuki sure are spending a lot of time together, huh.  Tee: Yeees? Why? Mouser: Just an observation. Tee: Is it really? Mouser: [Laughs] It is! You guys seem like you’re having a lot of fun together. Just surprised, I guess.  Tee: Why? Mouser: He just doesn’t seem like the kind of guy you’d be friends with.  Tee: I guess not. But he’s not all bad. I just think he’s… Mouser: Got a couple chips on those broad, broad shoulders? Tee, Mouser: [Laughter] Tee: Pretty much. Mouser: I guess I’m not surprised. Guy has bad luck when it comes to concussing people. Tee: [Chuckling] What? Mouser: No way. You don’t know? Tee: Know what? Mouser: Ohhhhh. Oh, shit. Wait. It was this thing… hold on. I’m going in. 
Jerry opens the door to the studio, rolling in the chair from the control room. You sit up, sliding off the headphones, pulling your legs from the desk, frowning a little. Midnight City plays quietly from the headphones that you set on the desk. 
“I thought you knew,” Jerry says, looking a tad nervous as he rolls up next to you, tapping quickly on his phone. 
“I’d never heard anything about it.”
“Well, basically, like, three or four years ago, during his second season here in the US and with the Atlanta Braves, a few weeks into the season, one of his foul balls hit a little girl in the stands.”
“What?”
He passes you his phone. It’s a recent article, talking about not just your concussion, but the other one, too. About a six-year-old girl who, in a home game in Atlanta between the Braves and the Washington Nationals, was hit by a foul ball in the first inning. 
“She suffered permanent brain damage,” he says, frowning a little bit. “Like she started having seizures after and stuff. Speech issues, mobility issues. I looked more into it after I first heard about it, just ‘cause I was curious about him, since he was visiting you and stuff. He did the same for her. Paid her hospital bills. Is still paying for stuff regarding her healthcare and making sure she has a good quality of life, I think. They say she’s doing good now.”
“That’s good at least,” you mumble, still scrolling the article. 
“But… after it happened, he slumped bad. Like really bad. Like the worst slump of his career apparently. This guy’s, like, a heavy hitter, right? Up there with Judge and Trout, I’ve heard. Defensively speaking, he was still okay. Not as good as usual but… on the offense, he was even worse. This was after his debut here in the US. One of the Braves’ best seasons to date. But that season…” 
Jerry shakes his head. 
“I mean, I get it. I probably wouldn’t walk away unscathed but… I don’t know.”
“It’s different in Japan,” you say quietly, handing his phone back. “They’re vigilant about keeping people safe. Here… nothing happens until it’s too late. Has it happened since?”
“No. Your incident was his second one.”
“They’re not the same, though. Behind the foul line… yeah, it should be netted. But out there in the outfield — that was on me.”
“He probably still feels bad, Tee. I mean… yours was bad. You got lucky. Really lucky.”
True. Headaches have increased in frequency and sometimes you’re still sensitive to the sun. But outside of that… you’ll be okay eventually. 
You knew there might be some underlying guilt, but never enough for you to reconsider where you stand. 
Is he humoring you because of that? Or because you are friends? 
You hope it’s because you’re friends. If it’s that first one… you don’t know. What can you do? 
You try to think of it from his perspective. If your places were reversed, you’d probably feel a little bit of guilt. But he’s more than made up for it — when he didn’t even have to. He had your forgiveness before you even woke up the day after. He always had it. 
“He got better, though, right?”
“Well, he accepted a trade deal with the Padres after that season. Three years here. It ended this season.”
“What?”
“How do you not know that? You guys hang out constantly!”
“The finer points of the Major League Baseball trade do not dominate our conversations!”
He throws his head back and laughs. You grin, too, shaking your head as you glance back to the computer to make sure the next song is correct. It’ll start straightaway. 
“Well, don’t worry about it. Your boyfriend —“
“He isn’t my boyfriend! Mouser!”
 Jerry ignores you, smiling knowingly. “Your boyfriend accepted a five-year extension. $120 million.”
“You know, on that thought…”
Janelle Monáe’s Make Me Feel starts playing. 
You two share a mischievous grin. 
You keep on askin’ me the same questions And second-guessin’ all my intentions Should know by the way I use my compression That you’ve got the answers to my confessions
It’s like I’m powerful with a little bit of tender An emotional sexual bender Mess me up, yeah, but no one does it better There’s nothin’ better
That’s just the way you make me feel That’s just the way you make me feel So good, so good, so real
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Look, it’s all in good fun, alright?
He isn’t your boyfriend. No way. Your relationship is better now, after those boundaries were tested and are steadily improving as he opens up to you about his life but…
It’s just not possible. 
Even if he will be here for the next five years… and maybe more…
No. No. Not happening. It can’t.
It’s not like you’re swearing off the possibility completely but that just seems… out of this world. 
Out of the realms of your world.
Yes, he’s horribly handsome and actually kind of funny in that snarky way of his, while also having rare bouts of sensitivity and sometimes your breath catches when you see his face in the sun and your heart does a funny little thing when he looks at you but it’s… 
It’s nothing. 
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It was evening, and no longer summer. Three small fish, I don’t know what they were, huddled in the highest ripples as it came swimming in again, effortless, the whole body one gesture, one black sleeve that could fit easily around the bodies of three small fish.
Also I wanted to be able to love. And we all know how that one goes, don’t we?
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rogueportraits · 3 months
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The idea of running away to join the carnival is something quaintly historical with a dash of romanticism. Midway Touring Entertainment gets a few kids every stop that slip away from their parents and beg some ride attendant or performer to join up and tour the country. They’ve got childhood ideas about riding the attractions after dark or petting tamed lions – this particular carnival’s an animal-free establishment, excepting personal pets – and cry buckets when refused.
Ed’s of the personal belief that they should just take the kids along for a day or two, show them the real behind-the-scenes, and scare little middle-class Jimmy or Susie right back into a fine life of some white-collar office job two decades down the line. Unfortunately, that’s generally considered kidnapping, and MTE would highly prefer the law stay as far away as possible. He picks at a particularly stalwart hangnail and kicks his foot up on the dashboard. They’re about three hours out of Minot, having gotten the state fair contract another year in a row, and the only thing he likes about North Dakota is that the summer’s cool enough that he won’t be swimming in sweat. To the left of him, Jack starts grumbling and lifts his hand off the wheel.
“Can’t see with your shoes in the way, kid,” Jack makes a shooing motion. “You want an airbag through your knee?”
Ed’s eighteen years old, thank you very much, and his ID says he’s the ripe old age of twenty-one, so in either respect he’s not a kid. Unfortunate facial acne notwithstanding. He bites at his hangnail, rolls the window down, and spits it out into empty interstate air as he swings his leg back down. There’s the rustling of discarded fast-food wrappers against his shoes. “You threatening me?”
“Not anymore.”
Jack fiddles with the busted radio, tuning it to some local FM station playing this summer’s insipid pop hit. The highway stretches out in front of them, heat miraging strange shapes on the horizon. Ed can see the fractured reflections of their convoy in the right rear-view mirror, other cars and trailers and hauling trucks snaking away into the clear sky. He’ll be expected to help with set-up tonight, obviously, and tomorrow too. Probably some painting as well, considering the state of a few attractions. Then a week of his own particular schtick on the midway, a few days of teardowns, and back on the road to do it all over again. He digs in the car door for a lukewarm pop and twists off the cap, proffering it as driver’s tribute.
“You’re alright, kid,” Jack says, like they haven’t been working together since Ed was sixteen and gangly. He sips at it and blanches. “This isn’t.”
“I’ll go stick my neck into the gas station fridge next time,” Ed replies with a shrug. “Nothing but the best for my dear old driver.”
Jack tips the bottle up in a pastiche of enjoyment, snorting, and returns his eyes to the road.
The moon’s centered in the sky by the time Ed’s gotten through his set-up checklist. He’d scrambled up and over various half-assembled rides, checking bolts and greasing mechanisms – can’t have a lawsuit on their hands – and put off some of the detail work for when there’s sunlight. Playing passenger has its drawbacks, but the less cops that get a look at “Edward Neilsen’s” ID card the better. Not that he’s a bad driver, of course.
Ed belongs to the other class of wannabe carnival runaways. He opens the trailer door without the hinges squeaking. It’s not his trailer, because his paydays would have to have at least one more zero on their totals for anything like that, but Jack and his wife have a secondhand couch that suits him just fine. He sprawls across it in a show of exhausted decadence. Pale moonlight lances through a smoke-clouded window, cutting across his torso.
He’s not enough of an idiot to call this a charmed life, like some of the last generation of carnies. It’s work, and it’s a type of work that means he doesn’t stick in one place long enough to make an impression – all the better, logically. There’s more than a few people who’d like to find him for various reasons. Carnie work pays, it doesn’t ask questions about his age or point of origin, and the rest of this traveling group of vagabonds generally doesn’t try to deck him for a smart comment or three. That’s good enough for him. Ed rolls off the couch and pads over to the minifridge, acquiring a can of Pabst. Drinking after work and underage are two time-honored American traditions, after all. He pops the top of the can with a gas-leak hiss and heads back outside.
The night air is cold against his clammy skin. He sips at his beer and stares out towards the flickering lights of town.
Ed can do carnival patter in his sleep. He leans on his prop cane, discreetly stretching out his numb leg, and surveys the midway tourists.
“Step right up! Tired of testing your skill – test mine! Age, weight, height, profession, I’ll get 'em all… and if I don’t, you score!”
The main difficulty with being a carnival guesser is attracting marks. Ed’s stationed himself at the far end of the midway, after all the various citizenry of North Dakota have exhausted their efforts at games-of-skill. He offers them a chance to watch someone else fail. In theory, at least – he’s very good at this gig. He makes eye contact with a tired father-of-two and grins, stepping to the front of his booth.
“How about you? Care to see if you can stump me?”
And there’s the flicker of light in the other man’s eyes. Easy.
“Sure. Do you, ah, do all of them?”
Sensitive about his weight, then. Maybe the guy could afford to cut back on the funnel cake in that case, but heavens (and his paycheck) forbid Ed offer that advice. “Not at all. Your pick, and if I could take a ticket…?”
The man bites at the edge of his lip, tearing off a ticket from what probably used to be a much larger roll. “Age and job, then?”
“Of course.” Ed makes a grand show of scrutinizing, leaning forward and worrying his hands on the question-mark crook of his cane. Two kids, one about eight and the other being carried, no wife and – hah! – no wedding ring. Shirt with an atrocious tropical print, but a pager in his back pocket. Easy. “About thirty-three and in office work, right? Management?”
The man gapes, then rallies. “Thirty-five. But, uh, yeah.”
Really, Ed would have guessed thirty-six, but he’s had to duck one too many swings from daydrunk locals mad about his accuracy. He shoots the man a hundred-watt smile.
“I can’t believe it! I can’t take a peek at your ID, can I?”
Flush on winning, the man obliges by handing over his wallet. Jason Phillips, resident of Velva, ND. Thirty-five. Ed considers some legerdemain and decides against it – Jason’s clearly not been availing himself of the concession-center beer.
“Well, my loss is your gain,” reach back, grab some cheap prize in the form of a plush owl-thing, present it with a theatrical bow, he’s done it a thousand times this season, “and thank you for playing!”
The man meanders off. Ed debates the merits of putting his head in the gears of the carnival’s tilt-a-whirl. Minot is as boring as every other state fair. He gets the next player’s – some giggling college co-ed that looks at him like used gum – weight right. Hard not to with a leeway of five pounds on either side, and a scale that runs two pounds lighter. She’d probably laugh less if she knew her wallet were about ten bucks lighter as well.
He doesn’t consider his side hustle stealing, necessarily. If someone’s dumb enough to hand over their wallet to a carnie and look away, they don’t deserve spare cash.
Anyways, if it were up to him, he wouldn’t be stuck at the ass-end of the midway playing guessing games. He’d have a bigger booth with a better locale, and he’d do riddles. Maybe some lighting, too – he’s always been partial to green. He swigs from his water bottle and watches the ebb and flow of the crowd. He’d do riddles. There’s an art to them that there isn’t to his current gig. A good riddle has one clear answer, but with enough creativity one or two more can crop up. A good riddle has nice, defined boundaries, but doesn’t care about what you do inside of them. It’d take more tickets, too, because if there’s one thing the past two years and change have taught him it’s that people are brainless idiots who can’t see the truth even if it’s spelled out in flashing lights. Which suits him just fine.
Ed coughs slightly, testing to see if his voice holds, and steps forward to start up his patter once again.
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digimonloving · 1 year
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Can i ask how would react the seven demon lords to their tamer dying in battle? I hope this is right, english is not my first language hahaha.
Lucemon FM
Lucemon isn't too worried on his Tamer falling in battle... mostly because of the fact he can bring them back to life. He has many abilities, and as such, reviving a human from the brink or bringing them back fully is a trick he can pull out of his sleeve. However... if it does not work for one reason or another, Lucemon grows to show his anger and rage. If the Digimon or whoever had killed his Tamer is still alive, then his Tamer will be able to rest when he completely destroys the data of the Digimon and devours it. He shows true anger and rage, something he rarely does. He does mourn... but it's secret. How come humans couldn't come back as Digitama? Perhaps that's something he should work on making a reality... somehow.
Beelzemon
Beelzemon does everything he can to keep his Tamer safe, especially when it comes to battles. He prides himself on his power, but just like he can boast, he can get too cocky about it. And that ends up getting his Tamer killed during a battle. It's a quick dispatch of the Digimon around, flying into a fury as he first thinks his Tamer is just wounded and he has to deal with this fast. It's only when he gets to them after it dies down that he realizes the worst. Holding his Tamer close and trying to get them to wake up, they were fine.... but they weren't. Beelzemon constantly beats himself up over it. If he hadn't been such a cocky bastard, his Tamer would still be alive and laughing with him... He doesn't know what he'll do now that they're gone, all that time together gone in a flash. Maybe he can find a Digimon who can bring them back, but it's such a far drive on Behemoth... Beelzemon tries at least, to see if it's possible... Damn humans and their stupid one life... he hated that about them...
Lilithmon
Goes through nearly all of the stages of grief within an instant, except acceptance. She is fueled with rage and is quick to use her abilities to try and find some Digimon who can save her Tamer. There is no way they're dead fully, surely there's still hope to bring them back. She DEMANDS the Holy Trinity bring her Tamer back, for they were the only thing in her life she truly cared for and loved. They have the power, she knows it, and she'll threaten them to do so. Lilithmon had never felt such a connection, and to have it suddenly lost is too much for her. If her Tamer can't be brought back, it takes time for her to heal... though she will never fully heal over such a thing.
Barbamon
Barbamon might be the only one who could bring his Tamer back without using his power exactly to bring them back... he has collected so many trinkets throughout the Digital World, some more powerful than even the others could handle. He's certain among the trinkets is something that can bring his Tamer back. And he's correct. He doesn't care what it costs. If it takes another human's life to bring his Tamer back? Well, Barbamon can make that sacrifice easily. He never figured he would go so far when it came to his Tamer... but this is what it was to be a Demon Lord and growing too close to a human. He has the power to bring them back, and as such, he's going to do it.
Leviamon
Leviamon more or less has.. the worst approach out of all of the Demon Lords when it comes to such a thing. He's such a massive Digimon, it would be too easy for his Tamer to accidentally be killed, even by him. When he does realize his tamer is dead... he retreats into the Net Ocean. Finding the deepest part of the large ocean and simply... falling asleep. His grief turning him back into how he had been before his Tamer had came to the Digital World. Perhaps the unhealthiest way to deal with it, and yet, it makes it to where he doesn't have to envy those who have Tamers, and his envy would run deep to the point he would attack them without thought. This was the best he had to just... avoid it all.
Belphemon
Belphemon flies into such a rage that he can hardly process what's going on. For a Digimon based on the sin of Sloth, his rage is truly unrivaled once he learns what has happened to his Tamer. It's to the point that he near starts to rage uncontrollably and has to be stopped by any means necessary as he can't process what happened to his Tamer. No... he knows... but he refuses to believe it, and as such, it sends him into nothing but blind fury. And with his power, the only hope is to seal him away again. His Tamer was the only thing keeping him in check, and now he had nothing to hold him back, and their death just tripled how his Rage Mode acted and lashed out...
Daemon
Daemon processes his grief over his Tamer's death in battle... strangely in a healthy enough way for the Demon Lord of Wrath. Save for when his Tamer was first killed in battle, but that's not the point right now.. Though, he does sort of set his Tamer's body in a 'stasis', making them look like they're simply sleeping while set in a glass case. Daemon doesn't have the heart to bury them, and as such, this is the best he has. Perhaps one day he'll send them back to the Real World, so they can be properly buried... but for now, they will stay right with him, and Daemon will take care to preserve the body for now. It is... odd to not ear them anymore, and he slowly grows to accept it, as much as he doesn't want to. It happens, humans eventually die, his was just taken from him far earlier than they should have been during a battle. Most Digimon would look at that as such an honor. Daemon didn't like the thought, however.
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horizon-verizon · 11 months
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"GRRM said Nettles is Karma and Redemption to Daemon. She frees him from his obsession with his blood cause she debunks his beliefs."
Wtf?! When did George say that?! Never to my knowledge. And stop with this delirium of blood obsession from Daemon! It comes out of nowhere! He was never obsessed with it! He was going to recognize his child with Mysaria! The simple fact that he had a long-lasting relationship with Mysaria proves it! He accepted the children of Rhaenyra who are not pure Targaryen! He avenged Lucerys' death himself twice! He was never a blood purist! NETTLES NEVER RELEASED HIM FROM THAT! I've had it up to here !
This is the first time I ever heard anyone claim GRRM say this.
However, I will say that Daemon absolutely would have had pride in his Targ/dragonrider/aristocratic/royal "blood". It's part of the reason why he doesn't want Rhea Royce and was fine with marrying Laena. And him in HotD, him saying to Viserys that he wishes to bring the house to its former glory by marrying Rhaenyra? Rhaenyra is also very much a Targaryen/Targ princess with the fire of the ideal Targ/dragonrider. That's a big reason why Daemon is attracted to her and vice versa. And yes, most of the Targs before Daenerys have the similar blood purist ideologies (or developed mindsets much more inspired by such after the Targs assimilated into Andal culture) as other Andal/FM descent lords. Rhaenyra is not an exception (Twitter), and since I already told how Daemon figures into that, Daemon also has his own purist notions.
You are also correct in that Daemon was very much willing to take Mysaria's child as his own. Though Mysaria was from Lys (a Valyrian settlement-turned-Free City), their child was going to be a bastard. Concerning his stepsons, they are Rhaenyra's sons and all proved to be dragonriders -- that would have helped Daemon accept and then love them until it was only love.
So I still wouldn't call Daemon's concern with blood an "obsession" so much as him being passionate about Targ power resting in their ability to ride and control dragons, which itself is proven to be a trait passed down through reproduction. Nettles is a glaring exception (if we cannot prove she somehow isn't a bastard from a random Velaryon or Targaryen).
Rather there are two dominant theories as to how Daemon ever came to care for Nettles:
she is is his bastard daughter from his trysts before marrying Rhaenyra (Nettles was 17, and Daemon was married to Rhaenyra for about 10 years)
in the beginning, her being a not so "obvious" Targ, he wanted to find out about her ancestry if she was really a Targ bastard, and if not try to see how she bonded with Sheepstealer enough and thus learn one way how his own ancestors bonded FIRST approached dragons (the ones who had no bond at all with them), him being disconnected from that history with the Doom and the hundreds of years between that and the true beginning of Valyria; then him being impressed with her bravery and loyalty (she cried tears over Jace's death and could have been close with Addam and Alyn)
There are other theories as to why: she reminds him of his own daughters, especially Baela (even in the book) for her character and determination and bravery; the infamous romantic/sexual/sexing up "maidens" angle.
Daemon is a family-is-power/power-is-family man and love is also a huge factor in how he values family. They are interwoven inside his psychology. He gets some of his validation from their belief in his skills and his willingness to protect them from competitors and enemies (which in turn defines his perception of them and their ruling capabilities). Very much a Brynden Rivers, Visenya, Baelon the Spring Prince, Viserys II, Aemon the Dragonknight.
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feraltuxedo · 1 year
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Random snippets from my current WIPs
Just because. These are all Good Omens AUs in various states of progress. The titles, other than the last one, are working titles.
Sexy Mr Collins fic: Regency AU very loosely inspired by Pride and Prejudice
The search for the perfect moment, be it for a small or a grand announcement, must inevitably come up fruitless, as Anthony J. Crowley realised in the first week of April, when he tried his hardest to find the right time to inform his family of a rather imminent change to their quiet domesticity. ‘Mr Fell is coming to visit us later this afternoon. He will stay a fortnight before returning to town,’ he told his wards one rainy morning at the breakfast table. Even without looking up from his paper, Crowley could tell the sisters were staring at him. He counted down the seconds before either of them would lose their temporary speechlessness. A double intake of breath cut through the silence. It was Pepper who spoke first. ‘Who on earth is Mr Fell?’ she asked, just a second before Anathema exclaimed: ‘Today?’
Hotel AU: Crowley and Aziraphale check into a hotel using the same fake name.
The door was heavy and wooden, with a lock the same iron-black colour as the keys on the board behind the reception desk, and a medieval looking door handle to match. For a moment, Crowley stood before it, not entirely sure what to do. Then, deciding on the safest option, he knocked. To his surprise, the door was ripped open almost immediately. ‘Lovely, lovely, do come in please, I’ve cleared the table just over here.’ He found himself manhandled into the room by the human manifestation of a cumulus cloud, prattling along in a tone that was much too delighted for someone welcoming an angry stranger into their room. No. Into his room. Crowley’s. That this ridiculous man appeared to have stolen. ‘Who the hell are you?’ he barked. The cumulus cloud stopped in the process of shoving him deeper into the room. ‘I beg your— oh. You’re not the delivery man, are you?’
Local Radio AU: collaboration with @tawnyontumblr. Crowley hosts a local call-in radio show, Aziraphale is his producer.
"You're back with Anthony Crowley and this is Tadfield FM, discussing the local issues important to you. Sergeant Shadwell, you have something on your mind." "Aye," growled the voice on the other end of the line. "I reckon I do at that." "Care to share with the listeners?" "Aye. But first, how many nipples do ye have, laddie?" In a flutter of panic, Aziraphale dived under his desk to grab the binder unofficially called the Big Book of Bad Words, an alphabetised list of terms they would get in trouble for broadcasting. He began to flip backwards through the pages, mumbling “tosser… pussy-except-when-referring-to-cats… nob…” Crowley ignored Shadwell’s repeated enquiries and simply watched Aziraphale. What a shame he wasn’t hooked up to a mic, because Crowley would listen to a recording of this on repeat. In the privacy of his own home, of course. “Nipples is fine,” Aziraphale declared, slamming the book shut.
Served Cold: coffeeshop AU, currently being posted here. This is from chapter 3, which will go up soon:
Aziraphale had dressed to impress, and judging by Crowley’s not so subtle once-over when he spotted him at the back of La Bastille, he’d succeeded. He smoothed down his waistcoat, felt the reassuring coolness of the watch chain, and made his way over to the dimly lit table. ‘Shouldn’t you be on the run from the police?’ he asked Crowley when he handed him the drinks menu. ‘I’m not really the running type,’ he replied, with the same mischievous grin that had already gotten Aziraphale’s pulse beating faster that morning. ‘And anyway, I’ve not committed any crimes, have I? You can attest to that.’ ‘Already did, just earlier today. Had a lovely visit from your friends at the Met.’ ‘They’re quicker than I thought. They didn’t give you any grief, did they?’ Aziraphale huffed, draping his coat over the back of the chair before he sat down. ‘Oh no, not at all. Nothing like a fun little visit from two uniformed police officers at closing time to really round off a work day.’ Crowley pushed his bottom lip out in an exaggerated pout. ‘Let me make it up to you with a drink.’
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nahte123456 · 1 year
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Role Play rules, kinks, and muses.
This wasn't going to be an RP blog, but I have so many of them at this point here's a primer.
First things first, I'm not a very picky person. There are a few exceptions but if I list a Series I'll RP for, chances are any character you can think of I'm OK with.
NEED!
If you want to RP with me this is the #1 thing I need, and that is communication. At any post we need to be able to stop and message each other ideas or miscommunications to keep everything going smooth. Let me be clear, I said 'post' not 'time', obviously real life happens, you don't always feel up for it, that's all fine, let's not bug each other. I just mean you have to be willing to stop the back and forth and just message back and forth a bit as the story needs.
Also just to be clear, 18+ ages everyone, for all characters. I don't really mind much as long as there's a clear distinction between fantasy and reality, but this is Tumblr not some hentai site, I do not want to risk anyone seeing that that finds it disgusting.
...Also if we are talking smut or anything like it you must be 18+ as well. That should go without saying but I'm saying it anyways.
Preference
Like I said I'm not picky, so these are things I prefer.
Smut. Will do no-smut, happily it's fun at times. But I prefer smut because it's something a story can always fall on. Awkward miscommunication? Odd phrasing? Misunderstood sentence? Start stripping!
I prefer playing girls at this point, but it's a SMALL preference.
OC's are fine but I don't play them, and keep your OC's few in number and under control. I don't want to have to read an essay for an RP.
Not a huge fan of Yaoi stuff. My preference in smut is straight or futa girl, for the relationship yuri, straight, or futa. Again will try it but it will be the last on my list.
Will play multiple characters if needed, and I prefer doing that then the other way around since it gives me more to think and write about.
Themes of domination. Again I do NOT need this, but much like the smut thing I like it as a fall back, if there's an awkward step in a story, having one character tell the other what to do or want to be told makes it much easier for both sides in my experience.
Muses
Series I'll RP for.
RWBY, no Jaune. He just REALLY bores me. Prefer yuri or futa/girl couples.
Fire Emblem except for New Mystery.
Miraculous Ladybug because I find it funny. I am very pro Marinette, not as big on Adrien, keep that in mind.
Bleach. LOVE Bleach. Yoruichi, Orihime, Unohana, and so many others perfect 10's.
Danny Phantom, look below
Kim Possible. Different series but DP and KP are two series I love and love to play with. DP I prefer Danny getting nice things and Kim being happy, even if she's 'beaten'.
Naruto and One Piece I know and will try.
MHA, lottsa hot girls.
Code Geass. Love it, but I stick with just the anime, no manga, movies, or author quotes. I love some of them but I ain't picking and choosing.
Winx Club, specifically the Winx or Trix.
Harry Potter. Luna is best girl just FYI, and deserves to be loved and 'loved'.
ATLA, no comics though thank you.
KOTOR, specifically 1 and 2. Not big on Star Wars in general but KOTOR is my baby and the sequel is pretty great as well.
Pokemon. I prefer the humans but some levels of Pokephelia are OK.
Metroid, or more like Samus. Love Samus, second favorite gaming character, of either gender. Only after Amaterasu from Okami, but Okami doesn't really fit the RP style unfortunately.
Persona 3! I want that distinction, I'll also do 4, and after I replay 5 I'll add that to the list, but P3 is the best and my favorite.
That time I got Reincarnated as a Slime, lottsa fun there.
Legend of Zelda, just in general.
Megaman Starforce. No one will ever do this one, and I think I'd actually prefer this not to be smut(and if it is no FM/AM having sex with humans thank you. That's just squick to me). But I'll put it on the list.
BANNED KINKS
Like I've said a few times, I'm pretty chill about things. I have very few hard 'no's'. You want bestiality, pokephelia, incest, cheating, rape? All things I'm OK with, heck I like cheating and to a lesser extent incest for smut(again, for smut. I support none of these things in real life).
But I do have limits.
Nothing sexual and damaging. You want Character A to beat Character B, cut them with a knife, and break their arm? Go ahead. You want Character A to fuck Character B like a whore? Yay! You want both at the same time? NO!
No blood play, no choking(that is more dangerous then people thing), no scarring, nothing like that. Spanking, paddling, wax play, that's all fine, some pain can be sexy, but nothing that could actually cause damage.
Related you can do stuff like kick someone's balls or whatever, it's fine, but it will not be 'pleasurable'. That is damaging, it can be done to punish someone, as torture, just as long as it's outside that person also getting off on it.
I really want to be clear here, a lot of my muse series are violent in some way, Fire Emblem has war, Bleach people get eaten by monsters, RWBY the characters are trained to slaughter, I like that. But there is a clear difference between violence, sexy, and combining the 2.
Unrelated but also banned are real people or live action stuff. There's a reason all of my muses are in some way animated. I don't think it's morally wrong to use a character just because it's played in live action, but I personally do not like it. And I won't do real people at all.
Preferred Kinks
Look at the other stuff I said, I'm not picky. But if your idea has these things, I'm going to be more into it.
Dom/Sub, as I've said.
Group dynamics. Harems, poly, just friends being around. You can focus on 1 pair of people, but I still like other characters being around.
Breeding talk. Don't need to actually happen, just being mentioned in some way, threatened or promised or plans made.
Seduction, Character A being so sexy Character B just NEEDS them after a point.
Cucking, I don't know, I like this. Whether the cuck is into it, humiliated, whatever. If I like a character chances are I like them cucking or being cucked, don't know what to tell you.
Powers Play. If Character A is super strong, use that. If Character B>>>Character A, let that be a factor. These abilities or just a difference in power should be part of them.
Little kinks.
Just a list of kinks that would make me go 'Oh?' And raise an interested eyebrow but not alone sell me on an idea.
General cheating, incest, public sex, 'marking' like hickies and bite marks, teasing, in RP talking about loving/fucking, gossip, teaching, threesomes, lots of cum, big but not absurd sizes(foot dick, eh ok, 16 inches go back. That kinda thing), pet play, titfucking, assjob, denial, biting that doesn't break skin(I guess unless you're a vampire?), interracial, first time for one person but not the other, one person has a LOT of experience but not the other (no relation), degradation, praise kink.
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pruinaelibrary · 2 years
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Sunny Days Camp pt 1
“This is so fucking stupid.”
“Come on, at least give it a chance.” A pair of green eyes looked in the rearview mirror at the person in the back seat holding a brochure in front of her face. She moved the brochure to her lap and glared at her father.
“I’ve read the brochure. This place is either where I’ll get murdered or sold into human trafficking.”
“You’re not-” The driver sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. “Look, I know you’re not for new things, especially like this, but come on. I’m sure you can have fun. Firecracker and Mushroom will be there too.”
The girl scoffed and looked out the window, crossing her arms. The driver sighed, giving a quick look at the road before looking back at the mirror.
“Terror… Terror, come on… Princess, won’t you look at me?” The girl huffed, glaring at the window more. “Terror…?”
Terror sighed and side-eyed her father sadly. “Dad, can’t I just come with you, Uncle Foolish, and Aunts Drista, Spot, and FM this summer?”
The driver, Dream, sighed, glancing quickly out his car window before looking at the road in front of him. “I already told you it's just boring stuff for mom. You wouldn’t have any fun-”
“You don’t know that. For your information, I actually like hanging out with Grandma Puffy.”
Dream smiled, giving a small chuckle. “Don’t let her hear you call her that.”
“Please, I don’t think she cares. I’m her baby after all.”
“Yeah, yeah, I know. She loves you more than me.” 
Terror grinned, shoving her dad's shoulder. “Don’t be jealous. It’s your fault for leaving me with her all the time when I was a kid.”
“Yeah, maybe so.”
Dream turned on a lone road, driving in between trees as he drove closer to the camp. Sunny Days Camp. Terror wasn’t sure what to make of it, an all girls camp that didn’t allow technology. And was run by an ex-military sergeant. Nevermind. She knew exactly what to make of it. This summer was going to suck.
Dream pulled up to the entrance where a man and two girls were standing. The male stared intensely at the car, looking like a typical movie drill sergeant. Same uniform, same posture, same unsatisfied scowl.
One of the girls, the one standing to the right of the male, was wearing a red devil headband in her (h/c) hair, a camp uniform, and had a wide grin as she moved from her toes to her heels then back again.
The second girl, the one standing to the left of the male, had her (h/c) hair in a pony tail, her uniform looking somewhat normal except for the rips on her jeans. She looked completely bored as she leaned against a fence.
Terror gave her father a look and he gave an uncertain smile. “Look, I’m sure it’s not all bad, just… try to enjoy yourself.”
Terror huffed as she grabbed her bags. “Yeah, sure.”
Terror exited the car and Dream followed after her. The drill sergeant walked forward and an unatural smile formed on his face, the father and daughter duo was sure his face was gonna crack.
“Welcome to Sunny Days Camp! I am Camp Master Sergeant Spectre, who will be in charge of taking care of your precious daughter.”
Dream and Terror glanced at each other. “Oh yeah, I’m totally going to die, and when I do, I’m coming back to haunt you.”
“You’ll be fine. Just run really fast.”
The first girl walked up. “Hello, Dream!”
Dream’s eyes widened and he grinned. “Muffin?! What are you doing here?”
“I got a summer job! Especially when I heard my precious niece was gonna be here!”
“Yeah? And how did Firecracker take it?”
“She has never yelled at me so much before. I’m glad I can still annoy her at this age!”
Spectre coughed, and Muffin froze, giving an embarrassed smile to the male as she backed up. “Now then, it seems you’ve met Camp Counselor Muffin already. This is Camp Counselor Lamb. Lamb, introduce yourself.”
Lamb sighed and nodded to Terror. “Sup.”
Spectre sighed, annoyed and Muffin laughed, smiling at Lamb. Dream sighed, pulling his daughter to the side slightly.
“Look, just give this summer a chance. If you honestly don’t like it, have Muffin call me and I’ll come pick you up.”
Terror looked over at the other three. Muffin was happily chatting as Spectre nodded and Lamb looked annoyed. She sighed, then looked back at her dad.
“Okay, I’ll give it a chance.”
“That’s all I ask, kiddo.”
The two hugged, and as they did such, Terror looked at the sign over the entrance.
~~~
@griffintail
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withwritersblock · 3 days
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Knowing me, Knowing You
~Knowing me, Knowing You by ABBA~ Author's Note: requeted, sorta. it got angsty some how? Summary: Luke goes to his daughter's youth hockey game Warnings: none Word Count: 1,733 Luke Hughes x fm!reader
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Luke has always felt guilty for missing his daughter’s hockey games. Zoey was seven and had games almost every weekend. But all of her games overlapped with his. She would FaceTime him before and after the games. She would be red hot and dripping in sweat, her curly hair sprawled all over her features. 
She was a center like her Uncle Jack and was the top scorer on her team. There was not an ounce of surprise with that fact as she was a Hughes after all. Y/N always made an effort to record as many videos as possible, so Luke was able to be involved as much as he can. He still felt guilty for not being able to go. 
Except today. It was the mini championship for her league that she was apart of and Luke had the week off for All-Star break. This year none of the Hughes boys were a part of the All-Star tournament which meant all three of them would be there to support Zoey. 
Zoey and Y/N were both already at the rink, while Luke was trying to drag his brothers out of the house. “The game starts in an hour, with traffic we’ll barely make it on time for the first period!” he shouted as he took a hold of his keys. Quinn groaned out as he walked out of the guest bedroom. 
“Well it’s not my fault that Jackaboy needs to take forty minutes on his hair!” Quinn ran his hand across his chin. Jack huffed as he stood up from the couch.
“You could’ve used Luke’s bathroom!” Jack expressed as all three of the boys walked towards the door to leave the house. 
The drive to the rink took forty minutes and Luke was freaking out the entire time. He parked the car and instantly hopped out. Quinn and Jack were trailing behind him. Luke promised Zoey that he would be there, and warmups were nearly finished. Zoey had to of thought Luke wasn’t coming. 
The three boys walked towards the table, it was a seven dollar entrance fee. Luke pulled up his venmo and venmoed them the twenty-one dollars that was needed to enter. The teenage girl working the table flushed bright red at the sight of the three of them. She nervously added the wristbands to their wrists. 
They all took fast steps towards the entrance to the rink. Luke step foot onto the bleachers to see his wife and his parents sitting together a few feet away, “Over here,” he mumbled towards his brothers before he guided his way through the crowded bleacher seats. He sat down beside Y/N, excited rubbing his hands together as stared towards the ice searching for the forty-three on the ice. 
“She’s been looking for you,” Y/N mumbled, sadly. He clenched his jaw as he glanced towards his brothers who were sitting beside their dad away from him.
“They took forever to get ready to leave the house, I’m sorry,” he whispered as he leaned towards her, kissing her temple as he ran his hand up and down her back. “How was she before the game?” he asked looking at each of the tiny girls on the ice. His eyes landed on the forty-three skating towards the net, shooting and hitting the glass. Luke watched as her head tilted back as she smacked her stick against the ice.
“She’s having a rough morning,” she crossed her arms over her chest as she watched her little girl look towards the group on the bleachers again. She waved as she saw her dad. Luke smiled widely as he returned the wave. “She’s a little disappointed that you weren’t the one dropping her off,” Y/N let out as she turned her head to the side to meet Luke’s gaze. 
Luke took in a sharp breath as he bit his bottom lip. “What do you want me to say, Y/N?”
“Nothing, it’s fine, Luke,”
“Is it?” he asked as he shoved his hands into his jacket pockets. She scanned his frustrated features. She clenched his jaw.
“Let’s not do this here,” she mumbled as she shifted her gaze towards the ice. The girls were all skating off the ice to allow the zamboni to clean the ice. 
“Seriously, I’m here now,” he muttered defensively. 
Y/N huffed, “I’m gonna get a hot chocolate,” she stood up and walked the other direction. Luke watched her walk away clenching his jaw. He took a deep breath as he tilted his head back. 
“Everything okay there?” Ellen asked leaning towards Luke. He shifted his gaze towards his mom. He shrugged. He shook his head as he stared towards the zamboni. “What did you do?” she asked. Luke rolled his eyes.
“I’m missing out on a lot,” he said keeping his gaze towards the ice. 
“What do you mean?” Ellen asked.
“This is the first game of Zoey’s I’ve seen this year. It seemed like every game she had this year landed on a roadtrip,” Luke explained as he ran his fingers through his hair. “Y/N does her best at recording the games but it’s not the same,” 
“What does Zoey think?” Ellen asked. Luke shook his head as he shifted his gaze towards his mom.
“She puts on a tough face but I know my girl,” he took a deep breath, “I know she’s sad that I’m not here that often.”
Ellen pouted as she wrapped her arm around his back. “She’s a tough kid, Lukey, she understands. She looks up to you and your career.”
“I don’t think my wife understands,” he mumbled just as he shifted his gaze to see Y/N walking back towards them. She was carrying three hot chocolates. Luke quickly stood up and met her halfway, taking two from her hands. 
“Thank you,” she smiled politely. Luke kept one as he handed his mom the other. Y/N sat down at the same time as Luke. He rested his hand onto her thigh as he looked towards her. She took a deep breath as she met his eye, “That was unfair of me, I’m sorry. I know you’re trying,” He swallowed hard as he leaned towards her, kissing her cheek.
“I’m sorry too. I know I can do more to help, I don’t want you to feel like you’re doing this alone,” he said as he scanned her features. She took a shaky breath as she nodded. 
It took another ten minutes before the girls reappeared on the ice. Most of the girls were only seven, but the energy in the small ice rink was electric. It was the league’s championship game afterall. She excitedly tapped her hand against Luke’s leg as Zoey skated to take the center draw. 
The game in itself was slow as their little legs could only get them so far. But Luke didn’t take his eyes off the little forty-three for a single second for her first minute on the ice. He watched her skate the puck back into the zone. Her head up, not eyeing the puck like she used to. Y/N reached for Luke’s hand and he excitedly interlocked their fingers. 
She shot the puck on the goal and it trickled into the net slowly. It was the fourth shot on net the girls had done. Luke threw his hand in the air as he cheered. He watched her skate away from the net and bow, exactly like he does after he scores. His mouth fell open as he laughed. 
“That’s a new one!” Y/N let out as she hugged Luke.
“Atta-girl Hughesy!” their head coach shouted as she took a seat on the bench. Luke smiled to himself, remembering the days when that was his nickname. 
“Luke,” Quinn hollered after him. Luke shifted his gaze towards his eldest brother, “She’s gonna be a PWHL star with that wrister,” he smiled widely.
“She wants to play for Minnesota,” he let out with a smirk, “She likes the color purple.” The entire row of the Hughes family started laughing. 
It took another few minutes before Zoey was back on the ice, the game was now tied. It didn’t take long before the puck was back on her stick, “Come on, baby girl,” Luke let out as he straightened his frame to get a better look. Her teammate was wide open beside the net and she tried to pass the puck. She made the pass and her teammate scored. 
“Let’s go!” Luke cheered. “What a pass, Zo,” he let out as he looked towards Y/N. She smiled widely as she met his gaze. He took a shaky breath as the realization of what he’s been missing hit him. 
“What’s wrong?” Y/N asked quickly as she reached her hand over, running her fingers through the ends of his hair.
“I swear we just put her in skates and now-” he trailed off. She pouted as she watched him blink back the sudden emotions.
“I know, my love,” she let out, leaning her head against his shoulder as she shifted her gaze back to the ice. Luke followed in pursuit to see Zoey have the puck all alone in the the offensive zone.
“Shoot it, Hughesy!” her head coach yelled, she listened and shot the puck on the net and scored again. She threw her arms in the air as she watched the puck go in. 
“That’s my girl!” Luke let out as he clapped his hands excitedly.
The game ended with a 4-3 win for her tiny team. After the game, still in their gear the girls met them in the lobby of the ice rink. Zoey took the cage off of her head as she stumbled towards Luke. Luke smiled widely as he knealed down, letting her jump into his arms.
Her curly hair was messy as her hair was falling out of the braid Y/N done. “You did so good, Zo,” he let out as he lifted her up in the air, a gigle fell from her lips.
“Did you see me bow?” she asked with a wide smile. He barked out a laugh.
“It was awesome!” he let out as he wiped the stray hairs away from her forehead. 
“Just like you,” she mumbled. Luke pouted as he nodded, pulling her head to rest against his shoulder.
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fortune-maiden · 1 year
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Square Enix’s choice for the Nier Automata songs bug me so much. A Beautiful Song, Weight of the World, and Dependent Weakling are great (though I really really wish they had used the End of YoRHa version of WotW), Amusement Park is fine though wouldn’t have been my first choice for a NieR Automata FMS theme
But then we have Emil’s shop.
I can look past using the Japanese version over the English one since that’s the case for every vocal song except Eyes on Me.
But, not only is this the only version of Emil’s theme we’re getting in Theatrhythm (the second NieR pack doesn’t have any Emil rep) over the beautiful, haunting Emil Despair
THEY CUT OUT THE BEST PART OF THE SHOP SONG!
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ladysophiebeckett · 2 years
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i dont like talking about my personal life on here bc one time i said something about someone and then a complete stranger started soliciting advice, acting like they knew my situation more than me. so i just...dont do it here except in snippets. that being said---i would like to express myself below. but i do not want advice of any kind. 
fifi had another seizure wednesdays in the am (close to 5 am-ish) and i wouldnt have known about it had bobo not woken me up. fifi’s fine now. but im worried about him all the time when i have to be away. that, and its his second seizure two weeks apart fm the first. 
i know that if i take him theyre gonna say he needs to be put down. he’s got dementia, he’s got cataracts (he looks like a creepy little soothsayer.), i took him off kibble two years ago (he wasnt digesting kibble well anymore not bc of his teeth) , so he just eats little canned food and cheeze its and what not. he sleeps a lot, he eats fine, he’s not unresponsive. i dont have it in me to do *that* him. i just dont. but i worry im being selfish. and when i think i need to do *that* suddenly he has a burst of energy. 
i feel like i need to prepare for the worst, so i picked a spot where i might potentially bury him. i dont think he’ll make it to next year but i dont know. i just want him to take his time bc i truly feel like if i did it, i would be robbing him of said time. he’s not suffering but then i think ‘what if he is?’.  
ive been trying to prepare for his potential death since last december and even if i have a whole plan set out for it, it doesn’t make me less sad. i am already devastated and when it does happen im sure i will be even more so. 
i think about all the things he used to be able to do and how he doesnt do them anymore and how i cant remember the last time he did them. i dont have that last memory bc i didnt know i would need it. 
i just feel sad about him all the time now and i am trying not to be bc i dont want him to feel it. i dont want him to know. 
so yeah, that’s how ive been. 
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heckeronincheese · 3 months
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I still think the discourse of using presets or sound kits in music production being bad is kinda fuckin stupid.
They're tools designed for you the creator to play with and make neat sounds with while learning how these sounds work to build off of or make new sounds
It'd be like yelling at an artist for using a reference book. It's a tool and it's there for your use. So stfu and let people learn with these items to make more crazy shit.
Let them learn with these tools to make their own stuff from scratch later.
Not everyone came out of the womb knowing how to make the perfect kick drum or ambient synth drone.
I still use a tweaked version of preset 5 on Fruity reverb during ambient work. Cus shit it makes that sound good. And I've been working with music for almost a decade now.
Side note: you don't need a multi hundred dollar synth to do cool stuff.
There's free software synths
But if you're inclined on trying hardware synths
Try a volca they come in many flavors broken into two categories and are fairly affordable new and used.
Beat and melody
.drum(weird experimental but fun)
.kick(it's a kick drum kinda redundant these days but still fun)
.beat (basic but easy drum machine)
Sample(it's a sampler can make beats and melodies depending on which samples you load. It's factory library is also nice)
Bass(well it's in the name. A lil pocket sized 303like box)
Keys(analog melodies very warm and dreary but can also be loud and crunchy)
FM (80s in a box it's a pocket sized DX7 can even take old DX7 sound bank files with the right cable and software (dexxed) has a slight learning curve (FM synthesis is notoriously weird)
Nubass (volca bass fine tuned with new tricks and added built in vacutube amp)
Modular: buchla styled modulation that is targeted for making weird and other worldly sounds (the limit is your imagination and patience)
(to limit confusion FM 2 is a new enhanced version of the original FM. Same goes for the sample 2 id opt for the sample 2 cus it's handy library software,micro USB socket, and expanded storage. No need to use the sync cable to load shit)
And best of all the nice ass features they all have.
.midi in (except the modular it uses CV and that's a whole new can of worms)
.cheap as hell
. optional power supply or battery power(6 AAs decent battery life tbh)
.ok internal speaker for on the go fun
.user friendly as hell.
.the sync in sync out so you can sync them together or with other hardware you have laying around to mitigate stress about timing.
(below my old "studio" from 2021)
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