you got a new kitty!!

i did!!! he is actually an old kitty!!! we found him and all his siblings when they were really young and adopted them many years ago :) he was living at my parents house until now, but I'm taking him in cus of a lot of stuff going on and my parents not being able to be there to take care of him

(photo from a week ago)

this is Blue! he is...... 7 or 8 years old i think? he was my baby of all his siblings, and he used to lay on my neck to sleep lmao. he also knew JJ when JJ was just a baby! which I assume is part of why JJ wasn't bothered by him being here :)

(a MUCH older photo of him. it just makes me laugh.)

Welcome back to LJ's 2Am headcannons number...what 4? Idk I just like voicing my thoughts to the void that is Tumblr NSNDNF. Today is about PETS >:D

- Before he went on the show and gained a solid support system Tissues used to struggle with depression, mostly due to his illness. Feeling terrible and sick your entire life with little to no hope of relief can do that to a person. He stopped taking any of his medicine other than pain killers, he stopped going to the doctor and overall just stopped interacting with anyone in general. Just complete radio silence. It most likely would have stayed that way for a lot longer if Tissues didn't find Casper. (his cat I mentioned in a previous headcannon post :]) Casper was actually a stray kitten Tissues found around his apartment complex and took in despite the apartment not allowing pets. The constant maintenance of feeding, cleaning up after, and playing with Casper kept Tissues awake and active. It gave him something to focus on and look forward to, which ultimately improved his mental state ten fold. Once he moved into Hotel OJ Casper officially was able to be registered as Tissues' therapy cat and now Tissues has 2 boyfriends and an entire hotel that loves Casper (now dubbed "Achoo" by said boyfriends) just as much as he does. Life is good :]

- Tissues isn't actually the only person in the hotel with an animal. Knife also has one, a German Shepherd named Maverick (lol Top Gun reference). Maverick is a retired police dog who's back leg got banged up in an accident, resulting in him being retired. His handler couldn't keep him so Maverick was surrendered to the general public where Knife adopted him. Maverick's leg could never fully heal so he still walks with a limp despite not being in any pain. Other than walking a little funny, Maverick is a very happy pupper who sleeps on the end of Knife's bed and steals people's food during breakfast. Maverick and Casper cuddle a lot :]

Semi unrelated but I completely forgot until just now that I made an Au of my Au where Blu! Mephone has a gray Tabby therapy cat named Gizmo

This is him. This isn't rly a headcannon but the fact I gave both Mephone and Tissues therapy cats is funny to me. Anyway I go sleeb now bye byeeee.

The key we picked up allows us to enter the apartment building.

Eviction notices and missing pets are plastered on top of each other.

This box is filled with cleaning chemicals. Smells of laundry detergent.

The closet also contains a pair of glasses.

FLIP-UP GLASSES "THE AUDITOR"

These flip-up sunglasses were fashionable in the Old, but have since lost their popularity. These thing gold-alloy wire frames are a reminder of drug-addled bohemian artists. these days the glasses are only favoured by organized crime accountants who desire to look cool.

+1 Logic: Balancing the books

-1 Authority: Filthy boho, probably a narcomaniac

Our authority has already taken a number of hits from various Thoughts, so I leave these off for now.

An old shoe rack. Boots, sneakers and old slippers.

This door just opens.

These shower curtains are covered in some sort of slime.

There's also 0.42 real in here.

DOOR, APARTMENT #12 - A shabby door hangs oddly on its hinges, secured to the doorframe with a safety chain. An unpaid energy bill is attached, threatening to cut off the electricity. It's addressed to Mr. Uuno de Ruyter.

"Looks like we found where Cuno's dad lives." (Point to the bill on the door.)

Knock lightly.

[Interfacing - Easy 8] Use the cutters on the chain.

[Leave.]

KIM KITSURAGI - "And the place comes with three months' worth of utility bills."

2. Knock lightly.

DOOR, APARTMENT #12 - No response.

INTERFACING [Easy: Success] - You'll need to equip the chaincutters to enter. Snip right through the metal!

Sure, just equip the chaincutters...

3. [Interfacing - Easy 8] Use the cutters on the chain.

INTERFACING [Easy: Failure] - It should be easy, but... it's just an awkward angle, okay? The door doesn't *really* open wide enough to really get the cutters through. You can't get the leverage you need. And the cutters are blunt. AND the chain is... just super strong, okay? It's not your fault you can't cut it!

KIM KITSURAGI - The lieutenant smiles. "Trouble with the chain, officer?"

"These are no ordinary chains... they are *titanium* chains. *Supreme-titanium*, Kim."

"Hey, don't look at me! You're the one packing shitty chaincutters."

"I'll be honest: I'm just not that good with my hands."

KIM KITSURAGI - "*Supreme-titanium*?" The lieutenant blinks. "Sure. A door inside this complex has super-hard, super-expensive chains."

INTERFACING - You can't stand for that! Come on, show him what you can REALLY do!

+1 Won't be beat by a goddamn door.

INTERFACING [Easy: Success] - Snip! So much for that goddamn chain. The links fall to the ground on the other side of the door. You have bested the titanium menace.

+5 XP

Level up!

KIM KITSURAGI - The lieutenant looks worried. "I know there's no stopping you -- but let's at least make this quick."

Alright. Let's go confront the *most violent man in Revachol*.

WRITING DESK - A phone book lies open on the table, covering a stack of utility bills. Right next to it, in plain sight, sits a small bottle of amphetamine, conveniently equipped with a straw.

Very loud snoring can be heard from the next room.

"Lieutenant, I've located psychoactive substances on this table."

Take the speed from the table.

[Leave.]

KIM KITSURAGI - "Good, confiscate it."

ESPRIT DE CORPS [Easy: Success] - The minuscule amount of amphetamine doesn't interest the lieutenant in the slightest. He listens instead to something in the other room.

2. Take the speed from the table.

WRITING DESK - You pocket the bottle as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

Item gained: Speed bottle

[Leave.]

Glossy erotica covers the wall, wrinkled from moisture.

A PILE OF CLOTHES - A bundle of clothes heaped on the bed. A stained parka, some towels and a duvet. Some socks even.

"Hold up, lieutenant. Look at that pile of clothes."

Slowly reach out your hand.

Nothing to see here then. [Leave.]

KIM KITSURAGI - "Mhmh..." The lieutenant has covered his nose.

Slowly reach out your hand.

A PILE OF CLOTHES - Something underneath there is breathing.

INLAND EMPIRE [Medium: Success] - It's not too late, no one's going to blame you for backing out. You don't have to do this. Just get out.

Keep extending your hand toward the pile.

Fuck this, I'm out. [Leave.]

A PILE OF CLOTHES - Your hand touches a greasy duvet, covered in cigarette burns and ketchup stains. You hear a growl. There is something *alive* underneath it.

Pull the blanket off.

Fuck this, I'm out. [Leave.]

CUNO'S DAD - You see a 60-year-old fat red-headed man passed out from large amounts of alcohol. And god knows what else. The smell of shit rises from his mouth.

You don't have to take him down. He's already down.

"Kim, is this thing even *alive*?"

"Is this... Cuno's father we're seeing?"

"Maybe we should help him somehow?"

(Whisper.) "I took your amphetamine, old man."

[Leave.]

KIM KITSURAGI - "I'm afraid it is. Look, it *moves*." He points to a fleshy lump sticking out from the other end of the blanket. The limb seems to be twitching from time to time.

CUNO'S DAD - A groan rises from the man's throat, dry like a death rattle... He's trying to say something in his sleep.

2. "Is this.... Cuno's father we're seeing?"

KIM KITSURAGI - "Well, judging by the colour of his hair I would say yes, it is."

CUNO'S DAD - The lieutenant's right -- the man's unwashed hair bears a familiar ginger tone. Even the hair on his chest is coppery. The light from the window falls into his half-open eyes.

"I was expecting something... worse."

"I can't believe it, Cuno's dad isn't a loser! It *must* be someone else."

"Doesn't look like he's going to fuck anyone up anytime soon."

KIM KITSURAGI - "No, it really doesn't." The lieutenant tilts his head. "This looks very hard to recover from."

"This man won't be feeding his family any time soon. Not that he was, but..." The lieutenant thinks to himself. "At least he won't be beating his son."

CUNO'S DAD - A pair of half-open bug eyes is staring back at you from the dark, empty and frozen. It's clear that the person behind them is not awake.

"Hold on, what happened to his eyes?"

"He's gonna sleep it off, I know this shit."

"This is serious damage, I'm still not sure he's not dead."

KIM KITSURAGI - "Can't you tell? It happens to exceptionally *committed* substance abusers. They fall asleep with their eyelids still open. Not a pretty sight."

3. "This is serious damage, I'm still not sure he's not dead."

CUNO'S DAD - "Fuckn... k... f...pi..." Suddenly the man starts growling. Three words manage to escape his mouth, along with a strong stench of alcohol.

KIM KITSURAGI - "Look, he's trying to communicate."

3. "Maybe we should help him somehow?"

KIM KITSURAGI - "What is there to do? We could turn him on his side, so he doesn't choke on his own vomit. But he's already on his side..."

"Excellent form."

"Poor guy."

Nod.

KIM KITSURAGI - "We could take him to Remedie or Saint Batiste, but he doesn't have money for medical services. The Almshouse would turn him down..."

"They don't do charity for people who're trying to kill themselves. Besides, he'll be dead in a few…" The lieutenant stops, listening to him.

CUNO'S DAD - The pile of blankets grunts miserably.

4. (Whisper.) "I took your amphetamine, old man."

CUNO'S DAD - Silence... Only heat emanates from the sleeping body.

I put a hold on Remote Viewers Division so we can have a better chance at this next Perception check.

5. [Perception (Hearing) - Medium 10] Figure out what he's trying to say.

PERCEPTION (HEARING) [Medium: Success] - The man groans once again, but his tongue keeps failing him: It's impossible to make out the syllables. A hand emerges from the blankets, trying to gesticulate something...

And then it dawns upon you, clear and surreal...

"Pigs," he says.

He's trying to call you pigs.

"What did you just say?"

"You're awake... He's awake!"

"Fuck you. Die."

+5 XP

CUNO'S DAD - His hand falls back on the bed, limp and defeated. A loud snore escapes his mouth... He's asleep again.

KIM KITSURAGI - "At least he got to say his piece."

5. [Leave.]

hope i'm not too late for this AAAA mayhaps 6, 8, 20, 22, 27 and 30 for sebastian?? 💚

NEVER TOO LATE TO YELL ABOUT MY BOY

under a read more bc i can't shut up apparently

6. Who will they take advice from, no matter what it is? Who won’t they take advice from, no matter what it is?

he will take advice from anyone who offers it, but will he listen?? will he go through with it?? all depends on the day and if he can somehow fit it into his schedule or something because he is a little freak. and if someone is suggesting a change [that will most likely make things easier] he's like NOOO i cant fit that into my schedule guess i can't do it then. sorry ): <3

have i ever mentioned he is a little bit of an idiot. bc he Is A Little Bit Of An Idiot

8. Do complex puzzles intrigue or frustrate them?

if he let himself have fun and didnt have a constant stick up his ass he Would be intrigued by them and would maybe actually enjoy doing them. But Alas. No Fun Zone in his own brain. so he would try it for maybe 2 minutes and then give up.

20. What do they like that nobody else does?

everyone around him ejoys flavoured coffee of some sort. sweet coffee. coffee that isn't Just Coffee. but he loves black coffee. the stronger the better. he will NOT add things to it. if anyone else drinks his by accident, they will Know bc their skull feels like it's going to explode. and yet he still has the gall to complain that it 'isn't strong enough' for him

22. Do they like being called pet names? Do they call other people pet names? What’s their go-to?

he is a little freak who just needs to be loved,, if anyone called him any sort of pet name he Would crumble instantly. melt into a puddle of mush and tears. theres not many he would use tbh, but his go-to has always been darling. which is Nice but also. he calls people that before he kills them too so. do with that what you will <3

27 . Forgiveness or vengeance (or…)?

OGHGOOhoho. hojhoh ok. Ok. i need to be normal about this one. ok. he never really expects forgiveness from people bc he's done. plenty of unforgivable things [namely Murder] so that would be very hypocritical of him. also he would feel like he doesn't deserve to be forgiven anyway but thats a whole other thing. i will explode if i go on about that,, ANYWAY he Is capable of forgiving people for petty little things though

he's also not petty enough for vengeance apart from a Very Few Select Incidents bc he prefers not to let his emotions cloud his judgement on things bc that will only ever make things worse. but he is allowing himself the exception of payback for the guys that basically almost killed him that one time and sent his life in a vastly different direction. and it is Very Interesting to me bc. i'm not even sure if it would be revenge for him, more like,,, relief maybe or something idk. Closure perhaps. he's not going to kill them. but. eheoehehehe. (^:< i have some ideas

30. What would they do if they knew it would be forgiven?

well now this is a very good question considering. all of that whgjfsghjdghjg. he wouldn't Expect to be forgiven anyway so there's not a single thing he does with that as a motivation. he just does stuff, and if it ends in forgiveness, well then that's a fun little bonus. if he himself sees murder as unforgivable, and yet continues to do it anyway,, then nothing is really going to change. my brain broke writing this answer idk why but now it is simultaneously empty and full at the same time. Hello

𝗦𝗲𝗵𝗻𝘀𝘂𝗰𝗵𝘁 [𝗯𝘁𝘀]

⇉ 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗿 3

[Pairing]

Jungkook x female!oc, bunny!JK x human!oc

[Warnings]

mentiones of abuse, abuse, traumatized JK, humiliating, breakdowns, past sexual harassment, mentiones of violence, violence

[Words]

4.6k

[author]

Here is the next chapter. I really hope you like it. It is so fun writing new chapters and creating a new story.

Check out my recommendation below this chapter! My personal favorite is Inferiority Complex by @starlightauroras-writes. It‘s well written and so exciting to read. Make sure to leave her a lot of likes and comments! She deserves it so much!

Also, leave a like or comment, if you like this story. This makes me happy!

Stay safe and healthy!

Mꨄ

[chapter 2 ||| chapter 4]

It had been six days, since the girl had found him inside the dark alley way. Six days since she had taken him in with her, and six days since his world had been turned upside down.

Everything he had ever learned in his life, from which he thought they were right and normal, suddenly seemed to be so wrong and cruel. He wasn’t stupid. Of course, in his past he also had wondered if there was a life for him, in which could just be him.

Bred in a laboratory near Seoul, the capital of South Korea, he was soon adopted by a rich couple from New York who were looking for a rare bunny Hybrid. His younger him was so excited to finally be adopted and have a family, instead of some scary people in white coats.

God, had he been wrong.

He was nothing more than a pet for their pleasure. In every way.

A shiver ran down his spine, when he thought about the times the man had run his hands over his sensitive ears, pressing and twisting them. Or when his hands had gone down over his back and into his pants, so he could pull the soft fur of the boy’s fluffy tail. Sometimes, his hands had gone even further down, pinching or slapping his butt cheeks.

The boy felt his cheeks redden at this memory.

At first, he had thought it was an accident. He had made sure to leave some space between the man and him, or wriggle himself out of the man’s grip. Little had he known that he had made things worse by that.

He had gotten many punishments. Some of them were okay for him. They would made him clean the house or the laundry, and sometimes they had would lock him up in the small chamber next to kitchen without some food or drinks for several hours.

This had been some of the harmless punishments.

If he had been really bad, they would made him take of all his clothes, serving either them or their friends as they were over. Other days, they would punched him with this heavy belt or with a bat.

His eyes swelled with tears at this memories. He had always thought that he deserved all of this. He thought it was normal for Hybrids to be subordinated to human. He thought that every time he got a punishment, it had been his fault because he was such a bad Hybrid.

How could he had been so wrong?

Since the girl had taken him in with her, there had been no point where he had felt the urged to hide himself from her. Not even when he accidently dropped the whole package of flour over himself and the floor, while trying to put it up into the top shelf.

The kitchen had stayed silence for a few seconds, before she broke out into the most beautiful laugher he had ever heard. It was not played or evil or meant to hurt him. It was a real, clear laugher, about a funny situation.

He felt himself warming more and more up with every day, getting more and more comfortable while being around the human girl. He also loved the apartment she lived in.

It definitely wasn’t as big as the former house he had lived in. The apartment was small, but he loved anything about it. He loved the soft sofa that was placed in the middle of the living room that was so soft and warms with all its cushions and blankets to wrap oneself in.

He loved the small kitchen that would send out the mouth-watering smell of food every evening.

He loved the white hallway with the photo framed wall that he loved to look at when he was bored, because every time he discovered a new detail of them. Like two day ago, when he looked at the picture of Hope and the older women and suddenly realized that they actually have exactly the same smile.

He loved his own room with the big, soft bed in the middle, on which he loved to lay and read a book when Hope was busy. He had often wondered when she knocked on the door, but she had told him that this room was his private territory, and no one was allowed to enter if he didn’t want to.

Together, him and Hope even had created some kind of a daily routine.

In the mornings after he would wake up around 7.30 am. he would wait for Hope to be done showering. When she was done, she would leave the bathroom for him to go his routine, while starting to prepare the breakfast.

In the bathroom, he would take a quick shower, brush his teeth and hair and change into some new clothes.

Then, he and Hope had some breakfast together, before they both made the dished and he helped her to clean the table. After the dishes were done, Hope would sit down on the same kitchen table, writing something into her laptop, which she said was very important for her university graduation.

He often was a little bit sad that they couldn’t talk to each other while she was working on her essay, but he still tried to be as quiet as possible.

He then would either try to read one of the books standing in her bookshelf, try to sleep or he would watch some TV with the minimum of volume. But yesterday, he had found something more interesting to occupy himself with.

In the corner of the living room, he had spotted Hope’s old guitar. He was so curious that he had carefully asked her about it, and she immediately showed him how to use it. She said that she hadn’t played it in years, because she was too busy with university. But when she had pulled some strings of the wooden instrument, she created such a beautiful melody and Jungkook thought that it sounded absolutely amazing.

She even said, that him practicing the guitar, would not be bothering her while she wrote her terms. So, he tried to play the instrument while she worked. She had showed him how to google for tutorials on YouTube. At first, he was sceptical when the human in the TV screen began to talk to him, but soon, he had realized that he wasn’t actually talking to him, but for everyone who clicked on the video.

Sometimes, he would catch himself how he watched the girl working at the table. He would just stare at how she cringed her nose while her fingers slide over the keyboard, how she chewed on her lips as she read through the thick book, or how her tongue would stick out of her mouth when she was concentration really hard.

Beside the wife of his owner, he had never seen a human girl before. He only had seen some visitors of his owner, with all their make-up, pushed up breasts, heavy perfume and fake laughers. He never had thought at one of them to be beautiful, but Hope was.

He found out that she actually was a year younger than him, but her personality seemed to be much older than his. She never wore too revealing clothes or heavy make-up, nor did she ever covered her scent with perfume.

When he noticed how creepy he would stare at her, deeply absorbed in his thoughts, he would turn his attention back to whatever he had been doing before spacing out.

Once she would be done, usually around noon, they would both go into the kitchen and bake a cake together, that would be eaten in the afternoon. While waiting for the cake to be done in the oven, they would sit on the soft couch and talk about random things.

Jungkook had to admit that talking to the girl was one of his favourite things to do each day. Not only because she was a really funny person, or because her voice was so smooth and soft, but also because she actually talked and listened to him.

In the beginning, he sometimes had hesitated, not wanting to speak too much. But by now, he wasn’t afraid of talking too much and being punished for it. He just could talk as much as he wanted without being stopped.

Hope had told him some stories from her childhood and live. He listened to every detail carefully, wanting to give her the same attention she giving him all the time. She would tell him stories about different items in the house, and she even explained him the photos on the wall next to his room when he had asked about them.

Now he knew that the older women was her mom, who had sadly died a few year ago during a car accident. He felt sorry for her when he saw a tear leaving her eye and for a short moment, he had thought about hugging her. But only for a second. The pain and fear were still bounded too deep onto his bones.

The younger people next to her were her best friend from High School. He didn’t miss the sad tone, as she told him that they hadn’t had talked recently, because every one of them was busy with university and their own lives.

She had also told him about her college life. From what she told him, he assumed that she must be really smart.

But he was even more amazed when she told him about her future plans. Hope wanted to be a lawyer for Hybrid rights, because she thought that they deserve more rights than they have now. She thought that they should be equal to human and that she wanted to give them a voice by standing up for their rights.

He couldn’t believe that she actually was fighting for Hybrids to have all the same rights than human have.

He imagined himself and how he would leave the house to go to work every morning, like every human did each day. He imagines himself and how he would go shopping all by himself, or how he would just walk around the park whenever he wanted to. It must be great to fell that free.

When they would be done eating their cake in the afternoon, Hope would always clean up the apartment a little bit. She said that she didn’t want the house to be sterile, but she wanted it to be tidy. She would use the vacuum to clean up the floor in every room, while Jungkook cleaned up the kitchen from when they had baked.

In the evenings, they would both prepare their diner, before eating it together, making the dishes and watch some more TV, until they both were tired. They would brush their teeth again, before changing into a pair of pyjamas and then go to sleep.

“Jungkoooook! Can you come here for a second, pleeeaaaasee!”

The Hybrid’s ears shot up high in the ear when he heard the girl’s voice coming from the living room. He quickly closed the book he was reading on his bed and laid it onto his nightstand. Slowly and a little bit scared that he had done something wrong, he walked out of his room. He carefully peeked his head around the corner, looking into the living room.

“Hey Jungkook.” The girl waved at him when she saw him standing in the hallway.

The boy gulped. Hope didn’t look mad or angry, so he assumed that he didn’t do anything wrong. Rather than mad, she looked really excited and happy as she made her way over to the couch where the boy suddenly spotted something big.

He curiously made a step further into the living room, slowly making his way up towards her. His mind was filled with questions when he saw the girl walking up to the big, brown box next to the sofa. It was much higher than the small girl, almost his hight, and printed with many different signs and…warnings?

Don’t shake. Caution, heavy package! Lift with care.

“Don’t look so scared, Jungkook.” The girl smiled at him when she saw how he hesitated to come near her. “I have a surprise for you.”

He watched as she pulled a small pocket knife out of the pocket of her jeans. She stepped closer to the package and quickly slide the sharp blade of the knife over the plastic strings that were wrapped around the big box.

“A Surprise?” He whispered in disbelieve. “For me?”

“Yes, for you, silly.” She smiled again, as she cut the last string, leaving only the tape wrapped around the box. “Now come over here. I need your help with this.”

He made two big steps until he had reached the girl and the package. Hope was already pulling at the tape trying to rip it off. He lifted his arms up to the top of the box, pulling the tape that was placed there.

His mind was still filled with questions. Never in his life had someone bought him a present, not even on his birthday. He wondered why she had decided to buy him something this big and heavy, after all, she already shared her apartment with him, and this was more than he could ever ask for. He wondered what was hiding inside the brown cardboard, but he knew that whatever it was, he would love it.

He ripped the last piece of tape off, throwing it onto the pile on the ground. The girl was already holding her knife, slicing open the brown cardboard of the box. When she was done, she laid the piece of metal onto the dining table, before turning around. Her eyes were flickering between the Hybrid and the still closed package.

“Come on. It’s for you.” She said after a few seconds of silence. “Open it.”

He was still looking at the girl with wide eyes, before he snapped out of his trance, and just pulled the brown cardboard away carefully.

He gasped and took a step back. Now standing in the middle of the living room, was a big, red sack. It was round and about his height, with a big metal chain on the top, along with some red, big gloves. He didn’t know what this was supposed to be. Never in his life had he seen something strange like this.

“Do you like it?” The girl squeaked excitedly while jumping up and down.

Did he like it? He didn’t even know what this things was used for. What was he supposed to answer? She looked so excited and happy, and the last things he wanted was to hurt her feelings.

“I – ehm…” He hesitated for a moment. “I like it?”

His answer sounded more like a question, and the girl didn’t miss that.

“You don’t know what this is, do you?” She pulled her left eyebrow up, while she watched in amusement as the boy struggled to find an answer. He was too adorable. “It’s okay, Jungkook. I will show you.”

She walked up to the red sack, standing onto her tippy-toes to reach the red gloves from the top. She pushed them into his arms and gestured for the boy to pull them over his hands.

“This is a punching bag.” She said as she walked behind the so called punching bag. “You can punch and kick it to get stronger, or when you are angry. I just thought – you once said that you think of yourself being too thin, and since you can’t go out, I thought that you would like something like that. We can hang it up in your room if you, but if you don’t want it it’s okay, then I will send it back. Come on, punch it.”

The boy stared at the red gloved that were now covering his hands, before looking up at the girl, checking whether she was serious or not. When their eyes met, she smiled and nodded at him to go on.

He carefully lifted his left hand in the air and pushed it forward. His punch was weakly, as if he was scared to hurt the bag.

The girl encouraged him to hit the bag harder this time. Insuring him that he was not hurting someone.

Jungkook lifted both of his hands this time, like he was actually preparing to fight someone. He threw another punch at the bag, which was much harder this time. Then he threw another one with the other hand.

Something inside him had just been woken up, and he was surprises by the power behind his punches. Before he had come to Hope, he was thin and weak, almost too weak to hold himself on his own legs.

Though he had gained some more weight over the last 7 days, he still was not happy with is body statue. He didn’t want to seem weak anymore. He wanted to be strong and powerful, so he could protect himself so he would never had to fear some human ever again in his life.

Being roommate with the small girl, he had recently developed the primal urge to also want to protect the female from all intruders and dangers coming from outside. So this punching bag could be a good chance to actually gain some muscles.

Over and over again, he punched the bag harder and harder, until the girl, who was still steadying the heavy sack, stooped him.

“Okay, okay!” She laughed, and immediately, Jungkook stopped. “I think it is better to hang it up in your room, or else you will punch me around the room. Come on, help me carrying it.”

Together, they carried the bag into the Hybrid’s room. The girl also brought a hammer and a hook for hanging up the punching bag onto the ceiling. The boy watched in amazement, as she climbed up onto a chair and bringing the hook into the ceiling all by herself.

When she was done, he helped her to lift up the bag and hang it up onto the hook. Proudly, she stepped off of the chair and rubbed her hands.

“Do you like it?” She asked again, this time more referring to the position they had hung up the red bag.

“Yes. I like it very much.” He just whispered, not knowing how to thank her appropriated. “Thank you…Hope. Thank you so much.”

They looked for another seconds at each other, before she said that she had to do some more work. She was about to leave, when she suddenly turned back.

“I forgot something.” She spoke more to herself, as she ran out of the room, leaving the confused boy behind. She came back a few minutes later, holding something black in her hands. “I actually have another surprise for you. Well…it’s not actually a surprise but more like a recommendation from me to you.”

She walked back inside the room, making her way up towards his bed. She asked him if she could sat down and he nodded, taking a seat next to her. Jungkook could sense her racing heartbeat and her nervousness. She lifted the black object and placed it on his lap carefully.

“This is a notebook. I – I know that you have been through some tough times, and it’s okay that you don’t want to talk about it with me. But if you ever feel like you need to get something off of you mind, you can just write it in here. Believe me, it helps very much to organized one’s mind into a notebook. I used one for myself when I was younger and didn’t want to talk to someone. So – here.”

Carefully, she lifted her hand and laid it on his for a moment. She knew that he was still afraid when it came to physical affection, but she just needed him to know that she cared.

Jungkook just stared at the notebook and then at her hand that was covering his. His cheeks blushed slightly when he realized that they were actually touching. But somehow, he didn’t feel the urge to pull away.

“The Simpsons, again?” The girl groaned and threw her head backwards, closing her eyes. “Don’t you ever get tired of it?”

When she opened her eyes again, she immediately was confronted with those big, brown orbs staring into hers. How could she say no? She sighed loudly, while pressing the right button onto the remote.

“Your play wasn’t fair.” She muttered, as she bent over and snatched the bowl of popcorn out of the Hybrid’s hands.

This day had been more then exhausting for the girl, but also a day of many happy occasion. First of all, she had finally finished the majority of her paper terms. It wasn’t perfect yet, but being done so early she had plenty of time for working on the details.

Jungkook wasn’t so pleased when she had worked twice as long for finishing her terms, meaning that he had to bridge twice as much time alone. He had tried a few times to convince her stop working for today, but when he realized that she wouldn’t go after his demand, he just pouted and went to his own room.

Hope had noticed the process Jungkook had made over the past two weeks which made her extremely proud.

Not only mentally, he became much more confident, but also physically. Since the day she bought him his punching back, he had been practicing almost every day. She would hear the dull tones of his gloves hitting the bag, while she would sit in front of her laptop in the dining room.

His skin and body looked much healthier, now. With his cheeks red and more plump, and with his shoulder and arms that seemed to get much and much broader every day, there was nothing left from the shy, injured boy from two weeks ago.

She had also noticed, that he actually wasn’t too averse to physical affection as she had thought. She thought that she had crossed a border when she touched his hands without his permission a few day before, but since then, he only seemed to trust her more.

He wouldn’t pull his hands away anymore, when their hands accidently touched. He also wouldn’t sit on the couch as far away from her as possible, instead, he even agreed to share the same blanket two nights ago.

He also had taken in her recommendation when she had given him the notebook. She sometimes watched him as he was bent over the small book, writing something in with fast and hectic movements. Sometimes, she wondered if he was actually writing, or if he was just sketching some pictures or signs. But then, he could read, so she assumed that he had learned how to write, too.

When he was done, he would just lay his pen aside, and stare at the book for several minutes, completely spaced out. She wanted to ask him what he was thinking about, but decided to not go for it. He should always have the chance to organize his thoughts without her bothering him.

The second exciting thing that had happened this day, was Jungkook accompanying her towards the grocery store. It wasn’t planned at all, but lately he had asked her more often if there was a chance that he could leave the apartment. At least one time.

Lucky for him, he had a short fluffy tail that was normal hidden by his shorts, and his ears could be easily covered by a beanie. He had looked like a normal, healthy and happy young man, when he had strolled behind her through the hallways of shelves.

It made her even more sat that he indeed was a normal boy. He had never asked to be bred in a laboratory. He had never asked to be threatened like a slave in his own home, and he especially deserved nothing mor than to feel normal. One day – One day he would get the chance to feel normal. She would to anything in her power to give him that chance.

“We can also watch something else if – if you want.” Jungkook ripped her out of her thoughts.

He had curled up under the blanket beside her, nudging his head into the soft pillow behind him. His ears were sprawled out to one side and all over the soft cushion, as well as his deep brown hair. The day in the supermarket had really worked him out.

The boy was so focused on the TV playing his favourite cartoon, that he didn’t notice how the girl took a quick picture of his being curled up on the couch. She looked at the taken picture for a few seconds, before closing her phone and throwing into onto the couch.

A sudden idea came into her head. The boy’s birthday was coming up soon, and she was still thinking of a nice surprise for. She knew he loved all of the photos that were placed all around the apartment. He loved to look at them every morning while she worked, and he loved even more when she told him the story behind every single photo, even if she had told them to him for several times.

What if he would wake up on his birthday, leaving his room and seeing a photo of him framed and hung up onto the wall? She actually like that idea.

She snapped out of her thoughts and looked for her phone. Why did she had to throw it away so far from her? She groaned. If she wanted to memo her idea, she needed to move now. She pushed the blanket away and bent over to reach her phone.

While doing so, she accidentally pushed her hand onto the remote, that laid next to her. The TV screen went black for a moment, before popping up with a new picture.

In the middle of the screen was now a news reporter talking. Hope didn’t pay him any attention. She was still occupied with her phone, when suddenly the Hybrid next to her shot up from his lying position.

He sat straight up, his mouth slightly open and his ears high up in the ear. Like paralyzed, his wide open eyes were fixed on the screen where the report was still talking about something the girl hadn’t caught yet.

“Jungkook?” She asked quietly, but he didn’t’ move an inch. “Jungkook, are you –“

“Shhhhh!” He didn’t even looked at her, as he shushed her shut, pointing his finger wildly onto the TV screen.

“…Unfortunately, the police had not been arriving in time. Witnessers though spotted some of the rarest breeds under the illegal participant Hybrids. Among them were Asiatic lions, some Azawakh dog and even an Amur Leopard. All of these Hybrids belong to the rarest breeds of the world. Dealing or participating them in illegal fighting clubs is highly is highly punished…”

Bullshit. None of those people will ever be arrested, and this guy in the TV knew it. If illegal dealers or ZCM’s, so called ‘Zoo Club Members’ or owners who send their Hybrids to illegal fighting clubs, were caught, there was neither someone who wanted to defend the Hybrids in front of the judge, nor no one even cared to actually bring the case in front of a judge.

She turned her head over to the hybrid sitting on her couch, but she wasn’t prepared for what she saw. When he had jumped up from the couch, she thought that he got scared because of the sudden change of the TV channel, but what she saw broke her heart.

The bunny Hybrid had laid his ears flat against his head, while big tears were spilling out of his eyes. Between short sobs and gasps he whispered two words all over again.

“Jin Hyung.”

[inspirations | recommendations] ⇉ 𝗺𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱𝘀!

@wishesunderthestars

@agustdakasuga

@ditttiii

@angelicyoongie

@starlightauroras-writes

Remember me For I will soon be gone Remember me And let the love we have live on And know that I'm with you the only way that I can be So, until you're in my arms again Remember me

Today is a hard day for me so I am going to pause my fic reading and other stuff for a moment. The reason I am going to pause it for a moment to talk about why it’s a hard day for me. I’m sorry if this may be a downer for some but talking about it really helps me deal with it. Now I will get to why this is a hard day for me before I keep rambling.

I am going to put a Keep Reading thing here. It’s going to be a long post and I don’t want to fill people’s dash. So read under the cut to find out why this day is hard on me. If you read all of it I appreciate you so much.

A year ago December 14th I lost one of the most important person in my life. That person was my grandmother. My grandmother meant a lot to me she was always there when I needed her. I remember that awful day all too well. It was 6am I was having a hard time getting to sleep. For one I am a night owl so not too weird. But also 2 days prior to that I had a tooth pulled. Apparently I had a baby tooth that never fell out like it was supposed to. Anyway I was still in pain and kind of cranky cause I couldn’t eat solid food. I also was cranky I have to live with my parents again. I hit a rough patch my friend decided to move in with her bf. I couldn’t afford a place of my own & if I could afford it they did not allow pets. No way was I giving up my furbabies so had to move back with my parents. Hey I would take that over being homeless no where for me & my furbabies to go. Of course went through a rough patch a different story for another time.

Anyway my dad always leaves for work sometime after 6am. I heard him go outside to start his truck up but then I heard it shut off. I thought oh great something happened to his truck. As he was coming back in I could hear him talking on the phone. Next thing I know I hear him say “Mom just died” then I heard my mom go what?! I heard him say it again. I got out of bed this time going what did you say? He looked at me going your grandmother just died. I kept saying No over and over. I went I just talked to her last night she can’t be gone. My grandmother was sitting with an elderly lady at the apartment complex my sister lives at. This lady has dementia I think but she couldn’t be left alone. The lady‘s daughter called my aunt(she was the lady’s caregiver during the day) who had my uncle(dad’s brother) to call my dad. I lost it immediately safe to say I did not get sleep. I went from seeing & talking to my grandmother anytime I wanted. To all of sudden have her taken away from me. To have it happen a week before Christmas too was a low blow.

A few weeks after she passed I was watching the movie coco. When I heard the song Remember Me I started crying. It reminded me of my grandmother something she would indeed say. So now when I hear it I think of her. I will never understand why she was taken away from me so fast. But I will cherish all the memories I have with her. I will think of her smile when she was happy. I will remember the way she would make up a song about anything. She was always singing and if she didn’t know the lyrics she would make them up. My grandmother was a wonderful woman she never met a stranger ever. I miss her every single day. But I know she is always with me & I will carry her in my heart forever. I will also do my best to celebrate Christmas for her. Christmas was my grandmother’s favorite holiday she loved everything about it. So I am going to celebrate Christmas for her.

If you can give your loved ones a hug. Cherish every single moment you have with them. Cause you will miss them when they are gone. Even the things you found annoying you will miss. So hug your loved ones and tell them you love them. Thank you for reading all of this and letting me get it all out. Talking about it helps me deal with it. So thank you for letting me rant.

Won’t pick up your dog’s shit and then steal from me? Move out then.

So this happened at the last apartment complex I lived in. Sorry it’s so long.

My SO and I were renting a ground floor unit at a really nice apartment complex. I wouldn’t say it was a luxury apartment or anything but our ground floor unit had a little patio off the back that led out into a really nice court yard area with hammocks, a walking path, outdoor fireplace/seating area, etc. A lot of people walk their dogs out there or let their kids play out in the grass, including us.

We have a 1 year old cane corso, we got her when we’d been living in the unit for about 2.5 months and she was only 8 weeks at the time. She’s a really good dog and we trained her well. We could let her out to go potty and she’d come right back even if there were distractions/people/dogs out (we always stood on the patio and watched her anyways because our pet agreement said we couldn’t leave our dog unattended). Then we’d go pick up her poop right away if she pooped (also part of the pet agreement as I’m sure is standard at most apartment complexes). We kept a small step trash can outside specifically for her poop bags because we didn’t want to throw them away inside and the only outside trash cans were on the other side of the building (which i agree is super dumb). It really was a small trash can, like the kind you’d tuck into the bathroom between the toilet and the wall. We also had her poop bags hanging on our patio door handle for easy access so we didn’t have to hunt for them every time we needed them.

This lady and her kid moved in on the ground floor in our building, two units down from us. No biggie. We ran into her one day carrying in groceries and my SO held open the door for her. She seemed kind of Karen-ish but was polite and her kid (probably 10-11 years old) didn’t look up from his phone. Whatever that’s pretty typical of kids these days. They also had a dog, a little black and white fluffy thing super cute but not trained very well. Don’t know what kind of dog but it was much smaller than our already giant puppy.

After about two weeks or so, we realized that there were dog turds in the grass right off our patio. We found out the hard way because my boyfriend stepped in it the first time. Luckily he wasn’t barefoot. They were clearly not our dog’s turds as 1.) we always picked up her poop right after she went and 2.) they were very obviously from a small dog, not our 70 pound puppy. We’d been in the apartment about 7-8 months at that point and had never had an issue with this so we figured it was EM’s little dog. I wrote her a polite note that basically was like “Hey neighbor! We noticed that some of your dog’s poops aren’t being picked up and are right off our patio. Per the pet agreement we all have to sign, we all need to be picking up our own dog’s poop each time they go. I’m sure it was an accident and you just didn’t notice, so if you could make sure to do that going forward we’d appreciate it! -Your neighbors in (unit#)”

She wasn’t home so I slipped it under the door and went back to my apartment. A couple hours later this lady is banging on my door and gets really angry with me, insists that it couldn’t have been her dog and how dare I assume. I felt really bad and I apologized immediately, said I didn’t mean to offend her and it must have been someone else. She told me never to bother her with “crap like this again” and stormed off. I was like okaaaaayyyyy.

Not three days later, I was sitting on my patio with a book enjoying the cool weather when I see their little dog run out of their back door - no one with it - and it comes over to me. I said hello to the pup (bcuz I love pups) and then it took a shit right off patio, ran back home and scratched the door to be let in. I saw her kid slide the door open enough to let the dog in and then closed it again without coming outside to pick up the poop. I was annoyed because here I saw it with my own eyes that it WAS their dog and no one was even watching it when it was outside.

So I grabbed a poop bag, picked up the poop, wrote another less polite note about her kid neglecting to watch the dog or come to check if it had pooped/pick up after it, and dropped the poop bag and the note on their patio right by the door, then went back to my reading. EM was quicker to come by this time and stomped right up to me, waving the note around. Then stated that her kid was just a kid and probably just forgot to check. I said I didn’t care, her kid was old enough to stand outside for 3 minutes and come pick up the dog’s poop. She said well there’s no poop bags/trashcans on this side of the building and she didn’t feel comfortable making her kid walk all the way around the building for that. The next part is my own fault, in hindsight. I suggested she put a trash can like mine on her patio and leave their own poop bags handy like we do for our dog. She eyed our stuff, huffed some more, rolled her eyes, refused to do anything about the poop and walked off. At this point I was super annoyed.

I stalked my patio door for the next couple days as much as I could, just waiting. And sure enough on day 2 in the evening when I was about to give up, I see the puppy run outside towards my patio. I whipped out my phone, took some pictures of the dog outside alone (not allowed) and the dog pooping and then took another phone an hour later of the poop still there and time stamped all of them. Then I sent an email to the apartment office people who were always pretty nice and they responded quickly they would give her a warning about it.

And sure enough this lady comes back AGAIN, to get mad and yell at me about how petty I was to report them to the office and now they had a $150 fine for not picking up their dog poop. (It’s worth noting that these fines were rare. PooPrints were not used at this complex. In order for the office to fine someone for dog poop they had to have proof it was that specific tenants dog’s poop and that it wasn’t picked up. Hence the photos I’d taken and timestamped.) I told her that I had tried to be nice about it with her TWICE before and it was her own fault at that point for not abiding by the terms of the pet agreement we ALL had to sign (everyone who had a dog at least).

She went off about how she’s a single mom and she works during the day and her precious baby can’t be expected to pick up after their dog. I told her that a 10/11 year old was plenty old enough to pick up after a dog and that if they weren’t responsible enough then maybe the kid shouldn’t be letting the dog out at all and she should be the one to do it or maybe whoever is home with him should be looking after it. She got angry, told me I had no idea how to be a single mom, that her mom stays with him during the day and shouldn’t be expected to look after her kid and her dog and she stomped off again. I expected to hear more about it but I didn’t. (The ironic part is I AM a single mom; my kid isn’t my SO’s and I raised him alone for 2.5 years before I met my SO, so yes I do know how hard it is and I live 1000 miles from my closest family so I never even had the luxury of being able to have my mom watch my kid.)

Over the next couple of weeks we didn’t find anymore dog turds off our patio. But we did notice our poop bags were depleting and our trash can filling up way more quickly than usual. I had my suspicions and wanted to test it. We had recently bought some small security cameras for inside of our apartment for different reasons and I had my boyfriend set one up outside on the patio. We faced it where it could see our door and trash can but didn’t point to the rest of the court yard or other people’s units (we respect privacy around here).

Sure enough the same evening my boyfriend set it up, I see the kid walk onto our patio, take a poop bag, walk out of frame, and then come back to throw it in our trash can. Okay. Now I’m PISSED but also not trying to fight this lady or her kid. So I moved the poop bags to the inside door handle. It’s a glass door so you can still see them but we always lock our sliding door.

Next morning, I hear someone knocking on the back patio door and I go to see her kid standing there looking annoyed. I didn’t open the door I just spoke loudly enough to ask what did he need. He demanded a poop bag for his dog’s poop. I said I’m sorry but these are our poop bags for our dog and they weren’t free for anyone else to use. The apartment provides poop bags in a dispenser near the trash can on the other side of the building. Kid started demanding a poop bag, saying his mom told him he could use ours, slapping his hands on the glass a few times (trying to scare me? yes I’m so terrified of a ten year old boy...), and finally screaming at me that he’s telling his mother on me. I said fine go ahead I’ll tell her the same thing. Sure enough, a few minutes later his mom is standing on my patio also demanding a poop bag for her dog’s poop. I denied her a bag and asked her to please step off of my patio as she was making me feel unsafe and uncomfortable (my SO wasn’t home). She told me I was a bratty child (I’m 24...) and she demanded I let her use my poop bags as I had already told her she could before. I said no, I told you to get some yourself and do what I do - keep them close by and put your own trash can on your own patio - not use the bags I buy with my own money for my own dog and then fill up my tiny trash can with your dog’s poop. I pointed out she could use a plastic shopping bag if she didn’t want to buy her own poop bags or she could use the bags the complex provided on the other side of the building. She kept going off on me and I finally told her if she didn’t leave my patio I’d call the police as she was harassing me (the apartment office was closed on Sundays and of course it was Sunday). She acted like she was going to call my bluff but then my boyfriend got home and walked up behind me to ask what was going on and she ended up dragging her kid away - again, leaving the poop in the grass off my patio.

So once she was gone, I took ANOTHER timestamped picture of the dog poop, downloaded the footage from my security camera of her kid stealing my poop bags and throwing them in my trash can and the footage from them that morning yelling at me and demanding my bags and my denying them and emailed all of it to the apartment management. I told them that she made me feel unsafe and uncomfortable in my own home, that she and her child felt entitled to come onto my patio and take my belongings. I also went outside, picked up her dog’s poop, looked in the trash can on my patio and pulled out the bags with her dog’s poop (they were significantly smaller than my dog’s poops as I’m sure any dog owners could tell the difference in poops of a 12lb dog vs a 70lb dog). I went and opened all the bags and dumped the poops straight on her patio right outside the door.

On Monday, I heard back from the office lady who said she would take care of it. By Friday, there was a moving truck and the lady and her kid were moving out. Pretty sure they were evicted or at the very least urged to move before a formal eviction process was initiated. After talking to some of our other, much friendlier neighbors, it turns out we weren’t the only ones who had been complaining about her. They’d only lived in the complex for like 2-3 months before they made so many enemies they were kicked out.

Sometimes I think I should feel bad for playing a part in them getting evicted but honestly I can’t bring myself to feel guilty about it. Not my fault she was a lazy entitled bitch who couldn’t even be assed to get a shopping bag to pick up her dog’s shit. I never heard from her about the turds I dropped on her patio but I like to think she stepped in them without looking and knew better than to come bitch to me about it.

sorrynotsorry

(Also, I’m sure they were given more than a week to vacate as those are the tenancy laws here but she packed up and left like a bat out of hell. Guess she didn’t want to stay somewhere she was clearly seen as an enemy... I don’t know for sure that she was evicted or if she was just asked to leave or abide by the lease or what. Office can’t give out that type of info and she and I weren’t exactly on speaking terms for her to give me the scoop about it.)

TLDR; Entitled mom lets her dog shit wherever it wants without cleaning it, I tell her to pick up her dog’s shits or make her kid do it, she refuses, gets a fine from the apartment complex after I send them pics of her dog unattended and the poop not being picked up. She starts letting her kid steal my supplies from my patio, I send video footage and photos to the management and they end up being kicked out of the complex.

(source) story by (/u/MotherhoodEst2017)

Trouble (YoonKook)

AO3 Link Here!

✩ Relationships: yoonkook (Yoongi x Jungkook) ✩ Genre(s): fluff

✩ Rating: Teen ✩ Tags: fluff, established relationship, humor, (teen for vague mention of sex at one point)

✩ Summary: Jungkook wants a kitten. And what Jungkook wants, Jungkook gets... Even if Yoongi doesn't know it.

✩ A/N: Written for Anonymous for the drabble requests, prompt #2: When did we get a cat?

✩ Word Count: ~2.8k

Yoongi had loved Jungkook for nearly as long as he’d known the man. They had met in high college, when Jungkook was still an awkward freshman trying to figure out what he wanted to do in life, and Yoongi was near his graduation, already signed with a music company in the city as a producer. Despite their first few awkward dates as Jungkook struggled to come to terms with his sexuality and get comfortable in his skin, they stuck together, moving in with one another in Jungkook’s sophomore year.

Everything was the both of them. Helping Jungkook come out to his family, the tears when his father was far less than supportive, Yoongi still remembers the way Jungkook had kissed him after Yoongi went toe to toe with the man, preventing a further fight and earning his respect in one fell swoop.

Studying for Jungkook’s exams when he felt he couldn’t learn a single thing more, working on the request for Yoongi’s contracts and listening to tracks he’d spent hours on.

Their friends laughed at them because of just how well they got along. Despite their many years together, fights were minimal. True fights, where one or the other had to walk away, could be counted on one hand. Spats were normal, but never lasted more than an hour or two before they talked it through. Agreements were easily reached, each willing to meet the other in the middle in order to maintain not only a peaceful household, but a happy relationship.

Yoongi knew he was wrapped around Jungkook’s very beautiful fingers, if he was being honest. He didn’t mind at all. Jungkook never abused the power he knew he had over Yoongi, and not once did Yoongi feel stepped on. They were equals and their relationship was more solid than most that Yoongi knew with people their age.

There was only one thing the two continually argued about. Animals.

Jungkook, from the day they moved in together, had been pleading with Yoongi to adopt a pet. First it was a dog, which was easily shut down because the apartment complex they were in did not allow dogs of any kind. Then it shifted to a cat, which Yoongi was less opposed to, but he worried they were both too busy to care for an animal. And then a snake, lizard, or bird, all of which Yoongi ixnayed as quickly as Jungkook brought them up. The idea of sharing his home with a pet was terrifying. Yoongi wasn’t exactly sure why, and even after Jungkook graduated college and began working, Yoongi still argued against the idea whenever it was brought up. It had to have been the source of at least five of their bickers per month, and not something either was willing to budge on.

The normalcy and frequency with which Jungkook normally brought up the idea of a pet was startling. And that should have been Yoongi’s first clue that something was amiss in their house. Jungkook stopped mentioning anything about adopting a pet of any kind, or even bringing UP animals. Despite the oddity of the decline, it was sort of nice, not having the same regular argument.

The second clue to something not quite being right was the sudden increase in the amount of fish - specifically tuna - and milk that Jungkook was consuming. Jungkook ate a ton anyway, so Yoongi didn’t think much about it, assuming his exercise crazy boyfriend was on some new protein or calcium diet.

The third clue should have been Jungkook’s willingness to clean the apartment. He’d always been willing to do laundry or cover certain chores, but Yoongi had been coming home from the office at the end of the day to an entirely spotless home. Though they weren’t dirty men, they were young men, and that - despite their best efforts - normally left some natural mess… But not when Jungkook set to work. Yoongi hadn’t had to pick up more than his own shoes or shirt in the past month.

Yet, despite all of these clues, Yoongi thought nothing of it. He was happy, content, and living life as well as he had ever hoped he could, doing what he loved with the man he loved.

It was a quiet Saturday evening and Yoongi was tense. He was snapping at Jungkook over the littlest things, and knew he was being a general dick.

“What is wrong?” Jungkook finally asked, rubbing Yoongi’s tense shoulders.

“Nothing.”

“Yeah, there is. Talk to me.” Jungkook nuzzled over Yoongi’s neck and ear, kissing the soft skin there gently until Yoongi shivered.

“Just this new project. It’s a tight deadline and I don’t feel like it’s good enough,” he finally admitted, letting Jungkook begin to work the knots in his shoulders loose.

“I understand. I’m sure it’s fine, baby - but I also know you have that perfectionist streak that makes you so damn good at your job. It won’t let you rest until you feel like it’s ideal.”

“Exactly.” Yoongi let his head hang. Jungkook knew exactly where to press to turn him into mush.

“Well, why don’t you go into the office tomorrow? Spend a few times working on it and see if you can get it a little closer, or at least figure out what went wrong?”

“Sunday is our— Oh…” Yoongi sighed contentedly. “Our day.”

“And I’m sure I’ll be just fine spending a few hours by my lonesome while you work on something important. I’d rather that than have you tense and unhappy during our day together anyway. We can spend tonight and tomorrow night together instead.”

“Are you sure?” Yoongi asked.

“Of course. In fact…” Jungkook let go of his shoulders and began to kiss up the curve of his neck. “Do you want to make love tonight?”

Yoongi sighed deeper, his eyes fluttering shut. “If I ever say no to that, I’ve lost my mind.”

Jungkook giggled, a deep, playful sound that went straight to Yoongi’s stomach. “Then go take a nice, long, relaxing bath and get all clean. We’ll make sure you’re so relaxed you can’t even move until tomorrow morning.”

“You are… The perfect boyfriend,” Yoongi said. “I know. Go on.” Jungkook kissed his cheek and rose, heading into their bedroom.

Yoongi headed into the bathroom, stripping down naked. He turned on the water, letting it heat up before plugging the tub and pulling out a nondescript box from under the counter. Inside were a variety of bath bombs, different makes, scents, textures, colors, and oils. It was his guilty pleasure, and only Jungkook really knew his secret. He knew the guys at work would tease him to no end. The tough rapper and producer loving the feel of silky soft lavender essential oil and bright pink bath bombs when he lounged in his tub.

Speaking of bright pink. Yoongi plucked a neon pink cat shaped bath bomb from the box, unwrapping it and smelling it. Jasmine and some other floral scents… Perfect. He went over to the tub, turning off the faucet and plopping the little cat into the steaming water. It began to fizz immediately, and Yoongi grinned to himself. He settled into the water, sighing contentedly. With half closed eyes, he batted the fizzing cat back and forth through the water, watching it pump pink and orange foam, the color slowly spreading through the clear water.

The scent was soothing and relaxing, exactly as intended, and Yoongi let his eyes drift shut. He listened to the fizzing of the bomb as he sank lower, his chin resting just above the water. His body relaxed almost of its own volition, the soothing warmth of the water and the scent of the oils working together to draw the tension out of his body. He could figure out his music, it was just a challenge. Which was exactly what he loved in his job. Nothing wrong with working a little harder.

Yoongi didn’t know how long he laid in the warm water. Long enough for the fizzing to quiet, leaving him in silence save for the steady thump of his heart, strong in his ears.

Because of that silence, the soft thud near the toilet was as loud as a snap in the bathroom. Yoongi opened his eyes, blinking a few times to clear his vision when it fell onto the toilet. Surely, he was seeing things. He remained still, squeezing his eyes shut and open. Nope… Still there.

On the toilet, carefully traversing the rim of the open seat, was a small black, brown, and orange kitten. Yoongi watched it slip, nearly landing in the water of the toilet. He tensed, ready to leap out and rescue it. It recovered, however, and continued on its trek, pausing to swipe at the water. Yoongi could feel his pulse increasing, concerned for the kitten’s safety, but worried that moving too quickly would scare it into the water if it might otherwise be able to avoid it.

“Jungkook,” he called at a voice just below normal. The kitten looked at him, seeming to realize there was a human in the room with it for the first time. It froze, as did Yoongi, hoping it wouldn’t do something stupid.

It looked at him for a while, then began its trek once more, seemingly deeming him as not a danger.

“Jungkook,” Yoongi called again, a little above his normal voice. And a third time, just a little louder so he wouldn’t scare the kitten, “Jungkook!”

“What’s up?” Jungkook called from behind the half-closed door.

“When did we get a kitten?”

There was a very pregnant pause. “What?”

“A kitten, Jungkook. When did we get a cat?”

“We… We don’t have a cat, Yoongi.”

“We don’t?” Yoongi looked at the animal and then at the closed door. “Then mind telling me what this small furry creature is that’s currently trying to avoid falling in our toilet?”

Jungkook pushed open the door quickly, rushing in.

“No!” Yoongi cried. Too late. The kitten startled at the sudden movement and fell into the toilet with an unhappy meow and splash. Yoongi scrambled out of the tub, splashing his own water everywhere. He grabbed the kitten out of the water, wrapping it in the towel he’d intended to use to dry himself.

It struggled at first, but seemed to calm when it realized it was warm and no longer under water. Yoongi sighed and turned to Jungkook, his mouth a fine line.

Jungkook stood sheepishly, his shoulders sagging. He worried his hands in front of him, chewing his lip. “I’m in trouble, huh?”

“I told you we couldn’t get a cat, Jungkook. Please, explain why I’m holding a very wet one right now?”

“Probably because she fell in the toilet…” Jungkook tried to joke, his mouth drooping when Yoongi didn’t so much as smile.

“I know you said no cats. No pets. And I didn’t… I didn’t mean to. She was dying, Yoongi.”

“She looks fine.”

“Yeah, now. When I brought her inside she was starving and shivering.”

“When you brought her in? How long has she been in the house, Jungkook?”

Jungkook lowered his head further. “A month. I promise I didn’t mean to keep her. I was going to take her to the shelter. I still planned to, I just wanted to make sure she was healthy so they wouldn’t euthanize her. I’ve been keeping her in the laundry room and letting her out while you’re at work.”

“So that’s why you’ve been so eager to clean. Keeping me from finding something cat related.”

Jungkook nodded. He looked close to tears. “I didn’t want to lie to you, but I was so scared you’d make me give her up right away if I told you. I just wanted to nurse her back to health and then I was gonna give her away. I promise. I know you don’t like animals.”

“Take her,” Yoongi said, holding the bundle out to Jungkook.

Jungkook obeyed, holding her close to him.

“Get her dried off, she’s gonna get sick with that water. I’m going to clean up the mess in here.”

“Do you hate me now, Yoongi?” Jungkook worried.

“No. Go on.”

Jungkook’s shoulders sagged. He headed out, the kitten in tow. Yoongi sighed when he was gone, grabbing another towel to begin cleaning up the water mess on the floor. He drained his bath, lamenting the wasted time he could have spent relaxing. As he cleaned the floor, he thought back to the previous twenty minutes. What a brave little animal. And so carefree, didn’t even mind being in his arms when he was clearly frustrated. As stubborn as Jungkook, clearly. He thought to the way Jungkook talked about her, so clearly in love with the small animal. A little twinge of guilt hit Yoongi. He’d been snappy. Jungkook’s explanation was sound; he probably would have done the same thing in his place. He needed to apologize.

Yoongi pulled on his sweats, walking through the apartment. He found Jungkook placing the small kitten in a carrier.

“Is that where she sleeps?” Yoongi asked.

“What? Oh, no, I had a little bed made of blankets for her. I’ll wash them, I promise.”

“Why are you putting her in there then?”

“Well, to drop her off to the shelter. They have someone available during nights most of the time. I told you I’d planned on getting rid of her once she was healthy – I’m sure she’ll be fine and adoptable now.”

Yoongi’s heart sank. “Jungkook…”

“I’m really sorry, Yoongi. I know I betrayed your trust.”

“You did. And thank you for the apology, I accept it,” Yoongi said.

Jungkook straightened up, wincing when the kitten meowed forlornly in the carrier. “I’ll be back soon.” He headed toward the door. Yoongi stuck out his arm, catching Jungkook in the chest and stopping him.

“The pet fee is one third of our monthly rent. I can pay half of it if you can afford the other half. And she’ll need to be up to date on shots, so you need to get that taken care of no later than Monday.”

“What?” Jungkook asked, his voice barely audible.

“Do I really need to repeat all that?” Yoongi lamented, looking at Jungkook out of the side of his eye.

“You’re saying we can keep her?” Jungkook clarified, a hopeful lilt in his voice.

“I’m saying feeding and the litter box is your responsibility. I don’t want to smell that, it’s gross. I’ll help with shots and buying food as you need, I know you make less, newer into your position. We can go half on getting her fixed, I’ll cover it if you can’t afford it, and you can pay me back over time.”

“Yoongi—”

“I don’t hate cats, Jungkook. I never did.” Yoongi let his arm drop and looked at Jungkook. “At first I said no because we were so busy, and then I just kept saying no. No real reason why. That wasn’t fair of me either. If I was in your position and found a sick kitten, I probably would have done the same thing that you did. I don’t fault you for having a big heart, baby. It’s part of why I love you.”

“You’re not mad?”

“I wish you’d trusted me enough to tell me right away, but I understand why you didn’t. I’m not mad. Go ahead and let her out of there, she sounds sad.”

Jungkook grinned wider, crouching down and opening the door of the carrier. The kitten peeked out. She stepped out slowly, eyeing Yoongi before trotting off.

“What did you name her?”

“Trouble.”

“Fitting name.” Yoongi crouched, holding his hand out and making a soft ‘psps’ noise to call her. She moved toward him, sniffing him before letting him scoop her up. He stroked her fur. “She’s cute. You did good getting her looking healthy.”

“I worked really hard with her,” Jungkook said, reaching out to pet Trouble as well.

“I’m sorry I’ve been such a dick,” Yoongi said. “I should have been more understanding and willing to compromise on a pet.”

“I should have told you about her and trusted you to do stand by me,” Jungkook agreed. “You’re really okay with us keeping her?”

“No harm in it, really. We both work, but cats are independent. I’m sure she’ll be fine.”

Jungkook went forward, kissing Yoongi gently. “I love you.”

“I love you too.” He set Trouble down. “So I finished my bath,” he said, stepping up to Jungkook.

“Oh?”

“Mhm. I believe earlier there was a promise of making sure I was so relaxed I couldn’t move until tomorrow...”

Jungkook smirked, wrapping his arms around Yoongi’s shoulders. “I remember that.” He pressed gentle kisses along Yoongi’s jaw. “I should get started on that, hm?”

“Most definitely.”

Jungkook grinned. He let his arms drop and grabbed Yoongi’s hand, dragging him toward the bedroom. Yoongi laughed helplessly as he followed. He was weak for Jungkook, he knew it, and he was perfectly okay with it.

Black Dog...

A Bucky Barnes x Reader fanfic

A/N: The motherfluffer strikes again! I know I said I was going to do a pt 2 of "What Is and What Should Never Be", but I was sitting with my doggo tonight and this is what I was inspired to write. It's more of a prequel, I guess.

Summary: There's not much Bucky wouldn't do for his best girl, but when she suggests they get a dog to help them readjust to life after the final battle with Thanos, he's not so sure it's a great idea.

Pairing: Bucky Barnes/ fem! enhanced! Reader

(reader can see moments into the future as well as understanding all languages and processing new information quickly, plus she's also a super soldier)

Warnings: Slight angst, mild swearing, fluff!, mentions of PTSD and panic attacks, No editor, we die like men

“You want to do what?”

Bucky considers himself a fairly reasonable person (well, there is the “was brainwashed for over fifty years” part) and he prides himself on valuing whatever his girlfriend (fiance he reminds himself, she kept the ring on for five years) says instead of only listening to come up with a response, but this time, he’s almost certain he’s heard wrong. At least, he hopes he has.

“I want to get a puppy.”

That’s exactly what he thought she said. “Or really a dog of any age.” Where to begin with that suggestion.

He likes dogs. He had one before the war. But that was back when it was safe to walk through Brooklyn at night, not to mention walk your dog along the sidewalk after dinner. Back before sudden noises in the night, however light or normal they are made him bolt upright in bed and reach for the knife he still keeps on the nightstand just in case. Before fighting “bad guys” was part of his every-day life, and way before he himself had become a bad guy. All of that considered, there’s only one way he can answer.

“I don’t think so, doll.” The corners of her lips turn down and her eyelids lower.

“Oh.” She’s more disappointed than she’ll let on. Maybe there’s a way to smooth it over.

“Why did you want a dog?”

He takes a seat on the sofa next to her (they were going to settle into their usual after work activity; watch something neither of them will remember later as an excuse to be together, usually with her legs resting in his lap and a bowl of popcorn between them) and silently wills her to look up, not be saddened by something he’s done. Goodness knows she’s had enough of that to last a lifetime already, and the wedding isn’t for another month.

She shrugs, still absently picking at her pilling sweater.

“There’s been studies done on how having a pet helps lower stress levels and raise seratonin levels. That helps with PTSD and sleep disorders.”

Something that used to just apply to him, but after Thanos, it’s as often her waking up from a nightmare that felt just a little too real or staring at words in a book that she’s not even seeing long after midnight.

“Plus-” She laughs, but it’s not the unbridled sound he treasures, it’s… bitter somehow. “-it’ll be like exposure therapy. We’ll be forced to leave the apartment for more than groceries and work.”

It seems as if the outside world has become even louder and more unbearable since the world ended and restarted again.

“All of that sounds good-” There’s the beginings of a smile on her face. He hates that he’s about to crush it all over again. “-but what about the logistics of it?” She frowns, clearly confused. “We don’t know where we’ll be living once your lease is up-”

“There are plenty of other apartment complexes that allow pets.” He nods.

“Yeah, but not all of them. And on top of that, when we’re away on missions, who’s gonna look after the pooch?” She seems to be considering it, mulling it over, then-

“Here me out: we train the dog to come with us on missions and do reconnaissance.” The smirk on her face lets him know that it’s a joke. Good. Then she’s not completely devistated.

“If the situation looks too tough, we’ll send him out ahead of us. While he’s licking their faces and their guards are down because even the worst of the worst can’t resist a cute puppy-”

“We storm the place?” She nods, shoulders shaking in a quiet laugh.

“You’re catching on! And, we can order a special doggy uniform since you can find anything on the internet these days.”

That’s the final straw, and before he can even consider it, he’s laughing too.

“You do make a pretty compelling argument, but let’s stick a pin in it until this thing-”He indicates her left hand, which is now resting casually against his thigh. “-becomes official.”

“Fair enough.”

___________________________________________________________________________________

She’s doing better now, she thinks. Better than she was for the past few months. Still, after her last class at the community college lets out (so many new enrollments now that the population is back to normal, and the majority of them have no memory of the hell those who survived the snap endured for five years), she sits in her car for a solid half hour, shaking and crying her way through a panic attack. When it passes, she reaches for the makeup bag hidden in her purse and, in an effort that’s really muscle memory at this point, repairs the damage to her face. There. Nearly normal.

Driving home is considerably more difficult than it used to be now that there’s more cars on the road, but the route is familiar, so that’s some comfort. Not everything changes. She really should pick up some potatoes and cubed beef for tonight’s dinner, but after the day she’s had, facing a crowded supermarket seems like just a step too far. Takeout, then. Maybe a pizza. After all, she’s got the same chemicals running through her veins as he does, which means their metabolisms can keep up with excess calories. It’s one of the better side effects of being “enhanced” as her file is labeled.

She’s so busy thinking about which toppings to order that she barely manages to swerve in time to keep from hitting the animal slowly limping towards the curbside.

“Shit!”

The miriad of horns honking from behind and beside her let her know that her decision isn’t a popular one. Still, she eases the car to the curb and as soon as the coast is clear (she should just run into traffic… no, that’s an intrusive thought, acknowledged and dismissed), steps out.

The animal made it across, at least. Animal, because she can’t be sure what species it is. It’s trying to get away from her, but the poor thing is limping badly, so there’s not much chance it’ll manage that particular feat even if she weren’t faster than the average human. She approaches with caution (if she were to be bitten, would it even effect her? More than likely not) in case she startles it.

“It’s alright.” She’s got it cornered now, and she can see that it’s a dog. A pathetic lump of matted fur and mange with at least one broken leg, but a dog none the less. She crouches, holding her hand out in front of her, palm open.

“You’re okay, sweetie. I’m not going to hurt you.” The poor thing is shaking, letting out low growls that quickly turn to whimpers as soon as she touches it. “You’ve had some tough luck, haven’t you? Yeah.”

She can’t tell what color it is under the filth and… her breath catches in her throat… blood. Black for now, but maybe a lighter color once it’s washed. However, the tongue that peeks out from a swollen muzzle is unmistakably pink. “Good boy. Or girl. I’m not going to look close enough to find out right now. Don’t worry.” It’s not a huge dog. She could probably lift it. That is, if it’ll let her. “A car hit you, didn’t it? Hurt that poor leg of yours.” She leans closer to get a better look. No collar. A stray, more than likely, and definitely a mutt. The decision is made. She’s not leaving it here.

“Alright. I’m going to get you some help, but that means I have to pick you up. Now, I’d appreciate it if you’d kindly refrain from biting me when I do that, okay?” She takes the blink as agreement. “Here we go.”

She must look strange, emerging from an alleyway in the middle of Brooklyn with at least thirty pounds of unidentifiably colored dog in her arms, but if any of the other motorists notice, they don’t let on. Thank goodness for technology. With the press of a button, her car unlocks and she’s able to deposite her new friend in the passenger seat before settling behind the wheel once more. “Siri, show me the nearest animal hospital.” Once the gps is online, she adds as an afterthought, “Call Barnes.”

___________________________________________________________________________________

Somehow, when he picked up the phone and the first words out of her mouth were, “Bucky, you’re not gonna believe me…” he didn’t expect it to result in him sitting in a veterinarian’s office an hour later, waiting to hear about a dog he’s never seen. Well, that’s not quite true. She did snap a quick picture. Even though he knows it probably wasn’t at it’s best, that had to be the most pathetic lump of fur and fleas he’s ever laid eyes on, through a photograph or otherwise. He’s not even sure it had both ears!

None of that matters though, because now he’s sitting there, pretending to study his phone with his baseball cap drawn low over his eyes and a pair of sunglasses to boot while she flips through the same magazine for the fourth time. If he’s being honest with himself, he doesn’t think the dog’s going to make it (actually, it might be kinder if it didn’t, the pooch is in such bad shape), but he’s decided it’s best not to bring that up. Time will tell.

“Are you mad?” That’s the first thing she’s said since he arrived and she informed him that they’d taken the dog back for immediate surgery.

“That depends. Did you walk into traffic to save him?” It probably wouldn’t hurt her, considering she’s strong enough to stop a car if she really wants to, but it’s not exactly a healthy habit to get into. Especially if they’re trying to be inconspicuous.

“No.” She flips another page. “Although I may have swerved to avoid hitting him, then chased him down into an alleyway and cornered him by a dumpster.”

That sparks a memory from the early days in Romania, the ones where he thought he was dating someone for the first time since the forties (albeit, moving very, very slowly) and she was under the impression that he saw her as a little sister. Her apartment was the equivalent of “low rent” and when, halfway through ‘Singin’ In the Rain’, a rat made it’s unfortunate appearance, she told him, “No, don’t kill it! Just get rid of it!” while standing on top of the coffee table (because clearly, that was so much safer than the floor). In the end, he did catch the rat (thanks to her precognition), and they safely moved it and it’s nest into a quiet corner of the courtyard. That’s when he realized he was in way over his head with this girl, but he couldn’t bring himself to care. It’s still one of his favorite memories, so-

“ ‘Course not.” She doesn’t look entirely convinced, so he wraps his arm around her, pulling her close despite the plastic waiting room chairs. “Why would I be mad at my girl for having a big heart?”

She chuckles, leaning into him. “You mean I’m a softy.”

“Isn’t that the same thing?”

Before she can reply, the door swings open. It’s late, and they’re the only ones left waiting, so it’s no surprise when the woman in scrubs stops in front of them.

“Your dog made it through surgery, although we did have to amputate the front left leg.” Huh. That’s the same one he lost. “We also took the liberty of giving him his rabies and heartworms shots, and since you said it’s a stray, we’ll call animal control to pick him up once he’s awake.”

That’s for the best. She may have a thing for hard luck cases, wounded animals, and lost teddy bears, but it’s not like they can keep the dog. He’s come around to the idea of getting a pet at some point (maybe he’ll surprise her at Christmas), but an animal that’s in that bad of condition… it’s a lot of work, and he’s not sure either of them is up for it (well, if truth be told, if he’s up to it).

“Did you want to come back to see him?” She looks up at him, clearly trying to get a read on what he’d rather do. He could just say no thanks, they’re alright. It’ll only make things harder when they have to go home. But, it’s obvious she wants to, and he’s not great at telling her no.

“Sure.”

He’s panicking just a little as they walk through a maze of corridors and metal doors that lock behind them. Calm down, it’s just a vet’s office, not a prison. You’re not going to have to fight your way out.

Finally, after the dozenth turn, the vet announces, “Here we are. He’s still a little groggy, and we had to shave him. It looked like he could use a trim anyway.” and pushes open another locked door.

Even with his leg repaired and his fur at least partially groomed, he doesn’t look like much. There are indeed two ears; one of them is just crooked, folding down instead of sticking straight up. He still couldn’t guess at the breed, but with all the muck washed away, it’s still a black dog. There’s an I.V. attached, and Bucky’s expecting that the most it’ll do is whimper if it’s touched, but as she approaches the table and gingerly begins to pet it between the ears, the dog’s eyes open, and it licks her hand.

“Hey, boy. You made it through. I knew you were a fighter.” Is it sticking it’s tongue out and- “Whoa. Your breath could take out an army!” -attempting to lick her face.

“We think he’s about eight months old. May get a little bigger, but not much.”

He’s a decent sized dog. Not exactly one you’d chose to guard your house, but not a lap dog either. And he seems friendly.

“Some nice people from animal control are going to come get you once you’re all better and they’ll find you a good home.”

Unlikely. After all, the dog’s a tripod. He’s going to regret asking this, but-

“Is there anything else wrong with him besides the leg?”

The vet shakes her head. “Nothing that a flea bath, mange treatment, and a few good meals couldn’t fix.”

So really, it wouldn’t be THAT much work. He’s seen plenty of dogs who can still walk with only three legs. He needs to get ahold of himself. The dog might not even like him. Animals are funny; they can tell a bad person from a good one, and if he’s being honest with himself, he’s not sure if he qualifies as the latter after all he’s done. There’s only one way to find out.

“Hey, boy.” He reaches out his hand (the metal one, because even if it’ll heal quickly, he’s not crazy about being bitten) and scratches under the dog’s chin. “You had a hard day, didn’t you?”

The dog sniffs at his arm and then, wonder of wonders, his back leg starts to kick. “But you still seem pretty happy even if you are a little worse for wear.”

He really shouldn’t do this. It’s a lot of work, having a dog of any kind. They don’t know where they’ll be living once her lease is up, and oh yeah, they’re getting married in three weeks. But, the big puppy dog eyes look up at him (the dog’s looking pretty desperate too), and he knows his decision’s made.

“Think Stark ever designed armor for dogs?” Her brow knits in confusion.

“You know, since we can’t very well have him out there on missions without some sort of protection.” There it is. Recognition.

“Are you serious?”

“No.” The beginnings of a smile freezes on her face. “There’s no way we’re taking an innocent dog into a situation with hostiles. Are you nuts?” That laugh gets him every time.

“So we’re keeping him?”

He nods.

“We’re keeping him, doll.”

She hasn’t looked this purely happy in ages. For once, the memories of the past and worries about the future are completely forgotten, and that makes it worth it. That, and, well… he is a pretty cute dog.

Author's note: here's a picture of my good boi and writing pal, Rigby.

OTP ship questions

So... this ship questions list has been making the rounds, and since I’m neck-deep in trying to finish up the story for Sam and Benji, I’ve decided to fill out ALL OF THEM. In one go. I’m extra, sue me.

(under a cut cuz I actually like you people) :P

PRE-RELATIONSHIP

1. How did they first meet?

Sam moved to Wayhaven and into Benji’s apartment complex. They didn’t start talking until Sam was getting mugged while on her run, Benji jumped in to help her, and then she punched him on accident. Benji does like to call it “love at first punch”

2. What was their first impression of each other?

Total heart eyes on both sides. They are both total cuties and they were eyeing each other before they actually started talking. Benji thought Sam was a little withdrawn and grumpy, while Sam thought Benji was really weird for grinning like a maniac all the time.

3. Did any of their friends or family want them to get together?

I mean, Tina was the driving force from the very beginning and super invested in those two idiots getting together. Once it was apparent how cute Sam and Benji were together, the entire damn town wanted them to get/stay together. Sam’s cousin Liz was like “please enjoy yourself with the man”. Hell, even Benji’s ex was happy for them!

4. Who felt romantic feelings first?

Benji. The man wears his heart on his sleeve AND is incapable of holding back. He also has more experience with knowing what such emotions feel like so he can recognize them quicker. He’ll also claim that he fell in love with Sam the moment she punched him, so there’s that.

5. Did either of them try to resist their feelings?

Both of them, actually! There’s a time limit on how long Sam will be staying in Wayhaven so both of them knew falling in love was a very bad idea. But they are so well-suited for each other that it was inevitable.

6. If you had told one of them that the other would be their soulmate, what would they think?

I think there would be an overwhelming “hell yeah!” on both accounts, because of how strongly they feel for each other. Sam would feel a sense of relief, because she grew up hearing stories of how her sperm donor (aka bio dad) just impregnated her mother and left her behind, so knowing Benji would actually stay and love her would be a happy news. Benji would be ecstatic to know Sam is his soulmate and would probably tell everybody who stopped long enough to be told. Deep down, he’d still doubt himself and the knowledge, because he has a long history of abandonment. Even with regular reminders, he’d still be afraid that Sam would decide one day that there had been a mistake and leave.

7. What would their lives be like if they had never met?

Sam would become a bonafide workaholic with a limited number of friends - to Liz’s constant frustration. If she managed to find someone that she liked well enough, she’d probably settle down with them eventually, but maybe not feel a great passion for them. Just a decent, average life in California.

Benji would have gotten together with Felix and have a happy, fulfilled life with him. He’d probably get turned into a vampire at some point, too.

GENERAL

1. Who initiated the relationship, and how did it go?

Benji initiated it. Sam rejected the idea of dating at first, but after some cajoling, she agreed to keep going out with him.

2. Did they have an official first date? If so, what was it like?

The first date was very casual and not really an official date - they went for dinner at a crab shack. Their second date was a little more dressy, with a dinner and a movie, and they both put in more effort into everything.

3. What was their first kiss like?

Amazing. Sam got a little tipsy and decided to leave a lipstick print on Benji’s neck as a way of “flirting”. Since the man is a slut for neck kisses, he took that as an invitation to have proper kisses and smooched her senseless right there and then. Sam did NOT complain.

4. Were they each other’s first anything (kiss, relationship, etc.)?

Sam had never had sex with a man before Benji (only had experiences with women), so it was a big deal when it happened. Benji made sure to take it slow and gave her a fantastic first-time experience.

5. What’s their height difference? Age difference?

Sam is 5’10 and Benji is 6’3, so there’s about 5 inches of difference between them. There’s about 2.5 years of difference between them in age.

6. What’s their relationship with each other’s families?

Sam ends up having a decent relationship with Rebecca, after some time. It’s a little difficult to interact with someone who is barely around, but Sam tries to be nice all the same (since it’s important to Benji). She definitely has a much closer relationship with Benji’s found family, Tina and all the older ladies who appointed themselves Benji’s guardians. They all love Sam dearly and the feeling is mutual.

Benji has a fantastic relationship with Liz and her husband/kids. The kids in particular looooove hanging off Benji and using him like a jungle gym. Benji and Liz have this pact of sorts where they would murder a bitch in order to protect Sam from harm - and be each other’s alibi, too. They did start off on a slightly wrong foot, but it got cleared up quickly. That being said, Benji is not fond of Sam’s extended family - they can be challenging.

7. Who takes the lead in social situations?

Benji, always. He’s the resident extrovert and will behave like a shield for when Sam feels overwhelmed with crowds or situations.

8. Who gets jealous easier?

Benji. He rarely acts on the emotion, though. At the beginning of the relationship, he’d just get quiet and in his own head a lot; later on he’d casually bring it to Sam to make sure he has nothing to worry about. 

Sam still gets jealous, though it’s not as common. After all, her man is fucking sexy and *of course* women would want to poach him. Gotta stay vigilant.

9. Who whispers inappropriate things in the other’s ear?

They are BOTH culprits of that one. Very often those are VERY explicit things, but mostly it’s just passing comments or even just sexy glances. Those two are *into* each other.

LOVE

1. Who said “I love you” first?

Sam, strangely enough. Having your life flash before your eyes sure makes you more willing to take chances with love ;)

2. What are their primary love languages?

Sam

Give: Acts of service, touch Receive: Quality time, touch

Benji: Give: Quality time, touch Receive: Touch, quality time

3. Who uses cheesy pick-up lines?

Benji, hands down. He’s a cheeseball.

4. How often do they cuddle/engage in PDA?

As often as they can get away with it. They are both touch starved idiots with a variety of abandonment issues, so being glued to each other is a natural state for them.

5. Who initiates kisses?

Benji, more often than not. He craves that physical reassurance from Sam ALL the time.

6. Who’s the big and little spoon?

Benji will want to be the little spoon as often as he can get away with it. He loves being held and having his hair played with, so settling half of his body into Sam’s lap is literally his favorite thing. That being said, when they sleep, he’s usually the big spoon.

7. What are their favorite things to do together?

Hiking and being active. When Benji was recovering from his stint at the hospital after Murphy, Sam would go with him on hikes to make sure he wasn’t pushing himself too much physically. Then they never stopped. Benji loves going places to photograph Sam for the millionth time. They will also go to the gym together, if their schedules align. They also love doing the couch potato things together: watching movies/Netflix or him playing video games while her feet are draped all over him as she reads her current murder mystery.

8. Who’s better at comforting the other?

Sam might be just a little better at it than Benji, but only because he has shitty impulse control and often will blurt out things he shouldn’t. Sam will generally sit and listen to Benji, cuddle him, pet his hair, etc. Benji will do similar things, but his need to crack jokes about inappropriate things gets him in trouble relatively often.

9. Who’s more protective?

Benji. He would NOT hesitate to murder a person in cold blood to keep Sam safe. It’s not exactly a healthy thing, but we all know the man needs therapy.

10. Do they prefer verbal or physical affection?

Benji is a cuddle monster and would be wrapped around Sam 24/7 if allowed. That being said, since Sam is a little reserved about verbalizing her feelings for him, anytime she says “I love you” first, he feels absolutely ecstatic.

Sam’s family wasn’t a very outwardly affectionate people, so she’s not used to either type of displays? That being said, since Benji is always a walking furnace, she absolutely loves when he gives her cuddles. It’s her favorite thing.

11. What are some songs that apply to their relationship, in-universe or otherwise?

*opens up their playlist*

Camila Cabello - Easy Amber Run - I Found Dermot Kennedy - Power Over Me X Ambassador - Unsteady Hozier - Work Song

12. What kind of nicknames do they call each other?

Benji calls Sam “baby” all the time. She usually just calls him Benji, but also occasionally “mi carino” or “my love”. Pretty sure he dies every time she calls him “my love”.

13. Who remembers the little things?

I feel like they’re both pretty good about remembering the little things. Sam is better about remembering significant dates, but that’s because she has a digital calendar and isn’t afraid to use it :P

DOMESTIC LIFE

1. If they get married, who proposes?

Benji is the one who proposes. It happens on a random night while getting ready for bed, while they’re both in the bathroom in their bedclothes. It’s adorable and very them.

2. What’s the wedding like? Who attends?

The wedding would most likely happen in Wayhaven. I can’t imagine either Benji or Sam wanting a huge ceremony, but since they’ve become the town’s favorite lovebirds, it kind of goes out of control. Once some of their supernatural friends get involved, it really goes a little crazy. It ends up happening at a city park so it can fit all of the attendees. Some of Sam’s family flies in from out of town. Tina is Benji’s best “man” and Liz is Sam’s matron of honor. Benji absolutely loses his shit when he sees Sam in the wedding dress walking down the aisle and totally disrupts the ceremony to try to kiss her out of turn. Other than a ridiculous number of people there (seriously, probably at least half of the town shows up), it’s a pretty chill party, with lots of remembrance of Sam’s mom and Benji’s dad. Let’s just say it was a good day :)

3. How many kids do they have, if any? What are they like?

There are a few AUs for these dorks, but in most of those they have two kids: a girl and a boy. Ella is precocious, outgoing, clever, and energetic. Liam is a giant cuddle bug with a gorgeous smile and a big heart, who prefers to tinker with things in a workshop than get involved with his older sister’s shenanigans.

4. Do they have any pets?

They eventually end up with two dogs that they take on their hikes. They only have one dog for the longest time because apartment living isn’t exactly conducive to pet ownership. Once they get a house, they expand their menagerie. There might be a stray cat they sorta adopt, too.

5. Who’s the stricter parent?

Sam, hands down. Benji is a giant pushover for his wife and children, and would let his kids climb all over him, as long as they were happy.

6. Who worries the most?

That really depends on what about. Benji is perpetually worried about keeping his family safe and provided for. Sam has anxiety about a variety of small things and it’s not hard for her to worry about random stuff.

7. Who kills the bugs in the house?

Depends on the bugs. Benji loathes spiders so Sam’s in charge of removing those. Sam absolutely cannot deal with centipedes and roaches, so Benji gets to kill those.

8. How do they celebrate holidays?

When it’s just the two of them, they either go visit one of their friends in town and spend it with them. Once kids arrive, they do holidays at home and tend to go big in the food department. Rebecca is always invited, but it depends on whether she can make it that time or not. They like it when holidays are warm and filled with happiness/laughter.

9. Who’s more likely to convince the other to come back to sleep in the morning?

Benji. If he’s not working that morning, he would not want to leave the bed and would do everything in his power to keep Sam in there.

10. Who’s the better cook?

Sam. Benji isn’t terrible at it, but Sam is so much better that he rarely bothers with it. Also, Sam tends to treat cooking as stress relief (chopping veggies is great anger management), so he lets her do the thing in peace. That being said, if she’s too tired to cook, or it’s been a long day, or the kids are demanding her attention, Benji feels comfortable enough in the kitchen to take over and make dinner.

11. Who likes to dance?

Sam, hands down. Her mom loved to dance so she grew up around it. Unfortunately, Benji has two left feet so she doesn’t have many opportunities to flex those muscles (outside of occasional slow-dancing in the kitchen). She will occasionally drag Tina out for a night of dancing and go to a salsa club. It can really hit the spot.

Chapter 2 - Moving out

((

The pictures I was going to use aren’t mine, so I think it’s better 4 me to just share the Wattpad link where you can see the story with the pics

https://www.wattpad.com/925296862-hawks%27s-sister-chapter-2-moving-out

))

I get inside my new home... it's very basic and simple, just a bedroom, a kitchen, a bathroom and the living room, nothing to fancy but it's enough for the 3 of us.

I look at all the boxes in the living room's floor and sigh.

"Come on Haru, Void! Let me get you some water, after I finish unpacking we will go out to eat, who would like some chicken?"

Haru barks and runs inside, Void follows behind. I close the door, lock it and put a bow with water on the floor and the other on top of a tall box.

-

'It's hard to accept that they would put me out like this... at least they had some heart to get me a place to stay, and it's just a few blocks from UA, I still can't believe that I did it! I'm so happy! But so nervous... but I still did it!' I fist bump the air, then start getting the boxes that have "bedroom" in them in their place.

'I'm glad I passed the entrance, sadly I couldn't try for the hero course... they even had locked me up that day to make sure that I wouldn't even try' I start unpacking my things. 'If they see me in the hero course they will stop paying the bills of this apartment and I can't go make my dreams true while homeless and hungry... I'm so glad they gave me some kind of allowance'

After finishing getting the desk, bed and shelf set I start organizing everything. 'I heard a rumor that when you are in the U.A you get a few chances of getting in the hero course, I hope they are true, I will have to get the hard way around, but that's fine! I still have to learn how to fly and stuff, actually... I don't think I would pass even with my wings in the hero course exam... I can do so little with my wings...'

'But it's okay! Because I will go and be Plus Ultra!' I finish my room living it simple 'Maybe if I don't spend too much money, in a few months I could get this please a little better... but for now it's perfect'.

I go back to the living room and get the bathroom boxes to go unpack my things, but stop to take a better look at Haru and see her chewing something.

"Haru... what are you eating?" I approach her after putting down the boxes, but she starts to chew faster "HEY GIVE ME THAT!" I go to get her, but she is faster than me, so I had cornered her in the kitchen and immobilize her "Spit it out!" I open her mouth trying not to hurt her the best I can "SPIT IT OUT" I put my hand in her mouth and search for the thing "SPIT. IT. OUT." I finally get it and release her "Damn girl! You almost gave me a heart attack!" I look at the thing and see it's the cap of my shampoo "HOW THE FUCK DID YOU GET THIS? The box was closed I'm sure..." I sigh and go wash the cap then go to the bathroom getting the boxes off the floor and taking it with me.

"Should I call then to tell that I got here safe?..."

'You are no daughter of mine'

'I wish I never had any of  you!'

"Maybe not... both of us hm..." I finish setting the bathroom. "That's better!" I smile at the result.

"Now I'm starting to feel more at home!" I go check on my pets and see they both in my bed, Haru by the feet and Void in my pillow "what time is it?" I look at the clock and see that is 16h(4pm) I started at 10h(10am) "Wow time pass fast when we are having fun! But not really... I'm starting to get tired... maybe I should take a break and- no! I can't! There is just the living room and the kitchen and I will have finished! Hmmmm... I deserve some good chicken tonight!"

I kiss the top of their heads "sweet dreams cuties!" I go to the living room and get everything ready to start the kitchen. "Hands to work people! And by people I mean me, myself and I" I get everything ready by 17h40(5h40) "Uuuuh! Pretty!"

"Damn! I'm such a sloth! I- need to... take a break!" I say between breaths while i go to sit in the bed to relax a little. "I really need to train hu?" I Sigh

"... is it normal to miss who doesn't love you?" The house was silent, I look at the window and see that it was starting to get dark "I will let my thoughts get to me later now I have shit to do" I get up and go unpack everything that was left.

...........timeskip

"FINALLY DONE! AAAAAAAH!" I trow myself at the couch and stay laying there for a few minutes.

'It's dark but there is a kfc near here so it won't too take long'

"Void! Haru! I'm going out! Do any of you want to come with me?" Void comes flying and sits at the top of my h/c hair "Okay big guy! We will have to come back so let's not get ourselves lost ok?" I get my jacket and put on some pants while at it 'these always hide them better'

"CAW!"

"That's the spirit! Sorry Haru, but only one at time" I pet her head and kiss it "You can sleep with me today because of that!"

"WOOF!"

"Hehehe bye! We will be back soon"

I grab my keys while I go I put the hood, then getting down the stairs.

'I like living in the 5th floor, I can have some nice view and am not so dependable of the elevator, that's good!' I get out of the apartment complex and go down to the right 'I remember passing by a kfc before getting home so it must be near'

Void goes to my shoulder and hide inside my hood behind my neck.

"Hey! Don't go-" I look around to see people looking at me with a weird look since I was almost screaming with no one, 'I feel so embarrassed, I can't go running back home because I'm hungry! And I can't go running in this neighborhood that I know nothing of' I sigh and keep walking straight ignoring the looks they are giving me.

'Wait... did I get my wallet?' I check my pockets "fuck!... Void... honey" I stop next to the wall out of people's way and cover my mouth with my hand, his head poke out of his hiding spot that is between my neck and my hair "I need you to go back and grab my wallet... please Void, I promise that you will get some tasty popcorn tomorrow, ok?" He nods and goes back home sigh.... I'm happy that it was hot today, or I wouldn't have let the window of the living room open' I wait a bit more until he came back with the wallet in his beak. "Yes! My sweet raven! My dark crow! My knight wing!" He drops it in my hands and goes back to hide behind my neck inside my hood.

"Thank you Void!" I whisper to him and go back to walk to the kfc to get my tasty chicken.

I walk in and drop my hood.

'I'm lucky that this place is 10min walking from home, but I will need to get groceries tomorrow while coming back from school... what class I was in? I think it was... 1-E General Studies, I have to use a skirt, so I will be missing some feathers... I already have my school uniform and my school material, since I already have the uniform I don't think they will let me change it' I sigh and go to the line to get my food.

I feel Void moving and turn my head to see his beak poking out of my h/c hair. "Void! If someone sees you I will get in trouble! Go back in!" I whisper while making him hide himself again and when I see is my turn to order, I make my order, pay and go sit in the farthest corner away from others eyes and take Void out. "You bird brain! I thought that crows were supposed to be smart!" He turns his back to me "don't you dare ignore me! I could get in trouble Void! If mom and dad get a call from the police for any reason I can say bye bye to my hero course dream... and would say bye bye to me you little-"

"Number 69?"

"Nice! Our order is ready!" I get up and go get it I see that Void still is in the table, I whistle, and he flies to me landing in my shoulder, I look at the lady in the counter, she is eyeing Void.

"Sorry form bringing him in, but he doesn't like being alone" I scratch his head and get my order to go "Have a nice night"

"Y-you too..." the lady goes back to work and I go out and start going home "I need a place to train... I can't even fly, so I will need to get everything right... how the hell will I ever-" I looked up to take a breath and saw him.... Hawks! I see doing inside the kfc that I just got out of "omg... what do I do? Hmmmmm..." I stare at the kfc door for a few minutes and am surprised that Hawks came out with a bow of wings already made, hot n steamy.

He turns his back to me and goes on to walk his merry way, but before he can get another step away from me my body acts on his on. "Pro hero Hawks wait, please!" He stops and turn around to face me 'damn he got all the good traits from mom and dad'...

"Hi! Need something?" He smiles down at me

"Could you tell me if you know any good place to train my quirk? I know that it's illegal to use it without the license but I need to train to become a hero!". He looks at me with a sweet smile

"Sure little bird, what's your quirk?" He faces me completely

"It's-..."

'Damn it... I don't think I should tell him and let him get suspicious of me... but I really need help with this so fuck it'

"It's just like yours but my wings can change colors"

He looks in my eyes, then look at my back and chuckles "Sorry but I don't see wings on your back little bird"

"Oh! I tuck them in!" He turns serious at that.

"Wait, what? You hide your wings? Why?"

"Hmmmm... mom and dad don't like them, so they tell me to hide them" this isn't a lie, but it also isn't the full truth.

"Can you fly at least?"

I shake my head. "I never tried before... and I am scared... really scared" I look at the ground in shame

"Hey is normal to be scared, I was terrified in my first flight"

"Really?! But you are so cool! And can fly so well" he laughs at that

"Yes, thank you, I am the way I am now because of my training, it would include things that I didn't want to do you will be fine as long as you have faith in yourself" he pets my head

"And a place to train" he chuckles again

"And a place to train, I have to go but here" he gave me a paper with an address not too far from home "that is a good and discreet place to train, good luck little bird" he pets my head again and flies above me "I hope to see you in the sky any day by now" he waves to me one more time and fly off.

'YES!' I smile wildly and start to sprint home 'thank you big bro! You are the best!'

Tomorrow is a new day, tomorrow is the day that I will start U.A! . . . . . . . ........................................................................

Omg this was so fun to write! I know that this chapter was kinda bland n stuff, but I wanted you all to feel connected with y/n, so a chapter with her alone may help me active it.

Also having Hawks in the end was by accident, I was planning on putting him after the usj incident, but this chapter would be too blunt if it would end with nothing to hold on to, so I changed a bit!

Hope u all r enjoying! A lot of kisses to u all , until next week

Dnarez ❤~

The Basic Bitch’s Guide to Doing Laundry in Shared Spaces

I’ve had some weird times at laundromats over the years. I haven’t had to pay for laundry in a year and I had this kind of visceral, gut-clenching reaction while cleaning the filter today when I realized that, if I get my way and my life is back to normal in a year, I’ll be back to pulling pube-hairballs out of laundromat dryers soon. Too many times random male strangers have approached me and asked me to tell them how to do their laundry. Too many times I have returned to take my load out of the dryer only to find that someone else removed my stuff, still wet, before the cycle was done and put their load in instead.

So, since clearly most people’s families don’t teach them the basics of laundry etiquette, here are the general Do’s and Don’ts of laundromat/apartment complex basement/residence hall laundry behavior.

1. ALWAYS check the lint filter in the dryer before running it. (It’s usually located in the front or top of the machine, accessible after you open the door). Lint buildup is a serious fire hazard, it’s just a giant pile of fuzzy tinder waiting to go up in flames if it overheats, there’s a spark, etc. Ew, you say, I don’t want to touch other people’s hair and clothing fluff and pet fur, disgusting! Yeah, it is, which is why you should always remove your own lint after you are finished using the dryer. so:

2. ALWAYS remove your lint from the filter after you dry a load of laundry. If it skeeves you out to touch your lint, or someone else’s leftover lint, use a paper towel/dryer sheet/the eraser end of a pencil/a stick you found outside to scrape the lint out of the filter and into the trash. Ta da, now the building is less likely to catch fire with you in it, and you have saved the person after you the trouble of lint cleaning.

3. this should go without saying but: throw the lint in the trash/bin. Don’t shove it down a drain, don’t leave it on the nearest counter. Don’t be a nasty gremlin.

4. If the machine says “don’t use x” then don’t use x, man. Most machines can handle detergent in powder, liquid, or little cubey-dealy forms, but some old things can’t so just read the instructions and don’t break the damn thing, because your landlord will probably make you pay for it. If you’re at a laundromat or in a residence hall and you find out your detergent doesn’t work with your machine, check with your front desk to see if they have some extra you can use. If you’re in your apartment building and it has no front desk, ask a neighbor or anyone who is also doing laundry if they can spare a little detergent.

5. If you forgot your detergent/can’t get the right kind from somebody, run a cycle without it. There is usually enough leftover soap in communal washing machines to get your clothes decently clean in a pinch without you having to add any more of your own.

6. A little goes a long way. Basically, again, just read the instructions on your detergent and on the machine. Once, an elderly man asked me how much soap he should put in. He was using powder detergent, which I don’t use, so I told him to just use however much the box advised. He said “I’m going to use half the box” and I said “that’s gonna be way too much”, but he insisted he knew what he was doing. Folks, twenty minutes later there were so many suds in his machine that it broke down from the pressure. Just a wall of white, you couldn’t even see bubbles or clothes anymore. If you don’t want to pay for repairs, remember that less is more.

7. Don’t touch other people’s stuff. If you were in a library, and someone got up and went to use the bathroom and left their stuff on a desk, would you go and move all their shit to another desk and then claim the desk for yourself? Of course you wouldn’t. So don’t move people’s laundry. If someone’s cart is in your way or something, say, “hey, would you mind scooting this back?”

8. Maybe the most important rule: NEVER remove people’s clothes from a machine. Doesn’t matter if they’re wet or dry, wait your turn. So someone’s cycle is over but they haven’t appeared to get their stuff yet and it’s been ten minutes, and you’re in a hurry. Bummer (don’t do laundry in a hurry, give yourself a solid three hours’ buffer). Doesn’t give you the right to touch their belongings. But I even know whose stuff it is, I can put it back in their laundry basket, you say. No, dude. Don’t touch strangers underpants. Duh. Would you like it if you come back a few minutes late from running to grab a coffee around the corner and you find a pile of your soaking wet clothes sitting on a counter? no, you wouldn’t, so don’t be a shady fuck, ok?

Did your parents not teach you how to do laundry? Has your wife been doing it for years? Here’s the basic rundown:

WASH

1. take a look at the machine, see where the slot is for the kind of detergent you will be using. Check the detergent for advice on how much to use for how big a load/what kind of materials. Also fabric softener and detergent are not interchangeable, fabric softener isn’t soap. Think of detergent like shampoo and fabric softener like conditioner.

2. Wash darks/colors with darks/colors, and whites with whites. Your favorite red buffalo check flannel might bleed onto your white underwear if you wash them together. Your jeans will absolutely bleed all the fuck over white shit, sometimes even after years of washing.

3. make sure each item can, in fact, be machine washed and check what kind of cycle the garment recommends. Some clothes can only be hand washed or dry cleaned. Some clothes benefit form being washed cold, no heat. Bras and underwear, and anything else you’re worried about should be washed on a ‘delicate’ setting.

4. don’t fuck with bleach, it’s not worth it. Bleach is not to be messed with until you’re super comfortable with doing your laundry. Bleach is only for white stuff, and you can still ruin white things with bleach. If you are determined to try and bleach a white garment, please wash it by itself so you don’t hurt any other clothes and, crucially, make sure the washer your using can actually use bleach, otherwise you could break it.

5. once your load is in and you know what temperature/cycle to use, hit the corresponding button/turn the knob to the setting you know you want. The machine will generally flash a time at you (30-50 min, usually, depending on what you’re getting done). Wait until your time is up, and voila, washing done.

DRY

1. if you do not have access to a dryer or a clothesline, there are nifty clothes hangers that look kind of like a baby’s mobile that you can hang outside your window or on a balcony. Barring that, hang your clothes on coat hangers and hang them around your tub or shower, or even your sink, to drip dry. Once they are barely damp I like to lay them out on towels or hang them on door handles in a room with a fan or radiator inside.

2. make sure you use the right setting on the dryer. the dryer is a fickle little bitch and she will ruin your stuff without a moment’s hesitation. After you clean the filter (you can do it, it’s not as gross as it seems [if lint affects some manner of phobia of yours, or if sensory stimulation of that variety is difficult for you, ask someone else to do it or use one of the aforementioned long objects to scrape it out]) check the labels on your clothes to make sure they can all go in one cycle together. Colors don’t matter in the dryer, but fabric type does. High heat for items high in polyester or spandex– like leggings, sports bras, some shirts, and most jeans– is bad. Heat will shrink lots of things, so make sure your clothes don’t say “low heat”, or “ no heat”, or anything about not putting them in a dryer at all. Absolutely never put a sweater or other knit wear in the dryer, that shit will come out looking like a doll’s sweater afterwards. I have lost many items to shrinkage over the years and as such am a coward and dry my stuff on low or no heat, which usually takes twice as long, but then I’m less likely to find a hole burnt into a shirt or a pair of pants that I can’t pull up past my thighs anymore. Fragile items like blouses, mesh stuff, lacey stuff, should generally be allowed to drip dry to avoid any issues, and I know a lot of folks who put their “unmentionables” in dryer-safe bags to keep them from getting tangled up or otherwise ruined, but I am lazy and don’t have any nice lingerie so I chuck that shit in on low heat with everything else.

3. Wait until the cycle is done (beep or flash, usually) and let the barrel slow its roll to a manageable speed before opening the door, or you will get clothes flung in your face. Old machines might be a little hot on the inside, be warned, and remember to take your lint out of the filter before you leave (!!).

That’s it! Nothing to it. :) Go out into the world and do your laundry without fear and with good manners, friends.

ptsd/c-ptsd,  therapy & writing

(This is written by someone with CPTSD - I am not a mental health expert, and am just writing from my own experience! )

So a lot of writers want to incorporate PTSD and C-PTSD into their fiction. Sometimes people get it super right- other times I’m left cringing. I wrote this to help writers know more about it, then it also ended up being something I sent to a friend with PTSD as it got into it so she’d know more what the therapy process is like. 

So! What’s it like to have PTSD? PTSD therapy vs regular therapy-How are they different? How are they the same? What does PTSD therapy consist of?

Trigger warning:

I will be describing therapy, talk of other disorders like anxiety and depression, and might use some 'you' talk - example 'once you've gone through this, then you start to feel better.' This will also skim over child abuse, suicidal ideation mentions and trauma in general- Read w/ caution if you are sensitive to this

general overview to PTSD and C-PTSD

I am diagnosed with PTSD, but it's actually C-PTSD*

C-PTSD or Complex Post Traumatic Stress Disorder differs from PTSD in that it's more for people who have had chronic environments of trauma/abuse for years - and is currently proposed to have a certain symptoms not listed under PTSD symptoms. 

Much of these symptoms have more to do with how one relates to other people, their self perception, and generally their learned behaviors in order to protect themselves long-term. PTSD is more about a specific event, of series of events that occurred in quick succession.

Despite the lack of official diagnosis, therapists treat people for CPTSD all the time- they just use a lot of the same tools they would for PTSD.

Not everyone who experiences trauma or battles develops PTSD, but there are factors that make you more inclined to develop it.

What is PTSD like?

There are many ways that people manifest PTSD/CPTSD symptoms.They are easy enough to google and be familiar with, but what's it ACTUALLY like for me.

a hair-trigger startle instinct I have had a few times where my husband is up at night, and I didn’t realize he was in the room- then I see the outline and start screaming- and can’t stop for like 2 minutes- then the crying settles in for 30 minutes. My traumas had nothing to do with strangers in the night. I just have a super intense startle instinct that sends my whole body into panic mode sometimes.

Hyper-vigilance- trying to control everything around you to keep you safe, and being super on edge keeping an eye out for how things will fall apart. Making sure things are locked, being extra wary of people, wanting to not have your back to people, perking up at every little noise etc.

issues sleeping- insomnia, light sleeping, & nightmares-   Sometimes reliving a memory, or just having intense dreams that leave you exhausted the next day you can barely function. This ties in with hyper-vigilance a lot- so falling asleep and staying asleep can be hard.

Depression and anxiety- pretty self explanatory- but it's common to experience these, and for pills to not necessarily be that helpful without the therapy. Sometimes anxious self destructive thoughts and memories start haunting you and making you freeze up or panic, feel like you’re going to die/be left alone by everyone etc. Sometimes emotional abuse from your past starts coming up and haunting you and you feel all your selfworth leaving your body leaving behind nothing but the want to sleep all day/cut yourself off from people - at times this can turn to suicidal ideation and other really dangerous behaviors and thoughts.

Sudden mood switches/panic responses usually a trigger for these switches is something associated with your trauma- but basically when something associated with our trauma suddenly comes up sometimes it causes us to start having feelings and emotions that feel out of whack for the situation at hand. 

Example: When I was a five I was beaten and locked on a sunny porch of a 2 story building with a sliding door.  Once my husband blocked me on the way to the door so I wouldn’t accidentally walk into some freshly painted furniture on the other side of the sliding door. I immediately panicked and angrily screamed at him to’ let me GO! fuck you!!! when he’s the gentlest man in the world and has never ever been anything but kind and wonderful with me. Then after the rage wore off I was like crying and so sorry.

I’m usually not an ‘angry reaction’ person- I’m usually a freeze/cry type- but yeah.Sometime people get panicked in crowded places, or if they feel someone is mad at them, or if they feel trapped, or if they feel like they’re being abandoned.

Sometimes I’ll get super manic and impatient/snappish if there’s not a plan on what we’re doing at a crowded place (really it’s because I want an escape plan/safe place I know we can always go to- and feel vulnerable when it’s a lot of people standing around without a plan and feel like I’ll get lost/abducted)

intrusive negative thoughts 

It’ll be the darkest weirdest repeating thoughts that you associate with emotional upset.  In ptsd treatment there is a lot of going through the events and rethinking your conclusions you’ve taken away from them. It’s simplified a lot in shows to a simple ‘it’s not your fault’- which, yeah, that’s the crux of it- but the actual work of it is super intense, exhausting, and so much more in depth.  

unhealthy coping mechanisms so a lot of people with ptsd will find ways to cope to help them fill an emotional void, or to cover up feelings etc. There are tons of ways people do this. Some will do extreme things like drugs, risky behaviors, drinking a lot etc Example: They experience a ‘violent retraumatizing’ moment like a pet getting killed in front of them- then later to cope have casual sex and drink too much in order to numb their emotions and not think about them.

A lot of ‘avoidance’ and ‘overdependence’ can be a part of ptsd. Like you might avoid certain things like the plague, or constrastingly might start using people or things or substances or food like an emotional crutch/security blanket instead of coping in a healthier way or learning to be independent.

Self protective steps you take might be super over the top, or self-destructive and borderline suicidal. 

Sometimes trying to repress all your emotions and not express them is something you do to protect yourself. 

This can be all over the map really- there are hundreds of examples!

triggering moments of your ‘Stuck points’

Stuck points are thoughts that keep us from recovering. Stuck points are concise statements that reflect a thought – not a feeling, behavior, or event. 

Example of stuck points:  'If I let other people get close to me, I'll get hurt again', 'I am useless.' 'I'm broken', 'I can't trust anyone in authority', 'People will reject me if they get to know me/see me at my worst’ ‘I’m a monster.’ ‘I’m worthless’ 

These can come up and you won’t even realize it at first. You’ll have something super innocuous happen and all of a sudden you’re on the verge of a breakdown, angry and/or panicking for seemingly no reason. 

These intense emotions will hit you and don’t feel like there’s any thoughts connected to them- there ARE thoughts behind it of course, but it takes a bit of deconstructing to figure it out though and realize ‘ooooh, there’s the thought train that was bubbling under the surface! I didn’t realize because thinking through my emotional processes was something I wasn’t allowed to do during my trauma- so now I don’t know how to instinctively do that even a little.’

Examples in fiction 

Harry Potter in Order of the Phoenix where he is yelling at the drop of a hat when he feels abandoned/rejected by everyone. His reactions are so CLEARLY PTSD related to me.  Actually, I think he has CPTSD and it just got to a tipping point due to the traumas he experienced in the graveyard.

Hunger Games Books  Probably the best portrayal of PTSD, of books I’ve read, is Hunger Games. The movies glazed over it a bit- but the books? Oh man, they nail it so hard.

HP and Hunger Games both have protagonists who are great portrayals of ptsd. The anger, the disassociation, the depression, the nightmares, the inability to identify with humans at times, the self protective steps that are unhealthy, the coping mechanism of avoidance etc.

Disassociating

People describe this in tons of different ways, but personally I think of it like body/brain numbness. All of a sudden it’s like a blankness comes over you, almost like that hazy way of daydreaming, only instead of daydreams it’s nothing but a buzzing blankness with maybe like slight almost invisible undercurrent of panic. It’s like the body is paralyzed, and you can’t act or think or do anything but stare or numbly move a bit- it almost feels like your soul just left your body for a bit and you’ve been consumed by a white room of emptiness. Not a black void- it’s not being lost in darkness- it’s like being lost in the light, if that makes sense? Like think of a blank why void like in The Matrix where the whiteness goes on forever. 

Flashbacks

In tv shows they often show it like it's a hallucination or something. Flashbacks are typically shown as a person basically becoming delirious and having visual and audio hallucinations, then perhaps even becoming violent to those around them because they literally see something different than what is real.

Again, this is my experience- but flashbacks have never worked like that for me. I more disassociate, and then all the emotions of that memory hit me, and in my brain I’m able to see bits and pieces of what happened back then, or even the whole thing- it’s like a SUPER intense memory/daydream/nightmare just settles in there for a bit- and you feel all the full emotions of it for a bit- can suddenly feel the sensations of it too at times-but at NO point am I actively moving about in a real room around people getting them confused with the past and lashing out at the hallucinations.

 I’m just sitting there, or crying there- and if someone in the room with me were to talk to me they might have to get my attention because I'm deep in that daydream/flashback- but I’d hear them and see them once I realize I’m spacing out. The most outburst I’d have would be to not want anyone to touch me- or get super startled from someone touching me then pushing them away from me. That’s very different than the crazy shit they show on TV and movies sometimes.

BAD EXAMPLE: One particular one that still makes me mad is when that had Owen from Grey’s Anatomy sees a fan- then get ‘triggered into a ptsd episode’ where he is unblinkingly choking out Cristina as she begs him to stop for a long time. Like…. It’s one thing for someone to be startled and have their instinct be to strike out- that’s a very different thing from what they portrayed. If they wanted to show him as ptsd dangerous- which is worrisome to me as people with mental health are stigmatized enough- but if they wanted to- it would have made much more sense for her to startle him somehow and for him to just blindly strike out before he realizes it. With combat training, he could very well have instincts that aren’t safe when he’s over sensitized and startled.

What are the main treatments for PTSD?

Cognitive Processing Therapy  (CPT)

CPT is the main treatment for PTSD. It is highly structured, and the majority of it is writing and worksheets. There is a LOT of writing and talking out about your trauma, writing and talking about how you process it, and analyzing it.

Beyond the traumatic memories, there is also noticing the behaviors you have that are related to your trauma and how they come out in every day scenarios. This leads to:

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)

This is not about processing past events, but about processing current behaviors/reactions and trying to slowly change those behaviors over time so that they are healthier reactions/coping mechanism in place.

Exposure therapy- Reliving memories

For PTSD some people do a lot of reliving the trauma memories by describing them in detail, every tiny detail they can think of- and basically reliving them, but then trying to reroute the emotional response to them. 

Some people are SO repressed that this is a very difficult thing for them to access- both remembering the memory, but also knowing what their emotions were/are. These memories of trauma aren't always easy to remember/re-feel/access and that can be frustrating.

I personally am REALLY GOOD at reliving memories- in fact I'm so good that we have been avoiding it for a bit because i go straight into flashback mode way too easy (more on flashbacks and how they work later)

There are ways of doing this that are more than just revising the memory through talk therapy, that I haven't done and would require research on your part:

virtual reality to revisit the place

watching videos or listening to recordings of the event and talking it through

exposure therapy that's more about getting used to sounds/smells/words that are triggering

The main point though is to process the emotions tied to that event and not make your brain default to that flight/fight/freeze mode when triggering things happen.

IMPORTANT TOOLS FOR THERAPY

If a person hasn't had much therapy, CPT/CBT has a lot of learning for that person, and a LOT of trying to identify emotions and really feel them, so one can process them.

Grounding techniques/exercises-

techniques used to sooth/calm a person when activated- there are like thousands of these guys out there- I think everyone is a bit familiar with them- like breathing exercises in yoga? Basically it's a way of regrouping and centering yourself- 'grounding' you in reality, instead of letting your brain go off on a tangent/emotional rollercoaster.

It's basically any way you can snap your thinking out of your anxious thoughts and concentrate on something until your re-calibrate and are calmer.

Personally the breathing techniques make me freak out- so I don't use those. :P Ones I find helpful are ones like 'Name every color you can see.' or 'go through the alphabet and letter by letter name an animal that starts with that letter.' and 'hold an ice cube in your hand and concentrate fully on every sensation you're feeling.'example  example

-CBT and CPT WORKSHEETS

god, SO many worksheets.

Here are some helpful links

https://positivepsychologyprogram.com/cbt-cognitive-behavioral-therapy-techniques-worksheets/  --- This page covers cognitive distortions really well, and has some helpful resources and worksheets.

https://trailstowellness.org/resources   This page has a lot of great worksheets for trauma.

https://www.psychologytools.com/professional/problems/post-traumatic-stress-disorder-ptsd/- unfortunately you cannot access the documents here without paying- BUT you can read what the docs are, and how they will be used in a therapy setting- so can use that as a launch point for what sort of worksheets/phrases to google.

I specifically worked from  Cognitive Processing Therapy for PTSD: A Comprehensive Manual a lot.

What is the structure of PTSD therapy?

First session

The first thing I had to do was fill out a questionnaire (PTSD test , cptsd questionnaire) to make sure she thought the treatment was appropriate. We talked about this a bit, what symptoms I had, talked over examples of it. I'm comfortable with therapy so this wasn't so bad for me, but I can see this being very difficult for people who aren't as comfortable in this setting and would need to be walked through it more and have more questions as they might not have a lot of self-awareness. We discussed goals, what could be achieved, and generally what it would be like. We went over the first worksheet and I was given homework of figuring out what my stuck points are.

Sessions after that

Each session we begin with typical therapy for a bit 'how was the last week? Were there any events I should know about?' Then we go over the worksheet I filled out, and analyze it, talk about examples, or apply it to trauma memories.

What is trauma therapy LIKE?

I always try to have the next day or so as free as possible after therapy, because afterwards I am wiped out, exhausted, and sometimes super triggered and crying afterwards.

The analogy I like to use is cleaning out a closet you keep hoarding stuff in:

Your house is your life, your brain is a closet, and PTSD/trauma is a messy hoarders type hidden away in the closet. When the door to this closet is closed you can almost pretend there isn't a mess there at all. Y ou close the door by being in denial, not thinking about your trauma, not acknowledging or processing it. You just keep stuffing the trauma into the closet.

But the longer you let the closet stay like that, the worse the situation gets. Soon that closet door keeps busting open and all sorts of crap falls out when you don't want it to. Freakouts, hypervigilance, meltdowns etc. The crap in the closet starts to multiply.

Ever seen Hoarders or Marie Kondo? You know how people are crying over t-shirts and crap and the house looks WORSE for a while? That's trauma therapy.

In therapy you have to open the closet door, take out ALL the crap you've been hoarding in the closet, process it, organize it, and then put things in order again. Every single box of trauma needs to be looked at then put away- The goal is to  throw out the intense intrusive emotions tied to the junk. You have to keep your memories- but you don't have to keep holding on to the behaviors they've formed, the turbulent emotions, and the intensity of it all. During therapy at first it's fine. Kondo is walking you through it and it's all just fine and dandy- then you are faced with this HOARD of CRAP you have to work through- and it's SO overwhelming. My anxiety and depression got way worse for a while. Like, I was on EDGE and having nightmares and it was horrible. But then once you've processed the memories, and start actively applying what you've learned and start using grounding techniques more and more- things do get easier.

I am not fixed. I am not cured. I will have to continue to work through stuff- It's that whole 'healing is a not a straight line' thing. Like, there are times I regress and I hate it. :P But it's gotten a lot better.

IF YOU GUYS HAVE ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT THIS I’M HAPPY TO HELP.

I figure this can be an ok resource for people who don’t know much about ptsd except what it says on like webmd (which isn’t that accessible to me) and want to write about it (or want to just know more about it)

( *C-PTSD has not been considered an official different disorder from PTSD for all that long. In fact, one technically can't be medically diagnosed with CPTSD in america yet. PTSD is diagnosable and has been considered an official disorder for decades, but C-PTSD has not been named a disorder of its own yet in the official guidebook of psychological disorders in the US (DSM). I think they might have JUST recognized it in the UK guidebook (ICD). I know it was proposed for the 11th addition.)

Survey #357

“your magic white rabbit has left its writing on the wall  /  we follow like alice, and just keep diving down the hole”

Are you better at telling stories or writing them? Writing, by a long shot. What’s one song you hate, but know every word to? i'm a barbie girl in a fckn barbie woooooorld What’s your favorite magazine? I don’t read magazines. If you could be an animal for one day, which animal would you choose? Probably a house cat. Be indoors and safe, able to just nap... lol. But I'd want another cat as a friend, too! Do you prefer outdoor or indoor concerts/events? Indoors, by a mile. I get hot outside way too easily. Do you know if you were a planned child? I don't know. What’s your favorite gem? Dragon's breath opal. As an adult, do you want to live in an apartment or a house? I'd like to live in a house, especially with the pets I want. I doubt many apartment complexes would allow multiple reptiles and inverts. Do you like the stem or leafy part of the broccoli? It doesn't matter much to me, but I prefer the stem. The texture is more likeable to me. Do bats frighten you? No, I adore bats! Does Paris appeal to you? Yeah, it's a pretty place. Are you a KPOP fan? No, I've never really checked it out. How long was your longest relationship? Over three and a half years. First time you kissed the last person you kissed? We were outside roasting marshmallows one night. Do you have to really know someone to kiss them? Absolutely. I don't dish 'em out for nothing. Were you anyone’s first kiss? No. If you had to be named after one of the 50 states of America, what state would you WANT to be named after? I actually think "Nevada" would be kinda pretty as a name? Do you think morals are universal or relative to the beliefs, traditions, or practices of individuals or groups? I've wondered this for a long while, really. I lean towards it being a mix, maybe? But more towards universal, I think... with some exceptions. This answer is all over the place, I honestly don't know. Is torture ever a good option? If no, why not? If yes, when? No? I think the "why not" is obvious... You just don't. What do you think is one one of the most undervalued professions right now? Teachers, garbagemen, retail and food workers... There's a lot. Have you ever seen anyone have a heart attack? Thank Christ no. Have you personalized your answering machine/voicemail? No. Have you ever had Fiji brand water? I actually don't believe I have, though it's always looked appealing to me, haha. What’s your favorite horror movie? The Crazies and the first Silent Hill, as well as both Blair Witch Projects. What was the worst thing a friend has either done or said to you? I'd rather not even think about things the bitch said to me. Are you biracial? No. When was the last time you got mad and broke something? I've never broken something when mad. What color dress did you wear to prom? My first was maroon, second one was black. Who is the cutest baby you know? My friend has a daughter named Scarlett who is absolutely gorgeous. Have you ever thrown a rock at a window? No, because I respect people's fucking property. Has anyone ever thrown a rock at your window? No. Does your hair react well to dye, or does it damage it? It likes to not take dye at all. >.> I have only had one instance where a friend dyed it red and it stuck for months and months, but we kept it in for a couple hours, I think. My normal hairdresser says it's because my hair is really healthy and I guess rejects it. What kind of pet do you wish you had? I ramble plenty about how I want tarantulas and more reptiles, haha. I also DESPERATELY want to rescue or foster an opossum. When was the last time you were diagnosed with something? Are you concerned about anything regarding your physical or mental health at the moment? I haven't been diagnosed with anything in quite some time, I believe, but as I'm going through the process of being approved for TMS therapy for my depression, my bipolar diagnosis is being questioned, which is... strange to me. It's been acknowledged by many a doctor that I have bipolar 2, but if insurance recognizes my primary diagnosis as bipolar, they won't cover TMS because it can massively excite the mania portion of bipolarity, and therefore I can't do it because we can't manually afford it. I'm willing to take the risk by far, as I've never had issues with mania, but I can't without insurance. I'm just waiting to hear back from them... What is one blanket judgment you tend to make about people (like, you judge all people who live at home, all people who drink, etc)? Does this judgment come from a particular personal experience? I really don't know. How do you react to other people yelling or slamming doors? Is this something you ever do too? I get very scared if it's a man. I don't like anyone doing it, and my anxiety will spike regardless, I'm just terrified of angry men. Have you ever lost your cool at work or somewhere else important? What happened as a result? No. Who has the power to break you? Jason still might. I don't know. Is anyone in your family blind? My sister is legally blind in one eye. Do you believe in evolution? Yeah. I do find the concept odd, that ALL LIFE originated from one thing, but I sure ain't got a better explanation, so. What job do you think people should be paid the most for? Surgeons, maybe? I dunno, that's a big question. Were you ever held back a year in school? Did you ever skip a grade? No. Have you ever been given a hickey? Have you given one? Yeah to both. What is your least favourite thing about your full name? I have the most basic white bitch middle name in the world, lol. Do you like the age you are? Eh, I don't mind it much, but I think it'd be better to be in my early 20s versus mid 20s. I'm just always so tired now. I can't believe I used to refuse to go to sleep before 10:30. What’s your favourite kind of poptart? The chocolate sundae one. If you had to eat one type (Chinese, etc.) of food which would it be? American bc I'm not very adventurous with food at all. When did your family immigrate to wherever you live now? *shrug* Are your fingers long, or short? Long. Mom's always said I have "piano fingers." Do you play Pokemon Go? If so, what level are you and who’s your buddy? Yeah, I love it, but don't play it nearly as much as I want because I don't exactly go anywhere, lol. My bud's Charmeleon, and I'm probably like five EXP from level 28. Do you ever sit indoors and wear sunglasses or a hat? I don't own either, so. Do you know how to read animals’ behavior? I honestly think I'm very good at it. Do you like playing video games? If so, what do you usually play? Yes, but not as much as I used to. All I really play nowadays is World of Warcraft. The only working console I have is a PS2, and I haven't bought a new game in probably a couple years, but there are definitely ones I want to play, mainly on PS4. Just can't afford it right now. Have you ever viewed the moon through a telescope? No. Do you know how to properly eat food with chopsticks? No. There's no way I could, given my tremors. Do you prefer reading books, comic books, manga/graphic novels, magazines, or the newspaper? Books. When is the last time you ate donuts? It's been months, man. I've seriously been craving a glazed one, though. Krispy Kreme sounds amaaaaaziiiiiing. Has anyone ever called you sexy? Somehow. Do you like raisins? NO NO NO NO NO. Have you ever overheard a conversation you weren’t supposed to? More than once. Do you like ants? They're genuinely extremely fascinating animals, but they're seriously annoying nevertheless. Did you like the movie Antz? I loved it as a kid. What was your favorite ice cream flavor when you were little? Chocolate. Is it still your favorite? Eh, depends on the day. By the way, what is your name? Brittany. What time zone do you live in? EST. Do you like cats? I love cats. What’s the most creepy experience you’ve ever had? One night when my mom and sister were at the beach for a dance competition, I was having trouble sleeping, and it only got worse when my dog Teddy started freaking the fuck out, barking loudly and staring intently at the foot of the bed. I was so scared that I tried to force his head to lie down, but he fought against me. I was terrified, but got up out of the bed and went into the living room to call my mom at like 3 in the damn morning, and she had to have our neighbor come over to sleep in the house with me (I was in a different room that night). You can't convince me that there wasn't paranormal shit going on. I think the house was haunted honestly, for multiple reasons. What’s the most boring game to exist? Why do you dislike it so much? Hm, I dunno. What’s the coolest place that you've ever been to? What’d you do there? Disney World was very memorable as a kid. We just went around collecting signatures, going on rides, all that fun stuff. I'll never forget fireworks at the castle. If you’re interested in having a long-term relationship with someone, do you think that waiting a certain amount of time before you first have sex is a good idea? Or does it not matter? I think it's a good idea, personally, mostly for the sake of reducing the spread of STDs. Just because you think you'll be long-term, doesn't mean you will be. Besides that, isn't there a science that sex and feelings of love are connected? Like, sex is impossible without at least some underlying emotions? I might be entirely wrong, in which case forgive me for spreading misinformation, but if that's so and things don't go as planned, you've gotten emotionally invested in someone too early and wind up getting hurt. You do you, I just don't think it's smart. Have you ever discovered something big by looking through someone’s phone, Facebook, email, etc.? No. Have you kept anything from your past relationships? (Things they left at your house, gifts, notes, etc) Do you think that’s a big deal for future relationships or not? Yeah, like plushies and little stuff like that. When it's tiny things like I just mentioned, I really don't think it matters. I think some things might be questionable to keep, but at the same time, I don't think it's really wrong to keep memories of a happy time, if the thing still brings you joy and has been emotionally disconnected from the ex? Idk. Do you have any financial regrets? Either way, what’s an example of a GOOD financial decision you’ve made? Going to and dropping out of college three fucking times. I don't know about a good financial decision seeing as I'm not even in charge of my own finances, nor really have any to begin with. Are you a believer in “signs” from the Universe about things in your life? If you are, can you think of a particular example? No. Name some things that one or both of your parents are really good at or really interested in. Mom LOVES medical stuff, like watching surgeries and stuff like that. She is also absolutely incredible with children. Dad likes sports a lot, hockey and football especially. Think of a good friend of the opposite sex (currently or in the past). Have you ever had any sort of “more than a friend” or sexual thoughts about them? If not, can you explain why? Well, we dated briefly, so... It was awkward to, but I let myself imagine sexual situations a few times to help myself understand if I really did like-like him, or if he was truly just a brother to me. Turns out, he's a bro. If someone told you that you would never achieve something and you ended up doing it, would you have any interest in finding that person and showing them? I'ma be honest, yes. I wouldn't actively seek them out, but rather just hope they somehow find out or I run into them or something. What is the most jealousy-induced thing you’ve ever done? Apparently, be the girl Juan liked instead of this girl that literally threatened to deck me. Guess what? We're friends now lmaoooo.

Puppy eyes make anything paw-ssible - Part 1

Pairing: Sarawat/Tine (2gether the series)

Summary: Retraces the journey of how Charlotte came to be the most beloved member of the Guntithanon/Teepakorn household. 

Chapters: 1/6 (although each part can be read as a stand alone). 

Next parts : Part 2 - Part 3 - Part 4

Notes: Hello, it’s been too long ! But because that MV was full of softness and let’s be real, Charlotte was definitely the MVP in it, this short series of snippets came into existence. The goal is for all parts to be out by the time the episode comes out tomorrow. 

Is this series fully made of love and fluff ? Yes. 

Did I name this fic after the worst dog-pun I could think of ? Also yes, you can’t stop me. 

I guess this would take place between the end of 2gether and before the beginning of still2gether when it comes and wrecks all of my headcanons. 

“No,” Sarawat repeats, eyes not wavering from the food currently cooking in the pot in front of him, while Tine is at his side, begging for his attention while trying to shove his phone in Sarawat’s face.  

“But Wat, please, look at her !” he whines. 

“No, it’s still not happening,” he responds with a firm voice. 

This has been a discussion in their household for the past 3 days now, and Sarawat can’t believe they’re still talking about this. 

“Wat, just look into her eyes and tell me you can say no to this.”

Yes, this has been a discussion for three days now. Only this time Tine came prepared, armed with a battery of photographs that Sarawat knows will melt his heart if his eyes waver away from the stove. 

“Tine,” he ends up sighing. “I don’t even think they’re allowed in our apartment complex and...”

“They are, I already checked. We don’t even have to pay an extra deposit,” Tine cuts him off, and although Sarawat isn’t looking at him, he can still guess the triumphant smile his boyfriend must be  sporting right now. 

“Okay, so it’s allowed,” Sarawat swallows nervously. “But still, Tine… a dog ? Really ? It’s a big responsibility.”

He finally turns his face towards Tine, and he sees his boyfriend look at him, resolve on clear display.

“Not a dog, Wat. This dog. And I know it’s a big responsibility. But I think you and I ? We can take it on,” he answers, sure of himself, and Sarawat can already feel his resolve crumbling a little in the face of his boyfriend’s determination. 

In the years since they’ve been together, Sarawat has rarely seen Tine be so sure about anything, his boyfriend usually the type to second-doubt things. And although the idea of being responsible for another living being kind of terrifies him, he owes it to Tine to at least try and understand why this is so important to him. 

“Ok Tine, explain it to me,” he finally says, turning the stove off before facing him completely. “Why is this so important to you ?”

Tine looks startled for a second, as if he hadn’t expected to suddenly be faced with his boyfriend’s full attention, but he quickly finds his standing again. 

“I’ve always loved animals, and I never imagined not having a pet in my home when I grew up, and I just…. I like the idea. Of doing this. Of us doing this, together,” he explains, one of his hands still holding his phone close to his chest while the other scratches at his neck nervously. 

Sarawat tries to ignore the warmth spreading through his body at the words and focuses back on the main subject. If they’re going to do this, no way are they doing this lightly, without putting proper thought into it first. 

“Okay, so we could get a turtle. Or a goldfish,” he says, smirk on full display.

“Saraleo ! �� Tines whines once again, rolling his eyes towards the sky. “You know it’s not the same at all. Plus… I really think she’s the right fit for us.”

“Tine, a dog is a really big responsibility, and because of your internship, you won’t even be there to take care of her with me a lot of the time in the coming months,” saying the words out loud hurts, but it’s the truth, and it would be foolish to ignore it. 

Soon, Tine will be starting his internship and because he got a great opportunity to intern at a law firm in the city, he’ll be renting a room there, only coming back to Sarawat and their shared apartment on weekends.

“I know, but that’s all the more reason to do it ! She’ll be there to keep you company while I’m gone, like a miniature Tine replacement, ” Tine says with a smile, and Sarawat smiles back sadly at him. As if anything could really replace Tine’s presence in his life. 

Still, this is a conversation for another time, and right now, they need to focus back on the situation at hand. Aka, the dog situation. 

“Look Wat... If you really really don’t want to do it, I won’t force you,” Tine ends up saying, and Sarawat appreciates the sentiment. “But I think she could be a perfect fit for us. Her name is Charlotte. The shelter wrote down that she’s one of four puppies in a litter, and her mother died right after childbirth. All of her brothers and sisters have already been picked up by other people, and she’s still at the shelter after five months, she’s all alone right now. She needs a family and I think that could be us.”

Of course. 

Of course, knowing Tine and his soft heart, it had to be because of something like that. Of course Tine would want the unwanted, the one left behind, the one no one seems to notice. His soft heart is one of the main reasons why Sarawat loves him. Really, he should have seen this coming. 

And god. The things this boy does to him, without even realizing it half of the time. 

Family. Tine wants them to be a family. A family made of him, Tine… and Charlotte, apparently. 

Obviously able to see Sarawat’s resolve all but disappear and feel the victory, Tine pulls out his ultimate weapon, lifting up his phone, photo on full display. 

“Wat, just look at her and how adorable she is. Can you really say no to those eyes ?” he asks, pushing the phone in front of Sarawat’s face so he can see the dog better. 

And yes, Sarawat is doomed. Because just like he feared, she really is adorable. 

And really, faced with the twin set of puppy eyes displayed by both the actual puppy and his boyfriend, did he really stand a chance anyway ? 

He finally sighs, and sees the hope grow in Tine’s eyes. 

“Fine. I’m not saying yes,” the yet isn’t said out loud, but he’s fairly certain they both hear it loud and clear anyway. “But we can go and meet her at the shelter at least.”

“YES !” Tine shouts, hurling himself onto his body and hugging Sarawat tight. 

“I promise you won’t regret this, I’m sure you’re going to love her,” Tine says excitedly, and Sarawat can’t hold the smile on his face, pulling his arms around Tine’s body in return. 

After a few seconds, Tine pulls back and hits him with the biggest smile Sarawat has seen from him in days. 

As terrified as he is about being responsible for another living being and messing her up somehow, maybe it’s worth the fear to see the happiness displayed so clearly on his boyfriend’s face. 

“I knew she’d win you over with her cuteness,” Tine says with a small laugh, and Sarawat shakes his head, smiling fondly towards Tine. 

He wishes he could deny the statement, but really, looking at his goofy, soft and over-excited boyfriend, no one could really deny its truth anyway.

Sarawat really did have a weakness for cute, and Tine was the living testament of that. 

after many hours spent pausing the show bc good lord why did they do that, i have now finished Love Never Dies

annnnnd yikes 😬😬😬

I’ll start with the few positives I did enjoy from the recorded Australian production on Youtube:

1.) the camera work. This is the kind of thing I dream of for professionally recorded shows - it really allows for some lovely close-up shots of how the emotions play over their faces, it’s lush

2.) the costumes are well-crafted, and I desperately Want the Phantom’s long-ass swooshy trenchcoat cape thing he wore for the first half-hour 

3.) the sets used throughout this are honestly very impressively used and put together for some really fantastic shots

4.) the opening, with ‘Til’ I Hear You Sing Once More’. This song is honestly very lovely, and really articulates the Phantom’s loss and heartache for Christine. It’s sung very earnestly, and had the rest of the show been more like this I might have liked it more. 

5.) the Fucking Song, ‘Beneath a Moonless Sky’, is a guilty pleasure. It’s so over the top, and it is only about recounting that One Time they totally banged yo, and I love it. I think it’s the orchestration, but it’s also enjoyably silly even while it takes itself 100% serious. 

6.) As much as I hate to say this? ‘Devil Take the Hindmost’. While I hate the gist of the song - that being Raoul and Erik betting on who Christine will choose, and pretty much deciding for her who will get to be her one true love forever, completely negating the entire point of the OF musical where her choice was the most important factor for all of them - the pacing and the lyrics as they dance around each other are absolutely fantastic. It’s kind of sad to say, but Raoul and the Phantom, in this scene alone, display more chemistry in their singing than they do with anyone else. Let the hatefcuking commence~

7.) Some parts of ‘The Beauty Underneath’ I enjoy, particularly the ending scene where the Phantom is trying to talk Meg down. It’s very slow, melodic, and shows his more manipulative side, as well as how he can crawl into someone’s head, I love it. 

8.) This very interesting visual with a mirror in Christine’s dressing room. There are two separate scenes where someone is in the mirror singing. The first is the Phantom, between Raoul and Christine. The second is Raoul between the Phantom and Christine. It’s honestly a nice touch.

9.) The main three are excellent singers. 

 Unfortunately, that’s all on the list of what I liked. Everything else is a Giant Fcuking Mess. 

1.) The Phantom is no longer a complex, messed-up, but still somewhat sympathetic character, no; this is just a giant asshole who takes everyone for granted and barely realizes that anyone else exists except Christine, and even then only really as his personal instrument. 

He never actually apologizes to Christine for the shit he’s put her through and continues to put her through, but still demands obedience and forgiveness and understanding. It completely negates the entire point of POTO’s ending, where he actually realizes he’s done wrong by her and his actions pertaining her, and lets her go from his world entirely, and RESPECTING HER CHOICES AND LEAVING HER ALONE. 

Not to mention This Bitch also threatens to kidnap/possible “lose” her child if she doesn’t sing for him, keeps pushing her around and telling her what to do, and manipulating her life to change her decisions for her. 

AND HE’S FRAMED AS THE BETTER OPTION HERE

2.) Which reminds of me of the next big asshat: Raoul de Chagny, who has now become an alcoholic gambler who pushes his wife to do things she’s not comfortable doing to repay his debts, neglects his son entirely, and also is abrasive and controlling of Christine, to the point he yanks her back and forth on doing shit. Play this role! We should leave bc he was an asshole! No now we should leave bc Phantom is back! No take the role he’s paying triple! I’ll make a bet on whether she loves me to pay my debts! No wait you should quit ten minutes before you go on-stage bc I don’t want to lose you! MAKE UP YOUR GODDAMN MIND YOU MISERABLE PISSANT SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP

Like I can understand being overprotective to a certain degree, which could eventually morph into being controlling. But neglecting your son, your wife, drinking and gambling your fortune away? ALL of that?!? Really???

Shouldn’t he be desperate to keep his wife and son close to him at all times after the events of POTO? Never leave, never go anywhere, only do what’s safe? You COULD have set this up as a continuation of Safety versus Freedom with Raoul and the Phantom, show the good and bad of both and have her choose from there. Show the dichotomies and hypocrisies of both men’s standards. 

But nope! We’re just totes gonna make the husband like this for no goddamn reason, especially since Raoul doesn’t start suspecting that Gustave (his son) isn’t really his until Devil Take the Hindmost. He’s just that much of an idiot!

3.) The presence of Madame Giry and Meg Giry. Oh gods, where to even begin? They’re pretty much only here so that Sir Andy doesn’t have to make new characters with different backstories and motivations and introduce them accordingly. Nope! Now both women are blaming Christine for leaving the Phantom Man-Baby, and talking about everything they sacrificed to help him make his stupid-ass circus, and talking about how they love him and GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH Madame Giry in the POTO musical YOU LED RAOUL DIRECTLY TO THE PHANTOM’S LAIR SO HE COULD RESCUE CHRISTINE WHY ARE YOU COMPLAINING ABOUT HOW SHE BETRAYED HIM

And, oh, Meg... she reaaaaaaaaaaaaally got the short end of the stick here. I just... poor dear, she was horribly treated in this. 

Neither of them deserved to be like this, honestly. 

4.) Christine, to a lesser extent. Experienced Literal Character Assassination, forced to choose between two horrible options, stripped of her agency entirely, used as a bet in a game between said two horrible options, lied to and dragged around constantly, should have taken Gustave and run off with Meg to run a music store together. Fcuk you Sir Andy, for using POTO characters to act out your bitterness and frustration at your ex. 

5.) The entirety of the whole Boardwalk Circus schtick, spawning an additional Fuck You to Frederick Forsythe, who thought this was a tenable option for the story to progress. 

6.) The Phantom’s deformity was literally just four lines drawn onto his face with crayon and some smeared lipstick:

what even the fcuk, you couldn’t make the make-up crayon drawing more detailed??? take more than ten minutes to draw it on???

I never thought I would say this, but even the 2004 film’s depiction was better than this! At least that one partially drew from a real medical condition, Sturge-Weber Syndrome. What the fcuk is your excuse LND?!?

7.)  The Lyrics. Oh gods, the lyrics. Some songs were decent, mostly the ones I listed up top. But the rest? Did someone forget to give the writer a more advanced/creative guide to rhyming lyrics? I wrote better shit in middle school than Glenn Slater did for the majority of these lyrics. 

Glenn my dude, what the fcuk is this nonsense? You’ve written good shit like the Tangled songs and stuff for Galavant! Why are you writing worse than an angst-ridden middle schooler? It is immensely frustrating, to say the least. 

8.) The really WEIRD direction in acting. No one here acts like they know how to move their arms or hands naturally; there’s a lot of really odd and unnecessary gesturing that makes it look like everyone has just had their limbs replaced with faulty robotic arms. There’s also a lot of leaning the characters do, with their arms perfectly straight by their side and it just looks wrong. 

9.) The Phantom’s pseudonym is Mr. Y. No, they never explain why it is he chose that particular moniker. 

10.) Bathing Beauty. Just... all of it, here, tied to POTO, present and here. 

11.) It’s been exactly 10 years since Christine saw/banged the Phantom, and her son is precisely 10 years old. 

That’s... not how pregnancy works. At all. 

12.) This weird scene with the American press, where they are absolutely obsessed with Christine, despite the facts they present, such as:

- She hasn’t performed in 10 years anywhere. 

- She was a French performer, and

- She only starred in three operas at the Populaire (Hannibal, Il Muto, and Don Juan Triumphant, which wasn’t even finished. So technically 2.2 operas that we know of). 

Why, precisely, would American reporters be so obsessed with her upon hearing she’s coming? I could see some interest given the whole shebang with the Phantom, but after 10 years of radio silence, would she really garner an entire crowd of reporters and photographers... in America, no less? 

France I could definitely see. America? Not so much. 

13.) Gustave is a flat, generic kid character, who apparently is totes the Phantom’s son because... he can play the piano well. And also has the same ideas of music as the Phantom, despite never being taught about them, or discussed such things with his mother. 

Is musical talent only inherited through the father’s side of the family in this universe? I mean, we never learn about Christine’s mother, just her famous violinist father. Otherwise, why is it Gustave’s musical talent isn’t attributed to - oh, I don’t know - HIS FAMOUS OPERA SINGER MOTHER?!?

14.) Apparently the Phantom is also now the one who invented cars OH I MEAN “horseless carriages” 🙄 A carriage with no engine and a “ghost horse” appears, and everyone is just fcuking stunned by this, like they’ve never seen a vehicle move without a horse before. In 1907. 22 years after the first functional automobile was invented. Ugh. 

15.) seriously tho who thought basing a sequel on the Frederick Forsythe novel was a good idea why did nobody think to stop him apart from Sir Andy’s pet cat Otto. why.

16) The Phantom’s interactions with Gustave are distinctly creepy and unsettling. I keep getting pedo vibes from him and I Do Not Like It.

17.) The death scene at the end is so goddamn over-the-top and out of nowhere I just want to throw something, ugh

18.) And finally, my last gripe with this mess: This takes place in 1907, and declares that it’s ten years after the original musical. Despite the fact that the OG took place in 1885. Yippy skippy. 😑

I can honestly say I am Not a Fan of this musical as a whole, mostly based on the plot and the character assassinations (one quite literal) and the poor lyrics. I can admire the camera work, the basic singing ability, the scenery and costumes, and maybe two or three songs. But I just do not enjoy it. It took me two days to finish watching it because I kept cringing from what shit kept happening, and had to walk around and listen to other shit to get it out of my head. 

HOWEVER: People do enjoy this one on the sake of it being so bad and over-the-top, and I can honestly see the whys. It helps that most of the cast can sing, and the orchestration is done well. There’s a TON of stupid to mock, and a lot of over-the-top awkwardness to laugh at. This is a good one to watch and mock with friends, IMO. 

For those of you who do enjoy it, I’m afraid I have to disagree on most of it. Still, it is nice being able to watch this one for free, even if it is a giant hot mess.

And that’s all for me on this one! Have a good week guys!