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#I was able to fit so much on this lot I am happy for it
sweetbeagaming · 8 months
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Magnolia Family Splash Park 🛟
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ugh had a conversation w someone and i thuink i upset them but also i was in the right
#me: ur neglecting ur pet snake and i think u should find a new home for him bc this is not good for him#them: i am so offended and i can’t do that bc i love him#me: if u loved him u would not neglect him tho#them: so if i take better care of him u will believe that i love him and leave me alone#me: if u need me to tell u to take care if ur pet’s basic needs to do it then i don’t think u really love them#them: i am so fucking offended and i am upset u can’t tell me how i feel#but also like this person was getting pissed bc another person we know takes care of their dogs like the bare minimum and we both were#upset by that but then?? they also don’t take care of their snake and now they’re upset bc i called them out on it?#they’re also upset bc of the “u don’t love ur pet” thing bc like. i can admit that i don’t like. feel love. a lot. like i like the cats#and i would be sad if i could never see them again but if i knew i could not take good care of them i would absolutely find them a new#home. like. idk if i can really feel love a lot? like i don’t love my family and i don’t know if i’ve ever loved my family and i don’t even#know if i’ve ever loved anyone. maybe except for goose i think i would die inside if something bad happened to him. but for the most part#i’ve only ever liked animals not loved them but i would still take care of them bc it’s my responsibility like they deserve care and even#if i’m bad at loving i would never want them to feel unloved and i just find it annoying that this person can claim to love but be content#with this kind of neglect. like i don’t need love to still be nice and take care of pets bc it makes me happy for them to be happy and#healthy so it’s weird to me that someone who claims they love so much (and they do this a lot) to not be bothered. like what is your#love doing for you? like i care but i don’t really love but they love and don’t really care and idk i think they should still care#i wonder if they’d let me take the snake. originally he actually was mine but we got him literally a week before smth happened that made#me fucked in the head so i gave him up because i knew i wasn’t fit to take care of him but i’ve been getting a lot better recently so#i think i’d be able to step back in atp#the real question is if they’d let me
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femme-malewife · 1 year
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Hmm.
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hobisexually · 2 days
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long winded rant in the tags coming that’s partly about weight but in a very unfiltered sad way so if that triggers you do Not read on
#on holiday I was like oHHHHH this is what living in the moment is! What listening to your body is! what not worrying about how you look is#but doing what makes you happy#and then …… I came home and got sent the pictures#+ my friend being. unintentionally fatphobic as fuck#while hurtful as fuck too#and it’s all just been piling up too since I got home because I’ve been having a lot of conversations and seeing a lot of people that#confront me with who I used to be and who I am now and how I’m really not happy with that#and it feels like it’s not gonna get better#like I’m destined to be in a job I like but isn’t what I want because I’m not capable enough and I’ll never know what romantic requited love#feels like. I’ll never cure my vaginismus I’ll never be able to let someone in or they won’t want me this is just it for me#and SOMEHOW the way I look has become the ultimate culmination of all those things?#my face is suddenly a woman in her thirties face#I keep gaining weight despite not even eating all that much because FUCKING PCOS makes it impossible#my hair in my face grew back. my stomach is hairy and that plus the added beer belly just makes it look like I’m a 50 year old man#I am soooooooo tired of the dysphoria#and the way pcos ruins fucking everything because I can restrict calories all I want and move all I want but will it help ? No !#and of the fact that it impacts the way I feel about myself so much because I’m convinced now I’ll never find anyone#should have tried harder when I was 21 because that was the only time in my life I reasonably fit society’s standards like That was my shot#I’ve been taking supplements everyone says will help but I’m not sure I noticed anything in the past six months and I can’t take berberine#because it fucks with my heart medication. which. That too. I have that too#and I’m in pain! All the time now! ALL THE TIME so I can’t even work out to keep the weight stable because guess what ?#just after a normal day at the office I come home and have to lie down because everhthing hurts so much !#today I got an impromptu massage in an attempt to feel better but it didn’t fix shit and I had to buy clothes for kings day after#and I didn’t try them on just quickly grabbed some orange shit to try on at home and at what I saw in the mirror I genuinely got nauseous#I just don’t know who that is in the mirror but it’s not me and I can’t accept it. I’ve been trying so hard but I can’t#it genuinely makes me so sad and I keep telling myself that a reduction will help in feeling more like myself and it will help with the pain#but what if it doesn’t? what if my pain doesn’t go away after af all and my stomach just juts out and I feel like a gremlin all the time#what then. what the fuck do we do then. also I’m so fucking scared of that surgery anyway that I don’t fucking want to do it anymore#I want so many things and all of them feel out of reach and I know my own brain is my worst enemy and it’s not rooted in anything real but.#Isn’t it? really — isn’t it???????
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musicncomics · 11 days
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i keep seeing songs on TT that remind me of Linebeck...and I don't...really know how to feel about it.
#On the one hand#It makes me happy that I'm seeing scenes and animatics in music again#Specifically that I'm seeing scenes with specific characters#Because that's something that I kinda love about my brain#Is how easily it turns music and lyrics into a visual story I can follow just by turning a song on#Back when I first started with The Moss and this whole page#That was supposed to be the gimmick#That's why I have that abandoned Sander's Sides comic featuring Virgil and Remus#(Honestly at the height of my involvement in that fandom I was able to imagine EVERY 35mm song as being between Sanders Sides characters)#I still see a lot of scenes#They've just been more focused on the world building of The Moss rather than just the main cast#Or some songs just don't fit The Moss or any other fandom I've been in before#So I almost ignore them in a way#BUT THEN THIS MOTHERFUCKER#I honestly don't listen to much music anymore#I work and listen and do chores to a YouTube playlist of streamers and let's plays#My most exposure to music nowadays is usually from TT unfortunately#And goddamn all the songs I'm exposed to just fit right in with how I view him or how other characters view him#And it almost makes me mad#Like I can't just listen to a song#I hear one lyric or the guitar or bass or cello does a funky little rift#And then I'm sent straight into that world and have to figure out what I want it to do and where I want it to fit#I think part of it is every song in The Moss has to serve a purpose for the overarching narrative or as an “I am” song for the character#Meanwhile Linebeck....I can fit so many aus into that bad boy you don't understand#Or just throw it all into the wild-west of post-ph/pre-ph and just watch the chaos unfold.#It also doesn't help that my fyp keeps bringing up nautical themed shit#Like....ofc I'm going to be thinking about him while listening to this song- there's wave sounds in the background#But I was kinda content to...not be seeing anything in songs?#Listening to music had gone from something that I could easily just put on in the background to something I was paying All my attention to#Just so I could see the characters and the scenes
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kyeomyun · 28 days
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2:01 AM
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pairings: dad!jeonghan x gn!reader
genre: FLUFFY FLUFF FLUFF :((
warnings: none... you might lowkey go through baby fever :)
word count: 0.8k
synopsis: jeonghan would do literally anything to stop his baby from crying, even if it included being dolled up.
::note: WELL- yes ik now those jewels on jeonghan hair are indeed stickers and not hairclips but YK WHERE I WAS GOING WITH THIS. also hello strangers :). it's been a fat minute since I have actually written something down so if this seems a little dry... just know I haven't written anything since august 🧍🏾‍♀️but i do hope you enjoy this absolute brain rot I wrote last night at 2 in the morning 😍
network(s): @kflixnet
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If there was one thing Jeonghan absolutely despised, with his whole entire being, it would be seeing someone who he holds, oh so dearly to his heart, cry.
He knows crying is a trigger for intense emotion, don't get him wrong, he knows very well it was common with toddlers. Including his. But that does not eliminate the huge tear he feels in his chest when the salty crystalline drops roll down his wife or his daughter's cheeks.
And he would do about everything (except cook the pot roast dinner that you LOVE that takes almost 5 hours to make and Jeonghan could not, for the life of him, stand on his two increasingly aging feet for more than 2), to make his loved ones stop crying. Even if that included doing something he thought he would not fit..
"Almost done, darling?" Jeonghan asked softly, careful not to make the tire of his voice get the best of his tone.
It was 2 AM, and his daughter, Yoon, had a rude awakening with cold sweat and vivid memories of a nightmare that she did not want have the guts to relive with her father. Which the father could understand, reliving a nightmare is not fun at all and he did not want to force that scenario onto his precious girl.
"Nu-uh," She clipped another hair clip onto Jeonghan long hair, humming in approval watching her masterpiece come to life in front of her eyes. "You said I can put a lot, daddy!" She pouted, hands flowing through the overload of bows: baby pinks, baby blues, even ones with sparkles and stars dazzled upon the long strands of freshly washed hair. Messy? Yes. Did Jeonghan care? Just a little tiny bit. "I have to make you really, really, really, pretty!"
"I did say that, did I?" Jeonghan said that more to himself, his words playing back on him tremendously. His eyes were drooping, fighting back the wondrous dreamland he was in before he was awoken by a frightened 4 year old. As much as his body wanted to shut down, his mind was stuck on one thing and one thing only.
Well maybe 2.
How long will it take to take these hairclips out and how is his miniature him doing?
"Mhm!" She clipped glittery pink hairclip on a randomly selected portion of her father's hair. "But at least daddy will look extra, extra pretty!"
Jeonghan butt was staring to numb, sitting on the carpeted floor of his daughter's room criss-crossed and Yoon standing up behind him with the next 2 hairclips awaiting their home on his head. But his heart filled rapidly, an intense feeling he has always had at moments like these. Ever since Yoon was born, this feeling was almost... unexplainable. Too immense to be just happiness and too extreme to be just love. It could be a mix of both but those 2 words are just not enough. No words could ever be.
Oh, he is down bad...
The smile that stretched upon his poorly chapped lips was one worth describing though; a smile that held so much value, love, adoration, did he think love?
"One more, daddy!" Yoon announced enthusiastically, a pretty baby blue butterfly, clipped on a strand near the front of Jeonghan head. A small giggle was heard as the little girl admired her work, grabbing ahold of the mirror and giving it to her pretty caregiver. "Is it pretty?"
Jeonghan took the mirror, its weight light but enough to slightly tilt his hand a bit. This motion was able to show the awaiting face of his daughter, who too stared into the mirror and tried to read her father's face. But he obviously had his answer.
But he still pretended to contemplate, his pointer finger tapping his chin in wonder. "It's not pretty,"
That cute pout adorned her lips again, her fragile heart clenching painfully. "You... don't like it? I thought–"
"It's beautiful, baby," Jeonghan looked behind him, and nothing, absolutely nothing, could match the cuteness of seeing his other half, his small angel, puffy cheeks bunch with joy. A smile that could kill many, Jeonghan being one of millions. Billions.
"Yay!" The excitement was barely contained in her small body, slightly bouncing in her place she stood in for almost 30 minutes before her stubby arms wrapped around the neck of her father. "Do you think uncles will be jealous?"
"Very," Jeonghan stared back in the mirror, his smiling bundle of joy warming his heart to the greatest. "Very, very jealous."
A kiss was planted on his cheek, and now he was conflicted about what his members will actually be jealous about.
His marvelous creation on his head, hairclips and bows that were placed in no particular pattern, or the creator, that shined her crooked teeth and eyes shining just as bright as she went back to slightly messing with the butterfly hairclip that hung just barely in his peripheral.
Ok, definitely the creator.
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did you enjoy your order?
if you did, please reblog, like, (pls) comment, all of that jazz :>
have a good day, sweets ^^
tagging: @wheeboo @etherealyoungk @rubywonu @trblsvt @icyminghao @idubiluv @odxrilove @stormyjisung @slytherinshua @fairyhaos @gyu-effect @hannieheartuu @jaehunnyy @luvhyun3 @lvlystars @mesanthropi
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arielleslipgloss · 2 months
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How to Stop People Pleasing!!
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(none of these photos are mine)
“I don’t like studying. I hate studying. I like learning. Learning is beautiful.” - Natalie Portman
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Give it to yourself!! Why should you try to make others like you? You don’t even like other people. In fact, do you even like yourself? The person who is with you every second, do you like them? You keep abandoning yourself, yet you don’t even notice. All that attention you wish and crave for is right in the mirror. That attention you seek, you can give to yourself. All that pleasing, do it for yourself. You did good on a quiz? Tell yourself you’re proud of your accomplishment. You went out on a solo date? Tell yourself that you deserved that fun alone time. Give that love to YOURSELF, because you deserve it. All that pleasing should be used to please yourself!!
2. Stop over apologizing!! Start saying thank you instead. Someone listened to your rant and you want to say sorry? Don’t, just say “thank you for taking the time to listen.” If you ever think of apologizing, take a step back. Then, think of how you could thank that person. Expressing your gratitude to a person is an incredible healthy habit. Of course, when appropriate saying sorry is necessary though. Just try to think before you say sorry. Instead of immediately saying sorry, ask yourself “is it appropriate to say sorry?” You could even ask yourself “does this situation best fit a sorry or thank you?”
3. Embrace and grow from rejection!! Rejection happens to everyone. Every single person has went through it. Whether it’s a small or big rejection. It’s a normal thing that happens to all humans. A lot of rejections even result in life lessons. It can also help us learn and move forward. I promise, being afraid of rejection is perfectly normal. Now, how can you embrace it? Well, start thinking getting rejected is a gate to better opportunities. I mean, so many celebrities have been rejected. They have experienced it in relationships, publishing books, auditions, castings, etc. Despite of that, they are still famous and they’re still doing great! They still get many of better relationships, brand deals, movies to be in, etc. Overall, better opportunities come to them later. That means the same will happen to you! You just have to trust the process and believe. Believe not only in getting better opportunities, but in yourself.
4. Say no when necessary!! This means you need to have boundaries. You have to be able to say no. If you can’t say no you will be stuck in so many uncomfortable situations. Now, I promise that saying no is not rude. It’s actually a sign of self respect, which is amazing. However, how do we know when saying, no is necessary? For starters, think of the situation you’re in. Then, ask yourself “am I uncomfortable and in need of saying no?” If you are uncomfortable with whatever say no. You are not obligated to say yes to every single thing. You’re the one in charge of your life. So, take some action when needed and say no. Never ever, let people change your mind or peer pressure you.
5. The image you made…?!? Lastly, let’s discuss and transform this image you’ve made. Take a deep breath, because that image has gotta go. If you are constantly thinking of if this person and that person will like what you do? Then, knock it off and start doing what you wanna do. This is about to seem cliche, but life is too short. You need to stop and take a second to think about yourself. Do what you want to do. Do what makes you happy. Not what makes others like you more. Learn to be your true authentic self. If your true self is shy, extroverted, cold, bubbly, etc. Whatever it is, be yourself and if others don’t like it. So what? They are just projecting their insecurities on you. Learn not to take people’s opinions personally.
“Don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it happened.” - Dr. Seuss
Love you so much dolls!! Remember to keep your head high and stay pretty 💋🎀
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dearshelby · 5 months
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Ahh Lora!! I’m so happy to see that your requests are open again!! 😄
If in bot to late, may I request "Promise this'll stay between us.” with Tommy and reader? If his two spots are taken (which I love that you’ve decided that), you can choose who you feel this prompt fits best with!
Thanks so much in advance! 🧡
Hello, K! Thanks for sending in something! I wrote this instead of going to sleep so I hope it's not too bad hehe (also, can I just say I LOVE your new theme? It's so clean, truly loved it!!)
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Had you first | T.S
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Prompt 4. "Promise this'll stay between us.” + Tommy Shelby. Contains Tommy being an asshole and to avoid a weird age gap, Finn is a bit older than canon, the reader is older than him and younger than Tommy.
“When is this girl coming, Finn?” Polly asked, annoyed by the family meeting her nephew suddenly demanded.
“Is this girl actually coming?” Arthur asked.
“I don't have time for this-” Tommy quickly snapped, getting up from his seat.
“She'll be here in a minute! Please, Tom!” the youngest begged and Tommy sat back down.
In a table in the corner of the Garrison, the family waited to meet Finn's new girlfriend, the boy was proud and anxious to introduce her to them, not so secretly yearning for some approval.
“Schedule a better time then-” Polly's ask was interrupted by the doors opening.
A girl walked in wearing a beautiful coat, her confident walk and polite smile made the Shelbys wonder how he managed to win her heart, she was clearly too good.
The boy stood up, greeting her with a chaste kiss, “Pol, Arthur, Tommy, this is her!”
Her smiled immediately faded as her eyes met Tommy's, but she recomposed herself, “It's so nice to finally meet, Finn told me a lot about you,”
“Yeah, he told us a lot about you too,” Arthur said, “never fucking shut up about you,”
“Arthur!” Pol scolded, “I'm sorry, dear, sit down, we were excited to meet you,”
“Why don't you go get the girl some gin, eh? Leave her to us,” Arthur told Finn, who quickly went behind the bar.
She sat, weakly smiling and trying to make the situation more comfortable, “Am I getting interviewed?”
“Well, we're trusting you with our youngest,” Polly smiled.
“How long you've been together?” Tommy finally spoke.
“Hm- four months,”
Finn came back to the table with drinks and the conversation carried on, the girl avoided eye contact with Tom and he went quiet again.
Surprisingly, they liked her, much like Linda and Lizzie, she seemed able to handle a Shelby man. Polly and Arthur didn't know it, but she had experience in this matter.
Half-hour went by and Tommy sighed, discreetly getting her attention and nodding out, as if he said follow me.
“I'll go for a smoke,” he announced and went outside.
After a few minutes, she finished her drink and excused herself, “I need to use the toilet,”
Using the backdoor to go outside, she walked around the pub and found him waiting by the entry.
“Tom?” she hesitantly called.
“I remember the best sex we ever had was on the private room,”
“Stop it,” she scolded.
“And when we were done you said you adored me,”
“Yeah, I couldn't say I loved you because I knew you wouldn't say it back,” she bitterly remembered.
“No, I wouldn't,” he agreed and pointed inside, where Finn was, “but that's low,”
“I didn't know, alright? I swear, the first time happened so fast, I didn't ask his surname and when I found out I-” she gulped, “I thought you wouldn't recognize me, thought you wouldn't even remember me,”
“Well,” he threw his cigarette away, “I do,”
Tommy got close to her, his hands threatening to touch her waist before moving to her face, caressing her cheek with gentleness that used to be reserved only for her.
“I remember everything,” he whispered.
Their lips got dangerously close, but she stepped backwards before he could make a move, “Is this a test?”
“What?”
“Are you testing if I'll be loyal to Finn? I will, I love him,” she spat out.
“No test,” he explained, getting close again, “just memories,”
“It's not enough,”
“Is it not?” he tested the waters, cupping her jaw and tracing her lips.
“Tommy,” she sighed, trying to resist him, “what about Finn?”
“What about him?”
“He's your-”
“I had you first,” he interrupted.
“And now? Do you have someone?” she touched their foreheads together.
It was his time to gulp, of course he did, not only Lizzie at home, but Greta and Grace at the back of his head. The problem was, Tommy hardly let go of people who were once his and when she walked into the Garrison, he could barely believe the young thing that helped him to forget the horrors of war in the last months of 1918 was back into his life.
“Everything,” he answered, “I have everything,”
“What do you-” her question was interrupted by his lips on hers.
Soft and tender, warm and entrancing, exactly like they remembered each other. She cupped Tommy's cheeks and swore there was the ghost of a smile on his face.
There truly was, he remembered every single detail of what her kisses felt like and it hadn't changed at all, it was like going through abstinence, something he spent too long without and now felt better than before.
Once they needed to breathe, she looked down at her own feet, ashamed. Tommy tried to touch their foreheads again, she didn't let him.
“Tom, I think we shouldn't-” she negatively nodded, “we should stay away from each other,”
“We did, for far too long,”
“Yeah, and everything changed,” she said, “we changed, Finn doesn't deserve it, there's no benefit for anyone so please, promise this'll stay between us,”
“...go back inside,” Tommy ordered, sensing words wouldn't be able to convince her at that moment, “we'll talk about it later, in a better, private place,”
“No, we won't meet again,” she stood her ground.
“No? If it depends on Finn you'll be Shelby soon,”
She went quiet and turned on her heel, ready to go back inside, before she was gone from his view, Tommy added, “And if it depends on me too.”
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sits-bound · 1 month
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Bound: The Star Splitter by @oflights
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If there is one thing I am not, it is patient. The minute I finished this fic, I ran off to ask the author for permission to bind it. I'm so happy I'll get to have this one on my shelf!
I spent a lot of time (for me, anyway) on the typeset. I wanted the chapter pages to be special but also was afraid that if I printed them in color, they'd bleed through (like what happened with The Man Who Lived.) But I didn't think I'd be able to fit the text block in my guillotine if I used a heavier weight paper.
Happily, I was able to use the heavier paper and the chapter pages and illustrations (by the absolutely incredible @littlewinnow) without any bleedthrough on the back.
I made the end papers with illustrations off pixabay and foil toner. Do I love them? Not as much as I wish I did. I may do something slightly different for the author copy. We'll see. (Mostly I don't love the color of the cardstock I printed on.)
So once I was happy with the text block, I had to think about the cover. I didn't want to do yet another navy book, so I almost went with black, but I decided to peruse the fabric store for starry printed fabric, and brought home a couple of options. I decided I liked this one the best.
I was also nervous about this because I've never used printed fabric on a cover, and I was worried how the title would look. So I reconfigured my original design to make it legible. Oh, and thanks Joann's for having this holographic HTV on clearance! I love how it looks a million different colors, depending on the light and the angle and what it's reflecting.
Now. Go read this lovely fic if you haven't already!
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azullumi · 1 year
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“oh no, there’s only one bed.” ; genshin men
summary — the one-bed trope.
characters — alhaitham, albedo, ayato, childe, cyno, diluc, heizhou, itto, kazuha, kaveh, kaeya, thoma, tighnari, scaramouche/wanderer, venti, xiao, zhongli (w/gender-neutral reader)
tags — fluff (kind); hidden feelings things going on
words — 1057
note — wrote this because i got bored
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Once he sees the sight of a singular bed in a room that the two of you had to stay in the whole night, the idea that the two of you will be sharing it flusters him. Is he really going to share a bed with you? Never in his wildest dreams will he even imagine of being in the same bed as you (in the context of just sleeping in it). He tries to hide his shyness and embarrassment by talking quite a lot—“It was such a tiring day. Oh hey, there’s only one bed here.” paired with a nervous chuckle, he says. He wouldn’t sleep immediately, maybe he’ll do something for a little bit but he wouldn’t sleep immediately. He’ll wait for you until you do so and if you ever invite him to just come to the bed already so he can get the rest that he needs, he will (not before hesitating) but will only sit on the edge while his back is facing you because he doesn’t know if he can face you properly with his cheeks completely flustered and his eyes darting all over the place, not able to remain still. Archons, what is he supposed to do?
Thoma, Kaveh, Itto, Heizhou
He immediately becomes a gentleman, seemingly knowing what to do as soon as he sees there’s only one bed—he’ll be sleeping on the floor instead while you take the bed. He wouldn’t hesitate in doing so as long as you’re comfortable and satisfied in your sleep, he wouldn’t mind sacrificing a bit just for your own happiness, after all. It will take him quite a lot of convincing and talking just so you could urge him to just sleep besides you and share the bed with him—you won’t mind it really as he doesn’t seem to be the type of person that would be horrible to sleep together with (probably no snores and not much of a movement). He’ll get on the bed, on your side but not too close as he maintains a distance, and he’ll sit instead of laying down—“I am not sleepy yet.”—and he will choose to either talk and tell you stories that he has heard from when he was a kid or from the people around or he will choose to remain in silence, choosing to enjoy the sound of the leaves rustling outside and the quiet hum of the evening breeze, as he waits for you to drift off to sleep.
Cyno, Diluc, Zhongli, Tighnari, Childe, Kazuha
There's only one bed? Oh no, what are you going to do? What in the world is he going to do? Of course, sleep on it. What else even? Should he even care about the fact that there’s only one bed for you two? As long as there’s a bed, it should be no problem for you both as the bed is big enough to fit you two. He wouldn’t even bother thinking of setting some sort of boundary between you two and would even say something along the lines of not minding if you get too close to him and hug him while you sleep. He’s just so casual about it as if he has gotten used to sharing a bed with someone when in fact, this is probably his first time as despite the nonchalant act that he shows, his mind is just all over the place. Despite the casual and carefree show that he puts on, once you lay down beside him and he could inhale your scent, his heart will flutter out of his chest and his thoughts would get too loud that he’s afraid you might be able to hear him—he knows he wouldn’t be able to sleep for the whole night.
Albedo, Alhaitham, Ayato, Kaeya, Venti
There’s only one bed and there’s two of you—one of you has to be on the floor and it’s not going to be him. Although, he would probably feel bad about letting you sleep on the cold ground instead of the soft and warm mattress and would carry you to the bed as you sleep. However, if you insist, earlier on, and fight with him that you’ll be on the bed also, both of you would compromise on having a boundary in the middle of the bed and that boundary is just consisting of one pillow because archons forbid for the two of you to have so much pillows in a singular bed. “This line must not and should not be crossed or I’m going to kick you off the fucking bed,” he tells you as he points at the pillow placed at the space in between of him and you before he turns around and dozes off to sleep—it sounds like a baseless threat, one that sounds silly instead of scary, but you still listened anyways, not wanting to have any of your rest being more cut off or interrupted. Now, you’ll just have to see if the line will be maintained or one of you will cross it in the next morning.
Scaramouche/Wanderer
He wouldn’t sleep at all. He’ll be up doing something else, doing something entirely different as long as he is not and will be sleeping and it's not because he dislikes the idea of sharing a bed with you, it’s just more like he wouldn’t be able to handle it—I mean, sharing a bed, really? How cramped can it be? How awkward can it be? How hard will it be for him? It’s probably much better that he keeps awake and watches over you as you sleep instead of having such loud and persisting thoughts inside his head as he tries to rest in the bed while you’re there beside him—he probably would feel more overwhelmed with his thoughts and feelings. “Xiao? Why won’t you come to the bed so you can get at least some rest?” You say to him, tone gentle and soothing like you’re trying to make him trust you but he still insisted on not doing so, simply just shaking his head and turning his head away—And maybe that hurt you a bit but you have to brush it off as well, that’s just how he is, always keeping a safe distance from you as if he’s afraid to get close.
Xiao
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© azullumi — do not plagiarize, copy, repost, nor translate any of my works.
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ponyosmom35 · 4 months
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birthdays
Simon Ghost Riley x reader
Liability chapter thirty three
synopsis: reader celebrates Simon's birthday, refusing to let him ignore his day.
Liability series
https://www.tumblr.com/ponyosmom35/733401347573088256/simon-ghost-riley?source=share
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The soft morning light filtered through the curtains as Simon awoke to find himself alone in his apartment. It was his birthday, a day he had become accustomed to treating like any other—without fanfare or celebration, as there were no family or close friends to share it with.
As he wandered into the kitchen, expecting just another ordinary day, hoping to get through it as painlessly as possible. Simon was met with a heartwarming surprise. She was adorning the room with colorful balloons and carefully setting up a beautifully decorated cake on the table.
Simon couldn't help but stare, a mixture of confusion and delight playing on his features. "love, what's going on here?" he asked, a touch of panic in his voice.
Turning around with a beaming smile, she exclaimed, "Happy birthday, Si!"
His eyes widened as he took in the sight. Balloons of all hues danced in the air, and the aroma of the freshly baked cake filled the room. Simon felt a lump forming in his throat as he struggled to find words.
"love, I... I didn't expect..." he began, the vulnerability in his voice apparent.
She, sensed his emotions, cut him off with a surprised yelp. "I wanted your day to be special, Si."
As the realization sank in, Simon's eyes glistened with unshed tears. "Thank you, baby," he managed to say, the weight of her gesture lifting the familiar darkness that shrouded his birthdays.
She approached him, wrapping him in a warm embrace. "You deserve all the happiness today and every day. So my first gift to you is that I am all yours all day, whatever you want to do, we do!"
Touched by her understanding and kindness, Simon nodded, feeling an overwhelming sense of gratitude. She encouraged him to unwrap his gifts, each one carefully chosen to reflect his interests and passions.
The first package revealed a soft, stylish sweater. "I thought you might like something cozy, the winters here can be rough" she said, a twinkle in her eye.
Next came a set of sleek cooking knives and a 'kiss the chef' apron. "For your culinary adventures," she remarked, knowing how much he loved to cook.
A pair of high-quality running shoes followed, acknowledging his commitment to staying fit. "I saw your running shoes and noticed how sad they looked, so I did some research and saw a lot of really good reviews. So you’ll have to try them out and let me know if they work" she added with a playful grin.
As the gifts continued, Simon's heart swelled with love. A massive package of his favorite Oreos, a fancy bottle of olive oil, and a handcrafted crochet blanket for the cold nights on base—all thoughtful reminders of her consideration and care.
The final gift brought a blush to Simon's cheeks as he discovered intimate Polaroid pictures of her. "A little something personal," she teased, a mischievous glint in her eyes.
"love, these are... wow," Simon stammered, both surprised and touched.
She smiled lovingly. "Happy birthday baby!"
She grabs his arm and stands on her tip toes to kiss his cheek. In that moment, surrounded by love and thoughtful gestures. He was unsure how to react, never seeming to be able to find the words to express how much it meant to him. As he looked down at her she smiles “I know” 
She responds, as if she could read his thoughts. Confirming that he didn’t need to say anything. He picks her up and sets her on the counter, he kisses her gently and pushes a strand of her hair behind her ear. “So you said we can do anything I want?”
“I did yes”
“Lets play a game” he murmurs against her lips
“What is it?”
“Simon says” he smirks
stay tuned for part two, simon says (18+)
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alotofpockets · 2 months
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The best | Mary Earps
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Pairing: Mary Earps x Reader
Request: Where Mary gets her fifa best award
Woso masterlist | Words: 1K
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Today was a big day for your girlfriend, you were attending the FIFA Best Awards, where she was nominated for not one but two categories. Though before the award show started there she had a busy schedule, one you and her team followed along closely. 
This wasn’t your world at all, but you loved supporting Mary in everything she did. While you were admiring your girlfriend in her element, you were filming bits and pieces of behind the scenes footage. Mary loved creating TikTok’s out of events like this to show the world what it was like from her perspective, and you loved helping her film.
Currently you were at a photoshoot. Mary was repping her own brand, a white tee with her quote ‘Be unapologetically yourself.’ paired with a black suede tracksuit. The whole day the group of you moved around the large building, besides the event it was also a big media day. Interviews, games, photoshoots, anything you could imagine, it was a part of today.
In each interview, Mary spoke with so much passion. Her passion was one of the things you loved most about her. She had many interests, and stood for a lot of things. The way she used her platform for the better, speaking out about mental health, and inspiring people was always incredible to watch. 
After the final interviews were done, you all made it back to the hotel room where the stylist, and the hair and makeup crew were all waiting to glam both Mary and you up. You were getting dressed in the bathroom, while the team was working on getting Mary ready. 
Once you were in your outfit, you came back into the main room and were met with Mary. She was dressed in a beautiful dress that fit her body perfectly. You hadn’t realised you were staring with your mouth open until you heard Mary's smug voice saying, “Like what you see?” Her comment makes you snap out of it and chuckle. “Yes I do. You look stunning, baby.” You walk closer to admire the dress she was showing off. “You look pretty incredible yourself.” The stylist had picked your outfit to have a slight match with Mary’s dress, so red touches all throughout the fit. 
You took some pictures together before you headed to the final destination of the night, the award show. There were a lot of familiar faces in the audience, both players you had met through Mary, and ones you’ve idolised as a football fan yourself. The atmosphere was great, and everyone was incredibly supportive of the winners. 
When the Women’s World XI section of the night started, you were sitting on the edge of your seat. Mary reached for your hand and held it tight, as the announcement started, and she squeezed it even tighter when her name was called as the goalkeeper. She stood up with tears in her eyes, and hugged you first before making her way to the stage, as the rest of the winners were being named. 
The stage filled with the winning players, you watched proudly as your girlfriend admired the trophy in her hands. You knew how much this meant for her, and were so incredibly happy for her talent to be recognised by her fellow footballers.
Winning the goalkeeper position in the World XI made Mary think that she would not win the Best Women’s Goalkeeper award as well, because that would be too much. So, when her name was announced she was shocked. “You did it baby! I am so proud of you. Go, get up on that stage and accept the award.” She placed her hands on your cheeks and pressed a kiss onto your lips, before she made her way to the stage.
You watched your girlfriend accept her second award of the evening with a big smile on your face. In your eyes there was no one more deserving than her, of course you were biassed, but she has been playing incredibly well and deserved to be recognized for her hard work. 
Mary walked up the the microphone for her speech, and you already knew you weren’t going to be able to hear it without shedding a tear,
“I think I talk about a lot obviously that it’s not been the easiest journey to get here, so I would say that I definitely took the scenic route.” Mary chuckled to the crowd at her own joke. “I had to wait a long time for this kind of success, but I think looking back now, it all makes total sense. Everything that I went through, I mean, we’re all humans, we all have struggles, right?” She was met with hundreds of nodding faces in the crowd. “But it just made me feel so much more prepared for the challenges we face today. And to be able to enjoy these moments so much more and realise how pretty unbelievable they are and to never take a single day for granted. So, if you’re struggling and you’re going through hell, keep going. And it’s never too late to be exactly who you are.” 
Mary’s words, and the feelings behind them did indeed make you tear up. Your girlfriend’s journey hadn’t been easy, but she was paving the way for young girls aspiring to be just like her, as well as advocate for mental health. You couldn’t be more proud of her, to once again use her platform to talk about the tough moments, to let the world know it isn’t all just rose coloured.
After a long, and busy day you found yourself in the back of the car on the way back home. A sleeping Mary’s head laying on your shoulder, with two trophy cases laying in the trunk.  
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weecherylita · 1 year
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I wrote a version of this as a message to Neil Gaiman on New Year's Eve, but (unsurprisingly) it appears to have gotten lost in his ask box. But given that this message is not just meant for Neil Gaiman, but also to the Good Omens fandom at large, I have decided to recreate it here:
Dear Mr Gaiman (& Good Omens fandom people)
On New Year's Eve 2021 I started watching Good Omens for the first time. Now one year (and a bit) later, it feels very appropriate to me to write a message of thanks, because Good Omens became a constant source of joy and mental refuge throughout what turned out to be an incredibly difficult year.
Not exactly difficult in a bad way, as some very good things happened. I gave birth to my second child*, and we moved house. But owing to work, pregnancy issues, several childhood illnesses (including 2 hospital stays) and said house requiring a truly overwhelming amount of time to make it fit for human habitation, everything has been a bit frantic and strained. Our focus has very much been on trying to make the transition as smooth as possible for our daughter (now 4), and adult relationships have been pretty badly neglected as a result. I feel like we forgot how to be together, as a family unit and as partners. Looking back, I think that's what actually hit me the hardest; that absence of family communion and emotional support
But then there's been Good Omens, this wonderful story with this wonderful fandom and this wondrous, ineffable relationship between the central characters. These characters who are able to build that sense of communion over the course of millennia, and express their love in such a variety of ways and in such difficult circumstances (no wonder I'm a bit in love with them).
So, thank you for the love and care you put into adapting Good Omens. Thank you also for your continued engagement with fans keen for more details about the story (the thing about Aziraphale saving the movie theatre from destruction because he remembered Crowley saying he liked it once melted my heart in the nicest possible way)**.
Thank you also to the Good Omens fandom for embracing this story with so much joyful enthusiasm, and keeping that love alive in so many ways - the fanart, the meta analysis, random headcanons, humorous shitposts, fanfiction great and small. It has meant a lot to me to be able to shelter under the heartwarming little canopy of creativity and joy when things have gotten difficult and I've been in desperate need of stress relief.
I am glad to say that in the New Year my partners and I are starting to put more time and effort into repairing our relationships - and one of the ways we are doing that is by watching Good Omens together.
So... Happy New Year (belated)
* It is testament to how much Good Omens has permeated my brain that even whilst giving birth, in between screaming at my husband "WHY DOES IT HAVE TO HURT SO MUCH!!!" there was actually a small voice in the back of my head saying that in a roundabout way it was Crowley's fault (though I imagine he might dispute that? Or possibly debate the point in private while readily taking credit for it in memos to hell).
** I am now super paranoid that I hallucinated reading that, but perhaps that is just my anxiety talking.
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nqmonarch · 2 months
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Valentines Day w/ HSR Characters!
Doing Calc homework and am very stressed, i can feel it everywhere in my body. the math is just not mathing mentally today (i looked at trigonometric identities today so maybe thats why)
Just writing out some messy ideas to take a break
Btw if u sent in a request and I haven't answered it yet I am working on it thank you for your uh question ask thingy i appreciate it, i like to know what people like to read bcus tbh i like to write anything altho jingyuan gets like +10 points cus he fluffy
Valentines Day With Some HSR Characters (Jing Yuan, Blade, Dan Heng, Stelle)
Jing Yuan
Jing Yuan is old school romantic. You cannot tell me he wouldn't arrive home with a big bouquet of roses (does HSR even have roses?) and 20 other gifts, including but not limiting to boxes of chocolate, teddy bears, and at least one gag gift. There's gotta be at least one, he'd make a dad joke out of it too.
Then he'd reserve one of the best restaurants on the Luofu and bring you there. He'd probably have booked a private room, thank goodness because no one wants to hear the general continuously compliment you until you're a puddle on the floor. What he is best at is attacks. But if he gets a compliment in return he'll freeze up for a moment before playfully returning it.
Jing Yuan doesn't put on his normal coy facade today, instead he just embraces how much he loves you because he's happy to still have you in his life.
Blade
Blade does not know it's Valentine's Day. It's not his fault, cut him some slack. Anyway Kafka probably reminds him that it's Valentine's Day about half way through the day to which he goes into a silent panic. You can't tell he's panicking he's just staring at the wall with a blank face, he actually looks like he wants to murder someone.
The two of you end up celebrating though! He... pulls something together, it really is something. Sure he smells like blood and the waiters are scared, and taking over this restaurant for a Valentine's Day dinner was definitely not in the script but... It could be worse. He's trying his best, really.
Afterwards you and Blade share lots of cuddles! Something he's pretty good at! Holding you just tight enough, and keeping you close to his side-- you just won't be able to get up if you want to get water or anything. He doesn't say too much but you can feel the love in each caress.
Dan Heng
Dan Heng doesn't really like going out, why would he when all he needs is right by his side? So the two of you stay on the express in the archives. What matters isn't where you are but the company. He'd probably get you a few trinkets from different places he's collected over the years, a necklace, a sick looking compass, whatever fits your vibe.
Dan Heng would probably also write you a love poem, and make you read it or awkwardly recite it in front of you. If you read it out loud though he will get unbelievably embarrassed and snatch it away from you. He'd give it back but he'd take some coaxing, be nice okay? His face is already red.
Then when the night draws to a close the two of you would curl up together on that sorry excuse of what he calls a bed. The majority of your body would be on Dan Heng's using him as a pillow, and his arms would be wrapped around your body keeping you still and warm.
Dan Heng's bed is not it man. Personally, I'd get back problems.
Stelle
"You are the one who deserves the golden trash the most," Truly romantic words from Stelle as she hands you a golden trashbag. That is just the first of the gifts she gives you tonight, and the one that's most valuable to her. It's the thought that counts right? You still have no idea what she's talking about when she mentions fighting Sampo as a trashcan...
The two of you spend a romantic night together, walking down the quiet streets of Belobog, and-- did Stelle just investigate a trashcan again? You should be used to this. On the bright side, every time she gets something cool she comes up to you with the biggest smile on her face, it's beyond adorable. Sometimes the trashcans even have good stuff, like a scarf Stelle lets you wear that thankfully doesn't smell like trash.
It's just good to spend time with the person you love. She spends her time catching you up on everything new from her adventures, and when it's too cold to stay out any longer the two of you head to the Astral Express. Where you shower together and then doze off on one of the Express' couch cushions while playing games. Your head rests against Stelle's reminding you, you're never alone.
Okay I need to get back to homework, fun break thanks guys. Imagine being alone on Valentines Day couldn't be me, I have my Calc Homework. It told me I was integral to it <3 legit peak partner material.
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ruershrimo · 3 months
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take me back (take me with you) | f. megumi x fem! reader | chapter 1: nostalgia
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ao3 link for additional author's notes | playlist | next
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chapter synopsis:
'“You’re my best friends forever,” you whisper to them. It’s the truth and it’s a promise. The train halts with that chuffing sound all trains produce, and your mother holds the luggage as well as your other hand as you wave to them goodbye.' --- ' It’s very late and I still have so much I want to talk about with you, but I’m really sleepy now. My eyes are barely open and my face is about to fall on the paper, I think. Just know that I'm thinking of the two of you all the time. XX
Love, [Name]
(P.S.: I still have your hair tie. Do you know if I’ll ever be able to give it back?)'
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word count: ~5k; tws: none for now
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2-4-2015
Dear Fushiguro Tsumiki, 
How are you today? I’m so sorry that we haven’t talked in so long. 
Forgive me for asking so many questions in this letter— I know too little about writing them; my mother is the one who asked me to write this saying that it would help me keep in touch with my friends or write better (either of the two, I can’t quite remember). 
Between an urban area or a rural area, which would you prefer? I’ve had to go all around the place because of my mother and I’m still all the way in Tanegashima now. If you were to go from Tokyo to where I am, you’d have to either go for a drive lasting more than 20 hours or book a three hour flight. 
I’ve only stayed in the city once— that was when we were still in the same school, and we could all fit in my aunt’s apartment since my father was outstationed for the whole year. But I digress. Personally I prefer the city. It all feels so modern, and so much less empty than how it’s like here on this little island. I mean, we have the space centre, so I can always visit that, but after the third or fourth time you’d probably get a little bored of it too. 
I wish I could go to Tokyo again one day, though. I’d definitely take the time to visit you, too. I read on a pamphlet once of how pretty everything gets in Tokyo during winter time, especially during Christmas. We don’t really celebrate Christmas here but the pamphlet reminded me of that one December when we spent it at my aunt’s, we ate lots of KFC and had a little party while my aunt sang songs and drank enough alcohol to prove she had a liver of steel a million times over. 
It’s nice to reminisce on these things, and it’s nice to reminisce on when we were still there too. I know I never told you this enough, but I was so happy when you walked up to me on the playground that day and asked if you wanted to be friends. I really, really liked your hair and wanted to ask you the same. I was just too shy to do it, and thought that if I would I’d end up messing things up and mortifying myself. I miss that and you and I miss 2010 and I miss Tokyo, and walking back from school with you and Megumi (you were like my cool older sister), and I really, really miss doing each other’s hair. It was the most joyful I’d ever been in my then 8 years of life and every day was a new fragment of happiness to keep in my heart like a picture in a locket. 
Now I really want to go there again, and maybe go to the Shinjuku-Gyoen, or see the lights at night. I wish I could stay for a whole year and see how the trees can change from being highlighted cherry blossom pinks, to lush greens with summer dew on them, to golden ginkgo leaves. I’d keep them with me, too. I hope you can take me there one day and we can see everything together again. My apologies if I’m asking too much of you. 
Also, how is Megumi? I miss him too. Is he the way he was, still? Is everything okay between you and him, still? Unlike elementary school, the boys in junior high are all taller than the girls, so since we’re the same age do you think he’d be taller than me too? Is he taller than you, or are you still one of the tallest girls in junior high like how you were in elementary school? 
It’s very late and I still have so much I want to talk about with you, but I’m really sleepy now. My eyes are barely open and my face is about to fall on the paper, I think. Just know that I’m thinking of the two of you all the time. XX
Love, [Name] 
(P.S.: I still have your hair tie. Do you know if I’ll ever be able to give it back?) 
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28-2-2011 
The train to the airport is arriving in a minute, and you’re sure your mother won’t let you just wait for the next one, so you’re stuck clutching your little luggage bag as you look at Tsumiki and Megumi, that inseparable pair, and their snowy-haired “benefactor” (whatever that means. You think he’s more like their father sometimes, though). 
Even if you knew it was inevitable and that this day would eventually come, especially with your leaving Tokyo being pulled even earlier than you thought it would, a part of you pretended that you’d still get to stay with them for a little while longer. In Tokyo you’d solidified your place and built your roots— you had friends, were doing alright in school and had even begun to be less anxious about everything. Now you’d be uprooted again, you thought as your fists trembled, Now you’d be back to square one. 
2011 had started as a busy year— your father had begun preparations to move somewhere else where you and your mother could follow him and the three of you would be together again. It was busy for Tsumiki, too, who had more school matters to tend to due to her being one of the best, most well-rounded students in her year (you didn’t know much of the details). 
…it had also begun with you seeing a dog when you were alone with Megumi once. It had these unique markings on its head, with alabaster fur and jaundice-hued eyes. And Megumi then had a panicked look in his eye, asked how and why you could see them as well as whether you’d seen them before, which you suppose caused him to be busier after that, too. Tsumiki and Megumi’s benefactor visited you and your mother the night after, asking to speak with your mother and your mother alone. He paused before you, almost shocked, you supposed, but you couldn’t see through his pitch black sunglasses (he was one weird guy, seriously— pitch black sunglasses? Really?). To which she frowned, as the man uttered that you could be a “window”, but that you could still be able to use “cursed energy”, or something. You’d heard of neither of those, and weren’t able to eavesdrop or discern anything else they’d said. 
Then nobody else mentioned the dog anymore. 
If you questioned any of them, you’d only be told that the dog was a stray, and that those markings must have been a particularly special birthmark. Yet you knew it was all a lie, but after multiple tries you gave up on wondering. 
When you’d first learned you’d be moving yet again, you cried and screamed for your mother to let you stay, and for what felt like hours. After relaying this to Tsumiki, she just put her hand on yours before hugging you— always wise, always kind, always smiling, you can’t say this enough about her. Megumi patted your back before she pulled him in as well, and for once he didn’t shove her hand away. You couldn’t even bother to be confused at that— you just continued to weep as Tsumiki comforted you, whispering, “I can’t promise I’ll always be able to talk to you, but I’ll try my best to keep in touch when I can. And even if we don’t, we’ll always be friends, okay? So we’ll meet again someday, don’t forget that, okay, [Name]?” 
A day after that Megumi told you to stay safe. Nearly ordered you to swear you’d stay safe and protected, always. He said that the world was dangerous since it was full of dangerous creatures and people who could kill you at any moment, but as long as you were on an island like the one you were moving to, you’d be fine. You furrowed your brow at that as he held your hand and felt him squeeze it— subconsciously, most likely. 
“Well,” Tsumiki starts, a tinge of sadness in her tone, her eyes slightly swollen. Megumi’s expression is unreadable but his fists are balling the fabric of his shirt and his leg is shaking. It makes you want to sob and cling to both of them and you know if you did they wouldn’t ever let go, “I guess this is goodbye, [Name]…” 
Before you realise it, tears start pooling in your eyes and soon they’re trickling down your face uncontrollably, just like the day when you’d first met her. “We’ll still be friends, right?” You won’t leave me, right? 
“Mhm!” Tsumiki smiles— she was always smiling, always, even when she was about to cry along with you. Her lip was trembling and for a second you swore you could detect that in the ever-stoic Megumi, too. “It’s okay, you don’t have to worry. We’ll be friends forever, so we’ll surely see each other soon enough,” Tsumiki assures you, close to sniffling, “We made a promise to always be friends, right? So you’ll see the two of us again in just a few years’ time no matter what.” 
“Okay,” you sniff, “I’ll see the two of you when we’re all grown up, and… and I’ll be taller, too! I promise I’ll visit Tokyo next time!” 
“...that’s good,” Megumi says, his leg still shaking discreetly, joining you and Tsumiki’s conversations in a way he’d rarely done. 
Tsumiki nods, “Yeah. That sounds really, really good, [Name]. Wait—! Let me give you something. You can call it a gift!” 
She takes it off, and her hair unfurls like flowers from bouquets after they’re untied, placing the red-ribbon hair tie securely in your palm. 
“Your hair tie?” you ask, “No, it’s okay—!” 
“Please, just… just keep it, okay? It’s a gift from Megumi and I to you, [Name]!”
Then you’re in her embrace again as you clutch the hair tie, while after a little hesitation Megumi joins in and you swear you can see their benefactor smiling— not just the smile he had when you first saw him, this one in particular seemed proud, fatherly, the same way your father did when you told him about how you were able to read through a whole book with beginners’ kanji in it. 
“You’re my best friends forever,” you whisper to them. It’s the truth and it’s a promise. 
The train halts with that chuffing sound all trains produce, and your mother holds the luggage as well as your other hand as you wave to them goodbye. 
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15-3-2011
The phone continues to vibrate in your hands as you anxiously tap your foot on the ground. You’re sure it’s going to end up sore. Frantically, you press it almost forcefully to your ear when it stops ringing. “Tsumiki, Megumi!” 
“[Name]!” 
“Are you alright? I saw the footage of the earthquake on the news, are you safe? Were you and Megumi evacuated, are you all safe? Please tell me whether you’re safe—!” 
“Megumi, it’s [Name]!— Don’t worry, we’re safe now.” 
Relieved, you sigh, “That’s good, that’s good,” you say, “It must’ve been really scary…” 
“Mhm— everything started shaking as if we were on some boat in the middle of the sea and the waves started getting wilder, and it was like the ground was rumbling.” 
You shiver. “That sounds so scary…— I’m glad you’re safe, though. I don’t know why stuff like that has to happen so quickly sometimes, and so suddenly, too. And it takes so many people along with it. I thought I could’ve lost the two of you.” 
“Well, we made a promise,” she tells you, “So don’t worry. —Oh! Megumi wants to talk to you. Here, Megumi.” 
“Are you alright?” he inquires, “Have you seen anything scary in the countryside?” 
“Huh? Oh, no, I haven’t seen anything. Why?” 
“Nothing. Just wanted to know.” Now that sounds like a bold-faced lie. 
“Uh-huh, okay.” 
-20-5-2011-
“Hello? Is this Tsumiki? I need to ask if she’s alright—” 
“Oh, little [Name]?” a man says over the phone— the benefactor, you remember, “So sorry, she’s pretty busy right now… call next time, okay?”
-21-5-2011-
“Hello? This is the Fushiguro house contact, right?” 
“Sorry, Tsumiki’s busy at the moment. Me too, actually.” 
“Megumi!” you smile, bringing the phone closer to your cheek in excitement, “How is everything?” 
“Good, to say the least,” he replies, “We’re just a bit busy. Sorry, but I’ve to hang up soon.” 
“Oh, oh-okay! Bye bye, Megumi!” 
“Bye.” 
-13-7-2011-
“Hi, [Name] speaking. I called twice last month and a few days ago. Are you still busy?” 
“A little— well, Tsumiki is,” the voice on the other side says. You know it’s not Tsumiki, not yet at least. “She’s really sorry, [Name].” 
“No, no, it’s okay! I don’t want to bother any of you either, so thank you for telling me!” 
“Well, if you want I can try to get Tsumiki right now,” the voice offers. 
“Really? Thank you so much!”
The pause that ensues after is followed by the fifteen happiest minutes of your life since February this year. 
“[Name]? Is that you?” 
“Yeah! Hi, Tsumiki!” 
She gasps slightly in the way that children do when in awe or when someone finds out they’ll be eating their favourites for lunch. “Hello!” 
“How are you?” you ask.
“I’m good! Really busy, though, so I’m really sorry if I can’t call you as often… but everything’s been alright. You?” 
“Mm,” you hum, nodding your head even if she can’t see it, “I’m good, too!” 
-18-8-2011- 
You don’t know when you started heading to the phone and keying in the number, doing everything but ringing it. You’re busy, too— you’ve less time now to ring them up, and the last time you did, Tsumiki still apologised but sounded a little distant, just that one bit too busy to be able to tend to you. One step farther away from you. And Megumi was seldom ever the one by the phone. Still, you could understand why. You supposed they always had something going on that you never understood or never asked about. That would explain the incident with the unusually marked dog. No, they weren’t sketchy, but there was definitely something they must have known about the world that you didn’t. 
Now you don’t know if you can even muster the courage to talk to you or write to you. The distance between you has widened exponentially and you hesitate just a bit more every time you hold the phone and press its buttons. 
Then the phone rings, and after you hesitate once more, you put it down. 
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9-2-2016
If there’s one thing you remember from about half of your life ago, it’s that your first crush was probably Fushiguro Megumi. 
You’re honestly surprised it wasn’t actually his sister. That over Tsumiki and her abundant compassion and beautiful soul, you’d feel your heart leaping and overflowing with warmth because of him instead. Constantly angry, never for once not irascible, always serious and aloof. You’re sure that if you’d met him now instead of back then you’d find him some asshole who you just wouldn’t be able to understand— why’d he always have to seem so angry? 
Yet it was a struggle, trying to understand him. It really was. Maybe you didn’t really have to understand anyone, much less Megumi. He never ceased being so serious and easily angered but you could tell from his eyes that he must have not intended to hurt anyone; half of the time you understood him: like when you could see that glint in your eyes that replaced what would have been a ghost of a smile on his lips, the other half of the time you didn’t: like whenever he shoved Tsumiki’s hand off his shoulder, and Tsumiki just continued to smile. Now, that really confused you. You’d thought about that for days before coming to the conclusion that you’d probably never find an answer. 
Conversely, Tsumiki was kind and patient. If you’d met her now you’d have fallen in love with her immediately and she probably wouldn’t even notice in that terribly goodhearted, unknowingly innocent way of hers. 
In retrospect it should have been more obvious: he scowled at you and if it were anyone else who did so to you back then you would have merely cried and closed in on yourself, yet you never did when it came to him. You just continued to stick to him like those kind of glue residuals left behind after you take a sticker off a table or a price tag from the back cover of a book. You were probably annoying like that. And to some degree you suppose he’d given you his own form of special treatment by letting you do so anyway. 
If you’d known what you were feeling back then you probably wouldn’t have admitted anything, anyway. Probably you would’ve kept it all within you, quiet and unnoticed, trying to drown yourself into life’s backdrop like an insect engulfed in resin. 
But you’re older now, more mature and slightly more outspoken; you’re going to try to be confident and meet someone, this one person alone who you can only meet now without his sister there just because you used to have a crush on him and— 
You don’t think you’d be able to admit anything either. Yet to yourself he’s the first. He always will be, and you’re not sure whether that sounds pathetic, miserable or disgustingly, hopelessly delusional, considering you don’t even want to pursue anything yourself. 
It’s going to be Valentine's Day soon and you’re quite sure that most of your school friends are making Valentine’s chocolates for their boyfriends or their crushes. In all truthfulness, you might as well not feel blue about it— you’re 14, that’s still pretty young, you don’t have to rush things like relationships or confessions through and you’ve been told to focus on your studies instead— but the thought that you’re going to be alone is still kind of depressing. 
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10-4-2015
Dear [Name], 
Don’t apologise— it’s partially my fault. I ended up being really busy that year due to something we had to deal with. 
But anyway, it’s been so long! I miss you every day as well! 
Megumi and I’ve been great, and I hope you’ve been too. It’s been a long four years since we last talked (it’s already 2015, how time flies!), but you still sound the same. It’s like you’ve got better handwriting now, though! 
Aside from the fact that I’ve been swarmed with stuff to do (I joined the student council, yay!), junior high has been okay, to say the least— and hey, I’m still pretty tall, you know? Plus, a lot of the teachers say I’m surprisingly tall for my age, heheh. Things are going the same as always. I’ve got accustomed to the loads of homework we have now too. But it’s like Megumi’s been having a problem lately— he’s getting into fights, beating people up, things like that. I wouldn’t call him a delinquent, though: moreso someone who beats the delinquents up instead. I know what he wants to do and why he does it, but I don’t want him to fight other people and get himself or others hurt. 
I’ve tried to tell him this before, to be honest. I’ve tried it many times but each time I must sound more annoying to him than the last— I don’t want to force him to do anything, though, and I understand that part of why he does this is because of his own ideals. I just want him to not raise his hand against others. So I have to resort to this. 
Sorry for spilling it all on paper like this… I just wanted someone to talk about this to, and I thought you would listen to me, I suppose. Sometimes it’s hard— sometimes I really do feel like his parent instead of his sister and it makes me feel so lonely, really. 
Oh dear, what do I do to make him hear me, seriously… 
Anyway, I totally get what you mean— I’ve stayed in Tokyo all my life, but I’m sure that if I was uprooted and had to live somewhere else I’d have lots of trouble. Tokyo to me is my home, and my whole life is here. Moving somewhere else would probably shatter it completely, I think. 
And please visit when you can! Maybe if your mother allows it, we can come to us instead, one day! And it’s not like we can’t visit you either. Our door’s always open. Once this school year ends, perhaps we could stay with you for a night or two! (If you would have us, of course). 
Besides that, I don’t really have much to say. I did have a good day today, though. I went out with some of my friends from school after our classes ended and we ate some donuts. They were so tasty!!! Honestly, whenever you have the time, I really recommend going there with some of your friends after school!! 
Regardless, I think this is all I have to say in this letter. I promise I’ll try my utmost best to always set aside time to write to you!!! Get some good rest whenever you can, okay? Miss you always! 
Sincerely, 
Tsumiki 
(P.S.: Do you have an email or a phone number of your own yet? If so, please shoot me an email or give me a call! I can reply more there since I have those now and can use those instead of always relying on our house contact.  You can keep the hair tie, too, by the way! It can be like a memoir (*^▽^*). And it’s for you, after all!) 
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13-3-2015 
You remember seeing a little dog one time back in your hometown when you were around six or seven years old. 
It was a tiny little thing, with the fluffiest black fur you’d ever stroked, and though every second it was barking louder than your mother could ever handle, it was adorable and seldom threatened to bite anyone. And it liked you— it never barked at you and let you shower it with pets despite how much it had frightened you initially. 
He was irritable but calm, someone who frowned and scolded but never raised his hand against anyone— not even that “benefactor” of his who you’d never heard him talk about without mentioning how much he’d like to punch him someday. You genuinely don’t think he’s ever done so, either. He doesn’t seem like the type: from what you remember, if he were to think he’d hurt someone he knew or evidently cared about— as much as he’d like to deny this, however— he would blame everything on himself, you think. He’d feel the guilt rake through his body and lacerate his skin, piercing through his ribs. Yet he’d keep living, and he wouldn’t tell anyone about it; he’d be so quietly miserable. 
That’s what he was like: quietly miserable. There’s a certain sorrow in the way he does things; you could tell this from the start despite how young and inept at articulating yourself you were at that age. But you’d always known and sensed that there was a sadness running through him, coursing through his veins, one that you could feel like heat from the warm blood beneath one’s skin. 
Today you wonder if he’s the same, if he still seems like the saddest person you’ve ever met, if he still seems like he would have been the saddest and most doleful had he not always tried to act as if otherwise, living defiantly against it. If he hadn’t always been able to keep living while suffering quietly like a child with nothing but muffled sobs in the desolate corner of an empty classroom. 
But at eight you thought maybe you could liken Megumi to a puppy. Or something like that. He certainly reminded you of that all-bark-no-bite puppy from the past. You wondered how it was now, whether it was still being fed and taken care of. 
Tsumiki was vastly different, though— the kindest girl you ever knew, with neat, soft hair and the type of handwriting all the girls in her class wanted to have. She was always smiling, always kind— you thought she was immensely wise for a girl around your age; you always wanted to be as amazing of a person as she was: always hardworking, always clever, always kind and forgiving, no matter what. 
…you don’t even know why you’re thinking about some kids you met once who you’ll probably never see again. Just two kids who you never kept in touch with. Or at least never tried to. You had their contact— you tried talking to Tsumiki a few times, but for some reason she could only ever reply once or twice (she apologised profusely for not being available any time she picked up as well), and as time passed the way the distance between the two of you grew, by the summer of 2011 you’d begun holding a telephone close to your ear without keying any number in it, as if clinging onto it would provide you with any sort of closure. 
You miss them, though: smiley Tsumiki and frowny Megumi. 
Leaning back into the mattress, you trace your fingers over the hair tie on your wrist, fingers rubbing against each thread of fabric in its red ribbon. 
Could you even talk to them or face them anymore after ceasing contact with them for years, though? Heck, you don’t even know whether they’re alive or not. Would they be angry at you? Disappointed? Feeling as if they’d been wronged or left behind? 
Still, you miss them. You really do. 
Your mother’s calls bring you downstairs, and you eat until your stomach is full before washing your plate. The only other step in your routine now is to head up and retreat to your room again. 
“Come down, [Name], could you?” your mother says, interrupting your trip back up, “I just want to talk to you for a second.” 
Now, that… that was a bit strange. Your mother rarely ever asked you to talk to her. You spent enough time with each other as is, doing almost everything else besides being in school or at work in the same house, even if it never meant asking about each others’ day. It just was never part of the conversations you had with each other. You’d ask where she wanted you to throw things or how you could cook something, but she’d never go out of her own way to learn about your own day since you were about nine or ten, and it wasn’t like you ever did either. Perhaps she was trying to make the effort to? 
“What is it?” 
“You like writing, honey?” 
“I mean, I guess so?” you reply hesitantly, “As long as it’s not for school or my grades don’t rely that heavily on a task, writing can be pretty fun.” 
“Good, good,” she remarks, nodding her head, “Actually, I recently found something you may be interested in online. You still have your friend and her brother’s house contact, right?” she questioned. Instantly you know which friend she’s referring to and say yes— how could you not, after all? “Ever heard of pen pals, darling?” 
Which brings you to where you are now: your mother leaning by the door frame of your room as you’re hunched over the table writing the letter. Surprisingly, she really seemed to care about this, even preparing the prettiest paper you’d ever seen, with pastel pink patterns printed on the paper’s edges, and though you struggled with what to say it first the words have begun spilling out of you despite how late it’s started to get. 
You wonder whether she’ll reply. She probably will, though, but a fragile part of yourself surmises that she may not, and although you’d like to talk to her again you fear that because of the time that’s passed things may just not be the same anymore. You wonder if the years have made the three of you infinitely different than your eight and nine year old selves. 
But that was growth, right? So you had to grow and learn how to talk to her, learn how to face her without thinking that she’d be angered or frustrated, or anything like that. And even if she did, even if it would hurt you, you’d be able to live. The world would keep spinning and all that would be lost were two friends who you lived without for about four years, ceteris paribus. Who could claim that the seventy or so years after those four would be any different? 
That’s why you took the pen and paper and started to write, telling yourself you’d face it and finish the letter no matter what. Even if it was short. Even if it wouldn’t be enough to express four years’ worth of unspoken words, from funny things that had happened in school, or what you thought of whatever was on the news, or how your parents had gotten you a new phone. 
As your eyelids gradually grow heavier, you watch how you fill two whole pages in the handwriting you have— you wish it could have been at least a tad bit more similar to Tsumiki’s, who never needed any boxes or lines to write completely straight and uniform for each character as if copying excerpts from finely printed books to the letter. 
Soon, you’re reaching the end of the letter, determined to keep the handwriting legible even if you feel like plopping your head on the table and falling asleep— to some degree you still need it to look presentable, after all. 
“(P.S.: I still have your hair tie. Do you know if I’ll ever be able to give it back?)” 
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taglist:
@bakananya, @sindulgent666, @shartnart1, @lolmais, @mechalily, @pweewee, @notsaelty, @nattisbored
(please send an ask/state in the notes if you’d like to join! if I can't tag your username properly, I've written it in italics. so sorry for any trouble!)
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lavendercharm · 2 months
Text
Linger, Chapter 5: Kiss With A Fist/Human Nature
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A/N:
Ya'll. Writing this chapter felt like a marathon. But I think I'm ultimately very happy with it. Please let me know what you think!
This chapter is a bit longer, and I think it deserved to be named after two songs because of that. "Kiss With A Fist" by Florence + The Machine definitely fits the first half of this chapter and was one of the first songs I added to my playlist when writing this story, so I knew I wanted to use it for the big public confrontation.
The vibes toward the end are different. I discovered this song earlier this week and haven't been able to stop listening to it, so maybe I'm just reaching to try and justify including it lol. But "Human Nature" by Barrie is what I decided to use for the second half of this. Cause they're spitting facts when they say "Human nature doesn't always come easy" lmfao.
This is far from the end of this story, but it may be a second before you hear from me, depending on how busy the next few weeks are. I say that - watch me turn around and post something this weekend lol.
Thank you to everyone who's stuck with me thus far. I love you and I'm so grateful to know you're along for the ride.
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Summary: From the moment you meet her, you can't stand Melissa Schemmenti.
Warnings: Strong Language
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Barbara Howard did not take days off. It was only recently that she allowed herself her first mental health day, and while she could see the benefits, she had been eager to get back to her classroom, her students, her best friend, and even her coworkers. The life of a teacher was unpredictable, and the life of a teacher at Abbott Elementary came with its own unique set of challenges, but Barbara had seen a lot in her decades of teaching. With some hard work, support from her fellow teachers, and the grace of God himself, she had seen and survived it all. Barbara Howard could conquer anything thrown her way.
However, if Barbara had the magical gift of foresight, she might have chosen Monday morning to take her second mental health day in her entire history at Abbott. 
As it was, Barbara could not see into the future, and so she entered the teacher’s lounge at 6:30 AM, on the dot. She claimed her usual spot, made herself a cup of coffee, and began sorting through her lesson plans for the week. She enjoyed her few moments of serenity in the lounge prior to the arrival of her more talkative coworkers. It wasn’t unusual for Melissa to arrive a bit later, especially on a Monday, so Barbara thought nothing of her absence. She politely greeted Janine and Jacob as they entered together; she did the same for Gregory shortly after. As the three younger teachers gathered at their table and discussed their weekends, Barbara continued her work, occasionally reacting to what she overheard. And when you entered the lounge, your first time visiting in the morning, Barbara was mildly surprised, but she shot you a warm smile all the same. She noticed you seemed to be a bit tense, but she chalked it up to the fact that you were still very new. 
Melissa had talked her ear off about you last Monday, of course, explaining your tardiness and the shots you’d taken at her about her age. When Barb pressed her for details about your confrontation and what you’d said to each other, she simply said, “I took care of business, a’right?” 
While Barbara agreed it was unprofessional of you to arrive late, she also knew Melissa better than anyone else in Abbott did; she knew Melissa could take things too far. Melissa was as passionate as they came, which meant she was one of the best teachers at the school. On the flip side, she also had a short fuse. Barbara knew she didn’t have all of the details, but she didn’t think much of it - you were a sub, after all. She expected she’d never actually meet you. 
So when you arrived in the lounge for lunch the day after your explosive argument, she was shocked. While skeptical of you, she couldn’t help but admire your tenacity. You’d come face to face with the wrath of Melissa Schemmenti and still returned to Abbott. You’d introduced yourself, and as far as Barbara could tell, you were perfectly polite and well mannered. The displeasure and hostility radiating off of Melissa was felt by everyone in the lounge, but aside from giving her close friend a pointed look, Barbara chose to ignore it. 
You’d continued showing up the rest of the week, greeting Barbara every day before taking a seat with Janine and Jacob, as well as Gregory, occasionally. The younger teachers seemed to have taken an instant liking to you, the four of you sharing stories from previous schools or discussing the latest movie releases. You’d even had a good-natured exchange with Ava one morning. The principal had leant against the corner with her phone and talked you through her “roster”, whatever that meant. Barbara was sure she didn’t want to know. 
Barbara observed how seamlessly you integrated into Abbott’s social circles - with the obvious exception of the red head who always sat to her right in the lounge. Melissa pretended you didn't exist, which would have been fine if it wasn’t the elephant in the room. Your first day in the lounge, Janine had tried to talk to Melissa about you. She’d turned to Melissa with a huge grin on her face and said, “Man, Melissa, you’re so lucky to have such an awesome sub as your aide.” 
Melissa had glanced at Janine over the rim of her cat-eye glasses, and in a sharp tone, retorted, “What sub?” That’s all it took for everyone in the room to grasp her unspoken message: If you value your life, drop it. The only reaction Barbara saw was a sharp flash of your eyes before you turned your back to the older woman and called Janine over, changing the subject. 
But last Friday, Melissa caught up with Barbara after the school day ended and explained that you’d just given her two VIP tickets to the Eagles game on Sunday. If there was anything that would help Melissa forgive your transgressions, it was that. Once again, Barbara found herself impressed with you - you took the initiative to make amends and you’d knocked it out of the park. She was happy for her friend. She’d told Melissa, “Just think of how much you’ll be able to accomplish now that you and that young woman can work together. Now, you and Gary go enjoy that ball game.” 
A week after your first morning at Abbott, all of the water was seemingly under the bridge, and the staff room could breathe easy again. No one paid much mind to the anxiety radiating off of you. For the most part, the energy in the room was calming as the day began. 
The sudden CRACK of the door slamming into the shelves violently ripped the room’s occupants out of their morning zen. It was enough to cause everyone to nearly jump out of their skin. Heads whipped in the direction of the doorway as Melissa’s furious form charged into the lounge. Her attention was initially on Barb, but as she opened her mouth to speak, her eyes locked on you. The blush of fury rose instantly in her cheeks. She ripped her bag off of her shoulder and tossed it in the direction of her regular table, nearly hitting Barbara in the process, and as her eyes narrowed, you could practically see the steam rolling off of her as she hissed out, “You.” 
And that’s when Barbara knew any chance of a peaceful morning had gone out the window.
—----------------------
As your weekend began, it didn’t take long for it to sink in that you were well and truly fucked. You completely failed to consider the consequences of your little scheme. There’s no way in hell Melissa wouldn’t be out for blood at the start of the next school week. The smartest thing to do would be to never return to Abbott, move to a new city across the country, and change your legal name. You went back and forth between chastising yourself for being ridiculous, and being so ridden with anxiety that you couldn’t eat. You felt so stupid - what did you think would happen? 
Ultimately, you reached a point where you couldn’t handle the crushing weight of what you’d done alone, so you’d spilled to Ava. Her response had been about the least reassuring thing she could have said.
You did WHAT? I didn’t know you were crazy like that! You’re gonna die girl. I’m not even joking. We gotta go out this weekend, cause it’s your last one alive. I’ll make sure you have fun tho. Do you own any latex?
After refusing Ava’s offers to make your last days on earth worthwhile, you spent most of the weekend drowning in anxiety and imagining how Melissa would bring about your demise. You decided you had to do your best to prepare. You literally couldn’t afford to not go back to Abbott, especially after getting your headlights repaired Saturday afternoon. Under the anxiety, you could feel the ember of your rage, still pulsing with a red-hot glow, so you decided to grasp ahold of it. What you’d done was shitty, sure. But compared to smashing headlights? All you’d done was get even.
Seeing as you couldn’t afford to uproot your whole life and leave Philadelphia, the next most logical thing to do was to never be caught alone in a room with Melissa ever again. You were pretty sure this was something you could pull off - you figured you had two weeks left at Abbott tops, and as long as you had kids or other teachers in the same room, you would have witnesses who could recount your violent death should Melissa murder you. 
This is what caused you to arrive at Abbott on Monday morning a full hour and a half before you needed to be there. You’d dithered in your car for about fifteen minutes, debating driving away and then talking yourself out of it. Eventually, you braved the outdoors, darting into the building and down the hallways as quickly as you could. You practically sprinted past Melissa’s classroom door - the lights were out, but even though you logically knew she wasn’t in yet, your mind conjured a vivid image of her jumping out of the shadows like a monster in waiting. You slowed down and tried to control your breathing as you entered the teacher’s lounge, and you were immediately soothed to see how many people were already there. Even better, Melissa was absent. 
As you passed Barbara, you gave her a hesitant smile. You actually liked Barbara, as much as you can like someone who’s polite and whom you don’t know very well. You figured it may be the last chance you get - surely the woman would turn against you once Melissa told her what you’d done. Janine, Jacob, and Gregory were all sitting at your usual table, and after preparing your morning coffee, you quickly situated yourself in a seat, thankfully facing the door to the lounge.
“Hey!” Janine said, shooting you her adorable, slightly gapped-toothed smile. “How was your weekend?”
“Oh, uh… it was fine,” you said, your eyes darting toward the door as it opened. Not Melissa . “Mostly caught up on chores… had to get some work done to my car, fun stuff like that.”
“Car problems are tough,” Gregory said, spooning a bite out of his bowl of plain oatmeal. “What was wrong with it?”
“Uh…” you hesitated, unsure if you wanted to share what was really wrong. It would inevitably lead to questions and the last thing you wanted was for everyone to know the details of your feud. It was one thing for everyone to know Melissa didn’t like you - there were very few people Melissa actually liked in general. But it was another entirely for them to know she’d smashed out your headlights. Something generic - a bad alternator, maybe - would suffice.
You didn’t even get the chance to lie.
Despite the fact that you could see the doorway, the resounding SMACK of the door slamming open still made you jump. Before your brain knew what it was processing, in stormed Melissa Schemmenti, thick heels clacking on the linoleum tiles. She wore a form fitting pink sweater, the neckline questionably appropriate, and skin tight black pants. Her saint necklaces shimmered from their home on her collarbones. You supposed she wanted to look hot when she killed you.
It only took a moment for her eyes to lock on you, and in that moment you knew things were about to get ugly. To your surprise, seeing the flustered state she was in created a feeling of immense satisfaction. She was furious because your plan had worked. You didn’t even fight the smile that began to find its way onto your lips. The anxiety wasn’t gone, but you relished in the triumphant feeling of landing a critical hit. 
“ You,” she hisses, tossing her bag from her shoulder. The tension in the air was thick enough to be cut with a knife. 
Your eyebrows shoot up, feigned ignorance in your voice as you point at yourself and respond, “Who, me?”
She starts toward you, and everyone else at your table scatters. You’re shocked to see Janine step in front of you, her hands up placatingly. “Melissa-”
“Shut it, pipsqueak, and get out of my way ,” she growls, her gaze over Janine’s head burning holes in you. 
“Hey!” You spit out, anger spiking and crowding out your anxiety. You’re suddenly standing. “Don’t call her that!”
Janine turns to you, holding a hand in your direction now too. “It’s fine, she calls me that all the time-” 
“It’s not fine!” You shout, fists balled. Your eyes are glued to Melissa’s. “You think you can say and do whatever you want because no one will stand up to you. Well, I’m not going to put up with it!” 
“Oh my god, please stop this. I will never psychologically recover from seeing your dead body,” Jacob pleads, wedged between the corner of the room and the fridge for cover. 
“Can’t believe I was dumb enough to trust ya,” Melissa growls. “And after all that bullshit about ‘olive branches' and bein’ cordial.”
You smirk. “Oh, right! How was the game?”
Melissa starts forward again and Janine has to physically hold her back. She’s shockingly effective in spite of her small stature. 
“Ya know I didn’t get into the game! Gary and I went all the way to the stadium, but you gave me fake tickets! We wasted our whole afternoon and got harassed by security!” she shouts. 
“So what are you gonna do about it? Beat me up? Call the cops on me?” you challenge.
A deeply offended look crosses Melissa’s face as her jaw drops. “Are you callin’ me a snitch?” she snarls. She surges against Janine one more time, who manages to keep her back again. “That’s low, even for you!” Melissa says nastily over Janine’s shoulder.
“Oh, that’s low?” You ask incredulously. “Low like smashing someone’s headlights out?” There’s an audible gasp from Jacob in the corner, and you feel the heat of everyone’s gaze turn from you to Melissa, the whole room enthralled by your verbal tennis match. 
Melissa glances around her before pointing an accusatory finger at you. “Ya can’t prove that was me!” You thought someone would have to have been born yesterday to believe that; anyone who worked at Abbott knew that’s exactly something Melissa would do. 
“Oh yeah, because everyone else here keeps a bat taped under their desk like a neurotic asshole!” you proclaim, throwing your hands up in the air. 
“I’ll show you ya stronza- ” Melissa hisses, pushing past Janine and beginning to reach for you. Your arms come up to instinctively protect your face, but before she can reach you, a figure closer to your height blocks your vision.
“THAT IS ENOUGH!” Barbara Howard bellows. The whole room comes to a standstill, frozen in time. Even Melissa has been stopped in her tracks, her eyes wide in shock as Barbara looks accusingly between the two of you. You feel immediately ashamed. “Are you both not grown adults? I cannot believe the absolute foolishness I’ve just witnessed!” She rounds on Melissa. “Especially from you!” 
“Barb, she-” Melissa starts. 
“I don’t care if she insulted your cooking to your face, you do not behave like catty teenagers! We are professional, grown people! Acting like this in front of your peers? Disgraceful! ”
She rounds on you, her eyes narrowing. “And you. To think that I was beginning to think highly of you. You went to all that trouble to make fake football tickets, just to get back at Melissa? Have you ever heard the phrase ‘An eye for an eye’ ?” 
The pit of shame in your stomach is sickening as you slowly lower your arms, your eyes unable to meet Barbara’s. Feeling like a petulant child, you couldn’t help but mutter, “She started it.”
“And now I’m ending it!” Barbara yells. You feel her grip the sleeve of your sweater and pull. You stumble after, seeing her grasp Melissa as well. “You are both coming with me!” The rest of the lounge doesn’t move a muscle as Barbara Howard physically drags you into the hallway. 
She marches with both of you in tow, Melissa sending you the nastiest glares she can muster from the other side of her friend. Stopping in front of a classroom full of bright colors and tiny chairs, Barbara turns to both of you. “This has gotten completely out of hand! You are both going to sit in my room and we are going to work through this. I don’t care if it takes all day - you will NOT be allowed out until you can act like civilized adults!” She folds her arms and gestures her head forward. You stare back for a moment, thinking she must be joking, but the woman doesn’t budge. After a moment longer, you enter the classroom. You’re followed closely by Melissa, who stalks to the other end of the room. 
Barbara closes her door and pulls down the window blind. She turns to you both, her eyes closed and her shoulders rising in deep, even breaths. Eventually, she opens her eyes, and commands, “Take a seat.”
You glance around and only see chairs for children. You begin to protest, but the look on Barbara’s face prompts you to simply grab the nearest chair and plant yourself in it. Your knees are comically close to your chest and you don’t know where to put your hands. You settle on resting them on top of your knees. Melissa is pacing back and forth, muttering to herself - you guess she gets to ignore Barbara’s request. 
“Now,” Barbara begins. “We are going to talk out your problems so we can put this whole mess behind us. Your students deserve you at your best, and you cannot be your best when you’re at each other’s throats!” She’s stern, chastising, and you feel ridiculous. “Where did all of this animosity start? Why are you angry with Melissa?”
You can’t help but scoff because the answer should be obvious. Barbara presses her lips together in annoyance and you quickly reply, “Well, where do I begin? Aside from smashing my headlights out, she’s done nothing but disrespect me since I stepped foot in her room. She was insulting me before she even learned my name!”
“I never learned your name,” she pipes up spitefully, and you whip your head around to glare at her. 
“Memory not as good as it used to be?” you retort. A muscle in her jaw jumps out as she clenches her jaw, her face coloring once more. 
Before she has a chance to rip into you again, Barbara cuts you both off with a stern, “Knock it off!” She looks exasperatedly between the two of you before pinching the bridge of her nose. “The Lord is testing me today,” she whispers to herself, shaking her head. She turns her attention to the fiery woman across the room. “Melissa?” 
Melissa comes to a stop, planting herself and leaning her weight onto one hip. She rolls her eyes, gesticulating wildly as she speaks. “If we’re goin’ back to the start, then first things first, she strolled into my class thirty minutes late. Didn’t even have the decency to apologize.” 
“You didn’t give me a chance to!” you protest. “I hadn't even stepped into the room before you were criticizing me. It’s not like I did it on purpose, it was a complete and total accident. And then you started insulting how young and inexperienced I look.” 
“I was just givin’ you a hard time, that’s all,” she says indignantly. “How was I suppose ta know you can’t take a joke?”
Your head whips toward her. “And smashing my headlights? Was that a joke?” you retort incredulously. 
Her eyes narrow and her tone is venomous as she hisses, “Nah, that was for throwin’ away my school supplies, stealin’ lunches, and callin’ me a bitch.” 
You hear Barbara’s sharp inhale and jump to defend yourself. “Those supplies were all broken or unusable! You have so much on your hands with two classes and I was just trying to help you. Also, Janine gave me that lasagna because I forgot my lunch, I didn’t steal anything. You wouldn’t give me a chance to explain myself before jumping down my throat. Not to mention calling me degrading names in Italian!” 
Barbara raises an eyebrow and gives Melissa a knowing glance. “Melissa uses gabbortz quite often, it’s nothing to get offended over,” she says, an attempt to reassure you.
Melissa’s eyes dart to Barbara’s as she huffs, “Uh, it’s gabbadost , Barb. And I mighta used somethin’ more… vulgar.” To your disbelief, the red head practically looks sheepish at this admission. Her arms cross in front of her as she shifts her weight, and your eyes are drawn to how the motion causes her cleavage to swell ever so slightly. Feeling heat flood your cheeks, you dart your eyes all over the room, attempting to find something else to fix them on. Luckily, neither woman seems to notice. Barbara’s eyebrows are furrowed in an inquisitive way that suggests she’s waiting for the shorter woman to elaborate. Melissa lets out a puff of air. “I mighta used the ‘P’ word, a’right?” 
Barbara’s eyes widen as her mouth drops open in a gasp. “The ‘P’ word? Melissa Schemmenti, you don’t mean-”
“Yeah, yeah, the one I save exclusively for Kristin Marie. That ‘P’ word.” You don’t know who Kristin Marie is, but Barbara looks positively scandalized.
Tearing her eyes away from Melissa, Barbara stands and turns away from both of you, hands on her hips and head shaking in disapproval. As she takes her turn pacing across the room, the disappointed silence from the older woman allows the weight of the last week to settle on you, and you find yourself suddenly exhausted. You lean forward, your head in your hands and the shame rising inside of you like a tidal wave. How did you get here? 
“Well, I think you both have been sufficiently horrible to each other,” Barbara says, turning toward you. “Now explain how this has all made you feel.” 
You and Melissa groan in unison. “Come on, Barb,” Melissa starts, but Barbara holds up a single admonishing finger to silence her. The Italian woman becomes subdued immediately, and you notice how different Melissa’s reaction is to being silenced by Barbara.
“How has this made you feel?” the older woman presses, her tone of voice a warning to comply. Melissa leans against the wall, refusing to budge. You all sit in tense silence for what feels like an eternity, and you wish the floor would swallow you up. She was using the same tactics on you that you might use on two fighting eight year olds.
Eventually, you can’t handle the tension any longer and you burst out, “I feel totally disrespected!” You look to Barbara and she gestures for you to continue. “I uh… I feel belittled, and like you don’t take me seriously, but I think the worst part is I never got the chance to prove to you that I belong here… you wrote me off before you even met me. I’ve worked hard, and I love what I do, so to have you disregard me right off the bat, just because I made a mistake and I look young… it felt pretty shitty,” you admit, the confession coming out of you in one long rush. 
“Especially because… I was excited to work with you,” you add quietly. You’re suddenly enamored with the floor, unable to bring yourself to look either woman in the eye. You feel exposed and vulnerable, and you’re majorly uncomfortable with it. 
You’re forced to endure your feelings of discomfort for a few more torturous minutes. Suddenly, your eyes widen in shock as a husky voice meets your ears, and it takes a moment for your brain to process the words. 
“I guess I feel a lot of the same,” Melissa admits. You raise your gaze to meet hers, and she’s staring at you intently, the earnestness reflected in her jewel-green eyes making your heart skip a beat. “Felt like you didn’t really care when you were late. Some a’ these kids? They got plenty of adults outside of these walls that don’t really care. That’s the last thing they need here. And then ya walked in and you look so young… I couldn't resist teasin' ya. But then you got me back and I got defensive, and I shouldnt’a.” She shifts her weight, casting her eyes to the floor. “I bought all those supplies with my own money,” she admits. “So seein’ you throwin’ em away, it really rubbed me the wrong way. But… you were right. I was tryin’ to stretch em when there was no more room to stretch. And then seein’ my lasagna on your desk… I know I can be a real hot head, and I took it out on ya and it wasn’t fair.” 
As you look at Melissa, her red hair shining under the fluorescents and her evident unease at her own candor, there’s a swelling feeling in your chest and a warmth slowly spreading in your limbs. “Melissa,” you say, and her head snaps up to meet you. You search her eyes, waiting for her to snap at you for using her first name. She doesn’t. She simply waits, holding your gaze, and you can’t quite read what’s behind her eyes, but you suspect it’s something far softer than she’s shown you before. 
You allow yourself to swim in those emerald pools for just a second longer before you admit, tenderly, “I’m sorry.” You see her shoulders drop ever so slightly, tension releasing as she allows your words to sink in. “I’m sorry for what I’ve said about your age. I’m sorry for throwing your things away without asking. And I’m really sorry about the Eagles tickets. That definitely wasn’t my finest moment.” You say the last bit with a touch of humor. You pause for a moment, before adding, “I’m not going to apologize for the lasagna, though. Janine insisted on giving it to me, and it was one of the most incredible things I’ve ever tasted.” 
You see her eyes widen, her brows raising in surprise. A genuine satisfied smile graces her lips, and you can’t help but momentarily wish things had been different over the last week so you could have seen more of those. That smile made her entire demeanor change. 
“Well,” she says, eyes flashing with her own humor. She shoots you a sly grin, and you return a small smile of your own. “If I’m bein’ real with ya, I’m impressed. Fake tickets? Pretty diabolical,” she continues, admiration in her voice. Her smile fades, though, and she brings her hand up, pressing a knuckle to her lips briefly in thought. She sighs, murmuring, “I’m sorry too. I shoulda given you a chance before jumpin’ to conclusions. And, uh… I’ll pay for ya to get your headlights fixed.” She mutters that last part, and you notice that she didn’t apologize for smashing them - but you know it’s as close as she’ll come, because you’re not sure she entirely regrets it. You’ll take what you can get.
“Thank you,” you murmur, and once again you suddenly can’t look at her anymore. Luckily, Barbara draws your focus to her as she clears her throat. You both look toward the older teacher as she stares down at you, a smug, triumphant smile dancing across her full lips. 
“Now, was that so hard?” She asks, her voice teasing both of you. For the first time in days, you feel like you can breathe fully again. Melissa rolls her eyes, pulling herself away from the wall, but you detect a hint of relief radiating off of the woman as well. 
“Don’t expect us to hold hands or nothin’ Barb,” she says as she heads for the door. When she reaches it, she pauses and turns to you. She considers you for a moment, and you begin to feel warm underneath her gaze. Finally, she says, “Well, ya comin’? We got lessons to plan for the day. How do ya feel about teaching Science?” Her tone is gruff, commanding, no nonsense. The carefully curated tough exterior of Melissa Schemmenti is back in place. But you’ve seen the slightest glimpse of the human being underneath.
“Right behind you,” you reply, and a tentative grin breaks out across your face as you stand and begin to follow the short woman. You pause briefly though, a thought entering your mind, and you turn to Barabra. Your hands grasp each other behind your back as you rock forward onto the balls of your feet, and you convey your gratitude by giving the older woman the warmest smile you can muster and uttering, “Thank you, Barbara.”
She returns your smile, her own radiant and warm, and you can’t help but feel like you’ve been blessed a bit. “My pleasure, dear. Go on, I’ll see you at lunch.” You nod in agreement, and turn on your heel, following after your lead teacher. You’re not friends - seeing as your time is limited at Abbott, you don’t imagine you ever will be. But you feel lighter, and there’s a newfound respect for the short woman. And for the first time since you stepped foot inside Abbott Elementary, you feel excited for the day before you.
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A/N:
Yes, I'm sorry, Gary will be briefly mentioned/perhaps even making small appearances. Stay strong lol. Controversial opinion but I don't hate Gary. Did I think he was good enough for Melissa? HELL NO. Do I think he should have respected her wishes and listened to her when she explained her boundaries? HELL YES. But ultimately he was just a big dumb guy who was infatuated with Melissa Schemmenti, and to that, I relate. Still, I wasn't mad about that split.
Fun fact - if you've watched season 3 episode 4 already, I wrote the Ava roster line before that episode aired. I died laughing when the kids were talking to Gregory about his roster. We don't need to talk about the firefighter exchange... denial is my favorite state.
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