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#basically just like. Please research what you feed or give your pets
todaysbird · 7 months
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I still think it’s incredible that people blindly accept big brands = unquestionably good when regarding pet care. If you can accept that human care products have been at times poorly researched or downright harmful (and with the brand’s knowledge) like in the Johnson & Johnson scandal, why do you not believe that a brand would mislead or lie to you when it’s regarding your pet?
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ooctlt · 3 months
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general navigation: about | all art/answered asks | TUTORIAL | ko-fi
DIRECTORY is under the readmore with basics, living together, fun, and story continuity
DISCLAIMER: there is always the possibility that the characters here will not take your question well. they might answer rudely or dismissively, and their answers are heavily opinionated. instigating behavior is not only encouraged but expected on both ends. this does not reflect my personal opinions as the artist. answers are put on a daily queue and will be tagged with keywords relating to the question. please search for existing answers before sending an ask! PREVIOUSLY ANSWERED/VAGUE ASKS WILL BE DELETED.
FAQ: introduction | living layout | why are gideon and harrow living together if they hate each other? & why can't harrow just go? | what's the dynamic? who is dating who? who's friends with who? etc
OOC: on asking harrow questions | does covid exist here? | why is harrow miserable? | on birthdays, holidays, and timeline | where is [CHARACTER] in this? | will we ever get a POV switch? who can we ask questions to? | Q&A POVs | can we do fanart? |
WILL NOT ANSWER: advice asks (ex: my ex broke up with me what should i do, i graduated college what next, do you have any art/study tips) "reaction" asks (ex: x is funny for that, i loved xyz post, x is feral) are seen and appreciated but wont be posted; "recommendation"/hyperspecific asks (ex: can you guys rec your favorite brands of jam, can you pick my next car, what is your least favorite part about 3rd year med school) require me to do the research for the characters, which takes a lot of time; asks referencing real life shows/video games/comics (ex: have you read homestuck/played minecraft) for the same reason mentioned previous, plus it relies on my existing knowledge of the media. also i do not want there to be discourse on these fictional characters having opinions on more fictional characters
DIRECTORY continues below with basics, living together, fun, and story continuity
BASICS: pronouns | whats the story behind your names? & nicknames? | how old are you? | heights | jobs/university majors (pt 2, 3) | how did you all meet? how did gideon and harrow meet? | how did cam and pal meet? | are you in contact with your parents? |
LIVING TOGETHER: interior decorations | cooking | any reoccurring roommate arguments? | who drives? | does gideon go to the gym? (pt 2) | HAIRCUT DAY | drawing each other (pt 2) | any neighbors? |
FUN: what do you do for fun? | do you have pets? | do you have tattoos? | what do you like to read / what is harrow reading? |
favorite colors? | favorite foods? | harrows favorite bone/organ? | favorite movie? | favorite/earliest childhood memories? |
feed harrow something spicy | what music do you listen to? | opinions on each other's outfits/fashion? (pt 2, pt 3, pt 4: dulcinea's crochet) | give harrow a hug | social media |
#the plot thickens (for plot/development relevant) #locked (for asks that ask too much too fast) #misc and #mass answer (for one-off minor asks)
STORY CONTINUITY: lines in ORANGE count as "storylines" that can be continued.
NOTE: if you want to progress their relationships with each other, try to prompt ideas that theyre willing to engage with.
gideon's parentage: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
griddlehark: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
gideon: mass answer 1 |
harrowhark: 1 | 2 | 3: piercings | parents 1, 2 | religion 1, 2, 3, 4 | job 1, 2 |
third: 1 | party 1, 2
fourth & fifth: 1 |
sixth: 1 | 2 | cam's art: 1 |
seventh: 1 | 2 |
nona: 1 |
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chaoticgouda · 8 months
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BLUE HEART - do they miss their s/o easily? how do they act when their s/o isn't around?
SHOOTING STAR - if they could make any wish with no repercussions, what wish would they make?
SPARKLE - what is their most prized possession? what do they value?
CRAYON - what advice would you give to them?
SPEAK-NO-EVIL - what is something your oc will refuse to stay quiet about?
For Killian!
biting and kissing you!!!!!!!! feed my brainrot yes please ty!!!
BLUE HEART
"Miss" isn't really the most adequate way to describe it. Something sliiightly more accurate would be "Feeling a yawning, burning ache in their chest like their heart is being hauled out chunk by bloody chunk". And when they miss their precious pet, they get a little bit irrational. A little bit silly-haha-homicidal. The one (and only) time their beloved tried to flee from them, entire villages burned. Generations were snuffed out.
It was a whole thing. Pretty embarrassing, to be honest - one day, in the far far future, they'll both look back on this and laugh :]
SHOOTING STAR
So there's uhhh an entire wish arc @shookethdev and I have been developing where Killian does actually make a wish without caring about the repercussions - Wait let me get a screenshot it describes it better.
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BASICALLY making a wish that results in Dev's Tragedee forgetting that my Chime ever existed, being completely unable to percieve her or comprehend their presence.
SPARKLE
Materially? The entire tomes of knowledge and research they've painstakingly gathered and jealously guarded over the past few centuries. They probably used to have something sentimental from their life pre-vampire, but after spurning such human notions it ended up uh. Dumped in some old chest at the back of a storage room and left to gather dust.
He values self-determination and ambition above all things. The need to follow your own path, no matter what twists and turns it takes you down. As long as every step you take is one that you chose for yourself, then that's all that matters.
CRAYON
Dude, stop browsing r/aethism and posting about how you're enlightened and euphoric. You're never going to be made a reddit mod. Let it go.
But in all seriousness: They would NEVER take or even deign to listen to my advice but I would tell them that their trauma does not define them nor justify their actions and the harm they've caused. Human emotion can be a strength as well as a weakness, and continuing down the path they're on will end in his eventual demise.
SPEAK-NO-EVIL
Someone who is wrong about something that they have extensive knowledge about. He's definitely the type to pause a villainous lecture just to correct their victim on a misconception they hold or even just a word they're misusing or pronouncing incorrectly. They always have to be the smartest person in the room fr fr.
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unferretable · 2 years
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FERRETS 101 THE BASICS TO YOUR NOODLE BEAR
DO NOT AT ALL USE THIS SILLY LITTLE TUMBLR POST AS A REPLACEMENT FOR RESEARCH ON FERRETS
so as you can tell, this is my ferret blog, my ferrets where adopted, I wanted to go over mistakes new owners make, and information you won’t commonly hear about your little weasel partner!
for starters MEAT ONLY!! Ferrets can only have meat, raw feeding ferrets is the best diet for them, but it’s best to do your own research if you must kibble feed them, remember, ferrets are not cheap, and if you won’t put in all the effort because of the price, you shouldn’t have a ferret. Remember to stay up to date on ferret information, and do tons and tons of research. DONT FEED THEM PEANUT BUTTER OR RAISINS OR BANANAS! They have little intestines that can’t handle that kind of food, they might enjoy it, but just because you enjoy the taste of gasoline doesn’t mean you should eat it.
DONT BUY THEM FROM PETSTORES
I cannot stress this enough, don’t get a ferret from a pet store, don’t ever get one from a pet store, I know it’s tempting, but please find a privet breeder or just rescue one, it’s actually a lot cheaper, even in the long run it’s cheaper since the ferret will probably have less health problems, ferrets with a blue tattoo in their ear have come from cruel ferret breeding companies.
Etsy is great for ferret supplies, it’s all made by ferret owners who care about ferrets and not some capitalist company
Recommend treat shop
Recommend harness shop
FERRETS ARE NOT CAGE ANIMALS, they can build up cage rage from being in a cage for too long, also fuck your stupid little “Guinea pig” cage, don’t EVER put a ferret in that, that’s just saying “I don’t know what I’m doing”, it’s even too small for a Guinea pig. Get a nice big strong cage, id recommend the feisty ferret cage, it’s strong and large, my ferrets get lots of out time so it’s the perfect size for them. Also no bedding, just don’t.
Speaking of out time, ferrets are active at dusk and dawn, the rest of the time they sleep, when they’re sleeping it’s a great time to bond with them, if you want to bond with a ferret you can give them a used sweatshirt to sleep in, it’ll get them used to your scent and they’ll like you more. Ferrets are also pretty smart and can be taught tricks, it just takes tons and tons of time.
NEVER GET ONE FERRET. Unless your ferret is aggressive towards other ferrets (they play fight btw, that’s the way they play, make sure they’re actually aggressive and not just playing) then you should have two ferrets.
Ferret toys are important since they have tons of energy, my ferrets love crinkle tubes, normal tubes, packing peanut pits, and balls with hidden treats, but every ferret is different, I’d highly recommend a tube though, since they’re tunneling animals.
Your ferret is flexible but not unbreakable, support their bottoms, especially large ones. Don’t risk that vet bill for their back, it could result in them being put down.
Ferrets like hammocks, but mine also like to sleep in blankets, laundry, and dark places.
They’re very curious, if you bring something new in their environment, they’ll be interested.
THATS ALL I HAVE TO SAY FOR NOW,
Please please please, if you can add something add it, and don’t just hide it in the tags
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kiame-sama · 2 years
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I don't know if anyone has asked this yet or not, but how did your OCs ask their darlings out or if they did at all? And they did ask them out,I would love to know what the date was like.
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Walter can be quite the romantic at heart and will do all in his power to convince his darling to be with him.
Once he has established a generally positive relationship with his darling, he will begin gently prompting and prodding. "Would you like to get dinner with me one of these nights?" If his darling doesn't pick up on the hints, he will progressively become more forward and to the point. "I would love to take you on a date, or several." "We should date." "I want us to be in a romantic relationship."
He will do what best fits his darling when it comes to dating. Would you like to go somewhere fancy and get all dressed up? He can do that for you, let him make the reservations. Would you like to have a small date of food and watching a meteor shower? Walter will religiously check for the next meteorological event and will plan all you need in advance. Just let him show you his devotion to you, please.
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He will do what he can to insert himself into your life and will suggest things like play-dates for your pets all so he can win you over. Ideally you have just as intense of a respect for life as he does, and he will try to interest you in walking around the research and rehabilitation center that is his countless acres of land. "You know, it is fun to feed the tigers when they are being playful." "Do you know many people don't realize the care needed for wolf-dogs?"
He will do as promised and take you on your first date by visiting the different creatures he takes care of. From the tigers, to the mustangs, to the elephants, even all the way to Mimis the house serval. He will introduce you and- depending on the animal + their mood- let you be up-close and personal with the animals. The elephants love you and the matriarch of the herd grows a particular fondness towards you.
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Really, it all depends on if he has already kidnapped you or not. If he has kidnapped you already, you are basically forced to attend your dates with him, every exit blocked by armed guards and your captor watching every bite you take with a bit too much interest.
If he has not yet kidnapped you, he goes about it more of a traditional way. Exchange numbers, text and get to know each other- even though he already knows most if not all there is to know about you- and then asks you on a date to a nice little restaurant that he owns. It is there he suggests a longer relationship with you, your answer determining if he keeps up the docile approach or flat out kidnaps you.
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Jackson tries very hard to get you to like him before he suggests a date, not wanting to push you into anything too quickly and risk the chance that he could lose you. When he does manage to get you on a date with him, he will take you out to go star-gazing and to have a little picnic dinner with him. The date is crashed by a group of drunk men who take too much of an interest in you. Jackson will try to stay calm, but the moment they try to touch you is the moment he snaps. After he has finished dealing with the trash that is the drunk men, he will apologize, legitimately upset with himself that they managed to ruin the date. He practically begs you to let him take you on another date and try again, wanting the picture-perfect date he has dreamed of taking you on.
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Amira will actually ask you to attend a hockey game or a football game at her university with her, trying to make it seem like leas of a big deal than it actually is to her. She will have a great time with you and is happy to talk with you during the entire game if you get bored with whatever sport is being played. She would prefer hockey because that gives her an excuse to stay cuddled close to you seeing as it is very cold in the stands of an ice-rink. Kiss cam will put you on the spot and will only encourage her to just take her chance and go for it.
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To Kaya, a date is studying the unique stress response of a rare island plant when presented with a plant-eating insect or parasite. She really finds those kinds of subjects to be the most fascinating way to have a date. Tea, anyone? Botanical gardens and letting her spout off the random facts she knows about whichever plant has her attention at that moment. She is so excited to show you everything she knows that she may even forget it is supposed to be a date and not a botany lesson. Her love of plants is clear and she wants to show you that she has the same love- maybe even stronger- for you.
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Julie is an artist and she loves seeing the personality of a person in their art. Even if you are not particularly artistic or have only had a few moments to actually focus on art, she will do her best to make sure you have something you've made yourself come the end of the date. A painting, a clay figurine, glass work, anything you choose to work on, she will cherish and help you through the process. If you are an old art pro, she is just as happy to give you the materials and let you create. The joy of expression through medium such as art is Julie's ideal date.
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Aquarium time! Ever been behind the scenes at an aquarium and allowed to play with the dugongs? Well, you can now. Hada is a fairly respected marine biologist despite her younger age from those who have dedicated their lives to the research they conduct. She will get everything set up before asking you on the date, making sure you say yes so she can show off her intelligence and research that she has conducted herself. She is proud to share this knowledge with you and share as many experiences as possible with you.
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What is this "dating" thing you speak of? Ollphéist is an elder God and sees no point in restraining themselves from you and the joy your presence alone brings them great comfort. You are the main object of this elder God's affections and you will have to live with that because they will kidnap you the moment they get the chance. Better to just let yourself become removed from it all and let Ollphéist do as they wish.
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lilsuzn · 3 years
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MLQC Boys Jealous (PART 1 - SFW)
Fandom: Mr. Love: Queen's Choice
Warnings: None (:
Dedication: anon
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Gavin
He certainly is a jealous type.
Because he is a very insecure man. He had a tough childhood. He lost his mom. His dad was… underwhelming.
He often feels like your presence is the only good thing in his life. 
You = the most beautiful and loving person that he has ever met.
So he’s not surprised to find many people adoring you… but it in no way means that it doesn’t bother him.
He can barely stand it even when that guy from your high school is getting just a tiny bit too close to you during the reunion.
And then he… leans to whisper something to your ear?
AND YOU LAUGH AT IT?!
The audacity!
The guts that little #$&!*@#% has!
He gets grumpy right away. He gives the poor, unaware guy A LOOK… but would never admit what bothers him or even that something bothers him at all.
Afterwards you need to humour him for a while before he finally opens up about it. And you should - this little biscuit needs that.
If it happens in the early stages of your relationship he just gets all shy and embarrassed and upset with himself for being so possessive.
He hugs you and presses your head against his chest so you won’t see his flushed cheeks and glossy eyes.
It crosses his mind that he basically doesn’t even deserve to be with and he shouldn’t stand on your way to find someone better… 
So please, please tell him how much he means to you. How you would never want another one, because there’s no one who could compare to him.
If it happens a little later on…
Kiro
Kiro is an adoration subject of MANY.
He almost has no right to be jealous when thousands of people openly fantasize about him on a daily basis.
And yet - he can’t help it when he sees you talking with some man. Standing incredibly close.
Kiro finished his recording early that day and decided to surprise you at work… and that’s when he spots you. Giggling at whatever nonsense he might talk about.
You look so, so beautiful when you smile and that jerk seems to see that too.
Kiro knows he has no reason to worry. He can trust you. And you love him. And you know he loves you and would do anything for you and give you anything you might ask for.
So there is nothing you might look for in another man. Right? Right.
He thinks. As he RUSHES your way.
He greets you with all of the most obnoxious pet names in existence and his lips land directly on yours without a warning.
Your interlocutor reacts with no small amount of concern, but when you, only slightly uncomfortable, address Kiro as “honey” and ask him just what he is doing there, the guy realises his position.
Then he rightfully excuses himself and Kiro doesn’t even hide his satisfaction as he follows his opponent with his eyes.
He takes you out to eat afterwards. Wherever you want. It’s his treat - obviously.
He wants to feed you and make you smile and laugh the way that guy did.
He thought that would soothe his uneasiness, but it didn’t. He needed more. Much more.
Lucien
Lucien is a silent jealous.
He isn't obvious with his jealousy… but he sure as hell is jealous.
You had a date planned for tonight and you were supposed to come to his research center after work.
The fate wanted for him to finish in the right moment to see you stepping out the elevator.
Your smile that forms when your eyes meet caused warmth to fill his chest and he just wanted to embrace you… but then, a colleague stopped him to ask him one last question.
That’s not really upsetting or surprising to you. You were very much prepared that you’d have to wait for him much longer to even finish work.
What surprises you is a strange man approaching you with a smile on his face.
He turned out to be yet another Lucien’s co-worker. He recognized you as his girlfriend and wanted to chat with you while you had to wait for the profesor, so you want to feel awkward just standing there waiting with nothing to do.
He’s incredibly kind. Tells you a few compliments but mostly fangirls over Lucien’s work ethic.
How ironic is that the moment his beloved profesor is back, this friendly man becomes Lucien’s enemy.
But no one would ever guess that. He would never show that.
Until…
When you’re already in the car the questions start to slip from his mouth.
What did he want? What were you talking about? Was he asking questions about our relationship? Or your personal life?
“Lucien, are you jealous?”
Silence.
Change of the subject.
But you will go back to it once you’re back home...
Victor
Would never admit it.
But he has a certain tendency… to be jealous for no apparent reason.
And when he has a reason he can get really, really jealous.
By reason I mean the fact that that venomous snake Lucien is your direct neighbor.
And that your highschool mate cop is driving you around so carelessly with his motorbike.
Not to even mention that spoiled brat of a “musician” who doesn’t even try to be subtle with his flirting.
Do they even know that you’ve committed yourself to be with him? And ONLY him?
DID YOU NOT TELL THEM?
Victor however decided to remain silent about this subject. To then remain silent and grumpy at most times.
You noticed it. It worried you. You tried to talk about it many times, but he always pushed the issue aside.
Until that one day when you showed up late to your date at Souvenir and your transportation turned out to be a certain car driven by a certain scientist.
You wanted to talk? Now he sure will give you the talk.
That’s the day Victor bursts with his anger, jealousy and even though he tries to hide it - sorrow.
You can’t help but see the pain dripping from his harsh words.
Your hand slowly comes to touch his cheek and he suddenly falls silent. Taken aback by the softness of caress your fingers treat him with.
“I love you, Victor. Only you. Forever.”
At that, your lips meet for the first time that night in the kiss twinned with unspoken hurt and true commitment.
The warmth of passion slowly grows in the pit of your stomach as he pulls you into his arms to press you against the comforting, wide plane of his chest.
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idontblushsrry · 3 years
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Uhh may I make a request for Ouran High School Host club? Just a headcanon for how the host would react to meeting someone how is a big time animal lover. (Like they pretty much live there life like the Irwin family)
A/N: I was thinking about how I’d write this and my brain just went ‘they lost their shit at the sight of instant coffee’, so uhh I hope this is to your liking. I tried to get as much animal variety as I could even though I didn’t really touch on marine animals that much)
Warnings: Like 2 swear words (pinky promise), slight drug mention(literally so small you might not even notice it), spoilers (minor) for Tamaki’s mom
Word Count: 1292
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General
So this is under the assumption that like the Irwin family, Reader (or their family) has access to a wide variety of animals (from domestic to wild)
All of them respect the passion you have for animals
While they all might have various feelings on animals (see below), they can’t deny that you truly do love animals
Your family’s sanctuary focuses on healing injured animals and rehabilitating them so they can go back into the wild
Of course, your family has many sanctuaries around the world and some focus more on conservation while others focus on research
The one closest to the school focuses mainly on conservation and as such, is massive and functions like a zoo ( in terms of having people come in and see the animals)
Anyways, the host club is very supportive and often helps you with organizing donation events
Oftentimes, your family will collaborate with them and allow them to rent out parts of the conservation center for events
Aside from the conservation center though, your family owns a few ranches and farms (not for commercial profit, although yall have sold a few animals)
The farms and ranches are relatively small scale but they make great venues for the host club and a great place for getaways/vacations
Your main house is where you keep most of your favorite animals
You have an aviary attached to your room (connected through a hallway that connects to your room) as well as a butterfly garden in the backyard
You also have an aquarium tank, 2 dogs, 1 cat, 1 snake, and a hamster that visits on weekends
You had to be stopped at some point
Tamaki
Tamaki loves animals
He was never really around animals growing up because of how sensitive his mom’s immune system is
So when he sees that you’re an animal person, he’s super excited
Like this man is already planning playdates between Antoinette and your pets/animals
You love his enthusiasm, just one small problem
It’s a little too much enthusiasm
Yes the animals are well trained, but how would you react if a 6′0 giant with long arms came barreling towards you screaming showing its teeth?
So yeah, Tamaki tends to set the animals off/ make them nervous
Because of that he’s only allowed around certain animals (ex. certain monkeys, certain birds, etc.)
He’s happy that he’s allowed around some animals but he still pouts every time there’s an animal he can’t be around
Kyoya
This man
Kyoya does not fuck with animals. Like at all
The first time the host club went to your house, you were holding a hamster and Kyoya moved back about 10 feet
When you asked him what was wrong, he just said “Rats are carriers of many of the most deadly diseases”
You told him that you were holding a hamster and that while hamsters were rodents, the worst he’d get sick with would be salmonella
He doesn’t believe you, but yeah sure whatever
For Kyoya it just gets worse after that
The first time he sees you holding a tarantula, he loses his shit
“Look how cute it is Kyoya!”
“Get that vermin away from me!”
I could go on and on about how much Kyoya doesn’t like animals (even domestic ones like cats and dogs)
He hates going to your house, but he often has to go there in order to set up events for the host club, what a nightmare
While he doesn’t care for animals, the business side of his brain can’t help but think of a marketing opportunity
Mori
Is one of two hosts that are going to be chill about it
He doesn’t feel one way or the other about animals and thinks it’s cool that you’re interested in them
Only thing is; if Honey’s afraid of your animals, he will have to ask you to leave he won’t hesitate to step in “harm’s” way
Surprisingly though, that actually makes him the chillest with your animals
Much to your surprise (and Tamaki’s sorrow), the animals love him
He just has this calming vibe that sets the animals at ease
It also helps that he smells nice and is super tall
For most of them it’s like sitting on a giant tree
He’s not really complaining though, it makes his job of protecting Honey that much easier
Honey
Oh boy
He might actually be the worst with animals
It’s not even an issue of being unable to defend against aggressive animals (Honey could probably solo a grizzly bear)
It’s just he has a very strict “cute” animal policy that changes wildly depending on his mood, the temperature, the angle of the wind, the humidity, etc.
He’s very bougie when it comes to what animals he will tolerate and what animals he will refuse to see
The general safe choices are rabbits (especially bunnies), kittens, cows, tits (the bird species), and baby animals of almost every domestic mammal species)
Him and the hamster you see on weekends are best friends
Also, you have had issues with him trying to feed the animals sweets
Explaining to Honey why rabbits can’t have carrot cake was not an easy conversation, nor was it one you thought you’d need to have
Because of how specific he is about what animals he finds cute, you likened him to a crocodile (because of how sensitive they are to temp. changes in egg)
Needless to say...he was not pleased
Hikaru
So him and Kaoru don’t really care for animals but they try to relate to you in somewhat similar but different ways
Hikaru is always trying to get you to do/recreate stunts with the animals
“Hey Y/N, we should-”
“No Hikaru”
“You don’t even know what I was gonna say”
“No you cannot use the dolphins for hoop tricks, no you cannot teach the gorillas how to roll blunts, no you cannot “bribe” the koalas with eucalyptus...”
Yeah he’s a menace
It’s mostly all in good fun though
Hikaru doesn’t really care for animals but he does find it hilarious that the animals like him more than Tamaki
Also, completely random but Hikaru definitely send you those “horse-sized duck vs duck sized horses” memes
Kaoru
Kaoru also tries to use animals on the internet to relate to you, but he’s a lot tamer than Kaoru
Kaoru is kind of like the parent who learns one thing you like and is like “that’s your entire personality right?”
Poor bby is trying his best
Anyways, whereas Hikaru tries to recreate memes, Kaoru sends you them
They range in quality and format; from top text, bottom text to “is this a ____”
At least once a day, Kaoru will send you a meme or picture of an animal with a caption that says ‘this reminded me of u :)’
It’s so endearing that you can’t even be mad about it
Haruhi
Is the only other one who’s kind of cool about the whole thing
She’s really only been around animals in the park or the occasional pet store
Growing up, she didn’t really have the time (or money) to go to the zoo, that and the fact that Ranka doesn’t care at all for animals (she thinks they’re weird and gross)
When Tamaki hears this, he works himself up into a frenzy, torn that his “daughter” has never been to a zoo (even tho he hasn’t either)
But she likes the fact that you’re so passionate about animals
At heart, she’s a scholar, so she loves learning new things she didn’t know before, she could spend all day just listening to you talk about animals
Not to mention the fact that you’re basically giving her a free informational tour  every time you see an animal
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studyingsobriety · 3 years
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Relapsing
Relapsing. For non-addicts, “addiction” is the big and scary word. For recovering addicts, “relapse” is the real big and scary word. 
So let’s start with the basics. What is a relapse?
If you’re not familiar with the word, I suggest doing a little researching on the topic, but here is a link to a basic definition and explanation of a relapse.
As the article mentions, relapsing is totally normal for recovering addicts. Trying to quit an old habit and be totally done it with it forever is scary, and very hard needless to say. Plus, for lots of recovering addicts, including myself, the relapsing process is a huge growth experience. 
That being said, I am not at all condoning, suggesting, or recommending ANYONE to relapse. Experiencing a relapse is not fun, which I will get into here in a moment. If you feel perfectly fine being sober, don’t try a relapse just on a whim. I promise you, you will regret it. But what if you are feeling like relapsing?
Before I get too into what it’s like experiencing a relapse or how handle a relapse, let me tell you something that may blow your mind: A relapse begins weeks or even months before the action of using again happens. It’s crazy, right? So let’s say right now, you’re experiencing high cravings and you’re really thinking about giving in. Your relapse process has already started...probably days or weeks before you even started getting the cravings. 
A relapse is a process that happens over months or weeks. A process full of occasional triggers (external and internal, like emotions) and behaviors that feed into your cravings.
Here is how the process works in 10 stages (they don’t always have to happen in this order):
1. Denial - You’re concerned about your wellbeing, but you’re in denial of that concern. 
2. Avoidance & Defensive Behaviors - You may start worrying about others more than yourself. You may also experience impulsive or compulsive behaviors. 
3. Crisis Building - You may experience tunnel vision due to anxiety and/or depression. You’ll start to lack in planning things out, and when you do try to plan things out, you fail to do them.
4. Immobilization - You may find yourself “checking out” a lot or daydreaming.
5. Confusion and Overreaction - You feel confused about how you’re feeling and may also feel irritated.
6. Depression - You’ll experience a lack of routine and poor eating and sleeping habits.
7. Behavioral Loss of Control - You’ll start rejecting help from anyone. If you’re in a support group or recovery program, you may stop attending meetings.
8. Recognition of Loss of Control - You’ll realize you’ve lost control of your behavior. You’ll isolate yourself, pity yourself, and possibly lie to others saying you’re fine.
9. Option Reduction - You may stop getting help or treatment. You’ll resent sobriety. You’ll tell yourself the only ways out of this is by suicide or using again.
10. Relapse Episode - The relapse episode is when you finally use, causing bio-psycho-socio damage to your nervous system. 
Here are some signs the you or a recovering addict is slipping into the relapse process:
- expressing doubt
- depression or anxiety
- anti-social
- surrounding yourself with substance use
- saying you have it “under control”
- experiencing unfamiliar emotions
- all or nothing thinking (for example: well I already took a small sip, one glass wouldn’t hurt)
- change in attitude about sobriety (for example: it’s not worth staying sober)
- constant stress and lack of healthy coping mechanisms
- change in routine
Here are some behaviors that may feed into your cravings:
- poor diet
- excessive caffeine or nicotine
- lack of exercise 
- poor stress management
- euphoric recalls of usage
- awfulizing abstinence
- magical thinking about using
- empowering cravings (giving it more power and control over yourself; too hard to resist)
- denial and evasion (denying the recovery programs are helpful)
- social conflicts
- lack of communication 
Now that we’ve talked some about what can lead up to a relapse, here’s the real question: How do I stop myself from relapsing?
- BE AWARE OF YOUR EMOTIONS!!!
- recognize your triggers
- again, be aware of your emotions(!!!) and identify your behaviors. Are you feeling extra anxious or depressed? Are you no longer following through with your plans or routine?
- get busy! Fill your time with things that are proactive, things that will trigger the happy chemicals in your brain. Play with your pet, exercise, cook something, paint something (even if it’s ugly), do something!
- self care--PUT YOURSELF FIRST! You simply cannot take care of others as well as you could if you’re taking care of yourself! Drink water, get enough sleep, do things you enjoy, read a book!
- keep working toward your sobriety, even if you don’t want to
- maintain sober relationships. When you’re feeling anti-social, FORCE YOURSELF to reach out!
- know and avoid these setup behaviors I mentioned earlier
- when you get that euphoric recall, dismantle it. Yes, it may have felt amazing, but think about all the damage it’s caused.
- when you get a craving, wait it out. Cravings usually don’t last for longer than 30 minutes. Talk it out with a friend. Distract yourself by doing something else.
- finally, don’t shame yourself for getting a craving. Cravings are normal, no matter how long you’ve been sober. Accept your craving as normal, then go do something else!
Now that we’ve talked about what builds up to a relapse and how to prevent it from happening, what if you’ve already relapsed?
If you’re anything like me, or most addicts who relapse, you’re probably feeling very guilty and shameful. Whether your relapse happened just last night or it happened a month ago and you’ve been hiding your everyday usage from everyone...what you’re going through mentally and emotionally (and probably physically too) is a lot. 
The hardest part of a relapse is being honest about it, especially if you’ve been using for some time and have been hiding it. I once lied to my friends, family, support group, and therapists about my days sober for 2 weeks straight until it broke me. But something someone in my group said stuck with me: “Secrets keep us sick.” It’s true. After lying to everyone about my sobriety for those two weeks, the thought of lying one more time turned my stomach upside down. And I was killing myself with shame, guilt, and drugs more and more and more. 
The saddest part of a relapse are the reactions you’ll get when you are honest. You’ll get lots of “thank you for being honest with me” and “I know it took a lot of courage to come out and say that.” But you’ll lose a lot of trust in some people as well. People who don’t get it will blow up on you. Some people may be so upset they’ll say they can’t trust you anymore. What those people don’t know is that those aren’t the reactions we need at the moment. If you’re coming out about a relapse, you’re probably feeling loads of shame and guilt, and it’s hard not to continue to feel that way when others feed into it. You may even start to feel like losing hope. 
But please don’t do that. The BIGGEST thing to know if you’ve just relapsed, is that it’s perfectly normal, that you can’t change what you’ve done in the past so there’s no point on dwelling on it, and that all you can do is move forward from here. What does that look like to you? Moving forward? It’s different for everyone, but it’s a question you should ask yourself. I’ll tell you this, it’s going to require lots of patience and hard work to stay sober. You’re going to have to really prove yourself to some people to regain that trust back. And it’s going to take lots of time, some longer than for others. Patience. It’s a growing process, you’re just experiencing the growing pains. Just keep doing your best. Your best is enough. :)
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Call Me
I honestly am not a hundred percent sure where this fic had developed from but I thought it was an interesting plot that could have been manipulated many ways. and of course your girl went put smut mode on this one. 
That being said, the only warnings I have for you is smut, smut, smut, and some more smut. 
Don’t forget to like, repost, comment. You feed back means everything to me and I love seeing what you all like and don't fancy. 
Please enjoy and all my love,
I present to you, Escort Harry.
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You were sitting at your dinette on the balcony of your penthouse, exceptionally frustrated. Sipping on your now cold coffee and pulling a cigarette from the gold case that was housing it. You lit the end with the matching gold lighter, slamming it on the table as you inhaled the nicotine to calm your nerves. You expelled the smoke from your lungs with an exaggerated sigh before picking up your phone to re-evaluate the email you just received.
Ms. Y/L/N,
You are cordially invited to the annual Forbes fundraiser for young entrepreneurs, blah blah blah…
Being that you own your own major company that has been featured in Forbes, blah blah blah.
We are expecting your attendance along with your plus one…
A plus one…
Well you are fucked now, aren’t you? You couldn’t remember the last time you had a ‘plus one’. You, this woman, fiercely independent, who built a company from the ground up on your own, and now you are expected to have a date to a fundraiser that you are being forced to go to.
You did the only thing you could think of at that moment.
You pull up Claudia’s number in your contacts, closing your silk robe over your nightgown while you put the phone to your ear and inhale the last puff from your cigarette before stamping it out in the marble ashtray.
The phone rings as you walk through the French doors from your balcony into your dining room, taking the last sip of your coffee before placing your mug on the dark mahogany dining room table.
“Hello, Y/N. To what do I owe the pleasure on this lovely morning at, fuck me, five forty?”
“Thank fucking god you’re awake!”
“Well, I wasn’t but —”
“Did you get that Forbes email too?” You put your phone on speaker while you pulled the email up for the millionth time that morning.
“I did,” Claudia said around a yawn.
“What is this shit with a fucking plus one? When has that ever been a requirement for these things?!”
You could hear her rustling around her bed, “I’m sure some man put it together and wanted to make sure everyone and the pope saw his new arm candy.”
“It’s ridiculous! Some of us don’t have time to have a ‘plus one’!” You sat on your suede sectional, curling your bare feet under your bum. Your long haired black cat jumped up and cuddled into your lap, both melting into comfort.
“I lay claim to Derek, he already said he would go with me.”
You began to stroke your cat’s ear, “Yeah well, you’re fucking Derek, so…”
“I can’t help that your assistant is young and hot, chickee. And so fucking good in bed…” Claudia began to stretch, letting out a moan.
“Thanks for that. Now what the hell am I supposed to do?”
“Don’t you have any friends? Second cousins?”
You stopped your petting, your fur baby giving out a little mew in protest, “First of all, ew. No family. Second of all, I don’t have time for friends. I have you because we have worked together for years.” You let out a frustrated sigh and went back to petting the angel on your lap. “What the fuck am I going to do, Claud?”
You could hear Claudia clunking around her kitchen, attempting to make her latte, cursing at her espresso maker. “Why not hire someone?”
You stopped your petting again, Lady getting annoyed and deciding to jump off your lap. “What do you mean, hire someone?”
“You know,” Claudia hissed after burning her tongue on her hot beverage, “like one of those sexy male escorts. You pay them and they are a nice piece of jewelry for the night.”
“Where do you come up with this shit?”
“That old bag that is always at these events, donates a shit ton and then falls asleep halfway through dinner? You know the one.”
You hum in understanding because you do know the one. Her overuse of minks and emeralds at every event, her hackneyed Chanel No. 5. Oh, and her dentures fell into her champagne flute last year. Yeah, that one.
“Do you really think that the strapping young hunk with her is actually her significant other?”
“I thought that it could be her grandson, maybe.”
“Oh hell no! She hired the boy! I hope she got her money’s worth, if you know what I’m saying...”
Claudia began to laugh as you started to make gagging noises. You sat there, thinking of any other option and you really couldn’t think of one.
“Let me do my research and I will email you the links. But babe, relax. We will figure something out, yeah? You can take my little brother if you need to.”
“No offense Claud, but I don’t really want to present to an event with a 17 year old and be labeled a pedophile… Thank you for helping me, truly.”
“Any time, sweets. Now go mastuarbate before you get ready for work. Got a big meeting today and need you to be calm and relaxed for it.”
“Jesus, Claud!”
“See you soon!” Claudia blowing you a kiss over the line before she hangs up.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
You walked into your office with your go to Starbucks order in hand. Derek was sitting on the couch that was off to the side of your office, set up as a little meeting area with a set of armchairs and a coffee table in the center. Derek was sipping on his green smoothie and setting up your agenda for the day.
“I don’t know how you drink that shit. You’re basically grazing in the pasture,” as you take another sip of your overpriced corporate beverage.
“It is an energy boosting smoothie, thank you very much. It’s from the local smoothie place around the corner, it’s family owned.”
“Well good for you bud, but for me, it is about convenience and there are at least 50 Starbucks stores from home to here. A beautiful marketing plan if you ask me.” You smiled before taking another sip then placing it in its rightful place on your desk as you sit to turn on your computer and start your day. Derek stands up and places your daily planner in front of you.
“You have that big meeting today with the business partners. Claudia said she will be here in half an hour to help prep. And I have a list of escort services for you.” He had a folder in hand extended towards you.
You peered up at him, “Fucking Claudia.”
He began to smile and give a light chuckle, “Fucking Claudia. She never knows when to keep her mouth shut. There are a few men she had picked out as well, said she ‘knows what you like’. She will email you the links to their profiles.”
And sure enough, you get an email from her with an eggplant emoji as the subject of the email. You quickly exit the email, pulling up the documents you need for the meeting.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
After getting home from dealing with arrogant, self centered pricks in meetings all day, you knew you needed to treat yourself to a relaxing bubble bath.
You ignored dinner, going straight to your wine rack and grabbed the first bottle handy. You filled the glass and began sipping at the sweet nectar as you were walking to the master bedroom. You padded your way to the en-suite to begin filling the claw foot bathtub. You added some vanilla rose bath melts and let the aroma fill your lungs before returning back to your bedroom.
You step into your walk-in closest to begin undressing, putting your jewelry in their rightful place and hanging the garments that need to go to the dry cleaners. After stripping, you throw on your silk robe and pull your hair up before walking back to the bathroom. You grab your phone and wine along the way, finding your ‘bubble bath’ playlist, which you connected to the Bluetooth that you had installed in your bathroom.
You put your wine and phone on the shelf next to the tub and hung the silk robe before melting into the warm embrace of the milky water. Lady had hopped up onto the counter to keep you company.
You close your eyes, take a deep breath and lean your head on to the bath pillow before slowly exhaling the air from your lips. You were finally starting to relax when the incessant thought about the fundraiser reared it’s nasty head at the forefront of your mind.
You look to Lady, who is curled up on the sink counter, the sound of Ol’ Blue Eyes lulling her to sleep. You take another deep breath before grabbing your phone and opening up that email.
Reinhardt, Claudia
Subject: 🍆
So, this company seems the most legit and had the best reviews on multiple sites. Overall, had the best looking dudes too. I picked out a few that I thought that you would like, you know, best friends and all. I will only be slightly offended if you don’t pick one of my gentleman callers.
Good luck chickee! xo
You took another sip of wine before opening the links to these ‘gentleman callers’ pages.
Travis; he was cute in a ‘use to be a skater’ kind of way. Had some muscle, a decent smile. Age, 26. Perfect. Height, 5’3”. Well, that won’t work. You close out his link and go to the next one.
Bret; could be a model with the blue eyes, black hair look and a jaw that could cut glass. You sit up slightly, scrolling down further into his profile. Age; 19. Fuck no. You quickly close the link and go to the next one.
You go through a few more and you begin to feel hopeless. They were all good looking but none of them sparked the desire to take them to an event where you will be spending endless hours with them.
You were officially going to give up until you saw that there was only one link left.
Harry; this guy can’t be real. Beautiful green eyes, silky curly hair, a really cute smile with dimples. The perfect amount of muscle. You held your breath as you continued to read his profile.
Age; 24. You could handle that.
Height; 6 foot. Perfect.
Reason why you joined this company; Honestly, I’m getting my masters in business at Columbia University. A scholarship and work study can only pay so much of the tuition. So he is smart and can talk about business if needed.
What can you bring to the table for your date; I’m personable and will make friends with anyone in a room. I’m the perfect date for a work related event because I can talk about anything. If you chose me, I promise, you won’t regret it.
You took the last bit of your wine as your finger hovered over the message icon. “I better not regret this…”
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Harry just got home to his rundown studio apartment from his day working in the college library. He threw his backpack on his mismatching dining set before striding into the kitchen to heat up leftover Chinese. He threw the container into the microwave and began to strip on his way to his bed. He pulled on a pair of old grey sweatpants and went back into the kitchen to retrieve his food and a beer.
He climbed into his bed and turned on the TV, throwing on Family Guy before digging into his food. He got up at one point to get his phone that he left in his jacket, where he couldn’t remember where he threw it.
After finding it, he climbs back into bed and continues to stuff his cheeks with lo mein. He unlocks his phone to see he has some texts, a few emails, a bunch of messages on his Tinder app that he has been ignoring and a new message on his work email. Not the library job, but the job that no one knows about.
He gets emails regularly on his work email. Usually older women who want to make a statement at an event. Like “I’m still young. Look at the young man with me.” He doesn’t mind it because they pay a shit ton for him to just sit there and look pretty, but it gets boring. He would rather work overnight at the library and he is pretty sure it is haunted.
He opens the message and he sees your name. He drops his Chinese container into his lap, cursing at the grease stains that are now on his sweats.
He knows you. He knows you very well. He has written multiple research papers on your work, how you built a company on your own. He’s even rubbed one out to you a few times because your so fucking beautiful and unbelievebly smart.
Harry,
I apologize for how this message reads; I have never done such a thing before.
I have an event for a Forbes fundraiser and we are required to bring a plus one. Unfortunately, I do not have one and need to go to such lengths as to hiring one.
I have read your profile, multiple times if we are being honest, and I feel that you are best suited for the situation.
If you accept my offer, I will pay you handsomely and will schedule you with my tailor to get a suit for the event. Anything involved will be taken care of by me, you will just need to present by my side.
Please let me know if you accept my offer in a timely fashion.
All the best, Y/N Y/L/N
Harry’s mouth was gaping like a fish. You, you, need a date to an event and you asked him. He must be dreaming. He rereads the email a million times and tries to compose himself enough to respond.
Ms. Y/L/N,
It would be an honor to be by your side. Please let me know where I need to be and when and I promise, I will not let you down.
Harry
A few moments after sending the email he got notifications of events being added to his calendar. The first thing was his appointment with your tailor tomorrow morning.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Harry was standing outside the tailor’s shop, being a few minutes early and the door was locked. He could hear the clicking of heels and heard a familiar voice. You had presented at Colombia for seminars multiple times, considering it was your Alma Mater. He knew that voice because he attended every seminar that you were a speaker at.
You had your phone in one hand with your designer purse in the crook of the arm that was holding your phone. You had a tray with a few coffees in the other hand. He thought you looked powerful and beautiful in your burgundy blazer with a black tank top tucked into your houndstooth black and white trousers. A gold Gucci belt pulling the whole look together.
You smiled at him as you told whomever you were talking to that you had to go and that you will call them back. He about melted into a puddle when he heard you call his name.
He nodded with a smile while you put your phone in your purse and coordinated the drinks so that you were able to extend a hand to shake Harry’s. Your hand was so soft, he never wanted to let go.
“Thank you for being able to do this so quickly. The event is this weekend and I wanted to make sure that your suit was done in time.” You were smiling at him the whole time, like you have been friends for a lifetime.
“It’s no problem at all.” He smiled back as you took in a good look at him, seeming to be pleased with your choice. He unconsciously stood up straighter and clasped his hands behind his back as you turned to press the buzzer of the store front.
The door unlocked and he quickly grabbed the door to allow you to walk in first, as you gave your thanks. You strutted in like you owned the place and Harry could feel his cock twitch in his jeans watching you own the room.
A beautiful person was standing there waiting for you with gorgeous red flowing hair. They looked angelic with their light and soft features.
“Harris darling, this is Harry. You will be working with him on finding the perfect suit and tailoring it like the artist you are.” You sat on the white sofa, handing out coffees to the people around you, including Harry.
“I didn’t know how you liked your coffee, so I got it black but I have cream and sugar if you need it.” You pulled out the little paper bag the cafe had given you with the coffee fixings from your purse.
“Black is perfect, thank you.”
You smiled up at him as you handed him his coffee, he gladly took a seat next to you as Harris handed the two of you their portfolio.
“These are what I have in the shop now and the fabrics in the back are what I have at home, if you would prefer one of those.”
Harry scooted a little closer to get a better look that you quickly took notice of, so you moved so that the portfolio sat on both of your laps while your thighs touched. Harry’s breath hitched when he felt the contact but quickly brushed it off to continue looking at the beautiful suits.
“Is my dress done by chance? I would love to do the final fitting today as well.”
“Of course. I also have a few ideas of suits for you Harry that would go with the dress. Not so matchy-matchy, but to make sure you don’t clash.”
“Let’s try those, hm?” You looked at Harry with a sweet smile. All he could do was gaulp and nod.
You put the portfolio on the table in front of you before taking your blazer off and laying it delicately on the arm of the couch. You stood up and began to wander around, looking at Harris’ fall collection.
“I can’t wait to see these on the models. Absolutely stunning, Harris.”
“Wouldn’t have been able to do it without you, my love.” You smiled as you continued to explore.
Harry couldn’t take his eyes off you. You were so ethereal in your movements, so effortless. You seemed so gentle and he has only been around you for a few moments. He has always known you as a strong willed, fierce, badass woman. But now, he sees you as delicate porcelain. Not in a way that you could easily be broken, he doesn’t think that could ever be the case. But in the way that you need to be taken care of and adored fondly.
Harry was pulled out of his trance when Harris returned with an armful of suits, calling Harry to the dressing room. Harris helped him with trying them on, all of them being breathtaking.
You had gone into your dressing room with Harris’ assistant helping you put on your gown. You were never one for flash at events, so you asked for a simple black gown with some red detailing, red being your power color. You wore red lipstick or a red pair of heels to every event, so people would be expecting it.
You had walked out as did Harry and he was frozen. The black gown had off the shoulder straps and a sweetheart neckline, showing off your silky decolletage. It had a hip-high slit on your left leg showing off the delicious meat of your thigh, your heels making your legs look even longer. It was form fitting around the torso and hips with the fabric draping beautifully around you, cascading softly around your feet. The bottom of the gown and around the bust was detailed with delicate red stitching, creating a floral design.
And you couldn’t take your eyes off Harry. His suit was the same blood red as your stitching. The floral details of his suit were stitched in black and he had a black button up underneath with the top few buttons undone. Harris had already pinned the suit so it fit him perfectly. His thighs looked strong and thick, his shoulders broad. He was exceptionally handsome.
Harris squealed with how amazing you both looked and you matched without it being obnoxious. Harris walked you to the platform so he could do his final fitting on you. You and Harry couldn’t stop looking at each other in the mirror, the eye contact being strong and unwavering. The only thing that pulled you out of your trance was when Harris called your name to tell you he was done with you.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
After getting back into your work clothes, you kissed Harris goodbye and Harry shook their hand. You told Harris that Derek will pick up the garments Saturday morning before the event.
Harry held the door open for you and let you walk on to the sidewalk first. You started pulling out your phone to check it, quickly turning off the screen before looking up at Harry.
“Do you need a ride? I walked here from my office but it isn’t far, I can drop you off.” You stood there waiting for a response and he was taking too long for your taste.
“Well come on then, I’ll take you wherever you need to go.” You started walking with a purpose, pulling out your phone again to give Derek a heads up of your plans. Harry quickly jogged to catch up with you.
“Thank you. Um, could you drop me off at campus?” You looked back up and smiled with a nod.
“Of course.”
When you got to the parking garage, you hit your key fob to unlock your car. You had a nice black Audi that you gracefully climbed into. Harry was treating it like a work of fragile art, not wanting to touch anything. You noticed that he was admiring your car, causing you to smile. “Are you a car kind of guy?”
“Um, yeah. I suppose. I know a pretty car when I see one.”
This caused you to giggle. “I may have another event for you then. One of my colleagues has vintage cars that he submits to a car show, he asks me to go every year. Maybe I’ll go if I have you by my side.”
Harry beamed at the idea, “I would like that.”
“It’s in the Hamptons so I would have to steal you for a couple of days. I have a beach house there. That’s if you don’t mind, of course.”
Harry had the opportunity to go to the Hamptons to spend a couple of days with you? How could he say no to that fantasy.
“That sounds great, just tell me when and I’m there.”
You started your drive to Colombia’s campus when you felt the need to talk about the one factor of this you had yet to approach.
“How would you like me to pay you? I can write a check or direct deposit if you would like.” You give a quick glance over to him while at a red light and you see him adjusting in his seat.
“Um, whatever is easier for you.”
“I think it will be more discreet if I direct deposit. I will give you my number and you can text me your bank information. I will be sure to delete it and would never do anything other than deposit money to you.”
He nodded in agreement, not that he was worried that you would take money from him. Not that he had a whole lot of money to his name.
You pulled up next to the campus and asked Harry for his phone to put in your number. “Whenever you get the chance, text me the information.”
“I will, thanks.” He stepped out of the car, slung his backpack over his shoulder and began to walk to campus.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Harry got home and relaxed for a bit, wrapping his head around the day. He got fitted for a gorgeous designer suit, rode in an Audi, and got invited for a long weekend in the Hamptons, all by the most beautiful woman he has ever seen.
He finally sat up and began to dig through his piles of papers on his counter to find his bank information. He quickly texted it to you, double checking the numbers were typed out correctly. He set the phone down and went to hop into the shower.
When he stepped out with a towel around his waist and another in hand roughly drying his hair, he picked up his phone and saw a notification from his bank.
Direct deposit of $5,000.
He stared at the screen for an undetermined amount of time before going to his contacts and calling you.
“Hello, this is Y/N.”
“That is way too much, you don’t have to do that, please just —”
“Harry, it is my money and I do as I please. You are doing me a huge favor and you will be with me for a full evening. Plus, you have to deal with a bunch of assholes, it’s the least I can do. Now, don’t ever question my decisions again, okay? My assistant will drop off your suit on Saturday morning. Please text me your address so he can do so. Have a good rest of your day.”
The line went dead, Harry was still in shock. He has never seen four digits in his bank account before and it happened in the blink of an eye. He decided to text you his address and asked no more questions.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Harry was pulling on the perfectly tailored suit jacket and ran his hand through his hair one last time before spritzing on his cologne when there was a knock on his door. He walked over to open it, seeing a man in a black suit that he has never seen before. The man gave Harry a nod and he began to walk to the stairs. Harry quickly grabbed his keys and phone before following the unnamed, eerily quiet man.
When Harry reached outside, there was a black SUV with dark tinted windows. The uncanny man opened the back door, exposing you looking down at your phone. Harry gasped when you looked up at him, lips painted red, flashing him a dazzling smile.
“Well, don’t you look handsome.” You scooted over so Harry could climb in. He honestly couldn’t help himself, but he had to stare at you. You had your legs crossed, left leg over your right, exposing the full skin of both of your legs due to the slit on the left side. His mouth began to water looking at the soft glow of your legs.
“So, I apologize in advance if some wives try to take you home with them tonight. Those old hags probably haven’t been screwed properly in ages since their husbands waste their viagra on some girls who want their money.”
Harry raised his eyebrows at you with a smile growing across his lips, “Why do I feel like you're not kidding?”
“Oh,” you let out a scoffed laugh, “because I’m not.” You look back up from your phone to gaze at Harry, “Don’t worry, I’ll protect you.” You send him a wink, causing him to blush.
He beams back at you, “My hero.”
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
As you enter through the doors of the banquet hall, arm laced through Harry’s, you begin to get the urge for a cigarette.
You see previous partners to your company; ones that moved on to bigger and better things, others who screwed you over and you cut ties with. You see the old men that hit on you and the wives that stare daggers into you. They all told you that you weren’t going to make it and you proved them all wrong. Though some think you did it with a little help from what is between your legs or your harlot red lips.
You really need a cigarette.
You see Claudia standing across the way, holding out two champagne flutes for the both of you. You gently tug Harry with you, taking in how he is observing the room. He has an air of professionalism to him that can only come naturally; he’ll be a great business man.
“Knew you would pick this one! Had to save the best for last.” Claudia handed you both your bubbling spirit and put her hand out for Harry to shake, introducing herself and Derek.
“I need a cigarette and a stronger drink than this to get through the night.” You quickly downed the liquid, placing the glass on a nearby table, excusing yourself to the terrace.
Harry followed you out a few moments later, holding a rocks glass out to you. You smiled up at him reaching for the glass and taking a sip before handing it back to him so you could take a long drag. “Thank you.”
He leaned over the banister of the terrace to look out over the city, taking his own sip where your red lips had left their stain. You found it slightly erotic how he licked his lips after touching your mark, as if he had decided to take his sip at that specific part of the glass on purpose.
“So tell me, shall I be talking you up in there? Should be easy for me.”
You reach for the glass he is rolling between his fingers, taking another sip, “And why is that?”
He took the cigarette from between your fingers, admiring the vibrant stain before placing it between his own lips, slightly squinting his eyes as he took a drag. “I’m quite infatuated with you. I’ve followed your work from the start, wrote some papers on your business plans.”
You raised an eyebrow and watched him, studying his features that softened as the left side of his lip began to upturn, indenting his cheek to an adorable dimple. “To be completely honest? I started to follow you because I was terribly attracted to you. I saw you on the front of a magazine and…” he pursed his lips out with a smirk before he chuckled at himself. He looked up at you with his boyish charm before he stood back up and took his drink from you again.
“Oh, Harry, thought about me when you were lonely?” You gave him a false pout that grew into a smile.
He finished his drink before looking back at you, “Still do.” His smile and eye contact were never wavering as he stamped out your cigarette for you and took your hand to return inside.
Harry guided you to your table, hand on your lower back before pulling out your chair for you. He sat to the left of you next to another gentleman, who you had no idea what his business was. His wife was glaring at you as Harry was talking to the man, though the man was more focused on the cleavage exposed by your dress. Harry reached his hand to you, gripping onto the skin of your exposed thigh.
You could audibly hear the man whimper and his wife scoff as Harry’s thumb began to caress your skin. You could see Claudia’s smile grow as she takes a sip of her drink, watching Harry become possessive of you before her eyes. Derek caught her attention by kissing her cheek as the head speaker began his announcement for awards and donations.
As the night came to an end, you were thankful to have Harry at your side. He was holding his own, taking to other businessmen as if he had been conversing with them his whole life. He was able to talk business plans, discuss what he was currently learning in classes, he even gave a few men advice on future endeavors. To be completely honest, you were aroused by the power Harry held as he was working the room.
Harry had his arm wrapped around your waist as you walked to your awaiting SUV, holding your hand as you climbed in and he followed suit. You let out a content sigh, enjoying the silence in the car.
Harry reached across you, grabbing the back of your knee to pull both legs to rest on his lap. He gently unclasped the buckle of your heel, slowly removing it before placing it on the floor by his feet. He did the same with your other foot and began to rub his thumb up the arches.
You let out a satisfied hum at the pressure soothing your aching feet, resting your head on the window as you watched Harry focused on his work in hand.
“You did amazing tonight, Harry. Thank you.”
He looked up at you with his dimples on display, making the tightness you have felt in your stomach all night constrict even more. He looked proud, as he should.
“It was a lot of fun. Learned a lot.”
You smiled back at him, slowly blinking your eyes closed. “That old colleague I was telling you about with the vintage car show, Jack, he asked if we would like to go. It’s in six weeks if you are interested.”
“I’d love to.”
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
In the six weeks since the fundraising event, Harry had joined you on multiple smaller level events, including some work dinners and client matters.
His closest had grown exponentially in the six weeks, whether it was a suit for an event that you had purchased for him or he had found something designer he liked and he bought it with the money from his ever growing bank account, thanks to you. He has found pleasure in Gucci, also thanks to you. He has found that the luxuries he now has in his life was all in your taste, subconsciously wanting to please you.
You would comment on his attire he has purchased without your assistance, always beaming when you talk about what line it was from and how well it suited Harry. He loves the feelings he gets when you praise him.
He was packing his bag for the weekend trip to the Hamptons, having just gone shopping for some outfits for the occasion. He had also bought some things to spruce up his studio apartment, making it look more put together and modern rather than a frat boy's bedroom. Your taste even makes its appearance in his decor.
You had knocked on his door, waiting with coffee in hand for the both of you. He opened the door with a wide smile before allowing you to enter the apartment. He had his clothes neatly folded on the bed, waiting to be placed into the leather duffle bag you got him for the occasion, another ‘thank you’ on your part.
You sat on his bed, sipping your coffee while watching him put his toiletries in the matching leather shaving bag, which was also a praise gift. He was dressed in grey sweat shorts and a simple black T-shirt with his short locks held out of his face by a red bandana. He was still barefoot walking around while he was finishing up.
“Do you have the word ‘big’ tattooed on your toe?” Your ever present smile grew as you leaned closer to get a look.
Harry chuckled, scratching his jaw “I may have been drunk and did it myself.”
You shook your head with a giggle of your own before taking another sip of your coffee, leaning back in Harry’s bed.
Harry was trying to will away the semi he was sporting. He had never seen you in lounge clothes and the black leggings you were wearing were doing crazy things to Harry’s body. You were wearing your Columbia Alumni shirt, tied in a knot at the waist to show off the curves of your hips that the leggings were hugging. Your hair was up messily, making Harry want to pull it down from its restraint so that he could muss it up with his own fingers. Your Clubmaster Ray-Bans sat on top of your head and your skin looked fresh and dewy with no makeup on.
Harry took a moment in his kitchen when he was getting his hydro flask to take a breath and squeeze himself through his shorts to take away some of the ache. He’s not sure how he is going to handle a whole weekend if this is what it will be like.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
You stopped at a local gas station before leaving the city. Harry offered to fill your tank while you went into the shop to get some snacks for the trip, getting your essential Swedish Fish and Redbull while Harry asked for gummy bears and orange juice.
Harry was already sitting in the passenger seat when you returned, him now having his Wayfarer Ray-Bans on; he only bought them when you said he would look good in them. He was playing on his phone and perked up when you slid in the drivers side.
You handed him his goodies while you promptly opened your bag of candy to set between your thighs and cracked open your can of liquid energy. You began your hour and a half drive to your beach house in the Hamptons. You had your favorite Spotify playlist playing through your speakers, both of you humming along.
“Want some?” Harry looked up at you confused as to what you were talking about. You smiled as you glanced over before returning your gaze to the road. “Some fishies, help yourself.” You nodded down to the bag between your thighs as you took another sip of your drink.
“Thanks.” Harry reached over, dipping his hand between your thighs that you involuntarily widened when his hand approached. He looked up at your face when he slowly dipped his fingers into the bag to grip a few red fish, reaching for the few that were closest to the apex of your thighs. He could feel your heat at his knuckles as he pulled a few gummies out, sticking his tongue out as the candy approached his lips.
You adjusted in your seat, shocked that you were turned on by a man grabbing and eating a candy. Then again, it was Harry. He has been torturing you with his good looks since you clicked on his link.
The ride was uneventful for the rest of the time, Harry watching as expensive homes, luxurious boutiques and restaurants whiz by as you enter the Hamptons and make your way toward the beach.
You pulled up to your beach house, clicking the garage door button on your phone before parking. You grab your trash and put them in the appropriate receptacles that you keep in your garage. Harry was already grabbing your bags out of the car, allowing you to unlock the door freely. You held it open for Harry, stepping into your small mud room, both kicking off your shoes before walking further into the home.
The first view Harry had was of the beach through the windows that filled the wall of your dining room. He walks past the open concept kitchen to go straight to the windows, watching the waves crash on the shore. You open the french doors that lead to your back porch that has stairs that lead down to the sandy beach. You let some fresh air waft in as you go to the kitchen to take stock of what you need to go shopping for.
Harry was still standing at the window with both your bags in hand before you went over to rub his back and grab your bag.
“Come on, I’ll show you your room.” You guide Harry past your open living room to the stairs, leading him up and to the right. “This will be your room. You’ll have your own bathroom and there should be fresh towels in there for you. I’ll be right down the hall if you need anything. I’m going to hop in the shower.”
Harry watched as you walked away, seeing you pull off your T-shirt as you were shutting your bedroom door, briefly exposing your black bralette. Harry ran his hand down his face, feeling the pulse return to his groin. He quickly shut and locked the door before situating himself on his bed, promptly pushing his shorts and briefs down his thighs, reaching for the high end lotion you placed by the bed for guests.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Harry had taken his own shower after relieving himself after he made a proper mess on his thighs and hand. He climbed down the stairs to the smell of curry and Elton John playing through the speakers.
“Figured we should eat a proper meal since we haven’t yet today, so I ordered some Thai.”
You both sat on your back porch, enjoying the view as you ate your take out. You chatted about the next day, telling Harry about the car show and what to expect when it comes to Jack.
“He's like that eccentric drunk uncle at the Christmas party that you love but don’t want to deal with.”
You enjoyed each other’s company, watching the sun start to set on the horizon before calling it a night and turning in.
~*~*~*~*~*~*
After waking up from a restful sleep, Harry got dressed in his running shorts and hoodie, throwing on his running shoes before walking to your room to let you know he was going to go for a run along the beach.
Your door was cracked open slightly, Harry able to see you laying on your bed. He stepped closer to the door, about to push the door open further when he heard an ever present whimper. He wasn’t sure if the noise was due to your sleep, but his question was answered when he looked at you in your detail.
Your legs were spread open, two fingers deep to the knuckle as you were laid open on your comforter. You were pumping into yourself as you had your other hand up under your sleep shirt, groping your breast and rolling your nipple between your fingers.
Harry thought he was dreaming, seeing the delicious sight in front of him. Harry couldn’t help himself but to dip his hand in his shorts to start palming his hardening member. Your whimpers going straight to his cock, the arch of your spine off your bed making his mouth water.
You looked over at your door, eyes barely open, pausing your movements briefly when you saw Harry in the crack of the door. Your eyes trail to see him pumping his hand in his shorts, thinking that you should give him a good show.
He didn’t notice that you had seen him but he did notice that your legs had spread further as you pulled your glistening fingers out of your core to rub them on your clit, causing you to moan louder. You pulled your shirt up completely to expose yourself fully to Harry, all without him knowing that you were aware of his wandering eyes.
Having him watch you work yourself got you to your brink. Your eyes were glued to his pumping which was now frantic, causing you to lose control, snapping your legs shut around your hand as you came undone. You could hear Harry attempt to muffle his grunt as he made a mess of his shorts, causing a blissful smile to grow across your swollen lips. You gently rolled your fingers around your clit, spreading your legs again for Harry to watch as you ease yourself down from your high.
The next time you looked at your door, Harry was gone.
You got out of bed with an annoyed huff, getting a shower before wrapping yourself in your robe to head downstairs to make coffee and a quick breakfast. You grabbed your plate of eggs and toast with your coffee and cigarettes, stepping out on your back porch to enjoy the air while trying to calm your aggravation.
You don’t know why you are annoyed with Harry not making a move on you while you were self pleasing, but you were. You wanted that to be the moment to break down the walls built by the pure sexual tension between you. You knew he wanted you, he had told you he had touched himself to you, and now, you had seen him touch himself to you. You were on the brink of sinking on your knees and pulling him out to prove how much you wanted him too.
Harry climbed up the stairs, all sweaty from his run as you were finishing up your cigarette. He could sense the irritation coming off of you but he wasn’t sure why. Maybe you had caught him and you weren’t happy about it. He would just die if that was the case. He sat down in the chair that wasn’t taken over by your resting feet. He noticed that you were only picking at your breakfast as he untied his shoes and kicked them off so as to not trail any sand inside. He leaned back in his seat, taking a deep breath before pulling his hoodie off, T-shirt coming off with it.
You couldn’t help your mouth watering seeing him now topless and glistening with sweat, watching his chest rise and fall while trying to catch his breath. You sat up and ripped a piece of toast before popping it in your mouth, now refusing to look at him.
“Have a nice run?” You continued to poke at your eggs, acting like you're eating them but you are just trying to occupy your eyes.
“Yeah, it was nice. Been a while since I ran on a beach.”
You hummed at his response before standing up and grabbing your things. “We will be leaving in an hour, Jack wants us to meet him at the country club before the car show.”
Harry nodded at you but you promptly walked inside, ignoring his reply before dropping your dishes in the sink and going to your room to get ready.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
You knew you were being petty. You knew that he couldn’t read your mind but god you wished he could. You were just finishing your hair when you heard a knock on your bedroom door. You walked over to see Harry clad in red and white gingham trousers and a white button up with the sleeves rolled up, just sheer enough to make the outlines of his black ink. His hair was perfectly slicked back with a few curls having some definition to them. He had a look of cowardice as he tucked his hands in the pockets of his trousers.
“Looking handsome, as always.” He gave you a soft smile at the compliment before fully taking you in. You were in a white knee length sundress that had big roses printed on the fabric. Your one shoulder strap annoyingly falling down, which Harry promptly grazed his fingers against your skin to slide the strap into place.
Harry’s gaze raked back up your frame before looking you in your eyes, “You ready?”
You nodded at him, grabbing your Michael Kors wedges off your bed before walking out of your room ahead of Harry. You made your way to the mud room to switch your purses and to sit on the bench to slip on your shoes.
Harry grabbed your shoes for you, kneeling in front of you, gingerly wrapping his fingers around your ankle to slide your foot into the wedge, pulling the zipper up at the heel. He had done the same to your other foot, this time watching you watch him. He gently placed your foot to the floor before standing up straight and putting his hand out for you to help you up before walking to your car.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
The car ride was silent, omitting the random questions Harry had regarding the country club and Jack. You adjusted your sunglasses after you had parked, reaching into the back seat to grab your bag. You were about to climb out but Harry gripped your wrist, pausing your motions.
“Y/N…” you looked at him as he had reached to push your sunglasses off your face to look you directly in the eyes. “I’m sorry about this morning, when I saw you. I should have left you in private but I just couldn’t help myself. I needed to see you, need to see you like that. If it ruined any type of relationship we may have, I thoroughly apologize. You should know that I never meant to invade your privacy but… fuck, I just can’t help myself with you. My body takes over when it comes to you and I am so sorry. Please, forgive me?”
You sat there in silence, trying not to smile at how cute Harry was. He was giving you the puppy eyes as his thumb ran over your wrist in gentle circles. You were pondering on how you should approach it; Do you tell him it was no problem? Ignore it and act like nothing happened? Or…
“I only got off because I saw you pump your cock watching me.” You leaned over to kiss his cheek before stepping out of the car to the entrance of the country club.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Jack loved Harry. They were chatting it up outside, Jack with a cigar in his mouth and Harry with his mimosa in hand. You were ordering you both another one when Jack’s wife, Sharon, approached you at the bar.
“He’s a looker, sweetheart.” You smiled at her before telling her honestly how you met. Jack and Sharon were always supportive of you. You had been Jack’s intern at his company when you were in undergrad, Jack promptly hiring you when you were getting your masters. He taught you everything you knew and Sharon taught you how to enjoy the finer things in life, including Harry.
“Cut the shit with the escort thing and make him your man. He’s a looker, he’s smart. Jack already adores him and is calling him son. You know how hard it is to please that man.”
You looked back to Harry and Jack, both laughing at one of their dad jokes. Harry looked up to see you looking at him, smiling and twiddling his fingers in a wave. He finished his drink, prompting him and Jack to walk back inside to you girls.
Harry had adjusted the strap of your dress that fell down again and you were handing him a new mimosa, sipping out of your own glass. Harry placed his hand on your lower back, watching you as you engage in the conversation Jack and Sharon were having.
An announcement was made that the fairway was now open for guests to look at the cars. Jack quickly downed his drink before exiting like a kid being allowed free range of a candy store. Sharon promptly followed her husband as Harry guided you to follow, grazing his hand down to your bum to give it a soft rub and light tap.
Harry followed Jack around as he was explaining to Harry all the ins and outs of all the vintage cars on show. What gave them value, their rarity, what he likes and dislikes of each car. Sharon and you following behind, enjoying the sun and the wine slushies you had grabbed from a vendor.
Harry took a particular interest in a white 1966 Mercedes-Benz 230SL, stalking around it to take in the details. He smiled to the owner when they came over to talk to Harry, showing the car with the roof down.
“He’s got good taste. He’s enamored by you and the car.” Jack elbowed your shoulder, causing the strap of your dress to fall again. You looked at him as you adjusted the dress with a smile.
“How can you tell?”
“Well, I can tell he loves the car because that’s how he looks at you, doll.”
You look back to Harry, who is now sitting in the driver's seat, running his hands along the steering wheel. Harry shakes hands with the driver before walking back over to you, grabbing your slushie to take a drink himself.
You look up at him, pushing your sunglasses into your hair to take him in fully. “You like?”
Harry put his hand on your hip, taking another sip of the slushie. “She is a beauty. My dad has something similar but not as pristine.” He looked back over his shoulder to look at the car as his hand continued to rub at your hip.
“She is pretty. Looks like a pearl.” You looked over his shoulder with him to take her in.
Harry kissed the top of your head, handing back your drink before going to follow Jack and Sharon as you sneak off to talk to the owner.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
You enjoyed your dinner with Jack and Sharon, catching up on your businesses as well as discussed Harry’s future plans. Jack had offered Harry an intern position at his company if Harry was interested.
Jack and Sharon wished you and Harry a good night before you went your separate ways to your cars. Sharon gave you an extra squeeze and told you to “be nice to that boy”, sending you a wink.
You climb into your car to see Harry beaming. “I think they liked me.”
You smiled back at him, “I know they like you. Wouldn't stop coming up to me to tell me how i should keep you around.”
Harry was leaning his head on the headrest to look at you, “Do you want to keep me around?”
“Should I keep you around?” You started your car and began to drive away, Harry still watching your every move. You could see him in the corner of your eye, both of your smiles growing. His hand made its way to your thigh, pushing your skirt up so that his hand could rest on your bare skin. You hummed at the warmth of his palm.
“So you liked when I was watching you?” His hand began to slide further up your dress and your legs had spread further for him, as they tend to do more frequently than not as of late.
“I loved it.”
He hummed at your response, “Do you like being caught? Dirty girl.”
You moaned and moved your left leg so Harry could touch every inch of you, you lifted the skirt of your dress to expose your lace covered core to Harry.
“Want me to finger fuck you here, dirty girl? Right in your car, while you're driving? You’re fucking filthy.”
He started to run his fingers through your folds and you tried your hardest to focus on the road. You weren’t far from your home at this point, trying to stay safe while focusing on Harry’s delicious fingers learning the dips and curves of your core.
“Should I wait to fuck you properly when we get home? Been thinking about it all day.” He unbuckled his seatbelt to get closer to you to nose at your neck. He started to dip his fingers into you as he was kissing any exposed skin.
You finally made it home, abruptly parking your car in the driveway. You undid your seatbelt, promptly taking Harry’s hand that was between your legs to plunge his fingers deeper into you. Your head tipped back as Harry’s fingers hit your favorite spot. Harry quickly made the come hither motion, rubbing his fingertips where you needed him.
“God baby… you’re my dirty girl, huh? Fucking yourself with my fingers.” Your grip tightened around his wrist as he nipped at your jaw. Your thighs began to tighten around Harry’s hand which caused him to remove himself from you. You let out a whine at the empty feeling and the pure desire that was burning in you.
You turn to Harry with lust filled eyes to see him shamelessly suck on each finger that was buried in you individually. “Going to give me a proper taste later. Aren’t you, sweet girl?”
Harry had climbed out of the car, grabbing the keys from you to unlock the door. He began to unbutton his shirt in the mud room as he was kicking off his shoes, you watched with a panting breath, still in the front seat of your car. Harry tucked his hands in the pockets of his trousers, bare chested, and gave you a nod to follow him inside.
When you finally entered your house, Harry was in the kitchen with his head in the refrigerator. He pulled out the container of strawberries and slid them onto the island. He closed the door before turning to lean on the island, popping the container open with a flick of his finger. He grazed the tips of his fingers across each strawberry, deciding which one was the juiciest berry.
“Go get in your shower. I will be there in a moment.” He gripped the stem of the red fruit, tongue grazing it’s flesh before he sunk his teeth in. He made sure to look at you as he licked his lips free of the sweet juice.
You thought that two could play at this game, standing in place as you unzipped your dress and letting it fall freely around your ankles, exposing you in your strapless bra and panties with your wedges still on before climbing up the stairs. Harry stood up straight as you began to walk away.
You quickly undressed as you started your shower, getting under the warm stream while patiently waiting. The anticipation was killing you. It felt like you had been standing under the running water for hours with Harry nowhere to be found. You decided that you would actually start your shower routine.
You were facing the water, rinsing off your face free of makeup and face wash when you felt Harry’s grip on the back of your neck. He pressed his body close to yours so that you could feel his erection on your bum and so that his mouth had access to your ear.
“What am I to do with you, filthy girl? Spent months thinking of you with your legs spread open, just for me and then you have to go and fuck yourself with not only your fingers, but mine as well.”
He used his left hand to guide yours to the wall for support while his right hand trailed down your body, immediately finding purchase between your legs. His middle finger was quick with making circles around your sensitive nub while he laced his fingers with yours against the wall.
“Dreamt about touching you,” his fingers dipped lower, grazing your glistening entrance. “Tasting you,” he began to pepper kisses along your shoulder. “Fucking you.” He thrusted his hips behind you, his hard on grazing perfectly between your cheeks.
“I’ve wanted to for so long my sweet girl, just know that it’s because I want this, not because of the job. Fuck the job honestly. I just want you, all of you.”
He gave a gentle push to your upper spine to have you lean over slightly as he grips his member, swiftly sliding himself into you and quickly gaining a rhythm with his thrusts. He was quick but not deep, causing you to press your cheek to the cold time for support. His thrusts became deeper and rougher, causing your gentle whimpers to become moans that bounced against the tiles.
Harry gripped your thigh, pulling it to spread you open further while he guided you to rest your foot on the bench of the shower. His moans were muffled by your shoulder that would have his mark by the end of this. Harry’s hand continued to rub circles on your clit, making your legs tremble and for your to lean back upright into Harry.
“Feel good baby? Fuck, you’re such a good girl taking me. Feel so fucking good.”
You could feel his hips stutter against you, causing him to roll his hips slowly into you. You let out a moan and grip the wrist of his hand that is making work on your mound.
“Mmm you like that? Going to cum for me, sweet girl? Let me feel you.” His fingers started to move in rapid figure eights, causing your leg that was propped up to quickly fall and close Harry’s hand between your thighs. The new tightness of your core with your legs closed caused Harry to moan out and still within you, feeling your orgasm throb around him.
He began to kiss down your spine so he could be on his knees. He gently gripped your hip to turn you around so you could finally face him. He looked beautiful.
As he was kissing your lower belly, you took in his wet hair slicked back, his cheeks and chest flush from orgasm, his lips red and swollen. He used both hands to spread your thighs open so that he could see his cum drip from your core. He looked up at you in awe before quickly running his finger through your folds, catching both his and your arousal. He extended his hand up to you, telling you to ‘open’ before he popped his slick finger between your lips. He let you suck his finger to your desire as he dipped his tongue between your folds, moaning at the taste of your mixture.
Harry had stood up and held your jaw before leaning in for your first kiss. He was gentle, holding both sides of your jaw as his tongue grazed your lip to allow him to taste all of you. He pressed you gently against the cool wall as he continued to kiss you breathless before pulling away and grabbing the shampoo to wash your hair for you.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
It had been a few weeks and you had finally received the call telling you that you could pick up a gift that you had purchased for Harry. You had bought it prior to him giving you the good news that he had accepted the internship with Jack, but he doesn’t need to know that.
You called him and told him that you were on your way to pick him up with the plan to go for a celebratory dinner. You texted him when you were out front, climbing out of Harry’s gift to lean on the passenger door to await his arrival.
When he walked out, you beamed at how handsome he looked with chartreuse wide legged trousers with a black stripe along the side and a black button up. When he turned to look at you, he was frozen.
The white 1966 Mercedes-Benz 230SL.
You lifted your hands with a ‘surprise’ and a beaming smile. You acted as if you were one of those girls on the Price is Right, explaining all the details, ending with “And she could be all yours Mr. Styles, for the price of a kiss.”
Harry climbed down the front stairs of his apartment building, still in awe of the car but quickly grabbed your face and placed multiple quick kisses to your lips before wrapping his arms around you.
“Sweet girl, you didn’t…”
“You stop. I did and I wanted to, you deserve it. You’ve been working so hard and you got the internship with Jack. We’ll be working together before you know it.”
He looked down at you and gave you a gentle smile before giving you another longer, sweeter kiss. “Shall we go for a ride?” You held the keys up for Harry, who promptly took them before opening the passenger door for you.
Harry drove around the city, following your directions to a more secluded area by a park. The sun was setting as you told Harry to park the car. You looked at him adoringly, your fingers rubbing through his growing locks.
Harry turned to look at you with that all knowing glare, “Did you bring me all the way out here just to screw me, dirty girl?”
You were already climbing across the seat to straddle his lap, unzipping the front of your dress, exposing you had nothing on underneath. You pulled Harry’s head back by tugging at his hair to look up at you. “We need to break her in, don't we?”
Harry groaned before sitting up to give you a searing kiss, his hands trailing over your exposed skin as you were kissing the skin of his jaw and neck. “We could get caught, you know?”
You pulled away, looking down upon him with a devious smirk, you began to undo his belt and zip of his trousers. “Good.”
Harry let out a moan as you dipped his hand in his trousers, pumping him lightly before pulling him out.
“Fucking filthy girl.”
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Harry was being added to all the invitations to your work events as if he were a part of you. At this point, he was. Claudia being sure that everyone knew that Harry was an up and coming businessman who was in love with New York’s finest and most beautiful businesswoman.
And everyone adored Harry. How could they not? He was charming, handsome, smart, and an amazing lover. But people didn’t need to know the last part. Well, except maybe Claudia, she was your best friend.
Harry was just as adventurous as you when it came to your intimacy. Always suggesting new things to try, always feeding your hunger. Tonight was no different.
You both had played with the idea of fooling around at a public event but never made any formal agreement. Tonight, you were invited to a gala at the Guggenheim so Harry had used it as an opportunity to fulfill your fantasy.
Harry had stopped by Harris’ to pick up both of your garments and he also stopped at Eve’s Garden on his way to your home. Harry had walked into your penthouse with the garment bags and a little black plastic bag in hand.
You were in your en-suite finishing up your bath, putting lotion on while sitting on the edge of your tub, humming along to Etta James as Lady was curled up on your vanity, licking her paw. She chirped when she saw Harry in the doorway, slinking her way to him for some loving pets.
“Hello, my sweet girls.” You beam up at Harry, rubbing the last of your lotion into your hands before standing up to give Harry a saccharine kiss, also giving Lady a pet. She would never forgive you if you didn’t.
“Thank you for picking up my dress, handsome.”
“Of course, my love. I picked up a little something else.” Harry gave you a small smirk before turning to your room, you follow suit. Harry sat on your bed, patting his lap for you to sit on.
He pulled black bag out from behind him as you sat in his lap. He handed you the bag, undoing your robe to kiss the skin of your collar. You pulled out the vibrant cube box that was nondescript. You rotated it in your hands to try to figure out what it was.
“Open it.” Harry continued to kiss your skin, opening your robe more to expose your chest to him. You opened the box to see a vibrator, a We-Vibe specifically. The box began to vibrate without you touching anything, Harry pulling his lips off your skin to show you that he is controlling it with his phone.
You let out a laugh in disbelief, “Oh, baby.”
Harry smiled at you before getting a good grip of you to lay you on the bed. “I figured we could have a little fun tonight.”
You laid on your back and spread your legs for Harry, who settled on his knees between yours. Harry had pulled the vibrator out of the box, going to the bathroom to sanitize it like the gentleman he is. He made eye contact with you on his way back to you, sucking on the vibrator as he crawled back up the bed.
He shamelessly rolled it against his tongue as his free hand ran up your inner thigh. Harry pulled the vibrator out of his mouth, hollowing his cheeks to spit on the tip of the vibrator before running it through your folds. He gently pushed it into you, watching you as you take a quick inhale.
“You okay, sweet girl?” You gave him a small nod before grabbing his hand to help him adjust it to a more comfortable position within you. Harry rubbed the tops of your thighs before leaning forward to give you a gentle kiss. “Let's get ready, hm?”
You both got up to get ready, you waddling slightly as you walked to your closet, adjusting to exciting new object between your legs. You let out a squeal when you felt it begin to vibrate.
“Just testing it!”
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Dinner was really rough on you, Harry having his phone permanently attached to his hand under the table. You were starting to get sweaty around your hairline and upper lip trying to keep your moans at bay.
You were reapplying your signature lipstick after finishing dinner and Harry took it as an opportune moment to give you a pulsing vibrate, causing you to give a light moan as your mouth was open and your hand holding your mirror fell to the table soundly. Claudia, Derek, Jack, and Sharon all look at you as Harry tries to hold back his smile, clearing his throat and rubbing his two fingers on the tip of his nose.
“Are you alright, chickee?”
You also cleared your throat and nodded as you felt the intensity between your legs increase and the pulsing become more frequent. You closed your eyes and let out a hum, gently rubbing your lips together before suggesting you go to the bathroom, giving Harry’s thigh a squeeze.
You made your way out of the dining area, Harry quick to follow, telling your friends that he was simply checking up on you. You heard the click of his boots on the marbled floor, the vibrations being between your legs making your knees buckle as you feel Harry’s grip on your bicep to pull you in his direction.
He pulled you into a more private area that was closest to where you were, which happened to be a coat closet. He smeared his lips against yours, smudging your scarlet lips. Harry’s hand was quick to run up your skirt to pull the toy from you, promptly placing it between his lips to suck off your juices before sticking it in his inner jacket pocket.
Harry fell to his knees before you, hiking up your skirt around your waist, gripping your hands to guide you to hold the skirt up for him.
“You’ve been such a good girl for me tonight baby.” He was kissing along your thighs, “Stayed nice and quiet for me, though I hate it. Need to hear you scream for me now, darling.” Harry lifted your leg so it rested on his shoulder while his hands pinned you against the wall.
You felt his fingers tighten around your hips as his nose rubbed against your mound, pecking kisses, occasionally giving your skin a soft lick. You moan softly and look down to see Harry already peering up at you through his long lashes. “Going to need you to be louder than that, sweet girl.”
Harry sat up on his hunches to pull himself out of the restraints of his designer trousers. He lifted his palm up to you, “Spit.”
You gladly spit in his palm before he started to stroke himself, letting an unashamed moan out of the back of his throat. “Been so fucking hard for you all night. Was palming myself under the table all through dinner.”
You spread your legs further as Harry scooted closer, returning to giving you gentle kisses to your mound and lips. You could feel his moans against your skin as he was pumping himself and spreading you open with his tongue.
Your head tipped back as Harry began to dip his tongue into you, gently sucking your lips and clit individually into his mouth. You continue to let out tiny mewls, and Harry needed more.
“Louder, dirty girl. I want them to hear you in the dining room.”
“I need you to fuck me if you want me to do that, baby.”
Harry quickly removed your thigh from his shoulder and climbed to his feet. He still had a grip on your thigh, slinging it over his hip so he could simply slide into you, which was easy to do with how slick you had become from Harry’s incessant teasing all night.
You both moaned out at the feeling, finally having you full of him, just what you needed. What you both needed. You let out a loud moan when Harry started thrusting his hips into you, begging for him to go harder as you dug your nails into his suit jacket. You quickly pushed it off of him so that you could get your nails into him properly.
“Fucking hell, my dirty girl really needs me, huh?”
You nodded at him, letting out another moan that caused Harry’s hips to thrust erratically. His hand gripped your ass to pull you closer, his other hand went to your jaw, his thumb running over your ruby lips, smearing the color.
“You look so good when I fuck you baby girl.” You licked his thumb, tasting the remnants of your lipstick. You grind your hips against Harry, egging him on.
“I need you harder.” You begin to lift your other leg to wrap around Harry’s waist, him gripping your thigh and pinning your harder to the wall with his hips. He took your direction and began to thrust into you harder, hips snapping at a feverish pace. The sound of your skin slapping and your strangled moans sent Harry into overdrive, using his pubic mound to grind perfectly into your clit causing you to gush slightly around Harry’s member.
“Fuck, dirty girl. Got you squirting on me.” The look on Harry’s face was a look of awe as well as pained trying to hold back from his own orgasm. Your thighs clamped around his waist as your second wave came over you, constricting Harry causing him to come undone. Harry’s hand flew up to the wall to support the two of you as you slowly came down.
Harry kissed your cheek and jaw mumbling how perfect you are and that he loves you over and over. You grip his jaw as you unhook your ankles to plant yourself to the floor. Kissing him and praising how good he treats you, how much you love him.
“We should probably get back, hm?”
“I think that since we are both a proper mess,” he tried to remove some of your smeared lipstick with no luck, smiling down at you, “we should probably just head home.”
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
“So what happened with you and Harry last night?” Claudia had asked you as you were both eating your salads from Derek’s go-to local bistro.
“Hm? Oh, I wasn’t feeling well so he just took me home.”
“Not feeling well as in, ‘tummy not well’, or ‘he fucked you so good in the coat closet that you couldn’t walk’ not well?”
You choked on your salad, taking quick sips from your water to clear your throat.
“He said he wanted everyone to hear you and boy did we!” Claudia began to laugh, taking another bit of food and giving you a cheeky smile as you blushed.
“I wanted to check up on you, as girls do, and the next thing I know, I have my ear pressed up to the coat closet getting turned on by Harry’s dirty talk to you.” She shrugged it off as nothing as you covered your face in embarrassment.
“You told me you both are adventurous but lord have mercy. Getting everyone hot and bothered by it.”
You finally loosened up, giggling slightly as you asked her, “Did you notice how I was off throughout the night?” She nodded as she licked the piece of green hanging out of her mouth to guide it where it belonged.
“Harry got us one of those remote vibrators…”
“Oh my god! He was fucking with you all night?! I would take him in the coat closet too! Fucking hell! That’s so hot though. Was it nice? I mean clearly, but would you do it again?”
As you were about to respond, Jack walked in with Harry beside him. He looked so handsome when dressed in a more casual suit for work. His hair was growing longer and he was too lazy to shave that morning at your place before work, so he had a slight scruff to him.
“To what do we own the pleasure of you fine gentleman?” Harry winked at your cheeky remark.
“Well sweetheart, wanted you to be the first to know. Harry has accepted a position at my company and would like to discuss a business proposition with you.”
You couldn’t help but to jump up to your feet to run over and give him a hug and kiss, doing the same to Jack.
You clear your throat to appear to be more professional, which no one in the room took seriously. “So what is this business proposition that you have for me?”
Harry cleared his throat and you didn’t realize that Derek and Sharon had also made their way into your office. Harry tucked his hands in his pockets, getting a nod of approval from Jack.
“I know that our start was quite unorthodox in nature, being as you had hired me as a date to an event. That being said, I have come to learn a lot more about you than I had when I was just a simple fangirl of yours.”
You giggle at his natural joking nature but know that there is true sentiment to his words.
“I have been utterly in love with you before we even met but being with you and getting to truly know you has cemented my thoughts and feelings for you. I know that we have been official for less than a year but I don’t think I could handle another moment of my life where I can’t say that we will be each other's forever.”
You could hear Claudia and Sharon squeak and gasp as Harry pulls his hands out of his pockets, his left one holding a small velvet box.
“Y/N, my love, my sweet girl. I promise to love you and take care of you for the rest of my life. Will you marry me?”
You were beaming with your eyes brimmed with tears, sniffling with a giggle. “There is only one problem.” Everyone froze in their movements, anticipating what you will say next. “I get to keep taking care of you.”
Harry let out the breath he was holding, “Fair enough.” He reached for your left hand to place the perfect engagement ring on your finger. Standing up to give you the most perfect kiss from the most perfect man. And to think that you had ordered him online.
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rebsrebsrebsrebs · 4 years
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Hey, Rebs. I take medication that fucks up my appetite something bad and I am often reminded by Screen Buddy Beel that I need to eat. Sometimes I only force something down cuz I feel like it would make him happy. Anyway, can we have headcanons for the boys with a GN!MC who has trouble feeding themselves? :(
Hi anon!!
I wanna say first that I absolutely feel you. I struggle with my depression and a handful of other illnesses daily. Sometimes it's hard to drag myself out of bed to eat, or shower, or anything. A lot of times I'll ask my friends to tell me to eat or I'll remember that Beel would want me to eat well, so I go get something, like anything. I ate six marshmallows for dinner the other day because it's all I could muster the energy for. Eating literally anything is better than eating nothing. You need calories to be the amazing you that you are! Keep doing your best to eat something! I believe in you and so does Beel! 
That said, here's the brothers trying to get MC to eat after noticing that they aren't eating on their own
Lucifer
He won't admit it, but having been less involved with the affairs of humans as both an archangel and a demon lord, he has to do some research to make sure he knows what humans need to be cared for
The goal is to keep them alive for the year, and that means more than just protecting them from lesser demons
Three square meals a day, unlimited access to water, they wouldn't lack for enrichment between school and his brothers' nonsense
(yes he's thinking of them like a pet he has to care for)
He isn't prepared for them not to eat on their own though.
Once he notices that they have difficulty feeding themself, he will remind them of it regularly, just as he reminds them to do their tasks
And makes their attendance at mealtimes mandatory
And makes sure they eat their lunch, or delegates it to one of the more trustworthy brothers
Boy's gonna rule and regulate and remind you into eating enough like the taskmaster he is
Mammon
Humans gotta eat right? Mammon's pretty sure MC has to eat lunch. At least. Right??
He's got an idea
One of the best parts of a photo shoot for Mammon (besides being the center of attention, of course) is the craft services table
The food at these things is good
And that's the excuse he's gonna use to try and ply MC to eat something when he drags them on one of his photo shoots
"This is some of the best Devildom food you're gonna get for free - Devilish doesn't skimp!"
Also it's a combo of giving MC something nice (good food) while also making money (modeling gig) so what's not to love?
If they try to politely decline he will insist anyway
He's their guardian demon and he's gonna take care of 'em dammit!!
Never gonna admit it tho
Do it in the spirit of the exchange program, yeah?
"Ain't it good? Told ya so!" as if that's why he's smiling
If his tactic works, he'll drag MC around to even more shoots and events.
He can't watch over them all the time much as he tries to so he makes sure that at least when they're together, MC eats something.
Leviathan
Game time is snack time, obviously. It's an important part of the ritual
(side note, I bet he has specific snacks he plays for specific games, but that's another post)
Levi presents his Henry with gamer snacks for two and a large pizza for them to share
He's honestly a little hurt when much 'sharing' doesn't get done
Does MC not like what he got? He could've sworn they ate something last time. Maybe.
Didn't they?
Oh no what if he got something they said they don't like and he forgot. Oh fuck he feels like such a bad friend.
But they aren't saying anything and that makes him feel worse
"If - if you don't like what I got you can just say it!!! I can take it!!"
MC explains that they just don't feel like eating, but he doesn't accept that so easily
"You have to! Henry and the Lord of Shadows shared every meal possible together on their long journey across the Almederian Wastes!" 
"Levi, I'm just not hungry. It isn't that deep."
"....it's that deep to me :<"
Please eat a slice of pizza so he knows you're still friends, MC
Satan
He's the one who's actually going to ask MC why they don't eat as often as he thinks humans ought.
He probably thinks that demon food is just too gross for them, which… might not be incorrect.
When they explain it to him, he will take their reasons and start searching for logical solutions.
Their medication takes away their appetite, is there something else they could try that would achieve the same medicinal effect but not affect appetite?
Or if they can't find the motivation or the will, who or what could motivate them? Do they need meals brought to them? 
Rather than forcing them to eat when they don't want to, he's going to try and find ways to make it so that they do want to eat and then let the eating part take care of itself
MC can expect books at their bedroom door and links in their inbox as Satan shares his research with them
Overall the most practical choice if MC wants a solution to their lack of appetite, if one is to be found
Asmodeus
Makes some assumptions when he sees that MC isn't really eating during lunch
"Darling, I understand that humans have odd beauty standards, but you have to know that restriction diets like that are so bad for you."
Eating enough is key to maintaining health and happiness!! 
In addition to having many rants about how having enough sleep is necessary, he also basically has pre-readied talks about self-confidence, hydration, eating enough, bathing/showering, and getting enough time outside
And he wants MC to be as healthy and happy as possible, whatever that means for them
Asmo is locked and loaded with an arsenal of compliments about MC's looks and figure and everything he loves about them, when they explain that that isn't actually the problem
It takes him a second to parse that their lack of appetite isn't because they had just eaten, that they literally just don't feel hungry, so they forget to eat
"Well… you need to eat anyway! Here!"
You cannot convince me that Asmo doesn't have a little mini-fridge for his wines and cupcakes that he likes the most to keep Beel away from them
He will present MC with a cupcake and a glass of wine while they hang out
"Yes, you have to have both, they pair so well and it would be a crime if you didn't. I would cry! You wouldn't want to make someone as pretty as me cry, would you?"
Beelzebub
Aww :( 
Sharing food time with people he loves is Beel's ultimate joy, so if he brings MC something and they don't want to chow down, it kinda hurts.
He will sulk and be confused
Also, he hasn't lacked an appetite in the longest time, so he can't relate - not until he does that body switch with Asmo, but even then, he's so hungry that he likely can't remember it
MC will probably explain it themself when they see Beel so upset.
"It isn't you - I really appreciate that you think of me enough to bring me something you like. I just don't always have an appetite."
Beel will ask a lot of questions
Are they sick? Are they hurt? Is he bringing them stuff they don't like? Is Devildom food too much for humans? 
He will increase the amount of snacks he has on his person, just in case MC ever does develop an appetite, that it could be quickly sated.
Will offer them tastes of what he's eating, since a meal is technically just a lot of little bites, right? 
And a lot of little bites of the amount of food Beel eats is a plentiful meal by human standards
Also, will pick MC up and take them to mealtime if necessary, he already does this to Belphie, so he'll just have one of them over each shoulder and plop them in their seats at the dinner table
Belphegor
His strategy is to keep MC hanging around him and Beel so that Beel's plan can go into effect
Probably has also struggled with eating enough, especially in his earlier demon days when he straight up couldn't pull himself out of bed
So whatever is causing MC's struggle with eating, he relates
Beel can and will bring MC and Belphie to food, as well as bringing food to MC and Belphie
Being friends or lovers with the twins is just a guarantee that MC will never purposefully go hungry
I'm sorry Belphie's is so short it really is just 'hey beel we have a food thing, help plz'
masterlist
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twstarchives · 4 years
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Mirror of Darkness Show
This show has been screened at several events: ■ Twisted Wonderland pop-up shop in Animate (Aug 1 - Sept 6, 2020) ■ First Anniversary livestream on Abema TV (Mar 17, 2021) ■ Halloween 2021 virtual event on Cluster (Oct 18 - Nov 18, 2021)
I’ve translated the script below ↓
                           ・━━━━✥◈✥━━━━・
Crowley: Allow me to welcome all of you who have gathered here to hear about this academy. I am the headmaster, Dire Crowley. I’m overjoyed to know that so many of you are interested in our Night Raven College. Heheh.
Now then, I will leave it to the first-years to attend to you all. Freshmen, please be very welcoming and professional with them. Alright, I will take my leave. Ah, I’m so busy, so busy!
Grim: Oi oi, the headmaster just left everything up to us and ran off somewhere.
Ace: Bleugh, I don’t wanna be here.
Deuce: C’mon, Ace. Some of these people might be new students next year. Pull yourself together!
If we get to have juniors... then we’ll finally be considered upperclassmen!
Ace: Now that you mention it... if you had a junior, then you could force them to take care of flamingo feeding duty for you! That’d be a win!
...That’s what you were imagining, right?
Deuce: Ah! Don’t act like I’m you.
Grim: But... they wouldn’t be in Heartslabyul with you guys unless the Mirror of Darkness picked it for them, right?
We’d always welcome anyone to Ramshackle! Hehe! If I get more henchmen, I could push them around everyday and make them bring me all the tuna cans I want!
Jack: Hey, Grim. You’re telling everyone too much of your internal thoughts. This is a job the Headmaster entrusted us with, so let’s do it right.
Ace: There it is—Jack’s always-on-task voice.
But anyway, you guys. The looks on your faces all scream “I don’t know anything!” but... don’t tell me—not just about Night Raven College obviously, but you don’t know about the Great Seven either?! Oi oi, I’m getting déjà vu here!
Grim: These guys are just like my henchman—they need you to walk them through everything.
Ace: Whaaat, but I’m too lazy to give the same explanation again. So anyway, Epel! You can take it from here!
Epel: Huh?! M... Er, me? I’d like to help, but... I don’t know if I’d be able to explain it right.... um... ¹
Jack: He’s stumbling right from the start... Alright, guess I’ll do it.
Night Raven College is a mage-training boarding school. There are seven dorms here based off the Great Seven, a group of powerful figures who once existed in the past. Whichever dorm you’re put in is determined by the Mirror of Darkness at the time you enroll. They say it’s chosen based on the essence of your soul.
Epel: Thank you, Jack. I’m sure all of you here must look up to the Great Seven too, and are hoping you’ll be able to get into Night Raven College as well.
Ace: Hello—? Wait, did they all fall asleep?
Sebek: What?? Oi, all of you! WAKE UP!!
Jack: Agh! Sebek! Don’t start yelling without warning us first!
Deuce: Both of you are being too loud! Everyone, I’m sorry if that startled you. Is it alright if I continue?
I’ll explain about the dorms and the Great Seven.
Heartslabyul is the dorm Ace and I are in, which is said to be founded on the severity of the Queen of Hearts. Everyone here lives by the law of the Queen of Hearts. Dorm Leader Rosehearts is very strict about the rules, but he and others like Clover and Diamond are all respectable people.
Ace: “Respectable,” huh? Deuce, that’s such a basic way to put it.
Everyone! If you end up in the same dorm as us, you better be careful. Our scaaary dorm leader will give you hell if you break even just one rule!
God, don’t you think things would’ve been better if they hadn’t kept in that aspect of the Queen of Hearts?
Epel: Um... The Queen of Hearts was also an amazing woman who reigned over a kingdom that was chaotic by law.
Grim: And so, anyone who broke those laws was said to have been put on trial and exiled from the country.
Jack: I’m part of Savanaclaw, which models the indomitable spirit of the King of Beasts. There are many students here, including Leona and Ruggie, who excel in athletics.
Which is why... I wanted so badly to have a serious fight at the Magift Tournament.
Deuce: I know exactly what that feels like!
The King of Beasts used his wit and magic power to climb his way to the top. A MAN AMONG MEN! Doesn’t he just amaze you?!
Epel: Yeah, he’s so manly and cool... isn’t he?
Grim: But ya know, the dorm leader Leona is just a do-nothing who sleeps all day.
Ace: You say that, but you never know—someday he might just knock you dead with a POW!
Next up is the dorm founded on the mercy of the Sea Witch, Octavinelle.
Jack: Octavinelle is a group of intellectuals who are always getting the highest scores on written exams. Along with the dorm leader Azul Ashengrotto, it’s full of really clever students. They also run a café called the Mostro Lounge.
Deuce: The Sea Witch lived in a grotto deep under the sea, and granting the wishes of pitiful merfolk was something she lived for.
Ace: The price was a little bit expensive, but just for that you could get anything you could ever wish for!
Epel: After that... we have Scarabia, the dorm founded in the tactical spirit of the Sorcerer of the Desert Kingdom. I hear there’s a lot of students here who are good at Astrology and Ancient Curses. The current dorm leader is Kalim Al-Asim!
Jack: The Sorcerer of the Desert Kingdom was someone who excelled at anticipating the future, often gave advice to the king, and acted as a support for the entire kingdom. That “tactical spirit” of his has definitely been passed down through this dorm, hasn’t it?
Grim: So what you mean is, they’re really smart?
Deuce: Yeah. And the people here also use their own power to strengthen themselves! You could say they climbed their way to the top too!
Ace: I could never put in so much effort and motivation just to get good at something.
M’kay, next! This is the one Epel’s part of—Pomefiore! It kinda has a sparkly, really aesthetic vibe to it.
Epel: Pomefiore models the heavy efforts of the Fairest Queen. They say the Queen was the fairest in all the land, and that she spared no effort to preserve her beauty.
I wonder if that’s why... the dorm leader Vil is so strict with both himself and all the students here.
Jack: The Queen was also supposed to have been a master at making poisons. And it’s true that a lot of the students at Pomefiore excel at potion-making too.
Grim: Next, we’ve got that guy Idia’s... Hngyi... Hngyahyde Dorm.
Ace: I-G-N-I-H-Y-D-E! Try to remember it right!!
Grim: Yeah, that! The dorm leader Idia is so rude; he’s always trying to pet my fur like I’m a cat! Me, the almighty Grim who’s going to become a powerful mage someday!
Epel: Huh...? You’re not a cat...?
Ace: Ignihyde was founded on the diligence of the Lord of the Underworld! Cater told me that a lot of the guys here are strong in magic energy engineering and digital gaming, but their lifestyles tend to be real quiet.
Jack: The Lord of the Underworld ruled over a kingdom of writhing spirits by himself. He never once neglected his job, even though anyone else would fear it. He was very dedicated and earnest, and worked without taking breaks.
Deuce: One, two, three, four, five, six... We’re at six now, so there’s only one left, right?
Ace: Last is Diasom—
Sebek: With Lord Malleus working as its dorm leader, this is Diasomnia!
Ace: BLEHJG!
Epel: Ah...
Ace: You know cutting in yelling like that scares everyone, right?!!
Anyway, you’ve been gone this whole time... Where’d you run off to?
Sebek: Yes, I was receiving a lecture about gargoyles from the Young Master.
Grim: Gar.... ghnghyle? Do those taste good?
Ace: I don’t really know what that means, but I’ll let you introduce Diasomnia ‘cause it’s too much of a hassle for me.
Sebek: Of course. This is far out of your depth anyway.
Ahem. Are you ready? HUMANS! Diasomnia, the dorm I’m part of, is founded on the nobility of the Fairy of Thorns. The current dorm leader is Lord Malleus Draconia! He is a descendant of the faeries, and ranks as one of the top five... No, the strongest magic-wielder in the world! He was born in the Valley of Thorns, his birthday is January 18th, he’s 202 cm tall, he’s part of the Gargoyle Research Society, both of his eyes are—
Ace: This isn’t a introduction on the dorm anymore; you’re just talking about the leader!!
Sebek: Hm? This is the dorm that Lord Malleus runs, so what’s so strange about talking about him?
Ace: This is obnoxious... 
Deuce: He won’t listen no matter what you say, huh?
Grim: Right?
Epel: I feel like the students of Diasomnia can wield magic much better than the other dorms can.
Sebek: That is correct. The Fairy of Thorns, who lived on the Mystical Mountain², could cast magic that was extremely powerful even among the Great Seven. It’s clear that Lord Malleus is the most suited for running this dorm, isn’t it?
Epel: ...And that concludes our explanation. Everyone, thank you for listening all the way through.
Jack: Every dorm has its own set of quirks, but in the end, the one you join depends on the Mirror of Darkness. You shouldn’t worry too much about it.
Deuce: Jack’s right. No matter what dorm you get assigned to, let’s all do our best together to become powerful mages!
Ace: What’s with this beautiful ending you’re leaving off with? Well, I’m not complaining, getting some cute little freshmen around doesn’t sound too bad.
Let’s go to the next Unbirthday Party together!
Sebek: This orientation is not over until you return home safely. If anything happens, we’re the ones that will be held responsible. Do you hear that, humans? Be on your guard as you make your way back.
Grim: Next time you stop by, make sure ya don’t forget my tuna cans!
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1. Epel: M... Er, me?
I wasn’t able to convey this correctly, but Epel starts off by using the pronoun “Ore” (a rougher version of “me”) and then pauses to correct himself to “Boku” (which is a bit softer).
2. Mystical Mountain
It’s called the “Forbidden Mountain” in the EN dub, but the term engraved on Maleficent’s statue on Main Street is “Mystical Mountain.”
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silenceofthecookies · 4 years
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Hello! I'm fairly new to your blog and I love the way you write Sanji! I was wondering if you can write a scenario for a modern day au where he and his S/O are out on a date and someone recognizes him, calling him "Vinsmoke" in a malicious tone. But before he could say anything, his S/O immediately goes "That isn't Vinsmoke. This is Vansmork Shinji!" Protecting him with a dead serious look in their eyes. How would Sanji react to their response to protect him. Thank you!! 🖤
Hi Anon, welcome to my blog! I’m a sucker for Sanji, not gonna lie. I used to think he was rather annoying with all the womanizing until I saw him during whole cake and now... now I’m weak for him. I’m a sucker for a good backstory. My ramblings aside, enjoy the scenario! 
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Checking yourself over one last time, you tried to make sure you looked perfect. Your hair? Check. Face? Check. Clothes? Check. Accessoires? Check. You looked casual yet chic. And yet, you felt like you were forgetting something. Sanji walked into the room and noticed you standing in front of the mirror. He looked confused for a bit, before realizing what you were trying to do.
“Darling, you’re not wearing any shoes.” “That’s what I forgot!”
Sanji chuckled as you ran to the closet to get your shoes. He had no idea how you missed it. Then again, he had once seen you step into the shower without taking off your socks. You were both laughing so hard that the romantic mood that was there before was completely gone. As you stepped in front of the mirror again, looking yourself over one last time from head to toe, you nodded happily and turned to Sanji to give him a kiss, one he gladly returned.
“Are you ready, my love?” “I am now. Thanks.” “Don’t mention it. Let’s get today on the road then.”
After receiving another nod from you, the two of you left the house. It was your two-year anniversary after all, and being the romantic he is, Sanji wasn’t going to let it pass by without doing something for it. He had suggested going to the zoo together, he knew you loved all the animals, and after that you’d go have dinner at the restaurant he worked at. At first his plan was to cook for you himself, but you insisted that he’d let someone else cook, not wanting him to spend the majority of the evening, and possibly of the date, in the kitchen. No matter how much you loved his cooking, you wanted his undivided attention on this day. When you put it that way, Sanji couldn’t refuse, but he insisted on going to the Baratie, saying that he’d let the ‘old man’ cook for you, not trusting just anyone to make food for you. Zeff was basically his father, and despite his harsh attitude towards Sanji, he absolutely loved you. He often told you you could do better than a brat like Sanji. You always told him there wasn’t anyone better in the world, which would earn you a smile from both men.
A short drive later you arrived at the zoo. Sanji held your hand as the two of you explored the park, enjoying the proximity. Of course, Sanji had already checked when all the shows would start, and planned your route to be there on time. He loved seeing your face light up at the sights of all these animals and what they could do. He did have one surprise arranged though. At most shows, you were somehow involved. You were allowed to pet the dolphins, to have a beautiful bird of prey on your arm, the name of which you already forgot in your excitement, and you were allowed to feed some other animals. You had no idea how he had arranged this, but you couldn’t be more excited, and you were sure to show him your appreciation in the forms of hugs and kisses. Nothing could ruin this day.
Until some passerby couldn’t keep his nasty comments to himself.
“Of course, a fucking Vinsmoke. How much blood money did you pay the zoo to get your little toy over there to pet some animals, huh?”
Sanji’s expression darkened. His biological family, the Vinsmoke family, ran a crime syndicate. Everyone knew it, yet the police could never gather enough evidence to capture them, or at least to capture someone worthy of capturing, like the head of the family, Judge, or one of his children. Most people didn’t like having these criminals in their town and sadly for Sanji, due to their eyebrows, a Vinsmoke was easily recognizable. Even though he left the family at a young age and hadn’t committed a single crime in his life, he was still regularly associated with them. People were cruel beings after all. It didn’t matter if you yourself did nothing wrong, if your family did something wrong, you were lumped in with them. An idea came to you though, you were not going to let this man just insult your boyfriend. Making your face as serious as you could, you spoke up.
“What do you mean? Are you blind? This is no Vinsmoke. This is Vansmork Shinji. Really, you’ve got some guts, calling him a Vinsmoke.”
Sanji’s head whipped around to look at you in shock. Were you actually standing up for him? Sanji felt a mix of gratefulness and guilt. He was thankful that you’d want to stand up for him, and that you’d want to start a fight, even if just verbally, for him. But at the same time, he felt so bad for it. You shouldn’t have to do this. You shouldn’t have to possibly get into trouble for him. Zeff was right, you did deserve so much better than him...
“Look, I don’t know what you’re trying to pull, but that is bullshit.” “Oh, this is bullshit? You haven’t seen anything yet. You want to know what actual bullshit is, mister? Actual bullshit is bothering someone who’s just having a fun day out with their partner, and accusing them of stuff because you think you know what’s going on. You think you know what you’re talking about and you want to pretend to be superior than others to make up for your own low self-esteem.” Both Sanji and the man stared at you in shock at this point. “But-” “I wasn’t done yet! Didn’t your parents ever teach you that interrupting people while they’re talking is impolite? Though I guess they never taught you to respect people either, or to keep your own uneducated opinion to yourself, so it wouldn’t surprise me if they didn’t. But let me educate you a little, you poor unknowing soul. Yes, the Vinsmoke family sucks. However, if you had done your research properly before insulting strangers on the street, you’d notice Judge has 3 sons and a daughter. A daughter with pink hair, and three sons with red, blue and green hair. You see a blonde anywhere around? I don’t. Neither do the press or the police. That’s because Sanji is not affiliated with them. He’s trying to live a normal life without all that nonsense of the crime syndicate, but people like you are insulting him without any fucking reason. Now who’s the real bad guy here, huh?! Maybe next time you pretend to be such a good person, do it in the form of charity instead of insulting innocent people walking by.”
As you finished your rant, you noticed you were out of breath. You were so mad, and you knew that if you stuck around any longer, you’d punch this man in his now very pale face. Tightening your hold on Sanji’s hand, you said an angry ‘good day mister’ before he could answer you and walked away. Pulling him away from the crowd that had gathered around you as you ranted, you arrived at a quieter spot of the zoo where you could finally calm yourself down. As you turned to Sanji to ask if he was ok, you noticed he was on the verge of tears.
“Oh no, Sanji, I’m so sorry you had to hear all of that, I’m sure that was very upsetting,…" “That’s not it, Y/N... I’m... happy. You just got so mad for me... you didn’t need to, we could’ve just walked away... but please, don’t do it again. What if that man had become violent?” “Then we would’ve kicked his ass together. I’m done with people judging you for your lineage. You’re better than all of them put together. Please, remember that, love.” “Zeff is right... I really don’t deserve you.” Sanji said, smiling through his tears. “I think the same nearly every day, Sanji. Now let’s go, shall we? We still have dinner to go to today.”
Wiping his tears, Sanji smiled at you and offered you his hand again. Silently thanking his lucky stars one more time for meeting you, he walked to the restaurant with you, determined to make the best of the rest of the day.
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bufomancer · 4 years
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How Can We Do Better By Pacman Frogs?
Pacman frogs (genus Ceratophrys) are one of the most common pet frogs, and for good reason! They’re large, personable frogs that come in a wide variety of morphs and can live up to 10 years. There are eight species in the genus, though only three are common in captivity (C. cranwelli, C. ornata, C. cornuta), as well as a hybrid of C. cranwelli and C. cornuta usually labelled as a “fantasy pacman frog.” Occasionally you may see some of the other species for sale, but not nearly as often. This article focuses on the three most common species of pacman frog, excluding the hybrids.
This article is not intended to be used as a care sheet. Please do further research of your own to figure out the best way to care for your pet pacman frog. 
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Visual differences between the three common pet pacman frogs, plus the ‘fantasy’ hybrid (source)
Unfortunately, in my experience, out of all the common pet frogs, pacman frogs seem to suffer the most from minimalistic husbandry practices. Perhaps this is due to their reputation as ‘pet rocks’- they are nocturnal sit-and-wait predators, so keepers are unlikely to see them out and about during the day. A common sight in pacman frog groups and forums is a bin or tank of no more than 10 gallons, with just some dirt, a heat mat, and a large water dish. But is that really the best we can do for them?
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An example of a fairly typical 10 gallon setup for a pacman frog. (source)
In order to answer that question, we’ll first need to delve into their lives in the wild.
In the wild, the ranges of cranwelli, cornuta, and ornata are for the most part separate. Cranwelli is found in the dry chaco region, which includes parts of Argentina, Paraguay, Bolivia, and Brazil. Ornata is found in Argentina and Uruguay, ranging to the coast. Cornuta is found much further north and has the largest range, including Brazil, French Guiana, Suriname, Colombia, Peru, and Bolivia. There’s some possible overlap between cranwelli and ornata in Argentina.
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Comparisons from Berkeley Mapper of pacman frog distribution. Orange is range as listed by the IUCN, and the blue dots are amphibiaweb records of collection sites.
Most care sheets and keepers treat these species as interchangeable as far as care requirements, but I’m a little more skeptical. Let’s go species by species through habitat information! 
Ceratophrys cranwelli
The most common species of pacman frog lives in the hot, semiarid Gran Chaco region, which contains mainly dry thorn forests, savannas, and low hardwood forests. Much of the water is seasonal, but there are two permanent rivers. When it’s hot and dry, cranwelli will burrow into the soil and grow a protective layer of skin, then aestivate until the climate becomes more suitable for them again. Soil is primarily sand and clay-based. Average temperatures across the region range from 60-85 F, with average humidity ranging from 50-75%. 
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One of the types of habitat in the Gran Chaco in Paraguay (source)
Ceratophrys ornata
These guys live in the Pampas region of Argentina, in subtropical grasslands and seasonal wetlands. Vegetation is primarily grasses and shrubs with few trees. Humidity seems to stay around 70-80% on average. The yearly average temperature is just around 65F, with average lows around 55 and average highs around 75. Soil is described as fertile. The frogs are primarily found around the bodies of water where they breed.
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Temperature information for three locations in the Pampas region
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A view of the Pampas (source)
Ceratophrys cornuta
The third of the common pet pacman frog species is found in the Amazon rainforest and the Amazon basin. The yearly average temperature is around 77 F but can reach up to the 90s during the day and down to the upper 60s/lower 70s at night. Humidity in the amazon rainforest averages 77% in the dry season and 88% in the wet season, according to the WWF. One study on the biology of cornuta cites the forests where they live as either terra firma or inundated forest and the soil asloam mixed with silt and/or clay. Individuals were usually found partially burrowed under leaf litter, with their backs near roots or logs. They mostly moved around during nights when there had been rainfall in the previous 24 hours. 
In my opinion, the differences in habitat between the three species indicates that captive Ceratophrys frogs should be kept in somewhat different conditions in captivity as well. Cornuta would likely do well with plenty of leaf litter to burrow into, and seems to like the highest humidity of the three. Cranwelli seems to need the least humidity, and would likely appreciate some plant or wood cover, such as scrub vegetation. Ornata seems to need higher humidity than cranwelli, but perhaps not as high as cornuta. Their primary vegetation in the wild are grasses, so it would be recommended to mimic that in terraria. The different species may do better at different temperatures as well. I would recommend doing further research on your own on temperatures in their native habitats before deciding what temperature to keep your own pacman frog at.
In general, the small terrariums pacman frogs are typically kept in are inadequate. While a 10 gallon may be fine for growing out a young baby, many of whom are irregular eaters until adulthood, These frogs can grow anywhere from 2-6 inches, possibly more, depending on species and gender. I recommend a minimum of a 20 long (footprint of 360sq in) for male pacman frogs and a 40 breeder (footprint of 640sq in) for female pacman frogs. Of course, you can always go larger- I keep my male ornata in a 40 breeder and I have never felt the space was wasted.
All pacman frogs share some basic needs: enough substrate to burrow all the way into, a large water dish that they can soak their entire body in, cover of some sort be it hides or plants, a heat gradient, and access to UVB.
Most keepers recommend a heat mat taped to the side of the tank for providing supplemental heat. You should never use a heat mat on the bottom of the tank as pacman frogs will burrow to cool themselves down when it gets too hot. Overhead heat would be ideal, and there are many ways to go about that, each with its own pros and cons. Unless your house is particularly cold, your frog should be fine with a nighttime temperature drop down to the mid 60s/lower 70s.
UVB supplementation is controversial in the herp hobby for many species, and pacman frogs are no exception. They may be nocturnal, but that only means they are primarily active at night and  does not preclude them from being exposed to sunlight. I would consider them to be a part of Ferguson Zone 1 as outlined in Ferguson et al. (2010). Animals in this zone are cryptic baskers, typically crepuscular or nocturnal. They would not need high levels of UVB, but appropriate use of a low output UV bulb is unlikely to be harmful provided the frog is able to avoid the light should they choose. I personally use a reptisun T8 5.0, but any light with a similar output used at the manufacturer recommended distance should be safe. Make sure your pacman frog is able to hide from the light if they want to by providing them with hides, plants, pieces of wood, etc.
Ultimately, we can do better by pacman frogs by simply treating them like more than pet rocks. Give them space to move around, do research into the native habitat of the species you own and do your best to mimic it in your terrarium. Feed them a variety of foods - these guys can and do eat almost anything from ants to other frogs and reptiles. Give them more than just dirt and a water dish. Make sure to only purchase captive-bred individuals. These frogs will never race around their tank or be able to be kept happily with other frogs, and you may almost never see them move during the day, but that doesn’t mean they don’t use their space in their own way. 
The way I see it, you can either provide space and enrichment that they might not use, or you can deprive them of space and enrichment that they may benefit from. I think the former is preferable to the latter. 
Sources, References, and Further Reading
Cranwelli
https://www.britannica.com/place/Gran-Chaco/
https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/56338/11464257
http://www.faunaparaguay.com/ceratophryscranwelli.html
Ornata
https://www.britannica.com/place/the-Pampas
https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/56340/11464790
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Climatic_regions_of_Argentina#Statistics_for_selected_locations_5
Cornuta
https://galapagosinsiders.com/travel-blog/climate-weather-amazon-rainforest-temperatures/
https://www.jstor.org/stable/3892875?seq=1
https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/56337/11464093#habitat-ecology
https://wwf.panda.org/knowledge_hub/where_we_work/amazon/about_the_amazon/
General
https://bioone.org/journals/south-american-journal-of-herpetology/volume-9/issue-2/SAJH-D-14-00008.1/On-the-Diet-of-the-Frogs-of-the-Ceratophryidae/10.2994/SAJH-D-14-00008.1.short
https://www.jzar.org/jzar/article/view/150
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katalyna-rose · 3 years
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Kat’s Rat Shopping List
I’ve gotten a few requests for a shopping list of my rat setup (tagging @collapseofthesky because they requested this, specifically, but I’ve had a few others message me), so I thought I’d give it a try and also add a few explanations for why I do some things the way I do. As such, this is going to be a very long post and is therefore under a cut. There will be a basic shopping list without all the explanations at the very end of the post under TL;DR if you don’t care about the rest or whatever.
I had a lot of fun with this and spent way more time on it than I meant to, and might be open to doing more of this kind of thing in the future.
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Cage
First up, the cage. Obviously. I’ve said it before but it’s a Double Critter Nation and a Single Critter Nation with the side panels removed and zip tied together. These are sometimes sold in pet stores (the locally owned pet store I prefer has them in stock). I bought mine online because of a really good sale, but you can sometimes get really lucky and find them for resale on Facebook Marketplace or Craigslist for super cheap. I love this cage because the whole front opens up and that makes it super accessible and easy to clean, decorate, and get to my pets wherever they may be. It’s also huge!
US minimum for rat cages is 2 cubic feet per rat, with a minimum of two rats because rats cannot be housed alone as they are extremely social animals. No, human companionship is not enough, rats need same-age, same-species companionship at all times. Please be aware, as well, that minimums are not the ideal to strive for. Whatever space you intend to dedicate to your rats, fill it! Fill it all up! And if you don’t have enough space for a large cage, don’t get rats. My setup, with the Home Depot/Lowe’s large cement mixing tubs in the bottom, is roughly 45 cubic feet of space. If we’re looking at minimums, this means I could house 22 rats! There’s no way that 22 rats could ever actually be comfortable in my setup. It would be insane, chaotic, and extremely messy. So why would 2 rats be comfortable in 4 cubic feet? They wouldn’t. More space is always better, hard stop.
Also remember that wire cages with bar spacing of no more than an inch for adult rats and no more than half an inch for small or young rats is a must. Tanks are absolutely not recommended for rats due to poor ventilation, which will cause respiratory issues and allow ammonia to build up much faster.
Bedding
This is different from nesting. Yes, it is. Bedding is the substrate used at the bottom of the cage or on shelves to catch errant droppings and urine, and is generally left where it is by the rats because they have no interest in it.
My main bedding is pine wood horse stall pellets. They are as dust free as the alternatives like shavings or paper pellets, and combine the best aspects of both those types of bedding with the ammonia-neutralizing effects of wood shavings and the compact, easy-to-clean nature of pellets. I love them. I also get them super hilariously cheap from Tractor Supply Co, so despite it being a little bit of a drive for me (about an hour round trip) the fact that it’s half the price of the next cheapest option more than makes up for it. I buy a bunch all at once and currently have a few bags left in my trunk because I didn’t have enough closet space for them. It’s great stuff. It crumbles when wet so it helps me keep track of how much and where they’re urinating, and it’s easy to spot clean those areas in between deep cleans.
When choosing a wood, if that’s the route you want to go, remember to check what is safe to use. Pine is only safe when it’s kiln-dried, since it contains fragrant oils that can cause respiratory issues in rats, mice, and hamsters. Some people will advise you to stay away from it entirely, and that’s fine, but since pine is often the cheapest option it’s not always viable. Aspen is a safe wood, but harder to find in pellet form and slightly more expensive as shavings. I use aspen shavings in my litter trays. Cedar wood is NEVER safe, no matter how it’s treated. I don’t think cedar is ever safe no matter what for any animal it’s marketed to, actually. It’ll cause respiratory distress in rats, mice, and hamsters, and guinea pigs and rabbits should never be on shavings regardless though I’m pretty sure they’ll still experience respiratory distress. The oils naturally in the wood are not safe, do not use cedar. Also make sure your bedding is as dust-free as possible, also for respiratory reasons. If you have a small animal, their respiratory system is extremely delicate, and that’s just a fact of pet ownership that you should have learned before getting a pet when you were researching how to care for it.
Since I have two shelves in my cage and they are both shallow to the point of not even having a lip (Critter Nation’s only flaw is the trays that come with the cage), I line my shelves with fleece over an appropriately sized bath mat. Fleece makes a great shelf liner, but I don’t recommend using it in the entire cage because it gets dirty really fast and most rats will chew it up, so you’ll both be changing it every other day and going through it super fast as it is destroyed. However, it makes great shelf liners, especially when very little of the shelf is actually available to the rats like in my setup, where the shelves are mostly covered in other things. Remember that fleece must always be lined with an absorbent layer underneath because the fleece itself allows liquid to pass right through it. That’s the point: the fleece stays relatively clean and dry while the absorbent layer takes all the gross stuff away. Towels are generally not recommended for this because rats can get their nails stuck in the fabric and rip them out, which is painful and distressing for the rat and also you. Anything super absorbent with a really tight weave will do lovely here, hence the low pile bath mats I use. I get them for one or two dollars at Ikea and wash them every week. I keep several around to rotate through. The fleece I use is also a fleece blanket from Ikea for a couple bucks that I cut into four sections because that rendered it the perfect size to tuck around the shelves. This makes my bedding extremely cheap, and that makes me happy because I can spend that money on enrichment instead.
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Nesting
This is the material that the rats like to push around, dig in, and sleep in. It’s important to provide soft but preferably absorbent materials for the rats to nest in because it’s enriching, comfortable, and helps them regulate body temperature. Multiple types of nesting are recommended for enrichment purposes. Rats like texture! I use unscented, unlotioned tissues as a main nesting material for within their hides because they’re cheap, safe, absorbent, and soft. I bought 30 boxes of 100 tissues each for super cheap online, but you can also buy dollar store tissues or whatever you have access to. Just make sure they don’t have scents or lotions, because those are not safe for your rats’ delicate respiratory systems. The empty boxes (plastic removed) can also be given for the rats to chew up and play in, or you can save them up to DIY some fun toys later, which is what I’m doing.
I also have two dig boxes, which will also go under the enrichment section. The bins I got for cheap from Target, but obviously you can get bins wherever you want to get bins. Just measure to make sure they fit in your cage properly. The only dig box I want to talk about in this section is the hay box, because the dirt is not actually a nesting material but rather an enriching one. So, hay. My girls love this stuff so much that they drag it all over the cage to shove it into all their sleeping areas. They build actual rat nests in the box, tunnel through it, stash food in it, shred it for fun, and generally spend as much time as possible with the hay. I use oat hay for the seed heads that provide additional enrichment and snacks because the rats have to get to the seeds in order to eat them. If you are feeding a low-quality diet to your rats, do not use oat hay because they’ll fill up on seeds instead of eating their nutritionally-balanced food and that is not good. My rats love their food so much that the seeds are a sometimes snack that I don’t need to regulate because they do it themselves. Any good quality hay will do for a hay box, however, and timothy hay tends to be the cheapest option. Just make sure it’s not super low quality, because low quality hay tends to be dusty. As mentioned previously several times, rats have delicate respiratory systems and dust is bad for them. I buy my hay from Small Pet Select because I like supporting small business, ethical business, and businesses that provide excellent products. They are, however, primarily a rabbit site. I keep hoping they’ll expand the other sections of their shop. Also, make sure your rats aren’t trying to eat the hay. This is highly unlikely because rats are smart and know what’s edible and what isn’t, and hay is not edible for rats. If for some reason your rats are eating hay, do not give them a hay box.
Other nesting options I’ve used in the past include cut up bits of fleece, cut up old clothes you might have lying around, and generally just bits of fabric. Just remember to change out/wash them regularly. Ammonia will build up, and once again that’s bad for your rats’ respiratory systems.
Hides and Hammocks
Rats are prey animals. Surprise! As such, they need plenty of places to hide and feel safe. Rats love small, dark places to rest in. Much like many introverted humans, myself included! Make sure to include plenty of hides all over the cage. Variety is excellent here for enrichment reasons. My rats absolutely love Space Pods! Lixit makes the ones I use, but there’s also a brand called Sputnik that’s basically the same thing. I’ve never seen them in stores, but they’re all over the internet. For rats, make sure you get the large size. Honestly I wish it was larger than it is, but oh well. The girls love it anyway. I kept getting sent only the bottom halves, which is why I have two half space pods in my cage. I got a refund or replacement on both because it’s not what I paid for, but, like… I received the usable half, so I’m gonna use it. The girls don’t like to sleep in them without the covers, but they’ll hang out in there and clean themselves, and they climb through them to get from one spot to another.
In addition to the space pods, I also have various other hides. Lixit also makes a pill-shaped plastic hide that I keep on the shelf over the dirt box. They used to use it a lot more than they do now, and I’m not entirely sure why. Even so, they still use it! I also have a woven grass tent that they enjoy, and a cork log. Neither of those are really for sleeping, but they do hide in them sometimes and generally like to hang out there.
Hammocks are great, and also available in wide variety all over the internet and in stores. My favorite banana hammock was just retired, but I intend to get another. The girls loved it and so did I! Hammocks come in all sorts of shapes and sizes, and can pull double duty as both a place to sleep and a way to break up the cage so there aren’t any dead drops where your rats can fall from a height and hurt themselves. Fill your cage with hammocks! All the hammocks! Support small creators by buying homemade hammocks! Learn to make them yourself! They’re cheap and easy! Hammocks are great.
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Enrichment Part 1: Levels
Rats are climbers. Rats need vertical space as well as horizontal space. Rats are sometimes clumsy idiots who fall off of things. As such, all vertical space must be filled with all kinds of fall breakers. As mentioned before, hammocks are great for this. So are ladders, bridges, ropes, and that Ikea tie hanger I have strung across the back of my cage. If your rat falls from anywhere in the cage, make sure there’s something to catch them!
Also make sure there’s something to do on all the levels of the cage, even if that thing to do is just get from one level to the next. Rats are dexterous and adventurous. Ramps are boring because they’re easy. If you have sick or injured rats, absolutely use ramps! Accessibility matters! If your rats are of sound body, however, make them work for it. Lava ledges and bird perches make great alternatives to ramps. Screw them into the cage walls and watch your rats hop around! They love it. Ladders are also fun, especially if they’re not used the way ladders are meant to be used. Suspend them from things, put them at weird angles, just make sure they’re secure. I get a lot of my levels from the bird aisle at the pet store (or virtual pet store). Be aware that sometimes your rats are going to prefer to climb directly on the bars of the cage. That’s normal! The bars are there, so the rats will climb them. That’s all there is to it!
Climbing frames like the wooden wine rack from Ikea that I have in the bottom of my cage are also good to have. My girls love it, and it does double duty as a chew toy.
Enrichment Part 2: Chewing
Contrary to popular belief and old science, rats do not actually require chews to keep their teeth trimmed. Rats trim their own teeth by bruxing, or grinding their teeth together. This does not, however, negate the need for chews. Rats like to chew! What your rat likes to chew best is entirely subjective. Some rats love wood and sticks, some rats will always chew fabric over anything else, some rats will never chew fabric. Every rat is different! Try as much variety as you can and keep stocked up on the things your rats like best. My rats really like woven grass, and I try to keep at least a couple different kinds around for them. I keep a grass mat on a shelf that they like to pull apart, and the woven grass tent will likely have a short lifespan, as well. There’s a woven grass tunnel thing that they’ve put into the dirt box and are slowly but systematically shredding. My girls also like willow sticks, so I’ve got a couple hanging toys of willow that are very slowly being chewed because there’s so much else to chew. The wooden bridges see a fair bit of chewing, and even the lava ledges get chewed on the edges. My girls also love destroying rattan and wicker balls. I bought a bunch of them for cheap and toss a new one in there about every week or so. They love them. I also got a couple things from Small Pet Select like a pine cone, a bit of natural loofah, and a dried okra pod. So far the okra pod has seen the most action and is shredded halfway to infinity. I think they like that it has seeds inside, but the others get chewed sometimes, too. There’s enough variety in my setup that everything lasts a decently long time. Except the rattan balls.
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Enrichment Part 3: Digging
As much as rats like to climb, they also like to dig. That’s why it’s highly recommended to have a dig box. Safe substrate is important here. If you’re going with potting soil, make sure it’s just dirt and doesn’t contain any fertilizer. Personally, I found potting soil to be kind of annoying a little expensive. I prefer coconut soil. I use Exo Terra terrarium soil, which is sold in compacted blocks that you have to hydrate. I use two thirds of the recommended water because my rats don’t need humidity. I use three blocks per dig box, and replace the soil every month because the girls will do their business in it sometimes, leave food in it, leave bits of tissue or hay or various shredded chews. Basically, the dirt gets dirty in bad ways and needs to be replaced sometimes. It can also grow things if left too long because of the humidity (which will be a problem regardless of the type of substrate being used). So every deep clean, both dig boxes get emptied, wiped out, and refilled.
The hay box gets an honorable mention here, since it pulls double duty as both nesting and digging. Triple duty, really, since it’s also a forage toy.
Enrichment Part 4: Misc
Yeah, I didn’t know what category to put this under, so here we are. Litter boxes! No, seriously, this counts as enrichment. Training your rats, whether it’s to do tricks or just poop where you want them to, counts as enrichment. Rats are incredibly smart! They’re at least as trainable as the average dog, especially if they come from an ethical breeder who breeds for health and temperament (let me just slide a reminder not to buy live animals from pet stores that source from highly unethical breeding mills in right here; please support ethical breeders and rescues), and will happily take to any training. Remember that positive reinforcement is the only ethical way to train an animal. Treats are great for this, and your pet will love you even more because every living thing loves food. My rats actually didn’t require much training for their litter trays. Make sure that whatever you’re lining the litter trays with is not the same as their normal bedding. If you’re using aspen shavings in the main cage, use pine in the litter trays, or literally any distinct safe bedding. I use shavings in my litter trays and pellets in my main cage. This helps the rats distinguish the litter trays from the rest of the cage and makes it easier to identify where to do their business versus where not to do so. When you first put the litter trays in, just go in at least once a day and toss any poops you see into the tray. If you see your rats using the litter tray, offer a treat while they’re doing so. Rats are extremely clean animals and they like their mess contained as much as you do. It would not be possible for me to only deep clean once a month if I didn’t have litter trays that I clean out about twice a week (or more, if necessary) to get rid of the majority of the mess and smell. I’d be deep cleaning every two weeks at least without them, so the litter trays are a great investment overall. Your rats will never be perfect about using them, because they’re still rats, but they’ll help a great deal.
Also under this section are forage toys! Do not feed your rats from a simple bowl, it’s boring and encourages stashing, which means you’ll never know when they’ve actually run out of food because they’re just going to pick it up and take it somewhere else and have a great big hoard that you’ll find on deep clean day. You can definitely scatter feed, that’s enriching as well because it makes the rats go looking for their food, but forage toys are the ultimate way to feed your rats, I think. I mostly don’t get my forage toys from the small animal aisle. I do have one that’s small animal specific, a little ball that they roll around the get the food out. I also have some marketed for cats, and some marketed for birds. Having multiple kinds is really helpful. I’ve also noticed that while some stashing still occurs, it’s greatly reduced. I refill the toys as they empty and everyone’s happy.
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Food/Water
What you feed your rats is extremely important, obviously. Many commercially available pellet foods marketed for rats are actually extremely not good for rats. The same is true cat and dog food. It is a sad fact that the companies that make these foods tend to be far more interested in their bottom line than the health of your pet. As such, do your research! Always do your research! Know what’s in the food and what your animal should be eating, and try to match those two things up as closely as possible. In the UK rat owners typically will avoid pellet foods and prefer homemade mixes for these reasons, but making your own mix is not always feasible and can be tricky if you don’t know what you’re doing. Most US rat owners tend toward pellets because it’s a lot harder to mess up the balance of nutrients when it’s done for you. Also, the UK does not have Oxbow, which is one of the most popular brands of healthy rat food. It’s the brand that I use, and my rats adore it. Mazuri is another popular and healthy option, but my rats prefer Oxbow over anything else. I kind of want to try making my own mix at some point, but I’m not sure I ever will. Like with most of my rat supplies, I buy food in bulk because it’s cheaper. A 20 lb bag of Oxbow Essentials Adult Rat food runs me about 40 bucks. Be careful to buy adult rat food, even for baby rats, because any food that says Young Rat and Mouse is not going to have the appropriate balance of fat and protein even for young rats. Adult food will do just fine for babies, too. If you want to add some extra protein to their diet, try a boiled egg or bits of meat every now and then, but it’s probably not necessary as long as they’re getting enough food and some extra fruits and veggies now and then. If you want to try making a mix, do so much research before you try it, and make sure your ingredients are good quality.
Rats should also receive other foods in addition to their pellet or main food. Rats are omnivores and love fresh veggies, fruits, milk, eggs, and meat! Make sure you research safe foods before giving them to your rats, as not everything is safe. If you adopt your rats from an ethical breeder, they should have resources available to you on what’s safe and healthy. If you rescue, you can still reach out to established ethical breeders for tips and tricks, or find lists online as you do your research. Some veggies are only safe cooked, some parts of certain plants are unsafe while others are safe, and some foods are only safe for males or females but not the other sex (citrus and mango are the ones I remember that fall into that category). Just do your research and try to keep processed foods away from your rats. Sodium is also not good for them. Any raw meat or fish should be frozen and then thawed before being fed to your rats to kill any potential contaminants. Like always, do your research first!
Rats obviously require water, as well. Water bottles tend to be the most widely accepted way to give rats water, because they don’t evaporate and are easy to keep clean. I, however, have a terrible time with bottles, and they always leak or break. Thus, I have opted for water bowls instead. The girls love them more than the bottles I’ve used in the past, and they’re a little more enriching, as well. The only downside is that I have to wash them out daily. But since I spot clean daily anyway, I don’t mind at all.
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First Aid Kit
Any responsible pet owner should always keep a first aid kit around, no matter what kind of pet they have. Pet owners who have particularly vulnerable pets should especially be careful to make sure they have a well-stocked first aid kit. This should include single-use sterile syringes without needles, gauze pads, vet wrap, infant/toddler ibuprofen or acetaminophen, medical tape, cat nail trimmers, and probiotic powder like Benebac. But most importantly, it should include the phone number and location of a vet that will see and treat rats. Have a vet picked out that you have confirmed will see and treat your pets BEFORE getting pets. If an emergency arises and you’re suddenly scrambling for a vet last second, not only do you waste precious time getting your pet the help they need but you may find out too late that the nearest rat-friendly vet is too far away. That means your pet will suffer unnecessarily and you are an irresponsible pet owner. Hard stop. If there is no vet within reach that will see rats, do not get rats. Rats will require a vet trip at least once in their lives, since all rats are extremely prone to respiratory illness. Sometimes this happens for no reason at all, because all rats possess a bacteria in their respiratory systems called mycoplasma. There’s no way to get rid of it and nothing you can do about it except make sure your rats live in a clean, well-ventilated environment with safe bedding and materials. Even with all this, sometimes your rats will get sick. That’s normal! Just make sure you can take care of them when it happens. As such, make sure you have a vet fund at all times of at least a couple hundred dollars, in addition to a well-stocked first aid kit and the name and location of an appropriate vet.
It’s also beneficial and enriching to syringe train your rats. What this means is putting a liquid treat like baby food, yogurt, or apple sauce into a syringe and giving it to your rats. This teaches the rats that the syringe is a good thing so that if you ever need to give them medicine from the syringe (rat medicine tends to be oral and dissolved in a liquid solution, so those needle-less syringes will be necessary) they’re more likely to take the medicine with minimum complaints.
Storage
Maybe it goes without saying, but you also need places to put all of the things for your rats. Keep your first aid kit in a box to itself so you always know where it is, and organize your supplies appropriately. I really like Ikea bins for my bedding and food and other dry bulk items, and I keep a lot of my smaller stuff on a shelf at the foot of my bed. Work with the space you have, and plan appropriately.
And thus concludes this extremely long explanation of the bare basics of healthy rat living. Really, this is the bare basics and not even remotely comprehensive of the options available. Be creative when shopping, and definitely look outside of the small animal aisle at your local pet store because it will not contain anywhere near all of what you need.
TL;DR: A Basic Shopping List of My Specific Setup
-Double Critter Nation
-Single Critter Nation
-Zip ties
-2 Large sized cement mixing tubs from Home Depot/Lowe’s
-Pine wood horse stall pellets
-Low pile bath mats, enough to rotate while washing
-Fleece blanket, cut in quarters to fit shelves, enough to rotate while washing
-Bins to hold digging substrate
-Oat hay from Small Pet Select or Oxbow
-Exo Terra coconut fiber terrarium soil
-Lixit Critter Space Pods, large
-Lixit Small Animal Hideout
-Woven grass mat
-Woven grass tent
-Woven grass tube
-Rattan/wicker balls, lots
-Willow stick hanging toys
-Natural loofah
-Sanitized (and therefore safe) pine cone
-Dried okra pod
-Dog ropes
-Wooden bendy bridges
-C-clips, both the kind meant for shower curtains and smaller ones marketed for kids, for hanging things
-Hammocks. All the hammocks. From everywhere hammocks are sold.
-3 (sometimes 4) Ware Scatterless Lock-n-Litter Small Animal Litter Pan, Regular
-Ikea tie hanger
-Ikea wine rack
-Ikea storage bins
-Forage toys
-Oxbow Essentials Adult Rat food
-Ceramic (and therefore tip-proof) water bowls, and/or bowls that can be attached to the cage
-Sterile single-use syringes without needles
-Gauze
-Vet wrap
-Medical tape
-Infant/toddler ibuprofen/acetaminophen
-Cat nail trimmer
-Probiotic powder like Benebac
-The phone number and location of a rat-friendly vet
-A vet fund of at least a couple hundred dollars
A final note before the end: Always remember to do your research before getting pets, do not get pets if you cannot provide a good life for them with MORE THAN the bare minimum requirements for safe and healthy pets, do not buy live animals from pet stores unless it’s part of a rescue program, don’t take the word of just one person as law, don’t be afraid to ask questions respectfully, and always seek new ways to improve your pet care. This has been a PSA from your friendly small animal enthusiast.
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heyheydidjaknow · 3 years
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FUCK YOU TIME! I’m aware I’m an hour and a half late, but I finished the chapter, so HA. I know nobody cares, but I’m happy with myself. Previous chapter is at the bottom of the page, of course.
Chapter 4
"Why, pray tell, don't you trust me?"
"Because you're being paranoid." Mikey gets into position at the top of the ramp as you scroll through your phone absentmindedly, watching your friends back home sincerely mourning your death. "I am an ex-peer-ee-onsed skateboarder and ninja. This is gonna be epic."
"As someone who saw that episode," you reassure him, sighing at your mother's inactivity online confirming your suspicions for the umpteenth time, "you are absolutely going to get in trouble." The lair is a mess, the ramp more so, and the entire situation is so obviously the inciting incident that you're half convinced that the universe itself is pranking you. You slid the phone into your pocket, not really in the mood to start crying again. "In fact, this is directly related to the theme of the episode. In other words, don't do it."
"Relax, dude." He sets himself up. "I am totally gonna make this jump and it is going to be sweet."
"Theme?" Donatello pipes up from his place on the ground in front of the ramp. "The first major constituent of a clause?"
You blink. "No, the new Subway footlong. What the fuck are you talking about?"
"That's the definition of theme."
"Who uses that definition? Grammar teachers?"
"The dictionary."
You are dumbfounded. "Why would I— do you know how people usually use that word?"
"People usually use that word at all?"
You look over at Raphael and Leonardo, who are on the floor next to him, and who seem completely disinterested. "Do you guys—"
"No. Who uses the word 'theme'?" Raphael rolls his eyes. "Mikey, do you plan on jumping today?"
"Wait, so none of you have ever used that word in a literary sense?"
"There's a literary sense?"
You sigh. "In hindsight, I guess that makes sense, since— Mikey, you're gonna get grounded for it."
"Will not."
"Will too. Donnie, when you inevitably get grounded for this, after your grounding is over, come to my apartment. I'm teaching you literary analysis because that is ridiculous." You get to your feet. "Oh," you say, "before I go, when he grounds you, don't go out. If you get into trouble while you're out, get me, and if he asks why you're tired, say it was a movie marathon, and if he asks which movies, Lord of The Rings. See ya." You run out as you hear the shouts of their father telling them to stop.
You walk back up to the surface via the empty subway tunnel. You had quickly realized that it was infinitely less gross than going through the sewers, and your apartment already smelled enough like raw sewage from the amount of time you had started spending down there. You have considered buying new clothes with your quickly appreciating bank account, but you could not bring yourself to look, even with your new freedom. Maybe it was a lack of motivation? You do not exactly know. More likely is your complete lack of inspiration and faith in your own choices, but what do I know?
You start down the street to your building. You would not go so far as to say it felt like home, but you had become more accustomed to it. You had learned the bellboy’s name, nodded to neighbors. It is not a stunning amount of progress, but it is progress. You spend most of your days now, if not re-watching whatever episode is relevant next, for the first time, cyberstalking people you knew from back home. How courteous of that organization to give you an up-to-date feed of life moving on without you; at least you get to see your cousins.
You do not remember the actual walk. You remember getting to your apartment, walking right by your refrigerator, and collapsing onto the bed.
You feel like shit.
You roll onto your back, going right back to stalking. You are not sure why you bother making yourself feel worse. You tried messaging them to absolutely no avail. You cannot comment on posts, either. You know this. You still grasp onto this shred from your past. It just makes you sad. Why are you doing this to yourself?
You feel a lump rise in your throat. You close the window.
You curl around your pillow, hugging it tightly. You the sound of your fingers against the screen was the only thing to permeate the room. You are following a tangent, looking for a book you were interested in a century ago. Something about a pervert? You forget.
You miss home.
You do not even need to look up from your phone; the panting is enough. "I'm going to take a wild guess."
"I know you said to come get you," Donnie gushed, "but it was 2 in the morning and I totally forgot and I was freaking out about this new invention and—"
You set the e-book down, walking over and grasping his hands gently. "Take a deep breath, alright? You're gonna be fine, so long as you chill out and think."
"Baxter Stockman is serious business."
"I know, honey, but you gotta calm down, alright?" You slowly pull him down to sit on the bed.
"He snapped my staff with his freakin hand!"
"You are going to go through at least 2 more of those bad boys. Breathe with me." You inhale deeply. "In."
He mimics you.
"Out."
He follows suit.
"Okay. Are you good?"
His breathing slows. He swallows, nods. "Okay, I'm calm."
"Awesome. Now, I'm gonna give you a mini version of our lesson, alright? Is that okay?" The irony of you trying to calm down the trained ninja is not lost on you.
"Yeah, alright." He nodded.
"Alright. Let's start off with the basics." You sit yourself up properly. "Now, this is a kid's show, right?"
"If you say so, yeah."
"The thing about kids shows is that there's usually a moral to each of the episodes."
"Okay."
You put up one finger. "At the beginning of the episode, you guys got grounded, right?"
He nodded.
"You guys snuck out, and you got into a fight with Stockman. That fight is the reason he's after you, right?" You try to speak relatively clearly and, more importantly, calmly.
"Yeah." He seems to respond relatively positively to this.
"And then,” you continue, putting up a second finger, “Mikey losing the t-pod and not telling anyone is what lead to Stockman getting powerful, right?”
He nodded.
“In both instances, the problem was a lack of transparency, right? Not asking for help for fear of getting in trouble?”
He nodded again.
“So,” you nod with him, “the way to fix this is?”
“To ask for help regardless of whether or not it will get us in trouble with Splinter?”
“Exactly.” You smile encouragingly. “Why?”
“Because that’s the message of the episode?”
“You really are quick to catch on.” You get to your feet. “I’m not surprised you’re the brains of the group.”
“Really?” His eyes lit up.
“Most definitely. Now,” you get to your feet, “as much as I love when we talk, and as much as I owe you a lesson on how to identify these sorts of things on your own, I’m sure your brothers could use that advice right about now.”
“Right!” He gets up. “Thank you, again.”
“My pleasure, my guy. Oh, hit me up when you’re off of your grounding so I can figure out a lesson plan.”
“You got it.” He climbed out of the window. “See you then, Y/N.”
“Kick their asses.” You wave as he disappears into the night.
Your smile slowly slides off your face as you close the window. You pick your phone up to check the time.
You toss it onto the bed. ‘I’m making cupcakes.’ You have not eaten in what feels like a while. You are already out of bed. Might as well.
--
“She called me honey.”
Raphael rolls his eyes. “I’m telling you, there’s no way that a girl like her is going to be into you. You’re delusional.”
“Honey is a pet name!” Donatello’s voice rises slightly. “And—and she invited me to her place after we aren’t grounded!”
“Let him believe.” Leonardo pipes up from in front of the television. “I think it’s nice that he and she are as close of friends as they are so quick.”
“For the record, I’m rooting for ya, bro.” Mikey takes another bite out of his pizza. “Sure, you’re a little creepy, but so is she, so it works out.”
He scoffs. “Aren’t you three forgetting something? Like, I don’t know, that we’re turtles? Is the fact that she’s an entirely different species not a factor?”
“Part turtle.” He speaks incredibly fast. “Our DNA is mutated with—”
“Oh, I’m sure you’re holding onto that technicality real tight, aren’t you?” He stabs the dummy in the gut. “A technicality that I’m sure she cares about.”
“I did the research.” He gets to his feet, running over and grabbing a diagram from his lab. “We’re physically compatible.”
“Donnie. Brother. No.” He stops. “Please tell me you didn’t seriously look into whether or not you could fuck her. I know you like this girl, but come on.”
“I didn’t go out of my way to research how our reproductive system works for this.” He tosses it back into his lab, sliding the door closed. “I did that research a while back. I just had to investigate reproduction on the female end to make sure everything worked.” He stands up straight. “Theoretically, we are fully capable of reproducing with humans.”
“Theoretically?” Leo looks back at him.
He feels his face go red. “Well, there isn’t any clinical research done on the subject. We’re the only ones of our kind, after all, and I don’t have any female samples to use.”
“For fuck’s sake, Donnie, do not ask her for ‘samples’.” He gags. “That’s just fucking gross.”
“I wasn’t going to!”
“You were. I’d bet money on it.”
“Ten bucks says he still will.” Mikey drops the rest of it down his throat.
“Hey!”
“Dude, you’re freakier than I am. I love you but come on.” He lays back on the couch.
“Y’all are just gross.” He stabbed the dummy in the neck, sand pouring out of the hole. “We need a more durable dummy.”
“You could just not break the ones I make.” He sits down on the couch. “That’s an option.”
“It’s a literal punching bag. It’s a show of love.”
The episode ends. Leo walked over to the two on the couch, sitting on the other side of his lanky brother as Michelangelo scrounges for crumbs. “Look, it might be jumping the gun a bit to start researching if you guys can have kids. You guys aren’t even in a relationship.”
“I know.” He rubs his face with his hands. “I dunno, man. What am I doing?”
“Exactly.” He pats him on the back. “I’m not saying it could never happen, but this is a little much.”
He sighs. “Yeah, that’s true.”
“We wouldn’t lie to you.” He gets to his feet. “I’m gonna go meditate for a while. You wanna join me?”
“I’m good.” Donnie hopped over the back of the couch. “I’m gonna go work on this thing I’ve been working on.”
“Alright, man.” He walks off to the dojo.
He steps into his lab, sliding the door closed behind him. He sits at his workstation, a half-finished robot sat on the table. He slides his tongue in the space between his teeth absentmindedly as he goes back to connecting wires.
‘She used the past tense. Had, she said.’ He bounces his knee absentmindedly, reaching for the soldering iron. ‘But she called me honey. She called me hot stuff. Is that an insult?” He tests the joints. ‘I don’t remember.’
He sets his project down for a second. He opens his laptop, smiling gently at his screen saver. It is a photo you had emailed him of the two of you to show you how it worked.
‘I should make a camera. Or find one. A digital one.’ He sighs, closing it. ‘She is absolutely gorgeous.’
He goes back to work, still feeling your fingers around his.
Table Of Contents
Chapter 3
Chapter 5
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Text
Brain is tv static with random frames interspersed
Think I'm like. Really stressed and jumping between topics to try and find something that helps / feels good
Topics:
Anyone know a good health tracking app for adhd people? I want one that like pops up when you open your phone, maybe? But is unobtrusive. Like maybe you just rate your mood or whatever when you open your phone, and it closes, and you go about your business. I just hate every app and paper method I've tried but really want to track some stuff
Pigeon. ? Pigeon as pet?
Service animals re: cats, pigeons, my cat specifically, and then also ESAs and also what to use as treats while training my cat (he's pretty happy to learn behaviors with praise and pets as reinforcement, but treats would make everything move much faster, but I haven't found something I want to give him so we've just been y'know. Chillin)
Service animals re: what tasks can my pet potentially do that would help me? I don't really know a lot about service animals and there is a Huge range. If anyone has suggestions, or places to read about it, I'd appreciate it! Mostly thinking they may help with anxiety, sensory, and mobility/fatigue related stuff. Not much of a need for medical alerts.
Bioactive enclosures for my snakes, need to research their biomes and make progress on designs and equipment specifications
Also. Hit a seriously hard patch and haven't been handling them much at all this month so that's not great
Casting stuff. Saw jewelry today made of metal casts of claws, skulls, etc, and they were really well done and made me want to do that
Some taxidermy / vulture culture stuff I won't get into right now
Puzzles????
How to organize my room
Need a shower
Need to organize bathroom
So Much Schoolwork
Uhhhhh trying, but not making much headway, to figure out how I want to do my music collection. Also really need to clean my records..
Make?
Food??? Ew.
Dental hygiene ://
Plampts. So many. Houseplants need maintenance, many need repotting. Keep taking in people's problem plants and like, they're doing better, largely, after being trimmed and watered and whatnot, but need repotting. Also need to trim some aquarium plants.
Also need to put water in tanks. And spray nepenthes.
Laundry.
Gotta pick up trash in my room. There's so much. Everywhere. Why.
Schoolwork. I'm so behind. So, so stuck. Kind of feel like I'm dying.
Going on a picnic tomorrow. Have to figure out what still needs doing for that, probably need to go to the store.
Leo needs water. I'm so....ugh, I'm trying so hard, but it feels impossible. I do my best to take good care of my pets, and I think they live pretty good lives most of the time, but sometimes I get like This and completely drop off the face of the earth and then like, wake up or whatever and two weeks have passed by and I have not cleaned a water bowl! That's a serious problem!!!! I do not know how to combat that, really, besides more reminders. Having someone around who is willing to like, help, when things are especially hard, would be great, but I don't live with my partner right now and do not feel like I can ask anyone here for that. But I can't put my animals at risk. I check on them every day, and if their bowls are dirty I do take them out and clean them, but sometimes (like now) i cannot get myself to do it without a pressure like a dirty bowl, or a feeding day. And like, it's really important that they have clean water. I'm talking to myself here but like, if anyone has advice. Please. With the tank redesigns and upgrades, the bowls will be more accessible, which will help because one of them is very heavy at the angle I have to pick it up, and another requires moving a lot of branches and is best to take out while the snake is out (this is Leo) which is fine because I love my boy, but adds time to the process, and makes it harder to start, you know? Maybe if I just got more bowls - I could take the bowl out and immediately replace it, fill the new one, and replace the decor and snake, and then clean the bowl as a separate task? That would be easier for my brain. Currently I have a Specific bowl I prefer to use for each tank, and then everything else is Just In Case, but I mean. Acquiring extras is something I want to do anyway, and it may help with several problems, so. Yeah. I'll try that. But also, any other ideas, guys?
Anxiety: can't stop picking at my face, skin, nails, cuticles, scalp, pretty much everywhere with callouses, also scratched a mole off my face, which is something I've been trying Not to do for a while, so that's...not great. Can't find my earmuffs, and also all of my headphones are painful? Ears are really sensitive lately.
Been playing a lot of Moth Game (flutter: starlight if you wanna be friends say hey I don't know how to do it but would enjoy talking about moths if nothing else. The game is just like, an idle ish collecting game with cutesy versions of different species, and very little actual information, but it's still fun, and if anyone else is on there and also Into Moths like I am, hiiiii) and like it's fun and cute but also greatly impacting my productivity, and raises my stress levels during events, which is most days, so the game has. Not been helping. But I can't stop because then I'll miss Exclusive Moths.
Anyway. Had baklava and two mugs of Thai tea today and the sugar has made me nauseous.
Trying to journal. Hurts to write. Also takes too long. Also my handwriting is very bad. But typing is..not as good
Want to draw. Thinking about drawing cats
Plants again! Want to make seed bombs, have seeds, have most of the other ingredients, just need to put em together, basically.
Really sad :(
Or am I?
Weird noise coming from dining room?
Birds. Spent half an hour at least on the deck tonight listening to a hundred different bird calls (literally) to identify one I was hearing, it was a pine siskin, which I checked early on but the recording was bad and I didn't realize which call was identified. Anyway, cool to put a name to a face, so to speak.
Need to practice for ASL
So much.....to do...
Only had like >3 hours of work this week which was not great because money, but also like I'm really feeling those 3 hours....
My cat is basically refusing to come into my room? Which is very strange and I'm worried something is Off but cannot figure out what. Also means less cuddles which means I'm sad.
It feels strange whenever people follow me, the attention is nice but I have no idea what content y'all are here for. So to everyone: hi, enjoy, hope my random personal posts aren't a surprise to anyone who followed for like. News reblogs and informational stuff.
Do I even have it in me to..be successful in school? Should I drop out of college? I'm struggling really hard and do not feel like I'm building on the skills I need to continue, so like. Uh.
My dad is being. Abrasive.
Mom and grandma are very angry lately
Housemate is also angry, about things i thought we were on good terms about, so I am stressed because like,, are we okay?
Can't find my eye mask :(
Yoga? Like...restorative yoga? Need to track down my PT stuff. And. Do it.
Need to put the stickers on my license plates....oops...
Still haven't found my antidepressants! Yay!
Do I want to store my stuff in open bins, or with lids? Which stuff needs spill protection and stacking capability and which stuff needs easy access?
How to earn money without..chaos
Gotta go to the pet store tomorrow. Have to compile my list of pet store items i need. Uhhhhhhhhhh
Also I have an essay due tomorrow that I've barely started. So. Wooooooo
Kt tape for supporting arches / inner ankles? I keep messing up my ankles, and part of it is walking wrong because I don't have the energy to engage the muscles in my feet/legs right to like, avoid injury, and part of it is I just need new shoes inserts. But i wear slippers a lot and they do not have arch support and it hurts. PT to help with this also but Where Is It
Family can't seem to get dish soap I can use, so I've just been having to avoid washing anything by hand, or being in the general kitchen area while anyone uses the stuff, which has led to more of my dishes sitting out, and more conflict over dishes. Lovely.
How hard is it for parents to learn they have to respect boundaries? Very hard, apparently. And you're supposed to just sort of remind people, and explain, over and over and over but like at this point my self worth is actually pretty good and the lifetime of proof that they do not want to listen? That's making me want to stop trying. Like, if you're not going to respect my boundaries I'm just not going to involve you in my life. I'm not talking to my dad right now because of this. Maybe I'll decide to lay things out to him, again and again and again again, maybe not. And I'm comfortable saying that's on him.
How to drink water
Am I dehydrated or are my hands just completely callous now. My fingertips have such hard skin. Why? It's uncomfortable. This is part of why I've been biting them.
Also testosterone. Been having a lot of trouble doing my shots, because anxiety and physical freakouts, but also not feeling super urgent about it. Which I'm realizing may be a sign i need to look at the effects so far and the possible effects of continuing, and see what they make me feel. It's possible I'm where I want to be as far as T, and don't really want to stay on it. A big thing for me is a deeper voice, so it seems time to take a look at whether I like my voice where it is or want to see if it'll drop any more. Etc etc
Miss my lil sisters
Saw a lot of cool rocks today. Huge (like hand sized) ammonite for $28. May go back and buy one because. Wow.
Want to plant food plants
Also my natives. Whole garden plot standing empty with a bunch of stuff waiting in nursery pots, needing to go in the ground. Because I can't get out of bed. Love that. Stuff is dying out there, I'm dying in here, there's a poetry to it and I do not want to romanticize suffering so I will say this: I brought a Bucket full of moss home a month ago and planted it and now go outside sometimes to drench my moss and it is very rewarding because the stuff is just so green. Incredible. When the rest of my plants are finally in the ground, that feeling will only intensify. But, for now, the moss is very nice.
Made a glow in the dark bead lizard from memory during therapy yesterday, and I love him. Also, still struggling with bringing up autism and psychosis topics with my therapist. Still very worried about. Things. Would like to get a new person? But sometimes she is helpful? And we have a routine. It's very hard to break the routine. Maybe I can set some time aside during the summer, to figure out what to do there.
Term ends in a couple weeks. The task of catching up, of passing, seems impossible. I really need to pass my courses. I'm on academic warning, because my GPA is lower than it should be, and if I can pass all of my classes this term I can get off academic warning but otherwise I'm not sure what will happen to my financial aid.
My phone is playing the same 50-100 songs on shuffle and I don't even particularly like most of them and it is very strange
Got my face wipes! Hooray, i can wash my face again
Been eating too much sugar in general. It's making my joints hurt more, and the nausea
Pet a dog the other day. I miss that. It would be really nice to have a dog in the house again. The exuberance, the cuddles, the tail wagging, the walks... I'd really like that. Maybe once I'm out in my room, tanks and catio built and everyone is situated, I'll look into getting a dog instead of a cat next. Was planning on holding off in case I'm not physically able to take them out on walks and such, but I've been pretty successful at doing this job, and I think that my main hurdle for walking really is motivation. Dog walking is a strong motivator for me. Best to start by fostering, or just do Wag, for a while though. I'm feeling overwhelmed with my current responsibilities, and here I am talking about getting a dog. Good job, me
How do you get wax off of somewhat water soluble rocks? My housemate broke my lava lamp on some of my rock collection and I am not sure how to get some of them clean without damage.
I am...pretty sure there are collared doves nesting over my room but it seems they're less common around here than I thought? But they are..pretty distinctive. Like if I'm wrong, what are those birds. Some very distinctly colored feral pigeons? Who are nesting here, in a tree, without their flock, and who happen to have pretty much the exact same pattern?
Probably should go to the dollar store and get some bins for organizing
Been wanting to keep a bin by the door and stock it with stim/fidget stuff people can just .have ..like extras of some of my favorites and other things i can get ahold of, to offer to my friends who haven't really had the chance to explore the world of stim toys
Hands are really just not doing great the last several weeks. Arthritis type pain cropping up more and more in all the little joints, making it hurt more to write, type, or just use them for whatever. Coordination isn't great because of that distraction, and because my hands/arms are slow to respond and kinda weak. Most people would say I'm not using them enough but I've been doing 15ish hours of manual labor per week, so maybe it's the other direction? More water would help. If only it wasn't so heavy.
I haven't taken a single shower since I started my job. Which was March 29th. That's not great.
Practiced parallel parking today. 10/10 still very bad at it.
Having anxiety that my friends think I'm lying about things, faking, and are watching me to see if I'll slip up. So that sucks. Can either talk about that directly or indirectly, or just shut up about those things until I can get my brain under control again. I'm not sure right now if the reassurance would work as a reality check or make me believe it more, right now, so might hold off on the talking bit for a little while.
Saw, smelled, picked a couple pretty roses. Good times
At this point I'm just trying to list all my thoughts so that maybe I'll be able to sleep and not worry I'll forget
My mom has put her spider plant on the deck, and it has maybe five living leaves. I have no idea how she killed such a well established spider plant, the last time I saw it it was so happy. Did she stick it in a corner and forget to water it? Whatever happened, it is now in the Plant ER, so hopefully I'll be able to...help get it on the up and up again
Leo is such a pretty noodle. He's so pretty. He's posing. Hi, baby boy.
Oh, he saw me moving around and decided to come say hi. Sorry little man, i did not mean to disturb you. Please resume lounging. I can't bring you out right now, I'm trying to sleep.
Also, terrariums. Water features. Need to ask. Someone. The one who was making that super cool garter snake enclosure and blogging the progress? With the lazy river and pool? About maintenance on that kind of setup. My milk snake really enjoys water, and I'd love to put a water feature in his tank. But I'm unclear on how to keep it clean, or honestly where to start. Don't want any huge falls or anything, though it actually may not make the humidity too high if I did maybe a small drip wall into the pool? That seems like something he would enjoy, and a good way to support different types of plants. But like, that's the thing, it's bioactive and I haven't done that before and no amount of research is ever enough.
Oh, Shogun has a dirt hat. How cute. I love when they do that
See, this is the thing. My snakes make me so happy. All three of them are actually hanging out where I can see them from my bed right now, and it's really nice. I want their lives to be the best possible, and I think I have the resources to do that. Which is so exciting. Now if only my brain and body would cooperate. It would hurt quite a lot to have to re-home any of them, but the most important thing is their health and quality of life, you know? If I can't get my act together somewhat, it may be that one or all of them would be better off with another keeper. I don't know. It's just, i talk about all these tank ideas and all this husbandry standards stuff but how much of it actually gets applied to my own animals whose lives are in my hands? How well am I caring for them, really?
Oh!!! My red thread! I thought that was gone forever.
Anyway, please do not worry. My snakes are healthy. I pay attention, and watch for signs of illness, and they're okay. There will always be places to improve, and the water is a big one, but most of the time i change their water out frequently, I'm just worried because of bad depression and fatigue times, you know? I'm working on making the most self sustaining systems i can, in part so that I am sure they'll be okay if I mess up sometimes. Just saying this because I hope you guys don't feel like you need to worry about the welfare of my pets. They're okay, i just always want better for them, is all.
Anyway, the sun is coming up and I should probably go to sleep. So uh, thanks for reading, if you read all of this randomness, and if anyone has thoughts or advice on anything in this post, i would welcome it! Good night!
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