I draw with pencils.

she/her, 18 & not ready to make life decisions, Artist, AroAce

[orionmp5]

So... Haven't seen Des yet

Don't get me wrong, school just started and first block is only just about to end, but we ALWAYS hangout right before school starts in the senior court, and she just... wasn't there.

She's never late, even when she looks like she's dying when sick

I don't know, something just seems off and I don't like it. I'm sure I'm just being paranoid again

[orionmp5]

Not me drawing lesbians when the ball dropped-

[orionmp5]

Parental Relationships

TW: MENTION OF SUICIDE, DEPRESSION, DIVORCE, ECT.

I don't get how some kids my age don't like their parents. Don't get me wrong, I understand the reasons like different dispositions and personalities etc, but my parents are my best friends. I talk to them about EVERYTHING(ok, not everything, but apart from shoplifting ONCE, secrets I swore to keep, and things NO ONE would want to discuss with a family member I tell them everything)

Friend drama? They know every name, action, time, and place. They always know who I'm friendly with and who I don't like

Mental heath struggles? They listen while I explain how dissociative I feel sometimes and listened when I asked to start taking meds

The times I tried to kill myself? Me and my mom make fun of nine year old me because I was dumb. (I tried to hang myself with a hanger and swallow doll shoes so I'd choke. I was dumb.)

Hell, I feel like they're the reason I'm more mature emotionally than most kids my age. (Disclaimer, we're all neurodivergent and they were 19 & 20 when I was born so I kinda grew up with them) For instance, I don't take shit from anyone. If someone is getting on my nerves to a certain point, I'm speaking up. Someone's picking on someone I care about? Speaking up, even if they put their hands on me.

They also tell me the dumb shit they did at my age instead of pretending to be perfect. They tell me about their own struggles they had. They treated me like an adult so I felt listened to and could learn, but treated me like a kid so I could be happy and care free.

But for some reason, most kids I know personally I know have terrible relationships with their parents. I could be unintentionally biased in my observations due to who I tend to gravitate and what activities I participate in, but still! Most people either have divorced parents, have a poor relationship with one, are adopted, or live with their friends/partners.

Like- wtf? Hell, even my mom and dad have parental issues. Damn near everyone I know my age has a bad system and it befuddles me. Literally, one time I was texting my mom in a class where the teacher is a little stricter with the phone policy, and when I said "let me text my mom I love her" most of the class said that they don't.

My mom is my best friend! I literally fought someone when I was in kindergarten because they insulted my mom and I still get mad about it! And my dad is one of the biggest reasons I don't hate men and I work as hard as I do! Yeah he's a ragebaiter and we miscommunicate at times, but I would get into a fist fight for him, even if I'd probably lose.

They're the biggest reason why I'm still alive. And the fact that it's not the case for everyone breaks my heart, especially when it's the opposite. I'm terrified of the day they die and I have to live without them, but the fact I got lucky with the parents I got makes it a little less daunting.

Mama, I know you follow me on here, so if you're reading this, I love you so much, and I hope you never forget that.

[orionmp5]

Des' been offline all day, so I think she got grounded again :< probably got accused of "talking back" again (aka trying to have a conversation they didn't like). Can you tell I hate her parents?

On another note, I was going through my notes app while trying to find something and found that I wrote down "awed hound" under "dream quotes"

Sometimes my dreams give me cool writing prompts, so I probably tried to write it down but was still half asleep. Anyway, hope I can see Des soon. I still need to draw something for her

[orionmp5]

Went to hang out with Des and I fell in the snow T-T

I'm cold and wet, I hate winter. At least we can hang tomorrow, but it'll probably be monitored. Think I pissed off her parents again ( ´～｀)

I swear, i'm fully convinced they hate me

[orionmp5]

My best friend finally got discord! She has, like no social media since her parents are stupidly strict, let alone chat room apps, but she managed to sneak it!

I'm so excited, we practically never get to chat outside of school and when she sneaks out. It'll be so much fun!

[orionmp5]

So, I love writing, and I wrote a short story last night that I'm proud of! It's beta read too, so it's not complete trash lol

For a synopsis, it's a short horror story about a wedding gone wrong because of a monster. Happy reading!

Adeline sits on the ground, arms wrapped around her legs as she stares blankly at the wall. Her eyes are hollow, mascara staining her cheeks from tears long since dried. Her long, flowing lace and satin wedding dress draping over her limbs like water, the once pristine fabric stained black around her neck. Minutes. The wedding is in minutes.

A mere half hour ago, she would be ecstatic, bouncing off the walls with glee. But how could she, when she just found out her husband-to-be is a monster? Not a metaphorical monster, no, a real, inhuman beast. All she wanted was something to eat, it’d been so long since she’d eaten, she couldn’t help but sneak into the kitchen. That had quickly proven to be a mistake.

She was biting into an apple, trying to sneak back into her dressing room in the venue when she overheard them.

“What are we gonna do about Adeline?” The voice was soft and hushed, which caused her to stop and listen in curiosity. She’s many things, and nosy has always been a fatal flaw of hers.

“I’m sure she’ll understand. Why wouldn’t she? It’ll be a blessing for us all.” She frowned, struggling to figure out if she knew the men’s voices. They sounded familiar, but beyond that she had no clue.

“Oh yeah, like she wouldn’t freak out if we killed her lover.” Her heart had dropped the second she heard their words. Kill him? Why on earth would they kill Lendall? He’s a wonderful man, the only constant that doesn’t make her feel like she’s going mad. What could he have possibly done to be killed for it?

“He’s a monster, Johnny. If she can’t understand us saving lives, then she’s insane. He’s cursed. Killing him now is the only chance we’ve got, he’s weaker on holy ground. If we don’t kill him now, we’ve lost our best chance to finally get rid of the beast.”

Adeline's hands started to shake, which caused her to drop the rest of the apple. She barely caught it in time before it hit the ground. She knows Johnny. He’s a sweet man that sells fruit. They talk when she goes to his stall at the market. And if that’s Johnny, the other man has to be Adam, his uncle. Adam is a jerk, but he’s civil. At least, she thought he was.

“Look, Adam, shouldn’t we… I don’t know, tell her? If we just kill him, she’s gonna think the worst.” Johnny sounded tense, his voice wavering slightly.

“Johnny, for fuck’s sake- He’s been eating our live stock, killing our people, he needs to be stopped. Every single person in this church today wants him dead, and I’m making sure that not everyone is making it out of this church today. She’s gonna have to fucking deal with it; this ends today.” His voice was tight, as if he was struggling to keep himself from laying his hands on the meeker man.

“He wouldn’t have killed them if they weren’t being stupid-” A crack of a loud slap echoed out, cutting Johnny off. Adeline flinched, body trembling as tears spilled down her cheeks.

“Shut your damn mouth, Johnny. They weren’t perfect, but they were just men bein’ men. It didn’t give that monster the right to kill them. Talk back again, and you’ll go missing next, do you understand me, boy?” Adam’s voice was sharp and growly, and Adeline could picture him gripping Johnny by the jaw.

“...Yes sir…” Johnny sounded close to tears, his voice shook with fear.

Adeline backed away from the door, and rushed back to her dressing room as she hyperventilated, shoulders shaking as she smothered her gasping breath.

Back to the present, she’s still staring at the wall. Her head feels full of cotton, her fingers numb. Her fiance is a monster, and he’s gonna die today. Her thumb runs absent-mindedly over her ring finger, remembering the feel of the engagement ring. He’s gonna die today. The love of her life, the most loving partner she has ever had, is going to be killed, and every one of the guests but Johnny came here, not to watch their wedding, but to watch him die.

Adeline’s chest feels tight and skin too hot. Her ears start to ring as she pictures Lendall’s dead body waiting for her at the altar. He’s killed people. Johnny and Adam said it themselves. But what was it that Johnny said? “If they weren’t being stupid”? Adeline’s jaw tenses as she thinks. Lendall has openly complained about how disgraceful the men in this town are, and how it’d be better if they disappeared.

Adeline slowly stands up, swaying slightly as she adjusts her balance. She should have known that Lendall was testing the waters, seeing if she would be mad if she knew he was a killer. It’s so obvious looking back. Every time he went on his walks, someone would go missing. That, or a couple of a neighbor’s livestock. He’d always smell metallic, always have stained hands.

Adeline looks around, spotting a fire axe locked in a case. She grabs the key hanging next to it, pulling it out, testing the weight in her hands. Everything is gonna be okay, She’ll take care of it herself. Sure, this is a change of plans, but she can still make today a good day. It just won’t be the wedding she had spent months planning with Lendall. She turns to the door, exiting her dressing room as she heads to her fiance.

Everyone is waiting for her cue to come in, Lendall looks flustered and nervous, adjusting his tie over and over. How did she never notice that he never had a best man, let alone groomsmen? Everyone is whispering, words too hushed to make out, but their expressions say everything. They’re not here to watch a wedding. They’re here to watch an execution. The guests keep looking between the men in the front row and Lendall, those closer to the front showing more obvious disdain, those closer to the back looking mournful. 

Adeline takes a slow breath, hiding the hatchet in her bouquet, placing the veil over her face, and she finally enters the room. The music starts, and all eyes fall to her, the whispers falling silent. Everyone in the back looks close to tears, silent apologies on their faces. She wouldn’t have noticed if she didn’t already know the truth. She smiles at them, the veil hiding the fact that the smile isn’t reaching her eyes. She slowly walks to the altar, her eyes glued to Lendall.

He’s already crying, sniffling softly as his lip wobbles, love and adoration clear in his eyes. Adeline’s heart clenches, and her own eyes start to water again. How can a man make her feel so many things at once? It isn’t fair how much control he has on her heart.

She stands in front of him at the altar, flowers clutched tightly to her chest, hiding the hatchet from the view of everyone in the venue. She looks up at him, her heart heavy in her chest. Lendall reaches out slowly for her veil, hands trembling, when she sees it, and time seems to slow down, seconds feeling like hours.

Adam jumps up from his seat, holding up a dagger high above his head as he charges towards Lendall, preparing to stab him in the back. Johnny looks horrified, reaching to stop him, but he’s too slow. Everyone in the front leans in while those in the back turn away. Lendall slowly turns, barely getting the chance to see that he’s about to die.

Adeline pulls the hatchet out of her bouquet, raising it high above her head before swinging it down. Screams ring out as blood splatters her face, making her hands warm. She breathes heavily as she drops the bouquet, gripping the hatchet with both hands as she stares down at the bloody stump of a wound she created.

“Monster…” She sneers down at the disgusting man with hatred dripping from her voice.

“I trusted you. I trusted you, you horrid beast.” She steps forward, heels clicking as her now blood-stained dress flows around her.

Adam stares up at her, horror and rage in his eyes as he tries to stop the bleeding from his mangled hand. “You fucking BITCH! Why did you attack me, I was trying to save us-”

She kicks his chest, making him fall backward before stepping on his chest, hatchet pointed at him. Lendall props himself up on his elbows from where she shoved him out of the way, eyes wide with confusion and astonishment. “Adeline…?”

She glances at him, her face softening ever so slightly before hardening as she stares down at Adam once more.

“You tried to kill the love of my life on our wedding day. Have you no shame?”

“He’s a monster! He’s killed our livestock, our men-” Vitriol spits from his mouth before being cut off with a wail of pain as she digs her heel into his chest.

“Shut up. You think I care? The men he killed were barbaric. Bastards. So why should it change my opinion of him? You on the other hand…” Her heel digs deeper as her voice comes out with a sharp, rageful hiss. “-You were willing to kill a man on his wedding day in front of his bride. And the rest of you-” She raises her head, pointing the hatchet at the horrified crowd.

“You all came to watch. Not a single one of you tried to stop this or tell me about this bastard’s plan.” Her eyes flick to Johnny. His expression held a mix of bemusement and shame. She lets out a slow breath before looking back down at Adam, her expression eerily calm.

“You wanted someone to die today, right? Fine then. I’ll give you the execution you all wanted.” She moves to stand by his side, raising the hatchet high above her head. He screams, reaching the hand he still has in an attempt to preserve himself. Screams echo through the room, people turning away in disgust, some unable to tear their eyes off the scene.

The hatchet swings down, severing his finger and his neck, causing his head to start rolling towards the guests. Everyone watching gags, rushing to escape the room, leaving Johnny, the officiant, and the couple alone. Adeline kicks his body off the platform with a disgusted sound before dropping the weapon. She feels something wrap around her left hand, and as Adeline turns to see what it is, she’s greeted to the sight of Lendall kneeling by her side, both his hands holding her left.

His eyes are glassy, swimming with more emotions than she can count. He kisses her hand, his voice mournful and pained.

“I’m sorry, my love. I lied to you, I tricked you, I should have told you everything from the start…” Tears well in his eyes, his pupils becoming sharp. Adeline can see him resisting the urge to lick the blood from her hands, the tightly restrained hunger. She sighs, turning to put both her hands in his.

“You should have told me, Lendall.” Her voice is lecturing and stern like a master chastising a pet. His expression sours even more, as if the disappointment in her words is a physical wound. She sighs and pulls him to his feet.

She raises his hand to her veil, and taking the hint, he pulls it away from her face. Johnny, still in the room, watches with rapt attention, completely silent. The officiant stumbles over his words as he speaks up.

“S-so, uh, are you two still…?” His eyes jump between the couple, to the body, then back.

“No-” Lendall starts, his words sounding pained before he is cut off.

“Yes, yes we’re still getting married.” She shoots Lendall a glare before looking at the officiant. “Care to make this quick?”

He startles at her assertiveness, before nodding Hastily. “Of course, miss. Adeline, do you take this man as your lawfully wedded husband?”

She looks back as Lendall, reaching a blood stained hand to his cheek. “I do.”

“Lendall, do you take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife?”

Lendall looks down at Adeline with wide eyes. She can see the wheels turning in his head, before his eyes darken with hunger and possessiveness.

“I do.”

“Then you may kiss the bride.”

The couple lean in for a kiss, and after a moment they exchange their rings. Johnny claps, a soft, sad smile on his face. Lendall picks her up in his arms, causing her to laugh, as they leave the venue to head home, needing to be alone for the conversion to come, and to absorb the euphoria of finally being married.

Johnny cleaned the blood staining the church floors, removing any trace of what happened aside from a single scratch in the wood from the… execution. Those who attended told what happened, though nothing came of it. They’re not foolish enough to challenge the two lovebirds. Animals still go missing, as well as the occasional fool, but it is just how the town is. Everyone speaks in hushed tones of the monster on the edge of town, but they know one thing for sure.

Never scorn a woman in love. She will stop at nothing to get what she wants, even if it means becoming a monster herself.

[orionmp5]

I don't know why, but sometimes my computer becomes possessed and starts trying to make a specific search engine my default and search something. It never succeeds, but it's been doing it for as long as I can remember and I don't know how to stop it or Google how to because it's so SPECIFIC. I doubt complaining on Tumblr will do much, but if anyone knows anything, please reblog with an answer.

[yourfavpunchesnazis]

you punch nazis!

(requested by anonymous)

[yourfavpunchesnazis]

[tnystrk-exe]

[entropychronicles]

[orionmp5]

Artfight 2025!!!

[orionmp5]

Has anybody tried to defend someone in a tense moment, but then that person says you were being mean? My dad and I went out for groceries, and when we were bringing them in, my dad knocked over a glass of tea on a table with damagable stuff on it. My dad was panicking and was snappy in telling us to help, and my mom was annoyed with how rude he was in her eyes. I tried to defend him by saying "urgency causes panic", meaning people are blunt. He interpreted it as me saying it was his fault and that he caused more accidents, and when I tried to clear it up, he wouldn't listen and brushed me off. This kind of stuff happens all the time, I think I'm being nice and he thinks I'm being mean and it PISSES ME OFF, like, the reason our relationship is strained is because NO ONE UNDERSTANDS ME THE FIRST TIME, I don't comprehend how the hell i sound mean half the time, and I'm convinced it's because of my shit social cues and neurodivergency. It happens all the time and I'm convinced this is why I have struggle to form bonds with non-autistic people or people who aren't used to people like that. I'm just... stressed and wanted to scream into the void. Maybe someone will see this and not feel alone like I do right now.

[orionmp5]

I recently read Red White and Royal Blue, and it was better than I expected, binge read it in two days. And the reason I read it in the first place was because I heard the movie sucked, and I wanted to compare them. And IMMEDIATELY I started to understand why it flopped with the .ore hardcore book fans. Missing characters (June was my favorite:(), missing major scenes, changing key character traits and backstories, it's more of a parody than an adaptation. Don't get me wrong, the movie is cute, but it's different enough that I found it annoying. If I hadn't read the book first, I wouldn't have as much of a bone to pick with it. BUT- it changes so much of the story, that if I read the book second, it would've changed my opinion of the movie immediately. The book was a 5/5 for creativity and engagement, the movie was a 2/5 for faithfulness, though it was still fun to warch. Reminder, this is all subjective, so if someone likes the movie more, I'm not gonna hate on them. Just frustrating when movies change so much of the story and plot. I do recommend giving the book a read.

[licenseddoctor]

Hey kid you want a job?

Great get online and go to a job board. Indeed, Linkedin whatever. Now you're gonna search for a role that's in your city, fits your qualifications, and doesn't seem like a bad time.

See that easy apply button? Don't hit it they just throw those in the trash. Now you're gonna want to go to the company's website and check their careers page.

Oh? That job doesn't exist anymore. Cool go back to the job board and find another one.

Great you found another job, you're on the company's career page and the job exists!! So you're going to need to make an account on the career page website. They're using Workday, the same site as the last job you applied for? Who cares? You need to make another account for THIS job's workday page.

Now you're going to upload your resume. That'll autopopulate about 15 boxes with everything on your resume, except formatted wrong and with tons of errors. So just go through and painstakingly check the dates on all of that and rewrite everything you already laid out in an aesthetically pleasing format on your resume.

Ok time for the cover letter, explain why this specific job and company are deeply important to you. You love their mission statement and wouldn't even laugh if their ceo was gunned down in the street. You'll really want to reiterate the things you just spent the last 20 minutes filling out on the resume section

(Remember to include language from the job description, people who work in HR are lower than dogs and they need patterns or they get confused.) Write about a page, but hey don't sound too desperate or robotic this is where they judge your character!

Maybe add your portfolio site at the end here, who knows if that helps no one has ever clicked mine haha.

Anywayyy time to hit apply! Congrats! You'll see that confirmation email come in and you should be getting the rejection letter in about 2 weeks. Unfortunately your resume didn't have the right buzzwords and the AI auto rejected you :(

Time to start again and try not to kill yourself!

[your-werewolf-boyfriend]

Listen to me

Listen very closely

The above is exactly why half of my friends come to me, and cry they're suffering, and I get to bestow my job hunting knowledge on them. I love this shit, it's a game.

For credentials my fastest job hunting time has been 1 week. I searched for 1 week, got an interview, and was hired within a week. My slowest was 1 month, while out of work, while telling ALL my interviewers that I quit my work without notice (I was testing my interviewers to see how shocked they'd get when I'd tell them why, anyone who wasn't shocked I would tell them at the end that I will keep them in mind (not)). My entire average is 2-3 weeks.

Firstly, what you're gunna do is pick a job sector. You're gunna pick a few of these by the end, but for now pick one. Maybe you wanna do bookkeeping, maybe you wanna do something in doggy daycare. Maybe you're a sous chef. Idk! Figure out what abouts you want first. Do not apply to anything yet. You're gunna look at the job description, I've picked out a few for bookkeepers below.

Now what you're gunna do is you're gunna look for "buzz words", or rather words that are gunna appear commonly and indicate the tone for that job. I've highlighted some, but not all in my examples below

Just look at that snout at how similar those descriptions are!

Now that you've got your buzzwords, you're gunna slap those babies into your resume! You see, since your resume is usually read by a computer first, you're gunna trick the computer into giving it to a person. Really what the computer is scanning for is how similar your resume is to the job description. Remember your bullet points, and to keep it short, try to only have 3 to 5 bullet points per job:

- Processed over 500 invoices a day in an efficient and accurate manner

- Curated reports for management review by utilizing available data

- Monitored and recorded over 100 submissions each day increasing accuracy by 50%

These are some great, made up examples I pulled from those buzz words. You might notice I added some numbers into there. That's something you'll wanna try and note for yourself, how much of something you can do, how accurate, how much efficiency you increased, these look GREAT when your resume gets past the computer and is moved in front of a real person.

Now you have your sector-based resume with lots of buzzwords. This is great! Now for the easy part. You're gunna channel your inner "IDGAF" And you're gunna send that to every listing you like on indeed. Filter for "Apply on Indeed" and spam that shit. Sometimes you gotta answer a few extra questions, but if they give me more than 5 quick questions I trash the submission and move on.

Don't waste your time jumping through hoops, streamline it for yourself and use the same methods companies are using. Push MASSIVE amounts of average quality resumes out. The more opportunities taken = the greater the chance of success. For every opportunity taken you've now pitched a chance of success, for every resume you cannot submit because you're piddling around on their stupid website or answering 50 interview questions online, you send out a 0% chance of success.

So go, try this, and see how it works for you.

Some additional things to consider:

- Add random shit in your resume, I added my "Board Game Club" (BDSM group) into my resume for hobbies and discussed how I got my start using sparklines there

- Never underestimate the flair of a little Clipart fleur-de-lis or something on your resume. Never put colored Clipart, but a little floral or swirl design located somewhere nice makes it stand out

- if you don't have a degree that doesn't mean they won't pick you, twice now I've come to a job without a bachelors and being honest that I was only getting an associates before I think of my next steps

- Embellish, do not lie. Jargoning your job description to make it sound cool and professional is GREAT. Do not give me a resume saying you can use CNC machinery when you've only used a 3D printer. Just tell me you know how to program and manage a 3d printer and want to learn CNC machinery.

- Keep. Your. Resume. To. Two. Or. Less. Pages. You don't need EVERY job, only the relevant ones, if your interviewer asks about the gap, tell them what job you had during that time (or if you wanna lie say you were taking college courses and were on a break, you dont need a degree to say you took courses) and that you only wanted to showcase the most relevant ones

- I'm serious on that last one I'll eat your fucking resume

[missroserose]

this is genuinely good advice, and also I’m delighted at how much of this advice is just pick-up artistry repackaged

[orionmp5]

I was playing Pokemon Scarlet, and I caught a shiny finizen and charcadet, and I went to do the olive roll because I'm doing a shiny badge challenge and-

My game froze. I forgot to save. I lost both of them. I'm gonna die in a hole-

[drarrymylove]

those are TEETH MARKS. in ICE CREAM. this psycho bites ice cream

[orionmp5]

HYPOCRITE. no sane person eats ice cream like THIS

[dissecnalyst]

Guess what I saw:

SLEEP, ALONE

SLEEP.

ALONE.

SLEEP ALONE 🗣️🗣️🔥🔥‼️‼️

[orionmp5]

Okay, so-

I'm working on a project for fun, and it has something to do with the art I posted recently....

I'M WRITING A STORY! I decided I wanna share my process with Tumblr for fun and to possibly hold myself accountable to finish it. I've only ever written short stories before, and don't entirely know what I'm doing, but if 50 Shades of Gray and Twilight can become a phenomenon, I'm sure I can at least get a few likes. Anyway- Here's a snippet!

I groan as I rest my head in my hands, the eye strain from reading for so long finally catching up to me. I’ve been rereading articles, emails, and letters for hours trying to figure out what to do for my next case. I could do a robbery case, there are quite a few missing heirlooms and break-ins, but there are also missing family members, and there are even some requests to have me investigate their bosses. I take a deep breath, slowly breathing out as I count to ten. I hear the door to my office open and sigh in relief.

I open my eyes and look up at my partner Angel. Angel looks terrifying, a black mass with a jaw full of teeth, eyes covering the side of their face, and a scar going through the biggest one. Their hooves tap on the wooden floor as they walk up to my desk, a cup of coffee in their large hands.

I take the mug from their hands, taking a sip of the coffee with a soft hum. I look back up at Angel, signing ‘thank you’ as I relax in my chair. Angel’s tail flicks in satisfaction before raising their hands to continue the conversation.

“You’re remembering to take breaks, right?” I nod as I take another sip of coffee. “Just was. My eyes were starting to hurt.”

Angel huffs, their tail flicking in annoyance. “If your eyes are being strained, you’re not taking enough breaks.” Angel crosses their arms as they glare at me. I sigh, shaking my head.

“C’mon Angle. You know I need to find more work for us to do to keep food on the table. If I wait too long, it’s gonna cause us more trouble than it’s worth.” I rest my chin on my knuckles as I look up at them, the constant furrow of my brow deepening.

Angel sighs, their eyes looking at me worriedly as they step closer, wrapping their tail around my bicep as they uncross their arms. “Alex, please. You’re always overworking yourself. It’s making me worried. We have enough money, we can take a break and splurge a bit. How about we go on a trip? You can pick what we do.” I want to argue, but I know they're right. Working this much is bad for my health, and they’d kick my ass if I kept this up. I look back at my computer, drumming my fingers onto my desk before typing into the search engine. Multiple things pop up, but what immediately catches my eye is an ad for a concert. But not just any concert-

“Tahllulah Byrne is having a concert nearby.” Angel is instantly leaning over me, trilling in excitement. The two of us have been obsessed with her music since before she became popular, so the chance to go to one of her concerts is exciting for both of us. 

I click on the link, and in a few short minutes, we have two tickets for her show in three weeks from now, seated in the middle section near the front.

“Looks like We're going to Foxwoods.”

Angel purrs as their hold on me tightens. I relax back into them, letting the tension in my shoulders subside. 

Angel and I have known each other for years, having first met at a festival. I perfectly remember how they scared a group of people by shifting into a tiger, and how they laughed in such pure delight. After that, Angel and I have been inseparable. I smile at the memory, before yawning, tears pricking my eyes.

Angel pulls away, dragging my arm with them, silently egging me to rest with them. I sigh, pressing my hands on my knees as I stand up. Angel heads upstairs ahead of me, and I stay behind to clean up my desk. I tuck the articles and letters into separate folders, organizing them by date and category before locking up the filing cabinet. 

I scan the room, looking for anything that needs to be tidied. I adjust the position of my chair before grabbing my mug and leaving the office, locking the door behind me. I take a swig of coffee before heading towards the stairwell, slowly ascending to the apartment with a wince, my body sore and creaky from sitting for so long.

I head into the living room, where Angel is already lying on the couch reading a book. I chug the rest of my coffee before placing it on the table. I sit at Angel's hooves, leaning forward to pull up the leg of my flared pants to undo the laces of my boots before kicking them off. I lay down on Angel's chest, wrapping my muscular arms around their middle. I hear Angel humming softly as I start to drift off into sleep, grateful I have them in my life.

And that was the first chapter of The Music of Murder, I hope you enjoyed!