#{ events : trash ship tuesday }

[lonelypep]

hi tumblr

ive been rewatching gravity falls and i thought it would be funny to recap certain events in the show with no context whatsoever

-dipper sings dancing queen by abba with a mutant bear he was about to kill.

-stan, a man in his 60-70s, lectures a child on how to formulate an evil plan. (the child is 4 years old, stans rival, and having a mental breakdown because stan's granchildren are in his armpits)

-dipper gets literally mauled by a wolf and decides its better than going to his sister's sleepover.

-larry king gets decapitated.

-kids break in to a convenience store where one of them gets high out of her mind on cheap illegal ice cream (normal tuesday for these kids)

-kids find out about the 8th and a half president: who made the first all-baby supreme court.

-grunkle stan wins the football bowl. he taught the footballers and their gloating friends a lesson. he wins a football winning trophy, and a beautiful woman aptly named beautiful woman. but he couldnt have done it, any of it, without his sidekick footbot.

-soos is canonically afraid of british dog men. hes so real for that honestly.

-ARE YOU SICK OF PILES OF OWLS CONSTANTLY BLOCKING YOUR DRIVEWAY?! WELL THEN YOU GOTTA GET OWL TROWEL

-youre laughing. people are sick of piles of owls constantly blocking their driveway and youre laughing.

-the only on screen character death, with the exception of bill, is that of big henry, who sacrificed himself by taking a golf ball to the other side of the mine. the protagonists never learn this.

-soos turns into clay and starts breaking the laws of the universe. so stan kills him with a radio.

-two kids travel back in time and crush toby's musical theatre dreams.

-"dudebro" became a mainstay in my regular vocabulary for two years because of this show.

-grunkle stan teaches a bear how to drive. he almost gets arrested in this episode. not for teaching a bear how to drive but because of tax fraud.

-soos' stomach emits whale noises.

-mcgucket has apparently exploded an entire downtown city because his pal earnie didn't come to his retirement party. justified tbh

-stan starts booing some little kids because they told their grandpa they loved him

-let me just set the scene for a sec here: its 2016. its a beautiful summer day, where the hazy nostalgia of a music festival fills your eyes, your ears, and the uneasy excitement of love in the hot summer air makes every second better than the last. suddenly, a gigantic flaming head of a man saying "i eat kids" descends upon you from the sky. the graphic horror is something youll never forget. the grotesque image of people in terror at this gargantuan mass of flaming flesh. it burns into your eyes. is this it for you? you see a child, clueless to the situation, ask his mother his final words: is the giant flaming head going to eat us? she says yes. as it consumes you, you cry a single tear. im done being dramatic but this did happen

-beautiful men eat out of stan's trash (this apparently happens consistently)

-youre laughing. darn beautiful men are always eating out of his trash and youre laughing.

-stan strips on public television.

-gourney gets eaten by a halloween monster. he is only freed when soos eats the monnster.

-the gravity falls universe has a public television program where babies fight each other.

-grunkle stan tries to burn aforementioned four year old nemesis alive.

-ok not really but he tries to blind him at least which is still pretty bad.

-grunkle stan tries to steal an animatronic badger

-mabeland has a government entirely run by mabel. this makes mabel an autocratic fascist. sorry i dont make the rules.

-soos' mom turns into a chair.

-theres a character named toot toot mc bumblesnazzle, who plays a banjo. go ahead and guess his narrative importance. if you guess cult leader, correct!

-neil degrasse tyson plays a pig.

and last but certainly not least, stan has illegally shipped pugs across the us border.

[angelique-of-the-volturi-guard]

A Series Of Insane Events: The Rabbit Saga

We begin our tale on an average Tuesday morning for me. I get up, take my dog outside, smoke a cigarette, and go inside. Tried to sleep some more before I had to get ready for the day but ended up scrolling tik tok on my phone. I got ready for my therapy appointment at the last minute, around the time my parents are leaving for the doctor’s office. I say goodbye to them and go and have another cigarette. I go inside to use the bathroom and suddenly my dad calls for me to come out to the garage door. I go out, and he’s holding this space-ship shaped pet carrier. And inside it is, in fact, a rabbit.

I later found out that this was left on a table on our front lawn. And this thing looked expensive. Like somebody’s present. In the moment I am only given the instruction not to touch it before my parents left. So, since I have no idea how to care for a rabbit anyway, I put my dog in my room and go to my therapy appointment.

My parents beat me home and the rabbit is still there. My dad takes it to the backyard to use the bathroom with a collar and leash we had for my dog, and it escapes easily. Our entire yard is wall and fenced in, with mesh caging on the lower parts of the fence to stop my dog from trying to get out and chase the stray cat that likes to come on our garbage cans we never seem to catch. The rabbit isn’t in any danger in our dead grass and dirt. Get it out of your system dude. My dad leaves some greens and some water out for it while I do research on any no-kill animal shelters in the area that could possibly find it an owner or take it in. My mom makes calls to the shelters I find. But all of them are either full, don’t take rabbits, or don’t answer. The earliest someone could come out in a call was 3 weeks.

We have an RV in the backyard. My dad goes there to smoke and it’s in the yard with the rabbit. I write a chapter of my latest fic and then decide to go out to see my dad, who tells me he hasn’t seen the rabbit. Our house is the back corner near a major intersection, so the backyard is huge. On top of that we have two sheds and several boxes and trash containers out there it could have gotten into.

I will update as the tale unfurls.

[lady-snow-flower]

Laur's #Swynwrimo Tracker

Wednesday, November 1 -- Villanelle Poem: A poem in a villanelle structure! Can be written from a character’s perspective, about a character, or about something in the RP in general. Bonus points if it is canon. (Read more about villanelle) .

Thursday, November 2 -- Community Flyer: Make a flyer for a community event that could possibly happen somewhere in town. These can be pre-established or make up something new! (Open mic night at Hatter’s, poetry nights at Chapter Three, local blood drive, arts and crafts at Town Hall, music lessons, trash pick up, etc.)

Friday, November 3 -- Everyone’s a Critic: Write ten reviews that your character would leave for books on Goodreads, movies on Letterboxd, or something similar! Include their star rating.

Saturday, November 4 -- Crack!ship AU: Write a crack!ship au. This should be a one shot of any characters in the roleplay, yours or someone else’s! Definition of a crackship: seriously this shit can’t happen but in an alternate universe. Add 10 applicable aO3 tags (enemies to lovers, modern au, etc.) This is a one-shot.

Sunday, November 5 -- Family Ties One-Shot: Write a one-shot revolving around your character’s family, include 3 family members minimum. (This can include whatever your character’s definition of family is.)

Monday, November 6 — Daylist: Make a playlist for a specific day and time for your character, inspired by what they’d typically listen to at that time. Has Spotify decided your character likes to listen to Happy Indie Sunshine on a Monday morning? Or Witchy Goblin Scream on a Saturday night? Make sure to come up with the funky description and examples of the specific weird “genres” Spotify thinks they listen to – and write about what they’re usually doing at that time of day. Click here for examples!

Tuesday, November 7 -- Community Togetherness Thread: Plot a thread that takes place in one of Swynlake’s community events (or one of Pride U’s societies) with a mun that you don’t currently have a thread with. If they’re not in any of the existing community groups or societies, you can do a thread where someone is trying to recruit them! Or use this as a chance to create a new group!

Wednesday, November 8 -- 160 Characters or Less: Write a story using either Tweets or entirely in texts between characters. (This is a one-shot prompt, not something you do with others.)

Thursday, November 9 -- SwynRPVision: Create your own TV show, book, video game, piece of media, etc. that would exist in the SwynRPuniverse which does not exist in ours. Write a description, make a graphic, write a script or do whatever you want.

Friday, November 10 -- Love Is Stored In The Garlic: Write about 10 significant meals that your character has had in their lives. Is it their favorite pasta dish? Is it the meal they were broken up over? Up to you to decide! Bonus points for images.

Saturday, November 11 -- Short and Sweet One-Shot: Write ten short-short stories of no more than a paragraph long (can star one or multiple characters.)

Sunday, November 12 -- Background NPC: Write about a moment of your character’s life from the perspective of an NPC character.

Monday, November 13 -- #OOTD: Come up with five significant full outfits from your character’s wardrobe/life and describe them in detail.

Tuesday, November 14 -- Neighborly Plotting: Plot a thread with your neighbor(s) using the demographic sheet. If you live somewhere like the Woods, where there are no house numbers, headcanon who you live near!

Wednesday, November 15 -- NPC Playlist! Make a playlist for an important NPC in your character’s life – 10 songs minimum, a little description for each song.

Thursday, November 16 -- Character #Inspo: Find five existing fictional characters who remind you of your character (or who inspired your character). Post two pieces of inspiration from each character (A gif, a quote, a video clip, a screenshot) and write a little bit about how that character relates to your own. If you’re having a hard time thinking of characters like yours, check out this quiz!

Friday, November 17 -- Choose Your Own Swyn AU: Do you have a dream AU-week event? Create your own! Make a graphic, write an opening blurb, and create a sample bio for one of your characters. [example of a past event, you do NOT have to do the whole thing, but this has the graphic/opening blurb]

Saturday, November 18 -- Which Character Are You?: Make a UQuiz for people to determine which of your characters they are.

Sunday, November 19 -- Five Times X, One Time Y: Five times your character did a thing and one time … they didn’t. Get creative with what this means, but structure it in that same manner.

Monday, November 20 -- Personality Playlist: Create a playlist for a personality trait for a character! This could be an Enneagram, Meyers-Briggs, zodiac, etc. or anything else. – 10 songs minimum, a little description for each song.

Tuesday, November 21 -- Back to the Future Thread: Write either a flashback or a flashforward thread with another mun! (This could be an existing connection or a connection that could possibly happen 10 years in the future! Should be 10+/- years in the past/future.)

Wednesday, November 22 — Enter the Metaverse: Your character’s computer! List five bookmarks, their last five visited websites, their last five Google searches, five applications/programs they have on their computer, their screensaver and lockscreen!

Thursday, November 23 — Instagram Stories: Post five IG stories from a single day of your character’s life. This can be photos of their activities and their friends, but also memes, news, funny videos, and other types of posts!

Friday, November 24 -- Relationship Aesthetic: Make three different aesthetics for three different relationships (Romantic! Platonic! Sexual! Familial! Adversarial! Any type of relationship or combination) in the RP – only one of them can be yours! Try to spread it across at least six different muns.

Saturday, November 25 -- SWYNRP Memes: Create memes (there are websites where you can do this) about characters, places, or things that happen in Swynlake! (10 minimum)

Sunday, November 26 -- The Final Labor: Based on the final task for the labors, write an AU featuring all your characters in a role. Choose an AU, set out a list of goals for yourself based on tropes within that AU (ex. a red shirt has to die if you’re doing Star Trek or someone in the group gets bitten by a zombie and doesn’t tell the rest if you’re doing an apocalypse), then write to your heart’s content! To count, each character must have a role and your tropes must be laid out beforehand.

Monday, November 27 -- Fairy Talent! What’s your fairy talent? Drawing, cooking, sewing, outfit styling, GIF-making, video-making, singing? Create a Swyn-inspired masterpiece and share it with the group!

Tuesday, November 28 -- Around the World in 30 Days: Write 10 headcanons for the location where your character is from! If your character is from a place where other characters are from, you can either collaborate with them to post a mutual headcanon list or just make sure to get their approval before you post.

Wednesday, November 29 -- Wordy Web-Weaving: Pick a word that is significant to your character or their story and create a web-weaving aesthetic based around that word’s definition. Feel free to incorporate your own writing, others’ writing, and/or media that inspires your writing. Read more about web-weaving here.

Thursday, November 30 -- SWYNRP Character Wishlist: A list of 10+ characters you’d like to see in the RP (for you to play or someone else!)

[ianthedisastrous]

Z's Swynwrimo Tracker

Wednesday, November 1 -- Villanelle Poem: A poem in a villanelle structure! Can be written from a character’s perspective, about a character, or about something in the RP in general. Bonus points if it is canon. (Read more about villanelle) .

Thursday, November 2 -- Community Flyer: Make a flyer for a community event that could possibly happen somewhere in town. These can be pre-established or make up something new! (Open mic night at Hatter’s, poetry nights at Chapter Three, local blood drive, arts and crafts at Town Hall, music lessons, trash pick up, etc.)

Friday, November 3 -- Everyone’s a Critic: Write ten reviews that your character would leave for books on Goodreads, movies on Letterboxd, or something similar! Include their star rating.

Saturday, November 4 -- Crack!ship AU: Write a crack!ship au. This should be a one shot of any characters in the roleplay, yours or someone else’s! Definition of a crackship: seriously this shit can’t happen but in an alternate universe. Add 10 applicable aO3 tags (enemies to lovers, modern au, etc.) This is a one-shot.

Sunday, November 5 -- Family Ties One-Shot: Write a one-shot revolving around your character’s family, include 3 family members minimum. (This can include whatever your character’s definition of family is.)

Monday, November 6 — Daylist: Make a playlist for a specific day and time for your character, inspired by what they’d typically listen to at that time. Has Spotify decided your character likes to listen to Happy Indie Sunshine on a Monday morning? Or Witchy Goblin Scream on a Saturday night? Make sure to come up with the funky description and examples of the specific weird “genres” Spotify thinks they listen to – and write about what they’re usually doing at that time of day. Click here for examples!

Tuesday, November 7 -- Community Togetherness Thread: Plot a thread that takes place in one of Swynlake’s community events (or one of Pride U’s societies) with a mun that you don’t currently have a thread with. If they’re not in any of the existing community groups or societies, you can do a thread where someone is trying to recruit them! Or use this as a chance to create a new group!

Wednesday, November 8 -- 160 Characters or Less: Write a story using either Tweets or entirely in texts between characters. (This is a one-shot prompt, not something you do with others.)

Thursday, November 9 -- SwynRPVision: Create your own TV show, book, video game, piece of media, etc. that would exist in the SwynRPuniverse which does not exist in ours. Write a description, make a graphic, write a script or do whatever you want.

Friday, November 10 -- Love Is Stored In The Garlic: Write about 10 significant meals that your character has had in their lives. Is it their favorite pasta dish? Is it the meal they were broken up over? Up to you to decide! Bonus points for images.

Saturday, November 11 -- Short and Sweet One-Shot: Write ten short-short stories of no more than a paragraph long (can star one or multiple characters.)

Sunday, November 12 -- Background NPC: Write about a moment of your character’s life from the perspective of an NPC character.

Monday, November 13 -- #OOTD: Come up with five significant full outfits from your character’s wardrobe/life and describe them in detail.

Tuesday, November 14 -- Neighborly Plotting: Plot a thread with your neighbor(s) using the demographic sheet. If you live somewhere like the Woods, where there are no house numbers, headcanon who you live near!

Wednesday, November 15 -- NPC Playlist! Make a playlist for an important NPC in your character’s life – 10 songs minimum, a little description for each song.

Thursday, November 16 -- Character #Inspo: Find five existing fictional characters who remind you of your character (or who inspired your character). Post two pieces of inspiration from each character (A gif, a quote, a video clip, a screenshot) and write a little bit about how that character relates to your own. If you’re having a hard time thinking of characters like yours, check out this quiz!

Friday, November 17 -- Choose Your Own Swyn AU: Do you have a dream AU-week event? Create your own! Make a graphic, write an opening blurb, and create a sample bio for one of your characters. [example of a past event, you do NOT have to do the whole thing, but this has the graphic/opening blurb]

Saturday, November 18 -- Which Character Are You?: Make a UQuiz for people to determine which of your characters they are.

Sunday, November 19 -- Five Times X, One Time Y: Five times your character did a thing and one time … they didn’t. Get creative with what this means, but structure it in that same manner.

Monday, November 20 -- Personality Playlist: Create a playlist for a personality trait for a character! This could be an Enneagram, Meyers-Briggs, zodiac, etc. or anything else. – 10 songs minimum, a little description for each song.

Tuesday, November 21 -- Back to the Future Thread: Write either a flashback or a flashforward thread with another mun! (This could be an existing connection or a connection that could possibly happen 10 years in the future! Should be 10+/- years in the past/future.)

Wednesday, November 22 — Enter the Metaverse: Your character’s computer! List five bookmarks, their last five visited websites, their last five Google searches, five applications/programs they have on their computer, their screensaver and lockscreen!

Thursday, November 23 — Instagram Stories: Post five IG stories from a single day of your character’s life. This can be photos of their activities and their friends, but also memes, news, funny videos, and other types of posts!

Friday, November 24 -- Relationship Aesthetic: Make three different aesthetics for three different relationships (Romantic! Platonic! Sexual! Familial! Adversarial! Any type of relationship or combination) in the RP – only one of them can be yours! Try to spread it across at least six different muns.

Saturday, November 25 -- SWYNRP Memes: Create memes (there are websites where you can do this) about characters, places, or things that happen in Swynlake! (10 minimum)

Sunday, November 26 -- The Final Labor: Based on the final task for the labors, write an AU featuring all your characters in a role. Choose an AU, set out a list of goals for yourself based on tropes within that AU (ex. a red shirt has to die if you’re doing Star Trek or someone in the group gets bitten by a zombie and doesn’t tell the rest if you’re doing an apocalypse), then write to your heart’s content! To count, each character must have a role and your tropes must be laid out beforehand.

Monday, November 27 -- Fairy Talent! What’s your fairy talent? Drawing, cooking, sewing, outfit styling, GIF-making, video-making, singing? Create a Swyn-inspired masterpiece and share it with the group!

Tuesday, November 28 -- Around the World in 30 Days: Write 10 headcanons for the location where your character is from! If your character is from a place where other characters are from, you can either collaborate with them to post a mutual headcanon list or just make sure to get their approval before you post.

Wednesday, November 29 -- Wordy Web-Weaving: Pick a word that is significant to your character or their story and create a web-weaving aesthetic based around that word’s definition. Feel free to incorporate your own writing, others’ writing, and/or media that inspires your writing. Read more about web-weaving here.

Thursday, November 30 -- SWYNRP Character Wishlist: A list of 10+ characters you’d like to see in the RP (for you to play or someone else!)

[apennywasted]

TRACKLIST;

Tuesday, November 1 -- Ghazal Poem: A poem in a ghazal structure! Can be written from a character’s perspective, about a character, or about something in the RP in general. Bonus points if it is canon. (Read more about Ghazals here) .

Wednesday, November 2 -- Community Flyer: Make a flyer for a community event that could possibly happen somewhere in town. These can be pre-established or make up something new! (Open mic night at Hatter’s, poetry nights at Chapter Three, local blood drive, arts and crafts at Town Hall, music lessons, trash pick up, etc.) 

Thursday, November 3 -- The Gift that Keeps on Giving: Make a list of 10 items your character has received as a gift and describe what the item means to them (if at all).  

Friday, November 4 -- #OOTD: Come up with five significant full outfits from your character’s wardrobe/life and describe them in detail. 

Saturday, November 5 -- Family Ties One-Shot: Write a one-shot revolving around your character’s family, include 3 family members minimum. (This can include whatever your character’s definition of family is.)

Sunday, November 6 — Soundtrack to Your Life: Create a playlist that reflects a significant story moment for your character (a past thread, a childhood memory, etc). 10 songs with descriptions.

Monday, November 7 -- Business Savvy Thread: Plot a thread that takes place in one of Swynlake’s businesses with a mun that you don’t currently have a thread with. [ X ] [ X ]

Tuesday, November 8 -- 160 Characters or Less: Write a story using either Tweets or entirely in texts between characters. (This is a one-shot prompt, not something you do with others.) [ X ]

Wednesday, November 9 -- SwynRPVision: Create your own TV show, book, video game, piece of media, etc. that would exist in the SwynRPuniverse which does not exist in ours. Write a description, make a graphic, write a script or do whatever you want. 

Thursday, November 10 --  Love Is Stored In The Garlic: Write about 10 significant meals that your character has had in their lives. Is it their favorite pasta dish? Is it the meal they were broken up over? Up to you to decide! Bonus points for images. 

Friday, November 11 -- Lo-Fi Beats to Be a Magick to: Create a playlist for a type of Magick in the Swynverse — you don’t have to have one in play! For instance, a werewolf playlist could include “Werewolves of London”, “Howl,” and  “Running with the Wolves.” Minimum 10 songs, with a line or two explaining why you added it. 

Saturday, November 12 -- Background NPC: Write about a moment of your character’s life from the perspective of an NPC character. 

Sunday, November 13 -- Crack!ship AU: Write a crack!ship au. This should be a one shot of any characters in the roleplay, yours or someone else’s! Definition of a crackship: seriously this shit can’t happen but in an alternate universe. Add 10 applicable aO3 tags (enemies to lovers, modern au, etc.) This is a one-shot. [ See: Final Labor ]

Monday, November 14 -- Neighborly Plotting: Plot a thread with your neighbor(s) using the demographic sheet. If you live somewhere like the Woods, where there are no house numbers, headcanon who you live near! 

Tuesday, November 15 -- Pet Playlist! Make a playlist for your character’s pet — or a significant animal in their lives. 10 songs minimum, a little description for each song.

Wednesday, November 16 -- The Character Tour: create a travel itinerary featuring 10 significant locations from your character's life (can be in the same town/city, country, or even around the world!). You can do this in a saved Google Map too. 

Thursday, November 17 -- Wanted Ad: Create a plot call for a service your character needs or wants. Examples include: needing a babysitter, being a babysitter, tutoring/study buddy, etc. Post your plot call in the plot call Discord! (Graphics encouraged, but not required.)  

Friday, November 18 -- Which Character Are You?: Make a UQuiz for people to determine which of your characters they are. 

Saturday, November 19 -- Five Times X, One Time Y: Five times your character did a thing and one time … they didn’t. Get creative with what this means, but structure it in that same manner. 

Sunday, November 20 -- Short and Sweet One-Shot: Write ten short-short stories of no more than a paragraph long (can star one or multiple characters.) 

Monday, November 21 -- Back to the Future Thread: Write either a flashback or a flashforward thread with another mun! (This could be an existing connection or a connection that could possibly happen 10 years in the future! Should be 10+/- years in the past/future.) 

Tuesday, November 22 — Enter the Metaverse: Your character’s computer! List five bookmarks, their last five visited websites, their last five Google searches, five applications/programs they have on their computer, their screensaver and lockscreen! 

Wednesday, November 23 — "It's time to BeReal": Post five BeReals from a random time of day in your character’s life; give us a front-facing pic and a pic of what they’re doing. 

Thursday, November 24 -- Personality Aesthetic: Make a personality aesthetic for 3 characters or 3 different personality types. These can be anything: Hogwarts houses, Myers-Briggs, star charts, Enneagram, vice/virtue, etc.

Friday, November 25 --  SWYNRP Memes: Create memes (there are websites where you can do this) about characters, places, or things that happen in Swynlake! (10 minimum)

Saturday, November 26 -- The Final Labor: Based on the final task for the labors, write an AU featuring all your characters in a role. Choose an AU, set out a list of goals for yourself based on tropes within that AU (ex. a red shirt has to die if you’re doing Star Trek or someone in the group gets bitten by a zombie and doesn’t tell the rest if you’re doing an apocalypse), then write to your heart’s content! To count, each character must have a role and your tropes must be laid out beforehand. [ X ]

Sunday, November 27 --  9 to 5: What does your character’s work/school day look like? Include 7 tasks that they have to complete throughout the day! 

Monday, November 28 -- Extreme Makeover: SwynRP Edition: Plot a thread where two characters are giving something — or someone! — a makeover. You also need to create before and after aesthetics/graphics for the makeover.[ X ]

Tuesday, November 29 -- LinkedIn: Create a resume for one of your characters! Bonus points if you then have them interview somewhere. [example of a resume]

Wednesday, November 30 -- SWYNRP Character Wishlist: A list of 10+ characters you’d like to see in the RP (for you to play or someone else!)

[dr-drckken]

SwynWriMo Tracklist:

Tuesday, November 1 -- Ghazal Poem: A poem in a ghazal structure! Can be written from a character’s perspective, about a character, or about something in the RP in general. Bonus points if it is canon.

Wednesday, November 2 -- Community Flyer: Make a flyer for a community event that could possibly happen somewhere in town. These can be pre-established or make up something new! (Open mic night at Hatter’s, poetry nights at Chapter Three, local blood drive, arts and crafts at Town Hall, music lessons, trash pick up, etc.) 

Thursday, November 3 -- The Gift that Keeps on Giving: Make a list of 10 items your character has received as a gift and describe what the item means to them (if at all).  

Friday, November 4 -- #OOTD: Come up with five significant full outfits from your character’s wardrobe/life and describe them in detail. 

Saturday, November 5 -- Family Ties One-Shot: Write a one-shot revolving around your character’s family, include 3 family members minimum. (This can include whatever your character’s definition of family is.)

Sunday, November 6 — Soundtrack to Your Life: Create a playlist that reflects a significant story moment for your character (a past thread, a childhood memory, etc). 10 songs with descriptions.

Monday, November 7 -- Business Savvy Thread: Plot a thread that takes place in one of Swynlake’s businesses with a mun that you don’t currently have a thread with.

Tuesday, November 8 -- 160 Characters or Less: Write a story using either Tweets or entirely in texts between characters. (This is a one-shot prompt, not something you do with others.)

Wednesday, November 9 -- SwynRPVision: Create your own TV show, book, video game, piece of media, etc. that would exist in the SwynRPuniverse which does not exist in ours. Write a description, make a graphic, write a script or do whatever you want. 

Thursday, November 10 --  Love Is Stored In The Garlic: Write about 10 significant meals that your character has had in their lives. Is it their favorite pasta dish? Is it the meal they were broken up over? Up to you to decide! Bonus points for images. 

Friday, November 11 -- Lo-Fi Beats to Be a Magick to: Create a playlist for a type of Magick in the Swynverse — you don’t have to have one in play! For instance, a werewolf playlist could include “Werewolves of London”, “Howl,” and  “Running with the Wolves.” Minimum 10 songs, with a line or two explaining why you added it. 

Saturday, November 12 -- Background NPC: Write about a moment of your character’s life from the perspective of an NPC character. 

Sunday, November 13 -- Crack!ship AU: Write a crack!ship au. This should be a one shot of any characters in the roleplay, yours or someone else’s! Definition of a crackship: seriously this shit can’t happen but in an alternate universe. Add 10 applicable aO3 tags (enemies to lovers, modern au, etc.) This is a one-shot. 

Monday, November 14 -- Neighborly Plotting: Plot a thread with your neighbor(s) using the demographic sheet. If you live somewhere like the Woods, where there are no house numbers, headcanon who you live near! 

Tuesday, November 15 -- Pet Playlist! Make a playlist for your character’s pet — or a significant animal in their lives. 10 songs minimum, a little description for each song.

Wednesday, November 16 -- The Character Tour: create a travel itinerary featuring 10 significant locations from your character's life (can be in the same town/city, country, or even around the world!). You can do this in a saved Google Map too. 

Thursday, November 17 -- Wanted Ad: Create a plot call for a service your character needs or wants. Examples include: needing a babysitter, being a babysitter, tutoring/study buddy, etc. Post your plot call in the plot call Discord! (Graphics encouraged, but not required.)  

Friday, November 18 -- Which Character Are You?: Make a UQuiz for people to determine which of your characters they are. 

Saturday, November 19 -- Five Times X, One Time Y: Five times your character did a thing and one time … they didn’t. Get creative with what this means, but structure it in that same manner. 

Sunday, November 20 -- Short and Sweet One-Shot: Write ten short-short stories of no more than a paragraph long (can star one or multiple characters.) 

Monday, November 21 -- Back to the Future Thread: Write either a flashback or a flashforward thread with another mun! (This could be an existing connection or a connection that could possibly happen 10 years in the future! Should be 10+/- years in the past/future.) 

Tuesday, November 22 — Enter the Metaverse: Your character’s computer! List five bookmarks, their last five visited websites, their last five Google searches, five applications/programs they have on their computer, their screensaver and lockscreen! 

Wednesday, November 23 — "It's time to BeReal": Post five BeReals from a random time of day in your character’s life; give us a front-facing pic and a pic of what they’re doing. 

Thursday, November 24 -- Personality Aesthetic: Make a personality aesthetic for 3 characters or 3 different personality types. These can be anything: Hogwarts houses, Myers-Briggs, star charts, Enneagram, vice/virtue, etc.

Friday, November 25 --  SWYNRP Memes: Create memes (there are websites where you can do this) about characters, places, or things that happen in Swynlake! (10 minimum)

Saturday, November 26 -- The Final Labor: Based on the final task for the labors, write an AU featuring all your characters in a role. Choose an AU, set out a list of goals for yourself based on tropes within that AU (ex. a red shirt has to die if you’re doing Star Trek or someone in the group gets bitten by a zombie and doesn’t tell the rest if you’re doing an apocalypse), then write to your heart’s content! To count, each character must have a role and your tropes must be laid out beforehand. 

Sunday, November 27 --  9 to 5: What does your character’s work/school day look like? Include 7 tasks that they have to complete throughout the day! 

Monday, November 28 -- Extreme Makeover: SwynRP Edition: Plot a thread where two characters are giving something — or someone! — a makeover. You also need to create before and after aesthetics/graphics for the makeover.

Tuesday, November 29 -- LinkedIn: Create a resume for one of your characters! Bonus points if you then have them interview somewhere. [example of a resume]

Wednesday, November 30 -- SWYNRP Character Wishlist: A list of 10+ characters you’d like to see in the RP (for you to play or someone else!)

[notmuchofatail]

BDRPWrimo 2022 Tracking List: 9/30 Completed

Tuesday, November 1 -- Ghazal Poem: A poem in a ghazal structure! Can be written from a character’s perspective, about a character, or about something in the RP in general. Bonus points if it is canon. (Read more about Ghazals here) .

Wednesday, November 2 -- Community Flyer: Make a flyer for a community event that could possibly happen somewhere in town. These can be pre-established or make up something new! (Open mic night at Hatter’s, poetry nights at Chapter Three, local blood drive, arts and crafts at Town Hall, music lessons, trash pick up, etc.) 

Thursday, November 3 -- The Gift that Keeps on Giving: Make a list of 10 items your character has received as a gift and describe what the item means to them (if at all).  

Friday, November 4 -- #OOTD: Come up with five significant full outfits from your character’s wardrobe/life and describe them in detail. 

Saturday, November 5 -- Family Ties One-Shot: Write a one-shot revolving around your character’s family, include 3 family members minimum. (This can include whatever your character’s definition of family is.)

Sunday, November 6 — Soundtrack to Your Life: Create a playlist that reflects a significant story moment for your character (a past thread, a childhood memory, etc). 10 songs with descriptions.

Monday, November 7 -- Business Savvy Thread: Plot a thread that takes place in one of Swynlake’s businesses with a mun that you don’t currently have a thread with.

Tuesday, November 8 -- 160 Characters or Less: Write a story using either Tweets or entirely in texts between characters. (This is a one-shot prompt, not something you do with others.)

Wednesday, November 9 -- SwynRPVision: Create your own TV show, book, video game, piece of media, etc. that would exist in the SwynRPuniverse which does not exist in ours. Write a description, make a graphic, write a script or do whatever you want. 

Thursday, November 10 --  Love Is Stored In The Garlic: Write about 10 significant meals that your character has had in their lives. Is it their favorite pasta dish? Is it the meal they were broken up over? Up to you to decide! Bonus points for images. 

Friday, November 11 -- Lo-Fi Beats to Be a Magick to: Create a playlist for a type of Magick in the Swynverse — you don’t have to have one in play! For instance, a werewolf playlist could include “Werewolves of London”, “Howl,” and  “Running with the Wolves.” Minimum 10 songs, with a line or two explaining why you added it. 

Saturday, November 12 -- Background NPC: Write about a moment of your character’s life from the perspective of an NPC character. 

Sunday, November 13 -- Crack!ship AU: Write a crack!ship au. This should be a one shot of any characters in the roleplay, yours or someone else’s! Definition of a crackship: seriously this shit can’t happen but in an alternate universe. Add 10 applicable aO3 tags (enemies to lovers, modern au, etc.) This is a one-shot. 

Monday, November 14 -- Neighborly Plotting: Plot a thread with your neighbor(s) using the demographic sheet. If you live somewhere like the Woods, where there are no house numbers, headcanon who you live near! 

Tuesday, November 15 -- Pet Playlist! Make a playlist for your character’s pet — or a significant animal in their lives. 10 songs minimum, a little description for each song.

Wednesday, November 16 -- The Character Tour: create a travel itinerary featuring 10 significant locations from your character's life (can be in the same town/city, country, or even around the world!). You can do this in a saved Google Map too. 

Thursday, November 17 -- Wanted Ad: Create a plot call for a service your character needs or wants. Examples include: needing a babysitter, being a babysitter, tutoring/study buddy, etc. Post your plot call in the plot call Discord! (Graphics encouraged, but not required.)  

Friday, November 18 -- Which Character Are You?: Make a UQuiz for people to determine which of your characters they are. 

Saturday, November 19 -- Five Times X, One Time Y: Five times your character did a thing and one time … they didn’t. Get creative with what this means, but structure it in that same manner. 

Sunday, November 20 -- Short and Sweet One-Shot: Write ten short-short stories of no more than a paragraph long (can star one or multiple characters.) 

Monday, November 21 -- Back to the Future Thread: Write either a flashback or a flashforward thread with another mun! (This could be an existing connection or a connection that could possibly happen 10 years in the future! Should be 10+/- years in the past/future.) 

Tuesday, November 22 — Enter the Metaverse: Your character’s computer! List five bookmarks, their last five visited websites, their last five Google searches, five applications/programs they have on their computer, their screensaver and lockscreen! 

Wednesday, November 23 — "It's time to BeReal": Post five BeReals from a random time of day in your character’s life; give us a front-facing pic and a pic of what they’re doing. ...

Thursday, November 24 -- Personality Aesthetic: Make a personality aesthetic for 3 characters or 3 different personality types. These can be anything: Hogwarts houses, Myers-Briggs, star charts, Enneagram, vice/virtue, etc.

Friday, November 25 --  SWYNRP Memes: Create memes (there are websites where you can do this) about characters, places, or things that happen in Swynlake! (10 minimum)

Saturday, November 26 -- The Final Labor: Based on the final task for the labors, write an AU featuring all your characters in a role. Choose an AU, set out a list of goals for yourself based on tropes within that AU (ex. a red shirt has to die if you’re doing Star Trek or someone in the group gets bitten by a zombie and doesn’t tell the rest if you’re doing an apocalypse), then write to your heart’s content! To count, each character must have a role and your tropes must be laid out beforehand. 

Sunday, November 27 --  9 to 5: What does your character’s work/school day look like? Include 7 tasks that they have to complete throughout the day! 

Monday, November 28 -- Extreme Makeover: SwynRP Edition: Plot a thread where two characters are giving something — or someone! — a makeover. You also need to create before and after aesthetics/graphics for the makeover.

Tuesday, November 29 -- LinkedIn: Create a resume for one of your characters! Bonus points if you then have them interview somewhere. [example of a resume]

Wednesday, November 30 -- SWYNRP Character Wishlist: A list of 10+ characters you’d like to see in the RP (for you to play or someone else!)

[oliversaluki]

Swynwrimo 2022 Track List

Tuesday, November 1 -- Ghazal Poem: A poem in a ghazal structure! Can be written from a character’s perspective, about a character, or about something in the RP in general. Bonus points if it is canon. (Read more about Ghazals here) .

Wednesday, November 2 -- Community Flyer: Make a flyer for a community event that could possibly happen somewhere in town. These can be pre-established or make up something new! (Open mic night at Hatter’s, poetry nights at Chapter Three, local blood drive, arts and crafts at Town Hall, music lessons, trash pick up, etc.) 

Thursday, November 3 -- The Gift that Keeps on Giving: Make a list of 10 items your character has received as a gift and describe what the item means to them (if at all).  

Friday, November 4 -- #OOTD: Come up with five significant full outfits from your character’s wardrobe/life and describe them in detail. 

Saturday, November 5 -- Family Ties One-Shot: Write a one-shot revolving around your character’s family, include 3 family members minimum. (This can include whatever your character’s definition of family is.)

Sunday, November 6 — Soundtrack to Your Life: Create a playlist that reflects a significant story moment for your character (a past thread, a childhood memory, etc). 10 songs with descriptions.

Monday, November 7 -- Business Savvy Thread: Plot a thread that takes place in one of Swynlake’s businesses with a mun that you don’t currently have a thread with.

Tuesday, November 8 -- 160 Characters or Less: Write a story using either Tweets or entirely in texts between characters. (This is a one-shot prompt, not something you do with others.)

Wednesday, November 9 -- SwynRPVision: Create your own TV show, book, video game, piece of media, etc. that would exist in the SwynRPuniverse which does not exist in ours. Write a description, make a graphic, write a script or do whatever you want. 

Thursday, November 10 --  Love Is Stored In The Garlic: Write about 10 significant meals that your character has had in their lives. Is it their favorite pasta dish? Is it the meal they were broken up over? Up to you to decide! Bonus points for images. 

Friday, November 11 -- Lo-Fi Beats to Be a Magick to: Create a playlist for a type of Magick in the Swynverse — you don’t have to have one in play! For instance, a werewolf playlist could include “Werewolves of London”, “Howl,” and  “Running with the Wolves.” Minimum 10 songs, with a line or two explaining why you added it. 

Saturday, November 12 -- Background NPC: Write about a moment of your character’s life from the perspective of an NPC character. 

Sunday, November 13 -- Crack!ship AU: Write a crack!ship au. This should be a one shot of any characters in the roleplay, yours or someone else’s! Definition of a crackship: seriously this shit can’t happen but in an alternate universe. Add 10 applicable aO3 tags (enemies to lovers, modern au, etc.) This is a one-shot. 

Monday, November 14 -- Neighborly Plotting: Plot a thread with your neighbor(s) using the demographic sheet. If you live somewhere like the Woods, where there are no house numbers, headcanon who you live near! 

Tuesday, November 15 -- Pet Playlist! Make a playlist for your character’s pet — or a significant animal in their lives. 10 songs minimum, a little description for each song.

Wednesday, November 16 -- The Character Tour: create a travel itinerary featuring 10 significant locations from your character's life (can be in the same town/city, country, or even around the world!). You can do this in a saved Google Map too. 

Thursday, November 17 -- Wanted Ad: Create a plot call for a service your character needs or wants. Examples include: needing a babysitter, being a babysitter, tutoring/study buddy, etc. Post your plot call in the plot call Discord! (Graphics encouraged, but not required.)  

Friday, November 18 -- Which Character Are You?: Make a UQuiz for people to determine which of your characters they are. 

Saturday, November 19 -- Five Times X, One Time Y: Five times your character did a thing and one time … they didn’t. Get creative with what this means, but structure it in that same manner. 

Sunday, November 20 -- Short and Sweet One-Shot: Write ten short-short stories of no more than a paragraph long (can star one or multiple characters.) 

Monday, November 21 -- Back to the Future Thread: Write either a flashback or a flashforward thread with another mun! (This could be an existing connection or a connection that could possibly happen 10 years in the future! Should be 10+/- years in the past/future.) 

Tuesday, November 22 — Enter the Metaverse: Your character’s computer! List five bookmarks, their last five visited websites, their last five Google searches, five applications/programs they have on their computer, their screensaver and lockscreen! 

Wednesday, November 23 — "It's time to BeReal": Post five BeReals from a random time of day in your character’s life; give us a front-facing pic and a pic of what they’re doing. 

Thursday, November 24 -- Personality Aesthetic: Make a personality aesthetic for 3 characters or 3 different personality types. These can be anything: Hogwarts houses, Myers-Briggs, star charts, Enneagram, vice/virtue, etc.

Friday, November 25 --  SWYNRP Memes: Create memes (there are websites where you can do this) about characters, places, or things that happen in Swynlake! (10 minimum)

Saturday, November 26 -- The Final Labor: Based on the final task for the labors, write an AU featuring all your characters in a role. Choose an AU, set out a list of goals for yourself based on tropes within that AU (ex. a red shirt has to die if you’re doing Star Trek or someone in the group gets bitten by a zombie and doesn’t tell the rest if you’re doing an apocalypse), then write to your heart’s content! To count, each character must have a role and your tropes must be laid out beforehand. 

Sunday, November 27 --  9 to 5: What does your character’s work/school day look like? Include 7 tasks that they have to complete throughout the day! 

Monday, November 28 -- Extreme Makeover: SwynRP Edition: Plot a thread where two characters are giving something — or someone! — a makeover. You also need to create before and after aesthetics/graphics for the makeover.

Tuesday, November 29 -- LinkedIn: Create a resume for one of your characters! Bonus points if you then have them interview somewhere. [example of a resume]

Wednesday, November 30 -- SWYNRP Character Wishlist: A list of 10+ characters you’d like to see in the RP (for you to play or someone else!)

[thejudgingtrash]

Annabeth is a good person,but not a nice or pleasant one,IMO.

YES.

That’s it. That’s the post. Pack it up everybody, we just cracked the case and cleared up one of the most compelling fights in the PJO fandom since forever. Good job everybody, clap it out and there’s the door! Don’t forget ordering the drinks at Starbucks, Mitch! They’re on me!

Okay, but on a more serious note: YES. YES EXACTLY.

And before some of you roll your eyes or grab your pitchforks – put your biases aside and hear me out for once. I like Annabeth. She’s my in my top three characters only second to Percy himself. I love Percabeth. It’s my favorite ship in the entire series and to be frank, the only ship that I care about PJO wise. Hell, I spend my time creating my own headcanons or writing my own fanfics with Percabeth being the star in them.

But that is not to say that I’m unable to see how certain things have developed over the years or where they stand now in regard to Annabeth. I’m not here to ignore things that have been said and/or done due to or in the name of Annabeth and I’m not here to vilify anyone that doesn’t like her. And I’m here to admit that I’m guilty of some of the things that may be addressed in this meta essay that you will read in just a second. However, I try my best to assure you, that I’m for once able to recognize my own bias.

Warning: a monster essay lies right upon you.

This should count as a paper of its own.

Back to the statement on top: I would go out even further to reframe your claim, anon:

Annabeth Chase is a good character but not a nice or pleasant person.

Annabeth is a wonderful character but she isn’t a nice one. Or at least not nice to everyone. She is (construction wise if I dare say) the best character out of the series. She has her positive traits (she’s caring, she’s emotional, she’s encouraged and volunteers, she fights for what she believes in, she forgives (even if doing so begrudgingly)) but she also has her negative traits (she’s stubborn, she’s brash, changing her mind takes forever, she is prejudiced, she baits others). That balances things out. She is branded as the intelligent kid but does irrational things (like I’ve just said a) she’s a kid and b) she’s not a robot). She should probably know better, but we all make mistakes and hopefully grow and learn from them. The clouds in the sky do blur and cover our visions sometimes.

Annabeth had clashes with other characters or was about to have fights due to her stubbornness or jealousy (Rachel, Reyna, etc.) and has of course her problems with the mortal world and her family but she also found new friends, some things cleared up throughout the narration and she was/is quite popular in Camp Half-Blood.

The thing is: she doesn’t have to be nice or pleasant (as a character). Or at least not all the time. Her character is humanized. That is what or who she is. Human. She does stand out as a character, not just because she’s the (future) love interest. She feels like someone you could meet in real life and either adore from the top to the bottom or declare as your biggest enemy. And that’s totally okay if you lean either way – liking or disliking her. Or even feeling indifferent about her. Also great!

To say that she has been the best character that Riordan has crafted is easy to say, because she has been sculpted after Riordan’s wife. He had a model he could rub some of real-life events or traits on. That’s not the problem. The problem truly doesn’t lie on Riordan’s side for the most part for once.

The problem is inherently on the fandom’s side. What the fandom does, how it acts and how it treats Annabeth as a character is the problem. The problems vary but it’s mostly the mischaracterization of Annabeth, starting fights and fan/ship wars, internalized misogyny (in some cases) and how some of the Annabeth stans lash out (ha, got firsthand experience in that field among many of my friends and mutuals!). There is a reason why many people are wary of people that have Annabeth or Percabeth related URLs.

The fact that we see Annabeth mostly through Percy’s lens and (until the Heroes of Olympus saga hits) we never really see her in chill everyday situations is essentially Riordan leaving the back door of the house open, ready for all of you asshats to rob his mansion in Boston. Because a frame on a character means that we don’t get to see the character in its entirety (unlike we do with Percy in PJO for the most part). That means a bunch of stuff is left open for interpretation which is the reason why Annabeth gets so many polarized headcanon and opinions tossed around. I think that is one of the true appeals of Annabeth. You can add on stuff and it necessarily doesn’t have to contradict itself.

We have people calling her abusive due to a (n admittedly stupid and unnecessary) judo flip and we have people that act like she’s never done anything wrong. People sorta use this excuse to form and shape Annabeth however they want and distort her characterization.

People in the fandom act like Annabeth is some weird prized possession. We perceive Annabeth mostly through the eyes of others (Percy, Apollo, etc.) and when we had some sort of insight in her ways (MOA, HOH) it felt… weird? Somewhat? Like Riordan left two bullet points of her characterization and told the ghostwriter: aight, fuck it up, gringo, see you on Tuesday and greet Fred the next time you see him for me. 

There have been many posts lately (by Tharini, Simi, Sawasawako, Jewishpercy and Annie I believe?) that HOO Percabeth felt weird. That they felt weirdly constructed, that there was no conflict, no growth. It felt stagnating, like we’re turning back. We had five books prior where we had Annabeth and Percy slowly shifting from disliking to liking and crushing each other. True development. And when we finally got the cake it felt… dissatisfying. Like the cheap box stuff and not the delicious exquisite taste that we were promised.

I said it previously in my Percabeth ship roast, but let me repeat myself: many Percabeth related things are straight up fanon. Some of it is very old fanon so that’s been unable to distinguish unless you’ve read the books recently and subtract nearly 99,9% of things you see on Tumblr (and occasionally the other shitty parts of the fandom like Reddit, IG, Twitter. Although they mostly steal and recycle tumblr stuff oh well. But back to the topic).

The way people treat Annabeth is so strange. She’s either an innocent fluffy smush baby that’s never harmed a fly and all that she wants for Christmas is being Percy’s lapdog or she’s the devil incarnate, broke into your house, killed your parents Batman style, kicked your puppy and didn’t flush the toilet on the way out. I think this is what mostly makes people hate her or the ship Percabeth. And both extremes are wrong and right at the same time? She is multifaceted so both stereotypes are true and untrue and sorta cancel each other out in the same way.

The true reason why people dislike Annabeth is because the stans are doing the most. (The haters as well, don’t get me wrong, but oh boy. Piss of a stan and you’ll know what I mean). That isn’t inherently new. Are you guys old enough to remember the ship wars that have happened cross platform? Perachel vs. Percabeth? Oh boy, oh boy. I saw some kids on tumblr a few months ago trying to infiltrate both tags and start shit (and also fail). The fact that Rachel still gets used as the bitchy (ex) girlfriend in fanfics? It’s 2020 guys. I know this apocalyptic year is far from perfect and over but I think we can let this trope die, right? Right? I thought we’ve established that Rachel is a pretty chill charcter by now… right?

If you posted your stuff on FFN back in 2010-2013 and it wasn’t the typical cutesy Percabeth story (Goode High, the gods read TLT, punk/prep Percabeth, college AU, etc.) people would’ve come for your fucking throat. Not because the story or the narration was shit. But because the pairing wasn’t Annabeth and Percy (in the sense that Annabeth had to be paired with Percy. I mean Percy gets shipped with everyone and their mother but for Annabeth it was strictly Percy. As annoying as this whole Connabeth thing is – the people behind it actually had a point. She never had a different love interest unless it’s a Percy centered story and he goes off dating Athena, Artemis and Zoe at the same time for some odd reason. Yeah, FFN Percy ships are something). Or it wasn’t the action filled canon compliant story or it wasn’t an AU that was popular.

People were really stubborn, snobbish and wanted their stuff in the four five boxes that were the most popular ones and that’s it. People have been bullied off the site in many fandoms, so it’s not a PJO-only thing but it’s still sad that it happened. (Off-note: most of these FFN tropes are still alive and well and thriving on AO3. Don’t be so snobbish and pretend that every piece you’d find there is a holy grail. There’s a lot of trash you have to waddle through. Same with Wattpad, Tumblr or anywhere else where fanfics get posted. Also had this discussion with Annabeth stans. Sigh).

And Tumblr back then? Forget it, wasn’t much better.

That view has sorta changed (at least for people that have been in the fandom for several years or have managed to find a way to navigate through it) but some of the negative sentiment from back in the day has survived. Be it by new fans coming in or from old fans that never let their stance die. The aggression feels differently and somewhat not. (I don’t know if the anon function had been abused that much back in the day. I was an observer not a participant in the fandom).

Crack a joke at Annabeth’s expense (Kal’s famous “Annabeth is a Republican” post or Dee Dee’s and many others “Annabeth has the education of a second grader, chill with the college plans, girlie” stance) and you have people insulting you, making callout posts, unfollowing and blocking you (based on only that? Okay, honey), making aggressive counter-posts, etc. in a minute. If you respond with “It’s a joke, it’s not real” you have a 50/50 chance of either getting blown off or embarrassing them so that they apologize for once.

This isn’t just about jokes. You can make a headcanon that’s not the cozy cute convenient mainstream saga and people would react the same way. Or art piece (no, not including the whole Tannabeth Blackchase shtick done by Viria and others) or fanfics.

People project so much onto the unfinished canvas that is Annabeth Chase that any form of negative sentiment as little as someone not liking her to straight up criticism, regardless of how tiny it may be, seems like an affront. Like an invitation to a fight. Like an insult to them, their character, everything they believe in. Let me state something:

You are NOT Annabeth Chase. Annabeth Chase IS NOT you. Annabeth Chase is NOT real. Her feeling cannot be hurt. Someone criticizing, disliking, joking about her or even insulting her will not bother her. Someone making a statement about her is not an insult to YOU.

Let me repeat that:

Annabeth Chase isn’t real. Annabeth Chase isn’t you.

So think a little before you act? I get it when you’re a kid and new to fandoms or haven’t been up with fan cultures in the past and are back in the scene. But if you’re in your late teens or even older as an adult and you’re unable to understand that you aren’t what you like – you aren’t the extension of a fictional character – I feel incredibly sorry for you. Because that’s just incredibly sad. Someone disliking something you like isn’t an attack of your character. It shows you that you are you and the other person is a human just like you. That they just have different taste. Disliking something you like isn’t a crime, you know? But me feeling sorry for the way some of y’all act won’t mean that that’s even remotely okay. Especially if you’re no longer in the intended audience for PJO age wise and should know better.

This isn’t a “white stans” only thing. I’ve seen and witnessed firsthand how people of color, mainly women of color, act the same or not even worse when it comes to her character. People have projected their problems and real-life occurring events into her character (I’m sure that she isn’t the only character nor that this is the only fandom where this is happening) and in some cases like I’ve said cannot separate their own personality from the fictional world. Fights with woc happened because of Annabeth fucking Chase. So many things have happened in the fandom the past few months, mostly due to people being forced staying at home because of the quarantine but I’d say it’s 10% on quarantine and 90% on people for acting up like this.

So here’s a little story: There was the act of Riordan blowing the fandom up because of his own stupidity and being unable to apologize for his mischaracterization and lack of research (the whole Piper fiasco) back in June (?) and admits the upset fandom, people on Twitter, Tumblr and Discord legit thought that none of that mattered and that the outcry was destroying Annabeth Chase’s birthday. That’s right. People thought that Annabeth Chase’s non-existing birthday because she’s a fictional character had a higher priority than the rupture and prevalent racism in the fandom. Okay. This isn’t a great look, Annabeth stans. And this of course pissed a lot of people off. I made a post about it and someone not only berated three other people on said post but no, we had a mighty argument which had disrupted many friendships in our circle which haven’t recovered until this very day. We both had our parts in it and no one is innocent. But the cause of this still remains Annabeth Chase or how people prioritize her non-existing well-being. Anyway. I’m getting agitated just thinking about it.

Let’s go back to the characterization thing with Annabeth. Let me remind you:

Annabeth Chase is an asshole. There I’ve said it in a post ages ago (too lazy to look it up, sorry) and I’ll say it again. And that’s not me insulting her. That’s me actually loving that about her. Annabeth is one of the very few unapologetic female characters that really showed all young readers across the world that you can be a girl, a badass, smart, strong, standing up for yourself and what you believe in. You don’t have to be nice. You don’t have to hide your feelings. You don’t need a man in all cases but it’s also okay to accept help and defeat.

A large reason why I think she’s an incredibly important character in children’s literature/YA because many other novels (mostly (sadly)) have the “Oh, I’m a white skinny dark-haired girl that likes unconventional things like READING. I’m not like the other girls, that take care of themselves and pamper themselves by enjoying shopping and wearing make-up. No, I’d rather be one of the boys but a sweet cute little boy and not the jock fuck that drank vodka shots out of a filthy shoe once. Despite me calling myself hideous every man in a 10-kilometer radius falls in love with me and tells me I’m oh so sexy and by the way I’m only 16 years old” shit going on for no goddamn reason.

Yes, I do blame Twilight for this mostly in recent years, but this trope isn’t by any means knew. Pretty sure that you could even use classics as Pride and Prejudice and dissect them in the same manner (Bold statement: Lizzy Bennet is the OG Bella Swan. There. Go fight somewhere in the corner, people). The new wave of YA focuses on girls belittling themselves and only starting to believe in themselves because someone else (mostly the male love interest) tells them they’re worth it. And these books hit the mainstream because they’re incredibly bland and picture perfect white.

With Annabeth it’s different. She shows up for the job and is done with it. (Brie Larson would probably be the perfect in real life version of her. You either like or dislike her. Or you really don’t care). That is what is so refreshing about her. Her unapologetic nature. Can it be off-putting? Yes. Is it annoying? Yes! Hell, every time I read The Lightning Thief, I want to rip her goddamn head off. And it’s just so well written. Her shift from mistrusting Percy but secretly still believing in him to her opening up. Wow, Riordan did something right there.

Annabeth Chase isn’t a young character. She has existed along with PJO for 15 years. She’s on her way to the second decade. I’m pretty sure that with the success of Percy Jackson (and Harry Potter) many lives have been warped and shaped.

But when I say the problem lies mostly in the fandom, it doesn’t mean that Riordan’s completely innocent. The only problem that I have with Annabeth lies not truly with her but the fact that Riordan is only able to produce three variations of female characters:

The sweetheart (Hazel, Silena, Calypso, Hestia)

The strong feminist (Annabeth, Piper, Thalia, Reyna, Artemis)

The bitch (Drew, nearly every female goddess in the goddamn Riordanverse next to every female monster)

And these female characters only know three endings:

End up married with a mortgage, three kids, two dogs and a cat somewhere in Connecticut by the age of twelve

Get dumped into the hunt

Chill on Mount Olympus and only come down to be a nuisance and/or give a cryptic message before going back and doing a godly rave party or something

We know Annabeth as the badass strong female first (or the bitchy character we’re supposed to actually like. Choose your approach), the blueprint so to speak, so some of the other characters feel almost pale in comparison and almost not needed? Doesn’t mean that other characters can’t behave similarly, but it feels kind of redundant especially if their character arcs end in a rather anticlimactic way (Thalia, Reyna). The new additions are the much needed woc as the main story with PJO was inherently white (anyway stan black!Percy and Grover, folks). So it’s not to bash on the new characters, it’s more Riordan’s fault more than anything.

Since Riordan only knows three female character arcs it feels like he tried to copy the formula several ways with different nuances. Some more or less successful. This is where fandom actually comes in handy and helps create more distinguished and fleshed out characters in form of headcanons or fanfiction.

But even in these cases people still make it about Annabeth when it’s time for characters of colors to shine. Remember that whole spiel and discussion that broke out when people (Kal, diver-up, Caitlyn, Bee, reynaisalesbian, etc.) joked about or criticized that Annabeth thinks that she’s having it harder because she’s a blonde? In front of Hazel and Piper? If she would’ve been a real person that’s an invitation for getting decked. And then all hell broke loose because Annabeth stans couldn’t accept the fact that in the real world and/or in fictional worlds the woc/coc have it harder? That the white woman wasn’t the victim that needed the coddling? Yeah, that was mad pathetic.

I hope you people get my point?

Well fuck. I wrote so many things and have the feeling I’ve said nothing. Anyway, I hope I made sense. This is way too long.

TLDR: Chill about Annabeth please. She’s an important character but that doesn’t mean that everyone has to like her, regardless of being a character in the books or a reader/fan of PJO in real life. She isn’t nice or a sweetheart all the time. She also isn’t the monstrous asshole that some try to make out of her.

Peace out.

[raleighcarrera]

falling

platinum | raleigh carrera x mc (cadence dorian)

a little while ago i posted about the idea of a soulmate au where the first words raleigh & cadence say to each other are tattooed on them their whole lives, and this... is that. (for @platinumweekend ❤️)

tags: @choicesarehard ; @empressazura; @emomoustache ; @natesewell ; @zigtheeortega ; @pixeljazzy ; @brycemaloliver ; @grigori-girl ; @dulceghernandez ; @bitchloveskcbaseball ; @withbeautyandrage 

~10.5k words | T

i.

the words appear in looping script on his thirteenth birthday, right on time. they curve along the inside of his bicep, innocently punctuated. what’s your name?

“you got lucky,” one of his older cousins tells him, later, when everyone in his family comes by for cake and to ooh and aah over his new tattoo, “you’ll be able to hide that with a shirt or a jacket easily.”

but raleigh sleeps shirtless every night for the next two years, even when it’s cold, so that the words are the last thing he sees with his head pillowed on his arm before he falls asleep, dreaming of the nameless, faceless person who will one day say them, wondering what their voice might sound like when they do.

ii.

she has a more difficult go of it.

being a thirteen year old girl would be miserable enough without the added pressure of the words that practically feel broadcast across her forehead, most of the time. everyone at school teases her constantly and ruthlessly: say something funny, cadence. go on. tell us a joke!

so it’s difficult not to resent the two words scrawled lazily across her collarbone and the person attached to them, especially in the mornings before school when she’s angrily rearranging her neckline and jewelry in the mirror while the bus idles outside.

very funny. she isn’t, really. she’s plenty of things -- determined and passionate and sensitive, definitely, but... no one’s ever found her particularly funny, before.

and no one seems to understand just how much the expectation of having to be funny, one day, is weighing on her, not even her parents, when she finally works up the courage to squeak out, “but how am i supposed to know what i should say?”

her mom laughs indulgently, like she’s already said something funny. her stomach sinks further.

“oh, sweetheart,” she tells her, “don’t worry, it won’t matter. you just will.”

iii.

people ask him about it. a lot.

it gets difficult to keep it a secret as things change around him, but raleigh’s careful to avoid slip-ups and paparazzi photos and he doesn’t say a word about it in interviews, even when he’s asked directly. he’s never seen without short sleeves on, at the very least, and he doesn’t even tell blair and cameron about it.

he sort of wishes he had, though, because as his life turns upside down and he adapts to a new country with a new set of rules and an industry that makes his head spin most of the time it starts to feel more and more confusing, those three words -- what’s your name?

everywhere he goes, thousands of girls blocking the street scream it at him. so how is it possible that whoever’s waiting to meet him doesn’t already know it?

and what does that mean for how the rest of his life is going to turn out? 

what if all of this -- the fame and the money and the notoriety -- is fleeting, and he’s only a few short years from being completely washed up and irrelevant? what if the day he’s meant to meet his person is so far away that he’ll be completely out of the spotlight, by then, with sunset skatepark playing reunion tours and him having spent most of his life alone?

it’s a lot of pressure, for someone who’s already working their way through such a serious adjustment, and most of the time it’s dizzying, thinking about the fact that there’s someone out there who’s supposed to be perfect for him, when everyone he meets seems determined to forget every word they know other than yes, so they can suck up to him as much as possible.

his teenage years fly by in a whirlwind of mistakes and regrets. there’s things he would’ve never dreamed would come his way, like world tours and more money than he can count and so many girls who know everything about him before they even sit down to dinner, but there’s more than that, too.

there’s all the ways the industry weakens his trust until it’s gone, all the people who try to use him for what he can do for them, all the times he stumbles until he finally learns to distance himself by cultivating a persona, by leaning into all the expectations of raleigh carrera and creating something so outlandish it doesn’t hurt as much when disaster follows him around because it’s supposed to.

he watches everything that surrounds him turn fake and plastic and puts his energy only into his music, coasting on the rest. the days are less exciting than when he first joined the band at fifteen; he’s a solo artist, now, and most of the time, he’s just trying to get through.

but chaos continues to follow him and eventually his notoriety is inescapable. his first solo album is self-titled and he somehow manages to get a trademark on the word raleigh, as if the name is now more his than anything that ever belonged to the state of north carolina, and part of him sort of expects the words stamped on his arm to change, once he hits one-hundred million followers on his social channels.

they never do, though, and when he’s alone, and the veneer he’s built up for everyone else fades away, he can’t help but to be fascinated by this person who just wants an answer to the question no one else would ever dare ask him.

iv.

college isn’t exactly the fresh start she was hoping it’d be.

she was a loser in high school and things don’t get much better for her even now that she’s with ‘her people’ at a performing arts university she can barely afford, even with two part-time jobs. 

shane is across the country at a proper state school with parties and a social life and lots of friends who aren’t her, and she’s failing her improv class, proving that she isn’t actually very funny at all. 

boys continue to not notice her and patrons in bars continue to turn away from her one-woman performance, her old acoustic guitar the only constant in a life that feels utterly, unbelievably pointless, most of the time.

it’s like she’s drifting through the days, putting her time in at college in the hopes that it’ll fortify her for what’s next -- her big break, the discovery that’ll get her out of that shitty small town she’s been trying to escape her entire life. she writes hundreds of songs about how lost she feels and hates every single one, dreaming of a time when things might be different and she doesn’t have to second-guess every single one of her decisions.

she doesn’t have much of a love life and tries not to think about that, either.

the person on the other side of those two words stuck on her collarbone is probably looking for someone self-confident, who knows who they are and is comfortable with that. they’re probably expecting to meet someone who has their life together, who, at the very least, has a plan.

they’re probably not expecting a talentless nobody screwup like her, someone who tries as hard as she can yet never seems to make anything work.

things don’t turn around after graduation, either. sure, she manages to find an apartment in a building that’s nice enough and uses the last of her savings on the deposit and trying to furnish it, but it’s only a few weeks of trying and failing to secure a regular paying gig performing before she’s back at smoothie star again, begging for her old job back.

and there’s nothing that makes her feel more like a failure than working the same shifts she had in high school. 

as she hums along to the radio on a random tuesday afternoon when the store is dead and there’s nothing to blend, she wonders what mr.-or-mrs. very funny would think if they walked in and saw her here -- twenty-three years old and flat broke, with a dead-end job and a one-bedroom apartment all she has to show for her very expensive and very useless bachelor’s degree.

that, and a notebook full of half-finished songs about relationships she could only ever dream about and an escape from the miserable small town she lives in that feels farther away with every day that passes.

she can’t imagine they’d be very impressed.

v.

raleigh’s life gets monotonous very quickly. the music takes a backseat to the scandals and for a while there’s a predictable pattern of cause trouble, clean up image, rinse and repeat.

there are girls in between the cycles to help him pass the time. some he likes well enough and some he despises, but for the most part his management gives their recommendations and he agrees and makes awkward conversation for an hour or two over brunch until it’s time to go trash something again.

things get particularly bad after one minor cruise ship hijacking incident. 

but in his defense, no one ever told him that breaking into the harbor and joy riding was a first-degree felony, worsened by the fact that he’d just so happened to crash the boat into the pier while he was trying to dock it. 

at least he’d been sober.

though a monumental fuck up like this felt sort of inevitable; everyone who knew him probably figured it was only a matter of time before he went too far. how could he not when he was always chasing the next high?

still, the image rehab tour that follows is far from what he’d call enjoyable. he has to cut off all his hair and play nice at industry parties and waste time standing around being seen at charity events he winds up just cutting checks for instead of helping out at.

on top of the miserable community service comes the pr bullshit his team so loves -- dozens of tv appearances back-to-back where he’s herded around all day like cattle, in and out of green rooms with crappy coffee and bad catering.

he has no idea that showing up to be a judge on one in a million is going to change his life. hungover and running late, he barely even makes it to the taping of the semi-finals, slinking inside the concert hall in middle-of-nowhere, usa with a headache and some choice words for whoever thought this was the best way to clean up his image.

fortunately, raleigh manages to make his way inside virtually unnoticed. his phone is buzzing angrily in his pocket -- undoubtedly his manager trying to encourage him to hair and makeup or some other absurdity -- but he ignores it in favor of ducking back behind the line near the auditorium doors, only barely catching the last few words of some catty confrontation between two contestants as he goes.

as one of the girls stomps away, he sees the other’s shoulders slump from behind. “guess i’m not making any friends,” she mutters.

it’s clearly said to no one -- not even to herself, really -- yet for some reason, he can’t stop himself from responding. “where i come from, that’s a good thing.”

the girl’s shoulders straighten, but she still doesn’t turn around. “i’m not trying to succeed at the cost of others.”

raleigh smirks, leaning back against the wall beside his guitar case. “you do realize you’re at a competition show, right?”

“of course, but...” her hair ruffles with what sounds like a huff. she’s still not facing him, staring off at where the other girl she’d been talking to had run away. “that doesn’t mean i’m not rooting for everyone here to share their music with the world.”

“what a sweet sentiment,” raleigh drawls sarcastically, almost feeling a little bad for her and her naivety. this poor girl is going to be eaten alive. “it won’t last.”

her body tenses, her shoulders tightening again. he can almost see smoke start to pour from her ears before she spins suddenly on her heel to face him. 

whatever sharp retort had been on the tip of her tongue gets swallowed with a blink as soon as their eyes meet. something like electricity crackles in the space between them, strengthening the invisible pull he’d felt when he first stopped behind her. instead, she only asks, “what’s your name?”

vi.

the man in front of her snorts. “very funny.”

a smile tugs at her lips. “very funny, that’s a weird name.” this is unlike her -- the quick comeback, the flirting. usually being face-to-face with a guy as good looking as the one talking to her now made her want to wither away and die, but something about the stranger standing before her sets her instantly at ease. “so, are you gonna tell me, or not?”

now it’s his turn to blink at her. a hand lifts to rub at his jaw. “huh. you really don’t know who i am, do you?”

cadence’s eyes narrow as she assess him. there is something vaguely familiar about that crooked grin, she’s sure of it. 

at the very least, it’s an excuse to stare at him, and she does, moving her eyes slowly over the tattoos poking out over his jacket collar, the line of stubble on his sharp jaw, the glint of mischief in his eyes.

her helpless gaping is interrupted by a sudden shrill scream. “oh. my. god! is that raleigh carrera?!”

everything clicks at once. as a wild group of girls corner him, she realizes where she’s seen that smile before -- on just about every tabloid cover known to man, plastered all over convenience stores and the internet with headlines about his latest bender. in fact, she’s pretty sure he was just in the news for something similar -- crashing a yacht or something else ridiculous like that, something that only someone as rich as raleigh carrera could have accomplished. 

then she realizes what he’d said to her, as soon as she’d turned to look him in the eyes. very funny. 

her heart stops. all she can do is stare wide-eyed at him as he dispels the girls clamoring for a selfie, snapping back to the present when he waves one large hand in front of her face. 

“sorry -- what?”

“i said, what’s your name? it only seems fair, now that you know mine, and all.”

“cadence,” she answers numbly, “i’m -- um, i’m used to your hair being longer.”

“cadence,” raleigh repeats, smiling at her, “so you do know who i am.”

“what do the magazines call you again? r&b’s time bomb? puerto rico’s hottest export? you’re kind of notorious.” she blinks at him, then admits, “i’ve heard your songs.”

“seen the tabloid covers too, eh?” the expression on his face suggests he’s almost proud of them.

this is surreal.

“didn’t you crash a yacht or something?” she asks, brain whirring into overdrive as she tries to process what’s happening. he doesn’t seem to have realized it yet, which gives her a moment to gather her thoughts, something that feels impossible when she can’t push the way he’d scoffed very funny out of her mind. 

“or something. insurance paid out a couple million in property damage, but...” raleigh trails off, brow suddenly furrowing. he stares at her silently for a beat too long, then slowly turns a dull red. “hey, what’d you say earlier, again?”

cadence wets her dry lips, trying not to panic. stay calm, she silently coaches herself. raleigh carrera is not your long-awaited soulmate and you are not doing this in line to audition for one in a million. “i said -- what’s your name? and then you said...”

oh god, this is happening. her teeth dig into her bottom lip as she fidgets with the neckline of her top, tugging it to the side so raleigh can see the two words on her collarbone. 

“very funny,” he mutters, “oh, jesus fucking christ. you can’t be serious.”

“me?” she demands, “you’re the one who --”

“next up,” calls a voice suddenly, cutting sharply through their argument, “contestant #9,276.”

her blood runs cold as she realizes that’s the number she’s wearing pinned to her shirt. she can feel herself start to sweat; how the fuck is she supposed to perform like this? she wants to throw up. why did this have to happen to her now? this was her shot -- her one fucking chance --

“hey, easy.” there’s suddenly two strong hands on either side of her shoulders, and she startles as raleigh stares at her from up close, closer than he was just a moment ago. “relax, okay? you’re gonna be fine. you’ve got this.”

“but --” she starts, then realizes her mind is racing too quickly to even articulate what she wants to say. she settles for shaking her head, eyes wide and panicked. “i can’t just -- oh my god, i’m going to throw up.”

“here,” raleigh directs, “take my guitar. prince gave it to me as a birthday present.”

prince?! she mouths hysterically to herself, as he flips the latch on his case open and pulls out the instrument. “how is this supposed to help me?”

“just trust me,” he says, giving her a gentle nudge towards the auditorium, “now go.”

she does, stumbling forward with the most expensive piece of equipment she’s ever held in her hands in her life alongside her, drawing in a deep breath as she makes her way onto the stage.

she can do this.

everything else will have to come after.

vii.

the thing is -- she’s talented. exceptionally so. 

he can tell she’s a little nervous, but maybe that’s just because he’s used to looking out for that sort of thing; he could probably recognize it more easily than the average person would. it probably has nothing to do with who they are, how he notices the nuances in her body language...

her belt is impressive. her voice is stunning, clear and uniquely melodic. his guitar looks spectacular in her hands, and cadence plays it like she’s been practicing on it her entire life. 

he tries his best to look nonchalant, feet kicked up onto the seat in front of him, but when she locks eyes with him from the stage he knows he hasn’t succeeded. raleigh’s breath catches, and he stares back at her, transfixed by the way her dainty hands cradle the neck of the guitar and strum the strings, how her lips purse around the long, emotional high note at the end of the song’s chorus.

she’s really very pretty. 

he’d probably be lying to himself if he said it doesn’t make him a little bit jealous and uncomfortable, watching how she and avery fawn over each other when she’s finished. he’s probably a much better suited match for her, clean cut and pristine as he is. 

he wonders if she’s disappointed that it’s him -- that it’s now, when she’s clearly on the cusp of something great all on her own.

it’s a lot to think about, and so he dips out of the auditorium before she finishes up, rushing outside with his heart pounding. it’s not until he’s halfway through the crumpled pack of cigarettes in his jacket pocket that raleigh starts to relax even an iota, and of course that’s when the stage door he’d left propped swings open wide and cadence’s sneakers hit the asphalt beside his boots.

“uh, you can’t just leave me with this thing,” she says, apropos of nothing, and as he stares at her he realizes she’s talking about his guitar, which she’s holding in one hand like it’s a dead fish. “this costs more than everything in my apartment combined, i’m sure.”

he shakes his head at her, laughing as his fingers flick ash from the cigarette he’s holding. “no way -- you should keep it. you two looked perfect together.”

she hesitates, looking down at the instrument again. he can see in her eyes that she’s torn; it’s obvious she knows the right thing to do is to refuse a generous gift from a stranger, but she wants to keep it, and already his mind is racing as he considers what else he could give her that would excite her like that -- a private flight, a tour of his penthouse, a million dollars. 

“are you sure?” cadence asks, without looking at him, and the hesitancy in her voice makes him realize how unsure she really is. she’s the one who’s wondering if he’s disappointed in her.

he licks his suddenly dry lips and drops what’s left of his cigarette to the ground, finding he doesn’t actually need the rest of it, anymore. “positive.”

viii.

they don’t actually get to spend a lot of time together, while she’s filming. she has to focus and it seems like she’s always busy, somehow -- not that she sees raleigh very often in the first place.

the days are spent rehearsing with avery and cramming in as much mentoring as possible, and when she can pull herself away from fiona’s lessons on image to get home at a reasonable hour she collapses into bed pretty much immediately, out like a light from the whirlwind of the day and hardly even aware enough to dream.

but that doesn’t mean she doesn’t think about him. she does, especially on the rare occasions she manages to catch a glimpse of raleigh walking around in the studio, or on one memorable evening she stays late in the auditorium to bang on the piano keys of the beautiful, enviable baby grand on set and startles to find him leaning in the doorway, watching her play.

it’s all a blur and wildly difficult to process; just when she thinks she has a grip on things she remembers the private moments she’s had with raleigh and her emotions tumble to pieces again as she lets the weight of the implications of what’s going on between them crush her completely.

one moment sticks out on her as being particularly worrisome, insofar as how it bodes for the rest of her life. 

it feels like something significant from the moment raleigh offers to help her warm up; they’ve hardly had a moment alone together in days and she still has absolutely no idea how she’s supposed to talk to him or what she should say, but for some reason the conversation flows easily and she hardly has to think about the (no doubt incredibly stupid-sounding) words coming out of her mouth.

“you’re going to kill it,” raleigh says finally, once they’ve worked through all the exercises in his arsenal, “you really don’t need my help.”

never in her wildest dreams did she ever imagine someone like him would say something like that to her. “you think?”

“i know it,” he answers confidently, shrugging his shoulders like it’s that simple. “and you should, too.”

there’s a moment of silence where they just stand there staring at each other, ignoring the restless murmuring of the crowd outside that’s waiting for him to slip into his seat at the judge’s table. she’s effortlessly lost in raleigh’s eyes, so fixated on the intensity of his gaze that she doesn’t realize he’s leaning in closer until it’s too late.

“insurance policy,” he mutters, before he kisses her, hands cupping her face gently. 

for a split second, she stands frozen, shocked totally still. then, her brain reboots enough to propel her into motion, and cadence gets with the program enough to wind her arms around raleigh’s waist and pull him closer and kiss him back, until her heart’s lurched up into the throat she’d just been warming up, pounding relentlessly.

they make out until the roar of the crowd is deafening -- until it’s impossible not to acknowledge it any longer. 

of course raleigh’s a life-ruiningly good kisser. why wouldn’t he be? why should any of this be easy?

it’s only a few simple touches, but raleigh’s mouth leaves her dizzy and lightheaded when she’s supposed to be concentrating on performing, and, independently of the way she’s blinking at him in stupid shock, cadence already knows she’ll never be able to kiss anyone else ever again without thinking about him.

“i have to get out there,” she gasps between desperate presses of their lips against each other, grasping ineffectively at his clothes while his fingers tug her hair out of shape.

“be late,” he suggests, “it always works for me.” 

but she’s not him. she’s not like him -- they have nothing in common. they come from different worlds; they’re two completely opposite people.

and yet every minute with raleigh is like coming up for air after being underwater for years, like the knots of guilt and shame and awkward embarrassment she’s carried around for her entire life without understanding why she has them are slowly starting to undo themselves, unlaced by his careful fingers.

they make it out there. eventually.

before she knows it, confetti’s raining down from the ceiling and falling all over her, and she locks eyes with raleigh from across the room to find his lips pulled into a genuinely affectionate grin -- lips that she’d just kissed for the first time a fucking hour ago and, seriously, what is her life now -- his eyes bright and excited. 

things just keep getting weirder and weirder, but the way they’re beaming at each other like idiots in a room full of thousands, broadcast on national television, too, makes her think things might be pretty great, too.

ix.

it sort of takes them a long time to getting around to talking about it -- the soulmate thing.

it’s not that he doesn’t try. he does, but she’s got a lot going on, these days: a big move and a new record deal and days filled with songwriting and nights out being seen. he’s still on his image cleanup tour, while she’s at it, so his fake smile stays fixed on his face throughout another boring week of restaurant openings and charity events and talkshow appearances before he finally gets the chance to spend some time with her again.

they text here and there, but nothing pans out until the stars align and they manage to slip out of the back door of a nightclub unnoticed together after a night of dancing too close for the comfort of her publicist while avery and the others cause a commotion at the front entrance to distract the press.

she goes back to his penthouse with him. he can’t remember the last time he brought a girl back to his apartment just to talk, and especially not one who spent the better part of the evening in a sparkly minidress grinding against him. 

but here they are.

“so -- how’s the city treating you?” raleigh asks, pouring them both a drink he doesn’t want from the bar cart in the corner of the room for something to do with his hands.

cadence shrugs from where she’s perched on the edge of his sofa, tugging at the hem of her dress. “good, i guess. it’s honestly all kind of overwhelming.”

“yeah,” he nods, passing her one of the glasses in his hands and taking a seat on the ottoman in front of her, close enough to see her face in perfect clarity but still maintaining a distance that he hopes is respectful. “i know what you mean. when i first came here after joining sunset skatepark everything felt so... huge.”

“totally,” cadence answers quickly, nodding in a way that’s almost aggressive. “i mean, there’s so much pressure to deliver an album right away, but i want it to be perfect, and the studio is so different from, like, writing songs in my room at home, and i... i guess i feel kind of homesick, but -- not for my hometown. i hated that place.” there’s hesitancy in her gaze when she asks, “do you know what i mean?”

“yeah,” raleigh says again stupidly, because the truth is -- he knows exactly what she means. cadence has just articulated something he could never quite put into words better than he’d even thought the sentiments to himself. “it’s like... nostalgia for something you don’t even want.”

“exactly,” she breathes emphatically, and then they’re kissing again, and she’s in his lap on the ottoman and he definitely brought her here to talk, for sure, but is it really so terrible if they get a little sidetracked on the way to their destination?

well -- they wind up making out for hours. so, there’s that.

it’s not part of the plan but it’s a hell of a side quest, memorizing the shape and feel of her with his hands while her lips pull every last bit of breath from his lungs, until he’s lightheaded and dizzy in a way no other girl has ever made him, before. it’s to the point where when he finally finds it within himself to push her away, he’s uncharacteristically nervous -- something that’s never happened to him before, not even on the night he lost his virginity.

“i really did ask you over to talk,” he says, voice hoarse.

cadence licks her lips and then beams at him, eyes sparkling. “i know.” she shuffles delicately back onto the couch, lingering in his lap for only a moment before pulling away entirely. he stuffs his hands under his thighs to stop himself from reaching out for her again. “sorry i haven’t been around more.”

“you don’t have to apologize.” raleigh shakes his head. “i should be apologizing to you, i feel like... i should be the one who’s around, to help you with all of this. or at least -- i want to be. i don’t know if i’ll be any good at it.” 

he blinks, surprised by his own honesty. he hadn’t meant to say all of that, but the words came up before he was cognizant of them and now they’re out there, and there’s no taking them back -- especially with the way she’s looking at him, all soft and sweet and happy.

“well, you don’t have to be good at it,” cadence murmurs, reaching out for his wrists and tugging his hands free so she can interlock their fingers effortlessly. they fit together like puzzle pieces. “you just have to be you.”

x.

her budding relationship with one of the biggest names in r&b doesn’t have much time to bud at all before it’s rudely plucked from the plant and stepped on.

she finds herself blinking at fiona in confusion as the words take some time to process. “you want me to do what?”

xi.

raleigh balks at his manager, shaking his head emphatically. “no,” he spits out, “absolutely not.”

xii.

“cadence, it’s not a big deal,” fiona tells her, very nearly rolling her eyes. “everyone does it. you go on a few dates, play up the relationship for some photos, social media eats it up -- boom, you’re a star.”

“i don’t know,” she answers hesitantly, mind drifting back to the photographers that have already been following her around, screaming about avery when she ducks into the car with him. things with raleigh are... new, and complicated, and do they really need to add public scrutiny into the mix as well? “i just don’t think it’s a good idea.”

“it’s a great idea,” fiona sighs, shaking her head. “all our focus groups agree. the label thinks it’s best, what with your single taking so long to put out.” she opens her mouth to protest -- it’s not like she’s dragging her feet on purpose -- but barely has a second to get a word out before fiona continues, “besides, raleigh does this all the time.”

her teeth bite at her bottom lip uncertainly. “he does?”

“of course. chantal clearwater? she was a pictagram model when they met, and now she’s opening shows at paris fashion week. it’s just business.”

it’s not, though. it could never be just anything, for reasons no one else knows about except the two of them, for reasons she’ll never tell. “well... what did raleigh say about it?”

xiii.

“i said no, frank.” he’s annoyed, now, and his manager knows it, raleigh’s arms folded across his chest and his eyes set into a glare. “n. o. no.”

“and i hear you, but is it really the end of the world? she’s exactly what we’re going for, and i know you already get along --”

“which is exactly why i don’t want to do this. so pick someone else. anyone else.” he’s not going to let his label turn her into one of the girls he has to be seen with for fake photos and mutually beneficial positive press. 

for so many years, he’s watched people fake feelings and use each other -- willingly participated in the using himself, too, more times than he can count. he never cared about any of it before.

but being with cadence doesn’t feel fake, and he doesn’t ever want it to. and he knows that if he agrees to this, everything he enjoys about spending time with her will disappear in favor of the ugly, plastic decay that’s eaten away at so many of his personal and professional relationships before. organic, genuine time with her will become strolls near celebrity hotspots, angling just right to help the cameras get the perfect shot. he’ll show up to support her at shows because her publicist called him, and their time together will become some manufactured narrative meant to push their labels’ agenda, until six months down the line they don’t even recognize themselves or what might’ve been if they’d done things a different way.

“look, there isn’t anyone else. her team’s already agreed to it, and i’ve got brunch set up for sunday. all you have to do is play nice for two fucking months, raleigh. is that so impossible for you?”

yes. already he feels a deep-seated desire to go somewhere and break something, to tear through the flower beds in central park with his motorcycle and wink at the cameras when they catch up to him.

instead, he storms out of the office he’s in, and into the sunlight, tugging the hood on his jacket up and melting into the crowd on the corner so he can be as anonymous as possible when he picks up his phone and calls cadence.

“hey raleigh,” she chirps as soon as she picks up, sounding far too cheerful for someone who’s likely had an equally as miserable early morning meeting on a friday. “guessing you heard the news?”

“can’t i just call you to say hi?” he grumbles, ducking his head as he strolls through the intersection with the mob of people crowded along fifth ave, turning down the next side street so he’s alone again, with no one following, just like that. 

“well, you can,” she teases, and some of the anger he’s carrying around with him fades, dissipating into nothing and evaporating like smoke. “but you’re not.”

“no, i’m not,” he agrees with a sigh, shaking his head. “you sound surprisingly cool with it, though.”

“should i not be?” cadence laughs, but he can detect a thread of nervousness in her tone. “i already want to hang out with you. we have the same friends and work in the same industry. we’re... probably going to go on dates anyway, so... how hard can this be?”

god. she has absolutely no idea. part of him thinks it’d be cruel to burst her bubble, but he should warn her, shouldn’t he? 

she sounds so optimistic about it, though. it’s hard to feel anything but hopeful when her voice turns up like that at the end. in the back of his mind, there’s a voice that’s not his suggesting maybe this time, things will be different. 

surely he knows better than to think something as ridiculous as that, though, right? 

“well, i guess it’ll be interesting, at least,” he muses, slowing his steps by the entrance to the subway. 

he’s going to lose his signal just as soon as he heads underground, and he’s not quite ready for that, yet.

xiv.

time with raleigh flies by. 

it doesn’t feel like they’re fake-dating -- they do everything she hopes he’d want to do with her anyway, like go out to eat at fancy restaurants and take walks through the park and bounce melodies for songs off of each other, facetiming late at night from their apartments or on the days he visits her and micah in the studio. 

he’s by her side for the release of her first single, and her first music video, and through it all, raleigh plays the role of the doting partner perfectly, holding her purse on the red carpet and feeding her paella at a strategically-placed outdoor table and fetching her coffee order when she’s too busy to stop writing for even just five minutes.

in the blink of an eye, it’s time to put out her album -- just like that. 

raleigh’s perfectly charming through that process, too. he shows up on time, says all the right things, and keeps a drink in her hand all evening long, so that when she’s finally done making the rounds and can enjoy herself after the entertainment and the networking and the schmoozing she’s giggly and touchy, doing her best to steal him away from the crowd.

“what were your other relationships like?” she asks, half expecting him to brush her off, though he’s always indulged her before. they’ve never really gotten this personal. “fake or... otherwise.”

“they’ve all been fake,” he shrugs, “and i can say with confidence that you’re the best one i’ve ever had.”

“really?” cadence smiles, chin propped up on her hand as she leans over the bar. “be honest. what did you really think, when you realized it was me?”

“what?” he asks, pushing the empty rocks glass in his hands around on the bar top, “you mean this thing?” he gestures at his arm, covered in expensive, custom tom ford, and the tattoo laying innocently beneath it.

“uh huh,” she confirms, “‘cause i was totally like oh shit.”

raleigh laughs, loud and wild, the sound swallowed up by the noise of the party around them. no one nearby is paying them even an ounce of attention, and it’s fun, to be anonymous at her own party, invisible to everyone in the room except for him. “i can imagine. i wouldn’t want to be stuck with me either.”

cadence shakes her head -- that’s not what she’d meant. but before she can protest, he rolls his glass between his palms and thoughtfully continues, “i guess i was a little surprised. it felt like i’d been waiting forever to meet you, so part of me was like, fuck, we’re doing this now? and i never thought it’d be someone so...”

“boring?” she suggests, eyebrows arching when raleigh’s expression immediately twists into one of disagreement, his nose scrunching up with distaste.

“no,” he huffs, “so... good, i guess.” she stares at him as he reaches for one of the waiting tequila shots on the bar, pulling it away from the line he’d set up for the crowd he’d been with before she’d tugged him to the side to talk, leaving the drinks untouched. raleigh knocks the shot back -- no salt, no lime. he’s had twice as many drinks as she has, and she’s definitely feeling them -- she has no idea how he’s even still upright, no worse for wear other than a few slurred words here and there. “but you just are. it’s like every song i’ve ever written was about you, and i just didn’t know it yet.”

the noise of the party fades in favor of the pounding of her heart, loud like a kick drum in her ears. she bites her lip and stares at him, watching as raleigh shakes his head at himself, dazed. “you okay?” she asks quietly, leaning in a little across the bar. 

raleigh’s quiet for so long she has to wonder whether or not he actually heard her. just as she clears her throat and opens her mouth to repeat herself even louder, he nods, reaching across the bar and squeezing her hand before dragging her back over to the line of tequila shots waiting for them to enjoy.

the night is a blur after that, and there’s patches of the evening that are fuzzy in her memory the next morning, but she knows she’ll never forget the gentle kiss goodnight raleigh gives her when he helps her stumble into the car back to her apartment at dawn.

xv. 

things go really well, until they don’t. 

they have a blissful six months together with more fun than he’s ever had with anyone. slowly, he learns every single thing about cadence and returns her openness with honesty of his own -- honesty that feels strange and unfamiliar but weirdly thrilling, in a way, made easier every time one of his stories pulls a laugh or smile from her. 

it seems unnatural, having a honeymoon period that goes on for so long. in the entire time they’re dating, he doesn’t destroy a single thing -- doesn’t even want to, which is the weirdest part of it all. 

there are some moments that catch him completely off guard. more than a few times, he hardly even recognizes himself, she turns him into such a different person. 

he doesn’t hate it, though -- just the opposite, in fact. raleigh realizes he’s really starting to like the carefree, far from jaded person he is when he’s with her, though it only hits him for real when he’s watching her storm away from him on liberty island, eyes fixed on the angry sway of her hips.

he stews on it on the long ride back to his penthouse; the game had, admittedly, been starting to wear on him. but he’d gone along with it because it was supposed to benefit her -- he’d agreed to the stupid public breakup and following the rules and not seeing cadence in public for the foreseeable future because it was what she wanted, and -- frankly, it felt like a stupid fucking decision.

not that it lasts long. he starts texting her just as soon as he’s done washing electralite out of his hair and doesn’t make it more than twenty minutes when they first see each other again at the moda gala before he’s sneaking off with her, ducking under the velvet rope that demarcates the planetarium as ‘off limits’ with her hand tucked neatly in his.

“maybe this is better,” cadence muses between sips of her drink, her eyes on one of the stupid glass exhibits he couldn’t possibly care less about. “now we can just be together -- no pressure. our relationship is ours again.”

their relationship. is that what this is? they’ve spent a lot of time talking about who they are and what they like and don’t like, kissing and touching and holding hands. throughout it all, he’s done his best not to buy into the ‘soulmate’ bullshit too heavily, but over the last few months it’s been hard to deny that there’s a reason he was meant to meet her, that she’s been changing him from the inside out.

“what’s on your mind?” she asks, turning towards him with an open look of genuine curiosity on her face, like she really wants to know. 

“it’s nothing,” raleigh answers at first, reflexively, like he has so many times before. no one has ever really wanted to know. but cadence’s eyebrows arch, and she waits, patiently silent, and then the words tumble out of him. “it’s just that -- my whole life, i’ve watched other people use each other. so many people are just interested in the concept of celebrity status. so i played the game. never trusting anyone.” 

he shrugs. a hand lifts to rub his jaw, and he looks back to meet her gaze just in time to see the little smile playing at her lips, like she already knows what he’s about to say. “but it’s different, with you. you make me not want to be that person anymore. when i’m with you, it’s the only time i feel anything real.”

“raleigh,” she murmurs, her expression flickering before her face does something that cracks his chest wide open. her eyes go all shiny and sparkly and her cheeks crease with a grin, and the way she laughs is so ridiculously joyful the hand he has stuffed in his pocket curls into a fist to stop him from doing something stupid. “i feel the same way. i just... this whole thing, i know it doesn’t always -- work out, but... with you i really want it to. i’ve never felt this way before about anyone, and i think...” 

there’s a pause as her lips purse thoughtfully, and then she says the words that make it impossible for him to do anything but close the distance between them and kiss her over and over again: “i think even without this tattoo it’d be you, anytime, anywhere.”

xvi.

being raleigh carrera’s (real, confirmed, 100%-authentic) girlfriend feels almost too good to be true.

raleigh is... everything she never knew she wanted in a boyfriend, wrapped up into one tall, dark and handsome package, with a loud, goofy laugh and a deep, sexy voice that sends a shiver down her spine whenever his mouth so much as lingers near her ear for too long. 

it turns out that, despite their differing status in the industry and her initial assumptions that they came from two completely different worlds, they’re actually on the same page about pretty much everything. she finds that the pressure of the word she’d held in such high regard for so long -- soulmate -- disappears entirely where he’s concerned because being with raleigh is just fun. 

there’s motorcycle rides and boat trips and hours up late talking about everything and nothing; facetime calls with his mom and shopping trips where the stores are kept open late for them so they can shop alone, in an empty boutique, like every teen movie she’d ever watched growing up.

there’s late nights in the studio and either of their apartments where they both noodle around on their guitars and improvise half-hearted duets, content to just work in the same orbit as each other for as long as possible.

raleigh’s texting one night on the couch in her living room when she plucks out the melody to who i’ll be on her old acoustic, sitting on the floor in front of the tv.

he looks up before the first verse is over. “what’s that one? it sounds good.”

“oh -- just a song i wrote in college,” cadence hums, already downplaying it as she lifts her shoulder in a shrug. “i got stuck, never finished it. ellis made me sell the progress for some other writer to finish.”

he frowns, pushing up onto his elbow. his phone is tossed carelessly somewhere among the couch cushions. “why?”

“because i was taking too long with the odyssey,” she sighs. “it was kind of my only option. it’s weird, though -- thinking about someone singing something that was so personal to me.”

“play me what you had so far,” he says, and so she does, hesitating for only a second before strumming the chords, singing the lines she had slowly. 

when she’s done, she looks up to find that raleigh’s slid to the edge of the couch, elbows on his knees as he leans in as close as he can get with the coffee table in his way. “okay -- that was beautiful. you should finish it.”

she shakes her head, setting her guitar down. “i can’t. they already sold it. and even if i wanted to... i don’t know how it ends.”

raleigh’s legs spread in invitation and she stands to walk around to the couch, slipping into his lap and leaning back against his chest. his hands are tender as he rubs them across her shoulders, sliding up her back before one lifts to brush a lock of hair back behind her ear, his pointer finger pushing her glasses up her nose affectionately. “maybe one day you can write something else with the same theme,” he suggests, and she tries her best to smile even though it feels like a dream lost, somehow -- a ridiculous thought, given that she pretty much has everything she ever wanted, but the way she feels all the same.

“maybe,” she sighs, the kiss he drops to her forehead a bandaid on a wound that’s been doing its best to heal for what feels like her entire life.

xvii.

he’s never brought a date to the vinyls before. 

there’s been plenty of after parties he’s stumbled out of with a girl on his arm, sure, but cadence is the first person to sit by his side during the ceremony, and he’s surprised by how much he likes having her next to him.

then again, he’s self aware enough to realize he’d like being pretty much anywhere, with her.

still -- the awards are a lot less boring with her around to kiss and stroke his hair and make snide commentary about the rest of the attendees with, and when she squeezes his hand goodbye to rush backstage and get ready for her performance he misses her instantly.

what happens next makes him endlessly regretful of the fact that he’s not backstage with her.

he rushes around just as soon as he can, pushing his way through security and frantically scrambling technical assistants to find her exactly where he thought he might, between ellis knight and fiona, looking lost with her head in her hands.

she seems equal parts broken and pissed in a way that tugs at his heartstrings and makes him a little bit proud. raleigh shoves through the crowd to get to her and slips an arm around her waist. he’s only caught the tail end of the conversation they’re all having, but he knows enough to know that “you can’t bench her. that’s bull.”

ultimately, though, it doesn’t matter how much they stomp their feet. she’s under contract, their hands are tied, and he walks away seething at the unfairness of it all, this shitty industry that’s turned on her when all she ever wanted to do was make music.

she cries in the car back to her apartment to pack her things. there’s no way he’s letting her go home to iowa or idaho or indiana without him, and he barks at his team over the phone until they agree to move his appearances around so he can make that happen, his free hand clasped tightly in hers until he physically has to let her go so she can unlock her front door with trembling fingers.

cadence tosses clothes haphazardly onto the bed and he silently and precisely moves to folds each piece for her, until she gives up and sinks down onto the edge of the mattress, defeated. 

wide eyes filled with tears lock onto his, and he watches her bottom lip wobble before she says, “you really don’t have to do this. come with me, i mean. i know i messed up, and -- you have so much else going on. i don’t expect you to --”

“i’m coming,” he states firmly, setting the sweatpants in his hand down and stepping closer to her, sitting beside cadence on her bed. “what happened tonight was fucked up, cadence -- it shouldn’t have happened at all. i’m not going to let you go through this alone.”

“but --”

“but nothing,” he says, and before the words have even left his mouth she’s falling into his arms with a soft sound of gratitude, mashing her face into his chest as she sniffles.

“thank you,” cadence mumbles, sounding so unsure of herself it makes him wonder if she’s ever had anyone show up for her when it mattered most before, or if that’s yet another thing they unfortunately have in common. 

xviii.

raleigh tries his best to cheer her up, but it’s still hard, feeling like she’s let the entire world down. her fans. herself.

there’s something embarrassing about showing raleigh her apartment back home and the person she was before she met him -- all the places she felt most uncertain and where she experienced some her worst self-doubt, the room that still has the smoothie star apron hung up in the closet.

but there’s also something exciting, about being totally off the grid with him. no one knows they’re here and there’s no paparazzi waiting to snap photos of them -- especially given the fact that they don’t leave her building for the first three days she spends moping around while raleigh orders all the takeout he can get his hands on.

it sort of reminds her of when they first met, and there was nothing to do but learn about each other, though now there’s a familiarity to him she relies on, a unique raleigh-ness that feels more like home than this shitty apartment ever did.

still, she struggles, and the weight of the world doesn’t let up until zadie shows up with her fanmail and avery does his best to make her smile with a beach trip and some fancy new toys and a day in the sun with a drink in her hand.

eventually it’s just her and raleigh again, out by the fire after everyone else has gone to bed. her stomach is full of s’mores and her cheeks hurt from smiling for the first time in weeks, and it’s a shock when she realizes she feels content, even after everything that’s happened -- almost as though things will all work out for the better no matter what happens next.

“oh my god,” she gasps suddenly, cutting off what raleigh had been saying as her eyes light up and she hastens to stand. “i’ve gotta -- i need to -- oh my god.”

just like that, she knows how her song ends.

recording it is a process, but raleigh calls in some favors and gets them studio time and agrees to be featured on the song even though she knows he’s still working through a sound change that he feels unsure about.

but it means a lot to her, having him crammed in the booth at her side, singing into the same mic. they sound almost unbelievably good together, too, raleigh’s harmonies on the words that finally resolve that lost feeling she’s been harboring her entire life making something deep within her wriggle up happily, wagging its proverbial tail.

the fact that raleigh remains by her side throughout the entire fight with her label, the long nights of despair agonizing over what her next move is going to be and even the moment where they decide to break into indio, of all places, means more to her than she can ever say. she feels markedly less nervous about the entire thing every time she turns her head to the side and sees him, right there next to her -- right where he’s been this entire time -- smiling encouragingly and squeezing her hand hard in his.

though it’s not until they’re up at the top of the ferris wheel that she realizes how precious what she has really is. it’s not until he looks her dead in the eye and says, with that same soft earnestness he’s awarded her since they first met at the one in a million auditions that feel quite literally like a hundred years ago, “cadence, everything you want is on the other side of fear. and i want you to have everything you want,” that she truly understands that’s what between them is special and rare.

not because of any tattoos, or any preconceived destiny. not because of who they are and their status and the fact that people take pictures of them when they’re out in public together.

but because of this -- all these real moments of genuine connection they’ve been fortunate enough to share since fate threw them into each other’s paths.

“raleigh, i love you.” the words are said easily, not a moment’s hesitation behind them. 

just before she crosses over in the cart to kiss him until they’re both breathless, raleigh gifts her the brightest smile he has and says, “i love you, too.”

xix.

the night is a blur from the moment he first takes the stage with his old bandmates to when he finally finds himself alone with cadence in a rundown old motel a few miles out from the festival in the desert.

he can’t recall ever being so happy, so of course he doesn’t remember every agonizing detail of the evening, though he does know he doesn’t feel the need to have a single beer with cadence around, twirling barefoot in the grass and giggling when she leads him up to the room they’ve borrowed.

afterwards, when they’re sitting on the roof together in the blanket they dragged off the bed, he reflects on the wild year they’ve had with her in his arms, fingertips tracing the delicate very funny scrawled across cadence’s collarbone.

he feels... free. completely liberated. like there’s absolutely nothing and no one that can get to him, now, like he’s untouchable, like he doesn’t care about a single thing that happens after today and how perfect things have been. 

“i think i’m actually freer than i’ve ever been,” he muses, where his lips are pressed into her hair, “i can take my sound in any direction i want.”

“i’m so happy for you, raleigh,” cadence returns genuinely, tilting her head back so he can see her upside-down smile. 

his arms tighten around her. “i’m so excited for what you’re gonna be doing, too. i’m excited for us.”

“yeah,” she sighs, “who knows what’s next, right? now that ellis let me out of my deal...”

he can hear the thread of worry undercutting the words. he shakes his head, hands rubbing up and down her arms. “you can worry about that tomorrow. for tonight, just enjoy the comeback. what you did out there was amazing.”

“what we did,” she corrects, and he blinks up the stars as he realizes she’s right -- they’re a we now. he’s part of a we again, after being on his own for so long.

the phrases bounce around in his head, unfamiliar and foreign. me and my girlfriend, he thinks to himself, cadence and i. we’re going to be late. we’ll be away that weekend. we just started watching that show. we, we, we. 

“what we did was amazing,” raleigh amends, the words slow to come out but feeling right all the same. “whatever we do next will be amazing.”

“absolutely,” cadence confirms, with conviction, like it’s something she believes wholeheartedly.

and though he has no idea what to expect or what it might be, a large part of him is inclined to agree with her -- she’s been right about everything else so far.

xx.

one year later, she’s finishing a set in berlin, the last stop on a sprawling european tour that had taken she, avery, micah and raleigh across the continent for dozens of performances to sold-out crowds of thousands screaming her lyrics back to her. 

if her contract with overknight had been a dream come true, signing to wilshere records is heaven incarnate. cadence’s trip through the u.k. with her new label is proof enough, and the chance to meet new fans with new stories to share that she could connect with is one she’s taken to with enthusiasm, the experience made all the sweeter by the fact that her favorite people get to be by her side throughout it all.

berlin’s crowd is one of the best, and she fully expects to end the tour on a high note, head banging to the last few notes of ‘knockout’ before raleigh’s planned entrance for the last song of the night, so they can sing the duet that’s closed out every show they’ve had on the tour together. 

when he struts out with his guitar, waving and grinning at the crowd, she can’t stop herself from smiling stupidly at him, just like she does every time she sees him join her on stage, every time she realizes that this is their life, that this is something they do every night, now.

though her grin falters when raleigh pauses in front of his microphone and asks, “berlin, do you mind if i talk a little bit before i start the song? no? cool, because i’ve got an important question to ask.”

her eyes widen. cadence’s mouth drops open and doesn’t close throughout the entire speech raleigh gives her, even though thousands of people in the crowd are filming every moment of her gaping like an idiot, snapping close-ups of her shocked face.

the arena practically vibrates with screams when he drops to his knee, popping the box in his hand open so she can see the giant diamond ring nestled inside of it. 

“so?” raleigh asks, and cadence can just barely hear him in her in-ears with the way her heart is beating frantically up into her throat, as wild as the crowd’s raging around them and then some. “whaddya say, babe? will you marry me?”

as if the answer could ever be anything but yes. she nods, laughing as she launches herself into his arm for a kiss that’s too grand to be given on stage, though that’s hardly going to stop her -- not tonight, at least. tonight, she’s okay with the whole world watching their every move, just one more time.

“oh, i don’t know if it’s going to fit,” raleigh jokes as the ring slides easily onto her left hand, amping up the theatrics for the fans still watching them avidly, even up in the cheap seats.

cadence rolls her eyes playfully at him. “very funny,” she praises, and the grin he offers her in return is so loving -- so knowing, with the secret that only the two of them share and every weird piece of their history included in it -- that it takes everything she has to shove him away so they can perform instead of dragging him down to the floor to kiss him over and over again.

clumsily, she flubs a few notes of love who i’ll be on her guitar. from across the stage, between the bridge and the chorus, raleigh jeers, “someone hasn’t learned to play with the extra weight on their left hand, yet, i see,” and when she flips him off while belting out the last lines of the verse, his raucous laughter is all the harmony the final few bars of the song needs. 

[newstfionline]

Sunday, August 29, 2021

Louisiana braces for ‘life-altering’ Hurricane Ida (AP) Residents across Louisiana’s coast Saturday were taking one last day to prepare for what is being described as a “life-altering” Hurricane Ida which is expected to bring winds as high as 140 mph (225 kph) when it slams ashore. A combination of voluntary and mandatory evacuations have been called for cities and communities across the region including New Orleans, where the mayor ordered a mandatory evacuation for areas outside the city’s levee system and a voluntary evacuation for residents inside the levee system. The storm is expected to make landfall on the exact date Hurricane Katrina devastated a large swath of the Gulf Coast 16 years earlier. But whereas Katrina was a Category 3 when it made landfall southwest of New Orleans, Ida is expected to reach an extremely dangerous Category 4 hurricane, with top winds of 140 mph (225 kph) before making landfall likely west of New Orleans late Sunday. “This will be a life-altering storm for those who aren’t prepared,” National Weather Service meteorologist Benjamin Schott said during a Friday news conference with Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards.

White House More Than Doubles Its Inflation Forecast in New Update (WSJ) The White House more than doubled its forecast for annual inflation in new projections released Friday, as supply-chain disruptions stemming from the Covid-19 pandemic continue to put upward pressure on prices. The Office of Management and Budget said it expected consumer prices would rise 4.8% in the fourth quarter from a year earlier, up sharply from the 2% rise that the Biden administration forecast in May. Officials see those price pressures quickly abating next year, with the consumer-price index rising 2.5% in the fourth quarter of 2022, more than the 2.1% they expected in May, and reaching 2.3% in 2023.

Hurricane Nora on track to skirt along Mexico’s coast (AP) Hurricane Nora formed Saturday in the eastern Pacific on a forecast track that would bring it near the Puerto Vallarta area and then head toward a close encounter with resorts at the tip of Baja California Peninsula. Nora had maximum sustained winds of 80 mph (130 kph) Saturday morning, with tropical storm force winds extending out 175 miles (280 kilometers) from the center in some places. The storm’s large wind field and heavy rains mean much of Mexico’s central and northern Pacific Coast could see floods, mudslides and perilous surf even if it misses the very heart of the hurricane.

Brazil water survey heightens alarm over extreme drought (AP) The Brazilian scientists were skeptical. They ran different models to check calculations, but all returned the same startling result. The country with the most freshwater resources on the planet steadily lost 15% of its surface water since 1991. Gradual retreat in the Brazilian share of the Pantanal, the world’s largest tropical wetland, left water covering just one-quarter the area it did 30 years ago. And the data only went through 2020—before this year’s drought that is Brazil’s worst in nine decades. The ongoing drought has already boosted energy costs and food prices, withered crops, rendered vast swaths of forest more susceptible to wildfire and prompted specialists to warn of possible electricity shortages. President Jair Bolsonaro on Thursday said hydroelectric dam reservoirs are “at the limit of the limit.” Brazil’s energy minister Bento Albuquerque on Aug. 25 called a press conference to deny the possibility of rationing, while at the same time calling on companies and people to reduce power consumption.

UN team: Unclear if Fukushima cleanup can finish by 2051 (AP) Too little is known about melted fuel inside damaged reactors at the wrecked Fukushima nuclear power plant, even a decade after the disaster, to be able to tell if its decommissioning can be finished by 2051 as planned, a U.N. nuclear agency official said Friday. “Honestly speaking, I don’t know, and I don’t know if anybody knows,” said Christophe Xerri, head of an International Atomic Energy Agency team reviewing progress in the plant’s cleanup. A massive earthquake and a tsunami in March 2011 destroyed cooling systems at the Fukushima plant in northeastern Japan, triggering meltdowns in three reactors in the worst nuclear disaster since the 1986 Chernobyl accident. Japanese government and utility officials say they hope to finish its decommissioning within 30 years, though some experts say that’s overly optimistic, even if a full decommissioning is possible at all.

As China-Taiwan Tensions Rise, Japan Begins Preparing for Possible Conflict (WSJ) China’s growing assertiveness toward Taiwan has triggered a public push by Japanese leaders to plan for a possible conflict. Tokyo officials, normally wary of upsetting Beijing, are speaking openly about preparing for a crisis and supporting Taiwan, a self-ruled island claimed by China, despite Japan’s pacifist constitution. Deputy Prime Minister Taro Aso said recently in a speech to supporters that Japan and the U.S. should plan together to defend the island in the event of hostilities. In its annual regional security review, Japan said there a “greater sense of crisis than ever before” regarding Taiwan, after China stepped up maneuvers by its ships and aircraft nearby. Major Japanese military drills starting in September are expected to further help Tokyo prepare for any trouble in areas including Taiwan, current and former Japanese officials say.

American forces keep up airlift under high threat warnings (AP) American forces working under heightened security and threats of another attack pressed ahead in the closing days of the U.S.-led evacuation from Afghanistan after a devastating suicide bombing, and U.S. officials said they had killed two members of the extremist group that the United States believes responsible for it. Thursday’s bombing marked one of the most lethal attacks the country has seen. The U.S. said it was the deadliest day for American forces in Afghanistan since 2011. Around the world, newly arriving Afghan evacuees, many clutching babies and bare handfuls of belongings in plastic bags, stepped off evacuation flights in the United States, in Albania, in Belgium and beyond. More than 110,000 people have been safely evacuated through the Kabul airport, according to the U.S., but thousands more are struggling to leave.

U.S. military begins withdrawal from Kabul airport (Reuters) U.S. troops have begun their withdrawal from Kabul airport, the Pentagon said on Saturday, as the evacuation efforts from the Afghan capital entered their final stages. President Joe Biden sent thousands of troops to the airport as the Taliban swept through Afghanistan earlier this month to help evacuate American citizens, at-risk Afghans and other foreigners desperate to flee. At the peak of the deployment there were 5,800 U.S. troops securing Hamid Karzai International Airport, where an unprecedented airlift operation is set to end by Tuesday.

From garbage to garden, Nairobi resident helps slum bloom (Reuters) A decade ago, a patch of land in Nairobi’s Dandora district was a dumping ground for the trash of the city’s wealthier residents with scarcely a plant to be seen. Now, children play on the grass and locals relax among avocado trees as birds sing in the branches above. The lush community garden has even become the backdrop for rappers and other creatives to shoot their videos. This transformation is thanks to Charles Gachanga, 45, who grew up in the neighbourhood back when it reeked of garbage. “We came and cleaned ... We did not even have a penny,” said Gachanga, who started working in 2013 on the garden space, called Mustard Seed, with three friends. “We just had that focus, we had that passion to see how we could transform our neighbourhood.” Their project has inspired a network of similar community-built green spaces, 20 alone in Dandora, he said. Maintenance costs are covered by community contributions. Residents living near Gachanga’s green space pay 100 shillings a month, less than $1, for maintenance. People without the funds often volunteer, planting trees or cleaning, Gachanga said.

15 more students freed in Nigeria after release of 90 others (AP) Overjoyed parents awaited the return of 90 young schoolchildren who had spent three months held by gunmen as authorities elsewhere in northern Nigeria announced a second group of 15 students also had been released. The news was celebrated across Nigeria, where more than 1,000 students have been kidnapped from schools since December. The abductions have stepped up pressure on the Nigerian government to do more to secure educational facilities in remote areas.

How water shortages are brewing wars (BBC Future) As much as a quarter of the world's population now faces severe water scarcity at least one month out of the year and it is leading many to seek a more secure life in other countries. "If there is no water, people will start to move," says Kitty van der Heijden, chief of international cooperation at the Netherlands' foreign ministry and an expert in hydropolitics. Water scarcity affects roughly 40% of the world's population and, according to predictions by the United Nations and the World Bank, drought could put up to 700 million people at risk of displacement by 2030. People like van der Heijden are concerned about what that could lead to. "If there is no water, politicians are going to try and get their hands on it and they might start to fight over it," she says. Over the course of the 20th Century, global water use grew at more than twice the rate of population increase. Today, this dissonance is leading many cities—from Rome to Cape Town, Chennai to Lima—to ration water. Water crises have been ranked in the top five of the World Economic Forum's Global Risks by Impact list nearly every year since 2012. In 2017, severe droughts contributed to the worst humanitarian crisis since World War Two, when 20 million people across Africa and the Middle East were forced to leave their homes due to the accompanying food shortages and conflicts that erupted. Peter Gleick, head of the Oakland-based Pacific Institute, has spent the last three decades studying the link between water scarcity, conflict and migration and believes that water conflict is on the rise. "With very rare exceptions, no one dies of literal thirst," he says. "But more and more people are dying from contaminated water or conflicts over access to water."

The year of COVID burnout (The Week) “September was supposed to mark the beginning of a new normal,” said Katherine Bindley at The Wall Street Journal. Instead, for many workers, the spread of the Delta variant is déjà vu all over again. Companies of all sizes are delaying plans to return to the office, and outbreaks have already forced some schools to shut down. It’s left many workers “in an anxiety-producing state of limbo.” As the pandemic drags on, more people are struggling with exhaustion, loss, and isolation, and “employees’ mental health is quickly becoming a top concern,” said Erica Pandey at Axios. In addition to seeing more employees quit, “a whopping 52 percent of U.S. employers say they are ‘experiencing significant workplace issues’ with substance misuse or addiction by employees,” according to a new survey. Forty-four percent of workers now say they feel fatigued on the job, up from 34 percent in 2020. Some companies are going to great lengths to boost worker morale, said Jenny Gross at The New York Times. LinkedIn, Bumble, and Intuit recently “introduced weeklong companywide shutdowns so employees can fully disconnect.” PricewaterhouseCoopers is even “offering workers $250 each time they take 40 consecutive hours off.” Recognizing that extended vacations might not benefit workers hesitant about travel, Adobe began giving the entire company a day off one Friday per month. Before the pandemic, “I had a solid division between my work and home life,” said Cody Barbo at Fast Company. “Now everything has sort of blended together.” My company has added a monthly flex day that employees can take off for their “mental health.” We’ve also added guest speakers, virtual happy hours, and stipends for work-from-home costs.

[missfaber]

okay okay so somehow, some-freaking-how, I’ve got 700 people following my ass!!! yes, this trash site! when i’ve only been here for six months! and before that I was gone for six years! clearly we all love Devotion, Yearning, and a sprinkling of Repression... I kid but ever since I’ve been back on tumblr and writing fic, you guys have been so welcoming and wonderful. I’ve met some brilliant, kind, sexy people and made some incredible friends. I’ve really enjoyed being part of the fandoms I’m in, y’all are truly Elite, and I wanted to mark this milestone somehow! tis the season!!! 

so here’s a little giveaway for y’all.

✨  rules:

must be following me

a reblog or a like counts as an entry 

multiple entries are allowed

all entries must be “submitted” before Monday, 12/16/19 (two weeks from now)

on Tuesday 12/17/19 one winner will be chosen through a random generator 

I will contact that winner and they can make me write!! whatever they damn well please!!!!!

fic will be up (hopefully) before christmas day 🎄 ... or sometime around christmas !! 

✨ prize parameters: 

uhhh literally none! I’ll go off a specific song lyric, an aesthetic, a moodboard, any and all tropes you like, or an extremely precise list of events! as long as it’s one of my ships (i.e. a ship I can write, so I have to have some Feelings about it) it’s free rein!

word count will be somewhere between 4k-10k. again, I’m hesitant to pick a definitive number because depending on the concept I might go off

thank you so much for following me, reading my fics, and making my time on the interwebs an absolute delight 💖

[ianthedisastrous]

Swynwrimo Checklist

Tuesday, November 1 -- Ghazal Poem: A poem in a ghazal structure! Can be written from a character’s perspective, about a character, or about something in the RP in general. Bonus points if it is canon. (Read more about Ghazals here) .

Wednesday, November 2 -- Community Flyer: Make a flyer for a community event that could possibly happen somewhere in town. These can be pre-established or make up something new! (Open mic night at Hatter’s, poetry nights at Chapter Three, local blood drive, arts and crafts at Town Hall, music lessons, trash pick up, etc.) 

Thursday, November 3 -- The Gift that Keeps on Giving: Make a list of 10 items your character has received as a gift and describe what the item means to them (if at all).  

Friday, November 4 -- #OOTD: Come up with five significant full outfits from your character’s wardrobe/life and describe them in detail. 

Saturday, November 5 -- Family Ties One-Shot: Write a one-shot revolving around your character’s family, include 3 family members minimum. (This can include whatever your character’s definition of family is.)

Sunday, November 6 — Soundtrack to Your Life: Create a playlist that reflects a significant story moment for your character (a past thread, a childhood memory, etc). 10 songs with descriptions.

Monday, November 7 -- Business Savvy Thread: Plot a thread that takes place in one of Swynlake’s businesses with a mun that you don’t currently have a thread with.

Tuesday, November 8 -- 160 Characters or Less: Write a story using either Tweets or entirely in texts between characters. (This is a one-shot prompt, not something you do with others.)

Wednesday, November 9 -- SwynRPVision: Create your own TV show, book, video game, piece of media, etc. that would exist in the SwynRPuniverse which does not exist in ours. Write a description, make a graphic, write a script or do whatever you want. 

Thursday, November 10 --  Love Is Stored In The Garlic: Write about 10 significant meals that your character has had in their lives. Is it their favorite pasta dish? Is it the meal they were broken up over? Up to you to decide! Bonus points for images. 

Friday, November 11 -- Lo-Fi Beats to Be a Magick to: Create a playlist for a type of Magick in the Swynverse — you don’t have to have one in play! For instance, a werewolf playlist could include “Werewolves of London”, “Howl,” and  “Running with the Wolves.” Minimum 10 songs, with a line or two explaining why you added it. 

Saturday, November 12 -- Background NPC: Write about a moment of your character’s life from the perspective of an NPC character. 

Sunday, November 13 -- Crack!ship AU: Write a crack!ship au. This should be a one shot of any characters in the roleplay, yours or someone else’s! Definition of a crackship: seriously this shit can’t happen but in an alternate universe. Add 10 applicable aO3 tags (enemies to lovers, modern au, etc.) This is a one-shot. 

Monday, November 14 -- Neighborly Plotting: Plot a thread with your neighbor(s) using the demographic sheet. If you live somewhere like the Woods, where there are no house numbers, headcanon who you live near! 

Tuesday, November 15 -- Pet Playlist! Make a playlist for your character’s pet — or a significant animal in their lives. 10 songs minimum, a little description for each song.

Wednesday, November 16 -- The Character Tour: create a travel itinerary featuring 10 significant locations from your character's life (can be in the same town/city, country, or even around the world!). You can do this in a saved Google Map too. 

Thursday, November 17 -- Wanted Ad: Create a plot call for a service your character needs or wants. Examples include: needing a babysitter, being a babysitter, tutoring/study buddy, etc. Post your plot call in the plot call Discord! (Graphics encouraged, but not required.)  

Friday, November 18 -- Which Character Are You?: Make a UQuiz for people to determine which of your characters they are. 

Saturday, November 19 -- Five Times X, One Time Y: Five times your character did a thing and one time … they didn’t. Get creative with what this means, but structure it in that same manner. 

Sunday, November 20 -- Short and Sweet One-Shot: Write ten short-short stories of no more than a paragraph long (can star one or multiple characters.) 

Monday, November 21 -- Back to the Future Thread: Write either a flashback or a flashforward thread with another mun! (This could be an existing connection or a connection that could possibly happen 10 years in the future! Should be 10+/- years in the past/future.) 

Tuesday, November 22 — Enter the Metaverse: Your character’s computer! List five bookmarks, their last five visited websites, their last five Google searches, five applications/programs they have on their computer, their screensaver and lockscreen! 

Wednesday, November 23 — "It's time to BeReal": Post five BeReals from a random time of day in your character’s life; give us a front-facing pic and a pic of what they’re doing. 

Thursday, November 24 -- Personality Aesthetic: Make a personality aesthetic for 3 characters or 3 different personality types. These can be anything: Hogwarts houses, Myers-Briggs, star charts, Enneagram, vice/virtue, etc.

Friday, November 25 --  SWYNRP Memes: Create memes (there are websites where you can do this) about characters, places, or things that happen in Swynlake! (10 minimum)

Saturday, November 26 -- The Final Labor: Based on the final task for the labors, write an AU featuring all your characters in a role. Choose an AU, set out a list of goals for yourself based on tropes within that AU (ex. a red shirt has to die if you’re doing Star Trek or someone in the group gets bitten by a zombie and doesn’t tell the rest if you’re doing an apocalypse), then write to your heart’s content! To count, each character must have a role and your tropes must be laid out beforehand. 

Sunday, November 27 --  9 to 5: What does your character’s work/school day look like? Include 7 tasks that they have to complete throughout the day! 

Monday, November 28 -- Extreme Makeover: SwynRP Edition: Plot a thread where two characters are giving something — or someone! — a makeover. You also need to create before and after aesthetics/graphics for the makeover.

Tuesday, November 29 -- LinkedIn: Create a resume for one of your characters! Bonus points if you then have them interview somewhere. 

Wednesday, November 30 -- SWYNRP Character Wishlist: A list of 10+ characters you’d like to see in the RP (for you to play or someone else!)

[sagiow]

We run a very tight ship - Chapter 4

kickass awesome moodboard courtesy of @jomiddlemarch​

Read the first three chapters here or on AO3

“Welcome aboard, Miss Green. Ready to set sail for the grandest of voyages?”

Emma smiled tightly, forcing her eyes to follow her lips, and knowing they failed. Instead, she averted them, hiding their escape behind a wholly unnecessary adjustment of her glasses. She stood between the First Mate and the chaplain in the haie d’honneur greeting her family aboard the most luxurious ship of their fleet, in the most breathtaking of atriums, by the grandest of staircases - so the heavy-handed brochure said. Captain Summers bowed low to the young lady, and lower to her mother beside her.

“Captain Summers,” she offered her hand daintily, never more the great lady then among her grossly underpaid staff. “I trust everything has been arranged as instructed?”

“To the letter, Mrs. Green. Your guests have been given all the best cabins, the most prestigious reserved, of course, for the bridal party. I must say, your daughter has truly outdone herself with the decoration and planning. Alexandria Line’s future is bright indeed,” he enthused, to Emma’s inner cringing. Dial it down, dude.

“Well she better has!” snapped the bride-to-be. “My wedding is the event of the year in this town and probably all of Virginia: it has to be absolutely perfect in every way. A question of Green family pride, which I’m sure she has very close to heart,” she added sweetly, as a cat offering a cleanly killed prey to its owner, and Emma braced for her to start eating the head. “After all, it’s probably the only Green wedding she’ll ever have the chance of organizing.” Crunch, there it is.

Ignoring her gift, Emma distributed programs to the guests, the embossed letters popping elegantly from the cotton cardstock. “We will let y’all settle in and hope you join the Captain tonight at eight for a welcome dinner,” she explained, her voice pleasant and professional, just greeting regular guests onboard as she did twice a month, every month of the year, year after year since her very first summer job as a stewardess; despite her mother's protests, Papa Green knew the value of learning the ropes from the very first rung up. “Do spend tomorrow getting acquainted with our wonderful Empress Queen and her numerous amenities; I personally recommend our luxurious spa and state-of-the-art virtual golf course. The rehearsal will be held on Tuesday, giving us Wednesday for any and all last-minute adjustments, and we’ll have the ceremony on Thursday. Reverend Hopkins is our onboard chaplain, and will be performing the service.”

On cue, the tall man next to her stepped forward, his hands clasped piously before him, visibly not as comfortable with discomfort as she was. “It’s a great honor to be marrying you, Miss Green,” he said, but cut himself short. Oh no, you beautiful doofus.

“You'll be what now, Reverend?” exclaimed the groom-to-be, his arm wrapping around Alice’s waist possessively. “Maybe buy me a drink or two before you marry my fiancée?”

“I’m sorry, Mr. Stringfellow,” the chaplain stammered. “I misspoke. I meant-”

“Oh, lighten up, buddy. I’m just fuc- sorry, screwing with ya. Just don’t misspeak – or stutter, ugh-  during the actual wedding, will ya?” 

God, please do, she prayed intently, while Frank turned his devilish dark eyes to her.“Hey, Soon-to-be-Sis, you better have stocked up on that premium bourbon I asked for, and left a case in the Honeymoon Suite. Which, as I also specifically requested, now better have mirrors on the ceiling and a heart-shaped hot tub."

"Oh Frank, no!” gasped Alice, shoving him away forcefully. “I insisted on 1896 Paris Art Nouveau, not 1986 Niagara Falls By-the-Hour Motel!”  

“Just fucking with you, babe,” he replied with a slap to her ass. Always the gentleman, Frank. “No, seriously though, Em, one major problem with that that fancy schedule of yours: when the hell’s the bachelor party?”

“The bachelor party’s anytime we’re not in her fancy schedule, Bro!” shouted a man descending the stairs. He was not clad in the cruise line’s signature green and white uniform, but in the most garish Hawaiian shirt and ostentatious sunglasses Emma had ever seen, as did the rest of the group of young men behind him. This time, she did not bother to hold her irritated sigh.

“Jimmy my boy! I knew there’d be no better best man for me! Finally, some good fuckin’ plannin’!” The two men embraced, slapping each other vigorously on the back. “You,” Frank then pointed to a helpless steward. “Take my stuff to my room, she’ll tell you which. And you,” he added with another clap to Jimmy’s chest. “Take me to the booze.” And without as much as a goodbye to their families, they stormed off across the atrium, a frat boy riot of jeers, shouts and high fives.

Slowly, Emma returned her attention to her overly merry mother, her smug sister, the clueless captain and the confused churchman. “Well, boys will be boys,” dismissed the matriarch, to relieved chuckles all around. “But they are right. There is so much to celebrate! Young love, and such a brilliant match! Alexandria Line and Stringfellow Sails coming together, what a dream! Come, dear, let’s get you settled in.”

With a gracious gesture, she motioned for the remainder of the bridal party to follow them and she closed the parade with a touch to Emma’s arm. “Do come by shortly, darling, I want to review the menu for tonight,” she said. “I do hope you’ve given our family’s famous desert its rightful place of honor.” That ancient apple nightmare? Yeah, rightfully in the trash, Mother, but she only agreed meekly. 

The families gone, the crew followed suit with visible relief, until Emma was left with the silent reverend, who shuffled his feet, perhaps regretting not having managed to vanish along with the rest.

“Uh... my congratulations.” He somehow made it sound like both a question and an apology. “They seem... swell.”

She could only do what she was taught best to do in such cases: smile and nod. And scream internally so loudly that each and every one of her cells shook.

“I can hear that,” he said, startling her. How the fuck- “The hamsters spinning, in your head. Something’s bothering you. Anything I can do to help?”

She looked at him, at the kind concern she’d seen so many times offered to the crew members on their long voyages away from friends and family, now focused solely upon her, and it was both wonderful and terrifying at once. She tucked an imaginary loose wisp of hair back into her bun and shrugged. “It’s nothing. Just the pressure of planning this event. It’s different when it’s... personal." Like your harpy of a baby sister marrying your jackass of a high school sweetheart.  

“I can imagine. Tall order you’ve got there. What was it, 1896 Art Deco?”

“Art Nouveau,” she corrected. “She’d have decapitated you for that mistake. Actually, no, that’s too swift and painless. Eviscerated’s more like it. With a blunt butter knife. Or her bare hands, if she hadn't just gotten her nails done.”

“Lovely. I see why the hamsters scamper thus; you’ve let the viper into their cage. You need a mongoose to chase it off: I might have just the thing.”  

Curious, she let him continue, cradling the leftover programs against her chest to muffle the embarrassingly loud drumming that emanated from it. “I have to cover for José at the jazz bar tonight, you should come by. I’ll make you the special drink I concocted for the occasion: the Blushing Bride. Now I see the name’s totally wrong. And the formula, too; I think it’ll need less subtlety and a lot more bitterness. Will you please help me?” he asked, leaning closer, with that somewhat shy smile of his that just begged to be kissed.

Instead, she pushed her glasses up her nose from the half-millimeter they had slid down, and felt in horror her body do that weird half-shrug, half-nod shuffle that it thought conveyed casual nonchalance. Real smooth, nerd. “If I’m released on time from that sure-to-be-extensive menu review... sure.”

“I’ll have you paged urgently at ten, something about the swan that’s being fattened for the wedding dinner,” he winked. “Or the peacocks they probably requested to act as ringbearers or footrests. Ha, Peacocks... that should be our safeword – uh, shit, no, uh... I meant code word. Code!” Oh no. He’s even more beautiful when he blushes.  

Oh shit. He said safeword... as in sex. Kinky sex. With him.  

Oh fuck. Now I’m blushing too. And my palms are sweaty. That’s gonna stain the paper. And leave marks. That he can probably see. Nooooo.

“I’ll... let you get to it, then,” he stammered again, backing away before waving awkwardly and turning to sprint. Don’t look at his ass, don’t look at.... oh fuck me, I'm staring at a pastor’s ass. I’m going to Hell. I’m getting brutally murdered by my family first and going straight to Hell afterwards.

I just have to find a way to stop the world’s worst wedding first, and have less than five days to do so, and a beautiful chaplain-cum-bartender that’s familiar with safewords to not fuck along the way.  

I'm so unbelievably screwed.

[brownstonearmy]

2020-04-24: A Party You Can’t Refuse

July 21 (Tuesday morning)

The rainy weather of the past few days has given way to a fair summer morning with light cloud cover. Our band of intrepid adventurers has once again converged at SHART HQ for their newest assignments. Dave has been training Bob (the slightly damaged monodrone modron from Mechanus) to do some work as a receptionist and document service requests from the citizens. Unfortunately for everyone involved, Bob doesn't quite grasp the concept of what is an appropriate request that requires SHART's attention. Dave informs the party that someone has requested their presence at a birthday party in a few hours.

Normally Dave would disregard cases that don't require sanitation expertise, but Dave isn't about to let some poor kid get disappointed. But the rest of the service request isn't very helpful. Aside from identifying the birthday boy as Alston Cormellis and giving his address, there's no information about his age or even what the party is supposed to do at the party.

Do they need to bring a gift? Nobody's sure, but Lucky has an idea for a surprise gift. When asked as to what the gift is, she declines to specify, probably because the party would try to talk her out of this particular surprise. Spleenifer suggests making a doll, or perhaps bringing some goats along to make an impromptu petting zoo. The party's appearance is requested just before noon, giving everyone about an hour and a half to get prepared. Lucky and Spleenifer use this time to change in to appropriate clothes, with Lucky putting on actual clothes underneath her magical ones, and Spleenifer going on the Minor-Goat-Retrieval-Quest-of-Tuesday-Morning.

Meanwhile, Q (who goes by Sparkle today) and Norm set off to the address to do some recon for the situation. Sparkle is wearing their finest sparkly purple tunic and fuzzy pants, though the warm July day causes Sparkle a small degree of regret for choosing the fuzzy pants part of the outfit. The walk to the party's location is only a few blocks to the southwest, just past the Brownstone Park Memorial Grotto. As the pair walk past the park, they notice several shadowy figures congregating around central statue in the small park. The shadowy figures scatter as soon as they are seen.

A moment later, Norm and Sparkle arrive at address where the party will soon be taking place. It's in a poorer part of town, outside a tiny house next to a run-down stable where horses are shoed. A woman who looks like she hasn't slept in a few days is flitting around an improvised table made from stacked crates while Alston the birthday boy wanders around. But before Norm and Sparkle can approach, a halfling dad and his daughter pass nearby. The halfling dad is low-to-middling level crime boss in the City Runners gang named Average-Size Tony. Norm recognizes Tony as a potential source of intel for the next steps in Norm's secret investigation of the drug trade after the incarceration of former Devil Boys distributor, Magic. Average-Size Tony walks up to Alston's mother and gruffly reminds her that under no circumstances is anyone allowed to enter the house until he's done, then gives his daughter a kiss on the cheek and sends her to play with Alston.

Once the coast is clear, Sparkle and Norm introduce themselves to Leah Cormellis, Alston's mother. She's grateful for everyone appearing on such... SHART notice (no, I will not apologize for that pun). Norm and Sparkle start discussing business with Leah, and asking some questions about Alston's preferences. Sparkle mentions possibly getting King Chonk to attend as an honored guest and also that they were the performer behind the famous song about King Chonk. Leah is interested, and Sparkle wonders if this might turn into a "flirty single mom" situation. Before excusing herself, Leah mentions that she was able to scrounge together some cake but she would like there to be some more food for the kids if it's not too much trouble.

The time of the party draws nearer and the (adventuring) party reconvenes again. Spleenifer's got her goats, and Lucky knows some folks who might be interested in catering the event. Yep, it's the Folks From The Yolks, Kosja and Turalisoth! It's not too difficult to find a wandering house on the outskirts of town, and Kosja is more than happy to have the opportunity to test her experimental cooking on soft-skins. The lizardfolk in disguise have recently discovered the soft-skin food called "cheese" and wish to expand their menu offerings before opening up a proper restaurant. Lucky hops in the house and directs Kosja where to park for the party.

As the house lumbers over to the party site, Lucky sees an unusual covered wagon parked outside the farrier's stable with a sign on it that says "JUICED! Energy Drinks". Lucky helps Kosja get set up and start cooking, but the resulting food doesn't smell too appealing to non-reptilian sensibilities. With some tactful suggestions for possible improvements, Lucky gets the culinary ship sailing in the right direction.

Spleenifer shows up to house with her goats and tethers them to the chicken legs of the lizardfolk's mobile home. Norm appears in clown garb and starts up a juggling act. As Sparkle is setting up, they notice more shadowy figures congregating on the perimeter of the party site. Children start arriving, but the lurkers on the periphery keep on lurking. Sparkle recognizes the street urchin nicknamed Nosebleed hanging out with the lurkers, intensely watching Alston's house. Sparkle walks up to Nosebleed and questions him about what's going on.

Nosebleed informs them that his friend, Pokey, is in the house. Pokey is an older kid in the Devil Boys gang who started running drugs when Magic got busted. But Nosebleed saw Pokey get beat up and kidnapped by some goons from the City Runners gang. Sparkle tells Nosebleed to enjoy the party and go back to working at Robin's ranch when it's over. Sparkle promises Nosebleed that Pokey will get rescued one way or another.

While this discussion is happening, Spleenifer's goats are getting a lot of attention in the makeshift petting zoo. One kid gets a big chunk of their shirt eaten by a hungry goat, but the kid didn't seem to mind. Norm's act gets more interesting when he incorporates knife juggling. And once the lizardfolk start prepping their next dish, Cool Cheese Soup, Lucky wades into the party entertainment gig with an impressive display of blindfolded knife-throwing.

Lucky conjures up a floating target and starts slinging knifes. She gets two bullseyes, one right after the other. And for the finale, Lucky asks Alston what his favorite animal is. It's an Owlbear! Lucky throws another knife, which ricochets off of multiple surfaces and still manages to hit the target. Alston claps with excitement, but wants to know if he can ride in the walking house with Lucky's friends. If the lizardfolk say it's okay, it's okay with her. Alston races over to the house to get permission, and Tony's daughter, Meri, chases after Alston.

As the two children are clambering up the ladder into the house, a bloodcurdling scream erupts from inside of Alston's house. The scream startles some nearby horses and Spleenifer's goats, which in turn startles the lizardfolks's home. The walking house lurches off as fast as it can, and Spleenifer's goats are still attached to the legs. The cauldron of cool cheese soup spills all over the children, and the partygoers on the ground start a food fight with the globs of partially-melted cheese.

Average-Size Tony emerges from the house to ask just what the heck is going on, only to get rushed by the Devil Boys under the cover of the food fight. Sparkle grabs Nosebleed before he can enter the house and convinces him to stay out of the fight. Meanwhile, Spleenifer is trying to untie the goats, but the rope refuses to budge. So she tries her backup plan, which is to attempt to ride one of the goats and untie their collars.

Except that doesn't work as planned, either. Her long legs trip up one of the goats and the both fall prone to the ground, but the rope breaks for that goat and thus both are safe... For now. Lucky casts Misty Step and teleports into the rampaging house, but it triggers a wild surge and she ends up covered in flakes of rust upon her arrival. She looks for a way to convince the house to stop running, and finds a perfect little pressure point that stops the house from fleeing. Lucky cleans up Alston and Meri with some trusty prestidigitation and sends the pair back to the ground.

Back in Alston's house, Norm sneaks inside and hears the sound of a scuffle coming from behind a cracked door. Average-Size Tony is giving out free samples of halfling Kung-Fu to three other Devil Boys while another kid whom Norm recognizes as Pokey is tied to a chair and bleeding. Norm uses some of his flash paper to temporarily blind Tony while Sparkle sneaks in to untie Pokey. As Sparkle is working on this task, she sees that there isn't any men's clothing in the house. Maybe Leah is single and available?

Alston runs into the house with Lucky following closely behind. It's finale time! Lucky polymorphs Alston into an owlbear and directs him to sit on Tony, which he does. While Tony is pinned, Norm takes out a knife and makes a deal with Tony: give up knowledge about the Devil Boys leadership in exchange for Tony being able to keep on living. He readily accepts the offer and spills the beans on everything he knows.

Spleenifer, having finally gotten the goats under control and joins the rest of the party inside the now-trashed home. She has many questions, such as whether it's socially acceptable to the collect a poop sample from an owlbear at a birthday party. Lucky politely discourages that plan since that owlbear is actually the birthday boy in disguise. She conjures up a little birthday hat and places it on the owlbear's head to emphasize her point. Lucky and Sparkle clean up and repair the house to better-than-new condition.

Pokey tries to sneak away, but Sparkle flags him down and tries to get some more information out of him. He reports that he was attacked by the City Runners and they offered him a lot of money to flip from working as a distributor with the Devil Boys to helping launder money for the City Runners. He refused, and that's why Tony started beating him up even more. The City Runners were using a terrible energy drink called JUICED! as their front for laundering money. Sparkle and Pokey loot the JUICED! wagon behind the house, and Sparkle uses some of the coins to help out Robin's ranch and also to give a monetary gift to the birthday boy. Sparkle also grabs a few energy drinks for fun and research purposes but doesn't consume them.

Once the house is cleaned up, Pokey takes the empty JUICED! wagon and lights it on fire in the middle of the street. Spleenifer offers one of her goats named Marge Thatcher as a gift to Alston. You would be forgiven for thinking that "Marge" is short for "Margaret," but it is actually short for "Margarine" and the "Thatcher" part of the name comes from the goat's propensity to munch on thatched roofs. Norm relieves Tony of all his ostentatious jewelry before letting him go.

The adventure concludes for the evening and everyone advances to the next level. Stay tuned next time for more!

[oroku-venus-demilo]

@insurrxctioniist @tenderborn FIXED