#She wasn't kidding when she said her role in this show was very small

[releasing-my-insanity]

Mollie Winnard’s first role, Zoe in episode one of Love, Lies and Records. (And a tiny appearance by Zoe’s baby son Zachary.)

[Zoe sits at the desk in the registration office and talks to Jamie and Kate. Baby Zachary waves his hand around. Zoe gets up, takes the pram, and leaves.]

[bucketofpaint]

Danny is Damian's clone.

He's well aware of it. He wasn't just any clone. He was the very first. That was the difference between Danny and other clones. He was made before the League started using brainwashing and stuff into their cloning process.

When Danny was fresh out of the tube, the League had sat him down and explained his the purpose of his existence, gave him some intense training, and immediately tossed him out into the world.

But the thing was, he just didn't care. He had absolutely no loyalty to his creators, and he had no desire to kill/kidnap his original. So he just started walking. The next thing he knew, he was at some orphanage in Illinois.

And then the rest was history. He got adopted by a pair of enthusiastic scientists and their red-head daughter, got his own name, and he could finally start living his own life.

Danny had put the past behind him and had barely even thought about it at all for a long time. That was unill his original showed up at his school.

----------------

Damien was annoyed. He was stuck at some random Illinois town (supposed to be the most haunted place in the world, which was a bunch of ludicrous.) On a transfer program. He tried convincing Father how illogical it would be, but Father had told him it would be good for him to meet new people.

___

Danny was annoyed.

"I don't understand what the big deal about him is anyways," Danny complained.

"He started being the ceo of Wayne Enterprise when he was a teenager." Sam countered.

"Ok, so, nepotism."

Sam rolled her eyes. "I still don't understand why you're so against him."

"One, billionaire. Two, Tucker is way cooler than Tim Drake.

Sam's eyes soften. " Tucker is just gone for a few weeks."

Danny's cheeks felt warm. "I never said anything about that. I just want Tucker to find a cooler role model, is all.

Sam gave him an all-knowing look. "Well, if you say so. I'm going to get in line."

Sam, all ways waited last to get in the lunch line. Claiming she didn't want to hold up line when the lunch ladies had to get the vegetarian option. Which was fine, but now that Tucker was doing the dumb transfer student program, all he could do was eat his mediocre lunch and mindlessly play on his phone.

Untill someone grabbed his arm and dragged him out of the cafeteria into the hallway. Danny turned around to face the person. He froze at the sight of his own face. Or well, a glaring rich kid version.

"Oh, it's you." Danny said nonchalant, even though he was screaming inside.

"You're not going to play dumb, clone?"

"No, why would I, The resemblance is uncanny.

"What are you doing here?" His original demanded

"You dragged me here."

His original scowled. "You know what I mean, clone. I won't hesitate to end you."

"Just trying to go to school, honest."

Original glared at him, scanning him with his eyes. The grip on Danny's arm loosened. " I'll be watching you, clone."

" Whatever you say, template."

Danny walked back to the cafeteria, blocking out the yells of rage behind him.

___

It was about a week of Damian watching his clone, and he was confused. At first, he thought the league sent the clone to trade places with him before he went back to Gotham, but now he wasn't sure. The Clone seemed to fit in the community to well to have show up recently, but that didn't disprove the theory entirely. It could be a long-term plan from the League. They could be responsible for putting the transfer program in place in the first place.

The other theory was that the clone escaped and made a life for himself, but that didn't explain how he got past his programming.

After the last period, Damian found his clone and pulled him aside.

"What do you want?" His clone asked, irritated.

"You're different then other clones, explain."

"I don't know. I didn't really stick around very long to find out."

"What about your programming?"

"I didn't have any?"

Damian thought about it before giving a small nod. "You don't seem to be a threat, but I'll still keep my eye on you, clone."

"I've got a name, you know." He held out his hand. "Danny Fenton, nice to make your acquaintance."

Damian heistently shook his hand. "Damian Wayne."

That started their unsaid agreement. You don't mess with me, I don’t mess with you. They interacted with each other sometimes, but not very offen. They were impartial to one another, and both sides weren't very keen on getting to know each other. And that was their relationship till the day Damian was leaving.

Damian was waiting for the bus when Danny approached him.

"What do you want, Daniel?"

"I told not to call me that, but uh, here." Danny handed a piece of paper to him. "It's my phone number if you ever need help from the League or anything."

Damian slipped the paper into his pocket. "Give me your phone." Danny handed over his phone, and Damian started typing.

"What are you doing?" Danny asked.

"I'm putting my number in. If you ever require assistance."

Danny smiled, "Thanks."

____

A few months later.

Tim was peeking over a corner.

"What are you doing?" Dick asked.

Tim didn't say anything and just waved him over. He walked over and stared in aw at what he saw. Damian was slouched on the couch, his hair messy, playing on his phone.

A few minutes later, Jason joined.

"Am I hallucinating?" Tim whispered.

"Nah, I don't think so... unless we're all hallucinating." Jason whispered back.

"Do you think he has brain damage or been possessed or something?" Tim asked.

Dick shook his head. "That seems unlikely."

"This is so trippy. I've never seen him wear anything that casually like ever.

"What are you imbeciles doing?"

"We're watching Damian."

All three of them froze and turned to look at a glaring Damian.

Damian walked past them and went right up to the second Damian.

"Daniel, what are you doing here?"

The causal Damian 'Daniel' pulled out a letter. "Your pops invited me, and I didn’t want to risk the chance of batman showing up at my front door."

Damian scoffed, "Of course, Father found out."

Alfred walked in. "Master Daniel, I'll be taking you to Master Bruce."

The double got up and went to Alfred.

"Cookie, Master Daniel?"

"Sure, and call me danny."

[hbyrde36]

Midsummer Nights (a.k.a Summer Camp Fic)

It's finally here! This one has been percolating for a while, and I'm so glad to have the start of the story written and out there. Updates might be a little sporadic until my Steddie big bang is complete, but I'm so excited to finally give this fic some attention!

WC: 3154 | R: Explicit (for eventual smut) | Ch 1/? | AO3

Chapter 1

Steve had been a camper at Sunset Lake since almost before he could remember. 

He was seven that first summer, and hadn’t spent more than a night away from his own bed before, for sleepovers with family or childhood friends. 

Regardless, his parents didn’t hesitate to dump him off in the middle of nowhere upstate for the full eight weeks the camp ran, with total strangers, many of whom were hardly more than kids themselves, the second he was old enough to attend. From then on, Mr. and Mrs. Harrington spent their own summers partying it up at the country club, pretending they didn’t have a son. 

It used to hurt, having the fact that they didn’t give a shit about him shoved so blatantly in his face. When he was still young and hopeful he would wait patiently by the front gates every visitor’s day, hoping that the next car full of visiting parents and family would be for him. 

It never was.

And by the time he turned eleven, he had stopped waiting. 

He also stopped signing up for activities that he had chosen only to impress his dad, like tennis, basketball, rock climbing—even if he was good at them—and instead began to fill his days with art, theater, and music. Anything that caught his interest, even if he was terrible at it. 

Suddenly he lived for those eight weeks of summer that used to leave him feeling so lonely and unloved. Knowing it was the one place, the one time of year, where he could be the most himself. And he was too busy with performances and showing off the projects he’d completed on visitor’s days to think too much about the fact that no one ever came to see him. 

That was how he met Robin, his best friend and platonic soulmate. They were twelve and had both auditioned for roles in Shakespeare in the Summer, a series of famous scenes from the playwright's works, a pet project of the counselor who ran the theater department meant to be the big final show at the end of camp that year. They got the roles of Romeo and Juliet, respectively. 

As they rehearsed he developed a very small, but still very embarrassing crush on his co-star and eventually confessed, knowing he would feel guilty about kissing her if she didn’t know how he felt. 

Robin broke it to him gently, explaining that while she’d grown to like him a lot, as a friend, over the time they’d been working on their scene together, he just wasn’t her type. 

The last bit was said with a particular significance, but Steve, oblivious to what she was so subtly trying to convey, had protested that he was everyone’s type. She’d rolled her eyes and given him a fond, if exasperated, smile, and after swearing him to secrecy, put it in plain terms he could understand. 

She was a lesbian. 

Robin liked girls, exclusively, and her tastes ran long in soft skin, cherry red lips, and blonde ponytails—all of which Steve, for better or worse, lacked.

It was the 90’s, and the world was slowly changing, so it wasn't as if Steve had never heard of gay people before… it's just that he had never met one in real life. He accepted her immediately, his crush gone in a flash like it had never existed, and felt a kinship with her snap into place that he didn’t quite understand at the time, but was so obvious looking back. 

In the end they faked the kiss. Steve grabbed Robin’s face with both hands and all the faux passion he could muster, slipping his thumbs between their lips at the last second to keep them from crossing that particular line, and she had trusted him to do it. 

They were inseparable from that day forward. 

As promised, he kept her secret, and exactly one year later after coming to terms with a few realizations of his own—namely that he wasn’t as straight as he assumed, that in fact, he wasn’t sure he actually liked girls at all—when he confessed a secret of his own as they walked along the edge of the lake before curfew, he knew she would do the same for him.

This summer they were eighteen, part of the graduating class of 1999, on the brink of college, and finally old enough to be hired as full fledged counselors with paychecks and days off and everything. 

Not that it paid much, but Steve wasn’t in it for the money. He was in it for the love of the place. Sunset Lake Camp had become a second home to him over the last decade of his life, his real home, and the people there like family. There were always a few new faces that came and went, but most of the kids and staff alike came back year after year like him.

Robin was mainly in it for Steve, excited at the prospect of getting to spend the entire Summer with him for once instead of the single session, two short weeks, she was used to—all her folks had been able to afford each year growing up. 

It was poised to be the best summer of Steve’s life. 

Then he met Eddie. 

-

Pre-camp was exactly what it sounded like. A full week of cleaning, painting, maintenance, and general setting up of the place before the first crop of kids was set to arrive. It wasn’t mandatory for the staff, and some counselors wouldn’t even arrive until the day before the first session began, but it did come with an extra paycheck and the opportunity to get out of his parents house that much sooner. 

Steve was so in.

And naturally, that meant Robin was too.

They both arrived mid afternoon. Steve had driven himself in his beloved second hand BMW all the way from Hawkins, his excitement mounting as the scenery changed, flat boring highways finally giving way to lush green rolling hills and mountains, the roads eventually going from asphalt, to crushed stone, to dirt as he turned onto camp property and made his way to the employee parking lot. Robin arrived just after, her parents' car rolling to a stop next to his while he was still unloading his duffel bags from the trunk.  

Steve had offered to pick her up on his way so they could ride in together, it wouldn’t have added that much time to his own trip, but Mr. and Mrs. Buckley would never give up the opportunity to see their only daughter off for the summer, no matter how old she was. They were good parents, and just plain good people.

Robin was horribly embarrassed by the sheer number of hugs they gave her, and Steve, before finally getting back in their car to head home, and he couldn’t help wondering if she knew how lucky she was. His own parents had hardly looked up from their coffee when he’d said goodbye to them that morning.

“How was the drive?” Robin asked with her face squished against Steve's chest, as he pulled her in for his own bone-crushing hug. God he fucking missed her. Emails and once a week phone calls just weren’t enough. Damn long distance fees.

“Long, boring, the usual.” He said, pulling away from her reluctantly. 

In truth he didn’t mind the long journey. It was nice getting to shut his brain off, and sing along at full volume to whatever songs had made it on American Top 40 with Casey Kasem that week.

The low rumble and put-put-put of an old engine had them both looking up, signaling the arrival of Director Hopper in his ancient pickup truck, its tires kicking up dirt and rocks no matter how slowly he drove. 

The truck rolled to a stop in front of them, and the man behind the wheel leaned out the open window to wave. “Long time no see, kids!”

“Hop,” Robin whined, “we’re not kids anymore.”

“Oh! My apologies—Miss Buckley, Mister Harrington.”

Steve wrinkled his nose. “Okay, now you're just being mean.”

Hopper threw his head back and laughed, before stepping out of the truck. “You know you’ll always be kids to me.”

After another round of hugs the man helped load their stuff up into the back, then helped both of them climb up on top of their piled luggage.

As the truck bumped along slowly towards the north side of the campus, where the bunks were, Hopper slid open the back window of the truck so he could shout out to them.

“Me and Joyce got two of the cabins fixed up already so you-all have someplace clean to sleep tonight. One for the women, one for the men.” Hopper’s eyes narrowed as he stared them down through his rearview mirror. He, along with almost everyone else, thought they were dating and had been for years. If he only knew how wrong he was. “Dinner is at six tonight in the dining hall, and I suggest you settle in and relax till then. The real work starts tomorrow.”

“You sure you don't need help with anything today?” Steve asked, sticking his head through the little window to make sure the older man could hear him.

“Thanks kid, but I got it covered. All that’s left today really is picking up a few international staff from the airport. I would have been on my way there already, but the flight got delayed, not due in till late tonight now.”

It was one of Steve’s favorite things about this place, getting to meet and make friends with all sorts of people from all over the world. The cultural exchange program that the camp worked with brought in support staff and counselors from other countries that wanted to come work for the summer, many of them visiting America for the very first time.

Soon enough they came to the end of the road, hooking a left through a break in the trees and came out into a huge clearing. Two giant half circles made up of small white and green buildings faced each other, with a wide open field between them where, in a week’s time, kids would be found lounging around on towels and blankets in the sun, or throwing frisbees and baseballs to each other during their free period. 

Hopper pulled over on the girl’s side, which was fair—if sexist—considering Robin had more stuff than Steve did, and got them unloaded before quickly heading off with a reminder about dinner.

Robin slid her backpack on and began to drag her small trunk up the old wooden steps of the cabin. 

Steve heaved her big duffel bag over his shoulder and moved to follow, but she spun abruptly, letting the trunk drop, slapping a hand hard against his chest before his foot even made contact with the lowest board. 

“Woah, woah, woah, where do you think you’re going?” She asked.

“Seriously? I’m just trying to help you with your stuff!” 

“Yes, seriously! You know boys aren't allowed in the girl’s cabins!” She whispered boys as though it were a dirty word.

Steve snorted. “I’m pretty sure those rules are for the campers, Rob, not us, and what could possibly happen?! There’s no two people on the planet less likely to hook up than you and me.”

“Yeah but people don’t know that, Harrington!” 

She was right. As much as camp had always been Steve's safe haven, his sexuality was still something he felt the need to hide, as did Robin. They just couldn’t be sure how their peers would react, and he wanted to believe Hopper would be accepting and open minded but what if he wasn’t? What if he fired them, or used it as an excuse not to invite them back to work next year, because parents might freak out if they knew their children were being ‘exposed to the gays’? 

Steve couldn’t lose this place, for that reason or any other. 

He tossed her bag up the short staircase and onto the porch, letting his shoulders slump in defeat.

“Don’t pout. I just don't want to get in trouble on our first day,” Robin said.

“Yeah, me either,” he agreed.

“Good. Now move along to your own bunk.” She dropped her voice down low, looking around before she spoke again, wriggling her eyebrows. “I’m sure Jonathan will be around to help you get settled in.”

“You’re never gonna let me live that stupid crush down, are you?” 

“Nope.”

“It was two years ago!” Steve hissed.

“I still say you had a chance.”

Steve sighed heavily. “Even if he wasn’t straight—” he began but Robin cut him off with a judgy stare.

“You don’t know that.” She said.

“Fine,” he grumbled. “But even if he wasn't, I told you, I'm not getting in the middle of whatever on-again off-again dance he and Nancy are doing.”

Robin tilted her head from side to side. “That’s fair. She scares me.”

“Me too.”

-

Jonathan was, as a matter of fact, already at the men’s temporary cabin, greeting Steve with a hug and everything, and offering to help him carry his stuff inside. Not that he’d be telling Robin any of that. 

His brief crush had been nothing short of awkward. They’d known each other since they were little, Jonathan’s mom being the camp nurse, and Hopper becoming his and his brother Will’s stepfather a few years ago, and out of nowhere Steve couldn’t even have a conversation with the guy without blushing and stuttering. Thankfully, the other boy’s sad little puppy dog eyes didn’t really do anything for him anymore.

They talked a little, making the usual catching up small talk that you do with people you know well but maybe aren't truly friends with, and soon were joined by a new face, fresh off a days long road trip from California. 

Argyle greeted Steve and Jonathan like they were all long lost pals. He had the longest, shiniest hair, the most colorful wardrobe Steve had ever seen, and his smile was infectious. He also absolutely reeked of weed, and within minutes had talked Jonathan into taking a walk in the woods with him to “open their minds”. It was clear the two stoners were well on their way to becoming best friends.

Steve left them to it, knowing Robin would kill him if he showed up to dinner high and smelling of smoke. 

He chose a bed by the door and started making it up, tucking the sheets in tight and tossing his ugly plaid comforter on top. There was no point in really unpacking until they got their final bunk assignments, the night before the kids came, so after pulling out a few random t-shirts, shorts, and a bathing suit, and shoving them all into one of the cubby holes built into the walls of the cabin, Steve grabbed his discman and headphones and went to lay out in the sun. 

-

It was late, well past midnight and Steve had been tossing and turning for the last several hours. He never slept well on the first night of camp, the quiet always taking a little time for him to get used to, and It was no wonder he heard the soft footfalls of someone walking up the steps of the cabin.

The door opened slowly, revealing a figure painted in silhouette by moonlight. A riot of wild hair, and a guitar case slung across the boy’s back were all Steve could make out at first through his barely slitted eyelids. 

He watched, careful not to move too much and give away that he was awake as the boy quietly closed the door behind himself, and tiptoed further into the cabin, tossing his stuff down beside the bunk right next to Steve’s. It meant Steve had a perfect view of the newcomer’s backside as he bent to slide his guitar under the mattress frame and unzipped his bag. He straightened with an arm full of linens and hastily made up the bed, not even tucking the bottom corners of his fitted sheet in before throwing a quilt over the whole thing and calling it done, and began to undress. 

Steve swallowed hard, knowing he should probably look away now, or at least close his eyes, if for no other reason than to put on a better show of being asleep in case the other boy’s gaze swung his way, but he was enthralled.

The unfamiliar figure was still blanketed in shadow, but stood close enough now that Steve could make out a pair of huge sparkling dark eyes, brown he assumed, though the night had a way of stealing all the color from the world, to go with the boy’s even darker curls. A rounded nose and full pouty lips made up the rest of a face that would, Steve was fairly certain, now and forever haunt his dreams, as well as his every waking thought. 

He wanted to scream. 

He’d never felt so drawn to someone at first sight before. How much worse would it be once he saw this vision of beauty in daylight?

Powerless to resist the urge, Steve let his gaze roam down past the curve of the other boy’s jaw, eyes drinking in whatever details they could. The bob of an adams apple as he swallowed, the outline of his collarbones, black and gray markings on his chest and arms—tattoos that Steve couldn’t quite make out the shapes of. A trail of dark hair ran from his navel to the top of his pants, stark and inviting against pale white skin.

The boy reached for the button on his jeans and Steve did look away then. It was one thing to see the same skin that might be on display when someone took their top off down by the lake or at the pool, but another to ogle someone below the belt when they didn’t even know they were being watched.

Second passed and a dull thump had Steve snapping his eyes back open, grateful the other boy still had his boxers on at least, so he didn’t feel like too much of a creep. 

“Bollocks,” the stranger cursed softly, hopping on one foot for a second as he sucked air between his teeth, nursing a stubbed toe.

Steve’s stomach flipped at the sound of his voice.

International, right. He had an accent. Of course he did, obviously, Steve just hadn’t thought—

Why was that so hot?

He groaned internally, he hadn’t even properly seen the guy’s face yet and he was already absolutely fucked. 

Finally, mercifully, the other boy climbed into bed, yawning as he pulled the quilt up over his head, turning to face the other way.

And it was to the sound of this intriguing stranger’s breath that Steve finally drifted away into a fitful sleep.

Steve's Summer Mix Eddie's Summer Mix

Thanks as always to the lovely @penny00dreadful for being the best beta, friend and cheerleader.

Permanent taglist(open): @penny00dreadful @pearynice @hitlikehammers @bookworm0690 @wonderland-girl143-blog 

@goodolefashionedloverboi @themagicalari @awkwardgravity1 @rocknrollsalad

Fic taglist (open):

[watcheraurora]

Princesses and Family

Finally had an idea for a continuation of "The Ranchers unintentionally adopted a kid" AU 3.1k words

(Part 1)(Part 2)

—

Tango paused on his way up the path to the front door of the ranch house, scrunching his brows. "Uh... hi Gem," he greeted loudly.

Gem waved from the balcony of his and Jimmy's bedroom above the covered front porch. "Hi Tango!" she greeted.

"What are you doing here? Not that it's not good to see you. I just wasn't expecting it."

"Oh I came to show Jimmy a new way to braid Skye's hair for flying," Gem said, showing off the single braid wrapping around her head like a crown or halo.

"I see. So why are you on the balcony alone, then?" Tango's pointy ear flicked almost in sync with Gem's pointy ear as a breeze made the wheat field roll with waves like the sea.

Gem glanced through the small window into the master bedroom. "Oh I'm the princess," she said with a perky, bright smile. "Skye is rescuing me from the dragon."

"The dragon?"

At that moment, Jimmy cried out from inside the house. Tango bolted inside, dropping the bag of supplies he'd brought back from town on the front path and throwing the door open with magic before he even reached it.

Jimmy was sprawled on the kitchen floor, his enormous yellow wings taking up most of the floorspace and his hair flopped back, one arm draped over part of his wing. His knees were bent with his feet on the floor. There was a wooden sword caught between his arm and his side.

Skye was standing beside his knees in an old leather armor chestplate that was waaay too big on her, and dyed purple. One hand raised triumphantly and wings spread wide. There was a small yellow feather tucked into the plait of the white braid ringing her head just over her ear.

Both of their eyes turned, wide, to Tango at the sound of the door flying open.

"Oh hi Tango," Jimmy greeted first, lifting his head a bit.

"Gem said something about a dragon," Tango said.

"It's Jimmy's turn to be the dragon! And then he gets to be the knight, and I get to be the princess, and Gem gets to be the dragon!" Skye explained, a little out of breath but beaming. She leaned forward, holding a hand up to her mouth so Jimmy "couldn't hear" what she was going to say. "I think Gem likes being the dragon the best."

"She's certainly got the fierceness for it," Tango agreed. He set a hand on his heart. It was racing. "I thought you were being attacked. I heard Jimmy shout."

Jimmy smiled. "I'm nothing if not committed to my role. Including the death scenes. If I was actually hurt, you'd feel it."

Right. The SoulBond. Tango forgot about it sometimes.

"I like being the princess because Gem and Jimmy actually swordfight," Skye said matter-of-factly. "But I think Gem goes easy on him because he's not actually very good."

Jimmy's jaw dropped open, playfully offended. Tango tried not to snicker. Truthfully, they both were abysmal in combat.

"I think your princess is waiting on her knight to rescue her," Jimmy said softly to Skye.

Who gasped. She whirled and ran toward the stairs, rushing up them.

Jimmy chuckled and got to his feet, folding his wings in and dusting them off.

"Having fun while I was gone?" Tango asked, smirking.

"We, er... kinda got carried away," Jimmy said, ruffling and fluffing his feathers to reorder them after lying on the floor. "Gem and Skye were talking while I braided Skye's hair and it turned into playing Knight-Princess-Dragon."

Tango chuckled. "Glad you had fun." He went outside and retrieved the supplies he'd left on the path, bringing them inside. Skye was "escorting" a very-hunched-over Gem down the stairs. "Hey ladies," Tango said.

"Hi," Gem replied.

"Sir Tango, you need to refer to the princess as Your Highness," Skye corrected, smiling.

Tango flung his arms out and bowed deeply. "Sincerest apologies, Knight Skye."

"No, no, no," Skye said, her wings puffing up as she pulled off the leather chestplate. "I rescued Gem, so now I'm Princess Skye." She beamed when Jimmy chuckled. She pulled his yellow feather out of her braid behind her ear and tucked it into the plait at the top of her head like the point of a tiara.

"Ohhh. My sincerest apologies, Princess Skye," Tango said. He took the supplies into the kitchen and dropped the bag on the counter, beginning to unpack them.

Gem snatched Skye around the waist with a playful, "Gotcha!" and ran up the stairs.

Skye squealed and laughed. "Jimmy help! I'm being kidnapped by a dragon!" she screamed.

"I'll save you, Your Highness!" Jimmy called, picking up the wooden sword Skye had "stabbed" him with and running for the stairs. But Gem came thundering down them with a dramatic roar, her Elytra now equipped and fluttering with her movements. She picked up another wooden sword and together they ran for the front door while Tango watched. Once they were out on the path through the wheat field, they started swordfighting, the wooden blades clacking together. They left the front door open, and Tango could hear Skye cheering on, well, Gem. Even though she was probably supposed to be cheering on Knight Jimmy.

Tango laughed and went back to unpacking. Once everything was put away, he went outside and leaned against one of the support pillars for the porch to watch, folding his arms and grinning.

To Jimmy's credit, he was better with a sword than Tango was.

Tango quirked a finger, tugging on one of Gem's curly plaits with a little magic.

"What the—?!"

Tango did the same to the little bit of hair on the back of Jimmy's head that always stuck straight up from the whorl of his hair.

"Eh?!"

Amusement flooded down their SoulBond from Tango, who was trying not to snicker.

"Tango! Stop messin'!" Jimmy protested.

"What?!" Gem demanded. "Tango! No cheating!"

"There's no cheating here!" Tango retorted. "I mess equally."

Gem shot him a glare over her shoulder and briefly the phrase If looks could kill passed through Tango's mind. Tango briefly gestured for her to turn around. She did in time to block Jimmy's swing, not even really looking.

Yeah. She was good with a sword. Something Tango had noticed was that she never really went for critical hit points. She just relentlessly pursued her trajectory, never giving an opponent the opportunity to fight back, until she won.

Which was better than what Tango could do.

He couldn't see Skye. The balcony was built into the porch roof. But he could hear her wings flapping as she cheered on Gem and called for Sir Jimmy to save her in equal measure. Tango smiled.

He hadn't wanted kids, when he and Jimmy committed to one another after discovering their SoulBond. He had never seen himself as much of a caretaker. He'd lose his own head if it wasn't attached to his shoulders—how could he expect to take good care of a child if he could barely take care of himself?

But that changed when Jimmy rescued Skye. She had slotted into their life like she was always meant to be there. Neither Jimmy nor Tango could imagine not taking care of her. They weren't perfect, but their best was usually enough. She was happier now, healthy, and learning to fly. She was moving past the grief of losing her parents and the trauma of being kept in a cage at a pillager outpost. She filled their lives with sunshine and they loved her as their own.

Jimmy eventually drove Gem into the path in front of the house, pretending to slay the dragon. Then ran inside to go rescue Skye, who squealed in excitement while Tango and Gem chuckled outside.

Tango liked his life. But he liked it even more with this little family in it.

—

"So I ran into Cleo in the market today," Tango said, winding some of Jimmy's hair around his fingers while they laid in bed.

"Yeah? How are they?"

"Good. We chatted for a bit. I mentioned that we've taken in an orphaned Avian girl. And that she's about six. And..." Tango bit his lower lip and hesitated.

Jimmy's eyes opened, meeting Tango's gaze. "And?" he prompted.

"Cleo offered to teach her. You know Cleo used to be a schoolteacher, right? Before the whole... zombie thing?"

"I think I knew that?"

"And there's really no other education around here. There aren't really any other children. I told Cleo that I'd talk to you about it, but that was probably a good idea."

"So... what? We take Skye to Cleo's every day?"

"It's better than her just sitting inside every day once harvest is over," Tango said. "When winter hits, she'll be really bored. But we can fly with her to and from, drop her off at Cleo's for at least a couple hours. Even if it's just one or two to start with. She does need to learn. I don't... can she even read?"

"A little," Jimmy said. "She reads labels at the market when I take her. But she could stand to learn more. And she'll be better at maths than me in about two weeks."

Tango tried not to laugh too loud. "That's not true."

"No. No it is. I'm so bad at maths. I ran into Cub at the market one time talking to Scar and they were doing some sort of calculation about groceries and I felt nauseated just listenin' to them." Jimmy was definitely exaggerating for the sake of effect, and Tango snickered.

"If you say so."

"So are we going to tell Cleo 'yes'?"

Tango yawned, covering his mouth to hide his sharp teeth, and nodded. "I think so. I think, ultimately, it would be good for Skye."

"I agree," Jimmy said. Tango went back to playing gently with Jimmy's hair. Jimmy's eyes fluttered closed again. He nuzzled a little into Tango's hand. Tango smiled and kissed his nose. Jimmy giggled softly. "Goodnight, Tango."

"G'night, Jimmy."

Jimmy was asleep within minutes.

Tango tried to follow Jimmy's sleep pattern. He really did. But, as an Avian, Jimmy really embodied the Early Bird concept. Tango just... didn't. He liked the darkness. His mind seemed to work better in the late hours of the night. He'd rather go to bed deep into the night and wake up late in the morning. Usually, Jimmy let him.

And recently, in the last six months, Jimmy always took care of Skye in the mornings while Tango kept sleeping. In the month-and-a-half since Skye's first flight, their routine had altered a little. Jimmy would slip out of bed and into Skye's room, gently wake her, and they'd go for a flight. She was nearly ready to fly on her own, and her wings were getting stronger. Then when they returned, they would have breakfast and get started on ranch chores. Skye didn't have to work out in the fields or with the animals all day. She would do an hour or two, then go inside and play.

And sometimes she'd already be at playtime by the time Tango woke up.

A bit after Jimmy finally fell asleep, Tango slipped out of bed. His Blaze Rods flared into being around his head and he used them to glide over to the door, down the hall, and down the stairs. He reached through the narrow gap between two double chests and pressed a button. Moved to its new location so Skye didn't accidentally press it.

Pistons retracted and revealed a staircase to the basement in the kitchen floor. Tango hurried down them and into his redstone workshop.

In Tango's opinion, redstone was not, inherently, dangerous. Handling the dust could be. If it floated up into the air. You didn't want to inhale it. But he didn't want Skye down here in case something fell and crushed her, more than anything. Hence he'd hidden the entrance.

He slipped a book and quill out of a chest and flipped it open to where he'd left the quill. People around town liked to request redstone devices. Tango liked making them, and it brought in a few extra diamonds on the side. He knew Etho and Impulse did the same, but the townsfolk knew Tango's particular type of redstone. He was the one asked for the whacky contraptions. The silly ones. Impulse and Etho could make the efficient, effective ones. Tango got to make toys a lot. And he loved it.

He got to work on a project request. It was nearly done, and he'd been fiddling with it for a week. He was eager to deliver it.

As he tinkered, his mind wandered a little. To Skye. Wearing Jimmy's feather in her hair. He had some of Jimmy's feathers himself. He usually kept the small one on a bracelet chain somewhere safe, only wearing it when it felt important that he display his commitment to Jimmy. He was too scared of burning it to ash otherwise. The other feathers of Jimmy's were scattered around his workshop as quills for writing. Sure they had a lot of chickens on the ranch, but why use those when Jimmy's feathers were so much sturdier and he shed them all about once a year? Most of them were properly disposed of, but Tango always kept a few—with Jimmy's permission—to turn into quills.

The fact that Jimmy had placed one of his shortest feathers—typically from near his spine—in her braid meant something. Tango wasn't overly familiar with Avian culture, but he knew enough to know that exchanging feathers was a big deal. Jimmy gave Tango a feather he'd plucked specifically for Tango the first time. As a sign of commitment and love. The one Tango had on a bracelet chain.

Jimmy gave Skye one of his feathers for her hair as a show of family.

Tango leaned back in his chair, taking a short break to stretch his spine. His Blaze Rods burned into existence, spinning around his head. One of them an inch shorter than the other ones. No one had ever noticed but Jimmy.

Tango had given Jimmy a small portion of that Blaze Rod as his own sign of commitment and love. Jimmy had it on a leather necklace cord. Tango had used magic to seal its fire deep within so it wouldn't burn anything—especially Jimmy.

He reached up and caught the shorter one, bringing it down in front of him. It hovered just over his hand, rotating slightly. The end that had been broken off was only slightly slanted, compared to the near-perfect perpendicular of the unbroken end. He hadn't cut it perfectly, but he'd shaved the jagged edge fairly well.

If he used all his Blaze Rods, he always spawned more. He just hadn't used many since he'd given that piece to Jimmy. And hadn't needed enough at once to use this one.

If he cut another inch off this one... it would start being noticeably shorter than the other whole ones around his head.

Was that really a bad thing?

He reached for his axe and went to the crafting table.

—

"Psst! Skye!" Tango whispered as he slowly opened her door, knocking gently with one knuckle. She shuffled in bed. "Psst!"

One eye peeled open, deep blue and dark in the light from Tango's hair. "Wh... wha's goin' on?" she asked, voice slurred with sleep. The weak light of dawn was peeking past the pink flower banners that had been added to her windows as curtains.

"I have a little present for you."

Her other eye opened. "A present?"

"Uh-huh."

She sat up in bed. "What is it?" She'd left her crown braid in, and the flyaways that had escaped it were a messy mad-scientist halo of white around her head.

Tango crept into her room. "You know how Jimmy gave you a feather for your hair?" He perched on the edge of her bed. She nodded. "Do you know what that means?"

"My mama used to put her feathers in my hair, and mine in hers when they fell out."

"That's right. For people with feathers, exchanging them is telling them you love them." He lifted his arm to show her Jimmy's yellow feather, preserved by magic to not get too brittle, dangling off a gold chain. "Jimmy gave me one because he loves me. And he gave you one because he loves you." He smoothed down some of her flyaways. "Have you noticed the necklace Jimmy wears?"

"The brown one with the little orange... yellow thing on it?"

"Yeah, princess." Tango's Blaze Rods reappeared, orbiting his head. "Like these." He looked up at them.

"You use those to fly." It wasn't a question. Skye had noticed that he only ever really displayed his Rods when he flew. He couldn't fly without them, and he didn't want to burn anything with them accidentally.

"That's right. I gave Jimmy a small piece of one of these to show him I love him." The shorter one stopped in front of his head. He flicked it so it spun, and then caught it to stop the spinning, bringing it down in front of him to show her.

"Why is that one so short?" Skye's eyes flicked to the other Blaze Rods, noting their lengths.

"Because I chopped a little bit off either end."

"Did it hurt?"

"No, sweetheart. They can't feel pain. Nothing about them can hurt me." Tango smiled and let the shorter one take its place back in alignment with the others bobbing as they rotated.

He pulled the leather out of the pocket of his jumpsuit. "This is for you. To show you I love you."

Skye took it carefully. "It's a necklace like Jimmy's!"

"Mmhmm. Because you're part of our family, so you get something from both of us to show it."

"I... I am?"

"Of course."

Skye smiled and gave him a hug. "Thank you, Tango."

"You're welcome kiddo."

—

"So... you stayed up all night," Jimmy said.

"Mmhmm," Tango said quietly, tiredly.

"And Skye has a necklace like mine."

"Mmhmm."

"I'm guessing you stayed up to make it?"

"Pretty much, yeah."

Jimmy kissed the side of Tango's head. "I'm glad. Go take a nap. I'll wake you up later."

"Don't have to tell me twice."

[hidefdoritos]

Haha yeah, you know me too well. Yeah, I've always been big on patterns. There was this one time when I was in like 8th grade I got invited to family game night at some friends' house. They explained a card game and let me watch a round.

In the game, the judge decides on a pattern in their head. "Red card, face card, clubs card" or something like that. Then everyone else takes turns laying down cards. The judge declares whether each card is correct or incorrect. At the beginning, it's all guesswork; at some point, the pattern emerges, and then we all congratulate ourselves and change roles.

They let me come in as the judge.

This was a mistake. I was small and full of spite. I didn't know about things like "sharing" or making things "winnable." I knew that the optimal pattern was something so complex they'd never get it but so simple my win would be legitimate. I wouldn't mess with the environment, or with counting the cards, or with a pattern of the frequencies of in/correct. It had to be a visible card pattern, and mine was going to be the best visible card pattern ever.

I chose my pattern. We started. And they started losing their minds.

From their viewpoints, there was no pattern. No rhyme or reason, no telling. I sat increasingly smug in my spot at the table. Half the deck was gone. They stared daggers at me. They had a very nice red-black pattern going, but it wasn't the deciding factor. They asked if I was sure there weren't any mistakes. I was sure. They played on. One declared she didn't have anything left to play. She was wrong, and I looked at her cards and told her so.

They started collaborating among themselves. Pointing at cards. Showing each other their cards. Two thirds of the way through the deck. Three quarters. Seven eighths. Card after card laid down, some accepted, some rejected. By far, farther than they'd ever made it in a game. It wasn't fun anymore, but I wasn't gonna call it off just because the kids were getting bored. I was full of more brainpower than those little twits could even conceptualize, and I was going to win.

One player went out--I confirmed nothing usable left in their hand. Then another. The remaining three played out their cards, swapping turns and swapping theories. Interest had waned. They stared at me glumly as they laid their cards, waiting for a verdict they couldn't predict. A parent left the room to work on the pizza and snacks.

Finally they were stuck. The deck was exhausted, and so were they. A few random cards left over, nothing discernably interesting about any of them.

"Give up?" I asked, a triumphant gleam in my eyes.

They stared at me.

I pointed to the array of cards snaking along the table. "If you'll see here," I gestured expansively, "it's a very simple pattern. Every other card has to be an even number."

They stared at me.

I swallowed.

"So, every other card could be literally anything?" asked an older sibling.

"Y-yeah," I said, losing 80% of my confidence. "...Isn't that fun?"

I was rescued by the remaining parent standing up from the table. "Why don't we start the movie now," they suggested, and started shepherding their glaring children into the living room.

"It could be worse," I explained lamely. "It could have been every fourth, or fifth, or I could have targeted people with their elbows on the table, or...." I trailed off as an adult started directing us toward pizza and snacks.

Anyway, I think that whole escapade says a lot about me in junior high school and also me as a person. Yeah, that pattern recognition is kinda like why I always get the same thing. Yeah, a number seven, ketchup only on the burger, regular fries, root beer with no ice. Can I tip you? Do you take cash tips?

[forthedancingandthethriving]

Ashley walks into one of Tulip's workshops, a small stack of what appear to be photographs in hand and a syrupy-sweet grin on his face, "So! Something very interesting happened at work today."

Tulip looks up from what she's working on (something that might have been a dishwasher at some point and now has far too many laser emitters), "Oh?"

"One of the other models called in sick just before she was supposed to show up (not that I can blame her, poor girl sounded like death on the phone), and everybody was scrambling to figure something out in time... and then the perfect substitute walks through the door, " On cue, he spreads the photos across what little free space the workbench. Some of them include himself, but all of them have a tall woman with long auburn hair, "Allow me to introduce; the lovely Seline."

"Oh wow, she's gorgeous," as Tulip looks the photos over, she slowly develops a contemplative frown, "and... somehow familiar."

Ashley's grin somehow gets wider, "I should hope so, she is your 'dear older sister' after all."

Tulip does a double-take, "wait, that's Archie!?"

"Yep! He happened to be visiting me, he does that sometimes, and when he saw we were having trouble he wanted to help. He was surprisingly okay with that help involving putting on a dress, so long as nobody knew it was him. Said it had something to do with swapping places with his sister when he was little?"

Tulip lets out a fond chuckle, "Oh yeah, he was kind of small as a kid so we fit in each-other's clothes, and sometimes we decided to pretend we were each-other and see how long it took for anyone to notice. We got really good at it too, one time not even our parents noticed for a whole week. 'Course, then puberty happened and he shot up like a tree, so..."

"That is, so cute! Anyway, yeah, he did really well. Though, apparently he's into method acting or something because he stayed in-character the whole day, even when he wasn't anywhere near the cameras. There were a few times I was almost convinced he'd forgotten Archie even existed."

"Oh yeah, he does that. Honestly I think he'd have actually become an actor if our parents hadn't decided to mold us into their mini-mes... and then their genderbent mini-mes when they realized I was the one who got the mad scientist genes and he was the one with a knack for schmoozing," she huffs in frustration, then shakes off the bad memories, "Still, it usually takes him a few sessions to slip that deep into a role. Wonder how he managed it..."

---------------

Spongebob Timeskip Card Voice: *Several Hours Earlier...*

Archie takes in every inch of the woman in the mirror, nearly all his attention on crafting a persona for her. It'd been a while since he'd played a part so far removed from the one his parents knew as their son, and the nature of this one in particular had brought up some of his favorite childhood memories, one that had recently become painful in hindsight.

It brings up the complicated emotions surrounding his sister and their broken (largely by his own actions and cowardice, he's aware) relationship. Chief among them, this time, being jealousy. It's easy to be jealous of her, really. She'd been brave and clever enough to get away from their parents, to use her talents for her own ends, to hold onto her passion for all those dark years, to take what had once been their prison and turn it into a home. Not to mention she'd become so much prettier than he- NOPE! Not going down that road just yet, he doesn't need one more way for Mother to turn him into another her.

He lets out a huff that blows the wig's bangs up a little, then shakes himself off, shuts his eyes, and refocuses on the task at hand.

He'd worked out just who Seline would be, now it's time to become her. He pictures a bubble, one that contains everything that is him, Gathering all the parts he wants to put into Seline, he pushes them into the side of the bubble, soon forming a large bump, and then a second, smaller bubble, one that slowly breaks off from the main one. The large bubble descends, coming to rest most of the way down into a bank of thick fog that represents the subconscious, while the smaller rises to the top of... whatever this mindscape is supposed to be.

Seline opens her eyes, releasing a contented sigh. That was... easier than it normally was, especially for such a new persona, but she doesn't pay that any mind. She has a job to do, after all, and she isn't about to make Ashley wait any longer than she already had.

As she makes her way out of the dressing room, Liana fades into view and grins like a shark. She'd been surprised that Archie was this sincere about helping, but she obviously couldn't trust an Orpheus not to find some way to screw things up for sweet little Ashley, so she'd decided to help him for once, as disgusting as that felt.

She'd originally been planning to possess him, not to the degree of full control, just to cover for any issues that might crop up, but that fascinating mental construct had been much more interesting. So, she'd helped it along, pushing the separation of the imaginary bubbles further Archie's mind would have managed on its own at this stage. From what she could tell, the resulting personality wouldn't even think of the name Archie unless someone else brought it up. She could've sent the main persona down even further and had Seline fully replace Archie, at least for a while, but that would have raised far too many questions, and probably got her caught by that strange purple poltergeist who seems to think it's Ashley's guardian angel.

Though, from what she'd seen of Archie's surface thoughts before the construct was in place, she wonders if...

Well, it doesn't matter really. Whoever they truly are under the surface, they're still an Orpheus.

(putting this in an ask instead of my own post since Archie's half adds a pretty damn major detail to them, and they're not my character so you obviously get the final say on whether or not it's canon)

OH THIS IS... THIS IS NEAT? AS HELL?

I have no words because it is GENUINELY a very cool idea!! It's so very!! Yes!! All the layers to it... AGRJGAHA *rattles my cage's bars*

I love this sm.. I'd love to see where you're going with this..

[backmaskcd]

(Margaret Qualley) [THE CAPTAIN]. Please welcome [DELPHI TREMAINE (SHE/HER)] to Huntsville, WV. They are an [28]-year-old [VISITOR] who lives in [TOWN]. You may see them around working as a [MANAGER AT THE SASQUATCH]. Poor unfortunate soul. We’ll see if they survive.

Full Name: Delphi Amelia Tremaine Birthday: December 28 Age: 28 Hunter or Gatherer: Neither Sexuality: Pansexual Height: 5'8 Relationship Status: single

Being born first in a set of twins, Delphi took on the role of Denny's protector early in life. She often encouraged him in whatever made him happy, finding that she felt far more fulfilled watching him try things than do them herself. She never had to be embarrassed - Denny would do something, and if he failed, he just took it in stride. Delphi didn't think she could ever do anything like that.

While Denny became an internet kid, Delphi found her footing in the kitchen. She enjoyed helping their mom or dad during dinner, finding great satisfaction in watching the perfect meal be pieced together. She spent afternoons with Denny arguing over who got to watch what, and when she eventually won the dispute, she'd put on the food network, eyes bright and hopeful that some day, she'd be on there hosting her own show.

The introduction of the third Tremaine at eight was unexpected; and it's not that Delphi didn't love her baby brother, but it gave her parents less time to spend with her in the kitchen. She wasn't resentful, per se, but she wasn't happy, either, and often resigned herself to helping Denny film and roughly edit his footage. It wasn't her forte, but she took to it quickly enough.

Once in high school, Delphi took as many cooking classes as she could, thriving in the environment and even got her first job at the small diner near their house because a friend of the family owned it. She loved being in the real life kitchen there, and while she had to follow the recipes given to her, she loved having real world experience. Denny would drag her along to film him on her days off, and then she'd come home and cook whatever she felt like. Their parents rarely interfered, which was a blessing for her, and they even seemed to prefer when she cooked.

Delphi noticed, however, that Denny was changing. Despite never being that close with Camden, the two often talked about how they rarely saw their real brother anymore, often overshadowed by his YouTube persona. It was concerning, and the only thing Delphi could think of was to get Denny out of New York. She had been saving up to go to culinary school, but decided to dip into the funds to take them both on a road trip after a particularly bad break up of Denny's that left him practically despondent and forced a hiatus from his channel.

Camden was furious with them because Delphi said he couldn't come with - he was under eighteen after all, and she didn't want to responsible for her kid brother, and their parents didn't want him going either. Delphi had yelled her goodbye into the house while Denny tried to get him to come out and say a proper goodbye, but they both figured he'd be over it by the time they got back in a few weeks. Unfortunately for them, however, they found Huntsville instead.

Delphi is much quieter than her brother, and prefers watching other people than joining in herself. She's very knowledgeable when it comes to food and cooking, as well as video editing, though that's not particularly handy here. She forced herself to pick a job that wasn't the same place where Denny worked to force them both out of their shell a little bit, and while managing a bar wouldn't be her top choice, she's rather well suited or the job with her no nonsense attitude and ability to command a room. She feels some guilt for the way she left things with Camden, but if he had gotten stuck here as well and something had happened to him, Delphi never would have forgiven herself.

[whostolemygoldfish]

hello you said if anybody wants stories from your ballet years to ask so i am asking :D

Hiii! For a little context, I started doing ballet when I was two and quit when I was a teen. Did it permanently mess up my legs because of being pushed too hard and starting on pointe shoes long before my body was developed enough? Yes. Would I do it again in a heartbeat if I could? Also yes!

Now for the fun part lol

On stage, every one is all graceful and stuff right? Backstage we are man spreading on the floor with our skirts flipped up, devouring Doritos like we will die tomorrow.

I was doing a show where we had to lift a girl up on cables while the rest of us were doing other stuff on stage below her. One time during our final performance she didn't get hooked in correctly and fell after being raised just above our heads. And I FUCKING CAUGHT HER PERFECTLY. She was quite a bit smaller than me and I just happened to be directly below her when it happened.

We played an insane game of telephone with everyone in the performer's lounge (which at the stage I mainly performed at was literally just the basement with like ten metal folding chairs) in which the final sentence was "Santa's asscrack smells of cheese"

The tradition of the aforementioned stage was to kiss the wall in the basement before you went on stage for good luck, so every wall was covered in old lipstick marks

I've had to do quick changes in under five minutes, which included running down to the basement, completely changing your stage makeup and hair, switching your costume, and then running upstairs again to get in place backstage

As a build up to a finale in a solo piece, I was doing a very high side grand battement en pointe (really high side kick while standing on my toes) and I fell down into the splits. I just lost balance and fell right on to my leg, and I am not a small person so it hurt a lot because I have a long way to fall lol. Luckily it was only a dress rehearsal, so I was able to get myself back up and take it again from the top.

My toes look funky from pointe, never ask dancers for feet pics lol

After the curtain closes after the curtain call/the grand finale if you don't do the curtain call, everyone is tackling each other and partying

I have more, but it's very late as I'm writing this and I don't have the energy lol. I will say this, though. I would NEVER recommend ballet to anyone. I only shared the good stories, but there is a very good reason I quit. You have to bite and claw to get anywhere good, and believe me I fought hard for every solo and every role I got. I spent all of my evenings at the studio or practicing at home, and it's practically a job of it's own. The spaces are largely abusive and every instructor I've ever had has been one of the worst people I've ever met. It's also one of the reasons that I'm currently disabled.

However? I genuinely loved it and I wish I could go back. For me, dancing felt like flying and the music echoed through my aching bones and the experience and joy of it all made it worth it. I could get up on stage and suddenly I wasn't a lonely kid with a fucked up home life and abusive grandparents who were actively trying to kill me. I was free and I could just forget everything that I had been carrying on my shoulders, even if it was just for a moment to dance.

[chaseyesterdays]

For the commentary ask game:

So he led the charge in this, assuming a leadership role Keyleth knows he would have rather avoided. Convinced the others this was a worthwhile endeavor. Appealed to Vax and Scanlan and Grog’s (and Pike’s) love of pranks and mischief, nudged them towards roles in the heist they would all enjoy the most. He gave Keyleth the position of lookout so she wouldn’t have to get her hands dirty if this whole debacle went tits up. Didn’t ask Vex to shield him, just to watch the machine and report back to him on what it was doing. He’d taken on the bulk of the responsibility himself, the bulk of the work, but he’d done it willingly for the happiness of a friend.

Percy’s not as bad a man as he believes he is, Keyleth thinks. Meanders another loop around the arcade. Given to anger, yes; haunted by things he refuses to speak of, sure. But bad men don’t lie awake at night worrying if they’re bad. Bad men don’t fix their best friend’s car free of charge and teach her how to handle the issue herself if she needs to.

Bad men don’t pop out of the guts of a claw machine with glasses knocked askew, glancing up at the girl they admire and handing her a token with a half-grunted “Try it now” as they hold together some monstrous amalgamation of wiring and circuitry only they can understand.

BLESS YOU TIA I LOVE YOU I HAVE SO MANY THINGS I WANNA SCREAM ABOUT

(Placing under a cut because when I said "DVD commentary" I, uh. Wasn't fuckin' kidding)

So when I started writing Secret I knew that I wanted to focus on aspects of Percy and Vex's characters that wouldn't come up in idle conversation. Since neither of them are prone to introspection while actively focusing on a task, it evolved to Keyleth being the one to observe their interactions from afar, and given her high wisdom stats mechanically, it gave me a way to delve into character intricacies that sometimes aren't explicitly laid out in fic.

I knew going in that I wanted to focus on two things in Percy's character. One: the idea that he defends and protects those he loves by arming them rather than interposing himself; and two, which I believe is the crux of Percy's character: "bad men don't lie awake at night wondering if they're bad." For Vex, I wanted to juxtapose her outward confidence and capability with the small part of her that was a child in an emotionally neglectful, if not outright abusive, parental relationship, because that explains a lot of her behavior in most aspects of her life.

For Percy, the part with fixing Keyleth's car was important to include in my mind, because it's both a real world example of something he would do and a perfect prelude to the claw machine heist shenanigans he winds up inciting in the fic (also, breaking into a machine to fix it and make it fair rather than just... steal the toy is such a Percy thing to me -- he wants to win, but only if it's enough of a victory to rub it in somebody's smug face). In both instances, two people he cares about very deeply are in a bind. In both instances, he has more of the know-how to address the issue than they do. However, it's clear that Percy has issues with autonomy and is very, very concerned with chivalry and respect and other customs of court that I'm sure he was steeped in growing up, so his default is to address the immediate issue but arm his loved ones with the knowledge they need to get themselves out of said issue. For Keyleth, that's fixing her car and showing her exactly how he did it so she can do it herself. For Vex, it's fixing the machine so she can win the toy through her own skill, because he knows she's capable and intelligent but also knows her father's disapproval means she questions her own worth and capability at times.

And, going along with that, Percy is an excellent leader -- his plans are sometimes... well (lookin' at you, murdering Draconians to piss off Vorugal), but despite his distaste for it, he's good at knowing where people are best used and placing them in those positions. He might not like leadership, and he might defer to the group more often than not, but he is good at it, and I think he'd be more than willing to step into the role if it benefited Vex or Keyleth (but especially Vex).

As far as the second bit of focus on Percy's character goes, I think the quote is pretty self explanatory. "Bad men don't lie awake at night wondering if they're bad." This is the line I constantly go back to when trying to describe Percy's character -- he's done some awful things, he has great capability for cruelty and violence, but he acknowledges those things about himself and shoulders his flaws, though he obviously wants to be redeemed in some way (Osysa's speech in TLOVM and his own admission of "I don't want to die who I am. I would like to live long enough to be someone else" prove this point). Percy has a conscience, and for that reason he wrestles with the darkness in himself and hates it as much as he owns his own failings and commits to his mistakes. I wanted that to come up in this fic, and it really felt organic for it to occur in this moment where Keyleth's watching him and recalling the things he does for the people he cares about -- he has issues, yes, but it's the little things like this that prove he isn't a bad man. Just a damaged one.

For Vex, I knew I needed an inciting incident to kick off the claw machine heist, and the image of a little Trinket plush in a skill game would not leave me. Vex likes material things in canon but they feed in to her years of starvation and barely scraping by as a child/young adult; the only way she would be this drawn to a cheap toy is if she either wanted one badly as a child and never got it or she had one and was forced to leave it behind. My personal headcanon is that it was her favorite toy as a child, one of the very few things Elaina was ever able to buy her children to play with, and Vex was forced by Syldor to leave it behind when he took her and Vax to live with him (stuffed toys don't tend to survive house fires very well, so she never saw it again). And I think that sudden spike of grief and longing and nostalgia coupled with the childish instinct to just... grab something you love dearly and run would leave her off balance enough to admit her past association with the toy to her friends, because we all know Vex plays things close to the vest when it comes to vulnerability.

So. All of those things together culminated in Keyleth (me. read: me) rambling for like six thousand words about my blorbos, and I'm so glad Tumblr doesn't give an ask response word count because dear fucking Jesus I don't even wanna know how long I've been droning on

THANK YOU AGAIN TIA I LOVE YOU FEEL FREE TO ASK ME ANYTHING ABOUT ANYTHING IVE EVER WRITTEN IM NOT SLIGHTLY MANIC ABOUT THIS NOPE NOT ME

[triviareads]

This month was a bit of a hit-or-miss in terms of books I read. I took the opportunity to revisit an old favorite Tiffany Reisz and reread her entire Original Sinners series plus a good chunk of her novellas. I also knocked out a few ARCs (I'm very excited about KJ Charles's upcoming book in particular). I'm hoping July will be a better month, but here are the books I enjoyed the most this June:

Minx by Sophie Lark Holy shit. I don't think I've read a sexier book in a long time and I JUST finished it at 1 am today. Blake is a high-class escort, and Ramses is a billionaire investor who not only wants her, but also wants to be her exclusive client and is willing to go to great lengths to make that happen.

I'm restraining myself from listing every sex act but here are the most pertinent ones: pet play is a big part of this story (if the title is any indication...), there's some really hot exhibitionism, role-playing, the rare period sex (like he fully goes down on her and everything and afterwards, they're shrugging like "we're all animals aren't we?"), and I'm actually surprised to see this again so soon after finishing the Kingmaker series— butt stuff during a blowjob.

The romance was also stellar— I appreciate how unique Ramses and Blake's brand of emotional intimacy is: Intimacy for them is him opening up his trading books to her and her accepting investing advice from him. It's her getting the information he needs to financially fuck over his terrible stepfather. It's when his estranged mom is being The Worst in public so she flashes her pussy at him to buck him up just before he has to deliver an important speech. For two characters who tend to play a lot of power games, this is very gratifying to read. They're wholly unrelatable in the best way— too hot, too rich, too smart— and we're just here along for the ride.

An Island Princess Starts a Scandal by Adriana Herrera Stunning. Gorgeous. Here are my thoughts as I was reading it. Manuela is a Venezuelan heiress who is set to marry as soon as she returns from Paris. So she understandably wants to make the best of her time in Paris. And because of her immediate on Cora, she makes a deal with her: in exchange for a parcel of land Cora needs for the railway project she is heading, she will show Manuela around all the lesbian haunts in the city.

Manuela is such a bright, effervescent heroine. And dare I say a bit of a brat? There was this scene where she purposefully told Cora she'd be at a more *risqué* party and swanned around until Cora stormed in and was like "fetch her and have her brought into my carriage At Once". Cora is a classic older heroine: worldly, confident, a silver fox(!!), and she's guarding herself from loving again. But when these two collide.... fireworks. No other way to put it. I said this when I just finished reading it, but I truly hope this will be a classic historical romance in another decade or two because it has all the beats while providing much needed queer and POC rep within the genre.

Heartless by Elsie Silver Small town romances are very hit-or-miss with me so I don't recommend them lightly lolol. But Heartless was a standout for me among the few Elsie Silver books I tried. Will is a fun, bratty heroine (wow there's a pattern here) who is panties-optional (which is a bigger plot point than you think, and the culmination is very fitting in a very hot way— at least I thought). Cade is a gruff silver fox rancher. Really, what more do you need?

Sidenote: Since a lot of the plot is about Willa nannying Cade's son, I will say, I'm fine with kids in romances as long as they're not weirdly precocious or actively trying to shove the love interests together. Which didn't happen here.

The Chateau by Tiffany Reisz One of the only Original Sinner novellas I hadn't read: What held me back was that the cult in this story is based on the Story of O so... I wasn't too enthusiastic about reading a cult centered around that book. But when I started it, I was surprised to see it really isn't like the Story of O? Apart from the setting and a few other references. Certainly not sadomasochistic to that degree, and it's about male, rather than female submission. It's a fun read. Young Kingsley being unrepentantly horny and having zero limits really comes in handy now that he's a spy (assassin?) assigned to infiltrate this sex cult and get his boss's nephew out. You also see his desire for a family manifesting, but his ultimate (and at this point kinda tragic) devotion is to Søren. Would recommend for anyone who wants to read about male subs.

The Return by Tiffany Reisz Søren and Kingsley return to the sex cult chateau. I'd say The Return is entertaining in a different way from The Chateau; Now that Søren and Kingsley's relationship is more secure (aka Kingsley isn't trying to torture himself about how Soren doesn't love him lol), you really get to see their fun side. And by fun, I mean, Søren being hella bitchy to the women that fucked Kingsley over like 2 decades ago ("only I get to hurt him") and then proceeding to make good on that promise. Anyway, would not recommend having a pissed off sadist and a perpetually down-and-ready Frenchman has houseguests. There will probably be come stains on the rug.

[cacodemonmania]

Review - Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

Spoiler Warning!

It has been a goal of mine for about three years to read a book that makes me cry. I can tell you know, through very gross sobs, that I've achieved that goal.

First, I'll begin with some quotes.

"The place where we recorded those things you cannot trust to memory."

"The color of Finnick's eyes."

"Buttercup begins to wail as well. No matter what I do, he won't go...but he must understand. He must know that the unthinkable has happened..."

"'No, Katniss. They're not coming.'"

There are others, but I really don't have the heart to find them.

One of the most entertaining and heart breaking things about this book was the relationships. Katniss' relationship with Prim, Haymitch, Boggs, Squad 451, Finnick, Johanna, and more. It makes them all seem more human, I guess. The compassion that Boggs and 451 show Katniss, the way Suzanne describes how Mitchell is struggling to act and everyone is laughing with him right before brutally killing him off, Finnick always trying to help others. How Cressida seemed to care a lot more about Katniss and the rebellion, rather than just filming. It made her standing up to Jackson make more sense for me.

Gosh, so many people died. It kept breaking my heart, even though I knew it was coming. They kept developing those relationships! The bonds between them, the casual friendships! And then the next second they'd have sacrificed themself. One thing I will have to disagree with when it comes to movie to book comparisons is Finnick's death. I've seen people say that the movie didn't do Finnick's death justice, but I don't know if the book did it better. The movie almost spends more time on it-shows more of his motivation and how he wasn't able to get out because he was holding off the mutts. Shows more of the reason why Katniss activated the Holo's self destruction.

How I love Annie and Finnick. They deserve everything in the world. I came to a conclusion while reading this book, that I can choose to believe whatever I'd like to. The book is fictional, I'm an author, why not rewrite a small detail? In my mind, Finnick never died. He got out just fine and made it back to Annie in District 13. He helped Katniss overcome the loss of her sister, but when Peeta took over that role, he and Annie retired to a small cottage in District 4 on the outskirts of civilization. They live far away from the noise and violence of the districts, helping them both to heal in their own little bubble. Finnick is a doting husband, always rubbing Annie's ankles, and no one could imagine a better father. They visit Katniss and Peeta on holidays, and are one of the main reasons Katniss felt safe enough to have kids of her own. Tell me otherwise and I will become violent.

Something that I thought was incredibly well done on Suzanne's part was the deterioration of Katniss and Gale's bond. It's clear that as Katniss struggles with her place in the revolution and the trauma that she's been through, Gale is finding like-minded people who are just are violent and filled with rage as he is. What always clashed about their personalities develops and blooms as the opportunity for other connections come up. They both try to hold on to what they once had, but as Katniss said (rough quote estimation) their bond grew out of mutual suffering, and cannot last when that is gone.

Katniss' tendency to hide in small places is a well done detail. It's probably a combination of a trauma response and a need to be away from the constant action that creates the restless movement. It's also something I kind of understand, which is probably why it's a detail that I noticed. It's also one example of a variety of different, similar details that probably make the characters so well crafted in my eyes.

Again with my small details! This one is significantly sadder. As much as I appreciated the thought and detail that went into what sounds avox's would make if forced, I hate it. The descriptions of how Darius sounded as he was tortured to death (and for what??), the sounds of those poor, innocent people who just happened to get in the way of the mutts as they died, unable to cry out last words. It's just so horrifying. The cruelty astonishes me in the way that the cruelty of real people does.

On a lighter note, I also watched the Starving Games today. (If you don't know it's a spoof of the original Hunger Games movie.) It was pretty funny! It was really interesting to see the amount of effort, money, and people that went into making it though. It seems like something three teenagers would make over summer break (in the best way possible). I also really liked the middle finger, rather than the tribute hand sign, especially because if you look closely in one scene there's a kid using his ring finger instead (probably didn't wanna get busted by his parents lmao).

Anyway, as always I feel as though I have not articulated my thoughts well, but I hope it makes sense! The results of the poll I did a while ago are in (I did not realize how long a week could be!) and so I will try to buy the Lockwood and Co. series and start it soon! If you liked these reviews I'm hoping to keep on my reading streak and crank some more out so stay tuned! xxx

[riverxjackson]

When: a few hours after his father showed up late at night

Where: someplace in town.

A very long sad self para

River would look back and knew that he never had much of a normal life. That his father from the time he was born knew what he wanted. To make his kids into actors and make money off of them. That he now didn't think that his father ever really loved or care about him. That his mother did her best but was under his fathers thumb so much that she didn't and really couldn't do to much. Him doing small roles, and commercials his first few years. That he didn't really do to much bt be whatever young age he was till. He was five and landed his own tv show.

Growing up Bobby was fun for a few years River did enjoy it. But after time and him getting older he cared about it less and less till the show ended as he got older and wasn't as cute for tv as he was a kid. He did some more small roles and things for few years before he was done. His father was not happy with him them just fighting about it mostly. But he was fifteen years old he was still a kid. He hadn't finished school at all since his father never cared to push his schooling. He had money and time and soon enough one party lead him to meet the right...well wrong people.

Soon enough he feels into drinking which lead to drug use which mostly was a few different types of pills/medications that he take while drinking. Pretty much doing that till he passed out and wake up the next day to do the same thing. This led to his father knowing and letting it happen so he could not be in control of his own money. So his father and mother got control of it. Soon after cutting River out of the family, he was no used to them anymore.

River quickly spent up the money he had and used what fame he had to get by for a few years. Before his drug use got worse till he was arrested and got himself into rehab. It lasted few months but he had no money, he had left and found his way back to East Haven. That his father told most of his family that he was a problem to leave him be and they did, it took a while fo find Andrew.

But it had been nearly ten years since he last spoke to his father or saw him. He was so hurt by his father he could never really speak around him thinking he was no good next to his father so programmed as kid to do what his father wanted, and whatever he said. So seeing him again set him off, he could not take it at all. The next day really hours after his father left Andrew's place he made his way into nearby city.

After not using drugs of any type even after being in the hospital he had taken something he didn't want to feel anymore. He bought what he needed from what little money he had and came back to town to buy some bottles from the gas station. He had taken the pills he had bought in the city soon after he got them and was drinking as he came home, and had to get more.

He was now someplace in town out of it to know where he was as he found his way to a place that had no one around. It was around 4 am the real reason no one was around. He sat down and was leaning back on the wall of some random shop. He took another bit of the pills he had brought not even caring what he bought anymore.

He was not there his mind that is, the mix of drugs and alcohol was not adding up for him. This numb feeling he used to live every day was back and he didn't want it to go, he didn't want to bother anymore. He felt like he was such a problem to everyone. That he didn't feel like he should still be here, that was a waste of space.

"Why... why I am still here" he thought back to the storm as he wished he just didn't get out of that water at times, he cried as he sat there thinking about what his life was and how it bad been going. That he could not get it to get better, he felt like it was just getting worse.

As he was lost in thought he took another drink so he finished off the bottle that he tossed across at the other wall it breaking. He did not care and soon enough he passed out, falling asleep a few hours. The sounds of the town starting to sir woke him up so he got himself up and back to Andrew's home. Hoping that he not catch or know what River had been up to the past few hours.

[cyarskj1899]

I tried watching the movie Blonde on Netflix, and it really pissed me off because it was an awesome opportunity to show what a cool person Marilyn Monroe actually was. She was a remarkable woman who was not just an actress but an activist progressive voice in Hollywood. The movie sort of goes over some of this, but it's all through a story telling lens that paints Monroe as a constant victim, when in reality she was her own greatest champion. Marilyn Monroe is very much the hero of her story.

She married Arthur Miller after he had been called to testify during McCarthyism and anti-Communist investigations. Miller wrote The Crucible which basically spit in the face of McCarthy, and not only standing with him, but marrying him, was an incredibly brave act at the time. She openly supported Miller while other actors were running scared from McCarthy.

Marilyn famously stood up for Ella Fitzgerald when Fitzgerald wasn't allowed to play at the Mocambo and other places in Hollywood because of her race. Fitzgerald said, “I owe Marilyn Monroe a real debt… she personally called the owner of the Mocambo and told him she wanted me booked immediately, and if he would do it, she would take a front table every night. She told him — and it was true, due to Marilyn’s superstar status — that the press would go wild.”

��The owner said yes, and Marilyn was there, front table, every night. The press went overboard. After that, I never had to play a small jazz club again. She was an unusual woman — a little ahead of her times. And she didn’t know it.”

Michelle Morgan, a Monroe biographer, writes “Marilyn didn’t care what people thought of her. She had this ambition and she wanted to go for it … She was constantly educating herself, always fighting for the rights of herself and other people. And really, she contributed to the breakdown of the studio system by … demanding her rights and demanding to be treated as an individual, as a human being. She was a trailblazer."

She took on the studio when they wanted her to do a role she thought was demeaning and she refused. They suspended her contract and expected her to come back with her tail between her legs. Instead, as her wiki explains, "When the studio was still reluctant to change Monroe's contract, she founded her own film production company in 1954. She dedicated 1955 to building the company and began studying method acting under Lee Strasberg at the Actors Studio. Later that year, Fox awarded her a new contract, which gave her more control and a larger salary."

In 1960, she became a founding member of the Hollywood branch of the Committee for a Sane Nuclear Policy.

Marilyn Monroe was, plainly stated, a fucking cool person and interesting historical figure. She did have a difficult childhood filled with abuse and bouncing between orphanages and foster homes, but what is remarkable is the fortitude and straight up bad-ass-ness that growing up like this instilled in her. She was actually one of the few actresses that openly talked about film executives trying to sexually exploit actresses, she talked about walking out of interviews after being propositioned, and warned others as much as she could about this predatory behavior. She was out there trying to expose the Weinsteins of her time.

Marilyn Monroe was well read, funny, strong, a good friend, a great step mom. She spent the night of her death consoling Joe Dimaggio Jr. over the phone about a break up. She had been divorced from his dad for a long time, but you don't divorce kids, and he still saw her as a mom figure.

To take this human, complicated, fascinating figure and make a movie about her life that amounts to watching her cry for two hours while being abused in various ways is basically a crime. A crime against facts, against women, against historical accuracy, against decency, and against good film making or story telling.

I hope this is the last movie that gets made exploiting her memory in such a gross way, and it's sad that this movie filled a space that could have been taken by a movie that actually told her real story and did any of it justice.

[boricuacherry-blog]

Interview with Melissa Auf der Mauer:

I grew up in Montreal, Canada, in Quebec. My parents were independent, freewheeling, freelancers for their whole lives. Both started as journalists. They both founded two different independent presses - my mother a French one, my father an English one - and they were both radical politically. My parents never worked for one corporation in their entire lives.

My mother was a first wave feminist and decided to do everything she had never seen a woman do. My father was the child of very, very poor immigrants and really built an incredible world for himself. My mother ended up in the grand world of Quebec theater via Cbc and her own radio shows and broadcasting - she went from journalism into Quebec theater and became the leading literary translator. Her passion is bringing the voice of French Canadian theater to the world. I spent my 2nd birthday in Africa because she said being a mother wasn't going to stop her from climbing Mount Kilimanjaro, so that was the kind of woman I was raised by. She was also the first female rock disc jockey on the Montreal airwaves.

My father took his journalism into radio, then into a remarkable television show that he had from 69' through 72' which was really early wave man-on-the-street camera on film interviewing everyone. He captured a remarkable oral history of people in Montreal during a time when a huge political upheaval was happening. There was a language war between the French and the English, and both my parents fought for the underdog - the French. My father ended up becoming a politician and running downtown Montreal for years and has a street named after him. He had the biggest funeral in Montreal history. My father was larger than life in many regards. He was married to the city of Montreal. My parents weren't together for any of my life, but my father was a man of the people. My mother married my stepfather when I was ten.

I liked depressing new wave British music as a kid and wore military khaki outfits. I didn't care what I wore. None of my women role models dressed up. I dated a couple mods, we wore very straight clothes, no curves, but I was also a late bloomer. So I just really embraced that people thought I was a boy for a few years. I still have small breasts, so I've never been focused on that. Before I joined Hole at 23 I had never worn lipstick.

There was some religion in my parents' upbringing that turned them off, so they were atheist, political, intellectual, unbelievably well-read literary people. So in many ways I rebelled against that. I'm still not a big reader, but I do enjoy the structure of schooling. I was more into sound and visual. I was planning on getting my masters in photography. I enjoy school, but I'm more into mystical emotional analysis than a bunch of intellectual destroying-of-ideas stuff. In high school I had my own darkroom, and my first instrument was trumpet. Our yearbook was basically like a punk rock fanzine, and I took all the pictures, and did all the collages. I don't go into anything with any expectations or plans, and I'm not a person that strives for security. I moved out of home when I was sixteen, I've been very independent my whole life. I've never had aspirations, I just enjoy being in the moment, which is why I love music, but why I was so hesitant to join Hole. I hate the word 'rock star.' I never aspired to that. My heroes were Glenn Danzig - he was a really weird nerdy comic book guy, not your typical 'rockstar,' you know - Morrissey, Robert Smith. These people weren't your larger than life rockstar, they were just odd people. I never romanticized success, just making art and finding my people, finding my voice.

Some of this could be because I grew up in the public eye in Montreal. I was the only daughter of a very special, but slightly controversial figure. My father was a bachelor, a man about town - they call him a bon vivant - he died very young from too much smoking, too much drinking. He was like a 1950s fedora wearing silent film star. I grew up in his shadow, a very well-known girl, which I believe made me more shy, as it was hard for me to speak in public. My mother didn't like me growing up in the public eye and would accuse my father of exploiting me to make him look good. So I harbored a pretty complex idea of what outside adoration looked like. He was a very difficult and tortured person. His family were all really intense and religious people. Very spirited, but not normal at all, so his relationship with them was very fraught. My father was one of those people who needed to be adored, to have a big life on the outside, but didn't have an intimate life... I was sort of the only person who he had a responsibility to have an intimate relationship with. I was the only one who had a private life with my father, this figure who had such an immense public life, and that defined a big part of me. It's also connected to why I was such a good fit for Courtney, and later Billy [Corgan]. Because in many ways, Courtney and Billy were like these weird second-versions of my parents. I was often unknowingly used as a pawn between them. There was always so much drama with Billy and Courtney. Courtney is more like my father. He was really radical and outspoken, so he understood her.

I had a drive to find my own voice. But I compromised a lot of my own beliefs to be in a band on a major label, because I hate corporations. And my whole journey continued to be in conflict with that, as well as the part of me that just wanted to be a photographer and be in a darkroom, and not have to deal with all these people who have a bigger relationship to the outside world than they do their inner world.

I became a dj at seventeen at this dive bar and I worked as the ticket girl at a club, which is where I saw Billy Corgan for the first time. I started my first band Tinker and I played bass. Smashing Pumpkins were my favorite band because of their sonics, the oceans of sound and layers of guitars and rolling drums and bass.

When Kristen Pfaff died, Hole was on a search for a new bass player. I was in the middle of preparing for my masters at college when Billy Corgan called me and told me he wanted me to join Courtney's band Hole. I refused, but then Courtney started leaving messages on my phone and was persistent. She convinced me to come see her band, and I realized they had a hole (no pun intended) that they really needed filled.

And because I'm less of an academic and never really articulated feminism, at the time, I didn't realize the power of her lyrics. I've never been a singer/songwriter fan, you know, like Courtney loves Bob Dylan, Leonard Cohen...I love Black Sabbath and Caius...I just like witchy stuff. I like ghosts and magic. And so with Courtney, it was all very academic in a way to me. So the joke is, I probably missed a lot of the point during my time in Hole.

There are some bands that recognize that drummers and bass players nurture and create songs and are paid adequately, and then some people, quite literally and medievally, break it down to chords and lyrics. I don't think Patty or I were handled fairly in regards. Courtney's process of writing a song stems from six hours of jamming on one riff, one lyrical thing, and then carving it together. We were at every session and did everything together. But Patty and I got slivers [financially]. Eric and Courtney, who are the founders of the band [although Courtney claims she's the only founder] were more the business people. Although I'm proud of my bass playing, it was definitely my singing that brought the most to Hole. I worked harder on my backup vocals than anything. Because of my choir teacher, I had an ear for harmonies. On Celebrity Skin, for every Courtney track, there is me doubling her one to three times...and there are two to four to five part harmonies with me behind every chorus. So I had more of my voice on that record than I do on even my own solo records. They wanted a lush sound, and I was the angel to the wild screamer, so we just coated everything with my voice.

The first few weeks I was just paid $600 a week. It was a weird polished corporate record, but there were also no other female voices on mainstream rock radio besides Gwen Stefani and Alanis Morrissette. So I thought, maybe there was a point to this insanely overproduced record. But then Courtney's red carpet movie career was happening, which meant there were a lot of delays in making Celebrity Skin. Then I worried she wasn't going to be concerned about making this record if she decided to make another movie. And I had already signed a five year contract with Hole. I didn't want to be in a band that didn't work, just waiting around. We were supposed to do all these tours and Courtney just wasn't committing. So after the five years were up, I was out. At that exact time, D'arcy had left the Pumpkins, and Billy wanted me to be the bassist for Smashing Pumpkins for a year. In that one year I made more money than the five years I spent in Hole. I had photographed during Hole - I took a roll a day - so I have 30,000 photographic negatives of those years.

For Smashing Pumpkins, every setlist was different. So imagine three to five hours of music, different key changes, different versions of the songs we already knew. I had five basses tuned in all these crazy ways.

Right after I left Hole, I sent a letter to Courtney, I don't remember what she said in the letter she sent back...it was five pages. She wasn't happy about me leaving. The letter has long since disappeared or faded, but the only thing I remember was a line warning me of turning into a Nicole Kidman ice queen and warning me of becoming Billy Corgan's purse [whatever that means].

I dedicated my first solo record to my Welsh choir teacher because he believed in me when I was still so shy. My second album was a concept album about this woman who travels through time and follows the blood of a Viking's heart into bleeding trees then comes out of the other side of a car crash. I love witchy stuff - which is why I like men who make heavy metal. They don't know it, but they're tapping into their woman side. I think that's the power of bands like Black Sabbath. The real world isn't beautiful - its fantastic in its humanity but the brutality of humans coexisting is pretty profound. For me it always works best going into the realm of witches and goblins and time travel.

The first time I ever had unprotected sex was in my 30s and I got pregnant the first time. So now I'm a mother. I had a home birth because I'm afraid of needles. It only took an hour. And while I was giving birth, my daughter literally reached her hand out of my vagina to shake my husband's hand.

[thesorcerersapprenticeu]

Chapter 2: Welcome to the Playground (1)

Finally, the story really gets going! The break-in into the Academy apartment and the way there, at the same time a little background knowledge and some lore.

---

5 years have passed.

And you have adapted.

Adapted...

Kind of weird, your parents always said that only people born in the city below could survive there. The air is far denser than up in Piltover and the whole town is a huge pile of garbage.

But that was all true. You could feel the difference almost every night. Your lungs often felt like they were going to collapse, on the verge of just giving up and accepting your fate. In the event that you did manage to fall asleep, you always tasted it in the morning... The blood at the corner of your mouth. It was a sign that you didn't belong here.

But you stayed.

Because of him...Vander. You remember like it was yesterday when he asked you. In the middle of this calamity caused by the Enforcers. All the fire, smoke and death that was on the bridge. But when you think back, you realize that one thing is still very clear in your mind.

[ "Hey Kid...Do you believe in the Impossible?" ]

You had changed since that day. You've grown a little, but you're still below average. You haven't really gotten any stronger; a toddler probably had more strength in their arms than you. You preferred to bury your nose in books, read a lot and started drawing. Vander had lots of books in the cellar, you used to spend the whole day looking at them at the beginning.

And you spent the rest of the time with the others. The "others" were your new siblings. Powder, Vi, Mylo and Claggor. They were all incredibly different: Powder was like you, small, shy and clumsy. Vi was the complete opposite, she was taller than both of you, she was tough, cocky, and hot-headed which meant she often got into fights. They were the two girls on the bridge, Vander had taken them right in with you.

Mylo was... Well, the born thief. Confident, always showing off and someone who had no problem standing up for himself, unlike you. However, he often provoked arguments with Vi, in such matters you usually hid under the covers. He always had an incredibly big mouth and picked fights with everyone. Then there was Claggor, he remained very calm in every situation and often tried to talk to you.

However, your character has changed a little. You didn't like to talk much anymore, mostly because of the fear that you would say something wrong. The only person you talked to a lot was Powder, she always told you about her family in the beginning...though her parents were killed by Enforcers on the bridge. She didn't talk often either, but she shared a lot of traits with you, her imagination for most things was really on another level. She sometimes cut your hair when it got too long and hung in front of your eyes like a shield from this world. She was there for you, just as you were there for her.

Vi had often spoken to you, well, rather nagged and teased you. She always told you to eat more, work out and beat her high score on that stupid boxing machine. Most of the time you listened to her, sometimes you even tried to change things, which ultimately didn't help and sometimes made you hide. But despite everything, you looked up to her like a role model, no matter what, you could talk to Vi about anything.

Mylo was worse. When Vi teased you, he always went one better. He had a new nickname for you or for Powder almost every day, which he always liked to show off to the whole group like it was some kind of experiment.  Whether it was your height, your strength or the fact that you preferred to read books instead of messing up, he always put you down for it.

Claggor was in the middle of everything. He always said you were smart because you read so many books. Even in front of Mylo and Vi, he often said that physical strength wasn't everything, but that brains were the most important weapon. It was easy for him to say, he was the broadest of the group and also the one who always had a plan. But he also enjoyed connecting with animals when you were sitting in bed reading a bed. You often had to listen to things like "You look like a dog with its ears in front of its eyes right now" or "Sit wider on the couch Y/N, you look like a scared kitten right now".

But although you always enjoyed being alone, you liked doing things in a group. Even if you hardly talked and rather listened while they made up some plan or talked about the people in the Undercity.

And when you were alone, somewhere hidden from the filthiness of this world... You always looked in the magic book you took from home. Even if you didn't understand the language, the contents only built your imagination and made you hope that you would be able to do magic one day.

But the flow of things will always lead to calamity.

---

"We're almost there"

There you were, hanging on the edge of the huge wall that was before your eyes. You were at the very back, Vi at the very front and Powder only slightly above you. You followed her path, otherwise you probably wouldn't make it up. Claggor was next to you, also far back, but only so that he could catch you in case you fell.

"Aw Man" That was Mylo, holding on to a pair of pipes on the far left and not climbing any further. He prefers to make comments about your climbing, that he thinks it's weird that you can climb at all, or why you come along at all and don't just read a book at home or something.

Vi was the first to reach the roof. You could no longer see her, but you were almost there anyway. You see the blue hair disappear before your eyes, she had reached the roof right after Vi and you were still climbing. Your arms already hurt, your own body weight wasn't really much, but you don't have much strength in your arms anyway.

"Hey, Powder. Come take a look"

You have to swing your feet over the edge of the roof, you would never manage to pull yourself up with your arms alone. You also have to be careful not to slip, because if you fall quickly, Claggor might not catch you after all. But now that you've reached the top, your foot slips off the roof. You're about to make a sound, but you don't get the chance.

Claggor had put an arm on your waist, saving you from falling and giving you a push that brought you to the roof. With that, you stood behind Powder, who slowly walked up to Vi and stopped next to her. You actually wanted to look behind you, at Claggor and Mylo. But you were tied up, in the way Powder's blue hair made small movements in the wind, but at the same time got held in place with her collection of small metal hair clips. Then you felt yourself getting a little warmer, even out here in the wind that blew past you.

"Stop staring or you'll start drooling" Mylo walked past you, jabbed you in the ribs with one arm and kept walking.

Asshole

You run after him, feeling numb in your arms and legs from climbing. One look at Mylo and he's grinning at you like you've messed up in some way. Claggor is already walking behind you with heavy steps and you just look ahead.

"Wow"

You inwardly agree with Powder, the view was...Wow. The city could be seen in its full splendor from up here. All the different buildings with all their different colors and construction. Small alleyways that all looked nice and clean, rooftops with no one hanging around and chimneys with smoke coming out of them.

And all roads lead to the kingdom in the end.

"Its nice getting above it all, huh?"

It was a rhetorical question. You'd grown up here for the most part, and whether you wanted to say it or not, you liked Piltover more than the Undercity. The reason why was right under your nose.

The air is normal, unlike in the lower city. Not dirty or thick like any chemicals.

I missed this air.

Then the roof starts to shake slightly. You were startled, but the sight took away your fear. It was a blimp flying over your heads. White sides, huge sails above and behind for gliding and a direct flight path to the giant kingdom. The thought of being in one of those things, at such a height, gives you a sick feeling in your stomach.

"One day, im gonna ride one of those things"

If Powder did that, you would do it too.

You think about what it would be like. She sits on the pilot's seat and you next to her, giving her directions for steering, how you would try to land together. Your mind slowly gets caught up in this scenario, but it's not because of your fear of heights, or the fact that the only way to fly it would be to steal it. It's because you would be doing it together.

Just you and Powder.

"And one day, im gonna shot one of 'em down"

You wouldn't even hit the thing if it stood still.

Mylo stands forward, in front of you all. He raises his arm and forms a pistol with his right hand, aims it at the blimp and pretends to shoot. Before he can finally make a shooting sound, VI steps forward and lightly knocks his arm out of the way.

"Vi are you sure about this?" Claggor starts to look around in panic, a glance to the other rooftops that are becoming our path to our destination. Another look down, at Piltover's paths that were filled with people. "Look if we get caught-

"We're not gonna get caught. We'll be in and out before anyone notices." With that, she jumps down onto the low roof that connects us.

Where are we even going?

That strange feeling spreads through your stomach again. As if you were waiting for the enforcers to show up in one of the alleyways in the Undercity. As if you were half asleep and woke up with a fall in the Traun.

Vi runs on, ahead on the roof. Then you're all at the end of the roof at once, with a big gap and a height that makes the feeling in your stomach even worse. You're already mentally preparing yourself for Vi's words, if you have to cross the gap here, it means you'll embarrass yourself in front of everyone again.

"Alright everybody, follow me. Just don't look down." With that she slides off the roof, holds on to one of the small terraces and places her legs on the metal grating. Then she jumps so far that she lands on the next roof, which is directly opposite the one you are standing on. She lands with a thump, turns towards you and has a daring grin on her face.

I'll never get that right.

Your eyes look at the situation. Not only would a fall here be insanely dangerous, there are people and enforcers down there. It's not everyday that a child falls off a roof here in Piltover.

Crack

Mylo cracks his hands in front of his face, which was his cue to say "Watch and learn". Mylo does it just like her, but a little clumsily. He tries to show off a little as he jumps, unlike Vi he waits a second and then jumps as high as he can over to her. This brings Mylo and Vi face to face on the roof.

Before he can turn around and show you that filthy grin, Claggor lands next to him. He is crouched, and to show that it was no problem for him, he has one of the cupcakes that were displayed on the terrace in his mouth. A little dust even flies up on the other roof from the impact, causing Mylo to hold his right arm in front of his face so that none of it hits him.

Now her eyes land on you and Powder. You both look into the abyss in front of you, one slip and you'd end up there. Powder is already raising her head again, looking at her sister. However, you can feel everything around you blurring. Your hands have started to sweat and your heart is beating so fast that you can already hear it in your ears.

"Called it. This is on you Vi"

Shut up.

Vi starts groaning loudly, turning her gaze to you and looking like a sister who has to take care of babysitting. Claggor sees her look and steps forward a little.

"I'll get them"

This brings a reaction, Vi turns to him and holds out an arm. She stops him and turns her gaze to Powder.

"Hey, look at me."

While you are still looking down into the abyss, Powder turns to Vi. With a nervous look and eyes that seem to have no destination, she listens to her.

"Powder, what did i tell you?"

Powder looks straight ahead, no longer merely at the others, but rather at the sky. Her hair flies up slightly and she starts talking.

"That...I'm ready."

This is exactly what Vi apparently wanted to hear, as she takes a loud step forward and looks at Powder with fire in her eyes.

"That's right! So?"

That was a nasty trap, an incitement of the worst kind. If Powder overestimates himself and falls off, then what?

With that, you look over at them. They are standing there, already waiting, but you don't pay any attention to them. You look at her, Powder. She takes a deep breath and starts sliding straight down the roof. Your eyes follow her form as she balances herself on the metal gate and then... jumps.

You don't know what it was, with everyone else it didn't come, but when Powder jumped you were suddenly worried.

She landed perfectly on the edge of the roof, as if she had practiced it before. But then she is pulled back slightly by the wind, or maybe she is standing on something wet and has slipped. It doesn't matter, after all Vi is standing right next to her and holding her tight.

You were the last one.

Vi looks over Powder's hair and immediately meets your gaze. Your knees felt like they were about to give out, no, you're pretty sure they're about to give out. What doesn't make it any better is being last in the order. Claggor is already taking a step forward, but still looks at you with a message behind his eyes: a challenge. Mylo has that look on his face, raised eyebrows, arms stretched wide and a slouch.

You read his look, if you had to guess, you'd guess "If she makes it, you can do it too Dude". The second choice would be "Don't embarrass yourself in front of her". Maybe you should go for the second one?

And then you see them. Those dark blue eyes that were full of fear just a moment ago but are now trying to encourage someone like you.

That's stupid, I'm not jumping over there.

And then you meet the final gaze. Pure blue eyes that stare at you with intensity. If Mylo's and Claggor's gaze was a challenge, this is a declaration of war. As a bigger sister figure, this was now a test. There was always a connection between the group, apart from you. That was because you either preferred to be alone or only with Powder, or just didn't fit in because you weren't born in the Undercity.

But this was the moment. Right now you had the chance to show that you were worth it. If you could cast spells right now, you would wish for an invisible bridge in the air on which you could walk calmly.

But in your body it seems impossible, if you had to bet based on data you would be under Powder in body strength. Your knowledge from most books won't help you in this situation, this was pure instinct. You're in a really bad position, both mentally and physically...

[ "Do you Believe in the Impossible?" ]

Your body moves automatically as these words reach your mind.

Was it crazy? Yes.

Was it fatal? Yes.

Do you not care? No.

You are proving something here, the impossible.

Something that nobody believed in, something that didn't exist, something that was closer to zero than to infinity.

Time passes in slow motion, you are literally floating in the air, above all the people hanging around down there in Piltover. Nobody is looking up, but the glances of the others meet your floating figure. Worry, fear, pride and enthusiasm.

The moment feels like an eternity, your brain rewinds and lets you see it in your mind's eye. You didn't go to the terrace and jump from there like the others...you just ran forward and jumped off the edge of the roof. But it was brilliant, because your body is weak and you wouldn't have been able to jump off the metal railing, you needed energy. Energy that comes from movement, energy that gives your body a temporary boost.

You are brought back down to earth with a hard thumb. You landed on the other roof, where the others were standing. You were in front of them, pulled together with your legs bent as if you were going to jump again.

"Wow"

"What a show-off"

"Cool jump Y/N!"

You did it... Somehow. Your body acted automatically, did the impossible. The impossible does exist, you just need a way to show it to the world.

But you rejoiced a little too soon.

You landed at the same point as Powder, on the wet edge of the roof.

Shit

It happened so suddenly, gravity caught up with you and you slipped off the roof. Not being able to get your useless, too-short legs to the edge was bad.

You fell

It was slow, the vision in front of your eyes was getting worse and the only thing you could see were the silhouettes. Even if it was only a second or two, your brain was running at full speed at that moment: the impossible is an exchange, an exchange that no one can influence.

But then you felt it, your salvation.

Vi reacted faster than you would have thought possible, as you hung down with your body, your eyes were locked on her as she stood over you, giving you a confident look.

At first you didn't realize it, too much adrenaline was affecting your senses and the fear of falling off the roof was far too great. But when you feel this gentle, warm hand on your right arm, you realize it.

That Vi wasn't the only one holding you, Powder was holding your right arm.

Powder's eyes met yours directly, her gaze was...enthralled. It was as if she had seen you just float through the air and land perfectly at her feet. It felt like a cliché scene from one of Vander's books.

"Now pull him up or the Enforcers will see him" Mylo interrupted your seconds long eye contact with Powder, she looked at Vi and with a tug you were suddenly standing next to them on the roof.

"Th-Thanks" You stutter, your heart still pounding like crazy and you felt like you were going to puke. You stood up straight, as far as your trembling knees would allow and your lungs would let you breathe.

"Good jump But You're so Light, are you really eating enough Y/N?" It was Vi, standing next to you she looked at you again. You can't really tell if it was meant in jest or seriousness, ignoring it and pretending you didn't hear it is probably the best choice for now.

You no longer pay attention to the others, and so you all keep walking. Slow steps on the roofs while you are lost in thought.

Have I really just made this leap? Why did I follow like that? Did my movement really generate so much energy? And why was Powder's hand so warm...

Vi stops, just like your thoughts.

"What if Vander finds out we're all the way up here?" It sounded like Concern, of course, getting caught committing a crime here in Piltover usually ended up in jail, or worse. Besides, Vander would probably be disappointed if he found out what we were doing here, and you don't really know yourself.

"Look around you. You think anyone topside's going hungry? Besides, this is exactly the sort of job Vander would have pulled when he was our age" Vi speaks too confidently, it felt like this wasn't going to end well sooner or later. But despite your bad gut feeling, you take a step forward and come to a realization.

We are on one of the Academy buildings. We can never do anything here, we have to go back, and fast.

Vi makes a loud step, walks around the corner and looks down onto the balcony of the building. Then she stands back up, turns to you as a group and starts talking.

"I'm going. Are you with me or not?"

You turn to Claggor, he just gives you a weird look, turns to Mylo and gets a shrug in response. He starts sighing loudly and starts talking.

"Vander's gonna kill us"

Vi just looks at him, not really with any emotion but more of a challenge. You know exactly what that look means.

Only if we screw up, she will now say that: one hundred percent.

"Yeah, only if we screw up. So don't screw up"

I hate being right.

She swings down from the corner, straight onto the roof. While she's still looking around, you continue to the corner to follow her, your gaze landing on Powder instead of the streets of Piltover. You don't realize that Mylo is already downstairs saying something to Vi, and you don't notice the group of weirdly dressed guys standing against a wall a few streets away.

"Come Y/N" Claggor, already standing in front of you, goes down. While you and Powder are still at the top, he's already climbing down onto the balcony and holding his hands out towards you. Having no choice, you bend down and get as close to the edge as you can so he can grab you with his arms and put you on the balcony. Powder has, you don't know how, somehow managed to do it herself.

Mylo was already at the door with his strange tool for picking locks. Claggor stands at the edge of the balcony and looks down at the streets with a tense expression. Since you grew up here for the most part, you can already guess what he's going to say.

"There's a ton of enforcers down there"

We're in Piltover, they're everywhere.

"That means we're in the right place," Vi seemed a little nervous, despite her confident stance. Probably because Mylo was still sitting on the door lock with his tongue out and couldn't get it open.

"You gonna get that door open anytime soon?"

Please don't kick the door open, Vi.

"Working on it"

Mylo turns his tool back, takes another look at the lock and starts waving it around wildly again.

"Seeing as I'm the Only one who knows how to Pick Locks, I suggest-

He didn't get any further with his statement, he reacted quickly to the foot that spread out in his view and opened the door with a bang.

I hate being right so much.

Vi wastes no time, she goes straight in and you follow her. While Mylo is still crouching in front of the now broken door.

This apartment was...weird. There were things everywhere, papers, inventions you hadn't seen before and various formulas painted on a large blackboard. While you're still looking around, Vi goes ahead and puts a large bag in the middle of the room.

"You know, Claggor, for once you're right. We are definitely not supposed to be here." Mylo has finally come in, probably still slightly injured because Vi kicked the door open, but with a clear mind. After all, he rubs his hands together like a fly and goes to one of the tables in the room. He picks up a few strange pieces of metal, looks at them and walks to the center of the room, where he simply throws them into his pocket.

Claggor opens other boxes, takes out the parts and throws them all into the bag. Your eyes follow Powder, who was standing by a shelf, you move closer. She was trying to reach a bronze horse that was quite high up, neither you nor she could reach it, so you looked at what was on the lower levels of the shelf. Actually, there were only books, but you felt so weird just staring at Powder.

"Oh yeah? What about this?" It was Mylo, with some weird device in his hand. Two pincer-like arms on the end that had opened and closed with each press of the button Mylo was Pushing every Second. You turned to Powder, she turned to you, and with an aggrieved look on your face, you turned in sync to Mylo.

"That's a nose hair trimmer"

ugh, does he always have to touch everything?

Mylo simply throws the small device back onto the table behind him, turns back to the table and takes the papers from a bump. There was a device lying there, a triangular device that looked quite precious.

"Uh, Guys?"

There was something about this device, something that triggered that feeling in you again. This anxious feeling, as if you were falling. What exactly was that?

Mylo pushes his hand through the air and just grabs that blue crystal, not a good idea as he immediately pulls his hand back as if he had just been electrocuted.

"Just leave it guys, come on"

Even though Vi said so, you don't. There was something strange about this device, was it the glow? Was it the fact that this crystal moved minimally? What exactly was it?

Your thoughts are interrupted when you feel a warm, tender hand on yours. You turn directly to your left and once again meet those dark blue eyes that had a special place in your mind. It was Powder.

"Come"

She pulls you along like a small child being pulled away from its mother in the playground. But before you leave the room completely and enter the hallway, you hear Mylo's voice from behind.

"Look, our favorite couple is going on a trip"

You didn't want to hear it, but when you heard Vi's answer, you did.

"Shut up, Mylo"

So, there you were, a study, at least that's what it looked like. It was even more disorganized than the big room from before, books, paper documents, glass containers and metal pieces for building were really everywhere. There was something in every corner of the room.

The person who lives here really needs to tidy up.

There was a bed against a wall that was directly connected to a window. At the same time, there was an instrument lying angled next to it, it looked quite new, it probably hadn't been used once.

Powder lets go of your hand, the warmth on your face and out of your palm disappearing. She looks around, glancing at every corner of the room until they land on the table. There were two sandwiches, apparently freshly made and untouched. Just as you look, you hear a-

"Woo-hoo!" With that, she drops some book on the floor. Even though you were hungry and there were perfectly two sandwiches for both of you, your eyes landed on the book she dropped.

It looked like your magic book.

Powder suddenly stood in front of you, sandwiches in her hands and red paint on her cheeks. She holds her left arm out to you, apparently wanting you to take one of them. You take it, but don't bite into it like she does, instead keeping your eyes on the book. You bend down and pick it up. It was closed and the material on the outside felt exactly like that of your magic book.

What the?

Experimentally white, you open the first page, while Powder opens a box a few meters away at the table and looks inside. Your eyes open as if by magic, on the very first page was a drawing, underneath was text...hieroglyphics.

They were the same signs as in your Magic book.

But it wasn't that directly that shocked you, rather the drawing above the text.

It was a corpse divided into nine parts. There were only four words underneath:

The Holy Wizards Corpse.

---

-Holy Wizards Corpse? Why does Jayce have a drawing like this in one of his records? -What nine parts of the corpse? - You really managed to just jump over the roof, not bad! - But what's that weird feeling in your stomach that comes up when you see those blue crystals? - Why is Mylo so annoying? Well, this was just a list of some of my thoughts while writing. Thanks for reading this chapter! Please leave your opinion in a comment!

[mixflowai]

12 Inspiring Life Lessons from Robin Matlock's Journey

1. Embrace the Unexpected: From Music to Tech

"I literally got those books, those big encyclopedias, and looked up schools... I did get a music scholarship and Rice University was the one that came out on top." Robin Matlock's journey began with a music scholarship at Rice University, which highlights how diverse experiences can lead to unexpected career paths. From music, she transitioned into the tech industry, showing the importance of embracing unexpected opportunities.

2. Turning Failures into Stepping Stones: A Journey Through Setbacks

"I've been laid off, I've been fired, I've struggled... It's about what you do about that. It's about how you reflect on that." Matlock faced numerous setbacks in her career, including being laid off and fired. However, she used these experiences to learn and grow, illustrating the importance of resilience and turning failures into opportunities for self-improvement.

3. The Power of Saying Yes: Seize Opportunities Beyond Your Comfort Zone

"I had never attended a conference the size of VMworld... and now I'm running it." Despite never having attended a large-scale conference, Matlock took on the role of running VMworld. This demonstrates the power of saying yes to opportunities that push you beyond your comfort zone.

4. Leadership Through Service: Empowering Others is Key

"I counsel a lot of kids now, I mentor a lot of young people... I talk to them about the power of industry." Matlock emphasizes the importance of mentoring and empowering the next generation. By sharing her knowledge about the tech industry, she helps young people navigate their career paths.

5. From Small Beginnings to Big Success: The Importance of Humble Roots

"I was born July 9th, 1965, in Mesa, Arizona... very middle class, probably even lower middle class family to be honest." Matlock's humble beginnings in a lower-middle-class family in Arizona serve as a reminder that great success can come from modest origins. Her story is a testament to hard work and perseverance.

6. Navigating Corporate Culture: Turning Friction into Fuel

"The hardest part wasn't actually delighting customers... the hardest part was navigating the complexity internally." Matlock found that the biggest challenges in her role weren’t external but internal, dealing with corporate complexities. This insight highlights the importance of strong internal navigation skills in leadership roles.

7. The Resilience of a Woman in Tech: Breaking Through Barriers

"I went into the interview process and they said, 'Are you crazy?'... It opened up a different conversation." When Matlock was initially hesitant to apply for the CMO position, a mentor challenged her to reconsider. This led to a successful interview process that opened new doors, showcasing her resilience and determination.

8. Balancing Act: Managing Family and a High-Stakes Career

"I have teenagers in my last hurrah at home... I just decided that the board thing felt like a good avenue for me." Balancing her career with family life, Matlock transitioned to board roles to spend more time with her family while continuing her professional journey. This highlights the importance of making career choices that align with personal values and family needs.

9. Lifelong Learning: Adapting and Growing at Every Stage

"I was a class president when I was in sixth grade... leadership has been kind of innate in my DNA." From a young age, Matlock showed leadership potential, which she continued to develop throughout her career. Her story emphasizes the importance of lifelong learning and adapting to new roles and challenges.

10. Compassion in Action: Giving Back Through Mentoring and Nonprofit Work

"I founded a mentoring program... we pair them with a mentor that is tailored to their career path." Matlock founded a mentoring program to help young women navigate their careers, showing her commitment to giving back and supporting the next generation of professionals.

11. The Art of Adaptation: From Local Sales to Global Impact

"I moved back home, had no idea what I was going to do... started thinking about sales or orchestral management." After college, Matlock returned home uncertain about her career path. She explored various options, eventually finding her way into tech sales and later into global roles, illustrating the art of adaptation.

12. Finding Strength in Diversity: The Value of Varied Experiences

"I was in sales for probably the first seven or eight years of my career... then I got invited to run product management and product marketing." Matlock's career spanned multiple roles from sales to product management and marketing. Her varied experiences show the strength that comes from a diverse career background.

  If you like this post, please consider subscribing to Tiktok, Facebook, X, LinkedIn, Reddit, Tumblr, and Mixflow.AI.