#The Great Waffle Incident

[grumpy-nyks]

The Fernweh Saga by @lacunafiction - Davor edition

I-I think Ms. Verner doesn't like him...😳

Davor "Dove" Kovač 🐝 RO: Becca Warrick

Personality: cautious // aloof // pessimistic // flirtatious (only towards Becca ...and Reese??) Traits: head // independent // resistance // believer Past affinity: math Primary ability: extrasensory awareness Past susceptibility: forward. 'it’s better to push forward. don’t look back on the past when you have new places to be and things to achieve.' <<< his motto

🕊️ Fernweh: Davor lived a happy life there and didn't think about leaving in the future. Maybe for some trips, but he knew it would always be his place, his safe place... 'It was a mistake to come back here.' - that was his first thought when he tried to fall asleep on the first night in Fernweh. The nightmares came back as he thought they would. He wants to leave as soon as possible because he feels that it is not safe for Becca to be here.

🕊️ Gramps Dan: That was his gramps who taught Davor how to play the guitar. As a young child, Davor always admired him and believed he was the most intelligent person in the world. After the death of his parents and how his grandfather treated him, he was devastated and angry. He wanted answers soo badly but didn't get any. He lived loathing his grandfather ever since. The news of his passing stirred up a lot of negative emotions that Davor had previously managed to suppress. At the beginning of the story he couldn't care less about his grandfather, but because of his journal he started to believe him. Things that his granfather lived through made Davor even more angry at this messy town …but he's willing to forgive his gramps…

🐝 Becca Warrick: It was a ...funny story that brought both of them together and they look after each other ever since. He considers Becca as his precious (not in a negative-possessive way) treasure, he literally can't let anything bad happen to her. That was also she who came up with the nickname 'Dove'... (and she's literally the only person who calls him that, others wouldn't dare...). He had feelings for her for quite some time but didn't act on it... until now. Although he didn't express it, he felt very nervous about Becca being in the town where he grew up. He was curious (but also scared) about what she could think of this town. He felt like he was revealing more of himself to her…. and he forgot about any worries pretty fast, because the town started being weird as fu--.

🕊️ Reese Verner: Back then Davor was quite cheerful and enjoyed competing with Reese regularly. They teased each other a lot. Davor always thought that Reese had a crush on him, was it true tho? donut know, but he certainly had. ...why does he appear in his nightmares? Maybe the crush stage never disappeared...? Seeing him again was a nice experience, sure... but ignoring the circumstances, he is still unsure if it was worth it and is struggling with his thoughts… Would it be worth it to return to Fernweh just to see him... again? welp, good thing he doesn't have to think about it much, am I right?

🕊️ Sofia Dorran: The two of them maybe did not have a strong relationship, but he knew Sofia is the ideal person for engaging in intelligent conversations. He enjoyed spending time with her, solving the puzzles that gramps created for them both. Davor wasn't a fan of fantasy books, but she managed to change his mind about them. Davor knows that Sofia did take good care of his grandfather, but he still doesn't quite know if he's grateful for that or wished she spent her time more... valuably... He was tempted to ask Sofia to borrow that book she found in his grandfather's bedroom, but he thought better of it. It's better to leave Fernweh… Even so, his curiosity wasn't properly fed.

🕊️ James Corvin: Maybe not brothers by blood, but definitely brothers by choice. Davor treated him as if he was the brother he always wanted to have. Back then Davor always placed a high value on his family… until now. At the time, Davor tended to be more impulsive and James was usually the one who kept him from getting into trouble (which often involved Reese). It was really hard, for both of them, to see each other after so long. Their first interaction was pretty awkward... I would even say that most of their interactions were . James noticed how Davor changed the question is: for the better or worse? I don't even know. Everyone can sense, that things around them are different now, and they aren't as close as before. Will it change?

🕊️ Alek Corvin: …To say that Alek wasn't a fan of Davor would be an understatement. Was it because James spent most of his time focusing only on Davor trying to get him out of trouble? Did Alek observe any possessiveness from Davor towards James? Or maybe simply because of the bond between those two, which was truly something that others would envy and desire? Davor never considered it, especially when he left Fernweh permanently. :)) As you can imagine, Alek doesn't seem very happy about Davor's return… But he took an interest in his new friend, Becca, which did not go unnoticed by Davor and he isn't really happy about it.

🕊️ The Waitress: Oh boy, it seems that Davor has taken up a new hobby, which is glaring harshly at the waitress. He finds her mistrustful and he smells trouble. Had they met when he was younger, there may have been a slim chance of them getting along.

🕊️ Waffles!: So um… Davor has a little issue with dogs and because of that his relationship with Waffles isn't as wonderful as I wish it would be... However, I believe that with time and help from Becca, they will eventually become friends.

[lets-get-saucy]

Media Girl - Emily Sonnett - Pt 1

Emily Sonnett x reader

 Summary: Sonnett isn’t very active on social media, but a certain media girl catches her attention. You work for Gotham assisting with their social media and notice a certain blonde become more active with content as the weeks go on.

Warnings: just cute fluff but we’ll see where it goes ;)

a/n: originally was only supposed to be one part but inspiration struck so not really sure yet how many parts it will be

You were new to the city, new to the job, well new to most things currently going on in your life. You had just gotten a job as a social media coordinator for Gotham FC, and it was your first week on the job. You had a social media job prior to this, but sports media was new to you. This week was mainly training for you, Sharon another coordinator on the team was showing you the ropes. What the training center was like, the different types of content Gotham expected, basically the run of the show.

While it was your first week on the job it was also the teams first week back at training. The air was filled with an excited energy, the team having won the championship just a few months ago. You had interacted with a few players, making tiktoks or creating Instagram post, so far they were all kind to you and super easy to work with. However, there were a few players who didn’t participate much even though they seemed to have great connections with the other players during training.

One was Emily Sonnett, a recent transfer to Gotham along with Rose Lavelle. Whenever asked if she wanted to partake in something for social media the blonde would find a way out. You shrugged it off, not everyone was into making a tiktok or posting on Instagram so you couldn’t blame the girl. But there was something about her that stood out to you. She was always making others laugh, dancing or cracking a joke that would send others around her into fits of laughter.

_

As the weeks went on you couldn’t help yourself from watching Sonnett. You were drawn to her, and slowly she was coming around to participating in content more. It started off with a simple tiktok video where you asked the players a question.

“Whats something you miss most from home?” You asked from behind the camera.

“Waffle House” Sonnett said as a quick response, smiling into the camera her dimples popping out.

You stopped the video quirking your eyebrow at the other woman.

“You miss Waffle House?”

“Yeah, I mean I know New York has Waffle Houses but not that many. Back home there’s one on practically every corner. And don’t get me wrong the bagels here are great but your really can’t beat a waffle from Waffle House” the blonde rambled on gesturing with her hands.

You found yourself giggling at her, finding Emily to be quite charming.

“Where are you from?” you find yourself asking.

You had done research on the players when you got the job, but nothing to deep mostly just professional history.

“Georgia” she answered.

“Do you miss it?” at this point you know you should be moving on to other players to finish filming so you can edit and post the tiktok, but you can’t seem to pull yourself away from the woman in front of you. Her blue eyes looking into yours.

“Yeah sometimes,” Emily shrugs. “I do miss the weather. I’m not cut out for the cold.”

You laugh at her response, “Its not too bad, and don’t worry it gets hot up here to.”

Before Emily can respond Rose comes over laughing telling Emily about a funny incident that just happened. You didn’t want to leave Emily but you both had a job to do so you offered her a smile before finding another player to add to the video you were making.

However, as the weeks went on you couldn’t help but notice Emily taking more interest in Gotham’s social media. She would volunteer for videos when you would ask players if they wanted to participate. The first few weeks of you job, Emily would almost always tell you she didn’t want to be a part of them. But now she was a regular in Gotham’s content. This continued for a few weeks, Emily seemingly growing more and more comfortable with getting posted on Gotham’s social media accounts. She would pose for pictures or participate in various silly videos and after you two would talk. Sometimes she would crack jokes causing you to laugh but other times you both would talk about genuine things. You learned each other’s favorite places to eat in New York, each other’s favorite foods, sports you played as a kid. These conversations would continue until one of her teammates would interrupt cutting the conversations short.

Even when you weren’t actively making content you couldn’t stop thinking about the blonde. During practices you would stand on the side of the field, trying to get content but you could keep your eyes off Emily. The way her leg muscles looked as she ran or how the sun reflected off her hair, you were mesmerized.

Sometime during practices you would feel eyes on you and when you looked Emily would turn away quickly, her cheeks turning red. Smiling to yourself you would turn your attention back to whatever content you were working on at the time, but you mind would still be focused on the blonde woman. Even across the field you could hear her. Emilys voice carrying as she called out things to her teammates during practice.

It was after practice one day and you were walking through the training center typing up an Instagram post when you heard Emily talking to someone.

“Its not like that, she’s just a friend” the blonde said, “plus we’ve never even hung out outside of practice.”

You stop walking, hiding behind a corner. You know you shouldn’t be listening in to the private conversation, but you do anyways.

“Well ask her on a date then” a voice you recognize as Kelley response to Emily, “you’ve talked about her for weeks now.”

You heart drops, the realization that you have a crush on Emily Sonnett sinking it, your stomach drops as it also hits you that she likes another woman.

“Kelley, I can’t do that”

Before either of them can say anything else you turn around walking in the other direction trying to get away as quickly as possible. Your heart pounding you make it to your office sitting down at your desk trying to take a deep breath. When did this happen? When did you develop feelings for Emily? Thinking back over the past few weeks it hits you. All the shared moments when you would talk to her. Her eyes meeting yours as you spoke. Her fingers grazing your back when she walked past you. How her voice along could bring a smile to your face. Or when she would tell a joke, even if it wasn’t funny you would laugh. You bury your face in your hands letting out a groan. You were screwed, totally completely screwed. Since you first meet Emily, you began falling for her, but it was all one-sided and now you were probably going to have to watch her fall in love with someone else while you stood on the sides and watched. Rubbing your hands on your face you sat up. While your heart might be weighing heavy you still had a job to do.

The rest of the day goes by in a blur as you post content and plan out new ideas to pitch to your boss. Before you know it you’re making your way across the parking lot to go home for the day. You’re half way to your car when you hear a familiar voice call out to you. Turning around you see a nervous looking Emily walking towards you.

“Hey” she says as she gets closer, fiddling with her bag.

“Hi” you mumble back, wanting nothing more than to get home and hide under blankets on your couch eating ice cream.

“Are you okay?” Emily ask you, looking concerned.

“Yeah, I’m fine its just been a long day” you lie, trying to ignore the butterflies in your stomach as she looks at you.

Emily looks around fiddling with her bag. She looks… nervous.

“So, I was.. I” Emily looks around not meeting your eyes. “Do you want to get coffee with me sometime?” she ask so quickly you barely catch what she said.

“Coffee?” you arch an eyebrow.

“Yes, or something else if you don’t like coffee. Theres a really nice smoothie place or”

“Coffee sounds great” you cut her off.

“Awesome!” she smiles finally meeting your eyes.

Her blue eyes twinkle in the late afternoon sun making them appear bluer. Even though your still upset that she’s interested in someone else, maybe a friendship could work out. You enjoyed being around Emily, so if that meant just being friends then maybe you could learn to be okay with that. You did just realize your feelings for her today after all.

“Theres this coffee shop not too far from here, maybe we could meet one morning before practice” you suggest.

“Yeah, sounds good” she smiles.

You exchange information, promising to finalize your coffee plans before you saying goodbye for the day. You watch as Emily makes her way over to her car before you get into yours. Sighing you learn your head back wishing you never realized your feelings for the blonde. On the bright side, you were now friends with Emily Sonnett. You hadn’t even realized your feelings for the other woman until just a few hours before, you could ignore them if it means being friends with her.

[elisefolklore]

paper rings

‘i hate accidents except when we went from friends to this’ taylor swift, lover

read part one, happiness here!

Summary — the six kids tried their best for you and eddie to admit your feelings to each other.

Length — 4.5k

this a repost from my side blog @folklorelise13​ as i am moving everything to my main

You got out of bed and picked up the phone.

‘Hello?’ you said weakly.

‘Hi,’ you could hear Eddie’s smile.

Silence. After realising that you liked Eddie Muson, it appeared as if you lost all social skills you had and did not know what to say anymore, just like when you were back in high school.

‘Did you walk a long time?’ you hesitated, not knowing what else to say.

‘It was alright, I’m used to walking home from school.’

‘Do you have your licence?’ you wondered, curious because you never saw Eddie driving around.  

‘I,’ Eddie stretched on the vowel, ‘know how to start and drive a car.’

‘So you do?’

‘Let’s just say I do,’ Eddie laughed.

‘You liar!’ Dustin shouted on the phone.

‘Dustin shut up!’ you heard Mike say.

‘Dustin!’ you shouted from your room, ‘hang up!’

You made sure to wait a good minute before talking again.

‘They probably didn’t hang up,’ you warned Eddie, ‘so, I’ll see you tomorrow? Like— for breakfast, as usual?’

‘Yeah, I’ll be there.’

‘Ok,’ you let out a breath, ‘goodnight then.’

‘Goodnight.’

You hung up, and went downstairs to find the six children around the phone. Once they saw you, they all pretended to be watching TV, ignoring you. You put your hands on your hips and stared at them.

‘Anything you want to say to me?’ you asked, slightly annoyed.

‘I’m sorry,’ El stood up, ‘it was their idea,’ she pointed at the boys.

‘El!’ Mike shouted.

‘We won’t do it again,’ Lucas apologised.

‘We’re sorry,’ Will apologised too, hating to see you disappointed.

‘It’s alright,’ you sat with them on the couch, ‘it’s not like anything was going to happen anyway,’ you mumbled.

Soon enough, the kids all fell asleep on the couch instead of their rooms. Max fell asleep clinging to you, with El’s head on your shoulder. You gently grabbed the blanket and put it over them and fell asleep with them in the living room.

The kids all woke up around eight, and decided to make you breakfast for once. They all felt a little bad for yesterday's incident, so they thought this would make you happy.

‘So what do we make?’ Will asked them.

‘Waffles?’ El suggested.

‘Yeah, that seems easy enough,’ Max agreed.

Half of the waffles were burnt, but it was the thought that counted. You woke up when you heard the loud doorbell ring. You relanctly got up to open the door, only to find Eddie, in his usual leather jacket and denim one over the other.

‘Morning,’ Eddie smiled.

When you realised it was Eddie in front of you, you slammed the door shut. You were not cleaned up, or dressed up, you could not have him come in like that. You shouted at Dustin to open the door, while you ran to your bedroom to brush your teeth, clean up your hair, and put on some clothes before going back down.

‘Hey,’ you waved at them, walking in the kitchen, sitting next to Eddie.

‘Hey,’ he smiled at you.

You stared at him eating before looking away, smiling.

‘These weren’t made by me, by the way,’ you pointed at the waffles.

‘I could tell, these taste so much better than what I’m used to here,’ Eddie joked.

‘Well, if that’s the case, I guess you won’t be eating the lemon meringue pie I’ll be baking this afternoon?’ you frowned, also joking.

‘Really?’ Eddie beamed. ‘I have been dreaming about that pie for weeks!’

‘Yeah, maybe you could—.’

‘Great!’ Dustin cut you off excited, ‘it means Eddie’s free for another campaign right before Will has to go back to California right?’

Eddie looked at you, but you only nodded and smiled.

‘That’s a great idea!’ you agreed.

‘Yeah,’ Eddie nodded.

El and Max stayed with you and helped you bake the pie and the butterscotch oatmeal cookies — Eddie’s favourites — and you three spent the entire afternoon baking. You wanted to make sure that Eddie would have enough for at least a few days knowing that in a few days, you would be leaving too.

‘This is fun,’ El told you when the cookies were put in the oven.

‘It is,’ Max smiled, ‘I wish we could do this more often. I— I missed you two.’

‘Max,’ you put your hand on her head, ‘I missed you all too, a lot. In less than five months, it’ll be summer break and I’ll be staying here the whole time.’

Max nodeed, before wrapping her arms around you.

‘It’s ok Max,’ you rubbed her back. ‘It’ll be ok. Is everything alright at home?’ you sat down with Max and El.

‘It’s fine,’ Max shrugged. ‘My mom’s working, and she— just hangs in there. We haven’t found Billy’s father.’

‘Is the trailer park alright? Because if it’s too dangerous or anything, your mom and you can move in here.’

‘No, it’s alright,’ Max gave you a small smile.

‘Ok,’ you smiled, ‘but if anything goes wrong, you tell me, you call me and I’ll come back alright?’

Max nodeed. Max was the last kid to arrive, but that did not stop you from taking her under your care. You had to protect her, especially against her step-brother Billy, but that was not a problem anymore. Now, you had to make sure she was alright and lived a good life at Hawkins, which was complicated with you living so far away from them.

‘So, Eddie,’ Dustin smiled when the campaign was over, ‘do you like y/n?’

‘Yeah, she’s great,’ Eddie said simply, grateful for the dark lights in the room.

‘You have been spending a lot of time together,’ Lucas smiled, ‘are you about to ask her out?’

‘That would be so great!’ Dustin insisted.

‘Eddie is about to become our uncle,’ Mike wiped a fake tear.

‘I thought this way would never come,’ Lucas fake cried with Mike.

‘You morons!’ Eddie threw his butt cushion at them. ‘I am not asking her out.’

‘Why not?’ Dustin whined. ‘You both are always glued together, you love spending time together for no reason, she likes talking about metal music, and DnD, and guitar with you when she never showed any interest before; you listen to pop music for her and I saw you reading her favourite book last week. She cooks and bakes for you almost every day since she arrived. You spent all your time with her too, when you never hang out with us outside of school and DnD campaigns. So why not ask her out?’

They all nodded, agreeing with Dustin. Eddie sighed heavily.

‘She is not staying here right? So what’s the point?’ Eddie sat down on his throne.

‘Suzie and I aren’t living next to each other, and yet, we love each other, and we make it work,’ Dustin said.

‘You have a girlfriend?’ Eddie yelped.

‘Don’t try and change the subject,’ Lucas said. ‘Do you think you’re too good for our y/n or something?’

‘What? No! What I meant was — y/n is great, the best even, and I, Eddie the Freak Munson, would never pull that,’ Eddie explained with a pang of his heart. ‘She doesn’t love me.’

‘But you do?’ Will asked timidly.

Eddie stared at Will, sighed, and looked down.

‘Who wouldn’t?’ Eddie mumbled, falling back against the throne. ‘Don’t tell her that!’ Eddie quickly added.

‘We won’t,’ Dustin promised, ‘because you will tell her that yourself.’

‘No I won’t,’ Eddie laughed sourly.

‘Will is leaving tomorrow, meaning, y/n will leave in two days, on saturday,’ Mike said.

‘It will give you plenty of time to confess your undying love to her,’ Lucas teased him.

‘If you don’t, we will,’ Dustin finished.

Eddie glared at Dustin.

‘Or maybe not,’ Dustin quickly added before leaving with his friends. ‘See you at home,’ he shouted before biking away.

Eddie took all his time cleaning up the room. Eddie never had a girlfriend, or any romantic relationships. He had crushes before, but nothing ever happened with his Freak title. He knew better than to ask anyone out and have the entire town gossip about it. But it was different with you. First, you were out of high school, second, you were actually nice to him, and third, you did not mind being seen with him, and the hellfire club.

After cleaning up everything, he went to your house. He was welcomed with a piece of his favourite pie and favourite cookies on a plate.

‘I put them aside for you because these monsters devoured everything,’ you pointed at the kids still eating alongside Robin and Steve who came in not long ago.

‘Thanks,’ he took the plate.

‘Come,’ you took his hand and pulled him on the couch, ‘it’s too loud in there,’ you showed the kitchen.

Eddie took the fork you handed him and started to eat, and once again, it was wonderful. He enjoyed every bite of the pie and the cookies. He took a piece of the pie with his fork and put it in front of you.

‘What are you doing,’ you backed away, laughing.

‘I’m sharing,’ Eddie smiled back at you.

You smiled and ate the pie. Eddie finished his plate by sharing it with you. He noticed that every time you cooked, you would always feed the others and only eat the remaining.

‘I wish you could stay here forever,’ Eddie admitted, putting the place on the table. ‘I wish we were friends when you were still here.’

‘Really?’

‘Yeah.’

‘I always wanted—.’

But you were cut off by everyone coming into the leaving room. Nancy stayed at your house that night, since Jonathan would be leaving tomorrow. Which meant, your house was packed with people. Nancy slept with Jonathan in the guest room, Joyce had her room, and Max, El and you slept on your bed, while Dustin, Lucas, Will and Mike all slept on mattresses put in your bedroom.

Eddie, Robin and Steve all left very late, not before reassuring you that Steve would drop Eddie off and that he would not walk home alone that late.

‘See you tomorrow,’ you waved goodbye at Eddie. ‘See you two around soon too,’ you hugged Robin and Steve.

You went back to bed, where all the kids were already ready to sleep. You washed up and went to bed, putting yourself in the middle.

‘So y/n,’ Dustin started, ‘remember that night, where you spaced out when we talked about Eddie?’

‘Eddie?’ Max smirked.

‘Is Eddie your boyfriend?’ El asked.

‘What!’ you sat down. ‘No! No, no, no, no. No. He is not my boyfriend, and I didn’t space out, I was just tired from driving you around and staying out late like that!’ you quickly blurted out.

‘But you like him, right?’ Lucas asked seriously.

‘Of course I like him,’ you stated, ‘I mean, he’s—,’ your thoughts drifted to Eddie.

‘Dreamy?’ Max laughed.

‘But do you like–like him?’ Mike asked.

‘In a romantic way,’ Dustin added.

‘I—,’ you did not know what to say.

‘Are you in love with Eddie?’ El gasped.

‘I—,’ you let out a deep breath.

You fall back on the bed.

‘I don’t know,’ you admitted. ‘I like him, I— I like Eddie a lot. I— think I might be in love with him.’

‘You should tell him that!’ Will smiled. ‘Because he—, I’m sure he loves you too,’ Will corrected himself. ‘He is always looking at you whenever you’re not looking, he always wants to spend time with you, he has to be in love — is what I think,’ Will added.

‘I agree,’ Dustin said.

‘Me too,’ Lucas agreed.

‘Yep,’ Mike nodded.

‘But, I’m leaving soon,’ you lamented. ‘I won’t even see him.’

‘Suzie and I, we don’t see each other every day,’ Dustin repeated his story, ‘yet we are in a relationship.’

‘I think you should tell him,’ Max lay next to you. ‘This town is cursed, so who knows what can happen… You have to live your life fully and that means putting yourself out there and telling the people who love, that you love them.’

You turned your head to look at Max with a soft smile.

‘I love you guys,’ you smiled, holding Max's hand tightly in yours.

‘We love you too,’ everyone said at the same time, laughing.

Joyce left early in the morning because of the long journey back home. Everyone was there saying goodbye, hugging each other. After they left, Dustin, Mike and Lucas all went back home too, on their bikes. You called Eddie and told him to come later because you were going to drive Max home first.

You never went to Max’s place before, so you let her guide you around and let you park your car in front of her trailer.

‘You’ll be alright?’ you asked her.

‘Yeah,’ Max nodded.

‘Ok, call me if you need anything.’

Max nodded again before leaving your car. You drove back home and stood in the hall. You got used to having this house full of people and now that it was empty, it felt weird. You walked to the kitchen and started to make breakfast. You had prepared some batter the day before, and you put them in a baking tin and put them in the oven. You took out some bananas and strawberries and cut them in thin pieces and put them on a plate.

Eddie knocked on your door just when you took the muffins out of the oven. You both sat next to each other and started to eat in silence. It was the first you two ate alone, without any of the kids around.

‘So,’ Eddie turned around to face you, ‘you’re leaving soon?’

‘I’m leaving Saturday morning, tomorrow is my last day here,’ you confirmed.

‘Oh,’ Eddie stared at his plate.

‘I’ll—,’ you looked at him, ‘I’ll miss you.’

Eddie looked up at you.

‘I mean,’ you quickly added, ‘like I’ll miss Max and Lucas, and Mike and Dustin!’

You did not want to hear Eddie say that you were being weird suddenly.

‘I’ll miss you too,’ Eddie smiled, ‘I’ll miss being well fed too. I can’t believe I’ll have to go back eating garbage food for the rest of my life,’ he sighed dramatically.

‘You are one drama king,’ you laughed. ‘I’ll be back around May, and then you’ll have to be stuck with me for at least four months.’

‘Don’t forget my graduation,’ Eddie added.

‘How can I forget? I’ll have to bring you a graduation gift,’ you thought, ‘what do you want?’

‘You,’ Eddie talked before he could think.

‘M–Me?’ you stuttered, smiling.

‘I mean, you being here will be enough.’

‘Oh. Right,’ you laughed, feeling hot from embarrassment.

Once breakfast was over, you put the plates away and took Eddie with you to your car.

‘Where are we going?’ Eddie asked you, letting you drag him around.

‘To the market.’

‘Why?’ he asked once in the car.

‘I wanted to prepare food for Max to freeze, so whenever her mom isn’t around to cook, she can just heat it.’

Eddie stared at you, lovingly.

‘What?’ you smiled.

‘Where did these kids find you?’

‘I used to babysit them,’ you explained. ‘I was on my way home, eating a cake that my mom had made for me, and I walked across the park, and I saw four children on the ground, with two of them crying, Will and Dustin. I was going to walk away, but then I saw a group of older guys, probably from high school, walking toward them.

‘I watched them grab the kids’ bags and toss it away and then they just laughed and walked away. It was horrible, so I walked over and helped them. They were children, they were eight, or nine and I was thirteen, almost fourteen, I had to do something,’ you continued to explain.

‘They explained that these guys just stole their snacks and that they were being bullied around by them. So I shared my food with them and I walked them home. And for a week, they would wait around the park and I would walk them home. And their mothers ended up asking me if I could babysit them, and I agreed, and I stayed with them the whole time.’

‘That was really nice of you,’ Eddie told you. ‘They all speak so highly of you, I thought they made you up.’

‘What?’ you laughed.

‘Yeah, I mean they were describing someone so good and perfect, I thought you weren’t real. Then I met you almost a month ago, and I still can’t believe it. You’re so kind and generous, it’s impossible to believe.’

‘I’m—,’ you looked away, smiling. ‘I think you’re really great too. I— Dustin talks about you very highly too. That kid loves you. They all do.’

‘And you?’ Eddie whispered.

‘Me?’ you repeated. ‘I— I—,’ you thought about what Max said to you last night. ‘I do too,’ you looked at him, ‘I like you.’

‘Really?’ Eddie could not believe his ears.

‘Yes,’ you said timidly. ‘You’re great, I— I loved spending time with you, and for the first time, I’m starting to think that, maybe, I wish I didn’t leave for college so I could stay here with you.’

You arrived at the market ten minutes ago, but neither of you wanted to leave yet.

‘I wish you didn’t have to leave too,’ Eddie grabbed your hand. ‘Because I like you a lot too, and I don’t want to let you go, ever again.’

‘You do?’ you beamed. ‘I can’t believe this,’ you mumbled to yourself.

‘So, what now?’ Eddie asked you.

‘I— I don’t know,’ you admitted. ‘I mean, people get together even when they live miles away from each other. So— we could too,’ you hesitated.

Maybe Eddie didn't want that.

‘We could,’ Eddie agreed, squeezing your hand.

‘Ok,’ you smiled, relieved.

You both stared into each other’s eyes, happy. Eddie slowly put his hands behind your neck and brought you closer to him.

‘Can I kiss you now?’

‘Yes.’

You put your hands on his arms and closed the gap between you two and kissed him. Eddie’s lips were soft, his tongue pressing against your gently. Kissing Eddie felt like a dream, and you never want to wake up or stop. But you both needed air, so the kissing stopped, both you panting slightly.

You smiled before leaving the car, feeling too warm inside. Eddie followed you behind, putting his arm around your shoulder.

‘I like this,’ he smiled.

‘Me too,’ you put your arm around his waist.

Eddie spent the rest of the day at your place, helping you cook — grabbing ingredients and cleaning them — and then you two put everything in a tupperwares and put them in the freezer.

Tired from cooking all day, you and Eddie both collapse on your couch. Eddie moved over and rested his head on your lap, and wrapped his arms around you.

‘I don’t want you to go,’ Eddie whined, looking up.

‘We’ll call each other, every day, and before you even know it, I’ll be back and we’ll figure something out.’

‘Okay,’ Eddie smiled.

Eddie and you decided it would be better not to tell anyone yet, since this was a rather new thing. Your last day at Hawkins was spent cleaning up the house and making sure there was no food left in the fridge so nothing would spoil, and making sure everything was clean. After eating lunch, you grabbed all the food you froze and put it in your car and drove to Max’s place. You knocked on her door and waited a bit before she opened it.

‘y/n!’ Max smiled, hugging you.

‘Hi!’ you hugged her back.

‘What are you doing here? I thought you were busy today?’

‘I am, I still haven’t packed my things, but I wanted to drop these off,’ you showed her your multiple bags.

‘What is that,’ Max let you in.

‘Food, lots of it. I— you mentioned that your mother couldn’t always cook so I thought I would freeze a lot of it for nights when she wouldn’t be there.’

Ever since her mother married Billy’s father, Max felt alone. With her mother always sticking with her step-father, and her violent step-brother, she had no one. Until she met Dustin and Lucas, and then you soon after.

At first, she thought that you would not care much about her, because she was the new girl, but you did. You were nice, and you cared for her even though you barely knew her. Max had not been that happy for a long time. So when you left, she was devastated, and on top of that, she had to move away with her mother.

‘Thank you,’ Max smiled, touched by your kindness. ‘I’ll put them in the freezer, you can stay here,’ she showed you the couch.

You sat on the couch and looked around. The windows did not have any curtains on them, so you could see the trailer in front of Max’s and the empty streets.

‘Looking out for Eddie to appear?’ Max joked when she sat next to you.

‘What?’ you asked, horrified that she might have, somehow, discovered what happened yesterday. ‘Wh—why would I be waiting for Eddie to appear out of nowhere?’

‘Because he lives just here,’ Max pointed at the trailer in front of her house.

‘What? Really?’ you asked, surprised.

‘Yeah.’

You spent another hour with Max, before she had to leave to meet up with Dustin, Mike and Lucas to hang out together.

‘We’ll come and see you before you leave tomorrow,’ Max warned you before skating away.

Just as you were about to get in your car, you saw a truck pulling in Eddie’s trailer. It was an older man getting out of it, and getting inside. You turned around, watching the pastries you bake that you wanted to drop off at Lucas’, Dustin’s and Mike’s. But maybe you could give some to Eddie. You took all the bags, which included all Eddie’s favourites and walked to his trailer, and knocked.

‘Eddie!’ you heard a man’s voice shouting, ‘get the door!’

‘You get it!’ Eddie shouted back.

After a few moments, the door finally opened up on Eddie, in his typical outfit, with a bandana in his hair. His eyes widened seeing you.

‘Who are you?’ the man you saw earlier appeared behind Eddie.

‘I’m y/n,’ you smiled. ‘Eddie’s girlfriend,’ you added.

‘Girlfriend, huh,’ the man smiled, patting Eddie’s back. ‘Nice. I’ll let you two alone then,’ he walked back and went into a room.

‘Girlfriend?’ Eddie smirked, leaning against the doorframe. ‘I thought we weren’t telling anyone yet?’

‘Well, I wanted to know how it sounded like to say it,’ you smiled. ‘Can I come in? Or are you busy?’ you suddenly realised. ‘I can go, I was just visiting Max and she said you were living here and I thought—-.’

Eddie took the bag in your hands, put his free hand behind your head and kissed you deeply.

‘Come in,’ Eddie took your hand. ‘Sorry it’s a mess, I—,’ he turned to look at you, flushed. ‘I would’ve cleaned if I knew you were coming.’

‘It’s fine!’ you reassured him. ‘It’s nice, it’s very cosy here.’

‘Come,’ Eddie took you down the little hallway.

He opened the door to his bedroom and closed the door behind you.

‘This is my palace,’ Eddie joked.

You looked around, amazed at his bedroom. You went to sit on his bed when he grabbed your hand and yanked you toward him, making you crash onto his chest.

‘You don’t want to sit down,’ Eddie admitted, still holding you.

You both looked at his bed.

‘Those stains are—,’ he tried to explain, ‘I don’t know what those stains are.’

‘Ok,’ you laughed. ‘Is this your guitar?’

‘Yeah, my most precious belonging.’

‘It’s amazing, it looks really great,’ you said. ‘Do you still play with your band?’

‘How do you know about my band?’ Eddie wondered. ‘You mentioned it twice now, the first time being when we first met.’

‘I—,’ you stared at his guitar, avoiding eye contact with Eddie.

Now that Eddie told you that he liked you, it would not be weird to reveal to him that you used to have a crush on him, meaning you went to all his gigs at the local bar back in high school. So you did, you told him everything.

‘Really?’ Eddie smiled.

‘Yes,’ you looked away, cheeks warm. ‘I— you were nice and then the years passed, and you definitely got more handsome and my teenage self was definitely having a crush on you.’

‘I can’t believe you never told me,’ Eddie frowned, holding your hand. ‘I probably would’ve fallen in love with you back then if you did.’

‘I almost did,’ you smiled, ‘it was junior year, I thought you were going to be gone at the end of the year, so I wanted to come and join hellfire club, but then I got nervous and left.’

‘Well, it doesn’t matter anyway because you’re here now,’ Eddie rested his forehead on yours.

‘I am,’ you kissed him.

Even though you were leaving tomorrow, neither of you wanted to talk about it. You spent the rest of the day with Eddie and his uncle, Wayne, and ate the pie and other pastries. When it was finally time for you to go home, Eddie walked back to your car with you.

‘Are you coming to say goodbye tomorrow with the kids?’ you asked him.

‘I’ll be there. Are you sure you don’t want me to come with you?’

‘It’s fine,’ you promised. ‘I’ll… see you tomorrow then?’ you gave him a small smile.

‘See you,’ he whispered.

You woke up early Saturday, around seven and took your suitcase down the stairs. You changed into your clothes, and put the pyjamas away and cleaned up. Around eight, the doorbell rang and the kids and Eddie were all there.

You let them in and you all ate together in silence. No one knew what to say. All the kids were sad to see you go again. Then around nine, it was time for you to go. Eddie put your suitcase in the trunk and stood beside the kids.

‘Well,’ you smiled, ‘I had the best time with you guys around, and I’ll miss you all very much.’

‘I’ll miss you too,’ Max came to hug you.

They all came and wrapped themselves around you.

‘I’ll be back very soon, ok? And I’ll still write to you guys, every week.’

‘We’ll write too,’ Lucas said.

You turned around and faced Eddie. The kids were not far away, but far enough so they could not hear you two.

‘I wish I kissed you more yesterday,’ Eddie smirked, ‘cause now I can’t and I really want to.’

‘Me too,’ you admitted. ‘It’s only five months and then, we’ll be together forever.’

Eddie nodded, and you gave him a brief hug — to avoid raising suspicion — and went into your car. You rolled the window down and waved them goodbye while driving away.

‘See you soon!’ the kids all shouted.

check out my masterlist, read part three lover here!

[ragnarokhound]

puts this on your list of things to do

Skcnwksks *adds another stone atop the mountain, and the world sinks another inch closer to hell

But okay fr. I actually read Knight Terrors: Robin today, and with the enormous grain of salt that I am working mostly with fandom osmosis, esp re: their established relationship, I think they alllllmost wrote something that worked. Almost. Long rambling nitpicks under the cut:

I think if they had about three more pages they could have established Tim and Jason's relationship and their problems with working together a little better; and either cut Babs out as the middle man who introduced their individual issues to the audience, or used her more effectively as a mediator.

They very clearly wanted to showcase two problems: Tim is working himself to death trying to save everyone, and Jason is suffering by insisting on working alone. Good! I like this concept. It's annoying to me that Babs is the one who tries to reach out to both of them about these issues, gets rebuffed, and then is never heard from again. I'd much prefer it if they tried to talk to each other on their own and it went poorly at first, only to be forced to open up in the nightmare realm. It would tighten up their combined arc if they'd had one single conversation before the Inciting Incident occurs.

Like, don't get me wrong. I am waffling about this because Babs is a good entry voice to help introduce our primary actors. She is the person they have in common, and by having her be the voice in their ear, we see that other people in their support networks are worried about them.

But man, why not just have Tim monologue to himself about being ready to wrap up his third bust of the night and consider hitting up Jason to see if he needs help on the intergang drug bust he's in the middle of. It could be on Tim's way to the next place he's going, demonstrating that he's stretching himself thin and looking for even more to do; even with people like Jason who he isn't all that close with. And then Tim and Jason have their own snarky conversation (with some veiled flirting) about not needing each other's help or each other's nagging, and that's when the nightmare mist hits.

Because the story is only tangentially about people other than Jason and Tim. They're both too wrapped up in their own problems to notice other people reaching out to them about their fucked behavior. So Babs could have been used as a yardstick for each of them - Tim dismissed her fears at first, Jason hung up on her outright - but only if she comes back.

If Babs had also been there at the end to check in with them, yeah, it might have lessened the impact of Jason's plea for help and getting only Tim in response, but it would have been the indicator that they were now ready to hear the worries expressed by their loved ones. A very *clear* indicator of what has changed in the narrative that justifies Babs' involvement in the first place. You could have her come in right as Tim and Jason are catching up after the initial plea, having just escaped her own nightmare (*editors note: see Babs' knight terrors issue, lmao). She could groggily direct them to someone who needs help. All three of them are working together now, Tim and Jason are on their way to opening up to more people; huzzah

And hell. If you want to justify why Tim knows stuff about Jason he shouldn't - or why Jason might know something about Tim that he shouldn't for that matter - a little extra time spent together in the nightmare zone is great for that. Make them see each other's worst memories. Make them see each other's defining moments. Make it the twisted, terrible, self-directed-blame version of events that exists in their heads, and then they can separately call bullshit.

You literally put them into a shared mind palace!! Why did Tim know that about Sheila? Because he just saw it in Jason's head. How does Jason know Tim has a savior complex too big to shoulder? Same deal. IMO, this would have made their insistence that the other person is better than they think much more natural. It's not an empty sentiment because 'I've literally seen what you think of yourself and I am telling you that it isn't true'. (They're in a shared mindscape. Why not imply that they are seeing what the other is seeing too. That they're having a shared experience and are privy to each other's thoughts, emotions, and memories? Easy to do. "I feel like I'm walking to class in the 10th grade...but when I was that age, I was 6 feet under." "And I'm positive I'm picking up ammo for a gun I don't own. I think it's safe to say we're sharing a dream.")

I'm also ??? about why the nightmare zone let them talk at all?? Maybe that's something that we don't have time to explain/ it doesn't need explaining, but if I were a terrible nightmare creature and I was menacing two people at once, I simply wouldn't let them exist in the same space. Isolation is key to breaking someone's will. If you let them talk to each other they could help each other. Fool. Buffoon. Literally the only reason to let them talk to each other is if you think they'll make each other worse lmao.

There was a clever visual trick in which Jason hits the void barrier and Tim sees the ripples he makes - but iirc that is the closest we get to an explanation of how they might be breaking through to each other. And it happened after they were almost done with their second conversation. Too little, too late, IMO.

Arguments could be made that they were able to break through because they were approaching a hard limit. Jason hears Tim again when he yells at his double to shut up, when Jason himself is just about ready to throw in the towel. The moment of deepest despair, the realization for both of them that they're not cut out to solve the problem with their current method. Something something, breaking the pattern - but why let them, unless the nightmare can't do anything about it? I do like a monster with a secret weakness, so I'm willing to let it slide now that I've talked it out lol but still. It feels like an unearned conversation when the only convo they had before was mostly exposition.

Anyway. Tldr; if the writers had a few more pages and shown us Tim and Jason's conflict with each other rather than water it down via Babs (OR BROUGHT HER BACK TO TIE IT ALL UP WITH A BOW) it would have been a tighter & more interesting story.

[phlurrii]

What do all the Mews think about babies and small children? Not human ones, but Pokémon!

(When I say small children I mean around kindergarten age)

Meau waffles, they used to bring her a lot of a joy and she would often interact with passing families of Pokémon and their little ones in her earlier days. The whole thing being seen as a great honor, when in reality she just had baby fever and loved to see her creations thriving. Nowadays it… hurts a lot to see the young ones out and about since bucket’s incident. She still loves it, but it’s got more nuances.

Missingno. is in a similar spot, while I haven’t touched on his reaction to bucket’s situation yet… he’s dealing with in his own way. Granted pokemon outside the tree are highkey terrified of him given they see him as the elderitch being of ever changing forms rather then the goofy fox.

Ody and Deca just see them as friends, Deca may lean a bit more into creatures he can use for his own devious baby schemes; but Ody just thinks their neat ;3

[twig-tea]

Love in the Big City Part 3: Kylie Recontextualizes Everything

I have waffled all week about what to write about this chapter. There have been some great essays about HIV and the stigma in Korea by @stuffnonsenseandotherthings here, as well as how antiretrovirals and pre-exposure prophylactics work and when they were available from @wen-kexing-apologist here. This context was all critical to understand everything Young doesn’t talk about in this section of the book. 

I’ve been stuck on so many parts of this section of the book. The way stigma holds people back from care, from maintenance, from life-saving treatment and knowledge, from understanding their condition and preventing them unnecessarily from living a full life, which @doyou000me had me thinking about with their comments about Young’s coping mechanisms of minimization and emotional distance that possibly worked in conjunction with the Korean government healthcare policies and social stigma to keep Young from being informed about his own condition. The way Young holds himself back from happiness, and how it’s so heartbreaking to watch him open up to it slowly in this section and then, as @my-rose-tinted-glasses wrote , he let the shame and self-loathing take control again. The way this relationship feels so real; @lurkingshan wrote so eloquently on how this section describes the details of a relationship as it started to settle. The relationship with Hyung was entirely ephemeral, in the liminal period of time between when Young was visiting his mother in hospital and before everything opened again for the day. There is so much that Young and Hyung never talked about–more than was obvious in chapter 2, because he never told Hyung about Kylie. In contrast, as @bengiyo pointed out, his relationship with Gyu-Ho started with honesty and was rooted in the physical presence of their apartment, which as a beautiful metaphor was grounded and improved slowly over time through the work they put into it but was also too small for them. 

I keep thinking about how Part 3 is bookended by Young disappointing Gyu-Ho with his absence. How he leaves him at the airport both times, thinking he’s doing Gyu-Ho a favour actually–he characterizes Gyu-Ho’s trip to Japan without him as much more fun, and he imagines Gyu-Ho’s future in Singapore will be better. In both cases, Gyu-Ho was only going because of Young, because Young wanted to, and Young planned it. But our narrator cannot get past seeing himself as something that brings Gyu-Ho down, and so he sabotages his own future. I feel for Gyu-Ho, being shepherded onto a plane alone when he was envisioning his future with the man he loved. It must have been devastating to be pushed away. 

This is not related to anything but I just love the detail of Young’s split lip and how he tastes blood when he kisses Gyu-Ho while drunk at the club and not yet knowing his name, and then panics, and we as readers don’t yet know why. Brilliant storytelling. 

I can’t stop thinking about how this reveal recontextualizes everything in parts 1 and 2. How the “incident that earned me a medical discharge” means Kylie was already in Young’s life as he took the engineering student he was seeing with him to get an STD check; as he was screamed at by an ex who prophesied that Young would get sick from being promiscuous and called him a ‘dirty rag that could never be cleaned’, which Young took with stoicism. I loved @bengiyo ‘s observation in his post linked above that Kylie’s presence likely coloured his reaction to Jaehee outing him to her fiance. 

Kylie was present as he watched his coffee be stolen by Hyung, when he thought about introducing Hyung to his mother, while he was wrestling with how Hyung (and, I think the narration makes clear, how he) was ashamed at how Young couldn’t ‘pass’ and was ‘obviously gay’, when he choked Hyung in his mother’s kitchen and it was seeing his tears on Hyung’s face that made Young let go. Kylie was part of him when he drank pesticide and tried to die, while he sat by his mother’s sickbed and had her head in his lap in the park, when he said “disease can turn anyone into a completely different person”, when he said he would “hope that she would die without having known.” 

Mostly, my brain keeps getting stuck on how familiar Young is to me. His choices, his self-loathing, his refusal to take anything seriously because at his core he’s terrified of facing what his reality means. And that fear ironically gets in the way of him understanding that his reality is not as scary as he thinks it is. He functions like he has to be alone, and so much of that comes from his internalized homophobia and his HIV diagnosis. He’s been told he’s dirty, something to be cleaned but irreparable, by so many people in different ways through his life. The man he claims as his greatest love barely even liked him as a person, and didn’t fully know him. I think that’s why he was able to feel more fully with Hyung, because in a way that relationship felt safer..Gyu-Ho, the person who knew all of him, and who wanted to build a life together with that complete and full knowledge of him, must have been terrifying, and I’m not surprised it felt easier to push him away than to fight for their future together. But it breaks my heart. 

There’s something rattling in my head about the T-aras that I don’t really know how to get out onto the page. In this chapter it’s revealed that the T-aras have been around the whole time, but they weren’t mentioned in parts 1 and 2. I think the fact that Young’s life feels more rounded, filled in with other people, and rich, than in parts 1 and 2 speaks to his emotional state in this part, as well as to how his time with Gyu-Ho wasn’t obsession but was more grounded in the mundane and the everyday. The T-aras themselves feel like familiar friends. Like with Hyung and JaeHee (at first), Young is drawn to people who he can remain emotionally distant from and who remain emotionally distant from him. People who will buy the story of “ruptured disc” for why he left military service early. People who joke about being poz and won’t ask questions and who hear the news about his new boyfriend as an ‘in’ to their favourite club. People who don’t take things seriously (or in Hyung’s case take things so seriously that Young can’t take him seriously). I was so glad to find out they existed because up to this point Young felt so isolated most of the time, with his world circling around one obsession in each part. But he had the T-aras the whole time; I’m choosing to read this as he just didn’t hold their importance to him in the same way in parts 1 and 2. As was already clear in the narrative but this makes even more obvious, Young’s isolation is not only self-inflicted but it’s in some ways a lie he tells himself to feel safer. He has friends, he just refuses to acknowledge their presence or importance, or to let them in to be more important, because he is so braced for being rejected for core parts of him that cannot be excised.

[tomtenadia]

Detours to You - ch 8

Hello all,

here we are with another chapter full of Maya fluff and DadRowan. Enjoy this fluff because there is angst coming...

Rowan would call himself an early bird. What he did not realised was that with a toddler the concept of early bird acquired another meaning. In the very early hours he woke up at the sound of the door of his room opening. A silhouette appeared on the threshold asking him to join him in bed. Aelin had warned him that it might happen so he had grabbed his daughter and dragged under the blankets with him. She was asleep again within minutes and he followed quickly in his arms. 

When he opened his eyes again it was a while later and the first thing he felt was a weight on his chest. Maya had climbed on him and fallen asleep on him exactly like in Totoro when Mei falls asleep on the creature.

He chuckled snapping then      another picture for Aelin She thinks I am Totoro. He was sure Aelin would get the reference since they had watched the movie together a few times and knew Aelin used to do the same to him when they were dating.

You make a great pillow she texted back and Rowan smiled. He thought about Aelin, she had been back in his life for just a very short period but something ancient that he was positive he had shoved away had started to resurface. It was not feelings yet, more an old camaraderie, the friendship that had blossomed after they stopped hating each other.

He had no idea what it meant. A part of him was still resenting Aelin for not telling him about their daughter but at the same time he was trying to ignore those feelings and be an adult about it for the sake of Maya.

Rowan was absorbed in his thoughts when a pair of green eyes stared at him in the dim morning light of the room “Morning, Maya.”

She lay her head on his chest again and kept hugging him.

“Did you sleep well?”

She gave him a sleepy nod and his arm tightened around her and his heart ached. He had to pretend to be just a friend of her mum but it was so damn hard. “Do you want breakfast?”

“Can we have waffles?”

He chuckled “Perfect breakfast for a Saturday.”

Maya sat up and looked at Rowan’s bedroom and that’s when she noticed his hockey wall. Clumsily she climbed off the bed and Rowan followed stopping at her side “Is this yours?��

He kneeled down “Yes, I used to play hockey at school. I still do with the fire department.”

Maya turned to him, eyes wide in adoration “Can you teach me?”

He mussed her hair “If your mum says yes.”

Maya walked to a shelf where he had a collection of pucks and he lifted her in his arms so she could see “I collect them.”

His daughter grabbed the one they had had custom made for the TFD “Do you like it?”

“Yes.”

“Then you can have it and I will buy you one of the Stags today.”

She threw his arms around his neck “You are the bestest friend mama has. I like you.”

Rowan’s brain only seemed to hear the one word: friend. And it hurt. She saw him only as a big friend and something deep within him wanted to scream that he was her dad. But Aelin had made him promise, so he remained silent and pushed the hurt of those words deep down. 

“Come on, let’s get you fed.”

In the kitchen he sat her down at the table “I will get you chocolate milk later.”

“Mum always has chocolate milk for me.”

Rowan groaned, he had not been organised enough. He should have asked Aelin more about her eating habits and now he let her down “Sorry, Maya I forgot to buy it.”

“Okay,” her voice almost dejected.

A moment later she went back playing with her puck and the milk incident seemed forgotten. His heart swelled at seeing her so happy “Can I see you play?”

He smiled while preparing the batter for the waffles “I can let your mum know when I play and you both can come.”

Maya nodded and turned quiet until she floored him with the next question “Are you mama’s boyfriend?”

Drat, toddlers and all their questions. He turned and sat at her side, abandoning the bowl “I am not.”

At the dejected stare he almost blurted out the truth “You could be mum’s prince like in the stories.”

He chuckled “Would you want me to be her prince?”

She nodded eagerly “You are fun and live in the woods.”

Rowan stood “you can make a wish to the elves for the solstice.”

Maya grinned and talked to her soft toy and Rowan went back cooking. 

Breakfast out of the way he took her upstairs for a bath and had to pull her out by force. Maya loved water. That was another note in now a never ending list of things that his daughter loved.

Back in her room he got her ready for later and dug out of the drawer her hockey jersey and smiled. It was the one of the captain of the team “You are a fan of Dorian?”

“Yes, he is cool. Mama took me to meet him.”

She then walked to his ear “mum thinks he is cute.”

Rowan roared with laughter. Fair enough, he had a crush on the captain of the female team.

He helped her wear the jeans and the jersey over the hoodie “now let me dry your hair. Do you want pigtails?”

“Can you braid it?”

That he could do. He had practiced with Aelin. Maya’s hair was not as long but he could manage  two braids, one at each side. He would have to research some other styles for her.

Once Maya was ready he got up “I will go and get ready too, will you stay here in your room ten minutes?”

She took his hand “I come too.”

Hand in hand they crossed the hallway and once inside he lifted her on his bed.

He removed his long sleeved shirt and Maya gasped “What is it?”

“You have drawings on your arm.”

Rowan sat at her side and let her look at his tattoo “They are so pretty.”

“They are called tattoos and they are in the old language.”

“What is it?”

“It’s a very ancient language that was spoken in the land I come from.”

He took out his phone and showed it to her “It’s a land called Wendlyn. This,” he pointed at a specific point “is Terrasen and that’s where we live,” his fingers panned on the screen “This is where I am from.” He grabbed her and sat her on his lap “This is Doranelle, the city where I grew up.”

“Donanelle.”

“Yes, that’s the one.” He chuckled.

“According to the legends, it was the capital of fae land. All its citizens were fae and spoke an ancient language very different from the one we use now.”

Maya was staring at him with dreaming eyes. Gods, he could spend hours with her talking about the mythology of Wendlyn and all the old legends.

“You are a fairy too?’

“I might…”

“I want to be a fairy too.”

He wanted to tell her that she had Wendlyn blood in her veins too. That part of those legends ran in her blood too.

“You have silver hair, a lot of fae have silver hair.”

“I need to tell mum that I am a fae.”

“Yes you do.”

He went back getting dressed and wore his Stag’s jersey on top of his hoodie.

“Are you ready?”

“Yes.”

He lifted her in his arms and climbed downstairs with her screaming Go stags! at the top of her lungs.

Maya all ready and cozy in her winter coat, they left and drove into town. He had moved the car seat to his regular car the night before.

At the stadium the parking was busy. It was a big game against the Perranth wizards, the Stags biggest rival. 

“Shall we have a trip to the shop then buy something to eat?”

Maya agreed and they made their way inside the stadium amongst a sea of fans wearing the green of the stags and the red of Perranth.

“Auntie Elide supports Perranth. She says is the best team.” Rowan laughed. He remembered the discussions they used to have. Hockey was also a topic that in the Lochan household was almost taboo. Lorcan was too a fan of the Stags and the couple could argue for hours. Elide was a petite lady who could breathe fire when it came to hockey.

“We need to teach auntie Elide to support the real champions.”

“Mama thinks so too.”

He chuckled. He tried to imagine the chats in that shop of theirs. Lysandra was an Adarlan supporter but was not as vocal as Elide as her team was never in the top part of the league, so she just quietly supported the Stags to make Aedion happy.

He missed all of that. Their gatherings, their trips to watch the game. It has always been a tight group and he wondered if they were going to welcome him back in once things with Aelin settled down a bit. Lorcan had been his only regular contact due to work.

“Rowan, the pucks.”

He woke up from his thoughts and noticed that Maya had dragged him to the section with all the pucks “Which one do you want?”

Together they started browsing and he spotted the ones with the players on “do you want the one with Dorian?”

“Yes, please.”

“Let’s get you one as well with the team logo.”

Maya hugged him at his leg “thank you.”

They explored a bit more and he stopped at the booth that created custom made jerseys “Maya, would you like one with your name on?”

“Please?”

“What number do you want? 42 like Dorian?”

Twenty minutes later they were happily leaving the shop and heading for the restaurant for a pre game lunch.

Being a dad would probably break the bank soon but he did not care. He had a good job and five years to make up for. He had saving and was very low maintenance. Spoiling his girl made him happy.

Food mission accomplished they finally reached their seats. They were in the middle tier and on the net’s side. The match was such a big one that it was a miracle he had found tickets.

A moment later she climbed in his lap “I can’t see.”

A very tall man had seated in front of her. He swapped seat with her allowing Maya on his that had a clear view of the rink.

“Better?”

“Yes.”

The two teams skated inside for the warm up and Maya grew agitated. When the moments of the anthems came, she climbed on her chair and stood near her father babbling random words. He really had to teach her the proper lyrics.

First period started and she sat back down watching the game quietly and shouting when everyone shouted. It was funny because on a couple of occasions she shouted with the Perranth’s fans. He then pulled her in his lap and quietly started explainiung things to her.

The Stags’ fans erupted in outraged cries after a Perranth player cross checked Dorian from behind. In an instant a fight erupted and Rowan explained to her what happened “Is Dorian okay?”

Rowan kissed her head “Yes, baby he is fine.”

With the Perranth player sent to the sin bin for his penalty, the Stags were now in power play and not even a minute later Dorian, almost as if in revenge, shot a powerful goal in the corner of the net surprising the goalie. The stadium erupted and Maya joined in too.

Three periods later and a ferocious battle between teams, the Stags emerged victorious with a two point lead. Rowan had taken a picture of Maya standing on the chair making the victory sign with the ice rink at her back and sent it to Aelin.

“Can we go to auntie Elide?”

“You want to brag that we won?”

The smile that Maya gave him was the same that Aelin used to have when she was acting on a crazy plan of hers. 

“Okay, but we are being nice to her, okay?”

When they arrived at the store Rowan found an unexpected guest. 

“Did you just come to console your wife?”

Lorcan stared at him and then at the girl on his hand and Rowan glared at him to keep his mouth shut.

“Maya, love.” Elide ran to the girl and hugged “I will pretend that you are not wearing the colours of the enemy.”

“I am sorry you lost, auntie.”

Elide stamped a big fat kiss on the girl’s cheek “You are better than your d— Rowan and Lorcan. They are gloating a bit too much.”

“I am sorry, Elide but it was epic and Archer Finn deserved to be out for a while. He was savage tonight and clearly wanted to destroy Havilliard.”

Elide grunted something unintelligible and grabbed Maya’s hand “Let’s go and have a look at the shop and leave the boys alone.”

When they were out of earshot Lorcan let go “You got the kid?”

“Aelin is away and she left her to me.”

Lorcan groaned “But you are still pursuing the legal route, yes?”

Rowan took a deep breath “No.”

“Are you crazy? She lied, kept the kid from you, you should battle for custody.”

Rowan shook his head “I won’t. It will affect Maya too much and I don’t want to.”

“Dose she at least know?”

“No,” admitted Rowan sadness thick in his voice “Tomorrow when she comes back.”

Lorcan turned his head and watched Elide playing with Maya “Do you think that Elide wants one too?”

“You are her husband, ask her.”

Lorcan sighed “I am not sure I am father material. My childhood was… well, you know.”

Rowan patted his friend on the shoulder “talk to Elide. And if she wants a child, well would it be so bad?”

Lorcan snorted “Look at you, father for a few weeks and already whipped.”

“Lorcan, she had me the day I saw her in the streets and I realised that she might be my daughter.”

Elide and Maya made their way back and the two men fell silent “Did you get another book?”

“Yes, Elide bought it for me.”

“Did you thank her?”

“Yes, she did.” Added Elide mussing the girl’s head.

“Shall we go home?”

Maya gave another hug to Elide and then turned to Lorcan “Bye, giant man.”

Rowan took his daughter’s hand and left the shop forcing back down the desire to burst into a full belly laugh.

“Rowan, we need milk chocolate.” She reminded him on the way home, but Rowan had remembered and was already driving towards the nearest convenience store.

At home that night he counted down to the hours they would finally tell Maya the truth.

When he finally put Maya to bed, Rowan watched her sleep with a new sense of hope blossoming in his chest. 

He was going to be a dad.

Maya’s dad.

taglist

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[madamlaydebug]

FYI EVERYONE!!!

I was at Wendy's recently, I heard a guy ask for his senior discount. The girl at the register apologized and charged him less. When I asked the man what the discount was, he told me that seniors over age 55 ...get 10% off everything on the menu, every day. (But you need to ASK for your discount.)

This incident prompted me to do some research, and I came across a list of restaurants, supermarkets, department stores, travel deals and other types of offers giving various discounts with different age requirements. I was actually surprised to see how many there are and how some of them start as young as 50.

This list may not only be useful for you, but also friends and family, too.

Dunkin Donuts gives FREE coffee to people over 55. If you're paying for a cup every day, you might want to start getting it FREE.

YOU must ASK for your discount!

RESTAURANTS:

Applebee's: 15% off w/Golden Apple Card (60+)

Arby's: 10% off (55 +)

Ben & Jerry's: 10% off (60+)

Bennigan's: discount varies by location (60+)

Bob's Big Boy: discount varies by location (60+)

Boston Market: 10% off (65+)

Burger King: 10% off (60+)

Chick-Fil-A: 10% off or free small drink or coffee ( 55+)

Chili's: 10% off ( 55+)

CiCi's Pizza: 10% off (60+)

Denny's: 10% off, 20% off for AARP members ( 55 +)

Dunkin' Donuts: 10% off or free coffee ( 55+)

Einstein's Bagels: 10% off baker's dozen of bagels (60+)

Fuddrucker's: 10% off any senior platter (55+)

Gatti's Pizza: 10% off (60+)

Golden Corral: 10% off (60+)

Hardee's: $0.33 beverages everyday (65+)

IHOP: 10% off (55+)

Jack in the Box: up to 20% off (55+)

KFC: free small drink with any meal (55+)

Krispy Kreme: 10% off (50+)

Long John Silver's: various discounts at locations (55+)

McDonald's: discounts on coffee everyday (55+)

Mrs. Fields: 10% off at participating locations (60+)

Shoney's: 10% off

Sonic: 10% off or free beverage (60+)

Steak 'n Shake: 10% off every Monday & Tuesday ( 50+)

Subway: 10% off (60+)

Sweet Tomatoes: 10% off (62+)

Taco Bell : 5% off; free beverages for seniors (65+)

TCBY: 10% off (55+)

Tea Room Cafe: 10% off (50+)

Village Inn: 10% off (60+)

Waffle House: 10% off every Monday (60+)

Wendy's: 10% off ( 55 +)

Whataburger: 10% off (62+)

White Castle: 10% off (62+)

RETAIL & APPAREL :

Banana Republic: 30% off ( 50 +)

Bealls: 20% off first Tuesday of each month ( 50 +)

Belk's: 15% off first Tuesday of every month ( 55 +)

Big Lots: 30% off

Bon-Ton Department Stores: 15% off on senior discount days ( 55 +)

C.J. Banks: 10% off every Wednesday (50+)

Clarks : 10% off (62+)

Dress Barn: 20% off ( 55+)

Goodwill: 10% off one day a week (date varies by location)

Hallmark: 10% off one day a week (date varies by location)

Kmart: 40% off (Wednesdays only) (50+)

Kohl's: 15% off (60+)

Michael's: 10% off everyday (55+)

Modell's Sporting Goods: 30% off

Rite Aid: 10% off on Tuesdays & 10% off prescriptions

Ross Stores: 10% off every Tuesday ( 55+)

Salvation Army Thrift Stores: up to 50% off ( 55+)

Stein Mart: 20% off red dot/clearance items first Monday of every month ( 55 +)

GROCERY :

Albertson's: 10% off first Wednesday of each month ( 55 +)

American Discount Stores: 10% off every Monday ( 50 +)

Compare Foods Supermarket: 10% off every Wednesday (60+)

DeCicco Family Markets: 5% off every Wednesday (60+)

Food Lion: 60% off every Monday (60+)

Fry's Supermarket: free Fry's VIP Club Membership & 10% off every Monday (55 +)

Great Valu Food Store: 5% off every Tuesday (60+)

Gristedes Supermarket: 10% off every Tuesday (60+)

Harris Teeter: 5% off every Tuesday (60+)

Hy-Vee: 5% off one day a week (date varies by location)

Kroger: 10% off (date varies by location)

Morton Williams Supermarket: 5% off every Tuesday (60+)

The Plant Shed: 10% off every Tuesday (50 +)

Publix: 15% off every Wednesday (55 +)

Rogers Marketplace: 5% off every Thursday (60+)

Uncle Guiseppe's Marketplace: 15% off (62+)

TRAVEL :

Airlines:

Alaska Airlines: 50% off (65+)

American Airlines: various discounts for 50% off non-peak periods (Tuesdays - Thursdays) (62+)and up (call before booking for discount)

Continental Airlines: no initiation fee for Continental Presidents Club & special fares for select destinations

Southwest Airlines: various discounts for ages 65 and up (call before booking for discount)

United Airlines: various discounts for ages 65 and up (call before booking for discount)

U.S. Airways: various discounts for ages 65 and up (call before booking for discount)

Rail:

Amtrak: 15% off (62+)

Bus:

Greyhound: 15% off (62+)

Trailways Transportation System: various discounts for ages 50+

Car Rental:

Alamo Car Rental: up to 25% off for AARP members

Avis: up to 25% off for AARP members

Budget Rental Cars: 40% off; up to 50% off for AARP members (50+)

Dollar Rent-A-Car: 10% off ( 50+) Enterprise Rent-A-Car: 5% off for AARP members Hertz: up to 25% off for AARP members

National Rent-A-Car: up to 30% off for AARP members

Overnight Accommodations:

Holiday Inn: 20-40% off depending on location (62+)

Best Western: 40% off (55+)

Cambria Suites: 20%-30% off (60+)

Waldorf Astoria - NYC $5,000 off nightly rate for Presidential Suite (55 +)

Clarion Motels: 20%-30% off (60+)

Comfort Inn: 20%-30% off (60+)

Comfort Suites: 20%-30% off (60+)

Econo Lodge: 40% off (60+)

Hampton Inns & Suites: 40% off when booked 72 hours in advance

Hyatt Hotels: 25%-50% off (62+)

InterContinental Hotels Group: various discounts at all hotels (65+)

Mainstay Suites: 10% off with Mature Traveler's Discount (50+); 20%-30% off (60+)

Marriott Hotels: 25% off (62+)

Motel 6: Stay Free Sunday nights (60+)

Myrtle Beach Resort: 30% off (55 +)

Quality Inn: 40%-50% off (60+)

Rodeway Inn: 20%-30% off (60+)

Sleep Inn: 40% off (60+)

ACTIVITIES & ENTERTAINMENT ;:

AMC Theaters: up to 30% off ( 55 +)

Bally Total Fitness: $100 off memberships (62+)

Busch Gardens Tampa, FL: $13 off one-day tickets ( 50 +)

Carmike Cinemas: 35% off (65+)

Cinemark/Century Theaters: up to 35% off

Massage Envy - NYC 20% off all "Happy Endings" (62 +)

U.S. National Parks: $10 lifetime pass; 50% off additional services including camping (62+)

Regal Cinemas: 50% off Ripley's Believe it or Not: @ off one-day ticket ( 55 +)

SeaWorld, Orlando , FL : $3 off one-day tickets ( 50 +)

CELL PHONE DISCOUNTS :

AT&T: Special Senior Nation 200 Plan $19.99/month (65+)

Jitterbug: $10/month cell phone service ( 50 +)

Verizon Wireless: Verizon Nationwide 65 Plus Plan $29.99/month (65+).

MISCELLANEOUS:

Great Clips: $8 off hair cuts (60+)

Supercuts: $8 off haircuts (60+)

NOW, go out there and claim your discounts!! Remember YOU must ASK for discount - no ask, no discount.

I Know everyone knows someone over 50 please pass the one on!!!

COPIED AND PASTED

[offsidekineticist]

A question about Qweck! Not sure if it's helpful but here goes: as a cleric of Irori (which I'm assuming is basically a Pathfinder Buddhist) who strives for detachment and clarity of mind, does Qweck meditate regularly? Can this practice give her clarity so that she's not as unreliable a narrator at times?

Great question! So Qweck does meditate, fairly regularly, and that’s part of why she’s not as unreliable a narrator as baby Theo. The other part is that Theo specifically took her to counseling (with an Irorian priest) after he adopted her. She came from a similar situation to him, and he didn’t want her to struggle the way he did when he was young.

The reason that practice doesn't help her so much in this case is that the events of the next chapter are basically a series of incidents that challenge her perception of herself to the point that she is afraid of having that clarity of mind for fear of what she’ll see. It’s a similar but not quite the same fear to why baby Theo avoided introspection, except that in Qweck’s case it’s less a fear of discovering she is a terrible person and more a fear that she will realize she needs to let go of something she loves or considers a core part of who she is - a fear that her attachment to Theo is mutually exclusive with her commitment to Irori, for example. Part of the difficulty in writing for her is that I don't know how self-aware she is on this point - I think she knows it's fear that's holding her back, but I'm not sure that she knows specifically what she fears, and I'm currently waffling between her knowing (and thus willfully refusing to scrutinize her attachments lest she be expected to let them go) and not knowing (and thus avoiding self-care due to some amorphous fear that she papers over with excuses).

In either case, normally Qweck would talk to another priest higher in the church hierarchy about this, and they would help guide her through meditation and introspection, but she doesn't have anyone she trusts that she can go to. All the priests she knows are in other parts of Cheliax, and the one she meets in Kintargo thinks her problem is that gnomes are by nature unsuited to the priesthood of Irori. So instead she's stuck having to work through it alone, which leads to some missteps and unreliable narrator moments.

[missparker]

I'd love a "one year later" flash-forward from Giving Up on Greener Grasses!

Sharon comes home to the garage door left open and when she enters the house, there’s a faint beeping coming from the kitchen. Sharon sets her purse down on the counter and bumps the refrigerator door closed with her hip. It's finicky. If not closed firmly, it won’t catch on its own. Brenda is never great about checking.

There’s dishes in the sink, but just a fork, a plate, and a glass. Sharon doesn’t have to check the trash to know that means Brenda got takeout again. 

The trash is full, though, so Sharon closes the bag and hauls it outside to the bin and then rolls the bin to the curb. She’s coming in from an all nighter and the garbage truck doesn’t come until the next morning, but better safe than sorry. 

She washes her hands inside and clears the sink into the dishwasher. 

In the bedroom, Brenda is asleep in the bed, half her uniform on the floor and her gun on the top of the dresser. If Rusty still lived with them, Sharon would be stricter about the way they store their service weapons, but as it is, it’s not a battle she cares to wage. Hers is tucked into her purse, so she’s no saint.

Brenda lets out a snore.

A glance at the clock tells Sharon that Brenda’s alarm will go off in less than an hour, so Sharon decides not to disturb her. She instead locks herself in the bathroom to strip and shower, scrubbing the makeup off her face and washing the many layers of dry shampoo out of her hair. She towels off, puts on her robe. She’d gotten them matching monogrammed waffle spa robes for Christmas last year and while Brenda likes her, it was a selfish gift for Sharon because she wanted one too and wears it all the time.

She goes to sleep in the guest room with her wet hair and her robe.

Brenda wakes her up a few hours later, already back in uniform. Her makeup is always camera ready now since she spends so much time posing for publicity photos.

“I gotta go,” Brenda says. “I love you.”

“Love you, too,” Sharon murmurs, half asleep. This is the most they’ll see each other today, probably. It just is the way it is, now.

oooo

Sharon eats breakfast around lunch time, flipping through the LA Times and there’s a picture of Brenda on page three, looking serious as she meets with the superintendent. There’s always incidents with guns at the schools, but this time there was a school shooting so severe that three kids and a vice principal died and a dozen others were injured. Now, there’s an LAPD presence on a high school campus. Sharon’s not sure if that’s the answer, exactly, but short of sweeping legislation, it’s the best they can do in a pinch. The NRA, the PTA, and every political party is knocking on Brenda’s door about it. Sharon spends half her time fielding press inquiries not because it’s her job, but because she’s so good at it. Brenda has someone to handle her press, but Brenda doesn’t trust him much yet and so the real delicate things get booted down to Sharon.

It’s not appropriate, but Sharon keeps refusing to leave Major Crimes and so this is the compromise they’ve made. Brenda won’t forcibly promote her into a role of her choosing and Sharon will help her out, when she can.

Sharon has been toying with the idea of retirement, actually. She hasn’t told Brenda she’s been thinking about it so seriously, but since she sold the condo and moved into the house with Brenda, it’s financially doable. She doesn’t want to leave Major Crimes behind, but she’s tired and these all nighters are getting harder and harder to recover from and she’s tired of the murders. She’s seen so many dead bodies in the last ten years. 

If she was home, she could make sure the garage door got closed. She could pull the trash bins out to the curb at twilight. She could stand in the yard in a straw hat and deadhead the roses and chat with the neighbors and swim laps in the pool in the part of the day when it’s warmest. 

She could see Brenda, sometimes. The love of her life. And not just as a picture in the paper. 

Determined, she pulls out her phone and calls Brenda. It rings once and goes right to voicemail. 

She receives a text right away.

Sorry, can’t right now. Love you. LOVE YOU.

Well, if Sharon ever sees her while she’s awake again, she’ll float the idea. 

She puts her breakfast dishes in the dishwasher and heads to the bedroom to get dressed.

[your-dead-european-ancestor]

Okay my brain wont shut up about them soooo,,,

Normal Club Hc!!!!

Has a meeting every saturday and sunday (virtual or in person depends on where they are) where they discuss all the Weird Stuff their team gets up to

The meetings usually ends with them doing Weirder Stuff

They have a group chat called 'were so normal haha' filled with indistinguishable memes and vent text about their teams (or coaches lol)

Lots of inside jokes that are very cryptid. E.g. : "remember. The Waffle Incident"

"Okay but is it as bad as The Great Purge of 3:47?"

Ja nein is self destructive. Tiger has no sense of self preservation. Chuck is just trying to keep them both alive

Both chuck and tiger forgets to eat sometimes so ja nein is the one to remind them

Despite everything tiger is the most emotionally intelligent of the group. So if they have questions about team relations (or just relationships in general) they go to him

Chuck is the only one who knows how to drive a car. Tiger is the only one who knows how to ride a motorcycle. Ja nein is the only one who knows how to ride a bike. Theyre each others modes of transport<3

Somehow they all know how to drive a tank

Self deprecating jokes. And dark humor

Tiger talks like a 13 yo gamer boy. Hes slowly corrupting the others. One time chuck yelled "FUCKING LIT" when toni fell down the stairs. It was awesome

Both tiger and ja nein are in happy healthy relationships (w/ miko chen and uber respectively ofc<333) and so they like to set up chuck with random strangers they see

"Hey!! Youre very pretty!! wanna date my friend?"

"You seem cool. Are you single? Because my friend is definitely interested"

Chuck is in the background frantically shaking his head

Chuck is the mom friend

They call ja nein jane bc they think his nickname is ridiculous. Yes more ridiculous than fucking twisting tiger. Ja nein pretends to hate it but he doesnt really care either way

Tiger is gremlin insane. Ja nein is babygirl insane. Chuck is done with everyones shit (and also insane)

Both ja nein and chuck are relatively the same size and tiger likes oversized clothes anyways so they often steal and swap clothes with each other

Got matching piercings at Claire's bc thats what besties do

Ja nein is the only one allowed in the kitchen

Tiger: okay but what if-

Chuck: absolutely not

Ja nein: no no lets hear him out

Very protective of each other in a 'only i can insult, hit, kick, fight, and criticize them' kind of way

Genuinely best friends. The most ride or die friend group youll ever meet

[makima-s-most-smile]

Trigun Maximum 1 (Part 2)

*me rushing after the bookclub timeline* My brain does not work in summer heat!

*continues to waffle about the smallesT details* And I will only get worse, nyehehehe

Chapter 03: Bravo Girls!

Meryl!

Uh… Neither can a man?!? Karen, what kind of sexist logic do you have there? 

Everyone should be capable and independent, that’s how you avoid landing in abusive situations. (It also does not mean that you shouldn’t rely on people. That’s how communities work.) Knowing your worth and loving yourself is the key here.

Those who know, know -_-

This is the first time that Meryl got any lifesign from Vash for about 2,5 years. She must have thought he died until now. No wonder she is near tears. Her friend is alive! She must feel so relieved! Boyo survived whatever the fifth moon incident has been!

Oh, I immediately dislike Mr. Keele. Keele = Kill, did anyone else zoom in on the phonetic similarities?

Again! Mr. Keele is a tradesman! An Assassin! I didn’t imagine it! Somebody tell me that I didn’t imagine it when I said that Wolfwood literally advertises he’s a trained killer in Ultimate 2! Karen gives Meryl all the hints! “Yeah, I would not want to be there, even if I was you, with Mr. Keele being a killer. Y’know, the ex-elite-military-dude.” We see the penny drop on Meryl’s face!

This has to be one of the bigger cities, since it was build around a ship. But it looks so small. Like 1.000 people, maybe 2000 max. I read somewhere that like 20 Million humans of 100 Million survived the fall (correct me if I remember that incorrectly). But with such small settlements… I cannot believe that. There was surely a second Great Dying in the aftermath, but this… this is so small. And it is a big, well-established city. If Vash is able to run around without people realising who he is, there need to be more people for that anonymity. Big cities offer anonymity, small communities do not!

I like this shot of Vash. He looks like he is Batman, all brooding and watchful. Through that establishing shot, we, as readers, aren’t really surprised when Keele is busted immediately. How exactly, besides Vash being careful, I don’t know. Is it the body language? The way he carries himself and his weapons? Does he hear them talking at the reception desk?

I like this whole scene. Vash is not naive. He knows of the dangers, he knows he is still hunted down, even without the bounty.

Keele is ruthless! To get to his target, he is willing to kill innocents. The woman in the car is an innocent bystander. Vash needs to shield her with his body. While the other assassins until now also killed people, they didn’t use them to get to Vash. That’s a key difference and makes Keele so much more coldblooded.

How much pain tolerance has he? He is smiling and joking after it. Yes, he is showing pain, but he is more obsessed with making everything seem less dire. Of course, Wolfwood sees through it and gets help. I am not sure, he may even carry Vash, since it is highly stupid to let Vash lay there in the open with a fucking hitman on the lose. I wonder how Wolfwood feels when being confronted with that kind of hit man. While we know that Wolfwood is able to “easily” kill, he does not seem like a person who would use innocents to get to his target. He is too direct and honest for that. You could also use the word too ethical, but that is… *looks at the killer for hire part* Well, even professionals have standards?

I love Meryl’s cool speech, but… Keele was hired by her boss. Her boss would have known that Keele is a hit man. Even Karen commented on it. What does that say about her organisation as a whole? I want consequences for it! Be it structural changes or anything, but we never get any. Please, if you have something like this in the story, Nightow, please, do something with it. What are the consequences about this for Meryl and her job, what are the consequences for Milly? Do they report this? It would be in character for both of them! And if they don’t… SHOW IT TO US! PLEASE! What is their reasoning then!

I’d say, Keele is not without logic, but it is not insurance logic. It is the logic that the state works with in “The minority-report”. The idea of a self fulfilling prophecy is also present here, too. Though, it is unethical from the perspective that it infringes on the human’s agency. Another little thing that is important for me (and most likely for Meryl, too) is that Vash is not the disaster! Things happen to and around Vash, but he is not the one who decides to go bat-shit crazy, he runs, he flees and most importantly, he keeps the casualties low! There is no intent there! She would have put that in her reports! Keele didn’t care, her boss didn’t care. 

Can you punish someone for something he doesn’t do? It would be punishing his existence. 

Keele goes to threaten Meryl with a gun, intending to kill her. He is not only a hit man, he is a murderer. His reasoning is greed and covering his own tracks. You could say, in this chapter, he is somewhat the antithesis to Vash. Vash brings destruction without intent and does his best to avoid it. Keele kills for personal gain without care for anyone other than himself. Who is worse? The answer is easy, but somehow from a purely capitalistic view the insurance agency came to another result.

Meryl thinking back to what Karen said, but I don’t think she thinks about herself in that position. She thinks about Vash and how he is thrown into life threatening situations again and again (at least that is my interpretation) and how he cannot be happy like that. His smiling picture contrasts what they have been through together. Yes, it is a shitty position that Meryl finds herself in, but she chooses to stay at Vash’s side. And damn, that’s fucking nice of her. She is his friend. She is brave. And she has ethics!

Milly to the rescue! I love the whole framing of that pic. Her smile and then the close up that shows it is an angry one!

It’s subtle, but does Meryl help Keele to fly by tripping him? Her position changes so much from the former page. She looks so completely unimpressed by Keele. Also, isn’t it nice that people other than Vash get panty shots, too?

WHY?! You smoked Vash out! You followed him! You literally got into a life threatening situation! Why don’t you go to him? AHHHHHHHHHH

Gosh, Wolfwood is so petty. Yes, he keeps Vash’s ethical standground and does not kill his fellow hitman, but Vash never said something against torture… And I didn't get why his face is so bloody, I thought that was the sauce, but no, he skitted on his face due to Milly's hit. Dayumm.

Meryl’s reasoning reads so weird. She used the vacation to look for him, but now she says that they will deal with him through work… Is it her being shy? And Keele never got busted… Nothing changed at her workplace even though it did something so unethical. I… really don’t like this plotpoint.

Chapter 04: Hero returns

Knives! My second best worstie! New readers still don’t get to know his face! Though, this is a memory from Vash. His brother is distorted to a monstrous being, inhuman with crazy eyes and a smile with so many teeth, it is a threat. Knives is not human, but Vash, his brother, is not human, too. 

“Forgetting brings too much sorrow, remembering brings everlasting pain.” That’s grief and it makes Vash's whole being. Sure, if you forget the person you lost, your pain may be gone, but you also lose what made you you. But now, every memory is tainted with the loss. Time should heal those wounds, pain becomes bearable and now painful memories become bittersweet. But I don’t think Vash ever reached that point. Rem is still a sore spot for him, he can’t even talk about her, but she haunts every step. Every scar on his body is a sacrifice to her godhood. Vash is less his own person and more a priest to her existence. While I am sad for Vash, I also feel for Rem. If she was able to know how her son idolises her to his own detriment, she would despair.

Vash having nightmares due to trauma, confirmed.

Damn, that contrast. Wolfwood, the black smudge, between all that white space and all the coffins hanging over his head. We already know that he deals with death at this point, being a gun ho gun and all that shebang, but it also evokes something claustrophobic in me. Wolfwood watching as more and more coffins -corpses- pile up, ready to crush him under their weight. And he just stands and stares.

Wolfwood, the town gossip. “Thank heaven you asked! It’s a long story, though it is kinda a short one! Anyway-” 

Eh, the town going all Montaque and Capulet, just without the lovers and more sexual assault. Kinda sad, but that is greed working. The planet truly brings out the worst of humanity. And Vash is still able to be sad about it. Because he knows humanity can be better. And Wolfwood is his bitter, contemptuous self, not without reason. I don’t see him saying that as misanthropy, though. Wolfwood said in his introduction chapter that he has an orphanage to care about. While Vash cares about the whole of humanity, Wolfwood cares for his smaller circle and he needs to stay alive to do so. He cannot allow himself the risk. 

And damn, Vash just plainly calling him out for having secrets and Wolfwood again, not denying it and just falling silent. They know. And it hurts.

Brad!

He is 17. Why do 17 year olds in manga either look kawaii or like the worst Jojo-delinquents

His hair reminds me so much of Ryu (or Josuke mixed with Jotaro)

Damn, Brad, you are such an arrogant arsehole here. Oh, yes, the people who are trying their best to survive daily on a planet that is unable to really accommodate their needs are not the nicest around… Dude, you are living at a place that guarantees that your basic needs are taken care of. Brad lived with a priviledge that other people literally would die for. I know Brad will grow on me, but damn, his introduction is always… I wanna kick him! At least you are not as bad as ‘98 Brad.

What conversation? The one about plants? The one about having to kill to protect your close ones? Are you trying to make him understand that you, Wolfwood, need to stay alive to keep the orphanage going? Or the one about you hiding stuff? Are you going to confess? Why you are here, Wolfwood? What is it? It is open to interpretation.

But I love this! This shows what a truly honest and open dude Wolfwood truly is. Yes, he goes so easily on the defensive and, damn, he speaks in absolutes and thus can be seen as condescending. But he reaches out to Vash again and again. He literally runs after him to talk! He tries to go by Vash’s rules. He didn’t kill anyone with his fucking machine gun cross, because Vash asked him to, and that is a feat in on itself.

Oh! There is a new coat in the suitcase, too! Didn’t see that in the first readthrough.

Brad: “I don’t think we have a choice, do we? Lost technology for lost technology.” I read this in my first readthrough as Vash trading stuff with the colony, most likely because I still had the scene with Kaite in my head, where Vash just pulls out a radio in the form of a pen. But now it reads as Brad putting Vash down as a plant and dehumanising him.

No! Vash, you are the fucking gun! Yes, you have dangerous powers, but you did not pull the trigger! I know it feels like it! And damn, your body must feel foreign and hostile to you, but you did not chose this, the responsibility lies not on you, however much you put it onto yourself.

“We have no choice but to depend on him”

“The only one who cannot flee or surrender, who will even return from the dead is that nice man right there.”

Damn, that hurts. I know the doctor has a better relationship with Vash than Brad has, but it reads like they are only using him and that only because there is no other option. It mirrors how Vash treats himself.

Brad struggles with Vash seemingly being immortal and inhuman. His hissy fit kinda fits what is brewing in Wolfwood. But with the Docs explanation of Brad being a fucking brat that has a temper trantrum because his age mate Jessica has a puppy crush on Vash... He is just a fucking hormonal teenager. Brad the brat. And that makes Vash’s bout of hating his plantness immediately less dire. I love Doc. (I wanted to write like, but my hands wrote love, so love it is.)

Wolfwood can never eat in peace part two electric boogaloo. He looks so cute, squatting down and just eating XD. It is one of my favourite Wolfwood panels. He just looks so innocent and curious. Annnnd… the softness is immediately gone with his scowl returning. Interesting, how Wolfwood takes the police/army force intervening as something that can go either way and not something purely positive. We don’t see much of them in the manga anyway, so how much power do they truly have? Not enough, considering Knives is scheming in the background with the whole of the gun-ho-guns.

Also, Brad, just go away with your prejudice. I’d like to see how you would have come out living not in a safe space but a world in which you can be shot just for looking stupid.

Kinda hypocritical of Wolfwood. He wants to go away and not interfere. While that is a choice, it is a passive one. His action is nonaction. But nonaction is also an action. He wants to avoid having to make this decision of life and death. But that also tells us, the readers, that while Wolfwood is capable of doing so, he hates taking a life, he hates this part of life and himself. 

And his decision is to decide which conflict he interferes with, because his main goal is to keep the orphanage afloat. Wolfwood has to decide for himself who is worth saving and who is not. No wonder he calls himself a demon. But it is also very human.

He does not have the capacity to help everyone and if he dies here, the orphanage would suffer. His life is worth something for that very cause. While Wolfwood is right that you cannot not make a choice, he doesn’t seem to completely understand it, either. Surely, he breaks the choice down to kill or let live, but there are myriads of other choices that have to be decided before it comes to this. His choice right here is not to kill or to kill, but avoid interfering so he does not risk his own life at the detriment of the orphanage.

And Vash is… Not understanding Wolfwood or humanity. From Vash’s perspective every life is important. He cannot fathom that for some people some lives are more important than others and that alienates him from humanity. From his position it seems unimaginable for him that he does not jump into the fray to rescue the hostages. And it reads a bit patronising or judgemental that other people are unable to do so. It reads like: I can do it, why can't you? Wolfwood has a point, but Vash slaps it away by telling him it is just talk. Vash is not human here, he is far from it.

For me, this also opens up another question. Is Vash using this unconsciously to avoid Knives? By concentrating on helping the locals, he gets distracted again and again from their real goal, smoking out Knives. While Vash said that he wants to kill Knives, it goes against his ideals. Rem also died for Knives, not only humanity. And Vash still loves him, even though Knives did something unmentionable to him. Considering that Vash is also latently suicidal… is there an unconscious hope that he could die before having to meet Knives? It also makes his position of I can do it, why can't humanity do it, kinda sad. He can't imagine people wanting to live and considering staying alive a priority. 

I… just love this very interaction. It feels a bit jarring that they had such an intense argument just a page ago and now they are back to silly nillies.

Chapter 05: Dancing revolvers

Hehehehe, Baby Vash immediately wanting to eat the geranium. Geraniums are also used to repel mosquitos. How does Zazie feel about them? Do the plants smell of geraniums? Imagine Zazie meeting Knives and having to retch.

Interestingly, I mostly found geranium meaning protection and warding off evil, even as a promise to meet at a specific place. Only after a deeper search did I find the meaning of determination. Rem’s face in that scene. She takes strength from that meaning, her own determination to leave behind something or start anew. The woman has a deeply seated regret or two.

We learn later what this exactly means, but Luraude not losing a drop of sweat… HINTS! It looks like he was controlled somehow.

Vash, that can kill a person… A pacifist, you are…

Then why are you bleeding from the mouth?!

I love the framing of Vash’s shooting scene and the aftermath. How his training comes to fruition and how much of his fighting is like high level mathematics. We also don’t know why the storage is shown in the aftermath until we get the resolution of them having been shot open. 

Chapter 06: Sin

I love that framing. It shows the sin and the grief that follows it. It doesn’t show the act, it shows the victims! That makes it much more poignant for me. It is about how innocent people are forced into such situations, how much loss there is from ONE wrong act. 

And while it makes a full circle back to Wolfwood’s words and gives them much needed human context, it also opens up the idea of Wolfwood being a victim that had to take up arms, too. His expression is also important. There is no: “Gotcha! Spikey! There is not his angry stubbornness or this neutral, stoic facade that normally accompanies him trying to make Vash understand. It is just absolute sadness and, maybe (I am really bad with faces) apathy by helplessness. I like that we get a callback to the scene a few chapters beforehand, because this close up tells us a whole different story and frames Wolfwood’s position much more as a position made by need and not by want. As much as Vash cried in that scene, Wolfwood looks like someone who wants to cry, too, but has no tears left.

Wolfwood says that Vash is foolish and stubborn. He looks kinda like a devil, enjoying Vash’s plightful situation. Could it be misguided care for Vash’s survival, because Wolfwood himself had to learn the hard way how to survive? Or does he want confirmation that Vash is someone who reacts and thus is in the end human? There is the hint that there is more to Wolfwood joining Vash’s travels. Our man is sus.

There are other questions that I have as a reader. How often does Vash regret the outcome of these situations? Does he only regret those where he couldn’t save everyone? Or in which people choose to be greedy? How does he keep up his hope towards humanity after those situations? Every life is holy for him, so the life of the murderer and the life of the daughter has to be on the same level. Doesn’t how we fill our life’s make a difference? Vash needs to say no to this due to all encompassing love for humanity. And that makes him inhuman. 

I love how the panelling kinda says two completely different things. By lowering his gun, Vash takes a step back and lets the father decide how to punish his daughter’s murderer. Framing Knives in the middle could be read as Vash’s own acceptance of his hypocrisy. If he is willing to kill Knives for what he did, why should he stop the father. But it also shows Vash’s inner fight for me. He lowers the gun, while we are presented with Knives’s portrait. Vash is unsure if he even can kill Knives.

You can’t save everyone, but you should at least try. And Vash acts upon it. Not putting the father in danger by using his gun, but by trying to save the rapist with only his hands. It is about not burdening the father with being a killer. And… it is an end that makes Vash keep up his promise, but it also feels hollow. The girl was tortured to death and her killer lives. It is unfair. The father’s grief won’t lessen, he may even feel like a failure. And everything about this is just sad.

Another point for Vash being decidedly inhuman and separated from humanity. How would I feel if I saw my family that I put under my protection tear themselves apart. I look down from far above and their scuffles would seem so menial to me and I still lose family members to it, other grief and take more lives in revenge. But also, if everyone is your family, no one is. Family is that important because it is our in-group. But an in-group automatically has an out-group. Vash is ripping himself apart with his point of view.

Yeah, I would also yawn if my boo bombs up my holding cell and gets me with his cool bike. As if Vash expected Wolfwood to come to his rescue.

I like this little tidbit of Wolfwood showing empathy to the father and offering him an escape. Our boy is a softie! Even though he immediately grows defensive when Vash calls him out on it.

I also like Wolfwood stressing to Vash that Vash’s luck will someday run out. And Vash knows it. Vash knows he has been lucky til now. Wolfwood means it in a Vash’s life or the other person’s. Wolfwood wants Vash to chose his own life.

Annnnd Luraude was a puppet and no one knew. Even Vash with his supersenses didn’t sniff or hear him out. 

And I lov…hate… love… Legato. I mean, it is a planet full of bdsm-gear-wearing cowboys shooting each other up and he walks up like from a HIM concert all in a fucking iron maiden. Damn.

[tracidant]

The Muse has been active the last few days. 🙂

Writing prompt: the batfamily adopts multiple guinea pigs

Damian called an emergency Robin meeting.

"Father says I'm only allowed to have 1 guinea pig, but there are 5 total in the litter, so each of you must adopt one, so we can rescue the whole group. Before you start whining, Drake..."

"I didn't say a thing!"

Damian glared at Tim. "I shall take care of them, feed them, and clean the cages. All you have to do is say they're yours and play with them occasionally. I've already chosen tentative names, but if you wish to name yours yourself, I have a list of acceptable names from which you can choose. I have folders for each of you on proper guinea pig care, plus a picture of the ones I've chosen for you. Are there any questions?"

"Little D, what if someone doesn't want a guinea pig? Most of us don't even live here at the Manor. I don't even live in Gotham!"

Damian reached behind him and pulled out a folder. He handed it to Dick. "Grayson, this is the one I chose for you. She matches Haley's color perfectly, and I've chosen the name Mary for her to honor your mother."

Dick sighed. "Ok then. I guess Haley has a sister now."

Damian nodded at his oldest brother before turning to an excited Stephanie. "Brown, before you ask, yes. You may name yours Waffles. I have more dignified names on the list, but if I picked one of those, you would just give it a ridiculous nickname anyway. It's a boy, by the way." He handed Stephanie her folder.

"Sweet! I got a piggie named Waffles!" She opened her folder. "Oh yay! He's even got crazy hair!"

"Todd. Put your hand down. Yours is female, and you may NOT call her Pig. Creativity won't kill you. Speaking of what will, Crowbar is not an acceptable name either."

"Ouch, kid! Maybe I won't take one then."

"And maybe I have new evidence of a certain mysterious food poisoning incident at Blackgate that occurred at the same time you were a guest there a few years ago."

Jason and Damian stared at each other for a few moments.

Jason blinked first. "Fine. So what's my new pet's name?"

"Well, I know you've been rewatching 'Game of Thrones' recently, and your love of warrior women is no secret, so yours is Lady Brienne. I do have a list of other names..."

"Nah, Brienne is perfect."

"Excellent choice, Todd. Here's your folder."

"Drake, I've given a great deal of thought to the name of your guinea pig. It's a male, by the way, and I've decided on Peter Parker."

Tim was a bit taken aback and a bit suspicious too. "You named mine after Spider-Man? That's actually pretty cool. But why?"

"He reminds me of you. He's really one of the most powerful Avengers, yet he'll gladly step back to being the 'friendly, neighborhood Spider-Man' when needed. You didn't think twice about stepping back into the Robin role when I was gone, because you knew that's where you were needed."

"Wow. Thank you, Damian. I didn't realize you saw me that way." Damian nodded and handed Tim his folder.

"I'm not a child anymore, Drake. I can admit that others are better at things than I am."

"So what's your piggie's name, Damian?"

"Her name is Mademoiselle Marie, Brown. She was a leader in the French Resistance..."

"Wait, isn't that Alfred's baby mama's name?"

"Correct. Although I wouldn't refer to her by that term around Pennyworth."

A week later, the Robins got together again to put together the giant habitats for their new pets. (The empty bedroom next to Damian's was taken over for the newest members of the family.) There were two main sections, so the males and females could be kept apart, with a divider that could be removed for supervised interactions. Both sections had several water bottles, feeding stations, tubes, wheels, and sleeping areas.

Bruce and Alfred were watching the scene from the hallway.

"I know this was just Damian's way of getting all five of those guinea pigs, despite me telling him he could only have one, but at least they're working together."

"I've noticed Master Damian has been much more agreeable towards Master Timothy as well. They're actually working on a case together willingly. Perhaps five guinea pigs are a small price to pay, Master Bruce."

"Yeah, but Duke and Cassandra will be back next week, and I heard Damian mention something about a bonded pair of rabbits at the shelter."

The two men sighed. "Well, we do have plenty of extra rooms, I suppose."

[crystalninjaphoenix]

Young Summer

Paranormal Preteens AU: Episode One

A JSE Fanfic

It’s here! A new AU! Specifically, a kid!AU, where preteens fight the supernatural stuff going on in their town. In this first part, we meet Chase, who is twelve years old and just starting his summer vacation. He’s super excited! Then his mom reminds him that his cousin is going to be staying with him, and he’s less excited. But hey, at least he can still go skateboarding in the park. I’m kind of nervous about this, but I really love the idea and story I’ve got going, so I hope you guys enjoy it too! (~^-^~)

++++++++++++++++++++

Bright sunlight streamed through the bedroom window. Chase blinked open his eyes, staring at the cloudless blue sky through the glass. It was a beautiful day outside. But it seemed a little late in the day. Without rolling over or lifting his head from the pillow, he turned to look at the alarm clock on his nightstand. The blue digital numbers read 10:05 A.M.

Chase bolted upright, suddenly wide awake. It was ten o’clock already?! He was hours late for school! Why didn’t his alarm go off?! Why didn’t his mom wake him up?!

Wait.

No, he wasn’t going to be late for school.

Because today was the first day of summer vacation!

The anxiety in his stomach was instantly replaced with excitement. Chase threw aside the blankets and stood up. He practically ran over to his closet and got ready: T-shirt, shorts, and his favorite cap for good measure.

From there, he left his bedroom and headed across the hall to the bathroom, combing his hair and brushing his teeth. And then it was down the stairs, skipping some of the steps, and into the living room. He jumped over the back of the sofa, landing on its cushions, and picked up the TV remote. Summer vacation meant morning shows. And if he remembered the schedule right, he was still a half an hour early for—

“Chase? Are you up?”

Chase twisted around, looking back towards the dining room. “Yeah, Mom!” he shouted.

“Great. Come have breakfast!”

“Okay!” Chase put the remote down on the end table and stood up, tracing his steps back the way he came and walking into the kitchen/dining room.

He was immediately greeted by the smell of breakfast: the heavy scent of waffles, mixed with the sweeter one of maple syrup. His mom was standing at the counter, already dressed, using a spatula to move some waffles from the waffle maker over to plates. “I was about to come wake you up,” she said, smiling at him. “How’d you sleep?”

“Good.” Chase picked up a plate with two waffles on it and turned around to head back into the living room.

“Hey!” His mom snapped her fingers. “No waffles in the living room.”

“I’ll be careful!” Chase protested.

“I’m sure you will, but mistakes happen. We can’t have another syrup incident.” Mom pointed at the square dining room table. “Sit down. I need to talk to you, anyway. Your show and its ninja alien ghosts will still be there in ten minutes.”

“Mom, it’s ninjas and aliens and ghosts.” Chase headed back to the table, putting the waffles down and pushing the chair back against the wooden floor. “And they’re all on different shows, not the same one.”

“Right, right.” Mom took a plate of waffles for herself and set it down at the chair across from Chase. She then walked back around the counter and to the fridge. “Milk or juice?”

“Milk,” Chase replied, grabbing the syrup bottle and pouring it over his waffles.

“Got it.” Mom grabbed the milk jug and two cups, bringing them back over to the table. She poured the milk and then sat down.

Chase and his mom looked a lot like each other. Not in coloring—Chase’s brown hair was darker than his mom’s auburn, and his blue eyes were lighter than her hazel. But if you looked beyond that, you would see that they had the same face shape, the same nose and mouth, the same build (thin, but not without muscle.) Chase considered this as he sat across from her, kicking his sock-wearing feet against the legs of the nearest empty chair.

“So.” Mom began cutting up her waffles with a knife and fork. “First day of holiday, hm? Are you excited?”

“Uh-huh.” Chase nodded, speaking in between bites of breakfast. “I’m gonna do so much stuff.”

“That’s good to hear.” Mom smiled, strangely relieved. “Well. I just wanted to remind you that we’re picking up your cousin from the airport tomorrow.”

Chase stopped chewing. “Huh? Whaddyamean?”

“Don’t speak with your mouth full, Chase,” Mom said sternly. “And you know what I mean. I told you a few weeks ago. Your cousin’s coming to live with us. You know, Henrik. From Germany?”

“...oh.” Chase had forgotten about that. “Uh...how long is he gonna stay again?”

Mom gave him one of her ‘come on, Chase,’ looks. “Did you think we were making the office into a third bedroom for no reason?”

“Oh. Right.” Chase paused. “Is...that gonna be, like, his room or is it just gonna be a guest bedroom?”

“It’s going to be his room, Chase.” Mom sighed. “I can tell you’re not excited.”

“No, I...” Chase hesitated. “I just...uh...okay, I’m not excited, but...it’s not gonna suck, or anything.”

“Sounds like you think it’s going to suck.”

“Well.” Chase tried to think of a good way to say this. “I mean, Henrik is nice, he’s just, uh...he’s a nerd.”

Mom raised an eyebrow. “What’s wrong with being a nerd?”

“Nothing, it’s just that I’m not a nerd,” Chase explained. “He likes school and stuff. And he doesn’t play games or sports. I don’t think he even watches TV. So we don’t have a lot to talk about...and stuff.”

Chase didn’t know that much about Henrik or his family. Living in an entirely different country meant that they only flew in for special family gatherings. Like grandparents’ birthdays, or Christmas. Technically, Chase had last seen Henrik a couple months ago, at the family reunion. But they hadn’t spoken once. The last time Chase had really talked to him was at the Christmas party the previous year. He’d tried to get Henrik to join in on playing games with some of the older cousins. When that failed, he asked him about what he did for fun. Henrik had just...stared at him. And said something about the books he was reading. They weren’t even fun books, they were...nonfiction. And about boring stuff, like the history of German law. Or something. Chase couldn’t remember, they slipped right through his brain.

“Well, maybe you two can find something to talk about now that he’ll be staying here,” Mom said. “Or you can show him around town! That’ll open up some conversation.”

“Uh-huh.” Chase nodded, clearly not optimistic. “Uh...hey, Mom? Can you drive me to the park this afternoon? I wanna try skateboarding.”

Mom smiled. “Of course, Chase.”

++++++++++++++++++++

Chase had gotten a skateboard for his birthday back in April, but he hadn’t tried it yet. Well, beyond just pushing up and down the street to get used to it. But that didn’t count. That was just learning how to use it. He wanted to skate. And the best place to do that was the park. Well, technically, the city had two parks. But if you wanted to go to the smaller one, you said “the other park.” If you just said “the park,” it meant the bigger one: Hollewych Park, named after the city.

His mom dropped him off right at the edge. “Alright, you have your phone?”

“Yeah.” The phone was also a birthday present. Mom said that now that he was twelve, and he would start going places on his own, he needed a way to keep in contact with her.

“And your helmet and pads?”

“Mom, I’m wearing those.” The safety gear was also from Mom, though not for his birthday. Chase would’ve preferred not to wear the helmet. He didn’t like how it felt on his head. But Mom insisted.

“Just checking.” Mom chuckled. “Okay. If you decide to take the bus home instead, let me know. Otherwise you can call me when you want me to pick you up.”

“Got it.” Chase gave her a thumbs up.

“Have fun, sweets. Love you.”

“Love you too.”

And with that, Mom rolled up the car window and drove off. Chase stood on the sidewalk and watched her until the car turned a corner. Then he turned around to face the park.

Hollewych Park was pretty nice, as far as parks went. It had paved paths, a nice playground, big trees, benches everywhere, stairs with railings, and a big fountain in the middle that featured angels blowing water out of trumpets.

Chase stared at that fountain for a while. A lot of people threw wishing coins in there. Mom had given him a bunch of change for bus fare, if he wanted, but he had a few extra coins. He briefly considered throwing a quarter into the water, but then decided against it. He’d be better off using it for something more real. If he threw it in the fountain, it would just sit there. At best. At worst, it would get stolen. He knew people did that. He and his friend Chad had seen the Jackson twins scooping coins out of the water once. No, it would be better if he used the quarters for a soda or something.

Well, he’s spent enough time standing around. Time to skate. Skate or die. Skater boy. Yeah.

He started off by slowly rolling across the paved paths. These were different from sidewalks; they were cobbled. If that was the right word. Luckily, the seams between the individual stones had been pretty well-filled with cement, so it was pretty smooth. Once he was used to the feel of it, he sped up, zooming across the park. God, he loved going fast. Wind against his face. Balancing on a small board. Taking turns at high paces and feeling the momentum. It was breathtaking. Pretty soon he had a big, dumb grin on his face.

The park was fairly full today. Not crowded, but there were a good number of people. Most of them were families with little kids, crowded around the playground in the corner. He navigated away from them, going around the fountain and heading towards the other end of the park.

Okay, going fast was great. But you know what would be even better? Some sick tricks. A couple times, he’d seen some teenagers skating in the park, and they did cool stuff, like kickflips and wheelies. And, even more cool-looking, grinding. Where they skated on the edge of high surfaces.

Chase knew from watching that you could grind on just about any surface with an edge. The benches could work. So could the rim of the fountain. But the benches were short and had arms that could knock him off, and the fountain was curved. What seemed the easiest thing to grind on was the railings for the stairs. Sure, they were a bit higher, and went at a downward slope, but they were long, and without curves or obstacles.

He went in circles for a little bit, pushing with his foot to gain speed, and set his eyes on the railing. He was at the top of the stairs right now. Seemed hard to grind up a slope, though he’d seen some of the skater teens do it. But that crossed the line for him. As he stared at the railing, nerves started to creep up on him. It looked a bit higher than he thought. And though this was a shorter staircase, the rail was still pretty long. He would have to jump high and balance for a while. Could he pull that off?

Then Chase realized he was losing speed. He forcefully pushed away the nerves and got into position. A good long run-up down one of the paths, long enough to get a good jump. He lined up the board with the railing and went, pushing himself to go faster and faster. He adjusted his feet—front near the bolts, back on the tail—and cruised the last little bit. Then, when he was close enough, he bent his knees, put force down on the tail of the board, and jumped.

And almost everything that could have gone wrong went wrong.

Turns out, he was a bit too close to the railing. The front of the board hit the first pole, sending it flipping upward and hitting the back of his leg. At the same time, Chase was surprised at how high he jumped, even though he’d planned for that, and all thought instantly left his mind. His arms flailed. His body straightened. He forgot to turn to the side so the board could grind.

The one thing that went right was his alignment with the rail. He was right on it. When he jumped, he practically landed standing on the rail. Except totally off-balance. The soles of his sneakers briefly made contact with the metal railing, just enough to push him forward. He fell straight onto the railing. Luckily his instincts kicked in and he covered his chest with his arms just before hitting the metal pole, which rang out with a hollow clang! as his body hit it. The contact threw him to the side and he landed on his back—on the stairs. His helmeted head knocked against the ground, the impact ringing through his skull.

For what felt like forever, he laid there, on the stairs, feeling every ache in his body. There would be bruises on his arms and torso an hour from now. And it felt like he’s scraped his legs against the concrete stairs hard enough to draw blood. He stared up at the blue sky. The first clear thought that entered his head was that his mom was right: wear the helmet.

And then he heard a laugh.

He blinked, processing it. Then slowly turned his head to the side, where the laugh came from.

There was no one there. No one on the ground, at least. But there was a tree, and he could see the shadow of a person sitting on one of the branches. Well...more like crouching. Like Spider-Man, or something. His eyes focused on the shadow, searching for whoever was causing it...but saw nothing. There was no one there. Just the shadow of a person. The shadow raised its hand and waved. He blinked. How hard had he hit his head?

“Oh, wow, what a wipeout!”

That voice came from a different direction. And unlike the strange laugh, he recognized it. Groaning, he turned his head the other way.

Just as he suspected.

Heather Westing.

Heather was a girl in his class, one who was...well, ‘popular’ wasn’t the word. ‘Well-liked’ wasn’t even the word. What was the right word? Maybe feared? That was the best thing his brain could come up with at the moment. She didn’t look like much, with long dark hair and clothes that, Chase supposed, were fashionable for a girl. She even had freckles, much like Chase himself. Those might make her look innocent. But in reality, she was vicious.

“Did you get brain damage from that, Brody?” Heather said. “I mean, more than you already have? Are you gonna need a lobotomy? There won’t be much of a difference if you get one, anyway.”

For example: that.

Chase sat up, awkwardly getting to his feet. Everything hurt, down in his bones. Did he break one? Nah, he’d broken a bone before, he knew he’d be crying if something broke. “Hi, Heather,” he muttered.

“Oh, you remember my name! Great, so your memory isn’t as messed up as the rest of you!” Heather glanced back at the two other girls with her, and all three of them laughed. They were riding scooters, all identical except for the colors (purple, green, and pink.) Chase didn’t know the other girls. Heather seemed to get new friends every year, and these two were the latest: one with pink glasses (pink scooter), the other with curly red hair (green scooter.) Chase almost felt sorry for them. The last friends Heather always ended up as social outcasts. Something about them being “really mean” to Heather, and “making her cry regularly,” and how she and everyone else were “better off without them.” Nobody ever questioned this, for some reason.

“Good to see you, too,” Chase said, carefully staying neutral. He looked around and saw his skateboard. It landed on the hill next to the staircase. He quickly walked over and picked it up.

“Good to see me? Omg, do you have a crush on me?” Heather gasped, as did her two sidekicks. “Ohhhh, I’m so sowwy, Bwody, I don’t date losers.” Her sidekicks laughed.

“Uh-huh.” Chase tried to ignore her. He was noticing coins scattered across the ground. Darn. They must’ve fallen out of his pockets. He quickly bent down and began gathering them.

“Ha! You’re scrounging,” Heather said. “You and your mom must really need the money. You know, now that your dad’s gone back to America without you.”

Chase froze just after picking up the last quarter. He quickly stood up straight. “Wh-what?”

“Oh, everyone knows he left,” Heather continued. “My mom heard alllll about it, and she told me everything. He really didn’t want to be around you, huh? You must really suck.”

“Shut up,” Chase said weakly.

“Well I mean, look at you.” Heather gestured at him. “You suck. Your clothes are stupid, your skateboard’s stupid, and you’re wearing a stupid helmet.” She glanced down, then suddenly bent down and scooped something off the ground. “Oh, and is this your stupid phone?”

“Hey, give that back.” Chase walked towards her, hand outstretched.

Heather stepped backwards. Her sidekicks swung their scooters around to defend her. She turned Chase’s phone over in her hands. “Ohmigod, you don’t even have a smartphone? Come on, Brody. Everyone’s getting one. Does this flip open?”

“It slides open.” Chase knew it was a lame defense. He reached over the scooter defense and made a grab for his phone. “Give it back. It’s new—”

“New?!” Heather laughed. “You could’ve fooled me.” She held the phone above her head and began leaning back. “Alright. C’mon. Get it.”

Heather was a lot shorter than Chase, so raising the phone above her head wasn’t much of a defense. But she was holding it in a vice grip. Chase leaned forward, grasping for the phone, only for her to dodge all his attempts, or pull it away when he managed to get a hold. “This isn’t funny, Heather,” he said through gritted teeth.

“What’s not funny? You not having a phone or you not having a dad?”

“I said shut up!” Chase shouted.

Heather covered her mouth. She let out a fake-sounding sob. “I can’t believe you’d yell at a girl, Brody!” She wailed. “Are you going to hit me now? A big, tall guy beating up a tiny girl like me? How could you?! I can’t believe you’d do that!”

“Leave her alone!” said the red-headed sidekick.

“Yeah, leave her alone!” seconded the pink-glasses sidekick.

“I-I don’t—I wasn’t going to—” Chase stammered. “You’re—my phone—”

Heather pretended to cry, but she was smiling behind it. The sidekicks spun their scooters again, closing him into a triangle of ankle-breaking hazards. “Ohmigod, Chase Brody!” Heather said. “You really do suck! You’re stupid and mean!”

“I’m not...stupid,” Chase said slowly.

“But you’re mean?! I can’t believe you just admitted it!”

“No, I—” Chase glanced around, looking for something—anything—that could get him out of this.

And then that something appeared.

The stairs where Chase had fallen were on the corner of the park, right by one of the parking lots. Currently, there was only one car parked there: a dark green hatchback. The driver’s door of the hatchback swung open and someone walked down the stairs, approaching the group. “What’s going on here?”

Heather and her sidekicks froze, their eyes locking onto the newcomer. Chase turned around and saw a teenager standing there, wearing a red zip-up hoodie and black beanie, despite the summer heat. The teen might not have been intimidating by themself, but they were holding a digital camera: the sort that could take pictures and record videos. There was a little red light blinking near the flash, indicating the camera was recording.

“Uh...nothing,” Heather said, slowly lowering her hand. “We were just playing.”

“Mm-hmm.” The teen glared at her, clearly not falling for it.

“Well, uh, see you later, Chase,” Heather quickly said, shoving Chase’s phone at him. “We’re gonna go now. Bye!” Before Chase could answer, the three of them sped away on their scooters.

The teen sighed. They looked down at the camera, pressed a button, and the little red light disappeared. “Are you okay?” they asked, looking at Chase. “You’re kinda scraped up, and those girls looked...not...nice.”

“Yeah, uh, I’m fine.” Chase stared at the teen’s face. Was it just his head hurting, or was this guy familiar? “Uh...do I know you?”

“Oh, you probably don’t recognize me.” The teen laughed. “I-I cut my hair and stuff. Uh, you’re Chase, right? I babysat you. Back in March and April?”

“Oh yeah!” The pieces clicked into place. Chase nodded. “You’re—! You’re...uhhh...”

“Call me Jackie,” the teen said.

“Jackie! Yeah, it was a ‘juh’ name.” Chase nodded faster. “Uh, thanks, by the way.”

“No problem.” Jackie paused. “Do you...need a ride home, or anything? I mean, I don’t see your parents anywhere.”

“Mom dropped me off,” Chase explained. “And...uh...” He thought about it. He wasn’t dumb enough to go anywhere with a stranger. But his mom knew Jackie. She’d been the one to hire them to babysit. And he had his phone, he could call or text-message her if anything went wrong. In the end, it probably wasn’t any different than taking the bus. “Sure.”

“Alright.” Jackie gave him a small smile. “I think I still remember your address. Or I can drop you off somewhere else, if you’d prefer.”

“No, home is good.” Chase headed up the stairs towards the parking lot and its singular car.

“Got it.” Jackie followed him, slipping their digital camera into their hoodie pocket. They opened the passenger side door, letting Chase hop in, and then walked around and got in the driver’s side.

“I like your car,” Chase said, looking around the dark beige interior. “It’s cool.”

“Thanks, but it’s actually my dad’s car,” Jackie explained. “He just lets me use it. Eventually I’m gonna get my own, I just need a job.” They paused to start the car, turning the keys. The engine rumbled to life. “Oh, sorry, that’s probably boring. Hey, do you want to pick the music? There are some CDs in the glove compartment. Just don’t touch the ones on the right side, those are my dad’s.”

“Uh, sure.” Chase leaned forward against the seat belt and opened up the glove compartment. Sure enough, there was a line of CD cases inside. A spare piece of paper was slipped into the line, dividing the CDs into two sections, with the left side being smaller. Chase pushed aside some random envelopes and began looking at the front of the cases. He didn’t recognize any of these. Eventually he decided on one. The cover was weird—blue, featuring a crescent moon, an open door, and a goat with wings. He wondered what the heck was on this. “Here.”

“Thanks.” Jackie took the offered CD, looked at it, and laughed. “You have good taste, little man.” They ejected the CD already in the player—stopping in the middle of a sad-sounding song about September—and put the new disk in. They put the old one into a blank case and slid it into the gap between the car ceiling and the visor. “Alright, let’s head out. Oh, wait! Should I call your mom, or...?”

“No, I’ll send her a text message.” Chase was already sliding open his phone in anticipation.

“Great.”

They drove in silence for a while while Chase messaged his mom. She seemed a bit confused about who Jackie was at first, but then remembered once Chase told her that they were the same guy who watched him back in March and April. Alright, sweets, just let me know if you need anything else! :-), she messaged.

Chase put his phone away and turned to look at Jackie. “Hey, how old are you?”

“I’m almost sixteen,” Jackie replied. “My birthday’s coming up soon.”

“Is that old enough to drive?” Chase asked, narrowing his eyes.

“Don’t worry, I have a learner’s permit,” Jackie reassured him.

“Oh, okay.” Silence fell for a while more. Then Chase asked, “Hey, are you a boy or a girl?”

Jackie laughed, not taking their eyes off the road. “I’m a boy, thanks for asking. What about you?”

“Huh. No one’s ever asked me that before. But I’m a boy, too.” Another moment of silence. “Can I have your phone number?” Chase suddenly blurted out.

“What the—?!” It’s a good thing they were stopped at a red light, otherwise Jackie might’ve suddenly jerked the wheel in surprise. “Why?” He asked, looking over at Chase.

“I need more people in my phone contacts,” Chase explained. “Right now I just have Mom and Dad. I wanted to add my friend Chad so we could talk while he was at camp, but he doesn’t have a phone yet. I was just thinking that I don’t know a lot of people who can drive, and maybe if Mom’s too busy to take me somewhere I can ask you.”

Jackie laughed. “So you want a free ride?”

“Um...will you give me your phone number if I say yes?”

“Sure, dude. Let’s just wait until you’re back home, okay? Not supposed to do stuff with your hands while you drive.”

Chase grinned. “Alright. Thanks.”

Well, he left the park with scrapes and bruises, but at least he met someone cool.

++++++++++++++++++++

The next day, Chase once again found himself sitting in the passenger seat of a car. Except this time it wasn’t as cool. For one, it was his mom’s car, and his mom in the driver’s seat. For another, they were going to the airport. To pick up his cousin. Despite his insistence yesterday that this “wouldn’t suck,” Chase couldn’t help the sinking feeling in his stomach. He didn’t hate his cousin. Really. But he wasn’t looking forward to this.

“Okay, here we are.” Mom pulled into the pick-up section at the city’s small local airport. Hardly any planes landed here. Most of them were diverted to the larger hub in the big city. So that meant there was almost nobody at the pick-up section. Mom pulled right up to the curb and parked. “They should be—ah, right there!”

Sitting on one of the airport’s uncomfortable cement benches was a small boy with brown hair. His round glasses magnified his blue eyes, which were the same color as the sweater he was wearing. He clutched a backpack to his chest. A woman in a dark suit was sitting on the bench next to him. There were about three suitcases stacked next to the two of them. Did he really need that many?

“Do you want to go out or wait in the car?” Mom asked.

“I’ll wait,” Chase said, picking at a loose thread in his shorts.

Mom looked a bit disappointed, but she wasn’t surprised. “Alright. I’ll have to do some grown-up talk for a while, so it’ll be a few minutes.” And with that, she stepped out of the car, closing the door behind her.

Chase watched as Mom walked up to the bench. The woman in the suit stood up, and they shook hands. Who was that lady, anyway? Chase knew she wasn’t Aunt Maggie. She had brown hair, while this woman was blonde. Maybe she worked for the airport or something?

He watched the adults talk for a moment, then looked back at Henrik. Only to realize that Henrik had been looking at him the whole time. The moment they made eye contact, Henrik looked away. Huh.

A couple minutes later, Mom turned her attention to Henrik, crouching down so they could be at eye level. She asked him some questions that Chase couldn’t hear, and he responded with some equally unknowable answers. Then Mom pointed at the car—at him—and said something, smiling. Henrik nodded and stood up, hurrying over to the car. He opened the back door and climbed inside, sitting in the middle of the back seat.

Chase twisted, looking around his seat into the back. “Uh...hi.”

“Hallo,” Henrik replied.

“Sooo...you’re gonna be staying with us,” Chase said. It wasn’t a question, just a statement.

“Ja.” Henrik looked down, playing with the zipper of his backpack.

“Yeah.” Chase nodded. “Uh. What’s in your backpack?”

“I had some books and I read them on the flight,” Henrik said.

“Oh. Cool.”

Neither of them said anything more. After a while, Chase turned back around.

Outside, Mom and the other woman were putting the suitcases in the car’s trunk. Once that was done, Mom talked with the woman for a while more, and then got into the car again. “Alright, here we are!” She said cheerfully. “We’ll be heading home now. It’s still morning, so you have all day to settle in and get used to your room, Henrik.”

“Alright,” Henrik said.

“Great. Remember to put your seatbelt on. Oh, by the way, the one in the middle only has the bottom part. If you want the top part, too, you should move to one of the sides.”

“Do I...need to use the top part?” Henrik asked, sounding nervous.

“No, it should still be safe,” Mom reassured him. “But if you feel better with both parts, be sure to move.”

Henrik hesitated. “I will...can I just stay here?”

“Of course. Now, can you put your seatbelt on?”

Henrik nodded, buckling his seatbelt. Chase didn’t blame him for not moving to the side. Judging by how tall Henrik was, the top part of the seatbelt would probably dig into his neck or chin. That might be more dangerous than not having the seatbelt at all.

“Thank you.” Mom put the car into drive and headed out. “Now, I had an idea. Tomorrow, we can go get ice cream! Chase and I know this great local place called Zelly’s that we can show you.”

Chase perked up. “We’re going to Zelly’s tomorrow?!”

“If Henrik wants to, yes,” Mom said patiently.

“Oh. Ahm...” Henrik paused. “That sounds nice.”

“Yes!” Chase punched the air, the sudden movement causing Henrik to jump. “Cherry Coke Float! Here I come!”

Mom laughed. “Glad you’re excited. But we’re going home first.”

It was a pretty long drive. The whole time, Mom kept talking to Henrik, asking him how the flight was, what he did on the way, oh what books were you reading?, that sounds really interesting!, do you like those kind of books?, we can buy you some more if you need any...and so on. Chase leaned his head against the car window and watched the fences pass by, imagining someone was running as fast as the car and dragging a paintbrush along the fences to make a wavy design.

When they got home, Mom had Chase help carry in the suitcases. He didn’t really mind, since most had wheels, but it did bother him a little that Henrik didn’t have to carry anything except his backpack. The three of them walked through the front door, and Mom made a grand sweeping gesture, as if showing off their living room. “And here we are!” she said. “It’s not much, but it’s home. This is the living room, we have the closet here, then the kitchen and dining room are through there. The bathroom’s the other way, and here are the stairs. Do you want to go upstairs and put your things in your bedroom, or do you want to wait?”

“Ahm...” Henrik looked around the living room. Chase watched his eyes dart around behind those big round glasses. “Can we go upstairs?”

“Yep. Come on, Chase, let’s carry this stuff up there.”

The second floor of the house was smaller than the ground floor, but still had room for three rooms and a bathroom. A few months ago, those rooms had been two bedrooms and an office. But a few weeks ago, Mom had moved all the office stuff into her room and set up a third bedroom in there that was the same size as Chase’s—if not slightly bigger. The bedroom had very basic furniture: bed, wardrobe (because there wasn’t a built-in closet), dresser, a nightstand, and a bookshelf. “Here we are,” Mom said, pushing open the door. “Sorry it’s so empty. I thought you’d prefer to decorate it yourself.”

“Oh. Thank you.” Henrik walked into the bedroom, stopping in the middle and turning around. He still held the backpack to his chest.

“Blue is your favorite color, right?” Mom said. “I hope you like the paint and blankets. We can change those if you want.”

“No, no, they are nice. I do like blue.” Henrik nodded. “Blue is a calming color. It reminds people of the sky, or water. It is said that the color blue helps people think in strategy, and outside of the box.”

“Huh. I didn’t know that.” Mom tilted her head thoughtfully. “Chase, did you know that?”

“Uh...no,” Chase said. He kicked at the carpet. It was short and rough. Good for an office, not so much for a bedroom. He wondered if Henrik would want a rug. “That’s cool, I guess.”

A pause. “Chase’s favorite color is yellow,” Mom suddenly said. “Right, Chase?”

“What? Oh, uh, yeah. I like yellow and orange.”

Henrik nodded.  “Yellow is a happy color. Our eyes are adjusted for yellow light because the sun is yellow. So that is why yellow and orange and red catch our eyes fastest.”

“Really? Uh...that’s cool, too.” Chase nodded. “Hey, do you...Where do you want me to put your suitcase?”

“Was? Ah.” Henrik looked around. “I do not know. I suppose...there?” He pointed to a spot by the dresser.

“You ‘suppose,’” Chase repeated under his breath, dragging the suitcase across the room over to the dresser, where he instantly let go of the handle. He then hurried back to the doorway and resumed standing there.

Mom walked over and put the suitcases she was carrying next to the one Chase dropped. “There.” She smiled. “Alright, Henrik, what do you want to do now? Do you want to unpack or do that later?”

“Ahm...can I unpack now?”

“Of course. Take all the time you need, feel free to stay in here and get used to it. Or you can come downstairs and hang out in the living room. Or you can ask me or Chase for anything, if you have any questions or anything else you want to do. But just so you know, we’re having dinner at six o’clock. There’s a clock in the hallway if you lose track of time. I’ll also let you know when it’s dinnertime. Okay?”

“Okay,” Henrik repeated, and went over to sit on the edge of the bed.

“Great.” Mom slowly backed out of the room. “Do you want the door closed or open?”

“...open,” Henrik said slowly.

“Alright. Remember, you can come find me for anything. I’ll see you at dinner, if not before.” Mom waved, and disappeared down the hallway, heading to her room. Chase stood in the doorway for a moment more. He stared at Henrik. Henrik stared back. Then he turned and left, also going to his room.

He closed the door behind him and flopped onto his bed, landing on his back. That turned out to be a bad idea, as he landed right on his bruises from yesterday. “Ow!” He quickly turned over onto his side, staring out his bedroom window.

He hadn’t had plans for the summer. Not exactly. But he’d had expectations. And none of them included a cousin staying for summer vacation. Sure, it probably wouldn’t change too much. But he knew Mom was going to keep pushing them together. That alone would be a big chunk of his free time gone.

Maybe he was being too pessimistic. Maybe this wouldn’t turn out so bad. But as he rolled back onto his back and stared at the distant ceiling, he thought about how everything was changing, and he felt a little empty inside.

“It’s going to be fine,” he said out loud. “Summer’s gonna be great.”

As he said that, he thought he heard someone laugh. He looked around, but there was nothing. He was alone.

[daviddex]

Checks this out senoirs .

I was waiting in line behind an older gentleman at Wendy's recently,I heard him ask for his senior discount. The girl at the register apologized and charged him less. When I asked the man what the discount was, he told me that seniors over age 55 ...get 10% off everything on the menu, every day. (But you need to ASK for your discount.)

Being of 'that' age myself, I figured I might as well ask for the discount too.

this incident prompted me to do some research, and I came across a list of restaurants, supermarkets, department stores, travel deals and other types of offers giving various discounts with different age requirements. I was actually surprised to see how many there are and howsome of them start at the young age of 50 .

This list may not only be useful for you, but for your friends and family too.

Dunkin Donuts gives free coffee to people over 55 .

If you're paying for a cup every day, you might want to start getting it for FREE.

YOU must ASK for your discount !

RESTAURANTS:

Applebee's: 15% off with Golden Apple Card (60+)

Arby's: 10% off ( 55 +)

Ben & Jerry's: 10% off (60+)

Bennigan's: discount varies by location (60+)

Bob's Big Boy: discount varies by location (60+)

Boston Market: 10% off (65+)

Burger King: 10% off (60+)

Chick-Fil-A: 10% off or free small drink or coffee ( 55+)

Chili's: 10% off ( 55+)

CiCi's Pizza: 10% off (60+)

Denny's: 10% off, 20% off for AARP members ( 55 +)

Dunkin' Donuts: 10% off or free coffee ( 55+)

Einstein's Bagels: 10% off baker's dozen of bagels (60+)

Fuddrucker's: 10% off any senior platter ( 55+)

Gatti's Pizza: 10% off (60+)

Golden Corral: 10% off (60+)

Hardee's: $0.33 beverages everyday (65+)

IHOP: 10% off ( 55+)

Jack in the Box: up to 20% off ( 55+)

KFC: free small drink with any meal ( 55+)

Krispy Kreme: 10% off ( 50+)

Long John Silver's: various discounts at locations ( 55+)

McDonald's: discounts on coffee everyday ( 55+)

Mrs. Fields: 10% off at participating locations (60+)

Shoney's: 10% off

Sonic: 10% off or free beverage (60+)

Steak 'n Shake: 10% off every Monday & Tuesday ( 50+)

Subway: 10% off (60+)

Sweet Tomatoes: 10% off (62+)

Taco Bell : 5% off; free beverages for seniors (65+)

TCBY: 10% off ( 55+)

Tea Room Cafe: 10% off ( 50+)

Village Inn: 10% off (60+)

Waffle House: 10% off every Monday (60+)

Wendy's: 10% off ( 55 +)

Whataburger: 10% off (62+)

White Castle: 10% off (62+) This is for me ... if I ever see one again.

RETAIL & APPAREL :

Banana Republic: 30% off ( 50 +)

Bealls: 20% off first Tuesday of each month ( 50 +)

Belk's: 15% off first Tuesday of every month ( 55 +)

Big Lots: 30% off

Bon-Ton Department Stores: 15% off on senior discount days ( 55 +)

C.J. Banks: 10% off every Wednesday (50+)

Clarks : 10% off (62+)

Dress Barn: 20% off ( 55+)

Goodwill: 10% off one day a week (date varies by location)

Hallmark: 10% off one day a week (date varies by location)

Kmart: 40% off (Wednesdays only) ( 50+)

Kohl's: 15% off (60+)Modell's Sporting Goods: 30% off

Rite Aid: 10% off on Tuesdays & 10% off prescriptions

Ross Stores: 10% off every Tuesday ( 55+)

The Salvation Army Thrift Stores: up to 50% off ( 55+)

Stein Mart: 20% off red dot/clearance items first Monday of every month ( 55 +)

GROCERY :

Albertson's: 10% off first Wednesday of each month ( 55 +)

American Discount Stores: 10% off every Monday ( 50 +)

Compare Foods Supermarket: 10% off every Wednesday (60+)

DeCicco Family Markets: 5% off every Wednesday (60+)

Food Lion: 60% off every Monday (60+)

Fry's Supermarket: free Fry's VIP Club Membership & 10% off every Monday ( 55 +)

Great Valu Food Store: 5% off every Tuesday (60+)

Gristedes Supermarket: 10% off every Tuesday (60+)

Harris Teeter: 5% off every Tuesday (60+)

Hy-Vee: 5% off one day a week (date varies by location)

Kroger: 10% off (date varies by location)

Morton Williams Supermarket: 5% off every Tuesday (60+)

The Plant Shed: 10% off every Tuesday ( 50 +)

Publix: 15% off every Wednesday ( 55 +)

Rogers Marketplace: 5% off every Thursday (60+)

Uncle Guiseppe's Marketplace: 15% off (62+)

TRAVEL :

Airlines:

Alaska Airlines: 50% off (65+)

American Airlines: various discounts for 50% off non-peak periods (Tuesdays - Thursdays) (62+)and up (call before booking for discount)

Continental Airlines: no initiation fee for Continental Presidents Club & special fares for select destinations

Southwest Airlines: various discounts for ages 65 and up (call before booking for discount)

United Airlines: various discounts for ages 65 and up (call before booking for discount)

U.S. Airways: various discounts for ages 65 and up (call before booking for discount)

Rail:

Amtrak: 15% off (62+)

Bus:

Greyhound: 15% off (62+)

Trailways Transportation System: various discounts for ages 50+

Car Rental:

Alamo Car Rental: up to 25% off for AARP members

Avis: up to 25% off for AARP members

Budget Rental Cars: 40% off; up to 50% off for AARP members ( 50+)

Dollar Rent-A-Car: 10% off ( 50+) Enterprise Rent-A-Car: 5% off for AARP members Hertz: up to 25% off for AARP members

National Rent-A-Car: up to 30% off for AARP members

Overnight Accommodations:

Holiday Inn: 20-40% off depending on location (62+)

Best Western: 40% off (55+)

Cambria Suites: 20%-30% off (60+)

Waldorf Astoria - NYC $5,000 off nightly rate for Presidential Suite (55 +)

Clarion Motels: 20%-30% off (60+)

Comfort Inn: 20%-30% off (60+)

Comfort Suites: 20%-30% off (60+)

Econo Lodge: 40% off (60+)

Hampton Inns & Suites: 40% off when booked 72 hours in advance

Hyatt Hotels: 25%-50% off (62+)

InterContinental Hotels Group: various discounts at all hotels (65+)

Mainstay Suites: 10% off with Mature Traveler's Discount (50+); 20%-30% off (60+)

Marriott Hotels: 25% off (62+)

Motel 6: Stay Free Sunday nights (60+)

Myrtle Beach Resort: 30% off ( 55 +)

Quality Inn: 40%-50% off (60+)

Rodeway Inn: 20%-30% off (60+)

Sleep Inn: 40% off (60+)

ACTIVITIES & ENTERTAINMENT ;:

AMC Theaters: up to 30% off ( 55 +)

Bally Total Fitness: $100 off memberships (62+)

Busch Gardens Tampa, FL: $13 off one-day tickets ( 50 +)

Carmike Cinemas: 35% off (65+)

Cinemark/Century Theaters: up to 35% off

Massage Envy - NYC 20% off all "Happy Endings" (62 +)

U.S. National Parks: $10 lifetime pass; 50% off additional services including camping (62+)

Regal Cinemas: 50% off Ripley's Believe it or Not: @ off one-day ticket ( 55 +)

SeaWorld, Orlando , FL : $3 off one-day tickets ( 50 +)

CELL PHONE DISCOUNTS :

AT&T: Special Senior Nation 200 Plan $19.99/month (65+)

Jitterbug: $10/month cell phone service ( 50 +)

Verizon Wireless: Verizon Nationwide 65 Plus Plan $29.99/month (65+).

MISCELLANEOUS:

Great Clips: $8 off hair cuts (60+)

Supercuts: $8 off haircuts (60+)

NOW, go out there and claim your discounts - - and remember -- YOU must ASK for discount ---- no ask, no discount.

I Know everyone knows someone over 50 please pass the one on!!!!!

[shadowfromthestarlight]

I had such a first-world-problem-filled day. 

I woke up at 6AM from a stress dream. I’ve lived such a privileged life that has afforded me so many opportunities to travel that my default stress dream is running around an airport like a chicken with its head cut off. 

I somewhat enjoyed my early morning scrolling through my phone, showering, and making breakfast. I had a great banana waffle. I also tried to fix an issue with my printer before I left (I didn’t, and got annoyed, but I had to leave for work). I took a late-ish train to try to avoid crowds. I stopped to get something at the Juice Press in the station before getting on the subway. While waiting for the subway, I thought there was no rush, so I waited for the next train to come rather than try to shove in with a bunch of other people. It occurred to me at 9:08, when I was on the subway downtown, that I was supposed to be in a continued hearing. I’d completely spaced on it. I checked my email to see if the hearing officer was demanding to know where I was. Instead, I found out that the hearing had started a bit late anyway, and I emailed to say I was so sorry and would be logging on shortly. I signed on as soon as I got into the office at 9:15, to find that the hearing officer and opposing counsel were having a leisurely conversation, which lasted several more minutes before I was asked to call my next witness. The hearing went forward without incident.

Later, I went uptown to take a tour of a school I work with and meet with the program director, and did work on the subway. When I got back, I submitted one brief due by 5PM. Then I stepped out to try to pick up my box of farm products (raw milk, eggs, etc.) that I pick up on Wednesdays. I missed the dropoff by a minute, called the dropoff team, and had them leave it at their next location. Not the end of the world, but it meant that I’d wasted a bit of time trying to pick it up, and I had to scramble to finish my next brief that was due that night, then leave the office to get the box and bring it home so that I didn’t leave the products outside for too long. After submitting the brief, I left the office, took the subway to the location in midtown, and found the box. It started drizzling. I had to then walk between stations when I got off the subway as I was on a different line than I normally take. Which was dumb, because it started raining harder as I was walking. And I had to walk through Times Square, which is a headache on a good day. By the time I got to Grand Central, the train I was scheduled to take should have been at the platform, but it wasn’t. So I waited along with everyone else on the hot, noisy platform, until we got an announcement that our track had changed. So I had to haul my box to a different platform, and squish in next to someone else with my box and backpack and everything. When I got off the train, it felt like March outside, not May. 

But! then I got to go home and bump noses with my cat and open up my box! So the day was not a total loss, I just felt like a fool for much of it.