#and other new englanders talkin about it

[trans-rights-adam-jensen]

I like how the fandom has unspokenly, collectively decided that Pritchard's family sucks. Like we all took one look at that man and that he's from New Hampshire and went "oh god yeah that is a queer man who is not on speaking terms with his relatives"

[writeforfandoms]

Born for Greatness 5

Find the series masterlist 

In which Logan makes his grand entrance (and there is a lot less bloodshed than most of you seem prepped for). Some discussions are had. 

Side note: JTF2 is a Canadian special forces unit. Also, I’m thinking of writing a side chapter that is just Logan and the 141 pack. Thoughts? 

Warnings: Swearing, Logan is a jerk, Price needs a warning label, world building, shifter behavior, pack cuddles. 

Word count: 2.2k

Eventual John Price x f!reader

The plane landed back in England and you leaned back a bit, watching the pack. Soap was glued to one side of you, Gaz napping on your other side. Price was watching all three of you, something undeniably soft in his gaze. 

You hadn't forgotten about Logan, but you hadn't expected him to find you so bloody fast. 

You got to put your things down in your room, at least, before Price was knocking on your door, expression thunderous. 

"Who did you tell about this base?" He asked in a low snarl. 

"No one," you snapped, frowning. "Signed too damn many NDAs to tell anyone." 

"Then why do you have a visitor at the gate?" 

You froze. "Oh hell," you breathed. "That bastard!" You stepped around Price and took off towards the gate, barely paying attention as the pack all gathered behind you. 

Sure enough, Logan stood on the other side of the gate, smirking, all 5’6” of him in jeans and a flannel, duffel bag dropped at his side. But his hair was a little shorter than the last time you’d seen him, and his beard was nicely trimmed. 

“I told you not to come,” you growled, ignoring the gate guard and striding straight up to Logan. 

“Good to see you too, kid.” His smirk widened as he looked past you. “That them?”

You finally turned to find the pack had followed you and had settled into a loose cluster behind you. You hissed out a breath. 

“It doesn’t matter because you are going home.”

“Aw, but I came all the way out here just for you, kid.” Logan’s grin reached shit-eating proportions. 

“You are not supposed to be here,” you growled, narrowing your eyes at Logan. “And I don’t just mean because I told you not to.”

“Been here once before.” Logan shrugged, crossing his arms over his chest. “Seen him before, too.” He nodded to Ghost. When you turned to look, Ghost returned the nod. 

“...What?” You felt like he’d pulled a rug from under you. 

“Few years back,” Logan said, tipping his head as he looked up at the bigger shifter. “You lot needed help finding someone.”

“Right.” Ghost huffed what might have been a laugh. “Good to see you again.” 

“When was this?” You frowned a little as you looked at Logan. 

“You were down south,” he said, scratching his chin slowly. “The pack in Ohio, I think it was.” 

“And you worked together?” Price looked at Ghost to confirm. 

“Joint op with JTF2,” Ghost confirmed with a solid nod. 

Soap whistled lowly. “Now that’s not easy to get into,” he said, looking at Logan with new respect. 

“Mmhm.” Logan grinned. “Now, you gonna invite me onto base, or we gonna shoot the shit out here?” 

You hung your head with a low groan before you looked back at Price. It was his call, his territory. 

Price clenched his jaw briefly but nodded. “Be welcome on my territory.” 

“Gonna introduce me?” Logan drawled, one finger hooking through your belt loop before you could escape.

You looked up at the sky for a moment. Looked like rain. You wouldn’t mind a good soak right then. “Logan, that is Alpha Price, Ghost you apparently know, and those two are Soap and Gaz. This is Logan, the longest-running pain in my ass.” 

“Say, you wouldn’t happen to be her wolverine friend, would you?” Gaz stepped closer, eyes bright with curiosity.

“Talkin’ about me, kid?” Logan smirked, looking far too amused. 

“I hate you,” you grumbled, hunching your shoulders. “I’m gonna go find something tall to throw myself off of now.”

“Good luck, have fun.” 

You gave up, jogging ahead to catch up to Price as the other three hung back with Logan. “I swear I didn’t ask him to come here, or tell him where I even was.”

“I know,” Price murmured soothingly. One hand touched yours. “If he’s JTF2, he’s got his own resources.”

“He’s quasi-retired. Which I’m sure is why he was able to drop everything and fly out here.” You rubbed a hand over your face. You should never have called him. 

“Hey.” Price’s hand fit warm over the back of your neck. “You’re fine. Don’t stress about it.”

You sighed, some of the tension running out of your shoulders. “Yeah, alright.” You drew in a deep breath. “So, what’s on the agenda for today?”

Price shrugged, his thumb gently smoothing over the back of your neck. “Today’s an off day since we just got back. I’ll probably be working on paperwork, but they’re free to do whatever they want.”

“Right.” You pursed your lips. You could find places to hide on base and be out of the way. “I’ll stop bothering you, then.”

“Not bothering me.” He glanced at you, eyes dark, hand squeezing the back of your neck lightly. “Stop worrying.”

“It is literally my job to worry.” 

“Then maybe you need a day off.” He stopped outside one of the buildings, hand shifting just a little lower to squeeze again. Your eyes slid half-closed in pleasure, and his lips quirked. “You know where my office is?”

“Nope.” You blinked slowly at him.

“Ask one of them. I’ll be there all day if you need anything.” He ducked his head a little to meet your eyes for a moment before he released you and walked away. 

You blinked after him and then turned to find four shifters all watching you curiously. You warmed and flapped your hands at them. “Shoo, you hooligans. Go cause chaos somewhere else.” And you promptly fled. 

You ended up on top of the barracks (and briefly told yourself to talk to someone about this habit of going high places when in distress). The sky was still threatening rain, but so far activity on the base hadn’t ceased. 

Soft swearing made you finally look away from the view, spotting Logan climbing up onto the roof. He shot a mistrustful look at the sky before he walked over and sat next to you.

“So?”

“So what?” you asked, looking back out over the base.

“You like them.” He nudged you, just once. 

You blew out a sigh. You could try to lie, or deflect. But it wouldn’t work for long. Logan knew all your tells. “I do.” 

“So make it work.”

“It’s not that simple.” 

“It’s never that simple.” Logan snorted. “Doesn’t mean I’m wrong.”

You glowered at him and then gave up, sighing and looking away again. “I don’t think it’s a good idea. Besides, I have no idea how they feel.”

“Don’t you?” Logan looped his arm over your shoulders, pulling you into his side. “Or are you just ignoring signals?”

“Stop being so damn perceptive,” you growled. 

“Well, no snowbanks to throw you into here,” Logan rumbled. “This is my next best bet.”

You groaned. “You’re a menace.”

“And you’re stubborn, makes us even.” 

The first fat drop of rain landed right on top of your head, followed immediately by one landing on your nose. 

“Aw, fuck,” Logan grumbled. “Weather here is still shit.” 

You snorted, getting to your feet. “You live in Canada.”

“And?”

“You have snow at least half the year!”

“Snow is easy. This is just wet.” Logan motioned you to go down first, keeping a close eye on you. You got down to the ground with no issues and moved out of the way so Logan could get down too, grimacing at the pull of wet clothes. It had gone from threatening to downpour in less than a minute. 

“Did they give you a room yet?” you asked, jogging to the door to the barracks and heading inside.

“Nah, mentioned something about it.” Logan shrugged, unconcerned, following you. 

“Guess we’re going back to mine, then.” You led the way, unlocking the door and letting him in first. Not that there was much to see. 

“You don’t travel with any pictures?” He frowned a little, gaze darting around the room. 

“No. Usually I try to give my full attention to the pack I’m working with.” You pulled out a clean top and dry sweatpants. “Besides, I talk to people almost every day.”

Logan grumbled, displeased, but changed as well. His duffel bag had been left in your room, although you weren’t sure if it was a joke, an easy place to put it temporarily, or because someone had assumed something about the nature of your relationship. 

With the both of you in dry clothes, you debated what else to do now. You hadn’t exactly come equipped to entertain, after all. 

A knock on your door made you blink, but you pulled it open to see Soap and Gaz. 

“Movie day?” Gaz asked with a hopeful smile. 

“Alright,” you agreed. “You okay if he tags along? He gets bored on his own.” You jerked a thumb back over your shoulder at Logan. 

“Watch it, kid,” he grumbled without any heat. 

“Sure.” Soap grinned. “More the merrier. I’ll drag LT in later.”

You snorted softly but followed Gaz to the rec room. Soap and Gaz immediately ensconced you between them on the couch, and Logan chuckled as he settled in a chair. 

“You two are menaces,” you said without heat, letting Gaz spread a blanket over the three of you. But you forced yourself to look at them a little more closely, to actually note how they behaved and their body language. While neither of them really fussed, they both paid attention to you, and to have you squished between them like this? This was a definite sign of favor, of acceptance, only enhanced by how relaxed they both were with you. 

Almost reflexively, you wanted to pull away, to hide. To protect yourself from the inevitable hurt. But you forced yourself to pause, to breathe through it. You relaxed back into the couch, breathing slowly. 

Soap made a pleased noise and cuddled in closer to you. Touch was important to pack, and cuddle times like this, or even sleeping together in a pile, was not unusual. But it also was another sign that he wanted you here.

Maybe even for longer than just this job. 

You met Logan’s eyes across the room, knowing you were showing your internal struggle. He just smiled a little, almost the softest expression you’d ever seen on his face, and very intentionally closed his eyes. One of the biggest signs of trust from a shifter. 

You swallowed hard and relaxed between Gaz and Soap, warm and comfortable and comforted. 

Sometime after the first movie, Ghost settled in the room. In a chair, of course, away from the pile of you on the couch. Gaz freed himself enough to start texting someone rapidly, glancing at you a few times. 

“What are you planning?” you asked him quietly, eyes narrowing a little.

“Nothing,” he immediately protested. “Well. Nothing bad.” He met your gaze for a long moment before he looked back at his phone. You blinked, startled. He… Had he just…? No. No way. 

His little noise of triumph distracted you, and he hopped to his feet. 

“Back in a mo,” he said before darting out of the room. 

“You have any idea what he’s planning?” you asked Soap, taking the chance to get up and bring back water for everyone. Ghost blinked when you set his down in front of him, apparently surprised.

“Not really.” Soap grinned and took his, watching you go back for snacks. “Ye ken we can get our own, aye?”

“Oh hush. You’re always hungry.” You threw a protein bar at his head. 

“You’re not wrong about that.”

You jumped at Price’s voice behind you, in the doorway. You turned to find a very amused Price standing there, a smug-looking Gaz behind him. 

“You’re a menace,” you grumbled without heat. “Giving up on the paperwork for the day?”

“Something like that.” He glanced around the room before refocusing on you. 

You tossed Ghost a snack and chucked one at Logan too before you dropped a few more on the table in front of the couch and sat back down. Soap plastered himself to your side again, looking smug. 

“Are we finishing this movie or starting something else?” you asked, giving everyone time to settle down. 

But you were surprised when Price dropped down next to you instead of Gaz. He leaned back into the couch, big and warm, his arm draped across the back of the couch. You swallowed hard, trying to focus on the screen even as a playful bout of bantering went straight over your head. 

You hadn’t spent a lot of time with Price, and him being this close was… distracting. More than you had accounted for. Especially since he was relaxed, at ease. This close, that lovely rumbling laugh could be felt and heard. 

This was dangerous. You needed to go, needed to get out before you got in too deep–

Logan caught your eye across the room, holding your gaze. You stilled. He breathed in deliberately slowly, not looking away, almost forcing you to follow along until the urge to flee vanished. Then he blinked and looked away. 

“Alright there?” Price asked quietly, though you were well aware everyone in the room could hear him. 

“Yeah.” Your lips quirked into something close to a smile as you leaned back and just a little bit into him, already steadier. “I’m good.” 

Nobody but you noticed the smug smirk on Logan’s face.

[thewordwideweb]

Egg cream. No egg, no cream.

Today’s Word of the Day will focus on that drink of the gods, the sweet, satisfying beverage known as an “egg cream,” even though it contains neither egg nor cream.

As real aficionados know – and to be one of those, you have to have grown up or at least spent some time in Brooklyn or one of the other boroughs comprising New York City – a true egg cream contains just three ingredients: milk, seltzer and Fox’s U-Bet chocolate syrup. I could wax poetic about making sure the milk is ice cold and how you must bounce the seltzer off the back of a long spoon while stirring vigorously, but I’d just end up drooling on my keyboard, so I’ll restrain myself.

So why is it called an “egg cream” and why, since I’ve been enjoying this fizzy delight for seven decades, am I just deciding to write about it now? Well, because I had never heard this particular derivation theory before today.

Until now, I never knew that some folks believe “egg cream” is a corruption of the Yiddish “echt keem,” meaning (we’re told) “pure sweetness” (although I think the Yiddish word for sweetness is “ziskeyt”). I had heard many times the alternate theory that the drink was named for the frothy white foam that develops on top of the luscious libation, which kinda sorta resembles a beaten egg white.

Personally, I subscribe to Occam’s Razor, which postulates that the simplest solution or explanation is usually the best one. And in this case, the simplest explanation is that once upon a time, as early as the 1830s, folks were enjoying beverages that contained both eggs and cream, although they may not have been called egg creams.

There was a reference in the Hereford Journal in Hereford, England (which is about as far as you can get from Brooklyn) in 1838 to a recipe which called for the yolk of an egg, a spoonful of cream, and “if convenient” two drops of oil of cinnamon.

By 1897, the “American Druggist and Pharmaceutical Record” in New York City (now we’re talkin’!) had a recipe for an “egg cream” that included evaporated cream, egg yolk, vanilla extract and syrup. By 1914, the Los Angeles Times carried an ad for a variety of egg-based drinks, including “egg chocolate, egg cream, egg lemonade, egg coffee, egg flip, (and) egg phosphate.”

No matter how it got its name, it is without question an egg-cellent soda fountain treat!

[tricornonthecob]

moar libety kids

LK 104: Give me Liberty Or Give Me Death, Unless That Liberty Prevents Me From Owning Other People

(pt1)(pt2)(pt3)(pt4)

Oh shit Virginia jumpscare!

Boston-based colonial boyband sensation The Yankee Dude Dandies about to kick some lobster ass in another pop-rock musical number, Steamed Lobstah in Bahston Hahbah.

I'm torn between not wanting to be in Boston when the locals are idle, and wanting to be in Boston when the locals are idle to see what shenanigans happen next. God I love New Englanders.

someone get this awkward teenager a fucking apron.

Heard u was talkin shit

This press keeps changing sizes and it is killing me how fucking large is it supposed to be I need to know for questionable fanart purposes.

ayyy road trip to Billysville! Drink lots of water you're going to sweat to death!

Full disclosure I've cried out in this exact tone of alarm when I've worked past jobs and had to drive out to colonial Billystown for a job instead of for nerdy reasons.

James honey I know you mean well but don't you think the former enslaved person already knows that.

...because he fucking has to.

You know I just don't know if I love that canonically he's gross as hell.

Lol he jumped on this craigslist-ad-ass press because it was a steal

what a fanboy.

Girl what the fuck did you expect.

Oh dear, oh honey.

fuck yeah Frillips time!

I wanna know. I wanna know what this is. I wanna know what he does. Chimney sweep?

What a rude way to refer to your London beloveds, Benji.

Who knew the one to tear apart this family was gonna be Benji Franx

jfc how did she learn of that so fast did they tie to letter to a fucking albatross. Also I think her hair *is* lighter in this episode.

"*vague gesturing* ehhh smth about a press, I don't know, I'm always like three cups into some madeira by the fourth line of her letters. Am I a bad mother, ben."

"..."

"that fucking press had better be a steal."

Billiamstown Alert! Wee-yo-wee-yo time to buy cheese and eat mid-at-best oysters and drink assam souchong tea repacked as bohea tea!

could it be because its the only densely-populated area you've come across since Alexandria.

Oh right we do ham in Virginia. I keep forgetting because the peanut-based economy is so much louder and tastier and every farm around me growing up was horsies.

Civilized. Ugh that's a loaded word here.

I guess if the English countryside was a hot swamp filled with enslavers

[slut4sway]

fallin, dreamin, talkin in your sleep

i know you want to cry all night

all night

plottin, schemin, finding reasons

to defend all your violent nights

promise me

🪵••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••❄️

if you break i won’t let you shatter

tags : fluff, sad comfort, cabin, winter, holidays, cuddling, soft boys, mlm, overthinking, crying, lemon, head with a hoodie on, possession, reflection of myself, imagination, my own raw thoughts

18+

12/22, 6:34pm

linus carefully drove down the salted roads of new england, a hand resting on jeremy’s left thigh. the younger man hid some subtle tears; turning his face away from his boyfriend. his cheeks and tip of his nose were all aglow of that post-cry redness he always seemed to get after a long night or a bad loss. it was finally the week long break they’ve been waiting for but jeremy always thought too much on his downtime.

“sway?” the older man breaking the ambient sound of tires rolling.

“mhm?” jeremy replied. wiping some tears playing it off like waking himself up from a nap.

ullmark examined his rosy cheeks and tear-streaked face from the side. “are you crying, hun?”

“no, it’s alright. im okay-“ the thinner boy said in a shaky voice before being cut off by the sound of the keys being pulled and the running motor of the truck fading off. the driver side door opened as linus treaded across the front of the vehicle and made his way over to jeremy’s side. thinking about so much, he didn’t even realize they made it to their homestead.

“i’m sorry for cutting you off, i just know how this goes. we get into a long, deep conversation and it spirals into you bawling your eyes out and you’re uncomfortable in the truck, so..” his apologetic voice trailing off. the swedish man held out his arms as a non-verbal way of asking the younger one of the two to help him out.

jeremy looked him up-and-down, before stepping out and almost collapsing in his arms as he held tears back. he looked around and realized they finally made it to their cabin, though the last thing he remembered was the blurry sight of the interstate.

“inside?” ully whispered, snowflakes catching on his eyelashes and melting over his black toque.

“i know, my love i know..” the blonde whispering comforting nothings to his significant other while guiding him to their small chalet, the snow crunching and their pair of footsteps following behind.

linus rummaged through his pockets for the keys, jingling before he inserted them into the keyhole and turned, pushing the door open simultaneously while his touch never left the man on his side.

jeremy let some tears slip, the cold making them feel like a murderous burn pouring from his eyes. he had so many questions. why does he think so much? why is he so sensitive? why does he let his brain talk so much? anybody could say it was self-depreciating but swayman just couldn’t face it.

both men kicked their feet on the siding before stepping inside the heated foyer and kicking off their frosty, damp shoes. removing each layer until they were left in a pile of jackets and hoodies to be worried about later.

jeremy tried to hide his emotions, out of the ordinary especially with someone so comfortable with him. he felt ashamed. why? so many thoughts. so many. he couldn’t even keep track he just knew his head was too loud and it was upsetting him.

“why don’t we go take a rest, eh? i’ll make us some hot cocoa. you think you’ll like that? take a warm bath i’ll have everything ready for you.” he said while pecking the younger man’s cheek, jeremy’s stubble grazing his barely overgrown beard. just a gentle reminder the swede was just trying to help.

he silently agreed, as linus’ hands left his shoulders while he mindlessly walked away. he padded his way to the master bathroom, floorboards creaking with every movement until he reached the carpeted area. jeremy flicked the light switch on, a faint but welcoming buzz and a fan beginning to spin above. the alaskan man glanced around at all the decorations as he walked over to the rustic looking bathtub. at first he struggled to find how to work the water, losing the muscle memory after not being there since the summer. water flowed from the faucet, a small amount of steam following as well; he liked his hot baths.

swayman slipped his form fitting base layer off himself as he stared into the full body mirror before it started to fog up from steam billowing towards it. he looked over every inch of his frame in his reflection. it’s been a while since he had ended bulking, looking a tad bit more cut than before. stepping into the tub while he turned the faucet handles. jeremy dropped some dr. teals salt in the rippling water. his muscles relaxed for the first time in a while. the thoughts were finally quieting down.

•••••

as ullmark heard the water stop splashing and flowing, he started thinking as well. the hot chocolate mix boiling in the pot; a pleasant scent coming along. why did his overthinking get worse around the holidays? jeremy loves christmas, but always seems more down leading up to it. seemed like a question with no answer, but it didn’t matter. all that was important was that his boy was alright and he was working on it. returning from his spot leaning against the counter he mixed the marbled chocolate one last time and turned the stove off to let it cool. trying to be productive; he layed out some soft flannel pants and his own personalized hoodie for sway to wear after his bath. he went back into the closet and browsed for his own outfit. taking some matching pants out of the organized variety. pulling the drawstring knot out and slipping his other sweats out and swapping them for the flannel pants and tossing the other grey pair in the hamper in the corner of the large walk-in. linus was rid of his long sleeve as well, walking out. the automatic light flicked off as he strode back to pour the hot cocoa, preparing it to set up their bed.

•••••

jeremy gradually felt the water cool, it finally stilled as his eyes grew heavy. it eventually became lukewarm. this was his sign to come back to reality. sway rose from the water, disrupting the constant show of nothingness that the ripples had left behind. he caught a glimpse behind the blackout curtains of some snow covered trees and hills in the background. he brought his attention back to what is waiting for him outside, as he let the water drip off his body. jeremy grabbed a soft towel from the rack and stepped out onto the fluffy bathmat as he wrapped the towel around himself, drying himself down from head to toe.

he wrapped the towel around his waist and sluggishly trudged out of the bathroom, switching the light off on his way out. he was met by the sight his boyfriend half asleep on their bed with mugs of hot cocoa resting on the window sill, steam still slowly rising.

linus saw him and pulled himself out of the blankets. sway teared up a bit, emotional from what happened before as his man came over to him, wrapping his arms around him and pulling him into a warm embrace. it was silent. linus could read him so easy and immediately knows what’s going on. it has jeremy weak in the knees as the towel is barely holding on by the fold. this time he finally let himself go as he whimpered into his boyfriends shoulder, salty tears flowing from his hazel eyes. linus rubbed his back and stroked at his dark locks.

he took grasp of his hips and led him towards a chair by a large window where his clothes were layed out. he looked at jeremy for approval to take off his towel. jeremy got the memo and gave him a nod. linus was gentle, softly unfolding and undoing the piece of cloth. the older man rest a hand on his waist while reaching past him to retrieve his fluffy flannel pants - surprise surprise, matching ullmarks. the light from an ambient lamp reflected the small droplets and streaks of water transferred between their bodies onto the swedes bare chest. jeremy watched in awe, just taking it all in as his significant other was on his knees looking up at him (his favorite sight.) waiting for him to give him access and lift his foot so he can pull his bottoms up.

jeremy snapped back and realized he was staring. his lips pursed waiting to say something; but no sound coming from his mouth. he finally let the other man dress him, and after the flannel pants came his hoodie. linus helped pull it over the slightly smaller man. jeremy loved the feeling of his boyfriends hands on him and the fleece lining covering him and keeping him warm.

they both padded over to their bed surrounded by windows, ullmark admiring him the whole way even if it was just a couple feet away. his name in jeremy’s back, and his number just made it harder to focus. jeremy was the first to enter the bed, sitting up as linus followed, he wrapped an arm around him, the other man picking up the two mugs of cocoa and handing one to the other man. it was the perfect temperature, perfect men, perfect moment.

they sipped on their drinks, admiring the snow-blanketed vermont landscape. finally, the swede broke the silence.

“jer.. do you think you’re ready to talk about what happened earlier? i understand if not i just want you to know i love you and i’m always here when you wanna talk.” he rambled a bit, accent laying in heavy.

the alaskan paused before responding, his eyes a bit glassy. he set down his almost empty cup and leaned into linus’ space, snaking a hand over his upper body, feeling every muscle and crevice he had.

“you know i overthink a lot, love.. it gets real bad in the winter.” his voice losing stability in each word.

“i don’t know why, i just kind of let it happen because fighting it is draining. i don’t want to talk about the thoughts because it just doesn’t feel right… i get overwhelmed by everything and there’s so many thoughts, and my head is so loud, a-and it just upsets me a lot, and i never know what to do about it and-“ his breath hitched as he ran on

“shh.. you’re alright babe, i’m here. it’s all gonna be okay, i promise. i’m so proud you were able to open up and tell me this.” he tried to calm him down, knowing if he gets overwhelmed he gets irrational.

“i want you.” jeremy choked through tears.

“you have me, i’m yours my love.” the older man affirmed, running his fingers through his silky brown hair.

“if you break i won’t let you shatter” he whispered, planting a kiss on his forehead. before he lifted his boyfriend up into a more comfortable position as he trailed his kisses down his face, meeting his lips.

their tongues fought for dominance in a desperate but gentle way; the taste of chocolate and marshmallows still lingering , linus took his lower lip into his mouth, nipping a bit eliciting a whine from the younger man.he took this opportunity to break the kiss and continue trailing down to his neck. he suckled and left love bites wherever he kissed. he slipped a warm, comforting hand up his hoodie feeling out his toned abs and riding up to his nipples, running a thumb over his sweet spot, his mouth finally parting from his reddened neck.

jeremy’s flannel pants were obviously growing tighter, linus hooking his fingers around the waistband.

“can i?”

“please, baby..” jeremy whined.

ullmark gently pulled his bottoms down in such a torturously slow way it made jeremy go crazy. he whimpered and whined his name, giving linus a rise in the process.

he wrapped a large hand around the base, just running his tongue over the tip. he was teasing him so much thought he know he needed more.

“fuck.. more- please, please, please” swayman whined.

linus loved seeing him beg, but now all he needed was care and attention so he obeyed and slowly took him fully into his mouth, sucking and running his tongue over the slit of his dick. jeremy pulled at his blonde locks, giving a pleasurable hum from the swede. the vibrations sent him over the edge, as he released into his mouth.

he swallowed everything, but still collecting some dribbles on his finger. jeremy was out of breath coming down from his high. the older man brought his finger up to jeremy’s mouth, letting him taste himself.

“such a good boy, you taste amazing. let me clean you up” ullmark cooed as tears from pleasure slowly dripped out of his eyes onto the bed. linus crawled out of their bed, and strode to the bathroom to get a towel and some lotion for his boy.

he emerged from the dim bathroom light, jeremy’s vision still blurry. he came back to the bed, starting to wipe up with the sweat from his upper body with a cooling towel and some scented lotion and being gentle when he came closer to any sensitive spots; he knew jeremy didn’t need any overstimulation right now.

“you’re so perfect honey, i promise i’ll do anything to help you” he affirmed again.

“i know before you wanted to cry all night, and you didn’t want to talk; but im so proud of you for opening up to me” linus comforted with a warm tone.

it wasn’t a loud, eventful, talkative night. but that didn’t matter

“fuck, i love you so much linus, just kiss me already” jeremy cried, leaning into his space again and letting their lips make contact again.

“if you break i promise not to let you shatter” linus confessed through the kiss. the taste of jeremy and the hot cocoa still prominent.

[affairesasuivre]

Wamp 2 Dem/ Giggs

With top-shelf beats and assists from A-list contributors, the South London rapper’s new mixtape aims to show American listeners that there’s more to British rap than grime and cameos on Drake singles.

Giggs’ new mixtape arrives at a time when his profile has never been so high yet his reputation, at least in the U.S., has never dipped so low. A couple of guest spots on Drake’s 2017 playlist album More Life may have elevated the South London rapper to new levels of global renown, but the reaction of American audiences to his work—and in particular the Batman-referencing verse on Drake’s “KMT”—has proved tepid verging on hostile. “His flow is wack. It doesn’t go with the beats he’s on. His mixing engineer did an awful job with his vocals and he’s got some weak bars,” a 17-year-old rap fan told Noisey UK when the music website set out to investigate the biggest Anglo-American culture shock since U.S. audiences started taking Gavin Rossdale seriously.

American criticism of Giggs tends to focus on two particular aspects of his performance. Many U.S. rap fans scoffed at the idea of a British rapper talking about drugs, guns, and gangs, as Giggs does on “KMT,” responding on Twitter with the timeworn clichés of tea and the Victorian empire. Others dislike Giggs’ brutally spartan rap style, comparing him unfavorably to Skepta, an MC who operates in an entirely different style of music. They may both hang out with Drake in London but Skepta is a grime don, while Giggs is the king of road rap, a name recently coined for the heavier, trap-infused style of modern British hip-hop. Giggs has said that Wamp 2 Dem—pronounced “W’appen to dem?,” a nod to the Jamaican patois that is omnipresent in South London—is meant in part as a rejoinder to the first charge. “What I did care about was people wasn’t really respecting England, like the hoods and shit,” he told Beats 1 host Ebro Darden. “I didn’t really like the disrespect of what man’s been through.”

Wamp 2 Dem displays Giggs’ talent for painting brutally dark London scenes with a sparse lyrical touch peppered with enough British slang to keep Genius in advertising dollars for the foreseeable future. On paper, Giggs’ lyrics often don’t amount to much. But he writes perfectly for his own voice, a pitiless, bassy mutter that oozes like tar slopping out of a barrel, infusing lines like “Man ain’t really too confirming/None of these vermin” (from “Gully Niggaz”) with an ominous force. True, some of the lyrics on Wamp 2 Dem may be decidedly charm-free—“Moist Pussy” is about as artless as the name suggests—but you are left in no doubt that Giggs’ native Peckham is far from the Mary Poppins utopia that some stateside listeners clearly imagine it to be.

The beats, meanwhile, show Giggs’ knack for mining the best in transatlantic rap production, a skill that dates back to his breakthrough track “Talkin’ da Hardest,” where he owned the instrumental of Stat Quo’s “Here We Go.” Production on Wamp 2 Dem comes from Florida duo Cool & Dre, Atlanta’s London On Da Track and Zaytoven, and Londoners Donae’o and Footsie, among others, and the overarching feel is of American trap bluster soaked in icy South London rain. American audiences may not find anything especially new here—particularly compared to the spikier, more frenetic sound of grime—but the beats on Wamp 2 Dem are finely tuned for Giggs’ crawling South London menace.

Opening track “Gully Niggaz” is perhaps the best example of this simpatico voice and production fusion. The beat samples Tchaikovsky’s “Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy,” an idea that sounds on paper like the kind of contrasting musical blend we should run to the hills to avoid. (In fact, it’s the second time Giggs has taken on the Tchaikovsky ballet, after the 2015 Dizzee Rascal collaboration “Nutcrackerz.”) But the classical bed sits well with Giggs’ bruising monotone; helped by a fantastically heavy, pitch-shifting drum pattern, it adds just enough musical polarity to really lift the song. “Ultimate Gangsta,” which follows, pulls off a similar feat, marrying an eerie string sample to a nervy beat made out of gunshots and hi-hats, over which Giggs and 2 Chainz exchange tales of gangster life.

This high standard barely dips over Wamp 2 Dem’s 13 tracks, which are helped by sympathetic production and guest turns that do more than just take up space in the credits. “Times Tickin’” joins the dots between Giggs’ London hustle, Jamaican dancehall, and American hip-hop, thanks to a commanding guest turn from Popcaan; “Gangstas & Dancers” sees Giggs join forces with Lil Duke and Young Thug on a chilling, detuned beat; and London MCs Footsie and D Double E lend “Outsiders” a wonderfully paranoid energy. But don’t be misled by the A-list guests: Wamp 2 Dem is very much Giggs’ album, where his voice dominates and his aesthetics rule; it is Giggs in excelsis, whether he is being hard, crude, introspective, or playful. By the time “Ruler” closes the album in an epic, almost operatic fashion, the rapper has already made his point: London life isn’t all bangers and mash, British MCs don’t just make grime, and Drake fans who dismissed his performance on “KMT” have a hell of a lot of catching up to do.

[maynardmaniac07]

Lamborghini Love (JJ Olatunji/KSI)

Y/N’S POV

I smile as I get out of the taxi that I took to get to Yiannimize

I took my brand new car to Yiannie just over two weeks ago

Even though I miss my brand new baby, I had quite a few selections of car that I had collected over the years

Since I am a CEO of my own photography company, which is very successful as many celebrities ask us to take photos of them

I’ve worked with so many people 

From YouTubers like Zoella and Conor Maynard   

To celebrities like Little Mix and One Direction

Which can I just say when it was 2012 One Direction, they were the best photo shoots

So anyway I have been able to own many of my favourite cars

I own a White Range Rover Evoque, a Jaguar XF in burgundy and a Tesla model x p100d in white, as well as owning a Ducati S4R Monster motorbike

But my recent purchase is a car that I have been wanting since I knew it was being made

I look at it and fell in love

I brought a Lamborgini Huracan Performante 2018

If you didn’t know Jake Paul got one of these cars and the day where everyone went to view their cars in Italy and he vlogged, whilst he was there and wasn’t allowed to see his car 

Well I was there and I witnessed the incident

I mean I got to see my car, so it is none of my business

When I brought the car, I got it in Blu Glauco colour and basically, that is a fancy way of saying turquoise

Honestly one of the best purchases of my life

But I got it back to England and I feel like the turquoise is a bit much right now

So I decided I wanted to get it wrapped in a rose gold colour

And of course, I brought it to Yiannimize because he’s one of the best car customisers in the country

Plus Yiannie has actually wrapped my Jaguar and my Tesla for me

It took me ages to persuade him but he also wrapped my motorbike for me

I am literally so excited to get my car back 

I walk towards the showroom and I go to the counter

“Hi Jackie, I’m looking for Yiannie” I tell the woman on reception

She types a bit on her computer before she speaks 

“He will be out in one minute” she tells me

I go and take a seat on the set of chairs in the corner

Not long later, Yiannie walks through the set of door that leads to the workshop

“Hi Y/N! Long time no see” He says as I get up from the chair and he pulls me into a hug

“I know it’s been like just over two weeks since you’ve had my baby” I tell  him with a smile

Yiannie nods

“Yes I remember, we had a lot of fun working on your car, why don’t you walk round to the garage and I’ll meet you round there before we bring the car out” He suggests for me 

I nod before I walk out of the reception and go round the side of the building to the garage doors

I stand there and Yiannie walks out of the door next to the garage

“I just want to get the introduction bit of the video started and then we can see you’re car” he tells me

Yiannie stands next to me whilst he does his intro whilst he introduces me again and he explains what he has been doing to my car

When he ends the intro all of a sudden, I hear 

“Yo Yiannie! My Man! I came to see you about my car” I turn around and see a Lamborghini Aventador pull up in the road that leads to the back of the garage

The person gets out the car as he speaks and I automatically recognise that it is KSI or JJ as he is known as 

I actually did a photoshoot with the Sidemen and guess who was the only one to not show up?

The one and only KSI

Literally because he didn’t show up or actually come and get the photos taken, I had to ditch the whole project

Just a waste of time

But that is besides the point

JJ walks towards Yiannie and the pull each other into a bro hug

“JJ! My Man! What are you wanting to do with your car this time?” He asks 

JJ shrugs

“I want you to strip it back to red and then sell it” he explains to Yiannie

“You want to get rid of the Lambo?” Yiannie questions in shock as JJ nods

“I don’t drive it anymore and it is just taking up space, so I think it’s time to say goodbye” JJ explains

I get my phone out whilst JJ and Yiannie talk

Whilst they are talking, I answer a few emails 

“JJ, I will sort you out in like 10 minutes, I just need to reveal Y/N’s car” he tells JJ

He nods in response, whilst he turns to me

“Y/N? as in Y/F/N Y/L/N?” JJ questions

I nod

“Yep that’s me” I tell him

“I remember you from a photo shoot” he says nodding

“Oh, the one that you didn’t turn up to?” I question sassily

JJ rolls his eyes

“Yeah that one, it’s your company isn’t it?” he asks 

I nod

“Yep built from scratch” I explain to him as I reply to some more emails

The cameraman, who recorded Yiannie’s intro signals that he wants to record again

JJ steps out of frame and I stand there waiting

“Y/N are you ready to see your car?” he questions

“So ready!” I exclaim

Out the corner of my eye, I see JJ laughing

This causes me to roll my eyes

Yiannie knocks on the garage door and it opens as one of his workers drives my now rose gold car out in front of the garage doors

My mouth drops open in surprise

“That is amazing!” I say with a massive smile on face

“Holy shit!” JJ mutters

Yiannie talks me through how he has changed the wrap of the car and where he has done it before he gives me the keys and ends the video

“Thank you so much for this” I tell him as I pull him into a hug

Yiannie laughs before he lets me go and hands me the keys

I take the keys and I unlock my baby 

I get in the driver’s seat and I start the car up to take it for a drive around

Once I have started the car up, I pull up in front of JJ and I wined the window down and I smirk smugly at him

“Are you getting in or what?” I question 

JJ nods as he opens the passenger door and gets in before I speed off down the driveway

I look both ways before I indicate to turn left

I pull out onto the main road and once the car had straightened up, I press the button on the control panels and turn the radio on lowly

Out of the corner of my eye, I see that JJ is typing on his phone not really taking notice of his surroundings

I continue to drive around until I get to a motorway and I see that JJ is still typing away on his phone

“Oh sorry am I boring you?” I question sarcastically

He chuckles lowly as he slides his phone under his leg on his seat

I look to see that it is a clear road and I speed down the straight road 

JJ’s hand goes straight to the door handles as he holds on in panic of how fast we was going

“What I thought you liked fast cars?” I question as I look at him

“I do! I do! Look at the fucking road!” he exclaims

I turn my head back to the road as I slow down as I can see some traffic in the distance

Out of the corner of my eye, I see JJ looking at me with wide eyes

“What was that for?” he asks

I shrug as I indicate to change lanes

“You wasn’t looking, I brought you out in here my new car and you are sat there on your phone” I say as I roll my eyes

“I know you only brought me out here to be smug about your new car” he says as he looks at me

I shrug once more

“Your partly right” I mumble

I go around a roundabout and I indicate to go into the service station

“Where are you going?” he asks from the passenger seat

I ignore his question and I pull into a car parking space just outside of a diner

Once I am parked, I turn the engine off and take the key out the ignition before getting out

“Come on” I say as I get out and shut the door

As I walk around the back of my car, I see JJ getting out of the car 

I stop walking once I reach the other side of my car and once I know that JJ is out of the car, I lock it before walking into the diner

As I walk around the 80′s themed diner, I feel JJ’s presence behind me 

I find a booth at the back of the restaurant and I slip into it, whilst JJ sits across from me

When he sits down, he takes his coat off and puts it on the chair next to him

As JJ sits down, he picks up a menu and he picks another up and slides it across the table to me 

What a gentleman… 

Note my sarcasm

After around 10 minutes, I have decided that I didn't want to get any food 

I never really ate a lot, food was just never appealing to me 

So I was just going to order a milkshake 

As I put my menu back on the stand, the waitress comes over to mine and JJ's table 

"Hi! Can I take your order?" She asks brightly with a smile 

I smile back at her 

"I'll just have a strawberry milkshake please" I request 

JJ looks at me with a raised eyebrow 

"And for you?" She asks as she looks at him 

"Can I get some pancakes for us to share please and a chocolate milkshake please" he requests before he looks at me with a small smile 

"Of course, I'll get that for you" she says as she rip the piece of paper off of her notepad and turn to walk away 

She takes two steps before she stops and turn back around to us 

"I’m sorry but I can't help but say you two are really cute together, I didn't want to say that in case it was a first date or anything" she rambles 

I laugh at her statement and JJ joins in along with me 

"We aren-" I am about to tell her that we aren't on a date when I get cut off talking 

"We aren't on our first date, we have been together for quite a while now and we have made a date day for us to enjoy once a week" JJ explains randomly 

We are doing what now?

Did JJ really just say that?

She smiles at us

“That is really cute, I wish my boyfriend did that for me but he has to work a lot” the waitress says

JJ reaches his hand out over the table towards me with a smile on his face

I take his hand in mine, smiling playing along with what JJ is doing

The waitress smiles once more before she walks away to complete our order

Once she is gone, I let go of JJ’s hand

“What the hell was that about?” I question with a slight laugh

JJ shrugs as he chuckles

“I just didn’t want her to feel embarrassed” he says

I nod understanding what he meant

Not long later, the waitress that served us earlier comes back with the pancakes and mine and JJ’s milkshakes

She places them all down on the table before she smiles at us and walks away

I grab the glass, that is tinted with a pink colour and take a sip of my milkshake through the straw, that is sticking out of the top of the glass

Once JJ has taken a drink of his milkshake, he cuts up a piece of pancake before he raises the fork to his mouth

He pushes the plate towards me 

“What?” I question with a raised eyebrow

“Eat some” he says once he has swallowed the piece of food

I shake my head

“I don’t want any, thank you” I thank him

“Why not?” he questions as he cuts off another piece of pancake up

I shrug

“I’m just not hungry” I tell him

In all fairness, I wasn’t hungry

But I also don’t eat a lot anyway

We fall silent once more, before I speak

“Here’s to one of the many dates that, I have been on with my lovely boyfriend” I say as I raise my milkshake glass up to JJ

He clinks his glass with mine, before we both take sips of our drinks

We soon finish our food and drinks

I get up to go and pay for our order but JJ stops me

“I’ll pay for the date this week, only the best for my beautiful girlfriend” He says with a cheeky smile before he walks off and pays for everything

I grab my bag and stand up 

When JJ returns to the table, he grabs his stuff from his seat

We walk outside and stand there as he puts his coat on, that he slipped off when sat down at the table

“So that was a fun date, where are we going on our next one?” he asks

I raise an eyebrow at JJ

“You do know, it wasn’t a real date” I tell him

He pulls me closer to him by the belt loops on my jeans

“It could of been, if you wanted it to” he says with a small smirk

I smirk back at him

“Well we could go track racing in our Lamborghinis for our next date, you know spreading that Lamborghini Love, oh wait your selling yours” I playfully say

“Oh shut up” he tell me as he looks down at my lips

“Gladly” I reply before pulling him into a kiss

As we stand outside the diner, our lips mould together as we hold each other close

We pull away from the kiss and look at each other

“So what do you say to that next date?” he questions 

I smile back at him

“Sure, I’ll go on a date with you, why not?” I say with a playful smile before he pulls me into another kiss

Something tells me, that I’m going to enjoy this next date with JJ

Masterlist

[little-yugi-muto-rp]

Along Came A Spider (Man)

This is for @better-name-for-rp-blog, who literally begged me to write this. I hope you like it! (it got hella long, lol)

Also, I just really like Spider-Man.

This story on AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/34784101

*Domino is in New England for this. Blame the airport guy in the dub who said "welcome to America" to greet Ishizu.

Thanks to what was being called "structural damage" (but was really the work of some supervillain, probably the Lizard or someone similar), the students at Midtown High were being dispersed into other nearby schools to continue the school year. One of those was Domino High School. For most of the students there, this meant fresh faces, new friends, and possibly better grades for some.

For Yugi Mutou, it meant new bullies to deal with.

He was just minding his own business, on his way to lunch. But he found his way blocked by what were unmistakably Midtown kids judging by their lack of uniforms.

"E-Excuse me. Could you move, please? I'm trying to get to lunch." One big guy turned to face Yugi and broke into a sneering grin when he saw him.

"Hey look, it's one of the Seven Dwarfs. I think that one's Dopey."

"That hair's definitely dopey. Hey kid, you gotta be, um, this tall to enter." A second held his hand above Yugi's head while the others laughed.

"I go here normally, there's no height restrictions," Yugi said, "Anyway, why would a cafeteria have a height restriction? Now could you please move?" He had to be careful. He didn't know these guys, or how to deal with them. The big guy in front leaned down to face him.

"You talkin' back to me, shrimp? Huh? It's a free country. I'll stand here if I want. What are you gonna do about it, call your mommy?" Yugi flinched. His parents were not a pleasant topic. He shrugged it off and tried to move around them. But Big Guy grabbed him by the collar and pulled him back.

"It's rude to ignore somebody when they talk to you. I think you need to learn some manners, punk." He lifted Yugi off the ground by his collar.

"Yeah, teach 'im a lesson. Make 'im show some respect!" the others chimed in. Big Guy lifted Yugi up, even with his face, hand curling into a fist.

"Put him down, Flash." came a third voice, "Go pick on somebody your own size. Or better yet, stop being a jerk altogether." The arrival of the newcomer seemed to change Big Guy's-Flash's-attitude.

"Mind your business, Parker." he snapped.

"Yeah, this is exactly what girls like. A big jerk who picks on guys who can't fight back. You're such a manly man." Parker retorted loudly. Several girls from both schools looked over, frowning at them. Flash seemed to notice this and relented.......sort of.

"Whatever. I got shit to do anyway." And he threw Yugi backward, into Parker, before storming off.

"You okay, kid? I'm Peter, by the way. Peter Parker." He stood up and offered a hand.

"I'm Yugi Mutou. And......thanks. For that." He took the hand and Peter pulled him up, the two heading into lunch together. Or so they thought. The sound of sirens and explosions outside sent everyone running for the exits. Everyone except Yugi and Peter, who ran into the janitor's closet, Peter already pulling off his clothes to reveal his red and blue spidersuit. Too late did he realize Yugi was watching him, wide-eyed.

"Uh, I'm also Spider-Man. I-In case that wasn't obvious.....Don't tell anyone." In answer, Yugi pushed his sleeves up above his cuff bracelets, placing them together and swiping them apart. His outfit changed into a black suit with a silver star, silver lines, and a black and silver cape.

"I'm also called Nova. Let's talk more when there's NOT some crazy villain attacking."

"Agreed. Let's go." Peter pushed open the door and the two burst out.

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

School ended up canceled for the rest of the day, as all anyone (including the teachers) could talk about was the Spider-Man/Nova teamup. At the moment, the two sat on the roof of the Domino High gymnasium, eating a very delayed lunch of pizza and burgers.

"So......a spider bite did this? Made you a human spider?"

"Yeah," Peter said, "That was actually my original name, 'The Human Spider'. Looking back, I'm glad that didn't stick. It does sound pretty lame compared to 'Spider-Man', doesn't it."

"Hey, I was almost 'The Human Bomb'. That's just ASKING to be mocked." Yugi laughed, "I actually quoted you once. Told this guy I was just a friendly neighborhood mutant freak."

"Nice." Peter said, taking a bite of his pizza, "So, how did youy figure out what you can do? I shot a web across the cafeteria and spilled some poor guy's lunch once. Got mystery meat tacos and refried beans everywhere."

"Oh that's nothing, I set the locker room on fire with a solar flare once." Yugi popped afry into his mouth.

"No freaking way! Did you get detention?"

"No, they blamed it on some idiot smoking in there. But we didn't have to endure gym class while they fixed the damage, so that was nice. I hate gym class. I'm too short to shoot basketballs or reach the pull-up bars. And don't even get me started on running. I have to stay to the inside so I don't get trampled."

This made Peter laugh hard enough to almost drop his soda.

"Sorry, it's just kinda weirdly funny. A guy who can fly is worried about his height........It gets frustrating, having to hide what we can do, doesn't it. I mean, I have to stop myself from just running up walls and acroos the ceiling to avoid crowds on the way to class. And then when something goes down and I have to come up with a reason to get out of class to deal with it."

"I just act like I gotta blow chunks," Yugi said, "Nobody argues when you have to hurl, they just get out of the way."

"Agh, I can't believe I never thought of that! You're a genius!" the red suited teen exclaimed. Yugi just laughed.

"Why do WE get so worked up over this school stuff? I mean, we face bad guys that are trying to literally destroy the universe and they're not nearly as scary as a pop quiz in math class."

"Hey, math quizzes are pretty scary," Peter said, "The scariest nightmare I ever had was Green Goblin throwing a bomb at me that turned into a calculus test. I didn't sleep the rest of that night."

"Okay, you got me there. Calculus is pure evil."

"Hey, what's that pyramid thing you wear for?" Peter asked, "It doesn't change with the rest of your clothes. Really cool how you can do that, by the way."

"Oh......You're gonna laugh, but it's actually an ancient Egyptian puzzle that contains the spirit of a long dead pharaoh. It's kind of a long story." Yugi looked down, awaiting tha tease. But Peter just shrugged.

"Why would I laugh? That is nowhere NEAR the craziest thing I've ever heard. Anyway, most people laugh when I reference my 'Spidey sense' telling me something's up. Joke's on them, though, because my sense ends up being right."

"That's handy. Yami-he doesn't remember his name, so he said I can call him that-kinda does that for me. He's always looking out for me." Yugi said.

"That's actually kinda cool," Peter took another drink of soda, "You've got this other guy who's always there for you when you need him. You're not in this alone. I.....kinda wish I had that. Somebody who knows my secret that I can talk to about it-" He paused as Yugi held out a business card for the Kame Game Shop.

"That's my grandpa's store. We live in the apartment above it. My personal number's on the back." At Peter's confused look, he smiled, "You've got your wish. I know your secret, and I'd be more than happy to just talk about this stuff if you need to. Call me or swing by, no pun intended." Peter laughed again.

"Thanks Yugi. I definitely will. And I'll get you my contact info, too." He stood up and put the card in his school bag.

"I guess we better get going. Your teachers give a lot of homework. See you tomorrow, Yugi."

"See you tomorrow, Peter."

It turned out the merge of schools meant a new friend for Yugi, too

[weirdestbooks]

Secret States Chapter 6

Reincarnations

Netherlands POV

I stared at the American state who just claimed to be the reincarnation of my long dead son. I looked over to Sweden and the Nordic countries, who had the same look of shock and disbelief. I turned back to the American state, New York, who shot me a half grin. America rolled his eyes.

"I think we broke the countries." Hawaii remarked. The other new state, the one who claimed to be New Sweden, Delaware, snorted.

"Texas and Liberia already did that when they revealed we existed." He replied. California popped their gum.

"So we what? Double broke them?" Florida questioned. New York smiled.

"If only I could do this to Masshole. I guess kicking his ass in baseball is all I can do now." New York remarked. Delaware and America shot him a look.

"York, what have a told you about calling Mass Masshole?" America asked him. New York sighed and rolled his eyes. Who was Mass? Why didn't New York like him?

"Oh come on Dad. You let Hamp call him Taxachusetts." New York argued back. I wondered who Hamp was. I didn't know of any states called that, but it could be a nickname, as the states seemed fond of calling each other nicknames.

"Re-reincarnation? That's not possible. Reincarnation isn't real, is it?" England stuttered out. That was my problem with this story. Reincarnation couldn't be possible. This was just a trick! My son. He was long gone. Another causality in the British Empire's conquest for power. I missed my son dearly, but I couldn't believe the words or these states without proof.

"Yeah well it is. At least we're like 98% sure. It's the only explanation for why New York and I can remember memories that we never made. I remember dying, and as you can see, I am not dead. So obviously we have memories that weren't made by us as the States of Delaware and New York, but as someone else." Delaware explained, New York nodding along.

"But...how?" Sweden asked. Delaware shrugged.

"We don't know how. We know that it happened." New York commented. America smiled.

"Trust me, it surprised me just as much as the rest of you when I finally figured it out." America explained, fond smile on his face. The states began snickering, along with Liberia. Delaware's face turned bright red.

"Oh come on are we seriously still hung up over that? That was like fifty years ago!" Delaware protested as the states snickering grew louder, "Jag önskar att jag aldrig hade syskon.  Ni är alla hemska små varelser."

The change to Swedish, or what I'm assuming is Swedish based on what Delaware told us about his heritage, surprised me. I had thought America, and his states, could only speak English, as it was the official language of his country, but seeing all the different languages they know changed my mind on that, although I was still a bit confused on why they decided to learn a bunch of new languages.

"Why do you speak languages that aren't English when your official language is English?" Vietnam asked from next to me. I'm glad we all seemed to have to same question, because that question had been confusing me every since we first met the adopted states and they began speaking in languages that weren't English. America, however looked confused at that question.

"Who told you my official language was English? I don't have an official language." He said, raising an eyebrow.

"You don't?" UN asked, finally speaking up after being unusually quiet through the introduction. America nodded.

"I have no official language. English is just the most widely spoken language in my country, so its the de facto language. Although my people have been making new signs in both English and Spanish recently, to help immigrants from Latin America and Mexico." America explained. That doesn't explain why America knows more languages than English though.

"That doesn't explain why you know more languages than English." Haiti said, asking my question.

"Yes it does." Australia said. Australia's family gave him a weird look. America smiled.

"I forgot you lacked an official language as well. We can be buddies! Who else is in the club? I know Sweden is." America remarked. I was still confused though. How did lacking an official language make it so America could speak-wait.

"Does lacking an official language make you able to understand all languages spoken in your country?" I asked America as I realized what America lacking an official language could mean. America gave me a thumbs up, signaling to me that I was correct.

"Wait, you guys can speak every language spoken in your country?" New Zealand asked Australia and America.

"Yep. I can speak over 200, but they're mainly Creoles and indigenous languages." Australia said. New Zealand started freaking out, while France, Canada and the British Isles looked shocked.

"I can speak approximately 350." America said. America can speak 350 languages? No wonder he knew Spanish and Swedish. And Australia knowing over 200! This was insane! I wonder of this meant America knew Dutch?

"I though it was 480?" New York asked. America shook his head before looking confused. There was a chance America knew more that 350 languages? That was a lot, this was confusing. I was confused and a bit overwhelmed by everything happening all at once.

America had kids, some adopted. Reincarnation is real and my son was reincarnated as one of America's children. America knew over 300 languages. This was a lot.

"Somewhere in between those two numbers, I guess." America settled on after thinking over the two numbers he had, "Although a large number of languages that are spoken in my country are the languages of the Native Americans."

"Why are we just learning a lot of new stuff about you?" Germany asked.

"You can look all of this up on the internet it's not like it's some big secret. You're just oblivious, and maybe, you're even idiots." California replied, pulling out their phone and beginning to type on it.

"I...I don't have an argument for that." Germany replied, "Aside from the fact that I have no reason to look up the governmental structure and official language of America."

"Yeah, that's true. Anyway we got off topic. Reincarnation is real, such a ginormous shock. Can we stop playin' twenty questions and play talkin' to people we are related to?" Texas asked, seeming done with the multitude of questions coming from the confused countries.

"Let's do that. I know some of you want to make or fix relationships. I want to go home and do anything but this." Louisiana said, shooting a glance at France. After hearing about the complicated and strained relationship between Louisiana and France, that made sense.

"I am goin' to play catch up with Madre." Texas said, before going grabbing California's arm and dragging them towards Mexico.

"Hey! Let go of me!" California said in protest, attempting to break Texas' grip on their arm.

"Texas." America said. Texas let go of California's arm and began protest about how he just wanted to make sure they at least tried talking to their mom while California scowled at him.

"Pa, come on. I just want to make sure Cali give takin' to Madre a chance. They're convinced that not talkin' to Madre is best, but they haven't even talked to Madre once!" He protested, making exasperated motions with his arms.

"Tex, come on. Just let Cali do it when they're ready. We're all in unfamiliar territory at this point and we're all nervous, especially because some of us haven't met our biological families before. Let them do it when they are ready." Delaware told him, taking control of the situation, causing America to shoot him a grateful look.

"Alright, how about you guys talk to whoever you feel is best to catch up with or meet while I get interrogated by my family." America said, "And no trying to declare war on other countries, Texas no claiming you can leave the Union, because everyone knows its not true, and Florida, please make sure your snake doesn't send anyone to the hospital."

The states nodded, with some eye rolls thrown in, before they split up and began making their way to countries scattered though out the room. New York walked over to me, looking nervous, which is what I felt as well.

What if New York hated me now that he was an American state? Did he blame me for his death as New Netherlands? Would he be very different from New Netherlands, or similar? These questions plagued my mind as New York sat down next to me.

"Hallo. Ik weet niet hoe ik dit gesprek moet beginnen, dus je kunt gewoon vragen stellen als je wilt, hoewel ik ze misschien niet wil beantwoorden." (Hello. I don't know how to start this conversation, so you can just ask questions if you want, although I may not want to answer them.) New York told me.

"Ik weet ook niet waar ik moet beginnen ... Heb je enig idee hoe je terugkwam?" (I don't know where to start either...Do you have any idea how you came back?) I questioned, hesitantly, not wanting to bring up bad memories, and not wanting to lose this second opportunity to be with my son.

"Nee, dat weet ik niet. Niemand van ons heeft dat ontdekt. De beste gok die we konden bedenken is dat aangezien onze staten zijn gelegen waar Nieuw Nederland en Nieuw Zweden waren, hun geest werd overgebracht naar de staat, Del en ik, die daar was. Ik weet dat het cheesy klinkt, maar er is geen andere verklaring die we kunnen vinden." (No, I don't. None of us have figured that out. The best guess we could come up is that since our states are located where New Netherlands and New Sweden used to be, their spirits got transferred to the state, Del and I, that was there. I know it sound cheesy, but there isn't another explanation that we could find.) New York explained.

"Herinner je je alles over Nieuw Nederland zijn?" (Do you remember everything about being New Netherlands?) I asked him next. I know that Delaware said he and New York realized they were reincarnations when they started gaining back memories of their first life. New York sighed and shook his head.

"Niet echt goed. Ik heb moeite met het herinneren van mijn tijd als Nieuw-Nederland, en wat ik me herinner is normaal gesproken een pijnlijke herinnering. Goede dingen zijn moeilijk te onthouden. Het spijt me, maar ik weet dat ik nooit de zoon zal zijn die je bent kwijtgeraakt. Er is te veel veranderd." (Not very well. I have trouble remembering my time as New Netherlands, and what I do remember is normally a painful memory. Good things are very hard to remember. I'm sorry, but I know I will never be the son you lost. Too much has changed.) New York said, sounding sad and dejected.

I was upset, not with New York, but with myself. I know I didn't have much I should feel guilty about, but maybe if I had just tried and fought harder in the Second Anglo-Dutch War, New Netherlands could of survived. Then I wouldn't have to meet his reincarnation who didn't remember anything good about his past life and blames himself for not being New Netherlands.

"Geef jezelf niet de schuld dat je geen Nieuw Nederland bent. Gewoon weten dat een deel van hem in jou leeft, is oké. Je kunt gewoon New York zijn. " (Don't blame yourself for not being New Netherlands. Just knowing that a part of him lives in you is okay. You can just be New York.) I told him. New York nodded.

"I just don't want to disappoint you by claiming that I'm the reincarnation of your son, and then not being your son. I'm the reincarnation of New Netherlands, but I'm not him." New York said after a brief pause. There was a lot of uncertainty in his voice, and after a brief mental debate with myself, I leaned over to hug New York.

"Het spijt me als ik je onder druk zet. Dit is onbekend terrein voor mij, maar ik zal ervoor zorgen dat ik je behandel zoals de persoon die je bent in dit leven, niet je laatste. " (I'm sorry if I put any pressure on you. This is unfamiliar territory for me, but I'll make sure I treat you like the person you are in this life, not your last.) I told him.

I had been really happy to learn that my son was still 'alive,' but after hearing it from New York, I understood that he was not my son. He was a different person that my son, but I could still see aspects of New Netherlands in New York. His want to not disappoint others, the way he spoke, he way he held himself.

New Netherlands was gone, but New York was still here. I won't be able to get my son back, but that doesn't mean I can't befriend his reincarnation.

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Sweden POV

New Sweden. The colony I created in the New World. My son. He died to Netherlands, to soon. Countries live for a long time, and losing my son after seventeen years was like a human losing a toddler.

And he was back. I watched as New Sweden, Delaware, seemed to help America manage the other states. Delaware was a lot more professional, and strict than I remember New Sweden, but then again, New Sweden was technically still a child when he died. Delaware wasn't a child. Delaware walked over to me after the America decided the states needed to talk to their biological families, and smiled.

"Hej Sverige. Det är bra att träffa dig, åtminstone som Delaware. " (Hello Sweden. It's good to meet you, at least as Delaware.) He said, holding out a hand to shake.

"Du kallade mig Sverige. Varför? Är du inte min sons reinkarnation? " (You called me Sweden. Why? Aren't you the reincarnation of my son?) I asked him. Maybe because he was adopted by America, he doesn't want anything to do with me.

"Reinkarnation skiljer sig från att väcka någon till liv igen. Jag delar samma själ som Nya Sverige, men jag är inte han." (Reincarnation is different from bringing someone back to life. I share the same soul as New Sweden, but I am not him.) Delaware explained, giving me a sad smile.

I felt crushed. I had gotten my hopes up that my son was alive, but he wasn't. Delaware reminded me of my son though. He had the same smile my son did, the smile he would always give me whenever I spent time with him. It had been centuries since New Sweden's death, but seeing Delaware, and him confirming he wasn't my son brought all of the pain back to the surface.

"I'm sorry. I wish it could be different. But the dead can't come back to life. I'll go if you want me to." Delaware said, making movements to walk away.

"Don't. Please." I said, not wanting to lose this opportunity to speak with Delaware. I wondered why he was walking away. Did he not want to talk to me because I wasn't his father, just the father of his past life? Delaware looked surprised.

"Okay. I though you wouldn't want to talk to me after learning I'm not your son." Delaware said, wringing his hand as he sat down on the table. I guess we both are insecure about talking to each other.

"I though you didn't want to talk to me because I'm not your real father." I explained. Delaware frowned and began stammering.

"Well I-I just...America is my bio-biological dad...at least in this life. I-I still remember you. Faint memories from when I was...when I was New Sweden." Delaware stammered out, looking down and refusing to make eye contact. It was clear he was incredibly nervous about talking to me.

"Why are you so nervous?" I asked. Delaware had been helping America deal with the states, and from what I was told yesterday, Delaware normally helps with that. He seemed he would have to be confident and have a commanding presence. So why was he nervous now?

"I just feel like I'm a disappointment to you, and I'm...just...this is very new to me. I don't really know how to have a conversation with you. I...I just...don't know what to say." Delaware explained, wringing his hands together.

"Well, what are you interests? That's normally a good way to start a conversation." I said. Delaware smiled.

"I really like peaches. Georgia and I-" Delaware began before I cut him off.

"Georgia's a country in Europe. I thought we knew all of the countries that knew about you and the rest of the states?" I questioned, confused as to why Georgia would know. I didn't even know she and America were friends, although Cuba did know, so I guess friendship wasn't a requirement. Delaware laughed.

"Not Georgia the country. The State of Georgia. Named after King George the Second, created back when Dad was just the Thirteen Colonies." Delaware explained.

"So there is a state that just has the name of a country. Georgia the country doesn't actually know?" I asked, still a bit confused.

"Yep, a state and a country have to same name. Georgia the country found out when the rest of you did." Delaware said smiling, "Don't worry, I know it's confusing. Anyway, the State of Georgia and I are both "Peach States" so we bound over that. I also like blue hens. They're my state bird and are really cute! One of my people, Caesar Rodney, was also the reason that Congress could say the vote for independence was unanimous."

I listened as Delaware ranted on, talking about peaches, blue hens, and his beaches. Delaware was very proud of his role as the first state, although he complained a lot about how the people from rest of the states had trouble remembering him. He also talked about his siblings a lot.

"Minnie and North would find meeting you really cool. They are states with a lot of Scandinavian people. A lot of the states that aren't adopted want to meet the countries that has the greatest cultural influences on them. Penny wants to meet Germany, and Mont wants to meet Canada and France." Delaware explained.

That was any other thing I found weird, not the state's having cultural influence from other countries, but the fact that the states seem unwilling to call America's family their own. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that they've never, or never as America's kids, met them. Maybe it had something to do with the complicated history between Britain and America. Whatever the reason was, I found it odd, although reasonable for some states like Louisiana. France may be kind now, but she had a bloody history.

Although who doesn't?

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Denmark POV

Danish Virgin Islands was alive. When I sold her to America, I didn't expect her to live. I was upset and kept apologizing before the purchase was finalized. Now I realize what an idiot I was being. I should have only been concerned about V's death if she became a state. Philippines was the same person he had been before becoming a part of America and after. And it made sense. America's territories where the same thing as colonies, and colonies always had countryhumans.

If only I had realized this, then I would have been able to spend time with V. Maybe the other territories could of met the other countries, as everyone's met, or at least seen the territories/colonies of Britain and France, among others.

"Are you okay Far? (Dad)" I heard V ask. I smiled.

"Just thinking about how I was an idiot not to realize you would have been alive. You're an American territory!" I explained. V laughed.

"True. Although the relationship between the territories and Dad's government has always been weird. While the other territories and I have to follow the US Constitution and are American citizens, American Samoa doesn't because he's an unincorporated territory. Although everyone agrees that his unincorporated status is stupid and needs to be fixed." V explained.

"American Samoa? Is he related to Samoa?" I asked V as I recognized the familiar name. V's eyebrows furrowed together in confusion.

"I'm not to sure. American Samoa joined us when the local tribes of his islands ceded the islands to Dad. American Samoa didn't have a personification before then. So we're pretty sure he's biologically Dad's, although I don't see it outside the realm of possibility for him to be related to Samoa." V explained.

"That seems...confusing." I said. I was a bit uncomfortable. As happy as I was to be reunited with V again, a lot of time has past. V definitely has changed. I knew the Danish Virgin Islands, but how much did V change since living with America?

"Everything involving America is. Things happen so fast it's hard to keep track of them. Like those murder hornets that appeared for like, a week, and then everyone just stopped talking about them."

"Wait, murder hornets?" I asked, worried after hearing about the murder hornets. V made a dismissal gesture.

"Yeah, don't worry about it though." She said, waving off my concern over the fact that there were murder hornets in America. What did murder hornets even mean? It was a very vague and concerning phrase.

"You said murder hornets and expect me not to be worried?" I asked.

"Yeah. So, anyways, how have things been for you?" V said, changing the subject. I pushed the topic of murder hornets to the back of my mind. That was something to worry about later. Right now I was going to catch up with my daughter.

"Good. How are you? It's been a while since we talked." I said. V smiled.

"Yeah, it really has. I've been good. I love all of my siblings. They've been really nice, if reluctant to give me and the other territories statehood. I fine without it, although D and Rico have been making pushes towards statehood." V said.

"I'm glad you like having siblings. Do you like staying with America?" I asked. I wanted to make sure V was happy in her life with America.

"Yes! Dad is very nice, and while he does get busy with the more troublesome states and paperwork, he tries to make time for everyone. He is very good at listening to us about our problems, and is good at meditating through our disagreements. Although he's gotten very annoyed at 'Hio and Michi for arguing over everything. Even York and Mass can get along every once in a while." V explained.

I didn't recognize the names of any of the states, aside from New York, although I didn't know much about America geography, so that was to be expected.

"Who's Michi? And Mass?" I asked, curious about V's new siblings. Mass had been mentioned by New York and America, which made me curious as to who he was.

"Michi is Michigan, and 'Hio is Ohio. They're basically sworn enemies." V explained. I recognized those names from the reveal of America's states yesterday.

"America mentioned them before. Something about a war?" I asked V, curious if two of America's  states actually went to war. Would that count as a civil war then, or something else? V's lips curled into an amused grin.

"The Toledo War. Not so much a war as a political dispute. I don't know much about it though. You're better off asking Dad." V explained.

"And Mass?" I asked, curious over what states seemed to be disliked by other states.

"Massachusetts. He and New York mainly dislike each other because of baseball. Baseball season is never fun in our house because of that. So is football, although football rivalries are way worse. Honestly, the whole United part of Dad's name is a joke. The states have rarely been united on anything." V said, letting out a little laugh.

That made sense to me. Even though I was a part of the EU, that didn't mean I got along with all of the countries in the EU. I only makes sense that the same would apply to the states in America.

"Do you all disagree on everything because of sports?" I asked. V shrugged.

"A lot of disagreements are about sports, but some states will look for any excuse to hate the others. Jersey has claimed time and time again that he hates everyone and likes no one. But we all know he secretly likes us, even if he pretends he doesn't." V said with a smile.

"Jeg er glad for at du er glad." (I'm glad you're happy.)I said, sad that I had been stupid enough to believe my daughter was dead, but happy as she was alive, and I could spend time with her again.

"Det er jeg også." (So am I) V responded, giving me the smile I always remembered her having. Her face my have changed, her home may have changed, but she hadn't. And I was so thankful for that.

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This Line Break will take you to Alaska's conversation with Russia and the others. That just means we're going back a  bit.

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Russia POV

I had an Uncle who was an American state. This wasn't something I ever expected to hear, but it was true. Did this mean I was technically related to America? Блядь. I didn't know how to feel about this, and I'm not sure if any of my siblings felt the same way.

Alaska was staring at us after he sat down. I saw Texas introducing another state behind him, but I wasn't paying attention to that.

"Добры дзень." (Hello) Belarus said, smiling. Alaska nodded his head at her.

"It's nice to meet you. I don't have the best experience with your father and grandfather, so forgive if I'm a bit suspicious about anything." Alaska said. I nodded, thinking back to what Alaska had said about being neglected by my grandfather. I have never known my Дед (Grandfather), but my Папа had never said anything good about him.

And the deal America had mentioned having with my Папа, that they wouldn't hurt each other's states to protect their own states. Palau had mentioned that America wanted to keep the states secret to protect them from enemies, but my Папа knew. Did that mean that some of the states were unaware of the deal?

America had always been someone who was hard to figure out, but everything I learned something about him, he just made less sense.

"I'm sorry about anything our тато did." Ukraine said. Alaska gave a sad smile and shock his head.

"Don't apologize for things that aren't your fault. My biological dad was horrible to me and my Anax̂, and USSR was determined to keep me out of the family because I was an American. It's not your fault they're idiots." Alaska said. Kazakhstan frowned.

"Is your aнам, your mom, still alive? You talk about he like she's still alive, but wouldn't she be dead since your a part of America?" Kazakhstan asked. That was a question that confused me. Alaska made it sound like his mother was one of the native tribes in America. But they would be dead since America was the entire country and consisted of all the native people and tribes as well, right?

"No, a lot of the native tribes have survived, mainly because Adax̂ recognized a lot of the tribes as being their own nations and the tribes are in charge of the land on their reservations. There is over 300 tribes who have their own reservations, and Adax̂ recognizes over 500. My Anax̂ is still alive because of that, although she has a different name." Alaska explained to us.

There were countryhumans for over 500 of America's native tribes? America probably isn't related to any of them because he is Britain's son, and not the son of one of the native tribes. The fact that they're were alive was surprising. While colonized countries would have native people who live in their country, I've never heard of one having the countryhumans of the native  people alive.

I was young though. Even though I spent a long time as a soviet state, I had only been a country for twenty-nine, almost thirty years. Did the older countries like Norway or Spain know about countries have countryhumans for their native people. Was this just another weird American thing, or was it like this for all of the countries that had native people. Did they hide the existence of countryhumans for native people to protect them?

"Are you serious? Can countryhumans for the native people of other countries be alive too?" Belarus asked. Alaska shrugged.

"I know the American ones are alive, but not any others. Amtal." He said. Two states burst in through the doors and introduced themselves. I turned to face them just to hear the say something about reincarnations.

"Oh great. Del left the states unsupervised. I really hope D, Mont and Ginny are there, otherwise I won't have a home to go back to." Alaska muttered. Who were those states that Alaska mentioned and why did they influence were he lived?

"I'm confused. What does Del have to do with where you live? And who is Del?" Ukraine asked. Alaska rolled his eyes and pointed to one of the states that had barged in, who had a yellow diamond.

"That's Del. Short for Delaware. It's mainly a joke based around the fact that he, along with Vermont, Virginia and DC are the only states that can break up most fights between other states. And since fights between states can get dramatic, something will end up destroyed. Like my house for one." Alaska explained smiling.

"It sound chaotic there." Kazakhstan said.

"It is. But I wouldn't have it any other way. It would be too weird." Alaska said before sighing, his face falling. He looked to be in deep though.

"Are you okay?" I asked. Alaska gave me a look.

"I'm fine. I'm just nervous. Like I said, I don't have the best experience with your family." Alaska said.

"Why'd you say your family? Aren't you a part of our family as well?" Belarus asked. Alaska shook his head.

"Not at the moment. I have no intention of claiming Российская империя as my father, not after what he put Anax̂ through. As for USSR, when he died, we were on bad terms, and I don't want to forgive him at the movement, not until I have proof he was sorry for what he did. My family is Adax̂ and all of the states and territories that make him up. I'll accept you as family, but only once you prove I can trust you." Alaska explained.

"You have trust issues." I said. Ukraine, Belarus, and Kazakhstan all sent me looks that said to shut up. Alaska laughed.

"Aren't you offended?" Kazakhstan asked. Alaska shook his head.

"Wait until you meet my siblings. Trust me, they are all incredibly blunt and will never give up an opportunity to tell you something they dislike about you. My favorite sibling is Washington." Alaska said, laughing a little bit more.

"Siblings. There one job is too annoy you." Belarus said. Alaska snorted, rolling his eyes.

"You have no idea. If I hear Tex say he is the largest state one more time, I'm going to kill him. I'm bigger than, like, half of the United States." Alaska complained. Kazakhstan's wings spread out a bit as he gigged at Alaska's sentence, knocking Ukraine's flower crown off of his head.

"Серйозно Казахстан? Вам довелося це збити? Ви намагаєтесь довести свою аргументацію? " (Seriously Kazakhstan? You had to knock it off? Are you trying to prove a point?) Ukraine asked as he picked his flower crown up.

"Жоқ. Жоқ. Бұл өте нашар уақыттағы апат болды. Кешіріңіз."(No. No. No. It was an accident with really bad timing. I'm sorry.) Kazakhstan responded. I looked over to Alaska to see him looking confused.

"Are you okay?" I asked. Alaska looked at me and nodded.

"I don't understand what they are saying. Russian is the only language outside of my official  languages that I know. I'm going to have to try and learn the basics of their languages." Alaska said as he gestured to my siblings.

Alaska seemed like a kind person, but there was something about him that I couldn't figure out. I didn't really know what to make of my Uncle. He was hard to figure out, and as much as he wanted to avoid calling us family, he had a happy look in his eyes whenever he talked to us. I think Alaska wants to accept us as family, but he's scared.

And if we're being honest, I am too.

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Mexico POV

"Madre meet Cali. They're a bit weary of meeting you for some strange reason." Texas said. Seeing mi hijo again was amazing. I though he has died, but he was alive. And I had another child!

I was crushed to learn that California didn't want to meet me. Just because I hadn't been in their life before doesn't mean that I wouldn't want to be now. They had only been a country for veinticinco días (Twenty-five days)!

That's not enough time to establish diplomatic relations with other countries, especially after your two neighboring countries just got out of a war. If I had met California before they became a state, would they have wanted to meet me?

"Hola. ¿Como estás?" (Hello. How are you?) California asked after staring at me for a while. They had a calm expression in their face, but their eyes betrayed nervousness.

"Bien. ¿Y tu?" (Good. And you?) I responded California bit their lip. Texas rolled his eyes.

"No matter how much you want to say you didn't want to meet Madre, we both can tell that you're nervous about it, which means that you probably wanted to." He said California shot him a glare.

"Fuck off Tex. You don't know anything about me you asshat." They said. Texas put his hands up in a surrender motion.

"Come on Cali, don't you think that's a bit harsh? Here I am, your big bro, who just wants you to stop pretendin' you never wanted to meet Madre." Texas said, clenching his jaw.

"Patahimikin mo tanga. Palagi kang kumikilos tulad ng alam mo kung ano ang ginagawa mo. Ayaw mo! Wala sa atin ang gumagawa! Kaya't tigilan mo na ang pag-arte tulad ng alam mo ang lahat Tex. Pagod na ako dito." California said to Texas, in a language I didn't recognize.

"That's just mean Cali. Now talk to Madre and stop yellin' at me." Texas said, annoyed with whatever California had told him.

"California. I know I never got to be a mother to you, but if you would let me be your mother, I would be glad to take up that position. Por favor (please). Let me have a spot in your life California." I told them, hoping that California would accept my offer.

I love Texas, and regardless of the bad blood between us when he joined America, I was heartbroken at his 'death.' If I had know California was alive when they joined America, I would have mourned them just as fiercely as I had mourned my son.

I wanted to be a mother to my children. Texas had forgiven me for the events that happened during the Texas Revolution, and I hoped California could accept my offer of peace.

I may not have known California during their days as a country, but that didn't mean I don't want to be a part of their days as a state.

"I...I never needed a mom. I don't know how to have one. Besides, I never knew you and you just met me, and I already have a Padre, so I don't think it necessary." California explained.

Dios, (God) that hurt. My child had just basically disowned me. I felt tears prick in my eyes as I though back to Texas declaring independence. All the heartbreak and the pain that came from me gaining a son, just one that hated me.

"Really Cali? You're graspin' at straws for an excuse to avoid Madre. What the fuck are you so afraid of?" Texas angrily demanded, causing some of the Latin American countries that had been talking to Puerto Rico and the other American states that were children of my father.

"I'm not grasping at straws Tex. You have no clue what you're talking about! It's a legitimate excuse. Why can't you see that?" California accused, pushing their sunglasses up their face from where they had slid during their exclamation.

"Do you two get into an argument over everything?" I asked. Texas and California seemed to dislike each other a lot. America said they were political opposites, so they probably have conflicting viewpoints.

I was nervous about having to manage my children if they argued a lot. I never had the best relationship with Texas with it came to solving problems. I also didn't know enough about California to know if I was offending them instead of fixing the problem.

"We argue because there are many differences between us." California said, their tone harsh as they shot a small glare towards Texas, who scowled.

"One thing we have in common is our mom. Just talk to her Cali! This is literally the first time you've met her and you're basing your opinion on the fact she didn't know you were alive. You were a country for twenty five days! That's not enough time to met every other country. Stop being stubborn and just give her a chance!" Texas said, putting his hands on California's shoulders and looking them in the eyes.

I saw America had looked over from his conversation with his family to look at Texas and California. He had a thoughtful look on his face. Canada tapped on his shoulder and America turned around.

I wonder what America did that for. Was he afraid that Texas and California were going to have another fight? They did already have a fight today and America made it sound like that was a normal occurrence.

"Fine. Hello...You can call me Cali. I don't really know what to say to you." California-no Cali said. They looked very nervous.

"Well, what are your interests?" I asked. I wanted to learn more about Cali. They smiled.

"I have the home to Hollywood, so I'm really into filmmaking. I also really like making new tech, mainly because of Silicon Valley. I do that with Washington, the state, since he also has a ton of tech nerds." Cali said. I smiled.

"That's cool. Is there anything else you do?" I asked. I wanted to know as much as I could about my child.

"Get set on fire!" Texas called. I shot Cali a horrified look. They get set on fire? Are they okay? Cali rolled her eyes.

"Oh come on. It's not usually this bad." Cali protested. Cali usually gets set on fire?

"¿Usualmente te prenden fuego? Cali, ¿estás bien?" (You usually get set on fire? Cali are you okay?) I asked, standing up as my concern for my child grew.

"Don't worry about it. Wildfires happen in my state a lot. I'm used to it." Cali said.

"And you make the rest of us deal with it." Texas muttered under his breath.

"Would you rather me be on fire?" Cali asked Texas. Texas rolled his eyes. I laughed. Cali and Texas may not act like they get along, but it was easy to tell that they cared for each other.

"Maybe." Texas said.

"TEX YOU SON OF A BITCH!" Cali yelled.

"WE HAVE THE SAME MOM! SHE'S RIGHT THERE!" Texas yelled back, gesturing to me. I began laughing. The relationship between my children was weird and hilarious.

"Oh right. Sorry Madre. Normally you aren't around so I can cuss out Texas without it being awkward." Cali explained.

"You need to stop cussing out Tex. You guys are reaching 'Hio v Michi or York v Mass levels of arguments." Delaware said, crossing his arms. America nodded.

"Del's right. You two need to stop fighting over any small thing you can disagree over." America said.

"Oh come on Pa. We ain't that bad. You've seen 'Hio and Michi. How can we be that bad?" Texas protested.

"I dealt with the Toledo War firsthand. I know how bad 'Hio and Michi can be. Michi wasn't even alive when the Toledo War happened." America protested.

"Yeah, so how are we that bad?" Cali asked.

"Four fights in less than an hour. That's more than 'Hio and Michi on a bad day. They can keep it under two." America explained.

"That's because we have a group of states-"

"The Midwest"

"Yes the Midwest. Anyway they're in charge of keepin' those two apart." Texas finished after the being interrupted by New York.

"Fair enough, but if you guys don't stop turning every conversation into an argument, we'll have to do the same for you." America told them. Texas rolled his eyes.

"Alright Pa we get it." He said before turning back to me and Cali.

"America and Delaware are right. You guys do fight a lot. I don't know the other states they mentioned, but you do turn most conversations into a fight. Can I have a conversation with you without it turning into a fight?" I asked. Texas and California exchanged looks.

"We can try." California said.

"What do you wanna talk about?" Texas asked. I began asking them questions about their lives and what they were interested. I was glad to be reunited with my son, and I was glad that I have another child. I just hope Cali will be able to accept me as family.

[sh1tbird-shantytown]

Tommy doesn’t know who Queen is and Steve goes on a quest to get Tommy to listen to all different types of music. Billy gets dragged into the shenanigans. The three of them start hanging out together when Steve falls asleep, but he has a super bad nightmare. (I think they were probably drinking or smoking weed or both before. Which made the nightmare worse.) Then comes cuddling with Tommy choosing the music and light teasing.

i love this so much. they’re all musically ignorant in one way or another anyway. lemme just sprint with this now :)

---

He was just trying to get his history books, it wasn't his fault that their lockers were right next to each other. Or that Tommy was apparently living under a heavy rock.  

“I’ve never heard of Queen, unless you’re talking about the Queen of England or some shit. Other than that, I’m at a loss.” Tommy was yapping to one of Carol’s friends. Sarah? Betty? They all looked the same honestly. 

“What do you mean you’ve never heard of Queen?” Steve hadn’t actually really meant to just start abruptly start speaking to Tommy again, but here they were. In the hallway. Around nosey onlookers. And Sarah-Betty who was definitely staring and definitely not happy for the intrusion. 

Tommy grinned boyishly, “Talkin’ to me again, Harrington?”

Steve didn’t let up, “You haven’t heard of Queen? Freddie Mercury? Brian May? They’ve been all over the radio for years, man.” Tommy died down a little with the snarky attitude, but the flare was still there through the dilution. 

“I don’t know, Harrington. Guess I have too many people around to pay attention to the radio much anymore.” Tommy crossed his arms and Steve almost gave up as the bilious emotions started up towards the boy again. 

Steve shook his head, “Meet me at my house tonight at 6. I’ll order in and I’ll show you myself what Queen is. ‘Kay, Tom?” Now that really took the other aback.

“It’s been, what, a year?” Hands on his hips just as Steve was doing, “All of a sudden you’re interested again?”

Steve looked him in the eye and nodded, “Six o’clock on the dot, Tommy. Be there!” he pivoted on his heel and blended in the crowd.

He had the pizza box and the stereo up and ready to jam long before the bell rung. Only three minutes late. It was honestly a record for Tommy, Steve knew for a fact that Tommy had the worst time management skills. Which also made Steve a little on edge as he opened the door. He wasn’t actually that surprised to find Billy Hargrove right there beside Tommy. Both grinning in their own devilish manners. 

Steve vamped them with the most unimpressed look he could produce and traveled back inside, “Well, come on!” he ordered impatiently. 

Billy spoke up first as they entered the living area, “Nice place, very...” he seemed to contemplate a moment as he examined the vacant side tables and mantle, “Modern.”

“Tell me about it,” he rolled his eyes, “I’ll go get beer,” he started making his way towards the kitchen. “Pizza’s on the coffee table, don’t make a mess.”

When he returned there wasn’t any mess on the floors or furniture, but Tommy had enough sauce on the corners of his mouth and cheeks to slather a whole slice itself.

“Oh, Tommy,” he sighed and grabbed a napkin to clean the sauce before it dried. Billy and Tommy stared like owls but Steve ignored them and instead focused on putting the first cassette in. “Now listen, no one gets to speak.” He pointed to the table, “You have free food and drinks, so indulge me,” he took his own seat on the floor between them. A Night at the Opera. 

“Well this is eerie,” Tommy griminced and bit into another slice. His face lifted a moment later as the song changed gears, “Oh wait, no I change my mind, this is cool.”

“Have you found a new toy to replace me? Can you face me? But now you can kiss my ass goodbye Feel good, are you satisfied?”

Steve looked at Tommy and found him already looking back. 

Billy coughed, “Next, Pretty Boy?”

“Bicycling on every Wednesday evening Thursday, I go waltzing to the zoo”

Tommy swayed with the steady smoothness, “I like this one, I like it a lot.” Billy’s thigh brushed and planted against Steve’s shoulder as they watched Tommy tap along. The touch sizzled excitingly. 

“I'm in love with my car Got a feel for my automobile Get a grip on my boy-racer rollbar Such a thrill when your radials squeal“

Tommy’s face pinched just a little, nose wrinkled cutely, ”I don’t know about this one. Sounds like a song Billy might appreciate a bit more. WIth Margo and all that.” 

Tommy smiled at Billy and Steve felt something churn in is tummy, “Margo?” he tilted his head back so it rested on Billy’s knee in order to look at him.

Billy sighed and tilted his own head back to take a sip of the beer can he'd been working on, “It’s my car’s name, after my dog when I was a kid.” Steve shifted back so he was facing the stereo again after nodding once. 

“Oh, you're the first one when things turn out bad You know I'll never be lonely You're my only one And I love the things I really love the things that you do“

Tommy immediately smiled at the opening and his foot made its way from nudging him happily to resting in Steve’s lap, “This one is my favorite.”

“Really?” Steve and Billy asked simultaneously. Steve turned his head painfully fast and they stared in mutual shock. They were quick to get over it though and both went back to waiting for Tommy’s decisive nod. His eyes were closed and calm in enjoyment. So, Steve forcefully settled whatever Billy had stirred and did the same, back rested against both boy’s shins comfortably. 

“My sweet lady Though it seems like we wait forever Stay sweet, baby Believe and we've got everything we need“

“That one was...interesting,” Tommy commented.

Billy snorted as Steve smiled, “I’d say.”

“I feel like dancing in the rain Can I have a volunteer? Just keep right on dancing What a damn jolly good idea“

Tommy smiled sweetly through the that one, Steve felt as though he didn’t need to ask why.

“I dreamed I saw on a moonlit stair Spreading his hands on the multitude there A man who cried for a love gone stale And ice cold hearts of charity bare“

“How come they are so short and so long at random? It’s weird,” Tommy leaned forward and grabbed another beer, condensation dripping onto Steve’s bare knee.

“Sometimes things are more difficult to interpret,” Billy answered. Steve leaned a little more into them as he felt his hips settle. 

“Oh, back, hurry back Please bring it back home to me Because you don't know what it means to me Love of my life“

“That was kinda sad,” Billy was the one to say something between the track then. 

Steve agreed, “Yeah, a little.” He felt eyes on his head but gazed instead on the slight glow to the stereo. 

“Take good care of what you've got My father said to me As he puffed his pipe and baby B. He dandled on his knee Don't fool with fools who'll turn away Keep all good company“

Steve felt a leg press firmer into his shoulder and he laid his head on it, above him Billy sighed just above being silent, “How was that one, Tom?”

Tommy didn’t answer for a moment, “I’m not sure. It sounded good.” The feet in Steve’s lap crossed themselves jitteringly. 

“Open your eyes, Look up to the skies and see, I'm just a poor boy, I need no sympathy, Because I'm easy come, easy go, Little high, little low“

“That one was freaky,” Tommy sat forward in awe, “But it was also awesome.” Eventually the last cord divvied out, all of them lazy with alcohol and sleepy with muddled calm that none of them had felt in a while. Although, Steve already was sleep on Billy’s knee. He didn’t get the chance to regret the beer he’d consumed before he was overrun with horrific, viney tunnels and humongous monsters. Screams of people he knew and cared for. Dustin, Nancy, his parents, Johnathon, El, Lucas. But what had him waking up in a bolt, yelping and screaming, was the one’s from Billy and Tommy. The pain those ones harbored, the ones that made Steve tremble too much to bare. 

Heavy hands grasped his shoulders and softer ones held his face when he came to. He closed his mouth and the wailing stopped just as it had reached his ears.

“Steve! Steve- sh, it’s alright, Stevie,” Tommy’s voice filtered in subtly and he thought he heard a breeze from behind. 

“We should get him to bed,” Billy said and the warmth from behind Steve was suddenly gone. He didn’t know what he must of done, was too out of it, but suddenly he was in someone's arms and being coddled.

“It’s okay, Pretty Boy, we’re still here.”

And then they were in a bed, and his room by the looks of the plaid and blue walls. He had two bodies on either side, and while the comfort he felt was something he couldn’t recognize. It was something new and he felt he should feel overwhelmed by all the sudden figures beside him. But instead he felt relieved and willingly open to allow these two boys in with limited hesitation. What a change in events. Truly. 

“Talk to us, Stevie,” Tommy whispered in his ear. 

“Have you heard of Blondie?” he whispered a bit hoarsely. 

“No. Unless that’s Billy.”

“Add that to the list of things Tommy needs to learn about.” He got a slight tickle above his ribs in response from Billy. Steve held in his laugh as best he could but Billy didn’t stop the movement until he finally coughed out a yelp in protest. He tried his best to portray a steady glare in return but it didn’t quite work. “What about The Smiths?”

“Nadda.”

“Tears for Fears?”

“Mmm,” Tommy finally came into clear vision for Steve to see, even in the dark, “Maybe, maybe not.” He was grinning like the dumbass Steve knew he was. And then he was gone.

“Wah-?” he almost whined. Almost. 

“Don’t worry, Stevie,” there was a clicking sound, “I’m just trying to culture you up a bit. Gotta keep you calm so we can actually get so sleep.” He laughed loudly when he seemingly found something. Tree branch arms coiled around Steve’s waist and he couldn’t be bothered to tell Billy off as the warmth radiated into his skin and heart. 

Tommy came back while the Eurythmics, of all people, made some sort of soft noise through the room. And Tommy’s own hands somehow managed to sneak their way past Billy’s and just barely grazed his ass. The blanket bundled them all together and Steve felt as though he finally had the loves of his life in sight. That definite path made for him. Finally and just maybe. 

send me headcannons!<3

[coffee-n-bagels-comic-universe]

January 3rd or One's Beginning is another's end (Daughters of Darkness)

This passage contains potentially: Explicit Language, Depictions of Violence (including mentions of blood), Smoking, Slang and maybe some bad translations.

Summary: An introduction to the world of the Daughters of Darkness, through the eyes of series protagonist Kirby 'Gluttony' Lucifarian. The first day and night, from her perspective, of them working for the WWF.

Kirby's POV:

Tuesday. The first day of being 'on the job', Tuesday the third of January 1984. Damien got us into the WWF. … Damien, managed to get us into the quickest rising wrestling promotion, popularity wise. To be honest with you, Damien's given us free reign to get to know people, for now. I don't know anyone here. I've heard of people here, such as the most famous giant in the world, and … Hogan.

I'm not here because I earned it, I'm here because I'm a necessity for the team. That's how I view it. That's how I've always viewed it. Vickie needed someone to make fun of and, well, I'm the easiest choice. Then, in the midst of a darker path of thought becoming clearer in my mind...

WHAM

Both me and the figure I waltzed into thudded to the floor, "Oh, my good lord. I'm so sorry are you o..."

I looked at the figure before me, taking in how much trouble I had created in the last three seconds.

Taller than myself.

Head covered by a wild afro.

Around double my weight.

André.

André the giant.

Flat on his arse … because of me.

Oh … Shit.

"Are you alright, Mademoiselle…"

I could tell he was searching for a name but didn't know it. Too frightened to even speak I glanced away. I noticed his shadow move.

"Mademoiselle?"

His footsteps came closer, he sounded … worried, as if he didn't want me to get fired for this.

"Mademoiselle?"

He picked me up, not off the ground, but so I could stand. I whispered out a small 'thank you', or rather 'merci'. His hands still on my shoulders, he smiled sweetly and nodded, as if to beckon forth more words from me.

"I'm Kirby, or rather, Gluttony. I'm new around here."

André grinned, putting his arm around my shoulder, pulling me closer before stopping upon seeing how much taller than every other woman in the company I am.

"Are you, uh …" he searched for the words

"A giant, yes, technically a giantess."

I feel I should summarise the next hour or so, but, André took me on a tour of the backstage area and we talked, about everything. Within an hour I had gained a new friend, a genuine friend, someone who didn't care about my height or looks. I know the only reason he didn't care is because he knows what it's like to be stared at just because you aren't 'normal'.

By the time André's tour had ended it was time for Vickie and Damien's interview with Mean Gene, which I was to attend. I said a goodbye to André and rushed off to perform my usual role.

The Enforcer, or rather, the intimidation device, that's my role in this group, to scare people, that's all I do. Before joining the group I was part of another group back in England, The Celtic Warriors, I was part of a championship winning tag team. Now what am I, a damned intimidation device, a human scare tactic.

The Interview:

Gene's first question for us, actually, Damien and Vickie (whilst I stood behind them and looked 'menacing'), was 'How are you doing so far?'

Damien began, "You know something, Gene, my girls have yet to have a match, but we are doing absolutely fine. In shape, ready to rock, ready to roll. Gene, every one of the Daughters of Darkness are doing fine."

Vickie followed suit, "Just look at us," She gestured to me and then herself, "Don't we look marvellous, Gene."

Gene smirked, "You could say that again, miss?"

"Pride, though you can call me Vickie."

Damien glared at the smaller man, almost as if he was daring him to try and flirt with her.

Gene readjusted and focused in on the prospect of new women in the WWF and the possibility of more matches. "Uh hum, yes, now how soon do you girls think you'll be seeing a match on the cards?"

"Soon, Gene, Soon." Vickie stated, ending the interview by walking off.

The first night after 'work' was surprisingly normal, Damien and Vickie went off in their rental car, taking Holly and Eli with them whilst the rest of us stood around backstage for a while.

Billie brought a pack of cigarettes and a lighter out of her purse, lighting one up and walking over to me, sitting down on a box placed near by and blowing the smoke away from me she spoke up.

"What's up with you, Tall-ass."

"Thinking."

"Dangerous pastime hermana."

"I know, hermana"

"You collect phrases, don' cha?"

"They may come in handy, Billie, one day."

"You going to the gym tomorrow?"

"Of course. Gotta train. Gotta … gotta settle in somehow, right?"

"Right, mi hermana, I'll see you around, alright?"

"See ya, Billie."

She waved back at me as she walked away.

Billie was the only person who knew that I 'collected' those little phrases that seem like nothing until spoken. Language isn't my strongest aspect, more often than not I'm silent and I try to avoid other peo-

"Hey! watch where you're walking man!" I yelped out, shocked back into the present moment. Instantly regret flooded my mind as I realised who had barged past me to get out of the building.

Big John Studd.

One of the most disrespectful 'giants' in the world of wrestling. famous for being the one man who pisses André off more than anyone else, including the Iron Sheik.

He sneered back a quick, "Who gives a fuck." and continued to stroll away.

That … that fuckwit. Who does he think he is. I felt a gentle hand place itself on my shoulder. I turned, expecting to see Eli or P.G, I was face to, well, chin with André.

"Forget about him," He started, with that same sweet, friendly smile from earlier, "Damien said you may need a ride back to the hotel. I don't recommend you walk back now, too dark out for a young lady such as yourself."

The way his R sounds turned into faint W's and he missed off or faintly implied H's was calming. Almost in the same way that hearing a parents voice would calm a child after a nightmare.

"Oh, uh, it's okay André, I was going to get a taxi."

He nodded in response, somehow both downhearted and curious, as if he knew that I was either lying to him or if I did get a taxi, the immense pain my back would be in the following day. André sauntered off, leaving me, once again by myself.

I don't mind being alone, in fact most of my life I have been alone, always the outcast, it was only when I got into wrestling that it started to change.

I picked up my bag and started walking, buttoning up my shirt up to the top of my chest, my near-neon orange shirt covering down to my mid-forearm, hiding any noticeable tattoos, except the one on my wrist, when I turned eighteen, I got a small, runic 'R' on my right wrist, in remembrance of my uncle Rory, the tallest of my dad's brothers.

It took about an hour to get to the hotel, an hour of walking through a city I'm not familiar with, when I eventually got to the hotel I went straight to my room and locked myself in. All alone, I could practice or train if I wanted, so I did.

I took off my black shirt, shoes and belt and I stood in the middle of the hotel room and practiced punching, then I switched to doing my warmups and working out, push-ups, planks, squats. By the time I finished it must've been around midnight, maybe one or two am. I got some sleep, waking up at six, getting changed into some fresh workout gear and headed straight to the gym.

You meet all sorts of characters at a gym, or so I've been told. Back in England I would go to my parents house and use our home-made gym to work out. Not an option that I have anymore, however, the moment I got into the gym, I felt like I was in a whole new world, as if I was just getting into the business all over again. I scanned for any faces that I knew, Mr Fuji, Tonga Kid, Sgt Slaughter, Don Muraco, Lou Albano, Iron Sheik, Freddie Blassie, Tito Santana, Jimmy Snuka, Bob Backlund, Gene and Pat, David Schultz, and … who is that?

I walked over to David and this mystery guy, nodding at David and heading to the heavy bag next to them.

"Mornin' Gluttony, André's been talkin' about ya."

"Oh really, Mr Schultz?" I tried to keep my breath noises to a minimum as I continued to hit the bag.

The mystery guy snickered, quickly shutting up after Schultz glared at him.

"C'mon girl, you know you can call me David. An' yeah," He stopped punching and instead leaned on the heavy bag in front of him, forcing the other guy to hold it still "Giant's been talking about him havin' a new friend and how much he likes ya."

"He's a good man, it's good to have friends in new places. Who's your pal, David?"

He smiled and slung his arm around the shorter man, "This here, this is Roddy Piper. He's like you."

I tilted my head slightly to try and make him explain further.

"You are Scottish, right?"

"I'm a quarter Scottish. Anyway, Piper, Do you speak Gaelic?"

"Uh, no, I can play the bagpipes however." his eyes lit up slightly, a sort of mad fire behind a haze of brown or maybe dark blue.

"Well, I'll see you around I guess, I've gotta warm up for later though."

I tried to block the two men out and focus on my own workout but Piper seemed to stick around a lot longer than David. He was still there when my workout ended.

"What do you want?"

"You're a quarter Scottish, you're also a giant. How do you fight? Show me." He seemed to get more energetic the more he talked.

"Right now?"

He nodded, "Right now, c'mon."

He led me to a ring that some other wrestlers were using to brush up their skills.

From the looks of the ring, it was actually used for boxing.

Roddy entered the ring the same way as most six-foot-two guys did, through the top and middle ropes. I tested the ropes, and seeing that they had just enough slack, used them to jump over the top rope.

"I've never seen a girl do that before."

"Mistake number one, I'm a woman, not a girl. Mistake number two, you expected a giant to be normal."

He scoffed out a laugh and got ready to lock up.

We locked up and Piper hit me with a knee to the stomach.

I got him back with an Irish whip into the corner, accidentally winding him by being too stiff.

"You're gonna pay for that, lass." He snarled out, already getting pissed off.

I sized him up, trying to see how high I would have to get myself in order to dropkick him to the mat.

Piper tried to hit me with a running high knee strike but I countered with a dropkick, taking us both down to the mat and slamming my face into the mat.

The mat was a lot harder than I was used to, it felt like I had rammed my head straight into a cinderblock, I started breathing heavier than before.

I rolled over and put my arms up, making an 'X' with my forearms. Piper stopped and walked over.

"You alright?"

I shook my head.

He knelt down and pulled me up into a sitting position.

I hesitated, knowing I had to take my mask off to see what was wrong but truly not wanting to. Piper managed to unbuckle the straps of my mask and winced as he saw what was underneath. My mind went slightly mad not knowing if he was wincing at the injury I had caused myself or the fact that, compared to the rest of the D.O.D, I'm truly the worst looking, beauty-wise, that is.

Hitting my mouth so hard on the canvas of the mat below us, I had managed to hit my mask in a way that the bottom edge, which curved under my chin, cut into my flesh and made me bleed.

I put my hand up to the cut and Piper quickly held my arm by the wrist and shook his head, "Don't you dare."

By the time I received medical aid, which consisted of cleaning the cut and putting a band-aid on it, Piper had given me back my mask and asked if he could work out with me sometime. Knowing that he was currently on a different show, I said sure and we had split ways.

END OF ONE'S BEGINNING IS ANOTHER'S END / JANUARY 3RD

[teacup-crow]

The Diplomats, Part One

Part 3 of my Carena-in-the-future series is out now! This is the first of two chapters because it got too long. Check out the rest of the series here: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2019146

Carena is sent on a mission with sworn Fort Canton enemy, Joe. ZRS4 spoilers, very minor S5-6 spoilers. CW childhood trauma, explosions

“Wye aye! It’s “Just Caz”! Or should I say, Princess Carena Skeet herself?”

Joe Garron, Fort Canton’s Runner Thirty-Seven, was clearly equipped for a long expedition. There was no mistaking his stupid freckled face or grating accent, and she’d unashamedly attempted to kick those big gerbil-like teeth in before in a scrum that had got so bad Janine had banned inter-settlement rugby for the foreseeable future. Ever since their first meeting, there had been a mutual distrust, and they’d spent every training exercise since trying to one-up each other, usually egged on by his crowd of leering mates.

“Oh, fuck no,” Caz said, and turned on her heel. “This was not the deal.”

“This was absolutely the deal,” Dr Myers reminded her over comms. “You and a Fort Canton representative are going together to the conference and doing some reconnaissance on the way.”

She remembered the conversation, of course she did. Her foster father was in work boots and a duffle coat, mismatched with the nice tablecloth they’d got out for the King, hands held out to her, saying:

“I could have asked any of my kids. I’m askin’ you because you’re just like me, Caz.”

Years ago that might have pacified her, but now she was adamant. “You can’t expect me to go away for a whole month with people I don’t even know! I’ve got a life here!”

“Thought you always wanted to ‘get out of this dump’.”

“Yeah, well. I’m not a kid anymore. And it’s… it’s… Abel’s not so bad.”

She’d stood up to refill her mug of tea from the pot. He suddenly seemed quite small and old to her, although he couldn’t be more than forty. When had that happened?

“I can’t make you -” he’d broken off. “Well, technically I probably can make you, but I won’t do that. I’ll be honest, I don’t see how it’s any of your business, but it’s about the symbolism of the whole thing apparently. Princess and that. And you’ll get to see the country, make somethin’ of yourself.”

“If the job’s about talkin’ to people, you could send Naveen, or Lilly, or even Jade-”

“They’re not Runners. You’re the one with trainin’, and the most likely person that Fort Canton would approve being out with in the field. And again, it’s more about the… other mission, than the conference.”

“So you don’t want me to go because I’m most like you, then?”

“Caz,” Jamie had sounded tired. “I’ll say again: you don’t have to do this. I can ask Naveen, and Janine will send a Runner with him. But Christ, it would make our lives easier, and I think you’ll regret it if you don’t.”

In the present, Joe winked at her.

“I’m not going with him!” She hissed into the mic. “He’s a knob !”

“Joe is the Runner Fort Canton has chosen, and they clearly trust him, just like we trust you. There’s a huge amount of responsibility on your shoulders now, Carena. The King and Abel need you. Are you going to let us down?”

Carena growled, and stomped towards him. “If you can’t manage to call me Caz, Runner Ten will do.”

“Yes, yes, whatever you say, your royal highness,” he bowed. Carena’s first act of diplomacy was not punching him right then and there. “Should we get going? It’s only 10K to the first rest point.”

She immediately began to run, not checking to see if he was keeping in step. To her irritation, he saw that coming.

***

The diplomats were tasked with visiting several key settlements on the route to the conference in London, “meeting with young community representatives to work out their priorities in rebuilding Britain, yadda yadda yadda, blah blah blah”. Carena had accidentally zoned out during most of Janine’s brief.

Their other mission was to gather information on a new, particularly nasty fringe group who’d been undermining the uneasy truces Abel and Canton had formed, dragging up muck from years gone and causing chaos all over southern England. Most reports said the group members were young - younger than Carena, too young to even remember a life before zoms. “Oh, you’ve never heard of Lord of the Flies, have you? Well, imagine if Peter Pan and the Lost Boys were, ah, cannibalistic”, Janine had put it. Carena was definitely listening at that point.

On the upside, the mission was a chance to really see the country. On the downside, this involved a lot of walking. And talking, at least on Joe’s behalf. He never seemed to stop, telling her meandering stories about his fiance Emily and long pieces of Fort Canton gossip Carena couldn’t care less about, even as they wandered through the woods they’d been warned about the most.

“Keep it down, will you? And keep an eye out for traps. God knows what they’ve got.”

“I know what I’m doing! Unlike you lot, we actually train our Runners properly.”

Carena couldn’t help but laugh at that, incredulous. “Abel are the heroes of the apocalypse, your lot are just two-bit second-rate cowards.”

“Oooooh, feisty! But you’re not so heroic now, are you? The whole town bowing to everything your dad and his government says?”

The goading alongside the days of nonstop talking was too much, and Carena snapped, a particularly nasty snippet of hearsay coming to the forefront of her mind. It was rolling out of her mouth even as Dr Cohen scolded her for it in her head. Gossip is a sin for a reason.

“Well, what about your mum? Think you’re so much better than me and my dad, but where’s she?”

“Ten, I’d shut it if I were you.” All the laughter dropped from Joe’s face now, replaced with a seriousness she’d never seen from him before.

“Because I’ve heard all sorts of stuff about her. Fort Canton people all have big mouths. I heard she’s crazy . Lives with Kytan in the madhouse, don’t she?”

“Don’t you fucking talk about me mam!” Joe raised his fists and stepped towards her to the click of an IED.

The two of them paused for just a moment, the boy’s face paling before he screamed: “RUN!”

She didn’t need to be told twice. She sprinted, and he dived after her for a few seconds before the explosion threw them to the ground, ears ringing, shrapnel splintering through the air towards them.

***

Carena woke up. Her head sang out. Everything was fuzzy, slightly unreal, drifting in and out of reality. There was a heavy blanket on top of her. Oh. She must have the flu again, Dr Cohen piling on the duvets. Hopefully, someone would bring her a glass of water soon, because her mouth tasted dusty, bloody. Bloody?

She’d bit her tongue. Her headset whistled static - the explosion must have knocked the frequency. Explosion?

Suddenly, she was thrown into the present. Not a blanket on top of her, but big Joe bloody Garron. Joe bloody… lifesaving Garron. Joe, her only shield from the piercing rain of nuts and bolts and screws.

“Thirty-Seven? Thirty-Seven! Joe!”

To her relief, he groaned, and rolled to one side. She crawled out from underneath him.

His backpack had protected his head and neck somewhat, but his legs where he’d rolled up his walking trousers were peppered with wounds and shards of scrap metal. He whimpered as he breathed, conscious despite his best wishes.

“Joe, we have to move. If they can set one trap like that, this whole thing is a trap. We’re both in our uniforms. If they hate Abel and Fort Canton, who knows what they’ll do with us!”

“I know,” he hissed. “I just, I dunno how far I can get.” He began to unbuckle his rucksack. “Take my bag. At least they won’t get any supplies out of it.”

“I’m not leaving you!”

“You can’t.... you can’t carry me, I’m two stone heavier than you… and the mission - we need info on these little bastards…”

“ Fuck the mission, Runner Thirty-Seven! They’re cannibals! Get up. Now .”

“Got my gun. I’ll take a few of them out.”

“Come on, please!”

His tone and resolve barely wavered as the voices of approaching people began to echo through the woods. “Was an honour to serve with you.”

Carena grabbed his bag and held her hand out to pull him up. The voices were growing more distinct, and chilling. They were very childish, but the words were not.

“What are you gonna do with ‘em, boss?”

“Going to cut them into little pieces, see ‘ow they work.”

“Gonna cook ‘em!”

“Gonna do it slow, find out if they know anythin’ interesting, first.”

“Look, if you won’t get up for me, get up for Emily. She don’t deserve to lose you.”

Whether it’s this, or the savagery of the talk of the approaching kids, it was hard to know for sure, but Joe nodded, and through gritted teeth, got to his feet with a cry.

“Hold my hand. Don’t let go. Just put one foot in front of another. You can die when I’ve got us to safety.”

***

The campfire crackled and spat. Joe poked at it absently, the only evidence of Carena dabbing antiseptic on the last of his cuts the slight tightening of his jaw. Dr Cohen had been offering medical instructions over her headset from the minute they got to a secure building - Joe’s headset was unfortunately busted for good.

“Dr Cohen said to try and clean you up but not to take any of it out. We need to get you to a friendly settlement where they can do it properly. Abel’s identified one only eight miles or so off course. Barton Mound. They’re small, but they have a doctor, and maybe somethin’ stronger for the pain than two paracetamol and this shitty campfire tea.”

The boy smiled weakly. She started on the bandages.

“She must be important to you, this Emily.”

“Well, she’s the girl I’m gonna mar… oh no you don’t!” Joe stopped abruptly, dropping his stick and warming his hands over the flames.

“Oh no I don’t what ?”

“I’m savvy now, see.” Carena stared up at him. “Look, if you get me talking about me girl back home, ten minutes later I’ll wind up dead in your arms. It’s a tale as old as time, but I’m no redshirt.”

“Oh, you’re funny ,” she rolled her eyes, pretending she knew what a redshirt was.

“I do my best. But aye, my Emily’s a gem. She’s so smart. An engineer, you know. She designed this new way of harnessing solar power to heat - OW, TEN! What was that for?”

Carena had pulled the bandage a little too tight. “Talkin’ about your girl back home,” she said, mock-sweetly. “Let’s not tempt fate, shall we?”

“Maybe not,” he laughed, and rubbed at his mouth. “Least I’m too pathetic for you to punch me right now. Never forgot you have a mean right hook.”

“Well, I do a lot of fightin’.”

“You got a girl? Or, uh, guy?”

Carena snorted. “Nope. You tryin’ to get me killed now, Thirty-Seven?”

“Someday, Ten. Someday.”

“You’re not as funny as you think you are. Shut up and get some sleep. Tomorrow will be hard going.”

Half the time in Abel, she was desperately trying to find peace and quiet. Now, it was almost too silent. She tried to focus on the crackling of the fire, Joe shifting as he stoked the flames, and was almost relieved when he started chattering again.

“I’m sorry for takin’ the piss out of your title. I was thinkin’, how’s it even gonna work, anyway? Succession and all? With sixteen of you?”

“Lots of games of Rock, Paper, Scissors?” Carena sighed. “We don’t really know. People like havin’ a figurehead, but there’s no precedent for any of this. Hopefully Parliament will just abolish the monarchy or sommat.”

“Don’t fancy it?”

“You seen all Jamie’s had to put up with?”

“Fair point. You know, I’d quite fancy meself as a King. Think I’d suit a crown?”

“Your head’s too big to fit one.”

“Ouch, Ten! I’m wounded !”

“Yeah. Which is why you should be asleep.”

“You have a horrible bedside manner.”

“That’s why I’m a Runner, not a Medic,” she snarked back. “Funny, though. My Molly’s great in a crisis; she would be a much better help to you right now. Even little Sara’s probably picked up more about doctorin’ than I have.”

“Molly your girl?”

“No!”

“Huh. You said her name like she might be, ‘s all.”

“You’re about to feel my right hook again, injured or not. Shut up and go to sleep.”

“Shutting up, ma’am. Going to sleep now, ma’am.”

He did drift off shortly, sleeping in fits and starts when he woke from the pain. Carena sat with her back to him, a baseball bat in her hands, watching the night. Finally, she let herself cry.

***

The next morning, Joe looked paler. She made another cup of tea and crumbled more of their painkillers into it, hands and knees itching from her own grazes, her skin burning where the straps of her rucksack rubbed.

“Mornin’, Caz.” He managed a bit of his stupid grin. “Think we can justify eatin’ the jelly cubes yet?”

The nicest rations were tucked in the top of her pack. Without a word to the contrary, she pulled them out and unwrapped the foil, breaking off some strawberry jelly and handing it to him.

“The water don’t run in this house any more, unfortunately. We’ve got a couple litres left. Just got to hope this settlement is happy to see us.”

“Who wouldn’t be happy to be treated to the sight of us two?”

“People with eyes, brains and limited medical supplies of their own, prob’ly.”

His laugh was dry. “Ever the optimist, you.”

“Look, about yesterday. I’m sorry for what I said about your mum. My own big mouth got us into this.”

“‘S okay. It’s true. She is… she isn’t right in the head. Moonchild syndrome, a really bad case of it. Doesn’t remember me half the time. Not so great when she does.” He swallowed, and began to stamp out the last embers of the fire - they’d both slept with their shoes on, ready to go, and the pain of it seemed to be some distraction. “I was ten when she disappeared, and when she came back, she didn’t remember Dad, or baby Rosie either. They’d both died in the outbreak, it was always just us, and she was on the verge of madness for that but… that woman pushed her over the edge.”

“Joe…”

The boy continued, almost robotically, checking his gun without looking up at her.

“She was so confused, and it made her angry, and she used to take… well, I was right there, so... it’s not like anyone was paying much attention...” he trailed off, bit his lip in embarrassment. “Eventually she got convinced I’d gone grey too, tried to strangle me the same way she strangled Rosie. Skipping rope. God knows how she got hold of one, the sight of them always upset her... They wanted to kick her out of the town, let her fend for herself, but I… I begged them not to. So they locked her up instead, hid her from the Ministry till Kytan started helping people with Moonchild syndrome and they could palm her off on him.”

“Mate,” Carena said, buckling her pack, feeling her cheeks redden. “I dunno what to say.”

“C’mon, let’s move. You talk, for once. I need to think about something that’s not me legs.”

At least on the open road, traps were easier to spot. Carena racked her brain for a happy story, some way to brighten the mood.

“Okay, so… one time, me and my siblings tried to bake Dad a cake...”

They’d been really little, still living at the fire station. Archie was alive - she can remember the swish of the woman’s blonde hair against her cheek as she picked her up for a cuddle, how her voice sounded, all light and sing-song. “Now children, I am going upstairs for only ten minutes, just to have a shower. Be very good and we can go to the lake later! If you see zombies, ring the fire bell. ”

Jamie had gone mental at her later for even leaving them that long, but he was out picking up supplies from a military copter drop. In ten minutes, Naveen and Lilly had managed to coat themselves and half of the other children in flour. Jasper, somehow, had egg in his hair. Carena was sitting on the counter, decadently eating butter with a spoon and directing the scene. Archie had just laughed, and sprayed them all down with one of the hoses, and the cake-making fiasco turned into a giant water fight.

“Even the dog got involved!”

Joe grinned. “Sounds like a nice day.”

“It was,” Carena said, her voice a little softer than usual. “When I think back to that year, it’s all sunlight. Wasn’t perfect, ‘course. Archie died a few weeks after, and Jasper got turned. And… well, when Dad found out he was King he went to London for good.”

“That must’ve been hard. Him leaving like that, after you lost so many people.”

“He didn’t have much of a choice. But I didn’t always understand that, like.”

She’d been inconsolable for hours, and decided that night in her bunk that if she wasn’t good enough to make anyone stay, she would never trust them to.

“North-east, this settlement, aye?”

“Lead on.”

***

Barton Mound was a settlement of a few scraggly hilltop farmhouses, ten or eleven families surrounded on all sides by a barbed wire fence and only one gun turret. Joe and Carena both glanced at each other in distaste - it was hardly secure. Still, they had a medic and a well, and that wasn’t nothing.

Joe had got very quiet the last few miles, and Carena snuck worried looks at him as he slowed from an almost-jog to a walk to little more than a shuffle. If they were ambushed now by humans or zoms - which were unlikely but not impossible - they’d be in for it.

As they approached the makeshift gate, a woman holding a broom like a lance peered down at them.

“Who are you? What do you want?”

“You should have had word of us in advance? Caz, Abel Runner Ten. This is Canton Thirty-Seven.”

Joe waved, and slumped down against the gatepost.

“He’s been better. It’s his legs, they’re full of shrapnel, and-”

The woman tightened her grip on the broom, a mild note of panic in her voice. “Kids, was it?”

“Yeah…”

“You’d best get in, quickly. Can you walk a bit farther?”

Joe grimaced, and nodded, following after her.

“Dr Renwick should be able to help him. Then you’ll have to get out of here.”

“‘Scuse me?” Carena bristled.

“Listen, those kids… it sounds ridiculous, but they’re savage. They… they won’t be happy you got away from them. They don’t like to leave the woods, but they’ll look for you.”

“Did they take one of your people?”

The woman ignored Joe’s question, but added: “We’re just trying to live in peace with everyone, all right? We don’t want to draw them on us, and we don’t want to anger your leaders either ‘cause… well, if Abel Township wanted us dead, they’d stop at nothing to do it.”

“That’s not the sort of thing we do-“ Carena began, then realised the woman didn’t care, and wouldn’t believe them even if she did.

Dr Renwick was a tall, imposing person with a serious, strict demeanour. They sighed at the state of Carena’s attempt at field dressings, and shooed her out of the hospital (really, a converted downstairs bedroom of an old family home) with a wave of a bony hand. So the girl sat on the bottom of the staircase and rummaged through her pack, finding a few tins of rice pudding and fruit to offer in gratitude to the residents who watched her with interest and fear, surveying her like a curiosity. She scowled.

“I won’t be long,” she’d promised Molly in the kitchens, the day before she left. “A month, tops. I’ll be back well before Sara’s ninth.”

“That is long, ” her best friend had replied, hands tightening on the scrubbing brush. “How do those cooks manage to burn the stew onto every pan?”

“Stop changin’ the subject, Moll. I know you’re mad at me.”

“I’m not mad at you-”

“You are. You volunteered for kitchen duty to try and avoid my last night. And you’re actually not smilin’ at me for once.”

Molly snorted, and splashed her with soap suds. “Not like you to notice. Will you get on and dry these dishes? I’m running out of surface space.”

“I don’t want to go. Dad and Janine, they…”

“I don’t care, Caz. You have to do your duty, I get it. I just… I’m going to miss you. I know you know what it’s like, being left.”

“Yeah. Someone left me to starve in a town full of twisted soldiers.”

The younger girl swang round in a swirl of indignant blonde curls. “Carena, I was a child-“

“So was I. So was I, Molly!” The glasses clinked as she dried them too fiercely; she felt her breath get sharp and hot, like she was losing control of the conversation, losing control of the situation. She took another, and closed her eyes. “I’m sorry. I know there was nothing you could do. But I swear, I’ll be back before you know it. I’ll talk to you on comms whenever I can.”

All she wanted was to talk with her right now, to not be surrounded by suspicious faces, to be thinking about anything except the pain in Joe’s eyes.

***

The settlement couldn’t spare antibiotics, but they did have codeine, and that had already helped bring the cheer back to Joe’s face. “Just please keep the wounds clean,” the doctor grumbled. “I’d advise you to stick to the roads.”

“Are you sure you don’t want someone to pick you up, Thirty-Seven?” Joe’s operator was at the Abel comms desk, and Carena was relaying all of her messages through a bad impression of her accent.

“And miss out on all the fun? Not a chance! Give me that headset, Caz.” He snatched it. “Nadia, I am fine. Tell Emily I’m fine!”

“How much metal did you get out of his legs?” Carena asked out of curiosity as Joe regaled the operator with tales of his heroism.

“Let’s just say an airport scanner would have had a field day,” Renwick smirked, and then at the girl’s blank expression: “Twelve larger pieces. The rest are parts too miniscule to risk removing. He’s pocketed the shards as ‘souvenirs of the time he saved a Princess’. Which you didn’t tell us, by the way.”

“Oh does he ever stop,” Carena growled, and pulled her fellow Runner’s bag straps. “Come on, let’s go if we’re going.”

“Onward! Thanks for the assistance, Doc!”

“If you tell anyone else I’m a Princess I’m puttin’ all that shrapnel back ,” she threatened.

“Oooh, I’m quaking!”

It was only when they got outside the house that Carena realised the day was too quiet. The residents had stopped milling about, leaving various jobs around the farmstead half-abandoned. And there, clinging onto the gates-

Children. Filthy, hissing, angry children, armed with a nasty assortment of blades.

“Dr Renwick-“

The doctor had already slammed the door. She looked around desperately for the woman who’d brought them in, but she was nowhere to be seen.

“They’ve sold us out,” she cried. Joe swore.

“We’re surrounded, the way out is blocked. Any ideas, Nadia, Sam?”

One of the kids rattled the gates, lisp-singing through gap teeth. “Foxy-Loxy get out of den before I count to ten!”

“Not a bleeding chance,” Joe muttered. “Okay. Sam sees an exit on the other side of the settlement, but we’ll have to be quick. Nadia’s suggesting… oh, no way, I’m with Sam, I’m not throwing a grenade at the little shits, Nadi! Yes, I know they tried to kill me, but there’s a line!”

“Fort Canton, noble as ever,” Carena quipped.

“Shut up, you’d be the first to try and blow them up.”

She doesn’t bother denying it. “Okay. That exit.”

“He says it’s risky, but there’s a gap in their fence. Behind the toolshed. Run for it in three, two, one, NOW!”

For the second time in as many days, she ran for her life, the sound of childish war cries in her ears as Joe dragged her through the gap. Over the hill, rounding a corner, trying to find their way onto a trail.

“Barton Mound just cut their CCTV! Sam’s camera feed’s gone!”

“Check your four O’clock!”

He turned and fired, aiming to miss, to warn. “Behind you!” She did the same at her six.

“Ha-ha, you can’t get us, you can’t get us!”

“We’re going to get you!”

“That grenade is fast becomin’ a better option!” Carena yelled.

“An option neither of us will be able to live with! DUCK!”

A knife clipped her ear as it whizzed past. “Thirty-Seven, this is mental!”

“I’m on a lot of painkillers right now, Ten, and even I’m aware!”

“The two of us are the fastest Runners they got,” she reminded him as well as herself. “We can do this.”

They’d reached the bottom of the hill, and met a twisting country road with a few burnt-out cars. The pavement pushed back harder than the grass, giving her purchase, just like the track at home. Okay. She leant forward. Faster, faster, faster.

Then her lungs decided to freeze.

“Did we lose ‘em?” She asked, not daring to look behind her.

“Think we lost ‘em. There’s a back of a truck here where we can… Caz, your lips are blue. Caz?”

***

Someone pushed her inhaler into her mouth. She took a grateful puff of medicine.

“How many is it of the brown one, Dr Myers?” The boy said distantly. “Okay, got it.”

She found herself propped up in the back of a large truck, lit up by torchbeam. Above her, Joe’s moon-like face looked frightened. She’d never seen that expression on him before. Another puff.

“That’s it, Caz. Just keep breathing.” He gave a nervous chuckle. “Think you forgot how for a minute there.”

She reached out for his hand and squeezed his fingers, her own tinged with blue. Thank you.

“We’re only a few days out from London now, Dr Myers, it’s closer than home. We may as well finish the journey and head back in the convoy. Oh, Caz, she wants to know what you think. Can you talk?”

Carena nodded, taking a few more grateful gulps of air and finally grabbing her headset back.

“Dr Myers… Sam?”

“We’re both here,” Dr Myers replied, her tone flooded with relief. “How are you doing, Carena?”

“I’ve… been better. But Joe is right. We’ve visited… four out of the six settlements… and we know more about the militants now.”

“You’ve more than done enough,” Sam said gently. “Those children are better armed and more… persistent than we anticipated. We could send reinforcements-”

“It’s… faster for us to keep going... we’ll rest in London for a while. We can do it. We’re a good team, Joe and me. And two people can hide better.”

“If you’re sure. Joe’s injuries are susceptible to infection, and your asthma-”

“We can do this,” she said, determined not to wheeze. “We’re not going to let you down ‘cause of some kids.”

Sam sighed. “Cannibalistic kids! Sometimes, Maxie, I miss the zoms. Don’t you?”

“Can I... talk to Molly?” Carena asked over the sound of Dr Myers’ incredulous splutter.

“I’ll get her after school,” Sam promised. Carena closed her eyes. “She misses you.”

“I know.” The tight-closed truck, the pervading sweat and damp, the thought of the snarls on those faces. It’s all such a contrast to the homely atmosphere of Abel, fields and understanding and space to scream. A lump comes to her throat. “I miss her too.”

[bee-kathony]

Walking the Tightrope - Jamie and Claire AU

The year is 1919, and a 13 year old Claire Beauchamp has just lost both her parents to the Spanish Influenza. Alone in the world, and out of options, Claire runs away, stumbling across train tracks. When she wipes away her tears, she discovers a train, and is welcomed aboard. 


What happens when Claire finds out that the train is home to the Ringling Brothers & Barnum and Bailey Circus? Luckily, she meets a family – The Fraser’s, who help her learn the circus life. But, will she always want to stay? Or will she eventually grow up and realize it’s time to leave the circus and her best friend, Jamie… behind?


This is the first 3(ish) and only chapters of this fic. I will also add the outline for what this story was going to be at the end. I hope you enjoy it and I was excited to get into the twists of this story. Moodboard by @beaauchamp xx

Chapter One 

Boston, Massachusetts 1919

Claire Elizabeth Beauchamp was 13 years old when she ran away to the circus. Normally, young girls don’t run away to join circuses — especially not young British girls who had just moved to America.

Claire and her family were originally from England, the beautiful city of Oxford, and had relocated to the United States for Henry Beauchamp’s job. He was a veterinarian, and had been offered a position to teach the subject at Harvard University, an offer he couldn’t refuse.

Their family packed up their small home and moved across the Atlantic. Claire found it was rather easy to leave her home country, she hadn’t always been the best at making new friends. And besides, she had her parents to keep her company. Henry’s brother, Claire’s Uncle Lamb, was an archaeologist and had traveled with them to stay for a few months in between digs.

They had only been in Boston for eight months before the sickness came. It was 1919 and the Spanish Influenza was spreading rapidly throughout the country and throughout the world. Claire felt helpless as she watched people around her die.

“You must stay with Lamb, darling,” her mother said, voice barely above a whisper. “He’ll take good care of you.”

“But I want to stay with you, mum,” Claire gripped her mother’s hand, aware of how hot her skin felt against her own. “I want to stay with you and papa.”

Julia Beauchamp had woken up that morning with a chill that rapidly turned into a fever. It was a miracle that Claire wasn’t ill. Her father, Henry hadn’t been so lucky. He lay in the bed next to Julia, chest rising and falling slowly, skin moist with fever.

“We won’t be here much longer,” Julia said and did her best to squeeze Claire’s hand. “You must make a good life for yourself. I know you can.”

“Mother!” Claire weeped as her mother’s grip loosened. Bent over the bed, she threw herself on top of both her parents, desperate to give them all the life that was in her.

“Oh, Claire, dear,” her uncle Lamb raced in and pulled her off the bed, his own eyes filled with tears as he watched his brother and sister-in-law leave the earth. “You mustn’t look, child.”

“I want my parents!” Claire cried against her uncle’s chest, her body shaking and not able to contain the grief she felt. There was nothing that could have been done — nothing that anyone could have done.

She had just lost both of her parents, what could have been worse?

It was barely twenty-four hours later that her favorite Uncle Lamb had fallen ill and died of the Spanish influenza. Claire Beauchamp was now an orphan with no one to turn to and nowhere to go.

An orphanage was the only suitable place for a girl like her. The thought of being stuffed into a house with tens of other children without a family made her stomach twist into knots.

Claire stood by herself, hands clasped firmly in front of her, trying not to cry as she watched her parents and uncle’s caskets be lowered into the ground. It took everything in her not to throw herself down and demand to be buried along with them. What did she have to live for?

Alone in the world and with nowhere to go, she ran from the funeral with nothing but the black dress on her body and the Oxfords on her feet. She thought she could make it on her own — survive all by herself.

There was no particular destination in mind, but the air around her was suffocating and every look of sympathy shot her way made her want to scream. So Claire turned, tears streaming down her face and began to run even faster.

The wind whipped past her face, salty tears flying behind her as she pumped her arms and legs to carry her as far away as possible. No one stopped her. No one knew her.

It wasn’t long before her chest began to burn and the tears filled her eyes to the point where she had to stop. When she looked up, she saw iron train tracks and followed them, only hoping that soon something would come and take her away.

As the sky darkened and the night grew cold, Claire shivered and wished more than anything for her family to be alive. But wishing wouldn’t bring them back. So with every step, Claire pushed out the memories she had of Henry, Julia and Lambert Beauchamp — because thinking of them only brought pain.

Stumbling along the tracks, her feet aching and stomach rumbling, Claire knew she needed to find a place to sleep. Lifting her head up, she saw lights in the distance — lights of a train. A train would have food and people, surely someone would be kind enough to help her find her way, or perhaps they would let her ride along.

With careful steps in the dark, Claire made her way to the last car of the train and stepped off the tracks to peer at the side of the boxcar.

Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus

A circus.

Claire’s eyes went wide, wondering what kind of animals lived inside the small confines of the boxcars. She had never been to the circus, but had always wanted to go. Claire loved animals and was always quick to make friends with them in whatever country they were visiting.

Voices came from further down and Claire walked forward into the light.

“Psst,” came from behind her and she whipped her head around, back into the dark. Not seeing anything, Claire shrugged her shoulders and kept moving forward. “Psst,” she heard the sound again.

“You!” A voice said quietly from above her. Claire looked up and gasped, jumping back to see a head sticking out of the boxcar. “I’m talkin’ to ye lass!”

“Me?” Claire pointed at herself.

“Do you see any other little girls around here?” The man said in a thick Scottish accent.

She shook her head and before she could do anything else, the man stuck his hand out, offering her a way up. With no other option, Claire reached up, grabbed it and was pulled up into the boxcar.

“Yer a wee thing,” the man said and for the first time, Claire got a good look at him. He was tall, with wide shoulders and had jet black hair. “What are ye doin’ out here so late at night?”

“I—“ She stammered, suddenly wondering if she made a mistake running away.

“Where are yer parents, lass?” The man said and when Claire met his eye, it hit her, the fact that she would never wake up to the smell of her father’s chocolate chip pancakes again or hear her mother sing along to the radio every evening. Tears fell down her cheeks and her chest caved in. The man with the jet black hair caught her in his arms as she began to fall to her knees and he held her against his chest.

“Shhh, I didna mean to upset ye,” he spoke softly. “Tis only it’s no every day young lasses come walkin’ beside the tracks.” The man ran his hand gently over Claire’s head, smoothing down the unruly curls.

“I have a lad about yer age, maybe a couple years younger. My daughter is probably near yer age though,” he said, trying to soothe her with conversation. “Usually the brothers dinna take a family on the road wi’ them, but they’ve allowed it this time.”

“Y-you have children?” Claire stammered as she wiped her face on her sleeve and looked up at the man. He released her, making sure she could stand on her own two feet.

“Aye, two of them, the wee numpties,” he laughed. “And my wife, they’re all part of the act, ye ken.” Claire raised her brows, unsure of what “act” he was talking about. He saw the confusion on her face, “Och, have ye never been to see a show before?”

“No, never.”

“My wife Ellen and I are lion tamers,” he said proudly, crossing his arms over his chest and leaned back against the wall of the cart. “My son and daughter are what ye could say cub tamers in training,” he laughed.

“You tame lions?” Claire asked, eyes wide for the second time that night. “I’ve never even seen a lion!”

“Ah, I thought I detected an accent,” he smiled. “That makes this even more curious. What’s a Sassenach like ye doin’ here?”

“A Sassenach?” Claire asked as she took a seat on a cot nearby, her legs unable to hold her up after a day of running and walking along the tracks.

“An English person, just a wee nickname,” the man smirked.

“I moved here with my parents about a year ago, we’re from Oxford.”

“Ah, Oxford,” he smiled. “I went there once as a lad, beautiful place. Yer parents, ye say? Where are they? Do they ken their daughter is runnin’ away from home to join the circus?” He laughed and then the laughter died as he caught sight of her face.

“My parents are dead,” she nearly whispered and the man dropped to his knees in front of her. “My uncle is dead. I have no one.”

“Oh lass,” he took her small hand in his. “I’m sae sorry, I— I’m sorry for yer loss.”

“Their funeral was today, it’s why I’m dressed like this,” Claire pointed at her dress. “I did run away, but I didn’t know where to run to.”

“It’s every kids dream to join the circus is it no?” The man put his thumb under her chin, lifting it up. “Ye’ve a place here, if ye want it.”

“But I can’t join the circus!” Claire laughed, her emotions running on overdrive. “I’m just a girl and a circus is no place for me.”

“Try tellin’ that to my daughter Jenny, she’ll be sayin’ the opposite,” he smiled. “She loves the animals, helps take care of them when she’s not performin’. She’s wi’ her Mam and brother up in the car ahead eatin’ dinner.”

Claire didn’t know what to say at this offer. Join the circus? It all felt like a fantasy. No one really ran away to the circus and certainly not young girls like her. But she didn’t exactly have a lot of options — no family, no house, no money.

“I’m Claire Beauchamp,” she offered her hand to the man.

“Brian Fraser, lass. Pleased to make yer acquaintance,” he kissed the back of her hand. “So is that a yes? Are ye runnin’ away to join us?”

It could’ve been much worse and as Claire looked around the small train car, she thought she might as well give it a try — the least she could get out of it was a hot meal and a night’s sleep.

“Yes. I’m running away to join the circus,” she smiled for the first time in days.

“Tha!” Brian smiled. “Ye’ve just made the best decision of yer young life, lassie. Now,” he stood up, taking her hand. “We need to feed ye and then find ye some place to sleep. I expect ye’ll be needin’ a wee nap soon.”

Claire followed Brian through a small door and through another into another train car. They walked through several others, past people with curious eyes and hushed tones, wondering who she was no doubt. Claire had never seen so many people crammed into such a small space before. They finally came into the train car Brian was looking for and he let go of her hand to walk over to a red headed woman, kissing her on the mouth.

They seemed to be in a train car where people ate, the place was lined with small tables and chairs, plates of food in front of everyone. Brian motioned for her to join him and she stood shyly next to him while he introduced her.

“I found a young lass outside,” Brian smiled, placing his arm around her shoulder. “This is Claire Beauchamp, she’s from England and she’s run away to the circus.”

“Run away?” The girl who must be his daughter Jenny said from beside her mother. “I didna ken anyone like ye would want to come and live here.”

“Who wouldn’t want to live here, Janet?” A young boy said beside her, looking at her with the bluest eyes Claire had ever seen.

“Claire will be joinin’ us for dinner tonight,” Brian smiled and then pulled up a chair for her. “Jamie, Janet, say a proper hello to the lass.”

The young girl stuck her hand out over the table, “I’m Janet, but you can call me Jenny. I’m fourteen. This is my younger brother, James.”

“But ye can call me, Jamie,” the young boy offered her his hand from beside her. He had a mop of curly red hair and mischievous glint in his eye. “Did Da tell ye we tame lions?!”

“He did,” Claire nodded. “I’ve never seen a lion before though.”

Jamie gasped, frightening Claire and he grabbed her arm, “Ye’ve never seen a lion? Jenny, did ye hear the lass?”

“I heard her fine well, Jamie,” Jenny rolled her eyes, but then smiled at Claire. “We can show ye them tomorrow when we unload”

“Unload?”

“Aye, when we unload to set up for the circus, we’ll be in Boston for the next two nights and then it’s on to another city,” Jenny smiled.

A plate of food was set down in front of Claire and her stomach made a very loud noise at the sight of it. She hadn’t eaten all day — she hadn’t eaten much of anything since she found out the news about her parents. She grabbed the fork and began to eat quickly, not caring if the food was too hot.

“Slow down lass,” Ellen smiled from across the table. “Ye need no worry about it disappearin’.”

“Sorry,” Claire said shyly, her cheeks turning bright red.

“Dinna fash, lass. I just dinna want to see ye gettin’ a belly ache. My Jamie gets those when he eats too fast,” Ellen smirked.

“Mam!” Jamie shouted. “Dinna talk about my belly in front of her!”

Brian snorted over his food, which only made Claire blush harder. She took her next bites a bit slower, savoring the taste.

“I never asked before,” Claire said to Brian once her plate was clean. “You’re from Scotland. You all are,” she looked around. “What are you doing here then?”

Brian glanced around at his family, then finally his eyes focused on Claire. “I suppose ye can say that we ran away too.”

Ellen took her husband’s hand, squeezing it so tightly her knuckles went white.

“We still need to find ye a place to sleep, lass,” Brian said a moment later. “There’s probably room for ye to join in our car tonight.”

“I can show her, Da!” Jamie said beside her and he nearly jumped out of his chair.

Laughing, Brian smiled, wiping his mouth with a napkin. “Aye, son. Take her to the car, we’ll be there in a minute.”

“Follow me, Claire,” Jamie smiled, offering his hand to her. She took it, following the boy back through the train cars she had come through. They found themselves in the same car Brian had pulled her into. As she looked around now, she saw that it was rather cozy — as cozy and nice as a train car could get she supposed.

“This is where I sleep,” Jamie said as he pointed up at the top bunk. “Then Jenny sleeps in the middle and there’s actually an empty bunk on the bottom. I guess that’s where ye can sleep.”

“You all sleep in here?” Claire said.

“Aye, Mam and Da take the cot in the corner, tis small, but it’s enough,” Jamie smiled. He couldn’t have been but a couple of years younger than her, but he was just as tall as her, if not taller. He seemed kind and not for the first time, Claire wondered what an entire family was doing joining the circus.

“My Da said ye were runnin’ away…” Jamie said to her as he came to stand in front of her. “Why, Sassenach?”

“Oh you too?” Claire smirked. “Your father called me that earlier, I suppose I better get used to it.”

“Och, I didna mean any offense!” Jamie put up both his hands. “Yer English is all.”

“No, it’s alright,” Claire smiled and tucked a stray curl behind her ear.

“Ye didna answer my question…” Jamie said softly.

“I—“ Claire felt her chest tighten and her eyes water. “I’d rather not talk about it just yet.”

“Oh that’s fine, Claire.” Jamie reached for her hand, squeezing it tight. “Ye’ll see soon enough how great this place really is. It’s like a dream!”

“I’ve just woken up from a nightmare of my own,” Claire said, her shoulders drooping. Jamie lifted her chin with his fingers.

“Ye’ve nothin’ to be scarit of, Sassenach. Not so long as I’m wi’ ye,” he smiled, squeezing her hand again.

“You’re very kind, Jamie. Much kinder than I deserve,” Claire smiled. She had to admit that Jamie was rather cute and very charming. Perhaps this circus thing wouldn’t be so bad after all. “I’m feeling rather tired.”

“Och, of course,” Jamie smiled. “As I said, the bottom bunk can be yers.”

“Thank you, Jamie.” Claire let go of his hand and climbed into the bottom bunk, sighing as she slipped off her shoes. She winced as she felt the blisters, but tried to keep quiet as Jamie climbed up to the top bunk.

“I’m glad yer here, Sassenach,” he said a few minutes later as they both lay quietly. “I was wishin’ for a friend.”

Claire didn’t know what to say so she turned over on her side and let herself weep. Only hours before, she had buried her family and said goodbye to the life she knew and now she was lying in a bunk on a circus train.

Her eyes grew heavy and soon the tears stopped as she slipped into a deep dreamless slumber.

Chapter 2

Claire woke to the quiet whispers of Brian and Ellen Fraser. She didn’t want them to know she was awake just yet, so she kept her eyes shut tight and face buried in the pillow.

“What is she going to do here, Brian?” Ellen said softly and glanced over at Claire lying still asleep on the bottom bunk. “Ye ken fine well that this is no’ a proper life for a girl like her.”

“Jenny’s here is she no’?” Brian said.

“Aye,” Ellen clicked her tongue. “But she’s our daughter, and she didna have much say in the matter at the time if ye recall.”

Brian rubbed his hands over his face, sighing as he looked at the young girl.

“She’s got nowhere else to go, Ellen. Her parents and uncle died of the influenza,” he said softly and Claire realized that his own children must still be asleep above her.

“Christ,” Ellen muttered under her breath. “So she really did run away to the circus, the poor lass.”

“Ye ken just as well as I do what that grief feels like,” Brian said to his wife. “The poor lass is heartbroken, I’m sure we can find somethin’ here for her to do.”

Ellen leaned against her husband, silent for a moment before nodding. “We must help her.”

“Aye,” Brian kissed his wife’s forehead. “I’ll go and talk to the brothers. Let them know about our newest passenger. I’ll find ye and the bairns at breakfast after setup.”

A sliding door opened and closed and Brian Fraser left the small boxcar. Claire could hear sniffling from the corner and opened one eye to see Ellen wiping away tears that fell down her cheeks. Compassion stirred Claire to rise from her bed and she sat down beside Ellen on the small cot.

Without saying anything, she took Ellen’s hand in hers and squeezed it. The older woman smiled down at her, squeezing back.

“I’m glad that yer here, Claire,” Ellen smiled and ran her fingers softly over Claire’s cheek. “We’ll do the best we can to take care of ye, and make ye feel at home.”

Claire’s throat felt tight, and she knew that if she spoke she would burst into tears, so she wrapped her arms around Ellen and buried her head against the woman’s chest. There was nothing quite like a mother’s embrace — warm and soothing, like being wrapped in the arms of an angel.

The two of them sat there for a moment longer, quiet as they both grieved for their own loss. Claire looked up and finally released her arms from around Ellen when Jamie and Jenny both started to wake up.

“Morning my darlins,” Ellen said to her children.

“Morning mam,” Jenny said, wiping her eyes as she jumped out of bed, landing on her feet.

Jamie yawned and jumped down as well, rubbing his hands over his eyes. He blinked and looked at Claire, as if remembering that she was there. “Morning Mam, Claire,” he smiled softly.

“Are ye ready for yer first day at the circus, Sassenach?” Jamie asked, a grin spreading across his lips. It was infectious, and Claire found herself smiling too.

“Ready as I’ll ever be.”

++++++

“So, what exactly do you and Jenny do all day?” Claire asked as they walked over to where the large tents were being setup. It looked like quite a job to do. Men and women were lined up in a circle, each holding rope, and tall wooden beams were on their sides, ready to be lifted. Claire didn’t envy their job.

“We help wi’ anythin’ that needs to be done,” Jenny said. “I usually help wi’ the cookin’ and feedin’ everyone. Well, as much as our cook Mrs. Fitz will allow me to since I’m only fourteen. She’s Scottish as well!”

Jamie bumped against Claire, “And I help with the animals! No’ the big ones though. Mam willna let me near them.”

“That’s cause you’re a wee ten year old,” Jenny smirked and winked at Claire.

“I’m turning eleven next month!” Jamie scowled and kicked at a nearby rock. He hated to feel like the odd one out. “I usually just walk around and see who needs help. Since I am ten…” he sighed. “I can only do so much. The circus is a tough job, ye’ll see soon enough, Sassenach.”

“It sounds like it,” Claire agreed.

They found the food tent, which had already been set up the night before. The smell of fresh eggs and bacon made Claire’s stomach growl and they got into line. Claire looked around the tent and saw mostly women there, as the men were still setting up the larger tent that would house the main event.

“Are you the only other kids here?” Claire asked the Frasers. She hadn’t paid much attention to anything when she boarded the train last night.

“Aye,” Jamie nodded, scooping a large helping of eggs onto his plate. “We’re also the only family here too. The circus is no’ exactly a life most people choose to raise bairns in.”

“But, we havena been here our whole lives either,” Jenny added. “We were both born in Scotland. Ye see, we moved here five years ago.”

They found Ellen sitting at a table, a plate of food already in front of her.

“Good to see ye, Claire,” Ellen smiled gently. “I hope my bairns havena been tellin’ ye too many wild stories?”

“No,” Claire shook her head. “Jenny was just telling me about when you moved here.”

At that, Ellen froze, her complexion going pale and she looked over at her daughter who shook her head slightly.

“Ye’ll have to forgive me, Claire,” Ellen said. “I dinna like to talk about our life before the circus. Those times are better left in the past.”

“That’s all right,” Claire nodded. That was certainly how Claire felt now. She would much rather leave all of her pain and grief behind her, and try and start a new life. Granted, this wasn’t what she had in mind, but it was better than living in an orphanage.

A few minutes later, Brian Fraser came over with his own plate. He was sweaty from putting up the tent, but didn’t seem to mind. Most people here were covered in a thin layer of sweat and dirt. Living on train wasn’t exactly all that clean, Claire realized.

“After ye eat, Da, can ye come wi’ us to show Claire the lions?” Jamie asked his father.

“Aye,” Brian nodded, chowing down on piece of bacon. “But ye kids ken the drill. Dinna stand too close while we feed them.” He turned to look at Claire, “The lions will be hungry this mornin’ and it only takes almost gettin’ yer hand bit off once, to practice extreme caution around them.”

“I don’t want to get too close at all!” Claire squeaked. She had been around animals all her life, her father had been a veterinarian. But, he had never worked on a lion before — only house cats and dogs, with the occasional horse.

Once Brian was done with his breakfast, Ellen and Jenny stayed behind to help with the food and cleanup, while Brian, Jamie and Claire went to see the animals. They were still in their cages, but would be unloaded into their own tent before the show.

“We have the lions of course,” Jamie said excitedly, almost bouncing as they walked. “Then we have the horses, pigs, giraffes, one elephant, monkeys, zebras —“

“Zebras?!” Claire gasped.

“Oh yes,” Jamie grinned. “They’re my favorite after the lions. A bit like horses, really, which I also love, but the stripes are the best!”

Claire could immediately tell when the reached the animals cages, as the smell was quite strong. As was the loud roar that one of the lions gave as they approached. Another man was already there with a bucket full of meat, which the lion was eyeing and trying to get through the bars.

“Stay back here,” Brian instructed them before going to join the man.

“That’s auld Alec,” Jamie pointed. “He’s in charge of takin’ care of the animals.”

“All of them?” Claire said, awestruck.

“Aye, I help sometimes, but he does most of the work,” Jamie said. They watched from the trees as Alec and Brian began to feed the lions. Brian distracted the lions, moving them to one side of the cage, while Alec opened it up and set the bucket of meat inside. Then the lions pounced on their food and ate it ferociously.

“Wow,” Claire gasped, grabbing onto Jamie’s arm.

“Dinna fash, Sassenach,” Jamie grinned. “They’re no’ as scary after they’ve eaten. Later, I’ll show ye how to pet one. They can be quite friendly.”

“I’ll believe that when I see it,” Claire laughed.

Brian returned to them, and auld Alec followed closely behind. “This is young Claire Beauchamp who has come to join us,” Brian introduced her.

“Tis nice to meet ye little lass,” Alec offered her his hand and she shook it.

“We need to find somethin’ for the lassie to do,” Brian quirked his brow.

“My father worked with animals,” Claire said shyly. “All kinds, but not any lions or elephants.”

“He was a veterinarian?” Alec asked.

“Yes, sir.”

“Well, perhaps some of his skills rubbed off on ye lass,” Alex grinned. “How’d ye like to come wi’ me and see the rest of the animals? I could use all the help I could get!”

Claire looked over at Jamie who nodded encouragingly, as did Brian. Jamie stayed back with his father, leaving Claire to follow the animal carer. The thought of being around animals was a small comfort, at least she had vague knowledge of their needs.

She would never forget one warm afternoon when her father was seeing to a pregnant dog. Claire had stayed up with her father all night, comforting the dog as she gave birth, and making sure the puppies were seen after.

“Is she in pain, papa?” Claire asked, petting the head of the golden Labrador.

“A bit, my dear,” Henry Beauchamp replied. “Giving birth is no easy feat. But she’s a strong girl,” he stroked the dog’s bulging stomach. “It should be within the hour.”

Claire and her father had stayed up late into the night, watching over the dog. She belonged to a woman from town, but all Claire wanted to know was who would keep the puppies.

“How many puppies will she have?”

“I think perhaps four,” her father said as he moved his hand over the dog’s belly. “But we won’t know until she has them. Why are you asking my love?” He cocked a quizzical brow at his daughter.

“Oh, you know,” Claire grinned. “Maybe Mrs. Wilcox doesn’t want four new puppies. Maybe she only wants three!”

Her father laughed, “That’s something you can ask Mrs. Wilcox tomorrow. And of course, you’ll have to ask your mother.”

“I will, papa,” Claire smiled and went back to petting the dog’s head. “When I grow up, I want to do what you do. Being around animals all day must be fun.”

Henry rose to his feet to check that he had everything he needed — sutures for after the birth, plenty of towels. “It is rather fun, my dear. But, I will warn you, that it can be quite hard too.”

“Why is that?”

“It’s never easy telling someone that their pet is ill,” Henry frowned, coming back to join Claire on the ground. “Or feeling like you can’t do anything to help. Not everything can be solved with medicine, I’m afraid. But I try.”

At this, Claire felt sadness wash over her. As little girl, they had a pet cat, but he had passed away before they moved to Boston. She knew all too well what it was like to be told that your animal was sick.

“Well, you can still be there for someone and try and make them feel better,” Claire replied. “I think I still wanna do what you do.”

Henry reached out and smoothed back his daughter’s unruly curls. “Then you shall, my darling. You shall do whatever your heart desires.” He bent and kissed her forehead. “Your mother and I will always be here to support you.”

Auld Alec showed Claire all the animals. Claire was gobsmacked seeing so many creatures she had never seen before. She had heard about the circus coming into town, and thought about asking her parents to take her, but that was before…

“I bet yer Da never worked on zebras, aye?”

“No,” Claire shook her head as they approached one. “A few horses, but never a zebra.”

“They’re a lot like horses, of course,” Alec said and reached his hand through the bars. “Go ahead and reach yer hand in, she willna bite.”

Slowly, Claire approached the cage, trying to be careful as she reached her hand inside. The zebra nodded her head forward against Claire’s hand, letting her pet her. The zebra made a snorting sound, and Claire laughed.

“Does she have a name?”

“Zoe,” Alec smiled down at Claire. “Zoe the zebra.”

“Fitting,” Claire nuzzled Zoe’s nose.

As the morning rolled on, Claire stayed with Alec and watched as he interacted with every animal. Treating them with such care and gentleness, as if they weren’t really animals at all, but humans.

Finally, they got word that the animals were set to be moved into their proper tent. Men came to unhook their cages and wheeled them into the tent. The horses were let out to walk and stretch their legs, and Claire immediately gravitated to them.

She was barely half the height of the horse, so she came up to it carefully, not wanting to disturb it. Alec had tied them up to a nearby pole and they were munching on a trough full of hay.

“Here,” came a voice from behind her, making her jump. She turned to find Jamie, holding a bright red apple. “Donas loves these.”

“Thank you,” Claire took the apple from Jamie and walked around to the horse’s head, and held out the apple. He snorted, looking her up and down before placing his wet mouth on her hand and snatching the apple up. “He did like it!”

“Aye, told ye,” Jamie grinned. “I love the horses.” He came to stand beside her, reaching out a hand to rub over Donas’ nose. “Tha thu nad bheathach math,” Jamie said in a foreign tongue.

“What did you say?” Claire asked.

“Oh,” Jamie’s cheeks blushed. “I didna even realize I was speakin’. Twas Gaelic. Just callin’ him a fine creature. I find that speakin’ to the animals in Gaelic helps to calm them.”

“Would you teach me some then?” Claire asked. “It looks like I’ll be helping auld Alec with the animals!”

“That’s great!” Jamie smiled. “What I say to the horses is really just gibberish. No’ meant to even mean anythin’, but try sayin’ what I did — tha thu nad bheathach math.”

It was a language Claire had certainly never heard before. Her mother spoke a bit of French and had taught Claire a few words and phrases, but Gaelic was very different.

“Tha thu nad,” she said slowly. “Be-heath-ach math?”

“Let it roll off yer tongue,” Jamie said the phrase again.

“Tha thu nad bheathnach math,” Claire said again, this time getting it as closely as she could to how Jamie had said it. “Well, with practice, I think I’ll get there.”

“Aye, ye’ll do great,” Jamie smiled. “I’m glad ye found yer place, Sassenach. It’ll be nice to have ye here.”

“Yes,” Claire rubbed her hand along the side of Donas’ neck. “I think it will be rather nice here after all.”

She hadn’t even been at the circus for a full twenty-four hours, but already it was beginning to feel like home. The animals would be her new companions, as well as the Fraser’s who had welcomed her in as one of their own. Running away to the circus was the best idea Claire ever had.

Chapter 3

7 years later… New York City 1926

Claire thought often of her first night on the train — how alone she had felt and like she would never belong anywhere. It had been nearly seven years since then and the circus was now her home.

She wasn’t properly educated, but her love for animals kept her with a full time position with the Ringling Brothers. Jenny Fraser was her best friend, along with her younger brother Jamie, of course.

They traveled from city to city, amazing people with the greatest show on earth. Wonders and mystery surrounded them and Claire felt she was part of something truly spectacular.

There were times she thought she should find proper work, especially on her eighteenth birthday two years ago. Jamie had set up a picnic by the horses, Claire’s favorite of the wild menagerie.

“I think I need to leave, Jamie,” Claire said as she took a bite of a strawberry. They were sitting under the tent where all the animals were kept and it was rather smelly, but Claire had grown used to it over the years.

“Leave? Why would ye do that?” Jamie said as he reached for a cracker.  

“I don’t know,” Claire sighed. “I’m an twenty year old girl, traveling around with a circus, surely I can find a real job out there.”

Jamie grew quiet, his brows knitting together and he crossed his arms over his knees. “If you want to then you should.”

“I didn’t think you would want me to go,” Claire said.

“I don’t,” Jamie looked up at her. “But if ye want to go…”

Sighing, Claire laid back on the blanket, followed by Jamie. They had grown close over the years, able to tell each other anything and everything. He had always been there for her as he said he would be. On the anniversary of her parents death, he always made sure she was alright and was there to distract her if she needed — or to be a shoulder to cry on when she needed that.  

“It’s not like I want too… I just feel I should. Make a proper life.”

“Ye have a family here, Claire,” Jamie turned onto his side, lifting his head up on his elbow. “Ye ken that.”

“Of course,” she smiled. “It was just a silly thought, Jamie. Nothing more.”

“I hope so,” Jamie said as he brushed a lock of hair off her forehead. Something in Claire’s stomach fluttered whenever he touched her and she wanted him to do it again. Jamie was much taller than her now, and had grown into handsome young man.

“Sassenach,” Jamie said. “I dinna want ye to leave.”

“I won’t,” she whispered and then his lips pressed against hers. A small sound left her lips in surprise, but then she relaxed, wrapping her arms around his neck. Before she could really taste his lips, Jamie pulled back, rising quickly to his feet.

“I’m sorry, Claire, I dinna ken what came over me,” his face was bright red and he was turned away from her.

“It’s alright, Jamie,” Claire sat up, her heart hammering. She had always wondered what it would be like to kiss him, but he apparently regretted it.

“I shouldna have done that,” Jamie cursed in Gaelic and before Claire could say that she liked it, Jamie had stormed out of the tent, leaving Claire alone, sitting on the picnic blanket.

++++++

Neither of them had spoken of the kiss since then and that was two years ago. Claire wondered if Jamie even remembered it had happened or maybe it had been so bad, he had forgotten it.

Claire thought he liked her, but clearly he didn’t and things had gone back to how they were before. Claire knew she fell in love easily — she always had a crush and for a long time her crush had been Jamie.

She would watch him nearly every night in the show, holding up hoops for the lions to jump through, admiring the hard muscles of his body. He was just two years younger than her, but already he looked like a man.

It came to no surprise, however, just how fast she fell for a man one night when Claire was introduced to a young investor by the name of Philip Wylie. He was in New York to see the show and was interested in becoming a partner with the Brothers.

“You’ve been with the circus for seven years?” He asked her over a drink one night. The show had just closed and people were still loitering around. She knew he was an important man by the fine material of his suit. Claire wanted to impress him, and help the circus bring in more money.

“Yes,” she smiled, “Joined when I was just a young girl.”

“That’s quite impressive,” Philip smiled, his hand resting lightly on her knee. “What is it that you do?”

“I help with the animals. Taking care of them, checking that they’re alright to perform for the night,” she placed her hand over his. Philip was at nine years older than her, and already she was smitten.

They talked for the rest of the evening and he escorted her back to her train car, kissing her on the cheek and promising to see her soon.

Blushing, Claire placed her hand over where Philip’s lips had just been, sighing as she leaned against the wall. Just then, Jamie came through the door, still wearing his costume from the performance.

He glanced over at her, his fingers deftly unbuttoning his coat. “Ye look happy.”

“I am,” she smiled. “I’ve just had drinks with a man who wants to invest with the circus.”

Jamie stopped undressing and stared over at her, noticing the glossy look in her eye and the red tint to her cheeks. “Ye mean that stuffy old man I saw ye wi’?”

“He is not stuffy! And he is not old!” Claire picked up a shoe nearby and tossed it at him, narrowly missing his head. “He was kind and charming, much nicer than you,” she rolled her eyes.

“Och,” Jamie grunted and finished taking off his coat. “Just be careful wi’ him. Next thing ye know, he’ll be wantin’ to take ye away.”

“And what’s wrong with that?” Claire crossed her arms, becoming annoyed with him.

“Well ye said ye wouldna leave,” Jamie turned to her. “Not for a proper job as ye say so I wouldna like to think ye’d leave for a man either.”

Claire’s mouth dropped open in shock and she crossed the small space to stand in front of Jamie, having to look up at him. “I’ve had a couple of drinks with the man, Jamie! Not accepted a proposal!”

“Forget I said anythin’,” Jamie ran his hands back through his hair, turning to leave to another car.

“Fine,” Claire huffed. “I’ll do just that, Jamie Fraser.”

He glanced at her, his eyes full of something Claire didn’t quite recognize before sliding the door closed and leaving her there on her own.

She knew it was important for Philip Wylie to want to invest in the circus, so perhaps she had flirted a bit too much and let him place his hands a little too high on her leg. But nothing would come of it, and besides… Claire would never leave the circus. Not for a real job, and certainly not for a man.

Outline for this fic:

Chapter 1: 1919. Claire’s background. She runs away to the circus, meets the Fraser’s

Chapter 2: 1919. Claire’s first day at the circus, she helps the Fraser’s and then Brian asks her what she’s good at. She tells him that her father was a vet and she was always around to help. He tells her they have a vet but she can be his young apprentice.

Chapter 3: 1926. Claire meets Philip Wylie. Two days later one of the animals gets sick and she stays overnight to keep it company. Jamie finds her and stays with her, on the other side of the train car. They talk more about what Claire would do if she left. Jamie tells Claire about Willie and how he died of the Spanish influenza when they came here. Claire asks him why they came to America, but he won’t talk about it.

Chapter 4: Jump forward two weeks later, and Claire has drinks again with Wylie. She kisses him and he puts his hands on her. Jamie sees them kissing and thinks that Wylie is trying to hurt Claire so he goes over and punches the guy. The next morning, Wylie shows up with a black eye and forgives Jamie, and says he’ll invest in the show on one condition - that Claire marries him.

Chapter 5: Claire feels like she has to marry Wylie to save the show and also she tells herself she loves him. Jamie is jealous, because he’s been in love with Claire since he first met her. That night he gets distracted at the show when he sees Wylie whispering into Claire’s ear and the lion scratches him. Jamie is rushed into the medical tent and the show continues. Claire helps tend to him and cries over him. Hours later as he is recovering, Claire tells Jamie that she’s going away with Wylie.

Chapter 6: Two weeks later, it’s Claire’s last day of the circus. Jamie tells her why they came to America. His father owed his uncles money, and after a time when Brian couldn’t pay, Colum wanted to show him a lesson. So he told one of his men to set fire to the small chicken coop, but a wind caught and it ended up burning down their house. They all escaped. Finally, she won’t have to be a girl on the run anymore. She will live with Wylie in New York City, and still be able to come to some of the shows on the east coast.

Chapter 7: Two months later. It’s two days before Claire’s wedding to Wylie, and she hears from him that the train crashed. He’s angry about losing money that he just invested and Claire keeps asking him if anyone is hurt. He finally tells her that six people died in a fire. Wylie tells Claire that she can’t go back to the circus, she left that behind and she belongs to him now. “I belong to nobody.” Claire leaves in search to find out if Jamie has died.

Chapter 8: Claire makes it to where the train car is. There’s still smoke from two days before and Claire finds Jenny who is crying. Claire thinks immediately that Jamie is dead, but Jenny is crying because one of the animals died. Claire cries with her and then asks about Jamie. Jenny tells her that all wounded men and women are at the hospital and so she takes her there. Claire finds Jamie and he’s badly wounded. Burns on his arms and legs. She sits with him and while he is asleep she tells him that she loves him and that she isn’t with Wylie anymore.

Chapter 9: Jamie starts to recover. He admits his feelings for Claire. He says they don’t have to get married just yet since they’re both young. He knows now that with a few of the train cars damaged, it’ll be weeks maybe months before they get back on the road. Jamie says that he wants to go to school and become a vet. Women aren’t allowed at school yet. They make plans to one day open up their own vet clinic.

Chapter 10: Once Jamie is out of the hospital, they walk back to the site of the crash. He tells Claire just how horrible it was. They both feel sad that this part of their lives is coming to an end. Jamie’s parents tell him that they will stay with the circus as long as they need. Jamie takes Claire back to the small hotel room and they make love for the first time with each other.

Epilogue: nine years later, Jamie has graduated from vet school and they have their first clinic open. They already have two children and live in the country, where Jamie travels to work. They have a whole farm of animals.  

[terrebus-fc]

this is the worst trip i’ve ever been on: chants, goal songs, and unofficial karaoke numbers from the official terrebus fc mixtape 

[spotify]

1. vindaloo - fat les

where on earth are you from? we're from england where you come from do you put the kettle on?

a football classic. at some point morfin will attempt to sing this, forget the words due to goldner’s energy bar induced nutrient deficiency, and all the lads will gently prompt him: nah nah nah nah.

2. i’m gonna be (500 miles) - the proclaimers

but i would walk 500 miles and i would walk 500 more just to be the man who walks a thousand miles to fall down at your door

terrebus fc’s goal song, played at the circle whenever one of our lads scores.

3. sloop john b - the beach boys

let me go home why don't they let me go home this is the worst trip  i've ever been on

another football classic, and particularly apt for terrebus fc.

4. come sail away - styx

we live happily forever so the story goes but somehow we missed out on that pot of gold

another song often heard in the terrebus stands.

5. world in motion - new order

we ain't no hooligans this ain't a football song three lions on my chest i know we can't go wrong

listen. listen, it’s physically painful for some of the terrebus mod team (and physically enjoyable for one other) to put this many english football songs in a mixtape, but the fact of the matter is world in motion is a bop and a half and it would be even more of an injustice to not put it in here.

6. strike the bell - the fisherman’s friends

look at the glass you can see that it is fell we wish the you would hurry up and strike, strike the bell

most often sung by terrebus supporters in the late minutes of a match. check out the terrebus version here, courtesy of @subsequentibis​!

7. piano man - billy joel

now paul is a real estate novelist who never had time for a wife and he's talkin' with davy, who's still in the navy and probably will be for life

george hodgson’s goal song, sung on the (extremely rare) occasions when he scores.

8. three lions - baddiel, skinner, & lightning seeds

so many jokes, so many sneers but all those oh-so-nears wear you down through the years

a song MAJOR BOP about not winning anything.

9. england 2 colombia 0 - kirsty maccoll

it is not in my nature to ever pick the winning team sometimes i think i’m happy then i remember it’s a dream now it isn’t in my nature to ever pick a winner i always pick a bastard who would have me for his dinner

gibson sings this some karaoke nights and the rest of the team wonders about his relationship status. (courtesy of @subsequentibis​)

10. i’m an alcoholic - dent may

glass after glass of champagne only helps me forget all my pain when i feel like i'm stuck in a bubble i get drunk to forget all my troubles

big terrebus mood

11. every defeat a divorce (three lions) - los campesinos!

these things rattle round my head if he hasn't blown the whistle then it isn't quite the end

@strikerbacks put this song in and frankly it does a lot of heavy lifting for the rest of the playlist, so thank her for that

12. always look on the bright side of life - monty python

when you’re in the world cup and all your hopes are up and everybody wants your team to win and they go and let you down and come slinking back to town it’s time for this daft song to begin

both a football anthem and a big mood for terrebus. chin up, lads! next year’s our year.

[grapevynerendezvous]

KFRC’s 21 Golden Rocks, Volume 1 - Various Artists

This was my first rock/r&b song collection album. How I got it is kind of vague. It certainly has the feel of listening to radio with just a few slight differences. There’s no DJ introducing the songs as they started and/or talking over the songs as they faded out, no commercials between songs, and I could choose when I wanted to hear them, how often, which ones, in what order…okay, so the songs were on the radio and now they could be on my record player. All the better. It also familiarized me with some songs I hadn’t heard, or heard very little. Since the majority of the songs were hits in 1966, with earlier ones going as far back as 1963, and one in 1967, the chances were that I heard most of them throughout ’66 & ’67 - when I really started paying more attention. It took me awhile to warm up to rhythm and blues music, I suppose one could say black music in general. I look back to some of the 45s that we had over time, courtesy of my sister and my mom. There actually are some songs that I had always enjoyed in that genre, but I just hadn’t gotten used to the newer ones yet. Sam Cooke comes to mind, but I think my sister kept that one even though I have most of those 45s now. As time went by I started appreciating the r&b songs on this album, as well as others that I was hearing more and more. It is evident that at this early stage it was reasonably important that I had this collection of music. Only three of the 21 songs are on albums I ended up owning. At the time I got it I already had albums with  Hello Hello by Sopwith Camel and Laugh Laugh by The Beau Brummels, while later obtaining the Love album with My Little Red Book as the opening track.

Side one

Hello Hello - Sopwith Camel

1967 No.26 Billboard * recorded 1966

Album Sopwith Camel • origin San Francisco CA

The only song from the year of this album’s release. It was the first hit single by any band in the San Francisco Psychedelic era. There is more about the band in my posting about LP25.

Psychotic Reaction - Count Five

1966 No.5 Billboard * recorded 1965

Album Psychotic Reaction * origin in San Jose CA

The Count Five were the first San Jose band to have success in the “garage band era”. Psychotic Reaction was discovered by KLIV DJ Brian Lord. I saw Count Five with some original members including vocalist Kenn Elnerr perform Psychotic Reaction at Longstock XXI in 2013 in the Santa Cruz Mountains CA.

The Duck - Jackie Lee

1965 No.14 1966 Top 100 No.8 R&B Billboard * recorded 1965

Album The Duck 1966 * origin Los Angeles CA

His real name is Earl Nelson and he had been in The Hollywood Flames in the ‘50s and was lead vocalist on Buzz Buzz Buzz. He had been in the duo Bob & Earl with Bobby Boyd, who later recorded Rockin’ Robin as Bobby Day. Nelson united with Bob Relf for a further Bob & Earl period. Jackie was his wife’s name, and Lee his middle name.

Little Girl - Syndicate of Sound

1966 No.8 Billboard * recorded 1966

Album Little Girl * origin in San Jose CA

Little Girl was originally issued on Hush Records in San Francisco.and became a regional hit with help from KLIV radio. Bell Records picked it up and issued it nationally. In the early’70s Syndicate of Sound played at a DeMolay event I was at. I got to know co-writer Bob Gonzalez in the 2010s. He still performs in the South Bay Area as of this writing. Syndicate of Sound performed a few shows after I met Bob and I saw one of them at the Santa Clara Fairgrounds. Original guitarist, and lead singer of Little Girl Don Baskin, was there, but since passed away in 2019.

Dirty Water - The Standells

1966 No.11 Billboard * recorded 1965

Album Dirty Water * origin in Los Angeles CA

The song was written by producer Ed Cobb who had lived in Boston, and which explains references to that city in Dirty Water. Drummer Dick Dodd, who at one time was on The Mouseketeers, sang lead vocal on this and most Standell songs. Boston sports teams regularly play Dirty Water at their events. The Standells have played at Fenway Park five times including at the 2nd game of the 2004 World Series.

Little Latin Lupe Lu - The Righteous Brothers

1963 No.49 Billboard * recorded 1963

Album Right Now! * origin Orange County/Los Angeles CA

Their first single, this song was a moderate hit for The Righteous Brothers before their first major smash You’ve Lost That Loving Feeling the next year. Bill Medley said that he dated a “Lupe Laguna” in high school. I saw Medley perform solo at Circle Star Theater in the ‘70s.

Laugh Laugh - The Beau Brummels

1964 No.15 Billboard * recorded 1964

Album Introducing The Beau Brummels * origin San Francisco CA

This was their first hit single. It was written by guitarist Ron Elliott and sung by lead vocalist Sal Valentino. I saw Valentino perform as a guest with Jackie Greene in 2005 at The Catalyst in Santa Cruz CA. There is more about the band in my posting about LP29.

Hey Joe (Where You Gonna Go) - The Leaves

1966 No. 31 Billboard * recorded 1966 (3rd version)

Album Hey Joe * origin San Fernando Valley-Los Angeles CA

A popular regional number, the Leaves recorded this song three times, with the final success of the third after new guitarist Bob Arlin, who used a fuzztone, had joined the band. They originally heard the song done by The Byrds at a club called Ciro’s. Johnny Echols of Love claims that The Leaves first heard Love’s version as well. The Leaves ended up releasing it before the Byrds version was released on their Fifth Dimension LP. The second version by The Leaves was released before the Love version came out on their first album, but was not successful as a single. Other notable versions were by Tim Rose, and Jimi Hendrix, plus LA’s Standells, Music Machine and Surfaries had also recorded it.

Baby Scratch My Back - Slim Harpo

1966 No.16 Top 100/No.1 R&B Billboard * recorded 1965

Album Baby Scratch My Back * origin Baton Rouge LA

Born James Isaac Moore in Lobdell LA, Slim Harpo was a leading exponent of Swamp Blues. His stage name was derived from his mastery of the blues “harp” harmonica. It was his most successful single, others of which included I’m a King Bee (’57) and Shake Your Hips (’66).

Pushin’ Too Hard - The Seeds

1966 No.36 (1967) Billboard * recorded 1965 reissued 1966

Album The Seeds 1966 * origin Los Angeles CA

Originally released as You’re Pushin’ Too Hard in 1965 when it became a regional hit and started being played extensively by an LA DJ after the album was released. After a new single of it was issued in November ’66 as Pushin’ Too Hard, it lead to it reaching national charts. Some radio stations banned it in the belief it was about a pusher of illegal drugs. Rather strange since it would have actually been an anti-drug song. The song is often cited as an example of garage rock in both celebratory and denigrating manners. I have seen keyboardist Darryl Hooper play with a recent version of the Seeds, and with Chocolate Watch Band in 2015 and 2019 all at at The Chapel in San Francisco CA.

Good Lovin' - The Young Rascals

1966 No.1 Billboard * recorded 1966

Album The Young Rascals * origin Garfield NJ

This song was originally recorded by Lemme B. Good (Limme Shell), and a month later by The Olympics with revised lyrics, which was a moderate hit for them. It is said that Young Rascal Felix Cavallere first heard The Olympics version and it was added to the Young Rascals’ repertoire, using those same lyrics and basic arrangement as The Olympics. It was the band’s first real hit, being only their second released single. They went on to have five other top 10 hits including two more No.1’s, in the meantime changing their name to The Rascals.

Side 2

You Turn Me On (Turn On Song) - Ian Whitcomb (and Bluesville)

1965 No.8 Billboard * recorded 1965

Album You Turn Me On * origin Dublin IE/from Woking Surrey Eng.

This is one of the only two British Invasion songs included in the collection, the other being technically Irish. (the Irish Invasion?) It was self-penned by Whitcomb and was the only one of his four Billboard songs over the years to reach hit status. He went on to be a record producer, author, and occasional actor. He eventually moved permanently to the U.S. and still performs as of this writing.

Sweet Talkin' Guy - The Chiffons

1966 No.10 Billboard * recorded 1966

Album Sweet Talkin’ Guy * origin The Bronx New York, NY

This was the group’s third Top 10 hit single. They ended up touring in Germany, and in England where members of the Beatles and Rollings Stones were in the audience on one club date.

Along Comes Mary - The Association

1966 No. 7 Billboard * recorded 1966

Album And Then…Along Comes The Association * origin LA CA

The band is famous for their rich vocal harmonies which lead to some major successes for the group in the ‘60s. This was their third single, but the first one to become a hit on Billboard. The next single, Cherish, hit No.1 the same year, as did Windy in 1967 with Never My Love at No.2 that year. The song refers to a once-disillusioned man’s tribulations being comforted by Mary and improving his life. It’s also been said that “Mary” refers to marijuana. It’s unclear whether composer Tandyn Almer ever confirmed that one way or the other. Over the years The Association has had an enormous amount of singers perform in the group over the years. They are still active, with the founder Jules Gary Alexander still on board, as of this writing.

Baby Do The Philly Dog - The Olympics

1966 No.63 R&B No.20 Billboard * recorded 1966

Album Something Old, Something New * origin Los Angeles CA

The Olympics started out as a doo-wop group in the late fifties, having their only big hit, Western Movies, make No.8 Top 100 and No.7 R&B on Billboard with one other top 10 song on Billboard R&B. They released a number of other singles until their last one Do the Philly Dog. They made no further singles following this. Charles Fizer died from a bullet wound in The Watts Riots of ’65. Not long after Melvin King left after his sister died in an accidental shooting. With line up changes the group continued after the mid-60s but with little success. They continued performing in the ‘70s on the oldies circuit in the U.S. and elsewhere.

Hang On Sloopy - The McCoys

1965 No. 1 Billboard * recorded 1965

Album Hang On Sloopy * origin Celina OH, Union City IN

Originally titled My Girl Sloopy when written by Wes Farrell & Bert Berns it was an R&B hit for The Vibrations in 1964. Before changing their name to The McCoys, they were called Rick & The Raiders. Rick & the band backed the Strangeloves, who were actually three writer/producers, at their last performance of a tour. The Strangeloves then recruited 17-year old Rick Zehringer (later Derringer) and his band to record Hang On Sloopy in New York. It later became the official song of the State of Ohio, unofficial fight song of Ohio State University, a signature song of the Cleveland Indians, and played regularly at Cleveland Cavalier games.

Hello Stranger - Barbara Lewis

1963 No.3 Top 100 No.1 R&B Billboard * recorded 1963

Album Hello Stranger * origin Detroit MI

Barbara Lewis wrote all the songs on her first album, Hello Stranger. She had eight other songs chart in the Billboard Top 100 through 1967, two of them which she had not written, peaking at No.11 in 1965. She was out of sight for awhile the next decade but resurfaced in 1977. She retired from singing in 2017 for health reasons.

My Little Red Book - Love

1966 No.52 Billboard * recorded 1966

Album Love * origin Los Angeles CA

This was Love’s first single on the Billboard chart and was a moderate hit. I remember it being played quite a bit on Bay Area stations. It was their version of the Burt Bacharach/Hal David song. Bacharach criticized the altered chord changes in Love version, but the song “became a garage rock standard, per Mason Stewart in his AllMusic song biography. It has also “been credited for its "punk" quality” by Stewart and others. I got to see My Little Red Book, among other songs, performed live by Arthur Lee & Love at Great American Music Hall on January 16, 2004, while Lee was still alive.

Solitary Man - Neil Diamond

1966 No.55 Billboard * recorded 1966

Album The Feel of Neil Diamond * origin Brooklyn NY

This, Neil Diamonds’ first single to chart, was a moderate success on Billboard and remains one of his personal favorite songs. He had written some other successful songs that were covered by others up to that time. It had already been thought by some, but in the 2000s Diamond finally realized, that Solitary Man was about himself while he was trying to write and sell songs up to the point when he went to work in the Brill Building. It was followed by the higher charing single, Cherry Cherry the same year. Neil Diamond has gone on to be one of the the most popular, best selling music artists of all-time. He still performs to sold-out audiences.

5 O'Clock World - The Vogues

1965 No.4 Billboard * recorded 1965

Album Five O’Clock World * origin Turtle Creek/Pittsburg PA

This was the second of back-to-back No.4 singles on Billboard, the band’s best success as The Vogues. They had one non-charting single (released twice) prior to that as The Valaires. The only other time of Top Ten success was in 1968 when they had back-to-back No. 7 singles. Their last studio album was released in 1971, followed by several unsuccessful singles through 1974. Although they continued performing by 1983 there was one original member left. Their manager in the meantime had trademarked the name and assets of the band. What followed was a classic case of many multiple bands using the name The Vogues, resulting in legal actions, and even Congressional testimony regarding the Truth in Music Act by that original member Chuck Blasco.

Gloria - Them

1965 No.71 Billboard * recorded 1964

Album The Angry Young Them * origin Belfast IE

This is the other non-American single on the album, the band being Irish. It landed in the U/S. during the British Invasion period. This garage song staple, written by Van Morrison, was the B-side of Baby Please Don’t Go in the U.K. and as such, was not included on the UK Singles Chart on it’s own. It was only moderately successful in the U.S. as a single while the Shadows of Knight (SOK) version issued later in the year rose to No.10 on Billboard. Them’s version topped that SOK version only in places it could be played. One of my earlier memories as a teenager involved hushed whispers about songs like Gloria and Louie Louie. One could listen to the American band’s version of Gloria and think, so what. It turns out that many radio stations would not play Them’s version because of the line “She comes to my room”: Oh my. The SOK version went, “She calls out my name.” In either case, Gloria is a classic. Van Morrison left the band in 1966 and has gone on to be a beloved songwriter and performer. I saw him on a double-bill with Bob Dylan at Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View CA in the 2000s.

                  ——————————————————-

KFRC 610 “The Big 610” and “Boss Radio” was a Top 40 rock and roll AM radio station in San Francisco CA. Prior to that it was purchased by RKO-General in 1949 and had an MOR (middle of the road) music format. The station was originally licensed at 1110 kHz in 1924, then 660 kHz a three years later, and finally 610kHz in 1928. The change in 1966 blended into “The Summer of Love” era and KFRC became the dominant station in the Bay Area through the 1970s. The station was responsible for two important events that occurred during that period. One was The Beach Boys Summer Spectacular, which included many bands, held in 1966 at the Cow Palace in Daly City. The following year, on June 10 and 11, they hosted the very first rock festival ever held, Fantasy Fair and Magic Mountain Music Festival at Sidney B. Cushing Amphitheatre on Mount Tamalpais in Marin County. It preceded the Monterey Pop Festival by one week. The only band on this album that played Magic Mountain was The Seeds, although there were many great upcoming local and national acts there. KYA 1260 was their chief rival in San Francisco. Another station I listened to a lot in the Bay Area was KLIV 1590 in San Jose. The fact is I listened to those stations more than KFRC overallI. Both of those stations preceded KFRC in the Top 40 format although KFRC held its’ own once it entered that arena. Of course any top forty station was fair game if they were playing the right song while I was cruising around. All these stations are gone now; sold, changed frequency and/or call letters, and of course, formats. It was a “golden” time to be listening to music radio though.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KFRC_(defunct)

https://rateyourmusic.com/release/comp/various-artists/kfrc-the-big-610-21-golden-rocks-volume-1/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KLIV

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sopwith_Camel_(band)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Count_Five

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earl_Nelson_(singer)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syndicate_of_Sound

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Standells

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Righteous_Brothers

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Beau_Brummels

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Leaves

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slim_Harpo

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Seeds

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Rascals 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ian_Whitcomb

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Chiffons

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Association

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Olympics_(band)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_McCoys

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barbara_Lewis

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Love_(band)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neil_Diamond

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Vogues

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Them_(band)

LP32

[ranger-jedi-knight]

A New Hero ch 7

AO3 Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20887313/chapters/53462290 Tag List: @vixen-uchiha

Ok, so that other fic I was talkin bout? Fell thru. Lost inspo for it. Maybe i’ll get the inspo back, we’ll see. But, here’s the next the chap!! So, Mari is NOW 15. I’ll do a few chaps of her bein 15 tho n dealin with HM’s douchiness. Also, Lila appears, but this isn’t canon Lila. I don’t remember who or where I saw this idea, but basically, Mari’s nonna took Mari with her to Italy and she met Lila. Long story short, they became best friends. Lila is an inspiring actress n deals with her mother sorta abusing her thru neglect. So that comes into play here. I hope that makes sense. So, I hope you enjoy this new chap!!

“Lila!” Mari shouted happily and ran over to her Italian friend. The Italian grinned and ran over to Mari and the two hugged inside the bakery. “What are you doing here? I thought your mother was going to England,” Mari asked and Lila shrugged in response.

“I’m not sure. The embassy decided to send her here instead. And, I’ll be going to your school, Mari!” she said excitedly.

“No way!” Mari beamed at that. She then dragged her friend up to her room.

“So, I saw the short film your class made,” Lila began as Mari started braiding Lila’s hair. Lila undid the small sides and braided them as she talked. Mari hummed when she heard that. “I was wondering, could we do a film together?”

Mari’s fingers paused briefly at the question but went back to work. “I don’t see why not. We just gotta ask Nino and Max. What would it be about?” Mari asked as she tied off the braid and Lila turned to her.

“Well, I remember the stories you said about the school not doing anything about bullying when we were younger. Is that still happening?” she asked with a tilt of her head.

“Yeah. not so much in our classroom. But, ya. Chloe’s been getting evidence for a couple of years now,” Mari replied and Lila smirked.

“Well then. We make a movie about it. But they don’t know. We get permission from the whole staff and parents and videotape everything that happens.”

“What do you mean they don’t know?” Mari asked as Lila sat down next to Mari and crossed her legs on the chaise.

“We have a few people that have scripted lines, but its mostly outlines. The rest is improved. They say what they feel is real. As for the staff. We tell them we’re making a film, but need to be recording a lot, explain that it happens during class. But we don’t tell them what it’s about. Especially not Damocles and Bustier. Only tell a few teachers we trust what’s going on,” Lila explained and Mari nodded at that.

“And it would be shown to the school board with Chloe’s evidence?” Mari asked and Lila nodded. “Ok, let’s do it.”

“Ok, so the basis is that I’m a new student at the school. But I lie about everything. Only a few people know that. And one of them knows because I lie about being friends with Ladybug, she knows cause she is Ladybug and has never met me. The others saw the confrontation and know. And so, they try outing me but with a few sugary words, the principal and teacher don’t do anything to me and get angry at the victim, as they’ve always been doing,” Lila said and Mari nodded.

“Ok, before we start casting the few main characters with lines, we should ask Nino and Max if they’re ok with filming and then get permission,” Mari added and Lila nodded agreement. “Ok, I’ll call them over and we can ask them.” Mari picked up her phone and got the two to come over quickly, with Chloe, Kim, and Adrien following behind.

~~~~~~~~~~~~(ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧~~~~~~~~~~~~

They were able to get the two to agree quickly and asked that principal after that. Thinking the film would help their reputation, Damocles agreed quickly and made sure all the staff knew what would be happening. So then, it was just figuring out who would be the main characters. “So, Adrien, would you mind being the one my character is trying to win over?” Lila asked and Adrien smiled.

“I don’t see why not,” he replied and Lila smiled.

“Great! Mari, could you be the girl that’s actually Ladybug?” Lila asked turning to Mari who looked embarrassed while the others sans Max snickered.

“W-why me?” Mari asked and Lila just beamed at Mari.

“Because! You’re so kind and helpful just like Ladybug! Please!?” Lila asked and Mari looked at her friends who nodded agreement. Even the ones that knew were agreeing with Lila.

“It’ll be fu~un,” Chloe said in a sing-song voice. Mari groaned, rolling her head back and looked at the ceiling.

“Fine. How’d we go about it?” she asked and Lila cheered.

“It’ll be very simple! If we can, it’d be amazing to have Ladybug help do this,” Lila said and the four friends smirked at Mari.

“Oh, I think Mari can get her to agree,” Chloe replied and Lila smiled with a nod.

“Of course. Anyways, during moments when Ladybug is needed, like when I first lie and Ladybug comes to out me, Mari will be nearby talking a little and then find somewhere to hide and the real Ladybug will appear to tell me off and then go back to the alley Mari’s waiting in. So that’s how it’ll go. Whenever Ladybug is needed, Mari will hide somewhere and Ladybug will appear. Of course, though, we can’t get Ladybug to do every scene or be recorded leaving the place Mari went,” Lila explained and the group nodded.

“Who else?” Mari asked and Lila hummed.

“Chloe would make sense as another person that knows,” Lila began and Chloe nodded agreement. “Adrien, would you mind being the other? The one that my character tries impressing?” she asked and Adrien smiled as he shook his head.

“I’m fine with that. It could even help me,” Adrien replied and Lila tilted her head in thought.

“How so?” she asked.

“My dad hasn’t exactly been following child labor laws. He’s been trying to find a way to get me to do what he wants again. This....this would help him dig his own grave,” Adrien said and Lila smirked.

“Oh, that sounds great. He won’t get away with that,” Lila replied and the group smiled at that.

“I’m all for helping take down Mr. Agreste. Now, did you want to lie about some celebrities? Cause we would need to tell them what was up since not everyone will know we’re filming a movie,” Mari said and Lila nodded.

“Yeah, we don’t want them to get hurt. Or try suing me. That doesn’t sound fun,” Lila agreed. “Are there any you’d recommend?”

“Well, I personally know Jagged Stone, Clara Nightingale, the Wayne’s and I’ve met Prince Ali. But I don’t talk to him much, plus he’s really busy. So if I get those two to agree you can do some lies regarding them. Prince Ali, perhaps just talk about helping in a few of his family’s charities. Nothing big, but it implies that you help,” Mari said and Lila nodded.

“That sounds great! How do you know them?” Lila asked and Mari blushed while her friends smiled happily at her. Only Max was also curious.

“She’s designed and helped Jagged, Clara, and Ali. Ali will occasionally call to see if she could design a logo, but that’s not often. The first two regularly commission items. The Wayne’s are a family friend. Or maybe mo~re,” Chloe explained and Mari’s blush deepened a bit.

“That’s sooo cool!” Lila gushed grabbing Mari’s hands and shaking them. “And what do you mean by that, Chloe?” she asked, a slightly teasing tone in her voice.

“It looks like Mari-bug here has a small crush on Bruce’s youngest son, Damian,” Chloe replied.

“And it seems it might be returned!” Kim added happily. Mari’s blush deepened once more.

“Guys!” Mari whined out and they just smirked at her.

“You go ask them if it’s ok while Max sends out the email to the class saying what’s going on,” Chloe said and Mari nodded agreement. Max pulled out a laptop and got to work while Mari stood up and walked away to talk.

“They’re ok with it! Just don’t do too much, ok? Just tell mostly white little lies. We don’t want to risk their reputation,” Mari explained and Lila nodded understanding.

“Sounds good. What lies would Jagged be ok with?” Lila asked as Mari went to her computer and opened up her mail.

“He’s ok with most anything. But the one thing that you would have to get permission for is saying he wrote a song for you. That’s something that can hurt him. Especially if the supposed song isn’t known about by your mother. So for that one, if you so wish, do that one in private, to be really safe, only use that one for one of us. Ok?” Mari replied and Lila nodded.

“Ok, that’s fair,” Lila replied and looked over Mari’s shoulders. “What’s that?” Mari glanced over at Lila before looking at the email once more.

“Their lawyers sent this. It’s an agreement of sorts. It allows us to mention and lie about them as long as we agree to keep the lies fairly simple. Should a lie get out to the public, either party that is asked about it is to immediately say it is a lie made up for a film we students are making. The people who’ve agreed to let us do this have already signed to it. We just have to sign it ourselves and send it back to them. We also need to keep a detailed record of any and every lie said to make sure once the film is done, we can dispute any lies spread from overhearing the filming,” Mari explained as the papers printed. The group nodded understanding at that.

“Who all needs to sign it? I highly doubt we all need to sign it,” Chloe asked and Mari nodded.

“The lawyers ask that the directors, filmers, and the person saying the lies sign it. For extra, I will sign it too. Adrien, would you mind signing it too?” she turned to the blonde in question and he nodded agreement.

“Marinette, a lawyer needs to be present when this is signed to make it legally binding, otherwise any one of us could not heed to it,” Max said and Mari nodded slowly at that.

“True. But I trust everyone here to heed it,” Mari replied and Max nodded at that. “Did you put in the email to not actively talk about the lies in public where anyone can hear?”

“Yes, I figured that would be good. Do you wish to read over the email before I send it out?” Max asked as he turned the laptop toward Mari.

“Sure, here, sign these while I look it over,” Mari said handing the papers to the four. As they each signed the papers, Mari went through the email and made sure it said everything important to know. “Ok, this looks good Max. Go ahead and send it.” Mari handed Max his laptop and took the papers back and quickly signed them before scanning them once more.

“There. We’re all ready for Monday,” Max said and Mari smiled as she finished sending the copies back.

“Good. I’m going to give these to my parents for safekeeping,” Mari replied and they nodded and started talking while she left her room.

“This’ll be interesting,” Tikki whispered as they made their way to her parents in the bakery.

“It will be. But it’ll be good. The school needs a wake-up call,” Mari said and Tikki nodded her agreement. They soon reached the bakery and Mari smiled at her parents. “Maman, Papa,” she greeted and the two smiled at her.

“What is it, sweetie?” Sabine asked leaning against the counter as a break appeared in the bakery.

“My friends are filming a movie that has some celebrities being mentioned. We signed a disclosure for safety and I thought you’d know the safest place for our copy,” Mari replied and her parents smiled.

“Of course, dear. I’ll call our lawyer over and he can hold onto it,” Tom said taking the papers from Mari and setting them on the clean counter next to the phone.

“Thank you, papa,” Mari said pressing a kiss to her parent’s cheeks before running back upstairs.

~~~~~~~~~~~~(ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Father, Mari is planning on bringing her partner here when she next visits,” Damian called walking into the Batcave where Bruce was sitting at the computer there working.

“Thank you for the heads-up, Damian. Has Mari gotten any intel that could help pinpoint Hawkmoth’s location?” Bruce asked turning to his son who simply shook his head.

“Not yet. They haven’t encountered anything that could possibly help. But if she or one of her friends does, they’ll email it over as soon as possible,” Damian replied and Bruce nodded at that.

“Alright. Was that all, Damian?” Bruce asked and Damian nodded.

“It was, father. I’ll be going now.” With that, Damian left the cave to find Jon to talk.

Mari-aculous @MDC_Designs

Had a great time with my friends! Made some new designs and made plans to make a film. This is gonna be great! Got ice cream to celebrate! #awesome #thisllbegreat #icecream *selfie of Mari holding ice cream with Chloe and Adrien hugging her with Lila, Nino, Kim, and Max holding their own with big smiles looking silly behind them*

Ok, so here’s the next chap! That was pretty quick. Don’t get used to this, who knows how often this’ll happen. This was fun. So I hope you like my take on Lila in this. Don’t get me wrong, I hate canon Lila with a passion. But this isn’t canon Lila. Tho there WILL be class salt here. You’ll see, hehehehehehe. Anyways, I hope you liked it and until next time!! -Love Willa<3<3<3