#but this trip was SERIOUSLY overdue and i really liked it and it was such a relief to like it too

[hotheadrednecksimmer]

Summer Lovin' - Struck by Love Legacy Challenge - Season 2, Episode 17

Spring came and went with Naomi focusing on her Piano and Guitar and her career. Summer was here and she was gearing up for her vacation with her parents that they take every year. She had been so focused in the spring that she didn't have time for any fun, so every week she was dating someone new.

All of the relationships she had were brief and when they got too serious, Naomi would end up breaking up with them. She didn't want anything serious, she just wanted to feel something other than this pain that she had been carrying since winter.

As the Summer Vacation came, a new passenger was going with them to Sulani this year. The beautiful lady that Kaito had met on vacation. After meeting at the bar in Mt. Komorebi, they talked all day every day and began a relationship. At the beginning of summer, Suzu ended up moving in with Kaito in a home that he purchased with the money that their parents had given him for college. He was stationed in Oasis Springs. Kaito had been waiting to ask Suzu an important question that he felt was long overdue, even though they hadn't been together that long.

Kaito took Naomi with him ring shopping proclaiming that she would be his best man if Suzu said yes. Naomi was excited for her brother but knew in her heart that he would get hurt. Suzu would treat him like Akira treated Maeve and how Gabrielle cheated on Naomi. Love always ended badly, no one ever stays faithful, it wasn't real.

The first night at the vacation home, they got there pretty late to make up for Naomi working late. Star made the family a meal while the others sat and talked at the dinner table.

Suzu: Thank you for letting my brother come along on the vacation. We really appreciate it.

Maeve: The more the merrier, I'm always open to more family joining us on vacation! It seems like our family gets bigger each year!

Kaito: You should see this guy play cards, he always wins. I swear he cheats!

Hiro: You're just a sore loser.

Naomi: Always has been, I once beat him in chess as a child and he cried for an hour.

Maeve: I also remember you telling him that he should protect his pawns instead of protecting the king Nay.

Naomi: Not my fault he didn't understand the rules!

Kaito: It's entirely your fault, you actually cheated!

Naomi: You're the boy who cried cheater.

Star: I remember Naomi beating him as a teen and he got so mad then too, he knew the rules by then!

Naomi smiled towards the kitchen where Star was, she always had Naomi's back for as long as she could remember.

Kaito: I don't recall that at all.

They all break into laughter, they shared a meal together and started divvying up the vacation rooms.

Maeve: Well, I thought I booked the vacation home that had enough rooms for all of us but it looks like I didn't. Star and I can crash on couches while you guys get the bedrooms.

Naomi: No mom, you shouldn't have to. I'll sleep on the couch, don't worry about it.

Hiro: Since I'm the extra body, I'll sleep on the couch.

Naomi: You're family Hiro, I'll take the couch, you have the bed. Seriously, I stay up way to late anyway with my work hours.

The protesting stopped and Hiro finally agreed to Naomi. With bedding all arranged, each of them went to their room and settled in. Kaito and Suzu took the biggest room, Maeve and Star offered it up knowing that Kaito was going to propose this trip, the main reason the family is staying for days and not just one day. Maeve and Star took the next biggest, Hiro took the smallest, and Naomi put her belongings in the closet nearest the living room where she would be staying. Although she was sleeping on the couch, she'd be able to have privacy with the bathroom down here and everyone in their own rooms. Naomi thought it wasn't that bad.

As Naomi was getting ready to lay on the couch and flick through the tv channels, she heard a light cough.

Hiro: You really could have the bed, I feel bad about it.

Naomi eyeing Hiro, why does he look so familiar? she thought. Naomi: Half the time I sleep on my couch in my apartment, I prefer it over beds. I think my back likes it better, or maybe I just like the noise from the TV as I sleep. I'm not sure.

Hiro: Well, there's a TV in the bedroom that works I'm sure. So you could sleep in there.

Naomi: Look Hiro, I know you're trying to be nice and all, but I've already claimed this couch and my butt is not moving.

Hiro stood still eyeing Naomi: Is this not awkward for you?

Naomi: What's awkward?

Hiro: The night that Kaito and Suzu met, we hooked up.

It all came back to Naomi, the sneaking up the stairs to the bar's bathroom that she didn't know but it felt familiar, she had done it multiple times before. It wasn't new.

Naomi cursed under her breath. Her bad decisions finally catching up to her. Naomi's eyes grew wider as more drunken memories came back to her.

Hiro: You didn't remember, did you?

Naomi: I- No, I didn't. I'm sorry.

Hiro: Then I guess that's the regular for you then? Flirt and sleep with strangers?

Naomi: No I-

Hiro: Save it, I don't want to hear it. I haven't been able to stop thinking about you since that night. But I guess I was just another fuck for you.

Hiro left Naomi alone in the living room. Naomi turned the tv off and sat in the silence and shame that she felt. She thought that what she was doing wasn't hurting anyone except herself. How many people had she slept with and flirted with that actually wanted something more than just to sleep with her? Was she as bad as Akira, Grace, and Gabrielle?

She buried her face in her hands as her thoughts spiraled, knowing that she wasn't going to get any sleep tonight.

╭┈◦•◦❥•◦ Season 1 | Season 2 First | Previous | Next

[musette22]

Hello you lovely folks!! A little update from me, after going AWOL for a little while 🙈 I am finally on my way back home from my UK road trip, which was only 12 days but felt like three weeks at the very least... We did SO much, and it was all incredible, and I consider myself a seriously blessed girl 💖

A quick recap, just because: we flew to Liverpool, rented a car there the next day and drove to Wales, saw incredible castles, beaches & mountains and met unbelievably lovely people (and stopped by the village with one of the longest names in the world, in Anglesey, see above pic). Then we spent some time reconnecting with the city in South Wales where we all met each other during an exchange semester 12 years ago (it was strange to be back there, but also really wonderful), before driving to England, where we stayed at THE most picture-perfect cottage in the Cotswolds. This wasn't my first time in the Cotswolds, but this time around we managed to tour so many of the amazingly cute & pretty villages, and on top of that, the weather was absolutely stunning ☀️✨️🥰

After that, we drove on to Oxford (my fave city in the UK, hands down ❤️) where we all also lived for some time about a decade ago, and then finally, we headed to London. I got to see a lot of old friends, art exhibitions, a musical (Moulin Rouge! so much fun), picnicked on Hampstead Heath, and - most importantly - I saw my favourite band of all time, Arctic Monkeys, perform again for the 7th time and they were absolutely INCREDIBLE 😍 So of course, when I walked out of the stadium, I turned to my friends and was like "You know what I want?" And they were like "Yes, we'll come with you to get an AM tattoo" (they know me too well 😂) So I dropped by a tattoo parlour the next day and got myself a cheeky little tribute to my fave song of my fave band and I could not be happier with it 🥰🥰 (pic under the cut, if anyone's interested)

So! That was my amazingly fantastic vacation which I enjoyed the crap out of, and I'm sure I'll be spamming you all with some pics over the next few days because oh man, I took so many photos 😅 Not super thrilled to be back at work tomorrow, but I am excited to be able to spend time on here and on my writing again!! (and reply to some messages, long overdue, sorry about that!)

I really hope everyone is doing super great and I'm sending bunches of love and kisses! 💋💕😘

[allthefoolmine]

Happy young royals season 3 to all who celebrate!

(it’s me I’m celebrating)

Not able to binge the series in one go this week but still want to yell into the void about it, episode by episode, with someone. Join me, gentlefolk of tumblr, for episode 2 of season 3!

Commentary and reactions under the cut for those avoiding spoilers or this show.

Haaah, the opening of the episode! I was a bit like, oh god, not sure I’m ready to watch them have phone sex, but fortunately the boarding students have to turn in their phones so I didn’t have to!

Ugh, people being homophobic to Simon on social media. Legos underfoot to them all!

I wonder who made that report…

Man, every time I get some sympathy for August, the character makes it fucking vanish. Top level writing. Also, really, going to school with lower class people is the worst fate imaginable! The horror, the horror. LMAO.

Ohhhhhh boy, Felice. Felice! Oh Lord. Was not expecting the hard right turn into racism. Should have expected it.

Oh they didn’t cancel the spring hike?! LolWHUT. Because nothing bad happens when you put these teenagers in the woods, under-chaperoned, huh. LMFAO.

It’s weird to see the Eriksson dad being a dad, honestly. Or trying to. Bless.

Wilhelm joins the choir! Can he even fucking sing—oh wait, doesn’t matter. Not the point. Rowing did look like fun though.

Again: who complained? My money is on Alexander at the moment. But then…was it Nils? August? What happened to them at their initiation?!

August what the actual fuck are you doing? Seriously? Calling Sara on your secret phone? Asking her brother if she’s okay? Actions, consequences, bud.

Wilhelm and August, joint kings of the bad liars. Doing group therapy together. This is gonna hilarious.

“As if you did” please tell me that’s a metaphorical gun on the wall that’s gonna go off. Also please tell me that we’re not gonna find out Erik was a bad dude.

Simon, writing music! Love it. Of course the palace doesn’t.

CONFLICT. Oh this was coming but it still hurts so much.

This camping trip is gonna be a disaster. And I am here for it.

THREE IN A TENT LMFAO. I wanna buy the teacher who came up with that one a bad ideas beer. (a bad ideas beer is a beer you buy someone when they’ve slipped on a banana peel after coming up with an incredibly elaborate scheme to avoid phallic fruit with yellow skins, btw)

Wait, where did all the teachers go? The students can just have a dance party in the woods and it’s all good?

Oh, I hate seeing them argue, but this argument about class differences and Wilhelm’s obliviousness feels very, very necessary, and quite honestly overdue. Sadly, I don’t think Wille’s sitting in the sunrise to make good decisions.

Really twisting the screws on Wille with that ending huh?

Bedtime for me, so no episode 3 until tomorrow! Tot ziens!

[bloomingflowersthings]

Roadtrip sniffles

Pairings: sick! Kate Bishop x reader, WandaNat, Yelena is there too

Summary: When you finally get some time to unwind from work and travel with your friends, it seems that a certain archer is not feeling too hot.

Notes: Sorry about the title lol, also, thank you guys for the support! it seems like you really enjoyed my last fic and all i have to say is thank you!! I would like to announce that my requests are open, so if you have any ideas please send them in!! hope you like it! <3

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The last mission exhausted the avengers. The team had to implode a Hydra facility and everyone worked a lot for it. After debriefing at the compound, Cap decided that everyone deserved a week off to recharge their batteries.

Tony and Pepper decided to go on vacation, Thor returned to Asgard, Clint went back to his house and the rest were just chilling around the tower. So you and the girls decided to spend your week off at the beach. It would be fun and a way of bonding with each other.

Wanda, Natasha and Yelena were in one car and you and Kate were in the other, since you both were taking Fanny and Lucky.

“Are you ready Kate?” You asked, while attaching Lucky’s harness to the seatbelt

“Yup, just have to grab my backpack real quick” The archer called out, entering the compound to grab her things

After making sure both puppies were safely secured, Kate was already entering the car, backpack in hands.

“I’m glad we’re doing this, it’s a great opportunity to relax!” You said, starting to drive

Kate nodded, putting her seatbelt on “It’s- Hh gonna be -Hhh fun!” she managed to say between hitching breaths.

Without taking your eyes off the road you asked: “Darling, are you okay?”

“Hh’Tsshh! Hhxngtt'shh! Hh'iTshh!" She stifled a set of sneezes in her elbow.

“Bless you!” you giggled, not thinking much about her outburst, “there’s tissues in the glove compartment if you need them.”

“I’ll be alright” Kate said, while yawning.

“You tired? maybe you can take a nap, it’ll be a long road trip and the dogs are already sleeping”

“Maybe I can take a nap, you should wake me up when you want to switch places”

“Shush, just rest for now” You knew Kate had to be exhausted. She had a rough final’s week since her roommate managed to catch a nasty cold and she had to take care of her while studying. And when she got to the compound the archer was training nonstop, some rest was seriously overdue, even though she would never admit she was tired.

Glancing over at her the first thing you noticed was the dark circles under her eyes poor thing… However, another thing caught your attention towards her features. She looked pale, and her nose was red and chapped. Was she getting sick? Refocusing your thoughts on the road, you decided to brush it off, she just had a rough couple of weeks, that’s all. right?

About an hour later, all of you decided to take a pit stop at a cafeteria. Wanda was carsick, Yelena was hungry and the dogs needed to pee. Turning off the car you looked over to your girlfriend again. She looked so peaceful that you didn’t want to wake her up. Until her nose started twitching…

“Hhep’tSHHIEW!” She ducked her head inside her shirt, sneezing loudly into it, “Hh’uptSHHIEW!”

“Wow Katie! bless you! you alright?” You asked, concern slipping into your features as you rubbed her shoulder lightly.

“Yeah, i’m fine! it must be allergies or something.” she said, while rubbing her eyes.

“Hmm… I’m keeping my eye on you.” You said while narrowing your eyes as she gave you a light playful slap on you arm.

After the both of you took the dogs out, you finally reunited with the rest of the girls.

“Pleaaaase, i’m begging, just take Yelena with you I can’t take one more minute having to be in the same space as her” Natasha said as her sister shoved her lightly

“Sorry Tasha, it’s either Yelena or the dogs” You said chuckling.

“I still prefer the dogs” The redhead said, while shrugging dramatically.

“Haha very funny sestra.” Yelena said while rolling her eyes, a big grin plastered on her face.

“You doing better Wands?” You asked, noticing that the witch wasn’t as pale as before

“A little, just needed some air.” She said, smiling as natasha rubbed her shoulder.

“Kate needed a little air too, right Kates?” You said, bumping her hip.

“Hhup’tshiew! Hh-’iishiew! HHe’TSHHIEW! whew! excuse me!” Kate said, her cheeks glowing red with embarrassment.

“See, the mini archer is allergic to cheesy couples, you are a threat to her health!” Yelena said, gesturing to Wanda and Natasha.

Everyone laughed and blessed Kate and you all headed inside the cafeteria (which thankfully was pet friendly) to grab some snacks.

After everyone finished eating, you all started to get ready to get in the cars again.

“Yelena, i’ll be in control of the music now, your musica taste is good, but a little old.” The widow said, tired of hearing “miss american pie” for more than ten times in a row.

“My music isn’t old! it’s good quality music!”

As the sisters argued, Kate was rubbing her nose, trying to get rid of the annoying tingle in her sinuses.

“Hh-itshhiew! HhH’uptshiew! sorry, i’m gonna grab some tissue real quick” The archer said.

As soon as she entered the restroom, Wanda approached you.

“Y/N, i’m sensing some discomfort in her, is she feeling well?” she asked you, concern clear in her features.

“I don’t think so, but she won’t admit it, and I don’t wanna pressure her” You answered, honestly.

“Make sure to take care of her”

“I will”

as Kate returned, Natasha spoke: “So, everyone is ready to go?”

Everybody agreed and you got in the car, in your original positions.

“Wait, you don’t want to switch places?” Kate asked. You had just recently overcome your fear of driving, so she wanted to make sure that you were confortable.

“Thanks baby, I’m good!” You answered, if you said you were relaxed, you would be lying, but she clearly needed the rest.

“Hh-itshhiew! HhH’uptshiew! ugh sorry” she said as she reached for the tissues.

“You’re not feeling well, are you?” You said, pure love showing in your words.

“I’m not feeling too hot” The archer admitted.

You reached her forehead, frowning at the heat radiating from her. “I have to disagree with that, you’re really hot baby, I think you’re running a fever.”

“It wasn’t that bad, I thought I could sleep it off on our way to the beach, I’m really sorry.”

“You don’t need to apologize, I’m always gonna take care of you, now try and sleep a little sweetie.” You said, giving your girlfriend a quick kiss on her temples.

You sent the girls a message to tell them the situation, and gave one more look at Kate, who was already asleep. She looked so peaceful, and beautiful, you couldn’t understand how she could look like a angel even while sick.

A few hours later, all of you finally arrived to the beach, and Kate was still in deep sleep. Feeling her forehead, you noticed that she was significantly warmer than earlier.

You decided to let her sleep for a little longer while you grabbed your things.

“How’s the little Bishop doing?” Yelena asked

“I think her fever spiked, she’s still sleeping in the car.” You answered

With everyone’s help, you quickly got your things inside the house.

“Kate, we’re here, c’mon, let’s get you inside” You said, while helping her out of the car.

She leaned against you, shivering as you got upstairs and sat her on the bed.

“I’m gonna make her some soup” Wanda said. “I’ll help you” Yelena added, and they both went downstairs.

“Y/N, I think she needs a shower in order to break that fever, you should help her out while I’ll go out and buy her some medicine” Natasha said, worried about her friend’s state

As the redhead exited the room, you turned to your girlfriend, who had fallen asleep again.

“Kate? how about we take a shower?” You kindly asked, gently massaging her scalp

“I’m too cold…” the archer answered, her voice was already hoarse and congested, making you wonder if her throat was hurting.

“It’s your fever that’s making you feel funny, but a quick shower might fix that, and i’ll be with you the whole time” you offered.

She nodded in approval and you helped her up, heading towards the bathroom. You turned on the shower, making sure to adjust the water temperature. You helped her out of her clothes.

As soon as she touched the water, her shivering intensified, and you felt guilty. You made sure to wash her body and hair and her chills became almost nonexistent, which meant that her fever probably broke.

“Thank you Y/N, i’m a little better now” Kate said, looking at you lovingly, and you noticed that she wasn’t as flushed as before.

“You welcome kitten, now let’s get you in the couch so you can eat and rest a little.”

As you finished helping her in her clothes and wrapping her up in a blanket, Wanda and Yelena returned with a tray of soup for everyone. It smelled amazing and everyone was hungry. They sat on the enormous sofa along with you and the dogs. You all decided to watch friends while eating.

“Even though I can’t fully taste it, this soup is amazing, thank you girls.” Kate said.

“Don’t mention it” Wanda replied

“I bet my macaroni and cheese is better, but this soup is tasty” Yelena said

“So y’all making a little party without me?” Natasha said, leaning against the doorframe, pharmacy bag in hand.

“Actually, we were just waiting for you to get the party started, come sit with us” You said, tapping the cushion.

Kate took a dose of the medicine and started to feel a little drowsy, she snuggled closer to you, closing her eyes.

“Thank you for taking care of me, girls.”

“We are your family, We’ll always take care of you.” you said while kissing her forehead.

She was glad to have a big loving family.

[cheswirls]

saboace fic rec list [non-eng]

loooong overdue. well, ik i’ve been silent abt op on here for longer than i have not, and that’s def not what (most) ppl follow me for, so i’m also throwing this into the main (ship) tags. i may do another one later on, but for now the subject of this list has been set.

prefacing this by saying if you can’t read in any language other than english, that’s okay, you can still go thru all of the recs on this list anyways. 

and how, you might ask? my personal favorite tool is yandex. yandex is an online (free!) translator that i personally think has a better translation system than google. in yandex, if you follow this link > here!

yandex also has a raw text translator where you can input a website link and get an option to translate the page it links to in full. once it’s translated, yandex acts as a background tool to the still-interactive website, so you can browse regularly without being confined to one page. (if yandex gives you any trouble, google translate also will translate interactive webpages in full – just not in the mini-translator on google’s search function. there are also amazing browser extensions that will translate webpages at the click of a button! aka pls don’t let written language be a barrier when it’s digital and on the internet~)

important: the tool is not perfect in any way and i am not claiming it as such. it functions differently with different websites, and i’ve only used it from one web browser, so i can’t claim if that would make things different.

with that being said!! here are five sa fics i love dearly that are not in english. (also please assume all of these are 5/5 stars) [under a cut for length]

1) further down the road by julia aldridge

https://ficbook.net/readfic/12782298 russian - complete - T rating - 30 pages

modern au, this is a roadtrip-to-the-beach fic. :) each little tidbit matches to a song from one of ace’s tapes, and the formatting/flow of the story hinges on that. saboace isn’t established officially in the beginning but the trip acts as the (act) necessary to push them in that direction.  guest appearances by koala + others but they don’t detract from the romance plot, which is refreshing. (also, sometimes yandex –and others– work better if you translate from serbian. there’s no set cryllic translator, so you can honestly try your luck with any of the languages that use written cryllic.)  absolutely cannot get enough of roadtrip fics and this one takes the cake. something about it is so whimsical, especially because the motives behind the trip are revealed steadily throughout the story, so in the beginning you’re on this grand journey with them without knowing the reasons. this also means it gives you different insight if you go back and reread, and i love things with high reread value, so c: hehe

2) a salamander lives in the light music by altair

https://ficbook.net/readfic/9947641 russian - T rating - 5 pages

altair’s writing is fantastic. please check out all of their other works. i am linking one saboace fic of theirs but the underlying message is that all of them are good. seriously. they have this writing style that makes me want to print the words onto a cake and eat them. you get sucked in from the first line, from all the poetic minute details, and it takes you from there. they also just (my opinion here) really understand sabo and ace as characters. this one is short but the prose is so attention-grabbing i had to put it in. the premise is sabo works as an exorcist overseas, and has arrived in boston to track down ace. none of altair’s works are very long but they always pack a punch. if you end up liking this one you will love the other ones too.

3) sabotaged ~♥~ by sasl

https://www.fanfiktion.de/s/61bb9e410000ccad17dfbd73/1/Sabotiert german - complete - E rating - 168k

THIS! okay first a preface: sometimes yandex (chrome browser) has trouble w this site on desktop. on mobile it works fine. if you need to just switch. everything by office is amazing but this is truly the crown jewel of saboace fics. it starts off insincere –ace pretending to come out as bi as a ruse to regain his friendship with his ex, bonney– and very quickly becomes more and more along the lines of the truth when ace confides this to koala, who introduces him to her already-out longtime friend sabo. i.. cannot recommend this one enough. the plot is excellent, the writing is outstanding, the characters are written so full of life and vitality. it’s so funny. like if you care even a shred about laughing and having fun while reading fic i promise you will enjoy this one. immensely. do not let the length scare you, it’s divided into 25 chapters which breaks things down into 5-7k, which is a lot easier to digest.  it’s pretty lighthearted and fun, as office has a tendency to give angst a short lifespan in her fics. everyone is 20+ but i would still classify this as coming-of-age in the most non-spoilery way i can. there is background kid/law but the focus (and pov) stays on sabo and ace, so if that’s not your thing (hint: it wasn’t mine) then i can say with sincerity that it’s manageably minor. also there is minor shanks/marco. ALSO. haha a bit unusual for sa fics, but roger and rouge are both alive and well and wonderful parents and you will love how they are integrated into the story. i know i sure did.  #1 rec off this list if you must knowww. please read this one if you have to pick.

4) my heart will go on by wirola

https://archiveofourown.org/works/29270850 chinese - complete - T rating - 20k

the system rating on ao3 says G, so above is my honest one. also, from the bottom of my heart: fuck this one. everything on the list has a happy ending, and i promise this one fulfills that requirement. (: that being said, it does have its ups and downs. lots.  the more in-depth summary is this: sabo and ace are best friends and live together on the us west coast. ace is an athlete and sabo an artist. one day sabo gets a call and is rudely awakened by the fact that his adoptive father, dragon, is soon to be married to an industry rival, crocodile. the problem is sabo has (thought) been in love with dragon since adolescence, and he views this as himself having very little time to act on his feelings. and with that, lemme backtrack. as someone who doesn’t care about dragon/sabo or dragon/crocodile, i did read the fic in full and absolutely loved it. most of the pov is ace, and most of the narration centers on the fact that ace has been in love with sabo for years, but as his best friend, continues to hold himself to the role of sabo’s wingman. the dragon/sabo is one-sided and simmers out about halfway through the fic. it was interesting! i will say that. it didn’t push the limits of my tolerance at all, which means it should be more than fine for others (the line of what i’m willing to put up with in fics is not very long, so please take this in good faith.) it’s unorthodox, but it’s well worth it.

5) let it rain by noarbor 

https://archiveofourown.org/works/40162059 chinese - complete - G rating - 2k

this one is short but really cute. it’s on my (hidden) list of ao3 sa recs that i might pull from next for another rec list, but since it’s (relatively) recent and in chinese, i’m giving it a spot here. chinese is the one thing i don’t think yandex does greatly because there is no differentiation between (chinese) and written mandarin. if you want a good chinese translator, look for one that has simplified chinese as an option. that being said! this one is SO sweet. in short, sabo has chronic pain that worsens during the rain, so during these times he seeks out ace as a comfort heater so he can get some sleep during the night. it’s really adorable. noarbor knows how to set a scene and let you fall into it. i have read this one so many times. so, so many. highly recommend. 

bonus! 6) once upon a time there were two lovers who lived on a planet of red peppers and cranberries by strayon

https://archiveofourown.org/works/43142967 chinese - complete - G rating - 2.4k

what a title :) anything by strayon is over-the-moon amazing. i like this one the most because it’s so domestic and thats///// a weakness of mine when it comes to sa fics. also bc sabo is portrayed as a nonsensical writer and thats very relatable. basically a fic where ace takes care of sabo while he writes through a new novel. super heartwarming. i love love love how they write ace in all of their fics, and i promise you will too

[romancemedia]

I think I’m starting to get back into Detective Conan again. I really can’t wait to watch some of the other movies in English like the Sunflowers of Inferno and the Fist of the Black Sapphire, but I’m also happy to learn about some major development for the future. In a special event where recently Gosho Aoyama answered fans questions, he revealed A LOT, including some MAJOR development for Shinichi and Ran. 

Shinichi will once again regain his body, marking his return for the first time since the field trip and I can’t wait to see what they’ll have in store for his relationship with Ran. It’s LONG overdue and About Damn Time. Seriously, they haven’t had ANY focus on their relationship in years, not since they became a couple. What I don’t get is why they waited so long, especially since their love story is one of the main storylines of the whole series?!

[devil-kindred]

stress fracture

Joseph and John have a discussion about the elusive deputy all while the father of Eden's Gate hides a secret that will unknowingly be his family's undoing. 1/1 | 802 words read it on ao3

“Joseph, what brings you to my humble abode?”

“This is far from humble, John.” Joseph’s voice is dry and laced with disapproval, a fact that makes John shrivel a little on the inside. “I thought I’d stop by and see how things are going here in the valley.”

“I suppose things are going as well as they can be since the deputy escaped the crash.” John plays nonchalant, even as his brow furrows in confusion, and waves a hand towards the back of the sprawling house⏤ grabbing his glass of wine as he walks across the lawn with his brother. “I’ve seen neither hide or hair of the illustrious pain in our side since she took back Rae Rae’s farm and absconded with that mutt, though my chosen are on the lookout for her at all times.”

Joseph merely nods as they approach the house, John’s chosen bowing their heads and stepping aside as they pass through the doors of the ranch. He knows John well, too well perhaps, and as soon as he hears the tone his youngest brother uses in reference to the deputy... well. Joseph knows that John’s handling of the situation could prove very problematic, especially with the information Faith had found having rang true. He takes note of the empty wine bottles on the far counter as they reach the kitchen and reminds himself that, while it would seem John is overdue for another lecture on his vices, it’s not why he stopped by the ranch. No, reminding John of his purpose can be dealt with later. There are more important things in motion.

“I needed to ask you about Deputy Walters.”

“Joseph, I already told you I haven’t seen her in my territory in weeks. Last I knew of, she was in Faith’s region likely taking a trip though the bliss. In fact, it’s likely she still is.” John laughs, as if he finds the situation to be endlessly amusing, and casts a glance towards Joseph. “I’m certain I can’t tell you anything you don’t already know.”

“Did she look familiar to you at all during the arrest?” Joseph prods, fighting to keep his expression neutral. It’s not like John to mock the steps those who would be saved must take to be welcomed unto eden. To find humor in what they must do, is to find humor in the project as a whole. 

Joseph doesn’t like this side of John, not at all.

“I was a little more concerned with the fact that you were being arrested to really focus too much on the myriad of people who came to take you away. Are you trying to get at something specific here, Joseph? Because as I said before⏤”

“I urge you to take this seriously, John.” Joseph’s voice is even, but holds an undercurrent that brooks no more nonsense. No more games, no more snide remarks. He will have the truth, one way or another. “I need you to think long and hard about Deputy Isobel Walters. Have you ever seen her before? Perhaps before I found you in Atlanta?”

John falls silent for a time and Joseph sees the flicker of recognition is gaze before he breaks into his signature smile...  And just when he has hope that John will finally tell the truth… He lies— sending any sense of relief Joseph had plummeting into the depths. “No, I can’t say I have.”

Joseph closes his eyes and takes a breath, reminding himself to be steady and calm, placing a hand on John’s shoulder as he leaves his youngest brother with a rather chilling statement. “I do hope that’s the truth, John.”

“Of course. Would I lie to you?”

Joseph’s footsteps falter, if only for a moment, the photo of the deputy and her young daughter— the spitting image of John, with the exception of her eyes which no doubt matched Isobel’s— burning a hole in the pocket of his pants. 

The answer, of course, is yes. 

Yes, John would lie to him. 

In fact, he’d just done so and would no doubt continue to do so even if given every opportunity to face the truth head on. It’s more than troubling— the way John seems to delight in the hunt for the deputy… and the way he refuses to acknowledge the truth. Is it some kind of spite that makes him act in such a manner? Or perhaps… something more? Does John know he has a daughter?

No, he can’t. If he did know, there’s no world Joseph can comprehend in which John would leave his offspring by the wayside. 

Perhaps it is no more than another obsession. A conquest and the deputy the prize to be won. Still a bit of a troubling thought, but not one they cannot overcome with time. 

[readingaftermidnight007]

(Long Overdue) Reading Update!!

Ahhhh I've been meaning to post for a while but I'm just super lazy soooo....

Last time I updated this, I had just finished reading DJATS I think? Hold on I'm going to check. *pause for me checking*

Ok yeah, the last time I updated this was when I finished Daisy Jones (which i never actually talked about how I felt about and who knows, maybe I'll finally make a post about it)

Anywaysssss.....here's my reading update. We may or may not be eight books behind. Whoops. (Seven if we don't count DJATS and for these purposes I'm not going to talk about it right now)

also dont worry abt spoilers for anything. it's completely spoiler free :)

~~~~~

First up, we have....

A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry

(completed February 23) (i know im sorry 😭)

(3/5 ⭐️)

I read this for a class, and overall I really enjoyed it. I was in a weird place mentally though, so I don't think I fully processed a lot of it otherwise this would have a much higher rating. Its a very enjoyable play though, and it's a beautiful story and beautifully written. Definitely would recommend if you enjoy plays that are grounded in realism and focus a lot around familial themes.

The Crucible by Arthur Miller

(completed March 8) (again im sorry ive been super fucking busy)

(4/5⭐️)

Honestly, I loved reading this play. I also read it for the same class, but I found this one more enjoyable, which is probably because one of my first childhood hyperfixations was on, oddly enough, the Salem Witch Trials. Which if you didn't know, that's what The Crucible is about. Anyways. It's very good, and I would definitely recommend reading it. Its a long play, but it's worth it. It explores a lot of themes of grief and paranoia and sins and it's just so fascinating and there's so much to explore within it.

Homeward Bound by Elaine Tyler May

(completed March 17) (i swear i have good reasons for not updating but im not gonna get into that unless you wanna go check up my vent blog @queenofshadows077)

(3/5⭐️)

i read this for my history class, and i have to say, i enjoyed it a lot more than i was expecting. sure, there didn't need to be a 20 page chapter about premarital sex statistics in the 1950s(seriously, why 20 pages???), but i found it very interesting otherwise. the book basically delves into the post-WWII suburbanization of American families and gender roles and societal roles, etc and I would recommend if youre looking for a nonfiction book about that particular time period.

The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennet

(completed March 22)

(5/5⭐️)

I genuinely LOVED this book. Like, seriously. Read it. IT'S WORTH THE HYPE I PROMISE. I could not put it down the entire time I was reading it. I was having way too much fun with it and i was so sad when it was over. Like, so upset. I loved the story of the twins and their lives. It's truly a beautiful, compelling novel and I want everyone to read it. It is 100% ending up on my favorites list of 2023. Please read it. Please. I beg of you. I dont wanna get too much into the plot or anything spoilery so if you wanna know more, read the overview on goodreads please! (and then read the book. do it. do. it.)

Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid

(completed march 31)

(4/5⭐️)

Ok so this is the third TJR book I've read, and I absolutely loved it!!! I read this over the course of a week on a trip I went on, and it was the perfect book to read for it. I love the way she organizes her books and the way she writes her characters. Compared to Evelyn Hugo and DJATS it's definitely not my favorite, but it was still excellent.

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid

(completed April 6)

(5/5⭐️)

This has always been one of my favorite books. This is my third time reading it, and I was inspired to reread since I had just finished Malibu Rising and had recently read DJATS. I love this book. I love Evelyn and her story and I love how TJR writes very complex characters. Always brings me to tears, it's soooo good. it's an incredible novel featuring an incredible story of a queer woman and her journeys through success, love, fame, and so much more. if you havent read it, you need to. Like, it is literally a requirement. :)

And finally....

Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sáenz

(completed April 11)

(5/5⭐️)

This was a beautiful story. Beautifully writen, characters that bare their soul and that you cant help but love, and super addicting. I literally could not put it down. the pacing was wonderful, the storytelling was so vivid and touching and i will remember this one for a long time. it's the story of two boys, Ari and Dante, as they grow up and start their journey into adulthood while also battling their own personal wars. Ari is a really interesting narrator to be in the head of and I honestly think that this author is so insanely good. So yeah. I liked it A LOT.

~~~~

That's all of them!!

see you next time!!

~Scarlett

[thefamilyeldritchabomination]

Chapter Twelve: Oily Night Pt. 7

“That was a good meal. Thank you Envy, that was incredibly kind of you to do this. Have you figured out where you’d like to have dinner?” Dolly said as she looked over to Envy.

 “I’m going to veto the orchard restaurant for now, but I do have an idea of sorts.” Envy said in the typical vague fashion, though a tad confused by the ‘kind’ compliment.

 “Oh? What’s the restaurant idea?” Dolly asked, sensing a great dread to come from the lobster man named Joel back home. 

 “Hmmm..I really don’t know if I should say, it’d ruin the surprise.” Envy teased a little bit as they looked at the clock.

 “Can I get a hint then to the location?” Dolly had a bit of a pit forming in her stomach if it turned out to be an expensive restaurant.

 “I suppose I could give you one small hint. It’ll be one that you’ll have to teleport me to, I’m cashing in that museum trip sacrificial offering.” Envy smirked a little bit, somehow, it was a nicer smirk than normal.

 “I was wondering when you were going to cash that one in.” Dolly shrugged since she did walk into that one.

 “It was the right opportunity for it. I’ll be collecting the teleportation ticket and dinner on Sunday.” Envy raised an eyebrow after noticing what time it was.

 “Is everything alright?” Dolly went to look at the clock and was surprised as well by the time.

 “Lust said it was a library job that was a few hours last night, but it's almost noon.” Envy hummed a bit, trying to figure out what was going on.

 “Seriously? I wonder what happened?” Dolly was growing concerned seeing as working for Dante is a high risk job with little to no pay.

 “I don’t know, but she and Gluttony should’ve been back some hours ago. I really needed to talk to Lust about the wall mummies.” Envy motioned lazily to the temporarily patched up wall.

 “Oh, you found the wall mummies?” Dolly looked at the area where the mummies were as if they were getting ready to pop out of the wall at any moment. “Are you keeping the people jerky?” Dorian asked, hopeful to torment Freddy with some long dead people in the wall.

 “Unfortunately, as much as I would love to keep them, they’ll have to go along with other possible mummies in the apartment complex. I might store them in the contaminated underground if Lust gives the okay though.” Envy perked their attention over to where the door had slammed open before slamming shut with a less than amused Lust and a very haunted Gluttony.

 “Envy, what do you mean by mummies being in the apartment complex?! I’ve had enough corpses to deal with for one day!” Lust went to sit at the table looking a little worse for wear and not a happy homunculus.

 “Here I thought you were going to be a nightmare hag when you got back, but yeah, the former landlord had a thing for murder and stuffing corpses into the walls.” Envy snidely said as they pointed to the temporarily patched up wall.

 “Of fucking course the previous landlord we fed to Gluttony was a serial killer! We’ll have to clear the building and search through each room to remove the corpses.” Lust slammed her face down on the table, exhausted from the job.

 “Lust? What happened?” Dolly asked, concerned at the state Lust was in.

 “Thank you Dolly for asking me about my job, at least SOMEONE cared enough to ask.” Lust narrowed her eyes a bit at Envy when she said it.

 “Oh how rude of me to not ask! Those books at the library are always so vicious and feral after an overdue book hasn’t been returned!” Envy mocked a little bit with some venom in their voice.

 “It wasn’t the library, it was Pride!” Lust snapped at Envy who immediately went silent and got concerned now that Pride was brought up.

 “What did that stupid puppet do this time?” Envy asked, now a bit icily as there was enough stress from Dante.

 “Pride finally has snapped and we can’t locate him.” Lust began as she looked Envy right in the eyes.

=======================================================================

 It had been a month of nonstop searching for the clay abomination known as Ernest as the Homunculus Fuhrer stared blankly into the fire, each flicker being like a mocking insult each moment he wasn’t out searching. His hand-selected group of men were exhausted and starving from this ‘hunt’, some having already passed on from the sheer amount of stress of the ordeal. It didn’t matter to Pride though, he didn’t need sleep or food, he wasn’t some weak and feeble human. For all Pride cared, the deaths were simply collateral damage that didn’t mean much, if any at all. The soldiers were growing fearful of their leader as he seemed to growl at the fire dancing in the bonfire. It was as clear as the night sky that their Fuhrer had gone mad with this hunt for the little clay lion and fearful of what their Fuhrer would do if pushed off into the deep end. Unfortunately for the soldiers that fateful night, one messenger had arrived with a manilla envelope addressed specifically for the mad Fuhrer himself. Pride glanced at the messenger with his one good eye and looked as though he was ready to rip the poor man’s face right off.

 “What is it now? My wife has everything under control and running my country smoothly.” Pride growled as his attention was pulled away from the mocking fire.

 “Fuhrer King Bradley, I came to deliver these forms directly from your wife. I believe they are an urgent matter.” The Messenger responded, not liking this encounter at all with the rabid Fuhrer as he snatched the envelope from him.

 Ripping the envelope open, Pride read it over carefully, his face becoming the same rage red as Ernest’s clay as he placed the papers down before standing up fully. They were papers for a divorce with Mrs. Bradley already signed her end of the form. She already had demands of having full parental custody of Salim and had already left the mansion to an undisclosed area. Communications will only be done through her divorce lawyer as Pride looked at his fearful men and messenger. With his ‘pets’ running away from him, Pride was ready to just cut loose everything and get rid of the extra baggage. The men and the messenger instinctively froze to the spot like rabbits as Fuhrer King Bradley withdrew his swords from their sheathes. The first to fall upon the blades of an enraged homunculus was the Lieutenant Colonel Frank Archer who made the mistake of moving. His head went sailing across the night sky with red ribbons trailing along as they splattered against the horrified faces of the soldiers. The screams began as the Fuhrer went in for a massacre of his own men and messenger to deal with the news of the impending divorce and the ever evasive Ernest. The splattering of blood felt satisfying to the deranged Homunculus as he came to realize why Envy had always enjoyed going on a murderous rampage. There was a disappointed look on Fuhrer Bradley's face when he finished murdering his entire group in a horrific fashion, wishing it had lasted longer when an awful idea came into mind.

 Not too far from the campsite was a village that should easily provide Pride with many screaming meat bags for the slaughter. With a grin that would’ve put Envy’s deranged murder face to shame, Fuhrer King Bradley made his way to the peaceful slumbering village for a night of ‘fun’. In the slumbering village that was about to have an unfortunate visit from its nation’s leader, Lust and Gluttony had been in the library to gather some books for Dante. There was a specific list of books that Dante had wanted, mainly books from Xerxes and Xing on its ancient mythology. It confused Lust, what exactly did these stories have anything to do with the stone? It made no sense or reason, but that was the job and Lust simply had to carry them out no matter how bizarre it was. Gluttony had been looking out the window, nibbling a bone that Lust brought along as a treat when that massacre began. At first, it was a soft glow in the distance before it became painfully clear that it was a fire to smoke out the villagers. Gluttony, rightfully, was pretty horrified at what was unfolding in front of him since there wasn’t any mention from Dante about burning a village down. Fearfully, Gluttony looked over to Lust who was almost done placing the last of the requested books into the bag when the soft screams began outside.

 “Lust? Did Dante tell us to burn the village down too?” Gluttony asked, though he knew full well what that answer would be.

 “No? Gluttony, why do you ask?” Lust went over to check on Gluttony after noticing he looked oddly pale for a change.

 “Cause there’s a fire outside.” Gluttony pointed out gently as Lust’s face fell upon seeing their job getting needlessly complicated.

 “Damn it, come on Gluttony, we need to leave at once and get the books delivered.” Lust instructed as she started leading Gluttony by the hand.

 It didn’t take long for Lust and Gluttony to escape the library, only to be greeted by the heat and screams of the village fire. This wasn’t part of the plan at all, they were to simply gather books and leave without anyone noticing. It couldn’t have been a forest fire, the weather had been rainy previously as villagers started fleeing their homes. An answer would soon show itself as bloodied corpses started to litter the ground and made the path out of the village much more difficult. Lust had her eyes on the culprit with a hand placed firmly on Gluttony who was looking hungrily at the corpses when Pride came out from the blaze laughing merrily at his slaughter. Normally, Lust would’ve been able to approach Pride in a civil enough manner. However, it was clear that Pride had checked out of reality. This was the first time Lust had ever felt fearful of her fellow homunculus as Pride looked right over to them with a wide grin. Reasonably, Lust started walking slowly away from the encroaching Pride, keeping Gluttony safely behind her as the Fuhrer Homunculus started laughing maniacally at the reaction.

  “Oh? What’s the matter, Lust? Don’t tell me you’ve become squeamish about murdering these blathering bags of organs?” Pride mockingly asked as he started laughing once again.

 “No, I’m more mortified with you derailing Dante’s plans like this! What the hell are you thinking Pride!?” Lust yelled as she went into protective mode around Gluttony who was now more scared than hungry.

 “How kind of you to ask Lust! My pets have run away after sending me divorce papers while I’m hunting that blasted little clay bastard! So I’m blowing off steam like Envy! Who knew how relaxing going on a murder spree was!” Pride explained as he cut down a fleeing villager with glee.

 “Even Envy knows better than to pull shit like that! Dante’s going to be pissed off, Pride!” Lust was growing more fearful at the situation she found herself in.

 “Dante can suck it, I’m a fucking god amongst these vermin and frankly, I just don’t care anymore until I can get my hands on that god damned lion after he destroyed my perfect family image!” Pride bellowed before he rushed past Lust to continue his carnage, Lust watching on in horror at what had been unleashed.

 “Gluttony..I think I need to be held for a moment while I process what I just heard from Pride..” Lust barely managed to say as Gluttony gave Lust that much needed hug.

 “We should go tell Dante and give her the books..” Gluttony whimpered not wanting to be in the village any longer around a murder spreeing Fuhrer on the loose.

 “That’s a good point Gluttony..I don’t think Wrath alone could handle Pride on his own right now..” Lust said in a calmer voice as she carefully led Gluttony out of the burning village of corpses.

 Back in the villa, it didn’t take long for Dante to start hearing the news from her radio as her scowl deepened. A massacre they said boldly on the news with eyewitness to the event of their nation’s leader being the cause of it all. All that careful planning threw out the widow because one Homunculus had a temper tantrum over a stupid clay abomination. There were growing holes in the arm of the chair Dante sat upon as her nails dug deeper into the furniture. Slowly, Dante started to take in some deeper breaths as she reclined on her chair as Lust and Gluttony arrived with the requested books in hand. Dante didn’t give Lust the chance to repeat the news that she already heard from the radio and turned the two homunculi away for the time being. Carefully, Dante started her own research after keeping tabs on her wayward offspring and was most certainly curious about this girl her progeny had been around. Perhaps, with whatever information she could gather, Dante could perhaps salvage her vanity plans of obtaining immortality in another way.

[velvetporcelain]

i have nothing to say really, I don’t know what keeps me coming back here like I have something to say- obviously I am inside my head and I’d like to stay there until something untouched comes along. i can do this, i can’t wait to do this. i cant wait to show myself to myself, its going to be a wonderful summer without the pressures of the dream planet. i will be so busy consuming, creating, caressing my mind, body and soul. i look forward to my girls trip to Nashville- i need quality time with women, and with my mother- it’s been thirteen years since our last girls trip, i would say it’s much overdue. today i am in the mood to consume, consume things that have gone lost, consume things in the shadows. i say this physical world is my shadow, and the dream planet (or society) might be the light i am stepping into, countless predators, but also countless connections- i wish to take it very seriously now, i feel i have enough evidence to act accordingly, at least for the foundation of my movement, of this self conjured revolution, i trust in the unconditional love , guidance and support of a power higher than myself. i will try and remember this on my bad days, there will be no bad days, just days of learning-

i am actually starting to feel good about these choices and i can confidently say that these choices were made with a sane mind, with the most clarity and confidence, there was a feeling in my chest that spread throughout my limbs, like it happens when i make the right choices, call it intuition, call it release, call it a signal, call it divinity- it is impossible for me to disappoint myself so i trust in that-

i want to read more, ive always wanted that- so that’s what im going to give myself. idle mind, idle hands. one thing that is difficult for me to face but not impossible, there is definitive proof of this- so i cannot argue— a good mentality requires good problem solving, and before you know it- you start to notice things- and those things bring you validation, expands your ability to think, create, love- everyone is terrified of all three things—

-i am most certainly not.

-x

[curseofhecate]

And you understand now why they lost their mind and fought the wars

Anthony Lockwood x fem!reader

They are best friends since forever yet they only now realize they're in love with each other.

3.1k

This has been long overdue. But it's finally here. I really hope you enjoy it and it's not that bad as it was in my head. Also it's the first time writting for Lockwood and I have yet to read the books because I'm a slow reader and I'm still stuck at a thausand boy kisses by Tillie Cole. This based off of You're in love (Taylor's Version).

The tension in the room was unbearable. It wasn't unusual for a case to go horribly wrong but it was a rare occurrence that one of them would get hurt. 

Last night's case could be rightfully referred to as a disaster. It had all gone wrong from the very start. The little information they had on the house's history, Lucy forgetting the salt bombs, the client's lie about the number of ghosts they'd have to face,it had all led up to this. 

No one had gotten seriously injured but in Lockwood's eyes even a broken wrist was too much of a damage. Especially when it was his best friend that had suffered the injury. 

It was well past 3 am now and tiredness was evident among the team. After a difficult case and a trip to the hospital, the last thing the three of them needed was their boss scolding them and pointing out everything they had done wrongly. 

Lockwood sighed, waving them off and assured them that they'd continue this conversation in the morning to which the rest of his team groaned. George was the first to go up to his room, complaining about how he needed to shower. Lucy lingered for a bit, finishing the rest of her tea in one big sip before bidding them goodnight and retiring to her room as well.

That left the two best friends alone in the kitchen. Lockwood got up from his seat, only now noticing how his tea had grown cold. He placed the kettle on the stove and opted for chamomile while the girl lit the three candles in the middle of the table. As he placed the two mugs on the table she turned off the lights and sat down next to the boy. "It's hurting my eyes" She shrugged at the boy's confused expression. 

Taking a small sip from the steaming mug in front of him, Lockwood turned to look at her again. Only this time his gaze didn't give away irritation or anger. His eyes had softened, the previous flames had died down and in their place was now worry and adoration.

This was a side of Anthony Lockwood few people were privileged to see, and even to them it was a rare sight. It was a look meant just for her, his best friend since he could remember.

His gaze shifted from her eyes to her injured wrist that now had a cast wrapped around it. "Does it hurt?" He asked gently, grabbing her wrist to inspect it, even though one couldn't notice anything out of place due to the cast. 

"I'll get over it. We both know I've had worst" She shrugged. Anthony sighed. He didn't like the idea of her getting hurt, especially because of him. Reaching over the table for the marker George had abandoned he smiled a little once he saw the little doodle on the thinking cloth. Another version of George’s take on angry Lockwood.

“Well in his defense, it did look like smoke was coming out of your ears” Y/n chuckled once she saw what he was looking at. Lockwood didn’t argue, only uncapped the marker gently grabbed her injured wrist again. 

“Can I?” he asked looking up from confirmation. The girl nodded, moving closer so that it would be easier for him to write on her cast. And right there, in the dimly lit kitchen and in the early hours of the morning, Lockwood wrote his name in black ink. He was careful, writing it on her inner wrist where no one could see his first name, Anthony, written in calligraphic letters, if they didn’t already know.

“People will think I’m your property Lockwood” she joked. “As if you could ever be someone’s property” he argued. 

He hoped that the dim light would hide the rosy color that was spreading on his cheeks and that she couldn’t feel the heat radiating off his face. And, truth is, there wasn’t much proof of Lockwood’s blushing. But she knew him too well and could tell by the tiny and subtle change in his demeanor. 

She had seen just enough to know.

It had been roughly a week since that night when someone else noticed the carefully written word. She and Lucy had been hanging out in their shared room, goofing around, flipping through magazines, painting each other’s nails and gossiping. It was one of the very few nights they didn’t have to deal with visitors and hauntings, which was a rare occurrence. 

“Oh come on! I want to sign your cast” Lucy complained, holding up a pink glitter pen. “No Luce, you’re going to ruin it” she said, letting herself fall back onto the bed, sighing. It had been a long day. Between spending the better half of the day with George at the Archives, doing research for tomorrow night’s case, coming back to find Lucy and Lockwood arguing about who would go out to buy the groceries (which was pointless as Y/n offered to go instead, to which Lockwood insisted he’d be the one to do it since she had a broken wrist and, according to him, couldn’t carry a single bag but still let her tag along with him) and dancing with Lucy to whatever song the radio was playing she had become exhausted. 

“How come Lockwood can sign your cast but I can’t” she pouted. Her words had her sitting back up in mere seconds. “What? You two know that I’m not stupid enough not to notice. God, even George isn’t that oblivious”.

“George knows too?” the other asked, confused.

Lucy nodded in response. The girl groaned, falling back onto the bed, already knowing what’s coming. 

“So, has he asked you out yet or-”

A pillow was thrown in her face, cutting her off. “Shut up” Y/n said, blushing, head down looking at her hands in a futile attempt to hide the pink color that was rising to her cheeks. Lucy took hold of the pillow and threw it back at her friend with little force so as to not hurt her. “You're blushing” she announced laughing at her friend.

“Oh shut up!

"Are you sure you're going to be alright on your own?" asked Lockwood, standing in the middle of their living room, their equipment bags placed down on the floor beside him. Her and Lockwood had been arguing back and forth all day about whether she could, or not, join tonight's case. It had already been four weeks since the accident that led to breaking her good wrist and the girl was growing tired of not being able to accompany the others on their nightly adventures. However no one could deny that she couldn’t yet fully handle a rapier so Lockwood won that argument.

"I could still come with you, '' she offered, hoping that he would finally cave in. "N/n we've already been through this'' he scolded, like a parent would their child,which was quite funny since it usually was the other way around whenever Lockwood decided to do something reckless (which was at least once during every case).

"Fine."

"You still haven't answered my question," he pointed out.

She sighed. "Yes, Anthony I'm going to be just fine. I can handle myself. Besides you are the ones staying out after curfew and putting yourself in danger while fighting ghosts."

"Like you don't do the same every other night."

"Apparently, I don't," she said, raising her bandaged wrist.

Lockwood laughed at her antics. "As soon as you can handle your rapier without dropping it every two minutes, I'll let you come with us. I promise. But until then you have to rest."

"I think I've had enough rest for the next eternity" she groaned.

"I just don't want to risk you getting hurt again. I want you to be safe. And taking you with us when you can't use your rapier means you can't defend yourself. And as much as I'd love to be your personal knight, I can't risk anything happening to you."

"I know Anth" she said, moving forward to pull him in a hug. The boy copied her actions, pressing a soft kiss on top of her head.

"I love you."

"I love you too."

Lucy hated that I love you, didn't seem to be doing anything for the two. She hated that they were both so clueless to their feelings for one another. She hated that they couldn't just kiss already. She hated that she had to sit through all this painfully slow slow burn. But most of all she hated that she'd have to ruin their little moment.

"Come on lovebirds. We have a ghost to take down" George interrupted them before Lucy could even say anything.

The Lockwood&Co agency was out of commision for the holidays. 

It usually felt nice to have a break. Not when it was the Christmas season. There were, simply, too many things to do, and that left all four of the friends exhausted. And now, well into the evening of Christmas Eve, the house was for once quiet.

George and Lucy had retired to their bedrooms a little while ago, which left Lockwood and Y/n. The two best friends were sitting side by side on the couch, sharing a blanket. Two empty mugs were abandoned on the coffee table in front of them and the radio played softly in the background.

And while Lockwood was immersed in the book he was reading, his best friend was resting her head on his shoulder, her eyes drifting from the book he was reading to the window.

The usually bleak weather had been replaced by a lighter sky and a soft white had started to cover everything. Noticing this, the girl tugged on the sleeve of his sweatshirt and lifted her head from his shoulder. This seemed to gain his attention as he averted his gaze from the book and looked at her confused.

"It's snowing,'' she announced. Getting up from the couch she pulled on her snow boots quickly and reached for their coats, throwing Lockwood his before putting her own on.

He didn't need to ask to know what that meant. Actually he knew just the moment she pointed the change of weather out to him. He knew there was no point in arguing with her, so instead he put on his coat and started searching for his own pair of snow boots.

When he had successfully put them on he was quick to follow the girl out the door leading to their backyard. And just as the door closed behind him, he felt something cold hit the back of his head. "Hey" he exclaimed, faking agitation as he turned to face her.

The girl gave him an innocent smile which didn't last long when a few seconds later she broke out laughing. Lockwood was amused. For a moment he froze in his place, not because of the cold or the snow but because he was mesmerized by the girl in front of him and time stood still for a second.

What could he have possibly done to deserve an angel like her?

The boy was pulled out of his trance when another snowball hit his face and his best friend was suddenly laughing harder than before.

He smiled a little, scooping up snow from the ground and throwing the snowball at her. The girl stopped laughing, clearly not expecting it. She glared at the boy as if he was an old friend that had betrayed her and turned into her worst enemy before her face broke into a soft smile as she picked up snow to throw back at him.

"Oh, it's on" Lockwood shook his head as he copied her actions.

Their little snowball fight lasted a bit over 20 minutes and it consisted of throwing snowballs at each other, laughing and giggling as Lockwood chased her around. Eventually they both got tired and when he finally caught her he lost his balance and ended up tackling her to the ground.

He rolled on his back and the two laid there, on the snowy ground, for a few minutes, laughing until they eventually calmed down. There was a silence then, one that lasted only a few seconds and yet it was enough for Anthony John Lockwood to realize that he didn't just love his best friend but he was in love with her.

Pulling himself up, he offered his hand for her to take. She joined their hands and let him pull her up. The two stood there, looking into each others' eyes with their faces only centimeters apart.

Anthony paused, as if wanting to say something but had decided against it at the last second. Then, his eyes never once leaving hers, he said "You're my best friend."

He had told her these words many times yet this once, they seemed to hold a completely different meaning. One that suggested that maybe she wasn't only his best friend and that maybe the line between platonic and romantic love had become blurry.

And it was at that moment that she realized that he was in love. With her.

He was in love with her.

And so was she.

She didn't give it a second thought, because if she had then she would have never actually done it, before pulling him closer and pressing her lips against his in a soft kiss.

And for the second time that day, time stood still for Anthony Lockwood.

And when she pulled away, she looked into his eyes and she told him that "I love you too."

And this time, the phrase she so commonly used with him held a different much deeper and more sacred.

The next morning she woke up in his room, to an empty bed. The clock on the bedside table read a few minutes after seven. She didn't bother changing out of his shirt that he had given her last night to sleep in, because she didn't want to accidentally wake up Lucy, with whom she shared a room with in the process. Instead she walked straight into the kitchen, knowing Lockwood would most likely be there.

And he was, sitting at the table, a steaming cup of tea in front of him and another mug placed directly opposite from him, where she would usually sit.

They greeted each other with a simple morning and she walked over to him first, leaving a kiss on his cheek before settling in her seat, her hand reaching over the table for his. Then there was a quiet "Merry Christmas" and after that a comfortable silence followed.

The two didn't need to exchange words, they understood each other perfectly even without saying things out loud.

She wished every morning could be like this. She wished she'd never have to worry about a case going wrong again or him doing something reckless that would put his life in danger as he more often than not did. She wished she could freeze time and stay in that moment forever.

None of them heard the timer going off. Not when the smell of something burning filled the room.

It was still a wonder for George how Lockwood had managed to burn the toast.

"Did you know that Lockwood has a picture of you in his wallet?" Lucy asked, staring absent-mindendly at the ceiling while laying in her bed. "He does?" asked the girl who lay next to her, turning to look at her friend.

"Mhm" the redhead nodded. "I noticed it yesterday when we went grocery shopping together," she continued.

"That's a bit weird. To keep a picture of your girlfriend in your wallet" Y/n pointed out.

"I actually find it really romantic. It's like he wants to have a piece of you with him all the time. I didn't really believe it could happen outside of romance novels" Lucy shrugged. "Hm. Who knew Lockwood could be such a romantic. Don't tell him I told you though because he will refuse it."

"That he keeps a picture of me in his wallet or that you called him a romantic?" the other girl laughed.

"I was talking about the picture but I guess he would have the same reaction in both cases."

She never really knew what it was like to be in love. She didn't know how to expect it would feel. She didn't even know how one falls in love with another, so much that they would go to the ends of the earth and sacrifice both themselves and the world for the other person. She thought it was something that existed purely in books, novels that would keep her up all night. And even if it did, she thought that she would never find it. That it wasn’t for her.

She never believed that she would find the Mr. Darcy to her Elizabeth Bennet; she'd never meet someone who would give up becoming a god for her like Percy Jackson did for Annabeth Chase.

Or at least she didn't used to believe.

But in the end, she found everything she could have asked for and more in the face of Anthony Lockwood, first her best friend and now her lover.

And suddenly, she now understood why some lost their minds and others chose to fight the wars, and even why certain people spend their whole lives trying to put the feeling of loving someone in such a way into words.

Because really, no amount of words, no matter how many or meaningful they were, could ever even begin to describe how she felt for him.

[stevenatroupe]

Acceptance

How it starts

I now accept. I  accept all things I went through, I accept all things I'm going  through, and most importantly accept the season of life I'm currently in. I know this  journey is long overdue. And God has definitely been revealing that to me. 

While reading “What Moving On Really Looks Like” in the book Single. On Purpose. By: John Kim - Which I highly recommend reading if you're in a relationship, single but looking, single and not looking, or have never been in a relationship at all. The book not only helps you become a better you, but become a better you for the people around you. The book is good. Anyways. The “chapter” is on Acceptance. It describes why acceptance is good for you, and by holding and not accepting the feeling continues to grow. “Like a virus we  may be able to bury it for a while by distracting ourselves but it will eventually come back.” 

For a while I never realized how much I was suppressing my past. Rejecting all things that happened to me physically, mentally, and sadly sexually. Because if I told myself it didn’t happen then it never happened. I can move on with my life. This is not at all true. 

I was born in Gary Indiana, raised in Apple Valley MN, and moved around within the Minnesota  area a lot. Most summers my family and I would take a road trip to Indiana, and stay there for the summer. By road trip I mean my mom would literally drive there in one day non-stop, drop my sisters and I off and turn around and head back to Minnesota. We wouldn’t see her again until she came back to gather us late August. 

I remember  one summer, which was my last summer ever traveling back to my grandparents home. I think this summer was so memorable  to me because it was the most traumatic. Two events happened. The first event was when my  older sister was doing my hair outside, I was sitting in a chair in my grandparents parking lot holding gel in my lap, and she was standing behind me braiding my hair. I no longer wanted her doing it  so I asked if we could be done. She said no and I instantly got up. It’s summertime, I wanted to hang out with my friends, not sit around getting my hair done. I should also mention, My mom had done my younger sister's and I's hair before heading to Indiana and I can remember her exact words. “Don’t let nobody play in  your hair.” Black moms take hair seriously. Me getting up triggered something in my sister. She had always dealt with  anger issues, but I’ve never experienced it due to her being one of two sisters who stayed in Indiana with my grandparents (My  mom was  a single parent to seven.) Her reaction to  me getting up and not allowing her to do my hair was her fighting me physically. Now at  this time I was about  seven or eight. The  only physical hurt I've ever experienced at this moment  was a whoopin by my mom. I had never been in a fight before, so defending myself was out of the question. I allowed it. My grandma came and got her off me, And when she finally let up I threw her jar of gel  on the ground and it shattered. 

The second event that happened to me was something I've never suppressed  and thought about more than I should. I don’t know if I’ve never  fully accepted it, or if it  hurts so much that It’s always been at the center of my brain. Maybe I’ve never truly forgiven, and until I do it will continue  to sit. This one involves lotion, sisters, uncle, and a belt. My uncle was known for giving out grand whoopins. He’d have us lay our hands on the edge of the couch, stick our  butts out, and if we moved  we got more hits added on to the ones we already “earned.” we  got  a whoopin for everything. I was sick  one day, threw up on the floor and got a whoopin… I was sick and a kid . but that's a story for another day. This one I like to think is wild. 

One day my Uncle called my sisters and I to the kitchen in my grandparents house. As he brought us all together  he  asked  a question I will never forget. “Who spilled all the lotion in the bedroom closet in the back, and didn’t clean it up.” Everyone was  silent, because they knew whoever answered was  getting in trouble, and if no one did we were all getting  in trouble.  It was silent for about a minute until I raised  my hand and  said I did it. No, I didn't do it. But  I also didn’t want my younger  sister to get in trouble for  something she didn’t do. After I answered he told me to go and grab the belt, and get into placement. I  did as I was told. When he got to me he  had asked  how many licks I wanted. (licks is what he called hits) Not knowing I could just say one, I said five. But me being me  I moved a lot and got a lot more then five. After he was done giving me my “licks” he said “Now go clean up the lotion.” I again did what I was told. But after realizing there was no lotion on the fool, I went to him and stated what I had seen. He said “Yes I know, you got the whoopin because you lied.” I was pissed. But I think I was more pissed that my grandma, and sisters said nothing after they heard this. And even more pissed that no one asked me if I was okay after essentially lying to them. 

Now I can take these situations and look at them in two ways. One being they both taught me lessons, Especially my uncle. Don’t ever lie for someone, or to someone. Or I can just accept these experiences were not okay, they could have both been handled differently and I Deserved better. They hurt me physically, and long term mentally. If I didn’t want my hair  done, I shouldn’t have had to get it done, and my uncle should have come up with a better, more sustainable way of teaching my siblings and I how not to lie. 

I’ve come to the realization that although I say I have forgiven my sister and Uncle, I have not. I have never really accepted the hurt this caused me, and how much this was actually still hurting me. You don’t think about them every day, but something happens that triggers the memory, and sends you down a spiral. Pressing this has allowed me to accept, now I have to go through the journey or moving through, with these stories, and so much more. 

“As you start to accept what happened, you will naturally start to move on. I'm going to give you another new definition: You are not moving on. You are moving through. Acceptance isn't a corner you turn. It's a journey, and journeys take time. But eventually a journey can lead You back to the village, a changed person, because with every journey there is a transformation.” - John Kim 

This is two of many stories I will share. I'm no longer sitting in silence. It’s time for me to be heard, to heal, and to move through. 

Stevena Troupe 

[thetokenmuggle]

Date Night

M Young Included: M, Jane

“I am sorry i’m so late,” Jane greeted, pressing a quick kiss to his cheek. M blinked, he would never be used to the instant transmission thing she did. A second ago M was alone in the kitchen searching for a packet of crisps to munch when Jane appeared. “I am all for being comfortable but I don't think sweats would pass the dress code,” she said eyes raking over M, an appreciative hum escaping her lips. M scratched the back of his neck, he still had to pinch himself when it came to her. “Now as much as I love the view, if we want to go on our date you need to get ready,” she said with a laugh.

M looked away from chewing on his bottom as he tried to figure out how to tell Jane they had long missed their reservation. “Babe,” M started as Jane’s eyebrow quirked up. “Have you been outside in the last couple of hours?” he asked, not liking the way Jane’s face fell.

“It hasn’t been that long right?” she asked. M sighed, he was sure Jane already knew the answer. “Shit,” she said glancing at the clock on the oven. “I am so so sorry, i lost track of time, everything had been going so well but then that company got involved and just ruined everything like they always do, i swear one day i am going to burn there building down,” she said, M wasn’t used to seeing her this annoyed - well at anything that wasn’t his best friend. Oh shit was the company Star Labs, he was 99.99 percent sure that it wasn’t but maybe Minah swayed Jane and Sungjae into working together for something.

“Don’t do that, not that I don't appreciate you dabbling into new interests even if it is arson, i just don’t think i am cut to be a prison hubby,” he said in mock seriousness, earning a giggle from Jane. “But in all seriousness it’s all good, we can always go out for dinner another time,” he said, Jane huffed shaking her head with a bitter chuckle escaping her lips. “No no none of that,” M said, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her into a hug.

“You aren’t mad?” Jane asked. “Most men wouldn’t like their girlfriend spending so much time with their ex,” she said resting her chin on her shoulder. “I wouldn’t blame you if you were,” she mumbled.

“Well i can’t say i love it, he is pretty handsome but i am not worried, its your job, your clients wouldn’t last a minute without you,” M said trying not to laugh as Jane nodded, hair tickling his neck.

“Honestly you have no idea,” she said pulling away from M. “You really aren’t upset about me ruining our date night?” she asked softly.

“One who said our date night is ruined?” M asked raising. “And two i am really not upset about anything though i think i am going to buy you a good old fashioned muggle watch so you don’t lose track of time,” he said. Jane opened her mouth to apologize again but M stopped her with a kiss.

“Why don’t you go wash up and change it something more comfortable, i’ll muster up something for us to eat and then we can have our date night,” he said. Jane murmured a fine heading towards the staircase.

—-

“So this is nice,” Jane said as she walked into the dining area. M nodded from the kitchen, he was a tiny bit proud of what he had managed in that half an hour. Unfortunately they did not have a ton of options, their grocery shop was long overdue but he did manage to whip up a simple beef stirfry with what they had. He had set the table making sure to use Jane’s favorite dining set and wine glasses. He used the candles his mother had bought home after her last trip to light the room, he had no idea what the scent was, something floral, but it was nice “That being said, should you have been cooking shirtless?” she asked, sipping on her wine.

“Strictly speaking no,” M chuckled placing a the plates down. “There were a few near misses,” he said, he had to dodge some oil spitting up from the pan. “But somehow i’ve managed to escape with zero injuries, must be because i was cooking for you,” he said .

Despite rolling her eyes there was no denying the smile on Jane’s face. “You are lucky i love you otherwise this cheesiness would be too much ” she muttered, shaking her head. “Anyway, why were you up when I got back?”

“Because I missed you,” M said with a big cheesy smile trying not to laugh at the face Jane pulled. “Nah i was watching a movie while going over the books but then got sucked into the movie,” he said.

“So you weren’t waiting for me?” Jane pouted. “So much for feeling special,” she teased.

M laughed. “Well how about we watch a movie after this, you pick but if it is french movie please have the subtitles added my French is still so so,” he said.

“Fine, I will suffer from subtitles that usually miss a bunch of context and cover half off the screen,” Jane said. “But don’t say that you are getting so good at it,” Jane praised. “But if you want, I know a spell that will help,” she offered. M shook his head, no he wanted to prove that he can learn on his own without magic.

“Nope, I am going to learn it by myself,” M said. “The muggle way,” he said.

[yung-goos]

Rambles 0.2

Been meaning to get my thoughts down, just.. everything seems so overwhelming. Since the last lil ramble post, I was still wallowing in my a long overdue depressive episode for a bit. Still am? I guess. Mindset seems clear...er. And since then things have started to make a little bit more sense. I guess it all started after my mushroom trip, which was so nice btw. A lot of dancing to no music, remembering how good it feels to move. Realizing things all make sense in motion. Kind of went into this whole inner reflection on awareness, and being aware. And that being aware requires being committed to honesty. Since then... jesus. I've noticed how much people aren't honest not only with others but with themselves? Including me, from time to time. The biggest example currently being my dad. He actually made me cry a week ago, tried gas-lighting me into thinking him describing someone as " being built like a house" is just that. "Describing". As if that isn't clearly insulting. Amongst other things, in that moment it made me realize what I've kind of had to endure growing up. People making me doubt my own feelings, the way I think, telling ME how EYE feel, and being all around rude and mean for no reason at all, regardless if it was directed at me or not. It’s exhausting. I can't explain to someone who seems proud to be an asshole how hard it is being around someone so mean. I really I can't appeal to someones sense of empathy when that someone is committed to overcoming and running away from their feelings 24/7... Realizing my dad might be a lost cause like my mom, whom I have cut all contact with years ago, wasn't something I was quite ready for. Spent so much time idealizing him growing up that I never took the time to see how he was also harming me. It was.. a lot, but I'm aware now. Which is nice but... can I live with my dad not being aware? I want to work on this... shit. Even with my mom, deep down. But is it wrong for me to want them to approach me about their bullshit for once? My sister and I have tried. We're grown. And now we're tired... Idk.

Other than that, life has been good. I'm receiving a big raise soon, like 6-8 bucks or so. Realllly happy about that, def excited to invest in myself and the ones around me a little bit this season. Excited to see what I'll be able to do going forward. And In my commitment to being honest, I've also decided its best I be more confrontational. Honesty depends on it. Trying to speak up more, say whats on my mind. Be open to being wrong, uncomfortable, even slighted or hurt. And I'm glad to say its been working!! Still very uncomfy tho but I'm getting there!!...

God my brain feels like goo... can't seem to think anymore so I'll cut it short. Theres more but I seriously can't type anymore. Bleh... Till next time

[anthropwashere]

so how was your trip? I hope it went better than you were expecting

It did go better than I expected, actually! And thank you for providing me a springboard to hop off on, because I sort of wanted to organize my thoughts on the whole trip to reflect on everything.

(This got kind of long, oops, my b)

So, in case anyone else skims this, I haven’t been back to my home town in something like seven or eight years. I ran off to the Air Force right before Thanksgiving of ‘09, there was a brief visit the summer of ‘10, and I can’t recall when exactly, but the then-boyfriend and I made another brief visit six-ish months after that. I’d left on shaky terms with my aunt and uncle but stayed away because I have a, haha, all-around bad relationship with my mom. (The visit then-bf and I did left me with bruises on my arm, not because she hit me but because she wouldn’t let go.)

I was… nervous. Anxious as hell is probably a more accurate description, haha. But 95% of that anxiety was totally unfounded! I had a lovely time catching up with all my SoCal family (we’re Irish American, so I’ve got clusters of not-as-close relations spanning the entire country). The aunt and uncle who took me in my senior year of high school were an honest joy to catch up with, and it was really nice catching up with the other aunt and uncle out there too. Plus I got to hang out with all but one of my cousins, and she’s getting married next summer so I’ve got the best excuse in the world to catch up with everyone all over again in my favorite part of California! 

The best catching up was with two of my cousins, the one nearest my age and the youngest. I’d fallen out of touch with the nearest-in-age years back (we’re both equally crap at it, haha), but the three of us had dinner together twice and she and I fell right back into laughing ourselves stupid over everything like we’d only seen each other a few weeks back. And my youngest cousin is just as big a nerd as I am, so we spent like, hours, talking about writing and her RP stuff and world-building and dumb Tumblr jokes. It was great. :D Youngest cousin’s best friend since, like, kindergarten tried to go into the Air Force as well, but Basic uhhh, basically broke her from the knees down. So she got out before she really got in, but she’s doing really good and seems really happy even with the physio she still has to do. We laughed over all the bizarre/awful shit of Basic and did compare/contrasts of what it was like for when I went through versus her while the family stood back a few feet with vaguely concerned expressions. (Me: We had messenger bags when I went through, you? Her: Regular backpacks. Me: Oh okay, I heard trainees were hand-carrying stuff for awhile since the rumor mill said a trainee hung themselves with the bag strap. Her: Holy shit, yeah, I can see that. Everyone else: nervouslaughter.jpeg) She got a kitten while I was there and he is the sweetest boy and she’s gonna be such a good cat mom. :)

It was also wonderful to just drive around my home town and see what’s changed and what’s remained the same. Thanks to the absurd existence of the Santa Clarita Diet I’ve blabbed that’s where I’m from on here on several occasions, and it’s uncanny just how specific the natural light of SoCal is compared to other places I’ve lived. Also I did a walk-by of Yoki’s apartment from S1 because it’s an apartment I used to walk by all the time on my way to high school, and I was right! They did edit the front to look shittier! There’s still well-trimmed bushes and cherry trees and a nice fence like I remember!! Also, the couple jokes about how shitty Newhall is are much funnier now that I’ve seen the amount of gentrification they’re sinking into the downtown area. I mean, yeah, my street is just as ugly and old and not a place you’d want to walk ‘round at night as it was when I lived there, but downtown? Is adorable, what the hell.

AND MOUNTAINS. YOU GUYS. I missed mountains so goddamn much. I haven’t lived anywhere with mountains since ‘11 and I legit started crying on my drive back from the beach (the Pacific is so much more alive than the Atlantic, ah it was gorgeous!!!!) because there was a 40-mile stretch of farmlands and orange groves cradled in all these burnt-brown mountains. And even though my home town is in a valley it’s still full of all these steep hills and crazily curving roads and I really just enjoyed driving around grinning like a loon. I’ve got to get back on the West coast one day, oof.

I mean, it wasn’t all perfect of course. There was a strong undercurrent of worry for one of my uncles and their oldest son for personal stuff I’m not gonna splash out here. I was tempted to go track down a friend from high school who lived just up the street from the shitty apartment I grew up in, but I knew it would have been an awkward mess and I just… didn’t want to force that on her or her parents by surprise. And even though I’d flown out with the full intention of not seeing my mom, I did end up doing lunch with her one day. I literally only agreed to that because when I told one of my aunts that, she braced herself against the kitchen counter and said, “Fuck, you’re gonna leave me with that?” And like, yeah, 100% guilt trip, but also 100% a justified reaction.

And speaking of her, it was so gratifying to have the (awkward, kind of embarrassing) conversations about my mom with all the other family members. They’ve only had her side of things for years and she is very, very good at playing the victim. I laid out my side of things and every single member of my family was like, “Oh, okay, yeah, you did yourself a solid.” One of my cousins straight up said I was the smartest one of us for getting out of the worst situation any of us grew up in on my own steam. And it was gratifying yeah, but also kind of astonishing, to have this conversation with so many different people who have all kinds of different familial relationships with her, expecting that I’d have to die on the hill of “I literally don’t have the energy and I live 2,600 miles away from her,” but that… didn’t happen. Everyone agreed. Everyone had their own negative but justified opinions of her. Everyone felt like they had to deal with her instead of just have her around as part of the greater SoCal family.

So, yeah. The lunch was rough, but it would have been so much worse if my aunt and uncle hadn’t agreed to come with. Yeah, she sent me 50 texts after that lunch with only a handful of grudging (necessary) replies from me. But I got through it, I got the one box of stuff left of pre-military stuff in her storage (that I’ve been paying for for eight years since hey, steady income who?) out and packed up for my uncle to ship for me. I got a new number/phone yesterday so I finally, finally can wash my hands of her desperately wheedling texts from new pre-paid phones every couple of months. I found some cute things at an antique shop I used to go to all the time as a kid. I had the wackiest sleep schedule because insomnia and jet lag and OTC sleep aids are a hell of a combo. I read a whole book for the first time in like six months and got a bunch of writing done!

And I have to keep saying this: it was so gratifying to be proved right over all this mom shit. I don’t want a competition, I don’t want horrible things to her, I just don’t want her in my life without excluding the rest of the family, and I feel like I’ve finally made the first steps towards that.

Also, while I was waiting for my plane to begin boarding my aunt texted me to wish me a safe flight and to tell me that my uncle had said saying goodbye to me had been like saying goodbye to one of their own kids. I just about started crying right there in the terminal. :’)

I’m not gonna read through all this because I’m sure I’ll get embarrassed, but all in all? Excellent trip, glad it wasn’t on fire while I was there, looking forward to seeing everyone again next summer. :)

[leocancertaurus]

A Debt to Pay Pt. 2

cw: none (but maybe divorce, adoption, overeating if those are sensitive subjects for you!)

wc: ~4.7k

a/n: helloooo, this is LONG overdue. I’ve just been so busy with work and life and everything that i haven’t had much in me to write. but, i’m excited about writing again so that’s fun. as always, i would love to hear everyone’s thoughts!

____________________________________________________________________

The mini succulent that you strategically placed on the shelf above your desk was the final puzzle piece to completing your new bedroom. Getting settled after a move to an entirely new continent had proved to be quite difficult, naturally. You’d strung posters of your favorite artists and movies across every wall, along with pictures of you with your closest friends, pictures of you and your mom, as well as a number of your favorite of your own paintings from over the years. Your bedroom was slowly but surely starting to feel like home. Pouring your time and effort into this was an amazing distraction from what was soon to come. 

“Hey love, I just got off the phone with your new counselor and I printed these things for you. It’s your course schedule and other information just to help get you oriented tomorrow,” your mom, Hazel, yanks what you’d avoiding back to the forefront of your brain.

“Thanks Mom,” you stretch a tightlipped smile.

“Someone’s enthusiastic!” She sits on your bed and motions for you to join her. “Nervous, are we?”

You join her and lay your head on her shoulder, “Yes,” you pause, staring at the floor before you, “What if everyone hates me?” you mutter.

“I don’t think everyone is that stupid, love,” she gently caresses your back.

“I’m being serious!”

“So am I! Hey, you’re going to be great.”

“But, it’s half way through the year. Everyone has their friends already. I’ll just be the weird new kid.”

“Now, you have a point with that weird part. But-”

“Mom!” You deadpan eliciting a hearty laugh from her. 

“I’m joking! How could everyone not want to be your friend? You are so kind, and funny, and compassionate,” she lifts your chin to meet her gaze. “I know how lucky I am to have you and anyone else that doesn’t feel that way is simply an idiot.” 

“You’re my mom. You’re legally obligated to say that.”

“Yes, but I also mean it!”

“Seriously, I don’t really know what to expect and there’s just going to be so much for me to have to jump into and I’m… scared.”

“And that’s okay. I just want you to try it scared, okay? You are the most adaptable kid I’ve ever met.” You traced the lines of her tattoos on her arm while you leaned into her, seeking comfort. “ You’ll be fine,” she kisses the top of your head and wraps you in a hug. 

“But, you don’t know that,” you fling yourself back on your bed, emitting a resounding sigh.

“You’re such a drama queen.”

“I learned from the best of the best.”

“Ha. Ha. Look, I know this is a big move and an even bigger change with starting at a new school but we can do anything as long as we do it together, right?”

You lamely nod. You were extremely excited to be in New York. There was no denying that. Still, it was bittersweet to be here. It was tough to leave all you’ve ever known behind. Your school, your friends, and especially your childhood home. Your earliest memories happened within those 4 walls. Both the good and the bad. 

You were adopted by a couple of newlyweds from London when you were five. Oliver and Hazel Mitchell were excited to begin the next chapter in their lives following their marriage, by starting a family and thus, adopting you.

Oliver was a very closed off businessman that spent most of his time in his office or on business trips.  He never really paid much attention to your interests. He rarely played with you as a child.  He never came to a performance or a game. He was this shadow that paid the bills and gave excuses. After a number of desperate attempts to win his attention, you decided to stop trying, hoping to convince yourself that you were better off without him. 

Your mother, on the other hand, was the closest embodiment of God herself. From the day that you met her, you’d realized that she was destined to be your mom. Whatever fantasy you wanted to play out she’d made sure that you were well equipped to live it. She would play the dragon that’d save you, the princess. She’d be the food critic at your playdoh restaurant. You’d be the knight, and she’d be your trusty unicorn. She made your childhood magical. Always a listening ear and a shoulder to cry on. She was your very best friend. No one else came close. 

As you got older, you’d noticed the bags under Hazel’s eyes grow bigger and darker. Your parents barely looked at each other near the end of their marriage. Now that you were old enough to understand, it didn’t make sense how and why they ever got together in the first place. They weren’t affectionate with one another, they barely conversed, and their paths barely crossed. 

Hazel outshined Oliver. She was kind, compassionate, a devoted parent, and she had a successful career as a visual artist. She did it all so effortlessly. She deserved this fresh start just as much as you did, if not more, after everything she’s endured.

 ___________________________________________________________________

Monday approaches quicker than you had hoped. The shrill of the school bell forces you to realize that this is actually happening. Your heart was fighting to jump through your throat. You wipe your damp palms on your jeans while rushing into your homeroom with your head down. You fling yourself into a chair at the way back of the room. Everyone’s eyes are on you, whether they’re blatantly staring or sneaking glances. Chatter from your classmates bounces off of the walls, hering your ability to think straight. You await the start of class, tapping your fingers on the desk anxiously, hoping and praying that the ground would open up and swallow you whole. Instead, the second bell rings signaling the start of class. 

Your homeroom teacher, Ms. Carter, a tall, terrifyingly serious blonde woman, cuts through the noise, “Ok class, take out your note packets that we started yesterday. We’ll continue with our discussion of the Louisiana Purchase.” The entire class groans in unison at their looming fate. You inhale for a sigh of relief, thanking whichever god for allowing you to go unacknowledged. Of course you would never be so lucky. “But,” Ms. Carter speaks at the apex of your deep breath. Your stomach drops. She continues, “Before we get started I want to introduce our new student to everyone.” Almost in unison, everyone turns their bodies toward you. “This is Y/n Mitchell. She just moved here from London and I want all of you to make sure she feels welcomed here at Midtown High okay? Y/n would you like to share a few things about yourself with the rest of us?”

No. I would hate nothing more than that actually. Yet, your mouth moves faster than your brain does, “Uh sure.. Anything specific?”

“Maybe your classmates can ask you a couple of questions about yourself. Class?” Oh. Looks like you and Ms. Carter won’t be getting along. 

“What’s your biggest pet peeve?” Some kid asks from across the room. 

“Dad jokes, by far.” You hear a couple of snickers from around the room. 

“What’s your least favorite fashion trend?” A girl who must’ve thrown up bubble gum pink all over herself this morning asks.

“Easy. Low rise jeans.” The girl vehemently nods her head in agreement.

A number of your other new classmates continue to throw questions around, both completely ridiculous and genuine. “Okay just a few more class,” Ms. Carter attempts to reign it all in.

“Would you rather go to space or the bottom of the ocean,” yet another person jumps in. 

“Do you know what lives at the bottom of the ocean?” you retort.

“No,” they shake their head. 

“Exactly. So, I’m going to space,” you conclude, in turn making your new classmates laugh.

“Great answer. Ok, what do we think, class? Has Y/n had enough,” Ms. Carter finally puts you out of your misery. There’s a quiet buzz about the room due to the excitement,  “Thank you, Y/n. Welcome!” She nods at you giving you a warm smile. 

You release the sigh you didn’t realize you were holding as you take your seat again. That wasn’t so bad! They laughed with you. Not at you! Way to go self! Keep it up and maybe you'll make it! But, let’s not jinx it. 

Staying awake for the rest of the lecture wasn't necessarily the easiest feat but you succeeded. The bell rings at the end of class and you race out to begin the search for your next one. It’s unclear whether or not it was your eyes panning from side to side, looking for a specific room number or this person just being an absolute idiot but, you collide with a silly looking dark haired boy. His iced coffee splashes all down the front of your sweatshirt, your books go flying out of your hands, and your first day is effectively ruined. Just. like. that. 

“Are you fucking kidding me?!” you seeth.

“Oh gosh, I’m so sorry. I was distracted. Um,” the dweeb in front of you delves into his backpack, hastily pulling out two flimsy crinkled napkins. “Here you go,” he presents them to you with a triumphant smile on his face. It drops as soon as he sees the rage in your eyes. 

“And what exactly do you see me doing with those?” your voice is low.

“Oh wow, you’re scary. Uh, are you new here?”

You huff at the boy as you turn to barrel into the nearest bathroom. You can’t help but gasp at your reflection. There was coffee all down your favorite white hoodie and it splashed down onto your light washed, ripped jeans. You lean over the sink as tears pool in your eyes. You barely slept the night before as your mind reeled of all the things that could’ve gone wrong on your first day. This wasn’t one of them. You were not equipped to deal with this right now. 

There’s no saving the hoodie, so your only option is to take it off. You try to make yourself look as presentable as possible again by strategically wrapping your hoodie around your waist, to cover the stains on your pants before racing to your next class. 

You scurry into the room once you find it. Without paying much attention you find the first open seat. You’re hauled back to the present moment when you hear, “Hey. Are you okay? I’m really sorry again,” the doofus from the hallway whispers across the aisle.

“Not really,” you mumble.

“I feel absolutely terrible. I really liked your outfit if it means anything,” he says with an attempt at a reassuring smile. You glare at him.

“Um..not  in a creepy way or anything. It’s just that I saw you earlier and wanted to introduce myself and tell you that I liked your style… It’s very chill. I just thought I’d tell you now and I-” he reads your expression loud and clear and immediately shuts his mouth. “I’m sorry.” He remains quiet for not long enough before he introduces himself, “I’m Peter, by the way.” 

“I don’t care.” 

“Fair enough”, he turns back to face the front of the room. He’s antsy in his seat. Peter turns his head again, “I didn’t catch your name.”

“I didn’t throw it.” Class starts as Peter opens his mouth to speak again. You notice that he sneaks you a couple of glances during the period. You respond to a couple of them with harsh glares.  Eventually, he stops and slouches down into his seat. Hopefully feeling a sliver of what he’s inflicted on you in the past half hour of knowing him.

_____________________________________________________________________

You reach the end of the day before you know it. Between meeting so many new people, and new coursework, and that idiot Peter. You couldn’t wait to go home, cry, and trap yourself in your room.

As you descend the stairs of your new high school, rushing to make your way home, the devil himself stops you dead in your tracks. 

“Uh hey, Y/n,” Peter steps in front of you, shifting from foot to foot.

You analyze his demeanor, “Are you gonna pee your pants or something?” 

“What? No!” he forces himself to stand still. “Look, I’m so sorry about running into you earlier. I really want to make it up to you.”

“Let’s both just go home and never see each other again, yeah?” you suggest.

“Well we go to the same high school...” his forehead wrinkles.

“Your point?”

“One, we literally have a class together so that’s impossible. And two, I could apologize and maybe I can be your first friend here.”

You pretend to ponder his proposal, “No thank you,” you conclude as you step around him to begin your commute home.

“I just want to properly apologize.”

“It’s fine.”

“It doesn’t seem fine,” Peter calls after you.

“Oh no?” you sarcastically jeer. You leave him where he stands, finally earning some peace and quiet. The short lived silence ends as Peter races to catch up with you. 

“Can I at least buy you a donut?”

“No, thank you.”

“Come on, I feel bad.”

“That sounds like a you problem, Peter.” The two of you walk together in silence down the block as Peter brainstorms how to win you over. “Why exactly are you still here?”

“Because I feel like if I didn’t spill my coffee on you, we could maybe get along. Call it a hunch.”

“I’m not so sure about that.”

“You never know unless you try,” he pleads with big, kind?, brown eyes.

You stop dead in your tracks, “You’re not going to drop this, are you?”

“No.”

“One donut and then you’ll leave me alone. Deal?”

“Deal,” Peter looks around during a very awkward silence. “So, how ya liking Midtown so far?”

You chuckle humorlessly, “I don’t know. You didn’t really help make a great first impression. Is this what all people from Queens are like?”

“I like to think I’m one of a kind.” 

“That’s fantastic news for me then.”

Peter laughs and shakes his head at your stubbornness, ‘You’re funny.”

“And you’re…. persistent,” you sneer.

“Thank you.”

“Yup,” you pop the ‘p’ at the end of the word.

You don’t walk too long before you arrive at a donut shop. The smell of fried dough and coffee envelopes you as you enter, boosting your mood just enough to not rip Peter’s head off.

“Pick your poison,” Peter gestures for you to order first.

“Can I get a double chocolate with sprinkles,” you politely smile at the person behind the counter.

“And I’ll just have a plain glazed,” Peter concludes the order and pays for the both of you.

“Interesting,” you hum.

“What?”

“Nothing… that’s just a little, you know… boring,” you shrug.

“It’s not boring. It’s classic,” he argues.

“Mm that’s what they all say.”

“You’re very judgemental, you know that?”

“Yes,” you beam at Peter for the first time. 

“Oh you smile?”

“From time to time. You just haven’t given me a single reason to,” you force Peter to huff as the two of you grab your donuts and find a seat near the window. Giving Peter hell had proven to be massively entertaining since getting under his skin took absolutely no effort. 

You sink your teeth into the pastry and hum at the deliciousness.

“So, Y/n what’s your story?”

“My story?”

“Yeah, you’re new. Who are you?”

“You first. Ya know, stranger danger.”

Peter smiles at the comment, “Fair point. Well, I’m Peter-” He’s interrupted by you snorting at his introduction. “What?”

“I know your name, you idiot.” 

“Hey, I’m telling you my story and that’s part of it! Now, no more interrupting, please and thank you.” You put your hands up in mock surrender, letting him continue. 

“I’m Peter,” you giggle, but don’t interrupt. “I’m 15. I love math and science. I do photography in my free time. I love pizza and donuts. Not together,” he clarifies. “Umm.. I’m really close with my Aunt May who I live with… and I make a great friend.” 

“Aw cute,” you half-heartedly comment. 

“I’m not cute. And it’s your turn,” he passes the baton.

“Fine. You know my name. I grew up in London.I was adopted when I was 5. I hate math and science. I’m a pretty good painter. I actually learned from my mom. I love watching really sad movies and crying. It’s very cathartic.  I hate eggs. I broke my foot once while riding an imaginary horse. My least favorite word is cohort. My parents just got a divorce. Ummm…. What else do you want to know?”

“Sorry to hear about your parent’s getting a divorce.”

“Don’t be. It needed to happen,” you shrug, breaking eye contact.

“That doesn’t necessarily make it easy on you.”

“Don’t get so sappy on me, Parker,” you push to change the subject.

Peter smiles at your bluntness, “I like you,” he blurts out. You smirk and raise an eyebrow. “Oh! Not like that! I- I just mean like- I like you like a friend.. Not like like. Like more than platonically or anything. I- um.. Oh gosh..” his face floods a deep shade of red.

“Stop saying like, please,” you chuckle at his rambling. “Plus, you just met me! How can you like me already?”

“I don’t know. I think you’re funny and you’re kinda cool. In a way.”

You chuckle, “In a way. I’ll take that, I guess.”

“I’m glad-” he’s interrupted by a ding from his cell phone. He fishes it out of his pocket and sighs at the message. 

“What’s up?”

“Uh, my godfather invited me to dinner.”

“That’s nice.”

“I mean it’d be nice to see him but its always his friends and they’re just all adults. They’re all like rich business people. He says he’s trying to “teach me the ins and outs of the biz”. The conversation’s always about stocks and bonds and NXTs or whatever and I can’t keep up or honestly… care,” he takes another bite of his donut. You watch the lightbulb in his head go off, “You should come!” He says with his mouth full. 

“You just explained exactly why I shouldn’t.”

“Come on! It’d be fun! Will you come with me or not?”

“Have you ever been taught not to go to strangers' houses?”

“Well, we’re not strangers anymore, so you’ll know at least one person there…You’ll see a little more of Queens.” Peter attempts to reason, making you almost cackle. 

“You’re a terrible negotiator, Peter Parker.”

“Please?”

“What’s in it for me?” This makes Peter smirk at you. 

“Well, they have this really fancy private chef-”

“I'm in,” you interject, sitting straight up.

Peter giggles at your sudden movement,“I think that you and I will make great friends, Y/n. I really do.” The smirk on your face was not of your own doing. This was all a pleasant surprise. Granted, Peter wouldn’t have been your first pick by a long shot but, here we are. “Good to see you’re not entirely this tough guy act.”

“Trust me. It’s not an act.”

“Sure it isn’t. I’ll tell you what. The first perk of being my friend, besides a great dinner tonight, I’ll help you navigate what not to eat in the cafeteria. I saw you eyeing the mystery meat today.”

“You know, maybe we will make good friends,” you shiver. Your first day was memorable. Not necessarily good, not necessarily bad. But, you’ve never met anyone quite like Peter and knowing him would obviously be interesting. Maybe moving here and living a normal life wasn’t as far-fetched as it had seemed.

_____________________________________________________________________

“Thanks for coming to this with me, Y/n. Whenever my godfather invites me to these things, it’s always old people. So, it’s nice to finally have someone my age here,” Peter says as you two approach a house that clearly cost a fortune. 

“I hope you know you have me speaking to you again riding on this,” you reply. Peter nods in understanding and rings the doorbell. The two of you rest in silence as the grand door is pulled open and the sound of boisterous conversation billows from within the house. 

“Peter!” an exuberant man with a unique goatee pulls Peter into a bear hug. “Long time no see kid. I thought you forgot about little old me.” 

“How could I, Uncle Tony? Um, this is Y/n, my friend from school that I told you about,” Peter regains his breath and fixes his clothes. 

“Ah, Y/n. I’ve heard great things. Come on in,” Tony waves you both into the house. Your side eye bores into Peter.

“What?” he squirms under your gaze. 

“What could you possibly have told him about me?”

“Nothing too bad, I promise.”

You continue to move through the house, sneaking glances at the expensive paintings that decorated the walls and the ornate furniture that dressed the house. Everything clearly cost more money than anything you can remember ever seeing. Tony leads you and Peter through the house to the dining room where the party was. A number of people were standing around in smaller groups, some were sitting at the table chatting, all with drinks in their hands. You quickly learn that Tony is one to make a scene when he halts everyone’s conversations to introduce you to the group. Dear God.

“Listen up people, I just wanted to introduce you all to Peter’s new friend, Y/n. She’ll be joining us for dinner so be nice.”

“Don’t you think you should take your own advice Tony?” a very warm, red headed woman jokes. The group laughs causing you to shyly smile. The woman diverts her attention to you. “Nice to meet you, Y/n. I’m Wanda.” The rest of the group share their names with sprinkles of nice to meet you’s. 

“It’s nice to meet you all too. Thank you for having me,” you share a small smile with the group. Peter leads you to your seats at the table. You two quickly get caught up in conversation, learning more about each other. Another red headed woman makes her presence known by giving Peter’s shoulder a soft squeeze as she makes her way to her seat next to Wanda, adjacent to you and Peter. 

“Hey Peter, it’s been a while,” she glances in your direction and her eyes linger on you for just a touch too long. 

“Hey Natasha, how are you?” Peter greets her.

“Good!” She fully directs her attention to you and extends her hand for you to shake, “Hi, your name is?”

“Y/n,” you sheepishly introduce yourself. Her grasp on your hands is extremely firm. Typical extremely intimidating business woman. She has a fiery look in her eye with her chin held high. Clearly someone whose good side you’d want to stay on. 

“Well, it’s nice to meet you Y/n,” she emphasizes your name. “I take it you two go to school together?”

“Yes. I just started at Midtown this week.”

“Oh nice. It’s a great school, I hear. Are you enjoying it so far?”

“Kind of a hectic first day. But there were some good things in there. I guess bumping into Peter worked out,” you tease. 

“Literally,” Peter interjects with a rosy tint to his cheeks. 

Natasha emits a low raspy chuckle, “That’s good to hear. You from the city originally?”

“Yes and no.” The women sitting next to you both furrow their brows and tilt their heads, encouraging you to elaborate. “I was actually born here but I moved to London at some point. I was adopted and grew up there.” Natasha slowly nods her head, blatantly trying to read you at this point. You slightly readjust in your seat under her inquisitive gaze.

“Wow, that’s a really big move for your family,” Wanda chimes in. 

“Yeah it absolutely is but, my mom and I wanted a fresh start after my parents split so we made it happen,” you shrug. 

“Oh, I’m sorry to hear that happened. I know that can be a very difficult transition,” Natasha comments. 

“No, it’s okay really. It’s nice to be in a new environment.”

“I could imagine. Well, welcome back to New York.” Natasha nods in your direction and you thank her. There’s just no way, Natasha thinks. 

You, Wanda, and Peter continue your conversation. Other sitting near you at the table occasionally contribute to the discussion.

“Nat, where’d you go sweetheart?” Wanda lays her arm over her wife’s shoulders and speaks in a volume for only Natasha’s ears, pulling her from her thoughts. She meets her wife’s green gaze and grabs on to the hand wrapped around her own shoulder. 

“Nowhere. I’m good, love,” she pats Wanda's hand in a miserable attempt to reassure her. 

“You sure?” Wanda tries again.

She nods her head and chances another glance at you, seeing you in an animated conversation with Peter. She is so beautiful, she marvels. She adjusts herself in her seat as she feels her body temperature starting to rise. 

“You know I know you like the back of my hand right?” Wanda mumbles noticing her wife’s restlessness. 

“I’m fine, Wands,” Natasha claims with finality

Wanda refuses to end the conversation,  “But, I know you’re not.”

“Wanda please,” Natasha huffs. 

“Okay. I’ll be here when you want to talk about it.”

“Thank you,” Natasha lighty shakes her head, in a poor attempt at clearing her thoughts. Maybe I’m being ridiculous, she scolds herself.

Dinner starts shortly after. There were countless courses of foods you’d never tried before. There’s usually room for dessert but eating more will likely make you sick. Surprisingly, this dinner was fun. Everyone was extremely hospitable and generous. The business talk was less than ideal but, at least you and Peter had each other to lean on. 

“Who’s got room for dessert,” Tony scans the table, everyone collectively groans. “Great, so everyone,” he concludes. “I believe Bananas Foster is on the menu.”

“Oh, I’ll have to pass unfortunately. I’m allergic to bananas actually,” you sigh in relief at sneaking out of eating more. 

“Cheater,” Peter mumbles under his breath, earning a sly smile from you. 

“We can get you something else, Y/n?” Tony interjects. 

“No, thank you. I’ve eaten more than enough.” 

“You sure?”

“Positive!” the other dinner guests chuckle at your enthusiastic response.

You turn back to Peter as he continues teasing you. You miss Natasha’s pensive demeanor. She’d been paying very close attention to you for nearly the entire evening. A banana allergy has to be a coincidence, right? She’s captured by her own thoughts. 

“Nat, what is it, love?” Wanda is flat out worried at this point.

Natasha huffs and rises from her seat, wiping a thin layer of sweat from her forehead before making a beeline toward the bathroom at the end of the long hallway. The rest of the group share curious glances, being unsure about what they may have missed.  

Almost as soon as Natasha bursts into the first floor bathroom, she slams the door shut, leaning up against it. She struggles to inhale. Adrenaline rushes through her veins as she turns to the sink to splash cold water in her face. She meets her own dilated pupils in the mirror.

“There’s just no fucking way,” she breathes. Natasha’s mind races but she couldn’t catch up with any of her thoughts. She grabs her wallet out of her pocket and shakily searches through the folds. She quickly finds a small, dingy crinkled photo that was folded in half. She opens it to reveal your big, shiny eyes and bright smile, missing a single front tooth. You haven’t changed a bit. Tears flood the woman’s emerald eyes. It was unclear if there was an actual knock at the bathroom door or if Natasha was hallucinating at this point. How did you find your way back to her? The sound of blood rushing in her ears and her eyes being tightly shut did not allow Natasha to hear Wanda entering the bathroom. She nearly jumps out of her skin as her wife’s hand reaches out to grab her attention. 

Wanda notices the image locked in Natasha’s hand and gasps, instantly realizing the resemblance. 

“Doesn’t she remember me?” Natasha forces through her tears and shallow breaths.