#but yeah everyone who met her and knew her life agreed it wasn’t a happy one

[deathsmallcaps]

I just found out today that my great grandmother was 16 years younger than my great grandfather. 1895 vs 1909. He was on the run from the in-Italy Italian mafia, left a wife and family there, married in Canada and left a wife and family there, then came down to the USA and started my branch of the tree. He had an odd funeral.

I’m not sure when my Great Grandmother immigrated, but she would’ve been 20 when the Great Depression hit. And because it was post WWI Germany, she was probably not in a good place fiscally.

So Imagine.

You come to America, some year very close to the beginning of the Depression. Maybe to find a job, maybe to find a husband with citizenship* and you meet this nearly 40 year old man and marry him. And then he proceeds to forbid you from ever speaking German again. Any mention of your original culture gets punished. My family has no known German traditions**.

By 25 you have two daughters that your husband has terrorized so much that both rush into marriages rather than have to live by their father’s rules a second longer. The first marries relatively well, the second marries my grandfather.

Your husband dies at age 76, which isn’t bad for someone who was born in the 1800s. He has a joint headstone, one that will tie your bodies together until your bones rot and the stones erode. But you’re 60 and don’t live with either of your daughters. Maybe because those years of terror in your house. Maybe because of shame. I don’t know. But my grandmother converts to Catholicism because her religious upbringing “… felt so empty and she liked the ceremony inherent to that faith.” (-my mother). You don’t spend much time with your grandchildren.

Your second baby has several miscarriages, several successful pregnancies, and then a living grandchild dies in an accident. Did moving here really help your descendants? She adopts two children and gives birth to my mother within a few months of your grandson’s death, and a few years later, my aunt. They’re your only granddaughters. By all accounts, she is never the same again.

Then your first baby dies. She’s 46 and living in America and has everything you could have ever wanted for her. But she dies slowly and painfully from cancer. Were you around to comfort her and her two sons as she slipped away? You were certainly alive then, but I don’t know.

Your second baby loses her husband, my grandfather, a few years later, and her family struggles financially, hundreds of miles away. She marries again, and divorces the jerk quickly after. You’re 71, is there much you can do?

In the same year, your youngest grandchild is 12 and you become a great grandmother. Do you meet this child? She’s the daughter of one of the adopted sons, does this matter to you?

You die at 79, in 1988. Germany is still split from a war you never saw. You’ve spent more life in this strange land than you ever did there. People come to America more and more in planes, not boats. Your granddaughter tells her daughter that she went to your funeral but only ever spoke to you once or twice. There’s a picture of you standing on American docks for the first time but no one knows where it is. And you’re buried under an American spelling of your name, next to that old bastard that you married.

It’s 2003 and America is convinced it’s having the worst time ever. Your second daughter works herself to the bone and dies before age 70. She worked herself to the bone. Most of her grandchildren met her, but few have memories. She and I were apparently best friends, but seeing as I was 2, I don’t remember her now. Your eldest granddaughter, my mother, is going through a rough divorce to a man who immigrated to America by accident***. A very different immigrant story to yours. In that same year, your first great-grandchild has a son.

Three years later, she marries and has a son with a Black man. Your youngest great-grandchild. Your daughter would have loved him, and her husband would have not. Would you have cared? You left Germany right around when the Nazis came to power. Would he just be one more baby to love?

17 years later, it’s 2023, and your eldest granddaughter has a rough day, so she visits her mother’s grave. Both of your daughters are buried nearby, perhaps closer in death to you than in life. She finds your grave, and realizes the age difference between you and your husband for the first time. She shares this information with her daughter.

Me. And now I’m posting on the internet while I lay in bed, avoiding my studies. I wonder if you knew this, would you still make the same choices? Would you feel that it was worth it? Would my fate, so tangential to yours, be precious enough that you would feel compelled to do this all again?

*(I think my mom mentioned she married quickly once she arrived but I’m not sure. She might have been a mail-order bride)

**to be fair, he also really tried to acclimatize to American culture, and only allowed English to be spoken in his house, and raised his kids Protestant, but my family still makes Italian food occasionally, sooooo I doubt that rule was equally enforced.

***My English grandparents divorced and my grandfather eventually moved to America. My dad and, at the time, his only siblings, came over to visit because America was still considered to be pretty cool. He was 13. My Nanny wanted more alimony, so she tried to do a fake out and telegraphed my grandfather to ‘keep the kids’. My Grandad called her bluff and kept the kids.

My Dad was very lucky this worked out for him. He gets away with a lot of things because he’s English in the USA

[dmercer91]

since mr.john marino went to harvard

all i can think of is him being with another harvard graduate, who put her degree into some complications field

and he brings her around the rink to meet the guys and they’re like

“hot and smart😮”

developing this into mr john marino claiming that he’s bringing a friend around because she doesn’t want people to pry into her life and she is very very private and so cue every non taken devil frothing at the mouth

and suddenly your close friend johnny is grabbing your ass kissing you right where everyone is watching

and never in your entire life had you been at a loss for words but now you’re just like.. oh my

sounds complicated, jm6

john had never needed to worry about other guys- he knew that. you’d never indulge and you were usually too much of a homebody to be subjected to flirting regardless

so he didn’t really see a problem with you asking to be introduced to the team as his close friend. you didn’t like for people to know about personal things immediately upon meeting.

you didn’t like the opportunity it gave for meddling, and not to say you didn’t trust johnnys friends- but hockey boys were never really the greatest at minding themselves or avoiding conflict

you’d worn sweatpants and a tank top- putting little to no effort into your looks knowing that you and john were meant to be getting bunch after practice

your hair wasn’t straightened, you were wearing your glasses rather than your contacts, and in your personal opinion, you looked a mess

you usually looked pretty professional- being a law student and nearing the beginning of your career meaning you needed to look proper. your current look was not that.

you walked into the arena with a glum look, trailing behind john who was occasionally stopped to greet some staff.

you made it to the dressing room where most of the guys had just been taping new sticks, some missing and some sharpening their skates in a different room you could see from where you were standing.

“s’ this your friend you were talking about, johnny?” a boy with fluffy hair came over from behind, smiling down at you and showing off his missing tooth

“yeah. ba- y/n, this is dawson. he’s.. usually normal,” you gave your boyfriend a look at his close call, turning to dawson and waving, a small smile on your lips

he returned the favour and then furrowed his eyebrows at whatever was behind you, so both you and john turned

“by usually he means never. dawson is never normal,” three guys emerged from the dressing room, the shortest of them the one who’d spoken out

john nodded sideways as a confirmation of his statement, then looked down at you.

“this is jack, his little brother luke, and that’s nico,” he pointed at each player as he stated their names, and nico smiled softly, eyeing you once

jack took the liberty of openly eye fucking you- and luke was clearly trying to be subtle, or at least more subtle than his captain and his brother, but his cheeks were flushed and he only put his hand up shyly as a greeting

“johnny said you were in law?” nico asked, his accent taking you by surprise a little

“yeah, we actually met at harvard. took an elective together and he was unsalvageable in the subject, so he asked me for help,” you shrugged

it wasn’t technically a lie- you’d only let out the minor detail that he’d initially went up to you to ask you out and you told him you’d only agree if he got a b or higher on the next paper

and then the part where he asked for help writing the paper and got to see you strip another piece of clothing after each body paragraph he’d written

“is law really difficult?” dawson asked, sounding genuinely intrigued with his head tilted in curiosity and his eyes happy

he clearly hadn’t noticed that the rest of the group was not actually intending to talk about law- but you were glad for it.

before you could answer, jack beat you to it.

“it sounds complicated. maybe you could use a little distraction, sometime?” he smirked and you raised an eyebrow. he was a lot bolder than you’d been anticipating.

you looked at johnny who’s tongue was poking his cheek, his eyes laser focused on the ground. you assumed he was trying not to implode, and you were kinda stuck on what to do

“your friends are bold, johnny,” you stated, turning to look at dawson who’s eyes were a little wide

“you’re telling me,” john grumbled, nodding towards the stands “take a seat, if you want. gotta start getting dressed,” you nodded and wandered off, waving to the five of them and trying to make your exit as quickly is possible.

after the practice was over, you’d made your way back over to the dressing room and waited for johnny to walk out.

nico had made his way out first, eyeing you before making his way over.

“you’re dating, aren’t you?” you furrowed your eyebrows, trying to feign innocence

“what do you mean? johnny?” nico grinned, the speed at which you were talking calling you out on your lie

“sorry about jack, he’s.. well, he’s definitely jack,” you giggled, nodding in agreement and looking over at the door as john came out

his eyes went back and forth between you and his captain, and he eventually came towards you and stood as close as humanly possible

“hi, baby,” you murmured, keeping quiet so only nico would hear and leaning your head onto johns shoulder

he gave you and alarmed look and you shook your head. “your captain is very perceptive,” you stated, and john smiled a little.

“cant say the same for his alt,” he mumbled under his breath and you glared at him playfully. he couldn’t really hold it against jack when nobody had known you were his

jack came off strong, but he had no ill intentions.

and, speak of the devil- he’d come out and beelined right for the little trio you’d been standing in.

before he could get over- john looked down at you.

“y/n. do you love me?” you furrowed your eyebrows, nodding

“yeah? wha-“ you were cut off by his lips on yours, one hand grabbing your waist and the other gripping your ass, your body pressed close to his

you let him- his kisses getting deeper and deeper until he tried to poke his tongue into your mouth and you pulled away, his hands staying put

“mh. jesus, johnny,” you blushed, wiping your lips that were red and starting to get swollen

you didn’t really know what else to say- flustered and a little too affected by his possessiveness for your liking

“uh. sorry, man. and sorry, y/n, for-” jack gestured vaguely, chuckling breathily, eyes a little wide at the display he’d just witnessed

“it’s fine. you didn’t know,” you reassured.

“what she said. don’t let it happen again,” johnny warned, grip falling from your ass but sprawling across your lower back, keeping you close to him

[recklesssturniolo]

Facing The Truth - C.S

Fluff/angst??, no smut, Chris coming to terms he’s in love w reader but they’re supposed to just be FWB, readers been friends w triplet for a few years now, Chris’ POV, soz it’s sad (lowkey hate this)

“Hello fellow losers” Y/N says walking in and smiling.

“Such a nice greeting” Nick replies rolling his eyes.

We’d been friends with benefits for a couple months now, she knew I didn’t do relationships, we agreed that if we met someone else then we’d simply just call it off - simple right?

“Well I have a date tonight” She smiles.

He had flashes of the good life

“What! With who?” Nick almost yells back.

I didn’t care to know who. I didn’t care to hear anything else about her date, standing up and rolling my eyes I walked down to my room.

“Alright Chris what’s up with you? You basically ran down here the second Y/N mentioned having a date” Matt asks.

“Nothing I’m just tired” I mumbled back.

I was lying. I’d been replaying in my head the image of Y/N with another guy in my head. Not even knowing why the fuck it was bothering me so much, why my heart dropped when she said it.

Baby, if your love is in trouble

“Don’t bullshit me. You don’t want her going out with another guy, that’s your issue” Matt replies.

“We’re friends with benefits, you know that. It’s nothing more than that, I don’t care who she goes out with” I mumble back.

“Yeah? So the thought of her kissing another guy doesn’t bother you? Another guy undressing her and seeing her naked? Her -“ He says.

“Shut the fuck up” I tell him, my voice raising.

“You just proved my point. You don’t even want to hear the possibility of it. How long are you gonna keep pretending you’re not in love with her?” He questions.

“Oh my god. I’m not in love with her Matt” I respond.

They're black eyes and they're blue lies

“Come the fuck on, you don’t think we don’t notice the way you look at her? Your eyes literally light up when she walks into a room. All you do is talk about her. She stays the night with you, she’s always just hanging out with you, doing simple things. You’ve never once let another girl stay the night” He says, his voice now raising slightly.

The second Matt finished talking, I felt my heart start to race as the realization hits me. I am in love with her. Fuck fuck fuck. I get flashes of all the late nights with her, cuddling, dancing at 3am to Taylor Swift in the kitchen just because it’d make her happy, asking her to come get shit as simple as groceries with us all, my heart warming at how well she got along with my brothers.

When you know, you know

I stand up, rubbing my face before replying, “No no no, it wasn’t supposed to be like this. There’s supposed to be no fucking feelings involved. I don’t do commitment you know that” I tell him.

“Chris man, this isn’t a bad thing. She’s good for you, you know that and so does everyone else. She looks at you the same way. You just have to tell her” He says sitting beside me.

“I’m not telling her shit, it’ll ruin everything. She’s literally going out with another guy. That’s a clear sign it’s not a mutual feeling” I mumble shaking my head.

“Then end whatever situationship bullshit you have going on with her. Lose her and deal with her being with someone else, and I don’t want to hear a word about it” Matt tells me, seeming to now be annoyed.

I say nothing back to Matt, walking back upstairs.

“Y/N can I talk to you for a second? In private” I ask, feeling sick to my stomach about what I’m going to do.

She raises an eyebrow but follows me.

“What’s up?” She questions.

“I - uh - the friends with benefits shit is over” I mumble, not even having the strength to speak properly.

“What? Why? I don’t understand? Did I do something?” She immediately asks.

I look down at her and can see the hurt in her eyes, why was she hurt about this? Why was this upsetting her?

“No you didn’t do anything, I just want to be nothing more than friends alright?” I sigh.

She looks up at me, tears now forming in her eyes before walking away, saying nothing.

“What the actual fuck did you just do?” Nick storms over to me.

“Nothing, just said I didn’t want to be friends with benefits anymore. Not a big deal” I reply. I glance over at Matt and see him shaking his head.

“You’re a fucking idiot. She just left in tears. If this was your way of protecting her, you did the exact opposite” Nick yells.

I stand there, not able to form a response. How was that not for her own good? I don’t do commitment, there’s no fucking way I’d be good for her.

So if you don't know, don't give up

“Good job kid, you not only lost her but hurt her” Matt says sighing and patting my back before walking to his room.

What the fuck did I just do?

TAGLIST: @sturnphilia @thatonekid536 @cupidsword @loveesiren @daddyslilchickenfingers @christinarowie332 @ilovemattsturn @mattenthusiast @its-jennarose @lxvlysworld @lovingsturniolo @iwantmattsobad @secret-sturniolo @mattsd0ll

[radiant-reid]

Baby Reid

A/n: this is just a little something because i'm super busy but here we are because 1. Dad!Spence and 2. this is his episode like he looks so unbelievably pretty i wanna cry

Summary: Just a little blurb about right after Daisy Reid is born

Pairing: Spencer Reid x Fem!Reader (fluff)

Content Warning: set in a hospital | couple of references to sex

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“Are you tired, my love? It’s late. Or rather early.” Spencer’s raspy voice comes from the chair next to the bed you were laying in. He sounded so tired, like the way you were feeling.

You glance at your phone to check the time. 4:43 AM. Your eyelids feel heavy, much heavier than they'd ever felt during your time at the BAU. All the hours awake chasing down serial killers didn't exhaust half as much of your energy.

You half nod at him trying to use the least amount of energy as you possibly could. “Yeah, incredibly. I was in labor for 14 hours.” You laugh a little, before stroking the tiny child's cheek. She was just so beautiful, and everything you had ever wanted; a delicate baby. From the look that had been on Spencer's face for the last 18 hours, when you were not looking your best, it was all he wanted, too.

“You did so well, darling.” His hand creeps over onto yours, and strokes Daisy's tiny foot, covered by pink socks with unicorns. “She’s so perfect and just so little.” He said, concern filling his voice at how much he needed to protect this baby. His eyes were getting glassy again, filled with the love he had for his baby.

“I know. And she’s so calm. I thought she would be crying and screaming.” You agree, looking up into Spencer’s eyes. He smiles and places a gentle kiss on your hand. “I’m so excited to take her home and dress her up, literally everyone has brought dresses for her.” You say, thinking about the presents you got from the baby shower. and all the other presents you knew you'd be getting soon.

Spencer chuckles lightly. "Mm, Penelope always said she was going to spoil her, but I greatly underestimated her generosity." The nursery wardrobe back at your place was filled with toys from a shopping trip you guessed she'd taken with Rossi. Every possible style and every color of the rainbow. "I’m just so happy, I don’t think I’ve ever been happier.” He says, and you see the glassy eyes of your husband that you love so much.

You raise your eyebrows. “Hey. What about when we met and the day when we got married, you dork?” You ask him.

At your mock reprimand, he clenches his teeth. “Yeah, well today and when we got married were the best days. The day we met wasn’t. I was so awkward and you were dating that other guy, I don’t really care what his name was.” You laugh at the fact that Spencer refused to say his name, he never liked him. Looking back on the last 5 years of your life surprised you with how far you’ve come. Spencer and now Daisy were the best things to come out of it. “But as for Daisy, she’s not dating until she’s 20 at least." He promises, looking at the little girl.

You roll your eyes, hitting his shoulder. “You’re sounding toxic, Spence. Just because you weren't having sex until you were, like, 30 doesn't mean she can't.” You joke, laughing at the quip before he could form a retort.

“Be quiet." He complains, throwing his head back on the seat. "I had sex before I was 30.” He claims, making you laugh more even though you knew it was true. 

You yawn and cover your mouth with the hand you weren’t using to hold the baby. “Here, darling. Give her to me and I’ll hold her. You need some sleep.” He requests, taking Daisy out of your hand.

“Thank you, Spence. And thank you for always being there. ” You smile over at him as you get settled into the hospital bed. “Daisy is lucky to have to best dad in the whole world.” You gush to Spencer who was sitting there holding Daisy with so much concentration. Something about the pregnancy hormones just made you want to talk about how much you loved Spencer.

“You’re the one that did all the work, I just sat here.” He laughs, taking his eyes off her for a moment to send you a smile. You knew he did more than that, being as involved in your labor as he could.

“I just love you, Spence.” You tell Spencer who leans over and kisses you gently.

“I just love you, Mrs. Reid.” He replies before turning back to Daisy, noticing you were almost asleep. “And I love you so much, my little Baby Reid.”

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[writingwhimsey]

Married to The Enemy- Shingen Ch. 12

Chapter 12

Shingen's POV

Shingen held Ava’s hand as they walked around the festival. His gray eyes kept careful observation of her as they browsed the different booths. Since they had met, she’d never asked for anything. She wasn’t the kind of woman to request gifts…which only strengthened Shingen’s urge to offer her more tributes.

They had stopped at a booth and were looking over the beautiful accessories, hand crafted by a master artisan. Shingen could see the sparkle in her eyes as she looked at the trinkets. “Do you see anything you like?” Shingen asked, unable to help himself.

“They’re all very beautiful.” Ava replied, her eyes lingering on some beautiful golden hair combs, adorned with flowers and red jewels. “But they’re all too much for me.”

“That is why your husband would happily buy whatever you’d like.” Shingen told her.

Ava looked up at him, her eyes widening, but then she shook her head. “That’s…that’s not what I meant.” She said. “I just meant…they’re too grand for…someone like me.”

Shingen wanted to tell her that everything he’d seen of her so far indicated otherwise, but he had a feeling she wouldn’t believe it quite just yet. “You really see yourself that way?” He asked.

“I’m just an ordinary woman.” She replied. “Besides, fancy hair combs aren’t something I need. But I can still admire them and appreciate that craftsmanship that went into them.”

Shingen couldn’t help but to smile as he looked at Ava. She was a woman who would deserve the world, but would never ask for it. She was the kind of woman who would be just as happy living a simple life, just sewing all day and enjoying peaceful nights with family and friends.

Before Shingen could say anything, they heard a young boy crying. “Mama…”

Ava and Shingen both turned to where the sound was coming from. They saw a little boy standing in the street, looking around and crying. Ava’s hand was slipping from Shingen’s before he even knew what was going on and she was rushing over to the little boy crouching down in front of him.

“Hey, what’s wrong?” She asked the little boy in a soothing voice, pulling out a handkerchief from her yukata and handing it to the little boy.

The little boy took it and wiped at his eyes. “I-I…I can’t…find my…mama.” He cried. “Sh-she was…supposed to…meet me…but then…I got lost…and…”

“I’m sure she’s looking for you, too.” Ava said, as she reached a hand out to the little boy, touching his cheek gently. 

Shingen had been watching Ava with the boy. He had to admit…seeing her just rushing over to the upset child with no hesitation…it struck something in him, making his heart thump a little faster in his chest. She truly was a kind woman.

He decided to make his way over to them and crouched down beside Ava. “What’s your name?” He asked the boy.

The boy looked up at Shingen. “H-Haru…”

“Well, Haru, I think we can help you find your mother.” Shingen said. He looked over at Ava. “I think we’re up to the task.”

Ava smiled beautifully at him. “I think so too.” She agreed. “We’ll find her in no time.”

Shingen called to one of the soldiers that was patrolling the festival, helping to make sure everyone was safe. He got a description of Haru’s mother and set the soldier to the task of looking for her.

“I hope…we can find her soon.” Haru said. “W-we were…supposed to get some dango together. It’s our favorite treat.”

“Well, wouldn’t it be a good idea if we had it waiting for when we find your mama again?” Shingen suggested.

“I bet she would be happy to have you and the dango.” Ava agreed.

Haru nodded. “Yeah, okay.”

“I’ll go get some, you two wait here.” Shingen said.

Shingen made his way over to the nearest dango stand and purchased three orders. It took a few moments to make, but it was fresh and ready. Shingen carried the treat back to where he had left Ava and Haru. He found them sitting on a bench, Ava had purchased him a couple of toys, a pin wheel and a carved wooden horse. The boy was smiling up at Ava as they played together.

He couldn’t help but to smile as he stood back and watched them. Ava’s very presence seemed to put the boy at ease. She was kind and patient with him. She would be a good mother. Shingen thought as he watched them. Shingen allowed himself to imagine for a moment, what it would be to have that…to have that with Ava.`

“Haru!” A female voice called.

The little boy perked up. “Mama!” 

A woman ran over to Haru, one of the soldiers behind her, having led her there. Haru raced and met her in the middle. The pair embraced happily, the mother having tears in her eyes. Shingen walked over to stand beside Ava.

“Glad to see you found each other.” Shingen said.

Haru’s mother looked up then. Her eyes widening. “Oh, Lord Shingen…”

“Mama, this nice man and pretty lady helped me.” Haru told his mother.

Shingen couldn’t help but to chuckle. The boy definitely knew when he was looking at a pretty lady for sure.

“I’m just glad you two are together again.” Ava said, smiling.

“Oh, Mama, look at what Miss Ava got for me!” He said holding up his toys.

The woman’s eyes went wider still. She then looked at Shingen and Ava. “We couldn’t…”

“I was glad to get those for him.” Ava said, smiling. “And Haru is such a delightful and sweet boy.”

“And here, this is for the two of you.” Shingen said, handing Haru and his mother the dango.

“I…I can never repay you two.” She said. 

“There’s nothing to repay.” Ava said, smiling. 

“My dear wife is right.” Shingen said. “Seeing you and Haru reunited and smiling is all the thanks we need.”

“Thank you, both if you so much.” She said, bowing to them.

Shingen handed them the dango and then they walked off. Haru waved to them a big smile on his face. “He was a sweet kid.” Ava said, waving back.

“Yes.” Shingen agreed. “Shall we continue?”

Ava nodded. “Yes.”

Shingen handed her some dango and the pair ate them as they walked more of the festival, hand-in-hand. “The show should be starting soon.” Shingen told Ava. 

“A show?” Ava asked, looking up at him, her eyes questioning.

“Yes, and I know just where we can have the best view. Shall I take you away, my princess?”

Ava smiled. “I…would like that.”

Shingen led Ava away from the crowded streets and led her to the nearby lake. It was secluded and away from prying eyes, the perfect place to enjoy some time alone together.

“What…kind of show?” Ava asked, looking at Shingen, her eyes suspicious.

“Look up.” Shingen told her, gesturing to the sky above them.

Ava turned and looked just as a whistling sound echoed and a light soared through the sky before bursting in a loud and colorful explosion above them. Ava’s eyes brightened instantly and her smile lit up as bright as the lights that now began to dance above them. 

“Fireworks!” She exclaimed.

“I thought we could enjoy the show here.” Shingen said. 

“I’m glad.” Ava replied, turning her beautiful smile to him. “It’s nice enjoying the town with you… but I also enjoy our time alone together.”

Ava’s words went directly to Shingen’s heart. He couldn’t help himself, he moved to wrap his arms around her, pulling her close. “You keep saying such sweet things and I really am going to think you’re my sweet.”

Ava’s cheeks reddened and her breath quickened. “Well, I just…”

Shingen chuckled and kissed her cheek. “I enjoy our time together, too.” He said. “Did you ever find anything to buy?” He asked her.

“Oh…well I bought those toys for Haru, but I did end up having just enough left over to buy this.” She said, reaching into her yukata and pulling out a little carved bear charm. She was then placing it in his hand. “It’s…uhm a protective charm and I know it’s…not much compared to all of the things you have given me, but I wanted to get this for you.”

Shingen blinked as he looked at the charm. She had been excited to bring the money from her first job as a seamstress in Echigo…and she didn’t spend a bit of it on herself. She readily bought toys for a boy she had just met…and then used the last little bit of it to buy a protective charm for him.

Ava’s cheeks reddened. “I know it’s a silly little thing…”

“It’s not silly at all.” Shingen said, lifting a hand to place his fingers beneath her chin, bringing her gaze up to his. “I truly appreciate this gift. It’s the best gift I have ever received.”

“Well…I’m glad you like it.”

Shingen couldn’t help but to think how beautiful Ava truly was. Inside and out. “Would my generous goddess allow me to be a greedy man and ask for one more gift?”

Ava’s eyes widened as she looked up at him. The look in his eyes had changed and her cheeks seemed to heat up further. “What…is it?” She asked.

“Can I kiss you?” Shingen asked, leaning in close, even as the fireworks continued to go off in the sky above them.

“Yes.” Ava answered, a shy smile on her face.

Shingen smiled as he leaned in, his lips touched hers. Her lips were soft and warm against his. Shingen had only intended for it to be a light kiss, just a brush of the lips. But as he slowly began to draw away, Ava followed after him, her lips chasing his. Shingen was pleasantly surprised when she sought him out. 

He wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her close as their kiss continued. Her lips parted on a sigh and Shingen couldn’t help himself. His tongue slipped inside, deepening the kiss. Ava’s own arms moved to wrap around his neck, her body pressing closer to his.

As their kiss continued, the fireworks still boomed in the sky above them. Shingen felt a warmth spreading through his chest. Each new thing he learned about his wife, endeared her more to him. She truly was an amazing woman and he couldn’t help but to find himself falling for her.

Taglist: @limonzu @zulablaise @oda-princess @kisara-16 @tele86 @selenacosmic

[alotofpockets]

Not by choice | Kate Bishop

Pairing: Kate Bishop x Reader

Summary: You grew up in the Tracksuit Mafia, because your parents joined when you were just a baby, realising quickly that this was not the life you wanted to live. Only you weren't able to leave. Going to school was your way of getting to be the person you wanted to be. That's where you met Kate. What will happen when the Tracksuits bring in your girlfriend for suspecting she's Ronin and she sees you there? (full request)

Warnings: angst with a happy ending, kidnapping, mention of murder, mention of guns.

masterlist | requests: open | taglist | words: 1600

People say New York is an amazing place to be, for you however that was different. Being born into a crime family meant that you had to join whatever group your parents decided to join. Most of your life you had been a part of the Tracksuit Mafia, a crime syndicate that operates in New York City. Anything from robberies and money-laundering to murder.

You realised quickly that you wanted no part of this life, but ties bind you to the organization through your parents. So, when getting out wasn’t an option, you convinced your parents to let you work mostly behind the scenes. You picked up the financing and tracked all the in- and outcomes, whether that was money or supplies. Which got you the nickname of Overwatch. Of course, you rather also wouldn’t be doing that, especially not from the age of twelve, but you had no other choice.

Luckily they did let you go to school. A place where you could live your own life, a place where no one knew you were part of a gang, and no one was going to know. It was just you with a fake life you created to not stand out. It took a bit for you to make friends when you were younger, because it was all so new to you, there weren’t many kids with the Tracksuit Mafia besides Maya and Kazi. They were both a bit older than you and had already established a friendship before you were even born, leaving you on the outside. Not that you minded much, they were both convinced that this was the right way to live their lives, agreeing with their parents.

But once you got to college you had your fake life all figured out, making it a lot easier to be friends with people without having to worry about accidentally outing your actual backstory. After your first year of college, you met Kate Bishop. She was the captain of the archery and fencing team and could talk for hours on end about absolutely anything.

About two years have passed since meeting Kate, the two of you have been dating for the past month. You know you need to tell her about your actual life at some point. Some point soon. But how do you tell the girl you like you’re a part of a mafia group ruling the city? Yeah, there wasn’t really any good way to do it, so you decided to wait for the right moment to arrive.

The Tracksuits have been on a mission to take down Ronin ever since Ronin tracked down some of the higher up members and murdered them all, including William Lopez. Maya’s dad, she took it hard, but quickly decided to fall into his role of commander. She organized a search party for Ronin and gave everyone the mission to bring the Ronin back alive, she wanted the honor to kill him to herself as a way to avenge her dad.

After a news report of Ronin saving a dog from getting hit by a car, they finally had their eyes on the Ronin. Within a couple of hours, they not only have the Ronin in their possession, but also Clint Barton, better known as Hawkeye. They asked you to come in since Hawkeye was saying that the girl who called herself Lady Hawk just happened to wear the Ronin suit and that she was not Ronin.

When you rounded the corner your jaw dropped. The girl that went by Lady Hawk was none other than Kate Bishop. Why had they needed you to come to the front this time? This was not the right moment whatsoever. Also, Kate was Lady Hawk? You had seen Lady Hawk on the news a few times, but they were never very clear images.

Kate seems to be just as shocked to see you here as you are to see her. “You’re with the Tracksuit Mafia?” She asks fully of shock. “Not by choice.” You say, “I’ll explain later.” You turn around to Maya. “Let them go.” You start signing and talking at the same time. “They’re not Ronin. Kate is my girlfriend and Clint, well you know that he is Hawkeye.” She shakes her head and signs back, “Then how do you explain the Ronin suit.” Kazi joined in your conversation, “Well they did say she took it from a box at the auction and didn’t know anything else about it before putting it on. Maybe she’s telling the truth?” Clint cuts in, “Of course, we are telling the truth. Why would we lie when you’re all pointing guns to our heads?”

You look around and see everyone has drawn their weapons at them, “Everyone put your weapons down!” You order. “You think you still have a right to order us to do anything after all the times you’ve disagreed with our methods?” Ivan snaps back at you. “Okay fine, then just let me talk to them alone. You can leave a guard at the door or something if you don’t trust me.” With that they surprisingly agree.

“You better have a really good explanation for not being here by choice. How could you not tell me you work for them or with them or whatever?” Clint stays silent, letting Kate handle this situation. You move closer grabbing a pocketknife from your back pocket. “Can I cut you both lose before I explain?” They both nod. Once you’ve cut them lose you start explaining.

“My parents are criminals. They joined the Tracksuit Mafia when I was just a baby, I’ve never had a choice whether I wanted to be here or not. Like Ivan said, I have outed my opinions on the fact that what they’re doing here is wrong many of times. I have asked to get out of this life since I was about ten years old but there is just no way out of here.” You explain with a sad expression visible on your face. “I’m so sorry I didn’t tell you sooner. I know I had to, but I just couldn't find the right way to do so. And I know everything might be messed up between us now. But I just need you to know that everything between us was real. The only thing I have lied about is some parts of my past, which I know is bad. But I never wanted this life. I’m sorry. I’ll get the two of you out of here as soon as possible.”

The first thing Kate says is, “Can I have a moment with Clint?” You nod and step away from them. You know you might have just lost the best person you’ve ever known. There was no way she would still want to be your friend now, let alone your girlfriend. After a couple of minutes Kate calls you back over. “Promise me that what you just told us is the truth.” She says. “I promise it is.”

“Okay, I believe you. Clint and I are going to get you out of here.” You had not expected her to say anything in this direction. Clint notices a scared look in your eyes. “We can keep you safe, I promise. You can stay at the Avenger Compound, no one from the outside will be able to come in, not even these guys. But it’s up to you, what do you say?”

If they trust you enough to open up the Avenger compound to you, you should be able to trust them too, right? Plus, your girlfriend was friends with Avenger, it had to be safe. Safer than here at least. So, you respond with, “If we head to the south wall, we should only have to fight off the two guards at the north side. We’ll have to head a bit further into the facility, but there’s a door leading outside at the end of the second hallway.”

Kate and Clint share a look, after which they both nod. “You two go, I’ll cover you.” Clint says. Kate grabs your hand and pulls you towards the south wall like you said. Once you open the door, the guards turn around and notice you and Kate leaving. They storm towards you but are haltered by Clint. “Go!” Clint yells to you. You lead Kate to the hallway with the backdoor and both started running towards it.

You’ve barely set two steps outside when you hear the window on the side of the building break. Clint emerges from it and shoots a smoke arrow inside the building. He joins you and the three of you start running until Clint notices a metro stop, you head inside and take the first metro that arrives. “So, you’re a superhero now?” You ask Kate once you’re sitting in the metro. She smiles, “Yeah, and I worked on a mission with Hawkeye!”

You start thinking, her getting you out of the Tracksuit Mafia didn’t mean she forgives you for not telling her about it. Kate notices your mind is somewhere else and places a hand on your leg. “Y/n, when we get back to the compound, let catch each other up to speed okay? You tell me about your past and I will tell you about the past couple of months with becoming Lady Hawk. We both weren’t fully truthful to each other and that might affect our relationship, but I want to be ahead of that and get everything out in the open now.” You smile, it’s like she could read your mind. “That sounds perfect.”

~

Main taglist: @yellowvxbes // @xxromanoffxx // @xxxtwilightaxelxxx // @danveration // @wandaswifeyforlifey // @marvelwomen-simp // @snooy245 // @peggycarter-steverogers // @wandas-slut-heart // @natashas-sunshine // @annephobic // @laaurrel // @catasha // @t00manyfand0ms // @multifandomlesbianic // @bandit2029 // @avengerswriter4eva // @gigistylestomlinson // @snowdrop1026 // @sylvies4ever // @youreatotalposer // @mellowladyangel // @milfloverslut // @natasha-danvers // @lyak12 // @smalls-words // @when-wolves-howl // @svftpetker // @la-reine-des-enfers // @official-chaotic-wandamaximoff // @b0r3d-s1mp1ng-b1tch // @bubblensqueak002 // @imabee-oralizard // @rafecameronswhore // @be-missed // @romaaa28 // @youresuchamom // @youralphawolf72 // @maia-lightwoood // @rootbeerfaygo // @elliesayshello869 // @vllowe // @princessprudy // @nightingalexx // @hallecarey1 // @wandsmxmff // @lissaaaa145 // @blackwidow-3 // @natashasapphic // @amessbian // @oh-thats-cute // @ratzyy

Kate taglist: @kacka84

[specialagentlokitty]

Elijah x reader - family

hello, hope your doing well, just wondering would i at all be able to request a elijah x reader where she's Lucifer's (fox) daughter and has been hiding it from everyone because she's so one day when she's disappears he find Lucifer at her house and he's confused about it all 'til she confesses if its no trouble - Anon💜

Hearing a frantic knock on your door, you groaned and rolled out of bed, padding your way over as you rubbed the sleep from your eyes.

“Yeah, yeah I’m coming…” you mumbled.

Unlocking the door, you tossed it open and blinked in confusion as you came face to face with your dad.

“Dad?”

“Can I?”

“Yeah, of course. What’s wrong?”

Lucifer sighed and walked in, hanging his blazer up and kicking his shoes off as he made his way into your kitchen and started to raid the cupboards.

You knew what he was looking for.

“Next to the fridge.”

You grabbed two glasses and set them on the counter as he poured you both a drink.

It wasn’t often you drank, especially first thing in the morning but when it came to your dad you drank all the time with him.

Being immortal did have its perks like that.

“Dad, what’s wrong?” You asked.

“The detective found out…” he mumbled.

“How? What happened?”

Lucifer began to explain everything, about how she found out who he really was and how she reacted.

He explained he left LA, told Maze he was coming here and said the demon chose to remain behind for a little while before she too would come down.

You nodded your head and waited for him to finish talking before you replied.

“So, what will you do?”

“Honestly, I’m not sure. I suppose return to hell.” He sighed.

“Dad you can’t!”

He looked up at you, looking sad and confused.

“You weren’t happy there, it’s why we left right? Because you wanted something more with your life, and you have it. Just stay here for a few weeks, okay?” You asked.

“Are you sure you’d be okay with that? I don’t mean to impose, you can stay here.”

“You’re my dad, if you go back to hell of course I’m going back with you. Just stay here okay? And if you want to go back to hell I’ll come with you.”

“Thank you.” He smiled.

You smiled gently back at him and updated him on everything you had been doing in mystic falls, all the people you had met and everything that had been going on.

Your dad was intrigued but the whole supernatural element though it didn’t surprise him, though you weren’t much surprised either.

You guys were angels, it isn’t shocking that there are other supernatural beings out there.

“So, why not show me around the town, let me see why you chose here out of all places.” Lucifer grinned.

Rolling your eyes at him, you agreed to take him out and you showed him the main places first before taking him around the smaller places.

when you were done, you both made your way back home and you poured the pair of you another drink.

“So, how’s school?” He asked.

“Can’t complain, not that I go much. I ace my exams and that’s all I need.” You smiled.

“Truly are my daughter.” He chuckled.

You loved spending time with your dad, it wasn’t often you did but you loved it.

The next week you and your dad stayed inside, watching films and drinking. It was his way of coping, and you were going to be there to support him.

“I’m going shopping!” You called.

“Bring me some food?!”

“Yeah yeah!”

Slamming the door closed, you made your way to the shop, picking out some food before grabbing some snacks and more drinks.

It wasn’t a big shop, but it’s not like you guys had to eat much either.

Driving back home, you grabbed the few bags and made your way back inside and into the kitchen.

You weren’t paying much attention as you started to put things away.

“Love, I believe you have a guest.”

You turned around to find Lucifer pinning Elijah by his shirt to the wall, and the vampire just accepted it.

He looked like they had scrapped it a bit, and clearly Elijah had lost.

“Let him go!“ you rushed.

Grabbing a cloth, you soaked it in some water before rushing over to Elijah who was rubbing his jaw, staring at Lucifer.

“Is this why you’ve been avoiding me? For another man?” He asked.

The hurt in his eyes broke you and you quickly shook your head at him.

“Of course not darling, no.”

Wiping the blood from his face, you pressed a tender kiss to his lips before you pulled away.

“This is my dad.”

You turned to lucifer.

“Dad, this is Elijah. My boyfriend.”

“Your father?”

“Your boyfriend?”

You gave them both a sheepish smile before turning to Elijah.

“Can you give a few moments?”

“I shall wait outside.”

Elijah got up and left and you sighed, he was mad.

But right now you didn’t have time to worry about him, turning to your dad, you walked over and looked up at him.

He was furious.

“He comes into your home and attacks me?!”

“Dad he didn’t know! Okay? I.. I didn’t tell him…”

This made his anger melt away.

“Why?”

“I didn’t want to be seen as anyone but me…”

Lucifer nodded his head and gently hugged you.

“He’s strong, vampire I assume?”

“Yeah, an original.”

“I see.”

You pulled away.

“Go, talk to him, but I want to have words with him after.” Lucifer growled.

Nodding, you rushed outside to the front where Elijah was pacing.

The moment you approached he walked up to you.

“You’re a vampire?!” He whispered.

“No! Elijah I wasn’t lying when I said I wasn’t. But… I’m not human. It’s why you can’t compel me, it’s why you hate the taste of my blood, I’m an Angel. Just like my dad…”

“Angel?”

“My dad… he’s lucifer… Satan.. whatever you call him by. When my dad fell I fell with him by choice.”

“And you didn’t tell me?”

Sighed, you walked over and sat on the step, running a hand down your face.

“Because I wanted you to want me for me Eli, not because of who my dad was. I wanted you to love me for me, not my power, my connections.”

Elijah kneeled down in front of you.

“You believe I would use you?”

You smiled weakly.

“You wouldn’t be the first… I know you wouldn’t but… I can’t help that fear I suppose.”

“My love, I would never use you for anything. The fear is understandable but I do not want your power, I simply want you.”

Smiling softly, you hugged him, sighing as you relaxed.

After a few moments you pulled away.

“My dad wants to talk to you…”

“Well, I believe we have much to talk about.”

“Just… don’t fight him?”

“You have my word love.”

With that Elijah walked inside and you waited outside anxiously.

Your dad was protective, and Elijah was madly in love with you, so you knew there was going to be a clashes of some sort.

Elijah couldn’t kill lucifer, and lucifer couldn’t kill Elijah but they could sure as hell wound one another

[sk8termikey]

Chapter 19 of 21 Questions

better interface on wattpad

Now that Matt and Lily had finally met, they were able to make things right regarding their unusual friendship that had been mixed with the celebrity-fan relationship they were starting to have. Luckily, it was still at a point that their friendship would come first although they had met under the wrong circumstances. After their discussion, Matt eventually took Lily back to her best friend that had been chilling with Matt’s family. He had offered Lily to meet again the next day so that she could be introduced to his friends before all spending the day outside visiting the city they were in. Lily had gladly accepted, now excited to have Matt be an actual part of her life and not only through a screen.

~~~

Lily, Alex, Matt and his family were all ready to say a temporary goodbye as they would all go to their hotel. To Lily’s surprise, the room Matt had booked for her and Alex was actually in the same hotel as he was in.

“Why did you even do that?” Lily asked, dumbfounded by the situation. “What if I hated you and never wanted to see you again?”

“Ain’t that a bit dramatic?” Matt retorted. “I had the right to be hopeful!”

“True, true. I guess you’re lucky to be nice and likeable.”

“Oh, so you do like me?”

“Obviously stupid”, Lily laughed. She knew Matt only meant to tease her but she wanted him to know that it was the truth. “Even as Matthew Sturniolo – which I now know that Matt is short for – I fucking drove hundred of miles for you so now it’s a bonus that you’re also my friend in the same body.”

Behind them were Alex as well Matt’s brothers and parents who were all watching the scene happening in front of them. Everyone was glad for Matt and Lily to have been able to meet as they both looked very happy with each other. Although it was a bit far-stretched at the moment, it was easy to notice that something special – more than a simple online-to-real friendship – was hiding between the two and was going to develop into something wonderful.

Leaving Lily and Alex in front of their hotel room, the Sturniolos bid them goodbye before planning to meet the next morning in the lobby so that all the young adults could hang out together and get to know each other. Mary Lou took an extra time to hug the two girls as she had been very happy to meet them for they were both respectful and kind, which Mary Lou had greatly appreciated.

Now alone in their room, Alex and Lily took a minute before processing what had happened today. They looked at each other before bursting out laughing and hugging.

“I still can’t believe it!” Alex exclaimed. “You were friends with Matt motherfucking Sturniolo and now we’re gonna hang out with him, his brothers and their friends?”

“YES! It feels crazy but like– in a good way. It’s exhilarating and I’m just so impatient for tomorrow now.”

“I agree, I’m really excited to meet Madi! She always seemed so sweet.”

“For real,” Lily agreed with her best friend. “I’m so so glad for today bro you can’t imagine: meeting Matt was something I had thought about, but like in a fantasy kinda way I guess? It felt so far away from reach but in the end, it did happen.”

“Yeah,” Alex sighed at that. “It’s surreal but it was fate honestly. Y’all had to find each other at one point.”

Nodding, Lily couldn’t stop smiling and neither could the blonde. They decided that they needed to rest after today’s adventures and started getting ready for the night so that they could be full of energy for the next day. Like the other shows, their routine consisted in having a shower, ordering food to their room and looking at the amazing pictures Lily had taken during the show.

Before going to sleep, Lily saw that she had just received a text that made her even more excited for tomorrow.

Matt🍂

Thank you for today, I’m really glad that we met and I hope you still don’t think it was a mistake

Goodnight Lily :)

Thank YOU fr like ofc it wasn’t a mistake, I’ll never have any regret ab today<3

Goodnight Matthew

And with a grateful smile on her face, Lily turned off her phone before drifting to Morpheus’s world.

~~~

The next morning, Matt and his family were waiting for the girls in the lobby as planned. They were to be joined by Nate, Madi and Tril while Jimmy, Mary Lou and Justin would go do their own thing to let the young adults enjoy their day in peace – Matt, Nick and Chris would eventually come back to Boston for a bit so they would have family time later.

“Oh I’m just recalling but was Lily the reason why you were on your phone a lot back then?” Mary Lou asked her son. “I remember seeing you being happier than usual when you were home last time.”

Damn, Matt thought. He thought she would have waited more before calling him out his previous changes of attitude.

“Honestly, I had wanted to confront Matt for a while but I never expected the situation to turn out like this”. Nick added as he and his mum were on the same page.

“Ok ok, I get it.” Matt sighed as he was starting to get teased by his family for being a tad obvious. “She'll be here soon so please don't embarrass me too much or you'll be the reason why I'm friendless.”

“Don’t worry Matty,” his dad tried to reassure him. “We’ll keep teasing you when you’re back home.”

At that, most of the family laughed before they calmed down as Matt told everyone that Lily had texted him to say she and Alex would be arriving. Matt barely had time to reply to her when he saw the two girls leaving the lift, thus creating a smile on Matt’s face as Lily waved at him – she was waving at all of them but let’s let Matt believe it was solely for him.

“Heyy”, Lily called as she gave a smile to everyone. “Sorry for the wait.”

“No worries darling”, Mary Lou – as the kindest woman ever – answered before going to hug Lily and Alex. “We’ll leave you all to your day out, enjoy!”

“Thanks, you too!”

Mary Lou then took her husband and first son to the hotel’s restaurant so that they could have breakfast while the teenagers started walking towards the exit.

“Ok so Nate is gonna be here in a minute,” Matt informed as he had left his friend in their common room because he had woken up later than him. “And we’ll meet Madi and Tril on the way.”

“On the way where?” Alex asked. “Y’all didn’t say what you wanted to do yesterday.”

“We were thinking of going to eat and maybe just visit the city?” Nick suggested.

“Fine by me!” Lily agreed. “I’d love to see the beach later if that’s ok with you guys.”

“Absolutely.” Chris was on board with the agenda. “I’m not really confident to actually swim but we definitely need to go to the beach.”

They all agreed and decided to go to a restaurant that Nick had noticed the day before. Nate joined them as they were about to call him so now they only had to notify Madi and Tril of their destination.

After having lunch, they all agreed to walk to the beach and spend the afternoon there with snacks and drinks as there were multiple beaches to explore. Everyone was getting along well, especially Madi and Alex, thus making the blonde grateful that she was making new friends. Lily was still hitting it off with Nick, with whom she was exchanging about photography, while Matt, Chris and Tril were lazily trailing behind the two duos. At the Las Olas Beach, they decided to stop and rest there as there weren’t many people. The curiosity was at its highest when Nate asked the question everyone was thinking of:

“Sooo,” he began to catch everyone’s attention. “Do we get the full story of how y’all started talking or?”

Lily and Matt exchanged a quick glance – although their friends would say that it ended up longer than expected – before Lily scratched her throat as she chose to be the one explaining.

“It’s simpler than ever honestly. I was just texting people with Alex because we had seen videos of that so it sounded fun at the moment and after a couple of failures, this dude here matched my energy.” She explained before pointing at Matt to emphasise her words. “And here we are seven – I think? – months later.”

“I don’t have anything to add”, Matt said as he saw that his friends were expecting more. “If I’m being honest, sorry Lily, I had thought about ghosting her at the time because we had come back recently from tour and then we had Madi’s birthday in Hawaii.”

“Damn, I’m hurt”. Lily pretended to be offended. “Fair enough I guess, I could be overwhelming sometimes. But I’m glad you didn’t haha.”

“Yeah, same…” Matt almost whispered as he softly smiled at the girl next to him.

Feeling like a moment was creating itself between the two newly friends, Alex faked a cough and they all changed the subject before things would get awkward. It was easy to notice that Matt and Lily would still need other chances alone so that they could completely get rid of the first meeting’s anxiety.

After an hour of talking and getting to know each other, Nick suggested that they walk to the next beach while the sun would set. Lily immediately agreed and she got her camera ready like Nick in order to take pictures of the sea adorned with waves of red and orange. A dozen minutes later, the group found themselves at Sebastian Street Beach further north from where they had been. Nick and Lily made everyone stop at a spot which they judged had the best view to capture the sunset. When the two photographers seemed satisfied, they notified their friends and decided it would be time to go back to the hotel to have dinner with the rest of the Sturniolos.

Once back at the hotel, they ended up being two people short as Madi had announced that she would get ready with her mum to go back to Los Angeles while Tril told them that he would also need to get ready to depart the next day. Therefore, the whole Sturniolo family as well as Nate, Lily and Alex would eat together. Mary Lou was delighted to spend more time with the girls as she had really clicked with her son’s friend. During the dinner, the three women were mostly talking together, joined once in a while by Matt who would check that his mum wasn’t bothering his guests. When everyone had finished, Jimmy and Mary Lou decided to pay for their sons and the girls – which they reluctantly agreed as they knew refusing would be pointless. While all walking back to their rooms, the triplets said goodnight to the rest of their family as they and Nate stayed a bit more with the girls. They were all talking in front of the girls’ room when they learnt of what would happen the next day.

“I should’ve told y’all earlier when Madi and Tril mentioned it but we’re also leaving tomorrow,” Lily frowned at her words.

“Daaamn,” Nick dramatically sighed. “We barely met and we have to be separated so soon.”

“Yeah, I guess goodbyes are harder now…” Lily almost wanted to cry and she tried to avoid Matt’s gaze in order to prevent that from happening.

“It’s not like we’re each on one side of the world, right?” The middle triplet rationalised, although he wasn’t feeling good about the news.

“True true, only thousands of miles between us.” Lily bitterly laughed.

“If it makes everyone feel better,” Chris joined in to lighten the mood. “We’ll be in Boston for like a week and a half so at least we stay in the same timezone for a while.”

“Oh yeah, I almost forgot we’re on the same coast as your hometown.” Lily pointed out. “Can’t believe y’all have to go past us to go back home.”

What was – in Lily’s opinion – an innocent sentence, was unknowingly making the gears turn in someone’s head. Sensing the boys’ silent question, Alex chose to answer it in a way that she hoped would impact them.

“We live in Spring Hill, Florida. Not so far from here if I may say so y’all should visit one day, or even come back with us.”

“Only because you’re not the one driving bro,” Lily sighed with a smile.

“We could yeah,” Matt said at the same time Lily talked.

Holy shit, Alex thought. He actually took the bait! See, Alex had hoped to get a reaction from at least one of the boys in front of her and while she was internally celebrating, everyone else turned to Matt.

“The fuck you mean?” Chris was shocked at Matt’s boldness. “Sorry, strong words there but what?”

“No but–” Matt was now nervous about everyone awaiting his thoughts on the matter. “That was a joke like– Alex joked and I did the same so case closed, right?”

Searching for help, Matt looked at Alex who had a smirk on her face. She raised an eyebrow as if to get her point across.

“Did I, though?” Alex was clearly challenging Matt and enjoying his reactions. “I meant what I said, but did you?”

An awkward silence began as no one knew how to interrupt the moment. Chris and Nate exchanged a look of confusion while Nick silently asked Lily to do something regarding her friend.

“I–” The brunette stuttered as she only had a split second to decide whether to back up Alex or not. “Yeah y’all could come with us, like it’s on your way and that means we can spend a bit more time together before final goodbyes?”

Alex felt very satisfied that Lily was on board with her chaotic plan. Now, only the triplets’ reply was to be heard.

“Why not though,” Nick eventually agreed due to the hopeful expressions on the girls’ faces. “We’re not going to be fucking awkward about it so Imma say the words. I’m having a good time with y’all, which is obviously reciprocated, and we’d all be happy to spend a few more days together. So I'm down!”

At that, Alex and Lily’s joy was very explicit as they turned to briefly exchange smiles. One down, three to go, the blonde thought.

“Thank you Nicolas for this wonderful answer! Chris, Matt, Nate, what do y’all say?”

As the two other triplets eventually shrugged and nodded at the proposal – it wouldn’t hurt to get to know each other more and they weren’t about to deny everything Nick had said, the last person to be asked was surprised.

“I’m invited too?” Nate wondered as he hadn’t expected it.

“Yeah, of course you are.” Lily wanted to hug him as she didn’t think he wouldn’t expect to be included, which made her start feeling sad. “Do you wanna come with us?”

Although Lily’s smile was very convincing, Nate frowned as he realised that he couldn’t actually be part of this.

“Family matters during this week…” the younger boy admitted as Chris patted him on the shoulder for comfort. “This is why I had planned to see the guys from this weekend and after. Y’all will have to enjoy for me.”

“We absolutely will!” Alex assured as she was disappointed that Nate couldn’t be there. “It was so nice to meet you though, we’ll see each other again right?”

“Well, we’re on the same coast so small world I guess. But yeah, in any case I’ll see you two tomorrow for goodbyes before we part.”

The girls nodded at that and as the atmosphere was now unfortunately not as light-hearted as before, Nick suggested to all go to their respective rooms and that they would meet again the next morning to decide how things would happen – the triplets now only had to notify their parents that they would join them in Boston later in the week, which they knew wouldn’t be a problem.

Thank you for reading. Votes and comments are always appreciated if you like this story :) The story is co-written w @/little_grapejuice on wattpad

[lynn0x1]

Anomalies

Soulmate!Beomgyu au (TXT)

Summary: where soulmate connections aren’t obvious

Genre: Fluff? angst if you like really squint.

Word count: ~0.8k

a/n: idk how to feel about this piece i think the ending is kinda abrupt maybe i should stop writing so many soulmate aus.... anywho enjoy!

Beomgyu has a little red string on his pinky.

Basically the red string of fate

Everyone is all woah because he can follow it

But he doesn’t want to

Because he has eyes for you, not connected by the red string like he hopped

No you had a little bear on your upper arm next to your shoulder

But it’s not like anyone knew about it

You never told people about your soulmate connection

You weren’t very thrilled about soulmates

Although you knew people were happy and were actively trying to find their soulmates you found it a little hard to believe there was only one person in the world that was perfect for you

Like what if you found someone perfect and they weren’t your soulmate

Why should other’s judge

Heck your aunts weren’t soulmates.

Your aunt Soonyoung’s soulmate wasn’t exactly the epitome of perfect guy for her since she wasn’t into guys

They're still really good friends though

Your aunt’s wife, Jiwoo was one of the few people without a soulmate connection

Like yeah it could be one of those one sided soulmate connections but she was now happily married with her wife so the universe can SUCK IT

Anyway

When Beomgyu first saw you he was head over heels

He hated the universe because his string wasn’t attached to your pinky finger

But he didn’t care

So he confessed

You were like !!!

And panicked and ran

Beomgyu was bummed but life goes on I guess

Jk he was sulking the whole day and Taehyun had to listen to his pinning

You felt bad because you thought he was really cute and you may or may not have the tiniest of crush

who are you kidding you had a massive crush on him

After some thought you were like Okay screw what everyone else thinks

So after last period you call Beomgyu back

And shyly confess your feelings back

And would you look at that there are two suns shining in your face.

Beomgyu being all smiley and giddy

Makes you blush

You blushed harder when he grabbed your hand and dragged you out of the class for an impromptu date

So ya’ll are pretty cute

But people judge because they can see Beomgyu’s red string and it’s not attached to you

But who cares?

Eventually Beomgyu introduces you to his parents who weren’t the biggest fan of this but respect his decision

They actually really like you as a person and try to accept

Beomgyu met your parents

Although your dad wasn’t as accepting as your mom (mom’s sister is Soonyoung)

Your mom managed to convince him it wasn’t as bad as it seemed and that it was maybe just a phase and you’d move on to search for your soulmate

Beomgyu and you had been dating for some time

Like 2 years

People always judged you because of this

Except your two aunts that you lived with because your parents were now overseas

And your grandmother surprisingly

Beomgyu and you didn’t really care about soulmates

Beomgyu knew he loved you

And you loved him

Why do you need the universe to tell you who to spend the rest of your life with?

One time your grandmother suggest both of you follow your connections together

Which you ignored because you were happy with Beomgyu why would you want to find someone to ruin what your two had?

But as you guys got older, the soulmate feeling thing kept creeping up

„what if you find your soulmate?”

„I’ll still love you. Nothing will change my love for you, my love.” -b

After sometime you couldn’t stand it.

You and Beomgyu agreed that regardless of what could happen, if you found your soulmate or not, you would work it out together

So off on adventure you went

You decided to look for Beomgyu’s first, since you could follow the red string.

Eventually you end up at the beach where the red string ends at some rock peak

„what?”

Both of you are confused, but a small part is glad

Glad that no one was connected to his little red string. That there was no one else

You sit watching the now setting sun before heading home after all you were already there.

But when it reaches the horizon you feel tingly

Your bear tattoo suddenly becomes a red thread, the same colour as Beomgyu’s thread

It ties itself around your pinky and the two ends of the thread tie themselves together

They end up looking as if they were connected the whole time.

Beomgyu used your new thread to wrap around you and pull you closer to him

Smooth mf

When you returned

„I had a feeling this would happen”

„Grandma you knew?”

„You know she has quite the sense for soulmates” your aunts laughed

[turtlethebean]

JoMarina Week Day 3: Tea

Also available on AO3: A Much Needed Talk - Turtle_The_Bean - Criminal Case (Video Game) [Archive of Our Own]

Marina sat in her office with the two cups of sweet, amber Darjeeling tea that she had prepared for this session. Breathing in the smell helped to calm her nerves for this meeting. She had posed this as a friendly get-together between two colleagues who may have gotten off on the wrong foot, but her goal was to learn more about Jonah, more specifically, his weaknesses.

She needed to know more about the people who tried to kill her all those years ago. The people who gave her a scar, hospitalised her for almost two days because of where the bullet hit, and forced her to wear scarves just to cover it up. The scar still ached to this day, a constant reminder of what happened back then.

She couldn’t understand why they would attempt to assassinate a college student. Sure, she did expose them, but not a lot of people are willing to take college students seriously, especially when they talk about something like politics. Then again, money makes the world go around, and some people will do anything to protect themselves from losing it.

However, she acknowledged that she still needed to get along with Jonah. The two were coworkers now, two people working towards the same goal. They should be able to get along, even with their differences. The Bureau, after all, was known for some unlikely friendships amongst their ranks, and Marina knew pretty much all of them.

“Hey.” A familiar voice came from her doorway. She looked up to see Jonah standing slightly nervously in front of her.

“Ah, good morning,” Marina changed her demeanour into something more relaxed, “Come on in. Take a seat.”

Jonah finally got out of the doorway, closing the door behind him. He walked over to Marina’s desk and sat down across from her. He took the mug that she had laid out on the table for him and took a sip from it. He seemed to enjoy the first sip and began to drink it excitedly.

“It seems you’re enjoying your tea.” Marina smiled, happy to see him so excited over something.

“Oh yeah, it may be expensive, but I gotta say, Darjeeling is probably one of my favourite teas.” Jonah grinned back.

“I’m glad we can agree on that. I made sure to pick some up while we were in India. It is the origin country, after all. I knew I was bound to get some good quality.”

As she spoke to him, Jonah couldn’t help but notice Marina scribbling something down on a piece of paper. He began to get curious as to what it was, hoping that it wasn’t something bad about him.

“Hey, whatcha writing about?” He asked anxiously, not knowing how she would respond.

“Hm? Oh, I just take note of what everyone’s favourite teas are. It helps make people feel more comfortable when they’re in my office.”

“Well, in that case, you may want to write down rooibos as my actual favourite.”

“Noted. I have to say, though, nobody else in the Bureau has claimed that as their favourite tea as of yet.”

“Heh, I mostly like it because it reminds me a lot of where I grew up. I guess you could say it’s a taste of home.”

“That reminds me, where did you grow up?”

“Soweto, in South Africa. Well, that’s where I was for a good chunk of my life. We did move around a lot. Military dad? Y’know?”

“I understand. My mother used to travel around Russia and occasionally to other countries like China or America for her career. I always knew Saint Petersburg was my home, but sometimes it didn’t really feel like it with all the travelling.”

“I get ya. Funny how we both ended up in the Bureau then, huh?”

“Yes, but I do believe there may be a bit of a pattern with people who are used to travelling joining the Bureau, typically those whose jobs or parents’ jobs relied on it. For example, I know you’re close with Carmen, and being an investigative journalist means that she did travel a lot for her job.”

“True. Hell, that’s how I met Carmen. I had a couple of contracts in Yemen when she was there. We ended up talking about the war and it turns out I had some valuable information for her. I’m glad we stayed friends after she started working here. It’s great to have friends you can trust in places like this.”

Now Marina was getting to the parts she wanted to ask him about. The parts of his life that many would’ve buried, but he seemed fairly comfortable in talking about them.

“I’ve actually been meaning to ask you about your life as a hitman,” She leaned closer to him, “Do you know the type of person that you would usually take contracts from?”

“Honestly, at the time, I was kinda desperate for work. I used to take whatever was given to me. I started looking more into the people who were hiring me after the incident in Saint Petersburg, though. Knowing some politician hired me to kill you, especially since you were just a college student, the guilt’s been eating away at me for years.”

Marina couldn’t help but feel a pang of sympathy for Jonah after that last statement. She was, at the very least, glad to hear that her story had changed the way he took contracts, helping him be a bit more responsible about the people he took contracts from. She always enjoyed changing people’s lives for the better.

That’s why she became a psychologist, after all. To stop people from living the same mental torment without any help.

She remembered that drowning feeling. Like the weight of everything going on in her life was dragging her down deeper into the sea of her own mind. Any time she got a bit of reprieve, another wave would come crashing down on her, dragging her back into the ocean of her own mind.

She hated that feeling and didn’t want anyone else to feel like that.

“Hey, are you…feeling okay?” Jonah asked, tilting his head to the side.

Marina had almost forgotten where she was when she snapped out of her memories.

“I’m fine. Sorry, you can go now.” She explained, closing her book like she always did when her sessions were over.

“Nah, I like talking to you.” He smiled at her sweetly, making any of the ice that was in her heart from her thoughts melt.

“Alright then,” She reopened her book, “What do you want to talk about?”

[seriouslysam8]

Brumous Sneak Peek #2

Since I couldn't post over the weekend, I decided to spoil you with a second sneak peek! New chapter is up on Sunday!

Chapter Sixteen: The Reunion

When the meeting was declared concluded, Sirius was one of the first people to stand, keen to get back to the kids in the other room. Then, Dumbledore called him to stay back, as well as Remus, Dora, and Tegan. Sirius squinted as Remus rose from his seat, gathering a few pieces of parchment together and tucking them away neatly in a folder.

Sirius bent down, his face pressing close to Remus’. “What’s going on?”

Remus shrugged. “Haven’t the foggiest. I’m intrigued because Tegan was called as well, so it can’t have anything to do with Harry.”

Everyone slowly filed out of the room. Molly shot Sirius an inquisitive look but Sirius threw up a hand to indicate that he didn’t know. Tegan made her way around the table to stand with the others, a small smile crossing her face in greeting. 

“Do you have the inside scoop?” Dora asked, leaning in close to Tegan. “The boys are clueless, like always.”

Sirius rolled his eyes up to look at the ceiling while Tegan chuckled.

“Nah, no idea,” Tegan replied. “Oi, I heard you were dumped that Cooper case. Gawain has a contact in the Met that may be useful. He was going to get you his contact information, but he’s shit at remembering so make sure you get it off him.”

Dora sighed. “Merlin, thanks, yeah, Axel and I had no idea where to start. Of course, fucking Dawlish was a bloody wanker when he dropped it in our laps.”

Tegan snorted. “What else is new? I swear, Dawlish lives to make everyone’s life miserable.”

Sirius arched an eyebrow at the two. He didn’t know much about Dawlish, but he had never heard anyone say anything even remotely nice about him. He glanced up to see Marlene looking back at him as she exited the room with Andromeda and Ted. He raised his right hand to give her a small wave and he received a smile in return. That was a start, he supposed. Once everyone was gone and the door closed, Dumbledore smiled at the group. 

“I won’t keep you long,” Dumbledore announced as he walked over to join the group. “I had a mission for the four of you, if you’d be so inclined to accept.”

Sirius perked up at the words. He hadn’t been on a proper Order mission in, Merlin, probably since he had watched Edgar Bones die right in front of him. Remus’ gaze bore into him but Sirius ignored it. He wasn’t going to let Remus ruin the moment for him. Whatever it was, he was game to do it. He knew it must be an important one if he was assigning four of them to one mission – two of which were Aurors. Honestly, there wasn’t a group he’d rather go on his first mission back with. He trusted Remus with his life. Dora was his family – the good kind. Tegan had proved where her loyalties lied when she risked her career to help prove his innocence.

“It has come to my attention that a group of wealthy Death Eaters have been buying tickets to the St. Mungo’s fundraising ball and auction next weekend,” Dumbledore explained. “You may know that this function takes place yearly with Narcissa Malfoy always being one of the main organizers as she holds a spot on the board. What is surprising is within the past week, purebloods who normally do not attend are buying tables for the event such as the Crabbes, Goyles, Macnairs, as well as a few others. Table prices run a bit steep and there’s four allowed to a table. Sirius, I was hoping that you would be willing to pay for the four of you to attend.”

Although Sirius suspected that he was only being offered to go so he would finance the operation, he didn’t fucking care. He was more than happy to get out of the house and back into the field. If some silly charity ball was the only way to do that, he was more than happy to buy some nice dress robes and clean up a bit. He’d do a bloody fantastic job at it too so he’d be assigned more and more missions.

“Yeah, I’ll fund it,” Sirius agreed without hesitation.

[ofstoriesandstardust]

i’m still here

a/n: will i stay consistent in updating? guess we’ll find out. 

summary: Everyone has their pair: Ben and Diego, Allison and Klaus, Five and Vanya. But 7 leaves an odd one out, that being Luther. Luther’s pair lives three hours away leading a busy life in Manhattan. Still, he craves to spend the quality time with his sister that everyone else spends with each other and find the friendship he doesn’t have within his own family. He’s immensely proud of her, of all she has done and continues to accomplish, but he misses her. Queue a quality Saturday night with some wholesome sibling bonding.

inspired by “i’m still here (jim’s theme)” from treasure planet

main masterlist | umbrella academy masterlist | the choices we make masterlist | story description | fallout | lunch buddies and coffee drinkers

warnings: swearing probably, we’re making progress folks, enjoy the wholesome content while you get it because we’re three chapters out from being in the heart of the story and shit getting real, mentions of SVU-canon compliant rape/sexual assault, how many times can I say city in one chapter, it ends weird

word count: 2,592

Luther took a deep breath, thumbs tapping on the steering wheel nervously. He had been in Manhattan, dropping Allison off for a flight out of town and he didn’t want to begin the drive back to town. His family wasn’t happy with him but he was trying to build the burning bridge between him and Allison as quickly as he could. Elena was important to him, but he didn’t want to lose his other sister either. She had begrudgingly agreed to let him take her, especially because no one else wanted to make the drive. The drive had been awkward and silent and Luther was frustrated. Frustrated with the state of things, frustrated with what had happened, frustrated that no matter what he did, he still felt pushed out of his own family. He knew if he went back to the Academy, he’d be met with everyone else paired off with each other and him alone. It had always been like that. Despite whatever he and Allison had when they were kids, she’d always been closer to Klaus. Luther carried the weight of being Number One on his own, always an outsider within his own family. That had been only made worse by the accident, and then his hand in the first apocalypse, and now Elena. He was certain he’d ever not be an outsider. He sighed, taking his phone out of his pocket. He wanted to see Elena while he was here, if she was free, but it hadn’t been that long since... since she’d sort of, kind of, deservedly, yelled at Diego and Allison. They’d spoken a little but not a whole ton. Still, he was here and he wanted to see her. He figured it was worth a try. He dialed her number and put it up to his ear. 

"Gray.”

Luther awkwardly cleared his throat. “H-hey Elena, it’s me. Luther.” He inwardly cringed. 

“Oh, hey. Hi. Sorry, I have a bad habit of answering my phone without looking to see who’s calling. Always assume it’s work. Anyways, what’s up?”

He pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to not back out. “Um, well, I’m in the city because I was dropping Allison off at the airport, and well, I don’t want to make the drive back yet and I was wondering if maybe you were free and wanted to get dinner or something?” He continued to cringe. Why did he sound like a fifteen year old boy asking their high school crush on a date? 

“Yeah! Yeah, I’d love to see you. I was just about to go get takeout from my favorite Chinese place. You could come with if you wanted?” 

“Yeah, yeah, why don’t I pick you up and we can go?”

“Perfect! I’ll send you my address. See you in a few?” 

He nodded and then realized Elena couldn't seem him. “Yeah, yeah that sounds good. See you in a little bit.” The call ended and he pulled the phone away from his ear. Okay, so that hadn’t been horrible. She didn’t sound mad at him at the very least. His phone dinged with the sound of her sending him the address and he started the car. It was in the heart of the city and he admired the buildings and he rolled to a stop outside of it. Manhattan was such a stark contrast from where he had grown up, lavish as the Academy had been. He watched as the door to building opened and Elena bounded out. She graced him with a smile as she opened the car door and slid in. “Hey.” He said with a nod of his head.

“Hey. Okay so, the catch is we might be making the tiniest bit of a drive for this place.” He laughed. He had learned that his sister would make the longest drives for the food she deemed best. She gave him the directions and off they went across town for Chinese food. The pair made small talk, giving the other updates about what had been going on in their lives. They eventually reached the restaurant, which was small and was sandwiched between two clothing stores. She pulled the door open, the bell jingling behind her. He had to admit, it smelled delicious. “This place is the closest to the best of the best in San Diego.” She said as they got in line. They ordered their food and a woman walked over a few minutes with their food. 

“Elena!” The woman exclaimed. “I saw your name and knew I had to come give it to you. How are you darling?” Elena smiled warmly, leaning on to the counter. 

“Good!”

“And who’s this young man over here?” The stout woman gestured to him and Elena turned slightly. 

“This is my brother. He lives out of town, so he’s visiting.” Luther raised a hand in greeting and he couldn’t deny the warm feeling of Elena referring to him so openly as her brother. Things had been so rocky, and he wasn’t sure where they stood, and with the accident... well it was nice to be acknowledged. 

“How’s work? I never see you in here with Detective Tutuola anymore.” Elena sighed, picking up the food. 

“I know, we’ve just been so busy.” Elena shifted upwards. 

“Well, you and Detective Tutuola come visit me soon.” The lady wagged a finger at her and she laughed. 

“Of course, soon as possible, I promise.” Elena raised her hand in departure and Luther heard the bell jingle again as they departed. Elena climbed into the car and tucked the food behind her seat. He started the car and she buckled in. “That’s the owner. I usually come in here at least once a week but I haven’t in a while.” He nodded as they pulled away from the restaurant. “It’s family-owned and run so I’m familiar with all of them.”

“Who’s Detective Tutuola?” Luther asked. He hadn’t heard the name before and he was curious to learn more about her friends and job. 

“That’s Fin. He and I would come here a lot, usually to grab food for the team when we’re in the middle of prepping for a trial or I’m helping them with a case.” He nodded. 

“Are you close with them? The detectives?” She nodded. 

“They’re my best friends. They’re the closest thing I’ve got to a family.” 

“What about the one that called you that day at the Academy? With the cannolis?” Elena laughed lightly. 

“That’s Sonny Carisi. He’s my best best friend. He’s from New York, grew up on Staten Island, and his family is very Italian so there’s always freshly baked Italian goods around.” Luther nodded. “He takes night classes to finish his law degree. I know he loves his work as a detective, he’s worked really hard to get where he is, but I selfishly want him to one day end up at the DA’s office.”

“Would you tell me more about the team?” She nodded. 

“I split the cases between SVU and Homicide.” She noted Luther’s confusion. “SVU stands for Special Victims Unit. It’s primarily rape cases. Anyways. There’s the Lieutenant, Olivia Benson. She’s hands down the best woman I’ve ever known. Then Fin and Carisi. There’s Amanda Rollins, who takes no shit. Mike Dodds is the son of the police chief and he works for SVU but he’s still relatively new. Nick Amaro used to be apart of the team, but he left two years ago. We were really close before he left and he’s in San Diego, so it’s a weird idea to think we switched places but I do miss him. He was the Dad figure I needed at the time.” Elena sighed, pushing hair behind her ear. He was going to ask about Nick, why he left, if they still spoke, but she continued on. “Anyways, at the DA’s office, there’s a handful of us ADA’s. Rafael Barba primarily takes SVU cases. He was my mentor while I was in law school and he was the one who helped me get my foot through the door after graduating. Then, there’s Peter Stone, the other Homicide ADA. There’s also O’Dwyer, who takes a mixed bag of cases. Stone and O’Dwyer are nice humans but I’m not nearly as close with them as I am with Barba and SVU. I’ve known those folks for years.” 

“Do you like the work?” He asked. She nodded. 

“I do. It’s not easy, you see the worst of the worst, but there’s something fulfilling knowing the work you’re doing is helping make the city a little safer. It soothes my soul a little.” He was surprised that Diego and Elena didn’t get along like a house on fire because at the end of the day, the two were actually quite similar. He nodded, pulling back up to her apartment building. It was a bit later and the traffic had eased a bit, making the drive a bit better. He followed her in, food in hand, and tried to not let his shock show at the grandeur of the building. She unlocked the door to her apartment and he took it in. There was spacey kitchen, along with expansive windows that showed the whole city. The living room was nicely furnished, and out of the living room led a hallway where he assumed the bedrooms were. He set the food down on the kitchen island as Elena offered him a drink. He unpacked the bag as she began fussing about the kitchen but eventually the two grabbed the food and made their way to her couch. He noted how comfy it was, nicer than anything they ever had at the Academy. Comfort was a luxury the Hargreeves were not afforded growing up. The two continued chatting, the conversation steering clear of her work and his family. They stumbled upon the topic of childhood movies and Elena mentioned that one of her favorites was Treasure Planet. 

“You know, I’ve never seen that.” Elena raised her eyebrows. “We didn’t watch a whole lot of movies growing up. Dad’s rules.” 

“Oh that’s it, you have to see it.” She said, reaching for the TV remote that was placed on the coffee table. “You'll appreciate it.” She added, turning on the TV and pulling it up. Appreciate it he did. The film was touching and hit in all the right spots and damn did his new favorite movie just become the same one as his sister’s? He cleared his throat at the end of the movie, trying to push down the emotion crawling up. Elena had started crying at one point but neither of them said anything about it. They sat in silence as the TV screen played the credits and then went dark, returning to the suggested films on Disney+. 

“That... that was a pretty good movie, I have to admit.” Luther stated quietly, a while later. The Chinese food had long been finished and a quick glance at his watch told him how late it had gotten. He didn’t want to start making the drive back now, but it seemed that’s the situation he had gotten himself into. Picking up her phone, Elena noted the time. “Anyways, I think I should get going.” 

“You could stay if you wanted.” Elena offered quickly, not looking up from her phone. He paused, looking at her. “I have a guest room, we could get breakfast or something in the morning before I have to go to work.” Luther was stunned in silence. Luther figured the beds here would probably be bigger than the ones at the Academy and for her to offer without hesitation... it touched him. “Sorry, sorry, that was probably... You don’t have to. I just, we didn’t get to do the things normal siblings did and I just... yeah.” Elena nervously spit out. “Want to spend more time with you.” She mumbled, picking at her sock. He nodded. 

“Yeah, yeah, that sounds nice. I’d like to spend the time with you while I can, especially considering there's no Diego yelling here.” He joked and a smile graced Elena’s face. 

“We should watch another movie then.” 

“You have work in the morning.” 

“What’s sibling bonding if not pulling late-nights watching movies and eating popcorn?” He laughed, shaking his head. Getting along with Elena was easy, not like how it had been with the Hargreeves. He loved them but there was so much history... it was hard. “I’m gonna go put pajamas on and then make popcorn? You can pick the movie this time, I promise.” He nodded and the girl got up, disappearing down the hallway. He looked around, really taking in the apartment with the girl’s absence. It was large sure, but Elena had clearly made it home. He lifted himself off the couch and meandered over to the window to look out at the city. The girl had place a little bench and chair by the window, along with a small bookshelf. He stuck his hands in his pocket, looking out at the city. It was clear why Elena created this space, the view was unbeatable. The twinkling lights of the city, the sound of the cars, he could see why she’d build a life for herself here. “I know it’s the city that never sleeps but I love the way it looks at night.” She spoke from behind him, coming over to sit on the chair. He turned to her, watching. The two continued to sit in silence, looking out at the city. Finally, he sighed. 

“Look, I’m sorry for how my family has been treating you.” She looked up at him, but he didn’t take his eyes off of the skyline. “Especially for Allison and Diego. I know they haven’t been kind to you. I knew this wasn’t going to be easy but I didn’t expect this.” 

“It’s okay. I’m sorry for not being honest about what kind of situation being around you and your family has put me in.” He finally turned to look at her.

“Do they know? Your friends?” She shook her head. 

“I feel awful for lying to them but... but I made my choice the day you dropped that letter off to Lucy. I wanted to give you a chance. I wanted to get to know you, to have a relationship with my brother. I made that choice and I’m not backing down on it.” 

“I made a choice too. You know, Five said it would be a can of worms In couldn’t close, but I don’t want to close it.” He said, turning back to the city. The two sat in a comfortable silence a little while longer. 

“You know, I don’t know what it’s like for you guys, what kind of relationship you have with them.” She paused. “Listen, I know I’m busy, but… you ever need to talk or anything, or need a night like this, you can always call me. I’ll always be here.” He reached for Elena and pulled her up into a hug. He didn’t even think about, usually so averse to touch, but he didn’t know what else to do. With Elena, he wasn’t an outsider and he knew that. She saw him. She returned the hug and the pair stood there. Eventually, they pulled away, and giving one last look to the city skyline, she made her way towards the kitchen. “What movie do you want to watch?” 

“I’ve heard Titanic is a classic.” She groaned.

“That’s a terrible movie.”

[calypsoff2]

Ninety Eight.

Busy, busy, busy in the world of Chris Brown, man I am shook to the core with the love he is getting in these London streets I am very shook to the core, but I got to meet some Drill artists, I am also doing some mingling here, get my contacts built up but I am here really supporting Chris on this journey. He loves to have me around; I don’t know why. I really do love how Chris does get me involved, it’s like he is doing his own little promotion tour but is like this is Herbo, and you all will listen to him. I think this is the third radio show in the UK for today, Kiss radio or whatever. I am getting to actually sit in with this one, I am quiet though. It’s interesting to watch how Roc Nation are working Chris, they know they got a good talent here “so Chris, you have been in the UK for a week now? Is it a week? I feel like you have been here long, because we met you on the first day you arrived at the club” Chris laughed “yeah, yeah. It’s been about a week now” Chris agreed with them “how are you finding the UK? And Perri wants to ask, sorry I took your question. What is your favourite UK artist?” I like that question, nobody has asked that to him “I have met a lot of artists here, some I have said I will collab with, no names mentioned but I do like the Drill artists here. Skepta, I met him, and his music is really good so yeah. Right now, Skepta” Jordan laughed “I just knew you would say Skepta, I feel like you both on the same vibe, but what really made you start so late, you are so talented. And you could have at any time started this journey? Nobody on this earth has just come out with song after song and is just charting like crazy” Chris laughed “erm, I really just did it for fun. I was a manager; I am to Herbo, but it wasn’t about that. I really got pushed by Rihanna, she just heard it and said we signing a contract” he laughed “but it wasn’t something I saw myself doing but here we are” he shrugged “and it wouldn’t be us if we didn’t, and I am sure you have more insight when is Rihanna releasing an album? There is only so much I can hear Anti?” Chris has always got a question about Rih, that shit makes me laugh “never probably, no sorry” he laughed “that is so negative, erm. I don’t think she is really at that point in her life, being real with it all but it’s on her long list” Perri and Jordan looks so sad about that, he is an ass.

Messaging Mel back, me and Mel still going strong. Nothing official but I enjoy her company “what we doing next?” Chris asked, walking around Chris “we are going to visit a dance studio, see some people. Well you got invited and I said we will see what we can do it but we got time, I think it will be nice to visit. It’s a surprise for them and they have a dance to one of your songs. Get some promo in with mingling with the public so yeah” looking up at Chris “cool, is that now or tonight?” seeing some guy walk over to us “tonight” Chris didn’t even say anything he just dapped him like he knew him ”you’re Dave?” he said, oh he knows of him “you know me already? Oh wow, yeah. I just saw you from down there, so I had to come over, big fan. Even though you are new to the game, I just love your style, your vibe” Dave reached over and dapped me “and you too, I listen to how raw you are keeping going bro” nodding my head “appreciate it broski” I said to him “it’s funny because my manager said, listen to UK artists, you need to know who they are. I am like I been listen to them, and honestly you was the first person I listened too” Dave looks so happy “for real? No joke thing?” Chris hook his head “no joke thing, honestly. You’re an amazing artist Dave, keep it up” Chris is a good guy, he will always give someone props, he won’t ever be no hater like that “that has really made me happy, I am doing something right” Dave said.

Walking in behind Chris into this dance studio and the screams and cheers that arise when he did, I had to smile myself. Everyone is so excited that he is here, moving to the side where Pat is stood, we have him back now, but we needed more bodyguards then just one, he only bought him because Jay Brown also got mad with him, Chris doesn’t care for them “oh my god, you really came. Thank you!” Oh these girls are in short shorts, is this a strip club. Maybe they do strip dancing, but these girls are looking nice actually, the girl speaking to Chris is fine as hell to me. Maybe to where I am stood “we didn’t know you would come but wow, oh god. Look at him” she gushed; Chris has a videographer with him too, Jay made his way to me “he will be ok on his own” he said “we have done a dance to Under the Influence, only thing we want you to do is sit, girls. The chair” my eyes widened, is he going to get a strip tease. One of the girls ran over with a chair “seeing as I am the main girl, I will go first and the rest. Oh my gosh, I feel so nervous now” raising an eyebrow watching “it’s ok, ladies. No need to be worried, I am laid back, do what y’all do. I am sure it’s amazing and god bless, I know this about to be good” Chris say down on the chair in the middle on the room, I don’t know what to think of this, but I am low-key excited to see this “what is this?” I asked Jay “just watch, the first one is Nicole, she contacted me about coming and I said yes of course. But I saw a clip and it’s amazing” Clearing my throat, looking down at my phone and Mel is calling “what’s up, what’s up Mami” I said, Mel laughed “you always got a new name for me, just thought I would check in on you” I cooed out “you love me, I get it, I get it. How are you? Man, I can’t wait to go home. I’m just tired, I really wanted to go back to Chicago but little Junior birthday so yeah. I got to turn up” I’m tired, I need to see my family “aww no you got to come to see me I mean Junior” I laughed out “mhmm I mean I am the coolest uncle, but you know why I’m coming” Under the Influence started playing “oh what is the jerk doing?” Mel asked, she calls him jerk “he’s at a dance class but I don’t think it’s a regular class, looks like a strip club” Mel sighed out “good for him, tell him to keep his ass there too” I am not involved with them at all “babe, I ain’t involved, I will hear you complain about him but I ain’t saying anything” Mel chuckled “appreciate you, I like that you don’t do that. I will leave you to it, speak soon” I wouldn’t do that, it’s not my place or my marriage to do be getting involved.

Chris looked at me and I looked at him, we just laughed out “no, I’m not over it bro. I’m not, oh my god” Chris said, I laughed “I screamed out when she started crawling over to you, bro! Bro! She had me gone! How you feel?” Chris is giggling “I didn’t expect that, I didn’t know what to do. I felt like a newbie, she had me gone. Speechless, pure speechless” he is grinning from ear to ear, Chris is happy, but he hasn’t even had sex, it was just a very intense dance “I will probably get divorce papers through now” he openly said and then laughed “I won’t be shocked, she pushed boundaries, she knows she did. It’s fucking intense, I think. Like, text Rih, tell Rih that Jay Brown set this up, and this happened. It covers your back, let her know. Make you look innocent, which you are” I advised him “you right bro” I just don’t get why he isn’t actively doing it, I personally need to slap him but it’s not my business. Mel tells me everything, but I don’t say it because it’s our conversation, but Rih is depressed. So Mel says, “are you doing it?” I asked him “yeah I am, uhm. What shall I get Junior? As in gift” Chris asked “erm he likes Mickey, so something nice like that” he didn’t even know that “when are going to make an effort with Junior? I am just asking, that is all” Chris laughed “I said when I go back home, I have just been busy with my career, you know this” nodding my head, he is right. He has been very busy; he does have a reason.

“So how does this typically make you feel?” Judi asked me “speaking on what you just touched on, you knowingly clinging onto your son is generally showing you feel terrible about when you left your youngest at that time, but it’s never too late Rihanna and you have shown this now. You are over compensating with your youngest now, but you said that your husband is picking on that?” nodding my head “he won’t let it go that I left him with the kids, and he brings it up, my dad passing I didn’t ever bring up what he did because he was passing but do I have to die for him to stop? It makes me feel shit and then on top of that the kids want him; the girls want him. I am the bad parent” Judi nodded her head understanding “I don’t think you are seeing the bigger picture, because you feel awful about things, about the situation. The children was away from their dad for months, they missed him Rihanna. How have they been since they came back? Any change?” shaking my head but then shrugged “I really just don’t have the energy to really do anything, it’s not like me. Even with Junior, my best friend and my mom have been doing it all. I just want to sleep, even now I am tired but yet I slept well. The kids talk but I am not taking it in, I feel I am being judged by my eldest, she is taking it all in and is judging, I don’t know. I give up, I have his party to go, and I don’t want to do it, I just don’t. I am tired, I don’t know what to do. I have him messaging me about something about a dance, I just don’t care. I have closed off, numb” Judi is writing something down “you are under pressure to please your kids and you can’t, we spoke on this Rihanna. You need to accept you can’t please them” I sobbed out “but then I am giving them what my mother gave us, so I failed?” Judi shook her head “your life is not your mother’ life, the children will want their mother happy. You are stuck in a cycle, and you need to get off the cycle, children know when their parents are unhappy, they will test you and break you to find out the issue. Your eldest daughter isn’t watching you; she is seeing the affect her behaviour has done to you, with her doing what you said. Reaching out to her dad, children will always want their parents together” wiping my tears “and” she got up “it’s ok to cry” she passed me tissues “that is all I do now” wiping my tears.

“I want to go back to the chart we did, when we go back to the point. I would like to know a time when you were not experiencing these difficulties?” Judi asked, “with Chris?” I said “yes, let’s go back to Chris because he seems to be the point here. There is a lot going on but we need to resolve the main issue and speak on it. So let’s talk about the good times?” nodding my head “when Chris and I are good we are good, and nothing would ever knock us down, like we are solid as a couple but that is us ignoring the issues we go through. He would be so hands on with everything, laughing, joking. Hugs, kisses. He was just there for me, speaking on mindless things, the love was there, and it is still there. When I see him I feel it, I know when he’s there. When my dad died, he was there. He held me and told me it was going to be ok and I know it was going to be. We are a unit but that is us ignoring the issue. My best time of the day was night, because it was just Chris and I, we would just speak about things, tease each other. Like I miss him so much, but he can’t forgive me for that, and I can’t forgive me either” Judi looked up at me “you can forgive yourself Rihanna, we spoke on this” nodding my head, she says that, but I don’t think so “it’s going to take time, I said this. Do you want me to prescribe tablets to make you feel more energetic?” shaking my head “I don’t want to be on tablets” I said “don’t feel like a failure because you are doing these sessions” I laughed “I want you to write more still, reading this is good. Express yourself, so keep doing it. We will speak again and be strong for the party. It’s a celebration of life” I want to smile but I don’t have it in me “I am tired” I said, I think I am.

Making my way to my bedroom, I am going to sleep because I have a headache now “Robz!” Mel said, looking behind “yeah” Mel side eyed me “you need to have something, you ate toast, that’s it? It’s three? You woke up at seven” she said “ok, I don’t need a carer, I am not really hungry. Where is Junior?” seeing him running in the walker, he loves that thing. He actually is so active on it. I feel so sad for him “I shouldn’t have had him” I said to Mel “you what?” she spat “no really, I shouldn’t have. Chris hates me because I love him, I shouldn’t had him” Mel huffed out and winced “Junior, you and this walker. Robyn be quiet, fuck him. Just stop, ok” Junior is trying to go around Mel, he raised his arms up at me “don’t you hate him now, the whole world has been disrespecting him” shaking my head “never, just thinking” I said, Junior whined out because I am ignoring him “ma” looking at him in sadness “I am sorry” reaching down and picking him up “mommy” Imani said behind me "how was the session?” Mel asked “I don’t know, I am just tired. Imani, I am tired, I am going to sleep” taking Junior with me “I am tired too mom, I come too” she said “I will go upstairs, when the family come just tell them I will see them a little later” I said to Mel, hopefully she got that because I can’t be bothered.

I had to go to my apartment quickly and have a shower and change my clothes, I know I am kind of cutting it fine, but I made it “what if there is a dress code?” Herb said “then we going to look like the odd ones out” I said, I just put on a white shirt, beige pants, shades and a cap. I have no idea, but I am so damn tired, jet lagged coming back “we made it, be blessed” getting out of my car, closing the door and going to the back seat “I am glad we ain’t bring Coi” grabbing the bag with Junior’ gifts, I bought them from London “oh yeah, they don’t know her like that, they might get offended” closing the door, locking it as I made my way to the party. The door is open already, I can imagine them just finishing the party or something. Walking inside “that is cute” seeing the Junior clubhouse thing “you was right” I said to Herb “with what?” he said behind me “Mickey thing” following along, this home is so big, it’s huge. Oh it’s busy, busy “damn” I said, stepping outside. I say busy but the adults are stood around eating “Chris” Rorrey said, dapping him “hey” looking around and then seeing the kids are all eating “this is cute” I laughed “ain’t it just” dapping Rajad before walking off, now what is my dad doing here “who invited him” I said to myself “himself” Herb said behind me, I didn’t know he was listening to me. He is just staring at me, luckily I got shades on “dad!” Rylee shouted so loud that everyone just stared and went silent, seeing Robyn crouched down next to Imani, looks like she is feeding her or something “daddy” Imani pointed at me “you too big to be picked up like this” placing the bag down picking Rylee up “never, it’s late” I laughed “I know, I just come back, I am here now. Go and eat” putting her down, waving at Tianna.

It's awkward, I won’t even lie. I have come here late and it’s like awkward, I am just stood in the corner and Herb is with Mel, I am just leaving him to it. Sitting down with my drink in hand, looking at Robyn, I did a double take actually. She has lost weight, she looks different “the things from New York came, all of the things. You may want to look in the pile of stuff, take what you need” she said, looking up at her “no hi?” I said, getting up from the chair “I am not doing this, not today. You come late as you do” she waved me off “ok fine, but we need to talk. We do, I just been a little too busy, but we both need to talk” Robyn just walked off, I drank the contents of the cup and walked behind her “hold up, Robyn” I said jogging towards her and stepped around her to stop her walking “Robyn, look” taking my shades off “How you been? Let’s just start over, not in any way, it’s me just asking how you are?” I said to her “fine, what do you want me to say?” licking my top lip “I know you; I know the woman I married Robyn, don’t put an act on with me. I know, it’s me” she laughed “you know it’s you but yet you do the same thing, don’t ever. I mean don’t ever, tell me about showing my body off is a bad thing when you just had another female dancing on you like that” she pointed at my chest “that meant nothing, it was your manager setting it up? How is that my fault? Look I get I am the problem, but I don’t like you looking like this” I said “I think we need to do the cake maybe” Mel came out of nowhere “can you both keep this for another day, Robyn come” Mel took her, I can’t fucking stand this shit. Turning around and all I saw was all eyes on me, maybe they want to jump me, I won’t be shocked actually.

Herb made his way over to me “oh you remember me now?” I said “you text me, I got the birthday boy for you” Junior went to Herb then me “hey boy” he got a Mickey outfit on “you are the cutest Mickey” Junior looked at Herb “he right little nigga” we really just strangers, like I don’t feel anything “do you feel bad?” Herb said “he don’t even know you, like I feel bad for little nigga. He ain’t got the best of you, don’t he deserve that. I know you feel bad, I can see it on your face and it’s not too late. Look how I love Melody, this is your seed” I clenched my jaw “my seed that ruined my wife” Herb’ mouth fell open “but I want to know him, I just feel like everyone is watching me because they know, they know I don’t be around and then all those rumours” Herb side eyed me “and how you think Rih felt when she came back to a home where you was running shit? Now look, get your arms open, like you going get him” he said, Herb is going to make sure I hold him. Reaching out for him, Herb held him out “I can’t do this for long, one, two, three!” Her threw him int he air as he kept saying the numbers “one more time and then you get him” nodding my head “one, two, three!” He spat, Herb crazy ass three Junior at me but I caught him, he giggled so hard at it “wow” turning him around “you going to be tall like me, you literally are the tallest baby we had” I didn’t realise how he is actually tall for a one year old “this is my song!” I said, I did a little two step “everything you do is amazing” I sang along dancing with Junior; he isn’t crying but he is taking everything in. Junior reached up trying to take my snap back, as every child does “you want it” taking it off and passing it him, he held it in his chubby hands.

[briamichellewrites]

90

Jayde posted information about paranoia and psychosis on her Instagram. Though she wasn’t diagnosed with schizophrenia or psychosis, she was very paranoid because of the threats against her life. The information she posted included tips on how to help her and what to do to keep her calm. Her friends found it very informative and helpful. She included in the post how the information had been given to her by her therapist, as she was having difficulty dealing with everything going on.

She was taught deep breathing exercises to help calm her anxiety. When she got home, she locked all of the doors before going up to her room. She had her phone with her, just in case she needed to call for help. Chester still had her dogs, so they couldn’t alert her to danger. She texted back and forth between Mike, Jon, and Brad.

I’m home upstairs in my room right now. I know Jon and BP don’t have social media, so I’ll text you guys what I posted about paranoia and psychosis. It’s just information I got from my therapist that she thought would be helpful. I’ve locked the doors. If Mikey or anyone else comes over, please don’t ring the doorbell. Instead, text me that you’re here. I’m jumpy and sudden sounds are not what I need right now. Thanks. – Jayde

Mike passed on the information to the band, including her wish to not ring the doorbell. They all agreed to respect that. Jon had no idea who BP was, so he asked his band if they knew anything. Yeah, David told him everything about her dating Brad Pitt. For whatever reason, she called him by his initials. Why was she paranoid? Because she had been receiving death threats online.

People were angry that she was dating a much older guy. They called her a gold digger, among other names. They also told her to kill herself and made death threats. It started because of paparazzi pictures of them in Paris together. He got his phone out and went to google, where he pulled up the pictures. Jon looked at them. They both looked very happy together. How old was he? Fifty. Was he kidding? No, he wished he was. He looked it up. Ok, he would call Brad later to see what was going on.

Brad told him everything he and the band knew. Mike was the one who knew more about it than he did. Ok, he would call him, then. Mike gave him up-to-date information. They were allowing the relationship because she was happy and stable for the first time in two years. How long have they been together? It was about a year. She just flew to London to visit him for a week and a half.

Brad was hesitant about starting a relationship with her because of her age but she was magnetic. They were not planning to get married or have children together yet. Did she know it was inappropriate? Yes. Yes, she did. She had come out of an affair with Matthew McConaughey. It was devastating to her when he broke up with her to go back to his fiancé. Before him? Before him, she was getting her life back together after completing her probation.

She met Brad when he contacted her regarding working together on a project. He was going to hire her to write a song for a future film project. They were also planning to make a movie about her addiction. He was doing research by interviewing everyone who was involved to understand what it was like more accurately.

Did he know that she and Richie were talking again? No, he didn’t. What happened? He apologized for everything he had done to her. Turning around, he asked his band if they knew that Jayde and Richie had worked things out. David raised a finger. I did. He turned back around and went back to the phone call. How did he know so much? He was consistently checking her Instagram page, especially when he needed a distraction.

After ending the call, he gave them an update. David did not know that she had an affair with Matthew McConaughey. He also didn’t know how she and Brad had met or that they were working on a project together. Her friends were allowing the relationship with Brad because she was stable and he was a good influence on her.

When Jon called her on speakerphone, she said hello to them. How was she doing? She was paranoid and anxious. Where was her boyfriend? He was in London filming a movie. She couldn’t remember when he said they would be done with production. It wasn’t going the way he or the director wanted and they were having a lot of trouble. What was the movie called? World War Z. It looked very cool and she was excited to see the finished product.

“The last time I was there, they needed another zombie – or that’s what BP said. Anyway, this is so fucking cool but I’m a zombie for like thirty seconds.”

They laughed.

“Do you get killed?”

“I think he kills me by a gunshot wound to the chest. It’s a zombie apocalypse thing.”

Why did she call him, BP? She thought it was because she had a friend named Brad and she wanted people to be able to differentiate between them. His first name was William but only his family calls him that. Was her friend, Bradley? No, his first name was Bradford. He was the only guy she knew who’s name was Bradford.

“Jon, did you know about Rob’s boyfriend, Jason?”

“I didn’t. What’s going on?”

“Oh my god. You guys have to meet Jason! He’s the most adorable person you could ever meet. His name is Jason Mraz and he’s a human equivalent to a teddy bear. They’ve been dating for a year or two. You guys should meet him. He’s quirky but that’s what makes him adorable.”

After going through all of the gossip and updates, they ended the call. Tico decided to look Jason up. They found out he was a singer-songwriter. He looked like a genuine guy. It was around a year ago that he had been outed by the media. He read the statement he posted on his instagram, where he publicly came out as bisexual.

Jon remembered how difficult the divorce had been for Brad and Rob. Good for him for finding happiness again. Rob was quieter than Brad and more introverted. He liked Jason already, though he was excited to officially meet him. The human equivalent of a teddy bear. They had never heard that before but it gave them a good picture of who he was. Tico also looked into what borderline personality disorder was, as she had also mentioned that.

jayjoinsta: if this isn’t perfect, I don’t know what is! I fucking love this! It is so fucking comfortable! Oh my god! She doesn’t have instagram but holy shit, Margot Robbie knows me so well! @leonardodicaprio

Jayde posted a picture of an eighteen by eighteen inches pillow she had received in the mail from Margot. The pillow had a picture of Leo as Jack Dawson in Titanic. It wasn’t meant to be a serious gift, just something to make her laugh and cheer her up. She loved it from the moment she saw it! It was perfect for her bed! She sent her a thank you text, since she didn’t have instagram.

I fucking love it! Thank you! I will definitely have to show Leo! Oh my god. So many exclamation marks! – Jayde

@zoeykaytesmom @feelingsofaithless @jovichic-bonjovi4ever @borhap-au @beneathashadytree @duffs-shot-glass @geo-winchester @lokolokong-manunulat

[onelifeforlouisandi]

Yeah I agree , I could tell since last year that he’s going through a quarter life crisis and this whole thing with the new girl confirms it , it’s actually so sad how no one around intervenes and tries to help him like his excessive smoking , drinking and now this , he really is surrounded by yes men and Oli can’t say anything he’s literally paid to do anything louis wants !! It’s really sad actually like the girl just came back to LA 2 weeks ago and she was at the diplo after part that Louis attended ( he probably met her there) like they literally knew each other for only a week and a half , at least with Danielle he waited 2 month to go public with her

And it’s normal, every one had one, and it’s okay to have one, but he just isn’t anyone he is a public person, why do this pap walk? Yes matt vines is shit but guess who agreed with it all? him, he is to blame too. Go through you crisis but not in public, be smart. So like everything is pointless… because really there is no point to this, maybe he knows the point because he doesn’t do shit like that for funsies, but from the outside it looks pointless and stupid. Why subjects yourself to this, and worst no one picked it up the pictures. It was a waste of money, time and brain for everyone, apart from the girl because now millions are going through her embarrassing social media. She agreed to this too.. she wasn’t dragged as some said.. she is very happy there holding his hand. He is the only one benefiting from this. I just hope we don’t have to see her again. Be a Tamara and go your merry way. Let’s all forget about this. Let this just be the push demon needed to vacant his house.

This is just sad and bad. 2 months with danielle? He was in Chicago with her family weeks after meeting her, there wasn’t a pap walk but he met half of Chicago in 3 days, and we got tons of pictures each day, it was horrible.

[randomly-writing]

Sunflower, vol. 6

Hi everyone, I’m sorry I didn’t post any other chapter. I hope you will enjoy reading this. 

Chapter 2: Are you hitting on me, miss?

 ‘Why didn’t you tell me you knew who I was?’ Harry questioned her.

Emily shook her head, ‘Did it really matter? You simply came in to buy flowers, Harry.’

‘Touché.’ He nonchalantly replied.  

The first date was going well, at least that was what he thought. He felt good, she made him feel good about himself. They were comfortable around each other.

Anne loved the bouquet of flowers that Harry gave her on Mother’s day, that is why Harry decided to text Emily that same night, to let her know of their success and to ask her out.

The café they decided to meet wasn’t very crowded and he felt at ease. There were no prying eyes, no interruptions. It was just Harry, Emily and the cups of coffee just served.

Harry drank his coffee black; Emily put two teaspoons of sugar in hers. They were opposites.

‘Let me recap.’ Harry set his cup down, ‘You started gardening thanks to your grandpa Ed.’

Emily nodded, ‘Correct. He introduced me to gardening. I was only 5 years old, when I stepped into his garden and he told me the enchanting myth of the Narcissus.’

‘The beautiful man that drowned in the lake, in order to be with his reflection?’

‘Yes,’ Emily answered, ‘And Narcissus captured me to the point I couldn’t stop learning about flowers, plants, seeds, everything really.’

Harry listened to her. She had a way of talking about the things she loved, to the point he got carried away. He liked her, a lot. Emily was funny, witty and surprisingly not that confident. Harry wondered why, since she was gorgeous.

‘You didn’t tell me about your family, did they support your choice of becoming a florist?’

The girl sighed deeply, ‘Not at all.’

The curly haired boy noticed a change in her attitude, the smile faded as soon as he asked her that. He didn’t want her to open up yet, ‘You don’t have to talk about it, Emi.’

Her eyes lit up, when she heard the nickname, ‘My grandpa used to call me Emi.’

‘Can I call you Emi, too?’

Harry didn’t want to ruin her happy memories, by calling her Emi. He wanted her permission; she agreed. She wanted a part of her grandpa to live through Harry.

‘Do you miss him?’

Emily weakly smiled, ‘Every day, but I know he’s in a better place now.’

Harry reach Emily’s hand, which was placed on the table, and squeezed it tight, ‘I’m sure he watches over you and he is proud of you.’

She thanked him and surprisingly talked to him about them, ‘My parents didn’t want me to become a florist. They are both doctors; my dad is a surgeon and my mum a paediatrician.’

‘I assume they wanted you to study medicine.’ Harry suggested, sipping a bit of coffee.

‘Yes, but I choose botany, agriculture and geology.’ She then added, ‘I wanted to honour my grandpa’s memory somehow.’

If Harry wasn’t a singer, he would surely have become a florist himself. Nature calmed him.

‘Enough about me mister.’ Emily said, ‘I am sorry for what I am about to reveal.’

‘Shoot!’

She breathed in, ‘I haven’t heard your first solo album and I just know two or three One Direction’s songs.’

Harry’s jaw dropped, ‘What?’

‘Yeah, guess I wasn’t into boybands.’ She explained, ‘You know, I spent my entire childhood in my backyard or at my grandpa’s orchard.’

He pretended to be offended, a hand to his chest, ‘This is disappointing.’ But he couldn’t keep a straight face, not when Emily’s inquiring eyes met his.

‘So, why singing?’

Harry didn’t exactly remember how it happened or when, he just sang all his life. He used to sing Elvis on his way to school and he adored mr. Smith, his music teacher.  

‘I just…’ he paused for a second, ‘It’s hard to explain. I feel like I could voice any problem, make it relevant and solve it. I think that music helps out and I want my music to do that. Whenever I felt down, I put on some record and repeatedly listen to it until the sadness vanished.’

‘I should listen to your album, then.’ Emily stated, ‘I want to know both the singer and the everyday Harry.’

He sat back in his chair, the nervousness faded away and he felt he knew her.

‘What did you sing when you went to audition for the X-Factor?’

Harry’s cheeks turned bright pink, ‘Why would you do this to me?’

Emily laughed, ‘Come on, I will google it if you don’t tell me.’

‘Fine,’ he gave in, ‘I sang Isn’t she lovely, by Bob Marley. Please, don’t look it up. I was sixteen and I didn’t know what I was doing… not that I know what I am doing now with my career.’ They both laughed it off.

The thing about Emily was the unpredictable side. She didn’t ask him too much about his musical life and he was more than fine to tell her about himself.

‘What did you do before the X-Factor?’

‘I used to work at W. Mandeville Bakery.’ He remembered the smell of fresh baked bread, coming from the oven and the infinite croissants on display, ‘They even let me take home whatever was left on the counter.’

Emily pictured a young Harry, wearing a white uniform, with flour on his face and in his hair, ‘I bet it was all delicious. Do you still remember how to bake bread?’

Harry shook his head, ‘I might, but let’s not try that.’

‘What do you do in your free time, Harry?’

‘I mainly spend time visiting new places, reading books, playing the piano and writing music.’

Emily nodded, ‘Do you like sports?’

‘Yes, I like football. I’m not a true supporter, I just watch random matches on tv.’ He told her, ‘If you were talking about doing sports, I jog when I can.’

Emily had always been a volleyball player and she enjoyed watching volleyball matches on the television. Harry didn’t know much about the sport, but he was curious enough to ask her about it. She explained how to play, which were the different positions and the points.

‘That is seriously the hardest sport ever,’ he told her, ‘You lost me after the counting of the points. By the way, which position do you play in? Do you still play?’

The blondie was still playing volleyball, not at a professional level. It was her stress relief. She was a right-side hitter.

‘Are you hitting on me, miss?’ Harry’s pick up line made Emily laugh. She had never had such fun before. She liked Harry.  

‘I will come and watch you play sometime.’ He stated, ‘I bet you are good.’ And winked.

Emily blushed a little, ‘I hope I will not disappoint.’ Again, low self-esteem.

Time passed by so quickly that they didn’t even realise it was dark outside.

‘Oh my, it’s almost 7pm.’ Emily told Harry. He could have sworn her voice hid sadness, as she didn’t want to leave the place, ‘We have been talking for at least 4 hours.’

Harry smiled, his dimples finally in sight, ‘Should we have dinner somewhere else and keep the conversation alive?’

Emily had to decline, ‘It’s my bestie’s birthday and she wants to celebrate tonight.’ But she wanted to know more and more about the man she was with, ‘Are you up for another chat, let’s say, on Friday?’

Harry was relieved that he made a good impression on her, ‘Yes, Friday sounds fine. I will pick you up at 7pm, we should have dinner.’

‘Friday it is then.’

Harry couldn’t wait for it to be Friday, but it was only Tuesday evening. He had to be patient.

‘Thank you for the date, Harry.’ she said, looking away, ‘You made me feel special.’

‘Thank you, darling.’ And he kissed her on the cheek, ‘See you on Friday.’

Let me inside, wish I could get to know you