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juliepop · 3 years

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New Years Resolutions

[Miragehound Fic] AO3 Link: here

Rating: Teen and Up Audiences (

A/N): Wow, who doesnt post for a year and comes back just to drop some fluff? Me. Hi, I've had a really shitty year and I needed to write something to make myself feel better. This is dedicated to I. They're the person who pulled me out of a really dark spot and encouraged me to take time for myself and write a little.

Summary: Elliott was taking this New Years Resolution List making seriously, or he would be if Renee wasn't insistent on ruining everything. A new addition on his little list was becoming increasingly hard to ignore.

"You're really funny, hysterical even," Elliott grumbled, snatching his list of Renee's hands before she could deface it anymore. She frowned at him as he crumpled it a little before curiosity got the better of him, he had to know what was written. Glancing down, Elliott almost choked at her little addition before he made sure this time to make a paper ball and hurled it at her head.

Renee caught it, of course. Pesky voices not even letting him get away with his dignity as she tossed it back, and it bounced off his chest when he wasn't fast enough to catch it. That was totally cheating.

"Elliott Witt, you are a baby."

"You're a baby," Elliott mocked, snatching his paper off the floor because he just cleaned that, and there was no way he would live down someone finding that as he tucked it in his back pocket for safekeeping.

Renee, to her credit, only bared her teeth at him, the little gremlin pointing a finger at him as if she could tell he was calling her names in his head before she pulled the concerned mom face. Shit. "What are you so afraid of? Out of everyone else I've seen Bloodhound interact with, you're the only person I've seen who they let pet their bird. The worst thing they can say is no."

"Uh, are you forgetting who we're talking about? This is the person we watched take five knives out of nowhere once, five. I'm pretty sure they had more, but it only took five of them before the security gave up and just let them pass."

That was a pleasant memory; Elliott could vividly recall how the devs had demanded all the legends stop sneaking weapons onto the dropship and set up a metal detector. Bloodhound set it off every single time they walked through, and for every attempt, they pulled out yet another wickedly long hunting knife from their coat until finally, the security guard gave up. It was a little funny at the time, maybe even a tiny bit sexy, but Elliott wouldn't ever admit to that. Probably. "What if my conf-confec-ugh. What if I say my feelings and they get offended? I'm too pretty to die."

"Pretty annoying, yeah," Renee muttered; Elliott made an offended noise before she reached out to set a hand on his arm. "Elliott, they're not going to stab you for having feelings. I mean, if they don't already know. You're kind of obvious."

"Me? I am so subtle!"

Renee stared at him for a moment, her gaze going from the top of his perfectly styled curls, the sleek yellow silk shirt that sparkled under the lights with every movement, the black leather pants and his designer ankle boots before staring him in the face.

"...okay, I meant I'm subtle about my feelings."

"You shot yourself in the foot the last time you teamed up with them because they complimented your wingman shot; you cracked your shield, Elliott. That isn't subtle."

He had done that.

Elliott winced at the memory, having taken down Bang's team with a few well-placed shots, and the next thing he knew, Bloodhound was clapping him on the shoulder. Murmuring how he'd done a powerful slatra of the enemy, and Elliott had tried to play it off, spinning his wingman around his finger to holster except the safety wasn't on. He'd struck his foot, the loud crack of his shield startling everyone there, and he wanted to die a little when they'd sweetly offered him a battery,

"Renee, you promised you wouldn't bring that up."

"It was on national television, Elliott. You were viral for a long time."

Over two million hits in one day, it was impressive and mortifying all at once.

"Listen, my main concern for the night is having this party go well. We can talk about that after. It's not like they're going to be here anyway, you know Bloodhound doesn't do parties."

"If they show, you have to tell them." Renee bartered, Elliott trying not to grin in victory because he was right. They never did parties, they were forced into one party a year for the anniversary of the games, and that was all.

"Deal."

Elliott Witt was wrong and stupid.

Bloodhound did come, they showed up precisely on time, and Elliott had nearly cried right then and there because they even greeted him softly at the door.

"Hallo, Mirage."

"Heh-ha-heeeeey, Hound! How's it hanging?" Smooth Elliott, really smooth.

They only offered a nod, mysterious and masked like always, and they smelt faintly of firewood, gunmetal and pine. Which is to say, Elliott was sniffing them, stepping close to offer a hand to shake as they wrapped leather-covered fingers around his and squeezed. "You want a tour?"

"Nei, I think I will find myself a place. Thank you, though, Mirage."

"Hey, we're outta the ring. You can call me Elliott."

"You look...nice." They muttered, the words so faint they're almost lost amidst the chattering of legends and music, but Elliott was focused solely on them. Just hearing the compliment made something in his stomach flutter, Elliott unable to stop himself from laughing softly in surprise and rubbing a hand over his beard, pretending he could rub the colour flooding his cheeks.

Elliott had heard compliments all night, some of them about the party decor, the food, or even his outfit, but this was the one that really made him feel something. He was a little bashful, fingers lingering against theirs as he slid his hand away reluctantly before offering a delighted grin. "I think you look really nice too."

"Takk," Bloodhound murmured, the moment interrupted as Octane yelled something about beer pong, and Elliott turned his head to make sure the idiot wasn't breaking anything when Bloodhound took that moment to leave.

When he faced forward again, they were gone, having found the armchair he'd tucked off to the side of the room to make space for the dancefloor and settling in. Elliott hadn't actually intended that chair to be a spot, it was blocked off by tall potted ferns lining the dance floor, but if that's where they felt most comfortable, that was okay.

He was just really pleased they even came.

Then less pleased when he heard Lifeline scream Octane's name before Elliott heard a deafening crash. Seriously ??

Two broken tables, a broken chair, and a cracked window later and Elliott was exhausted. Offering an open bar to a bunch of people who liked chasing each other and murdering their friends was dicey, it seemed alcohol brought out the crazy. Octane wanted to jump off things, Bangalore was drunk as a skunk and offering to fistfight people, and at one point, Rev had scuttled along the ceiling, and someone had screamed.

Okay, Elliott had screamed. Who the fuck does that? What the fuck does that? It must have been illegal somewhere.

Thankfully there were some ordinary people though, Gibby had brought along a special friend who seemed like an average person who didn’t want to break things. The dude was even kinda funny, and he had a knack for making the big guy laugh loudly, I mean, he totally wasn't as amusing as Elliott, but he was alright.

Even Crypto, the bitter old man had shown up, shamed into silence by sweet angel Nat when he tried to pick a fight with Elliott. A battle Ellie would have totally won, hands down. Stupid Crypie.

Midnight was coming up fast, though, and everyone seemed to be split off into their little groups, which was kinda nice. Octane was playing DJ and entertaining Ajay, Anita, Ramp, Loba, and Path. Crypto had struck up a conversation with Nat and Renee in a corner, the three of them looking real serious about something. Even Doctor Somers was there, she was talking to Caustic of all people, but those two seemed to be hitting it off and Elliott was only a little envious. Rev was nowhere to be seen thankfully or not thankfully. Elliott cast a glance up in fear, a little relieved when he didn't see the murder bot hanging there like a spider.

Then there was Elliott; he was taking his host duties really seriously and restocking the cute little finger food trays when he felt a hand land on his shoulder, Renee was reaching to steal an appetizer. She leaned against the table, expression a lot more relaxed than Elliott had ever seen her, and there was the faintest drunken flush across her cheeks as she cast a glance to Nat and Crypto. "So, I took your advice, and Natalie said she'd love to be my new year's kiss."

"Wait, my advice worked? You took it??" Elliott tried to very subtly show his approval for his friend, laughing and dragging Renee into a hug that she slapped out of with an annoyed noise.

He knew she secretly loved it though, her mouth quirking up at the corners while she tried to hide the almost smile. "I mean of course it worked. I am not just pretty; I'm clever."

"I guess sometimes you have good ideas. Maybe you should take my advice too then, ten minutes left until the new year and I know you haven't told them."

"Awh c'mon, Renee. You know I can't just march over there and do that, I have finger foods to resto—"

'Fuck the host duties, Elliott." Renee growled; Elliott was a little surprised to hear the gremlin swear before she forcibly took the tray from his hands and he was left staring in shock at his drunk friend. Well, he was staring down in shock. She was the size of a pissed off toddler. "Go talk to them. Now. You have five minutes before I march over there and bring them to you."

"You wouldn't--" Elliott started, stopping when he saw the look in her eyes and yeah, he thought she just might. Peeking over to see if anyone was listening, Elliott froze when he noticed Bloodhound's mask was pointed in his direction before he blinked and shook it off.

Of course they weren't looking at him, he was just in the middle of the room, and that's how they were sitting. Inhaling sharply through his nose, Elliott turned back and looked at Renee, who started picking at the food on the tray and stuffing her face. "I'm scared."

"I promise I'll watch over you two, make sure they don't pull out a knife."

"Haha, really funny. You're hilarious; you know that, right?"

"You're stalling. Four minutes now." Renee murmured, Elliott swallowing hard as he realized that there is a limited amount of time left, and he cleared his throat before asking real quietly if he looked okay. Renee's gaze softened, reaching up to smooth his collar for a second before she smiled crookedly. "You're a knockout, Elliott. Now go."

So he went.

Elliott tried to quiet his racing heart down as he walked, talking himself up in his head as he kept his gaze glued to his boots. He looked great, and Bloodhound was a...they were a friend. Everything would be okay, he would go over there, chat them up a little, and he could inform Renee he tried to tell them but it didn't work out. Easy.

His palms were sweating as Elliott walked up, aware he'd reached the point of no return as he saw the bottom edge of the ferns before he jerked his head up and caught sight of them again.

Bloodhound had tucked their chair even further behind the potted plants, hidden by their little jungle but he could see they were comfortable. They'd taken off their hunting coat, the jacket casually laid over the back of the armchair, and that left them in an oversized sweatshirt that did nothing to hide how broad their shoulders were as Bloodhound cocked their head at him.

They were wearing some kind of layered outfit, a turtle neck that covered their neck completely and a baggier layer over it that mostly obscured their body from view with matching pants and thick sole boots.

Overhead, Elliott had strung up fairy lights for the room's lighting, rows and rows of soft white lights glinting off their goggles and the metal parts of their mask as Bloodhound watched him draw closer. His mouth was bone dry, tongue trying to smooth over his lips, but Elliott felt like that didn't help as he took a shallow breath before clearing his throat.

Be cool.

"H-hh-hi Bloodhound!"

"Hello, Mirage," Bloodhound answered; Elliott was telling himself they did not intentionally sound soft just for him. He only ever heard them talk in the ring; Bloodhound tended to murmur commands there, and discussed creative ways to kill their fellow legends instead of small talk. The rare moments he saw them not in a tense situation were few and far between, not for his lack of trying though. Bloodhound wasn’t a big talker, they kinda tended to offer up two-word answers and stared a lot. It was cute.

Elliott liked how their accent sounded like this, though, casual and soft. Like they were having an intimate conversation, instead of Elliott stuttering over basic words and bothering them like was currently happening.

"Are you uh, do you like the party?"

"It has been an experience." They answer after a moment, the faintest hint of something lurking in their tone as they nod toward the gathering legends with their gazes glued to the holoscreen with a large timer counting down. Shit, two minutes. "I do not attend most events, but I wished to accept your invitation for this."

"Oh, I'm glad you came," Elliott says, hoping his sincerity rings through as he glances at the dwindling amount of time until the new year before he looks back. "I know parties aren't your thing, but it makes me happy you're here."

Their blank mask doesn't change, there's no discernible way Elliott can even tell what's going on behind it, but he swears he feels them smile at him for a moment. It's kind of like being trapped in a cold dark room for years and stepping outside for the first time, feeling the warmth of the sun against your face and letting it soak into your frigid core.

His mouth curved upward, returning what he hoped was a smile from them and not Elliott developing a sudden fever or something when Octane broke the moment with a shout.

"One more minute, amigos!"

"What? That went by so fast!" Elliott sputtered, caught off guard by everything as everyone behind readies themselves.

"So it did. Do you wish to go join them for the countdown?" Bloodhound asked, nodding toward the gathering crowd of legends standing near the holoscreen and readying up their party poppers and chattering. Elliott glanced over, seeing everyone seemed to be paired up already, smiling faces turned toward the timer slowly ticking down. He almost jumped when he turned back, realizing Bloodhound was standing with their coat back on magically and looked like they were ready to go.

"Are you leaving?" Elliott blurted out, unable to stop himself from sounding disappointed as he hears everyone behind counting down from twenty.

"I do not wish to keep you longer."

"Ten, nine, eight… "

"Keep me? I'd love if you kept me."

“Mirage…”

"...Four, three, two, one! Happy New Year! "

Behind everyone breaks out in cheers, the sound of fireworks going off muffled behind the thick glass panes of the windows to the side, but they still make colours dance across the room as the legends all set off their party poppers.

Bloodhound and Elliott both watch everyone breaking off in couples, Elliott laughing when he saw Octane drag Ajay into a kiss only to get slapped a few moments later, the medic calling him a grabby jackass. He sighed wistfully, surprised when Bloodhound put a hand on his shoulder.

"Is something wrong?"

"Usually, my New Years' kiss is my mom; it sucks being so far away from home."

"A kiss is a..tradition?" They ask slowly, head tilting in that distractingly cute way, and Elliott laughs a little at how lost they sound.

"Yeah, it's about str-stren-ugh, making ties with people stronger and stuff. That or not being lonely all year." Elliott answered, gesturing to the other legends, who were either kissing or hugging one another.

The fireworks outside were still going off, shooting various colours into the sky, but that was all hard to keep track of when Bloodhound used their hand on his shoulder to pull him behind the ferns. "Uh, Hound?"

Bloodhound's hand moved from his shoulder to the back of his neck, Elliott inhaling sharply as they yanked their respirator down, and his brain kind of shut down when their lips pressed against his. They tasted like orange juice, he realized, Bloodhound already drawing away and Elliott kind of flounders at the idea that his only kiss with Bloodhound was going to be a peck, before he wound his arms around their neck and he pulled them closer.

They gasp, fingers squeezing the back of his neck in surprise, and Elliott closes his eyes and kisses them for all he's worth. Bloodhound is stiff at first, and that's the moment he wondered if they were gonna stab him for pushing a boundary when they slowly softened and hesitantly moved their mouth under his. It felt like they were trying to copy his movements, Elliott sparing a second to wonder if maybe they didn't have a lot of experience before he thinks fuck it and licks against the closed seam of their lips.

Bloodhound shudders in his arms, lips parting on a shaky sigh, and Elliott takes advantage to lick past their teeth, and it's extra confirmed they were drinking juice all night when he gets an actual taste. It's endearing and hot, and all the positive things he can't think of at the moment because he was currently kissing Bloodhound like his life depended on it. Honestly, it just might if this pissed them off.

They gradually relaxed further though, the hands that were gripping his neck and now balled in his shirt as Elliott rocks up on his toes to press against them fully. They were a little taller than him, something he was secretly thrilled about as his hands slid from their neck and down their arms for a moment when Bloodhound pulled away with a soft gasp.

They were breathing hard, Elliott cursing the fact they were tucked away in such a dark corner because he could only see part of their face and the parts he almost made out were gorgeous. Kiss swollen lips, faint spiderwebs of scars laced along their cheeks and jaw, and—

"Hound?" Elliott asked concerned when they sounded like they were choking between pants, a hand lifting as if to ward him off for a moment as they lifted their respirator back in place to take a measured breath with a soft hiss. It's then that it connects that they might need the thing, Elliott parting his lips on an apology when they use the hand they were holding in front of him to cup his cheek instead. Leather rubs over his cheekbone softly, Bloodhound breathing deeper breaths from their respirator and he settles down.

"Do not worry, vinur. I was surprised; you had taken my breath."

Now Elliott knew they meant literally, but he couldn't help the soft smile curling his lips at the idea of Bloodhound calling him breathtaking as he leans into their palm for a second. He was still worried, but already they seemed to be back to normal as he could see the deep and even breaths they were taking. "You took my breath too, but in a good way. I uhm, I don't know if you meant the kiss to be romantic, but I--"

"It was meant to convey romantic feelings, yes." They interrupt, their tone brooking no argument, and Elliott gapes at them like a big dumb fish for a second before they rub a gloved thumb over his bottom lip, and he snaps his mouth closed with a flush. "I apologize for using your tradition for such a thing, but I could not let the opportune moment pass."

"I u-uh, y-yha- uh." God, he was choking so hard. Elliott felt his face heat more, cursing his stutter as he blabbered more broken consonants before taking a sharp breath and recalling something. Reaching into his back pocket Elliott takes out the crumpled paper, holding it out to Bloodhound, who glances at it before delicately accepting and smoothing it out. When they get to the last line, he can see fingers tightening on the paper before they raise their head to look at him.

"I like you; please date me." Elliott manages to get out, almost impressed by how smooth that came out, considering he was blubbering random noises a second ago. Bloodhound doesn't answer right away, well, verbally anyway.

A hand settles back on his face, Bloodhound already pulling their respirator down again, and this time Elliott is very ready for the kiss they plant on him. Unknown to either of them, Renee is watching, holding out a twenty-dollar bill, which Natalie takes gleefully.

"For someone who can see the future, you are quite bad at bets."

"I blame Elliott; he's too slow."

"The hand on Bloodhound's butt says otherwise," Crypto mutters, gagging into his drink and Renee can't help but smirk a little. Yeah, she was definitely going to tell Elliott about that later. Maybe after he finished making out with his new date-mate, the trio tilting their heads as they watched Elliott shove Bloodhound against the wall, and Renee swiftly put a hand over Natalie's eyes when it gets a lot more R-rated.

Maybe she would hold off telling him until tomorrow. They looked like they would be busy for a while.

Renee’s mouth ticks up into a smile.

Finally.

#miragehound #uhhhh idk what else to tag this shit #mirage #Bloodhound #writings #go like like it on ao3 maybe?#told you I would write something at some point

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ashsilla · 5 years

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Losses (Part Four)

Book: Platinum

Ship: Raleigh Carrera (M) x MC (Suiko Hono) with hints of Avery (M) x MC

Rating: T

A/N: It’s the night of the Vinyls! Fiona gives Suiko some advice to lend her confidence. With Avery and Raleigh up for the same award, and the whole world watching, things might just boil over this time.

Tag List: @lunalixo @furiouscloddonutpeanut @lovedrakewalker @topsyturvy-dream @padfoot0415 @omgjasminesimone @parkerattano @cordoniasmost @poor-bi-choices @msjpuddleduck @mallorycortez @coffeebeandragon @lizeboredom @perriewinklenerdie @greek-elsa

Other Parts: PART ONE - PART TWO - PART THREE

EE! News exclusive! Examining Suiko Hono’s not-so-sweet persona.

When we first met the One In A Million winner, she was relatable, awkward, sweet -- everything you’d expect from a small town girl launched into the spotlight. However, since then, we’ve had a peek behind that innocent exterior to the conniving woman beneath.

We all swooned when she announced her relationship with seasoned heart-breaker Raleigh Carrera. The two were #goals in every picture we saw! (Click here for EE! News’ coverage of their first date) They seemed to balance each other so perfectly, even prompting Carrera to temporarily give up his rebellious ways. However, their relationship was put on hold when pictures surfaced of Carrera with another woman!

Yup, you already know: that was Leona Lastrum, Raleigh’s girlfriend of just over a year. The same week as the pictures surfaced, Hono was seen with none other than Avery Wilshere, our favorite Brit.

How has she snagged two major singers so early on in her career? Many fans are wondering exactly what her reasons are behind these romantic endeavors.

“When we were in high school, Suiko was always stringing along guys so they’d do what she wanted,” said an old classmate of Hono’s that reached out to EE! News. “My friend went to prom with her, only to find out that she’d asked a couple other guys and went with whichever one got her the most expensive corsage.”

You heard it here first! Suiko Hono, so-called sweetheart, is as calculating as a woman can be! The real question we’re all asking is this: when will Raleigh and Avery be free of her control?

Suiko felt tears pricking at her eyes as she read the article for what felt like the thousandth time. This was bad. So, so bad. Fiona insisted it was fine -- it would blow over soon, and her follower counts kept going up for whatever reason -- but it was torture. Still, the articles were never as bad as the comments sections. Even though she knew she wouldn’t like it, she clicked into the comments.

raleighstan290: liked suiko till now lol

averaleigh4ever: avery needs a nice girl not some slut whos talking to other guys, suiko hono needs to go get checked for some stds bc im sure shes crawling with them

honoalltheway: dude how do i change my username on here

Suiko snapped her laptop shut, resisting the urge to chuck it across the room. Nope, that would be bad. Computers were expensive.

How was she supposed to walk into the Vinyls confidently when all of this was hanging over her head? How was she supposed to feign happiness at the invite when all anyone wanted to see was her evilly using Raleigh and Avery?

“That high school interview is such bull,” Suiko told the empty bedroom. She’d gone to prom with Shane, and yes, he’d bought her a corsage, but his mom had picked it out. And they’d gone as friends anyways. No boy looked her way twice in high school. Whoever EE! News had interviewed was an enormous liar.

She felt shivery all over. What she wouldn’t give to be back in her old bedroom, making videos for PlayMe and listening to the radio...Shane only a block or two away...New York City and all of this an unattainable dream.

Was that an ungrateful thought?

Before she could deliberate too much on the issue, Fiona was striding into the bedroom. Suiko hadn’t heard her come in.

“Stop moping,” the woman said, all business, as usual. “You absolutely cannot be making that face at the Vinyls tonight.”

“I won’t.”

Fiona looked at her for a moment more, and then let out a frustrated breath. “Okay. Listen closely. If Ellis knew I was giving you this advice, I’m sure he would disapprove, but I think you’ve wasted enough time wallowing in comments online and self pity.” Suiko stared at her. She continued. “The world loves to tear a woman down. Even when the media thought Raleigh was the cheater, who was the guilty party? The woman who tempted him. Now they’re tearing into you because it’s easy, because they can. But you can lean into that. You don’t have to sit by and let them spin their own story of you. You can take everything they say, and you can become so much worse.”

Suiko’s breath caught. “Become...worse?”

A hint of a smile -- a real smile -- tugged at Fiona’s mouth. “Surprise them. Show up solo to the Vinyls tonight. Show them that you are your own woman, and you aren’t defined by who is or isn’t hanging on your arm. At the end of the day, you aren’t Raleigh’s girlfriend, or Avery’s girlfriend, or anybody’s woman except your own. Force them to accept you as Suiko Hono, and nobody else.”

Silence hung in the room. “Are you, Fiona Syed, giving me permission to not do what the label wants me to do?” Suiko finally said, flabbergasted.

Fiona merely shrugged. “I have no idea what you’re talking about. I was never here.”

Suiko’s dress for the Vinyls was incredible. Crimson chiffon fluttered around her collarbones, swirling into a bustle at her waist before flowing down into a charming tea length skirt. The red fabric matched her stained lips. All at once she was sweet and girlish, fierce and confident, approachable yet a force to be reckoned with.

She’d never loved a dress more.

Zadie seemed to know she’d outdone herself. A smug grin graced her lips as they climbed into the limo and shut the doors. Her stylist was dressed in a classy black dress paired with a string of pearls -- all old Hollywood and grace.

“I’m so honored to be your date tonight,” Zadie snarked. “I didn’t think it would ever be my turn.”

“Oh, shut up,” Suiko said, but she was grinning. Fiona’s words were still bouncing around in her head. You can take everything they say, and you can become so much worse.

Why should she let anything ruin this night for her? She was going to the Vinyls. This was a lifelong dream!

“Now, remember,” Zadie said, enunciating each word carefully. “Do not crease the dress. Do not stain the dress. Do not cry on it and get mascara in the chiffon.”

“Or you’ll kill me?”

Zadie grinned. “I knew I liked you.”

They were pulling up to the venue before long. Zadie wished her good luck as she climbed out of the back seat and onto the red carpet.

Solo.

Everyone noticed immediately. “Suiko! Suiko!” The reporters all pressed forwards, leaving Jaylen Riaz’s side ahead. The other singer caught her eye and pouted playfully. Suiko just lifted a shoulder, like you-know-how-it-is.

Jaylen did know how it was.

“Who’s your date tonight?”

Suiko smiled devilishly. “I didn’t bring one.”

All of the reporters seemed to make one collective gasp. “Did Raleigh finally call it quits?” one demanded, while another said, “Is Avery tired of your games?”

“I decided to come by myself, not because I couldn’t find a date, but because I didn’t want one,” she replied, lifting her chin. Suiko tried to channel her inner Fiona, and hoped it was working. “No more questions.”

She stalked down the carpet and caught up with Jaylen. “Look at you,” the other singer said. “Little miss headlines!”

“Terribly, I guess I deserve that right now.”

They both laughed, and then Jaylen reached down to touch the chiffon of Suiko’s skirt. “Who made your dress?”

“It’s another Zadie Choi original.”

“How much do I have to pay you to switch stylists?”

“We can share,” Suiko said.

Jaylen leaned in closer. “They’re probably wondering why we’re being so friendly,” she said softly.

“Let them!”

Suiko looked down the red carpet and caught sight of both Avery and Raleigh. They stood, separated only by Micah, who was flashing a toothy grin at the cameras. Neither of them had a date either. Let the press chew on that.

“Let’s go inside,” she suggested.

Avery and Raleigh were both nominated for song of the year. For Avery, it was ‘How to Start Again,’ and for Raleigh it was ‘Famous.’ Despite everything, Suiko still wanted Raleigh to win.

Her seat actually ended up being between Avery’s and Jaylen’s. It was probably an attempt to create drama, but there wouldn’t be any. The two women respected each other and understood each other.

Just as she was about to sit, a hand slipped around her elbow, stopping her. Suiko spun to see Avery, dressed in a pink suit, his eyebrows knit closely together.

Her mouth dried. “I...”

The blonde shook his head. “No need to say a thing. I understand that we were never a true option.” A rueful smile tugged at his lips. “But I value our friendship, and I want it to continue.”

“Me too,” she said gratefully, and slipped her hands into his. “You’re a good friend, Avery. I don’t want to lose that.”

He pulled her into a hug. She leaned gratefully into the embrace. “Nice suit, by the way,” she muttered into his ear. “Very Gatsby-esque.”

“It’s what I strive for,” he said, with an easy laugh, and they took their seats.

Chris Winters was hosting the Vinyls. He breezed easily through the show, cracking jokes at all the right times and grinning amicably at the camera crews. Suiko felt Avery tense next to her as the next words boomed through the crowd: “And now, the category you’ve all been waiting for: song of the year!”

She tore her eyes away from the stage and did what she hadn’t yet allowed herself to do -- look for Raleigh. He didn’t seem to be anywhere near her. Suiko’s heart sank. Ever since the cameras had caught them in the closet at the charity event, he’d been distant from her, not calling or texting or responding to any press comments.

It hurt.

“And the Vinyl goes to...” Chris called onstage, a bright smile on his face, “Raleigh Carrera, with ‘Famous!’“

The whole audience exploded into cheers as the song came pouring in from all directions.

Suiko turned to Avery, worried that he would be disappointed, but he was clapping and hollering with the rest of the crowd. Despite herself, she smiled at him.

And then there he was, emerging from the masses and making his way onstage. She hadn’t gotten a good look at him on the red carpet.

But now...

Her breath caught. Raleigh wore a suit of dark red velvet embroidered with golden patterns of roses. The double breasted jacket showed a peek of a cream silk shirt beneath, unbuttoned to show off his collarbones. His dark curls seemed to catch and fling the light around the room.

Chris handed him his award and Raleigh effortlessly took the microphone. “Thank you,” he said into it, voice smooth and sultry. “It means a lot to me that my music still matters to you all, after all this time.” He tapped the statue to his chest. “And I hope my new music can inspire a whole new generation of hell-raisers.”

Beside him, Chris Winters visibly winced.

“And now,” Raleigh said, his voice echoing through the sound system, “I’ll sing you all my new single.”

The crowd went wild. Suiko just stared up at him. He seemed so far away. And then he began singing.

But he wasn’t singing the new single of his she’d heard in the studio.

It was a new song, one that she’d never heard before.

She’s made of marble, or made of glass

If dropped she’ll shatter, or maybe outlast

Fashioned to what you want her to be

Time for all you fuckers to see --

Raleigh’s eyes locked with hers, and suddenly he wasn’t far away anymore; suddenly it was just the two of them, in the dark room, and the words were only for her ears. As his lips moved, he unbuttoned his jacket, flinging it from his shoulders and across the stage. Beneath it, his shirt clung to his torso, crossed with a pair of garnet suspenders.

She’s more than a plaything to me

What’s underneath is worth it all

But assholes like you can never see

She’d more than a plaything to me.

The track kept playing, but Raleigh stopped singing. He just stood as the music swelled behind him and stared at her. The crowd started murmuring -- had he forgotten the words? Was someone speaking into his earpiece?

Then he spoke.

“Leona Lastrum is a liar,” he said, his voice booming through the auditorium. Suiko saw people on the sides of the stage gesturing wildly to cut his mic. Whatever they were doing wasn’t enough, because he kept going.

“I had no idea who she was until she threw herself all over me at that club. What you didn’t see pictures of was me shoving her off.” His lip curled. “So I’ll only say this one time. The next person I see dragging Suiko Hono through the mud has it coming.”

Almost as if in a dream, Suiko felt herself standing. Raleigh gazed at her from the stage.

“Everything you’ve read about this girl...it’s all lies. You don’t know her, but I do. And I know that she’s kind, and thoughtful, and exactly the type of person that makes me want to be better. She’s like no one else. And if you believe, even for one second, any of those lies that are spreading about her, you don’t even deserve to speak her name. Because...” Raleigh swallowed, and a small, almost sheepish smile crept across his face. “Because I love her.”

“Go!” Jaylen was hissing, eyes bright with excitement, pushing her towards the stage. “Jesus, Suiko, go up there!”

The backing track to Raleigh’s song ended, and the venue was dead silent. She heard every one of her footsteps to the stage with complete clarity. As she got closer, Raleigh’s face grew more and more nervous. He didn’t know what she was going to say.

She wasn’t going to say anything.

Suiko ran the last distance across the stage and launched herself into Raleigh’s arms, pressing her lips against his, grasping his suspenders in her shaking fingers to draw him closer to her. His arms instantly wrapped around her, drawing her close, and relief poured into the kisses he pressed to her mouth, and the lights were so bright that she could see them through her shuttered eyelids, and the crowd was screaming around them. He was kissing her as if is sustained him -- kissing her in a way that was definitely not appropriate for the Vinyls, mouth wide open against hers.

“Do you really love me?” she whispered against his lips, opening her eyes a little.

Raleigh let out a laugh. “Yes.”

“Good. Because I love you too.”

Giddy, with the face of a boy who’d gotten everything he wanted for Christmas, Raleigh leaned in for another kiss and dipped her elegantly, to the delight of the audience.

If one could die of happiness, in that moment, she would.

#guys #mourn platinum with me #WE NEED A BOOK TWO #platinum #platinum chocies #choices #playchoices #raleigh carrera #raleigh x mc #raleigh carrera x mc #pixelberry #fanfiction #fanfic #fic #losses #ashsilla

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dumbledearme · 6 years

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chapter forty-three—freedom and courage

Okay... So I may or may not have stolen Elizabeth Swan's speech from Pirates of the Caribbean. What can I say, I'm a huge fan. (So credit’s hers)

read Child of Land and Sea here

Act V — Walking On Water

Part VI — But if you're not convinced that I'm invincible, put me to the test! I'd love to lay this rivalry to rest.

"What did they do to my city?" Andy's voice sounded tight and angry. She stood with the other campers looking down at New York. She could see almost everything from there and what she saw was the calmness, the silence. Even in the dead of night, New York is never silent. What had they done?

Traffic had stopped. Pedestrians were lying on the sidewalks. There was no sign of violence, no wrecks, nothing like that.

"Are they dead?" Silena asked in astonishment.

Andy shook her head. "No. Morpheus must have put the entire island of Manhattan to sleep. The invasion has started."

Anthony and Andy went to find Argus. The man was rummaging around in the back of his van. He brought out a bronze shield and passed it to Anthony. When he set it on the ground, the reflection on the polished metal changed from sky and buildings to the Statue of Liberty.

"A video shield?" Andy guessed.

"One of Daedalus's ideas," Anthony said. "I had Beckendorf make this before- Well, it bends sunlight or moonlight from anywhere in the world to create a reflection. You can literally see any target under the sun or moon, as long as natural light is touching it. It will let us see what's going on across the city. Thank you, Argus."

Argus grunted.

"You'd better get back to camp," Andy told him. "Guard it as best as you can." Then she called Mrs O'Leary. "Hey, girl. Remember Grover? The satyr? I need you to find him. We're going to need his help." The dog gave her a sloppy wet kiss and raced off north.

Anthony and Andy went back to the others.

"I don't get it," Pollux was saying. "Why didn't we fall asleep, too? Why just the mortals?"

"This is a huge spell," Silena answered. "The bigger the spell, the easier it is to resist. If you want millions of mortals to sleep, you've got to cast a very thin layer of magic. Sleeping demigods is much harder."

"How do you know that?" Andy asked.

Silena blushed. "I'm not just a pretty face."

"Andy," Anthony said; he was looking at the shield. "You'd better see this."

The image showed Long Island Sound near La Guardia. A fleet of a dozen speedboats raced through the dark water toward Manhattan. Each boat a packed with demigods in full Greek armor.

"Scan the perimeter of the island," she said. "Quick."

Anthony shifted the scene south to the harbor. Staten Island Ferry was plowing trough the waves near Ellis Island. The deck was crowded with dracaenae and whole pack of hell-hounds. Swimming in front of the ship was a pod of telkhines.

The scene shifted again: the Jersey shore, right at the entrance to the Lincoln Tunnel. A hundred assorted monsters were marching past the lanes of stopped traffic: giants with clubs, rogue Cyclopes, a few fire-spitting dragons.

"What's happening to the other mortals?" Andy asked. "I mean, is the whole state asleep?"

Anthony frowned. "I don't think so, but it's strange. As far as I can tell from these pictures, Manhattan is totally asleep. Then there's like a fifty-mile radius around the island where time is running really, really slow. The closer you get to Manhattan, the slower it is."

"Kronos is slowing time."

"Hecate might be helping," Katie Gardner said.

"Somehow they've surrounded Manhattan in layers of magic," Anthony sounded really frustrated. "The outside world might not even realize something is wrong. Any mortals coming toward Manhattan will slow down so much they won't know what's happening."

"Like flies in amber," Jake Mason murmured.

Anthony nodded. "We shouldn't expect any help."

Andy turned to her friends, to their stunned, scared faces. "Alright, demigods. We're going to hold Manhattan."

Silena tugged at her armor. "Um, Andy, Manhattan is huge."

"And we're going to hold it. We have to."

"She's right," Anthony stood up. "The gods of the wind should keep Kronos's forces away from Olympus by air, so he'll try a ground assault. We have to cut off the entrances to the island."

"They've got boats," Michael Yew pointed out.

Andy almost smiled. "And you've got me."

Michael seemed confused. "How does that help us?"

Andy tried not to be offended. "Dude, child of land and sea? Try to keep up, Michael. We need to guard the bridges and tunnels. Let's assume they'll try a midtown or downtown assault, a least on their first try. That would be the most direct way here. So Michael, take Apollo's cabin to the Williamsburg Bridge. Katie, Demeter's cabin takes the Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel. Grow thorn bushes and poison ivy. Do whatever you need to do, but keep them out there. Connor, take half of Hermes's cabin and cover the Manhattan Bridge. Travis, you take the other half and cover Brooklyn Bridge. Silena, take the Aphrodite crew to the Queens – Midtown Tunnel." Andy closed her eyes trying to think of what she'd forgotten. "Um, the Holland Tunnel. Jake, take the Hephaestus cabin there. Use Greek fire, set traps. Whatever you've got. The 59th Street Bridge," she glanced at Anthony. "Athena?"

He nodded and turned to his siblings. "Malcolm, take the Athena cabin, activate plan twenty-three along the way, just like I showed you. Hold that position."

"You got it."

"I'll go with Andy," he added.

Somebody in the back of the group said, "No detours, you two." There were some giggles.

"Yeah, I'm gonna let that pass because I know you're all nervous," Andy said. "But the next one gets a smack on the ear."

Jake Mason cleared his throat. "I think you forgot the Lincoln Tunnel, Andy."

Andy swallowed a bad word. Then a girl's voice called: "How about you leave that to us?" The daughter of Zeus grinned. "The Hunters of Artemis, reporting for duty."

"Thank the gods," Anthony murmured as Thalia hugged him. "But if we don't blockade the rivers from those boats, guarding the bridges and tunnels will be pointless."

Andy glanced at all of them. "It's time, boys and girls. You are the greatest heroes of this millennium," she told them. "I know I said we didn't have a choice, that we have to do this. That's not true. Each one of you are here by choice. And when the enemy look at us, they will see that freedom. They will hear the ring of our swords and they will know what we can do! By the sweat of our brows, and the strength of our backs, and the courage of our hearts. Demigods," she raised Riptide in the air, "for Olympus!"

They shouted in response, and their voices echoed around the sleeping city.

On their way, Anthony decided to stop in the middle of East 23rd. He stood before a bronze statue of a dude sitting in a chair with his legs crossed.

"Why is..." Andy approached to see the name, "William H Seward important?"

"He was a New York governor," Anthony said. "Minor demigod – son of Hebe." He climbed on a park bench and examined the base of the statue.

"Don't tell me he's an automaton," Andy said.

Anthony smiled. "Turns out most of the statues in the city are automatons. Daedalus planted them here just in case he needed an army."

"To attack Olympus or defend it?"

Anthony shrugged. "Either one. That was plan twenty-three. He could activate one statue and it would start activating its brethren all over the city, until there was an army. It's dangerous, though. You know how unpredictable automatons are." He pressed the tip of Seward's boot, and the statue stood up. "Hello, William."

"Bill," Andy suggested.

"Shut up," Anthony asked her. "Uh... Governor Seward. Command sequence: Daedalus Twenty-three. Defend Manhattan. Begin Activation."

Seward jumped off his pedestal and went clanking off toward the east.

"He's not very polite," Andy said.

"He's probably going to wake Confucius," Anthony guessed.

"Do they know we're not the enemy?"

"I think so."

Then a ball of green light exploded in the evening sky, somewhere over the East River. "We need to hurry," Andy said.

"Perhaps you shouldn't go alone," Anthony said staring at the dark water.

"Uh, unless you can breath underwater, I don't think there's much you can do."

He sighed. "You are so annoying."

"No. I'm just right. Which must be an unpleasant surprise for you. Also I'll be fine. I've got the curse of Achilles. I'm invisible."

He crossed his arms, trying to keep his face serious. "I think you meant invincible."

"I meant to make you smile." Andy winked and jumped into the river. She tried to find the spot where the Hudson and the East River's currents seemed equal. There she shouted, "Hey! I heard you guys are so polluted you're embarrassed to show your faces. I heard the East River is more toxic, but the Hudson smells worse. Or is it the other way around?"

The water shimmered. Two giant forms appeared in front of her. The god of the East River said, "Are you trying to get yourself killed? Or are you just extra stupid?"

The spirit of the Hudson scoffed, "You're the expert on stupid, East."

"Watch it, Hudson," East growled. "Stay on your side of the island and mind your own business."

"Or what? You'll throw another garbage barge at me?"

"Hey!" Andy shouted. "We've got a bigger problem."

"The kid's right," East snarled. "Let's both killed her, then we'll fight each other."

"Sounds good," Hudson said. Before Andy could protest, scraps of garbage surged off the bottom and flew straight at her from both directions – broken glass, rocks, cans, tires. But the debris shattered against her skin.

The two river gods stared at her. "Took a dip in the Styx?" Hudson asked. Andy nodded. Both rivers made disgusted sounds.

"Well, that's perfect," East said. "Now, how do we kill her?"

"Listen to me," Andy said. "Kronos's army is invading Manhattan!"

"Don't you think we know that?" East asked.

"Then stop them," she pleaded. "Drown them. Sink their boats."

"Why should we?" Hudson grumbled.

"I can pay you," she said taking out a sand dollar from her pocket. It'd been a birthday gift from Poseidon. The river gods's eyes widened. She broke the sand dollar in half. "You each get half," she told them. "In exchange, you keep all of Kronos's forces away from Manhattan."

"Oh, man," Hudson whimpered. "It's been so long since I was clean."

"The power of Poseidon," East murmured. "The guy's a jerk, but he sure knows how to sweep pollution away."

They looked at each other and spoke as one: "Deal."

Andy gave them each a sand dollar half.

East flickered his hand. "Invaders just got sunk."

Hudson snapped his fingers. "Bunch of hell-hounds just took a dive."

"Thank you!" Andy said. "And stay clean!"

Back on shore, Anthony was looking pretty shaken. Andy was all wet, but he held her tight in his arms like he thought she'd never resurface again.

"All good," she said. "The rivers are safe."

"We've got other problems," he told her. "I just talked to Michael. Another army is marching over the Williamsburg Bridge. The Apollo cabin needs help. The Minotaur is leading the enemy."

An entire phalanx of dracaenae marched in the lead, their shields locked together, spear tips bristling over the top. The Apollo campers would hide behind cars and snipe at the approaching army, setting off explosive arrows, building fiery barricades. Hell-hounds leaped ahead of the line from time to time. Most were destroyed with arrows, but one got hold of an Apollo camper and dragged him away.

Michael Yew had a bandaged cut on his arm but he was smiling like he was having the greatest time. "Glad you could join us," he said. "Where are the other reinforcements?"

"For now, we're it," Andy said.

"Then we're dead," he said joyfully.

"Do you still have the flying chariot?" Anthony asked.

Michael shook his head. "Nah. Left it at camp. Told Clarisse she could have it. Whatever, you know? Not worth fighting about anymore. But she said it was too late. Look! Here come the uglies!" He drew an arrow and launched it toward the enemy. When it landed, it unleashed a blast. The nearest car exploded. A lot of monsters disintegrated. Others ran. Michael laughed maniacally, but the other monsters were still coming. "We need to fall back," he said. "I've got Kayla and Austin setting traps farther down the bridge."

"No," Andy said. "Bring your campers forward to this position and wait for my signal. We're going to drive the enemy back to Brooklyn."

"How do you plan to do that?"

Andy drew her sword. Anthony moved like he was ready to follow her, but Andy shook her head. "I need you to help Michael coordinate the defensive line. I'll distract the monsters. You group up here. Move the sleeping mortals out of the way. Then you can start picking off monsters while I keep them focused on me. If anybody can do all that, it's you."

Michael snorted. "Thanks a lot."

Andy glanced at him. "Oh, Michael. Get a girlfriend. She'll say nice things like that to you."

She focused back on Anthony who nodded reluctantly. "All right. Get moving."

"Don't I get a kiss for good luck?" she asked. "It's tradition!"

Anthony drew his knife and stared at the army marching toward them. "Find me, Seaweed Brain. And then I'll kiss you."

"Ha!" Michael laughed. "Too bad."

"Nobody asked you, Michael," Andy muttered. She walked up the bridge in plain sight, straight toward the enemy. The Minotaur was in the middle of the invading legion. When it saw her, his eyes burned with hatred. He bellowed to let her know he remembered all too well.

A few dracaenae threw flaming javelins at her. Andy knocked them aside. A hell-hound lunged and she stabbed it, mentally apologizing to Mrs O'Leary. More monsters surged forward – snakes and giants and telkhines – but the Minotaur roared at them, and they backed off. He unstrapped his axe and swung it around.

Andy raised her sword and sliced the axe in half like it was nothing. "Moo?" he grunted, uncertain. Andy spun and kicked him in the snout. He staggered backward, trying to regain his footing, then lowered his head to charge. He never got the chance though. Her sword flashed – slicing off one horn, then the other. The Minotaur tried to grab her, but Andy rolled away. He bellowed in rage. He charged and she ran for the edge of the bridge, pushing some dracaenae out of the way.

The Minotaur ran after her. Then Andy changed direction, jumped and stabbed her sword into his breastplate. He exploded in gold dust. Andy turned toward the rest of his army. It was now roughly one hundred and ninety-nine to one.

She spread her arms. "Who's next, you bitches?" None dared move. So Andy charged. She sliced through armor like it was made of paper. Snake women exploded. Hell-hounds melted to shadow. She slashed and stabbed and whirled, and she even laughed – a crazy laugh that scared her as much as it did her enemies.

The Apollo campers were behind her, shooting arrows, disrupting every attempt by the enemy to rally. Finally, the monsters turned and fled. Andy followed them with the Apollo campers at her heels.

"That's what I'm talking about!" yelled Michael Yew. They drove the monsters toward the Brooklyn side of the bridge.

"Andy!" Anthony yelled. "You've already routed them. Pull back! We're overextended!"

The monsters were running straight toward their reinforcements. Andy recognized the leader as Kronos himself. Anthony and the Apollo campers faltered. Kronos gazed in their direction. "Pull back!" Andy shouted. The Titan lord's men drew their swords and charged. "Retreat!" Andy commanded. "I'll hold them."

In a matter of seconds they were on her. Michael and his archers tried to retreat, but Anthony stayed behind with Andy, fighting with his knife and mirrored shield as they slowly backed up the bridge.

Kronos's cavalry swirled around them, slashing and yelling insults. Andy tried to wound his men, not kill, which slowed her down. But they were demigods, they were people, and she couldn't bring herself to kill them.

Andy stood shoulder to shoulder with Anthony. They'd almost made it to the middle of the bridge when it happened. Andy fell the knife approaching her weak spot. She was about to turn, but then Anthony was the one falling. Andy watched, stunned, puzzled. Her head spun. He couldn't have known... Nobody did.

She locked eyes with the enemy demigod: Ethan Nakamura. Why wasn't he dead yet? How had he survived? Why hadn't she killed him when she had the chance? Andy slammed him in the face with her sword hilt. "Stay back!" She slashed the air in a wide arc, driving the rest of the demigods away from Anthony.

Kronos smiled. He towered above her on his skeletal horse, his scythe in one hand. "Bravely fought, Andy Jackson," he said. "But it's time to surrender. Or the boy dies."

Anthony groaned something Andy didn't understand. The situation didn't seem to register in her head. His shirt was soaked with blood, blood so bright it twisted her stomach. What could she do?

It was Blackjack who came to the rescue. He swooped down and clamped his teeth on the straps of Anthony's armor. They soared away over the river before the enemy could even react.

Kronos dismounted. Andy was still a little dizzy but she met his first strike with Riptide. The impact shook the entire bridge, but Andy held her ground. Kronos's smile wavered. Andy kicked his legs from under him. His scythe skittered across the pavement. Andy stabbed downward, but Kronos rolled aside and regained his footing. His scythe flew back to his hands.

"You had the courage to visit the Styx," he studied her, looking mildly annoyed. "I had to pressure Luke in many ways to convince him. If only you had supplied my host body instead... No matter. I'm still more powerful. I am a Titan!" He struck the bridge with the butt of his scythe, and a wave of pure force blasted Andy backward. Even his own men were blown off the edge of the bridge.

Andy got to her feet. "Make the bridge collapse!" Michael Yew shouted. Andy looked down and saw the fissures in the pavement. It was all or nothing.

She stabbed Riptide into the bridge. The magic blade sank to its hilt in asphalt. Water shot from the crack. Andy pulled Riptide and the fissure grew. The bridge shook and began to crumble. Within a few seconds, a fifty-foot chasm opened between Andy and Kronos.

The Titan lord looked at the rising sun and smiled. "Until this evening, Jackson." He mounted his horse and led his army away.

Andy turned around to thank Michael but couldn't find him anywhere. She searched the wreckage, but he wasn't there.

Then Silena came running toward her. "Andy!" she yelled. "Come quickly! It's... It's Anthony!"

#andromeda #andy jackson #anthony chase #andony #child of land and sea #fanfic #genderbend #dfcrosas #walking on water #fem percy jackson

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jessiemwilhelm-creative · 7 years

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Halloween Story 2017

Author: Jessie M. Wilhelm

Summary: My attempt to be spooky. (Prompt Source/#3)

WC: Around 1,700

Notes: Look, I know I suck at horror, but if I don’t try I’m never gonna get better! So enjoy my little Halloween story that I’ll be narrating on Halloween over on Vidme (link to my account is on my “About” page)! I decided to post it over here early. :P

Enjoy!

Uncle Walter never really talked much.

He was a quiet man, loved to read, he would even sit down and read an encyclopedia for hours. And even though he never talked much, you listened to him when he did speak. And you knew it was him because of his distinctive voice. It was deep and booming. So loud without even trying to be.

I could still remember to this day how his voice sounded, it was really remarkable with my horrible memory, but I never took that fact for granted. I missed Uncle Walter a lot, he was like a father to me when my own died in a car crash. And though I missed him, no one missed him more than my Aunt Karen.

When he left for that business trip, he told her to have a pie waiting for him when he got home. And every day, since he'd been missing she'd bake him a pie. It wasn't till the first year after the day he went missing that Aunt Karen finally broke down and cried and cried for hours at end... I think that was when she realized... he wasn't coming back.

I ended up getting a job at age fourteen down the road at a little diner to help support us, and it was a good job that paid well, so I couldn't really complain. I was twenty-two however when my aunt finally passed away. When I asked the doctors how she died, they told me that her heart had just "given out".

It was then that I knew, my aunt had truly died of a broken heart.

So, I had the funeral with some family friends and what little of family members I had left, and I left New York for Asheville, North Carolina. It was an odd change I know, but I couldn't stay there forever and to I needed a change of pace. So, when I got that job offer down there, I took it first chance.

Funnily enough, it was the town that my uncle had gone to for his business meeting all those years ago.

When I realized that, I didn't think much of it. I thought that it was an odd coincidence and I even jokingly told my friends before I left that I might disappear too.

I didn't disappear though, I came back from something I can't even begin to fully describe.

When I left New York, and I hugged all my friends and what family members I had left, my grandmother had told me something very... interesting. At first, I just passed it to her just being old and losing a bit of her mind each day. But she told me something that after this incident I... never really forgot.

"Beware room 311," She told me with a dead-eyed stare, I should've known that was the first sign to my troubles. She always smiled at me, the only time she didn't was when she told me that.

Either way, I moved along to say goodbye to my friends.

"We're gonna miss you Ellie!" One of my friends cried, dramatically pulling me into a big bear hug. Anna had always been the over dramatic and over emotional type, but I never complained, nor did Belle or Susie.

"Make sure to call us when you get to your hotel room," Susie smiled sadly, always being the mother hen, "We want to know that you made it there alright."

Belle followed suit with the talking, "Yeah dude, make sure you call us, okay?" Belle gave a toothy grin like she always did, stuffing her hands into the pockets of her red hoodie.

I just kind of chuckled with a big smile, it was the only thing I could do to stop myself from wailing like Anna. I was kind of sad too just like them, but this needed to be done. "You got it. Hopefully I don't disappear too like my Uncle Walter!"

It was a joke, but apparently it was a poor one because Anna only clung to me tighter, Belle's grin fell, and Susie's eyes hardened.

"Well you better make sure that doesn't happen," Belle forced a grin on her face after losing the previous one, it didn't seem genuine though.

Susie nodded and quickly straightened my shirt when Anna let go of me finally, "Right, so call us when you can. AND don't call while you're driving, that's dangerous."

"You got it," My big grin kind of died down when the joke was poorly received, but now a genuine smile took it's place.

We continued to say our goodbyes, and eventually I left, looking in the rear view mirror to see them waving and (in Anna's case) crying.

The road trip was long, but eventually after a few days, I made it to the hotel that I was staying at until my apartment was ready to move into. Apparently they needed to do some renovations to it, the landlord said it would take at most a week for it to all get done. I didn't mind honestly, the apartment was a decent size and was relatively good rent wise, so I didn't complain.

I went in to check in, and the apparent owner of the hotel was nice, kinda joked around with me and talked a bit while I checked in. Once I got checked, I immediately went to go get my bags. I had a few, and I knew it would take more than one trip so I grabbed what I could and went to the elevator.

I put in the number of my floor and began to wait for the elevator to take me there.

But, as fate would have it, this is where things started to make a turn.

In a manner of seconds the elevator began to shake violently and the lights blinked rapidly. I quickly grabbed onto the railing of the elevator. A brief and sharp feeling a fear entered me, what was happening? Was I going to die? A million questions swarmed in my head, and it was at that moment it all just... stopped.

The lights were off, the shaking had stopped, and there was a small pause- a small moment of silence with the only sound in the elevator being my heavy and panicked breathing.

And then, the doors opened.

The hallway was dark and ominous, but from across the elevator I could see the floor number- it was my floor. I quickly tried to calm down, but with the atmosphere of the hallway, it was a little hard to do. Shaken and scared, and against my better judgement, I began to walk down the hallway to my room. It was hard to see, but I could still make out where I was going.

Eventually I found myself in front of my door, and as I went to go get my key, the door suddenly, unlocked on it's own. That sent off so many warning signs that I cannot describe, and it lead me to hesitate, should I go into the room? Or should I run for the hills now?

I couldn't properly explain it to you all, but I just felt like there was going to be something on the other side of that door that I didn't want to see.

Little did I know at the time, I was right.

So, I opened the door. And inside I found something that to this day I don't think I could really ever comprehend. It... looked like Uncle Walter, but... it wasn't. It was like Uncle Walter if someone had hit him with a semi. His body looked like every single bone was broken and his eyes- his eyes had been torn out, bloody and looked like dark empty abysses. He was sitting on the bed, watching TV that had only static on it.

I watched in horror as slowly he or it rather turned to me, face blank as it could be before it let out this sharp, toothy grin.

I ran.

I rushed down the hallway, I could hear it's loud steps behind me, but while I was running it was walking very, very slowly. I eventually made it to the elevator, and desperately pushed the down button, I felt like I was waiting for eternity for that damn door open, the footsteps were getting closer.

Is this how I die? I asked myself, heart pounding, eyes wide and unshed tears threatened to escape.

And finally- thank God, finally- the door opened.

I dashed inside and closed the elevator door and-!

And then nothing.

I felt a sharp pain in the back of my head and I collapsed to the ground. Next thing I knew I was being shaken awake by the owner of the hotel who seemed just as frightened as I did.

"Are you okay miss?!" She asked frantically, and not knowing what else to do, I nodded with a blank stare.

She the then proceeded to tell me, that one of the maids had found me passed out in the elevator and couldn't wake me up, I sat there in shock for a minute before getting up and the owner escorting me to my room. I thanked her, and when she left I silently sat on the bed, in the same place it had.

Was it all a dream? A horrible nightmare? No, it had to be something else, it felt too real. Even though I didn't quite believe it was a horrible nightmare, in the end, I still passed it up as one. I didn't know how to explain it, I didn't know how to really talk about it. Who was I supposed to tell about this anyways? I was just at a loss.

Soon, years went by and I couldn't forget the incident. I didn't have nightmares about it (thankfully) but, I discovered something a few years down the road. Regarding my Uncle Walter, apparently, that was the same hotel he had stayed at before he went missing. I didn't know what to do with this new found information. I didn't know what to do.

But still, it's not like my Uncle stayed in that exact room or anything... right?

#text #jessie writes #original writing #horror #or at least my poor attempt at it

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davidcarner · 7 years

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Sarah vs The Unexpected Life, Ch 3, Lady Feelings

A/N: The first two chapters have been pretty Sarah centric. This chapter works best if its Chuck centric, at least for a little while. Apparently I’m funnier than I think according to some of you. More fluff, more Charah, more Chuck being a little scared to share his feelings and Sarah being so open it’s scary, and dag nab it, more fun. I present to you chapter 3, Lady Feelings

A/N 2: I need to straighten the record out on something that I left a little unclear. Hannah, Lou, Cole et al, might be in the story, but they will have no romantic relationships with Chuck or Sarah…EVAH in this. NEVA EVAH. On with the show.

Disclaimer: I don’t own Chuck, but I do own a black pair of Chucks

Chuck moved around his house, quickly, with purpose, but also full of song. He sang Good Morning, Good Day from She Loves Me to Clara, watching the close to one-year old smile at him. Last night had been a little rough with teething, but the bigger problem was that Sarah…his friend, with possibilities of more(?) was looking for Piranha. He needed to talk to her this morning. He wanted to talk to her this morning, but what would she say to him. He had the chance last night, at the fountain, to tell the truth, and he didn’t. She had told him every dirty secret about herself, and he didn’t. It wasn’t that he was trying to keep it a secret, it was just part of another life that he really didn’t admit existed anymore.

He had never stolen any real money, moving a penny from one account to another isn’t really stealing, but Casey, boy Casey would think it was. If they found out…they couldn’t, but somehow he had to tell Sarah. He loaded Clara in her carseat as he thought about his next move, and kind of went on autopilot as all parents do with little sleep as he drove to preschool. As he pulled in, he noticed Emma driving Molly this morning, not Sarah. Part of him was happy, part of him was not…not at all.

Chuck closed his eyes for a second. It was time for him to be serious. What did a beautiful, caring, smart, funny, former CIA agent with a heart of gold want with him? The answer was obvious, nothing. Absolutely nothing. He needed to tell Sarah the truth for the sake of Clara. She would find another way, because he had to keep Clara safe. But how does she keep Molly safe? That thought ate at his brain. A hand hit the window, and Chuck jumped, screamed, hit the horn, scaring Molly who was outside, made Clara cry, and all the other children around cry as well. All the parents were giving Chuck a dirty look. Molly had got over her fright, and was pointing and laughing at Chuck. Chuck wanted to be upset, but Molly refused to let him be with her laughter. He opened the car door, and made monster hands at her.

“If I didn’t have to get Clara, you would so get it,” he said in his best monster voice. Molly laughed at him.

“Molly,” Emma scolded. “You can’t scare him like that.”

“He was napping and I was waking him up so he wouldn’t be late,” Molly answered. Chuck looked at the little girl, who smiled back at him.

“Well, I am awake,” Chuck admitted. Emma laughed as the four headed in. “Is Sarah okay?”

“Yes, she told me to apologize and she’d call you later,” Emma said grinning. “She had a good time last night.” She paused as if deciding to tell him, and then made up her mind. “I think she wished you had stayed later.”

“Clara was teething,” Chuck explained.

“Oh, dear. Did you get any sleep?” Chuck moved his hand back and forth to say a little. “Do we need to cancel tonight?”

“I think I’ll be fine,” Chuck said. “The first night is usually the worst. Will Sarah be able to make it?”

“She should, although I don’t know. All I know is something about a virus called Jeffery.” Chuck stopped short.

“Are you sure it’s not Jeffster?” Emma snapped her fingers.

“That’s it!”

“Who’s going to work on it?” Chuck asked, remembering how this monster was created by Jeff and Lester who decided to take all viruses they could find and combine them together. It never should have worked, but it was Jeffster, so when something wasn’t supposed to work it did. Emma shrugged.

“I guess her regular IT guy, not that he appears to be that good,” she said, trying not to let the grin grow on her face. “I suppose fixing a computer would be a step down for a video game creator.” Chuck couldn’t help but grin at Emma.

“You have no shame, do you?”

“Nope, you two get along great, just like Molly and I thought you would.”

“When is Clara’s birthday?” Molly asked.

“It’s next Friday,” Chuck replied. “She’ll be one.”

“Good,” Molly said.

“Do you want to get her a present, Honey?” Emma asked. Molly looked perturbed at the question.

“Granny, she’s my sister, I have to throw her a birthday party,” she said as she reached up to carry Clara. Chuck looked at Emma, who shrugged. Molly begin to give Chuck the stinkeye. Chuck gave Clara to Molly, who gently carried her to the baby room. Mrs. Wood smiled at the beginnings of the blended family.

“I have no chance against her, do I?” Chuck asked.

“Sarah asked me the same thing this morning,” Emma said as she looked at Chuck. “She likes you, a lot, and I think she wants you to be her father.” Chuck looked at Emma and gulped.

}o{

Chuck sat in his office, the lights off, his eyes closed, listening to Here I go Again by Whitesnake on repeat. Morgan came down the hall, heard the music, prayed for the best, yet feared the worst, stuck his head in, and groaned.

“No, Chuck, no, no, no,” he said protesting.

“Buddy,” Chuck began.

“It’s not Clara’s birthday, it’s not Devon’s or Ellie’s. It’s not their anniversary, so what is it? What have I forgot that we need to get you through, because you CANNOT do this. You promised!”

“Buddy,” Chuck began again.

“I can hold down the fort, I can keep the games going, but, Chuck, you cannot sink and spiral like this!”

“Buddy, I met someone,” Chuck said softly. Morgan stood up straight. A smile came across his face.

“That’s great! No, really, Chuck, that’s fantastic! What’s her name?”

“Sarah Walker.”

“You know, that’s funny, the lady Alex works for name is Sarah Walker, and dude, no offense to your woman, do you know who she looks like?”

“Vicky Vale,” Chuck replied, knowing they were firmly on the Morgan train, next stop Insanityville.

“That’s right! How did you know?” Chuck looked at him from between his hands. Morgan’s eyes got wide. “DUDE! You are dating Vicky Vale.”

“Dating is strong,” Chuck began.

“No, this is good. This is really good!” Chuck had to get control of this, and soon.

“Buddy, do you really know what Casey does or used to do?”

“Oh, yeah. He used to work for the NSA, and killed a lot of people, but you can’t tell anyone.” Chuck looked at him, not for sure if he was impressed with his friend or certain he was crazy. “He told me in specific, graphic details of many of his kills. I didn’t kiss Alex for a week.”

“If Casey said he could hunt someone down, do you believe him?”

“Absolutely, whoever John Casey decides to find, is as good as found.” Chuck groaned and banged his head against the desk. “Who are they looking for, Chuck? I figured that part out, I’m getting better at this.”

“Piranha,” Chuck answered, his forehead slowly bouncing off the desk.

“Huh, funny, it sounded like you said Piranha,” Morgan said, looking a little concerned.

“I did.” Morgan was quiet for several seconds.

“Should I go empty out petty cash so you and Clara can run?”

“There’s only $38 in there.”

“I used it to get pizza the other day,” Morgan answered. “Why do they want Piranha?”

“They need a computer expert for their company.”

“I’ve got $47 in quarters at my apartment.”

“I can’t take Clara on the run for the rest of my life. Certainly not with just $85.”

“Maybe you should break up with her.”

“Would that really make a difference?”

“No.”

“Plus, she’s got this daughter, Molly. She’s great Morgan, I don’t want to hurt her, and I don’t want to hurt Sarah. Her heart…it’s so big and there’s so much love there. I think I’m the first guy she’s trusted in a long time, and I can’t hurt her. I can’t let her down.” Chuck gave a big bump to his head on the last one. “Plus, they’ve been infected by Jeffster.”

“They’re going to need a topical cream for that. Antibiotics aren’t enough.”

“The computer virus, Morgan.”

“Oh, that’s better. Who have they got working on it?”

“Their IT guy.”

“SKIP?” Chuck raised his head.

“From Buy More?” Morgan nodded. Chuck banged his head on the table one more time. “Chuck, your lady, she is in distress. You know what you have to do.” Chuck sighed. Morgan was right. Chuck stood up, Morgan got his coat, and slipped it on his arms without a word. As Chuck turned, Morgan grabbed his arms, and looked him right in the eye. “Remember, when everything’s down, remember.”

“Don’t Stop Believin’?” Morgan clapped his hands on Chuck’s arms.

“Go get her, Buddy.” Chuck took a deep breath and left the safety of Intersect Games. He found his way to Burton Industries, which was only a couple of blocks away. He parked his car, walked inside, and found Alex yelling at the computer.

“That only works with Morgan,” Chuck said to Alex. Alex looked up, saw Chuck, and ran around the desk to hug him.

“Tell me you’re here to fix our problems!”

“I thought you had a boyfriend, Alex,” Sarah’s voice came from the hallway. Alex smiled and saw her boss, and friend leaning against the doorframe, smiling at Chuck. “Chuck, miss me?” Chuck’s worries went away and he gave her his million watt smile.

“Yeah,” he said honestly. Oh, crap there goes my knees again! I’ve had guys give me these lines before, how did they never affect me? Maybe because he’s telling the truth? “But, as much as it is a joy to see you, I thought I might help you out.”

“How’s that?”

“I hear you’re using Skip as your IT guy.” Sarah nodded. Chuck sighed. “I can fix this in ten minutes.” Sarah stood up straight, smiling.

“You don’t have to impress me, Chuck. Skip says it will take hours.”

“I’m not trying to impress you, if I had I would have told you five minutes,” he said confidently. And, there goes my knees again, and my belly, this guy is going to be the death of me, and I haven’t even properly kissed him yet!

“Well, I guess there’s only one way to settle this,” Sarah said with a challenging look in her smile. “If you take 5 minutes or less, you win and you get to choose what the loser has to do, if it takes 5 minutes 1 second or more, I get to choose what the loser does.” Sarah stuck out her hand. Chuck nodded and shook. He started to remove his hand, when he realized he couldn’t. Sarah was staring at him, with the same challenging look. “Alex,” she said, still looking directly at him. “Would you mind baby-sitting Clara when Chuck loses so I can take him out on a date.”

“Sarah, if you wanted to ask me out, all you had to do is ask,” Chuck said. He thought he saw Sarah swallow.

“I’d be glad to, Sarah,” Alex said grinning.

“If I ask you out, you might do something silly like say no, this way, I know what I’m getting.”

“I don’t think you like to lose, Sarah.”

“Think?” she asked, and released his hand. Chuck, never releasing her gaze, cracked his knuckles, rolled his neck, and nodded toward her.

“Shall we?” he asked. Sarah led him, with Alex following close behind. Casey and Carina saw what was going on and followed them into the server room. Chuck saw Skip trying to stop the virus, but he was going about it all wrong. Skip looked up, saw Chuck, and jumped up out of the chair. “Thanks, Buddy.” Chuck sat down, and began to look over the code. Sarah came over with her phone and put it on stopwatch mode. She put 5 minutes on the clock.

“It’s not too late to back out,” she said, smirking. Chuck looked at her, and winked.

“You don’t want to know what you have to do when I win?”

“You can tell me if you want because there is no way it ever happens.” Chuck nodded. “3. 2. 1.” And with that, Chuck’s fingers started flying across the keyboard. Gone was the man who last night was down on himself, gone was the self-deprecating humor, gone was the man who had lost all his family. In front of her, with his fingers flying was the man who believed in himself, and heaven help her it was so sexy. Sarah swallowed, and had to look away. The timer clicked down and two minutes had passed. “Oh look, I’m gonna fix that patch in your security while I’m in here.” Skip tried to watch, but just couldn’t keep up. The time passed by, and Sarah had no idea how close he was.

“Forty-five seconds is all I’ll need,” he said. The time had 50 seconds on it. The time went down and Chuck appeared very confident. He snuck a glance at Sarah, and winked at her. She shook her head, smiling. She could get used to this Chuck. “Where are you,” he said, scouring for a batch of code.

“Ten seconds, Chuck,” she said, leaning right against his ear, her breath making him shiver.

“Found it,” he said, with four seconds to spare. He held his finger above the enter key and they both watched as the counter went to zero, and a -1 appeared on the screen. Chuck hit enter, looking her directly in the eye. Carina checked one of the nearby computers, it worked perfectly. “Guess you win, Sarah,” Chuck said. The look on Sarah’s face was indescribable.

“Why did you do that?” she asked softly.

“Because losing really didn’t sound like losing,” he said. “Six tonight?” he asked. She nodded. He got up, gave her a kiss on the cheek, nodded at Casey, gave Carina and Alex a quick hug, fist bumped Skip, and left.

“Why are we not using him for our computer guy, Walker?” Carina asked.

“I offered, and he’s not comfortable now that he has Clara,” Sarah answered, but part of her wondered.

“You and Molly are safe,” Carina countered.

“Walker’s a trained agent,” Casey replied. “If someone comes after Bartowski, there’s nothing he can do.”

“No one would ever know it was him,” Skip said. Everyone turned toward him, they sometimes forgot Skip worked there. “It’s almost like he’s a hacker, he’s so good.”

“So he’s safe,” Carina said. Sarah shook her head. Carina grinned. “You could always move in with him and give 24 hour protection.” Sarah gave her a level look, but a grin fought her face, and won.

“What do you me almost like he’s a hacker,” Casey said. Skip shrugged.

“Just sometimes, when no one is paying attention to what he is doing, he can do things I’ve never even heard of, but when he realizes someone is watching, he just real good.”

“Thanks, Skip, you can go,” Casey said.

“But, this is my area,” Skip replied. Casey stared at him.

“Take the day off.”

“But, Sarah is my boss not you.”

“Skip, take the day off,” Sarah said. She didn’t like where this was going. Skip left, and Sarah turned toward Casey. “Be very careful what you’re about to say.” Casey shook his head.

“He probably knows Piranha or someone like him, and I think I scared Chuck last night,” Casey said. Sarah nodded. “Look, a lot of those geeks,” Sarah gave him a glare. “Nerds?” She nodded. “Wow, she’s already whipped,” he muttered. Sarah glared again. Casey ignored it and went on. “Are good on a computer. I’m not saying he knows a big name hacker, but with me going off last night like I was, what if he does? Maybe he could do what we need, but he’s got to be scared half to death after my rant.” Carina felt his forehead to see if he had malaria or if he was delirious. Casey swatted at her hand.

“Sarah, you should probably talk to him,” Carina said. Sarah raised an eyebrow. “Oh get off it. You brought us in, changed us, heart-warmed us, and now we have lady feelings. Before I used to just be out for fun, but now I want something as well…maybe someone to give me lady feelings and lady feelings,” Carina said with a wink. Sarah’s mouth dropped, and John grunted and grinned at Carina. Carina turned toward him.

“Johnny you promised you’d never grunt at me that way again.”

“And you promised you’d destroy that photo.” Sarah stuck her fingers in her ears and closed her eyes.

“NAHNAHNAHNAHNAH,” she started chanting. “I need brain bleach! I need it now!” Carina came over and hugged her.

“Go get lunch and go talk to him.”

“Sarah, he was in a real bad place a while back,” John said quietly. “He might have been serious last night, that little girl may have saved his life.” Sarah nodded and walked off.

“I still need brain bleach,” she yelled as she walked out the door. Carina turned toward John, and he sighed.

“I think I messed up,” he said. Carina grinned at him.

“Who are you and what have you done with John Casey?” Carina asked. Casey grunted, but his heart wasn’t in it. “Casey, are you implying-”

“I’m not implying he’s Piranha, but he’s probably a hacker. Look at the way he clammed up and left last night.” Carina nodded.

“He was worried what would happen if we didn’t find a computer expert,” Carina said. “What do we do if he is Piranha?”

“I don’t think it matters if he is or isn’t. It’s obvious Bartowski is a good man that will do what has to be done for his family, and he all but volunteered last night. Whatever pranks he pulled in the past, are in the past, and we all deserve second chances,” Casey said. “He and Walker deserve happiness.”

“You know, we could make sure they figure this thing out,” Carina offered.

“You know my boyfriend is Chuck’s best friend, Dad,” Alex said from the doorway they never heard open. John nodded and looked at Carina, who grinned. “Let’s go have lunch and talk this out,” she said, heading down the hallway.

“You know, Johnny,” Carina said softly. “I still have those cuffs, and you always were good at giving me lady feelings.” Casey grunted.

}o{

Sarah had heard for years about this deli in town that was supposed to be one of the absolute best, so she told Alex where she was headed, and took off. She wanted to stretch her legs, so she walked down to the Buy More Plaza…or was it the Large Mart Plaza…she could never be sure. In the past few years an Orange Orange and Weinerlicious had gone out of business there. If Sarah hadn’t known better she’d have thought both would have been a CIA cover. She saw the sign she was looking for and entered. As she scanned the list of sandwiches, she noticed one that caught her eye and made her smile. It was after the lunch rush, and the store was nearly empty. A woman, about her age, short, and a brunette watched her. She looked up in the direction Sarah was looking and grinned.

“It’s one of our best sellers,” she said.

“The Chuck, huh? That’s an interesting name for a sandwich,” Sarah said.

“It’s named after an interesting guy,” the sandwich maker replied. “Chuck Bartowski is one interesting man.” Sarah raised an eyebrow.

“Tall, lanky, raising his niece-”

“His hair makes interesting animal shapes?” the sandwich maker cut in. “Hi,” she said extending her hand. “My name is Lou, let me make you a sandwich and you and I have a little talk.” Sarah raised an eyebrow and nodded.

“Sarah,” she replied. Sarah went and sat down, and Lou joined her a few minutes later.

“So you know, Alex and Morgan both called me today to tell me about you. We’re all Chuck’s friends. Alex called me to give me a heads-up after you said you were walking over here to have lunch today.”

“So is this where you sit me down and tell me if I hurt him, you’ll hurt me?”

“No, Alex assured me that’s not your style, what I have been voted to do though, is the person to tell you what you’re getting into. Chuck will eventually, but he has to mope, and doubt himself for a while before he can open up.” Sarah looked relieved.

“So he’s doubts himself that much around everybody?” Lou rolled her eyes, and Sarah laughed.

“Look, Jill did a number on him and then when his best friend was sleeping with her behind his back…well, things couldn’t get much worse, or so we thought,” Lou began. Sarah had a look on her face that said, “wellllll” “What?” Lou asked.

“The last guy I dated was Bryce Larkin, but that was over 5 years ago.” Lou’s mouth dropped.

“Really?”

“My job…”

“You’re former CIA,” she said. Sarah was not happy that she knew.

“Does everyone know?”

“Morgan does, so yes,” Lou replied, grinning. “Casey tried to scare him about Alex and told him he was NSA, so Morgan assumed you and Carina were as well.” Sarah dropped her head. “Don’t worry, Morgan doesn’t say anything out of his circle of trust…I don’t think.” Sarah shook her head and chuckled.

“Sometimes, back then, there was no one to trust, no one to understand what you went through.” Sarah looked away, it had made so much sense back then, now, it just seemed shallow, which she now realized that’s what it was.

“A port in the storm, as they say?” Lou asked. Sarah nodded.

“He’s the last guy I’ve even been on a date with, and that was five years ago,” Sarah said. Lou’s mouth dropped. “Seriously, raising a child and running a company; Time. Con. Suming.” Lou laughed. “Anyway.”

“Back to Chuck, I tried five years ago to date the guy, but he had no confidence. I name a sandwich after him, Sarah, and he still never asked me out. Sarah, if you want a relationship with his guy, you’re going to have to do a lot of the work. He’s broken, and then he was nearly whole, and then he lost his rock, Ellie. Sarah, I think he has survivor’s guilt. I’m no psychologist, but I think he believes he should have been the one to die.”

“Maybe he needs to see one,” Sarah offered. Lou snorted.

“We tried that, he refused to go back, said the doctor reminded him too much of the professor from Back to the Future,” Lou said, shaking her head. She looked at Sarah right in the eye.

“He needs a friend, someone who will love him for who he is, and see what’s inside,” she paused and grinned at her. “And, from what I’ve been told, you have passed most of the qualifications.” Sarah raised an eyebrow.

“Most?” Sarah asked. Lou smiled.

“Morgan hasn’t signed off on you yet,” she replied. “Morgan considers himself Chuck’s heterosexual life partner, and has final say.”

“He does, does he?” Sarah smiled. “Maybe I need to meet Morgan.” Lou smiled.

“I would love to be a fly on the wall for that conversation,” Lou said. She turned serious. “He thinks everyone has abandoned him, and is certain he will never have happiness. I want him to be happy, but you have to know this is going to take some time.” Sarah nodded.

“Think I’ll head over and see a couple of nerds,” Sarah said smiling. Lou smiled, reached out, and shook her hand.

“Good luck, Sarah,” I’m pulling for you.

A/N: 2 things, Lou always got crapped on, and I never thought it was right. Sorry if you need brain bleach. You all have been wonderful, don’t know how quick the next one will come.

#Sarah #Chuck #Charah #AU #Fanfic #Sarah vs The Unexpected Life #I miss them #Fluff #Not sorry

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darlingpetao3 · 7 years

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The Descendant Materialization (Barry Allen x Reader)

Rating: G

Summary: In a universe where you, the Reader, are National City’s very own Supergirl (and dating the ever-dashing Flash), a surprise arises when one of your descendants accidentally travels back in time to your present day…

Pow! Boom! Shazzam!

Ok, you really had to stop making sound effects in your head when tripping up and disarming criminals. But what you find especially amusing was how confident these bank robbers had seemed in the beginning. Even when you dropped down in front of them with your suit’s family emblem staring back at them, they simply laughed. As if being Supergirl didn’t mean anything to them.

Well, maybe if the citizens of National City didn’t give you such a girly superhero name they wouldn’t find you so funny.

Bam! Pew! Who’s laughing now, boys?

The man with the duffle bag full of cash grabs a civilian woman and points his gun at her.

“Careful, girl scout! Or the broad gets it!” You put your hands up as if to say, whoa now.

“Okay, okay. Relax, be cool,” you try to calm him down. “Just hand over the nice lady.”

“And you’ll let me run?”

“Sure.”

“Really?”

“Why not?”

“It’s just, that’s not really your thing.”

“Are we gonna talk about it all day or do you want to get a head start? Because you’ll need it.” Before the robber can think too much about it, he shoves the lady into you and makes a dash down the street. You know he won’t get very far.

Three… Two… One. A blur of red leaving yellow lighting trails darts by you, causing your hair to blow wildly. A smile curls on your lips. Taking a big leap, you land in front of the robber and his red-masked subduer.

“Well, Flash, fancy seeing you here,” you say in a voice coated with hints of an inside joke.

“Supergirl. What a pleasant surprise,” he replies. You look at the defeated crook.

“Told ya you’d need that head start.”

After the righteous takedown, you return home to your apartment in Midtown National City (in regular citizen clothes once again). Waiting in the elevator, you push your glasses up the bridge of your nose into place. When the elevator reaches your floor, you look down the hallway to see a male body leaning against your door checking his phone. You walk up to him and wrap your arms around him.

“Hi, Bare.” You kiss his cheek. He slides his phone into his back pocket and wraps you in his arms.

“Hey,” he grins. “You were great earlier.”

“Me? You’re the one who whizzed by and snatched the guy up!”

“But you giving him false hope of getting away? And saving that woman with your wit? Priceless!” You both laugh as you open the door to your loft apartment. Even though Barry has his own place on the other side of town, he still practically lives with you. Throwing yourself down on the couch, Barry follows suite and snuggles up next to you.

“I feel like I could eat the entirety of supplies from all the Big Belly Burgers in the city,” you say dramatically. Barry kisses the back of your head.

“I’ll go pick us up some grub,” he offers. “The usual?” You nod. “Be back in a flash!” Before you scoff at the bad pun, he has already returned with take-out bags.

“Barry!”

“What? That was funny.”

You seriously have the best boyfriend.

As Barry unpacks the food, his and your phone start going off. You answer yours as you drool over the fast food spread out in front of you.

“(Y/N), you gotta get down here.” It’s Winn. “There’s something you have to see.” His tone is strange. Not quite urgent, but sort of weirded out.

“Winn, what’s going on? Is there trouble?” You shoot a look to Barry, on the phone with who you’re assuming is Cisco. It sounds like they’re having a similar conversation.

“Not trouble…”

“We’re on our way.”

You fly at top speed to the DEO. What could it be now? Another alien attack? More high-priority superhumans on the loose? Whatever it was, you were ready.

You arrive at the building the exact second Barry does. Damn. You thought you had him beat this time. The DEO crew all stands in a huddle at the other end of the room. You stride over to them.

“Hey!” you call out to them. “What’s going on?” All heads turn at the sound of your voice.

“You’ll never guess. Like ever,” Winn teases.

“What was the call about?” Barry asks, very confused by all the secret keeping.

“Dude, I know it’s way too early, but congratulations,” Cisco says patting him on the back. Barry and you share a WTF? glance.

“What-?” The gang’s huddle opens up and reveals a beautiful long legged girl, possibly in her late teens. Long hair, bright eyes. And when she lays eyes on you and Barry, the girl’s face lights up like a Christmas tree. She walks up to both of you and wraps her arms around you in a big group hug. This pretty teen kind of looks familiar, but you don’t know why. Who is this? Should I know her?

“You both look so young!” she squeals with joy.

“Sorry, um, who might you be, exactly?” you ask her.

“I’m Ellie. Ellie Allen. Your daughter!”

Okay, maybe you weren’t ready. If your expression is anything like Barry’s, you’re wide-eyed and mouth left agape. You look around at your friends for help, an explanation. Anything.

“Dibs on godfather!” yells Cisco.

Winn argues, “Hey, so not fair!”

“What’s Back to the Future?”

“Oh my God!” Cisco shouts. “Barry, (Y/N), you’ve already officially failed at becoming parents.”

“I think what Cisco is trying to say, Ellie, is that it’s not good for someone to know too much about their future,” Barry tries to explain. “And, no offence, you might be that ‘too much.‘”

“I’m sorry, Dad,” she apologizes. Whoa. That was a shock to the system. “When I ended up here, I didn’t know what to do. But then when I learned what year it was, I remembered you guys telling me you used to work for the DEO together when you were younger. So I came here.”

J'onn steps in with the question, “And how exactly did you come to be here in this time?”

“Training exercise gone wrong, apparently. See, my teammate slash rival has teleportation powers and I guess when she blasted them at me she overshot by many years.”

“What kind of training exercise are we talking about?” you ask. Ellie looks at you with so much awe and love. It completely blows your mind how much she looks like both you and Barry at once. Ellie giggles.

“Oh! I guess you wouldn’t know, yet! Watch this!” In a split second your daughter has left and returned, having placed a single flower in everyone’s hair (except for J'onn, who had one in his shirt pocket). You are even more stunned.

“You’re a Speedster,” you remark.

“That’s right!” Ellie says brightly. “Just like my old man. But don’t worry Mom, I have some of your awesome powers, too.” Her eyes grow red and the beams of light melt a potted plant in half, creating a mess.

“Oops.”

“Clean up on aisle twelve!” Winn shouts enthusiastically.

“Yo, that’s dope,” Cisco admires.

“Anyway, as much as I’d like to live in this retro time, I need to get back. I just don’t know how to go about it…”

“I might know a guy,” Barry says. At that, you and him escort Ellie to the lower levels of the DEO where the company’s resident scientists, Harrison Wells and Caitlin Snow, run experiments, tests, and come up with new tech. The two heads in the room look up from their respective works.

“Barry, (Y/N),” Caitlin greets. “Who have you brought with you?”

“This is Ellie,” you introduce. “She’s our- our-”

“She’s our daughter,” Barry finishes. The room is silent.

“How is that possible?” Ellie goes on to fill Caitlin in on what happened. Harrison slowly approaches your daughter and extends a hand for her to shake.

“Harrison Wells. Pleasure to meet you, Ellie.” He examines her face, then Barry’s, then yours. “Truly remarkable,” he marvels at the time travelling anomaly that is your teenage daughter.

“We need to get her back to her time,” you say.

“Do you think you can help me?” Ellie asks. Harrison makes a thinking gesture with his index finger and thumb over his mouth.

“Absolutely,” he says. “But first, Miss Allen, if I have the permission of your parents, I’d like to run a few tests…”

For the next few days, the members of the DEO are bustling around with the new task of trying to send Ellie home. Especially Cisco, Caitlin, Wells, and Winn (or as you sometimes call them, C2W2). In the meantime, while the crew works on creating a sort of time portal, Ellie stays with you and Barry at your apartment. It is the most bizarre thing in the world to live with your daughter who isn’t technically even born yet. At first, it was awkward, no doubt. But after awhile, things started to smooth out. She really was an extraordinary girl. You and Barry were clearly going to be very lucky parents.

Towards the middle of the week, Ellie appears to be getting antsy, so you decide to take her along with you to CatCo. A sort of secret take-your-daughter-to-work-day, but of course, you introduce her as your cousin. You show her your latest article and she’s thrilled with your piece. She even mentions she has an interest in the field and was totally acing her writing class in school back in her time.

Atta girl!

After hearing about her CatCo experience with you, Barry wants in on the parent-daughter action and takes her to the National City Police Department to work a case the following day. You get to hear from Ellie later on about how cool it was surveying a crime scene.

“She’s got a great eye,” Barry praises.

“What a talent,” you agree. Ellie beams back at you both. But then her eyes flick to the TV and becomes distracted. What is she looking at…

It’s breaking news. A high-speed car chase on the freeway heading out of the city. Inside the vehicle? Thirty million dollars worth of jewelry. You and Barry stand up at the same time, tense.

“Ready to go, Bare?”

“Always.”

“I’m coming, too!” Ellie insists.

“No.” The word was said in unison.

“You’ve got to be kidding,” she protests.

“No, we’re not,” Barry says sternly. “You stay here.”

“Okay, well, I guess I’ll just…” Zip. She’s gone.

“Your daughter just disobeyed us!” you cry.

“Oh, so because she acted out, she’s my daughter,” Barry half jokes. “Let’s go.” Barry bolts away while you tear off your clothes to reveal your super-suit and fly out your window. Below you, Barry’s a red blur on the highway heading north-west. Keeping your top speed, you’re positive you can reach the speeding jewel thief before he reaches the city limits. Except… up ahead the police have the thief surrounded. He’s now in handcuffs! How-?

Ellie, that’s how.

You touch down on the ground just as she calls out to the thief, “Nice try, scumbag!” Barry shows up behind you and his hand finds your shoulder.

“She definitely picked up snarky comments and name-calling criminals from you.”

After about two weeks, you receive word that the DEO Labs team has finally finished the portal project. Something of this magnitude, you had expected it to take much longer than it did. Then again, the project was conducted by world genius Harrison Wells, so anything was possible with him at the helm. You knew Ellie had to get back home, but a part of you wished she wasn’t leaving already.

The portal hums the moment Cisco switches it on. Everyone groups together to say goodbye to your daughter, hugs and all. You hear Cisco reminding her to watch Spielberg’s time travelling adventure when she gets back. After Barry gets a little misty eyed saying his farewells, it’s your turn, and you hug Ellie tight in your arms. You aren’t sure what to say.

“Take care of yourself, my girl,” is what comes out.

“I will, Momma.” She lets go and addresses you and Barry one final time. “Dad, twelve year old me will beg for a puppy. All I ask is to just think about it. You have over twenty years to mull it over. And Mom- If, let’s just say, hypothetically in the future I happen to accidentally destroy your favourite vase. Go easy on me, please?” Ellie advances toward the portal, but not before giving the room a little wave.

“See you… later?” Her laugh that follows it almost makes you choke up.

You dreaded saying goodbye to Ellie. But you can’t wait to say hello to her again someday.

Anonymous Request: If you watch Supergirl and The Flash, would you mind doing an imagine where the reader is Supergirl and she and The Flash are a crime-fighting duo and are dating and know about each other’s secret identies, S.T.A.R. Labs doesn’t exist and Cisco, Caitlin, and Harrison Wells work with the DEO, and their daughter is a speedster from the future and she accidentally ran back in time while doing a training excerise with her team and the gang has to help her get back to her time?

#reader insert #anon request #barry allen x reader #the flash x reader #barry allen imagine #the flash imagine #barry allen fanfiction #the flash fanfiction #supergirl fanfiction #supergirl imagine

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band-blogging · 7 years

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Song Imagine: Just A Friend To You // Megan Trainer

Request: Tyler or josh x reader based on the song ‘just a friend to you’ by Meghan trainor ? ❤️❤️❤️

Why you gotta hug me Like that every time you see me?

Why you always making me laugh Swear you’re catching feelings

Tyler Joseph is the most annoying person you have ever met. His stupid face and his stupid hair and his stupid voice and his stupid everything.

And you and your stupid emotions had to go and fall for him. For your brother’s best friend. For your best friend.

Everything is just so stupid.

Josh introduced you to Tyler not long after they started hanging out. The two of you sort of clicked and have been close ever since.

But you had to go and ruin everything by having feelings.

Josh doesn’t know, and you plan on it staying that way. Josh doesn’t need a personal tour of your love life.

But you’ve almost told him a few times when Tyler has told you about a girl he really likes because you just want to talk to somebody about it and Josh is usually the one you go to when you feel that way.

You’re just afraid he’ll be mad. Because if you and Tyler start dating and it doesn’t work out, it’ll change things for him and Tyler. You don’t want twenty one pilots to fall apart because of your own needs.

So you keep your mouth shut and are content being Tyler’s best friend.

But you can’t help but get your hopes up sometimes that Tyler feels the same way about you that you do about him. When he hugs you and holds on just a little longer than friends normally do or gives you a kiss on the forehead and tells you you’re beautiful.

You get so excited because you think he might have feelings for you too, then he tells you about a girl he went on a date with and asks you for advice and it’s almost like he takes a hammer and smashes your hopes into a million pieces.

But you’re probably over exaggerating.

I loved you from the start So it breaks my heart

When you say I’m just a friend to you

He doesn’t need to say it for you to know, but it would be nice to hear whether or not he has feelings for you. That way, you can finally figure out if all of those friendly gestures are meant to be more then just friendly.

“Hey, Tyler,” you say, not surprised to see him and Josh sitting on your and Josh’s couch one Saturday afternoon playing video games.

“Hey, Y/N,” he responds, barely taking his eyes off the screen to smile at you. You go into the kitchen and make yourself lunch, sighing and sitting on the counter as you wait for it to heat up in the microwave.

Once you’re settled in on the chair next to the couch Josh pauses the game tells you he’s going to the bathroom, leaving you and Tyler in the living room.

“How’s the album going?” you ask, taking a sip of your water.

“Great. We actually just finished one of the songs. I’m really excited.”

“That’s awesome, Ty. I’m really happy for you.”

He nods and you smile, looking down at your food as the silence stretches longer and longer.

“I wanted to ask you something, actually,” he says eventually.

You know he probably just wants to ask you a small favor. Something insignificant. But you can’t help but get your hopes up (again) that maybe…just maybe he’ll ask you to dinner or coffee or something that could be considered a date.

“Fire away.”

He pauses, thinking over his request, figuring out how to word it correctly.

“I was wondering if you could help me pick what to wear on this date I have tomorrow. You’re good at that stuff.”

You can almost feel him taking a hammer to your heart.

Over exaggerating.

“Yeah,” you say with a forced smile, “’course I’ll help.”

“Great, you can come over tomorrow afternoon if that works,” he smiles at you and Josh walks out of the bathroom, looking between you and Tyler with an oblivious smile on his face.

“So, what do you guys want to do?”

Cause friends don’t do the things we do Everybody knows you love me too

Tryna be careful with the words I use I say it cause I’m dying to I’m so much more than just a friend to you

“You invited her over to help you pick out an outfit for your date?” Josh asks with a scoff, shaking his head at his best friend, who is the biggest idiot on the planet. “Dude, that’s not what you do when you have feelings for someone. You don’t ask them to help you with a date, you actually ask them on the date.”

“I know, but there are so many things that could go wrong. It’s better for us to just stay friends.”

“Whatever you say, man.”

Josh thinks Tyler’s an idiot. If he’s being completely honest, he has always thought you and Tyler would be a great couple.

But Tyler just won’t ask you out. He refuses to, and Josh doesn’t know what his problem is.

“I mean, come on man…she’s your sister and my best friend and I just- I feel like getting involved…it would just end badly.”

Josh shakes his head and rolls his eyes, sighing as he watches his best friend pine over his sister.

Tyler eventually shakes his head and stands, walking towards the door.

“I need to go get ready,” Tyler says. “I think it’ll go well and if it does, I want you and Y/N to meet her. I really like her.”

“Not as much as you like Y/N and you know it.”

Another sigh followed by another silence.

“I’ll see you later.”

When there’s other people around You never wanna kiss me

You tell me it’s too late to hang out Then you say you miss me

“I think you should dress casual. Maybe…this”

You look through Tyler’s closet and pull out a nice pair of pants and a t-shirt.

“This looks good,” you say holding them out to him. He smiles and nods, taking the clothes and going to the bathroom.

“You’re the best, Y/N!” he shouts through the door. You nod and wipe your eyes, tired from your emotionally exhausting day.

“It’s no problem,” you say, although you doubt he can hear you.

He comes out and you smile, clapping your hands together.

“My work here is done,” you say, forcing out a small laugh.

Tyler does look great in that shirt.

Tyler smiles at you and your eyes widen in surprise when he pulls you into an unexpected hug.

“Thank you,” he says quietly, his voice slightly muffled by your sweater.

“It’s no problem, Ty. You can ask me any favor anytime,” you say, smiling at him when he pulls back.

“I should go,” he says after a few seconds of silence, taking you out of your trance. “I’ll text you later to tell you how it goes.”

“I’m looking forward to hearing about it.”

And I loved you from the start So it breaks my heart

When you say I’m just a friend to you

The date was okay so far. It wasn’t the same because he had just spent time with you and the only thing he could think of was you laugh and your smile and the way your eyes crinkled when you laughed, similar to Josh’s. The way you did your best not to blush but couldn’t help it sometimes and the way-

“Tyler?”

He looks up from his plate to see his date, Ellie, looking at him.

“Sorry, zoned out for a second there,” he says with a chuckle. “It’s alright,” she says, smiling softly at him. He sighs and smiles at her, trying to think of something to say.

“So, you’re in a band?” she asks. He nods, glad she picked a good conversation starter.

“Yeah, we’re called twenty one pilots. It’s just me and my friend, Josh. I sing and play piano.”

“That’s awesome!” she says excitedly. And the more they talk, the more Tyler starts to like her and the less he thinks about you.

Tryna be careful with the words I use I say it cause I’m dying to

I’m so much more than just a friend to you

“Josh?” you call quietly through the house. You hear your brother coming down the stairs and purse your lips. “Is Ty coming over today.”

“Yeah, he said he’d be over in ten or fifteen minutes. Why?”

You shake your head, telling him that it isn’t important.

“How’d his date go? He never told me.”

“Oh, he said it went really well. I think he likes her.”

You nod, although you can’t help the tears forming in the corners of your eyes.

“That’s great,” you say weakly, not caring that your voice cracked. You turn away from Josh and wipe your eyes, but your brother catches your arm and pulls you back, holding you at arms length in front of him.

“Hey, what’s wrong?”

You open your mouth, ready to tell him that everything’s fine, but all that comes out is a sob and you collapse into Josh, wrapping your arms around him.

“I-I can’t do this anymore, Josh. I can’t help Tyler with his dates, I can’t listen to him talk about how well they went, I can’t sit around while he falls in love with someone else!”

Josh’s arms tighten around you and his breath hitches.

“Y/N…”

He decides then that he is going to tell Tyler that you reciprocate his feelings. Then he can make his sister and his best friend happy. He’s going to tell him today, speed things along.

He rubs your back and supports you as you sob into him. He tries to think though what he is going to say to Tyler, but his thoughts are interrupted when the door opens. You pull away from Josh and quickly wipe your eyes, forcing a smile on your face.

I’m so much more than just a friend to you

But that smile, along with Josh’s, drops when you spot a woman standing next to Tyler in the doorway.

“Hey, guys. This, um…this is my girlfriend, Ellie.”

A friend to you A friend to you

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latestnews2018-blog · 6 years

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There Were Zero Things Better This Week Than These Grandma Twins

New Post has been published on https://latestnews2018.com/there-were-zero-things-better-this-week-than-these-grandma-twins/

There Were Zero Things Better This Week Than These Grandma Twins

Welcome to Good Stuff, HuffPost’s weekly recommendation series devoted to the least bad things on and off the internet.

The best thing I saw this week was this photo of two old women I’m going to assume are twins because they look exactly the same and are wearing matching pink outfits. If I’m wrong, sue me.

Why do I like it? I don’t know. I just do. Maybe it’s been a so-so week, but I can’t think of anything else that has brought me more joy. Look at their outfits! The shirts! The glasses! The hair! Are those called shorts or pants? Who cares! I love them!

My colleague Ashley Feinberg described this photo as “fucked up,” claiming “there’s no way you get to 80 and still keep buying matching outfits with your twin without something being extremely fucked up.” She is wrong. Sometimes two cute twins (presumably) are just two cute twins (presumably).

Do you know these twins? I would like to interview them. Thanks. ― Maxwell Strachan

Jonathan Chait’s BOFA Tweet

Twitter

On July 12, in the year of our Lord 2018, at 10:51 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time, persecuted white man Jonathan Chait tweeted three perfect words: “What is BOFA?”

BOFA, as any self-hating internet user knows, is “bofa deez nuts.” It is the “What’s ‘updog’” prank, only vastly stupider and consequently infinitely funnier whenever an unsuspecting target takes the bait. Jonathan Chait took the bait, and the result was more beautiful than any of us could have ever hoped to deserve.

Jonathan Chait, however, deleted his tweet — the tweet in which he asked, “What is BOFA?” — and deprived us of our constitutional right to dunk on Jonathan Chait. Just one more example of illiberal deplatforming from the radical left.

Anyway, congratulations to the remarkably damp Jonathan Chait on giving brief, beautiful life to a perfect tweet. We should all be so lucky. ― Ashley Feinberg

Sweet Soccer Boys Sharing Gentle Hugs

ALEXANDER NEMENOV via Getty Images

This week I wanted to recommend hate-watching (or more like “confused-watching”) Fox’s nightly special “World Cup Tonight,” but my editor made me turn it into a standalone blog.

Instead, I will recommend a more healing aspect of the World Cup spectacle: watching the beautiful boys of soccer comfort and celebrate with each other through emotional embraces. Jezebel’s Sheena Raza Faisal saluted these loving clinches in a very on-point post that features not quite enough images of man hugs ― check the comments for more, especially England manager Gareth Southgate soothing Colombia’s Mateus Uribe after Uribe missed a crucial penalty kick in a shootout against England.

Boy, it sure is dusty in here, etc., etc. ― Claire Fallon

Glynnis MacNicol’s New Book

Illustration: HuffPost/Photo: Simon and Schuster

After hearing Glynnis MacNicol talk about her new memoir, Nobody Tells You This, at the Strand in New York City, I’ve had this one sentence stuck in my head. When asked about the plight of unmarried, childless women and our society’s treatment of them as somehow other or incomplete, MacNicol hit back with a statement that resonates with me still: “We look at women as a problem in need of a solution.”

In her book, MacNicol draws attention to the ways strangers feel they have a right to women’s bodies and lives in service of the ultimate goal, motherhood. The shame around it all, the general lack of freedom or agency, is really frightening. Although I have yet to read Nobody Tells You This, I’m excited to. And I’m ready to recommend it as a refreshing take on what life can be like for women who choose not to do what is expected of them. ― Anna Krakowsky

The Birth Of Kulture

Kulture ❤️❤️anything else woulda been basic 💁🏽‍♀️💁🏽‍♀️💁🏽‍♀️Okrrrrr

— iamcardib (@iamcardib) July 12, 2018

Cardi B had the baby and her name is Kulture with a K. That’s self-explanatory Good Stuff. ― Julia Craven

When June Smacked The Shit Out Of Commander Waterford On “The Handmaid’s Tale”

In a moment when it feels like terrible men are trying to whittle away women’s rights on a near-daily basis, sometimes you just really want to see a lady righteously smack the shit out of a dude who deserves it. Enter the “Handmaid’s Tale” finale!

June (Elisabeth Moss), who has spent two seasons being psychologically tortured, raped and belittled by Commander Fred Waterford (Joseph Fiennes) ― a man who desperately wants to be powerful and desperately wants the approval of women he knows are better than him ― finally stops bottling up her rage and lets him have it, right across the face. I could watch this GIF on repeat for the next two years. ― Emma Gray

England’s Loss

WATCH: Mario Mandzukic scores the game winning goal in extra time to put Croatia in its first ever World Cup Final. #ENGCRO #WorldCup pic.twitter.com/dnRpjSNPHo

— Jurado (@JuradoNYC) July 11, 2018

It’s not coming home. LOL. ― Travis Waldron

The Enya Song In “Eighth Grade”

You know a movie’s good when an Enya song pops up in a pivotal scene. But even without “Orinoco Flow,” Bo Burnham’s “Eighth Grade” would be an indie masterpiece ― one you should definitely, totally, run to the theater to see.

It follows “Most Quiet” superlative winner Kayla (Elsie Fisher) during her last week of eighth grade, as she tries to come to grips with her social anxiety and lackluster lifestyle before high school. Behind her phone, she’s confident, even funny. But in real life, Kayla is quiet, a loner. Burnham allows viewers to study her every move in a tech-obsessed world while contemplating their own adolescent memories. It’s beautiful, raw and utterly sweet. ― Leigh Blickley

Megan Amram’s Emmy-Nominated Web Series

vimeo

Please watch “An Emmy for Megan,” a hilarious and weirdly poetic exercise in doing the bare minimum, while remaining utterly extra. The concept is simple: Writer Megan Amram, best known for her work on “The Good Place” and Twitter, decides she reeeeally wants to win an Emmy Award. (It’s her favorite award!) So at the last minute, she decides to write, direct and star in a short web series about making a short web series to win an Emmy.

The six episodes, under 10 minutes each and created in the week leading up to the submissions deadline, use the constraints of the Emmy requirements like forms of meter and verse. There are tears and tantrums and alcohol-fused meltdowns and even a surprise MUTINY along the short (so short) way.

Amram’s feat is not only hilarious but effective. On Thursday, the series was nominated for two Emmys: Outstanding Actress in a Short-Form Comedy or Drama Series and Outstanding Short-Form Comedy or Drama Series. Don’t sleep on the most inspiring tale of our time. ― Priscilla Frank

A Podcast About A Cult

When I was a kid, my best friend’s name was Robin, which was kind of weird because my mom’s childhood best friend’s name was Robin. The difference between my Robin and my mother’s Robin (aside from their being entirely separate humans) was that the latter ended up in a “Wild Wild Country”-ish cult.

My mom told me the story of her friend’s descent into Cult Town, U.S.A., and the teen girl power rescue mission that boldly extricated her a million times. Everything about it fascinated me. For a while, I actually thought it was a cosmic inevitability that my Robin would end up in a cult from which I’d need to liberate her. Anyway, she didn’t. But “The Gateway” is a good podcast about a cult. ― Katherine Brooks

Road Trip Music

Over the past few years, there’s been renewed interest in the work of John Fahey, the instrumentalist who put American primitive guitar on the map. As the genre has surged in popularity, acolytes and like-minded explorers have come out of the woodwork. Specialty labels have reissued private-press recordings that had long since gone out of print. It seems as though every town had an uncelebrated devotee of these obscure, mystical tunings. Worshipful but questioning, celestial and homespun, primitive guitar uses repetition and drone to access the pleasures and enlightenment of devotional music.

In April, Fahey’s hometown of Takoma Park, Maryland (just outside D.C.), honored the genre he helped create with a multiday festival. Lauding his work, it also shone a light on others who followed a similar path, devoting years to decoding the light and limber picking of Mississippi John Hurt and replicating the primal thump of Reverend Gary Davis. It was only fitting that one of this generation’s best pickers showed up ― Marisa Anderson, a guitarist based in the Pacific Northwest.

Anderson recently released a new album, “Cloud Corner,” which should be her breakthrough. She does something that I think most Fahey followers miss. She captures his melancholy, favoring mood as much as speed and technique. Her songs put you in places and moments. One song off an earlier album, she has said, is a tribute to her favorite swimming hole in Kentucky.

The new record lands on weightier subjects like the Syrian refugee crisis while other tunes process Tuareg-style playing through her fuzzy, electric style. But mostly, the songs ring clear, notes hushed or plucked pure. The album is meant for one of the few modes of escape where we can all still worship in peace: the road trip. ― Jason Cherkis

And Finally, The Women Of Color Who Dominated The Emmy Noms

Noam Galai via Getty Images

Sandra Oh was nominated for her role in “Killing Eve.”

This week in Good Stuff for me was the plethora of amazingly talented women of color who got Emmy nominations for best and supporting actress, including Sandra Oh (the first Asian woman to be nominated for lead actress in a drama), Tracee Ellis Ross, Issa Rae, Zazie Beetz, Letitia Wright and my queen Thandie Newton. ― Zeba Blay

Get last week’s Good Stuff here.

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