#girl is acting like its the end of the world maya found some money on the ground and kept it

[thetimelordbatgirl]

"Riles, how about I do what you do, and you do what you do?"-the credits should have rolled at that point in Girl Meets Belief, because its a good message on religious belief's, but nooo, this episode wants to force belief's down people's throats so can't have that be the message.

[futurewriter2000]

Thieves - pt. 5

A/N: I don’t know since when I am this romantic but there is something in the poetry I read that just turns me Shakespear all of a suddent. Don’t you think I am finished with this. I have much to give to this fic. There’s still James to deal with ;)

XX

You were never much keen on the transformations of the main character in a book or a movie that you have seen and read. How they transform at night as if a fairy sprinkled glow-up dust on them and how the next day they were a new and completely different person. 

You knew what James Potter said. How he wants you to be you but since when do you care anymore what James Potter thought?

All holidays, you’ve done nothing but contemplate of your new transformation. You laid on your bed with your legs crossed and your eyes on the ceiling. With a swift of your legs uncrossing and standing up, you walked to the bathroom and looked yourself in the mirror. 

Yes, you weren’t your sister but you weren’t the kid from your past as well. Why try to be someone you already were? It didn’t work out. You’ll never be the same person you were before. You are this old once in your life, so why think and ponder and contemplate who you would be. Just be who you want to be. 

You took a hold of your hair and watched your natural hair colour stand out from your skin. ‘I always did want to dye my hair.’ you thought to yourself, smiling and locking yourself in the bathroom. You put makeup, taking your time with it and putting more effort than you ever did before. After you finished, you changed into the clothes that were always in your closet but never really worn. Shoes, coat, bag, summer savings and you were through the door. Not a goodbye, not a warning to your parents...you were just after that one day transformation. 

---

The Great Hall was filled with students, laughs and arguments. Stories of their holidays came from everybody, chatter over there, gasps on the other end, some teasing and joking as well yet nobody was prepared for you. 

Everything you put into yourself, changed you. You were more you than you have ever felt in your entire life. Finally, you felt comfortable and confident in your own skin. You looked in the mirror every morning since that day and you were glad to see that person looking back at you. It wasn’t you before this, the you that hid from most of your life and adventures. Changing yourself meant changing your life and that was what was important to you. If you wanted to start a new book, you had to get a new pen. 

Yes, it wasn’t easy ignoring the whispers and the eyes that followed as you walked in but that’s who you were and you are done appologising for that. 

“(y/n)?!” Marilla’s eyes popped out of her skull and so did the other girls’ but you only smirked at them and quirked an eyebrow.

“Yes.” 

“You- what did you do?” she pointed to your hair, then your nose, then- well everything that you decided to change on yourself. 

“Oh this?” you took your hair in your hand. “Just a little change of season.” you smiled and they all kept looking.

“And the piercing and the- the clothes- what- why?”

“Why not? Why not live in the moment? Try new things?” you smiled at them. “Why be so afraid of change when it can be so wonderful?”

“And your parents?” Marilla continued.

“It was my money, my life, my body. I can do whatever I want of it. They can’t restrain it anymore.”

“That is bold.” said one of the other girls and taking your hair in her hand. “And they are still so soft- how?!”

“It’s a secret.” you winked. 

---

Sirius Black has been more than just enchanted by now. Even if you have changed your whole appereance, there was something else different on you. Something in those eyes that he couldn’t quite figure out, especially from afar. 

He ran to those new light-grey hair and walked alongside you.  “ I walk into a room Just as cool as you please, “  he quoted with a playfulness in his tone and you stopped to listen.     

“And to a man, The fellows stand or Fall down on their knees.   Then they swarm around me, A hive of honey bees.” he finished and smiled with his ever so charming smile. 

You smiled as well and pushed your books closer to your chest. “ I say, It’s the fire in my eyes,   And the flash of my teeth,   The swing in my waist,   And the joy in my feet.   I’m a woman Phenomenally. Phenomenal woman, That’s me.” you finished and looked up at those eyes- those eyes that looked at you so sweetly even after what you said to him the last time you saw him. “Maya Angelou.”

“Indeed she is.” he didn’t even realize what he was saying, only watched the glimmer in your eyes that shone so brightly inside of you. You were now backed against the wall, his eyes observing and his mouth curving. “You look-”

“Sirius.” you cut him off before he could finish. The tone of your voice and the break of the eyes shook him out from his daze. “About what I said last time we-”

A soft smile appeared on his lips and now he was done listening because all he ever wanted from this moment on was to kiss you. He backed you against the wall until there was only little space left and that your breath got cought up in your throat. He pulled you into his arms and your lips crashed into a perfect lock. 

You didn’t know what was happening until it was over. You didn’t know how long have you been in his arms, kissing those sweet lips of his until he pulled away. The only thing you knew right about now was that it felt like a trip to heaven. 

You didn’t believe the words when people told you that with the right person, everything feels right, perfect, heavenly... You always believed they were exaggerating in that area but now- now your whole world flipped and you wanted to stay in that kiss forever. 

His hand reached your cheek, his eyes travelled from your lips to your nose and lastly to your eyes. “You could have murdered me with an axe and I’d still forgive you.” his thumb brushed your lips and you smiled. 

“So my wish is your command, huh?” you joked and let your fingers get caught up in his curls. 

“I’m a man not a genie.” he rolled his eyes and you laughed. 

Oh that laugh. That wonderful, breath-taking resonance of art. 

“I don’t know what you have done to me, tiny Bee but you surely have a good hold on me.”

“Me?” you scoffed. “You’re the one acting like a true Romeo. Looking at me with those-those eyes and kissing me out of nowhere.”

He spinned with you in your arms, lifting you from the ground and kissing your lips. “Romeo, huh?” he kept moving on his feet, taking a hold of your hands and starting to slowly dance and twirl with you in the corridor. “Didn’t Romeo steal Juliets heart and-”

“There’s something you have in common-”

“Oh, so you agree? You are my Juliet.”

“No. I agree that both of you are thieves.” you smiled as he spun you and pulled you back in his arms. Your back was agaisnt his chest, his chin resting on yoour shoulder as he rocked left and right. 

“Thieves of hearts.” he said and you snorted. 

With the warmth of his embrace and the hold of his arms, you were finally able to pull away and back him against the wall. “And what will happen now?” you tried to keep your distance but your nose was scrunched at him and your eyes were smiling, which kept him carefree and naive. 

His hands moved quickly to your hands behind your back. He spun you fast and pulled you on his chest. It was all very smooth as he placed your hand on his shoulder and let it wander on the back of his neck on its own. “Now I ask you to be mine and await for your answer like a true nobleman.”

“What? No ring? No on one knee?” you teased and he laughed. 

“I can do that.” he moved away, tapping his pockets and pulling out the same silver ring that you found in his leather jacket. “Looks like I come quite prepared.” he winked and was about to go down on one knee but you only took his arms and pulled him back up.

“Sirius, don’t.” you laughed and he was standing back on his feet. 

He looked down on his family ring, smiling and putting it back in his pocket. Taking your hands in his, he finally decided to ask one more time. “Will you, (y/n)(y/l/n), be mine and let me be yours till a book tears us apart?” he asked and you laughed again.

“You have better got rid of that thing.” you said but saw just how his eyes begged you for the real answer. “And yes, I will.”

[thewritenerd]

This Life and the Other: NaNoWriMo Day 5

(cw for brief mentions of child abuse and transphobia)

My mind started racing, this could be my chance. I turned back to Apolo and Ezra. ‘Hey do either of you think you can throw a ball hard enough to knock someone out?’ I asked. Ezra shook his head while Apolo looked thoughtful. ‘Maybe with my telekinesis, depending on what kind of ball it was. Why?’ I shook my head. ‘Can’t tell you now. Just make sure you come to the break room after class okay?’ They looked uncertain but nodded. ‘Okay. We’ll be there.’

The day seemed to drag more then it usually did. Which was really saying something. I tried to focus on my work, hoping if I got my grades back up I could stop my lessons with Dr Gjorgiev. But my mind was too busy focussing on my plan. It was a risky plan that would require cooperation from my friends in both worlds but it may be the only way for me to be there when we break into the Pound. When we were finally allowed out I headed to the break room, Ezra and Apolo following close behind. Once we were sat at a table in the corner I told them about the plan to break into the Pound on earth and how I needed to be asleep here in order to be there. ‘Only problem is it seems time is reversed there. So when it’s night there it’s day here.’ They looked uncertain but nodded. ‘And what does that have to do with me?’ Apolo asked. ‘If you throw a ball at me with enough telekinetic force to knock me out I might be able to stay awake on earth.’ ‘How long would you need to be out?’ Ezra asked. ‘I’d say six hours minimum.’ Apolo still looked uncertain. ‘Are you sure? That’s a long time and you know my aim’s not great.’ ‘Yeah and don’t you guys have really thick skulls?’ Ezra asked. ‘Like I’m pretty sure I read somewhere Railon’s are evolved from something like deer. So their skulls are really thick from when they used to fight with their horns?’ ‘Like deer? You mean keeker?’ Apolo looked thoughtful. ‘I guess they do look a bit like deer. But to answer your question Saren and my skulls are a bit thicker than yours, but we’re only 14 so they’re nowhere near as thick as an adults.’ ‘Anyway do you think you can do it?’ I asked Apolo. ‘I guess it could be worth a try. But it’ll be a risk.’ ‘What’ll be a risk?’ a voice pipped up making us all jump. Turning around I saw Kido standing there staring at us. The three of us exchanged glances. ‘The prank we’re planning to pull tomorrow.’ I lied. ‘A prank?’ Kido asked his eyes shining. ‘Yeah that’s right.’ Apolo agreed catching on. Ezra looked confused. ‘But we weren’t talking abou…’ he began, before being cut off by a kick in the shins from me. ‘Yeah we’re planning on pulling a prank on our classmates tomorrow.’ I continued. ‘Can I watch?’ Kido asked bouncing on my toes. ‘Sorry little buddy you’ll be in class,’ Apolo reminded him. ‘But we’ll tell you all about it when we’re done.’ He added when he saw Kido’s crestfallen face. Kido cheered up at that. ‘Hey Kido. Want to play a game with us?’ I asked him. He nodded. ‘Okay what do you want to play?’ He looked thoughtful. ‘You can pick.’ He said. ‘Okay let’s see. Do you know how to play Craydell?’ I asked. Kido shook his head. ‘Well I’ll teach you. Just wait there.’ I went off to fetch a pack of cards as Kido sat himself down on one of the chairs. The four of us played together until it was dinner time, after which Kido was sent to bed along with all the other little kids. Though I guess I didn’t so much play as sit beside Kido and help him.

On earth we decided there was no point in sending Cam, Lalita and myself back to the pound as we’d learnt pretty much everything we could. Instead we all sat together on the sofas trying to finesse our plan. I’d told them about my plan to be there and they agreed that tonight would be our only chance for the foreseeable future. Once we’d planned as well as we could it was decided Iesha and I would be sent to get supplies for the break in. We headed to a shopping centre the opposite direction to the Pound.

‘So we need torches, some batteries,’ Iesha began reading the list. ‘Walkie talkies, umm… floor cleaner?’ she looked uncertain.

‘To knock people out I guess?’ I suggested.

‘Like in the movies? Does that actually work?’

‘In a way. It’s not as quick as in the films though. It would take like 5 minutes give or take.’ She looked back down at the list.

‘My breath would be quicker.’ She mumbled. Or at least I think she mumbled. It could have been her mask covering her face. She was wearing a white surgical mask with yellow polkadots over her mouth, which matched the daisy hair clips she wore in her braids. Apparently she wore it whenever she was in a crowded area in case she accidently started breathing poison gas, though it made it hard to hear her talk sometimes. She shrugged and stuffed the list into the front pocket of her dungarees.

‘Well we can get most of these things at the supermarket. But I’m not sure where we’re going to get six walkie talkies though?’  I looked around before spotting what looked like a map.

‘Over here.’ I gestured for her to follow before heading over. Looking at it I began to read the list of shops.

‘Any of these shops sound like they’d sell walkie talkies?’ I asked. Iesha reached up and pointed at the shop name labelled number 16.

‘There. It’s like a toy and novelty shop. If any place will have them it’ll be there.’ I nodded.

‘Right well it’s no where near the supermarket. So seeing how that’s closer we’ll head there first and then get the walkie talkies.’ I decided. We started heading to the supermarket walking past all sorts of shops. As I looked around, I couldn’t help but feel this place was familiar. Not like it reminded me of a similar place back on Kalreck. No it was as if I’d been here before a long time ago. So some things seemed different but the general lay out felt like I knew it. I considered bringing this up to Iesha but decided against it. There was already so much we needed think about it wouldn’t be fair to burden her with my weird subconscious thoughts. We bought pretty much everything we’d need there before heading to the novelty shop. I hadn’t been sure what she’d meant by that but when we walked in it sort of clicked. The shop sold all sorts of things, party games, rc cars and helicopters, neon lights, lava lamps, pop culture figurines, boards games, stuffed toys, books and quite a few other things.

‘I found them!’ Iesha announced rushing over to a wall of electronics and grabbing a pack of two walkie talkies.

‘Wow these are a little pricey. Do you think we can afford three pairs?’ I peered at the price tag.

‘I’m not sure? Are those the only ones they have?’ We walked along the wall trying to see if there were any other options. Near the end I spotted some brightly coloured walkie talkies for kids that seemed to be half the price.

‘What about these?’ I asked picking them up.

‘I’m not sure let’s see the back.’ I turned them round and we read the list of features. ‘Seems good to me.’ Iesha said. I nodded in agreement reaching to take two more.

‘Right let’s pay for these and head back,’ I said heading towards the checkout. Iesha followed me but stopped when she spotted a large display of what looked like hand sized fluffy balls.

‘They have Fluffle Buddies!’ She cried picking up a blue one.

‘Um what?’

‘Fluffle Buddies. They’re these reversable stuffed toys. You can either have them as a ball or,’ She unzipped the zipper and turned the ball inside out revealing a small blue creature with big plastic eyes and a tail. ‘A little creature like this wolf.’ She was beaming from ear to ear as she looked at the thing in hands. ‘Isn’t it adorable?’ I looked at it thinking it looked a little weird to me. The eyes seemed to stare at me, and its face was a little squashed. Not too mention it looked like a round  head with a tail sticking out the back.

‘I guess…’ I said not wanting to hurt her feelings.

‘I used to have one of these. A little pink penguin. I called her Maya’ She continued undeterred by my non comital answer.

‘What happened to it?’ I asked. She sighed setting the fluffle back down on the display.

‘My mum found it one day when she was looking through my room. She showed it to my dad and he made me watch him set it on fire. I remember when I started crying and begging him to stop he just yelled “I’m not having my son playing with a fucking girls toy”.’ Her smile was gone and she seemed to be trying to make herself as small as possible.

‘I’m sorry,’ I said. What else could I say? I looked back at the display thinking. Somewhere in my bag I’d found a bag of money. I wasn’t sure how much it was but it seemed a fair amount. Before I could change my mind I grabbed the blue Fluffle and a pink one and started heading to the cash registers.

‘What are you doing?’ Iesha asked following close behind. I ignored her and place the three walkie talkies and the two Fluffle Buddies on the counter in front of the cashier. Once she’d scanned the toys I handed them to Iesha.

‘Here you go.’ Her eyes started to water as she took them from me and clutched them close to her chest.

‘Thank you.’ She said quietly. The cashier gave a sympathetic smile before turning to me to tell me my total. The whole walk back she was clutching them close to her chest. I looked at her thinking how this was the first time I’d seen her act her age. If I didn’t know better I’d think she was just like any other 12 year old girl, not a homeless mutant planning on breaking into a top secret facility.

‘Hey Saren can I ask you something?’ Iesha asked.

‘Uh yeah sure.’

‘Do you like Ronnie?’

‘Um yeah. I mean we’re friends.’ She shook her head and laughed.

‘No I mean do you Like her. Because she likes you.’ My heart skipped a beat. Ronnie liked me? The coolest girl I knew liked me.

‘How do you know that?’ I asked her.

‘Well she stood up for you yesterday. Normally when there’s a fight she just watches. So the fact she stepped in shows she must like you. Also I’ve seen her flirt with you multiple times.’ I looked at her and she looked back with her dark grey eyes. Everything about Iesha’s appearance is dark. Her hair, her eyes, even her skin. Usually when humans describe someone as having “black” skin they mean various shades of brown. But Iesha’s was the closest to the actual colour I’d ever seen.

‘So do you like her?’

[mi5014andrewjung]

Interpretation of Brief

I was researching the idea of brainwashing parasites into the brain and was interested in playing the story of a homeowner “figuratively” brainwashing the lodger. However, I was interested how this is done in other animal forms. 

Brief: 

The Lodger

Home (anywhere in time and space) 

My interpretation: Themes I would like to uncover for my characters is the idea of parasites? 

The human body combats parasites that enter our body. 

Body: host

Parasites: lodger

Therefore, with this approach I will uncover my characters. 

What is a parasite?

When someone confronts me with the word; home it coincides with who I am as a person and the environment which were vital to nurture me into the person I have become. I believe a place or home are functional in terms of providing nodes that connect to your still-developing nodes of experience and identity. Therefore, a reason for entering a particular place relate to your identity and what experiences you wish to co-exist within. A friend recommending you to go to a bar, restaurant, social space may trigger a subconscious thought of whether that place will suit my “criteria” of needs and wants. I have never considered the unconscious thought of denial and acceptance behind the final decision to enter a place which may feel foreign or not. I have travelled a lot and because of my upbringing being surrounded with multi-cultures has enabled me to be open-minded to foreign or new places. However, this assignment has challenged me to reflect upon the ideas that were in my head when encountering the first place I visited and lived. My whole life as a Korean, but at a young age being confronted with a country called Tanzania which has become the environment that nurtured me due to this assignment I’ve tried to think what were my reactions and thoughts for it. 

The only place which I recall fondly through the memories and moments it provided me is a public housing shaped like a compound. However, not having any access to it no longer- but it remains a deep-rooted to where I grew up and a home for the longest time of my life.  

Name of place: Mikocheni B- National Housing of Tanzania. 

The house interior was minimal, furnished with things that are purposeful and a clear disregard for decorations. Therefore, my research will entail studying minimalist architecture and furniture for functional purpose and not aesthetic. Although my father approaching a minimalist approach to the design but, my mother would overcrowd it with lots of objects- which would destroy my dad’s ideas. Therefore, I’ll try incorporating this thought for my “home” creation. 

It will be a challenge to revitalise this house inside Maya- but as its what I seem to be most connected to I will attempt to imbue a story inside it with a Home-owner inviting a lodger scenario.  Therefore, I will attempt to include reminiscing fractions of the house but edit it based around research found on existing characters and architecture. 

MOVIE & BOOK STUDIES

1) Heavenly Creatures

Character 1- Juliet

Rich background (lives in a mansion, has multiple records of mario lanza, polished mannerism when dining.)

Highly educated (corrects teacher about grammar on chalkboard) should be setting an example

Prude

Ends up getting Tuberculosis. (parents leave her at a hospital with maidens) for 4 months. 

Fantasy character: Deborah

Is sympathetic for Gina about her loathing them. 

Is revealed about Bill and Her mother being in love?

Parents are getting divorced. 

english

Character 2- Yvonne

Poor background (cherishes record)

Looks around C1 house and is unaccustomed it. 

Gradually becomes used to C1 place as they become friends. 

Notices green plasticine sculpture of horse in room. 

Wishes she had Tuberculosis. 

Fantasy character: Gina and sometimes acts as Paul

Starts to loathe mother for her “lectures” 

Wises her parents were killed (thousands of people die)

New zealand

Connection: charles and deborah

Roleplay games (reenact as deborah and paul) scene of labour. Renegade Dielo

About royal family

Fantasy books 

Mario lanza tenor musician

St. George fighting the dragon where george’s face is Mario Lanza. 

Plasticine modelling of horses. 

Noone can truly appreciate us- about their “genius” story. 

Juliet mom calls Paul- foster daughter.

Both had illness during a young childhood. (scars in lungs(respiratory problems), bone disease) bed ridden away from family for a few years. Sent to bahamas for the good of her health)

When Juliet is sad about her father and mom leaving for a business trip she begins to hallucinate about a grandiose place (key to fourth world) has unicorns, beautiful flowers, sculpture, butterflies.

Gateway in the clouds, had the key

Not genial (extra part in our brain to appreciate the fourth world) 

Recognise on death of christ

Use Key for the way to the clouds. 

Dielo (deborahs and pauls child.)

Bored of middle class (enter into roleplay and fantasize about their child and them executing multiple men).  

Imagine a priest getting killed by Dielo after attempting to indulge a message about how medicine cannot cure Tba and only scripture will do so. 

Fourth world (a place after death for people of the arts)

Goes to psychiatrist and is diagnosing Yvonne as Homosexual (mental disorder). Yvonne is of rather connecting to Deborah. They consider each other as heavenly/inseparable together. 

Come to understand the joy of sin. 

Gina tells to Deborah about the plot to murder her mom. 

2) Metamorphosis

Changed into a insect (Gregor don’t care)

Contemplates his life as a business man

Tries to talk- just says gibberish

Gregor opens the door after manager says he can’t handle “sick” day excuse

Mom passes out, manager bails

Father tries to swat him

Gregor lives off trash in house 

And everyone is complaining about his in productivity

Gregor kills himself as the parents can’t deal with him. (Doesn’t bring money and scares off opportunities- ex. Daughter music)

Gregor when working (parents and sister were comfortable) 

Gregor cash flow supporting all of them b4

But them when he isn’t providing the parents complained about him. 

“Temporary and constantly changing human relationships which never came from the heart. To hell with it all!”

3) The catcher in the rye

Holden craw field how he sent to a mental hospital

flunked out of 6 different schools

Flunking all classes except English

Teacher tells him to step his shit out. 

Holden fights someone the man whose hooking up with a girl he used to admire. 

He gets beaten down- leaves to nyc where he lays low at almond hotel

He honestly says his a virgin- and tries to lose his virginity with a prostitute

Holden is nervous and suggests to proceed by talking. She does not receive the message and He kicks her out. 

Prostitute pimp beats him up and takes the cash. 

Phoebe and Holden go to the zoo together. 

“Holden is trying to find balance in a broken society full of people who are always faking” 

Holden reverses his hat (symbol of negating to societies norms) 

Baseball catchers foreshadowing role of a catcher in a rye. 

“ I keep picturing all these little kids playing some game in this big field of rye and I have to catch everybody if they start to go over the cliff. “ 

Saving them from adulthood (fake world of adults)(symbol)

Wants to freeze time just like those behind the glass cases at the museum.

Holden trying to find beauty in the world of ugliness -but can’t find anyone. 

I’m the most terrific liar

“What are the ducks gonna do when the water freezes?” 

Loses by not being strong hold enough and ends up admitted to a mental hospital. 

Came across an African samurai and was curious what this scenario was like and I thought it was a great story to hear to understand the brief. 

[podcastmecaptain]

ars PLACEMENT: helen

part of advanced PLACEMENT: an ars PARADOXICA high school au about a gang of queer teen nerds, by @estherroberts​ , @podcastmecaptain , and @lizzieraindrops

all three of the aformentioned dorks are responsible for the hijinks found in this post. today’s, @podcastmecaptain especially. 

click here for the au masterpost | track _#ars placement_ for updates!

ALSO: things aren’t always showing up in the tags, so your most reliable bet is the aforementioned masterpost.

helen is grace incarnate.

she is human. but if god was a human, this is what she’d be.

helen is very confident in everything about herself

very aware of how she’s viewed and doesn’t act like she cares but she’ll definitely bring it up to you

probably takes a little bit more of it than she should because she has the grace of saint sebastian

and then she BITES BACK AND IT WILL SLAUGHTER YOU BECAUSE SHE WILL DO IT WITH THE VENGEANCE AND CASUALNESS OF HERA

“phenomenal woman-

that’s me.”

helen figured it out pretty early

she was one of those rare kids who transitioned really young and got a lot of support

she started hormone blockers around twelve but she was pretty much “I am a princess now.” around eight

helen’s parents are like “k so we ended up with divinity for a child, so"

HELEN’S PARENTS ADORE HER

(they pay for her transition because they’re good parents who don’t make their child pay for medical procedures)

(she supplements it with her gigs tho)

she used to be in the children’s sunday choir and the only thing she’s sad about is having to leave that group but she found a KID’S JAZZ GROUP

she still volunteers there on the weekends

she doesn’t have much of an interest in teaching in her future but she does like guiding the kids from the sidelines and demonstrating pitch and posture for them

the only time anthony’s workaholic ass has ever thought about children is when watching her with them and he gets super embarrassed about it and never brings it up

speaking of she has perfect queen’s posture and anthony slumps out of habit of bending over his notes in coffee shops and she’s always doing that thing where she pokes a knuckle into the middle of his shoulder blades to get him to jolt up straight, it’s practically a greeting at this point

helen, out of habit or affirmation, not because she thinks her parents doubt her

says “still a girl!” every time she blows her candles out on her birthday

everyone present whoops happily

on her SEVENTEENTH

YOU BET YOUR ASS SHE GIVES A KARAOKE ABBA PERFORMANCE

SHE IS THE DANCING QUEEN

YOUNG AND SWEET

ONLY SEVENTEEN

OH YEAAAH

on her eighteenth though she stands up after the candles

and announces triumphantly

“today!

I am a WOMAN!”

the resounding cheer rattles the windowpanes.

helen figures out the poly thing the latest

she is with both anthony and, of all people, and of course, june barlow

helen’s got love in spades to give

anthony, his story is further down

now, june

helen and june sip lemon spritzers by fountains and judge passerby together but helen is much more sweet about it and june is just like “look at that hunty with the denim on denim and the ‘may i speak to the manager’ haircut screeching like some kinda bug into her fucking samsung ugH”

then they talk about how men are pigs and how the IMF has failed the world

because those girlfriends are viciously anti capitalist/anti war

they hold hands while talking about dreams for the world

and also hold hands while talking about crushing those who wrong them under their heels

june is a ball of sparks and red eyes

and helen can understand a bit of this

helen is sweet and elegant and so  kind that she’ll give you more patience than you deserve

but she’s also passionately righteous. and not in the surfer dude way. the moral code of a damn justice fury.

helen has a lot of Greece in her, its in the name and in her being

if she realizes something is wrong there will be hell to pay.

helen is something else.

she is gentle and she doesn’t stop until she’s content, she won’t SIT DOWN and let someone else be responsible for the world she sees

if she wants something CHANGED she gets up and won’t be subdued until she has reached the culmination at all costs, no matter how long it takes. she doesn’t let go of something she disagrees with, won’t leave something she doesn’t like

helen is elegance but she is also a goddamn rottweiler? she will clamp her jaws on what she sees as wrong or even just disquieting and won’t let go until it’s collapsed enough that she can destroy it or fix it

and the thing is june changes that. june, angry bitter snarling june, not through sweetness or a delicate hand but through just being her, lets her accept that. okay. this is flawed. but i’m FINE with it. all things are flawed. you can let life be human, work to change it, don’t let go of your passion for compassion, but expand that compassion to include “this can breathe”

june is DEEPLY flawed. no shit. but she’s working on it constantly. she won’t change herself, she crosses line without a lot of regard, and she matches helen in having no lenience. but her response is immediate and harsh.

she lets herself have love, for quentin, for helen, for herself, to get excited and get passionate and know that EVERYTHING has something wrong with it, and you can CHANGE that but you will wind up making mistakes while you change it

and you can’t accept other’s flaws without acknowledging your own

(this logic adds to the strange, begrudging half friendship anthony and june will neither admit exists)

so helen and her can see what happens with this, in each other, and reflect on it. they both respond well to the other and work together in when to bare their teeth and why, but they can relax with someone else on their side.

and see what they need to change in themselves as much as the world, and be okay with that

sometimes they talk about the colors they find in people

in helen, june finds soft sage, warm rich brown

helen sees magenta in june, and faint traces of yellow (or teal? or royal blue?) its debatable, what the end result is, but whatever it is,

she burns bright.

and that is june to helen.

helen did some casual exploratory stuff the early years, late middle school, freshman-sophomore year

she gets her shit together pretty quick and then a like OK noW i can be more serious about it instead of poking, not that it meant nothing but now i know what i’m about and can do it responsibly

because she’s not sciencey but she’s sure as hell sharp in matters of the heart

she considered becoming a social worker at one point but she knows she has a problem with taking on project problem people when it’s not her job and she doesn’t want that to BE her job, because she knows she’d wind up on tough cases, and her passion is music and song anyway

that was more of a “hey your counselor thinks you should logically check this path”

but she realizes people don’t seem to realize that seemingly further reaching dreams are work too, and often take more dedication and spirit and responsibility than settling for what people THINK you should do for money, even though she certainly thinks higher of that work than that, she knows why she was recommended it and she knows what she wants

helen knows the importance of dreams. of that you shouldn’t have to be settling for less.

sometimes she does. but no one can achieve the level helen OWNS. let’s be realistic.

her hands are soft and loving but her nails are short and a little sharp

(anthony paints them for her)

(mostly metallics)

(occasionally little smudgey flowers)

helen doesn’t cry a lot but lets herself cry over things that matter. a lot of things matter, but she’s very good at sorting out what she doesn’t want to fret over

it’s a healthy cry, for all emotions

helen gets emotional about events but cries mostly over people

good people, people important to her

specifically

her parents

josephine baker

martha p. johnson

sylvia rivera

ella fitzgerald

maya angelou

her anthony and her june

she laughs it off a little bit afterward

for all that she is shaky and sentimental when she’s done

cupping porcelain mugs of hot tea in her hands and blinking slowly up at the posters on her wall, the chiffon drapes blowing a little over her bed and brushing against her

she washes her face and moves around her room, dancing a little bit until the faces of her heroes on the walls blur with motion instead of water

and overall feels better when she’s done

ok so helen actually first seriously dates a girl, its the first two serious times actually. they both meet her parents. the first goes off to boarding school and they tried to keep it up in letters, but the longer they wrote to each other the more they realized the other had very different opinions and like. helen just stopped replying. the second one was the person she lost her virginity to, they met at band camp. they’re still friends, but agreed that’s how they were better off.

helen describes herself as “loosely bi”, meaning she isn’t a big label girl for THAT aspect of herself but if she had to tap it with a moniker that would be it.

she meets anthony very similarly to how she met him on canon because THAT CANNOT GET BETTER

so she’s gotten a job at a place called the Soft Note

which is one of the only two close by queer bars

this one is the less club one. this is more wine and sashimi sushi and hipster brick walls

she sees someone in the back a Lot

which is weird

because he’s got a cheap laptop and notes and what looks like… a screwdriver and a circuit? one of those little box things with all the oddly gendered ports and wires

which is also weird because this is a bar where old queens hustle round and chatter about this new-fangled ellen and whisper sweet nothings in each other’s ears and toast to those lost to the aids crisis

otherwise her parents wouldn’t let her play that venue

so it never found good wifi or convenient outlets to be a. necessity.

or. checking for ids on young boys who don’t order alcohol and peek out from the booth at her and Oh. this kid’s spectacles just slipped down his nose and he has eyelashes off the wazoo.

so she says okay bill nye jr. i’m gonna test a hypothesis.

she looks him dead in the eye for the WHOLE of What A Wonderful World.

the timbre of her voice never falters, soaking into the dark wood paneling on the bar and skipping across the bottles on the wall

she is, for lack of better words, magnificent

she tries to go over afterward but a bunch of old queens stop her trying to compliment her in the Olde Gayest way

and by the time she’s hugged every one of them and has a bra now stuffed with Old Gay’s cash instead of tissue

he’s got a worried bouncer hovering over him asking to call his parents because he’s crying quietly

AND SHE LIKE FREEZES AND JUST KINDA

BREathes in, out, waves the bouncer off politely and

tips anthony’s chin up with two fingers

and she just looks so concerned for him

and he just doesn’t know what to say

BECAUSE WHO FUCKING WOULD

so he doesn’t say anything, he just swallows and sits up

anthony gets the deer in the headlights moment where he is. in awe

(SHESTOUCHINGMESHESTOUCHINGMESHESTOUCHINGMESHES)

and she just kinda sits on the counter and says “Hey there. I didn’t mean to sc- intimidate you or the like. ”

anthony: ….

helen: yeah okay that probably was a guarantee wasn’t it.

she taps his chin up again till his mouth closes and eyes him over, tilts his computer screen back, checking the non existing wifi, notes the two words and a couple of slight key smashes in his document, looks at his drink, sniffs it- “boy, is this apple juice?”

anthony:

anthony:

she steals his apple juice and sits on the counter, nursing it

“oh. damn, damn. nice nails.” he’s got glittery tarot cards on them.

snaps out of it slightly, looks down, proceeds to slowly wipe his cheeks and sit on his hands.

“…hey. i didn’t break you did i?”

nothin.

gives him back the drink

he kinda unconsciously slots his lips over where the lipstick is on the glass.

“so. you like jazz or just me.”

he chokes.

there is no more eye contact. she has an answer. she is smiling. he gathers his notes, nods to her jerkily, SCUTTLES OUT.

“See you tomorrow!” she calls after him. doesn’t yell cause she’s a lady. he trips anyway.

minute the bar door swings shut, the old queens start CACKLING. she throws a napkin at them and calls them mean, and looks into getting a business card so she can kiss it with her lipstick and slot it into his keyboard next time. it’ll be three weeks before he can look her in the eye.

[jackgibbsreviews-blog]

The Emoji Movie

The simplest questions are often the most profound. In the immortal words of the Bard, brevity is the soul of wit, and from this thing's conception to release one short, enduring question was on the tongues of those who followed its development with abject disbelief and those who left theatres with ashen faces and mortified minds.

Why?

Why, in another hapless bid to recreate the wonder of Toy Story while ignoring the heart and soul and messages that Pixar put into their work, did a gaggle of clueless executives greenlight a film about banal emoticons? Why did renowned, veteran, thespian actors agree to be associated with this tripe? Why is this, in all likelihood, still scheduled to make back every bit of the $50 million that went into funding this misadventure?

All these and countless more burning queries raced through my mind as I watched the procession of images flash before my disbelieving eyes. I left bamboozled, befuddled, discombobulated, uncertain as to whether or not what I witnessed was some crazed fever dream that would make Hunter S Thompson blush with admiration. But alas, my faculties were intact, and on sitting down to write this I am reminded once more that this is a product that was indeed released to the public. Such is the world we live in today.

Above everything else, this is a product. It is not something made with creativity in mind, nor is it a bold, intrepid venture into unexplored territory. This is a bold-faced, utterly unabashed advertisement for apps wearing the guise of a family feature, born from a desire to exploit new "toys", and the film's "plot", for lack of a better word, is likewise slapdash. It's a generic, tepid "be yourself" story interspersed with blatant product placement so shameless that Mac and Me finds itself humbled. Gene, a phone-dwelling "meh" emoticon in a society where emojis can only perform the task they're given or display the emotion they're assigned, is played flatly by TJ Miller who gives a performance that never rises above passable – something shared across virtually every single performance in the film. He stumbles from app to app, paying dues to rapacious corporations and blundering through sessions of Candy Crush and Just Dance as he tries to change his abnormally expressive ways through enlisting the assistance of a hacker named Jailbreak, played by Anna Faris who may or may not have been reminiscing about her Scary Movie glory days in the recording booth.

Throughout this arduous and asinine voyage, barring one brief yet merciful stretch, they are accompanied by one of the most ruthlessly humorless comedic "sidekicks" in recent cinematic history, a disturbingly uncanny hand frozen into a high-five inventively called Hi-5 who is left bitter about being laid by the wayside and denied the digital high life he once indulged in. They're pursued by Smiler (Maya Rudolph), the perpetually grinning, gratingly-voiced overseer of the city of Textopolis – and the film's idea men pat each other on the back vigorously – who seeks to eliminate Gene due to the threat he poses to the system as a "malfunction". All the while, the phone's teenaged owner, high school freshman Alex, is grappling with what many monied first-world children in the world today struggle with: smartphones. And a romantic crush. But mostly smartphones.

So our bumbling band of bozos go, off on a merry adventure towards discovery and self-acceptance so obviously telegraphed that it's safe to say you could watch it with your eyes clamped shut. Off a minuscule 86-minute running time, even less factoring in the credits, the film catapults itself through the motions and inserts every single cliche that it can crowbar into the script. Emotional moments are glanced over, striking changes are reversed in only a handful of scenes, everything feels like it's on fast-forward and consequently the central cast remains only slightly less threadbare than when they started out on their grand odyssey.  It's a ceaseless barrage of noise, light and sound, with barely any downtime to allow the audience to breathe and digest, and nothing sinks in as a result. But even with this in mind – surely, if the visuals and pacing are troubled, an outstanding script can make up for such shortcomings.

Maybe so, but certainly not here. Instead, courtesy of writer-director James Leondis and fellow collaborators Eric Siegel and Mike White – whose presence is nothing less than utterly perplexing considering his repertoire – we get such insightful, thought-provoking rise on subjects like the personal desires  and the changes in the way people communicate as "Wow, that's a super-cool emoji!", or "What's the point in being number one if there aren't any other numbers?" The entire script reeks of unabashed sloth. Modern lingo is crudely shoved into conversations because it is modern, ergo funny, ergo guaranteed money in the eyes of executives without any need of context or effort. In a thoroughly galling display, it shamelessly pilfers dialogue from timeless classics in a desperate bid to please any older or more cinephilic viewers who have the misfortune of watching it. Lyrics from popular songs are outright lifted to serve as plot points, and amid such platitudes almost every single statement that masquerades as a "joke" is painfully inept and made as obvious as possible for the sake of the viewers, as if the film takes a perverse glee in belittling the intelligence of the audience it's aimed it. Kids are developing – but they aren't stupid.

Character development is accelerated to ludicrous speed on all fronts as the movie barrels through the beats in a desperate attempt to end faster, and Gene is the only member of the cast who comes even remotely close to possessing some kind of arc. Hi-5 is almost completely devoid of anything resembling a character, and James Corden's proven comic chops are non-existent as the character exists chiefly to bombard the audience with insipid zingers. Jailbreak, aside from being the token female love interest and action girl, is similarly unrealised and bounces around aimlessly. Her reasons to exist alternate haphazardly; sometimes she is there to spout oddly-inserted feminist tracts about alleged emoji sexism and ignored female ingenuity, make forced statements on girl power and use random slang to appeal to the trendy crowd – "Slay!" she cheerfully shouts at one point for no discernible reason, after being invited by Gene to "put some sauce on that dance burrito" – and sometimes she's an average tough chick doing hacker business or bantering, or preaching the wonders of youness. Steven Wright and Jennifer Coolidge provide perhaps the only truly noteworthy performances in the film as Gene's parents, Mel and Mary Meh, whose attitudes are strikingly reflective of what the average moviegoer feels when bearing witness to this drivel.

Everything from the story to the characterisation to the humour falls utterly flat and summarily this is a blunder, a mess in every sense of the word. The lone high points are one or two genuinely amusing quips that seem positively restrained compared to the rest of the script, and the visual presentation of the digital realm that is distantly evocative of the mindscapes of Inside Out, steeped in corporate avarice instead of encapsulating developing emotions. Leondis, an avid fan of Pixar's work, tries to recreate its splendor but it is something that is simply out of his grasp. Pixar's creations are founded upon a bedrock of passion and there is precious little in the way of passion to be found here – this is not someone's baby. It is the spawn of a think tank, made solely to leech off of that which is popular, rake in a guaranteed profit and get people in seats. It is filmmaking at its most hollow, little more than extended lip service to financial benefactors while having only the barest of necessities for any kind of three-act structure, and it's a painful experience that ultimately overwhelms the few faint glimmers of hope the film has.

But it's not panful merely because of its narrative deficiencies, or crude and obvious humour, or even the nature of its existence. Above all else, the most painful aspect of this misguided endeavor is that there was promise. In a culture so thoroughly addicted to smartphones and so enamoured with all things digital as our own, a film that anthropomorphises emojis and bandies them about as the hot new way to communicate and calls them the pinnacle of technological innovation – "Words aren't cool", a friend of Alex's glibly opines near the film's beginning – this entire concept could have served as some lighthearted yet rather timely and incisive social commentary. Everywhere we look, people are glued to their phones, and there are fleeting glimpses of the possibilities that this film had that are buried away, chiefly manifesting in the real-world segments. Alex, his crush Addie and his friends are consistently enraptured by the technology they possess. For them, the world rests comfortably in their pocket, almost every interaction they make is done wirelessly, and even in the realm of the emojis the film offers some sparse commentary on the subject as Gene and his companions briefly advertise Facebook - they interact with people they don't even know, all for the sake of achieving popularity. With the right amount of self-awareness and an analytical outlook mixed into its script, it could have at least attempted to deliver on the promise that its premise held. It could have been something else, something worth thinking about, a cautionary tale on the direction our society is going in thanks to these miniature worlds within worlds, these do-all creations and enduring distractions no bigger than the palms of our hands.  But honestly, the moment Sir Patrick Stewart was cast as a walking, talking mound of excreta, I believe this film's fate was sealed long before it even hit the screens.

If there is any consolation to be gleaned from this experience, however, I can report that the screening I attended was as silent as a crypt. Perhaps the developers aimed wide and went for all the wrong wisecracks – or, maybe, the youth of today have grown wise to the soulless pandering that the film industry so frequently churns out. As a firm believer in the potency of human intelligence and ingenuity, I reside firmly in the latter camp.

[lifeaftera-blog]

Congrats, Bee! Your application has been accepted! Stellar writing samples, thank you so much! We’ll be waiting your accounts for both Ali & Erin to be submitted within the next 48 hours. Really excited to have you!

Name/Alias: bee/b Age: nineteen Timezone: est Activity Level: 7.5/10. i have finals to finish but once they are done i should be free because summer and then may be spotty occasionally on the days i babysit/work that haven’t figured out yet. but i’m an insomniac so i’m like always around tbh. Character(s) Applying For: alison dilaurentis & erin fitz Preferred Ships: (if any)- emison, spalison (ali), ezria (erin) Anything else?: banana! it’s what my fam calls me lol

Writing Sample – i’m super extra and included three like the writing dweeb i am. 

1) first a lil bio i made

estates enclosed by iron gates, glamorous garments only fashioned by those of the highest caliber, and gilded lifestyles of unfeigned extravagance – this is the life you’ve always dreamed of – or at least some semblance of it. your parents, however, lived lives of utter deprivation. they were deprived of the financial stability they worked so hard to provide for you, and in their youth, they weren’t exceptionally well off but you were

it was your father who saw to your family’s content. and though at times he could be a hard and somewhat brutish man, he was an honest worker – never once succumbing to depravity in order to make a living. although, with all that he endured throughout his life, it wouldn’t have been outrageous if he had. he had enough of working part time to make ends meet and began to pick up acting gigs among his shifts at the station.

your mother was once a woman who thrilled in losing herself to blissful displays of ignorance. she was like a feather forever floating in the wind, with no moral compass pointing her due north. no one ever expected she’d bear a child, let alone raise one. it was always presumed she’d flee, merely adhering to the whispered tales of her heart and its demands that she avoid responsibility – to always know full fledged freedom. nevertheless, she did settle down, and she found that having a family filled her life with monumental joy. it gave her a sense of purpose, something she had long felt her life was lacking.

they were always two very different people, ramona and santino vasquez but they brought you into the world, thus many years ago, they found love despite their differences.  you inherited your father’s intense desire for control and your mother’s innate beauty (some of her more notorious traits as well, though they hadn’t yet developed). you used both feats to your advantage and sought to conquer the world around you – to flip it inside out and make it something better – prettier. however, it was always a question of whether you desired to make it better for yourself, or those around you.

you inherited your father’s intense desire for control and your mother’s innate beauty (some of her more notorious traits as well, though they hadn’t yet developed). you used both feats to your advantage and sought to conquer the world around you – to flip it inside out and make it something better – prettier. however, it was always a question of whether you desired to make it better for yourself, or those around you. you found that it was easy to make things work in your favor with the unmistakable allure you possessed. still, your puppeteering endeavors were always innocent, as you never harbored any ill intent, and it was enough for a little while – making yourself out to be the victim so others might be like putty in your hands, or exaggerating your benevolent nature so they’d feel obligated to be at your disposal. unfortunately, as storm clouds loomed above, you began to shed your beautiful and vibrant, yet aged petals, blossoming anew. your desire and need for more heeded to the change of season as well; specifically your sense of self-righteousness. 

she, claudia was a dreamer – always had been, for her parents taught her to be – her father especially. santino relentlessly stressed the importance of perseverance and self expression, as such a thing was a commodity throughout the span of his youth. both of his parents were junkies, and he grew up not knowing love, for he was born out of hate into a painfully lonely existence. he might have been condemned to the same fate as his parents had it not been for his exceptional drive and meeting ramona.

the tale of her father’s upbringing and her parents’ ultimate love story has always been claudia’s number one motivator. that’s why when she looked up at the stars in all their ethereal beauty, searching for clarity, and procuring an almost psychedelic sensation, she knew. knew that she was destined for greatness, for she was born only out of love, hope, and pure intentions. she was born to make her parents proud and affluent in wealth, happiness, and everything in between. not the struggling part time actors, waitress and cops, so as the world around  fell into a deafening silence, her “calling” came to her like a whisper in the wind – head conjuring up some hazy, crepuscular depiction of her name up in lights. she drank in that image like it was a tonic of bottled sunshine, for it was soaked in liquid, golden glory. that particular magical day marked the beginning of something new. something white and pure like winter snow, something that made her heart reverberate and swell with a deep and perceptible yearning.

though she sent money back and forth to her mother, alcohol and drugs fueled a habit of her own; a deep resentment, a fear, an anger she hasn’t gotten rid of. though she is reckless, in meeting the ones she connected with, claudia shed her newly developed exterior – the sad, angry, bitter girl and adopted a new one. or rather, a plethora of exteriors, as it didn’t really matter who she was, so long as she wasn’t sad claudia who everybody ignored. she hated it – feeling like she could simply disappear and no one would notice. she hated the world, she hated that her father’s affair  had affected her so greatly and transformed her world into an ugly, bleeding thing, and more than anything, she hated that she carried so much hate in her heart. maya didn’t want to be herself anymore, so she decided not to be.when you are made up of nothing but a series of plausible facades you lose sight of yourself, and everything you’ve ever been. you lose your moral values – and ultimately, you lose everything that ever made you you. so you pour yourself into work. into applications and writing and loving someone, your childhood friend who somehow managed to keep you whole.

2) tw: death mention

baby, i’m not moving on, i’ll love you long after you’re gone…“You’re a fucking idiot.” She mumbled into the air, her eyes going over the name that was engraved into the stone. It shouldn’t have been there. She shouldn’t have been reading ‘Calliope Salazar’ on a place like this. “But I miss you..” Bailey choked, rubbing her eyes as she didn’t want to cry. Callie was worth her tears, she always had been, but she felt like she needed to show her that she was strong. Strong for her son, Calliope’s godson, strong enough to accept that she was the one that got away, strong enough for  their families, the community– everyone had been having such a hard time with it all and she had been everyone’s rock and she just wanted to prove to Calliope that she was doing okay without her there– that wasn’t exactly the case though. “Dylan misses you.. he’s gotten so big since you l-left.” She whispered to the stone, sinking down to her knees before she sat in front of her. The five and a half year old didn’t understand that Calliope wasn’t ever coming back and she didn’t know when it would sink in for him. Auntie Callie was different, not like his daddy. Waiting for that scared her– she didn’t want to see her boy go through the grief once he realized it, dealing with another loss,  but it would just be another bump in the road. It was something that would eventually be okay, even though she thought nothing would be okay. “He started little league last week. I made sure he got there on time and he tried out for shortstop. I know how much you wanted that.” She mused with a small laugh, chewing on her lip as she moved to pull out a picture of her from her bag. She didn’t want to talk to a rock, she wanted to talk to her. A few seconds passed by and all she heard was silence. No birds, no wind– there was nothing. It was like the world knew she was gone.  Setting the picture in front of the tombstone, Bailey finally let a tear roll down her cheek and a shaky sigh escaped her lips. “I hate you. I hate you for everything you’ve put us through. How could you d-do this to me? To Dylan? It’s… I-It’s miserable without you, the absolute worst..” It wasn’t her fault in anyway and she knew that she would’ve been by her side if it was her choice, but she was angry at her, at the universe for taking away the love of her life, and hated even more that after a week of mindless dating under the warmth of the summer sun, later on,  a failed one night stand with Dylan’s father and other mindless relationships, she could never build up the courage to tell Callie her true feelings. That she wanted those warm afternoons that summer back, that she wanted an us. “I fucking hate crying, you jerk. You fucking know this.” She growled, shaking her head as she tried to remove off the evidence of tears from her cheeks although they kept falling from her crystal blue orbs. “I’m sorry…it’s just, I lost Martin after Dylan was born and god..ever since that summer…that week, we tried things…I know I said I did..b-but..I never got over it, over you.”  After a few minutes of silence, she moved from the ground with a few sniffles. “I, uh.. I gotta go pick Dyl from school.. he started school, can you believe that? Anyway, I, um, don’t wanna be late cause the school gets all pissy and then they yell at me about being on time and it’s just a mess and.. I wanna show them all I’m a good mommy and that I can do this still even though it’s hell without you, without your guidance, advice, babysitting.” She rambled on, running her fingers through her hair as she looked from the picture to the stone and she leaned down to pick up the tattered piece of paper. “I’ll bring Dylan by this week to see you.” Bailey mentioned, kissing the photograph before she simply began to back away from the grave. Her eyes went up to the sky and they trailed the clouds as if she was looking for a sign from the woman she missed so much. “You’re not going to get rid of me that easily, Cal..” She mumbled to her, letting out a small laugh as she bit her lip and she moved further away from the site to leave. “Forever and always…for life.. remember that…it should have been you, it always was, always will be. ”

3) tw: domestic violence, graphic descriptions of violence

The last thing Delaney could remember was waking up on her hardwood floor, choir dress torn, lip bleeding and surrounded by shards of glass. As she sat up on the cold floor, she winced as noticed her freshly bruised ribs, now a nightly occurrence. Her head throbbing and vision blurred, the young girl could hear nothing but the crashing of kitchen utensils hitting the floor over the venomous screams of her father. He had come home angryagain.And when Brian was angry, there was always consequences. If dinner was still in the oven when he got home, it was a black eye or a bruised stomach, a few dishes in the sink, slammed against the wall and a kick in the ribs. But worst of all, if she didn’t seem happy enough to see him. Then it was all of the above plus forcing himself on top of her, holes in the wall and endless screaming.This was Delaney’s norm. But it hadn’t always been this way. When her parents  first got married, the summer after high school graduation, they were madly in love. All set to build a life together, Brian off to work at his father’s legal firm and her mother Katherine to a local college to major in English and eventually education. That all fell apart when Brian’s father died, leaving him penniless and in no way to support their suddenly growing family. To make matters worse, her mother died during childbirth leaving her husband with a newborn as he spiraled into a funnel of alcohol and prescription drug abuse. So here Delaney was, the white picket fence and all, forced to keep the dark secrets within. No one could ever know what her father did to her. Not now, not ever. She had worked so hard to escape the clique of the freaks and geeks, putting all of her focus into dance, using makeup like the older girls and most of all, abandoning her former friend Aubree. The sound of the doorbell startled her from her thoughts on the floor, as she pushed herself off of the ground, wrapping her shreds of a dress around her body. Dazed and confused, she opened the door, the cold air biting at her bare legs and feet; she was startled by the police officer standing there. “H-How can I h-help you?” she stammered.As the officer rattled on and on about the little girl’s obvious bruises, frail disposition and the crashing sounds around her, Delaney ran a tired hand through her hair. “Officer, thatreallywon’t be necessary. You see, our next door neighbors are elderly so they don’t really know what they hear. I dropped a glass while I was headed to the kitchen and it startled both me and my dad. I’m an absolute klutz.  I’m fine, he’s fine, we’re both just fine. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got to go help him clean up.” the young brunette lied effortlessly as she began to close the door, her stomach tightening with nerves at the sight of the gun.How on earth could the officer know this much and so quickly? Did she really look that bad? That didn’t matter, all that did was that the police had been called because Edith and Maxwell McDonald  had been worrying about her again, Edith was bringing her casseroles and sending her teenage granddaughter over to “befriend her”. She would just text and ask about school and the thirteen year old would always feel uncomfortable but she know she meant well so  there was nothing she could do about it. She had to get back inside before her father noticed the silence and brisk air amidst his tirade.