#i woul ALSO like for the team to just have fun making it and for us to have fun reading it

[nintendont2502]

You know at this point most of the fandom already kinda hates/is apathetic towards HS2,, I think they should just get funky with it. Make the *wildest* shit happen.

Davekat ectobaby? Yeah sure why not. John ascending to his ult self and then de-ascending through pure narrative freedom? Fucking go for it. Turn Jane into a troll and make davebot sollux and aradia date and fucking end earth c with another round of sburb its homestuck^2 who really cares its trickster time part 2 baybeee

[taddymason]

asks about kaida? don't mind if i do

what does kaida rhink about the other children in the ninja team (arin - sora - wyldfyre )

if she could die her hair any color which colro would she choose

is jay ever going to drag her to therapy

what is her vaforite fruir

would she go insane over hot chocolate or not

and one last one: when is her brithday and woul dhr celebarte it

Ty for the asks!!!

-Of the team she would probably get along with best is Wyldfyre, they would have fun making jokes and getting into trouble so it would be impossible to leave them unsupervised for less than an hour. I also imagine that Wylfyre of the kids would be the least interested in the whole amnesiac Jay drama, or that Kaida and Jay are such jerks to the entire team in the beginning. Like, she just wouldn't care and that's why it would be easier for Kaida to interact with her.

with Arin, I don't know why, but I imagine their friendship would be like that of Aang and Toph from ATLA, like siblings who fight sometimes with Kaida calling Arin nicknames and things like that. ALSO it would be important for these two to have something in common and that is that Arin really has no problem taking out an enemy, you know, by killing them, even if it goes against Lloyd's teachings. It would be curious for Kaida how someone who is practically a cinnamon roll at the same time he has her mentality of quickly having no problem killing if he needs it.

And with Sora, it's really interesting because I've been thinking about these two interacting and apart from coming from quite oppressive and strict realms, they are extreme opposites in many ways. Sora was the Imperium's prodigy that everyone had high hopes for but once she realized how badly things were working in her kingdom, her family completely abandoned her and she ran away the first chance she got. Meanwhile Kaida was a rebellious girl in whom no one had expectations, and she tried to run away and failed. But once she had a family she had no problem staying in the Administration even if she was aware to some extent of how bad that system was. So I think it would be interesting for them to interact and think about how they practically reacted in quite different ways to the problems of the places where they lived.

-I had this idea from @fancypersonaskeletonturtle, and that is that if Kaida could dye her hair it would probably be something reddish or white because fox colors.

-maybe later because that would require Kaida to agree to go to therapy to which she would just go into denial and say "traumas? pfff I don't have any trauma". guess who she learned it from

-She is not a fan of fruit but her fav would be kiwi.

-ACTUALLY, I have a christmas one shot of Kaida trying hot chocolate for the first time and deciding that she would be happy to drink that for the rest of her life; so yes. If it were up to her she would drink that every day instead of water.

-Her birthday is July 24. Since there are really no celebrations of any kind in the Administration, it would be strange for her to celebrate her birthday, but once she gets used to the idea of gifts she would ask to go camping somewhere really cool (she loves traveling between kingdoms more than material gifts).

Thanks for the ask, I love rant about the hellspawn

[extremeexhaustion]

Pokemon/Danganronpa AU Dump 3

Why I picked the types that I did:

Makoto is the Ultimate Hope/Lucky Student to get in despite being so "plain", so I chose to have him be a normal type trainer. Just like him, normal types are often passed over for being unimpressive or plain yet can be very powerful in their own right.

Asahina is the Ultimate Swimming Pro, so it felt fairly obvious that she would love water types and specialize in them as a trainer.

Togami was a little tricky, but ultimately I decided that the dragon type would match up best with his talent as the Ultimate Affluent Progeny. Dragon types are considered the most noble and fierce of the types with little weakness much like how Togami would view himself. And he, too, would get beaten up by a pastel pretty girl and you can't change my mind.

Celestia is the Ultimate Gambler who dresses in monochrome, so I gave her a dark type only team. This was mostly a match-up in vibes, but many dark types will pretend to be cute or harmless only to steal stuff from you. I believe that describes Celestia very well.

Chihiro is the Ultimate Programmer which led me to think about what types would best match up to computers. I decided that doing half steel and half electric types would suit the theme the best. I also chose cute and smaller Pokémon that can grow to be strong to reflect Chihiro's character.

Hifumi is the Ultimate Fanfic Creator. Nothing except fairy types would match up with this man. I based the ones I chose off that anime he's said to canonically like and a whole lotta pink with magic is what I came up with.

Junko is both the Ultimate Fashionista and the Ultimate Despair which led me to choose poison types as her specialty. She also has a rather toxic personality in the game which matches up with the cruelty poison types are known for.

Kiyotaka was another headscratcher for me. His title as the Ultimate Moral Compass wouldn't give me much, so I decided to focus on his position as an excellent student and a loyal/highly determined individual. I gave him a varied team with Pokémon I felt matched up with those qualities.

Kirigiri is the Ultimate Detective with a cool demeanor. Therefore, I decided that half psychic and half ice would fit her best. I also went with Pokémon that were more mysterious and ones that have a lot of restraint even in difficult situations to go along with her character.

Leon is the Ultimate Baseball Star which doesn't give me much to work with so I decided to go along with his fiery personality and punk appearance to make a theme. So, I decided on fire types as his specialty specifically either faster ones or ones that have a lot of energy to match with his character.

Mondo was really fun to do as he is the Ultimate Biker Gang Leader which got me thinking about Pokémon that are tough; knowing his love for Chuck got me thinking about cutesy or dog-based Pokémon. His team is varied because I looked for ones that were dogs (that I didn't already use for Taka), ones that had a tougher appearance, but also ones that have a cute side to them. A gang leader with cute Pokémon is also as funny to me as a giant dude having a tiny dog.

Mukuro is the Ultimate Soldier which initially made me lean towards steel or fighting types. However, after some thinking, I decided to give her a bit more of a varied team based on their aggression levels and fighting prowess. I also leaned into Pokémon that aren't flashy, but still tough to match her utilitarian appearance.

Sakura is the Ultimate Martial Artist so I went with the obvious choice of an all fighting type team. I also decided to make them all female despite fighting types leaning heavily towards male because that's a part of why Sakura's character stands out: she is the strongest fighter around with large muscles and is still a feminine individual.

Maizono is the Ultimate Idol which is a little vague. I went along with Pokémon that could dance or knew the move "Sing" and have a cute appearance. Pokémon that would be appealing to a crowd like she has to be as an idol. She personally adores bug Pokémon, but isn't allowed to have any because they are "ugly".

Toko being the Ultimate Writing Prodigy didn't give me any inspiration or any theme that I could think of. So, I went with the concept that she would attract ghost types due to her having a sad childhood. I thought about giving her some bug types but I feel like she'd be too skittish to catch any as her own anxiety set off theirs.

Yasuhiro would obviously be a psychic type specialist since he is the Ultimate Clairvoyant. With a team, he actually has a higher success rate of reading people's futures.

[guzsdaily]

A lonely birthday

Day 06 - Nov 11, 12.023

Today's is my birthday! And I'm lonely, as always. Ok, not totally, but I'm still started the day with an insecurity attack.

I pretty sure that most of the people will recognize this type of history and connect themselves, because this not rare to see in today's world and our generations. It can depend on how much you care about dates like your birthday.

The child protagonist

In my childhood, I liked my birthday and commemorating it with my parents and the rest of my family, cousins, uncles, etc. I was the protagonist and received a lot of presents, some of them were exciting, others not so much, but there was candy, and cake, and people to play with, even when I was introverted and didn't like too much to really play and run around so much. My school friends visited me and came home, which was really fun because I just saw them on school and never visited them on their homes - "why?", probably anxiety did exist back then also.

Then you probably already know where it is going, but I entered my teenage years, birthday started to feel silly and childish. I don't want people singing "happy birthday" to me and having a decorated cake like a child, I want to get out with my friends and go somewhere, be an adolescent. But there was a problem, I didn't have any actual friends, and just independence in general to do that, because of overprotecting parents, but mostly because of a social anxiety that started building up as the years passed.

But I had friends, I just couldn't see them

On the end of school, and start of high school - which here in Brazil you probably will be around 13 to 14 years old - all of my friendships were gone. The problem of being a gifted kid in school, is that you pass the classes, but your friends don't most of the time, and good luck when the turns shift, and now you can't see them on the interval, which happened to me. The only good news was that in the new class, there were my classmates from childhood, but I didn't speak to them for years, and now they were completely different people, and I was introverted and couldn't start a conversation easily.

Because of all of that, I started to have online friendships, most of them from games that I played and created teams and group chats, etc. Which to be honest, most of them I wouldn't call friendship today, but back them they were. But because of the distant, and all of us being young teenagers without any way to see each other, I started to have no one on my birthday. The only persons that were there were my parents, which went with me to pizzerias, brought cake to eat at home, and I love them for it, but they are my parents, I can't really speak with them like my friends/people with my age and "they did because they want to be good parents" y'know? And again, going with parents made me feel like a child.

Then the Covid-19 happened, and with the lockdown, and school being over and now high school starting at distance at a new school. The only people I had were my online friends, which most of them today I don't have more contact with. During the lockdown I would say that I changed a lot, and one of the things was who I defined as a friend, but also my social skills just were fucked up. And obviously, now I didn't have anyone to be with, something which I just started to accept to be honest.

Acceptance

I don't want to tell all my life history of the last few years, but in resume, I started to go to therapy after lockdown and made at least one friend in school, someone which pretty much adopted me as a friend, and I'm very thankful for having them in my life. My online friendship shrunk because I wanted to value myself and make "friend" be a strong word for me, and being honest, I hadn't the best mindset during Covid-19 in general. Started a long distance relationship with who is now my girlfriend that I love more than anything in my life.

But I'm still without anyone to be on my birthday today, my friend works and I would feel strange with just two persons today to be honest, my girlfriend unfortunately can't visit me yet and vice versa, same for my other online friend. So now I'm here writing this entry, because I had an idea for today: I want t be alone today.

A lonely birthday

This is probably the part where it less representative to other people

I never had an actual time alone by myself and my own mind. Even not having a lot of friends, my parents always seen me in my bedroom on the computer and had little talks, in high school I always had people around interacting with me in some form, and when you have online friends, most of the time you can always go in chat and talk to someone or have a message to you that you didn't read yet. So today I want to be actually alone by myself and enjoy and see how me and my mind come along.

This is probably strange seeing how I valued company on my birthday, and to be honest, I still do, just today I had an insecurity attack because of it and my girlfriend helped me be okay in the end. But I think I need this for myself and, mostly, to go outside home by myself and just enjoy seeing people, stores, the city living, and "test" my social anxiety and if I actually improved something related to it. I can't change and force people to be my friends and/or give attention to me today, the only thing I can actually change is myself, so why not enjoy it?

Am I anxious of going outside? Fucking yes, but I need to try and accept my reality sometimes and just flow with it. Do I want this in all my future birthdays? No, and even today I want to pass the time with my girlfriend a little more. But why not try something different sometimes, y'know? And why not when the day is yours - and the millions of other people who also were born the same day you did. You are not that special.

Today's artists & creative things

Song: Novocaine - by The Unlikely Candidates - I really enjoy the sense of liberty and just fun that the beat of this song gives. I listened to it while going to high school and it really helped me feel happier on the way to it when I needed.

Another song: The Loneliest - by Måneskin - I already recommended this song in Day 3, but it kinda feats here also just by the title. And because I was listening to it when starting this entry.

Copyright (c) 2023-present Gustavo "Guz" L. de Mello \

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-SA 4.0) License

[badedramay]

i definitely agree actors should be able to have fun and do things out of the box, that test their limits, etc., but i also feel like those are things you can do while honoring some semblance of artistic integrity. my view is less that pemra recognition should be held up as a standard wholesale and more that if you’re going to star in a work where the highlight is on the long lasting harms of the sexual abuse of women then choosing a work that involves the near complete degradation of its female mc is in poor taste. and i do understand where she might have gotten the idea originally of it being an empowering role given meerab’s take no shit attitude, etc. but in the end if you still can’t take any criticism after having seen where your work and character ended up i do think people can raise some eyebrows. being able to walk away from a work having acknowledged both the love you received and the areas you could have improved on is a good quality to have. it’s something i really appreciated from the kuch ankahi writer-director team recently, bc they were very comfortable with the criticism and willing to acknowledge where they faltered. accountability from the production team is a very pertinent factor as you mentioned and definitely influences how the actors talk about the work themselves, but the actors still have a choice between the scripts they’re offered at the end of the day esp once they’ve built up the requisite resume, and i think constantly putting the onus on production does strip actors of an accountability they do need to have somewhat. i’m definitely hoping tere bin is a rare abnormality in her resume but i don’t know what any seasoned actress really thinks they’re going to gain from picking a script where a domineering and hypermasculine male lead is romanticized. it just feels way too old and recycled atp to justify if you’re not still struggling to get any work in the industry

i don't think the situations of KA and TB can be compared. KA hardly made any impact on the pop culture conversations while TB did. i mean Yumna is literally out there modelling for a 100k+ pkr joda that's literally named after her character in TB. she's benefitting from her work. artistic integrity is good and all but when the choice comes down to sticking with artistic integrity or having a job then only very few extremely rare actors will choose to do the former. and they are the ones who have some sort of security net to fall back on which I don't think Yumna has as I have only ever seen her as an actor.

imho Yumna is still very much an actor that is only as good as her previous work. she is known for her projects but beyond that her presence has been limited if not non-existent. why else wouls be doing consistent work on TV only? she belongs to no powerful camp that would offer her work in a big big project after years of absence (Sohai making a comeback with a Humayun Saeed project) nor does she have the love and affection of this country's star makers (a privilege Mahira Khan enjoys) and she most definitely does not rub shoulders with the powerful honchos of the country (Mehwish Hayat). her full time job is that of an actor and I believe that means her choices are vastly different from her peers regardless of them being contemporaries. you mentioned Sajal in the previous ask and how she doesn't compromise on the social message of her projects now that she has made a name for herself. well I'd say because Sajal has different connections than Yumna hence she can afford to make choices that Yumna can't. Sajal has starred in two international movie projects and moves in different circles. the scripts she gets offered don't necessarily land up on Yumna's table. and vice versa.

Yumna's real integrity as an actor, from what I have observed, is that she wants to do modest work. even when she romances she does so without any explicit sexual overtones in it (TB romance was hot but not uncomfortable to watch with family). 'glamour' is not her forte nor does she want it to be. so while the other actors were busy pursuing the big screen dreams with their big dance numbers..Yumna was doing intense work. and now others are chasing intense work on tv, Yumna is wanting to do the mainstream masala on her own terms. different people, different arcs. again..just my observation.

TB regardless of its flaws is a HUGE success and is now a new benchmark of popularity. no conversation about PakDramas is without the mention of it and its actors. which seasoned actor wouldn't want this level of success???? aap jitna bhi socially aware kaam kyun na karlo agar logon ko yaad hi nahin rahega kyunke unhon ne dekha hi nahin hoga toh phir faida? actors and artists want to experience acknowledgement in present. not some distant future jab har cheez pe dhool mitti padi hogi. PakEntertainment industry is one where even the icons of the past vanished without a trace because they were unable to or weren't allowed to secure viable sources of income to sustain them when work stopped coming. the actors now are more aware that long term sustaining doesn't just come from doing socially conscious work all the time but also doing something mainstream that brings them easy money. and i see no problem in that. capitalism ka zamana hai aur ghar sab ne chalana hai.

[myherowritings]

order’s up!

— Osamu gets a big order of some rather strange rice ball combinations an hour before closing. He doesn’t expect that he’d find the customer who ordered to be so damn cute.

pairing: miya osamu x reader word count: 2,387 genre: fluff, post manga timeskip

a/n: first haikyuu fic and aHH it was so fun to write ,, i didn’t expect osamu to be my first but here we are and tbh i am not mad~ ;) FJSDHKJ hope u enjoy!!

“One unagi onigiri to go-- Your order’s ready!”

A middle-aged man stood up from his seat at the waiting area and headed over to the counter, thanking Osamu for the fresh onigiri and making brief small talk. As the man left, Osamu looked at the customer next in line, thankful there was only one person in here so close to closing time.

“I’ll be with you in a moment,” he stated when your gaze met his, lips quirking up to give his best customer service smile.

You nodded with a warm smile of your own before looking down at the phone in your hands, murmuring what he thought sounded like “salmon, plum, beef, extra green onions, heavy on the seasoning.” Now, he liked to think there were no rules to onigiri, but part of him did hope you wouldn’t ask for all those ingredients in one gigantic, imbalanced rice ball. Maybe you were reciting a large number of individual orders.

He shrugged. Money was money, and all onigiri was good onigiri when made with his special Miya love. Miya love that was specific to Osamu in particular, of course. Atsumu could never recreate it even if he tried-- Not that he ever tried. The day he tried in something other than volleyball would be the day Osamu said he was the worst onigiri chef in Japan.

In other words, never.

Osamu hustled over to the cash register and you took that as your cue to step forward, hands fidgeting with your wallet and cellphone.

He smirked to himself in silent amusement. A shy one, were you? By now he had lost count of all the nervous and fidgety costumers he had gotten at his shop, but to allow them to stay that way simply wouldn’t do. If his patrons weren’t 100% comfortable in his care--well, as comfortable they could be in an onigiri shop--it meant he was doing his job wrong.

As the owner of Onigiri Miya he wanted to make sure every customer would leave with a smile and a desire to come again soon. That was how he built rapport and got so many regulars after all.

“I can take your order whenever you’re ready,” said Osamu in a slow pace, encouraging you to slow your rhythm as you tapped your fingertip restlessly against your protective phone case. Were you in a hurry? You seemed rather antsy, but he went on. “There’s no rush here.”

There was less than an hour until closing and he figured you would be the last customer of the day-- Meaning there was no reason not to slow down. As much as Osamu appreciated how lively his hometown could be, he also enjoyed quieter moments like these.

Not everything had to be so loud. Not everything had to be moving so fucking fast all the time. And he learned that in some instances, he could just control the pace himself.

Your worried chatter brought him out of his musing. “Are you sure? Because I know you close soon and I really didn’t want to come in so late but the guys are still down over a loss and said this was their favorite comfort food,” you said, eyebrows furrowed in a tell of concern. “It’s kind of a big order, so if you need to start cleaning up for closing I can just go to another store-- Sorry for imposing!”

He blinked. He thought he just said there was no rush to imply he wasn’t worried and you shouldn’t be either, but you didn’t seem to pick up on that.

“Hey, you’re not imposing,” Osamu soothed, somewhat alarmed at your apprehension. “You said someone was down over a loss? You on a sports team?”

Losing sucked. Osamu knew this firsthand.

Sure, in hindsight it wasn’t the worst thing in the world, but while it could sure feel that way sometimes. If it was bad enough, it could take a few days to really get over and grow from it. So hearing that Onigiri Miya was someone’s comfort food that could help cheer them up on days like those… That certainly gave him reason to puff his chest up a little more.

“Yeah! Well, kind of.” You moved your head side-to-side as if unsure of your answer. “I help assist the volleyball team at my university. It’s my last year in school and I’m sure all of the other fourth years are bummed too.” Catching the small frown on your face, you stopped yourself before it spread, clearing your throat. “But it’s okay! At least we all had fun. And now they’ll be getting some of their favorite food to cheer them up-- If you’re still taking orders, that is…?”

He nodded. “‘Course I am.” Osamu flashed you a grin intended to make your worries disappear. “What kinda store owner would I be if I couldn’t make your team their pick-me-up food?”

The two of you shared a look before you tore your gaze away, biting your lower lip to hide your smile.

“Thank you, then,” you murmured, unlocking your phone to what appeared to be a notes app.

Osamu picked up his pen with a short hum. “Ready to take your order when you are.”

“Right.” You stared at your screen in concentration before listing off what you had written. “Can I have three salmon onigiris with green onions, two umeboshi and mentaiko with light seasoning and ginger, one tempura and unagi with green onions and sesame seeds and heavy seasoning, two…”

As he noted your orders, some arguably stranger than others--not that he should be one to judge, what with his own peculiar preferences--he made a mental note of how cute your voice sounded and tucked it away in the depth of his mind. Was cute the word for it? He wasn’t exactly sure, but he guessed that sounded okay enough. There was something about hearing you talk that made Osamu want to hear more, even if it was just a list of onigiri ingredients.

He huffed. Weird.

When you finished he repeated back your order, affirming it was all correct.

“Great, so I’ll be with you in about 15 to 20 minutes with your order ready,” he informed as he held the paper with the dishes he had to make. “You can have a seat at one of the tables ‘til I return.”

You nodded at his words but hesitantly opened your mouth. “Erm-- Wait!”

He looked back at you, mere steps away from the cooking area.

“Is it just you working at this hour?” you asked, standing with your hands folded behind your back as you craned your neck.

“Yeah, we don’t get many late customers on a Tuesday night so I’m the only one closin’ today.” Osamu gave you a curious once-over. Bright eyes, nervous yet playful smile, cute outfit-- Damn, he sure was using the word cute a lot today. All in relation to you nonetheless. “Why?”

“Are you sure the order isn’t too big for you in this hour?” Once again, you were fretting. He reckoned he ought to teach you some relaxation techniques and tips of how to be less...selfless. “Do you need some, uh, help?”

The corner of Osamu’s lip twitched upwards. Help? What were you planning on doing if he said yes? Learn the basics of food safety and onigiri-making in less than 20 minutes so you could assist him in making your order?

Something told him that was, in fact, what you were ready to do.

Cute.

“Stop stressin’, sweetheart,” he said with a tsk, not bothering to hide his amused grin. “I’ve handled bigger orders than this. You just rest your pretty little head and I’ll be finished before you know it.”

Though you still looked concerned, you nodded and sat down, probably figuring you would be more of a hindrance in his onigiri-making flow than anything else.

“Don’t miss me too much-- And don’t even think of saying sorry or anythin’ like that!” His tone was teasing but he meant what he said. You were a customer at Onigiri Miya and he wanted no patron of his to be worrying this much if he could do anything to help it. “The store’s still open and I’ve no issue taking your order. ‘Kay?”

You blinked. “Okay. I… Thank you, uh, Miya-san.”

“Just Miya’s fine.”

“Right. Miya. Thank you.”

He sauntered off into the kitchen to get started with your order and as he went through making your onigiri, he hoped you wouldn’t still be feeling bad about a big order that wasn’t even that big compared to others he got. Besides, you had already paid for the order. There was no point worrying after the transaction went through.

Osamu soon made his way down the list of rice balls and, just like he promised, popped his head out of the kitchen along with three, full takeout containers in record time.

“For the cutest customer here tonight-- Order’s up!”

You perked up at the mouthwatering smell of his onigiri, pressing a hand to your stomach as you hummed. “I’m the only customer here tonight, but since your food smells so yummy I will choose to let that comment slide.”

Holding the bag of takeout in front of his, Osamu smirked at your surprisingly steadfast composure. You didn’t get flustered at his unabashed compliment like he thought you would, and for some reason that made you seem even more appealing.

As you accepted the order, he quipped, “Only customer here or not, you’re still the cutest.”

You wrapped your fingers around the handle of the takeout bag, the edge of your pinky brushing against his thumb. “Hmm, then-- I guess you’re definitely the cutest worker here tonight, even though it is by default.”

Osamu laughed, both in amusement and in happiness after finally getting you to feel comfortable in his shop.

“A compliment’s a compliment and I’m not above being the cutest by default,” he said with a lazy drawl, watching as you set the onigiri bag on the counter in front of you while easing into a conversation with him.

“As if you would ever have to win by default. You seem much too handsome and talented for that.”

It sounded like you were flirting. Were you flirting? He noted the mischievous glint in your eyes and the way you lingered in the store instead of leaving once you received your order.

Yeah. You were so flirting.

“Cute.”

“Huh?”

“Oh, nothing.” He smiled secretively but wouldn’t expand on what he said despite your questioning look.

You narrowed your eyes. “Sure, okay then.” Your fingers wrapped and unwrapped themselves from the handle of the to-go bag, like you didn’t want to leave just yet but didn’t know what was left to say. “Well-- Um, thank you for the order! I’m sure this’ll cheer the team right up.”

“And you as well, I hope.”

“Of course. I haven’t even tasted it but it already has.”

Just being here already has, is what you seemed to say. Osamu rather liked that implication.

“But… I still feel kind of bad for ordering all this so close to your closing hours,” you said sheepishly, rubbing the side of your neck like it had a knot. “I’m sorry.”

Osamu waved his hand at your words. “Please, what do you have to apologize for? Making me do my job?” he asked cheekily, his sideways grin showing teeth. “You shouldn’t feel bad.” He noticed the way you brought your lower lip into your mouth with uncertainty and he continued, “But if you still do...there is a way you could repay me and soothe those worries.”

You looked up, eyes widened. “How? I’d do anything.”

Dangerous words coming from such pretty little lips.

He adjusted the cuffs of his sleeves, unintentionally bringing your attention to his forearms. “Let me treat you out this weekend, yeah?”

Your gaze followed his hands as you nodded. “Yea--” You blinked to snap out of your daze and he stifled a laugh. “Wait, wait! Shouldn’t I be the one to treat you?”

“What kinda gentleman would I be if I were to ask you out on a date and tell you to pay?”

Maybe Atsumu would’ve made his date pay for their meal and activities of the day, but Osamu wasn’t him. Osamu had class.

“A date?” you parroted. “As in one with me? And you? Together?”

There wasn’t anyone else in the store he could be asking. Nope, just you and your awkwardly cute self.

Osamu nodded in affirmation. A date is just what he was asking you out on. “Well, only if you want, of course.”

You bit the inside of your cheek to contain the wide smile that threatened to spread across your face. “I wouldn’t mind a date with the cutest worker here tonight,” you teased, looking around the store before meeting landing on his face. “I still want to be the one to treat you, though. It’s the least I could do.”

As happy as he was that you didn’t reject him, he didn’t give. “Don’t worry about treating me-- Your company’s a better treat than money could buy.” You snorted at his pickup line and Osamu silently cursed his brother for saying that line would always work. And then cursed himself for believing it. “Look, I’ll pay. I insist.”

“I insist too.”

You held each other’s gaze, neither one wavering. He seemed to realize you weren’t going to give in, but he wasn’t planning on it either. He huffed, shaking his head, entertained. “Okay, then. How ‘bout we rock-paper-scissors it when the day comes?”

“Fine by me,” you laughed, hiding the bottom half of your face with your hand. He wanted to hold it in his so he could see the full smile you were covering, but Osamu decided he could save that for another time. “But don’t think you’ll have an easy win! I’ll have you know I play a mean game of rock-paper-scissors.”

“‘Course you do, sweetheart.”

And he didn’t doubt that at all.

As strange as the orders were and as nervous as you may have been at the start, Osamu found himself rather fond of you. Was working overtime worth it just for a date with a cute costumer?

Yeah, he decided. It was.

a/n: y/n’s vball team waiting for their comfort food after a bad loss while y/n and osamu are just there flirting after hours: 👁💧👄💧👁

[cf8wrk4u-us]

Since I asked how the TFP human characters woul react to the genderbend version of the robots...

Now I ask that but with Rescue Bots!

And yes, with this I am concerned that Cody would have 4 mom's, no need to slap me with logic.

Well you got that right that these four Rescue femme would practically adopt the youngest Burns. Acting like second mom's and aunt's to Cody.

Boulder and Blades would be voted as the cool aunts. Boulder being the calm and relaxing Aunt that you could go to advice for and Blades the aunt you go to to set up a party or do crafts with.

I can see the Burns family basically almost having the same relationship more or less with the bots. Though for awhile Chief Burns would address the bots with a Miss to their name, this confuses them and when they ask him why the Rescue Team insist it's fine just to go by their names and Charlie respects that and follows their request.

Blades and Dani getting along even better. Blades loves human fashion and is always encouraging Dani to dress up, while Dani offers to paint the helicopter in different colors just for fun, though she often sticks to her trusty orange paint-job.

Blades is really involved in Dani's love life and wants to turn her relationship with Taylor into a rom-com. Actually she's obsessed for awhile about shipping people in general, deciding who make good couples, making cute couple names, even setting up romantic situations for them. A whole episode could probably be dedicated to this habit and end with the morale being respecting people's boundaries and not pushing a relationship on them if there not interested.

I think the person who really struggle with their partner is Kade.

Kade would deffinitly be weirded out that the truck he drives in is actually a girl robot. But mostly it simmers to an annoyance.

He calls Heatwaves scolding and criticism "nagging" and sometimes calls her things like "Miss-Truck Lady" or "Madame Prissy Bot". This drives Heatwave nuts and she almost quits the team because of it.

Chief Burns is quick to reprimand him over this, reminding Kade that Heatwave is his partner and an experienced rescue worker, thus is due the same amount of respect that he does.

Kade and Heatwave eventually mellow out with one another, now Kade only calls Heatwave Boss-Lady but more in a friendly way.

Quick-Shadow would of course be a mech and I imagine he have a dabber attitude and a British accent to go with it. Kade would probably be excited meeting him because not only does he transformer into the same vehicle as Maven Danger but also acts a lot like the character.

[wonder-kid-pugh]

Waiting Long Enough - (Rose Lavelle x reader)

Happy Valentine's Day everyone!!! I was thankfully able to finish this late last night (sorry I was busy and only got to post it now). I'm working on another one but I'm not sure if I'll get it finished for today but I'll post it as soon as it's done. But for now I hope you enjoy!!!

The idea of soulmates is great. Scratch that it's euphoric. I mean imagine having someone who was literally made to be with you. Someone to be there for the good and bad days. Someone who does the little things for you just cause. Someone who gives you that sense of calm when the world might be falling around you. The perfect partner who knows you better than yourself sometimes.

In theory

The idea of soulmates is brilliant. But there's the small fact you have to consider. The fact of you have to find them first.

That's the part Rose struggled with.

Now they did have some help. Everyone had the day they meet their soulmate tattooed on their wrist. So you could imagine the feeling when Rose's tattoo told her she would meet her soulmate on Valentine's Day of all days.

Rose couldn't believe her luck. It seemed like something out of a movie. When she was younger she would always imagine these romantic chance encounters that would lead to her meeting her soulmate. Like something out of a fairy tail. How she would meet her soulmate and would be swept off her feet for the love holiday and fall in love.

The thought of it sounded perfect except for one thing......

The tattoo told you the day....not the year

So it was a repetitive cycle of heartbreak as Rose would wake up excited for Valentine's Day only to be disappointed when she wouldn't meet her soulmate. She tried to stay optimistic but it was hard when year after year pasted only for her to remain single on her own having no one to celebrate the holiday with.

Now it wasn't fool proof. I mean there was plenty of other situations where the soulmate tattoo failed. There was Lindsey and Sonnet for example. Obviously they had both met at camp but they had never expected it to be one of their teammates. And Sonnett still to this day would have thought her soulmate would have been that girl at the coffee shop if it wasn't for a friendly game of Truth or Dare at a team bonding session which she was dared to kiss her the blonde colorado native which revealed their initials which burned underneath their tattoos.

It also didn't help that this year Rose had to spend Valentine's Day in camp surrounded by couples.

"Who shit in your cereal?" Kelley laughs as she see Rose glare at the Valentine's decorations that littered the meal room. "Shut it" Rose mutters as she stabs at her breakfast with her spoon. "What's up Rosie?" Alex asks as she sits beside her best friend. Sonnett laughs, "Yeah you don't look really in the loving spirit".

Rose just rolls her eyes, "Well excuse me that I don't feel up for celebrating Valentine's Day when I'm the only person on the team who hasn't met their soulmate". Mal gives the girl a small smile, "Sorry Rosie". Alex gives her a sympathetic smile, "I know it sucks but you shouldn't let that get you down. Who knows? Maybe today will be the day you meet them?".

But Rose lets out a sigh as she plays with her food, "I rather not get my hopes up only to be disappointed. Like every year". "Well what are your plans for the day?" Mal asks trying to stir away from the conversation of Love which was clearly upsetting the girl. Rose just shrugs, "Probably the same as every year I'll probably end up just watching TV and drown myself in junk food and wait until the day passes".

Sonnett scoffs, "How are you planning on meeting your soulmate if you don't even leave the hotel?" Rose just gives the blonde a look, "That is rich coming from the pair that thought that having the same tattoo was a coincidence. If it wasn't for Kelley daring you to kiss each other at Truth or Dare you idiots still wouldn't know". Sonnett pouts, "Harsh". Lindsey shrugs, "But true".

Kelley points her fork at the blondes, "I still expect to be godmother of your first child.....or your child be named at me I'm fine with either".

While the two blondes blush furiously, Kelley turns back to Rose, "They are right though". Rose just glares at the defender as she raises her hands in surrender, "Hey how do you expect the love of your life to find you if you don't even give them a chance?"

Rose huffs because as much as she didn't want it admit it, Kelley was right. The chance of her soulmate finding her while she was couped up in her room feeling sorry for herself was very unlikely. "Well what do you want me to do? Walk around wearing a sign saying, "Are you my soulmate?""

Kelley shrugs, "I mean if it works..."

Alex sighs and shakes her head, "And you were doing so well..." Kelley looks at her best friend hurt, "Hey!" Mal turns to Rose, "They're right you should do something tonight". Rose bites her lip she knew her teammates were right but after years of searching she really didn't feel like having another let down. Mal puts her hand on the midfielders shoulder, "Look some of us were planning on going to a club tonight. You should come with us".

Rose frowns, "I don't know Mal". Lindsey jumps in, "C'mon it'll be fun! Worst case scenario you don't meet them and you have a good time with us. Best case scenario you find your soulmate and you thank us forever".

Rose bites her lip as she thinks for a second before sighing running her hand through her hair, "Fine what do I have to lose". The youngsters cheer as Mal wraps her arm around her, "Tonight's gonna be fun!" Rose sighed

She could only hope so

...........

Rose soon realised early on that her friends were wrong. They had barely been in the club and hour and she had already lost her friends. Granted they had lost Lindsey and Sonnett 15 minutes after entering the club. Rose rolled her eyes thinking that they were no doubt making out in the bathroom right now or worst not that Rose wanted to think about the later.

All she knew is that one second she was dancing with Mal and the others and the next she suddenly couldn't see anyone. She felt like she had searched the entire club but couldn't find any of her friends.  Rose pushed her way through the crowd hoping to find someone at the bar hopefully (she knew there was a 50 percent chance Kelley would be there) only to be disappointed when she didn't find anyone.

Rose let out a sigh as she slips her phone out of her to text the girls but before she can even switch on the phone she feels someone sliding up to her. A bit too close for her liking. "Hey there". Rose looks up to see a man smiling at her. Rose had to hold back a wince as he looked her up and down with what could only he described as a predatory look. Rose could only give him a small smile before turning away slightly trying to text one of the girls. But obviously he didn't get the hint as he just leans closer into her, "You here alone?"

Letting out a sigh she turns back to him, "I'm sorry but I have to go". She pushes her way back to the entrance before leading the club. Rose starts to text Mal that she was leaving to go back to the hotel when she bumped into someone.

"Oof" she grunts as she stumbles backwards from the collision. But before she could fall arms wrap around her steading her. "Oh gosh I'm so sorry". Rose shakes it off, "It's fine. I wasn't looking where I was going".

But when Rose looked up she let out a small gasp

As blue met green it had felt like the world had stopped. It was like Rose had temporarily forgot how to breathe as she looked into the stunning green eyes that peered down at her. And they would have no doubt stayed like that if it weren't for the shout behind her.

Rose couldn't help the groan as she turned to see the same guy from the club had followed her out. He gives her a grin, "There you are!" Rose sighs before speaking bluntly, "Look I'm sorry but I'm not interested". The man didn't look a bit deterred though as he just shrugs with a smile, "You sure I can't change your mind?" Before Rose can even think about saying anything she feels someone wrap their arm around her waist, "I think she's okay". I look behind me to see the same person from before that I bumped into her.

The guy looked a little taken back before he shakes it off, "Well if you ever change your mind you know where to find me". He sends the soccer player one last wink because strolling back into the club. Rose scoffs before smiling at her saviour, "Thanks. I don't think he would have left me alone if you hadn't stepped in".

But the stranger just shyly rubs the back of her neck, "No worries. Consider it an apology for barging into your earlier". It was this time that Rose got a good look at her saviour. She was seemed to tower over her. Not as tall as Sam but still tall. She was wearing jeans paired with a tight muscle tee which showed off her biceps. But what drew Rose in was the soft green eyes. They were so gentle and caring.

Rose suddenly realised that she was staring and blushed brightly already feeling the heat pour off her face, "W-well uh t-thank you for the help. I'm sorry for bumping into you". She gives me a smile, "I-its no problem".

Rose bit her lip playing with her phone before smiling at her, "Uh well I better go". Rose was silently hoping she would say something to stop her from leaving but she only nods. The midfielder gives her one last smile before brushing past her. She couldn't deny that the simple contact sent shivers up her spine like a shock of electricity.

But Rose had only made it about 5 steps before she was called back. Rose had to bite her lip to try and stave off the smile before she turned back around. The girl was sheepishly rubbing the back of her neck, "Uh do you mind if I walk you back? Just so I know you get there safely". But she immediately starts to stutter, "Uh unless that's weird. Yeah that's weird I-I'm sorry. Feel free to tell me to get lost".

But the poor girl was cut off by Rose giggling, "Yeah I would like that". She grins as she falls into step with the soccer player as they start the trek back to the hotel. It's quiet for a moment before the girl speaks up again, "I never got your name?" The midfielder smiles up at her, "Rose". She starts to chuckle making Rose tilt her head at her, "What?" She shrugs, "Nothing just that my name is Daisy". Rose couldn't help but snort, "Seriously?" She nods, "Seriously".

After that the conversation just flowed. The two were able to talk about anything and everything. Rose talked about soccer and her love of dogs which sparked off Daisy talking about her job as a vet. She even showed Rose some pictures of the animals she helped even if Rose mainly focused on the dogs.

But sadly it seemed that their time was up as they came up to the hotel. They stopped at the entrance neither knowing what exactly to do and both hoping to find some way of making this run longer. "Well this is me" Rose says quietly. Daisy just rocks on the balls of her feet, "Yeah.."

Rose bites the inside of her cheek hoping that something anything would happen to prevent her from going inside just yet. Rose had never felt more connected to anyone like this. Sure she had met people that she thought could have been her soulmate but none that gave her butterflies like this. But part of her held back scared of yet another failed attempt which she couldn't help after years of false hope.

But before she could even think of anything to say it was Daisy who filled the silence, "I-I know we've only met but c-can I try something?" Rose just silently nods as she watches the girl nervously step towards her. The soccer players breathe hitches as the taller girl cupped her face in her hands. But she couldn't help but lean into the warmth of her hand. Daisy searched her eyes looking for any bit of hesitance or doubt but when she found none she started to lean in. Both of them slowly started to lean until their lips met in a sweet and gentle kiss.

The kiss was unlike anything the girls had ever felt before. It would have gone on longer if no doubt for the burn they both felt on their wrists' making them pull back. Rose smiles down at the D.C now tattooed on her wrist forever more before looking up at her soulmate, "You don't know how long I've been waiting for that". Daisy just chuckles as she pulls out her wallet, "I always carry this in my wallet. It always felt right, I just didn't really know why until now".

Rose scrunches her face until Daisy hands her a  pressed flower....a rose to be exact. Rose smiles brightly before leaning back up to press another kiss to her lips. And that was the start of the story of Rose and Daisy. And their blossom relationship.

[aemoonie]

Hi!! I just discovered your blog and i saw that you were doing compatibility reading with group and i thought if i could get one with stray kids!

Sun: virgo

Moon: cancer

Mercury: leo

Venus: leo

Mars: virgo

Lilith: cancer

Thank you in advance!!💕

hi, thank you sm for requesting! <3 i hope you're doing good and will enjoy your reading! :)

⌜STRAY KIDS Compatibility Reading⌟

you are most compatible with Seungmin!

Conjunction – Sun & Moon

So to start off, you both have your Sun in Virgo, which makes for a great instant connection. You’d share similar sense of self and basic values. But I actually wanted to talk about the Conjunction your Sun makes with his Virgo Mars. This is also great, because it goes both ways (his Mars also conjuncts your Sun), meaning you’d be each other’s greatest supporters and would love spending time together. Being active together would feel fun and refreshing and you relationship would be lively and energetic. You’d give each other the support and fuel to pursue your goals and dreams.

Next I wanted to talk about how your Cancer Moons conjunct each other. I personally chose Seungmin out of a number of reasons, but one of those were your Sun & Moon Conjunctions. It’s because I find both placements you have work best when they have someone who just understand the way they tick, especially with a Cancer Moon. So who would understand you better than someone with the same placement? You both would be able to comfort each other like no one else and you’d feel at home when your together. As Water Moons, you’d make each other comfortable enough to share any emotion with each other, whether it be good or bad ones. You’d share similar ways of expressing and feeling your emotions and it would feel so nice to know that the other feels so similarly.

Sextile – Mercury & Venus

Next up is the Sextile between your Venus signs directly. Seungmin’s is in Libra, while yours is in Leo. I find that this is a great combination, because both signs love relationships and a good love story. You both would be romantics and would share similar romantic wants and needs. Libra and Leo are a lovely combination in my opinion, and this would translate into your relationship. You’d also share similar interests and tastes in things and would love exploring new one together. You’d feel affectionate and warm towards each other and would like pleasing the other.

Then I wanted to talk about the Sextile between your Mercury and Venus signs, where Seungmin’s is also in Libra. This would mean that you two would love talking to each other, and could talk without end. You’d be loving and caring in your communication and would love sharing your interests with each other. Sharing how you feel romantically would feel easy and smooth, without many misunderstandings. This is a great aspect between couples, because there is just such a good communication in place that bases on mutual appreciation and love, so that even if a conflict occurs, you’d be willing to talk it out.

Conjunction / Sextile – Moon & Mars

The Conjunction I wanted to address is the Conjunction between your Virgo Mars. This is also a great aspect because it would mean that your ways of asserting yourselves and the ways you take action in life are similar. You’d feel little to no competitiveness with each other, resulting in you two actually being willing to work conflicts out. You’d love doing things actively together and your bond would be warm and affectionate. You’d support each other’s passions and desires and would make a great team together. As Virgo Mars, you’d be able to relate to how the other ticks and works, making you two an admirable and hardworking duo.

The Sextile would be between your Virgo Mars and your Cancer Moons. This is another reason why I chose Seungmin, because you Mars and Moon work well together as well. This is just super important because it turns away the aggression of Mars from the Moon. So you’d both actively avoid hurting each other’s feelings and would do so even in conflicts. You’d always know how much you mean to each other and wouldn’t want to hurt the other even unintentionally. This aspect would also make you super soft and affectionate with each other.

Overall, I think this would be a relationship with great potential. Your Air and Fire placements would give each other excitement while your Virgo and Cancer placements can lean on each other for comfort and security. I think you two would be a lovely pair and would feel like you got an even match in each other.

━━━━━━

〻disclaimer !

of course there are a lot more aspects to consider when doing synastry. but considering that would be a tad too long to do here - i just sort out the aspects that are the most striking to me. also - there is no “perfect” synastry. it would be nearly impossible to do a synastry without finding some disharmonious aspects. this is simply my interpretation of the most prominent aspects between the two charts. also astrology is a purely theoretical concept, you should always take these readings as interpretations. we, of course, don’t know these idols personally and this is all speculation based on their and your natal charts.

━━━━━━

© mndchldsung

[aceloha]

tell us about the au where they all live in a fantasy world!!

OOOH hihi hehe why yes i would love to answer this question i totally didnt provoke :3 :3

ALRIGHT SETTING fantasy-ish and all the actions takes place in a village thats just kinda in the middle of the forest, fairly small, almost everyone is familiar with everyone. And they all have curses. granted for various reasons like one person walked into the wrong part of the forest at the wrong time to somone tried to overpower a diety enghjrebnghjrg. deities are kinda like these scared spirits that no one can physically see and they speak in an ancient language no one else can speak but all understand NOT IMPORTANT BUT ANYWAY BHVGJRBG theres all sorts of shrines and rutuals for them. and almost all curses are caused by them. so cool now u understand the deal with deities, now we have blue team, 4 "wizards" if u will. They don't refer to themselves as such but they have magic staffs and dumb hats and pretty much work alongside the deities to some extent, allowing them to activate havens and whatnot. Now remember the village i had mentioned a line or so before? goggles typically uses his positioning to help lift curses, so when he hears about this secluded village built by and for cursed people and cursed people only he sets of to SAVE THE DAY before anyone can get him to even begin reconsidering. COOL SET UP LETS GET TO THE FUN STUFF 

he arrives a little after no one and dazzles the townspeople with his amazing relationship with the deities and his powers and his promise to uplift their curses!!!!! until he doesn't and is meet by a sea of laughter from people who have long since accepted they will never be able to lift their curses. poor guy. BUT HIS WILL HASNT BROKEN. he spends the day going to person to person asking about their curses and how they work but come evening the roads are completely cleared out. unnerved, he wanders around looking for any indication of an in before spotting someone sprinting down the road. He calls for their attention and who is it BAM ITS MASK :explosion: goggles asks if there's an in near to which he scoffs and comments a town like this doesn't get visitors and has no need for an in. he tries to make a run for it but goggles calls for him one more time and asks if he could possibly stay with him. masks hesitates for a moment before reluctantly accepting but marking he cant slow him down. so blah blah they run across town and arrive at a cottage JUUUSST on the outskirts of town. mask rushes in first and here we got two more characters WOW can u guess who don't answer that cuz ill do it for u its army and skull!!!!! their sitting at a wooden table, skull reading a big ol book and army looking over some notes.  they stare at goggles who just awkwardly smile. skull breaks his stare and looks towards mask sayin something like "you're really pushing it tonight." getting a 'yea yea I know' from mask who follows up asking if the windows are closed, getting a confirmation from army who follows it up by mentioning alohas already asleep. goggles is still staring anxiously until skull kicks at the one empty seat with a stern "sit" to wich goggles obliges. army asks why mask brought him and before mask can answer goggles explains he just needs a place to stay. he also marks that its not the most elegant setting but it'll do. wizards :I. skull tells him not to get too cocky and that his presentation in the town square was enough second hand embracement for one day, allowing goggles to notice had hasn't gotten any notes on this bunch. QUE THE INTERVIEW that horrifies goggles BHBFHJRB i actually info dumped the conversation they might have but I've changed the story a bit so instead of another 994 words ill summarise. army tried to steal from a shrine. mask tricked a diety. aloha went against the wishes of a deity. skull tried to kill a deity. punishments? if mask breaths the night air he kinda. monster mode. he becomes this feral beast until morning. would try to kill his friends in a blind rage. very not pretty too. bjdhbghurg. aloha has weird tree arms and legs and he must fall asleep before moon rise so the roots can burrow into the earth and give back to the diety he disobeyed. if not the wood continues to grow and over time it also starts to kinda discount hanahaki him, where it kinda also starts to bloom in his chest, but he just coughs up leaves fbhrejbfuregh.  army I'm changing his uhhh ill have to get back to u on that one. and skull has this weird burn like thing spreading up his arms. very very slowly. but theirs no times of activity to inactivity its always spreading. and goggles is just kinda like "what the fuck why would yall do this?"

SO LOL he stays in the town for a while trying to help people and he does a lot of stuff with the s4 trying to lift the curse butttttt it ain't going so smooth fgbbgurghiu AND YEA YEP YEA WOW LOOK AT ALL THOSE SPELLIN ERRORS RJKEGBHURHGURok byeok bye

[punkinroses]

Alright gang I got two rounds of next gen kids done, let's move onto the ones who names I struggled the most with. The previous two posts can be found here and here, showing Zuko and Kataras family, and Sokka and Sukis families, respectively. So, here's the next family on the list:

Taang Kids

Jai Bei Fong is the eldest child of Avatar Aang and Toph Bei Fong. An Earthbender trained in the art of Metalbending by his mother, he has been requested numerous times to take over her school by others. He has simply refuted numrrous times that those running it now are more than capable and prefers to keep to a more minor teaching role in coaching. He has become a Pro Bender instead and has become a part of a very famous team -- and boy does he love to showboat, even if just a little. He does coach minor league and junior teams. He uses a lot of his jovial cockiness for the purpose of getting people to underestimate him and his skills, and to aggravate his opponents to cause them to mess up so he can strike at the perfect time. He has, however, been dealing with a lot of frustration in his own personal life with relationships that never seem to lead anywhere, the struggles of a single father and feeling a responsibility to try and help his family more with his own father gone and them all being...not really about it. Jai is considered the most handsome between him and his brother, with styled black (greying) hair, green eyes and fair skin with his fair share of scarring from fighting. He chooses to wear a lot of darker greens and silvers to match his metal, always wearing a metal cuff with him presented to him from his wife.

Jai lost his wife Reilah a mere few years sgo but it has felt like an eternity without her. She was his biggest supporter in his matches...and a bit of a rival for him, as they had been Pro Benders on separate teams. They always made playful bets on what would happen if one lost -- and one of those times he used to propose to her. He still lost that fight, but she told him that she wouls have said yes regardless. She was mischievous and free spirited, and a little hotheaded. But she was a very formidable Firebender who picked up some tips to better her bending from her in laws. Her career, however, would be cut after she fell ill. Her illness spread slowly and try as they might, there was no permanent solution to heal her and she eventually succumbed to it, breaking his and their daughters hearts. She had short dark brown hair, piercing golden eyes and tanned skin and had an intricate tattoo sleeve that included Jais name and their daughters name.

He has tried to find love again after her, as that was something she was very poignant on. "Don't you dare try and shut your heart off. Don't swear off finding someone who can make you happy. Or I'm coming back and lighting a fire under your ass." But, so far, all of those attempts have failed, either because of a lack of chemistry between the two and from rifts between his daughter and some of his potential girlfriends.

Their only child is named Anzu. She is a rough and tumble, bright eyed Earthbender who has her Dad wrapped around her finger, especially after the loss of her mother. She struggles connecting her extended family, however, as it feels like they all grew apart way back when, but she idolizes her Grandma and Toph is rather close to her as well. She's been struggling to learn Metalbending, but she's stubborn and does not want to give it up. She's also very adventurous, loving every "life changing field trip" she and her Dad go on, and has a collection of various souvenirs on a shelf in her room. She's on her own Pro Bender team that she's currently struggling to whip into shape and has been dealing with that stress on top of trying to be happy for her dad finding love again...but with the ones he brings home constantly trying to replace her Mom. Anzu has shoulder length black hair that she keeps in a messy ponytail, gold-green hazel eyes, and tan skin.

Nyima Bei Fong is the second born child of Aang and Toph. A skilled Earthbender who found herself drawn to the art of Sandbending as well as Metalbending, she has pushed herself to make her own lot in life. She has opened her own resorts across the Earth Kingdom, and one that'll be opening on Ember Island soon. She has wanted to open one close to one of the Air Temples as a way to find a reconnection with her Dad, but her sisters are absolutely against it. She's a very business savy woman who also wants to expand into other new horizons. She's also a complete smartass and doesn't take anyone's nonsense. In her youth, she, like her sisters, was very vocal in reformation to make better changes across all four nations and Republic City, and she was always the most ready to go full out for a cause, even if it stressed both of her parents out. She's claimed she's held herself to a higher standard in recent years and wants to find success while creating a relaxing environment for everyone. Though, if you press the right buttons, her old streak may come out. She's got short, curled black hair, grey eyes and fair skin, and wears muted colors that's topped off with a colorful, stylish scarf.

She has been in an on/off relationship with her childhood romance, Bo. The two have been almost married on four separate occasions, but things have always put a stop to it -- usually things started by Nyima and what people have suggested could be a fear of commitment. Bo is a good humored, free spirited boy raised in the Air Acolytes by his father Teo and has always had a passion for romance and making a positive change in the world. And he's always been able to pull her old spirit out of her when she needs it. He has medium length brown hair with some pulled back in a ponytail, grey-brown eyes and fair skin.

Their eldest child is their daughter Jesa. She is a happy go lucky girl who is very close to her Dad and trying to develop a closer relationship with her Mom, but sometimes feels like she can be too busy and lost a sense of herself, especially when finding old pictures of how her Mom used to be. The two have gotten a bit of a closer bond upon the discovery that she is an Airbender, like her Grandfather before her, though it's lead to even more tension between her parents and aunts who have polar oppositr ideas as to what Jesas' furure should be. She wants to define her own future, like her Mother did for herself and how her Grandmother did. Her best friend in the world is Lian, who she's always felt a big connection to. And after she finds out she's the Avatar...it leads to a whole new world of adventure. She has long dark brown hair, grey-green eyes and fair skin and she wears bright colors, namely golds and greens to honor both her heritages and and she wears a headband similar to her Grandmothers.

Their youngest child is their toddler son Bisang. He's a rambunctious little boy who loves wandering around the resorts and getting to be strapped up in a baby sling while his Dad air glides through the air. He knows no fear and loves to be unabashedly himself. He also is a bit of Mamas boy and clings to her and has been showing promising signs of being an Earthbender.

Tophs final pregnancy shockingly resulted in the birth of triplets. The eldest of three being Hien Bei Fong. A gifted Airbender, she was the first to get her Airbending tattoos after mastering the 37 levels of the practice and it's something she holds in great reverence. She has since gone on to become a leader amongst the reborn nation of Air Nomads and sits among the council, residing on Air Temple Island in Republic City. She works with the newest wave of Airbenders to teach them the old ways and do what she can to revitalize the culture her father almost lost. She was once far more free spirited as a teenager and even though she was a very loud advocate for change, she could find when she could relax and enjoy life. Now her top priority is the politics to keep the balance and to preserve history in the name of her Father -- something that has put a strain between her and Toph, who reminds her that Aang wanted her to be her own person and to have fun. She keeps her bangs shaved off to show her arrows, and the rest of her black hair pulled into a side braid, and has piercing grey eyes, and many remark her glare reminds them of an owl.

Hien has no spouse and prefers not to find someone to be married to. She actually used to date a lot in her youth, but as the years have gone by, she does not want to settle down with someone, feeling they'd never be able to selflessly love all of her and her responsibilities, nor could she do the same.

She does, however, have two children of her own from very brief, unknown relationships.

Her eldest child is probably the eldest out of all of the next generation, her daughter Dema. Dema has struck out on her own, away from her mother's strict thumb and rigid traditionalist nature. She ran with a circus for a time after first running away, before finding herself starring in the new and upcoming phenomenon of Movers. Her actress life has landed her a cushy life in Republic City, which has lead to awkward encounters with her mother, but she stands her ground on the decisions she has made for herself. And Toph always tells her "I think you looked amazing in your new film!" And she always laughs along. Currently, Dema is engaged to one of her more frequent costars, a nonbender named Raiden. She has long black hair, with long bangs, dark blue-grey eyes and and olive skin.

Her youngest is her teenaged son Tenki. Tenki is an Airbender wise beyond his years and is an avid bookworm. He's also the most relaxed member of the family and is very go with the flow, and wants to simply travel around, experience the world with his nothing but his books, and maybe rediscover Wan Shi Tongs library. He has a shaved head, having just gotten his arrows and dresses in typical Air Nomad clothes, with a prayer bead necklace on him at all times.

The second born of the triplets is Hayato Bei Fong. Nobody really knows why Hayato always had a chip on his shoulder. Born with the same airbending abilities as his sisters, he found himself struggling with it and his spiritual side, having more of a stubborn, hardheaded side to him. He rejected getting his tattoos and took to heart the idea of going out on your own and making a name for yourself, though it broke Aangs heart when he left after a fight and never fully reconciled with him. A fact that hit harder following Aangs untimely death. Hayato has since gone off to work in his mothers home town of Gaoling to help bring in industry and has been working on his own company to produce automobiles and motorcycles, rathering to focus on making waves towards the future than tapping into the past and to the spiritual side. Now if he could just get his mother to stop trying to drive one of his automobiles... Hayato has shoulder length black hair, usually pulled back into a bun, dark grey eyes and a small scar going through his left brow. He's discarded any bright Air Nomad colorings for blacks, greys, silvers, and dark greens.

Hayato has a husband named Kazu. He's a nonbender, and an author out to publish his own books and also writes news reports as a gig to bring home money. He has a taste for the darker fashion style of his husband and writing about the struggles and triumphs of mankind in a post war world. He has layered black hair, hazel eyes and pale skin.

The two are looking to adopt in the near future!

For now though, they are quite happy with their Crococat, Boots.

Born the last amongst the triplets and the subsequent youngest child, Huuro Bei Fong is her own terror twister of an Airbender. She was the wild child of her siblings, always getting into her own antics and probably the protestor that almost got her and her sisters arrested numerous times in their youth. She gained her tattoos after the creation of her own move. She has since moved to the restored Southern Air Temple and is always causing trouble for the new elders to show the newest generation how to have fun. She's also been known to be quite skilled on the Sungi Horn, much to somes delight...and others dismay. Huuro wants to help the Air Nomads to find fun, lively and searching for new purpose, to establish new traditions and celebrations while acclimating to the modern world. She keeps her black hair long, flowing and down, and her grey eyes always are full of life.

Huuro is here and looking for love around every corner! She wants to find someone who loves life as much as her and wants a life full of new experiences.

[razorblade180]

What would be your dream RWBY game?

That’s a tough question. I would definitely want it to have an open world kind of feeling. In the sense of that it’s possible to walk anywhere by foot. Similar to like BoTW or Horozion. It would be amazing the game was really close to looking like the show as well. Real time combat. I can imagine a control scheme set up in the style similar to some of Platinum Games. When it comes to light, heavy, gun, and abilities. I would like a more in depth combo system. Not complex or really difficult to master, but it makes you think about how you could pull of something stylish; mixing up attcks for longer combos or fluid feeling decisions. I would want that feeling to be similar to a Spider-Man PS4 player that beat 50 thugs on hard mode without being touched, because he was able to balance all enemies on the screen by thinking what move would work best in the situation they were in.

Another original story that could happen with RNJR when they are on their way to Haven perhaps? That way we can explore anima. It could all the way up to the golem if they’re worried about canon. A game mode where they sit down at the campfire and reminisce; allowing the player to also replay the events of Vol1-3. That way you have more characters to play as, places to go, bosses, and side quests that gives fans character interactions as well as bonding moments we always complain about; it’ll definitely enhance the friendship of the characters. In this mode you can build whatever team you want when you’re free roaming.

An aura and health gauge. Anytime you use a character’s semblance or get hurt, the aura drains until it reaches zero. During that time the actual health bar can be attacked and well continu to be like that until a cool down on aura recharge ends; enemies become more aggressive when aura is broken. Limited ammo that auto refills between enemy encounters but on long quests is restrained to a finite number determined by how much you bought. I think people would be okay with the suspicion of disbelief if Jaune simply had his semblance in actual gameplay but it’s never addressed or used in scripted events.

Bonus mode after you beat the game where you go through it again but this time you play as Qrow and battle all the grimm or whatever inconvenience that RNJR didn’t know about. As well as him reminiscing back to key events like his battle with Winter or tying to save Beacon.

Plenty of unlockable costumes/color pallets from other volumes or RT series; even V7. Single player and CO-OP. Up to four people obviously. In story mode you’re restrained to whatever characters are available at that given time. 4v4 mode on various maps like the festival. Horde mode where you have to defend villages like in Ruby’s V4 character short. More unlock as you progress and the difficulty gets harder up until the final map which can’t be canon that makes you defend Beacon during the fall in an ultimate test of skill; can you and your friends change destiny? A regular survival mode where you gain a percentage of resources back in between waves.

Just call it RWBY:World of Remnant since this game is allowing you to actually explore the world these characters live in. Maybe later there could be DLC where it actually continues to go through the events of Vol 4-5 at least, so get new locations like Menagerie, and Schnee Manor. Or they could at the very least make the significant events playable as a way to let the player fight Tyrian, the water dragon, Ilia, the fight at Haven! That fight would actually be extremely fun with four players picking characters, then the CPU controls the other good guys while all the villains are bosses. Qrow vs Raven was robbed from us. The final fight let’s you unlock Raven when she fights Cinder.

Same sort of situation with V6 where they could create a handful of missions and maps so the player could get more bosses to fight, and place’s to play. A horde map on the train sounds cool. Also I’m sure many people woul love to fight a giant robot/Adam. He’s basically Vergil so I’d want him playable after that mission is complete.

In summary: What if....RWBY was just a game? I like the idea of it following the show but allowing for more fun moments and filling in time gaps because why not?

[xserpentlife]

Pretending

You can’t keep pretending it didn’t happen, cause guess what? It did!” Would be great to have with FP and where the reader is younger but legal of course from @keepcalm-and-beyou

Warnings: Mention of blood, fighting

A/N: Fp and reader though they have a large age difference they are both of age and were of age at the start of dating

Word Count: about 2200

You have been dating, well seeing FP behind everyone's back for a year. A year of kisses, hugs, cuddles, but also hiding around corners, closets, and the shed. Every day of your relationship was kiss here but hide there, you loved it nevertheless. Being with FP, meant everything to you. He had been there for you through the toughest times of your life, and he loved everything about you and you, him. You were tired of hiding but you had to, no one would understand the way your relationship was. Yeah, there was an age gap, but it was legal, everything… well besides serpent trips, everything you had done with him was legal. But everyone saw it differently. The first person to find out was Toni, she caught you and FP up in his office, she thought he had left for the night and needed to lock the cash up, turns out you and him were staying the night and lost track of time. She caught you lying on the couch watching a movie and kissing, nothing crazy, but it still did shock her.

Months later. You were on a job with Sweet Pea, and Jughead. It was a dangerous job, the police and Mayor Mcoy knew of it, it was an inside job trying to catch the Ghoulies on their drug ring. You lost connection with the serpents and FP in your ear piece, which led to you being in danger. You made the turn before you were supposed to the go-ahead getting confused over the line of sound. You turned rounding the corner before the Serpents were ready, shot in the shoulder you fell to the ground, shot again once more in the leg and Malachai standing over you.

“Well… who do we have here, oh little Y/N” A punch to your face causing blood to pool into your mouth

“Mal-Malachai” you tried getting up before his finger was pushing into the bullet wound on your shoulder “Fuck-fuck stop what do you want Malachai”

“You, see you Y/N, should not have came into this building, poor girl, and no one knows they need to save you, because well we caught on sweet cheeks, these ear pieces are doing you no good now”

“How!”

“Preventative measures sweetheart”

“Fuck you” You spilit blood out again

“You know Y/N it would be very very appealing to me to kill you right here, shoot you straight in the head, or maybe the heart, but you know what would be better. Letting you bleed out, leaving your body here to rot until maybe some coyotes come of find you, better yet maybe hot dog does, and everyone gets led to your body” He cut your cheek before leaving the blade dragging slowly across your skin as he walked closer to the door. “bye Y/N, have fun dying alone”.

You were a fighter, never giving up before you had to, you tried standing first the pain too much to wear, looking down at your leg the wound was so much worse than you originally believed, bleeding profusely your leg had no feeling left. You ripped the tattered flannel you had on making two bandages. One for your shoulder and leg, hoping that maybe it would buy you some more time.

*FP POV*

“Jug, Sweets what’s your position?”

“Outside of the building FP”

“Why! What do you mean outside!” “The plan what awry dad, ghoulies standing guard outside, front and back, Sweets got in but had to come back out due to guards”

“Wait guards?”

“We stoked it out the other day there were no guards, fuck we were compromised boys, where is Y/N”

“She hasn’t been answering back, we checked 10 minutes ago but got no response, told her not to move forward”

“You are just telling me now! What the fuck is wrong with you!”

“Sweet pea! Try to make contact” Sweet Pea tried for a total of 5 minutes before FP knew that something had gone terribly wrong. On all the missions you were never one to forget to contact back or update your team, you are the reason so many missions went right, this time being the only one that had gone very, very wrong.

“FP the guards are leaving”

“I’m coming!”

“Dad no stay where you are or your cover will be blown!” FP ran from the masked van like his life depended on it. You, being the thing on his mind right now, everyone was present and safe except you. The girl he promised to always keep save, the one he would risk his life for no matter what. He ran into the building straight past Sweet Pea and Jug, “Stay here and wait for the ambulance!” searching every room gun drawn, before finally making it to you.

“Y/N!!” he crashed to the ground next to you, blood leaking through the fabric you had used. “Who, who did this”

“Mal-Malachai FP”

“Baby look at me, keep your eyes open”

“It’s hard”

“I know princess, I know how hard it is okay, I’ve been here, Jug has been here but you can do it okay, fuck I know how strong you are I know you can do this, an ambulence is coming okay, gonna get you fixed up in no time”

“FP…”

“What princess?”

“Kiss me” His lips met yours in a panicked frenzy before he felt them slowly relax, opening his eyes he saw yours slowly closing. “NO! NO! NO! NO! Y/N!, Baby don’t fucking close yours eyes, I need you baby. Fuck I love you okay, I’m gonna get you fixed up”

What Fp didn’t know was that day, the boys were behind the stack of boxes, watching every move. After that FP got you to the hospital, sitting in the room every day until you woke up. Eating there, showering there, having serpent meetings there, he never left. Someone took over his work at the station, his main priority being you. People always asked him why, he didn’t do that when Fangs got shot, or when Toni was put into the hospital for getting beat up. No one knew why until Jug had asked.

“Dad why are you still here?”

“I can’t leave her, I'm all she has”

“Dad we saw you”

“What are you talking about Jug”

“The day this all happened, Pea and I came in the building behind you incase you needed back up”

“I told you to wait outside! Why didn’t you wait outside!”

“Dad…”

“Jug…”

‘‘Do you love her?”

“I do”

“It isn’t right...”

It spread like wildfire after that. News stations and newspapers littered with titles along the lines of “FP jones Sheriff of Riverdale Police station in love with a girl more than half his age” after Y/N woke up though and FP knew she was safe he left her, ignoring her all the time, thinking that is what she needed. Time away from him, time to be who she truly was. The people were getting to him. Telling him he was gross, telling him he was an endangerment to society, or all the people calling him the name that no man would ever want to be called, but he wasn’t any of that. He got scared, scared that Jelly bean would be taken from him, scared he would hurt you if people started attacking you instead. Months went by, you were still healing. You talked to FP twice in that time frame. Once when he called to check in, and once when you cornered him in a store before he pushed you to the side and walked away having Toni keep you back from trying to run after him, not that you could considering you were in a cast and on crutches. Fp Jones ignored you as much as he could, as much as his heart would let him without fully breaking. He still watched from afar, keeping you safe when anyone looked at you funny. He cared, that could never go away, but he also thought it was better for you if no one was talking about the relationship that both of you had prior. He told the press it was all a lie, told everyone that he loved you like a second daughter rather than a lover. It took another month to get people to believe him, it started with him not seeing you, keeping his distance people began to believe him, he even created a fake relationship with a woman in Greendale. People woul;d see them walk around together, people that were watching FP from afar who thought he was a danger to their young female children. He never kissed her though, never wanted his lips tainted because he always remembered yours. You heard about his new relationship, your heart breaking with every update to the story. Everyone in the serpents kept you protected. Kept the articles hidden from you after you got out of the hospital. You went into a depression when FP stopped talking to you. Your breakup having no goodbye and not being closed left a hole in your heart that no one but him could repair no matter how hard they tried. You loved him and that never stopped. You loved him, need him, craved him. But most of all you needed him to heal, he was the one that saved you, the one that found you bleeding out in that building, his lips the last thing you remember before you drifted off and the first thing you wanted to feel when you woke up but instead him being gone made you feel more pain than being shot. You needed him, so after those few months, after you found the articles and the updates you decided that enough was enough, Jug had came to you telling you the entire story, telling you his dad had started taking sips of bourbon again, not full drinks but sips here and there and he could see it slowly starting. He knew his dad needed you just as much as you needed him. So he helped you corner him, locking the office from outside so his dad couldn’t get out.

*Y/N POV*

“FP!”

“Y/N? Get out of this office you shouldn’t be here”

“What about the time you told me I could be here any time I wanted”

“Fine then stay, I'm leaving” You stepped to the side as he tried to open the door.

“You know this is my office, I should be able to come and please as I want, what did you do to the door?”

“Locked it, from the outside, figured you wouldn’t be able to run. You keep shutting me out and ignoring me, why FP I thought...”

“Leave, this is my office remember!”

“Oh get off your fucking pedestool, how many nights did we spend here otgether! You telling me this was our special place where no one could hurt us!”

“None, as far as I'm concerned and you should know that!”

“You can’t keep pretending it didn’t happen! Cause guess what? It did!!”

“Fuck Y/N I need to pretend!”

“Why!?”

“I need to keep you safe! Keep Jug and Jelly bean safe!”

“You always keep them safe”

“They won’t be unless I pretend, it’s so fucked because I fucking love you with everything I have and I shouldn’t”

“And why not!? Who says you shouldn’t?”

“The whole fucking world y/n, your 21 and I am 50. I know you saw the papers! The articles and news reports!”

“Yeah I did and fuck them, Fuck the world FP because I love you too and that is all that should matter. I fucking love you so much”

“But is that enough?”

“It damn well should be. When, when you were not there when I woke up Fp it killed me, and then you didn’t talk to me kept me at a distance I didn’t understand. You left a fucking whole in my heart FP”

“I was trying to protect you! To protect everyone”

“Yeah well in trying to protect me, you killed me just the same”

“Let me try to fix it then!, I still love you”

“I love you too Fp, but you need to learn not to care what the world thinks”

“I want you Y/N. I’m so fucking sorry”

“Good, you should be. And I’m not saying I won’t forgive you because fuck FP I love you with every piece of my being but I can’t let you in instantly, you hurt me so badly”

“I know princess, I know I did” He stepped towards you as you stepped away.

“No, you are not going to do that! It’s gonna take time FP”

“Okay” You knocked on the door with the code as they unlocked it letting you out. “I love you Y/N”

“I love you too” You left slowly out the door climbing down the stairs. Hopefully, he realized time would heal the wounds, him trying was all you wanted. You still loved him with every part of you and that would never change.

[coeurdastronaute]

Either/Or: WWC 4

Previously on WWC

Jet lag and time zones made the bed feel like heaven. Body still on the west coast and brain doing its best to keep up with the new place and practice and preparation, the sheets and the pillows were a godsend. Kara laid, face first in the large bed in her hotel room, with only the light still on in the bathroom as the only light in the room. She didn’t care about it at all for the moment though. Her body was still coming down from the workout and then the recovery, pushing herself harder than ever to be better and faster and stronger than ever before thought imaginable. The sun wasn’t close to ready to set, still early in the summer evening, but the curtains were drawn tight and tried to hide the welcoming glow of a beautiful city at the golden hour. 

She should take a shower and eat something, but the bed was so comfortable and her body was so tired. Only when she ran out of air did Kara turn her head to the side and push hair out of her face. It took her a few minutes to push herself up and resign herself to exist. 

Kara didn’t look at her phone because on it was a picture of her and Lena from some Sunday morning of sleeping in and waking up with messy hair. If she looked at it again with a longing glance, she’d have to admit that she was missing her, and that was a dangerous thing. 

She settled into the same routine she’d had for the past week since arriving: shower after moping, order food, and settle in to watch game footage. Kara was preparing, and she had the first game in just eighteen hours. 

And though she tried to sleep and prepare, despite being exhausted, sleep evaded her until she was tossing and turning and attempting to find some kind of relief. But it only came in one way. 

“Darling, it’s two in the morning.” 

Kara smiled sleepily into her pillow as she was greeted with Lena’s lovely, quiet voice from thousands of miles away. She pressed the phone between her head and the pillow. 

“I’m very bad at jet lag.”

“It’s been over a week. You should be adjusted.” 

“I just miss you I guess.” 

“Don’t try to be cute to avoid me scolding you. You need your rest. I expect a hat trick tomorrow.” 

Kara smiled in the dark and pulled the covers up higher around her shoulders before stretching her legs and sighing at the comfort. Relatively new to the sport, Lena was studious when it came to learning, and through that, somehow developed into Kara’s number one fan. It was mostly because of the orgasms. But also because she loved watching the joy on the player’s face when she was in the thick of it-- a smile when she got downed, a grin when she battled for the ball, a smirk when she made her move, and the humble joy that came when she scored. 

“How was your day?” she tried. 

“Long, and still going. I have dinner with the group that came in from Metropolis. They were here all day and I had to entertain them.” 

“I doubt you did stand up for a dance for them. You’ve been preparing for this for a month.” 

“It’s just so annoying,” Lena began off on a rant. 

Kara loved listening to Lena talk. She loved the inflection of her vowels and the way her voice sounded when she was happy or mad or sad or anything. She had a certain way of getting lost with the words, telling a story and remembering something else, always on a tangent. There wasn’t anything else Kara could think of better. 

“Just give me access to your stuff and you can have access to mine, but let’s solve this problem, you know?” 

“If anyone can solve some of the issues of the climate crisis, it’s you.” 

“Well, I’m certainly trying.” 

Back home, back in her office, Kara was certain Lena was leaning back in her chair at her desk, twisting a pen around her fingers as she stared absently at the window. She was predictable despite the fact that she woul argue she was an enigma. 

“Are you nervous about tomorrow?” Lena asked in the quiet that settled there. “Because you shouldn’t be nervous. You are going to do amazing.” 

“Just regular nerves. I’ll recover.” 

“Anything I can help with?” 

“Are you propositioning me?” 

“Yeah, you’re fine,” Lena chuckled to herself as Kara smiled and yawned. “I’m glad I got to talk to you. I was afraid it was too late.” 

“I figured you missed me.” 

“Very much.” 

It made Kara blush, to be wanted by someone like Lena was an accomplishment and it felt like something that would sustain her. It added a certain level of weight to her as a person-- that the CEO of a powerful company wanted her around. 

“I should let you sleep,” the CEO remembered. “You’re representing the entire country tomorrow.”

“I nearly forgot.” 

“I’ll be watching.” 

“And wearing my jersey?” 

“Of course. And not much else if that helps motivate you.” 

Kara let out a loud groan at the image now seared into her mind. Winning and scoring goals on the biggest stage in the world would only slightly beat out the idea of Lena in her jersey and nothing else. And sometimes, Kara wasn’t certain it did. 

“I guess the viewing party you’re hosting for investors will get quite a show them. Those guys from Metropolis will definitely want to work with you.” 

“You’re right. I’ll wear clothes and save the other stuff for you.” 

“Good,” Kara grinned and yawned again.

“You need to sleep,” Lena reminded her. “And I am going to be late for dinner.” 

“Could you give me one of your pep talks before the game?” 

“It’s not a pep talk. It’s just facts.” 

“List some facts for me then.” 

The line was quiet for a moment and Kara closed her eyes to imagine the woman on the other end, leaning back in her chair at her desk as she thought. Kara could see the smile on her face that softened to a thoughtful furrow. She watched her fingers play with the edge of the desk as she stared somewhere in the office but didn’t see anything. 

“You are my favorite player. You are so determined and focused, and your team respects you and idolizes you. The entire city here is behind you. There are signs all over the place wishing you luck. Kara, you love this sport, and you are going to have so much fun tomorrow, and you’ll leave it all on the field and win or lose, I know you’ll still be loved and idolized and adored for your heart and kindness and body.” 

Kara smiled and felt her cheeks burn slightly. 

“Those are not fact, but I’ll allow it.” 

“Get some sleep, tiger,” Lena murmured with her smile. 

“Thank you.” 

“Goodnight, Kara.” 

“Night, gorgeous.” 

XXXXXXXXXX

It was a long twenty-four hours, but Lena was wide awake anyway. 

Before she even hung up the phone with her girlfriend, she planned her trip. While they chatted, while she heard the sleepy voice who refused to sleep on the other end of the line, she chatted her assistant and figured out how quickly she could be gone. It took a lot of weaving and working around, but it was important, and Lena couldn’t believe she was dumb enough to think that she wasn’t going to go. 

But she had her dinner and she let Jess make the arrangements, receiving a long list of meetings and things to accomplish while she was in Europe. She packed a bag and decided to be more like Kara, ready to buy what she needed if she truly missed it. And Lena let her driver take her to the airport where she boarded her private jet, the stewardesses  and pilots smiling politely. 

It would be an easy trip, she promised them. None of them wanted to take her up on the offer, but quickly after take off, Lena settled into the small bedroom in the back of the plane, preparing and attempting to sleep. 

When she landed, it was a mad rush to make it to the stadium with less than two hours before kick off. Traffic didn’t want to cooperate, but by kickoff time, she was entering the stadium through the back security gate, the president of the federation and a few others inviting her to their box. 

All of it happened before she even stepped foot into her loft. 

Somewhere between her dinner meetings with a research group on another continent and the game, Lena traversed an entire ocean just to see Kara play in person. And though she felt slightly tired, she smiled and cheered for her hero. 

Even though it seemed impossible, Lena wondered if Kara would find her in the sold-out crowd. Deep down she knew that the soccer star wouldn’t think to look, but also that Kara was inherently focused on the pitch and only the pitch when it was game time. 

It was a beautiful game that Lena spent with other owners and fancy fans in a box. She made her small talk and she networked on accident. She didn’t want to, it was just natural, and as much as she wanted to be, she wasn’t just a girlfriend watching and supporting the girl she had a crush on but rather a business woman. She held her breath though, when Kara got a free kick which led to the first goal. The exuberance on her face was so contagious Lena found herself cheering. And toward the end of the game when Kara scored again despite being blocked a few other times, Lena cheered louder than anyone else in the box. 

By the time it was all over, Kara did a victory lap with her team and Lena realized she’d been holding her breath for a large portion of the afternoon and the difference in time zones was going to catch up with her. But she made her way back to her condo and sent Jess to leave a note for her girlfriend at her hotel. 

XXXXXXXXX

Even as she stood at the door in the ritzy building in the nice end of the city where the oldest money lived and loved, Kara couldn’t believe that Lena was here. It seemed almost like it would turn out to be a cruel joke because surely it was impossible for Lena to travel across the glove just to watch her play, especially with how busy she was. There was no way it was possible. 

But the night felt impossible. Kara scored two goals and an assist, and that seemed super unlikely. She did it in front of millions and for entire country, and that seemed downright impossible. That was the theme of the night. 

“You’re here?” Kara breathed as Lena opened the door. 

“I am quite a fan of the sport. Seemed like the place to--”

It didn’t matter the reason or the super witty thing Kara wa sure Lena was going to say. None of it really did. Instead, she hugged her tightly and smiled into her neck as she earned a giggle at the move. 

“I’m so happy you’re here,” she whispered, rocking slightly as she kept hugging. 

“I’m sorry it took me a little longer to realize that I should have been here all long. Work be damned.” 

Lena adjusted her chin and clutched at the soccer player’s shoulders, inhaling the fresh, shower-clean smell that lingered on her skin. 

“Did you make it in time to watch?” 

“I was in the owners box the entire time. Some of them didn’t even watch, but I couldn’t look awa--”

Again, it didn’t matter. Kara knew enough to kiss Lena mid-sentence. With the kiss, Lena forgot her words as well. It certainly didn’t matter, just like the rest of it. She was there, and Kara was there, and it was enough. 

“Are you going to invite me in?” Kara asked when she came up for air,chests heaving with the exertion. 

With a nod, she felt her arms tugged and the door clicked shut behind her. 

XXXXXXXXX

“I have to get back for bed check.” 

“Do you really?” Lena purre, stretching languidly in the bed. She kissed a black and blue mark on Kara’s thigh and pressed her cheek there, looking up at the naked body in her bed. 

“I think an international scandal about a missing soccer player during the World Cup might be something everyone wants to avoid.” 

“That’s very true.” 

“I didn’t know you had a place in the city.” 

Lena shrugged slightly and smiled as she closed her eyes. Kara’ scratched her scalp softly and swore she earned a purr. 

“I went to boarding school here. This was the first place I lived on my own when I graduated.” 

“I didn’t know that.” 

“I bought this place myself with my own money,” Lena sighed, adjusting her legs as she smiled at the thought. “I love feeling like I have a home I can run away to.” 

“Good thing the Cup was in Paris.” 

“I’m sorry I didn’t come earlier.” 

“I didn’t expect you at all.” 

“But you should have,” Lena shook her head and furrowed, sitting up slightly. “I want to be someone that you expect.” 

“You are forever unexpected,” Kara smiled. 

“You’re a secret, but I do like you a lot.” 

“I know.” 

“Would you have played harder if you’d known I was there?” 

“Oh man, I would have scored a lot more goals,” Kara grinned as Lena moved up her body. 

“I knew it.” 

“Will you at least get to do some work while you’re here?” 

“Of course,” Lena nodded, settling between Kara’s legs as she kissed her. “But I came to watch you play.”

“I can’t believe you’re here.” 

“I can’t believe you’re going to leave me all alone in my beautiful loft to go to a lonely hotel room.” 

“What are you doing tomorrow?” 

“Press stuff and you.” 

“Amazing To-Do List.” 

“Dinner tomorrow?” 

“I can do dinner.” 

“And after?” Lena wondered, hovering close to Kara’s lips. 

“Show me your favorite city.” 

Lena grinned and slid her leg so she was straddling her girlfriend. There wasn’t much else she really needed. Perhaps it was the time zones and the tiredness that came. Perhaps it was a naked soccer superstar beneath her. Perhaps it was being in her old loft in her favorite city. Perhaps it was watching Kara play. Perhaps it was just suddenly realizing she was happy, but Lena pressed her palm against Kara’s chest and felt her heartbeat and sighed. 

next

[athingthatwantsvirginia]

Bowie Didn’t!

PART EIGHT OF THE DO YOU SEE HER FACE? SERIES

Pairing: Jess Mariano x Original Character (Ella Stevens)

Warnings: mentions of death, plentiful pop culture references

Word Count: 3.7K

Summary: On the night of Sookie’s wedding, Ella visits the diner and encounters a surprise. 

Though the sign on the door read Closed, Ella gave only one knock and rushed in. She could see Luke closing up, wiping down the main counter. Upon looking up to see her, Luke groaned and hung his head. Ella only smiled, a slightly wicked look. The lights were turned down low and it was shadowy, adding to her fatigue. Sookie’s wedding, out under the early summer sun, had been a fun, all-day affair, and it had taken the wind out of her. But she only had a night left before she shipped off to New Britain for the rest of June, and she had to get one dose of Luke’s food in before the three-week excursion.

“Ella, how many times-”

“I’ll help you clean up whatever mess I make, alright? I know the procedure,” she insisted, her grin growing.

He sighed. “Fine.”

“Thank you, Luke. I am eternally grateful,” she said with mock severity. “I just had to get another look at the place before I depart forever.”

Luke rolled his eyes. “You’re only gonna be gone for a few weeks.”

She scoffed. “To a youth like me, that’s practically a lifetime.”

“What can I get ya?” he snapped, over her theatrics, but in his usual gruff, lovable way.

“Fries, please. And a water?” she asked. Luke nodded and disappeared into the back.

Smiling still, she shrugged off her jean jacket, left in only the army green dress she’d worn to the wedding. The air was clear and full of promise. She would miss the diner, of course, but it would be a welcome escape from her family. Not that her father was entirely behind the idea, but she’d wheedled enough to get him to agree to not send the police looking for her while she was gone. It was odd, considering he usually gave less than one percent of a shit on a daily basis about where she was or what she was up to. Suddenly, feet thumped down the stairs to the apartment and Jess emerged from behind the checkered curtain. He was rubbing his big brown eyes with the heel of his hand. When he looked up and saw her sitting there, he staggered back in slight surprise.

“Hi,” he said, nodding a little.

She raised her eyebrows at seeing him back in his old haunt. “Hi.”

“So,” Jess began with a sigh, raising his hands and gesturing to himself standing in the diner.

Ella nodded, pursing her lips. “Yep. Guess you didn’t think to mention this on the phone two nights ago?”

He chuckled. “Of course I didn’t. Gotta keep things exciting.”

A crooked smirk on his face, Jess ambled over and leaned his forearms on the counter in front of her. Before she could ask him any questions, he shifted toward her and produced a shiny silver quarter from behind her ear. She furrowed her brows at the action but smiled. Holding out the coin to her, he smiled back. He heard Luke puttering around in the kitchen behind him. The deep fryer sizzled lowly. She took the quarter and rolled the cool metal between her fingers before shoving it in the pocket of her jacket.

“How was the wedding?” he asked, his chin propped up on his hand.

She shrugged. “It was a wedding.”

“Hence the name.”

Luke came back around with a basket of fries and a glass of water, eyeing Jess suspiciously, and said nothing as he set them down in front of Ella. She shot him a pointed look. “Thanks for keeping me in the know, boss.”

Sighing, Luke rolled his eyes. “Seems like you figured it out on your own. You’re gonna be gone all month anyway.”

“Gone all month?” Jess echoed.

She nodded. “The New Britain aunt. She just asked me yesterday if I could help her out for a while. She's getting married next week, and they already have a couple kids. I’m babysitting while they’re on their honeymoon.”

“Thrilling,” Jess quipped.

“Should be.”

“Guess I’ll just have to call you here for a while then. You’ll be waiting at the phone, desperate just to hear my voice,” she said in a breathy, dramatic voice, reminiscent of 1940s screen queens.

“Keep dreaming.”

“I always am.”

“Well, it’s not too far. Maybe I’ll return the favor. I’ll show up and you can take me on a tour of all the New Britain hotspots,” he said dryly, though there was a joking tone.

She scoffed. “No such places exist, Mariano.”

“What’s he talkin’ about?” Luke asked, crossing his arms over his chest and looking down at her.

Pausing for a moment, Ella shrugged, feigning nonchalance as she stared down at her fries. “I went and saw Jess in the city a couple weeks ago.”

“What?” he asked, throwing an accusatory glare to a smirking Jess. “When?”

“Mother’s day,” she said shortly, finally meeting Luke’s eyes again.

A knowing expression passed across Luke’s face. “Oh.”

“Mm-hmm,” she hummed in response, aware he wouldn’t say another word about it. Lost in her mind for a moment, she cast her gaze over to the door of the stock room, memories rolling over her like waves.

.   .   .

one year and three weeks earlier

It was summer when she died, almost a full year before. The warming weather brought with it unpleasant, familiar stirrings in the pit of her stomach. She could hear the keys of her mother’s piano, smell her perfume, feel her mother’s hands brushing her hair when she was a child. Order after order, she brought pancakes to happy families. There were mothers with bouquets of flowers in their arms milling around out on the street. And she was happy for them. But it was so hard to maintain the facade when she had nauseating clouds of grief washing her in gloomy rain. She hadn’t even known it was Mother’s Day until she left the house, her father and brother not having yet awoken. But the looks people were giving her told her something was wrong. The chalkboard outside the bookstore announcing the holiday sale solved the mystery for her.

Blowing strands of hair away from her rosy face, Ella felt the throbbing of her sore feet and wanted nothing more than to be listening to her Stevie Nicks tunes on a low volume in her bedroom. She wanted to be reading Dickinson and wallowing in the misery she had no idea would befall her. There seemed to be nothing on the Earth which would cheer her up until the bell over the door jingled and she saw the faces of Lorelai and Rory.

“If it isn’t my favorite mother-daughter detective team!” Ella smiled as they sat down at the counter in front of her.

Luke came over to greet them as well, a cheery expression on his stubbly face. “What can I get ya?”

“Pancakes with chocolate chips that spell out ‘Mother of the Year,’” Lorelai said immediately, batting her eyelashes.

Sighing, Luke looked up from his writing. “Is that a serious request?”

“Am I one to joke about pancakes?” Lorelai countered.

Grunting out an affirmative monosyllabic response, Luke went back into the kitchen. Ella shook her head. Her boss would do anything for that woman.

“We’re gonna have to wolf those pancakes down if we’re gonna get through all the movies today,” Rory reminded Lorelai, a sweet smile on her lips.

“Oooo, what kind of marathon is it?” Ella asked.

“Audrey Hepburn,” Lorelai answered through a grin. “Funny Face, Sabrina, the whole nine. Maybe we’ll add some Katherine, too. All the Hepburns.”

Feeling her heart drop into her stomach, Ella hid the crestfallen look which threatened to cross her face. “That sounds great. I um...I gotta go get some extra chocolate chips from the back if Luke’s gonna fit all those words on the pancakes.”

Rory furrowed her brows in confusion, but Lorelai realized their mistake almost as soon as the words left her lips. However, Ella was in the stock room before either of them could say anything to correct themselves.

Ten minutes passed before Luke noticed his waitress was nowhere to be seen. Admittedly, he had to search his mind to remember if she’d told him he was taking a break or not. When he decided there was no such memory, he returned to the counter where Rory and Lorelai were finishing up their candied pancakes.

“Did you guys see where Ella went?” he asked.

The two women looked between themselves with hesitant looks. Lorelai sighed and shook her head, a conspiratory whisper to her voice. “She’s back in the stock room, but I would just give her a minute.”

“Why? What’s goin’ on?” Luke was immediately concerned, and Lorelai’s face softened at his worry.

Rory chimed in, looking guilty. “We told her we’re doing a Hepburns marathon for Mother’s Day. And her mom also loved Katherine Hepburn and it just slipped out and it’s Mother’s Day and-”

“She’s probably just gonna need a few minutes,” Lorelai cut in, finishing for her daughter.

Luke’s face dropped and he blew out a long breath. “Oh. I...I should go talk to her.”

“Should you?” Lorelai asked doubtfully, but Luke was already walking away. “Luke?”

Back in the stock room, Luke found Ella on the floor near a rack of canned goods. The room smelled of tomatoes and dirt, but it was homey in an odd way. She rested her head on her crossed arms, elbows on her knees. Luke hadn’t seen her so small since she was a toddler, sitting there crumpled up into herself. Her shoulders were shaking slightly, though her cries were silent. Wiping his hands on his jeans, Luke almost returned to the diner but Ella’s muffled voice stopped him before he could leave.

“I know you’re there, Luke,” she said, though she didn’t raise her head to look at him. “I’m sorry, I’ll be back out in a second.”

He sighed guiltily, then shuffled on his booted feet a moment before taking a seat next to her. Though she could feel his presence at her side, she still didn’t look up. There were dark smudges around her eyes, she knew, and tears steadily streaming down her cheeks. Even at the funeral, she didn’t cry. No one had seen her cry since she was a small child. It was only nights alone in her room when she finally let her heart open up and bleed. In a million lifetimes she never would have imagined a simple mention of Katherine Hepburn would break her down in public, or that Luke would be the one to see it. But in the last year, she had learned how grief would come and go like a flash flood. The thought of the loneliness, the pure isolation she’d brought upon herself while coping with the loss, sent another shuddering sob up her spine. She swallowed it back and sniffled, her face still buried in her jeans. Suddenly, she felt Luke’s arm around her shoulder, and she flinched at the touch. Her muscles were tense.

“I’m sorry, Ella,” he said solemnly.

Before she could stop herself, she blurted out a tearful whisper: “Everyone else gets to have a mom.”

Luke nodded, and he wrapped his arms around her as she brought her head to his shoulder and cried into the flannel of his shirt. “I know, I know.”

“I don’t have a mom anymore. I’ll never have a mom again,” she murmured through her tears.

“Yes, you do. She’s still with you. It’s gonna be okay,” he spoke softly, feeling his heart break for her. He knew exactly what it was like to lose a mother at a young age.

And there they sat for the next half hour, until Ella’s breathing finally slowed to a near-normal pace and her hands had calmed their shaking. Luke let her go early, and promised her Mother’s Day off for the rest of eternity, or however long she might work there.

.   .   .

Her high heels fell rhythmically on the sidewalk as she and Jess left the diner and strolled through the balmy night. There was a warm breeze, and somewhere far off an owl hooted, a loon called. After she had washed up the dishes from the fries and the water, Jess had suggested they go out and do something since she’d be missing in action for three whole weeks. The flowers were blooming all around town, and the gazebo was adorned with hydrangeas of pink, blue, purple.

“Hey, you gotta see this,” she said, grabbing him by the sleeve and marching the both of them up the steps.

“Jeez, relax,” he grumbled at her insistence.

She only grinned, her eyes travelling up when they reached the gazebo’s center. They sat down next to each other on the small wooden bench. A fragrant floral sheet cloaked them. Jess followed her gaze to the sky, and immediately understood. There was a hole in the gazebo ceiling, small but enough. There was a beautiful view of the stars, through a cloudy lattice of flowers.

“Huh,” he chirped, nodding slightly.

“Wow, don’t act so impressed,” she scoffed, annoyed at his ambivalence.

He smirked at her, looking over at her profile in the moonlight. “No, really, it’s cool. Something you should paint.”

“Maybe,” Ella agreed, finally meeting his eyes with a tiny smile.

“How’d this happen, anyway?” he asked, gesturing up to the hole.

She shrugged, scrunching up her nose. “Something about Kirk and a batting machine a few nights ago. I just tune most of it out at this point.”

“A wise choice.”

“I think so. Anyway, it'll definitely be fixed in the next few days. Figured you should see it before it was gone.”

“Well, I’m so honored you thought of me,” he teased.

Ella rolled her eyes and flushed, staring ahead at the square glowing silently around them. “Don’t flatter yourself, Mariano.” She paused and spoke again, losing her wistful air. “So, come on, don’t keep me in suspense any longer.”

“What?” He furrowed his brows.

“Well, what are you doing here? And are you visiting or are you...here?” she asked hesitantly, avoiding his eyes.

“I’m here. I came back. I just...wanted to.”

“Why?”

Jess shrugged, running a hand over his mouth. “World bites you, you bite back, right?”

A full smile crossed her lips, and she nudged him with a joking elbow. “That’s right. Took my advice, huh?”

“Just this once. Don’t let it go to your head.”

“Too late.”

“Yeah, I figured,” he said. “Besides, it wasn’t like my mom was suddenly gonna want me back there.”

She hummed and nodded, appraising him. His arms were crossed over the chest of his Clash t-shirt, his hair mussed and his eyes tired. Again, she thought of Jess wandering out in the city alone in the middle of school hours. A pit of guilt settled in her stomach at the thought of leaving the next day, just as he had returned. But she thought better of it. He didn’t need her, and she instantly felt more than a little presumptuous. Without thinking, she chewed at the nails of her right hand.

“You need to quit that, honey,” he scolded with good nature in his voice.

Ella rolled her eyes and scoffed, casting him no more than a momentary glance. “Yeah, I’ll quit biting when you quit smoking.”

“Touché.”

“I’m just nervous.”

“Really? I couldn’t tell,” he quipped.

She snickered and shook her head. “Shut up. My dad doesn’t want me to go, and there’s probably gonna be hell to pay. But I have to take my escapes where I can get them.”

“Don’t I know it,” he agreed. Her makeup was smudged around her eyes, her lipstick faded. There was a stoic look across her features, guarding her thoughts. Jess found himself frustrated at her unreadable expression.

“Hey, just for the record?” she began, breaking the silence.

“Hm?”

“I think I might hate your mom,” she admitted.

Jess laughed bitterly. “I don’t know. You two do share the inclination toward Stevie Nicks.”

She scoffed. “The one commonality. She doesn’t think you’ll go to college, right?”

“More like I’ll never amount to anything, but close enough.”

“That’s bullshit, Jess,” she said with earnest.

“Hey, don’t shoot the messenger,” he snapped defensively.

Before she could stop herself, she shifted to face him and raised her eyebrows doubtfully. “The messenger? Like you don’t walk around acting like someone you’re not.”

“What the hell’s that supposed to mean?” Jess exclaimed, brows furrowed.

“Just…” she sighed, trailing off. Then, she doubled down and took a big breath before beginning again. “This whole Holden Caulfield thing, acting like you’re too cool to want anything!”

“Like you know what I want,” he countered. “And college isn’t the end-all be-all of existence!”

“I didn’t say that! Who gives a fuck if you go to college? Bowie didn’t!” she agreed, voice still raised.

“Exactly!”

“But, that’s not the point! Jess, what do you want?!” she asked. “You go through like five books a day and you almost failed eleventh grade! I mean, Jesus, you could do anything you wanted if you tried!”

“Like it’s so simple,” he grumbled.

“I didn’t say it was simple,” she said, rolling her eyes. “You’re just too fucking smart for your own good, Mariano. You can’t waste it.”

He shook his head, biting his lip.

Ella sighed, running a hand through her curled hair. “Fine, don’t listen to me.” Again, she bit at her thumb nail, gazing over the town. Luke was finally finished closing up, and she saw him shut off the lights.

“I’m listening,” he muttered, his voice not without frustration.

“Whatever you say, jackass.”

Before he could respond, Ella stood up and smoothed her hands over her skirt. Her hair fell down her back in golden curls, and the silver chain around her neck glinted. Jess could hear the gentle buzz of insects beneath the thick blanket of night. Upstairs in the apartment, there was a Hemingway novel awaiting him. But he had an inkling he would have a harder time concentrating on it than normal. He thought she was going to leave without uttering another word, but instead she turned and stood back against the rail of the gazebo. She leaned down and unclasped the strappy black shoes she wore, gathering them up by the heels in one hand.

“You’ll get an infection walking around without shoes,” he warned lightly, hoping to drop the subject of his ambiguous future.

She smirked, and Jess felt himself relax. “Maybe in New York. Not so much in Stars Hollow.”

“Oh, was Manhattan not up to your small town standards?”

Her smile grew into something more genuine and she crossed her arms against the summer breeze. The night was quickly cooling, and she had only her jan jacket to shield her. “No, actually, it exceeded them. It was so...dynamic. Just like you described. But there was no five-dollar street corner sex!”

Jess laughed, though his heart fluttered inside his chest at the look in her eyes. The one of glittering wonder she’d had while they watched the Hudson. “Yeah, well, can’t win ‘em all.”

“Next time?” she teased expectantly.

“Next time,” Jess assured her, nodding.

“Well, I gotta get home,” she said, glancing behind her in the direction of her street. “I have to finish packing.”

“Right,” he sighed, glancing down at his boots, then back up. “Guess I’ll have to keep that place in business until July, huh?”

“I suppose,” she said, descending the stairs of the gazebo and calling back over her shoulder. “Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.”

“I’ll try my best,” he shot back. “But no promises.”

She rolled her eyes and threw him a glance. “I would expect nothing less of you, Mariano.”

And with one final wave and a shouted goodnight, she turned away and continued on the short walk back to her little blue house. Jess smiled after her, watching her glide barefoot over the grass of town square and down the main street until she took a left and disappeared. And he felt a tug at his heart at her absence, but shook his head to himself before trudging back over to Luke’s.

.   .   .

The mid-morning bloomed warm and sunny, a break from the showers which had recently hung over Stars Hollow, and much of the north East. Pebbles crunched beneath the tires of Ella’s big blue Station Wagon, loaded with her duffel and her suitcase, various books in a grocery bag on the passenger seat. After the morning she’d had, she was biting her nails down to the quick. If she hadn’t admonished Jess the night before, she might have even smoked a cigarette or two. She had smoked for only a short period, the few weeks following her mother’s death. And every now and then when she incurred her father’s wrath. Watching her load up her car had made her father’s ears steam, and he’d broken one of the kitchen chairs. Being hungover certainly hadn’t helped him keep his temper under control.

As she rolled past Luke’s Diner, the radio blasted a sharp Liz Phair tune. Ella sang along at the top of her lungs, but quieted as she slowed down and let her gaze wander to the diner. For a moment, she debated stopping in for a final cup of tea, but she had to blink twice to make sure what she saw was accurate. Jess, with his black hair spiked up and dressed in his familiar camo shirt, had his hands in a girl’s back pockets. They sucked face as they leaned against the diner, right on the sidewalk. Ella scrunched up her nose at sight and scoffed as she turned her eyes back to the road. Apparently it didn’t take Jess very long. Had he even been back for twenty-four hours yet? She ignored the way her palms began to sweat. As she sped away from Stars Hollow, she turned the speakers up until she felt the music’s vibrations in her chest.

[ladyhistorypod]

Episode 14: Thanksgiving Special

Sources:

Susan La Flesche

The History Reader

PBS: New Perspectives on the West

Hampton University

Hampton Archives

Nebraska Studies

Further Reading/Watching: PBS American Masters, Smithsonian Magazine

Sacagawea

Brooklyn Museum

National Museum of the American Indian Blog

Native Mascots And Other Misguided Beliefs (NMAI)

National Women’s History Museum

Nat Geo Kids

Ted Ed

Further Reading: Smithsonian American Women: Remarkable Objects and Stories of Strength, Ingenuity, and Vision from the National Collection, I Am Sacagawea, Sacajawea of the Shoshone

Zitkala-Sa

Utah Women’s History

Women and the American Story

Akta Lakota Museum and Cultural Center

National Parks Service

Further Reading: Women in America, Extra and Ordinary: Zitkala-Sa (Smithsonian Libraries)

Click below for the transcript of this episode!

Haley: So how old are your guys’ parents, and did you ever growing up like regard them as like the old parents?

Alana: My… so my… Here's what's really fucking me up these days, is that Joe Biden graduated from the University of Delaware the same year my dad was born. So my dad was born in June of 1965 and Joe Biden graduated University of Delaware probably like May of 1965. So that's what's making me uncomfortable these days.

Lexi: You know when my mom graduated from the University of Delaware?

Alana: When?

Lexi: The nineties. (Laughing)

Alana: So my parents, they’re like kind of old. My mom was born in 1963, but my mom is also the third of four children.

Haley: Because my mom was born in ‘69 and my dad ‘67. And Robert’s parents… I don't know exactly when they were born but I know it's in the cluster of my parents. But my mom and dad were always regarded as like the younger parents. And it came up today because my sister's boyfriend's parents have always been regarded– my mom's like oh they’re older because my sister's boyfriend, Stephen, is the youngest of four. So my mom and dad got married three days after my mom graduated from college, but they waited seven years. Like they owned a freakin’ Subway and went backpacking in Europe before having me. Like they lived their life, if you will, and then they had kids. But all my friends, like growing up, all their parents are like five to ten years older than my parents.

Lexi: So my parents got married at twenty three.

Alana: Also ridiculous.

Lexi: They were born in 1972. No shade giving my mom’s age out, but honestly she's super young. We get mistaken for sisters no matter where we go, especially if we’re with my grandmother. They tell her she has two lovely daughters. I don't know if that's an insult to me or a compliment to my mother… 

Haley: A compliment to your mother.

Alana: It’s definitely a compliment to your mother.

Lexi: My mother was invited to frat parties when she visited me in college several times.

Haley: No, your mother is smokin’ hot. Like my mother–

Lexi: She was the marching band MILF. Do you know the song Stacy's Mom?

Alana: Of course I know Stacy's Mom.

Lexi: The marching band, when we played it would sing Lexi’s mom.

Alana, singing: Lexi’s mom has got it goin’ on.

[INTRO MUSIC]

Alana: Hello and welcome to Lady History; the good, the bad, and the ugly ladies you missed in history class. by whipping sort of as always is Lexi Lexi what are you thankful for.

Lexi: I am thankful for you guys.

Alana: That’s gross. I am also joined(ish) by Haley. Haley, are you a white meat or dark meat kinda gal?

Haley: I really like– I guess like the– like a turkey leg? That’s dark meat. That’s my jam. I'm also not necessarily a turkey person.

Alana: And I'm Alana and I'm team captain of the cranberry sauce defense squad.

[Turkeys gobbling]

Alana: I don't think there is a good word for the people who were in the Americas before white people came to the Americas.

Lexi: There is not a good single word.

Haley: I also think that it's not us as non those people… 

Alana: That's the thing. And that was the conversation that we had–

Haley: And I hate that I said “those people” because it shouldn’t be “those people” but like

but like for my grad school, we have a whole section of like repatriation, NAGPRA, all that lovely good stuff in our law class. And with our history and theory class there's always like this– kinda wanna call it a symposium?– We asked the question, and I think it was my professor who posed it, because she's like I have to talk about it and I'm a Jewish white woman. I know people like have their preference on Jewish people versus Jews and I want to be able to teach the correct thing. And everyone in the room said Native Peoples just because so many different tribes or groups don't consider themselves American. So that’s what I use. And I like that the like phrase and I’m probably– someone else probably saying this but I’m gonna make it up for myself right now; just go with what you know until you're proven wrong. Because like that's what I know and like for now.

Alana: But that's the thing that we were talking about not on the podcast, elsewhere, about how like I've never heard an actual Latinx person use the phrase Latinx.

Haley: I do not consider myself–

Alana: Except for on One Day at a Time actually.

Lexi: I feel like I always go with if I need to call someone something I'm going to ask them–

Haley: Yes.

Lexi: –What they identify as, and if I don't know them well enough to have that conversation maybe I shouldn't be speaking for them in any way… Or not speaking for them, but I shouldn't be like representing them. But it's really complicated when we talk about history because a lot of the words we use didn't exist then. Like Ida B. Wells considered herself Negro, and we wouldn't… we wouldn't probably use that word now.

Haley: Well like with pronouns. We don’t assume–

Alana: Exactly.

Haley: –pronouns. So like… Because I feel very weird when people like assume like my race or ethnicity. And I identify that… I identify with being Persian or Cuban more so than being a female if that makes sense.

Lexi: Right.

Haley: I've never… it's not like I'm non– like non binary. I identify as female but I've never been like a FEMALE.

Speaker 3: I feel like with gender it's so– so easy to once you decide to do it just start using they as a default when you're not sure what someone's preference is, and there's not that for race or ethnicity. There’s not like a default word where you can say a word and not be offensive. Like, okay. It's like the thing with the Washington Redskins which is now the Washington Football Team. There were a lot–

Alana: Which is what my cousin always called it. Was always calling it the Washington Football Team.

Lexi: Actually apparently they picked that because a lot of people did just call it that. But also it's not even in Washington DC so it frustrates the crap out of me. But apparently like a bunch of people were up in arms about it that were Native peoples but then a bunch of Native peoples were like nah it's chill. And so it's like you can't say that all these people agree on something.

Haley: Yeah.

Alana: Yeah.

Haley: That's where we go back to like–

Lexi: There isn't a single hive mind of all of these people you’re trying to represent. Everyone has these own little different versions. And so, you know, what I've been told by a lot of people is like narrow it down. Like for example if you're Omaha, you’re Omaha. If you’re Hoganashone you’re Hoganashone. Because that's how they like refer to themselves.

Haley: Yeah. Yes. And I’ve heard this too. Like– I’m gonna say this. I was on Tik Tok.

(Alana and Lexi laughing)

Lexi: Honestly cultural Tik Tok is very fun. Like culture-based Tik Tok.

Haley: I’ve landed myself on what was called by this group of Tik Tok– this flavor of Tik Tok– Native and Indigenous Tik Tok.

Lexi: Yeah I've seen that.

Haley: But I noticed that for the Tik Tok-ers who are in Canada would use Indigenous.

Alana: I will never tell someone of one group that something is not anti that group because I don't want gentiles to tell me what is and what is not antisemitic, I don't want men to tell me what is and is not misogynistic, I don't want… what's my other identity? Oh, I'm queer. I don't want straight people to tell me what is and is not homophobic–

Haley: “What's my other identity?”

Alana: “What’s my other identity?”

Lexi: “I can’t remember. I’ve got so many.”

Alana: What’s my other one? I’m like marginalized in three different ways and I don’t remember what the third one is.

Archival Audio: For our clinics are all specialized. Wednesday afternoons, for instance, we only see expectant mothers. But each one is a different problem, because each one is a different person. They feel they're special, too, and always seem amazed when they discover they have something in common with the other women, but that’s natural. After all, we all think of our health problems as personal problems.

Lexi: Today I'm going to tell you the story of Susan La Flesche, the first Native American to receive a medical degree. And as we discussed, we’re not sure exact on the terms people prefer. Susan lived a long time ago and regarded herself as Native American, that’s why I'm using that term, but I understand that some people may not use that term to refer to themselves. But she identified as that, so that's what I'm calling her. So yes, she was the first Native American to receive a medical degree. Susan was an Omaha woman. Her father Iron Eyes, or Chief Joseph La Flesche, the last Omaha chief selected by traditional tribal methods, and he was the son of a Frenchman and an Omaha woman so he was half French, half Omaha. And as a chief he believed the only way to save his people was to mix elements of their culture with Western culture and for his people to get an education. And it was these beliefs that shaped Susan's future. Her mother was One Woman, or Mary La Flesche, and Susan was born on the Omaha reservation in Nebraska in 1865. As a child Susan, witnessed a Native woman die because the local white doctor would not provide her care. This event sparked Susan’s interest in becoming a medical professional, with the goal of helping Native people. She attended a school on the reservation until she was fourteen and then she went to the Elizabeth Institute for Young Ladies in New Jersey. Can you imagine being fourteen years old and traveling from Nebraska to New Jersey on a train by yourself? That’s crazy. That’s absolutely crazy.

Alana: Goals. I wanna do it. I love trains. I love trains. I wanna do it.

Lexi: So I think she must have been really brave, because it just that's… that's pretty amazing. A long trip for a little girl.

Alana: Especially as like first of all it being a young woman which is already dangerous, no matter what, and she's also from this like marginalized community.

Lexi: Yes.

Alana: That it's like double dangerous, quadruple dangerous because she was fourteen.

Lexi: Yeah. It's crazy. It's crazy. Must’ve been really really brave. And really wanted to go to the school I guess. So she went there for three years and at seventeen Susan returned home and she taught at the Mission School on the Omaha reservation. At the school, she worked with Alice Fletcher, who was a white woman who was an ethnologist who studied and recorded American Indian culture. And she came to live and work with the Omaha because of her passion for archaeology so she wanted to study living people to better understand the past, which has been–

Alana: Ethnographic archaeology.

Lexi: Yeah it's a thing that a lot of archaeologists like to do. When Fletcher fell ill, Susan helped her recover, and after seeing Susan’s skills and passions for medicine and health care, Fletcher urged Susan to travel east and pursue a degree in medicine. Susan enrolled in the Hampton Institute, which was a school in Virginia that was built after the Civil War to educate formerly enslaved people and had since become a hub for educating Black Americans and American Indians. When Susan was attending Hampton, a woman named Dr. Martha Waldron was working as a teacher and the resident physician at the school. Martha was a graduate of the Women's Medical College of Pennsylvania and suggested that Susan pursue further education there. Alice Fletcher, who had encouraged Susan to study medicine, assisted Susan by helping her apply for scholarships from the US Office of Indian Affairs and the Women's National Indian Association. In 1889, after two years in a three year program, Susan graduated top of her class from medical school. She spent one year doing an internship, which was similar to a modern day medical residency program in Philadelphia and then she returned home. At home, she became the primary care provider for about twelve hundred people, working at the reservation’s boarding school. In 1894, she married Henry Picotte, a Sioux man who had previously been traveling and working in Wild West shows. And they kept it all in the family with Susan's sister Marguerite deciding to marry Harry's brother Charles. So… that’s… that’s fun! After getting married, Henry and Susan had two sons and Susan opened a private practice which served both non white and white patients in her community. When Henry fell ill, Susan personally nursed him, all while working full time and caring for their two sons. At the age of forty, Susan became partially deaf, but kept working. In addition to being a doctor, Susan ran a children's library, worked as a Sunday school teacher, founded a quilting club, translated legal papers, and advocated for prohibition. In 1913, she opened a reservation hospital serving Omaha and Winnebago tribes. It was the first private hospital on a reservation anywhere in the country. Today, the building is a museum dedicated to tribal history and telling the story of Susan. In 1915, at just fifty years old, Susan passed away. Susan was important to her people because as aspects of their culture were taken away from them, she was able to draw a balance between traditional medicine and the practices that she learned at Western medical school. This worked because many of her people were still unsure about Western medicine, so by mixing their traditional healing practices with Western practices, she was able to develop a culturally specific plan of treatment. Her people grew to trust her and she began to be regarded as a modern medicine woman. She is a great example of why cultural representation is important and can impact public health. I also highly suggest watching the PBS video that I linked on the tumblr in the further watching. It’s super well made and it tells a really wonderful version of her story in a lot more detail than we're able to cover on our show and it has really good tie-ins to modern needs of communities like Susan's and interviews some modern female doctors and their communities which is really cool. That’s it. Short one.

Haley: I like– I like that story a lot.

Alana: I like that story too.

Lexi: Yeah there's not a lot about her like… 

Alana: Right.

Lexi: People don't record shit, so it’s mostly just her accomplishments, unfortunately.

(Audio from Night at The Museum)

Haley: So my story is about– drum roll please– the retelling of the story of Sacagawea. And for all of you who might be screaming my name right now, saying Hey I'm not pronouncing her name correctly, hold the phone we’ll get there. I first need to do my universal apologies for pronouncing any words, even historically American English words, incorrectly because we all know me; words aren't the greatest for my speech mouth. And to start us off, I'm switching over to the like I said that actual pronunciation– Saka-Gawea. And it's Sacagawea because in my research there's not a soft G in the Hidatsa language, which translates to bird woman. So side note, there are a bunch of different spellings, but if we're going based on the true like translation– Sa-Ka-Ga is bird, and it's spelled with a G. So Sacagawea is Sacajawea but just like–

Lexi: Can I just say, that's way prettier than Sacajawea.

Haley: Yeah because like for some Sacagawea it's like you have the G, or you have S. A. K. A. K. A. W. E. A, or instead of the G. it’s a J. But there's no hard – or, there's no soft Gs it's only hard Gs. And as a person who has a really hard time pronouncing things from reading because of the dyslexia spectrum that we know to love, it's gonna– it's gonna be balls to the walls bananas.

Alana: It's like… Was it the first Night at the Museum movie or the second Night at the Museum movie where she was like a character?

Lexi: The first.

Alana: The first one. And then the museum like–

Lexi, whispering: And then she fell in love with Theodore Roosevelt

Alana: Oh yeah, and then she fell in love with Theodore Roosevelt which was so… oh NO.

Haley: I’m glad you brought that up because I cut that part out.

Lexi: That’s a whole can of worms.

Alana: But like there's that whole thing about them pronouncing it wrong but it's always Sacaga-wee-ah or Sacaga-way-a, and I’m like both of you are wrong.

Haley: Glad you brought up Night at the Museum because I had a whole tangent on that but then I was like roll back Haley your notes are already long to begin with.

Alana: You cannot expect me to not bring up Night at the Museum if it is even tangentially relevant.

Lexi: I love them, I hate them. It's an incredible thing.

Haley: Yeah.

Alana: Rami Malek!

Haley: Yes he was–

Alana: My first love!

Haley: Back to the notes. So for our listeners out of the United States, you may have heard of Sacagawea, of course with the Lewis and Clark exploring the west. However, I'm sorry– not sorry– to say that there's a solid chance that what you learned was completely incorrect and I'm looking at you United States education system. All of y’all education system just– the poop garbage, dumpster fire, whatever you would like to say. But let me pause for a second and explain a little bit why that story is kind of messed up because not only do we have like a white savior complex with like Lewis and Clark, we also just have a lot of sexism. Like sexism is painted in semen here. Like all over the board. No menstrual blood whatsoever to like brighten up this dreary painting of shit. Alana’s face right now is… holy crap what is she saying.

Alana: It's just a little bit like– Lexi what's the word that I'm looking for that is like… the sentiment behind it is that not all men have semen that not all women menstruate. Do you know I mean? That's my thing with–

Lexi: There's a single word? There's a single word for that? 

Alana: There’s like a word for something… like reducing it to… whatever.

Haley: Yes.

Alana: And transphobia isn't quite right.

Speaker 1: That’s exactly why I use the phrase all semen in here. Because it's totally like heterosexual men explaining–

Alana: Cis heterosexual men.

Haley: Yes.

Lexi: The cis white boys?

Haley: Yes.

Alana: The cis white boys.

Haley: The cis white boys. However, it's a reason why the paintbrush is a phallic symbol, that’s all I’m gonna say. And while I will probably not tell the most accurate story, it's gonna be a hell of a lot better than what we've been given to because… I'm gonna be up front. There's so much more research I could have done and that's with all our stories. Like I think I put like three hours at least into like average for each story, sometimes more. I put in a lot more for this one. While Sacagawea was a Native people who symbolized peace and cooperation as she like navigated Lewis and Clark– with you know, the baby strapped on her back that like famous trope we have– through the west and like the Pacific… to get to the Pacific Ocean. There's a lot more to that story. First, because their crew was a crew of forty plus people; it wasn't just like the three of them moseying along like a hundred percent of the time, but we'll get to that. And even before then, I don't know about you guys but I never heard of like her growing up or her as an actual Native person. It was always “she’s with Lewis and Clark. Like she with the white people now,” never her life story as a whole, just this one small part, but I learned about Lewis and Clark's whole life story. And boy Howdy am I gonna talk about how she saved all their collective buttholes. So, while this story is both Native people’s legend and journals from the Lewis and Clark that we keep talking about. And we know that oral tradition it still history. So there are holes obviously with this timeline, but we know that she was born, or we think she was born in the Shoshone tribe in Idaho and was kidnapped at age twelve, possibly age ten. What I didn't know though is that when she was kidnapped– I knew she was kidnapped, but this is bad, I didn't actually know who kidnapped her, and it was a neighboring tribe. I believe it was the Hidatsa tribe? It was noted as a rival tribe. And from there she was sold into slavery and forced to marry Toussaint Charbonneau– C. H. A. R. B. O. N. N. E. A. U., we’ll go with that– a French Canadian fur trapper who had other quote Shoshane “wives.” So this wasn't… this wasn't great. Like it wasn't great to begin with, but we're just like still riding that train of yes you're not gonna tell a bunch of elementary school kids this story but let's not paint the picture and happy childhood. And in 1804, Meriwether Lewis and William Clark recruited no other than– I'm gonna call him TC, TC because I can't pronounce either of his names and I'm gonna keep fumbling on it– to be their wilderness guide. The geography of it was that the country almost doubled in size, but the history of it was the Louisiana Purchase was acquired by France.

Lexi: Acquired from France.

Haley: Yes. They were already on their expedition by the time they met up with TC and Sacagaweas. Sacagawea, who was sixteen and pregnant at the time, accompanied the men, and she was the only female of this shitshow of a shindig. And by shitshow of a shindig, this was like forty something other men with Lewis and Clark– like they had a whole rodeo. And we see this a lot that if people went on an expedition it wasn't just that group of people but they brought like their cooks, their wives, their children, people to like bring their food, i.e. like livestock because we didn't have fridges and such. So that like was not surprising to me. What was surprising was like that's a valuable teaching point, was just like to teach kids how did people move from place to place. And this is at the point where Clark notes that she was the most valuable member of their group, because although T. C. was like hired to give them like geography, he was like a noted French Canadian and a fur trapper, but noted as like he was not good at like navigating compared to Sacagawea and like the other Native peoples in the area. It was obvious and even Lewis and Clark were like “oh, she better” which she was. And she spoke both Shoshone and Hidatsa, and so she was like the interpreter for the white men, like literally. And that's the part like they got correct– and they being like the education system– that point was correct. She was interpreter, and shout out to the Brooklyn Museum for literally giving me the quote “interpreter for the group of white men”. Even the Brooklyn Museum’s not playing around. And obviously these white men weren't liked amongst the other Native peoples tribes, but when they saw a woman who wasn't considered to be a warrior– and that's like the key point– it wasn't just that they had a Native person with them. it was that she had a child with her, she spoke their language, and like didn't give off any alarm bells. Because also like there's that misconception that all Native peoples were friendly to each other. There are different like rivalries amongst tribes. That was just pure luck for them that that worked out. And so of course Lewis and Clark wanted to make their main man TC because his fur trapping knowledge and like how he knew the geography. And like I said that was… sure, he did some stuff. But Sacagawea basically said hold my beer, and she clearly knew where she was supposed to go. She clearly knew also just like the weather patterns, where to find food, and multiple occasions when they were like the Yellowstone area and it's really cold at night… we're in the parts where it's just snowing and dark for many many many parts of the winter. And she would like be able to not only like find but like somewhat grow or just like keep food in a way that like they would be able to sustain themselves with eating. So it was like a group effort by everyone. It wasn't just like Lewis and Clark being like “we got this, we’re gonna do it, we're gonna get to the Pacific Ocean in the middle of the winter.” Fast forward a bit– and there are a bunch of other stories of her being a complete badass, like diving into water when their canoe tips over and saving like all the important stuff; food, even like Lewis and Clark's journals.But we have to move forward, sadly, to the end of her expedition and just give her a well rounded story like I said. I wanted to hear this as a kid. And while the expedition ended in 1806, she kind of still knew Lewis and Clark. And let me do a side note here she did not receive payment for this expedition. Because like, yeah. That sounds like the right thing to do, I say with all my sarcastic cells in my body. There are a lot of them, by the way, so we're all doing a chorus of sarcastic singing. And three years later in 1809– another side note this is where at least my history kind of definitely has different stories, there's no concrete this is what happened…  There wasn't Snapchat recording everything, I guess. Clark invited Sacagawea and her family to live in Saint Louis and he also later adopted her son Jean Baptiste, and he called him Pompy, and a baby girl Lisette. And it's noted that she separated from T. C. who was abusive, but after this point like our timeline, we call dates in history, we know very little. And again, with this debated topic, her death is in that category. So records from Fort Manuel where like she lived there at a time, she supposedly died in December 1812 from typhus. And going off what Native peoples’ oral histories because again, oral histories are histories, she lived on the Shoshone lands in Wyoming until 1884. And regardless, Sacagawea clearly became somewhat of a legend with her own story being told by writers, filmmakers, historians in a time where women especially Native and/or Indigenous women, were absolutely thought of as weak, not helpful, and sometimes even dangerous. So you might be asking yourself, “Haley, where do I find other resources?” Obviously check out our show notes, they are quite lovely, and honestly children's books. The most recent ones were kind of on point. They're all about like– especially now in 2020. And then specifically in the show notes look at the Brooklyn Museum and the National Women's History Museum. And that is my story.

Alana: Hey National Women’s History Museum, do you want to give me an internship?

Haley, singing: Manifestation.

(Archival Violin Music)

Alana: Zitkala-Sa was born February 22, 1876, that makes her a Pisces. She's technically an Aquarius/Pisces cusp. And Zitkala-Sa means red bird in the Sioux language. She was born on the Yankton Indian Reservation in South Dakota. Her mother was Sioux and her father was white. Her father abandoned the family and initially when I see white father, Indigenous mother… that is alarm bells in my head, but she did have an older brother, so less alarm bells. Quieter alarm bells. And just as an FYI, a blanket statement, we had the discussion that we're not really sure if we should say Native or Indigenous so I kind of use both, mixing it up. If you know someone who has an opinion let us know and we’ll use that going forward. I think that's kind of a good general statement for this podcast; is correct us if we're wrong and we'll change our ways. Because that’s how you–

Haley: Correct us with kindness.

Alana: Oh, yeah. Correct us with kindness. Be nice.

Haley: We have feelings.

Alana: We can’t handle it. Don't be mean to me. At the age of eight, so 1884 she left the reservation when Quaker missionaries came to recruit for their– massive air quotes– school and it was only a school if by school you mean forced assimilation centers, but we'll get to that a little bit later. It was literally called the White’s Indiana Manual Labor Institute, and the U. S. is still racist, I'm not saying that it’s not racist, but at least we're not racist enough to let something with a name like that slide. I feel like… baby steps, little progress. Zitkala-Sa’s mother didn't want her to go because her brother had come back from a school and she didn't like it but Zitkala-Sa begged and begged because for kids who had never left the reservation, it seemed like a magical place and it sounded so cool. Her mother did eventually acquiesce because there were no schools on the reservation and she really wanted Zitkala to have an education. But she later wrote that the second she got on the train to Indiana she regretted fighting so hard for it. She was forced to cut her hair and pray like a Quaker, which she hated. Pray like a Christian is like…  that's intergenerational trauma in my heart. She actually hid from the people who were working at the school and they had to tie her to a kitchen chair and cut her hair. I don't know if it was actually a kitchen chair, I just wanted to make a Leonard Cohen reference. Hey Alana, are you Jewish? Yes. But she really did enjoy learning how to read and write and to play the piano and the violin. She was given the name Gertrude Simmons, which is a footnote that will only come up at the very end of the story. In 1887, she returned to her mother's home but she felt like she didn't belong there. And this was a common theme among children who had been sent to these– massive air quotes– schools because they felt like they didn't really belong to their Indigenous culture but they also weren't really like the white Americans. In 1895, she enrolled at Earlham College for a teacher training program and then transferred to the New England conservatory to continue studying violin. In 1900, she became a music teacher at the Carlisle Indian School but left because it reminded her of her traumatic experiences at a similar school. She basically came to the realization, she was just like “oh shit, they are designed to take our culture from us.” She was like “I couldn’t be part of that anymore.” In 1901, she published Old Indian Legends, which was a compilation of all of her previous writings and culminated in a lifelong project of translating Sioux traditions into English, because this is a quote from her from the beginning of the book, “America in the last few centuries has acquired a second tongue,” which is so shady. And I love it. “Acquired a second tongue” is just like. Mm. So also in 1901 she went back to South Dakota and took a job at the United States Bureau of Indian Affairs, which I will refer to going forward as the B. I. A., where she met Captain Raymond Bonnin, who was also a Sioux, but I couldn't find what his like Sioux name was, since he was also full Sioux, but probably not Raymond. But then they did have a son and name him Raymond so I’m not sure.I don't know. They were transferred to Utah, where Zitkala-Sa taught again, but not at a white school, at a reservation school where the children lived at home and she found that like to be a balance. In 1910, she met William Hansen who was a music professor at Brigham Young University, and in 1913 they completed The Sun Dance Opera which was about a Sioux ritual that the federal government had banned, which I think is… What a workaround. What a way to beat the system. She viewed music as a way to bridge the cultures that she was a part of and it did, and that culminated in The Sun Dance Opera. She joined the Society of American Indians, which is a group that lobbied for citizenship for Indigenous people and cultural preservation because nuance. Which is a thing that I am feeling recently. Just nuance. Tattoo it on my forehead, shout it from the rooftops. Nuance. She became the secretary of the Society of American Indians and started interacting directly with the B. I. A. where her husband worked. She was very critical and vocal of their policies because they wanted her to pray like a Christian which– (frustration noises). The intergenerational trauma, she just– she do be jumping out. And her husband was fired. Was it because of her criticism of the B. I. A? Maybe? Who’s to say? I can't say, but maybe. But they moved to Washington DC, where she started giving lectures about cultural identity and continued her work with the Society of American Indians. She even was briefly the editor of American Indian magazine. In 1924 she became active in the General Federation of Women's Clubs, which was like a women's rights group but make it intentionally diverse. It was grassroots campaigns to support women of all backgrounds, and we simply have no choice but to stan.

Lexi: Intersectional feminism.

Alana: Intersectional feminism. We love it, we love to see it, we love to see intersectional feminism like in the twentieth century, before it was cool, if you will. She started a universal Indigenous movement that led to the passage of the 1924 Indian Citizenship Act which, as the name implies, gave Indigenous people citizenship but not necessarily the right to vote because that was still up to the states. In 1926, she co founded with her husband the National Council of American Indians to continue lobbying for the rights of Indigenous people. She died January 26, 1938 at the age of not quite sixty two and is buried in Arlington Cemetery with her husband. Her gravestone reads Gertrude Simmons and then Zitkala-Sa which makes me feel a little bit weird but at least it's on there. I don't know if she like had a choice what went on there but I think it's cool that it's on there. And she was the first Indigenous woman to write her own autobiography without the help of an editor or translator because she was just good at English. She was also very anti use of peyote, which is really interesting because she was like alcoholism on the reservations is a huge problem and so we need to like do something about our ingesting of substances. It’s like all these things are about nuance which is something that I'm again I'm feeling so so much about nuance. It's something that I've been working on in therapy for like three years. That's not true, for two years. That I'm just like we can have two things that coexist– that like it would be in everybody's best interest to be an American citizen, but that doesn't necessarily mean that all of these Native people have to abandon their rituals and their culture. It’s that whole melting pot thing which is such a like when you think about a kind of a weird image… put people in a melting pot. Anyway. That’s a fun note to end on. That’s all I have to say.

Lexi: I just want to add that I think I've mentioned this before on the podcast but I worked on a project at the Smithsonian Libraries called Women in America: Extra and Ordinary. I'm the one who suggested this lady because I thought Alana would like learning about this lady, and I just want to kind of talk about a little bit why I put her in the project. The thing that I love about her is that the Portrait Gallery has pictures of her that were taken when she was quite young. I believe in her twenties.

Alana: They’re gorgeous.

Lexi: And they're beautiful because they're so like real. Like–

Alana: I think my favorite one is– now that I've mentioned it Lexi, you probably have to use it in the graphic– but it's her having grown her hair back out with her violin.

Lexi: Yes.

Alana: And it's just like how it's like… Once you know the background of that, it's like this is how she combined these two cultures by like really enjoying playing the violin and also having her long traditional hair.

Lexi: She’s just so like… It's like she could be your friend. Like she’s just a real person. And so like, I don't know. They’re good pictures. Go look at her pictures.

Alana: Go to the show notes, look at the pictures, they’re great pictures.

Lexi: And– Okay, I think– Okay, this is the root of it. I think when you see pictures of Native peoples from that time, so many times it's like they're wearing like outfits that aren't even correct for their culture and they were forced to pose in like ridiculous like customized versions of their own culture. Like I've seen ones where people who weren’t Plains Indians were put in Plains Indians’ attire for pictures. But like she's just hanging out and I really like that. I just love her. So much.

Alana: She’s so cool.

Lexi: And her name means red bird.

Alana: And her name means red bird, and Lexi loves birds. Lexi loves birds.

(Turkeys gobbling)

Lexi: You can find this podcast on Twitter and Instagram at LadyHistoryPod. Our show notes and a transcript of this episode will be on ladyhistorypod dot tumblr dot com. If you like the show, leave us a review, or tell your friends, and if you don't like the show, keep it to yourself.

Alana: Our logo is by Alexia Ibarra, you can find her on Twitter and Instagram at LexiBDraws. Our theme music is by me, GarageBand, and Amelia Earhart. Lexi is doing the editing. You will not see us, and we will not see you, but you will hear us, next time on Lady History.

[OUTRO MUSIC]

Haley: Next week on Lady History, we're balling with some boss bitches. Get your bags of money ready, because we’re making it rain.

Lexi: Okay. All right.

Haley: Good night!

Alana: I gotta crawl out of my closet.

Lexi: Good night!

Alana: Good night I'll talk to you tomorrow!

Lexi: Bye bye.