#i'd probably get a traffic ticket or something

[shamera]

..I'm sorry, Fontaine Archon Quest, it took me like half a year to get this far because I'm not... an Ace Attorney player.

And as much as I love the storyline, I can't throw down 4 hours at a time for each chapter that they do with the trials, because they won't let you go if you don't complete those cutscenes.

[miraclewoozi]

hi angel!! congrats on 500 followers 🫶 i'm so proud of you and i hope u know u deserve every single one of these milestones (and even more!)

i'd like to request hoshi + “you can hold my hand, if you want.” !!

looking forward to seeing you hit many many more milestones🩷 once again, congratulations!

JUST THE TWO OF US? - k.sy

500 follower party <3 ( accepting until 14th March ! )

pair : ksy x gn!reader. prompt : “ you can hold my hand if you want. ” wc : 1.1k and some change. notes : just fluff ! barely proofread. jeonghan is a shit. jihoon is also in on the games. i probably swore once or twice idk. literally warning free otherwise this is just a sweetie pie fluff for my sunshine bby.<3 ( i love u literally so much. thank u for sending this<333 i am kissing ur forehead holding ur hand rocking u to sleep and running through fields of daisies with u as we SPEAK. mwah. mwah mwah mwah mwah. i hope this u enjoy this.<3)

You’re never going to forgive Jeonghan for this.

It was supposed to be a group thing. When the plans were made a few days ago, there were six of you all in talks to go to the movies together, and as far as you were concerned, Jeonghan had booked the seats all at once so you would all be next to one another. He'd given you the time, told you where he’d wait for you inside the theater lobby, refused to accept reimbursement for the ticket (he quite often told you just to cover his snacks, instead), and you didn't think anything more of it. Even last night when you’d messaged Jihoon to ask if he needed a ride, he’d told you that he was going to hop in with Soonyoung so you didn't need to worry.

Which means that obviously, he's in on this too. He's on thin ice, as well.

Because when you walk through the doors at 7:15 on Friday night and turn to the left to meet your friends by the GODZILLA standee, there's only one person waiting for you. Leaning against the wall, eyes glued to his phone, shifting his weight impatiently from one side to the other. Soonyoung. He looks stressed, biting on his bottom lip, seemingly typing out quite an aggressive series of messages: if the increasingly creased space between his eyebrows is anything to go by, all of them are going unanswered.

He doesn't look up until you're standing right in front of him, wrestling your own phone free from the pocket of your jeans. When he does, and he realises that it's you, he lets out a quiet sigh of relief.

"Thank God you're here," he says, rubbing the back of his neck. "I was starting to think this was some kind of a set-up."

You laugh quietly, tapping your screen and opening your text thread with Jeonghan, scrolling back to find the messages concerning tonight's plans.

"The others aren't here yet?" you ask distractedly.

Soonyoung shakes his head. "I thought maybe everyone was stuck in traffic, or something," he says. "Wait – are you on your own?"

It's your turn to frown, now.

"Yeah?" you say, glancing back down at your screen. You definitely have the right date and time. "Where's Jihoon?"

It falls silent for a moment as you stare each other down, matching confused looks plastered on both of your faces.

"I thought... he was coming with you?" you say in unison.

The ball drops for Soonyoung first. He slumps back against the wall as he connects the dots in his brain and he brings both his hands up to his face, rubbing the tips of his fingers into his eye sockets. You watch him, concerned: he looks genuinely distressed, and when he re-emerges from behind his palms, his cheeks are brightly flushed, face scrunched up in a way that you're not sure you've ever seen before.

"I'm so sorry," he says wearily, tipping his head back against the wall.

You don't get a chance to challenge him on the apology. At the same time as he says it, your phone pings with a notification; you bring it within range to find a new message from Jeonghan. A picture message. A screenshot, of a movie reservation, except there aren't six seat numbers listed. There are two. And it's not in his name, it's in yours. Underneath, another message pops up, just as wordless as the first. It contains one single wink emoji and a thumbs up.

You get there too eventually, and under your breath, you mutter, "that scheming little shit."

What's more annoying is that Jeonghan joked about doing exactly this a few months ago when you asked, in what you thought was a very nonchalant manner, whether Soonyoung was seeing anyone, what his 'situation' was. After some questioning, he excitedly offered to set the two of you up on a date, if you were interested. When you pleaded for him not to, he teased that he'd find a way, and that he'd catch you out when you least expected it: you never thought he'd follow through though, especially not after this long. You were sure he'd forgotten, just as you had..

You can't believe him. You really can't.

"I guess... it's just you and me," you swallow, acknowledging that this really isn't the fault of the man standing across from you and that it isn't fair to be grouchy with him when he hasn't done anything wrong. Besides, he looks mortified: hands balled up down by his thighs, cheeks still stained pink, a few beads of sweat starting to glisten at his hairline.

"I–... yeah," he grimaces.

"I'm really sorry," you sigh, tapping your pointer finger against the back of your phone. "I didn't– I really didn't have a clue he was doing all this. If I'd known..."

"Hey, no, don't be," Soonyoung insists, shaking off his discomfort and stepping away from the wall, taking a step closer to you. "Why would you-...?"

He trails off and in the seconds that follow, something... happens. Multiple expressions appear on- and vanish from- his face, replaced just as quickly as they come and immediately replaced by another that you don't have quite enough time to read. You're sure the same thing happens to you, too. There's a conversation shared that doesn't result in any words being said aloud, but even so, things are acknowledged. Things are understood. Soonyoung stands up straighter when the threads knit together in his brain and he slides his phone into the front of his hoodie, kicking at the ground with the rubber toe of his shoe as he pulls out his wallet instead.

He starts to take a few slow steps towards the concession stand, keeping his eyes on you to make sure you follow. Your tickets get printed, you head into the screen and settle into the seats Jeonghan booked for you, and while you wait for the movie to start, you make a little small talk. It's nothing groundbreaking. You catch up on the things you've missed in the few months since you last saw him, crack a few jokes, share a few shy smiles, grin as you sip at the drink he insisted on paying for. You bump hands as you simultaneously reach for the popcorn bucket. It takes him a whole ten seconds to get over it.

(He doesn't need to know that it takes you even longer.)

Soonyoung's fingers bounce idly on the arm of the chair the whole time, like he's twitching to do something with them, fighting against a strong, overwhelming impulse. And as the lights grow dimmer and the people around you start falling quiet, you lean over to him, close enough that you can whisper something straight into his ear.

"You can hold my hand, if you want."

So... he does.

He doesn't let go, either: not until the movie ends and you leave together and he walks you all the way back to your car. Not until he asks if you'd be interested in going out on another date: one that he gets to plan. And there are a million reasons you say yes to him, of course, but when he looks so pretty blushing under the lights of the parking lot... how on Earth could you ever say no?

(He squeezes your fingers and gently tugs you closer until you're falling into him: then, he catches you with an arm around your waist and his lips on yours. The salty aftertaste of the popcorn on his mouth lingers long after he says goodnight, and you consider, on the drive home, that maybe you can forgive Jeonghan this one time.)

(Just... not before you make him squirm a little bit, first.)

[lucy90712]

can you do something for gavi where the reader is watching the parade and gavi sees her and thinks she’s really pretty

WC: 2.3k

A/n: sorry this took so long I had so many requests to get done and I did them in order

There are many things I love about living in Barcelona from the weather to the architecture but one of the things I love the most is the football club. My family have been Barca fans since before I was born so it's safe to say I was raised as a culer. When I got a job offer here a year ago my family practically pushed me out the door as they wanted me to be able to live in the city they adore. Since then I've tried my best to make the most of my time here which means I've been to a lot of football matches and invited my parents whenever they come to visit. It has truly been the most amazing year of my life so far as I've made so many new friends and made the most of any free time I have. 

As if things couldn't get any better Barca just won the league so the whole city is on a high and everyone is extra happy. Sadly I couldn't make the game as I had other plans but today there is a parade through the streets for people to celebrate with the whole team. Somehow I got really lucky as the parade is due to go right down my street and if my mental calculations are right my balcony will have a perfect view of the bus as it travels past. To add to my good luck it happens to be my day off from work which means I can spend as long as I want stood out on my balcony without feeling guilty or being told off. 

All morning I've been sat outside just watching as they set up barriers at the side of the streets and stop traffic. As the afternoon rolled around people started to gather wanting to get a glimpse of the team that they love. It was so cool to see the sea of red and blue form outside my building and all down the streets. I have never been able to truly visualise just how much support this team has in the city and across the world so seeing all of these people taking time out of their day to stand outside for hours put it all into perspective. There was so many little kids in the crowd sitting on their parents shoulders beaming from ear to ear at the idea that they will get to see their favourite players which was just so cute. I must admit I'm pretty excited too as I've only ever been able to afford tickets what are miles away from the pitch so I've never been this close to any of the team. 

As the parade had officially started the streets were absolutely packed and it was so noisy outside that I'd never be able to focus if I was working. Someone started chanting the anthem and of course the whole crowd joined in including me as I think I could sing that thing in my sleep after hearing it so many times throughout my life. It was so much fun just soaking up the atmosphere as I'm not sure how often I'll be able to experience something like this so why not enjoy every second. As I was watching my phone was going crazy in my hand with my family wanting me to send them pictures and videos so I did just that for them as I will definitely be disowned if I don't. 

It was easy to tell when the bus reached my street as even though I couldn't see it the crowd of people were screaming even louder than before if that's even possible. For some reason I started feeling a bit nervous knowing that in just a few minutes the bus would be outside my place and I'd be pretty much face to face with the entire team. I'm not usually one for doing something like this I usually like to just watch from the sidelines or stay hidden in the shadows so being right in the mix has got me questioning whether standing out here is really a good idea. Thankfully I had thought about the fact that I would probably get anxious and had brought out something for me to fiddle with as that usually calms my nerves a bit. 

There wasn't much time to calm my nerves as before I knew it I could see the bus coming down the street and I had to grab my phone to film a bit for my family and for the memories. As they got closer to my apartment I realised that the top of the bus was directly in line with my balcony so I would literally be face to face with the players if they decided to look in my direction. That thought stressed me out a bit as I tried desperately to fix my hair which was a bit windswept and make sure my makeup was ok as it's a pretty warm day and I wanted to make sure I hadn't sweat it all off. I looked like I usually do which isn't perfect but it's not bad so I just left my appearance as it was. 

 By the time I had sorted myself out the bus had stopped right in front of my balcony and I was face to face with the players. I could feel my cheeks heating up as I felt a bit awkward being so close to the players and especially making eye contact with some of them. The first player I made eye contact with was Jordi who smiled kindly which made me feel slightly less like I was on the edge of a breakdown. Then I happened to catch Gavi and Pedri's eyes as they were seemingly looking at me which nearly gave me a heart attack but I managed to keep it together. I kept it together until I noticed them whisper to each other which caused Pedri to point right at me which is when the anxiety really kicked in. 

Gavi's POV

So far the parade around the streets has been so much fun it's great to see so many fans out in the streets celebrating us being champions. The whole way round I've been jumping around and signing things for fans or taking pictures on phones that have been thrown up to the bus. Along the way we have stopped at certain points so that we can actually interact with the fans which has been nice as it gives me time to really take it all in as it hasn't really sunk in yet that we just won the league. 

The bus stopped again and this time the street we were on has apartment buildings with balconies so there is loads of people stood outside who are much closer to is than the fans on the streets. I was looking at all of the people and just thinking about how much diversity there is between all the fans when I saw one particular girl who caught my attention. She was the most beautiful girl I've ever seen and she was stood just a few feet away from me as her balcony was level with the top of the bus. Her hair was blowing gently in the wind and her cheeks were slightly pink which looked like it was natural and not makeup but either way she looked amazing. There was just something about her she wasn't screaming like some fans and she didn't even have a jersey on or anything but she had taken time out of her day to watch the parade which told me that she was a true fan not some crazy fan girl. 

To begin with she wasn't looking in my direction so I tapped Pedri's shoulder as he was right next to me so that he could see what I was seeing. Just as we both looked at her she caught my eyes which was a little bit embarrassing as I felt like I just got caught staring which I suppose I was but I didn't want to make her freak out. It was obvious that she felt awkward too as her cheeks turned a deeper pink colour and she didn't keep eye contact for more than a few seconds at a time. Without looking I knew Pedri was smirking at me as he always does that when I do something stupid or in situations like these when there's a girl I think is pretty. 

"So you think she's cute" Pedri whispered right in my ear 

"Yeah she's gorgeous how could I not" I replied 

"Well if you really like her that much you have to do something let's be honest you're never going to see her again if you don't try and do something to change that" he said 

"I know but what do I do that's not really obvious I mean thousands of people are filming us right now" I said

"Take something off the bus sneakily write something on it and then throw it to her but make sure you throw things to other fans too so it looks less suspicious" Pedri suggested 

"That's actually a good idea" I said 

"I know that's why I said it" he said sarcastically 

I was done with listening to him as I had no time to waste as at any time the bus could move and ruin my chance. Thankfully we had a few things on the bus so I grabbed some flags and a pen and wrote a message on one before going back to the side of the bus. Her balcony was really close to the bus so I knew I wouldn't miss but just to be sure I threw a few other flags first to see how they went through the air before I used up my one chance to get to know this girl. I was so nervous that I really thought I might mess it up but luck was on my side as the flag landed perfectly on her balcony right next to her so she picked it up before any breeze could take it away. We smiled at each other for a moment before the bus began moving again and I was finally able to take a deep breath that I wasn't aware that I was holding. Now I just have to hope she reads what I wrote and does something with it. 

Your POV

Even though nothing was happening it felt like everything was happening so quickly as never in a million years would I have imagined today happening like it has. I really expected just to watch the bus go past and maybe take some pictures and videos to send to my family I never thought I'd gather any attention from the players at all I mean I'm not anyone special. It felt awkward to have their eyes on me but I just smiled and decided I'd freak out about it later when I call my parents. In the midst of my internal freak out I watched Gavi move away from the edge of the bus after talking with Pedri and he looked like he was busy with something so I calmed down a bit as it was having his eyes on me that had me the most panicked. I'm would be lying if I said I didn't find Gavi attractive I mean how could you not so for him to be looking at me and seemingly whispering about me to his teammates felt good but was also a bit anxiety inducing as I have no idea what he was saying.

Just as I was thinking this strange situation was all over Gavi started throwing flags to people in the crowd which I thought was just a sweet gesture until he threw one onto my balcony which I picked up right away so it didn't blow away. Right at that moment the bus moved down the street so we were no longer close enough to even make eye contact. Despite there being no real reason as I could no longer see much I stayed stood outside holding onto the flag wondering what on earth had just happened. It might be delusional but I can't help but feel he did that on purpose but I'm probably getting the wrong impression as everything that's happened in the last hour could just be a pure coincidence. 

After some time of gathering my thoughts I went back inside to get myself a drink and call my parents as they are expecting my call. As I came back to the sofa out the corner of my eye I noticed what looked like black pen on the flag which I had placed on the sofa. When I grabbed it there was indeed writing on the flag which made me feel a little dizzy with anxiety as I read what it said. 

This may seem a little weird but I thought you looked beautiful and I wanted to talk to you again so here's my number 

- Gavi <3

Of course after reading that I completely lost my mind and had to phone my mum straight away to tell her and get some advice as I needed someone to talk some sense into me. My mum probably wasn't the best person to go to for advice as before I could finish my sentence she told me to text Gavi but she then did tell me that I should do it because if I don't I will regret it so no matter how things turn out I can move on with my life knowing I went for it. As always she was right so we talked for a bit longer before I ended the call and text Gavi just to see what would happen because life needs a bit of excitement at times and this is going to be mine. 

A/n: if you guys want a part 2 to this let me know

[againstme]

the nerves you get the night before a travel day....

it's only a maybe 45 min drive to the airport with good traffic, and the flight's a little over an hour. i'm going to get there 2 and a half hours before boarding, and i have wheelchair assistance on my boarding information and ticket, so they'll help me with not getting in pain from walking so much. i think that means i board first either in my section or in general. and on southwest, you choose your own seats. so that would be cool to get a good seat. maybe i'll have in flight wifi or something. i was thinking about journaling, but i don't know how i'd feel about writing on that little tray table. so maybe just my ipad with a video. or tiktoks on my phone, but i'm leaning towards a video. who knows.

i don't know if i'm actually nervous. i'm glad that this is over. and i'm proud of myself. and i'm happy. i'm happy i've made it through this and that i feel better and like myself again, after so long.

i'll probably post when i'm at the airport and on the plane if i can. crazy

[thatoneguy031]

At this point, we had all made our way to Castelia, and it wasn't too difficult to make it back... After a while, getting from one end of Unova to the other stops being such an exhausting task.

Bars.

But anyway, yeah, we made it to the dock, and I was scared about how many humans were there. I could tell Mx. Suicune was too, but probably for different reasons. To sort of calm their nerves, I gave them my sunglasses, y'know? They were really concerned with how they looked for some reason. It's not really something I think I should ask about yet.

I, personally, had one of my seamitars out, just in case someone decided to get too personal. You can call it force of habit or even dangerous, I call it being prepared.

Imagine my surprise when I heard a familiar voice shout "Yo! Mido-Rott-a!"

I turn around, and I see someone practically swimming through the crowd of people and Pokemon alike to get to where me and the others were.

...Blair?! What is HE doing here?!

He was saying, "Yo, dude! It's so awesome seeing you here! And you brought your friends, too!", and he had reached back into the crowd to yank someone else from inside. Another human, of course, wearing a blue coat and red glasses. Oh, and he had black hair too.

"I'm telling you, Blair, this better be worth fighting through so many people," he said to him. "Heavens, the foot traffic here is worse than the streets!" He was upset, and I was too. Why ARE there so many people here?!

"Trust me, Cheren, these dudes are really cool!" Blair gestured to us, like we were some kind of blender or vacuum or something from one of those infomercials. "These are the Pokemon I was talking about, from the party! They learned how to write, and helped me out with Team Plasma some time ago!" He held out his hand, probably for me to shake it.

I stared at him. I mean, I'm fine with him, I guess. He doesn't mean any harm. But like... I don't even know him like that.

Of course, I still shook his hand, but I was still wary of him, reaching for my notebook with my other paw. <What are you doing here?>

"They can communicate," the other boy, presumably Cheren, said. He looked fascinated. "I can see why you were so interested in them. And- Wait, is that a Suicune?!" He yelped, leaping back a little.

Mx. Suicune didn't like that very much, and they chose to stand behind me They looked like they were snarling, but no sound came from his mouth. I have no clue why he did all that. I don't mean any disrespect, but what was I gonna do if they couldn't do squat? <Don't say that so loud!!!> I told Cheren.

Cheren had to take some time to readjust his glasses. "I need to get some contacts in the future... Anyways. We had decided to come here because Blair had said that you, a Flygon, and a Suicune would be here, although he wasn't sure on the latter. Why are you here? I'm sure the boat would interfere with your swimming, no?"

<That's why I'm even in Castelia,> I wrote. <I plan on taking that thing to Sinnoh.>

"Did any of you partner with a Trainer?" Cheren asked, and I obviously shook my head. Why would I? Stupid question, next.

"You do recognize that you have to be with a Trainer to even ride this, right?"

"And that's where I come in!" Blair declared. He reached into his pocket, and out came a sort of plastic card with his name on it. "Here's a ticket to ride the ferry! I got one, so you dudes would get off scott-free! Just show this thing if folks get suspicious!" He gave it to me, and I nearly expected a "psyche" kind of thing. But... No tricks? No cost? Nothing? He's just... giving this to me?

I took the ticket. Maybe... Maybe he really WAS just being nice.

And then I remembered that I never really introduced myself properly. I thought this would be the best time to do that.

<My name is Guy, and I'm trying to travel the world. That's my life goal.>

I hesitated after that. It wasn't like I'd be lying, but I still felt slightly dishonest in saying that. Blair really wasn't a bad person, not compared to other humans, but... I don't know. Something was still making me uneasy.

...<I'm glad to have met you, Blare.>

He laughed a little. Did I spell his name wrong? It didn't last long, though, as we all heard the horn of the ferry going off.

"Oh, shoot! Sorry, but we gotta go!" I grabbed Cherry's paw, and we made a mad dash towards the entrance. "And one of my friends said hi!" and Blair nearly broke into a sprint in the opposite direction, saying his goodbyes as Cheren struggled to keep up with him, saying something like "It's been nice seeing you, but it looks like we both have to get going, see ya!" But, he dropped something as he ran off.

His hat.

I rushed back to the ground to get it, and I was going to tell him that he dropped it, but he was already out of earshot, even for how loud my species can be. I didn't have any time to chase him down and give it back, so I just... stuffed it in my bag.

I had to run in order to get back to the boat in time, and even then, Cherry had to yank me partway through the doors before I got stuck.

But haaaahh, we're on the boat.

...It's fine now.

[chaletnz]

Lima: Central City Walking Tour

On my walk to PukuPuku cafe I passed through Parque Kennedy and saw all the cat residents snoozing on pieces of cardboard laid on the grass for them. I heard crying above me, there was a tiny kitten up the tree but I couldn't do anything to try and get it down. My coffee was just as good as the one in their Arequipa branch, I sat outside to enjoy it as some businessmen came in for espressos on their way to the office - it reminded me a bit of Italy as they drank them standing there for a few minutes then left. I then went for a pancake breakfast at Piñeiros thinking I had plenty of time but then it took more than 30 minutes to get my food so I had to shovel it down quickly and run around the corner to meet up with the walking tour guide Jorge. Once everyone had joined (around 15 people) Jorge helped us all take the bus network to the central city, we'd all brought exact change as requested. The bus network was actually fantastic. Jorge scared us by saying there's a lot of crime and petty theft on the public transit so watch our belongings closely as we are targets. A large group of tourists though, we drew attention to ourselves and probably even the most hardened criminals didn't want to chance it. The bus had its own central lane in the middle of the highway, with concrete blockades on either side so it wasn't going out into traffic and traffic couldn't enter the bus lane. Because of this layout it was incredibly efficient and faster than all the traffic on the road even with all the stops along the way. I would love to see something like this implemented from Denver to Frisco and Copper Mountain as it would make public transit flow freely despite the frequent highway standstills. Jorge showed us how to use the ticket machine to buy a ticket back and then led us over to La Merced Church in central Lima which would be our starting point. We met up with some more tourists there and began our tour at this Baroque church that was constructed under the Spanish empire, followed by Casa O'Higgins which memorialises Bernardo O'Higgins who played a key role in the independence of Chile from the Spanish empire. We then visited Fotografia Central an old photo studio, and then an old mansion which had unfortunately succumb to humidity and had not been looked after by immigrants who took it over. We stopped in a shady spot where Jorge told us there are 43 districts in Lima home to over 10 million people, the 4th largest city in South America after Sao Paulo, Buenos Aires, and Rio de Janeiro. He also explained that the main sport in Peru after football is eating and we should not ignore "chifa" which is the Peruvian Chinese food and is very unique cuisine. We then visited the municipal theatre, and St Dominic Church where Jorge explained a few historical terms criollo (meaning born in Latin America) and peninsulares (born in Spain). The criollos were second class citizens during Spanish rule. The origin of the city name Lima came from the Quechua indigenous people calling it "rimac" meaning "noisy river" in their native language but the Spanish hearing "Lima" instead. The last part of the tour was Plaza de Armas, and Jorge pointed out the house of the president because of course he lives in the main square! We took a group photo and gave our tips to Jorge before splitting up. I'd been chatting with a British guy Tom, and British girl Ellie who both happened to be from the same area there was also a guy I can only describe as "Berliner" because he had such an unwashed Berlin resident vibe although I think he was actually Dutch or Danish or something... Ellie was into it so Tom and I took a couple photos of each other in the main square and then I gave him 10 soles for his bus ticket back as he hadn't brought enough money with him. I stayed to explore more on my own though, I love breaking away from the group!

[saucy-sassy-sparkly]

I'm a tumblr virgin...

I'm nervously posting here for the first time... I've been posting on AO3 for a while, but I've recently become more of a tumblr girl and thought I'd see what kind of traction I can get here. I included a link to my AO3 story (I think...? help!) but posting the first chapter here.

If this seems like a good new home for me, I'll post the rest and the new things I've been working on.

Seriously... send help and kindness... I don't know how to use this thing...

FLIGHT 1311

Chris Evans x OFC

Part 1

“Attention passengers of Flight 1311: unfortunately, the mechanics are still working on the aircraft and anticipate another hour before we can safely board. We apologize for the inconvenience. Please see the ticketing counter if you wish to try to reschedule your flight.”

Harriet slumped in her seat, not bothering to glance at her phone. It was already past midnight in Boston; she didn’t bother to call or text an update. Everyone who needed to know was already asleep. She pulled her hoodie up over her head and held her head in her hands, her elbows on her knees. It wasn’t long before tears were rolling down her face; trying to cry quietly in a crowded airport gate was no small feat. She’d been lucky to find a seat in the corner, away from the loud talkers and groups of drunk passengers getting more drunk with each delay. She heard the tell-tale squeak of the chair next to her as someone sat beside her. Instinctively, she pulled her tote closer to her, trying to make more space.

When she finally felt like she’d gathered herself, she sat up and rummaged through her bag for her book, hoping to lose herself and stay distracted. While shuffling through her bag, her phone vibrated off the armrest and into the lap of the man next to her. She glanced at him, avoiding eye contact with her swollen, tear-stained eyes, and muttered “thanks” when he handed her the phone. Harriet’s favorite picture of Danny and Emily covers the screen.

“Danny, it’s late. Is everything okay?”

“Just checking on you. I saw the delay again.”

Harriet sniffled; hearing his tired voice made her feel worse, “I should never have taken this weekend away; I’m so sorry to leave you both right now.”

“We’re okay, Har, I promise,” his voice was so exhausted. She could picture the five o’clock shadow on his face and the bags under his eyes. “She’ll be okay.”

Her eyes filled with tears, “I’m so worried about her.”

Dan gave a humorless chuckle, “you and me both. But you deserved this weekend away. You do nothing but spend your time at work or hovering around Em’s hospital bed. You needed a weekend for yourself. I’m glad you took it.”

Harriet shook her head, “No, I should’ve stayed home when the new surgery popped up. I’m coming straight to the hospital from the airport. I want to see her before she goes in.”

“You won’t make it in time,” he sighed heavily, “it’s almost one here right now. If you boarded right now you still wouldn’t make it through the flight, baggage claim, and morning traffic before they took her back. Just go home, take a shower, maybe eat something, and you can wait with me after you’ve had some rest.”

Harriet sighed, “you’re probably right.”

Dan’s smile was palpable through the phone, “I’m not sure you’ve ever told me that.” He paused, and she could hear him whispering to someone before he came back on the line, “call you right back,” and he hung up.

Harriet only had a minute to panic before a Facetime call was coming through. She threw in her AirPods and hastily whipped the tears off her face, “Emmy!” Harriet cooed warmly, “how’s my best girl?”

A sleepy-looking seven year old grinned back at her, “Daddy says to tell you to relax.”

Harriet grinned, “You both know me better than that.”

“I’m nervous for tomorrow,” Emily told her, glancing up at Dan who sat beside her on the bed. Suppressing tears, Harriet kept her face calm, “You’re going to be great, babe. I’ll be there the second you wake up.”

“Do you promise?” Her timid little voice was breaking Harriet’s heart. She couldn’t form words; she knew they’d come out in a sob, so she nodded vigorously. Emily continued, “I love you.”

Harriet pulled it together long enough to say, “I’m glad I got to see your sweet face, Em. I love you so so much, and I’ll hug you tomorrow.”

Dan’s picture filled the screen and the lighting changed when he stepped into the hallway, “I woke her up when I called you and she insisted on seeing you before she went back to sleep.”

“Go back in and hug her for me, then get some sleep. I’ll be there as soon as I can. Love you.”

“Love you too. Hope you board soon.” As soon as the call disconnected, Harriet dissolved into sobs, willing herself to stay quiet and not draw attention to herself. She tucked her legs up under her and pulled her hoodie over her eyes. It took her several minutes of using every calming strategy she had to unfurl her legs and sit up straight. She was about to use the arm of her sweatshirt to wipe her eyes when the man next to her offered her a napkin.

“Thank you,” she sniffled, “sorry about this.” She forced herself to look at him, and he smiled back warmly.

“Don’t worry about it. You don’t have to explain yourself to me.” Harriet nodded, “I appreciate that.”

“I just hope everything is okay,” He continued to smile, and she stared at him longer than she meant to. Realization crept through her, and she pulled her eyes away.

“It’ll be okay when we get on this stupid plane,” She forced a smile, trying not to think about how much Emily would freak out if she knew Harriet was sitting next to Captain America. “Hey,” she turned back to him, “would you mind watching my bag for a minute?”

“Yeah, take your time.” Harriet headed towards the bathroom, splashing water on her face and taking several deep breaths. Captain America had just sat next to her while she wept. Chris fucking Evans was next to her in the airport. Emily would absolutely die if she knew; Harriet debated asking him to sign something or take a picture, but she caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror and thought better of it. Early on in Emily’s cancer diagnosis, there had been many extended hospital stays and a desperate need for entertainment. Dan had introduced her to superhero movies, and the rest was history. At the time, she’d probably been too young to watch some of them, but now they were Emily’s go-to’s when she needed a distraction. But above all, Captain America was her absolute favorite. Harriet had spent many nights tucked into the hospital bed beside Emily watching Marvel movies.

When she got back to the seat, she whispered a “thanks” to Chris, who was reading, and settled back into her chair, still trying to decide how to approach him before he said, “my turn.” He stood up and stretched briefly, his white tee-shirt sliding up just enough to expose his firm stomach and Harriet to avert her eyes. “I’m going to check on the flight status and then get some tea; you want anything?”

She hesitated, “yeah, actually, something herbal would be great. Thank you.” He spent several minutes at the ticketing counter talking with the agent before disappearing into the Starbucks. He handed her a cup and refused her money, sitting back down beside her.

She was about to start a conversation when the gate agent came over the intercom, “We are pleased to start boarding Flight 1311 with nonstop service to Logan International. At this time, all First Class passengers are welcome to board. We also invite Miss Harriet Kelly to visit the ticketing agent at this time.”

“Me?” She asked no one in particular.

“Excuse me?” Chris asked.

“I’m Harriet Kelly,” She told him, a little dumbfounded and very exhausted.

He laughed, “I’m Chris,” he held out his hand, and she shook it, smiling, before redirecting the conversation, “Hi, but that was my name they just called. I have to go to the desk, I guess.”

Chris nodded, gathering his trash, “It was a pleasure sitting with you, Harriet. I hope everything works out in Boston,” he touched her arm lightly before walking away to throw out his trash and disappear among the other passengers.

At the ticket counter, the agent was pleasant and asked for Harriet’s ticket. Several moments of typing on her computer passed before she handed Harriet a different ticket, “You’re all set, Miss Kelly.”

“I’m sorry,” Harriet started, “I’m really tired. What is all set?”

“Your upgrade,” the agent smiled.

Harriet stared at her, “My what?”

“Your seat was upgraded to First Class. Lucky you,” she grinned at Harriet.

“Are you sure? Mine? How? Why?”

The agent shook her head, her smile faltering, and Harriet regrouped, “I’m sorry, that’s not your problem,” Harriet picked up the ticket and her tea, “I bet you don’t get this reaction about a first-class upgrade very often.”

She laughed and shook her head, “Not usually. Have a good flight, Miss Kelly.” Harriet stepped away from the counter and looked at the ticket: Seat 2A FIRST CLASS in large letters. She hesitantly slid into line behind the rest of the first-class passengers, waiting for someone to jump out and yell, “JUST KIDDING!”

As she approached the gate agent, she noticed Chris standing against the windows, sipping his tea and scanning his phone. She stared at him, waiting for him to feel her eyes.

When he looked up, he grinned and raised his cup to salute her, “enjoy the comforts of First Class, Harriet.”

[wobster109]

Twitter isn't going down all at once, but it was never going to. No site gets that big and popular without being pretty stable. I'd expect trouble to gradually pop up over the timespan of a few weeks and months as crucial but unexciting tasks get overlooked.

I'm no systems expert. I'm a programmer who writes code in a little silo, so I'm only peripherally aware of how systems, applications, networks, etc. all work together. But here is my best guess.

Here are some places Twitter might start breaking down.

Software is always changing, and some of those changes are in underlying tools. Look for the words "API" or "patch". If whatever uses it is not updated, it's going down. One example is how neopets games don't work anymore: Neopets doesn't own or develop Flash, but it relied on Flash.

This could be as silent as authentication protocols. What this means is that different chunks of code are always asking other chunks of code to do things for them, for example when I tweet from my phone, my phone asks Twitter to post the tweet. The tweet is not posted on my phone, it is posted on Twitter, where anyone can see it, browser or mobile. So Twitter needs to decide whether to post the tweet to my account. Well, my phone tells Twitter that I am signed in, but does Twitter believe it? Or is it a hacker pretending to be my phone? There are all sorts of protocols before Twitter will believe my phone. Think of it as whispering "The eagle flies at night," or perhaps "I like your shoelaces". Now, security experts are saying "No! That phrase is too common! You need a different phrase!" And if Twitter doesn't have anyone who can update their code phrase, they will no longer know whom to trust. I used this example specifically because authentication protocols are always changing.

In the same vein as Flash, a lot of third-party stuff is licensed. Annually or monthly. Something as big as Twitter probably uses a bunch of third-party stuff in its code. It's easier and more robust than writing it from scratch, just like me building my own table with my own hammer won't come out with a great product. I do not know what third-party software Twitter is using (one guess is it probably uses some image-scanning tool). Personally, I work at a small-medium company and we use third-party software for bug reports/ticketing, and we rent Cloud space from one of the big Cloud providers, and we contract with a company to watch our network traffic for hacking attempts. If we don't renew the contracts, then our stuff stops working. This won't happen to twitter overnight, but crucially, the people who know when it will happen, and to what, might be fired or gone.

Maintenance - data: electronic stuff generates data and logs all the time, and the more data you have, the slower stuff runs. We routinely archive our old logs and files. Some of it is very low-tech -It will take you several minutes to open an excel doc if it has 100k lines in it, and it will freeze when you scroll. A database is like a high-tech version of that. Twitter is always looking up who your mutuals are, what they posted, what you posted, etc. With something like 2/3 of its staff gone, are the crucial databases getting archived or cleaned? (For databases of tweets, it's probably automatically cleaned up. But somewhere down the line, there are probably a handful of somethings - folders, obscure databases, files etc - that are not. Here, we have a text log of user updates that someone manually archives every few months.)

Maintenance - incidents: sometimes something comes up that only a human can fix. One example of this is when new hire A's ID got typoed, and their account got merged with person B, and they can't access any of the stuff they need. Another example is a physical device goes offline, and the reason is it got physically unplugged. Does twitter have the staff to investigate and manually handle these situations? A few issues here and there is probably ok, Twitter probably has redundancies built in, and is not relying on any one person or device. But if it becomes a backlog, and issues pile up over time, there could be trouble down the line.

All this to say that Twitter won't be gone overnight. More likely it will gradually have more and more errors popping up, and get slower and buggier until it falls apart. I think this will start to become more noticeable after a month or so.

It sounds like Twitter is already seeing the first signs of trouble. Axios reports that Twitter has gotten bad at detecting copyright infringement. That may have been one of the third-party tools it was relying on.

[mknlm]

Frida Kahlo- La Casa Azúl

The first time I visited Frida Kahlo's house was in the early 1990's. I was probably 16. She wasn't known as just "Frida" yet. My family was going to Mexico City for the first time. We were tourists, taken under the wing of my father's Mexican uncle with whom he'd lost touch over the years. I had no idea what to expect. The only request I had was that we visit the home and studio of this artist I'd seen a feature on in Vogue magazine a few years before. She was beautiful. Colorful. Madonna liked her.

Mexico City was beyond my wildest imagination. It was gritty and over populated. The air was thick with smog. There were kids breathing fire on street corners and selling Chiclets everywhere. It smelled like tacos, disinfectant, guavas, and VW exhaust. It was vibrant, alive, and never ending. There was something to experience and explore at every turn, and I adored it.

La Casa Azul was perfect. It was a quiet respite in what was the largest city in the world. There was no need to buy tickets online; without the internet it would have been impossible anyway. There were a few visitors, you could buy a few snacks, and the gift shop (always my favorite part of a museum) was miniscule.

The home and studio were almost a painting in itself with vignettes everywhere. Frida's house decorated as she painted...with color, personality, love, and pain. The teensy clay mugs in the kitchen that spell out Friday y Diego. The small mirror she used to paint her reflection in the bedroom reminding us of her physical frailty. You felt like you were stepping into her life.

At a time when the world was moving forward and modernizing, Frida stepped back to find her inspiration. From her traditional dresses and jewelry, collection of and painted clay tiles in the kitchen Frida turned towards her country and her family's history to animate her. She collected retablos and pre-colonial art.

It is now 2023. Frida (last name no longer needed) has become a world wide phenomenon. Her image is everywhere from magnets to murals. Amateur artists put their own spin on her, selling their own wonky Frida portraits on Etsy.

This time I couldn't really find Frida. She was lost between crowds of people, a narrow gallery with poor lighting, and a serious of architectural modifications that closed the house off to the outside in order to control the flow of traffic. The house didn't feel so much like a house anymore. She was there, but she wasn't there.

Her art is still powerful, but it needs space to be able to breathe and be digested.

When we look at Frida's paintings, peruse her and delve into her story, pain taps into our pain...her wayward lover, her accident, her disfigured leg. She did what we are scared to do: she was vulnerable.

The piece that had the most impact on me was the watermelon still life that is inscribed "Vida la vida." Unbeknownst to me, Kahlo painted it days before her death in 1954. I would translate it as "Long live life". I think of watermelons as luscious and sweet, representing all that is good in life. The colors are vivid. The seeds could represent the most basic building block of life. As we saw throughout our many museum visits in Mexico City, watermelons (and fruits in general) are a prominent subject in Mexican art. They nourish us and give us pleasure. It fascinates me that Kahlo, someone who spent so much of her life in pain and was in pain up until the end, would choose to wrap up her life on such a colorful note. I recall reading that on some level she was aware her days were coming to an end. As someone whose life is particularly fragile, If I ever decided to get a tattoo, I think I have my inspiration.

[bigfan-fanfic]

Sunshine, Lollipops, and Rainbows (Male!Reader x Gabriel - SPN)

Requested by @yesthetrashbin for Gabriel trying to woo you by giving you suspiciously good luck

It hasn't been particularly easy in this town.

Sure, starting out on your own is never strictly "easy," but, well... luck hasn't been in your favor.

First it was the sign you had ordered for your new ice cream shop coming back misspelled (and then colored incorrectly when it came back after that)

And then it was your first customer having an allergic reaction because she didn't read the sign warning those with allergies that nut contamination may occur

And then... you get the picture.

You struggled by, even through the string of strange deaths in your town, until one day a lanky stranger came wandering in, staring at you with something like awe.

"How has there been an ice cream parlor here and I didn't know about it?" he asks, grinning, and you shrug.

He orders a five-scoop cone and practically kicks his heels on the way out the door.

The next day a tree falls in the street, blocking traffic through that little town on an unseasonably warm day... and you get the best day of business you've ever had up til then.

The man comes in every day after that, which cannot be good for his cholesterol. But he gets more talkative, drawing you out of your shell. And your luck somehow improves after his visit, whether it's beating traffic on the way home or somehow ending up with double your order of food without having to pay extra.

On a whim, you buy a lottery ticket.

The next day, the man walks in with a big grin. "You know... if you had a suggestion box, I'd say you should wear nametags. That way I don't have to refer to you in my head as Ice Cream Guy."

"Is that so?" you smirk. "Maybe you should wear a name tag so I don't have to call you Five Scoop Man."

He barks out a laugh, grinning wildly. "Gabriel, if you must know. But I'm totally gonna go by Five Scoop Man now."

The day you tell him your name, you win the lottery.

Somehow you can't help but associate your strange luck with Gabriel. Sure it's insane to think a cute guy could be the source of your luck, but...

Eventually Gabriel works up the courage to ask you on a date.

"This isn't just a ploy for free ice cream, is it?" you tease before accepting.

There's a storm the night after, biggest gust in years. Your shop remains untouched, somehow being unscathed by a fallen tree that flattened both shops adjacent to yours.

A swerving car that you're sure should have hit you is blasted aside by a fire hydrant malfunctioning at just the right moment.

A Ben and Jerry's truck headed into town somehow explodes.

It's starting to get a little suspicious.

So you play the lottery again, using the same numbers as before... and you win.

You mention to Gabriel that you've been craving Indian food and he calls you that night saying a place opened up within walking distance... in a lot that was completely empty the night before.

"Gabriel." you say when he walks in the next day. "Are you giving me good luck somehow?"

He knows better than to lie to you. His shoulders droop. "What gave me away?"

It's absolutely insane, but this is happening. "Uh... probably the Indian food thing."

"Damn it." Gabriel snaps his fingers. "I knew that was probably too far. I just... look, I know it's not exactly great protocol, but I can't help it. I saw your life and how it's been going, and... I just figured a handsome guy like you should have everything be perfect."

"You... saw my life? Like a psychic?"

"It's a teensy bit more complex, but let's go with that."

"So... all this was a way of trying to woo me?"

"No!" he says, urgently. "Not at all. I like to think I have enough game to woo someone without needing powers. The luck thing was just because I thought you deserve it. I don't know many humans - people that are as hardworking or kind as you."

You look at him, a little sternly. "As much as I like being lucky, I'd like you to stop messing with it. I'll take the good and the bad."

He nods. "That's fair."

"As for us... you're a special kind of guy, Gabriel. If you want to keep dating... I'm game for it."

He smiles. "Sweet. Can I use my powers to make our dates good, though?"

You laugh a little, smiling at the way he drifts closer, hands snaking around your hips. "I'll allow it."

The next day your car breaks down, but your boyfriend simply winks at you and gives you a kiss, and you're sitting in front of your ice cream shop. "I'll go get the car taken care of. See you tonight?"

You don't know how exactly he does it, but you know that even without his powers or your luck, Gabriel would have stolen your heart.

[andmyvape]

"Please tell me you're not wearing that."

Elayn looked down, then back up with a wide grin. She tugged at her bright rainbow suspenders with her thumbs. "What, not tacky enough?"

Serana gave the ensemble another slow scan. "No, it's… definitely tacky. The combat boots with the khaki shorts is a nice touch."

The grin got wider as she stuffed her hands into her pockets. "They're going to be throwing candy, and I wasn't anywhere near prepared enough last time."

Serana rolled her eyes, but softened it with a smile. "You're ridiculous."

"Isn't that why we're dating?" her girlfriend asked as they headed out the door.

She took a moment to lock up while Serana laughed. "'Careless Whisper' on a boom box outside my window. I can't believe my dad didn't kill you. I know you stole that, by the way. We both went to see that movie when it came out."

"They marketed it as a romcom!" Elayn protested.

They were in the car now. It would be a trick to find parking, but they were running early thanks to Serana's habit of scheduling everything. Elayn was more the type to go with the flow, but living together had her adapted enough that the flow she went with was largely dictated by Serana's schedule. As a research chemist, she worked interesting hours at times, but Elayn was a good roommate, she cooked and cleaned, mostly because she had the time. Lacrosse wasn't a well paying sport compared to something like soccer, but the off seasons gave her plenty of time to maintain their loft. 

"Five dollars an hour?" Elayn griped as the machine printed out their ticket. 

"Homophobia strikes again," Serana said with mock solemnity. 

She snorted and wrapped an arm around her girlfriend's waste. "Which park did you say this thing started in again?" 

It was a little place surrounded by tall buildings, but it was a green patch in a city largely made out of grey. It being Pride Month, the grey was broken up by rainbows. The two wandered around as they waited for the parade to start. 

Well, at least, they started to wander when Elayn caught sight of a dog and all but dragged her girlfriend over to say hi. 

"What's his name?" she asked, so full of enthusiasm she practically floated. "Can I pet him?" 

The dog's owner, someone with a short haircut in a crop top that was orange, yellow, and white striped, nodded. "If he lets you. Sometimes he's not so-- oh gosh," they said, eyes wide as they watched Elayn kneel down and offer a hand to sniff that was immediately accepted. "You must have good vibes." 

"She's a dog person," Serana said with a laugh as the dog put its front paws on Elayn's shoulders so he could lick her face. 

"What's his name?" she asked through slobbery kisses. 

The butch grinned. "That's Duke, I'm Cas. It's nice to meet you!" 

The two introduced themselves just in time for a volunteer to come up with bottles of water. "Our city got voted best water in the state," she said cheerfully. "Take a few, it's gonna be a hot one." 

Before the march, there were speeches. The first was an introduction to the city's first pride parade since the 80s. The second was from a drag queen inviting everyone to the show later that night. Finally, the speeches were closed by an Episcopalian pastor trying to make up for the rest of Christianity's sins. 

"It's starting!" Elayn said excitedly when the crowd started to funnel out of the park. 

The march went down the sidewalk for a few blocks. Traffic was halted and the waiting cars honked while passengers waved. Elayn waved a lesbian flag, Serana had a bi flag, and the two of them dragged a rainbow striped cooler. 

"Mom! Mom!" Elayn heard behind her. "Look, it's two cicadas going at it!" 

She glanced behind her. There was a set of twins, about twelve years old, one of them draped in a trans flag and holding the cicadas that were indeed trying to reproduce. Elayn snorted and hit herself in the face trying to keep a laugh contained. "You like bugs, huh?" 

The girl in the trans flag beamed. "They're my favorite! Well, except for tarantulas, but Mom won't let me have one." 

"The rabbit gets out of its cage enough." The way the girl's mom said it, this was an age old argument. "I don't want to squash it when it ends up in my shoe."

"I had a snake when I was growing up," Serana chimed in. "A corn snake that never got out." 

The twins turned out to be part of a family unit. One twin was trans, and their older brother was too, and as Elayn found soon, was very excited to start HRT. "Get a Gc2b binder," she said. "When I'm feeling like a flat day, it works really well." 

The boy, a younger fourteen, practically floated with excitement. "I will!" 

Serana chatted with the parents while Elayn occupied the kids. "Have you folks been to Pride before?" 

Their mom, a woman named Chelsea, shook her head. "Nope, both kids came out last September and they've been talking about the festival ever since." 

"You seem like really supportive parents," Serana said. It carried the weight of one speaking who has not had contact with their parents since high school. 

Chelsea could tell, and she opened her arms for a hug that Serana was more than happy to accept. 

The march was only about a mile long, and it ended in another park. Elayn craned her neck and said, "I think I see the beer line, wait here?" 

"We will!" said the girl, who was very proud to be named Luna now. 

Serana and Chelsea shared a grin. "I guess we'll wait here," the mom said. 

It was a bit of a line, which was probably not a good thing, but apparently people were restricted on how many drinks they could buy, so at least there was that. While Elayn waited, she was joined by two people wearing pronoun pins that said "she/her". 

Elayn's jaw dropped at the sight of one of the girls' dress, which was a flowing, fae like ensemble. "Holy shit!" she said. "You look amazing!" 

She blushed and ducked her head as she smiled. "Thank you, I got it from Amazon." 

"It's her first Pride," her friend added.

That just amazed Elayn more. "With the sparkles and the green eyeshadow, I wouldn't have guessed. Everything you've got going on is just amazing."

"Thank you!" she squeaked. 

Elayn wasn't alone in thinking the dress was gorgeous. Another person came up to compliment it, and they had such dope tattoos that Elayn could not help but comment. 

"The guy that did them is great," they gushed. "He does blacklight work too!" 

So she got a website saved on her phone for the next time she really wanted to get a tattoo on top of the three she already had; scrollwork on her bicep, a wolf on her shoulder blade, and a small date on her wrist that was the day she met Serana. 

When she got back to her girlfriend and the others, an IPA in hand that was frankly piss, she told them about the girl in the fae dress. 

"I saw her!" Serana exclaimed. 

"Amazon." 

"No way." 

Next was food, especially if she was going to drink a beer. Assuming she actually drank it. "There's some food trucks," she pointed out. "I could go for a corndog." 

"I'm going to get some mac and cheese," Serana said. 

"Mom! Mom!" Luna's twin brother, Ian, tugged at his mom's sleeve. "Can we get pretzels?" 

Chelsea sighed good-naturedly. "I suppose. Do you two want to meet up after?" 

"Over by the stage?" Elayn suggested. 

The group separated. She found the line for corndogs and funnel cake. While she was waiting, the woman ahead of her glanced her way, so Elayn said, "Howdy!" 

"Hey there, hun!" She clapped her on the shoulder. "Having a good time?" 

"I am," she said with a grin. "Everyone here is so nice. There were some moms back there handing out hugs!" 

"Well, I'm a mom, would you like a hug?" 

"I would love that." 

It was a lovely hug, the woman was warm and smelled floral. When they separated, she said, "I'm Elayn! It's good to meet you. Can I get you a corndog?" 

As she pulled out her wallet, the woman waved her money away. "It's Nessa, and actually, I'd like to buy you a corndog." 

"You don't have to--" 

Nessa laughed. "I miss my daughters, you'd be doing me a favor." 

They chatted while the line went down, about lacrosse and about university. It turned out Nessa's two daughters went off to college in other cities, so it had been a while since she saw either. "I had a son," she said. "But now I have a very happy daughter, and I'm so proud of her." 

"I wish I had a mom like you," Elayn said, thinking about growing up foster care. 

Nessa grabbed her in another hug. "Now you do!" 

When she got back to Serana and the others, they were listening to the music booming from the speakers. She had to yell to tell the group about her new mom. 

Chelsea looked a little sad, because she could connect the dots, but Luna and Ian were too busy freaking out over the cotton candy Nessa had bought her too. 

Not long after, the stage was occupied. Elayn was chatting with Luna with her back turned, so she missed it until Serana tapped her shoulder and turned her around. 

"Holy shit!" She hollered and clapped at the sight of a gorgeous, sequin clad drag queen in four inch heels doing a backflip off the stage and onto grass. "Holy shit!" 

As it turned out, the drag queens took tips, and it was at that point that Elayn knew she was about to spend a lot of money. Each queen that performed, and there were many, got a five in exchange for the sheer joy Elayn got when the queen before her touched her hand. 

When there was a break in the performances, she went back to Serana, who had a smirk on her face. "Should I be jealous?" 

Elayn cupped her face, and in a fit of sheer enthusiasm, kissed her girlfriend soundly, to the delight of the twins who hooted. "Don't worry, babe," she teased. "You're the only queen for me." 

"Flatterer." Serana swatted at her chest, but the smile on her face was pleased regardless. 

It was all a blur from there. Fair food, loud music-- and Elayn found beer that wasn't piss! She taught the twins a new vocabulary of cuss words the moment she found out their mom was fine with foul language. They parted around five in the afternoon, when a voice through a megaphone warned attendants that the festival was about to start catering to adults. There was a concert with more drag queens, this time in much more risqué outfits that Elayn would have given a kidney to see on Serana. 

When she said something, her girlfriend got a light in her eye. "Really now?" she purred. "Maybe for your birthday." 

By 11pm, Elayn was high on the party atmosphere and a few beers. The festival was over, and the walk back to their car would be a trick. "Did you have fun?" she asked Serana as they walked hand in hand. 

She got a kiss on the cheek. "I'm so glad I have you. When are we getting married?"

"When I figure out how to surprise you with a ring." 

[you-bloody-shank]

Green Widow (preview):

Authors note: Hi, so this is my first fan fiction, it’s not the best and I haven’t included all that I want to write about but I thought it was a cool idea and I wanted to see where it would go. If I made some mistakes, ignore them lol I’ll try my best to find them and fix them. Anyway I hope it’s slightly intriguing and let me know if you like it!

Warnings: Violence, kidnapping, sterilization (red room).

Prompt: My name is Y/N and I am 16 years old. My “superhero” name is Ruri, it means Emerald. I live in Manhattan with my dog Arya (german shepherd, almost an auburn color). My parents died when I was 12 in a horrible so-called accident; I don't believe that. I am a former widow, I call myself the green widow (Natasha is black widow, Yelena is white widow, I am green widow). I met yelena in 2005, when I was taken and filtered into the red room. We stuck by each other when things were difficult, she helped me and we promised to protect each other. In 2016, the red room was taken down and all of the widows were set free by Yelena and her sister Natasha. They had a little reunion and I got to finally meet her. They got some time to catch up before Natasha left to help her avengers family, Yelena went to free other widows, and I went to find my parents; little did I know, they were long gone. This is my story, and if you’re willing, I'd like to tell it to you.

march 25, 2000

This is the day that I was born. Clear skies in Manhattan, nice breeze, and one crazy day for my parents. My dad stayed in the hospital room with my mom while she was preparing to have me. They had been there for 2 whole days, I guess I just didn’t want to come out (lol). 2 more hours had passed and it was time. Just a few minutes of unimaginable pain and something beautiful came out of it. My parents were so happy, and so ready to go home. You can imagine what happened next: bottle feeding, baby food, learning how to walk, pre school, all that kid stuff. It was all normal, happy.

Fast forward to 2005, I was at school outside, waiting for my mom to pick me up for our girls day. She bought us tickets to see Madagascar in the theaters. I was so excited that I could barely sit still all day. 10 minutes pass by and I'm still waiting, wondering where she could be. My homeroom teacher walked outside as she was leaving for the day. “Hey sweetie, are you waiting for somebody?” she asked. I nodded and said “My mom. she should be here soon”. “Well I can give you a ride if you would like”, “Thank you, but I think I will wait a little longer” to which she smiled and said “Ok”. Another 10 minutes pass and I start to get worried but I recognize it and tell myself that she probably just got stuff in traffic. To make it easier, I walked a little ways down the road so that she didn’t have to go all the way to my school. As I was walking, I wasn't looking where I was going and ran into a tall man. I looked up at him and said “Sorry” to which he just looked at me and didn’t say anything. I started to walk off but someone grabbed a hold of me. I felt a cloth come over my face and before I could scream, I was out. I didn't know what was happening but I knew I wanted to go home. I wanted my mom.

I woke up in a car, oblivious to the time but it couldn’t be too late because the sun was still out. I looked over and out the window at three men standing in an alley talking. I couldn’t hear what they were saying but I didn’t know them, so it probably wasn’t beneficial to me. I panicked and tried to open the door; when the men noticed, one walked over and opened it for me but instead of letting me go, he dragged me closer to the other men. They just looked at me as I tried to hit him, scream and pry my hand out of his. One of them asked “This is the one?” and the man holding me said “Yes. I think General Dreykov will be pleased. He needed more and he got one. Easy.” I didn't know the world was a scary place until that day. Even more dreadful, it wasn’t even the worst of what I would experience.

Everything that happened after was a bit of a blur. I remember being driven to another place with the men, taken out of the car, and led to an open area with a bunch of other girls, some younger, some older, but one thing we did have in common: fear. There were screams as siblings were pulled apart and girls were being dragged away. I didn’t know what to do but all I could think of was hiding. I tried to stay quiet and slip away but someone found me and dragged me back, to decide whether I was worthy of the horrific training they were about to put us through, or if I would be better off dead. At the time I didn’t know which was worse; now I do. Many of us were loaded into the backs of various Mercedes Benz Unimog trucks, like what they use in the army. After days of moving around, waiting for something to happen, some kind of explanation, we arrived at a facility. Some place called the Red Room Academy that was filled with girls of all ages, many differences. Soon we would come to find out that those differences didn’t matter because in the eyes of the man referred to as ‘General Dreykov’, we were the same, we were disposable; we were nothing.

Over the course of time, we learned many skills of which we would use in the future; when it came time to kill. We were taught hand-to-hand combat, how to use weapons, acrobatics, and tactical skills. If some weren’t able to complete the training… Well, you can guess what happened. After many years of strenuous training, we had a final test to determine if we were ready for what was next. The ones who were had a graduation ceremony where they would be sterilized; some people intentionally failed because they would rather die than take away the opportunity to give life. However, the trainers caught on and made them do it anyway, they said it was necessary for us to take our place in the world, but we had no place in the world.

[songbird-wings]

for the fic prompts: anakin and aayla are about the same age and I like to think they grew up together as their masters, obi-wan and quinlan, were close so I'd love to maybe read something with them being friends and teasing each other as adults. so idk if you want to write something like this but if you do I think it could be cool. love you!!

i LOVE this prompt Maddie! I had so much fun with this one, I really hope you enjoy! (Also read it on Ao3)

Racing Through Memories

Anakin hated library duty. It was boring, quiet, and he hated the stuffy Masters that paid no attention to him when he asked if they needed assistance. This job made him feel invisible. But Master Kenobi always told him it was an important duty given to Padawans his age, and that it would teach him the importance of tranquility, knowledge and practice. That didn’t make it any less boring. 

He sat now in a far corner of the library, eyeing the stacks of papers and holo-disks he needed to organize. They towered above him on his desk, some coated in a thin layer of dust. He wondered if they really needed to be sorted or if Jocasta Nu just ran out of other tasks for him to do. 

“Anakin… psst!” A whisper came from behind him. He spun around maybe a little too quickly, his padawan braid smacking him in the face. His eyes scanned the shelves but he saw nothing. Surely he wasn’t hearing things. Anakin got to his feet and approached the area the noise came from. When he reached the bookshelf he paused, he quickly jumped into the aisle. Empty. That can’t be right, he was sure he heard something. Anakin shook his head and turned back to his desk.

“Hi Anakin!” Aayla greeted quietly. Anakin's shriek however was not as muffled. 

“Aayla!” He lowered his voice, once he calmed down. “Stop scaring me like that. It’s not funny.” Aayla just snorted and skipped over to his desk as he sat back in his chair. 

“I think it’s pretty funny. Besides, it’s probably the most excitement you’ve had after being assigned library duty.” She jokes, running a finger over a holo-disk and scrunching her nose at the dust left on her fingers. 

“What are you doing here? Come to gloat at my misery?” Anakin says with a smirk, using the force to take the top hoploads off their pile and set them in front of him. Aayla chuckled. 

“Not exactly.” He watched as Aayla reached into her robes and pulled out two slips of paper. Tickets. She held them up to her and he recognized them instantly; Podracing.

“Woah!” Anakin gasped, snatching the tickets from her hand. “How did you get these? I thought Podracing wasn’t popular on Coruscant.” Aayla grabs them back, holding them to her chest now. 

“It’s not, at least on top. There's an underground course that you can only get into with a ticket. Master Vos took me to one last year but there was a big crash and he never brought me again, although he kept going without me.” The Twi’lek explained leaning onto the side of the desk. 

“So these are Master Vos’s tickets.” Asks Anakin. She nodded. 

“They are, but he was called away on an assignment and he’ll be out of the system so I thought, why let these go to waste. And then I thought, who else loves podracing?” She takes one ticket  extending it to Anakin. He grabs it and stares at it intently, and then reality set back in.

“I can’t go.” He mumbled, holding the ticket back at her. 

“Why?” Aayla’s brows furrowed looking at the ticket then to him. 

“If Master Kenobi found out I left library duty, and snuck away from the temple to go to an underground podracing match, he might send me back to Tatooine.” Anakin slouched in his chair. 

“Oh come on!” Aayla whined. “It’ll only be for a few hours. No one will know you’re gone. Please, it’ll be fun!” She pleaded, nearly bouncing up and down. Anakin so wanted to say yes. He hadn't been to a podrace in forever. He missed the excitement and adrenaline that came along with the sport. Aayla did say they would only be gone a few hours. Master Kenobi wouldn’t suspect anything. 

“Okay fine, I’m in!” He exclaims. Aayla squealed and then checked the time on the clock above them. 

“Meet me by the statues on the south exit of the Temple in four hours.” She instructed him as she began walking away. “Don’t be late!” 

Slipping out of the library was much easier than Anakin originally anticipated. The librarian was nowhere to be seen and it was late so the isles were pretty much empty. He quickly made his way to the south exit and outside near the statues was Aayla was waiting for him. “You still have your ticket?” She asks, holding up her own. 

“Yes.” Anakin responds fishing it out of his robes. “But how are we getting there? You didn’t forget about that little detail did you?” Aayla scoffed. 

“You think so little of me, Anakin. Follow me.” She said and she led him down the steps of the temple where a speeder bike was parked and waiting. 

“Where did you get this?” Anakin awes, he makes his way over to it admiring the design. 

“My Master gave it to me as a gift. I’m not supposed to use it without his supervision, but, he’s not in the system so he’ll never know.” She shrugged, getting on the vehicle and starting the engine. “Get on and hold on.” Anakin climbed on behind her and gripped the sides of the bike as she drove it into a lane. The bike shook and chugged beneath them and there was a faint smell of burning metal emitting from the engine. 

“You know, if you opened the couplets and tightened the bolts near the exhaust, it would run a lot smoother.” He shouted over the sounds of traffic. 

“Okay, you can do that once you're done with library duty if you care so much about it!” Aayla teased back, steering them down below the surface. They descended further and further, until Anakin began feeling a little anxious. But he pushed that feeling away, and replaced it with his excitement over the podrace. It was darker on this level, the only light coming from the lamps on the streets. Finally, Aayla parked their bike and the padawans climbed off. 

“You didn’t get us lost did you?” Anakin chides, pulling his hood over his face, watching Aayla do the same. She just rolls her eyes. 

“Come on, it’s about to start!” She says and takes off down the road. Anakin chases after her until she stops in front of a building. It definitely doesn’t look like an entire podracing course could be inside it’s small frame. But below his feet, Anakin could feel the ground rumble, just slightly. 

“Tickets!” A raspy voice shouted out from the ticket booth in the front of the building. Aayla nudged Anakin, prompting him to show the ticket. The woman in the booth scanned the tickets and then the padawans. “Watch yourselves in there, kids.” She says nodding in the direction of the door. 

“Thank you!” Aayla told her, as Anakin pushed her way past eager to be the first in the door. On the other side was a staircase that led them down into a large chasm of a room. They seemed to be on a balcony that overlooked the circular podracing course. The room was packed, dimly lit, and smelled of drinks and something Anakin could’t place, but it wasn’t pleasant. He didn’t care though, the familiar hum of the repulsorcrafts racing in the course called to him. He ran to the edge to watch, ignoring Aayla as she told him to wait. 

He found a spot he could squeeze into and looked over the edge at the race. The course was huge, built in segments with different terrain, one sector being desert and another a dense forest. He watched as the repulsorcrafts dodged and weaved at dangerous speeds through the trees and he even cheered with the rest of the crowd once the last racer cleared the forest. He sensed Aayla coming up behind him and he moved over a few inches to give her space.

“You see that one?” She pointed at one of the podracers near the front. Their repulsorcraft was small, and painted in purples and light greens. The vehicle was driven by a Rodian woman and she was picking up speed quickly. “That’s Alvee Chunteff, she’s won so many races down here. My Master is a huge fan.” Aayla explains, shouting over the noise. She and Anakin stand on their tiptoes as the racers round the curve of the course, trying to get a better look. 

“Here she comes!” Anakin says as she passes the racer already in first place, taking the lead. The podracers zoom past them sending a plume of dirt in the air but the padawans cheer anyway. The excitement distracts them, and Anakin didn’t sense the figures coming up behind them before it was too late. Hands grab at their shoulders and pull them from the crowd to the back of the room, cornering them against the wall. They were pirates, drunk pirates by the smell of it. Anakin reached for his lightsaber but Aayla grabbed his arm, shaking her head, no. 

“Hey kiddos.” One of them coughed out. He reached down and ran his finger along Aayla's padawan beads. She flinched away and Anakin stepped in front of her. “Long way from the Temple isn't ya!” 

“Leave us alone!” Anakin shouted to the pirates, there were three of them, blocking any direction he could run.

“Ah, see, that’s just not gonna happen.” The one in front of him laughed. “I’ve noticed ya don’t seem to have any Masters with ya. What a shame.” He shook his head stepping closer. “Do you know how valuable you are to the Jedi, hm? Do ya? How much would the council pay for two padawans to be returned to home safely?” Almost like an alarm going off in his mind, Anakin sensed the one on his left lunging forward and grabbing Aayla, before his hand could even touch her, Anakin reached out and sent the pirate sailing across the room, slamming him against the wall. The room stood still for only a moment until the noises and the movement started again. 

“Run!” Anakin yelled, grabbing Aayla’s arm, taking the new opening he’s created. 

“After those kids!” The pirate shouted behind them. Anakin and Aayla made their way through the crowd, back towards the way they came in, but it seemed more pirates were in the crowd than chasing behind them. Hands were grabbing at them, slowing them down. One grip was a little too strong and the pirate yanked Anakin back making him fall to the sticky floor. He opened his eyes and the pirate's cruel smile was above him. 

“Ay, boss I’ve got-” Anakin didn’t let him finish as he used the force to send him crashing into the ceiling and falling back down to the floor. Aayla came out from the crowd next to him and pulled him to his feet. 

“Let’s go-” Anakin started saying once he was upright again, but he was cut short when he sensed it. Then he saw him. The sound of a lightsaber activating quieted the room.

“Those padawans are more trouble than they’re worth. I’d leave them alone if I were you.” Obi-Wan's voice filtered over the crowd. Anakin was torn between running into his Master's arms, or running away back to the Temple. He wasn’t given a choice. “Anakin, Aayla, you’re leaving. Now!” Anakin could feel the disappointment seeping off of Obi-Wan and it made every step towards his Master even more difficult. The pirates ran past them and the Jedi Knight, back towards the staircase. Obi-Wan pointed in that direction. “The speeder is waiting for you outside.” Aayla and Anakin shared a solemn look before following his orders and exiting the podracing rink. 

On the way back to the Temple, it was Aayla who apologizes first, admitting that it was her idea and that she was sorry. “It is not my place to tell you your punishment, young one.” Obi-Wan said to her. “That will be your Masters decision once he returns, as for you, Anakin.” 

“I’m sorry, Master. It won’t happen again.” He mumbles to Obi-Wan.

“Oh, I hope not.” The Knight replies.

“How did you find us anyways, Master?” Anakin questions him as they pull into the Temple hanger bay. 

“Maybe next time you decide to slip out on your Jedi duties, you do it in a place that doesn’t have so many cameras.” Obi-Wan smirked, stepping out of the speeder. He winked at his apprentice and then pulled Anakins robes tighter around his shoulders. 

“I’ll take that into consideration, Master.” 

<<<>>>

“It’s Starork taking the lead now as he passes Ikti around the bend, this is a close one folks, it’s too early to say…” The announcer is drowned out by the shouts of the crowd around them. Anakin cheers and gives a high-five to his padawan as the racers continue. 

“So, how’s your first podrace going, snips?” He asks her as they settle into their seats, Aayla emerges from the crowd and sets the overpriced snacks onto their table. 

“It’s amazing! I can’t believe you did this when you were a kid, Master!” She exclaimed over the noise. “I didn’t know you were such a fan, Master Secura?” 

“Oh, your Master and I would always sneak away to races growing up. One time, we ran into pirates while we were down here. Alone. We were very lucky Master Kenobi found us in time.” She explained. 

“Alright, you don’t need to give her any ideas, Aayla.” Anakin rolls his eyes. 

“Pirates?” Ahsoka sat up in her seat. “I want to hear about that!” Anakin shakes his head.

“Like I said, you don’t need any more reckless ideas in that head of yours.” He says sternly, taking a sip of his drink. “Now c’mon, we’re missing the race.” He motions them over towards the edge of the course. 

Ahsoka eyes Aayla once her Master is away from the table, pleading with her eyes. Master Secura laughs at her eagerness. “I’ll tell you the story later, young one. When your Master isn’t around to add in his own version.”

[ma-gic-gay]

It took a few too many hours to take care of the Florence situation, but he was confident that she would be happier in her room at the long term care facility than she would be at a safehouse.

He was much less confident with what would happen next. On the one hand, he knew that Cyrus knew that Carly had taken his mother - as much as he loves her, she needs to start thinking her plans through before she ends up dead - and that she was the reason he was alive. On the other, Florence had remained unharmed and been returned within ten hours. That doesn't erase what had happened; kidnappings are always a terrible, traumatic thing and not in his worst moment had he hoped to kidnap someone or, worse, have someone get kidnapped, but it did make it a bit easier for him to sleep at night.

In short, she was pretty much the biggest target at the moment. An even bigger one than him, which seemed impossible maybe fifteen hours ago.

Yet another reason having her in Port Charles was something he'd been concerned to do. Even though she swore she'd stay at home, she'd promised the same thing before his meeting with Cyrus earlier and that was a promise she didn't end up keeping.

Maybe this time, though, since Josslyn was home with her, she'd stay home.

That would explain the fifty seven voicemails he has from her and at least one hundred texts. It was honestly less than he had been expecting, mainly because she had been incredibly worried he'd get killed, moreso than normal.

Probably because not even an hour before he left, Cyrus had tried to kill him. It definitely didn't have anything to do with last night.

Right?

He shakes his head to get that out of his head; it's been a long night and probably why he's thinking about it. Willing himself to think of anything else, his mind wanders as he drives, thinking of the possible kidnapping targets.

Maybe thinking about last night will be a better alternative.

Glancing at the clock, he realizes that it's almost time for a call from a hopefully still at home Carly.

"Like clockwork," he chuckles, answering the phone. "Everything okay on the home front?"

A laugh he instantly notices as Cyrus's leaves his phone speaker. Quickly checking the caller ID, it's Carly. "Well, Mr. Morgan, I'm not doing well right now, considering your organization took my mother. Though I suppose your question wasn't directed towards me."

No shit, he thinks, containing his anger and quickly switching to a business tone, "I already told you, I don't have your mother. What the hell are you doing with Carly?"

Chuckling evilly again, Cyrus says, "I'm just spending some time with Mrs. Corinthos, Mr. Morgan. Calm down."

He's dead. The second that Jason gets back in town and sees his stupid, ponytail clad body, he will die. And if he puts a hand on her-

Focusing on the call instead of the growing anger in his blood, he asks, "Where is she and what have you done with her?"

"She's being taken care of very well, don't worry. In fact, I think that she'd agree I'm being quite a polite host, especially given the fact she had my mother kidnapped."

Maybe he should torture him before he kills him, that sounds appealing. Very appealing.

"I actually just looked into it and your mother is at her care facility. So tell me where Carly is, now," the former assassin demands.

Killing him looks more and more appealing by the second and making it as painful as possible does too. He deserves it for doing anything to Carly. Where exactly will kill him the fastest and make it painful? Maybe being shot in several places at the same time would help.

Clearly enjoying this Cyrus continues, "Is she? Well, I received a call earlier that she had been checked out of there."

"They must've been wrong."

"Well, still, I think she's getting even more delightful as time goes on. In fact, I'm finding her to be quite beautiful. What do you think, Mr. Morgan? Should I seduce and make love to her?"

Anger is the only emotion he feels right now, combined with disgust at the thought of that. "I wouldn't recommend it."

"And why is that?"

To lie or tell the truth, that is the question. The answer is lie. "She's a terrible lover. Absolutely terrible. Believe me, I'd know. We were involved at a certain time and I'm not sure anyone should have to go through that."

"You two have been quite close in the year since her husband passed. Are you sure you don't just want her for yourself?"

This sleazebag is going to be in hell when Jason finds him, he swears on his life. "Yes, I'm sure. Now, where is she?"

Chuckling again, he says, "Mr. Morgan, I'm not stupid. You think that since you've returned my mother, I'll return your friend in exchange for her. But, you see, Mrs. Corinthos isn't just someone you can take as you please. I'm truly seeing her beauty in this light and I find her to be quite intriguing. Perhaps I'll go against your advice-"

"I wouldn't do that if I were you. Now, last time I'm asking, where is Carly?"

"Why don't I let her tell you yourself?" Cyrus offers before handing the phone over to who he can imagine is the blonde. A scream is emitted in the background, probably from a gag or something.

The second he lays his eyes on him, that man is dead.

"Jason?" A scared Carly asks. "Are you there?"

"Yeah, I'm right here Carly. Can you tell me where you are right now?"

"You remember that little room above Jake's, where we got our start? I miss that room sometimes. Especially now that the Floating Rib isn't even really a working building."

"So do I. It was plain and undecorated. Now, where are you?"

"I love you and my kids, you know that, right?"

"Yes, yes I do. You know I love you. Are you okay?"

"No one else will probably ever be in that room again. Kinda sad, don't you think? I kinda like that we'll be part of the last people to be there, but I think it's a damn shame that room won't get better use out of it." Carly continues, clearly not getting his point.

Wait. The room above Jake's. That's where she's being held! She's been giving hints. God, sometimes he thinks she's do dumb but others she's practically a genius.

"Has he laid a hand on you?"

"Yeah," she says and his blood boils. This bastard is going to die, just for thinking about doing this.

"I'm going to go down memory lane," Jason says, changing the topic but hoping she'll read his signal. "Drive around some spots I used to go. I'll be home to check on the kids in twenty minutes."

"Have fun with that journey, Mr. Morgan," Cyrus says, having taken the phone from a surprisingly silent Carly. "In the meantime, I'm going to tell you what to do to get her back. You will meet me at Pier 57 at noon tomorrow. Until then, I think that the two of us are going to be spending some quality time together."

"You so much as lay a hand on her-"

"I'm going to advise you to stop speaking if you ever want to see her alive again," Cyrus chuckles. "Goodbye, Mr. Morgan."

Just like that, the phone is hung up and the call ended. "Fuck!" Jason screams, driving faster.

He's got to get to her and fast. She doesn't have much time before Cyrus rapes her and he'll be damned if he lets her go through that. Not if he can stop it, and he knows he can.

After all, if there's one thing his men have told him that he remembers, it's that Cyrus suffers from erectile dysfunction. If he had to pick one dude who would never be able to get it up in their life, without a doubt, he'd pick that sleazebag in a heartbeat. Especially now, given the situation his best friend is in.

He can make it there in ten minutes if he breaks a few traffic rules.

Fuck traffic laws; he's got to go save her, he thinks as he speeds up, taking every turn too fast and going straight through at all the stop signs and red lights.

It's a minor miracle he doesn't get a ticket as he pulls into the parking lot of the Floating Rib, which has been abandoned ever since the explosion that sent Lulu into a coma and killed Dev and Dustin.

Deadly explosions don't exactly appeal to buyers.

Gun drawn and loaded, he finally realizes that there is no plan here. Call the cops? No, then Cyrus gets to walk away alive and this son of a bitch needs to die.

Kill him and then call the cops? Not a bad idea, especially with Carly as a witness. She's not a perjurer, no one would ever accuse her of that. Especially when she's newly traumatized from a kidnapping. Besides, it's self defense. But bullets can ricochet and she could be killed or comatose. Whatever happens, it could be really bad.

Fuck.

Going in without a plan is the best option and that scares him more than anything he's ever faced.

Bounding silently up the stairs, he kicks in the door and sees an almost nude, terrified Carly and the sight of an aroused Cyrus. Fuck. Guess those erectile dysfunction pills work for him.

A sparkle appears in his eyes when Cyrus realizes he's there. "Mr. Morgan, how kind of you to join us. Though, I don't believe you were expecting this."

Bastard. He deserves to be killed, the most painful death one can ever suffer. Acting as though he's a fucking host of a party, not a kidnapper who's about to rape his best friend. How many other women has he done this to?

The thought of it makes his blood boil. "I'm only gonna say this once, get away from her and you might live."

"Was that a threat?"

"It was a promise."

"Mr. Morgan, Mrs. Corinthos and I are having a moment here and you're being rather rude, intruding upon it."

Carly's been suspiciously quiet this whole time. She's planning an escape, he can feel it. No use trying to explain how he can feel it, but he can.

That's new.

Refocusing his attention to the ponytail clad piece of shit in front of her, he says, "You two aren't, because she's most certainly not into this. I know what she looks like when she is and let me tell you, that's not what she looks like right now."

"Ah yes, your past. Well, her face may have changed."

"From last night?"

With the mobster stunned enough to do a minor double take, Carly kicks him right in the balls. That's gotta hurt, especially considering that he's got his dick out and everything.

Jason snaps into action, undoing the handcuffs she's in and removing the duct tape, wincing when she screams in pain. That hurts his heart.

"I was right with my suspicions, wasn't I? Mr. Morgan, what are your feelings towards Mrs. Corinthos?"

"None of your fucking business," he answers, kicking Cyrus in the balls himself as he calls the cops. That felt good. Not as good as killing him would, but it does give a rush of dopamine. "I'm above the Floating Rib, in the little apartment with a kidnapped Carly Corinthos and her kidnapper and attempted rapist Cyrus Renault."

"An officer is being dispatched there and will arrive in five minutes, sir. What is your name?"

"Jason Morgan."

"Well, Mr. Morgan, can you stay at the scene with Mrs. Corinthos?"

"Trust me, I'm not leaving until this son of a bitch is behind bars on death row," he growls at the operator. For someone who's normally so good at controlling his emotions, right now it's all he can do to not pull the trigger and take him out himself. His walls have fallen as his best friend softly cries next to him, minorly breaking his heart.

"I wouldn't count on that, Mr. Morgan," Cyrus snickers, "after all, I could just kill you two."

"The dispatch is going to be there in under one minute now, sir."

"Cyrus, if you so much as grab that gun and point it at me, I can kill you out of self defense. So I guess if you've got a death wish you could grab your weapon," Jason counters him.

"PCPD! Put down all weapons!" Chase shouts. Of course he's the lead detective.

"Up here!" Jason shouts and he finds the staircase before walking into the room.

"Mr. Renault, you have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford one, one will be appointed for you. Do you understand these rights as I have read them to you?" Chase asks, cuffing him.

"Damn you, Morgan," Cyrus says before another cop escorts him out and into a cruiser. Thank god, he was afraid if he saw his stupid, smirking face one more time, it would be the last thing that Cyrus ever did.

"Mrs. Corinthos, can we bring you and Mr. Morgan down to the station and have you two recount what happened tonight with Cyrus?"

Words don't leave her mouth, a sob does. Jason pulls her gently out of the chair and into a tight embrace, for his benefit as much as hers. "She's in no shape to be giving you the details."

"Mr. Morgan, it's better if she tells us what happened sooner rather than later."

"I'll do it," she agrees, though she's still visibly shaking in his arms. "If Jason's there, I'll do it."

Pressing a kiss to the side of her head, he agrees, "I'll be there."

Attempting to inform then they can't, Chase says, "You can't actually be in the interrogation room together; it's a very rare occurrence and not one I'm sure I can get permission from the commissioner to have right now."

Glaring daggers in his direction, Jason informs him, "You heard Carly's terms. If you want her to tell you what happened, I'm going to be there."

Finally giving in, Chase agrees to let them go in his car before leaving to call Jordan.

"Do you think you can stand?"

"No."

"We're getting you to the hospital then," Jason declares. "Detective!"

"Yes, Mr. Morgan?"

"I'm taking her to the hospital to get checked out before the police station."

"Could we question you two at the hospital? It's really important we get your testimony before Cyrus's. He's smart enough to ask for a lawyer and we'll do our best to have one take their time, but it's possible if she goes to the hospital she could end up giving it second."

"Do you feel up to getting questioned at the hospital?" Jason asks the sobbing woman, feeling a combination of emotions he can't push away.

"I guess," she agrees uncertainly. "You'll still be there, right?"

"Of course. I'm not leaving your side unless you tell me to," he reminds her. "Ambulance or my car?"

"Oh god, not an ambulance. I don't need all that fanfare," she groans.

"Okay. Detective, will you meet us at the hospital?" Jason asks to his own chagrin. He can't believe this dude has the audacity to ask a woman recently traumatized by an attempted rape and kidnapping to tell him what happened in detail.

Chase nods and leaves the two alone again, offering a tissue to the sobbing blonde in Jason's arms.

Scoffing, Carly takes the tissue and resumes her sobbing. "I was so, so scared you wouldn't get here in time and he'd kill me. I know, I broke the only rule, but in my defense, I had to work and I got taken there."

"I'm sorry I didn't get here quicker," he says, "and that you feel like you're to blame for this. You're not. Cyrus, that sick son of a bitch, is the only one to blame."

"You told me to not go out!"

"I didn't think he'd move in so fast... If I had, I never would've left the house."

"Hey, you are not to blame for this."

"Neither are you."

"Yes, yes I am. He-he kissed me, Jason. He started making out with me, and he hit me when I didn't kiss him back and when I said no. That's when I got the duct tape to my mouth."

To be continued when I can write this and not feel like crying (aka after I watch the Sharkboy and Lavagirl movies because they're BOTH on Netflix now and that's pretty fucking cool.)

@ryleighjosephine

[stateofgrace1303]

My chronic illness, how it started.

*Can you guys please reblog and/or tag Taylor?? I really want her to read

this. I want this to get to her and I'll take any help I can get. I rarely ask this but it'd mean to world to me. I wanna get my story

out there (even if this is only a part of the entire story. The rest I

might post sometime if you guys want me too. I think I did include

everything I wanted to for now though). Just thank you all so much!!! I

love you all ❤*

(Im really sorry about how long this is. Its like a little novel. Plus I'm

OCD and tend to talk/rant until it feels just right... I just wanted to

share it with all of you, since its something I would've shared on TSL,

even though it'd probably be too long for there... But I wanted to share it

here because most of those swifties can be found on tumblr, and I want you

all to hear this... Maybe it'll even get to Taylor too. But please read if

you can. It'd mean a lot to me. Also I tried writing this but then it got

deleted when I tried posting it, so hopefully this one posts (I ended up trying to post this ALL DAY. I'm so glad it's finally up).)

Hey Swifties! So, I thought I would post this because its something I'd

post on TSL if it was still around, as I shared pretty much my whole life

on there, and I always found swifties very easy to talk to (plus you're all

just the nicest people)! So, I wanted to share this on here since most

swifties can be found on tumblr. I'm sure i talked a little bit about this

on tsl (my user was stateofgrace1303, same as on here and ig) but I wanted

to tell you guys more, especially because its getting so much more intense

now and like I said I've always found swifties very easy to talk to you.

Basically, when I was 12, my dad took me to see the RED tour at Gillette

Stadium. We had gone to see the Speak Now tour there and I had been

completely wonderstruck (no pun intended) by Taylor that night. I was 10 at

the speak now tour and had idolized Taylor since I was 6 and she put out

TOMG (and I was known as the Taylor Swift girl by now at my school). So

even though I was 10 I asked my dad, if I save up the money will you take

me to see her when she comes again? And he said yes. About 2 weeks before

the show, I had saved up enough. He didn't think i could do it, but I did.

So, I got tickets and we went to the tour. But when I was walking towards

the stadium (we had parked in a lot right down the street), my vision

became weird, almost like tunnel vision although nothing was turning black

around the edges of my vision. My feet looked very far away from me.

Suddenly, a rush of dizziness came over me and instinctively i grabbed onto

my dads arm to keep from falling down. He asked if I was okay and I could

barely get out words for some reason. I was starting to sweat and we

thought maybe i was dehydrated, so we got into the stadium as quickly as

possible. I was gripping onto everything around me to keep from falling,

but eventually we got into the stadium and I got some water. We had seats

on the field, so that's where I was, drinking some water when suddenly I

was pretty sure I was going to throw up. It was starting to get super

uncomfortable so my dad brought my to the first aid, which was actually

right at the enterance on the field. So when we went in there my dad told

them what was going on and they all looked at me weird and said "people

never get sick. We usually treat bee stings and allergic reactions. We

almost never have people get sick" which actually surprised me. But, they

took me back and laid me down. Almost immediately I started puking. The

nurse I had actually had just had a baby and had some anti nausea

medication on her. So, she gave me that but it didn't work. And I just got

worse. My dad went to find me something to eat so I'd have something in my

stomach. He came back with some chips and iced/frozen lemonade but I threw

up every time. I was so dizzy at this point I was gripping onto the bed

they had me on and puking my guts out, as well as sweating a lot. After a

while, as it only got worse, they actually thought I might have had food

posioning and asked what I ate. But there they noticed something. I was

completely white. Like white as a ghost. Except for my lips, which were

turning blue. And I was struggling to breathe. They wanted to take me to

Boston Childrens and my dad asked if I wanted to, but it was Taylor. I

couldn't miss it. So I said no for that reason. But actually, everyone at

the stadium was trying to get me tickets for the show the next night as she

was playing two nights. Security guards, the nurses, my dads girlfriend...

But nobody could get tickets in the end which was okay. But later my dad

went and for a list of everybody's set times. I had been in first aid for

about an hour at this point. He came back with the list and said "I promise

I will not let you miss them" he said and pointed to Ed Sheerans name, then

Taylor, since I was a huge Ed fan as well. He knew I probably wouldn't be

able to stay, but even seeing them for a minute would've been perfect to

me. Another hour had passed, and I was still there in the same condition.

It was terrifying, and they were really pushing me to go to the hospital

(they wanted to call an ambulance because they actually thought something

very bad might happen if they didn't). But I keep pushing that off because

I wanted to see Taylor and Ed so badly. But, 2 hours I had been there in

the same condition, puking up everything, completely white with blue lips,

struggling to breathe, so dizzy I couldn't even sit up. It was starting to

get painful honestly. So, I suddenly just burst out crying. I was just a 12

year old who wanted to see my idol, and I got this... This weird sickness,

and got stuck in first aid. In so much pain. I didn't even really

understand what was happening. I had always been a sick kid. Always getting

colds and infections. In fact, I almost died as a baby from a problem with

my kidneys, and had become septic. Its a miracle I lived. But I had never

experienced anything like this... And to experience it when I was just

trying to see my idol? When it was only my second concert ever? It crushed

me tbh. My dad asked what was wrong and I finally said the words I had been

avoiding all night... "I wanna go home" (which was actually his

girlfriend's house who lived in Boston... I'm from Maine). And he said

"okay". That was all he needed and he left, walking back towards where we

left the car. However, around 7:30ish the traffic in this area is really

weird I cant even explain it. But traffic can only go one way, instead of

both ways like normal.. So he couldn't get a ride back to the car and had

to walk, and then drive the car in traffic all the way to the stadium to

pick me up. So i had to wait a while, and while I did I heard clapping and

then a British voice say "hello Boston" and he started playing give me

love. I listened to him play and i only cried more because I was so

frustrated I couldn't go out there to see him. About half way through the

set, my dad showed up. They let him park in a no parking zone to come and

get me so he was right next to the enterance to the field. They were going

to put me in a wheelchair, but instead my dad came and helped me up. He was

holding me up straight and almost dragged me out of the first aid station,

into the stadium. I remember this part so well. The air hit me, I heard

Ed's voice clearly and saw him on stage, and suddenly, I let go of my dad,

and I was able to stand on my own... And I was fine. It was like a miracle.

I yelled to my dad over the music "is it too late to stay?" And he screamed

back "what??? After all that you wanna stay???" And I said yes, so, we

stayed. He went to go move the car (the girl was so nice who did the

parking, he told her the story, and he just needs to park the car and het

back in the stadium, how much would it cost. And the girl said park

wherever you want no charge. I thought that was seriously the sweetest

thing.) Sooo he did that, and since I was only 12 in a huge stadium, one of

the cops that was patroling the place stayed with me and asked me all kinds

of questions about Ed Sheeran, especially about the A-Team, when he played

it. He said "this isn't his song right?? Is this a cover?? I know this

song." And I told him it wad and told him all about it. It was the ideal

conversation for 12 year old me 😂 Anyway, my dad came back, we got to our

seats, and I actually met Andrea for a very brief moment! And before I knew

it, Taylor was playing. And I had made it through the entire show. I woke

up the next morning, still feeling a little sick but actually felt better

after eating, so I thought the worst was over. But, I was wrong... I didn't

know that one night would become my life... And god I wish I had gone to

the hospital... Maybe I would be okay now if I had... But anyway... A month

later (in August), it happened at my friends end of summer party. Then a

month later (in September), while I was at school... Each time worse than

the time before. Everyone had been informed I was having issues, but nobody

had seen anything happen yet. I seemed like myself. Then one day, I was on

my way to lunch with my friends, and I collapsed in the hallway... Same

thing happening. All my friends freaked out and 2 stayed with me while the

rest went to get the nurse. She actually thought I was dying, and honestly

I could've. She called my mom and said she wasn't sure if she should call

my mom or an ambulance. Then my mom came and got me and immedaitly took me

to my doctor (because she said next time it happens to come in so they

could monitor me). I was monitored and fell asleep, then 4 hours later i

woke up like nothing happened. After that i was pulled out of school and

constantly at the doctor. And I just got sicker and sicker... Which was

later diagnosed as... "Anxiety". By an unqualified doctor. He was a thyroid

doctor and diagnosed me with that?? As time went on, I got incredibly sick

to the point I can't even move. I have become completely disabled and lose

control of my body a lot. It's like my brain is disconnected from my body.

And I get this weird feeling im falling off a cliff and I cant feel my arms

and when that happens, I cant move at all. I cant even express how bad it

can get, how scary and painful it is. I'm a lot sicker than most people

think I am... I spend most days in bed, actually unable to move. I find

ways to keep my spirits up, luckily. Mostly its listening to Taylor and

watching friends but yeah 😂 I have days where I can't even sit up I'm so

dizzy and weak and it hurts so much. Its also terrifying when you don't

have full control over your own body. Absoultely terrifying. Although I

have okay days where I can stand up and function for a little bit, most

days lately have been like this... Bad and living from my bed due to

weakness and dizziness (extreme dizziness honestly). I have days where its

even a struggle to breathe, the most simple thing in the world. It gets

depressing at times... When you spend all ur time in bed or a wheelchair it

really can vet discouraging... But I'm still fighting. And I'm so happy I

am. And like I said, Taylor always lifts me up. Even on my worst, most

disabled and bed ridden days. Oh, that reminds me... I also have seizures

now, sadly. But I hadn't had what happened that night at the RED tour in a

while though... Until one night last year... While I was seeing Ed Sheeran

in Gillette Stadium 😂 Maybe its him?? I dont know 😂 Anyway, I spend most

days in bed, and I do online schooling now. I've seen Taylor twice since

then. For 1989 and for reputation. With 1989 I needed a lot of help but I

got through it. Reputation, it had gotten so bad I needed a wheelchair and

I still do whenever I go out, really. I dont have full control over my body

and I'm too weak and just very sick. I'm really hoping to go to lover fest

but if i do will need a wheelchair and even then I'll probably still feel

sick... But Taylors worth it ❤ Hopefully can get ada seating like with rep.

Wanted to keep this last part short but I think I failed 😂 Mainly wanted

to focus on the red tour. My health story is so incredibly long, I couldn't

say it all (maybe I will later). However, for now, I will tell you this, I

was diagnosed with a thyroid disease, migraines, and seizures. Then it was

discovered that all of this... Was advanced Lyme Disease... And it created

something called Dysautonomia (basically a disfunction of the autonomic

nervous system, which most people don't even realize they have, or how

important it is, until it makes you sick and either nearly kills or

cripples you... Depending on the kind though.) Also known as POTS, or

Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (there are actually 15 kids of

dysautonomia, that being one of them, I might possibly have more than one

kinda, were not sure yet. But its basically half cardiology half

neurology). And there's no cure... I could be this way, this disabled and

sick for a while... But there are treatments that might work luckily!!!

Since there are no Dysautonomia clinics in Maine, I either have to go to

New York, Baltimore, Cleveland, or Minneapolis. So looks like im taking a

trip! Sadly to a hospital, but still 😊 I honestly don't know how we'll pay

for it, but I need it, or I will spend my life like this. So I'm sure we'll

find a way... Like I always seem to do in life, no matter what 😊❤ Oh, and

funny thing is, I have something called PANS as well... So I have Pots and

Pans 😂😂😂 Anyway, I just wanted to share this with you guys because like

I said you guys are always so great and Taylor is my favorite artist so I

wanted to share it with the people who understand my love for her. I've

been a huge fan of her for 13 years (I'm 18, 19 next month, now). Theres

something about her... She's always helped me but especially now. She makes

me so happy and feel so safe during this time... Im fact, the only time i

smile like i did when I was younger,before all of this, is when I listen to

Taylor. I even have a Long Live tattoo on my wrist because I felt it

represented my love for her the most, and what we've made as a fandom, the

magic we've created. Plus, it reminds me that I'm fighting my battle (this

"dragon") with Taylor and her music on my side, as well as all of you. And

it makes me smile. I can't wait to get more Taylor tattoos... Honestly,

after all of this and the other health issues I faced as a baby and a

child, I can't believe I'm still here, that I'm still living... Especially

because since I've always been so sick with so many different illnesses and

health issues to the point I'm disabled, my immune system is so weak. I

truly cannot believe I'm still here. But... I guess my body just isn't

ready to give up. It hasn't yet at least!!! And it doesn't want to. It

won't. I'm strong. Me, and my body, want to fight until the very end. And

I'm grateful for that. So grateful that I am still alive, and still

fighting every day of my life. It might be hard, and I can't function or do

really anything but lay in bed and watch tv most days, but I'm just so

thankful that I'm still alive, that it's okay I have to be at the doctors

so much and have to take all these meds (I do anything at this point that

can help me even the slighest). And no matter what life throws at my

health, my body always fights it and gets right back up. I fall down 10

times, I stand up 11. And I could not have the courage and strength to do

this if it wasn't for my idol, Taylor Swift. I've been a fan of Taylor for

13 years (I'm 18 now, 19 next month) so her and her music have helped me

through every problem I have ever faced, and this is no different. She has

a song for everything, so I can always find something to listen to that

makes me feel like she understands and she's telling me it'll be okay...

And ever since LOVER came out, I've been listening to soon you'll get

better on days its really bad, and my girlfriend sends me that song on bad

days too... It makes me feel safe. And like I can fight this. Thank you,

Taylor. I will never be able to repay you. I may struggle with this every

single day im here on earth, but with your music and the support I feel

from the swiftie fam, I know I'll get through it. Anyway... I guess I

should end this here. Again, sorry this is so long but if you read this

thank you so much for taking the time to!! If you made it to this point,

I'm proud 😂❤ And it means the world to me, you have no idea. Im hoping

this will get to Taylor and maybe even Ed one day. I love you all so much

and once again, thank you for reading!! ❤❤❤

@taylorswift @taylornation 🌈❤ @taylornotices 💜

(Pic is from when I was in First Aid at Ed Sheeran. It was so bad there

they had to give me an IV. I was in the first aid station, wrapped up in my

nightmare before Christmas blanket, on a stretcher with an IV in my hand

pretty much the entire night. It was so painful. When I arrived to first

aid I was actually unresponsive. Like I knew what was happening but I

couldn't talk or open my eyes. All I could do was make very small

movements. It felt like my body was shutting down. I was having bad heart issues as well and they wanted to give me a medicine fot my nausea but since I had lyme disease it could make my heart issues worse so they had to give me an EKG... Right there at the concert 😂 Interesting... But, I got through it.

Like always 😊 So yeah thats where the

picture is from ❤)

[akalittlemisscrazy]

Backpacking Escapes: Hoi An (+ Da Nang)

The next day was almost unbearably long but after a grand total of three buses, a ferry and a plane covering 984 kilometres we arrived in the delightful village of Hoi An. This is another Pinterest dream, looking ridiculously idyllic like it’s straight out of those fantasised versions of old school Vietnam – complete with lanterns everywhere, Non La conical hats and street vendors with their wares hanging in baskets from yolks over their shoulders.

Between our flight from Hanoi and our final bus, we had a couple of hours to grab something to eat and have a quick nose around Da Nang. Crossing the river I didn’t know which way to look. This city gets a 10 out of 10 for mastering the balance of stunning neon lights without overwhelming you. There were beautiful bridges lit up in a multitude of colours in every direction. My favourite was our reason for coming – the Dragon Bridge. This 666 metre long dragon lights up at night wonderfully, a wave of gorgeous contrasting colours.

Hoi An is a popular tourist destination that drastically comes alive at night. It sits on Thu Bồn river which is covered with floating lanterns every night. As an eco-nerd, I was very pleased to see that the next morning nearly all of the lanterns that had washed up on shore had been cleared away. You can rent a boat to take you through this magical wonderland for a decent price if you haggle a bit (we got it down to 100,000 Dong each, probably could have gone lower but we were happy with this price. Everything in Vietnam is so cheap!). I'd recommend getting one close to the bridge as this area is the most beautiful to look at. After your boat ride take time to wander the bank of the little island as there are a selection of gorgeous structures.

Day time in Hoi An is a completely different world – at least 10 times quieter and a different feel about it. The tickets available from various points around town will allow you entrance into 5 different historical sites around the town. My favourites out of the five we chose were Phuc Kien Assembly Hall and Quang Trieu Assembly Hall. The colours were bright and fantastic, but balanced perfectly so they didn't clash or take anything away from the beautiful gardens in the courtyards. The dragon sculptures in particular were mesmerising.

Hoi An traffic is much calmer than what we’d seen in the cities and easiest to get around on bike. Luckily our hotel offered us free bicycles to take wherever we liked. Don’t worry about leaving your bikes in the town, we felt it was very unlikely that anyone would take them. However make sure you park it somewhere recognisable as there are many many bikes around town and you may find yourself in a 'needle in a haystack' situation.

We even took our bikes out to An Bang beach, an easy flat 4 kilometre ride from town. Whilst slightly irritated by the fact we were charged 50,000 Dong to park our bikes, I’m so glad we took the time to explore this beach. The endless white sands are lovely and I couldn’t resist a quick splash in the sea. Unfortunately the waves were unpredictable and it wasn’t long until my Thailand pants were soaked. But I'm an absolute water-bug so as you can see I didn't really care! (Photo courtesy of Rachel Westwood, the selfie queen)

I’d definitely recommend Hoi An, it’s perfect for a quick visit or for a slightly longer romantic getaway! Either way I know I'll be back soon.