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parti-pooper · 6 years

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Headcanons for Stendy Family?

Alright, Anon! The time has come! OvO/ I don’t know if these are the kinds of headcanons you had hoped for - but I hope you can enjoy them anyway. uwu

Stan proposes to Wendy on the night of a wedding reception. Drunk. After puking. With no ring. Seeing his friends get married that day made him get mushy, and so he downed a bunch of liquid luck in the hopes of getting up enough courage to ask her to marry him. He thought it’d be romantic. Cue Wendy having to say nope after watching her beautiful, beloved boyfriend eject his guts and slur, “Wen-dyyy I larvuI lff fugignk larvaruu youuu,, marr meh ples marr meybeb…”

Wendy tells Stan what he did the next morning, and he gets embarrassed as he explains his thoughts last night. Wendy asks if he was genuine, and Stan says yeah, he really was. “Ask me again,” she says. “I don’t know,” he laughs nervously, “I’m kind of scared you’ll say no again.” He pulls at his hair anxiously and averts his gaze, but she grabs his hand and makes him look into her eyes. “Ask me again,” she says, and he can’t deny her. “Okay, uhm… Wendy, I love you. Will you marry me?” He winces, pained, while he waits for her response. She smiles easily. “Yes.”

And that’s how Stan proposed to Wendy, drunk, and then proposed to her again, hungover. Still a better love story than Twilight.

They have a winter wedding. It snows on the day, and so Wendy and Stan both have white flakes in their black hair in all their wedding photographs outside the church. His horrible friends make dandruff jokes, but Stan and Wendy are so happy, they can’t even care. They’re shivering and smiling the whole day long.

Wendy keeps her last name, which Stan is disappointed about after all of those years writing Wendy Marsh in the margins of his notebooks, but he respects her decision.

They honeymoon in Hawaii. They’re a basic bitch couple, at the end of the day. (Butters sets them up, btw. Mahalo Rewards Card, biiitch!)

They were living together even before marriage, so they just continue to live like that for the first year of marriage. It isn’t long before Wendy gets pregnant though (Marsh men move fast, f.y.i., they end up being the first couple in their group of friends to have kids) and they quickly realise that their one-bedroom apartment probably isn’t the best place to raise a kid.

They end up moving to a cramped little house in a different area of their city. Stan wanted to move somewhere with a big backyard and a nearby park and quiet, safe roads for his kid to play in, like back where he grew up. But they had to stay in the city while Wendy finished her PhD.

It’s hard to make ends meet while Wendy’s working on her thesis and a part-time job while pregnant (with all of the discomfort that implies), and Stan’s trying to make enough money for the both of them doing whatever job he can. It’s a very poor time for them. There’s a lot of stress and a lot of arguments break out between them. They go to bed angry sometimes.

…But they always make up eventuality. It’s the hardest nights that make them cling the closest.

Stan and Wendy end up getting two babies for the price of one. They find out they’re having twins, and their stress just doubles.

They work themselves to exhaustion trying to save up enough money for their stork delivery, taking extra shifts at their work. They sleep whenever they’re not working. They forget to eat. Some days, they don’t even see each other. When they do, they can’t even muster the energy to just talk.

Sometimes they forget what it’s all for.

They remember again when Wendy finally gives birth, and they have their beautiful twin daughters. Stan holds one in each arm, and cries the whole time. Kyle, Cartman, and Kenny arrive pretty much instantaneously, being that over-dependent surrogate family they’ve always been to him, and all just hug the ever-loving shit out of Stan and coo over their new nieces.

Wendy gets a visit from all her girlfriends, too. Bebe, Nichole, Red, Heidi, Annie, and more, all come bearing gifts like the Wise Men at Jesus’ birth.

Having twins is no fucking party. Have you ever tried to soothe two babies crying at once? Stan and Wendy can’t take turns; they both have to get up in the night when the babies cry. The sleep deprivation is real, you guys.

Wendy has to take time off from her part-time job due to maternity leave, and she has to finish her thesis from home, so she stays and looks after the twins in the day. Stan goes to work all day, and then he takes over at night when he gets home.

Sometimes Gran’pa Randy and Gran’ma Sharon will take the kids off their hands for a weekend just so that Stan and Wendy can catch up on some fucking sleep. Stan has never loved them more than when they do that.

The twins grow up to be absolute terrors. Neither Stan nor Wendy know where they got their mischievous side from, but boy did they get it. Like, why are they so determined to stick pointy things in power outlets? Why do they constantly want to put small objects in their mouths? Why don’t they want to wear diapers? Why do they like to scream at the top of their lungs when their mom is working? Why do they think the wall is the best place to draw on with crayons? (Uncle Cartman is so proud, btw.)

Stan and Wendy swear up and down that they are never having another one. Never, ever. Nope. Not a single one. Two is more than enough. No.

Two years later, Wendy is pregnant again.

She’s finally finished her PhD though, so they think it’s finally time to move to that huge house with the big backyard in a nice neighbourhood like they always talked about.

“No, Stan, we’re not getting a dog too. We barely just got the girls potty-trained, and we still have to take them out on leashes. That’s all the dog we need right now.”

She gives birth to their son, Thomas, not long after. And thank goodness, he inherited his father’s quietness and is not as unnecessarily loud as his sisters. He also inherited his father’s sensitivity, however, and he cries at near-anything. A very fussy baby. He lives in his daddy’s arms, and he is literally, actually scared of his own shadow. His big sisters bully him a lot.

But they won’t allow anyone else to bully him. Like their mom, they stand up against any tyranny (that isn’t their own). Also like their mom, they are ferociously intelligent, and their parents fear them for it.

All three children have the same black hair and blue eyes as their mom and dad and grow up to be the absolute spit of their parents.

When Stan and Wendy look at their children, they quite literally forget all those years of hardship they went through; because what is that suffering, now, compared to this bliss?

Stan is such a sappy dad, in fact, that he writes songs about his children, for his children, and sings to them on his guitar.

Then the girls try to steal his guitar and almost break it with their careless strumming because they can’t appreciate nice things when they’re, what, six? Seriously, Stan, what did you think would happen?

But they quiet down and listen when Stan sings them a lullaby at bedtime.

Also, Stan is a pretty big push-over. His kids just need to bat their baby blues at them and he’s wrapped ‘round their tiny fingers. An ice-cream? You got it, honey. A pony? Anything for you, sweetie. What’s that, now? The assassination of the US president? Just hold on, cupcake, I’m on my way to D.C. right now.

I swear, Wendy “Don’t Fucking Test Me” Burger is the only force keeping that family from falling to the whims of their terrible twins and the wants of their infant son.

She makes sure they brush their teeth and eat their greens and look both ways before crossing the street. She has full folders of their medical and dental history organised in chronological order. She already has a college fund set up for all three kids that she keeps money flowing into monthly. She helps them with their homework (mostly Thomas, the girls do fine on their own). She’s a fucking scary force of nature, man.

…But maybe she lets Stan get that dog one day.

Uncle Kyle, Uncle Cartman, and Uncle Kenny visit often, and bring their own kids when they have them too. They reminisce while watching their children run around, playing and fighting, like they all used to do as kids. And they spoil Stan and Wendy’s children absolutely fucking rotten, and that doesn’t fucking help, guys, stop bringing the girls candy when we’re trying to teach them that locking their baby brother in the pantry is bad!!

Anyway, they’re a beautiful fucking family. I’m happy for them.

#south park #sp stendy #stendy #stan marsh #wendy testaburger #thanks anon! <3 #these probably weren't worth the wait;#but i hope they're worth something to you

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skullsandfairylights · 5 years

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Writer’s Month 2019

Day 6: Word Prompt: kids

Mark loved his son. Tim was his world. Especially after all the hassle he had gone through during the adoption process; there was the question of stability around Mark’s main source of income coming from his YouTube channel and as well as how he would deal with travelling when con-time came around due to him being a single parent. But in the end, the case went through and Mark found himself with the adorable little Timothy. Tim was only four years old when he came to live with Mark and, in the two years that they had been a family, both Tim and Mark had settled into a comfortable routine.

Each morning, Mark would wake up early and go for a run or walk with Chica before he prepped for breakfast. Mark would then wake Tim who would pad through to the kitchen, clamber up onto his seat to eat and watch cartoons on the kitchen TV as he ate his breakfast. Mark would then drop his son off at school with money for his lunch in his pocket and his little rucksack on his back before he drove home to record some videos for the day.

On the days when recording would take longer than planned, Mark relied on one of his friends to pick Tim up. Most of Mark’s friends didn’t mind picking up the now six-year-old as Tim had a way of charming everyone he met, especially his pseudo-aunts and uncles, who all adored the little boy.

Then when all videos had been edited and uploaded to the channel, the little family would get together and eat dinner before spending quality time together; watching a movie or playing games until it was time for bed.

Mark would then tuck Tim in and whisper a “Sleep tight, Little Biscuit.” followed by a kiss to Tim’s hairline before Mark left the room switching off the lights as he went.

Life was good for the Fischbach’s.

~💕~

“So, did you have a good time today?” Mark asked as he entered the dining room carrying two plates of chicken with mash potatoes and mixed vegetables. He placed one plate, with a slightly smaller portion pre-cut into mouthful-size pieces, in front of his son before he settled down in his seat opposite.

“Yeah, Daddy! It was really cool! We went to the park! But it wasn’t Kyle’s mom or dad who took us, it was his big brother, Jason! He pushed us on the swings and he spun us on the roundabout! And we went super super super fast! It was awesome! Then we played hide and seek in the trees and bushes around the park! And I won because Jason helped me climb a tree and Kyle couldn’t find me for ages!” Mark smiled as he listened to his son’s tale. He expected there might be a small bit of exaggeration concerning how long it took Kyle to find the other boy but so long as he was happy.

“Remember to eat your dinner before it gets cold.” The adult in the room pointed out when Tim took a pause for breath.

“Yes, Daddy!” Tim exclaimed, suddenly gathering a large amount of chicken and potato onto his fork and trying to shove it all into his mouth.

“Not so much, Tim. Just what you can chew. You can talk after.” Tim nodded his head and began to take smaller, more appropriate bites of food. After managing to eat a few mouthfuls, Tim made a show of swallowing before taking a deep breath to start talking again.

“Then, Jason took us to McDonald’s and I got a chicken nugget Happy Meal! And then! And then! Then we went for ice cream at Scooby Doo’s!” Mark smiled at his son, knowing that ‘Scooby Doo’s’ was Tim’s way of saying ‘Scoopy Doo’, a little cafe and ice cream shop in town that sold homemade ice cream in a wide variety of flavours from the normal and expected to those unique to the cafe.

“That sounds like fun,” The adult remarked as Tim shovelled another forkful of food into his mouth. “Did you get your favourite?”

“Yup! I gots a large cone and a flake!” Mark knew all about the flake, when he had picked Tim up, the boy had flecks of chocolate smeared into his t-shirt along with the large ice cream drip stains. “Then we went back to Kyle’s house and we played in his garden all afternoon! We played pirates and guarded our treasures from the evil shark that wanted to steal it! It was so much fun! We pretended that the treehouse in Kyle’s garden was our ship and Rodger was the shark!” Rodger being the other family’s pet dog; a small, excitable beagle. “And then Jason came outside and played with us in the treehouse! He was Davey Jones! And he tried sink our ship by controlling the shark! But then! We fed the shark Davey Jones’ hand like Captain Hook in Peter Pan! And we won!”

“Well, it sounds like you had a very exciting day.” Mark smiled fondly at his son as the boy scraped the last bites of food into his mouth. Tim then carefully put his fork and knife together in the centre of his plate, copying his father’s actions. “So, I guess that means that it’s an early night for a certain little boy?”

The look on Tim’s face evolved from a big smile to a look of horror and he suddenly yelled in protest, “But it’s movie night! We always stay up and watch movies on deh weekends!”

“But surely you’re too tired from your long day of being a pirate?”

“No!”

“Alright, well how about we go and run you a bath, then once you’re in your PJs, we can put a movie in?” Tim quickly nodded and scurried from his chair as Mark stood up and carried both his plate and Tim’s plate over to the sink, to wash up as Tim took his bath.

The running footsteps alerted Mark to Tim’s presence and when he turned around, he found his son donned in his bathrobe, hugging a clear plastic box to his chest. Mark led the way through to the bathroom, where he filled up the tub with warm water and helped Tim to get settled. He then gave Tim his bath crayons and dropped a couple of toys into the water before he said, “I’ll just be in the kitchen, so just shout if you need anything.” Tim nodded his head though he seemed to be already engrossed in creating his first piece of artwork on the tiled wall.

For the next fifteen minutes, Mark washed up the dishes and wiped the countertops before he retreated to Tim’s bedroom to set out the boy’s pyjamas. Once Mark had completed the few tasks he needed to, he rejoined his son in the bathroom.

Tim had been busy during the time Mark had been away. The white tiles on the walls now held a collage of colourful pictures. One was, Mark assumed, supposed to be Tim and Kyle on a pirate ship, with a strange beagle-shark hybrid cresting the spiky waves, jagged teeth gnashing. Another image, Mark guessed, was supposed to be Tim’s family; Tim in the centre with Mark next to him, and then gradually scattered all around was Mark’s close friends who had all begun to fulfill large roles in the young boy’s life. Then the other images seemed to be a collection of rainbow animals, though if you asked Mark to identify them, he certainly would have struggled to give any definite names or labels.

“Hey, Squishy, ready to wash your hair?” Tim turned his attention away from his latest drawing, something that used a lot of green, and nodded to his dad, dropping the crayon into the plastic box. Mark reached out for the children’s shampoo and set about washing his son’s hair for him. “Ready to get out now, or do you want to play some more?” Mark asked once Tim had finished rinsing the product from his hair.

“Play more!” Tim exclaimed, enthusiastically, suddenly thrusting a shark toy into his dad’s hands, “You’re the shark, Daddy!”

Mark laughed, glad he was already wearing short sleeves as he plunged his hands into the water to make the shark swim. “Okay, ten more minutes then we’ll get you ready for bed before we watch a movie.” Tim nodded and grabbed the boat toy, talking as though he were the pirates aboard the boat.

By the time the Fischbach’s were ready to settle down and put on a movie, it was almost eight thirty. Tim had been changed into his Spiderman-themed pyjamas, had brushed his teeth and was hugging his favourite teddy bear; handmade with black button eyes and a little pink moustache, dressed in a little red-and-white striped jacket. Mark had similarly changed into his pyjama pants and a comfy t-shirt and was happily curled up under a blanket with his son under one arm and Chica under the other. The movie played in the quiet of the living room, the only other sound being the rhythmic thudding of Chica’s tail as it wagged happily against the fabric of the sofa.

It wasn’t even half an hour into the film when Tim was out cold, snoring lightly. Mark sat in place for a while, ensuring that the boy was fully asleep before he carefully untangled himself from the blanket and lifted Tim into his arms. Chica padded behind the man, happy to follow along behind as Mark made his way to Tim’s bedroom. Carefully, he balanced the small boy against his chest with one arm as he pulled back the duvet to tuck Tim in.

Tim stirred for a moment but showed no sign of waking. Mark smiled and bent down to kiss Tim’s forehead, whispering a good night into the boy’s hair. He turned back towards the door to see Chica staring at him, head tilted to one side. She sat at the end of the bed and lightly pet at the floor with her front paws.

“Come on, Chica, out. Maybe when he’s older.” Mark whispered, gently urging the dog out the door. “Okay, bed, Chica.” Chica seemed reluctant but eventually she padded out the door, followed by Mark after he had switched on the night light on the chest of drawers.

Mark then walked with Chica to the sliding door leading out to the patio and back garden and let the dog outside. He flicked on the outside lights and left Chica to her business as he set to work cleaning the bathroom.

Half an hour later found Mark locking all the doors and checking the windows. Chica was back inside and likely to be upstairs in Mark’s bedroom, curled up on the dog pillow. On his way to his bedroom, he peeked his head into Tim’s room to check on his son and smiled as he saw the small lump shuffle. Mark smiled softly, pulling the door mostly shut but leaving it slightly ajar.

Mark brushed his teeth and did his night time routine in the en suite of the Master bedroom. Chica raised her head to look at him as he made his way over to the bed. The dog bed was positioned at the end of the double bed, pressed up right against the side. Mark pet the dog’s head lovingly as he passed, leaning down to press a quick kiss to the dog’s nose. “’Night pupper.”

Climbing under the covers, Mark got himself comfortable before running through tomorrow’s plan. Tim was back at school. He’d gotten his homework done on the Saturday – Tim had sat with Mark as he edited some videos in the home office, working through the sheet of symmetrical shapes and looking for real-world examples - and his backpack was all ready to go by the front door. Mark had already planned out which videos he would be recording and which games he would play, he usually aimed to try and get two or three filmed, even if they weren’t all edited straight away.

It didn’t take Mark long to fall asleep, listening to the slow huffs from Chica.

#writersmonth2019 #i tried writing words #i made something

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toloveawarlord · 6 years

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The Red Army Princess (Chapter 2)

I decided to change the POV to 3rd person!

You can find all my other works here.

The day had begun to bore the child sitting in the large chair in front of the even larger desk. The crayons spread on the top had been long forgotten. She kicked her feet back and forth, watching Kyle sort through some new supplies that had been delivered. She whined softly, completely bored.

Kyle groaned in response and lifted his head to look at her. “Eden, I have a headache. Don’t make high pitch noises, okay?”

“Can we go outside? Pretty please!” Eden asked, giving him the best pitiful look she could muster. She had exhausted all her will to be good in the infirmary. Like every morning, Kyle had come in to give her the breathing treatment, only to discover she had a slight fever. He treated it immediately, bringing her with him to keep an eye on her. Before he could ask, she added, “I don’t feel sick.”

He came over to her, pressing his hand against her forehead. “Well, your fever is gone.” Taking the stethoscope from around his neck, Kyle placed the cold metal against her skin.

“I’m fiiine,” the girl whined, but still took a deep breath. It had become second nature with how often this happened to her.

Kyle chuckled and patted her on the head. “Alright, we can go out for a little while. As long as you promise to tell me if you start to feel sick again.” He knew the most about her condition and kept her as healthy as possible. The joy that came from her when she wasn’t ill made all the work worth it.

Eden grinned excitedly, climbing off the chair and bounding toward the door. She nearly ran straight into some other soldiers that were coming down the carpeted hallway. “Oops, sorry!” Eden said as she ducked around them. All of the soldiers in the Red Army had a soft spot for the child, and not only because she was the daughter of the Jack of Hearts.

“Are you feeling well today, Eden?” Noah asked, smiling as he watched her being so energetic.

She bobbed her head up and down, spinning around in a circle. “Mmhm! I’m going to play outside,” she answered. Her giggle as she almost fell from dizziness made them laugh.

“Have fun,” Noah called after her.

Kyle slowly followed behind after opening the large door at the end of the hallway. The training grounds were empty at this hour. Most were either patrolling or taking their lunch break. It gave her plenty of room to run around and not bother anyone else.

Her attention had been pulled away by a shimmering blue butterfly that flew around on the breeze. She ran after it, not fast enough to catch it. Eden had crossed the whole field, out of breath by the time she got there. Her lungs threatened to close up for a moment. Her hands flew to her mouth to catch the cough. Glancing to see if Kyle had seen it, her head tilted to the side.

“Even though it suits you perfectly?” Kyle asked to someone else.

From where she stood, she couldn’t see anything. Skipping closer, her steps faltered for a moment. Her eyes grew wide. “Daddy!” Eden squeaked. She slipped through the bushes to latch onto his leg, hugging him tightly.

“It is a weird nickname,” A female voice spoke. She wore a surprised expression as she noticed the little girl. “Who’s this?” A warm smile grew on her face and she held that tone that Eden disliked. The one that sounded fake.

Edgar patted her head, also watching her. “This is Eden, my daughter.”

Eden’s eyes narrowed at the strange lady and she stepped closer to her father, this time moving a little behind him. She never released her arms from around his leg. The mean glare coming from her made all of the adults laugh. She didn’t know what was funny.

“I don’t think she likes me,” the woman said.

Kyle laughed and shook his head. “It’ll take some time for her to warm up to you, Alice.” He then let out an annoyed sigh. “You’re sneaking around eating junk like that again?”

“Jellybeans!” Eden breathed the word out, forgetting all about her hesitance toward Alice. She liked sweets just as much as her dad did, maybe even more. Practically bouncing up and down, she held out her little hand. “I want some!”

Plucking out a purple one from the bag, Edgar dropped it into her mouth. “At least Eden appreciates candy,” he said, moving the bag out of her reach when she tried to grab it. “A little too much sometimes.” Taking a second bean out, he offered to her.

Her head shook, and she held out her hand. “No! I want all of them!”

“That’s way too many for you,” Edgar replied, but he placed the singular one in her palm.

“I want all of them in my hand!” She whined, unsatisfied with the small pink jellybean. Her bottom lip stuck out in a pout.

Kyle sighed dramatically, wiping some sweat off his forehead. “This morning I came down with the worst illness that not even the best doctor in the world can cure.” That meant he had too many adult drinks. Eden finds him very funny for the first few hours of his intoxication.

“Poor thing. Here, Kyle, maybe this will help,” Edgar said, offering the bag to the army doctor.

Kyle grimaced and immediately pushed it away. “Don’t show me those. The thought of eating anything solid makes me nauseous.” The disgust in his tone was a familiar one. None of the other officers enjoyed to eat sweets like Edgar and Eden.

The moment the bag of jellybeans was within her reach, Eden stood on her tiptoes swiping a good handful out. Smiling in victory, she turned and ducked out from the bushes, before anyone could stop her. Her name was called by her father, but she ignored it, happily running away with her prize. Jellybeans weren’t her favorite candy, she much preferred chocolates, but for now, it made her excited.

It only took one misstep, a little rock that caught her foot, to send her tumbling to the ground. Her knee stung from the scrape, but she was sadder from the array of colorful jellybeans spilled around her in the soil.

“Eden.” Zero knelt down beside her. His entire personal squad had come out to the training grounds, meaning she would have to return inside. He helped her up and dusted off her shirt and leggings. “Are you hurt?”

Her green eyes were brimming with hot tears. “I dropped them,” she whimpered, looking at the mess around her. She’d snatched so many this time and hadn’t gotten to eat a single one.

Zero inspected the girl again for any injuries before reaching into the inside pocket of his jacket. Pulling out a bright orange lollipop, he offered it to her. “How about this instead?” He asked, winking at her. He much prefers Eden to her father and can’t resist those puppy dog eyes.

Eden took a shaky breath, calming down from her almost breakdown. She nodded, and immediately put it in her mouth when the wrapper was removed. Her mood began to lift, and she smiled once again. “Thanks, Zero!”

He patted her on the head but frowned at the person coming up behind her. “Edgar? Alice and Kyle, too? What do you need?” Rising to his feet, he clearly wasn’t happy that they had arrived.

“We’ve come to observe the Ace of Heart’s personal unit,” Edgar replied.

Eden grew bored with the conversation and went off on her own. She knew not to stray out sight but watching soldiers train didn’t interest her because she wasn’t allowed to be near it. The training yard was large, and with just Zero’s men, it left her plenty of room to run around.

There was one patch of wildflowers that grew beneath a large oak tree on the far side of the grounds. Eden searched around the base, finding enough to give one to everyone. The breeze floated by, making her realize how hot she felt. She retreated back over to the bench where Kyle and Alice sat. Stretching out her arms, Kyle lifted her up to sit on his lap. Still clasping the flowers in her small hand, Eden closed her eyes. The heat had drained her energy, and she fell asleep while they watched the training class.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I decided to change this to third person POV for a lot of reasons, but mainly it simply felt right to make it this way. I hope it’s not too big a deal. Maybe one day I’ll re-do the first chapter into 3rd POV, but from now on, it will be in third. :D

I hope you all enjoy Eden as much as I do!

#ikemen revolution #ikerev #ikemen revolution fanfiction #edgar bright #kyle ash #zero #jonah clemence #lancelot kingsley #Eden Bright #edgar has an adorable child

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thatbluegibson · 6 years

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CH 98

Sleep had evaded him completely and though he had tried to get comfortable, his tossing and turning finally irritated Liz enough that she rolled to the other side of the bed in an exhausted huff. Trying to be as quiet as he could while still under the effects of Crown Royale, he threw on a clean shirt and shorts and slipped out of the bus.

The night kept replaying in his mind, over and over as he analyzed every second and wondered if maybe he was reading too far into things.

"David!"

His head snapped up at Liz's mother's greeting and awkwardly accepted her hug as Josh, Jack Black and Kyle Gass hightailed it to the bar to avoid interrupting their conversation. 'Thanks, guys,' he thought bitterly and offered Nancy Josh's vacated chair.

She glanced at it briefly and shook her head. "Oh no, dear. How about a drink?"

"Sure," he said quickly and led her to the bar, worried he might not have any alcohol she'd like. She wore a pink cardigan, pearls, dark jeans and ballet flats, more the picture of a woman asking for a white wine spritzer than shots of jaeger.

But, she was Liz's mother after all, and she examined the back bar with a shrewd eye before asking for the entire bottle of Crown Royal. "Cheers," she murmured with a smile, tapping her shot glass against his and downing it before immediately pouring more. "So tell me, David. Why are you dating my daughter?"

He neared Taylor and Allison's bus, then stopped short when he heard the faint rhythmic creak of the suspension and rolled his eyes.

"Worse than rabbits," he grumbled and weighed his options. Nate, Pat, and Chris were most likely asleep, Rami's bus was probably getting its alignment blown out as well, leaving him with Josh.

He stumbled along, swearing at the uneven ground and three buses over, he knocked loudly on Josh's door. There was some crashing and swearing before the door swung open and he was greeted with a platinum grin. "Dr. G..."

A bottle of tequila, an open journal, a laptop, and a guitar lay around the table where Josh resumed his place and watched his friend expectantly.

"You writing already?" Dave asked, flopping onto the couch across from him.

"Just getting some shit out of my head," he explained and reclined back in the booth. "Missing my girl, I guess."

"Yeah...," Dave sat back on the leather couch and raked his hand through his hair. The whiskey Liz's mom had fed him was still coursing through his veins but was manageable now.

Josh studied him for a moment before grabbing the bottle of tequila and offering it to him. "What's on your mind, dude? You're a fucking wreck."

Any reservations he had about spilling everything to Josh instantly dissipated and he gladly took the bottle. "Her parents are fucking amazing," he groaned. "Her dad... fuck, dude! I would have killed for a dad like that growing up. And her mom-"

"Her mom's hot!" Josh barked a laugh. "And you know all women grow up to be their mother, you lucky son of a bitch. You're gonna be 80 with a Helen Mirren in your bed."

A pang of fear crashed into Dave's chest, the same one he had felt at the bar with Nancy just hours earlier. "I don't know, man..." he felt himself crumble under the weight, pressing the heels of his hands into his eyes to stop the flood of tears that hovered below the surface. "I just... I don't think she wants that."

"Liz or her mom?"

"Liz," his voice broke at her name and he angrily scrubbed away the tears. "Every time we reach a... a..."

"Milestone?"

"Yeah. Every time I try to move us forward, she flips. She won't move in with me, she won't... The last time we fought she ran out on me... fled the fucking continent on me and... fuck, dude," he broke, unable to stop the tears this time. "I want all of her so badly but it's like she's only willing to give me so much."

Josh slid out of the booth and perched on the edge of the couch next to Dave, throwing a supportive arm around his shoulders. "Her ex was a fucking tool wasn't he?"

Dave only nodded, letting his hair fall forward to hide his tears.

"Remember when Brody and I finally hooked up? She was a certifiable head case for months because of Tim and I just rode the crazy wave until it finally broke. And she pushed me, man! Remember when she showed up at the studio drunk off her ass and tried to fight me? You had to hold her back and talk her down like a rabid badger." Josh chuckled at the memory and sat back on the couch, eyeing Dave's hunched shoulders. "I don't really have a point here, dude. I'm just telling you that I understand."

"Thanks," Dave sighed, feeling even more confused than before.

"But Brody came around," Josh added quietly. "We both came off tour, things settled down and she realized I wasn't going anywhere no matter how crazy she got. Next thing I knew, she was asking me how I felt about getting married for Christmas."

Dave just shook his head, unable to even imagine Liz doing anything like that. It was just so unlikely. "Is Brody still up for tomorrow?" he asked suddenly.

"Yeah," Josh chuckled. "She's nervous as hell."

He sipped his coffee, watching Liz wake up for the second morning in a row. She slowly opened her eyes, lost in the momentary confusion of where she was before picking her head up off the pillow to find his side of the bed empty. He laughed softly at her sleepy panic, holding up the cup of coffee he had made her when she found him watching her from the doorway.

Stepping around the side of the bed, he handed her the cup and sat beside her. "Morning, babe."

"Morning," she muttered, sitting up against the headboard. "Do you always watch me sleep like that?"

"Yup," he finished his coffee and shoved off the bed to begin to rifling through his suitcase, tossing clothes onto the bed at her feet.

She frowned and whispered into her coffee, "Weirdo."

He just laughed and began to get dressed, holding up her favorite surf shop hat to let her know he was taking it.

"You feeling okay?" she asked.

"My head is fucking pounding, but all that Advil you stuffed down my throat last night helped," he returned to his spot next to her to pull on his shoes then leaned over to kiss her. "Thanks for taking care of me."

"If it were up to anyone else, you'd probably be somewhere out in the desert half naked and cuddling a cactus."

He shrugged and hopped off the bed, holding his hand out to help her up. "Wouldn't be the first time. Let's go introduce the kids."

Liz held Owen tightly against her and followed her father down the row of tents as Jack sat proudly on his shoulders. She kept her eyes focused on the tent Dave had reserved as private for this specific occasion and tried to calm herself down.

Even if they don't get along right away, they can always learn, she told herself. Maybe with time they'll be able to share holidays and weekends and-

Shutting down her thoughts before she went into a full-on panic attack, she stopped outside the tent where Dave was waiting for them and took a deep breath as Steve handed Jack to him.

"Good luck," Steve whispered, giving her a quick kiss on the top of the head and Dave a slap on the back before he left them to it.

Dave reached for Liz's hand and squeezed it tightly, silently telling her that she looked just as nervous as she felt. "It's gonna be okay, babe."

She only had a moment to nod before he led them inside and Phee squealed from her spot at a low table.

"Oh, he's just little!"

Liz set Owen down on the grass and crouched beside him, keeping a reassuring hand on his back when Phee skidded to a stop in front of them.

"Hi Owen, I'm Phee," she said quickly, almost all her baby teeth on display with how wide she was smiling. "Daddy says you like trucks so we got a firetruck book! And I can read it to you! The words are really easy, you just look at the pictures."

"Owen," Liz said slowly and gently, "Would you like to-"

"Firetruck!" he yelped and clapped his hands, reaching out for Phee and the book she was holding.

Feeling a little obsolete, Liz looked up at Dave as their two youngest children toddled off hand in hand to the short table covered in crayons, books, and paper.

"See?" he grinned and set Jack in a chair, helping him prop up his cast while Liz set his crutches aside.

"Yeah," she murmured and ran her fingers through Jack's hair. "Where's Jordyn?"

"Hung the fuck over," Dave laughed, then winced when he realized Jack was listening. "Sorry, dude."

"It's cool," Jack smiled, then turned his attention to Violet when she walked up. "Hey, Violet."

"Hey, Jack. I heard you had to have surgery after all."

Dave and Liz stood together in stunned silence as their eldest children had a casual conversation about the color of his cast and how green jello tasted better than orange.

"Hold up-," Dave interrupted when he couldn't stand it any longer.

"You two already know each other?" Liz finished for him, taking the words directly out of his mouth.

They both turned to look at Liz and Dave as if they had asked the stupidest question possible. "Uh, yeah," Violet rolled her eyes. "I was right there when he busted his leg."

"She told me not to move it until my teacher came and got me," Jack added.

"Cool... cool," Dave nodded, then stepped back to Liz's side to whisper at her, "Did you know that?"

Liz shook her head slowly, still trying to figure out what was going on when Harper ran up with a box full of markers.

"Can we color on Jack's cast?" she asked eagerly.

"You cool with that, Jack?" Liz called to him, then nodded at Harper when he gave a thumbs up.

Dave and Liz sat together in the corner of the quiet tent, hands joined under the table as they sipped their coffees and watched their kids color and talk amongst themselves. It was peaceful, maybe even relaxing, but a voice in the back of Liz's mind was screaming at her.

It's all too perfect.

Dave kept an eye on Liz while pretending to watch Krist's band play the main stage. She was just off stage left with her mother, sitting in camping chairs and apparently deep in a tense conversation by the way Liz's arms were crossed and her lips pursed in a thin line. Though her mirrored sunglasses were on, he felt her eyes on him and he subtly raised an eyebrow from his spot at stage right, receiving a short nod in response telling him she had everything handled.

Still, his boozy conversation with her mother the night before hovered in the back of his mind.

"My daughter moved herself and my grandchildren two thousand miles from home for you and I'm curious as to why," Nancy said casually. She wasn't condescending or sneering, possibly just genuinely curious as to what he had to offer.

"Well...," Dave started, quickly realizing he was too far gone on Crown when she offered him yet another shot. "She made that decision all on her own."

A raised eyebrow, so much like Liz's and then subtle head tilt, "And she didn't move in with you?"

Dave snorted a laugh. "No, but believe me the offer was, and still is, on the table."

"I fucking hate Malibu," she grumbled into her shot glass and then put it away like it was apple juice.

"Yeah," Dave tossed his own whiskey back, knowing he'd pay dearly later, "Me too."

"Dave?" He snapped out of his fog and stared at Krist who was holding out a set of drumsticks to him. "You up for Star Machine?"

Settling behind the kit, he took a cursory glance at the screaming crowd then looked to Liz where she, her mother and now her father were all smiling proudly at him before he played the opening riff. He felt a strange sense of pride, a little like what he felt when his kids and his mom were at a show, but... different.

The sun was beginning to hang low in the sky and Iggy Pop's baritone drifted across the backstage tents, indicating Dave only had about an hour until he had to start getting ready. He and Liz were in the middle of the family tent, never moving more than a few feet from each other in a wordless dance that told him she knew he was on edge. Both her siblings and Dave's sister along with their respective families had arrived and everyone had been properly introduced, adding another layer of insulation against the emotional weight that was bearing down on him.

Dave kept his arm around Liz as she spoke with Lisa, knowing it was awkward, but having her beside him felt necessary and he found himself gravitating to her if she moved too far away. He wasn't especially proud of how needy he felt, but he couldn't exactly deny it anymore. There were far too many emotions wrapped up in the looming reunion, the stress of running the entire festival, meeting her family and the kids that the strain was beginning to be too much. He stared into his beer cup, running through the night's setlist that was essentially a timeline of his life when her hand left his.

"I'm gonna go talk to your mom for a minute, okay?" she said softly. "I'll just be right over there."

He smiled when his mother lit up a the sight of her and watched them greet each other with a long hug and laughter when a large hand landed on his shoulder.

"David?" Steve asked with an enigmatic smile. "I know you're a busy man, but could I borrow you for a moment?"

His heart nosedived into his stomach and he nodded, catching Liz's confused stare as they left her behind in the tent.

Liz was walking just behind Ally and Josie up the narrow steps to the side of the stage when she heard Dave call her name. Thinking maybe he had forgotten something and needed her to retrieve it, she jogged over to where the band was waiting, instruments at the ready.

"What's up?" she asked, feeling incredibly uncomfortable that she was interrupting a strictly band moment.

Dave turned away from Taylor and dove towards her, grabbing her face in his hands as his Gibson slammed into her hips. "You know how much I love you, right?"

"I love you, too," she gripped his arms as hard as he was holding her, trying to appear happy instead of showing the sudden panic she felt. "I'll be just to your left the whole time."

She had meant it to be comforting knowing that he was on edge, but he frowned and let her go, leaving her next to an equally confused Taylor.

"What's going on?" he hissed at her.

"I was hoping you knew!" she whispered back, then plastered on a smile when Dave ran back and held her tightly once again, this time he kissing her with a distinct sense of desperation.

"Go with Gus," he said sharply once he let her go.

Taylor and Liz both spoke at the same time with equal confusion. "What?"

Dave looked between the two of them, struggling to explain when Gus lumbered up. "Two-minute warning," he barked, sending Dave and Taylor into motion.

Dave bundled Liz back into his arms, repeating his 'I love you' as she helplessly watched Taylor dart away like a scared rabbit. "I love you, too, Dave," she said. "Is everything okay?"

He gave no answer, just dropping his arms from around her and stepping back to give her one last look before following Taylor and the rest of his band. Seeing her chance, Liz hurried back to Allison and Josie as they waited on the steps and was just feet away when Gus's hand clamped over her arm.

"Liz, Dave wants you with me," he said simply.

"What?" Ally stared at Gus with wide eyes, then over at Liz with the same expression. No one sat stage right during their show. That was Gus's spot, the spot where the techs watched closely for broken strings or a stuck pedal, the spot that Dave sat to watch Taylor's drum solo in peace with other the distraction of family or kids or...

"Dave wants her stage right," Gus repeated with a shrug, clearly just as bewildered as they were.

"Um... So I guess I'll see you after?" Ally asked, skipping down the steps and giving Liz a quick hug.

"Yeah, okay," Liz nodded and swallowed hard, shakily picking up her beer once she was alone with Gus.

"Ready?" he asked, his voice a bit softer than his normal brusqueness.

"I guess... where will I be out of the way?"

Gus chuckled at that and wound the strap of his flashlight around his wrist, but didn't answer, just shined the beam of light at the steps and urged her ahead. She didn't realize it until she hit the top of the steps, but stage right was far more exposed than the left and the crowd that had managed a spot at the rail cheered in excitement when they spotted her. She was just one step closer to Dave, an indication that they were about to be in the presence of a legend.

Gus pointed to a low equipment box and she sat, trying to make herself as small as possible in the open space and just hoped that she would be ignored by the crowd once the band came out. She spied her parents across the dark stage and despite the anxiety she felt, smiled at how excited they looked. Her dad threw his arm around her mom and kissed her cheek, whispering something to her that made her laugh. Liz felt her heart soar, knowing that Dave was able to give them back a bit of their youth and that they could relive the place where they had met in 1974 and then, four years later in 1978, made things official with Steve asking Nancy to marry him during the Bob Welch set. It took her a couple seconds, but it finally hit her.

Oh, shit.

Feeling as if she had been hit with a ten-ton truck full of white gowns and catering menus, she whipped back around to where Gus was standing with a guitar tech, adjusting the set list with a ten minute gap.

They blasted through the first fix or six songs, closing out Rope when Taylor's kit began to rise from downstage. Dave shrugged off his guitar and handed it to his tech, hurrying out of sight to give Taylor the spotlight for a few songs. He had been looking forward to the cooler shows in the fall since those blistering hot summer festivals in Europe were unbearably hot, especially when he insisted on wearing black jeans and shirts on stage.

Liz was perched on an amp case just beside the large red digital clock and his guitar tech's workstation, looking back with her hair obscuring her face. His lighter and pack of Parliaments were just beside her, waiting as they always were for his break mid-show. He picked them up and dug for a smoke but she nudged his arm, plucking the fresh cigarette from her lips and handing it to him. It was a simple gesture, but the moment he tasted her vanilla chapstick he couldn't take his eyes off of her. She was watching Taylor intensely with a forced smile on her lips, her heel bouncing against the stage and her thumbs tapping gently on her thighs along to his tempo when Dave grabbed her chin and pulled her to him, kissing her in full view of the crowd. The fans against the rails that were watching screamed louder and veered their phone's camera to the make out session just off stage while several lurid suggestions were thrown out to them, making Liz press her hand into Dave's chest. She pushed him away and he looked down at her, worried he had upset her.

"Not here," she shook her head, her eyes brimming with tears. "Whatever it is you're doing or going to do, please... not here."

"Liz..." he brushed her tears away with his thumbs, startled by her sudden meltdown.

"Just, Dave... I'm not-"

"Dave!" Gus called from his spot just beside them. "Thirty seconds!"

"Yeah, hang on!" he called back, keeping his eyes on her.

"I'm sorry," she cried. "I'm not... I'm not ready."

He tried his hardest to hide it, but he knew she could read his mind when her face fell and threw her arms around him. "I'm so sorry..." she whispered.

"Twenty seconds," Gus warned.

Dave held her tightly as long as he could, worried that the moment he let her go she would bolt. He felt her deep, shaking breath before she pushed herself back and forced a smile on her face.

"Go," she insisted, her eyes darting to his incoming guitar tech. "Have fun."

He had been looking forward to the afterparty ever since the 'reunion' had been nailed down. He wanted to get through his last set with Krist, Pat, John, and Joan if only to put the rumors to rest for another five or six years. The songs were like muscle memory for him even after almost twenty-five years, but they never seemed to stop the ache from seeping through, no matter how hard he tried to convince himself it was all cathartic. He and Josh were mostly through a bottle of tequila, laughing about old times and discussing future plans as people built the nerve to interrupt them and strike up a conversation. Liz and Brody were sitting close together on some couch the party company he had hired brought in, holding their red keg cups and leaning in when the other would talk, clearly in a serious discussion about something.

"They're plotting against us," Josh said, nodding towards them. "We'll be dead in a shallow grave before sunrise and they'll be halfway to Vegas for a quickie wedding."

"You think?" Dave muttered, wondering what they were talking about so intensely. "They certainly hit it off right away."

"Similar personalities," Josh mused and held up the now empty bottle. "I bet if we bring them drinks they'll at least let us watch the wedding night before offing us."

"That alone might make it worth it," Dave chuckled and followed him to the bar, only to be sidetracked by Jack Black and Kyle Gass asking if he'd be down to play their Halloween gig in the next few weeks. He was checking the calendar on his phone and trying to listen to the details, but he could hear her laugh from across the crowd and smiled to himself.

Jack just shook his head. "You've got it bad, brother. Go get your lady!"

He didn't stick around any longer than necessary after thanking Jack and Kyle for playing his festival and made a straight line toward her, managing to find the one low spot with his bad ankle and stumbling just slightly.

"Oh, lord," Liz laughed and set down her drink to help him. "Drunk again, David?"

"Sorry," he jokingly slurred as her arms went around his waist and she smiled up at him. "It's almost three, are you partied out yet?"

Liz glanced back at Brody, who waved her on and dragged Josh into her empty spot on the couch. "Go put the old man to bed," she called, planting a loud kiss on Josh's lips.

They talked quietly about nothing in particular on the long walk back to their bus, laughing loudly when Taylor and Allison ran past them at a dead sprint, shedding their clothes even before their own bus was in view.

"I love them," Liz giggled as she pulled the keys from her pocket.

"Yeah, me too," he leaned his shoulder into the side of the bus and watched her unlock the accordian door. "You look good in my shirts."

"That's a sweet way to say I'm dumb for not packing anything warm to wear," she teased.

He followed her up and into the bus, making sure the door was locked behind them before finding her in the bedroom untying her Vans. Following her example, he moved to his side of the bed and pulled off his shirt. "You wanna take a shower with me?"

She tossed her shoes in the corner and sighed, "Bed, please."

"Yes, ma'am," he growled, quickly stripping off everything but his boxers before crawling up the bed to watch her undress. "So what were you and the Ice Queen talking about so intensely?"

"Ice Queen? Brody?" she asked in confusion, then huffed when Dave nodded. "She's not an ice queen! She's lovely!"

"Yeah, tell that to 2003 me when she put her fist through my jaw."

Liz giggled and slid out of her jean shorts. "She told me you folded up like a cheap poker table."

"I did not," he protested but gave himself away with a grin. The scar on his elbow was proof that Brody had flattened him out in the studio parking lot thinking that he was covering for a cheating Josh. "So what were you two talking about?"

"None of your business," she said sweetly and pulled off her tank top.

"Fine," he relaxed against the headboard to watch her and crossed his arms. "You ready to talk about what happened on stage?"

Her hand paused momentarily on its way to unclip her bra. "The fact that you were amazing and rocked the faces off of thirty thousand people?"

"We can come back to that..." Dave offered, losing the battle of keeping his eyes on her face when she tossed her bra aside.

"You're sure you just want to sit around and talk?" she asked and hooked her thumbs into her lace boyshorts. "We're kidless tonight..."

"Yup," he nodded intently but made a show of grabbing her pillow and shoving it in his lap to hide the obviousness of what she was doing to him. "I just want to talk."

She smiled at the obvious pain in his voice and dipped back down to the carpet to retrieve his flannel shirt she had worn that night. "Okay," she pulled on the flannel and crawled up the bed to grab her pillow. "Let's talk."

After a brief tug of war, Dave let her have the pillow and laughed when she gently hit him in the face with it. Following the pillow with a kiss, she threw her leg over his and pressed him into the headboard with her lips. He surprised her by pulling her even closer with a hand at the back of her neck and groaned when she trailed kisses to his ear.

"You were so amazing tonight," she breathed.

"Do I make you happy?"

The words were out of his mouth before he could stop them and he swallowed hard when she froze against him.

"I can't believe you even have to ask that," she whispered and sat back to run her fingers through her hair. "Of course you make me happy, blissfully happy! Am I not-"

Desperate to stop her train of thought before it went off the rails, he flipped her over onto her back and shoved her knees apart with his own. Bracing himself just above her, he kissed her softly and pressed his forehead against hers. "You really want to have the 'we need to communicate better' talk right now, Elizabeth?"

"You're the one that wanted to talk, David. You can't always interrupt our difficult conversations with sex."

She was perfect. Messy hair, laughing green eyes, wearing his shirt, a smile and not much else; it didn't matter how much they talked about what had happened, she knew exactly what he was about to do up on that stage. He didn't know how, but she knew.

He rocked into her as his swear mixed with her gasp, instantly changing the air around them from light to desperate. Desperate in that he wanted all of her, he wanted her in his bed every night so he wouldn't have to wonder if she was as lonely as he was in their respective, empty houses. But the actual words were too touchy, too open and raw to say so he'd settle for showing her instead.

I need you, be with me, always.

Her nails dragged down the backs of his arms and her chin tilted up, exposing the length of her neck that he always gravitated to. The moment his lips touched her skin she gasped his name and broke, dragging him over the edge right along with her.

He was quiet for a moment, but couldn't hold back any longer once he caught his breath, "Earlier... Liz, I didn't mean to upset you on stage, I just wanted you close by in case everything got to be too much. I wasn't sure how I would feel with John up there in front of all those people... he looks..."

Her eyes widened just slightly and she knit her eyebrows together. "That's why you-," she stopped short and pushed him back until he was sitting on the bed with her astride him again. "He does," she agreed with a nod. "It's a little eerie that close up."

He only sighed and wrapped his arms around her, hugging her tightly to him and resting his head against her chest so he could listen to her heart beating.

"Dave?"

He hummed a response as her fingers combed through his hair.

"I've never been this happy," she whispered into the silence. "You're like Christmas morning, every morning."

He waited a beat, knowing just that simple statement had been difficult for her to say but couldn't help teasing her with an, "... and?"

She laughed and forced his head up so she could kiss him, "And I want to take that shower now."

"Finally."

Liz sighed when Dave eased her truck to a stop at a light just outside his neighborhood, feeling the exhaustion of the weekend hit her all at once. The drive back to the Valley had been long and all she wanted was to curl up in his bed and sleep the rest of her Sunday away.

Dave fixed his eyes on the red light and muttered, "Taylor was hovering over the catering tables like a vulture when we left. He said he'd drop off some dinner once he and Allison got home." He glanced over to find her attention on a man staking a for sale sign in the ditch alongside them. "Looks like they're finally letting the house at the top of the hill go."

"Yeah?" she swiveled around to look at him. "Which one?"

"The one at the very top," he explained, distracted again by traffic. "You can't see it from the street, but it's fuckin' nice. Gated, big yard, pool, a heated shop with a lift. Nate said-"

"Wait," Liz's hand shot out to stop him. "A heated shop with a lift?"

"Yeah. Nate said some hedge fund investor bought it years ago and had it maintained, but never once stepped foot on the property."

"Interesting," she said casually, then jammed her black fingernail into the window button. "Excuse me!" she called as the window slowly rolled down and the man looked up. "Is the address on that sign already on the market?"

"Yes, ma'am!" the man yelled and gave a friendly wave.

"And you're the realtor?"

"Yes," he called eagerly and dropped the sign to move closer.

"Do you possibly have a moment to show my husband and myself around?" she asked sweetly, ignoring Dave's hand when it landed on her thigh.

"Liz?" Dave asked weakly, feeling like someone had kicked him in the chest. He wasn't prepared for her yelling at some stranger on the side of the road and he definitely wasn't prepared to be referred to as her husband.

"I'd be happy to!" the realtor yelled back. "Just park up at the gate and I'll be right with you!"

"Thank you so much!" Liz called, rolling her window up and swatting Dave's hand away. "Stop!" she giggled. "I just want to see the shop!"

"I thought you were tired!" he cried, but turned the truck up the hill for the gated house. He had always been curious about the shop.

"I was until you said it had a lift!" she shot back.

"Fine," he sighed and drove past his own driveway. "But this guy is gonna ask questions. What's our backstory?"

"You're a successful, rich, painfully handsome stay at home astronaut and I breed rare South American butterflies."

"And our budget?"

"Unlimited."

Dave smiled and parked the truck in front of the massive black gate. "What else?"

Liz was busy looking at the flowerbeds on either side of the gate as she replied, "We've been married for... oh, I dunno... ten years and our children are away at boarding school in the English countryside. Oh, here he is! Remember, David... astronaut."

"Right," he shook his head and unbuckled his seatbelt. "How could I forget."

The realtor rattled off the house specifications as he unlocked the large front door and held it open for them. "Seven bedrooms total, four upstairs and three down. There's also seven bathrooms, though only four of those are full. You could always blow out a closet and make a fifth bath if you'd like. The great thing about this house is that there's so much potential for expansion." He his bright grin faded a little when Dave and Liz didn't move from their spot on the porch, clearly trying to process all the information he was throwing at them. "I'll uh... I'll wait here while you two look around a bit. Just yell if you need me."

"Thank you," Liz whispered and let Dave pull her further into the empty house.

They wandered in and out of rooms on all three floors, admiring and examining the rich wood accents and open spaces while exchanging quiet smiles. It wasn't a typical LA sprawling mansion by any means, but a decent sized house with enough space to breathe and a big secluded backyard to feel like you weren't in a neighborhood.

"Well," Liz sighed and leaned her back against the rail of the deck that overlooked the lush green canyon. "The house makes a nice addition to the shop. I didn't see anywhere for you to park your rocket ship though."

Dave snorted a laugh and stood up from the built-in gas grill he was scrutinizing. "You think we've spent enough time in the house to hide the fact that we're only here to snoop around in the garage?"

"Yeah, I think so," she giggled and reached for his hand, walking closely with him through the house towards the front door, but not before looking over the kitchen and attached living room one last time.

"Any questions?" the realtor asked earnestly, standing up from the iron bench on the front porch and stuffing his phone back in his pocket.

"I think my husband would like to look at the shop if that's all right," Liz said smoothly, ignoring Dave's flinch at the critical wording.

"Ah," the realtor nodded and directed them towards the tall shop beside the house. "Are you a classic car guy? Motorcycles?"

"A little of both," Dave admitted, looking over at Liz as the door was unlocked for them. The building wasn't connected to the house, but was built in the same Craftsman style and artfully blended into the scenery around it. He followed the realtor in and waited for the lights to be switched on. "Holy shit..."

Liz scampered in after him, colliding with his back as he looked around the immaculate shop. "Oh...," she breathed.

"There's a loft up above," the realtor called from the open door. "It's an office right now, but it's large enough for a separate apartment."

Liz slowly walked the perimeter of the shop, taking in all the features that she had only seen in professional auto shops while Dave climbed the stairs to the loft. She made it all the way around and glanced into a small room that housed the air compressors, finding herself face to face with her Pops as a 21-year-old GI, fresh from the war and drunk off his ass on his favorite motorcycle.

"Hey, Pops," she whispered, running her fingers over the classic biker gang poster everyone, her included, had hanging in their shops. "I wish you could see this."

Dave flipped on the lights to the room above the shop and scanned the space. A large wooden desk was stationed in the corner facing the windows overlooking the canyon, a dark leather sectional towards the back was positioned in front of a large projector screen next to a pool table and a bar. A brass pole in the middle of a corner stage rounded out the other side of the room making Dave roll his eyes.

Man cave, he thought, stepping in a bit further. But the artwork on the walls wasn't the typical dogs playing poker or stacked female straddling a beer logo, it was mostly framed album covers and gig posters. Dave looked around again, wondering if maybe he knew the guy when he was faced with himself, about 22 or 23, standing just to Kurt's right and wearing that stifling Armani suit with the red necktie. The poster was framed along with some ticket stubs from a show he had played in 1993, right before things started to tumble down hill.

He heard Liz's footsteps on the stairs and hurried out, meeting her halfway on the staircase.

"Hey," she whispered, noticing he was just as pale as she felt. "You okay?"

"Yeah," he nodded and looked her over as well. "Are you?"

She only nodded and took his hand, walking him back out to where the realtor was waiting. Dave went to speak with him while Liz examined the little fountain in the middle of the roundabout driveway.

"So what do you think?" the realtor asked.

"Well...," Dave said reluctantly and glanced over his shoulder when Liz came to join them. "My wife was really wanting an ocean view..."

"And it's a bit far from NASA," Liz added, pursing her lips as if she were deep in thought.

"Ah... I see," the realtor said, looking perfectly crestfallen. "Here's my card, I've written my personal cell number on the back. Feel free to contact me if you'd like another look or if you find something else that piques your interest."

"We absolutely will," Dave said smoothly, taking the card and looking it over. "Thanks again for showing us around."

The realtor retreated back into the house and the minute the front door closed behind him, Dave and Liz ran to the truck, diving into the front seats while trying to hold back their laughter. They sat facing the garage door of the house, the attached garage they never even bothered to look at as their laughs faded into a contemplative silence. It took an entire three minutes before Liz finally spoke.

"So... yeah?"

"Yup," Dave gave a short nod and they jumped into action, bolting up the front steps and catching their breath while Dave pounded on the front door.

The realtor cracked the door open just an inch, peering out at them with wide eyes as Dave threw his arm around Liz's shoulders and beamed down at her. She wound her arms around Dave's waist and matched his smile, speaking mostly to him rather than the realtor.

"We'll take it."

#ThatBlueGibson

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samplaskr · 2 years

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UMAMIISM // Crayon drwaing style 'Mole' artwork Polo short sleeve jacquard knit Deep Taupe. [2022S/S “BLACKISH GREEN NIGHT” Collection 3rd Drop & Best Sellers] umamiism 브랜드의 2022 S/S ‘BLACKISH GREEN NIGHT’ 세번째 드랍 컬렉션이 릴리즈 되었습니다. 이번 umamiism의 컬렉션은 해체주의 적인 디테일들을 활용한 아이템들과 유화, 수채화 방식의 아트워크를 프린팅한 원단의셔츠들과 웨스턴 컬쳐에 영감을 받아 디자인된 아이템들로 구성되어 있습니다. 또한, 많은 분들이 재입고를 요청해주신 이전 시즌의 베스트 셀러 아이템들 또한 입고 되었습니다. 모든 제품들은 현재 오프라인 쇼룸에서 직접 입어볼 수 있고 구매하실 수 있습니다. [서울시 마포구 독막로5길 23 2F SAMPLAS] UMAMIISM은 2014년에 설립된 HYPEBEAST 등 패션계에서 주목하고 있는 중국의 디자이너 브랜드입니다. 그들은 밀리터리 요소와 영화, 음악, 예술 등 다양한 문화에서 디자인의 영감을 받은 그들만의 디자인을 보여주고 있습니다. 그들의 디자인은 뛰어난 감성과 더불어 실용적인 디테일 디자인들로 감성과 실용성을 모두 갖추고 있습니다. UMAMIISM은 정체하지 않고 시즌을 지날수록 성장하는 모습을 보여주고 있습니다. _ _ _ Fashion Store in Korea WWW.SAMPLAS.CO.KR International Order Contact. DM or [email protected] #SAMPLAS #샘플라스 #UMAMIISM #우마미즘 #유마미즘(Samplas에서) https://www.instagram.com/p/Cgeq7hGPyVq/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

#samplas #샘플라스 #umamiism #우마미즘 #유마미즘

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negahc · 4 years

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September 2020

We have lots of great livestream programs in store for September! Join us as we celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month (Sept 15 - Oct 15) with guest speakers, dance lessons, and more. Become a Digital Member for as low as $3/month to enjoy our Members only programs at www.negahc.org/member

Livestream: Ask a Historian Wednesday, September 2nd at 2 PM ET Historian Glen Kyle answers your history questions live from the chat! Great for families and educators alike.

Members Livestream: The Way We Work Friday, September 4th at 2 PM ET Historian Glen Kyle presents a Members livestream about the way that work has evolved throughout history. What were typical jobs during the Medieval era? What was it like to be an apprentice in ancient Rome? Why has 9-5 become a typical work day? Learn all about it in this Members livestream!

Lofi History on Twitch! Tuesdays at 4 PM ET Historian Glen Kyle takes your history questions as electronic musician Libba Beaucham creates some sweet beats! Only on Twitch at www.twitch.tv/lofi_history every Tuesday from 4-5 PM ET.

View descriptions of all September livestream programs at this link.

Our special exhibit Voices for the Vote is now open! This exhibit tells the story of the Women’s Suffrage Movement both nationally and locally and was designed by our Archives Manager Lesley Jones. View items from our archives spanning from the 1800s to the 1970s, learn about Suffragists and Anti-Suffragists, the role that Georgia women played in the movement, and more! This exhibit will be on display until the end of March 2021.

On Sunday, September 13th the Northeast Georgia History Center will be holding our first ever Virtual Family Day Event! Join us on Facebook or on YouTube as we talk about the glamour of Old Hollywood, the style, the stars, and the systems that made movie making the business it is today.

We will release a new video each hour starting at 1 PM ET and the event will conclude at 5 PM ET with a virtual trivia game where you could win a free digital membership. Log on to learn about the Studio System, the hand-prints at Grauman's Chinese Theatre, and how Micky became America’s Mouse. Hope to see you there virtually!

Full Schedule:

1 PM ET - Introduction to the Era of "Old Hollywood" & the First Mickey Mouse Cartoons with historian Marie Walker

2 PM ET - Big Hits from Old Hollywood with historian Glen Kyle

3 PM ET - Popular Dances of Old Hollywood with Kat Nagar of Atlanta Historic Dance

4 PM ET - Kids Craft Tutorial (only a piece of paper and coloring pencils or crayons are needed!)

5 PM ET - Old Hollywood Trivia with historians Glen Kyle and Marie Walker

We are so excited to begin our new distance learning program this month, Homeschool Connection. This idea was inspired by our awesome campers this summer who did not want summer camp to end! They asked if we could do something like camp during the school year, and we said YES! That, along with our desire to provide support to parents and teachers who are navigating this new world of distance learning, is how Home School Connection was born.

Homeschool Connection provides live, weekly, one-hour history lessons for students in 3rd - 8th grade on Mondays at 1 PM ET beginning September 14th, 2020. Director of Education Marie Walker, along with historic interpreters, will guide students through the map of American History beginning with the first people to inhabit the American continent through World War II. We have a wonderful group of students already signed up and we cannot wait to begin!

We have a limited number of spots available for more students to join. Complete our interest form at this link to learn more.

Today, August 31st, is the last day to enter our Suffrage Sash raffle. This beautiful, handcrafted, historically accurate Suffrage Sash was made by our Director of Education, Marie Walker! Raffle tickets are just $5 each. The more tickets you purchase the more chances you have to win! All proceeds go toward educational programming here at the History Center. Enter by midnight tonight for your chance to win: www.negahc.org/donations

The winner will be announced tomorrow, September 1st!

With the school year being so driven by virtual learning, we want to make sure all our Georgia teachers out there know about our free Digital Programs! The Cottrell Digital Studio has served thousands of students since 2016 and we are excited to serve even more this fall. Students can video conference with historic characters like Harriet Tubman, Thomas Jefferson, Juliette Gordon Low, Frederick Douglass, and more, learn from a historian and ask them any question live, tour our fascinating exhibits and see our artifacts up close, and learn from our engaging Webisodes. See all of our Digital Program offerings at www.negahc.org/digital-programs!

Catch our latest episodes from the Then Again podcast with special guest historians! Learn about the origins of American exceptionalism with Dr. Anne Tucker, explore life in the Medieval era with Dr. Thomas Greene, and journey through the world of Mississippi blues music with Dr. Ben Wynne! Listen now at this link: Then Again Podcast

This month’s From the Archives item is a ticket from President Franklin D. Roosevelt's visit to Atlanta in 1935 during his homecoming tour before the 1936 election. FDR would later come to Gainesville shortly after the 1936 tornado and again in 1938 to celebrate the rebuilding of the city.

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lostselkieboy · 7 years

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Rules: Complete the survey and say who tagged you in the beginning. When you are finished tag 5 people to do this survey. Have fun and enjoy!!!

tagged by @celestialcosmos

1: Are you named after someone? I was gonna be named Matthias but my mom’s cousin took that name for her son the year before I was born.

2: When is the last time you cried? last night? Late night rants to kyle about life

3: Do you like your handwriting? if I’m not rushing then yes

4: What is your favorite lunch meat? salami, ham, or beef

5: Do you have kids? nah

6: If you were another person, would you be friends with you? I’d be friends with the person I wished I was

7: Do you use sarcasm? it’s just a constant inner monologue

8: Do you still have your tonsils? yes

9: Would you bungee jump? fuck yeah

10: What is your favorite kind of cereal? frosted flakes, oatmeal squares

11: Do you untie your shoes when you take them off? no

12: Do you think you’re a strong person? yeah I’m physcially strong and mentally resilient as all hell

13: What is your favorite ice cream flavour? vanilla or vanilla cookie dough

14: What is the first thing you notice about people? hair, facial structure

15: Red or pink? red

16: What is the least favorite physical thing you like about yourself? 1. being hairy. 2. having weak bones and teeth, too many visits to the dentist. 3. bad back because of poor gymnastics coaching

17: What color pants and shoes are you wearing now? black H and M shorts with black and white Nike shoes

18: What was the last thing you ate? cheesy rotini

19: What are you listening to right now? Childish Gambino

20: If you were a crayon, what color would you be? muted blue

21: Favorite smell? campfire, the ocean, a storm, the smell of summer (you know what I’m talking about, the humid, warm, foresty smell), vanilla

22: Who was the last person you spoke to on the phone? max

23: Favorite sport to watch? soccer, gymnastics

24: Hair color? dark brown

25: Eye color? grey but people have said green and blue?

26: Do you wear contacts? yeah I’m trying to make it regular

27: Favourite food to eat? cookies or cereal

28: Scary movies or comedy? both. scary tbh

29: Last movie you watched? Macbeth (2015) god i love that movie

30: What color shirt are you wearing? white

31: Summer or winter? summer all the way

32: Hugs or kisses? hugs

33: What book are you currently reading? the second gunslinger/dark tower book

34: Who do you miss right now? the boyfriend i have yet to meet

35: What is on your mouse pad? i have a mac lol

36: What is the last TV program you watched? i just started Wynonna Earp

37: What is the best sound? the rumbles of a train with all the ambience, flowing water, high heels on floor, synchronized drums, chains, rain, thunder, the page of a book turning, bottles breaking on the road

38: Rolling Stones or The Beatles? Beatles bc I’ve never listened to the RS

39: What is the furthest you have ever traveled? san francisco, seeing as I’m from boston

40: Do you have a special talent? making connections that no one else does

41: Where were you born? boston, us

tagging @defectivegembrain and any of my mutuals

#ask game

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arkhamknignt-archive · 8 years

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"are you flirting with me" helenadinah or "This isn’t exactly what I had in mind." jaykyle

this is like ten decades late but here we are,

s/o to @haljvrdan who proofread this for me i love u mitch

“You know,” Kyle whispers, trying not to step on Jason’s fingers, currently trying to pick up the scattered brushes and crayons from the floor. “This isn’t exactly what I had in mind when you told me we were babysitting Damian.”

(Especially given that Damian kept insisting it wasn’t babysitting. “You’re merely letting me stay at your place until grandfather leaves Gotham and father stops needlessly worrying about my wellbeing,” Damian had said when he had shown up at Kyle’s place, Jason right behind him, making faces at his young sibling. It had taken all the willpower on Kyle’s being not to laugh at the eleven years old, as he knew the boy had a thing for stabbing whoever dared to make fun of him in any way)

Jason gives a soft snort, and Kyle is positive he’s rolling his eyes. “Let me guess, you were expecting more bloodshed.”

Kyle smiles. “Last time Bruce dropped him off he did bring a sword,” he reminds Jason, who holds up a hand and wiggles his fingers towards Kyle, clearly trying to get help to get up, as he’s holding the art supplies he had just finished cleaning up on his other hand. Kyle knows his boyfriend doesn’t really need help, but he takes the hand anyways.

“Last time Bruce dropped him off he hated you, remember?” Jason shoots, now on his feet, and leaves the can with the brushes and the box with the pencils and crayons on the coffee table, right between the cups that they had used to drink cocoa, and the drawings Kyle and Damian had made a few hours earlier.

(Cocoa that Kyle took immensely pride on making himself from scratch,“I am barely able to differentiate it from Pennyworth’s cocoa, maybe Green Lanterns are not as useless as I thought,” Damian had said, which Kyle supposed was kind of a compliment, coming from Damian Wayne.

The drawings, now the drawings were where Damian’s compliments got more genuine. He had complimented Kyle’s lines, and the way he shaded, with barely a hint of jealousy on his words. Kyle, on the other hand, had told him that was “one sick cat drawing he had there”, his nerves getting the best out of him. Damian had looked amused, though, and Jason had given him a thumbs up from across the living room where he had been trying to contact his family, so Kyle had taken it as a victory)

Recalling those events, Kyle can’t give in on his impulse to tell Jason that Damian still kinda hated him. It wouldn’t even be close to the truth, and Jason would know it and most likely throw it at his face.

Instead of replying, he turns to the boy in question, sleeping on their old orange sofa, still tucked under the blankets Jason had brought from their room when he noticed Damian had fallen asleep almost an hour ago.

“Should we take him to bed?” Kyle asks quietly when Jason joins him by the sofa, and he can’t help but smile when he sees his boyfriend looking down at Damian with a small, fond smile on his face. No matter how much Jason swore he hated all his siblings, the way he looked at them every now and then when he thought nobody was looking betrayed him, especially Damian. Kyle guessed it had to do with the boy also being related to Talia, who Jason seemed to look up to, and, in some cases, even seemed to consider a second (third?) mother.

“Yeah, neither Bruce nor Oracle has contacted me, so I assume Damian will have to stay the night,” Jason replies, using the same quiet tone Kyle had used earlier, already reaching down to grab Damian.

Kyle nods, and tries not to think about what could possibly happen if Ra’s al Ghul found out Damian wasn’t hiding anywhere in Gotham, but was in fact sleeping in Kyle’s sofa, surrounded by blankets and snoring quietly against a Millennium Falcon pillow, drooling all over it; Looking like a tired child who spent the whole evening painting with his brother’s boyfriend, and then playing Pictionary while eating pasta shaped like tiny dinosaurs and laughing at his brother’s art skills.

As he watches Jason carefully picking up Damian, blankets and pillow included, he decides there are better, more important things to focus on.

(For example, finding his sketchbook asap before he forgets the soft expression on his boyfriend’s face when he kisses his brother’s forehead, and how Damian curls on Jason’s chest, mumbling mindlessly and drooling all over his shirt.)

#jaykyle #anonymous #answer machine #mine: fic #ask meme #kkkinda

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heyfishhh · 8 years

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Get to know me tag

tagged by @slythaerinss omg tysm!!!!!!

1. Are you named after someone? nope! 2. When is the last time you cried? mm…. a few days ago. i was sad and lonely 3. Do you like your handwriting? sometimes. it changes a lot so my opinion of it changes too 4. What is your favorite lunch meat? lol what is lunch meat 5. Do you have kids? no 6. If you were another person, would you be friends with you? hmm… i don’t really feel removed enough from myself to judge myself accurately, but maybe? 7. Do you use sarcasm? i try 8. Do you still have your tonsils? ya?? 9. Would you bungee jump? noooooo 10. What is your favorite kind of cereal? um, maybe like that one that goes snap crackle pop what is it 11. Do you untie your shoes when you take them off? depends on the shoe 12. Do you think you’re a strong person? i mean im still alive so 13. What is your favorite ice cream flavor? vanilla but also nelson’s rainbow sherbert is to die for 14. What is the first thing you notice about people? hmm. i’d have to say how tall they are is a big one. 15. Red or pink? hmm. 16. What is the least favorite physical thing you like about yourself? my weight/my acne 17. What color pants and shoes are you wearing now? grey, no shoes 18. What was the last thing you ate? a single donut hole 19. What are you listening to right now? arrival of the birds and transformation by the cinematic orchestra 20. If you were a crayon, what color would you be? oh man. i dont know. maybe like a purpley one? or one of them blue-green ones? 21. Favorite smell? the smell of the dryer, the smell of rain, kyle’s cologne (don’t judge me) 22. Who was the last person you spoke to on the phone? my dad i believe 23. Favorite sport to watch? usually olympic ice skating and gymnastics

24. Hair color? brown 25. Eye color? green 26. Do you wear contacts? nope 27. Favorite food to eat? mmm… sweets 28. Scary movies or comedy? i can’t stand scary movies 29. Last movie you watched? ice age 3 for the lols 30. What color shirt are you wearing? grey 31. Summer or winter? summer 32. Hugs or kisses? both 33. What book are you currently reading? my antonia, the great gatsby, the mysterious benedict society, just finished re-reading the foxhole court 34. Who do you miss right now? kyle, lee, and emma. and ally of course 35. What is on your mouse pad? D E L L 36. What is the last TV program you watched? i never watch tv 37. What is the best sound? this is difficult. rain is def up there. music is great (particularly piano and orchestral pieces). 38. Rolling Stones or The Beatles? the beatles 39. What is the furthest you have ever traveled? umm… like 2,000 miles I believe? i’ve never left the country tho I would desperately love to 40. Do you have a special talent? um. ??? not really??? 41. Where were you born? don’t feel comfortable answering this specifically, but the u.s. (unfortunately) 42. People you expect to participate in this survey? why do… expect?? anyways I tag @space-hats @sleep-on-the-moon @stormybisexual @prsphney @achillespatrochlus @thunderbiirds @polaroidpidge @chodear @deeinos @a-little-pea

#x #personal #tag meme #tag game

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narcissistic-dillweed-blog · 8 years

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thank you for the tag cutie :’) @heliumdooly i am a lil’ anxious atm so this will help take my mind off it !! <3

1. Are you named after someone? Noooope - how boring. 2. When was the last time you cried? Wow okay this is hard bc I cry a lot, at ridiculous stuff as well. It was probably when I watched ep 18 of Hwarang (no i haven’t seen the finale yet nobody say anything) 3. Do you like your handwriting? You know what, I don’t mind it. Sure, it’s not always neat and often illegible but I like it. I am v interested in handwriting and idk why. 4. What’s your favorite lunch meat? Probaly chicken. I’ll eat most things tho tbh. 5. Do you have kids? No and I’ve got a while before I can even think about it. 6. If you were another person, would you be friends with yourself? Gosh. I think I would. I am not that irritating a person i hope 7. Do you use sarcasm? Oh boy you bet I do. 8. Do you still have your tonsils? I do, how great is that aha 9. Would you bungee jump? I think we need to experience everything once, but when you bungee jump you face down and idk whether i am ready for death yet tbh. 10. Why is your favorite kind of breakfast cereal? Krave. But I don’t eat it much because it’s really filling in the morning. At the moment, I have Weeatbix minis which is a tad bland - but healthy innit. 11. Do you untie your shoes when you take them off? Sometimes. That sounds peculiar but I guess it depends on the shoe ?? (i am chatting bollocks again) 12. Do you think you’re a strong person? Physically? definitely not. I think I am quite strong. I don’t like to say I have had a traumatic life, but I am rarely ever sad and mainly optimistic. Sure, I have weird episodes where I worry and overthink but I am only human ya know. 13. What is your favorite ice cream flavor? I love vanilla to be fairs, BUt - mint choc chip has my heart man. There’s something endearing about bright green food. 14. What is the first thing you notice about people? Because I am trash, it’s normally their height. Either that, or it’s eyes or hair. 15. Red or pink? I like red, but a dark deep red. 16. What is your least favorite physical thing about you? have we got all week pal? I kid, but I hate my stomach, my bum (or lack of), my weird nose and my lower lip that sticks out too much. 17. What color pants and shoes are you wearing now? I am actually wearing a dress rn, because we have to dress reasonably smart for school. No shoesss. 18. What was the last thing you ate? Chicken nuggets. 19. What are you listening to right now? “White Heat” by EXO koreaboo trash ikik 20. If you were a crayon, what color would you be? Light blue 21. Favorite smell? Freshly cut grass pshhhh how cliche. I also like gentle scented candles like sandalwood or bed sheets or something (idfk) 22. Who was the last person you spoke to on the phone? My step-dad. I was grovelling because I had no service and I was out and I had text either of my parents soo. 23. Favorite sport to watch? does sports anime count? if so, volleyball;) 24. Hair color? Mousey brown. 25. Eye color? A v bright blue. 26. Do you wear contacts? I don’t, but I am slightly blind lmao. I gotta live that glasses lyf. 27. Favorite food to eat? SWEET POTATO FRIES !!. 28. Scary movies or comedy? Comedy, but I am not a lover of both. I am just a massive scaredy cat.

29. Last movie you watched? I watched “Suffragette” and I felt v empowered and great. 30. Summer or Winter? Winter. I love dressing up in oversized clothing, hot drinks and all that lark. Also, I die and sweat in summer and that’s never pleasant. 31. Hugs or kisses? *answers hugs bc she hasn’t had a boyfriend in years* 32. What book are you currently reading? It’s bad but I am not actually a massive reader. I had to read a book for drama called “The Fatal Shore” but it’s disgustingly dull :/ 33. Who do you miss right now? My grandparents. They live about 2 hours away and I rarely get to see them:( 34. What is on your mousepad? I don’t have a mousepad, darn. 35. What is the last TV program you watched? Jeremy Kyle. I watch it every day after I come home school, it weirdly helps me to unwind. 36. What is the best sound? Saxophone. 37. Rolling Stones or Beatles? Rolling Stones, for me. Obviously I appreciate both. 38. What is the furthest you have ever travelled? A 23 hour coach trip to Spain was hell jfc. 39. Do you have a special talent? Well I have a big ol’ singing voice, it shocks ppl for my tiny ass frame. It’s not that special though and, like anything, requires practice(: 40. Where were you born? Pembury in England but I didn’t live there lmao. Non-English people may not get how tiny and rural it is lmao.

ty g once again <3 i would like to tag @uncreativelex @dongan-chan @kookiesandchicken

thaaaanks <3

#tag #questions #getting personal #boiii #i am trying #but i am so boring wtf #what is life man #idk #pray4me

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aion-rsa · 8 years

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Tell Me A Story: 15 Weird Superhero Comic Book Formats

Over their several decades of existence, American superhero comics have had to adapt to changing market conditions and changes in reader habits. Anthologies were more popular in the Golden Age but dwindled away as the Silver Age ended. Early Marvel superhero books incorporated continuing subplots to create super-soap operas, and DC naturally followed suit. Today, even as the individual issue with 20 story pages still dominates as the standard comic book format, many readers wait for collected editions.

RELATED: The 15 Weirdest Comic Book Swimsuit Specials

And yet, every now and then there are isolated instances of experimentation in which a publisher bends those dominant formats to either stretch storytelling possibilities or just to attract attention. Never mind the menagerie of 1990s-era cover gimmicks or the modern effects that digital and motion comics can achieve; good old-fashioned print had some surprising tricks. Today, as the “Kamandi Challenge” revives an old DC experiment, we look back (in no particular order) on some odd and unusual ways to present superhero stories.

ROCKIN’ ROUND-ROBIN

If you think creative teams don’t stick around as long as they used to, then you need to consider the round-robin format used in 1985-86’s “DC Challenge” miniseries and currently in use by the “Kamandi Challenge.” Each issue has a different creative team and the only real rule is to end on a cliffhanger for the next team to resolve. Notice that the rules don’t include “tell a coherent story,” because as much fun as the “DC Challenge” teams apparently had on each of their issues, boy-howdy was it hard to follow!

It started with Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Adam Strange and some demons in Mark Evanier and Gene Colan’s “DC Challenge” #1, but before it was over, Nazis had won World War II, Superman had a red sun for a head and the JLA Satellite was full of confused super-people. Nevertheless, the round-robin can stretch the capabilities of both readers and creators, and it truly shows off comics’ limitless potential.

A BIG DELIGHT

Likewise, we include the ubiquitous one-page Hostess Cupcake ads of the 1970s for the only rule they appeared to have: Make sure the product is the star. That was the point, of course; but for readers used to Batman and Daredevil fighting ninjas and serial murderers in their regular books, the ads were a bit jarring to read.

Although they featured even wilder plots than the regular comics (birds stealing the Statue of Liberty, for example) and used ultra-powerful characters like Green Lantern and Captain Mar-Vell, the day was always saved by the timely appearance of Twinkies, Hostess Cupcakes or Fruit Pies. Granted, who among us can resist rich chocolate taste and/or creamy filling. But the ads were so prevalent that, after a while, one got the impression that the Justice League and Avengers could have saved themselves a lot of trouble by stuffing the Anti-Monitor or Thanos full of sweet treats.

COMICS WITHIN COMICS

In the early 1980s, DC previewed new series with 16-page stories bound into the middle of selected single issues. The “Amethyst” preview was in “Legion of Super-Heroes” #294, “All-Star Squadron’s” was in “JLA” #192, and a little series called “New Teen Titans” was first seen in the middle of “DC Comics Presents” #26.

These previews didn’t have anything to do with the titles they appeared in, but later in the decade, “Bonus Book” inserts tied in more closely and featured up-and-coming talent. Today, the format is back, sort of, through “Dark Knight III’s” bound-in mini-comics. Basically they’re backup stories, but since they’re physically in the middle of the issue, you have to get around them in order to finish reading the main story, and then circle back and hope you read everything in the right order. Whatever you do, though, don’t risk your comics’ value (or its staples) by removing the inserts.

HEARD ANY GOOD PICTURES LATELY?

Another staple of the 1970s, Power Records specialized in book-and-record sets where kids could read along with an audio dramatization. Along with superheroes, the label featured sci-fi franchises like “Star Trek” and “Planet of the Apes.” While Power adapted existing issues, like September 1972’s “Fantastic Four” #126, December 1973’s “Captain America” #168 or January 1974’s “Incredible Hulk” #171, Neal Adams’ Continuity Studios also produced original stories for the label.

These included the Batman tales “Stacked Cards” and “Robin Meets Man-Bat” (reprinted in “Batman Illustrated By Neal Adams” volume 3); Superman stories by Cary Bates, Elliott S. Maggin and Ross Andru; and a 1976 Conan adventure by Len Wein, J.M. DeMatteis and John Buscema that was reprinted as November 1980’s “Conan” #116. Although the novelty comes from hearing an actor screech like Man-Bat or roar like the Hulk, we imagine “writing for the record” is a skill set all its own.

NEXUS IN STEREO

Sometimes the soundtrack is part of the main series. “Nexus” was a superhero series set 500 years in the future, initially published under Capital Comics and now owned by Dark Horse. Writer Mike Baron and artist Steve Rude’s independent sci-fi superhero classic started out as a magazine-sized black-and-white comic.

Bound into its third issue was a “flexi-disc” with the “Nexus” theme song (co-written by Baron) and an audio dramatization. An editorial explained the benefits: “The intonation of a character’s voice, background music to set the mood and electrifying sound effects all add new depth and dimension to the printed words and art.” While flexi-discs wouldn’t be in every issue, the editorial promised “next time we do this it’ll be even better.” However, there was never to be a “next time,” unfortunately, as the flexi-disc doesn’t show up in reprints and there weren’t any future issues that came accompanied with flex-discs to enjoy. However, “Nexus” turned out to be memorable enough without the audio accompaniment.

INDEPENDENT VOICES

Although it’s not really a distinct format to pair mainstream, corporate-controlled characters with comics creators from more of an independent background, anthologies like the “Bizarro Comics” and “Strange Tales” series are often both entertaining and illuminating.

“Bizarro” allowed DC to reprint Kyle Baker’s instant-classic “Letitia Lerner, Superman’s Babysitter” and “Strange Tales” gave us Kate Beaton’s take on Rogue and Kraven. Tom Scioli and John Barber’s “Transformers vs. G.I. Joe” series, which merged the superfans’ knowledge with their unique styles and filtered it through a ’70s Jack Kirby lens, is also a good example of combining the best of both worlds. Of course, with the Internet, it’s become easier than ever to find cartoonists’ “unsanctioned” takes on superheroes, but the official sanctioning of a DC or Marvel anthology may sand down some rough edges. Still, the freedom these creators normally enjoy usually transfers pretty well, and we’re all better for it.

NEXTWAVE EXTRAS

Warren Ellis and Stuart Immonen’s 12-issue cult-classic “Nextwave” (2006-07) took shots at a lot of superhero-comics targets, but it also used some memorable gimmicks to grow an audience. Mixed into Fin Fang Foom’s pants-related anger, the filthy half of the Captain’s codename and Machine Man’s contempt for fleshy ones was the “Nextwave” theme. So too were things like issue #5’s “Crayon Butchery Variant.”

Yes, quite a while before adult coloring books became a thing, “Nextwave” encouraged its readers to cast off the shackles of hues imposed from on high and color the issue themselves. Granted, this was a variant, so readers had to make an extra effort to get it. So unsurprisingly, the non-colored version of the issue hasn’t been reprinted in any “Nextwave” collection. As a further incentive, though, Marvel conducted a coloring contest, and the winner’s name (Matthew Keegan, whose entry can be seen here) was forever immortalized in said collections.

EASY LIKE SUNDAY MORNING

The 12-issue weekly “Wednesday Comics” was designed to emulate the classic comics pages of Sunday newspapers, when adventure strips like “Prince Valiant” and “The Phantom” got ample room for their Sunday-continuity installments (Feel free to ask your grandparents for more details.). Each issue of “Wednesday Comics” folded up into a standard 7″ x 10″ comic-book size, but opened into 15 gigantic 14″ x 20″ broadsheet pages.

The features included DC’s A-listers as well as Kyle Baker’s “Hawkman,” Dave Gibbons and Ryan Sook’s “Kamandi” and Paul Pope’s “Adam Strange.” Neil Gaiman and Mike Allred’s “Metamorpho” even did two pages which combined to form the Periodic Table of the Elements. “USA Today” also published John Arcudi and Lee Bermejo’s “Superman” strip. The collected edition is similarly impressive, and includes a “Plastic Man” short feature; but nothing beat the love-of-reading experience from picking up each issue as it came out.

EVENTS PUBLISHED IN REAL TIME

One series which demanded to be read as it came out was 2006-07’s sequel to “Infinite Crisis,” the year-long weekly “52.” Since all of DC’s ongoing superhero comics had gone through a one-year time-jump, only “52” chronicled the missing year. Its brain trust, which included writers Geoff Johns, Mark Waid, Grant Morrison and Greg Rucka, and layout artist Keith Giffen, further imposed a strict real-time rule that each issue would cover one week. The only cliffhanger involved one issue ending at 11:59 p.m. and the next starting at midnight.

The method was popular enough, with some fans reportedly waiting to read each day’s events as they “happened,” meaning a fan on a Tuesday would stop reading on when he or she reached the part of the issue dealing with a Wednesday. There had been real-time comics before (the “Batman: No Man’s Land” epic played out over the course of a year, for example, from January to December 1999), but with elastic timelines a staple of superhero storytelling, “52’s” adherence to its internal rules was both a clever gimmick and a steadying influence on its pacing.

TRIANGLE TIME

Some superheroes are simply too big for one book, but when a hero has multiple comics titles being published, those books don’t necessarily have to flow together. When they do, however, the results can be quite engaging. In the early 1980s, Bat-writer Gerry Conway structured issues of “Batman” and “Detective Comics” so that “Detective” continued “Batman’s” stories, and vice versa. The format ended with 1986’s “Batman” #400, but not long afterwards the three Superman books (“Action Comics,” “Adventures of Superman” and “Superman”) picked it up.

To keep everything straight, the Super-titles put the reading order in a little triangle on each issue’s cover. It lasted about 10 years, before including the addition of a new monthly series (“Man of Steel”), as well as incorporating a new quarterly book (“Man of Tomorrow”) for the months that had five Wednesdays in them. It could be overwhelming at times, but the four series combined to tell some true epics, including the “Death of Superman,” “Funeral For A Friend” and “Return of Superman” story arcs.

PAGE-HOPPING

We’ve already talked about comics within comics, but Walt Simonson’s “Fantastic Four” #352 (May 1991) presented a story within a story, and the “inner” story was out of sync with the “outer” one! The main (“outer”) story involved Doctor Doom, Ben Grimm reverting back to the Thing, and Ben’s girlfriend Sharon Ventura giving up her own career as the Thing in her absence.

Doom had captured the FF and challenged Reed Richards to a duel using time-jumping devices. Their fight, which was waged across increments of minutes and seconds, was the “inner” story, and it unfolded in out-of-sequence vertical panels that ran alongside the in-sequence main story. Readers had to follow the timecodes in both stories in order to keep everything in order, and could check their work with the occasional panel where the two timelines intersected. It was a great use of single-issue real estate and the kind of innovative technique “FF” helped pioneer.

DIAL “R” FOR READER

Created by Dave Wood and Jim Mooney for January 1966’s “House of Mystery” #156, “Dial H For HERO” was one of Silver Age DC’s crazier concepts. It involved a magic “H-Dial” which would turn its owner into a randomly-generated superhero and, more often than not, a one-off character created specifically for the story.

The feature ran until issue #173 (March-April 1968) but was revived in February 1981 via a special insert (remember those?) in “Legion of Super-Heroes” #272. (It then moved to “Adventure Comics” and was a backup in “Superboy.”) This time, writer Marv Wolfman and artist Carmine Infantino’s gimmick was using characters submitted by readers, who both received credit for the idea and had a T-shirt sent to them in exchange for their intellectual property. While it was probably a time-saver for the creative team, no doubt they also wracked their brains trying to figure out how to work Lawnmower Lass, or whomever, into the stories.

THIS COMIC CAN KILL YOU

In “Animal Man,” Grant Morrison famously broke the fourth wall to introduce himself to the main character, Buddy Baker. Over 20 years later, Morrison would revisit the idea of characters addressing the reader directly in his “Multiversity” miniseries, especially in the “Ultra Comics” one-shot, which was an installment about a character named Ultra from the “real world” of Earth-33, who was a comic book come to life.

In other words, “Ultra Comics” was about itself, and by reading the issue, readers participated in the character’s life, including his birth and (very short) career. At the end of the issue, Ultra sacrificed himself by trapping his foe within the pages of the comic, begging readers not to let it out. To that point, “Multiversity” was already pretty meta-textual, so “Ultra Comics” was over the top on a number of levels. Nevertheless, the reader-participation angle gave the miniseries an entirely new dimension.

CHOOSE YOUR OWN ADVENTURE COMICS

One of the many tools in Ryan North’s utility belt is a knack for choose-your-own-adventure storytelling. Besides his great mostly-prose Shakespeare adaptations (“To Be Or Not To Be” and “Romeo And/Or Juliet”), he’s also written a couple of chooseable-path comics. In November 2012’s “Adventure Time” #10, he and artist Shelli Paroline crafted a labyrinthine tale about the Ice King putting our heroes under the control of a mysterious force (guess who) which got more and more twisted as the issue played out. The ending even depended on the sheer number of options the story eventually encompassed.

More recently, in June 2016’s “Unbeatable Squirrel Girl” #7, North and artist Erica Henderson allowed the reader to guide Squirrel Girl to victory against Quoggoth, Swarm, and/or Doctor Yes, with Galactus himself as your host. Chooseable-path comics aren’t new (see “The Unwritten” #17, for example) but North has brought them back into the limelight and made them a one-man trend.

TITANS SEPARATELY

Superhero comics of the early ’90s get well-deserved attention for the cover-enhancement craze. Therefore, to stand out from all the chromium and foil, DC promoted September 1992’s first issue of “Team Titans” with — wait for it — alternate interiors. That’s right, not only did “Team Titans” #1 feature variant covers for each of the five Titans, each variant also included the 18-page origin of its cover-featured hero.

Accordingly, if you wanted to get the whole story, you had to buy five different issues (all of which were written by Marv Wolfman). That was overkill, since the variants all shared the same 22-page main story; and on top of that, the main story was Part 3 of a Titans-franchise crossover! Those of you doing the math will realize that if you bought all five variants, you got 4 extra copies of Part 3 of the crossover. Needless to say, DC decided to keep the variants on the covers only from then on.

Got a favorite storytelling strategy or comic book gimmick? Tell us in the comments!

The post Tell Me A Story: 15 Weird Superhero Comic Book Formats appeared first on CBR.com.

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