#like there are no pictures of the backyard because it doesn't exist kind of no property

[grunge-mermaid]

I love how bonkers Ottawa real estate is this house isn't that special

[shaunamilfman]

i almost jump in

pairing: Jackie Taylor x fem!r summary: You've picked up a summer job cleaning pools, and Jackie Taylor has just returned home from Rutgers. Too bad that Shauna's studying abroad all summer, and she's just so bored. note: minors dni. blame the usual suspect for encouraging me heavily on the idea of jackie in a bikini.

You glance over your shoulder as conspicuously as you can manage, but it doesn't matter. Not with the way Jackie's blatantly staring right at you through her sunglasses. Someone should really tell her the lenses weren't nearly as dark as she thought they were. The second your eyes meet, her eyes dart away guiltily. 

She fumbles with the magazine propped on her stomach as she turns to the next page, the glossy papers rustling together as she thumbs through them. Jackie must be really interested in the pictures to be holding it upside down the way she is. 

Whatever. 

Maybe you would care more if it wasn't for how impossibly long her legs looked as she stretched out on the pool chair, tanned skin glistening in the sun with one knee bent up like an invitation. There was a faint shimmer to her skin, some kind of sunscreen–stupidly expensive, knowing her–that serves to pull your eyes back just as much as it protects her from the sun. Every slow shift of her body has to be purposeful. The way her back arches as she gets comfortable in her chair, how her abs flex as she turns over to prop herself on her elbows to sun her back, even down to the way her thighs brush against one another as she adjusts her position. You refuse to live in a world where it isn't on purpose.

How was it even possible for someone to just look like that? Like she was something that should have been on the pages of a magazine instead of gracing you with a glimpse of heaven in her parents backyard. Sometimes it felt like Jackie Taylor existed only to tempt you–something that she seems to take more than her fair share of pleasure in. 

The girl has been driving you mad since she got home from college, and it doesn't seem like she plans on stopping anytime soon. You hadn't even met on the smoothest of terms. You still remembered watching her practically skip out to the pool in a bikini top that didn’t match the bottoms the day after she got home. Her hair was messily tied back, stray strands effortlessly framing her face in a way that would make anyone else look like they just rolled out of bed. She had her earbuds in, probably blasting some generic pop song judging by the beat she was humming along to as she had set her towel down on the chair. She stopped with a mortified squeak as she caught sight of you, eyes wide with shock and something else, before turning on her heel and darting back inside like you'd caught her in the middle of a crime. Jackie had even left the towel.

At first you thought that maybe she was just shy. It seems unlikely for how gorgeous she was, but some girls were just like that. It quickly became clear that you were mistaken on that front. A shy girl would not let the strap of her bikini top sit that low on her shoulder, only to make a show of slowly tugging it back into place when she caught you looking over as you skimmed leaves out of her parents' pool. A shy girl definitely wouldn’t twirl the rim of her sunglasses around delicate fingers in a lazy, almost absent-minded way that was almost obscene. You almost fell in the pool the time she made deliberate eye contact with you while doing it.

That first time had to have been a fluke, because it felt like she had declared war on you since. 

This wasn’t how you expected to spend your summer after you picked up a gig cleaning pools. It was supposed to be easy money, mostly old people who complained about their grandkids not visiting enough and the occasional divorcee. And that’s all it was for the most part. Sure, you had gotten a few jokes about it from your friends about the whole bored housewife thing, but that sort of thing doesn’t actually happen in real life. Or, at least, it didn’t until Jackie had rolled back in from Rutgers with a tan, a smirk, and a dream.

She wasn’t exactly a housewife, but you weren’t exactly disappointed. You knew of her in high school. Everyone did. Captain of the Yellowjackets. Prom queen. The kind of girl so beautiful you want to die a little inside after seeing her. Untouchable. Too good to be real.

If there was a word for it, Jackie was probably that.

But if you had to describe her lately, you would settle on tease.

…

Jackie looks up hopefully from her book as you turn the corner, only for it to turn into a frown as she gets a better look at you. She pouts, turning her attention back to the book she’s been suffering through your last few visits. It’s some classic that she doesn’t seem to care for—seeming to prefer her fiction modern and tropey—but that Shauna had been talking her ear off about over the phone. Shauna, who apparently was spending a summer abroad in France, was the sole reason you were fighting off bikini-clad blondes with a stick.

Seriously, did anyone else on Earth own as many as she did? You don’t think you’ve seen her repeat any yet, each seemingly showing more skin than the last. Every week you think it’ll be impossible to beat the last, and every week she surprises you. By the end of the summer she’ll be lounging by the pool with nothing but strategically placed strings at this rate.

“No swimsuit. You’re not getting in today, huh?” 

It’s phrased as a question, but not a single part of her sounds like she’s asking one. Just commenting on her apparent disappointment as she places her bookmark carefully between the pages of her book. It closes with a soft thud, leaving her fingertips to settle on a side table less than a second later. 

Discarded.

“No,” you agree, turning your head to look at her. “You could get in, though, if you wanted. It wouldn’t bother me much.”

That wasn’t exactly true; it would be pretty inconvenient, but you didn’t want to deny her anything.

“Mm, no,” Jackie says simply.

You hum thoughtfully, tilting your head to the side in consideration. 

“You know, I don't think I've ever seen you actually swim.” 

Jackie laughs, shrugging her shoulders loosely. “Wouldn’t you like to know?”

“Bet you can’t,” you accuse, but Jackie doesn’t even acknowledge the bait as she reaches over to grab a bottle of sunscreen sitting on the side table.

She flips the cap with her thumb in a practiced motion, which it might as well have been with how much time she seems to spend out here, squeezing some out on her palms before rubbing them together. As she stretches out her legs, going straight to the most dangerous option, you force yourself to look away. Desperate to find anything else to look at besides her thighs as her fingers glide over smooth skin.

“Could you get my back?”

“Your… your back,” you repeat dumbly. 

Jackie waves the bottle of sunscreen pointedly. 

“Sunscreen. You know, you squeeze it on your hands and then rub it into your skin so you don’t get burned? It’s pretty simple stuff, really. I could help you if—“

“I know what sunscreen is, Jackie.”

“You sure?” She teases. “It’s just, you looked a little lost, is all.”

“Shut up,” you mutter, crossing the space between you to snatch the bottle from her hands.

“Grumpy,” she accuses, not sounding put out in the least as she leans forward in her chair so you can reach her back. You have to remind yourself not to take advantage of the view the position affords you: the sheer drop down her top as the material gapes just enough to hint at what’s beneath.

Keeping her eyes firmly on her back doesn’t help much either, not with the long stretch of tanned skin and the peek of pale skin just visible beneath her top. Jackie gasps as your fingers touch her skin, the cold press of sunscreen making her shiver and jerk away.

“Hey!” 

“Baby,” you mutter, pulling your hands away and rubbing them together to warm them up before rubbing it into her shoulders.

Jackie lets out a sound that sounds suspiciously like a moan, her shoulders relaxing as she tilts her head temptingly to the side. You almost drop the bottle of sunscreen as you fumble with the lid, squirting more on your hands in lieu of what you really want to do: lean down and press your lips against the side of her neck to coax more of those little sounds out of her.

You slip your fingers briefly underneath the straps of her top, ignoring her sharp intake of breath to rub it into her skin almost clinically. Anything that you could do just to be done with it before you go and do something stupid. Her lower back was simpler in comparison, much less temptation as you methodically cover up her skin.

“There,” you say, surprised by the hint of disappointment that enters your voice as you pull away. More surprising is the way it’s clearly mirrored on her own face.

“Thanks,” she says quietly, grabbing the bottle from your hands as you hold it up in offering. Her fingers brush against yours a touch too long to be accidental, but neither of you has the nerve to acknowledge it as she pulls away.

You get caught up in the moment, staring at her fingers as they pull away from your hand. You’ve never quite noticed them before, not with the amount of skin exposed for your viewing pleasure lately, but now you’re finding yourself struggling to look away. There’s something about—

“The pool,” she interrupts.

“What?”

“You need to clean the pool,” she says in a low whisper, hand cupping her mouth as if letting you in on a little secret. Jackie looks far too pleased with herself, like the cat that ate the canary.

“Right,” you answer stiffly, turning on your heels and walking back to your equipment.

Days that you came to the Taylors’ seem to stretch on forever. Jackie makes sure of that. It’s the only thing you’ve ever seen her commit to besides soccer and Shauna. Though, you have to admit, those were the only two things you knew about her prior to cleaning her pool.

“Don’t let me distract you, after all,” Jackie continues, stretching out on the lounger as she watches you move around the pool.

You barely resist the urge to flip her off, clinging desperately to the last threads of your professionalism. That ship had long sailed, but you needed something to help keep you sane when Jackie was determined to tease you so thoroughly. Seriously, asking you to rub her sunscreen on her back? She was forcing you to live through clichés now.

That wasn’t even the worst part. It was working so damn well that it was embarrassing. She was playing you like a fool, and you still weren’t sure if she even wanted you to give in. Maybe she was just the type to play games.

Maybe you were just screwed.

“I won’t,” you say unconvincingly.

Jackie doesn’t even pretend to believe you, taking a sip from her drink as she holds the straw loosely between her fingers. She makes no move to pick up her book again, content to just stare. Part of you wishes she would, if only to free yourself from the intensity of holding her attention. But you don’t want that, not really. You like the way it makes you feel.

Special.

Her attention was never won that easily in high school. In fact, you’re not sure you’ve ever seen anyone hold it but Shauna. Not even her ex-boyfriend, who seemed to exist on the fringes, ever held her attention for long. It makes you feel important to be part of that exclusive club, no matter how much you claim to have outgrown that need for recognition that had plagued you as a teenager. Somehow she brought you right back to it.

Half your summer has been plagued by old people complaining about whatever nonissue they'd decided to fixate on, curious housewives bringing you a glass of water simply for the thrill of it, and the occasional perving teenage boy that you had to chase away with the business end of your skimmer. There was a brief bit of excitement when it came to the Matthews’, but you'd quickly realized that Lottie was only interested in flirting with you when that blonde girl was around to watch. That had been quite the bummer. 

But it was safe to say that you'd gotten more than your fair share of attention this summer, to the point that you'd normally do just about anything to get out of the spotlight. 

You were surprised by how much you didn't mind the attention when it came from her. It was different somehow. Jackie never made you feel like you were a commodity, no matter how much time she spent eyeing you like a bag of meat. At least she spent an equal amount of time badgering you about anything and everything under the sun. You're not sure anyone's ever asked you as in-depth questions about yourself as Jackie has in the last few weeks, and especially not with the genuine desire to listen. 

Right now, though, Jackie was far too concerned with the way you bent down to mess with something near the surface. 

Maybe you're giving her too much credit. 

… 

As you park your car in the street in front of the Taylor’s house—you’ve learned how particular rich people can be about seeing your car parked in their driveway—you can vaguely see the curtains shift by the front window out of the corner of your eye, but you just wave it off as an errant burst of wind from the air conditioning. Still, a part of you wonders…

But no, that would be crazy, right? Jackie Taylor sitting around waiting for you of all people seems unlikely. Having to get up so damn early to clean pools every day was really starting to get to your head. You hadn’t expected that this sort of job would involve getting up so early, but it seems like most of your clients preferred that you were neither seen nor heard. Jackie was an exception to that rule, but that girl seems to be an exception to most things.

Gorgeous and kind just wasn’t fair.

By the time you had gathered all your equipment up and slipped through the side gate out to the Taylor’s pool, Jackie was already lounging back on her chair, phone in hand. She turns her head lazily to look over at you, reaching up to prop her sunglasses on her head to get a better look at you. Her eyes flick up and down slowly, taking in the sight of you in your swim trunks with something almost bordering on excitement. Jackie was always strangely helpful the times when you actually had to get in the pool to clean it.

For the sake of your own mental health, you try not to question it all that much. You especially don’t question the little flutter your heart gives as Jackie waves her fingertips at you briefly in greeting before pulling her sunglasses back down. The sight of her tanned, glistening skin has you looking away as you pretend to fidget with your equipment and hope it doesn’t look as obvious as it feels.

Someone needs to tell her that it’s 9 AM.

You're surprised to find her up this early with how many times she had completely missed homeroom in high school. Truthfully, it was half the reason you had made your way out to the Taylors’ so early in the first place. It was completely out of schedule, but you had hoped to swing by and be gone before Jackie had even gotten up. 

Yet, here Jackie was out by the pool with her drink, looking like something that just walked out of one of those magazines she was always toting around. Her hair was still damp, the strands clinging to her skin in a way that was entirely too pleasant. She wore a bikini that looks more complementary than practical, which makes you suspect her hair was evidence of an early morning shower than the dip in the pool you were expecting.

“You’re up early,” you comment, giving her an awkward smile as you pull your pool skimmer.

Jackie’s nose crinkles in confusion, her lips pursing slightly as she pulls one of her headphones out of her ear. The faint drone of her music drifts out of her earbud, breaking the silence of the morning.

“What?”

You wince, revisiting the urge to bury your head in your hands.

“You’re up early,” you repeat.

Jackie grins, slow and lazy, lifting her sunglasses up just high enough to give you a wink. 

Jesus.

“So you were wondering, huh?”

You scoff, tightening your grip on the skimmer and hoping she doesn’t catch the hint of a flush gracing your cheeks. Of course she notices, because why wouldn’t she? Lately it felt like she was studying up on all things you. The constant scrutiny made you squirm, and you wish you could say that you hated it. Then again, you’re not sure anyone could hate being on the receiving end of those eyes.

“I mean, you came all the way out here, right?” Jackie continues, undaunted. “You had to be thinking about me at least a little bit.”

“This is—I work here,” you sputter unconvincingly. It’s not like the accusation was untrue. You had been thinking about her. That was obvious enough. 

Thoughts of Jackie have been taking up more and more of your conscious mind lately. And, embarrassingly enough, your unconscious mind as well. The thought of what happened in your dream last night made you blush for real, trying not to think about how soft her skin had felt beneath your hands before you woke up.

It’s why you came over so early in the first place, trying to avoid seeing her in the flesh after waking up with the taste of her on your tongue. You didn’t expect to find her here, especially not looking like a Vogue model. But that was your life lately.

“But you put some thought into whether I was awake or not.”

“The thought may have crossed my mind somewhere between the car and the gate,” you admit finally. The answer felt safe enough.

“That’s sweet.”

“It’s not sweet. I just didn’t expect you to roll out of bed before noon.”

Jackie pouts, lifting her drink up to her lips to take a drink from her straw. She must really be going through those little umbrellas. You’ve never seen her drink anything without one. The condensation drips down her wrist, and a part of you wants to trace the line with your tongue. You clear your throat as you step away to dump the leaves from your skimmer.

“I’m very responsible now,” she protests, bringing a small smile to your lips despite yourself.

“Is that right?”

“Yeah, just look at me. I wake up early now, make my own breakfast—“ she pauses, glancing down at the cup in her hand before shrugging. “Well, there's some orange juice in this, anyhow.

You grin, shaking your head. “I can see I was mistaken.”

“You’re making fun of me,” she accuses.

Jackie’s still studying you, waiting impatiently for your reaction. When you don’t say anything, she lets out a quiet laugh.

“You know, if you wanted an excuse to see me so badly, you could’ve just said something. No need for the whole ‘wow, Jackie, I can’t believe you're awake’ thing.” She twirls her hair around her finger in a playful mockery, watching you over the rim of her glass. 

You drag the skimmer back through the pool more aggressively than necessary as you pass by what you’ve deemed as her side of the pool, glowering down at the water. She has a way of getting you all tripped up and turned around without looking like she was even trying all that hard. It was infuriating.

“You're cute when you get all mad. Did you know that?”

“I’m not—“ You take a deep breath before releasing it with a sigh.

Jackie giggles behind you.

There was no point in trying to win when it came to Jackie. She just wouldn’t let you, stubborn to the end. You think she just might try to convince you that the sky was green if you let her go on enough. Worse yet is that you might have to “yes, dear” your way into pretending to believe her. There was just something about that self-satisfied look on her face—a smug little smile with just a hint of teeth, chin tilting upward as she preens—that makes you melt every time without fail.

You step up to the pool stairs, checking out the waterline if only to confirm what you already knew: you needed to scrub the tiles. Normally, it was something you could do by kneeling by the edge and reaching over. But it was so hot out, and some part of you is wary of spending so long bent over in front of Jackie. You dread the thought of what jokes she would make with you right in front of her. Plus, it was just embarrassing to crawl around in front of pretty girls.

Which left you with the other option of getting into the pool, and that meant having to take your shirt off lest you have to work in a wet t-shirt all day. Again, something that wasn’t usually a problem. With Jackie so intent to watch you at all times, it could become one. Whatever. You turn to look over in her direction.

Jackie’s looking right at you, glass held loosely in her hand as her mouth struggles to meet the straw. It would take less than a second for her to glance away from you to find it, but she can’t seem to bear the thought of it. Your fingers twitch at the bottom of your shirt, taking a deep breath before finally pulling it over your head. It’s not like you were indecent. The top you wore beneath it was something you wouldn’t think twice about wearing to a beach. The way Jackie coughs as she chokes on her drink makes you reconsider that assessment, but you were too far into it to quit now as you took the stairs into the pool.

Despite how committed you are to avoiding Jackie—something increasingly necessary for you to get any work done at all—as she stares at you nearly open-mouthed, you couldn’t help but revel in her attention. She was more than content to give it as you swim over to the wall, muscles in your arm flexing as you get to work scrubbing grime off the tiles.

You're facing the wrong way to see her approach, but the sound of her glass settling against the ground and the water splashing as her feet enter the pool is unavoidable. Feeling like a horror movie protagonist, you slowly look over your shoulder to find her right behind you like you were expecting.

That was, perhaps, a bit of an exaggeration. She was sitting on the edge of the pool almost directly behind you, sipping her drink as her legs kicked idly through the water. Somehow it still feels like she was breathing down your neck, even from all the way over there. Maybe it was just the intensity of her presence, unavoidable even from across the pool.

Maybe you were just gay.

It’s not exactly glamorous work, just scrubbing at the tile until your arm felt like it was going to fall off and then moving onto the next stretch of tile, but you wouldn’t be mistaken in assuming it was just based on Jackie’s eager expression as she watches behind you. Every time you dare to glance back, there she is. Still just as happy to watch, eyes focused intently as she watches without even saying anything. It might be the longest you’ve ever been in her presence without her pestering you about something.

It would be unnerving if not for the way you wanted to squirm beneath her attention.

The way you start to hesitate as you round the pool toward her feels unavoidable. Were you seriously going to be expected to scrub tile with her thighs so close to your face? She’s so completely visible in your sight line that you briefly consider closing your eyes. Only the thought of how completely that would go to her head stops you from doing it. You would be lucky to fit her ego back through the door if you did that. If you thought about it, it was really for her own good that you kept your eyes open to occasionally sneak glances at her legs. 

And her stomach. 

And—

You reach close enough to her that you almost brush her skin, and her sharp breath tells you that she’s just as aware as you are. There’s a moment, as you look up at her, that you consider just asking her to move her leg for you. It’s obviously what she wants. The look on her face is almost expectant, like she’s just been sitting here waiting for it. But she’s been spending so much time teasing lately that you want to get one over on her just this one time.

Also, you’re nervous as hell.

You feel something in your stomach twist at the sound of Jackie’s disappointed little whine as you move around her to start cleaning further down, but you do your best to shake it off. Stay strong’ you’ve just got to stay strong. Even if that means ignoring the scantily clad girl almost begging for your attention. Why did you think this was a good idea again?

“Where are you going?” Jackie asks suddenly. You tense, glancing back over your shoulder almost guiltily with one hand on the railing and the other wrapped around the handle of your scrub brush.

Her head is tilted to the side in some facsimile of confusion that you would almost believe to be genuine if not for the way her fingers tap excitedly against her thighs. You take a deep breath, hoping to find some strength in it. That girl was going to be the death of you.

“Oh, well, I mean…” You gesture vaguely toward the side gate. “I just need to add some more chlorine, and then I’m out of here today.”

You hope your smile looks more confident than it feels.

“You missed a spot,” she says gently, kicking her feet lightly through the water in front of her. The small waves she leaves in her wake brush up her shins, drawing your attention straight to her legs just like she intended.

“You’re uh—you’re sitting there.”

“That’s okay. I don’t mind.”

She wouldn’t, would she? You would’ve scoffed if you had it in you to be brave in this moment.

You turn around reluctantly, feeling like you just got caught doing something you shouldn’t, only to be graced with Jackie’s sharp smile with just a hint of teeth. Oh God, she could sense weakness. She was like a shark who just smelled blood in the water.

Jackie doesn’t look away the whole time you make your way over to her, the familiar trip across the pool feeling like it took years as her eyes bore into your head. You clear your throat as you settle by her legs, one hand on the concrete beside her thighs to hold yourself up in the deep end as your feet just barely brush the concrete below. She glances down slowly at your hand before meeting your eyes again.

“Well?” She asks in that soft voice of hers as you grip the handle tighter between your fingers and hesitate. You look up at her from where she’s towering over you from her position on the concrete—skipping past the temptation that was her legs crossed at the ankle right beside your shoulder.

You get to work, slowly scrubbing the tile and trying to reduce the number of times your hand brushes against the smooth wet skin of her thighs as you do. You almost want to cry every time her sun-kissed skin brushes yours, but that has nothing on the breathy little noises that leave her lips when you do. Her bottom lip is trapped between her teeth, but it does nothing to keep her quiet or to keep the last of your restraint from pulling away.

Finally, as you run out of tile to scrub that her thighs weren’t blocking, you set your brush down momentarily on the concrete beside her to tap meaningfully at her knee. If she wants to play games so badly, you could too. You weren’t fooling yourself into thinking you could beat her in them, but at the very least you could compete instead of just being the victim. It was the least she deserved after showing herself off this entire summer. 

You were tired of pretending like she didn’t know what she was doing, and apparently so was she.

You don’t even see it coming until it happens, five manicured fingers cupping the back of your neck and tilting your head up, and then a pair of soft lips pressing against yours. She tasted like a mix of sunscreen and cherry chapstick, presumably the same one you’ve seen her tote around all summer. She likes to make a show of putting it on, knowing how it drags your eyes straight to her lips. They were impossibly soft as they moved against yours, just long enough for your mind to go blank until everything caught up to you.

Jackie smiles as you pull away, that brilliant gleam in her eyes slowly fading as her lips downturn at the look on your face.

“I’ve got… I’ve got to go,” you say in a rush, feeling some indescribable mix of shock and confusion that you can’t quite wrap your head around. As much flirting as she’s been doing all summer, you didn’t expect her to actually mean it. Girls like Jackie never did, did they? That had proved true again and again this summer, but there she was. You weren’t sure what it even meant, or if she meant it the same way you wanted her to.

You need to go before you say something stupid, while you still have time to think.

You bring your hand up to press against your lips in surprise as you back away, heading for the stairs without looking away from her. Jackie stands up looking panicked, so utterly distraught that it makes you sick to look at. So you don’t, tearing your eyes away as you take the stairs two at a time on your way toward the gate.

“Wait!” She calls out, just a step too far behind to stop you from reaching it. “I shouldn’t have… without asking. I’m sorry—“

But you were gone, and you didn’t even know why.

… 

You shut the door of your car so quietly behind you that you're tempted to double-check that it even caught the latch, but you’re already starting to catch stray eyes from some nosy women in the house across from Jackie’s. It’s with a hint of reluctance that you wave, already knowing you’re going to catch a comment from her parents about how late you stopped by. They weren’t even home and haven’t been for days, but they were so concerned with what the neighbors thought of them that they couldn’t allow you to just stop by.

A bigger concern is what, if anything, Jackie would say to her parents when they finally got home about what happened tonight. Likely it would be nothing. You couldn’t imagine Jackie having real conversations with them as much as she complains about them. But it’s not like she would have to tell them what really happened. You’re sure she could make something up just bad enough that you’d lose out on any jobs in her neighborhood without much effort on her part.

There’s not really anything you can do about it, as frustrated as the thought makes you feel. It’s not like she’d even be out of line for doing it. You went ahead and fucked that up royally in a matter of minutes. It was a surprise, to be certain, but it probably shouldn’t have been. Jackie was a little too genuine not to mean it when she was flirting with you, much to your embarrassment.

A pretty girl had kissed you, and what had you done?

Ran. 

Away.

You could’ve slapped yourself if you hadn’t already spent the majority of your day beating yourself up for the choice. It had felt so real in the moment, so utterly mortifying that you had to flee. Now you mostly just felt stupid and small.

And here you were having to crawl back at the end of your workday to put a jug of chlorine in their pool because you freaked out at the feeling of Jackie Taylor’s lips on yours. Who the fuck runs away when Jackie Taylor kisses them? You were certifiable.

You certainly feel that way as you sneak back through the back gate, lifting it up on one side to stop the gate from squeaking as you carefully shut it behind you. That lesson had been learned one too many times for you to fall victim to it now. Damn gate was always giving you away to a girl intent on preying on you. At least now you were content in the knowledge that you wouldn’t be running into her again today, not when—

She rises out of the depths like something from a movie, each step revealing more and more skin to your eager eyes. You feel guilty about even seeing it, like you should call out and let her know that you’re getting the show of a lifetime as she finishes up her swim. Water drips down toned shoulders, pooling beneath Jackie’s feet as she carefully squeezes water out of her hair as she steps out of the pool. 

You stop in your tracks and just stare.

Jackie turns her head to look at you over her shoulder, expression painfully neutral as she tugs the towel up her back and wraps it under her shoulders. 

“I didn't know you could swim,” you mutter stupidly at the sight of water droplets teasing their way down her skin, dripping down her thighs and making a path all the way down to her ankles that you can't help but follow with your eyes. Add in her wet hair plastered to her face, and you think you might have died and gone straight to heaven. 

“You came all the way back here to say that?” She asks, rounding the edge of the pool as she finally lets herself meet your eyes head-on. Jackie's holding the towel tightly around herself, almost like armor. 

There's something hopeful in her eyes as she looks at you, up until her eyes trail down and she catches sight of the jug of chlorine held loosely in your hand. Oh, she mouths, face falling as a look of embarrassment crosses it. She pulls the towel tighter. 

“I uh—I forgot the chlorine earlier,” you confess in an embarrassed whisper, rubbing the back of your neck with one hand as if it could somehow save you. It just makes you feel all that much more ridiculous. Nothing could save you from Jackie’s wrath if she was feeling like acting on it.

“When you ran away without a word?”

“…Yeah. Then.”

The silence stretches on for what feels like ages, Jackie just watching you with something on her face a little thoughtful, before her face softens and she waves toward the pool. It’s not as dismissive as it could be, but it’s also not all that inviting. She’s closed a part of herself off as she holds onto the towel, and you can’t say that you blame her for it.

You watch her back as you move around the pool, carefully finishing up. She doesn’t seem to mind your attention, even when most people would. There’s something about her that makes her look so much smaller than she usually seems. Maybe it’s the lack of that smug confidence that usually makes her seem larger than life, but it’s unsettling to say the least. There are none of the teasing remarks that would usually accompany you doing something so blatant, not even a single comment.

“I’m sorry,” you say finally, not able to take the silence any longer.

Her eyes narrow, head tilting to the side in an expression of confusion. Always so expressive, that one.

“What are you sorry for?”

“Earlier. I shouldn’t have run off like that.”

“I shouldn’t have kissed you. I just thought that…”

“You weren’t wrong,” you admit.

“Then why did you leave?” 

She sounds frustrated now, but that familiar pep has already started to re-enter her step. Her hold on the towel is already starting to loosen, making it just a little more difficult to hold onto your train of thought. But didn’t she always?

“I freaked.”

“No kidding,” Jackie says, unimpressed and not shy of showing it. God, you were already stumbling over yourself.

“I didn’t think you ever meant it when you were, y’know. I mean, you’re,” you pause to gesture to the whole of her with your hand. “You.”

“Your story is that you were so pleased that I kissed you that you just had to run away? I’ve got to say, I'm not a fan of those reflexes.”

“It was the only thing I could think of.”

“How reassuring,” she says dryly.

“If it helps, I regretted it almost immediately.”

“Did you?” The towel slips out of her hands onto a chair as she shrugs out of it. “Did you think about it all day?”

“Yeah,” you sigh, eyes widening as she stalks closer.

“You’re an idiot.”

“Yeah.” You nod.

“Well,” she says finally, “I am, like, a great kisser. I’d probably run off too if I kissed me.”

“Humble,” you tease, trying to feign some sense of dignity. It all but fled you at the sight of her before you, so close that you could reach out and touch her. The thought of resting your hands on your hips, fingers pressing into soft skin as you pull her forward is all-consuming.

Jackie hums. “Aren’t I just?”

Before you can even think of something to say, feeling like anything you could come up with would be useless, Jackie steps toward you and any words you could’ve fumbled your way through dry up in your throat.

“I’m going to kiss you again,” she declares evenly, settling her arms around your shoulders.

“Okay,” you mumble, hands settling on her hips like they belong there. Jackie certainly seems to like it, eyes flicking down briefly to land on your hands before meeting your eyes again.

“If you run off again,” she says in a whisper, her lips so close you could feel them brushing against your skin. “I’ll tell everyone that you tried to kiss me but got so flustered you fell right into the pool. Splash.”

“That didn’t happen.”

“They’ll believe me.”

“Blackmail, Jackie?”

“I prefer to think of it as a form of persuasion. Sounds nicer that way, don’t you think?”

“Oh, you’re evil,” you murmur, charmed despite yourself.

“Maybe, but I'll tell everyone. Shauna, your friends, Lottie. I might even call up your parents.”

Lottie? Why would she even know about… Oh, shit. That damn soccer team.

You laugh, feeling less confident than you appear. “You wouldn’t.”

“Try me,” she says with a grin, her eyes shining with mirth. “I just think you need a little incentive.

Both because you're lacking a quip and because you hope it’ll throw Jackie off her game, you lean forward and close the distance between the two of you yourself. Jackie squeaks in surprise, nails digging into your neck as her fingers flex before she catches herself. There’s a moment where it feels like you're kissing a brick wall before Jackie responds, meeting you beat for beat as she practically glues herself to your front.

You lost track of the amount of time you spent like that, wrapped up in her and pulling away just far enough to breathe before she’s right back on you. She’s so incredibly eager that it makes your head spin, and you know you must look about the same. It’s hard not to, not when you’re so caught up in her orbit that you can’t even think of ever leaving. Where else would you even go?

Jackie doesn’t seem to have the same constraints, pulling away just enough to have you chasing after her lips step for step as she backs up. Stupidly, it reminds you of chasing after a pie in a cartoon—you could be floating after her for all you care, as long as it got you closer. Almost as if she could sense your thoughts, Jackie giggles, rewarding you with another kiss as she stops.

“Inside?” You ask finally, dragging yourself away from her lips regretfully as you skim your hands up her sides.

“Mm, no,” she sighs.

“N-no?” You start to pull away, but Jackie doesn’t let you. 

Deliberate fingers wrap around your wrists, leading your hands all the way up her sides to cup her breasts through her damp top. No one has to tell you twice. Your fingers flex instinctively as you start to give them some attention, thumbs brushing along the curve of her breasts that quickly become deliberate. She presses into the touch with a quiet sound that would’ve earned your devotion if she hadn’t already had it.

“We're not getting pool on my bed,” she protests through kiss-swollen lips, making the subsequent pout all that more devastating. 

You sigh, not bothering to argue as you move her back. Jackie lets you back her up without a fight, a little too trusting that you aren't about to push her in the pool. She glances back only as the back of her knees meets her favorite lounger, a pleased look crossing her face as she sits back. 

The look only grows as you slip to your knees in front of her, shifting to get comfortable on the concrete below you. You tug at the string to her bikini, slowly pulling it down her thighs. Jackie scoots down without a word as you lift one leg over your shoulder, planting her other leg on the pavement beside the chair. 

There’s a thought of voicing a complaint as the uneven concrete digs painfully into your knees, but it leaves you at the sight of her bare before you. There could be glass beneath you, and you aren’t positive it would even register right now.

You press your lips against the side of her knee, tasting the chlorine still clinging to her damp skin as you kiss your way up her toned thigh. Her muscles flex involuntarily beneath the touch, a pleasant feeling that has you spending longer than strictly necessary there before reaching her cunt. Jackie lets her displeasure be known with a tug of your hair as her heel presses into your back.

It only digs in more as you run your tongue along the length of her, firmly keeping you in place between her legs as she tosses her head back. As if you would be going anywhere with Jackie spread out in front of you like some kind of offering. You wouldn’t leave even if her house was burning down in front of you.

“Fuck,” Jackie whines, throwing the arm not buried in your hair over her eyes to shield herself from the sun. 

God forbid the sun shine in her eyes while you're eating her out.

“You’re so—“ She cuts herself off as your tongue presses somewhere sensitive, shifting beneath you as her fingers curl in your hair. A warning and a plea all at once, wrapped up into a single buck of her hips.

You settle in, grabbing her hips tighter to hold her steady beneath you as you drag your tongue where she wants you most in deliberate little strokes that have her thighs trembling in response. You could do this for hours, giving her every last thing she wants if only to earn those bitten-off moans as she tries and fails to keep her quiet. If only she had let you take her inside where she could be as loud as she wants, echoing off the walls if she so desires.

But there’s no rush. Not when she’s so wet and wanting.

Jackie shifts again, an impatient noise leaving her lips that has you bracing for another demand only for her to mumble, almost to herself, “Where did I put my sunglasses?”

Disbelief floods through you so strongly that you still for a moment, drawing a quick complaint from Jackie that turns into a relieved noise as it gives her enough brainpower to find where she’d knocked her sunglasses off the side table.

She reaches out with her newly freed hand to grab at the one settled across her hips, tangling your fingers together and squeezing tightly. Any lingering irritation vanishes at the realization of why exactly she needed her hand to be free. You squeeze back after shifting your grip to accommodate her. 

“Please,” she murmurs, hips moving to meet you in greedy little circles as you lap at her clit. Her hand on the back of your head holds you right where she wants you as she moves, bracing her foot on the ground for leverage so she can chase every flick of your tongue. 

You couldn't hold her down if you tried, not with how soaked she still was, but you're more than okay with letting her do whatever she wants as long as it ends with her falling apart on your tongue. You weren't picky when it came to the how. 

Your name slips through her lips, soft and desperate, and it sounds like coming home. 

A girl could grow addicted to this. 

… 

“Thirsty?” Jackie asks, sitting down at the edge of the pool with a glass of water in hand. You smirk at the sight of her, specifically at the sight of the yellowing marks you’d left on her thighs. The memory of her little gasps, the way her thighs trembled, her hands tangled in your hair—it was enough to pull you away from any task.

“I could be.”

She lifts the glass pointedly, tapping her fingers along the rim as she gives you a knowing look. You push off the wall, away from the ladder you’ve been scrubbing. It makes you feel like a dog coming when called, but there were far worse things to be. Like someone who didn’t get to go down on Jackie Taylor. 

That’s how you were separating your life now: before Jackie and after.

Her smile is so sweet that water could melt it, thighs spreading just enough for you to stand between them as you look up at her. You rest your hands on the concrete beside her, grinning at the way the splash makes her grimace as the water drops pool beneath your hand and make its way to where she’s sitting.

“Hey,” she greets, just shy enough that you want to take her cheeks between your palms and squish her face.

You reach up to grab the glass, only for her to pull it away before you can reach it.

“Hey—“ you protest, but she’s having none of it. She presses a finger to your lips, giggling when you press a wet kiss against her fingertip.

“Shush. Here.”

She lowers the glass down to your lips, watching you closely until you part your lips and let her slowly pour it. Jackie cups the side of your face with one hand as she tilts the glass all the way up, rubbing her thumb across your cheek as she pulls the glass away.

“Better?”

“Almost.” You trail your hand up one of her warm thighs, leaving little rivulets of pool water in your wake. Her eyes lock onto your hand, shifting to press her thigh further into your hand.

“You looked too warm in here,” she says distractedly, gasping breathily when you push your thumb into one of the bruises you’d left.

“You look hot up there.”

“Mm, well…” Jackie shrugs in acknowledgment, scooting forward so she can slide her way down the wall and into your arms.

You hold on to her thighs to steady her as her legs wrap around your hips, her arms curling around your shoulders as she leans in for a kiss that you happily give. Jackie lets out a pleased hum as she pulls away, peppering kisses along the curve of your jaw. 

“I thought you had plans today,” you murmur distractedly, squeezing Jackie's hip before sliding around to cup her ass. 

“It's–it's your fault,” Jackie accuses. 

“Yeah?”

“How was I supposed to go? I can't wear my bikini anywhere because of you and your stupid mouth. I had to pretend I was sick.”

“Oh, anything but that,” you tease, eyes trailing down to her chest just where her breast meets the fabric of her top. She had other bikinis, of course, but this one was her favorite. Still, you hadn't heard her complaining when you had her skin in your mouth in the first place.

“You should make it up to me.” 

“Should I?”

“Don't be mean.“

“Am I so mean to you?”

“The worst,” she confirms, her lips brushing against the sensitive skin of your neck as she speaks. It’s less of an accusation and more of an invitation to make it up to her. You can’t say that you feel particularly guilty about it, but you’ll take the opportunity to have her any time she offers.

Jackie squeals in delight as you lift her higher, the water making the move feel almost effortless as her thighs wrap around your sides. It turns into a moan as your hands trail up her back, fingertips tracing the tie of her bikini top. She barely has time to register it before you pluck the string loose, letting it fall below her breasts before you duck your head to bury your face between them. 

Jackie’s breath hitches, her back arching up off the concrete behind her to offer more of herself up to your mouth. She grabs at the back of your head to keep you right where she wants you. Right now, that’s mouthing at her nipple as her nails scratch at your scalp.

“Yeah,” she murmurs, hips rolling against your stomach in slow, thoughtless circles as she chases her pleasure. One thing you’ve learned about Jackie is how damn impatient she is, but her whiny little moans do more to make up for it than anything she could’ve said. Not, of course, that you care with the way her abs flex with each and every roll of her hips.

“Feels good?” You ask, glancing at her spit-slicked chest briefly as you move to mouth at the other. The faint taste of chlorine fills your mouth as your tongue flicks across her nipple. It’s an unpleasant taste, all things considered, but not enough to pull you away from the warmth of her skin.

“Don’t sound so—so smug.”

You roll your eyes, slipping your hand between your bodies to cup her through her bottoms. She gasps at the touch, your hand almost cold compared to the warmth of the water. 

Jackie tenses as your palm brushes against her, rolling her hips as you give her something firmer to grind against. The whine that escapes her is almost inaudible over the rippling of the water with each and every shift of your limbs, but you’re far too focused on her to miss it. You nip at the curve of her breast, too pleased with yourself to resist leaving a matching hickey as you suck a mark into her skin.

You’ve seen how she looks by the poolside, and the longer you can keep her away from showing off—just existing in a bikini around others—the better. Plus, she makes the prettiest little sounds when you press on the bruises you’ve left behind.

She lets go of your shoulder just long enough to pull the strings of her bottoms herself, impatiently tugging the fabric away so that you can touch her bare. 

Impatient today, as always. You tell her as much, a smug grin pulling at the corner of your lips as you tear your mouth away from her chest. A sacrifice, if you were being honest.

“Shut up and touch me,” Jackie mutters, a hint of a plea entering her voice as her nails dig into your shoulders. She tips her head back against the concrete ledge of the pool behind her, her hips rolling lazily against your hand. You don’t make her wait.

You feel around briefly, happy to give her what she wants as you press a finger inside.

“Mm,” Jackie murmurs breathlessly as you curl your finger, slipping in a second finger on an outstroke that has her searching out the friction of your palm once again. The muscles in her thighs tense, flexing pleasantly beneath your palm as you hold her close.

She slides her hand up your shoulders, cupping the back of your neck as she tilts your head up to meet her as she leans in. It’s messy and broken, desperately trying to get closer while mostly succeeding in breathing in your air—less of a kiss and more of occasionally remembering to press your lips together in between moans. It’s the perfect way to spend your afternoon as your hand works steadily between tanned thighs to coax out all those little sounds.

Jackie melts into you, all limp and pliable, and you have to back her up further against the wall to keep her where you want her. Her lips part around stuttering gasps, clenching hard around your fingers as you curl them just right. She lazily chases your palm with slow, rolling hips. More instinctual than any real attempt to help you get her off, seemingly happy to take what you give her.

You’re sure that would change in a second if you stopped giving her exactly what she wanted–she’s not exactly one to suffer in silence–but you didn’t feel like denying her anything at this moment. 

When she comes, it’s not with the loud cry you’d grown accustomed to, but with a shocked little gasp as if she couldn’t believe she was coming this quick either. There’s something almost like disappointment on her face as she comes down, like she can’t decide whether or not she regrets how fast she fell apart for you.

You can’t have that, not when she went through the trouble of wearing your favorite of her bikinis. If she’s going to go through the effort of teasing you, the least you could do is leave her wrung out and spent.

“I'm not–” Jackie trails into a soft moan as you pull your hand away. “I'm not convinced I should forgive you.” 

“Is that right?”

She nods. You trail your fingers up her arms, pulling them away from where they were wrapped around your shoulders and leading them up to the concrete. 

“Up,” you murmur against her lips, giving her one last kiss as you grab at her thighs. 

She slowly unravels her legs from your hips, pulling herself up the side of the pool to sit on the concrete as you help her up. There's a look of confusion that turns into delight when she realizes where the position puts your mouth, a happy little hum leaving her lips as she shifts to spread her legs wider.

Jackie sighs at the little kisses you press against the inside of her thighs, letting herself be led back to lie against the concrete as you throw an arm over jerking hips and make your way up between her legs.

A small, impatient whine leaves her lips as you take a second to nip at the mark you left on her inner thigh, taking a moment to worry the flesh between your teeth until it looks brand new again.

“See? Mean,” she says smugly, fingers twitching uselessly on the concrete before she leads them up to tug at wet hair expectantly.

“Maybe I should stop, then,” you murmur against her thigh, dragging your tongue across a trail of water dripping down her skin as you follow it up and up until her hips jerk beneath the weight of your arm.

There’s something about the way she looks right now, sun-kissed skin splayed out across the poolside as muscles tense beneath your touch, that has you giving in immediately to her wordless demands as you press yourself fully against the concrete wall to take her into your mouth.

Her back arches off the concrete, a whimper forced from her lips as you force her back down with a hand stretched across her stomach. Thighs twitch beneath your palm, instinctively trying to press together, but your hand is already there to pull them apart. As much as you enjoy the feeling of her thighs pressing against your ears, it was a little too early to have to work with that little room.

“You’re such a–” Jackie starts, but anything she could have said is lost in the ensuing whine as your tongue flicks across damp skin. 

You love watching her like this: torn between warring instincts of needing your attention and still being sensitive enough that she struggles to take it. Love the way her thighs twitch, the way the muscles in her stomach tense beneath your palm, the little sounds she makes under her breath as she tries to force herself quiet. Always so aware of the potential of an unwanted audience. If you spend enough time here, braced between her thighs as your tongue works its magic, she’ll forget where you’ve got her on her back and get loud enough that you’re sure someone must hear it. 

But that’s a problem for a later you.

“Inside,” she demands, shifting on the concrete to make more room for you. Like she could take more of you that way.

You end up doing this awkward little dance as you figure out how to get your fingers where she wants while still holding yourself up on the side, but it’s all worth it to hear the way the air sounds punched from her lungs as you sink two fingers inside without warning.

“Fuck.” Her voice is wrecked, making something in your stomach twist as you move up to her clit. Between that and the steady curl of your fingers, Jackie becomes a desperate little thing in what feels like no time at all.

The way she reacts is so intoxicating, so completely at your mercy and eager for more. You keep the pressure steady as restless hands grab and pull at you anywhere she can reach, and it doesn’t leave her with much to work with. She mostly just settles for pulling at your hair and crossing her ankles behind your back, which seems effective enough to settle her out as she chases the feeling.

You can tell from the way her thighs start to tremble something fierce that she’s reaching the edge long before that final desperate cry leaves her lips as she tumbles right over it. She’s tense, every muscle in her body seeming to seize at once. So tense that you rub absently at the muscles in her thigh as you work her down until she collapses bonelessly back against the concrete. Her thighs tremble against your shoulders, almost shaking you with the intensity of it as her hips twitch absently.

Jackie seems dazed as she stares up at the sky, blinking pathetically when you remind her not to look at the sun before she nods absently and closes her eyes. Still breathing heavily as a lazy grin takes root on her face.

All in all, it's been a pretty productive summer. 

[cloversnstrawberries]

Since reader is missing in the current timeline how does pepaw react to this?

intro post | masterlist

peepaw is beside himself, honestly :( in my head, there's this sort of deity/higher power that I picture as this ethereal child; they like to take people who are having rough times and put them in 'better places', whether that be in a different world or a different time.

Kind of like taking a little cat from one dollhouse and moving it into another, because you think they fit it better-- even if they didn't come with that set/brand. However, they don't exactly fill the holes they leave behind in times/dimensions by doing so.

That's why your world's Everett doesn't remember you, because the higher power placed you in a pseudo-alternate reality. Nothing has really changed, the dimension is almost exactly like yours save for some key differences involving your specific existence-- but it prevents time from folding in on itself.

Anyways, that's how i make sense of it, since time travelling stories have always hurt my head to think about otherwise </3 All this to say, peepaw Everett has no clue where you could be. He never met a strange person in his backyard when he was 17, because you didn't exactly time travel as much as you dimension hopped-- kind of.

He was 16 in 1947, so he's in his early-to-mid 90s in current day. He can't do much but fret and keep checking up on the rest of your family, because literally no one knows what could've happened.

You however, don't know that you kind of dimension hopped. You've sent yourself into spirals before, hoping that your grandpa would know what was actually going on-- it was a paradox, in your mind.

Your whole family is looking for you, but your grandpa is by far the hardest hit by your disappearance-- because he knows first hand how cruel people can be.

How much enjoyment could be taken by harming someone like his favorite grandchild, as caring and well-meaning as you could be.

[bugeyedfreaks]

Blossom - 1, 4, 6, 7, 8, 12, 16, 20, 23

A bounty of Blossom questions, yay! 🥰

1. Why do you like or dislike this character?

I think at this point my blog could probably be described as both a general PPG fanblog AND a platform dedicated to defending Blossom… so I think I’ve exhausted myself on describing why I like her so much, and I feel like if I wrote it all again I'd just be repeating myself. But I mean, she's great! She's the kind of character who could (and sadly sometimes does) get easily written off as the "boring girly one," but she's so much more than that. She has a lot of very strong positive qualities and just as many interesting character flaws and quirks that I feel get overlooked by a lot of people.

4. If you could put this character in any other media, be it a book, a movie, anything, what would you put them in?

Nothing. She’s been in way too many fandom crossovers as it is and it drives me bonkers. 🤣

6. What's something you have in common with this character?

I've been told by maaany people that I seem to have a lot in common with her, but I guess at least two things we share are the innate desire to want to do good and to be perfectionists in whatever we do (and, of course, we get really irritated when we don't reach our desired level of perfection).

7. What's something the fandom does when it comes to this character that you like?

Gosh, well... I guess one thing is that she usually looks beeeeautiful in fanart. 😌 My opinions on older versions of Blossom (and those versions of the girls in general) are very nuanced, and I can be weird and picky about it, but I do really like some of the fits I've seen fanart of Blossom in (like yours for instance, her outfit is cool!). Many people make her look very fashionable, and I appreciate seeing my fave treated well like that.

8. What's something the fandom does when it comes to this character that you despise?

I've written a lot about the mischaracterization of her character and how the fandom sometimes treats her so... weird (i.e. with shipping and stuff.. you know what I mean... 🥴). I also don’t like it when she’s written off as just some stuck-up, bossy jerk because… okay, yeah, she can be one, but that’s not all that she is! Not that Buttercup and Bubbles don't have their share of nuance, but I'd argue that Blossom has a whole lot more nuance to her. A lot of people don't seem to pick up on that, and the result is that she's either written off as preachy and boring or completely devoid of personality (which is... more often the case, unfortunately).

12. What's a headcanon you have for this character?

I kind of like the idea of her growing up to be a detective (or at least doubling down on her superheroism), mostly because of this plotline in one of the chapter books where her idea of becoming "grown up" is ditching her sisters and starting her own crime-solving business.

16. What's your least favorite ship for this character?

PPG/RRB and any of the ones that exist outside of the world of the show. Dexter’s Lab and Samurai Jack, for example, don’t canonically exist in the world, even though there’ve been little Easter eggs in all of the shows/some CN crossover stuff, and I’m a dopey little stickler for canon (…well, most of the time, anyway!).

20. Which other character is the ideal best friend for this character, the amount of screentime they share doesn't matter?

Me. I'm never onscreen but I play the role of "audience member" and so we should be besties. 😆

23. Favorite picture of this character?

Every picture of her is my favorite picture, but this one popped into my head when I started thinking about it. She looks so delightfully goofy, the queen of backyard cereal meals.

[grapenehifics]

Trick or treat! I have a costume on but you can't see it because I've got a giant snowsuit over top in true Canadian Halloween fashion

Ah, in that case I will offer you a steaming mug of hot chocolate or apple cider, your choice, I have both, and also this plot bunny I've had running around my brain for the past couple of days:

Anakin moved to (city housing large university) to attend (said large university) but after a semester or two discovered that formal schooling wasn't doing it for him and he was both making good money with and getting more enjoyment out of his side hustle, custom carpentry, than from his classes and quit, but he still lives in (city). He's had insomnia his whole life and some nights just gives up on sleep and goes out to his backyard/garage converted workshop. There's an old transistor radio out there - maybe it got left behind by the last owners - and he turns it on just to have some background noise while he works.

He's scrolling the dial past all the commercials for personal injury lawyers and lands on some real banger of a song, which he's never heard before but he's into it so he pauses the lathe or whatever he has running and waits to listen for the station to tell him the name of the song so he can look it up later, but after the song ends it pivots straight to some spoken-word poetry thing, and now Anakin's intrigued because, what the hell is this station?

Finally the dj comes on and says okay, folks, that's the end of the show, I'm Ben Kenobi and this has been Guiding Light, thanks for staying up with me. Anakin looks at the dial and realizes he's been listening to the local university student station.

This keeps happening, and Anakin kind of becomes obsessed with Ben Kenobi and Guiding Light. He's only on two or three nights a week, for only a couple of hours at a time, in the middle of the night, and he seems to have no oversight at all because he plays the weirdest mix of stuff - classical, film scores, comedy albums, half of an audiobook, one night he played a Robert Johnson song and then for the next hour nothing but cover versions of that song, the show before Halloween he played the entirety of Orson Welles' War of the Worlds and then one of those 'spooky sounds' albums while reading Edgar Allen Poe short stories on top of it - one time he even said he'd been really caught up in this book he'd been reading and he didn't want to stop long enough to do the show so he was going to give a synopsis of what had happened so far and then read the next chapter out loud on the air. Anakin has no idea what to expect but he knows that he feels less lonely, when Ben is there, and somehow even though Ben has no idea he exists it feels like they're the only two people in the world, out in Anakin's workshop in the middle of the night.

Anakin Googles him, because he's kind of worried that if he's on the university radio station then maybe that means he's some university kid and Anakin has a crush on a nineteen-year-old (even though he doesn't sound anything like a college student), and all he finds is the radio station website, which has a huge page for all their other shows but Guiding Light gets exactly one sentence: "Ben Kenobi has been hosting Guiding Light since 2004". So, probably not a kid, then, but he's got no social whatsoever, no pictures or online presence at all, and Anakin considers driving down to the station but dismisses that as too creepy so he just resigns himself to listening to Ben when he can.

And then one night Ben gets on the air and says, 'I've got nothing planned for tonight and I feel like chatting. Here's the number of the station. Anyone want to talk?'

Anakin swallows, picks up his phone, and dials the number.

[slashingdisneypasta]

OMG OMG OMG OMG BABY DRAGON LOTTIE AND PRINCESS POPPY BABY DRAGON LOTTIE AND PRINCESS POPPY BABY DRAGON LOTTIE AND PRINCESS POPPY-

Ok ok... Lottie is your OC, so whether these headcannons would be true on Lotties end is up to you... but I NEEDD to share my thoughts of these two with you!

Ok idk about you, but I'm imagining that when Poppy was brought to the castle, Lottie is at that dragon age where they are still so smoll and fat- like toddlers I guess XD she's a dragon, so she's not as small as a human baby, but I hope to God she's at least not too big for Poppy to carry 🥺🥺

The day that Smartass realized that Poppy would make the perfect live in baby sitter was the day that Poppy was certain she was going to die; she was holding Lottie and cooing to her, though none of the other dragons realized her attachment to baby Lottie yet (that she knew of. Maybe some of the others could tell?), and Poppy was kind of scared of Smartass finding out, thinking he wouldn't like her messing around with his kid. So when they both nearly ran into each other while rounding a corner, Poppy is trying to explain, trying to put Lottie down- but the little hatchling has dug her claws into her clothes like a cat so now Lottie is hanging off of poor Poppy's arms XD needless to say, she was very much relieved when Smartass was just happy that Lottie was happy ^^

Poppy now uses Lottie as a scapegoat for herself. Wether it's out of love for Lottie or not wanting to get their asses handed to them by Smartass, none of the dragons will mess with Poppy too much if she claims she's taking care of Lottie. She uses this especially with Greasy. Just-

Poppy: *just existing*

Dragon!Greasy: 😏😏😏😏😏😏

Poppy: *immediately gets up and speed walks away* Lottie! Where are you? Your father says it's dinner time!

So Lottie dies this with Wheezy most I bet, but imagine if she crawked onto Poppy and just... Decided she was going to nap right there XD and since Poppy isn't a huge dragon who could easily pick up baby Lottie without waking her, Pops is now pinned under this adorable scaly baby for lord knows how long. Imagine the guys' reaction to this!

Dragon!Smartass: Oi! Princess! Where are 'ya!?"

Poppy: *lying on the ground underneath a sleepy lizard baby Lottie: Shh!! She's asleep! >:(

Dragon!Smartass: ...

Dragon!Smartass: Alright then *walks away quietly*

Ok this is partially lore for the Dragon AU. Since the patrol took over a castle, that castle also had a village too most llikely. It's abandoned now, and nature has taken over the houses and fixtures by now, but this is basically Lottie's backyard now! Her dad and/or unlles will fly her down there so she can run around and play ^^ it's also good to help her practice her hunting abd flying skills.

With that, picture this with me if you will. Since Ppppy is now Lotties designated babysitter, once the dragons trust her enough to not try to run, she gets to come on these outings too! It's the first time in a while that Poppy got to be outside the stony, cold walls of the castle, and out in the open. And Lottie is just showing off everything to her! The little broken fountain that used to be the town square. The trees growing out of some of the little houses. And if this is spring, maybe there are plenty of flowers too ^^

Which, if I may add a touch of Smartass and Poppy development (romantic or platonic you decide); if it is spring and flowery, imagine that Poppy starts to make Lottie a flower crown! Smartass is watching this, there's a soft look in his eye because of his daughter's happiness. But then Lottie asks Poppy to make a flower crown for daddy too! Smartass doesn't really want one, but neither he nor Poppy can say no to Lottie. Then when Poppy puts it over his head, he makes some dry comment about how the flowers will just die anyway, so what's the point in these damn things? But then Poppy replies to that with, "They may not last like silver and gold, but that just gives all the more reason to treasure them now while you have the chance."

Unfortunately this is all I have XD I hope I didn't butcher Lotties character 😅 again, feel free to ignore or let me know if this wouldn't be Lottie ^^

YES! BABY DRAGON LOTTIE AND PRINCESS POPPY!!

Um, these are all canon?? Did you mind meld with me??? XD I especially love Poppy using Lottie as an excuse to get away from Greasy XDD You know I absolutely love it when Poppy gets a little toony and creative XDDDDD (You remember that time we talked about Poppy and Greasy getting dropped in the Phantom universe and Greasy's snuck into the walls in the women's dressing room so Poppy evacuates them all saying there's a fire or something?? That still lives on in my head all the time😂) And omg, Poppy lying on the ground with this giant dragon bubba on her stomach and she's just like... fine with it XD And giant Smartass Daddy Dragon being like- okay that's fine 😂😂😂 I love that too much XDD

May I just... add something? Perhaps some... GrownUp!Dragon Lottie with Princess Poppy??

~

Imagine another Dragon, not part of the group, threatening Poppy. He's this big, terrifying aggro thing- and Smartass just pissed him off even worse. So he goes for their weak spot, the little delicate human princess with them. He's just brewing some hot steamy flame in the back of his throat to roast her alive with, when Lottie roars and flies directly in front of Poppy. She drops on the ground so hard that it shakes and Poppy trips to the ground, but then theirs a wing fluttering over her and Poppy can only hear what's happening now. She can hear Lottie snarling and she feels almost unbearable heat crash against the wing- but she is not hurt. She hears a horrible snapping sound, like teeth and gum, and Lottie's wing flutters over head - waivers in its position, - , but Lottie does not move. A few more moments pass and then Poppy hears a whoosh, like the opposing dragon took off, and the wing slips away from her. Lottie's neck is bleeding, but she's grinning. "You should see the other guy."

.

Imagine Lottie after meeting her uncle Ryan (A shapeshifter in this au possibly?? Haven't decided yet. This definitely fits Rena's deceptive nature, though), and Smartass getting protective of her... and right beside him, is this tiny little princess Poppy getting protective of her too XD Of this giant, fearsome dragon XD

.

Imagine Lottie getting sick (Some dragon flu, I dunno), and Poppy trying to take care of her even though she's a big giant adult dragon now XDD Dragging around full sized sheets for Lottie's drippy nose, asking Wheezy or Stupid to help Lottie get to places, etc. Meanwhile Lottie, uptight and independent to a fault is constantly trying to brush her off- until Shiny comes to help Poppy (cuz they are in LOVE- ) and threatens her a little when tiny Momma Pops isn't looking XD Shiny: Mhmm, yeah honey we're okay! ~ You got talk to Smarty, okay? I'll watch the lil girl ^^ Poppy: Thank you Shiny. *leaves* Shiny: Okay listen here you little shit- Lottie: 🙄 *sniffle* =_= *sneeze* =_= bring it.

.

Imagine Lottie and Shiny teaming up to scare Greasy away from Poppy. Like- Lottie: Okay Grease, we're telling you this for your own good, okay? Shiny, can you show him the boulder? Shiny: *pats a boulder as big as Greasy's head* This big-boy right here, Grease. Get a good look. Lottie: You fucking Poppy would be like if we tried to ram this up your ass hole right now. Shiny: *gesturing to the boulder like she's a model on an early morning shopping show now* (;

[linksthoughtbrambles]

Top 5 celestial bodies (stars, nebulae, planets, etc)

OOooooooh 🤩 - Here I go! This was not an easy decision to make. Counting down to #1... and warning - long post.

5. Betelgeuse

Betelgeuse is a red supergiant star in the constellation Orion - it's one of his shoulders:

I adore this object for many reasons. First of all, it's bewitching to see, in the night sky, how red it looks compared to all the other stars around it, like it does in the image above.

Second, this star is so huge that if it were where the Sun is right now, we would be inside it.

Red supergiant stars are in the last phase of their lives, when their cores are producing huge amounts of energy and have expanded, the star's surface being forced outward by the massive outward pressure generated within.

Third, this star is going to go supernova. In other words: BOOM. A few years ago, some massive brightness fluctuations made us wonder if it was about to blow--but it didn't. Instead, it formed a huge bulge on its surface, ejecting a large amount of material but not blowing up. That's what's in the artist's rendition at the top of this post. Here are the *real* images taken of (part) of this event - the whole thing wasn't imaged because no one knew it was going to happen before it began (these were taken by the Very Large Telescope in Chile - and yes, lol, that is actually its name).

If it does blow up, we'll be able to read by it at night here on Earth.

4. Galaxy Messier 87

Messier 87 (M87) is a giant elliptical galaxy at the heart of the Virgo Supercluster of galaxies. It's massive. MASSIVE. Where our own Milky Way may have up to 400 billion stars, M87 has more than a trillion. It's pictured below, and if you think "hey that doesn't look like a galaxy," it's because it is a totally different kind from our own. Imagine a giant star-ball. Like a beehive swarming with stars in every single direction, only there are more than a trillion bees. Unlike our galaxy, which has lots of nebulas - collections of gas and dust - M87 consists almost exclusively of stars.

That's why it just looks like one, big glow in this picture.

Except.... you see that jet sticking out from the middle?

That is what makes M87 so incredible to me - it's a jet of charged particles being fired directly out of the magnetic field of M87's central, supermassive black hole. That one black hole is so powerful, it's firing these particles out into space a distance of ten times the width of our entire galaxy in each direction.

We would NOT want to be in that thing's way. It would irradiate the Earth. We wouldn't be able to exist here.

That black hole is one of two that have ever had their event horizons directly imaged. Here it is (the view in polarized light - there are others, too):

Next.

3. The Orion Molecular Cloud Complex

This gorgeous image taken by Matt Harbison contains pretty much the entire structure of this very nearby star-forming region of our galaxy, only 1,500 light years away from Earth. That might sound far, but it really isn't. Our galaxy is 100,000 light years wide. This thing is right in our backyard. (Or more accurately... we're in its). Take a good look at the shape of the star formation in this picture. Then look back at the pic near the top that showed the location of that red supergiant star, Betelgeuse. Now look back here. Look familiar? This is the same constellation, just imaged far, far longer to be able to see the faint light from these gorgeous clouds within it. Betelgeuse is the red star near the bottom left.

This thing spans a huge area of the sky. If you held your hand out, your arm straight and fingers splayed and looked at how big it was against the sky, you wouldn't be able to cover this whole structure. It is so huge and so near to us in space. But the light from these clouds is gentle, and you really need a camera to pick much of it up.

This beautiful area contains many famous nebulas, and they're all part of the same complex, connected to each other: The Horsehead Nebula, The Orion Nebula, the Flame Nebula, and reflection nebula Messier 78, among others. Lots of stars are being born here, and there are many already-born baby stars.

2. Titan

Titan is the largest moon of Saturn, the second-largest moon in our Solar System, and is larger than the planet Mercury. If it weren't orbiting Saturn, it would be a planet in its own right. It's the only moon in the Solar System with a thick atmosphere (it's twice as thick as Earth's!).

Titan's atmosphere is so thick you can't see through it in visible light. We need to use other forms of light, like infrared, to pierce it. The atmosphere is made mostly of nitrogen, like the Earth's, but the orange haze is there because of huge amounts of hydrocarbons (methane, ethane, and various alcohols). But you can also see this lovely layer of blue air around the thick orange haze. This layer is the thing that truly astonishes me about Titan.

It's called a photochemical haze. In that layer, components in TItan's atmosphere interact with the sunlight that strikes the top of the atmosphere. Molecules are separated, then rearranged into new, more complicated structures.

The structures it makes...

...are amino acids.

...

Yes, you read that right. Amino acids. The building blocks of life, of proteins. Titan is the only place in the entire universe we know of other than Earth which contains these molecules critical to life as we know it.

Titan has an environmental cycle, very much like Earth's, in which hydrocarbons run fluid in lakes and rivers along its surface, evaporate, become clouds, become rain, become snow, and fill its lakes and streams back up again. Its mountains have hydrocarbon snowcaps. Apart from just being cool, this means there's energy on Titan to feed the bottom rung of an ecosystem. If we're going to look somewhere in the Solar System for life, this is one of the top targets.

Also, some cool infrared pics of the surface:

Here comes my top choice, below this.

It might surprise you.

The Earth

The Earth is a teeny, tiny planet near a star called Sol. It orbits that star once every 31,558,149.7 seconds. For a rocky world, it's pretty big and it has a lot of radioactive material at its core! That's what lets its insides stay so warm and molten. It spins once every 86,164.09 seconds, which in the grand scheme of things is quite fast. This churns up that nice, warm, molten core and turns it into a dynamo. It creates a big, beautiful magnetic bubble around the Earth which keeps it safe from the most devastating types of radiation coming from its star. This lets it bask in the star's light while being safe. It's a haven for these fragile little things we call life.

And here it is, pictured below.

Do you see it? It's a tiny, bright blue speck of dust in a sunbeam.

The picture below, titled 'Pale Blue Dot,' was taken by the Voyager 1 spaceship as it passed the orbit of Neptune. The ship turned around to snap one last picture of its home before it continued on its journey out beyond the bounds of the Solar System.

I love the Earth.

I can't possibly do any better in describing what makes this place so special than Carl Sagan originally did, so I'll quote him:

"Look again at that dot. That's here. That's home. That's us. On it everyone you love, everyone you know, everyone you ever heard of, every human being who ever was, lived out their lives. The aggregate of our joy and suffering, thousands of confident religions, ideologies, and economic doctrines, every hunter and forager, every hero and coward, every creator and destroyer of civilization, every king and peasant, every young couple in love, every mother and father, hopeful child, inventor and explorer, every teacher of morals, every corrupt politician, every "superstar," every "supreme leader," every saint and sinner in the history of our species lived there--on a mote of dust suspended in a sunbeam."

...And we've never found anywhere else quite like it. Even with all the planets we've discovered orbiting other stars, there's no clear path, no direction we can say, 'Yes, let's go there!' should we ruin this oasis we live on.

Earth is so, so, so precious. It's incalculably rare. My humble request is that we all give it the love it deserves. 💞

[gear-project]

Two Questions. 1)Any idea on how Raven's Slow Field Needles are made? I wondered for some time if they were just regular needles by enchanted by time magic or something. 2) Is it possible that Marlene, I-No's guitar, was created from the Backyard and falls into the same category as Ramlethal's swords and likely Happy Chaos' guns? I just realized it was never explained how I-No came across her guitar nor did it imply she created it.

I believe I've covered how "Instroments" work, yes?

Instroments are Objects imbued with Magic enchantment on a basic level.

Whether that's a powerful OutRage, or a Floor-based Seal (similar to Geomancy).

In Raven's case, his Needles are enchanted with a Barrier that restricts kinetic movement… the central crux of the spell can be dispelled if one simply pulls the needle out of where it was placed. This is exactly what Sol does in the original fight with Raven during GG2's battle. He had to slowly walk towards the needle and pull it out of the ground to dispel the field.

It's not a Time Magic, per se… that would be far too powerful and require too much Mana… instead it's similar to a Dimensional Seal (or as Sol calls it, an Ouroboros Loop). It's because Raven can produce a ton of these Needles that it's such an annoying attack.

The flipside is, Sol could actually grab the needle and throw it BACK at Raven if the timing was appropriate.

Secondly, Marlene has existed for as long as I-No has exhibited her powers, so yes… in a way it is similar to Backyard Weaponry… however, unlike conventional weapons that simply "enhance" the capabilities of the user…

Marlene has more of a symbiotic relationship with I-No… in essence Marlene is a part of I-No herself… the whole package deal. In one of the earliest pictures showing I-No (in Lighting the Argent Novel), Marlene is shown "wrapped around" I-No's waist.

That's also why, later on during Strive's events… I-No is so powerful she doesn't even NEED Marlene to fight. Because of the sentimental value the Guitar had to Axl Low… he managed to steal it from her.

It didn't really change the battle situation, but it was, in essence, a reminder of what kind of person I-No used to be.

While you COULD still say that Marlene (as a weapon/guitar/both) is technically a "supernatural instroment"… only I-No could really use it that way…

To anyone else, it would just be a normal Guitar.

[haveyouseenthisskeleton]

If their new friend says that in her backyard there is a sabertooth tiger that decidd to live there, thery do not belive her untils she shows them an image or videos, how would they react?

Undertale Sans - .... Uh. The joke is not funny anymore. You can't keep that in your garden it's dangerous. He will not do it for you but he will try his best to convince you to call a zoo or something. You can't just live with a sabertooth tiger in your garden, what if he becomes hungry and eats you ?

Undertale Papyrus - He's so excited and he's coming with you to see it. He never saw that kind of big cat before and immediately open the windows to invite it inside, thinking it would act like... you know, an actual cat. Except now there's a sabertooth tiger roaming in front of the door you locked yourselves in after the nice kitty tried to rip your arm off. You're calling Sans for help. Sans calls Undyne for help, he's not risking his 1 HP.

Underswap Sans and Papyrus - It was fine, you were hiding in the bushes, watching the cat. When suddenly Honey sneezed, because he is allergic to cat. Then the tiger, angry, charged you. Then Blue thought it was a good idea to jump on his back to hold him back. Now Honey and you are hiding in a tree while Blue is screaming for help, riding the sabertooth tiger that wants to eat him. Welp. Alphys is not going to be happy about this.

Underfell Sans - Nah, he's not buying it. There's noway a thing like that can exist and he doesn't want to hear more. It's better for his sanity. He doesn't want to live in a world where huge Doomfanger's lost cousin can kick his ass.

Underfell Papyrus - *GASP* "A KITTY KITTY... I MEAN CAT. A CAT." Phew, he almost loses it for a moment. Edge will insist to see the cat. Ok, he was not expecting it was that big nor that aggressive, but he doesn't care. He is madly in love with Hellbringer and he's adopting him. You can't do anything to dissuade him. Despite the tiger trying to kill him, Edge carries him home like it's nothing. Something like two minutes after, Red teleports in your room. "what thE ACTUAL FU-". He's not happy about this.

Horrortale Sans - "aaaaw, he's cute." Then he takes out his phone and shows you a picture of the cryptid that walking in his garden sometimes. It's Godzilla. It's not cute. But Oak insists Godzilla loves his chickens and his cakes. You are so confused.

Horrortale Papyrus - He screams, then takes your phone and lectures you about how you can't keep prehistorical animals in your garden because they can eat you. What did you learn to school god dammit? He's not letting you go before you call someone to take care of the cat.

Swapfell Sans - "you're shitting me. This thing doesn't exist." He's so proud of himself. See? He doesn't believe supernatural crap all the time! He's a grown up skeleton. Except then he follows you home, and sees the tiger and now Nox is having an existential crisis on your couch. What if there was more than the sabertooth tiger? Fantoms? Demons? Ladder ghost??? He's having a panic attack. He's never getting out of his house ever again and throws salt on every door of the house.

Swapfell Papyrus - The big cat likes Rus for some reason. So Rus decided to take him home to prank his brother. Nox is traumatised now. He doesn't want to get out of the room and threats his brother to call an inquisitor to purge all the heresies in this house, including Rus. Rus can't stop laughing. He's giving the tiger to a zoo after that, before his brother tried to drag him on a stake or something. He's taking a selfie before though.

[nishimochas]

❁﹝ enha!tegories ﹞

‣ ⒈  enhypen as some of my favorite cottagecore-esque songs.

❁﹝ lee heeseung as like the dawn by the oh hellos. ﹞

“ and like the dawn, you broke the dark and my whole earth shook. i was sleeping in the garden when i saw you. ”

light crept through the windows over your slumbering figure, heeseung's eyes steady over your face, studying every curve, angle, every dip and crevice. a sigh escapes him, content, as his fingers brush over your features in a soothing manner. the soft simper he wore blooms into a smile as your eyes begin to flutter open. you share his smile with a sleepy one of yours and snuggle closer to his frame.

"good morning, sunshine."

the moniker is met with a chuckle as he leans in to press a gingerly kiss on your crown. your arms circle his frane loosely, savoring the warmth. heeseung's heart swells when his eyes meet yours. he knows he hasn't yet seen a more beautiful sight, and he doubts such a sight to even exist in earth.

to wake up next to you for all the mornings of his life, to have you as his first sight with each break of dawn – nothing would ever compare.

“ you were the brightest shade of sun i had ever seen. ”

.

× 🌼 ×

.

❁﹝ jay park jongseong as home by jacob banks ﹞

“ so baby, baby, won't you let me in? i'm knocking on your door so let me in. i just need someone to love, i just need someone to hold. ”

the afternoon had been quaint, pleasant and proper enough for a leisurely nap. you curled up within the blankets as your system drowns out the tv noise, thoughts drifting away. as if in instinct, your hand reaches for the mess of pillows by your side – where jay usually sits, limbs in a tangle with yours as you both doze off. you couldn't hold back a sigh; it wasn't quite like home without him there.

buzz buzz.

you check your phone for the notification. an immediate smile tugs on the corner of your lips upon reading the message.

[ from: jjongddaengie 😎 ]

i'm almost home, baby. wait for me?

and so you set your phone aside and envelope yourself with the soft fabric, fighting the urge to giggle in anticipation. as the white noise of the movie you half paid attention to lulls you to sleep, you enter oblivion in the knowledge that in not very long, jay will come back home and see you as you are. you know you'll be greeted with two arms around your waist and a kiss on the shoulder; and at that moment, you know you'll always find home right where he is.

“ i need someone to kiss goodnight, and to give my heart a home. ”

.

× 🌼 ×

.

❁﹝ jake shim jaeyoon as coffee by beabadoobee ﹞

“ don't stay awake for too long, don't go to bed; i'll make a cup of coffee for your head, i'll get you up and going out of bed ”

nights like these, when it is calm and the winds are gentle, are best enjoyed with a cup of hot coffee. it's become a habit for you jake to lounge on your front porch, each with a steaming cup with hand as you two chat about everything there is under the sun and beyond. this night was not very different; same seat, same sweaters, same mugs, only this time, there was complete silence between the two of you.

you'd expected it to be tense, for an unsettling echo of quiet to descend between you. but much to your surprise, this... this was comfortable.

"jakey?"

"yes, love?"

you breath almost hitches at his answer – no matter how many times he's been affectionate with you, it'll always feel special. different. like there was no other soul in the entire universe who could ever say it the way jake does.

you take a sip from your coffee cup and glance back at him, wearing a proud grin only he could ever give you.

"let's do this more often."

“ won't you come down and get me? i like it when you hold me tight. ”

.

× 🌼 ×

.

❁﹝ park sunghoon as yellow by coldplay ﹞

“ look at the stars, look how they shine for you and everything you do; yeah, they were all yellow. ”

driving out at such an ungodly hour was, prior to being an impulse, something you and sunghoon have given much thought to. it was only when the two of you were still wide awake after having tried everything that you hopped into the car for your late night escapade. a song you weren't familiar with played in the radio station to fill the silence, but you were far too focused on counting the billboards to notice.

"twenty two... twenty three... ooo look, it's one of those ads about billboard ads–"

you roll down the car window to see further out, still counting under your breath each time you pass one by. he glances to his side and sees you; you two looked so cliche, almost straight out of a music video. he pulled over at an empty park and your displeasure was immediately made known.

"hey, i wasn't done counting..."

sunghoon chuckles from the driver's seat and pulls you in by the wrist, lips pressing softly against your temple in the most delicate of brushes.

"you can go back to counting when i'm done kissing you."

“ your skin and bones turn into something beautiful. do you know i love you so? ”

.

× 🌼 ×

.

❁﹝ kim sunoo as strawberry blonde by mitski ﹞

“ i love everybody because i love you – i dont need the city and i dont need proof. all i need, darling, is a life in your shape; i picture it, soft, and i ache. ”

the sun was especially kind today – it's warmth remained watchful over the grass you and sunoo sat on, but through a veil of clouds so as to not be so glaring. the perfect day for a picnic, as he said so himself. he always goes all out for them; whatever you craved for, he had it all. you looked through his basket with a giggle, noticing a few delicacies he doesn't usually bring.

"why macaroons?", you ask while helping him set up the mat and the containers.

"didn't you say you wanted macaroons last week? i thought i should bring some for you! i tried baking them but they didn't turn out very nice–"

his babbling was halted with a macaroon to the mouth, sending you both into a fit of laughter. you'll never get tired of how considerate he is, how much he pays attention to the things you say and how much sunoo truly cares. you popped a strawberry macaroon into your own mouth and rested your temple against his shoulder. now, you couldn't help but wonder: would it have tasted better if he made it?

“ look at you, strawberry blonde – fields rolling on, i love it when you call my name. ”

.

× 🌼 ×

.

❁﹝ yang jungwon as santa monica dream by angus and julia stone ﹞

“ goodbye to my santa monica dream – fifteen kids in the backyard drinking wine. you tell me stories of the sea, and the ones you left behind. ”

it's nearing three in the afternoon and jungwon's just about finished with helping you pack. he ushers the last suitcase out and into the car where your father waits for you. it wasn't difficult to tell that he was trying to avoid your gaze.

"hey..." you take his hand in yours, making him see you eye to eye. there's something quite crestfallen with how he looked at you; you had to go and pursue your dream away from home, he knew that, and he was happy for you. but you knew him better than that.

"i'll miss you, dork."

he could only give you a little smile, but it was more than enough. you look behind him and see the fridge door, battered with polaroids, receipts and letters. reminders of you, so he'll never forget.

you wave goodbye and so does he, not caring at all to wipe the tear streaking down his cheek. he'd miss you so and you all the same, but no matter where you are, or where you'll go – jungwon knows he'll be dreaming of you each and every night.

“ i'm singing songs about the future, wondering where you are. ”

.

× 🌼 ×

.

❁﹝ ni-ki nishimura riki as kiss me by sixpence none the richer ﹞

“ nightly, beside the green, green grass. swing, swing, swing the spinning step, you wear those shoes and i will wear that dress. ”

"hurry, we'll miss the fireworks!"

ni-ki half dragged you through the open venue, clad only in socks and you in his shoes with you broken heels in one hand. you could barely hold your laughter; you'd assume the punch had no alcohol, but given how giddy you were, it wouldn't have been surprising if it were revealed to be booze.

"cinderella! wanna get out of here?", he shouted beside you, the sentiment almost drowned out by the cacophony of fireworks and cheer. you took him by the wrist and maneuvered you two through the crowd. he'd figured that was a yes. you two found a cozy nook under the garden tree, spending the rest of the prom night watching from afar and laughing at his dirty socks.

"man, i'm seriously convinced that thing had alcohol in it." he laughs and nods along, peering over for a better view of your face.

"is that why you're so pink, then? drunk blush?"

immediately flustered, you hurry to cover your warm cheeks with two hands. another laugh escapes him – you almost expected him to tease you. but instead, ni-ki takes your hands away from your face, nudging your chin up so your eyes will meet his. you couldn't miss the smug grin he wore even if you wanted to.

"hey, kiss me."

“ lift your open hand, strike up the band and make the fireflies dance; silver moon's sparkling, so kiss me. ”

❁ :: i'm honestly kinda disappointed in this HSHSB brain go brr, but i hope u guys like it 🥺💕 (edit: i really should have proofread this wow)

[meowtastrophe]

to my eight-yr-old self

How are you?

Well, it’s the year 2018 and I have to say --no, we don’t have flying cars yet. Well, we still have aeroplanes if you count that as a flying car-- you’ve come far. Who knows you are able to keep your life till now, right?

No, you are not taking HRM because you are not in college. 

No, you did not slack off and had to repeat high school or something. 

No, you did not stop school. 

The curriculum just kind of changed haha. The DepEd decided to add 2 more years in our high school so you are now in grade 12. It’s not too bad, don’t worry. Over the years you’ll realise that you want to keep studying so upon learning about the change, you were actually quite glad about it. 

You’ll be graduating this year so just hang in there. I still remember that ‘to my 18-yr-old letter’ you wrote me--on the diary of wimpy kid thingy--back in Grade 3. You asked me that I should take the Hotel and Restaurant Management course no matter what. Well... you kinda took a different path. In seniour high--that’s what they call the grades 11&12-- you have to choose from these 3 tracks: 

STEM, which includes sciences, technology, engineering, mathematics and all that hard stuff;

HUMSS, which is Humanities and Social Sciences, and;

 ABM, which is the one you expect me to take because it’s all about Business. 

Guess, what? You took the second one HAHAHAHA. 

What happened? 

A lot had happened, actually. Let’s breeze over it:

In grade 3, you got your period. 

     You got home from school and went straight to the comfort room as usual. When you pulled down your underwear--there, it surprised you. BLOOD. You absolutely had no idea what the heck was that. You thought at that very moment that you about to die. Mom went abroad when you were at a young age so she never got to teach you these things.  Don’t worry though because luckily, mom’s on vacation that day so she was there to guide you the essentials. You did not know how to use a pad. You opened it and well... kept on ‘opening’ it. You kept peeling the outer layer to a neverending pad of cotton. Mom saw your struggle but she just chuckled and gave you a new one. 

In grade 4, you didn’t have friend yet 

      But, you were hanging in there. Nothing happened here, really. You were still adjusting and did not have a permanent friend yet. You just watched anime, edited pictures in photoshop, and all that. You were still very very very shy around this time. You couldn’t speak at all. You were one of the quietest people in the school. You had a very bad social anxiety. You were still discovering yourself. But you hanged in there. 

In grade 5, you met Y, became friends with her and; 

      You left home. This one greedy sister of your grandmother of yours (mom side), let’s call her L, took your childhood home. You still remember what she told you “che, e ate jemima mu naman neh.’’ And I still remember how baffled you were. On how she pulled out the barangay card and showed up in front of our (you and l) home with barangay officials for some reason. On how you thought “wait what? why are getting our home? aren’t you guys rich? you have a backyard pool for christ’s sake. ate jemima’s life--your guys’ life--is so much better than us. what need does she have in our home? why ours? where will we go now?”. Fortunately you found a house near-- literally in front-- of your cousin’s (dad side) house. You tried living there. This is just the start.

In grade 6, you are still best friends with Y. However;

      It was not like before. Your dad started neglecting you more. He got depressed. But of course, you did not know that at a young age. He wouldn’t go to the house for days and leave you with no money nor food. You liked going to school because it distracted you but there were times where your dad didn’t let you go to school even if you are all dressed up because he’d go to the house drunk in the morning so he’d rather catch up on sleep rather than dropping you to school. There was even a time where you guys fought and ignored each other for a month or two and that’s where you felt alone the most. You felt like even your aunt, uncle, and cousins parallel to your house were avoiding you--which you were certain they did--so you didn’t have anyone. You were glad that you were on your school break and you didn’t have to worry about not being able to go to school with all that is happening. Most of the time, you’d have no food to eat. Your electricity was cut and you’d steal from your neighbour’s. You also won’t have any drop of water. It was no different from being homeless except, you just somehow found a long-time roof.

      It’s not all that bad though because you got to live the simple life. It was fun in a sense that since you did not and could not get everything, the littlest things were enough to make you--everyone in the family--happy.  You learned to appreciate the smallest of things. You learned how hard it so to not be able to eat a meal 3 times a day so it’s very hard for you to leave a single grain of rice on your place and you'd accept any food offered to you at the present. You learned how to live through the struggle you faced... for a short while at least. 

    Then you snitched on your dad to your mom.

In grade 7, high school came, you were not classmates with Y and; 

     You did not live with your dad. After graduating from grade school, you moved to San Fernando to live with your grandfather (mom side). You also lived with his girlfriend, let’s call her M, and M’s daughter, let’s call her N. The first few months were quite alright. They took good care of you. Made you breakfast and all that. At one point, however, everything went south and you don’t know when and how. M just managed to break you mentally. Pour salt on the already existing--but small-- wound. Well, I guess it was our (you and I's) fault. This was your first time living in with other people. You got used to relying on others. You were not used to doing chores and all that because you never had to do that back at home and at the house. M would compare you to N. Grandfather would turn a blind eye on the situation-- not seeing or hearing anything. M mentioned on how she now understands as to why your dad neglected you. As to why he doesn't like you. That hit you hard. You started blaming yourself for everything. You realized how useless you were. You started thinking that no one loves you... not even your dad. You felt much more alone.

     You regretted snitching on your dad. 

In grade 8, you met A and she helped you a lot. 

     Things got worse. You hated yourself more. You did unimaginable things; such as the vice of slice and trying to kick the bucket. However, A was there. That person’s presence comforted you. Because of that person, breath still leaves your mouth. What happened to Y? She had other groups of friends haha. It’s not her fault though. Don’t blame her. She has her own life. She has the right to choose who to befriend and who to hang out with. She was liked by people so it’s not her fault that she drifted away from you for a while. It was all fine because, at the very least, A was there. Also, around November, you moved to the house your grandmother (mom side) worked hard for. The house was much better than home but it did not still felt like home. You started living with your dad and grandfather. M went abroad and N lived with her grandmother. 

In grade 9, you were not classmates with A.

      You felt A, too, slowly drifting away from you. You felt like she didn’t want to hang out with you anymore and you thought to yourself ‘well no one ever sticks to me. not even my dad so I understand’. So you took the initiative to leave her alone. You also did not blame her and thought that same as you did to Y. And Y, well, was still living her own life but you guys are still friends. But you had a change in a group of friends too. You befriended some people in your classroom and, though it was just short-term, they were enough to fill the void of loneliness. 

In grade 10, you thought everything is finally going well.

     Until your grandfather was the one who neglected this time. He was the one in charge of the finances at the house but he used them for his vices. He did not get to pay for the house for 3 months and naturally, my grandmother got mad. She asked for my grandfather to leave and he did. My dad, this time, was determined to change and redeem himself. We both thought that he’s going to be handling the money but guess what, L--yes, that L-- was the one put in charge. My grandmother's mind was clouded. She became one of those feminists who thinks ‘men are trash’ or something. Since L lives in the same subdivision as ours she was the most convenient choice. Soon after, they also asked dad to leave the house. You got separated again, for the second time. You lived alone in the house. You would go to L’s house for meals but you still lived alone in the house. You got compared, again, to Jemima, her daughter. Well, you have always been compared to her. You are connected to her because you grew up with her. When our family sees you, they always ask you about her. About how and where she is. If she's doing fine. They never asked me tho. She was an extrovert so she had more friends, much more sociable, the family likes her more for she is much more approachable, she's much more famous, famous enough for the city to know her, and she is prettier. You cannot forget the time when Jemima had food leftovers and L was like ‘don’t you want to eat it? so that become pretty like her’.

     Around this time was also your saddest birthday. It was your sweet 16th. You did not have a huge celebration because you just planned to treat your friends. Mother sent you money, your dad gave it to you, and then that's it. However, I was alone that day. You don't know where but some reason dad wasn't there. The house was literally empty. You actually tried contacting your friends prior to the day: Y, K, and A. Yes, only 3, you're quiet picky with the people you get close with. But, they couldn't make it. Your birthday is in summer so they all have their plans. Enjoying their vacation and all that. Living their life. No one could come. And then,

     3 days later, A came to the house. Carrying McDonald's and a small cake. You... I never felt so appreciated then.

In grade 11, mom went home.

     My grandfather died due to stroke so mom had to go home. She asked dad to stay in the house for a while because he was a pretty convenient errand boy. But what’s the point of errands when you don’t have money? L was holding the money. She is a busy girl, you know. That’s why mom was having a hard time whenever she needed money because L always didn’t have the time. So Mom just asked for the card, where the money is, so there won’t be any difficulties. But L didn’t want to give it and was like ‘don’t worry, your money is safe with me’. And we were all left dumbfounded. 

   Everything changed since then. 

What changed? 

Mom put you in charge of the finances but since you were busy with school and everything, you passed the torch to my dad. My mom and grandmother let dad live with you because if not, you will be alone again. You have been living peacefully since then. And now, you are writing this blog. 

So why did I take HUMSS instead of ABM? Around grade 8, I realized that I wanted to be a psychologist. Maybe because that is what I needed the most that time. I wanted to become what I needed. At the same time, I thought I wanted to help those who were struggling like me but I realized that I just wanted to learn how to help myself. Since everyone would just leave me eventually, I wanted to learn how to take care of myself. That’s why you took interest in psychology. And over time while diving deeper into the field, I got fascinated by other mental illnesses such as schizophrenia, psychopathy, and likewise. I took interest in the mind of criminals and now, I am now aiming to become a forensic psychologist. 

This may change again, though. Everything changes. Decisions are not absolute and that is fine. Just like what happened in the past years, you’ll never know what will happen. One day it’s like this and the next thing you know everything is going downhill. But do not worry about it because that doesn’t matter. You cannot control the situation and the things happening around you. You cannot defy the natural flow of things. What you can control, however, are your emotions. You can control how you react to things. It may be easier to be said than done but it helps a lot. How you approach the things being thrown at you will help you mentally. Just keep your composure and let the time pass. Focus at the very moment. At what is in front of you. Worry about the future later when it’s the next one on the plate. Your current challenge right now is writing this blog and you should you just focus on it. But make sure that whenever you do something, do your very best on it. You just can’t do things just because you have to. Since that should be the only worry you have, give your all to it. 

Do not worry about the future. About what you want to do for the rest of your life because you have the rest of your life to figure that out. 

[theticklishpear]

You always have the best advice, so query? I'm starting in on a story that's been bugging me for five years now, but I'm having a bit of trouble with it. Basically it's about a girl (young woman? 19yo) who inherits a decrepit old house from her murdered grandmother. The catch is the house is in an small college town in the rural south and it's populated solely by preternatural beings. Witches, werewolves, fae, kappa, etc. and she doesn't know. By small town I mean 40-70,000, so smallish. (A)

and the college is entirely preternatural beings as well. But MC doesn’t know anything about this because her grandmother married a human and got the hell out of dodge, basically. Anyways the house has a ghost who is not loving the roommate life, and MC just figures she’s got a small kid breaking in and tries to make friends with what is basically an angsty Victorian dude who died young and is bitter* about it and fashion. Anyways I’m struggling with the whole town bit since I grew up in a city and I only lived near a small town once while in a tiny ass college in Indiana for a year. I know I want them to be pretty set in their ways, since a lot of them are super old, and kinda racist in a ‘human?!?!!?’ type way. But beyond that I’m fairly lost? Also plot is killing me. I have a lot of subplots (tea witch? Tea witch!) but no real major plot. Super rambly sorry, but any advice you’ve got would be greatly appreciated!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

so like, I realize 40,000 is not what most consider a small town, but I’m basing this off the town near where I went to school. So Madison, Indiana? Which has an amazing downtown totally visit worthy. Thanks again though!!

Or…12,000 people. Where on Earth did I get 40,000??? Sorry ignore that last one. 40,000…. wow.

Thanks for the kind words! I do my best–and don’t worry about rambly. I tend to get rambly, too. Let’s see what I can jump-start for you.

I’m going to start with finding plot in your setting and how to deal with your subplot ideas first and then move on to That Small Town Feeling™ under a cut, if that’s okay.

Finding Plot

Plot is all about finding the story, and the story is sorting out what you want to talk to the audience about. If you’re just looking to show off the town and the scenarios the character has to deal with as she learns where she’s moved to, then you’re probably not looking for a huge, high-stakes, world-changing kind of story–you might be looking for smaller things to showcase the supernatural abilities and characteristics of the people around her.

It might help to think of this more in terms of shorter story arcs that overlap to create a larger picture of her life in this new, strange place. The old SyFy show Eureka is probably a good place to start looking to get a feel for the way these kinds of shorter-arcs-to-paint-a-larger-picture look.

Think about what her goals are in this new place. Why did she come? What is she trying to do? Is she trying to make new friends so she can feel more like she belongs? Is she trying to fix up the house so she can sell it? Is she looking for a job so she can actually afford to live here?

What kinds of conflicts do these goals create with the people in town? Are there folks who are actively opposed to her being in town? How do they react toward her? How do they keep standing in her way? Are there others who welcome her and go out of their way to give her opportunities, thus creating a bit of inter-town tension?

Some of the best initial conflict is going to be with the ghost in the house, obviously. So think about what his goals are and what he wants. How does he go about trying to accomplish those goals? Does he have friends that help him? This doesn’t have to be the whole story arc; at some point she’ll have to find out the nature of the town she’s arrived in, and the arc of dealing with a ghost rather than rowdy kids won’t be so important or intriguing. So how does their relationship change once she finds out his nature? Does he ever help her with anything?

What kinds of conflicts do the creatures’ natures provide for your character? Does she accept their mythic natures well? Does she take it poorly? How do these new identities change how she sees the town or how she interacts with it.

Struggling with “the story you want to tell” but not worldbuildingConcept Is Not PlotFrom Concept to PlotGetting Started with Your Story from @plotlinehotlineThe GOTE MethodHow to Transform Raw Inspiration Into a Solid Novel Plan from David Safford20 Basic Plots from @thewritershandbookNaNo Overview Week: Conflict Resources from @writeblrconnectionsBuilding Tension with the Six Key Components from @hollyhamwrites5 Moral Dilemmas That Make Characters and Stories Even Better

Handling the Ideas

For the ideas about other real Characters™ in town like your tea witch and whatnot, these are perfect characters for scenes! You can explore them through your character’s curiosity without having the weight of building an entire complex plot out for them. If, as you’re writing, they become a recurring character, then consider what they’re doing in the time they’re not “on-screen” with the main story. What are they pursuing? What are they trying to accomplish with their life? What kinds of troubles are they going through?

Not all of their story has to go on the page, but throwing in moments where a character may see them on the street exiting a store, or wearing a new pendant they were given by a partner, or cleaning up a mess made in an attempt at magic (or something) will help to give depth to the character and a feeling that the town continues to live and move and breathe while you take your audience away from them for scenes elsewhere.

If you’re feeling particularly ambitious, think about how these various smaller side characters and ideas interact with what your main character is trying to achieve. Can you build threads of other things going on that your main character only sees parts of that later become the main character’s focus once she’s started to settle in to the weirdness of the town.

If a selkie’s backyard above-ground pool springs a leak and collapses, blocking off the street out of the character’s neighborhood, you’ve not only created an obstacle toward your main character’s goals, but also provided a hook for your character to go do something with that character. Or maybe several side characters are working together toward something, and while you follow the main character’s struggle with a fae contractor’s refusal to install wrought iron railings in the antique staircase, the side characters’ plan fails and things happen in town that the main character has to handle or is impacted by later when she’s out trying to accomplish something else.

Small Town Feeling

Okay, so Madison, IN is just shy of 12,000 people, like you said. In your initial ask, though, you mention the town for your story being approximately 40-70,000 people, which is a rather large difference. So I’m not entirely sure if you mean to base your story off 12,000 or ~55,000, but I assume you’re going for kind of the smaller end of things, maybe 30-45,000.

I grew up moving every two years, and I’ve lived in two towns of the size you’re talking about, and in fact, one of those two towns is where I’m living now, so I’m fairly well equipped to talk to you about some things about towns that size. (One was ~60,000; where I live now is ~55,000 centered around a university, with a small add-on town that’s growing into this one that’s ~14,500.) My grandparents also live in a small university town that’s a little over 30,000 whom I visit on a regular basis. Unfortunately, none of these were in the south–they’ve all been in the west–so while I’ve been in the south, I’m not entirely sure how some of these things change for that locality. Obviously, these are generalizations; they can be twisted, bent, exaggerated, ignored, whatever you want to fit your story. It’s all believable here.

Everybody knows where everything is in town, and they forget that new folks don’t know that the Brass Rail restaurant used to be an old train station. This means that people always say things like, “Oh, it’s down where [a non-existent store] used to be.” And that means nothing to the new person. “Great. What’s around it now?” Or, “Have you been to that new place where the [non-existent thing] was?” …. “Maybe?? Where is it?”

There are a couple of “main drags” in town, and at least two of them involve the street names “Main” and/or “Center.” The rest are named after location-relevant historical people or places. There’s usually the commercial drag, the old downtown drag, and the university drag. (I mention this one particularly because you mentioned there’s a college in this town. There are distinctly different amenities around the university than around the rest of the town.) They vary in how nice they are and take pride in either their ability to maintain the facilities (in the commercial districts) or in how long they’ve survived in the town (in the old downtown districts).

Changes at the university are the Talk of the Town forever and people who work at the university never get to hear of anything else because everyone wants your opinion on the latest department name changes and the removal of the extremely-dangerous-but-extremely-nostalgic landmark on campus. Universities and colleges employ a lot of people, so parking hang-tags are a common sight around town, and can be a hot-ticket item for car theft. If someone new moves to town, it’s safe to assume they’re either a student, a university employee, or working at one of the packing plants (or in our case, the semi-conductor plant) in town. People will talk about those changes for years past when anyone cares.

Stores tend to be a mix of mainstream and homegrown. Where I live right now is about 50/50, but the smaller it gets, the more homegrown stores there’ll be. And a lot of those homegrown stores will have strange stock lists. You’ll get a yarn store with hardware in the corner, and an old-fashioned candy store attached to a specialty clothing boutique attached to a seasonal decorations store. It can get weird and quirky.

Going to other nearby towns/cities isn’t a big deal. Everybody has to go at some point for something, because there just isn’t a shop for everything in town. Driving an hour (probably closer in the south, tbqh; the west is very far-flung) to the next town isn’t new, and it’s not treated as anything special. You just do it.

Roads are not in great condition and they never will be. Smaller towns do not have the monetary infrastructure to be able to keep the roads nice even within town, and that means all over town, not just isolated to poorer communities within town. The main drags may have pot holes or sink holes open up that are enough to take out your car, and it may take months for the city to fix them. And even then? The fix was pouring road surfacing into the hole until it looked level, but that road surfacing isn’t concrete and it sinks and compresses over time. That pot hole will be back in a matter of days, weeks, or months if you’re lucky. It won’t be as bad, but it sure will dip your car.

The streets don’t make sense sometimes. Some sections do–some are convenient grids, particularly around the university–but some sections are weirdly meandering. Some parts of town seem to be where the state decided to dump all their one-way signs, which results in either a lot of backtracking or out-of-towners driving the wrong way. Stop signs are common. Stop lights are reserved for major drags and intersections, otherwise it’s a 4-way stop. But it does seem like the city is always evaluating whether they need a stop light–the long black wires stretched across a street to gauge how many cars drive through are very common–regardless of whether one actually gets put in. Where sections of town grew into each other wind up with really weird junctions, and sometimes they get nicknamed. “It’s in that complex of buildings down by the wiggly bit” is a legit direction to give someone. Don’t worry about your town layout being perfect. Downtowns are particularly notorious for poor layout.

Special note: My town is where the state comes to test new road layouts, interchanges, and junctions, so we have a lot of weirdness going on. When I say don’t worry about your layout, I freaking mean it. Towns are weird.

Roads are 2-lanes most of the time, by which I mean 1 lane each way. Main drags are usually 4 (2 both ways) with a middle turn lane for a total of 5. That’s it. It doesn’t usually get bigger than that, and that’s usually at the commercial drag.

Outside city limits isn’t that far away, and while it’s mostly farms and whatnot, there are reasons to head out that way. Sometimes it’s faster to go out to the back roads to get home than it is to go down the main drags.

There’s an absurd amount of pride for something trivial about the town. There’s a festival each year for something weird. There’s events around town for things that would never happen elsewhere. The farmer’s market is A Destination (it’s nothing particularly special, but folks talk about it like it is). The rotary club is a visible entity (and it’s a little weird just how visible they are).

There’s a definite culture about the town. Attire for certain events heightens or relaxes depending on not only the size of town but the location within the country. There are expectations about How Things Are Done that don’t change. Holding on to the past is how they know they’ve survived, so they cling to it. There’s a prevailing slant of political opinions and religious practice, with a small smattering of other minorities that most folk ignore. Some of those minorities are LOUD, though, and that can grate on folks. In a university town, they tend to be a bit more accepting of other ways of life and belief, but mostly because “accepting” can just be “ignoring without actively disliking.” Don’t rock the boat and we won’t rock you.

You are known. This obviously isn’t a thing isolated to small towns, but it’s noticeable. People in towns this size all mingle in the same places–everybody has habits and routines, and you become a part of that with time. You wind up with relationships with your serving staff at restaurants and you know when certain grocery store clerks have their shifts. Heck, I don’t go in to the Perkins here in town that often, but the manager knows me and comes to talk, and when I need to reserve space for our NaNo group every November, I don’t even have to say anything. When I come in in October, she just sits down at my table with her book to schedule the group in. I left a scarf there and when I came in three days later, she just handed it to me over the counter without me having to see if they’d seen it. People know you, and the world is small: They know everybody else, too.

There are a few well-known figures in town that maybe not everyone has met, but they all know who they are. The McKee family runs the pet store and plant nursery on the main drag, and they’ve been running it so long that when you say you’re a McKee, everyone asks you about the store. Gloria Howell is the best real estate agent in town and everybody got their house from her. Tom runs one of the coffee shops downtown but he’s also the in-town LGBTQIA+ front-man, so to speak. Everybody knows him and everybody’s got their opinions.

If there’s anything more specific you’re looking for advice on in regards to your town, please let me know. These are just basic generics since the question wasn’t very specific. Good luck and have fun! -Pear