#plus crafting just makes me think of my grandma and i miss her and her talents

[thebraxiatelcollection]

I really want to start doing crafting hobbies like making cards, because I love home made cards and I buy them every time I see them at market stalls or charity shops, but it's having the space and the time to do them at home :(

[mostofthingsmostofthetime]

My thoughts on The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes movie

I don’t know if I liked it as much as the original films (maybe Mockingjay 1 & 2 as they are pretty emotionally draining), but I still enjoyed it.

I think where it fell a little flat for me is 1. The beginning was a bit slow (tbh I only really started getting interested when Lucy Gray stuck that snake down that girl’s dress & even then I enjoyed the story more when the setting changed from the Capitol to the district) 2. I knew Snow would survive 3. I’d already been spoiled online for a lot of stuff that happens & 4. while I know the director did his best to make Snow as “likeable” as he could for as long as possible, even before he started getting “a little too comfortable” with killing & snitching I didn’t find him as sympathetic as Katniss or Peeta (but that is probably again down to the fact that I know what he goes onto do & there’s no real way around that), this made engaging with him difficult for me.

The world is fascinating. Getting to see all the new locations we never had access to before as well as old locations now in a totally different light (for example district 12 which, while still clearly suffering, seemed like such a bustling industrial town compared to how it is in Katniss’s time). It might have a much more retro aesthetic but there's also just a more vibrant, natural, wild & lawless atmosphere to this movie compared to the others in the franchise. The whole scope of the film just felt more cinematic then I remember the others being yet also weirdly intimate. Maybe because it was one contained story & we knew the main character’s fate from the start. I also loved the title cards signifying the start of each section of the story like from the books & wished they'd done something similar for the other films. It just added a certain flair to the whole thing. Almost gave it the vibe of a tragic play.

The costuming was great. The bright red of the academy uniforms.  Flickerman’s snazzy suits. Snow’s dapper black & white outfit. Both peace keeper uniforms (despite one of them giving very ‘1930’s Germany’ vibes) looked great. Grandma might have been a bigot, but at least she was well dressed. Everything Dr Gaul wore (except the top that looked like a used tampon, lol) was exquisite. The main ladies of fashion, Tigris & Lucy Gray slayed. Our Future Capitol stylist looked like some regal yet exotic bird & Miss Survivor was giving Bohemian, country girl realness the entire time she was on screen. Even the extras were serving (like that random couple Snow walked past on his way to the reaping ceremony).

The music was amazing. Every song that played was fantastic (shout out to Olivia for her end credit contribution). The lyrics & instrumentation were beautiful & my god does Rachel Zegler have pipes! Anyone who says the singing scenes are cringy is just stupid like I’m sorry you can’t appreciate art. Also, the words ‘ballad’ & ‘songbirds’ are literally in the title. Plus, Lucy Gray is from the poorest district, so what exactly do those people want her to do in her free time? She can’t exactly hop on an X-box for a few hours. Not too mention that (as the offspring of someone who’s musically inclined) I can tell you, it’s completely realistic for a musician to use their craft to help them deal with trauma & Lucy Gray clearly had more than her fair share of that.

The Grandma'am helped to paint a sadly very realistic background for Snow. As who among us hasn’t met at least one delusional old person who thinks that their/their group’s suffering (regardless of the severity of it or the reason behind their former/newer status in society) means that no one else are deserving of even the tiniest shred of humanity & there are some people who are unlucky enough to not only be related to these people but be raised by them.

Hunter schafer as Tigris is clearly the superior Snow when it comes to things like empathy & overall mental stability but I do kind of wish they’d been more for her to do. Credit where credit is due though her & Tom did actually look like they could be related & I did buy their familial bond (which makes her appearance in Mockingjay so much sadder in hindsight).

Peter Dinklage as Casca Highbottom was a bit of a mix for me just due to his purpose as a character & the limit of film as a form of media. Like sure the audience know that Snow’s going to become an irredeemable monster in the end but without a window into his mind it really does just seem like the Dean is just out to get him & even when we find out why it seems kind of unfair. Like sure his dad sucked but haven’t the Games shown that blaming children for violence caused by others is unjust (& like ok he hates Coriolanus & probably the grandma but Tigris hadn’t done anything to deserve living in poverty, as she can’t control who she’s related to)? Plus, it felt like he could have at least tried taking Snow under his wing at some point to try to hinder Dr Gual’s influence. Saying all of that, though, Peter Dinklage is great at playing an addict with depression & the idea that some drunken rambling could lead to such long-lasting suffering is terrifying. Also its pretty realistic that living with that kind of guilt & in such a cruel environment for that long would make most people jaded & bitter, even if they did have good intentions.

Omg we finally get a Mayor family on screen & they’re assholes! Madge would be so disappointed 😭. It was interesting to see how harsh & overall “boot licky” the mayor & his family seemed compared to decades later, which makes sense as the war wasn’t that long ago for them so the dad probably felt more incentive to align himself with the Capitol as well as not feeling very connected to the district people as 12’s decline probably didn’t fully set in until they really started running low on coal & Snow became president (oh I just know he wanted to blow that district off the map 😆). I also wouldn’t put it past Billy to come up with some sob story of how he really does love Mayfair but wicked Lucy Gray is somehow preventing them from being together. Still no excuse to try to send her to her death twice in one week, though. Definitely not a girl’s girl.

Ok, so a liar. Cheat. Drunk & someone who hits women. Is there anything good about Billy Taupe? Also, trying to get your ex back, while your current girlfriend is literally standing right next to you? Dude, have some god damn back bone! You made a choice, now stick to it. Also, fumbling Lucy Gray, for a girl like that? What’s it like having no brains or taste? Well, too bad, coz you’re stuck with her forever now, lol.

Viola Davies, the actress that you are. What else is there to say? Dr Gaul is almost comic book levels of insane. Like she is how the Right see women in STEM, on crack! I don’t know what she did to get into character, but whatever it was, it worked.

Jason Schwartzman as Lucretius Flickerman is a very interesting addition to the story despite playing such a small & seemingly insignificant role. He is strange in how unthreatening he is while also extremely blasé about the abhorrent violence he witnesses that it’s as funny as it is disturbing. Making him come across as  more human yet harsher than his son, who at least pretends to care about the tributes (in a very Capitol way, obviously but still). There’s also a polish & confidence to Tucci’s performance that I think Schwartzman did a great job of avoiding copying (despite knowing what audiences were probably expecting) because not only are their characters in entirely different stages of their careers but the whole ethos of the Hunger Games is different in Snow’s youth than it is in Katniss’s. Caesar is a well established presenter & during his time, the games have always been a success (minus the year with the tundra) that the entire Capitol is invested in & seemingly in support of. On the other hand Lucretius had the unique task of not only coming into a job like this with zero experience (I mean imagine going from announcing the weather to presenting the fucking hunger games) but also there were no vibes to try to emulate let alone guidelines to follow because he truly was the first person to do this. On top of that, the "event" his presenting has been panned for years as both boring & unethical. Schwartzman brought a slightly awkward, experimental, yet try hard vibe (like a comedian who's desperate to get a laugh) that I think worked wonderfully for the character.

Tom Blyth's performance was great & he was visually perfect for a young Snow (the power of a good wig! Who knew lol). Even having the cool, analytical stare of Donald Sutherland, down pat. While his appearance was very Eminem during his peacekeeping days, his realisation in the cabin and subsequent breakdown in the woods were crazy. There was so much tension between him & Rachel in that scene that for a second, it literally felt like all the air had been sucked out of the room. I could almost hear the record scratch for both of them, & all that building paranoia finally coming to a sudden crescendo in the way that it did? Pure cinema!

Josh Rivera, as Sejanus, was honestly a mix for me. Obviously, I agree with his morals, but his way of going about it did seem a little dumb. However I do think it’s pretty realistic that a teenager, especially a rich one, would be rather naive. Also I’ve heard that he’s smarter in the book & I think at times my frustration with him is more just down to the fact that I’m seeing him from Snow’s point of view. Meaning scenes that would be portrayed as noble in any other film instead come across as almost painfully inconvenient because the focus is always on how they affect Snow rather than the actual victims of the situation. Lastly, sorry, Snowjanus shippers, I just don’t see it (especially on Snow’s end), but whatever floats your boat.

Rachel Zegler played Lucy Gray with the perfect mix of natural charm & emotional vulnerability with clear pride in her culture & a refusal to let the world around her change who she is. Yet there was also an air of mystery & a subtle resilience to her that makes her potentially surviving out in the woods for years without being detected actually believable (though I don’t buy the theory that she went on to become president Coin). Definitely the highlight of the movie for me.

PS. I'd love to know what you think of my review in the comments/tags & am open to criticism (as long as it's respectful) just remember that I'm only talking about the movie so please don't reference anything spersific to the book.

[lonely-lost-soul]

Immortality and Nymphs Pt. II

(Philza x reader)

Kisses. God Phil missed your kisses against his skin most of all, you were always so warm and gentle. He couldn’t wait for you to be a constant in his life once again, he walked all three of you back to his home. Wilbur was eyeing you the entire time almost like he was trying to find the differences between himself and you, thinking, The boy looked much more like himself than he did you, but there were tiny similarities here and there. You didn’t seem to mind though when he asked you questions you answered them truthfully. Once they arrived back at his house Wilbur stood up a little straighter,

“As much as I’d like to stay and talk more, Fundy and I need to get going.” He trailed off a little looking at you, “I still have thousands of questions but I have a revolution to plan.” Wilbur continued as you raised a questioning eyebrow, Phil’s wings ruffled a little as he cleared his throat.

“You should come back next week with the others.” Phil gave a slight nod of his head, “I’ll send a crow to Techno.” Fundy was the one to whip his head and nod eagerly, Wilbur adjusted his glasses but eventually nodded.

“That should work.” Wilbur turned to face you taking a shaky breath, “I’ll see you then?” A tender smile spread across your lips as you reached out to cup Wilbur’s cheeks.

“I’m not going anywhere again baby boy,” You whispered as he flushed hesitantly leaning into your touch “I promise.” He pulled away, clearing his throat taking Fundy’s hand as he waved.

“Bye, grandpa! Bye, grandma!” The fox hybrid called and Phil watched as you flushed deeply. Phil wrapped his arms around your waist and pulled you close, his wings spreading around your body like a cocoon. You giggled softly as he nuzzled his face into your neck, his beard prickled your skin, you missed the feeling.

“Fundy seems sweet,” You mused as the man behind you kissed the skin of your neck. Phil only hummed in agreement which caused you to laugh, “you’re so not paying attention to what I’m saying are you?”

“What?” You burst into laughter at his genuine confusion, “Come on now. I missed you, can you blame me? You’re distracting.” Phil let out a little huff as you pulled away to face him,

“Then show me how much you missed me my crow,” You purred running your fingers through his feathers, you felt his entire body shiver as his breathing hitched. His fingers dug into your hips,

“Careful. They’re sensitive and wouldn't want a pretty thing like you to get hurt.” Phil teased pressing his forehead against yours,

“Oh, I remember.” You winked teasingly as Phil leaned in to swallow your words with a blistering kiss. He felt you melt against his body as his wings fluffed up, both of you poured all your love and admiration for each other into one another. It was then Phil knew nothing changed between the two of you even after all these years apart, there was still the same amount of love and longing you always shared. Phil lifted you into the air and you hooked your legs around his waist, he felt young again, back in the forest by his old home. He felt you giggle against his lips and pull away to rest your forehead on his own, he chased your lips almost desperately. Your hand came up to cup his cheek and he closed his eyes to lean into his palm, “Take me inside first.” You murmured and his eyes lit up mischievously.

“If I remember correctly you never had a problem with making out in the woods before.” He watched your face turn beat red as he smirked proudly, he adored getting you flustered which way to Sunday.

“Yeah well, I’ve lived in the woods all my life. I think I’m ready to stay with my adoring lover in his house, is that really such a bad thing?”

“No. I’d never be opposed to something like that, not when I’ve missed you this much. It’s all I’ve ever wanted, living with you and raising Wilbur, being a family.” He watched you visibly wince and guilt ebbed at his heart, “Hey, hey you had to do what you needed to. I’d rather have you alive and here now than dead or worse.” Phil reassured and you seemed to relax a little bit in his arms,

“I wish I could’ve been here to raise Wilbur with you...I wish I could’ve seen him grow up.” Your voice wavered a little as Phil pulled you close, he hesitated slightly trying to find the right words to say.

“I wish you were there too. But you’re here now, you’re safe and that’s what matters. Plus…” His cheeks flushed a soft pink, “we could always try again.”

“Jesus Christ Phil,” you giggled covering your mouth with your hands and he looked embarrassed. “I just got home Crow, let's give it some time. But...I’m not opposed in the future.” Phil’s face lit up again and he nodded rapidly, he could agree with that, maybe once you built a better relationship with Wilbur and his other boys that’s when the both of you could try again.

Oh god, the other boys. When he invited them all here next week, he hoped they’d make a good impression if not Dadza was going to craft a belt.

“How long has it been since you’ve had an actual meal?”

“God decades!”

He chuckled deeply, kissing your cheek, and led you into his house to have a nice warm meal. Having you around definitely took some getting used to, his days suddenly shifted around as he accommodated for another person but he didn’t mind. Phil woke up happier than he'd felt in a long time, you were curled up against his chest, the top of your head was right under his chin. He ran a hand through your (h/c) hair, letting it run through his fingers, even though it’s been about a week he still felt like you weren’t really beside him.

Wait a week.

His eyes snapped open and he shot up like a rocket, feathers flying everywhere as you groaned, “Crow? Everything alright?” You asked adorably rubbing your eyes, his stress melted away momentarily as he watched you wake up. A few flowers bloomed in your hair as you came to your senses.

“Everythings fine! Just remembered it’s Sunday and the others don’t usually follow set times.” He pulled you from the bed giving you a quick good morning peck on the lips. “Get dressed, something nice I wanna show you off,” He kissed you again longer this time you giggled.

“To who? Our son and your friends?” He gave a happy little nod, as you rolled your eyes, he felt your fingers fix the hair on his face, Phil closed his eyes and leaned against your touch. “But I’ll do as you wish my Crow,” You stood up from the bed and stretched your arms above your head. Phil had managed to get some clothes for you from a nearby village, he still remembered your style, but tried to make it more modern so you didn’t stick out like a sore thumb. You slid on the new clothes, they hung off you loosely. They clearly needed some tailoring, and you slid on the boots he got you the day before, as much as you like walking around barefoot it was pretty impractical.

“Shall we?” Phil held his arm out to you, you wrapped your arm around his own as he led you outside. You both stood on a hillside covered in soft green grass and a big willow tree. Phil looked down at you, his big wings gently covering your back from any danger, he was sure not feeling the grass between your feet was a foreign feeling to you but you didn’t seem to mind. The smile on your face said it all, you were peaceful and relaxed, letting the breeze flow through your hair. “You’re beautiful,” your eyes snapped up to him your cheeks turning light pink,

“Oh stop it old man.” He made an indignant sound as you laughed, your hands reached up and dragged him down to your level, kissing him tenderly. Phil felt his eyes flutter closed and his wings drop, he was snapped back to reality by loud whistling. You pulled back and he pushed you behind him, wings puffing up defensively, standing on the side of the hill were Wilbur, Tommy, Technoblade, and Fundy. Tommy was the one whistling eyes sparkling mischievously, Wilbur whacked him on the back of the head to get him to shut up.

“Dad! Wil’s being mean to me!”

“Don’t be mean to Tommy Wil,” Phil pressed his fingers to his nose with a sigh “Wilbur don’t antagonize your brother.” Fundy was cackling at their mischief, your eyebrows shot up on your forehead and Phil cleared his throat, face pink. Technoblade just stared seemingly eyeing you suspiciously, “(Y/n) these are my other sons. Boys this is (Y/n) Wilbur’s birth mother.” It was Technoblade’s turn for his eyebrows to raise and Tommy’s jaw dropped to the floor,

“No shit.” Tommy gawked, “You don’t look like her at all Wilbur! You’re so ugly, must’ve gotten that from Phil. Sad.” You burst into hysterical laughter watching Phil glare over at Tommy. Wilbur was seething at his sibling but ignored him in favor of giving you a light hug,

“Good to see you, mom.” He whispered,

“Good to see you too.” Phil heard you respond and hug him back, Wilbur whispered something to you and you made a little surprised face before nodding. Phil assumed he told you that the other boys were not in fact his biological children, but those he had adopted. Fundy soon joined in the hug snuggling into your stomach, you ruffled the young fox’s head and he chirped happily. Tommy walked over to introduce himself to you next, he proclaimed to be not only Phil’s favorite son but Wilbur’s favorite brother too. Which lead him to then boldly declare he’d be your favorite as well and Wilbur sent him a scathing look, ah yes, Phil knew that look rather well. Wilbur inherited that look from you, nose all scrunched up and eyes sharp. You shook the young boy's hand and happily told him you couldn't wait to see him fall into the number one spot. Wilbur shot you an offended look and Phil covered up a laugh with his hand, the offending look was sent to his father next,

“Dad.”

“What?” Phil laughed holding up his hands, “If he wants to win your mother’s attention I’m not gonna stop him. Every man for themselves.”

“Phil,” You nudged him with his elbow “be nice.” Tommy began to boast about how awesome he was in comparison to his brother, you sent a wink to Wilbur’s, and his shoulders visibly relaxed.

You were his number one, anyone with a brain could see that.

Phil noticed Technoblade had his eye on you the entire time, it took him much longer than the others to gain trust. He decided to walk away from you to stand by the hybrid's side, “Hey mate.” Technoblade only grunted in response, arms crossed over his broad chest protectively, “What’s crawled up your butt eh?”

“You didn’t tell me ‘bout her.” He motioned in your direction with his chin, “you tell me everything. Why not her?” Technoblade was trying to remain stoic but after all these years he could tell he was hurt. Phil sighed softly scratching the stubble on his chin as he watched Fundy run around you trying to fight for your attention.

“It was hard for me to talk about, she didn’t leave on her own free will. Her life was in danger and I didn’t know if I’d ever see her again. It was a shock when she came back last week, a good shock but a shock nonetheless. (Y/n) was my everything, is my everything. I kept it from everyone because I hoped it would keep her alive and safe from those who wished to harm her.” Phil looked over at Techno, for once Phil’s eyes showed his true age, “I’m sorry mate you know I would’ve told you if I could. Doesn’t take much for me to start gushing ‘bout her. I mean look at her.” Phil glanced back over at you, Fundy was on your shoulders, his hat on your head, meanwhile, Wilbur was wrestling with Tommy on the ground. You looked over at him desperate for his help and Phil only smiled over at you and shook his head. Your eyes screamed distressed as you tried to get the boys to stop fighting, Phil felt Techno’s eyes on him and he looked back at his son and friend.

“I understand I suppose,” Technoblade sighed rubbing the back of his neck, “You wanted to protect her. I can’t be mad at you for that, but no more secrets alright? Promise me?”

“Promise. Now go say hi to her before she gets upset and thinks you don’t like her,” Phil nudged him forward and his eyes widened a little,

“Heh? Phil hold on-”

“(Y/n)! This is Techno.” Phil clapped the man on the back, you looked up at him with a kind smile.

“Pleasure to meet you Technoblade, I like your cape.” Phil watched the man flush in embarrassment at the compliment,

“Eh...thanks. Like your flowers.” He motioned to the flowers blooming in your hair, you beamed brightly at him, always happy to talk about your flowers.

“Thank you, sweetie!” His ears turned red and he waved you off anxiously, he moved to peel Tommy away from Wilbur, wanting to get out of this conversation. Fundy hopped off your shoulders to tackle his father and you let out a breath you didn’t realize you were holding in, “wow. They’re…”

“A lot?”

“Yes.” You laughed fondly, “but…”

“I wouldn’t trade them for the world.” Phil nodded kissing you on the apple of your cheek,

“Good. You better not. They’re all my sons now. I hope you know that” You leaned against his chest, he laughed and you felt his chest rise and fall.

“I’d expect nothing less from you.”

Letters. That’s how most of you communicated in the years to follow, Wilbur would send letters and you would beam in delight. It melted Phil’s heart, he knew his son was busy with the revolution and the now Presidency but he wished he’d visit his mother. You would write him back almost immediately after receiving a letter, you’d seal the letter with a kiss before sending it off with one of Phil’s crows. Afterward, Phil would take you in his arms and pepper you in tender kisses, you would giggle and snuggle into his arms. He told you he loved you, and you cooed and told you loved him back, then you both would share a kiss. Phil loved those days the most, seeing you truly happy made his heart swell. There were days where Phil taught you how to fight, days where you would garden, and days where he let you groom his feathers. He loved that, grooming was another one of the things he missed the most, you got out all the tangled feathers just perfectly. He would lean back against your hands head falling on your shoulder as he panted, his pupils were blown wide as you hummed fondly.

So, maybe Phil enjoyed it a little more than he remembered.

It was a cold autumn day when the letters stopped coming, you were heartbroken, always anxiously petting and feeding his crows. They could sense your disappointment in waves, it was almost choking Phil himself, his heart ached to see you so sad. He pets your hair gently as you both sat on the hill with the willow tree, he noticed the bags under your eyes were dark, Phil’s frown only deepened.

“My love please smile for me, I’ve missed it so much these past few weeks.”

“Somethings wrong,” Your voice was soft looking up at Phil “He wouldn’t just stop writing to us. He always writes to us.” He hated the way your voice quivered, “what if he changed his mind about me?” Phil shushed you softly with a kiss,

“First of all, there’s no way he changed his mind about you. The way the both of you bonded these past few years, Wilbur wouldn’t throw that all away for no good reason.” He tried to reassure you, “Although, I will admit this is strange. Wilbur isn’t one to not write to me, it’s something he’s always done ever since he was old enough to spell.”

“Crow…” You whispered, “can we visit him? Just to put my mind at ease...please.” Phil’s heart melted as soon as he saw your puppy dog eyes, he nodded and you smiled.

Good. He was going to keep that there as long as he was physically able.

The next day, Phil scooped you up in his arms and you headed towards the direction of his son's new nation.

It was called L’Manburg if Phil remembered correctly.

What the both of you didn’t expect to see was a war zone, “Phil…” You murmured eyes wide in fear, he held you to his chest, your brow furrowed in worry. He swore he could see Tommy and Techno looking up at them from below, it didn’t ease the anxiety prickling at his skin, the sky suddenly went black with crows.

A bad omen, something bad was going to happen, and they knew it.

“Phil they’re distressed. Somethings wrong.”

“I know hon,” Phil looked around worriedly, he spotted a glance of Wilbur walking into some sort of room. He landed just outside the entrance, he put you on your feet, “Stay behind me.” He instructed you, you nodded your head clutching onto his bicep. The both of you stepped into the dimly lit room, there were scrawlings etched into the wall, all scratched in by Wilbur. Your brow furrowed in concern, fingers dancing across the lettering, “what’re you doing?” Phil spoke, his tone flat and serious, looking dead at your son, wings spreading out behind him.

“Wilby?” You asked softly as he slowly turned around, his big brown eyes were wet and wide.

“Mom…” He whispered, “I didn’t want…” Wilbur looked away from you and grit his teeth, “Welcome to L’manburg. Sorry, you have to see it like this, war-torn and broken. I wanted you to see it in its prime, a shame you didn’t visit sooner.”

“Wilbur, don’t do this,” Phil said watching his son look longingly at the button in the middle of the wall, almost with longing. “This is your country, it can be fixed. Things can be rebuilt, it’s where you raised your son,” Phil continued his entire body tense and nervous he was too aware of the sword on Wilbur’s hip. Phil reached out his hand as you walked towards Wilbur,

“Baby boy…” You whispered tenderly, vines slowly growing out of the cracks in the floor. “Don’t do this I only just got you back, please think about what you’re doing.” Wilbur’s brow furrowed watching you smile softly holding out your arm, “Everything will be alright I promise you. We can help you.” He let out a wet laugh running a hand through his brown curls, his pointed ears visible.

“It’s not the same nation anymore. There was a special place where people could go but it’s not there. It’s no longer the nation it once was Mom.”

“It is there. You've just- You've just won it back, Wil!” Phil spoke up in opposition to his son.

“MOM, Dad, I’m ALWAYS SO CLOSE to pressing this button, Phil! I've BEEN HERE like seven or eight times, I've been here seven or eight times...Phil, I've been here so many times…” All of you jumped a little at the sound of crackling fireworks outside, “They're fighting. They're fighting!” Phil and you glanced at one another, there was a beat of silence.

“And you want to just blow it all up, You fought so hard to get this land back... So hard.” You argued reaching out to cup his cheeks, he melted into your palms, snuggling into them like they were his last lifeline.

“I don't even know if it works anymore, Mom, I don't even know if the button works, I could, I could... press it.”

“Do you really wanna take that risk?” Phil laughed, “There is a lot of TNT potentially connected to that button.”

“Phil... There was a saying, Phil. By a traitor. Once part of L'Manburg. A traitor- I don't know if you've heard of Eret? He had a saying...It was never meant to be!” He tossed his hand back and slammed it against the button, you let out a devastating shriek pulling Wilbur into your arms to try and protect him from the blast. Phil felt pure adrenaline enter his bloodstream as he flew towards you and his son. His wings wrapped around the both of you and you whimpered, some of his feathers caught fire and he squeezed his loved one’s harder. Wilbur meanwhile let out a roaring cry “MY L'MANBURG, PHIL! MY UNFINISHED SYMPHONY, FOREVER UNFINISHED! IF I CAN'T HAVE THIS, NO-ONE CAN, PHIL!”

“Oh, my god…” Phil spoke, his voice quivering with horror, Wilbur looked down at you, hurt and pride swam in his eyes,

“Are you proud of me mama?” He whispered softly as your thumb caressed his cheeks, Phil glanced down at you ignoring the pain in his wing, your eyes were wet but you were still smiling.

It didn’t reach your eyes.

“I’ll always be proud of you Wilbur. I’m your mother, and I love you, I’ll always love you.” He let out a little cry, you were so genuine with him, your love was smothering him. Wilbur looked up at his father and grabbed his wrist,

“Kill me, Phil. Phil, kill me, Phil kill me!” Wilbur broke away from his hold and tossed his sword Phil’s way. Phil caught it in his arms the lines in his forehead creasing with worry, “Phil, stab me with the sword, murder me now, kill me! Killza, Killza, do it! Kill me, Phil! Murder me! Look, they all want you to! Do it, Phil! Kill me! Phil, kill me!”

“I- You're my SON!”

“Wilbur NO! PHIL DON’T YOU FUCKING DARE!” You cried as Wilbur shoved you away from him, your growing distress caused vines to spill into the room, filling it with greenery, nature wanted to protect you.

“No matter what you- dude, no matter what you've done, I can't-” Phil’s voice cracked, his knuckles turning white against the hilt of the blade.

Wilbur slammed his fist against the wall, “Phil, it's- LOOK! LOOK! HOW MUCH WORK WENT INTO THIS, and it's GONE!” He grabbed Phil’s hand and shoved the point of the sword into his chest, “Do it. Do it.”

“PHIL!” You sobbed grabbing onto his other arm, eyes red and puffy, fat tears were running down your pink cheeks.

The man squeezed his eyes tightly, his throat closing up, he couldn’t look at you, he could feel the look of horror that was slowly spreading across your face.

“Phil. I’m begging you we can get him help, I can’t lose him. Not again, not when I’ve only just got him back.” You choked out, “he’s my baby. He’s our baby.” You were clinging to Phil desperately, your smile was gone, he failed you and he failed his own son.

“Do it, Dad.” Wilbur interrupted you, you let out a desperate cry and Wilbur shushed you softly, brushing away your tears. “It’s better this way,” Wilbur leaned down and kissed your forehead, “I love you and I forgive you.” He looked back at Phil and his disintegrating right-wing, guilt ate at him, “It’s time.”

Phil let out a deep breath, jaw tense and he felt you bury your head in his uninjured wing. He ran his sword through his son’s chest, Wilbur fell forward against the blade, he choked on the blood in his mouth, it flowed out of the corners and stained the front of his shirt. Phil felt you move to look but he covered your face with his wing once more, “Don’t look darlin’” He whispered as your sobs only increased, Wilbur slowly died in his arms with a smile on his face that would forever haunt Phil’s nightmares. He stroked Wilbur’s hair as he slowly faded out of existence, three lives completely snuffed out, Phil was part of giving him life and was the one to take his final one. Once Wilbur was gone you crumpled to the floor loud sobs echoing in the chamber, he fell beside you and wrapped you in his arms, you clutched his beanie to your chest.

“It’s alright. It’ll be okay.”

“Okay! Philza Minecraft how the FUCK is this gonna be okay!” You snarled in his arms but he only held you tighter, “Our son...our baby is dead.” You choked holding your hand to your mouth, the vines that had grown started dying feeding off your agony. “He’s gone…” You whimpered letting Phil caress your hair and plant kisses on the top of your head.

“We’ll get through this. I promise you.” He swore up to you cupping your cheeks within his hands, you sniffled a little and gave a small nod of your head. You were drained emotionally and physically, Phil’s heart ached in his chest.

“You’re hurt…”

“I’ll be alright,” He tried to stretch out his wings he flinched as pain shot up the right side of his body. Phil’s wing was charred to bits, you both knew the unspoken truth that he’d never fly like he once did, Wilbur wasn’t the only thing Phil would mourn.

“We need to set up a grave for him. Under the willow tree, I’ll plant yellow flowers. That way he can always be close to us so long as we live there,” You looked up at him eyebrows pinched so tight “Please.”

“You don’t need permission Darlin’.” He whispered to you resting his forehead against your own, “If that’s where you want it that’s where it’ll be.”

“Good.”

Phil slowly helped you to your feet, you weren’t injured, a few cuts and scrapes he took the majority of the damage from the explosion just like he had planned. He hissed as he tried to put pressure on his left ankle, “Fuck me. I’m too young to need a cane.”

“Eh,” You smiled weakly “Wouldn’t say that.”

“Shut the fuck up.” You giggled softly, your laughter significantly improved his mood, even if it was a minuscule adjustment. “We all can’t be as spry as you,”

“What can I say some of us have it and some of us don’t.” You smirked slightly hearing another loud explosion go off in the distance, “the Withers. Technoblade spawned them didn’t he?” Your eyebrows furrowed in thought and Phil gave a little nod,

“Most likely.”

“Our boys, they can’t do anything without explosions can they?” You shakily whispered and Phil couldn’t help but let out a dry laugh,

“Guess so,” He shrugged limply as you slipped Wilbur’s beanie on your head,

“What now?” You looked up at him through wet eyelashes, Phil caressed the back of your head,

“We go home, bury what’s left of Wilbur, and take a look at my wings to assess the damage.” Phil watched you nod numbly against him, “it’ll be a long walk back.” He groaned rubbing his eyes and you rubbed his back soothingly.

“Let me handle that,” You reassured and he raised an eyebrow the both of you moved to leave the structure neither one of you wanted to put up with anyone, you both had lost a son and wanted time to mourn. Plus, it seemed Tommy and Technoblade were busy fighting. Phil watched you with careful eyes allowing himself to lean against one of the trees that survived the explosion. You placed your fingers in your mouth and gently whistled, not only did a crow from a tree flutter by but a wandering horse as well, you really were an animal whisperer. The crow ruffled its feathers and cawed loudly at Phil, he shot the crow a look and flipped it off, meanwhile, you worked your magic taming the horse in a matter of moments. “Come here Crow,” You held as your hand and he fell into it, you helped him onto the horse and he shot you a look,

“I’m not riding on this horse with you walking on foot. Switch with me.” Phil tried to argue but you shushed him,

“You took an explosion to the back. Take a breather, relax, nature helps me heal anyway.” You hummed fondly as he slumped against the horse reluctantly, it took about an hour to get back home, Phil had lost all feeling in his wing and wanted nothing more than to curl up with you and go to sleep. As the looming willow tree came into view Phil heard you sniffle and clutch his son’s beanie on your head,

“(Y/n)?”

“I-I’m alright.” You cleared your throat shaking your head, “Let’s get you looked at before anything else, okay?” Phil too exhausted to argue only nodded limply, you helped him inside and set him down on a chair. “Spread your wings for me,” You commanded, helping him stretch out his wings. He cursed, only feeling pure agony shoot through his right side,

“Ow! Fuck me!”

“Sorry, sorry,” You whispered out tenderly rubbing the base of his left-wing. The mixture of pain and pleasure was foreign but not completely unwelcome. “Oh, Phil…” You trailed off hesitant to touch the damage that was inflicted, “I don’t...I don’t think-” You chewed the bottom of your lip, but Phil got the message, he wasn’t going to be able to fly as he once did, maybe ever again. His flight feathers were singed to hell, completely burned away, not to mention the patchiness of his other feathers. His shoulders slumped forward as he ran a hand down his face, he was exhausted, he felt the coolness on his wing as you spread some antibiotic on the injury. “I’m sorry,” You kissed the back of his neck and he shivered at the feeling. “We’ll bury what we have tomorrow, you need rest.”

“I’ll be fine-”

“Phil, I will force you into bed. Don’t fucking test me right now, I will force you if I have to.” You hissed out glaring daggers at him, he should be threatened but he just felt oddly aroused.

He decided to attribute that to how fucked up he felt today.

Phil allowed you to tuck him into bed as gentle as you were capable of doing, “I’m going to send out some letters. I’ll join you in a little bit.” He felt you remove his hat and run your fingers through his blonde hair, he leaned into your touch like a kitten. As soon as you shut the door, Phil was out like a light.

Phil found out the next day that you had sent a letter out to both Tommy and Technoblade, you wouldn’t specify what you sent but you seemed a bit more relaxed than you had the other day. You both didn’t get a chance to bury what was left of Wilbur until a week later, Phil’s healing process was slower than he could’ve imagined. Phil reluctantly had to use a cane to get around easily, his crows laughed at him but you were also so kind and careful.

You were an angel.

The two of you buried him under the willow tree on the hill where you’d met the other members of your odd family for the first time. Technoblade had shown up at your doorstep holding out a large box inside of it was a stone tombstone inscribed on the tombstone was Wilbur’s name and date of birth and death. It had surprised Phil that the hybrid even agreed to make this for you, but at the same time, he was Phil’s adoptive son and closest friend, he appreciated the gesture nonetheless. Phil had placed Wilbur’s coat and beanie into a box and placed it under the ground. You had kept your promise and had grown little yellow flowers around the site of the burial, and the two parents mourned the loss of their biological son. Technoblade stood close by a hand resting on Phil’s shoulder in hopes to soothe him at least a little bit, Phil would never admit it but he appreciated the gesture.

Little did the three of them know, a small smile spread across a young ghost’s face. He picked at the sleeves of his yellow sweater, maybe he could give both of them some blue sometime to help them heal.

He had a feeling they’d like that idea.

~~~

I usually don't tag people in my stories but I figured a lot of people wanted a part two:

@xx-smiley-xx @dreamsofficialwife @dirtydiavolo @thatguythatsshy

@shinyshimaagain @little-odd-dude @theultimatewifu32 @hee-hee-haw @thegeekishere

[bidoldaccount]

Grow As We Go - loose ends

word count: 1,937

tying up loose ends :)

ONE ; TWO ; THREE ; FOUR ; FIVE

Read on AO3

Read on Wattpad

"Dad!" Dean flinched as Jack came sprinting into the garage, out of breath with red cheeks. Dean nearly knocked himself out on the hood of a vintage corvette he was rebuilding.

"Jack!" He attempted to match his enthusiasm but failed as he stood up straight, his back popping.

"Dad said we could go to the aquarium!" He said with a wide smile.

"I said we could go this weekend," Castiel corrected, appering behind Jack with a fond roll of his eyes.

"Why can't we go today?" Jack frowned, blinking up at Cas.

"Jack, you have visitation with your mom today," Castiel pointed out gently, laying his hand on the eleven year olds shoulder. Jack's face fell, he settled his eyes back on Dean with a frown.

"Do I have to go?" He asked.

"It's only for a few hours and Mrs. Talbot will be there the whole time," Dean said, dropping the rag in his hand so he could nudge Jack's chin.

"I'd rather stay home with you," Jack mumbled, turning back to Cas, wrapping his arms around him waist and burying his face in his stomach. Cas pressed his hands to Jack's back and rubbed it softly.

"We know buddy, but it'll be good for you to have a relationship with your mom," Cas said, catching Dean's eye roll and giving him a pointed look while Jack wasn't looking.

"She spends half of our visitation on her phone or talking about her real kids," Jack said.

"Jack, you are her real kid," Dean said.

"No," Jack pulled his face away from Cas' stomach and looked back at Dean. "I'm your kid," he looked up at Cas and repeated, "I'm your kid. I have two dads and no mom, and I like it that way," he said.

"I'm sorry, buddy," Cas smiled tightly, his eyebrows furrowed down with soft sympathy. "Why don't you talk to Mrs. Talbot about it, maybe she'll have some advice for you."

"Whatever," Jack pulled away and stomped back into the house. Castiel sighed heavil, taking the few steps towards Dean until he could wrap his arms around his husbands shoulders.

"I hate sending him to her," he whispered even though Jack had slammed the garage door.

"Me too," Dean shook his head, placing his hands on Castiel's hips, holding his husband close. "But we have no choice. Until our next court date when they let Jack tesifty, we just have to show that we're cooperating. Plus, she's missed three visits and Bela started supervising again because she kept him longer than she was allowed. It doesn't look good and Sam is really confident that they'll give us full custody," Dean said, rubbing his thumbs in comforting circles at Cas' hips.

"Sam's biased," Cas mumbled. "I'm just worried that they'll take the woeful mother bit," he said.

"Let's not think about it, okay? Come on, lets go take Jack out for breakfast before he has to go," Dean leaned in to kiss Castiel's lip, lingering for a few seconds before pulling away.

"Okay," Cas sighed, reeling in his emotions before they went inside.

They go to court two months later, on a rainy tuesday afternoon. Jack wears a button up that Castiel had ironed with trembling hands. Kayla shows up with her mother, who had actually been very adamant that she had no knowledge of Jack's existence and wanted to be present in his life. She was very reassuring from the beginning that she wouldn't dare fight them for custody because of what good parents they seem to be.

Kayla had smirked their way and they avoided her gaze at all costs. The judge allowed Jack to testify and the boy did so with a calm, even voice. He read from a piece of paper that he spent three weeks perfecting.

"When I was nine years old, I asked my dad, Castiel, why I didn't have a mother like some of my other friends had. He explained to me that when I was a baby, my mother was not ready to have a baby, so she gave me to my dad, Dean. He told me that it wasn't my fault that I didn't have a mother, and it wasn't her fault either, it was just the way life worked out sometimes. When my mother, Kayla, came back, a part of me was excited, because if like happened the way it does for a reason, then maybe I would be lucky enough to have two dads plus a mom. I never thought that I would be sitting here, fighting to stay with my parents. That is what they are. Dean and cas are my dads, that's what they have always been. Kayla has never been my mom, and she hasn't acted like one up to this point. She speaks poorly of my dads, even though I've told her that it makes me upset, she makes homophobic remarks, she took me to a mans house that she claimed was her boyfriend and I sat in a stuffy living room for two hours while she spent time in the bedroom with him," Castiel had to squeeze Dean's hand hand so he wouldn't be tempted to jump out of his seat. Deans jaw nearly popped with how hard he pressed his teeth together.

"I sent picture to my caseworker, Mrs. Talbot," Jack smiled proudly as Bela passed around the evidence. Kaylas eyes had widened and her attorney had objected. Cas stared wide eyed as their attorney assured Kaylas that the new evidence was submitted well before court started. Dean smiled proudly at Jack, and the boy beamed.

"I'd like to say one more thing if I may?" Jack asked the judge, the man gesturing for him to continue, his face was steel but his eyes were soft. Jack smiled at him, then looked towards his parents. "For what it's worth, you'll never meet better parents than my dads. I could list a hundred things that makes them amazing parents, but all I really have to say, is I have never once questioned their love for me. I might be young, but I know what love, and support, and stability means, because I have really good dads. I won't get that with Kayla, and I'd much rather stay in my loving home. Thank you," Jack nodded his head once and threw a questioning look at Bela. She nodded for him to get off of the stand and he did so quickly. He ran across the courtroom and threw his arms around both Dean and Cas' shoulders. They hugged him back tightly, both of them trying to hold back tears.

When the judge awarded them full custody, they cried. They cried right there in the middle of the court room until their attorney guided them out. Sam and his wife, Eileen, and kaylas mother, Judy, met them outside of the courtroom and they took turns hugging Jack.

-

"Dad, look!" Jack held up a new pair of drumsticks, and Dean looked at Sam with a sarcastically wide smile.

"Jee, Sam, how nice of you," he said through gritted teeth. Sam smiled innocently, then pretended like someone called him. Dean rolled his eyes and looked back to Jack as he opened another Christmas present. He couldn't lie, the sixteen year old was surprisingly good at the drums, Dean likes to take credit for it because of all the classic rock he played when Jack was a kid.

"Daddy, look what grandma Judy bought for me!" Dean looked down at Claire, five years old with the biggest smile on her face as she stood beside a giant box that contained a Princess vanity.

"Oh my, Judy!" Dean looked up at the woman with wide eyes.

"Hush, they're my grandkids, you got to let me spoil them," she said as she passed him. He smiled fondly, watching her plop herself onto the recliner that she always occupies when she visits. One of Dean's favorite outcome from Kayla popping up five year old, is Judy. Once the woman found out about Jack, she'd been a prominent figure in his life. Then they adopted Claire, at two years old after her parents died in a plane crash, and she treated Claire as if she were her blood.

Dean left Judy and the kids in the living room once all of the presents were opened, and he stopped Cas from leaving the kitchen when he tried to pass Dean. Cas gave him a questioning look, but Dean hushed him and guided him into the garage.

"What are you doing?" Cas asked with a small laugh.

"I have one more present for you, but I wanted to give it to you in private, mostly because it's really fucking cheesy," he explained as he walked to his toolbox. He pulled out a square shaped present, wrapped in newspaper because Dean is simple like that. He handed it to cas with red cheeks and stood back with his arms crossed as Cas eyed it. He had a soft smile on his face as he unwrapped it and his cautious smile turned to soft awe as the newspaper fell.

"It's stupid and cheesy but I thought you'd like it," Dean shrugged as Cas started flipping through the photo album Dean put together. It went in order of the years. The first few pages were in their shitty one bedroom apartment, early years of their first dates, the first night Castiel stayed over, and Cas' pride week outfits. Then Jack appeared, laying on Castiel's chest fast asleep, cas smiling wide as his hands hovered over where Jack was taking his first steps, first days of school, arts and crafts gone wrong when everything got covered in glitter, the first time Sam met Jack. Then it was middle childhood, soccer games and school plays, their wedding, in front of the courthouse when they won full custody. Then high school, the first time they took Jack to Pride, that time Cas broke his leg and they mistakingly gave him a bell to ring when he needed them, adopting Claire. Family trips, small moments, days spent at the park, random little things that made their life so worth living, they were all interspersed in there. Some of the notes that Dean kept from the lunches Castiel packed him, pictures the kids drew, notes Dean left for Cas on days he woke up first, copies of their wedding vows. They were all in there. Cas was crying when he finally finished flipping through, and he couldn't speak, so he threw his arms around deans shoulders and cried softly into his husbands neck.

"I take it you hate it?" Dean teased, even though his heart has never felt lighter.

"I love it, you asshole," Cas said, voice shaky. Dean chuckled, wrapping his arms around Castiel's waist, holding him tightly. "I love it so much, and I love you," cas pulled his head back so he could press his lips to Dean's, kissing him hard and passionately.

"I love you too, Cas," Dean whispered between breathless kisses. Castiel sniffled as he pulled away, holding the photo album tightly against his chest.

"Let's go inside, I can feel Claire bargaining with Judy for another slice of pie," Castiel laughed softly to cover up how much he wanted to cry out of pure joy.

"Just let me kiss you for a little longer," Dean said, holding his hips close. Cas smiled, settling into Dean's arms and allowing himself to stand there, in the garage that Dean built, with their family safe and happy inside, and kiss his husband.

[currywaifu]

𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐥𝐞: pink hyacinth 𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩: settsu banri/reader 𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠: sfw 𝐰𝐜: 2.5k words 𝐝𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨: alyssa ✨, natasha, kat

𝐬𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐲: flower shop part-timer banri and friendly competition between him and the reader. might make part 2 if i feel like it. 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐥𝐚𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐫: this work is a part of the flower shop event, a series of unconnected flower shop AU one-shots

As the flower shop grew more popular, the more difficult it became for you and your boss to manage everything by yourselves. Even though it wasn’t the holiday season, the orders seemed to increase every week— plus, managing the till while making a last minute arrangement and simultaneously giving people flower recommendations? It was no easy feat, that was for sure.

“Let’s hire someone to work part time alongside you,” your boss finally decided one day as she flipped through the accounting ledger book, “it’s not always the both of us will be at the store at the same time. We need the extra help.”

You hummed  in reply, not thinking much of it at the time as you continued taking inventory. As long as they weren’t overly cold to you, you couldn’t foresee any problems. Well, except for maybe one, little thing.

“My salary won’t be lowered, right?”

…

You were expecting the new hire to be the stereotypical soft, sweet, fluffy looking person of whom grandmas would be drawn to. Instead, he was a guy wearing a purple, leopard-cheetah-whatever animal print bucket hat with a luxury brand logo right smack in the centre.

Aha, it really put the statement in the term statement piece. It certainly gave him a lot of impact.

You wanted to do something in between laughing and crying, but your boss probably wouldn’t appreciate either one. With some restraint, you introduced yourself with a  bright smile, handing him a work apron you hoped was his size.

“If you ever need any help, just let me know,” you offered, leading him to the staff room so he could store his belongings somewhere and take off that dumb hat. “It might take you a while to get used to some things, but I’m sure you’ll get a hang of it soon!”

“I’m a quick study, don’t worry.”

There was something about the way he phrased it that made you intrigued. He said it in a pretty nonchalant manner, even his expression remained relaxed, but the moment your eyes met his you found yourself growing excited. There was a certain glint there that you recognised pretty quickly, and you had a feeling he did, too.

“I think we’ll get along well, Banri-kun,” you said, grinning in anticipation of the next few weeks. It would be an undeniably nice break from the usual routine work brought upon you.

There’s a visible upwards stretch on his lips, too, and though he replied to you with a “who knows?” something in your gut told you the feeling was already reciprocated.

…

Settsu Banri wasn’t lying one bit when he told you he learned things fast. On his first day he took the time to observe you first, watching you go about the different tasks for the day— from how and for how long you watered each plant, to how you went about choosing flowers to add to a bouquet, to how you interacted with the customers and how you subtly managed to convince them that yes, they did need that new and slightly pricey fertiliser.

The way he was able to pick up on the way you did things pretty quickly was something to be envied. Although he still lacked a lot of the stock knowledge and experience you had, he easily made up for it with his skill in… literally everything else.

He wondered what your reaction would be— would you be pissed? That wasn’t really his intention but he was pretty self-aware that some people found that annoying. Though he wasn’t overly concerned of what people thought of him in the first place, it wouldn’t sit right with him either if his co-worker on one of his first jobs didn’t like him.

You stood behind him, your critical eye peering at the way he arranged his flowers. Pink ranunculus and hyacinth, as well as some other filler flowers, laid out atop the worktable. With his choice of an off white Kraft paper, the assortment of pink decorative sheets, and the silver lace ribbon, it was clear that he was a natural— or at least he had a good eye for colour scheme.

“All this fit the customer’s price range, yeah?” he asked. Truly, he already knew the answer. It was easy to estimate the amount of wrapping needed for a bouquet of that size, and the price labels per material made things even easier. He even skimmed the flower language guide printed out to make sure his flower choices were optimal.

In fact, the real question he meant to ask wasn’t even whether it fit the budget or not.

Despite his confidence, he turned his head around if only to gauge your facial expression. You stood still in your spot for a few seconds; then you quietly moved from your station behind his back to beside him, your arm brushing against his as you took a closer look. He didn’t tense up from the contact, but he’s not completely numb to the sudden closeness, either.

Though he was planning on it already, his awareness of you definitely grew as he watched your reactions from the corner of his eye.

A normal person would’ve taken one look and end up deciding then and there if it was nice or not, but as he watched the narrow of your eyes and the way the pads of your fingers felt the texture of papers he knew not a single detail was going amiss with you.

He could respect that. There was something pretty admirable about someone completely dedicated to their craft.

“Yeah,” you replied, “right down to the choice of going for a thicker ribbon instead of something thinner. It’ll turn out pretty,”

As he was about to soak up your praise and reply in stride, you ended up surprising him as you followed up with another comment.

“Though I think your flower choice could be… better,” you commented coolly.

With an eyebrow raised, he couldn’t find it in himself to be offended at all— just plain curious in what you have to say.

“The customer asked for a non-rose bouquet to tell someone they’ve fallen for them because they’re so charming, so ranunculus and hyacinths best fit the criteria,” he explained, curious of how you’d critique his decision.

“The ranunculus was a good choice, but lowkey makes the guy seem shallow?” you pointed out, a shrug soon following. “Also, I wouldn’t go for pink hyacinth— the bouquet ends up implying the guy’s just playing around with the girl. If you went with blue, it’d show that he’s sincere about his feelings.”

Banri let out a little exhale of breath, crossing his arms as he leaned against the table to look at you properly. “Sense, doubt whoever’s getting this is gonna go as hard analysing as you though.”

You rolled your eyes before mirroring his actions, “You never know with these things, but… maybe you’re just upset you didn’t make the perfect choice?”

He huffed, but a smirk rose to his face just as yours did. Were you challenging him? He can’t say he particularly hates it, not when he’s steadily growing more and more interested in you.

“And maybe you’re just paranoid I’ll catch up to your skill level quickly,” he teased, amused when you don’t back down from his provocation. He initially wasn’t serious about it, but if you were down— “I’m sure I can make you admit to my skills in a span of a week, maybe even tomorrow.”

“Oh I’m too nice for that, I’ll give you the rest of the week to make it easier on you,” you cooed playfully, before ultimately coming to a conclusion, “wanna bet?”

“With what?

Your eyes flitted away elsewhere, looking a little too pensive for such a trivial matter. “I mean, I’m broke, but just betting for the sake of pride is boring…” you trailed off, and Banri couldn’t help but helpfully supply his two cents.

“Don’t people in shows usually ask for a favour or some shit with these kinds of things?”

You stared at him blankly. “I… I get what you mean, but not gonna lie, using the word favour makes it sound wrong—“

“Oi oi,” Banri interrupted, “don’t make me out to be some kind of fuckboy.”

“Sorry, sorry,” you let out a laugh that was light, laced with a hum of amusement at the matter, “but like, we don’t have to decide on anything now? Let’s just go with the flow. I’m sure I’ll eventually think of the reward I’ll get~”

“That confident?”

You shrugged, “not really, just optimistic… so, you game?”

…

Honestly, neither of you even set any rules or guidelines for your little competition; it was just a matter of you having fun competing with Banri over numerous things.

Who could convince more people to purchase gardening products they may or may not actually need were hesitating on buying (6-9 in Banri’s favour).

Who could recommend the better flowers (8-4 in your favour).

Who could compute and double check accounting and inventory faster (5-6, you told yourself you’re making it even today).

Who could create the better bouquet arrangement (somehow, a tie. Even with his fashion sense, he was pretty good at coordinating colours and patterns. You did have to stop him from using two animal print papers in one go, though).

Occasionally your boss would walk in the two of you bantering and critiquing each other’s work. At first, you worried she’d tell off the both of you (or maybe just you, since you were technically Banri’s senior in terms of experience), but she deemed it as ‘productive noise’ and let the two of you continue, even chiming in with her own opinions from time to time.

With her encouragement, neither of you held back.

“Oh, you accidentally cut too much ribbon— what a waste,” and “you missed a row in your calculation. Let me show you,” were amongst the common statements you said to each other.

A work relationship that was neither vile nor overly friendly, teasing at very least and strangely productive at most. You were quite satisfied with this turn out, a good way to stave off the boredom work could bring, but life had other things in store for the two of you.

Beyond either of your expectations, your dynamic would soon enough evolve into something beyond little comments exchanged between one another and one-upping each other.

…

There were always hints that beneath both of your competitiveness, there was a lot of thoughtfulness as well. Helping each other out under the guise of “showing them how it’s done”, or “I can do it faster”. Neither of you ever expressed it out loud, but gratefulness didn’t have to be said to be known.

It became less about playfully competing and more about just enjoying each other’s company in your own way.

“Hahh… it’s finally over!” you exclaimed, plopping down on a chair as you began fanning yourself with the closest piece of paper you could pick up. Even in the air-conditioned room, you found yourself sweating, your body unused to the physical exertion normally not demanded of you during work. Even your co-worker seemed exhausted— if the grunting noise he made was to be taken as a telltale sign.

Banri strode over beside you, looking just as exasperated as you felt.

“What kind of dumbass—“

“—decides to buy a bunch of pots,” you continued, halting your fanning motions as your fingers began aching again, “in the evening? What the fuck would you do with 12 plant pots?”

“‘xactly? Shit, didn’t realise those clay pots were gonna be that heavy…” Banri said, your eyes immediately drawn to his fingers. Ahh, he did end up doing most of the heavy labour.

“We didn’t even have to charm anyone into buying things this time,” you commented, before moving to the real thing you wanted to ask about, “by the way… are your hands okay?”

“This much?” he put his palms up, “is nothing~ had a lot worse.”

You don’t say anything in reply, merely staring at the small blemishes newly formed. It was minimal, pretty much shallow scratches, but it was there.

“Y’worried, babe?”

It was a slip of the tongue on his part, but neither of you seemed to mind. It rolled off pretty smoothly, and if asked about it he could easily say it was just a joke between the two of you— a little ‘affection’ to show how close you’ve gotten as friends.

Well, he thought, it wouldn’t be that much of a lie.

“No, not really,” you replied, mind too carried away elsewhere to pay any mind to the new pet name, “but you should still put on a band-aid or something.”

“Already said I was fine,” Banri replied, his eyes following your sudden upright movement as you headed inside the staff room. As he took the initiative to finish cleaning up so you two could head out for the night, the sight of you coming back out empty-handed had him befuddled.

“What’d ya even do in there?”

“So apparently we don’t have any stocked up,” you explained, quickly doing one last glance at today’s revenue, “so let’s stop by the convenience store later to get some… seriously, what if one of us gets pricked by a plant or something?”

If he decided to be honest, he would’ve told you that he already had one in his bag. A certain mother hen had forced him, Taichi, and Hyodo to carry one around and he’d learned a long time ago to not resist Omi over trivial things.

Still… it was pretty cute how you impulsively decided to go buy something because of him. There was no harm in hiding something to see this side of you more, right?

“Y’want me to come with?” he asked.

You turned around to give him a look. “Obviously? Then there’d be no point of buying it tonight rather than tomorrow.”

“Then take inventory faster… or do ya need my help for that, too?”

“Banri-kun~ you totally forgot to water the hyacinths, or do you need my help for that, too?”

Both of your comments are left hanging in the air, an, oddly enough, peaceful silence encompassing the room until,

“Might as well walk you home after this,” you turned around to face him in surprise, “it’s getting pretty late.”

“Already taking me home without even buying me dinner?”

“We’re going to the convenience store anyway, I’ll buy you something, whatever cold sandwich or fruit cup salad you want— my treat,” he joked, peals of laughter bursting from deep within as your eyebrows furrowed in incredulousness.

You rolled your eyes at him, but the smile on your lips betrayed your undeniable amusement. “Awww so sweet of you, but I can’t have you one-up me there. I’ll buy you the themed plasters— how does having hello kitty’s face around your fingers sound?” you retorted, easing yourself into laughter as well.

As the two of you walked along the sidewalk, side by side, you couldn’t help yourself from saying what’s been on your mind for the past week or so now.

“What we have is nice.”

Banri released a small huff, the corners of his lips stretching upwards. Even with its vagueness, the meaning rang clear.

“Yeah, I like what we have too.”

There was no need to rush into anything.

“ thank you for your hard work today at the flower shop! here, feel free to take home this pink hyacinth with you~ ”

【 hyacinth 】 games and sports, rashness 【 pink hyacinth 】 play

“ maybe you’d like some more flowers before heading home? ”

-ˋˏflower shop masterlistˎˊ- |  -ˋˏfic masterlistˎˊ-

[starryviolentine]

Camp Paya (A Pre-Apocalypse Story): Chapter 5/?

Part three of the “Pre-Apocalypse Adventures” Series

Chapter 1 (here)     Chapter 2 (here)     Chapter 3 (here)     Chapter 4 (here)

It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that when Minerva claims not one, but two additional seats at their lunch table, it means that someone other than Minerva’s sister will be joining them as well. Being around too many strangers makes Violet uneasy, so the extra spot does make her a teensy bit nervous, but she puts on a brave face and tries to convince herself that everything’s going to be fine. It’s only one more person. And, surely, a group of four can’t possibly be any worse than a group of three, right?

Wrong.

The entire universe must have something against Violet specifically because, out of all the hundred-plus kids at camp this summer that Minerva’s sister could have become friends with, it turns out to be Brody. The sight of the auburn-haired girl bouncing over to their table comes as such an unexpected shock that it renders Violet frozen in her seat, unable to do anything other than gawk like a complete idiot. Brody, who looks just as surprised to see Violet, comes to a clumsy halt next to Minerva, mouth falling open ever so slightly. For a few seconds that last an eternity, the quarreling friends stare at each other in silence.

But then—and it happens so quickly that if Violet blinked, she would’ve missed it—Brody gives her the tiniest smile and a hesitant wave. Letting out the breath she didn’t even realize she was holding, Violet starts to relax. Brody doesn’t seem to be mad anymore. Maybe something good will come from this lunch arrangement after all. Violet’s fingers subconsciously move to the blue lizard keychain near her pocket as the gears in her head start whirring. 

Hey, Brody, so I know you like arts and crafts and stuff, and, well, yesterday, Minerva showed me how me how to make these really cool little lizard things and I thought maybe you’d like them, too, so I made—

Another Minerva arrives at the table, dropping her heavy bag onto the bench and letting out a weary sigh. The loud thump breaks Violet from her thoughts and causes her to look up. “Thanks for saving us a spot. Joey knocked a whole stack of goopy paint palettes off the counter right as the bell rang and it took forever to clean up.” 

“Did you guys finish the banner?” Minerva asks.

“Almost! I think we’ll be done by tomorrow,” answers the other Minerva.

Wait, what? 

Violet does a double-take and looks back and forth between the red-headed doppelgangers, clearly having trouble processing all of this. Brody, picking up on her friend’s complete and utter confusion, covers her mouth with her hands to stifle her giggles. 

The Minerva to Violet’s right, who also seems to find her reaction highly amusing, gestures towards her clone with a shake of her thumb. “Violet, this is my sister, Sophie.”

Sophie. Not Minerva. Sister. Sophie... and Minerva… Sophie and Minerva. Sisters... Twin sisters. Feeling somewhat dazed, Violet blinks at Not Minerva across the table. “Sophie…?”

Giggling, Sophie nods and waves. But then, as though she’s just had some sort of huge revelation, she gasps and points. “Wait, Violet? You’re Violet? As in…” She turns to Brody, who fervently nods her head up and down. “Yeah, Brody’s told me about you!”

“Oh yeah! Here.” Unclipping one of the lizards from her shorts, Minerva slides it over to her sister. “That’ll be five bucks.”

Playfully rolling her eyes, Sophie takes the trinket and smiles. “Thanks.”

A window of opportunity has arrived and Violet knows that she needs to take it. If she presents her gift right now, after Minerva, it won’t seem so out of the blue... and it will be less embarrassing since she won’t be the only one. All she has to do is go for it. Violet’s heart starts to flutter in her chest, but she’s not chickening out or anything. She just... needs a minute to prepare. 

“Oh, Minnie, that’s so cute!” Brody gushes, as expected. But Violet hadn’t been expecting what happens next. Standing up right where she is, Brody proudly shows off a lanyard keychain—one made out of glittery magenta and indigo plastic lacing woven in a checkerboard pattern—attached to the zipper of her fanny pack. “Look what Sophie made me yesterday!”

The tiny sliver of confidence Violet had in her own keychain drops to the very pit of her stomach and shatters into a million jagged shards. She’s too late. There’s no way she can give hers to Brody now without it seeming like a stupid, copycat afterthought. 

“I really wanna learn how to make those beaded ones, though,” Brody says, once again looking at Sophie’s red lizard longingly. 

“I can teach you. It’s really easy,” offers Minerva, wearing a self-assured smile. “I taught Violet how to make one this morning. Show them the one you made, Violet!”

Even though the only thing Violet wants to do right now is disappear, everyone turns to look at her expectantly. Minerva and Sophie, and Brody, with her stupid blue eyes the same stupid shade of blue as the beads on her stupid lizard. It’s all so stupid. The fact that Violet thought that maybe Brody had been just as bored and miserable as she was yesterday, or that maybe Brody missed her is now, in retrospect, laughable and just sad. No. Apparently, Brody had been doing arts and crafts with her new friend, merry as can be.

Then it hits her. Violet realizes that her best friend is going to be just fine at camp, with or without her. Brody doesn’t need her to have fun. Not like Violet needs Brody. And that’s the stupidest part of all. A raw, volatile mixture of rage and self-loathing overcomes Violet. Breath growing ragged, she grips her lizard keychain in her fist, yanking so hard that the string snaps and all the hard work she put into making is wasted in an instant. Blue beads clatter to the floor as everything starts to come undone. 

Everything.

The pressure from the three pairs of eyes on her weighs so heavily on Violet that she feels as though she’s suffocating. And there’s only one way to escape. 

Violet runs. 

With blurry vision and a heaving chest, Violet eventually finds herself bursting through the doors of Cabin Four, pacing the floors for a moment before letting out a strangled scream. Out of the corner of her eye, she catches a glimpse of her reflection in the vanity mirror and she storms over, glaring icily at the girl staring back at her. Stupid. Ripping the offending purple cap from her head, Violet flings it across the room and takes a good look at herself. Messy hair. Strands in her face. Blotchy skin around her eyes. Nose so red she could give Rudolph a run for his money. Violet resists the urge to smash something hard into the glass. 

Windswept blonde locks partially obscure her vision and she angrily swats them away, but the unkempt strands keep falling back into her line of sight, sending Violet into an irrational fit of rage. As the girl huffs and claws at her hair, desperately trying to get it out of the way, as though to spite her, her fingers repeatedly get caught in the tangles and it pinches her scalp. The same sensation as when she’s in a rush to get ready in the morning and brushes her hair a bit too roughly, yanking the bristles through the knots in order to get out the door as quickly as possible.

Of course, somebody always chastises her and tells her that she has to be more gentle. That her hair is so pretty and long and perfect for a ballerina bun, and if she brushes it too hard, she might get split ends. The joke’s on Brody, though, because Violet already has split ends. And guess what? She doesn’t give a damn! 

Something shiny and metal inside the nearby pencil cup catches Violet’s eyes and, before she knows it, she grabs in her right hand, holding a fistful of hair in the other. This will show Brody! Maybe next time she’ll stop and think before giving any more unsolicited advice. The scissors are duller than Violet expected, so it takes a bit of effort for her to hack all the way through, but the sheer satisfaction she feels after that final snip! is like nothing she’s ever felt before. Violet can hardly believe how liberating this feels. It’s incredible! It’s—

Immediately dropping the scissors, Violet stumbles a few steps away from the mirror as the reality of what she’s done slowly sinks in. Carefully unclenching her fist to inspect the damage, Violet watches in horror as several blonde strands float to the floor. The sight of the sad, lifeless bundle of hair in her palm makes her feel queasy. Her heart lodges itself deep in her throat and she panics, eyes darting from her hand to the pathetic girl in the mirror. Nearly half a foot of hair is missing from one side of her head, and it’s nothing at all like the time she got a wad of bubblegum stuck in her hair and her grandmother had to cut it out for her. Violet was seven, and she was terrified that she was going to end up with an enormous bald spot and that everyone at school would make fun of her. But Grandma had been really careful with the scissors, and in the end it wasn’t noticeable at all.   

But this time, it’s extremely noticeable. 

She’s ugly. Ruined.

Breathing as jagged and uneven as her new haircut, Violet attempts to flee the cabin, hoping to disappear into the woods, perhaps to never return again. Just when she figures that she’s already hit rock bottom and things couldn’t possibly get any worse, Violet slams into somebody in the doorway. Ouch. She really needs to stop doing that. 

“What in the ever-living fuck, V?” 

Of course it would be Therissa. Of course. The one person besides Brody that Violet had been hoping wouldn’t see her like this. 

The teenager gives an annoyed grunt, about to go off into a rant about Violet not watching where she’s going, but she quickly picks up on the fact that something isn’t right. Her roomie looks like she’s gone on a round trip to hell and back and it’s only noon. And where did that hay come from? Violet doesn’t seem like the type to willingly hang out by the stables, but— 

“Wait, is that hair?” More confused than ever, Therissa tries to piece everything together. Yeah, it’s definitely hair. Human hair. Making the connection, the teen looks up and immediately notices Violet’s new haircut. Oh, shit. Not wanting the situation to escalate, Therissa suppresses her shock and the billion questions that follow and tries to be as calm as possible. “Huh, I didn’t know that ‘beauty salon’ was on the list of camp activities this year.” As she steps a bit closer to Violet, Therissa makes sure to keep herself right in the middle of the doorway, turning her body into a barricade to keep the younger girl from running away. This is a delicate situation, and Therissa knows that she needs to handle it with caution. Once completely inside the cabin, she quietly pulls the door closed behind them. “I do like the direction you were going. Very bold. But it doesn’t look finished, know what I mean?” 

Violet keeps quiet and won’t meet Therissa’s eyes, but at least she doesn’t look like she’s actively looking for an alternate escape route. Holding her breath, the older girl takes a chance and gently reaches out to touch her roommate’s hair on the freshly cut side. Thankfully, Violet lets her. Combing her fingers through it a couple of times, Therissa gives a low hum. “I think I might be able to help you straighten things out a bit, if that’s cool with you?”

Walking further inside the cabin, Therissa comes across the scene of the crime. On the floor near the vanity are an old pair of scissors and even more of Violet’s hair. The older girl sits Violet in the wooden chair in front of the mirror and momentarily leaves to grab her hairbrush, picking up the scissors on the way back. After spending a minute detangling Violet’s hair and brushing it out for her, Therissa looks in the mirror with her roommate. “You do understand I’m gonna have to cut it, like, here, right?” 

Violet looks at the hand that Therissa’s using to mark exactly how many inches of hair she’s about to chop off and nods in defeat. She lets out a shaky sigh and speaks for the first time since the mess hall. “Just… don’t make it shorter than you have to. Please.”

Therissa giving her a thumbs-up in the mirror reflection is the last thing Violet sees before she squeezes her eyes shut. There’s no way she’s watching this. She doesn’t want to see anything until it’s all over. 

Probably not even then.

[smokeybrandreviews]

Smokey brand Select: Deck the Halls

I don’t know if you can tell by my blog, but i f*cking love Christmas. It’s my absolute favorite holiday of the year. I love t more than Thanksgiving, more than Halloween, even more than my f*cking birthday and that’s a lot because I'm kind of a f*cking narcissist. I love the festivities, the decorations, the music, the objective purity of the whole season. Christmas time is the one time of year that people decide collectively to suck less. Recently, with all of the stupid conservative boycotts and soapbox rants, that less is a little less than usually but still, it’s hard not to love the Christmas season. It’s so inspirational and has inspired some fantastic films. Here's a list of some of my favorites. A lot of these, the majority of them, probably aren’t “traditional” Christmas fare but i assure you that they are, indeed, Christmas films. To say otherwise would just be disrespectful.

10. Edward Scissorhands

Tim Burton is going to be all over this list, man. Edward Scissorhands came out during a time i was incredibly infatuated with the striking visuals of Burton. I’m an Eighties kid and he kind of had his coming out party during that decade. Almost all of those films he released back then are favorites of mine. I remember seeing Scissorhands as a young kid and being absolutely mesmerized by it’s beauty. As an adult, i appreciated the underlying messaging just as much.

9. A Christmas Story

You’ll shoot your eye out! I used to hate this movie, man. It was a staple in during my elementary school Christmas parties. I never paid attention to it because, as a kid, i hated anything that wasn’t a cartoon. One day i was sick at home and caught it offseason TNT. This thing played, like, every day for some reason. I heard it was a favorite of Ted Turner but that’s just rumor. Anyway, i watched it and completely fell in love with this earnest, absurd, flick. It’s a really good watch and deserves it’s title as a classic.

8. Home Alone

Home Alone was the very first Christmas flick i remembered actually loving for being a Christmas flick. Like, when the season starts and Mariah Carey hits the airwaves, Home Alone is what i thing about. It’s the very first film that i unequivocally associate with Santa season. It’s funny because it’s not that great a film but i still love it dearly. I think that’s more because of nostalgia, though. There are fr superior films in the honorable mentions which probably deserve this spot more but Home Alone makes me genuinely smile.

7. Die Hard

I mean, how can i not put this on the list? It’s a classic. One of the best action films ever made. One of the best performances Bruce Willis has ever given. Plus, it introduces the late, great, Alan Rickman as Hans Gruber. Now, my favorite of the lot is With a Vengeance but Die Hard would be nothing without this holly jolly first entry.

6. Scrooged

One of my favorite Christmas narratives is A Christmas Carol. Dickens was a prolific writer and, among his works, the story of Ebeneezer Scrooge’s crisis of conscious is my favorite. I almost always love it when ever it makes it to screen but, for my money, the best version of this story took the form of the Eighties classic, Scrooged. It’s so Eighties in all of the ways. I love the overall narrative, the changes made t fit it into a then modern setting, and those incredible practical effects. It’s a feast for the senses while hitting all the necessary Dickens notes. Also, this version of the Ghost of Christmas Future is a whole ass nightmare. Like, f*ck, dude!

5. Trading Places

I love this movie so much, just on it’s own merits as a film. It’s so good. Eddie Murphy is excellent in this film and Dan Akroyd is just as brilliant. Jamie Lee Curtis was incredibly hilarious, too. This was the second thing i had ever seen her in, after Halloween so, you know, going from that to this really caught my attention. Trading Places is a classic and should be seen by everyone.

4. Gremlins

Gremlins is just generally one of my favorite films. I love this f*cked up movie, man. It’s SO good and this version is the tone down one. The original vision for this movie was just an R rated murder fest. I mean, the one we got wasn’t a joke wither It’s the reason we have the PG-3 rating. SH*t is just that violent Now, juxtapose all of this little green monstrosity anarchy against a dreamy white Christmas and you have all the makings of worming your way into my heart. Honestly, i prefer the gremlin shenanigans from the sequel, Mohawk is my favorite, but Stripe definitely left an impression.

3. The Long Kiss Goodnight

I had a massive crush on Geena Davis when  was young. Can’t tell you why, but i was absolutely infatuated with the chick after i saw her in The Fly remake. I followed her career afterwards. She dropped several gems along the way, Beetlejuice, Thelma and Louise, Earth Girls are Easy, A League of their Own, but my absolute favorite film of hers is definitely The Long Kiss Goodnight. This thing is peak Nineties action excess. Shane Black in his prime. Die Hard III but John McCLane is a hot ass amazon woman who can beat you to death with her mitts. It even has Sam Jackson as a smart-mouthed side kick! I love it!

2c. A Charlie Brown Christmas

I adore Charlie Brown. If Spider-Man, Godzilla, and Transformers are the foundations of my childhood, Snoopy is foundation adjacent. My Paternal grandma had all of the Peanuts films and i would watch them on repeat when we were forced to go over there. I say forced because she was kind of terrible and none of us really wanted to visit her ever but, when we did, and she wasn’t trying to exploit our labor or feed us rotten food, we did get to watch dope classic sh*t. She owned every Disney movie from the Renaissance and every Peanuts special on VHS. I hated visiting that woman but i loved those Charlie Brown adventures so kind of bittersweet memories.

2b. How the Grinch Stole Christmas

This one is associated with my other grandma, the one i actually liked. We used to sit down every year and watch this one together while sipping egg nog. Man, it’s hard for me to type this out. It breaks my heart remembering those times so I'm going to stop. I just really love How The Grinch Stole Christmas. It’s very, very, special to me.

2a. The Nutcracker

The Nutcracker is in the same situation as How the Grinch Stole Christmas. I have a lot of love for this thing, in ll forms, but the one i remember so vividly is the opera they used to show every season. My grandma really loved opera and orchestral music. I miss her.

1b. Batman Returns

I told you Burton was going to be all over this thing. Bro, how can this thing not be on the top of this list? Batman Returns left a real impression, man. Michelle Pfiefer’s Catwoman did things to me that would have reverberating effects through the rest of my life! She is, more than any other reason, why i have an unhealthy infatuation for crazy chicks. Also Nancy Downs but The Craft isn’t a Christmas movie. Outside of the way that patent leather catsuit ruined me for normal relationships, Batman Returns is just a force of f*cking nature. It’s Pure Tim Burton and i adore that man’s eye. He is one of my favorite creators and Batman is one of my favorite heroes. How can this thing not make my list? Batman Returns couldn’t take the number two spot, mostly because it jockeys for position with Nightmare pretty actively. I love them both so much, it’s hard to give the number one spot to either of them so, you know, split the difference.

1a. The Nightmare Before Christmas

This is Halloween! I remember being so hype about this movie. Nine year old Smokey was super into this film and that love carries through to this day. Every time it airs, i catch it or, at least, i used to when i had television. I saw this thing day one in theaters, made my mom buy the VHS, it was one of the very first DVDs i ever purchased with my own money, and was the third Blue ray i got after picking up my PS3. The wild thing is, it’s not just me either. Nightmare has become a pinnacle of the cultural zeitgeist. This thing is all over the place. People get tattoos of Jack. Halloween Town even made it into a few Kingdom Hearts games and it wasn’t even a Disney movie at first! It was banished to the subsidiary of Touchstone when it first released because the Mouse House didn’t believe in it! Talk about a miscalculations.

Honorable Mentions: Tokyo Godfathers, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, Bad Santa, Elf, Carol, Anna and the Apocalypse

[willow-salix]

OK, this is random and silly, but also a bit mushy, not really my usual thing at all, but I felt the need for a squishy Virgil and to let you all awwww. This is my offering for this week's #fabfivefeb that the lovely @gumnut-logic is hosting. Enjoy.

"Duck…duck…duck...duck….GOOSE!" The young boy slammed his hand down on Selene's head, packing a powerful punch for one so small. The boy shot off like he'd been fired from a cannon to the cheering of his schoolmates. 

"Selene, you gotta run!" Gordon bellowed. It took Selene a second to scramble to her feet but then she took off, running the perimeter of the circle. 

"No! This isn't Baseball, you don't need a home run!" Alan laughed so hard he actually fell backwards out of the circle. 

"Chase him!" 

She changed course and raced after her attacker, who was as slippery as a greased eel and dodged around her, easily avoiding her. 

"Catch him!" Virgil yelled encouragingly.

"I'm trying!" The young boy slipped out of her grasp and threw himself down into her vacated spot. 

"Home!" he smiled triumphantly. 

"Heck, I missed," she threw up her hands in mock disappointment, "I guess I'll just have to sit out." She didn't get more than two paces before she was called back. 

"Sel, you can't leave, that's not how the game works," Virgil grinned from his spot on the ground, where he was sitting cross legged, just like  everyone else. 

"I can't?" 

"Nope," Alan chimed in. 

"THIS GAME MAKES NO SENSE! Why do we even have ducks and geese, what's that all about?"

 "Haven't you ever played this before?" Gordon looks horrified. 

"No! I never played that at school."

"What did you play then?" A little girl asked her. 

"We played lots of other games, I suppose one of the closest to this is British Bulldog."

"What's that?" a smaller boy who had been looking incredibly bored, suddenly sat up and took notice. 

"Yeah, I've never heard of that one," Gordon admitted. 

"Can we play it now?" a smaller girl asked. 

"I… I guess so, I mean, I don't see why not."

"How does it work?" 

"Well, the aim of the game is to run from one side to another, without getting caught, kids are only allowed to do touch tagging, adults are fair game. We start off with four people in the middle who have to catch and tag as many people as possible, the ones that get tagged join the catchers in the middle. We run back and forth until one person is left that makes it safely to the other side."

"That sounds fun," Alan grinned, "I'm in!"

EARLIER THAT DAY

"Once again I want to thank you all for doing this, and apologise for not being able to attend myself, we had a minor disaster with Hyper2, nothing to worry about, just a small acceleration problem," Tycho Reeves' hologram floated above the instrument panel of Thunderbird Two where John usually appeared. 

"Acceleration problem? I'm not going to have to shoot down another tube am I? We didn't bring Four."

"No, no, it's not that type of problem," Tycho assured them. "The issue is that as soon as we reach full acceleration she starts to go backwards. We think the safety cut off Brains designed is working a little too well."

Selene heard Alan's muffled snort of laughter behind her but managed not to join in, unfortunately Gordon wasn't so disciplined. 

Tycho cleared his throat before continuing.

"As I explained to Scott, the school is counted as a low income area and so it's helped by the charity I patron. They are doing heros week and International Rescue was the most written about people. The competition was held over three schools in the district and the essay that was chosen belongs to a boy named Will."

They all nodded, having read the brief. 

"I've scheduled you in for two hours but the school is more than happy for you to stay as long as you like, the kids especially would like you to have lunch with them if possible."

"I'm always up for lunch," Gordon said, having managed to gain control of his laughter. 

"We'll stay as long as we can," Virgil promised, "but if an emergency comes in, we'll have to go."

"Wouldn't expect anything less," Tycho smiled, cutting the feed with a goodbye nod. 

"This is going to be so much fun!" Alan cheered. 

"This is going to be hell," Selene groaned. 

"You didn't have to come," Virgil pointed out gently. "I don't know why you're making such a fuss, you're great with kids."

"I had to, I couldn't leave all the girls to the mercy of all your testosterone, they had to know that girls can be part of a team too. But I'm still allowed to make a fuss," Selene grumbled.

"We aren't."

"You're boys, it's common knowledge that boys have a hidden inner child that's always bursting to get out."

"I resent that remark," Gordon mock huffed. 

"Plus," Selene continued as if he had never spoken, "you aren't the ones with a womb that your Grandma is determined to guilt into popping out great-grandchildren."

"Would that be so bad?" Virgil asked innocently and she could already see the images he was imagining from the little smile forming on his face. 

"Yes! With all that Tracy super sperm, I'd have a herd in a year! You guys don't just stop at one." 

Alan choked, Gordon laughed so hard that no sound came out, just a wheeze like asthmatic bagpipes. 

"Bit dramatic, don't you think?" Virgil's eyebrow arched but his lips twitched as he held back a grin. 

"Not really. But, we talked about it and neither of us feel even remotely ready to think about anything like that, it's just not the right time. Honestly, I don't know if it will ever be the right time or if we'd even want any, at the moment we don't. Much the same as we aren't getting married to please everyone else, I'm not popping out kids for any reason other than us wanting them either."

"Fair enough," he nodded, seeing her point. "You know, Dad used to go to schools and talk to the kids about being an Astronaut. One time he came to the school that Scott and I were at and it was so weird to see all our classmates going crazy over his stories, stories we'd heard a million times before and thought were rather boring. To them he was Jeff Tracy, Astronaut, but to us he was just Dad, the slightly goofy guy that made us do our homework and gave us chores to do around the house."

"Do you think that Dad will want to do it again after we bring him home?" Alan asked, not remembering anything that Virgil was talking about. Selene reached over to take his hand, giving it a little squeeze. 

"Oh I'm sure he will," Virgil smiled fondly, "that was the only time that people thought he was cool, he'd never give up a chance to tell impressionable kids all about space."

Gordon laughed. "He got John and Alan but never managed with me, I prefer to keep my sights set a little lower and wetter."

"Boy, do not be saying stuff like that in front of the kids," Selene warned as Alan sniggered beside her. 

"I just meant-" 

"We know what you meant," Virgil laughed. 

"Well I'm just going to shut up if I'm going to keep getting picked on!" 

They lapsed into silence until the school playing field came into view, the only place big enough to land. There was already a crowd of children and teachers waiting to greet them. 

"Wow, that's a lot of kids," Alan's eyes grew wider as he looked out of the window to the field below. "Can we handle that many?" 

"Luckily we won't have to, we're doing a talk to everyone in the school hall, and then going to hang out with the winner and his class," Virgil assured him. 

"So only say, thirty kids, not 300?" 

"Yep." 

Alan nodded. "That we can handle." 

Virgil brought the big craft down softly on the grass, and even the soundproofing of Two couldn't drown out the cheers and excited screams of the children. 

"Here we go," Gordon gulped as they walked down into the belly of the craft to make their appearance. 

                                 ***

"And remember the golden rule, be safe, be careful, and be kind. Those in need of help aren't just the ones in danger, they are the ones being bullied, being hurt, or in a sad situation. There are some things in life that people can't help and there are some that they can, and you are the next generation of International Rescue Agents, it's your job to make sure that you help as many people as you can," Virgil smiled, looking around at the rapt faces of the kids. 

" You don't have to be big to be a help, " Alan chimed in. 

" You don't have to be super strong," Gordon continued. 

" You don't even have to be a boy, " Selene added to the cheers of a number of girls in the audience. "You don't have to be an action man to help someone, sometimes the help that people really need is to know they have a friend, someone to have their back and to stand with them when they need it. Emotional support is just as important as physical support." 

"Wherever you go, whatever adventures you go on, remember to always think things through and plan for your safety. It can be a big, dangerous world out there and taking risks makes it all the more likely that you'll end up in trouble. Always play safe," Gordon instructed, reiterating the lessons they had just gone over involving safety in the water, out in nature and even in the city and towns. Danger was everywhere, they knew that better than anyone and knew that a situation could turn deadly in a matter of seconds if you weren't fully prepared. They had instructed them on how to make themselves as safe as possible if they did get into trouble, how to call for help and what to do while waiting for help to arrive. Now they were making sure that their lessons had hit home and wrapping up the talk. 

"Always carry your phone," Alan continued to drum in their words of caution, "and never be afraid to ask for help, because there is always someone willing to step up. It could be the police, the fire service, paramedics, mountain rescue, the coastguard or even us."

"We aren't the hero's, we're just the ones that use the equipment and knowledge we have to the best of our abilities, and you can too. You can be a hero, you don't need a Thunderbird, you just need a good heart and to be a good friend," Virgil concluded. "Thanks for listening to us today, remember what we said, and together we can all make the world a better place.

The teachers started clapping first, then the children joined in. Selene watched her boys visibly relax as they finished, not really used to public speaking.

The principal joined them at the front of the hall and thanked them for their time. 

"Are there any questions for International Rescue before we finish and go back to our lessons?"

A sea of hands shot up and Principal Jones waited patiently for them to pick a few children.

Virgil scanned the little faces, the waving arms and the zeroed in, pointing to a smaller boy sitting on the end of a row, who startled and looked around to make sure that it was actually him who had been picked. He was clearly very nervous and not used to being noticed, but he sat up straighter, his voice growing louder as he gained confidence. 

"Hi, my name is Jason, I just wanted to ask-"

"Speak up, Jason, we can't hear you," a teacher called encouragingly. 

Jason took a deep breath and spoke again, this time a little louder. "How did you guys get so big, big enough to help people? Were you ever smaller, like me?" 

"Alan's still small," Gordon quipped, earning himself a glare from his brother. 

"Believe it or not, we were all small at your age," Virgil answered, ignoring his brothers. 

"Even you?" 

"Even me."

"So I won't stay this small forever?" 

"Hey, there's nothing wrong with being smaller," Alan insisted. "You don't measure a person's worth on how big they are, but on what they do. You don't have to be big to be brave." 

"Jason will never be brave or big then," a voice called out from the other end of the row. 

Jason hung his head, looking down at his shoes, clearly embarrassed. 

"Hey, that's not a very nice thing to say, Jacob," Principal Jones called out. "We don't bully people here, were you not listening to a word these nice people said?" 

"Sorry Principal Jones," Jacob called back, sounding a little less cocky and a little more contrite. 

Virgil was off before anyone realised he was moving, coming to a stop beside Jason's seat. He hunkered down, getting as close to the boys level as he could. 

"Don't ever let anyone tell you that you can't be brave, OK?" He was speaking directly to the boy but his deep voice carried across the hall with little effort, making sure that everyone heard him. 

"But it's true, I'm not brave." 

"Sure you are, you're talking to us now aren't you? That's brave." 

Jason didn't answer. 

"There's nothing wrong with being quiet, you know. Not everyone has to be loud and the center of attention."

"But how will I ever be a Thunderbird if I can't be brave and talk to people?" 

"I know it's hard, but you don't have to talk to people face to face to be brave or to help people." 

"I don't?" 

"No, our brother is much like you, he doesn't like to be around many people or to talk to them if he can help it, but he still spends all day, every day helping people." 

"How does he do that?" 

Virgil smiled. "He listens. And sometimes that's all people need, to know that there is someone out there that cares enough to listen for those that need help. We couldn't do our job without him." 

Jason appeared to think about this for a few moments before he nodded. "OK, I'll do that, I'll listen to people and make sure they get help if they need it." 

"Good plan," Virgil hauled himself to his feet, patting the boy gently on the shoulder before joining the others once again. 

"Are there any more questions?" Principal Jones asked and once again what looked like a million hands shot up into the air. 

"It's going to be a long day," Gordon whispered to Selene in a side whisper. 

                                      ***

"So, everyone clear on the rules?" Selene called over the noise of almost forty excited kids and three grown men who were just as loud. 

She, Gordon, Will and a little girl named Mandy were lined up in the center of the games area, while Virgil, Alan and the rest of the children stood in a pack in front of them. 

"On your marks, get set, GO!" their teacher yelled, blowing a whistle. The kids surged forwards, Virgil and Alan running with them. 

Selene managed to tap two gently on the shoulder, Gordon tagged four and Will and Mandy tagged one each before the rest made it to the other side and safety. 

The eight tagged children joined them in the middle, spreading out to form a line of defense. 

"We've got them now!" Gordon crowed as the whistle blew again. This time he only caught two and Selene didn't manage one. They were slippery little buggers who could duck and dive better than Kayo. 

Third round and Gordon leapt on a screaming Alan, bringing him down to the ground in a tangle of limbs. Selene went after Virgil but missed. 

Fifth round and they had all but three children and Virgil in the center, ready to rumble.

"Team, we've made it this far, we've done our best, no matter what happens next, no matter who wins or who falls, we're all winners!" Virgil's rousing speech was met with whoops from his team mates as they exchanged high fives then prepared to run. The whistle blew and they sprang forward.

Two were caught instantly and joined the ranks of the catchers, one dodged past three kids and dived between Selene's legs only to be tagged by Gordon who was protecting her rear. That left… 

Alan broke away from the pack and chased after Virgil who was running full pelt, trying to reach the end of the line and dodge around the edge, unable to plow through the middle. 

With a battle cry that sounded like a strangled baboon, Alan leapt onto his brother's back. 

"Bundle!" he screamed and a gaggle of kids rushed to his aid. 

They swarmed Virgil, some grabbing onto his legs, others hanging off his arm as he fought valiantly to keep moving. Technically he had lost the second Alan had landed on his back, but they were clearly having too much fun to stop. 

Virgil continued his attempt to walk but eventually he had to give in and admit defeat. 

Declaring Virgil the winner, the kids teacher pried a few enthusiastic kids off his leg, although he asked her to leave the little girl who had hold of his hand and was refusing to let go. 

It was a tired but happy group of children who waved goodbye to their heros an hour later. 

Selene sat back in her chair with an exhausted sigh, Alan beside her. It didn't take long for his eyes to droop shut and his head to come to rest on her shoulder. 

She pulled out her phone and started to flick through the pictures she'd taken. There was Gordon making faces with a couple of boys, there was Will reading out his prize winning essay, Alan pointing out various planets and constellations on a map to a number of enthralled kids and last Virgil. The little girl who wouldn't let go of his hand now perched on his lap, hugging his arm as he sat on an impossibly small chair that looked like it was about to buckle any second, a ring of starstruck children sitting on the floor in front of him while he told them stories of their rescues. 

Selene had always known that he was an amazing big brother, just like Scott was but for different reasons. Scott was the one that would leap to your defense and want to pummel whoever had hurt his sibling, but he had a devilish streak that surfaced now and then. Virgil always had his brothers backs, he was always there, ready to lend a hand and help them out of any situation, he was the solid, comforting presence that soothed your fears and made everything better. Seeing him with the kids had given her a glimpse of what he must have been like with Alan and Gordon when they were younger and it made her love him all the more.

She hadn't said anything while they had been speaking of children, but one of the reasons she and John were so dead set against kids at that moment in time was because John, as well as the others, knew only too well just how hard it was to grow up missing a parent, and for Alan he'd done it twice. They led dangerous lives and the thought of one of them possibly not making it home to their children one day wasn't something they wanted to think about. But now, seeing how they were with the kids at the school, Selene knew that any child she had would have the most wonderful family to look out for them, with four amazing uncles, a kick ass Auntie in Kayo, a tough as nails Grandma and hopefully a Grandfather that would adore them. 

[sweetness47]

It’s a Parent Thing

 Pairing Sam x Reader

Other characters include Dean, Cassie (OFC), Jackie (OFC), Castiel, Jack, Mary, Donna, Jody, Claire

@teamfreewillbingo​ – Sam wears makeup

@as-the-saying-goes-bingo​ – laughter is the best medicine

Warnings: PG audience mostly. Maybe some fluff, hints of future smut, light language moments, the joys of being a parent

Final word count: 1546

“Mommmmmmy!” The 5-year-old girl to whom the voice belongs comes running around the corner into the kitchen. “Where’s dad?”

I shrug. “I don’t know, but he can’t be far. Did you check the library?”

Cassie shakes her head. “Not yet. Do you think Uncle Dean is in there too?”

A giggle escapes my lips. “It’s Uncle Dean. He’s more likely to be in the garage.”

“Thanks!” she shouts and runs off, leaving me wondering what she’s up to. No sooner do I go back to preparing dinner when Jackie comes running in. He looks up at me, then looks around the kitchen, and I know he’s looking for Cassie. I point toward the library and he hurries after her.

Now I’m really wondering. Those two can get into some pretty interesting crafts when they’re bored. Being cooped up with this pandemic has got them so wired, it’s a wonder I’m still sane. Mind you, Jody, Donna, and even Claire help a lot, plus of course, Grandma. Mary loves the kids, and spoils them rotten every chance she gets.

Oh yeah, the kids…well, better go check what’s up. Dinner isn’t going to be ready for a while, so there’s plenty of time to investigate. I make it to the library just as Cassie is talking…no more like pleading with Sam to do something.

“Pleeeaaasseeee??? C’mon Dad, you gotta. It’s not going to work with only one person. You and Uncle Dean have to help.”

I almost die laughing when he responds, “I’d love to help Cassie, honest. But guys don’t typically wear makeup.” Then he looks toward the door. “Did you ask Auntie Donna or Aunt Jody? Or how about Claire? She would love to be in the beauty pageant.”

Oh God, I’m pissing myself now. Cassie is persistent though. “Claire’s already in it, and Auntie Donna and Aunt Jody are the judges. So that leaves you, Uncle Dean, Uncle Cas, and Jack.”

I choose this moment to pop in. “She’s bored Sam. She’s looking for something to do. And she wants her dad to help. I think you’d be perfect.”

He gives me a ‘just wait till we’re alone’ look before smiling at his daughter. “Ok. I’ll come help, and I’ll even convince Uncle Dean to help. How’s that sound?”

Squeals of delight followed Cassie as she skipped cheerfully out and down the hall, Jackie close behind. Sam glared in my direction. “You owe me big time for this.” Then he kissed me and followed the two youngsters.

After having a huge fit of laughter, I sought out Jack and Cas, telling them to prepare for something fun, then went looking for Mary. She’d be thoroughly dismayed if she missed this.

I find Mary in the weapons room, cleaning guns. I sit beside her and pick up a cloth and a barrel from the glock she’s currently working on. “Hey Mom. S’up?”

She smiles at my greeting. My own mother passed away years ago, and Mary has been nothing but amazing to me since. “Not much. I heard the kids are up to something.”

I giggled. “That’s an understatement.” I tell her what I heard and what Cassie was asking Sam. “Want to see this?”

She puts the chamber down. “Definitely. And I’m bringing the camera.”

“Me too.” I say as we head out to the family room.

According to Donna, the ‘show’ starts in about 20 minutes. The ‘contestants’ are still getting ready. I’m literally dying inside. Of all the things for the kids to come up with, a beauty pageant. I’m not just going to take pictures, I’m filming the whole damn thing.

Jack agreed to be a contestant as well, saying he felt sorry for Sam and Dean. I smile. Jack is great with the kids as well. He seems fascinated by the simplicity of playing pretend, and imagining things.

Jackie comes out a few minutes after we all get seated. “Nuncing our beuty pajent.” We all giggle. Jackie is three, still struggling with pronunciation, so conversations with him are never dull.

Cassie comes out first and pretends to hold a microphone. “First contestant, Miss Claire.”

Claire comes out strutting to her own beat, hand on hip as she twirls around to show off her outfit and makeup. Her hair (I’d say done by Jackie) has a hap-hazard ponytail sticking out the top of her head, and numerous fake flowers. Claire’s outfit was a 40’s style dress, no doubt taken from a huge prop room the former MoL occupants had stashed. It was quite flattering on her actually, the rich burgundy velvet was a beautiful contrast to her fair skin.

Jack came out next, and we had to hold in our laughter. Jack was wearing a gold color suit, like very shiny glittery gold, and had little barrettes in his hair. He had lipstick and some eye shadow, both various shades of red. His shoes were actually pink flats, also very shiny, and very neon. We clapped and cheered for the way Jack managed a graceful walk down the runway, then waited for the next round.

“Our third contestant, Uncle Dean!”

Dean came out in a whirlwind of color and lace. He lightly skipped down the runway, hand on hip, while making kissy faces to everyone. Even Castiel was doubled over with laughter. I had tears running down my face now. His hair had been covered in a flowery hat, bright orange, and was wearing a really eye-catching shade of purple on his lips.

“And, our star contestant, Dad!”

I nearly fell off the couch as I doubled over with laughter. Tears rolled freely now, my sides hurt, but I couldn’t help it. Sam was in a frilly pink cocktail dress, satin with tulle gathered around the bottom, mermaid style. His legs were encased in shiny tights, and he wore matching pink sandals. His makeup was the best, I’m guessing Claire had some input on this one. Sam had glitter over the bottom of his eyelids, shadowed by a light pink and a touch of silver. His cheeks were toned in a pale coral, and his lips wore a lip gloss of the palest pink. I say Claire had some input because he had fake lashes glued to his eyelids. They were silver and pink tinted long lashes. His outfit was completed with silver barrettes and a pink flower in his hair, and white lace gloves.

I was so glad I was filming the entire thing. Sam made his way down the aisle with as much grace and dignity as he could muster, giving the audience smiles, winks and blowing kisses to all. He looked so adorable, although I was pretty sure he was going to kill me later, still I was glad I’d convinced him to participate.

The contestants came back on stage, waiting for the judges to finish their scoring. Finally, after what seemed like hours, the judges stood.

“In third place, we have Uncle Dean!”

Dean, bless him, smiled and waved to everyone as he walked over to receive his ‘medal’ and bouquet. He really did love the kids, there’s no way he’d have done this otherwise.

“In second place, we have a tie! Jack and Claire!”

The two second place contestants walked over to the judges and were awarded their medals and bouquets. There was only one left.

“And, in first place, Dad!”

We stood and cheered as Sam smiled and blew kisses to everyone, walking over to the judges’ desk and receiving his awards. He bowed and curtseyed. It was a beautiful sight. My husband…or was it wife now…I’d be teasing him about that later, if I lived that long. Cassie gave him a huge hug, and also gave hugs and thanks to the other contestants as well. Dean smiled and genuinely hugged them back. So did Sam, and Jack and Claire.

While the contestants got cleaned up and changed, and the living room area got fixed up, I set about finishing dinner and dessert. The house was greeted at the dining table with fried chicken, baked potatoes, all the fixings, and cherry pie. Salad and dressings were also available. There was one personal cherry pie for each of the ‘contestants’, and two more big ones for everyone to share.

Dean gave me a kiss on the cheek later, thanking me for the dessert. I thanked him for helping the kids out, and he smiled. I retired to my room, finding Sam already there, a dark glint in his eyes as he ran his gaze over my body, then bringing his eyes to meet mine. Fuck.

“So, about that payment I mentioned…”

I giggled as he scooped me into his arms, kicking the door closed behind him. “You looked so cute today though.”

He growled as we fell on the bed together. He made sure I spent the entire night paying for his beauty makeover. Numerous times.

@legion1993​

[lovemesomesurveys]

Are you still in quarantine/under stay at home order? (if you're taking this during Covid-19, that is) The state isn’t, but I am. 

Has stuff been opening back up where you are? Yeah. Although, now dining in isn’t an option again in my area. 

What have you missed most that you haven't been able to do due to Covid-19? I didn’t do much even before all this, but I did like going grocery shopping with my mom and going to the movies, which we did quite often. And now with it being summer I’m really sad I can’t go to the beach. Beach days were the only thing I liked about summer. I could still go shopping with my mom and go to the beach, but I just don’t feel safe or comfortable going out in public and being around people right now when the number of cases are still so high and continue to rise. It makes me extremely anxious and scared. It doesn’t help that my state is a hotspot.

What state do you live in?  California.

Do you personally know anyone who has had Covid-19? Yes. She actually ended up recovering from that, testing negative later on, but she died recently from complications caused by it. She was on dialysis and after she got sick, even though she got better, it affected her kidneys and she had to stop dialysis. Once that happens, it’s not long after that you pass away. She was my grandma’s best friend, thus a very close family friend. :( She was the sweetest, caring, kindhearted person. 

Have you had it? (or think you might have?) No, not so far. Although, whenever I feel crappy or cough for any reason my mind automatically goes there. It’s not unusual for me not to feel well and have days where I’m feeling extra crappy, but nowadays I have to play the game: is it my normally crappiness or something else? :/ I also have dry mouth and my throat tends to get dry in the summer anyway and ugh again it’s something normal for me but I have to wonder about that, too.

Do you know anyone who is a healthcare worker? No. Well, apart from my doctors obviously.

Have you still been working these past few months or not? I don’t have a job. I wasn’t working prior to this either.

If you weren't working, are you still in school? No, thankfully. I graduated UC 5 years ago, so I’ve been done way before this started. What is/was your major in college?  I majored in psych.

Or if you're not in college yet, what do you want to study?

If your school closed due to Covid-19, do you miss it?

What are you most excited about when life goes (somewhat) back to normal? It’s hard for me to even see that point right now. I know people think I sound like a Negative Nancy, but I think I’m just being real. It’s goings to be a long time before we get to a point where we don’t have to have this virus looming over our heads everyday. It’s been kicking our ass. It’s never going to go away, it will likely be like the flu in that we have a covid season, but I pray we get to the point where we can get under control and managed. A point where there’s a vaccine and effective medication. But like I said, that’s going to take time. Masks may be the new way of life for many of us.

Did Covid-19 impact any major plans you had for this spring/summer?  No beach trips or birthday vacay. :( That’s not important, I know, but I am still sad about it.

Do you collect anything? Key chains and giraffe stuffed animals and knicknacks.

What's the name of your favorite restaurant? (chain or local) Wingstop. 

What is your favorite thing to order when you eat there? I get takeout, but anyway I love their boneless garlic parm and lemon pepper wings with their ranch. 

Have you still been able to get food from there during Covid-19? Yes. I always got takeout anyway, so that hasn’t been any different for me.

Are you planning on eating there anytime soon when they reopen? I’ll say it a 3rd time haha I just get it to go and eat at home.

Have you discovered any good new music during quarantine?  Yeah, but not because I’m in quarantine. That implies I’ve done so because I’ve been home and had more time to do so or only did so because I didn’t have anything to do. I’ve spent most of my time at home the past few years, not just this year.

What's a new song you've been loving lately? (not necessarily newly released, just something you've recently discovered) Lately I’ve been getting new music from TikToks. A couple recent ones are Dream Girl by Ir Sais and Summer Days by Martin Garrix ft. Macklemore and Patrick Stump.

Have you been able to keep in touch with friends during this time? I don’t have any friends, so that hasn’t been an issue. 

What is your favorite Starbucks drink? White chocolate mocha, caramel macchiato, and their fall and winter seasonal drinks. 

Do you prefer Starbucks or a local coffee shop? Just give me coffeeee.

What was your favorite TV show when you were a kid? do you still ever watch it? I had a lot of favorites. Some I still watch like Boy Meets World, Full House, Family Matters, Disney Channel shows like That’s So Raven, Lizzie McGuire, The Proud Family, Hannah Montana, etc (thanks to Disney+) and old Nick shows like Rugrats, Doug, and Hey Arnold. I recently found out Hulu has Step by Step, so I’ll be watching that again at some point.

Have you been watching a lot of movies during quarantine? >> No more than I would be usually, since my daily life didn’t change as dramatically as most people’s did. But yeah. <<< Yeah, I’ve gotten into a few new shows and binge watched a few old ones during this time, but again I wouldn’t contribute that to quarantine cause I would have been home majority of the time still anyway.

What is your favorite Disney movie? Alice in Wonderland, Winnie the Pooh, and Toy Story are among the top

Do you have Disney plus? Yep. That’s how I watch those old Disney shows I mentioned before.

Are you a fan of Hamilton? I’ve never seen it.

Are you planning to watch Hamilton on Disney plus? I have thought about checking it out, so we’ll see.

Have you seen Hamilton live? (Broadway or elsewhere) Like I said, I’ve never seen it.

What is your favorite musical? Sweeney Todd.

Have you watched any musicals online recently? No. Or ever.

What was the last live performance you went to before quarantine? I saw Phantom of the Opera 3 years ago.

What was the best concert you've ever been to? All the concerts I went to were awesome. Man, it’s been over 10 years now since my last concert I really miss ‘em.

Do you volunteer anywhere? No. I’ve volunteered at a few places in the past, though.

What is your favorite movie on Netflix? >> ??? There are... so many movies on Netflix. <<<

Did you relocate due to Covid-19? No.

What is one positive thing about the past few months for you? Uhhh.

Do you prefer streaming music or buying it? I stream it.

Do you use Spotify? Yep.

What was the last book you read? I recently started The Girl and the Deadly End by AJ Rivers. It’s the final book in a 7 book series. 

Have you been baking during quarantine? Nope.

What is your favorite thing to bake? It’s been a few years since I’ve done any baking. I used to love it during the holidays.

Do you enjoy doing crafts? I think they can be fun, but they’re not something I do very often at all. I lack the artistic ability, creativity, inspiration, motivation, and energy. 

Have you ever done crafts for money? No. 

Do you shop on Etsy? Yes. I love Etsy.

Have you ever sold anything on Etsy? Nope.

What song are you listening to right now?  I’m not listening to music, I’m listening to an ASMR video.

What genre of music is your favorite? I like a variety of music.

Can you speak any foreign languages? Not fluently, but I know some Spanish.

What is/was your favorite class in school? I always enjoyed English and then later on in college I enjoyed most of my psych classes as well. 

Who was your favorite teacher most recently? I’ve been done with school for 5 years now.

What is the lock screen and home screen on your phone? The lock screen is a photo of the ocean with a Bible verse on it and my home screen is a rose gold background.

Do you play Animal Crossing? Yeppp. 

Do you have any pets? What kind? What is/are your pet(s) name(s)? I have a 3 year old German Shepherd/Lab mix named Princess Leia. <3

what is a song lyric you love? >> Right, I’m definitely not going to think of that off the top of my head right now. <<< Haha, right. Not to mention, I have a ton of favorite lyrics.

Have you done anything recently to support Black Lives Matter? I’ve signed petitions.

Are there any songs you feel transport you to a world that doesn't exist? Jason Mraz songs were kinda like that. Haha. It seemed like he lived in some whimsical fantasyland.

What songs do that for you? “but my breath fogged up glass, and so I drew a new face and I laughed” lol okay Jason Mraz. Haha that’s the only thing coming to mind right now. It’s almost 7AM okay I can’t think.

What is your favorite ethnicity/cuisine of food? Italian.

What are some popular things that you don't like/aren't interested in? Hmm. What’s even popular right now? I’m out of the loop.

When was the last time you got a haircut? Back in February.

What was the last movie (or musical) you watched? Ferris Bueller’s Day Off the other day.

What was the last movie you saw in the theatre? The Invisible Man.

How soon are you planning on going back to work? (If you've been off) I don’t have a job, remember?

What is an item you own that means a lot to you? I’ll always cherish my giraffe stuffed animals and knickknacks.

Do you have a favorite t-shirt? All of my graphic tees.

What other proshot musicals would you love to see streaming online? You sure love musicals. I like a few musicals, sure, but I’m not super into them like you seem to be. There aren’t any right now that I want to see that I can think of. Well, apart from maybe checking out Hamilton. What is something you're looking forward to? Summer being over.

How do you plan on celebrating Covid-19 being over, whenever that is? >> The problem with this idea is that... it’s not that simple? From what I understand, it’s not like one day we’re all gonna say “that’s it! we’ve officially eradicated this virus from the earth and we will never have to worry about it again!” I’m guessing it’s going to be a slow process of reopening with a lot of false starts and rollbacks (as new waves crest and protective measures have to be re-implemented). Even that first day that I go out to a restaurant is probably going to feel really weird and even a little “wrong”. I’m not sure how much celebrating is really going to be happening. <<< All of this. Like I said earlier, it’s not ever going completely go away or be over. We’ll hopefully get it under control at some point and find an effective vaccine and medications and not have the fear of it constantly looming over us, but we got a long way to go.  And when that does happen, I’ll still be cautious. It’s sure going to feel weird when I do feel comfortable to go out again, though. It felt so weird just going outside for a bit recently one night cause it was the first time I had been out of the house at all since my doctor appointment back in May. That was really weird and scary for me. Prior to that I hadn’t gone anywhere since early March. Sooo yeah. I clearly won’t be rushing out anywhere anytime soon.

[peterstanslizzie]

Re-watching Lizzie Mcguire: Episode 1.4 (Pool Party)

The Actual First Episode

A classic Lizzie Mcguire episode

- For some strange reason, this episode was considered episode #4 and the fourth episode to air even though the production code for this episode is '101′. Meaning that chronologically, this is episode #1 and probably the series pilot. It’s no wonder that all the kids look a lot younger here than in other episodes.

- That being said, let’s begin my episode recap. Lizzie is running through an obstacle course during P.E. class and she’s having a miserable time; I can definitely relate. Side note: Coach Kelly is played by Dot Marie Jones, who also played Coach Beiste on the hit Fox television series, Glee.

- Cartoon Lizzie, who is Lizzie’s conscience gives us a brief commentary on the different social circles in her gym class and she describes herself as someone who doesn’t fit in any category. I can also relate to her in that aspect just because during high school, I didn’t fit into any sort of clique. And that’s fine because having multiple interests and friends from different walks of life was beneficial to me.

Introducing Lizzie’s BFFs and Classmates

This is so pure, I love it

- Babies! They look so young here for real. Miranda is first introduced as Lizzie’s best friend and they basically confide in each others secrets. But more about Miranda later on.

Gordo is so cute but extremely wise for his age

- Lizzie knew Gordo since she was a day out of her mom’s womb. She describes him as “smart, funny, creative and right about everything”. That’s our Gordo for sure.

Kate looks quite different here and it’s not because of the face she’s pulling

- Kate Sanders, as you all know is Lizzie’s frenemy but former best friend because she hit puberty and became popular because of that. I kinda need more info on how that happened. Did the other girls suddenly look up to her? Or did Kate suddenly develop a lot of confidence and a mean attitude to pair?

Danny Kessler was more visible at the start of the series. I wonder what happened?

- I believe Danny was meant to play a larger part in the show; However, his character just kind of faded into the background later on only to be somewhat replaced by Ethan Craft, who is a far better character in my opinion. He serves the purpose of being the hottest boy in school who girls go gaga for and that’s about it really. Danny invites Lizzie and Miranda to a pool party on Saturday and they lose their minds from the invitation. 

The Mcguire Household

Lizzie vs Dad and Matt lol. Jo as referee.

- I found this scene, which introduces us to Lizzie’s parents and brother to be a little chaotic; Lizzie tells her family that she’s been invited by the ‘hunk-in-training’ of the school to a party. We also get mentions of spit-swapping and strip poker as well as her dad thinking she has been kissing Danny and having second thoughts on allowing her to go to this party.

- Well, Lizzie doesn’t have to worry about it because she can’t go either way because her Nana’s 80th birthday party falls on the same day. Lizzie gets mad and storms off. I’m guessing her Nana lives out of town and so, it isn’t possible to go to her birthday party and also come back for Danny’s party on the same day.

Miranda’s Betrayal

- Lizzie vents to Miranda and Gordo about not being able to make it to Danny Kessler’s pool party and because of that, being the best friend Miranda is supposed to be, she tells Lizzie that she too won’t be attending his party either in order to show her support for Lizzie.

Side note: Knowing that this episode was written by Terri Minsky, I made the connection that Gordo’s parents who are shrinks is similar to Andi Mack Cyrus’s parents and step-parents being therapists too.

- Kate approaches Miranda and asks her a favor to ask her mom to draw some fake, temporary tattoos on her and her friends for the upcoming party. Miranda accepts and agrees to hang out with Kate after school, which pretty much means she’s re-attending the party and hence, betraying Lizzie in the process.

Miranda is disliked by most fans because of instances like this

- I honestly cannot be too hard on Miranda because she’s only 13 and everyone at school keeps talking about the pool party. Plus, she has a crush on Danny. So, I can’t fault her for ditching Lizzie but she could have at least asked Kate if Lizzie could come along to her house.

- However, I didn’t like how Lizzie was sitting by herself in the same school bus as Miranda and Kate and Miranda did not bother to ask her to sit with them. Even if Kate isn’t willing to let her, she should definitely stand her ground. Poor Lizzie has to sit with this one kid who proudly picks his nose and flicks it.

“Eww! Ya Nasty!” *in Raven Baxter’s voice

Obligation vs Being Forced to do things

- Jo Mcguire is on the phone talking to someone about trying to get out of volunteering to write for a newsletter. Lizzie overhears this and confronts her mom for being hypocritical as she is forcing Lizzie to attend her Nana’s birthday party whilst she herself is trying to come up with an excuse to get out of doing something else.

- I get what Lizzie means; how is it okay for her mom to make excuses while she can’t? Well, Jo is an adult, so excuses are something that she is able to make and bear the responsibilities that come out of it. Lizzie is still a kid and I believe that her old grandma’s birthday is more important than some middle school party.

Heart to Heart

- After Lizzie confines herself in her room, Jo deploys her husband, Sam to try to get Lizzie to open up by asking him to use a simple yet complicated technique known as the ‘hairbrush routine’, which is making an excuse to look for something in the room and proceed to talk about a neutral topic and only engage with the questioning at hand when she makes eye contact and speaks in full sentences. Lol, that’s a mouthful.

- Luckily, we did get this beautiful moment in the end:

Give me some tissues :(

Gordo is the Man

This is some good acting imo

- Can we first talk about that long stare between Lizzie and Miranda in the hallway when Miranda, Kate and her crew were walking past Lizzie by her locker? Their expressions were so believable; I can almost read the dialog between their faces alone.

- Lizzie complains to Gordo and accuses Miranda for being a hypocrite but Gordo tells Lizzie that she shouldn’t be mad at her because the party was something Miranda really wanted to go to.

- Ughh, it’s hard. The position Miranda was put in is so difficult. It’s either she doesn’t go to the party to show her loyalty or she does go and have the best time of her life but risk having her friend hate her because of it. Either way, I think Lizzie shouldn’t be mad at Miranda regardless. There are plenty more episodes for that in the future.

- Gordo delivers the final blow when he says that he wasn’t even invited to the party and that pretty much cancels out all of Lizzie’s arguments.

Another cute Lizzie x Gordo moment

Lizzie makes up with her Mom and Miranda

- Jo enters Lizzie’s room and tells her that her Nana is going to Las Vegas to play poker and so, Lizzie is free to go to the pool party. What a grandma haha! I’m happy they hugged it out. I don’t like Lizzie being mad at her mom.

- Lizzie decided to skip the party (good for her!) and she and Gordo played in the backyard and made art by dipping a huge piece of cloth in some color dye to create a really cool effect.

- Miranda unexpectedly shows up at Lizzie’s backyard after leaving the pool party and turns out, she had a bad time because Kate’s ankle swelled up from the tattoo and she had to sit with her in the locker room. She also admits being a bad friend to Lizzie for blowing her off.

- Lizzie doesn’t hold any grudge and she and Miranda are back to being besties!

Overall Thoughts

- There was a lot to talk about in this episode from Lizzie’s relationship woes with her best friend to her feeling like her opinions and thoughts are not seen as valid by her family. I do think that for how Lizzie was so upset at Miranda, she kinda forgave her too easily. But I don’t think I would want to see them continue to not be on speaking terms for more than 1 episode.

- I am glad that there was no unnecessary sub-plot involving Matt and Sam in this episode. His story-lines are really a hit or miss to me. I prefer the ones where his relationship with his friends and family are tested as well as when he faced situations that gave him character development. I don’t like the goofy, comic-relief ones like last episode’s cooking fiasco.

[such-a-random-rambler]

Happy Christmas

Since @tagsecretsanta​ works so hard to arrange our secret santa exchange, I thought it was time they got something in return.

So, as with the rest of us they gave me three prompts and the one I choose was ‘Scott and Virgil and kids at Christmas’ so here you go - Merry Christmas and thank you @tagsecretsanta

“Would you want one of these, one day?” Virgil asked.

Scott peered at him in the dim light. Though only sitting against the opposite wall, Virgil’s features were difficult to make out. Scott gave a one shouldered shrug in response, being careful not to disturb anyone.

“Weird.” Said Virgil “I always thought you would make a great dad.”

They had been trapped in this room for nearly eight hours now. A combination of high winds and acid rain had meant it wasn’t safe to take off. The flash flood made it impossible to leave the room. Damage to this mining complex’s communications array made Thunderbird Five indecipherable due to static, at least until the storm passed. It had been a crazy day, not the normal Tuesday.

The only place to seek refuge had been this cramped supply closet. Okay it was large as supply closets went, but still far too small for six people, even small people. Far from the best place to spend the night, let alone this particular night.

“I haven’t really thought about it.” lied Scott.

“Sure.” Scoffed Virgil.

It would have been alright if it was just the two of them - well not alright: it was always tough to be on a callout on the important days – but they could manage. It came with the job and no-one took a missed birthday or anniversary personally. It was the kids that Scott felt sorry for.

They had managed to evacuate all of the miners before the storm swept in, but the children had been holed up in their school room across the camp. Scott and Virgil had barely made it to them before the weather got too bad and there was no way to get them out.  

To their credit they had been very brave: comforted by the soothing tones of confident adults who never let their own fear show. Virgil and Scott had been hard pressed to distract them though.

Tonight they should have been in the main compound with their families, putting the finishing touches to the Christmas tree. They should have put out stockings and a plate of mince pies for Santa (plus carrots for the reindeer). There should have been hot chocolate while wrapped in blankets and watching The Muppets Christmas Carol.  

That was Christmas Eve, not this: stuck in their school store room with two strangers.  

When Scott and Virgil realised they were going to be taking up temporary residence they set to wearing out the four energetic ten-year-olds as quickly as possible. They raided the school supplies without compunction and the room was now full of pictures, Christmas lists, paper chains, garlands, paper snowflakes and origami stars. They used every craft and game in their arsenal to fill the time and stop them all dwelling on what a shit Christmas Eve this had turned out to be.

When the wind had picked up further Scot and Virgil had told the children that it would be most fun –meaning safe – to camp in this small room with no windows. Now they were both trapped with one child sleeping on each side using their legs as a pillow, blankets wrapped tight. Scott couldn’t blame them for taking what comfort they could despite the absence of their parents.  

“What?”

“You’re Scott Tracy, you plan everything. Of course you’ve at least considered it.” Virgil said.

Scott frowned. “Hey, there’s nothing wrong with being prepared and I seldom hear you complaining when I’ve bought along just he piece of gear we need.”

“Then what do you think?” Virgil nodded at the forms sleeping on them. “Do you want a family of your own?”

“Well, in theory yes, but practically is a whole different ball game.”

“Why?”

“For one thing we are spending Christmas Eve holed up half way around the world from home, and will do to well into Christmas Day. It takes a pretty special person to be prepared to put up with that sort of crap.”

“Special people do exist though.” Virgil countered, ever the optimist.  

“Sure, but first I have to find them, and to find them I have to talk to more than just people I happen to be rescuing at that moment.”

“So take a day off. Go to a club – I’d make a great wingman.”

“That’s not really my scene.” Scott scrunched up his face in distaste.  

“Stop seeing problems! We’re solutions people.”

Scott gave a deep sigh.

“I don’t think I could do that to someone, do that to those hypothetical kids.”

“Do what?”  Virgil asked.

“Make them sit and wait every time. We get a taste of it sure, but for every mission, every rescue, they would be sitting at home wondering if this was the time that we were too daring. If this time the problem was too big. If this time someone wasn’t coming home.”

Scott had often wondered if they would be in this line of work if Mom were still alive. Would she be sitting at home right now, checking and rechecking the equipment, waiting anxiously for them to get back in touch? Maybe she would be pacing – she was always full of energy so Scott didn’t know if she could sit and wait. Or maybe she was doing something – cleaning, cooking, painting – anything to fill her hands while her thoughts were far away.

“Or they could be sitting there thinking how proud they are.” Virgil was saying. “I’m not going to say I’m not worried when one of you guys is out there without me, it makes me feel sick I’m so scared for you. But that’s nothing compared to the look on people’s faces when we get them out of trouble. Think of what these guys parents are going to look like when we get out of here.”

“Yeah, that’s the reason I do it, but that’s not good enough to put someone else through it.” Scott told him.

“Thing is Scott, you don’t necessarily get to make that choice for someone. If I manage to get you off the island long enough to run into this special person you don’t get to decide how much they can cope with.”

Scott thought about that, really thought about what it would be like to raise children on the island.  They’d learn to walk along the beaches. He would need to put in guard rails around the pool until Gordon taught them to swim. Maybe John could home school them for a bit  - because he was by far the best teacher – just until they were old enough to spend some time away. Not that he would want them to go to boarding school as such but they didn’t exactly live in any school’s catchment area and he would want them to have meet other kids.  He would teach them to fly, of course, in one of the light aircraft they kept for when a Thunderbird would be overkill. They’d spend time baking with Grandma and drawing pictures of the rain forest. Kayo would tell them stories about hero’s and villains, Virgil teach them the piano, Alan would game with them and Brains would probably make a robotic pet.  

In all his musing – now or before – it never occurred to Scott that neither he nor his family would be living anywhere but the island.

“I’ll tell you one thing, no child of mine will be joining International Rescue.” Scott said gruffly.

Virgil laughed, being sure to keep it low and quiet. “That will be another thing that you don’t get to decide. But I’m glad we’ve moved on from ‘it’ll never happen’ though.”

Maybe Mom wouldn’t have been waiting at home. Maybe she would have been out with them. She never once asked someone else for a favour she wasn’t prepared to do in return: maybe this would have been no different. Part of Scott knew that his memories were coloured through the lenses of childhood, time and the firm belief that he had the best Mom ever. But the other part believed that his Mom would be as fearless in the face of natural disasters as she was fighting for the last of that year’s must-have toy.

Yeah, his Mom would have made a great Thunderbird pilot. Scott felt a smile spread across his face at the thought. Virgil looked puzzled, not knowing where Scott’s musings had taken him.

“What about you? See a family in your future?” Scott asked his little brother.

“Yep.” Virgil grinned. “A whole football team’s worth.”

“And maybe that’s something you don’t get to decide” Scott chuckled.

“Probably.” Virgil agreed without any less humour.

“Then maybe we should go out together at some point – meet some people who aren’t scared to death for a change.”

Before Virgil could answer a high pitched beep started to emanate from Scott’s wrist. He moved to silence it as quickly as he could, but one of the children still woke slightly, muttered, and then snuggled in closer.  

It was always a challenge to keep up with who was in which time zone. John could tell you who had recently eaten, who had slept or who was three days younger than they should be because they’d crossed the International Date Line too often without even looking up from his coffee. Scott couldn’t do any of those things and had a hard time keeping straight where was day and where was night, so he kept his watch set to island time – a small anchor to home.

The beep could only mean one thing – back on a small friendly island in the middle of a large uncaring ocean it was midnight. It was Christmas day.

Everyone might be fast asleep right now, the turning of the day going unnoticed. As Thunderbird Two was still mid-mission they were probably still awake and exchanging the first greeting and hugs of the day, John giving his virtually for now. Scott wasn’t about to let thousands of miles get in the way of joining in.

“Happy Christmas Virgil. Not how I wanted to start the day.”

“Happy Christmas Scott. Be neither, but ” Virgil looked down fondly at the sleeping forms that were pinning him down. “It could be worse.”

[jessicasellsnashville-blog]

Springfield, Miles From Ordinary

The town of Springfield was established in 1798 with a plan of 50 acres to use for a public square. This square included 10 streets and 66 lots that were sold to the public for just $8 each. The first Courthouse was made of hand-hewn logs. 

This public square is still flourishing today with many locally owned businesses that reside in renovated buildings dating back to the 19th century. The restored court house sits in the middle of this downtown commercial district with a bell that still chimes at every hour. 

 This charming town is just a 30 minute drive from Nashville and a true breath of fresh air. There is no lack of friendly faces, hand crafted shops and artisan foods. Not to mention the scenic tobacco farms and greenways. You can spend a day, two or lifetime in this town and never get bored. 

I have spent the last two years living and falling in love with this small, quirky town. From the people to the places I feel at home here. I am excited to share my love for this place in my very first blog post by highlighting some of my favorite places to go and things to do. I hope you enjoy reading it and decide to come visit! 

My first stop on the square is always Historic Perk. This coffee shop welcomes you with the delightful smell and delicious taste of their in house brewed coffee. The is my favorite rainy day spot; the friendly, cozy atmosphere is perfect to get lost in your work or a good book.  https://www.historicperk.com/

Maybe coffee isn’t your thing? Don’t worry the square has something for you. Burdett’s Tea Shop is not even a block away and if granny chic is a thing this place would be it. From the decor to the delicious varieties of tea and comforting food; you really feel as if you are at grandma’s for lunch.  http://www.burdettsteashop.com/

After your caffeine fix now it’s time to do some shopping. Most of the boutiques and shops are stocked with handmade locally sourced items. Shopping small businesses is always a plus; especially when you are getting one of a kind treasures.

 Wild Hearts Trading Company is one of my favorites; you can find a variety of local products from plants and decor to bath and body products. Their speciality is custom made shirts with adorable designs. They even take special orders!  https://www.wildheartstrading.com/

If you like unique boutique clothing you have to check out Hey Belle. They offer a variety of different styles from casual to formal. If you are tired of trying to find something that stands out at these department stores; this is the place to go. You’ll be able to get some special pieces to add to your wardrobe or that perfect dress for any occasion! http://www.heybelletn.com/

Main Street Boutique is another place you can find boutique clothing, jewelry,  home decor, and a variety of uniquely designed kitchen ware. There is even a section in the store dedicated to children, with clothing, toys, and other necessities.  https://www.facebook.com/mainstreetboutiquespringfield/

Speaking of children, just up from Main Street Boutique is Pretty Opossum; a children’s boutique! There are always some really cute choices here; not only for children but for the expecting mother as well. I highly suggest stopping here first for all of your baby shower gifts; you can’t go wrong with anything they have to offer; trust me.  https://www.theprettyopossum.com/

The owner is also an artist; she has many of her creations for purchase inside the store such as stamp prints, mugs, and candles. She had made stamps for many of the local farms and businesses around town! The majority of her creations can be found in her online store; Dusty Rose Block Press. https://dustyroseblockpress.bigcartel.com/

If you are wanting some natural, local foods and remedies for you and your pets I suggest you check out Our Serenity Shop. They have a multitude of products including essential oils, CBD products, organic and local foods, and so much more.The pet section is my absolute favorite. I’ve found products for my cat’s skin irritation and  nervous behavior; both have worked wonders in my fur baby’s life.  https://www.ourserenityshop.com/

Among all these shops there are a couple of places you have to go into just because! Maker Table is a metal fabrication shop and these guys are a hoot. They have created many things around town such as the dog park sign, bike racks, and the newest addition to the square the Jail Alley gate. The alley was once used to take prisoners over to the court house. Maker Table offer custom pieces you can take home as well. https://makertable.com/

Another creator’s shop is Caleb Woodard Furniture Co. There is a workshop in the back of this place where these guys create one of a kind pieces of furniture. From tables, to cutting boards you can appreciate the craftsmanship of everything in this place. https://www.calebwoodardfurniture.com/

If you are wanting to explore your own creative side I suggest stopping by Willow Oak Center for Arts and Learning. This is a space that host numerous art centered events not only in the center but around the community. You can take music lessons, a cuisine class, attend a painting party or just admire some amazing art work at one of their gallery events. Check out their website to see the upcoming activities! http://www.willowoakarts.org/

After a day of exploring the town it’s probably time to get your grub on again. There are some one of a kind dinner choices around the square with chef created menus. You will be in for some outstanding dining experiences that your taste buds will surely thank you for. 

The Depot Bar and Grill located right next to the train tracks offers a full menu as well as daily specials. This is probably the only place that you will be able to find Smoked Duck Breast Quesadillas and Texas Tails on the menu. There is a full service bar and a specific menu for wines and dessert. From the delicious food to the friendly staff, I think you will find yourself wanting to come back again and again! http://www.thedepotbarandgrill.com/

If you are looking for a place that offers vegan options The Copper Vault is the place to go. They offer a vegan specific menu with some unique options including their impossible burger and kimchi sweet potato fries. There is a cafe inside as well if you are looking for a day time place to catch a bite and do some work. The dinner room is beautifully staged and makes for the perfect date night atmosphere. Their traveling chef brings back things to incorporate into the dishes so I suggest you keep up with them on social media so you don’t miss out on some delicious meal options!  https://www.coppervault.co/

📸: @coppervault on Facebook

Public House is another great place to grab some drinks and some tasty food. They just launched a brand new menu and I am excited to try it all. Though my favorite at the moment is the Pimento Cheese BLT.  You can dine in this cozy place or you can have them cater any of your events. They have some really nice dinnerware options and the food is exceptional! https://m.facebook.com/PublicHouseTN

Though I think this town is absolute perfection already it keeps expanding. There are a few places in the works to open up this year that are just going to add to the overall Springfield experience, making it even more exceptional. Born and Raised Market is one that I am most excited about! They have been hard at work remodeling the little white building to bring us a deli and general store where you can grab lunch.  https://www.bornandraisedmarket.com/

BS Brew Works has been bringing a building back to life to bring their brew out of the kitchen and into a place for us all to enjoy. I know that this brewery and taproom is going to be a fantastic place to socialize and enjoy some cold ones!  https://www.bsbrewers.com/

Though an opening date has yet to be set on the old movie theater on the square it has recently been purchased and a dumpster has been filling up from the start of their renovation process. The plan is for the space to be used for ongoing events including live music, shows and movies. 

Before you head back home I suggest you take a sunset cruise down some back roads. Those breathtaking views and sweet country air really do the soul good. Springfield is truly a gem, far from Ordinary. 

📸: @imagoluxphotography on Instagram 

Find me on other social sites: @jessicasellsnashville

[smokeybrand]

Smokey brand Select: Deck the Halls

I don’t know if you can tell by my blog, but i f*cking love Christmas. It’s my absolute favorite holiday of the year. I love t more than Thanksgiving, more than Halloween, even more than my f*cking birthday and that’s a lot because I'm kind of a f*cking narcissist. I love the festivities, the decorations, the music, the objective purity of the whole season. Christmas time is the one time of year that people decide collectively to suck less. Recently, with all of the stupid conservative boycotts and soapbox rants, that less is a little less than usually but still, it’s hard not to love the Christmas season. It’s so inspirational and has inspired some fantastic films. Here's a list of some of my favorites. A lot of these, the majority of them, probably aren’t “traditional” Christmas fare but i assure you that they are, indeed, Christmas films. To say otherwise would just be disrespectful.

10. Edward Scissorhands

Tim Burton is going to be all over this list, man. Edward Scissorhands came out during a time i was incredibly infatuated with the striking visuals of Burton. I’m an Eighties kid and he kind of had his coming out party during that decade. Almost all of those films he released back then are favorites of mine. I remember seeing Scissorhands as a young kid and being absolutely mesmerized by it’s beauty. As an adult, i appreciated the underlying messaging just as much.

9. A Christmas Story

You’ll shoot your eye out! I used to hate this movie, man. It was a staple in during my elementary school Christmas parties. I never paid attention to it because, as a kid, i hated anything that wasn’t a cartoon. One day i was sick at home and caught it offseason TNT. This thing played, like, every day for some reason. I heard it was a favorite of Ted Turner but that’s just rumor. Anyway, i watched it and completely fell in love with this earnest, absurd, flick. It’s a really good watch and deserves it’s title as a classic.

8. Home Alone

Home Alone was the very first Christmas flick i remembered actually loving for being a Christmas flick. Like, when the season starts and Mariah Carey hits the airwaves, Home Alone is what i thing about. It’s the very first film that i unequivocally associate with Santa season. It’s funny because it’s not that great a film but i still love it dearly. I think that’s more because of nostalgia, though. There are fr superior films in the honorable mentions which probably deserve this spot more but Home Alone makes me genuinely smile.

7. Die Hard

I mean, how can i not put this on the list? It’s a classic. One of the best action films ever made. One of the best performances Bruce Willis has ever given. Plus, it introduces the late, great, Alan Rickman as Hans Gruber. Now, my favorite of the lot is With a Vengeance but Die Hard would be nothing without this holly jolly first entry.

6. Scrooged

One of my favorite Christmas narratives is A Christmas Carol. Dickens was a prolific writer and, among his works, the story of Ebeneezer Scrooge’s crisis of conscious is my favorite. I almost always love it when ever it makes it to screen but, for my money, the best version of this story took the form of the Eighties classic, Scrooged. It’s so Eighties in all of the ways. I love the overall narrative, the changes made t fit it into a then modern setting, and those incredible practical effects. It’s a feast for the senses while hitting all the necessary Dickens notes. Also, this version of the Ghost of Christmas Future is a whole ass nightmare. Like, f*ck, dude!

5. Trading Places

I love this movie so much, just on it’s own merits as a film. It’s so good. Eddie Murphy is excellent in this film and Dan Akroyd is just as brilliant. Jamie Lee Curtis was incredibly hilarious, too. This was the second thing i had ever seen her in, after Halloween so, you know, going from that to this really caught my attention. Trading Places is a classic and should be seen by everyone.

4. Gremlins

Gremlins is just generally one of my favorite films. I love this f*cked up movie, man. It’s SO good and this version is the tone down one. The original vision for this movie was just an R rated murder fest. I mean, the one we got wasn’t a joke wither It’s the reason we have the PG-3 rating. SH*t is just that violent Now, juxtapose all of this little green monstrosity anarchy against a dreamy white Christmas and you have all the makings of worming your way into my heart. Honestly, i prefer the gremlin shenanigans from the sequel, Mohawk is my favorite, but Stripe definitely left an impression.

3. The Long Kiss Goodnight

I had a massive crush on Geena Davis when  was young. Can’t tell you why, but i was absolutely infatuated with the chick after i saw her in The Fly remake. I followed her career afterwards. She dropped several gems along the way, Beetlejuice, Thelma and Louise, Earth Girls are Easy, A League of their Own, but my absolute favorite film of hers is definitely The Long Kiss Goodnight. This thing is peak Nineties action excess. Shane Black in his prime. Die Hard III but John McCLane is a hot ass amazon woman who can beat you to death with her mitts. It even has Sam Jackson as a smart-mouthed side kick! I love it!

2c. A Charlie Brown Christmas

I adore Charlie Brown. If Spider-Man, Godzilla, and Transformers are the foundations of my childhood, Snoopy is foundation adjacent. My Paternal grandma had all of the Peanuts films and i would watch them on repeat when we were forced to go over there. I say forced because she was kind of terrible and none of us really wanted to visit her ever but, when we did, and she wasn’t trying to exploit our labor or feed us rotten food, we did get to watch dope classic sh*t. She owned every Disney movie from the Renaissance and every Peanuts special on VHS. I hated visiting that woman but i loved those Charlie Brown adventures so kind of bittersweet memories.

2b. How the Grinch Stole Christmas

This one is associated with my other grandma, the one i actually liked. We used to sit down every year and watch this one together while sipping egg nog. Man, it’s hard for me to type this out. It breaks my heart remembering those times so I'm going to stop. I just really love How The Grinch Stole Christmas. It’s very, very, special to me.

2a. The Nutcracker

The Nutcracker is in the same situation as How the Grinch Stole Christmas. I have a lot of love for this thing, in ll forms, but the one i remember so vividly is the opera they used to show every season. My grandma really loved opera and orchestral music. I miss her.

1b. Batman Returns

I told you Burton was going to be all over this thing. Bro, how can this thing not be on the top of this list? Batman Returns left a real impression, man. Michelle Pfiefer’s Catwoman did things to me that would have reverberating effects through the rest of my life! She is, more than any other reason, why i have an unhealthy infatuation for crazy chicks. Also Nancy Downs but The Craft isn’t a Christmas movie. Outside of the way that patent leather catsuit ruined me for normal relationships, Batman Returns is just a force of f*cking nature. It’s Pure Tim Burton and i adore that man’s eye. He is one of my favorite creators and Batman is one of my favorite heroes. How can this thing not make my list? Batman Returns couldn’t take the number two spot, mostly because it jockeys for position with Nightmare pretty actively. I love them both so much, it’s hard to give the number one spot to either of them so, you know, split the difference.

1a. The Nightmare Before Christmas

This is Halloween! I remember being so hype about this movie. Nine year old Smokey was super into this film and that love carries through to this day. Every time it airs, i catch it or, at least, i used to when i had television. I saw this thing day one in theaters, made my mom buy the VHS, it was one of the very first DVDs i ever purchased with my own money, and was the third Blue ray i got after picking up my PS3. The wild thing is, it’s not just me either. Nightmare has become a pinnacle of the cultural zeitgeist. This thing is all over the place. People get tattoos of Jack. Halloween Town even made it into a few Kingdom Hearts games and it wasn’t even a Disney movie at first! It was banished to the subsidiary of Touchstone when it first released because the Mouse House didn’t believe in it! Talk about a miscalculations.

Honorable Mentions: Tokyo Godfathers, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, Bad Santa, Elf, Carol, Anna and the Apocalypse

[justfangirlfeels]

I'm gonna preface this with a big PLEASE 'cause it's a long-sounding request, but: Parent AU "You asked me to the store with you and your child, and now my distant relative we met thinks I'm married with a baby" with Adrinette (relative maybe Marinette's grandmother since we know she's never around and doesn't know much of what goes on with her granddaughter). Thaaaanks! ^_^

Ask and you shall receive. I’ve written an equally long one-shot here, so strap yourself in and hopefully, you’ll enjoy it :)

Adrien was one of those people that loved to spend time with his friends at any given opportunity, whether it was recreational or helping them with a task of some kind. Perhaps it was because I loved having friends, or maybe it because he hated to be alone. Either way, when his long time Collége friend Marinette called him up and asked if he could lend her a hand shopping that morning, he didn’t think twice about it.He had the day off, which was rare in itself considering all he ever seemed to do was photo shoots or moonlighting as Chat Noir, so the idea of spending some time with one of his closest friends (and by extension, also the newest member of his family of friends) was just what he needed to enjoy such an occasion.Which is what had brought him to the farmer’s market, strolling down the walk with Marinette in toe, a bounce in her step to entertain the ten-month-old girl harnessed to her body. “I really appreciate you doing this Adrien,” she told him, for the sixth time since they had met up ten minutes before, “I know there had to be things you would rather be doing, but Alya was busy, and I still haven’t fully grasped how to do the ‘buying groceries with a child strapped to my chest’ thing yet.”Adrien chuckled and brushed his hand dismissively; “Don’t worry about it. There’s nothing I’d rather do than spend time with two of my favorite gals.”Marinette gave him a knowing look. “You can just say you wanted to spend time with Doodle. I won’t be offended.”The aforementioned “Doodle” was curled into her harness, rubbing her face with her small fist in a motion that reminded the blond of the way Plagg washed his face with his paw-nubs.Adrien gave a chuckle. “Okay, yeah. I’ll admit it; I’ve missed the cutest member of the squad.” He gently ruffled the baby’s sparse hair, causing her eyes to dart to the man touching her, a sleepy smile ghosting the little face.Doodle, or Aimee as her birth certificate properly named her, was probably the best person that Adrien had ever met. And that was saying something considering he knew both Ladybug and Marinette, whom the daughter strikingly resembled.The dark hair matched down to the hue, and their smiles were nearly identical (even if Aimee’s didn’t have many teeth yet). The only thing that wasn’t the spitting image of her mother, was the dark green eyes she had gotten from her father. Not that he knew that. Then again, Adrien had thought to himself many times before, there was a lot Aimee’s father didn’t seem to know. Like how much Marinette had cried after telling him that it was okay that he didn’t want their relationship to continue, that it was for the best.Like the nervous expression she had worn when she had to tell her friends that she was pregnant, and that the father didn’t want to remain involved.The late night phone calls to Alya, freaking out and wondering if she could do this alone, only to be reminded that she wasn’t alone; that her friends and family would be there for her every step of the way.

Adrien knew about those things though, and he admired Marinette for taking those moments in stride and coming back with something as precious as life.It was in the moments, while he watched Marinette laugh and talk animatedly about her daughter, that Adrien realized just how much he loved the girl beside him. He knew a part of him always had, but whatever semi-platonic feeling he had felt in school was nothing compared to the calming feeling that enveloped him whenever she was near. And, in a life as crazy as Adrien’s, a little bit of calm changed everything.

“Marinette!” a female voice spoke, startling Adrien from his thoughts. The dark-haired woman looked around until her eyes fell on a old familiar face.“Grandma!” Marinette all but skipped to her grandmother, taking in the hug as gently as possible as to not make a Doodle-sandwich. “I didn’t know you were coming. What brings you to Paris?”“I wanted to see my Great-Grandbaby. And, ah, here she is.”As the older woman interacted with the little lump in the harness, Adrien stood a respectable distance from the family. Not that he felt awkward, per say, but he had only seen Marinette’s Grandmother at parties, and never had been formally introduced. Plus, he didn’t want to stand in the way of family bonding, considering that he knew how important it was.He didn’t stand alone long though, before Marinette verbally pulled him into the conversation.“I can’t remember; did you two ever meet?”“Not formally,” Adrien replied, walking forward and extending a hand, “but I’m glad to finally introduce myself. I’m Adrien.” The woman nodded, shaking Adrien’s hand.“Ah yes. I’ve heard so much about you. You’re the only that gave my Marinetta the lucky charm that she carries with her.”Even though knowledge that his gift was currently in her purse wasn’t a secret, Marinette still managed to have her cheeks dusted in pink. Adrien told himself to tease her about it later.“Yes, Ma’am. For her fourteenth birthday. I can still remember the long nights that I spend making it. It was almost thrown against the wall a couple times. I have since sworn to leave crafting to the professionals, like Mari.” The blush deepened, causing a roguish-Chat-like smile to curl Adrien’s lips. I loved when a simple comment managed to get his twenty-one year old friend to revert into her fourteen year old self. It was adorable and amusing at the same time.“Oh, please. Call me Gina,” the woman gently scolded, before turning to Marinette. “Unfortunately, I must run. I have some errands to run for your parents. You’ll be over for lunch, will you?” Marinette nodded, and Gina clapped her hands together.“Excellent! I will meet you there.”She started to leave, but turned to say something over her shoulder.“Bring Adrien along. I want to get to know the man that took my little fairy’s heart.”Stunned, Adrien stood there dumbly, watching the misinformed Gina continue to weave though the Saturday morning crowd.Apparently, Marinette was just as surprised because she didn’t say anything until the sounds of Gina’s motorbike was starting to drift from earshot.“I’m so sorry about that, Adrien. Grandma Gina often gets her stories and faces confused.”“You trying to tell me that you, didn’t tell her about me?” he asked, looking with her with a teasing smirk. Thanks to an incident involving a live broadcast back in collége, Adrien knew she had had a crush on him. It was one of his favorite things to tease her about, even if it was something he was currently guilty of himself.The blush turned a red (a color he had always felt suited her) and she gave an awkward laugh.“I mean, yeah. I did. But not like that. I swear, I’ll get it all sorted out at lunch.”Adrien gave a little pout; “Is that your way of uninviting me?”“Ah, well. You can come, of course, but you don’t have to. I mean, i don’t want to make it awkward, or make it seem like a date. Well, of course it’s not a date because my parents will be there. But-“ Her nervous rambling was interrupted by Aimee’s light crying; clearly, she realizes that she was no longer the center of attention. “It looks like little Doodle is ready to get going,” Adrien pointed out, “We should continue our shopping before we have to shatter your Grandma’s hopes of meeting your new boyfriend.”Marinette agreed, but as they walked, Adrien thought about how to make Gina’s words a self-fulling prophecy.

[distant-rose-archive-blog]

What’s in a Name

Note: I had a request awhile back for more on Emma’s pregnancy with Harrison and I’m trying to honor that, but a part of me feels like I cheated a bit. Anyway, this is how Harrison was named and there are a lot of opinions in this. I would like to say that Henry’s opinions don’t necessarily equate to my opinions, though some of them are my opinions. Anyway, lots of thoughts on Star Wars are shared, not all of those thoughts are popular. As always, I thank the lovely @welllpthisishappening for being amazing and reading my word vomit. I’m nothing without her support. Summary: Emma and Killian have been struggling for weeks on what to name their son. They turn to Henry for help in naming his little brother. Rating: T Word Count: 4,100+

“That looks absolutely disgusting,” Henry commented, turning away from the television to give his mother a look of disapproval at her food choices.

Emma quirked an eyebrow as she held up a potato chip covered with chocolate and caramel drizzle, holding her son’s gaze as she popped it in her mouth. A small happy noise emitted from her throat as the combination of sweet and salty burst to life on her taste buds. She couldn’t help but laugh as Henry started making gagging noises.

“It’s not that bad,” Emma defended, rubbing her swollen stomach. “And even if it was, baby gets what baby wants. All I wanted nothing but pickles and cucumbers when I was pregnant with you. At least I’ve moved on from Indian food.”

“Watching you eat constant chicken korma on a daily basis was easier to stomach than watching you put chocolate syrup on potato chips,” Henry said with a shudder.

“Well, suck it up, Buttercup. I’m watching Indiana Jones with you for the millionth time and you don’t hear me complaining. I could probably quote this entire movie in my sleep,” Emma replied, taking one of her potato chips and flicking it at him.

Henry ducked as the chip went flying towards him and it hit the wall with a wet noise as the syrup on the chip made it stick in place. Emma tilted her head to the side as she regarded the potato chip sticking to her wall.

“Huh. I wasn’t expecting that,” she remarked.

“Hook would flip if he saw that. I mean, he is going to flip anyway, we did kinda trash the place, Mom,” Henry said, gesturing to the pile of junk food containers and plastic bags on the floor and coffee table.

“Well, Killian needs to lighten up and live a little. Messes are a part of life,” Emma replied, eating another potato chip.

Henry looked like he wanted to say something but refrained, as if thinking better of it. He returned his attention to the television screen where Indiana Jones was yelling about snakes again.

“I’m not going to even touch that, so let’s switch to a more interesting subject, you know, like what you’re going to name my baby brother…You and Hook come to a decision yet?” Henry asked, raising both eyebrows at Emma.

“We have come to a decision about the name,” Emma said lightly, looking down at her bowl of potato chips. She felt slightly nervous for some reason, though she had no reason to be.

Henry’s eyes lit up and he paused the movie, turning his full attention to his mother. He physically moved his entire body to face her, excitement evident on his face.

“This is major! The whole town has been wondering what you were going to name him! There’s even money down on it. Is it Liam? A lot of money is on Liam or David. Or Liam David or David Liam. What is it?”

“Woah! Woah! Woah! People are betting on what we’re naming our kid? Are you kidding me? Don’t these people have something better to do!?” Emma exclaimed.

“It’s a small town, Mom, and it’s a new baby. It’s exciting. Plus, Granny wants to know what to put on the new baby blanket she’s making,” Henry said with a shrug.

Emma’s eyes went wide.

“Granny is making us a baby blanket?” she asked in a small voice. An unnamable emotion welled up in her throat and it was suddenly hard to swallow. She placed the bowl of chocolate and caramel drizzled potato chips on the floor.

Henry gave her a strange look.

“Yeah…she made one for you and for Neal, why wouldn’t she make one for the new baby? Why? Did you not want one?” he asked, frowning.

“No, no. I just wasn’t expecting her to. I didn’t know. That’s really nice of her. Really, really nice,” Emma mumbled, tucking her hair behind her ear and biting her lip.

She didn’t know why, but she felt overwhelmed by the idea that someone would make something so special for her child without asking. She had a feeling it was because of the hormones though. Lately she seemed to cry over everything and it was quite annoying.

“So…you said you guys came to a decision. You’re going to tell me, right? I mean, I am your favorite first born. Please? With sugar and cherries and all that on top?” Henry asked, bouncing a bit in his place on the couch. He looked more like a little kid than a teenager.

“Of course, I’m going to tell you,” Emma said with a small laugh. “Just calm down okay. It’s not that big of a deal.”

“Mom, it’s a huge deal! You’re naming a person! A new little person!” Henry exclaimed.

“I’m not naming him,” Emma said with a shake of her head.

“So, Killian named him? So, it is Liam then. I thought it might be, you know, since his brother was his hero and all that. I mean, the older one, not the younger one,” Henry said with a laugh. “There’s a lot of Liam Joneses.”

“There is,” Emma agreed. “Which is why his name isn’t going to be Liam. Well, his middle name is going to be Liam, but not his first. It’s just too much. Killian didn’t want that.”

“So, if it’s not Liam, then what is it?” Henry asked, still frowning.

“I don’t know,” Emma replied with a shrug.

Henry blinked. Her answer obviously wasn’t one that he was expecting. His eyebrows knitted together as a look of puzzlement crossed his features.

“You don’t know? How do you not know? Did Killian not tell you what he wanted to name the baby? Because, Mom, that’s kinda weird,” Henry said, leaning forward.

“Killian isn’t naming the baby either,” Emma replied, trying to keep calm. This was the moment of truth.

“Okay…” Henry gave her a weird look. “Then who is naming the baby? Grandma? Grandpa? Because that would be cheating. Grandpa placed down a bet.”

“Neither is naming the baby,” Emma snorted. “But more importantly, did you place down a bet?”

“Nah, though I was tempted to,” Henry replied. “But seriously though. Who is naming this baby? Or is it nobody? You picking it out of a hat? Tossing a dart at a board and hoping it lands on something good? Seriously, I gotta know.”

Emma sucked in a breath before meeting Henry’s eyes. A secret smile grew to life on her lips.

“Well, you’re going to know before anyone else because, well, you’re the one who is going to name him.”

Henry’s eyes looked like they wanted to pop out of their sockets as she said the words. He leaned back against the couch, looking positively stunned.

“For real? You want me to name him?” Henry asked, sounding almost breathless.

“Of course. You’re going to be his big brother. There’s no one that Killian and I would trust more,” Emma said, her smile growing and the corners of her eyes crinkling.

“And Hook is okay with this?”

“Of course, he’s okay with this,” Emma scoffed. “In fact, it was Killian’s idea. We couldn’t agree on anything and, well, we wanted to include you. You’re a big part of this family, Henry, and there’s no better way to honor that than letting you choose Baby Jones’s name so we can stop calling him Baby Jones.”

“It would be kinda of cool to call him Jonas Jones,” Henry mused.

Emma gave him an unimpressed look.

“I’m vetoing that. That’s a horrible name.”

“You said I could name him!” Henry said defensively. “And what if I want to name him Jonas Jones? You’ll just have to deal with it.”

“No way, kid. You can name him but it has to be within reason and we have to like it. I’m not going to be just okay with you giving him something absurd like Jonas Jones or Chevy Van Pickup or something like that. We have veto power,” Emma said, placing her hands protectively on her abdomen.

“Okay. So, no Jonas Jones. What about Jack? I mean, the kid’s dad is a pirate, so why not name him after the most famous pirate of all! Captain Jack Sparrow!” Henry smirked.

“Your stepfather would seriously have an aneurysm if you said that in front of him. No Jack. I don’t want to take the chance of this kid coming out looking like Johnny Depp and being all weird and drunk,” Emma replied, lifting her hands and making strange gestures with them, trying to imitate Jack Sparrow’s strange mannerisms.

Henry laughed, hazel eyes warm and full of delight at her little show. He grinned at her.

“Yeah, yeah. You’re probably right…What about Walton?”

“Walton?” Emma blinked. “Who the hell names a kid Walton?”

“It’s Indiana Jones’s middle name. His first name is Henry and we can’t necessarily name him that, so Walton…” Henry trailed, gesturing to the frozen image of Indiana Jones on the television.

Emma sighed, rubbing her temples.

“Maybe it was a bad idea to let you name the baby,” she muttered.

“Hey! I’m just warming up! Let me get into my craft,” Henry said defensively.

As Emma shook her head at her son, the front door opened and Killian walked into the house with a paper grocery bag. He paused at the doorway, surveying the mess that Emma and Henry had made of their living room. He looked like he wanted to say something, but just shook his head and thought better of it.

“Do you have it?” Emma asked her husband, not even bothering with a greeting as her eyes zeroed in on the bag in his hand.

“Hello husband! It’s so good to see you after I’ve spent the day making a mess of the house. I missed you so much! Thank you for going out and getting me ice cream after spending the day working with my father,” Killian replied in a high voice, trying and failing to sound like his wife.

Henry snorted and Emma gave her husband an unimpressed look.

“I would never say that, babe,” she said, leaning back and rubbing circles over her belly.

“Worth a shot,” Killian replied with a shrug as he stepped into the living room.

He gave Henry’s hair a quick ruffle before walking over to Emma. He gave her a quick peck on the lips before placing the paper bag on the coffee table and bending onto his knees. He gently put his hand on top of Emma’s distended stomach and placed a kiss just above her navel.

“Was the little lad behaving himself today?” he asked, his lips lingering against her shirt.

Without much thought, Emma’s hands began to comb themselves through Killian’s hair as she looked down at him with a small smile. He leaned into her touch, looking up at her with soft eyes.

“Not really. He’s been kicking up a storm today. I think he thinks my kidneys are soccer balls or something, but he always gets like that with you or Henry. I’m surprised he’s not kicking now, he must be tired,” Emma commented lightly.

“You need to stop being so mean to your mum, Baby Jones. You only get one after all,” Killian lightly admonished Emma’s stomach.

“Yeah, we can’t keep calling him that. He really needs a name,” Henry sighed.

“And that is your job, lad,” Killian said lightly, not looking up from Emma’s stomach.

“Yeah. I know. Mom already told me. She keeps vetoing my suggestions,” Henry replied as he began riffling for the remote control for the television.

“That’s because your suggestions have sucked. I almost want to revoke your privileges,” Emma remarked.

Her fingers moved from Killian’s hair to smooth over the pointed tips of his ears. Only privately to herself would Emma admit that she had a slight fascination with them. They looked a bit elvish at times. She wondered if the baby would inherit them as well.

“What are you doing, love?” Killian asked, looking up at her in amusement, resting his chin against her belly.

“Nothing. Just thinking,” Emma mused.

“Good things, I hope,” Killian murmured.

“The best things,” she smiled.

Her fingers traced down behind his ears so that her hands cradled the back of his head, pulling him up so she can give him a kiss. Killian made a soft noise as one of her hands trailed off to trace the shell of his ear again.

“Oh, come on!” Henry groaned. “If you guys are going to be all gross and married, I’m going to back to Mom’s.”

Killian laughed, breaking away from Emma’s lips and smirking at his stepson.

“You have no room to complain, considering the amount of times I’ve caught you on this very couch making moves on young Miss Violet,” Killian remarked, raising his eyebrows.

Henry’s cheeks went bright red as he heard Killian’s words and he ducked his head a bit in embarrassment. Emma’s eyebrows rose to her hairline.

“What’s this? This is the first I’ve heard of this,” Emma said, looking back and forth between her boys.

“That’s because Hook was being real cool about it until now,” Henry scowled.

“Apparently,” Emma replied dryly, giving her husband a look.

“He’s almost sixteen and it wasn’t anything serious,” Killian defended. “He’s a healthy lad enamored with a young lady. Nothing unusual, Swan. If it had been anything really sordid, I would have told you.”

“Right,” Emma snorted, not believing him for a second.

“How about we focus on the actual issue at hand,” Henry said quickly, changing the subject. “I mean, Baby Jones needs a name and we need to finish watching Indy.”

Killian groaned.

“Henry, we’ve watched Indiana Jones almost every night this week. Can we take a break and watch a film we haven’t seen a million times,” Killian said, getting up and stretching out his legs.

“Yeah, I guess we can watch Star Wars,” Henry said with a shrug, getting up from the couch to check out the stack of DVDs piled up next to the television.

Emma and Killian shared a look.

“I’ve seen all the Star Wars films, Henry,” Killian replied in a patient tone.

“Henry, can we put something on that doesn’t have Harrison Ford in it?” Emma asked with a sigh.

“Harrison Ford is the man! And no, Hook, you haven’t seen all the Star Wars movies. I mean you saw the originals and, regrettably, the prequels, but you haven’t seen the latest one and even though I, as a Star Wars fanboy, found a lot wrong with the new one, it’s still pretty enjoyable,” Henry said, holding up a DVD case.

“Harrison Ford?” Killian frowned, confused.

“The actor who plays Indiana Jones and Han Solo in Star Wars,” Emma replied, scooting forward so she could take the paper bag and look through it.

“Ah, I thought they looked similar. I do enjoy Han Solo. He’s quite dashing and he got the princess in the end, much like myself,” Killian grinned.

Emma rolled her eyes and whacked him on the back of the knees before taking out a pint of Ben and Jerry’s New York Super Fudge Chuck and a plastic spoon. She let out a pleased noise that normally reserved for more private moments. At the sound, Killian whipped around and stared at her with wide eyes.

“You alright, love?” he asked in a choked voice.

“Yeah…I just love ice cream,” she replied, almost embarrassed.

“I can tell…”

“Okay, less talk about ice cream, more talk about Star Wars,” Henry said impatiently. “We gotta focus here, people.”

“I didn’t realize how passionate he was about these films,” Killian commented as he sat down next to Emma, slinging an arm casually around her shoulders.

Emma gave him an odd look.

“Where have you been for the last two years, then? That’s all he talks about half the time. It’s either this, Lord of the Rings or Magic the Gathering. Honestly, he has at least three lightsabers in his room.”

“Five actually. A red, yellow, blue, green and a purple one,” Henry corrected her.

“There’s a yellow? I don’t remember there being a yellow one,” Killian frowned.

“There is in Knights of the Old Republic. It’s a video game. Don’t worry yourself about it,” Henry said, as he popped the disc into the Blu-Ray player and settled back on the couch.

“If you say so, lad,” Killian shrugged, placing a kiss on Emma’s head.

They were an hour into the movie when Emma turned into Killian, placing her head more fully against the crook of his shoulder but keeping her eyes trained on the aged Han Solo.

“He’s not bad looking for a 70-year old man. Quite silver fox actually,” Emma commented, digging into her ice cream.

“Going to leave me for Han Solo, love?” Killian questioned teasingly.

“Well, I am Princess Leia,” Emma replied, trying to keep the laughter out of her tone.

“You guys should name the baby after Han Solo,” Henry commented. “I mean, he’s kinda a pirate. Like a space pirate. And he’s awesome. And Mom’s right. She is Princess Leia in the book.”

Emma and Killian looked at each other.

“No.” The word was spoken by both in unison.

Henry at them.

“Why not? It’s perfect! I mean, Han Solo is like the space-version of Hook!”

“Han is not a real name. Han Jones? It doesn’t sound right, mate. But mainly, Han isn’t a real name,” Killian said, raising his eyebrows at his stepson.

“Also, it would be kinda weird to give birth to Han, if I’m Leia. I mean, Killian should be Han. But if we’re going by Star Wars logic, we should be naming the kid Ben or Kylo or whatever,” Emma said dryly.

“We’re not naming our child after the whiny melodramatic child,” Killian muttered with a small scoff.

“Relax, I wouldn’t dream of it,” Emma said, patting his chest.

“And I wouldn’t want you too. I stand by Han and Leia’s kids being Jacen, Jaina and Anakin, not this. I mean I can’t tell you how pissed I was that they went this way instead of going by the books. I mean, Leia and Han really didn’t know Obi-Wan that well or know him as Ben, that’s all on Luke, who got married in the books to a bad ass assassin and named his kid Ben but I digress. Anyway, Han Solo is pretty cool. I mean, seriously, there’s no one cooler than him. Think on it more,” Henry said, gesturing to the screen.

“No,” Emma and Killian said again.

A silence fell between them and Emma cringed as Kylo Ran stabbed his father in the chest with his lightsaber. Killian’s hand tightened into a fist as Chewbacca let out a roar that sounded more like a wail. Though Killian thought Han was an outrageous name and didn’t want to name his son after the character, he quite liked Han Solo and was sad to see him die so horribly.

“What about Harrison?” Henry said quietly after a moment.

“What?” Emma said, looking up from Killian’s chest.

“Harrison. You know for a name. Like Harrison Ford. It sounds kinda cool,” Henry said with a shrug.

Emma paused. It was the first name that Henry had mentioned that she didn’t hate. It was a classic sounding name. It sounded like the name of someone who could be a president, a police officer or a movie star. She kinda liked it.

“What do you think, Killian?” she asked, looking up at him.

He seemed to be mulling it over in his head. Emma watched as he mouthed the name silently, as if he was trying to get a taste of it.

“It’s a strong name,” he said after a moment.

Henry paused the movie, looking at them with something akin to shock on his face.

“You guys are seriously considering Harrison? I actually stumbled on a name that you guys don’t hate?!”

“Yeah…” Emma laughed in disbelief. “I kinda like it. Killian’s right. It’s a strong name. Yeah. I like it.”

“It’s a good name,” Killian agreed. “A pirate could be named that.”

“Or a prince,” Henry teased.

“Hey, none of that talk,” Killian said with a mock glare.

“Well, Mom is a princess, so naturally it can be assumed that the baby is a prince,” Henry said, wiggling his eyebrows.

“That makes you a prince too,” Emma snickered.

Henry wrinkled his nose, looking very much like Emma whenever she found something particularly nasty.

“Yeah. No. That just sounds weird. I mean, no offense to Grandpa, but it’s kinda weird to be considered a prince…it’s too…prissy.”

Killian looked positively delighted by this piece of information and opened his mouth to make a reply, but Emma elbowed him sharply in the ribs.

“Focus,” she scolded him. “What are we thinking, boys? Harrison Jones sounding okay to you?”

“Sounds like an action hero to me,” Henry grinned. “I mean, you can’t go wrong with naming your kid after the greatest action hero of all time.”

“I think Arnold would disagree with you there, but Harrison Ford is better cool,” Emma replied.

“Harrison Jones is better,” Henry stated, nodding his head.

“Harrison Jones,” Emma repeated. It sounded right. It made her feel giddy.

“Harrison Liam Jones,” Killian said softly. “It’s got a good ring.”

“Holy shit, we just named the baby, didn’t we?” Henry whispered, eyes wide.

Emma was too stunned by the revelation to correct her son on his language. She was overwhelmed as her hands left Killian’s chest to rest against her abdomen where her unborn child was now kicking again. She let out a disbelieving laugh.

“I think Harrison likes it,” she said, tears in the corners of her eyes.

“Oh, Mom! Don’t cry! This is good! This is exciting,” Henry said, scooting off the couch and settling on the other side of her. He rested his head on her shoulder, placed on his hands on top of hers.

“I know, I know,” she said, trying to choke back her emotions. “I’m just really happy…these are happy tears. I promise.”

Killian’s arm shifted so he too could bring his hand down on her stomach.  The three of them stared at her belly, feeling the baby’s kicks. Emma swallowed, tears still coming.

“Harrison’s getting rowdy,” Henry chuckled.

“Harrison is just excited he’s now Harrison instead of just being Baby Jones,” Emma chuckled.

“And we just washed the entire bet,” Killian commented.

Emma looked at him in disbelief.

“You knew about the bet and you didn’t tell me?”

“Of course, I knew about the bet. I’m surprised you didn’t. Your mother was telling me about it. She tried to get me to agree on David so your father would win back that two hundred he put down. Why did you think I was so against it?”

“I thought you just didn’t want to name the baby after my father,” Emma said with a shake of her head.

“Your father is my best friend and David is a nice name, but betting on your grandchild is just bad form.”

Emma shook her head, biting her lip for a moment and staring down at all the hands on her stomach.

“Let’s keep this between the three of us until he’s born. I don’t care about anyone else or whatever stupid bet is going on. I just want it to be ours until he gets here…” she said gently.

“What about Granny? She wants to put the baby’s name on the blanket,” Henry frowned.

“She’s biggest gossip in town. The second she knows, everyone is going to know. No. She can wait. Mom can wait. Dad can wait. Harrison Liam Jones is going to be ours for now.”

“Whatever you want, love, whatever you want,” Killian said, kissing her head.

Miraculously, Harrison’s name is kept hushed until his naming day at Granny’s three months later. The entire diner groaned as his name was announced and Granny was all but cackling, refusing to give back all the cash placed on various unpicked names. No money had been put down on ‘Harrison.’

Emma tensed as her father approached her, holding onto her newborn tightly.

“You just lost me two hundred dollars,” he said casually.

“You shouldn’t be betting on your grandson’s name like that,” Emma said, rocking Harrison gently.

“You’re probably right,” David said with a small smile. “You chose a better name though. Harrison suits him.”

Emma smiled.

“I didn’t pick it. Henry did. For Harrison Ford,” she replied with a tiny shrug of her shoulders, careful not to jostle the baby in her arms.

“Ah. Star Wars. I should have known. Maybe I should have him name my next kid.”

Emma’s eyebrows rose at that.

“You’re thinking on having another kid, Dad?”

“Maybe,” David said with a smile. “You never know. Just something to think about. But yeah, I like Harrison. Better than David. I just wanted to let you know. You, well, Henry chose well.”

“So, no hard feelings then?” Emma teased.

“No hard feelings. Harrison Jones is too cute for me to stay mad.”