#then runs and hides behind her huge goth dad

[orange-catsidy]

[camels-pen]

Bad Luck Tuck: The Sequel

DannyMay Day 9 - Candlelight

Summary: Confessions are meant to be these big romantic gestures to show your crush all the love you feel for them. For someone like Tucker this is something that takes a lot of money, time, and effort to accomplish; even with the help of friends it's often very hard to execute.

Confessions to a half-ghost superhero that's being hounded by the Justice League is infinitely worse.

(sequel to How to Take Out a Ghost by TooFineFoley & 2nd part of The Meddling Jerkwad League series)

Ao3 Link

~

“Gotta say, it feels good to know I’m better than the Justice League at something,” Valerie said, a smug grin on her lips. “Kinda makes me wanna apply for a superhero grant from Wayne industries myself.”

“Oh you should. Those guys are completely hopeless,” Sam said, nodding. “Danny could recommend you.” Valerie laughed.

“After that? I’d be surprised if they ever let him back up there.” She dragged the video back to the halfway point and watched all of the laughter and chaos at normal speed, Sam chuckling with her.

“Yeah, hopefully it means they’ll stay out of Amity for a while too.” The other girl grimaced.

“Still no luck?” she asked softly. Sam shook her head. “Damn, that’s gotta be torture for him.” The goth sighed in agreement.

For the past several months, Tucker had been trying his damnedest to ask Danny out, but it seemed like fate—and the Jerkwad League—was determined to throw a wrench into every one of his perfectly laid out plans.

The first incident was when he used almost six months’ allowance and all his money from brief business ventures to pay Kwan’s dad to put “Danny, will you go out with me?” in skywriting above the town square. He planned to nonchalantly ask the other boy to look into the sky and then give him the perfect flower to symbolize his fiery love for the halfa; a red camellia.

Sam sent Danny a cryptic text to meet at the square and was hiding behind a bench nearby, recording on her phone for the two boys to look back on when they’re old and gray with two big dogs running around in a beautiful apartment along the lakeshore and wearing matching couples sweatshirts (Tucker may have fantasized a few times about a future with Danny, but just a few).

The plane had flown off, Danny had been just a few feet away, and Tucker didn’t sweat through his button up for once.

The scene was completely and utterly perfect.

Then Superman had flown right through the smoke trail as he passed above, looked around, and flew off in another direction.

‘Mr. Romantic’ hadn’t noticed anything amiss nor Sam’s ‘abort now!’ motions until he greeted Danny with a suave smile and told him to look up.

“‘Danny, go out’?” the halfa had read out slowly, a confused grin on his face. “Uh, thanks? I didn’t know getting ungrounded was such a big deal.”

Color drained from Tucker’s face so quickly that day, Sam was almost positive he was about to pass out on the spot. She remembered watching with a grimace as her friend started to backpedal, laughing too loudly and saying how he’d missed his best friend lately. He pushed Danny toward the arcade and dropped the camellia hidden behind his back in the fountain.

It took a while, but after a good pep talk (a.k.a. him talking out his problem while she sat and doodled his pained expression, nodding along periodically), he was ready for take two.

This time, Tucker also enlisted the help of Valerie. The three of them worked together to help him make a huge space-themed banner with lots of Danny’s favorite constellations and planets with the words “In this whole entire universe, all I want is you” painted in big bold white letters.

It took them four days to wait for the layers of paint to dry before adding more. This was in addition to trying to find the right materials to accurately depict all the little details without Danny noticing—running around to find a paint store with just the right shade of purple paint was a lot harder than they expected at 1am, half an hour before they had to meet the halfa at the park to end patrol (we’re looking for dark purple, Sam, not northwestern purple!)—but eventually the geek gave it his gold stamp of approval.

So on a sunny Wednesday afternoon, Val had set up the banner above Casper’s front entrance right before final bell, Sam stalled Danny, and Tucker rushed to the locker room to change.

Not five minutes later, Sam caught a glimpse of Mr. Romantic in a pressed black tux, red bowtie, and strutting through the halls with another red camellia in his hand as he passed the classroom door. She knew Val was waiting outside to capture the event, and, after a text from her friend, she led Danny outside, promising to finish their debate on the best music genre later (it’s punk rock, Danny’s just in denial).

Crowds of students had greeted them at the front and Sam had to push and shove the two of them through. Many students had pieced together Tucker’s plan while Val was putting up the banner and stuck around to watch the event, but Sam had known the crowds still shouldn’t have been that big.

When they had finally made their way outside to the front steps, she saw their friend holding the camellia’s stem tightly in one fist, a little grey box in the other, and looking a bit shaken towards the end of the street. She remembered following his gaze to the actual real life Batmobile turning the corner followed a few meters back by Walker and a mob of his guards.

She had seen, in real time, the change in his demeanor from hopeless romantic to just hopeless.

It took another, more involved pep talk filled with many frustrated tears—this time from Sam, Valerie, and Jazz—to try again.

Half a truck full of red and white flower petals came to town, courtesy of Danny’s parents—who had also somehow gotten in on the whole thing—and the three friends and sister had spent the better part of the next two days in a secluded area in the park, moving every petal around into their proper places spelling out “Danny” in white petals with the red petals scattered underneath in one big pile. He’d planned to hide in the pile and when Danny flew down to inspect it at the end of his patrol, he’d pop out and confess his love straight, skipping any chance for another interruption.

Sam, Val, and Jazz were hiding in nearby bushes, having come back a few minutes early from their own patrol routes, and all three had their phones out, poised and ready to record.

Then three Green Lanterns—a black guy, a ginger, and… a pig-guy??—had rocketed down from hundreds of feet up, right on top of the flower pile. The three in the bushes had watched as all of their hard work blew away in the wind, revealing Tucker on one knee with another camellia in his hands and a quickly souring expression.

Apparently, they had seen the name from high up and had been looking for Danny Phantom because the ginger and pig-guy wanted to meet the kid who’s kept the entire Justice League on their toes and if he was a threat to their planet (Ooo-ah or something, Sam hadn’t been paying attention).

Leading up to the next weekend, the name Bad Luck Tuck had started up again at school after the flower confession failure—Danny having been completely clueless as to why, of course—and Mr. Romantic had officially left the building, leaving only Mr. Vengeance.

Kitty had been very angry when they told her about the reemergence of the old nickname during their visit to her lair; she said Johnny and Shadow went on a ‘Broad Trip’, but that she had no clue where they went and if they’re in the human world, she was going to kill the both of them a second and third time for going without her.

So without a punching bag and lots and lots of frustrated wall kicking, pillow ripping, and muffled screaming later, he tried again.

And again.

And again.

And again.

Each time being thwarted by stupid heroes in flashy tights who really really had no business coming to Amity. They were worse than the ghosts and they were supposed to be the good guys! Sam had really felt the secondhand frustration as if it were her own with each incident; no matter how big or small the type of confession Tucker tried, it was completely and utterly thwarted by poorly timed hero visits.

Sending a written love letter.

Lost in the wind when the Flash ran through.

A picnic invite.

Flash again, thinking it was laid out for him when he came by to give Danny an updated communicator.

A fucking paper airplane from two feet away.

Fell down the drain when Martian Manhunter showed up out of thin air between the two, the folded invitation to dinner and a movie bouncing off his cape harmlessly.

The TFF Bazooka was, unfortunately, only the latest in a long line of failed attempts to confess to his crush and it was almost too much for his heart to handle.

Sam made another face thinking about her friend's downtrodden expression when they were teleported home after another failure.

“Yeah, he hasn’t been having the best of times,” Sam agreed. “But based on Danny’s text the other day, that’s definitely going to change.” The two girls shared a knowing look.

---

“Sam I really don’t want to go to Nasty Burger right now,” Tucker said, trudging along behind her, jacket hood up and shoulders slumped. “I just wanna go home and pretend like none of Friday really happened and-” He cut himself off as they walked in, looking around in confusion at the empty, but well decorated restaurant.

Red, white, and pink cardboard hearts and shimmering streamers were strung from the ceiling leading a path to a booth in the back. It was situated far away from the windows and had a mostly stain-free red tablecloth with a single lit candle in the center. Fancy table settings that he’d only seen once during a trip to IKEA were placed for two with white napkins folded into the shape of lopsided swans.

The smell of sizzling meat filled his nose and he turned to look at Valerie behind the counter, cooking what looked like hamburger patties in the vague shape of steak, a bowl of mashed potatoes and two large cups filled to the brim with orange soda set to the side on a serving tray.

A knock to his left had him turning to the window, staring directly at Johnny on his bike with Shadow poking out from under him to wave. The ghost biker had his hands around his lips, exaggeratedly mouthing “you’re welcome” before revving his bike and riding off.

“Uh,”—Tucker whipped his head around at the familiar voice, surprised eyes locking with Danny’s nervous ones—“So I know this might seem a little much, but, um,” He took a deep breath.

“Tucker, you’re one of my best friends and while I want us to be friends still I don’t think we’re good to stay like that so I, uh…” he stuttered out, fiddling with something behind his back. “Wait, hold on that didn’t sound right, lemme—” Danny pulled out a red camellia. Tucker’s eyes began to water.

“I know that I’m not good at a lot of stuff and- and you probably deserve way better, but I need to at least get this off my chest, so please just hear me out.” He took another breath.

“Tucker Foley, I have been in love with you since middle school and I would really like it if we could be boyfrie—” the other boy didn’t let him finish, rushing forward to wrap his arms around his neck and kiss him breathless.

---

He could stand to be a little less mad at the League, he mused to himself later, curled around Danny in the cheap plastic booth as the boy went on about his own struggles with the heroes coming to town, dinner partly forgotten on the table. Their poor timing wasn’t really their fault and he got such a great surprise out of it that he honestly couldn’t care less anymore. As long as he could stay in this moment, cuddled up next to Danny, his boyfriend, forever.

A bright light flashed in front of them, followed by the appearance of a woman in a magician’s outfit. “Phantom! We need-”

As Danny invisibly slipped away to transform, Tucker fired excuse after excuse to explain away Phantom’s absence, hiding the extra table setting under his jacket while struggling to keep his gut sucked in.

Yeah, he thought to himself bitterly, he could stand to be a little more mad at the League.

[beanpole-simp-bin]

Pico headcanons for Pico Day

He's 5'6", a powerful munchkin. Doesn't help that he still looks like a kid in the face, but there are times he uses his sweet demeanor in tough situations.

Tankparents, unofficially. Each summer, Pico had been sent to summer camp because his bio dad (not Tom Fulp, this bio dad is fictional) leaves much to be desired. One camp was run by Steve and John, and they lowkey adopted him. He still lived with his bio dad until he became an adult, but he went to his true parents when he needed love and support, which they happily provided as best they could.

He smoked cigarettes in high school until he quit a few years after graduating. Didn't seem worth the money he risked his life for, among other reasons. The habit gave him a rougher voice, but with some effort, he can sound like he did before. He mostly uses that voice to fuck with people or hide that he's Been Through It.

Even after all these years, he can't bring himself to say Cassandra's name. It's always “her,” spoken with great disdain. Other people with the same name are fine, but he can't shape his lips around the syllables. Fortunately, there are plenty of other ways to refer to someone.

Darnell and Nene are his homies. Chaotic homies, but he loves them anyway. He just gets tired of their antics sometimes. Being the voice of reason is a full-time job.

He spared Cyclops and Alucard. Cyclops got a bicycle kick to the back of the head and he let Alucard hide behind the desks. Hanzou...not Hanzou. There was too much going on between the darkness and the attacks he couldn't see. He thinks back on it with regret sometimes, but as John keeps saying, it was him or them in that bathroom. Nothing to feel too bad about.

Eventually, he lets the remaining Goth Punks back into his life, accepting they'd been manipulated by Cassandra and probably wouldn't have done what they did if she was out of the equation. He made it very clear, however, that if they were to pull that shit again and he found out, they would wish they were never born.

He'll never admit it, but it's nice having people who understand what he'd gone through, even if they were on the other side.

Convict's a punk bitch. Really, tearing up Pico's school again after all that happened? For no apparent reason?? And while wearing the faces of people he knows??? Bullshit. Fuck that guy.

It's one of the only things he readily agrees with Piconjo on. They work together at times to make Convict's life just a little harder. Pico's usually the moral compass, but there's something about sticking it to Convict that tosses his reservations out the window. “The enemy of my enemy is my friend” and all that.

Piconjo confuses him. On one hand, the swordsman is very Not Good, and must be stopped when he goes too far. On the other, he has more freedom than Pico. He does whatever he wants seemingly without consequences, and Pico can't help but wonder what that's like. To have people fear you, worry that you'll hear them talking shit and end their whole bloodline...Pico can't help but feel a little jealous sometimes, with his own life of taking jobs from people and being underestimated. The guy's a huge asshole, though, so Pico's not about to start following in his footsteps.

Otis is more like his brother than his cousin. Being raised an only child, any family that isn't trash is very important to Pico. He respects Otis for being so tough, but can't help dwelling on how young he was when he got tossed into that 'test' at the mall. Pico himself had been eighteen when he had to fight, but Otis was eleven, and the impact it had on him is quite different. Because of this, he sometimes pulls rank as the older cousin and gets protective, which Otis appreciates.

He doesn't much care to remember his time with the Neo Goth Punks. It was nice seeing his grandmother again, but being reminded of what he went through sucked hard. And then Otis had to move away after and cut off contact for a good few years...ugh.

That being said, he's glad Otis didn't kill them. He knows Otis wanted to, but he's glad his cousin didn't hunt them down afterward and finish the job. Maybe that time out in the country did him some good.

[mrs-hatake]

900 followers prompt list!!

We just hit 900 followers on this blog and I’m honestly so speechless! Thank you everyone for loving and supporting this blog ❤️

In celebration, I decided to make a prompt list for all of you authors and inspiring authors to help you write wether you’re on a writer’s block or aren’t sure what to write exactly. I will track this via aizawakashi prompts.

So, without further ado, here’s the prompt list!

All fandom:

- You return home after a long day at work and your character interest showers you in kisses and pampers you the whole day with your favorite food and cuddles with you watching your favorite movie.

- Day at the beach! You and your character interest head to the beach for the weekend to relax and flee from the hectic city life. 

- 7 minutes in heaven!! Bored with nothing to do, you recommend playing 7 minutes in heaven with your (multi) character interest. 

- Surprising your husband at work by bringing them their lunch or desserts because you know they’ve been working very hard lately and you just want to cheer them up.

- Masquerade ball au! You are invited to a masquerade ball. Alone and nervous, a handsome and mysterious man offers to dance with you. You are charmed by him and slowly start to crush on him. You were to kiss but suddenly, the clock stuck midnight and he vanishes. Disappointed, you look for him everywhere for months. And when you find him, you discover that he was a [insert favorite mythical creature] and offers you to join him for all of eternity.

- Meeting your parents au! After being together for a long time, it was finally time to introduce your boyfriend to your family. You were anxious that they wouldn’t get along but were surprised when they did! Later that night, your mother pulls you to the side and said that she thinks he would be the perfect husband.

- Haunted house au! Queue the funny montage scenes. Lots of hand holding and hiding behind each other. 

Naruto:

- You challenge your crush Naruto to a ramen eating contest. Kiba and Shikamaru bet that Naruto would win while Sai, ino and Sakura bet their money on you. The winner is up to you. 

- Kakashi cries after spending an hour teaching his son new words. Worried, you rush to the room only to find your son giggling at his dad while Kakashi is in a state of crying and laughing. Concerned, you asked your husband if he was okay. He replied that his son just kept making mistakes and it was the cutest thing ever and Kakashi didn’t know how to deal with such cuteness.

- Wanting to help Neji with his rebellious phase, you give him an all goth/emo makeover. Piercings, tattoos, ripped jeans, the whole work. You teach him to have fun and let loose. Hiashi is angry, forbids him from seeing you but Neji stands up for himself, fights for you and for his freedom. Hiashi reconsiders.

- While on watch on a mission, Sai couldn’t sleep and was entranced by your beauty so he decided to do a quick sketch of you while you watched over your team as they slept, not knowing that Sai was awake. 

- Kakashi introduces you to his dogs and waits for their approval. You take this very seriously as you want to impress them because they were his family.

- Seducing Shikamaru while dancing at the club. You two have been flirting for a while, making empty promises of showing each other a good time. After a long mission where the sexual tension between you was high, you finally decided to do something about it. 

- Cooking date with Itachi! You help Itachi cook dinner with him and it’s so soft and very cute. You both have a great time and you become so emotional seeing how happy and relaxed Itachi was being. 

- Hidan is a guitarist from this new rock band, Akastuki. You have a huge crush on him and one day, you bump into him as he was running away from his rabid fans so you help him escape and hide into this small local cafe that barely had any customers. 

One Piece:

- Law was being grumpy because the straw hats decided to stop at a winter island. His and Luffy’s crew were all having fun building snowmen, igloos and making snow angels. You wanted him to join and have fun for once so you took a handful of snow and hit Law straight in the face. A snowball fight commences.  

- Zoro gets separated from the straw hats while at a tropical island and wanders off to a small village deep in the forest. He finds you, the village dancer, and is hypnotized by the sway of your body and the teasing gleam in your eyes. He was enjoying himself when, suddenly, criminals raided your village and as he came to your rescue, he was surprised to know that you were strong and were a skilled [insert weapon talent here] and was very impressed...and turned on.

- A beautiful girl joins the straw hats and, for once, Sanji wasn’t attracted. He doesn’t flirt with her, doesn’t call her any terms of endearments and won’t even glance her way. You two would constantly fight and argue and everyone has had enough of your shirt. The straw hats lock you up in a room until you work things out. You were surprised that Sanji treated you this way because he had never had a serious crush on someone and didn’t know how to process his emotions. 

- Ace meets Tama’s older sister while at Wano. He was drawn to your kindness and dedication to restore your village. A short romance affair  between you began, and he offered you to join Whitebeard but refused because you had to take care of your sister. You were devastated when Luffy told you what happened to Ace.

- Luffy falls in love with a female chef. He was so in love with your cooking that he said your food was better than Sanji. Queue a cooking battle between you and the blonde chef. Luffy was the judge and  you both worked very hard to impress the judge. Of course, Luffy being Luffy declares the both of you as winners. You and Sanji become best friends.

My Hero Academia:

- Aizawa runs into his college ex-girlfriend and was baffled to see her working with the League of Villains, and worse, is Dabi’s girlfriend. He blames himself and doesn’t know if he can fight you or not since he still had feelings for you. Their reason for their break up is up to you. 

- Dabi is infatuated with a fiery quirkless civilian who wouldn’t take anyone’s shit. She doesn’t really care about the whole hero vs villain thing and Dabi is just interested in her mindset and philosophy. The two work together and reader offers him a place to stay and heal his wounds after encountering heroes. 

- While working with LoV, Hawks is drawn to villain reader who has a quirk similar to poison ivy who is also working as a double spy against the superheroes. The two team up and they’re the strongest, most feared team anyone has ever encountered. 

- Reader is Overhaul’s childhood best friend and own personal nurse. She is just as ruthless and evil as Overhaul but something in Eri’s eyes and gentle aura softens her up. She struggles between helping Eri and being loyal to Overhaul.

- Aizawa’s mom has been nagging for him to get married for almost ten years now. she wasn’t getting any younger and wanted grandkids as soon as possible. Understanding his friend’s stress and frustration, Hizashi comes up with a plan of getting Aizawa into a fake relationship with reader who works as a support teacher. Queue awkward encounters, kissing in front of Aizawa’s mom and Aizawa retelling the story of how the two of you started dating. 

- Dabi wonders what’s it like to be a civilian and live a normal life. He hides his scars with make up and cleans up his looks to blend in with society and live a normal life. During his experiment, he meets reader with a low rank ice quirk who works at an ice cream parlor. No one knows of his double life and frankly, Dabi doesn’t know if he wants to return back to being a villain, especially when he started developing feelings for the reader.   

[justanotherpersonsuniverse]

Chloe in the Panthera Noire Au

As always, I’m giving her a redemption, but not yet, she has to be a major ass first, but not like.. psychotic (I’m still wondering on what to do with Lila because while I want to give her a redemption too, I’m not sure what to do about things like Chameleon- maybe Gabriel’s forcing her in this? Idk)

Let’s start off with a few things first that are pretty obvious with how I write chloe: she’s really really gay, using adrien as cover for such, she’s a better friend to adrien, and has a lot of mother issues that weigh on almost everything she does with an Overwhelming force.

Great? Good.

I’m gonna ramble so I’m adding a read more here

The redemption actually low key starts at Reflekta. Reflekta actually doesn’t happen here, because while Juleka isn’t as crazy as Anarka, she’s still a feral cryptid when she wants to be- so added with her new strength from working out as Panthera: SHE SCALES THE FUCKING BATHROOM WALLS AND JUMPS OUT

There’s this huge argument and Vincent the Photographer gets akumatized (the say spaghetti dude). And while Juleka is pissed off, she still saves Chloe during the attack and invites her and Sabrina to the park class photo. (It’s not a class photo if not everyone is there) So why does she give a shit about Chloe?

Well one of the main things I noted about Juleka in this is that she notices things. She an observant person by nature(so is Luka, and hey- maybe Anarka too) (If Lila was evil in this she’d probably notice and pull Rose and a few others out of her web as quickly as possible, and if she didn’t notice, she’d notice the inconsistencies anyways or the things she knew that were completely untrue (other than the superhero thing))

So what Juleka notices is Chloe’s absent Mom. The way the light practically died from Chloe’s eyes over the years, how it just so easily boiled over into aggression, the flickers of regret and grief on her face as she did something bad, before twisting backwards again after no doubting thinking of what her mother would do, how she spoke briefly of the agreste family and the lonely son that resided in its walls before shutting up entirely with the disappearance of Emilie Agreste.

One of the plot points in this whole ass fic is Juleka’s relationship with her family (because unlike the show I’m writing actual character development here( and she has a little bit of dad issues. Those issues with being absent, being the cause to her slightly manic mom’s slightly rough relationship with her, him not being related to Luka, and also most likely abusive from the few memories she has of him

She sees that shit, looks at Chloe and is like “yep. This is a problem.” because although it’s not the same obviously, their upbringing is similar.

Although Juleka is pissed half the time by Chloe and won’t hesitate throwing her into the seine, she also sympathizes with her and gets where she’s coming from and doesn’t want Chloe’s sibling relationship with Adrien to break/strain (like hers and lukas is due to luka being more of a parent than a sibling and is much more protective), she genuinely wants to help and see her get better, and she can through Panthera.

See- I haven’t to it yet, but I’ve already written and published part of Style Queen/Queen Wasp in a Panthera Noire One Shot called “Dont Do This” and it’s definitely canon to the story so I’ll just spoil:

Basically- Chloe still nabbed the Bee Miraculous and Audrey does her bitch thing where she’s like “lol you mean nothing to me child” and Chloe is about to reveal herself as Queen Bee. HOWEVER- Juleka -daughter of an anarchist-Couffaine— snuck in just for kicks and seeing Chloe about to pull out the box, she chucks Plagg into a pillar that he destroys and crashed into the ground. They all jumped out of the way and are mostly safe (Audrey’s weird jumper is ruined and covered in dust) but there’s a big cloud of dust now, obscuring a lot of shit.  Juleka runs through, scoops Chloe up, and hides behind a wall far away. She covers Chloe’s eyes and is like “hey it’s me Panthera, don’t look I’m detransformed, I know you have the bee” and lectures Chloe on the fact that no her mom doesn’t love her but that means jackshit because she never will and Chloe shouldn’t waste her energy on someone like Audrey and instead work to be happy and a better person for herself.

She gives Chloe back the box as Audrey somehow Akumatizes AGAIN and is like “okay good luck byeeee” and scrambles off. Queen Bee keeps her identity a secret and she and Panthera become bros. (I’m considering whether or not Ladybug knows who Queen Bee is, Juleka could pull a “Hey I don’t know who Rena and Carapace are let me have this one”, but granted the fact that Jules knows who Marinette is.. I wouldn’t be surprised that she was able to connect Rena or Cara too, we’ll see).

TLDR: Crime Cat Girl Goth helps Bee Bitch with her mommy issues through the power of collateral damage and subtle Ladybug manipulation because she has daddy issues and anxiety.

[gothpanda]

A Little Bit of Attitude Ch.32: Los Angeles

WORD COUNT: 5.6k

A/N: lol I’m not dead. Just had finals

TAGS: @madamsixx​ @emariehorror​

Read on Ao3

Previous/Next

May 31st, 1987

Oakland, California

"... At the dollhouse in Fort Lauderdale! Girls, Girls, Girls! Rocking in Atlanta at Tattletails,"

Sammi groaned loud from the music through the speakers, lightly banging her head against the metal shelves aligned with cassette tapes. It was a brand new song that seemed to play 24/7 since being released, Sammi wanting to rip her ears out of her head. It didn't help that she was in a record store where most of the employees were goth or punks. As Sammi rested her head on the cold metal, Athena couldn't help but chuckle at her sister's dismay while browsing the selection of pop tapes.

"Why are you so dramatic? I thought you'd be happy the band is being successful," said Athena, side-eyeing Sammi's pouted lips.

"I would be happy if I didn't have to hear or see them all over the place. It gets annoying after a while," said Sammi, walking down the aisle of music, finding something new to entertain herself in. Athena followed in her little sister's footsteps, keeping a safe distance from her. It was Athena's idea to check a music store as Sammi showed her around the Bay Area, never having been able to visit until today.

"Well, it's not like you've been avoiding them or anything like that. Of course, it would get annoying,"

"I am not avoiding them," mumbled Sammi.

"Are you sure? You have done a pretty good job if you ask me," said Athena, grabbing a new Aerosmith cassette for her walkman.

Sammi stopped dead in her tracks, turning to glare right at Athena, who had a playful smirk. "I have not, Athena. I've been busy. " There's a difference," said Sammi, turning into the magazine aisle near the shop's cash register.

"Really? You could've fooled by the way you haven't been home in a year. When was the last time you talked to mama or dad?"

Sammi sighed out. "I'm sorry for missing out on stuff, but school has been a bigger pain in my ass than I thought. And I have spoken to mama and dad,"

"You've missed: Tommy's birthday, Mama's birthday, Thanksgiving, Christmas, my birthday-"

"Okay, I get it, Athena! You don't have to remind me. I'm going home for a month aren't I?" asked Sammi with a sting of sarcasm, glancing at all of the headlines from the gossip tabloids.

"And thank god for that,"

"Why L.A isn't living up to its potential anymore?" joked Sammi.

"Exactly. Everything has been moderately boring since you left. It's not fun hanging out with Tommy after he got married. Our lovely sister-in-law isn't up to crazy fun. And all of my friends are acting like full adults now with 9 to 5's," said Athena.

Right as Sammi responded, her eyes fell on an issue of 'Rock Secrets,' another gossip magazine amongst the hundreds. The cover for the tabloid made Sammi's heartstrings get pulled in different directions. Nikki in the arms of another woman, both smirking. Sammi knew the woman from the party scene of Los Angeles, a dancer for every music video but nothing more. She was the complete opposite of Sammi in every single way. The woman was someone taller who was almost the same height as Nikki in heels. She was slimmer than Sammi and tanner in comparison to Sammi's pale cheeks. Sammi didn't want to believe Nikki running out to get new girlfriends after she left but knew it was bound to happen at some point. It had been a year. Sammi was never one to feel self-conscious about her appearance but seeing someone so different from her have Nikki wrapped around their finger stung. As Sammi stared longer at the cover, she was able to see the haze in Nikki's eyes that she hated, the girl almost matching him. Sammi reached for the magazine, facing Athena with a ghastly face, a cocktail of anger and sadness show. Athena pressed her lips tightly together, taking the tabloid for herself to examine.

"She isn't close to being as pretty as you," said Athena in hopes of cheering Sammi up. Sammi scoffed. "And Tommy hates her with his whole being. Apparently, she's some crazy attention whore. That's probably why she's on this stupid cover,"

"She is pretty, don't lie. And I don't care if Tommy doesn't like her or she's an attention whore," said Sammi, yanking the magazine from Athena's hand. She curled her lip as she stared at the cover, turning pages to see more photos of the couple around Los Angeles. With the luck of being around drugs and partying, Sammi could see when Nikki was high in the images. "Her name is Veronica?" asked Sammi.

"Yeah. Don't let her get to you, she's just some background dancer who's gotten with other musicians," answered Athena, skimming through a Rolling Stones magazine.

"Still. She has a pretty name," mumbled Sammi under her breath, unable to look away. When it finally felt too much for Sammi, she threw the thin tabloid down the aisle with all her force in one quick motion. Athena whipped her head fast, snapping her eyes wide open in shock.

"Sam, what the hell?" asked Athena in a sharp whisper. Sammi only continued to walk into a different section of the music shop. "Was that really necessary?" asked Athena, raising an eyebrow at Sammi.

Sammi shrugged her shoulders, pouting slightly. "It felt good for a second, now I'm just annoyed again,"

"It's great to see you've moved on," teased Athena, throwing her arm around Sammi's shoulders.

"What? I can't be bitter if an ex got a new girlfriend?" asked Sammi, folding her arms across her chest.

"No, because you're supposed to be the mature one, remember? It shouldn't get to you,"

"I beg to differ on being mature,"

"Hey! You can't throw around the magazines!" yelled a young goth girl, picking up the crinkled magazine from the floor, frowning at Sammi and Athena.

"Sorry, she had a temper tantrum. Won't happen again!" answered Athena, trying her best to hide a chuckle. "But seriously please don't do that again. I like to come back to this place next time I visit you,"

"Oh finally you're thinking about visiting?" asked Sammi with a smile, crossing her arms against her chest.

The sisters continued exploring the record store a moment longer, buying cassette tapes to listen to on the drive back home. When Sammi would scan down the rock section, she couldn't help think about what Nikki would like. It was a habit she couldn't break yet. The Oakland streets were beginning to grow busy with summer vacation coming around, Sammi seeing more tourists than usual. "So, I know you don't want to talk about Motley but I should probably tell you this," said Athena.

Sammi kept her dead stare ahead of her, scowling into the distance. "What is it? No one's dying or in the hospital right?"

Athena scoffed in amusement. "No, nothing like that. They're going to be back on the road soon," said Athena, lighting a cigarette as the sisters walked down east.

"Oh. Good for them," said Sammi, wrinkles deepening between her brows. "When are they packing up?"

"Third week in June? Tommy hasn't given me all the details yet except for one,"

"Which is?"

"He wants to throw this huge kick-off party at his and Heather's,"

"Okay," Sammi shrugged.

"I wanted to let you know before Tommy gets so incredibly excited to tell you, he forgets to ask if you're okay," said Athena, blowing out smoke into the air.

"Athena, I'm fine. I just needed to let out my frustrations for a second,"

"Sammi no you're not and please listen," Sammi stopped her steps, sucking her teeth as she faced Athena. "You can admit to not wanting to see Nikki when you get back home. It's understandable to not want to see an ex. You shouldn't tough it out for the sake of Tommy or anyone else. If you're not okay just tell me,"

Sammi sighed out heavily, gazing up anywhere but Athena. "It's okay. I'm okay. Yeah, it hurts Nikki moved on, but what am I supposed to do? We haven't talked in a year, and we both messed up," said Sammi, continuing to walk with heavy steps.

"How did you mess up?" asked Athena.

"I got up and left without telling him. I didn't tell my boyfriend anything about me leaving, and I just left him. You don't think that's a little messed up?" asked Sammi, scrunching her brows together with a frown.

"You two broke up before you left," reassured Athena.

Sammi stopped again in her tracks, looking right into Athena's eyes. "Did you know Nona died last year? Nikki's grandma" asked Sammi.

Athena bit her lip. "No, I didn't. Tom never mentioned it," muttered Athena, looking down at her feet.

Sammi bit the inside of her cheek, shaking her head slightly and continuing to walk. Instead of spitting out venomous words, Sammi pulled out a cigarette from her crinkled pack of Camels, lighting it in silence. "You've been busy, Sam. Don't be hard on yourself," said Athena.

"This conversation is going way longer than I want," muttered Sammi, staring dead ahead of her.

"Fine. Are you ready to go home then?" asked Athena, looping her arm around Sammi's. Sammi sighed out with a nod. The sisters continued their walk through the city streets until finding the car park, silence forming between them. Sammi only wanted to go home to her family.

*

June 2nd

Los Angeles, California

"Sammi!" screamed Emma excitedly from the apartment balcony, smiling down at her best friend. Sammi slammed the backseat door, swinging a duffle bag on her shoulders as she smiled back at Emma. Sabrina soon rushed out behind the sliding door with a smile on her face. "Do you need any help?" yelled out Sabrina.

"No, I'm good! I'll be right up!" answered Sammi, racing up to the second floor of the apartment complex. As Sammi reached Emma and Sabrina's door, Emma swung it right open, engulfing Sammi in a lovingly tight hug. Sabrina wrapped her arms around both the girls, everyone smiling gleefully. Once finally pulling apart, Emma grabbed Sammi's duffle off her shoulders, playing a great hostess.

"We've missed you so much," said Sabrina, kissing Sammi on her temple.

"Come on and welcome to our very adult apartment," joked Emma, swinging her arm around Sammi's shoulders, walking into the apartment. It was perfect for Emma and Sabrina, enough space for both with extra for Sammi. Anyone who visited could see the elements of a future lawyer and a star athlete, a mix of color and neatness. Sammi admired the decor from every corner, noting the purple sofa and accent chair in the living room.

"I like everything. You girls really got the place up and pretty," said Sammi, dropping herself on the sofa.

"Thanks, we did have a year to get it clean for you," teased Sabrina with a smirk, sitting down on an accent chair. Sammi glared at her, matching Sabrina's smirk as Emma took the duffle bag to her room.

"Ha. Ha. I just wanted to give you two all the time in the world,"

"In that case, you better love every single corner of this place," said Emma, prospering herself next to Sammi. "But enough about this place! How's San Francisco? Is it great and gay as I imagine?" asked Emma with a goofy smile.

"Is school going great for you? I know my mom wanted me to move there for college," asked Sabrina, almost on the edge of her seat.

"Are the nightclubs totally amazing like I hear? We should go to one when we visit next month!" exclaimed Emma.

Sammi only looked down at her hands, checking her nail polish with a forced thin smile on. She shrugged her shoulders, trying her best to think of something great. "San Fran's pretty, don't get me wrong, but it's so… cramped and stiff. It's nothing but an overpriced tiny island," scuffed Sammi, pouting at Emma and Sabrina.

"Really? You made it sound so nice on the phone when we'd call," said Sabrina, scrunching her brows together.

"I also make those phone calls short if you two recall," said Sammi, Sabrina and Emma exchange worried looks. "The only nice thing I can think of was the food. Great Japanese restaurants. But school is school. One year down, one more to go. The people I've met have been incredibly rude. One was some Christian freak who said the boys were satanic, and I wasn't any better hanging out with them,"

"Wow. Wait until you tell her you like to hang out with a lesbian," joked Emma, earning a smile from Sammi. "Sam, you should've said something about not being happy. We could've gone up and hung out for a weekend," Emma suggested.

"And brought some company with us," said Sabrina, pressing her lips firmly together.

"You'd really make Emma sit in a car with her ex? Even if they were my sister?" teased Sammi.

"No, I think she was talking about another ex," said Emma, biting the edge of her thumbnail. "And not a blonde ex,"

Sammi looked back down at her hands, grabbing a pillow to hug. "I think Nikki is already pretty busy with his new girlfriend. He wouldn't want to come to San Francisco," shrugged Sammi.

"You sure? I think he would drop everything if we asked him to tag along. The guys haven't been on tour yet," said Sabrina.

"Yep. I'm sure. Nikki was never a fan of San Francisco,"

"Sabrina is right about Nikki dropping everything to see you, Sammi. It wouldn't matter if he has a girlfriend or not. He hasn't seen you in a year or talked to you-"

"He's tried, mumbled Sammi.

"What?" asked Emma, scrunching her eyebrows deeper.

"He tried and I tried, but I just fucked it up," sighed Sammi with a shaky breath.

"Sammi, please talk to us," said Sabrina, leaning forward on her legs, hands closed.

Sammi sighed out, resting her head from the side in the palm of her hand. "Nona passed away. Nikki left a voicemail, sounding messed up and I didn't do anything about it. I didn't call him to check in on him. I didn't call his grandfather to check in on him. I didn't do anything. I would call him in the middle of the night and then hang up right away after I first moved. He would be high," said Sammi, wiping away the forming tear that could fall.

"Sam," said Emma softly, reaching out to hold Sammi's hand.

"Please don't tell me I didn't fuck up because I did," pleased Sammi, looking at Emma and Sabrina.

"Okay, the both of you have had bad communication skills, but it still isn't considered  fucked up ," said Sabrina. "You're home for a month. Maybe now it's a better time to speak to him,"

Sammi shook her head. "There's more than just that. I slept with Vince after we got drunk," admitted Sammi. "I fucked up,"

Sabrina and Emma stared at Sammi for a moment, glancing at each other to find something to say. "How bad do you feel about having sex with Vince?" asked Sabrina.

"S,"

"No Em, I'm just asking a question. Sammi, why did you sleep with Vince? And why did you feel bad afterward?" asked Sabrina again, this time in a stern voice.

"Because it didn't feel right after I sobered up. There were no rekindled feelings within me for the person I dated. I was drunk and Vince kept saying how great Nikki was doing. He didn't sleep with me because he missed me. It felt like he just wanted to get back at Nikki," said Sammi running a hand down her face.

"Did Vince tell Nikki?" asked Emma.

"I don't know. When we spoke, I told him it was a one-time thing and to keep it between us," said Sammi.

"I still think you should talk to Nikki," suggested Sabrina.

"You're going to have to someday," said Emma, swinging her arm around Sammi's shoulders, bringing her in for a hug.

"I know. I have to do it next Saturday," groaned Sammi. "Tommy's going to throw a party before the guys leave on tour and I have to go,"

"You mean we have to go," added Emma, Sammi scrunching her brows together. "You seriously think we're just going to let you be alone where Nikki is? What kind of friends do you think we are," teased Emma, smiling at Sammi.

Sabrina walked over to the sofa, perching herself on the sofa's armrest, placing her chin on the crown of Sammi's hair. "You'll be fine. Things may seem like shit right now but I promise you, there's always a glimmer of light after a storm," said Sabrina. Sammi only smiled at the two girls, nerves slowly thawing out and relaxing.

June 13th

"What time does Tommy want us to show up?" shouted Sabrina from her bedroom into the hallway, scowling down at the multiple outfits on her bed. Sammi shuffled into Sabrina's room, undoing the last hair roller from her dark locks.

"He said 8:30," answered Sammi, seeing a digital clock read 8:40. When it came to times for parties, they were only a suggestion for the girls. Tommy never meant the time he really said. Sammi scanned the bed before picking up a blue strapless dress. "You should wear this one. It's a nice summer color,"

"So happy to have you help with my little dilemmas," smiled Sabrina, grabbing the dress to change in the private bathroom. "Is Emma ready?" Sabrina shouted through the restroom.

"Yeah, I just needed to finish straightening my hair," entered Emma, ready to go in her purple jumpsuit. "Are you ready, Sammi?" asked Emma.

Sammi scrunched her brows together. "Oh yeah, I'm already dressed. I only need my heels,"

"I don't mean physically ready even though I love that black dress. I meant ready to see the guys again. Specifically a certain bassist,"

Sammi pursed her lips out. "No, but it's going happen sooner or later,"

"That's the spirit! I'll call us a cab while Sabrina's changing. Remember it's still going to be a fun night!" cheerfully said, Emma.

"If you say so," said Sammi with hesitation.

*

From the grand driveway, guests from the party scenes had already flooded the mansion, either inside or outside. The girls walked up the front steps, smiling politely and maneuvering past people they didn't know until inside. Sammi scanned the foyer and living room, hesitant to find familiar faces just yet. It wasn't until Sammi heard her name yelled out in a high pitched voice.

"Sammi! Finally, you're here!" yelled out Heather in excitement, walking as fast as she could in her heels. She swiftly hugged Sammi tightly, ignoring the presence of Emma and Sabrina. Sammi embraced back with less enthusiasm but still happy to see her sister-in-law. "It's been so long! I have missed you so much!" said Heather, releasing Sammi from her grip. "Did you all just get here? Let's go to the kitchen for a drink!" suggested Heather, grabbing Sammi's hand, pulling her further into the house. Sammi flashed anxious wide eyes at Emma and Sabrina, the two only shrugging their shoulders and following. A few people began to recognize Sammi as the four passed through, almost remembering Tommy's other sister. The kitchen wasn't better in the number of people, some others herding in the quarters. Heather let go of Sammi, playing hostess, as she filled up three glasses of expensive champagne. Soon another person in the herd approached the absent girl, clearing his throat to gain her attention. Sammi's eyes lit up, as did her smile when realizing who it was.

"Mick!" exclaimed Sammi.

"How have you been, Little One?" said Mick, smiling his best as the two exchanged a small hug. "I'm not one to be needy, but how come I haven't heard much from you?"

Sammi shrugged her shoulders. "School has been kicking my ass. It's harder than I forgot," joked Sammi.

"I'm happy that's your reason. It's been quiet without you,"

"How can it be so quiet? I'm the least crazy out all of you," teased Sammi.

Mick shrugged his shoulders. "Quiet for me at least,"

"Here you go, Sammi. Heather had to find Tommy," said Sabrina, passing her the champagne glass.

"Hey, Mick! Enjoying the party?" asked Emma, forming a small circle between the four.

"As much as I can for a little while. I'm just waiting for my girl to stop by then I'm taking off," said Mick, earning wide eyes from all the girls.

"You have a girlfriend?" asked Sabrina with an amused smile.

"That's so nice!" said Emma.

"Who is she?" asked Sammi, cocking a raised eyebrow.

Mick began to smirk, taking a sip of his alcohol of choice. "Her name's Emerson. She's a backup singer, but please don't tell the guys. The three of you can't tell them,"

The girls all scrunched their brows at Mick. "Why? Is she someone they know?" asked Emma.

"We hired her to tour with us. That's how we met. But I know they'll just bust my balls for liking her,"

"Mick, you shouldn't let the guys dictate who you want to like. If you really like this girl then they're just going to have to deal with it," advised Sabrina.

"Unless she's mean to you then we're going to have a problem," said Sammi, winking at Mick.

Mick scuffed at the girls. "Whatever just please keep it yourselves, for me. That is all I ask,"

"Promise," the girls said in unison.

"Thank you. Come on let's find your brother and sister, they've been wondering about you," said Mick, taking the lead to leave the stuffy kitchen. Right as Sammi stepped out, her eyes couldn't help but fall directly onto a man far away, almost making her freeze. Nikki staring right at her, back against the wall. Sammi swallowed hard, continuing to follow Mick and the girls, eyes looking down. This didn't stop Nikki; he followed every step Sammi took until disappearing behind a wall. Sammi couldn't help but finish the champagne in one gulp, placing the glass on a random table.

"Sammi! Finally! I was starting to think you were going to show up!" yelled out Tommy in excitement, hugging the youngest sister. "And ladies, always lovely to see the two of you!" Emma and Sabrina giggling alongside Tommy. Athena appeared right past Emma, only smirking at her without a word. She kissed Sammi on the cheek, passing her a refreshed drink of vodka. "I see Mick got to you before anyone else. Let me get Vince!"

"Tommy, it's cool. I have all night to talk to people," said Sammi, biting her lip.

"Besides Vince is wrapped around a new blondie's finger," added Mick, sitting down on a nearby sofa.

"Vince got a new girlfriend?" asked Sammi.

Tommy shrugged his shoulders. "She's basically a look-like of Sharise. I give it two months while we're on the road,"

"When did you know about this?" Sammi asked Athena.

"About an hour ago when he walked through the door. She seems like a nice girl if I'm being honest," said Athena.

As if his ears were burning, Vince sturt his way to the group with a young woman wrapped around him. "Sam! What a surprise!" said Vince with excitement. Tommy shot a look between Athena and the girls, sitting down beside Mick. "Babe, this is Sammi. Tommy's other sister I was telling you about,"

"Hi, I'm Hayley. I've heard a lot about you," said Hayley extending out a hand, trying her best to not seem uncomfortable.

Sammi smiled politely, accepting the handshake to not be rude. "All good things I hope,"

"Of course all good. I'd never talk bad about you," said Vince, smirking lustfully at Sammi.

"Yeah, like how smart and nice you are," said Hayley. The tension between the two girls was incredibly thick. Anyone could cut it with a knife. Suddenly, the music changed from its rock sound to a techno beat, blaring even louder than before. Tommy jumped up to question, only to let out an annoyed groan when seeing a wild hair woman jump on the coffee table in the middle of the room. To the music's beat, the woman danced faster and faster, almost too fast for the music. Emma couldn't help but curl her lip at the woman, wrinkling her brows at Tommy. Sammi hitched her breath, caught in her throat when realizing it was Veronica.

"Who the hell is that?" asked Emma.

"Nikki's new girlfriend," groaned Tommy, pouring some whiskey into his solo cup. "She's a bitch," he whispered to the girls, noting the somber expression from Sammi.

"I don't know how Sixx deals with that. Come on, babe, let's go out to the pool," said Vince, wrapping his arm around Hayley's waist. "Later, Sam," winked Vince.

Sammi remained silent amongst everyone, sinking into the sofa to watch the unfortunate show display in front of her. People around the grand living room gathered to watch Veronica, snickers from other women as they watched. Muttered comments going around on the visible state of Veronica being high on some type of drug. This went on longer than anyone wanted, Sammi beginning to wonder if anyone had the heart to stop her. Most found it entertaining, while others didn't. Sammi glanced around the room, wondering where Nikki was during all of this. It wasn't until Heather stomped up to Tommy, bringing him down to her level to whisper in his ear. Sammi was able to read the anger on Heather's face, seeing her fold in her arms right at her husband. Tommy shook his head, marching straight to Veronica, and one swoop brought her off the table, clinging onto Veronica. Tommy tried his best to shuffle out of the living room even when it was becoming difficult.

"Let go of me you asshole! You demon!" shouted Veronica, her weak legs making her almost sink to the floor. As Tommy lifted Veronica back on her feet, Nikki appeared from thin air confused. Tommy couldn't help but throw the intoxicated girl at his best friend. Nikki didn't bother to help her stand on her two feet, letting Veronica stumble by his feet. Sammi could see the three frowning at Nikki's careless attitude toward Veronica.

"Was she dancing again?" asked Nikki, scowling down at Veronica.

"Yeah. Now can you please watch your chick? Some of us are trying to enjoy our night," said Tommy, going to the stereos to finally switch the music to something more bearable. He walked over to Heather with his classic Tommy smile, kissing her on the lips to melt any anger away. Grabbing Veronica by her arm, Nikki dragged her up on her feet, quickly turning away from all staring eyes. Nikki grinds hard his teeth when his eyes fell on Sammi for the second time of the night, being able to see the worry from her. The dysfunctional couple disappeared from within the house, everyone soon forgetting about the little show—everyone except for Sammi. Sammi stared down at her drink, Sabrina sitting right next to her.

"Ready to talk to him?" asked Sabrina?

Sammi bit the inside of her cheek, glancing up in the direction of where Nikki was. "Will I ever be?" scuffed Sammi, taking a swing from whatever was in her cup.

"Probably not, but it wouldn't hurt to try another time. Nikki already saw you. He knows you're here. And he's leaving in a couple of days. I'm only suggesting because I care about you,"

"I know. I'll be right back," said Sammi, passing Sabrina her cup as she stood up while fixing her short dress.

Sabrina wrinkled her brows at Sammi. "You're going to talk to him now?"

"No, but if I just happen to go missing please come find me," answered Sammi, carefully passing through the sea of people.

*

"Why do you keep making a scene everywhere we go?" whispered Nikki from behind the closed door. Sammi paused from touching up her makeup in the mirror, remaining completely still and silent to listen. "You're high again aren't you?" asked Nikki. Sammi pressed her ear to the door to listen better. She knew there was no point in hiding in the bathroom, thinking of Emma and Sabrina looking for her.

"So what if I am? It's a party!" shouted Veronica.

"That I didn't invite you to!" said Nikki. The silence between the two soon followed for a moment, Sammi slowly opening the door. She tried her best to not make her heels clank loud on the tile, walking into the hallway with small steps. The hallway's right end was utterly empty, causing Sammi to drop the cautious act as she shut the bathroom door behind her. "Sammi?" said Nikki, Sammi jumping in her skin when hearing her name. She peered over her shoulder, Nikki looking dead at her for the third time, somewhat softer finally. Veronica leaned slouched against the wall with a deadly stare, unhappy to see Sammi even if she was a stranger. It was clear to Sammi Nikki looked better than most days, Veronica appearing to be the only one under something. Sammi didn't peep a word, unable to say anything to Nikki, especially with his new girlfriend by his side.

"I know who you are," slurred Veronica, stumbling on her feet to regain balance, dodging Nikki's attempt to hold her down. She fought the urge to fall onto the floor, wanting to be right in Sammi's face. Sammi couldn't say or do anything, freezing at the taller woman looking down on her. Sammi could see the pin needle pupils in Veronica's eyes. "I know exactly who you are. You're the one corrupting Nikki. The one corrupting everyone," Sammi scrunched her brows deep together, looking past Veronica to Nikki. "No! Look at me! You're nothing but a devil. A devil!" shouted Veronica, inching closer to Sammi's face. Before having the chance to grip onto Sammi's bare arms, Nikki yanked Veronica down to the floor with no care if she got hurt.

"Don't fucking talk to her! You don't get to talk to her!" yelled Nikki at Veronica, scowling at her. Veronica laid flat down on her back, pouting up at Nikki. Nikki didn't care about Veronica's state of being in this moment, only wretched when Sammi appeared scared. "Leave her alone and leave me alone," Nikki said, grasping Sammi's arm lightly as he led them away from Veronica. Sammi couldn't help look back at Veronica, wondering if she had any idea of what was really happening. Nikki took Sammi to another empty hallway, the music almost a bit louder from where they stood. Sammi rested against the wall, unable to look Nikki in the eye even when she could feel Nikki's on her. "Got nothing to say?" asked Nikki.

"Thank you," mumbled Sammi, looking down at her feet.

Nikki scoffed, shaking his head. "Is that really all?" Sammi stayed silent. Nikki stepped closer to Sammi, lightly taking his hands to cup Sammi's cheeks, cradling her face. He brought her eyes to meet his, a loving brown meeting a foggy hazel. Just from the simple tough of something so innocent, a flush of pink stained Sammi's cheeks. Nikki couldn't help but crack a small smile, missing the sweet face. Alas, the unfortunate always comes. "I know you and Vince had sex," said Nikki, dropping his hands and stepping back.

"What?" uttered Sammi, lips parting in shock, deep wrinkles setting in between her brows.

Nikki only shrugged his shoulders. "I guess you aren't that great anymore to keep him around," said Nikki.

Before Sammi could say anything, Nikki headed straight for the front of the house, hands in his pocket as he ignored everyone. Everything came like a tsunami wave; all Sammi could see was red. Instead of beginning to cry, Sammi marched her way through the party, ignoring the calls of her name from Athena or Sabrina. When reaching the outside, Sammi was able to find Vince in a short second, making a fast b-line to him. Vince didn't pay any attention to his surroundings, talking to a friend by the pool without Hayley. Vince was soon heavily pushed into the body of water in a blink, drink flying out of his hand. When he came up to the surface, Vince was ready to fight until realizing Sammi was scowling down at him.

"Sammi, what the fuck!?" yelled Vince. Tommy and Athena were quick to run out to get Sammi, Sammi pushing away their grasps.

Hayley rushed to Vince's side. "What's wrong with you?!" asked Hayley.

"Why did you tell Nikki?!" screamed Sammi. "You promised!" Vince bit his lip, looking at everyone but Sammi. "Huh?!"

"Sam," whispered Athena, softly pushing her away from the edge of the pool. Tommy pulled Vince up out of the water, glaring right at him for answers.

"Why are you so mad you slept with me?!" asked Vince, Athena, and Tommy, eyes opening wide at Sammi.

"Because it was a drunk mistake!" shouted Sammi. She shook her head at Vince. "You didn't give a shit about me," spit Sammi.

"You had sex with Vince?" asked Athena, concerned. Sammi didn't give an answer.

Emma and Sabrina delicately put a hand on Sammi's shoulders, being the only people who didn't get shoved off. "Sam, we're going home," ordered Emma, grabbing her hand as she shot daggers at Vince. Sammi didn't protest, letting the girls engulf her in protection from stares. They didn't need anyone to judge Sammi as she was only a stranger to everyone. Mick had already left from the madness, knowing he would hear from the grapevine. Once the girls were in a cab, Emma turned to Sammi. "Are you finally going to talk to Nikki? And this time like adults?" Sammi only dropped her head against the fuzzy middle seat, nodding with another word.

[squidprinceofwinterfell]

Stick of Truth Commentary

Intro

Intro cut scene is a nice touch! The animation is nice, and it adds story and stakes to the game the boys are playing. Reminds me of “Lord of the Rings.”

I like how the boys see the stick as a golden staff, but it��s literally just…a stick.

Create your character

Fighter, Mage, Thief, Jew – which is the best and why?

Intro to New Kid and family

Dialogue between parents creates an ominous backstory. Who is looking for New Kid and why?

New Kid is a mute weirdo and I love it.

The first quest (making friends) reminds me of “The Sandlot.”

The shitting feature is awesome.

New Kid meets Butters and is brought to KKK

What exactly is the power of diabetes?

Chekov’s Clyde!

It’s cute how cool everyone is with Princess Kenny.

I like that every player is called Douchebag, but I wish every player didn’t have to play as a boy.

Elves attack

Funny how Cartman’s alarm is just Butters yelling “Alarm!”

Cartman has pretty good commentary when New Kid is fighting. I actually miss that later on.

How did the elves snag the stick? Either Clyde is a bad watchdog or Kyle is super strategic. I choose both.

New Kid must find Token, Tweek, and Craig

Token

I never knew Token was so rich that he had security! It’s probably to keep Cartman out.

I love that Token’s property is calling Dark Meadows.

Token: “The elves took the stick again?” Haha!

Tweek

Tweek is the only employee at Tweek Bros.? That’s called child labor!

I love that Mrs. McCormick thinks the meth heads in her garage are just nice renters. Is she being paid in meth?

Why would a 10-year-old boy be an undercover cop? Only in South Park.

Tweek was totally named after the word “tweeker.”

Craig

Craig is in detention for (of course) flipping off the principal. Is Principal Victoria still principal at this point?

Craig’s alias is Feldspar the Thief? I refuse to believe this isn’t a reference to Malcolm in the Middle.

On the “thief” option at the beginning, Cartman says he’s never seen a white thief before, yet Craig is a thief. Hmm…

“Heeeere they come…I’ll be outta here in ten minutes.” Smug, snarky Craig is the best Craig.

I like that Mackey seems to know he’s in a video game (by referencing the boss fight). It’s very Deadpool.

The Bard

The Inn of the Giggling Donkey is just Jimmy’s house. His living room is convincing as a bar/lounge/hangout.

Twitter = carrier raven

“There once was a maiden from Stonebury Hollow / She didn’t talk much, but boy did she swallow / I had a nice lance that she sat upon / The maiden from Stonebury who was also your mom.” I love Jimmy’s songs!

Butters: “No hurry, Douchebag. The princess is just being raped.” OMG

An elf was jumping on the bed to simulate raping Princess Kenny? The boys are really committed to this game.

Cartman: “Good job, Princess Gone Wild. Double D buddy powers.” Kenny flashing his man boobs is the best distraction tactic.

The Brown Note is Jimmy’s best attack.

“Welcome to the KKK!”

Alien abduction

Cartman’s fart lessons finally come in handy! New Kid’s ass is too strong to be probed.

I love that alien abduction is viewed as just another annoying part of living in South Park.

The guy from the recordings is the hobo hidden onboard, right?

The Nazi zombie hobo is the game’s first instance of the Nazi zombie plot. It tells us that the aliens are responsible for this when the ship crash lands to Earth and green goo gets in the sewer.

New Kid crashed an entire spaceship. He’s kind of a badass. And he gets to keep the alien probe!

The big bad government is involved now to deal with “another UFO crash.” How often does this happen??

Only South Park would try to pass off a UFO as construction of a Taco Bell. And only South Park citizens would believe it.

Recruitment (pt. 1)

All New Kid has to do to get the goth kids to join is put on black clothes. I’m glad to see they still have low standards.

New Kid finally meets Stan and Kyle! I’ve been waiting for this.

According to Kyle, Cartman lied about the stick being stolen and is hiding it. According to Cartman, Kyle is lying because New Kid can’t retrieve the stick if Kyle claims he doesn’t have it. It’s a game of “he said, she said” but I’m inclined to believe Kyle. This is Cartman we’re talking about…

PTA meeting

I’m disappointed no one yelled “Rabble, rabble!” at the PTA meeting.

Is no one else alarmed that Randy lured a young boy into the bathroom alone?

“That’s all you’ve got is a sign? At least crap on a desk or something!” Mr. Garrison is speaking highly of Cartman, I see.

She-Ogre

“Give me back my iPhone, DEMON!” This is an accurate depiction of a brother-sister relationship.

It’s adorable that Stan uses Sparky in battle.

Taco Bell

I love that the big bad government agents are such bad liars that they killed a guy asking about encharidos.

“Goddamn it! I’m so tired of Nazi zombies. It’s so…overused!” Haha!

I’m surprised the adults actually took the bombing threat seriously and weren’t bummed about no Taco Bell.

Recruitment (pt. 2)

The final goth test is DDR?? That’s so conformist.

Once you win the goth kids over, you can recruit them to either Cartman’s side or Kyle’s. I always pick Kyle’s side when I play this. I’ve been itching to betray Cartman since this game started!

South Park Elementary

The huge battle scene takes place at the school because it’s where Cartman supposedly hid the stick. South Park Elementary is busted and makes a great setting for a battle scene. More “Lord of the Rings” vibes!

New Kid’s farts help Kyle’s side get the upper hand. Take that, Cartman!

Another reason choosing Kyle’s side is better: New Kid’s battle against Butters is more impactful because he was New Kid’s first friend. If it was a face off against Stan, it wouldn’t be as emotional.

The final battle gives New Kid one last chance to pick a side. Like Stan says, “I can’t believe this is even a choice.” Kyle vs Cartman is like Chanel vs Walmart.

Yet another reason choosing Kyle’s side is better: Cartman’s farting fire at the end of this fight is one of the best scenes of the whole game.

Clyde

I love the twist where neither Kyle nor Cartman was lying. Clyde really punked the fuck out of everyone.

Kyle is the only one to acknowledge he’s aware of the green goo and how dangerous it is.

Stan: “Clyde, but why?” Cartman: “I banished him to be lost in space and time and now he’s all pissed off.” Haha!

Clyde’s fortress is so badass. I can see the appeal of the dark side.

How the hell does Clyde have control over the Nazi zombies??

I love that Clyde’s power move is keeping his friends out past their bedtimes. The stakes are higher now, but this reminds us this is still a kid’s game…or it started as one.

Underpants gnomes

Gnomes: “The kid is awake! What do we do?” “Oh, fuck, I guess we gotta kill him!” Me problem solving.

Since when do underpants gnomes have warlocks?? I thought they were all failed businessmen.

For some reason, high pitched gnome voices yelling “Oh, fuck!” is really funny to me.

New Kid fighting underneath his giant parents mid-coitus is another iconic fight scene. How many times must New Kid dodge his dad’s ballsack?? The kid is hardcore.

The girls

Kyle convinces everyone to team up against Clyde. I’m continually impressed by Kyle because of his leadership, intellect (he spent all night researching), and open mind (he doesn’t balk at teaming up with the humans or inviting girls to play). I’m totally Team Kyle, if you haven’t noticed.

I love that the girls blindfold New Kid when they bring him to their lair. That’s some Mafia shit.

Annie: “He…doesn’t really talk.” Bebe: “That’s hot!” ME

Sunshine, sparkle, glitter…I wanna talk like this all the time.

Heidi Turner was the two-faced bitch! That’s very Mrs. Cartman of her.

Abortion clinic

New Kid’s abortion doctor is named Dr. Poonlover because of course he is

The big bad government is doing Plan B at the abortion clinic. Clever joke!

Where did Randy get that blonde wig from?? The men in South Park cross-dress so much.

Khloe Kardashian’s aborted fetus as a Nazi zombie is also a legendary fight.

Canada

New Kid didn’t get that his photographer was a pedophile even when he was almost butt naked?? Also, who was that guy who jumps out from behind the boxes?

The layout of Canada is clearly a parody of Pokemon games, right? Either way, I love it. The shitty jpeg videogame look is very Canada.

“They’re like wolves, but they’re dire.”

Getting trained by Terrance and Phillip makes all this back and forth bullshit worth it.

Clyde’s fortress

Of course Cartman butts in when Kyle’s trying to give an inspirational speech. What an attention hog!

It’s funny to me how easily Craig switched to Clyde’s side. Loyalty much??

“I really found myself relating to Clyde’s views about darkness and enslaving the world.” Jesus, Craig!

Cartman’s negative reaction to electricity is a callback to the chip put in his head in Bigger, Longer & Uncut.

“It’s my favorite kid!” WOW, RANDY

“Who could it be?” I love how long New Kid lets them all wonder before he steps up.

Stan: “Dude, that’s not Taco Bell sauce.” Clyde: “Then why’d I find it at the Taco Bell?” A+ logic

How dare you, Clyde! Let Chef rest in peace!

Government interruption

“Whenever aliens are spotted, vampires run amok…” Vampires exist in this universe??

I love that the boys don’t care about the big bad government’s scheme.

So New Kid’s special power is making friends on social media! I should’ve known.

Princess Kenny’s betrayal

Princess Kenny planned to steal the stick all along! This game is full of betrayals.

Kenny makes a pretty cute anime princess. Nazi zombie? Not so much.

Princess Kenny is a badass final boss. And I never saw it coming!

I’m glad the “never fart on someone’s balls” joke meant something in the end. I can see why it was banned – it’s super deadly!

End

The boys unite to save friendship and love…by chucking a stick into a lake.

New Kid stole Cartman’s catchphrase!

Why did Al Gore appear so ominously at the end?? What are you gonna do to the kids, Al Gore??

[youngststark]

Like Fire and Rain (Stephen Strange x Reader)

Warnings: Swearing.

Summary:You’re Tony’s daughter, but you grew up in Colorado, in a ranch with your mother’s Family until they died in an accident and you inherit the ranch. You’re a cowgirl who goes to rodeos, doing barrel Racing, bronc riding, and stuff like that... And you want to start the Bull riding, one of the most dangerous categories in rodeos. And of course, your dad have no idea of your dangerous adventures, he just thinks that you work at the ranch. And someday you decide to visit him and meet his friends. That’s when everything starts to change.

 A/N: This fanfic completely IGNORES Tony’s death. Ok? Ok. I’m not over it. It never happened.

 Chapter 1.  – Different worlds.

 It was a rainy day in New York. When you arrived at the big city, everyone kept staring at you as if you belonged to another world... Well, of course, NY had LOTS of odd people but it was a rare thing to see someone with western clothes there.

Your dad texted you, saying that Happy would be waiting for you outside the airport, so you grabbed you baggage and went to look for him. Happy was leaned over the car, waiting for you while talking on the phone, probably with your dad.

- Yes boss, she’s right here. – Yep, it was your dad on the phone with Happy.

- Hey Happy! – You smiled and he hung up the phone.

- Hello there munchkin! Long time no see, huh?

- Tell me ‘bout it! – You took your hat off of your head and hugged him – Missed me?

- Of course! Always.

- Aww.

- Sooo, your dad told me that you graduated, congratulations! Now you’re a doctor!

- Yeah, an animal doctor – You laughed while Happy was putting your luggage on the trunk.

- Still a doctor! And Veterinarians aren’t assholes like the other kind of doctors. They’re always full of themselves. – He rolled his eyes and got in the car.

- I know! – You entered shotgun. – Let’s go! I want to meet everyone!

- And I’m sure everyone wants to meet you! So, how’s things back in Colorado?

- Oh... The same boring stuff – You lied. No one could know that you went to rodeos, not for now at least.

- I’ve heard you got a new horse.

- Yeah, his name’s Thunderbolt. He’s fast. I mean... REALLY fast.

- It must be great for trail riding.

- Oh yeah... Definitely...

Both of you chatted for a while until you guys finally got to the Avengers Base. It was quiet there, Tony had sent all the employees home, so it would be easier for you to settle in and meet everyone.

When you got off the car, you saw Tony waiting for you at the front door, and you couldn’t help yourself but running towards him and jumping on him. You loved your dad, a lot, and you missed him like crazy. But that caught him off guard and both of you ended up on the floor.

Steve helped you guys get up and introduced himself. 

- Hello, I’m Steve Rog-

- Capsicle – You laughed ad he looked at you, confused. – I’m sorry, It’s just how my dad always calls you.

- I... Do not! – Tony glared at you while Steve stared at him. – Aaaaanyway, let’s meet the rest of the people, they’re inside. Come on. Cap will get your stuff. – Tony started to push you inside. – And what’s with all this clothes? I mean... We’re not in a farm, y’know.

- Dad, it’s my everyday clothes. – You shrugged.

- But... It’s so... Hillbilly. – Tony frowned.

- Dad!

- Okay, okay, I’m sorry sweetpea, but it’s what it looks like.

- Shut up.

Both of you laughed as you entered the living room, a few people were sitting there, even though you knew who they were, Tony introduced each one of them to you.

- This is Banner... Hulk.

- Hello Miss Stark – The giant green dude greeted you with a smile

- Oh call me (Y/N), please. – You smiled slightly.

- This is Clint

Clint stared at you for a moment but then smiled – I’m sorry, it just... Looks like I know you from... I don’t know.

- Maybe farm people just know each other – Tony laughed a little.

- Shut up – You and Clint spoke at the same time.

- You know you love me. Aaaanyway... The goth girl is Wanda.

- Tony... Come on. – She smiled at you and gave you a hug.

- The kid over there is Peter.

- Oh... Hi... Hello Miss Stark, it’s a pleasure to finally meet you, you look just like you dad, but prettier... I mean... You look awesome, I-

- Okay kid, she got it – Tony cut him off, because of course, he wouldn’t stop talking.

You laughed and waved at him.

- Well, the Viking over there is-

- Thor! – You spoke loudly. – I’m a huge fan of Norse mythology...

- It’s a pleasure, milady Stark. – He smiled at you and you blushed.

- Okay so you stay away from her. – Of course he was jealous.

- DAD!

- Just taking care of you, honey. And anyway, and finally the one sitting right there is Stephen. He’s a doctor but nobody cares.

- Thank you, Tony. – Stephen rolled his eyes, annoyed. And then proceeded to shook your hand. – Nice to meet you, (Y/N)

- It’s my pleasure – You smiled gently.

- So, I’ve heard you’re a doctor as well, huh? That young...

- I’m 25 and just graduated. I’m a veterinarian.

- Oh so not a real doctor huh?

- Excuse me? Oh for fuck’s sake– When you were about to say something, Tony dragged you away from Stephen.

- No need to start a fight, Strange.

- I’m just saying...

- Don’t mind him, honey, he’s mad because he can’t practice medicine anymore.

- It’s okay, I’m good.

- So, how’s the new horse?

- Oh, Thunderbolt is great! He’s a true Champion.

- Champion? You’re with him in some tournament?

- ...Oh no, I mean... He’s a natural, but I’ve never entered a tournament. I just... Know.

Stephen, Clint and Thor stared at you, they knew you were lying to Tony, but they didn’t know why nor about what.

- Okay, now that you’ve met everyone, I’ll help you settle in in your room, come on – Tony started to walk towards the bedrooms, and you simply shook your head and followed him.

  Later, at dinner, everyone was quiet while Peter, of course, was talking about school. And then he changed subject outta of nowhere.

- So, (Y/N), there’ll be a rodeo next week, it’ll be in a few miles away from here, and maybe you could go with me? I don’t understand much about it and Mr. Stark doesn’t want to go with me.

- Oh of course, Peter, I’ll go with you. – You smiled

- We should all go. – Clint said. – It’ll be fun.

- There’ll be beer? – Thor asked.

- There always are. – You said.

- Then I’m in – The Viking smiled and you nearly choked with your food.

- I’ll pass – Stephen said, without even looking at anyone.

- Puss – You muttered.

- Excuse me?

- Oh I’m sorry, did I offend you? – You smiled sarcastically. – Of course you think you’re too good to be in a place like a rodeo, right?

- I just don’t think that people screaming on top of a horse if fun.

- Have you EVER been into a rodeo before?

- No, but I don’t have to-

- Then you’re a puss.

Tony laughed a bit as you continued to eat.

- Fine, I’ll go, and I’ll prove that it’s boring.

- Right.

After that, everyone at the table kept quiet, even Peter.

  The next day you were the first to Wake up, you were used to it as you lived in a ranch, you has to Wake up early to feed the animals and clean the stables.

You were on your pj’s, with your hair all messed up, but you didn’t care that much, you went to the kitchen to make breakfast for everyone, you enjoyed cooking for other people.

After a while, Steve entered in the kitchen and offered to help you out.

- Oh don’t worry Cap, I can handle it. But you can Wake up everyone else if you want to.

- Of course, I’ll set the table for you

- Thanks Cap. And, have you seen my dad? He’s not in his bedroom.

- He probably slept on the lab. Again. – He sighed.

- I’ll make some extra Strong coffee just for him

- It’s a good idea.

  A few minutes later everyone was at the table, eating the breakfast you made. Well, everyone except Tony.

- Where the fuck is he?! – You were trying to call him, but without success.

- And F.R.I.D.A.Y won’t tell us, I think he wanted to keep it as a secret. – Clint said with a mouthful.

- I swear to fucking God, I’m his daughter but he acts like a child, I’ll ki-

So everyone heard a car arriving, it was probably Tony.

- Miss Stark, your father wants your presence outside. – F.R.I.D.A.Y finally spoke.

- Fine. – You finished your mug of coffee and went outside, and everyone else followed behind, just a bunch of curious dudes.

Tony was outside with a brand new pickup truck, with a horse trailer behind.

- Don’t tell me that you bought a horse, dad. – You facepalmed.

- Of course I didn’t. I’ve bought three horses. And the truck. And the trailer.

- Why? Just... Why?

- It looks like he’s trying to make you stay with us. – Stephen rolled his eyes.

- Touché – Tony said.

- Dad, I don’t belong here... I’m just visiting...

- I can build a barn and buy some cattle... I can transform this place into a ranch! Just... Stay. Please.

- Stark, this is not a child’s play. This is the Avengers Base. You cannot just make it a ranch.

- Well, I own this place and if you’re not happy with it you can just go back to the Sanctum anytime you want.

Stephen rolled his eyes.

You were almost saying “yes”, just to annoy Stephen, but you didn’t knew if you would be able to stay away from your mom’s ranch.

- Dad, what I would do with my ranch and my animals?

- We can sell the ranch and bring your animals here, I don’t mind at all, but I love having you around.

- I will... Think ‘bout it, okay? I promise.

- Thank you, sweetpea. Now help me unload the horses.

- Have you ever thought where you’ll put them?

- No... But I’ll think about something.

- They need hay. And a stable.

- I’ll send them to a Club in town where they have stables and hire someone to build a stable right here.

- Dad... – You sighed.

- Don’t worry, I can handle it all.

- Still, I don’t know if I’m going to stay… As I said, I’ll think ‘bout it.

  As you helped your father with the horses, Stephen stood away, just watching. He knew you were hiding something from Tony, and without knowing why, he wanted to find out.

  Later that night you were all dressed up, you decided to go to the city to a bar and have some fun around.

- Don’t you think that you need someone to go with you? You don’t know the city and I don’t like the idea of you going alone.

- Don’t worry dad, I can take care of myself. And I don’t want anyone following me, got it? – You gave him a deadly glare.

- Yeah, got It… - He sighed and gave you some money. – Have fun and if anything happens, anything at all… Call me, alright? I’ll be there in a minute.

- I’ll be okay, dad. Relax.

- You’re all grown up…

- Don’t make me leave early because you started to get all sentimental.

- Me, sentimental? You wish.

- Yeah right

Both of you laughed.

When you left, you were driving carefully, following the GPS while listening to some music, you had no idea what kind of night that would turn out to be, but certainly, it would be fun.

[smoaking-greenarrow]

Prompt from @kk1986 on A03:

 “First of all....loveyour writing! So tumblr was mean and I had difficulties leaving a prompt. So taking my chances on here. Could you do a Drabble about Felicity early season 2 ( before Russia and Sara) or late season 1....and Felicity needing to become her alter ego in the cyber world to solve a mystery? I just feel like if Oliver saw Goth Felicity....and the badass she is/the near worship of her skills from others- it would completely change his whole view on Felicity. She no longer would be the innocent sweet girl, but a woman that is a force of nature who had to hide her true self after a tragic event....something you know Oliver may relate to.

I just think it would have been so cool to see, because I feel it would have changed everything in their dynamic throughout the series. Gotta love ripples with one plot change.”

Part 1: The Places You Have Come to Fear the Most

Oliver glanced up from Felicity’s computer screen as he heard the door open and her heels clicking down the stairs. She frowned when she noticed him. “You’re in my chair. And you’re touching my computers.” She looked at Diggle across the room and narrowed her eyes at him. “I told you not to let him do that anymore.” She whined.

Oliver sighed, throwing a glare at her. “We have a problem. Someone attacked Laurel last night.”

“Oh my god,” Felicity said, stepping towards them. “Is she okay?” She asked, taking her coat off. “What happened?”

“His name is Lonnie Machin.” Oliver explained.

 Felicity froze. 

“He tried to grab Laurel when she was coming out of the courthouse. He said that Laurel could help him find something.” Oliver stared at the screen, “But I need to find him first.” Felicity still hadn’t moved but he didn’t notice, tapping away at the keys. “I was hoping you could work your magic, Felicity, and get me some information on him.” Oliver huffed, annoyed at the computers that he still struggled to operate. “Laurel got away, but she’s a little bit banged up. She’s staying with her dad until we can locate Machin.”

“Felicity?” Diggle asked, his eyebrows furrowing as he stepped towards her. Her purse hung in her frozen hand where she was about to drop it on the table. She stared at Oliver, her eyes wide and vacant. Dig’s tone made Oliver glance up at him, and then at Felicity. They both moved toward her. “Felicity, what is it?”

Her head felt a little lighter, probably because she hadn’t taken a breath since she heard his name. Her gaze fell to the screen as Oliver stood up, a picture of Lonnie Machin displayed on the monitor. “I know what he’s looking for.” She whispered, unable to pry her eyes away from the face that had haunted her dreams for years.

Oliver and John shared a look, and then Diggle was blocking her view of the photo, his face right in front of hers. “Hey,” he mumbled, taking her face in his hands. “Hey, look at me. Look at me, Felicity.” Her blurry vision focused on Dig’s eyes, and she inhaled deeply. “Breathe.” he said softly, taking a breath in himself. She released hers as he did. 

She took one more deep breath for good measure, and then she looked at Oliver. “He’s looking for me.” She mumbled, water filling her eyes. Oliver cocked his head to the side in confusion, and John’s hands froze where they were on her face. She glanced back and forth between them, trying to blink away the tears. “He’s looking for me.” She whispered. “He found me.”

Diggle led her to her chair and guided her to sit down. Oliver knelt down in front of her. “Who is he, Felicity?”

“I dated him my freshman year of college.” She said, her eyes flickering back to the screen. “He’s...he’s a psychopath.” she said, biting her lip. “I went out with him twice. And then he started showing up everywhere I went. I’d see him when I walked to class, when I came home, at my favorite coffee shop. He would just watch me. And I tried to ignore him.” She sniffled, her voice breaking, “I didn’t want it to be real. I tried to ignore it. I told myself there was no way that it was happening.”

“He was stalking you.” Oliver said, his voice tightening, his eyes growing dark and violent. 

“He followed me around for weeks. But he never touched me or even tried to speak to me. I went to Campus Police but they said that if the most of my problems was a kid who ‘happened’ to be in the same place as me, then that was the least of their problems.”

Oliver’s brows pushed together. “They didn’t help you?”

“Not until three months later. Lonnie finally talked to me. I was running late for class, but I needed coffee before dealing with Mr. Gilbert’s lecture, because it was literally the most boring class of my college career and caffeine was an essential part of my survival that semester, and every semester, actually-”

“Felicity.”

“Right. I was behind schedule. And I think that made Lonnie on edge. When I came out of the coffee shop, he was on the street. He asked me where I’d been. He said he’d been worried about me and told me never to do something like that again.”

Oliver put a hand on her knee. “What happened?”

Felicity sighed, “I told him that he was crazy. He got upset. He started yelling at me. Calling me a whore, screaming that I was all he had, that he’d given me everything and I was a heartless bitch for taking it all. He pinned me against the wall on Fifth Ave, where six different witnesses called the police.”

“And that was the last time you saw him?” John asked.

Felicity shook her head, and Oliver’s hand tightened on her knee. “I went to class, and then I went to my friend’s dorm room. I didn’t want to be alone, but I told myself to suck it up. I had an early morning, none of my things, and I needed sleep. So I went back to my house. The police were looking for him and told me that he was probably miles away from town...they thought for sure that he was spooked out of town. They underestimated his obsession. And so did I.” Felicity lifted her shoulder, her eyes brimming with tears again. “He was waiting for me in the dark.”

She heard Oliver’s breath hitch, John’s grumbled threat. She slammed her eyes shut so she didn’t have to look at them when she told them the rest. “He had a knife. I managed to hide from him for almost an hour before the cops showed up.” 

“You found a way to call them?” Dig asked.

She sighed, “No. The neighbors heard me screaming.”

Felicity stood, keeping her eyes closed and feeling Oliver’s body inches from hers. “Screaming?” Oliver asked, his voice low. Felicity took a deep breath. She lifted her shirt up and opened her eyes, needing to see their reaction. 

John and Oliver both glanced down to her stomach. Diggle swore, putting his hands on his head and stepping away. Oliver kept his reaction more controlled. His eyes lingered on her bare stomach, his jaw tensing and his shoulders growing stiff. His eyes trailed back up to hers and all she saw was pure rage staring back at her. “He did this to you?” Oliver asked through his teeth, gesturing to Machin’s picture.

Felicity swallowed and nodded once. “When I woke up in the hospital, it took me months to recover physically. And twice as long to recover mentally and emotionally. But even as the doctors told me that I was healed, even as the therapists and the shrinks cleared me to return to my normal life...these eight scars were a huge blow to my self-esteem. They were a constant reminder of him.” Felicity glanced at her computers, “I hated myself almost as much as I hated him.”

Both of the men watched her for a long moment. “Why didn’t I find anything about this when I did a background check on you?” Oliver asked.

Felicity sighed, “I erased it all from any records tied to my name. He still has a criminal record, but I wanted to forget. I spent the rest of my time at MIT being the girl who almost got murdered by a psychopath. I didn’t want to be known as that girl anymore. So I moved out here...I changed everything about myself, and I pretended it never happened. It works. Until I look at these scars.”

“Felicity...” Oliver took her hand that she hadn’t known she’d been gripping her stomach with. He shook his head slightly, like he wanted to say a handful of things but wouldn’t let any of them out.

She forced a smile, “Or until he comes to town and tries to hurt your friend’s ex-girlfriend to find you.” Felicity pulled her hand out of Oliver’s, pulling her shirt down and sitting in her chair. She cleared her throat and started her process of finding him. “Luckily for us, I hacked into every police station within a fifty mile radius from Starling, Vegas, and Cambridge, and set up red flag alerts if Machin causes any trouble. He’s been laying low ever since my attack. Or he found a new place. I haven’t gotten a hit off of him since his arrest.”

“How can we find him now?”

“I’ll look through security footage from the courthouse and see if I can find out where he went after Laurel scared him off. And then I’ll find his bank information to see if we can find out what he’s planning.”

Oliver nodded, leaning over her chair to watch the monitors. “Felicity,” he started hesitantly. She kept at her task, not turning to look at him. “What happened to Machin, after he...”

She glanced at him now. Then she sighed, keeping her eyes on his. “I got revenge, Oliver. I put him on the No-Fly list. I got him onto the Most Wanted list. I made it impossible for him to find a good job, or buy a house, and then I drained his bank accounts and took everything he had. I ruined his life.”

Oliver nodded seriously. He put his hand on her shoulder, “Good.”

“Are you sure that this is where Machin is?” Oliver asked, his green hood and arrows in place as he stalked through the abandoned warehouse.

“Yes,” Felicity said in his ear. “The traffic cameras show him turning the corner of Broadway and then he disappears. It’s the only place he could have gone.”

“I hear something.” Oliver said. She could hear his uneven breath as he began to run. “John, second floor.”

“On it.” John started to run too, and Felicity closed her eyes as she listened to their footsteps pounding up the stairs. She held on tightly to her desk. “He’s on the roof,” Diggle mumbled, his voice low. “I saw him running up there.”

“I’ll be there in one minute.” Oliver huffed, his footsteps moving faster. 

There was a pause, the only sounds coming from Oliver’s feet. “John?” Felicity asked.

“Diggle, wait for me.” Oliver demanded. He rushed up the steps to the roof, his bow raised. “Lonnie Machin.” Oliver growled, seeing the man they’d been trying to find for three days. Machin stared right through Oliver, a knife at John’s throat.

“Drop the knife.” Oliver said harshly. “Or I will put you down.”

“Where is Felicity Smoak?” Machin seethed, sending shivers up Felicity’s spine. She hadn’t heard his voice since he was pleading with her to come out of her hiding spot in her closet at MIT. 

“Machin,” Oliver said through his teeth, “I promise you...you will never lay a hand on Felicity Smoak again. You will never even look at her.”

Machin laughed, and Oliver aimed his arrow at his forehead, right between the eyes. “I’ll find her. I know I must be close if even the vigilantes are coming out to play.”

“This is over!” Oliver yelled, “Drop it!”

“Not. Until. I. Have. Her.” 

“Stay away from Felicity.” Oliver growled.

Lonnie Machin cocked his head to the side, “You’re fond of her, are you, archer?” Oliver clenched his jaw, waiting for the right moment to shoot. Machin laughed again, a deranged, unstable sound, “I can’t blame you. Felicity is a special girl. I miss her...I bet she’s just dying to see me again, too. Tell her I’ll see her soon.”

Machin smirked, and Oliver fired an arrow at his head. Machin dodged, ducking behind John. Then in one swift motion, as Oliver reloaded his bow, Machin sunk his knife into Diggle’s chest. 

Oliver fired three more arrows as he ran towards his friend and Machin ran towards the edge of the roof. Diggle gripped his chest, holding onto the base of the knife where Machin had pushed the whole blade through. “Go!” He yelled at Oliver.

With John being conscious, Oliver ran to the ledge of the building as Machin climbed it. 

Without hesitation, he threw himself over the edge. he held his arms out and jumped, soaring off the building and towards the ground. It was too foggy on the rooftop to see where Machin landed, and Oliver sighed. 

Rushing back over to John, he was relieved to note exactly where the blade had landed. Not in the heart. That was all that could matter at the moment. “Ready?” Oliver asked, knowing that John would understand.

“Do it.” Dig said, taking a deep breath and clenching his jaw. 

Oliver grabbed the knife and pulled it out, immediately applying pressure to the wound. “We need to get you patched up.”

“No. You need to go.”

“Where?” Oliver asked, holding on to John’s wound. He flinched in pain.

“Felicity!”

“Machin just hurled himself off a building, John.”

“Oliver.” Diggle seethed, “Do you really think Machin would jump if he didn’t have a safe place to land? Go! Find Felicity!”

Oliver hesitated. “I need to get you to a hospital before you bleed out!”

“Call the police on your way! Tell them that you saw a mugging on the roof. Just go!”

Oliver nodded once, pressing the button that Felicity added to his suit, “Felicity?” He asked. When he didn’t get an answer, he felt his heart rate pick up. “Felicity, are you there?”

Cursing, Oliver checked on Dig one more time, seeing that he was applying pressure himself and still conscious, he took off towards the foundry. He called for an ambulance for Diggle, and then he called Felicity over and over until he was running down the stairs. “Felicity!” He screamed, his eyes darting around the empty room. 

Nothing looked out of place. Even her things were gone. Her chair was pushed in. Her monitors black as if she’d shut them off for the night. Oliver took a deep breath, trying to calm down. He had one split second where he let himself hope that she had just gone home. But he knew her. She would never leave in the middle of a mission like that; not with the people she cares about on top of a roof trying to catch the man who’d hurt her. 

He slammed his fists into the table. The worst part was that he didn’t know what to do next. He’d spent so long demanding that he was alone...when he’d never actually been. But standing there, without John and without Felicity...he felt lonely for the first time since he’d met them. Truly alone. For the first time, he felt lost. And he had to fight the knot in his stomach telling him that something very bad was about to happen.

She opened her eyes to straps on her hands, her vision hazy. The only light in the dank smelling room came from a dim lamp in the corner. “Well hello there, Sleeping Beauty. You had quite a nap. Must have needed it after all that socializing you do with the Hood and his buddy. Don’t you know that you could do better than that? I know what a fighter you are, Felicity. You deserve someone who can keep up with you, someone who can challenge you.”

“Where am I?”

“It should have been me. You ran away. You ruined my life. And I only loved you so much more for that.”

“You tried to kill me!” Felicity yelled, yanking at the bands that restrained her. “You deserved everything I did to you and so much more. I should have made sure that you spent the rest of your life rotting in a jail cell.”

Machin smiled, “I love your passion for me.”

Felicity scoffed, “You’re sick.”

“That’s what they keep telling me!” He sang, “But I feel great. That’s the perk of being criminally insane; no jail cells, just psych wards.” He rolled his eyes, “Therapy, and medications, and doctors, and blah blah blah.”

Felicity glared at him, “Let me go.”

“I don’t like the blonde hair on you, Felicity. I preferred you in college. You had this...darkness about you. It drew me to you.” He shrugged, “Anyway, I expect your boyfriend will be looking for you, so let’s get to it.”

Machin stepped towards her and she flinched. Taking the hem of her shirt, he lifted it to her chest. He inhaled, closing his eyes before leaning in to examine her scars. “I’ve pictured this every night since we lost each other. I imagined most of it healed,” he glanced up at her, offering her a twisted smile, “But I knew I’d left some reminders of me.”

Felicity spat at his face. 

Machin froze, and then he wiped the spit from his forehead and cheek. “Just as ruthless as ever, Felicity. Fearless! I’m glad to see that hasn’t changed.” He looked back down at her scars. “Now,” he said, pulling out a knife from his back pocket. “Let’s make some new memories.”

“Lonnie...Lonnie, please,” Felicity said, shying away from him as much as she could. “I can help you. I can get you the help that you need.”

“Oh, no Felicity. Nothing can help me! They tried and they tried to fix me...to convince me that our love wasn’t real. But I never gave up on you. I’ve been dreaming about this for six years.” He toyed with the knife in his hands, “Now let me remind you why I was better to you than The Hood ever was. I feel sorry for him really. I was your first love! And you know what they say. You never forget your first love.”

Felicity took a deep breath. “He’ll find you. And when he does, you’ll be the one I feel sorry for.”

Lonnie pressed his knife against her stomach, drawing a new line, and Felicity screamed. It was shallow and long, a different pain than her previous scars, which were small, deep stabs. Sometimes when she really got herself worked up, she could still feel the pain of it, right where the scars still were. She glanced down at herself, seeing her blood dripping down her skin and staining her skirt. She felt her vision getting blurry, her head feeling light and she cried, trying to plead with him to stop.

He smiled at her, “I’ve missed that sound.” 

Felicity tried to catch her breath. 

“Isn’t this the part where you tell me that your boyfriend is going to kill me for this?” He asked, smug as he stared at the knife, covered in her blood.

Felicity narrowed her eyes, trying to ignore the pain on her body. “No. I’m going to kill you myself, Lonnie.”

Machin stepped closer, staring into her eyes. She refused to look away, despite the countless nightmares that his cold, psychotic stare had caused. He held his finger up to her, “Pinky swear?”

Tags:

@sailorchibimoonunicorn @embroidered-fiction@seaolicity@smoak-me@dopecycleblaze @mrsd923@flailykermit @niki-is-amazing @alex-wesley@bandanab310@felicityqueenforever@smkkbert@myhauntedblacksoul@mrsbubblelee @nuksu@not-done-fighting @hopeful-warrior@pleasedontletmedownx@hear-the-banshee-screaming@siriuslyobsessedfangirl@coal000@alwaysmyownvoice@morganmaybaby@marniforolicity@elizasbodega@albinoturdqueen@olicityfluv@motoughismylife@velvetsteel@almondblossomme @hope-for-olicity@charlinert@geemarie@memcjo @olicityforeverqueen@ljanies@newyorkinlove@adiwriting @boo-ritz-radley@bytemegeekette@sarcastic1515 @sandycakes24 @tragically-irrelevant@glittercupcakedreams @standingontheedge-ofme@ymeanidem

[cerealmonster15]

ddadds kids....

i like thinking about them as one big extended cul-de-sac family... [headcanons and stuff!]

imagine all the families spending the holidays together! i’m sure some celebrate things that the rest dont but theyd probs have one big generic get together during The Holiday Season

all of the kids are crammed together on one big “kid’s table” even tho like half of them are teenagers and there are more offspring than parents

someone always ends up starting a food fight,, usually ernest and lucien, or the twins [either pair. both pairs?? christie and christian vs hazel and briar??]

this was referenced in game once so amanda probs ends up babysitting a lot when she’s home from college for breaks+ during that short time shes still around before she leaves! she’d be  a cool fun babysitter, but tough enough to keep some of the more rambunctious kids in check ;p

[ernest voice] dad i dont NEED a babysitter!!! [hugo voice] son i want to know that i can be away for the weekend and come home to a house that isn’t on fire

ernest is probs really snarky to amanda when she babysits like “youre not the boss of me” and going out of his way to cause trouble, but amanda is Cool and probs gives him a run for his money with snark and idk shenanigans ensue and he probs secretly admires her and thinks she’s awesome but would rather die than let anyone ever find out

lucien looks like he might be fairly close to amanda’s age? they probs dont have all that much in common, but damien’s date revealed that lucien listens to mcr, and amanda made her dad listen to black parade, so I bet they could bond over some music tastes here and there

LET LUCIEN GIVE AMANDA A COOL GOTH MAKEOVER

amanda: pleeeeeaaaaassseeeeeee ;D??? lucien: no way. the goth lifestyle isnt for posers i think with enough pestering she’d get him to cave. he’d take great time and care while painting her nails to make sure he does it Right

amanda probs comments on how careful and skilled he does it like “wow you really take this stuff seriously” “uh obviously??”

once he finishes, amanda takes a pic, and then all the other neighbors see her and are bothering lucien to make them look cool too. he pretends to hate it but actually has a lot of fun and is secretly really happy that they think he’s good at what he does

amanda convinces lucien to do like, cool goth makeup videos and put them on youtube/instagram. she helps him with filming and doing photography of final looks and together they get a lot of followers. sometimes she’ll guest star in his videos if he needs a face model other than his own

amanda’s kinda freaked out by christie and christian at first but over time gets used to and sees past their “creepy twin shtick” and, much like her dad [in the joseph brownie date] learns to use it to mess with them and possibly other people

at first chris probably doesnt talk to amanda a lot and keeps to himself when she’s over, but maybe over time she’d adapt to him and learn a few things hes interested in and express gentle interest in those things to kind of help him open up to her more

chris gets quietly attached to her like shes an older sister

everyone in the cul de sac does. they love amanda

AND EACH OTHER

i want daisy to be involved with the carmensita and amanda girl band thing mentioned briefly during one of mat’s dates. that’d be adorable

you know what else would be adorable? allllll the cul de sac kids coming to briar and hazel’s softball games to support them. 

the kids going to each others’ anything to support them!! when theyre in clubs and activities that put on shows or performances or other sports games, as many of the neighbors that can make it are there

when they get older, they try to be more and more obnoxious to embarrass their neighbors in front of everyone, like making huge support signs and banners with glitter with a stupid yet supportive pun that one of their dads helped come up with, or printing their neighbor’s face on a tshirt or a giant cutout on a popsicle stick, shouting as loud as possible 

they def went to amanda’s actual graduation and PROBABLY ALL CRIED

a lot of this has amanda centric bc i Love Her, but also,,

maybe hugo and craig start going to wrestling matches together [+dadsona] so ernest sees a lot of the cahn kids. if amanda’s in town, she’s with them and in charge. if not, ernest is technically in charge, but secretly [not so secretly probably] the dads are counting on briar and hazel [briar, mostly] to keep things from falling to disaster for the few hours theyre out

they all like to take turns riding on the Giant Dog that ernest got in damien’s route [duchess something i think?] [a good component that should be canon in all universes]

“lets put river on him” “no she’ll fall off” “wheres the duct tape” “n o”

if enough disaster happens leaving these kids alone together, they probably get dropped off at another dad’s house to be looked after for a while. joseph volunteers to look after them but since he and mary are already looking after 4 and KEEP LOSING CRISH, they tend to try and ask literally anyone else

[not that theyre bad parents lmao but it’d be easier for all the other parents that just have One Kid]

i bet christian and christie love robert’s wild spooky stories. he probably makes up so much bullshit to fuck with any kid that’s listening

they’d carpool if they could fit enough kids in one car. it’s probably a 2-3 car carpool depending on who’s driving what size car and who needs to go where at what time

there are probably so many inside jokes[CUL DE SAC MEMES......] that are born at every cul de sac gathering. 

when amanda’s home from college, all the kids wanna be the first to tell her all about the SHENANIGANS she’s missed out on

river and crish are bffs once theyre old enough for human interaction. they Have To Be.

pranking each other in the school hallways plz, or just all around chaos. god help the teachers that somehow end up with 2+ of the cul de sac kids in the same class

ernest definitely sends his dog to poop on damien’s lawn outside lucien’s bedroom window / probably does the flaming bag of dog poop ding dong ditch when he knows lucien’s home alone and will be the one to answer the door

christie and chris like when briar and hazel pretend to be each other, so they get their hands on a pair of scissors and chris gives christie a terrible haircut. possibly briar and hazel try and help with the scheme and things just get Worse and joseph has to take his daughter to a Professional [or maybe one of the dads is really good with hair/has had their child do the same thing and is good with fixing a bad haircut ;p]

carmensita goes through a goth phase after she goes over to lucien’s to be babysat one day. mat does not know how to Deal bc this isnt the type of music hes used to playing but he loves and supports his daughter regardless and likes to hear her singing all kinds of music to broaden her horizons and strengthen her talent

G R O U P  T E X T between all the kids old enough to have phones

there are lots of memes. lots. of memes.

they take candid shitty photos of each other all the time and send them in the chat, and particularly amusing ones end up reused as reaction photos

lucien: [sends photo of ernest having just spilled cereal on himself with duchess in the background making off with a piece of pizza] ernest: fuck u carmensita: mood daisy: why are you having pizza and cereal for breakfast? ernest: dont tell me how to live my life amanda: lol tag urself i’m duchess

this is just something i like to do w/ my friends but they’d probs also stealthily take pictures  of each other when theyre out and about and send them to each other in secret like amanda’s out with her dad at the grocery store and spots lucien and damien in the dairy isle and is like FUCK,, she hides behind a stand of donuts or w/e and takes a pic of them and sends it to lucien w/ no context or like “lol hey” 

it becomes a war of sending pics of each other to each other/the group without getting caught. lucien and ernest probably act like they think it’s stupid but get so competitive about it

they all keep score and it probably also would extend to taking stealthy pics of cul de sac dads too Just Because

the dads find out about the competition somehow and like,,, secretly are so into who’s winning. especially brian and dadsona. sometimes they’ll try and serve as a distraction for their child to get a sneaky pic so they can win, but usually the kids prefer the solo missions

val comes and visits sometimes with cool stories. sometimes she brings her girlfriend, and amanda especially looks up to them like two cool older sisters [i dont remember if it was jacket pins or photography that val said her gf is into, but whatever it is i’m sure amanda would geek out about it with her]

christie and christian eventually grow out of their “creepy twin” thing but still have a more unique brand of humor/personality. the cul de sac kids are used to them by then, and will THROW DOWN with anyone that bullies them/ calls them freaks or anything like that, or anyone that picks on chis [and eventually crish] by association or for any other reason

THESE KIDS MAY ARGUE AND FIGHT AND STUFF SOMETIMES BUT THEY’LL STICK UP FOR EACH OTHER IF ANYONE OUTSIDE THE CUL DE SAC TRIES TO START SOMETHING W/ ONE OF THEIR OWN

i could go on forever making up headcanons or scenarios for these kids bc i love them and constantly crave more content about them but imma stop here bc it’s been over an hour and this is Long but anyway plz talk to me about these kids + the cul de sac as a whole. share ur headcanons,,,,, i l o v e the m ,,

[ezrisdax-archive]

front page news

for @pizza-is-my-buziness, five times the news mistakenly thought Daisy and Jemma were dating and the one time they were right (also here on ao3)

One

Daisy was taking to long for something that should have been a get in and get out in five minutes type of job.

Jemma tapped her fingers against the steering wheel in frustration, glancing at the building one more time before deciding it was time to go in.

She shivered at the chill in the air when she stepped inside, a huge difference from the all too humid heat outside.

Trailing down the building she finally heard Daisy’s voice.

“Thanks for the support.” Daisy was saying and… signing something?

It took Jemma second to realize that Daisy had been late because she’d been bombarded by what looked like fans. Jemma hid a smile behind her hand, she was happy that Daisy’s accomplishments were getting recognized and no longer branded as criminal but they were running late.

Straightening her face she stepped into the crowd, right up to Daisy. “There you are, now I see why you’re taking so long to get ice cream.” She turned to the crowd, “Sorry folks but we really need to get out of here.”

She took Daisy’s other hand, the one not holding the carton of ice cream they’d been sent out to get and began to walk them to the front of the store to pay.

Jemma caught Daisy’s grin along the way and turned to look at her in confusion, “What?”

Daisy held up their joined hands, “You know what this is going to look like to a bunch of people with camera phones right?”

Jemma gaped for a second and saw the flash of a camera from the corner of her eye. She groaned and tried to drop Daisy’s hand but Daisy caught it again and was looking far too delighted by events, even going so far as waving with the ice cream in her hand.

The next day Jemma woke up to a bunch of news articles sent to her by Daisy on her “superhero’s secret significant other”.

Jemma took a sip of her tea, mouse hovering over the delete option but ultimately she moved it away. There was no harm in keeping it, she needed more pictures of her and Daisy anyway.

Two

Keeping a building from falling apart had never been something Daisy had thought she’d possibly be able to do but sure enough she didn’t stop for a second while Elena got everyone out of the building.

Beads of sweat broke out on her forehead and her arms ached in the pain of holding it all together. She’d be paying for this later she was sure of it.

“Daisy!” Jemma’s voice came beside her ear but Daisy didn’t let up her concentration at all. Jemma’s hand fell on her shoulder and squeezed. “It’s okay Daisy.” Jemma came in close, murmuring to her. “It’s okay, Elena got everyone.”

Jemma’s hand slipped from her shoulder to wrap her arm around Daisy as she stumbled when she let go. She helped Daisy get into a sitting position and sat down with her, cradling one of Daisy’s hands in her own and tsking.

“I’m going to have to take another redesign at these gloves. And that gone growth medication, perhaps I can do something to make it quicker.”

“Can you make it taste less awful?” Despite her vision going a little grey Daisy tried for the humour anyway.

“I’ll make it taste like banana if you keep that up.” Jemma said drily, knowing how much Daisy hated it. Her hands felt warm around Daisy’s, even through the bracers though Jemma would remind her that was impossible.

One of her hands came up to cup Daisy’s cheek, tilting her head so Jemma could get a good look at her eyes. She had nothing but her ‘doctor face’ on as Daisy liked to call it, but there was worry underneath.

“I’m fine.” Daisy croaked out, a clear lie.

“Hello fine, I’m Doctor Simmons.” It was apparently Jemma’s turn to lighten the mood and Daisy snickered.

“Leave the dad jokes to Coulson please.”

“So long as you do too.” Jemma teased lightly and Daisy smiled up at her.

It was in that moment the cameras went off and Daisy knew she’d be sending Jemma articles about their secret love again in the morning. It made her laugh despite how it hurt and Jemma fretted over her.

Three

May had kicked them out the base.

She had apparently thought they needed a vacation and that Daisy still wasn’t recovered enough yet. Jemma had agreed and as such Daisy had volunteered her to be her babysitter with an innocent smile that Jemma hadn’t believed for a second.

“I can’t remember the last time I had an afternoon of just nothing.” Daisy sighed, part in relief part in boredom.

They had ended up at a diner not too far from the new SHIELD headquarters and slipped into a booth at the very back where hopefully no one would see them.

“I can’t believe they call this a milkshake.” Jemma wrinkled her nose as she took another sip of her strawberry milkshake which hardly tasted any good.

“It can’t be that bad.” Daisy grinned crookedly, “Let me try.”

“No,” Jemma held it to herself protectively, “You have your own drink.”

“Come on.” Daisy cajoled, “I’ll let you have some of my onion rings. I promise they taste like actual onion rings.”

Jemma rolled her eyes and in that moment Daisy took advantage and had pulled the milkshake towards her, taking a sip.

“You know it’s really not that bad.” She finally said. “I think you’re just being picky.”

“I am not being picky.” Jemma defended. “And if you want it then fine, it’s yours. I’ll just take your ice tea.” She pulled Daisy’s cup to her, taking a defiant sip.

“I would have shared.” Daisy said, her hand falling on the table and nearly on top of Jemma’s, their fingers just brushing.

She shivered and not from the chill of the drink, her fingers itching to curl around Daisy’s and reach over the table to pull Daisy in to kiss. Even if she would have tasted like that awful milkshake now.

Jemma took another sip of ice tea to get rid of the dryness in her throat suddenly, reading too many articles about them must have gotten to her somehow, that was all.

As if summoned by her thoughts Jemma saw a camera go off, a new comer to the restaurant had spotted them with their hands still almost holding the other.

Jemma groaned, “Here we go again.”

Daisy ducked her head, hiding a pleased smile by taking a sip of her milkshake but Jemma caught it anyway and wondered if maybe Daisy wouldn’t have minded that kiss after all.

Four

There were a lot of reasons why Daisy hated fighting her fellow Inhumans. For one thing, it meant that the person was using their powers to harm someone. For another, innocent people got hurt.

Like Jemma.

“Please be okay.” Daisy said for what felt like the fiftieth time that minute. Jemma’s head lay in her lap, Daisy’s hand pressed to the cut on her neck where she had hit her head after the Inhuman flung her away from Daisy.

It had taken her five minutes to get the Inhuman knocked out and get to Jemma. Five minutes to call SHIELD for backup and try not panic over the fact that Jemma looked so pale.

“You just need to get out more, more sun.” Daisy joked to herself since Jemma couldn’t hear her. “I did the goth phase already Jemma, only one of us can claim that.”

Jemma didn’t answer of course and Daisy bit her tongue in what felt a lot like guilt.

“Who would have thought that trying to get Mack a present would end up like this?” Daisy made a face. “We can’t even leave the base for the simple things now.”

She tensed when she thought she saw the Inhuman move but when nothing happened for a few seconds she let out a breath and focused back on Jemma.

“Someone definitely has a picture of this already by the way.” Daisy laughed, “Don’t worry I’ll send it to you tomorrow.”

Because Jemma would be awake tomorrow and fine and Daisy would have plenty of chances to tease Jemma about being her secret girlfriend.

She nearly folded herself in half leaning down to press her forehead to Jemma’s despite the awkward angle. “Please be okay Jemma.”

Footsteps sounded their way and Daisy looked over, relieved to see Coulson making his way to them.

She snuck into the med bay later that night and deposited a newspaper on Jemma’s bed, looking down at the picture that someone had taken of Jemma in her lap. Maybe she’d cut it out and hang it on her wall, after the memory stopped hurting.

Five

“Ow.” Daisy said as Jemma poked at her again.

“That didn’t hurt.” Jemma rolled her eyes. “Don’t be unruly patient Daisy.”

Daisy flashed her a grin that made Jemma’s heart skip but she ignored it in favour of getting Daisy bandaged up.

“You ever notice how we get in the worst situations.” Daisy commented idly, plucking at a loose thread in her sweater.

“I notice that you certainly do.” Jemma retorted. She glanced back at the ceiling that threatened to collapse over top of them. Only Daisy’s quick work at moving columns to support the weight had caused it to keep steady. She hoped. She turned back to Daisy and focused on her work again. “You’re just lucky I’ve now started keeping a first aid kit with me.”

“I’m lucky you’re around for a lot of reasons.” Daisy said and the sincerity came through. Enough to make Jemma flush a little at the compliment.

“I’d rather be in here with you then out there worrying.” She admitted. She met Daisy’s eyes and held her gaze for a second before looking away.

“You know there’s going to be reporters when they dig us out.” Daisy cleared her throat, trying to lighten the mood.

“Joy.” Jemma made a face.

“You’ll be my secret girlfriend again.” Daisy teased.

“It hardly seems right they keep using that phrase.” Jemma snorted, “If they keep catching us then it’s not really a secret now is it?”

There was silence for a second and then Daisy piped up, “That’s the part you’re going to argue with? Not that you’re my girlfriend?”

Jemma froze, one hand on Daisy’s shoulder and the other digging in her bag to get out another bandage. She licked her lips, feeling dry mouthed all of a sudden and caught Daisy’s eyes flicking down to watch the movement before looking back up at Jemma.

“I…” Any words she was going to say got lost in the throat and Jemma leaned in just a little at the same time Daisy did, their lips almost touching.

Of course that was when they heard the grinding of concrete above them as SHIELD dug them out. Jemma pulled away pitifully, not meeting Daisy’s eyes as she packed up her supplies and wishing for once that SHIELD could have taken a few seconds more.

Somehow someone had gotten a picture of them still in that position, with Daisy staring at her like she was everything and Jemma looking back the same. She swallowed hard and pinned it to her locker, if anyone noticed they never said anything.

+ One

“Back out again with your secret girlfriend, Quake?” A reporter shoved his way in front of them and from the corner of her eye Daisy could see Jemma rolling her eyes at the term.

Daisy grinned, rocking back on the balls of her feet. “Yup.” She said. “Agent Simmons and I were just hoping for a quiet date though so if you don’t mind…”

Daisy nearly yelped in surprise as Jemma put a hand on her shoulder and whirled her to face her, pulling Daisy in for a kiss.

“There.” She said, red faced as she pulled back. “It’s not a secret, honestly stop referring to it as such.” She scolded the reporter much to Daisy’s amusement. He backed away from them, no doubt trying to get back to his office to report the news.

“Not a secret?” Daisy raised an eyebrow at Jemma, letting her hands drift to Jemma’s waist.

“Hardly.” Jemma replied and Daisy took advantage of the easy atmosphere between them to pull Jemma in for another kiss.

The picture that circulated the web was one that Daisy would print out and stick in a frame that ended up on their nightstand of a now shared bedroom.

[griffin-turner]

Elemental Masters Headcanons

Ash: -Mute, uses sign language to communicate -Or he mouths what he wants to say if the other party can stand smoke -Breathes normally and stuff but can’t play any instrument that needs the player to blow (aka brass and woodwinds) -Smoke is CONSTANTLY being emitted from his mouth as dead cells are turned into ash and excreted alongside the waste air from his lungs -Hair is even messier than Kai’s because he can’t be bothered to comb it every time he’s done reforming -Always seen hanging out with Chamile, Toxkita and Shade -rumour is that they’re all dating -the rumour is true they all love each other and share secrets via sign language -Knows all the gossip about the EMs

Bolobo: -One of the two Group Dads -A really good cook -Likes the sun and really hot weather -Is never seen without his staff or the feather thing he has around his neck -Is very proud of his beard -Fights Wu over who has the best beard -Occasionally ties his hair up in a loose ponytail -Tries to meme to look hip and cool -Fails to meme -Can’t figure out technology at all (he can operate basic stuff like tvs but a computer is pushing it) -Probably a Disney Princess™ in disguise because if he tries to sing birds and all kinds of woodland creatures spawn near his area -He can’t sing but the spawning happens anyway

Chamile: -The No. One person to go to for gossip on all of the EMs -Loves to bet on who can see through her disguise the fastest -Is constantly told purple isn’t a cool colour -Really good at makeup -Actually dyed her hair for the tournament and dyed it a less saturated purple afterwards -Can and will forcefully apply makeup to other EMs when bored -Knows exactly how to make Shade smile -The embodiment of “Looks can kill”

Gravis: -Hates walking and tries to float everywhere -Really messy -Often the peacekeeper of the group -Always ops for the method which needs the least amount of effort to complete -Strangely always early to events -A really good artist but always gets paint or whatever medium he uses on himself -Is extremely good at Science, namely Physics -Really likes space

Griffin Turner (buckle in buddies): -Really good liar -Constantly smiles to hide his true feelings -Cries a lot -Refuses to take his aviators off in front of anyone -Is actually the son of Krux, and the Master of Time -Wears his aviators to hide his inherited reflective iris (think the eyes of the HoT) -Always on time -Has an obsession with clocks -Constantly wishes his father was on the side of Good -Is very good friends with Skylor and Garmadon (before he kicked the bucket) -Is MUCH older than he looks -Once helped the Hands of Time, still has his armour from back when he helped them -Has a bad habit of speaking really fast and mixing up his sentences -Can’t express his feelings properly so he just smiles -Has extreme pyrophobia -Can’t stand Kai at all -Has a pet possum named Minute who he constantly refers to as a cat (she really likes grapes) -Often has visions of random points in time, be it from his own timeline or other timelines -Hates magic and the phrase “I wish” -Tries to flirt but fails -Loves classical music -Uses a metronome to calm down -Never looks forward to the future because he knows it’s always bound to be bad -A nihilist -Actually on okay terms with Jay -Muses about the past with Zane -Can stay on beat when playing instruments (plays percussion the most) but can’t always get the right notes

Invizable/Paleman: -Really shy -like his mom had to convince him to go (“to make new friends!”) and forced Shade to accompany him -Is blind whenever he makes himself fully invisible (because no light enters his eyes) so he picked up using his memory and sound to locate his targets -Older cousin of Shade -Writes (popular) fanfiction of the EMs anonymously -Hates loud noises and being stared at -Is a shitposter -Has really good memory -Will hold a grudge but is too nervous to do anything about it -Is a complete doormat -Tells really bad jokes -Constantly hides behind Shade whenever something dangerous/scary happens -His element of Light is tied to the element of Shadow so if anything bad happens to Shade, the same happens to him (eg Shade breaks a leg, Invizable breaks the same leg in a similar accident) -Morning person, extremely active on sunny days -Has to be forced do things if the event happens at night

Jacob Pevsner: -Was born blind -Hums to himself to stay calm -Fidgets with his sitar a lot -Accidentally hurt his vocal chords during a fight, so he uses his sitar as a replacement for his powers of Sound -Hides things in his afro -Resents being short -Will attack anyone who asks him why he is short -Really likes old music and classical -Can sing anything perfectly, and do all the parts himself in one shot -Good friends with Lou and the rest of The Royal Blacksmiths -Occasionally helps out with their shows -Grew attached to the serpent and got a pet snake after the Second Serpentine War (his name is Da Capo and he’s a corn snake)

Karlof: -Other Group Dad -Is good at listening -Bad at comforting, but he’ll give the person some of their favourite food(s) and a fatherly pat on the back -Is really passionate about metalwork and aerospace engineering -Often slips into his Mother Tongue when excited or talking for a long time -Physically the strongest Elemental Master (next to Cole, due to their Elements’ link) -Loves cats -Adores cleanliness -Aggressively polishes his gauntlets when he’s stressed out -Gives good hugs -Unfortunately, also gives good rides to the hospital for the ribs he broke on accident -Really good at playing percussion and tuba -Loves the Ninjago equivalent of Russian memes (especially those about old russian ladies because they remind him of his mother) -Loves shiny things

Neuro (I hope you guys are still buckled in): -True to his alias, he’s a neurologist and also a psychologist -Knows ALL the secrets of the EMs, but wouldn’t give any of them up even if threatened with death -No one recognises him in his civilian outfit -He’s all of the EMs’ psychologist -Learned the hard way why he shouldn’t read the mind of someone vaguing about their crush -Loves drama and gossip -On good terms with Shade -Wears glasses but likes contacts more -Loves the cold weather and rain -Really loves stim videos (especially slime videos with the foam/floam) -Often pulls all-nighters and passes out afterwards -Addicted to coffee -Understands most languages and sign language (thus he knows all the gossip as well just by observing Ash’s interactions with his partners) -Complains a lot -Is very stressed all the time and has a bad habit of yelling at people crying if they push him past the breaking point -Has acrophobia -Had a bad experience with a magic user in the past, which is why he’s scared of Clouse -Can’t stand reading Griffin or Zane’s minds as Griffin’s thoughts are mixed with his other timeline selves and Zane’s is encoded in binary -Reading minds for too long gives him a headache which he unintentionally passes on to nearby people -Wears a vengestone alloy collar in his EM robes to help prevent accidentally reading everyone’s minds at once -Wears a vengestone alloy bracer instead when in his civilian outfit

Shade: -Same as Invizable: His element of Shadow is tied to the element of Light so if anything bad happens to Invizable, the same happens to him (eg Invizable burns his hand, Shade burns the same hand in a similar accident) -Will hurt whoever Invizable has a grudge against -Hates talking -Really loves beanbags -Eternally stuck in a goth phase -Loves wolves -Is a closet furry and has a wolf fursona -Younger cousin of Invizable -Huge fan of heavy metal -Can only play the violin, all other instruments are either out of tune or offbeat -Has a pilot’s licence -Can’t stand in bright light for too long or he’ll lose his physical form -Also can’t stand in complete darkness for too long or he’ll lose control of his element -Loves to pick fights for seemingly no reason -Extremely rich and loves being spoiled -Loves dark chocolates with raspberry filling and Black Forest cake -Knows ALL the other EMs’ secrets and will trade them in exchange for food

Skylor: -Really hates noodles -Also knows all the EMs’ secrets and will sell them for money -Everyone else fusses over her as if she were a child and she HATES it -okay maybe she enjoys Karlof pampering her occasionally -Is a really good chef -Loves Ice Cream -Can’t use makeup at all -Has sharp snake-like fangs after her tranformation -Hates snakes and the Serpentine after her time in the cult -Has no proper sleep schedule and often ends up falling asleep at the worst times -Complains about her family issue with Griffin -Loves the feeling of having every element at once, makes her feel confident -Loses control over her powers if she takes in too many elements within a short period of time -Elements used are weaker than their pure forms -Doesn’t like using the element of Smoke or Earth as she ends up dirty -Neat freak -Adores being spoiled -Once tried short hair, never tried again -Enjoys using the power of Form to mess with people -Often hosts gatherings for the EMs in the restaurant -Memes a lot Toxkita: -Eyes glow in the dark -Dyed her hair neon green to show support for Chamile’s decision to dye hers purple -Runs all the betting pooling -Is a really good chemist -Really good at comforting people -Enjoys being the center of attention -Unable to get drunk -Hates wearing sleeves -Hates strong winds (as they make it hard for her to control the direction of her toxins) -Enjoys teasing Shade by making fun of his goth stuff -Wears spiky collars and wristbands even when it’s not appropriate -Uses brass knuckles to fight -Has a habit of cheating while playing board games -Has piercings -Has killed before (on accident, while practicing her powers) -did i mention she and chamile, shade, and ash are all in love -Rides a loud motorcycle -Used to smoke before her smoke mixed with Ash’s smoke once and nearly killed him -Aggressively vacuums if anyone makes her upset -Braids everyone’s hair -Loves everything neon

[jessicakehoe]

Orville Peck is Here, He’s Queer—And He’s Canada’s Biggest New Star

Orville. Peck. It sounds like someone’s grandpa.

But he’s a young, hot, queer cowboy clad in colourful vintage Western gear and covered in tattoos. Peck’s debut LP, Pony, was instantly acclaimed by all the snobbiest music journos and fashion magazines as an unforgettable chimera of old-school country, shoegaze and sadboi R&B that goes down as smooth as honey. His voice is filled with Roy Orbison longing and Chris Isaak smouldering desire.

But more notably, and always, there’s the mask: a Lone Ranger-esque face covering with a foot of inky fringe. To say it hides Peck’s real identity isn’t entirely correct. It’s true that “Orville Peck”—who these days is based in Toronto—isn’t the singer’s real name, but you get the sense that the masks are an essential part of who he is, onstage and offstage. And while it’s possible to find Peck’s “real” name online—compelling, if unconfirmed, reports point to an erstwhile punk drummer from Vancouver—knowing who is behind the fringe adds nothing to the music. The mystery, the look, the songs: It’s all a piece. Peering out from behind the mask, his huge baby blues shoot you down. Beautiful and unattainable. The eternal conundrum. Somehow, a masked man sings our pain best.

Photography by Wunmi Onibudo

The masks are Peck’s trademark; he owns over 20 now, which is especially impressive considering he sews them himself. “I just started naming them; I haven’t named all of them yet, but it’s fleshing out their personalities a lot more,” he laughs over the phone. “One’s called Cheryl, and one’s called Iris, after my mother and my grandmother, respectively.” All his life, he felt unable to let go of his insecurities while performing—to be truly authentic. Then, he donned a mask. Here, at last, was the key. It was the mask that gave him the confidence to totally open up at the very first Orville Peck show, to sing out his heart’s true secrets. Covering up revealed all. “It has definitely helped me feel a little less exposed but at the same time completely exposed,” he says. “It’s an interesting double-edged sword, because it actually helps me feel confident enough to sing about really, really personal stuff.”

“Patsy Cline also really spoke to me when I was little; her lyrics have a dark, lonely quality to them.”

Peck says he comes from a long, proud line of subversive country artists, like Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, Merle Haggard—and even Buddy Holly. Growing up, however, he listened to a lot of Western women. “I think, subconsciously, I was probably more connected to their perspective because it was slightly more marginalized,” he says. “Dolly Parton especially—she did everything kind of tongue-in-cheek, making social observations in subtle ways. Patsy Cline also really spoke to me when I was little; her lyrics have a dark, lonely quality to them.”

Photography by Wunmi Onibudo

Peck leaned into the darkness—and camp. Inspired by Porter Wagoner’s rhinestone-studded Nudie suits and the films of David Lynch and John Waters (Female Trouble is his ultimate fave), he created Orville Peck rather than becoming a CMT clone. (Other fashion inspirations include the fringe and leather of 1980s rodeo queens Parton and Reba McEntire and the boot-cut jeans and white T-shirt minimalism of 1990s Garth Brooks and Tim McGraw.) “Every generation falls into this trap where people think apathy is cool: doing the least amount and pretending they don’t care. That has just never appealed to me,” he says. “A lot of people question my sincerity and my art because I put a lot of effort into the visuals and the story. But those are the things I’ve always admired in artists. I could go onstage in jeans and a T-shirt and just, like, sing about nothing, but when somebody tries a bit harder, people seem to respond to it really well, which is great.”

And from that effort, Peck has been selling out shows across North America months in advance, including two nights in Los Angeles, where he’s running a drag rodeo. (He yearns to incorporate live ponies trotting around the stage or, perhaps, pipe in a signature scent. What would it smell like? “A barn.”)

“What’s really lovely is that maybe what I’m doing allows some of those people to know it’s OK. You don’t have to stand on the outskirts and enjoy this from afar; you can be a part of this. You are, already, a part of this.”

Such commitment and soulfulness attracts a motley group of admirers, including, Peck says, Middle America dads who sing Peck’s super-gay tunes en famille in the car on the way to school. He draws fans from many tribes: Americana, pop, goth country, new wave. (He even has stans already: PeckHeads.) His unabashed queerness—in “Big Sky,” for example, he sings about romancing boxers and jailers—also welcomes LGBTQ country lovers back into the fold, he says, remembering the gay man (descended from a long line of rodeo clowns) who told Peck that thanks to Peck’s unique brand, he finally felt able to embrace his country roots. “Before, we weren’t allowed to have a voice,” he says. “What’s really lovely is that maybe what I’m doing allows some of those people to know it’s OK. You don’t have to stand on the outskirts and enjoy this from afar; you can be a part of this. You are, already, a part of this.”

Peck is, it turns out, a true millennial cowboy. He has experienced some catharsis from his success, yes, but he still feels…unmoored, or incomplete, somehow. “That’s part of what Pony is about, too: It’s coming to terms with the fact that I’ll always feel a bit unsettled, and I probably will always have anxiety, and I probably will always feel a bit lonely,” he says. “The lovely thing is noticing that other people connect with that as well. Rather than that curing the problem, it just helps me understand that stuff doesn’t need to be negative.”

That is, after all, the cowboy way. According to Peck, being a cowboy has nothing to do with having a horse or wearing a cowboy hat. It’s being able to keep your head high, despite the solitude, despite being an outsider. “It’s finding the power in yourself and being able to ride on your own,” he says. And so Peck rides, singing for himself, singing for us all. Not all heroes wear capes. But some wear masks.

The post Orville Peck is Here, He’s Queer—And He’s Canada’s Biggest New Star appeared first on FASHION Magazine.

Orville Peck is Here, He’s Queer—And He’s Canada’s Biggest New Star published first on https://borboletabags.tumblr.com/

[whatifeelslikeforagirl-blog]

The Cat in the Microwave

I waited until we all went in the gift shop, and I just took off. How crazy is Le Chateau de Versailles with ATMs all over, Banque Populaire, my ass. Tourists like us are sure the ones to be fooled, be gift-shopped, you idiots! I’m a pretty ruthless kid, you know that, and I have a good sense of orientation, north and south and where the RER thingy was. So I just went. Putting the ticket in the machine where you’re supposed to put the ticket, I was feeling super good. The turnstile turned, and I was on the platform, ready for an adventure.

A train arrived, and I made my way in among all the stupid tourist sheep getting down, highly recognizable with maps and shorts. Can somebody tell me why Americans tourists like to wear shorts all the time? Come on. Nobody wears shorts in Paris. Go to the beach and have an ice cream instead. Me? My American-ness was not detectable: a short dress from when I was 11 or so –vintage, kinda blueish with a white V neck, it was very tight and really looked bad ass. Bare legs and basic tennis shoes from H&M. I know you were going to ask me anyway.

So, I was on this train but I didn’t really know where it was going. Not that I had a particular destination in mind, though. I wanted to wander around, you know, get lost a bit. So I decided to get down at whatever station would ring a bell.  I sat on a yellowish leathery seat next to a window and even turned my Blackberry off. I was looking outside and feeling cool. Nothing to see, really, wasteland surrounded by looking alike houses, huge aluminum boxes-like buildings that were factories or offices of some sort. Three or four stations from Versailles, this guy came and sat in front of me. I really don’t remember his face, but he was fat and sweaty. Yeah, like super fat, and maybe he had glasses, I don’t know. A big fat dirty cat. Well, he was looking at me in a, like, insistent way. I kept looking at the window. Really, not through it, but, like, at it. At the engravings I deciphered - 9-3 en force, Nike la police, the dirt and the bird shit. I was probably squinting a little bit. I didn’t want to look at him, but I knew he was still staring. I really wasn’t risking anything in terms of rape possibilities because there were plenty of people around. But still, I held my backpack closer to me and my body closer to the window, trying to hide my chest area from his sight. I remembered that my mom told me- when I was like 10 and a half - that men were not only excited by breasts, but also by legs and belly buttons. I felt kinda naked.

But anyway, at one point I figured that we were entering Paris. The train was now underground and more and more people came on and off. I focused to gather a little strength and I stood up very naturally, like I knew where I was and what I was doing here. Not disturbed at all because his look had burnt my insides and my legs were really cold. He whispered something like:

“mmmmmmmmmmmm, tehh boann saalop”

It sounded sexual and gluey, probably a compliment like ‘Hum, pretty kitty, I wanna eat you with gravy’, but like, dirtier. Passing him, I saw his hand between his legs. So I looked away and just took off.

I felt itchy-gloomy at first, but then I saw the name of the station and it was Saint Michel, which I had saw of in the travel books Mom had packed for me before I went to this stupid trip with my class. After following the ‘Sortie Place Saint Michel’ sign for what seemed like billions of hallways, I climbed some stairs and stepped into the light. It was crowded, like mad. People came and went like a massive jelly-fish, so I couldn’t really move around and see what was there. A girl with dreadlocks and a stinky smell bumped into me and I stumbled on a bike, doing a very inelegant somersault. I scratched my knees just enough to see a little blood. Naked legs with blood, pretty bad ass.  I got up swallowing some tears - from the pain of falling down, obviously, not because the whole world had seen my panties, and I felt like a goofy stray kitty-cat. But anyway, I was finally able to cross the street and take a look around. There was this fountain in the middle of a big square made triangular by big avenues joining at the tip. Water came out of dragons’ mouths and above there was an angel with huge wings that seemed to watch over all the people coming, going, standing, smoking, looking good, looking terrible, reading, talking, taking pictures, biting their nails, eating and putting lipstick on. Too many people there, I’m telling you. I crossed the Place and sit on a door step in a tiny street just behind. It was quiet, compared to the over-populated situation on Place Saint Michel. I thought I would rest for a bit before exploring some more without further humiliation.

From a distance, I saw a girl and a man at the end of the street. I say a girl because she mustn’t have been much older than me, like 16 or something. I say man because he looked older, like, old enough to be her dad, but he wasn’t. They were arguing and they were holding hands too.  As they were approaching, he said something that sounded mean, like spitting in her face. She started running in my direction, fleeing, like a lunatic, if you ask me. I pressed my back against the stone wall behind me. He caught up with her. He was tall and looked strong with short, almost white, blond hair. She was kinda chubby. I saw that she was crying, or had cried, because her mascara was all over her cheeks, like some odd goth kid. So he was next to her again, holding her arm pretty firmly, as far as I could tell. She said something that could have meant that she loved him, or that she was going to die, or that she forgot to feed the cat and that the cat now was dead. He stroked her hair and kissed her on the mouth. I was watching them trying to look invisible. I think it kinda worked, because she started to lower her free hand from his chest to his pants. I couldn’t see very well, but she probably unzipped him. I know French people have sex all the time in the streets, it’s part of the culture, so I was ok when she took his thing out. I was not surprised either to see her get on her knees. I know about this stuff, you see.

Just before she was about to start what she was about to start, she told him something, smiling, sounding like “I know you love your kitty anyway.”  He did not smile back. Instead, he grabbed her hair and pulled her up. I jumped at her scream and bang my head against the wall. She started crying again. Loudly this time, like the cat had died in the microwave. He started screaming at her, like she had intentionally put the cat there. He kept his hand in her hair and all she did was cry. It was really bad, her crying. Nobody on Place Saint Michel seemed to hear or pay attention to her creepy weeping. Finally he let her go, she stumbled back a few steps, silent for a moment. I wanted to go away but it was too much of a cliff hanger I guess, so I couldn’t move. I stopped looking, though. I could hear her talking, begging, like a teeny baby girl, like she was four or something. That’s when I heard a slapping sound, a scream, and then muffled unidentifiable sounds and sobs. The man wasn’t saying anything, only the girl was crying. I heard footsteps going the other way, slow, then fast, then slow again while fading. I waited a minute or two and then I got up. I couldn’t help but looking over my shoulder. The girl was like, sitting on the edge of the sidewalk, her nose was bleeding badly, and her white t shirt was covered with blood and dirt. She wasn’t crying anymore, but she was patting her cheek with her mouth twisted. Seeing me, she lit up the cigarette she had in her hand and waved with a sad grin that could have meant something like “how fun it is to put the cat in the microwave”. I didn’t know what to think so I just took off.