#they’re not super far away or anything I’m just back with my parents and my brother got married so I moved out.

[mydollsaregay]

@americangirlruinedmylife asked me if i had seen AG’s website today and for a minute i was so wrapped up in the revival of Julie’s floral jumpsuit that i straight up didn’t even see the other historical drops 😅

anyway i love this fit SO much. i was devastated when i got back into collecting and saw how expensive it was, so i am very pleased to be able to have a version of it (though they changed the sandal color for some reason?? it’s odd but im fine with it - I have some tan ones I’ll switch them out for).

the other thing I’m definitely going to be getting is Addy’s birthday dress- my Addy only has her pjs so i’m pumped to be able to get another fit for her!!! also I just love her birthday outfit. her snood is super fun, and I LOVE the checkered apron.

(I kinda wish the book was sold separately though, as I believe I already have a copy and. Y’know. Money.)

i actually LOVE the idea of the limited drop IF they end up doing what I think they’re going to do. they dropped just the birthday/spring outfits and books during the season when they take place….

I think they might be doing a seasonal release of each book and accompanying outfit??? 🤔

based on how much got left hanging around on sale for molly and kit, i think they might be trying to broaden the audience while limiting the amount they have to stock by doing these three girls at once - they could be planning to rotate out items as they add each new book and accompanying outfit, which I actually think is an extremely cool idea. there’s no way to know for certain until we hit summer and the next wave would release (if im not totally off base), but we’ll see 👀

[alittlebitofloveliness]

More Darry Curtis headcanons

-Goes to every single parent/teacher interview night or open house at Ponyboy’s school, even if he has to take off work. Part of it is because he’s determined to be a good guardian but part of it is because he just proud of Pony and likes hearing from teachers how great he is

-Speaking of how great Pony is, Darry brags about Pony SO much. Like his work crew and the gang never stop hearing about how great the kid is…except when the kid is present. Then you couldn’t get a compliment out of him if you pried his jaw open

-He and Sodapop both have a soft spot for soap operas and watch them together super late at night so no one else in the gang- Pony included- will find out. (Steve caught them once but he just sat down quietly, waving away their hasty attempts to explain themselves, muttering for them to shut up, and that he used to watch them with his mom when she was still around. The three of them finished the episode and went to bed without saying anything else.)

-Loves music of all kinds (I just know he’d be one of those guys that is SO into music history and makes it everyone else’s problem) “did you know this song was meant to be an apology to-“ “-to some random broad, we know Dar, now shut up would ya?”

-Is left handed

-He and Two-bit butt heads quite a bit but he’s also closer to Two than almost anyone else in the gang because they’re the closest in age. They have so many inside jokes that the rest of the gang gets confused because Two can sometimes get him to snicker from seemingly innocuous remarks that aren’t funny to anyone but Darry

-Has dragged Soda (and Steve by extension) away from Buck’s too many times to count and is pissed every time

-Worries the whole time when he goes on ski trips with his old buddies. He worries a lot anyway, but it’s always worse when he’s too far from home to get there immediately  if something happened. Both Soda and Pony know this so they’re actually better behaved when he’s gone than when he isn’t

-Speaking of the ski trips, he always comes back glowing, for once looking his age, so the gang encourages him to go as much as possible. They have to be subtle about it though, because he gets suspicious that they’re planning something if they make it too obvious they’re trying to get him to leave, and then there’s no way in hell he’ll go

-Loves rodeos but unlike Soda has never and never wanted to participate in one

-Mother's day and father's day are contentious days in the Curtis house ever since the accident, so Soda and Pony just designated a random day as 'Darry Day" and got him little gifts, and did all the housework because they really do appreciate everything he does for them. Darry was super touched and vehemently denies tearing up when he saw the card Pony made for him

-His bond with Tim Shepard is hard for the gang, Darry himself, and even Tim to figure out, but it’s very strong despite how little they actually interact

-Despite refusing to ever go to the hospital, he’s actually the absolute worst patient when he’s sick. It takes a lot for him to admit that he’s ill, but once he does he’s absolutely insufferable. Pony and Soda takes turns taking care of him because they’re both liable to lose their temper if they have to do it for too long without a break. (“Soda my head hurts” “I know Darry” “Soda I need a glass of water” “you have a glass of water” “but Soda it’s not cold” “I got you a new one five minutes ago” “but Soda it warmed up” “damnit! Pony tag in, you deal with him, I need a smoke” “Pony I’m dying” “you’re not dying Dar” “yes I am” "no you're not")

-He’s a super fast walker. Like, anyone shorter than him has to jog a lil to catch up

-He’s a cat person. Pony and Soda are both dog people, and it has caused more than one argument despite the fact they have no pets and couldn’t afford  one even if they could agree on what they wanted

-He and Soda definitely made a secret handshake when they were little, and he still remembers every single move of it even though they haven’t done it in years and he isn’t sure if Soda even remembers making it

[ashleysmessyjourney]

22 Months Messing Challenge Update

Okay, so today I learned that 1 cup of coffee helps move things along and helps make me do my thang in my diaper. However, adding a glass of cranberry juice throws my tummy into overdrive and totally clears me out in a way that I don’t like. You ever feel like you totally clear yourself out then your body is like, “Go back to the potty right now cuz you’re gonna poo right now!” twenty minutes later?

Guess how many diapers I went through because of that? Four. Four diapers because each time I thought I was good. I waited in my third diaper after messing to make sure that I was as empty as I could be, then changed. I’ll give you one guess as to what happened next.

Since I have sensitive skin, I used gobs of Desitin rash cream down there so I could practice staying messy for longer and longer periods of time. I want to be able to tolerate being messy for a bit longer than I’m comfortable with because there may be situations in the future that keep me from changing as soon as possible.

I’ve started making notes of places that have bathrooms that are “safe” for me to change in, saving a long list of places on my phone with Google Maps for my local area. I wear plastic panties every time I go out if I’m anticipating a messy accident. Even then, I sometimes wear one just to be safe. Feeling safe, and using things to help me feel safe, have been really helpful in this challenge because it gives me the peace of mind to keep pushing forward. It’s been almost two years and I have not given up.

I know I need to get over myself and stop worrying about changing a messy diaper in public but it’s so nerve-wracking. It’s scary; just as scary as it was getting over changing a wet diaper in public. However, I’ve been searching for single room bathrooms where only one person can be inside at a time. Changing a messy diaper in a stall would just suck and be so scary.

I went out to a local Mexican restaurant with my parents last week. I’ve always loved eating nachos, especially if they’re drenched in queso. I’ve been eating them less and less as of late because I have a near-immediate negative reaction to them now. Yes, I know I’m stupid for eating them but I can’t help it sometimes; I just have a need to eat nachos. After we had finished eating dinner, my stomach was twisting itself into a knot so tight that I knew I was going to make a mess in minutes. With my home so far away, I was glad when they got up to go. I scurried back to my car with a slight waddle, praying that I would be able to make it home in time so I could mess in the safety of my home.

I didn’t make it.

It’s been getting really hard to hold #2 these last several months because I’ve conditioned myself to let my body take care of its needs. It’s what the diaper is for, after all, and I no longer view messing as a negative thing. I was able to make it to the fourth stop light from home before I tried to pass a little gas. I think you can guess what happened. Since I felt so much relief from letting some out, and since the light was still red, I lifted my butt off of the seat and pushed as hard as I could. The relief came almost immediately, though my stomach still churned like it was telling me I wasn’t done yet. I winced as I sat down in the hot mess, trying to keep it from squishing up front where my sensitive bits are. It wasn’t the solid kind of mess that I prefer; it was the complete opposite. 

I will admit that the sheer helplessness of the whole situation was a huge turn on. Being unable to keep myself from using my diaper like that, even though I fought hard and valiantly, was all useless in the end. My body knows that I’ve been wearing diapers for so long that it just knows by now that it can do whatever it wants and I’m fine with that.

I showed up to my home with a very full diaper. Thankfully, I had worn a pair of plastic panties, so I wasn’t smelling anything at all. I was super grateful that I didn’t notice any of my neighbors out and about; I would have avoided them like the plague at all costs if they came near me.

Lastly, I've been considering doing challenges to lessen my time since I have so much time left. I'm thinking about doing erotic hypnosis tracks that'll help keep me going in pursuit of my messing goals. Some may include messing on a trigger word, messing at night, and more. I'm still looking around. I was thinking listening twice would take off a week's worth of time and once the effect has taken permanent hold, I'd take off a month's worth of time. I want to keep this challenge fun and interesting.  

If you’d like to keep this challenge going, you can send me gifts to add time onto the timer. Check the pinned post for how much time stuff adds.

Wishlist

Thanks for reading!

Current Ending Time: April 11, 2026 (2 years, 10 months more!)

[lost-girl-2021]

Adopted Spider AU Idea

Okay so I had this idea for a avatar AU, where Spider is raised/adopted by the Sully’s from a young age and they don’t tell him Quaritch is his father. As far as he knows, his mom was a pilot on the Na’vi’s side and died during the battle. They didn’t really want to lie to him, but when Kiri gets to go see her birth mom, he wants to see his too, assuming she’s in a pod or something like Grace is. He’s already just so sad when they tell him he can’t visit his mom, because she’s not anywhere anymore, that they can’t bring themselves to break his heart and make him feel any more like the alien he is. So, they paint Paz as a brave warrior and keep it vague enough that they won’t get caught in any lies. And that was enough for (maybe five to eight year old) Spider. Besides, he loves his mama (Neytiri) and papa (Jake) and all of his siblings. Even before he was old enough to fit into a mask, they would visit him constantly and teach him about the woods and their home. When he was around seven or eight and old enough to go outside, he was instantly welcomed into his family’s home and never spent a night alone again.

(Also, in this, I’m aging Spider down to twelve, Neteyam is sixteen, Kiri and Lo’ak are fifteen, Tuk is eight. So, Spider’s the youngest Big Kid and his siblings are protective of him not only because he’s human and tiny, but because he’s also younger. I think to do this logically, it’d have to be a situation where Na’vi kids age faster than human kids, like maybe there ages start to even out/slow around puberty or something. Idk, haven’t super thought it out.)

Anyways, the rest of the movie stuff still happens. Except, it’s Kiri, Lo’ak, and Spider (Tuk is at home, silence bought with the promise of bringing her back fruit or something cool). When Lo’ak calls in about the Avatars, Neytiri flips, because she knows her children are all capable and strong and skilled, but those are her babies. And Spider— the boy who never remembers his spare mask and is always finding something death-defying to try? She thinks she’ll have the Na’vi equivalent of a heart attack.

So, they’re trying to head back home, get attacked and when Quaritch approaches Spider, Lo’ak and Kiri go crazy screaming at him to get away from their brother. And Lo’ak also recognizes Quaritch as the somehow reanimated murderer who was also Spider’s birth father. He’d overheard a conversation, years before, between his parents and Neteyam. His parents had explained it to the oldest and Lo’ak had accidentally found out as well. He ended up sneaking into the lab shack and finding a picture of the man (and his file). So, when Quaritch asks for Spider’s name, Lo’ak flips.

“Don’t tell him! Don’t say a word!” Lo’ak screeched from a few feet away.

The Avatar didn’t even glance his brother’s way. “I asked you a question, boy. What’s your name?”

Spider glanced at his siblings, heart racing. “Spider. . . Socorro.”

“His name is Spider Sully, he is my family!” Lo’ak hissed in English this time. “He is not yours!”

“Miles?” The man kneeled in front of him, looking at him strangely.

Miles. Miles. Miles. When was the last time he’d heard that name?

“Nobody calls me that.” It came out a near-whisper and he looked towards his brother. “Why does he know my name?”

“Don’t believe anything he says! He’s a ghost! A demon! He’s a liar!” Lo’ak screamed back, before one of the Avatars covered his mouth.

A little ways away, Kiri looked just as confused, still fighting against her captor as she tried to lean his way. Spider risked turning his gaze back to the man in front of him. He looked . . . weird. Emotional.

“I thought they’d send you back to Earth.”

“You can’t put babies in cryo.” He said as bravely as he could manage. “Why do you care, dipshit?”

The man’s brow furrowed as he settled a heavy hand on his shoulder. “Because, I’m your father.”

Spider reared back, breath catching loudly inside his mask. He looked over the large man’s arm, meeting his older brother’s wide-eyes.

“Lo’ak?”

“He lies!” The boy hissed, thrashing harder, two Avatars pinning him down this time.

“I’m telling the truth, Miles.”

“Don’t call me that.” It came out as a whisper. “My— my name is Spider.”

Quaritch gave him a curious look, letting him go and standing up once more. He turned away from the boy as another Avatar grabbed him, pressing two fingers to the communicator around his neck and calling out some code talk Spider didn’t have the capacity to process anymore.

He glanced down at the pack strapped to his loincloth, double-checking that the light hadn’t started blinking. Everything was working correctly, the seal had been done right when he’d left that morning. His parents always insisted on checking his mask when he put it back on after morning meal. His spare was strapped to his brother’s waist, Lo’ak learning long ago that Spider couldn’t be trusted to remember something so important. Spider had visited the shack the day before with the others to visit Grace and Max had replaced his mask and battery before they left. He should be fine.

But, it was kind of hard to breathe. And it was getting harder to focus. He sucked in a breath, looking over at his sister. She looked just as lost as him, yellow eyes locked onto him. She whispered to him, words reaching him from across the semi-circle.

“Be calm, little brother. Be calm.”

He forced himself to breathe in once more.

__

By the time Spider felt somewhat normal again, it’d been almost a half hour. Just . . . standing. Waiting. Spider wondered where their parents were. Spider and Lo’ak were five feet away from each other, but it felt like twenty. Both had guards on them, but they whispered as softly as they could while still being able to hear each other.

“Why does he know who I am? Is he really my . . . ” Spider asked, glancing towards the large Avatar called Quaritch.

“He’s not.” Lo’ak insisted. “You don’t have a father, like Kiri. We just have Dad. That demon is going to lie and try to trick you— he’s a monster, Spi. Don’t let him get inside your head. If he talks to you, don’t— “

A short whistle made Lo’ak stop speaking. All three of the Sully kids turned their heads South. Another call sounded. Mama.

Instead of Spider getting left behind, Quaritch flat-out yoinks Spider up onto his shoulder and hides him, cuffing him to a branch or him or something. And the chopper is arriving to pick them up, so he’s out of there first with Spider and—

Spider thrashed, mask fogging from tears and heavy breathing. He looked down, eyes meeting with his mom’s.

“Mama! Mama, please!” He screamed, trying to get away, to reach towards her.

He could see that she was crying too, climbing a tree like she could go high enough to grab him. He could see his dad, looking up at him, looking so angry. Angry at Spider? Angry that he was weak enough to get caught? Spider clawed at the monster— Quaritch, they’d called him. The man just tightened his grip. Spider didn’t care if he fell, didn’t care if he ended up tumbling towards the ground. His dad— his real dad would catch him. The year before, when Neteyam first got his Ikran, he’d taken Spider for a ride. Spider had fallen, goofing off in a way that a new rider couldn’t handle. He’d been caught by his dad before he could even have time to scream. Dad always caught Spider. Every time he fell from a tree or tripped over a root— dad was always there. Because, Spider was too weak. Spider was too human.

The whole thing ended up super long, so part two will be up later.

[steveharringtons-lover]

some boy cat calls you and calls you stuff like "slut" or "whore" and steve, your bsf who has a teeny tiny crush (more like in love with you) hears about it and kicks the mans ass 🤗🤗

-🌶 anon!

Sucker Punch

a/n: please leave me some more requests!! I am so desperate will write like anything

Steve Harrington x Reader (she/her)

summary: after being catcalled but your ex your best friend Steve looses his cool and gets into a fight. You help clean him up after.

warnings: catcalling, swearing, smut (unprotected) written super late with no grammar or spelling checks.

————————————————————————

“Oh my god! That was the most boring thing I’ve ever had to sit through!” You say looking over to your bestfriend walking a long side you.

“You are so dramatic it wasn’t that bad!” Steve says looking over to you.

“You didn’t even want to go we were just going to support Robin!” You day playfully nudging Steve’s side.

“We weren’t even going to go! You were all like ‘oh we should go and watch support Robin!” Steve says jabbing your sides causing your to giggle.

The two of you were heading down the street to go grab bite to eat.

“Steve!” You say unable to contain your giggles, you couldn’t help but smile whilst you were around him.

Even though he was only your best fiend, sometimes you wish you could be more.

“So where do you want to eat?” Steve asks you snapping you away from your thoughts.

“I’m leaning towards the bakery or maybe we could-“ You begin to say before your cut off by another voice.

“You look such a slut dressed like that y/n.” You recognise the voice almost immediately, it’s your ex-boyfriend.

Your heart drops, but Steve is quick to step in.

“Who the fuck do you think you are saying shit like that man.” Steve says standing in front of you blocking you from your ex.

“I’m not fucking wrong Harrington take a look at her.” You ex says jabbing Steve in the chest.

You can tell by the look on Steve’s face this isn’t going to end well, before you can say anything your being cut off again.

“Your a fucking bastard.” Steve yells at him shoving him backwards.

“Your gonna regret that’s Harrington!” Your ex yells swigging his fist towards Steve’s face.

Steve staggers back a red mark left on his jaw, Steve quickly gets his balance back and takes a swing at your ex.

The two boys are punching each other and before you know it they’re on the floor beating each other.

“Stop! Steve get off him!” You yell trying to break them up before a cop comes and arrests them.

But it’s too late, it’s the middle of the day in the centre of town. The sound of sirens can be heard in the distance.

“Steve cops, get up!” You yell trying to pull him off your ex.

The two of you make a run for it desperately trying to remember where you parked Steve’s car.

“Steve what the fuck were you thinking!” You yell at him both of you still running down the street.

“That bastard had it coming.” Steve’s says to you, the car finally coming into view.

“Steve I’m driving! Keys!” You say, the sound of sirens fading alway as you quickly get into the car and drive away.

The car ride home is silent, Steve’s in the passenger seat with a can of coke resting on his swollen face.

You decide to drive back to his house, less chance of his parents being home and having to explain what had just happened.

The two of you ventured up to the bathroom to clean Steve up, you both sat on the bath as you tried to clean the blood off of his face.

“Jesus Steve what we’re you thinking.” You say getting a better look at his injuries up close.

“No one should speak to you like that.” Steve mutters avoiding eye contact.

“Why did you have to hit him?” You ask, you’ve had to clean him up after far too many fights.

“I don’t know I just- fuck it’s so stupid never mind.” Steve says wincing at the pain.

“No Steve you can’t just say that! Tell me, please.” You ask growing increasingly more concerned.

“I don’t know you just do something to me, you make me. Fuck how do I put this.” Steve says struggling to find the words.

“I think I’m in love with you!”

You pull back from him in shock, you watch as his face twists with regret. Before he has time to get up you kiss him.

Your hands are in his hair and Steve’s hands are on your waist pulling you close, the kiss sends shivers down your spine.

God you’ve been waiting for this moment for years.

He groans into your mouth his face still swollen and in pain, you pull back from him not wanting to hurt him.

“Fuck- I’m sorry.” Steve says clutching his head in pain.

“It’s alright Steve, let me take care of you.” You say hoping down from the bath and kneeling in between his legs.

You bring your hands down to his jeans working quickly to unzip them and pull them down along with his boxers.

You run your hand up and down the length of his cock teasing him before you lick a line from the base of his cock to the tip.

“Fuck- you don’t know how long I’ve wanted this.” Steve says grabbing onto the wall the brace himself.

You out the tip of his cock in your mouth swirling your tongue around it before talking more of it into your mouth.

The sweet sound of Steve’s moans overflow the bathroom.

Steve his free hand into your hair slightly pushing down as you take the rest of his cock into your mouth.

After only a few minutes you can hear Steve curse under his breath. “Fuck I’m going to cum, oh fuck sweetheart.”

You can feel as he comes in your mouth, you bravely swallow it back and look up at Steve from your position on the floor.

“I’d get a million fights if I meant I could do this over and over again, but don’t worry sweetheart il repay the favour after a couple tylenols.”

[hp-rarepair-requests]

Oops! I realised that I had to be more specific

- Augurlight (Delphi x Albus)

- Muggle au

- Abusive relationship

-Albus realizing that Delphi was grooming him (Flashbacks would be nice if possible)

All good! I can absolutely do that!

Augurlight Oneshot

TW/CW: Grooming, Child Predation and CSA

Albus sat in his bedroom, curtains closed, headphones blasting, homework unfinished, and food left to go cold. He wasn’t really sure what day it was, or what time it was, but he really didn’t care. He couldn’t explain the depression he had fallen into. Or maybe he could and he just didn’t want to admit it.

~

“Come on, Dad! Please!” Albus begged.

“For the hundredth time Albus, no,” his father refused him yet again. “You need to finish school.”

“Come on! The kids are mean!” Albus whined. “I passed all the necessary exams for finishing school, I have a job, I can start working more hours and even pay board!”

“I don’t care Albus, you need to complete your education,” his father tried to keep a hushed voice as they browsed the shop, looking for a specific CD for Lily’s upcoming birthday. “I’m not letting you drop out just to chase some fantasy.”

“This isn’t about music—“

“Then what is it about?”

“It’s about not having to go back to that shithole of a school!”

“Watch your language!” His father scolded. “I can’t find it. Stay here while I talk to that worker over there.”

Albus groaned and slumped against the shelf of CD’s. He was sick of that high school. Hogwarts was shit, and any wayward misfit with half a brain knew to stay far away from the preppy shitheads that wore the maroon and blue uniform. He was so sick of his classmates constantly bullying him, and he wasn’t even learning anything he could use in the career he wanted. They’d bloody cut the Music Program, the whole reason he’d even been trying to stay well enough behaved to avoid expulsion.

“Hey,” Albus turned to see a worker, with silver and blue hair and thick eyeliner. “Delphi. I couldn’t help but overhear your conversation with your Dad?”

“Oh, that,” Albus shuffled. “Sorry about that.”

“It’s fine, happens a lot,” Delphi smiled. “Hogwarts uniform?”

“Don’t worry, I won’t sue you for breathing,” Albus answered. “Not unless you breathe too loudly.”

“I’ll try not to. We get a lot of your classmates in here. Usually they’re upset that their Dad’s aren’t buying something super expensive for them.”

“Nah, I’ve got a different kind of dysfunctional family.”

“I can tell,” Delphi plucked something from Albus’ face and he felt it heat up. “Eyelash. Sorry about your Dad. Sucks when your parents don’t believe in you.”

“Well, I don’t know if he doesn’t believe in me,” Albus cleared his throat. “He just … he’s an adult, he probably knows better.”

“I don’t know,” Delphi knocked Albus’ shoulder. “You didn’t start singing the lyrics to Emo Girl when you saw me. Makes you much more mature than some of the other kids your age. It’s also not that hard to enter the music scene. I would know, my band The Augurey are doing pretty well.”

Delphi walked away as Albus saw his father approaching, Lily’s gift in hand.

~

Albus rubbed his eyes and took his earphones out. There had been a light tapping at his door, and when he pulled it open he saw his younger sister. Lily was in her soccer uniform, with dirt on her shins. She’d just got back from practice, it was afternoon.

“Just figured I’d let you know we won,” Lily grumbled. “Not that you even cared to show up.”

“Won what?” Albus asked.

“The game. The Liverpool Griffins are moving onto the semifinals.”

“You had an actual game today?”

“Yes, and you promised you’d come to this one!” Lily crossed her arms. “You’ve become a real jerk these holidays.”

“Oh my God. Lily I am so sorry. I completely forgot.”

“Yeah, I know! Couldn’t even get out of bed to say goodbye this morning.”

Lily turned and began to storm off.

“Lily wait!” Albus followed her. “I don’t even know what day it was.”

“Save it, Albus,” Lily shook her head. “I would invite you to the next one but I doubt you’d show up. Dad’s making soup for dinner, maybe you can show up for that?”

Lily slammed her bedroom door shut and Albus felt lost. How could he forget something as important as Lily’s game? It was the first one where he wouldn’t be too busy working at The Three Broomsticks to go! He’d promised to go! He hadn’t been able to go to any of her other games that year and she missed his support in the stands. And he missed cheering her on from the crowds. How could he forget something as important as that?

~

“Well, well, well, we meet again,” Albus looked up in shock to see none other than Delphi. “Studying for a test?”

“Algebra,” Albus informed her.

“God, what year?”

“Year ten.”

“Yikes,” Delphi hissed in sympathy. “So your doing all that expand and simplify bullshit with the brackets.”

“Yep,” Albus sighed. “Although, it looks more like hieroglyphics to me.”

Delphi giggled. “You’re funny. What was your name?”

“Albus,” he answered, blushing at the compliment. “I work at The Three Broomsticks just down there.”

“Oh sick, my band is performing a gig there this Friday night.”

“I’m working this Friday night.”

“Oh, so you’re getting paid to see The Augurey live. Now that’s an honour.”

Albus laughed. “What instrument do you play?”

“I’m all vocals,” Delphi clarified. “What about you?”

“Oh um, I used to do the music program at my school before they cut it,” Albus fiddled with his pencil, feeling suddenly shy under Delphi’s piercing brown eyes. “Guitar, bass, drums, piano, little bit of vocals.”

“Oh, so you are literally just a one man band?”

Albus laughed to the point of smiling very brightly. “I guess you could call me that. If you can call a fourteen year old with no released songs a one man band.”

“You’ll be a one man band eventually,” Delphi ruffled his hair. “I have faith in you.”

~

Albus closed his bedroom door and pulled out his phone. A notification popped up and he bit his lip. The Augurey’s social media. They’d posted something new.

Albus opened the app and saw the pictures. Delphi smiling with the rest of her bandmates. Pictures from whatever event they were at now. Pictures he couldn’t help but stare at. Especially the last one. The picture was technically of Rascal and Vermyn, the bassist and guitarist, but Albus was focused on the background. Delphi with some guys tongue shoved down her throat.

Albus hadn’t learnt this guys name. He appeared in many pictures. Sometimes he was even in the foreground. But Albus hadn’t learnt his name. Didn’t want to. He just wanted to know why Delphi would lead him on the way she did.

~

Albus was left to close up close up the restaurant while his manager, Rosmerta, went over the employee schedules for the next week. He found he quite enjoyed The Augurey’s live performance that night. He’d hoped to speak to Delphi at some point, but he was stuck as the dishwasher for most of the night, but the few times he had been out cleaning tables he could of sworn she’d been looking at him. He was pretty certain she’d even winked at him at some point.

“Hey Albus!” He jumped when Delphi came up behind him. “Did you enjoy the show?”

“Yeah, you guys are really good. You have a very good voice.”

“Thank you,” Delphi smiled brightly and touched Albus’ cheek. “You lose a lot of eyelashes. So, are your parents here to pick you up?”

“No, I was going to catch the bus home.”

“You’re kidding?” Delphi’s jaw dropped even further when Albus shook his head. “You can’t catch the bus home at this time of night! There are creeps and weirdos out there.”

“Aside from the creepy weirdo I’m talking to now?” Albus asked, wiping the last corner of the bench down. “It’s fine, I do it all the time.”

“It’s not fine!” Delphi sighed. “How about I drive you home?”

“What?”

“Come on! I won’t be able to sleep tonight if I don’t mKe sure you get home safe.”

Albus felt his face heat up at that. He supposed a car ride with Delphi wouldn’t be the worst thing to ever happen. “Alright, I can give you the directions.”

“Great! Let’s go.”

Albus let out a nervous breath as he followed her to her car, locking the shop door behind himself. She drove a second hand car, small and inexpensive, but the inside was decorated with plenty of gothic delights. He got into the passenger seat and told her where to go.

“So, you hate Hogwarts I take it?”

“Uh, yeah,” Albus shook his head. “Bit of an understatement really. I get bullied. Really badly. And the teachers don’t do shit about it.”

“I feel that,” Delphi sighed. “Wish there was something I could do to help.”

“It’s alright,” Albus chewed on his lip. “My house is that one.”

Delphi pulled into the driveway. “Damn, you’re families loaded.”

“Yeah, we are.”

Albus went to get out of the car but Delphi grabbed his wrist and stopped him.

“What are you—“

“My phone number,” she wrote the digits onto his palm. “Message me next time you have work late. I don’t like the thought of you catching the bus this late at night.”

“Oh,” Albus swallowed. He had her number, that was fun. And really nice of her to be so worried for his well-being.

Delphi caressed his cheek and rested her hand on his face. “Eyelash. I’ll see you later.”

“See you later.”

~

Albus threw his phone to the floor and curled up in his blanket. He really shouldn’t have been surprised. She was pretty, she was semi-famous, she was older. And they weren’t exactly on good terms at the moment either. Of course something like this would have happened.

He wanted to curl into such a small little ball it was like he didn’t exist. No one could hurt him or lead him on that way. People wouldn’t even be able to look at him, let alone talk to him.

“Albus,” he groaned when he heard his fathers voice just outside his door. “Dinners ready.”

“I’m not hungry.”

“Come on, you haven’t had dinner with us in a week,” his father answered. “I’m starting to get a little worried.”

“I’m fine.”

“Well, if you’re fine you come down to dinner. Come on, get up.”

Albus groaned, and crawled out of bed again. Why him? Why that day?

~

Albus walked out of admin with his letter, supposedly his aunt Hermione was there to pick him up for an appointment he hadn’t even known about. God, his time management skills could really use some work.

As Albus left the school gates he noticed a familiar beat up car. It didn’t belong to his aunt, her car was certainly not beat up, but it did belong to someone else he knew. Someone he was much more excited to see.

“Oh my God, you did not just get me out of school.”

“Hey,” Delphi shrugged. “I told you I wanted to do something to help. Come on, we’re going to the beach.”

“The beach? Are there even any good beaches nearby?”

“Of course there are! You just need to know where to look!”

Albus smiled brightly and got into the car with her. He hadn’t properly skipped school like this in a long time, it was exhilarating.

“Alright Eyelashes, let’s go.”

Albus came down the stairs to see the rest of his family had already started eating their soup. He approached the counter and filled up his bowl. Pumpkin soup. He plonked down at the table, feeling much like the rain that poured outside the window.

“Hoods off at the table, Albus.”

Albus groaned at his mothers words, and yanked the hood from his head before continuing to eat.

“So as I was saying, it’s a very delicate and difficult case,” his father complained about work. “Grooming is a very difficult crime to prove. Our evidence is circumstantial at best.”

Albus ripped a piece of bread and dipped it into his loaf.

“I mean, how am I even supposed to prove he did this? It’s not like he ever actually hurt her, just made it so he could.”

“What?” That confused Albus.

“What’s confusing you?”

“How could he have groomed her if he never hurt her?”

“Grooming is the process of creating an environment which enables abuse,” his father clarified. “A very common misconception people have is that you have to actually h physically hurt someone.”

“Oh.”

~

Albus flopped down onto his towel, and let the rare sunshine beat down on him, giving him a much needed tan. Delphi soon after joined him, and he tried not to look at her too much. He really should have realised that the beach entailed a certain amount of vulnerability.

“That was fun, but I think I might have to take you back to school soon.”

Albus groaned very loudly. “Please don’t.”

“What do you want me to do?” Delphi sat up. “Hold you captive here forever?”

Albus jumped when Delphi pounced on him and they began to wrestle in the sand. His leg was only slightly tangled in his towel by the time she managed to get on top of him. Oh goodness, this was a very compromising position. He only hoped she didn’t do anything to uh … provoke him, we’ll say.

“You’ve got another eyelash,” Delphi’s fingers danced across Albus face as she wiped the stray hair away.

“I swear I didn’t used to lose eyelashes this regularly,” Albus sighed, hoping to get her off from on top of him. This was not something he felt ready to deal with.

“Sure,” Delphi’s face seemed to move impossibly closer, and her breath grazed over Albus’ lips. All he’d have to do is move slightly and they’d practically be snogging.

“We should go,” Delphi got up and put her shirt back on over the top of her bikini. “Your parents will surely be mad if you aren’t home in time.”

~

Albus finished his soup and climbed the stairs before anyone could stop him. He needed some space. Desperately.

Albus opened his laptop and stared at the search engine for a moment. He began to chew on his nails, feeling his stomach roil with the unasked question still lingering in his head. What was he even supposed to do in this type of situation? What was he even supposed to look up?

He swallowed and quickly typed up his question before staring at it. The fact that he even felt the need to ask felt a bit like a confirmation, but he couldn’t be certain. He pressed enter.

How do you know if you’ve been groomed?

~

“What’s this?” Albus asked.

“It’s a birthday present,” Delphi answered.

“My birthday is in October.”

“Just open it.”

Albus smiled before tearing into the gift Delphi had gotten for him. He pulled open the box and inside there was nothing more than a business card. Riddle Studios?

“I may have pulled some strings with my manager,” Delphi clarified. “They’re going to let you record one song, and if they like it and it performs well they might take you on.”

“You’re joking.”

“No joke.”

“Oh my God! Delphi!” Albus got up. “Thank you so much! God, I could kiss you!”

“What?”

“What? Um … not actually kiss you. Just — you know it’s an expression.”

“Right,” Delphi nodded. “Well, I’ll pick you up on Saturday and drive you there.”

“Yeah,” Albus nodded excitedly.

“See you,” Delphi left a peck on Albus’ cheek before walking away.

~

Grooming is the action of attempting to form a relationship with a child or young person, which would enable you to sexually assault them or persuade them to commit some type of crime, such as drug dealing or joining a terrorist organisation.

Albus wasn’t sure that exactly applied to him. He’d been a child, he was a child, but … he didn’t — he didn’t know.

A groomed child may think they are: in a special relationship with the person hurting them, experience self-blame over the the abuse they are experiencing, be confused by the nature of the relationship, and have a fear of harmed or abandoned if they speak out or defy their groomer.

~

Albus had initiated it, but he immediately regretted it. It was stupid really. To think someone as amazing as Delphi might return his feelings. As soon as he’d kissed her he felt like he’d made some horrible mistake and that he needed to run as far away as humanly possible. Something about it just felt innately wrong. Like he’d done something he really shouldn’t have.

“I am so sorry,” Albus stepped back. “I should go. That was — sorry!”

“Albus! It’s fine,” Delphi stopped him from running away. “Nothing to be sorry for.”

Delphi pulled Albus in and this time their kiss was much more of a mutual experience. And it was nice. He’d never really kissed anyone before, so he hoped he was doing it right. Delphi was definitely much more experienced in that regard. And it showed. Delphi was very good at kissing, Albus found.

~

Well, that just didn’t apply to Albus. Right? There was no abuse to feel any guilt or self-blame over. There couldn’t be. Could there? He tried to think. Had Delphi at any point actually abused him? Sure, technically she didn’t need to abuse him for it to be grooming, but there wasn’t anything to blame himself for. Was there?

He’d admit, he had felt special, he had been a little confused by their relationship, he had done things just because he was worried she’d leave if he didn’t, but he didn’t blame himself for … okay he did. Just a little bit. But it was fine because it was technically his fault. The self-blame thing surely only applied when he hadn’t actually done anything wrong right? Because he had! He’d let her get close to him, he’d initiated their … situationship? Relationship? Their whatever! He’d been the one to start it and make it confusing. He made the choice to not defy her. It was his fault.

So, therefore, it couldn’t have actually even been grooming right? What even was the definition of sexual abuse?

~

“Why didn’t you tell me you were going on tour?” Albus asked. “I mean, I figure that’s something you tell your … friend?”

“I was going to,” Delphi got up from her seat on the couch. “But it’s not even like it’s a major tour. We’re just going around England. Nowhere too far away.”

“Right, just the other side of the country,” Albus shrugged. “Would have been nice to know.”

“What? You aren’t proud of us? After all I’ve done for you, you can’t accept that I’m also making progress?”

“That’s not it—“

“Then what is it?”

“You’re leaving…,” Albus sighed. “I just — I thought we were close enough that you’d let me know first.”

“We are that close,” Delphi came over to him and rested her hands on his shoulders. “Come with us.”

“What?”

Albus was dumbfounded. There was no way she was actually inviting him to go on tour with her.

“Come with us!” Delphi’s smile widened. “Come on, you hate school, you hate your family, leave it behind and come with us.”

Albus took a step back. “Okay, first of all, I don’t hate my family. I just don’t always get along with them. And second of all, I can’t just go with you. I have a job, other friends, and my parents are worried enough that I keep disappearing from school and the house. I can’t just runaway.”

“Sure you can!” Delphi held his face now. “Please? For me?”

Albus didn’t know what to say. Delphi kissed him to see if maybe that would be convincing. It wasn’t.

“It’ll be fun.”

“No, I’m putting my foot down,” Albus shook his head and started leaving. “I can’t go with you.”

~

Sexual assault refers to the act of intentionally touching someone in a sexual manner without consent, through either force or coercion. It’s a form of sexual violence that includes child sexual abuse, groping, rape and sexual torture.

Albus scrolled down, trying to find further explanation on what child sexual abuse might entail. He didn’t think he was abused; it was just good to make sure. He seriously doubted he encountered anything severe enough to be considered abuse. And he’d been the one to initiate their relationship in the first place. So it was probably fine.

~

Albus got up from the couch and walked over to the door. Lily was at football practice and their Dad had been the one to drive her. Their Mum was stuck at work so Albus and his older brother, James, were the only ones left at home. He had to assume James took advantage of this absence of people and invited over a couple friends.

He pulled the door open and was surprised to see Delphi of all people standing outside.

“Can we talk?”

“Uh, sure,” Albus stepped aside and let her in. “We better go up to my room, so James doesn’t see you.”

Albus brought Delphi to his bedroom, and gently closed the door behind her. He was sort of glad they were getting the opportunity to talk before she had to leave. They could sort out the argument they’d had and calm down.

“I guess we should—“

Albus was startled by Delphi just grabbing his face and beginning to snog him. They’d snogged maybe a couple times, but never like this. Albus raised his hands to her head as his back hit the wall. His head hurt a little bit, and he winced, trying to separate for at least a moment to rub where his head had hit. But he hadn’t been able to. At least, he hadn’t been the one to separate.

Delphi pulled away only momentarily before attacking his neck. Which, wasn’t really something they’d ever done. It felt a little weird, but kind of nice.

“Um, you said you wanted to talk?” Albus was a little confused now. Not upset, but definitely confused.

Delphi sighed and pulled away. Did he do something wrong?

“Just … wanted to see if maybe you’d changed your mind?”

“Well, I haven’t,” Albus slouched. “You know why I said I couldn’t go.”

“Oh, come on!” She complained. “After everything I’ve done for you, you kind of owe me!”

“Travelling around the country isn’t something I can just do, Delphi,” Albus groaned. “I already told you, my parents are worried enough about me as is. If I left with you they’d probably send a whole search party looking for me.”

“Then leave a note,” Delphi stepped closer. “Please? Can’t you just be the least bit supportive?”

Albus swallowed. He could theoretically go with her, and there was probably a scenario in which everything turned out fine. But Albus didn’t think this was that scenario. He was in enough trouble as it was for constantly sneaking out and skipping school to go see her, although his parents didn’t know about Delphi’s involvement. He didn’t want to make things worse. And Lily kept asking him to go to one of her games. He’d promised to go to one as soon as he could, he couldn’t do that if he was on tour with The Augurey.

“I am supportive, and I’m sorry but I can’t just—“

Albus gasped when Delphi’s palm hit his cheek, and stilled as the sting spread across his face. She’d slapped him. She had just slapped him. And it hurt. Really bad.

“Fine, I don’t need you there anyway,” Delphi stormed out while Albus stood frozen in disbelief.

~

Child sexual abuse (CSA) occurs when an adult or older adolescent abuses a child for sexual gratification. This can include pressuring a child into a sexual activity, indecent exposure of genitals to a child, displaying pornography to a child, sexual contact with a child, physical contact to the child’s genitals, viewing of the child’s genitals, and producing pornography of a child.

Albus wiped a tear from his eye. Did kissing count as sexual contact? Did it even matter? A month ago, if Delphi had asked, Albus probably would have done everything on that list for her. If grooming was only the process of enabling abuse, had Delphi groomed him?

“Hey Albus,” he jumped when his mother walked in without knocking, and turned to face her, “what’s—?”

Albus slammed his laptop shut before she could finish asking her questions.

“Why were you looking at the definition of sexual assault?” She asked.

“I wasn’t,” Albus answered, scratching his neck.

“What were you looking at then?”

“Nothing.”

His mother gave him a look before walking towards him. “Did something happen that I should know about?”

“No,” Albus tried to smile. “Mum, I’m fine. What did you want?”

She let out a breath through her nose. “Lily and James have both had their showers. I wanted to check if you had had yours?”

“No, I’ll go do that.”

“Albus—“

“Thanks for letting me know,” Albus grabbed his clothes and hurried towards the bathroom. He didn’t think he was in the mental state to explain everything about Delphi to his mother.

[queen-of-weird-girl-nation]

@auroraofthesun1

Diary of a teenage Christian girl

(Front page)

This diary belongs to GRACE ADAMS

I promise to pray, everyday!

Monday 1st August 2024

Dear diary:

I never use this thing, but since we’re at Bible camp I’ll have a lot of time for journaling. So here are some facts about me:

Im Grace Mercy Adams.

I have 8 siblings

I am a Pentecostal Christian

I’m 13 years old

I love Jesus more than anything. More than my own life. More than my parents. More than humanity itself. I would pull the kill switch on humanity, on myself, for Jesus

If I had to pick a way to die, I would chose to die a martyr, in the most painful way possible

I am in the choir

I play volleyball

I’m chaste and pure

I’m a good Christian girl through and through

I’m writing this on the road to Bible Camp, with Esther napping on my shoulder. Her eyelashes are… well they’re so nice when they flicker in her sleep. And so is her hair. She always complains about how boring it is, just plain brown, but I don’t know. There’s something about it… and her green eyes. She’s captivating, I know that much. But enough about Esther; I talk about her enough in this diary as is! Well she’s my best friend.

(Did best friend in purple because it’s her favourite colour, and mine is blue, so we compliment each other nicely, don’t you think diary?)

Well, I’m off to Bible Camp. It’s super far out, but that just gives me more opportunities to take pictures and appreciate the Lords creation. It’s my first time at Bible Camp, and I’m excited. My youth pastor says that I’m one of the most devoted young ladies in the church and will serve well, which is great. Our youth pastor is called Thomas and he likes to speak in a loud voice about end times. The end times are probably my greatest fear… sometimes I’ll be at home alone (which rarely ever happens, I have a lot of siblings) and I’ll be scared that everyone else got raptured and I got left behind. But that’s normal.

We’re singing songs now, go tell it on the mountain.

Go tell it on the mountains

Over the hills and everywhere

Go tell it on the mountain

That Jesus Christ is born

Youth pastor Thomas says that’s our call to evangelise and do missionary. He says that if we don’t evangelise, it’ll be on us if a lot of people go to hell. Hell and end times. Those things scare me the most I think.

I’m also scared of sin, which links back to everything, scared I’m gonna mess up. I’m slightly scared of God…,I respectfully fear the Lord. I’m not scared.

Esther is awake, so now I get to see how her green eyes hit the sunlight, it takes my breath away every single time. Esther has nice eyes. She’s looking at me writing this

‘You have nice eyes too. They’re blue. And you have nicer hair than me. Your white blonde hair makes you look like a pretty lamb’

That’s what she’s saying. She’s so seeet, and we got stuck in a loop of complimenting each other.

‘The only lamb here is the lamb of GOD!’ I said, half jokingly, half not. And we kept on singing.

Ok, we’re here! It looks really nice, gotta unpack and then move into rooms. I’m in a room with my sister Divine and Esther and Felicity Sam’s and Ruth Lampert. Good group. Gotta go unpack!

Forever the Lords,

Grace

[silentshadowbl0g]

text update 06-2023

hey yall! thanks for the nice tags on my recent art- a big reminder that i am pretty active on twitter @sadmachlne666 (the i is a lower case L) and i usually post art regularly, sometimes still warriors, but usually its whatever im into

as far as personal life, the mods and I have had a really hard past couple of years, but we’re doing our best to keep going.

Orion and i spent the whole month of October together last year, and we both plan on visiting Heck soon. I believe they’re both still technically mods here but I’ll be really surprised to see them answer anything, as they’ve both pretty much washed their hands clean of warrior cats or anything of the like.

I’m moving out of my parents house FINALLY- I’ll be moving in a 3 bedroom with two other friends of mine this upcoming July, im super excited.

(Everythings been paid off except the first bill due the first of July, im okay with money but my commissions ARE still open, i just may be slow getting to them cause im busy with preparations and my irl job. if you cant comm me, please consider reblogging the comm price post! thanks!)

As for Silentshadow’s Path- all ive done the past few years is brainstorm TBH! i have a very loose world and story built in my head but ive yet to nail anything down- mostly just the characters and their motivations and roles in the story. Trying to keep everything as it was when it was warrior-ifed is pretty hard, but i have to remind myself ive been working on these characters since 2013, its gonna be hard to change a world overnight (for me anyway).

So ive been thinking- i might just abandon this blog and make a new one? go back to my roots, make new references for everyone (everyone im keeping anyway. remember i made over 200 characters for this story??)

I’m tempted to just private/archive this blog, its what i wanna do but i know lots of fans, including my friends even, enjoy going back and just looking through this blog every now and then- id hate to take it away from anyone.

But as of now, even though im a bit too busy to draw and sit down and chat, Id love to interact with you guys again, feel free to send me some asks every now and then if you have any questions. I’ll let yall know what i do in the future- probably after im moved into my new apartment! Thanks for an amazing couple of years this whole project was.

[star-trekkin-across-theuniverse]

Oh my gosh, I have to take my chance! Could you maybe do something for cover you in oil? I know it's been ages but I loved it. You could write about Sally meeting Peter Parker or Natasha and Clint being together....

Maybe just a domestic happy little drabble about what they're up to now

Oh boy… I hadn’t thought far enough ahead about them other than the happily ever after, but I’m not sure they’re super canon-divergent…So this will definitely be before End Game.

__________

Sally was lying smack dab in the middle of the king-sized bed in the Malibu mansion overlooking the ocean that Tony insisted was the perfect home. She wasn’t complaining, it was absolutely amazing. But her old bungalow had been a few steps from the beach, which meant early morning surfing was easy. Now early morning surfing meant loading up the car and driving. It was a minor inconvenience to an otherwise perfect home. She knew she shouldn’t be complaining, it was very much a rich person's problem. In the overall scheme of things it didn���t matter at all, anyhow. She wasn’t going to be surfing much in the next little while.

JARVIS had the music volume loud, at Sally’s request, and it wasn’t long until Tony found his way into the bedroom looking a little confused.

“This is a little off-brand, Sally,” he commented. “JARVIS, half volume.”

“How so?” She asked, feigning confusion. She knew exactly so. Simon and Garfunkel wasn’t her usual soundtrack.

“Folk Rock? From my 80s metal girl?” He asked, giving Sally the look. The look said he knew she was messing with him, but he hadn’t quite figured out why yet.

“There’s a season for everything, Tony,” she smiled, winking at him. He fell onto the bed beside her, groaning.

“You know I’m not actually smart, right? I’m driven by a need to know everything, and you are being mysterious and cryptic. You’re killing me!” He complained. Sally laughed.

“Baby, you’re giving up after thirty seconds?”

“Give me a hint,” he moaned. Sally rolled onto her side and shook her head.

“Concentrate. I’m sure you’ll get it in a second,” she teased, drumming her hand on his firm abdominal wall as she sang, “I wonder how your engines - vroom ba ba ba ba -”

Tony went completely still as realization washed over him. “No way,” he murmured, pushing Sally back onto her back and dropping his hand onto her tummy. “Baby driver? Baby. Driver?”

“You’re so close,” she laughed.

“You’re pregnant. You’re pregnant?” he pressed. Sally nodded and Tony just softened. Every feature on his face changed as he stared at her in wonder. His hand pressed on her belly a little harder and she saw tears filling his eyes. “I’m going to be a Dad?”

“Provided everything goes well, yes, we are going to be parents,” Sally nodded. “I’m only 10 weeks, so there’s a way to go.” Tony pressed his face against her belly, pulled up her tank top and pressed a kiss against the bare skin of Sally’s belly.

“I never would have complained, and I never would have said anything, but I thought von Doom might have done something to wreck your fertility, and I thought it was early for us to talk about and -” Sally interrupted by pulling Tony’s face to hers and kissing him.

“You think too much. You talk too much. I think honestly, you worry too much,” she laughed, between kisses. “But you’re mine. And I’m happy, and you’re happy, and we are finally moving on from the nightmare of Latveria, and we are having a baby.”

“JARVIS, can you please order -” Tony started.

“Nothing,” Sally interrupted. “JARVIS is ordering nothing. We are going to spend the time shopping for baby stuff together.”

“I was going to have him order pizza for us. We’re having a stay in bed and celebrate kind of day,” Tony replied. “I was absolutely not going to have JARVIS buy baby stuff.”

“Sure you weren’t. But I’m not going to say no to pizza and snuggling since you’ve made such a successful save,” Sally laughed, pulling him back down into another kiss. Tony groaned into Sally’s mouth and pulled away for a second.

“It doesn’t hurt the baby if we really celebrate, right?”

“It doesn’t hurt the baby. But you know, if you’re too old and tired to really try -” Tony cut her off with another hungry kiss.

“No one said anything about being old. Or tired. You’d better keep up, Mrs. Stark,” he growled against her neck. “JARVIS, windows. Mood music.” The windows dimmed the bright sunlight streaming into the room, and something smooth and sexy started playing instead of Simon and Garfunkel.

“Oh, Mr. Stark, you do know how to set a mood.”

[themultifandomgal]

Tyler Hoechlin- Our Love

Meeting The Family & Families Meet

2nd July 2011

Since we are on a break from filming Tyler and I decided that now is a good time to meet each other's family. Since we're still in Atlanta Tyler has been invited to my parents house for dinner. I drive us up the driveway, my mom opens the door before I even turn the car off, obviously she's been sat at the window waiting for us. I turn the car off as Tyler sighs

"Nervous?" I ask

"Yeah a little"

"Don't worry. My mom is pretty chill and my dad makes everyone his best friend. We best head in before mom starts knocking on the car doors" I chuckle opening it up and getting out of the care with Tyler following not far behind me

"Hi mom"

"Hi love"

"Mom this is Tyler, Tyler mom"

"Mrs YLN it's lovely to meet you" Tyler shakes moms hand after giving her some flowers

"Oh don't call me that, sounds way to formal. Call me YMN. Come on in dinner will be another 15 minutes. Your dads in the living room"

"Ok" I take Tyler's hand and walk him into the living room where my dad is watching baseball "dad, this is Tyler my boyfriend" dad slowly looks towards us not wanting to miss anything

"Well don't just stand there, sit. You like baseball?"

"Err yeah I used to play actual" Tyler nervously says sitting down

"What team?"

"I played at university, UC Irvine Anteaters. Haven't played for a while

"YN why don't you go get us all a beer"

“Sure dad” I lean down and kiss Tyler on the head before leaving for the kitchen.

Mom and I have to pry dad and Tyler away from the TV. They’re getting on like a house on fire which is amazing, not that I thought they wouldn’t. Tyler tells my parents about himself, we talk to them about Teen Wolf, Comic Con and anything else we think of. Dad and Tyler talk more about baseball.

6th July 2011

It’s now my turn to meet Tyler’s parents and siblings. We had to get a flight from Atlanta to LA. I’m super nervous, not only about meeting Tyler’s parents, but the fact we will be staying over at their house it’s terrifying to me. We’re currently in the Uber on the way to his parents house. Tyler places his hand on my knee which I now realise is jiggling up and down with nerves

“Sorry” I breathe out

“You’ll be fine, promise”

“What if they don’t like me?”

“They will” Tyler then takes my hand in his, lacing our fingers together and gives it a squeeze.

When we arrive we walk up the drive. Tyler gives me one last squeeze before knocking on the door. Holding on to our shared bag. We only have to wait a moment before the door swings open and we are invited in

“YN this is my mom Lori, my dad Don, older brother Travis, older sister Carrie and then the youngest Tanner” I shake hands with everyone

“Hi it’s nice to meet you all”

“It’s nice to finally meet you as well” Lori says smiling

“Yeah. Tyler’s not shut up about you. Feel like I have already met you” Carrie chuckles

“Oh really?” I raised an eyebrow at Tyler who looks sheepish

“Let’s go and get a drink?” Tyler moves me further into the house to the kitchen “what would you like?”

“Just a soda will do”

“So YN do you have any siblings?” Lori asks

“No I’m an only child”

“Must be nice” Tanner shouts from the living room. Tyler rolls his eyes

“Alright thank you” Tyler shouts back handing me a drink

“Thanks”

“How did your parents get on with Tyler”

“I think my dads in love” I joke “they definitely bonded over baseball”

“Your dads a fan?” Don asks

“Most definitely”

“What about you?”

“I enjoy watching it, I’d happily go to a game but my dads on another level”

I don’t know why I was so nervous meeting Tyler’s family. Don cooked us a meal in the evening which was so good! We drank, played a few card games before we all went to bed.

27th July 2011

I wake up the the smell of food cooking. Slowly I get out of bed and head to the kitchen where Tyler is stood at the stove shirtless, because I’m wearing it

“Morning” I sleepily say

“Good morning. Happy birthday baby”

“Thank you” I smile sitting down at the island in my kitchen top

“I have the whole day planed” Tyler places a plate of food in front of me

“Ooo have you?”

“I have. First your going to eat your breakfast, we’re going to take a shower…”

“We’re?” I raise my eyebrows

“Yes we are. Then we’re going to have a romantic walk in the park before we head to dinner, then this evening we’re going for a few drinks with your parents and mine”

“Your parents are coming?” I ask gobsmacked

“They were the ones to ask. Plus they wanted to meet your parents”

“Holy shit this is like serious” I now realise. Mine and Tyler’s relationship is getting to the serious stage, panic sets in, are we moving to fast?

“Hey” I look at Tyler who takes my face in his hands “calm down. I know your overthinking right now”

“Sorry”

When our parents meet they thankfully both get on really well. Everything just feels so real. Like obviously our relationship is real, but now it’s almost solidified. Everyone knows, except our fans, guess we will have to do that soon, but for now we are happy just being in our own little bubble and something about hiding this from the public is kinda exciting.

[indecentpause]

Find the Word

tagged by @oh-no-another-idea to find yellow, butter, soft, milk, and cream! thank!

cw: implied domestic abuse

from The Most Beautiful Puzzle:

yellow:

“Do you need help cleaning up?” you ask. [Josselin] peers around your shoulder at the little kitchenette. You turn around. It looks like Familiar only pulled that one paper towel out. “I’m fine,” he says. He leads you to the door, watching your bad ankle. “Who did that to you?” he suddenly asks. Your stomach drops to your feet, but hopefully you school your expression quick enough he doesn’t notice. “Nobody,” you say, as you reach out for the doorknob. “The same nobody who put that bruise on your wrist?” he pushes. You swallow and glance down at the healing yellow bruise on your pulse point. “Nobody,” you repeat, a little firmer. Josselin opens his mouth to push even further, but you interrupt. “Thanks for having me over so quickly,” you say. “I’ll give you a call tomorrow around 10:00 to let you know if I need help moving stuff.” “I--” he begins again. You gently shut the door behind you and struggle your way back down the stairs. To Josselin’s credit, he doesn’t follow you.

butter:

“Are you going in today?” Josselin finally asks. The Inspector lets out a long, heavy breath. The whole weight of his body is in his exhale. You slide your plate, still with one piece of buttered bread, in front of him. When he looks up at you, it’s like he feels so heavy he has to fight to move. You know that feeling far too well to be okay with seeing someone else you care about feeling that way. “My best friend’s parents always say the best thing you can do when you’re struggling is have a small meal,” you offer meekly. “The world sucks, but it’s a little less sucky on a full stomach.” The coffee pot burbles to life behind you as the water reaches the appropriate heat. After another long, slow, measured sigh, the Inspector looks up at you with a soft smile. “Thank you,” he says.

soft:

Josselin moves his hand from Familiar’s scruff to your knee. “I’m sorry,” he says gently. “I had a lot of bad run-ins with cops too, after my mom died. Not trouble with the law or anything, but just. Normal autistic kid in the foster system problems. Dona was the only one who ever treated me like I wasn’t just a troublemaker. He recognized I was just a fucked up kid who was trying my best in a system designed to fail.” You finally meet his eyes and say, “Thank you.” He smiles softly.

milk:

You apply at every private ambulance company but your own, for call taker, for porter, for anything that doesn’t put you on the street. No more paramedicine without proper PPE. Never again. On day four of your self-imposed quarantine, Josselin knocks on your bedroom door, and calls from the other side, “Meara, I know closed doors mean ‘go away,’ but this is really important?” You stand from the stack of milk crates that currently serves as your chair and let him in. He doesn’t step past the door sill. His face is creased up with worry and his phone is in his hand. “Josselin?” You swallow hard and nervousness jabs at your stomach. “Dona served the papers. That was just him on the phone. Your ex didn’t take it well.”

cream:

“They probably put [the cigarette] out at shoulder level. That seems to be the most common. So, if they were standing here…” He takes a step back and glances between the mark and his feet again. “I’d say they’re probably 5’9”, 5’10”? Not quite six foot.” “So. Average height for a man?” you say. “Yeah,” Josselin says, a little disappointed. “Not as helpful as I’d hoped. But at least we know we’re not looking for someone super tall or short, and we have at least one name to keep looking into.” He huffs a little breath out and it jostles the hair that’s fallen into his face with his excited movements. “I guess it’s a start.” The two of you make your way to the coffee shop down the street, pulling on your masks as you go. Plain surgical blue and white. It’s cool inside, not bright but not dim, either, just the right light level to hang around and read a book. It’s separated into two spaces by the bar where they keep the cream and sugar, just a little space big enough for one person to go through at a time. It looks wide and open and a little brighter on the other side.

tagging @kaiusvnoir @drippingmoon @nonsenseramble @avidink @nintendo-and-writeblr to find the words desert, stream, tree, snow, and rain, and share the excerpts! I did tag some new people based on someone else's 'like this for tag games' post so if you don't want me to tag you again, please just ask!

[beepborpdoodledorp]

I must have a social death wish to bring up CRK shipping discourse twice within less than a week but I just need to vent to the void or else I feel like I'm going to spontaneously combust. Like honestly I won’t blame you at all for staying as far away from this as possible I just need to get this out of my system 

CRK shipping just…confuses me. More so than other fandoms I've been in, because if it's a fandom then there's going to be shipping and if there's shipping things are going to get weird, but CRK is just, like. A vortex of things that baffle me. I brought up this point a pretty long time ago, but why do so many of CRK's ships, popular or not, are between people who just…don't like each other? At all? Crack ships are one thing, which - again - I can absolutely get behind. Sometimes you just want two people to kiss for shits and giggles and I have zero issue with that - Affocream's a star example for the CRK community. I mean, I ship Black Raisin and Caramel Arrow - two characters who have never had a single canon interaction - just because they're two of my favorites and I think it would be cute and funny if two emos with big-ass ponytails smooched each other. 

But why are there people who see two characters who either don't like or outright despise each other and think, in-canon, unironically, that they'd make a good couple? ChiliRye, for example. They're friends for a bit, sure, but under false pretenses, and once those false pretenses are cleared up they go right back to being enemies and there hasn't been any development between the two of them since. RedPastry I have sort of a love-hate relationship with, mainly because I think their dynamic of each being raised under abusive parental figures and being reflections of each other but not realizing it to be super interesting, but they still hate each others' guts and don’t have any development beyond that. I think RedPastry works more as a platonic enemies-to-extremely-begrudging-fondness dynamic more than anything. Hell, until Odyssey, I didn't even like Espresseleine because up until that point Espresso had done nothing but treat Madeleine horribly and make it clear he couldn't stand him, and not even in a tsundere way. Odyssey gave them actual development in their relationship and managed to convince me they wouldn't completely destroy each other's mental health if they ever tried to be a couple. I quite like their dynamic now, but if Odyssey had never released I would've never had that change in opinion. Like, say what you want about PureCacao, especially after PureLily was confirmed as canon, but at least it's made clear the two of them like each other.

And I need to vent about Wildclotted/Clottedchip. Again. The latter more specifically. I do have to admit that me targeting these two rather niche pairings specifically does have to do with my unhealthy Wildchip and Clottcier patriotism, but even before I got invested in both the characters and the pairings shipping Clotted Cream with Wildberry/Crunchy Chip just confused the hell out of me. Wildberry's either neutral to negative towards Clotted Cream throughout the entirety of Odyssey, and Crunchy Chip makes it clear very outwardly that he hates Clotted Cream's guts and threatened him with violence multiple times. Even if you see Wildberry and Crunchy Chip's relationship as strictly platonic, how, by those standards, could you possibly see their interactions with Clotted Cream as romantic? I love the Odyssey quartet with all my heart, but they're not even friends. There's never a point where Wildberry/Crunchy Chip ever made amends with Clotted Cream, or even hint at ever growing a better relationship with him. Wildberry and Crunchy Chip are friends, and Clotted Cream and Financier are friends (at some point…), and Wildberry and Crunchy Chip seem pretty neutral towards Financier, but put all four of them in a room together and there will probably be a lot of screaming and insults. That's why I find them as a group so interesting! Begrudging coworkers! Forced proximity! It's entertaining! It's interesting! It shows sides of each of the characters that you wouldn't see otherwise! In my opinion, eliminating any tension is just watering down the quartet's relationship and making it…boring. And very, very confusing.

Also, Affocara. Need I say anything else. I don't know how it got so popular. I don't know how people saw this man trying to repeatedly sabotage and eventually indirectly end a woman's life and thought 'they'd make a good couple'. I. Just. How.

I get shippers are gonna ship and all. I've been in the fandom scene since I was, unfortunately, barely a preteen and I've seen...things. But the CRK fandom's approach to shipping is just the most baffling I've seen out of any fandom I've been in and I just get more and more confused each day. Honestly, maybe it was a subconscious decision but it could be why I've just latched onto like three or four ships and just ignored the rest of the community. Seriously, I can count the amount of CRK ships I'm invested in on one hand, and I'm just starting to realize why that might be the case. Sure, the practice might be harmless, and obviously all the ships I've criticized can't even come close to how problematic just the inherent concept of proshipping is, but some of them just make me feel icky regardless.

[clockworksteel]

Since Hades II seems to be centered around a Titan, I thought I'd search the first game's lua scripts for the word "Titan" to see what we know about them. I didn’t find anything super interesting and I imagine most of this has already come up in groups speculating about Hades II, but it was a nice review of the lore for me.

These are from NPCData.lua

AchillesMiscMeeting04 Achilles: "The sealed weapons by your chambers; your father won't observe their absence, I don't think. They remind him of a time he stood together with his brothers and sisters. He wants nothing more to do with any of that.  I think it's fitting you've inherited their power." Zagreus: "A power that once sealed away the Titans... maybe it's a power that can break me out of here. Thank you for helping me, Achilles."

The Titans here are referred to as "sealed away". Some other conversations act like they're actually dead.

AchillesAboutSuperLockKeys01 Zagreus: "Achilles, sir? I got a relic of some sort out there... a globule of ancient blood, which formed after I fought with Megaera. Is this really the Titans' blood I found?" Achilles: "As far as I know, yes, lad. That it is. Though whose, exactly, I'm not so sure. You'd best hang onto it, and keep it safe. Your weapons... they shall thirst for it and drink it up. Not yet, perhaps, but soon."

About Titan Blood and the Infernal Arms.

DusaWithMegaera04 Meg: "...We got off on the wrong foot from the start. Just what happens when you're born of Titan blood, I guess. It's for the best we haven't crossed paths much since."

I'm not sure when she says "born of Titan blood" if she means the furies literally just crawled out of a pool of blood or if she's referring metaphorically to lineage. Looking over Wikipedia, though, it seems one possible origin myth (of course there are multiple) is the literal interpretation of that statement, though.

From EnemyData.lua

LordHadesMiscEncounter04 Hades: "My brothers and my sisters and myself. We, too, wanted to slay our parents. The Titans. Bastards. And worse." Zagreus: "And you succeeded. Chopped up some of them into many tiny bits, and sprinkled them throughout the pits of Tartarus so that they can't regenerate! Or so I hear. Inspiring, really!" Hades: "We had no recourse at the time, save to collaborate. Developed a specific plan, and saw it through. And, the Titans...? You think me cruel, yet know nothing of cruelty. But, here, you want something to hate, then have it!"

The current location and state of the Titans as of the first game. I imagine if the pieces were brought together they could regenerate.

From LootData.lua

DemeterAboutFather01 Demeter: "We all are willful children, are we not? I'm daughter to Hyperion, you know; a Titan so obscure and hated that Lord Zeus, he started calling me his birth-sister, so much did he dislike this bit of truth! And to get a rise out of me, too."

Since Demeter was one of the six that stood against the Titans I can't imagine she was interested in helping them, but this was still interesting.

From the Codex

I didn't search it in its entirety because I didn't find a convenient text file for that, but I checked all the infernal arms to verify who used which against the Titans. I mostly wasn’t sure if Eris or Hestia used the gun.

Stygius the Blade of the Underworld: "Back when the six elder gods sealed the Titans in the deepest recesses of Tartarus, that blade evidently played no small role in their success. It must have been Lord Poseidon who brandished that blade before he opted for that trident he so likes."

Varatha the Eternal Spear: "It must have been a sight when Lord Hades wielded Varatha the Eternal Spear versus the Titans, driving back those fiends into the depths, together with the help of his Olympian brothers and sisters."

Coronacht the Heart-Seeking Bow: "...the finest bow ever conceived, and wielded once by none other than Mistress Hera, who stood side by side with Zeus, on better terms back then, as they drove back the Titans under a storm of arrows and thunder."

Aegis the Shield of Chaos: "...the Lord of Thunder defended his brothers and sisters using that very shield when, together, they conspired to drive the Titans back into the lowest reaches of the Underworld. The shield was shattered, yet a burning effigy remains, its power still intact. A power sealed within the visage of a monstrous entity even the titans feared."

Twin Fists of Malphon: "It is said even the Olympians hesitated to embrace the Twin Fists, until Lady Demeter, her hands accustomed to tilling the land, stepped forward and accepted the gift. The Titans recoiled from Malphon's relentless attacks, overwhelmed by its fury, unable to defend against it as one might a spear or blade. The Titan Hyperion suffered the worst of it, his undying body pulverized to such an extent that even his legacy was destroyed."

Adamant Rail: "Least known among the gods who stood together to depose the Titans is the Lady Hestia, reclusive goddess of the hearth, and one-time wielder of Exagryph, the Rail of Adamant" and also "For now, its secrets remain trapped within the darkest regions of the Underworld, along with the remains of the Titans defeated by it. Someday, however, I imagine it shall break free from this place; for any weapon once possessed by Eris, Lady Strife herself, becomes possessed of an eternal hunger to destroy."

Other mentions I skipped over earlier

For completeness, the word "Titan" also came up in these conversations but there was little to learn about them that wasn't elsewhere: NPCData.lua

HadesShrineProgress02 (Zagreus says he used "your discarded Titan-slaying weapons", among other things, to overcome the Pact of Punishment.)

AchillesAboutLuciferAspect01 (Achilles speculates that maybe Lucifer's rebellion was before the Olympains rose up against the Titans, but he doesn't know.)

MegaeraAboutSisters01 (Another confirmation that the Titans were cut up and scattered in Tartarus)

OrpheusTallTale04 (Zagreus is outright lying about stuff.)

PersephoneMeeting06 (She compares a possible war with the Olympians to the war against the Titans. We already knew the Gods slew the Titans.)

PersephoneAboutHades01 (In a conversation about whether he hates Hades, Zagreus mentions hearing about the Olympians "rending their immortal Titan parents to bits" and that he doesn't feel that way. We already knew the Titans were in pieces.)

EnemyData.lua

SkellyAboutSuperLockKeys01 (Just about earning Titan Blood. No new lore.)

SkellyAboutSuperLockKeys02 (Just a hint about how Titan Blood is used. No new lore.)

SkellyAboutWeaponEnchantments01 (Skelly acknowledges Aspects have unlocked. No new lore. Although Zagreus saying "Calm down, Skelly. I'm sure whatever it is is perfectly normal for a legendary semi-sentient Titan-slaying weapon from the dawn of time." is kinda funny.)

LordHadesHasGuanYuAspect01 (Hades comments on Varatha having changed form, which Zagreus says is from Titan Blood. Also Hades' current spear is called Gigaros, which he says is "the mightier weapon, with none of the treacherous past".)

LordHadesExtremeMeasures02 "You wish to test yourself against the full extent of my wrath, then very well. You have earned that right. Besides yourself, only the Titans have."

LordHadesExtremeMeasures03  "You vanquished me... even when I threw everything I had at you, and more. I fought you as I fought the Titans themselves, and still I failed."

LordHadesHasWeaponUpgrade01 (Another mention of the Titans being chopped up with the Infernal Arms. Hades muses "Perhaps the Fates decided that its wielders ought to all eventually wind up on its receiving end. Come, then! Let us see what the great Achilles has taught you.")

LootData.lua

ZeusBackstory03 "My brothers Hades and Poseidon once fought bravely by my side, you know that, don't you, Nephew? We prevailed against the Titans and established law upon the earth. Your father then descended to the land of death, and we've not seen much of each other since."

ZeusHasWeapon01 "You fight your father's legions with Varatha, the Eternal Spear? The irony must not escape him, for he long ago stood by my side against the Titans, with that thing in hand!"

AresAboutWar03 "Do you ever think to yourself that you were born a bit too late, my kin? For my part, I wish that I could have been there myself when my father and the others waged ferocious war against the Titans. Ah, it must have been a sight!"

AresHasWeapon02 "Ah, you wield Coronacht, the Heart-Seeker. It pierced three Titans in one shot back in the war amongst our kind. Please do take care of it!"

DemeterPostGiftPickup02 "My, but you're as determined as my foster-brothers were, when my sisters and I stood with them 'gainst the Titans way back when."

DemeterAboutFather02 "As seasons give to one another, so do generations, I suppose. Hyperion, my father? He'd not a one redeeming quality. My sisters and my foster-brothers and myself; this world owes us a debt for ridding it of him and his kind."

ChaosAboutHades01 "Your father and his brothers, when they sealed the Titans in the darkest reaches of this world, that was the last they saw of me, as well. You are dissimilar from them, and I feel safe communicating thus with you."

ZeusWithDemeter01 (Zeus mentions Demeter isn't actually his sister. She's not impressed. Her reaction includes "Almost as though you felt compelled to speak the truth only whilst I'm directly within earshot.")

[delicatenightfury]

No Harm List

2021 Month of Writing: Day 13

Prompt (from writing.prompt.s):

Word Count: 2,211

Author's Note: please don't steal my work! you can choose to respond to the prompt as well, but don't steal my work

I sighed as I locked my door for the night, so glad to finally be home. It had been a long day at work and I had been required to stay a few extra hours to wrap up some unfinished business. To say I had been annoyed was an understatement. I had been busting my tail off at work all week, then my boss decided to throw more at me. 

Shrugging my coat off, I threw my purse on the counter and went to the kitchen to make dinner. I wasn’t feeling too ambitious to make something super involved, but I knew that I wanted something hot. I peeked through my fridge and pantry, trying to think up an idea for food.

Suddenly, I heard raised voices coming from outside. This wasn’t something that was out of the ordinary. I typically did my best to ignore anything that happened outside of my apartment - it wasn’t safe. The city was extremely dangerous, and it wasn’t just a night time thing. Crime was a constant problem and the cops had trouble keeping up. Think Gotham City from anything Batman, but worse.

That is, until I heard a knock. It sounded like it was a few doors down and it was frantic. A minute later, the sound came again, but to a different door. The voices from outside were getting louder too. My eyes darted from the window to the door, wondering and hoping that the two weren’t related. 

Slowly, I made my way to the door to take a look through the peephole. I couldn’t see much, but I could definitely still hear the knocking, which was still frantic and coming closer. A moment later, I saw a small figure appear. The knocking suddenly sounded against my door. With a cautious hand, I unlocked and opened the door. Looking down, I found a little boy, no more than eight, standing on my doorstep.

“Hello?” I said, glancing down the hall. Where were this kid’s parents?

“I need help,” he said, his voice laced with worry. He looked over his shoulder, jumping at a noise that came from down the hall. “Please. They’re after me.”

I pulled open the door wider and the kid practically darted inside, running to the far end of the living room. I glanced back into the hallway before shutting and locking the door again, putting the extra deadbolts in place. With a deep sigh, I turned toward the child that now stood in my living room. I smiled a little and slowly walked over to him, kneeling down a few feet away.

“You’re okay,” I said. “No one’s going to get you in here.” The two of us jumped when we heard angry voices outside from the street. I looked back at the kid. “Were those men chasing you?”

He nodded. I stood to my feet and went to the window. With a gentle hand, I pulled back the curtain to try and catch a glimpse of who was down there. A group of large men were angrily talking to one another. I had to suppress a shiver when I saw that at least two of them were armed. After another few moments, I noticed that one of them was holding a child’s coat in their hands. 

I looked back at the boy. He wore a sweater but had no coat. No good parent would let their child out in this cold without a coat on. I made sure to lock the window firmly and pulled the curtains shut.

“Did they take your coat?” I asked.

“They tried to take me too, but it was too big and I slipped out,” he replied. His voice was shaking. I couldn’t tell if it was from the cold or from fear.

With a small smile, I walked back over to him and knelt down again.

“What’s your name?”

He hesitated. I couldn’t help but applaud him for that. I was a stranger to him and he was being cautious. At least his parents taught him that. 

“Andrew.”

“Andrew, my name is Cassidy, and I’m not going to let anything happen to you, okay? You are going to be just fine here until we figure out what to do. Here.” I reached over and grabbed a blanket from the couch, wrapping it around his shoulders. “Let’s get you warmed up. Are you hungry?”

He nodded slowly. 

“Let’s go make some food, yeah? Maybe some pizza?”

A smile finally worked its way onto his face, which made me smile too. Standing up, I offered my hand to him. He slowly took it and let me lead him to the kitchen. I sat him down on one of the bar stools and began to move through the kitchen. I tried to make whatever kind of conversation I could with him, trying to distract and calm him down from the endeavor he had just gone through. 

Once the pizza was in the oven, I turned to look back at Andrew, leaning on the small kitchen island.

“Where are your parents, Andrew?” I asked, trying to do this gently. With this town, who knows what happened to his family.

“My dad’s at work,” he said, playing with the edge of the blanket. “He works in the city. I was going to the museum with my sitter when those men showed up. They grabbed me and Jen tried to stop them, but-”

“Hey, it’s okay.” I quickly stopped him from continuing, noticing the tears forming in his eyes. “It’s going to be okay.”

I needed to figure out what to do. He had more than likely seen his sitter get shot, which would be traumatizing for anyone, regardless of age. I needed to distract him from that until we knew he was safe. I would need to try and contact his father, but with those men still outside, it was dangerous. We needed some way to kill some time…

“You said you were going to the museum?” He nodded. “Do you like the museum?”

“Yeah! I get to go a few times a month.”

“Really? Do you have a favorite thing there?”

“The dinosaurs! They’re so cool!”

I smiled.

“Well, how about this? After we’re done with dinner, we can sit down on the couch and watch a movie? And I know the perfect one.”

“Really?”

“Really. Have you ever seen Night at the Museum?”

“I love that movie!”

By the time the movie was over, it was late. The sun had set just after Andrew showed up. I was starting to get tired, but Andrew was still wide awake. I blame it on the ice cream I gave him a while ago. Oops. At least I had gotten him to brush his teeth. I wish I had a set of clothes that would fit him, but I almost never had guests as young as him. 

As he cleaned up, I went back to the window. The sidewalk was lit by street lamps, revealing an empty road. I saw none of the men from earlier, nor their cars. Everything appeared to have returned to normal. I sighed in relief and shut the curtain again, thankful that Andrew was now safe.

He came running back into the room, a smile on his face as he jumped back onto the couch. He had convinced me to watch the second Night at the Museum with him, so I joined him again on the couch. He sat close to my side, arranging the blanket so it draped over our laps. Before the movie started, I looked down at him.

“Hey, Andrew?”

He looked up at me.

“Yeah?”

“Do you know your dad’s phone number? Maybe we can call him.” I prayed that his dad had made him memorize his number.

“Yeah.” Oh thank goodness.

“Let’s give him a call, yeah? Then he can know you’re safe and come to pick you up.”

“But I want to keep watching the movie!”

“And we can, buddy, but your dad has to be worried sick over you. I checked outside and everything is back to normal. Your dad can come to get you and take you home.”

Andrew slowly nodded. I grabbed my phone and handed it to him, pausing the movie so he didn’t miss anything. He typed in the number and called it. We sat in silence for only a few moments before I heard a voice on the other end.

“Hello?”

“Hi, dad. It’s me.”

“Andrew? Where are you?”

“I’m okay. I’m with Cassidy. She’s been taking care of me.”

“Let me speak to her.”

Andrew held out the phone.

“He wants to talk to you,” he said, with a smile.

I smiled back and put the phone on speaker so we could both talk to Andrew’s father.

“Hello, this is Cassidy,” I said.

“Where is my son?”

“He’s with me, sir. There was an incident at the museum this afternoon and Andrew found his way to my apartment, looking for help.”

“We’ve had a lot of fun, dad!” Andrew spoke up. “We had pizza and ice cream, and we are watching Night at the Museum!”

His father sighed.

“Ma’am, what’s your address?” I rattled off the address. “I’ll be there in half an hour. Don’t open the door for anyone else except for Kieran.”

“We’ll see you then, sir.”

“Bye, dad!”

“I’ll see you soon, Andrew.”

The call disconnected. I looked down at the boy next to me.

“Why don’t you start the movie, Andrew?” I suggested. “I’m going to start cleaning up.”

“No! Please stay.”

Cue the puppy dog eyes. Gosh darn it.

“All right.”

A sudden knocking startled me awake. I glanced down at Andrew, smiling when I noticed that he was out cold. Another knock got my attention. I carefully got up from the couch, careful not to wake the kid, and went to the door. Remembering what Andrew’s father said, I glanced through the peephole. A man in a nice, dark coat stood on the other side, another man behind him.

“Cassidy?” the man in front said. “I’m Kieran, Andrew’s father.”

I quickly unlocked the door and opened it.

“I’m glad you were able to make it, sir. He’s in here.”

I opened the door further, allowing Kieran to come in. I waited for the other man, but he turned his back to the door, almost like he was standing guard. With a small shrug, I turned back to Andrew and his father. Kieran was kneeling next to the couch. 

“Andrew?” he said. “Hey, it’s time to get up.”

“Dad?” the boy mumbled in his sleep.

“Yeah, buddy, it’s me. We’ve got to go home now.”

“Don’ wanna… wanna stay… with Cass…idy.”

I couldn’t help my smile at the boy’s words.

“Andrew, you’ve got to go home,” I said softly over the back of the couch. “Your dad’s going to take you home, get you to sleep in your own bed.”

“But I wanna stay…”

“I know, but it’s time for bed.”

Andrew sighed deeply in his sleep.

“Okay…”

I stepped back as Kieran gently lifted his son up, holding him closely in his arms. The man turned to look at me.

“Thank you for watching him,” he said.

“Of course. He was great. Smart enough to look for help, but also not share too much about himself around strangers.”

“Did he say anything about what happened?”

I sighed.

“He said Jen was going to take him to the museum when they were jumped. Some guys grabbed him. I think he might have seen them kill Jen, but I tried to help him forget. No kid needs that. At some point, he managed to slip out of his jacket and ran into my building. I heard him knocking on doors and let him in.”

Kieran seemed to hold him a little tighter as he sighed deeply.

“Thank you. I honestly don’t know how to repay you.”

“Don’t worry about it. Please. I know how dangerous these streets can be. I wasn’t about to leave him out there.”

Kieran smiled slightly and headed for the door. With one last nod, he slowly shut the door behind him.

Kieran was for once glad to be sitting in the backseat of his car. He held his son close to him as they drove home. He had received word hours ago about Jen’s death - she had been found, shot, near the city museum. Andrew had disappeared. Kieran thought he had lost his son. He had almost expected to see a ransom notice on his doorstep or on the news. What he hadn’t expected was to receive a call from his son and a random woman.

A random woman… she had taken his son in, no questions asked, and kept him safe until Kieran arrived. She fed him, entertained him, helped him forget what he had seen. There was truly nothing he could do to repay her. Except perhaps…

“Nick,” he said to the man in the passenger’s seat.

“Yes sir?”

“Look into this Cassidy woman. I want to know who she is, where she works, the places she frequents. She saved my son, and is to be put on the No-Harm list. Nothing in this city hurts her.”

“Understood, sir.”

[storiesofsvu]

Happy thursday.

fair warning, if you care about svu spoilers at all, make sure you're staying FAR away from social media until you've watched it.

WOOF

spoilers under the cut for all three l&o's and not really for CME, but just some minor thoughts

Thursday Thursday… here we go!

As usual Ayanna looking like a fucking bomb snack in her suits

Ian doyle get your crusty ass face off my fucking tv. Like, im literally writing Emily fic as I’m watching organized crime, this is NOT THE TIME.

Okay, not surprised the snitch is already dead.

Ah… and we’re back to the sleazy casino manchild. Amazing.

The more we find out about jet, the more I love her.

Wait… bobby’s MARRIED??!? Did we know this already and I just forgot or is this new information? Or is the new info just that he’s married to a mob boss’s niece?

Okay also…the mob boss woman was in the once upon a time in el barrio svu ep.. that’s where I know her from…

LOL to Jamie little white kid freaking over the food and bigger LOL to them having a giant pile of containers to take with him…

Murphy’s accent keeps slipping in and out which is weird cause the actor is irish… then again, if he’s been living in the us for that long it probably does that anyways

The girl playing Rika has defs been on svu before… but im not complaining… she’s hot.

Yeah she was in s19.

Bobby’s such a lil cutie.

“I deserve a lot more than that. But you’re going to spend it on me. Dinner, maybe some jewels…”  “buy you a house if it means I get to come home to you.”  ….things to file away for future fic inspo….

Jet… omg.. I love you.

Okay… but like… jet was being flirted with by a KNOWN gangster ,one who clearly wanted more time with her, whether that is pure intention or not (cause out on the street he did seem a bit genuine, esp once murphy showed up) and like, yes I get that she’s a cop, but WHY would she be left to walk to her car alone late at night. Like, im not talking police escort, but at the very least a “security” from the club or a bartender or anything like… there are some bars that don’t let their service staff walk to their cars alone….

Okay, im actually invested in this arc…  weird.

Now we’re onto mothership. Will I pay attention or will I focus on the prentiss smut I’m working on? Only time will tell!!

Shouldn’t this be a special victims case?

Cops walking up to a suspect muttering “don’t run, don’t run, don’t run.” Will always be hilarious to me.

“these Zumba classes are not working…”  “…I did all the running.” LOOOL that is some quality partner banter. Love it.

I literally just said “where tf are this kid’s parents.”  Like… he’s under 18..

God this is one of those cases that just has curveball after curveball…

Wait… barba upped a case to reckless endangerment and rita’s response was “really, now we’re talking felonies?!” but now RE means no jail time?? Brb while I go google some shit. Okay… It looks like its first degree vs second degree. I’ll accept that.

Samantha maroun and rita Calhoun go on shopping sprees together and I will not accept notes on this. They’re both always so colourful.

I feel like this case would be a super hard one to take to trial… like that jury is gonna be deadlocked no matter what, it would so likely be a mistrial.

Damn these lawyers are fucking smart and know their shit. Good job.

Holy FUCK another curveball. Damn. This is old school writing. Bless.

 Okay, svu time. I don’t know if I’m prepared. (and not because I ship it…)

Still cant get over that Oscar papa is a fucking TWINK

Awwwee sonny… sweet sonshine. I fucking miss you. Wish you were around more often.

Wow… timing.. Seriously? We couldn’t even get sonny in the room?? He had to zoom in? wtf?!

This aint the first time a perp has threatened her son.. like.. she aint fucking around anymore

Also… the fact that they were *actually* going for noah is terrifying and makes it like, so much more worse?!

Fuck.. Velasco… ive missed you…

A phoebe mention!! Can we see her again pls?

Still haven’t decided if I like Bruno or not. Wouldn’t be mad if he joined the team cause lort knows they need a bigger squad. Also really liked that other Bronx detective

Okay.. note on the commercial break… they’re making ANOTHER magic mike??? Is channing tatum that desperate for money??

LOL the “let me call you amanda from now on” line followed by “alright well tell carisi I’ll be home late.” Omg. Fin. Best one liners.

“all you white boys look alike to me” LOL.

Bruno my man, why TF you carrying around that much cash?!?

Yes… THIS ONE! The black girl detective from the bronx. I want more of her.

HANDS! Joe.. jfc calm yourself

Churlish! Okay… imma try to remember that name

….im assuming we’re not getting any muncy in this ep

YEESSS VELASCO playing dirty fake UC (well… kinda…) this should not be as hot as it is…

OH MY GOD ARE WE ACTUALLY IN COURT?! IT’S A FUCKING MIRACLE.

Man… testifying/prosecuting/being on the jury in a gang related case like this, like, my anxiety would be through the fucking roof for the rest of my life…

Im over here still trying to figure out just how dirty joe was playing? Like, if he was gonna go that bad why do it in front of a cop he doesn’t know that well. Like yeah maybe he has a hook with mcgrath but im just wary of shit rn. He’s not that ballsy….

Okay, this isn’t the first time that liv has made threats like this, and it wont be the last.

Yeah.. still so confused about joe… like he *knows* what he’s doing…. Right? Like at first I lowkey thought it was the two of them playing good cop bad cop like liv & Elliot used to back in the day.

“that an invitation?” DUARTE WOW WAY TO BE FUCKING BOLD (would probs prefer that to eo tbh)

Theyre flirting your honour

WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK??!!! ARE YOU FUCKING WITH ME?!!? I legit wish you could see my face rn. WOW SVU WAY TO FUCKING GO DARK THERE IS ONLY 10 MINS LEFT OF THIS SHIT AND THAT INCLUDES COMMERCIALS WOOOWW

 Are you fucking with me???

Wow… okay.. noted… pray for anyone named Mike on SVU

(but is he actually dead..  or is this gonna be a witsec thing?)

I WAS JUST STARTING TO LIKE HIM DAMMIT

Oscar’s got mommy issues… that checks

Okay well they prosecuted him for murder so… duarte’s dead… wow..

Her new apartment is gorgeous

Did we really have to go all dutch tilt for this scene?

LOOOOOLLL omg that promo had y’all fucking freaking your shit out and it turned into nothing. God bless. So proud of liv for saying no, that she can’t. like, not only did unstabler bring it up at a time that she was probably hella vulnerable, feeling the relief that she/noah were finally safe, like that’s gonna have her releasing emotions she didn’t even realize she was feeling. And then on top of that, someone, a friend.. a flirtatious friend maybe? Coworker? The SECOND person she’d worked closely with named mike be murdered a moment after she left their side, holds herself responsible. Like that is NOT the time to try to fucking kiss her my man. That is the time to wrap her in a hug, tell her that things will eventually be okay and let her cry into your shoulder, a light kiss on the head at most. Jfc. Read the room.

circling back to duarte.. they SERIOUSLY couldn't bother paying molly for like a half day of work to be in the waiting room? he was her captain.. she would be there...

ANYWAYS.

Uh,… CME summary?

Episode was meh. Like literally meh. I have basically zero good or bad points about it. AJ’s kids are so grown up now. JJ looks hot af as usual, and gay af, like the reboot really said “okay, jj is also gonna be secretly gay, don’t tell will”. Sick of the will they wont they with will being sick/dying, lets not tease this shit anymore. Also sick of the wardrobe dept giving Prentiss the exact same shirt in like 4 diff colours to wear and that’s it. Also please let Emily say fuck again. Also JJ. And Tara. Let the women swear pls. it’s not fair Rossi got the first like.. three… let’s hope next week is better!

[your-mom-friend]

Im just going to talk into the void here and hope it responds

i had fun today at the founders day festival, but it’s also brought up a fuck ton more insecurities

Okay so, one pf my friends came out as bisexual, which is great!! Good for her. I told her I was bi-ace mostly because it was easier than explaining Saph-ace. She made some sexual jokes but that was fine and stuff. Then she started talking about her own experiences and desires and it was just sort of uncomfortable for me? I probably should’ve said something. She also smokes and stuff.

The other friend I went with, he seemed pretty plain? Innocent? That’s not the right word for it but I don’t know how to translate “Shareef” properly. Essentially he seemed like the kind of person who doesn’t typically get involved in stuff like that but apparently he’s had his fair share of experiences.

i don’t know I’m just really insecure and nervous now? Almost everyone in my friend group is older than me. And they’ve all been in This area a lot longer than me, like three years at least. I literally moved here two weeks ago. But I’m still expected to know things because I’m technically from here and I live here with my aunt.

my parents set up a thumb rule of never going places off campus without my family. Aka not to go to hangout places with my friends and invite my family along at the very least. And while of course I trust these people, they feel like good people who have good intentions, they just have this ease and familiarity with the area that I just…don’t. To them a little detour is just 5 minutes out of their way but to me it’s just filling me with anxiety as I go into over load about what could happen even though nothing probably will. But they’ve suggested going to a nearby community centre and it always feels like I’m ruining their fun by saying no. Luckily it hasn’t really become a problem yet because our lunch break doesn’t allow enough time to go there eat and come back.

also just. What if I’m too boring? I don’t fuck around with smoking or drinking or anything and I don’t want to be that kid with the reputation of being “innocent”. Plus everyone has all these crazy stories of years past where they rebelled or whatever while the most rebellious thing I’ve ever done was go to the mall with my sister without telling my dad, and it was to buy him a birthday present.

And everyone so far is super nice and respectful! I shouldn’t feel this way! They’re all good and nice people with good intentions!! But something in my garbage nonsense brain makes me wonder if my Utter Cluelessness and Trusting Nature are about to be taken advantage of by my friends and I hate that feeling and wish I could get rid of it.

And another problem is that there’s a plan for our class to collectively go buy the stationary required for our semester but it’s far away and as mentioned I can’t and also don’t want to be going off campus without my family just yet and I don’t know how to excuse myself from it