ash-newman - Tumblr blog

[ash-newman]

who? @tessaxcolette where? the creamery when? early august

Ash wasn't sure why seeing Tessa at Universal Rocks had been so surprising. It wasn't like it was strange to see a Browning in town; if you threw a rock at a popular town event, it was likely you'd hit either a Browning or a Newman. Maybe what had truly surprised her was the baby attached to Tessa. While babies had always been on Ash's to-do list, it simply never worked out.

Tessa was the first one to arrive at the Creamery, as Ash was running a few minutes late from work. She had sent a quick text to the blonde letting her know and ultimately showed up six minutes after their agreed upon time. "I'm so sorry!" Ash said, skipping right over 'hi'. "I've been interpreting all day an that last appointment ran long."

[ash-newman]

who? @elliot-newman where? newman family farm

Typically, when Ash was upset a visit to her family's farm was all it took to cheer her up. The nostalgia of her childhood was almost as sweet as the berries that grew there. But there were a few times when it simply wasn't enough; when she realized she was not attracted to men, and right after their father passed away were the two most notable exceptions. And now she could add a third. She saw Elliot approach her but did not turn to look at him, her hand tracing the rim of her tea cup while her expression stayed as a blank scowl.

[ash-newman]

Yeah, I know he's been working hard on getting the house ready for you. Leaving school for more school? Yikes. I interpreted elementary school for a couple years right after I got my degree...I really love kids so I thought it would be a great fit, but I couldn't imagine staying in it for any longer than I did. I know Cage has told me, but what was it you're studying now, again?

Thanks. I wish the circumstances were better, but I'm happy to be home. I was going for blood sucking narcissist...she doesn't think she's a vampire, but if she did it at least would have been more entertaining, right? I'm more of a countryside kinda gal myself, but I was looking for a change of pace and it's been really nice living so close to the beach.

The new place is looking great and it's become exactly what I was hoping for, thanks to your brother, so I can't give him too hard of a time. I've never been one to keep still, all of that plus working on top of it, schools out for the year so I'm taking some time to think about if I'm going to take a leave from the school while I focus on school. Still a lot to figure out with that.

I did hear you moved back, congratulations on coming back to Merrock. I am sorry about the divorce though. A vampire? You know this day and age I'm going to need to know do you mean just sucks the life out of you or actually thinks he's a vampire, because you never know. The coast is always a great place to be though, it's so peaceful.

[ash-newman]

"Yeah, here's some life advice...Ask someone who's not thirty-four and twice divorced." Ash chuckled. The idea anyone would come to her for life advice seemed far fetched at best to the brunette. "Kellan Nepofarmbaby Newman. Has a nice ring. So the whole Brooksie nickname just came out of thin air, then?" As he said he'd believe anything she said about witchcraft, she thought for a second. "Well, it's just about the time of year that Litha is celebrated. And the point of Litha is to tell your sister how awesome she is and bring her pastries at work....every day."

"I think you're gonna need to prove your relevance in a different way. Can you like...provide life advice?" he asked in jest. None of his siblings had to prove themselves to him, they were fine the way they were. "That's right, nepo farm baby, that's actually my real middle names." He nodded at her comments about the bells. "I'll take your word for it. Honestly you can make up whatever you like and I'll believe you." He Kellan picked up a book, leafing through it.

[ash-newman]

"A little bit of both. Better than your boss roasting you while I interpret it, right?" Ash shrugged. "Well no, but you should be honored you get such special treatment. The VIP experience." As he looked away from her, she glared at him but signed what the performers were saying until he looked back.

"It could be now, or it could be later, but you know I'm gonna lecture you about that any time I see it happening." Ash argued. As he suggested she was the reason he didn't use interpreters, she laughed and responded. "Bullshit. You didn't use them when we were kids. And I was mean to you back then too, but not professionally."

"I don't know if I should be honored or not that I've made it to a public roasting. And at pride no less." He signed right back, shaking his head some as he kept his eyes firmly on Ash. Though he was still very, very tempted to look away from her. Even for a split second. As she went on, Elliot let out a sound at what she signed next, raising an eyebrow at her as well. "Yeah, well most interpreters also aren't calling people rude or telling them they're the worst brother so-" And with that he promptly turned his full attention away from her, looking at the performer once more, doing his best to keep a grin off his face.

It only lasted a few seconds before his eyes were back on her, and well, Elliot half wished he would have stayed looking away as she addressed the crowd of people. Praying silently to whatever god that there was no one in the audience that understood what she was currently signing. "So now my roasting is going to turn into a lecture about my lack of using an interpreter?" Once more shooting her a look, though he had a feeling she could see the amusement dancing across his features. That Ash knew him well enough. "Maybe this is the exact reason why I never bother to use them." Elliot signed right back at her, his face completely given way to a grin as he moved his hands. "Not like they're actually helping me out, just insulting me the entire time apparently."

[ash-newman]

Ash had always wanted babies. As a kid, the plan was simple. Marry her high school sweetheart, get a college degree and start a career, and start their family before turning twenty five. Most of it had happened, but instead of figuring out baby names they had to instead navigate divorce papers. And then there was another marriage and another divorce, and now she was thirty four and the chances of her dreams coming true were quickly slipping away.

"Uh....my wife and I are getting divorced." Ash bluntly explained, then shrugged. "So I moved back. I'm not going anywhere - at least, not for awhile. As shit as the situation with her is, I have to admit it's nice to be home."

The look on Ash’s face did not go unnoticed by Tessa. It is a look that the young mother has seen many times during the years one of her children was an infant. She tried not to show any sympathy or pity towards the other person. She knew what felt like to long for something that might never come.  “You know now that I think about it, you might have. Pregnancy brain doesn’t just end once you have the baby. It just gets a new name, baby brain. Not that I’ve moved in a while but the last time it was a crazy mess. Never knew if I was coming or going,” she responded with a smile. “With that in mind, how’s everything going?”

[ash-newman]

"Well, you're not into witchy shit." Ash gestured to the metaphysical shop around them. "So I'm gonna need you to go deaf, I'll get a lot more points with you if you need an interpreter." Ash joked. Although, Elliot's deafness was genetic and he even had a deaf daughter, so it wasn't that crazy to think another Newman could lose their hearing later in life. He mentioned working for their dad, and she nodded to show she remembered what he was talking about. Farm work had never been something she liked doing, although she usually didn't mind helping out growing up. "So, nepo farm baby. Got it." She smiled at him. "Mmm, yeah. Like I said, we use bells for similar reasons too. I'm sure the two are closely linked, like some biker witch started the trend or they just come from the same source in European folklore or something."

"Now, now. I don't rank you on relevance, I rank you on usefulness to me and how much you flatter me," he joked. It was easy to get lost in the Newman family shuffle, Kellan realized, and they all had their moments, but for the most part they uplifted each other. "My only experience outside of kicking a ball is also working at the farm, and that was helping dad in the summers and outside of school hours." Kellan didn't remember a time he wasn't working and helping with the farm. "So they fall just short of putting crystals on things, then? I think it's hard to avoid being superstitious."

[ash-newman]

Ash chuckled as Lucie's reply - it's something Ash would probably have said if the situations were reversed. As Lucie put her cup to the side, Ash started to reach for it but stopped herself as Lucie spoke. She nodded, and stared at her sister's belly while she lit the fire but didn't say anything.

Ash admittedly didn't remember much of their dads' lessons on how to survive. They had never interested her, and she just wanted to run off and play through most of them. But some of the basics stuck with her. She knew she should have started the fire instead of making the pregnant girl do it, but she was too numb and raw to think about getting up and doing all of that. Lucie asked what she wanted to burn first, and Ash started digging through the tote bag she had brought. It was better to start with the less sentimental items that she never liked. So she soon procured an ugly tshirt out of the bag. "She bought this for me as a well meant 'just because' gift, but jesus christ she had no taste for fashion." Ash explained before holding the shirt so that it unfolded itself and Lucie could see what she was talking about.

"Oh, I know." She was smiling as she took her solo cup and downed it like it was a shot. Tonight was for wiping the slate clean. Even with the tears, and the regret, and all the other bullshit she was happy to have her sister here. Happier still that she'd pulled herself out of this loop. She placed her cup aside, added, "Don't top me off just yet. My bladder's a fickle thing these days, and then bent to light their fire.

It was a simple thing to arrange. Their father had given her a quick tutorial years ago, a bit of the old Newman survival skills 101, and the lesson had stuck. Once the fire had legs, she dusted the sand off her hands, and tugged herself upright. "What you want to burn first?"

[ash-newman]

"I've known you my whole life, and you've never had a deep thought." Ash joked. Certainly that wasn't true, but it still sounded like a good counter to his comment. "Wait....you're surprising Cordelia with the house? Please tell me you didn't make tons of design decisions without her input?" Ash hoped her brother was smarter than that. As he asked if Merrock was still the same, Ash shrugged and looked around at the familiar view around them. "It's weird. Merrock's still the same, but I'm not."

"I was pensive, deep in thought, contemplating life," he defended himself, laughing, knowing that he was doing nothing of the sort. But it was still fun to tease Ash a little bit, especially if she was trying to scare him for no reason what so ever. "Just about, at this point. The kids and I spent a couple of nights there, we'll probably move in for good when Cordelia gets back from her trip, sort of as a surprise to her," something exciting for all of them to do together. "And how's it been settling back in?" he asked, leaning back in his seat, "Merrock pretty much the way you remember it?"

[ash-newman]

Even as a kid, Ash had always been fascinated with interpreters. It wasn't in a way that othered sign language or put it on a pedestal, but she simple thought it was cool to watch them weave between two languages so seamlessly in such a variety of different settings. Generally, Ash was a pretty hyper child herself, preferring to run through the blueberry fields more than she wanted to sit down and read a book or play video games. But whenever there was an interpreter in front of her, she could just sit and watch for hours.

"Yeah. The Roast of Elliot Newman was definitely on the schedule. Happy Pride!" Ash grinned. Her jaw dropped in joke-shock as he threatened to look away from her. "This is like....reverse audism. Deaf people usually have a little more appreciation for sign language interpreters." At the same time Elliot thought about her finding something on stage to throw at him, she glanced around in search of an item that nobody would miss. Unfortunately, she didn't think there was anything up there that would help her. At the idea of someone else who was deaf watching her, she smiled and signed "Hah." She then turned her attention for a moment to the general audience. "If someone is watching me, come find my deaf brother over here and lecture him on the importance of using his interpreters."

Elliot had been much too wiggly as a kid, instead poking and kicking at his siblings legs than watching an interpreter that might have been hired for whatever reason. Though now, if he was to be open and honest with himself, and others- well, the reasoning would run a lot deeper than it had all those years ago. Not that he was about to dive into any of that currently.

He wrinkled his nose as he watched Ash's hands. "I didn't know this performance was actually my own roasting session. Damn." Elliot signed back, making a face right at her, just like he had done so many times when they had been little. Another huff worked its way out of him. "Keep it up and I'll either close my eyes or just turn away from you." Threatening lightly, knowing if he wasn't looking, well, then she wouldn't be able to get his attention again. Not unless there was something on the stage she could throw at him. "You know, I really hope there's someone else here right now that needs an interpreter and wondering what the hell you're going on about." Elliot added after a second, an amused sound working its way out of him.

[ash-newman]

As Ryder mentioned seeing her before, she was suddenly both curious and worried that she was supposed to recognize him. She wracked her brain for a few seconds - he looked a little familiar, but she couldn't place where they might have run into each other. That was, until he said Amina's name. "Oh! That's where I know you from!" There was practically a lightbulb turning on above her head as her expression lit up. But as she was lumped in with the rest of the siblings, her expression dropped slightly. "I'm the Newman sibling, I'll have you know." Ash joked. Her brothers and sisters were great, too, though. There were worse people to be associated with. She then realized she had yet to tell him her first name. The drinks came out and she took a swig from hers. He asked how her night was going and she honestly had no idea to answer, so she instead finally told him what she should have a couple minutes earlier. "I'm Ash, by the way."

When Ash turned to thank him, Ryder smiled, nodding his head as he held out a hand. "I know you -- or I've seen you, at least, at Amina's shop. I'm Ryder." His friendship with Amina had been one of those surprising ones, given that they had very little in common, but had somehow hit it off, and it did draw him into Universal Rocks every so often, if not to buy, than just to bother his friend on a slow day. "You're one of the Newman siblings, right?" He couldn't say that he knew any of them super well, but enough to know who they were, had talked to them all on separate occasions, which had been nice. "Having a good time here so far tonight?"

[ash-newman]

I'm excited to finally see the new place. And I love that you're driving my brother crazy, he probably deserves it. So...you're going on trips, getting a new house, and taking classes all at the same time. I think you need to take it a little easier.

I'm sure Cage told you I moved back. Going through a divorce right now, turns out I married a fucking vampire so that's been fun to sort through. I'd rather be taking classes and buying a house, but I'm renting a cute little coastal bungalow for now.

Settling into a new place is always a bit exhausting, like we've been settling in for the last few weeks, and the house isn't perfectly finished in the aspect that I definitely keep changing little pieces of decor around and furniture to find the right spot. Which is probably driving people in the house crazy but that's besides the point, I think it's how I'm dealing in between different course work since I decided to take a summer course to help with my realtors license that I'm planning to take. Which means I've been swamped and living under a rock for the most part. Tell me what's been exciting in your life so I can live vicariously through you. @merrock

[ash-newman]

"Better be. I didn't move home just to be the least relevant sibling." Ash rolled her eyes. Despite growing up in a large family, and being one of the middle siblings, Ash never really felt like she was in competition with the rest of her siblings. "Yeah, I'm not gonna tell you football wasn't a real job, but I don't think it set you up with a realistic idea of normal jobs." At the mention of Harleys, she raised an eyebrow. "Someone who works at the garage was telling me that there's this superstition in the motorcycle world where people put bells on their bikes for good luck and protection. Seems pretty witchy to me - we use them pretty similarly too, to keep bad energy away."

"Alright, alright. Your presence is enough in my life," he said with a grin, idly picking up a few knick knacks that had been placed out for sale in the shop. "You raise a valid point, and maybe I don't have enough experience being an employee." He shrugged, holding up some palm stones, pleased with the smoothness of the rocks in his hand. "That's crazy, you'd think people would be wanting some crystals to display on their Harleys or something. Or maybe a good luck and protection keychain, right?"

[ash-newman]

"All the ones I mentioned are, but we have advanced books on the shelf as well." Ash explained, although reading material wasn't their specialty. As he mentioned tarot decks being gifts, she smiled. "Yeah, that's true. I personally think it all comes down to intention when you're doing magic, but different witches have different philosophies." Ash shrugged, then nodded at the mention of quartz and amethyst - which came from quartz. "Does she have a February birthday? Or does she just like amethyst? Either way - if she has that already, hematite is another good one. It's used for protection."

“Okay, I will keep that in mind,” Bryan nodded slowly. “All of them are starter books, right?” He asked. He didn’t know much except for watching movies with his sister while they were growing up. “That is good to know,” he chuckled. “So it’s more of an intention thing when it all comes down to it, isn’t it? I know that much. Just like how you’re supposed to be gifted a tarot deck.” He rubbed his hands together. “She has a few quartz and amethyst accessories, that counts for something? Like bracelets.”

[ash-newman]

At the beginning of the party, Ash had been a little awkward. It was her first time - ever - being single in this kind of environment. But after a couple drinks, she started to loosen up and dance. She was just coming off the dance floor to get water, followed by a drink, when Sylvia found her. "Hey!" She replied, hugging the other girl back. "How have you been?"

where: Pride Party - Vibrations

when: June 8th, 2024

who: Sylvia & @ash-newman

Sylvia was always one for a good night out, so she would never pass up the chance to dress up and hit up the club. That was especially true during Pride celebrations. She was making the rounds mingling with friends when she came across Ash. "Hi lovely!" she greeted her, immediately going in for a hug.

[ash-newman]

Ash had no idea why her brother was so fucking stubborn. She got that he didn't want his siblings' help in situations, but she was literally getting paid to stand on the stage and provide access. Even when they were kids, she always watched the sign language interpreters a lot more than he did and interpreters often assumed she was the deaf kid they were hired to sign for. Still, getting ignored by her own family at work didn't feel great.

"They also said you're rude, and not a very good brother." Ash added on. She worried slightly that the bad brother comment went too far, even if she was clearly smiling as she said it. But as he pocketed his fan, she pocketed any worry she had about her words. "I don't need a weapon. I can just find you during my break and punch you."

Despite having seen his sister as he sat down, her clearly interpreting the performance, Elliot found himself focused on the people on stage. Doing his best to try and lip read, which he was catching none of what was being said, instead of looking at Ash. He wasn't for sure what it was but if there was one thing he never asked for, never paid much attention to, it was interpreters. Even though he clearly needed them. So when he felt something hit his knee, he had a huge suspicion that it had been Ash that threw something at him. And sure enough, there it was, a fan at his feet. Reaching down he picked it up before his eyes went to his sister. Letting out a slightly loud huff as he watched her hands, amusement dancing across his face as he did so.

"What a strange thing for the performers to be saying-" He signed, a shit eating grin on his face now. Raising the fan, like he was going to throw it back to her but instead pocketed it. "I don't think you should be trusted with anything that can be used as a weapon currently." Shrugging some, tempted to turn back and watch the performers, even if he had no idea what the hell they were saying instead of keeping his eyes on Ash.

[ash-newman]

Between the slight jump and the laugh, Ash had gotten the reaction she was looking for. Before sitting down, she returned the hug. "I had to, you might as well of had a 'scare me' sign on your back." She grinned as she pulled away. Once she was in her chair, she glanced down at the menu but she wasn't interested in reading it yet. "How's the new house? Ready to move in?"

Most of the time, Cage's head was in the clouds; if he wasn't thinking about work, what project was lined up next, what jobs needed finished at the shop, what orders he needed to complete, then he was thinking about Colton, Rosalyn, Cordelia, the house, there were always a million thoughts on his mind, always a thousand things tugging his brain in different directions. And generally, he was okay with that. It kept him sharp, or so he liked to think. And apparently made him a target as he felt hands on his shoulders and started a little, turning his head fast only to see his sister. "Hey," he let out a startled laugh at the sight of her, picking himself up to envelope her in a hug, used to greeting his siblings that way, especially the girls. "Glad you made it, even if you scared the shit out of me."