#But at least she doesn't look like she asks for no salt on her plate

[ghoulishtomato]

Whitewashed Ahkmenrah isn't real, he can't hurt you....

Whitewashed Ahkmenrah:

That's not Ahk, that's Mark... (For the joke to work you have to read Mark in a Boston accent)

[kurthummeldeservesbetter]

More Jayvik Headcanons cause I can’t stop

Viktor gets upset any time Jayce tried killing a bug, using a rat trap or shooing away birds from their windows so he has to capture and release everything and also adds bird feeders to the little balcony. One time a bird flew into their window and fell to the ground (they don't know what happened to it after) and Viktor got so upset (he claims it was the 48hours w/o sleep) that Jayce had to take him home for the day.

Jayce reads out loud to both of them at night, especially when Viktor is too much of an insomniac to sleep. Viktor repays him with shoulder massages when Jayce can’t sleep.

Viktor gets propositioned by members and students of the academy the time. Jayce is fine with this. Jayce gets propositioned by members of different houses all the time. Viktor is totally fine with this. (They aren’t but they get very possessive, which turns them both on).

Viktor made fun of Jayce’s man of progress mug so much that Jayce upped it with a Viktor commemorative plate. Viktor then made Jayce-themed silverware. Jayce commissioned Viktor tailored napkins. The war of commemorative dinnerware is still ongoing.

Viktor has to hold Jayce’s hand whenever they visit farmers markets or other town centers. Not just because he likes holding hands, it’s because Viktor wanders off all time and gets distracted by everything. Jayce lost him for two hours one time.

Jayce has to wear some sort of apron or shirt in the forge now. He’s gotten too many chest burns and tears that no matter how good he looks, he’s got to wear some sort of guard. Viktor is slightly disappointed but at least Jayce is safe from 3rd degree burns.

They have to turn the fan on at night for the white noise, due to them both hating silence. (Working in the lab/forge for years means tinnitus). It also helps that Jayce runs hot (and cuddles an ice box Viktor) and they created sheets that even out their temperatures. They have not marketed these sheets because it would mean detailed explanations on how they know it works. (They have created ones for Caitlyn and Vi though.)

They both love flowers and gift them to each other all the time. They have to do fresh cut, because neither of them can keep potted plants alive.

It is inevitable, that if you are a current council member and decide to pay them a visit to see for yourself what they are doing in the labs, then you will walk in on them in very compromising positions at least once. Mel only told Shoola, so she's been able to knock and warn them. Cassandra one time walked in on them shirtless + making out, rolled her eyes, warned them about lab safety and proper protocols, and stood there waiting until they redressed and made them do a rundown of their current prototypes. power move queen. (learned it from Mel).

Jayce can cook but not bake, Viktor can bake but not cook. Jayce likes how cooking (save for temperatures) is a little more freeform and can't help but try and be a little more lax with baking, but it always ends up badly (rock-solid bread, cookies that are paper-thin and salty.) However he has made stunning 4-course meals and can make even a basic sandwich 5-star quality.

Viktor likes the structure of baking. He can make literally any bread or dessert with just one look at a recipe. Using baking to de-stress even. Has made macrons of all flavors. However, do not ask him to cook. His tastebuds for anything that isn't sweet are wack. Once dropped an entire container of salt into soup once and didn't notice.

Awful handwriting for the both of them. Only they know what each other wrote. Sky has to transcribe anything official. Mel can only sort of read what they have written on their boards, but that's mostly by context clues. Caitlyn doesn't even bother.

They have a timer for water that goes off every 30 minutes in a work day. It's enforced by Sky because they get so focused they forget to hydrate.

[hellssheep]

Chapter 6: Transformation And Transition

The fire burns bright on this breezy night, thanks to the old wooden Dollhouse Amanda broke apart. Nothing is better than roasting food on an open fire after a little bit of something exciting. The flames crackle while the crickets chirp, and the radio plays to fill the silence of the night. The smell of burning pine and cooked hotdogs filled Wooly’s noses, fueling his hunger. The aroma of cooked meat doesn't usually make Wooly hungry, so it must be the sign of his inner beast trying to resurface. It begs for control, but Wooly did his best to ignore it for now. Thankfully, grilled cauliflower is also on the menu too, and it looks delicious. It was Shaun’s idea to choose that as a vegetable for tonight's meal.

“Looks like grilled chicken drumsticks.��� Amanda pointed out.

“yea, but for vegetarians.” Wooly commented.

Shaun replied “It was one of my favorites when I had my vegan neighbor come over one time. My favorite thing to do with these is to turn them into vegan buffalo wings. It works really well.”

“Ooooo. I have to try that someday.”

“Of course. Maybe we can make it tomorrow for lunch.”

“Aw yea! I can't wait!”

“Of course you do.” Amanda says to Wooly in a barely annoyed tone. “I'm not much of a vegetable kind of kid, but at least we get to make smores after this, right?”

“We also got franks cooking over the fire too.” Riley reminded her as they brought out the paper plates to eat on. “ Eat both of them, then you can have sweets.”

“Well hot diggity dog!” Amanda cheered before we laughed at that cheesy joke. It seemed like she always wanted to say that from the start.

Riley plated everyone’s meals for them, With Wooly having extra veggies and zero meat. That's usually how he likes it, although his demon doesn't agree. Wooly would be scared of the voice of the beast, but its haunting demands started to sound more like begging with a demonic tone. In other words, the voices are no longer as scary as they used to be.

W̷̛͓ȅ̴̥ ẅ̶̯ȁ̴̦n̷̝͊ț̷͌ t̴̰̏h̴̞̒é̸͙ f̵̤̅l̵̠̎e̵͓͌s̶̰̓ḧ̵̻ ̴o̵͙̽f̴̥̉ ̷t̵̘͝h̵̹͛ě̴ h̷̲͗arv̸͓̔e̸š̵ț̵̄e̴̱̾d̵̩̽.̵̙̈

“Vegetables are harvested, and they are good for ‘us’ anyways.” Wooly muttered to the voice

Iṫ̵̬ ̶͚̿ĩ̷̖s̷̬̎n̴͖̍'̵̼͝t̴̾͜ ̵̱̈́w̸̦̾h̸̫͌à̵̟t̴͋͜ ̶̡̈w̸e ̴̰͐m̶̫̆e̷̹͆a̷͉̓n̵̠̎t.̸̠̓ ̷͍͝w̶̘̌è̶̗ ̸̹̈w̴̪̍a̴̗͑ǹ̵̗t̵͕̓ ̵̦̂t̶̼̓h̶̚ͅe̷̍͜ ̴̤͌ȟ̷̪õ̴̠ṭ̵͠d̶̤͝ȏ̵̹g̴̉ͅs̸͖͛.̶̡̄ W̴͉͠ẹ̶̇ ̴̲͛b̶̗͛e̴̦̋ǵ̴͖ ̸̖͊of̴ ̵̹̀ÿ̴͔́ǫ̷͐u̷̲͐,  ̷̢͠f̶̥͝ee̶d̸̹̑ ̷̢̐u̷̡͆s̴͙̽ ̶͖̂t̷̠͊h̸̩̀e s̵̥͆l̵͔͗a̵̢͂u̷̘̐g̵̼͆h̴͈͛t̵̥̿e̵̤͘r̸̐͜é̵͎d̵̪̊.̴͚͝

“Please, let me eat my vegetables in peace first and maybe I will. ” Wooly told it with a slightly louder volume. Realizing how loud he was he turned to see if anyone heard them that time. Wooly saw that they were a bit surprised, which is a telltale sign that they heard him.

“What was that you said?” Shaun asked.

“Nothing. Just talking to myself”.

After being bewildered for a second, everyone continued what they were doing. Wooly was a bit embarrassed that he said it a bit too loud, but at least the voices have finally stopped, for now.

Finally, wooly took the tinfoil off of the grilled cauliflower, and took his first bite. The vegetable was soft in the center, slightly crispy on the edges, and quite flavorful. It is perfectly seasoned with lemon pepper and garlic salt. It was a perfect simple dish for veggie-lovers. After a while of savoring his plate, Wooly had to do what was promised and… eat his least favorite thing on tonight's menu: the dogs.

“Ugh, I'm not gonna like this, but I must.” Wooly warned.

“Hold up! You must what?” Amanda asked before he took a frank from the tines of the roasting sticks, and took a quick bite out of it. This left her quite shocked by his action. The taste of ground up pork made Wooly feel a tad bit queasy, and his awareness that he is eating a once alive animal made him gag a bit. Amanda’s shock changed into concern. “Wooly you don't have to eat that if you don't like it. You can have more vegetables if you are still...”

“I have to. It's either that or someone gets hurt by my own demon.”. Wooly quickly finishes the hotdog in a few more quick bites. “Bleh. Besides, I might get used to it…eventually”.

Amanda seemed a little upset that Wooly had to force himself to do something he doesn't want to do like that, but there isn't much she knows she can do to help. “...Ok, if you say so Wooly.”

“Well, how about some smores to wash out the taste of dinner?” Shaun asked

“That would be perfect.” Wooly replied

“But aren't dogs allergic to chocolate?” Amanda teased to lighten the mood.

“I told you before: I'm not a dog.”

“I know that, but you aren't entirely sheep either. Not anymore”

Shaun interrupted “either way, I have different kinds of chocolate bars, including white chocolate, in case of allergies and such.”

“I guess I could try white chocolate.” Wooly says

“Since it's safer for dogs,...” Amanda muttered. Wooly glared at her in response. “Well, it's true.”

Wooly can't really do anything about it. Since she is 5 at heart, and has been for probably a decade or two, he just simply shrugs it off. Teasing is pretty much child nature, right? Probably one of the reasons why Wooly still stayed with Amanda after all these years, and is glad he still did, despite her being a rascal at times.

Shaun finished roasting the marshmallows, putting them between chocolate and gram crackers. Wooly was the first to be served his smores from across the fire pit. “Here you go Wol-ops!” he accidentally dropped the smore, but Wooly instinctively caught it from within the fire. 

Wooly would have said that he got it, but he was shocked that he had his whole hand in the center of the flames but couldn't feel it burning him. Instead, Wooly pulled his hand out and turned away from the pit. His hand looked completely fine; no blisters or singed fur. Instead of saying that he saved the smore or something like that, the only word he could say at that moment was “...wow.” It was quite shocking for everyone, including Wooly. Finally processing the situation, he finds it pretty cool that he is resistant to fire now, wondering how resistant he really is.

Before he can find out, Amanda calmly, but cautiously calls out “um, Wooly?”

“yea?”

“Your tail is in the campfire.”

Wooly looked behind him and realized that he had his tail in the fire the whole time. He finally pulled it out, only for it to extinguish after a few seconds.

“You okay?” she asked

“Surprisingly, yea. Didn't hurt at all. I don't even know if wool is supposed to be this fire resistant.”

Riley answered “Well, it can be pretty fire resistant, but not to the point where you can leave it in a huge fire source like that without any kind of burn.”

“That…is pretty incredible.” Wooly responded. It's hard to see the drawbacks of being immune to high temperatures. At least he could make easy escapes in hot situations, and what other uses heat resistance has.

Not letting his own thoughts continue to distract him, Wooly bit into his white-chocolate smore. It is a lot sweeter than a normal chocolate bar, but the graham cracker thankfully milds out the overly-sweet chocolate and toasted marshmallow. Different textures from the sweets clash together, but melts so well on the tongue. Wooly slowly savored the treat to mask the flavor of the butchered animal he ate.

Riley played with the radio for a bit until the news played over it. As he ate his smore, Wooly listened along with everyone to what sounded like bad news:

“...where there is a house fire at ________________ there the sighting of the fire is reported at 7:45 PM. The source of the fire is unknown at this moment, but thankfully, nobody was present in the building in this incident. The emergency responders have put out the fire before it spreads any further in the forest, but the homeowner’s belongings cannot be recovered from it. We advise that…” 

Riley turned off the radio before it could complete its broadcast, plopping down on their lawn chair and covering their own head in distress. “Gosh Fricking darn it that was Joanne’s home. We can't go back there anymore”

Amanda inquired “Hold on. Is that not your actual house?”

“It wasn’t. The house Kate owned was burned down by that cult after we went to the library to look for more of the tapes. I have been living at her home for only a few days after she died. And now Hameln has burned down what's left of the last person who knows aunt Kate other than you guys.”

Amanda was left shocked and distraught, and so was poor Shaun. “That is horrible! I'm so sorry that her house is gone Riley.”

“Don't be Amanda. You're not the one who started it.”

A mix of negative emotions building within himself. Was it guilt? Fear? Rage? No matter what it is, something within him is much more enraged than he is. “Why? Why can't they just LEAVE US ALONE!?” he screamed. He then growled, and started storming back into the house. Wooly tries to find something, anything, to hold back his rage. 

But it is already too late. The Beast’s rage has already consumed most of his emotions.

______________________________________________________________

Amanda and Riley followed Wooly back inside to try to help him calm down. She wants to see the transformation herself if it happens, but at the same time, she doesn't want to let it happen. The change is probably inevitable at this point due to how lost Wooly seems to be with his emotions. 

Wooly placed his hands on his temple, and his eyes were tightly shut. This worried Amanda, so she approached him. He seemed to sense her approaching because without turning around, Wooly put his hand up and yelled “Get back! Don't come any closer Amanda!”

Amanda stopped in her own tracks. “But wooly, your…”

“I said g̷e̶t̷ b̸̧́a̵̱͝c̸̪̼̐k̷̻̟͋!” he again warned her, eyes opening up to reveal a glowing yellow eclipse inside his now dark-red pupils. “It's too late to stop it! Please! S̶t̴a̴y̵ ̸A̴w̵a̷y̸!̵ I̴…Į̴̠͠ ̴̲̎dö̴̡́n̷'̸͘t…̷̵͎͓͐̂A̷̮̅ű̶͈g̴̟͠ȟ̶͎!̷͎͐” Wooly fell to his hands and knees, with one hand clenching his stomach. Wooly’s pupils completely dilated, no sclera’s white in sight. 

Riley grabbed Amanda and pulled her back for her own safety “Don't get too close to him”

Shaun just came in from the backyard as wooly is about to turn into a monster. He watched in horror “Oh Shatner! what's happening to him!” 

“His transformation is what's happening! Both of you stand back!” Riley warned. And just like that, both of them stood back and away from the quickly transforming wooly.

Cuts formed on the side of Wooly’s eyes, opening up to reveal smaller eyes underneath. It oozes with fresh blood, only for the blood to evaporate into glowing orange smoke. Extra pairs of smaller ears formed from his, with his snout changing into a more canine shape as well. Both orifices bleed the same way as the eyes did. Wooly’s rounded muzzle elongated into that of a dog’s maw. The tips of his fingers formed keratin to turn them into hoof-like claws. Wooly’s limbs slightly elongated, with his back hooves becoming more unguligrade-like. You can hear the bones crackle and shift as he changes. The rest of Wooly’s body grew out from his own wool, his hindquarters no longer protected by his own fleece. The whole time Wooly transforms, his shouts of pain turned into animalistic grunts and growls.

From head to hooves, Wooly’s transformation from charming nadir prey to a hellish apex predator is complete.

HellHound Wooly bared its teeth as it stared into Amanda’s eyes. She Froze in terror, but Shaun and Riley stood their ground between her and the beast. Shaun decided he could talk to Him like he is a horse for some reason. “Whoa, easy there bronco!”

Riley looked at Shaun in bewilderment “Why are you talking to him like that?”

“I have no heck’n clue I'm scared!”

Thankfully the beast backed off and bolted to the front door. It tried to open the door, but It was locked and the beast somehow didn't know how to unlock it. The Canis Aries clawed at the door, then gave up and went to the back door. Shaun had already locked it after following Riley into the house. After leaving claw marks on that door too, it did what any riled up animal would apparently do: take their frustrations on the couch, starting with the matching pillows.

“No! Don't tear up the pillows! Why are you attacking those?” Shaun cried. He fell to his knees and put his hands in his head in disbelief. 

“Relax Shaun. They are just pillows.” Riley reminded him. “At least it isn’t ripping us to shreds”

 “Yea, but those are good pillows. ”Shaun whined. After Hellhound Wooly finished tearing up the pillows that match the sofa, his attention switched to the quilt-decorated throw pillow. “Wait! Not that one! Anything but that one! My sister made that!”

The beast already had the last pillow in its jaw, but Amanda finally stepped in before he could tear into it. This time, she remained calm, composed, and least intimidated as possible to confront the Hellhound sheep. “Please put it down. That belonged to someone special to shaun.”. Wooly twists his head in slight confusion, but there is still anger in its eyes. There's no way of telling if it's Wooly who is there, or the beast that overtakes him. It's hard to tell who is in control at the time. “Please, calm yourself. Whoever is in there, please listen to me. We promise that we won't hurt you. We will not let Hameln hurt you either. We promise.”

The Wooly beast dropped the pillow and started bleat-barking at Amanda, trying to communicate with her. Amanda cannot understand him, but the slight hint of growl in its voice shows that he is still upset. It took time for Amanda to Process what made him this mad in the first place. The beast that possesses Wooly is aggressive because he is mad at Hameln for what they had done, and he is afraid of what they will do to him and his friends. She is too familiar with that feeling, even its name shouldnt be brought up. Both of them are too familiar with what Hameln does to those who know too much and don't agree with them. Either they keep you as a hostage and use you as a tool, or kill you before you could blow a whistle on them. Then, they destroy any memory of you that was left behind in this world so nobody can catch up on what wrong things they were doing. Being emotional about a mutual friend’s history being destroyed is probably the most proper response.

After that moment of critical thinking, Amanda was able to calmly put together the right words she could think of. “Look. I know how upset you are with what Hameln has done. I know how it feels to be at the hands of evil, because I have been there as well. It's people like them who make it so hard to know who to trust anymore, But Riley and Shawn have done so much to give us this much freedom. You don't have to fully trust them yet, but I do, and you can trust me. We got each other, and that is what matters right now. So please, let us stick together to fight against our enemy.”

This was enough to convince the beast to calm down. Hellhound Wooly looked at Amanda with eyes full of serenity. Amanda slowly reached her hand out to see if it would let Amanda touch him, only for him to back away from it with a slight wrinkle formed on its nose. She held her hand out still, in hope that the Wooly Beast would warm up to her. Its expression finally relaxed, and it cautiously sniffed Amanda’s hand, flinching back when he accidentally touched it. Amanda can feel his lukewarm breath as it tries to take in her distinct scent. That's all it did before it decided to lay down on the couch, finally relaxed. Amanda was hoping to at least pet the creature, but it probably prefers its own space for now.

“It's a small step, but it's okay.” Amanda replied. Then she asked Riley “how long are we going to be laying low for.”

“Either a few weeks, or Maybe a month. At least until we know what to do next, and be ready for it.”

Amanda wasn't entirely agreeable with this idea. “As much as I don't like waiting, it's probably for the better.”

Shaun picked up the Quilt pillow Wooly dropped, and looked at it after wiping off the spit on it. He seemed relieved that the pillow hadn't been torn up, which was something that made Amanda curious.

“Hey shaun?” Amanda asked him. “You said that pillow belonged to your sister right? Is your sister…?”

“No longer with us? Yea, and I still missed her. I don't know what I could have done without her.”

“What do you mean? What has she done, if you could tell us?”

Shaun looked up and appeared tranced by his own thinking. “On days where I don't feel like myself, my older sister was there to comfort me. She stood up for me when my parents found out that I didn't want to be what they raised me to be. My sister has supported me through thick and thin, and I get to grow up into someone I wanted to be. My sister was a good person.” 

“What happened to her?”

“Workplace accident I think. She worked at a history museum somewhere at the edge of the country. five years ago, that museum collapsed, and her body is nowhere to be found.” Shaun placed the pillow he held on the other sofa. “ I wish I could find out what happened to her, heck even find the person who caused my sister's disappearance, but…” he sat down next to the Wooly Beast. “I don't know if she really wanted that or not, or if it is even worth it.”

“Are you hoping that you'd find out someday?”

“As much as I want to, I just dont think it’s meant to be. Maybe my sister wouldn't want me to spend the rest of my life finding out what happened, only to meet a dead end. But I'm sure she would have wanted to help you guys, So I'm going to help you in any way I can.”

“What do you mean? You're letting us stay in your home, and we're thankful for that.”

“I don't think that is enough. If Hamelin is looking for you guys, we should start training you guys to defend yourself, and work together. Luckily for you guys, I have done dog training as a side job in the past. And, I learned a thing or two about self defense. I'll teach you some of that, and we will let the internet take care of the rest with tutorials on wielding weapons and some combat stuff.”

Riley’s eyes widened to that last idea. “I don't know if these kids should be touching anything as dangerous as a kitchen knife let alone any other dangerous weapon.”

“That's why I have some props in the attic somewhere we can practice with. They won't hurt themselves with styrofoam and plastic”

“Th-that's not what…”

“Sounds like a good idea to me” Amanda interrupted, excited by the idea of finally showing her enemies who's boss. “We're gonna need more than hiding to be able to evade Hameln’s grasp.”

Riley sighed “very well. I guess I can trust you with some form of tool for self-defense. Just dont use it to harass Wooly, okay?”

“As if that would be a good idea, now that he has more bite than bark now”

“Oh very funny Amanda. A real knee-slapper with that joke.” Wooly responded, who finally turned back without anyone noticing.

“Oh hey there Wooly! Since when did you turn back to your sheepish self?” 

Wooly was unamused by that second pun. “Well, all your backs were turned when I changed back, but I swear it wasn't intentional (unlike your jokes about me).”. Everyone giggled a little bit, including Wooly this time. “Anyways, to be honest, I don't know when I can change back or not. I think it's up to the beast, and he seems rusty at it.”

“What makes you think so?”

“Well, After every episode of intense emotions, it either takes me a few minutes or half an hour to probably change back. It's kinda inconsistent if you ask me.”

“I suppose that's a good reason to think that.”

“Don't worry,” Riley told him, “both of us will find a way to help you guys get better at your current abilities and more. But, for now, it's time to get ready for bed.”

“Oh man, already?” Amanda responded “I was having fun sitting at the campfire”

“Oh crap the campfire!” Shaun shouted. “I need to put it out before my house gets burned to the ground Too.” Shaun ran straight to the backyard to put it out.

“Oh no, we wouldn't want that at all.” 

Wooly yawned as he stretched his arms. “Well, I'm ready for bed. I hope the training goes well for all of us tomorrow.” Wooly hopped off the couch “let's go Amanda. Tomorrow will be a new day.”

Amanda Followed him and Riley to the room at the end of the hallway.

______________________________________________________________

Wooly has already set up his sleeping bag on the floor, fitted with pillows and extra blankets in case he isn’t not warm enough. Amanda has done the same as well, and Riley is the one who gets an actual bed.

Shaun entered the guest bedroom with some plushies in his hands “I hope you guys don't mind sleeping on those for tonight.. I'd bring out the folding beds from the attic if I could find them.”

“This is fine for now” Amanda responded “hey are those plushies for us?”

“That's right. Do you want one?”

“Of course Shaun. Hm… how about the one that looks like Dolly, "Amanda pointed at one of the plush. 

Shaun raised the stuffed girl doll in his arm. “This one”

“No, the pink bear.”

“Well Dolly is an odd name for a bear plush.”

“And what's wrong with that?”

“Um… good point. Here you go.” Shaun hands the pink bear plush to Amanda. “How about you Wooly? Want a plush to sleep with?”

“You don't want me to have one of you stuffed animals.” Wooly warned. “I might tear it up”

“Are you sure?” Shaun asked. Wooly responded with a raised eyebrow, which sent a clear message. “Alright. If you say so.”

“Thank you, and goodnight shaun.” Amanda farewelled.

“Goodnight guys. I'll see you in the morning” He heads out of the room after turning off the light.

Wooly was pretty snug in the sleeping bag, but he can't seem to sleep. Wooly looked to his left and saw that Amanda has difficulty sleeping too. She looked at Wooly with a sad expression. Wooly had to ask her “you too amanda?”

“Yea, I know I shouldn't, but…It's kinda overwhelming to be sleeping in a new place. I was getting used to sleeping at Riley’s old home.”

“Riley’s friend’s old home”

Amanda scowled at Wooly for correcting her. “Whatever Wooly. It's just that…I'm just afraid that we won't be able to settle into a home with the company on our backs. I know I am not called ‘the adventure’ for nothing, but…” Amanda sighed. “...It's hard to be Adventurous when someone is after you.”

“Yea, I get that.”

“I don't think you do. You'd just like to think tha…” she cut her sentence short, her face changing from irritated to realizing what she was about to say. Wooly knew what she was about to say, and that it wasn't the first time she was gonna say it. Wooly frowned because of it. “I'm sorry Wooly. Maybe this time you do get it.”

Amanda was right the first time She said it In the tapes. Both of them have a different way of dealing with bad things: Wooly would rather avoid harsh topics while Amanda lets it sink in, and Wooly tries to distract her from that feeling before it brings her deeper. That's the part of wooly that annoys her the most. Wooly wonders why it took so long for him to realize how bad that habit is Now. He wants to undo those past mistakes, starting tonight.

“Yea, I’m sorry as well.”

“You don't have to be. I need to learn to have a bit more tolerance.”

“No. You have the right to be mad at me. I haven't been much of a good friend either. I do try to, but I Never thought about what you really needed. I only thought of what makes me feel better, and that wasn't very good of me to do that to you.”

“At least you are starting to get it now.”

“Yea, and I'll make sure of it. You promised that you'd be better, so I should do the same.” Wooly said in an optimistic tone, standing up proudly from his sleeping bag. “ Starting tomorrow, I will be following those footsteps as well!”

“And your Hellhound?”

“Him too of course. All three of us are in on this together, right?”

“Well, if it's on our side too, of course. I just hope the training is easy.”

“It's probably gonna be some challenging parts, but we can get through it, don't you think?”

“Absolutely.” Amanda agreed. “Man, I haven't seen you this optimistic since we helped that butterfly in the tapes.”

“Thank you. I really do mean it.”

Riley tiredly asked the kids “You guys finished talking yet?”

“Oh.” Amanda responded. “Sorry. Didn't know you were there”

“Tomorrow is a big day. Let's get some sleep so we can wake up early tomorrow, okay?”

“Okay. Goodnight guys”

“Goodnight” Wooly replied

“Goodnight kids” Riley told them

Wooly went back into his sleeping bag, and both of them finally drifted to sleep so that they can start the weeks worth of training.

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[system-to-the-madness]

Cooking - Inej Ghafa x Reader (Drabble)

Pairing: Inej Ghafa x Reader Genre: drabble, fluff Word Count: 944 Warnings: Food, implications of Inej’s past but nothing explicit Summary: Inej lerns how to cook

I’ve seen a few head canons a while back, that Inej cooks a lot. I want to propose another angle: she wants to but doesn't know how.

She can't find the right spices, and every time she cooks something she lacks basics (like how you add a little salt to cake dough), because nobody ever taught her. After all, those are not things you figure out all on your own. At least not when you’re as young as Inej is. So it never tastes like she wants it to taste, and eventually she gives up because it brings her more disappointment than joy.

You, living in the Slat with the rest of the Crows, notice this of course, and start cooking whenever Inej is hanging out in the kitchen. Trying to encourage her to continue her search for recreating the recipes she saw her mum cook, you always ask her for help.

At first it’s little things, like cutting veggies (she’s good with knives after all). And over time you begin carefully guiding her into trying things herself. It’s small things, little encouragements so she doesn’t realise what you’re doing and won’t hide away from the pain of making mistakes again.

“Can you add a pinch of salt to the soup?”

The first time you ask her this, she looks at you with her deep brown eyes widened, as if she didn’t consider herself capable. But she does it, exactly the way you showed her just the day before yesterday, and you quickly turn away from her, so she doesn’t see your fond smile.

“Try this. Something's missing but I don't know what. What do you think?"

By the time you try holding up the spoon to her lips to let her try a soup you made, she already built some more confidence in the kitchen. Of course, you know what spices are missing, but you want to teach her, and she’s exceptionally good at figuring out what else needs to be added to achieve the usual taste.

Slowly, over several weeks, you build Inej's confidence in her own instincts and taste buds with local Kerch spices that are cheap and easy to come by, so Inej doesn’t start suspecting what you are doing.

Until one day you bring home an array of spices imported from Ravka (very expensive imports, which you may or may not have paid for, but what do you have Kaz for, right). By the time you do this, Inej is already a pretty decent cook when it comes to Kerch dishes.

So when you hand her the box with the different spices – spices she remembers from her childhood, spices she can’t all name, but she knows the texture and taste of each one of them – her eyes light up in something akin to disbelieve and she… promptly kicks you out of her the kitchen.

That night she creates the most amazing dish for the Crows. You swear it tastes like heaven. Sitting around the kitchen table, everyone digging into the delicious food, Inej talks about her childhood. She rarely shares her memories of that time, but as candlelight flickers over all of your faces, Inej sitting so close to you that you are almost tempted to scoot just a bit to the side to sit pressed against her, she tells you of her family. You almost think you can smell the firewood (no, that wasn’t one of Wylan’s experiments gone wrong) and hear the melodies she tells you of.

For hours you sit in the small room, plates long empty, and you all talk about everything and anything. Even Kaz laughs a little bit that night. All thanks to Inej’s wonderful food. Eventually you get up, stiff from the hard, wooden chairs and benches, and together you clean up the pots and dishes, before you bid each other good night, and retire to your rooms. But you already know, taking a last look at Inej through the closing gap in your door, that you’ll see her in just a few minutes again. And you do. She knocks on your door only seconds after the last of the other doors got shut, and you immediately let her in.

The happy smile she had been wearing throughout the night is gone, but you’re not surprised. You know her better than most people after all. Tears rise into her eyes as she thanks you for gifting her the spices that remind her of home. And then she really cries, confesses that she misses her family so much.

You want to hug her, but you don’t, knowing she doesn’t always like to be touched. She thanks you again, this time because you took the time to teach her how to cook, because just as you know her she knows you, and obviously she picked up on your effort. In a burst of courage, which not even she can explain, she quickly leans forward and pecks your lips before embarrassedly escaping into the night through the window without another word. She doesn’t see the way your face heats up, or how you reach out to keep her from running away. And she doesn’t hear how you mumble to yourself about your feelings for her.

In the morning, when she comes down to the kitchen, you're already waiting, a plate with freshly baked waffles sitting on the table for her, arranged in a heart shape and decorated with her favourite fruit. She takes a look at you, then the plate, and looks back to you, you with this small, shy but hopeful smile on your face. That's when she knows that her heart landed true.

[the-starry-seas]

Comvy-vember Day 5

Prompt: Saying their name — Hand on knee — Dressing fancy

Star Wars, Boba & Fennec

Check out this post to request a prompt!

He hates fancy events. Fennec insists he can't wear his armour, that it will send a bad impression to their hosts and that he relies on it too much in unfamiliar spaces. He'd decided not to ask what she meant by that. She's honest with him, and he doesn't always like it.

Nothing has happened so far, at least. The only threat is that the long line of speeches is about to make everyone fall asleep. Fennec has been staring up at the ceiling for the last eight minutes. It's a tell-tale sign that she thinks everything she's hearing is ridiculous.

"If he keeps talking," he murmurs, "would it be bad to look up if he has any bounties?"

"Hand me your datapad and I'll place it myself," Fennec suggests.

"Left it on the ship."

"Want me to get it?"

"Want to just leave?"

She stands in reply, and he follows her out of the room, not caring at the handful of strange glances they get along the way. Bureaucratic nonsense is the worst kind. Neither of them have much practise with it, and he, at least, doesn't have much patience.

He dawdles near the door, checking his comm, as Fennec argues with the coat-check about whether or not she can collect her coat early. If she decides to just jump the counter, he'll back her up. And be impressed that she made it all the way over in that dress.

Of course, she wins her argument, because not many people are brave enough to stand up to what she wants.

The wrap matches her dress, a satiny dark blue fabric embroidered with silver to match the comb keeping her hair up. His tie matches her dress. He thought it might make them look like more than a team.

"You want to get something to eat?" he asks as they go down the steps. The entire street is a blaze of multicoloured light and patrolled by security guards. A few blocks away, though, he trusts they'll find some dark hole-in-the-wall where they can find something to eat that's not... deconstructed seaweed, or whatever that fancy plate was.

"You're paying," she informs him, and checks her comm before tucking her entire clutch in his coat pocket.

He doesn't mind.

They end up at the first shady-looking diner with its neon signs still lit up. It smells like meat and grease inside, and half the lights over the counter are burned out, giving an interesting shading to the four-armed creature at the stove.

He chooses a table in the corner at the back, and Fennec sits next to him, putting her feet up in the chair across from her. He dumps his coat on the bench next to him and rolls his sleeves up to get into his food properly. Dripping grease and condiments, slightly overcooked, way too much salt... perfection.

It's not until she squeezes his knee that he realises he zoned out.

"Mm?" he mumbles, chasing around the last drips of condiment with a piece of bun.

"Asked if you were all right. You weren't paying attention."

He can practically hear the rest - you always pay attention when we're not at home.

"I'm fine," he says, and she nods, believing him as easily as she always does.

"Fennec," he adds, what's probably twenty minutes later. She looks up from her comm, gaze sweeping the room before landing on him. "Ready to go?"

It's colder outside than it was before, and he hands over his jacket, taking a mental note of the fact that she folds up her wrap and puts it in one pocket. She'll be looking for it later. But for now, neither one of them are looking for anything. They already know their way back home.

[hiccanna-tidbits]

@jackunzel-time

Jackunzel Month Week 2 - Coming of Age

***

"Okay, can I look now?"

"Not yet!"

The kitchen is once again filled with the sounds of Rapunzel banging around, plates and dishware clattering as she searches the fridge. Jack's got a sneaking suspicion this all has something to do with the huge, tinfoil-covered mound on the top shelf.

For an entire week, Rapunzel insisted they put every ounce of leftovers in the bottom half of the fridge, ignoring the Mysterious Object™️like a leaky faucet you handn't gotten around to fixing. Not that Rapunzel doesn't occasionally need her home fridge for work-related things, but she isn't normally cagey about it.

Jack once again resists the urge to peek out of the blindfold.

"Come ooooon, Zellie! This anticipation is going to kill me before our starving artist lifestyle does."

Rapunzel laughs. "Starving? I'll have you know, sir, that I've had no less than 5 whole french fries today!"

Considering it was 9 pm, this was not an ideal french fry quota. Rapunzel definitely had time to eat more fries today.

Jack wonders idly if Rapunzel's just getting too caught up in her work to take lunch breaks, or if her manager is crunching her deadlines again.

Before he can get too far into plotting how he would swap her boss's salt and sugar without getting Rapunzel in trouble, he hears the distinctive sound of a lighter.

"Are you torching our apartment?" he asks. "Because if so, I'm very offended I wasn't invited to participate."

Rapunzel scoffs. "Don't be silly! Like I'd set the place on fire without getting home insurance first. And it isn't as though either of us can afford that."

"You're still making me nervous. Usually I'm the one who plays the pranks."

"Hmmm, well...that would have been a good idea, actually." Rapunzel sounds a little regretful. "But no tricks today, I promise. Now open your eyes!"

And at last, Jack gets to see what all the fuss is about.

A stunning, snow-white cake sits in the middle of their dining room table, covered in sparkly silver candy orbs and carefully sculpted fondant snowflakes. All around the side are little hand-painted winter scenes, meticulously crafted by an icing brush in a process that must've taken hours. On top, a "2" and a "6" candle sit ablaze.

Rapunzel, of course, spends all day at work decorating cakes. It's her career. (Or, at least, it has been for the past 6 months--the longest she's gone without leaving a job to date.)

It still seems like she went the extra mile with this one.

"What--" For a long moment, all Jack can do is stare with his mouth hanging open.

"What the hell," he says finally. "How did I forget today was my birthday???"

Rapunzel's surprise quickly turns to laughter.

"Oh my god, how did you forget?"

Easy for her to say. Back when Rapunzel lived with her crazy mom, who practically kept her a prisoner in her own house, birthdays were easily the most interesting thing that happened all year. Birthdays with the Overlands were always much more...lowkey, so to speak.

"In my defense!" He holds up his hands. "Nothing interesting happens when you turn 26. Pretty much all the milestones are finished, so it's just another orbit around the sun."

"Nonsense!" Rapunzel sticks her lip out in disapproval. "That's no way to talk about your coming-of-age ceremony!"

"Coming-of-age?" He raises his eyebrows. "I think we missed the cutoff for that a while ago."

"Well, 26 is your age now." She crosses her arms, chin up defiantly. "And you have come to it. So therefore you have come of age."

He chuckles. "Is that how that works?"

"Why not? Teenagers and college kids shouldn't get to have all the fun!"

"My point still stands, though," he argues. "You don't really...unlock the same kind of stuff in your 20s that you do when you're younger. It's not like there are new magical adventures that you suddenly have access to when the clock strikes 12 on your 26th birthday."

"Says who?"

His girlfriend's conniving smirk sends a wave of excitement through him. What is she plotting?

"Did you find an elite 26-and-over club to join?"

"Not exactly." She leans over the table, smirk widening. "But someone did have a chat with your boss about how many great snowscape photo opportunities there are in the mountains, and how you're going to need to not come into the office for while to get all the best shots."

Jack's eyes widen as her meaning dawns on him. "And Mr. North was cool with that? Me taking a vacation right before the holidays?"

"I mean. He could hardly resist the offer of having his best photographer out getting festive snapshots for the December issue of the magazine. You'd do more good on the field than stuck behind an editing desk, right?"

"No kidding."

Jack sits down, getting ready to blow out the unexpected birthday candles. He pauses, something occurring to him.

"Wait, what about you? I'm not about to go off and leave you to handle the bakery's holiday rush on your own!"

Rapunzel hums thoughtfully.

"Well, funny thing. I told our head baker that I just hadn't been feeling very inspired lately. And if I went somewhere, say, fresh and exciting, then the muse was sure to strike again and I'd pump out a collection of the most beautiful winter cakes the bakery's ever known. Ones to really send that holiday profit flooding in."

"So...you snuck around and got us both a week off for my birthday by spinning it as a work trip? And on top of that, you just casually whipped out the most gorgeous birthday cake I've ever seen in my life?"

She nods, beaming.

"You're my goddamn hero."

He stands up and sweeps her into his arms, pulling her into a kiss worthy of being the Big Dramatic Finale to any coming-of-age film. All these years later, and it still feels like cameras should be spinning around them with rock music building into a triumphant crescendo.

Maybe that's cheesy, but to hell with it.

"Have I ever mentioned I'm in love with you?" he murmurs against her lips.

"I would hope so, Overland. We've been dating for 9 years now."

***

Half a hazelnut chocolate cake and two celebratory hot cocoas later, Jack finds himself being dragged toward the car in the encroaching darkness of 5:30 pm.

"Zel, what--"

"Come on! I booked us a night in a cabin, and we need to take off before the roads get icy. It's supposed to snow in a couple hours!"

"But what about--"

"I packed the car while you were at work." Rapunzel doesn't miss a beat. "Don't worry, I grabbed all your favorite sweaters! Your snowboarding stuff too. And the sleeping bags. And the cozy socks. And the snow chains. And the binoculars. And the sled. And the scarves."

He doesn't have time to form a reply before he's being bundled into the front seat and covered in one of his favorite fluffy blankets. The sheer amount of alpine field guides and brochures on the car floor make him do a double take.

"You have an itinerary?" he asks, surprised.

She hums uncertainly as she pulls out of the driveway.

"Well...nothing too rigid. No coming-of-age road trip of self-discovery can be that structured, or else it might get in the way of spontaneous epiphanies about who you truly are, right?"

"Right."

Rapunzel looks like she's about to burst open with what she isn't saying.

"I sense a 'but' there."

"I did find a really cute place for us to sled." The dam breaks as Rapunzel pulls out of the driveway. "And there's this secluded little mountain animal rescue we have to see. And this four-star cafe we can stop at for hot cider and soup, and this really pretty snowy hike that I don't think is too tiring. Also this ski and snowboard slope we can check out if we have time, with this really cozy lodge, and--"

She cuts herself off mid-sentence as soon as she picks up that all this might be a little overwhelming.

"Buuuuut," she amends slowly. "It's not like I've put down a deposit for anything. We could just drive through the mountains and stop whenever we feel the urge. Find the best secret spots and have them to ourselves, you know? Have deep conversations and be alone with nature and reconnect with our humanity and our sense of purpose. Or something like that."

He can't help but laugh at the way her brow scrunches as she goes deep into thought.

"That sounds great."

"Do you...have a preference?" She gives him a searching look as they pull onto the freeway, already glowing with streetlamps and taillights. "Agenda or no agenda?"

"Whatever you're down for, I'm down for. Hell, I'm just happy to have an unexpected week of vacation."

"I guess that's the thing about these types of 'finding yourself' stories. You kind of have to figure them out as you go along."

"Then let's do some figuring!"

Rapunzel hits the gas, and off they go into the winter sunset, bound for their next coming-of-age adventure. One to perhaps be followed by many more, depending on how many future ages they deem it significant to "come to."

***

Tfw you keep aging but The Blorbos™️do not, so the only logical solution is to force them to age with you XD God dammit, if I have to be in my mid-20s, then so do my comfort characters!!!

Fr tho, I often find myself wishing there were more aged-up AUs in the RotBTD fandom. Most fandom olds returning to (or who stayed in) the fandom aren't the teenagers we were when we first got into the big four anymore, so...why not let them grow up with us??? It's not like their canon ages are some sacred, set-in-stone thing that can't be changed since people do in fact get older as time passes ajdnlshbf

And like!!! Don't get me wrong, I love a well-done high school or college AU, and they can be a lot of fun!!! But I think as I've gotten older I wonder more about how the RotBTD kids would navigate adulthood, and how they would change/adapt and how they would stay the same throughout their lives.

Jackunzel I feel like would be one of those couples who would just be it for each other. Like they get together in late high school--probably junior or senior year--and everyone keeps waiting for the spark to die in college and for them to get stir-crazy (as people who get into committed relationships young often do) or bored of each other, and they just. Don't. MFs hit 30 and are still in the honeymoon phase with no sign of getting out XD

Rapunzel is so right here btw. Twenty-somethings DO deserve to have indie coming-of-age dramas made about them!!! Kids and teens and college students shouldn't get to have all the fun!!! Besides, there's plenty of growing/maturing still to do in young adulthood, so why stop writing stories about that just because the people in question are out of school??? Tbh I'm so tired of movies with adult protagonists being either fluffy (hetero) romcoms or a drama about Some Guy with a wife and kids like??? There are other types of adults besides straights in the dating pool and middle-aged people with tidy little nuclear families!!! I promise!!!

Guess I'll just have to write all those funky little RotBTD twenty-something AUs myself ajshdkuys

Shout-out to the RotBTD discord for giving me the idea of having Rapunzel be a cake decorator and Jack be a photographer! I sometimes struggle a bit with future career ideas for the RotBTD kids, but these fit really well :D Jack definitely seems like the kind of person who would like something freelance and loose-scheduled where he basically gets paid to capture the beauty in the world around him :O And we know Rapunzel can bake, and she likes art, so...

CAKE ART CAKE ART CAKE ART CAKE ART

VERY happy I found that snowflake-and-orb cake, because that definitely seems like something Jack would enjoy 🤍❄️ And now I kind of want to try it 👀👀👀I DO have to wonder how they did that little picture with the tree and the car :O

As always, moodboard pic credits available upon request!

[tsukikoayanosuke]

From a Cat's Meow, I Laugh - 12 Days of Ruikasa (2023)

Day 3-4: Cat

There has been a new occurrence happening in the Kingdom of Horos involving its new residents.

Rui knew he was different. None of the people, as explained by Tsukasa himself, came out from the ocean like he was. It seemed to be unnatural because Tsukasa warned him from telling this to others. "It's like having magic," he said, "ordinary humans, like me, don't have magic." Does that mean Rui isn't a human? It had become a conundrum for Rui. He looks like an ordinary human, but at the same time, he feels...detached. He is here...but not here at the same time. But even so, the people in the Kingdom of Horos, whether they're servants of the castle or regular citizens, are very kind and accepting.

So, no. Rui doesn't have a problem with the people.

It was with the little creatures that littered in various corners of the kingdom.

These furry little creatures with adorable paws and big eyes and meows all the time.

"Hey there, little fella," Tsukasa crouched down to the cat. This time it was a white cat with a pink bow, presumably given by someone. The prince patted the cat and she leaned toward the touch.

As usual, the strange occurrence happened to Rui. It seemed that the local cats never wanted to get away from him. At least it was only two this time, with one black lying on his back and playing with the tip of his braided hair.

"Why do they keep following us?" Rui asked. It's not that he minded the attention from these adorable beings, but this was his and Tsukasa's free time. Tsukasa had been huddled up with lessons and headaches these days and Rui just managed to get him out. They were just going to get some sandwiches at Rui's now-favorite cafe when Rui's usual entourage came by.

"Maybe they like your smell," Tsukasa said with a giggle at the end. "You did come from the sea."

Rui pouted. "I don't smell like seawater anymore."

Tsukasa shrugged as he got up and sat back on his chair. The white cat bumped her head onto his legs. "Cats have sensitive noses. Maybe the salt still lingers on you."

Rui smelt his arm, frowning. "It does not."

"There's nothing bad in becoming a cat-magnet, Rui." Tsukasa smiled, leaning forward, elbow on the table and chin in his palm. "It suited you. Cats love fish."

Rui pouted again. "But I'm not a fish."

Tsukasa just giggled. He was still smiling at him with this soft gaze that reminded Rui of the aurora in the night sky; mesmerizing. Rui still didn't understand these feelings he had been experiencing whether he was with Tsukasa, but he knew it was a pleasant feeling.

Something tugged his hair. "Ow!" Glancing back, he could see the black cat trying to climb using his braid. Well, it wasn't the first time a cat tried that. When the cat reached the back of Rui's chair, he stretched his paws so they rested on his shoulder. He meowed.

Tsukasa giggled again. "Looks like he likes you."

He meowed again and rubbed his head onto Rui's cheek. He had to admit. It was adorable.

A waitress came out with their order. "Enjoy, gentlemen," she said as she placed their plate; a chocolate & cherry french toast for Rui and banh mi (with five-spice crispy pork belly, pickled carrot, chili, coriander, and cucumber) for Tsukasa. She bowed, out of respect for the fact the prince was dining in their cafe and left.

Rui looked at Tsukasa's order with a scrunched nose. "How do you eat that?"

Tsukasa frowned. "Just...eat it?"

"With those?"

Tsukasa looked at his sandwich, blinking confusedly before finally connecting the dot. "It's just a couple of vegetables."

Rui held himself from sticking out his tongue, but Tsukasa seemed to already know his antics. "Be grateful there's no law that requires you to eat your greens."

Rui nodded in satisfaction. "As it should be."

Tsukasa raised an eyebrow but then rolled his eyes fondly. It was hopeless to force Rui to eat vegetables. Fruits and seafood have enough nutrients, thank you very much.

The black cat tried to swat the piece of sandwich that Rui had on his fork, meowing to have his piece. Rui smiled at the cat. "This is mine. You can't eat chocolate."

He meowed again as if he was protesting that life isn't fair.

Just then, another cat jumped onto their table. This time it was a ginger one. It eyed Tsukasa's sandwich intensely, tail hitting the table. Tsukasa seemed to notice this as well as he stopped cutting his sandwich.

"No..." he warned the cat.

But the ginger one didn't heed his warning. It leaned closer, bright yellow eyes still focusing on Tsukasa and licking its tongue.

"No..." Tsukasa warned again.

But as fast as lightning, the cat snatched a piece. "Hey!" It ran away before Tsukasa could grab it. Once it ran far enough, it settled down to enjoy its meal.

Rui couldn't help but laugh. To think a cat became one of the few citizens who would dare to take anything from their prince. "You wouldn't punish a cat, would you?"

Tsukasa huffed. "He's lucky that he's cute."

Rui laughed again. It was moments like this when he felt connected. Whenever he was with Tsukasa, where he could laugh, was when he felt the most human.

[mhatching1333]

[Tara Rainer, 1999]

Megan Hatcher doesn't remember too much about her mom, admittedly. But she likes to pretend she does. When things go wrong, she thinks of Tara. Mary, mother of Christ, shining bright with outstretched arms.

Her parents never married. Tara Rainer always said she just wanted to "remain free", and a ring was too much commitment. Then she got pregnant, and she didn't talk about freedom for at least nine months.

Jason had to convince her not to leave baby Megan at the hospital. He doesn't know why he didn't let her. Maybe it was the temporary endorphins, but he regretted it every day. He hated being a father. He also hated Tara for a good amount of time, at least six weeks minimum. He hated Megan. He had always hated Megan.

Tara hated Megan. Whether it was postpartum depression or just outright hatred for her existence... Nobody knew. She liked having a doll to dress up and take pictures with, but God. Megan ruined everything. She kept Tara up all night, and then Jason would get pissy 'cause Tara wouldn't "shut her up". She didn't want to eat anything, except for when Tara got a good deal on oxy, and Megan just had to find the pills and choke down three of them. Tara spent the night with a jug of warm salt water and her fingers down Megan's throat because she wasn't taking a toddler she didn't fucking want to the hospital. If she died, then she died. Oh fucking well.

Unfortunately, Megan lived. She was sick for almost a month and she kept sticking her fingers in her mouth to rub over the scratches in her throat, but she was alive.

She became easier to deal with as she aged. She seemed to realize her place when she was around five. She moved around the house like a cat with a bell collar. Tara doesn't remember the last time she fed Megan. Doesn't remember her birthday either. Sometimes she went to her room, just to see if she was still there, if she wanted to put on a pretty dress and take pictures with mommy. Megan was desperate for any idea of affection, so of course she always agreed.

Sometimes, Tara would take her out in the car. Megan liked the car. Tara didn't make her wear her seatbelt. They'd drive around all day, stop at some of Tara's friends' houses. Tara would get money from them, hand over rattling bottles, stay to talk for a few minutes so it wasn't suspicious. If Megan was really good and quiet, then sometimes she'd buy her something. Only sometimes, though.

"You love your mommy, right?" Tara would ask twice a month, Megan would nod. "You don't want mommy to go to jail, do you?" Megan would shake her head. "Right, cool beans. So you'll do a favor for me, right?"

If Tara passed a drug test, then her parents would keep sending her money. But Tara wouldn't get sober, no, of course not! Though, she knew somebody who could piss clean. So maybe having a kid wasn't so bad.

Tara had a DNR. Her words, "If God wants to take me, then let him. It'll be my time." They weren't even religious. It was stupid. Really, she just didn't want to see her father's look of disappointment when she inevitably overdosed. Didn't want to go through rehab again. There was nothing really great to live for anyways. She had a boyfriend she hated, a kid she hated even more, a house that she was tired of cleaning. So...

Megan found her. She was in bed, like she usually was, facing away from Megan, dusty plate and empty ziploc on the nightstand. She shook her once, twice. She was stiff, cold, but everyone was always cold. Jason didn't like having the heat on. Costs too much. Like he was the one paying the bills anyways.

"Mommy won't get up," She told him, shifting from foot to foot.

Jason didn't move from the couch. "So? Leave her alone. It means she doesn't wanna fuck with you right now, Megan." Because it wasn't unusual for Tara to not want anything to do with her. She often outright ignored her.

So, Megan nodded and went back to her room. Sunday, Tara didn't wake up. Monday, Tara still didn't wake up. Tuesday, Megan complained of a bad smell. Wednesday, there were strangers in her house wearing white gloves and suits and Jason told her to stay in her room until he said she can come out. Friday, he made her dress up real nice and they went to a church.

Jason hadn't cried or even so much as looked sad until he saw Tara's parents. Megan said she figured it didn't set in until then. Tim said they were crocodile tears. Megan said her daddy ain't no crocodile. Tara's father opened his arms for a hug. Jason cried on his shoulder while Tara's mother rubbed his back. Megan kicked at the snow and counted gravel.

The only person who even regarded Megan was some guy who called himself "Uncle Mark". He had patted her on the shoulder as she stared at the closed casket. "Y'know, if you n' yer daddy wanna stay with me n' yer Aunt Margie for a while, you can..."

She shrugged, glanced back at Jason. Her dad. She had nearly forgotten she was related to anyone at all because nobody wanted to talk about it. They acted like she asked to be born. Like she wanted to be here. She'd get a glance, a grimace. An old lady frowned at her freckles and dark hair, then stared down at the casket like she could envision the same inside. She didn't have to say it for Megan to know what she was thinking. Could've been you. Should've. Whatever.

She told Jason about "Uncle Mark and Aunt Margie" in the car. He just rolled his eyes, scoffed. "Yeah, no. We ain't doin' that. Fuck him and his whore wife." He tilted the rearview mirror down, just enough to see the top of Megan's head. "Put yer fuckin' belt on."

They went to Burger King. It was nice, probably. Could've been nice. He smacked the back of her head, told her to stop picking at her food.

Jason didn't sleep in his and Tara's bedroom anymore. It remained locked. On her way home from school one day, she swore she saw someone in the window, but he didn't mention anything about it. He spent more time in her room than his own.

She preferred when he didn't come home at all. When she'd come back to an empty house, it's like she could physically feel a weight being lifted off her shoulders. She'd use that time to shower and grab any nonperishable food to hide in her dresser drawers.

Sometimes he'd feel bad, y'know, nights when he would start drinking early in the morning and spend the day crying in front of his own bedroom door. When Megan would get home from school, he'd switch to crying in front of her, on his knees in front of her bed, digging his nails into her calves.

"I don't mean to do it, sweetie. You know I don't, you know I love you." Like hell he does. She doesn't respond. "I'm a shit father, Megan. Sorry that I can't be what you want." What, is she supposed to feel bad? "Can you just say something? Anything?"

Megan chewed her cheek. She never talked much to begin with. Never had anything to say that wouldn't get her backhanded.

"Y'know, you'll feel real sorry once I'm gone, Megan." Oh, she's sure. "One day you'll realize just how fuckin' good you have it." He could never stay sorry for long enough. Tonight, he retreated back to the couch.

In her empty room, Megan shook her head. She won't.

[writingintheshadowsforever]

The Sheningans of The New Avengers Part 2: Locker Room Mess

"You know Yelena if this Avenger thing doesn't workout. You could totally be a professional chef" You said. A bit of drool leaving your mouth at the sight of a stack of chocolate chip waffles waiting to be devoured on the table. Along with other breakfast food choices it was practically a feast. There was bacon, sausage patties, scrambled eggs, grits, and giant bowl of fruit. For drinking choices a pot of steaming coffee sat in the coffee machine holder, and there was a jug of orange juice sitting on the island. It had been a week since you and Peter had managed to pin the mess from the food fight on. Yelena and Kate besides being placed on kitchen duty for two weeks. Both of them was always tasked with providing breakfast for the whole team including you and Peter.

While you had no fear in rubbing the win in both of the girl's faces. Peter did the exact opposite and tried to act like everything was normal. Whenever he entered the kitchen in the morning to find a well-cooked breakfast waiting for him, and at night when he would have to place his dishes in the sink for them to clean. Peter begged you to do the same and to stop rubbing salt in the wound. He knew Yelena at least was planning some type of revenge even though. Technically her and Kate had brought the food fight and the punishment upon themselves by trying to trick you and Peter. You were confident that no matter what they planned that you would see it coming and be ready for it.

"You know y/n maybe I will trade in my Avenger status for my assassin one again." Yelena started with an over cheerful look on her face, which grew into a more darker one. As she continued "I'll start by poisoning your breakfast."

You nearly choked on the waffle stuffed in your mouth but managed to recover and swallow it. "Hey I was being legit you're a really good cook because I know this was all you."

"Hey I made the coffee and setup the fruit bowl" Kate protested.

"And the coffee is delicious" Peter chimed in holding up the coffee pot.

"Thank you" Kate beamed.

Yelena shoved at her shoulder with a frown. "Hey stop being nice with him they are the enemies" she said.

"No we're not Yelena we're going to be our first mission as an official team soon you know." Peter said walking over to the table to take a seat. You had already fixed his plate and held out for him to take. In return he set down a mug of coffee for you already prepared the way you liked it.

"Out there we're a team in here we're enemies in a prank war, and you will get your come-ups soon." Yelena promised shaking a fist at both of you.

Peter shot you a worried look, but you just shrugged her threat off and went back to eating your breakfast. Yelena and Kate had one more week left of punishment, and it was highly unlikely that either of them would attempt a prank. During the rest of the duration so you knew for now there was nothing to worry about.

One Week Later

"Gather around you guys I got a new assignment" Natasha called out.

All of paused your training and turned your attention to her. You dropped the heavy-weight balls that was tossed with your telekinesis for Peter to dodge in mid-swing. Peter swung down from the high beam he was perched on landing beside right beside you. Yelena released Kate from the hold she was trying to teach the archer. Kate insisted that the blonde use a dummy, but Yelena insisted that hands on was the best way for her to learn.

"Come on don't be shy bring it in" Nat demanded waving all of you over. Once you guys came over and stood around her in a full circle she finally went on. "Alright today I'm breaking up these dynamic duos."

You and Peter glanced at each other in confusion before turning to look at Yelena and Kate, who were caught off guard as well. "Are you bringing in someone new?" You asked.

"No I'm just making you guys switch with one another. Peter is going to be with Kate today, and Yelena is going to be with you" Natasha revealed. Her hand coming up to put a stop to any protests before they could made. "You guys still need to learn teamwork which means. It doesn't matter who is paired with who the partnership should work, and this is the only way to make that happen. Steve and I tried to wait for y'all to branch out on your own, but every single day. All of you come in here and work with your usual partner, so we took things into our own hands. Plus both of you could benefit from this switcheroo Yelena can help y/n with her hand-to-hand combat, and Kate you and Peter will compliment each other well."

She can tell neither of you really liked the idea, but you and Yelena more so than your respective partners. Kate and Peter had already inched toward each other ready to go off and collaborate. It wasn't that You and Yelena didn't like each other. The two of you actually got along pretty well, but both of you were headstrong and good leaders. Which made it hard for one of you to give in to the other during training whenever. The other was deemed the leader in an training exercise which only fed to the rivalry even more.

"Come on y/n and Yelena lead by example" Nat encouraged. You let out a sigh accepting the hair tie from Kate to put your hair up into a ponytail. "You better not break my arm or something Belova."

"Oh hush you big baby I'll go easy on you" Yelena teased motioning foe you go ahead over to the mat. You made your way over but not without throwing a suspicious look at her. She stayed back to talk to Natasha alone but maybe it was just sister stuff.

About five minutes later Yelena came to the mat with a massive grin on her face. You don't think you ever saw her look so happy before, and it freaked you out a little bit. "Are you sure you're not secretly planning my demise right now?"

She shook her head and answered. "No I've just been waiting for an opportunity to school you in hand-to-hand combat for the longest. You're always relying on those powers of yours. It's pretty pathetic what if you can't use them one day? Are you expecting Peter to run to your rescue in those moments?"

"Hey I do have some fighting skills it might be not be as good as yours, but I know the basics." You argued not realizing the mistake you were making till Yelena threw a fist at your face and it connected with your nose. You let out a cry of pain as your head snapped back before your brain could even register. What just happened the blonde dropped down to kick your legs out from under you. Causing you to fall onto the back on the mat. It cushioned your fall but still there was some light pain that had you groaning.

"If you knew the basics you would've been able to block or dodge at least one of those moves." Yelena said standing right over your body with a hand extended out and a smug smile on her face.

You were attempted to knock her hand away, but knew it would only lead to more conflict. The point of this exercise was for you and her to learn how to let the other lead, and for you to learn some combat skills. Which if you were being honest with yourself after that you needed the lesson. You took her hand letting her pull you to your feet. "Fine I suck at fighting but no more sneak attacks."

"Deal now let me see your best stance" Yelena ordered.

For the next thirty minutes Kate and Peter worked together to come up with some pretty nice combos. They could execute in the field together some of them evolved Kate shooting an off-target arrow only for Peter to come in and redirect it with his webs. The two even started talking about the idea of a web-arrow. The two worked together perfectly without argument. While the same couldn't be said about you and Yelena while you guys weren't arguing as much as usual. Things weren't going as smoothly considering you weren't exactly a good student, and Yelena was sort of a bad teacher. She wanted to be as hands-on as possible because she thought that was the best way for you to learn. And you wouldn't have minded so much if all of the moves she was trying to teach you was so painful. That led to some light bickering until eventually she gave in and decided to use a dummy, but whenever you didn't get the move right. Yelena would pin you down and give you what she called a penalty tickle to motivate you more. In your eyes it was childish and stupid and made you want to get revenge. Which led to you using your powers to make her float in the air. Until she agreed to stop the penalty tickles, and so on.

Although it was a rough training session overall you and her did manage to find some common ground for the first time. You actually did learn the basics of fighting and some pretty nice moves, and Yelena did respect you a bit more. It was a win and the two of you found yourselves laughing when as you entered the locker room once it was all over. Kate and Peter were having fun, so y'all decided to leave them be.

"Hey Yel" You spoke up breaking the silence while the two of you were changing into more comfortable clothes.

"Yeah what's up?" she asked peeking her head out from behind her locker too make eye contact.

"I'll tell Nat the food fight was on me so she'll let you and Kate off the hook". You told her with a sheepish smile.

Yelena burst into laughter at your offer and waved you off. "Okay come on y/n just because we had one little bonding session doesn't mean. You have to feel sorry about the food fight your plan was genius, and trust if I had your ability I probably would've done the same."

"So you're not mad about all the teasing and having to be on kitchen and breakfast duty?" You asked not buying her carefree attitude.

"Of course not the teasing might be annoying, but I'm always teasing all of you. Come on y/n don't go soft on me you have a prankster heart just like mine. I'm going to get even with you, and it won't be any fun at all. If you turn into a big baby and don't plot some evil revenge you know."

"Ok fine then prank war it is" You agreed with a competitive smile.

"Good then" Yelena said with the same smile on her face but there was something different about hers.

"Yelena you're not planning anything right now are you? Because I can still teleport me and Peter away. You know that right" You reminded her.

"What y/n of course not that would be stupid" Yelena said walking over to your locker. It was when you closed it and turned to ask her if she wanted go out for dinner tonight. She reached out to snap some type of metal wristband on your arm. The move was quick and efficient giving you no time whatsoever to prevent it. Your eyes flickered back and forth between your wrist and her face. Eventually you just settled for staring Yelena down who now had a triumphant smirk on her face.

"What did you just do?" You finally asked her yanking your arm out of her grip. You tried to remove the metal wristband but there was no clasp or anything.

"It's remote controlled power dampener I got it from Natasha earlier. I told her I needed it to stop you from bailing out of combat training with your powers, but that was a lie obviously. I just needed a way to stop you from turning all of this around me and Kate." Yelena explained while backing away from out of the row of lockers.

You were too busy trying desperately to detach the power dampener to notice her retreating. Determined to find away to get the metal band off before her plan went into action. But it was too late Yelena whirled hitting the first locker a powerful roundhouse kick. Causing the row of lockers to rattle and snap open. You looked up just in time to see globs of a slimy substance fly out all of the lockers coating all the space before you.

"Yelena you're dead" You yelled running towards her, only for your foot to slip in some of slime. Making you lose your balance and go down hard and every time you tried to get up. Your feet would slip and slide in the stuff making it impossible for you to even stand.

"Oh y/n what were you saying about me being dead?" Yelena teased with a light chuckle.

Training Room

Peter dropped down from the rafters landing on his feet in front of Kate with a tired smile. "Okay I think that's enough for today I'm kinda worn out."

"Yeah it looks y/n and Yelena called it a while ago. We should probably go make sure they haven't killed each yet" Kate said.

Peter was about to make a joke when suddenly his Spider Sense started to go haywire. His entire body went rigid for a few seconds as he started to think the worst. Was the Compound under attack? The training room wasn't soundproof so if there was a commotion going on. They would've heard it but if not an attack then what could be setting his senses off like this. His head swiveled around as he tried to find the danger. Maybe the threat wasn't there and was about to happen did he need to alert Steve, Natasha and Clint.

"Hey Pete are you okay?" Kate asked but he was so far into his head. Her voice sounded like it was a thousand miles away despite she was right next to him.

What could it be?

"Yelena this isn't funny" came your voice from the locker room answering his question. His partner was in danger and just like that Peter snapped out of it to rush towards the locker room. Kate caught him by the arm making him turn to her eyes filled with suspicion.

"Wait you might not want to go in there" she told him

Peter tilted his head to the side the expression on his face screaming are you serious?

"Both of us could leave right now and get off scot free. Its not like either of us wanted to be evolved in this prank war anyway Pete" Kate tried to reason.

Peter knew deep down that Kate had made a good point. He warned you to back off Yelena and cut out the teasing, but at the same time Yelena was going to get her revenge no matter what. Not to mention you didn't exactly twist his arm and make him join in on the prank war. He was down with food fight just as much as you were, and when he picked on. The way Kate's mouth kept twitching upward as if she was fighting off the urge to smile. Peter realized that she was just stalling, and broke free of her grip. He threw his wrist out attaching a string of web to the ceiling, so he could cover the distance between him and the door in one swing.

Peter yanked the door opened to find nothing but chaos behind it. Yelena could be heard cackling just behind the first row of lockers, and you were spewing threats at her while still unable to get up from the floor. "Y/N are you good?" He yelled spotting the multicolored slime sticking to the ceiling.

"Pete don't let her get anymore lockers open" You warned him just in time. Because that was when Yelena walked over and delivered a hard kick to the first row of lockers. The ones he was standing in front of his Spider Sense went off again. Before the lockers could fly open Peter fired off rapid shots of his web at the doors sticking them back closed. Although some of slime did manage to slip out spilling through the small cracks of the lockers.

"Neat trick Peter too bad you're too little to late" Yelena said heading towards the exit. Where Kate was waiting for her with a grin.

"Good job distracting Spider Boy" the blonde complimented her partner.

"It wasn't that hard I really was having fun with the training exercise" Kate replied with a shrug. When she noticed Yelena had started frowning she let out a sigh. "You're still my number one and favorite Yelena."

Yelena perked up again. "Did you send the alert to Clint?"

"Yep did you send one to Natasha?

"About two minutes ago which means we shall be making our leave now." Yelena said turning to where Peter had climbed onto the top of the locker platform, and finally pulled you out of the mess below. You were on your knees trying to wipe the sticky substance away with little success.

"Oh y/n that's going to take a shower or two hun" Kate joked. Yelena let out a laugh holding up her hand for a high five which Kate gave her, and then the two of them disappeared into the training room.

"Come on y/n get up I'll swing us out of here" Peter offered holding out a hand. You accepted letting him pull you to your feet wrapping a secured arm around your waist. But when he attempted to launch a string of web. Nothing came out of his web holsters except a clicking noise. They were empty and now you two would have to escape on foot with you covered in evidence.

"What the heck happened in here" Clint exclaimed appearing in the doorway with Nat right behind him. Her arms were crossed and she was shaking her head in disappointment.

"It wasn't us-Peter tried to argue but Natasha held up a hand to stop him. "Let me guess it was Yelena and Kate."

You just threw your head with a groan while he nodded furiously.

"We're not buying it considering y/n is covered in the stuff, and Peter's webs are plastered everywhere" Natasha said turning her gaze to you. "Oh yeah Wanda is back from her mission so besides locker room cleaning duty. Training is going to be amped up for both of you."

"That'll be a month of cleaning duty by the way. You can start right now by showering y/n. Peter will be waiting for you" Clint ordered.

That was checkmate.

Yelena and Kate had evened up the score now.

Tag List: @danveration @xxromanoffxx @romanoffomixam @xxxtwilightaxelxxx @yelenabelovasgf @catswag22 @musicinourlips @natashasilverfox @lizlil @mellowladyangel @jokertgkk @be-missed @meimei-a

[faithhearted]

Rebekah facepalmed, though she did laugh, “Good Lord, we aren’t going to be reenacting Misery, Ben. You won’t be tied down to the bed and I’m not gonna take a sledgehammer to your legs.”  

“You know, this isn't alleviating the whole 'science experiment' fear."

“Oh for the love of…” she sighed, knowing her approach to this entire fiasco was the cause of these remarks, “I’d be inseminated. They aren’t going to grow the baby in a petri dish.” 

After all the embarrassing hurdles, she was relieved to hear that he understood her reasoning behind such a venture. So much so that she could actually pick up her fork and begin to work on the plate of now soggy pancakes in front of her. They were half cold now, but now that the apprehension was fading, she realized she was too hungry to care. 

“Hey, I wouldn’t be so quick to dismiss an anecdote or two about your dating life,” she answered between bites, “Might make me feel better about my crappy experiences.” 

Benjamin appeared to be a little more relaxed as well, for he was smiling for the first time since she’d mentioned her plan. It was still adorably crooked and held the same warmth it had back in high school. Flushing with a soft smile of her own, she stared back down at her plate to hide it. 

"Sooo, we've gone from exchanging book recs to swapping...fluids?" 

Here, she nearly choked, downing nearly her entire glass of water to dissipate the food lodged in her throat, looking like a melodramatic character out of a sitcom. At this rate, she was going to keel over before she ever had the chance to get pregnant.

Whether it was her comedic display or his own joke, or a bit of both, Benjamin laughed. Still, she wasn’t sure she could take it as a good sign. At least until he spoke again. 

"What was the deciding factor here? My excellent bone structure?"

“Oh, har-dee-har,” she sputtered between coughs, “Very funny.” 

He laughed again, "You're killing me, Beks. You invite me out to dinner, and then instead of asking me to pass the salt, you request a dash of sperm?"

“Are we ever going to get back to discussing the details, or are you just going to spend the rest of this dinner poking fun at me for my life choices?” 

"Despite my interest in modern innovation, I confess I've never looked into fertility before, so...I half wondered if we were going to do things the old-fashioned way. It puts a whole new spin on 'you've got a friend in me,' doesn't it?"

The old-fashioned way? The mental image of them together had her blushing wildly, the deep shade of red in her cheeks she hoped to God he’d think was due to her near-comical choking episode. 

“Thank you for ruining a childhood classic while you’re at it,” she sighed again, this time rolling her eyes as well, “Evidently, we aren’t going to go about this discussion the mature way, so should I ask the waitress to bring out crayons and a coloring page for you?”

"You can still have those things. I'm not asking anything else of you...just...well, just for your sperm..."

Ben snorted. "Okay, so...I'm basically some kind of dispenser you pump at will? This is starting to sound a little too much like a Penthouse article."

Did they even publish those anymore?

Blinking the thought away -- he tended to get scatterbrained when he was taken aback or nervous -- he watched Rebekah hide behind her hands, clearly equally mortified, before peeking out at him between her fingers.

"Well, you would uh... you would have a physical and get some labs drawn to prove your health on paper, then you'd fill out some paperwork and then..." Rebekah paused, then awkwardly gestured downward. Or rather, toward his "downward."

Ben made a face. "You know, this isn't alleviating the whole 'science experiment' fear."

Rebekah waved her hands. "Look, like I said, you don't have to even entertain this if you don't want to, but I've decided that I want a baby and don't want to wait for the perfect man to fall into my vicinity to have one -- my track record is full of mistakes..."

Ben pursed his mouth, absently drumming his fingers against his knee. Finally, a faint hint of amusement glittered within his eyes. "Although you just implied I'm not a 'perfect man,' I can understand what you're saying...we're not getting any younger, and in this day and age, the dating scene is awful. Godawful, in fact. You don't even want to know about some of the things I've encountered."

Still appearing embarrassed, Rebekah finished, "I only thought that it might...th-that it might be better for me to do this with someone I trust rather than a total stranger."

Trust... Admittedly, it surprised Ben to hear she regarded him with such high esteem. Growing up and baking mud pies together, after all, wasn't exactly the basis for undying devotion, but it made him smile nonetheless.

"Sooo, we've gone from exchanging book recs to swapping...fluids?" No longer able to keep a straight face, Ben laughed and covered his eyes with his hand, incapable of holding her gaze. "What was the deciding factor here? My excellent bone structure?" Laughing anew, he lowered his hand and looked out the diner window. "You're killing me, Beks. You invite me out to dinner, and then instead of asking me to pass the salt, you request a dash of sperm?"

Oh, Caleb would love this -- which was precisely why he wasn't going to tell him.

Reaching for his coffee again, Ben admitted, "Despite my interest in modern innovation, I confess I've never looked into fertility before, so...I half wondered if we were going to do things the old-fashioned way. It puts a whole new spin on 'you've got a friend in me,' doesn't it?"

[terubakudan]

This may be an old article from 3 years ago, but these cultural aspects/observations still apply even today. And though this is strictly a Chinese perspective, a lot of these everyday life bits are observed in Overseas Chinese communities in countries such as The Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, etc. as well as countries heavily influenced by Chinese culture like Taiwan, Japan, and Korea.

I've always liked learning about other cultures and making comparisons between how things are done East vs West. Which probably stems from growing up with two cultures and Mom raising me on American movies xD

So the irony is if you asked me how many Chinese, Taiwanese, or Hong Kong actors I know, chances are I know as much as you do xD Like Jackie Chan, Andy Lau, and that's about it. But if you asked me about Western (specifically American and British) actors, then I have a useless brain dump of movie trivia and who was with who in what movie xD

Hmmm, both Taiwan and the Philippines are two distinct cultures but both look up to a certain country and are fascinated by that. In Taiwan's case, Japan and the US for the Philippines. In both cases, this is due to being under the rule of those countries in their history. Taiwan being under Japan for 50 years, and the Philippines being under Spain for 300+ years, followed by periods of American and Japanese rule. To put it simply though:

Taiwan is "mini-Japan with a very Chinese culture".

The Philippines is "former colony of Spain with lots of American influences".

But unlike the author, I've never set foot in any Western country, so my understandings are strictly what I've observed in media, which while it can be accurate, doesn't compare to actually experiencing the culture.

Some further elaboration on most points:

#1 We quite literally use chopsticks for everything. We use it to pick rice, viands, vegetables, fruit, smaller desserts, almost all the food you can think of.

But where do you put your chopsticks when you're not using them? Just put them on top of your bowl or flat on your plate. But do not ever stick them vertically. It's taboo, since it looks like incense sticks, which we use to pray for those who have passed, like our ancestors or during funerary services.

#3 The majority of Asia is obsessed with fair/white skin. In my time at the Philippines, I grew up watching all these Dove Whitening commercials and my classmates often commented on how fair my skin was, how they envied it etc. In Taiwan, girls often say they don't want to 變黑 (biàn hēi) 'become dark'. Japan and Korea too are not innocent of this either (if their beauty/skin products weren't a dead giveaway).

People here at Taiwan often mistake me for being from Hong Kong or Japan (as long as I don't speak Mandarin with my heavy accent xD). A Taiwanese classmate of mine joked that she often gets mistaken for being from Southeast Asia due to having a darker complexion. And while I laughed it off with her at that time, looking back, I now realize she was lowkey being racist. xD

And believe me Filipinas have mentioned literally being told 'your skin is so dark' here in Taiwan, or being given backhanded compliments like 'you're pretty despite having dark skin' and...*facepalms*

My point is, beauty is not exclusive to skin color. People who still think that are assholes.

#5 Not to say we don't have salt and pepper, but yes soy sauce and vinegar are the classic condiments you see on the table, be it at home or at a restaurant.

And if I may add, Taiwanese love their pepper. xD If you ever get to eat at a night market or a smaller "Mom n' Pop-style" restaurant here, some dishes/soups tend to add quite an excessive amount of pepper. Not like anthills, but quite liberally and way more than average. Enough that you see traces of pepper at the bottom of the food paper bag or swirling in your soup. xD

#6 I know this all too well from personal experience. In my years of studying at Taiwan, I always had roommates. 3 in my first school (I graduated high school in the Philippines pre K-12 so I had to make up 2 years of Senior High), followed by 2 in college, with the exception of 1 in freshman year.

My college did offer single person dorms but at around 9000 NTD ($324) per month compared to around 6000 NTD ($216) per semester. Because I wanted to save, the choice was obvious for me xD. But ah, this doesn't mean I don't value personal space, in fact I love having the room to myself, and since both my roomies would go home to their families every weekend, weekends were bliss for me xD

And you don't have to be friends with your roommates (that's an added bonus however), you just have to get along with them. I was quite lucky to have really great roommates all throughout my schooling years.

#9 In the Philippines, we do. Owing mostly to American influences and maybe being predominantly Catholic? xD

#10 *sigh* Chinese parents and parents from similar Asian cultures tend to put too much emphasis on grades, so much that kids could get sent to cram school as early as elementary. This is because what school you get into could literally affect your future job opportunities, and while that's not exclusive to any particular country/culture, I feel it's especially pronounced here in Asia. I'm really lucky my own parents weren't that strict about it. However, if your parents don't point the mistakes out to you, chances are you'll do it yourself, if you're an Asian kid like me anyway. xD It just becomes a habit.

#11 My family is an exception to this. xD We do say 'I love you' directly, but complete with the 'ah eat well ok?', 'don't scrimp on food', 'sleep well' and similar indirect words/actions of affection. We were doing 'Conceal, Don't Feel' before it became popular. xD

#13 I'm kind of confused about this but this has sort have changed over the years in which eye-contact is now more encouraged. But don't stare, especially at elders and authority figures. Sometimes it's just shyness though. xD And I've observed this with my own Taiwanese friend, especially when I'm complaining or ranting to her about something. xD I'm a person who likes to express my opinions strongly, which tends to scare/alienate some of the locals here, as doing so is kind of frowned upon. Thankfully, she does listen and offers her take on things.

#14 Ah this. xD In the Philippines, this is a common greeting known as beso-beso, and I freaked out too when an auntie did that to me. xD Needless to say, Mom lectured me later on what that was. ^^"

#16 Along with #3 another crazy beauty standard. In my view, people always look better with a little meat on them and when they're not horribly thin. Asia still has a loonng way to go with accepting different types of bodies if you ask me. This combined with modern beauty standards has made the pressure for women especially to 'look beautiful' higher than ever.

I know many people love them but please, starving yourself or glorifying eating disorders is never OK just to get this kind of 'ideal' body. I'm not part of the Kpop fandom, but even I think when idols get bullied just for gaining the least bit of weight among other insensitive comments, that's really going too far.

#17 'If you want to make friends, go eat.' <- I couldn't agree more. In the Philippines we have a greeting: 'Kumain ka na ba?' (Have you eaten?) . Similarly in Taiwan, we have 吃飯了沒? (chī fàn le méi), both of these can mean that in the literal sense but are often used as greetings instead. By then which invitation to having lunch/dinner together may or may not follow. Food really is a way for us to socialize and to catch up with what's going on in each other's lives. Not to say we don't have regular outings like going out to the mall, going shopping, etc. but eating together is a huge part of our culture, be it with family or friends.

And while I'm at it, some memes that are way too accurate good to pass up xD

Parents, uncles, aunties alike will fight over the bill xD

Alternatively:

You just space out until your name is called xD

My parents are guilty of the last one. Logic how? xD

#18 True. xD I like giving compliments out to people but I have a hard time accepting them myself, though I've learnt how to accept them much more now than before. We're kind of raised to constantly downplay ourselves so we often say things like 'ah no no' or 'I'm really not that good'. The downside of this of course is that it can come off as somewhat fake. xD

Again from personal experience, that same classmate who made the lowkey racist remark, she was good, she was on the debate team, was a honor student, knew how to mingle with people, but she downplayed herself way too much, while praising me but I honestly thought that she never really meant it from how she treated me. She wanted to keep me around her yet make backhanded compliments at me and she didn't want me socializing with my other classmate who is now my friend. *sigh* It was only after discussing this with one of my roomies did I realize how this 'excessive downplaying' might come off to people like me who more or less grew up with a more 'Westernized' mindset. I'm not saying brag about your achievements but don't be overly humble about them either, which can also be a turn off.

#20 We do tend to be a lot more realistic on how we view things, neither entirely optimistic nor pessimistic. We try to think of things practically and often analyze things on pure logic. A downside of this however, is that Chinese people can be overly practical. Taiwanese for instance don't like to 'find inconveniences' and generally keep to themselves, meaning, they won't help you in your hour of need even when they do have the capabilities. Sounds really harsh I know, but in my 6 years of living in Taiwan, while this doesn't apply to all the people, a lot of them really do only find/talk to you when they need something.

So for some people saying Taiwanese are 'friendly', that's BS xD If you ask me, Filipinos are infinitely more friendly, and again while not all, generally make more of an effort to help you when you need it. I really felt more of a real sense of community during my years growing up in the Philippines compared to Taiwan.

#21 Children do tend to stay with their parents well into college and adulthood, since Chinese families are indeed very family-oriented, in a lot of cases, grandparents often live under the same roof as us as well! And it really does save a lot of money. I see there's a real stigma in the US when it comes to "living with your parents", but that's starting to change especially because of Covid and having more and more people move back in with their parents.

Housing unfortunately is pretty much hella expensive no matter where you go, and Taiwan is no exception. Steep housing prices and the very high cost of raising a child (schooling + buxiban fees, etc.) contribute to a very low birth rate and thus an aging population like Japan. It's not uncommon to see both parents working in Taiwan.

#23 I'm an overthinker myself, but I totally agree with the author that the best is to strike a good balance between these two. Which I guess is why I love drawing or any other related creative attempts, it helps me be more spontaneous or well, creative! I like to remain intellectually or artistically inspired.

#24 Is French high school really like that? xD My friend did watch SKAM France and more or less got a culture shock from what was depicted on the show. I can confirm however that most high schools both in the Philippines and Taiwan require students to wear a uniform, only in college is everybody free to wear casual/civilian clothes.

#26 Ah this is part of our Asian gift-giving etiquette xD We always open gifts later after the event/meeting and in private. Never open them in front of the person who gave it to you or in front of others. This is to prevent any 'shame/embarrassment' that may result both to yourself and to the gift giver. I know this may come off as something weird since some people may want a more honest response or immediate feedback when it comes to gift-giving, but that's just how it is in our culture. You're always free to ask us though (in private) if we liked the gift or not ^^"

#28 I want to say the same goes to drinking, partying, and drugs however xD Those are things which are still frowned upon in our culture. And to be honest, whenever I see those in movies, it does kind of turn me off xD It doesn't mean that we're "uncool" or "boring", we just think that there are much better or healthier ways of "having fun".

#31 Is this true in France?! Man I would kind of prefer that instead of people being on their phones all the time xD This kind of goes with #20 in that Chinese are overly practical or logical, and don't read fiction as much as nonfiction. My Taiwanese friend is an exception though, she's a bibliophile who loves the feel of paper books compared to e-books, and it's a trait of her that I like a lot. Both the Philippines and Taiwan however have a huge fanbase when it comes to manga and anime though.

I'm all for reading outside of "designated reading" at schools especially. Reading fiction improves your vocabulary too, and can be quite fun! It helps you imagine and really invest in a world/story, and if you ask me something that I feel Westerners are better at, they're more in touch with their emotions and creativity, and are thus much more able to write compelling or original stories. Believe me, I've seen a fair amount of Chinese movies that rip off Western movie plotlines xD

#33 Nothing much to add on here..except that since I'm a "weird" person, Mom often jokes that she got the wrong baby from the hospital. xD

#35 True. While I agree with the care and concern that your fellow community can give you, the downside of this is we tend to only hang out with our own people, e.g Chinese with Chinese, Taiwanese with Taiwanese, etc. I've seen too that it's especially hard to make friends in Japan and Korea as a foreigner. Not only is there the language barrier, but the differences in culture too. In a way, Asians can be pretty close-minded on getting to know other cultures or actually making friends with people from other countries. I know this all too well being half-Taiwanese/half-Filipino, being neither "Filipino" enough nor "Taiwanese" enough. xD It's more of people here being too used to what they're comfortable with.

#36 Oh this is something I feel that Chinese students and other students from similar cultures should really improve on. xD How will people respect you if you don't speak your mind?

I felt bad especially for my Spanish teacher in college, granted it was an introductory course (Spanish I and II) but the amount of times that our teacher had to prompt a student to recite/speak even with clear hints already made her (and me too) extremely frustrated. The thing is, these are college students, I personally feel they don't have any reason to be so shy of speaking and technically by not doing so they're slowing the pace of the class too much and a lot of time is wasted.

Unfortunately you can't always be very vocal with your thoughts and opinions in most Asian cultures. I would say strive for that, but at the same time, play your cards well, especially if you're in a workplace setting.

If you made it to the end, thank you for reading and here's a cookie! 🍪 I'm not perfect and there's bound to be something I missed so please let me know if you spotted anything wrong. Feedback/questions are very much welcome and please feel free to share about your country/culture's differences or similarities!

[highlifeboat]

Bela simultaneously being terrified of upsetting/disappointing her mother + her hesitance around Alcina after the girls find out about the dragon transformation = Bela being almost disturbingly obedient around Alcina for weeks after she finds out. She honestly seems like she wouldn't leave a room unless her mother gave her permission to do so. Alcina of course notices, but she doesn't know how to help her daughter, so Mia is the one that has to get it into Bela's head that Alcina loves her and would never hurt her, even if she "messes up."

Bela’s whole attitude took a shift after they found out about Alcina’s dragon form, and everyone in the castle noticed it. She seemed to be constantly exhausted, almost like she wasn’t sleeping, and had grown much quieter. She didn’t mess with her sisters like she used to, in fact she didn’t do much of anything without their mother’s explicit permission, and it had started to concern the younger daughters. Bela has always been the best behaved of the three, but that didn’t mean she had to act like a lap dog all the time. Now it felt like she wouldn’t even eat without an “okay”, and it was taking a toll on the blonde’s health. Her hair was a constant mess, dark circles had formed around her eyes, and any form fitting clothing was starting to become loose around her already skinny frame.

It wasn’t as if Alcina didn’t notice the changes in her eldest daughter, either. The girl stood as straight as possible when Alcina was in a room with her, shoulders tense, fidgeting with her clothes, and sparing the odd nervous glance to her mother from under the mess of hair in her face. It twisted her heart to see one of her girls become so… disturbingly obedient. Like she was trying so hard to stay on her mother’s good side, as if Alcina would strike her if she did something wrong. She had tried to talk with Bela, more than once, to tell her nothing had changed, but the blonde always looked up at her like she was about to be scolded and Alcina could never find the words for fear of making it worse.

Alcina was at a loss for what to do, and while Cassandra and Daniela tried they couldn’t seem to talk their sister out of whatever state of mind she had put herself in. The only one who had yet to try was Mia. She didn’t think she would have any better luck than her wife or daughters, really, but she had to at least attempt to get through to the blonde.

“Bela?” Mia gently knocked on the oldest girl’s bedroom door. “Can I come in? I wanted to talk with you.” There was a moment of silent pause. “I brought you a brownie.” She added, and after another moment she heard a light shuffle on the other side before the door slowly opened. Bela stared down at her with a tired expression, and Mia held a freshly baked brownie square placed on a plate up to her as a peace offering. The young woman glanced from side to side, peaking into the hall before accepting the sweet and opening the door a little wider for her other mother to enter before shutting it again.

Bela sat on her bed as Mia thought about how to start the conversation, taking a look around the seemingly spotless bedroom. She picked up a hairbrush from the dresser, and turned to look at the blonde. “Do you mind if I…?” She pointed to Bela’s hair, and the eldest daughter shook her head. Mia took the spot behind her, and started to brush out the knots in the blonde’s hair as gently as she could. “I’m going to ask you something, Bela, and I want you to be honest with me….” There was a hummed reply as she took a bite of brownie. “Are you… scared of your mom?”

The blonde paused mid chew, starting to shift in her spot. “N.. No….” She didn’t seem sure of her answer. “Maybe… Maybe a little. I just…. I don’t want to mess up.” She tugged the end of her shirt and quietly added. “I don’t want her to get angry with me….”

Mia pursed her lips. “Is this because of the dragon incident?”

“I keep… thinking about it.” Bela set her treat aside. “How she looked, and how angry she sounded.” She suddenly stood, crossing her arms over her chest. “I know the others are okay with it, but they aren’t worried about… mother doesn’t hold them to the same expectations.” She turned to face Mia, running a hand through half brushed hair. “I can’t disappoint her. I can’t. Because if I do then I fail and if I fail then I’m not good enough and….” Bela closed her eyes and took a breath. “She might get mad. And then she might turn into that thing again, and then... I don’t know. Bad things would happen.”

“Oh, sweetheart….” Mia stood as well, gently holding Bela’s face. “I don’t think Alcina could ever be mad at you.” A small sniffle escaped the blonde. “And she’s never hurt you before, has she?”

“No.”

“Not even when you mess up, right?”

“No….”

“And she never would.” She tucked the hair that hung in Bela’s face behind her ear. “She loves you, and your sisters, more than anything in the world. She’d sooner die than hurt you.” The taller woman hummed a little. “And, believe me, you don’t need to try so hard. A mistake every now and then won’t make anyone think less of you. Not even Alcina can go without mistaking salt and sugar at least once in her life.” Bela let out a small giggle, and Mia was happy to see the blonde smiling for the first time in nearly a month. “You don’t have to be scared of her. Or of disappointing her. She’ll love you no matter what. Okay?”

A small pause. “Okay.”

[heresathreebee]

Brackish and Briny Waters (two)

[Ralph Lamont X Female Reader]

Summary: Settling into your new house Part 1 Masterlist Part 3

Tags: +17 | 1.7k words | just really fucking domestic stuff, one (1) bad attitude, presumptuous behavior, unprotected morning sex, more remodeling.

AN: I kind of know where I'm going with this. The conflict will be subtle at first but it's there I promise.

The first day goes by fast and for Ralph meeting every single person on staff in this prestigious school was like trying cheeses and wines in a vineyard– fun at first but you get a stomach ache because somebody forgot to tell you not to swallow and there are just so many of them each more rich than the last. By the time he crosses the threshold to his new home, he's exhausted and annoyed. 

"I told you not to unpack without me." 

You look at him from the kitchen and shrug. "I needed stuff, baby. I already wrote a list of things to work on in this 'bare bones' house you put us up in and I was bored." 

You don't care for his attitude but offer him the covered plate anyways. "I saved you some dinner." 

All at once, Ralphie's anger melted from his face. He shuffled his tired feet across the still empty living room and pulled you into his side. The plate was warm (still warm or recently warmed up, he couldn't tell) and his stomach growled. 

"M sorry," he said, "I don't mean to be an asshole." 

You smile your forgiveness. "Long day?" 

"Yes," he hisses. "I already can't wait for the weekend." 

You chuckle. "Oh come on, it can't be that bad. Give it a chance, baby!" 

"As you wish." 

After eating, Ralph is right to sleep despite his insistence you finish packing together tonight. A part of you thinks it's the climate here– fresh sea salt air and less artificial light to disrupt the body's natural sleep patterns. You took off his shoes and empty his pockets because he was just 'resting his eyes for a moment,' then slid in right next to him. He's fine without a blanket, but you pull the back of the quilt over your rear and curl into his side. Sleep comes easier tonight than last night and you dream of wallpaper and wood smoke cologne. 

DAY THREE

The rest of the week gets easier for the both of you. You arrived on Monday and unpack the bigger furniture together by Wednesday with the help of some locals. Ralph is getting to study the lesson plan for Ms. Lewis' math class and establishing a gentle authority with his temporary students. He is still excited for the weekend, intent to help you figure out what to do with the walls of the house. 

"Has anybody come to see you at the house yet?," he asks you Thursday night. 

You pause dicing onions to think. "Besides the neighbors to the north and those Vayle boys? No." 

Ralphie raises his eyebrows and drops them, an involuntary gesture made more for himself than you. 

You put a hand on your hip. "Why?" 

Ralphie waves you off and continues mixing the meat with the spices. "Nothing. It's just everybody and their fucking moms has been asking me about you." 

"What?" This was news to you. "Why?" 

"Because they're nosy," he replies, "asking me about my whole life story and I let slip I had a wife and then they just wouldn't shut up about it." 

You swat his shoulder. "Well don't sound so depressed about it. Do you not like having a wife?" 

"No!" Ralph huffs and turns to look at you as he says, "I just hate that every single one of them bugs me about a million personal things and then I mention you and it's the only thing they can talk about now." 

Ralph turns back to stirring the pan and grumbles to himself, "might tell them to fuck off and just hoard you forever…" 

It clicks in your head at least a bit. Ralph's a born and bred city kid. In the city nobody cares who you are, what you like, or where you're from. Strangers don't want to be anything more than strangers. Their eternal social motto is 'don't waste my time' and anyone who acts differently is probably scheming something. 

You chuckle and rest your chin on his shoulder. "You're forgetting these are a different breed of people. Rich and educated socialites more over but suburban, maybe even rural. We're probably the first new thing to happen to them in decades, and communities like this don't have a 'mind your business and I'll mind mine' attitude." 

Ralphie flicks you a look but you know he knows you're right. It doesn't mean he has to like it but at least he understands it's not malicious, at least not inherently. It's out of his element, a little out of yours too, but you'll have to adapt and play by their rules if you want to stay here for a while. 

The dining room table can seat six, but your Ralphie takes a seat right next to you at a corner so he can hold your hand while you eat. Homemade tacos ease your apprehensions a bit and you go over the remodeling plans with him until midnight. Getting ready to sleep, you wear your thinnest shift and wrap around him like an octopus, your warm core brushing over his barely clothed manhood in temptation. 

Ralphie hums, tucking a stray hair back into your bonnet. "We need to get up early tomorrow." 

It's a weak protest. The two of you keep rocking into each other and sighing at the feeling of friction but eventually fall asleep despite the delightful buzz of sexual energy surrounding you. You do wake up when Ralph flips you under him and sucks a few marks into your neck.

You spread your legs to accommodate his breadth, feeling him settle deliciously and glancing at the bedside clock. It's barely 5 o' clock and the sun is rising. You gasp as you feel Ralphie's cock slide into you and he's met with little resistance. You two have sex for the first time since you moved and it's been so long that the affair is short lived. 

Ralph already has an apology on his lips but you shush him and come a moment later with your fingers brushing your clit in tandem. He peppers you with a dozen more kisses as silent promises to make it up to you. 

You shower together, barely bumping elbows as this bathroom is way bigger than your New York City apartment ever was. You chat idly about the weekend and the town and when you're ready to leave, you grab the manila folder where you store the plans for the remodel. You've even got samples from the wallpaper, only taking the ones you like and want to replace. 

"I know we probably won't find exact replicas but I want to at least find something similar." 

Ralph squeezes your thigh. "Ok, ok. We'll try." 

While this town doesn't have a McDonald's (the town over does and it's fancy for some reason), it does have a Home Depot (also pretty fancy). You know you'll need wood and screws and glass panes to finish that solar room but that's not the goal for today. 

Ralph skips right over the green paint swatch section to the creams. He's rambling about paint brand pros and cons, he did his research on the way in since you were driving and he brought the book from the school library. You follow and half listen. 

"What?" 

Ralph finally catches on to your soft smile. You glance around to make sure no one is in earshot because god forbid these gossipers over hear your conversation right now. 

"I guess I got you pretty excited last night, huh," you say with a sense of pride. Ralph feels the opposite about his performance this morning. 

"I just… I think it's just been a while." He occupies his hands by grabbing every single free swatch sample on the shelf and says, "I promise I will make it up to you." 

You roll your eyes in a not unkind way. "It's fine, babe, really. I uh… it feels kind of good to know I still have that kind of effect on you…" 

Ralphie sports a smile of his own and puts you under his arm. "Of course you do, sugar." 

He leans down to plant a kiss on your lips when you're interrupted by a bright voice. It's so startling that your husband bounces away from you. He stares wide eyed at the woman who interrupted you and he gets that dark look in his eye that only you can see. 

"Jesus, Julie," he tries his best not to growl her name. "This is Julie, she's a teacher at the school. Julie this… is… my wife." 

Julie makes a noise like a whistle. "Oh my god you are so much more beautiful than I imagined! Ralph doesn't have a picture of you in his office!" 

"It's on my desk," he huffs, "it's the one turned towards me." 

"And why would you do that?" 

"...so I can look at it while I work…?" 

Julie's… a little too hands on for just meeting you. You're too reserved to say something about it so you sling a loose arm around her back and hope Ralph doesn't say something for you. 

"Hi Julie, it's nice to finally meet you," you tell her. "Ralph's been slowly but surely introducing me to the concept of his coworkers." 

"I can't believe we haven't met before now! Ralph keeping you all to himself, me and the other teachers are just so curious about you," she coos. It feels almost put on, like overindulging in sweet to play up her first impression. You let it slide though, maybe it's just your city lens. 

"Well, uh, once we've got the house fixed up a bit, we can plan a housewarming party," you suggest. "But not a day before and you may quote me on that, miss!" 

Julie laughed and gave you her phone number 'in case you need anything at all.' Ralph breathed easy once she finally left and you tug his ear gently. "She's veeerry friendly." 

Ralphie shoots you a glare like you'd made a joke he didn't find funny and you go back to debating the paint to use for your walls eagerly.

@escape-your-grape @hoodoo12 @softbeej @go-commander-kim @beetlesstuff @imma-fucking-nerd​ @werwulfy​

[kayluh1915]

Beautiful People

Paring(s): Pedro Pascal/Female Reader

Words: 5,378

Warnings: Angst with a Happy Ending, Anxiety Disorder, Medication Discussions, Insecurities, and Panic Attacks.

You and Pedro have been secretly dating for a few months now after a chance meeting. You both agreed that it was time to reveal your relationship to the public and chose to do so by accompanying him at The Oscars, but your anxiety does a great job of making you think that you don't deserve it.

DISCLAIMER!

This story is based on the song Beautiful People by Ed Sheeran & Khalid, but this IS NOT a songfic. It just gave me this vibe of Pedro walking down the red carpet with someone who doesn't quite feel like they belong and he comforts her by saying he doesn't really belong either and proceeds to list why they're better off because of it. I dunno, It just sounded sweet.

As always, comments are welcomed and encouraged.

You can also follow me on Twitter if you'd like. My life is boring, but I might be able to make you laugh if I’m lucky.

Enjoy!

(PS: Pepe is a real person. He was my Spanish teacher my first semester of college... and yes, he really went to Cincinnati every Friday to gamble)

Read on AO3

My Masterlist

The frigid February air was like icicles on your skin, sending a full-blown shiver down your spine as you hurried out of the Science building and towards the dining hall. It was nearly noon and you’ve had only had a banana and a bottle of water this morning, so lunch sounded pretty great right about now… maybe a cup of hot cocoa as well.

The dining hall was about a three-minute walk from the Science building, more than enough time for the cold to seep through the layers of your coat and deep into your bones. The possibility of a cup of cocoa turned into an inevitability, you running for the hot beverage machine as soon as your student ID was swiped.

You sat at your usual spot, hanging your backpack on the back of the chair before taking a greedy sip of the hot drink. The warmth was a godsend, the sugary beverage warming your icy hands with a pleasant hum tumbling from your lips.

“You make noises like that in bed?” Someone asked, snapping you out of your warming daze. It was your roommate and closest friend, Lauren. You snorted at her remark, almost spitting out a sip of your drink.

“I thought you had Spanish class at noon?”

“Nah. It’s Friday, remember?”

“Oh yeah, gambling day.” Like you, Lauren was a music student. It was how you had met nearly four years ago. Like most music students, you both used the extra humanities credits you had earned in high school to bail you out of the required foreign language credit until university. You were doing fairly well so far, but it was because you had a decent teacher. She wasn’t the best, but she was alright.

Lauren’s was just… something else.

On the first day of class, he told his students to call him “Pepe” because he didn’t do the “formal shit.” He also said that there would never be a class on Friday’s because he goes up to Cincinnati to gamble with his buddies. Why he didn’t just put down that his classes were only on Monday and Wednesday were beyond you.

“Yeah. Whatever, though right?” Lauren continued. “I’m not complaining about one less day of class.” You smirked mischievously.

“No, but your Spanish is…” Lauren scoffed, only causing you to laugh harder into your cup.

“Bitch, you shut the fuck up. You can’t speak the damn language either.” You shrugged.

“You’re not wrong, but at least I’m learning more than you are with Pepe.” Lauren groaned.

“Fuck you. Come on, let’s grab some grub.” You stood up and grabbed your backpack, throwing away your empty drink cup to grab something to eat. You settled on your usual favorite and sat back down with Lauren who had somehow already made it halfway through her plate.

“God, slow down.” You teased as you hung your backpack back on the chair.

“I didn’t eat breakfast this morning. Cut a bitch a break.” You shook your head, digging into your own plate, but at a much slower pace. You both sat in comfortable silence, enjoying your meals as the indecent chatter of the surrounding students and meme music playing from the jukebox continued on.

“So,” Lauren said, breaking the silence as she sat down her drink. “What are you doing this weekend?” You froze at her question but played it off the best you could. Any hint of hesitation would send her into a frenzy of questions that you weren’t prepared to answer.

“I’m going in to see Mom. Maybe stop by my Mamaw’s too.” Lauren’s shoulders slumped.

“Damn, that’s too bad. Devon invited us over to his Oscar watch party tomorrow night. Figured you might want to come along since you’re into that sort of thing.” 

You swallowed hard at the mention of The Oscars. Just play it cool… don’t. fucking. panic.

“Normally I would, but it’s been a while since I’ve seen Mom. You know how she gets when I don’t come to visit for a while.” Lauren nodded her head in understanding, knowing full well of how your Mom was after living with you for two years.

Little did she know that you had just seen your mother last weekend.

“I understand, boo. I’ll let him know you can’t make it. When are you leaving?”

“As soon as I’m done here. I packed my stuff this morning so I could just go. Trying to beat the traffic as much as possible.” She nodded in understanding.

“Well, I hope you have a good time with your Mom. Say hi to her for me, will you?” You internally sighed a breath in relief. How your big mouth managed to keep him a secret all this time let alone this was beyond you, but you managed to pull it off somehow.

“Yeah, sure.”

After you finished eating, you hugged Lauren goodbye and went back to your dorm long enough to drop off the books you didn’t need and pick up your suitcase. You went through your mental checklist one last time and locked your door behind you as you left.

You unlocked your car and threw your stuff into the backseat, making your way towards the interstate as soon as you left the college.

Home was about a two or three-hour drive down south, but where you were really going was about a 40-minute drive north. You put on some music as you cruise down the interstate, your nervousness slowly increasing the closer you got to your destination.

Your hands shook on the steering wheel, you bounced your left knee furiously, and you were biting your lip… pretty hard. You thought about reaching into your purse for the “take as needed” anxiety medication your psychiatrist prescribed you but decided to hold off on it a little longer. Maybe it’d taper off when you got to the airport.

It didn’t.

You had flown before, but that had been years ago when your micro home town had some kind of festival thing and gave free airplane rides. This commercial airline stuff was something entirely new to you which was already nerve wreaking, but the unexpected bustle of such a smaller airport made it worse.

Weeks before when you first booked the flight to Los Angles, you did as much research as possible to make sure that you knew the “norms” and guidelines of all the airports you were going to since there were no direct flights available. You were as prepared as anyone could be, but you were still extremely nervous and all the foot traffic only made it worse.

You went through security without any qualms and took a seat to wait for your flight to begin boarding. You pulled out your phone and texted your Mom and Lauren before someone walked up to you in your peripheral.

“Excuse, miss?” You looked up from your phone to come face to face with an older gentleman. He looked to be in his early 50’s with salt and peppered hair and a kind smile. He asked you your name and you confirmed with a nod.

“Sorry to disturb you, but your private flight is prepared to depart whenever you’re ready, Miss.”

...Excuse you, what?

“P-Private flight? But I-... I paid for an American Airlines flight.” The man nodded.

“Yes, but Mr. Pascal has sent a private jet to retrieve you. He was fairly insistent to make sure that you boarded.” You sighed heavily. You told him that a two-stop economy flight that you paid for was more than fine, but the thought of you doing anything like a normal person seemed to bother him for some reason.

“Okay. I-I guess I’m ready to go then.” The man smiled.

“Of course, Miss. May I take your bags for you?” You hesitated.

You had never been waited on like this before and you weren’t quite sure how to feel or respond to it. You were perfectly capable of carrying your own stuff and this guy probably wasn’t getting paid enough to carry some lucky college student’s stuff, but was it rude to say no even if you did so in a polite manner? So, you just agreed and handed him over your suitcase and backpack.

You followed him outside and over to a small commercial jet, a woman who looked to be around her mid 30’s standing right by the entrance of the aircraft.

“Welcome aboard, Miss. I’m Kendall Bishop and I’m your captain for today. If you’ll go ahead and take a seat and buckle your seat belt, we’ll depart shortly. I do ask, however, that you remain seated and keep your seat belt fastened until Mr. Clements informs you that it is safe to move about the cabin. Do you have any questions for me before we begin our descent?”

You smiled politely at her and shook your head.

Upon entering the cabin, you were at a complete loss for words. It was easily the fanciest thing you’d ever seen. Leather seats, stocked alcohol shelves, an endless assortment of snacks, a TV, even a fucking bed of all things. The man, Mr. Clements you assumed, gestured towards the seat closest to you. You sat down and buckled your seat belt like you were told to do.

Mr. Clements then reached into his pocket and pulled out an envelope, gesturing for you to take it.

“Mr. Pascal requested I hand this to you as soon as you board.” You took the envelope out of his hands, looking down at it with a curious gaze. On the back of it had your name scribbled onto it in familiar handwriting. You’d know it anywhere after reading so many letters from him.

“Please enjoy your flight and let us know if there’s anything we can do for you.” You thanked him with another nod, turning the envelope around and tearing it open. The plane prepared to take off as you read.

Mi Abeja,

I know you wanted and paid for a normal flight, but the academy offered to fly you to me privately last second. I was going to ask you if you were okay with it, but you were in class and your phone was off and I had to let them know something before my table read this morning. You work and study so hard and deserve to be pampered so I told them yes. They reimbursed what you paid for your ticket and I’ll give that to you once you get here.

I hope the unexpected change didn’t spike your anxiety too much. I know you’re nervous about this whole thing to begin with and I probably just made it worse. I’m sorry if I did.

 I’ll be there to pick you up as soon as you land at LAX.

Love you,

Pedro. <3 <3 

Your heart soared at his words, leaning back in your seat and looking out of the nearby window just in time to watch the plane lift up from the runway.

________________________

Four hours later, Mr. Clements informed you that you would be landing shortly. Your heart leaped up in your chest as you put your phone back into your backpack and fastened your seat belt.

It had been a few weeks since you’d last seen him and you were nearly vibrating with excitement by the time the wheels touched down on the runway. Mr. Clements offered to take your things again. You still weren’t sure if it was rude to turn him down or not and you didn’t want to ask and risk looking like a moron, so you agreed and handed over your backpack.

The captain opened up the door and exchanged pleasantries with you as you stepped off the plane, but you barely heard her over the pounding of your own heart. As soon as you looked up from the ramp, you saw him. He was there just like he promised he’d be, standing by his car and wearing his favorite pair of sunglasses all while smiling at you with that blinding smile.

Your sneakers barely touched the tarmac before you were sprinting for him. He held out his arms for you and made a small sound when you collided with him, wrapping your arms around his neck and laying your head on his chest. One of his hands caressed the back of your head, holding you to him tightly as the other one held on to your waist.

“I’ve missed you so much, Abeja.” He muttered against the crown of your head. You let go of him long enough to reach up and kiss him, tangling your hand into his dark curls. “Did you have a good flight?” He asked after you pulled away.

“I did. I was a little nervous at first, but I’m okay now.” Pedro gave you a saddened look.

“I’m sorry. I know it was unexpected and didn’t mean to hike you up, I just figured yo-” You put your hand over his mouth.

“It wasn’t your fault, Pedro. I’m just… not used to this… any of it.” He placed a gentle kiss to your fingers, taking your wrist into his hand and gently taking it off of his mouth.

“Please tell me you at least ate something.“ You nodded.

“I ate with Lauren before I left for the airport. She actually invited me to an Oscar watch party this guy named Devon is hosting. I played it cool just like we practiced, but it took everything in me not to freak out.” Pedro giggled, pressing a kiss to your nose.

“Isn’t she in for a surprise?” You barely smiled, nodding gently. You’ve been trying not to think about it, but the idea of you being on display to the entire world made your stomach churn and your knees weak. You were just a first-generation college student from the middle of nowhere, yet here you are in the arms of Pedro Pascal about to walk down the runway of the most prestigious award show in less than 24 hours.

“... Yeah.” You eventually answered. Pedro noticed the change in your demeanor and frowned, placing a kiss on the wrist he was still holding and caressing it gently with his thumb.

“We don’t have to go through with this if you don’t want to, you know? We can always go with plan B.” You shook your head vigorously.

“No, no, no! I-I want people to know… I just… all so new.” Pedro smiled at you sympathetically, brushing a stray piece of hair away from your face.

“Just promise you’ll let me know if it ever becomes too much for you. I can’t help you if I don’t know what’s going on.” You look up into his mocha gaze, the butterflies in your stomach making you forget about your self-doubt if only for a few seconds.

“I promise.”

________________________

That evening you were curled up with Pedro in the hotel bed, empty take-out containers discarded onto the nearby nightstand as you watched The Shining together. He was fully engrossed in the movie, his fingers idly playing with your hair. You had tried to focus on the movie. You really did, but you’ve seen the damn thing a million times. Laughing at memes on Reddit sounded more appealing so that’s what you were doing.

“You know, I really miss you when you’re not with me.” Pedro said after a while. You looked up from your phone and up at his face.

“I miss you too. Music school sucks and I can’t cuddle Lauren… well, I can but it would be awkward.” Pedro laughed, caressing your cheek with his knuckle.

“Tomorrow, our stylists will be here around noon. I know you’re going to be nervous all day and will probably avoid eating, so I’m going to make sure you get up with me and eat a proper breakfast.” You groaned quietly.

“You won’t let me sleep in? Even on a Saturday?” You fake-pouted. Pedro tapped your nose gently with his finger.

“Not when tomorrow is such an important day. I don’t want you nervous on an empty stomach.” You both went back to what you were doing for a minute.

“You did bring your medication, didn’t you?” You hesitated before nodding.

“Yes.”

“Good. You’ll have something in case it gets too intense. Getting you to take it will be another story, though.” You didn’t say anything, favoring instead to raise up from your reclined position to swing your leg over his waist to straddle him. His hands instantly went to your hips, gently caressing them with his large hands.

“You’re so beautiful, Abeja.” He said after a while of looking you over and running his hands over your body. You smiled at him and leaned down to give him a kiss. It was pretty standard as far as kisses go, but when you pulled away you were both looking at one another with a fiery intent and slowly went back in for another. This one searing and far more passionate.

Pedro groaned deep in his throat as your tongues collide, the kiss deepening far beyond your original intent.

You weren’t complaining.

________________________

Pedro’s alarm going off scared the living hell out of you. You had been awake since 4 am, trying your best to go back to sleep, but it just never happened. When you finally gave up around 6:30, you grabbed your backpack and sat at the desk the hotel provided and did your weekend homework. You hadn’t realized that you were that engrossed in it until his alarm buzzed you out of it.

He groaned quietly and reached over to silence it, rolling back over and reaching out to the other side of the bed looking for you. When he noticed that you were gone, he raised up from the sheets and looked around the room. His hair was an absolute nightmare, sticking up in various directions as he stretched out his back and yawned loudly.

“Thought you wanted to sleep in.” He teased after he found you at the desk.

“You said you were going to wake me up early. Figured I might get some work done.” Concern then donned on his brow.

“Honey, how long have you been up?”

“Not long,” you lie. “I wanted to get some work done so I just got up at my usual time.” Pedro got out of bed and padded over to you, rubbing your shoulders and placing a kiss atop your head.

“You work too hard. You should take a break while you can.” You lolled your head back, Pedro’s hands rubbing your shoulders feeling absolutely amazing.

“I’ll do whatever you say as long as you keep doing that.” He laughed, kissing your cheek and heading to the bathroom.

________________________

You didn’t want to question the professional, you really didn’t. But after the third layer of concealer, you just had to.

“That’s a lot of concealer.” The makeup artist laughed.

“I know, I’m sorry. Use some cream for those bags next time and I promise you won’t need as much.”

You didn’t speak after that, allowing the hair and makeup artist to finish you up while they gossiped back and forth with each other. They made other side comments like that to you here and there. They weren’t necessarily rude so you couldn’t really say anything, but they did little for your already rock-bottom self-esteem.

The artist put a dark shade of lipstick on your lips, making a triumphant noise when she finished.

“Didn’t have the best canvas, but you look fabulous sweetheart! Smile with your mouth closed and you’ll be a knockout!” The makeup artist and hairstylist gathered up their things, leaving you sitting there in your robe staring at the floor and hoping they leave fast.

When they finally left, you got up from the bed and walked over to the full-bodied mirror. You showed your teeth and started looking over them. You never thought they looked too bad. Sure, they were crooked and had some spacing, but they were okay. Braces were expensive and playing a brass instrument with braces is a death sentence for lips.

What if you were wrong about them looking okay all this time? Maybe you should have taken out that loan and a semester off to fix your teeth…

Your stylist came in shortly after. He was quieter than the others had been and much nicer which you were thankful for as you changed into the white dress they had picked for you. When you came out, the stylist smiled and hooped.

“You look gorgeous!” You finished off your look with matching jewelry and a clutch purse, sitting down on the bed to put on your heels.

“It took me forever to find a pair of acceptable wedges for you, sweetheart. I don’t know why you didn’t just tough it out for one night, but hey. I get it. Country girls don’t like heels and that’s okay! It worked out.”

Again, not necessarily rude… but damn.

________________________

You were waiting in the lobby for Pedro to come out, bouncing your leg nervously and trying to remember not to touch your eyes or bite your lip because of the makeup. When you saw him step off the elevator, your breath caught in your throat. His hair was slicked back and his facial hair neatly trimmed, the black velvet suit hugging his broad shoulders perfectly.

“Wow…” He muttered, looking you up and down. “You look absolutely stunning, Abeja.”

“You don’t look so bad yourself.” You replied, playing with his bow tie.

“Hey, hey, no. Don’t touch it. I don’t know how to tie it back if it comes loose.” You laughed and shook your head.

“Fine… I’ll unwrap my present later.” Pedro’s own breath caught as you winked up at him. He cleared his throat and composed himself, offering you his arm.

“Ready?” You swallowed and nodded, taking his arm for him to escort you.

“As ready as I’ll ever be, I guess.”

________________________

You were in line for the red carpet, the flashing cameras of the paparazzi already blinding and you were still pretty far back. Your stomach churned, a wave of nausea rising up but nothing happening. Pedro took your shaking hand into his and squeezed it gently.

“You okay?” He asked, noticing how tense you were and only grew worse the closer you got.

“... fine.”

“Plan B’s still an option if you need it, Abeja. You have your medicine you can take too.” You shook your head, looking back at him to flash him a smile.

“I’m good.” You could tell that he didn’t buy your bullshit. Not even for a moment. He didn’t say anything, though, opting only to lift your hand and press a kiss to the back of it.

“I’ll be right there beside you the entire time, honey. If at any point you feel uncomfortable or need to leave, you let me know.” You nodded at him, accepting a kiss from him before looking back out the window of the limo.

Your turn came up way sooner than you would have liked, the greeter opening up the limo door as soon as the car stopped and allowing Pedro to step out into the public eye. The photographers went nuts, the flashing lights and screams from fans intimidating you more than you thought they would.

What the fuck were you thinking? You’re just some tired ass music student. You don’t belong here with all these people.

You almost chickened out and stayed in the car but when Pedro turned towards you and offered his hand you took it anyway even though your mind was screaming for you not to. Just the gentle touch of his calloused hand on yours grounded you enough to carefully step out of the limo, making sure that nothing happens to your dress.

You could hear the sounds of the crowd die down for a moment as they all started muttering to themselves. Your hand was shaking in Pedro’s larger one, the photographers gasping as soon as they saw your face. They started taking pictures faster than they ever had. The bombardment of flashing lights blinded you for a moment, but you adjusted to them quickly.

Pedro let go of your hand and put it on your back, gently leading you where you’re supposed to go.

“Okay?” He asked as he wrapped his arm around you and brought you close. You nodded. You weren’t comfortable in the slightest, but it wasn’t the worst thing ever. While both of you posed for pictures, people from the group of photographers said a lot of things to both of you. Some were kind, others were funny and got a good laugh out of you. There were also a few who were very rude, but they had been pushed aside by the others.

Overall, it wasn’t nearly as bad as you were expecting… but you were glad it was over.

________________________

You were standing aside checking your phone while Pedro did an interview with some of the press. He had offered you to be with him, but the red carpet had been more than enough fame for you. Your phone was on “do not disturb” mode, but you could still see all the notifications coming in. Your Mom, Dad, Lauren, and other friends bombarding you with messages basically asking what the fuck. You didn’t have the time to reply, so you didn’t open any of them.

Once Pedro was done with his interviews, he escorted you into the main hall where he introduced you to some of his friends and colleagues along the way. You considered it an honor to meet the people most only ever dreamed of, but you knew you didn’t deserve it. Someone else should be here, not you.

When you found your seats, Pedro offered you his hand. You took it and allowed him to seat you before he took his next to you and wrapped his arm around the back of the seat. The show started shortly after.

________________________

“And the Oscar goes to…” You held onto Pedro’s hand tightly as they opened up the envelope, your shaking hands encased in his. He had told you when he had been nominated that he didn’t expect to win it, but you could tell he had some hope as he tensely watched them read the card.

“Pedro Pascal.” You jumped up with Pedro, hugging him tightly as the audience broke out in cheers.

“You deserve it!” You told him, breaking away to give him a quick kiss. You watched him run up stage and accept the golden statue, walking up to the microphone with a few chuckles as he looked over the award.

“Wow, this is uhhh… this is incredible. Truly amazing.” He started. “I’d like to thank the Academy for this honor, my Mom and Dad who worked hard to raise me right and who supported me. My brother and two sisters for being there for me, mi Abeja for loving me unconditionally, and just… so many others. There are so many people in my life who have helped me get to this milestone and if I were to thank all of you, we’d be here all night. I love you all so very much and this truly… a dream come true. Thank you.

The crowd stands up and cheers loudly. You wanted to, but you were too busy trying to make sure your makeup doesn’t run down your face with a tissue from your clutch. Eventually, you give up trying and decide to go to the bathroom just to make sure everything still looks fine.

Your makeup looked just as flawless as it had before. You wish you would have known that the artist had used waterproof makeup so you could’ve properly celebrated Pedro’s achievement, but oh well. While you were there, you decided to use the bathroom. You didn’t have to go that bad, but might as well take care of it while you’re here.

While you were relieving yourself, you heard two other women come in.

“-ld for her. He needs to settle down with someone like us and around his age. Not some college student.” You froze solid when they realized that they were talking about you.

“I know. She isn’t even that pretty. Did you see her teeth? Do they not have braces where she comes from?”

“For real. Her body’s not that great either. Looks like she comes straight from the shack or something.”

“Wonder if that’s where he found her?” They both giggle.

“Either way, she doesn’t belong here.” You knew they were right, but you just couldn’t bare to listen anymore, pulling your underwear back up and fixing your dress after you flush the toilet.

You then run out of the bathroom, not even looking to see who the women were. It didn’t matter, though. They were right. You should have never came here and you couldn’t stay any longer.

You walked back to your seat and gently tugged on Pedro’s sleeve.

“C-Can we go… Please?” You ask, your voice shaking just as much as your hands. Pedro got up instantly when he saw the look on your face, grabbing his trophy, coat and your clutch. He didn’t ask questions as he placed his hand to the small of your back and began to escort you out of the theater.

By the time you got back into the limo you felt like you couldn’t breathe. The voices around you sounding like water as your vision became black around the edges. Oh God, is this what feels lie to die? You couldn’t die. Not now! You had so much to do, so much t-

Something extremely cold suddenly touched your face, the blackness around your vision fading slightly as you looked up to whoever had put something so damn cold on you.

You were instantly met with the warm eyes of your boyfriend, concern laced on his brow as he gently dabbed a cold washcloth over your face. You could see his mouth moving, but you couldn’t make out what he was saying over the pounding of your heart, but it eventually calmed down enough to where you could begin to hear him.

“There we go, bee… that’s it sweetheart. Nice and easy.” Your breathing slowly calmed down, Pedro cradling you in his arms as your panic attack faded.

“I should have never come here…” You muttered. “I don’t belong here. All these fancy dresses, the flashing cameras, nice cars… I don’t deserve any of this.” Pedro placed a kiss to your forehead.

“Don’t say things like that, Abeja. You deserve this just as much as anyone. And as far as not belonging, trust me when I say I don’t either. And, frankly, I’m fine with that. All of these designer clothes, the mindless gossip, the broken homes, being surrounded by so many but still alone? That’s not really a life worth living. The world of Beautiful People is a lonely life, one that I would rather not live.”

You wasn’t sure what to say, so you just didn’t say anything, curling up as close as you could to him.

He made you take a dose of your anxiety medication when you got back to the hotel, taking it with a swig of water before laying down and curling up close to him. You laid your head on his shoulder, the sounds of his breathing and the gentle feeling of his hand caressing your own shoulder lulling you.

Right before you doze off, you heard him say:

“No matter what any of them has said, you’re perfect the way you are and deserve everything.”

________________________

You wake up the next morning still wrapped up in his arms. You lay there for a while just talking and enjoying one another’s company before he finally got up to use the bathroom.

You reach for your phone on the nightstand, turning off “do not disturb” mode for the first time since yesterday afternoon.

Your phone was overloaded. Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, everywhere was flooded. You didn’t even know where to begin.

Eventually, you just give up trying to put a dent into anything and returned Lauren’s list of missed calls. She answered on the second ring.

“You tell me every little detail, you sneaky bitch. And I mean everything!”

[ms-rampage]

Eden's Gate: Left Behind Chapter 1 - Welcome to Hope County

A new series!!!. Take place 2 years before the events of Kidnapped.

I created "Hope County University" for this series, and a few other locations that aren't in the game. Because its all headcanon shit.

Warnings: None

Word count: 1.9k

John Seed slightly out of character. (That's what happens when you encounter a Winchester 😂😂)

*********************************

Hope County, Montana, February 2018

*Arizona by Hey Monday plays on the radio*

A black 1970 Monte Carlo with a small trailer attached to it drives down the road with an Arizona license plate on it "ARIZONA E34R90D". 

19 year old Kate Winchester, who just moved out of her aunt and uncle's house drove 7 hours from Jackson, Wyoming to Hope County, Montana. Drumming her fingers on the steering wheel to song. 

Starting her new life, leaving the hunter life behind her, she applied and got accepted at Hope County University. 

Hoping to get her Master of Science degree in Psychology, and then move on to get her Doctorate Degree. 

Luckily her aunt and uncle were able to cover her tuition for the whole year. She even told them that she was willing to pay her own rent, and which surprisingly is only $750 a month. Hell her rent is cheaper here, than Arizona and Wyoming put together, but of course they're willing to pay for it, even though she refused, so she saves some money there.

She’s been attending college since she was 15 years old. She lied about her age to get a head start, with the help of her aunt Laura, and her grandmother Eliza. She attended community college in Wyoming before wanting to get transferred out of state.

She was able to rent out a small 2 bedroom, 1 bathroom house with a decent size backyard that is owned by the University, which is why the rent is pretty cheap usually it costs a lot more, and she also got a job at the University's café & diner with starting pay at $14.50. To her that seems very unrealistic but she’ll take it, she ain’t complaining. 

She drives down the road with her dog Haley in the passenger seat with her head out the window trying to bite the wind as they drive down the road.

"Smell that fresh Montana air Hale" she says with a smile, Haley pulls her head back in and lets out a bark, her eyes widened and has that look like she's smiling. 

You know that look dogs do with their tongues hanging out making them look like they're smiling. 

Driving down the road, off on the side, a huge billboard sign with a photo of some man with the caption. 

“We Love You and We Will Take You”

"That's very welcoming" she jokes.

Kate turns onto a small side road that leads to her new home. 

She drives slowly, while looking at the GPS on her phone. 

After a few minutes she finds the house.

"Here it is" she says, pulling into the driveway. 

Shutting off the car, and getting out. 

"Come on Hale" she says, padding her thigh. 

She takes the house keys out of her pocket, and opens the door. 

It's a decent size house for someone who's living on their own, the house is slightly furnished. Her uncle Brent sent some of their old furniture to her new house.

A coffee table, a few chairs, few lamps, a night stand, and a full size bed with the frame, head, footboard, mattress and box spring.

The backyard is bigger than she thought. She opens the door, and lets Haley out to the back. 

"Go sniff around" she tells her.

The 2 1/2 year old German Shepherd sniffs the corners of the fence, looking for a spot to do her business. 

Kate goes back inside, leaving the backdoor open for Haley.

She checks out the rest of the house, the 2 bedrooms, the bathroom and washroom, luckily a washer and dryer comes with the place. So at least she wouldn't want to buy it.

She goes back to the living room, and sees that Haley came back inside. 

She goes to close the backdoor, locking it, she heads out to the front and unpacks her trailer. Boxes, boxes and boxes of her stuff, clothes, books, her WiFi router, personal hygiene products, small furniture, stuff for school, some groceries she has in her mini fridge, some of Haley's stuff, her toys and food. 

She finishes unpacking around 3:30pm, her room is all set up, her bed is fixed, all her clothes are put away in the closet and dresser, she has photos of her friends, family and posters of bands she likes hanging up on the walls. 

She set up her 60inch TV, the box and WiFi router in the living room, she put up curtains on all the windows, and put some plants out on the front porch. 

She has all of her hunter stuff in the 2nd bedroom, her angel blades, demon blades, holy water, bags of salt, her books, her dad’s journal. Bullets filled with rock salt, and all of her other hunting supplies.

She has everything set up, and all she needed now was a kitchen table, a couch and maybe some appliances like a microwave, toaster and a coffee maker. 

She sighs in relief, lays back on her bed, Haley jumps on, laying next to her. 

"You wanna go into town?!?" she asks the dog, she looks at her while tilting her head to the right. 

"You wanna go for a walk?!?" she asks again, she tilts her head to the left while still looking at her. She lets out a loud bark which catches Kate off guard, and jumps off the bed.

Running back and forth down the hall, jumping at her on the bed in excitement. 

She gets up from the bed. 

"Okay let me find your leash" she says, while going into the living room. 

She goes through some of her boxes. 

After a few minutes, she finds her leash and puts it on her collar. Debating whether or not to take her in the car, or walk into town. 

"It's only a 10-20 minute walk from here to town" she says out loud. 

After a couple of minutes, she decides to drive, just in case some stores don't allow animals in, she can leave Haley in the car with all the windows down of course, or maybe leave her outside.

They drive into town, and she parks her car next to a gas station store. 

"Come one Hale" she says. 

She jumps out of the car, Kate locks it up and they walk past the small shops. 

A grocery store, a pharmaceutical store, a gun shop, an autoshop, and  lastly a bar called "The Spread Eagle". 

She looks around, and sees an appliance store, she really does need those appliances. 

She walks closer, and sees a sign on the door saying "Sorry, no animals allowed inside". 

"Of course" she says to herself. 

She ties Haley's leash to a parking meter under a tree 

"I'll be right back" she says to her, petting her head. 

She goes inside the store and looks around. Right off the bat she finds a toaster with 4 slots, and it costs $30 in which to her is a steal. 

She finds a coffee maker and a microwave all that costs a decent amount, less than she thought it would be. 

She pays for her stuff, and goes back outside to untie Haley, they walk back to the car, and put the appliances in the backseat covering them with a blanket. 

They continue to walk around the small town of Falls End located in the Holland Valley region. They cross the street to go onto the opposite side. Up ahead Kate sees a small group of people walking into a church on the other side of the street. Thinking nothing of it.

While on the other side of the street at Falls End Church, John Seed is standing outside of it holding the Book of Joseph, preaching.

"Sin must be exposed so it may be absolved. We must wash away our past" while some of his men escort some locals into the church. 

"You will know the power of Yes, you will confess your sins" he continues.

As he looks around he sees Kate with Haley walking on the opposite side of the street. 

He stares at her as she walks by, a smirk appears on his face. Perhaps he is engrossed by her?. He gets a weird feeling in his stomach but he ignores it. 

He continues to watch her as she walks further down the street away from the church. 

He shakes his head, snapping out of that trance, and continues to preach to the sinners.

Kate walks down the street towards a different market. Once again they don't allow animals in the store. 

So she ties Haley to a small iron fence in the shade "I'll be back'" she tells her again. 

She shops for about 25 minutes, she doesn't like to keep her dog outside that long especially out in public, she grabs bread, eggs, orange juice, fruit, cereal, milk, breakfast sausages, bacon, dog treats, grounded coffee and butter. 

Typical stuff you would buy at a grocery store. 

She pays for her stuff, goes outside, unties Haley putting the leash around her wrist. 

"Here you can hold your treats" she says, as she gives Haley her bag of Beggin Strips. 

She carries it in her mouth making the bags less heavy for Kate, and they head back to the car. They cross the street, now walking on the church side. John steps out of it, and sees Kate walking towards the church. 

He gets a better look at her, she's really cute. Actually she’s more than cute, she’s beautiful. Black hair past her shoulders, brown eyes, looks like she could be 19-22 years old?. Could she be a college student?. He's about to say something to her, but it gets ruined when one of his men calls out for him. 

"John!!" they call out. 

Turning his head to look back at him. 

He quickly looks back at Kate who is too far for him to call out to her. 

He rolls his eyes in annoyance, and goes back inside the church to see what they want. 

Kate walks back to her car, and puts her groceries in the back seat. 

Haley jumps into the front seat, and they drive off. 

They get stopped at a red light in front of the church, John looks out the window, and sees a black 70 Monte Carlo with a German Shepard sticking its head out the window. 

He quickly recognizes the dog, and sees Kate in the driver seat. 

Quickly, he goes outside before the light turns green. He doesn’t know what to say to her, so he yells out "Nice car!!". 

Kate can't see who yelled it because Haley is blocking her view from the passenger side, and is barking at some of the peggies outside the church. 

So she yells back, "Thank you!!" followed with a honk of the horn. She in a way acknowledged John even if she didn't really see him. 

She continued to drive down the road heading back home. 

After a 10 minute drive, she makes it home, and puts all her groceries away, hooks up the appliances and sits back on one of her chairs for the rest of the day watching TV with Haley chilling at her feet. 

“What a day Hale” she says, resting her feet on the table.

*3 in half hours later*

That night John is baptizing, cleansing some sinners, making them a step closer to being a part of Eden’s Gate. He’s doing his usual thing, making sure they are cleansed, and washed away from their sins. 

He can’t seem to get Kate off his mind, he finds this very strange because these are some new feelings, that he has never felt before. 

After he finishes the baptism, Joseph notices something is off about his younger brother. 

He approaches him once he’s finished.

“John?!” he says, approaching him. “What is troubling you brother?”.

John doesn’t know what to say, he stumbles with his words “Nothing, Joseph”.

He places his hand on John's shoulder, their foreheads touching. 

“It’s about a girl, isn’t it?” he asks, sounding like he already knew what this was all about.

John looks down, and lets out a soft sigh.

“Go to her. She can be your other half, when we cross Eden’s Gate” he tells him, before walking away. 

John looks up at his older brother as he walks away, leaving him to contemplate with what he should do next. 

[somemellifluouswords]

hey!!! I just watched the ignoring my girlfriend for 24h video by Jordan Beau and I couldn't help but imagine Ethan pranking y/n but she doesn't know it's a prank so she keep trying to make him talk to her, failing miserably, and when she can't take it anymore she starts crying and in the minute the first tear falls down her cheek Ethan stops and immediately tries to comfort her and keeps telling her how much he loves her, could you write something like that????

So I don’t really mention the boys making videos in my writing, only because I like how my writing differs in that sense. In no way is it refusing to agree with what they do, but I choose to keep it on the outside. I’ll still follow your idea, and I hope you enjoy it! I also played around with the point of view, so this may seem a little odd. I had a lot of fun writing this though!

-🌻

… 

“I’m sorry babe” your voice is timid, laced with regret. You raise yourself on the tips of your toes, resting your chin on his shoulder. He doesn't move, continuing to focus on whatever it is outside in your backyard that has caught his attention. Early this morning you had gotten into a small argument over something silly and miniscule that you couldn’t even remember. When he’d interrupted you mid way through your small banter, telling you “Babe this is senseless” that’s when your silent treatment began. It was childish of course, but at that moment it seemed right. 

And when he’d called you around the house, apologizing when he didn't need to in your realization, you’d been still, pretending like you didn't hear.

“Ethan please …” you dragged out the word please, nuzzling your nose into his neck. You can feel the sudden movement of a thick gulp he takes. Before you can wrap your arms around his waist, he ducks, leaving you to stumble gently into the railing, walking away. You huff, following him through the French doors, trailing behind him like a lost child. On the inside, he’s enjoying this, likes the way you feel how he felt. And he knows you would go to any lengths to get him to talk. 

You try to keep up with his long strands. Into your shared bathroom he goes. For a millisecond your eyes meet, and before you can utter a word he’s pushing the door shut. You retort, pushing with all your might against it, welcoming yourself past him. “Do whatever you have to do, I’ll just sit here … quietly” He watches as you jump onto the vanity next to the sink. Resting your head back against the large mirror. He notices the way your eyebrows furrow when the cold granite sets into freeze your naked limbs, the little sundress you’ve got on not providing enough shield. 

He sighs in defeat, proceeding next to her, gathering all the supplies he needs to shave. She watches intently, he can feel her gaze on him, and a sudden sound erupts from her throat, a sound so faint that he would almost miss it. “Please don't shave” he holds back a smile, smearing some shaving cream onto his scruff. He knows how much she loves him this way, so of course he’s going to take advantage of the silent treatment and her stubbornness. “E!” she reaches over, pulling back his arm like a child before the razor can reach his chin. 

Again holding back a smile, he pulls himself away from her grip. She winces mentally at the first sight of clean shaven skin. “I told you I was sorry babe. I mean it, you know I do” she slides closer to the sink. He pretty eyes stare at him intently, burning into his skin. 

You watch him shave, its oddly comforting even though none of you speaks. You think of ways to make him talk, even if its one word out of him. He watches from the corners of his eye when you finally look away, knowing the look of concentration on your face can mean either good or bad. You push yourself off the counter, your dressing riding up a little to high. He watches your cheeks go crimson, catching his eyes already on you. That wasn't supposed to happen, but he was looking. Only if he had said something to tease you like he always did, when something innocently would occur without any of your control.

He watches as she leaves the bathroom, chuckling to himself  when he knows she’s left the room. This is going to be fun. At least for him.

He hasn't come out for at least an hour, and you know he’s in the office working on something. Tame Impala bounces off the walls of the house, and every so often you hear him answering phone calls, speaking in terms you will never understand. The timer beeps, and you pull out of the oven a batch of freshly baked chocolate chip cookies. The smell fills your senses, as you glance to the kitchen entrance, curious to see if he’ll come. After plating and cleaning up the kitchen, you decide to wait for him, settling yourself on the couch with your favorite novel, a warm treat in your hands. You position yourself so that you have a clear view of the kitchen, and wait for your one and only victim. 

Ethan places the phone down. It occurs to him you haven't come in, trying to get him to speak. And suddenly, the smell of cookies flames his senses. He walks down to the kitchen, passing by you, your favorite book in hand, legs under you. The sunlight from the French doors is hitting off your shoulder, casting a glow onto your hair. Any others day he’d lean down a press a kiss to your cheek. But today, that won’t happen, at least not yet.

You lift your eyes from your book, watching as your boyfriend enters the kitchen. He’s observing the cookies, possibly deciding which one seems the most delicious. You refrain from moving, holding back a smile, and you think it’ll work. Finally he lifts one up, inspecting it in his hands. When he brings it towards his lips, you jump up. “Those have dairy in them!” 

Any other day he would have exclaimed “What?!” The treat falls from his hands onto the island counter, and he turns to face you sitting innocently on the couch, holding back a smile. He doesn't speak. He knows you wouldn't put dairy in them, he knows its all a plan to get him to break, he knows exactly what you're trying here. Well he is now. He’s impressed. 

He watches as her face drops, when he bites into it, keeping his gaze on her. She shakes her head in disbelief, and he turns smiling to himself, making his way to the sink to wash his hands. “Don’t come after me when you find there was actually dairy in them” you tell him as he walks past you, munching on yet another cookie.

Hours later you find him in the kitchen, prepping for dinner. You decide to watch him, perched atop a bar stool. He glances in your direction, as you sit they’re with you head resting above your hands, you elbows perched on the counter. You sway gently. It has been hard not giving into you, but he’s managed to come this far, so why not take it a little further. He isn't even mad about the morning, he isn't even phased the slightest. He just really enjoys watching her stubbornness and desperation for his voice. “That’s too much salt” she playfully scolds, waiting for his reaction. When he doesn't say anything she proceeds. 

You're losing yet more patience with him. “I think that's a little too much pepper.” He looks up at you with a look of bewilderment. He turns around to use the sink. You chew on the inside of your lip, running out of ideas. “You’re pasta is overflowing” you say with such ease. He turns without hesitation, completely normal. The pasta wasn't overflowing, it was you.

You watch him prepare dinner without a word, every so often trying to get his attention in different ways. Your fingers tap against the counter in an obnoxious pattern. He doesn't react. You spin around in the bar stool. He doesn't react. Even when you almost trip getting off the bar stool he doesn't react. Just as he begins plating you leave, walking out of the kitchen, but he wraps his hand around her wrist, pulling you close. Will this be it?

He wraps his arms around your waist, hoisting you a few centimeters off the ground. “Ethan what are you doing?” he sits you at the dining table, tucking in your chair, He leans next to you within a few seconds, setting a plate before you. “You could have just said dinner is ready” you inform him, swirling pasta on your fork. And the rest of dinner is quiet, with the occasional words out of your mouth.

After dinner you retreat to the balcony. He’s outside playing around with a soccer ball aimlessly shooting at the fence. You adore the way the moonlights casts down on him. His dark hair seems even darker, his legs thick under the jeans he’s got on, and the shirt he’s wearing is white, the moonlight illuminates his tan skin. He misses the fence and the ball stumbles into the garden. “You missed!” you state the obvious, looking a look from that tells you “I know.” The whole day has gone by, and he hasn't said a word. When you turn to head back inside he watches you pull your hair to one side, the little dress swaying back and forth around your thighs with each step. He finds pleasure in today, a little too much, and every so often he thinks he’s being cruel. You turn your head to steal a glance, but his reflexes are quicker, and you just miss his gaze.

When he comes back inside she’s no where to be found. Ethan settles himself on the couch, flipping through cassettes as to what to play to bring a little life to the night. He settles upon a record by Tame Impala yet again. He rests his head back on the couch, breathing in and out, losing his mind to the music. He doesn't hear you come into the room, and something wakes in your mind. 

This should get him talking. 

Your cheeks already burn crimson and you’re nervous. You bite down on your bottom lip, trying not to make a sound. You slide your leg over him, and from the sense of someone in the room, he opens his eyes just as you settle onto his lap. Your cheeks burn and your insides tingle, as he lets you wrap your arms around his neck. He smirks when she can’t hold his gaze any longer. 

What are you doing? He wants to ask her. It’s as if she can read his mind. She looks up again, relaxing a little when his arms wrap around her waist. She takes a deep breath, her eyes traveling from his lips and back to his eyes, in a pattern. He waits, jaw clenched to hold back his voice and some sort of reaction. 

You lean into him, your small hands cupping his right cheek. You raise his head, pressing your lips to his neck. He shifts beneath you, the fabric of his jeans rough against the delicate skin of your inner thighs. 

Say something. You think to yourself, waiting for him to break. You slowly make your way up, lingering your lips at his jaw. Your lashes flutter against his skin and waits for you to speak. He admires what your doing, but he won’t break. He can’t break. When you lips press against his he can't help but move his hands beneath your dress, rubbing the soft skin of your thighs he loves, slowly. He’s kissing you back, which must be a good sign. 

Your clumsy fingers struggle with the hem of his shirt, and before you can even raise it an inch, he pins you against the couch. You wait for the impact of the couch arm against the back of your head, but he shields it, protecting you by placing his hand where it will land. He pulls away, examining your kissed lips and rosy cheeks. Your hair sits perfectly behind your ears and he wants to run his finger through it. 

She seems breathless, her hands holding onto his shoulder for dear life. Nice try he thinks, before lifting himself up. She lays there, a shocked expression on her face. He can't hold back his chuckle when she exclaims “Ethan!” He leaves the room, playfully throwing a blanket over her head. 

An hour later she comes into their shared bedroom. He’s sitting on their bed reading through some papers. He can't help but notice her slow gait, how tired she looks and when they’re eyes lock he senses some resentment. She sits down next to him, her legs brushing against his. She sighs, tucking her hair behind her ears. He’s silently watching her, waiting for her next move. “Please talk to me” its like a plea this time, not like the other times she’s asked for his voice. She doesn't give him time to respond, before laying her head on his shoulder, holding onto his arm. “No” she mumbles, her voice cracking, even though he hasn't tried to wiggle his way out of her grasp. 

“I’m sorry E” another voice crack gives it away and when a tear slides down her cheek and lands in his open palm he breaks. 

“Oh no no no” He pulls her into his chest, and she pushes against him trying to his face, He talked! But at her cries? He wipes at her eyes, his heart breaking into a million pieces. “I was only joking babe” he coos, cradling her face in his hands. She blinks, clutching onto his shirt, as if she’s afraid he’ll change his mind. “What?” she breaths out, eyebrows furrowed. 

“Yes! Oh my god I’m sorry so sorry please don't cry babe, please … “ its as if he’s consoling a child. She’s relieved he’s speaking to her. That’s all that matters. And with a smile on her face, she wraps her arms around his torso, nuzzling into his chest. He hugs her tightly, kissing her head endlessly. 

“You jerk” she mumbles sweetly into his chest. “I know” he chuckles, pulling her down onto the mattress, still in his arms. “I know hun I know”