#Couples Therapist in Seattle

[sunburstpsy]

Couples Therapist in Seattle | Relationship & Marriage Counseling

Relationship issues are a natural part of any partnership, but they can be incredibly disheartening. It's the frustration that arises from miscommunication, the distance that grows when life gets in the way, and the constant wondering if you're on the same page. Let us be your guiding light to help you rediscover the love, closeness, and trust that brought you together in the first place. Every relationship is unique, and we take the time to understand the dynamics between you and your partner. Our approach is centered on compassion, empathy, and helping you both find common ground.

[bluelotsspa]

We have an expert massage therapist in our Massage Center Tukwila, WA to provide top-quality massage for clients using effective techniques for their specific issues.

[homestuck-fanauthor-coalition]

The Homestuck Fan Author Coalition's November 2024 Competition was a split competition with the prompts "Bus Driver Eridan" and "Rarepair." For Side B (Rarepair), the prompt was to write a fic which included a pairing that had less than 5 works tagged for them on AO3. Participants had one month to write any fic they liked based on this prompt, and votes were done to determine the awards.

All Fic Submissions and Awards:

therapist, mother, maid by @dave2olkat

The Petropavlovsk-612 offshore mining platform supplies the fuel used by every ship, station and base in the entire quadrant. Two women work there, sharing the same shift, albeit under the male names Daniil and Yuri.

Winner of the Calliope Award for Most Interesting AU/Headcanon Winner of the Vriska Award for Best in Melodrama

wildflower and barley by @dave2olkat

The croached woman had long limbs and harrowing golden eyes. She was on the ground of her pen, sinking her thick white fangs into the carotid artery of one of the cows.

Jadelynn’s survival instincts kicked in, and even if she was no longer in peak physical performance, she hauled ass back to the trailer like her life depended on it.

Winner of the Feferi Award for Sweetest Romance Winner of the Granrosa Award for Made Me Ship It

the first few stones are the worst by @toxicchamomile

In which Eridan Ampora is an Uber driver for the two most annoying assholes in the world.

Winner of the Gamzee Award for Best in Comedy

Two's A Couple, Three Needs A Chart To Hash Out by @manifestmerlin

Karkat Vantas is the only one who thinks they should figure out this shit ahead of time, and his boyfriends just want to jump into it.

Winner of the Caliborn Award for Makes Most Canon Sense Winner of the Deuce Award for Best in Auspiticism Winner of the Droog Award for Best in Moiralleigience Winner of the Karkat Award for Best Smeared Quadrants

The Conqueror Yaldabaoth by @neapolitangirl

In the ring of the Dark Carnival, two princes duel for the future of the afterlife.

Winner of the Equius Award for Best in Action Winner of the Meulin Award for Most Tragic Romance Winner of the Vriska Award for Best in Melodrama

Open Waters by @tehstripe

When Marquise Spinneret Mindfang learned of her eventual fate - to be romanced by a troll who would learn to fly, who would eventually be the man to kill her - she did what any self-respecting pirate would do.

She hijacked one of the seadweller vessels that could traverse both oceans and solar systems, and she got the hell out of dodge.

Winner of the Droog Award for Best in Moiralleigience

A Loony Tunes Ass Sequence of Events by @jellysmudge

When Dave runs off to the Egberts' in a petulant rage, Bro has to go get him, and deal with the man who answer's the Egberts' front door.

Christmas Eve Party by Bralsra

Your name is Roxy Lalonde, and you just woke up feeling like shit.

Winner of the Vriska Award for Best in Melodrama

Taking a Pointed Feathered Projectile to the Angular Joint Cover by @orangestorapples

Her Honorable Tyranny Neophyte Redglare's palmhusk has been fucked with. This is only the most recent of a very long series of attempts to make her life hard. She has decided it's time to confront the perpetrator.

Winner of the Spades Slick Award for Best in Kismesissitude

Cronus is a perv; the fic by Bralsra

Cronus negs Jade. It doesn't end well.

Winner of the Cronus Award for Crackiest Ship

damned if yoU do (damned if you don't) by @myusernameisstolen

Callie has always been very mysterious, never saying much about her home life, at least not intentionally. The fact she uses a typing quirk is the only clue to her being a troll. She most recently let slip that she not only lives on Earth, but in Seattle, and given the coincidence that John and the rest of their online friend group are in the city for a convention, he had thought he might be able to convince her to come meet them in a public space, if she was still afraid they might not be who they say they are.

But John is beginning to wonder if maybe what Callie is afraid of isn’t found in the outside world, but much, much closer to home.

Winner of the Vriska Award for Best in Melodrama

An Important Question by @aspen1185

In which John Crocker asks his partners if they think they found each other in every universe. It's a universally agreed upon answer.

The Mom Award for Best in Human Romance

[gwydionmisha]

Personal: Transness and Physio

Wednesday I was at physio as is generally the case on Wednesdays this physio cycle. (Current goals: Arm unsupported above my shoulder prolonged to the front at all to the side, Undoing damage from the wrong sling the first two weeks of healing, and strength building). My main pre-op physio had a free moment and stopped over to check on my between patients.

Him: How are you doing?

Me, cheekily: ready for this to be over.

Physios *laugh*

He turned to ask my physio for more detailed info. Which involved pronouns. Look, my pronouns are on file. My prefered name is unfailingly used by staff in this facility and all the healthcare settings I routinely used for… most of a decade or something like that. I used to have to pioneer a lot of health care providers, including Poverty clinic (second trans patient getting trans related health care there, back when there was one ignorant and low key transphobic provider, but it was far better than the extremely transphobic endocrinologist who wasn't taking new patients anyway so everyone had to trek down to seattle for everything), and just about every specialist I saw for years and years, often with people for whom English was a second language who were flat out confused my my medical charts.

For the record, once word spread (and trans provider word spread FAST on the trans grapevine) and Poverty clinic got deluged by desperate poor people who flat out couldn't afford 150-300 per health apointment and a whole day of travel, a second super cool doctor self educated and started taking patients. Within a year or two the whole staff had training. A couple years later they did a big survey, flat out changed the name of the clinic so as not to scare trans people, added prefered name/pronouns/gender to all forms and are a makor provider for two counties, providing an ever expanding range of care. Poverty clinic's main population had been HIV, kids who's parents couldn't afford health insurance, and unhoused. They are so much more now, and my whole reason is the better for it, because a whole lot of other practices got better and new services opened up all over the western part of my state to deal with demand that having two cities with trans heallthcare drew to the reagon. (A whole lot of other places have safe clinmics now and if you are in a blue county, you are likely okay to be fairly open. People can live in cheaper towns and cities and still have care a reasonable drive or bus away. It absolutely wasn't the case fifteen years ago. For some things the choices were seattle, san franscisco, and that one city in colorado. For hormones and trans friendly psychiatry it was only slightly better.) I am incredably proud of all the medical practices I pioneered and made safe for other people.

Thing is though, it's still not perfect. I'm pretty relaxed about pronouns, but where people are super careful about names, some people are waaaay better at pronouns than others. I bowl down the middle on purpose, in non-medical customer service settings, people take their best guess and I don't make a fuss unless someone else does or is obnoxious or I get duling customer service people who are in conflict and each sure they are right (Which is hilarious, but I consider it polite to step in at that point). I will back up a child if their parent corrects them to the wrong thing. I will happily give pronouns when a polite person asks.

In medical settings outside of places trying really hard to get it right like Poverty clinic or weirdly the Christian Hospital, people mess up pronouns about a third of the time. I think the masks make it more confusing for them and I am always in a mask in a medical setting unless I need to take it off for a medical thing.

The room in the physio clinic where I go, it is pretty much middle aged straight guy therapists (There's a woman sometimes and a younger guy I see doing legs now and then, but mostly it is middle aged straight guys who look like gym teachers. Guys like my late Uncle when I was growing up who was also a physio). Trans stuff doesn't come up. I spend the entire session working one on one with these guys, so while names get used now and then the pronouns are all 1st and 2nd person, you follow? There is enough conversation that I'm pretty sure none of the three guys who've worked on my arm are MAGAS. I peg them as likely democrats, but where on that spectrum? No fucking clue. They are all good guys and good physios. I do not know their stance on right to pee, you follow?

So the most classically straight ex-college athlete guy turns to the very gentle, very pacific northwesty type married with children postsurgical guy (I have no idea how to describe this type of northwest guy to someone who's never been here, but if you have it's really obvious. Loves being out in nature and likely has nature based hobbies. Cares about feminism and the environment in a genuine way. Relaxed about their masculinity and masculinity in general, so are usually some degree of queer friendly. Other stuff. It's hard to explain, but trust me. If you live here, you will meet a lot of this kind of guy. The two people I had my longest relationships with were this kind of PNW guy. I dated a bunch more. ), who is currently super slowly and gently stretching my arm, and asks him more technical stuff about my progress because he was worried I hadn't put on quite enough muscle before surgery.

This involved pronouns. Get this: THEY WERE THE CORRECT PRONOUNS. Both guys used correct pronouns. They also included me in the conversation. Bravo, Physio Dudes! Seriously, I had no idea how that was going to go when the pre-op guy opened his moth and it was A+.

[hihigherdi]

I tried another edible last night and while I slept through the night, I wasn’t refreshed, I think it does disrupt the sleep cycles I need most right now so I’m going to stop. I made some pasta for breakfast and then fell back asleep until 9:30am. Watered all my plants and am just kind of in a daze, per usual. I had bad stomach issues that almost made me throw up while literally dealing with things in the other direction, and that sent me into a dark dark place. It's been a dark couple of days. I keep trying to feel normal, be normal and I feel that way in the mornings until I don't.

I had my therapy appointment scheduled tonight which I was dreading, I've definitely been in avoidant mode with people. And 10 minutes before, I found out a code in Seattle will prevent me from Airbnbing the duplex which made me freak out, it happened because my sister was talking to the manager of the building next door who hasn't fixed his rusted out railing that is leaning into my property and she went to ask him about it. She mentioned we were going to Airbnb it and he said "that is illegal on the water". So I freaked out and made her feel like shit in the process, right before this therapy appointment.

I logged on and immediately burst into tears, telling him it's hard for me to be with people when I am in a bad emotional place. So he kind of gently started therapizing me which was annoying but I just went with it because that's what we're doing. He asked me what I do with my time and I told him "nothing. I watch the clock until the time passes and I can say another day is gone, done, in my rear view mirror and I am that much closer to this being done. I am waiting for time to pass. I watch it pass. That's all I do."

All of the sudden I quietly said "I am just so fucking mad. I am so pissed this is happening to me. I am so angry."

I've told a therapist I was sad/depressed/scared/in despair before - but never angry. I never show that, ever. Ever. For some reason I did and he said "something in your face just came to life when you said that. What's happening in your body?" and he was right. I felt this....life, just course through me. Like I was awake for the first time in a week. So there's something here. I kept thinking of Richard Gere's character in Pretty Woman saying "I went to therapy for 10 years just so I can say 'I am angry at my father'" - that stuck with me.

But I am mad. I am so mad at so many things. I'm mad I have cancer, it fucking sucks. I'm furious. Being mad at my parents for being terrible human beings was never an option, it's like being mad at the strung out fentanyl addict on the street. They aren't there. That's what it always felt like. But if I were honest, that's what I tell myself - my mom was as fragile as she was because she didn't love us enough to get help. She was too prideful. Too scared. And she prioritized both of those things over a course of action that would have made her a better parent. I get to be pissed at that.

I hung up and felt so much better, called my sister and apologized and I'm so glad I did because she was beating herself up badly. We'll figure it out that place will rent to traveling nurses in 5 minutes. It will be great.

[gaytotaldrama]

duncney week day 4 (a day late): first 'i love you'

an unsent letter from C to D, years after the end of the show.

duncney song of the day: 'i've got your number,' elbow

also on my ao3!

Dear Dunc

To whom it may conce

For the idiot with the green mohawk

Duncan, 

I don't go to therapy, but Bridgette does, and she told me about this exercise her therapist set her where you write down everything you want to say to someone in a letter and then you don't send it. Therapy would take up way too much of my time, yet here I am on my bed, writing to you of all people.

It's been years since we last saw each other, or even spoke - since they carted you off the island and tossed you into some disgusting cell. I'm sure you're already aware, but destroying Chris's house was a really  stupid  idea. I understand that you were trying to prove your "villain status" or whatever, but all I could think about watching you leave was DJ and his rabbit. It made me feel  sick,  seeing what happened to you. Gwen and I pretended to be happy about it, but I don't think either of us were at all. 

I know she called once or twice, while you were in there. I know Geoff and DJ came to visit you. I know Bridgette sent you little care baskets through the mail.

I know I never did any of those things. It all hurt so much, still. And even when it didn't, I never figured out what I would say to you.

But now, I have an idea. More or less.

However angry I was with you after you and Gwen kissed, it didn't mean I wanted to see you thrown in  prison.  I know I can be petty and vengeful at my lowest moments, but I always imagined you'd be eliminated in some humiliating spectacle. You'd go home. And we'd never have to see each other again, unless Owen ever decided to throw that reunion bash he was talking about.

And then when that bash happened, you were locked up again for violating your parole. And you weren't there.

I thought about filling these pages with all the reasons you were awful to me, every nitpick and tiny detail that made me hate your guts. But it's not like I was the perfect girlfriend, either. And, Duncan, we were just  kids.  None of us knew what we were doing, what it was we even wanted. Chris knew that and he used it against us every which way, exploiting us on international television.

I don't know if I really forgive you yet. I guess I'd have to see you in person to know. I've spent most of my time post-Total Drama working to forgive myself. Which has worked. Somewhat, at least.

Geoff says you're in Seattle. He says you're working as a tattoo artist. He says you go to AA meetings every week at the recreational center. That's good. That's really good, Duncan.

I work. Sanford, Sanford & Patel - started as a secretary, but I've clawed my way up a bit since then. Helped win some major cases. Hopefully it won't be long before they're adding a Reyes up on that sign.

Bridgette, Geoff, and I have game night every Wednesday evening. We take turns cooking dinner. Sometimes Bridgette slides me a CBD gummy to help me fall asleep at night. I jog, in the mornings. When I can, I go to the gym. Every now and then, I pick up Geoff's guitar and strum it a little. I still remember when you taught me my first bar chord. I couldn't make a  sound  on the B minor then, but I've gotten better, now. I've really gotten better.

I have a cat. This little precocious furball that Bridgette brought back from the shelter. She likes to claw at my nice leather desk chair and she doesn't like strangers at all; I adore her. Her name is Scruffy.

Every couple of months, I fly out to visit Gwen in Vancouver. They showed me the inky moon you put on their collarbone - I think it's beautiful. We go and get coffee together, catch up. She's got an art exhibition down in Bellingham in the fall - I plan to go, but I don't know if you'll be there. I don't know if I want you to be or not.

I've had a few boyfriends, but none of them could keep up with me. One time, Gwen and I got drunk and slept together. I'm not sure why I'm telling you this, but it was kind of good. Which is kind of funny. To me, at least.

Oh, and Geoff and Bridgette are engaged. Which I guess you already knew. It only just happened, so there are no real plans yet, you know those two. Never once made a list in their lives. But I guess if you're not at Gwen's show, we'll see each other at the wedding.

Would you talk to me? If we met again, would you even talk to me? I like to think I'd talk to you. But it's a hell of a lot easier to say it in writing than it is to do it in person.

Would you miss me?

I've missed you. I know people say you never stay with your high school sweetheart, but look at G and B, case in point. We didn't stay together, but sometimes I imagine what it would have been like if we had. Where we'd be right now.

Damn it, ok, I'm just going to say it: I love you. We never got around to telling that to each other while we were dating, but I think it's always been true, since all the way back in season one. I love you, Duncan Russo. It's totally humiliating, but I do. I still really, really do.

And I wish you were

Maybe if I

And I guess there's nothing to be done about that. Over a decade, and I'm still hung up on the boy who I kissed in the back of the Killer Bass cabin, right after puking my guts out. There's only so many people who would kiss someone with vomit breath, but you did. You didn't care. I mean, it was totally disgusting, but you kissed me back. I'll always remember the way you kissed me back.

Just...I just hope you're ok, ok? Or if not, then that you're something close to it. That show screwed every single one of us over, some more than others. The shit Chris did to us was messed up, and if I could go back and time and withdraw my audition tape, I would.

But then I guess I'd never have met you. And I don't know if that would be better or worse for me in the long run.

Thank God you'll never see this letter. 

Love,

Courtney

[loverockawaitsyou]

Random, but how I ended up in Seattle: I left a culty work exchange/commune in Los Angeles...

I will be posting in segments because it's a long, messy story that's full of nonsense that even I can't believe is real.

So, it's been about 1.5 years since I've moved to Seattle! How time flies!

I thought randomly of posting about some of the story behind my move, especially since the place I came from is close to being dissolved.

In July of last year, I left a deeply toxic, weird situation and restarted my life. While I love my life in Seattle, it hasn't been easy. I still struggle with my trauma and have only recently begun trusting people again and trying to be part of community. I've also been processing what I've been through and understanding how awful it really was. It was not normal.

Back in July 2020, I answered a sketchy ad on a sketchy site for a "live-in writer/editor." The ad promised a "free" place to stay in exchange (on a part-time schedule) for editing for one of the main bosses, a "world-renowned" sex therapist. I would be working for an old married couple. The wife was the sex therapist and her husband was her business partner, a self-proclaimed prince with no country from Italy who was also a controversial magazine publisher in the '70s. The couple had their heyday in the late '90s and early 2000s after appearing a few times on a few TV specials.

It seemed too good to be true, and it was. However, I was excited about the prospect of living in LA for "free" while pursuing my writing endeavors. At the time, I was a budding film critic, which is a notoriously low-paying career path, if it even pays at all, ha.

Over the past four years:

I moved into the community during COVID lockdown.

Went to a BDSM convention with my bosses and it was a miserable experience.

Participated in the filming of maybe three documentaries.

Upon my first visit to Seattle, lied to my bosses to get away because they almost never allowed time off except for emergencies/funerals (the Big Lie was so I could go see Stone Gossard's band Painted Shield... and see if I actually wanted to move to Seattle). At that point, I hadn't had an actual vacation since before COVID.

Close encounters with numerous stoners, junkies, and freaks.

On that note, numerous weird shroom trips.

Got involved with a guy who happened to be a wicked podcast bro and community Casanova. This was my first actual serious relationship, unfortunately.

Experienced a police raid while said guy was in my room after a hook-up. There was a small story in the local news. Pictures of my room were taken.

The main money I earned at the time, and what ultimately funded my exit was editing for an adult industry trade publication, a.k.a., I posted news articles mostly about p*rn and s*x toys.

Tried to speak out about the mistreatment I endured and was threatened with a trip to LA Superior Court.

But I went digging about and found a shit ton of other stuff including mail fraud, tax evasion, eviction records, and other s*xual crimes (really bad stuff), and accounts from former employees.

Now another current employee has been branded an extortionist for demanding her pay after months of being shafted and "squatting" until she is paid. I discovered her YouTube videos because I was following her (she hasn't updated in ages). However, she is my ex's most recent girlfriend, so things are weird. But we had a long ass conversation and I support her legal terrorism.

Meanwhile, life in Seattle is picking up!

[dangerousdispositions]

➪ CARMINE DURANTE

if you’re hearing WHO WE ARE by HOZIER playing, you have to know CARMINE DURANTE (HE/HIM; CIS MALE) is near by! the 36 year old PEDIATRIC ER NURSE at SUMMER VALLEY REGIONAL MEDICAL CENTER has been in town for, like, FIVE MONTHS. he's known to be quite FICKLE, but being OPTIMISTIC seems to balance that out. or maybe it’s the fact that he resembles MANNY JACINTO. personally, i’d love to know more about him seeing as how he's got those TWEETY- BIRD PRINT SCRUBS, CRIPPLING CAFFEINE ADDICTION, AN OVERABUNDANCE OF THROW PILLOWS, DARK CIRCLES UNDER HIS EYES and A NEVER- ENDING STRING OF HALF- LEARNED HOBBIES vibes. and maybe i’ll get my chance if i hang out around DOWNTOWN long enough!

name: carmine durante

age: 36

d.o.b. & sign: august 5th, leo.

occupation: pediatric er nurse at summer valley regional medical center.

hometown: seattle, wa.

gender identity & sexuality: cis male, homosexual.

relationship status: single.

likes: fruity drinks, nicotine (but he isn't proud of it), strong coffee (with plenty of cream and sugar so it doesn't actually taste like coffee), wearing bright colors and prints, staying busy.

dislikes: liars, feeling weak, his boundaries being disrespected, feeling like he isn't in control of any given situation, lack of/ improper communication.

CWs for domestic violence, murder (not graphic).

Carmine was born the youngest child to a single mother. His father was never in the picture when he was young, and honestly, he was never missed. With three older sisters, their little house was crowded and chaotic enough. They fought like cats and dogs sometimes, sure, but they were a tight- knit group. Francesca, 5 years older than him, Alessandra, 3 years older, and Gianna, 11 months older, were all fiercely protective of their baby brother, and their mother was hard- working but so loving towards them. She was gone more than any of them wanted, seemingly always at work, but there was never any doubt that she loved them.

Then, when Carmine was eleven, his Dad came back, and everything changed.

It started out slow. At first, his presence seemed like a good thing-- it meant his Momma wasn't quite as stressed about money all the time, and she could start working just the one job. He smelled funky, and Francesca whispered that it was alcohol, but he brought them presents sometimes, treats and fast food, and once in a while they even got to go to the movies.

He had a temper, though, and once it started slipping up everything happened so fast. To Carmine, who hadn't been paying all that much attention to his mother's relationship, it felt like the flip of a light switch. His Dad kept getting angry, and his Momma seemed a lot sadder all the time, and quiet.

Then there were the bruises. Then there was Francesca, who stood up to him one time and got a broken wrist for her trouble, and it kept getting worse, until a once happy, healthy family started disintegrating into something broken and fraught.

It wasn't fair, but they didn't leave, and then it was just too late.

Carmine doesn't remember a lot about the day his mother died-- he doesn't want to. His therapists have told him it might come back in bits and pieces, and sometimes it does. Sometimes he has these bloody dreams that he's pretty sure are memories, but mostly he remembers the foggy, drug- hazy month he spent hospitalized after it all happened. One thing he does know is that he's pretty good at compartmentalizing under pressure, shoving feelings and panic both aside in order to focus on what needs to be done, and that ability is what eventually lead him down the path of healthcare-- though it took him a couple of years after high school to find a direction.

Carmine has always been a bit of a flighty person, ready to go wherever the wind takes him and do whatever captivates his attention for more than five minutes at a time. Outwardly, he's exuberant, excitable, carefree and extroverted, a truly bubbly happy- go- lucky person under most circumstances despite the trauma that's helped to form who he is. At a glance, you wouldn't think he was someone that has a hard time connecting with people, and although he tends to accumulate friends wherever he goes, he struggles to form deep connections, particularly romantic relationships. He can come across as a sweet, slightly airheaded tender person, and it's not completely unfounded but part of that is a defense mechanism. He craves control, right down to what everyone else thinks of him.

Medication keeps his ADHD from ruling his life, but obviously it doesn't wash the symptoms away entirely. He's always been consumed by a variety of hyperfixations and interests that take over his life for a while and then fizzle away, sometimes to be circled back to, sometimes not. He enjoys traveling, and loves changes of scenery, and the idea of moving was an attractive one. At first it felt like it was a hard call to put any distance between himself, his sisters and the city he grew up in, but a friend of his from college lived in a seemingly idyllic town and in the end the decision to move came easily. So he packed up and found himself in Hemlock Springs, excited for all of the potential that came along with making a life somewhere new.

He works 3 12- hr shifts a week, 7pm- 7:30 am, and then has 4 days off. His wardrobe largely consists of pink and yellow, lots of shirts with funny sayings or random patterns and prints. He makes time to go on daily runs with his dog, a big, white standard poodle named Tulip, and on his days off from work he tends to stay busy. He's a very high energy person and gets stressed out if his life isn't scheduled down to the minute in his flashy planner.

[greatpain]

𝟶𝟶𝟷.   𝚂𝚃𝙰𝚃𝙸𝚂𝚃𝙸𝙲𝚂   ...

⋯⋯⋯   GENERAL DETAILS.

FULL NAME:   guinevere lovelace. NICKNAME(S):   neve (if you must use a nickname, this is preferred), winnie (reserved for family). ALIAS:  previously known as agent bloodhunter. AGE:   twenty9. DATE OF BIRTH:   august 5. PLACE OF BIRTH:   seattle. CURRENT LOCATION:   apex city, washington. GENDER:   questioning. PRONOUNS:   she/they. ORIENTATION:   bisexual. OCCUPATION:   reporter for apex news network. EDUCATION LEVEL:   bachelor's degrees in journalism and political science. 

⋯⋯⋯   PHYSICAL APPEARANCE, ETC.

HEIGHT:   5'10. TATTOOS:   none. PIERCINGS:   ears. SCARS: many on her left shoulder / arm and others scattered about. STYLE:   sleek, striking, bold. enjoys a dramatic overcoat or statement piece. incredibly fond of accessorizing.

⋯⋯⋯   HEALTH.

ALLERGIES:   none. SLEEPING HABITS:   average. incredibly light sleeper. never sets an alarm as she just seems to wake up when she needs to.  EATING HABITS:   well. meal preps. SOCIABILITY:   7/10.  interrogative and prying though she keeps a front up to make herself / her questions seem unassuming DRINKING / SMOKING / DRUGS:   socially   /   no   /   no. RADIANT STATUS:  n/a. solaris failed to work. OTHER:   hard of hearing in left ear.

⋯⋯⋯   PERSONALITY.

LABELS / TROPES:   intrepid reporter, reluctant hero, fallen hero, action survivor, undercover as herself, badass normal, deadpan snarker, hidden heart of gold, undying loyalty INSPIRATIONS:   lois lane (dc comics), veronica mars (veronica mars), karen page (marvel) TRAITS:   determined, resourceful, compassionate, scrupulous, stubborn, distrustful, impulsive, resentful, envious, closed-off, pragmatic, adaptable, observant, driven, independent LIKES:   coffee, traveling, martial arts. DISLIKES:   red tape, being underestimated, sensationalism. WEAKNESSES:  impulsivity, severe trust issues, difficulty with authority, emotional guardedness, tendency to shoulder burdens alone. STRENGTHS:   investigative skills, resilience, adaptability, resourcefulness, negotiation, martial arts. FEARS:   betrayal, powerlessness, loud noises. HABITS:   checking her surroundings / checking for exits, strict routine, double/triple checking any information, carrying a weapon at all times, limiting true / deep personal connection. HOBBIES:   martial arts, cooking, cryptic / logic puzzles, urban exploration.

⋯⋯⋯   FAMILY, RELATIONSHIPS, ETC.

MOTHER:   evelyn lovelace,  biomedical agent, whereabouts unknown. FATHER:   marcus lovelace,  psychiatrist, alive. SIGNIFICANT OTHER:   n/a. BEST FRIEND:   none.  EXES:   womp womp.  SIBLING(S):   elidyr lovelace, field agent, deceased.  CHILDREN:   none.  PET(S):   a betta fish, unnamed.

𝟶𝟶𝟸.   𝙱𝙸𝙾𝙶𝚁𝙰𝙿𝙷𝚈 / 𝙷𝙴𝙰𝙳𝙲𝙰𝙽𝙾𝙽𝚂   … 

marcus and evelyn lovelace were part of mercy organization from its inception. evelyn in particular was a young researcher in biomedical who was part of the team that made solaris what it is today. a couple years before project genesis, she gave birth to her second child, guinevere. marcus was more hesitant about mercy and decided that it was best for him to raise her and her older brother, elidyr, in seattle while evelyn continued her work in apex city.

when guinevere turned fourteen, marcus was offered a position as a therapist in apex city, and the family was properly reunited. it wasn't surprising when eli joined mercy as a legacy junior agent a couple years later.

neve practically idolized both her parents and older brother and always assumed she'd follow in their footsteps. she excelled in her studies, driven mostly by an eagerness to make them all proud.

she studied journalism and political science before joining mercy as well. eli wasn't shy about being related to her, going as far as to help her train whenever he had the availability. their mother, however, decided it would be best if she stay out of the way of her children, though she occasionally checked up on them when possible and without raising suspicion of favoritism.

during her time as a junior agent, she forged a close bond with an agent who was in the same joining class as eli. both neve and this agent were driven by a shared sense of idealism and a desire to make a strong difference. when it was possible for them, the agent volunteered for project genesis and underwent the solaris treatment.

unfortunately they underwent a practically catastrophic transformation, emerging a changed person. when they'd previously been quite bright and optimistic, they'd become cold, calculating, and ruthless. they were given incredible powers but to neve on the outside, it seemed that it cost them their humanity.

neve began to distance herself from them out of concern for them as well as herself. still, she was chosen to come on what should have been a relatively easy mission that included their (former?) friend as well as elidyr along with another agent.

what should have been a routine recon mission spiraled out of control when the four agents' cover was blown and they were ambushed. off guard and outnumbered, the team were forced to fight for their lives as they fled. guinevere watched as the fourth agent fell dead, and then as their (former?) friend used elidyr as cover for the two of them to escape the immediate fight and find a way out. neve made the split second decision to detonate a cache of explosives they had discovered earlier, allowing them a distraction to escape the carnage, though the mission had clearly been an absolute failure as valuable intelligence was lost along with two agent lives.

haunted by these events, wallowing in blame, and tormented by the knowledge that she was somehow responsible for the death of her brother and another agent, she knew she should have left right then. however, she figured that if she was already so close to graduating from junior agent status, she may as well see it through and take solaris.

yeah... solaris didn't work for her. they waited weeks and it amounted to absolute zilch.

horrified by everything she experienced and disillusioned by project genesis and mercy as a whole, her decision to leave mercy behind and forge her own path was reinforced. she cut ties quickly and started up an anonymous blog regarding apex city as a whole.

also um at some point her mom went missing???? so she's also using what remains of her connections to figure that out.

a year ago, she was given a job interview at apex news network, and was hired as a reporter. she's determined to uncover what the hell is really going on, though she keeps that very much on the downlow as she doesn't want to seem too conspiracy theorist. for now she does her due diligence as a reporter and ex-mercy agent by utilizing what remains of her connection to mercy to get information that will be useful to the network.

𝟶𝟶𝟹.    𝙲𝙾𝙽𝙽𝙴𝙲𝚃𝙸𝙾𝙽𝚂   ...

coming soon but $10 to anyone who wants to take up either marcus lovelace or the (former?) friend / current mercy agent. mwah <3

[yourfriendmelanie]

i am scared to share anything, even to my therapist. i never share to anyone. i think i don't want to say things out loud because if i don't say it out loud then maybe it didn't happen, or it didn't exist. that's not true. ever since i could remember i hated my life. maybe in 2010? 2011? 2012? 2006 when my parents split? who knows. this really bad thing happened to me in 2012 i think. i do remember 12/12/12 at 12:12pm. my fifth grade teacher took a picture of our class at that exact time! i remember i hated going to school after this happened... i think. or i just didn't want to. my mother wasn't around a lot, it was usually just me and my brother, at least to my recollection. therefore, i could skip school. keep in mind i am 12. i was born in September of 2000. i was raised by so many people. i have a "broken" family. my friend that was on my volleyball team told me in seventh grade that i have a broken family. I've never forgotten that. i never thought of my family like that. i knew it was somewhat fucked up, but i knew a lot of my friends in Seattle had similar family situations. i moved to a more rural or town like, it has 10,00 people, and most families seemed picture perfect. anyway, i knew my family was fucked up but i didn't know it was thaaaat fucked. i feel like i was cursed from the beginning. i was raised by my mom and dad from ages 0-5 or 6, then just my mom from 6-12 or 13, and then living with, not raised, by my aunt, dad, and uncle. it is all fucked up. i feel like living with them has been like living a lie, but let's not talk about that right now. i have no "full" siblings. i have three half siblings. i had a full brother but he was a stillborn. i wish i could have a sibling to grow up with but i didn't. i was alone a lot. my brother was five years older than me and he was in and out of the hospital a lot and received more attention to me, obviously because of his health. it just made me sad. and made me feel unwanted. but my relationship with my mom and dad have been good. i was very mad at my mom in middle school, i was angry that she neglected me for so long and i felt like she had no remorse for that. i know it was because of mental health and i forgave her. my dad suffered from alcoholism ever since i could remember, but now as of 2024 he is six year sober. he still pisses me off but i forgive him for literally being such an absent dad, but now he is great and i love him.

i have love. I've been loved. i am loved. i give love. i do have love. haha that sounds like an affirmation, but i do believe that i have had many boyfriends and we've been in love. I've been in love, but i don't know what love is actually. i know i love dogs, and i know i love my boyfriend and i love my friends. but i do not know what a healthy relationship looks like, romantically, at all. i have never seen a healthy romantic relationship ever. my dad and my mom we're very abusive towards each other. my aunt and uncle are weird and i do not think they love each other, but have been married for over 40 years, so what do i know. i thought my boyfriend's parents had a good healthy relationship. then i found out that his dad left his mom, not while they were married, for a couple months. then he went back and they are so beautiful and funny towards each other. i still do think they have a great relationship. i am scared that i am being pulled towards men that are unhealthy, like my mother and father's relationship. i usually feel unloved and i know that that is incorrect. i am doing DBT and it has been good. i have learned so much, and have so many more coping skills. i think it has been helping my communication skills and my relationships, romantic and other. like, a lot.

i wanted to make this post on tumblr because i have always loved tumblr. when i was depressed in 2012 and 2013, tumblr helped me express myself with pictures and poetry, and i want to start sharing... whatever i want. i feel like this is a diary entry, but i promise not all of my posts will be like this.

xoxo,

mel

[mostlysignssomeportents]

The Bezzle excerpt (Part V)

I'm on tour with my new novel The Bezzle! Catch me TONIGHT in SAN DIEGO (Feb 22, Mysterious Galaxy). After that, it's LA (Saturday night, with Adam Conover), Seattle (Monday, with Neal Stephenson), then Portland, Phoenix and more!

I'm out on tour with my new novel, The Bezzle, a cyberpunk revenge thriller about Marty Hench, a two-fisted forensic accountant, and a guerrilla war he wages on a prison-tech provider that treats incarcerated people as assets to be strip-mined:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/02/16/narrative-capitalism/#bezzle-tour

If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this thread to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/02/22/self-censorship/#acab

As part of the promotion for the book, I've been serializing an excerpt: Chapter 14, in which Marty takes on a side-quest to recover the stolen royalties of one-time funk star Stephon Magner (AKA Steve Soul) which were stolen by his scumbag manager and then sold on to an even scummier sample-licensing clearinghouse.

Today, I bring you part five, in which Marty's simple cross-referencing project is violently altered by an encounter with the criminal gangs of the LA Sheriffs Deputy departments, a real crime-syndicate whose reign of terror continues to this day:

https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2023-05-17/dozens-of-lasd-deputies-ordered-to-show-suspected-gang-tattoos-reveal-others-who-have-them

I'm posting this installment en route to San Diego, where I'll be appearing tonight at Mysterious Galaxy

https://www.mystgalaxy.com/22224Doctorow

From there, it's back to LA, where I'm appearing on Saturday evening with Adam Conover at Vromans:

https://www.vromansbookstore.com/Cory-Doctorow-discusses-The-Bezzle

And then on Monday I'll be at Third Place Books with Neal Stephenson:

https://www.thirdplacebooks.com/event/cory-doctorow

From there, I'm off to Portland, Phoenix, Tucson and points further:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/02/16/narrative-capitalism/#bezzle-tour

Here's part one of the serial:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/02/17/the-steve-soul-caper/#lead-singer-disease

Part two:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/02/19/crad-kilodney-was-an-outlier/#copyright-termination

Part three:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/02/20/fore/#lawyer-up

Part four:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/02/21/im-feeling-unlucky/#poacher-turned-keeper

And now, part five!

The storefront had an old break room with a first-­aid kit, and a bathroom with a sink. I sponged myself clean in the mirror, ate two expired Aleves and three 200 mg expired Tylenols out of the kit. The ass was ripped most of the way out of my pants, so I moved my wallet to my front pocket, which my massage therapist had been nagging at me to do for years.

I opened the door more carefully this time and limped out into the parking lot. My rental—­a little red Civic—­was the only car left in the parking lot, except for a rusted junker with no tires that was the perennial sentry of its farthest corner.

I bipped the doors open with my fob, checked the back seat, then slid inside. I checked my reflection in the rearview mirror and winced, which pulled at my bruises and set blood oozing from my lip and cheekbone again, which made me wince harder. I was already halfway to Quasimodo and I tried to remember if there was a 7-­Eleven on the route home where I could buy a couple of bags of frozen peas for the swelling.

I reset the mirror and backed out of my spot. The pain was increasing. They’d have Advil at the 7-­Eleven, and I’d remembered where there was one on the way back to my Airbnb.

As I waited for a red light at Eagle Rock and Colorado Boulevard, I watched as a homeless man labored across the road with his shopping cart. I was still watching him when I realized the light had been green for some time and had just toggled yellow. I made the turn and headed up Colorado, but I was barely a hundred yards down the road when I heard a siren blat and saw the police lights. I checked my mirrors and saw the LASD cruiser directly behind me, racing right up to my bumper, slowing only at the very last moment. The cruiser’s high beams blinked insistently and the siren whooped.

I pulled over.

I waited while the officer slowly got out of his car and walked to my driver’s-­side window. I kept my hands at ten and two. The officer tapped my window and made a roll-­down motion, so I hit the button, moving slowly, putting my hand back.

I got a light in my face, squinting and thus reopening my cheekbone and lip.

“Everything all right, sir?”

“Yes,” I said, feeling the blood ooze down my chin. “I was beaten up,” I said, stating the obvious.

“That is unfortunate,” the officer said. “License and registration.”

I got my driver’s license out of my wallet and found the rental papers in the glove box and handed them over. He crunched back to his cruiser and I watched him in the side mirror. He’d left his cruiser’s headlights on and in the glare it was hard to tell, but it looked like there was another cop in the car whom he was conferring with. After a long delay, he came back.

“Step out of the car, please.”

I did. He turned me around and had me plant my hands on the hood, kicked my feet apart, and roughly frisked me, getting his hand inside the rent in the seat of my pants and patting my boxer shorts and giving my balls a hard squeeze.

“Sir, do you know why I stopped you?”

“I don’t,” I said.

“You proceeded unsafely through a traffic signal. Have you been drinking, sir?”

“I haven’t.”

“Have you consumed any cannabis or other drugs?”

“I haven’t.”

He turned me around and shone his light in my eyes. “If I search your car, am I gonna find any drugs?”

“No, sir.”

“Because I am gonna search that car and if I do find drugs and you’ve been lying to me, this is gonna be a lot worse than it needs to be.”

I didn’t dignify that with a response. My head hurt. My face hurt. My back hurt. This was a bullshit stop.

I expected the deputy’s partner to get out of the cruiser while my tormentor tossed the rental car, but he stayed put. I did, too. Obviously. I wasn’t going to take off on foot. I’m a forensic accountant, not a gang kid getting fifteen minutes of fame on Cops.

He spent long enough on the rental that I started to worry. Who knew what some previous driver might have shoved between the seats? But after pulling out the floor mats and tossing them onto the grassy verge beside the car, he finally stood up.

“All right, sir. I’m going to go and get a breathalyzer test. You can refuse it and I will then suspend your license for twenty-­ four hours. I will arrest you for a suspected DUI and bring you in for a blood test. If you fail that test, you will be subject to additional criminal penalties. Do you understand me?”

He had old coffee on his breath. My face hurt. “I’ll take a test.”

Back to the cruiser. It had been half an hour at least. Once the breathalyzer was done—­fifteen minutes, if memory served—­I could go to the 7-­Eleven for painkillers and frozen peas. I decided I’d add a six-­pack, I was so tired. My face hurt. I knew that mouthing off to this cop wouldn’t make things go faster, quite the opposite, but as he took his leisurely time coming back to me, I was hard-­pressed not to.

I blew. “May I sit down?” I asked. “My face hurts.”

He didn’t bother to look up from his phone. “Stay where you are, sir.”

I stood. My face hurt. Time crawled. Finally, the breathalyzer beeped. He held it up and squinted at it, then used his phone to light up its face.

When he did, his sleeve rode up and revealed the “998” tattoo on his forearm. Suddenly, I didn’t care so much about the pain in my face.

The cop looked at me. He was an older guy, but quite a silver fox, in a Clooneyoid sort of way. Had the same smile lines at the corners of his lips and eyes. But on him, they looked mean. Dangerous. A man who would smile at you while he beat your face in.

“All right, sir,” he said. “I’m going to write you a citation for reckless driving and you will be free to go.” He smiled. “Thank you for your cooperation.” It sounded like “fuck you.”

Back to the cruiser again. When he was done writing, he switched off his headlights, and the bubble light inside the car lit up his partner. Heavyset. Smiling. Excellent teeth. He gave me the same look as he had just before kicking me in the ribs. I gasped involuntarily and my ribs burned. His smile got bigger.

The Clooneyoid deputy returned with my ticket. I looked at it and then I realized he’d said “reckless driving”—­not “dangerous driving.” This was a summons, not a citation. For a misdemeanor. Two points off my license and I’d have to go to court. Depending on the judge, I could be in for fines or even a jail sentence.

Clooneyoid saw me figuring this out and he smiled, too. Everyone was having a great time tonight except for poor old Marty Hench.

“See you in court, sir,” he said.

I exercised extreme care on the drive to the 7-­Eleven, even backing out of my parking spot and reparking so that I was perfectly centered between the white lines. The clerk didn’t bat an eye at my hamburger face. I gave myself five minutes to bury my bruises in the frozen peas before I backed out and drove the rest of the way to my Airbnb.

I drove five under the limit the whole way, and when I got out of my rental, I looked long and hard up and down the street for an LA Sheriff’s Department cruiser.

ETA: Here's part six!

If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/02/22/self-censorship/#acab

[raychleadele]

What’s with movies setting up a romance that you know will work out by the end, but one of the two people always has someone else already, and you’re made to dislike this person because they’re not the Correct Partner according to the movie, but in reality they’ve done absolutely nothing wrong, it kind of sucks really, they didn’t deserve being abruptly abandoned by the person they love, and yet we’re supposed to root against them?

Anyway, I’m watching Sleepless in Seattle and I feel for Walter, his only crime is that he has allergies! And a couple weeks ago I watched Twister and had the same thoughts about Melissa, whose only crimes are being a busy therapist who makes herself accessible to her patients and being understandably uncomfortable chasing a tornado. I know it happens in other movies I haven’t seen as recently. But like, why do we do this? Why even have this character in the first place?

[crazy-dog-lady-81]

Love Thy Neighbour

Chapter 3

With lunch eaten, it was back to The Sister House for Amelia and Scout. The movers were prompt and arrived on time. While the youngster enjoyed an unusual whole afternoon of Play Station, Amelia was kept busy directing the placement of her furniture throughout the rooms.

She loved this house. Always had done. Derek, her late brother, had re-modelled the house for Meredith and for the family that the couple had hoped to have together. With his own hands, he had crafted it into an ideal family home and no matter where she stood within it, Amelia could feel Derek’s presence. He was in the walls, floors, fixtures, and fittings that surrounded her, something that brought her a sense of peace and calmness.

Also, the house had always been Amelia’s safe and happy place. On her arrival in Seattle from Los Angeles, Amelia had been a mess. Grieving the loss of her fiancé James and their son, Christopher, she’d been a shambling mess, struggling with her addictions to OxyContin and booze. Eager to help, Mer and Derek had offered her not just a room, but a home and it had been in this home where she had learned to be sober, achieving a new normal for herself.

Plus, it was where she had raised Scout for the first three years of his life. He had taken his first wobbly steps in the living room of this house. He’d spoken his first words there too. Marks indicating his height, and those of his cousins, could still be found on the wall of the kitchen.

With so much of their history here, having the house fall into the hands of strangers, who would never fully appreciate it, was not something that she could live with. So, when Meredith had told her about wanting to sell it, she’d agreed a price with her adopted sister and bought the sentimental pile of bricks herself. Then, before she knew it, Amelia and Scout were going home.

Standing looking at her small sofa, she wondered if she would ever be able to fill up its large spaces. Her pieces of furniture were few in number, coming as she was from a small apartment. In places, they were too small for the much larger spaces they would now be occupying, meaning that they would need to be replaced in due course. Remembering how the house was before her life was turned on it’s head, Amelia feared that she’d ever be able to replicate its homely, lived in atmosphere.

Never in the houses history had so few people lived in there. It had always been a collection point for Grey-Sloan’s waifs and strays. At some point, almost all of the hospitals interns and residents had lived there. The trend had begun with Mer, Alex, George, Izzie and Christina and had ended with the most recent crop of residents. Even then, Shepherd blood had been present here. Her nephew, Lucas had only moved out, having taken up an oncology fellowship in New York, alongside his new bride, Simone.

Amelia didn’t feel inclined to open the house up like that again. Living alone had been an awakening for her. Living with other people, she’d never had to learn how to fully care for herself. For example, up until three years ago, she famously hadn’t been able to cook. Meredith and Maggie had always prepared her meals or she ate in the hospitals canteen or she’d grabbed herself a takeaway. Even when she’d first moved into the apartment, Maggie had batched cooked enough to see her through the week.

Living alone had also forced Amelia to take responsibility for her own mental health and addiction management. She’d had to learn to be able to identify early warning signs that she was entering a spiral. Spiralling was a one way street back to rehab and with her key support figures no longer on her immediate doorstep, she couldn’t afford to let herself slip.

So she’d gotten herself a good therapist, attended regular AA and NA meetings, enrolled in a cookery course, and had thus started the process of taking control of her life. With a lot of hard work, she’d learned to become self-sufficient. For the first time in her life, she hadn’t needed to rely on anyone and it was a pretty good feeling. It was also safe. If you could do it all by yourself, then you didn’t need anyone or anything. It was a neat way to ensure that she couldn’t be hurt anymore.

With the furniture sorted, Amelia realised that it had been hot and thirsty work. She plucked chilled bottles of ginger ale from the cooler box she’d packed, knowing the fridge would be empty in the sister house. The movers gratefully accepted the cold drinks, along with a generous tip as they prepared to leave. Having waved them off, she flopped down on her compact sofa, next to Scout. She watched him play his game for a few minutes before gently but firmly insisting it was time for him to shut it down.

“Let’s get some fresh air. How about a picnic in the garden?” she suggested.

He didn’t look convinced. “Picnics are for babies. I’m a big boy now, Mom.”

She chuckled at this. “You’ll always be my baby, squish”, she thought.

“You are getting big. If you keep growing so fast, I may have to stack some of my big, fat, heavy textbooks on your head. That ought to do the trick.”

Scout looked at his Mom sternly but when he saw her laughing, he gave in and laughed too. He loved her to bits, even if she made really bad Mom jokes sometimes.

“So what about that picnic? You must be hungry?”

He couldn’t disagree and so they set up a blanket on the ground in a shady spot in the yard. It was near where the old swing had been, the one where Kai had left her the first time, after telling her that they didn’t want what she had – a child.

“No, no, no, Shepherd. Stay in the present. Going back there will only hurt you”, she thought.

Putting her focus back on her current reality, Amelia set about pouring a cool drink for Scout and then offering him a paper plate of salad, cold meat, and bread. After she’d prepared her own plate, they’d gotten comfy and told each other jokes as they ate. Peals of laughter filled the air, causing a blackbird that had been perching on the fence to become startled and take to flight. It was a wholesome, heart-warming scene, one that Amelia wished she didn’t have bring to an end. But, with work still to be done, she had no option but to do so.

Together, which really meant her working with Scout watching, Amelia got their beds made and unpacked some essentials such as clothes, underwear, and toiletries, along with towels and Scout’s green frog plushie. Link had bought it when he’d first learned that she was pregnant and it had always been Scout’s favourite toy. He couldn’t sleep without his battered old froggy tucked safely under his arm. Next, she ordered a home delivery of groceries and when it arrived, she put it away. After, she made an executive decision that that was enough for today. Everything else could wait until tomorrow.

She made a simple pasta meal for dinner, before getting Scout showered and ready for bed. They watched a movie on her laptop before Scout went up to bed. With his teeth brushed, she tucked him in and kissed him goodnight.

After cleaning up the kitchen, she made sure the house was safely locked up before heading upstairs herself. She took a long, cool shower, and put on her pyjamas. After looking in on Scout, who was out cold and snoring softly, she got into her bed and was soon enjoying her first nights sleep in her new-old home.

[sunburstpsy]

Strengthen Your Bond with Professional Couples Therapy

Reconnect, communicate, and grow together with expert couples therapy at Sunburst Psych. Our compassionate therapists provide personalized guidance to help you navigate challenges and strengthen your relationship. Discover a safe space for healing, understanding, and building a healthier connection. Visit us to learn how we can support your journey to a happier partnership!

[readingforsanity]

The Neighbor Two Doors Down | HK Christie | Published 2023

Five years ago, she tried to kill the man who abducted her sister. Now she's living next door to a psychopath hiding in plain sight.

Allison Smythe is barely clinging to sanity. After blaming and nearly killing an innocent man for her sister's unsolved kidnapping, she's ready to consider a fresh start. But just as she's settled in a new city, she's horrified to spot the villain who took her sibling residing peacefully on her street.

Arguing with the police over the need for more evidence and with her therapist about her deteriorating mental health, Allison grits her teeth and attacks the dangerous problem alone. But the more she digs, the more questions she unearths...and she fears her fragile mind could be playing nightmarish tricks.

Will her desperate attempt to deliver justice end with a tragic repeat of history?

When Allison Smythe was 17 years old, her younger sister, Ella, as abducted from a grocery store parking lot by a man with dark hair, dark eyes and a sharp chin. For the last 20 years, Allison has worked to perfect the facade that she was a normal girl. But, near the 15 year anniversary of Ella's disappearance, Allison thought she recognized the man that had abducted her sister and injured him. She narrowly avoided a felony conviction. But, now, 5 years later, she has found herself moving to Seattle to start a new job at a software company.

With the prospect of this new life, Allison meets Liam Parker. He is the nephew of the couple who live two doors down from her, and also her co-worker who is in a different department at her new company. The two of them quickly decide to begin spending time together. This is thwarted after, while visiting his aunt's bakery near their offices, when she again sees the man who abducted her sister. This man also is the man who lives two doors down from her, whom is married to Liam's aunt, Cora.

Thinking that this is all leftover from the trauma she had experienced all so long ago, Allison's therapist recommends that she enter herself in a mental health facility, but Allison knows that she needs to get down to business on finding out what happened to her sister.

With the help of her college best friend, Henry, the two of them begin working on finding out information on her new neighbor, who is named Edison Carl Gardenia. Initially, Henry can't find anything, but he promises to continue working. In the meantime, Allison decides to spend more time with Liam, in hopes of finding out more information about his family. When she is introduced to Liam's cousin and Cora's daughter Ruby, Allison is thrown for a loop. Ruby is a near carbon copy of her sister.

Initially, Allison believes that Ruby is also a victim of Edison, having disclosed that Cora isn't her biological mother, though Edison is her biological father. Wanting to help Ruby get out of the abusive and terrifying situation she found herself in, Allison hopes that Henry soon finds more informaion, especially after Cora has forbade Ruby from spending any more time with Allison.

Henry has found that Edison had traveled, with a one-way ticket, two days before Ella's abduction, and through DMV records, had purchased a white van, the very van that had kidnapped Ella. Allison reaches out to Detective White, who had initially worked on Ella's case and who has remained in contact with the Smythe family all these years, and he promises to take a look into what was found.

Liam alerts Allison to Cora's wishes to keep Ruby away from her, and this terrifies her into thinking that they have done something to Ruby. She and Henry hurry to their home, and finds Ruby in the backyard, where she introduces her to the woman she has known as Dorothy - who turns out to be Ella.

After being abducted by Edison and Cora 20 years ago, she had remained with the Gardenia's. After she outgrew Edison's depraved fantasies, he impregnated her and after a year, decided that Ruby would begin living with him and Cora as their child, and Dorothy would remain their neighbor and sometimes nanny to Ruby.

After meeting Allison, and asking her for a picture of Ella, Ruby figured out that Dorothy was actually Allison's missing sister, and that also discloses that she has always known that Ella was her mother.

The four of them flee, but are stopped by Cora, who begins to beg them not to disclose what they know. Allison is livid, but it is Ruby who tells her that they are leaving, as she has always known something was off about their lives, and her true family has been reunited. Cora can't stop them, and in the end, ultimately decides to go to the police with the information that they would need to send both herself and Edison to jail.

But, Edison arrives home and realizes that Ruby and Ella are gone, and he beats Cora to death before barricading himself in their home while Henry, Allison, Ruby and Ella are all at the police station discussing what has happened. In the end, Edison decides to commit suicide by police, and the Gardenia's are no longer.

After Allison and Ella were reunited, they decide to move back home to their childhood home in the Bay Area with her mother, who is happy to have her daughters back despite losing her husband only six months before. Luckily for Allison, her job was helpful and understanding in her unique situation, and thus transferred her over to the Bay Area office. She no longer has any contact with Liam, who was unaware of what his aunt and uncle had done some twenty years before.

Ruby is adjusting to her new, public life, while Ella has begun working toward returning to a society that has seemingly changed around her, by receiving her GED and looking for colleges to attend in the fall. The Smythe family have reunited, and are living their new happily ever after.

[natymova]

Prophecy

Y/N × Cristina Yang

Summary: Y/n is Meredith ex girlfriend they broke up cause Y/n went to another college. They meet again in Seattle, and you also meet Cristina Yang, she catches Y/n's eyes and it was awkward between Meredith and Y/n. Cristina like Y/n but she hide it cause she found out that she is her best friend ex girlfriend.

I drove to the hospital the first day being an intern, I hope this will be easy. My father was a famous doctor and sadly he died in a car crash when I was 16. My Mom is a therapist, she's back at my hometown in London. I have a big brother who is a lawyer, Mom adored him, his the golden child in the family.

I walk inside the hospital and walk to the room where the other interns are, I look around and see a familiar face talking to a beautiful Asian girl. The familiar face was Meredith Grey... My ex-girlfriend, yes we ended in good terms. Our eyes met and she was shocked as I was then she gave me a smile, I smiled back and the girl she talked looked at my direction.

'What beautiful eyes she has'

I thought to myself, Meredith said something to the girl and walked to me with a smile.

" Hi Stranger..." She said and crossed her arms, I smirked and replied "Meredith... How have you been?"

"Good... Never been better, how about you?" She asks "Doing great" I replied with a smile I look back at the girl she was talking to and our eyes met she quickly looked away.

"Who was that" I said still looking at the girl, Meredith followed my gaze and she said. "That's Cristina Yang... Come I'll introduce you to her" she said and started walking, I followed behind and we approached the girl whose name is Cristina.

"Cristina... This is Y/N L/N... Ahmm an old friend of mine" Meredith said.

"Hi it's nice to meet you... Cristina" I said with a smile.

"you too" she answered coldly and she looked away. I bite my lips at this.

'She likes a robot'

"Good morning interns!!!" A Doctor yelled. making me jump, I saw Cristina chuckle on my reaction and I blushed a little. Doctor Bailey said the rules and what she hated then told us where we are going with. After a while she finally mentioned my name.

"L/n and Yang, you two will be with me! Off you go!" She shouted, she walked and me and Yang followed her. "Okay our first patient for today is Miss Carter, this is your first day so it will be easy but I won't get easy with you... Miss Carter went into a car crash" she said as we walked in the room.

"Sehhh that hurts" Cristina whispered

"let's do this people!!" Dr. Bailey said and we did what she asked as to do.

Time skip

Me and Yang walked to the cafeteria silently, well until she spoke.

"So....how did you and Meredith become friends?" She asks, I laugh a little and tilt my head. "What?.." she ask.

"We.... Were not friends... I mean we were friends then ahmm I asked her out we...dated for two months and became a couple for three years.." I said.

"wow... Why did you two end it?"

"You ask so many questions.... Anyway we didn't have the same College school dream, we ended it in good terms anyway" I sigh "How about you... You have an ex here?" i ask

"Nope... Oh look speaking of your ex" she said, I look where she is looking and saw Meredith walking to us.

"Hey you two... How was the first day?" She ask.

"Great.." both me and Cristina said at the same time we look at each other and Meredith smile.

"how about lunch together? Izzie, George and Alex?" Meredith suggested that we agreed and we walked to the cafeteria we took some food and went to where the others are. We fell to a conversation and Alex kept looking at me the whole time then he finally spoke.

"So Y/n... Seeing someone?" He asked with a smirk, everyone looked at me waiting for my answer

"No..." I said.

"okay... Are you free on Saturday?" He asked again, I heard Meredith chuckle a little.

"No, I have a date" I said with a sarcastic smile.

"You just said that you're not seeing—"

"I have a date with my bed" I cut him off and the others laughed.

"Y/n your British?" George asked and I nodded.

"My Mother's British, my Father is from New York"

Time skip

We are all in the locker room and Alex kept flirting with me and I kept ignoring him.

"Alex I think Y/n will kill you if you won't stop" Meredith said.

"Ohh if it's not a crime to kill people his long gone for sure" Cristina said and smirked.

"Ohh shut up" Alex told Cristina, and she glared at him.

"Y/n do you know—"

"Oh for God sake!!! Alex stop!!! You're annoying me!!!" I shouted at him "And let me clear the glass... I'm not interested in you, I already got eyes on someone and I'm a lesbian!!" I said they look at me in shock I feel Meredith's hand on my shoulder, I realized what I just didn't and closed my eyes and sigh.. I opened my eyes and said "Sorry.."

"Wait you're not into Men?" Izzie asked, as I nodded " But look at you!! You're a goddess" she said and I chuckled.

"why don't you like men?" George ask.

"Let me guess... They're stupid?" Cristina asked with a smile.

"Definitely!!!" I said.

" Ahmm hi" George said.

"Oh I thought you were gay?" I said he glared at me and we all laughed. "Jus kidding" I said. All of us walked to our cars and as I was walking to mine Cristina was beside me.

"I think we park in the same place" she said. I saw a motorcycle beside my car and she walked to the bike.

"Woah... You ride that monster?" I was surprised. She nodded and smiled

"like it?" She ask.

"ahhh that's so amazing!!"

"you know I have a great time with you today, we should spend much time together " Cristina said I open my car and smile at her.

"I like the sound of that" I said and we said our goodbyes.