#I especially love Heather's AS IF sticker

[andy-the-8th]

moment of appreciation for the choice locker decorations we have for Sam & Heather:

[emojellyace08]

Lookism Characters when it's your birthday!!!

A/N: It's my birthday todayyyy!!! So if you share the same birthdate with me or you happen to scroll this down on your own special day and if you're not on the mood, this is for you!

Daniel Park/Zack Lee/Eli Jang/Sally Park/Mira Kim/Crystal Choi/Mary Kim/Zoe Park/Jace Park/Jay Hong/Heather/Jake Kim/Yoojin/Jihan Kwak/Gapryong Kim/Jinyeong Park/Sinu Han/Lua Im/Brad Lee/Jerry Kwon/Yui Kim/Joy Hong/Duke Pyeon/Jason Yoon

The really super sweethearts tbh

They're the ones who will remembers everyone's birthday (especially when you're superrr close with them).

So they will call the others to have a group meeting or create a group chat with over 40 members on it to surprise you on your special day! "GUYS ATTENTION!!! IT'S Y/N'S BIRTHDAY IN 4 DAYS WE GOTTA SURPRISE THEM!!!"

They will assign who will buy the décor and food (they will all share the budget!).

Will think of many plans and ideas to surprise you (It can turn out a little wacky though but at least they have put effort on it!)

Vasco/Doo Lee/Jiho Park/Olly Wang/Goo Kim/Yuseong/Warren Chae/Jibeom Kwak/Tom Lee/Kuroda Ryuhei/Sinu Han/Gongseob Ji/Alexander Wang (add in Zack Lee ; a little bit if you're really close)

They're the super noisy ones lmao

I can imagine the others getting so annoyed from them since they can't keep quiet when they're still preparing for the surprise (don't blame them they're super excited!).

So when you came inside the dark room and you opened the lights, they will scream and screech at the top of their lungs "HAPPY BIRTHDAY Y/NNNNNNNNNNNNN!!!!!" xD.

They're also the super hyped ones while singing Happy Birthday even though they're out of tune LMAO (the others looks so done while you just stand there in the center with the cake lit with the candles be like 🧍‍♀️).

Even while eating, they're still super talkative while there's lot of food smudges on their face (how the hell can they still speak? Because their vocal chords are SUPERIOR).

Jay Hong/Joy Hong/Jiho Park/Crystal Choi/Goo Kim/Gun Park/DG/Yoojin/Tom Lee/Mitsuki Soma/Charles Choi

The super rich ones. They have the budget to buy the décor for themselves but the others insisted to pay for it and help too.

Will also buy you a very expensive gift like designer clothes, jewelry, shoes or anything that you really like but you can't afford! The others will be just like "Woah! They bought the limited edition jewelry of f/b for Y/N!"

They just really love you so much so they bought the most expensive gift for you that they can find so you'll feel very special! (Though just don't use them as a sugar mommy/daddy it can turn them off).

They will smile, chuckle and pat you on the head if you're super happy with their present "WuahHhhHHh THANK YOU SO MUCHHHHH YOU DON"T HAVE TO SPEND TOO MUCH MONEY ON ME NEXT TIME!!!" "As long you're happy I am too".

They just wants to see you smiling all the time even if it's not your b-day they hate you seeing sad (like everyone hates seeing you sad :)))) .

Daniel Park/Zack Lee/Eli Jang/Warren Chae/Sally Park/Mira Kim/Vasco/Jace Park/Mary Kim/Zoe Park/Heather/Jake Kim/Jihan and Jibeom Kwak/Hudson Ahn/Johan Seong/Yuseong/Jerry Kwon/ Line Man/ Lua Im/ Sinu Han/Brad Lee/Duke Pyeon/Jason Yoon/Jichang Kwak/Young Jinyoung Park

Will feel insecure about their gift (or if they don't have something to give for you).

Like don't blame them they're just in high school they're not like super rich (for young Jinyoung Park too).

They will be the ones who will either buy you cheap but cute items that you like and it's wrapped in beautiful gift wraps, make it hand-made or they will write a super long letter with your favorite decorations and stickers on the envelope (they're so precious).

They will be hesitant first to give you their present but after encouraging themselves, they will be super shy and lovey dovey while giving it to you "Ha-Happy Birthday Y/N... Hope you like it".

But after reading their letter you'll probably burst into tears lol (they're so good at expressing their feelings through writing it down on a paper that it makes you feel appreciated and loved so much since you're so nice to them).

They will also comfort you for crying and they will feel bad for making you cry because of the letter lmao "Y/N ARE YOU OKAY WHY ARE YOU CRYING?"

Over all sweethearts tbh "WUAHHHH THANK YOU FOR THE GIFT YOU DON'T HAVE TO SPEND ON ME TOO MUCH MONEY ON ME DUMMY THE SURPRISE IS ENOUGH!!!" "So-sorry for making you cry though..."

Johan Seong/Samuel Seo/Gun Park/Goo Kim/DG/Taesoo Ma/Vin Jin/Magami Kenta/Jiho Park (villain arc)/Cheon Taejin/Mandeok/Yui Kim/Mitsuki Soma/Xiaoleoung

"Why the hell am I here?" vibe.

They're just here for the food (they might not even know or care for the celebrant if you're not close with them lmao).

But they're still going to buy a gift for you if you know each other.

Acts like they hate it, but they secretly love birthday parties (Goo's an obvious party monkey so he really loves making chaos on birthdays like throwing and smudging the cake on everybody's faces lol).

Will secretly turn on birthday song remixes and sus shit on the bluetooth speaker lmao.

ADD IN!: Duke Pyeon/Daniel Park/Jay Hong/Jerry Kwon/Warren Chae/Vasco/Jiho Park/Brad Lee/Lua Im/Goo Kim/Line Man

They're the camera man with the shaky hands.

The pictures they take will be a little bit blurry and shaky while Goo is just doing it on purpose to piss you off (the others are really doing their best don't get angry).

They just wants to enjoy and spend some time with you without the others bossing them around (please save them).

Jiho Park/Vasco/Joy Hong/Warren Chae/Zoe Park/Goo Kim/Kuroda Ryuhei

They're the ones that will unintentionally spoil the surprise.

They will get so excited that they will spill the tea from you without realizing that they're talking to the celebrant and the others will cover their mouth shutting them up. "WE'RE HAVING A SURPRISE PARTY FOR Y/-" "OKAY WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT???!!! Sorry Y/N..."

They will apologize to the others while there are tears building in their eyes "Sorry guys! I just got so excited I won't do it again!" (while Goo is just doing it on purpose to tick the others off he's such an asshole lmao).

[andthisisdia]

🫧Hi🫧

Name: call me Dia💎

Age: I was born in 2002 and I'm too lazy to update my age every year💅

Nationality: Italian (English is not my first language so I might make some grammatical errors)

🏳️‍🌈: I'm a bisexual and demisexual/demiromantic girl (I use she/her pronouns)

MBTI: ENTJ (Don't stereotype me. I'm just really into doing things right and I like to have a plan for everything. I always try to find a solution to people's problems)

Something about me: I'm autistic and borderline 🪐 and I'm very extroverted, I like to socialize and meet new people. So if we have any interests in common, feel free to write to me🌌 (Read the continuation to find out more about me and what I post, it's important. Thank you)

(I made this edit using picsart stickers that represent my interests and something about me)

🎮Favorite video games:

•League of Legends (I play on the European server)

•Wildrift

•Valorant (I don't play it that much because I'm not very good)

•Overwatch

•Team Fortress 2 (my hyper fixation, I need to talk to other tf2 fans. I'm going crazy, I don't know who to talk to about it, I'm afraid of appearing boring to my friends who aren't fans😭😭😭)

•Life is strange (this game made me realize I'm not straight)

•Detroit Become Human

•Danganronpa (I discovered this thanks to tik tok during the pandemic. It was very trendy at the time)

•The last of us

•The Sims 3/4 (I never had the chance to play the previous ones)

🍿My favorite TV series are:

•Shameless

•Love, Death & Robots

•Bojack Horseman

•Arcane

•She-Ra and the Princesses of Power

•Ever After High

🎼Singers I like:

•Madison Beer

•Mitski

•Ariana Grande

•Ashnikko

•Kali Uchis

•Girl in Red

•Marina and the diamonds

•KDA ("Akali that girl, 'kali go grr 'Kali don't stop, 'kali don't skrt 'Kali got a job, 'kali go to work 뜨거워 언제나 don't get burnt" 🗣🗣🗣)

•Gorillaz

•Queen

•Molchat Doma

•Arctic Monkeys

•Mother Mother

•Jack Stauber

•Cavetown

•TV girl

•Bo Burnham

I actually listen to a lot of artists but I don't remember them all c:

🫧Things I like:

•Lost media

•Liminal space

•Dreamcore

•Nostalgiacore

•History of cinema (especially animated films)

•Psychology (and all other branches of this science. I also love anthropology and sociology)

•Travel and discover new places

•Everything that has to do with creativity (Drawing, writing stories and fanfiction, creating things like accessories for your clothes and such very cute things. I really admire people who can repaint dolls)

•Having fun (going out with my friends, watching films - if they're trashy films it's even better -, sending each other memes and tik tok videos and things like that)

🪷Hobby:

•Cosplay (Especially cosplaying my comfort characters)

•Drawing (I haven't drawn seriously since 2020. I'm waiting for inspiration)

•Collecting dolls (I love Monster High, Ever After High, Rainbow High and L.O.L O.M.G. I also collect Funko pops and figures from other brands. I also have many books and comics -which I have to finish reading because there are too many-)🧸

•Roleplay (Doing roleplay with me means that I have already organized the whole plot. But I also listen to the other person's ideas)

•Find out about the topics that interest me (Most of the time they have to do with culture. I'm a very curious person and I love to inform myself)

💿What I post on Tumblr:

•Things about my fandom

•Positivity (Especially mental health or pride posts about being a member of the LGBT community. Be yourself🌈Be unique)

•Aesthetics

•Vent

•My posts are tagged "Dia's post"

🦦Other random things:

•My favorite musicals are Heathers and Ride The Cyclone (the name of my blog is a mix between two of these songs)

•I'm terrible with numbers and sometimes I read the wrong words (I have a learning disability -be patient-)

•In my blog there are posts about Hazbin Hotel and Helluva Boss BUT IT'S NOT A SPECIAL INTEREST OF MINE. I recognize that they are two series with a lot of plot holes and nonsense. But it still reminds me of time spent with my friends. I actually like hearing people analyze and criticize it. I'm fond of the character of Vaggie and I like the ship between Sir Pentious and Cherri Bomb but as I wrote before: it's no longer a special interest of mine. I am neutral towards them

•I'm an atheist

•I am very interested in the meaning (and world) of dreams

‼️ Sometimes I also reposted something related to when I feel down. Unfortunately I have a lot of trauma but I'm trying to move forward and get better‼️

🔞I'm a girl from 2002 so I have young adult maturity‼️I want to talk to people my own age. You can follow me if you like my "aesthetic fandom stuff" but i would like to talk to people my age🔞

🧜‍♀️Comfort characters:

•Jinx (League of legends/Arcane. She is my main and for certain things I see myself in her)

•Seraphine (League of Legends. didn't like her at first but I love her gameplay. And I think she has the best skins -along with Jinx, of course-)

•Evelynn (League of Legends. She's a Goddess)

•Chloe Price (Life is strange. She made me understand that I like women too. I love this punk)

•Sunset Shimmer (Equestria Girls. She is one of the few ENTJs to be a positive character. I really like how her character has evolved)

•Reagan Ridley (Inside Job. We are very similar in certain things)

•Entrapta (She ra. I love this chaotic neutral autistic scientist princess. Again, I see myself in her)

•Kotori Minami (Love Live! When I was in middle school this was my favorite anime)

•Dia Kurosawa (Love Live! Sunshine. Love Live is an anime that accompanied me as I grew up. I'm very fond of it)

❕️I'm looking for young adult people like me (young adult means being over 18 and under 30). I have no problem with NSFW (I prefer artistic nudity) and I have no problem with swearing. I have a certain maturity so I want to interact with people like that.❕️

‼️ This is my safe space🗣 SO DO NOT INTERACT WITH ME IF YOU ARE: racist, homophobic, ableist, transphobic and against the LGBT community, do not interact if you are a pedophile and if you harm animals.Don't fetishize queer people. We are people, not nsfw categories. And don't romanticize the Mafia. Be kind and open-minded. Don't interact if you are against feminism (which I remind you, means gender equality), don't interact if you are people with ideas of hatred and discrimination. No ignorant people about mental health or what is happening in the world, because we are in 2024 and we need to have a minimum of culture. If you think abortion is murder, I would say you can also go elsewhere because I support women's rights and human rights in general. In general, don't interact if you are a person with bad ideas (that kind of bad ideas. Go away)‼️

🌟Talk to me if you are a normal person (and if you're nice and send funny memes. Or if you want to talk about some fandom in common or something. We can also play some video games together or talk about philosophical things like "what's the point of life?" or things like "do aliens exist?")🌟

[foodfightnovelization]

Chapter 12: Analysis and Discussion + 8 Color Pages Of What Are (Allegedly) Stills From the Movie

I hope you're sitting comfortably, because this chapter is LONG, totaling in at about 18 pages. As you can no doubt guess from the title, this is the chapter featuring color pages containing stills from the movie. This is standard feature in most movie novelizations- exactly halfway through the book, they'll have 8 pages of stills from the movie, printed on really nice glossy, shiny paper and rendered in beautiful high definition. I loved these as a kid, and the ones in the Foodfight! novelization are no exception. But we're not quite there yet, so let's snap and crackle into Chapter 12 and see what's popping!

The chapter starts with Dex arriving at the Brand X building, using a grappling hook to get to Lady X's penthouse on the top floor, and promptly hitting himself in the head with it. This scene is identical to how it is in the movie, save for the Brand X building being described as the giant washing machine display from earlier with a penthouse on top, whereas in the movie it's just a large gray tower.

Dex makes his way into Lady X's apartment, and right away it diverges from the movie as it's described as being decorated a bold red and black. In the movie it's just kinda... a drab olive green with heather gray tiling on the floors? Gross, right? No doubt red and black fit the aesthetic of Lady X far better. In addition, Dex sniffs a bottle marked "Elixir" and is left dazed, just like a few chapters earlier when customers at the store seemed hypnotized by it.

Lady X claps her hands and the two begin to tango, making vaguely sexual remarks towards one another. This is a rare case of the novelization keeping some of the more risque humor, and it's more or less identical to how it is in the movie. It's not TOO bad, but it's definitely one of the more provocative scenes (Especially in the film, where Lady X is wearing a revealing silver dress).

Their dance continues, with Dex believing Lady X is holding Dan hostage somewhere. She tries to convince Dex to join her, but at the mention of Sunshine, Dex is immediately turned off and attempts to arrest her. This is one of the few instances where the novelization's version of events are totally in sync with the movie- there are no differences worth noting here. There are a few visual gags in the movie with Lady X knocking over various things as they tango, but they wouldn't really work in a written format so it's understandable why they're not here.

But NOW, we reach an INCREDIBLY significant divergence in the plot. Lady X tells Dex she'll solve his case for him, and a painting on the wall opens up to reveal a swarm of mosquito-like robots she calls Xobytes. She has them attack the dogtective, and although he tries fighting them off with his price tag gun, Lady X makes it clear they have sticker-proof packaging. He then tries taking them on with his bare hands, but the mechanical bugs outnumber him and he's quickly rendered unconscious.

NONE of this is in the movie AT ALL- in the movie, Lady X simply knocks Dex out by hitting him over the head with a statue, and the scene ends there. No Xobytes, no fight scene, nothing. This is a HUGE deviation and, if I may say so, a huge improvement. Xobytes are a significant part the movie's plot, yet they receive no introduction at all- Dex encounters them later on and just acts like he already knows what they are, leaving the audience scratching their heads. Actually having a scene where Lady X introduces them and explains they're her secret weapon she used to kill the Ikes is HUGE. It makes the plot a whole lot easier to understand and lets the audience know what these giant robot bugs are supposed to be. I have to assume this was in the movie at some point and was cut out for whatever reason, because it really doesn't make a whole lot of sense to not have a scene like this.

With Dex knocked unconscious, Lady X laments she wasn't able to get him to join her, saying that together they could've been like mac and cheese, peanut butter and jelly...and there's an additional line in the movie where she also says they could've been like "scotch and tape", which has been very weirdly omitted here. I get not wanting to include a joke, but why'd they keep the setup for it if they were going to cut out the punchline?

Dex wakes up in a giant metal chamber (which we'll later find out is a dryer) and sees Dan looking over him. The two rejoice at seeing each other again, and Dex realizes what REALLY happened earlier- Lady X killed all the other Ikes with her Xobytes, but kept Dan alive as bait to lure Dex right into her trap. This is more or less the same it is in the movie, so let's press on. We're about to get to the REAL meat of this chapter.

Lady X looks in from atop the dryer and taunts the two of them, saying it's too late to escape. Now in the movie she says this from a holographic screen with them both already locked inside, but here she seems to be actually present, looking on from above and slamming the door of the dryer on them. Also, it's never explained just WHAT a dryer is doing inside a grocery store in the movie , but in the novelization... remember that giant Brand X washing machine display that keeps getting brought up? I feel it's made clear here that's what they're locked in, which both gives a whole lot more context to the scene and helps it make far more sense.

Lady X instructs the Brand X Mashed Potato Man to start up the dryer on extra-hot and dump their bodies in the toothpaste aisle when it's done. The Brand X Mashed Potato Man asks if they're framing toothpastes now, and- I'm sorry, the WHO? The Brand X Mashed Potato Man? Who? For context, this character isn't present in the movie AT ALL. This is probably the most significant change in the whole novelization so far- in the movie, after Dan and Dex are locked in the dryer, Lady X instead tells the above to a truly repulsive-looking character called the Brand X Lunchlady, voiced by the late Cloris Leachman. I've included a picture below so you can see for yourself just how horrifying she is-

So yeah, this is probably the biggest difference yet. An entire character, cut from the story and replaced with another, grosser one? They both serve the same purpose in the narrative, so why make a change like this? The novelization was written long before the movie came out, so we can deduce that the Brand X Mashed Potato Man filled this role early on and was replaced with the Brand X Lunchlady later in production, but, and I really can't stress this enough, WHY? And who is this strange potato man? Perhaps we'll find out in a later post...(we absolutely will, there's a bunch of merchandise/early storyboards I'm planning on talking about that show the character).

Anyway, the novelization continues as Lady X and her henchmen walk away from the dryer, leaving Dan and Dex inside as it starts to spin.

Dan gets slammed into the side of the dryer by a sock, and Dex figures out their method of escape- socks always escape from the dryer! (this is ridiculously contrived, but just go with it). The two safely make their way out of the dryer just as things really begin to heat up, and Dex makes to leave when Dan points out something he might want to see. They look through a vent and-

Well, that scene was more or less identical to how it is in the movie with no notable changes so USUALLY I'd just go on to the next page, but guess what time it is? That's right, it's time for the color pages! We're exactly halfway through the book (at 62 pages out of 125) and halfway through a sentence no less, but that's just how these books go! So without further ado, I present for your viewing pleasure 8 pages of color stills that...AREN'T from the movie???

Okay, so it's a little more complicated than that. As I mentioned in my introduction post and I'm sure you no doubt know, Foodfight had a notoriously long difficult and long production ranging from about 2000-2012, and was restarted from scratch numerous times during that period. The 8 pages of what are supposed to be stills from the movie ARE stills from the movie, but they're not stills from the version of the movie that was actually RELEASED. These are all from an earlier version of the movie that was in development in around 2002, a trailer for which I'll link below (the trailer was first published online in 2011, but it contains footage from that iteration of the film).

These stills are in much, MUCH higher quality than the trailer was ever available in (a measly 480p) and I'm not sure if that really shows in the photos I look using a low-quality cellphone camera, but here in my hands they look BEAUTIFUL. These stills and this trailer are so much more visually appealing than the actual movie released was that it almost feels like a crime we never got to see more of it. It's early 2000s CG, but it's GOOD early 2000s CG. The characters are full of life, they squash and stretch like old Looney Tunes cartoons, they move like they're actually ANIMATED and not just models being jiggled around, and Marketropolis is lit and textured so that it actually feels like a city and not a desolate wasteland.

Holding these eight pages of production stills in my hands makes it feel like I'm holding a version of the movie we never got to see... but hey, at least we get to READ that version in this novelization, right? We can't have it all, but we can at least have a ridiculously obscure novelization based on an earlier draft of the script and see what could've been. We can all share this book together, and bask in the warming glow of its glossy color pages and descriptions of a strange potato man...

Anyway now that's over, let's get back to the actual story because we still have 3 more pages before the chapter is over. Dan and Dex look through a vent and into Brand X's war room, where we see thousands of the Xobytes that attacked Dex earlier. In the movie, this is the first time we're shown Xobytes at ALL, but Dex still acts like he already knows what they are. Having been introduced to them beforehand in the novelization, this whole scene makes a lot more sense. We also hear Lieutenant X announce the curfew and explain only Brand X products are allowed in the aisles right now, which we don't hear until a little later on in the movie. I also feel like it's implied here that Brand X are using the curfew to wipe Ikes out without any witnesses, something that isn't made clear in the movie.

Dex wants to take action, but he's afraid he'll lose everyone else the way he did with Sunshine, and isn't sure he still has what it takes to save the market. Dan encourages Dex to believe in himself and points out if Sunshine were still here, she would. There are a few minor differences in dialogue here, but it's nothing too notable. However I do love this additional piece of narration the novelization includes here, saying "Sunshine would have believed that he could save the market. She would have believed that he could save the whole world, if it needed saving, and that he would go for it, giving everything he had." It gives an insight into what Dex is feeling here that we don't get in the movie, and it honestly managed to resonate a little with me emotionally. There's nothing in the world like having someone by your side who has total faith that you're capable of anything you need to do and that you'll face whatever challenge comes your way with everything you have. I'm lucky enough to have someone like that in my life, and I hope everyone reading this does too.

Dex has an idea for how they can save Marketropolis together, and outside of a few negligible changes in dialogue (in the movie he says "Let's snap, crackle and pop out of here") the chapter is over.

Geez, that was a long one. 10 pages, plus the 8 pages of color stills makes for a total of 18 pages and the longest chapter we've seen in the novelization so far. We're now over halfway into the book though! How do you feel? Personally I feel like we've seen a whole lot of interesting differences from the movie in a novelization that improves upon it vastly, and there can only be more interesting ones to come, so I say bring on Chapter 13!

[sapphosweirdkid]

Introduction!! :]

My name is something like Rue lol (so you can call me that if you want), I'm a minor and I live in the UK. I'm a lesbian and my pronouns are she/they but I don't mind all the others

My fandoms:

Percy Jackson (still reading ToA tho) (I loveee ruegard)

Stranger Things (especially ronance and byler)

Gravity Falls

Dead Boy Detectives

(there are more but I'll probably only post abt those ones)

Bands/artists I like:

Bikini Kill

Chappell Roan

Olivia Rodrigo

Conan Gray

Sorry Mom (pls lmk if you listen to them bc I'm so obsessed)

The Lightning Thief musical

Heathers the musical

Hole

Dazey and the Scouts (eeeee!!!)

The Raincoats

Generally a lot of other riot grrrl type music like Jack off Jill, Mommy Long Legs, Veruca Salt, Bratmobile, Le Tigre, Be Your Own Pet, Destroy Boys, Sleater Kinney, Cat Crash

Towa Bird

Maisie Peters

Charlie xcx

Beabadoobee

Danny Gonzalez/Fox SZN

Lucy Dacus

Descendants (idc, life is sweeter slaps)

Mean girls the musical

High school musical

The Cranberries

Fiona Apple

My hobbies:

Drawing

Reading

Writing songs

Playing the Sims 4 or Stardew Valley or occasionally animal crossing or Mario kart or Zelda echoes of Wisdom

Thrifting

Baking

I like watching commentary, video essays, book reviews, deep dives, and gaming YouTube videos.

Some of my favourite characters/kins are Mabel Pines, Phoebe Spengler, Lisa Swallows, Niko Sasaki, Mike Wheeler, Tao Xu, Robin Buckley, Luz Noceda (I desperately want the new Funko pop), Clarisse La Rue, Thalia Grace, BMO (adventure time)

I can't think of a good favourite book but maybe Magnus Chase or Last Night at the Telegraph Club or agggtm. My favourite movie is But I'm a Cheerleader (I have the DVD!!) but I also love Juno, 10 Things I Hate About You and HSM2 (also have the dvd). My favourite show changes a lot but probably Dead Boy Detectives rn but I love so many. My favourite game is Sims 4.

Fun facts about me!

I'm vegetarian

I have some purple hair

I own a Blahaj

My parents are divorced (I have a great relationship with both of them btw)

I've always wanted to make a movie and I made a short one a couple months ago

I love picking up cool looking rubbish and keeping it

I love the movie To All the Boys I've Loved Before but I'm not putting it with my favourite movies because Noah Centineo gives me bad vibes

There's this super cute girl at college but I don't think she likes me back

I have a heated blanket

I dressed up as dipper pines for halloween

I love lady bugs

I collect bottle caps and buttons

I love stickers

My favourite food is veggie burgers and chips

Sorry for the long intro post!! I love yapping abt myself

[thisislizheather]

Dad's 100th Birthday Part

This is a few months late of a post, but my dad turned 100 (!) in June and we had a giant party for him, which was incredible. And in helping plan the party, I did what I normally do when I need ideas for something - I went to different bookstores to peruse ideas for things that would be helpful in planning such an event. But here’s the thing: there is no book on how to celebrate a 100th birthday. There are ideas for kids birthday parties, weddings, showers, retirements but absolutely nothing specifically for a 100th birthday celebration. So that being said, I wanted to do a post about some of the things that we came up since it was all so fun to plan.

Tip #1: do not try to fit three numbered, helium-filled balloons in the trunk of your car. They will not fit. I popped the “one” almost immediately and thankfully we were still in the parking lot of Party City so I could get a replacement.

Above Photo: Toronto Star front page from June 5, 1923

Since we were having the party at a hall, we decided to decorate the guest entrance area with posters on easels from my dad’s past, like the front page of the Toronto Star from the day he was born (thanks to my dear friend Adele for getting a copy for us). We also displayed photos of his Dale Carnegie classes and students, his RCAF officer photos and medals, as well as an enlarged poster print from a Campbell’s tomato soup ad that he posed for when he was a kid. He also received birthday letters from the mayor of Mississauga, the governor general of Canada, the prime minister of Canada and the king of England, which were all on display. (I have a theory that since King Charles’ coronation took place on May 6th and my dad’s birthday was June 5th, then this could easily be the king’s very first 100th birthday letter that he’s sent as King of England… which is wild.)

Above Photo: Card luggage box

Dad insisted on cards only (no gifts), so I used this vintage luggage I bought years ago from the Toronto Vintage Clothing Show. The two red birds are from Michael’s and the lettering design was (perfectly) done by my sister-in-law Amanda with dollar store sticker letters, construction paper and twine.

Above Photo: 100th birthday matchbooks

I got party favour matchbooks made through Zazzle that turned out great.

Above Photo: Decade cookies

I don’t know what else to call these other than the decade cookies because each sugar cookie had a photo from each decade of his life. And they turned out so perfect, I’m grateful that Sweet Star Bakeshop took on the project and could create these for the day.

Above Photo: Mom & Dad

The balloon arch was put together by my sister-in-law Cindy, my brother Robbie, my niece Tianna and her boyfriend Liam and it looked spectacular, especially as a backdrop for photos. Cindy also had the genius idea to create two kids-only tables with colouring and craft supplies. Honestly every event with kids should do this.

Above Photo: The Heathers!

We bought flowers from the grocery store on the day of the event since that proved to be the cheapest/easiest route and we just brought vases from home for them. We got the “100” table decorations, the “100” banner and the guest book all from Amazon.

Above Photo: Birthday letter from King Charles

We had about 400 old photos shown on a slideshow that was displayed on a projection that played on a loop as well as a playlist of songs from the 40s-70s (no Beatles, he hates them). My brother Gary arranged to have some fado (a form of Portuguese singing) musicians play for a little bit since my Dad’s a big fan of it.

Above Photo: Dad & Mom with the cake

He insisted on using a sword to cut the cake (since that’s what the queen would’ve done) and somehow no one got hurt.

And finally we made gift bags that included some of the things that represent my dad: a bookmark (he loves to read), some UK chocolates (because of his English roots), an engraved 100th birthday pen, some wild flower seeds (ideally to be planted as a reminder of the party!) and a jar of homemade Stan jam (he loves strawberry jam) that my mom and I made.

Above Photo: Stan jam!

It couldn’t have gone better and everyone had such a great time. Truly a once in a lifetime kind of day. And just incase you’re interested at all, here’s some more about my dad.

Stanley Heather was born in 1923 in Toronto, Ontario. When he was 18 years old, he joined the RCAF in 1941 and fought in WWII (Ranks Held: AC2 - R118904, ACI, LAC, ACT. CORP SGT., FLIGHT SGT., PILOT OFFICER - J94389, FLYING OFFICER). Throughout his life, he’s had five children and countless grandchildren, he’s worked as an accountant with Hyland Motors and Chrysler, he was a sponsor of Dale Carnegie and taught the five Carnegie courses in the West Indies for fifteen years, he was the Chamber Of Commerce Manager in Brampton, the General Manager of The Mississauga City Board Of Trade and currently still co-owns and operates the daycare supplies company Heather Child Care Essentials in Mississauga with his wife of forty years (and my mom), Hassina. He continues to travel the world with Hassina.

You can see a reel of the celebration over here, if you're interested.

[feminexisting]

Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson

I’ve presumably owned this book for a few years now, although I don’t remember buying it. It has a Bargain Priced sticker from Books a Million, and another regular price sticker, denoting it as (being bought for) $4.97. I think I chose this book mostly because I was looking for a short book to read for this month, and it just happened to sound interesting as well. 

The premise is that Melinda is a high school Freshman who is an outcast after having called the cops on an end-of-the-year party where she was raped by a high school boy (she had just finished eighth grade at this point), Andy Evans. Following this and being unable to tell anybody about it, she’s abandoned by her friends and blamed for ruining the party. She’s briefly able to make friendly-enough with a transfer student named Heather when ninth grade starts, but is eventually abandoned by Heather for having no drive and not being popular. Melinda’s grades are in the gutter, her parents are tense, and she’s all alone, her only comfort being in her art teacher, Mr. Freeman’s, class, and in her special hiding place, a forgotten-about janitor’s closet. Over the year, she’s able to come to terms with what happened to her, as well as start to get closer to one of her old used-to-be friends, Ivy. When Andy starts dating Melinda’s used-to-be best friend, Rachel, Melinda tries to warn her, luckily resulting in Rachel ultimately backing away from him (although she blames Melinda at first in her shock) and arguably saving herself from the same fate. In his rage, Andy tries to get his revenge on Melinda by raping her again, but she’s able to fight back this time and stop him. 

Right off the bat, pretty fantastic book. I don’t know if it’s the best one I’ve read this year, but it’s certainly up there. I really appreciated how realistic it was with the way the high schoolers and teachers were written, as well as how Melinda felt, acted, and thought after the rape. It really did feel like it “got it”, you know? What it was like to be a teenager and have the whole world crashing down around you. 

There were a few things that kind of stood out in the book as being different from when the time the book was written to now. For one, there was a joke about “the cheerleaders getting group rate abortions before prom”, since Roe v. Wade was overturned this year. The joke still lands, because cheerleaders are the most likely to have parents who could buy them abortions, although it’s interesting to see how the joke has morphed from the time it was written. The second joke, which isn’t technically a joke I suppose, was when Melinda mentioned that people might think she’s the type to show up at school with a gun one day. Obviously not a joke, but very realistic; I remember thinking about students who I thought might bring a gun to school, too. There were a few times I even thought about it (not that I had access to a gun, and not that I ever actually WOULD have; it was just a dark little thought to tide me over the sea of hormones). 

I really loved the writing style of the book. It was good at suspense,especially when Melinda wanted to talk to Rachel and tell her the truth. The passage of time being marked by outstanding events because that was the only thing that you really took note of as a depressed teenager, the way things were emphasized, the way Melinda thought, the way she thought about her trauma in particular, etc etc. It was a really enjoyable writing style, one which was never too long winded and which made it easier for me to actually want to read more. It was probably one of the most realistic high school books I’ve ever read. A quote from the book I really enjoyed: “Is there a chain saw of the soul, an ax I can take to my memories or fears?”

I was really intrigued by Melinda’s parents’ relationship. I kept thinking that they would get a divorce at any point in the novel just to add to it, but now I wonder if most of the pain wasn’t just because they didn’t recognize their daughter anymore and didn’t know what was wrong or how to help her. That said, it’s not like they were the parents of the year, either- when Melinda cut herself, her mom said that she “didn’t have time for it”. Heartbreaking, especially to a girl who had almost nothing to lose. I genuinely thought that a failed attempt might have been the catalyst for the truth coming out, but luckily, she never tried. It was nice, however, when Melinda often thought about telling her parents, usually when they showed that something was there- love, maybe, or understanding. I understood why she didn’t, though. 

This book had a really good way of making you expect the worst every time something good happened. Like when Melinda became friends with Heather, and then Heather ditched her. When Melinda tried to do a good deed, and it backfired on her. Etc etc. When Ivy, one of Melinda’s old friends, started talking to her again, I was afraid that Ivy was going to tell Rachel and it was all going to start crumbling down; thankfully, that didn’t happen. 

Melinda’s relationship with her friends-not-friends was interesting. With Heather, Melinda implied that she was annoyed or not really interested with her companionship for most of their friendship, right up until Heather wanted to break it off, which is when Melinda was suddenly more interested in it than anything else (understandable, since she suddenly realized she would be all alone). In the end she realizes that she and Heather were both just using each other for companionship, not actual friendship, and Melinda was able to turn down Heather crawling back to her at the end of the novel when she needed help decorating the gym, which I was proud of her for doing. With Rachel, her used-to-be best friend, Rachel blamed her for the party getting ruined, even mouthing at Melinda at one point that she hated her. Despite that, she still believed Melinda in the end when Melinda told her the truth, ultimately saving herself from disaster. With Ivy, Melinda was friends with her but it wasn’t a huge loss, either, which is why it was surprising but nice when Ivy was the first one to try to become friendly with her again, complimenting her, listening to her, and helping her. With Nicole, they weren’t very close friends, so it wasn’t a loss to either of them, but they never really tried to reach out to each other, either, which wasn’t a big surprise. David, Melinda’s lab partner, wasn’t necessarily her friend, but he was nice to her overall and even invited her to a get-together at his house (which she declined), and who stood up for her against the mean Mr. Neck, but neither of them really made any attempts to be very friendly together. Overall, it was just an interesting view of the different dynamics of the friendships. 

I was glad, in the end, that Melinda was able to get some catharsis and was able to save herself. I was surprised that she never actually told anybody (or, at least, she only told her art teacher? I wasn’t really for sure about it), but that in itself was a realistic ending, too. The summary of the book mentioned that after she told the truth “everything would change”, which I don’t think is true, exactly. Things DID change, yes, but they were changing before she told Rachel, too. The only thing, I think, that really changed was the fact that Rachel was reaching out to her again afterwards (after she had some time to process and started to believe her). In a way, I’m glad that everything didn’t suddenly change - I’m not sure Melinda would’ve been able to handle it if they had suddenly changed all at once. Instead, the change happened gradually, which allowed for a pretty shitty school year, yes, but which also allowed her to change and grow with it. I was proud of her progress at the end and I hope that the coming summer was better for her. I hope everybody believed her. And, although she missed Rachel most of all, I kind of wish Ivy became her new best friend, haha. 

Not of any import to the book itself, but the art project assigned by Mr. Freeman, the art teacher, reminded me of the art project the teacher from the book Heartbeat, by Sharon Creech, assigned, about drawing an apple every single day. In this way, the way the students changed and how their art reflected it was a really interesting thing to do. I wonder if that was a real art project any high school teachers have done before? Man, I really want to read that book, now. Did I ever even read it in full? I can’t remember. I’m pretty sure Megan showed it to me, though, and I remember reading part of it, at least. Need to get my hands on it at some point. 

Really a fantastic book overall. Very enjoyable. Pretty heavy subject-matter wise, so it’ll definitely have to be a while until I read it again, but I wouldn’t mind reading it again, which I count as a win. Definitely a keeper. 5/5.

My bookmarks for this book were a dark brown paper wrapper from a Ferrero Rondnoir truffle and a white paper wrapper from a Raffaello truffle. 

[bellacardoza16]

I got inspired by @headcanonsandhijinx who did a Jason Todd musical theatre roles list so after I reblogged it with my version of Dick Grayson musical theatre roles, here is my version but with Stephanie Brown.

1.) Glinda in Wicked. She literally has the bubbly personality for her and she would kill it singing Popular. She can also show her vulnerability singing for Good and get choked up as she thinks of Tim and her bat family.

2.) Ella in Roger’s and Hammerstein’s Cinderella. While she has listen to the broadway revival soundtrack 3 times and has watched the Brandy version 5 times, her soft mezzo-soprano voice would come in handy especially for in my own little corner because she gets reminded of how what her old home life used to be like with her mother and father.

3.) Heather Chandler in Heathers. She has listened to the off broadway recording for about 17 times, she has watched the original movie with Winona Ryder 12 times, and has brought stickers from Redbubble that are modeled off of characters and song lyrics from the show. Playing this role allows her to not only be comedic but also play the anti-hero as well. Most of the people in the batfamily are shocked by her role in Heathers the musical that the only people who are allowed to see it are Tim, Kate, and Jason.

4.) Ariel in the little mermaid. This girl needs to live out her princess dreams because she was obsessed with the movie when she was little and she would also be very adorable in this role.

5.) Roxie in Chicago. Steph is very committed to this role that one time, Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy crashed a performance, and when she was singing Roxie, she dropped kicked the two of them off the stage and never broke character the entire time. After Chicago, Bruce and Tim talk to Stephanie and make sure that she doesn’t ever commit any criminal felonies. During we both reached for the gun, she acts so much like a ventriloquist dummy that it freaks everyone out.

6.) Meg Giry in Phantom of the opera. Stephanie used to do ballet and her ballet skills would come in handy for this role. Her mezzo-soprano also helps out again as Meg is also very gentle just like she is in real life.

7.) Sheila in a Chorus line. Stephanie’s vulnerability comes in handy again because when she sings at the ballet with the actresses that play Maggie and Bebe, she relates to the broken family dynamics because of the harsh upbringing that she had growing up. I think during one performance, Bruce saw tears go down Stephanie’s face during at the ballet.

8.) Ilse in Spring awakening. This role hits a little too close to home for her because of the relationship that she had with her father growing up. One time, after a performance of Spring awakening, Stephanie was so overwhelmed, Tim and Bruce decided to both check up on her and make sure that she sees a psychiatrist so that she can be in a good headspace after the show ends.

9.) Cosette in Les miserables. She also relates to this role because of the Harsh upbringing she had growing up, and I just think that both Tim and her would be adorable as Marius and Cosette singing a heart full of love.

10.) Johanna in Sweeney Todd. Stephanie has a sweet soprano voice that she uses as Johanna and she sounds wonderful.

11.) Evelyn Nesbit in Ragtime. While this would be a good way for Stephanie to embrace her sexuality, she would kill the whimsicality and playfulness that is offered in this role. She would also get comfortable being on a trapeze swing in Crime of the century since Dick gave her one-on-one trapeze training.

12.) Sophie in Mamma Mia. While I do want to say that Tim and her would kill lay all your love on me, she has the typical girl next door look, and to make things even more pure, Selina would be a magnificent Donna because Stephanie really loves her adopted stepmother and they would show their love by singing an emotional rendition of slipping through my fingers. On top of that, Bruce is also in the same production by playing Sam. While Barbara and Cass can play Sophie’s two friends, Stephanie would just hug Bruce and Selina one night after a Mamma Mia performance and thank the both of them for always being there for her. Afterwards, Stephanie, Bruce, Selina, Cass, and Barbara would sing dancing Queen on the way home after the cast party.

13.) Annie in Annie get your gun. I just think Stephanie would sound wonderful singing you can’t get a man with a gun and anything you can do I can do better.

14.) Grace Farrell or Lily St. Regis in Annie. Just like with Dick, Stephanie wouldn’t mind working with Children and the young girls would definitely adore her after she entertains them backstage or even on breaks.

15.) Jane Seymour in Six the musical. She would just bring everyone to tears with heart of stone.

16.) Frenchie in Grease. Stephanie was literally made for Frenchie because both of them are their friend groups personal cheerleaders, the glue that holds everyone together, and the shoulder that everyone can cry on.

17.) Anna in Frozen. This girl was literally made for this role, that’s all.

18.) Belle in beauty and the beast. She can relate to Belle not only on the outcast part but she has a father who has told her to stay true to herself just like how Bruce has always been a better father to her other than her regular father. Bonus points if during one show, Bruce plays Maurice and after the show, Stephanie breaks down in tears, tackles Bruce, and thanks him for always being there for her when her original father wasn’t.

19.) Jane in Tarzan. Just like Jane, she’s not only an explorer at heart, but also an adventurer as well. This is also the third time that has her working alongside Bruce again ever since Mamma Mia and Beauty and the beast.

20.) Amber in Hairspray. She literally has a blast in this role because it allows her to release all of her stress and frustration when she’s had a bad day. Cooties is also one of her favorite songs to sing.

[blarrghe]

would be really great if adorable domestic ficlets about sequel!Twelve Nights (a thing that DOES NOT ACTUALLY EXIST there’s NO PLAN) would stop jumping into my head while I’m trying to finish this chapter of the Merrill Sessions and you can blame Taren and Dorian and the baby if I don’t. anyway this one is called Favourites: -- Kindergarten is a time of self discovery.

Bracha is five years old now, which means she can start kindergarten, and she is very excited. Taren is excited for her, in a your-happiness-is-my-happiness kind of way, even if he’s openly shedding tears as they pull up to the school parking lot. Dorian is not so generous. He is, frankly, just upset. He’d made a very good case as to why she should continue to learn from them, at home, including: they have more advanced degrees between the two of them than the entire staff of the elementary school put together, Bracha can‘t take field trips to the library or the valley to learn about ancient Tevene history or Dalish trail-signs or bugs every day if she goes to Kindergarten, and also, Kindergarten doesn’t have cuddling.

But apparently, Kindergarten actually takes a lot of field trips to the library and to the valley and even to the next town over to the science museum, Kindergarten’s teacher is a well-loved Dalish woman with wonderful credentials and two upstanding young teaching assistants whom Taren knows personally, and apparently having advanced degrees in astrophysics and business does not better suit one to teaching reading and social-emotional skills than ones in early childhood education and developing pedagogy. Also, Bracha really wants to go to Kindergarten, all her friends are going to Kindergarten, and ever since Autie Dee bought her a backpack in preparation, she hasn’t taken it off. So Kindergarten won that argument, though Dorian made a deal with his husband that they would reevaluate the situation in a year or two, because by that time beginning her education in astrophysics would be warranted, anyway. And now they are in the school parking lot and Taren is quietly weeping and Bracha is bouncing up and down in her carseat with her bright green backpack in her lap and her hair in already-messy braided pigtails, and Dorian has to be the one to get them inside.

Taren wipes his eyes as Bracha drags them up to the door, one of her tiny hands in each of her fathers’, and Kindergarten’s teacher is wearing overalls and a bombastic smile, greeting each child with a fun name-tag sticker and slow, patient directions for navigating her classroom: cubbies for their snacks, a reading nook with pillows if they get tired, activity tables, colouring sheets and markers in one station, a table filled with water and toys, bins of costumes and a kitchen set, a colourful carpet by the board where they’ll sit for stories and songs; a five-year-old’s dream. Dorian gets the feeling that the information package is more for them than it is for her, especially considering that Bracha practically sprints off to an easel equipped with water-colour fingerpaints the moment she spots it, and the teacher continues explaining the plans for the day without her.

Taren smiles, somehow finding one at the sound of Bracha’s laugh when she spots a friend across the room, while Dorian wonders if he can inspect the reading nook. But they make it out of there, somehow, and before driving them home, Taren drives them both over to Auntie Dee’s, and she sighs at them and gives them ice cream. Taren blushes, and Dorian is distracted: when Taren was little, ice cream always helped, she says. Taren protests that he has never mended a hurt with ice cream, while digging into the container for more, and Auntie Dee says chocolate chip was his favourite.

Favourite is an interesting word. Someone at Bracha’s school introduces her to the word, the blighted teacher, probably, and then soon Kindergarten is her favourite. It stings the first time, Kindergarten is her favourite, Miss Jessa is her favourite, but then Lara is her favourite, Eirlana is her favourite, Daven is her favourite, rocks are her favourite, animal-shaped cookies are her favourite... Dorian is pretty sure that she doesn’t know what the word actually means, and he calms down. A little.

But Kindergarten teaches her many things, not just new words, but new skills. He still won’t admit it, but when she comes back with letter recognition and blends, reading sight words and rhyming word families, when she starts counting in three languages and subitizes the numbers on the dice during board game night, when she tells him a story one night and evaluates that the problem in it was solved by sharing without any prompting, he starts to think that maybe Kindergarten is actually doing her some good. Soon, she figures out that with ‘favourite‘ you can have as many as you can come up with categories, and so the obsession continues.

Bracha loves to tell anyone who will listen, and with even more enthusiasm ask in turn, about favourites. It makes for surprisingly stimulating dinner conversation. The entire family learns many things about one another. From favourite colours (Bracha’s is rainbow, Dorian’s is green because black isn’t a colour, and Taren’s is also rainbow), to favourite foods (Bracha’s is waffles, Dorian’s is something he had once in Antiva but can’t remember the name of, made better by its unattainable mystique, and Taren’s is soup, which is cheating because anything can be soup — this argument takes up all of dinner, and by the end of it his favourite is determined to actually be pumpkin pie.), to more substantial questions like “what is your favourite day” (clarified to be as in ever in the history of ever — they all pick her birthday), and “what is your favourite book” which all of them flatly refuse to answer.

Dorian learns things he never thought to learn about his husband. His favourite flowers are pink heather, his favourite fish is starfish, his favourite animal is a blackbear, his favourite shirt is the one Dorian gave him three Satinalia’s ago and his favourite number is twelve. He winks at Dorian like it hasn’t always been. Dorian also finds himself taking stock of things he never has before; considering his favourite socks — knitted by Auntie Dee, obviously, his favourite toy — a duck he had when he was little, and hasn’t thought about since, his favourite colour of apples — after determining which, he starts buying the green ones more. She asks for some truly bizare determinations too, such as his favourite sense; Kindergarten went to the science museum that day, so he takes the teachable moment to say proprioception and then teach her the hidden-hand trick, because he needs to solidify that he is still smarter than Miss Jessa.

He learns that Bracha likes green apples too, and that she knows because they did an experiment at school where they tried all the different ones and filled out a graph, that her favourite toy is the bear he got her the day they took her home (though he knew that already, its name is Chauncy and it follows her everywhere), her favourite socks were also knitted by Auntie Dee and they are her favourite because they are rainbow, and her favourite sense is definitely proprioception — she cannot wait to tell Miss Jessa about it. When he puts her to bed, he reads her her favourite story, which they’ve agreed is a designation that can rotate each week, and she points out all the sight words. (Her favourite sight word is “no” — she doesn’t declare this, of course, but considering how often the five year old uses it, Dorian can’t be fooled.) When she is sleepy and slumping, her head nodding into her pillow, she reaches up towards his face and pulls his cheek into a kiss, before he can finish the tale.

“Thanks daddy,” she mumbles, and it squishes into him like a hug every damn time, “you’re my favourite.”

“What about papa?” he smiles softly, returning the kiss with the softest scold — it’s probably not okay to let her pick favourites — and she nods, eyes closing as he pulls the covers up over her.

“Papa is my favourite too. Miss Jessa says you can have lots of favourite people, it’s not like colours.” she says, then opening her eyes with a sudden thought, she adds “and actually, you can have lots of favourite colours,” very seriously. Dorian nods in serious agreement.

“Okay,” he says, “then you and papa are my favourite too.”

In the living room, after he tells him of this new rule to the game of favourites, Taren resoundingly agrees.

[kasdeyathebitterwoman]

Maybe She’s The One - HenryxReader

I got an amazing request to write a fluff piece about Henry’s family teasing him about finding the one. I hope I did good! I don’t know why I chose Easter weekend as the theme for this particular piece, it just happened 🤷🏼‍♀️ lol

Thank you to everyone for sending in your requests! I have loved writing them and I can’t wait to bring y’all the next one! 

Word Count:  1,549

CW: None, ALL FLUFF

For Easter weekend, Henry wanted to have his family come by. Henry planned to have them over for a get-together and an egg hunt for the younger ones. Mostly, he just wanted them to spend more time with you. He was absolutely and completely in love with you and he wanted to share that with his family. When his parents arrived, he helped them unpack their car then shuffled everyone into the kitchen to start making snacks.

You and his mother chatted while you made deviled eggs from scratch. Henry and his father talked about sports while they filled plastic eggs with candy. Occasionally, your conversations overlapped and everyone talked with each other from across the kitchen. Henry laughed and joked with you in ways similar to the way he got on with his brothers, much to the surprise of his parents. Rarely was he this open with a woman, especially in front of them.

“Who are you and what have you done with my son?” Marianne asks at one point. Henry looks up at her surprised.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” he returns.

“Well, I’ve just never seen you tease a girlfriend this much,” Marianne replies. “You treat her like you treat Charlie,” she adds laughing. You smile over at Henry and see his dad smirking as he fills another egg.

“What can I say, she’s just special,” Henry says, winking at you. You snort in reply, then go back to making deviled eggs. Once you finish the eggs, you begin making batches of sugar cookies. Henry gets busy making a lamb shoulder while Marianne pulls out a chicken salad she’d made earlier and brought with her. By the time you’ve got the last batch of cookies in the oven, Piers, Nik, Simon and Charlie have all arrived with their respective families. It’s a mad-house of chaos and calm and you can tell Henry is thriving off of it. All the kids want to talk to you, asking you questions about the egg hunt and more. You don’t notice the way that Henry watches you interact with his nephews. More than that, Henry doesn’t notice the way his family watches him as he watches you.

Not long after everyone arrives, it’s time to eat. The group circles around the kitchen and holds hands, bowing your heads. Colin says grace then gives everyone the cue to dig in. The chatter resumes again as everyone dives for plates, serving spoons, and cutlery. After eating, you direct all the children back into the kitchen.

“Okay!” you announce to the smaller Cavill’s. “All you need to decorate the cookies is right here,” you gesture to the arrangement of frosting, sprinkles, and decorations on the counter. “Begin,” you say, tossing your hands up. The kids shout and dive for what they want. Everyone watches with amusement as the kids excitedly decorate their cookies.

“Henry,” Nik calls out as you help one of the younger boys with some icing. “I think she takes care of us better than you do,” he says, smiling wide at you. Henry’s jaw goes slack.

“Yeah, if you two break up we’re keeping her,” Charlie says pointing at you and laughing at Henry’s expression.

“Hey now!” he exclaims as everyone laughs.

“Seriously, Hen,” Charlie’s wife, Heather begins. “Y/n is great and we want to spend more time with her,” she says. You smile back at her. “But only her, you can stay home,” she adds, causing you to bust out with laughter. Henry sheepishly looks around at his family members as they all laugh. Several of the kids announce they are satisfied with their cookies and are ready to hunt for Easter eggs.

“Right!” Henry says, clapping his heads together. “Let’s go!” he gestures toward the backdoor where he begins walking. The kids squeal and chase after him with Kal hot on their heels. Outside, everyone grabs baskets that you and Henry purchased for the kids.

“Y/n, y/n, help me find them!” one of the boys exclaims, grabbing for your hand. He pulls you to the edge of the porch where Henry is waiting for everyone.

“On your mark, get set, go!” Henry exclaims once everyone is gathered and ready. The kids take off and Henry’s nephew holds your hand as he drags you out into the yard. Henry laughs at the scene then steps onto the porch to watch with his family. Henry watches with a giant smile on his face that everyone in his family notices.

“I see y/n got involved in the hunt,” Nik points out and Henry bobs his head, smiling. He glances back out at the yard to see you chasing the children around. They squeal as Kal runs through them as he attempts to figure out what he can snatch and what he can’t. Henry chuckles at the scene unfolding in front of him. He can’t stop the smile that breaks out across his face every time he sees you. Add in the way you are with his nephews and there is a perpetual smile on his face.

“She’s great, Henry,” Nik states. Henry glances at him. “I mean it, Hen. Y/n is truly great,” he says. As he does, Simon and Piers saddle up to them.

“What are you two mumbling about over here?” Simon asks, patting Henry on the shoulder.

“Y/n,” Nik states. Henry rolls his eyes as Simon and Piers make silly faces and cooing sounds.

“Oh yeah, we’ve been wanting to tell you, Hank,” Simon begins. “Y/n is absolutely great,” he says. “We really like her so you can’t screw this one up,” he says and all his brothers nod their head.

“Seriously Hen, you can’t let this one get away,” Piers says. Henry’s jaw drops as he looks around at his siblings.

“Why does everyone think we’re going to break up?” Henry whines. His brothers laugh in response at first.

“Because something always happens,” Simon begins.

“Then your girlfriends leave,” Nik adds.

“Which means we miss out on getting to know the woman that could be our future sister-in-law,” Piers says, knocking Henry gently on the shoulder. Henry scoffs and looks at the ground. Everyone looks up when a loud screech erupts from the yard. Kal had apparently gotten excited and ran straight through the kids, knocking kids down, sending baskets and eggs flying.

“Kal,” Henry complained. The Akita perked up at his name and came trotting over. Hot on his heels was one of Charlie’s kids dragging you by your hand. “Look what I found!” he exclaims, letting go of your hand for a moment to pull out a blue egg covered in stickers.

“Whoa!” everyone says to the beaming child.

“Hey bud, I’m going to take a break,” you say to Henry’s nephew.

“Okay,” he says before turning around and darting off to find more eggs. You turn to look at the Cavill boys smiling.

“Hey guys, what’s up?” you ask as Henry, Simon, Piers, and Nik smile broadly at you. “What?” you repeat.

“Nothing, babe, can you come help me with something?” Henry asks, reaching out for you.

“Uh, sure,” you reply. You watch as Henry’s brothers watch the two of you with teasing smiles as he leads you back inside, into the kitchen. “What’s going on?” you ask.

“Nothing,” he replies, turning around to face you. “I just wanted a few moments with only you,” he adds. He smiles coyly as he weaves his arms around your waist, pulling you closer to him. In turn, you wrap your arms around his broad shoulders.

“Oh?” you murmur before Henry leans in and kisses you sweetly.

“They like you, you know?” Henry states, leaning back from the kiss. You smile.

“Who? Your family?” you ask. Henry nods. “I like them too,” you reply, your smiling deepening. Henry kisses you again before letting go.

“I did actually need to get the chocolate eggs to pass out,” he explains, turning to the fridge. From it, he produces the chocolate eggs you had made the night before. Together, you bring them outside to share with everyone. Once again, everyone teases Henry that you treat his family better than he does. He takes it all with a smile on his face and a teasing remark for anyone that comments. At one point when you are in the restroom, his family really lays into him.

“Henry, I’m serious. You can’t fuck this up with y/n,” Heather asks quickly. “Because I really like her,” she adds. Henry looks at her then around to his family to realize they all agree with her.

“Why does everyone keep saying that?” he asks a little slack-jawed.

“Because Henry,” Marianne begins softly. “I think we’re all trying to tell you, we think she’s the one,” she says to him gently.

“We love her, Henry,” Charlie states. “And we can tell that you love her too,” he adds. Everyone nods. Henry softens hearing this.

“So you can’t screw this up,” Simon says. Charlie, Piers and Nik snort while Marianne and Heather shake their heads, chuckling.

“Oh my god,” Henry scoffs, shaking his head at his brother. Everyone is laughing when you walk back into the room, unaware of the conversation that just took place.

[little-miss-dumpsterfire]

I think I made you up inside my head - chapter three

Chapter three my select few darlings! Yes, it’s already on wattpad (sorry if you’ve read it already) but I like to share!

Are you ready kids?

Chapter Three - I am only what you made me. I am only a reflection of you

Trigger warning - mental health issues and blood/gore.

If you're not comfortable, please skip. 💛

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

Sharp tears prickled in his hazel eyes as the ability to form coherent words seemed to escape him. He had known the minor details surrounding Lindsay's untimely death - a reality tv darling dropping dead was headline-worthy - but her family were tight-lipped about the exact circumstances of her demise. His mind raced as he tried to comprehend how Izzy had known all of this; her knowledge rivalled that of a fly on the bathroom wall. As if she could hear his innermost thoughts, Izzy answered his unspoken question.

"I knew the right people to ask," she told him, brushing the hair out from in front of her eyes, "I knew she didn't just die. I wasn't going to let her death be treated in such a blasé fashion."

Axel choked, the words lodged deeply in his throat. "Bu- I mean... how did you get the mirror?"

"I found it one day. It was in a box on my doorstep. Any sane person would leave it be, but if the media established anything, I'm clearly not seen as sane. So I opened it. I don't know who sent it to me. My money's on a producer who revels in the sadistic thrill derived from the torment and suffering we went through. I couldn't throw it away though, because what would be left of her if I did? She was already condemned to the ground. I wasn't going to be the one to throw her memory to the wind."

Izzy looked to her left, her reflection dimly lit in the glass cabinet on the far wall. "In my head... all I think of is when it's all over, is this how I'll be defined? The final victim of Total Drama... that's etched into my brain. I'll become another knick-knack in a hall of curiosities. We're no longer people in here, Axel, we're collectables."

Thoughts bounced around erratically in Axel's head - conflicting notions manifesting like an angel and a devil on his shoulder. In front of him was a woman who was struggling with the turmoil outliving all of her friends. Yet, the magnetic pull of the almighty dollar swayed his actions towards chasing stardom.

He lightly gripped her forearm, giving her his best convincing empathetic smile.

"Tell me the stories. Let the voices out of the purgatory that is your mind. Everything...one, everyone in here will not be relegated to the sidelines, I won't let that happen." Axel assured Izzy, his warm smile twitching at the corners of his mouth.

Ignoring the suspicion that washed over her thoughts - for the time being at least - Izzy continued walking down the aisles of shelves. Axel shadowed her, following a few paces behind, mindlessly fiddling with the items on display. Two tarnished faux-gold lockets sat near each other, the two halves of the 'BFF' heart separate from one another. As he went to push the two sections together, Izzy stopped him abruptly and pushed his hand away.

"No," she started, startling Axel with the sudden sternness. "They can't be together. They don't share a heart anymore."

"So what? They grew out of being obnoxious teenage girls and went their separate ways. Big fucking deal!"

She stared daggers into him, holding the shelving for support. "You've got no idea, kid. Just because the sun's covered, it doesn't mean your shadow's gone."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As far as appearances were concerned, Katie and Sadie were almost each other's doubles. Matching short pigtails with bright pink hair ties, coordinated short shorts, crop-tops and wedged sandals... the two looked like they fell from opposite sides of a funhouse mirror. To all of us on the cast, and the audience at home, no doubt, the only differentiating factor between the two was their build. Katie was slim and taller than Sadie by about four inches, whereas Sadie was shorter and carried more weight.

The two 'BFFL's sat together on the stairs leading to the dock, ready to film their segment for the opening sequence. Waiting for the crew to finish setting up the camera equipment, Katie busies herself with refastening her hair ties.

"Okay girls," an unseen producer informs them, "we need your best-infatuated expression. So give up wide eyes, big smiles, the whole nine yards."

The girls nod in response, awaiting their cue. Sadie clasped her hands against her chest - a wide smile plastered on her face - and Katie bit her lip coyly.

"And.... cut. Alright, move set to the dock for Beth's fire-baton stunt. Doug, remember the extinguisher this time." The producer called about. "Great job, girls. Especially you, Katie. That lip bite was dynamic."

Sadie looked to her right at her best friend. "Wait, you bit your lip? We agreed on a wide-mouthed smile."

"It's no big deal, I just wanted to try something different," Katie shrugged, readjusting her shoulder strap. "We can't always be the same, you know?"

Personality-wise, once you got to know them separately, it was like night and day. Katie was free-spirited, leading with her heart. Her passion for all things fashion was evident through her and Sadie's matching outfits and her behind-the-scenes chats with the likes of Lindsay and Heather. Sadie, on the other hand, was more logical, leading with her head. She was more likely to be the sheep as opposed to the shepherd. And when Katie was eliminated early? It was like leading a lamb to the slaughter.

Sadie sat on a jagged log at the campfire, head in her hands violently sobbing. Bridgette futilely offered her support, attempting to coax the girl from her hysterical state.

"Hey, Sadie, it'll be okay. You've got all us Killer Bass on your side." Bridgette lightly rubbed circles on the crying girl's back.

"No!" Sadie snapped at Bridgette, tears staining her cheeks. "It's not okay! I need Katie. When she's not near me, I break out in hives. She's my everything! I need her more than oxygen! Without her... I'll just die!"

Concerned expressions flashed on the faces of their fellow teammates as Sadie's wails echoed through the woods of Camp Wawanakwa. She clutched the debris from the dock closer to her chest; small cracks formed as wooden shrapnel shattered from around the edges.

What we thought back then was just a toxic 'uber' friendship between two sixteen-year-old girls was far more deep-rooted than any of us anticipated. Regarding Sadie... the best way to sum that up is to quote my dearly missed best friend Noah: 'Sadie is a whackjob with more baggage than an airport terminal'. But I suppose that is giving her a disservice. Upon Katie's departure, Chris was notified by Sadie's therapist of the extent of her mental state. I found out too because back then, well, let's just say you couldn't leave me in the dark for too long.

Sadie's childhood wasn't easy in the slightest. Her relationship with her birth parents was relatively non-existent. Therefore, she was surrendered into the custody of the state. The conveyor belt life of passing through the foster care system took a toll on the girl, with an absence of permanent parental love leaving holes in her heart. Her talkative nature and inhibitions to talk and hug strangers lead to her first visit to the therapist. She was a clear cut case for the child behavioural scientists: disinhibited social engagement disorder, an attachment disorder. Looking back, this was evident in all her future actions, particularly those with Katie.

The bell rang on the first day of their last year of high school. Sadie - dressed as per usual in fuchsia shorts and a striped crop top - eagerly skipped over to the locker of her best friend. As the locker door slammed and her friend came into view, the excited expression on Sadie's face dropped.

"K-Katie? What's this?" Sadie questioned, holding her sticker-covered folder flush against her chest.

Katie raised an eyebrow quizzically, straightening out her paper timetable to find her first classes location.

"What do you mean, Sadie?"

"I mean that!" the shorter girl exclaimed, gesturing at Katie's outfit. The taller girl had moved away from her typical Total Drama outfit, substituting it with a pair of denim jeans and a pastel pink cardigan.

"Oh, this? I just wanted to branch out a bit. I mean, matching outfits? What are we, twins?"

Katie giggled at her observation, with Sadie clearly missing the joke.

"Anyway, I have to get to English, but I'll see you around, yeah?" Katie chirped before walking off with two other girls.

Sadie stalked over to Katie's locker, using a spare hairpin to open it. Her heart broke upon looking at its contents. Gone were the photos of her and Sadie plastered onto her locker door. Cutouts from fashion magazines and runway shows lay in their wake and stuffed under a pile of books was the BFF necklace Sadie gifted her years prior.

Following their graduation, the pair had drifted apart. Katie received an offer to the most prestigious fashion school in Canada and left their small town for Toronto. Unbeknownst to her, Sadie followed suit and got a job at a sewing goods store. Sadie became Katie's shadow, desperately following her every move. Her morning routine was memorised, her coffee order became part of her mental wallpaper. Sadie's infatuation only grew, as in her mind, distance made the heart grow fonder. If only Katie knew that this distance was all of a few metres.

A harsh squeak dripped from the tired hinges of the ladder as Sadie climbed up the rungs, fastening something onto her wall. For her neighbours, the sound had become a part of their daily lives, as day after day, Sadie adhered more photos on the apartment wall. The collage of the lush green of leaves, the yellow of the bustling taxis and blue of the cloudless sky swirled around on the wall, catching a person's attention as they entered the room. A timber coffee table was neatly placed on the left, adorned with additional photo frames and miscellaneous decorations. The centrepiece to her display shimmered brightly when the morning sun shone through the gap in the curtains. Perched in a small, open velvet lines box was one half of a golden heart-shaped 'BFF' necklace.

Sadie took a step back and tilted her head, taking in the view from as many angles as she could. She had finally achieved the pinnacle of her undying love and infatuation for her former 'BFFL'. Neatly arranged across the length of the wall was a mural, dedicated to her muse, to the reason she woke up every morning. Candid photos of Katie walking down the street, exiting cars and meeting friends for coffee dates were carefully taken by the shadow she didn't know that she had.

A year and a half passed. There was a stark dichotomy between Katie and Sadie's lives. The final year of her fashion degree was approaching quickly, and Katie was not entering it alone. I don't know how many of us predicted it - probably Noah with his impeccable 'gaydar' - but Katie had fallen in love with an architecture student called Daisy. From what was depicted on their respective social media accounts, it was clear to us that they were enamoured with one another. The presence of another woman in Katie's life infuriated Sadie, as she believed that that position was reserved for her and her alone.

Then came the drop in the ocean that caused the whole tsunami. If it wasn't for Katie's selfless nature... well, I imagine things would've turned out a lot differently.

Katie sat cross-legged on the couch, a decorative throw rug draped across her lap. Their rescue cat, Archibald - a male calico - rested behind her head, purring with content as she opened her laptop. Her fingers barely touched the trackpad as she scrolled through her Facebook feed, bypassing ads for strange items and memes about the current political climate.

"Ekaterina," an auburn-haired girl walked through the doorway, a basket of washing in her hands. "I'm making something for lunch after I finish this washing. I'll probably use what's left in the fridge and make a frittata. D'you want some?"

"Ooh, yes please, Dais," Katie smiled at her partner, who poked her tongue out at the use of her nickname.

Katie clicked on her latest post to see who had reacted and liked. A smile crept across Katie's face as she clicked onto the picture: a photoshoot in a field on flowers where a bright ring sparkled on Katie's ring finger. She looked down at her left hand, still in a state of shock at Daisy's proposal. One name stuck out as Katie scrolled through the comments. She hadn't thought of them for years now and wondered what they were getting up to.

She clicked on their profile to compose a new message. Daisy walked up behind her and scratched Archibald's head before planting a kiss behind Katie's ear.

"Oooh, who are you talking to? Not your girlfriend, I hope," Daisy taunted, giggling breathlessly.

Katie threw her head back against the couch cushion and looked up at her fiancée.

"Yeah, I'm shopping elsewhere. I need someone who appreciates my nicknames!" Katie threw back, puffing her cheeks out comically. "No, you goose. It's this girl I used to go to school with. It's been forever and a day, and I thought I'd see how she's going."

"Sadie Calhoun... isn't she that one you went on that show with?"

"Yeah... I felt like such a poser back then. I don't think I've ever squealed since," Katie responded.

"Hey, people change. I had such a crush on you when I saw you on TV, and look now!" Daisy told her before walking away towards the kitchen. "I snagged the girl of my dreams!"

Katie laughed as she typed an introductory line, sending it through before closing her laptop.

*********

A sudden buzz from her phone against the wooden table shook Sadie out of her delirium. She had been sat before her photo wall, carefully cutting out photos of her face for what could have been hours. Paper scraps lined the wooden flooring like irregular speckles of snow as Sadie rose to her feet. Picking up her phone, her eyes shone brightly with its blue light as a squeal escaped from between her lips.

On her screen - behind the myriad of cracks and scratches - sat a notification that held Sadie's heart in a tight grip: Message request from Ekaterina Byers.

If this were a sitcom, I'm sure Sadie would've pinched herself at that moment to assure that she wasn't dreaming. But with one olive branch in the form of an instant message, Katie had signed her own death warrant.

Sadie opened the notification with bated breath, her cheeks aching from the smile that was cemented in place. Her heart fluttered with anxious butterflies as she read the message.

Ekaterina Byers:

"Hi, Sadie. I wonder if you remember me, probably not! High school seems like forever ago! Haha! 😝  I just thought I'd reach out and see if you wanted to get a coffee sometime and just catch up on life!"

The words swirled and danced before Sadie, who lovingly took in every single one with deep adoration and love. Everything she had wanted to tell her, the praise she had wanted to shower Katie in bounced around in her head. She placed her phone down, forcing herself to calm down before she wrote a response.

Sadie Calhoun:

"Oh, hi! OMG! Of course, I remember you! I'd love to catch up! You're the busy fashion designer, so you pick a time when you can squeeze an old friend in! 😎 💕" Watching the three dots in the bottom left corner caused Sadie's breath to hitch in her throat. She was typing... Katie was typing. They'd finally be reunited, not just from behind a camera lens. She felt as if she was in the painting 'The Creation of Adam', just a fingers touch away from her god, her whole world.

Ekaterina Byers:

"Haha, as if! I'm not there yet 😂  Would next Friday suit? Say about 9am at the Good Coffee Co. I need to hand in my portfolio at 8:30 so that'd work well."

Impulsively, acting out of desperation alone, Sadie immediately responded.

Sadie Calhoun:

"Yes! I'll be there! See you soon, Katie! 💕"

Sadie locked her phone before focusing her attention back to her craft. She picked up her scissors, skilfully manoeuvring around the edges of the photos. She stuck the product onto the wall and gazed upon it proudly. Hundreds of small cut out photos of her head were plastered on the wall, covering up any person Katie was with, replacing them with herself.

They did meet up, that much we do know. Testimonials from five different individuals confirmed that they saw the two girls at that café on Friday the 25th. What they talked about is up for speculation, because that stayed between the two of them. Why were testimonials needed if two young adults were just catching up over a cup of coffee? Because that was the last time Sadie Calhoun and Ekaterina 'Katie' Byers were seen alive.

Katie's eyelids drooped as she sat in the passenger seat of Sadie's car. Sadie - the 'good samaritan' that she was - had offered to drive Katie home after she suddenly felt light-headed following her coffee. Sadie parked in the driveway and opened Katie's door for her, helping her up as she tiredly hobbled towards the front door. Katie wearily collapsed onto the couch, her eyes barely registering the environment around her. She could hear faint crashing and shattering sounds as she struggled to keep her eyes open. She looked down upon the couch she was dozing on and sat up with a start.

"This isn't my house," she whispered to herself, scanning the room for any familiar objects. She froze in place when she spotted something utterly recognisable to her: her face. Hundreds of different angles of her face created a mosaic, a shrine to a friendship that was never meant to last.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?"

Sadie smiled sweetly as she entered the room. "It couldn't be anything but. Not when the subject is as exquisite as you."

Confusion washed over Katie's face as Sadie approached her, a clothed parcel delicately held in her hands. Sadie reached up to caress her old friend's cheek; Katie snaked away from the touch, petrified of the girl in front of her.

"Hmm. That's the problem, isn't it?" Sadie soliloquised, her grey eyes meeting Katie's scared onyx eyes. "You stopped being Katie. You stopped being my best friend. I know Katie is living in those photos, not 'Ekaterina'. Katie wouldn't have left me. No, not at all. Forever isn't a term to just throw around."

Black tears dripped down Katie's face as she silently sobbed. "W-we were kids. What we were wa-wasn't healthy. We're two separate people, Sadie! I couldn't live being so connected to a shadow. I wanted t-to shine on my own."

"But I don't wanna be separate people! I want to be with you... to be you. To never be apart from you!" Sadie passionately yelled as Katie started to slump down in front of her. The world around her became dark as her lids closed tightly. As her consciousness drifted, a phrase echoed through her head.

"Don't worry now. We'll never be apart again."

*********

Excruciating pain emanating from her side woke her with a jolt. A dull haze covered her field of vision, but as she pulled her hand away from her waist, she could see it as clear as day. A warm layer of blood coated her hand like a glove. Her eyes slowly settled to the room she was in. Metres ahead of her was the collage of photos, but the furniture has been removed, leaving a wide-open space.

Her fingers felt around to find the source of the pain, coming across thick strands of string attached to her waist. A scream silently bubbled up inside her, threatening to explode.

Rough, uneven strands of double-wound fishing wire had been haphazardly sewn into both her and Sadie's sides, connecting them to each other.

A groggy smile spread across Sadie's plump cheeks as she revelled in her actions. "I told you we'll never be apart again."

An extreme shock was the only emotion Katie was able to come to terms with. Her body was statuesque; set in place by a fear-driven paralysis. A dryness inhabited her mouth, inhibiting her ability to swallow the truth in front of her. The room swayed and distorted around her - a prison cell painted with her face - as she forced her eyelids shut. This couldn't be reality. It was the sick dream of a girl trapped in the suffocating world of a teenage girl.

The pain Sadie felt in her abdomen only further fuelled her pleasure, letting every wave of pain wash over her in euphoric ecstasy. Her heart felt complete again as if she had regained a long-lost limb.

"I knew we'd become one again," Sadie hummed, intoxicated by being in Katie's presence. "Daisy was just a placeholder... keeping the bed warm for me. With every thread... every stitch... our closeness is now defined. We'll never be apart again. Best friends for life."

"...for...life," Katie mumbled, fresh blood weeping from her wounds.

Night and day passed slowly, the shadows cast from the pair forming contorted, misshapen dark splotches on the walls. A sickening warmth surrounded Katie, whose heartbeat pounded heavily in her ears. Her waist was bruising a deep purple, with the surrounding blood vessels snaking across her abdomen. Sadie was shaken awake by Katie's convulsions as her body became slick with a layer of sweat.

"Katie? I'm here, it's okay."

"I don't feel good... I want Daisy," Katie slurred, lazily searching the room for her partner.

The 'tethering' procedure was as wildly unsuccessful as one could imagine. Sadie's homemade suture kit - a sharpened metal knitting needle and fishing line - only managed to pierce through Katie's large intestine. Bile and stool seeped into her abdomen, eventually finding their way into her bloodstream. The coroner estimated she died two days later of septic shock.

A thin beam of light eclipsed the drawn curtains and rested on Sadie's face as dawn broke. Her hand moved softly to caress Katie's hand; a stiff claw lay in her wake. An overwhelming panic flooded Sadie's system as she attempted to wake the other girl from her 'deep' slumber. Half-lidded blood-red eyes stared back at Sadie, a trickle of dried blood pooled at her temple. Sadie's heart shattered like a golden locket as she cradled the limp body in her arms, pulling the skin taut around her suture wounds. The shadow had won. It had succeeded in snuffing out what was left of the light.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"What happened to Sadie in the end?" Axel asked, taking a minute amount of sadistic glee from the story.

Izzy turned to face the young man. A single tear crept down her cheek as she fiddled with her rings. "She refused to live without Katie. She starved to death, all the while she left Katie's decomposing corpse attached to her hip like a growth."

Izzy wiped the tear from her eye, suppressing sniffles as Axel glanced around the room.

"Hmm...Alright. Who's next then?"

[loveforpreserumsteve]

Those Who Fall: “APTF” Story (Modern Domestic Stucky AU)

Fourteen:

By ten, Steve was positive that his students needed a nap. The first graders were complaining and arguing, and Steve was losing his mind. It was a good thing that his hair was already a mess because he couldn't help but run his hand through it in his frustration.

By two, Steve was positive that he needed a nap. Not only had it been the third graders, but the fourth graders, too. Sure, Spirit Week was always full of emotions, but usually it was the positive kind. Usually, the kids were excited, and in their excitement, they had a difficult time containing it, so they barely listened. But today they were in bad moods. Steve was sure that it was due to the kids' hairstyles being too taxing on their scalps in their creativity and painful maneuvers.

Luckily, by three, he was just quietly cleaning up the typical messes made. Plus, the school day was almost over. All Steve had to do was wait a little longer. Just a little longer.

As he wiped down the tables, his phone vibrated in his back pocket. Leaving the rag on the table, he pulled it out to find a message from Katie. Seeing the first line of the preview were just a bunch of jack-o-lanterns, Steve good-humoredly rolled his eyes and opened the message.

Look what arrived in the mail! The message under the Halloween emojis exclaimed. Followed by a photo of the spooky seasonal care package. The gray throw blanket covered with a bunch of black cat heads. Some of them wearing purple witch hats and the occasional white ghost cat.

Do you like it??? Steve replied, hoping that she did. He had a feeling that she would considering it was stuffed with junk food, seasonal body washes, candles, and cat related stuff like coloring books, pillows, and other trinkets that Ethan and Sophia picked out. Since the girl loved cats despite being allergic to them, Steve was hopeful that they had done well with their picks.

Are you kidding? I love it! Especially the Halloweentown University sweatshirt! Came through, followed with, Mya is eating all my Scarecrow Chex Mix, so imma have to steal J's. And Heather loves the cookies!

Before Steve could tell her that Ethan and Sophia helped with the different colored sugar cookies that were scattered with white candy eyes, a picture of Katie's roommate, Heather, with a stuffed mouth while holding up a bright pink cookie. A smile tugged at his lips as another picture, one of Katie holding up a black cat mug that Bucky had made for her and a pleased grin on her freckled face.

Make sure you thank your dad for that mug! He was so excited when he finished it, Steve sent. The smile staying on his face as he thought back to the Thursday night he came back from pottery club with so much glee it bubbled over, infecting Steve and the kids. Bucky had just been so proud of executing the mug, and Steve had been proud, too.

Will do, Katie replied.

Checking the time, Steve knew that she had class soon, and so he said, I'll talk to you later, sweetie. Have fun in class! Love you!

Love you too!

Shoving his phone back into his pocket, Steve got back to wiping the tables. His earlier frustrations melting away as he finished up. Making sure to take care of the rags, he put the little chairs on top of the tables, so the janitors would have an easier time cleaning the floor.

Once done, he gathered his things, locked his classroom and left his room. Walking down the hallway to Ethan's kindergarten class, Steve passed by the art projects the students made and bulletins with other projects. For a moment, Steve paused to read the short autumn stories. A small smile on his face, Steve continued until he stopped outside of the kindergarten classroom. Steve peeked into the room where Hildy had the five and six year olds lining up in front of the door. Spotting Ethan, he noticed that the little boy's face was red and he was frowning at the ground.

Steve's good mood started to slip away. And when he spotted Lance -- the little brat -- SHOVE Ethan, Steve's anger rose up like fire from the pits of hell. His eyes narrowed at the interaction. Even with Hildy breaking them up and bringing Lance to the front, Steve was still pissed. No one had the right to bully any kid, but especially not his kid.

When the final bell rang, Steve moved to the side while Hildy opened the classroom door. She gave Steve a nod of acknowledgement, but could tell that he wanted to talk to her.

Really, Steve's heart was broken. He didn't want his children to go through the same pain that he had experienced growing up. And when Ethan ran right into him, wrapping his arms around his legs, and burying his face against Steve's black slacks. Not wanting to touch the painted hair, Steve rubbed at his back.

"Steve," Hildy greeted him as the teacher assistant, Okoye, led the line of children out of the school building to be collected by their parents.

"Hil," Steve nodded, rubbing Ethan's back. Glancing down at the little boy, Steve grit his teeth to stop the angry tears from rolling down his face. He had to stay strong.

Returning his gaze to the woman in front of her as she tucked a strand of black hair behind her warm, tawny, golden-brown ear. Taking in a deep breath, Hildy said, "We're transferring Lance to Hope's class."

"Good," Steve let out a sigh of relief. Hoping that his little boy would stop coming home in tears. That was all he really wanted.

"We want it to stop just as much as you do," Hildy added. Smiling down at Ethan, she said, "But tomorrow will be better. Plus, it's The Little Mermaid! That's gonna be fun!"

Ethan peeked his face out to watch her, but didn't do anything other than that. Managing to make the little boy loosen his grip around his legs, he told her, "Thanks, Hil. It means a lot."

"Of course," Hildy smiled and gave Steve's arm a tender squeeze before turning back for her classroom.

Heading towards the exit, Steve didn't try to pry Ethan from his legs. Even if it would've been easier to make him hold his hand instead of hide behind his legs. He wanted to comfort his son. Especially with all the other kids around.

"Papa! Papa!"

Pausing where he was, he peered over the throng of students to find Sophia. Really, it should've been easier. Only, some of the kids were rather tall, considering their ages, so he had to focus and find the unicorn mane and hair-horn that Wanda had artistically crafted. Once he did, he sighed in relief and crossed the hallway to meet Sophia halfway.

"Hi, honey," Steve greeted the little girl.

"I got a sticker!" Sophia exclaimed, showing off the sparkly black cat on top of a happy jack-o-lantern.

"That's so cool!" Steve agreed, earning a toothy grin from the little girl as she cradled the sticker in her hands.

Sniffling, Ethan removed his red, tear-stained face to look over at his sister, so he could see the sticker, too. Fixing his glasses, Ethan complimented, "That's a cool sticker, Soph!"

Sophia preened and said, "Thank you!" Brows furrowing when she noticed his red, puffy eyes, she looked back up at Steve, "Papa, we need more stickers."

"We really do," Steve agreed. Still rubbing Ethan's back, Steve offered, "How about we go pick up some spooky stickers? How's that sound, bub?"

"With bats?" Ethan asked, tilting his head up to look at the petite blond. Wiping his nose on his jacket's sleeve and pushing up his glasses as he awaited Steve's answer.

Nodding, Steve confirmed, "With bats."

Leading the kids out of the school building, Steve teased, "Bats with hats." When the kids giggled -- even Ethan -- Steve continued, "Bats with hats on mats sitting next to cats."

"Papa, you're silly," Ethan giggled, still huddling close to Steve.

"I'm silly?" Steve feigned incredulousness. The kids laughed even more as they repeated that he was silly, so silly. Steve didn't mind. He wanted nothing more than for his kids to be happy. And if Steve managed to make them laugh every once in a while, he felt like he had fulfilled his purpose.

[anthropologicalhands]

ceg fic: miss do it right

title: miss do it right gift for: @clemdhoffryn for @crazyexvalentine word count: 4,885 summary: Valencia is ready to propose to Beth. The question, however, of when and where requires expert advice. Valencia & Heather, Beth/Valencia. notes: Happy Valentine’s Day!

~

“I need your help,” Valencia announces, breezing into Heather and Hector’s foyer, straight into the living room and perching on the arm of the couch adjacent to Heather’s current seat. “Also you really need to get a gardener—that trellis is leaning over.”

“Hector’s getting around to it,” says Heather, looking up from her magazine. “Hi, welcome back to West Coast, Best Coast or whatever. Didn’t I tell you to start texting if you were gonna come over?”

“I told you I was planning a wedding this weekend,” Valencia says archly, as if the mere statement of fact automatically absolves her of visitor’s etiquette. “Remember? In the group chat?”

“Oh, I remember. I just kind of generally assumed it was in New York. Since you do, you know, live there.”

Valencia pouts. “Come on, aren’t we hashtag gurlgroup4evah? Physical walls are meaningless. And I totally gave you a key to my place. You could do the same exact same thing to me and I wouldn’t mind.”

“That argument worked when you were in East Cameron, not East Coast. When am I ever gonna go to New York?”

“For me, obviously,” says Valencia. “Or for a Home Base conference, I guess.”

“They’re a West Coast chain.”

“So? Weren’t you planning on revolutionizing their corporate headquarters, or something?”

“I was, but that’s like, halfway through my five-year plan that I’m going to start next year.”

“Oh. Are you really not happy to see me?” asks Valencia, and she sounds just a tiny bit deflated, like she’s actually worried that that’s the case. Heather drops her magazine on the side table (occasionally, she marvels at how adulthood came upon her so fast—these have mermaid feet, irony unintended, that make her ridiculously happy).

“I’m happy to see you, Vee, can’t you tell?”

Valencia narrows her eyes. “Usually you’re happier.”

“You literally just walked in when I wasn’t expecting you for three weeks. Let me have a reaction time. And given your stance on Hector is lukewarm at best I’m still surprised to see you here.”

“I follow Hector on Instagram, and I happen to know that he has a surfing competition in Monterey this weekend,” says Valencia knowingly. “And I definitely know that you are always down for adventures, especially if there is just the right amount of drama.” Valencia wiggles her shoulders for emphasis.

Heather leans forward, studying her friend. There’s something surprisingly spiky and Rebecca-like about her energy –not out of whack, not in a bad way, but it’s there.

“Everything all right, Vee?” Heather asks. “You’re weirdly hyped up. Are you on a Guatemalan coffee kick again?”

“Please, you know I’m on a kombucha cleanse right now.”

“Kombucha can do all this?” Heather gestures up and down Valencia, like her “this” is the new “it” and she’s Clara Bow. 

(Heather took a film class for like, three weeks in freshman year before she dropped it for being insanely pretentious.)

Annoyed, Valencia swats Heather’s hand away—all right, she’s not too far gone.

Valencia gives an exaggerated roll of her eyes. “No, it’s not the kombucha. It’s something way more important.”

There is a very meaningful pause; Heather waits, unsure whether it is done out of Valencia’s natural sense of making an entrance or for Heather’s benefit is a sincere question.

“I’m going to ask Beth to marry me.”

“Oh,” Heather blinks. “Wow.”

It’s not an unexpected announcement and given with Valencia’s usual careless confidence. But there is trepidation there, if one knows how to look for it.

“Does it seem weird? Tell me if it’s weird.”

“Uh, not weird, no,” says Heather carefully. “But given what happened a few months ago, I have to ask…”

“Yeah, we’ve been talking about it,” says Valencia irritably, waving a hand. “We’re on the same page. But I want it to be right, and I need help to make that happen.”

“Okay. And you’re asking me because…”

“Because Rebecca has a lot going on, and while I love the girl, I need someone who won’t let me get carried away with something way out of my budget.”

“That makes sense,” Heather agrees. “What about Paula?”

“She has that big case she’s presenting on Monday, and she doesn’t know Beth as well as you do.”

“True. That afternoon at the Korean spa means we’re bonded for life now, united by a great and terrible event.”

“You loved it. Didn’t you feel all nice and fresh?”

“Only because I had to grow a whole new layer of skin. I’m amazed Beth liked it; she was completely pink.”

“I mean, that happens if she steps out in the sun for five minutes without a hat,” says Valencia fondly. “But I’m not asking you to climb into a sauna, I’m asking you to help me propose to my girlfriend. Will you do it?”

“I mean, obviously. I’m a total romantic, so of course I’ll help.”

Valencia’s forehead wrinkles in a very pointed way. “You got married because of health insurance. I just need someone to tell me if I’m getting out of bounds with like, budget and expectations.”

“Wanting your partner to be healthy for the long run is very romantic.”

“Not enough to try to skip the actual wedding part,” grumbles Valencia.

“Who is asking who for help getting married, again?”

“Fair,” concedes Valencia grudgingly, though her smile undercuts some of her pretense. She kicks herself up and off the couch and gestures imperiously at Heather. “Now come on, we need to get going if we don’t want to be late.”

“Uh, we? Where?”

I have a vineyard in Temecula to make sure it is an ideal venue for my client, remember? We can multitask on the drive up.”

“Uh, now?”

“Why not?” With a flourish, Valencia pulls out a notebook that is already crammed full of post-its and other notes. “You can look at this on the way up. Plus, I can guarantee that we can ask to sample some of their viticultural offerings.”

“Well, when you put it like that.” Heather stands and stretches. “I did have a busy afternoon planned for contemplating my existence, but I’ll move for free wine.”

~

Valencia’s planner, much like her initial dream wedding plans, is elaborately and meticulously tabbed. Leafing through the pages, Heather briefly recognizes one of the strange commonalities between Valencia and Rebecca that reminds her that, as strange as the beginning of that friendship was, there’s a reason that their bond is as strong as it is. Valencia drives. It gives her a weird burst of fondness for them.

“You really thought these out,” says Heather, reading through a meticulous list of what it would take to plan a flash mob in Times Square with a reasonable budget. 

“Right? I mean, I have ideas for days. It’s what I do—dolling up other people’s bad ideas and persuading them that mine are better. I can do this forever.”

“Great. So, why do you need me?”

Valencia’s fingers drum against the wheel of her rental car, clearly annoyed. “Because I’ve been striking out. Like, these are objectively great proposal ideas, right? But I can’t decide which one is actually, like, the best one.”

“I can see that,” says Heather, eyebrows shooting up when she turns a page and sees an elaborate plan for a hot air balloon proposal scribbled out with angry red marker. “What are you looking for, then?”

“Something that speaks to both of us. Like, as awesome as my spacing is for the choreo, I know that Beth wouldn’t want a flash mob in Times Square.”

“Yeah, that seems like a you thing. A pretty specific you thing.” Heather shoots her an inquiring look. “Did you?”

Valencia shifts uncomfortably. “There was a time where I might have mentioned it to Josh.”

“Wow.”

“Hey, Josh is terrible, but if he choreographed a dance proposal, it would have been amazing.”

“Can’t argue with that.” One of the pages just seems to be a froth of white lace paper surrounding a list of names at its center. Heather squints at the neat penmanship, idly wondering if she needs glasses or if Valencia’s handwriting is just really that small. “Is this a guest list?”

“No. I also really always wanted to do it at someone else’s wedding. Preferably Denise Martinez’s—”

“Valencia…”

“But that’s also not Beth’s style,” finishes Valencia slightly irritated. “Like I said, the proposal has to match both of us. I did learn from my mistakes, you know.”

“I’m not saying you didn’t,” says Heather mildly.

“And that list is out of date anyways. Denise got married last month and I hear that her and her new husband are already fighting.”

“Don’t sound so gleeful.”

“Sorry,” says Valencia almost contritely, merging off the highway. “We have a long history.”

“So I heard. We definitely need to unpack that some time.”

~

“Oh, this is perfect,” Valencia breathes, overlooking the gently rolling hills and the rows of twining grapevines.

“It’s pretty great,” Heather agrees, coming up besides her, hands tucked in her pockets. “It’s practically worth the sticker price.”

“Nothing’s worth the sticker price. I’ll get a better deal.”

“That winery owner guy seemed pretty stodgy.”

“I have my ways,” says Valencia enigmatically, which both impresses and concerns Heather in equal measures. 

“I don’t doubt it.” There’s a pause as they survey the scenery together. 

“Why wouldn’t you propose to Beth here?” 

“Hm?” Valencia turns to look at Heather, the arch of her eyebrows more inquiring than sharp.

“You and Beth. I mean, this place makes a wicked rosé—”

“Since when do you use wicked? That’s an East Coast word.”

“’Cause it’s a great word? And I’m from Michigan, which is kind of East Coast.”

Valencia pulls a face.

Heather rolls her eyes in response. “Whatever. But seriously, this seems ideal. It has a view, it’s romantic—it’s everything you wanted. And you and Beth have family here, so you can have a big party after she says yes.”

“It has a lot,” agrees Valencia wistfully. Then she sighs. “But it won’t work.”

“Why not?”

“Josh and I used to come here. Too many memories.”

“Oh.”

“Right? Josh just ruins everything.”

“Okay, it’s been three years, I think you can lay off of Josh.”

“Nah. I’ve dedicated too much time into it. I’m going to be doing this until after we’re both married. Speaking of Josh, you’ve met Rosa, right?”

“Yeah. I like her. I didn’t know that you met her—”

“Oh, yeah. Nice girl,” says Valencia, sounding vaguely surprised. Given Josh’s previous type, Heather can’t entirely blame her. Valencia continues, “But for whatever reason, they work well together. We had a long talk - I warned her about all of his flaws, and she said that she knows and she was positive she could handle it. Then she complimented my earrings.”

Heather has to smile at that. She is the least well-acquainted with Josh of their friends (though she’s probably seen him in far more intimate situations than most people ever have to see their friends), so her personal frustrations with him tended to be from far briefer interactions, over much more quickly. She’s glad to see that Josh seems settled in a way that he hasn’t been since she’s known him.

“It’s nice, isn’t it?”

“Yeah,” admits Valencia, softening a little. “I am actually happy for him. But I have to keep up appearances - we were together way too long.”

“That’s fair.”

~

Once the vineyard has been approved (and Valencia has worn down the owner to her terms), they head back to Heather’s place, open a couple extra bottles of rosé and buckle down.

“Too much hassle,” says Valencia, X-ing out what seems to be a plan for a private yacht.

“Too showy,” agrees Heather, marking off a flashing billboard. She turns the page and squints at a picture of a dark room lit by hundreds of tiny flames.

“Isn’t Beth allergic to those candles?” she asks.

“They would be soy,” Valencia protests, but rather hastily reaches across the page to mark it out. “Still, you have a point.”

“That’s also a fire hazard, right there.”

“I’m not Rebecca,” says Valencia irritably.

 “That’s still a lot of open flames. I’m just saying. Why not just go Big Fish and propose with a bunch of flowers?”

“I can’t. Beth’s allergic to flowers.”

Heather blinks.

“Seriously?”

Valencia shrugs. “Look, there’s a reason she hired me to do certain events that she couldn’t. She’s all about the hands-on activities. Pollen and natural phenomena - not so much.”

“Got it. So Big Fish is totally out?”

“Totally.”

~

Despite what Heather expected and the width and breadth of the notebook, they are burning through the ideas in the planner at an alarming rate. Valencia is clearly panicking too, if the two glasses of rosé are any indication.

“You know what would be great? The Met! Yeah, you could hide behind one of the exhibits to record, we’re surrounded by all this history, I’m sure they have something by Sappho in there, Beth loves her stuff—”

“Okay, just so we’re setting reasonable expectations or whatever, I can tell you right now that I am not going to New York just to help you propose,” Heather warns. “I have like, a household budget, and there’s only so much that I can dip into Hector’s accident fund and still have enough.”

Valencia lets out a little huff that indicates that while she respects Heather’s commitment to her budget, she continues to be less-than-impressed. It reminds Heather to text Hector and tell him that he might need to spend the night out with the guys—just because him and Valencia are no longer on murder terms doesn’t mean she can feel like she can guarantee his personal safety.

“Okay, fine. Skip to page sixty-eight.” At Heather’s disbelieving look, Valencia shrugs defensively. “What? A girl can dream in destinations.”

Heather does as she’s asked without further commentary. It’s not that Heather expected that helping Valencia plan a proposal would be simple. But Valencia knows her tastes—Heather was reasonably certain that her role would be as a yes woman and occasional financial wisdom rather than active decision making.

They aren’t using the couch or even the coffee table anymore—they’ve pulled off all of the cushions and have created a sort of nest on the floor.

“I can propose at a concert!” says Valencia, entirely too brightly.

Heather raises her head off one of the cushions. “You guys like going to concerts?”

“Not really? But everyone proposes at John Legend’s concerts, so it would work.”

“Beth likes John Legend?”

“Kind of? She doesn’t mind him but she loves Chrissy Teigen. And maybe we’d get some good karma from their marriage.”

“Not bad. You might also get drinks spilled on you,” Heather reminds her. “It could be sticky. Plus, other people might propose at same concert and steal your thunder.”

“Ugh, true. Plus, the scheduling doesn’t work out—he won’t be on tour for a good few months.”

Perhaps it is the tiredness, or remembering that she still needs to write up the shift schedules for next month, that prompts her to suggest, “Why not Home Base? I mean, you guys did agree to meet there. So, like, it’s sentimental.”

Valencia somehow looks affronted, disgusted and poorly hiding it, and despairing all at once. Heather would almost be impressed.

“I’ve been going to Home Base longer than you’ve been working there, Heather. I really don’t want to propose marriage at the bar where I used to pick up Elena from softball practice. It doesn’t feel right.”

Heather props herself up on her elbows so that she can look at Valencia properly. “Okay. What doesn’t feel right? It’s not going to be perfect.”

“I’m not going for perfect,” says Valencia irritably. “I gave Rebecca perfect, and look where that landed her. A perfect proposal would mean an island vacation, and dessert for Beth, and possibly sky writing. But it would also mean debt and she would so not be happy about that.”

 “Great. Is that the only thing you’re worried about?”

 Valencia’s hands twist against each other in her lap. Then they untangle and she dives into her purse and pulls out a small black box, which she sets on the table between them. Gone is her haughty event planner bravado, now Valencia just looks lost, more than Heather has ever seen her. 

“This proposal has to feel right because I messed up the first time.”

“The first time?”

“The ultimatum,” says Valencia glumly. “I don’t want it to be too much—it needs to be something that Beth would love to accept. Something that proves that we know each other and can be a part of each other’s lives.”

“Can I see it?” At Valencia’s nod of permission, Heather reaches over and opens the box to look at the ring.

“It’s beautiful.”

“Isn’t it? Moshe has a good collection. I’ve known this is the one for her for ages now. And…I want that feeling about how I propose. Does that make any sense?”

It does. Heather nods, waiting for Valencia to continue.

“It’s just…I made such a big deal about wanting to get married, and I want this proposal to show her that I know her, and it’s not all about me me me.”

“Of course.”

“That’s why I asked you. You might not be the biggest romantic of all of us, but you follow your gut about what feels right. And I want that confidence when I ask her.”

It’s both touching and terrifying to have that much faith in a person. Awkwardly, Heather pats Valencia’s shoulder. Valencia leans into the touch anyways, seeking whatever awkward comfort that Heather tries to give.

“You know, she’s going to love you whatever you do,” says Heather slowly. “And obviously, you know her well enough to know that these insanely awesome proposals are still awesome, just not right. We’ll find something better. And, like, I’m not gonna give up. You’re not going to leave California without a game plan.

Valencia gives her a tiny smile.

“Thank you, Heather,” she says. She looks ready to say more, but then there’s the sound of a very small gong being struck.

Valencia frowns, pulling her phone out of her pocket, scans the screen, and sighs. “I have to go. The client with the vineyard wants to meet now, of all times. I’m gonna go to her place, but when I get back, maybe we can just have a girls’ night in? No more proposal talk?”

“Sure, whatever you want. I can just duck out and like, get some more rosé. Just wines. Ablutions to drown our frustrations.”

Valencia smiles wanly and sees herself out. Heather waits until she’s sure that Valencia’s car has pulled away before hitting her speed dial. Heather is the coolest of her friends, even now that they are all responsible adults, and sometimes that means admitting that you are out of your depth.

~

Still, Heather isn’t lying when she says she needs to go pick up wines. She does.

At Il Cabino. Where Rebecca is waiting at a table for two, astonishingly early.

“You need to help me,” says Heather, not bothering with niceties. As frustrating as Rebecca’s flakiness can be, it is refreshing that she never gets insulted by Heather’s brusqueness.

“Oh, absolutely,” says Rebecca, eyes wide. “I know I haven’t been very good at that in the past, but like, right now I’m all ears.”

“Valencia is going nuts about proposing to Beth—”

Rebecca nods sympathetically. “Oh yeah, I know.”

“You know?”

“Yeah. She’s been texting me.”

Heather looks closely at Rebecca and only sees frank interest in the other woman’s gaze, no impression of jealousy or hurt. “Okay…so you know and you don’t feel left out?”

“She made it very clear that I’m not supposed to help, and given my past record for helping Valencia with anything, I figured the least I could do is let her do her thing,” says Rebecca with remarkable understatement. “Anyways, I’m actually crazy busy. My singing lessons are turning my brains to mush.”

“Hm, and I was hoping to hear that you were actually working your pretzel stand so we could swap tips as fellow businesswomen.”

“Nah, I just let AJ take care of it. His rent is less than a hundred bucks, he can manage.”

“Right. Enough about your life, back to my problems.”

“Shutting up now.” Rebecca mimes zipping her lips.

“Thank you. But Valencia is driving me insane with rejecting every single proposal idea I have. And, like, my ideas are good. I’m good at organizing events.”

“Right. You guys are crazy good at that.”

“I suggested Home Base, kind of as a joke, and she nearly bit my head off.”

“I mean, Home Base is not super romantic. I had enough sex in the back room there enough to know.”

“What a coincidence, so did I,” says Heather dryly. “Which means I probably should pay for an extremely thorough cleaning, but that’s besides the point. If Valencia isn’t feeling it, it’s not going work. So I figured, I’ve been striking out, I might as well ask our local romance expert for tips.”

“Aww,” coos Rebecca, placing her hand on her heart. Then her expression shifts from soppy to self-deprecatingly wry. “You guys must really be in a tight spot.”

“Yep. So…what do you have for me?”

Rebecca looks thoughtful, not unfocused like when she goes in her head or is too absorbed in her problems.

“I mean, Beth isn’t a total romantic, but she likes to make things meaningful,” says Rebecca after a pause. “She wouldn’t be in these kinds of events if she didn’t. Maybe for Valencia, she’s asking Beth to spend the rest of their lives together. Ask her about if there’s any specific moment when she knew that she wanted Beth to be in her life forever. Like, I know you are big on how there isn’t one moment of magical epiphany and I totally agree, for the record—but she made the decision that it was gonna be Beth at some point. Maybe asking when and where would give her a few new ideas.”

It's an almost stupefying simple idea. Heather nods slowly. “Right. Like, what do they do together that makes Valencia want to spend every day doing the same thing?”

“Exactly. Like, it’s just about finding resonance, right? Something that reaffirms how they feel, but not in an artificial or contrived way. Just love.”

“Right,” says Heather, starting to smile. “Thanks, Rebecca. That helps a lot.”

Rebecca beams. “Any time. And uh, not to be mercenary or anything, but since I gave good advice, does that mean you can pick up the tab? Music lessons have really tightened up my budget and you did offer to take me out to happy hour, so.”

~

“You’ve been gone a while.” 

There’s a faintly accusatory tone to Valencia’s words when Heather gets back. She’s already sprawled over the couch, reading the magazine that Heather dropped earlier that morning.

“And yet, you still let yourself into my house. How was the meeting?”

“Okay. Honestly, it’s a good thing I’m in a personal crisis right now or I would have never agreed to do their wedding. Ugh, what annoying people. But, I promised, no more wedding talk. Tell me what’s been going on at Home Base. Don’t spare any details—I know you love that drama.”

“I do love drama. But before we get into that, I think I have one more suggestion that might help you with the whole proposal situation. Just one.”

“Okay?”

“I’m not a traditionally romantic person. You know this.”

“I do.”

“And I married Hector when I did because he really needed the health insurance. But I knew that I wanted to spend my life with him before that. He makes me laugh. He makes things light in my life. Even when he does something stupid like almost lose his toe.”

“That’s…surprisingly sweet, Heather.”

“Don’t say it’s wasted on Hector,” Heather warns.

“I’m not, but trust me, it’s hard.”

“Good. But that was a very roundabout, Rebecca-like way of asking: maybe think about when you decided you wanted to marry Beth?”

Valencia exhales noisily, slumping back against the sofa arm. “I’m almost never not thinking about it. When we’re at work together, when we’re talking, whenever I see her when I wake up in the morning with all of the light in her hair—” Valencia abruptly stops speaking, eyes wide.

Heather takes the opening.

“So there is a moment?”

“Yes.”

“In the morning?”

“Yes!”

“So you’re basically saying that she’s your sunshine?”

Valencia is too excited to be annoyed by Heather’s teasing. “Yes, exactly. She’s my sunshine! Which believe me, was sometimes the only thing that got me through this winter. It was cold.”

“I’ll bet,” agrees Heather. “New York isn’t exactly balmy.”

“Yeah, yeah. No, this is perfect.”

“So you know what you’re going to do?”

“Uh huh.”

“Are you going to tell me? Where will this event take place?”

“Our apartment. That’s our home now. It’s a shoebox and extremely uncomfortable, but it’s also ours. And mine. And that’s the first time I ever had something like that.”

Valencia actually sounds giddy.

“What do you think?” she appeals to Heather.

“That sounds just like both of you.”

“I think so.” Valencia looks conflicted. “But I want to share it with you guys too. Like, I want a little fun, otherwise I’ll just start crying and in the sloppy way, not the movie-style pretty way.”

“Again, I can’t go to New York. Paula’s too busy and Rebecca is equally broke.”

Valencia’s eyes sparkle. “Okay, but what is the best way to visit New York without visiting New York?”

Heather has an inkling of where this is going.

“You’re going to livestream your proposal?”

“Of course not. I’m going to livestream after she says yes.”

“Oooh boy.”

Valencia flutters a hand. “I think she’ll be fine as long as the actual moment itself is private. She’s not like me—she doesn’t want to get a proposal in front of people. So…you think it’s good?”

“It’s perfect. Out of curiosity, why did you want to be proposed to in front of people?”

“I mean, it used to be a social-capital type of thing, but honestly, I don’t want all of West Covina there. I would want you guys, and my family to share the moment. Cause you love us, you love Beth…and it’s still nice to be the center of attention once in a while. But that’s me, not Beth. Now, enough proposal talk. Let’s crack these wine babies open.”

Heather nods, a little distracted, a new idea forming in her head.

~

“The drone was a nice touch,” Paula observes as the three of them crowd around Heather’s laptop in her kitchen a few weeks later.

“Not mine. That was all Valencia.”

“Oh my god, I can’t believe Valencia’s engaged!” Rebecca’s squeal is exactly what Valencia seems to want, she just beams all the brighter. From within the camera, Beth seems amusedly resigned, leaning her head on Valencia’s shoulder, admiring the ring.

“Well, since you have your girls on the line…” says Beth, and Heather smirks, the only woman of the lot of them who knows what’s coming, as Beth disappears out of their sight line, and emerges with a small velvet black box of her own.

“Oh my god!” Valencia’s squawk has all three of them jerking away from the laptop, but the general cacophony from Paula and Rebecca more than make up for it.

“A double proposal!” Rebecca’s grin is so wide that Heather’s own face aches in sympathy.

“Valencia, Valencia stop shaking me, I have a whole speech prepared, and I know it’s not a flash mob in Times Square—”

“I don’t care!” Valencia shrieks. “How did you—when—”

Beth laughs, giddy with adrenaline.

“Thank Heather,” she says, her voice clear even over the faint buzzing of the drone. “I called her for advice, and she didn’t give me any details, but she did say that if I wanted to propose, I might want to consider keeping the ring in the apartment. Preferably under the bed.”

“Heather!!” Valencia glares at her across the country, mascara running, but the smile on her face is impossible to repress.

“Told you I’m romantic,” says Heather mildly, but still smiling, pleased.

“I know,” says Valencia. “Thank you.”

She turns back to Beth. “But I thought you wanted a private proposal. Everyone’s watching us right now—”

“I did, and I’m glad I got one. But you’re not me. Valencia, you are a sun, and you draw all of us in your orbit—”

There is more, but Heather can barely hear any of it, between the screamlets coming out of the laptop and the shrieks echoing around Rebecca’s kitchen. Rebecca is punching Heather’s arm and saying something about she knew Heather was secretly a romantic at heart, she just knew it, and Paula is looking misty again, but Heather only has eyes for the two women on the other side of the screen, wearing rings and embracing so tightly it’s like the drone isn’t there at all.

What? She said she’s a romantic.

[art-by-rozzai]

even more random headcannons about the sides

i haven’t been very active lately, but i promise i’m gonna try!!! schools been very very busy for me so i apologize. anyways here’s some headcannons for best boy virgey

VIRGIL-

softest hair

secretly a huge lo-fi stan. as much as the boy loves edgy emo music he also digs really chill calm music

no headphones in is a great day. one is a mediocre. both? run.

loves to decorate and make things his own

makeup king. best at doing and wearing it (roman is so jealous)

despite the fact it gives him insane anxiety, is most likely to stay up insanely late watching shane dawson conspiracy videos

fanboy absolutely

definitely had an anime phase and u cant even deny that one. our gay disaster? u fucking know it

worst at math. this frustrates him to no end, especially considering how good logan is at it

loves to bake w/ patton

really enjoys writing poetry!!! kinda like a soft boy but way more respectful and love able

biggest youtube stan

bites his nails. all the time. can’t wear nail polish becuz of this, especially gel

rbf

stickers all over his laptop, nerdy and edgy bcuz u know our boy is secretly a hugeeeee nerd

dancing!!! he just really loves it

has and always will have a crush on jason dean from heathers. as well as marshall lee from adventure time

best at mario kart without even trying, this kills roman

in truth, he’s not a coffee or tea kinda guy. he like hot chocolate

h a l l o w e n

he’s the shortest and the youngest shut up

radiates big angsty teen energy

secretly a huge sap for romance but will never admit that

pixar >>>>> disney

poster king. they’re everywhere man

buys a new pin every time he goes to a hot topic.

eboy vibes

in fact he owns a chain necklace

wants his ears pierced but is honestly too scared

one day patton will take him

forgets his birthday every year. it just sneaks up on him

best at cheering people up with his honesty and kindness

secret softie 🥺🥺

YEAH that’s that. check out my other stuff ladies lords and nb royalty! peace 😘

[crystalwillow]

Choices – Stories You Play Merch. A Review

I was talking with a friend about the merch that Pixelberry Studios have recently released, for their stories on the Choices app. That conversation got me expressing how I feel about the merch, and one feeling that seemed mutual was that it seems very rushed. Let me explain why.

I personally feel there is too much High School Story and The Royal Romance stuff on the first launch when it could have been more diverse and included all of the books in some way.

The Apparel (T-shirts) – The designs themselves are okay. What I feel iffy about here is the colour selections, for each design.

·         Liam & Drake & Hana & Maxwell Shirt – With this shirt you get an option of two colours, but they are both shades of blue. Royal blue and Light blue.

·         TRR Logo/Title Shirt – This only comes in one colour. Navy blue.

·         Corgi Shirt – This is only currently available in one colour as well, which is red.

·         TRR Book 3 Cover Shirt – Only available in a deep purple right now.

·         TC&TF Title and character names Shirt – There are currently 2 t-shirts for The Crown & The Flame on the website right now. The title logo and one that reads ‘Kenna & Don & Val & Raydan’. Both of these shirts only currently available in red.

·         HSS Shirt #1 – Again there are two colour options with this design. Red and Kelly (A green colour.)

·         HHS Shirt #2 – This shirt has the cover of the first high school story book on it and comes in 2 colours again. This time a muted, sort of mustardy yellow colour and heather mint, a pastel green.

·         AME Shirt – This comes with the cover of the first book printed on it and is currently only available in a light blue colour

·         The Elementalists Shirts – The first shirt has the books title with the attunement symbols underneath printed across the chest. This one is available in purple with white text or grey with black text. The 2nd shirt for this book however is only available in purple and has the cover of the first book printed on the front.

·         BB Shirt: Has the cover of the first book in it’s series printed on the chest area and is only available in red.

·         Pixelberry Shirt – This shirt comes with the Pixelberry logo printed on the chest and is available in black or heather mint (pastel green.)

·         “Don’t Talk To Me” Shirt – Again is available in just 2 different shades of blue. Navy or Light.

·         Desire & Decorum Shirt – Is basically the title of the book printed onto either a grey shirt with black text or a royal type of blue shirt with white text.

·         Choices Shirt #1 – is the choices logo w/ wording printed across the chest in white text on a blue shirt.

·         Choices Shirt #2 – Is just the book logo of the app printed again, on the chest on the shirt in black.

So as you can probably tell by now,  the colour choice here is very poor. You have 1 black t-shirt option for 15 shirts. The main colours are Blue, Purple, Red, Green and Yellow. So if you dislike these colours or they don’t suit your skin tone and you’re a fan of these books wanting a shirt, you won’t be able to get one just yet. You will be waiting until possible future upgrades to their store. But I will digress as we move onto the next section of the store, where we will start with...

 Phone Cases

Personally, I feel like there is quite a bit that could change here. When a new merch launch happens, it is expected for there to be limited designs. Especially when you ae launching multiple items at once in your first launch. In the phone case section you have 8 case designs to choose from.

·         1 x BloodBound

·         2 X Blades of Light & Shadow

·         TRR Corgi

·         TF Zig jersey No.

·         HSS

·         2 x Pixelberry designs

To my personal self, 7/8 of the designs are okay. I’m not satisfied with the bloodbound phone case. Adrian Raines, is a customizable Love Interest (Li) in the book, yet the only version of the art for the case that is available is that of the white version of him. What about those players who customized him to be Hispanic or Black? They’re being sh*t on again by not having the option to have the artwork for those two versions of Adrian, that PB already have, on the case. That case is literally just for white Adrian fans.

Coffee Mugs

Again, with this product there are 8 options. They are as follows.

·         Open Heart, Edenbrook Logo

·         BloodBound

·         TRR Cordonian Apple

·         2 x The Freshman

·         3 x HHS

I feel like by this point things are getting a little repetitive. I understand that TF, HSS & TRR are some of their first projects and they want to cater to the people/fans who were there for that and may want merch for those series but there is such a thing as over catering, to certain things. As it stands today Pixelberry Studios have 45 series for their platform, 5 of which are not yet released. So far in the store, we’ve been in 3 sections where there’s been 15 shirts, 8 phone cases and 8 mugs. Yet only 10 series have been made into some form of merchandise so far. Now yes, I understand not ALL the shirts are series from the platform there is some standard PB merch included there and with the phone cases but that doesn’t take away from the fact the series/books such as Hero and Most Wanted could also have been put onto some for of merch too.

Water Bottles

With the water bottles you only get 6 designs.

·         1 x BloodBound design

·         Liam & Drake & Hana & Maxell design

·         HSS Notebook design

·         Hartfeld logo

·         PB Studios design

·         HSS Crest design

I haven’t got much critique for this product, except there could be 2 more designs of series that have not yet been made into merch as they are mainly just the title logo on an aluminium bottle with a screw top lid.

Pin Buttons/Badges & Stickers

All these products come individually and all retail for 3.99 apiece. There are currently 26 pin buttons and 6 stickers on the site. I want to just say that this. These sections could have been made so much better if PB would have brought out packs, for each series instead of doing it separately. Also in the BloodBound series there are 2 Li’s that later became members of the council. Whether it was officially done or not. They were part of the council by the end of the series, yet they don’t get their brands or sector logos on a pin badge like the rest of the council members did in this merch launch. That is just wrong and should have been done without a second thought from the merch teams on PB’s end, when talking about this concept for pin buttons. As far as stickers are concerned? The selection is poor. You have the 3 familiars from The Elementalists, Threep the Nesper from Blades of Light and Shadow, a Cordonian apple and Maxwell Beaumont’s hippo tattoo. Again, if packs had been made with all the characters, including the characters that are customizable in ethnicity, and retailed at around the 10.99-12.99 mark, depending on how many characters are in the pack, then it would have been a better investment. Of course some series only have 2-5/6 main characters and hardly any consistent side characters that are relevant to the stories plot so you could either add all the characters wearing different expressions and a group sticker and retail the packs for the same price as those with loads more characters or just retail them for half the price, only putting one of each character in wearing one expression.

Posters

These posters come in 3 different sizes/measurements. 8x10in, 12x16in and 18x24in. There are currently 8 of them in the store after the first initial launch of the merch store.

·         TC & TF Poster, Signed by the PB Team. This one if 15.99 for that reason

The other 7 all retail at 10.99 as they are not signed. Which begs the question in my mind of “How are they justified 5 for some signatures?” Anyway the other posters are,

·         The Elementalists 1 & 2 Book Covers

·         Open Heart 1 Book Cover

·         The Freshman 3 Book Cover

·         BloodBound 1 Book Cover

·         The Royal Romance 1 & 3 Book Covers

So now you’re probably wondering, “What’s wrong with that?” well let me tell where I kind of have an issue with this. Yes, there is a selection but it’s very limited. They have 30+ book covers to have chosen from and they choose 8 which they already have some kind of merchandise for. They could have chosen to do a Hero or Most Wanted signed poster and then which ever they didn’t choose to do put that on in as part of the 7 unsigned posters along with other posters of book covers such as A Courtesan of Rome, Endless Summer, The Haunting of Braidwood Manor etc. and then put in 2 newer book cover posters.

After reading all of this in full, some of you are probably thinking that I’ve been way too harsh here because you have to think of cost of making the products and then the amount shipping out all the orders will cost that don’t have free shipping attached to them. But I am fully aware there is so much more that goes into making merchandise than just putting the final product out there. I just feel like this was very rushed and not given the proper thought and attention it needed and deserved, some of the examples would be the colour range with the t-shirts, it’s very limited. Again with the coffee mug and water bottle designs, they are good but some different titles other than HSS & TF could have been used and the poster like I explained at the end of the paragraph for that section, could have had different book covers chosen for them. Now this is not me saying to hate the merch and not buy it and protest about it, starting arguments online over it. I’m not doing that at all. This is simply just my review of things after I took a first look at the website and found myself disappointed in the range of book diversity there is here. I get that money is an aspect that has to be thought of here, I get that they would go broke if they were to do certain things and the app, stories, all of that would stop. But yet again, it comes back to the point of things getting repetitive. The only section BloodBound is not included in, is the stickers. It’s in every other section. Same for a couple of other book titles. They have some amazing books, who’s titles they could have made into merch but for some reason they chose not to. Whether that’s because they thought it “wouldn’t sell” to which I say what the heck?! Are you serious?? There are people who are fans of just one certain book and would most likely buy that merch if they’re to hear about the merch shop somehow. Ultimately, I just feel like this store was a rush job. And like my friend said a way for them to make more money, as it looks like hardly any deep thought process went into this at all. Just like with their books, there was so much potential here, but it wasn’t met. I don’t know I honestly just think that if more thought, time and effort was put into this, then It would have been so much better. For example like I mentioned, if they had added Jax Matsuo and Lily Spencer pin buttons and made the pin buttons and sticker into packs and done 10 books for pin buttons as packs and 6 books for sticker packs, that would have been a better marketing viewpoint to approach from.

I would like to end this by saying, even though by my review it may seem like I hate the merch store for choices, I don’t. I just dislike certain parts of it and can see where there is potential for there to be so much more done with it. I really don’t know though... I guess I do just feel upset with the lack of book diversity on the store when really, they already have the resources to make merch with different book titles from everything they’ve released over the past, almost 4 years now.

[totaltrauma]

how long have you been working on this comic? where can i buy your stickers?? i LOVE this comic so much i just!!!! unironically heathers parts are so deep and just! woah. i love heather in this comic so much.

Hi sweetheart!!

I started working on Total Trauma in November 2019! I was on thanksgiving break.

My sticker set can be found here! https://www.etsy.com/listing/794140117/stickers

I’m so glad that you’re enjoying the comic, especially Heather’s part!!!