#I had to make up a name for Seraphine's dad

[woodsmokepine]

LeoDia Crime City Nightmare Excerpt

Pitch: Elixirs and horrors from beyond the fabric of space prowl the alleys of Valoran City. Leona is a private investigator wasting her days away, waiting for something to happen to her. A simple missing persons case turns out to run much deeper than she expected, and before she knows it, she's in over her head in a world of demons, alchemy, and magic.

Note: This is just an excerpt. It probably won't turn into anything substantial. I was just happy with how this passage turned out and thought I'd post it.

The end of the third shift blew in the drunks like a tropical storm over the Serpent Isles. Locusts, all of them. Descending upon the hapless dive bars and watering holes of Valoran City, ravaging the liquor supply until the sun struggled to rise over the skyline. They’d stumble along trashed streets, falling into gutters or the arms of nightmares.

It was nights like these where the more well adjusted had the sense to stay home. Kick back, watch the news talk about how bad it was right outside their front doors. Eat their processed food and imagine all the horrible things lurking in the alleys behind their apartments.

If Leona was anything close to well adjusted, she’d be right there with them. Maybe that could have been her, in another life. But she had a hole in her shoulder nine millimeters wide, and an even wider hole in her heart. The first had been her fault, the second might not have been.

But it probably was.

Smoke curled off the end of her cigarette, a gray specter lurking in the shadows of her office. Laughs outside her door, a knock. No one with any business with her knocked. She didn’t bother getting up. Scuffed leather creaked as she leaned back and put her dull black boots atop the dark, splintering wood of her desk. Cigarette dangling between two fingers, Leona loosened her tie and sighed. Another visit from the good doctor it was, then.

She uncorked the glass decanter on her desk, pouring the caramel-colored liquid into her only glass. Both had been a gift when she left the force. She couldn’t remember from who. Her suspenders pulled at her shoulders as she knocked back the shot, her gun knocked against her ribs as she set the glass back down.

Should have been another slow night of smoke and drink, another wasted opportunity for any way out of the hole she’d dug herself into. Should have been another few hours passed out at her desk, locked behind three deadbolts and a chain.

But those gutters and rain-soaked streets never forgot her name, and their calls never got quieter.

A knock at the door again. More insistent. Maybe even urgent, if she was feeling charitable. She should probably answer it. Money was low, her reasons for waking up every morning even lower. But another lost cat or cheating spouse and she’d wander out into the city and let the nightmares have her. She thought of grisly murders, scheming bureaucrats, and perilous gunfights. She thought of better days.

The knocks just wouldn’t quit. Couldn’t just be some other drunk.

But if they wanted her services, they’d have to call.

The rotary phone sat silent, dust collecting on the receiver. She’d almost forgotten what it sounded like. Business was slow. Not that she minded. More time to stew.

“Please.” The voice was so faint, muffled by the thick door and steady tap of rain on the window. Leona sighed and kicked her feet off the desk, pulling herself up by the coat rack next to her desk. She stuffed her hat on her head as she stumbled to the door, the night’s alcohol still swirling through her saturated veins.

One deadbolt. Two. Three. The chain rattled as she slid it across its housing and let it fall to the floor.

She took a breath, put her hand on her gun, and pulled the door open. The cracked blinds rattled against the glass window in the door, settling back into lopsided place. Rain came down in sheets, the trademark look of a dead city walking.

“D-Detective?” An older man stood in the downpour, khaki rain jacket drooping under the weight of a falling sky.

“Not anymore,�� Leona said, reaching to close the door. “Police station’s that way.” She pointed to the right, but the man didn’t even follow her gesture. He stuck his foot in the door to stop her from closing it. Some nerve, but she had to respect it. Or at least, that’s what she thought she should feel. Her conscience was running on fumes these days.

“Please! Th-They turned me away!” the man said, clasping his hands together. They were covered in scars, the kind of scars from decades of craftsmanship. His coat wasn’t too bad, either. All the holes had been patched long ago. The single monocle was quite well made, and his hair must have been proper at some point, before the rain.

Papers rustled under her feet. She looked down, moving her shoe to reveal the pile of final notices collecting under the mail slot. 

No odd features, no unnatural chill in the air. Her hair didn’t stand on end, her brain didn’t scream at her to run, to shoot, to scream. Someone who could pay then.

Leona let go of the door and stepped to the side, scarcely waiting until his feet crossed the threshold before slamming it shut and sliding the deadbolts back into place. It got harder every year to tell who was human in Valoran City. Well, rather, who didn’t have demon blood in their veins.

The man trudged into the office, leaving wet footprints in his wake. Leona was already making her way back to her desk before he could start talking.

“I-It’s my daughter, detective,” he said, pulling his hood back.

Leona lit another cigarette and leaned against her desk. “First of all, I’m not a detective anymore.” She gestured to the letters printed on her window. ‘Private Investigator’ they read. She continued. “Second, let me guess. Hanging out with the wrong crowd? Getting involved with this ‘elixirs’ business? Suddenly lost contact?”

“Well… yes. But-”

“She’s a good girl? Would never be caught dead with that kind of crowd?”

The man deflated. “It’s that common, then?” he asked.

“Common enough to recognize a pattern when I see one.” Leona picked up her glass and swirled it, staring at the dusty bookshelf to the right of her desk. Cases gone cold, names and photographs faded like her memory.

“I’ll pay,” the man said, futilely trying to wipe the rain out of his hair. “I have money saved up. A lot.”

“How much is a lot to you, Mr…?” She waited for the name.

The man looked over his shoulder, at the door. He lowered his voice to a whisper. “You can call me Eddison. And I’ve got at least five hundred saved up. Anything for my girl.”

Leona nearly choked on her drink. It burned all the way down. She picked up her cigarette and took a long drag. “Five hundred?” She tried her best to sound unimpressed. “That might just be my price.”

“Okay, okay. Thank you, thank you! I don’t know how to thank you enough!”

“You can start with half the money, in cash, tomorrow morning. And a picture, name, aliases, last seen location, any associates…” Leona sat down at her desk and pulled a drawer open. A puff of dust flew up as she withdrew her notebook and pen. She flipped past old cases. Bad memories.

“Here.” The man held out a worn photograph in a shaky hand. Leona took it and paperclipped it to the top of her notebook.

“Hair color? Eye color?” Leona asked.

“P-Pink,” the man said, but held his hands up. “Dyed, of course. You see, she’s a singer-”

“Natural color?” Leona interrupted, jotting down notes. Singer. Dyed hair. Diva.

“Brown. She has these bright blue eyes… Hair past her waist. She used to sing at the Cottonwood Lounge, you know the place?”

Leona nodded. “I do.” It was a shitty bar that tried to pretend it wasn’t. The perfect trap for aspirational musicians and actresses. She didn’t bother telling him about its reputation.

“Good… Good… That was the last place I saw her. She’d just left home to go perform. Kissed me goodbye, told me not to worry. Said… she’d be back…” The man stared off into space, wringing his hands.

Leona tapped her pen to her notebook. “Mr. Eddison. Her name?” Missing person cases usually went cold within 48 hours. She didn’t have time for theatrics.

“Seraphine. Please, tell me you’ll find her, right?” Mr. Eddison put his hands on the desk, tried to stop them from shaking.

The city had the tendency to chew girls like this up and spit them out once it had used them up. Leona was certain this case would end just like all the others.

“I’ll look. That’s all I can promise.”

[flordivina]

What do you think how Seraphine and Viktor would interact with each other, especially in their own experience between being from the Undercity and being a child of parents that came from there?

I took a little moment to rewatch some of the episodes at the first Season to have a better view, so sorry for the little delay on answering this, in case you were the first Anon asking about Sera in Arcane. I dearly appreciate you btw, helping me come with neuron food for her character ♥

A little disclaimer before I proceed: Know that my vision here is again, following my divergence for her lore, which I take as canon-to-go until Riot fix the issues. Since Arcane is meant to be the new runeterra-prime canon, we are considering it as both lines for LoL & Arcane simultaneously.

Most of my muses are far from the events of Piltover/Zaun the show presented. So besides Seraphine & LeBlanc, I think all can work well for the situation going on. I have also divergence in events regarding LeBlanc, but this would be boarded in a different post.

So! I personally think there could be interact in actual good terms to be honest, both before HexTech’s development & during the continuation of the investigation alongside Jayce.

From EP 2 / S1, Viktor basically mentions "Nobody's ever believed in me, a poor cripple from the undercity" He was an outcast right from the moment he placed a foot on Piltover, without sponsor benefits nor a name of his own. He simply had faith on himself. He basically in that scene with Jayce when he gives his notes back, he was also thinking he was on the right path and wanted to help him complete his investigations. He is very honest there on wanting to change the world for the better, thinking in that moment that Hextech has the potential to do it. I personally think (and this is coming from my own personal experience with chronic joint pain & other health troubles due hypermobility), that it is inevitable not to wish to have better chances to navigate the world arounds us. The way Viktor at first thinks it could change the world for the better, probably comes from that side. At least, I admit, if I could have something almost magical to facilitate my life for the better, instead of dealing with pain every day, I would take it.

The world needs to become better for anyone disabled, for everybody in need. Arcane presents us with realities that mimic our world. Since I imagine Seraphine to be passionate over invention & science equally, long before actually discovering her magical potential & hoping for a dream to be a recognized inventor at the Academy of Piltover thanks to the influence of her Dad & her constant, almost daily, job at the workshop...

I can actually imagine her trying to come out with inventions of her own at the back of the shop. (I keep in my brain dearly that her Arcane involved in S2 is help trying to aid those in need or sending supplies). She would had heard a lot about Zaun and the difficulties for the people down there from her Dad and Mom, so she tries her best to think on ideas to make their worlds a better one, even if it´s nothing but the dream of a young pink-haired girl by then... I can actually see her getting along with Viktor in that similar wish: Make the World a better place. Regardless of her talents & how the workshop got to be renown at Piltover to fix here and there little problems. Her family also came to the City of Progress **without a distinguished name, no sponsorship nor benefits, but faith on themselves.** Seraphine is not denying the effort, she probably saw it first hand on her childhood, how the workshop had ups and downs, how dreams shattered and repaired themselves a lot. I feel, before the events on S2, they could had formed a friendship out of casualty. Maybe Viktor had been there a couple of times at the workshop, purchasing pieces from them as well. Maybe Sera had come up with something to help him out of casualty... who is to say conversation over science won't spark all as she sits repairing something, maybe about Zaun itself. Maybe Viktor heard the students at the academy about the place and he just wanted to take a look... who knows, Im coming with reasons out of the blue too. That man looks curious to see potential on things, probably he thought on bringing something that was complicated to repair as a test, and mah gal there returned it in perfect function with the cockiest of smiles

" There... like a piece of Pancake. " "I think you meant Cake" "Cakes are more difficult to make >:3c " Also I think that, over the same feeling of a similar past, they could feel understood. How people looks pass them, as if they are not there. But having a friend who actually sees you as a presence, could be comforting, even if in the slightest. Maybe, following again my hc of her wanting to be at Piltover's University one day to pursue her passion, they could share books between them and experiences inside that place, have some bg of Seraphine going there eventually to help with something by his recommendation, not necessarily the hextech investigations obviously... but I assume Viktor was probably aware of many other investigations facing trouble if being the assistant of Heimmerdinger. Many students could use her help.

Who knows? ♥ Maybe he could have faith on her, knowing what it is to not have anyone have faith in you due were you come from... if he was able to scalate from his background to where he is by dedication and faith alone, maybe she could also too. Seeing a fellow Zaunite blood person cultivating her path without more than following her dreams.

This is also me being self-indulgent me, I would had loved it if Seraphine would had been involved in at least some of his projects. Again, not necessarily hextech involved, but as while he is doing his own researches, he mentions after all 'Do you think I came here wanting to be an assistant?', and I personally interpret it as he still trying to be recognized beyond the shadow of Heimer. I think It would be nice for him to also have a friend during this time who believes he can do it, doesn´t matter if Piltovan or Zaunite.

So yeah, I can see her being that friend that would cheer him on, during his path of success, before he would get extra busy. Maybe it was also thanks to his words that Professor Heimerdinger would had known about the workshop, and eventually with time had created those headphones with the tiny drop-size shards of hex-crystal. HOWEVER, I admit your ask made me reconsider it, that perhaps Viktor & Jayce could had given them to her?

But hey, again, I’m not pushing anything, I’m merely thinking on possibilities as I write this reply, sorry if I ramble a lot. Also never consider my ideas like engraved eternally on stone with laser or something, I’m very open to discuss things and exchange thoughts ♥

So yeah! Those are ways I think they could had interacted. During the events on Season 2, it comes to be a far trickier situation. Maybe she could had arrived to the little Cult place? Now this makes me wonder how she would had perceived the symphonies of the people in there since all of them were husks of their former selves & a collective hive mind. I think she would had tried to talk to Viktor to ask for answers over it, even if she wouldn’t do something drastic against her friend as Jayce did when shooting him. She may had probably ended there while delivering supplies to the people in need, and heard about the ‘Eden’ that the Messiah practically did down there...

If any Viktor muse would like to expand on any of this and work plots for them, know that I would be more than happy too! I think they both have a lot to offer as interaction wise ♥

Thank you for the ask; Noonie ♥ ; have a great day!

[artificialqueens]

Just Like a Folk Song (Our Love Will Be Passed On), 1/3 (Trixya) - Pinkgrapefruit

A/N -

hi! I’m really excited for this!!! I started it back in the summer of 2020 and it’s been a labour of love for sure. I was initially dead set on waiting for it to reach its end before I posted but I want someone who isn’t me and ortega to enjoy it. I’m so, so proud of it and I really hope you enjoy it so please let me know and maybe I’ll actually finish this one.

Thank you to Jaz, Ortega and Frey who have endlessly supported me, egged me on and corrected the minutia of my grammar. This one is for you xoxo

[chapter 1. pirate wives]

*

part one. joy

please picture me in the trees i hit my peak at seven feet in the swing over the creek i was too scared to jump in

There is a girl in the trees. She is blonde and messy, and her knees have scratches that Trixie’s mama would never allow. She clambers through the branches in her wellies, light as a feather until she’s straddling the edge of a thick branch, white teeth glistening in the mid-afternoon sun. Trixie is immediately jealous. She’s missing her two front teeth and although her mama straightens her dresses and tells her she’s very pretty - she’s not entirely convinced. The girl jumps down from the tree and hits the debris-littered floor with a soft thud. Her shoes are caked in mud and she runs a dirty hand through her hair in a way that makes Trixie’s skin crawl.

The day is warm, and Trixie’s mama had told her to spend it by the river near their flat. It’s overlooked by a wood, and the last man who pretended to be her daddy built a tire swing, so her and her brother could play down here when the sun makes it unbearable to be indoors.

The girl tilts her head and Trixie mirrors her, unsure. Her eyes are a crystalline green, the same colour as the lazy river, and she blushes as Trixie stares. The girl waves exuberantly.

“I’m Katya!” She introduces, pushing her hand forward for Trixie to shake. She sees her mama greet people like this, but it seems very strange. She cautiously moves her hand to meet it and they shake rather forcefully.

“Katya?” She repeats, almost a question, half-formed on her tongue.

“Yup! K-A-T-” she pauses, eyebrows scrunched as she tries to remember the next letter. The sun filters through the leaves, speckling her face with dots of light. “Y-A! Katya!”

Trixie giggles, cheeks flushing. She grips her pink corduroy dungaree dress, letting the soft fabric soothe her nerves. “My name is Beatrice,” she says, voice tight like a rope pulled taut. She is being polite. She is a good girl. Katya purses her lips, shuffling from one foot to another. “You can call me Trixie, though?”

Katya smiles, nods slightly. “I would like that, Trixie.”

She reaches out for Trixie to take her hand, and Trixie is slightly less hesitant this time. Katya’s smock blows in the slight breeze as she tugs Trixie forward, and the girl in the pink follows willingly.

but i, i was high in the sky with pennsylvania under me are there still beautiful things?

She ends up pulling her towards the tyre-swing and she holds Trixie’s cardigan as she wrestles up onto the tyre. Katya can only manage to push her for a few minutes before she wants her own turn, and Trixie makes her pull the swing as far back as she can, so there’s no chance she’ll end up in the river.

“How old are you?” Trixie asks as she holds the tyre patiently for Katya, who struggles in her wellies, despite being adept at climbing trees in them.

“I’m seven,” she announces proudly as she sits atop the tyre. She grips the rope tightly, so her fingers turn white and her brown smock is tucked under her thighs for grip. “My mama told me I look very old for my age.”

Trixie wouldn’t necessarily disagree. Katya looks bigger and certainly stronger than her. She is louder - more physical - and her hair is pretty. Trixie considers it all for a second.

“Okay,” she replies, pushing the swing gently, so its reflection ripples across the river. “I’m seven too.”

She pushes Katya gently for a few more minutes before Katya pipes up again. She’s more relaxed, fingers only barely hanging onto the rope.

“Do you have a boyfriend, Trixie?” The question makes Trixie squirm almost as much as the fact that Katya is now trying to hang upside-down above the river.

She gulps her anxiety down. “No,” she tells her, “I don’t really want one.”

Katya looks at her from upside down and smiles brightly. “boys are gross, Trixie,” she tells her sternly as if she’s had experience. She is steady in her convictions, and Trixie finds this admirable - she’s not sure if she has convictions.

Katya’s smock comes loose from under her thighs and Trixie looks away in shock as it exposes her almost naked body. Katya just giggles, her stomach expanding with laughter as she tries to grip with her legs and pull herself back up, so she is no longer exposed.

She twists her body slightly and manages to jump off the swing and onto the ground, watching as Trixie winces.

Katya puts her arms in the air. “I’m fine, look,” she tells her reassuringly. Curving her fingertips slightly she smiles. “RAWR!”

She chases Trixie through the horse fields until they end up on a street full of little stone cottages with flower boxes under the windows. Trixie stops when her mary janes hit the concrete and looks quizzically at Katya who’s stopped at a green door. She beckons for her to follow, and Trixie does.

sweet tea in the summer cross your heart, won’t tell no other and though i can’t recall your face i still got love for you

Katya’s sister Anna is sitting in the living room with a jug full of sweet tea and ice that makes Trixie drool just thinking about it. She smiles, offering them plastic cups full of the sugary liquid that Trixie happily gulps down after hours in the woods. She goes to slip her shoes off by the door, but Katya waves her hand. “Keep ‘em on.”

Trixie shrugs and follows the messy blonde up a flight of wooden stairs into a little red room. It has a bed pushed up to the wall and a set of gymnastic rings that come down from the ceiling. Katya places her cup down on the nearest flat surface as Trixie cradles hers in her hands, and launches herself at the rings.

Trixie is astounded that Katya can push herself off the ground, arms locked straight. She jumps down and grabs the shorts off the bed, pulling them on (somewhat awkwardly) over her wellies. Trixie watches in wonderment, fixed in place on the carpet, so she doesn’t spread dirt as Katya swings around, flipping and tumbling, aided by the rings.

When she finally stops, they sit crossed-legged on the floor, sipping sweet tea.

“Will you be my best friend?” Trixie asks Katya sweetly - her tongue coated in tea and her body energised from the most fun she’s ever had. She picks at the lace on the top of her socks while Katya considers her offer.

“I can do that,” she tells her, voice earnest and honest.

“Deal. I think best friends braid each other’s hair.”

“That sounds good.”

your braids like a pattern love you to the moon and to saturn passed down like folk songs the love lasts so long

“You can move now!” Katya announces after a painfully long time. Trixie gently pats the neat rows of hair on her head - it’s tender, and she scrunches her face up in response. She finds herself jealous - Katya is much better at braiding than she is, but she promised to teach her on the hand-me-down styling mannequin she got from her sister Anna.

“You’re better than me,” she effuses, hand splayed on the soft fabric of Katya’s smock.

“Yeah, well you have freckles,” Katya retorts, and Trixie nods because she makes a good point. “You can’t have everything, Beatrice.”

Trixie chews on her lips. She feels freer in Katya’s bedroom, there are no ghosts in the cupboards or angry ladies drying the washing in the sun. “Can you call me Trixie?” She asks. “I liked that better.”

Katya jumps up, pulling Trixie up with her. The sun makes her red walls glow, and they reflect onto her blonde hair.

“Okay, Trixie, do you wanna go on an adventure?”

Trixie nods and they barrel out of the bedroom and down the stairs, which creak pleasantly with every thundering step. Katya tugs her round the bend at the bottom of the stairs so fast that Trixie almost slams into the wall, but eventually they find Katya’s mama, Seraphine, in the kitchen making a salad.

“We’re going on an adventure!” Trixie exclaims, and Seraphine chuckles at them, ruffling Katya’s hair until the blonde scowls.

“Okay girls, stay safe,” she tells them, and they nod earnestly. “Are you staying for dinner?” She asks Trixie, and Trixie shakes her head sadly.

“My mama told me to be home for six.”

Seraphine smiles warmly and moves, so they can exit through the back door. Katya’s house backs onto a horse field and it makes Trixie feel like a butterfly - all warm and free in the sun and she never really wants to go home.

Katya sticks her arms out like she could fly if only she had the lift, and they run around playing aeroplanes for a little while. Trixie’s scuffed mary janes let her socks get wet from the dew in the grass and it makes her feel like she is a part of nature.

Katya takes off her wellies and the ground squishes under her toes.

and i’ve been meaning to tell you i think your house is haunted your dad is always mad and that must be why

Katya walks Trixie home to the grey flats on the edge of the town. They tower high above the little cottages - a relic of a revolution long gone - and cast hazy shadows in the late afternoon sun. In the shadows, Katya’s hair looks dull and Trixie’s dress looks clean, and it makes the hairs on Trixie’s legs stand up as a breeze whistles under her skirt.

“You live here?” Katya asks and she doesn’t mean it to sound mean, but the words still crackle in Trixie’s ears like dying embers. She bristles, standing up tall and proud like she’s always been taught to.

“Yes, I do,” she tells Katya almost haughtily - trying to channel her mama. Her hands firm around the squish of her hips and she purses her lips.

Katya frowns. “I’m sorry,” she voices, chewing the inside of her cheek, fingers clinging together behind her. “It looks like ghosts live here.”

This makes Trixie laugh, it’s soft and ladylike because she’s a lady, which in turn makes Katya laugh - loud and raucous.

“Good-bye, Kat-y-a,” says Trixie, her mouth rounding over the syllables. “Katya.”

“Good-bye, my best friend Trixie,” replies Katya with a wave and a nod before she skips back up the path towards the streetlamps. She steps inside the building and heads up the stairs, knocking three times on the door.

“Why are your shoes scuffed, Beatrice?” Is her first greeting and she turns her toes in an attempt to hide them from her mama.

“The forest, Mama,” Trixie responds, calm and quiet. Her brother is watching from the couch and he sticks his tongue out at her with a kind smile. “I met a girl named Katya.”

Her mama scowls, face tight and eyes sharp. “You let a girl named Katya touch your hair?” She asks, almost mocking as she picks up a braid and lets it fall back onto Trixie’s back. She sighs. “Go get ready for dinner and wash your hands.”

“Yes, Mama,” Trixie tells her dutifully before running off to her bedroom. She places the bobbles Katya used in her hair in her jewellery box.

and i think you should come live with me and we can be pirates then you won’t have to cry or hide in the closet

They play pirates, skipping rocks on the river like cannonballs. Katya is Blackbeard with her macaroni necklace and her stolen clip-on earrings. She smiles sweetly and tells Trixie that she is Grace O'Malley, because she is pretty and male pirates were not pretty. Also because then they could have the best pirate wedding anyone has ever seen and this makes Trixie laugh so hard she accidentally throws her best skipping stone. Katya decides that she’s won, but she will share her treasure and they lay on the grass on the bank of the river.

Seraphine has been reading Katya a book on pirates, so the young girl parrots the information back to Trixie, who revels in the knowledge. She begs her brother Josh to read her that pirates books she’s borrowed from the library and the next day she comes back to the river and tells Katya that they are both women pirates.

“I am Grace O'Malley and you are Mary Reed,” she announces authoritatively. Katya frowns, head tilted so her blonde hair glows white in the sun.

“Can we still have the best pirate wedding though?” She asks, and Trixie squeezes her hand before jumping up.

“Of course!” She tells her like it is obvious. “We will just be pirate wives.”

Katya nods, because this makes perfect sense. “We will be pirate wives,” she consolidates. She pulls a stick out of the belt of her smock and holds it aloft. “TO BATTLE, PIRATE WIFE!” She screams so the horses in the next field are adequately prepared before running down the grassy bank, so her wellies get wet on the rocky shore of the river.

“To battle!” Trixie squeals, running after her with enthusiasm. She stops when the stones start because she doesn’t want to get her socks wet this time, but she watches as Katya jumps in the water.

'Best friend pirate wife,’ she turns over in her head. It sounds good.

and just like a folk song our love will be passed on

part two. discomfort

i want you to know i’m a mirrorball i’ll show you every version of yourself tonight

There’s only one middle school in the village. Its bricks are a rust-brown and rough like they’ve just been dug out of the ground. It used to be a factory town, so everything is covered in a thin layer of dirt and dust anyway, but this building manages to look particularly rugged. Trixie assumes the planters were at one point neat and trimmed, although they don’t seem to be anymore - wiry stems making their way up the walls. It’s not unwelcoming, Trixie just doesn’t really want to be there.

She pushes that down though, pulling her white long-socks back up past her knees and adjusting the way her backpack falls on her shoulders. She spots Katya loitering under the carefully positioned 'no loitering’ sign and smiles - picking up her pace so her mary-janes slip a little on the gravel-covered yard. Katya’s wrists are covered in the friendship bracelets they spent the summer weaving with Seraphine’s embroidery threads. She wears Trixie’s too - her mama threw the first one out with her brother’s holey socks.

They share a homeroom, and Katya makes sure they get two seats next to each other, the plastic chairs sweating in the late August heat. Trixie’s thighs stick to them against her will and she finds herself gently prying her thighs away from the seat every so often as Katya laughs in her loose jeans.

Katya has always been the one who preferred practical fashion. Her brown smocks have turned into tank tops and jeans, and she’s only eleven, but Trixie thinks she dresses a bit like the boys from Grease. They’re older. Maybe, by then, Trixie will look like a Pink Lady. That’s what she wants, anyway.

They write notes on each other’s pencil cases while Mr Thompson gives them a rather hasty personal health lesson. Trixie worries at one point that she’s missing important information about periods or nail varnish, but Katya tells her that Anna can just explain it all to them, so they go back to doodling hearts in the margins of their brand new notepads.

At one point, Trixie chances a look around the room, the walls are sparse and the paint peels, but there’s one poster that makes her tummy feel weird and she almost points it out to Katya, but the other girl is too busy making a paper plane.

The poster tells her homosexuality is a sin.

She wonders if pirate wives are exempt.

i’ll get you out on the floor shimmering beautiful and when i break it’s in a million pieces hush

In Biology, Katya is seated next to a boy named Maxwell. He’s Jewish and sweet enough, and they talk about his babushka’s chak-chak. Katya remembers the sweet, doughy treat from her times visiting her baba back in Russia, and she almost asks why his name doesn’t sound like hers, because he sounds awfully American even though he can pronounce her last name.

Most of the teachers can’t. It’s the third day and they’ve already resorted to Zamo. She’s too used to it to be hurt.

Mrs Dodds comes in through the teacher’s door and drops a textbook on the desk to get everyone’s attention. She’s a mousy sort of woman - light hair cut to a bob that stops at the nape of her neck. Her blazer is tweed and also oversized, and it reminds Katya of the jacket her dad wears to job interviews.

Dodds starts scratching her name onto the board in white chalk and the sound sends shivers down the class’s spines.

“Can anyone explain to me where humans came from?” She asks the room, and the eleven-year-olds cower from the cadence of her voice.

A brave girl called Monique waves her hand, but Dodd’s picks on a boy called Jaremi instead and he quivers under her gaze. “Sex?” He suggests, tone light like he’s walking on eggshells and all of the preteens burst into giggles. The poor boy turns the same shade as summer poppies, and Katya feels terrible. Unfortunately, her face must betray this because a crooked finger is pointed in her direction. She shifts awkwardly.

“Evolution,” she musters with enough confidence that it doesn’t sound like a question, and while the class looks vaguely impressed with her, Mrs Dodds does not. She scoffs.

“A fallacy,” she claims, stalking back to the chalkboard with her sleeves crumpled by her elbows.

The chalk scraped on the board, spelling out a word: God. Katya gulps. She’s pretty sure god didn’t make humans. They came from fish - at least that’s what her encyclopedia told her.

“God created humans,” she announces to them all, smiling faintly, “and it’s people like you, sinner,” she points at Katya again, “who make him regret it.”

when no one is around, my dear you’ll find me on my tallest tiptoes spinning in my highest heels, love shining just for you Hush

They square dance in gym class and even though there aren’t enough boys, the girls aren’t allowed to dance with each other, so Trixie ends up sat on the bench while Katya and Max twirl in circles - blatantly flaunting the teacher’s instruction. Her long black skirt is patterned with white skulls and flares prettily around her ankles, exposing her red Doc Martens.

Katya leads, stepping backwards while Max steps on her toes - his shorter stature making for quite the picture (one that makes Trixie snort into her elbow).

She is not jealous. Jealousy is too strong, what she feels is subtle - like pulling on her ribs, shifting them under her skin until her heart hurts. Her heart does hurt. Maybe she’s not used to Katya having other people, so what - they said they would stick together and they will. She is confident.

When the dance ends, Katya bows - waving her arm so it circles under her and allowing her messy hair to fall over her face before flicking it back dramatically. She smiles at Trixie, and Trixie smiles back for the split second before she is assigned to the tall, lanky boy at the back of the gym. His hands are clammy and damp and strangely cold, and Trixie tries to hold them as lightly as she can, confident that Katya’s would be softer, warmer.

The boy smells strange, his hair falls over his eyes, and he stutters when he talks to her, making a poor effort of leading her and standing on her feet more than she stands on his. The teacher doesn’t seem to care, too busy screaming at the blonde girl who refuses to dance with the boy who has eczema.

They dance in circles rather than squares and Trixie’s mind is running in triangles rather than circles.

i know they said the end is near but i’m still on my tallest tiptoes spinning in my highest heels, love shining just for you

Trixie finds herself giggling with the girls Katya called plastic in her English lesson. She doesn’t share it with Katya and she didn’t want to sit alone, so she positioned herself at the back with Gigi, Pearl, and Courtney, who don’t seem to have an appreciation for Keats, but then again neither does Trixie, unless Katya is reading it to her in the hammock behind the cottage.

Gigi is dating a hippie boy from the next town over. She refers to him as Crystal, and the other girls go along with it, so Trixie doesn’t ask. Pearl wants to smoke weed with the high school boys that hang around the skate park, but she’s promised her brother that she won’t until she’s fourteen. Courtney is from Australia. They seem interesting.

Trixie doesn’t understand why they’re plastic.

But Katya drags her by the arm out of school one day ranting about how they’d called her names like 'dyke’ for not having a boyfriend.

“Boys are dumb,” she’d told them proudly, “I don’t want one.”

“Boys are dumb,” Trixie agrees solemnly, sat on a wall near her flat as Katya paces. She kicks a stone into the road and watches it skitter to a halt before sitting next to Trixie with a huff. “Sometimes girls are dumb too,” Trixie reminds gently, and Katya puts her head on her shoulder.

“You’re not dumb,” Katya tells her, “I don’t understand why they have to be.” She sounds so dejected that Trixie wants to bundle her up in blankets and make hot cocoa until she’s smiling again.

“Welcome to the real world. It sucks. You’re going to love it,” Trixie quips, and it does make Katya chuckle at her best friend’s antics.

“You did not just quote friends at me,” she jokes, pressing a finger into the softness of Trixie’s side. Trixie jumps off the wall in shock as Katya cackles to herself and sticks her tongue out.

“I hate you,” she tells her, smiling widely.

“I hate you too.”

i want you to know i’m a mirrorball i can change everything about me to fit in

They walk the final stretch to Trixie’s flat, hands swinging between them. Katya’s hand is clammy, but it is warm, and it grounds Trixie’s thoughts from where they are spinning. She knows people can be horrid, her brother once told her that 50% of the town is assholes and 50% is assholes you can deal with, but knowing and realising are two different things, and maybe she just hadn’t realised.

She doesn’t mean to be, but she’s more careful from then on. She giggles with boys and she doesn’t really hold Katya’s hand outside of the woods and the fields, where they are free to be whatever they want. And maybe she wants to hold Katya’s hand. Maybe.

There is a boy called Ben who hangs around the library. He seems sweet and small and kind, and she sits at his table while she tries to work out algebra. He plays baseball, but he mostly paints and makes jokes, so everyone seems to like him and Trixie admires that.

She appreciates the non-judgemental silence as she struggles over Pythagoras one evening. Katya is at art club, and Trixie doesn’t feel like having to do the work in the flat where the heating is broken, so she bundles herself up in the library and watches Ben eat a chocolate muffin over the top of his book. He smiles warmly at her and offers a chunk, which she takes gladly - savouring the way it seems to melt in her mouth.

"That’s good,” she mutters appreciatively, mouth full and all too aware of the watchful eye of the librarian.

“I made them!” Ben responds, his cheeks flushing with excitement.

“And they’re not going to poison me?” Trixie asks as he offers her a full one from a Tupperware in his bag. He sticks his tongue out, shaking his head, before ducking down as the librarian looks their way.

you are not like the regulars the masquerade revellers drunk as they watch my shattered edges glisten

“I think Ben has a crush on me,” Trixie postures, approaching it slowly like one approaches a kitten stuck on a road. Katya, in many ways, is comparable to a scared kitten - whether it be her anxious quiver or the mess of her hair - soft, but tangled in a knot on her head.

Katya’s eyebrow quirks, though her mouth stays set. “I thought we said boys are dumb?” She tells Trixie firmly, feet planted in the damp October soil.

Trixie shifts her toes on the crunching leaves and the noise ripples through the forest.

“They are,” she agrees, quietly, “I don’t want one.” She feels like she’s having to defend herself and she doesn’t really know why. Her cheeks prickle red with heat.

Katya scowls, and Trixie’s quivers on instinct before pulling her shoulder back and standing up straight. The clouds rolling overhead seem greyer, but maybe that’s just a trick of the light.

“You can’t control who I’m friends with, Kat,” she advocates, the telltale signs of anger slipping into her tone as the pitch heightens with every word. She pulls the sleeves of her jumper over her palms so she can feel a little sense of security, and Katya’s face softens.

“I know,” Katya sighs. She falls down onto a log, brushing some of the bark off the edges. She shifts as it scrapes her legs through her trousers, but eventually settles, looking mournful. “I just don’t want to lose you.”

Trixie holds her hands in her own, feeling the clammy warmth.

“I promise you won’t.”

hush

part three. comfort

when you are young, they assume you know nothing

Trixie is fourteen, holding hands with Ben as they eat ice creams from the parlour down the street. Ben dots some of his onto her nose, and she flushes pink and flustered as he wipes it off with the pad of his thumb. He’s grown taller, face chiselling ever so slightly, although his cheeks remain doughy and soft. She has to refrain from imprinting her fingertips into the pale flesh just to watch it bounce back. She’s grown into herself, breasts growing until her mama had to take her to the department store, an hour away, to buy training bras in sizes larger than the local shops have in stock.

She blushes and goes back to her ice cream, the strawberry sauce dripping into her knuckles so she has to run her tongue along them, leaving only the faint hint of pink food-colouring trailing across her hand.

He presses his lips to her cheek, tongue skimming the tip of her soft serve on the way, and grins like a Cheshire cat. She relents, placing her lips on his for a peck, and his lips taste like chocolate sauce. It’s sweet.

It took her a few years to finally accept his constant asking her out, but they spent ninth grade canoodling in the library, hand swinging between them and lips pressed to each other’s cheeks. It’s nice.

The girls she changes with for gym class tell her she must be in love, but she’s always thought that love would feel more like fireworks rather than popping candy. It’s pleasant. She doesn’t know if she should want more.

but i knew you dancin’ in your levi’s drunk under a streetlight, i

Ben wanted more. He dumps her for Kelly Mantle, a drama student famed for giving Brian McCook a blowjob behind the smoker shelter.

She cries into Katya’s paint-splattered denim jacket, the blonde’s fingers worming their way around the fullness of her hips until Katya’s holding her.

Trixie sobs in hiccups, and Katya’s sorrow rolls in waves. She’s held the girl so many times in their friendship, but they swore it would never be over a boy. And now Trixie is clinging to her like a liferaft in the ocean and Katya cannot help but pull her ashore.

Katya guides her over to the blanket she’d thrown on the warm grass, and they collapse onto its cushioning. Katya holds her until all her sobs muffle into croaks, and then there is silence.

They eventually roll onto their backs, Katya’s arm resting under the nape of Trixie’s neck, and although she’s losing feeling in her fingers - she wouldn’t move it for the world. The sun is warm, bright and even across their exposed stomachs in crop tops that Anna gave them when her chest grew too large. Katya’s hangs limply, but Trixie’s is stretching to her body and moves gently with each breath. Katya could watch the hypnotic movements until the sunset.

The river at the bottom of the verge babbles softly. There’s a heron in it, tall and proud and searching eagerly for fish. Its beak hooks into the water and it pulls out a flapping anchovy - or so Katya tells her, fingertips painting the words into the skyline.

Sometimes Trixie feels like the heron, but most days, she supposes, she is the anchovy. She is only fourteen, but life is harder than she thought it would be. Heartbreak hurts more. Making daisy chains with a lifelong friend soothes the pain a little.

i knew you hand under my sweatshirt baby, kiss it better, i

The rips in Katya’s Levi’s let the grass brush her calves. She longs to pull Trixie up, drag her around on the grass till they’re dancing, but the sun is starting to burn orange on the horizon line and Trixie’s mam has never been one for letting her off curfew.

She tugs the blonde up, sleepy and satiated - brushes a thumb along the redness of her under-eyes. Trixie adorns her with a flower crown and in the headiness of the sunset, Katya blushes.

The sky goes from naphthol red to quinacridone. Trixie swings their hands together as they take the long road home. Their path is shaded by the trees, and a breeze causes goosebumps to appear all up her arms, so she tugs her sweatshirt on, and Katya carefully pulls her hair out of the back for her. She whispers something, but it is lost to the whistling of the leaves.

Sometimes Katya wishes they could go back to playing pirates. They could be pirate wives and gallivant about the woods, waving their sticks up high and pretending that they could always go home to each other. It would be easier, she muses, easier than enduring school with girls who call her a dyke and a lesbo and tell her not to look at them in gym class, when, really, she gets ready facing the corner. Pirate wives would be fanciful, but lovely nonetheless.

The softness of their footsteps stops as they reach the path to Trixie’s. It’s gravely and it crunches underfoot, but the streetlights cast shadows that make Katya yearn to dance with Trixie once more.

She gives in this time, pulling the younger girl into her arms so they can mock-waltz, imagining the streetlamps as spotlights and maybe their friendship as something more.

Katya’s hand slips onto the fullness of Trixie’s hip again, her skin hot under her cold palm.

“You’re my favourite,” Katya whispers, lips brushing the flyaways from Trixie’s ponytail. She cannot see the blonde blush, but she squirms a little in Katya’s arms and it makes her smirk.

“And you’re mine.”

and when i felt like i was an old cardigan under someone’s bed you put me on and said i was your favorite

They kiss under that streetlight.

It may be the first, but it’s the sweetest and the quickest and the kindest too - lips brushing like a promise. Trixie can’t say what she’s promising, but she’s pretty sure she’d promise her life away just to taste cola off Katya’s tongue again.

a friend to all is a friend to none chase two girls, lose the one when you are young, they assume you know nothing

part four. deception

make sure nobody sees you leave hood over your head, keep your eyes down tell your friends you're out for a run you’ll be flushed when you return

Katya pads quietly along the line - her socks not quite keeping out the 3am chill. She’ll have to wait until she’s out of the door to put her worn converse back on - the squeak of the soles bound to wake the whole flat up. She resists the urge to skid - knowing she’ll hit the front door with a thud that Trixie will struggle to pretend is the wind. It’s a calm night.

She’s left Trixie in bed - the duvet twisted around her recumbent form like a snake. She wishes, for a second, to turn around and snuggle back into the warmth of Trixie’s side. To sling a leg back over the plush of her thigh and rest her head on Trixie’s chest.

Cuddling, she decides, is god’s divine creation. And so is Trixie.

She manages to avoid the creaking floor panel in front of Mama Mattel’s bedroom door, hugging the wall opposite just to make it out unscathed.

She locks the door with the key Trixie gifted to her over summer - pressed at a locksmith two towns over. Mr Lackerty in the village centre would have asked too many questions. Trixie paid for it with her allowance, stealing change from her Mama to take the bus there and back. She’d gifted it to her in a little shoebox stuffed with pulled-apart tissue. Katya has cried.

Slipping on her shoes in the hall outside, she sighs in both relief and sadness. She leaves quickly.

take the road less travelled by tell yourself you can always stop what started in beautiful rooms ends with meetings in parking lots

Trixie shifts on the wooden desks - hoping her skirt won’t be covered in chalk and graphite when she gets up. She’s watching Katya, dark eyes trained on crystalline green, and Katya smiles up at her before focusing back on her canvas. Her tongue pokes out when she does something she deems good, her eyebrows scrunching in concentration.

The art room is empty except for the two of them and by the silence of the corridor outside, lunch isn’t over just yet. They’re safe.

It’s like their own little sanctuary, Katya with her paints and Trixie with her Katya. She gently brushes the girl’s fringe back whenever it looks in danger of getting messy - there’s already a streak of pink across the bridge of her nose, but Trixie doubts she’s noticed.

She starts humming to herself, an old song that she’s heard through the walls of the flat, and Katya looks up at her.

“You should sing more Trix,” she tells her, ever so earnest.

“You think?” Trixie tucks her hair behind her ears, eyes twinkling at the compliment.

“I do,” she muses, turning back to the painting so she can put a final stroke in place before she tugs on the edge of Trixie’s skirt.

Trixie brushes a hand at her, hoping there won’t be painted fingerprints on the corduroy before coming to stand behind Katya. She wraps her hands around her waist and balances her chin on Katya’s shoulder before finally allowing her eyes to fall on the canvas.

It’s the river. Their river.

And they’re on the banks.

Together.

and that’s the thing about illicit affairs and clandestine meetings and longing stares

Trixie turns sixteen in February. Her birthday is celebrated by the world even if they don’t realise it, pink hearts adorning every establishment in town. She spends the day with Courtney, as Pearl is smoking weed with her boyfriend from city college. He’s a forty-minute bus ride away on a good day, but Pearl says the sex is good, and Trixie just blushes softly because she shouldn’t know what Pearl is talking about, but she does.

She’s okay with it, though, spending the day without Pearl. She and Courtney get smoothies from the 'healthy’ diner that Courtney’s been going on about and talk about boys, and Trixie makes up most of her opinions, but that’s okay.

She decides that she’ll be attracted to Mathew because he’s tall and he’s got the same cheekbones, as Katya so she can just talk about that. Courtney’s raving about this guy called Danny that she wants to be friends with (make out with), apparently he’s in a band and he sings, and that makes Courtney positively ravenous for him.

They part ways after Courtney gives her the charm bracelet she and Pearl bought. It’s silver and has a little heart charm on it, but Courtney tells her not to worry, they can buy more.

It jingles, but it’s not as comfortable as the woven friendship bracelets she and Katya made when they were eleven.

Katya meets her by the river and they walk through the woods hand in hand till they reach the clearing where she’s laid out a picnic blanket.

They lay on it together, looking up at the sky and holding hands through their gloves.

“We met here,” Katya ponders, as she allows herself to get lost in the smell of cherries on Trixie’s breath.

“Huh,” Trixie replies, placing a gentle kiss on Katya’s nose, “I guess we did.” A blush spreads across her cheekbones and she feels the heat in her chest as she remembers the past few years.

“You’re my favourite,” Katya tells her, a whisper in the wind.

“And you’re mine.”

it’s born from just one single glance but it dies and it dies and it dies a million little times

They go through a rough patch. They’re only seventeen, it’s their god-given right to, and they’re hiding a secret that’s burning them both, slowly, but surely.

Katya spends more time with Danny and his band, and Trixie spends more time with Courtney and Pearl and Gigi and her boyfriend, who transferred at the end of last year. He’s got a mullet, and it’s confusing, but apparently it’s in fashion, so Trixie doesn’t try to argue.

They drift apart a little bit. It’s the kind of drifting where Trixie stares at Katya across the corridor - watches a boy with eyeliner compliment her rings in front of their lockers. Katya stares at Trixie too - watches her when Courtney and Pearl aren’t around to call her a dyke, and maybe she’s still hurt that Trixie chooses to be their friend.

She wonders what would happen if they knew where Trixie’s proclivities lie.

She slips a note into her locker, telling Trixie to meet her in the art room, 6th period on Thursday. It’s bound to be empty, the rest of the school busy with summer term exams and home study. She tells herself that she’ll wait till then. She can wait.

Trixie looks nervous when they meet, she’s pulling at one of her nails - the glossy pink peeling off.

“You wanted to see me?” She asks, voice low and cautious, and it breaks a little part of Katya that she doesn’t even realise is shattering.

“I’ve missed you,” Katya responds, honest and raw. She’s twisting her fingers together too, subconsciously mirroring Trixie, or whatever Danny was trying to tell her about psychology. Trixie nods slowly.

“I’ve missed you too,” she agrees, gulping air like she’s drowning. The tension is sucking all the air out of the room, but she’s only just noticed it’s ugly form. She manages a smile, and it’s softer than she thought she could muster.

“I love you, you know?”

Katya frowns, and it makes Trixie back into the table she’s been stood in front of.

“I don’t think you do,” Katya says, and suddenly the silence feels like it’s been shattered.

“Wh-” Trixie stutters, feeling like the air has been sucker-punched out of her lungs leaving her winded.

“I don’t think you do,” Katya repeats plainly, her eyes suddenly emptier than Trixie’s ever seen them. She’s gripping the table behind her so hard that her knuckles have gone white - gathering all her resolve because she’s sure she’ll crumble if she lets go for a second.

“Who are you to tell me what I feel?”

“You don’t.”

“Just because you’ve decided you can’t accept it.” Trixie’s indignant now, she wants to scream and shout and yell, but most of all - she just wants to understand.

“You don’t love me,” Katya says again. “You say you do, but you can’t. This hasn’t meant anything to me.” It’s a lie. She watches Trixie crumble and then pick herself back up again all in the space of a few seconds.

“You know what, you can go fuck yourself.” She throws it out there and watches it detonate - the harshest words she’s ever said to Katya.

She turns to leave, inhaling deeply to try and keep the tears in her eyes instead of streaming down her face where they want to be.

“Dyke,” she mutters as the door slams.

She leaves, and Katya finally falls apart.

look at this godforsaken mess that you made me you showed me colours you know i can’t see with anyone else

[aleniksimmer]

Hello..I was meant to create an update post regarding everything in these days. The situation was starting to get better in general but then it crushed and I'm still trying to collect the pieces.

I wasn't able to post or answer cause things were already going shit. As you know, my cat was recovering from chest infection and sudden diarrhea due to the strong antibiotics, only in the last week we are letting her free to go in the garden during the day, but back in the cage at the evening. So that was going well. Then my cousin's dog that lives with us disappeared while he was out in the fields around our house to poop. My aunt and I spent hours walking around the fields at night with fog to look for him. Thankfully he was found by a person on the other side of the river (he walked a lot and was able to not be hit by cars) that contacted her vet who contacted the police due to privacy who contacted my cousin as soon as he was contacting them. We think he has been scared by some loud noises and ran away cause he was disoriented. On top of this my brother broke both of his elbows and needed a cast, now removed cause he is completely heal. That's why I was planning to update, everything was starting to going fine and I was finally able to finish Evelynn.

But then my dog started feeling sick. It looked like a stomachache as usual, she happened to have them during particularly cold days and throwing up during these times was normal. The first day she was feeling sick she was almost normal, she spent more time than usual in her dog house but she was coming out when called and she was eating normally. The second day she was even more inside her house and she looked a little sad, but again this was normal behavior if she was having a stomachache. In the evening she started to throw up, and again, it wasn't news for stomachache, but I still called the vet despite the hour. She said to remove the water and food and see if she's getting better in the morning. I swear I didn't saw blood in the discharge, just a lot of water and some pieces of food she ate. I was thinking it wasn't that bad, we can bring her to the vet in the afternoon, my cat lasted almost a week not being able to eat/drink or stand up, Mandorla was still responsive. She watched me as I was taking care of Ecliss and Stige, she even started looking a little less sad after I removed the water and she stopped throwing up. She was walking around, she was starting to accepting pets better, I petted her a lot, I examined her, I hugged her, I didn't expected to be the last one to stay with her. I thought we could go through this too. And then I woke up with the news she wasn't here anymore. The whole world crashed down. I spent the day in and out of consciousness, I don't remember what I did, I know I took care of my cats but the rest is just a blur, I just remember crying. My mother and brother took her to the vet hospital for the autopsy, they want to know what happened, both the old vet and Stige's one said she might have eaten rat poison, even if my dad assured me no one used it for a long time (we live near a ditch but she shouldn't be able to reach the trap, and I don't think she went near it lately). We're going to get the result Wednesday and I'm afraid, I already feel it's partially my fault, I should have immediately brought her to the vet despite everything, I don't know, I feel like I failed her if it was something preventable, I should have been more careful, I should have paid more attention. I didn't understand the gravity of it and it's eating me inside. My family is mourning on its own way, my mother can't stand me crying so yesterday I spent the day feeling numb and everything came back at night when everyone was sleeping, I fell asleep exhausted due to crying. She's already blaming Stige and me for what happened, even if it has been two months since their last contact. The mood was already tight and this event didn't help. Everyone is dealing with it by themselves and most of the interactions are rough. I guess we just need time passing. The hospital is going to give her back to us so we can properly bury her in our garden, I hope this is going to give everyone at least some peace.

About the update post I was going to make, I'll put it under the cut, if someone doesn't want to read about the situation, they can skip directly to this. Taking care of my cats and creating is the only thing that's able to dull the pain a little for now.

I also wanted to thank all the people who left a message on my last post and contacted me, thank you so much for caring ❤️ I'm not feeling ready for conversations yet, but remember I really appreciate your kind thoughts, they're helping me not feeling alone with my pain.

About my CCs, I published a cyborg chest tattoo the other day, and then finished Evelynn from K/DA popstars (years late). I fixed the dress, but didn't touched the fur or the necklaces because the distortion is caused by uv_1 (body mass sliders) and I don't feel confident enough to edit it better. I hope you're still going to like the set. About the hair, the fringe has the same clipping problems as EA one, so I don't see how I can make it better (I generally trust EA with their vertex and weight paints). I made the glasses without transparency cause in the game and in the MV they're like this (they're obviously floating as any EA glasses). For the hairpin I had to improvise a little cause there wasn't any clear reference in the MV nor in the official 3D model. In any case it's modeled to work with these hair. Now I just need to create the LODs for everything, adjust the maps, create the previews and I can upload it. In the meantime I looked at the new kda designs (baddest and all out). I won't considered the chroma cause first I didn't know what they were (I don't play lol) and second I would need to create a piece for each one due to the normal maps of the tops and I'm not really into it. I decided I would also give a try to the Prestige popstars even if I have to use just the low poly game models and the official art for reference (also, can anyone explain me why they changed Evelynn and Ahri ps prestige design? It's a sincere question, I don't know anything about lol). I also would like to add true damage to the mix but we'll see, I don't even know if I'll follow a specific order. About Seraphine I don't know, like, her design in More is the only one I'll consider but it doesn't inspire me that much, plus her hair would be hell to make them work in TS4. We'll see about this too I guess.

On a general note, I need to edit the names and the CAS thumbnails of Ahri set (and fix some things), so please re-download the set when I update it (I'll let you know).

I hope Ahri and Evelynn look part of the same thing, despite a lot of time passed between their creations. Poses by LucienSims.

About Miraculous, I made the inactive turtle miraculous some time ago, but I don't think I'm going to continue with their set right now due to the current situation. I'm afraid I'm going to ruin my experience, plus we are only having spoilers and you know I don't like it. I hope I'll come back when s4 will start (I still love miraculous, don't get me wrong, I just don't feel like investing in it right now, I'm sorry). On a more "positive" note, my love for kda came back, and villain concept video is giving me strength (I know it's weird, but I really need something to keep me "above the water" these times).

[daggerzine]

Matt Addison from Mythical Motors gives us the skinny on the band and their new record (Moon Pies, too!).

I first heard about Mythical Motors from a Facebook friend. Mike Brown and I became FB friends a several years ago and I noticed from his posts that he’s a huge music fan and then, seemingly out of the blue, he told me he was in a band in his hometown of Chattanooga, TN. Mythical Motors is the name and rocking out is their game (thank you ladies and gentlemen). I went to the band’s Bandcamp page and noticed they had a lot of releases out. I then became FB friends with the band’s main songwriter Matt Addison as I’ve continued to check out their stuff. Off the bat you’ll hear a Guided by Voices influences, but here’s lots of other stuff brewing under and over the band’s sound (I hear The Beatles, The Who, a touch of prog and as you’ll see below Addison is a fan of Wire!).

The band recently released its latest record, the terrific Leviathan Messiah (on Painted Blonde Tapes). It’s definitely my favorite by them. If you’re not familiar with the band give a listen and then you will become a (instant) fan because you folks all have great taste in music.  Read on, music fans!

When the set ends the rumble begins.  

  Were you born and raised in Tennessee?

 Yes, I was born in Nashville, but I've lived in Chattanooga for most of my life. 

Was there a record store in town that got you interested in music?

When I was in high school, a store opened up nearby called Chad's Records.  Some friends and I would walk there after school, and I remember buying "The Official Ironmen Rally Song" single by Guided By Voices and Pavement's "Pacific Trim" EP on the day of their release.  A lot of my GBV collection came from Chad's: Alien Lanes, BOX, etc.   

When did you first pick up the guitar? How about any other instruments?

I starting playing guitar and writing songs when I was 14.  As soon as I got a guitar, my brother and I immediately started playing and recording on a boom box.  He would sing and I would play guitar, and we took turns playing other instruments.  We had a small Casio keyboard (which I still occasionally use on our albums), various drums, and we would even bang on pots and pans.  We'd basically use whatever was lying around.  

Eventually, we graduated to recording on a cassette 4-track.  My Dad found one at a pawn shop that was old, but very well made.  He surprised us with it one day, and I never looked back.  I was hooked on recording.  

Was there any specific concert/gig that really was like a watershed moment that made you want to play music?

When I was 16, I saw Sebadoh play at the Masquerade in Atlanta.  The next year, I saw Guided By Voices at the same venue.  I had already started playing music by then, but those are the first two shows that had a big impact on me.  

Were you in any bands before Mythical Motors?

In high school, I would occasionally get together with a friend or two and play music, but it was never a full band.

However, our guitarist, Johnny Wingo, was in a band called The Value in the early '80's.  They were Chattanooga's first punk band.   

”A higher stage, please.” 

Where did you come up with the name, Mythical Motors? It’s got a nice ring to it.

When the band first started, we were called Heaven's Basement.  We soon discovered that there was already a British hair metal band with that name, so it was time for a name change.  I think we had a show already lined up at the time, so I had to think of something quickly.  I've been keeping a running list of song titles for a long time.  I found "Mythical Motors" on that list, and just went with that!   

Tell us about the beginnings of the band. Was it the early-mid 00’s?

In 2006, I met our drummer, Brad Smith, at the first ever Robert Pollard show at the 40 Watt Club in Athens, GA.  We played as a duo for a while, before adding Mike Brown on bass.  Johnny Wingo started playing guitar with us a few years later. Before Johnny joined the band, we went through several lineup changes.  At one point, we had Daryl Black playing with us on baritone guitar, and there was another lineup that included Hollie Stockman on cello.   

Tell us about the making of Leviathan Messiah. I know you played all of the instruments….is that the way it is on most records?

Most of our albums have a few full band songs mixed in with songs where I play all the instruments.  But, Leviathan Messiah is the 4th album that's just me.

Did the name Leviathan Messiah come to you in a dream? It’s a cool title.

Thanks!  I came up with the title while writing the song "Faceless At The Altar."  I think I had just watched the remake of Suspiria, which contains a great deal of evocative and horrific imagery.  So, I was attempting to convey those types of images lyrically.  

Big stage for a big sound. 

Recording-wise, how is Leviathan Messiah different than your previous record 2019’s This Is What the Twilight Zone Was Preparing Us For?

Recording-wise they're pretty similar, but I definitely took a different approach to the songwriting on those two albums.  I had written "Ring The Bells Burning" and "Twin Sun Trajectory" while working on This Is What The Twilight Zone Was Preparing Us For.  Those two songs were a bit longer and didn't seem to fit on that album, so I saved them for the next one, which became Leviathan Messiah.  I also included a pair of even older songs, "Liquid Mirror Measuring Cups" and "The Lifted Heart," which were left off of our album Elevated Levels. 

So, Leviathan Messiah basically evolved in a sort of collage-like way.  These longer, more fleshed out songs stood in stark contrast to the spontaneous and rapid fire nature of This Is What The Twilight Zone Was Preparing Us For.So, I decided to keep writing in that style for Leviathan Messiah, and eventually came up with the multi-part title track, which is one of my longest songs.  Ultimately, I would say the album is a bit of a departure from our previous releases, despite still sounding like Mythical Motors. 

Is Chattanooga a good place to be into independent/alternative music? Decent scene?

There's definitely a thriving punk scene in Chattanooga, and several great venues to play, including Sluggo's North, JJ's Bohemia, Barley, and The Spot.    

I ask everyone, what are your top 10 desert island discs?

Guided By Voices - Alien Lanes 

Neutral Milk Hotel - In The Aeroplane Over The Sea

The Magnetic Fields - 69 Love Songs 

Genesis - Selling England By The Pound

Superchunk - Tossing Seeds

Bevis Frond - North Circular

Ghost - Second Time Around

The Beatles - White Album

Wire - 154

Guided By Voices - Suitcase: Failed Experiments And Trashed Aircraft

The latest record: Leviathan Messiah 

What are some of your current favorite bands?

Lately, I've been listening to some of the other bands on Painted Blonde, the cassette label that released Leviathan Messiah. So far, I've heard great releases from Red Pants, Soda Pop, Be Cool Cowboy, and Pen Palindrome. 

I've also been really into the label Paisley Shirt Records, who have great releases from R.E. Seraphin, Portabella, Sad Eyed Beatniks, Hits, Quad Super Six, and many others.   

Didn’t you guys play one of the Athens Pop Fests? Tell us about that….sounds like a dream festival.

It definitely felt like a dream!  We were the first band that played on the first day, and I thought it went really well.  We became friends with a few of the bands that played that year, and have played shows with them in Chattanooga since then. It was an amazing experience, and I'm glad we got to be a part of it.   

When not on lockdown, do you tour much or is it mostly local shows/regional tours?

Since everyone in the band has commitments with family, work, and school, we've never actually done a full tour.  In fact, even though we've been a band for about 14 years, we've only played shows in Tennessee, Georgia, and Alabama.  Whenever the pandemic finally ends, I would love to get out more and finally do a short tour.  

RAWK 

What’s next…more recording?

Definitely!  I'm currently working on our next two albums, the first of which will be called Sleepwalking On Main Street.  Before the pandemic, we recorded 3 full band songs, which will be included on these albums.  I'm also planning to release a digital EP on Bandcamp tomorrow (June 19th) and any profit will be donated to Black Lives Matter.

Any final thoughts, closing comments …anything you wanted to mention that I didn’t ask?

I think that covers it!  Thanks again for doing this interview!   

BONUS QUESTION; Tell us something cool about Chattanooga that we might not know otherwise. 

Krystal and Moon Pies both started in Chattanooga, so I guess our junk food is well-renowned.  

 www.mythicalmotors.bandcamp.com

 www.paintedblonde.bandcamp.com

[bluesletter]

21 — Shop Around

“Disco pants and haircuts.”

If you move away from your hometown and stay gone, you eventually hit a point where you’re an ex-pat longer than you were there. As you go back less often, the losses — this one cool bar now bulldozed, some record shop replaced by condos — mount faster than you can keep up. While freeze-framing the mall chase to record the shop names Landis used to decorate the Dixie Square Mall for its destruction, I encountered forgottenchicago.com, a beautiful ad-hoc historical society with a now-defunct message board of old coots bemoaning the demise of their favorite pizza shops and places their parents used to take ‘em.

The forum is now its own graveyard of posts, wonderful slices like:

I have many fond memories of Rose Records. That was THE store to go to to find the record you wanted. They not only carried about the biggest selection of domestic records you could find in Chicago, they also carried a few imports, and that was sort of rare in those days. When I was a kid in the 'sixties, I would sometimes call up to see if they had a certain LP (and, because of my high voice back then, the salesperson would usually say "I'll check on that, ma'am"), and then have my dad, who worked nearby, go and pick it up.

It is for certain that they don’t make ‘em like they used to, but we’re also veering toward territory where they haven’t made em like they used to for so long, that there’ll be much, much less in physical space to reminisce about. A corporate-ass coffee shop or bar won’t ignite the memory, and students at my old college won’t laugh about the times they had at the Target that replaced the bowling alley.

It seems hypocritical to be saying this stuff about The Mall, the original shop-killer and commerce-consolidator, sucking the fun out of downtowns and spitting out a C- version in the suburbs. That said, THIS mall in THIS fictional movie is smack-full of old stores. Again, I presume the goal of the movie’s makers was to give love to Chicago/Midwest standbys—study closely and you’ll see some store signs are just cloth banners and fabric “signs.” Anyway, I already said I did you the great favor of cataloguing them. Here they are:

Toys “R” Us was like a trip to the moon when you were a kid. The greatest. I can’t imagine, oh, a brand in my adulthood affecting with the glee goddamn Toys “R” Us once did. Also, did you know that James Patterson wrote the jingle?

Gingiss Formalwear was a Chicago-based tux rental business that declared Chapter 11 in 2003 after an unsuccessful merger with something called Gary’s Tux shop. Here lies a dead business; from its ashes rises something named (abominably) BLK TUX. We live in the end times.

Bibgby & Kruthers was an upscale Chicago menswear shop that went belly-up in 2000 after 30 years. They notably used the exterior of their buildings to stage large (literally) traffic-stopping murals, including this one of Dennis Rodman (in the process of being whitewashed):

And this, featuring Michael Jordan, Dennis Farina, someone I don’t know, and Dennis Franz. It is the funniest thing I’ve ever seen in my life:

Margie’s Bridal appears to have gone out of business, I think. Hard to say if the existing Margie’s is the same Margie. Moving on.

Frank’s Drum Shop, RIP, is also celebrated vociferously on ForgottenChicago and a Google Group from 2000, where I found this gem:

I remember Frank's. How about John Mulvey's Chicago Drum Center or Bill

Crowden's Drums Limited. I used to go to Chicago Drum Center all the time. Guys like Elvin

Jones, Roy McCurdy, Roy Burns, Danny Seraphine, etc would walk in out of the

blue and hang out. It was awesome. The only real drum shops in the Chicago area

now are the Drum Pad in Palatine, IL. and Midwest Drum Center on the south end.

I get good deals at Guitar Center and Sam Ash, but it's not the same atmosphere.

Rose Records Chicago has met a similar fate. People in forums bemoan its departure. The hours spent browsing have not been replaced in our age with something better, only something else.

Fishmans Fabrics is still around. They sell fabrics. It’s been open damn 115 years though, which tells me there are some “& Sons” or “& Daughters” who had no choice but to get really interested in fabrics.

Brief Encounters appears to be an underwear (or lingerie, or both (there’s a difference)) store but if it’s the one on Yelp that closed in 2010, it’s because the underwear-shop owners were VERY RUDE.

Pier 1 Imports is still a thing, for which I have literally zero affection or understanding. How’s that for branding!

Baja Boats were some fast boats, clearly made by dickheads for dickheads. The company was sold to some other boat company. It’s boats; I don’t know much, except the super-fast ones are obviously for dickheads.

Jewel is a century-plus Chicago-founded grocery store chain, now owned by another chain, Albertsons.

Here are three stores that I’m not sure existed: Lemmy’s Red Hots, Hanson Burger, and Burt’s Shoes. If they did exist, the have gone the way of the dodo online. In trying to find simple pieces of information — who played on the Sam & Dave live show, was there a store called Burt’s Shoes — the internet sometimes turns out to be unhelpful, its legacy only extending really to the beginning of its lifespan. If you’re a catalogued historical fact, like the date a war started, yes, sure, the Internet has you covered too. 

But if you want to know about Frank’s Drums, you have to find a person talking about Frank’s Drums. There’s no reliable index of what places used to be, and plus, it wouldn’t really say what it used to be. Not in the way people (not data) can. That’s only happening in forums, and forums are nearly dead themselves. Or in bars. Or shops, which, well, now we’re back on the problem — Dixie Square Mall itself, abandoned at the time of shooting, bulldozed now, even in this movie is mostly now full of ghosts.

[jaygilbert-blog]

COFFEE TALK [with Tommy Thayer]

Q: What are a few of your favorite “industry moments?”

A: Gene Simmons wrote a song with Bob Dylan and I’m guessing it was around 1991. One day I got a call from Gene and he says, “Get a drummer and a keyboard player and meet me down at Cherokee Studios at 7pm tonight, we’re going to record a song I wrote with Bob Dylan.” I’m like wow, seriously? I brought my Les Paul and two acoustic guitars, a 6 and a 12-string that I borrowed from my buddy Marc Ferrari. I get there and sure enough in walks Bob Dylan and his girlfriend. Suddenly I’m thinking it’s Bob Dylan, the guy who influenced the Beatles and Jimi Hendrix, unreal. He says let me show you the chord changes and we proceed to pass the 12-string acoustic back and forth. It seemed like one of the most surreal thing I’ve ever experienced. He was quiet and eccentric but friendly. The thing that stood out to me more than anything was Gene. He won’t mind me saying this, but I’ve never seen Gene be anything but “I’m Gene Simmons and I’m the center of the universe,” but around Bob Dylan, he was like a kid just happy to be in the room. I do remember taking the strings off the 12-string the next day before I gave it back to Marc. I still have those strings. Q: If you were to make a playlist of the songs that are part of your DNA, the comfort food that you keep coming back to, that never fail to move and inspire you, what would those tracks be?

A: “Hide Your Love Away” “Eleanor Rigby” “Across the Universe” “Old Man” “The Rain Song” “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road” “Elected” “Brown Sugar” “Hell Bent For Leather” “White Punks On Dope” “Fire and Rain” “Starship Trooper” “Lido Shuffle” “Maybe I’m Amazed” “Dream Police” “Tequila Sunrise” ”Old School” “Bad Motor Scooter” “Do Ya” “Burn” “Baker Street” “Funeral For A Friend” “Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is” “Nowhere’s Too Far” “Tie Your Mother Down” “Lucky Man”

Q: Who is your mentor? Why?

A: My mentor is my dad. He’s been a leader in the military, in business and the community. Most importantly he’s my dad. He’s 95 now and has insight and instincts on most anything. As a US Army lieutenant he led a platoon through France, Germany and Austria in 1945. His unit had direct combat with SS troops and ended up discovering a Nazi death camp near Wels, Austria in May 1945. They liberated the camp and saved the lives of 15,000 Hungarian Jewish refugees. He was awarded the Silver Star and the Bronze Star for his combat valor. Years later my dad went to Austria on a tour of concentration camps organized by the U.S. Holocaust Council.  When he arrived at the Vienna airport a man approached him and said, “Are you James Thayer?” my dad said yes. The man said, “My name is Wolfe Finkelman, I was 14 years old and if you hadn’t arrived when you did, I would have been dead if you had come 24 hours later. You saved my life.” The man was a prisoner at the concentration camp that my dad’s platoon liberated. The $20M Brigadier General James B Thayer Oregon Military Museum is under construction near Portland as we speak. Gene, Paul and Eric have shown great support, as well as my friends Alice Cooper, Robby Krieger and Danny Seraphine for helping in the fundraising for the project. Like me, they’re proud of my dad and the men of the greatest generation. They don’t make ‘em like that anymore.

[berklee-boyer]

practice challenge 2

"Yes Berklee, yes!" my coach screams, giving me two thumbs up. I start smiling, I just nailed my first triple wolf on the beam. "Do it again," I prepare myself to do it again, I position my feet, concentrate and go. I nailed it again, "Berklee! Yes! This is your day!" he shouts. Molly is standing there next to coach, smiling and bouncing on her toes, giving me a thumbs up. I get off the beam and go to stand in line with the rest of my team. Practice was over and Molly wanted to celebrate our success today with ice cream.

"So, how are you feeling?" Molly asks me with an evil smile.

"I feel great, I finally landed that. Do you know how lon-"

She cuts me off, "no, stupid, about tonight, the Report." She says like it's the most obvious thing in the world.

"Oh, I don't know, I guess I'm excited." I lied, I had totally forgotten about it, "it'll be cool knowing who could be the future queen." I finished by shoving another bite in my mouth.

She looks disappointed, "really, no excitement at all?" I started thinking about it, I was starting to get nervous what happens if I do get selected. Molly looks at me, "it's okay, you'll be fine."

We got in the car and I dropped her off at her house, "good luck!" I shout to her as she is walking up her driveway. "You too!" she shouts back and blows an air kiss. I drove home and parked in the driveway. Walking into the house I see Poppy sitting at the door waiting for me. I kneel down to pet her, "Mom! Guess what!" I yell excitedly.

"What?" she asks sitting on the couch watching tv.

I plop down on the couch next to her, "I nailed the triple wolf, twice!"

"Really! Oh, my! That's amazing!" She looks at me giving me a super big grin.

"What's amazing?" Landon asks walking into the room.

"Me," Logan replies falling into dad's big recliner.

I just roll my eyes, "Nope, I nailed my triple wolf," the twins look at each other like I just spoke gibberish, "I can now spin on the beam three times," you could see the confusion leave their faces.

"Well that's cool," Logan says very unimpressed. I stick my tongue out at him, he does it right back.

It was 5 minutes until the report starts, the nerves start to kick in. What if I get selected? I know I won't, hundreds, thousands of girls in my province applied. What will happen? I snapped out of my thoughts when I heard the anthem play and saw Hyacinth Pierce's face on the screen. The Prince talked for a little bit but then Hyacinth Pierce started naming the selected. I'm sort of paying attention to who got selected but I'm also just waiting for Tammins. The provinces just keep going, Tammins is next…

"From Tammins, Lady Berklee Boyer,"

There was my face on the TV looking, back at me. "Oh my god," I say quietly.

"B!" Landon shouts.

"Berklee…" mom says looking at me shocked, I could tell by her expression that she was thinking a thousand things.

We kept watching the rest of the Report, I'm now wishing that I had paid better attention to the previous girls. I couldn’t stop thinking, I'm going to the palace. I'm going to meet the prince, the whole royal family. The Report finished and I went to my room, I couldn't sleep that night.

Molly and I are just chilling in my room when I get a message, "Hi, I'm Evadne. I just followed all the Selected's social media accounts, so yeah!!" "Molly! A selected just messaged me." I shouted quickly sitting upright.

"Which one?"

"Evadne Leventhorpe," I said calmly.

"I've heard that name before, well message her back!" Molly yells at me.

"What do I say?"

"Um, Hi, I'm Berklee…? I don't know." Molly says with a shrug.

"Wow, you are such a help." I roll my eyes and she just gives me a fake smile.

It was the day of send-off, I wore the dress code: white blouse, black pants, and a blue columbine, my province flower, in my hair. My hair was waved with the flower sitting on top of my ear. I didn't know what to expect after I got to the airport, I knew the plans of the send-off pretty well. There was a knock on the door, "Lady Berklee! Time to go!" I heard Earl, my royal helper, say.

"Okay, I'll be there in a sec," I yell back. I took a last look at my room before I felt, picked up my bag and left. I walked down the stairs to find my whole family there waiting for me. They were all dressed so nice. My parents looked so proud.

"Everyone hop in the cars now," Earl says, looking at his watch. "We have a 15-minute drive ahead of us." I get in the limo with the twins and my parents. I start shaking, I noticed and tried to hide it.

"B? How are you feeling?" Landon asks. This is the first time today someone has actually asked me and not told me that ‘you'll be fine'.

"I don't know, anxious, nervous, excited," I answered trying not to let my nerves show.

"Berklee, you got this. I know you're nervous, anyone would be. Just breathe." Mom says leaning over to give me a hug. We got there and I could hear and see some people already.

"Lady Berklee and family, follow me," Earl said helping me out of the car and leading us to the stage. I looked out and saw so many people, holding signs and screaming my name. They were all cheering for me, I was amazed. I waved and there were more cheers. So many people showed up to see me.

It was now the time I said goodbye, first it was to the twins, Landon was about ready to be in tears and gives me a hug, "B, I'll miss you so much."

"I'll miss you too bud," I respond, and let go of the hug, trying so hard to hold in the tears.

I look over to Logan, "Now you be nice to your brother," he rolls his eyes, "I'm serious," I give him the most serious face I could at that moment.

"I will," he answers blandly and goes for a hug, "I'll miss you," he whispers in my ears.

"I'll miss you too."

Next was dad, "Berklee, darling, you look beautiful. Now you have fun, okay? Be you, and try not to break anything." He laughs at his own comment.

"Okay, dad." I roll my eyes with a little chuckle. He leans in for a hug, "I love you." I tell him.

"Love you too, pumpkin." I wipe my tears that started to flow.

Mom was in tears, "Mom, thank you." I start crying, "make sure the boys don't kill each other, I'll call as much as I can. I love you."

"Please do. I love you." I give her the longest hug, tears falling down both of our faces. I wipe my face one last time, wave to the crowd and hop in the car. As we drive away I hear the cheers. I turn around to look out the back window and I can't see my family anymore. There is no backing out now.

When I arrived at the plane there were already two girls, I said a quick hi and sat on the opposite side of, who I think is Annelise, next to the window. Nobody was really talking so I just sat there fidgeting with my fingers and looking out the window when I noticed another girl had arrived, she had really light brown hair. I looked up and smiled. "Hey… may I sit?" she asked.

"Oh, yeah go ahead. Hi, I'm Berklee," I said as a way to introduce myself.

"I'm Charlotte," She seemed really sweet and someone I could befriend.

"Hi, I'm Annelise, but you can call me Anne. And I'm an actress and singer," she chimed in.

"Oh and I'm Felicity, I'm a two," she said quickly taking out one earbud just to put it back in.

Since Charlotte seemed sweet, I wanted to start a conversation, "so do you have any siblings?" Was the first question to pop in my head.

"Two, actually. Victoria and William. What about yourself?" Charlotte answered.

"I have two brothers, Landon and Logan. I wish I had a sister."

"Everyone says that until they get one, they can be a pain," she says with a laugh.

"Girl, I have 15 year old twin brothers, I know pain!" We both laugh, and continued talking until another girl joined.

"I'm Seraphine. Two," I could tell by the way she carried herself. She walked with power, then sat between Annelise and Felicity. Charlotte and I talked pretty much the rest of the flight. Sera and Annelise seemed to bond quickly and were having their own conversation. Felicity had her earbuds in and didn't seem to want to talk. The flight wasn't too long, but having a conversation definitely helped. We landed at the airport and got into cars. Driving up you could see the palace, it was so big and beautiful, I was awestruck. I'll be living there for a little bit, I couldn't believe it.

The hallways were even amazing, it's like they took a children's book and made it in real life. We were taken to the "Women's Room" to get makeovers.

"Lady Berklee," I heard a woman say behind me, I turn around, "Go over there," she pointed. I walked over to the makeup stand and was quickly greeted by a short woman named Denise.

"Hmm, what should we do? Well not very much, you’re very pretty,” Denise says, as I smile and blush a little, “I'm thinking hair extensions and a natural makeup look." "Sure, that works for me." Charlotte was seated next to me, so we chatted and laughed so more. "Lady Berklee, what do you think?" she asks as she hands me a mirror.

"Oh my gosh, I love it!" I exclaimed with a smile, I look back and Denise seems very pleased with herself. She quickly ran away and came back with a cute black and white short dress, "We designed this for you."

She hands it to me, "Wow, it's amazing!" I put on the dress and got my ‘after' picture taken.

I saw lots of groups of girls and didn't know where to go. I saw I smaller group of girls at I somewhat recognized and walked over there, "Hey, can I join you guys?" I ask kind of shyly.

"Yes totally! Hi, I'm Madelyn but you can call me Maddie," sang the brunette with a sweet voice.

"I'm Emmalyn but Emma is fine," said the girl with short dark brown hair.

"Hey! Berklee, right? With the chicken nugget crown?" that must be Fiona because she sent a letter asking for my favorite flower, but I said I prefer nuggets.

"Yup, that's me!" I laughed.

"Wait, a chicken nugget crown? That's so great!" Emma chuckled.

"Speaking of food, thank you for the sleepover invitation, Berklee." Said Debbie, I recognized her from a few of the magazines.

"Yes! I'm really excited! I bought pie!" Maddie cheered.

I smiled, "I'm excited that you're excited. I brought nuggs!" I told them laughing again.

"You seem to really love nuggets," Fiona mentions laughing.

"Well yeah, they are good," I said still laughing. So far I'm known as the girl that likes nuggets, what a way to be known. We continued talking but they were sent on a tour, but I said that I could stay behind and waited for the next group. 

"And over here we have the kitchen," says the tour guide.

"Gosh that pasta smells so good, I'm starving." mentions the girl next to me, "do you think they'd notice if I snuck in and stayed there the entire time?" she joked, I started laughing.

"I doubt it, but don't!" I quickly say before she decides to sneak in there.

"I'm Annette, by the way, it's a pleasure to meet you."

"I'm Berklee but you can call me Berk. I'm gonna to be honest, I'm going to forget your name so I'm going to call you pasta." We laugh but I know it's true.

"I'll settle for that, I love pasta. Hmm, I'll call you beaver." She declared so proudly. I realized that we should probably be paying attention to the tour because I know for sure that I'll get lost because the palace is so big. The tour finished up and it was time to get our rooms, the tour guide walked in front of each hallway and listed the girls that were in that hall. "Queen Amberly Hall: Lady Margarita, Lady Nina, Lady Jyn, Lady Annette, Lady Berklee, and Lady Evadne." Annette and I look at each other excited to find out that we are next to each other and walk to our rooms.

I wasn’t in the mood to stay in my room until dinner so I left to wander the palace some more, I chose the gardens. The gardens were really quiet and calming, I was wandering and then noticed a teeny head pop out from behind a bush. "Hello?" I ask.

"Who are you?" I hear a tiny voice ask me, It took me a quick second to realize it's Princess Callie.

"Oh hi. I'm Berklee. What are you doing?" I ask her.

"Oh! You're one of the selected girls. I'm hiding from my brother. He's trying to get to me to go inside and get ready for dinner." she mumbled.

I kneel down so we are at eye level. "Oooh, and which evil brother is doing this to you?" I asked her.

"Evan," she pouts, "he's always telling me what to do," she says very sadly.

"Hey, that's the only thing brothers know how to do," I tell her.

"Do you have brothers?"

"Two younger ones, I bet mine are worse than yours." I try to tell her to make her feel better.

"I'm pretty sure mine are worse. First, they're older, so they think they can boss me around. Second, they're princes, so that goes to their heads and makes them think they can do or say anything to anyone. Including me." She tells me, I could help but laugh.

"Okay fine you win." I still say laughing.

"Ha!" She yells.

"I have nothing to do right now, could I stay and hide?" I ask, hoping that I could stay out of the palace a little bit longer.

"Sure, sounds fun!" I move over to sit next to her.

"So what do you do at the palace all day?" I ask her just to start up some conversation.

"Usually I like running around the gardens but I do have lessons sometimes. What you like to do for fun?" she asks.

"I'm a gymnast. Do you know how to do a cartwheel?"

"I've never tried." she sighed.

"Here, I'll show you." I slide my heels off and do a cartwheel, "Wanna try?" I show her what do to, Callie tried and does an okay cartwheel. "Yeah! That was so good!" She gives me a high five and keeps trying with my help.

"Callie! There you are! I've been looking all over of you!" I heard a new voice come up behind us.

Callie looks at me. "Oh great," she sighs.

"Oh, uh, hi." I blurt.

"Hello, who are you?" Evan asks me.

"I'm Berklee," I replied quickly.

"Were you helping Callie hide from me?" He asks me with putting his hands on his hips.

"Of course, you were going to make her go to dinner" I responded with crossing my arms.

"Yes, it's important that she is there, come on." he waves towards Callie. But Callie just crosses her arms in rejection.

"Okay, fine," she looks towards me, "can we play again tomorrow?"

"If I have time, I have to meet your cousin tomorrow," I tell her.

"Oh yeah, what about after?"

"I'll ask, as soon as I know I'll call for you, okay?" I wink at her.

"Okay!" She cheers and walks off will Evan.

I pick up my heels and walk off in a different direction towards the palace. I almost made it to the main entrance to the palace when I saw another girl not too far ahead of me. "Hey! Wait up!" I yell doing a quick little run.

She turns around and notices me. "Oh, well hello there," she smiles, "Berk?"

I smile, "Yup! You're Jyn right?"

"The one and only, done with makeovers?" She asks.

"Yeah, you look really good!" I say with a smile.

"I considered making my hair shorter... but I'll let my purple tips last a little longer," she says touching the ends of her hair.

"I think it looks cute! Tomorrow have your dress go with it, that would be so cute."

"Hmm, I'll really have to think about it since we're meeting Dominos for the first time."

I start laughing, "Dominos?" We continue talking as we walk back to our rooms, "Wait, are you in the same hall as me?"

"Hmm, I'm across from Annette..."

"Really! I'm next to her in the middle." We arrive at our rooms and wave goodbye.

It was the night of the sleepover, Evadne and I were running around everywhere trying to get everything together. Girls starting arriving with their food, putting it on the table. Then Annette walks in, "I brought the booze and pizza!" she shouts. The night mostly consisted of Vad and I taking away alcohol from Annette, Fiona and Finley, truth or dare, and Percy coming to join.

[readsahmmoore]

A Dogged Love: Chapter 2

 “All you think of lately, is getting underneath me. All I dream of lately, is how to get ya underneath me…” Seraphin heard the alarm, distant at first, start to move her groggy body. And as with most mornings, she couldn’t help but shimmy with the catchy tune.

Her menagerie of animals roused around her, happy to see their human awake. “How are my babies this morning? Who’s needs to potty?” She asked the 4 smooshy faces staring at her. Their excitement increased at the mention of a word related to going outside. Swinging her legs out of bed, she sat up and gave each of her fur babies some love. But their smoochfest was interupted by her phone ringing on the table beside her.

Checking the screen, she saw the silly picture of her best friend from their last road trip appear. “Jaqlyn, what’s up?” “Unfortunately, me. How you get up this early is beyond me.” Jaqlyn replied. “It’s six fifteen. It’s not that early! And some of us actually have to work at staying in shape.” “Thank God I’m not some. Now, quit talking. If I hang up now, I can still sleep for another two hours…” “You called me!” Sera quipped. “M-kay. I need a ride. Please and thank you. I’ll be ready by eight forty–five. Goodnight.”

Hanging up, Sera shook her head at her best friend. Inseparable since their freshman year in college, the two were more different than alike, but understood each other eerily well and accepted each other wholeheartedly. “Your aunt is nutso, guys,” Sera told the herd watching her dress for her Crossfit class.      An hour and a half later, Sera returned home to four raucous dogs and one sprite-like cat, all of whom were ready breakfast.

After grabbing their food, she let them eat while she threw a quick bowl of oatmeal and a couple of strips of bacon together for herself. Sitting out on her porch, watching the pups frolick, she ate and checked her emails, preparing for the day. Scanning her inbox, her eyes caught site of a familiar, but totally unexpected name.

She froze. Sera fumbled trying to set down her mug of orange juice, slamming it against the lip of the table. Sticky juice sloshed everywhere, but her eyes never left her Ipad. Sera could vaguely make out the sound of Oliver barking his little Frenchie head off over the roaring of blood in her ears. Her heart pounded and her breathing ratcheted up a few notches–a reaction she noticed, but was unable to control. Sera’s mind erupted at a sprint, rapidly firing off questions: Is this for real? Is it really her? Why after all this time? Is she okay? How did she remember?

Sharp teeth on Sera’s toes snapped her back to the present and before she was conscious enough to stop it, Willow was off with her slipper and halfway across the yard. She stared, blankly, at Oliver’s little sister, the resident shoe thief and foot fetishist.

Forcing herself to take a couple of deep breaths, Sera looked from the taunting dog, back to her Ipad and focused on the From address: qconnelly@gmail.com. QConnely.

There was no mistaking it. She knew only one Q. Connely. And not many people used her old address which still forwarded to her current account. Sera mentally took a step back, ignoring the swell of conflicting emotions ravaging her insides to visualize them in pie chart form–one of her favorite ways to cope with overwhelming thoughts or decisions. Taking stock, she surmised she was about forty percent surprised and equal parts unnerved and elated. She wasn’t sure why, after all this time, Quinn would contact her. It had been years since they last spoke, and not a day had it been easy.

“Well, guys,” she said, looking at each of the dogs collapsed at her feet, “what do you think she wants?” Sera looked to Jaxyn, her oldest pup and confidant. “What do you think, Jaxy?” Coming to a stop in front of her master, Jaxyn politely put her paw up on Sera’s leg. Taking Jaxyn’s head in her hands, Sera kissed the dog square on her squishy, fuzzy lips. “Thanks for the support, Sweets. I love you, too.” Jaxyn’s nub wagged wildly and Sera looked from Jaxyn’s jovial grin to the email, letting her eyes fall on the title she glanced over before. “Pimento Cheese and Fish Sticks”. Sera inhaled sharply, oblivious to the startled dogs surrounding her, who teetered between excited and alarmed. Her eyes burned and her nose tingled, preparing for the tears.

The memory flashed into her mind, pulling at her, plowing into her like a bug into a windshield. Surrendering, Sera closed her eyes and let the memory of her first official date with Quinn wash over her.

A day that looked like a series of unfortunate events ended up becoming their Day of One Very Fortunate Event, as they’d later refer to it. Meeting under some of the most awkward circumstances, including a vet visit involving one exceptionally nervous dog stomach and a helicopter poop assault, it was immediately clear to Sera that there was an undeniable spark between them–though it wouldn’t be until after the visit that either of them would do anything about it. By the end of her shift that fateful day, Sera hadn’t been able to get Quinn off her mind. The way they’d laughed hysterically at the insanity of the situation made her smile. And the way Quinn insisted on helping clean up, while thoroughly apologizing showed her kindness and consideration.

Above all else, it was Quinn’s sympathy and compassion for poor nervous Baxter that touched Sera the most. Quinn never raised her voice or reprimanded the dog for his accident, like she saw so many other owners do. Instead, Quinn took a minute to rub Baxter’s stomach and murmur into his ear, calming him down, making sure he was alright.

It was that moment that later had Sera ignoring the rules when she looked up Quinn’s number in her chart. Using a concerned checkup on Baxter as reason for the call, Sera offered to bring something over to settle the pooch’s stomach. And the ploy worked.

Sera’s ringing phone yanked her from her reverie. She took a deep breath and checked the name on the screen. Seeing Jaq’s face she checked the time–already five minutes late and she wasn’t even dressed yet.

“Sorry! Two minutes and I’m on my way!” Sera shouted, answering the phone and just as quickly ending it with Jaq mid-sentence. Running through the house, Sera threw on clothes and grabbed her things. She was out the door in a minute and forty-seven seconds she noticed, when she punched Jaq’s speed dial.

“I’m around the corner, come out, I’ll slow down a little,” Sera teased. “Ha-ha. Your just lucky my boss happens to love me,” Jaq told her, sliding in to the passenger seat. “Not if you don’t bring him his coffee and donuts he won’t. I should know.” A smile came to Sera’s lips as she sped down the dirt road leading to her family’s ranch. “No kidding. Your dad still goes on and on about how his own daughter won’t indulge him after all he’s done raising you and keeping you alive all these years. And about how I’m the daughter he never had,” Jaq added, stealing a glance at Sera. “Hey, it’s not my fault you learned to ride a horse better than I did. You sure had enough practice with your endless stream of men.” “Don’t be jealous, you know I’ll still teach you,” Jaq added, leaning over the console, sliding her hand over Sera’s chest. Sera braked hard outside the barn, laughing as she swatted Jaq’s hand away. “You missed that boat a long time ago. Now get out of here before I tell your boss you’re trying to corrupt his little girl!”

Instead of getting out, Jaq turned to face her. “What’s going on?” she asked. Sera furrowed her brow, knowing she was caught. “What? What are you talking about?” Jaq knew her better than she knew herself. It wasn’t like she was keeping the email from Jaq but it wasn’t the right time. She hadn’t had any time to process how she felt about it and they both needed to get to work. “Seriously, Ms. If You’re On Time You’re Late?” Jaq rolled her eyes and reclicked the seatbelt she had taken off. Dropping her head back on the headrest, Sera sighed. “I got an email from Quinn this morning. Okay, thank you, goodbye.” Sera made a play for Jaq’s seatbelt. She was met with an arched eyebrow and hung her head. “Come on,” she whined. “I’m late. I’ll tell you all about it tonight.” She looked to Jaq to see if her placation worked and watched both her friend’s eyebrows shoot up. “Fine! If you get out of the car and let me go to work, I’ll forward you the email when I get a minute.” Sighing and feigning interest in her nails, Jaq didn’t budge. Sera looked around, exasperated. Moaning, she pulled out her phone and called up Quinn’s email, forwarding it to Jaq and showing her the screen. As soon as Jaq heard her phone’s email alert, she smiled brightly and climbed out of the car. “Thank you!” She said as she jogged into the barn.

Shaking her head, Sera threw her truck in reverse and peeled out on the white caliche. She had known Jaq for twenty-one years. They knew each other better than they knew their own sisters. She wasn’t sure why she thought she could sneak anything past her best friend. Jaq was the only one to tell her the truth when she ended things with Quinn. And hearing that Jaq thought she was making a mistake wasn’t the easiest thing, but she loved her for her honesty. Jaq had the balls to put words to what she already feared.

Flipping through the stations as she drove through town, Sera briefly heard a few notes she knew all too well. Notes she usually couldn’t forget fast enough. But this time, she switched back to the station they’d come from. Sitting at an intersection, she stared, unfocused and listened to the lyrics she still knew by heart.

‘…And I will swallow my pride. You’re the one that I love. And I’m saying goodbye… Say something, I’m giving up on you. I’m sorry that I couldn’t get to you. Anywhere, I would have followed you. Say something, I’m giving up on you…’ Say Something, by Ian Axel. Sera wasn’t sure if she appreciated him for writing a song that so aptly fit her break up with Quinn, or if she hated him for writing something that set such a gut-wrenching experience to music.

Without knowing how, Sera found herself parked behind her vet’s office, tears streaking her cheeks. She wasn’t sure when the song ended or how long she was sat there, but she was sure where her mind went. She couldn’t hear that song without thinking of Quinn, of the hurt in her eyes when Quinn pleaded with her to explain what was happening–when she begged Sera not to leave her. Part of her heart still ached just as deeply as it had the day she left Quinn, and all the days since. She knew time didn’t heal all wounds. Some wounds weren’t meant to heal. They were meant to remind you of something you weren’t supposed to forget.

When the back door to the office popped open, Sera swipped the tears from her face and gathered her things. Susan, the office manager, was looking for her and she didn’t want to talk about the tears she wanted to hide. Sera got out of the car and opened the back door, shuffling things around to buy time. “I’ll be right in, Susan!” She yelled. “My dad had a problem with one of the calfs this morning, so I got a late start!” She hated lying to Susan.

The woman was like a second mother to her, but sometimes white lies were easier than dealing with the truth. Sera heaved a sigh of relief when Susan waved and closed the door, leaving her to pull herself together. She knew she had to respond to Quinn’s email–not just for Quinn, but for herself. She knew she had waited long enough. If three years hadn’t lessened the pain surrounding her thoughts about Quinn, there was no point in ignoring her any longer. She deal with it tonight.

Distracting herself with work was a success. Sera had a few surgeries to keep her mind occupied in the morning, but now, back in her office a few minutes before lunch, she heard a faint tap at her door.

Looking up she saw Jaq holding a bag of take out and a warm smile. “Hey you, can I come in?” Jaq asked. ”Who’d you blow to get you here and don’t say my dad. Ooo and is that Antonio’s?” Sera asked, referring to the bag of food. “That stable boy John, and a wink was all it took. Of course it’s Antonio’s. What do you take me for?” Jaq said, slipping into the chair opposite Sera’s. Sera leaned back and sighed loudly, rubbing her hands over her face. “So, how are you?” Jaq kept her eyes on Sera while she separated and opened the food, sliding a steaming plate of lasagna over in front of her friend. “Shocked.” Jaq nodded. “I bet. Me, too.” She twirled a forkfull of noodles. “Are you going to respond? I think you should.” This time, it was Sera’s turn to nod. “Good!” Jaq exclaimed, reaching into another bag, bringing out a bottle of red wine. “I was hoping you’d see things my way, so I brought your favorite inhibition reducer.”      Sera smiled for the first time since she first read Quinn’s email that morning. “I love you, Jaq.” “I know you do. I love you, too. Now hurry up and eat. You’ve got to drive me back to work,” Jaq added, flashing a killer smile.

The whole drive home Sera thought about what she would say to Quinn. Why did it always seem so easy to think of what you want to say until it was time to actually say it? Moscato in hand, Sera headed into the house on a mission. She grabbed a wine glass, fired up her laptop and let the dogs out, determined not to lose her courage. She had chickened out all those years ago and ended things with Quinn. And it was Quinn who’d reached out here and there since then. Now it was time to step up and face the guilt.

Once the dogs were in and fed, she gave each of them some love and then tossed them all a bone before she curled up on the couch, downing an entire glass of wine. She brought up her email and re-read Quinn’s words, well into her second glass of wine. ‘…halfway around the world…’ The line stuck out this time around. Sera had heard, through friends, that about a year after they had ended things, Quinn joined the Army. But at the time, much like everything else she did with things involving Quinn, she blocked it out and only now began to realize what that meant. She must be deployed. Was she safe? When would she come home? Would she come home?

Sera’s mind reeled at the last thought. What if something happened to Quinn before she got to see her again? What if something happened before Quinn knew how she felt? With the possibilities of things she didn’t want to imagine swirling in her mind, Sera finished her glass and started typing.

[theaceofgays]

Welcome to Luna Nova!

A fanfic based off of @theneonflower‘s Future AU! Please look at these lovely babies here!

“Well,” Diana said, hands folded over one another behind her back. “We can accommodate you in some areas, but I’m afraid some regulations cannot be broken. They’re tradition, after all.” 

“Of course, Headmistress Cavendish!” Edlyn bowed. “I am most grateful for your hospitality and grace under this situation.”

Diana chuckled and smiled softly. “Yes, well, it might be a strange situation, indeed. But I like to think Luna Nova accepts students of all walks of life. Rich, poor...” She motioned to Edlyn. “Binary or not. You are the first step towards integrating co-ed, which might be seen in the future when the world catches up to the magic around it.”

“Happy to help,” Ed replied. “My mother graduated from this school and she was so proud of the fact that I’d been accepted. I’m grateful that you took a chance on me.”

“You’re a fine young student,” Diana said, offering them the school uniform. “I’m sure that if all goes well, we will be seeing more students like you in Luna Nova’s future.” Edlyn accepted the uniform and tucked it under their arm. “Thank you, Madam. I hope I can fit in well and make friends.”

“Speaking of,” Diana straightened up. “Would you care to see your dorm? I’m sure your roommates will be eager to meet you.”

Another semester in the penthouse, so it would seem. Allisandra set her old beaten suitcases down on the bed. Her roommate last semester hadn’t spoken much at all, and Alli was fine with that. She’d grown up with a large, loud family, eight siblings in all, and twelve cousins. Not that anyone was counting. She was lucky to get some peace and quiet, even though her standing with Seraphine had a rocky start. How they ended up in the Arcturus Forest, Allisandra would never know, but she accepted it as a form of luck that they’d become roommates after. It meant she had had an entire semester to make it up to Seraphine. And she had, to some extent. At least the silence between them wasn’t awkward anymore.

The knock on the door startled her more than anything. It was the afternoon on their first day back. No one had been expected for dinner until 7 PM and it was barely 5:30. Before she or Seraphine could answer, the door swung open. Obviously the knock was just a common courtesy.

“Here we are. This is your room, Edlyn. Greet your new Roommates. Allisandra Machi and Seraphine Grimassi. Girls, this is Edlyn Valiente. The first openly Non-Binary student in Luna Nova’s history. Please welcome them to our fine Academy.”

“Salut~” Eddy grinned holding out their hand. “I hope we can all get along marvelously.”

Allisandra stepped across the room and shook Edlyn’s hand. “Same here, I’m Alli.”

“S-Seraphine...” Sera was hesitant to cross the room, and more hesitant to take Edlyn’s hand when it was offered to her.

During this moment of hesitation, Edlyn hugged their two teammates. “Great! I’m so excited!”

Diana smiled apologetically as she caught Seraphine’s eye and closed the door. It might be a long semester but she had faith in the three of them. Or- at least in Seraphine.

After Edlyn released the two of them, they turned to look around the room. “Woah. This place is nice and roomy, not at all what I was expecting. Maman said that it would be cramped.”

Allisandra shrugged. “This place is huge. But then again, I had a barn attic to share with two of my sisters.”

Edlyn looked disturbed at the thought of living in a barn. “What kinds of animals were in the barn?”

“Rats, mostly.” Allisandra said, plopping down on her bed. “But not that bad, honestly. We had a couple horses named Adios and Amigo. Ironically, Adios was the friendly one who never left your side and Amigo spat on people and quite frequently roamed a little too far for comfort some times. We used to have cattle but thems too much work. Instead we got a goat named “Nina” but she only gives milk to my mother.”

Seraphine seemed to be a little more invested now that the subject was on animals. “We have a pony. Her name is Tesorina. I got her for my 10th birthday. Mom wanted me to train her to be a show pony, but she didn’t have the ability to jump high. I had to beg her to let me keep her. We also have five dogs, a parrot, and a few other animals, but the big cats don’t stay often because they try to eat Arcobaleno.”

“You named your parrot ‘Rainbow’? That’s adorable~” Eddy sang, causing Seraphine to look away. This instantly made Edlyn want to make sure Sera knew they weren’t poking fun. “My cat’s name is Earl Grey, because he likes to drink tea and he’s a grey and white cat.”

Alli giggled. “I wish I had a cat. They’re so fluffy.”

“Well I have a cat, a spider named Eek, a snake named Boo, a dog named Bones, and a frog named Bugga. Though Earl Grey is Maman’s cat. She’s had him since my dad left us. But the rest are mine!” Eddy crossed their arms proudly.

For the first time since Eddy arrived, Sera smiled, if only for a second. They were going to get along just fine.

[totalfanfreak]

One of Three - Chapter 3

One of Three

Chapter Three – How the Braid Unraveled

 They gave her directions to the restaurant, she could tell when she pulled up on the graveled lot that it was cozy, like a diner, a place where people went where they could get home cooking when they couldn’t get it at their actual home. She kept in a smile. It screamed a place for single men. The place was very busy inside, boisterous noises around the island to the bar, several of the men screaming at the television as whatever sport played on it. She continued to look around as the boys went to talk to the hostess at the podium, she could tell this wasn’t their first time here as they leant over the table with ease, talking to the girl who shoved them playfully as she laughed at whatever they said. They didn’t seem to have a problem with talking to people, comfortable and in their element when it came to chatting with whoever came in their path.

I used to be like that.

She had, she had been very in tune with people. Now she could hardly look at someone without thinking they had a hidden agenda against her. She looked back up seeing them turn to her, and the girl beamed at her too, until she saw Shepherd. It was second nature to her to bring him everywhere, and since she had stuck to only a choice few places to go those people had gotten used to seeing the dog by her side. Pulling up her purse, she began searching for her wallet, skimming through for the little ID card. She could hear the boys saying something to her, but she thrust the card at the girl, her hand shaking with nerves and a bit of shame. The girl’s eyes drifted to the card, her eyes widening with realization.

“Oh, oh, okay ma’am, come this way to be seated.”

She hiked her purse strap back up on her shoulder, she followed the girl, keeping her head tilted to the floor so the boys couldn’t catch her eye. They were placed in a booth near the window, and she took a place near the edge seat, facing towards the outside. They were still focused on her, but she felt herself relax, their laid back demeanor calming her.

“Care if we smoke, lass? Know this one didn’t think ta ask beforehand, but don’t wanta ruin yer appetite.”

She smiled, shaking her head. “I don’t mind, appreciate you asking though.”

Gif by memoriesinatrunk

They pulled the ashtray between them, both lighting up simultaneously. She kind of felt the urge to clap at that. Casting a look at her, Connor waved his hand to disperse the smoke that was wandering towards her.

“I’m fine, really.”

He nodded. “Hope I don’t offend ye, but yer not blind are ya, lass?”

She grinned. “I hope the DMV isn’t giving the blind licenses now. No…I’m epileptic. It’s not a big deal or anything. But since I developed it I always had a service dog with me, and I’ve gotten used to it. I like having Shep with me.”

Murphy nodded, his eyes tender. “Can tell he’s a good one, we weren’t meaning anyting by it, we’re just curious. So how long you had ‘im?”

She petted Shep, his head sitting on the vinyl seat. “Ten years, give or take a few months. He’s been a good friend.”

“He protect ye well?”

She looked through the smoke at Connor. “He does. Though I’m pretty good at taking care of myself.”

The question had thrown her off, making her suspicious again. Why would someone need to know if the dog guarded her or not. But the chuckle that came with her answer released her tension.

“That’s good, all the shit happenin’ the last few months, a girl needs ta protect herself. Would it bother ye if we asked how you…err?”

The way he gestured and the shame in his eyes, she knew Connor was wondering about her ailment.

She shrugged. “It’s okay, I don’t mind talking about it. It’s just the looks you get with it, I don’t like people to feel nervous around me, definitely not sorry for me. But it happened when I was about five we were staying at my grandparents’ house for the summer. Their house was by a lake, and we stayed by the water a lot. One day, I’m not even sure what my parents were doing but my brother and sister and I decided to play on the dock since the tide had rose. We kept seeing who could get in the most without leaving the dock. Well, my luck I fell in face first, and sunk like a rock, I ended up tangled up in some rope, and when I didn’t rise up my sister got my parents while my brother jumped in after me. He got me loose, but the lack of oxygen for so long it rewired my brain you could say and I started having seizures. But like I said I manage.”

She inhaled looking back up at them, and was a bit startled that there was no pity in their eyes but something of nostalgia, affection.

“Good ya had yer brother and sister, saved ye. Been a sad day if we didn’t get ta meetcha.”

She snorted making their smiles expand to grins. And she noted that they were the same as well. Yes, their looks were different, but the mannerism of it. The way their lips slowly parted spreading until all their teeth showed like a kid on their birthday, eyes lighting up as they crinkled on the sides. Happiness taking over their whole face. It was wonderful, and faltering.

Murphy flicked his ashes before pinning his gaze back on her. “Connor says you’re a triplet, yer brother and sister named after angle hierarchy as well?”

“Told ye, they’re named fer jewels. Ye never damn listen.”

“I fuckin’ listen, ye didn’t say nothin’ bout it.”

“Did so.”

“Níl tú nach raibh fucking. Tá sé tú ag iarraidh a dhéanamh dom breathnú cosúil le asal.”

(No you fucking didn't. It's you trying to make me look like an ass.)

“I don’t think you’re an ass.”

Murphy looked startled a minute while Connor chuckled. “Already forgot ye can understand us.”

“So what gems were you named after then?”

She smiled. “My mom was a gemologist, so she studied the uses and everything for all the jewels…it was actually supposed to be me and my brother so she had to come up on the spot for my sister, but Selene and Seraphine for Selenite and Seraphinite. Both gems were said to be used to communicate with angels, our poor brother got the worst of it though. He was named Sapphire, which was supposed to symbolize heaven and devotion to God.”

Both boys had started cackling before she finished and she couldn’t help but join them.

“Feel sorry for yer brother, how the hell yer ma could do that to him?”

She shrugged. “She thought it was unique. But when we were old enough he quickly shortened it to Sapph, and anyone who called him otherwise was likely to get beaten up for it.”

“Except yer ma and you girls?”

“Meh, mom and Selene were fine, but Sapp and me fight all the time. In case you thought I was demented it’s why I smile when you two go at it, I know it’s not anything mean or personal just something you do. It’s like a hug but with open hand slaps.”

They laughed again, nodding in agreement.

She grinned, her eyes then catching the smoke rings coming from Murphy’s mouth. “Oh, that’s neat.”

Gif by Katieshox

She let her finger poke through, changing the ring’s shape.

“All in de tongue, love.”

“All I can do with mine is roll my rs’s and make one of those clover things.”

Their brows lifted at that. “Well show us lass, we could use some good luck.”

She chortled shaking her head, glad to see the waitress coming. Giving their orders Connor ducked under the table before looking back at her.

“Ain’tcha goin’ to order for the pooch?”

“Oh, no, he’ll get his dinner when we get home.”

“Aww, come now, love, yer the one that said he’s why ye fetched me. He deserves a reward don’tcha think?”

She looked to Murphy who shrugged. “Told ye lass, I would’ve let him drown out there, though it’d be wrong to make him watch us eat with nothin’ for him.”

Lucky for her the place had hard boiled eggs so she got two for Shep as they settled down with their drinks.

“So ye ma works with gems and such, so what’s yer da do?”

So they hadn’t caught the past tense in her sentence. And her dad…she didn’t really want to talk about him at the moment.

“Oh, no, that’s enough about me. You boys tell me something about you, besides being too manly for umbrellas and having a knack for languages.”

Snubbing out the cigarette, Connor leaned closer to her. “Aye, and what would ye like to know lass?”

She shrugged. “Anything I guess, have you always lived in Boston? Do you like what you do? What’s your favorite thing to do? Anything.”

Murphy answered then. “Connor and I moved here around seven years ago, left Ireland with what we could carry on our backs.”

“Why’d you come here? Was there something you wanted to do or…?”

They both shrugged. “Seemed like what was right fer us. The American dream and all that, wanted ta see what the fuss was about over here. Knew Boston was full of the Irish so best settled down here, right? Got offered the job at the plant, make enough money to get a good place ta live and some to send off to our ma. S’good enough.”

Her stare softened. “That’s sweet that you take care of your mom like that. So you do like it here? Does it feel like home?”

Connor rubbed his face in thought. “Well now, don’t know how ta exactly explain that, nothin’s quite like Ireland, but yeah, it’s home…I guess anywhere is, ya know?”

She did know. She knew exactly. “Because you have each other, that’s what makes it home.”

They turned to each other before back to her, astonished glee in their eyes.

They answered her at the same time. “Exactly.”

She took a sip of her water before nodding. “I get it. I wish I could be with my brother and sister right now.”

“Why aren’tcha lass?”

She gulped on that, various emotions setting in.

Because I can’t.

She fiddled with the napkin ring, Shep feeling her discontent whimper as she patted him.

“I –“

Their food was brought over then, and she was glad not to have answered. Making herself busy by cutting up the egg for Shep before twiddling potatoes around her own plate. They were still waiting on her, expectant, their faces clear of judgement encouraging her to answer.

She pursed her lips, voice low to keep the trembling out. “We lost her, Selene, about a year and a half ago. We couldn’t protect her, and after a while Sapph thought he couldn’t protect me so he went on his own. I still hear from him but not as much as I’d like. I miss him. I miss them both.”

Every minute of every day I miss them.

It was quiet, and she started to look up when she felt herself surrounded on both sides. Her breath hitched when two pairs of arms wove around her. She lurched, surprised by so much contact, and yet so comforted, the familiarity welcomed.

Her ear was warmed by Murphy’s voice. “Couldn’t imagine goin’ through anything like that lass, you’re a brave one, no doubt on that. I might get aggravated by the stupid shit but I don’t know how I’d cope without him. Ye shouldn’t be alone though. And if ye need somebody…”

Her heart hammered, the fullness being too much. She wasn’t sure what they were offering to her, wasn’t sure if she even wanted anything from two people she just met, but she didn’t want to let go yet to be undone for so long, now being woven again, it felt joyous and torturous at the same time. Before long they pulled away, the warmth diminishing and giving her the chance to breathe again.

Licking her lips she looked at her plate. “Thank you.”

She sighed, not knowing why her hands wandered to her bag, Selene’s bag. Her hand clutching around a gaudy keychain that held a picture of them in it, she handed it to the boys. It was an unflattering picture of her, her face scrunched up with uninhibited laughter lying on her back with Selene collapsed on top of her with her own giggles, Sapph was next to them knees drawn up wanting to be angry but laughing in exasperation. She couldn’t remember how they had gotten in the exact position but Sapph had been dumb, putting his new cell phone in his back pocket and unaware, had fallen back to sit somewhere cracking the screen to pieces. All that money wasted her and Selene poked fun at him, the result being this, a friend taking the photo when they weren’t paying attention. Always the best pictures, the ones when you’re too caught up in the moment to care about everything else.

“I know we don’t look too much alike.”

They didn’t, but they did. Of course they weren’t identical, triplets hardly were, but they had similar features. They all had auburn hair from their mom, though Sera’s was the darkest borderline chestnut, Selene’s near a strawberry blonde and Sapph’s somewhere in the middle. They all had hazel eyes, courtesy of their father, green overtaking with hints of a golden brown surrounding it. Her and Selene looked more alike, both having something akin to cherub cheeks while Sapph’s had diminished as he grew older the cheekbones more prominent.

“Now, that’s a lie love, all three of ye have the same secret smile going there. Like ye have something ta tell but you ain’t goin’ to.”

She felt bad when they left, like she had put them out and through the ringer. She was glad to not go into too much detail on things but it was still enough to be off putting. Dropping them off at what she thought was a warehouse though they had assured her they lived there, they had both given her a tight hug and a kiss on the cheek and she was sad and a little glad she wouldn’t be seeing them again.

[buttholesareforlosers]

practice challenge 2

"Yes Berklee, yes!" my coach screams giving me two thumbs up. I start smiling, I just nailed my first triple wolf on the beam. "Do it again," I prepare myself to do it again, I position my feet, concentrate and go. I nailed it again, "Berklee! Yes! This is your day!" he screams. Molly is standing there next coach, smiling and bouncing on her toes giving me a thumb up. I get off the beam and go to stand in line with the rest of my team. Practice was over and Molly wanted to celebrate our success today with ice cream.

"So, how are you feeling?" Molly asks me was an evil smile.

"I feel great, I finally landed that. Do you know how lon-"

She cuts me off, "no stupid about tonight, the report." She says like it's the most obvious thing in the world.

"Oh, I don't know, I guess I'm excited." I lied I had totally forgotten about it, "it'll be cool knowing who could be the future queen." I finished by shoving another bite in my mouth.

She looks disappointed, "really, no excitement at all?" I started thinking about it, I was starting to get nervous what happens if I do get selected. Molly looks at me, "it's okay, you'll be fine."

We got in the car and I dropped her off at her house, "good luck!" I shout to her as she is walking up her driveway. "You too!" she shouts back and blows an air kiss. I drove home and parked in the driveway. Walking into the house I see Posie sitting at the door waiting for me. I kneel down to pet her, "Mom! Guess what!" I yell excitedly.

"What?" she asks sitting on the couch watching tv.

I plop down on the couch next to her, "I nailed the triple wolf, twice!"

"Really! Oh, my! That's amazing!" She looks at me giving me a super big grin.

"What's amazing?" Landon asks walking into the room.

"Me," Logan replies falling into dad's big recliner.

I just roll my eyes, "Nope, I nailed my triple wolf," the twins look at each other like I just spoke gibberish, "I can now spin on the beam three times," you could see the confusion leave their faces.

"Well that's cool," Logan says very unimpressed. I stick my tongue out at him, he does it right back.

It was 5 minutes until the report starts, the nerves start to kick in. What if I get selected? I know I won't, hundreds, thousands of girls in my province applied. What will happen? I snapped out of my thoughts when I heard the anthem play and saw Hyacinth Pierce's face on the screen. The Prince talked for a little bit but then Hyacinth Pierce started naming the selected. I'm sort of paying attention to who got selected but I'm also just waiting for Tammins. The provinces just keep going, Tammins is next…

"From Tammins, Lady Berklee Boyer,"

There was my face on the TV looking, back at me. "Oh my god," I say quietly.

"B!" Landon shouts.

"Berklee…" mom says looking at me shocked, I could tell by her expression that she was thinking a thousand things.

We kept watching the rest of the report, I'm now wishing that I had paid better attention to the pervious girls. I couldn’t stop thinking, I'm going to the palace. I'm going to meet the prince, the whole royal family. The report finished and I went to my room, I couldn't sleep that night.

Molly and I are just chilling in my room when I get a message, "Hi, I'm Evadne. I just followed all the Selected's social media accounts, so yeah!!"  "Molly! A selected just messaged me." I shouted quickly sitting upright.

"Which one?"

"Evadne Leventhrope," I said calmly.

"I've heard that name before, well message her back!" Molly yells at me.

"What do I say?"

"Um, Hi, I'm Berklee…? I don't know." Molly says with a shrug.

"Wow, you are such a help." I roll my eyes and she just gives me a fake smile.

It was the day of send-off, I wore the dress code: white blouse, black pants, and a blue columbine, my province flower, in my hair. My hair was waved with the flower sitting on top of my ear. I didn't know what to expect after I got to the airport, I knew the plans of the send-off pretty well. There was a knock on the door, "Lady Berklee! Time to go!" I heard Earl, my royal helper, say.

"Okay, I'll be there in a sec," I yell back. I took a last look at my room before I felt, picked up my bag and left. I walked down the stairs to find my whole family there waiting for me. They were all dressed so nice. My parents looked so proud.

"Everyone hop in the cars now," Earl says, looking at his watch. "We have a 15-minute drive ahead of us." I get in the limo with the twins and my parents. I start shaking, I noticed and tried to hide it.

"B? How are you feeling?" Landon asks. (This is the first time today someone has actually asked me and not told me that ‘you'll be fine'.)??

"I don't know, anxious, nervous, excited," I answered trying not to let my nerves show.

"Berklee, you got this. I know you're nervous, anyone would be. Just breathe." Mom says leaning over to give me a hug. We got there and I could hear and see some people already.

"Lady Berklee and family follow me," Earl said helping me out of the car and leading us to the stage. I looked out and saw so many people, holding signs and screaming my name. They were all cheering for me, I was amazed. I waved and there were more cheers. So many people showed up to see me.

It was now the time I said goodbye, first it was to the twins, Landon was about ready to be in tears and gives me a hug, "B, I'll miss you so much."

"I'll miss you too bud," I respond, and let go of the hug, trying so hard to hold in the tears.

I look over to Logan, "Now you be nice to your brother," he rolls his eyes, "I'm serious," I give him the most serious face I could at that moment.

"I will," he answers blandly and goes for a hug, "I'll miss you," he whispers in my ears.

"I'll miss you too."

Next was dad, "Berklee, darling, you look beautiful. Now you have fun, okay? Be you, and try not to break anything." He laughs at his own comment.

"Okay, dad." I roll my eyes with a little chuckle. He leans in for a hug, "I love you." I tell him.

"Love you too, pumpkin." I wipe my tears that started to flow.

Mom was in tears, "Mom, thank you." I start crying, "make sure the boys don't kill each other, I'll call as much as I can. I love you."

"Please do. I love you." I give her the longest hug, tears falling down both of our faces. I wipe my face one last time, wave to the crowd and hop in the car. As we drive away I hear the cheers. I turn around to look out the back window and I can't see my family anymore. There is no backing out now.

When I arrived at the plane there were already two girls, I said a quick hi and sat on the opposite side of, who I think is Annelise, next to the window. Nobody was really talking so I just sat there fidgeting with my fingers and looking out the window when I noticed another girl had arrived, she had really light brown hair. I looked up and smiled. "Hey… may I sit?" she asked.

"Oh, yeah go ahead. Hi, I'm Berklee," I said as a way to introduce myself.

"I'm Charlotte," She seems really sweet and someone I could befriend.

"Hi, I'm Annelise, but you can call me Anne. And I'm an actress and singer," she chimed in.

"Oh and I'm Felicity, I'm a two," she said quickly taking out one earbud just to put it back in.

Since Charlotte seemed sweet I wanted to start a conversation, "so do you have any siblings?" Was the first question to pop in my head.

"Two, actually. Victoria and William. What about yourself?" Charlotte answered.

"I have two brothers, Landon and Logan. I wish I had a sister."

"Everyone says that until they get one, they can be a pain," she says with a laugh.

"Girl, I have 15 year old twin brothers, I know pain!" We both laugh, and continued talking until another girl joined.

"I'm Seraphine. Two," I could tell by the way she carried herself. She walked with power, then sat between Annelise and Felicity. Charlotte and I talked pretty much the rest of the flight. Sera and Annelise seemed to bond quickly and were having their own conversation. Felicity had her earbuds in and didn't seem to want to talk. The flight wasn't too long, but having a conversation definitely helped. We landed at the airport and got into cars. Driving up you could see the palace, it was so big and beautiful, I was awestruck. I'll be living there for a little bit, I couldn't believe it.

The hallways were even amazing, it's like they took a children's book and made it in real life. We were taken to the "Women's Room" to get makeovers.

"Lady Berklee," I heard a woman say behind me, I turn around, "Go over there," she pointed. I walked over to the make-up stand and was quickly greeted by a short woman named Denise.

"Hmm, what should we do? Well not very much, you’re very pretty,” Denise says, as I smile and blush a little, “I'm thinking hair extensions and a natural makeup look." "Sure, that works for me." Charlotte was seated next to me, so we chatted and laughed so more. "Lady Berklee, what do you think?" she asks as she hands me a mirror.

"Oh my gosh, I love it!" I exclaimed with a smile, I look back and Denise seems very pleased with herself. She quickly ran away and came back with a cute black and white short dress, "We designed this for you."

She hands it to me, "Wow, it's amazing!" I put on the dress and got my ‘after' picture taken.

I saw lots of groups of girls and didn't know where to go. I saw I smaller group of girls at I somewhat recognized and walked over there, "Hey, can I join you guys?" I ask kind of shyly.

"Yes totally! Hi, I'm Madelyn but you can call me Maddie," sang the brunette with a sweet voice.

"I'm Emmalyn but Emma is fine," said the girl with short dark brown hair.

"Hey! Berklee, right? With the chicken nugget crown?" that must be Fiona because she sent a letter asking for my favorite flower, but I said I prefer nuggets.

"Yup, that's me!" I laughed.

"Wait, a chicken nugget crown? That's so great!" Emma chuckled.

"Speaking of food, thank you for the sleepover invitation, Berklee." Said Debbie, I recognized her from a few of the magazines.

"Yes! I'm really excited! I bought pie!" Maddie cheered.

I smiled, "I'm excited that you're excited. I brought nuggs!" I told them laughing again.

"You seem to really love nuggets," Fiona mentions laughing.

"Well yeah, they are good," I said still laughing. So far I'm known as the girl that likes nuggets, what a way to be known. We continued talking but they were sent on a tour, but I said that I could stay behind and waited for the next group.  

"And over here we have the kitchen," says the tour guide.

"Gosh that pasta smells so good, I'm starving." mentions the girl next to me, "do you think they'd notice if I snuck in and stayed there the entire time?" she joked, I started laughing.

"I doubt it, but don't!" I quickly say before she decides to sneak in there.

"I'm Annette, by the way, it's a pleasure to meet you."

"I'm Berklee but you can call me Berk. I'm gonna to be honest, I'm going to forget your name so I'm going to call you pasta." We laugh but I know it's true.

"I'll settle for that, I love pasta. Hmm, I'll call you beaver." She declared so proudly. I realized that we should probably be paying attention to the tour because I know for sure that I'll get lost because the palace is so big. The tour finished up and it was time to get our rooms, the tour guide walked in front of each hallway and listed the girls that were in that hall. "Lady Margarita, Lady Nina, Lady Jyn, Lady Annette, Lady Berklee, and Lady Evadne." Annette and I look at each other excited to find out that we are next to each other and walk to our rooms.

I wasn’t in the mood to stay in my room until dinner so I left to wander the palace some more, I chose the gardens. The gardens were really quiet and calming, I was wandering and then noticed a teeny head pop out from behind a bush. "Hello?" I ask.

"Who are you?" I hear a tiny voice ask me, It took me a quick second to realize it's Princess Callie.

"Oh hi. I'm Berklee. What are you doing?" I ask her.

"Oh! You're one of the selected girls. I'm hiding from my brother. He's trying to get to me to go inside and get ready for dinner." she mumbled.

I kneel down so we are at eye level. "Oooh, and which evil brother is doing this to you?" I asked her.

"Evan," she pouts, "he's always telling me what to do," she says very sadly.

"Hey, that's the only thing brothers know how to do," I tell her.

"Do you have brothers?"

"Two younger ones, I bet mine are worse than yours." I try to tell her to make her feel better.

"I'm pretty sure mine are worse. First, they're older, so they think they can boss me around. Second, they're princes, so that goes to their heads and makes them think they can do or say anything to anyone. Including me." She tells me, I could help but laugh.

"Okay fine you win." I still say laughing.

"Ha!" She yells.

"I have nothing to do right now, could I stay and hide?" I ask, hoping that I could stay out of the palace a little bit longer.

"Sure, sounds fun!" I move over to sit next to her.

"So what do you do at the palace all day?" I ask her just to start up some conversation.

"Usually I like running around the gardens but I do have lessons sometimes. What you like to do for fun?" she asks.

"I'm a gymnast. Do you know how to do a cartwheel?"

"I've never tried." she sighed.

"Here, I'll show you." I slide my heels off and do a cartwheel, "Wanna try?" I show her what do to, Callie tried and does an okay cartwheel. "Yeah! That was so good!" She gives me a high five and keeps trying with my help.

"Callie! There you are! I've been looking all over of you!" I heard a new voice come up behind us.

Callie looks at me. "Oh great," she sighs.

"Oh, uh, hi." I blurt.

"Hello, who are you?" Evan asks me.

"I'm Berklee," I replied quickly.

"Were you helping Callie hide from me?" He asks me with putting his hands on his hips.

"Of course, you were going to make her go to dinner" I responded with crossing my arms.

"Yes, it's important that she is there, come on." he waves towards Callie. But Callie just crosses her arms in rejection.

"Okay, fine," she looks towards me, "can we play again tomorrow?"

"If I have time, I have to meet your cousin tomorrow," I tell her.

"Oh yeah, what about after?"

"I'll ask, as soon as I know I'll call for you, okay?" I wink at her.

"Okay!" She cheers and walks off will Evan.

I pick up my heels and walk off in a different direction towards the palace. I almost made it to the main entrance to the palace when I saw another girl not too far ahead of me. "Hey! Wait up!" I yell doing a quick little run.

She turns around and notices me. "Oh, well hello there," she smiles, "Berk?"

I smile, "Yup! You're Jyn right?"

"The one and only, done with makeovers?" She asks.

"Yeah, you look really good!" I say with a smile.

"I considered making my hair shorter... but I'll let my purple tips last a little longer," she says touching the ends of her hair.

"I think it looks cute! Tomorrow have your dress go with it, that would be so cute."

"Hmm, I'll really have to think about it since we're meeting Dominos for the first time."

I start laughing, "Dominos?" We continue talking as we walk back to our rooms, "Wait, are you in the same hall as me?"

"Hmm, I'm across from Annette..."

"Really! I'm next to her in the middle." We arrive at our rooms and wave goodbye.

It was the night of the sleepover, Evadne and I were running around everywhere trying to get everything together. Girls starting arriving with their food, putting it on the table. Then Annette walks in, "I brought the booze and pizza!" she shouts. The night mostly consisted of Vad and I taking away alcohol from Annette, Fiona and Finley, truth and dare, and Percy coming to join.