#I really wanted that burger :C no way of knowing how involved she might have been with assembling it with raw meat hands though 😭

[blujayonthewing]

I'm under no illusion that I haven't unknowingly eaten fast food in my life that was egregiously and dangerously cross contaminated that I've survived just fine, but the girl at burger king just fully handed me my debit card back with a piece of raw hamburger on it so uh. I'm not going back there. for awhile

[phantomphangphucker]

Ectober Day 6: Year - A Warriors Body

The (half)lifestyle Danny (half)lived was bound to affect him in many ways; some more visible than others. He was a fighter after all, and with enough time a fighter is gonna look like one.

Tucker pats Danny as they begin walking to school, “man it’s gonna be so weird being back huh?”. Making Danny chuckle, “tell me about it”, sighing and rubbing his neck, “and what with the lack of classes there’s been so much more time for hunting ‘n stuff. I’m gonna be so jittery just sitting in pointless classes for hours on end”.

Tucker laughs and grins like an idiot, knowing that was an understatement. You’d think the kid would take it easy when given a break, but no. Instead he basically fell face-first into fighting everything. And if there weren’t any fights then he went off training. “You just don’t know how to relax anymore I think”.

“Eh, you might have a point there. Jazz says I’m becoming an adrenaline junkie”.

Tucker gives him another pat and deadpans, “she’s right”.

“Fuck you”.

Tucker just laughs at that before poking Danny’s bicep, “though all your fighting sure has done you some favours”, attempting at flexing himself but just looking kinda ridiculous, “now if only I could pack on muscle that fast! Then the ladies would be all over me!”.

Danny rolls his eyes with a small smile, “you would if you actually did literally any physical activity outside of when you absolutely had to. Plus, you know my body’s more manipulatable”. Which was a blessing and a curse... and also the reason he was going to wear exclusively baggy clothing for the foreseeable future. He’d rather not have the fact that he rather looked like he low-key lived at the gym be on display. After all, he was supposed to be the weak little loser that blended into the background and slacked off; there was no logical reason to an outsider for him to pack on muscle, especially as much as he had. But hey, at least he hadn’t hit a growth spurt on top of it; though that would probably happen sometime in the future. Ugh.

Tucker rolls his eyes and puts his hands behind his head, “still man. You probably look way better naked than me”.

Danny actually pauses on the sidewalk at that and stares at Tucker, “Ancients, you’re such a pervert”. Tucker just looks back and winks at him, making Danny shake his head and start walking again. Smacking Tucker’s stomach as he catches up, “maybe you should focus less on how big your arms are and more on how big your stomach is, Mr. Eats Five Burgers In One Sitting. You’re gonna wind up like my dad... just shorter”.

“Ouch, low blow. But what can I say? All that tasty juicy meat is just begging to be devoured. How can a guy say no to that?”. Tucker digs in his pocket and flips out his PDA, “oh and Sam's still not gonna be back today”.

Danny groans, “great, so first day is gonna be even more shit. Wonderful. And don’t we have gym first block? Zone, the Universe just hates us, huh?”.

Tucker grins, pocketing the device, “like that’s anything new. But hey, at least you probably won’t die this year”, pointing at him, “and you’ve got some bully protection now too”.

Danny quirks a very confused eyebrow, “huh?”. Making Tucker roll his eyes disbelievingly, “dude seriously? There is literally no way you fit in a locker now. Sure your horrible clothing choices-”, tugging on the mustard yellow sweater with a little green puppy pin on the bottom, “-makes you seem small, but Dash isn’t that stupid”, laughing and tilting his head, “sure is close though. As soon as he picks you up he’s gonna notice something’s off, even I know muscle weighs a lot”.

Danny blinks at him, pausing his walking again, “Tuck pal, just how heavy do you think I am? I’m barely a-hundred pounds”. Tucker pokes his arm, “bullshit. I think you need a new scale”.

Danny rolls his eyes, “dude, most of my muscle and stuff is ectoplasm-based. Just my built-up ectoplasm storing itself overtop of my bones and fleshy muscle. And ecto’s weightless, remember? Heck, it can be anti-weight or whatever; me having more ecto muscle makes me weigh less not more”. Tucker blinks, “huh, didn’t think of it like that”, and decides what the heck and promptly wraps his arms around Danny to lift him up. Easily noting that yeah, Danny really doesn’t weigh much. A-hundred might even be being generous.

Danny shoves him off as Tucker puts him back on the ground, “so ha, no Dash won’t notice”, looking at the ground a little worriedly, “though yeah, I probably won’t fit in a locker anymore. Maybe I could...”, glancing at his arm before shaking his head, “hmmmm yeah no, that’d just make me look fat”.

Tucker chuckles, “what? Trying to redistribute the ecto? Hate to break it to ya, but you’ve got way too much to be a skinny twig again”.

“Hey”.

Tucker points over his shoulder at the school, “it’s true and you know it. And it’s not like I was any better”, both of them chuckle at that before Tucker continues, “anyway, welcome back to Hell I guess. Ready for another year of suffering and Highschool inequality”.

Danny snorts, “and suitably started off by the worst class of all, which will probably involve both of us getting rubber balls to the face”. Tucker just snorts right back as they climb the steps to the doors that both of them kinda wanted to never see again. Especially Danny, not like he was ever going to actually need or make use of the crap the teachers shoved down their throats here. If he was more of a delinquent then he’d just drop out here and now.

But hey, at least the whole quartets lockers -yes, even Valerie’s- were all together this year. Small miracles.

Danny groans as the two boys push in the gymnasium doors, making a be-line for the locker room and hoping to continue successfully avoiding the entirety of the football team. At least in the locker room they wouldn’t be total jackasses, since they had some weird level of respect for the ‘sacredness’ of the locker room. Probably some weird sports guy thing.

Pushing? Fine. Ass slapping? For some reason, fine. Hiding someone’s clothes? Sometimes fine. But actually shoving someone into lockers, or giving someone a swirly in the locker room bathroom, or actually wrecking the gym clothes? Off-limits; and messing with the showers was only cool if someone was taking waaaaaay too long. It was weird but hey, at least it made the locker room something of a semi-safe zone. So long as you were cool getting mocked for changing in the showers or out in front of everyone. Chance to show off for the jocks, chance to get mocked for everyone else.

Tucker chills against the wall, waiting on Danny who always took stupid long to change. Dude had bandaging and scars to cover after all. Whistling and inspecting his nails, being the only one still actually in here besides Danny; as per usual. It was kinda weird, felt like they had just finished freshman year days ago and yet here they were again. Back in the same routine. Danny’s voice breaks through his thoughts, “uh, I think we -or more so I- might have a slight problem”.

Tucker sighs, at least Danny’s tone wasn’t serious which meant less ‘danger/ghost fight incoming’ and more ‘mild inconvenience or some general halfa weirdness’, “what?”.

Danny gives a very awkward chuckle, stepping out and holding his arms out to the side before looking down at his shirt, “I may have updated my wardrobe, but I think I may have forgotten something”.

Tucker blinks before sputtering and laughing, bending over a bit to wheeze, “dude, haha, that so doesn’t fit you anymore!”. Tucker absolutely forgot that Mrs. Testlauf was super serious about wearing fitting clothes, pretty sure Danny had too. She always went off about how it ‘showed the value and worth of a person and their progress’ course she’d always add on ‘and shows who the weak pipsqueaks are’. Laughing some more, “how did you even get that on? I get that the underaumour is, like, super-duper stretchy, but the shirt? Looks like it’s gonna burst apart at the seams!”.

Danny huffs, “again, more manipulatable. I’m ‘squishy’ remember?”, and crosses his arms. Both of them still and stare at the air at the sound of ripping; proving Tucker right.

Tucker falls on his ass laughing after a beat, “guess you have to ask for a new one now! Ha! Testlauf’s gonna be pissed”.

“Fuck you man”, Danny starts laughing himself though and glances around before just phasing off the shirt; yeah, he wrecked the sleeves. Stupid Testlauf and her stupid ‘wear your proper sizes or it’ll be detention for the rest of your life’ rule. Least the shorts were supposed to be a bit loose, not that they currently were.

Both boys’ jump a little at hearing a rather masculine female voice shout, “where the Zone is Fenton and Foley! Those two slackers better get their butts out here! Or they’ll be running laps all class!”. Danny and Tucker both panic a little at that, and justifiably so because talk about harsh. Promptly bolting out of the locker room, Danny with his ruined shirt in hand.

Unfortunately, though obviously, everyone is pretty much staring at them as they run out. Most looking to be partway through rolling their eyes but stop. Dash -because of course Danny would get stuck having gym with Dash- is the one to actually point shit out though, “Fenton? What the Hell happened to you?!?”.

Danny quirks an eyebrow, “huh?”, while walking over to Testlauf and speaking rather awkwardly, “I, uh, need a new gym shirt”.

Testlauf blinks, “like Hell you do”, and snatches the shirt. Holding it up and looking from it to the boy, clearly seeing that it’s torn and stretched out. Then giving Danny an almost happy appraising look, “well I’ll be, Fenton, so you do”, and gives him a clap on the arm that is absolutely a pleased one.

Danny blinks, confused, and looks to Tucker, who also looks confused, “what the Zone is happening here?”.

Todd blurts out, “what do you think? You have a bloody six-pack and the arms of an ox. Did you take steroids or something?”.

Danny and Tucker blink, then look to Danny’s chest. Danny instantly blushing a bit and attempting to cover up, belatedly remembering that Testlauf actually took the shirt, “uhhhh. No?”. Tucker has to turn away from everyone to laugh at Danny’s expense. Danny shoves him over for that; Tucker just lays on the ground laughing, not bothering to get up.

Testlauf tosses a larger shirt at him, “get that on and let’s see what you can do with those new muscles. Glad to see you ain’t no bloody wimp anymore”, huffing to herself as she walks off to get the balls, “to see youths shaping up, nothing makes me prouder. I couldn’t give a damn how he did it, kid’s not the type to go to unhealthy measures”. Danny, actually being able to hear her, blushes a little.

In the meantime, all Danny’s fellow classmates rush up and start trying to poke at him. He, of course, bats them off erratically; Tucker springing up to also try shooing people off from his best friend. The fact that Danny’s shirt is still practically skin-tight honestly doesn’t help; less so than the underarmour at least.

Dash scowls at Danny, while aggressively snatching up a ball, “seriously, the goddamn Zone Fenton. Weaklings ain’t supposed to bulk up”.

Danny glances from side to side before steeling his expression and meeting the bully's eyes, effectively deciding screw it, “not my fault you were too busy stuffing me into things to notice things were changing”.

Jesse blinks at him while joining the side Danny’s on, “so wait, you’ve been working out or some shit for a while and straight up no one noticed?”.

Danny shrugs, “it’s also not my fault no one cares to really pay attention to me and besides, I like being left alone”.

Testlauf blows her whistle, which of course results in Dash instantaneously whipping a ball straight at Danny. Which again, makes Danny decide fuck it, and just catches the ball nonchalantly. Dash scowls as Danny smirks, Dash walking off to the side.

Everyone on Dash’s side pauses for a second and glance at each other, before all silently agreeing to bombard the boy. Todd speaking while whipping a ball at him just like everyone else, “so this is why you always wear such baggy clothes huh? Can’t say I understand why or how though!”.

Danny just choosing to dodge with a sidestep this time, “because you people are dicks honestly. And my mom’s a black belt and knows more fighting styles than I can shake a stick at. How the Zone do you think?!?”. More than a couple nod to themselves while running around throwing and dodging.

Mikey, who just so happens to be trying to hide behind him, readjusts his glasses, “and don’t they want you to be a hunter like them? That’s a pretty physical job”. Emily shouting, “and Jack has totally tossed an RV through a wall before! So packing on muscle easily must be in your DNA!”. Danny isn’t about to argue against that, that might actually have something to do with it after all. Even if it was more his ghost halfs fault.

The rest of the game devolves from there, becoming more wild throwing and teenage shrieking than pestering Danny. Which Danny’s perfectly content with, though that results in someone getting practically thrown into him after getting blown back by a ball to the stomach. Which then results in Danny getting flipped over and throwing his ball way harder than he meant to. The entire gym pauses at the ball hitting the back wall and actually cracking the fake brick a bit.

Tucker bends over wheezing with laughter from the sidelines, looks like someone might have gotten a little too used to chucking round -though usually glowing- balls at beings that could handle being rammed by semi’s. Least he didn’t hit anyone and break their arm!

Danny blinks at the wall, “heh heh, whoops”. The few people still remaining on the other side honestly just look impressed rather than the more reasonable reaction, which would be fear and concern for their own safety; but Amity Park and CasperHigh were crazy like that though.

Mrs. Testlauf blows her whistle, “at that I think it’s a good time to wrap this up, before Fenton murders someone”, Danny rubs his neck at that while she points at him and continues, “learn self-control boy, these walls see enough damage as it is”. Which gets quite a few people to start snickering at his expense; Danny just nods awkwardly and blushes a bit. Learning self-control was generally pretty high on Danny’s priority list as it was.

Tucker snickers at him as everyone goes to clean up, “guess someones gotta relearn they’re surrounded by meek little regular old humans huh”, with a cheeky grin plastered on his face. Danny smashes his face into the wall, not hard enough to do actual damage though, “shut up, Tuck”; making a few people around chuckle.

Tucker grumbles a fake, “ow”, as he pulls his face off the wall after Danny let’s go of his head. Then turning to him and smirking meanly, pulling out his PDA. Danny eyes it and Tucker’s grin, “oh don’t you dare”.

“You started it”, and jabs him with the device, giving him a mild electrical shock.

A couple other teens blink and watch the two boys pretty much beat each other up slightly. Emily muttering, “I think I don’t actually want to know what the Zone the defect quartet gets up to in their spare time”.

Todd snorts, “you’re just weak”. She glares back at him, “I don’t hear you asking”. He waves her off, “now why would I waste my precious energy on that”, earning a few snorts from the rest of the class just as the bell goes off.

Jesse runs up to Danny as everyone’s walking to leave, pulling at the ugly yellow sweater, “what I don’t get, is why you dress like such shit if you've got it going on under there”. Danny shrugs, “just don’t care”, he did care, he cared that people didn’t notice literally any of his weirdness. But obviously that wasn’t working out here. Especially with Dash giving him a weird look and clearly choosing to not go and bug Danny. But maybe, judging by how no one really seemed to care beyond being impressed and he had had fun, maybe that didn’t matter.

After all, it had been a year since he died. Since he started fighting day and night practically every other waking moment. Since he started Highschool. Things had changed. He had. And try as he might, people were going to notice that. He wasn’t that same kid anymore. The little living weak wallflower Danny Fenton didn’t exist anymore, and there really was no point in trying to pretend that he did.

End.

[ae0nx]

SUPERPOST: DIGIMON ADVENTURE: LAST EVOLUTION (KIZUNA) RECAP/REVIEW SPOILERSSSSSS

SPOILER ALERT I WILL BE GOING INTO DETAIL. SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER.

I’m not gonna do a blacktober/drawtober today, but I willlll rant about Digimon, because nothing ever really changes. Ok, I’m tipsy and I feel like everyone and their mum has watched Kizuna now so I wanna finally express my feelfeels on it. Let’s goooo

-------------------------------------------------------

Ok, so I love how this movie opens especially as an old school fan.

It’s perfect. I love the solid feeling of ‘finality’ to the series that we never got to see in Tri... (I’ll try not talk shit about Tri in this recap but it’s gonna be difficult, I’m sorry)

- We got that call back to the original soundtrack! The only time in life I will tear up at hearing Bolero.

- I adoreee the animation and designs in this movie. It feels so much more diverse (in terms of facial features) than Tri did without even trying really. The facial expressions are so much characteristic and there’s less awkward spacey moments. It’s nice! (Ooops, mentioned Tri: Count 2 haha)

- While I was a bit disappointed with the digidestined outfits when they were first released as still images, they do look a lot better in action and they fit in well with the world that is built. But Taichi swapping sneakers for sandals? Seems false lol

Taichi’s anxiety about the destruction. Nice to see continuation and character development. We love him~~~

- The Parrotmon vs Greymon + Angemon + Angewomon fight looked dope and was a nice call back/development. The electricity and fire looked amazing and honestly had me hyped. A lot of fight scenes in this movie did.

Haha, of course Yamato had to come in looking unnecessarily cool on his fancy new bike only to talk shit about Taichi. We love him too, goddammit lol

- It totally makes sense that the two pairs of siblings and Koushirou would be the most actively involved out of all of the digidestined tbh

The movie opening theme being set to the original ‘Butterfly’ was great, and in a weird way reminded me a little of the Cowboy Bebop Movie opening theme - except very much in the style and world of Digimon Adventure

- The digidestined are public superheroes now? Makes sense, I don’t hate it~~~

- I love the montage of Taichi and Yamato going about their lives as people in their early 20s. Taichi mostly dealing with the pressures of adulthood. Yamato feeling nostalgic about the things he left behind in childhood (playing harmonica, being in a band)

Ahhh, they can drink now! So weird, yet so fun haha

- It’s also really nice for my shipper heart to see Taichi and Yamato sit down and have a meal together without totally biting each other’s heads off. Shows how much they’ve matured!

- Yolei straight up was like ‘I don’t have time for this shit, Koushirou you deal with it’ 😂Mimi has taught you well, young padawan

I was really hoping these two would be a better addition than Maki and Daigo (RIP) and they were! It’s almost like the writers saw Tri and was like... let’s do better. (Ooops mentioned Tri: Count 3)

- I reallyyyyy really sadistically like the concept of the Digimon and Digidestined’s connection to each other dying slowly the older they get and with the less necessary the Digimon become in the human partner’s life. Yeahhhhh, it doesn’t match up with the 02 ending but I’m personally not too attached to that ending so I don’t mind. A) it’s actually a plot point that makes me give a shit and B) it’s very much a reflection of life which Digimon Adventure has always been and C) it makes sense of the reason as to why Digimon gravitate to children

DAISUKE! We stan a kinggg, with his dope sunglasses. I’m so happy the 02 kids are involved in this, even if it is kinda minimal.

- I love that they included the fact that the digital gates are basically like a free airplane ticket to anywhere in the world with a computer. It’s such a useful and cool concept

- ‘Burger Queen’ ahaha

AHHHHHHHHH HAHAAHHAHA I can’t. It feel so wrong yet so... correct? Hahaha

I’m sorry, my love for Gennai died with Tri. If it was old Gennai from Adventure maybe I would’ve felt a bit more nostalgic and loving. (Oops mentioned Tri: Count 4)

- I love the 02 kids basically being a smaller detective team that Chief Detective Yamato sent forth to do some investigating. It makes so much sense and we shoulda got this in triiiiii (I just wish we got this movie instead of Tri, I’m sorry Oops mentioned Tri: Count 5)

Spy movie? I don’t hate it~~~~

OK, DETECTIVE ISHIDA! (enter theme music which is most likely very dark and edgy and gothic with a hint of pop punk)

- Sora staying at home when Mimi is in the hospital seems... off... very off... but ok... ... ... I hate how they sidelined Sora in this movie. Why does every Digimon writer since Adventure hate Sora?!?!

- The act of Taichi literally shunning his future by switching off his phone to once again reach for his old goggles and old digivice is... poetic cinema

Saw the switch coming but whoa 😳

- You know the whole concept of her creating an eternal Digital world was a cool concept until she called it Neverland

- While I really like Menoa and her being the villain, this isn’t exactly a new motivation. How many times have we seen human partners turn into villains after losing their Digimon, man?!?! Just more motivation into making me think this film is just fixing the mistakes of Tri (Oops mentioned Tri: Count 6)

I really like this design! It might make my top 3 Digimon designs.

- You know... only in the Digimon fandom would a goddamn whistle make us all emotional 😭😂

This movie is so pretty!!!!

- Wait... did Biyomon vanish and that’s why Sora wasn’t involved? 😢

Wow. WOW. That goodbye... between Taichi and Agumon... and Yamato and Gabumon... was... ALL I WANTED/DIDN’T WANT. Seriously. As I said before, I really like the fact that this movie feels... final. Honestly, I don’t want grown up adventures with the Digimon - regardless of how mean that sounds. What’s unique about Digimon is how childlike it is and the separation between the Digimon’s childlike nature and the Digidestined was growing the older the humans got and it wouldn’t make full sense for the relationship between the two to go from friends and almost equals to parent and child. 

I guess I would’ve been more accepting of the Digimon staying a constant in the Digidestined lives if the writers touched on the theme of the Digimon being adult or baby whenever they like (or whenever they eat) and relating it to humans still looking after their inner child of curiosity and creativity as they get older. But that’s a pretty difficult concept, I’m still working my head around that haha

Also, Digimon has always specifically been a metaphor/real example for the joys and hardships of childhood. While it’s super sad, I’m glad we got such a nice send off!

[bellebridgerton]

Confusion: Chapter 1 (Adam Sackler x reader)

(Y/n) hears Hannah and Adam fighting after Jessa's surprise wedding, she walks out just in time to see Adam get hit by a huge truck. She screams and runs over to Adam, she does her best to comfort him, while Hannah screams for him to listen to her.

Adam gets put in the ambulance and he tells them he wants (Y/n) to ride with him, not Hannah. He looks at (Y/n), "Elijah is moving in with her, she picked him over me."

(Y/n) sighs and strokes Adam's hair gently, she's been Adam's best friend since high school. She became close with Jessa when they met via Hannah and Adam, so she was at the wedding for Jessa. (Y/n) looks at Adam, "She only thinks about herself, I know you love her, but she sucks."

Adam sighs, "I hurt a lot right now."

(Y/n) kisses his forehead, "I know bub, I know." She holds his hand, "I'll take care of you, I promise."

Adam nods and looks at her, "Thank you."

After Adam was out of surgery, he was laying in a hospital bed. (Y/n) sat next to the bed, she plays on her phone while Adam sleeps.

Adam groans, opening his eyes, he sees (Y/n) playing on her phone, her (hair/length) (h/c) in a messy half up half down bun, and she had changed into a lightweight sweatshirt and sweatpants.

He's always thought she's beautiful, he's loved her since they were 15. He remembers the first time he saw her, he was running late for class, and this short girl was reaching for a book. He walked over and grabbed the book for her. She smiled at him and his heart skipped a beat.

Adam smiles sleepily, "You're here."

(Y/n) puts her phone in her pocket, "Yeah, I told you I'd take care of you. How are you feeling?"

Adam looks at her, "So fucking sore, did they give me any pain meds?"

(Y/n) nods, "Yeah, but it might be time for more soon." She gently moves his hair out of his face, "Are you hungry?"

Adam nods, closing his eyes, "Yeah, can I have a burger?"

(Y/n) smiles, "I'll see what I can do." She gently holds his hand, "I'll be right back bub."

Adam looks at her, "Thank you, you're so sweet."

(Y/n) smiles and stands up, "You're welcome, now try to relax, I'll be back soon."

Hannah walks in, "Adam! Are you okay baby?!?"

Adam sits up and looks at Hannah, "No I'm not fucking okay, Hannah, I got hit by a truck!"

Hanna tries to get close to him, "I'm sorry baby, I just didn't want you to move in with me out of pity."

Adam rolls his eyes, "It wasn't out of pity, I wanted to live with you."

(Y/n) sighs, "Hannah, you need to go."

Hannah looks at (Y/n), "You're not part of this conversation, okay?"

(Y/n) laughs, "The fuck I'm not, you're so self-involved! I don't understand how you got Adam to fall in love with you, he has given you everything, and you keep taking, you drain him."

Adam gently holds (Y/n)'s hand, trying to get her to stop, he looks at Hannah, "Leave, you're not helping in any way. I need to heal, physically and emotionally."

Hannah looks at Adam, "And I can't help you do that?"

Adam shakes his head, "No, fuck no. You need to leave me alone, I don't want to see you anymore."

Hannah tears up, "So you're breaking up with me?"

Adam rolls his eyes, "I got hit by a truck because of you, of course I'm breaking up with you."

Hannah huffs and leaves, angry she didn't get her way.

Getting Adam ready to go home, (Y/n) helps him change clothes, she can't help but check him out a little. She fixes his shirt, "Okay, let's go home."

Adam looks at her, "Are we going to my apartment or yours?"

(Y/n) smiles, "Mine, so I can take care of you." Adam smiles, happy that she wants to be there for him.

Finally arriving at (Y/n)'s apartment, Adam lays down on the couch, relaxes the best he can, "I love your apartment."

(Y/n) sits on the floor, looks up at Adam, "You could always move in with me."

Adam chuckles, "No, I don't want to invade your personal space."

(Y/n) smiles, gently plays with Adam's hair, "You could never invade my personal space. I'd be so happy if you moved in."

Adam smiles and uses his good hand to gently poke (Y/n)'s cheek, "Really?"

(Y/n) giggles, "Yes, I'd be very happy if my best friend lived with me." She pretends to try to bite his finger, "I have the room, move in!"

Adam chuckles and gently lifts her chin up with his fingertip "Okay, I'll move in."

(Y/n) cheers and gets up, dances around the couch, "Yay! You're going to get so sick of me, but I loooooove you!" She hopes it comes across friendly.

Adam laughs, watching her dance, "I love you too, kid." He puts his hand up and (Y/n) smacks his hand gently, batting it back and forth between her hands. Adam watches her, then grabs her hand, "I have to piss."

(Y/n) gently helps him up, takes him to the bathroom, "Do you need help to stand while you pee?"

Adam holds on, but shakes his head, "I can do it, but I'll call for you if I need you."

(Y/n) gets him to the bathroom, then lets him go, keeping the door open a little so she can help if he needs her.

Adam takes care of his business and hops his way over to her, she catches him and smiles, "I got you."

Adam smiles, gently hugs her, "I know, thanks kid." They make their way to the living room and Adam sits down, he looks at (Y/n), "Come here kid, I want to cuddle."

(Y/n) cuddles into Adam's side, they haven't cuddled since Adam started dating Hannah. (Y/n) smiles, "You're so warm, you radiate heat."

Adam chuckles, "Thanks? I think."

(Y/n) laughs, "It's a good thing!" She gently plays with Adam's hair while they watch TV.

Taglist: @finn-ray-nal-beads @maybe-your-left

[unbelievableholland]

Season of Reunions Part 1:  Happy New Year

<<Previously   Next>>

Pairings: Mob!Hollands x sister!Reader

Warnings: Mentions of death and murder. Use of guns. Lil' bit of angst. A few swear words. Let me know if I missed anything😊

Words: 2,935

A/N: Wohoo! I completed part 1! If there's anything wrong with the story or there's some errors, please let me know. It's like, 4 am where I live and I JUST finished this fic. I read it about 5 times but I'm still unsure whether I missed anything or not 😅😂

Song recs/songs involved in this fic:

Grow As We Go - by: Ben Platt

Summary: You, Y/N L/N, were adopted by 2 mysterious agents. You knew you were adopted and you never thought about your original family. Being content with the life your parents gave you, why would you? That was, until your parents are killed and you're left to fend for yourself and with a lot of questions unanswered.

(Moodboard and digitally written quote made by me. Pictures found on Pinterest. Credits to the original owners ❤️)

——————————————————————

This was NOT how you expected your day to go. One moment you were eating a burger relaxing on a park bench and then the next, you’re running through the forest getting shot at, food forgotten. To hell with that burger. You swear to God if you trip right now, you’re dead.

Through the trees and the shrubs, you saw a clearing where you can maybe lose whoever is fucking shooting at you. Even though you’re not sure whether they’ll catch you or not, you are sure of one thing. You sure as hell won’t die tonight.

You keep running until you made it to the small clearing and turn a hard left. Left, right, left, right. You don’t really know what you are doing or where you are headed, but as long as they lose your trail, you can figure everything out afterwards. You saw a group of thick trees where you are headed and decided to go run towards the shade provided by the trees. You are lucky it was even dark enough so that they couldn’t see you.

Hiding behind one of the thick trees, you look slightly behind you and the tree, eyes straining to adjust to the darkness. You are careful though so that they wouldn’t see you.

As you predicted, they don’t know where you are. You heard talking but not enough to hear full sentences. You tried your best to listen anyway. Maybe you could even get some info about…anything at this point.

You are sure you heard the word “mob” and your name. Now, you are more scared and probably even more screwed. A fucking mob is after you?!

Yes, you knew people were trying to catch you, heck, maybe even kill you! You think, maybe a few rivals of your parents? Maybe even a hitman? but not a freaking mob!

If a mob really is after you, you’re really going to have to up your game. They’re clever, and they work mercilessly. They don’t just blindly attack. If you want to fight off a mob, you’re going to have to outsmart them. Hopefully, they are only after you to catch you or rob you. Not kill you.

What they want from you though, that’s a different question. You don’t even know why they’re after you. It’s not like you have any relation to any mobs or an asset to them, right? I mean, yeah, you’ve heard your parents talk about them before, but never because they were after you or because they were after them. Maybe that’s one of the things they kept secret? Whatever it is, you have a feeling that you’re going to find out soon.

For now, you just shake the thought out of your head. You can worry about that later, but now, you have to find your way out of the forest. Yes, you’ve gone through this forest before but not this particular part of the woods. You’ve never gone this far.

Would it be a good idea to just camp out here until it’s morning? No. Definitely not. What if the people who were just trying to shoot you came back?

With that, you start trying to retrace your steps. Turning around to check the dirt for any shoe prints.

Fortunately, the boots you are wearing had a unique print at the bottom of it. Looking at the ground, you see the trail your boots left while you were trying to run for your life. You follow it to; hopefully; get out of these woods. Wimbledon forests aren’t that vast anyway. You just haven’t explored all of it often enough to remember.

Walking back was a nightmare. It took about half an hour due to your shoe prints getting covered by twigs and leaves. You got back safely though. Now, you just have to figure out how to get back to your place without getting noticed by anyone who looks like one of the guys who were chasing after you. The streets are more crowded now after all. Mostly because of the fireworks. So, they may not attack, but they might follow you.

There are now two options. Either, you go back to the house your parents left for you, or you go somewhere else before going back to the house so anyone who might be following you, could lose your track.

You scan the area. At the moment, you are in a pretty secluded part of Wimbledon. You try to remember the way to your house as best as you can since you’ve never really been to this part of town often before. Wanting to get home as soon as you can, you start walking to wherever seems familiar. At the same time, thinking about moving somewhere else instead of staying in London.

Living where you are now, is difficult. Especially with the people surrounding you. You think that you would have gotten used to the lonely life you have. Living alone in a huge ass mansion certainly gets boring after a while.

You see, you know that your parents left you with a lot of material things, but that notebook is the only thing you have from them that you remember being given to you personally by your parents. Basically, the only sentimental thing you have from them.

Judging by how they lived before, you can assume that they prepared some things for you to continue living as normally as you can if something ever happens to them.

They knew a lot of people and they had a lot of friends. For example, your auntie Jo. She isn’t really your aunt, but you called her that because she was the person who you cared about the most and who cared for you just as much in return. She is also the person who gives you the things your parents told her to give and provide for you. You are pretty sure that if your parents trusted her enough for that, you definitely could too.

That’s how you got your house and practically everything you owned. Your parents apparently bought it for you in case things got dangerous and they were forced to send you somewhere else for your own well-being. This is usually the part when you think, were they expecting something to happen to them? So much so that they practically have everything prepared for you in case they died or in case you got left alone?

You originally lived in New York, but you got sent here by Jo when they heard about your parents getting murdered. They found you crying on the park bench near your house. They introduced themselves to you as quickly as they could and took you immediately to the airport while they collected your things from your former house. Once you got to your current house, they explained to you what happened and what will happen. How your life was going to be from then on.

But as to who “they” are, you’re still not sure.

Jo is the only person you know here. She is the one who teaches you since you’re homeschooled, and the one who checks on you on a regular basis. She’s like a second mom to you.

That’s basically how it started, and now you’re here. Walking back with your clothes dirty to a place where you know no one will be waiting for you.

Yes, you have Jo, but she’s only there in the morning to teach you and to leave you with some extra money. Sometimes she visits so you can have some bonding time. That rarely happens though. You can tell that she’s a busy person.

When she leaves at night, you never know when or if she’ll come back because of how dangerous you know just being around you is. You trust her enough to protect herself though.

Stepping into your house, you look around and turn the lights on. This place is huge. One big bedroom for you with a king-sized bed, a big ass guest room with four twin beds (not like you’ll ever need it), a training room/gym, a home theatre, and a lot more. Even though you’ve been here for five years, you’re still not used to it.

You live in the luxurious part of Wimbledon. It’s pretty quiet here. There’s a lot of guards outside though. They guard the house, but they don’t really care about you. They’re just doing it for the salary. I mean, at least you don’t have personal bodyguards. That would be annoying. It’s mostly because you convinced Jo that you don’t need them. Well, more like showed.

You showed her your skills by letting her watch you train in your personal training room inside the house. She was surprised because, even though she knew you have been training all your life, she didn’t expect you to be this good.

After turning on the lights in your living room, you went straight to the kitchen to grab some sandwiches to take to your bed room. Climbing up the stairs, very tiredly since, you literally just walked an hour and a half through a forest and probably another hour trying to find your way back home. You could’ve just called Jo to send someone to pick you up, but you didn’t want to bother her.

The moment you stepped in your room, you collapsed onto your bed. The sandwiches landing softly beside you. Yes, you are dirty but you couldn’t bring yourself to care since you are exhausted. You can just change the sheets later anyway.

You are just about to fall asleep when you remembered that you should probably text Jo to tell her you got home safe from the park. Of course, leaving out the “dudes trying to shoot you” part. You wouldn’t want her to worry.

You grabbed your phone and texted her a quick:

“I’m home, and I’m fine. Love u”

You set your phone down, but before you take your eyes off the screen you see that Jo replied.

“That’s good. Stay safe and remember to take care of yourself. Love you too”

Every time you see a message like that, your heart swells. It’s a nice reminder that a person actually loves you and is there for you whether you need them or not.

You lay down on your bed, staring at the ceiling and wonder. Why? Why are the people surrounding you act like you’re some princess they need to take extra care of? Even the guards outside are very strict with you sometimes. Even if they don’t personally care, it’s like, it’s their job to keep you as overly protected as possible. You get to go out, but you have to tell Jo to tell the guards that you can. You don’t know why your parents had so many people to watch over you, but it’s something that you just learned to accept. Your life is already complicated enough. Didn’t stop your brain from thinking of possible explanations though.

You might think having almost everything would make you happy, but you would trade the entire house just to have someone to always be with you. Just to have one best friend. Except for Jo of course. Well technically, you do have many people around you.

The only one of them you know though, is Jo, but sometimes, when Jo’s busy, she sends some random adult to watch over you. It’s even more suspicious because those people usually wear suits. Like it’s their uniform or something.

You’re not even sure if your parents were actually government agents. Probably more like, agents from a different or even a secret organization. They did pretty shady stuff. Something that you don’t think the government would even do.

They didn’t tell you that though. You just saw some files about people they were “tracking”. You saw those cork boards with yarns and pictures of different people and different places. It was when you were about seven years old when you went inside their room to take a look inside. Your parents didn’t know of course.

You were always a curious kid. A smart curious kid. Some people would even go as far as to say that you are a genius. A prodigy. You choose not to dwell on that topic though. Wouldn’t want to turn into a big-headed prick.

However, no matter what you do, no matter how many times you try to distract yourself, you just can’t forget about that stupid notebook. The one that was hidden in your drawer. The one your mother gave to you. The notebook that you don’t even think Jo knows about, and that’s saying a lot since she knows everything. Well, almost everything.

If it’s just a regular notebook, you probably wouldn’t think much of it, but mostly, it’s the letters engraved on the leather cover of the notebook.

For Y/N

You know that it isn’t just a regular notebook your parents would probably buy as a gift for their child.

It was and is for you.

And the fact that it appears to be a few years old and used, makes it seem more like something was written in there specifically for you to read. Like it’s very important.

You sit up on the bed. Thinking carefully about your next move.

You decide to stand up and walk towards the drawer. Getting the key from the jewelry box you have on the table next to it, so you can open the small locked dresser attached to your door desk.

When you finally open it, you immediately see the notebook.

Your heart beats faster. Your breathing quickens. The palm of your hands starts to get sweaty.

This is really not the time to have a fucking panic attack.

Closing your eyes, you try to calm yourself down so you can prevent past traumas from resurfacing.

Fuck.

Still, you don’t calm down. You decide that it’s probably not the time to read the notebook. You quickly walk to your bed, not before grabbing your guitar on the side of your bedroom door though. Maybe singing or even just strumming a tune on your guitar might help you calm down.

Breath in, breath out.

Placing your fingers gently on the strings, you strum one of the songs you remember Jo singing so you can calm down during these impending anxiety attacks.

You take a deep breath, as you strum one of the songs Jo introduced you to. Closing your eyes to imagine that, instead of yourself, it was your mom singing the famous Ben Platt song.

You say there’s so much you don’t know

You need to go and find yourself

Memories of the time spent with your mom and dad are played like an old movie inside your head.

You say you’d rather be alone

‘Cause you think you won’t find it tied to someone else.

Smiling to yourself. You thought this song is perfect because your parents never wanted you to be alone. They would want you to grow up with someone. To grow up like a normal kid.

Ooh, who said it’s true?

That the growing only happens on your own?

They don’t know me and you.

I don’t think you have to leave

If to change is what you need

You can change right next to me

It’s funny how things can turn out. Your parents didn’t want you to be alone, didn’t want you to grow up as a person who didn’t trust anyone.

Couldn’t trust anyone.

When you’re high I’ll take the lows

You can ebb and I can flow

And we’ll take it slow

And grow as we go, grow as we go.

You slowly stop singing and gently fade out the chords to the song. As you open your eyes, you realize that your breathing has gone back to normal, and your heart rate slowed down.

You know, deep down, that your mother was telling you something when she gave you that notebook. That she wanted you to know something. Something you just had…have to know.

It’s been 5 years; almost six; and you still haven’t opened it.

Would it really be that bad?

You have to open it. You have to know what it was your parents were trying to tell you.

But do you really?

No, no you do not. Would it really hurt to just, live without knowing? To forget about what could possibly hold the answers to your bazaar life? You know the answer though.

So, without thinking, you stood up and ran to your dresser. Fumbling with the notebook with how fast you got it since you didn’t close the dresser. You open it, and you see, taped at the back of the cover, is a black ring, with a chain looped through it, making it a necklace.

You are about to detach it but your phone rings. Startling you and almost dropping the notebook. You figure it’s Jo calling, so you set the notebook down. Momentarily forgetting about the matte black ring to go and answer the phone call.

Hearing a very cheery Jo speak through the phone,

“HAPPY NEW YEAR!”

Oh right.

You almost forgot that Jo wasn’t here all day because she went to spend time with some people. You didn’t know them. Maybe her family? At least it sounds like she is having fun.

How could you even forget that it was New Year’s Eve? Especially when you went to the park specifically to watch the fireworks show the town had set up.

You sigh.

“Happy New Year Jo”.

——————————————————————

Tag List:

@spideylovin

[all-hail-the-witcher]

every book i had to read for english and why i didn't like any of them

i woke up thinking about this and decided to make this post. for context, i went to public school and was on the honors/ap track for english. i am a firm believer that english teachers ruin books for their students inadvertently. this is my experience:

6th grade language arts

we read three books during 6th grade, bridge to terabithia, the cay, and where the red fern grows. and i had to read a wrinkle in time over the summer which i didn't understand like at all so I'm just gonna skip that one honors english was not a thing until 8th grade where i went to middle school so this was a regular english class and i hated it. it was also a double period class for some reason, so i had an hour and a half of language arts every day. 

it took us half the year to read bridge to terabithia. i am not kidding. that book is like maybe 100 pages and it took us a good 4-5 months. this is because our teacher stopped us every time we got to a pice of figurative language and made us analyze it. every. single. piece. i got so bored that i read ahead and then got in trouble for reading ahead. needless to say, i absolutely detested bridge to terabithia and would not touch it to this day if my life depended on it. 

after bridge to terabithia we read the cay. this took us the rest of the year. the cay is a relatively short book as well so i got bored with this one quickly as well. i really dont remember much about the discussions, but i remember a long one about how the cover was “inaccurate,” which, yes, it was but i dont know if a bunch of 11 and 12 year olds need to spend a week debating that. i think i hated it mostly because, again, we read it for 5 months. 

the last three weeks of the school year, our teacher gave us a book and said “here read this before school ends because we have to read three books a year and we only read 2″ (for context, the other language arts class had read about 5-7 books that year and found it insane that we were “still reading bridge to terabithia”) so i read where the red fern grows. all in all it wasn't a bad book, i did kind of enjoy it, but since i was rushed reading it on top of all my other homework and because it was definitely ahead of my reading comprehension level, it wasn't my favorite.

7th grade language arts

now, a bit of a disclaimer here, this was the year that i was in language arts with the guy i had a crush on and one of my close friends at the time. so, i didn't really pay that much attention to begin with. we read quite a few books in this class, but I'm not sure if i remember all of them. again, this was a double period. 

i think the first book we read was freak the mighty. i remember not liking this book because i felt like i was missing something. there was definitely some kind of metaphor or something in there that i was supposed to get but because i was literally twelve i didn't get it and i didn't find the meaning in it. theres nothing more frustrating than reading a book that you dont understand.

after that I'm pretty sure we read the wave. it was explained to us that the wave is supposed to symbolize how the n*zis came to power and all that stuff, and while we all knew this, i dont think we really Understood it. (probably because we were 12). we all kinda saw it as a joke and thought it was funny. i think that if i read it now i would be like. “well shit this is really interesting” but 12 year old me wanted to make fun of it with the rest of my class. 

i think we read seed folks next. this was another book that just went over all of our heads. its about how a garden changes a whole bunch of peoples lives which is like, super interesting. but none of us got it and were like “lol this is stupid” so much so that we actually stopped reading it. like my teacher stopped having us read it.

I'm fairly certain the last book we read was the miracle worker. a lot of us had had to read parts of it before that class so we were all kinda familiar with it already. i vaguely remember some kind of obnoxious class joke about the book that was probably rude. i remember finding it interesting, but there were so many activities we did about the book that i lost interest. 

8th grade honors reading

this class was A Trip. i liked the teacher, but she was a little out there. its unclear whether she got fired or just didn't come back after that year. i had a lot of fun in her class but it was usually because we all bonded over hating the assigned reading.

i dont remember what order we read the books in and i dont remember if this was all of them, but to the best of my recollection this is what we read

we definitely read romeo and juliet. by the time you're in 8th grade, everyone knows the story of romeo and juliet, so it wasn't like that suspenseful or a surprise or anything. but we had to act the reading out. yes we had to act out romeo and juliet. with burger king crowns. and wrapping paper swords. clearly the teacher was trying to have fun with us, and it was fun fun for awhile but it got old. especially when you got participation points taken off your grade if you didn't read for once of the characters (which is massively unfair because not everyone wants to get up in front of a class in a paper crown holding a wrapping paper tube and read in old english when you're 13 but whatever). 

we also definitely read animal farm. it was another book that went right over our heads (or, mine at least). i didn't actually really understand it until i had to read the communist manifesto for ap euro senior year. and our teacher talked in a bad russain accent the entire time? i could barely keep the characters straight, let alone analyze the underlying message and all that. now i might actually like it since I'm a history major and have a decent background on the russian revolution, but at 13? no thanks.

the one book that everyone hated (including the teacher herself) was farewell to manzanar. it was a memoir about a young girl growing up in the japanese internment camps and looking back on her life and stuff like that. the story itself was very interesting and we all learned a lot from it. but the person who wrote it did not know how to write. it was confusing, some chapters made no sense, and none of us generally knew what was going on. we had to finish the book because we were the honors class, but the regular class got to stop after chapter 6. 

i think we only read 4 books that year and the fourth one was the outsiders. this was one of two books that i actually liked the entirely of my public school education. i kinda vibed with it when we were reading it and then i vibes with it more once i got to high school and rediscovered it. it was just a good book, pretty solid, good themes, fantastic. 

9th grade honors english

i absolutely hated this class. hands down the worst teacher i ever had. she was one of those that should have retired 20 years ago but was still teaching for some reason. and she hated kids. legitimately. that was the first time i got a c and it took my parents a long time to realize that it wasn't because of me, it was because the teacher was absolute shit. the only thing that made that class bearable was the fact that my friend was in there and so was this guy that totally like her so he would flirt with her pretty incessantly and it was Hilarious. 

we read so many books that year and i hated all of them. a lot of them were like greek dramas and plays? like we read oedipus rex and julius caesar and antigone. and i hated all of them because the teacher made me hate reading and made it seem like a chore. 

by far the worst was the old man and the sea. i hated that book, hemingway was terrible. i struggled to find any kind of meaning in it and connected all of my responses to the bible because my teacher loved it when people did that.

we read inherit the wind and to kill a mockingbird and all quiet on the western front which were the only books i found remotely interesting. but i still hated them because i knew that we would have to do her reading quizzes which were impossible so it was pointless to read the book anyway. 

and we also read a raisin in the sun. i dont remember what this was even about except that there was some kind of insurance money involved. but by this point we were all really done with our teachers shit and my one friend legitimately said during class “but, ms. [name] if you put a raisin in the sun, doesn't it just get more raisiny?”

10th grade ap english language and composition (american lit)

i loved this class and the teacher but i hated all the assigned reading because we read it for the ap test. everything you read was in the context of having to find themes and shit to write about on the ap. so i didn't really get any of the books for that reason. i think we only read three and they were the scarlet letter, the crucible, and the great gatsby. i kind wish i paid more attention to gatsby and i think i would like it more now but at the time i detested it. we also had to read grapes of wrath over the summer and i hated that. i wanna read books to read them, not to come into school and write essays on them. also the ending was weird and i hated it.

11th grade honors (british lit)

another bad year of english, not quite as bad as freshman year, but still bad. still hated it. i outlined many fics in that class. the teacher did not like me and i did not like her. she also talked in this weird fake almost british but not quite accent that sometimes still haunts my nightmares. she was also one of those backwards feminists who claims they're a feminist but still was sexist in her favorites and the way that she treated people in the class?? after english i had math and my friend (the same girl who said the thing about raisins freshman year) and some others would complain to our math teacher about our english teacher. math was essentially a support group for english where we would discuss answers to reading checks. 

over the summer we read 1984, which, cool concept (esp right now) but i hated knowing that i had to find some kind of deep meaning in it because i was going to have to write an essay on it as soon as i came back to school.

from there i think we read beowulf which was interesting. i dont know if we actually read the whole thing or just excerpts but again, i hated looking for meaning.

we read a tale of two cities which was like the one book i actually wanted to read because i am a huge fan of the shadow hunters book serieses and will and tessa quote that book all the time. i think if i had read it to read it it would have been better but first, dickens is wordy and weird and second i dont really wanna have to search out symbolism while I'm reading because its required.

we read macbeth, which i just didn't like. idk why. i just kinda thought it was stupid. i dont really have an explanation for this one. i think it was because we read it in the old english and that confused me a lot of the time.

and we read jane eyre. the only thing i remember from jane eyre was “pathetic fallacy” which is where the mood of the scene is reflected in the weather. i dont wanna dissect a book like that. and also my teacher referred to the book as “jane” but she said it “jAAYYneeE” which was annoying. 

12th grade ap lit

dear god. this class. i had issues with this class. our teacher was something. everyone was afraid of him. e v e r y o n e. he ran detention and didn't know how to match his clothes and wore skinny ties. he had three swell bottles the he would bring with him to school every day. people claimed he used to be in a rock band and that was why his voice was so high pitched and weird. some said his wife left him, others said he had a kid. we were genuinely confused by him. he didn't teach, he yelled at you for doing things wrong without giving any instructions on how he actually wanted it done. he made college out to be some big scary thing where we would all be trampled. but mostly, he was an existentialist. 

we had to read song of solomon over the summer. i hated it. i didn't hate it because of the messages and all that stuff, no the book itself was good and toni morrison is a great author. i just hated the fact that there was graphic description of incest, necrophilia, or sex at least once every 5-10 pages. i didn't wanna read that. and it turned me off the book. so when he asked us if we liked the book when the year started i said no and i argued with him about it. and he hated me for the entire year. 

next i think we read waiting for godot. which was absolutely terrible. its literally a play where nothing happens. it would have been funny except that i knew i was gonna have to write an essay on it. how do you write an essay on a play where nothing happens? literally all of our discussions about it were about existentialism and it was terrible. 

we read the metamorphosis, which everyone hated cause it could have been written in like 4 sentences. and our teacher thought he was So Clever for assigning it to us. he thought it was the biggest joke. and he went on and on about how its about existentialism and blah blah. the book would have been funny had he not only discussed it in regards to existentialism. 

i think next was hamlet. i would have like hamlet had we not discussed it only through the lens of existentialism. its a good play, but i hated it because of the way he talked about it. even now, i only like it to make fun of the way he liked it. my friend and i send hamlet memes to each other all the time but only cause they remind us of our teacher.

one flew over the cuckoos nest. the second and final book that i actually liked my entirety of school. i dont know why i liked it, but it was just a good book. our teacher also had some kind of weird cowboy trope thing that he thought mcmurphy fell under which i thought was hilarious. the essay i wrote on that book was the only one he wrote “nice job” on and i still have it somewhere

my friend claims that we also read the stranger. i dont really remember what that book was about except some guy shot some people. there was definitely something in it that i didnt get. 

anyway in conclusion required reading ruins books. when i told my creative writing advisor that i out of all the books i read for school i only like the outsiders and one flew over the cuckoos nest she was like “yeah, english teachers really ruin books for students”

[barnesthesarge]

Flightless Bird

Pairings: Bucky X Reader

Summary: Based on the song “Flightless Bird, American Mouth” by Iron & Wine!! Bucky passes by a coffee shop and hears Y/N singing and can’t help but stay and listen.

A/N: I love this song so much and I can’t help but listen to it like 46299374 times! I definitely recommend it.

Warnings: Fluff (idk why I’m warning y’all about that), just some sad thoughts but nothing really.

Written: August 11, 2018

Friday nights in Brooklyn always meant crowded streets, loud people, and disguises for Bucky Barnes. But it also meant he got to hear you sing at his now favorite coffee shop.

The first time he heard you, he was just walking past to get to his apartment away from the Tower. The door to the café was propped open with a speaker, filling the streets with your voice. When he heard your voice, he stopped in his tracks, forced himself inside, and watched. He could see the passion behind what you sang, and couldn’t help but think you had to be a siren, the voice, and those beautiful Y/E/C orbs.

He discovered that you performed every Friday from 8-9 p.m. and made it a priority to go. He even declined to go on missions that would prevent him from hearing you. His favorite song you sang was what he presumed to be a love song, he didn’t know the name but knew some of the lyrics.

Have I found you?

Flightless Bird , jealous, weeping

Or lost you?

American mouth

Big bill looming

He would get lost in the song, always disappointed when you finished it. He wanted to talk to you badly, but decided against it. He was scared you knew who he was—what he did. He didn’t want you to fear him, so he kept his distance in the corner seat of the café.

One night Steve came with him, he was curious as to why Bucky was always leaving the house on Fridays, where he was going. Bucky was a bit against Steve coming, he wanted you to be his secret, bringing Captain America places didn’t exactly help keep himself concealed.

Steve saw the way Bucky reacted to you, and knew what he was feeling, “Bucky why don’t you go talk to her? She’s closing set. Tip her of something.” Bucky shook his head and finished his coffee, he always let it sit to make it look like he wasn’t lingering.

“It’s best not to get involved. Let’s get going, I don’t want her to see me.” He gathered his stuff, only his phone and wallet and stood up to leave.

Steve stalked off to go talk to her, and Bucky started to panic, he sat back down to listen to them speak.

“Hey, you’re absolutely wonderful. Thank you for playing.” He handed the girl a couple bills and her smiled, breathtaking.

“Thank you so much! That means a lot to me. I also gig at The Old Boot down the street, it’s a bar, I um, perform Saturdays, at like 6-7 and then 9-9:30, if you’re interested. I’m glad you enjoyed.” She tucked the bill into her pocket, Bucky couldn’t stop staring, her voice so comforting, even when she was speaking.

“Awesome! I might just have to go get a couple drinks.” Steve smiled, “I’m Steve, my friend over there, Bucky, dragged me here, I’m glad he did.” She looked at Bucky and he froze, she grinned and waved at him and he smiled softly back.

“I’m Y/N, I hope I see you around but I have to get going before the drunk crowd gets out. Nice meeting you.” They shared another smile and she disappeared outside the door.

Bucky let out a breath he didn’t realize he was holding and stood up, walking over to Steve, “Asshole. Let’s go home.” They walked out the café door and walked the couple blocks to their shared apartment.

“I don’t get why you don’t just talk to her, she seems sweet. She didn’t even recognize me, what makes you think she’d know who you are?” Bucky had his left hand tucked into his pocket.

“Because my face was plastered all over the news. She probably thinks I’m a monster.” He sighed and took his metal hand out of his pocket, looking at the way the different plates shifted when he moved it.

“You never know until you talk to her.” Steve retorted, patting Bucky on the back, making him recoil slightly.

——————

Bucky found himself in The Old Boot, it was getting close to six, meaning he would get to hear you sing again. Tonight he made a bigger effort to hide who he was, wearing a burgundy beanie, dark jeans, and a leather jacket. He got his drink and went to find an empty table in the back away from the stage.

“Hey everyone! Who’s ready for our weekly entertainment?” A man was on the stage talking into the mic, people began yelling and clapping, “Here comes The Old Boots favorite, Y/N Y/L/N!” The bar was bigger than he thought, more people seemed to gather in, throwing tips in her guitar case.

“Hi everyone! Nice to see you all again. I hear it’s couples night? I guess I’ll have to sing some slow songs tonight. The dance floor is all yours tonight Brooklyn.” People cheered and many couples stood up and went onto a makeshift dance floor.

She began to sing his favorite song, her voice soft and beautiful, the words carrying him through everything in his head that threatened to swallow him whole.

Have I found you?

Flightless bird, jealous, weeping

Or lost you?

American mouth

Big bill looming

His lips curled into a smile, he felt lonely and exposed, seeing so many people dancing together, it made him miss his old self again. The old self that went dancing with dames for fun.

Once your set was over, you went to the bar and got a drink, people surrounding you and showering you with compliments, some of the men offering you drinks. You started walking his way with a drink so he quickly looked back at his, pretending not to notice you.

You sat down in the chair across from him, his cheeks increasing in temperature, you eyed him with a curious look.

“Aren’t you the guy who’s always in the café when I sing? Steve’s friend right?” You asked, he swallowed thickly.

“Y-yeah that’s me.” His gloved left hand under the table, and his right now scratching the back of his neck nervously.

“Hmm, I’m starting to think you’re either a fan or just a stalker.” When you saw his eyes looked frightened you threw your hands up, “Sorry that was just a joke, I promise.”

Bucky was horrified that you noticed him, he had tried so hard to make sure you never did, his disguise didn’t work.

“You have a lovely voice. I shouldn’t have come.” He stood up to leave and you looked sad.

“You don’t have to go, I find it sweet.” Bucky looked back at you briefly and sighed.

“What’s that song called? The one about the flightless bird?” He sat back down and took another sip of his drink.

“The first one I sang? That’s uh, it’s called Flightless Bird, American Mouth, by Iron & Wine. You like it?” The corners of your lips perked up.

“Yeah, it’s my favorite one you sing.” He blushed bashfully and pulled out his phone to write it down.

“It’s mine too. It’s from that cheesy vampire movie Twilight, but the song has stuck with me since. I think it’s a love song but some people on the internet think it’s political.” You chuckled softly and took another sip of your drink, frowning slightly, “This tastes awful.”

“I’m Bucky.” He said barely above a whisper, you grinned again.

“When your friend introduced you as Bucky, I thought it was such a cool name that I haven’t gotten you outta my head since. Granted it’s only been a day but, whatever. I’ve wanted to talk to you in the café but figured you didn’t want to be talked to. I think this might be a sign that you want to because why else would you show up here? I’m rambling sorry.” He was blushing furiously, you wanted to talk to him?

“No worries doll, I’m a bit shy s’all. Yeah it’s a sign that I’d like to get to know you. You don’t have to though, I’ll understand.” Another man came over to their table and ignored Bucky.

“Y/N, care to dance?” He set his drink down on their table and held his hand out.

“Actually, Randy I’ll take a rain check on that. How many drinks have you had anyways? You tend to get a bit handsy when you’re drunk. Dancing with you is gross.” You spat and he chuckled dryly.

“Don’t be shy with me babe.” He grabbed your hand and Bucky growled, standing up.

“She told you no, better leave before you get your ass beat.” The man, Randy, looked Bucky up and down before recognition was in his eyes, he grabbed his drink and fled.

“Good Christ thank you. He’s been pinning after me for weeks, nasty fella. Are you hungry at all? I feel like havin’ a burger.” You stood up and beckoned him to follow you.

Bucky felt horrible, if that man who was drunk knew who he was, who’s to say you didn’t, that you weren’t just trying to be nice to save your skin? He followed you anyways, holding his empty glass in his hand.

“Yo, May, can I get my usual please? And a Dr. Pepper?” You looked back at him, “You want anything?” He shook his head and desperately tried to clear his head.

She came closer to him, “Are you alright Bucky?” He looked at her for a moment.

“Y/N it was nice talking to you but it’s a bit crowded her and it’s really hot. I’m gonna get going. I’ll see you Friday.” He left right afterwards, leaving you standing at the bar counter.

——————

Throughout the week, Bucky couldn’t stop thinking about you, he hadn’t noticed any signs of you being afraid of him, but he had been so nervous himself he couldn’t focus. It was Friday, and he was debating whether or not to go. Maybe he should leave you alone, for the rest of your life, save you from his misery.

“Bucky, it’s almost 8, why aren’t you ready?” Steve knocked on his bedroom door.

“I’m not going. I’m going to leave her alone. Forever.” He mumbled numbly, it was his own fault for ever thinking you and him could have something.

“Bucky, what happened at the bar? Did you talk to her?” Steve asked, he had opened the door and sat next to Bucky on the bed.

“She spoke to me.” He explained what happened, to the best of his ability, not sparing any details.

“Bucky, you realize she’s into you right? You have to go, c’mon, get dressed, I don’t want to be late.” Bucky studied Steve’s face for any hints he could be lying.

“You think she likes me?” He questioned.

“I know she likes you Buck, now get dressed, punk.” Bucky did as he was told.

——————

The two men were fifteen minutes late, Y/N smiled when they walked in. Once you finished playing the current song, you began to play familiar notes and chords.

He listened to your voice carefully, shutting his eyes just to listen to the way your voice carried the lyrics. He loved every second of it. After you sang the song you spoke into the mic.

“I wanted to apologize, I’m not able to finish my set all the way this week, I’ll be here next week to do so. Have a nice weekend.” Your voice sounded nervous. You began to pack away your guitar and unplug the microphone.

Bucky didn’t hesitate to walk over, “I’m sorry for leaving like that last weekend. I don’t do good in crowds.”

“It’s fine.” You grabbed the straps of your guitar case and put it on like a backpack. “I won’t be performing at the bar tomorrow. See you next week.” You went to leave and Bucky spoke up.

“Are you mad at me?” He asked.

“No Bucky, I have personal issues going on right now that I need to take care of. I’ll see you.” He frowned.

“Wait, here let me give you my number, text me or call me if you ever need anything. I’m not always in Brooklyn but I can be here fast.” He scribbled his number down on a napkin and handed it to you.

“Thank you Bucky. I um, I’ll text you okay? Maybe we can hang out.” You waved at Steve and smiled, and left the café.

——————

The next day, Bucky woke up because his phone buzzed, he grew accustomed to getting up to missions he needed to do from Tony. He looked at his screen and saw it was an unknown number.

Unknown: Hey Bucky it’s Y/N

He smiled and instantly wrote back: Hey Y/N, how are you?

Y/N: I’ve been better, you?

I’m doing fine, do you want to talk about it?

Y/N: Nah, wanna grab a coffee or something?

That sounds awesome, meet you there in twenty?

Y/N: sure thing Buckaroo. See you there

Bucky grinned and quickly shot out of bed, he got in the shower and got changed fast, he had ten minutes. He sent a text to Steve saying he was meeting you for coffee and left the apartment.

He sped-walked, trying to beat you there, once he got there he sat down at his usual table and waited, within the next two minutes you came in and spotted him.

You sat down across from him and smiled, “Hey Bucky.”

“Hey Y/N.” He leaned his head down on his arm and studied your features, the way the natural light hit your face, making your eyes light up.

“Take a picture, it’ll last you longer.” You teased, “Did you already order?”

“No I was waiting for you doll.” You blushed at the nickname and stood up to order, Bucky followed close behind.

——————

A/N: I reached the limit so I’ll just do a part two bc I SUCK (it will prolly be up within the next day)

[minuteworkout-blog]

lifestyle membership review

Everyone wants to be rich. But very few are conscious that their definition of "rich" maybe be described as a little out. According to Robert Kiyosaki, the Writer of "Rich Dad Poor Dad" and "Cash Flow Quadrant", one will need "passive income" to be able to be rich.

What is passive income?

Basically, passive income is marketing tools that you'll get even if you are not working. This means that you can still earn passive income together with your job, or you might are amiss and live off the passive income you earn. For instance:

A) if you're to purchase Blue Chips, you will be able to yield dividend base on your own investments without much work or effort after the initial research stage where Blue Chips to invest.

B) You open any franchise stall like McDonalds and let the franchise system run your McDonalds without you needing to just work at all. (You don't spot the franchise owner at the cashier or serving you your Big Breakfast would you?

C) You're involved with some legitimate MLM (let's not really get into illegitimate ones) and you have to either try to convince enough people to convince others or to get your products or services.

D) You're an insurance agent and your clients renew their policy every year.

E) You've properties and you rent it out to receive payment every month.

The list continues on, but you get a hard picture now right?

So yes now you know what passive income is, what is the fuss about then?

What I wish to highlight is what is explained in his "Cash Flow Quadrant"

CHARTS! I know some of us (yes which includes me)hate charts, but there's no simpler way to describe the importance of passive income. The broad idea is, if you participate in the left side of the quadrant (if you are an employee or self-employed), you then are earning what is called an "active income ".Put simply, you are trading TIME with MONEY. You may have employment with a higher income, but you have to make the required trade eventually and discount on your own other priorities.

The best side of the quadrant, on another hand, offers you income EVEN if you are not working. For many who are confused involving the difference of self employed an a company owner, the simplest test is always to consider are you trading time with money? If you have your own personal food stall selling burgers, you then are self employed. If you have a franchise which inherently has a proven system to assist you run your organization (like McDonalds, notice how they train all their employees with "Welcome to McDonalds, having here or take away?"), you then participate in the proper side of the quadrant.

To help expand illustrate my point on how highly valued passive income is, people buy residential properties merely to rent it out for passive income! So don't underestimate passive income even when the worthiness is not as high as what you may get with active effort.

Why Make Passive Income Online?

So yes, passive income is truly minute workout. But why the internet? Even the above mentioned examples may give me passive income.

The solution is easy, if you want a "vehicle" to have passive income, you'll want one that gives you the absolute most benefit, and the internet has the advantages of:

1. You do not have to have a large capital, unlike property investment or Blue Chips.

2. You are able to keep yourself anonymous. You do not need to make cold calls or harass your own personal friends and family for legitimate multilevel marketing, which more regularly than not make relationships sour.

3. You are able to work anywhere and anytime as long as you have a computer/ laptop (or even a high end phone) and an internet connection.

4. Your target audience is the entire wide world of internet, thus you are able to project your organization idea to the world even when you're an introvert.

5. You are able to check the se, forums, reviews, articles to see if what you're planning to put your effort in is a con or not. If there's complains or there's no news about the programme you're considering to do, then almost certainly it is a scam. You can't shut the opinions of the entire wide world of internet. Hence, contrary to popular belief, there's less risk of getting scammed on the web once you learn how to do your research, as compared to the outside world where it's likely you have limited avenues to do your research. (If someone approaches you and let you know about a legitimate multi level marketing scheme, there's limited resources to do your research on, and simply because someone you ask don't learn about it doesn't mean it's a con, it really mean he or she doesn't know. In place of, if the world of internet is silent about the internet programme you're about to purchase, you then know it's hideous and not trustworthy)

[pastelbatfandoms]

ABCs of your OCs

A list of oc questions in alphabetical categories - i made each category based on the first word I could think of in alphabetical order, so enjoy!

Decided to try and answer these using Gifs and Images of My characters (aka who or what reminds me of My character)

Going to start with My Flash character Renee West. My OC is mainly “played by” Lyndsy Fonseca. 

A: Aptitude 1. what are your oc’s natural abilities, things they’ve been doing since young?   Science and Writing.

2. what activities have they participated in? 

Took Journalism and Fashion Design in College 

(accurate except she doesn’t smoke or wear a beret.)

3. what abilities do they have?  Can create Lightning and thunderstorms via the weather.

Also Obsidian Storm but she’s less of a power and more like another person inside Renee (like Killer Frost)

4. what things are they bad at? Skill wise,anything involving putting something together. (unless it’s making a suit) Her Scientific interests mainly involved numbers,math and the human psyche. 

5. what is their most impressive talent? um her powers. Not magical her Forensic talents.

Renee actually does Forensic facial reconstruction (Digitally) but I couldn’t find a gif,not even from Bones!

B: Basics 1. what is their hair color? (More Brown then red though)

Gets white streaks when Obsidian is present. 

2. what is their eye color? Blue Green. Becomes lighter and laced with Lightning when Obsidian Storm. 

3. how tall are they? All My female characters are under 6′0″ (unless they’re supernatural) 

4. how old are they? 28 (March 18) 

5. how much do they weigh?

C: Comfort 1. how do they sit in a chair? 

2. in what position do they sleep? On her back,but she moves around alot. 

3. what is their ideal comfort day? Hanging out at home with her S.O. Cuddling and watching a movie Or going out to a nice restaurant or a coffee shop. Shopping and hanging out with her Friends. 

4. what is their major comfort food? A Home cooked meal. If not then Chinese Takeout,Coffee or Big Belly Burger. 

 5. who is the best at comforting them when down? Caitlin or her Dad Joe. HR and Harry as well. 

D: Decoration 1. how would they decorate a house if they had one under their name? Well Harry bought her a Penthouse. It’s very rich looking,cream colored walls,Expansive Living room and nice leather furniture. 

2. how would they decorate their child’s room? I don’t think she’ll ever have a kid plus she is a Stepmother to Jessie. 

 3. how do they decorate their own room? A mixture of these with some blue mood lighting at night and pictures or a painting of Thunderstorms. 

(Chair,Colors and Jewelry or pressed flowers on the wall)

(Bed,Footstool,Design and Lamps)

4. what type of clothes and accessories do they wear? Renee’s style seems to fluctuate but it leans towards more classic with bright,Dark or creme colors,statement Jewelry with an edge. More Casual and Sporty while at home or Training. Classy if she’s dressing up. 

 5. do they like makeup/nail/beauty trends? She doesn’t go out of her way to watch Trends. But she likes to look nice in public and is especially mindful of her makeup. 

E: External Personality 1. does the way they do things portray their internal personality? I guess..She’s not fake if that’s what you mean. 

2. do they do things that conform to the norm? lol no not really.

3. do they follow trends or do their own thing? A bit of both. 

 4. are they up-to-date on the internet fads? 

5. do they portray their personality intentionally or let people figure it out on their own? Again she’s not fake. But she’s also not the mysterious type either. Takes a bit until you meet Obsidian Storm though. 

F: Fun 1. what do they do for fun? Already answered.

2. what is their ideal party? Something Classy or themed. 

3. who would they have the most fun with? Her Best Friends Cisco & Caitlin,Her Sister Iris or HR.

4. can they have fun while conforming to rules? lol yes well as Renee anyway...

5. do they go out a lot? Yeah,when she’s not working. 

G: Gorgeous 1. what is their most attractive external feature? Hair or eyes.

2. what is the most attractive part of their personality? Her intelligence but also her optimism to never give up on Friends,Family or relationships. Her Inner and outer Strength. 

 3. what benefits come with being their friend? Loyalty,a good listener,someone who always has your back. 

 4. what parts of them do they like and dislike? She both likes and dislikes her optimism,sometimes,like with S.O’s,she dislikes how optimistic or forgiving she can be. 

5. what parts of others do they envy? She wishes she was as smart in the medical field as Caitlin is and she wishes she were more realistic like Joe.

H: Heat 1. do they rather a hot or cold room? 

2. do they prefer summer or winter? Winter

3. do they like the snow? Yes.

4. do they have a favorite summer activity? Going to the beach,late night bar hopping or Shopping.

5. do they have a favorite winter activity? Again more Shopping lol,staying home with a good book or cuddling with her S.O’s watching a movie. 

I: In-the-closet 1. what is their sexuality? Bi Sexaul (But prefers Men). Polyamoures. 

2. have they ever questioned their sexuality? No

3. have they ever questioned their gender? No

4. would/was their family be okay with them being LGBT? Yes

 5. how long would/did it take for them to come out? She was out in High School.

J: Joy 1. what makes them happy? Date nights,a good movie or book,nice things,adventure,her job,good food. 

2. who makes them happy? Her Family (Joe,Wally,Iris and Barry) her Friends (Caitlin,Cisco,Felicity & The Legends) Her S.O’s (Thawne and The Wells’s.) & Obsidian Storm who has become like a Twin to her.

3. are there any songs that bring them joy? Wow I have a whole playlist...The songs that describe her and Storm though would be. 

Hey Violet-Guys My Age

Hey Violet-Brand New Moves

Mischa Book Chillak-Ready or Not

Ruelle-Genesis

4. are they happy often? I think this gif about sums it up,even though she’s a Pisces,her life doesn’t let her be the eternal optimist and she is overly emotional and Sensitive. 

5. what brings them the most joy in the world?

K: Kill 1. have they ever thought about suicide? I don’t write that. They may have dark thoughts but never act on them,this is not 13 reasons why.

2. have they ever thought about homicide? Um as in Killing someone? As Obsidian Storm yes. No not Harry! He’s just in the gif. 

3. if they could kill anyone without punishment, would they? who? Maybe Storm would want to kill Savitar but I think Renee would stop her before it got that far. 

4. who would miss them if they died? EVERYONE. Eobard was furious after Renee died in the future and Harry & HR were beside themselves when they thought she was going to die after what happens at the end. 

5. who would be happy they died, anyone? No,idk Savitar was the one that killed her in the future. 

L: Lemons 1. what is their favorite fruit? 2. what is their least favorite fruit? 

3. are there any foods they hate? 

4. do they have any food intolerances? 

5. what is their favorite food?

M: Maternal 1. would they want a daughter or a son? Wouldn’t really care.

2. how many children do they want? 1 or 2

3. would they be a good parent? Yes

4. what would they name a son? Harrison

what would they name a daughter? Harriet 

5. would they adopt? Possibly

N: Never Have I Ever 

1. what would they never do? Not sure but I know their Dislikes. Obsidian is very much a Pisces when it comes to their Dislikes (hates Authority & Criticism,dislikes crowds.) Renee’s dislikes would be being clumsy (much more so as a Teen),Judgemental or non supportive people,Not being mentally stimulated,being rushed,lack of money.They both dislike a lack of freedom.

2. what have they never done that they want to do? Skydiving or Snowboarding.

3. is there anything they absolutely can’t believe people do? Judge others without knowing them.

4. what is the most embarrassing thing they’ve done? 

5. have they done anything they thought they’d never do? Traveled the world.Being with a Speedster had it’s advantages. 

O: Optimism 1. are they optimistic or pessimistic? 

2. are they openly optimistic? 

 3. are they good at giving advice?

 4. is there anyone in their life that throws optimism on them? 

5. were they always optimistic?

>>>P: Personality 1. what is their best personality trait? 

2. what is their worst personality trait? 

3. what of their personality do others love? 

4. what of their personality do others envy? 

5. do they hate anything about their personality/about other’s personalities? <<<Might fill that out later,

Q: Questions 1. do they ask for help?

 2. do they ask questions in class?

 3. do they answer questions that make them a little uncomfortable? 

4. do they ask weird questions? 

5. are they curious?

R: Rules 1. do they follow rules? Sometimes.

 2. would they be a strict or laid-back parent? A good balance. 

3. have they ever been consequences for breaking a rule? I mean being kicked out of Team Flash for one. 

4. have they broken any rules they now regret breaking? I think she regrets leaving everyone after Eobard “Died” and joining The Rogues,becoming a thief/ villain. but only partly because then she would never have met (and dated) Snart and Rory. Also regrets joining The Young Rogues more recently. 

5. do they find any rules they/others follow absolutely ridiculous? Obsidian finds most rules ridiculous lol.

S: Streets 1. are they street-smart? Yes

2. would they give money to someone on the streets? Probably

3. have they ever gotten in a fight on the streets? Yes

4. has anything happened to them on the streets? Other then Fights,no.

5. are they cautious when out? a bit but with Storm watching her back and being trained in hand to hand combat,she really doesn’t need to be. 

T: Truth 1. are they honest? Renee is.

 2. can they tell if someone is lying? Yes

3. is it obvious when they’re lying? Not always

 4. have they lied about anything they regret lying about? Lying to Team Flash and Sherloque about her and Nora seeing Thawne in the future.

5. have they ever been talked about behind there back? I doubt it.

U: Underdog 1. have they been bullied? 

2. have they bullied anyone? 

3. have they been physically attacked? Duh she’s a Meta.

4. have they ever been doubted? Yes.

5. have they surprised people with being good at something? Surprised Harry with how smart and resourceful she is. (when they first met)

V: Vomit 1. do they vomit often? 2. do they get lots of stomach aches? 3. are they good at comforting someone ill? 4. what do they like as far as comfort goes? 5. do they burp, cough, or hiccup most when nauseous? when vomiting?

W: Water 1. do they drink enough water? 2. have they learned to swim? 3. do they like to swim? 4. can they dive? 5. can they swim without holding their nose?

X: Xylophone 1. what is their favorite genre of music? Pop,Hair Metal or Indie

2. do they have a favorite song? Poison ‘Talk Dirty to me.’

3. do they have a favorite band/artist/singer? Lady Gaga,Ruelle & Poison

4. can they sing well? Sure

5. can they rap? lol No I don’t think I have any rappers,maybe Suzanna in private.

Y: You 1. how old were you when you created them? It was in 2017.

2. what inspired you to create them? Watching The Flash

3. were they different when they were first created? No

4. do you enjoy writing them more than other characters? I think she’s easier to write then alot of My characters (aside from Suzanna My TWD Character) 

5. what’s your favorite thing about them? Her Wit,Intelligence,open mindedness,I love writing the duality between her and Storm and of course her different relationships with Thawne and The Wells’s. 

Z: Zebra 1. what’s their favorite animal? 2. do they like animals? 3. cats or dogs? 4. what’s their dream pet? 5. do they have any pets at the moment?

[shannxoxon]

Raised from perdition

Read Chapter 1

Read Chapter 2

Read Chapter 3

Chapter 4: Dead Daddy’s club

Pairing: Dean x Reader (season 4)

Summary: You had known the Winchester boys for about a year and a half now, you had met them on a hunt and found out that your dads had worked together a few years back. Sam had been like an older brother to you and Dean… well, you wished Dean had seen you as more than a little sister.

You and Dean are working a case together, but your past comes back to haunt you yet again. You and Dean find out about Sam’s ‘co-curricular’ activites and Dean tells you the truth about what he remembers from the pit.

(Loosely following the events of season 4, this is kinda an orignal story line tho)

Warnings: Swearing, physical violence, more implied smut (finally)

Words: 2,755

Author’s notes: I would love to hear any feedback or suggestions on this fic! also let me know if you want to be tagged in upcoming chapters! Also im really happy with how this chaper turned out so I hope you enjoy it!

You turned the tap and the water came pouring out, you waited for it to heat up before you stepped under the it. You and the boys were back in another dingy hotel, working on cases while trying to stop Lilith from breaking the seals. The boys had gone out for some food, so you finally got a chance to hang out in the room by yourself. It had felt like you hadn’t had a shower in years, in this job you were constantly covered in blood or dirt so taking a shower was always like a fresh start. You ran your hands through your Y/H/C coloured hair and washed out as much grease from it as you could. You grabbed a shaver from the shelf and hacked at the hair on your legs then washed yourself with the complimentry body wash that smelt mostly of chemicals. You stepped out of the shower and wrapped yourself in a towel, you always forgot to bring in clean clothes when you got into the shower. You dried your hair and gave it a brush before putting it up into a messy bun on your head. You opened the door into the bedroom to get dressed when you notice Dean sitting at the table eating a slice of pie. “What the hell, I thought you guys went out to eat” you held onto the towel to stop it from falling down. “We got it to go.” Dean mumbled, his mouth full of food. Dean’s eyes wondered over your body, he had seen you in less before but it had been a while since that night. You grabbed your clothes and headed back into the bathroom to change, Dean didn’t take his eyes of you until you closed the door. You walked back out after a minute in one of Dean’s old tshirts (You didn’t really have much clothes with you so you took all the hand-me-downs you could get) that almost covered your knees. Dean liked it when you would wear his clothes. “Did you get me anything” you ask, hopeing he brought you back something to eat. He passed you a burger and you took a seat next to him. “Where’s Sam?” you ask, taking a bite into your food. “He went to do some research on the case.” you looked over to Sam’s bed, his laptop sitting in the middle of it. “Without his laptop?” you ask, Dean just gave you a shrug and took a sip from his beer. “So what do we know about this case?” you picked up Dean’s beer and take a sip, he gives you a half annoyed, half flirty look, you knew that you had been teasing him after the way you saw him looking at you and you liked it, being in control for once. “Just the usual, woman goes crazy murders her husband and then goes on a killing spree, after she was caught claimed she didn’t remember a thing, said she was possesed.”

You were leaving the police station, you had interveiwed the woman who had killed those people. Her story seemed to fit with any typical demon possession. Now you just had to figure out why. You and Dean made your way back to the motel to meet up with Sam and fill him in on what you had found out. Dean opened the door to the motel room and all of a sudden he fell to the ground, he had been knocked out by a tall, skinny man, another 2 men where standing behind him, there eyes flashed black and you knew right away. The skinny man walked up to you and punched you hard in the gut, you fell to your knees holding your stomach, groaning in pain. “Long time no see” he says to you, you were confused, you dont think you had ever me this demon before, you couldn’t think about it much longer before he knocked you out with the back of your gun. You woke up tied to a chair in a dark room. You could feel your hands and feet had been tied to the limbs of a chair. you tried to lift your head but your whole body seiezed in pain, you assumed the demon must have gone a few rounds with you while you were passed out. Your eyes finally adjusted to the dark room and you could see a few objects around you, you looked over to your right and see Dean tied up like you were, still knocked out. “Dean” you whisper to him, you didn’t want to alert the Demons and let them know you had woken up. “Dean” you whisper again a little louder. You see his head move and his body shift, when he finally came to he tried to free himself from the ropes but it seemed to be know use. “Y/N, you ok,” you gave yourself a quick once over on your body, making sure you had no serious damage. “Yea, I think so” you reply. “What about you?” Dean did the same and checked his body for anything. “Yea, im fine” you wait a second and have another look around the room for anyhing that could help determine where you are, or could help get you out. “So whats the plan Dean?” it wouldn’t be long until the Demons would barge through the door and probably kill the both of you. “Im thinking!” Dean sounded agetatted, he must be at a lose for anyway of breaking free. The door infront of you swings open and the same man from the motel stood before you, he walked in and turned on the light, It looked as if you were in a factory wearhouse somewhere. “Well, if it aint the dead daddy’s club.” the demon looks at Dean then at You, he gives you an evil grin. “And who the hell are you suppose to be?” Dean asks, that all to familiar sarcastic voice was back. “Well Dean we havn’t had the pleasure yet, but I’v heard all about you.” Dean gave the demon his usual smirk “I know, I’m kinda a celebrity.” Dean laughes, followed by a painful cough. The demon turns back to you, he started walking around you, touching your hair, then you bareskin. “Don’t touch her, you bastard” Dean warned. “It’s ok Dean, me and Y/N go way back.” you were confused, you don’t remember who this demon was. “Y/N, you don’t remember? oh that’s to bad we had so much fun together. You and your Daddy had been tracking me down, trying to ruin the fun I was having” you stopped yourself from going back to that night, the one you had tried to forget. “Your Daddy found me and trapped me didnt he, tried to exorcise me” you couldn’t hear the rest, you didn’t want to. “Shut up, just Shut up!” you yelled pulling at the ropes on your arms, wishing yourself loose so you could jump on the son of a bitch and kill him. “But Daddy was a little rusty, made a mistake and I got free. then you walked in, and then we had our fun didn’t we.” Dean was looking at you, but you couldn’t look back. “Don’t listen to him Y/N, he just trying to mess with your head” He wanted to help you but he didn’t know how, he was useless tied up like this. “I made you watch didn’t I, as I tore your Daddy limb from limb” you stopped struggling and your head dropped “I’m going to kill you” you said in a low voice, barley audible. “What was that?” the demon asked. You lifted your head back up and stared at him. You tried your best not to show any fear. “I said, Im going to fucking KILL YOU!” the demon just laughs at you, tearing you up inside. “So what you kidnapped us and now your going to kill us?” Dean asks, he knew you couldnt take much more of his taunting. “Not yet, you know Lilith want’s your brothers head on a spike.” “So this is a trap then? for Sam?” the demon holds up his hand “Ding, Ding, Ding, you’ve hit the jackpot” Dean shakes his head with a smirk on his face, “You think Sam will fall for this?” the demon stops in front of Dean and leans down so they are face to face. “I’m counting on it.” The demon raises his hand and you feel like all the bones in your body begin to break, and your throat closes up. You heard a loud commotion in the other room and suddenly preassure on your body was gone. The door slams open and Sam is standing there, a woman standing next to him and the other demons were lying on the floor. “Well Sam it’s about time you showed up.” Sam held up his hand to the demon and closed his eyes. The demon started shaking and black smoke started to exit his mouth, you couldn’t believe what you were seeing, Sam was excorsising a demon with his mind.

You were back at the motel, your body ached all over. Sam and Dean where outside fighting over what Sam had just done. So you thought it was best to just get out of their way. You pulled of your clothes and put on Dean’s old tshirst, you could hear Dean yelling outside at his brother and he sounded pissed. You sat on Dean’s bed and waited while the boys figured their shit out. To be honest you agreed with Dean, that what Sam was doing was crazy and Ruby was bad news. You knew well enough that all demon’s were just...evil. Dean swung open the door to the motel room and slammed it right behind him, Sam didn’t follow. He walked over to the fridge and pulled out a beer. It was a little awkward, you could tell Dean was angry still and you thought if you said anything to him now he might take it out on you. So you just sat on his bed in silence. Two beers later and finally Dean spoke. “I can’t believe him” you really didn’t want to get yourself involved in the brothers fight, it was a complex relationship they had. “He did save our life.” you say, Dean looked at you with the same eye’s he was giving your brother on the car ride home. “He can exorcise demons with his mind Y/N, thats not normal” you nodded your head, agreeing with him. There was another long pauce before anyone spoke, “So that demon, he killed your dad?” you went silent, “I don’t want to talk about it.” you say. “Look it’s ok, I know what its --” you cut him short “I said I dont want to talk about it Dean” you stood up facing him with your arms crossed. “I just think, it helps to talk about it” you opened you eyes wide, really? you thought, he was such hypocryte. “Ok you want an open hour, lets talk about you huh? what do you remember from hell Dean?” Dean stood up and moved towards you, aggetated that you had brought this topic of conversation up. “I told you, I dont remember a god damn thing.” you knew the truth though, you had known Dean long enough now to know when he was lying. “So the nightmares, they have nothing to do with it?” Dean looked away from you, he was upset. “I don’t know what your talking about.” “Come on Dean, I know you” you move towards him, you were only a few inches away. “What do you want me to say?” Dean yelled, he had never acted like this around you, he was usually calm and gentel with you but this was a knew side of Dean you had never seen before. “I remember everything ok, I remember every god damn thing that happened to me down there. Not only that but 4 months in the pit, it’s like 40 years.” You wanted to reach out and touch him, comfort him but you were frozen. He continued, it was like he had been holding this in and needed to let it out to somene, someone he trusted. “They, uh... They sliced and carved and tore at me in ways that you... Until there was nothing left. And then, suddenly... I would be whole again... like magic... just so they could start in all over. And this demon, Alastair... at the end of every day... every one... he would come over. And he would make me an offer. To take me off the rack... if I put souls on... if I started the torturing. And every day, I told him to stick it where the sun shines. For 30 years, I told him. But then I couldn't do it anymore, Y/N. I couldn't. And I got off that rack. God help me, I got right off it, and I started ripping them apart. I lost count of how many souls.” you noticed his were glassy and filling up with water.  “The -- the things that I did to them. “How I feel... This... inside me... I wish I couldn't feel anything, Y/N I wish I couldn't feel a damn thing.” You knew there was nothing you could say to help him or make it better. You put your hand on his cheek and he leaned into it. You move in and press your lips against his. It was all you could think to do and it seemed to work as you felt his heart beat slow under your hand which was resting on his chest. You pulled away and looked at him. He had a look of shock on his face, you guess he wasn’t expecting what had just happened. For second you thought maybe that wasn’t what he wanted but Dean grabbed the back of your neck and kissed you again, harder. You reached up and put your arms around his neck, you needed to be as close to him as you could get, to make sure he knew you were there. You and Dean needed each other more than you had realised until this moment. Dean started to pick up the pace, the kiss went from gentle to passionate and you let your hands down from his neck to his chest. Dean’s lips wondered from your mouth to your neck and you let out a small moan. That must have set him off because Dean picked you up and pushed you against the wall. You pulled off Dean’s shirt and threw it down on the ground, you let your hands move all around his upper body, taking in how he felt under your finger tips. One of Dean’s hands was still on your ass, holding you up on him, the other was exploring under your top. He moved you over to the bed and pulled your top over your head. You were left basically naked and you had a moment of embarasment, but Dean made you feel comfortable. He placed kisses all over your body, making you moan with each touch. You pulled off his jeans and you were in the exact same position as that night a year ago, you half expected Dean’s phone to ring again or for Sam to walk back through the door, but nothing happened. It was just you and Dean, and for once, in a very long time, you felt genuinly happy.

You woke at around 3am in the morning, Dean had sprung up from the bed sweating and panting, it had been another nightmare. But this time it was different, this time you were there to bring him back to reality. You kissed Dean’s cheek and he turned to look at you. “It’s ok, I’m here.” You both lie back down on the bed you rest your head on Dean’s chest and he warps an arm around you. This felt like what you to had been designed for, to comfort one another, that you would always be there for each other no matter what. “Thank you” you heard Dean whisper to you, you lifted your head from his chest and moved up to his lips, the kiss threatened to become passionate again but you were both exahused so you broke away and layed back down. Even though the world was literally going to shit, and an apocolypse was just begining you had never felt safer than you did right now in Dean’s arms.

To Be Continued...

@polina-93 @stardust1374

[beansnobeef]

Nacho Cheese Doritos Loco Taco Review

At this point, a doritos loco is a “crazy little golden thing” in Spanish and it’s getting weird. I actually have had a couple of these over a few years and I’m always a little underwhelmed. Like the Mac and Cheetos over at burger king, the flavor profile here just doesn’t seem to be strong enough and mostly this is just a taco that gets your fingers all dirty and is kind of a hassle to eat. It is a little bit (nacho) cheesier, but only if you get the chip on your tongue first as the flavor is lost in the beans and tomatoes and sour cream.

It’s not the worst thing in the world, though. It’s definitely something I think everyone should try once, even vegetarian style. I’ll probably eat more in the future.

Speaking of crazy, here’s a cool lil heads up cuz I’m about to talk about abuse for a hot minute. Specifically dredging up some shit outta my life.  

By the time I was twelve years old, my mother had committed me to the mental hospital twice, taken me to numerous psychiatrists, put me in a group home, and had me prescribed Paxil. At some point just after I got in some real trouble at the group home (honestly it’s a pretty funny story that’s not really relevant here) she finally carted me off to live with my grandmother in Montana. Grandma, bless her heart, is an old hippy and she promptly took me off Paxil (and thank goodness, since the drug was later found to increase suicidality in children) and found a cool alternative education program for me to be in, with a tutor during the summer.

I kind of settled into, you know, actually being a kid. I played many video games, I learned how to work emulation on a computer (and later how to work emulation without getting a bunch of malware), I read a bunch, I made friends, I learned how to play Magic, all kinds of stuff. I didn’t speculate much on the source of all my issues previous with my mother but I didn’t feel as crazy as she had insisted I was, and I was thriving more than well enough with my spoily-ass grandma. Just under a year rolled around and one day I’m getting off the bus from school and who shows up at the bus exit? My mother. It was terrifying. One of the most frightening things I’ve had to go through. She carted me over to a rented SUV where she said some mean stuff and insisted that I go live with her again.

What happened next is ridiculous and absurd. I knew I was deeply unhappy living with my mom and I couldn’t handle having to return to that situation, so lil chubby twelve year old me opens that door and bolts out the car and runs right into my grandmother’s home. I’m crying and upset and I insist that I don’t want to go back to living with her. My grandmother and my aunt stood firm by my decision. I don’t really know why (I suppose I should ask them, but I don’t know how much I want to dredge up old feelings) they chose to support me when I refused to go back, but support me they did.

Child Protective Services got involved for the second time in my life, this time initiated by my mother rather than by my school nurse. They dutifully interviewed everyone involved, while my mom spent a bunch of time and money staying at a nearby motel with my stepdad. Within three weeks, they reached a decision. I was to return to my mother and my family was not to intervene. They gave me a few days to get my stuff together and my family held an early birthday dinner as a goodbye at my favorite pizza place with my best friend from school. Early the next morning a cop showed up outside my grandma’s house with my cps caseworker to take me to the airport and return me to my mother. I remember my caseworker bought me a bagel as we waited for the flight.

When I got to my mother’s house, the first thing she did was tie my hands up. She told me she had bought a pair of handcuffs and this was what she would do if I ever laid hands on her, which even at the time I thought was pretty weird because I had never laid hands on her. The next thing she did was go through my stuff. I was a weird kid and I had been really into Dave Barry at the time. Yes, the milquetoast comedy writer for the Miami Herald. I thought he was funny, and I had brought a few books of his with me. I was real into Dilbert, too. Anyway my mom threw all of those books into the trash, b/c they were teaching me sarcasm and misbehavior. She also tore up my picture of my grandmother b/c she was pretty steamed about the whole “having to legally force grandma to give me up” thing. A few days later it was my 13th birthday. We went to blockbuster and I picked out Reign of Fire and we watched it on my stepdad’s fancy home theater stuff and I spilled some soup on the floor and that’s how I was banned forever from eating in the living room.

Anyway I kinda don’t think about this memory very much, it just got dredged up cuz I had a kinda intense acid trip the other day and came out to a bar to support a friend with their own shitty mom issues. I get real adamant on issues of children’s right to self-determination and bodily autonomy and it’s literally just my own shit coming back to haunt me. What if instead of forcing me to live with my abusive-ass mother the system (as it were) actually supported my decision and respected my own ability to figure out that I was in a bad way? Folks, parents especially, scream bloody murder about this shit though. They’re just children, right? Totally incapable of making rational decisions. Don’t know at all what’s best for them, especially know-it-all adolescents.

I still have nightmares that my mother has just come out of nowhere and swooped me up and forced me to live with her again. More often, though, I have deeply uncomfortable dreams that she’s being perfectly civil and we have a perfectly normal and acceptable relationship that isn’t at all built on layers and layers of guilt-tripping and emotional and physical abuse.

You know what’s funny, my mom insisted that I watch Mommie Dearest as a weird psyops effort to convince me that I actually don’t have it that bad and look, this is what a real abusive mother looks like. I mean that’s not funny at all but literally I have to laugh about all this shit cuz the weight of it might crush me still a decade and a half later.

[missl19]

Gang related X Jimin

Gang related :Part 2

Jimin x Reader

Bad boy jimin

chapter 2 - Danger boy

  Jimin you couldn’t get his name out of your head it was stuck , you had only met him a few days ago yet you were hymitised by his looks and bad boy attitude. You wanted to know more about this bad boy which made your heart beat so fast just at the thought of him so you asked your friend Katie if she knew him or heard anything about him. So you to were sat at your favourite coffee place talking about Jimin it was quite not many people around you were sat playing with the straw with your diet coke waiting for her to come back from the bathroom. So far you had found out that his a name was Park Jimin, 24years old a few years older than you ,you were only just 19 so the thought of getting to know his older man made you exited. You also found out he was a dance major but dropped out of college at the age of 19 after he was excepted in to the gang which Katie didn’t tell you much as she didn’t know much the only shred of information you got was that they were trouble and many people feared them as they have done very bad things in the past. In his high school years and college years Katie told you he was known for being a playboy and known for having slept with many girls and then breaking their hearts the next day. That didn’t surprise you to be honest the way we acted and talked you knew he was a total playboy but for some reason that didn’t bother you that made you want to get to know him more.

Days went on and you hadn’t heard or seen jimin at all which you were kind of glad getting involved with someone like that isn’t really the best idea no matter how hot he was he was still trouble and danger and you knew he wasn’t any good.

So why could you not stop thinking about him?

Your lessons went pretty fast today which you were happy for. Your day didn’t really go to plan again as you were late to college as the traffic was so bad today apprently there was an accident on the main road causing you to wait 30 mins in traffic. Then your lesson was cancelled and had to wait 2 hours for the next one only to find that they let you go after 15mins . You decided that it was time for food normally you eat healthy but after another bad day like today was you decided on junk food. You jumped in your car and drove to burger king after getting your order you sat down and sighed at the lovely delicious food in front of you.

Your sisters wedding was coming up soon you were not looking forward to seeing your family one of the main reasons you never got along was that your mother wasn’t the nices person to you always dragging you down with your appearance and your education and job and also you could never have your own spot light your achievements were never as good as your sisters therefor making you a failure in your mothers eye. your father left a few years ago when you were only a child making your family cold and distant from any kind of love and affection. To be honest all you wanted was someone to love you and make you happy your past boyfriends were never any good and you always felt bored or not right with them they weren’t what you wanted.

  You were brought to the attention of a red haired man walking towards your table with a cup of coke in his hand.

“HI babe nice to see you again” he let out a giggle and took a set at the table facing you and looking you in your eyes.

“Hi jimin what happened to your face” you gave a puzzled look after noticing his bruses and cuts on his face that were fresh a few days old so they couldn’t be the fight you saw a few days ago.

“ Aww its nothing love haha just my job” he said pinching a few of your chips .

  Jimin he was your ideal type cute and funny and he had a very firm and built body with you couldn’t help but admire and drool over specialty those thighs. You admit you had a crush on him and wanted him in a relationship way to hold his hand as you walk across the beach eating ice cream but you also wanted him in a sexually way you aren’t going to denine you felt  attracted to him and felt a certain way when he was around but knowing his past experience with woman you didn’t know if you could trust him.

“You free this weekend” Jimin asked in a casual away but also with a bit of hope in his voice meaning he wanted you to say yes.

“Yes why” you asked kind of curious of what he had to offer

“My friends are throughing a house party Friday night … want to go with me ?” Jimin said looking you in the eye

You felt you heart race fast jimin wanted you to go with him part of you hoped he liked you and wanted to be around you and wasn’t just wanting to sleep with you and then dump you the next day. But also you wanted to get to know his mystery man you didn’t know much and from the information you have you wanted to know more.

“Yes I would love to “ you replaied

“Good im glad here is the address “he said giving you a piece of paper “ be there by 9 I will meet you outside the gates at 9pm okay see you later babe “ he said then he departed from the seat leaving you alone staring at the piece of paper.

Friday came about very quick with work and college you were very happy to have a night to relax and enjoy yourself. You had a shower and got changed in to your outfit you spent all day looking for a nice outfit that you liked and suited you and also what jimin might notice you in.

      Your outfit

                You got changed and put your make up on and said good bye to bella before grabbing your purse and phone and made your way to the house. You decided it would be better to call a cab then drive as its late and you planned on drinking.

Once you arrived at the house which turned out to be bigger then what you expected with a long drive way with 2 big black gates on either side.You could here the loud music blasting through the house and could here laughter coming from the main room which from what you could see had people laughing and dancing. This seems like its going to be a fun night you thought to yourself.

“Y/n baby you made it” you saw jimin walking towards you with a large smile on his face and a beer in his hand.

“You look so sexy tonight babe wow “he eyed you figure and licked his lips you blushed at his compliment.

He looked amazing in his tight leather jeans which hugged his thighs perfectly making them fight for air  in the tightness. He was wearing a simple shirt which hugged his body perfectly to top it of he wore a simple leather jacket he looked amazing.

He held your hand and walked you up the drive and to the front door as soon as he opens the door the music came crashing through your ears making it very hard to hear anything. Jimin grabbed on your hand very tightly as he glided you through the crowds of sweaty body’s to a back door. He opened the door and you saw 6 other guys sat in a big room with a bar in the corner  and to big leather sofas which the guys were sat on.

“Guys this is my babe Y/n “jimin spoke to the 6 other guys all grabbing the attention and turning there heads to you.

“This is jungkook” jimin pointed to the second built guy you remembered him from the alley fight.

“This is v and hoseok” he said pointing to the two guys other at the bar they smiled back and made there way over.

“that’s jin and that’s Jackson and bambam” he said pointing to the 3 other guys.

“Jackson” you said shocked it’s the play boy from class

“Oh y/n its you hi “he said waving at you and smiling at you

“Okay you have met the guys babe now let’s sit down” he said in a serious tone and placed a hand on your waist.

Jimin wasn’t very happy

After 2 hours of talking to the guys who turned out to be very nice and were also very kind you learned that jhope and jimin were in the same dance class and were best friends. Jungkook went to your school a few years ago before dropping out and studying art before joining the gang. V was also very nice and kept asking you questions and wanted you to come round one day to play a football game with him.bambam and Jackson shared story’s and you learned more about Jackson and didn’t hate you as much.

The time now was 12:30 and the guys and gone of to the party outside and were dancing and drinking meaning It was just you and jimin in the room alone. You two talked for a bit him asking you if you wanted to drink or wanted anything to eat

You two made eye contact he licking his lips and eyeing you up and down while saying how sexy you looked tonight.

“You look very hot tonight babe I have to say I tried to stay away from you I actually like you and want to take things further but I was thinking of your safety” he said looking you in the eyes

He continued to say “ I really like you you’re not like the other guys and I would really like to kiss you right now “ he said as he leaned in and cupped your face with his hand bring your face closer to his. His soft lips crashed against yours causing your heart to beat so fast it felt like it would come out of your chest.

Sparks set off as you continued to kiss his lips crashing against you and his hands made it to your hair caressing your scalp and soon his tongue asked for entrance to your mouth you moaned at the new feeling his hands caressing your body as if it was the most important thing to him.

You broke away from the kiss only to get your breath back your lips stung from his passionate and hungry kiss.

“Y/n be my girlfriend baby” he said as he wiped your lipstick of his lips

[eichy815]

Firing Up a ‘Dutch Oven’ of Common Sense

Originally Published on October 27, 2016 on Eichy Says 

Social etiquette isn’t so clear-cut in the 21st Century.  As our expectations of others change along with evolving perspectives on sex and gender, a whole new crop of young Americans are trying to figure out what that should mean when they frequent restaurants and coffee bars.

It always seems to come back to that precarious question:  on a first date, who should pay?  The man?  The woman?  Both?  Either?

In May of 2014, I wrote a piece on modern-day interpretations of “chivalry” – prefacing most of the article by commenting on a past discussion between cohosts of The Chew as to whether a man should always have to expect to foot the entire bill for him and his female date.

Before I weigh in with my own quaint little perspective, let’s look at what so-called relationship experts say.

Financial columnist Farnoosh Torabi offers up the theory that any woman offering to split a check 50/50 is actually trying to find a polite way to indicate to her male companion that she doesn’t want to see him again.  After consulting with numerous relationship experts, Torabi’s survey showed the most American men *want* to be the ones to pay, and, according to her, they *should* be the ones to pay – as it’s a good way of stroking their egos and making them feeling like a provider.

The only exception to this, according to Torabi’s perspective, would be if the woman is the one who asks the man out.  Overall, though, she found that a majority of female respondents (who were polled) automatically expect the guy to pay; out of those respondents, pluralities of the women asked would feel offended if they’re expected to pick up even part of the tab.

CSULA professor Janet Lever’s 2015 sociology study seems to corroborate Torabi’s observations.  Lever’s questionnaires determined that a majority of men still feel guilty about hypothetically accepting a dinner treat from a woman.  On the other side, women will often do the “wallet fake” by reaching for their purses and pretending as though they’re willing to go 50/50 – but they harbor an unspoken expectation that their male dinner companion will end up offering to pick up the entire check.  The female respondents indicated to Lever that they view this arrangement as a way for males to practice “being a gentleman,” whereas other women view the “wallet fake” as a way of asserting that they’re independent and not trying to be gold-diggers (even if they don’t actually *want* to pay for any of it).

As told to Lever by Allison Shiffler – one of her respondents who also identifies as a “feminist” – during an interview:

There’s only been one time I paid for my burger.  It was a cash-only place and the guy didn’t bring enough money...When I was younger, I was much more into splitting the bill.  As I’ve gotten older and more and more of my time has been wasted [on dates that went nowhere], I’ve felt fine about men paying for the first date.

Rebecca Adams – a Huffington Post writer on gender issues – delves into this dynamic even more intricately.  She finds that heterosexual women in her own research are actually split into four basic groups:  A.) those who believe a man picking up the check is a gentlemanly duty that’s part of the courtship; B.) those who view even check-splitting as a sign that her male companion may harbor financial insecurity, creating a stressor that causes her internal strife and panic; C.) those who regard “going Dutch” or going 50/50 as being a sign of compassion and empathy for each other’s socioeconomic realities; and D.) those who think, if the woman asks the man out, she should go into expecting to pay the entire bill...or at least 50/50 as a compromise.

In a sign that American thought is becoming more fractured on this question, lifestyle editor Sacha Strebe has found coed respondents to offer a diverse mixture of opinions.  Among nine of them:

The asker should always pay.

The guy should always pay, because it’s an old-school custom and it shows the woman that he’s considerate.

Women should offer to pay as part of “the dance,” but they secretly hope men will pick up the entire tab.

The guy should pay for dinner, while the girl pays for dessert.  

If the man is older, he should pay; if the man is younger, he and his female date should “go Dutch” or do a 50/50 split.

“Going Dutch” ensures that no one feels any sense of obligation for – or dependency on – the other person.

First dates should generally take place at free venues, to avoid any conflicts over billing.

If one person offers to pay, the other person should let them – and then offer to pick up the tab on the second date.

The guy should pay if there’s an expectation of sex; the girl should pay if there’s no expectation of sex.

But the “old-school” mentality still permeates the crevices of modern society.  Business Insider men’s lifestyle reporter Dennis Green advises men to go in expecting to pay for the full bill – and he encourages women to go into the date expecting to pay for at least half of the bill.  But, Green adds, the man should defer to the woman’s preferences or judgment...either let her pay for half if she insists, or just pay for the whole thing if she doesn’t protest.

Green also claims that same-sex dates (a gay male or lesbian couple) should involve both parties just evenly splitting the bill right down the middle unless the parties have specified otherwise.

Dating coach Evan Marc Katz echoes Green’s recommendation – Katz claims that guys should always expect to foot the entire bill, by default; in fact, he says a man should insist on covering the whole thing even if his female companion offers to chip in.  Katz states that men should just accept this as “the way it is” because it’s tradition; he concludes by telling men they should enjoy the rewarding feeling of being the “breadwinner” during their date, and that women should use good judgment by not exploiting this gesture.

Fashion/culture columnist Margaret Adams describes another serial dater’s technique:  one of the guys whom she interviewed tends to sneak away to the restroom, and then pays the bill covertly – out of the sight of his female dinner companion.  This way, there’s no awkwardness upon the bill formally arriving at their table.

Financial blogger Lauren Bowling examines it from yet another angle.  From the respondents in her own research, some men think a woman should pay for half of the bill because of the segment of females who are dating only to wrangle themselves free dinners.  Some women, on the flip side, think a man should pay for half of the bill because of the segment of males who are looking for a casual hookup rather than a serious relationship.

Bowling also points to the trend among many same-sex couples, where the person who initiates the date should pay for the entire first date – and then both parties take turns by alternating who pays on each date after that.

Then, she qualifies her findings by saying:

And yes, being a guy who wants to date women is expensive.  But if we’re comparing apples to apples, being a woman is just as expensive.  We pay more for beauty treatments, clothes, hair care and healthcare.  Because society demands it and also because we’re a beauty-obsessed culture.  Guys can get away with paying less for things and perhaps this comes out in the wash within our dating customs.

So what’s my perspective?  First, as a gay dude, I don’t have to worry about the question of gender when going out on a first date with someone.  However, I have experienced those awkward moments where I’ve been out on a date with another guy, and we don’t really know how to approach the whole matter of who pays.

In general, I go into the date assuming that I will be paying exclusively for my share – that we’ll be “going Dutch.”  This rule-of-thumb makes sense to me...regardless of whether a first-time-dating couple is homosexual or heterosexual.

I see no inherent reason why there should be totally different standards for same-sex and opposite-sex couples.  As relationships progress, each couple can adjust its habits to whatever works for them.

But the blanket expectation that men should pay for the date, by default – that’s a sexist, antiquated worldview that essentially relegates males into human ATM machines.

Likewise, it’s heterosexist to have double standards for straight and gay couples on this front.  Why should heterosexual males be held to some patriarchal “social duty” from which homosexual males are exempt?  Does this mean there’s something inherently “less chivalrous” about the dynamics that can exist within a lesbian relationship?

And, to address Bowling’s argument that women spend a lot of time and money dolling themselves up for men (even on a first date) – as I pointed out in my assessment of the so-called “Pink Tax” – if a woman is going through extra steps to beautify herself for a new companion, that’s her choice.  But no one is asking her to do that.  If she feels that she needs to cloak herself in makeup and sartorial accessories just to impress a guy – well, maybe that guy who she might end up impressing isn’t all that worth it, if he can’t look beyond those layers?

Of course, I’m very cautious when dating...so I haven’t done a whole lot of it.  But this is my viewpoint, from a gender equality perspective.  If you’re embracing the neofeminist belief that men should have to foot the bill for women because men (“on average”) earn more money than women...well, unless you’ve seen your date’s income tax forms ahead of time, you’re jumping to a very presumptuous conclusion in light of your future date’s personal economic circumstances.

There’s a separate conundrum that can arise when hashing out the matter of bill-paying etiquette: what to do when going out for dinner and/or drinks with a large group?

Every time I’ve been out on a “group dinner,” in my experience, each individual simply pays for his or her own share of the bill.  So I didn’t realize it (“group check-splitting”) was actually a “thing,” until recently.

But past Survivor contestant Francesca Hogi, who now runs a matchmaking business, posed this question to her readers on her Facebook wall, last summer.  Two of her friends – Eliza Orlins and Semhar Tadesse (also former contestants on various installments of the Survivor franchise) – both expressed incredulity that anyone would be opposed to splitting a restaurant check into equal shares amongst all members of the dining party.

As Eliza and Semhar both chirped, to paraphrase:  “If you’re really my true friend, you shouldn’t have a problem paying an extra two or three dollars when dining out with me!”

To which Francesca responded that, in her opinion, she doesn’t feel she should have to subsidize her dining companions’ alcoholic choices – as alcohol tends to be amongst the priciest items on menus.

Needless to say, I agree with Franny’s perspective, here.  But let’s give it some context.

Many critics believe that “going Dutch” within a large group of multiple people is stressful (especially for the wait staff, when having to divide up totals across many different credit cards).  It’s also believed that it can make you look “stingy” if you only want to pay for exactly what you ordered.  Some say that you should only pay an individualized share of the bill if you refrained from ordering alcoholic drinks or ordered a salad/side rather than an entree.

Book editor Nell Casey believes group dinners should be a strictly even split amongst all diners, regardless of how little or how much the individual diner ordered.  She justifies this by holding that “it’s the easiest thing to do and the right thing to do.”  And, she adds, it will “even out” in the end – and, by insisting on down-to-the-number check-splitting, it can harm your reputation amongst your friends.

Casey also stipulates that any even-split or individualized-split agreement should be stipulated at the beginning of the meal (obviously, as a way of being more considerate toward the servers).  She advocates that each person should bring cash (individual bills), since that makes it easier for everyone to chip in their share – especially when it comes to the tip.  On those latter two points, I agree with her.

But I differ with Casey’s recommendation on across-the-board even check-splitting.

I acknowledge that asking for separate individual checks (in a large group) will usually be convoluted and time-consuming.  Whenever separate checks are requested, it must be done at the beginning of the meal...in order to avoid causing a backlog for the wait staff as a whole.  But there are other alternatives that are fairer than just evenly splitting up the check amongst everyone regardless of their menu choices.

For example, Venmo and PayPal allow you to use a SmartPhone app to send your share of payments to your friend who’s using their card to render the composite group payment.  With this speedy electronic feature, there’s no reason why one person can’t send the payer $12 for their fried calamari while another person separately transfers another $21 for their gourmet ahi tuna entree.

Some groups of friends just take turns having one person pay for the entire meal; they will rotate who pays, each time the group goes out.  Of course, some diners could take advantage of this by ordering a more expensive meal when it’s not their night to pay.  Or some cheaper individuals might skip out on the meal when their “turn” (to be the one paying) arrives.

An even simpler way to do it is just to designate one member of the dining party to make the group’s payment in person (via credit card, check, or cash) – and then each person would pay back the designated individual (presumably with cash) afterward.

Regardless, it’s generally best to reach a consensus upfront as to how everyone would like to pay for their meals.  Some other group dining pointers, courtesy of food reviewer C.A. Pinkham:  it’s fine to eyeball the bill for potential pricing errors; never render the tip in coins; and each person should round up their share of an evenly-split group tip.

To me, your valuing (or devaluing) of my friendship shouldn’t hinge on how much I’m willing to chip in to cover your personal menu choices.  If you’re going to use that as a barometer of how much we mean to each other...then you’re probably not someone with whom I’d want to be regularly spending time.

On the rare occasions when I dine out with groups for meals, I go into the situation expecting to pay for exactly whatever my share is (based specifically on what I ordered) – plus I will round up generously to help out with the group’s tip.  So, for instance, if my share of the bill comes out to $14.87, I’ll probably just throw in an even $18 to account for tipping (handing over a ten, a five, and three ones).

Yes, I’m one of those people who always makes sure I have lots of five dollar bills and one dollar bills on my person, when going out.

So there you have it.  Eichy’s guidelines for dating and casual dining.  Earth-shattering, isn’t it?

When on a blind date or a first date, “go Dutch.”  As the relationship evolves (*if* it evolves), you can make adjustments accordingly.

And when you go out with a group:  carry enough cash so you can contribute an amount equal to exactly what you personally ordered, plus throw in a few extra dollars to help out with the gratuity.

*That*, Ms. Nell Casey, is truly the “easiest and rightest thing to do.”

[thisdiscontentedwinter]

hunger - chapter 9

Hunger master post

Stiles can’t go to the Sheriff’s Department, but he needs to track down Kate Argent. He doesn’t know where she lives, but C. & V. Argent, according to the address that Stiles jotted down on his piece of paper last time he was using Allison’s computer, live over on Parkview Street. It’s a newer area. Stiles doesn’t know it very well. The houses here are big, the lawns uniformly neat and tidy. It’s not the best place to try to walk down the street without being noticed. Stiles imagines he can feel curtains flicking as he passes. He imagines narrow-eyed suburbanites reaching for their Neighborhood Watch information and their telephones. Stiles walks like he has a purpose, like he’s a kid visiting a friend. It’s just on dusk when he arrives at the Argents’ house.

The black SUV and the car he recognizes as Allison’s are parked in the driveway. So C. & V. Argent are her parents.

At least it’s not a common surname.

The house directly across the street from the Argents’ house has no lights turned on. It also has a screen of shrubs planted along the property line which, going by the rest of the neighborhood, are probably against the rules or something, but thank God for rebels. Stiles slips into the yard and hunkers down behind the shrubs. He’s hidden from view now, but has a perfect line of sight to the Argents’ house.

He sits and waits, and feels the phantom press of the dog’s nose against his cold fingers.

Stiles hates Kate Argent for what she did to his dad, but he hates her for killing the dog as well. That hatred is more immediate, less controlled, and the viciousness behind it scares Stiles just a little. She deserves terrible things, and Stiles is afraid he’s capable of them. Not sorry, but afraid. He’ll still do whatever he has to do. He’ll become whatever he has to become.

A few cars drift slowly up and down the street.

Stiles feels a stab of panic when the lights in the house behind him flicker on, but there doesn’t seem to be anyone home. They’re probably away or something, and have them set on a timer. There are at least three newspapers on the front porch that back that theory up. Should probably have stopped their service too.

Stiles wonders if the house is alarmed. He wonders if he could actually break in. He bets it’s warm inside.

When Stiles was a kid he thought the idea of stakeouts was fun. Like sleepovers, except you were supposed to stay awake and eat junk food all night. So, yeah, exactly like sleepovers. Dad always laughed and said there was nothing fun about sitting around in a car all night.

Stiles is willing to bet it was nicer that sitting around on the damp, cold ground all night. He’s hungry too. He hasn’t eaten today.

That break and enter plan is starting to look better and better. There’d be food in the house somewhere. Food, and hot water, and a change of clothes… and an arrest for all his trouble. So it’s tempting, but Stiles isn’t that stupid, and not quite that desperate.

He chews on the strings of his hoodie and ignores his growling stomach.

Dusk darkens slowly into night. Stiles is joined briefly by an inquisitive cat, but it runs away when he tries to coax it nearer.

Stiles watches the Argents’ house.

He dozes, probably, and startles awake when the front door to the house bursts open and Allison strides out, tugging her coat on.

“I’m going to study with Scott!” she yells. “What are you going to do? Ground me?”

Her dad, who has followed her outside, looks ready to do just that, but then a woman with short red hair—Allison’s mom?—comes out and puts a hand on his shoulder, and wow, she’s wearing an expression that would wither Stiles’s balls at a thousand paces.

Allison storms over to her car, and climbs in and drives off.

Stiles is surprised she doesn’t do a burnout just for effect.

Her parents go back inside.

The night gets colder.

The cat doesn’t come back.

 ***

 Stiles is terrible at stakeouts. He wakes up close to dawn, shivering. He has a sore throat and a headache from the cold. Allison’s car is back, and he slept through that, and her dad’s black SUV is just pulling back into the driveway. Stiles didn’t even hear it leave. The sky is softening from darkness into dawn. Faint touches of pink and orange precede the sun.

Stiles shoves his cold hands under his armpits, and watches as Allison’s dad pulls a couple of black bags out of the back of the SUV. He’s wearing all black again, and looks like a one man special ops team. Was he in the Preserve again? How long was he out there? And what the hell is he even looking for?

Stiles remembers that Allison said her dad was paranoid about the mountain lion. It’s almost funny. The guy’s dressed like he can take out ISIS singled handed, but one large kitty is proving elusive? Apparently Mr. Argent is all talk—or, in this case, all dress—but no action. He’s probably compensating for something.

Stiles watches him go inside the house. A moment later a light is turned on inside, and then off again, and then one comes on upstairs and stays on.

If Allison has only recently moved to Beacon Hills, then presumably her parents have too. So there’s a chance they’re not involved in setting up Stiles’s dad, like Kate is. Kate, Stiles reminds himself, and some as yet unknown person from the station. But clearly Allison’s dad is still super shady.

Stiles hunches over and chews on the strings of his hoodie in the vain hope it will convince his stomach he’s eating something.

 ***

 Scary red-headed Mrs. Argent leaves for work at the same time Allison leaves for school. The black SUV stays in the driveway. Either Mr. Argent doesn’t have a job, or he works from home. Stiles remembers that business name he found online: Argent Tactical Solutions. That has Allison’s dad written all over it.

Stiles really wants to break into their house and see if there’s something there with Kate’s address on it. It’s probably down to all the Encyclopedia Brown books he read when he was a kid, but he’s pretty sure people just leave useful information lying around, right?

That might be his low blood sugar talking.

Okay, because it’s not unreasonable that maybe there’s an address book or something in the house—probably in the study, or by the phone or something—but also Stiles’s luck hasn’t exactly been great so far, has it? Like, there isn’t a step he hadn’t somehow fucked up.

He closes his eyes as he sees Kate raise her firearm. Hears the shots. Hears the dog yelp and hit the asphalt.

His throat aches and his eyes sting.

What the fuck is he doing? Staking out Allison’s parents isn’t going to get him any closer to Kate Argent. For all he knows they don’t even talk.

This is stupid.

Stiles is stupid.

He climbs to his feet, his cold body aching, and heads back to the park.

 ***

 The trash can in the park gifts Stiles with a half-eaten burger. He picks the ants off it, pretends he can’t smell the way the mayonnaise is already turning, and eats as much as he can. Then he spends the next twenty minutes trying not to vomit it up again.

It’s gross.

He cries.

 ***

 That night Stiles is woken up by some tweaker yelling at him. When the guy pulls a knife, Stiles runs. He goes back to the house across from the Argents’ place, because, at this point, where else has he got to go?

 ***

 He’s woken some time before dawn by Mr. Argent’s SUV pulling into the driveway. This time, he’s not alone. A deputy’s cruiser pulls up on the road, and Kate Argent gets out and swaggers over to Allison’s dad.

“Chris,” she calls out, the smirk evident in your tone. “Been hunting?”

It’s too dark to see his expression, and his voice is pitched too low to hear a response.

“You’ve lost your touch, big brother!” Kate responds with a laugh as she closes the space between them.

“Haven’t you got work to do, Kate?” His voice is louder this time, and Stiles thinks he’s trying to hide his irritation. He’s not doing a great job of it.

“It’s a ghost town tonight,” Kate tells him. “Besides, I told Dad I’d check and see if you’d had any luck bringing down the alpha. Clearly you haven’t.”

“Clearly,” Chris echoes, his voice flat.

Kate laughs again. “I’ll catch you around, Chris.”

He doesn’t answer. He just nods curtly and watches as she walks back to her cruiser.

When she drives away, he stares after her for a very long while before he grabs his gear out of the SUV and goes inside.

 ***

 Stiles tries his luck with a another trashcan burger later that day. He vomits it up immediately, and doesn’t stop vomiting. He drinks water from the tap beside the maintenance shed in the park, ignoring the sign that warns it’s non-potable, and vomits that up as well. After that he starts shivering which is weird because he isn’t cold. He’s burning up instead.

He doesn’t remember walking to Scott’s house. He’s pretty sure his brain is boiling. He has a vague idea that he’s very, very sick, but food poisoning shouldn’t make him that sick though? Right? What if he’s got meningitis or something instead? He doesn’t remember walking to Scott’s house, but that’s where he wakes up. He’s in the bath, and Melissa McCall is placing a damp cloth on his head, and he flails so much when he wakes up that he saturates them both.

“You have a fever,” she tells him in that no-nonsense way. “I thought I told you to stay here, Mischief.”

This is probably a hallucination, right? Some sort of comforting near-death experience to ease him into oblivion without panicking. It’s nice, but he wishes it was his mom here instead of Melissa. Fuck realism.

“Scott?” Melissa calls out, and the bathroom door opens.

There are too many people looking at his junk, Stiles thinks, but he’s really too weak to care.

“I’m going to get him some more Tylenol. Make sure he doesn’t drown in the meantime.”

“Okay.” Scott takes his mom’s place beside the tub. “Hey, Stiles.”

Stiles’s mouth moves, but he’s not sure the word actually makes it out or not. He stares at the ceiling for a little while instead. The paint is peeling in one corner. It makes it seem more like a home, Stiles thinks, these little bits of wear and tear.

“I’m really dirty, huh?” he mumbles at last.

“What?” Scott asks, his forehead wrinkling. “No, dude. You have a really high temperature. That’s why you’re in the bath.”

“Oh.” Stiles fights the urge to close his eyes. There’s a towel wadded up behind his neck, and it is possibly the most comfortable pillow ever invented. “I was pretty sick.”

“Yeah, you were,” Scott agrees.

“How…” Stiles wrinkles his nose. “How did I even get here? Like, how did I find my way? How did I walk?”

“You didn’t,” Scott says, looking worried all of a sudden.

“What?”

“I found you,” Scott says. “In the park.”

“What?”

That’s impossible. Beacon Hills isn’t a large town, but Scott found him? In a random park in a random street curled up behind a random bush? No fucking way. That’s impossible.

Stiles squints up at him. “How… how’d you do that?”

“This is going to sound really, really weird, dude,” Scott says. He chews his bottom lip for a moment. “I, um, I smelled you?”

Yeah.

Yeah, Stiles is definitely having some sort of near-death experience.

The bath is very nice though.

He closes his eyes and dozes.

[fountainpenguin]

In "Inspection Detection", Jorgen grades godparents based on how happy their child is. The happier Timmy is, the better Cosmo and Wanda are. But in "The Switch Glitch", Vicky's happiness was a reason to take Cosmo and Wanda away. This seems contradictory. Is there some threshold of happiness that a godparent ought to meet, while going beyond that shows the godparent isn't needed anymore? Does it depend on the godchild's testimony (which was unreliable in Vicky's case because she'd been tricked)?

That’s correct. Godparents are given to miserable kids in order to treat them to a better life than they would have otherwise had. When a godkid’s memories are taken away, the exact details of events get lost, but the hazy memories of having an enjoyable childhood stay there. 

The idea is to help neglected kids learn valuable life skills so that they can take care of themselves someday, and for a fairy to be a trusted figure that a godkid can confide in as they navigate the perils of life. If a godkid’s state has worsened since fairies have been introduced into their life, that’s obviously a problem. If it seems clear that a godkid should be able to function normally in society and that they’re on a good path for life, fairies are reassigned so that they can help someone else who’ll benefit from their company. Fairies aren’t supposed to be taken away to be mean. It’s to help as many kids as possible. 

Fairies are sometimes taken away as punishment, however. I have this tentative headcanon that a godkid IS actually allowed to tell other kids that they have fairy godparents without losing their fairies- the “good” kids who are kind, could keep a secret, would be understanding… the kids who would be allowed to have fairies themselves if they had miserable lives! 

For example, Timmy doesn’t know this, but Chester would be one of the kids on the green list (See also, “It’s a Wishful Life” and that scene towards the end of “Fairy Idol” when Chester overheard Norm tell Timmy that he, Chester, was the reason Timmy lost his godparents earlier. Chester’s a gentle child and I have a feeling that he suspects Timmy plays with magic or science as it is. He wouldn’t know all the details, but he might suspect that, say, Mark Chang is some sort of otherworldly guardian of Timmy. Remember “The Big Scoop”? He’s had an absentminded eye on Timmy for a long time).

Mikey Munroe is another green list kid. The fairies in charge of such things (Amity, mostly) have seen how kind and understanding he is with a fantastic being like Bunsen, and they figure they can probably trust him with a few of their secrets. Although of course, they would wipe his fairy memories if he just went around blabbing to people. If we want to keep with canon, Amanda most likely had hers wiped after “Beast of Friends”. I can think of no reason she’d be allowed to keep them.

But Tootie can’t keep a secret and could cause a lot of headache if she had a fairy (Especially since she’s likely to tell groups in bulk, and tbh erasing people’s minds isn’t good for anyone’s health. See also, Denzel Crocker). A.J. scoffs at magic and would be more interested in dissecting a magical being, so they’re off the table. For similar reasons, so is Trixie. 

Who else is or was on the green list? Maybe Chloe, Kevin Crocker… Sheldon Dinkleberg… Elmer, definitely; the boy with the sentient boil should have no problems suspending his disbelief for fairies. The Burger World employee! Gary and Betty are allowed to know because they work at a daycare center and see a lot of kids. After awhile, you start to recognize the presence of magic (It also helps when you’ve hung around pixies for most of your life). 

But Flappy Bob wouldn’t have been on the list for reasons that are too extensive to justify including here. And Chet Ubetcha would’ve been allowed as a kid (Didn’t I mention I love “Anchors Away”?) Uh… Probably Sam and Tucker could know, but maybe not Danny? Danny isn’t always as subtle as his pals. Maybe Rudy Tabootie, but I’m kind of resistant to that idea too (He’s a kid who would probably believe, but wouldn’t handle it well b/c ego problems). Jimmy Neutron is an absolute definite no, but maybe the Pines twins would be okay!

You get the idea. Basically, kids who are willing to believe are allowed to know, and those who are skeptical and/or would likely abuse fairies are not. Because many kids (like Timmy himself) have hearts of gold and might struggle with identifying which of their peers they can and can’t trust, they’re just told not to tell anyone (Perhaps this goes along with the “Godparents aren’t allowed to tell godkids which other godkids have fairies” rule? Although I assume client confidentiality is also involved. Oh my gosh- what if there was a thing here about fairies being taken away out of punishment for breaking client confidentiality by revealing their godkid to people, and thus implying said godkid is struggling with… Huh. Interesting… Of course, a client could grant permission, so…)

That aside, emotions are powerful things for fairies. Jorgen and those working at Amity wouldn’t want to feel guilty if a godkid tells their friend they have a fairy, and that friend becomes super jealous and acts all, “Why didn’t you tell me this a long time ago?” Yeah, much easier to just say, “Tell no one”.

So blabbing about godparents in public spaces isn’t okay (Ex: “Secret Origins of Denzel Crocker”). It’s generally not advisable to tell your friends you have fairy godparents because it might strain your friendship. I guess this green list rule functions more along the lines of “Don’t tell anyone directly, but if this person happens to find out you have fairies, we’ll look the other way unless they give us a reason to look back”. Timmy strolling up to Chester and outright admitting he has fairies who could grant all of Chester’s wishes is a different situation than Chester catching a brief glimpse of them through a window.

Amity don’t like to be mean. They want to help people, but the safety of Fairy World must always come first. They don’t like giving godparents out to kids who can’t keep secrets. What if that kid blabbed to tons of people on a subway, and the fairies lost track of who he told, and some people got away with their memories? What if they heard the part about how miserable kids get fairies, so they kidnapped some children and tortured them? So much could go wrong.

But, if a fairy felt that they were taken unfairly from a godkid, they could argue about it in court and potentially win a godkid’s memories back. Though, the Council really don’t like to do that much. This is where you get into politics like Magnifico v. Amity Angel Safety and Protective Recall Agency (the case allowing Juandissimo to become Remy’s godparent again on the grounds that Remy’s mental health significantly improved from baseline when he had Juan in his life, and significantly dropped after “reversal” when Juan left him).

Basically, Juandissimo successfully convinced the Council that Remy is more miserable than a vast majority of the kids he could be reassigned to, and that Remy should be given a second chance. Remy’s situation is very unusual, but Fairies don’t really like leaving bitter rich kids to grow up and become bitter rich and powerful adults, so the Council agreed (See also, “Remy Rides Again”).

To recap, a godparent is assigned to a kid, data is gathered, and if a godkid’s satisfaction is too low then this problem needs to be addressed. Godkid should maintain a neutral / happy lifestyle when with a fairy. Then, if you have all these miserable children in need of godparents, and all your godparents are out in the field already, you’ll take the fairy assigned to the happiest and most well-adjusted godkid, right? Because that’s the child least in need of help, who has probably reached a stable point in their life and will lead a stable adulthood too.

… Does that answer your question?

[mrnelson007]

MrNelson007’s “holy cow what is all this?” post

Hello, welcome, friends, followers, and random strangers alike. As we enter this new year, what better time to cover my current state and what I’m hoping to accomplish over the next twelve months?

I stated this blog years ago to promote my first major story I did, which I posted on here. Since then I’ve had plenty of other projects both in progress and complete, and started to build a (small) name for myself online. In 2017 my goal is to continue building that name and hopefully reach a career milestone or two. (I’ve already had one and we’re still in January! Exciting times!)

But none of that really matters, so why should you care about following me and supporting my stuff in this year 2017? Well, do you like writing? Like, lots of it? Original fiction updated regularly? What kind of question is that? Of course you do. Who doesn’t? So that’s one thing to look forward to. Especially if you like complex female characters and good dialog, because I’ve been told I’m good at both of those things.

Or maybe you’re more of a video game person. That’s cool. I’m pretty into video games too. I talk about them a lot. So if you’re looking for something like that, good news! I’ve got you covered.

Stories

Correspondence From the Goddess - This was my very first story. Or at least, the first one I felt comfortable enough to post online. (I may still dig through my other ones at some point to find some amusing sections. Like everyone who starts, I was very bad, and I did my time to improve by writing until I slowly became less bad. It was a major victory.)

Correspondence is the story of Lydia Devin, the girl who destroyed the universe and put it all back together. She was a do-nothing slacker who coasted through life, but then she found out she had superpowers!

And then she had more superpowers. And then even more. And the cool parts started to be a lot less cool.

It is told through alternating letters from Lydia and her sister Elana as they discuss what happened and what they’re up to in the present, trying to put together the pieces and make everything make sense. It’s complete, and located at http://goddesscorrespondence.tumblr.com for your enjoyment.

But why settle for that when you can have the new and improved version? The wonderful people at Tapas have decided to publish my story, much fancier and full of updates! So if this premise sounds interesting to you at all, and you want to get to know the girl and blew up the universe and repaired it - or even if you just want to reread it because you enjoyed it and want to see what an even better version is like - be sure to check it out on the Tapas app, available on iOS or Android! We will be releasing two or three new letters a week while I work through the backlog. Come take a look! It’s a great way to support me and my creative efforts. Plus you just might get to interact with the characters, if that’s your thing. (It should be your thing.)

Metahuman Agency - Metahuman Agency is my other major story effort at the moment. While it is taking a backseat at the moment thanks to the Tapas opportunity, it is still very much a work in progress.

Metahuman Agency is the story of Parker Reyes, an agent for the Agency for the Regulation of Metahumans. As you might guess, his job involves interacting with and solving situations regarding superpowered individuals. As opposed to a more personal character study like my last one, Metahuman Agency is much more about world-building and solving a mystery. Specifically, my goal was to create a world where superpowers were common and a well-accepted part of life and then consider how that would change things from the modern world we know. Join Parker Reyes, Nathan Finnel, Priya Batra, and even some cameo appearances by everyone’s favorite goddess and her sister! Spy tech and government espionage in a world where half the population can do exceptional things! It’s fun!

It can be found at http://www.metahumanagency.com and is still being updated as I have time, with intent to return to a normal schedule once I get out of my current busy season of editing like mad for Tapas! Please come check it out and leave comments, I love feedback from readers.

Games

Did you know I am part of a Let’s Play Youtube channel? If not, you do now! I am half of the Youtube channel Infinite Errors, where we play all sorts of games for fun - your fun, at least, if not always ours! We’ve played all sorts of stuff, from Dead Rising and Until Dawn to the Burger King video games. Did you know Burger King had video games? They’re… certainly something.

Currently we have over 200 videos! Plenty of gaming entertainment for your pleasure. You can find us at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZy6bzB-LfiMLeaqLOPV88A We also stream on Twitch on Wednesdays, and we would love to have you join us. Come hang out and chat while we play all sorts of games live. Our twitch channel is over at http://www.twitch.tv/infiniteerrors

If you’re not interested in video Let’s Plays but would rather get the ultimate synergy of my writing and my playing video games, I also have a written Let’s Play of Final Fantasy XIV. Featuring everyone’s favorite recurring character, Lydia Devin, as she travels the continent of Eorzea and working on her quest to punch all of the things. And occasionally cast fireballs. It’s a snarky trip through the world and my attempt at telling a story out of another universe for the first time. As ever, these are slow updates thanks to the number of balls I have in the air at once, but more is coming! Take a look at http://mrnelson007.tumblr.com/letsplay for the list of episodes - 14 so far, appropriately enough! And more to come so I can get my Final Fantasy fix in.

I also write reviews of the games I play. Like everything else, these are chronically behind, since I mostly am working through old games so I can retire my old consoles. Nevertheless, it is a service I provide if people really want to read my thoughts on whatever game I’ve been playing. I can only assume you do - if not, why not? You’re missing out. My backlog of reviews is at http://mrnelson007.tumblr.com/reviews for your perusal.

And lastly on the videogames front, I have written for a few different sites over the years. C&G Magazine paid me actual money to review some games for them, and I wrote some articles for Fanpup as well. My current home is with the lovely people at +10 To Fire Resist, who are absolutely worth a follow. Lydia’s adventures in Eorzea may be migrating there before long, and there has been some discussion of putting my summary of the Metal Gear series there as well, which also has more updates coming soon!

As you can see, there’s lots of things going on and plenty of reasons to follow this blog. So do it. Do it. Do it you know you want to.