#Nicolette & The Nobodies

[montanamp3]

propaganda time 💥 listen to my artists boy

[left to right: neal mccoy (filipino), alison nichols (korean), gabe lee (taiwanese), shoji tabuchi (japanese), nicolette hoang (vietnamese), travis yee (chinese), cody hibbard (korean), tomi fujiyama (japanese), charlie nagatani (japanese)]

[asianamsmakingmusic]

“I had never envisioned myself in country,” says Nicolette. “Why would I? I had never seen anyone who looks like me in that world. But now that I’ve found my voice, I want to see what it has to say.” [x]

[azlyricsdotcom]

Show Up // Nicolette & The Nobodies // The Long Way (2024)

i just want you to prove 'em all wrong

[3garcons]

Deer Tick

Nicolette and the nobodies

9-15-24

[albumswhatilistenedto]

[toffeethief]

Nicolette & The Nobodies - Show Up

[chaotictoast]

Me with in the dark trying to fall asleep to very specific music that my shuffled liked Spotify songs won’t give me: *angry face* “fine, i just wanted to listen to [insert obscure canadian indie folk country band] tonight”

[cometcrystal]

for the anon earlier. some random pnf headcanons 💯 i might have talked about some of these before but i'll take any chance to talk about stuff i like

i've DEFINITELY talked about this one before but as adults phineas and isabella are divorced besties with a son. they love each other soooo much but the romance part just didn't really work.

yall also already know i hc jeremy as bi but i find it worth mentioning because it was one of my first lgbt headcanons EVER after i figured out i could do that. buford and baljeet were probably first.

eliza and nicolette are endgame. do you see my vision

it doesn't matter to the show whatsoever but i do have ideas for what happened to mr flynn and mrs fletcher. in my timeline mr flynn was abusive and linda left him when she was pregnant with phineas, and mrs fletcher died at some point. idk how. ferb was too young to remember her. i have not worked out how close she and lawrence were but she had green hair

phineas and ferb cure multiple cancers in 10th grade and make the patents open-source

one of my early internet friends turned the drummer in jeremy's band into an oc named hugo.... he was in a situationship with jenny that lasted well past their 30s

speaking of jenny i think she and django disappeared for a bit because their rich artist dad took them to. like. greece or something. for the remainder of the summer and theyre just living their best life on a veranda on the other side of the planet until the school year starts

phineas, ferb, and baljeet COULD graduate VERY early but they purposely stay in the same grade as their friends because they love them. once the acts/sats/ap exams come around though its over for you hoes.

candace and stacy went to horse camp (a week long program during the summer teaching kids to ride horses) every summer until high school. at which point they decided it was For Babies. but they're both still horse girls deep down.

since we know that jeremy has liked candace longer than she's liked him, i think he was a really shy kid. he was too nervous to even look at her some days. when she gave him that pencil that one time, he didn't even say anything. he broke out of his shell later and became a friendly young man but candace still made him nervous. etc etc.

xavier and fred are movie buffs. they're usually logging one film per day. if letterboxd still exists on the future their profiles would be legendary.

jeremy picked the name fred. he was fine with candace already having names picked out, but once they found out they were having twins, she texted him a link to a baby name website and told him to pick his favorite. He picked Fred.

jeremy has written an entire album about candace and its all shit that sounds like Chasing Cars and candace LOVES IT

stacy interning at owca is how she meets her girlfriend vanessa and also how she meets her future wife in uruguay

buford and isabella have ice cream romcom sleepovers and nobody else is invited this is THEIR bonding time

IN MY TIMELINE JEREMY AND COLTRANE WERE AT THE ROBOT RIOT IN THE ORANGE TREEHOUSE ROBOT WHILE CANDACE AND STACY WERE IN THE PINK ONE. #COPING

sometimes the flynn fletcher kids would spend entire days at the antique shop before candace was old enough to watch the boys

this isn't really a headcanon but i want to see some isabella and jeremy bro moments. Because of In love with #TwoCrazyRedheads

Thats the only ones i can think of right now. My hands are shaking

[marinaandthenimons]

Marina's Top 8 Albums of 2024

I listened to a ton of new music this year and I want to talk about it! So I wrote up a self-indulgent, comically long-winded list of my top 8 (+1) new albums I listened to this year. Check it out!

8. One Hand Clapping - Paul McCartney and Wings

The specific position of One Hand Clapping on this list has more to do with the fact that I'm not sure it really "counts" or not. One Hand Clapping was technically released for the first time this year but it was actually recorded in 1974, around the height of Paul McCartney's career as a solo artist (imo) and the peak of Wings' popularity. I've been on the verge of a Paul McCartney phase for a while now and this album was the perfect entry point to his discography. These are live in-studio recordings of classic McCartney, Wings, and even a few Beatles tracks but not like you've heard them before. The recordings are fresh and vital, dynamic and brimming with personality. You feel like the musicians are right there in the room with you, which depending on the track feels like Paul sitting next to you strumming a guitar or like a full orchestra playing right in your ear. I can't recommend it enough, even if you've never listened to McCartney's solo work. The energy is infectious!

7. The Long Way - Nicolette and the Nobodies

It might be recency bias that put this pick on the list, I did only start listening to it this week (after seeing it on music publication Exclaim's top 50 albums list). But I usually know if I'm going to like a new album in the first listen and I was locked into this one from the first few seconds. I don't listen to a whole ton of country but when I do, my favorite style is what I would (possibly erroneously) call "honky-tonk". This year The Long Way is the album that scratched that itch. From the first slamming piano chords on opener "Better Days" to the swinging chorus on "Rodeo" to the comfortably meandering title track "The Long Way" this album grabbed my attention, held it the entire (long) way and left me wishing I knew how to line dance. Of the artists on this list, Nicolette and the Nobodies seem to have been least successful in finding their audience so far (only 800 monthly listeners on spotify at time of writing?? a crime) but I really hope they stick with it. They've got something special here and I'd love to hear more from them.

6. Where We've Been, Where We Go From Here - Friko

My favorite album of 2023 was 3D Country by Geese, partly because it sounded like the future of rock music- at once familiar and new, packed with creative hooks and instantly addictive. Where We've Been, Where We Go from Here by Friko isn't quite there yet but it's definitely thinking some of the same thoughts. These kids are just starting out but they've already got a great sense for a memorable musical line. I love the way lyrics from the opening track fade back in at the end of the penultimate track, tying the album into a cohesive whole. I admire the singer's faith in his ability to hold the audience's attention with the stripped-back acoustic "For Ella". And the chorus on "Get Numb to it" just rips. Of all the indie rock I listened to this year, this is the album that stuck. I look forward to hearing where they go from here.

5. The Moon is in the Wrong Place - Shannon and the Clams

The Moon is in the Wrong Place is about grief. Very specifically, it's about grieving the lead singer's fiancé, who died very suddenly shortly before their wedding. This is not a secret, it's actually printed on a hype sticker affixed to the physical releases of the album (a little weird but okay), but the first time I listened to the album I did not know about this background. Without the context I thought the album was okay but a little disjointed and confusing. With the context, however, it transforms into a tragic spiral of foreboding to regret to cerebration to despair to remembrance. The track list jumps between songs set before and after the loss, mirroring the non-linear process of grief itself, gradually all melting together until we land at acceptance. And through it all Shannon still manages to deliver captivating songs in her signature fuzzy psychedelic garage rock style. It's beautiful, enchanting, cathartic, and definitely worth a listen.

4. Imaginal Disk - Magdalena Bay

When Brat came out this year I thought it was super overrated and my opinion hasn't really improved since then. I chalked it up to me not really being into pop as genre. So my first impression of listening to Imaginal Disk was that it was just another pop album I wasn't going to get. But then near the end of the track list I started getting sucked into the rich, layered production and decided it was probably worth another listen. And then another listen. And then another. And somewhere along the way it became one of my top albums of the year. It's a hazy, cosmic, extraterrestrial party packed with synths and some of the best dance beats of the year. Is it even possible to stay still on the drop on "That's My Floor" or the bang-bangs in "The Ballad of Matt and Mica"? It's a musically complex album that rewards multiple listens while also just being a whole lot of fun.

3. Where's My Utopia? - Yard Act

I think "Dream Job" might just be a perfect song. Sure, music is subjective, but there are some songs almost everyone agrees are all-timers. Mr. Brightside, Sweet Caroline, and now... Dream Job (why yes, I am white. How could you tell?). It's funky, it's smart, it's an undeniably crowd-pleaser. I don't think there's anyone I wouldn't recommend it to. I'm not sure I'd say that for the rest of Yard Act's Where's My Utopia, but the sheer number of times I listed to this album alone earns it a place on this list. Yard Act's mixed media approach to music, reminiscent of The Gorillaz, delivered with a smarmy attitude which evokes post-punk contemporaries like Viagra Boys, works better on some tracks than others. I love the way they pile hooks on top of hooks in songs like "The Undertow" but find it a bit overwhelming on tracks like "Grifter's Grief". I also really love album closer "Vineyard for the North", which proves that Yard Act stripped of all their tricks and bits can still write a great song. Of all my picks on this list, I think this album is the least consistent but god damn those highs are so so high.

2. It's Sorted - Cheekface

Comparisons to other heady nerd rock bands like They Might Be Giants and Cake are inevitable... and warranted. I saw someone describe Cheekface as a band made entirely of twitter drafts (but like, back when twitter was fun not twitter now) and that is also pretty accurate. But what you might miss from these comparisons alone is that grooves on It's Sorted also totally rip ass! Yes, "Grad School" and "Life in a Bag" feel like they're staring directly into my soul but they're also fantastic jams you can't help but sing and dance along to. I wore out every track on this album, and also the album that preceded it. Cheekface has a new fan.

1. All Hell - Los Campesinos!

Okay, okay. If you know anything about my music preferences, this pick might seem like kind of a cop-out. Obviously a new album (the first in 7 years!) from my favorite active band was going to place highly on this list, but I swear I was fully prepared to give this record a middle spot if I wasn't totally in love with it. Unfortunately, it really is just that good! Los Camp! are still very much themselves on All Hell. Every song is packed with their nervous energy and lead singer Gareth's wordy lyrics continue to lament adventures in love, politics, football, and vomiting. There's a lot for long-time fans to appreciate, but I also thing this might be one of their most accessible albums to date. You don't have to be a groupie to vibe to the opening guitar rift on "Holy Smoke (2005)" or the sugar-sweet lyrics to the chorus of "Moonstruck" (I have not been able to look at a full moon since this album came out without thinking "I am moooooonstruck/ it's a welcome fate"). And one reason I love about Los Camp! is that they are so good at evolving their sound in a way that feels organic. Each subsequent new album has introduced interesting new musical ideas while still making something that fells like it slots into the rest of their discography. All Hell continues this trend, and never more so than on "Long Throes", a sweeping orchestral scream of frustration at the state of modern (British) society and my #1 song of the year. The way the song loops and dips is utterly unique in Los Camp! discography and instantly demands you sing along. All Hell is everything I wanted from a new Los Camp! album and more. You can catch me at every single LA gig they are willing to play from now until one of us dies. LC!4LYF!!!

Btw, best lyrics of the year for me are from "Holy Smoke (2005)" - "Don't get me wrong I love my friends' kids, sure they'll grow to be good leftists Bet they'll make their parents proud and make the best of what they're left with But they don't buy the beers I drink, and they don't drink the beers I buy No children and no profession, walking dead at 37"

+1 Secret to Life - Fizz

One more! I wanted to give a shout out to my favorite album of this year that didn't come out this year. Secret to Life by Fizz came out in 2023 but somehow I completely overlooked it. I'm so glad I got ot rectify that mistake in 2024! If I were to make a band with my friends, Secret to Life is the kind of music I see us making. It's a little all over the place: sometimes a little goofy, sometimes heartrendingly earnest, sometimes just the right amount of sleazy, but always a lot of fun. This is a band made up of people who clearly just love creating music together... and also are obviously in their mid twenties. They're just like me fr. Fizz has already broken up to return to solo projects but I hope they find their way back together again someday.

Aaaand some honorable mentions:

Prelude to Ecstasy - The Last Dinner Party: Another great debut! Lots of dark academia riot grrl goodness. Looking forward to hearing more from them.

I Saw the TV Glow Soundtrack: Would have made the list if Imaginal Disk didn't also do everything I loved about this album while also having some of the best dance tracks of the year.

As it Ever Was, So it Will Be Again - The Decemberists: An epic, sprawling masterpiece that somehow manages to weave together folk, prog, samba, and indie rock into a fairly cohesive album. I liked it when it came out, but after the election it was pretty much the only thing I wanted to listen to for like a week. If you liked The Crane Wife but haven't checked out much else from The Decemberists, this one will probably work for you too.

Mountainhead - Everything Everything: I reaaaally wanted to love this one, but after about half a dozen plays, I had to admit it just wasn't that interesting to me. The singles and opening track are still bangers though.

GLOOM DIVISION - I Don't Know How But They Found Me: IDKHow is one of my favorite bands of the last few years so I thought this would be an automatic add to the list. I honestly can't tell you why it isn't. The songs are pretty good, I loved seeing them in concert, and yet I just don't really seem to come back to it. Still, if you like early P!atd and you haven't checked out IDKHow yet, you should! It's good.

Big Ideas - Remi Wolf: Didn't love enough of this record for it to make the main list, but it's still the best funk album I listened to this year. "Toro" is an all-timer.

The Past is Still Alive - Hurray for the Riff Raff: Folksy indie americana rock seems to be catnip for music critics. Most music publications' year end lists were packed with Waxahatchee and Adrianne Lenker and Kacey Musgraves and I found them all extremely boring. I think I need to admit this type of music is just not something I enjoy. This one did kind of work for me, though. Hurray for the Riff Raff actually infuses some energy into their songs and in a genre so focused on the micro I find their willingness to zoom out and talk about things outside of their immediate emotional state refreshing. Cool name, too.

And if you somehow made it to the end of this ridiculously long post (I love you) and want to check out any of the albums I mentioned, I put together a spotify playlist of my fave songs from each record, plus a few extra great tracks from this year. Check it out!

Let me know if you loved any of these albums or have any favorites from this year you'd like to share! I love discovering new music, and I guess technically there's still time for this list to change :D

Thanks for reading!

[nicolettebornstein]

nicolette ‘coco’ halle bornstein ✧.*

bi w/ more of a male lean.

| 21. cheetah print. gold. cherry lipgloss. red. 5’1. rings. chunky jewelry. sade. mid 90s. nail polish. coke. the florida project. weed. thrifting. traveling. attitude. dance. the hotter sibling.❀

ღ NOBODY’S LITTLE CHEETAH.

@carringtonxx ‘s hot little sister.

@nicolettebornstein ‘s work, do not copy or use my work at any means.

༊*·˚some cool people

@carringtonxx @chasekeithh @elenakeithh @micahevanss @carmengracee @drewwstarkey @astoria-rios @bikerrpp @almondmilkhunniii @tarayummyy @vhackerr @vvinniehacker @valentinespencerr @zarbruhhh @nnaminee @christophersturnn @m4ttthemunch @madisonb44r @madifilipowiczz @ettarosee @neiima-marin

[theprissythumbelina]

Songs and Ships Tag

Rules: write about two to five songs from them that represent your a ship between your ocs (it can be platonic or romantic or a secret third thing). then add a quote from said wip (if possible!) underneath it.

I was tagged by @pheita, thank you! Now, my first instinct was Nicolette and Alyss, but I don't have their romantic relationship well felt-out, so instead I am going to do Nicolette and Daisy. In the interest of a little backstory, Daisy was Nicolette's first friend and first love. She was there for Nicolette all through their school years, she was there when her mother died, but they broke up when Nicolette became obsessed with getting her mother back.

So, songs!

Chocolate - The 1975

Now run, run away from the boys in blue Oh, my car smells like chocolate Hey now, I think about what to do I think about what to say I think about how to think Pause it, play it, pause it, play it, pause it Oh, we go where nobody know With guns hidden under our petticoat No, we're never gonna quit it No, we're never gonna quit it, no Yeah, we're dressed in black from head to toe We got guns hidden under our petticoat No, we're never gonna quit it No, we're never gonna quit it, no

Just a Dream - Nelly

I'm going through it every time that I'm alone And now I'm missing, wishing she'd pick up the phone But she made the decision that she wanted to move on 'Cause I was wrong I was thinking 'bout her, thinking 'bout me Thinking 'bout us, what we gon' be Open my eyes yeah, it was only just a dream So I travelled back down that road Will she come back? No one knows I realize, yeah, it was only just a dream If you ever loved somebody put your hands up If you ever loved somebody put your hands up And now they're gone and you're wishing you could give them everything

Gravity - Against the Current

You left me out there with no one but myself In an open field for lightning to strike me down I was the moon, you were the sun I can't seem to shine now that you're gone You ran out of orbit cause you left with no word Are you somewhere better now? Can you save me now? I get lost up in the clouds Can you save me now? You were my gravity Can you save me now? When the ground drops out I get lost in the clouds Save me now? You were my gravity Now my world is shattering

Now for a snippet

Daisy set Nicolette up at her small table with coffee in her hands. Nicolette couldn't tear her eyes from what remained of her mother. Her hands had always been firm, tough, cracked but loving. Those hands now clenched at empty air, ashen. She had always had such nice eyes, eyes that Nicolette hadn't inherited. Eyes that flicked back and forth in an empty gaze. Nicolette considered that she should have felt horrified. That was the correct reaction. Facing the corpse of the one person that had ever loved her should have been horrifying.  Nicolette didn't feel a thing. She just watched, unable to look away. Just watched and felt nothing. Daisy reached over and nudged the mug in her hands. When Nicolette didn’t move, she brushed a tangle of hair off her shoulder. Nicolette felt nothing, and it was a relief.  "Why'd you do it," She asked, not for the first time. Nicolette didn't magically have a better answer this time, so she said nothing.  It was done. Did it even really matter? She had done it.

Tagging @autumnalwalker @talesofsorrowandofruin @athenswrites @italiangothicwriteblr @words-after-midnight

[myocsfanfictions]

The Road Ahead of Us - TWD (Season 2)

The Walking Dead Fanfiction

MASTERLIST

They had left Atlanta behind, trying to reach Fort Benning; but during an apocalypse nothing ever goes at it is planned. Sarah and Nicolette will have to face new challenges and dangers. How will they survive?

<< Previous - Next >>

Chapter 26

SARAH

"Hey, what are you doing?" Glenn's voice came from beside her, his hands in his pockets as he walked closer.

Sarah smiled, glancing at the screwdriver in her hand. "I was thinking about Dale," she answered. "That was one of his." He had taught her many things about cars and engines; she just wished he could have had more time with them. She wished he was still with them. Taking a deep breath, she put the screwdriver back in the toolbox.

"I was thinking of building traps," she said, turning to her friend.

"Traps?" Glenn asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah," Sarah replied, her excitement building. "Something to defend ourselves in case of attacks. The reinforcements could work well, but we might need a way to lure walkers away, just in case."

"Like what?" Glenn asked, a smile breaking across his face as he leaned against the wall with his arms crossed.

"Walkers are attracted to noise and lights," Sarah explained. "Maybe we could build something to distract them. I don't know... something that makes noise or catches fire when it's pulled."

Glenn grinned at her. "I missed you creating stuff." Sarah nodded, feeling a warmth in her chest.

"I didn't think it would be needed anymore," she admitted sadly. She had really believed they were safe at the farm; she never imagined that the events of the night before could happen again.

"Maybe we can go scavenging together to find what you need." At Glenn's words, her face lit up, and she placed a grateful hand on his forearm.

"Is Maggie all right?" Sarah asked, closing Dale's toolbox. Glenn nodded.

"She's glad her father is letting us stay," he answered, his expression softening.

"We all are," Sarah said, tilting her head at him. "I can't wait to get to know her better. I've talked to her a bit, and I think she's lovely." Glenn chuckled, looking down.

"She said something along those lines about you," he added, making her smile. She genuinely wanted to be friends with her best friend's girlfriend.

"How's Daryl?" Glenn asked, a hint of curiosity in his tone. "I've seen you two getting pretty close."

"He's getting closer to everybody," she replied, a small smile forming as her thoughts drifted to the archer. But then, the memory of the previous night struck her, and she continued, "It meant a lot what he did last night." She thought about what Daryl had to do for Dale. He stepped up when Rick couldn't, though Sarah didn't blame the sheriff; she understood him completely.

"I'm sorry," she had told Daryl that morning on the porch, where he was sitting quietly.

"Wha'?" he asked softly, looking up at her.

Sarah took a breath, moving closer to him. "I'm sorry you had to do it," she said, still feeling the memory of Dale's hand going limp in her grasp when Daryl pulled the trigger.

"Someone had ta..." Daryl said, his gaze steady on hers. She knew he was right. Dale had been suffering so much; they couldn't leave him like that. But it shouldn't have happened in the first place. Dale should have been safe at the farm.

Sarah took a shaky breath. "Nobody is ever safe, right?" she said, sitting next to him. His eyes never left her face; she could feel their weight. But his gaze wasn't intimidating; it was comforting.

"We are," he muttered.

"How can you say that?" she asked, almost begging him to prove her wrong. Terror gripped her heart. She had truly believed nothing could happen to them there. "After what happened—"

"Just know that we are," he said, making her look up at him. Tears threatened to spill from her eyes as she met his gaze.

"I'm scared, Daryl," she admitted, struggling to keep her lips from quivering. "I'm tired of losing people." A small sob escaped her. She didn't want to cry. She didn't want to seem weak, but she couldn't lie—neither to herself nor to the others.

"Sarah," him whispering her name was almost soothing. When she looked at him, a tear rolled down her cheek. "It's gonna be fine," he said, and for some reason, she believed him.

"You trust him a lot, don't you?" Glenn asked, and Sarah nodded immediately.

Glenn smiled at her. "You're good at judging people. You've trusted him for a long time."

Sarah's gaze fell to the scar on her hand, the one she had given herself while trying to kill a walker with the glass from a broken bottle. Daryl had saved her, bringing her to safety. No one would have believed that one of the two aggressive rednecks in camp would ever have done that. But he did. From that moment on, Sarah had seen how Daryl acted. He cared about people, even if he pretended he didn't. After what happened with Carol and Sophia, there was nothing more she needed to see. She trusted Daryl Dixon, and she cared for him.

"Rick!" T-Dog's voice made them all turn toward the door. What was happening now?

It didn't take long for them to rush outside, afraid that what happened to Dale could happen again.

"What's happening?" Lori asked, noticing her husband running behind the house.

"Randall escaped," Nicolette said, urgency lacing her voice.

Sarah's breath caught in her throat as she looked at Glenn.

"We've got to help," he said, and without another word, Sarah followed her friends toward the cabinet. Nicki quickly joined them, and soon everyone else did too.

"Should we look around?" Andrea asked, entering the cabin. Daryl was observing the door closely, a frown on his face as he searched for traces.

"Did he break the door?" Sarah asked, frowning as she moved closer to Daryl. He shook his head and gestured to the door for her to see.

"It's not broken," he explained. "T-Dog said it was locked."

That made sense to Sarah; Randall was a lean guy—he could never break a locked door with his bare hands. But if he hadn't broken it and hadn't forced it open, how did he escape?

"Was it locked from the outside?" she asked, looking at T-Dog as Daryl moved past her to examine the ground, taking careful steps.

"Yeah, Sarah," T-Dog replied, glancing at the trees. "The lock was on the outside, and it was working fine." Sarah frowned as she examined the lock and chain.

So, according to what he was saying, Randall had managed to unlock it and escape. But instead of running away, he took the time to put the chain back on and close the lock. That didn't make any sense.

"That's impossible; there's no other way out," Glenn said from beside her.

"How long has he been gone?" Hershel asked, but Rick shook his head as he walked outside.

"It's hard to say," he replied. "The cuffs are still hooked." Sarah's brows furrowed even more. Weren't they supposed to be broken? How had he managed to escape?

"So, what? He—he slipped them?" Sarah asked, anxiety rising within her.

"Probably," Rick said, glancing at the cabin.

"Is that even possible?" Carol asked, voicing everyone's thoughts.

"It is if you've got nothing to lose," Andrea said, stepping out the door.

"He must be bleeding badly," Nicki remarked, catching Rick's attention.

"The door was secured from the outside," Hershel noted.

"Yeah, Daryl was saying the same thing," Sarah nodded. What was happening? Where was the blood? The cuffs were made of steel; if someone tried to pull against them too hard, their skin should have been cut. And why was the door still closed?

"Rick!" a voice shouted, and Sarah instinctively pulled her sister behind her. "Rick!" Shane burst out of the woods, his face covered in blood.

"What happened?" Lori asked, her voice filled with concern.

"He's armed!" Shane exclaimed as he drew closer. "He's got my gun!"

Sarah's eyes widened as she glanced at Glenn.

"Are you okay?" Carl asked, standing next to his mother.

"I'm fine," Shane replied. "The little bastard just snuck up on me and clocked me in the face."

"Quite the hit he has," Nicki muttered beside Sarah, who gently nudged her toward Carl as she moved closer to Rick.

"Didn't he know we were letting him go?" Sarah asked, her worry deepening. Rick was studying Shane before turning to her.

"Maybe... he didn't believe us," he said, then looked at the others. "All right, Hershel, T-Dog, get everyone back in the house. Glenn, Daryl, come with us!"

Daryl stood next to Sarah, loading his crossbow. She instinctively reached out to grab his arm, making him turn to her. A little frown appeared on his face as his blue eyes searched her expression.

She didn't like the situation at all. Everything felt strange. Randall's escape made no sense, and heading into the woods at night felt like a trap. Fear filled Sarah's heart; she didn't want to lose anyone else.

"Don't go," she pleaded, her voice trembling slightly. He glanced at her hand, hesitation flickering across his face before their eyes locked, the weight of the moment hanging between them.

"It's gonna be fine," he replied with a small nod. "Go inside with the others; we'll be right back."

She knew they had to go. Shane had said Randall was armed now. God only knew where he was—he could be gone or hiding, ready to take vengeance on them. "Okay..." Sarah nodded, taking a couple of deep breaths to steady herself before letting him go. "Be careful... please," she begged, her voice barely above a whisper. Daryl nodded once more, concern etched on his face, before she reluctantly turned to head toward the house, her heart heavy with worry.

"Be back soon," she called to Glenn as he passed by. "Stay safe!"

"You too," he replied.

"Just let him go," Carol urged as Sarah placed her hands on Nicki and Carl's shoulders. "That was the plan, right? To just let him go?"

"The plan was to cut him loose far away from here, not on our front step with a gun," Rick replied as Shane took the gun from T-Dog.

"Don't go out there," Carol insisted, her voice rising with urgency. "You all know what can happen!" Sarah and Daryl exchanged one last glance, a mix of concern and unspoken worry in their eyes, before he turned to follow Rick toward the trees with Glenn and Shane. As he stepped away, Sarah felt a knot of anxiety tighten in her stomach, the weight of uncertainty heavy on her heart.

"Get everybody back in the house," Rick commanded. "Lock all the doors and stay put!"

"Okay, let's go," Andrea said, pushing Carol toward the house. Sarah caught Maggie's gaze, and in that brief moment, they shared an understanding of the fear and worry weighing on them. They both nodded, silently acknowledging the danger they were facing, before turning and running inside together.

"I'll take the guns," Andrea said as they all rushed in.

"I'll lock the doors," Maggie called, heading to the kitchen while Beth moved to close the back door.

Andrea returned with the guns, handing one to each of them.

"What if something happens?" Carol asked, panic creeping into her voice.

"Rick's got it," Lori said, trying to calm herself.

"We don't know this guy!" Carol protested.

"It's gonna be fine," Sarah murmured, heading toward the window and peering through the gaps between the beams. "It's gonna be fine."

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

If you liked it, please leave a ♥️ and reblog!

[azlyricsdotcom]

Wherever You Go // Nicolette & The Nobodies // The Long Way (2024)

[horrocious]

music tag game

rules are simple: pick a song for each letter of your URL and tag that many people!

tagged by @knife-depot 🫡

songs under the cut

Heal Me - Sarah Shook & The Disarmers

Oh My Love - Riz Ortolani

Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner - Warren Zevon

Rainy Day Women #12 & 35 - Bob Dylan

O Death - Ralph Stanley

Come On Up To The House - The Devil Makes Three

It Isn't Nice - Malvina Reynolds

Oh! You Pretty Things - David Bowie

Underground - Tom Waits

Show Up - Nicolette & The Nobodies

not gonna tag one for each song but perhaps @galarrapidash and @rachedurst and anyone else who feels like it can take a swing at it! no pressure though of course

[nobully]

Steer + kiss. ( pretend to be shocked )

nonverbal starters | steer place a hand under their chin to make them look up; kiss a kiss on the cheek, knuckles, forehead, in their hair - you’ll get your playlist but im shuffling the songs :)

Days had passed since their last kiss, and life was...slow. But it was the kind of pace that neither of them minded. They ate, they slept, they lounged around. Nicolette suggested they get books so Wang Yi took a trip to the library and back but found he couldn't read them without straining his voice. That was okay, she read them to him instead, both of them huddled up together under the covers at night.

Sometimes he nodded off first, and she'd keep reading just to feel his head on her shoulders and soft breaths tickling her chest. Sometimes she fell asleep before him, only to wake up later in the night to find herself all tucked in, the book set aside, and him asleep by her with one arm draped over her torso. She preferred the latter better, because it meant she could scoot closer by turning towards him and feel his arm following along until he cradled her close.

There were movie marathons where they watched fearlessly as monsters chased after hapless victims (horror didn't really phase them as much as it should and for some reason Nicolette found them funny?), quietly debated in whispers over the murderer (mysteries were nice but they'd read all the books and knew half the plots), and suffered through crappy romance flicks where Nicolette snorted and criticized everything on screen while Wang Yi numbly sipped on his drink and fed her popcorn between speech breaks.

It was kind of like a vacation and a dream rolled all into one, where they shut out the rest of the world and just withdrew into themselves for a while. There was an interlude where Wang Yi met up with Zhilan to get his birthday present, but then he'd came right back to Nicolette waiting for him by the door, kissed her on the cheek, and showed her a few of his neater tricks before setting his new basketball in a corner of her room. That night he'd made longevity noodles and they shared Zhilan's cake and that was it, because it was getting near bedtime by then and obviously that meant going the hell to sleep.

By the second week Nicolette had proposed reading a chapter book for bed and Wang Yi had agreed, not minding one way or another. Except she ends up choosing a collection of love stories of all things, which means he's stuck questioning the motives of the characters and what they'd do for their feelings every other page.

Also, why the hell was everyone so sappy all the time! Nobody acted like that in real life!!

(Getting transmigrated into novels with the same tropes didn't count as real life either!)

"Wait," he finally spoke up one night, voice softer than usual but much better than before—his vocal chords were healing along nicely. "That part, right—I don't get it, he raised her chin and she starts blushing? It says she likes it, but isn't that more like assault?"

"It's super romantic!" Nicolette huffs back. "I mean, imagine if someone lifted you up by the chin..."

"Yeah, I felt super attacked and embarrassed, which I figured was kind of the point?" Wang Yi nods. "When I did it to someone else, I was goading them to bite me. Didn't work, though..."

"Ok, what," Nicolette blinks, but shakes her head and decides not to ask. "It'll make more sense when someone you like does it to you instead."

"Show me, then?" Wang Yi turns to her expectantly.

And as warm as the unspoken hint of I like you feels, Nicolette still smacks him. "Not when you're expecting it! It has to be a surprise."

"What, there's so many rules..." Wang Yi mumbles, but shuts up when Nicolette starts reading again. Of course he nods off in the middle of the couple's heartfelt confession and Nicolette starts to question her choice of literature because she's not getting the he dozes off later and tucks me in treatment but whatever, at least his forehead's free at this angle to steal all the kisses she wants.

One for I like you, two for sweet dreams, and three for please, stay with me.

—

“When are we going to do it?” Wang Yi asks first thing next morning as he’s serving up breakfast.

“Do what?” Nicolette asks, sipping her orange juice and browsing her phone for the latest Spinstagram updates.

“The chin thing.”

Nicolette stops scrolling to arch her brows at him. “Yiyi, not now.” She told him already, it has to be a surprise move!

“Nini, why not?” he asks, mimicking her tone exactly.

“You—oh! Did you just call me Nini…!”

“Why, what’s wrong?” he creases his brows.

“You barely call me any nicknames, Wangyyyyy!!”

He looks at her and blinks. “That’s not true, you used to be ‘demoness’ in my phone.”

“God, don’t ruin the moment,” Nicolette gets up and all but leans across the table. “Say it again.”

“You’re making it embarrassing…”

“Yiyi, come onnnn~” she pleas. “It’s only fair!”

“Ugh, fine…” Wang Yi puts up a resigned face, but his small smile gives him away. “…Nini?”

“What about some other ones?”

The smile slips. “You want more?!”

“Why not! I have at least two for you!”

“I guess…” Wang Yi trails off to think. “Letty? Nico? Colette…? Uhh…I guess Coco works too…”

They’re not all spectacular, but it’s fun to see him try.

“And your favorite one?” she urges on, excited to see what he’ll pick.

“…Nicolette.”

She sits back in her chair with a sigh. “You’re such a moodkiller, Wang Yi.”

“So, the chin thing…”

“You’re not getting any!”

“All right, all right…”

Nicolette waits for the inevitable backtracking—because it’s common knowledge that the less you get, the more you want, right? But Wang Yi actually drops the subject and goes right on eating his eggs while browsing his phone too. She takes a peek: he’s on his own account on Spitter, scrolling past a timeline that’s a mix of weird science facts and sports videos.

With a private huff, she gets her own phone to take a picture of her yet-untouched plate (thoughtfully arranging a few of the garnishes for aesthetics), fiddles with the filters, and posts it to her Spinstagram with the caption:

nicawlette: bf made me breakfast ❤️ #personalchef #malewife

Annnnnnd post.

Seconds later, Wang Yi’s phone dings without fail, and she has to suppress her satisfied smirk as he clicks on the notification and tabs to her account.

"...Nicolette, it's just eggs and tomato on toast."

"But you made it," she crows. "For me."

"Also for myself?"

"Take a compliment when I give it," she huffs back and picks up her toast for a munch. "Mmm, delicious~"

"What's a malewife?"

"Another nickname," she replies back easily. "Aren't you going to like my post?"

"Yeah, yeah..." he presses the heart and she eagerly refreshes the page, checking for his username in the list of likes...

Besides her usual friends and commenters, all she sees at the bottom is a very unobtrusive heart from the username "crcl3." It doesn't even have a profile picture besides the default blank avatar for new users.

"...Yiyi, why are you still using a burner account for Spinstagram?"

Wang Yi blinks at her, then flushes slightly. "I don't have any other ones. I just made that one to follow you...like, way back."

Okay, fair, and she's weirdly flattered that he's still doing it now that they're long past their stalker-victim accusations. "Why'd you make yourself sound like a bot?"

"Huh?"

"Your username!" she shakes her phone at him. "It's just a bunch of letters and a number!"

"What are you talking about?" he scoffs back. "That's the chemical formula for chromic chloride."

"Wangy, in English please."

Instead, he just gulps down his orange juice and looks evasive. "It was just a spur of the moment thing. I chose it because it makes the brightest purple I know..."

Purple? Unexpectedly, warmth floods her chest at the statement. "Was it..." She's almost afraid to ask, but she has to know. "Did you pick it...because of me?"

Wang Yi concentrates on the phone screen in his lap. "A shitton of stuff happened to us the first time we met. I can't name all the details, but I did remember your hair. And your eyes? Three shades of purple aren't easy to forget. Well, and the attitude. So I used that to find you online..."

"You mean the same damned attitude that saved your life?" Nicolette retorts, though there's no real heat in it.

"I know." He pauses, then murmurs, "You kept me from going under this time, too."

He's still looking at his lap, and suddenly Nicolette has an overwhelming urge to see his face. She circles around the table (ignoring the wince she makes when she moves a little too quickly) until she claims the spot in front of his chair, wraps her arms around his shoulders, and kisses his hair, still soft and sweet with the scent of her shampoo.

His hands move to cling to her even as Nicolette croons, "Of course I did."

"Nicolette..."

"Because I wasn't going to lose what's mine?"

She hears him exhale with enough intensity that can only mean a raging blush, and giggles to herself.

"I—" Wang Yi begins, but never gets farther than that.

Because Nicolette's gotten him by the chin and steers his head up gently until they're looking eye-to-eye. He blinks at her, bright red and a little panicked, but doesn't try to turn away. It's a little endearing how he always looks like someone facing his crush for the first time, every time. Still grinning, Nicolette asks, "Are you feeling attacked?"

With the tiniest of movements, he shakes his head.

"What about embarrassed?"

A slightly bigger nod.

"Are you going to bite me?"

He side-eyes her (or rather, the teeth marks still peeking out from her collar) before croaking out, "Only if you want me to?"

"Not this time," Nicolette whispers. "It's different, isn't it?"

"...yeah," Wang Yi breathes, and his hands begin moving up her chest and over her shoulders until they're hooking around her neck. "But I still don't like this chin thing."

"Ohhh?" she lets him embrace her, fingers still caressing his jawline as she teases. "Why not?"

"It keeps you too far away."

He turns to take her thumb into his mouth even as he pulls the rest of her into his lap, like a persistent puppy leading its owner home. When she collapses onto his legs, he lets go to rain soft kisses on her nose, cheeks, and forehead. Laughing, Nicolette lets him take the lead for awhile before seizing the win by stealing his lips for the day.

—

"There are still things I don't understand," Wang Yi whispers to her when they're done.

"That's okay," she murmurs back. "I'll show you what they mean, one by one."

Until he gets it. Until he feels it. Until what starts as like can grow and turn to love.

She thinks, now that we've promised ourselves to each other, we have all the time in the world.

(They go to bed holding hands and wake up next to each other as strangers.)

[schleckermaul]

( 🍭 spots to kiss ) a kiss on the space between eyebrows. ueueue..... — @nicawlette

BREAK CAN TELL IT'S NIGHTTIME because he'd felt the setting sun travelling across the floor of his room, with how long they've been sitting here. it's quiet, outside. the window is open, and the air is filled with the distant humming of traffic that he's slowly gotten used to, over the last few months. as a steady background noise, it's comforting, a sign that life is still continuing. once he gets better, maybe he'll get to join it again.

   how can he care about that other part of life, when a small fraction of it has decided to stick with him, though?

   nicolette is warm, but not warm enough. warmer than him. not as warm as she could be. she, too, is hurt, and he's not a great source of heat, though he's tried his best. with his head in her lap, so that she can see his face, they've been sitting on his bed, chatting.

   it's so simple. his legs are warm from where the sun last touched them, before it disappeared entirely. her legs are tilted around his middle, giving support to his injured side, his elbows on her thighs. his own ankles crossed, he has the space and the air and the energy, to gesture and giggle and talk. about nothing and everything, everything and nothing. hours must have passed. surely, zhilan will come in soon, to interrupt their conversation, start changing their bandages, break being hassled to take his medicine.

   but that doesn't matter. right now, they are here. and nicolette giggles at something he's said, and his hair brushes her stomach as he tilts his head to look up, as if he could truly see the way a laugh lights up her face. he feels it, anyways, basks.

' and they believed you? wasn't your ... ' she pauses, and break feels her arm move as she makes a dismissive gesture. ' everything good enough for some questioning? '

   he laughs, taps the heel of his foot against his ankle. raises one hand to tangle it in the one she wiggled around, trying to find a word for his everything. ' question me? the mad hatter? please, they weren't insane. people were terrified of me. '

   smug as they come, satisfaction settles on his expression, folding their fingers together. ' so if i said i lost the thing during a cake fork accident, nobody investigated it. '

   which is still a funny running joke to keep going around the island. anytime somebody realizes he's missing his left eye, it's a race to the bottom. what's the worst explanation he could come up with, and how much of it will they believe, if he just keeps adding details? humans are silly like that, get shy and awkward, don't dare to poke holes into a story that has the smallest chance of being true.

   stroking a few fingers of his free hand through his bangs, he hums. with the sun gone, the moon is now shining in, cool on their skin. his eye shines a little brighter in the darkness, red stark and deep. ' or, you know, if i told somebody it was stolen to be used as a cursed talisman ... accusing me of lying would be rude! even reportable. pandora didn't take those things lightly. '

' what!, ' nicolette exclaims, and break is glad for the offense in her words, the soft strength of the argument she's making. it'll be a long and slow recovery, though somehow, sitting here together might have helped a bit. she seemed tired when she arrived. ' cursed? just a random eye? who would fall for that? '

   ' well, they're red. '

' yeah, it's fancy! '

   ' no, that's— '

okay, now he's laughing at her, and she notices immediately, gently tapping the top of his forehead with her fingers, offended at him, this time. ' what! explain it. '

   ' it's ... ' break has to let go of her hands for this, stretching out his arms as if he were making shadow figures on the ceiling. as if he could reach for the lights of the abyss, like this. instead, he gestures a small circle. ' in my world, if you had red eyes, ' making a peace symbol with one hand, ' you were a child of ill omen. laypeople considered us cursed. which, of course, is not true. it just means that ... ' it means a lot of things. it'd be hard to explain in detail. ' we were different, and people didn't like it. '

   ' oh, ' is all nicolette says at first, of which break can't decipher the tone, as he folds his hands on his chest. ' that's so dumb. i'm pretty sure people were just jealous because of how cool they look. '

   which makes him snort, chest not heavy, legs still light. he burrows himself a little deeper into the blankets beneath, the small nest he's made himself with her legs around him. ' i'm sure yours are very cool, as well, lady nicolette. ' is he making fun of himself, or of her? doesn't seem to matter terribly much, because she laughs anyways.

' a lady with pretty purple eyes, huh? i can believe that. '

   break pauses. ' yours are purple? '

   he feels as nicolette leans over him, her hair cascading around his face like two seperate waterfalls. it doesn't smell as fancy as usual ... no shampoo. it seems to just be the scent of her, now. he tugs at a few strands automatically. ' duh. you didn't see? '

   ' no need to bully the blind man, now— '

   there's no chance to complain any more than that, because nicolette is framing his face, now, both of her hands on his cheeks. it smells like bandage and antiseptic, but the moment after it's just warm, and bitter, and mellow, as she leans in to press a kiss between his eyebrows. or, really, more of a smack. is she wearing lipstick?

   break felt the smile in that kiss, so when nicolette tries to lift her head again, his own hands come up, tugging at her hair until she comes back down. he looks at her. he can't see. it doesn't matter. he is in a little cave, between waterfalls, and he's safe.

   feeling his way across her face, ignoring the mild complaints at poking a nose or a corner of an eye, break explores for the quickest moment. feels the briefest hint of her scar, over her left eye. the purple eye, apparently. leaning up a bit, careful not to hurt his ribs, he kisses the tip of her nose in return.

   ' purple eyes are also important in my world, ' he admits, and then he lets nicolette settle back into the pillows stacked up behind her, so she doesn't bust any of her stitches for their shenanigans. one of her hands stays in his hair, and he lets her.

   ' how so? are they all sexy and powerful? '

   ' ha. it's actually an indication that you're connected to the abyss. where the both of us were, when my eye actually got stolen. ' giving them a moment, to work through that memory without panicking, break continues: ' those with purple eyes were, most of the time, at the end of a long line of people capable of interacting with its core. the beginning of all. the ending of all. '

   the little girl, dancing in a rain of blood, purple eyes so bright and kind. break smiles fondly. ' only children of ill omen and those particular indiviuals were able to do so. '

   nicolette's hand brushes through his hair, fingertips touching the skin of his left cheek. he leans into it, gently squishing her hand against his elbow.

   ' so, like you and me? '

   he hums.

   ' like you and me. '