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laylajeffany · 5 months

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targeted ad ii - microfic

saw these on insta - ya'll might already know they exist sorry i'm old but they are for Wednesday and Enid for sure, so have a tiny scene of Enid convincing her moody lil gf to wear them

“You’ve already managed to convince me to join you in a cabin that doesn’t double as a hideout for family members running from federal agents. On the first full day of this trip, I’ve eaten your sugary version of breakfast, listened to your KPop morning stretch routine playlist, and now you expect me to wear matching clothes? I already wore a snood with you to hunt a monster.”

Enid wiggled her shoulders, holding a tie-dyed canvas tone in her hands with her bottom lip curled out. “Yeah, and you let it get all torn up! Come on, Wednesday – it’s practically a tradition!”

“This is our first time traveling together. The only tradition we’ll have is going to be you waking up breathing each day after the insufferable teenage whimsy you have me entertaining on this so-called vacation.”

“Okay, not so much a tradition, but it’s like, a thing that couples do together! At least all the ones on Instagram do it when they travel!”

Wednesday opened her own suitcase, a vintage piece assembled with fine leather. Whatever low-quality, polyester excuse for ‘fabric’ that Enid had likely ordered from a sweatshop was not going on her body. “Good news, I’m not on Instagram; you don’t have to worry about meeting vapidly set expectations of social media on my behalf.”

“But I got them special for us, so that we could still be coordinating and you could keep your aesthetics up, even though there would be no one here to see it. And I promise, I won’t post it on my stories or anything, I’d just…maybe hope that you’ll let Thing take a Polaroid of us for our cute little collection of pics on the string lights...”

Once Enid was full-blown pouting, Wednesday gave her a glance after taking out her organic, linen, hand-dyed pants that were stitched by the family seamstress and sighed. “What garment-factory-fire-waiting-to-happen clothing have you obtained?”

Enid scoffed as she reached into her bag. “I’d think the idea of a factory fire would be exciting to you.”

“I support exploiting people for their stupidity, not their labor,” Wednesday muttered and crossed her arms as she watched Enid pull out sweatshirts. One as an offensive baby pink and the other was black.

Matching? Hardly.

“These are from a small business I saw on that social-media-app you hate so much -”

“Did you fall for targeted advertising again? Enid, we’ve discussed the need to more strictly adjust your privacy settings so that your personality can’t be packaged and sold to you-”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah, breach of data – Russian bots, we’ve been through this. Anyway, this is a cute, women-owned online shop, not from some planet-killing application. I thought that these were particularly appropriate for us, and actually match this exact moment we’re in, right now.”

She turned them around, and Wednesday almost let out a puff of air in amusement, though she managed to conceal it before it could escape.

On the black sweatshirt was a pink heart, with a little spiderweb motif around it and the phrase ‘might bite,’ while the pink one had the same style, but the script read instead, ‘might cry.’

“Fitting,” Wednesday finally decided.

“Let’s see if they fit us!” She cheered, pulling the bright colored pastel top over her head and giggling, approaching Wednesday bravely, tugging the neck hole over her braids.

“Enid, it has pink.”

“Like, three inches of it on top! We’re alone in the woods, no one can see you. And I’ve got Benadryl for bug bites, if you break out in hives from your ‘color allergy.’”

Wednesday let out a long sigh through her nose as Enid actually took her arms one at a time and weaseled them inside the sleeves of the crewneck. She stared straight ahead, unfortunately – the maneuver long had lost the effect of unnerving Enid.

“Eek! You look so cute.” Enid tugged her over to the mirror on the back of the door of the log-built lake house they’d rented for spring break (a place for her to wolf out during that night’s full moon and for Wednesday to have plenty of target practice with a variety of weapons she’d packed). “I mean, intimidating – of course, not cute. Never cute.” She let out a series of bubbly laughs yet again, hooking an arm over Wednesday, who stared at their reflection.

It was a bit chilly that morning – but certainly not cold enough for the jacket she’d packed in case the weather was uncooperative…

“I will wear this for exactly the twenty minutes it will take us to walk to the lake.”

Enid squeaked and kissed her cheek, squeezing their matching sweatshirts together in a hug before pulling back and admiring their attire again, rubbing up and down Wednesday’s back mindlessly as she stared in the mirror. “We look adorable. I mean, deadly. We look very deadly in these.”

“You’re going to be dead if you don’t take your hands off my black and pink sweatshirt,” Wednesday clarified.

“Oh, please. You love it when I touch you,” Enid teased and Wednesday nearly wrinkled her nose at how much that was true. “What, are you going to prove that true and bite me if I don’t stop?”

“You wish,” Wednesday retorted, working very hard on keeping her eyes from rolling all the way back when Thing managed to capture the moment with Enid’s instant camera as she’d hoped. Enid let go and brought her arms up in a victory pose before milling around and gathering entirely too many unnecessary supplies for their morning hike while Wednesday watched her intensely in the mirror. She would admit – she liked the oversized top, and how it fell over her hands and went mid-length down her thighs. Adding her more usual pair of pants to go with it, she laced up her boots and waited as Enid debated between tinted lip balm. “The mosquitoes are going to find you delicious no matter what color your lips are.”

“It has SPF in it! Very necessary,” She said, putting some on herself when she finally picked one, then approached Wednesday, taking her by the back of her head and putting it on her as well. The fountain of positive thinking and insane levels of bravery that was her girlfriend shocked her into allowing it. Even more boldly, she followed it up with a kiss to those tinted lips that Wednesday almost returned. “Now you can leave a cute little lip imprint when you bite me,” She winked.

Tugging her close, Wednesday wrapped her black-clad sleeves around her pink middle, tucking her cheek against the plush fabric. In a move indicating surrender, she muttered, “This sweatshirt is adequately warm.”

“I knew you’d like it,” Enid kissed the top of her head, giving her a long embrace in return.

“I didn’t say that.”

“You don’t have to. And even if you’re just entertaining me,” She pulled back to look her in the eye. “Thank you. Now come on, you getting all affectionate on me might make me cry happy tears if we don’t get moving!”

Black Menagerie update is late because real life is sometimes better than fanfiction | purchase a sweatshirt for you and your moody gf here

#wednesday addams is whipped #wednesday 2022 #fanfic #wenclair #layla's >5k challenge #ghoulbabe #written in a supply closet at work and unbeta'd forgive

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lotstradamus · 5 months

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inspired by the manchester anon haha but do you have any tips and suggestions for visiting leeds? 🩷

I've lived here for 2 years now (!!!) but somehow I still don't really know my way around and just go to the same 5 places and use google maps to get anywhere else. it's sad. but here's some shit I love:

Grindhouse - cheap drinks, loads and loads of seats, never too full, music a reasonable volume, and they project 80s movies on the back wall. we once sat in here for 2 hours cos Stand By Me was on. one time we watched the bar staff earnestly tell a group of women on a hen do that the bar was closed and they weren't serving any more drinks, at 7:45pm. 10/10.

Rudy's - only 9 cities* in this fair nation have a Rudy's, so I'm going to keep reccing it for everyone else. perfect Neapolitan pizza. *Leeds, Manchester, Sheffield, Birmingham, Nottingham, Durham, London, York, Liverpool - if you live in one of these places and haven't been to Rudy's yet, sort it out.

Neon Cactus - go here on a Wednesday and order wings, and you'll get half price margs. lots of great Mexican scran. don't take anyone too picky or over 50, because the price for the great food and vibes is that at least one thing you order will be incorrect. but roll with it. half price margs, man.

Empire Cafe - book in advance if you want to sample the delights of Empire Cafe, cos there's like 6 tables max. everything is seasonal, changes on the daily, and is insanely delicious. if you want to experience heaven, order the steak and chips with salsa verde. there is NOTHING like it.

Stuzzi - another seasonal, small plate sort of place, but Italian. amazing food and a gorgeous restaurant. go with a big group and order one of everything.

Eat Your Greens - ANOTHER seasonal restaurant! this one is farm-to-fork and organic. I can’t speak to the quality as I haven’t actually been, but I am a frequenter of their GREENGROCER, which is MEGA. last time I think I left with natty wine, pâté, some insane tinned fish, a jar of harissa and a bag of sunset potatoes. if you like food, go here.

SARTO - fresh, handmade pasta and picky bits. another great place to go with a group and order all the starters. I had a celeriac pasta there last year that I think about on a fairly regular basis; I picked it cos it was the weirdest sounding thing on the menu and it was fucking mouthwatering. good quality and good people! and it's next door to The Wardrobe, so perfect for a pre-gig tea.

Santiago Bar - like Grindhouse (alternative, casual) but the music is louder and you'll find yourself doing tequila shots at 1am and screaming along to, like, Don Broco. it's the best.

Blue Collar Boys - as a rule I hate 'vintage' clothes shops (overpriced, ugly, everything is XXS), but this place seems to specialise solely in American t-shirts and sweatshirts from the 90s in exactly my size, and everything is £10. this is amazing and a huge bargain if you find something like vintage Wranglers and a Playboy bomber jacket (£20, my wife) but not so amazing or a bargain if you find 3 t-shirts with holes in (£30, me). we've never been without finding shit we love. they only open on random weekends, and they always seem to have more stuff than they could possibly ever sell. it's a freaky vintage alternate universe.

The Corn Exchange - a big gorgeous ol' building full of little businesses. vintage, handmade, tattoos, coffee, jewellery, independent brands, yarn, shoes, a barbers, a bookshop, they've got it all. very easy to spend £100 and 6 hours. every so often they have a market on the bottom floor. perfect tiny representation of Leeds: quirky, independent, delicious, cool.

Silver's Deli - this is a 9-minute train ride away in Bramley (my ends!) but has become THEE buzzy foodie spot recently. go on a sunny saturday morning (cos you will probably have to sit outside) and order the everything sandwich. thank me later. if they have scotch eggs or sausage rolls on, I beseech you, order both. and if you want the sunday special prepare to get there at 11 and fight.

Against the Grain - if you've come to Bramley for Silver's, you may as well trundle 10 minutes up the road and visit the best bar in Leeds. cosy, casual, full of locals, hidden in Swinnow Mills. it's a sit-around-and-chat-to-people sort of place, with bonus charcuterie boards AND a pizza van on weekends. we are here A LOT, because Gray's Salon and Rose and Thorn Tattoo are both in the Mill, and we give them all our money. oh! and dog friendly. sooo many dogs.

Project House/Galleria - if you've gotten the train out to Bramley for Silver's and ATG, jump on the 72 back to town and get off at Project House to eat MORE food. Galleria is a great place to get breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and Project House has EVERYTHING (depending on the day). yoga! gigs! vintage fairs! a bi-annual tattoo convention meets makers market with food vendors called Hand of Glory! check what's on and head on down to support local!

Kirkstall Bridge Inn - another one local(ish) to me, but worth travelling out of town for; a PROPER pub (i.e. no tv, no sports, no shite) that does roasts upstairs and lets dogs in downstairs. outdoor seating right by the canal, and every so often they put something on and the car park turns into a tiny festival. Kirkstallpalooza is a highlight. great place to finish a nice canal walk (who am I?!).

tl;dr sorry that this is obnoxiously long, I love Leeds

#BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH #answered #oh let’s add Belgrave to this too. great pizza and vibes

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queen-breha-organa · 2 years

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IvyOrgana - The Threadless Shop

All my designs (and so much more) are now available on ThreadLess!!

All these pieces are drawn and designed by me, so you too can achieve that minimalistic and elegant look, while still spewing nonsense slogans and quotes like it’s a 1970s fever dream.

Enjoy all my updated designs like Mullet Dude and Emo King, while also checking out a few of my new designs, such as Sprinkles Guy and Coffee Brother!

Follow the link below to see the entire collection on my shop, or hit the ‘read more’ link to see all the designs and a product breakdown.

All apparel (besides the sweatshirt) is available in Threadless’s unisex options, just for ease of use. For some reason, all unisex options are filed under the “women’s” tab, so I apologize for that, but I assure you, they are there.

The current selection is:

T-Shirt - Regular Unisex

T-Shirt - Classic Unisex

T-Shirt - Champion Unisex

T-Shirt - Vintage Wash Unisex

Longsleeve T-Shirt - Performance Unisex

Sweatshirt (Unfortunately this style is not available in unisex fitting, and is only available in Men’s and Women’s style)

If you want products to be available in styles only available in Men’s or Women’s options, please let me know, and I might add it.

All products are also available as stickers, mugs, tote bags, buttons, and greeting cards.

I wanted the product selection to be as simple and easy as possible, so I could curate and customize each design to fit as well as possible. I don’t want to just put my designs on everything, I want each design to fit the product.

However, like I said above, if you want to see an additional product added, please let me know, and I’ll take it under advisement.

And now, here are all the designs! (I can’t add tons of photos to Tumblr so I had to collage these together, which led some of them to be cropped, but I promise they’re not cropped in the shop)

Thank you guys so much again for laughing with me and supporting my jokes, I really appreciate it!

Mahalo plenty,

Ivy

#IvyOrgana

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badkitty3000 · 3 months

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what kind of clothes do you think five would like on his s/o?? what casual clothes would he like for himself?? ik we saw a bit in s3 but i need more vest five😭😭

So, as usual, I feel like I can go a couple different ways with this answer, but I'm going to mostly focus on my own personal headcanon version or we're going to be here all day. In my own little Five world, he's a uniform guy. He wore a uniform as a kid in the academy, he wore a (I assume) company-issued suit in the Commission, again with the academy uniform, and then when he actually had a bit of a choice he got to relax in his retirement clothes for about 12 hours before it was back to business again, and then...suit. So, to me, this is just easier for him. He doesn't have to think about what to wear every day, matching colors, and shopping for new clothes. He is stylish, yet practical, and it's clear that looking put together is a priority for him. After wearing whatever he could get his hands on in the apocalypse, and having to dress for extreme weather, it's probably a luxury for him to be able to dress the way he wants. But there's also a second, very important reason for this headcanon of mine and that is....HAVE YOU SEEN HIM IN A FUCKING SUIT!!???

*wiping drool off my chin* Sorry, I don't know what came over me.

Ok, as I was saying...it is also a headcanon of mine that once he's finally settled down, maybe married, has a family, etc, his casual outfits consist of jeans and a plain black t-shirt. This is his new "uniform" and again, it's stylish but he doesn't have to think about it. He wears this every day, unless he's going out somewhere nice or maybe having to perform a random assassination, then it's back to the suit. (also, if you're wondering, and I'm sure you are...black boxer briefs...always).

Now, retirement Five in his little hat and vest is adorable, don't get me wrong, and is much more in line with his character's age and personality than how I write him. I could totally see him embarrassing his kid by showing up to their softball game in black socks and sandals, wearing his dorky weird old-man glasses.

I could also see him wearing a sweatshirt with the name of his kid's school on the front and "Hargreeves" on the back. Oh my god, let's just stop and imagine that for a moment, shall we?😭😭😭

You also asked about what he would like his s/o to wear. I covered this a little in my nsfw headcanons, but I'll elaborate a little more. I definitely think he checks ladies out. Dancers, strippers, random women at the grocery store; I think deep down Five is a sex-starved freak that has a lot of lost time to make up for. However, even though a nice body and skimpy clothes is going to catch his attention, that's not really what he cares about. He would be just as happy with his girl in frumpy sweatpants and a baggy t-shirt as he would be with her in a tight cocktail dress. Now, given the choice, if you were really going to press him on it, I'd say he would want to see her in a tight skirt that shows off her ass and tall heels to accentuate her legs. But again, it doesn't really matter what she wears, he's going to think she's the prettiest/sexiest woman on the planet regardless. And ketchup-stained sweatpants and a Garfield shirt are just as easy to tear off and throw on the floor as a tight dress is. 😉

I do think Five would take time and try and find and buy something for his s/o for her birthday or Christmas that he knows she would like. He would pay attention to her style and if he was out somewhere and came across an outfit, or hat and scarf, or even lingerie that reminded him of her, he'd buy it and then watch expectedly and nervously as she opened it in front of him. Then he would be so happy every time she would wear it, even though he'd pretend he was too cool to notice. He took the time to make sure Dolores was going to get a new outfit and knew she liked sequins, so that just proves he actually pays attention to what his girl likes.

In conclusion, I think Five wants to be stylish, comfortable, and practical with his clothes, while not having to think too hard about it on a daily basis. He has much more pressing matters to deal with, and even though wearing a three-piece suit while trying to kick ass and save the world is a bit impractical...

I MEAN GOOD LORD JUST LOOOOK!!!! 🫦👀💀

Thank you so much for this question! ❤️

#five hargreeves #number five hargreeves #number five #the umbrella academy #tua #umbrella academy #number five headcanon #anon ask #headcanon #tua five #musings

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dhvlee · 1 year

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okay hear me out, yn and chenle are bsfs so they joke around a lot, until chenle realizes his feelings for yn and can't act normal around her cuz he gets easily flustered

hidden feelings, endless laughter ↠ chenle

i’m not sure if that’s what you wanted but i hope you like it anyway<3

masterlist

pairing: chenle x fem!reader

genre: fluff

warning: best friends to lovers

“i really think jo and laurie are better as platonic soulmates than as romantic soulmates so i’m kinda happy she rejected him,” you said when you and chenle finished watching little women. “and you? what do you think?”

“hate to say it but i have to agree with you. laurie and amy are better in my opinion.”

chenle invited you to his home right after his promotions for nct dream’s newest album istj for today ended. you happily agreed to it because it's been a while since you saw him and you missed your best friend.

“and what about us? do you think we’re better as platonic or romantic soulmates?”

hearing your words chenle choked on the water he was drinking. “what? y/n, what are you talking about right now?”

you laughed at his reaction as chenle looked at you confused. “chill dude, i was just kidding. there’s no reason to choke on water and die because of something like that. woah, what would i say to your boyfriends?”

“my boyfriends?” he repeated, holding his hand to his throat, which now ached a little.

“yeah,” you reached for the chips that were on the table. “your members, they’d get so mad at me if you died because of me.”

“yo chenle, focus!” mark said as chenle got the choreography steps wrong again. “you okay? even though you're here with us, it doesn't look like that.”

the truth is that for some reason chenle couldn't get your question out of his head. he kept thinking back to last night when you asked him jokingly if you two would be better as platonic or romantic soulmates.

“i’m sorry.”

“what’s on your mind?” haechan asked as he reached for his bottle of water.

“i don’t know, i’m just so confused,” he sat down, leaning against the mirror.

“why?” jisung sat next to him.

“i don’t know. i mean, i was hanging out with y/n last night and we were watching a movie and at some point she jokingly asked me if we would be better as platonic or romantic soulmates and for some reason i can’t stop thinking about it and i really don’t know why, it’s just stuck in my head.”

“oh you’re dumb,” jeno said, taking a bite of his dark chocolate.

“what? why?”

“because it’s obvious you like her but you’re too dumb to realize it,” chenle gave renjun a look as he was called stupid again. “oh don’t look at me like that. i’m hungry, let’s go eat something downstairs.”

all the boys agreed, but chenle preferred to stay in the practice room. he started to think about what renjun had told him.

he began to remember every moment he spent with you and how sometimes you made his heart beat faster. he remembered every time he'd been jealous because you and hyuck had flirted with each other for fun. he also remembered how much he loved your laugh and how sometimes he could look at the pictures you sent him for a long time. he also remembered how angry he was at your ex when he broke your heart and you cried in his arms for hours, wetting his sweatshirt with your tears.

and these thoughts made him sick.

“now, why are you avoiding me?” you said as you were standing in the dreamies living room after you asked renjun where chenle was and why he was avoiding you.

“i’m definitely not avoiding you.”

“oh, you’re not? then why are you leaving me on seen and hang up when i call you? oh and yesterday you literally ran away when you saw me in the grocery shop! so in your opinion you’re not avoiding me?”

“yeah, i’m not,” he said, nervously avoiding eye contact with you.

“you can’t even look into my eyes, you’re avoiding eye contact with me. did i do something wrong?”

“what?” he quickly looked at you. “of course you didn’t do anything wrong, why do you think so?”

“huh? why do i think so? are you actually dumb?” you asked in disbelief. literally a few seconds ago you gave him a few reasons why you have the right to think that.

“he is dumb, you’re right!” jaemin, who was sitting on the couch playing games on his phone, looked up from the screen and looked at you and chenle. “we’ve already told him twice that he is.”

“look, i’m sorry,” chenle said after he sent jaemin a death stare. “well i can tell you what’s going on but i don’t wanna do it here when jaemin is clearly listening.”

“go to my room then, i’m not leaving that comfortable couch.”

chenle rolled his eyes and got up from his chair. he grabbed your hand and quickly led you to the older boy's room, then closed the door behind him.

you sat on jaemin's bed and waited for what your best friend would say about why he had been avoiding you for the past few days.

“look,” he sighed. “i know avoiding and ignoring you wasn't a good idea, so i’m sorry. but a few days ago I realized something and I never in my life thought something like this would happen to me so I thought if I avoided you it would make everything disappear. but-” chenle sighed again and sat down next to you. “but i was wrong, nothing disappeared and i probably disappointed you and made you feel bad, so i’m really sorry.”

“okay, i still don’t know what the hell you’re talking about but i promise you that you didn’t disappoint me. yeah, i didn’t feel great when you avoided me but that’s okay. but please, tell me what you’re talking about because i’m really confused,” you looked into his eyes and saw him biting his lip. he was clearly nervous.

“i- well, do you remember when we watched little women?” you nodded so he continued. “okay so after it ended you asked me jokingly if we’d be better as platonic or romantic soulmates and i really kept thinking about it the next day and i couldn’t understand why. so i told the boys about it and they told me something. and then i remembered some things and that made me realized one thing and these thoughts really made me feel sick.”

“so, what did you realize? i’m sorry, i’m really trying to understand you but i’m confused.” you said feeling a little bad because you could see that chenle had trouble expressing his feelings at that moment.

“you don’t need to apologize. well, the thing i realized… i’m genuinely so sorry if because of that you wouldn’t want to be my friend but i also understand it. but the thing i realized was that i fell in love with you. i know that it’s stupid and i understand if you don’t feel the same so i’m so-” you silenced him with a kiss, which definitely surprised him as he didn't move for a few seconds. however, he quickly pulled himself together and returned your kiss, placing his hand on your cheek.

after a few moments, you pulled away from each other and you both laughed as you saw the blush on each other's faces.

“chenle, i also like you,” he smiled softly and this time he leaned in to kiss you.

#nct #nct dream #chenle #zhong chenle #chenle fluff #kpop fluff #nct scenario #fluff #nct x reader #smut #nct drabbles #nct scenarios

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cybrpwup · 2 years

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ꜱᴜɴꜱʜɪɴᴇ || ꜱᴏꜰᴛᴡɪʟʟʏ x ʀᴇᴀᴅᴇʀ

Softwilly x sunshine!reader !

Warnings: none summary: Nick takes Y/n out for his video requested?: yes ! ↳ “sO WEVE ALL SEEN ISAAC X SUNSHINE READER RIGHT? (i think) BUT MIGHT I PROPOSE…..SOFTWILLY X SHNSHINE TEADER???!“

Y/n skipped ahead of the group, looking into every shop window they'd pass, 'ooh' and 'ahh' leaving her mouth as she did so.

Nick was constantly calling her back over to them when she wandered too far for his liking.

"Y/n, come here." He chuckled as he held out his hand. She was a dog and Nick was her leash, "Stay close."

She feigned a pouty face back at him, "you guys walk so slow." Her pout quickly turned to a smile as she stared at him, like his presence just made her happy.

A dreamlike haze clouded his head, and weakness overtook his limbs each time his eyes caught hers. Like many men, he did not think he had a specific type; he didn't consider himself picky in most situations. Women were women to him. if he could get with one that was good enough for him. But Y/n. Sweet, playfully, cheery Y/n, she was his type; she was everything he did not know he looked for in a woman. And it was... wow.

Therfore, Nick got extremely jealous of Isaac when Y/n stepped away from him to walk alongside him, getting lost in a conversation -- that could have been him standing shoulder to shoulder with Y/n. It was hard to be upset about it though as he watched her every movement; she was all giggly and bubbly and he adored it.

They finally ended up in a store and somehow Y/n had already gotten lost within the aisles, "How does she do that so fast...?" Larry commented as Nick began recording his journey to find his lost girlfriend.

On the way he spotted a bag and made a comment about how he wanted to buy it for Y/n.

She was found meandering an aisle where she was scanning the shelves of items from the bottom up, her eyes flickered over to meet Nick, flashing a smile.

A blush painted over Nick's face, and he could feel it too - how his face heated up at her smile.

"Come here," He grabbed her hand once again and lead her to the bag, pointing the camera at it then to her, "Do you like this?" He asked as she examined the bag, turning over the price tag and her eyes widened.

"Wow, almost $50 dollars for this tiny bag..."

"It's alright, let me buy you something." He reassured her, squeezing her hand.

She looked back at him, suddenly looking serious, "Nick. I know what I want."

"Okay, baby, what do you want?" a genuine smile took his lips behind the camera

"banana milk."

Nick faced her, a genuine, relaxed smile stretched across his face and he playfully rolled her eyes. He laughed, "we can't get banana milk."

It did not get the reaction he expected. Y/n's smile faltered, and for the first time in their interaction, her eyes dropped from his face. Pulling at the sleeves of the sweatshirt Nick let her borrow. She asked in a timid voice, "Why not?"

And god did it break his heart every time her smile went away.

"Well..." his voice became hesitant, "I mean we can't get it here. We'll have to go somewhere else for that."

That dammed smile of hers returned.

"Are you sure you don't want anything else for now?" Nick felt his face heat up again.

She nodded her head, this time her turn to lead him, "Let's go find the other's."

"Just this, please." Y/n spoke, placing the container of banana milk on the counter in front of the cashier. She did this thing where she could make conversation with anyone, and so she did with the cashier.

Nick felt his heartstrings being struck with each word out of her mouth, and as his eyes focused on Y/n, he thought he'd never before felt so calm and confident. It was something he thought he'd never get used to.

"the others are waiting, say bye and let's go." He said lightheartedly, giving the lady behind the counter a smile as if to say 'sorry about her'

Finally, back at home Nick was getting ready to wrap the recording up when Y/n yelled out, "Wait!"

She prompted the camera away from Nick and gave it to Issac to free his hands.

“Give me your hand."

“Okay.. what for?" He laughed as she took his hand

“Shush." She placed his palm right under her collarbone and used her hand to hold it there, applying pressure.

"Nick," She spoke, and you could tell by the way her nose scrunched she was holding back a laugh.

She searched his dark eyes for recognition.

"Y/n."

Smiling a wide and toothy smile, Nick brought himself out of any other thoughts he was having and to his wonderful girlfriend and that sense of peace that came when their eyes clicked. He let his hand be guided from the cool skin of her collarbone to her face

"Will you, Nick," She knelt down on the soft rug and took something from her pocket, clasping it between her hands, "make me the happiest girl alive and marry me?" She opened her hands to reveal a ring pop.

Gasps filled the room as Nick laughed, "Y/n, I would be honored." He held his hand out for her to slip the ring onto.

Nick pulled her to her feet and then into his lap. Holding on tight and with a kiss to her neck, he whispered, "I love you."

"I know." Y/n giggled, "And i really love you."

"You guys are so cheesy. its gross." Isaac sighed contented

Y/n grumbled, putting on a comically exaggerated pout, "you guys are always so mean."

Nick simply ignored them, just thinking about another afternoon on the sofa, cuddling his girlfriend.

#softwilly x reader #softwilly #isaacwhy x reader #the group chat #the group chat x reader #the groupchat #the group chat podcast #big t x reader #isaacwhy #larrycroft #Yumi #tooyumi

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the-horizon-lounge3041 · 11 months

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New shop design, there is a huge sale happening right now for the holidays, stop by if interested❤️ you can also get it in whatever item you want like stickers, mugs, blankets, masks, etc. Link here

https://shopkiddraws12.threadless.com/designs/aloy-vera/womens/sweatshirt/classic-fleece

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nauticonfashionstore9 · 5 months

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thisnightissparkling089 · 11 days

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First sentance game

Rules: share the first lines of ten of your most recent fanfics and tag ten people. If you have written less than ten, don’t be shy and share anyway.

I'm sooo late to the game on this, but better than than never! Thank you @chenfordspiral, @makeitastrength, @queseraone, @roguetwelve, @sisterofficerlucychen, and @mamadoc for the tags!

I think everyone has done this already, but if you haven't, join in!

1.) Anyone who had a heart

“Understood. I’ll be there in twenty.

“What’s going on?”

“I gotta go. I’m sorry.”

“Just wait—”

“I can’t. I’ll call you when I can.”

The panic doesn’t set in immediately.

Is she nervous? Of course. Concerned? Most definitely. But panicked? No. Not yet anyway. Panic hasn’t arrived just yet. In fact, panic is hours off.

Tamara stands in the kitchen, staring at Lucy, at a loss for what just happened.

“Here, let me make you a plate.” Lucy is quick to brush off the awkwardness of the moment and distracts herself as she moves into the kitchen and dishes the paella onto a plate for Tamara.

“Do you wanna watch a movie, or a show or something?” She asks. “I think Hulu has a new episode of 20/20. Maybe this will be the time the husband didn’t do it.”

“Yeah,” Tamara nods. “Okay.”

And just like that, date night is over. She can clearly tell Lucy is upset and confused by Tim’s abrupt departure. But along with that, she picks up on her desire not to talk about it or want to speculate on what it could mean.

If there was anything Tamara was good at, it was reading a room.

2.) Exile

The cramping started that day around 5pm. A full two hours before her shift ended. She could feel the wetness pooling in her panties and didn’t need a bathroom to know what was happening. And for the first time that week, Lucy was grateful to be riding by herself.

She entered the bathroom in the women’s locker room and pulled her pants down before sitting on the toilet. She released the stream of urine, finally relieving herself after having to hold it for the last hour.

Grabbing the toilet paper, Lucy wiped and paused for a moment before bringing the paper up so she could see it.

The crimson red stain stared back at her. She knew hours ago she was getting her period. If she was being honest with herself, she knew days ago she was going to get her period. But now, it was an undisputable fact staring her in the face.

She could feel the heat rising in her body, and she blinked, hot tears running down her cheek and dripping onto her uniform.

She wanted to punch the wall, wanted to kick the door in repeatedly until the red hot anger surrounding her fled her body. Instead, she sat there as the tears continued to fall.

She hated the fact that she was an angry crier. When she was angry, she just wanted to be angry, to sit with that anger. But at the end of the day, it wasn’t just anger. It wasn’t just rage.

It was grief.

3.) Something New

Alex looked in the mirror and assessed the situation.

Her hair was curled perfectly in soft beach waves, and her makeup was done in a way she was quite proud of. After hours of YouTube tutorials, advise from her aunts, and shopping trips with her mom, she had really started to get the hang of things.

The outfit wasn’t of exact importance, as she wouldn’t be wearing it once she got to the party. A black tank top, pink cropped sweatshirt, leggings, and sneakers. The perfect ‘I’m going to a sleepover’ outfit she knew her parents wouldn’t question. In her backpack, however, laid the outfit she knew her father would kill her 6 times over for if her ever caught her in it. A pair of tight, dark wash denim jeans that hugged her curves in all the right places. The heels she was ‘borrowing’ from her mom. And the clincher. A red, lace trim, cami bralette that Lucy and Tim absolutely forbade her from buying. The one she had secretly saved her allowance for and bought on her last trip to the mall.

If there was one thing that topped the list of things Tim Bradford hated for his daughters, it was crop tops. Most specifically, bralette crop tops. The cropped sweatshirt she wore in the moment had been battle enough, and Tim only allowed it if she wore a tank top underneath. No matter how many times Alex had tried to convince him that this was the current style, his answer was always the same.

“Not in my house, not on my daughters!”

Sitting back on her bed, she sighed and thought things through once more.

4.) Lovers & Friends

Tim’s eyes fluttered awake, and he shifted slightly in bed. He looked to the window and saw the sunlight just peaking above the buildings and starting to fill the room. 7 o’clock on the dot. He didn’t even have to check his phone. Tim Bradford was awake at 7am every morning, with or without an alarm clock. It was part of his routine, and even on vacation, his body was simply incapable of sleeping in any later.

Even though both he and Lucy had the day off, a true rarity, he was still up, same time as always. Directly next to him, Lucy lay fast asleep. He looked over and could see her chest rising and falling with each breath. Her honey brown hair was splayed across her face and the rising sun was hitting it at just the right angle, making it appear even more golden. Her tank top had ridden up on her in the middle of the night and was exposing just the right amount of her stomach and boy shorts, causing Tim to groan slightly.

It varied on whether or not Tim let Lucy sleep in on their days off. Occasionally, he would quietly slip out of the bed and head to the kitchen to start a pot of coffee and make breakfast for the three of them. Pancakes and bacon, followed by copious amounts of coffee, always seemed to be Lucy and Tamara’s favorite.

5.) So it goes...

Tamara Colins has started a group chat

[Lucy Chen, Angela Lopez, Wesley Evers, Nyla Harper, John Nolan, Bailey Nune]

Tamara Colins: Fam, is anyone else’s power out? Or is it just us?

Nyla Harper: Out here too. Of all days…

Angela Lopez: Thank God. Wesley’s out in the garage and I was about to pop off thinking he was messing with the breaker box.

Lucy Chen: I told you I didn’t forget to pay the electric bill!

Wesley Evers: 😑

Wesley Evers: And I told you I was working on putting the crib together!

Tamara Colins: I mean…come on. It was a reasonable first guess.

Angela Lopez: If anyone would remember to pay a bill though, it’s Chen. Shit, she probably has it set up on auto pay.

Lucy Chen: I do, thank you very much!

Wesley Evers: Oh, so that’s how it’s gonna be? You’ll defend Lucy, but not your husband?

Angela Lopez: Chen brought me an iced coffee this morning, I owe her one.

Wesley Evers: Speaking of owing one…

Angela Lopez: Yeah, I’ve got that debt right in my uterus, thanks. Presently, they’re pressing on my bladder.

Nyla Harper: Right, well as fascinating as this is, what are we gonna do? I’ve got breastmilk in the fridge that isn’t going to last if the power doesn’t turn back on and quickly. And Leah will never be able to sleep in this heat.

6.) (A not so) Cruel Summer

“S’Alright, alright, settle down. Gotta couple of announcements to make this morning before we set you free.” Grey announced as he made his way into roll call and approached the podium.

It was a sunny Monday morning in August, and as his vacation was starting on Saturday, and he and Luna had an All-Inclusive trip booked to Jamaica, he was eager to get through his week. Quickly, the officers fell in line and quieted down as they turned in their seats and gave the man their full attention.

“As I’m sure everyone already knows, it’s the last week of the LA County Fair. Things have thankfully been quite low key so far, so let’s hope that trend continues as it winds down. But while we’re on the topic…”

He paused for a moment and turned his gaze to Smitty. “A friendly reminder that policing does not include going on the rides while on duty if you happen to be working the fair.”

Smitty let out a huff as he threw his hands up. “Sarge, the kid was dodging me. It’s not my fault he decided to hop on the bumper cars while I was chasing him. Clearly it was an invitation!”

Grey rolled his eyes and reminded him of the rules just the same before continuing right along with his agenda, ticking a few more things off his list.

7.) Only love can hurt like this

Lucy Bradford was exhausted.

That was the understatement of the year.

At 38 weeks pregnant, her ankles were swollen, her back ached, and she had to pee roughly every four minutes. She could barely eat more than a few bites of food every few hours, sleeping more than three hours at a time had become seemingly impossible, and she couldn’t remember the last time she had seen her vagina.

And this wasn’t her first go around.

No, the first go around, baby Nora, only 14 months old herself, was at home with Tim. When Lucy discovered she was pregnant again, when her first child was only five months old, Tim cried, Tamara snorted and tried to give Lucy a speech on sex education, and Lopez and Harper straight cackled.

“Bradford. You just can’t keep your hands to yourself for five minutes, can you?” Angela taunted.

Tim pursed his lips and shook his head, annoyed at the fact that his sex life was being openly discussed at work. “It was Valentine’s Day. Not my fault.”

8.) About last night

Tim startled awake in the darkened room and sat up in bed. He wasn’t sure of the exact time, but figured it had to be the middle of the night as it was still dark. Before he could even have a moment to locate the source of his middle of the night wake up, a knock rapped at their bedroom door.

He got up out of bed, rubbed the sleep out of his eyes, and shuffled over to the door, opening it. Tamara stood across from him with her arms wrapped around herself and eyes cast down to the floor.

“T, what’s wrong? Are you okay?”

“Lucy’s crying.” She mumbled softly, unable to look him in the eye.

Tim’s eyes widened as he turned his head back and took notice of the now empty bed.

“I woke up thirsty and went to get some water and I heard her in the bathroom. I tried to check on her, but she won’t let me in.”

Tim looked toward the bathroom and could hear the exhaust fan and see the light coming through the bottom of the closed door. Sighing, he rubbed his hand over his face. “Okay, it’s alright. I got her. Go on back to bed and get some sleep, it’s still early.”

“Tim…” Tamara looked up at him with eyes full of confusion, hurt and sadness. Ever since she had known Lucy, she had been strong, stable, and put together. Seemingly, Lucy had the answers to everything. It wasn’t often that Tamara ever saw or knew about Lucy in a state of unrest. The handful of times she did always left her feeling helpless.

“Hey, come ‘mere.”

He opened his arms and Tamara leaned in for a hug.

9.) I wont

Everything seemed to be happening in slow motion.

“Put your hands behind your back.”

“What?! No!”

But her protests didn’t matter.

She felt Nolan gently take her wrists. On instinct she had jerked back, but his force tightened slightly, holding them in place as the cold metal slipped around her.

She wanted to run. She wanted to blink and wake up and find out that somehow, the last hour had just been some God-awful nightmare.

“Stop! You’re making a mistake!” She had sobbed. Hot tears dripped down her cheeks. But no one was listening. It was as if she was drowning and begging for help while everyone stood on the dock and simply watched her struggle and drown.

“I’m sorry, but it has to be this way. We can figure out the rest once we get to the hospital.”

John glared at his rookie, chastising her with his eyes. “Officer Juarez, stop, right now!” He bellowed. “We can’t appear impartial in any way. The only thing you can say to her is her Miranda rights.”

“Right, apologies sir.”

She looked over to him being loaded onto the stretcher, still holding his groin, and screaming in pain. It felt like every eye in the room was on them.

“I want that crazy bitch arrested and thrown in jail!”

“You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be appointed for you.”

She could hear Celina’s voice, but it was faded and far away. In any event, it didn’t matter. She couldn’t possibly be talking to her anyway. None of this was real. It had to be a bad dream. That’s all it was, just a dream. Soon, she would wake up, covered in sweat, and come back to reality.

The door opened and they escorted her out. Red and blue lights flashed brightly and bounced off the house. People lined the yard, staring, whispering, filming, pointing.

It was all just a dream.

10.) Switchin up positions for you

Tim’s eyes fluttered awake, adjusting to the sunlight pouring into the room. He had talked to Lucy previously about investing in some blackout curtains, but it never seemed to get past the talking stage. And in her opinion, she liked the sunrise coming through her room and thought it brought about much needed warmth.

Leaning into her side of the bed, he reached out for her blindly, wanting to snuggle in with her as they did every morning. He would rest his head against her shoulder and bury his nose against her hair, breathing in her honeysuckle shampoo scent.

And while his intentions always started off innocently enough, it wasn’t long before clothing was being shed and he had her underneath him, crying out his name. He was growing hard already just thinking about the amorous activities that lay ahead.

But in reaching over for her, he was met with nothing but an empty space. Cracking one eye open, he found her side of the bed empty. Opening both eyes, he sat up in bed and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and listened for a hint of where she was.

The sound of the shower finally came into focus, and he was on his way out of bed to go find her when his phone began to vibrate against the bedside table.

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ironychan · 10 months

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A Little Human (as a Treat)

Part 1/? - Un Voluntario

Part 2/? - Un Escursione

Part 3/? - Una Complicazione

Part 4/? - Una Famiglia

Part 5/? - Una Aiutante

Part 6/? - Una Ricerca

Part 7/? - Un Confronto

Part 8/? - Un'Emergenza

Part 9/? - Una Speranza

Part 10/? - Una Sera

Part 11/? - Un'Interruzione

Part 12/? - Una Fuga (Prima Parte)

@dysphoria-sweatshirt @writer652 The kids head for the harbour, but there's an angry mob at their heels.

In San Giuseppe, another group also found themselves cornered. Signor Giglioli had belatedly locked the door, but too many other people had seen what Signorina Mulino saw when she, just trying to help, led them to where Perla and Flavia had said they were going. Soon there was a crowd gathering outside, rattling the door and shouting, and Signor Giglioli shooed everybody up the stairs.

Perla went first, immediately behind the confectioner. Her father and grandmother followed her, then Leonardo and Flavia, with Luca, Giulia, and Alberto bringing up the rear.

“Who was that guy with you in the jail?” asked Leonardo.

“That was Signor Maccarello,” said Luca, as they all crowded into the kitchen of Signor Giglioli's apartment upstairs. This was a very small room, stuffed to the gills with all sorts of interesting things that Luca would otherwise have loved to stay and examine: there were photographs, including one of Signor Giglioli and his long-dead wife on the wedding day, and one of him in a military uniform surrounded by companions. There were old army helmets and even a couple of guns, a trunk with the corner of a green uniform jacket hanging out of it, and on one wall, a frame around a large collection of medals. Luca hadn't known that Signor Giglioli had been in the war, and he wondered what sort of stories the man might have to tell about it.

Now wasn't the time, though. Not with an angry mob downstairs.

“Luca said Mario Maccarello from Portorosso had a cousin here,” Alberto added, “so he'd heard of us, and we asked him to help us find Flavia.”

“Because we needed to know the best places to get out of the water,” Giulia said.

“His wife Felicia is probably worried about him,” Luca realized. “I hope he gets home okay.”

Flavia perked up. “Her name is Felicia? She's looking for him?”

“I doubt it,” said Alberto. “She's scared of the surface and she thinks he is, too.”

“I think they'll be fine,” said Flavia. She looked over at Perla, and the two girls shared a snicker.

They climbed another flight of steps, and from the third floor they were able to look out the window at the crowd gathering on the street below. There were a couple of dozen people now gathered around the door of the candy shop, brandishing fishing poles and harpoons, pitchforks and nets. Somebody was hammering on the door, demanding that Giglioli let them in.

At the back of the crowd, a couple of metres away, were Felicia and Signorina Mulino. The pastry cook had an arm around her friend, trying to comfort her. Perla leaned out and waved to them, but they didn't seem to see.

Somebody else did, though. “Upstairs!” a man's voice shouted, and eyes rose. Perla waved harder, and managed to catch Felicia's eye before she had to duck back inside to avoid a barrage of thrown objects.

Behind the two women, unseen by anyone but Perla, three men crept out of the police station and hurried up the hill. The one in the middle had a big coat over his head and shoulders so that nobody could see his face.

“We're stranded!” Signora Pepitone lamented. “Where can we go?”

“Over the roofs!” said Perla.

“Perla!” Roberto exclaimed. “What have your mother and I told you about climbing over roofs? You're going to fall and get hurt!”

“Everybody does it!” Perla complained.

“We do it in Portorosso,” Giulia put in, “but Mamma won't let me in Genova.”

“See?” Roberto said. “Even the sea monsters know better!”

“Come on,” said Perla. “It'll be easy to get to the harbour that way. We just need a window that these people can't see.”

“This way,” Giglioli said.

“You're not going to encourage her!” Roberto protested.

“As long as you're careful, roofs are a perfectly good way to get somewhere,” said Signor Giglioli.

“For spies in wartime, maybe!” Roberto said. “Not for children!”

“He was a spy?” Alberto asked eagerly. “Really?”

“Absolutely,” Signor Giglioli said. “The next time you're in town I'll tell you all about it,” he promised, then frowned and looked out the window at the growing crowd. “Or maybe I'll come visit you. This way.”

He took them into the other bedroom, which he used for storage. There, a small window high up in the gable led out onto a roof. The children could fit through this opening with ease, and the adults could probably go one at a time with a little wriggling – all except Signor Giglioli himself, who was far too fat. He started waving the children through.

“You go, and I'll see if I can talk some sense into the people downstairs,” he said.

Luca didn't like that idea. “What if they're mad at you for helping us?”

“I did some hostage negotiation in my time, too,” Giglioli assured him. “If I can talk down soldiers with guns, I think I can handle some fishermen.”

Perla climbed out first, then helped her father and grandmother to do the same. The three sea monster children went after them – and that left Flavia.

Flavia hadn't wanted to say anything because she knew they didn't have any other way out of the house. If they had, Signor Giglioli would surely have taken it. This had to be done... but she was petrified. When she stuck her head out the window and looked down, even with the roof blocking part of the view she could tell it was awfully far to the ground, even further than it had been from Signora Pepitone's bedroom. The roof everybody was climbing out onto sloped, and she could just picture herself sliding down it and tumbling off the edge. Her head began to spin, and she had to duck back inside and sit down at the base of the wall, hugging her knees.

What was she going to do? She couldn't stay here, she had to go with her father and friends and get back to Portorosso. Yet she couldn't climb out that window. She just couldn't.

Leonardo crouched to talk to her. “What's wrong, Angelfish?”

“I can't,” she said miserably.

“I bet you can,” said Leonardo.

“No, I can't. When I look down I get dizzy.”

“Oh... vertigo,” Leonardo realized. “You're afraid of heights.” For a moment he was shocked and disappointed in himself that he hadn't known that... but of course he hadn't. Flavia had never been up high in a place where there wasn't water beneath her. Falling into water was one thing – falling onto the ground was very much another. “I think you can if you're brave. You're gonna have to try, because you're too big to carry.”

Giulia popped her head back in the window. “Is everything okay?” she asked.

“I can't go,” Flavia told her. “I'm sorry! I can't. I'm too... I'm too scared.”

“She had to close her eyes to climb down to the street from Nonna's window,” said Perla from outside.

“Can you do that here?” Leonardo asked. “No, that's not safe on the sloping roof. Okay, we're gonna have to find another way down.”

“I don't know how well that'll work,” Signor Giglioli warned. “I can hear people at the back door, too.”

Giulia climbed back in the window. “Shut your eyes,” she said, “and give me your hand. Alberto will take the other one, and we'll help you. We won't let you fall, I promise.”

Flavia raised her head, and saw Giulia's earnest smile. In the window, Alberto offered a hand. Could she trust them?

Yes, she could. They weren't like the kids back home who made fun of her and didn't want her around. They'd come back to look for her just as she'd known they would. If they said they wouldn't let her fall, then they wouldn't. She wiped her nose on the back of her hand and got up, then took a deep breath and shut her eyes. Giulia and Alberto each took a hand as promised, and helped her to climb out the window onto the roof. The tiles weren't as slippery as she feared, and with them holding her up, she was able to balance as long as she didn't think about the drop only a metre or so away. Leonardo climbed out after her, while Signor Giglioli went back downstairs to confront the townsfolk.

“This way,” said Perla. “Don't worry, Flavia, I won't go anywhere hard. Nothing steep. You can do it.”

Flavia, eyes still shut, nodded and went in the direction her friends were tugging her. She carefully felt ahead with her foot, making sure she was still standing on something solid. Perla led the way, then Alberto and Giulia with Flavia, and Luca behind them warning her about where she was standing, whether the roofs ahead were flat or sloped, or whether they had slippery leaves on them. Roberto and Leonardo brought up the rear and helped Signora Pepitone, who didn't like this much more than Flavia did.

“This is why we don't like you climbing, Perla!” she called ahead. “This is terribly dangerous. Anybody who falls is going to break an ankle, or worse!”

“Can you not say that?” asked Leonardo. “Flavia's frightened enough!”

“Oh, sorry,” said Signora Pepitone.

Although Perla tried to stay on the level as much as she could, like Portorosso San Giuseppe was built on a steep slope down to the Mediterranean. It wasn't quite as precipitous as the smaller town, which sometimes had stairs instead of streets, but parts were still treacherous. The worst was when they had to cross between two flat areas by crawling across the peak of a roof in between. The tiles here were loose and clinked as Flavia crossed them. She clung tightly to Alberto's belt as he crawled ahead of her, with Giulia right behind, helping her find places for her knees. At the far end, Perla held out a hand to help them up when they arrived.

Disaster nearly struck when a tile broke under Alberto's knee. He yelped as it slid out from under him to shatter on the cobblestone street below. Flavia screamed and grabbed him tightly, expecting all of them to plummet to the ground, but Alberto managed to Change and wrap his tail around a television antenna. This bent, but it held him. Perla took his hand and helped him up, and he and Giulia got Flavia, who was shaking badly, up onto the flat again.

“So... you guys just do that?” asked Roberto.

“Yep,” said Leonardo, who didn't feel like explaining and was just glad Roberto hadn't fainted again.

Unfortunately, they weren't entirely safe yet. Flavia's shriek and the sound of the terracotta tile smashing had attracted attention, and soon they could hear running footsteps and angry shouts.

In Portorosso there were houses right on the harbour, from which it would have been possible to jump directly into the sea. In San Giuseppe this was not the case. There was a road that followed the shoreline, with a fence on the far side to keep children from using it as a diving platform. In order to get to the water, they were going to have to cross at least a four-metre gap.

A four-metre gap with a dozen people in it, calling for reinforcements.

“Come on, we've got them trapped here!” somebody shouted.

“They've got Signora Pepitone,” another person pointed out. “Careful! They might hurt her if we upset them!”

The group gathered on the last roof near the water, that of a little seaside restaurant and gelateria, and considered their options. There were people on all sides. There was nowhere to get down... but they couldn't go back. That would only leave them further and further from the sea that was their only possible escape.

“Oh, dear,” Signora Pepitone lamented, “this is all my fault!”

“Sure is,” muttered Leonardo. If what she'd said to these people were half as bad as the way she'd described sea monsters on the phone to him, it was no wonder everybody was terrified.

“What do we do now?” Luca asked Perla, hoping she knew another route.

“I dunno. I didn't expect anyone to be here,” Perla replied. She looked around for ideas. Could they go further up the coast? But then they would get higher, and the drop to the water would be further, and Flavia wouldn't like that...

“I have to do something,” Signora Pepitone decided.

Everyone turned to look at her. “You?” Roberto asked.

“Yes! Help me down.” Signora Pepitone made her shaky way, crawling on all fours, to a window in the next building over. “I'm the one who started all this. If I tell them I was wrong, they'll have to believe me.”

“I'm not so sure about that,” Roberto said, but he took his mother's arm, and he and Leonardo helped her down to climb through the window. Robert himself followed her inside. “Stay where you are, Perla,” he told his daughter. “I've got to look after your Nonna. Don't try to climb down on your own.”

“Yes, Papà,” said Perla.

It took a couple of minutes, but they made their way down to the ground floor, where the rather disconcerted owner of the house opened the door and let Signora Pepitone out to face the mob.

“Signora!” somebody said. “Are you all right? Did they let you go?”

Signora Pepitone looked over her shoulder, then faced the crowd and took a deep breath. “Signori e Signore,” she said, and then cupped her hands around her mouth to shout as questions and conversations among the mob drowned her out. “Everybody! Ascoltare!”

People finally quieted, and she tried again.

“Everyone,” Signora Pepitone said, “I'm afraid I've made a terrible mistake. I've caused a lot of upset for no reason at all. These sea monsters, it seems they're not going to hurt anybody after all. They're quite safe, and they just want to get back to the ocean.”

This was greeted with a stunned silence.

“What do you mean, they're quite safe?” a woman asked suspiciously.

Roberto stepped out to his mother's side. “She means that they're... well, they're up there, aren't they?” He pointed to the roof, where the children and Leonardo were gathered, watching. Perla waved. “Do they look dangerous?”

Luca, Alberto, Giulia, and Flavia all took their turns to smile awkwardly and wave, trying to seem as harmless as possible.

“Everybody up there is a sea monster except our Perla,” said Signora Pepitone, “including the gentleman.”

Leonardo groaned as he raised his own hand. He'd hoped that wouldn't come up.

“I've seen them do that thing they do,” said Roberto, “and I don't think they can disguise themselves as anybody in particular. They just turn into the same person every time. They don't seem to want to hurt anybody.”

“I'm afraid when I saw them at the zoo I panicked,” Signora Pepitone added. “I've made a terrible mess and I'm trying to make it up to them. Can't you just let them get back in the water and leave?”

The crowd didn't know what to make of that. Some looks were exchanged as people tried to figure out what their neighbours thought and what sort of action they should take.

“First Giglioli and now you!” a man said. “Is this some kind of hypnosis?”

Alberto frowned. “What's that?” he whispered to Luca.

Luca didn't know either. He turned to Giulia.

“It's when you put somebody to sleep so they'll do anything you say,” she said.

“Is that real?” Alberto asked skeptically.

“I don't know, but it only matters if they believe it is,” Giulia pointed out.

“Hypnosis?” asked Signora Pepitone. “Surely not! We're wide awake!”

“It's just weird how everybody who talks to them ends up taking their side,” a tall man with a harpoon said.

“That's because they actually listen to us!” Alberto shouted down.

“I promise we'll never come back!” Luca added. He'd said that several times today and he hated doing so, but if that's what it took to escape, then they would do it.

“Don't promise that,” said Perla. “I want you to come back. You guys are the coolest!”

“There's another one!” a shorter, fatter man said, stepping up to stand next to the tall fellow with the harpoon. “Hypnotized!”

“Oh, for heaven's sake,” said Signora Pepitone. “Will all of you just listen...”

Then the fence fell down.

There were cries of surprise, and people turned and backed towards the building, turning their eyes and their weapons towards the fallen boards. In the gathering dark, a hulking shape with glowing red eyes and a lashing tail climbed out of the water and stood in the middle of the street. The humans gasped and murmured, backing up and forming into a sort of phalanx with the harpoon man in the front. Roberto Pepitone stepped in front of his mother, holding his arms out to protect her as the dripping monstrosity slowly advanced. Behind them, the house owner shut the door and several locks clicked into place.

“Uncle Massimo!” Alberto shouted out happily, at the same moment as Giulia cried, “Papà!”

The man with the harpoon looked over his shoulder. He could tell that the rest of the crowd expected him to do something, but while he'd felt very brave facing down creatures the size of children, six feet and six inches of shark-man was a very different proposition. He held the harpoon out and very cautiously prodded the menacing beast in the belly.

Massimo calmly took hold of the harpoon and snapped the point off it with one hand. He tossed it over his shoulder and looked around.

“Anybody else?” he asked.

The group took another collective step backwards.

At that point Massimo began to dry out and transform. He wasn't quite used to this yet, especially the part where his balance changed as his tail disappeared. He swayed a little before standing up straight, which the crowd interpreted as him drawing himself up to his full height – and human Massimo was not much less intimidating than the sea monster.

“Is everyone all right, Leonardo?” he called up to the captives on the roof.

“We're fine!” Leonardo replied.

“All good, Papà!” Giulia agreed. “We just need to get down.”

“Let's go, then.”

Massimo stood glaring at the assembled people as the kids and Leonardo climbed through the window into the house, descended the steps, and removed the pieces of furniture the inhabitants had pushed in front of the door to keep Massimo from coming inside. Perla's father and grandmother took her aside and held on to her, while the rest of them joined Massimo in heading down to the boat, tied up in the harbour where Leonardo had left it. Leonardo, Massimo, and Flavia climbed in, while Alberto, Luca, and Giulia got into the water. Massimo started the motor.

Throughout all of this, the humans gathered on the shore simply stood and watched, too scared to move.

As they began to leave, Luca remembered something. “Hey!” he shouted. “Our bicycles are still in the Piazza Centrale!”

“We'll bring them back to you tomorrow!” Perla promised. “Right, Papà?”

Roberto didn't answer. Luca ducked back under the water, figuring if all they'd lsot was their bicycles, it hadn't actually turned out that badly.

As the boat chugged away under the stars, Leonardo gave Flavia another hug. “I was worried about you all day, Angelfish,” he said. “I hope it wasn't too awful.”

“It wasn't,” said Flavia, shaking her head. She thought back onto all the things she'd done that day... and yes, it had been scary when she'd gotten lost, but she'd gotten to see and try a dozen things she never could have normally done. “We went to a museum with pirate treasure, that was cool. Look what Giulia and the boys bought me!” She pulled out her bag and opened it to show her father the snowglobe, which was perhaps miraculously intact after all she'd been through that day. “The lady said it will sink in the water, so we can take it home.”

“Oh, that is neat,” said Leonardo, examining the object.

“And we got candy from Signor Giglioli,” she added, pulling out more items. “He made gummy sea monsters!”

“When he found out that we are sea monsters,” Luca added, “he said he was honoured we brought Flavia to visit him out of everywhere in San Giuseppe.”

“This one is honey-flavoured, so now I know what that tastes like,” Flavia added, gathering enthusiasm as she described her day. “We saw people doing all kinds of things! There was a lady making lace, and people making furniture, and there was a man who made pizza and a place that had all these little yellow birds hopping around in a big cage singing! Signora Pepitone showed me how to feed the pigeons, too. Perla's dad has them that are all fancy, because he shows them like Signor Paguro shows his crabs, but I didn't get to see them today. Oh, and she said she knows where there's an owl's nest!”

Her delight was infection, and soon the other kids were joining in, chatting about the things they'd done during the part of the day before disaster had struck. It was only when they reached the end of that that they remembered something important.

“Oh, no!” said Luca. “Signor Maccarello! We left him behind in jail because Signor Giglioli didn't have time to make the hole bigger! Somebody was trying to break the door down.”

“That was me,” Leonardo admitted.

“I hope he's okay,” said Giulia. “We'll have to tell his cousin when we get home, and he can go look for him. Or maybe Signor Giglioli can help.” She tried to remember if Signor Giglioli had a telephone. Maybe they could call and remind him.

“I think he'll be okay,” said Flavia. “His wife is looking for him.” She yawned.

Leonardo put an arm around her. “You can sleep if you want, Angelfish,” he said. “It won't take long to get back to the town.”

Flavia nodded and leaned against him, letting her eyes drift shut. She wondered what it was like to sleep on land... if she nodded off on the way home, maybe they wouldn't wake her up to switch back with Ciccio. Maybe she'd find out.

After Massimo and the children left, the townsfolk stood around rather awkwardly for a few moments, then found themselves confronted by Officer Ippolito, who was optimistically hoping to break up the gathering. He looked at the hole in the fence and the wet footprints on the cobblestones, then at the twenty or so people who were milling around as if they weren't sure what to do next.

“What happened here?” he asked.

People shifted their weight from foot to foot uncomfortable, and a few of them mumbled something but nothing that offered real information until the man with the snapped-off harpoon decided to step back into his unofficial role as spokesman.

“Well, the, uh... the father sea monster came back for his young,” he said. “He was terrifying,” he added, trying to regain some of his lost dignity. “Tomorrow, I say we all get together and hunt him down! He'll look good stuffed in the pirate museum!”

“You'll do no such thing!” said Signora Pepitone. “I told you, they're not here to hurt us, we shouldn't hurt them!”

Ippolito stared at her. “You're the one who started all this,” he pointed out.

“Yes, and that was an awful mistake!” she said. “I wish I'd listened to Flavia, and then people wouldn't have gotten so worked up. Oh, dear, how am I ever going to make up for this?”

“By taking them their bicycles back?” Perla suggested.

“Yes, we can do that,” Roberto agreed. “In the Piazza Centrale, they said?”

“I think Signor Giglioli moved them,” a woman offered.

“We'll go talk to him again, then,” said Roberto. “You folks didn't... didn't do anything to him, did you?”

“We kinda shouted at him a lot,” another person admitted.

“They can't be allowed to hurt the father monster, though,” Signora Pepitone, added, coming to the front to talk directly to Ippolito. “He looked like the devil, I'll admit it, but all he did was take the children and leave. He could have killed the lot of you with a flick of his tail,” she added, glaring at the crowd over her shoulder, “but he didn't, because he didn't want to!”

Officer Ippolito held up his hands. “Okay, everybody – and that includes you, Madame – whatever the heck happened today, and I don't think any of us actually know, it seems to be over now. The sea monsters are gone, if they ever existed...”

“Of course they existed!” said Signora Pepitone. There was a chorus of agreement from the other people.

“Either way, I need everybody to go home!” Ippolito said. “I think... I think we'll all feel much clearer-headed about it after a good night's sleep.”

“Who do you think you are, our father?” the man with the harpoon asked.

Ippolito glared at him and pointed to his police badge. “I think I'm in charge of keeping the peace in this town, and there are a lot of people here who've been disturbing it! So unless you want to take your turn in that jail cell...”

That did the trick, and though there were some disgruntled mutterings, the group began to disperse. The Pepitone family headed back up the hill towards the Piazza Centrale, while others drifted away into their own homes and up side streets. Eventually there were just two people left, sitting on a wooden crate outside the shuttered restaurant. One was the dark-haired woman in the blue dress who'd been first to notice that Perla and her friend had gone out to sea. The other was the Frenchwoman who ran the gourmet pastry shop where Ippolito and his companions sometimes got treats and coffee for their card nights.

“Come on, ladies,” he said. “It's time to go.”

“I still haven't found Tony, though!” the one in blue protested.

Signorina Mulino patted her friend on the back. “Felicia has been looking for her husband half the night,” she explained. “I don't know if you'll be able to help, though. They don't live in town, and...”

Something tickled the back of Ippolito's memory. It wasn't possible, was it? “Felicia? Ah, forgive me, I'm probably wrong, but... Felicia Maccarello by any chance?”

The woman in blue raised her head sharply. “Yes! That's me! Wait... how do you know my name?”

“Antonio Maccarello is a friend of mine,” said Ippolito. “Er... he's at my place right now. Come on, I'll take you there.” He paused, licking his lips. “You're not a...” Ippolito took a quick look around to make sure he and the women really were the only ones left on the street. “You're not a sea monster too, by any chance, are you?”

“Of course I am!” Felicia scrambled to her feet. “You know Antonio? How?”

“He plays cards with us on Thursdays,” Ippolito replied. “You didn't know that?”

“Thursdays? He said he was visiting friends on Thursdays!” said Felicia. “That's why I told him Thursdays were the day I went to see my cousins, because I knew he was scared of the surface and wouldn't want me to... wait... he's been coming here the whole time?”

“Um. I suppose he has,” said Ippolito.

“Well, he's got some explaining to do!” Felicia exclaimed, and then seemed to re-think that. “Oh. Oh, dear. So do I!”

“This way, ladies,” Ippolito told them, although at this point he was really wondering what he'd fallen into. “Uh, it is nice to finally meet you, Signora Maccarello. I admit after I asked Tony to my wedding I was a little upset when he got married and didn't invite me... but I guess he really couldn't, could he? No, wait...” he realized, “you've been in the Patisserie some nights when we've stopped there for snacks! You've made me coffee!” His eyes went wide. “I've seen you there! Why didn't Antonio ever say anything?”

Felicia squirmed. “Well... him and I don't actually know what each other looks like out of the water.”

“I see,” said Ippolito. Everybody else might have gone home, but it looked like his stressful evening was only just beginning.

Massimo, Leonardo, and the children arrived back at Portorosso very late, but Luca's parents were awake and waiting for them. Daniela ran into waist-deep water to greet Luca, Alberto, and Giulia with hugs. Flavia had fallen asleep in her father's lap, but now sat up, yawning and rubbing her eyes.

“Where's Ciccio?” she asked. Signor Ottonello was standing outside his Foccaceria smoking a cigarette, but there was no sign of Ciccio himself. She suddenly felt more awake as she wondered if something had happened to him. What if something had? Would she be... just stuck, never able to go back in the water again? She'd wanted to see the land, but not that bad.

Signor Ottonello dropped his cigarette and stepped on it to put it out, then came to help Flavia and Leonardo out of the boat while Massimo tied it to the quay. “He had to find somewhere to stay the night,” he said. “He told Guido he would try the Donzella family, but I don't know where he ended up.” He looked out at the water, gently lapping at the shore, with a worried expression.

“The Donzellas are nice,” said Luca. “I'm sure they'd let him stay. It'll be fine.” He, too, was yawning. “We'll go see them in the morning.”

That was reassuring, but it did leave a problem. “Where are we gonna stay?” Flavia asked. She and Papa Leo were staying with the Paguro family, but she wouldn't be able to go there.

“You can borrow my bed,” said Giulia. “I've stayed over with Luca's family before, I can do that again. Is that okay, Papà?”

Massimo nodded, as did Daniela Paguro.

“Always happy to have you,” she told Giulia

“Thank you,” said Leonardo. “We'll see you tomorrow, then.”

“Sleep tight,” said Giulia. “You can borrow my Paperino, too, if you want.”

Paperino turned out to be a soft toy duck in a sailor suit. Flavia got into a set of Giulia's pajamas, and hugged the duck as Papa Leo tucked her into bed and gently stroked her hair. A land bed was very soft, so that she sank into it a little, and the covers were nice and warm. She shut her eyes, and after the exciting, exhausting day in San Giuseppe, she was asleep only moments later.

#pixar luca #luca 2021 #luca paguro #alberto scorfano #giulia marcovaldo #fanfiction #a little human (as a treat)

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