#They are a fabulous little bottle of sass

[windsweptinred]

[bigtinytoys]

Check out this listing I just added to my Poshmark closet: Magical Little Live Pets Lil' Dippers Fish SeaQueen Water Swimming Bath Toy.

[mxchellesworld]

Gloria

Spencer Reid x Latina!Reader

request; Spencer and a reader who is bilingual

synopsis; Spencer turns 30 and spends the day with his favorite people

warnings; just fluff

*I added translations for a few things at the end

a/n; fuck accent marks, all my homies hate accent marks>:( lol but really, i did this in spanish since i speak it and thought it would be cute - i am very happy i got this request! as always enjoy

***

Spencer was proud of his multi linguistic skills, he had worked hard to be able to communicate with others in different languages. However when he wasn’t using his skills in a case or for research, his language skills were put to great use in watching his Russian films and trying to impress you.

While yes you had been together and married for nearing 6 years, it was always his main goal. Even when you first started to get to know one another and he met your parents he whipped out formal spanish greeting, with Elle’s help of course, which immediately had your mother swooning. Papa took some getting used to but now Spencer was his son at heart.

When you found out you were pregnant with your little girl he made sure to get books in spanish as well. According to him the novelas you watched weren’t gonna do much to help but give her more of your sass.

But when she came into the world he was more than overjoyed hearing your cooing over her. The way her big brown eyes lit up hearing your voice in the mornings.

“Donde esta mi princessa hermosa,” you said switching off the sound machine in the nursery. Instantly you were met with the sound of tiny giggles immersing from the swaddle of yellow fluffy blankets in her crib.

Another thing Spencer told you was that talking to babies was key in helping develop their speaking and understanding skills. Of course there was a percentage to accompany the fact but you got the just of it.

“Vamos a despertar a papa,” you said lifting her up and running your fingers through the steady growing curls on the top of her head.

She instantly perked up at the mention of her dad. Gummy smile spread across her chubby cheeks.

“Es su cumpleaños hoy. Creo que tu eres el mejor regalo que le pudia ver dado,” you finished by rubbing your nose onto hers. She shrieked in laughter, her tiny hands grabbing onto your hair.

After giving her diaper a quick change and dressing her up in her favorite onesie which read ‘daddy’s genius’, of course gifted by the best god mother Penelope Garcia, you walked over to your bedroom.

She clung onto your earrings as you patted down the hall trying to make minimal noise and wake up Spencer. You opened the door to see him still sound asleep having come back from a case late at night.

He was laying on his back, head tilted to the side with one hand under the pillow and the other on his stomach. You watched the rise and fall of his steady breathe in the Halloween t-shirt he slept in.

You smiled at the hitch in Gloria’s breath seeing her daddy first thing in the morning. The way she wiggled her body in your arms just dying to see her favorite person.

You straddled his waist trying to keep your weight on your knees to not wake him up. You then placed Gloria on his chest and let her go to town. Her sloppy kisses on his cheeks woke him from his slumber.

He slowly opened his eyes and let the smile spread across his face, “Oh wow what a way to wake up,” he let out a giggle.

Spencer sat up and held her close to his face, peppering kisses all over her rosy cheeks.

“We wanted to give the best father in the world an early birthday gift. Huh G,” you said calling for the little girl.

She babbled away in agreement making both you and Spencer share a laugh. You got off from his lap and snuggled into his arms.

“Well gracias Gloria,” he said bopping her nose, “I appreciate the wake up.”

You pressed a kiss to his cheek and watched as the two interacted before getting up to make breakfast.

You left them in bed and went to the kitchen whipping up some pancakes and a bottle for Gloria. When things were finishing up you heard Spencer’s steps coming down the hall.

He sat her in the high chair next to the table and wrapped his arms around your waist as you plated the food.

“Thank you for the best birthday gift I could ever ask for. I love you so much Y/n, you guys make me the happiest man on earth.”

You turned and met him with a sweet kiss, “Love you so much more mi amore. You deserve every bit of happiness Spence.”

Your moment was brought to an end by tiny hands banging on the plastic tray of her high chair. You both shared a look of understanding before you sat in the chair next to Gloria’s.

Spencer sat across from you while the three of you shared breakfast together. Gloria’s attitude was quickly changed by the cut up pieces of pancake you let her munch on.

By the time you had finished breakfast she was ready to be bathed and have some playtime before her midday nap if she was to endure the fabulous party hosted by none other than Papa Rossi.

“I’ll clean up here, you give her a bath and get her ready,” you said taking Spencer’s plate.

“You cooked I can clean this up no problem,” he tried to argue.

“No no you guys have your daddy daughter time. Then you can read her a story before her nap,” you said nodding.

He smiled at you then picked her out of the high chair and leaned down to press a kiss to your cheek. You could hear him cooing and talking to her as they made their way down the hall.

_

By 2pm you were getting ready to head to Dave’s house or Uncle Dave as he’s been more recently known. He agreed to host Spencer a little birthday party which consisted of the team and their kids.

After getting gloria dressed she was still fast asleep in her car seat and the ride to Dave’s was smooth with small talk and quiet music on the radio.

Spencer drove with his hand interlocked with yours in the middle, randomly pressing kisses to it during red lights.

“Mama y Papa called to wish you a happy birthday. It was when you were bathing G but they told me to relay the message,” you said playing with the scarf around his neck.

You could see the small blush creep on his face. Any mention of your parents thinking and caring for him hit really hard within him. They knew of his past and did their best to have him know he was truly a part of your family.

“I’ll make sure to call them tomorrow and say thank you. Maybe we can visit them soon, I know they miss Gloria and I really miss your mom’s cooking,” he said with a smile.

Arriving at David’s you were met with the door being ripped open by all the kids of the BAU. The boys were more than happy to wish their Uncle Spence a happy birthday and greet their little girl.

Since she was the only girl of the bunch they had sworn to protect her the best they could. Even if it wasn’t much now, when she got older they would definitely be her playground body guards.

Penelope and Derek then let you guys in and attacked you both in the biggest hugs imaginable.

“Oh hot mama I’ve missed you so much,” Garcia said swaying you back and forth.

“I’ve missed you more Garcia. We should round the girls up and get brunch sometime,” you said with a quirk in your lip.

She instantly lit up and grabbed your hand to take you to the rest of the BAU ladies. You looked back to see Spencer and Morgan laughing as they cooed over Gloria who was now waking up for her godfather.

The rest of the night went down smoothly with Gloria being passed around like a hot potato. Though she never minded, loving the attention from all her aunts and uncles.She was quite the stunner. Even getting Hotch to break character and indulge her in a wholesome game of pickaboo. 

A few games were played and stories were told but it was time to cut the cake before it reached anyone’s bedtime. 

You sat around Rossi’s yard, the candles reading 30 glowed under the October sky. You all sang and held smiles on your face as Spencer blew out his candles. Gloria bouncing on his lap happily around all the commotion. 

While he’d never admit it, you knew he actually didn’t wish for anything. Everything he could ask for was surrounding him at that very moment and he was more than content with the love of his favorite people.

translations

“Donde esta mi princessa hermosa,” - “Where is my pretty princess”

“Vamos a despertar a papa,” - “Lets go wake up dad”

“Es su cumpleaños hoy. Creo que tu eres el mejor regalo que le pudia ver dado,” - “It’s his birthday today. I think you are the best gift I could have ever given him”

[theonceoverthinker]

OUAT 4X10 - Shattered Sight

Today, Emma and Elsa attempt to break the latest curse to hit Storybrooke! But what will be the prICE of such an action?

...These puns are awful! And they must be a pain in the GLASS for you all to read! XD

Okay, there’s a review under the cut, so be COOL and check it out! (How did it take me ten episodes of this arc to come up with a “cool” pun?)

Main Takeaways

Past

It’s kind of hard to revisit this flashback. And that’s not because I don’t like it. I really do. The story points, actions, and framing hit every note they need to. Emma is completely sympathetic, we can see very clearly how things were going so well for Emma and Ingrid only to fall apart, and the pacing works so well as to make their relationship feel organic.

When I say it’s hard to revisit this episode, it’s because I realize I wanted to ask myself how much Ingrid loves Emma and how much of her actions are driven solely to get herself a sister. It didn’t occur to me until the cocoa scene with Emma and Ingrid that that was something I even needed to think about, but once I did, it became something I didn’t want to ignore either.

Because it is a question worth asking. In so many ways, Ingrid succeeds in making Emma feel loved, valued, and special. She sees what makes Emma tick and addresses those problems and Emma’s life improves as a result. So how much of that was Ingrid loving Emma for just being Emma and how much of it was loving the person that Emma would become.

Obviously, the latter plays into the narrative. There’s a line at the carnival where Ingrid says she wants to be like a big sister to Emma, which, in addition to being an awkward line, does remind the audience that for as much as Ingrid’s making Emma happy, that motivation of her being the third sister is never too far away from the front of her thoughts. And speaking in terms of the broader narrative, Things go wrong when Ingrid focuses too much on the sister Ingrid wants Emma to become and not on who she is and the fact that she’s still growing both as a person and her abilities.

That said, there’s also a scene in the present which segues into the past where Ingrid looks at her stolen memories and lovingly pulls out hers of the moment she announced her intentions to adopt Emma. And when Ingrid gets to know Emma and spends the time really communicating with her (Ex. Giving Emma pranking advice), there seems a genuine growth of love for the person Emma is beyond the magic. And in the end, when Ingrid dies, when she won’t use her as a sister, still calls Emma special in a loving way.

After rewatching the episode, I think it’s a bit more nuanced than 100% of the way one way or the other, but I do lean a little bit towards mostly loving her because she was a sister. It’s a bit more narratively concrete in how its portrayed by the text and it allows for Ingrid’s final revelation regarding Emma as she dies to feel more like her arc’s come full circle.

Present

This is probably the funniest episode of the series. The Shattered Sight curse is both shown to be a force of intimidation but something that’s given liberties to be funny as hell due to the little planning everyone was able to do before it hit. Everyone’s giving their heart and soul into making their performances something so off the walls and hammy that there doesn’t need to be a long-lasting effect of it while still touching upon points that one could reasonably expect them to make. And at the same time, the violence going on both in the police station and out in the streets is effective in painting this curse as something that does need to be stopped while still allowing for us to go along for the ride and enjoy it!

Okay, now let’s move on to the less than fun part of this review.

The actual defeat of the Shattered Sight curse...well, there’s no kind way to say it: It kind of sucks. So much gravitas is put on Emma being the one to defeat Ingrid and unlike other subversions of that setup such as the one found in the Zelena arc, it doesn’t work as well here. I get the nucleus of what they were trying to do -- Ingrid’s defeat is supposed to be the culmination of Ingrid’s character, not Emma’s and Ingrid’s problem was the way she refused to accept family that didn’t come equipped with magic and Anna being the one to set her straight sounds right on paper. There is a part of me that likes that decision in that respect and was built up well enough with the message in the bottle from the premiere. It solves Ingrid’s problem. The problem with that approach comes down to two things. First, Ingrid isn’t the character sticking around after this arc: Emma is. Second, it ignores all of the buildup of Emma accepting her magic and makes the resolution feel shallow. While yes, Emma accepted her magic two episodes ago, just the fact that Snow was pointing out how it would be used in defeating Ingrid showed that this arc wasn’t done just yet. And the fact that Emma isn’t the one to take Ingrid down stands out even more in the face of Emma being a large focus of the flashback and the further buildup of her being the Savior that’s been put into nearly every Emma-heavy episode this season thus far. So to not see her magic play a part in some way -- even if it just meant that Emma was the primary supplement to Anna reading the letter by protecting her from Ingrid’s blasts -- feels like a let down. It’s also not helped by the fact that the sequence is stretched out by Ingrid needing to almost knock Anna, Elsa, and Emma out to read the letter, stretching it out.

Stream of Consciousness

-Look at that fabulous mohawk! How much money does that dude need to pour into hair gel every day?!

-I love how the realms of story are so inherently hammy that Ingrid doesn’t even question Madame Faustina’s giant act until she fucks up! XD

-Why is no one attacking Ingrid? XD Like, I’d want to fuck up her shit!

-I gotta wonder how much being a Savior actually pays! XD

-”I don’t believe killing is the answer.” ...Neither does half of this fucking town.

-”If it comes down to her or the town, I’m gonna do what has to be done.” I like how Emma continues to follow the advice Regina gave in the last episode: As a ruler, one has to make difficult choices, ones you might not be okay sitting with, morally speaking, but need to make all the same.

-”This is what I get for being subtle!” That’s right! You get one of the most memorable OUAT performances EVER!

-Damn, I love how Rumple exposits his plan to Killian. I’ve said before how he’s a Magnificent Bastard, and this scene might be the best showing of that yet. Rumple’s going to twist circumstances to make himself the hero without even a shred of guilt and I love it. It’s so Saturday Morning Cartoon Villain-y! XD

-I also love how there’s more than one night where the stars in the sky match up with the stars in the hat.

-Is it bad that I really want to try Carrot Sherbert now? Like, Ingrid’s plan would’ve been exposed in seconds by the same people who try all of the Oreo flavors (Which is me)!

-I wonder, do you think the ribbons also make them immortal?

-I know that on some level, spooking Kevin should be a parenting no-no, but given how much of an asshole that kid is and that the spider was rubber, I am totally on board with this revenge!

-Ingrid looks so cute in her PJ’s!

-Did really no one want to beat up Killian outside of Will Scarlet? XD

-”Those things sound terrible, but they’re also romantic. Can’t you see that?” When did Anna become such an accurate voice of the fandom? XD

-”I killed the Evil Queen’s mommy and I said I’m sorry, but I didn’t mean it.” Is it bad that a large part of me is pretty happy about that considering how bad the handling of the aftermath of that murder was in Season 2 was? XD

-”Maybe without an equal, but not without an opposite equally as strong.” PHYSICS SAVES THE DAYYYYYY!!!!! XD

-”Emma, you’re a bit prickly, but you’re certainly not hatable.” Elsa, you are my girlfriend now! I don’t make the rules! <3

-I love how Emma knows Regina well enough that she knows EXACTLY how to make her hate her enough to destroy the ribbons.

-”This is a great lesson, Emma. If you push yourself and ignore the flickering lights and the distractions of this world, you can accomplish anything.” Okay, I know that this line is played semi-seriously, but how long do you think Ingrid herself was distracted by said flickering lights and distractions? Because Killian and Zelena have had their share of having to adapt to our modern world. I bet Ingrid did too and for far longer since she didn’t have friends to teach her! Like, just imagine Ingrid on a subway for the first time! XD

-Okay, baby Emma’s face as Ingrid tells her she’s gonna be adopted actually makes me cry. Like, this girl has been passed over so many times and finally, she thinks she’s going to get a real home with someone who she loves and loves her. And just knowing that that doesn’t work out makes me lose my shit with tears and feels!

-”The next part should be easy for me.” “What’s that?” “Be prickly.” I love this subtle bit of sass from Emma.

-I like how Emma has to take a pause and process “garden topiary!” XD

-”Dirty? I bathe quite frequently, thank you very much.” XD This line always gets me.

-I like how Kilian first tries to get through to Henry to open the door before forcing his way in with the potion. That was a nice and subtle way of showing respect for Henry’s judgment.

-Given how many schemes Henry’s put together, need I even ask his favorite movie after such a clear “Home Alone” stunt.

-I like how this scene between Killian and Will is basically a meta-narrative about how the season treats him as a whole. Will’s a funny distraction that takes up time, but is so avoidable and inconsequential in the grand scheme of things.

-Not gonna lie, I think Harry might actually be more powerful than even Emma at her most adept. Look, I love her, but Harry’s naturally talented and received the education necessary to understand his full potential as a magic-yielder where as Emma’s had a few lessons, but has otherwise mostly been going off of instincts and the odd book she and Belle find.

-Damn, baby Emma coming to the conclusion that Ingrid’s a psychopath is utterly heartbreaking :( .

-I LOVE how Regina pulls David into this for his whining!

-I also love how apparently, the Shattered Sight curse has no effect on anyone’s love for baby Neal! XD

-Dude! Regina has a sword with a black blade! That is the absolute coolest thing ever!

-Damn, Ingrid’s outfit as she enters Storybrooke is ALSO super cute and stylish! Fuck what I said earlier! This woman knows how to adapt!

-I LOVE the spinning camera effect as Ingrid wills herself into Storybrooke! Also, I like the story point that Ingrid, like she advised Emma to do, trusted her instincts as she looked for her third sister before pulling out the scroll, as this scene implies that this was the first time she used it.

-Ingrid, they don’t want to be your sisters! And you’re really more their aunts than anything. STOPPPPP! Girl, you’re looking desperate! XD

-...The most unrealistic thing this show has put in front of me is that Henry’s favorite ice cream flavor is cherry vanilla! What the hell, show?! XD

-”DO NOT WAKE MY BABY.” She might not, but you definitely will screaming like that! XD

-This fight scene between Snow and Regina is so hammy and I love it! Hell, even the music is along for the ride! Listen to how over-the-top it gets!

-”I WAS 10!!!!” BEST LINE!

-Ingrid’s death music is goosebump-inducingly beautiful!

-Okay, Dopey is so fucking adorable throughout this whole episode! He will not get mad at or attack anyone, chooses to stay by his brothers’ sides despite their danger, and when it’s all over, he adorably catches snowflakes! Best dwarf!

-”Well, perhaps you can say my heart wasn’t in it.” A Golden Hook scene with a PUN! Best scene!

-Good job to Killian! Listen, Rumple is just barely hearing him out and he knows it’s already a risk to ask for Emma’s safety, but he goes further and asks for everyone’s safety, risking Merlin knows what from Rumple!

-Rumple is looking to take over the world! He is officially a Saturday Morning Cartoon Villain and I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t here for that! XD

Favorite Dynamic

Snow, David, and Regina. The greatest strength of this episode is how funny it is, and no dynamic is better proof of that than these three. Josh, Ginny, and especially Lana go above and beyond to deliver their hammiest performances. And not only that, the writing supplements that hamminess perfectly. Petty and ridiculous complaints are blown up to epic proportions and scathing cuts are made, but the outlandish and over the top way it’s all handled allows for the group laugh ending to make this perfect amount of sense. Additionally, we get to see a kickass sword fight, quips GALORE from all three parties, and we even see bits of the real Snow and David shine through when both their child and each other are threatened. This dynamic is just a spectacle to watch and it really made the episode an unforgettable classic!

Writer

Scott Nimerfro and Tze Chun are our writers for today’s episode. Scott has greatly improved from his debut episode and Tze’s is a solid debut himself. The exaggerated tone of this episode allows for a lower bar to entry for both writers and they absolutely nail it. Regarding that ending, I feel like they really paid attention to the first six episodes and then stopped before “The Snow Queen” got started! XD

Culture

What can I say about Ingrid?

Ingrid’s an interesting character for me. She’s the first villain since honestly Regina that’s set up as entirely Emma’s. It’s not that I haven’t liked less Emma centric villains -- if you’ve been reading these reviews, then you know I ADORE Pan and have gushed about Cora and Zelena in the past, but Ingrid’s relationship to Emma is a big point of mystery for her character and, while denied as the ultimate thing that defeats her, really gets explored throughout the half season. It fills in another tragic aspect of Emma’s past that is just as heartwarming as it is heartbreaking to watch. Additionally, she allows for the show to have an ice villain, capitalizing on the interesting threat that Elsa would’ve brought to the show if she was the villain (And that in itself creates an interesting mystery) as well as serve as a means to explore “The Snow Queen,” the original fairy tale of which Frozen is based off of. I also like her interactions with Rumple too. These two have a good dynamic that makes me think of two gods looming over the masses as if they were their playthings and the way they play chess with the lives of others and cooperate when it suits their needs is interesting.

I like the balance between making Ingrid sympathetic and disturbed. You get the sense that Ingrid really wants the connections she makes with Elsa, Emma, and even Anna in the “Family Business” flashback to be genuine. Not only that, but Ingrid very clearly loves her sisters. She wears her ribbon every day and only trades it away so she can physically join them in the outside world. But at the same time, Ingrid shows she is not above manipulating those she wants to be her sisters into doing the things she wants them to do, whether by threatening their lives or the lives of those they love, forcing the hands of those they love, or setting them up to be framed or put into a dangerous position and this is not framed as a positive thing at any point except arguably when it comes to Ingrid being a foster parent to Emma. And her comeuppance is likewise framed as something that she caused for herself because of the person who she let her powers turn her into. This is all very effective material that’s paints a complicated antagonist.

Finally, the scroll given to her is what allows people to enter Storybrooke and is alongside Anton’s beans as something that revolutionized how people traveled for the rest of the series. It opened the doors once more for people to get in and out, allowing for higher stakes in conflicts and more characters to be explored.

At the same time, she doesn’t rank as highly for me as the original usages of Pan, Zelena, or Cora. Ultimately, I feel like her biggest was in her backstory with her sisters. Ingrid’s entire motivation comes down to the fact that her sisters were unwilling to accept her, so instead, she searched for new ones. She goes on and on about how her original family rejected her and as a result, she does whatever it takes -- up to and including manipulation and murder -- to get new sisters. And we’re supposed to believe that yes, tragically, her sisters feared her. However, because the story was so dead set on Ingrid’s sisters being accepting of her and her magic until Helga’s death -- the tail end of the flashback and Gerda’s reaction to that comes off as a cliffdrop of fear more than anything -- it screws up because Ingrid’s sisters almost never feared her. Had they feared her from the very beginning and stayed with her out of fear more than love, this arc of Ingrid feeling rejected by them and wanting a new family would’ve made more sense. Instead, it makes it seem like Ingrid didn’t appreciate what she had until it was gone and Gerda was an idiot about it.

Overall, Ingrid’s a complicated presence in this series and I do like her a lot. While she’s not as cohesive in a lot of ways, especially compared to some of our past villains, there’s enough good and even great things about her to make her a character to appreciate and even love.

Rating

8/10. Apart from the less than stellar conclusion, this episode really does make all of it’s marks. It’s funny as all hell, allows for the cast to really branch out into off-the-wall over-the-top performances, and its past segment does hit the emotionally tragic core that it needs to.

-----

So while the Frozen Arc wasn’t all fun and games for me, I am going to miss it when it concludes next time. It’s unique and domestic and really funny at its best and introduced some great characters.

Thank you for reading as well as to the fine folks at @watchingfairytales and the awesome @daensarah! See you next time!!!

Season 4 Total (87/230)

Writer Scores:

Adam and Eddy: (16/60)

Jane Espenson: (20/40)

David Goodman and Jerome Schwartz: (30/50)

Andrew Chambliss: (14/50)

Dana Horgan: (6/30)

Kalinda Vazquez: (14/40)

Scott Nimerfro: (14/30)

Tze Chun (8/20)

*Links to the rest of my rewatch will no longer be provided. They take posts with links outside of searches and I spend way too much time on these reviews to not give them that kind of exposure. Sorry for the inconvenience, but they still can be found on my page under Operation Rewatch.

[cartoonfangirl1218]

Winner’s Curse Ch. 6

Thanks to @edream93 for her awesome playlists for WLTF. Even though she never intended for it, the songs for those CJ-centric chapters really inspired me to get into CJ’s confident mood for this ch. 

CJ clapped her hands triumphantly as she crawled out of the disgusting bag of trash she had hidden herself in and looked around.

Though she smelled nauseating and was covered with a foot of dirt and grime she felt as accomplished as she had when she set sail on the Auradon seas with her very own boat.

Too bad she couldn’t have used her boat to travel back to the Isle. She would have totally impressed everyone with her stylish ride that she had tricked out with ferocious skull sails and images of impalement and other pirate crimes decorating the walls of the Captain stern. She had wanted to but then she remembered that it would be impossible to get her ship past the Magical Barrier.

So she went with the less fabulous, but still deceptive disguise as a goblin to take trash from Auradon to the Isle.

Unfortunately her lack of green skin or any sort of ugly exterior appearance made the goblins suspicious of her presence among them so her last ditch effort was to hide among the trash.

And it worked!

CJ shook the moldy banana peel from her wavy hair and wiped off the sludge from her red pirate coat and laughed to herself. It was almost funny, after years of trying to get out of this forsaken place she had spent the last month sailing her way from Camelot to Auradon Prep in order to catch the last trash run to the Isle.

It hadn’t been part of her life plan. She had been having a grand old time on the high seas, looting and plundering from the too trusting goody goody tourists, getting riches and drinking life as well as beer when she had gotten spotted a letter in a bottle.

CJ loved letters in bottles, ever since she was a kid and her dad had told her that pirate used to put letters in bottles so that people may never find the directions to their treasure or put threatening notes to scare whoever found the bottle next.

Not that she had the chance to see many bottles near the Isle or send any out. Resources like paper were scarce and Dad tend to reuse bottles to fill them up with his beer.

So she took the bottle out of the sea and opened it up. She had expected a good chuckle over whatever vile threat the note had but was shocked to see it was actually addressed to her.

Hey CJ,

I know this is probably won’t get to you, but I gotta try, you know.

I guess yer dad hadn’t told you that he screwed with me and that I am your mother but I am. It had been bad night and instead of using his hook to slit my throat, it slipped down his pants and things kinda went from there.

Anyway I hear ya pilliging Auradon so that’s awesome. Give those Auradonians something to scream about, stab every last one of them and take all their fancies. Especially silver, silver sells well on the black market.

I’m writing because even though you probably don’t want to go back to this stupid place, I’m planning a raid on your da’s Jolly Roger. If you help me, it can be yours after I die or get murdered. You deserve it, you’re more of a pirate than your siblings will ever be.

Fine sailing matey,

Lady Caine

Lady Caine was her mother. 

At first she had been skeptical but then she realized why would Lady Caine have to gain from lying that she was her mother. No one on the Isle really knew who both their parents were and those who may have fathered r mothered them never said so because they didn’t care. So why would Lady Caine lie about being CJ’s mom? It wasn’t like she would have anything to gain from it. It wasn’t like CJ was going to blindly follow her or want a tearfully reunion from the women. She must have thought that now CJ was all grown up, she was capable enough to be a worthy ally. 

Besides having Lady Caine to be her bio mom wasn’t exactly disappointing.

Lady Caine was the self-proclaimed, “Queen of Thieves” and the only female pirate that was on the Isle so CJ secretly admired her despite dad’s deep hatred.

She was everything CJ ever wanted to be when she grew up, manipulative, self-centered, ruthless, and a “devil may care” attitude towards the few authorities that were present on the Isle.

And it turned out she was her mother.

And she was offering her a chance to inherit the Jolly Roger!

Though CJ loved the boat she currently had, the boat she had bought with her own stolen money, she wanted the Jolly Roger even more.

The Jolly Roger would be a sure sign of who was the finest and scariest pirate in the kingdom.

Not her siblings who had tried to use her as their own first mates instead of recognizing her fearsomeness. Not her dad who was far past his glory days.

Her.

She had always thought that Harriet would end up taking over dad’s ship being the oldest and the one who spent so much of her teenage years to maintaining it when Dad was too drunk or hungover to do it himself. She was the one who handled the members of Dad’s crew when they got out of line and was the one who made the dock the place not be at nighttime.

Harriet deserved the Jolly Roger, she had put so much effort.

But that would be doing the right thing and being a good person was never CJ’s priority.

That ship was going to be hers so she hiked the first current out of Camelot and now she was here. She had kept that letter safe in her coat pocket along with her trusty compass so she could get both at any time.

CJ decided to head to her old room first in order to pick up some of her belongings that she had left behind.

The streets were dark and empty which was usually the first sign that you were going to get jumped but minutes passed and CJ walked by, unassulted.

Now that she really looked around, it seemed no one was about. Lights were off and shutters binded. The place had become a real ghost town.

Maybe it was fight night at Gaston’s bar, that usually drew a large crowd.

Even though it was a dark tar black with no extra lights on, CJ was able to find her way to the Jolly Roger. She could find that place in her sleep. It was a point of pride for a pirate captain to find their ship wherever they went and the Jolly Rogers would be hers.

The old idiot, Smee was sleeping on guard duty. It was tempting for CJ to hit him around a little as her father would do if he saw Smee sleeping on the job like this but refrained, she would do it when she left.

The ship creaked and groaned under her weight but no one came to the upper dock to shout intruder so CJ continued below deck to her room.

The last room on the stern was hers as it was because she was the last and therefore insignificant as Harriet told her. The quarters were tight and now that she had grown a few inches she kept banging her head against the ceiling.

The place looked like it had been ransacked. The pirate maps she had drew when she was younger, the ones that showed the route she believed to go to Neverland were all torn up. Her few thin blankets were shredded to threads. Her small chest was splintered apart as if someone brought a mallet to it and the items she had stolen, one of Ursula’s shell necklaces, bullets from Rourke, fancy hats from Anastasia among others laid scattered on the floor.

“Ugh. No respect. No one has respect.” CJ muttered as she got on her hands and knees to search for what she really wanted, her telescope. She would need it in order to plan attacks on enemies from afar.

“Whose here?” A voice growled from behind her and CJ whirled around, fists ready to battle.

“CJ?” Harry stared at her slack-jawed as if he was seeing Davy Jones in the flesh and CJ relaxed her fists.

From the dim candle lantern in Harry’s hand, CJ could see that her brother hadn’t changed a bit. His face was smeared with grease paint and too much eyeshadow with his messy hair sometimes flopping over his eyes. Though he was sporting a new scar above his eyebrow. His clothes were still raggedy and torn but it also looked like they were hanging on his frame rather than highlighting his intimidating muscles. 

Before CJ could wonder about whether he was eating less, Harry thrust a hook under nose and demanded, “What are ye doing here?”

CJ decided to go for sass, pushing his hook away she snorted, “This is my room.”

“Not anymore.” Harry kicked her, “You live in Auradon now, brat.”

CJ bit her lip to keep from groaning as Harry’s foot connected with her gut and punched at his nuts causing him to jump back and slam himself against the door. She took the moment to grope under her bed for the feel of her telescope when at last she felt the cool glass.

She pulled it out from under her bed, slid it down her boot and casually stretched out her muscles as if Harry’s hostility didn’t faze her one bit. And it didn’t. She had dealt with his mood swings for years and though he usually didn’t get so physically rough, she was quite capable of holding on her own.

When she cocked her head to crack her neck bones, CJ was startled by the hatred in his glare for her and was even more startled by this strange feeling of pain tugging her heart.

Harry never looked at her that way before. Usually he looked at her with anger and annoyance, not hatred. After all, she was his baby sister, it was her job to compete with and annoy him to death.

Then again, she had been forgetting what his face looked like since she left, maybe her memory was just fuzzy. It wasn’t like their relationship was a solid, trusting one. Ha! None of her relationships were. Especially with her siblings.

CJ swore they hated each other from day one. Harriet despised that she was on “mom” duty at twelve years, having to clean and change their dirty diapers and they didn’t even pay her back by becoming her loyal first mate. Instead they were her worst enemy when it came to competing for control of the dock. 

Harry was a disgrace since he chose not to lead and follow Captain Hook’s fierce reputation but chose to be subservient to another Vk and be a loyal member of a crew. 

CJ hated them both for always underestimating her and taking away her attention and resources so no one on the Isle feared her, they saw her as the overdramatic, neurotic, controlling youngest child of Hook. Not a evil pirate on her own.

“Why are ya-“ Harry was about to ask again but CJ shoved past him and walked up to the deck.

“CJ!” Harry yelled, stomping up the stairs.

“Shut up with the hissy fit, Hawthorne! Save your dramatics for Shrimpy!” CJ yelled back using her brother’s hated full name and hated nickname for his captain, “I won’t be in your hair for long. I’ve just come for what’s rightfully mine.”

“DON’T call Uma, Shrimpy and nothing here is for you.” Harry snarled catching the tail end of CJ’s coat.

“SHUT UP, I’M TRYING TO SLEEP!” Their dad’s booming voice shocked the two into silence for a moment before they heard him resume his snoring.

“The Jolly Ranger is mine.” CJ glanced down at the lovely old ship and lovingly caressed the railing. “Mom said it should be. And we’re going to make sure it will.”

“We don’t have a mom.” Harry snorted derisively but CJ took out her letter and waved it tauntingly in his face.

“I do. It’s Lady Caine.” CJ smirked triumphantly as Harry read the words himself and his eyes darted between her and the letter in disbelief.

He tore the letter from her hand and crumpled into a little ball to throw in the ocean but CJ didn’t care. She didn’t need it anymore.

Harry stared at her as if she was a total stranger which was another look that seemed to pain her heart for some reason but CJ ignored it. She may have been living in Auradon but it had not made her soft. She did not care for her brother one bit.

CJ turned to loop one of the ropes used for keeping the sail open to her wrist, “Ta ta, Harry!”

With one practiced launch, she leapt off the boat and swung her way to the dock while knocking Harry’s hat to the water.

“CJAAAAY!”

With that ferocious shout and swears of vengeance, and Smee’s startled gasp, CJ smiled and nodded to herself confidently.

Calista Jane Hook was back everybody.

[neverending2012]

Blue Darkness

Summary: Dealing with societal and school pressure, Unique has a fight with her parents and she and Ryder share something special.

Rating: Mature

Warning: Sex, mature themes

Ryder rang the doorbell, and Jingle Bells played instead of the regular two-note chime he usually heard. A Christmas wreath decorated with holly sprigs and little gold bells hung on the bright red door with a shiny brass knocker. The air smelled like pine trees and burning wood. He adjusted his backpack and felt anxious standing on the front porch of Unique's big brick house. They had not seen each other in a week since he got in a fight at school because kids found out they were a couple. He still had a faint purple bruise on his cheek from the beat-down in the senior parking lot.

Sparkling frost covered the front lawn, and displayed in the yard was a giant black Santa sitting in a red sleigh with three reindeer attached to it. Santa even wore gold wire-rimmed glasses, and his sable cheeks had two red dots of blush. Unique once told him his mother had the Santa display custom made and was adamant the skin color was just right and not some cartoonish shade that didn't exist in reality. When she was a little girl, Unique nicknamed him Oliver despite her parents wanting her to call him Santa. The memory made Ryder smile as he stood on the porch waiting for her. The neighborhood was quiet except for a dog barking in the distance.

He tapped his foot against the white wooden planks of the porch; flour smudged his black sneakers and jeans. He didn't have time to change. That morning he baked a batch of Unique's favorite cookies: snickerdoodles. He hoped she liked them. After several long minutes, the door opened, and his girlfriend stood before him looking distressed, her eyes visibly red from crying and dressed like a boy in a tailor-made black suit that did little to hide her curves. He could see the fullness of her breasts beneath the jacket. He smelled her Ocean Dream perfume and saw faint traces of red lipstick on her plump lips. Unique gazed at him, tears in her eyes.

"I'm not me."

Ryder knew what she wore underneath. It was probably lacy and silky and delicate. He looked at her hands and saw the remains of red polish flecks on her fingernails.

"My grandparents are coming," she said.

Ryder nodded.

"May I come in?"

"But I'm not –"

He didn't let her finish and leaned down and kissed her lips, breathing in her sweet scent. Startled by the kiss, Unique gasped and relaxed, kissing him back, until she pulled away, catching her breath, unable to speak. He touched her flushed cheek.

"Beautiful," he said.

Unique pulled him inside.

"You can stay until my grandparents get here."

"When will they get here?"

"In an hour."

"Where are your parents?"

"In the kitchen, I was wearing your favorite dress and –" she looked down at the floor, "I'm sorry, they made me change."

"Let's go upstairs," Ryder said taking her by the hand.

When they went inside Unique's fluffy pink room, he closed the door and kissed her again.

"I baked you cookies."

"Ryder I –" Unique began to cry and sat down on her bed, "How can you act like this?"

Ryder was confused.

"Like what?"

"Like I look beautiful."

"You do."

"I'm not wearing your favorite dress."

"So?"

"But – "

Ryder held her round face in his hands, wiping away her tears with his thumbs.

"I see you. I know who you are."

She hugged him.

"We'd better open the door. My parents know you're here."

"Ok."

Unique opened the door and went to her dresser, getting a few tissues from the silver-plated tissue dispenser decorated with pink rhinestones and wiped her face as she looked in the big heart-shaped mirror with a pink feather boa draped across it.

"I wish my grandparents weren't coming today."

"Is that why you had to change?"

"Yes. But it's not like my parents are…" she sighed and stopped speaking for a moment, throwing the wet tissues into her sparkling glitter pink wastebasket, "No use getting into to it. Oliver said there'd be days like this."

Ryder laughed and took her hand, pulling her onto the bed.

"You still talk to Santa?"

Unique narrowed her eyes and Ryder could see the black mascara.

"It's Oliver. Not Santa."

"Ok, Oliver."

She laid her head on his shoulder, and he put his arm around her.

"Yes, I do. I know it's dumb."

"It's not dumb. A little weird perhaps."

"I know I'm crazy."

Ryder caressed her head, gone were her fabulous wigs, and only her short kinky hair remained.

"He seems like a good listener."

"They don't ever want my grandparents to see who I am. No sass. No beauty. Nothing. They only want me to be who I'm not. I ain't Wade."

Ryder kissed her temple. She never said her birth name. It sounded odd to him. He wasn't sure what to say. Unique kept talking.

"I'm tired, Ryder."

Her voice was defeated. Ryder's heart broke. He lifted her chin and kissed her.

"I'm sorry."

She sniffed.

"Why? It's not your fault. I should be apologizing."

"For what?"

"For this," she said, touching his bruised cheek. "They did this to you because of me. Maybe we should – "

Ryder stopped her.

"I'm not breaking up with you."

"I don't want to break up either, but where is our place?"

Ryder hugged her, attempting to calm her down.

"Listen, we'll find our place. I promise."

"How's that gonna happen? To get Mama and Papa off my damn back, I wear boy clothes to school and change into girl clothes in the janitor's closet, and we can't hold hands and I can't use the - " she took a deep breath and sighed; "I'm sorry, Ryder. It's not easy being with me."

"Don't be. I chose you, remember?"

They kissed and Ryder heard the stairs creak as someone walked up to the second floor. Her father, tall and menacing, dressed in a suit similar to Unique's, appeared in her bedroom doorway. He stared at Ryder.

"May I have a word with you?"

"Papa, the door was open."

"I know. I just want to speak to Ryder privately."

"We were only hugging," Unique said, becoming indignant.

Mr. Adams shook his head.

"You're not in trouble I just want to talk to him alone."

Ryder let go of Unique and kissed her cheek.

"It's fine," he said, feeling her father's eyes on him.

They left the room, with Unique sitting on the bed looking bewildered, and Ryder followed Mr. Adams downstairs to the den where they sat in front of the fireplace on a red velvet couch. It began to snow outside. Nat King Cole crooned about chestnuts roasting on an open fire on the stereo. Red cinnamon scented candles burned on the coffee table, filling the air with a spicy fragrance. A bottle of scotch was on the table as well, and Mr. Adams poured himself a glass, taking a sip he sighed and closed his eyes.

"First off, I have nothing against you."

"Thank you," Ryder said, "I have nothing against you either."

"Are you in love with my boy?" Mr. Adams asked him, his arms folded.

"I love Unique, and she's a girl."

Mr. Adams chuckled and shook his head.

"I don't care if my boy is gay. Love is love. But my boy is a boy. Not a girl. And no amount of lipstick, high heels or wigs is going to change that."

"Her heart says differently. And when I hold her, I know she's a girl."

Mr. Adams put his hand on Ryder's shoulder.

"I have something to ask you."

Ryder nodded.

"Ok, what is it?"

"Right now, my son is dressed in a suit. No lipstick or skirt. You were just upstairs holding him as if your life depended on it. Did you see a girl then? All I see is my boy. He can dress up and sing or whatever, but why does he insist on being a female? When he gets off the stage, just take off the dress, it's that simple. Lots of gay men dress up, and they're still men. Why does Wade do that? Look at RuPaul; he's a man. I got no problem with him. I don't hear him say he's a woman."

"Sir, I only see Unique."

"I like you, Ryder. You got issues, but who doesn't? And I believe that you love my son. I see how you look at him, and it's a beautiful thing in my book. But I don't think you should encourage him like this."

"Encourage him?"

"Yes, going along with this whole born in the wrong body thing. It's crazy."

"It would be crazy if I insisted that she deny who she is. And one of the reasons that I love her is that she isn't afraid to show the world her true self."

"The world sees a crazy black boy in a dress."

"No sir, the world sees what it wants to see."

Mr. Adams sighed.

"You don't understand; you're just a kid."

"I understand more than you think."

"We've let him dress up at home. Wear make-up. Turn his room into a Pepto Bismal nightmare, but Wade isn't a girl. I haven't been happy with how he's turned out, and neither has his mother. I've got gay friends and - "

"This isn't about gay."

"Well, whatever it is. You're not helping."

"Honestly, sir, I'm the only one who is."

"Because you love him? Let me tell you something; love doesn't mean shit to the world out there. You're asking to get killed."

"I've already been beaten. And it will happen again."

"What?"

"I've been beaten, called faggot, you name it. But that won't stop me from loving Unique."

"You're a damn fool is what you are."

"Is this why you wanted to talk to me?"

"No, I think you should stop seeing my son."

"But you just said it was a beautiful thing that I loved her."

"It is. But you're making it worse. Wade's got it in his head that he's normal and he isn't. I get that you love him. I do. But this must stop."

"Breaking up with her won't change who she is, she'll always be Unique. Don't you understand? It's not about me at all."

"Yes, it is about you. You're giving Wade hope, and that's the last thing he needs. You act like he's normal."

"She is normal!"

"Like hell he is. He's got a boyfriend believing he's a girl. It's too much."

The doorbell rang. Mr. Adams took another drink of his scotch and went to answer it. An elderly couple dressed in black wool overcoats and white knit scarves, came inside the house, snowflakes falling on the polished hardwood floor.

"Mom, Dad, you're early," Mr. Adams said as he helped them out of their coats.

"We're on time," the older gentleman said, and looked in the den,

"Hello," he said to Ryder, "I'm Richard Adams."

"Hi, nice to meet you, I'm Ryder, Unique's boy- "

"It's Wade's friend from school," Mr. Adams interjected, shooting an angry glare at Ryder.

"Did you say Unique?" the woman asked, patting down her silver curls.

"Why don't you two go into the kitchen? Mabel will make you some coffee."

"Where's Wade?" she said.

"Upstairs."

She smiled at Ryder.

"Are you going with us to church?"

"No ma'am, I just dropped by to say hello."

"It's nice meeting a friend of Wade's. You can call me Flora."

"Thank you."

Unique's grandparents came into the den, making themselves comfortable on the couch. Ryder sat down in a nearby armchair, not wanting to leave without saying good-bye to Unique. Her grandparents wore church outfits; she in a green silk dress and him in a pinstripe suit; and they smelled like peppermint. Flora kept patting her curls; her lips coated in magenta lipstick.

"Franklin, go get us some coffee," Richard said to his son.

"Sure, Dad."

After he left, Ryder looked at his feet, not sure of what to say or do. He thought of Unique crying on her bed, confined in a suit that didn't fit who she was and he only wanted to leave and go back upstairs and hold her again, wipe away her tears.

"Something wrong, dear?" Flora said.

"Oh, I'm fine."

"How long have you known Wade?" Richard asked, leaning back on the couch.

Before Ryder could answer, he heard the distinct creak of the stairs, and then Unique stood in the den's doorway. Her eyes no longer red, and her face scrubbed clean. She looked defeated and soulless, and Ryder wasn't sure how much more he could take.

"Wade, honey, come here and give your Grandma a hug. My you look handsome in your suit," Flora said, opening her arms.

Unique went to her grandparents, a false smile on her lips, embracing them and when she pulled away, she said:

"Good to see you Grandma, Grandpa."

"Wade, we've missed you," Richard said, holding her hand, "Your parents say you made the honor roll again."

"Yes, straight A's."

Ryder stood up and went to Unique; he held her hand; she gasped at the affection, and for a second he thought she would take her hand away, but she didn't. They stared at each other, and quiet courage filled them, and they knew what needed to happen. Unique squeezed his hand and looked at her grandparents, who gawked at them with perplexed expressions on their faces.

"Ryder is my boyfriend. I love him. He loves me."

Flora covered her hand over her mouth, and her eyes widened, then she laughed.

"Is that all? We don't care if you're gay, Wade. And Ryder seems personable."

Unique shook her head.

"Grandma, there's more."

"What is it?"

"I'm transgender. My name is Unique. I'm a girl. I hate it when anyone calls me Wade. I know who I am and it isn't Wade."

"Transgender?" Richard whispered as if trying to understand what that meant.

"Yes, transgender."

"Do your parents know?"

"They do, but they didn't want you to know. I like dresses and makeup and lace. I enjoy everything the typical teenage girl likes."

"So this isn't like dressing up and performing?" Flora asked, looking up at her, "You're a transgender girl."

"Yes, Grandma, that's who I am."

Unique began to cry, and Ryder held her tight, whispering in her ear:

"I'm so proud of you."

Her grandfather stood up and got a crystal tumbler from the bar table in the corner of the den, he opened up the scotch and poured himself half a glass full and drank it down in one gulp.

"Lordy Jesus, I don't know what to say," he said and poured another drink.

Flora rose from the couch with open arms.

"Honey, come here."

Unique let go of Ryder and fell into her warm embrace. They hugged for a long time, with Flora, stroking her back.

"My child, whoever you say you are, that is who we will honor. We love you. Yes, I'm shocked, but you're still my sweet little grandchild. That will never change."

Unique cried even harder, clinging to Flora. Ryder cried too, relieved that no secrets remained. Richard took it all in as he drank his second scotch. When he finished, he hugged Unique.

"I must wrap my head around it, but your grandma is right. We're with you."

Unique's parents came into the den, carrying trays of cookies and cups of coffee and hot cocoa.

"What's going on?" Her mother said as she and Unique's father placed the trays on the coffee table.

"Mama, I told them I was transgender."

Her parents looked at each other. Mr. Adams spoke first:

"Listen we're trying to sort this out and – "

"No, you listen, why did you hide this from us? What's there to sort out?" Flora said.

"We're trying to get Wade help and – "

"Stop calling me that!" Unique said, glaring at them.

"Calm down," Mabel said.

"No Mama, I won't calm down. You and Papa can't accept me but Grandma and Grandpa can. They said they would honor who I was, why can't you do the same?"

"You need help," Mrs. Adams said, "We've indulged you long enough and – "

"No more," Unique said and shook her head, tears flowing down her cheeks. "Just stop it. Grandma and Grandpa just gave me the love and acceptance I needed. It's pathetic that my parents can't love me too. Making up stupid rules that hurt me. I can only wear dresses in the house or when I perform, and we'll still call you Wade regardless of my wishes, and Ryder isn't your boyfriend, he's just your friend. Everything that goes against who I am, you enforce with your fucked up rules."

"It's to protect you," Mr. Adams said.

"Protect me? From what?"

"You live your life like this and society will give you hell."

"Well, I got news for you, I'm already in hell. What kind of life can I have if I can't be me?"

Her parents remained silent. Ryder held Unique's hand, squeezing it. She gazed up at him, touching his cheek, and giving him a tender kiss.

"Come on, let's go."

He nodded and as they walked out of the den, hand in hand, her mother said:

"Where are you going?"

"Out"

"When will you be back?"

Unique never turned around as she got her coat from the closet.

"When I get back."

Her parents came into the hallway.

"Your grandparents are here, and we have a church service to go to," Mrs. Adams said.

Unique zipped up her red coat.

"I don't care. You can't honor me. So why should I honor you?"

"This isn't about honor," Mr. Adams said, "It's about disobedience."

Unique had her hand on the doorknob.

"No, it's about control. It's about you wanting something that isn't there. It's about love and the conditions you put on it."

She opened the door with Ryder beside her.

Her parents didn't stop her, but Flora grabbed her arm, whispered something in her ear and hugged her. Unique nodded, and Flora kissed her cheek, leaving behind a smudge of magenta lipstick; then she and Ryder exited the house.

OOO

They sat in the car a long time, and Ryder held her as she cried, saying nothing except that he loved her, and when the tears ran out, there was silence, kisses, and hugs until she was ready to leave. They drove around Lima admiring the small-town Christmas decorations while eating the snickerdoodles he baked for her, and this elevated Unique's mood. Then when evening came, they went to Arby's and got roast beef sandwiches; sitting in an orange booth, they ate their supper while gazing at the twinkling white lights on the storefronts across the street. Neither one of them said much, a few curious onlookers observed them, trying to figure out the dynamic. He and Unique sat across from each other in the booth, both refraining from touching one another, but anyone could see by how they looked at each other; that something more than friendship was between them.

After supper they took a walk through the Festival of Lights in Lima Community Park, admiring the Christmas lights as carolers dressed in gold robes sang in the pavilion, their voices drifting through the park, filling everyone with holiday cheer. As much as Ryder wanted to be careful about PDA and avoid confrontations with ignorant bullies, he couldn't help himself and held Unique's hand, and thankfully, either by God or Providence, nobody bothered them. And he felt happy to see her smile as she gazed up at one of the fir trees decorated with bright blue lights and brilliant silver glitter stars, and without looking to see if anyone was watching and devoid of any fear or trepidation, he kissed her, holding her pretty face in his hands. It startled her.

"My goodness, Ryder, that was…"

"I know," he said, still staring into her eyes. She hugged him and he loved the scent of her sweet perfume and her warm body pressed against his. Then something shifted.

"Let's go to my house," he said.

"Are your parents home?"

He put his arm around her.

"No, they went to visit my cousin. Do you want to go home?"

Unique shook her head.

"Not yet. I want to be with you."

Hearing her say that made Ryder feel ten feet tall. They walked to the car, and he drove them to his house, on their way there, Unique sang along to Silent Night playing on the radio, and her voice got that secret place in him where he was most vulnerable, and no walls survived; only light shined through. She wasn't performing or showboating or trying to hit a note, she only felt the music, expressing her joy and sadness all at once. They pulled up to the house. Unique unbuckled her seatbelt and waited for him to exit the car so he could open her door for her. Arms linked they walked up the front steps and entered the house. Ryder turned on the lights. His parents didn't do much decorating except for the Christmas tree in the living room with its crystal and silver filigree ornaments and Victorian porcelain balls with scenes of the Twelve Days of Christmas painted on each one in soft pastel colors. He helped her take off her coat.

"Do you want to hang out in my room or stay here?"

Unique was quiet, gazing about the room, her face uncertain, but then she touched his hand.

"Your room," she said, her voice quiet and low.

Ryder felt a flutter in his belly as he took her hand.

"Ok."

He was glad he had cleaned his room; though it wasn't as posh and fabulous as Unique's sparkly abode, it was a reflection of him in many shades of blue. He had a double bed covered with a royal blue comforter, and a framed sepia-toned antique world map hung on the wall behind his big glass desk; that shined like a store display case; a poster of the Pacific ocean at sunset was on the wall above his bed. Unique sat on the bed, bouncing on it a little, then removed her suit jacket, and he could see the outline of her bra underneath. She kicked off her black leather loafers, revealing pink lace socks on her small, babyish feet. Ryder took off his sneakers and sat down beside her. He felt like a gangly ogre with his big, long feet in white gym socks.

"What do you want to do?" He said.

Unique shrugged, leaning against him.

"I don't know," she said looking around the room, then she pointed to his aquarium that sat on a wooden table painted byzantine blue. The tropical fish swam about in the artificial sea he created with colorful coral pebbles, shells, fake bright orange anemones, and a wall of plastic reddish green and neon purple plants that sort of floated in the underwater paradise. The filter pump made a pleasant bubbling sound as it vibrated into the water. He filled his tank with neon tetras with their glowing, electric blue stripes, and deep red rainbow fish.

"Let's feed the fish," she said.

"Ok."

Ryder got the fish food from his closet, and she sprinkled it on the tank's surface, watching their tiny mouths devour the dried green flakes.

"They're pretty," she said, staring down at them. Ryder stood behind her, his arms encircled her plush waist, hugging her.

"You should put some mermaids in here," she said, continuing to watch the greedy fish.

"Why?"

"It would be nice, that's all. I'll find you a black one, with an Afro."

Ryder chuckled, kissing her neck.

"A black mermaid. I can dig that."

"Of course you can."

"Let's watch TV," he said pointing to his flat screen TV sitting on his dresser.

"Ok."

He turned on the TV, and they cuddled on the bed and watched the news; he lay behind her, spooning her. He turned off the light and turned on his blue light lamp. During a commercial break, she looked over her shoulder, and he leaned down and kissed her, and it was different from the other kisses, he wanted more, but pulled away, for fear he was coming on like a sex-starved convict released from prison. She caught her breath, stroking his face, the penetrating blue light shined in her big brown eyes. Then she sat up and untied her black tie throwing it on the floor, and unbuttoned her shirt, revealing a pretty pastel pink lace bra, her young, budding breasts filled out each small cup.

Ryder wasn't sure what to do next and he felt nervous.

"What do you…"

Unique stared at him, waiting. And he reached out and squeezed her breast; it was full, soft and supple. His hands roamed over the lace, pinching her nipples. Then he took off his sweater, hoping she liked what she saw; he wasn't a buff bodybuilder, but he wasn't a puny weakling either. He was thankful he could hide in the blue light, glowing like some otherworldly creature. Her hands grazed over his somewhat defined chest; she smiled as she touched him. He stayed still, letting her explore, breathing hard, maintaining his composure, but wanting so much more.

"You have a birthmark," she said, tracing the large port wine stain in the center his chest like a bullseye.

"Yeah."

"I like it."

She removed her shirt and bra, her belly was pudgy, and he thought it was adorable, all roly-poly and sweet, he squeezed the pliant flesh, before fondling her small breasts once more; they were like tangerines, molding perfectly into his large hands, and capped with hard nipples. They kissed and touched each other, and gently, he pushed her onto her back, lying on top of her, kissing her, moving downwards and his tongue glided across her dusky nipples and suckled. Unique closed her eyes, arching her back, spreading her legs, responding to everything he did to her. He felt her arousal through her suit pants and rutted against her. She moaned, crying out, and Ryder needed to see all of her, he tugged at the zipper of her pants, and her soft hands stopped him, tears glistened in her eyes.

"Ryder, I don't have…"

He understood her fear, as she trembled beneath him. She was so afraid.

"Sweetheart, I don't care," he said kissing her plump cheeks.

"Could you… could you go first?"

Ryder nodded, obliging her request to remove his pants first. He got off the bed, slid off his jeans and stood before her in his Santa Claus boxers.

"That's festive," she said, giggling, relaxing the mood.

Ryder laughed, agreeing with her. She sat up and stroked him through the thin cotton of his boxers; he was hot and hard.

"I want to see you," she said.

He took off his boxers and stood naked before her, he felt embarrassed and aroused all at once. She held his member in her hand, squeezing and stroking.

"You're strong, lean and perfect."

Ryder blushed, feeling pride in the words 'strong' and 'perfect'; this is what he needed to hear. Her stroking felt good, but it was too much.

"Baby, I can't –"

"Sorry, did I do this wrong?"

"No, I won't last much longer."

She removed her hand, lying back on the bed, he watched her chest rise and fall, her stomach hung over her pants; he massaged the extra girth, feeling the warm, fatty flesh in his hands.

"You ok?"

Unique was quiet. She looked up at the ceiling then back at him again.

"I want you to see me."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

She laid her hands on her sides.

Ryder unzipped her suit pants, sliding them down her curvaceous legs. Unique wore matching pink lace panties, and a wet stain was on the front of her underwear; she blushed, closing her eyes. He stroked her breasts and belly.

"It's ok, baby, look at me."

She opened her eyes, and he touched her, palming the front of her panties, feeling her.

"I love every part of you," he said, leaning down, kissing her, she accepted his kiss, and their tongues swirled in each other's mouths, tasting one another, after a few moments, he pulled back a bit, cupping her face.

"Do you want to keep them on?"

She was silent, then she said, in a whisper.

"Off."

He slid off her panties and then she was nude, and he had to catch his breath, all of her curves and dark sienna skin, soft and smooth, were so beautiful to him, why did she ever think she had to hide? Her anatomy didn't matter to him, and her beauty radiated from every limb. He could see her arousal, small, hard and alluring. Not one strand of hair was on her feminine, full-figured body; she reminded him of a black marble statue.

"Beautiful girl," he said, staring at her and then he was on top of her kissing her once more, rubbing against her, and her hands glided up and down his back and squeezed his pale, firm ass cheeks.

"Tell me what you want," he said, kissing her neck, tasting her silky skin, "Is this enough?"

Unique opened her legs wider.

"I want you inside me."

He nodded, kissed her again, got up, and went to his dresser; he opened up the top drawer and retrieved condoms and lube. Ryder bought the items on a whim, not knowing when they would use them but figuring it would happen eventually.

"Back or belly?" he asked.

At first, she was confused, but then she understood:

"On my back. I want to see you."

He kissed her.

"I want to see you too."

Unique bent her knees and spread her legs as far as they would go, and he saw her puckered pink opening, clenching and eager. He rubbed lube on his fingers and gently pressed them inside her, she resisted at first and cried out in pain. Ryder pulled his fingers out.

"Sweetheart, we can stop."

"No, I want you."

He tried again and this time was less resistance, after moving them in and out, she began to relax and followed the rhythm of his fingers, loosening her opening. He hit her sweet spot, and she almost came, rising her broad hips off the bed, her pert breasts bounced, and fat tummy shook. Ryder was so hard that he couldn't wait to be inside her. He withdrew his fingers, knelt between her legs and slowly guided himself into her; she was so snug, tight and hot.

"Relax, baby, look at me."

Unique stared at him, her gaze trusting and loving, and he kissed her as he pushed himself into her warmth. This was beyond blissful. And he began to thrust in and out, with her moaning beneath him, grabbing hold of the pale blue sheets, as he pounded into her. Their eyes never left each other, and Ryder dragged out each thrust, to make everything last longer, but the closer she was to coming, the more urgent he became; and then with a loud cry and moan, his girl came beneath him, her essence exploding in streams, and he filled her, coming as well. Ryder lay on top of her, tears spilled from his eyes, and onto her shoulders and he knew she was crying too. They held each other in silence, the dreamy blue light illuminating their naked bodies; the room smelled of musk, sweat, and a hint of her perfume. He kissed her.

"Are you hurting?"

"A little, but not much."

"You're beautiful, Unique. You're all soft, round and sexy."

She kissed his nose.

"What did I do to deserve you?"

"I could say the same."

They lay there in each other's arms until Ryder roused them out of bed for a quick shower. Afterwards, he found an extra large white T-shirt for Unique to put on and he dressed in his PJs. Unique insisted they change the sheets; and Ryder a got a fresh set of cobalt blue sheets from the hall linen closet, smelling like mountain spring detergent. As they stripped the bed, Unique said to him:

"When will your parents be back?"

"Tomorrow morning."

She yawned.

"I'm staying the night."

"I know. What about your parents?"

"What about them?"

Ryder said nothing while they made up the bed; he admired the jiggling of her hefty behind as she tucked in the corners of the sheet, precise and exact.

He decided not to fight with her about calling her parents, not after their mind-blowing lovemaking. They climbed into bed and got under the covers.

"Look, baby, it's snowing," she said, pointing to the window.

He put his arm around her big hips.

"Pretty, isn't it?"

"Yeah."

Ryder reached under her shirt, caressed her bare chubby stomach, and squeezed her cute little breasts.

"You like all this jelly, don't you?" Unique said, enjoying his loving touches, as he kneaded her stomach and stroked her thighs and behind; she moaned.

"Yeah, I do. Got a problem with that?" He said, turning her head to face him and giving her a kiss.

She shook her head, grinning up at him, before turning back around.

"No, baby, just keep doing what you're doing."

He kissed the back of her neck, rubbed his cheek against her kinky hair.

"All mine."

"All yours… I love you, Ryder."

"I love you too."

It was quiet. The only sound was the aquarium's filter pump bubbling in the tank; and the wind blowing outside, a soft-pitched wail. They watched it snow; the crystal flakes sparkled in the yellow light of the street lamps.

[pubtheatres1]

VULVARINE on tour Presented by Fat Rascal Theatre Company King's Head Theatre June 11 - 6 July 2019 Interview with Robyn Grant, artistic director of Fat Rascal Theatre and performer in Vulvarine ‘Ripping apart comic book Superhero clichés and gender stereotypes … with songs that stand out for their ingenuity, wit and catchiness’ ★★★★★ London Pub Theatres review LPTmagazine: Hi Robyn, The VULVARINE tour is well under way now but we’re delighted that you’re coming back to King’s Head Theatre, with your anarchic musical. As Artistic Director of Fat Rascals are you the genie behind it all? Robyn Grant: We’re thrilled to be returning to the Kings Head! As one of their associate companies it really feels like our London home and we can’t wait for the London audiences to get their teeth into it. As for being the genie I wouldn’t say that at all haha, I have the most fantastic team around me here at Fat Rascal. Our brilliant producer Laura Elmes who is a total power house, my genius co-lyricist Daniel Foxx, our wonderful associate director Siobhan CannonBrownlie and of course our amazing cast and crew. They’re such a joy to work with and make my job very easy indeed. LPT: We imagine the first rehearsals were laugh a minute, but perhaps it had a much more serious intent? RG: We came into the show knowing exactly what we wanted to say. We had a few research days looking at the marvel universe and its lack of female characters, at the tampon tax and everyday sexism, at the pharmaceutical industry, hormonal treatments frequently used on women and the risks they pose. With all of that in our backpacks we dived into the adventure of creating the comedy, the pace and the feel of the show. All of our political elements are an undercurrent, fuel for the fire and made to seep into the audience’s subconscious. From rehearsals forwards its really our job to make people laugh! We all get on so well more often than not rehearsals just feel like playtime and it’s up to poor Siobhan to come and reign us in, tell us to get off each others backs, put the wigs down and do some bloody work. LPT: Allie Munro is electric in her role as the hopeless Bryony Buckle thrust into a Spiderman-esque scenario as Vulvarine, complete with nuclear sea urchins. In the story it’s the result of hormone therapy gone wrong and a well-timed bolt of lightning. What was the hardest part of putting all these elements together? RG: Figuring out the story for this show and creating a sensical and satisfying arc was the hardest part for me. As you say there’s so many elements but we want our work to be fun, fast and accessible. No-one should feel left behind. Allie is a total gift of an actor because whatever you throw at her she’ll take it and make it her own, and also almost translate it for the audience. She’s so relatable, likeable and god damn funny I almost think there’s nothing that girl couldn’t sell. Saviour of womankind? Easy mate. LPT: You’re also acting in the show, playing multiple roles. Could you tell us a bit more about your role as the wittily named Mansplainer? RG: The Mansplainer is Vulvarine’s arch nemesis. He’s a 55 year old evil marine biologist called Keith Herlit who harbours a love of The Greatest Showman and a hatred of womankind. It sounds completely nuts I’m well aware but he is SO much fun to play and one of my favourite parts to date. LPT: There’s no doubt the show has heart, but what’s the break-through scene for you? RG: I love the romantic duet at the show’s climax, ‘The Office Boy and Vulvarine’. It’s a total celebration and pastiche of musical theatre cheese and 80’s rock ballads. There’s a disco ball, there’s dancing fish and there’s some tasty AF harmonies. It’s everything I’ve ever wanted to make and the audience always bloody love it, it’s so silly and satisfying. LPT: With the larger than life characters and the catchiness of the songs, have any of your audiences got carried away? RG: Yes they get rowdy and we love it! With our shows we always want the audience to know that they’re welcome to laugh, cheer and whoop. This isn’t a night at the theatre to sit and be silent. It should feel like a party, a celebration; everyone should feel totally empowered and badass at the end. The ladies in Bristol who brought in a bottle of prosecco each and sang along with the finale, we salute you. Equally the gang who were all dressed up as the Mansplainer in Sheffield, fantastic work. LPT: The show is certainly a master class in multi-roling, with a caste of five playing a multiude of roles. What’s the secret to your success? RG: We have a firm (and probably unwarranted) belief that anything can be done and that if it seems impossible, it’s probably a gift. Crowd scenes, flying and manic fast changes; Things can go wrong at any time, the audience are totally in on the joke and that creates an electric atmosphere. We just need them to be on our side, they are very much the other actor in the room and if they’re willing to buy it and laugh, anything can be done! LPT: Have you got a favourite stand out moment in the show yourself? RG: I love the reprise of the title song ‘Vulvarine’, sang by Sonya, the Mansplainer’s wife (Played by Steffan Rizzi). It’s such a great empowering moment of girl power, we’re careering towards the end and DANG, boy can SANG. LPT: This isn’t your first addition to the musical theatre genre, you took TOM AND BUNNY SAVE THE WORLD to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2017. That was an equally hilarious take on the Zombie Apocalypse trope so we wondered what else you might have up your sleeve? RG: Well well well, not a white rabbit but an Octowoman! We’re currently working on our new musical ‘Unfortunate’, the untold story of plus-size icon Ursula the Sea Witch. It’s a parody based around Disney’s ‘The Little Mermaid’ and hoo boy are we excited about it. Think sass, sex and suckers. We’ll be taking the show to the Edinburgh fringe festival this summer alongside Vulvarine. LPT: Finally, what do you think is the best thing about bringing the show to King’s Head theatre on this leg of your tour? RG: Fabulous London audiences including Rascal fans old and new, a brilliant space to bring the show to life in and a delightful pub for a summers eve G&T, what more could we want!? THIS SHOW HAS ENDED VULVARINE Presented by Fat Rascal Theatre Company on tour: Komedia Brighton, May 27th – 29th King's Head Theatre June 11 - 6 July 2019 Cast Doncaster, July 10th The Lowry Salford, July 11th – 12th King’s Head box office Bryony Buckle is astoundingly average. Her days are filled with mind numbing office work, thinking about lunch and lusting after Orson Bloom from IT. But following a dose of hormone therapy gone wrong and a well-timed bolt of lightning, Bryony gains superhero abilities and a brand-new persona: Vulvarine, saviour of womankind. Where is all the tampon tax going? Who is The Mansplainer, and what is his evil plan? Grab your tights, your spanx and your most supportive sports bra. It’s hero time. "We came into the show knowing exactly what we wanted to say. We had a few research days looking at the marvel universe and its lack of female characters, at the tampon tax and everyday sexism, at the pharmaceutical industry, hormonal treatments frequently used on women and the risks they pose. With all of that in our backpacks we dived into the adventure of creating the comedy." "Allie is a total gift of an actor because whatever you throw at her she’ll take it and make it her own, and also almost translate it for the audience. She’s so relatable, likeable and god damn funny I almost think there’s nothing that girl couldn’t sell. Saviour of womankind? Easy mate." "This isn’t a night at the theatre to sit and be silent. It should feel like a party, a celebration; everyone should feel totally empowered and badass at the end. The ladies in Bristol who brought in a bottle of prosecco each and sang along with the finale, we salute you. Equally the gang who were all dressed up as the Mansplainer in Sheffield, fantastic work." "We have a firm (and probably unwarranted) belief that anything can be done and that if it seems impossible, it’s probably a gift. Crowd scenes, flying and manic fast changes; Things can go wrong at any time, the audience are totally in on the joke and that creates an electric atmosphere." Share by:

[loradmurphy]

Modern Foliage and Copper Wedding Styling

Foliage and copper are two of my absolute favourite wedding styling concepts, and fill me with such joy when teamed together! They are both still massive wedding trends that are showing no signs of disappearing for 2019. Led by Emily Andrew Events, the creative team for this shoot wanted to put a different spin on a foliage and copper wedding theme and show some fresh inspiration to brides. This warm, inviting, modern and romantic styling shows how to incorporate these two elements in a stylish, timeless way.

Enjoy these oh-so-elegant styling ideas, captured beautifully by Tatum Reid Photography…

Foliage Garland and Copper Buckets

“I styled two tablescapes for our sweetheart table. The first included a foliage garland of eucalyptus, sprigs of gypsophila sprayed copper and fronds of fern for texture. I then peppered this with lots of little tea lights and votives in copper and glass. Glass bottles filled with sprigs of foliage holding tall white tapered candles added a finishing touch to the garland.

“The place settings featured glass sheet menus written in copper ink, copper pipe place names and copper cutlery. Earthenware plates added an edgy tone to the table, and green napkins and ribbons around the cutlery finished each setting.

“The second tablescape gave a more feminine twist to the foliage and copper wedding theme. We used copper buckets full of flowers and foliage, tall copper lanterns and votives with rose petals scattered between them. Each place setting included a copper cutlery set, copper sheet place name and a glass menu, with a simple single pink rose with some sprigs of foliage completing the look.

“We created signage using different mediums, from glass to copper and through to card. The beautiful welcome sign was decorated with an arrangement of flowers and foliage, and we styled a whole scene around the easel with candles and lanterns.”

Feminine Luxe

“We styled one of our bridal looks with a soft pink tulle gown, embellished with copper embroidery and appliqué. Shimmery copper toned make-up gave a modern edge while soft curled hair added to the feminine luxe look.

“The wild, oversized bridal bouquet created whimsical drama. With a colour pallet of soft pinks, apricots and an abundance of foliage, trailing copper and pale pink ribbons added luxury.

“Unusual and showstopping, adding the half-crown of ferns, heathers, twigs and pale pink roses gave a whimsical look.

A Little Bit of Sass

“A fabulous foliage tiara packed with textures of just greenery crowned our second bride, with the slick hair up style allowing the focus to be fully on the hairpiece. The complementing bouquet, a dainty, compact posy of foliage, shows that you don’t have to be wild and rustic if you want to have a bouquet of only greenery. Eucalyptus, heathers, rosemary, succulents, wax flower, thyme, ivy and scabious made up both the headpiece and posy.

“Make-up of bronze shades highlighted the model’s natural features. Her stunning three layered dress of plain fabric, lace and tulle overlay, gave a soft, romantic and luxury style, with the stunning sweetheart cut out at the back adding a little bit of sass. The soft fringing of the lace layer edges framing the sleeves and neckline, gave a soft and flattering finish.”

Elegant and Romantic

“Our final look featured a messy updo with brilliant green metallic eye make-up to show off our model’s beautiful blue eyes. Her simple dress was elegant and romantic, with a pleated bodice and floaty crepe skirt. Again we kept her bouquet simple, using two-toned parrot tulips in a tight bouquet punctuated with lichen edged twigs.”

Statement Cake Table

“The cakes used in the shoot followed the foliage and copper wedding theme. Our main cake featured succulents and a geometric design in metallic copper sugar paste. A second cake for our sweet treat table had a metallic base tier, then two white tiers embellished with a 3D white lace design, topped with a handmade white sugar paste hydrangea head. Combining the textures with the shiny metallic tier created a delicate, yet creative touch. A tower of cupcakes and a box of macaroons added extra sugariness, as did a signature fizzy cocktail which also tied in with the foliage and copper wedding theme.

“I often feel wedding cakes are an afterthought, so wanted to show how to make a statement cake table. By using a silk floor length copper tablecloth, and touches of foliage and candles both on the table and around the base, the whole scene became beautiful.”

Creative Team

Photography: Tatum Reid Photography

Styling: Emily Andrew Events

Shoot Location: The Norfolk Mead Hotel, Coltishall, Norfolk

Flowers: Flower 30

Wedding Dresses: From Maisie May Bridal

Hair and Make-Up: Esther James

Cakes: Doyleicious

Signage and Menus: Wedding and Event Craft by Carla

Models: Emma Fermand and Liza Dunnell

The post Modern Foliage and Copper Wedding Styling appeared first on The Wedding Community Blog.

[emilywatches]

Emily Watches ‘Pretty Little Liars’: S03E19 What Becomes of the Broken-Hearted?

In this episode Spencer does un-Spencer things, Emily & Jason try to dig up more information on Alison’s death, Aria gets close to Wesley and Hanna sees the best in Caleb’s Dad... lets dive in!

Truly un-Spencer has been fun, I’ve enjoyed her behaving in this manner although I’d like to stress I wouldn’t want her to be like this all the time. When she started playing strip trivia, I started messaging my friends, all of whom don’t watch and have never watched Pretty Little Liars, because I was so stressed and it’s so not like Spencer. It’s okay, she was in complete control the whole time and that guy who I just called Hot Nerd is a sweetie.  Then she was Wren on her case - love from Mona which is just perfect. My dislike for Mona knows no bounds, it’s epic - to the point where I saw a picture on Twitter of this actress in the Bratz movie and I started glaring. I’m never going to look at Jade(?) the same again. But anyway she uses this to have ~advantage~ and tries to kill Mona which I think is a move no one saw coming, I really did enjoy her shouting “Die!” and jumping over the table, ten out of ten.  One of my favourite things about Wren is that he doesn’t judge and he’s really quite sweet. When I start saying nice things about someone, it usually means I’ve forgotten some shady thing they have done or they’re about to do something super shady, oh well. I feel like the end of the episode signals that Spencer is going to be returning to us and maybe she’ll start opening up about Toby, I hope so anyway!

CeCe is 100% trying to hook Aria & Wesley up, she ships them, I’m convinced! If she is “A” then it’s 100% malicious, not that it’s not super crappy to want someone you may or may not consider a friend to get with their other halves brother but whatever. I’d also like to mention that I called it, I saw this coming a mile off! Straight people cannot contain themselves, this is why Alison is written like she hooks up with everyone, it’s because she’s bisexual right? I’m only kind of kidding, I’m sure they get better at this... hopefully. That or in TV show world, I’d have no friends because I’d be too busy trying to have sex with them all. When this becomes a conflict for Aria and Ezra, I’m going to award myself with cake. 

Hanna and Caleb continue with their pretty separate story line and that’s okay because it’s pretty sweet. Hanna tries her best, she is pushy but also remarkable, she can be both! In this case however, I feel like it will be an epic backfire given that Caleb’s Dad clearly hasn’t sorted himself out and is going to end up disappearing into the distance again. That makes me really sad because Caleb does deserve happiness, he is a sweetheart and so good to Hanna. I can only imagine she wants to be good to him too and thinks this is a super fabulous idea... which it is. But it’s also not, you know? I would like to say that I like that they fought about it and then Caleb came back when he’d calmed down and could see why Hanna had done the thing. Nice and realistic, particularly about something this big. 

Emily spends most of her episode being pretty badass, I’m truly enjoying her development. She sasses right back at Spencer, she tries to undo the situation Spencer has now created but then they does mean hanging out with Jason who is SHADY. I remember part way through this episode he was the one most likely stabbed by Aria because he was trying to kill her. Maybe he is on team “A” to get to the bottom of Alison’s death but we’ll see. This guy does have nine lives though, not only did he survive a lift drop but then he just disappeared! He also “lost” the evidence which leads me to believe TEAM A and he’s making it disappear now. Although if he’s Team A, what were the bottles about? This makes no sense... like most of the show.

My favourite line goes to a sassy Spencer. Although “Die” was another one in the running here. Andrew: Hey, you busy? Spencer: Yeah. I was just about to put out a new doormat that said "Go away."

On to the next episode!

[bigtinytoys]

Check out this listing I just added to my Poshmark closet: Magical Little Live Pets Lil&; Dippers Fish Water Swimming Bath Toy Fish.