#Those were the answers I got in July when I sent out the first round of applications

[thesolarangel]

I'm like 70% done with my portfolio and then I have to face the horrors of applying for jobs once again...

"we already filled this position"

"we have applicants that are suited better"

"we need you at the office 4 out of 5 days if you can't do that then no thank you"

"we decided we're not gonna fill that position after all"

"..." (being ghosted)

[fidelixcorde]

Taylor thought her life was over, when Catherine sat the family down and explained she had accepted a new job that would take them out of America and into Britain. Her skills were essential, and the pay raise was supposedly something she couldn't pass up, and she wasn't going to take no for an answer.

"But what about school?" Tyler had asked worriedly.

"You'll go to Hogwarts," Catherine had replied promptly. "The paperwork is already underway. We'll move by July, so you'll start the term in September, instead of August, so technically you have one more month of summer vacation! Won't that be fun?"

"I hate you," Taylor had shot back, and when she got sent to her room, she pitched the biggest fit she'd ever seen.

Alas, no one could ever call Catherine Borelli a weakling. By July as promised the family had moved to a cute little cottage just outside of the wizarding village called Hanford on Bagley, and then it just was a system of adjusting. They got their school supplies when the letters came, and then in September, the twins were Sorted among the First years, with Tyler going to Hufflepuff and Taylor going to Slytherin.

From night one, things were already interesting, and a bit isolating. Taylor found out that she was a legacy student here too; her ancestor Isolt Sayre had been related to Slytherin's line, which appealed some of her Housemates to her, but when they found out that she wasn't a narrow minded supremist the way they were, they lost interest and shunned her.

They had a terrible teacher for Defense -- one of many, because the job was rumored to be jinxed, and the last guy fucking died -- who didn't take the class seriously at all; the castle was a bit drafty in some spots, and while it was impressive in it's own right, Taylor found herself homesick for Ilvermorny and it's bright wonderful decor and the variations of cultures within the student body. Everything here was a bit gloomy and gothic.

Halloween was when things got more interesting. The caretaker, a Squib named Filch who was a total ass, had an equally cranky cat named Mrs Norris, and she ended up Petrified, hanging by her tail in front of a bathroom, with the red painted words on the wall a singular warning that had a chill running down Taylor's spine: The Chamber of Secrets Have Been Opened. Enemies of the Heir, Beware.

Everyone wrote it off as a prank. A very cruel, creepy prank. But then a first year named Colin Creevey was Petrified next a couple of weeks later, and suddenly, it didn't look like a prank anymore. When the word about a Dueling Club spread, Taylor almost didn't go, but Tyler begged her to come, so they went together, joining the thrall of students to watch in amusement as Lockhart got his ass handed to him by Snape, who looked like he wanted to be anywhere but here. To save face, Lockhart suggested to have a pair of students demonstrate next, and those who were called were Draco Malfoy and Harry Potter.

"Oh not this clown," Taylor muttered as she and Tyler got jostled closer to the stage.

"You don't like him?" Tyler guessed.

"He's a pompous little shit. Needs a good punch in the face." She eyed the other boy, the one everyone seemed to whisper about; he looked skinny and small, and his hair was a mess, but his eyes were bright behind his round glasses, an almost vivid green that she hadn't seen on anyone else before. "That's Potter, right?"

"Yeah," Tyler said. "I met him once in Herbology. He seems nice."

"Alright!" Lockhart clapped his hands together. "Draco and Harry here shall aim to Disarm! Please pay close attention!" Draco was smirking, and Harry just looked alarmed. "Three -- two -- one--!"

Draco struck first, quick as lightning. "Serpensortia!" The end of his wand seemed to explode as a black snake burst forth from it, landing on the little platform and immediately rearing it's head, hissing defensively; the students screamed, jerking back in shock to avoid earning it's ire.

"Don't move Potter," Snape said lazily, who looked rather amused by how Harry seemed frozen at the moment. "I'll get rid of it--"

"Allow me!" Lockhart said, flourishing his wand.

There was a bang, a puff of smoke, and the poor snake was launched into the air, before it landed again right in front of Taylor, Tyler, and a few other Hufflepuffs; more correctly, the snake was now eye to eye with a boy who looked like he was about to wet his pants.

Without thinking, Taylor stretched her hand out to the snake. "Be calm," she said to it, the Parseltongue slipping out of her mouth like rushing water, and it immediately hunched down a little. "Don't be afraid. No one will hurt you."

"My body hurts!" the snake replied in distress. "So many screams!"

"It's okay." Calmly, Taylor moved closer, and the snake immediately began to wind itself up her arm, before she could lift it from the platform and cradle it. "You're okay." It was only then, in the sudden silence, that she realized everyone was staring at her. "...What?"

As the Moon Sheds Its Shadow // Closed RP

@fidelixcorde

The announcement had gone up on all common room boards the day of, making it rather abrupt. But it had everyone excited enough that word spread, so Harry had no doubt that the Great Hall would be quite full despite short notice. And even those who might not have been inclined to join a Dueling Club were talking about it, clearly intending to attend, presumably because of the same fears that had prompted the staff to implement it to begin with.

"What, they reckon that Slytherin's monster can duel?" Ron asked dryly as they left study hall after dinner had been over for an hour, heading back downstairs among the throng. "Still, it'll be useful for more than just this year, I reckon."

"Considering that you two wound up accepting a duel from Malfoy last year with limited spell education, let alone dueling training," Hermione snorted, "yes, I think you might need it."

Harry frowned. "Huh. That reminds me, he's been quiet this year, hasn't he?" he asked as they entered the Great Hall. As if conjured, he spotted the blond across the room, sitting on the small risers that had been raised around a candlelit golden stage stretching the length with Pansy Parkinson, Theo Nott, and Blaise Zabini. His usual guard dogs were sitting off on their own.

"Maybe even he has to admit that You Know Who coming back wouldn't be ideal," Ron muttered as they took their places along the stage.

"I wonder who‘ll be teaching us?“ Hermione mused. "Someone told me Flitwick was a dueling champion when he was young—maybe it‘ll be him.“

"As long as it‘s not—" Harry began, but he ended on a groan: Lockhart was walking onto the stage, accompanied by none other than Snape.

Lockhart waved an arm for silence and called "Gather round, gather round! Can everyone see me? Can you all hear me? Excellent! Now, Professor Dumbledore has granted me permission to start this little dueling club, to train you all in case you ever need to defend ourselves as I myself have done on countless occasions—for full details, see my published works. Let me introduce my assistant, Professor Snape! He tells me he knows a tiny little bit about dueling himself and has sportingly agreed to help me with a short demonstration before we begin. Now, I don‘t want any of you youngsters to worry—you‘ll still have your Potions master when I‘m through with him, never fear!“

Lockhart and Snape turned to face each other and bowed; at least, Lockhart did, with much twirling of his hands, whereas Snape jerked his head irritably. Then they raised their wands like swords in front of them. "As you see, we are holding our wands in the accepted combative position, “Lockhart told the silent crowd. „On the count of three, we will cast our first spells. Neither of us will be aiming to kill, of course.“

Both of them swung their wands above their heads and pointed them at their opponent; Snape cried, "Expelliarmus!“ There was a dazzling flash of scarlet light and Lockhart was blasted off his feet: He flew backward off the stage, smashed into the wall, and slid down it to sprawl on the floor.

"Do you think he‘s all right?“ Hermione squealed, watching through her fingers.

"Who cares?“ Ron laughed. Lockhart was getting unsteadily to his feet. His hat had fallen off and his wavy hair was standing on end.

"Well, there you have it!“ he said, tottering back onto the platform. "That was a Disarming Charm—as you see, I‘ve lost my wand—ah, thank you, Miss Brown—yes, an excellent idea to show them that, Professor Snape, but if you don‘t mind my saying so, it was very obvious what you were about to do. If I had wanted to stop you it would have been only too easy—however, I felt it would be instructive to let them see…“

Recovering, Lockhart went on, "Enough demonstrating! Time to give you students a chance..."

[ethanesimp]

YOUR NAME // PROLOGUE

Pairing:  Ethan Torchio x Mexican GN! Reader

Warnings: Swearing

Word Count: 1.4k

Summary: A name. Two words. Twelve letters. Five syllables… That was all it took for you to turn your life upside down after hearing the name a fortune-teller promised belonged to your soulmate.

Masterlist

Series Masterlist

A/N: I made sure to remove every description that was too specific to the OC (ex. eye color, skin tone, etc.) but please let me know if I missed one :) I hope you like it 

July 3rd, 2012

There was nothing better than summer vacation. It was one of the few times of the year where you spent almost every waking moment with your friends and got to forget about school for a few months. Not to mention all the beautiful festivals and carnivals that were organized in the city during this season.

Earlier in the day, you had begged your parents to take you and your best friend to the carnival that was starting today. You had found out there be a drive-in and one of the films playing was going to be Dirty Dancing, which happened to be a favorite movie of yours. They'd agreed to take you only because friends of your father were going to and he wanted to meet up with them after years of not seeing each other.

At some point of the night, they'd gone to see their friends after giving you some of their pocket money, leaving your best friend, Emilio, and you alone. It hadn't taken you too long to spend all the money they'd given you until there was only enough money to pay for the tickets to the drive-in and ten additional pesos that weren't even enough to buy a bag of cotton candy or popcorn.

There was still about an hour left until the movie started and you had absolutely nothing to do so you just sat by the game stands and watched people play darts to pass the time. Most were terrible and would often miss their targets by a long shot, not like you were much better at it though.

You got bored of seeing people try and miss every single time, so your mind darted to the most pressing and annoying matter at the moment. Ever since summer began, your head had been completely blank of ideas to write about. During the school year it had been buzzing with new concepts to try out, but the moment you got out and actually had free time, all those ideas went poof.

You had started writing about two years ago after your mom bought you a Gabriel García Márquez book and you fell in love with the idea of maybe writing one of your own one day. Just to be clear, you were nowhere near good at writing, but it kept you happy, so you kept on doing it in hopes that you’d eventually improve. Emilio was your only audience. He'd read every single thing you wrote down and criticize it, not like he knew more than you did about writing, but it was still a good way to try and get better.

Amongst all the people in the crowd, you spotted a couple holding hands, and your mind couldn't help but make up a story about how they could've ended there. Perhaps it was their first date, maybe they'd been together for years or maybe you were just being ridiculous and too much of a hopeless romantic.

Either way, Emilio saw it fit to interrupt your thoughts by poking you on the rib and pointing to a stand you hadn't noticed before. There was a small sign placed outside that read: 'Hazle una pregunta a la adivina y conoce tu destino por tan sólo cinco pesos.' You couldn't help but snort. You had never been one to believe much on things like those. Emilio, on the other hand, was a firm believer. (Ask the fortune teller a question and get to know your destiny for only five pesos.)

He dragged you over to the tent and you didn't complain just because you wanted to know what it was all about. You paid the small fee and walked in together because he didn't want to go in by himself in case it was a trick and there was a kidnapper on the other side or something.

The dark tent was only illuminated by a crystal ball that sat in the middle of a small round table with two chairs. In one of them sat a woman with long and white curly hair. She looked to be at least fifty-five yet the smile that appeared on her face when you walked in screamed youth.

The room smelled strongly of incense, but not to the point where it bothered you. In fact, you found it quite calming because the smell reminded you of the dance classroom that always smelled of incense and coffee. You looked and Emilio and he gestured for you to go first, so you pulled the chair back and sat on it. You fumbled with the velvet tablecloth to distract yourself as you felt the lady's eyes inspect your face.

"So, what has brought you to me today? What is the question you need an answer to?" You opened your mouth to speak but closed it right away because truth be told, you had no clue. There were many questions that you needed an answer to, but most were far too personal to ask a stranger.

You turned to look at Emilio in hopes that he'd have an interesting question for you to ask and he didn't disappoint, "What's the name of her soulmate?" You giggled and shook your head. It was the perfect thing to ask, nothing too personal and funny. You wanted to see what the lady would come up with.

She reached for something underneath the table and placed it right in front of you. It was a small sack full of things that had rattled when she picked them up. The lady opened up the bag and you noticed it was full of scrabble tiles. You furrowed your eyebrows, what was she going to make you do? Get out letters and see which name they formed?

"Okay, what I want you to do is to take a deep breath, close your eyes and pick out two of the tiles," You tilted your head to the side and sighed, but did what she asked anyways. You moved your hand around the bag a few times and picked up several tiles only to let them fall again.

Before you could pull the tiles out, Emilio emitted a sound that sounded almost like a screech, "¡Mierda! Tenía que llamarle a mamá antes de las nueve, ya vuelvo." By the time you had opened your mouth to protest, Emilio was already gone and you were alone with the fortune teller. (Shit! I had to call mom before nine, I'll be right back.)

You shook your head and apologized to the lady before drawing out two tiles and placing them on the table. You looked at the letters scribbled down on them: E and T. The white-haired lady placed her neatly manicured hands over the letters and closed her eyes. She leaned her head back as if she was looking at the sky and you saw her lips move but heard no sound come out of her mouth.

With an awkward chuckle, you fumbled around with the necklace around your neck. You had no clue why but you were starting to get freaked out, something about the vibe and being alone gave you a queasy feeling. Your head shot up the moment the woman spoke, "Hmm, this is quite interesting. You see, I'm sensing this strong connection between you and this person."

"Whose name is?" You asked and felt kind of stupid. As much as you wanted to pretend you didn't really care, the romantic side of you was eager to know the name of the person, even if you knew this was probably all bullshit.

"Ethan," She finally said as she looked you dead in the eye, "Ethan Torchio."

By the time Emilio had returned and asked his question, you were waiting outside shaking. There was something about the way she had looked at you that had sent shivers down your spine and the name... God, as crazy as it sounded, it made you feel something when you heard it.

As you watched the film, you still couldn't get it out of your head. Ethan... Ethan. You kept repeating it over and over again inside your head as if it were a mantra. As if there was someone out there who owned that name. There was just something about it that felt so right, you knew it in your bones. That something was the only thing that allowed you to remember the name, even years after first hearing it.

[the-bjd-community-confess]

More Divaz confos

Mod: Round two of these, previously: link. There’s some interesting customer reviews in this batch (5 and 8) which may be useful to readers.

1.Vic3mage "the secret bjdivaz vip group is just pictures of boxes coming in and going out". Yeah, between the bitching about d0llshe, asking people to post on doa for them, dunking on ex-customers, posting pics of random doll parts that they can't identify which doll they're supposed to go with, whining about how little money they make, whining when ppl e-mail them, whining. Yeah, other than that it's just boxes, and alpacas u can buy off amazon anyway lol.

~Anonymous

2.The butthurt users crying and guilttripping under every Divaz confession who have never been seen before elsewhere on this blog are extremely unsuspicious and unproblematic and definitely unconnected to Divaz and unbiased in every possible way

/s

~Anonymous

3.idk shit abt bjd1vas but v1cemage i can absolutely tell you the shit about ch0o is 100% accurate, fucker's got a long, long history of being an awful little man that stretches well beyond his involvement in the doll community. between the two i'd still trust bjd1vas over ch00 ch00 the fool any day!

~Anonymous

4.The Z3st and Div4s thing is really silly and both entities were being shady but did they really have to take the DZ waiting room down with them? :( He had even made a separate thread about it......

~Anonymous 

5. RE: BJD Divaz

I’ve been a customer of BJD Divaz since they first started, when it was only run by Chart3rline. I even contacted other BJD companies trying to persuade them to work with Divaz as their US representative. Most declined because they didnt like D's commission fee, but I was able to persuade a few of them.

I asked them to purchase a doll off DOA because I couldnt afford the asking price, and while they did, I found out later that instead of agreeing to purchase the seller's price, they negotiated the price to be lower. This significantly cheaper price was not passed down to me. I paid the full price +the commission fee based on that full price. I am disappointed I was not told this. This is when I stopped viewing them as a "friend" and instead, as a business. I dont hold this against them, it’s context to what Im going to say later.

I’ve stopped purchasing from D after my recent order from them. This company usually takes 3 or less months to make a doll. I’ve ordered the doll from D and it took 11 months. They let me know it arrived to them in March and that it will be shipped soon, except it only shipped on July, and only after I sent them several "reminder" emails. Before people in the comments try to put the blame on me for not sending a reminder soon, please keep in mind that I acknowledged the email in March and confirmed everything and they keep stressing to not send them emails because they are busy, I’ve emailed once every month since. I’ve since switched to ACBJD and Ive been happy with communication and the dolls ordered. I imagine ACBJD gets the same amount of emails, but they dont berate their customers if they email more than once.

I regret when people wanted a D0llshe, but not deal with him, I always recommended D. I would warn people of ordering directly and instead go through D. They assured buyers they would be handling communication and all the efforts so they wouldnt worry, except they didn’t. A person that I’ve recommended D to, who surpassed 2 years, keeps messaging me for help because D wouldnt reply to their emails. She is respectful, sweet and a timid person, not a Karen. This person, emailed D without a reply so would email a week later, only to be told that their email would be pushed down to the bottom if emailed again. No response, so she goes to FB and IG, who both tell her to email because they arent the person running orders. Finally got a response that they would get their refund, after D0llshe sends D's payment, but minus the PP fees. 3 months later and theres no refund, only a promise of them getting it later. Why is the customer missing out on fees when they have no doll? Customer emails d0llshe and he says he cant offer refund, because they didn’t order through them, which is understandable, but when all options are out for a customer, do you blame them for chargebacks?

If anyone files a chargeback, D will be blacklisting them from every company they rep, as in blacklisting you from buying direct from those companies. I urge everyone who has negative experiences with D to email the companies they rep instead of venting on confession blogs, and writing your experiences on social media. Make it count and send letters to the companies they represent, and please provide proof because they will try to make you out to be a liar.

Speaking of, they made vague posts on cl0ver singing for charging paypal fees, and that they offer guarantees as an official dealer, except when offering refunds, to non delivered products I might add, they are keeping the fees, and offered no help with d0llshe, even before they ended their dealership with them. Someone on DOA was told to not email them unless the wait time surpassed 1.5 years. They are even so petty that they post screenshots with the full name and address (dox) of the customer on purpose and then delete it out a day later as if they just realized their "mistake".

Before you try to make excuses for them about the fires, keep in mind, I am dealing with a business. The lower price negotiation with the DOA sale, I am in no way obligated to give them a pass or treat them as a friend when they made it clear that our relationship is strictly business. Their issues, are not my issues. D0lk got dragged for not shipping in time, others, including artisans, got dragged for being so late with communication and sending back refunds for cancelled orders. Why does D get to be exempt?

The supporters are the worst part of this, because of instead of being honest so D can improve, they support them for being "real". For example, look how micemage words it, to make it seem like this criticism is from one person, when there are people on addicts who didn’t have good experience. Check the bjd dealers tag here, you will see the supporters in the comments going off on any and all criticism of D. Some have sane comments, but the majority are cult like and try to identify the person venting as if it’s one person. Addicts deletes threads with criticism asking people to instead direct it to their feedback group; which lets be honest, no one is going to do because its "not that bad", and most dont want to join a new group, which is mostly dead.

This is my first and last confession on D, I’ve emailed each company they rep and told them my experience as well as contacting the 3 month wait company, with screenshots of my order, how they handled it, and the excuse they used to put blame on the company for being so late (package arrived march to D, 4 months to be shipped is on D, not the company). I’m not using company or order details because I know they are petty enough to try to identify me and publicly shame me like they have to others. This and the threat of suing is why not many people like to go public with their experience. They just keep feedback neutral, move on and never deal with again.

~Anonymous

6. Listen, I can't take you seriously in regards to BJD!vas because you're posting on a confession blog. If you were serious, you would have posted in buyer beware groups, DoA reviews or the board to get things resolved, or you would have made a complaint to the BBB. And your language makes you come off more as someone with an agenda rather than someone who is trying to warn people. If shipping is the issue, stop buying with standard shipping and pay the extra price for express shipping. I saw one of you complain that it sat with them for 20 days; that's probably because you're not the only one and they more than likely have a queue to check and then ship out. Do mistakes happen? Yes, because we're human. I've been in this hobby for a few years now and it seems like most people know you're going to have to wait, sometimes even outside the expected wait time. And shipping something as big as a doll is a timely endeavor. I shouldn't have to say that.

My point is simply to stop complaining on an confession board and either take it to the places previously mentioned. Posting here behind the anonymous mask makes you sound like a petulant child who didn't get their way right away.

~Anonymous

7.My only issue with BJD Divaz is how I never get any updates. Every email, they tell me to join their facebook page for status updates. I dont have a FB and I dont want to create one. I bought my doll through their website, updates should be posted on their website, or they could send me an email. That isnt asking much.

~Anonymous

8. Since there seems to be a lot of either "completely negative everything sucks" or "everything was sunshine and rainbows" confessions about bjd!vaz I thought I'd chime in with a neutral review.

PROS

-They were always polite and professional in their emails, and gave me very detailed answers to my questions.

-I got exactly what I ordered, so no mix ups or missing parts or anything like that.

-I think them being forthcoming about personal issues (only one person on staff, illness, the flooding isue etc.) on social media is good, since it keeps customers updated as to why there might be delays.

-If you live in the US their shipping is very reasonable.

CONS

-Reply times were varied. Sometimes it could take over a week, sometimes a couple hours.

-My order took about 10mo which, when comparing to other people who ordered through the same company around the same time, was about 3x as long as if I bought it direct and 2x as long if I had gone through a different dealer. I get some of the waiting time is out of their control, but it was kind of ridiculous.

-They dont necessarily ship the same day they send you a tracking number. I wish they said something like, "Here's your tracking number, our pickup is Xday so it should start moving after that" just so I could be aware.

All in all no major complaints. I got my doll and all that. Their lone employee is clearly overwhelmed. I hope they hire another person, if only to give the one a break.

Truthfully, I most likely won't buy through them again. I'd rather pay the international shipping and go direct, than deal with the extensive wait time. I'd still recommend them to someone looking for a very long layaway, though. I paid in full, but if I had a 12mo layaway I would've never known they weren't ready to ship my doll until month 10.

~Anonymous

[novelist-becca]

Could these walls come crumbling down

Fandom: The Owl House

Rating: Teen

Relationships: Eda Clawthorne & Luz Noceda 

Summary: A look at “A Lying Witch and a Warden” from Eda’s POV. Title is from the song “Into the Open Air” by Julie Fowlis. Italics are Eda’s thoughts.

AO3 link here

FFN link here

Eda had sent Owlbert back through the portal after their brief trip through the human realm. She was unable to find any good stuff, plus she was getting tired. So she went back to wait at her booth while he found more garbage. That was an hour ago. The bored witch watched as random citizens walked by. A part of her worried he was caught and captured by a curious human. He was supposed to be back by now! 

Then, as she was tapping her foot in impatience, she heard the door finally open, and the owl flew through the curtain dragging a half-full sack of human garbage. 

“Finally, you're back!” Eda said with a sigh. Nevertheless, she gave Owlbert a quick scratch on his chin as a thank you. Eda thought she heard a voice from inside the tent, but she ignored it and turned to the sack. “Now let's see what we've got here.” She said as she screwed Owlbert back onto the staff. 

Eda rubbed her hands together in anticipation and looked through the assortment. A small dark box thingy? Nah, she could never figure out how to work those strange box things. “Garbage…” A diamond ring? No, everybody here's already seen those. “Garbage…” and a golden glowing goblet! Nope, she needed something rare! Something different!

Then as if the sack could read her mind, Eda gasped pulled out a large pair of strange glasses with bloodshot eyeballs. “Now this…” she said as she tried them on. “This will make me rich!” To her amusement, the eyeballs popped out and sprung for a few seconds.

It's horrifying. Perfect! 

“And this…” The next item Eda pulled out was a book. It was…eh. She's seen a few witchlings carry it around. Whatever. Her candle was starting to go out anyway. “Well, this'll make good kindling.” 

But as soon as she held the book over the flame, some kid burst out of the tent and snatched it out of her hand. “Excuse me sorry that's mine thank you!” She said quickly. 

Now where the hell did she come from? Eda thought. Then a quick look at her ears confirmed that she was a human. 

Now she could be…useful.

Before the little intruder could escape back through the portal door, Eda closed it with the key. She wasn't going to get away that easily.

“You're not going anywhere.” She said sternly. It seemed to scare the kid enough that she escaped from under the tent’s cover. Not wanting to lose this opportunity, the witch followed her. Soon enough, Eda found the girl standing at the edge of a cliff, visibly freaked out and confused, and also smacked down a stray pixie. The witch internally laughed at the child. 

Classic humans. 

“Where am I? Did I DIE?! Am I in the Bad Place?” The girl frantically asked nobody in particular. Eda grabbed her shoulder, startling her for a moment. 

“You wish.” 

The older witch dragged the girl back to the booth by her arm, sitting her down on a stool. Yup, she's human. Eda told herself. No doubt about it with those round ears. She looked to be in her teens, with dark skin and short brown hair. Said human had her knees pulled up to her chest, looking up apologetically at the woman before her. 

“I-I'm so sorry, I just wanted my book! If you're gonna eat me, just make it quick- just do it now!” The human stuttered out, holding out her arm. 

The witch internally laughed at this kid’s complete overreaction. Alright Eda, time to drop the tough guy act. Don't scare her too much.

“Eat you? Why would I eat…a potential customer?” Eda said to the girl, presenting her stash of junk. Her words seemed to confuse her, but the kid seemed to calm down, and looked up with interest. Nailed it! She's hooked! “Can I offer you a human foot filled with holes? A bar of green human candy? Oh, oh, how about this black shadow box that reflects only sadness?” Eda spoke as she went through whatever assortment of objects she found interesting. 

And, interestingly enough, instead of rejecting the offer and walking to the next stand, the human laughed a little bit at the presentation. 

“That's not all it can do.” The human says, getting out of her seat. “Here, let me see it.” Eda allows her to take the offered “shadow box” and observed as she takes something from the “human candy” bowl and inserted it into the object. Then she pushed a button and…it lit up with loud music, showing a person dancing. To Eda’s surprise, some demons and witches heard the noise and were immediately attracted. Oh, so that's how it really works.

“Huh? What's that?”

“That sound, it's so alluring…!” 

One demon held up some money. “I'll pay 40 snails for the screaming box!” 

Another demon held up his too. “I'll give you 100!”

“Can I eat the tiny person inside?” 

Eda watched in awe as more people offered up their goods for the device. All thanks to this kid. She turns to her with great interest. “What did you say your name was?” She asked with an impressed smirk. 

If she's a human, then maybe she can help King. Eda thought, remembering the other reason for pulling her aside. 

“I'm Luz! Luz Noceda!” The kid said, smiling at her. It's incredible how she hasn't run away screaming from the demons and monsters of the Isles, as most normal humans would. 

“Well, Luz, that was pretty clever…for a human.” Eda adds, taking the offered money from her customers. 

“That's kind of a weird thing for another human to say.” Luz says, raising an eyebrow. 

Oh, right, the bandana!

“Oh, dear child…” Eda started before swiftly taking off the bandana disguise to reveal her own pointy ears. “I'm not like you.” 

The witch stepped on top of her table to speak. Might as well entertain the kid. 

“I'm Eda the Owl Lady! The most powerful witch on the Boiling Isles!” Eda declared proudly. 

“A witch?” She heard Luz say in wonder and delight. 

Oh, I like this kid. 

“I am respected! Feared!”

“-Busted!” To her dismay, the loud device was smashed by none other than…an Emperor’s Guard. Customers ran away in fear, but Luz stayed by the table for whatever reason. Dammit.

“Eda the Owl Lady, you are wanted for misuse of magic and demonic misdemeanors!” The guard spoke in a gruff voice. 

“Woah, witch criminal.” Luz said from her spot by the table, watching with great interest. For some reason she…stayed. 

“You are hereby ordered to come with me to the Conformitorium!” He demanded, grabbing Eda’s arm. 

She yanked it back in annoyance. The guards were stalking her…a lot today. “Would you guys quit following me around? I haven't done squat.” Why do they call it “misuse” anyway? 

Unfortunately, the guard noticed Luz and lifted her up by her shirt. “And you're coming too. For fraternizing with a criminal!” 

“What? That's not cool!” Luz exclaimed, eyes widening. 

Quickly, Eda formulated a plan. “Oh alright alright, you win. Just let me get my stuff…” she answered, getting her staff. Swiftly, she swung it at the guard, knocking him flat on the ground. These chumps are too easy!

Quickly, Eda cast a spell to wrap up everything in a sack, hanging it on her staff. But not before pressing the button on her key. “Whoops, can't forget this!” She ran towards Luz, remembering her mission. “Follow me, human!” And she did. 

As Eda ran, Luz rambled frantically beside her. “This is crazy! If I die here my mom’s gonna kill me!” 

The witch laughed. “Ha! I won't let him hurt you. A human like you is much more valuable to me alive than dead.” Eda promised. If she is to earn Luz’s trust, she can't get hurt. No matter what.

“Wait, what's that supposed to-”

Eda didn't let her finish as she suddenly hooked her arm with Luz’s, whooping as she swept her off the ground and into the air with her on the staff. 

As expected, Luz was frozen in her place on the staff, tears leaking from her closed eyes. 

“You can open your eyes now, human.” Eda told her.

Luz opened one eye, then another before letting out a whimper and nearly falling off. “Flying staffs, crazy monsters, you're a witch! What is this place?” She asked as Eda pulled her back up. 

“This is the Boiling Isles.” Eda explained to the girl. “Every myth you humans have is a bit of our world leaking into yours.” Just then, a large griffin flew by, sparking Luz’s interest. 

“A griffin!” And when it started breathing spiders, “I knew it!” She exclaimed happily. Eda marveled at Luz’s great fascination with this world. She loved the enthusiasm. 

“Yup! Griffins, vampires, giraffes…” Eda recounted. 

“Giraffes?” Luz asked, confused. 

“Oh yeah. We banished those guys. Buncha freaks.” Eda said with disgust. Those super long necks had always unnerved her. She stepped off her staff once she arrived at their destination. Luz stayed on, unsure. Until she noticed Eda's detached hand and jolted off. 

Jumpy isn't she? 

“Whoops, that happens sometimes.” Eda said nonchalantly, screwing her hand back on. 

Luz got to her feet. “Well, I've had enough adventure for today. This is clearly not the PG fantasy world I always dreamed about. So, can you help me get back home?” She said. Eda held her staff in front of her before she could walk away, making her freeze in place. She needs her for this. And she's not getting away so easily.

“Only if you help me first!” Eda insists. “Ha! Now come along, human.” 

As she and Luz approached the door, Luz piped up again. 

“Aren't you worried about those guards finding us?” She asked, looking behind them nervously. 

Eda looked to her and gestured at her house. “Nope! My house has a state-of-the-art defense system.” As long as Hooty’s around, she and anybody that chooses to stay is safe. But…not from his voice. 

“Hoot hoot, password please.” Hooty said. Eda rolled her eyes and poked his eyes. “Ow!” 

“We got no time for this, Hooty. Let us in.” She answered with two fingers still held up as a warning. 

“Alright alright, jeez! You never wanna have any fun! Ow! Hoot!” Hooty scoffs before letting Eda and her new aquaintance in. She let the girl take a brief look around before snapping her fingers. 

“Welcome to…the Owl House.” And with a snap of her fingers, everything came to life. Candles lit up, the broom sweeping, the fireplace blazing, and the ceiling lit up with that beautiful picture of a bird. Luz looked around in amazement and walked around. 

“Where I hide away from the pressures of modern life.” Eda explained. “Also the cops. Also ex-boyfriends, ha!” She added with a snort. 

Luz placed her book down on the coffee table. “This place is beautiful. So do you live here all alone?” 

As if on cue, the house seemed to shake with King’s angry stomping. That damn demon. 

“Actually, I have a roommate.” Eda frowned.

“WHO DARES INTRUDE UPON I, THE King of Demons!” King demanded as he entered the living room in his towel and…holding a rubber duckie. 

Instead of getting scared, Luz gasped in delight at the sight of him. “Ay que lindo!” She exclaimed, and then she quickly scooped a confused King into a tight hug. “Eda he's so cute! Who's a widdle guy? Who's a widdle guy? Is it you, is it you? Mmm!!!” She cooed excitedly to the now frightened demon. Not that Eda could really blame her, he is really adorable. 

“NO! I don't know who your little guy is! Eda! Who is this monster?!” King cried as he tried and failed to push the girl off him. 

“Oh, this is Luz, the human.” Eda tells him, restraining Luz with her arms around her torso and prying her away, then putting her back down. “She's here to help us with our…situation.” She explains with a hand on Luz's shoulder. 

King lit up. “Oh! Hurray!”

But Luz backed away, apprehensive. “Wait wait wait. I don't like the sound of this 'situation.’” 

Eda stepped in front of her before she can back out. “Just…let me explain.” She says before drawing a spell circle to help illustrate their objective. “King was once a mighty king of demons, until his crown of power was stolen, and he became…this.” She noticed Luz had picked up King again. 

“You mean this little bundle of joy?” She interjects. 

Eda continued. “The crown is being held by the evil Warden Wrath, and locked away behind a magical force field that only a human can break through. A human like you.” She lifted the spell and looked at Luz. “If you help us retrieve his crown, we’ll send you back to your realm.” And while Eda may be Public Enemy #1, she intended to keep her end of this deal. “So what do you say?” To convince her, she picked up King by his head. “Plus, who could say no to this cute face?” 

“No! Please don't encourage her!” King cried, squirming in her hold. 

Eda dropped him. “I mean, we're kinda your only way home.” She reasons. There's not any other portal to the human realm. That she knows of, at least. 

Luz averted her eyes to the side. “So I don't really have a choice, do I?” She guesses.

“Nope! Now we've got no time to lose!” Eda urges, picking up Luz and holding her over her shoulder. The girl didn't struggle. Behind her, Eda hears King talking to his duck. 

“Where are we going?” Luz asks over her shoulder. 

“Somewhere super fun!” 

~ 

“The Conformitorium, a place for those considered 'unsuitable for society’.” Eda explains with distaste when they reached their destination. She remembers how guards would throw people in that damn place simply for being weird. Most of them haven't committed any real crimes! 

Beside her, Luz had found one of her famous Wanted posters. “Whoa. These guys really have the hots for you.” She observed. 

She's not wrong.

“Yep. But we were never caught because we were too slippery.” Eda proudly says with a smirk. That poster would always be one of her proudest moments. She looked good in it! A part of her feels overjoyed that this child didn't judge her for her criminal status.

“Try to catch me when I'm covered in grease, I'm a squirmy little fella.” King remarked in his place on Luz's head. Luz, who probably just found it weird, tilted her head so the demon could slip off. “You and I will sneak up to the top of the tower where they're holding my crown.” He explained to her. 

“And I'm gonna make sure the warden’s distracted.” Eda added.

Luz gasped in excitement. “Will I need a disguise?”

“Uh…” Eda didn't really answer. Nobody's seen her before, so does she really need one? 

“I've been waiting to use this.” Luz said, and put on her hoodie, flicking the cat ears up. “Meow meow!” 

Oh why not let her have some fun. Besides, it’s kinda cute!

“It's hideous.” King commented. 

“Oh you'll fit right in.” Eda agreed, smiling. Then she planted her staff to the ground, creating a glowing yellow disk. “Hang on tight!” Then it  lifted Luz and King to the air, elevating them to a tower window. After they were dropped off, she flew away on her staff to begin her search. “Meet you guys at the top of the tower!” She said. 

Eda flew around the halls of the Conformitorium, passing cells, making sure no guards were around while also searching for the Warden. Eventually, she heard someone at the end of the hallway. She peeked around the corner and sure enough, there was Warden Wrath, holding a tiny creature with a big nose hostage. 

Good. Just where we want him. Eda flew back the other way to go update the human girl. 

After a few minutes of searching, Eda found Luz walking around the halls with her hood down, looking…dejected. “Hey, I just checked, the Warden is distracted, tormenting some tiny creature. He won't coming around here anytime soon.” 

Luz didn't respond, and her expression didn't change as she walked past Eda. She looked deep in thought. 

Where's that enthusiasm from earlier? 

In front of them was a large door labeled “Contraband”. This was the room where King’s crown was! 

“My crown, it's close! I can sense its power!” King said excitedly. He scrambled quickly to the door, desperately trying to get it open. Of course, with his tiny body it would take a while. 

“Aw, he's so cute when he's thirsty for power.” Eda cooed. 

Then Luz finally spoke. “It's not fair that they're all in here. They just want to be themselves!” She said sadly. Eda assumed she probably talked to a few of the prisoners. “Why does everyone think being a weirdo is so bad?” She asked, looking up at the witch with sad eyes. 

She understands. She knows what it's like to be stifled. Eda thought fondly. I really like this kid.

Before Eda could come up with a response, a noise snapped both of them out of their thoughts, King finally got the door open, and was now laughing to himself as he excitedly sprinted into the room. 

“Come on, before he hurts himself.” Eda sighed. And as if on cue, she heard an “ow!” followed by a zap. 

In the room, King was repeatedly headbutting the barrier, failing over and over again to get through. 

Ha, cute.

“We have a human, remember?” Eda reminded him, looking up at Luz, silently telling her what she had to do. 

“Oh yeah!” Said King.

Luz took a deep breath as if to prepare herself, and slowly stepped through the barrier. Eda and King stood outside, waiting for the human to find what they needed. And sure enough, Luz stepped back out, holding the crown, looking confused. 

King took it from her, putting it on. “Yes, yes! I can feel my powers returning! You there, nightmare critter! I shall call you Francois and you shall be a minion in my army of darkness!” He pointed excitedly to a random stuffed rabbit. “Ha, ha!” He laughed triumphantly. 

“That crown doesn't give him any powers, does it?” Luz asked, disappointed and confused. 

“Uh, no.” Eda replied. Luz gave her a skeptical look. “Oh, look at us, Luz. King and I don't have much in this world, we only have each other. So if that dumb crown is important to him, it important to me.” She says, trying to convince the girl that this wasn't a total waste of time. “Besides, us weirdos have to stick together, you know?” She concluded with a wink. Luz looked at her and smiled, pink tinting her cheeks. 

I knew you'd understand. 

“Well, we owe you one. Now let's get outta here before the warden finds us and loses his head.” She stated. 

“Too late.” A sinister voice said behind her.

The owner of that voice swiftly and effortlessly cut of Eda’s head, which Luz caught in her hands. The girl screamed. 

“AAHH!!!” 

“OW! Oh I hate it when that happens.” 

“AAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!!”

Luz held Eda’s head close, looking at her with terrified eyes. “Eda! Are you okay?!” 

“Yeah, this just happens when you get older.” Eda said nonchalantly. 

“Does it?” Luz asked, horrified. 

Well it started happening when I got older, I don't know about other witches…where's my body?

Warden Wrath approached them. “Finally, I have you cornered, Eda the Owl Lady.” Then he took King’s crown again, crushing it easily in his hands. 

“Weh?!”

“My guards could never get you, but I knew if I took your pet’s toy, you'd come running.” He crushed the crown easily in his hands. 

“NO!” King sobbed. “My power!” 

Luz and Eda glared at him. “What do you want with me?! I've never actually broken any of your stupid laws…in front of you!” Eda glowered. They came all this way just for King! Nobody makes him cry like that!

“I want you…” he kneeled down on one knee. “To go out with me.”

What the hell? 

“Wha?” 

“What?” 

Warden continued. “You've always eluded our capture. You've always been the one who got away. I found that alluring.” He said. 

What the fuck?

“I hate everything you're saying right now.” Luz said, disgusted. Eda was even more disgusted. These guys never ever got the message to back off. All that, just because he wanted a date? What a load of bull.

Warden snapped out of his lovestruck state. “You stay out of this!” He threw a goopy arm at Luz, knocking Eda’s head out of her hands. As she struggled, he picked Eda’s head up by her hair and stared her in the face. 

“So how about it, Owl Lady? The most powerful witch of the Boiling Isles and the feared Warden Wrath. We'd be the strongest power couple ever.” Warden said. Eda cringed. “I mean, it's not like you can say no right now.” 

Just when I thought this day couldn't get any worse. 

Eda looked to Luz, then to King, who was now struggling to get out of a guard’s arms, and formulated a plan in her head. 

“Alright, Warden, you win. I'd just like to say something first.” She sighed. “Come closer.” He brought her head closer. “No, just come a little bit closer. Just… yeah that's good-” and Eda blew a raspberry right in his face, breaking his concentration and making him drop Luz. While he was groaning in disgust, Eda was cackling from where she hung.

He's so gullible! I knew he'd fall for that! 

“Impudent wench! Don't you know how many germs are in your mouth? Yuck!” He sneered. 

“Get over it! You had your guards stalk me and then you cut off my head! I am NOT going out with you!” She said angrily. 

“If you don't accept, then I have no choice but to-” 

WHACK! 

Her staff came up from behind, knocking him on the head, making him drop Eda’s head. It was none other than Luz! 

Eda chuckled. “Nice!” What a smart girl! Quick thinking!

Then she got her body to come over and pull the guards’ hoods over their faces, distracting them. Luz ran over and picked up Eda’s head and grabbing King back from a guard, getting on the staff, trying to figure out how to make it fly. 

“Expecto…flying? Magicusescapicus!” Luz said, but nothing happened. 

It doesn't really require enchantments, kid… 

“Gun it magic stick!” Eda barked, and immediately, the trio was flying through the air. They haphazardly flew through the halls, passing jail cells. Luz looked to Eda and held out an arm. 

“Eda, lend me a hand!” Luz said to the head. Eda, knowing what she wanted to do, linked her arm with Luz’s, giving them enough strength to move the levers to open the cell doors, freeing whoever the prisoners were. Then they all burst through a door, and the warden finally caught up to them. He launched a goopy arm at them, and they crash-landed to the ground. 

The warden morphed his hand into an axe, and Eda put her head back on, feeling the satisfaction of being able to move again. She jumped to action, and pulled out her key. “Luz,” she said to the girl. “Go back to the human world.” 

She's already helped us, I owe it to her to let her go home safe. 

“What about you guys?” 

King ran over to try to help Eda. “If you think this guy is bad, you shoulda seen her last boyfriend!” 

“Not my boyfriend.” Eda said, grabbing King and jumping out of the way of the warden’s attack. Not in a million years.

Eda, seeing how Luz was still standing there, lifted Luz, forcing her to sit on the staff, ignoring her protests. She may have only just met the human an hour ago, but she feels the instinct to keep her safe. 

“But-but I-” 

“Go, go!” Eda urges, forcing her on and slapping the staff, cuing it to fly. Luz went away on the staff, yelling, out of sight, and hopefully to safety. 

Eda prepared herself when the warden took off his mask to reveal a hideous mouth and spat fire. She drew two spell circles. One to absorb the fire, and one to redirect it back at him, slamming him to the wall. 

Ha! Too much fun! 

However, a few minutes of fighting led to her being knocked to the ground by the warden, King following suit, who she caught in her arms, holding him close. 

“No more running away, Owl Lady. Today I capture you once and for all!” The warden growled, raising his hands. King whimpered, huddling close to Eda, who held on tighter and glared at their attacker. 

“-GO GO GO GO!!!” Luz’s voice yelled. 

Wait, what? I thought she went home! 

Luz flew past her, three former prisoners following suit, tackling the warden to the ground. 

“Luz?” Eda said in disbelief. Did she seriously come back for us? 

Eda stood by and watched as the trio of prisoners got on top of the warden, standing up to him and restraining him. 

“I ate my own eye!”

“I think the world is a triangle!”

“And I practice the ancient art of fanfiction!” 

Incredible! 

The eye demon had tangled the warden’s tentacle-arms together and turned him over, so he was facing Luz. 

“You! Who do you think you are?” He snarled. 

“Do not underestimate me, Warden Wrath, for I am Luz, the human, warrior of peace!” Luz spoke triumphantly. Then she grabbed what looked like a bunch of fireworks tied together. “Now eat this, sucka!” She shouted, using the staff to hit it into the warden’s mouth, effectively blowing it up. 

She had that with her the whole time? Amazing thinking, Luz! 

Eda stood next to Luz, smiling proudly and placing a hand on her shoulder. What a brave kid. I'm impressed. She wanted to say, but didn't out of pride.

“That was actually one of her better breakups.” King joked.

“Not a breakup,” Eda reminded King. “Anyway, let's bounce before any more monsters fall in love with me.” 

Seriously, kid. You were amazing. I really owe you. 

~

“Well, a deal’s a deal, let's get you home.” Eda said, calling forth the key and pushing the button. The door appeared, waiting for Luz to open it and step through. But she stood there, deep in thought. Eda smiled at her, silently thanking her for her help. 

Luz looked at King and stepped forward, kneeling down. “Before I go…” she took out what looked like a tiny plastic head that had a tiny golden crown on it. “I know it's not the same, but…a king shouldn't be without a crown.” She said, giving the demon the crown. 

He took it, placing it on his head. “This shall suffice.” And he pointed to one of the houseplants. “You there, plant! You are now under my command!” 

Eda then gave Luz back her book that she almost burned earlier that day. “Oh, and don't forget this.” Luz seemed to really value that book. 

Luz walked back to the portal door, and Eda and King waited behind her. Eda saw her hold up her book, thinking. Then, she did something Eda did not expect. Luz turned around.

“Okay. I know you got your head cut off, and we started some kind of prison riot, but this was the most fun I've ever had.” She said to the witch and demon. Eda looked at her, shocked. 

What is she saying? Is she going to…

“I don't fit in at home. You don't fit in here. If I stay, we can 'not fit in’ together.” Luz looked at the pamphlet that was on top of the book and stared at it. “I am not going back to summer camp.”

Eda chuckled, confused. “Wha-what's ‘summer camp’? What are we talking about here?” 

She's staying?! Why?

“I wanna stay and become a witch like you! And Azura!” Luz declared happily, holding up her book. 

“What? Alright, that's crazy. Humans can't become witches.” Eda stated, dismissing her. I love the enthusiasm, but why?

But Luz didn't give up. “Maybe that's because they haven't tried!” She insisted. “If you teach me to become a witch, I'll do anything you want.” 

Okay, she's got a point there. And an apprentice? I kinda like the sound of that. 

“Let her stay!” King urged, pulling at the hem of Eda’s dress. “She can make us snacks.” 

Eda smiled and picked up the demon. “Well, I could use a hand keeping this goofball out of the cupboards.” She said. “All right, I'll teach you how to be a witch. But you have to work for me before you learn any spells.” She held out her hand for Luz to shake. “Deal?”

But instead of taking her hand, Luz just went straight in for a tight hug. 

Whoa whoa whoa! “Ugh! What's going on?!” Eda froze in Luz’s hold. 

“Too tight, too tight!” King protested.

~

After Luz relinquished from the hug, Eda told her she could sleep in the attic upstairs. She didn't protest and gladly brought her stuff up. Eda was left there, thinking about what just happened. 

That kid was so brave today. Better than any kid, much less a human kid, I've ever seen. 

She thought about what having a teenager living in her home might be like. She knows it will be messy, and she’ll probably try to stare danger in the face like today. But she's willing to give it a shot. Who could say no to that confidence? 

What Eda didn't know is that since that day, she would witness this human girl's endless wonder and courage. She didn't know the pride she would feel whenever Luz learned a new spell or made new friends. She didn't know that Luz would start to give her a reason to look forward to tomorrow. She didn't know how much she would grow to care for Luz as if she was her own child. 

She didn't know how much she would love this light that lit up her life. 

[cancerbiophd]

How I landed an industry job straight out of my life sciences PhD, without doing a post-doc 

In less than 7 weeks I’ll be defending my dissertation as a final step in my PhD in Cancer Biology, and yesterday I accepted a Scientist position at a local biotechnology company. And best part: I didn’t have to do the dreaded post-doc first! Which is pretty rare for our field (but I hope it’ll be more and more common for PhD’s going into industry).

I promised I would talk about the process here, and I hope that anyone who’s aiming for the same path can walk away with some tips or at least with a familiarity of the process. 

The main points I want to get across: 

Network network network. You can probably just stop reading here, because this job came about all through networking. I was basically head-hunted--someone in my network (a program alumnus) contacted me on LinkedIn to ask if I wanted to apply for a position on the team she directs. So set up your LinkedIn account, keep it up to date, and use it to actively network. At the very least you should connect with the alumni in your program as you all have something in common already, and since they’re out and about in the field they would be great resources for informational interviews and job referrals. 

My expertise and career goals matched the position. No brainer, of course. Even if I wasn’t contacted by the company, I would only be applying to companies I qualified for (so companies dealing with cancer since I’m my PhD is in Cancer Bio). My lab mate, for example, was finishing up his PhD in Nutritional Sciences but was applying to cancer companies with no result, because it just wasn’t the candidate those companies were looking for. My expertise was also probably what got that director’s attention in the first place and the reason she reached out. She was basically willing to wait 7 months for me (from job posting to my final start-date) because I was her ideal candidate, and not just based off my expertise alone, but our personalities matched too. She told me “we communicate well” aka our work personalities match. I know you can’t change who you are obviously, but getting along with your manager goes a long way. 

That being said, employers/PIs are flexible with start dates for PhD candidates. I applied to this position 6 months before I had my defense date set and when I only knew a ballpark of “sometime in the summer”. And then during my interview process I had to keep pushing that potential start-date back and back and back. But the company understood this. So as a PhD candidate you could start applying 6 months before your expected end-date (even if it’s still a moving target), or even months earlier for post-docs (which are much more flexible than industry positions). In general, you should start looking 1 year before your finish date to see what’s out there. 

It was also good luck/timing. If I had graduated earlier than the job posting, then I never would’ve had this opportunity. I also only added her to my LinkedIn network because I went to a lunch seminar where she gave a talk about working in industry. So small things that ultimately made a huge difference. Some you can’t control, but some (like going to that lunch) are definitely  opportunities to seize. 

I was low “flight risk”. Companies are always afraid their employees will leave the company/city for greener pastures, and that’s more common in “less popular” places to live, like the southwest desert where I’m located. But I’m from here, my grad school is here, my family’s here--so the company is making the assumption I’m not going to just up and go any time soon. You obviously can’t control where your family chooses to settle down, but you may be able to strategically choose your grad school based off of its proximity to potential companies. 

And lastly, in my experience, PhD’s with no post-doc in biotech industry should expect an annual salary somewhere between $75-95k (depending on the company and cost of living), with benefits.

Ok, my full story under cut if you’d like to know more about the process I went through:

It all started when a program alumnus (or alumna, if you’re picky about your latin) named RF talked at a lunch seminar to students in my program in Feb 2019. I was really interested in her company and knew she would be a great network to have, so I emailed her later to thank her, and then added her on LinkedIn. 

Fast forward to January of this year (2020) when RF messaged me on LinkedIn out of the blue asking me how close I was to graduating and if I would be interested in a position at her company. I think she wanted someone asap (so not me, I thought), but we talked more about my project, and she said she’d keep in touch. In February, she messaged me again saying a position opened up on her team and she wanted to see if I would like to apply. I said heck yes (or the more formal version), and sent in my application, with the expectation that I would be defending sometime in the summer. I also put her as my job referral and messaged her afterwards to let her know my application went through (with the hopes that maybe she could fast-track it through HR, which I think she did). 

In the meantime, I messaged (also on LinkedIn) another program alumnus I knew (our time overlapped a few years) who currently works with RF and we chatted on the phone about what he does at work, how he likes it there, etc. Basically an informational interview (and also to catch up as colleagues). I was also hoping he’d put in a good word for me with RF and can attest I’m a decent human being and all that. 

2 weeks later, I had a phone interview with RF, and I was super nervous going into it. I even practiced pages and pages of answers of common interview questions for a week straight. But to my surprise she opened the call with “I already know a lot about you from your CV, LinkedIn profile, and also your PhD training because we’re from the same program, so this is your chance to ask me questions!” And I was like, uhhhh awesome! The only thing she wanted to know about me was when I could start, and at that moment in time I was gunning for a July/Aug defense date. 

(I also emailed her and HR afterwards to ask them whether they could match my salary expectation, which I had researched well beforehand for what was common in the field for my position and experience, and they said they could.)

We then set up the next round of interviews for April with a colleague of RF’s who used to be in the same team but now directs her own, and RF’s boss (these would have normally been on-site, but I did them over the phone bc Covid). I again messaged my friend at the company asking if he had any tips. 

And then disaster struck! The company’s HR called me a week before those scheduled interviews to tell me the company had ordered a hiring freeze due to Covid and the effect it was having on the economy. Absolute bummer :( :( :(

So I then applied for a few more positions here and there, including some post-docs (which I really didn’t want to do). I got 2 rounds of interviews for a Scientist position at another local company, and as of today I still haven’t heard anything from them. oh well. 

Then in June I finally heard back from RF’s company saying the hiring freeze has been lifted and whether I’m still interested? Uh, heck yes! So we continued with those 2 phone interviews I had originally scheduled back in April. They both went really well. But I still continued to apply to other positions in the meantime because I wanted to have as many options as I could. 

Then 2 weeks ago (July 7) I got THE call: they wanted to offer me the position! :D

Only problem was, we needed to settle on a start-date. They of course wanted me to start like, yesterday, but my PI wanted to push back my original defense date of Aug 28 one more week to Sept 4, and also wanted me to focus on any dissertation edits for 2 weeks after that. So my earliest start-date would be Sept 21. If you remember, my defense date shifted from “sometime in the summer” to “July/August” to now September, so I was really worried the company wouldn’t accept this. I nervously waited 2 weeks for someone to call me back, and in my head I kept thinking, “I blew it I blew it”. I even sent in a job application to another company in that time. 

But RF finally called me and said hey, no problem, we can do that! She told me she was willing to wait because I really was her perfect candidate (I had all the experience she wanted, and she said we communicated well aka our work-personalities matched). She had also just recently hired another graduate from our program, who is also a friend of mine, so she knew we would all mesh together very nicely. 

And that’s the story folks! I’ll be starting the position remotely until it’s safe to return to the building again. They’re also working with my husband to see if he’s a good candidate for some of their other open positions (we’re both in the biotech field). We’re both super excited about this new chapter in our lives. 

All this because I attended the lunch seminar RF talked at all last year and then added her on LinkedIn. When people talk about opportunities lurking behind every corner, they really did mean that. 

[sunshinejins]

sweet red wine

what began as a funny story i told @caffeine-catastrophe turned into this little fic! also posted on ao3 under the username “joylight” if any of you would like to check it out there :)

pairing: julie molina x luke patterson

fandom: julie and the phantoms

rating: teen, i do mention drinking but all the characters are of age :)

warnings: alcohol, this literally takes place in a liquor store lmao

When Luke told his parents that he got a job directly out of high school, they had been proud of him for about three seconds until he mentioned that it was at a liquor store. His new employment had sparked an hour long conversation of “don’t you want to be working somewhere a little nicer?” and “is this just a stepping stone for that band of yours?” and “get a better job or we will physically force you into one.” Luke had retaliated with all the spite in his body and had promptly moved out the second Alex and Reggie had managed to secure a lease on an apartment. He might have regretted it, had the job at the liquor store not been the best gig he’d ever lined up.

The hours were great, mostly daytime shifts when no one was there, leaving his nights wide open to pilot Sunset Curve to greatness. The manager, a woman in her late-twenties named Lessa, had even managed to secure jobs for both Alex and Reggie within three days of Luke working there. They got discounts on everything, even though Luke mostly used his to fuel his Diet Coke addiction, and for the most part they got to interact with some pretty interesting people.

So yeah, Luke already liked his job a lot, and his parents had even timidly offered apologies after he had come to a monthly dinner bragging that he had been promoted to daytime supervisor. And then, he met her.

Luke’s in the middle of a pretty decent Among Us run on a random Wednesday in February when the bell over the door to Liquor By Us jingles. He lifts his head briefly, just to check that it’s not some fifteen year old punk trying to smuggle out a crate of Twisted Teas, and his jaw drops all the way to the floor. The girl who’s just unzipped her jacket and sent him a warm look may possibly be the most beautiful girl he’s ever seen. She’s got a halo of dark curls which he’d kill to run his fingers through, a smile which would put Reggie’s “flirting” grin to shame, and eyes that he swears are filled with glitter and stars.

Or something. He needs time to work on his metaphors.

“Hey! Welcome!” He calls and she responds with an enthusiastic wave.

“Hi!”

“Anything I can help you with?” He shoves his phone to the side, watching only slightly mournfully as he gets killed by Dark Green. The girl steps slightly closer and he clocks the Thornton t-shirt she’s wearing and now he’s pretty sure his heart has beat out of his chest. She likes music. She likes music!!

“What’s your sweetest and cheapest red wine?” Luke pauses for a second and thinks. He knows he’s probably supposed to steer her towards the 30$ bottles of wine and lie and say they’re the best for the cheapest, but there’s something about this girl that makes him want to be truthful. And maybe run a comb through his hair. And maybe compose a guitar solo?

“Sweetest and cheapest? Huh, let’s see,” he crosses over the counter to the wall of red wine they have and the girl trails behind him. He doesn’t know much about red wine if he’s being honest, Alex is their resident wine fanatic and he focuses more on the spirits and mixers, but he’s determined to not mess this up. “Port is the sweetest wine you can get, but I’m not sure how cheap it is. We have a couple of inexpensive sweet red blends by Barefoot too,” he gestures to a rack of 8$ wines near the bottom. The girl tugs her lip between her teeth and Luke literally has to place one of his hands on an empty shelf to support himself.

“What’s a port?”

“Uhhhhhhhh,” Luke’s about to BS his way the hell out of this, when Alex rounds the corner with a handful of flyers and saves his life.

“Port is a Portuguese dessert wine that is generally served after supper. Why are you looking for port?” The girl turns to him and Luke violently gestures behind her in an attempt to alert Alex to his intense developing crush on the girl in front of him. If Alex notices, he doesn’t show it.

“I’m making sangria cupcakes for my best friend’s 21st tomorrow, and the recipe calls for red wine, so I assumed a sweet red wine would work best in baking?” Luke can vaguely hear Reggie calling for him from the walk in, and he wants so desperately to ignore him until Alex cuts him a very obvious look and Luke sadly stalks away.

Reggie is trying to load an entire armful of White Claws onto a shelf and Luke quickly snags a few before they fall. Reggie looks up and clocks what Luke can only assume is a mournful look on his face.

“Who died?”

“The cutest girl in all of existence who also goes to Thornton who also has a smile like an angel is currently searching for sweet red wine out there with Alex, and I’m regretting ignoring the training pamphlet about the wines of the world.” Reggie’s eyes widen.

“Did you get her name?”

“No!” Luke tosses his hands up in the air in exasperation, “But I know she’s making cupcakes for her friend!” Reggie tucks a few more White Claws onto the shelf and shrugs.

“Just ask her why she needs the wine. And beat Alex to checking her out.” Luke’s pretty sure his legs react to Reggie’s advice before his mind does, because he ends up back at the till without really realizing it and somehow the girl is there already holding three bottles of wine.

“I can help you!” His voice sounds high and tinny in his own ears and Luke cringes a bit even though the girl is still smiling at him. His brain may be mush. She passes him the three bottles of wine and he clocks two bottle of strawberry wine and one cheaper merlot.

“You went for merlot, huh?”

“Yeah, the other guy suggested it.”

“Well if Alex suggested it, it’s probably right,” Luke nods, mostly to himself. The girl nods along with him, and he tries to focus on doing his job instead of flirting for once today. He manages to scan all the bottles of wine, look at her ID (her name is Julie!) and pack her bottles with no issue, but then suddenly the two of them are standing across the counter from each other with the wine bottles between them and neither of them were moving.

What did Reggie say to ask again?

“So, can you explain to me how the wine is gonna go in cupcakes?”

Right, that. Good job, brain!

Julie smiles brightly, as if she was waiting for an excuse to talk about it, and leans against the counter.

“Apparently I need to make a red wine syrup and add it to the buttercream to make red wine buttercream! And then the cupcakes are full of fruit. So, sangria cupcake.” Luke definitely hears everything she says, but his mind is so full of the sight of the little gap between Julie’s front teeth and the swirls of hair falling to her dark skin, that his brain kind of shuts down.

“That sounds killer, I wish I could try some of those!”

He did not mean to say that.

Julie looks a bit shocked for a second, but she recovers and leans against the counter again.

“Well, we’ll probably have leftovers. It’s a pretty big recipe. I can do a cupcake delivery.”

Wait. What?

“Oh, so like, should I give you my number or something? Like, just to make sure that the cupcakes don’t go to waste?”

Very chill, Lucas.

“Yeah that works!” Julie’s smile probably mirrors his in brightness and intensity, and she hands him her phone without hesitation, “My name’s Julie, by the way.”

HOW DID THAT WORK.

“I’m Luke,” he answers excitedly as he types in his number to her phone, “Nice to meet ya!”

“Nice to meet you too,” Julie looks even cuter now that she knows his name and Luke can barely contain the bouncing in his step as he hands her the phone back. She finally snags the bag of wine and Luke distantly remembers saying goodbye, but he’s too revved up on the feeling of getting her number. Alex and Reggie materialize into his field of vision.

“You’re right, she was super cute, bro,” Reggie claps his hands in excitement. Alex is giving him a very dry, yet still loving look.

“She couldn’t stop looking at your biceps.”

“Who can?” Luke punches the air and finally feels the wriggling excitement crawl through his body. His phone buzzes and he’s quick to scoop it up, ignoring the chuckles of his friends.

from: unknown number

hey, it’s julie! when are you free for a cupcake delivery in the next week? maybe we can get coffee first?

Yeah. Luke loves his job.

—-

the sangria cupcakes themselves, made for my real life best friend’s real 21st birthday :)

[minuteminx]

Revolutionary

Pairing: Preston Garvey/ Female Sole Survivor

Summary: In the aftermath of personal tragedies, Preston and Charlie both seek to make a difference in the Commonwealth and those around them. They could never anticipate the impact that they will have on eachother in the process.

Chapter Five: Coast’s Clear

Chapter Summary:    Charlie doesn't know many things for certain since she woke up in the future, but one thing she does know is that she will never watch someone she loves die again. Not if there's something she can do about it.

[First Chapter]

[Previous Chapter]

[AO3 Link]

“For mad I may be, but I will never be convenient.”

― Jennifer Donnelly, Revolution

Quincy Ruins, June 2288

Charlie hadn’t lived in Massachusetts for long when the bombs fell.   She and Nate moved up from West Virginia in July of 2077, she’d gotten a position as a postdoctoral fellow in neuropsychology at Medford Memorial Hospital, more than a  little  excited to make use of her shiny new degree.  Shaun was born two months later.  After spending most of her life moving from place to place for her education, she was ready to settle down. She never made it that far.

Needless to say, she’d also never made it down to Quincy.  Though, at the moment, she desperately wished she had.

Preston had this way of looking at her sometimes when he thought she didn’t notice, a lingering glance over his shoulder, a careful observation of her face as if he expected to find some twinkle of pre-war nostalgia in her eyes when entering a new area, memories from a time when the air didn’t reek of sulfur and rotting flesh, and no one had to worry whether or not they’d be run out of their homes and mowed down by mercenary cults.  She could offer him no solace.  She could barely even look him in the eyes.

In more comfortable times over the past eight months since they had met, he simply asked her if she was familiar with locations or landmarks.  Once, he asked her if she had fought in the Battle of Bunker Hill, and she informed him that she was two hundred and thirty-seven years old, not well over five hundred.  His smile had wrinkled up his eyes that day as he laughed away the embarrassment.  Today, there were no stories to be told, no jokes or laughter, just Preston, Charlie, Amelia, a handful of other Minutemen and a large pile of ashes that used to have names.

“I don’t like this,” Charlie muttered, more to herself than anything.

She jumped when Preston replied, “Me neither.  Not one bit.”  

She hadn’t expected him to hear her, or even pay attention.  She could barely see his eyes from under the shadow cast by his hat, but she didn’t need to see to know that he wasn’t okay. He wasn’t one to wear the overwhelming grief he experienced on his face, anyway.  The last time they’d visited a Minutemen graveyard, as the Lexington Super Duper Mart had turned out to be, he had to excuse himself from a barricaded room filled with deceased members of the militia.  She found him in the feral-corpse littered hallway, green around the gills and sweating.  He didn’t have a weak stomach, but reminders of his loss seemed to impact him viscerally.  She wondered how he managed to keep his composure now, standing in the place where it all started.

She was drawn from her thoughts by a thunderous boom that left her ears ringing.  She hated that noise. Looking up towards the direction of the blast she saw a small, mushroom-cloud pouring up from a nearby building.  A fucking nuke. Hadn’t people learned a damn thing?

Charlie scanned the area for someone holding a Fat Man.  She’d been toe-to-toe with wielders of those atrocities enough times to know that she had to act, and fast.  Movement on the roof of the nearby church.  Just right if the belfry stood a large figure, someone in power armor, with the exact weapon.  Without another thought, she charged in his direction.  If she got close enough in range she could keep him from firing again.  He wouldn’t get another shot. Not if she had anything to do with it.

She tangled with very few Gunners on her way to the church, thankfully.  Most of them were distracted by the small militia that accompanied her.  A couple of grunts took shots at her once she made it inside, but they missed and she fired back, hitting each of them once.  She didn’t stop to make sure they were incapacitated.  There wasn’t time. She needed to get to the roof.

The stairs that led to the belfry were worn and rickety.  In less of a panic, she probably would have made her way up them gingerly, avoiding the obvious areas of dry rot.  Still, she managed to make it to the top without event.  She hoped the luck would stay on her side just a little bit longer.  She just needed to take out the Gunner with the Fat Man, or at least distract them long enough to protect the Minutemen. Her Minutemen.

“Hey,” Charlie shouted, pointing both of her pistols at the man loading a mini nuke into his gun, “Asshole!”

“What the--” he looked up from what he was doing just in time for her ballistic round to strike him between the eyes.

“Yes,” she said under her breath.  How had she gotten to the point where she felt relief at another person’s death?  Is this what the Commonwealth made of all its inhabitants?

She moved in closer to examine the man’s corpse, still standing erect in the power armor shell. A whole lot of good that did him. He was a relatively young man, mid-thirties, and she wondered if he had a family.  MacCready had been a Gunner once, he’d told her as they sat drinking whiskey in The Third Rail, bloodstained and bathed in red neon light.  It was a gig, a way of making money to support his young son when he had no better options.  What if this man had been just like him?  Charlie didn’t want to think about it.

Noting a fully loaded, modified laser pistol on the ground near the dead Gunner, she picked it up, discarding both of the 10mms in her hands.  They’d just been spares, and she was out of ammo anyway.  She also looted a stimpak and a good chunk of caps before standing up and adjusting her belt.  A loud crash of metal and puffing of hydraulics rose up from the street beneath her and she rushed to the edge of the roof, crouching to keep out of view.  

Preston. A more practical person would have noticed the handlebar mustache wearing the T60 first, the actual source of the commotion, but then again she never claimed to be practical.  Why was he alone?  Why hadn’t he fallen back to the gates with everyone else, where it was safe?  She’d run at a man shooting nukes to protect him and there he was out in the wide open, staring down who could only be the notorious traitor Clint, if the militia hat and sheer aura of son-of-a-bitch were any indication.  It was out of character for Preston to be so reckless.  Maybe he’d forgotten that was her job.

The two men spoke, but she was too far away to make out any of the conversation.  She’d never seen Preston look so visibly angry or shaken.  She needed to get to him before something bad happened, but she needed to be careful.  Frantically, she dug through her various pockets looking for one item in particular. Hoping, praying she still had it.

She smiled and let out a sigh of relief as she pulled the stealth boy from her satchel.  That Railroad operative, Deacon, had given it to her as a welcome gift when she’d agreed to help him out.  At the time, she’d shrugged it off as a passive aggressive commentary on her lack of discretion.  She’d have to thank him next time they crossed paths.

Charlie rushed back inside the church tower, and down the rickety steps as quickly as she could, flipping open the cap of the stealth boy and pressing the button as she did so.  By the time she reached the street, she was completely invisible.  Later, when she and Preston were safe and sound back at Sanctuary, she’d ask Sturges how it worked.

As she crept her way up behind Clint, the man reared back and punched Preston so forcefully it sent him flying into an old junked out Corvega parked nearby.  She brought her invisible hand to her invisible mouth to keep herself from gasping audibly.  As far as she knew, stealth boys weren’t sound proof.  She took some deep steadying breaths, ignoring the burn of tears in her eyes.  Now wasn’t the time to lose her shit.

Moving into position directly behind Clint, she noticed Preston’s eyes on her.  He must have noticed the movement in the air.  She lowered the stealth field, watching relief wash over his face as she smiled and drew her finger to her lips.  Clint would not take him away from her.  She wasn’t in a cryochamber this time, and she would not stand helplessly by and watch someone she loved die.  Never again.

“What’s so fucking funny,” she heard him ask Preston who was, despite it all, laughing.  

“Nothing man,” Preston answered, slurring his words in a way that made Charlie uneasy, “Nothing at all.”

She took that opportunity to fire, aiming her fancy new pistol at the legs of Clint’s power armor.  She had noticed that they were damaged as she moved in, knew it wouldn’t take much to disable them.  Sure enough, after a half-dozen or so shots, the T60’s leg’s locked up, forcing the man to jump out.  He turned in her direction as soon as he did so.

“You little bitch ,” he snapped, and christ, if Charlie didn’t hate being called a bitch.

He tried to raise his weapon and fire at her, but she’d already pulled the trigger, launching a blast of burning red energy into his chest, and filling her nostrils with the sterile scent of ozone.  She holstered her weapon and hovered over him for a minute, shaking her head.  “I’m not a bitch.”

Charlie then brought her eyes back up to Preston, where he sat leaned up against the car, worry tightening her chest.  It wasn’t a good sign that he hadn’t even tried to stand up yet, so unlike him to not make an attempt to brush off his injuries and press forward.  She ran over and knelt down in front of him, cupping his face in her hands and turning it to the left, then the right to check for any signs of external bleeding.  When she saw nothing more than a couple of superficial scrapes she brought up her pip boy and flashed a bright beam of light into each of his eyes.

Shit , she thought, but hid her worry behind a laugh as he flinched and squirmed away from the light.   Only one of his pupils had responded to the flash, which meant that he had a concussion at the very least.  She refused to entertain the other possibilities at the moment.  The tears she had held back just minutes earlier returned to her eyes, and she didn’t fight them this time.

“You’re okay,” she told him, kissing his forehead reflexively, “Looks like you might have a concussion, but you’re safe.  I’m here.”

He blinked up at her a few times, and she wished she could live up to that version of her that reflected in his eyes.  She wished desperately that she could be everything he needed her to be, but with Shaun, and the Institute, and--

“You’re really scary sometimes,” he interrupted her snowballing thoughts, a smirk twitching at the corners of his mouth, “You know that?”

She knew she shouldn’t take any of his concussed statements seriously, but an embarrassed laugh bubbled up from her chest, and she couldn’t hold his gaze.  “I’m sorry, I just… I’d just watched Clint knock you into the car, and he was about to kill you, and I just…”

She trailed off, internally chastising herself for failing to conjure up a coherent response.  She wasn’t even the one with the head injury.  A gentle tap, and tug at her chin guided her eyes back to Preston.  He let his hand linger where it was as his smirk turned into a full-on smile.

“No,” he said, laughing softly, and shaking his head, “It’s kinda hot.”

Heat rose to her face and she snorted gracelessly at his compliment.  She didn’t know how or what to feel, couldn’t put her finger on why his affection made her so overwhelmingly sad.  She shrugged it off and wiped a tear from her face. “Jesus, you hit your head harder than I thought.”

He didn’t respond, and his eyes fluttered closed instead, hand falling limply from her face.  Panic surged up into her chest and she leaned forward to catch him from falling over on his side.

“Preston,” she called out frantically, as she repositioned herself so that she could ease his head down onto her lap, removing his hat and setting it on the ground by her hip. “Preston?”

Again, no response.  “God damnit,” she snapped, slamming the side of her fist into the metal of the car door behind her, body finally giving into the sobs she’d been fighting, sobs that weren’t solely in response to present events.  She doubled over, knuckles turning white around the fabric of his duster she clenched in her fists.

“I’m sorry, Preston,” she whimpered, knowing he couldn’t hear her, knowing it didn’t matter because she would continue to let him down. “I’m so sorry.”

Charlie stiffened at the sound of footsteps, straightening up to see Amelia, her long brown hair flying out of it’s braid, followed by the others who’d accompanied them.  She found herself wishing MacCready was there, Codsworth, Sturges, anyone except the contingent of unfamiliar faces peering down at their commanding officer having a temper tantrum. Amelia glanced between Charlie and Preston, pretty blue eyes filled with concern.

“He’s okay,” Charlie explained, scrubbing tears away from her swollen face, “Just unconscious. He hit his head pretty bad.”

“What happened?”

“Clint-- at least I think that guy over there’s Clint-- hit Preston so hard he sent him flying into this,” Charlie pointed to the car behind her and watched as Amelia approached the body of the man Charlie’d just killed.

The woman frowned, shook her head, and kicked the corpse before returning to Charlie’s side. “That’s Clint alright, the bastard.”  She offered Charlie a reassuring smile, and then glanced down at Preston, “You got a stimpak on you, General?”

Charlie recalled the one she picked up from the Gunner she’d taken out.  She could have slapped herself for not thinking of it sooner.  She reached into one of the pouches on her belt and pulled it out, showing it to the other woman.  

“Perfect.  Let’s give it to Preston, just in case he’s more banged up than he looks.”  She took the syringe from Charlie’s shaking hand gently and removed the cap, and jammed it into Preston’s upper arm.  He jerked slightly at the pain, but didn’t stir.  Amelia continued speaking, “What do you say we have a couple of the boys move him someplace comfy?  There are some abandoned apartments up the street.”

“Yes.” Charlie nodded.  “What about the--”

“Coast’s clear.  Any of the Gunners we didn’t kill ran off.” Amelia smiled.  “Quincy’s ours again.”

[whoisbxcky]

Holding On, And Letting Go

request: Would you wanna write a Bucky imagine where he was sent to kill the reader when he was the winter soldier and he hurt and a few years later they meet again when she’s an avenger and she’s scared of him? Please make a fluffy ending!

pairing: Bucky x Reader

word count: 2500

warnings: just so much angst. also fluff at the end as per request! mentions of panic attacks, being shot, implied ptsd, ONE bad language word 

author’s note: okay first of all I AM SO SORRY it’s taken me so long to write this. I did not expect to get as many requests as have come through the past few days and it got me a lil overwhelmed so anyone who’s requested I AM WRITING IT i’m just a lil backlogged right now hehe.

More to the point, thank you so so so much anon for this amazing request, I love it so much I may even make a second part... Maybe even a third? Who knows. Anyway, hope you enjoy and stay fabulous my lovelies! ~ Toria <3

Tijuana, Mexico. July 24, 2011. 02:00.

“Fighter 1 this is Echo Sierra, where the hell is that medevac!?”

You let out a shaky breath, eyes frantically scanning your surroundings. The team of Marines sent to extract you from your undercover op looked just as unnerved as you did. The rescue chopper was supposed to be here two minutes ago. But overhead, there was only silence.

“Fighter 1, do you copy?”

The sound of an explosion behind you made cry out, and you ducked for cover as the men surrounding you burst into action. Gunfire rang out around you like a chorus of thunder, making your heart rate soar as adrenaline took over. Over the coms, you heard Sergeant Mills frantic voice.

“It’s him.”

You let out a sob of despair, the scene in the street in front of you was like something out of a nightmare. Bodies littered the floor, Marines who had come here to save you, lifeless and bloody.

Your gaze was drawn from your hiding place to the end of the ally, where a lone man materialised from the raging fire of the destroyed building. He moved swiftly, taking out the advancing Marines with sickening efficiency and precision, before his eyes locked on you.

Eyes as blue and as furious as a maelstrom, raven black hair, metal arm…

Hydra’s fist. The one they all talked about, the Winter Soldier.

He’d found you.

You needed to get out of there. Now.

You were running… So much noise… So much blood… You couldn’t get away… Couldn’t get away from him… Eyes as blue and as furious as a maelstrom, raven black hair, metal arm…

A gunshot.

Searing pain, so much blood.

Then, only darkness.

Avengers Tower. April 15, 2017. 04:56.

The rhythmic sound of your first connecting with the solid leather of the punch bag in front of you echoed out around the gym. Accompanied only by the sound of your ragged breaths, the occasional grunt of frustration escaping your now dry lips.

You had been down here for hours, last you checked it was a little past four in the morning, but you’d given up keeping track. Sleep did not come easily to you these days, and you figured you may as well make use of your insomnia by getting in some extra training.

You had been preparing to be an Avenger for weeks now, and so far, you were acing every test they had thrown at you, particularly the physicals thanks to your late-night work outs. Everything was going perfectly as you worked towards joining the Earth’s mightiest heroes.

The only problem you’d encountered so far had arrived the day you’d been sat in the conference room, waiting to meet the mission partner you’d be assigned to, nerves and excitement making you practically vibrate in your chair. 

Oh, sweet blissful ignorance.

To say you were shocked when the Winter Soldier had walked through the door, would be the understatement of the millennium.

The scene that unfolded after your initial shock had subsided was… Far from your proudest moment, to say the least. It’s one thing to have a panic attack in front of a complete stranger, but in front of your new boss and the man who once tracked you all across Mexico and then put a bullet through your chest … Well, it certainly wasn’t going to make your ‘top five moments as an Avenger’ highlight reel.

It hadn’t taken long for Fury to reveal his knowledge of you and the Soldier’s past, nor had it taken him long to explain the fact that James Buchanan Barnes and the Winter Soldier, while sharing the same body, were technically not the same person. Or the fact that Barnes was now ‘cured’ and fighting the good fight. It certainly hadn’t taken long for you to say hell no and flee the room, hyperventilating and shaking head to toe, without looking back.

That had been three weeks ago, and ever since you had been studiously avoiding anywhere Barnes might be. You ate about ten blocks away from the tower, you only ventured into the gym during the early hours of the morning. Unfortunately, there was nothing you could do about being in the room next door to the guy, but at least it allowed to you keep track of when he was home and when he might be wandering the Tower corridors.

Eventually, you knew you’d either have to face him, or look for new employment. You two were mission partners after all, and after extensive conversations with Steve, Nat and the on-site therapist, you were now almost certain that what Fury had told you was true, and that Barnes was just as much a victim of the Soldier’s actions as you were.

But still, you couldn’t help the creeping sensation of dread, or the flashbacks you suffered, every time you caught sight of the man.

It was at that moment that the sound of the gym door swinging open and closed brought you out of your musings with a start, and you turned on your heel, eyes scanning the dimly lit room to identify the new arrival.

Your breath caught in your throat, your entire body practically electrified with fear and apprehension as you narrowed your eyes at the last person you wanted to appear in front of you in an empty room.

Barnes.

Just your damn luck.

As soon as his eyes raked over you, he froze, although his expression was entirely unreadable.

Your expression, on the other hand, may as well have come with sirens and a bullhorn screaming ‘danger, danger’.

With a sigh, Barnes raised his hands in a mock surrender, taking a tentative step into the room. You immediately took a step back.

“Y/N…Right?”

His voice was gravelly with exhaustion, and even from this distance you could see the black rims around his eyes. Clearly, the guy was as sleep deprived as you right now.

You nodded curtly, eyes hyper fixated on his every movement.

“I… Uh… Couldn’t sleep. Figured I’d tire myself out. Would you mind? I’ll keep out of your way…”

You stared at him, dumbfounded. This really was far from the man who had murdered an entire squad of US Marines and left you with a gaping hole where a few ribs used to be.

When you offered him a tentative nod once more, he made his way towards the treadmill, and you could feel him tracking your every move from the corner of his eye. Clearly, he trusted you about as much as you did him.

The silence of the gym was practically deafening, and after a moment of mind-numbing panic, you found words leaving your lips of their own accord.

“Do you remember me?”

Barnes froze then, mid stride towards the machinery. Without so much as a glance in your direction, he spoke in a voice entirely void of emotion.

“No.”

You let out a breath you were unaware of holding, digging your nails into your palms painfully hard to keep from crying. When you spoke again, you could not keep the virulent anger from your tone.

“July 24, 2011. Tijuana. You were sent to kill me… Why?”

Barnes dropped his water bottle then, the sound of it crashing into the wooden flooring making you jump. He rounded on you, his eyes glassy and red, and you simply stared back, unable to keep the shock and apprehension from your face.

“I’ve read the file. But, like I said, I don’t remember.”

He let out an uneasy breath, moving to sit on one of the benches against the wall. You stayed put, trembling from head to toe, your mind entirely numb as you tried to process the fact he truly had no recollection of trying to kill you. Barnes continued.

“I don’t remember a damn thing. I wish I could, so I could give you answers. But I’ve got nothing for you, Y/N."

His eyes visibly darkened, clouded by years of torment, and for a while you both remained mute, both lost in your respective musings. However, eventually Barnes broke the silence with a tentative cough, and your eyes snapped up to meet his.

“Does it still hurt?”

He trailed off, gesturing towards your chest, where the scar of your last encountered lay. Snarling, a constant reminder of your pain. You nodded.

“Can I… Can I see it?”

You looked at him incredulously for a beat, and he faltered.

“It’s just… I may not ever be able to remember what I did to you, to those Marines. But, at the very least, before I apologise, I want to understand as best I can. Otherwise, it’s meaningless.”

He shrugged then, earnest gaze fixated on you, and despite yourself, almost as if in a dream, you found yourself moving towards him, eyes never leaving his as you approached.

Barnes raised himself from the bench, taking a few tentative steps in your direction. You paused briefly, contemplating the insanity of getting that close to the person who once tried, and very nearly succeeded in, killing you. But, a nagging feeling in the pit of your stomach willed you on.

Give him a chance. Maybe, just maybe, you both need this.

With a short sigh, you stepped forward, coming to rest just centimetres from his chest. You swallowed hard, refusing to allow your gaze to stray away from his own for even a second, fear and apprehension causing a thin sheen of sweat across your forehead.

Barnes offered you a gentle half-smile, and you cleared your throat, tossing your hair over your shoulder to give him better access, staring stonily ahead. He searched your face for a moment more, looking for any sign of objection. When he found none, he tentatively reached out to push your tank top aside, to reveal the full extent of the injury.

You heard him take in a sharp breath, his thumb delicately tracing the lines of the scar tissue. Under his touch, you couldn’t help but note the increase in your heart rate, anxiety causing your whole body to shiver with apprehension.

He glanced at you apologetically, but you shook your head as he moved to back off. As nervous as it made you being in contact with him, you had to trust him, and he you. You were supposed teammates now, after all.

After a few more minutes of inspection, Barnes finally broke the silence once more, his voice raw with emotion.

“Y/N… I am so, so sorry…”

You exhaled deeply, gaze coming to rest on your scar. And the thumb of the man who put it there, gently caressing it, as if he could rub it away like a smudge on glass.

Except… He didn’t put it there… Technically…

You cleared you throat.

“You know for the longest time, I’ve hated you. For what you did, to me, to those Marines.”

You swallowed again, lifting your eyes to meet his own, studiously ignoring the way your body shivered from the intensity of the guilt in his look.

“And now?”

You could see the hurt, the years of torment, the sleepless nights, all of it shining through his gaze in that moment. From the mournful expectation in his tone, you could tell this was not a man familiar with being forgiven.

Could you forgive him, though?

You lost yourself in your inner turmoil for a moment. Undeniably, there was more to James Buchanan Barnes than met the eye. The man in front of you was not a heartless, killing machine. That much was obvious. But those fingers had squeezed the trigger. Those eyes had met your own coldly as you’d screamed for fallen comrades. It was quite the predicament.

After a few more seconds of debating, you settled your resolve. This was a new chapter in your life, and while you could not rectify the past any more than Barnes could, you could certainly work towards giving yourself, and maybe even him, a better future.

You sighed, meeting his gaze once more.

“I don’t hate you, Barnes. I’ll admit, being around you scares the shit out of me.”

He nodded sombrely, stepping away from you in defeat. You instinctively reached out to catch his hand in your own, holding him in place. Wide eyes met your gentle ones, and before Barnes could question you, you continued.

“But I understand now, that wasn’t you. I don’t want to be afraid anymore, and if you promise me I can trust you, Barnes, I’d like to get to know the real you.”

You offered him as sincere a half-smile as you could muster in that moment, dutifully ignoring the tear that was now rolling down your cheek.

Barnes stared at you in disbelief for a second, as if expecting the proverbial other shoe to drop. However, when your resolve did not waiver, the nodded slowly to himself, reaching out with his free, metal hand tentatively. You did not flinch as the cool metal glanced over your cheek, wiping the stray tear away with a gentleness that caught you entirely off guard.

“Bucky… You can just call me Bucky.”

Barnes’ voice- Bucky’s, voice was a barely-there whisper, so quiet you almost lost it in the silence of the gym hall. He offered you that half-smile again, only this time his eyes glittered hopefully in the dimness around you, and you found yourself captivated for a moment. Now that you weren’t on the defensive, you could truly appreciate just how beautifully the light from the hall beyond the gym door framed his profile, and you felt a slight warmth growing in your cheeks under his gaze.

The two of you spent the rest of the night in the gymnasium, talking until the sun came up. As the Tower began to come to life again under the first rays of dawn, the two of you walked side by side up to your shared floor, a planned day of training exercises and even lunch at Bucky’s favourite Italian place down the road ahead of you.

You couldn’t keep from smiling to yourself as you stood in the shower, readying yourself for the day ahead, as you considered the irony in how well you and Bucky actually got on, considering your prickly history.

This, you thought to yourself, could be the start of something interesting.

[thekillerssluts]

The Story Behind Every Song On Will Butler’s New Album Generations

Will Butler has a lot on his mind. It has, after all, been five years since his solo debut, Policy. A lot can happen in half a decade, and a lot has happened in this past half-decade — much of it quite dire. Butler was in his early 30s when Policy came out, and now he’s closing in on 40. He’s a husband and father. And he’s shaken by the state of the world, the idea of being an artist and a soon-to-be middle-aged man striving to guide his family through the chaos.

At least, that’s how it comes across through much of Generations, his sophomore outing that arrives today. Generations is a big, sprawling title by nature, and the album in turn grapples with all kinds of big picture anxieties. Mass shootings, the overarching darkness and anxiety of our time, trying to reckon with our surroundings but the system overload that occurs all too easily in the wake of it. Then there are more intimate songs, too, tales drawn from personal lives as people plug along just trying to navigate a tumultuous era.

Butler is, of course, no stranger to crafting music that seeks to parse the cultural moment and how it impacts in our daily lives. Ever since Arcade Fire ascended to true arena-rock status on The Suburbs 10 years ago, they have embarked on projects that explicitly try to make sense of our surroundings. (Not that their earlier work was bereft of heavy concepts — far from it — but Reflektor and Everything Now turned more of a specific eye towards contemporary ills and trials.) But as one voice amongst many in Arcade Fire, there is a cinematic scope to whatever Butler’s playing into there.

On Generations, he engages with a lot of similar concerns but all in his own voice — often yelping, desperate, frustrated then just trying to catch a breath. Butler leans on his trusty Korg MS-20 throughout Generations, often giving the album a synth-y indie backdrop that allows him to try on a few different selves. There are a handful of surging choruses, “la-la” refrains batting back against the darkness, slinking grooves maybe allowing someone the idea of brief physical release amidst ongoing strife.

Ahead of Generations’ arrival, Butler sent us some thoughts on the album, running from inspiration between the individual tracks to little details about the arrangement and composition of different songs. Now that you can hear the album for yourself, check it out and read along with Butler’s comments below.

1. “Outta Here”

I think this is the simplest song on the record. Just, like, get me out of here. Get me fucking out of here. I’m so tired of being here. No, I don’t have another answer, and I don’t expect anything to be better anywhere else. But, please, I would like to leave here.

I can play plenty of instruments, and can make interesting sounds on them, but kinda the only instrument I’m good at is a synth called the Korg MS-20. That’s the first sound on the record. It makes most of the bass you hear on the record. It’s a very aggressive, loud, versatile machine, and I wanted to start the record with it cause I’m good at playing it and it makes me happy.

2. “Bethlehem”

This song partly springs from “The Second Coming” by William Butler Yeats:​ “What rough beast, its hour come round at last, slouches towards Bethlehem to be born?” Like a lot of folks, I woke up after the election in 2016 mad and sad and scared and exhausted. This song is born of that emotion.

My bandmates Jenny Shore, Julie Shore, and Sara Dobbs sing the bridge, and it’s a corrective to my (appropriate?) freaking out — this isn’t the apocalypse. You’re misquoting Yeats. Get your fucking head on straight. History has not ruptured — this shit we’re in is contiguous with the shit we’ve been dealing with for a long, long time. But still, we sometimes do need an apocalyptic vision to make change. Even if it’s technically wrong. I dunno. It’s an ongoing conversation.

There’s a lot of interplay with backing vocals on this record — sometimes the narrator is the asshole, sometimes the backing vocals are the asshole. Sometimes they’re just trying their best to figure out the world. This song starts that conversation.

3. “Close My Eyes”

I tried to make these lyrics a straightforward and honest description of an emotion I feel often: “I’m tired of waiting for a better day. But I’m scared and I’m lazy and nothing’s gonna change.” Kind of a sad song. Trying to tap into some Smokey Robinson/Motown feeling — “I’ve got to dance to keep from crying.”

There’s a lot of Mellotron on this record, and a lot of MS-20. This song has a bunch of Mellotron strings/choirs processed through the MS-20. It’s a trick I started doing on the Arcade Fire song “Sprawl II,” and I love how it sounds and I try to do it on every song if I can.

4. “I Don’t Know What I Don’t Know”

This makes a pair with “Close My Eyes” — shit is obviously fucked, but “I don’t know what I don’t know what I don’t know what I can do.” I’m not a proponent of the attitude! Just trying to describe it, as I often feel it. In my head, I know some things that I can do — my wife Jenny, for instance, works really hard to get state legislatures out of Republican control. Cause it’s all these weirdo state legislative chambers that have enormous power over law enforcement, and civil rights, and Medicaid, and everything.

The image in the last verse was drawn from the protests in Ferguson in 2015: “Watch the bullets and the beaters as they move through the streets — grab your sister’s kids — hide next to the fire station…” It’s been horrifically disheartening to see the police riot across America as their power has been challenged. I’ve got a little seed of hope that we might change things, but, man, dark times.

More MS-20 bass on this one, chained to the drum machine. This one is supposed to be insanely bass heavy — if it comes on in a car, the windows should be rattling, and you should be asking, “What the heck is going on here?” Trying for a contemporary hip-hop bass sound but in a way less spare context. First song with woodwinds — rhythmic stuff and freaky squeals by Stuart Bogie and Matt Bauder.

5. “Surrender”

This song is masquerading as a love song, but it’s more about friendship. About the confusion that comes as people change: Didn’t you use to have a different ideal? Didn’t we have the same ideal at some point? Which of us changed? How did the world change? Relationships that we sometimes wish we could let go of, but that are stuck within us forever.

It’s also about trying to break from the first-person view of the world. “What can I do? What difference can I make?” It’s not about some singular effort — you have to give yourself over to another power. Give over to people who have gone before who’ve already built something — you don’t have to build something new! The world doesn’t always need a new idea, it doesn’t always need a new personality. What can you do with whatever power and money you’ve got? Surrender it over to something that’s already made. And then the song ends with an apology: I’m sorry I’ve been talking all night. Just talk talk talking, all night. Shut up, Will.

Going for “wall of sound” on this one — bass guitar and bass synth and double tracked piano bass plus another piano plus Mellotron piano. The “orchestra” is about a dozen different synth and Mellotron tracks individually detuned. And then run through additional processing.

6. “Hide It Away”

This song is about secrets. Both on an intimate, heartbreaking level — friends’ miscarriages, friends’ immigration status, shitty affairs coming to light — and on a grand, horrible level: New York lifting the statute of limitations on child abuse prosecutions, all the #MeToo reporting. There’s nothing you can do when your secret is revealed. Like, what can you do? You just have to let the response wash over you. If you’ve done something horrible, god-willing, you’ll have to pay for it in some way. If it’s something not horrible, but people will hate you anyway, goddammit, I wish there were some way to protect you.

This song has the least poetic line on the record, a real clunker: “It’s just money and power, money and power might set them free.” But it’s a clunky, shitty concept — the most surefire protection is being rich and knowing powerful people. But even then, shit just might come out. Even after you’re long dead.

Came from a 30-second guitar sample I recorded while messing around at the end of trying to track a different song. I liked the chords, looped them to make a demo. And the song was born from there. This is the one song I play drums on. Snare is chained to the MS-20, trying to play every frequency the ear can hear at the same time on some of those big hits.

7. “Hard Times”

[Laughs] I sat down and tried to write a Spotify charting electro-hit, and this is what came out: “Kill the rich, salt the earth.” Oh well. Written way before COVID-19, but my 8-year-old son turned to me this spring and asked, “Did you write the song ‘Hard Times’ about now, because we’re living through hard times?” No, I didn’t.

In Dostoevsky’s Notes From Underground, the narrator is a real son-of-a-bitch—contrarian, useless. Mad at the strong confident people who think they’ve got it figured out. And they don’t! And neither does the narrator — but he knows he doesn’t, and he at times yearns for some higher answer, and he’s funny, and too clever, but still knows he’s a piece of shit. I read Notes From Underground in high school and kinda forgot how it shaped my worldview until I sat down with it a couple years ago. The bridge on this song is basically smushed up quotes from Notes From Underground.

I was asking Shiftee, who mixed the record, if there are any vocal plug-ins I should be playing around with. He pointed me toward Little AlterBoy, which is basically a digital recreation of the kind of pedal the Knife use, for instance, on their vocal sound. It can shift the timbre/character of a voice without changing the pitch. Or change pitch without changing character. Very fun! Very much all over this track. Tried to make the bridge sound like a Sylvester song.

8. “Promised”

Another friend song masquerading as a love song. I’ve met a handful of extraordinary people in my life, who stopped doing extraordinary work because life is hard and it sucks. People who — I mean, it’s a lottery and random and who cares — could be great writers or artists, who kind of just disappeared. And it’s heartbreaking and frustrating. I don’t blame them. Maybe they weren’t made for this world. Maybe it’s just random. Maybe they’ll do amazing work in their 60s!

We tracked this song before it was written. Julie and Miles came over and we made up a structure and did a bunch of takes, found a groove. Which I then hacked up into what it is now! The bed tracks are lovely and loose. Maybe I’ll put out a jammier version of this song at some point. The other big synth on this record is the Oberheim OB-8, and that’s the bass on this one (triple tracked along with some MS-20).

9. “Not Gonna Die”

This song is about terrorism, and the response to terrorism. I wrote it a couple weeks after the Bataclan shooting in Paris in 2015. For some reason, a couple weeks after the shooting, I was in midtown Manhattan. I must have been Christmas shopping. I had to pop into the Sephora on 5th Avenue to pick up something specific — I think for my wife or her sister. I don’t remember. But I remember walking in, and the store was really crowded, and for just a split second I got really scared about what would happen if someone brought out a gun and started shooting up the crowd. And then I got so fucking mad at the people that made me feel that emotion. Like, I’m not gonna fucking die in the midtown Sephora, you fucking pieces of shit. Thanks for putting that thought in my head.

BUT ALSO, fuck all the fucking pieces of shit who are like, “We can’t accept refugees — what if they’re terrorists?” FUCK OFF. Some fucking terrified family driven from their home by a war isn’t going to kill me. Or anyone. Fuck off. Some woman from Central America fleeing from her husband who threatened to kill her isn’t going to fucking bomb Times Square. You fucking pieces of shit.

In November/December 2015, the Republican primary had already started — Trump had announced in June. And every single one of those pieces of shit running for president were talking about securing our borders, and keeping poor people out, and trying to justify it by security talk. FUCK OFF. You pieces of shit. Fuck right off. Anyway. Sorry for cursing.

I kind of think of the outro of this song as an angry “Everyday People.” Everyday people aren’t going to kill me. Lots of great saxes on this track from Matt Bauder and Stuart Bogie.

The intro of the song we recorded loud, full band, which I then ran through the MS-20 and filtered down till it was just a bass heart-pulse, and re-recorded solo piano and voice over that.

10. “Fine”

I kind of think that “Outta Here” to “Not Gonna Die” comprise the record, and “Fine” operates as the afterword and the prologue rolled into one. An author’s note, maybe. It was kind of inspired by high-period Kanye: I wanted to talk about something important in a profane, sometimes horribly stupid way, but have it be honest and ultimately transcendent.

In the song, I talk semi-accurately about where I come from. My mom’s dad was a guitar player who led bands throughout the ’30s and ’40s. In post-war LA, he had a band with Charles Mingus as the bass player. Charles Mingus! One of the greatest geniuses in all of American history. But this was the ’40s, and in order to travel with the band, to go in the same entrances, to eat dinner at the same table, he had to wear a Hawaiian shirt and everybody had to pretend he was Hawaiian. Because nobody was sure how racist they were supposed to be against Hawaiians.

Part of the reason I’m a musician is that my great-grandfather was a musician, and his kids were musicians, and their kids were musicians, and their kids are musicians. Part of the reason is vast generations of people working to make their kids’ lives better, down to my life. Part of the reason is that neither government nor mob has decided to destroy my family’s lives, wealth, and property for the last couple hundred years. I tried to write a song about that?

Generations is out now via Merge. Purchase it here.

https://www.stereogum.com/2098946/will-butler-generations-song-meanings/franchises/interview/footnotes-interview/

[unsaid-stardust]

Cowboys and Sheriffs

Author’s note: ok wow an overwhelming amount of people said they wanted this fic so uhhh...here it is!! Tagging those of you who commented! 💜

Tagging: @littledancersun @mambofivehargreeves @sunsetcurves  @verified-dumbass @julie-and-the-phantoms-stan @jatpobsessedgirl @meangirlsx @letyourcolors @kikicalanmai

"Aha! Gotcha! Any last words?" Reggie holds his hands up in defense, cornered, unable to escape. He stares his enemy down, not wanting to give up his guard. 

"No need for last words when I won!" Reggie shouts. He immediately reaches into his back pocket and forms his fingers into a fake gun. He proceeds to shoot at his enemy in front of him, throwing a pillow in place of a bullet. The enemy is hit, flying backward onto the ground, crying out in surrender. 

"Ah! Mijo! I told you to stop playing dead and throwing pillows around the house! Someone could get hurt and the ghost could take it as an opportunity to haunt you!" Tía shouts, almost tripping over Carlos on the floor. Reggie felt his jaw drop slightly in hurt, he would never haunt anyone and the fact that Tía even felt like he could, showed how much she didn't know him. That's because she doesn't know you. Reggie heard Alex's annoying sarcasm in the back of his head. He chose to ignore it; it's what he does when Alex is there anyway. He would never haunt anyone, especially Carlos. Carlos stands up with a sigh. 

"Tía I told you-pillows are harmless! And there is no ghost! I never thought this day would come, but as the man of the house, I have to be honest. I was wrong and ghosts don't exist," Carlos explains, winking in Reggie's direction. Oh good, he's faking it. I really thought I was losing him there for a second. 

"Man of the house? Mijo what are you-" Carlos takes the opportunity to stop her from lecturing. 

"Uh you know, why don't you go ask dad? I think he was in the kitchen when I saw him!" Carlos guides Tía towards the kitchen. She protests, but goes with it nonetheless and leaves Carlos and Reggie to their own devices. Reggie makes himself visible to Carlos then. Yeah, they could do that now, well, sometimes. Reggie was still having trouble figuring out this newfound power of visibility. He couldn't do it all the time and when he id able to do it, it's not for very long. But, it's long enough to talk to Carlos. 

"Good save, little man. But, Why'd you have to go and put Ray in that position? Tía's gonna be lecturing him for awhile now and I wanted to stop by and see him before rehearsal!" Reggie explains. 

"Well it was either have us go through Tía's lecture or have it be dad and that was an easy decision. And I don't really get why you like hanging out with my dad so much. I mean he is a pretty cool dad, despite the times he tries to use modern slang like 'lit' and 'yeet', but otherwise he just kinda sits there and sifts through mail or whatever it is dads do. Besides, you can't even be visible in front of him because Julie hasn't told him about you being a ghost yet," Carlos responds.

Reggie suddenly feels like an anchor just tethered him to the bottom of the ocean. His feet feeling as though they were glued to the floor beneath him and he couldn't go anywhere, he couldn't even poof out if he tried. And suddenly, he could hear the echoing yells. The ones that fifteen and sixteen and seventeen-year-old Reggie knew oh so well. His parents. 

"Regg, you okay?" Carlos snaps him out of wherever he was. He blinks to get rid of the remnants of his memories. 

"Uh, yeah. Yeah, I'm good. But, I gotta go get to practice! Sheriffs and Cowboys round 3 tomorrow though, right?" Reggie finger guns in Carlos' direction and Carlos' face lights up again. 

"Yeah, totally! But I'm the cowboy this time!" Carlos adds, a stern look on his face. Reggie frowns.

"What? Come on! You know cowboys are my thing!" He protests. Carlos raises an eyebrow and crosses his arms in defense. 

"Aren't you late for practice?" He interrogates. Reggie drops his jaw slightly, almost forgetting about practice completely. He poofs out quickly, but realizes that he hasn't fully solidified his accustomed position as cowboy. He poofs back into the living room briefly and adds

"We're not done here!"

~*~

Later that night, after practice seemed to have end, Carlos heads towards Julie's room. He may not know Reggie all that well and he might only be 12, but he knew something was bothering Reggie and he wanted to change that. Reggie's kinda become a big brother to Carlos. Julie is cool and all, for an older sister Carlos couldn't have asked for a better one, but it was nice having another guy in the house. Julie doesn't play Cowboys and Sheriffs with him or watch all the Star Wars movies or show the same enthusiasm over the third French Dip. Besides, if Reggie is all mopey or spaced-out or whatever, then he wouldn't play Cowboy and Sheriff with the amount of energy that it requires! 

Julie claims that the guys don't talk about their past that often, so she didn't know much about Reggie, but Luke had told her after an argument had erupted during practice one day and Reggie poofed out, that his parents used to argue a lot. They were close to divorcing apparently. She thinks that's why he likes hanging out with their dad all the time even though it can appear to be boring. 

"So then why haven't you told dad about them yet? That's what Reggie needs! The ability to talk to dad!" Carlos shouts.

"It's not that simple, Carlos. I mean yeah, dad's pretty cool, but do you think he'd be cool with three teenage boys living in our studio?!" Julie responds. Carlos stopped. He hated to admit it, but she was right. As much as he wanted Reggie to be able to talk to him, he didn't think that'd go over so well. 

"Fine, you got a point. But, there's gotta be some way Reggie can talk to dad. Please, how are we supposed to watch Star Wars if he keeps spacing out all the time?" Carlos pouts. Julie looks at her little brother. Her first instinct is to say "no". Reggie isn't that subtle at being a ghost, Tía still won't be in the living room by herself. But, She can't help, but think about how proud their mom would've been at how caring Carlos is. And because of this she says

"Ok, alright, I think I have a way," 

~*~

"Carlos! Little man! Where are you!" Reggie calls, searching the house for Carlos. He's been everywhere and he hasn't seen him, which is odd because it's 3:30 and Carlos should be home from school by now. Plus, they were supposed to meet at the usual spot to play their round of Cowboys and Sheriffs. 

"If this is because you have to be Sheriff again, I'm sorry! You can be the Cowboy this time!" He tries again. Suddenly, he feels all tingly and warped and that can only mean one thing. 

"Oh hey, Julie! Have you seen Carlos? We're supposed to play Cowboys and Sheriffs," He explains. Julie shakes her head and decides to keep the fact that Carlos can't actually hear him  unless he's visible to herself. 

"Yeah! He's in the kitchen," Julie motions Reggie to follow her and she leads him to the kitchen. When he enters, he sees Carlos sitting at the dinner table with Ray. They're chatting about something, but Reggie can't follow the conversation. Carlos and Julie exchange a look then and Julie motions him to follow her towards the table. 

"Hey, daaaad. Remember when you said you wanted to meet the band?" Julie questions. Reggie raises his eyebrow. 

"I do, but I think I recall you saying that they don't like to be seen or something along those lines," He answers, sitting back in his chair. Julie's jaw drops a bit from an unexpected answer. 

"Uh yeah, yeah I did say that didn't I? But, but, I think we may have figured out a way for you to meet them! Well, one of them anyway, Carlos!" Julie nods in Carlos' direction and Reggie has never felt more confused in his entire afterlife. Except, maybe when he, you know, brought back as a ghost. Because that was pretty confusing. Carlos stands up with a smile and hands Ray a pen. 

"Julie and I found this cool app that allows you to link this very pen to another. We sent one to the guys so whatever you write on your page, will show up on their page and what they write, will show up on yours," Carlos explains. Ray shakes his head, his eyebrows furrowed; Reggie does the same and Julie rolls her eyes with a smile. 

"You kids and your technology. I will never understand it. But, I'll try it," He responds. Reggies stops. Was he-supposed to go write to Ray? And if he is--what was he supposed to say? Hey I've been hanging out with you and you're a cool dad, I wish you were my dad? Even Reggie knew that wouldn't work! He turns to Julie for some kind of reaction; she nods and Reggie makes his way towards Ray and his notebook. Ray finishes writing his sentence and Reggie peers at the notebook. 

Hey Phantoms, this is Julie's dad. Can you read this? 

Reggie let out a small chuckle and picks up the pen. 

Loud and clear, Ray-Reggie 

"This technology is amazing it looks like it's writing itself! You kids are incredible!" Ray shouts, dramatically motioning towards the pen. Carlos walks towards his sister, exchanging a knowing smile. She puts her hand on his shoulder and he leans into her side. He watches Reggie and sees his smile widen every time her dad writes something. He sees him looking like a kid who has just opened the gift on Christmas Morning that they had been asking for all year. He sees him jump up in excitement at their dad's answers. 

"He likes Country music!" Reggie couldn't be happier. 

"I told you guys he'd like Country! I have to play him some of my Country stuff!" Carlos shakes his head and looks up at his sister. 

"I'm gonna have to find another Cowboy, aren't I?" 

[chilling-seavey]

Family beach day blurb with the pics of Daniel on the paddle board as inspo!!

Bro…my literal favourite kind of ask yesss 🧡

For those living under a rock, or have yet to follow me for my daily Seavey updates, these are the pictures used for inspo:

Thursday, July 22, 2032

I’ll be working on another ask about more details of this little vacation (now that I kind of have my inspo for a vacation I can answer that one that’s been in my mailbox for ever lol) but basically what you need to know is Daniel often was sent on weekend/three-day business trips to LA once in a while – maybe once or sometimes twice a year - just to work with the main office down there and some other clients. So when another trip lined up with summer break, Florence and Daniel took that opportunity to pay extra to stay an extra week and bring the whole family of five down to LA.

Daniel had to work for the first bit of their trip – they arrived on the Sunday morning and he worked Monday-Wednesday – and then the rest of the week they all had free. LA heat was no joke compared to Toronto summers and the family hit the beach all together as soon as they could.

Clementine was thirteen and was more than ready to show off her brand-new bikini to the California guys. Daniel would have stapled a cover up on her if he could have. Penelope and Lucy were just excited to go swimming in the ocean. They set up their stuff in an empty space of sand on the beach, laying out towels and their bags and passed around the sunscreen.

Penelope hated sunscreen and she had the hugest cringe on her face as Daniel slathered her up, making sure to get her shoulders and nose until she was squirming away, “Okay, okay, okay, that’s fine!”

“I wanna lick it.” Lucy giggled, sticking her tongue out and trying to squirt a bit of sunscreen out from the bottle.

“Oh my gosh, do not do that.” Daniel laughed, snatching the bottle from her. “Hair up.”

Lucy scrunched her hair up off her shoulders to let him apply her sunscreen, nearly bouncing on her toes with excitement. At freshly eight-years-old, she felt like a whole grownup and the idea of swimming in the ocean without direct parental supervision was revolutionary to her.

Clementine had put her own sunscreen on and dropped her cover up incredibly dramatically, making her parents glance at each other as they held back their laughter at their barely-a-teenager.

“Turn.” Daniel said, the youngest doing a little spin to face him and she scrunched her eyes closed to let him apply sunscreen to her face. With a poke to her nose she was done and Daniel tossed the bottle of sunscreen onto the towel, wiping the excess cream from his hands onto himself.

“Can we go now?” Penelope asked, trying to rub off the sticky sunscreen from her skin.

“We have something planned first.” Florence said.

“What?” Clementine frowned, having already secured her spot on the towel to ‘tan’.

“You and your underage self are going to do some paddle board yoga with us.” Daniel said with a smirk at her glare.

“What’s that?” Lucy asked as they made their way down the beach.

“It’s like a class where they teach you yoga on the water!” Florence explained, taking her hand as they walked.

“So…like…something for old people.” Penelope mumbled.

“Not really.” Daniel snorted. “I have not seen a single old person doing this.”

“Your dad did it once.” Florence said.

“A while ago but, yeah, I guess you’re right.” Daniel laughed. “So, yes, I have seen an old person do this.”

They got checked in at the booth, the parents signing a few forms first before they got their boards and the girls waited impatiently with them. Florence slipped her arm around Daniel’s back and rested her chin on his shoulder to whisper a little, “Why do you always have to look so hot?”

His little smirk made her smile and he passed the clipboard back to the lady at the stand and then looked to his wife, pulling her close by her waist with a soft, “Wondering the same thing about you, baby.”

“Can we get a move on?” Lucy grabbed Daniel’s other hand before he could even lean down to kiss his wife and pulled him off towards the water.

They all got their boards and paddles and the instructor led them out into the water. The main goal was to not fall off the board which honestly was easier said than done and as Florence already had fallen off twice just trying to paddle out to deeper water. Honestly Penelope was no better and she could barely get standing without wiping out.

Daniel was doing just fine and Clementine managed to get standing beside him on her board with reasonable ease, Lucy standing on wobbly legs with her arms outstretched and bum stuck out to try not to fall.

“With your arms raised, we’re going to balance on one foot, like so.” The instructor imitated the pose from the centre of their little circle.

“Yeah, no, that’s not going to happen.” Florence snorted to herself, making Daniel laugh from her left as he adjusted the board with the paddle.

“Gotta try, Flora.” he said, raising his palms together above his head. “Trying new things today.”

“Come on, Mommy!” Lucy grinned, shaking like hell on her board with her terrible form, looking more like an excited puppy wagging its tail than a calm yoga student.

“Lucy-” Clementine laughed just as the youngest sister completely wiped out with a huge splash and the board nearly went flying.

“Oh my God, I’m gonna pee my pants!” Penelope shrieked with laughter, barely able to catch herself before she was stumbling into the water too, making Daniel wobble a little through his own laughter before steadying himself.

“What is with you guys?” Clementine whispered through her concentration, her hands above her head as she slowly raised her right foot to her opposite knee.

“Geez, Clem, look at you.” Florence said with a small applause.

“Why are you making it look so easy?” Lucy grumbled, climbing back onto her board, her blonde hair plastered over her face and shoulders with sea water.

“Because it is easy.” Daniel whispered through his perfect pose.

The group held it for a moment before the instructor moved onto the next pose, “Now carefully get on your knees.”

Daniel glanced over at Florence with a cheeky smirk as he sunk down, “Come on, baby. I know you’re good at this.”

“Daniel James.” Florence gaped, throwing a wave of water at him.

The instructor continued, “And you’re going to anchor your hands on the side of the board, spread your weight between your arms and your head and push into a handstand.”

Daniel took a second to watch the girls try first; Lucy getting too excited and doing a complete back flop right off the board and into the water, Penelope being too nervous to even push herself up with enough power to make a solid handstand. Clementine managed a little but her legs were off and she ended up falling sideways into the water, pulling herself back out with heavy coughs.

“I inhaled sea water! Bleh!” she pushed her hair out of her face as she climbed back on the board.

Daniel could only laugh at his sweet girls trying their hardest.

“Your turn, Daddy.” Penelope said.

“It’s not easy, thank you very much!” Lucy added.

He could only smile to himself as he set his hands tightly on the side of the board and leaned forward, carefully and slowly raising his legs up to keep his weight centred before finishing in a perfect handstand on the board.

The four girls simply gaped at him.

“It’s perfectly easy, Luce.” Daniel chuckled, his form earning a round of applause from the rest of the group as well as the instructor.

“Show off.” Clementine nudged his board with her paddle enough to get him to topple over into the water. His impact splashed Florence completely and nearly took her down with him, the whole family erupting in laughter as he surfaced again with his hair plastered over his forehead.

“You look like an egg, Daddy!” Lucy shrieked, laughing so hard she fell off her own board again.

Even the rest of the group laughed at the eight-year-old’s comment and Daniel ruffled a hand through his hair to try and give it some sort of volume.

“Not gonna work, baby.” Florence teased. “Not until it dries a little.”

“Come here.” Daniel swam a few paces over to her board where she sat with one leg on either side. He grabbed her arm and puckered out his lips for a kiss.

“Go away!” Florence laughed as he tried to pull her down to him.

“Pull her in the water!” Clementine said.

“No! Don’t you dare! Daniel!” Florence shrieked as he pushed himself out of the water just enough to wrap an arm around her waist and yanked her right off the board. She tried to stay on by linking her thighs tighter around the board, pushing her hand against his chest to try and keep him away from her. “Daniel James-!”

He cut her scream off by just flipping the board with her on it, taking himself down with her, submerging them both under water. Daniel pulled her to the surface, arms tucked around her waist to keep her from getting away, pressing a strong kiss to her lips as she pushed her hair out of her face.

“Oh my gosh, baby.” Florence flushed with embarrassment as the rest of the class looked on, her arms around his shoulders and their bodies pressed up tightly together in the water, but he just hid his proud smirk into her neck, leaving kisses over her wet skin.

“Oh my gosh is right.” Clementine rolled her eyes. “Get a room.”

[ft-dads-au]

Turn the Tide

Gratsu Summer Solstice 2020 - Prompt: Fun in the Sun Gratsu Week 2020 - Prompt: “What’s with all the noise? I’m sleepy” Pairing: Gray x Natsu

A Collaboration by @mdelpin​ and @oryu404​

AO3 | FF.Net

Summary:  Natsu has hated his birthday for years. It served only as a a painful reminder of the day his father abandoned him and Erza. All he wants is to get through the day with the least amount of fuss possible, but Gray has other plans. 0-0

July 7th, 2021

What’s with all the damn noise? I’m still sleepy…

Natsu groaned as the annoying beeping noise that had woken him up refused to stop, and he soon realized it was coming from his phone. He glared at the device, but as expected, it did nothing, the beeps continued as text after text came in.

What the hell is going on?

He stretched his arm and grabbed his phone from his nightstand, fighting the urge to throw it across the room...

Happy Birthday, Bro! 🎈🎉✨🎁 Where the party at? 👀🧁🎂 Gotta do rounds, but I’ll call you later!

Happy Birthday, Natsu!

cat_birthday.gif

Another year older, Firefly! I’ll stop by Sorciere and buy you a drink tonight...

Happy Birthday, dude! Get Gray to blow your 🕯️!!! 😂😏

Natsu scrolled through the texts that kept coming in from his friends and family, rolling his eyes at the last one, not even having to look at the sender info to know it was Loke’s contribution.

As nice as it was to receive well wishes, rather than cheer him up, all they accomplished was to envelop him in a cloud of gloom that was very familiar. Still, he replied to all the messages and got up to start his day.

At least it was a Wednesday, which meant that Gray would soon arrive with Aki for one of their study sessions. It was the first time in a while that he was impatient for Gray to visit, not because he wanted to see him, but because of the distraction that studying for the GED would provide.

What he really wanted was to get out of the house. To escape the memories that refused to let go.

The previous year he’d been too numb from everything else that had happened in his life for it to sink in that he was back in his childhood home, sleeping in the very room his father used to call his. The last place he’d seen him before he’d disappeared from his life, leaving him and Erza behind without any warning or explanation. For so long, he’d held on to the belief that his father was coming back, but no matter how many nights he’d waited for him, he never did. And so his birthday became a day Natsu resented, a painful reminder of his abandonment.

The doorbell rang, startling Natsu out of his gloomy thoughts. Atlas raced towards the door at the noise, chanting the name Aki over and over in joyful anticipation.

Natsu ran down the stairs to head him off, knowing from experience Atlas would open the door regardless of who might be on the other side. It was much too early for Gray to arrive for their study session, and given that it was his birthday, the idea of an unexpected visitor set him on edge.

He got to the door just as Atlas opened it and was surprised to see his boyfriend was indeed standing on the other side of the door.

“Hey,” he greeted, feeling slightly puzzled but no less pleased, “Are we starting early today?”

“Nope,” Gray smirked, “You’ve been working pretty hard for the past few weeks. Today you get the day off. We’re going to the beach!”

“Beach!” Aki repeated, and now that Natsu looked at him, he noticed he was dressed in a swimsuit and holding a colorful bucket and shovel like the ones sold at the grocery store.

“Beach?” Natsu parroted in disbelief, “With three kids? Are you insane?”

“Four, you forgot to count yourself,” Gray teased, entering the house and closing the door behind him. He pulled Natsu to him for a quick kiss, “Hey.”

“I don’t know, I’d have to pack stuff for the kids and get them ready,” Natsu hedged, not feeling up to such an involved outing.

“Nice try, Sunshine,” Gray turned him around and nudged him towards the stairs. “All you have to do is get yourself ready; Erza already took care of the rest.” Gray walked over to the small closet that sat at the foot of the stairs and opened it to show that indeed there were two bags packed along with Atlas’ car seat.

“We’re going to the beach?!” Hana squealed behind them, and at that point, Natsu realized he’d already lost. Hana had always loved the beach even though her skin was so fair she had to be slathered in sunblock constantly, but she hadn’t voiced any interest in it since her mother had died. Knowing that, he didn’t want to disappoint her.

“Looks like it,” he replied with as much enthusiasm as he could muster at the idea. It might even be a good thing. If he were chasing after the kids, he wouldn't have time to think about anything else.

“That’s the spirit,” Gray remarked, his words dripping with sarcasm, “Go get ready, and I’ll start putting stuff in the car.”

Now that the decision had been made, Natsu went along with it. He’d wanted to get out of the house, after all. Changing into swim trunks and a t-shirt, he quickly tossed a change of clothes and a towel into a bag. He searched around for his sunglasses and sunblock, and when he heard Gray yelling for him, he hurried down the stairs to find everything had already been packed up, including the kids.

“Why today?” he asked, gazing at his boyfriend with suspicion.

“Because it’s going to get super hot, and you’re too cheap to install an air conditioner.” Gray retorted, “Since nothing’s getting into your little brain today, we might as well have fun. Now come on.”

He grabbed the bag from Natsu’s hand and led him to his car, making no mention of Natsu’s mood. Natsu relaxed, he’d never told Gray when his birthday was, and he hadn’t gotten a text from Lyon, so it was possible he didn’t know. The people in his life always wanted to make a big deal about his birthday, but all Natsu wanted was to forget it, let it pass quickly and quietly. And who knew? A day of fun in the sun might just do the trick.

0-0

“Beach!” Hana ran off towards the sand the moment they stepped outside the air-conditioned train station and into the summer heat.

“Hana, wait!” Natsu ran after her, terrified of losing her in the crowd of people. He glanced back to see Gray trying to handle the boys and the remaining bags, and he flashed him an apologetic smile.

Gray hadn’t been exaggerating. It was a hot day. Thankfully the beach wasn’t too packed yet, and once he’d gotten Hana to stop, he rented a large umbrella for them to sit under, knowing the heat was going to be too much for the younger kids and for Gray, who was as fair as Hana.

He was already applying sunblock on Hana when Gray finally arrived with Atlas and Aki, dumping all their bags on the sand. “A little help would have been nice,” he grumbled.

Natsu glanced up to see his boyfriend was already flushed. “Go sit,” he ordered, pointing towards the shade the umbrella provided and handing him a bottle of water from one of the bags Erza had packed. He managed to get all three kids ready and sent them off to play in the area in front of them.

Natsu grabbed a new bottle of sunblock and knelt behind his boyfriend, who had already taken off his shirt, “Are you feeling better?” he asked as he spurted some of the contents of the bottle into his hand and began to apply it on Gray’s shoulders.

“Mhmm,” Gray groaned in appreciation, “That feels nice. Thanks for getting the umbrella, that was a good idea.”

“Well then, it seems my little brain is good for something after all,” Natsu retorted.

“Your hands aren’t bad either,” Gray observed, leaning forward so that Natsu could apply sunblock on his back. “Hana really likes the beach, huh?”

“Yeah, back when we lived in Edolas, Lis used to take her to the beach all the time,” he explained, watching as Hana examined some seashells she’d found. “It’s nice to see her excited about it again.”

“What on Earth is Atlas doing?”

Natsu turned his attention to his son and had to laugh, “He’s digging a hole, obviously.” One that only seemed to get bigger by the minute now that Aki had caught on to what his friend was doing and had begun to help.

“Shouldn’t we stop them?” Gray asked worriedly.

“Why? They’re not hurting anything,” Natsu shrugged, “or are you worried they’ll end up upside down on the other side of the world?”

“Smart and funny, how lucky am I?” Gray answered drily.

“I used to like to do that too,” Natsu muttered, ignoring the barb as he remembered beach trips with his own family.

He used to dig holes deep enough that he could hide in them and startle his mom as she walked by. Sometimes Igneel would even help him, laughing just as hard as Natsu when his wife squealed in fright as Natsu grabbed her leg. He hadn’t thought about that in years. A lump lodged in his throat at the thought of his mom, and he couldn’t help but reflect on how much Erza resembled her these days.

“Here, let me put some on you,” Natsu felt Gray’s hands on his back as he rubbed the cooling lotion on his warm skin, interrupting his train of thought. He closed his eyes briefly, enjoying the glorious sensation of those fingers kneading his muscles.

It was much better to focus on what he had. There was no reclaiming what he’d already lost.

“You know,” Gray declared as he continued to cover Natsu in sunblock, “there wasn’t an amusement park the last time I came here, it’s too bad the kids are too little. That could’ve been fun.”

“Well, maybe we can come back another time,” Natsu suggested, shading his eyes with his hand as he tried to locate Hana amidst the growing crowd.

“You mean like on a date?”

“Why not? I bet Sting and Rogue would love to come too.” He found his daughter talking to another little girl, not too far from where they were sitting and relaxed.

“Maybe,” Gray wrapped his arms around Natsu’s waist and pulled him closer to his chest, “I don’t get you to myself often enough, though.”

Natsu rested his hands on Gray’s and smiled, “You, my love, get most of my spare time. You’re just greedy.”

Gray chuckled, “True enough. Want to go check out the water? The kids look like they’re getting restless.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Natsu agreed, stealing a quick kiss before grabbing Atlas under one arm and racing towards Hana at full speed as Atlas yelled her name out joyfully. She squealed at their approach, running away from them and towards the water.

He could hear Gray grumbling behind him and grinned.

“Daddy, no!” Hana shrieked as he put Atlas down so he could join the chase and continued to charge after her.

“Don’t worry, Hana, I’ll get him for you,” was all he heard before being picked up from behind and tossed over Gray’s shoulder.

“What are you gonna do now, Sunshine?” Gray snickered, holding on tighter as Natsu did his best to get loose, “What do you think, Hana? Should I throw him in?”

“Yeah!” Hana giggled, “Throw Daddy in the ocean!”

“You heard the lady; you’re going down!” Gray turned them around, and Natsu could see that Hana looked positively gleeful at his predicament. All three kids cheered as they egged Gray on.

“Traitors!” He called out in mock dismay, as he flailed around, trying to mess up Gray’s balance. His efforts proved pointless, however, as the next thing he knew, he was falling, but only for a short second until he landed face-first into the cold water. Moving quickly, he turned himself around, snaking his arms out and grabbing Gray’s legs while he was busy laughing at him.

Using Gray’s distraction to his advantage, Natsu pulled, taking Gray down with him.

“Come on in, the water’s fine!” Natsu couldn’t help but cackle at the surprised expression on his boyfriend’s face.

“That’s it, Dragneel, you asked for it,” Gray announced before splashing water at Natsu’s face.

They wrestled in the water, both laughing too hard to be able to gain any advantage over the other. Soon they were joined by the kids who were more than happy to enter the fray.

After a few minutes, they each grabbed one of the boys and placed them on their shoulders so they could wade deeper while keeping an eye on Hana, who swam beside them. Both boys were overjoyed to be up so high. They eagerly called out every wave that rushed towards them.

Natsu was having such a great time that he completely forgot to keep track of Hana’s skin, and when he noticed the telltale redness on her nose and the back of her neck, he decided it was time to get back to their umbrella. Gray wasn’t doing much better, which made Natsu smile. The guy might be thirty, but he was still young in all the best ways.

Gray treated them to lunch, and they all sat together under the umbrella munching happily on pizza and chicken nuggets.

“Are you having fun?” Gray asked while helping Aki eat a slice of cheese pizza.

“Yeah,” Natsu answered honestly, “I have to admit, you had a good idea for once.”

Gray rolled his eyes at his response but chose not to protest. They shared a fun afternoon building sandcastles with the kids, collecting shells, and helping Atlas dig ever deeper holes, which Natsu made sure to refill once his son had moved on to the next one. Much too soon, it was time to get on a train as Natsu had to return to Magnolia in time for his evening shift at Crime Sorciere.

Natsu sat on the train, feeling content as Hana leaned against him, and Atlas snored in his lap. On the opposite bench, Aki was also K.O. in Gray’s arms, while Gray gazed out the window with a serene smile. Natsu watched him for a while, mesmerized by how breathtaking Gray looked when he was at peace. It didn’t happen nearly often enough for his liking, and that always saddened him. Gray deserved the world, and Natsu was determined to get it for him. Someday.

They made it home with enough time for Natsu to take a shower before leaving for work. He noticed a notification on his phone as he was getting dressed, and seeing that it was a text from Gray, he scanned it immediately.

Happy Birthday, Natsu! 😉

Natsu realized then that he hadn’t thought about his birthday once since they’d arrived at the beach. He was touched to learn that Gray had been aware all along, choosing not to treat the day any differently because he’d remembered how Natsu felt about it.

Just like that, Gray had understood what he’d needed, something Erza and Lisanna had struggled with for years.

For the first time since Natsu was nine years old, he’d had a birthday he could look back on with a smile. And that was the best present he could have ever asked for.

A/N: We had started this one for Summer Solstice but ran out of time, luckily Gratsu Week gave us the motivation to finish it! This fic marks 200K words in our AU!

[dialovers-translations]

Diabolik Twitter ー Ayato Sakamaki [2019 Compilation]

–> This post includes all tweets posted on the official Rejet Twitter account for AyatoSakamaki (@DiaLoverAyatoS) in 2019.

Shuu l Reiji l Kanato l Laito l Subaru l Ruki l Kou l Yuma l Azusa l Carla l Shin l Kino

January 4, 2019

> Oi, Reiji! Give me my damn New Year’s money! (@Reiji)

--> In Japan, it is common for parents and other relatives to give ‘otoshi-dama’ to the children in the family. The money is usually put in nicely decorated envelopes and most children save it for later.

> Don’t fuckin’ ignore me! (@Reiji)

> That damn Reiji. He won’t hand me the money. The old man definitely sent us some so he’s hiding it for sure! I bet he’s trying to include it our household finances

> He’s not getting away with this! I’m pissed off so I’m gonna go buy a huge load of Takoyaki. The bill’s going straight to Sakamaki Reiji!

> Oi, Kino! Give me your New Year’s money! (@Kino)

February 14, 2019

> Today you’re supposed to give me chocolates, right? Hurry up and hand them over. I don’t really care about chocolate, but it’ll finally shed some light on who you like. You feel the same way, right?

March 7, 2019

> I wanna play some basketball

> Oi! Let’s play! (@Subaru)

> Yuma! Let’s play basket! (@Yuma)

> Kanato, you have to work out every now and then or you’ll stay flimsy and weak like that forever. So let’s play a round of basket! I’ll be your opponent. (@Kanato)

> Fuck off! As if I’d let you use my head as a replacement for the ball! (@Kanato)

> Laito. Play basketball with me right now (@Laito)

> The fuck you saying? I don’t get it (@Laito)

> Why won’t anyone play with me?

March 14, 2019

> Reiji! You’re making cookies, right? (@Reiji)

> The sweet smell woke me up. Anyway, give me some of those cookies as well! (@Reiji)

> I’m gonna give them to her. It’ll save me a lot of work and trouble. (@Reiji)

> The fuck, cheapskate! (@Reiji)

> Ahー What to do?

> Guess I’ve got no other choice. I’ll go with my staple!

March 18, 2019

> Let’s set a hundred alarm clocks! (@Reiji)

March 22, 2019

> I was wondering why you were being so secretive as of late but you were preparing for my birthday! You really are an idiot. I told you many times that Vampires don’t give a damn, exactly because I knew you’d try and do this. ...But oh well, I’ll just accept you as my present. Come over here. When you’re with me, I don’t need anything else.

March 28, 2019

> That Ruki guy looks up to us, you know?

> Ah? I know he was being sarcastic! You really don’t get jokes, do you? (@Kanato)

> You want to know that badly? (@Kanato)

> Actually, I threw it away earlier (@Kanato)

April 1, 2019

> I want to eat some Takoyaki-chan

--> I assume he’s imitating Yuma here, who calls his sugar cubes ‘sugar-chan’ :p

> It’s Yuma

May 4, 2019

> I got another one of these weird letters

> “Fourth Edition ・ Answer the questions or no more blood-sucking!”, it says. I got a similar one before, ight?

> I never want to do this again! I’m not doing it!

> Is that how it works? (@Yuma)

> Seems like it. But I’m definitely not doing it. Being played by someone like this seriously pisses me off

> Fine! I’m going out of my way to answer this, so you better feel grateful!

> Q. Which color of clothes do you like on a girl?

A. Red, obviously. No matter what color she wears, it’ll get dyed red when I suck her blood anyway

> Q. If I promised to give you some Takoyaki if you eat the green peppers first, would you be able to eat them?

A. Never thought about that. But if you say those kind of cheeky things, I’d just steal the Takoyaki and push the peppers in your mouth instead.

> Q. Which kind of girls do you like?

A. Someone who won’t defy me. A completely submissive one. It’d be hella interesting if she were able to accept both pain and pleasure, showing me a pathetic crying face in the progress.

June 17

> Hey

> How do I turn ‘fuinki’ (atmosphere/mood) in kanji? 

> Fuーinki

> Fuiinki

> 雰囲気

> Got it

--> Okay this was kind of difficult to translate to English because it’s all about the English language. xD 

July 7, 2019

> I want everyone to bow before me! #TanabataWishes

--> Tanabata is a star festival held on the 7th of July in Japan. A common practice is to write your wish on a slip of paper or a little wooden board and have it displayed somewhere alongside other people’s wishes.

August 7, 2019

> Oi

> There’s a party being held tomorrow. You should come too. I won’t let you say no

> You ready?

> Let the party begin!

August 14, 2019

> It’s fucking hot

> I bought some ice cream!

> Lit!

> There was a single rose shaped one inside. This is a rare one, right?

> As to be expected of me!

August 16, 2019

> Buy me some seaweed flakes and wheat flour. I can’t eat any Takoyaki ‘cause Reiji won’t buy the ingredients (@Subaru)

August 20, 2019

> I’m parched

> Come here, Chichinashi. Let’s go some place where we won’t get interrupted. I’ll suck you plenty

September 12, 2019

> You definitely wouldn’t make that kind of mistake! (@Ruki)

> Ah? The fuck you mean? (@Laito)

> Shut up! (@Laito)

October 23, 2019

> Oi

> You’re making that greedy expression of yours. You missed me, didn’t you?

> In that case, wait patiently till the 29th next week. You’l listen to me, right?

--> The More, More Blood drama CD series were announced on this day!

October 29, 2019

> Yo, Chichinashi

> Get it now? You can’t escape me, no matter how hard you try. I’ll chase you down anywhere, piercing you with my fangs time after time

> I’m already looking forward to seeing your tears

October 31, 2019

> Trick or Treat!

> I’m dressed as a pirate right now! Pretty neat, huh?

> I’ll take you to the ocean with me. Prepare yourself!

> Hah, just kidding

> Anyway, I was gonna have Kanato dress up as well but he’s not here. Where did he run off to?

> Shuu is sleeping in the living room. Guess I’ll have to do with him instead. I’ll put the costume on him while he’s asleep!

November 5, 2019

> I’m late again today!

> Oh well, I don’t care about the queen’s trial. I bet it’s just another dude who is getting punished for eating the sweets without permission or something.

--> I’m not sure why, but they seem to be doing a parody of Alice in Wonderland on this day. xD

> Besides, most of the trials are false judgements anyway. I can’t keep up with Kanato’s hysteria any longer

> Fuck off. Just leave it to the people who want to do it! (@Kanato)

November 7, 2019

> Oi, lizard! You’re still not done cleaning the chimney!? I thought I gave you the order to do so? (@Carla)

--> I think this is still part of the whole fairytale thing?? Not sure why he is calling Carla a lizard though. I haven’t seen Alice in Wonderland since I was like 8 or 9 so I don’t remember all the characters.

> The fuck you saying? You’re my servant! (@Carla)

> ‘You don’t’, my ass! Hurry up and do it! (@Carla)

November 14, 2019

> Oi, Chichinashi

> I’m gonna play some basketball. You should come watch as well

> Don’t you dare take your eyes off me!

November 26, 2019

> Ahー Classes are a pain

> Just go on your after-school shopping by yourself! Why do I have to tag along!?

November 27, 2019

> Chichinashi’s sleeping with a dumb expression on her face

December 20, 2019

> I’m the only one who can get you heated. Don’t you dare forget that

December 24, 2019

> Merry Christmas!

> Well, it being Christmas doesn’t really matter much though. No matter what day, don’t leave my side, ‘kay?

December 25, 2019

> Your blood is the best per usual. However, I haven’t had enough at all. The more I drink, the more I crave it

> Hey, you can make a nicer voice than that, right?

> Do your best to please me. If you succeed, I don’t mind treating you a little more gently? ...Come on, more

> ...Hehe, look at you go! I’ll praise you

> You really are the best

[ja0-s-blank-canvas-fic]

Part 2 - Chapter 17 - So Far So Good

Blank Canvas Part 2

AO3 - here

Fanfiction.net - here

Welcome back! Hope you had a great week. And hopefully didn't set anything on fire with fireworks this weekend. XD Some people tend to get a bit pyromantic on the 4th of July. Crazy Americans. :P Anyway, the first day in the hero course continues with classes and 1-A getting to know even more about the Green Bean. He just has so many secrets in this fic!

We're getting a Kouda pov this chapter! I want to remind you that I know very little about sign language. I know that the grammar patterns are different but since I don't know what they're like, they're going to be similar to verbal speech. Just letting you know.

Warning for teasing. From the paragraph starting with [Midnight entered the room...]. The first two sentences are fine but the teasing starts at [She sent a knowing wink...] and ends at [Izuku chose to ignore...] which is the first sentence in the next full paragraph.

Linktree to all the things!

End notes for the chapter are under the line.

Now 1-A knows Izuku is fluent and Nezu's personal student! Again, I wanted Izuku to be fluent in English so he could learn JSL and the reason why I wanted him to learn that is to be better friends with Kouda. That and it would be helpful as a hero. As for Nezu, that would come out eventually so this sort of ripped that bandaid off. Hope it's not too clunky.

Apologies if Izuku seems more fluent than he should be with only learning sign for a month in story. (I know, it's only been a month into the school year since chapter 10 of part 1. XD ) Again, I'm not sure how sign language works grammar wise or for skill level, but it is canon that Izuku soaks up information like a sponge. So, it could be feasible that he would pick it up fast. Plus, he's had lots of practice having secret conversations with the teachers. Also, I just want him to have a sign buddy and be friends with Kouda. ^___^

Thanks to those on the discord for their suggestions on what Izuku should say. Though there wasn't one that seemed to fit to me so I went with the suggestion of him just going with a basic introduction instead. So thanks for that. ^___^

Also, Yamada is worried for Hitoshi though he doesn't know why exactly. More on that later as the internships commence. ;)

Fun Facts About Japan:

There are many types of personalities when it comes to students same as any school. Some are loud and boisterous while others are quiet and shy. I myself leaned more towards the shy side growing up and still do sometimes. But when I'm in my element of either the company I have or the topic at hand, I thrive. ;) Anyway, I just wanted to share one awesome experience I had at one of my schools in regards to shy kids. I believe it was my second year and I moved to working at one of the big schools in my area. Each year level had 8-9 classes so there were a lot of kids.

In one class, I remember there being a very shy girl who was known to barely talk. I tried to get her to participate best I could but she just preferred to be quiet. I would still include her best I could in my lessons during my time there and it actually paid off. It was my last week at that school and I was doing goodbye jeopardy with them as a last hurrah. The teacher had it set up that the students in their desk groups would take turns answering for their teams. Which was great and allowed everyone the opportunity to participate as well as share responsibility for their teams.

Anyway, it just so happened to be the group the quiet girl was in who won the latest round of janken and she was the representative for her group. Some answers were written and others spoken. This question had happened to be a verbal answer so I was worried she wouldn't answer. But to my surprise and joy she whispered the correct answer quietly in my ear and I was just so proud of her for speaking. It was only a whisper but she did it and trusted me enough to speak to me. ^____^ And with only working at the school for about 5 months.

Reminder that my city had us switch schools every few months or so which made it difficult to build proper trust with the students and teachers in such a short time. Which is why I was so happy that this shy girl was willing to say something to me at all. Building trust is very important in school and is vital for a good education.

Ok, long end notes are long. XD Next update we've got another lunch scene with, you guessed it, more bonding time! Along with other things. Mei apologizes to Iida, Dark Shadow and Izuku have a moment, more learning about the green bean, and some other stuff in between. Again, please stay safe and be well. Let me know of any typos or weirdness and have a great week!

[blissfulnightrain]

Oh man am I excited to share this post!

Last year, I somehow got chosen to be a contributor for the @kairizine! It was an amazing experience getting to work with the many talented contributors and amazing mods with this team, I truly couldn’t ask for a better experience. Pre-orders closed for their first round back in March, and all packages were sent out, which means we finally got the green light to post our pieces! I hope you enjoy this story even a fraction of how much I enjoyed writing it.

If you missed the first round of pre-orders and would still like a copy and the merch, fear not! We’ll be opening for another round come July 5th! Follow the zine handle to keep up with updates!

Lastly, I do have the piece posted to AO3 and FFN, if those are your preferred reading sites!

Without further ado, here it is!

A Reason to Believe

Word Count: 2852

Summary: As Sora returns to Hollow Bastion to close its keyhole and save Riku, Kairi is left alone in Traverse Town to reflect on their journey thus far. There had to be more that she could have done...but what? Perhaps the "stranger" she meets might have answers about the strength she so desires.

***

Kairi wasn't supposed to be outside.

Not without supervision at least. But with Aerith, Yuffie, and Leon now gone and only the occasional check-in from Cid, who was very much preoccupied with his business, life practically alone at the small house in the Third District grew agonizingly stagnant.

She didn't plan on going too far—she was well aware of the potential risks. All she needed was a small change in scenery.

Very carefully she looked both ways, making sure her coast was clear. With no Heartless in sight, she stepped one foot out of the house and onto the cobblestone street, the other following as she gently shut the door behind her. It was a cool night out, as it always was. The sun never shined in Traverse Town, the sky's canvas instead perpetually painted with hues of black, navy, and purple, decorated with a smattering of shimmering, glittery stars. If she could tunnel her vision, drown out the sight of the brick buildings and glowing neon signs that surrounded her, she could have sworn she was looking at the same dark sky that canopied the humble island that she grew up on at night.

In fact, she knew for sure now that that was the case, wasn't it?

"Every single one of those stars...they're another world." She recalled Riku saying some version of this almost every time during their late nights out on the beach, strands of his silver hair dancing in the seabreeze as he gazed above.

"Every single one?" Sora's cerulean eyes would grow wide, his mouth agape in wonder.

"Every single one," Riku would echo with a nod. "We're on just one among who knows how many."

They were going to see them all. Together.

But things hadn't gone as they'd intended. The light of their tiny world could no longer be seen up there, blinking out the moment it fell to the darkness, and though they'd managed to journey far, far away, they'd all been forced to travel on their own individual paths.

Or so it seemed.

Whether she'd ever realized it during the time or not, she could not say, but through Sora's heart and eyes, she'd walked his path beside him. New friends, long battles, and so many sights that had been encountered—it all was barely fathomable to think about. There were so many new experiences, and eventually one that rang all too familiar.

Their previous destination, before she and Sora had returned to Traverse Town, was a dreary land they now called "Hollow Bastion." It was aptly named; a barren land where waterfalls rose, eluding the lush gardens they once fed—gardens she knew she'd once played in herself.

Even though she associated the islands with her childhood, she would never quite be able to shake the familiarity with that foreign-but-not place. She'd felt it the moment she (or Sora, to put it more accurately) set foot on that world. It didn't look anything like she remembered, but then again...she didn't really remember it at all. The sight of the castle and the paved walkways all brought little flashes of recollection, but they almost instantly were snuffed out by the Heartless that ran amok.

The Heartless threat only grew worse, forcing her and Sora to flee and seek refuge back in Traverse Town after they'd saved one another. But Riku still remained there, trapped by the dark road he'd chosen. Despite her panic, Kairi could discern the desperation to abandon that path in those last moments she'd been in his presence. Paired with an unlocked Keyhole sending more monsters across the worlds, Sora had been forced to return with that Keyblade that had been mysteriously ordained to him.

"You'd...kind of be in my way." Sora was frank when she asked him if she could come along. Her giggles echoed off the hollow stone walls of that musty cave (that reminded her so much of the Secret Place back on the island), masking the sinking feeling she felt in her gut when she'd heard him say that. After all, they'd made it so far by sticking together, hadn't they?

Still, it wasn't hard to understand where he was coming from. She'd never quite been able to keep up with her friends as they raced and sparred against each other, nor had she been chosen to wield any sort of universe-saving magical weapon. No, all she could do now was stand by and wait for Sora and Riku's safe return.

She could only hope that was good enough.

Thoughts began to race through her mind once more, thoughts she was no stranger to. Would Sora return okay? Would Riku return to being the boy they'd grown up alongside, or had the darkness stolen him away from them forever? Would either of them be able to restore balance to all the worlds that had been lost?

"They're just kids…" She'd overheard Leon discussing the matter with Aerith before they, too, had left her behind and went to join Sora. Though they'd explained that they were just going to check on the state of their home world, Kairi couldn't help but sense the dejection in Leon's tone. And she couldn't really blame him; after all, what could a bunch of kids do?

"By any chance are you lost, my dear?" Kairi jumped, startled at the sound of an unfamiliar voice. A shiver ran down her spine as she inspected her surroundings once more; her coast remained clear to her right and in front of her, but to her left…

"Oh, I didn't mean to frighten you," the owner of the voice said apologetically. At first obscured by the shadows of the night, her features became more apparent when she stepped under the glow of the street lamps. The light revealed a stout woman about the same height as her, a brown shawl draped over her shoulders and the purple ankle-length dress she wore. Her gray hair was tied up in a bun set high on her head, her indigo eyes crinkling as her cheeks and lips lifted into a warm smile.

"I-it's okay," Kairi responded, now turning to face the elderly woman. "I just didn't expect to see anyone else out here."

"I could say the same." The woman chuckled. "Well, it won't do a young girl such as yourself much good to stay out here for too long. Conditions are quite dangerous right now, with all those monsters running around. I wouldn't be out here if I didn't need to be." Kairi's attention was then drawn to the plastic bags she was carrying. "It's best we both get back to where we belong as soon as we can."

"Right." Kairi smiled politely. The elderly woman wasn't wrong, and luckily enough all Kairi needed to do to go back inside was turn around and walk a couple of paces in the direction she came from. But… "Would I be able to help you with those?" She pointed towards the bags, which appeared heavy in the woman's frail hands. And who knew how much further she would have to carry them to reach her destination?

"Oh, dear, that's very kind of you to offer, but I wouldn't want you to travel further than you need to."

A small frown appeared on Kairi's lips. Even if it was in such a small capacity, to be able to help this woman… "I really don't mind!" She extended her arms out towards her elder, her lips now turned upwards. "You'll need to get home as soon as you can, too."

The woman hesitated a moment before finally relenting and passing the bags over, smile lines appearing at the corners of her mouth. "Well, you do make an offer that's difficult to refuse."

It was as Kairi began taking the bags that the woman's complexion turned pallid, eyes wide in shock.

"Oh, look out! Behind you!" Kairi hastily turned around, only to recoil at the sight.

A small group of Heartless had appeared. Some were flying, others were bound to the ground, some were with weapons, others had their fists or talons bared, and all of them were teeming with a dark, deadly intent to strike every living, breathing being in their path.

She knew she had mere seconds to decide what to do next. Getting the old woman home would be impossible under these conditions, but she had the presence of mind to remember an alternative option for shelter. "Over here!" As the swarm began to close in, Kairi gestured for the woman to follow when she darted around back towards the door to the small house. She only half-noticed that her wrists felt lighter when she reached for the door, hastily opening it while pulling the old woman inside along with her.

The soles of Kairi's shoes squeaked against the familiar hardwood floor, the woman's tapping behind her almost immediately after. Following her was the sound of the door slamming shut, standing as the only barrier between them and the threat outside. They held their breath at the continued thumping against the door, and Kairi's eyes darted frantically around the room trying to find something, anything, to stave off the potential intruders.

When she felt something grab her hand, she nearly lashed out, only to quickly realize that it was the woman's comforting squeeze.

"Believe in the light," she whispered softly. And though they were mere words, Kairi found her heart responding. She closed her eyes, melding into the woman's touch as a sudden wave of calm washed over her amidst the clamor from beyond the walls. A small flame began to flicker and glow at the hearth of her chest, its warmth spreading through her veins and encapsulating her. If she could somehow make it burn even brighter, proliferate those whisps and embers past the door to lick at their enemies, even if just to ward them away...

Whether seconds or an eternity had passed by the time Kairi reopened her eyes, she could not say. The woman's delicate palm was still in her own, the walls around them remained intact, and there was silence.

Silence.

"See that?" The woman beamed, now taking Kairi's other hand. "They're gone."

"They are," Kairi replied with a grin of her own. "Thank you." The two stood quietly, reveling in the now-peaceful moment, and the shelter and safety of one another.

"...I promised I'd help you get home," Kairi finally interjected into the silence. "I'll take you there now."

"Oh, dear, you've done more than enough—"

"Please." Whether it was Kairi's pleading tone, or perhaps it was in spite of it, the woman was chuckling.

"Your determination is quite admirable, I must say."

"I'll make sure the coast is clear." Kairi finally let go of the woman to make her way over towards the door, slowly turning its knob before creaking it open. Sure enough, there were no enemies in sight. Looking both ways as she had done before, she slowly stepped out, one foot after the other, before giving the woman the confirmation.

It was when the woman caught up to her that she noticed the mess in the corner of her vision. "Oh, no…" she groaned.

"What is it, child?" the woman inquired, concerned.

"I...I'm really sorry," Kairi replied, dejected as she walked over to the source of her dismay: remnants of the plastic bags, their contents laid strewn and torn across the street. "I dropped them while we were running, and I just wasn't thinking, a-and—"

"Dear, dear! Munny goes around, more days will come, and these items will be easily replaced. And now, if it weren't for your actions and quick thinking, I might not be standing here next to you, and certainly not in one piece." But the woman's thoughtful words failed to quell the lump that was forming in Kairi's throat.

"I was scared," she explained, her voice small. "There was nothing else we could do besides run away and hide." And it was all she had been doing since coming here, hadn't she? While Sora and Riku were out there, fending for themselves, fending for her, all she could do was stand and watch, worlds away from them.

"There, there, now." She felt the woman's soft fingertips delicately brush across her cheek, wiping away a single glistening tear.

"I'm sorry," she apologized again, blinking rather rapidly to clear her vision. Her hand was taken once more, enveloped firmly between the woman's pruney fingers.

"Tell me, what's really troubling you?" The woman's eyes peered back at her. Kairi hesitated before responding. This was a stranger, after all, and she had been strictly instructed to not divulge any information regarding the worlds' affairs to anyone. But...there was something about this woman that she couldn't quite put her finger on—a something that told her it might be all right to be just a little vulnerable with her.

"I just...wish I could have been stronger. So I could have protected th—you, back there." She then let out a contemplative sigh, brows furrowed the moment the words escaped her. "Sorry, that probably sounds ridiculous. After all, what could a kid like me do?"

"Oh, you'd be quite surprised." The woman appeared amused. "Come, let me tell you all about strength while we walk—a type of strength that doesn't require any muscle or stamina, but one that is far more valuable."

"Huh?" Kairi nearly caught herself from falling as the woman suddenly began to move, their hands still clasped together.

"Now, listen carefully to my words, dear, for the heart of a child exactly like yourself has the power to do the most incredible things." The woman began to relay what sounded like the start of a fairytale, and suddenly, Kairi was transported.

But the place she found herself in was no fantasy land. A musty green carpet shrouded the floors, countless books lined rows and rows of wooden shelves. Underneath the stairwell in the corner was a little nook with a desk covered in pages and pens. Her indigo eyes peered up curiously at the seated old woman, the hue of her irises matching her own. Her smile was kind, her voice soft as she relayed the familiar tale of the children whose light saved the worlds once before.

"So, listen child," the woman from the world of her origin called to her. "Even in the deepest darkness, there will always be a light to guide you. Believe in the light, and the darkness will never defeat you. Your heart will shine with its power and push the darkness away…"

"...Just as it did when you protected me with that fiery determination of yours, and as it always will when you wish to save the ones you cherish so deeply," the woman now holding her hand concluded.

The night sky blanketed them once more as Kairi found herself back in the present. Concrete replaced carpet, buildings stood in place of bookshelves, and the messy desk was transformed into the door of a tiny cottage. But the woman she now stood in front of, indigo eye to indigo eye…

Time seemed to stand still as Kairi's vision grew misty once again. "Y-you're…"

Her grandmother flashed her a knowing smile, her hand resting tenderly against Kairi's cheek. The once-unfamiliar touch now restored memories of long walks through abundant gardens, Kairi's small, soft hand clasped in the warm but sturdy grasp of hers as she begged to hear that same story over and over and over again. Sometimes the old woman would chuckle, other times she'd feign exhaustion, but in the end, she'd never refused her bright-eyed granddaughter's request.

"You and I have quite a bit of catching up to do, don't we, Kairi?" Her tone remained gentle, like the sea breeze that caressed her skin when she frolicked about with Sora and Riku along the island shores.

"You knew all along, didn't you?" She received a nod in response. "I…don't know what to say." And yet, there was so much she wanted, needed to tell her. About her home away from home, about the new friends she'd made, about her journey across the big sky—the very same one she swore existed all those days ago while her grandmother nodded along, amused by her spunk.

"Through all the adversity you've certainly faced," she began, as if answering the younger girl's discombobulated thoughts, "that light of yours shines even more brilliantly than I recalled."

"That's because I had an amazing teacher who always told me to believe in it," Kairi explained, lips lifting and heart swelling. "Thank you, Grandma." It was a lesson of love and light that she swore to herself she would never forget ever again.

But that promise would have to remain in her heart, unverbalized, as Kairi suddenly found herself standing empty-handed. Asphalt, buildings, and the woman who'd been standing before her crumbled into shards of sand that collected beneath her feet. A voice called her name, and from the distance in this strange new void, a familiar boy with spiky brown hair was running towards her.