#Two young Lesbians raising a baby and figuring out themselves and each other

[ragnarockz]

I feel like a little feral fucking creature with foam at her mouth like hey! Have this, too! 👋🏻 😵‍💫

Alice/Agnes and THIS thought

Agnes tried her hardest to walk and move as quietly as she could back into her and Alice's room. Nicky had finally fallen asleep, waking up in the middle of the night with tiny sobs of hunger. Agnes was happy that he was both a good eater and sleeper; drifting off to sleep the second he unlatched from her.

She padded into the room, hands cupping her breasts against her tee shirt. The comforter was still pulled back from when she got out of bed; letting her get back right in. She got herself down on her back and pulled the covers up halfway. Her hands went back up to her chest, cupping her breasts once more.

It was times like these she wished her and Evanora had a better relationship. She wished she had someone to ask about motherhood; all the little things she didn't think would ever cross her mind that she now dealt with every day. Breast feeding was one of them. Luckily enough, Nicky latched on right away at the hospital, and the nurses and doctor were beyond happy. He was able to suckle without any issues and, therefore any feeding worries were quickly put out of Agnes' mind.

But god, she thought, did she wish to know what to do about the ache in her chest, the weight. Her body had changed, that she knew, but there were just certain things that threw her off. She let out a sigh as she felt another pang in her breasts. Had he drunk enough? Should she go back into his room?

Alice rolled over so that she was now facing Agnes. She looked so peaceful in her sleep, Agnes thought as she looked down at her with admiration. She looked safe here, comfortable. Agnes watched as Alice opened her eyes and gave a sleepy smile,

"Hey, you..."

"Hey you, yourself...sorry I woke you, I was trying to be quiet..."

Alice yawned softly, shaking her head against her pillow. She smiled lazily at Agnes,

"Don't be sorry... you're doing your job as a Mom..."

Agnes beamed, nodding her head. She felt another pang and hitched her breath; Alice's eyes opened fully from the sound,

"Are you ok? Agnes?"

Agnes nodded her head, massaging her breasts slightly through her shirt. Alice's gaze moved from Agnes' face to her hands, watching the circular movements at she gropped and cupped herself. Alice licked her bottom lip,

"You should lay down, sweetheart...let me help you..."

Agnes' eyebrows shot up as she stopped moving her hands, holding in wait to see what Alice was going to do. She slowly laid back down onto the bed, her head hitting her pillow. She looked over at Alice and then up at her as she got closer, sat up.

Alice's hands went down to the hem of Agnes' band tee, pulling her shirt up until her breasts were fully uncovered. She knew her breasts were easily a cup bigger than what they were before Nicky, something Agnes disclosed with her when they went through her garbage bag of old clothes. Bigger and fuller; softer to the touch. Alice's curious hands moved down to cup them both, playing with the weight.

Agnes moaned in both arousal and relief. It was nice to feel the weight be lessened and to still be desired through motherhood. Alice hadn't turned away from her or thought any lesser of her; didn't see her as any less masculine just because her breasts were full with milk to feed her baby.

Alice bounced them in each hand, cupping from right underneath the gentle, soft curve. She watched as Agnes' nipples went hard from being touched, being loved. Alice smiled as she scooted a little closer, which allowed Agnes to bring her left hand around Alice's waist.

"Alice...."

"Yes, sweetheart?"

Agnes kept her gaze into Alice's eyes, quietly pleading with her to do what she wanted, to explore. Agnes nodded her head before she gently closed her eyes; waiting to feel what happened next.

Alice's pointer and thumb fingers moved up to pinch Agnes' erect nipples; pinching ever so gently. She watched as pearls of white milk bloomed from her nipples and dribbled down her breasts; following the curvature.

Alice moaned at the sight, turning herself on. She had been more intrigued at the thought of this more so than she was having a preexisting kink to it. And now? Squeezing and gropping; pinching and cupping Agbes' painfully swollen breasts, was sending new flares into her brain. It was so intimate and so natural; something that was so instinctual. The beauty and simplicity and complexity of a woman's breasts rocked Alice to her core.

Agnes' eyes opened and dared to look at Alice's face. Agnes spotted the age-old tell of arousal on Alice's face, and instantly, Agnes fell relaxed into Alice's touches.

"You want a taste, sunshine? There's enough..."

Agnes hadn't realize the words coming out of her mouth until she watched Alice's body and head bend down towards her chest. Alice didn't waste anytime; savoring this moment between them. Her mouth latched onto Agnes' left nipple. She let her tongue swirl, tracing around the areola before licking the nipple directly.

Agnes' back arched upwards off of the bed; right hand flying down into her boxers to touch herself. She waited for Alice to start sucking; waiting to feel her milk flow before dipping her fingers inside of herself.

Alice complied, sucking slowly, gently at first. She felt the milk flow into her mouth. She was tasting another part of Agnes now; not her mouth, not her saliva. Not her sweet sweat between her breasts nor her cum on her fingers. This was something else; something Alice would never have dreamed of in her life.

It was intimate and romantic. It was revealing and raw. Something Alice knew was linked to Agnes' push and pull with her femininity and masculinity.

Alice moaned against Agnes' skin to show her, tell her she was thankful; that she was without a doubt turned on.

Agnes kept fingering herself, following Alice's lead in time with the sucking. Her brows were furrowed in concentration; getting closer to her orgasm. This was so unexpected, so unscripted in her and Alice's relationship, and yet, Agnes felt like they had found an unspoken turn on between them.

Alice got her fill before letting her lips release Agnes' overworked nipple. The cool air hit Agnes' wet skin, making her moan as she gave a final pump of her fingers. She moaned loudly as she felt the release from her core coat her fingers. She pulled them slowly out of herself; out of her boxers.

Alice stared at Agnes' fingers with hungry eyes, and Agnes saw it, recognized it. Without a word, she brought her hand towards Alice. Alice, with her eyes so hungry, so desperate, took Agnes' wet fingers into her mouth as well.

Agnes swore she was melting into the bed, their bed right then and there. Smothered by love and acceptance; a place to explore the unspoken. She moaned at the feeling of Alice's tongue now in between her fingers; eyes closing as she slowly...ever so slowly drifted into a soft and peaceful sleep.

[hxneyandespressx]

the holidate

summary: emily and jennifer pair up to be platonic dates for Christmas and New Year’s. little did they know, real feelings would be caught along the way. 

pairing: emily prentiss x jennifer jareau (jemily)

word count: 4.9k

☆。*。☆。

Sitting by the bar, Emily took a sip of her second drink of the night. It was nearing Christmas, and the bar was filling up with lonely singles and a few happy couples. At this time in the night, the bar usually would be packed. Now that it was the holiday season, there was less of a turnout. The noirette had been here for a little while, an hour at most, and was drinking her dread away. She hoped to avoid the questions to come at the upcoming family gathering. Every year, on her vacation to her mother’s mansion, all of her extended family members asked Emily one of the following questions:

“Do you have a boyfriend?” 

“How’s your career going?”

“What’s it like working in London?”

As she thought about visiting them, Emily sat her head down on the countertop. She had been dreading the visit for weeks. Her family could be a bit much, intense one might call it. There were always arguments between the conservative uncles. Endless gossiping amongst the aunts. Even her grandmother would take her time picking apart all of Emily’s flaws. Never once had there been a quiet holiday without someone (usually Emily) creating chaos, dampening everyone’s festive mood.

Several minutes had passed, her head hanging low from stress, and Emily felt a warm presence standing beside her, leaning against the bar casually. This stranger was able to find a spot due to the bar being at fifty percent capacity. Usually, one would not be able to find a spot to sit down at. 

Turning her head at a slight angle, out of the corner of her deep russet eyes, Emily saw the most beautiful woman that she had seen in her entire life. Dressed in a long-sleeved, baby blue mid-length dress with a pair of velvet thigh-high boots, with a black wool peacoat, a petite blonde smiled softly at Emily.

“Drinking your sorrows away tonight?” The blonde said while softly smirking and gesturing at the red lipstick-lined glass. Emily chuckled. 

“Sorry. I just hate going back home for the holidays.” Emily sat up from her previous position, gazing into her almost empty drink.  

“Don’t worry. I feel the same way. By the way, I’m Jennifer,” the blonde held out her hand, “but my friends call me JJ.”

“Emily.” The women shook hands then JJ took the seat next to the slouching woman. The stranger called over the bartender and ordered a blood orange cosmopolitan. 

“A Cosmo. Fancy, aren’t we?” Emily asked with a hint of a teasing tone. 

“Liking a fruity cocktail doesn’t hurt anyone.” The bartender hand over JJ her drink and she took a few sips to get the evening going. 

Emily shrugged her shoulders and took a long sip of her drink. Indie Christmas music played in the background as the two women sat in silence. 

“So… what’s the family like?” JJ decided to start some small talk. What else was there to do at a pub on a Tuesday evening? 

“You know… the typical family from the Capitol. A high-powered mother who’s career-driven, a sprinkle of conservative uncles who care about traditions, a dash of gossiping aunts who only cared about themselves, and the cousins whom you haven’t talked to in years. And the crazy grandmother who’s funeral is right around the corner. Then there’s the dead beat dad. And finally, the lonely and depressed single woman who wants to bring someone home for the holidays so then she won’t get pestered by the family with questions. Hint: that one’s me,” Emily shook her head at herself for spilling out the truth of the Prentiss family. “I can only do so much to tolerate them.”

Emily took another sip of her drink.

“Sorry for spilling my guts out. Holidays can be tough, am I right?”  JJ chuckled softly and passively waved her hand, understanding where Emily came from. JJ’s home life hadn’t been the best. Her sister died. Her parents divorced. The perfect brew for a lonely middle-aged woman.

“Don’t worry about it,” JJ gently laughed. “I didn’t travel back home for Christmas this year because my mother and I aren’t on speaking terms.” 

“Ah…I’m sorry about that.” Emily understood what it was like not having a caring mother. It was difficult to handle, but both Emily and JJ made it through in their own circumstances. 

A shared emotion loomed over the pair: the experience of being lonely during the holidays. JJ felt something stir in her heart. Perhaps a sign telling her to go with her instincts. Maybe something new could be starting between them? JJ furrowed her brow, brainstorming ideas to spend more time with the not-so-strange stranger next to her. The gears turned in her mind. She had to take this opportunity, or else it would slip away — to be forgotten forever. 

“You know… I do need a partner for a New Year’s Eve party that I got invited to.” JJ said nonchalantly. The blonde was interested in this Emily character. She had to think of a way to see her again. 

Emily raised her eyebrows and did her crooked smile. 

“I can take you to the party if I get to take you as my friend-date to a Christmas gala that my family attends every year,” Emily countered, “It gets super lonely when you’re the only single, middle-aged woman there.” The brunette set down her third and final drink down for the night. 

“Platonic? As in two strangers getting together as friends? During the holiday season?” JJ said, lifting her perfectly coiffed left eyebrow.

“That’s what I’m proposing.” JJ twiddled with her rings nervously underneath the countertop. She did not want Emily to see how anxious she got. 

Emily took some time to think about the situation she was getting herself into. 

“So… we agree that we are going to be each other’s holiday dates, as friends?” JJ asked Emily as she took a small black booklet and a pen out of her purse. Emily hummed as she sipped her drink, signifying a “yes.”

Writing her phone number down in light blue ink, JJ said, “I guess you can call me ‘babe’ for the weekend.” JJ winked at Emily when she looked up from her mini notebook.  

A slight peachy blush formed on Emily’s chiseled cheekbones. The blonde ripped the piece of paper from her little notebook, folded it into a neat square, and placed it in the hands of a blushing Emily. JJ noticed the blush and tried her best to not stare at the gorgeous woman in front of her. 

Placing some money as a tip for the bartender, JJ gestured “call me soon” at Emily, leaving the woman sitting by the bar flustered, wondering to herself what she had gotten herself into.

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December 23rd. Dread showed on Emily’s face. She gave herself a pep talk before knocking on the wooden door with the polished brass door knocker. Already regretting her decision, Emily knotted her scarf for the second time to keep the chill wind from nipping her already rosy nose and cheeks. Wanting to keep warm, Emily took out her zippo lighter and pack of cigarettes. She lit one up as she waited out in the cold. 20 minutes went by and Emily noticed a short dark figure approaching the main door. 

Taking her last drag of smoke, the young woman dropped her cigarette and stomped on it to get rid of the evidence from her mother. Just to be safe, Emily popped in a few mints to disguise her breath. Then, the door opened, and behind it was Emily’s mother. Elizabeth Prentiss. 

“Hello, mother,” Emily snarled with a hint of disgust. 

“Emilia.” Elizabeth had a neutral expression when facing Emily. She opened the door wider, letting her daughter in, along with the frosty winter air of December. As she entered the expertly decorated house, Emily took in the scene of the living room. Her little cousins were chasing each other. The uncles were drinking mulled wine and discussing the current events. The aunts were gossiping and making snide comments about their social circle. As Emily walked past her extended family members, a field of judgy looks followed her. Emily sighed, grudgingly waiting for the influx of questions from her aunts and uncles while putting her coat onto the coat hanger, and headed towards the snack bar. While nibbling on some toasted almonds, Emily felt a looming presence next to her. Without hesitation, Emily looked into her mother’s eyes, saying the words leave me alone silently. 

“You’re not still smoking, are you?” Elizabeth inquired. 

“Uh… no mother, I’m not still smoking. It was just a smoky Uber.”

“No man wants to marry a smoker.” 

Emily rolled her deep umber eyes as she walked away from the one person that she resented all these past years. 

“Any time I come home for the holidays, I’m showered in a sea of pity and sad glances,” Emily scoffed in anger. “I mean, why is everyone so suspicious of a happy single woman?”

“We just want the best for you, Emilia.”

“Whatever, mother.” Wanting to stay away from Elizabeth, Emily made her home with the home bar. 

 Couldn’t her mother see how disgusted she was at the mention of “man”? Well, how could she even know her, when Elizabeth Prentiss left Emily, only to be taken care of by a nanny. Since Elizabeth was the US ambassador, she put her career first, family second. Emily always felt she was second to her mother’s career. Well, at least her mother was okay with her being a lesbian. Emily would not say the same for some of the extended family. 

Not wanting to get too hung up on her problems, Emily lent out her helping hands to set up the dinner, to be attended by all of her aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandmother. Since Emily’s grandmother was the eldest in the family, she was seated at the head of the table. The setting had to be up to the Prentiss standard: skillfully decorated with garlands, candles, dinnerware, and neatly-folded napkins. The main dish was placed in the center to showcase the work put into it. After everything got set up, everyone gathered around to start fueling up their famished selves.

Not even ten minutes passed before one of Emily’s aunts asked her the dreaded question.  

“So, Emily. How are your romantic endeavors going? Found a man yet?” 

The thirty-year-old gritted her teeth in frustration. This was the exact conversation that she wanted to avoid. Most of the family acknowledge the fact that Emily Prentiss was in fact, a lesbian. However, they would rather keep quiet about it to remain perfect to their elitist friends.

“I’m dating here and there. Sometimes it does take a while to find the right man for you,” Emily lied through her teeth. She hated doing this every holiday season. Making up lies just to satisfy a person whom Emily only sees on holidays. Emily resented playing the role of “ambassador’s perfect daughter”. She always had ever since her teenage rebellion years.  

At her aunt's satisfied expression, Emily felt like she dodged a bullet. She did not feel like starting up an argument or an intervention. She only said that to please her aunt and everyone else. She had learned to say such things to avoid controversy, learning from her teenage rebellion that it never ended well for Emily.  

The rest of the dinner went on without an uproar, everyone eating and talking with pleasantries. 

Sometime after, the family was sitting around the large living, the fireplace crackling and its warmth filling the room, altogether creating a sense of hygge. One of Emily’s cousins stood up, clearing his throat. 

“Could I have everyone’s attention?” Jake Prentiss — an insufferable lawyer that Emily never really got along with — nervously called out. “I have something to say.” Everyone in the room became quiet and gave the spotlight to the man in the middle.  

He gently grabbed his girlfriend’s hand, making them stand in the center of the room. Emily mouthed a fuck no underneath her breath, standing underneath the kitchen archway in shock. 

“Claire Alexandria Scott, I know it’s only been four months and 8 amazing days,” Jake dropped down on one knee and he took out a small black box, opening it to reveal an engagement ring. “Will you make me the happiest man in the world and marry me?” 

The whole family cheered in joyous remarks, as the girlfriend-turned-fiancée accepted the proposal and had the ring put on her. Emily groaned at the scene, zipping up her new jacket, hiding her face in the hood. She felt like hiding away in a closet, never to be seen again. 

Frustration boiled within Emily. Why couldn’t she find someone to be happy with? Was the universe playing games with her? Emily always felt that life was a cruel witch, waiting to cast a spell to mess with her. However, this year, Emily felt something different. It was like life was giving her a chance. A chance at love. To be happy, free, in love. Does God want me to be with JJ from the bar? I knew that I felt something when I first saw her. Emily snapped from her thoughts, poured some more wine, and left the joyous celebration that was happening in the family room.  

Later that night, in her townhouse, Emily laid awake on her bed. She could not sleep as she had a lot on her mind. Grabbing her robe and phone, Emily quietly tiptoed downstairs and entered the kitchen. Usually, when Emily was stressed, she baked. It was the quietness she appreciated as the cookies cooked in the oven. But, her mind was filled too much with anxiety and stress from the holidays, so the brunette chose a simple task. 

Few events had happened that day, and everyone expected Emily to find a man and settle down, now that she’s the only one left single and the youngest of those who grew up with Emily. However, Emily usually was not the type to just settle down, even less so with a man. Many thoughts and emotions went through her mind as the young woman silently worked around the kitchen to make a warm beverage to calm her mind. 

Twenty-seven minutes went by and Emily checked the kitchen clock. 3:39 AM brightly lit against the darkness. Sitting by the bay window, Emily stared at the winter scenery, sipping on a hot toddy while watching the snow gently coating the evergreen pines. Her mind filled with thoughts. I wonder what would happen if I called her. Would she say no? Oh God, what if after meeting at the bar, she revoked the offer? 

Emily worried about being questioned by few family members tomorrow, or worse, being rejected by the one woman she had momentarily shown interest in. The middle-aged woman bit her lips in nervousness. Hoping that she felt the same, Emily unlocked her phone with her thumb and opened the messages app. Her phone teased her with the blinking cursor on the brightly lit screen.

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Christmas Eve. The family was scrambling around to prepare for the Christmas gala that was supposed to happen that night. The event was to be attended by the A-listers, politicians, anyone of importance. Emily stood in the background of the large family room, sipping on her glass of pinot noir while watching the chaos run amok in front of her. One of the cousins was wrapping presents quickly as a last-minute ditch effort. The children were running around the house, playing tag. Emily’s mother was shouting at people to get ready quickly to take a family photo for her social media accounts.

“Come on, people. We don’t have all day,” Emily’s mother said in an exasperated tone. “All we need is one good picture, then we are good to go for the Christmas gala this evening.” The ambassador tried her best to gather the younger children to the family room. 

The gala. That’s all that Elizabeth talked about. Emily was getting tired of it. She rolled her eyes, knowing that her mother only cared about looking good for the public. Since Elizabeth Prentiss was an ambassador, everything was about appearance and being “perfect”. This put a strain on Emily and her mother’s relationship, as Emily had a tough time conforming to what the politicians and other elite people wanted. 

She sighed in annoyance. Feeling slightly anxious, Emily bit her nails as she waited for her friend-date to arrive at the Prentiss house. Honestly, Emily could care less if a few family members caused an uproar over the fact that Emily was bringing a woman as a date. They knew of Emily being a lesbian, but they abided by the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy. One could say that this was Emily’s gesture to finally say “fuck you” to all the conservatives in her family. 

Some time passed and the sound of the doorbell rang. Emily walked over to the main door. She opened the wooden door to greet Jennifer Jareau, all dressed perfectly for the gala.

“Wow, um..” Emily felt lost for words. “You’re….uh… beautiful.” She tried to compose herself. What the hell is wrong with me? This is purely platonic. Why am I feeling butterflies in my stomach?

Emily’s eyes did a quick scan to take in what JJ was wearing: a mid-length black lace dress with a high neck, accompanied by a white faux fur shawl, her golden honey locks perfectly curled and set in place. 

“You look beautiful as well.” JJ whispered underneath her breath, closing in the space between her and Prentiss. Deciding to be sneaky, JJ quickly pecked Emily’s right cheek. The taller woman stood under the doorway in shock, trying to rationalize what just happened. Friends do this right? I mean I know in Europe they do. 

Emily tried to cool her rosy cheeks down as she let in her friend-date. That’s all that it was. Platonic. No strings attached. Just friends attending an event together. 

Elizabeth Prentiss saw from the living room archway what was unfolding at the main doorway. She walked over to her daughter to inquire what her plans for the evening were. 

“Who’s this, Emilia?” 

“Oh.. um... This is Jennifer. She’s my... date,” Emily said. “She’s my plus one for the gala.” A few of Emily’s uncles and aunts huffed and turned their heads away in disapproval. A few of her cousins smiled and silently congratulated her. Clearly, they were eavesdropping on what was happening at the front door. 

Elizabeth squinted her eyes at her daughter.

“That’s okay with me,” Elizabeth turned to JJ, handing her phone to the blonde. “Can you take a photo of the family before we all head over to the gala?”

“Uh sure.” JJ took the ambassador’s phone and took a position in front of the Prentiss family. Emily stood in her stance awkwardly, wishing that this predicament had not happened in the first place. After a few quick snaps, JJ took the pictures and handed the phone back to Elizabeth. 

“Blurry. Boring. Nope. Nope. Nope,” Emily’s mother said as she swiped through the photos JJ took of the family, also commenting on the “style” the blonde took them in. JJ stood there. She felt like she was being lectured by a school teacher. 

“Okay, none of these will do. We will try again tomorrow.” JJ made a neutral expression, almost in disbelief that Emily’s mother would treat her like that. But then again, Emily had told JJ that her mother was like this. Nitpicky, wanting everything to be precise. To be perfect. 

After the photoshoot, everyone quickly headed out to their cars parked outside. JJ rode in an Uber with Emily to their destination. During their ride to the event, the two women talked. Oh, how they talked like they were friends from long ago. They stopped talking only when they arrived at their destination. 

JJ walked down the white marble steps of the venue. Jazz music could be heard all around the place. Christmas decorations neatly brought the whole ambiance together.

“Wow!” JJ was in shock at the number of people on the floor, mingling and drinking. 

“I know it’s a lot… Don’t worry, I got your back.” Emily took JJ from the top of the stairs and straight up to the open bar. 

Emily ordered a vodka soda while JJ ordered a Moscow mule. They laughed when they realized they both ordered something with vodka, just in two different flavors. After grabbing their drinks, both the women socialized with the other people at the gala — or rather Emily did, while JJ, who did not grow up in the eyes of politics, watched the scene. JJ stood there, smiling at the woman in her sight. She couldn’t tell if it was because of the alcohol or her own feelings, but JJ felt at peace for the first time in a long time. She felt whole. Complete. Loved.  

As she watched Emily Prentiss play the role of ambassador’s daughter, JJ felt a fluttering motion in her heart. It was like the universe was telling JJ that Emily was the one for her. No more second chances. She is the one. And for once, JJ was willing to listen to her heart when it came to this matter. After her four-year relationship with her previous boyfriend, William LaMontagne, ended two years ago, JJ felt she had nothing in the world. A few months after the break-up, the events of her sister’s death and her parents’ divorce unfolded. All of it caused JJ to feel nothing for the next two years. All she focused on was her career. Until that fateful day, at the bar, when she met Emily. 

When JJ entered through those wooden doors of the pub, her eyes first laid on Emily sitting by the bar countertop. Her heart fluttered a little, but JJ ignored it, feeling she wasn’t ready to go into a relationship. But, as she got to know Emily more, JJ slowly but surely fell in love with the brunette. It was definitely love at first sight. JJ was not the type to believe in concepts like that. But she was sure about her feelings for the brunette. 

The blonde, from afar, stared at Emily working her magic to engage the conversation with her mother and a group of elderly men. All of a sudden, Emily’s voice could be heard loud and clear. 

“I’m sorry. You don’t think gay people deserve rights?” Emily questioned while crossing her arms across her chest in anger.

“Well… Just so you know, you are speaking to the lesbian daughter of US ambassador Elizabeth Prentiss. And there’s nothing you can do about it. Yes, I am not the ‘perfect’ daughter, but who cares! Perfect is meaningless in this world. It’s subjective. And I am not sorry for who I am.” Emily stood her ground and walked away from the group she was in with her mother. Elizabeth looked absolutely shocked by that speech. After recovering from the initial shock, the ambassador mouthed I’m proud of you at her daughter. 

Everyone in the venue watched Emily as she headed toward JJ. 

The blonde held out Emily’s drink to hand it over to her. She also poked Emily’s nose, to lighten the mood.

“You okay, Emily?” JJ asked. The taller woman huffed in frustration. Emily felt like she needed space away from the stuffy elitists. 

 “Why don’t we get out of here and take a little breather?” JJ offered. Emily nodded her head in agreement and both women took their jackets and walked out through the glass back doors.

They ducked out of the gala quietly. Snowflakes reflected the warm orange lights from the streetlamps. A type of quietness settled between the “couple”. The crisp winter chilled their flushed cheeks, making them sober up a little.  

The pair stood in the cold, enjoying the silence. But they knew that this would not last forever, as they would have to go their separate ways once the night ended. Emily and JJ continued their walk around the perimeter of the venue for three hours, just talking about every subject there was to think of. Hobbies. Careers. Art. Music. Hopes. Goals. Dreams. They turned around a corner to arrive back at the gala venue. JJ stopped Emily at the front iron gate.  

“Well… tonight’s been fun,” JJ said.  

“I agree. This year’s gala was much more bearable having you by my side.” JJ lightly blushed and barely attempted to hide it with her jacket collar. Emily noticed a tinge of color on JJ’s cheeks and softly smiled. The two women had started to fall for each other, twirling around each other like a pair of ivy vines. 

Unsure of the time, Emily quickly checked her watch. 

“It’s getting late. Want me to drop you off at your place?” Emily offered. JJ smiled happily at the gesture.

“I would love that.”

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New Year’s Eve. The music blared from the stereo system. Lights strobed along with the music. Emily and JJ leaned against the stainless steel railing on the balcony, watching the view below. Many drinks were ordered and downed within the one-and-a-half-hour they had been at the party. The slightly drunk women were playing a game where they made up stories about the people dancing below.

“I think the leather-vest-mate’s up now.”  Emily said. 

“Oh, okay, he’s an options trader.” JJ pointed at a silver-haired man dancing with his very young date. “Divorced. Two kids at Northwestern. She was his decorator on the new condo, hoping to be wife number three.” 

“Very good. Very good,” Emily said, looking at JJ and smiling at her story-making skills.

Both the women turned around and Emily jumped quickly on the scene in front of them. 

“Ooh, uh, white satin ruffles. Rented tuxedo. He’s just drenched in sweat. They are definitely getting engaged at midnight.” 

“Wow. You’re good.” JJ said. 

Emily shrugged at the compliment.

“It’s a gift,” Emily drank some more bubbly champagne, feeling a bit friskier than usual. “By the way, your tits look exceptional in that dress.”

“Thanks. That’s why I bought it.” JJ smiled at the compliment and did a little twirl. 

“Overall, you are just beautiful. As always.”

“That’s really sweet of you to notice.” JJ blushed, and she thanked the dark atmosphere of the venue for hiding it. She wouldn’t want her maybe-crush to notice that she was blushing not from the alcohol, but from her burgeoning feelings for the other woman.

Both the women downed their drinks and ordered some more. Once they felt they had enough, the “couple” headed down to the dance floor and had their fun for the night. They danced their feet off. Blew some gigantic bubbles with a long star-shaped bubble wand Beach balls were tossed amongst the crowd. Then the song “(I’ve Had) The Time of My Life” came on the speakers. JJ looked towards Emily as the taller woman made way and backed up to provide room for the jump from Dirty Dancing. 

Emily smirked and said, “Nobody puts Baby in a corner.” JJ grinned as she shook off her heels and Emily threw off her blazer, showing off her lean arm muscle. JJ speed walked over to Emily and as the iconic line went off, Emily caught JJ in her hands, like Patrick Swayze in the film. Several seconds later, Emily’s arms gave out and JJ toppled on top of her.

After escaping the dance floor, both the women nursed their injured heads on a leather loveseat. Shoes were off, splayed across the glass table in front of them. JJ huffed in annoyance after what happened on the dance floor. 

“Nobody drops Baby on her head.” Emily crookedly smiled and whispered “sorry”. Both stayed silent as they were becoming inebriated, surrounding themselves with the noise and action. Forty-five minutes passed, and JJ got bored with sitting and moping in pain, rather than having fun on the last day of the year.

“Wanna head up to the roof? We could take a break from the noise.” Emily nodded in agreement. 

They left the crowded atmosphere and climbed up to the top of the building. The chill winter breeze cooled down their flushed cheeks. The stars twinkled brighter against the pitch-black sky. The two women watched the glittering lights of Washington, DC. It was time for the countdown. 

10

JJ ever so slightly turned her head towards Emily.

9

Out of the corner of her eye, Emily noticed that JJ was looking at her and turned her own head towards her date. There was a certain softness to those baby blue eyes. 

8

“I’m glad I get to spend the last seconds of this year with you. You are incredible,” JJ said. Emily blushed a rosy pink, both from the cold and what JJ said. 

7

“I could say the same about you.”

6

“I really do hope we get to see each other more in the new year.”

5

“Why is that?”

4

“Because…. Um.” JJ felt nervous telling Emily the reason. She worried that it would ruin what was happening at the moment.

3

“You know what. Fuck it.”

2

JJ grabbed Emily’s face and roughly placed a kiss on her chapped, pink lips.

1

A roar of cheers and a chorus of yelled “Happy New Year!” filled the air as the clock struck midnight. The whole city celebrated. JJ took a deep breath as she parted from Emily’s lips.

“Happy New Year, Emily.” 

Emily looked at the gleaming girl in front of her and said, “Happy New Year, JJ.”

taglist:  @queer-rambling / @voidreid / @homosexualyearning / @babey-jj / @ssaemxlyprentxss / @pumpkin-goob / @iconicc / @fuckshitupm8-deactivated3728  / @blakes-dictionxry / @gravelyhumerus /  @foreverxgolden / @abbyprentiss / @lizziechase / @purelyprentiss / @heavenlydevil / @haleymalaffey

[rachelbethhines]

Robin Hood and His Merry Band

list of characters for an original series I’m working on 

Alan-a-Dale - the gloomy and cynical bard, the grumpy voice of reason who doesn’t give a fuck, wonders why he hangs out with these crazies, knows it’s cause they’re family to him but won’t admit it out loud, besties with Friar Tuck even though they never agree on anything, is clearly a bi disaster 

The Archdeacon of Canterbury - The aging head cleric of the church of England. He supports King Richard but is becoming increasingly impotent because of his failing health. Still holds a lot of political power because of his title though.

The Azure Assassin - A deadly mercenary and rival to Robin Hood. Orphaned at a young age Azure had to steal to survive. She stowed away on a pirate ship at the age of ten and has spent the pass eight years studying fighting techniques the world over. They call her the Azure Assassin because her blue eyes are the last thing you’ll see before dying. She’s gained a modest fortune and fame as a spy and assassin, however she can never stay in one play too long due to her reputation getting out. Prince John has offered her a pardon and a place in high society if she brings in Robin Hood’s head. Shame she’s fallen in love with his brother Will Scarlet, as that complicates matters.  

The Bishop of Hereford - Conservative asshole who supports Prince John’s rule and shares his beliefs on ‘bringing order to the kingdom’. Wants to usurp the Archdeacon as the head of the church. Is Friar Tuck’s and Sister Clara’s arch nemesis.

Dame Brianna DuBois - Also known as the The Black Knight, DuBois is loyal to the throne of England and whoever sits upon it. She’s Prince John’s personal bodyguard and unbeknownst to all a double agent for King Richard who is in hiding. However she is conflicted when her duty places her lover Yua in jeopardy. Yes, she’s totally a butch lesbian.   

The Duke of Essex - Prince John’s adviser and right hand man. He only cares for power for power’s sake but is sneaky and conniving and willing to play the long game to get it. He prefers poison to swords, but is surprisingly good at hand to hand combat when cornered. Has a pet snake. It’s the only living thing that he loves.    

Elenore of England - Prince John and King Richard’s sister and Maid Marian’s mother. She died when negotiations during a worker dispute turned violent. Unable to quell the people’s rage, she was stuck down during a riot. Richard, blaming himself for losing his temper and causing things to escalate has since tried to follow in her footsteps and become peacemaker. Prince John went the opposite route and blamed the ungrateful peasants (criminals in his mind) and resented Richard for even bothering to negotiating in the first place.   

Friar Tuck - The jovial and optimistic heart of the team. He tries to keep everyone’s spirits up and believes that helping people is the ultimate expression of god’s love. Is a hopeless romantic and also very, very gay. He butts heads with more traditional leaders of the church often. He also has a not so secret crush on his best friend Alan. 

Guy of Gisbourne - From pauper to nobleman, Guy is Robin’s opposite in everyway. He crawled up from the bottom rung by using and stepping on others and he’s always looking for the opportunity to climb the ranks. Don’t let his foppish ways fool you though, he is both a cunning and ruthless foe and isn’t afraid to get his hands dirty. His latest scheme however is to marry Maid Maiden and become next in line for the throne as Prince John has no other heirs save his ward.  

King Richard - Good Richard the Lionhearted is no longer a bloodthirsty crusader in this alternate universe but a peacemaker. He wishes to end wars, not start them, however his more abrasive, uncouth, and impulsive nature can often clash with his loftier goals. Many feel the king would do better to stay at home and tend to domestic matters instead of concerning himself with the conflicts of other far off lands. At the start of the story he has disappeared on one of his diplomatic visits. In reality Prince John has stuck a deal with the king’s enemies and he is currently on the run. 

Lady Tiffany - Little John’s little wife and the daughter of the Sherriff of Nottingham. She acts as the gang’s ‘man on the inside’ helping Robin Hood sneak in and out of places and feeding the team needed information. She’s stubborn and spoiled but also very kind hearted. She usually can get her father to give into her demands with just a pout and when that doesn’t work a full on tantum will do. She a woman who knows what she wants and what she wants is her man. Unfortunately daddy dreariest would never approve of their union and so Friar Tuck marries them in secret.  

Little John - Robin’s best friend and right hand man. He’s a simple man who loves life’s simple pleasures, good food, good friends, and a good brawl from time to time. He adores his partner, Tiffany and would like nothing more than to marry her for real, in a real church, in front of the whole world. However their relationship must remained hidden from her father, the Sheriff, since the violent lawman would sooner see him hanged then have a thief for a son-in-law.  

Lord Locksley - Robin’s and Will’s father. He is arrested for ‘not paying taxes’ but in reality it’s for supporting King Richard and secretly helping the displaced monarch. His arrest leads to Robin and Will becoming outlaws and the series kicks off two years later.   

Maid Marian - Prince John’s ward and niece. Her mother died when she was young and her beloved uncle adopted her. Prince John is the only parent she’s ever known and she at first believes him to be a kind and just man. She’s completely oblivious of Prince’s John’s underhanded dealings and oppression of the poor and at first is skeptical of Robin Hood. However as the two grow closer, Marian learns how harsh the real world is and just how much her father figure has lied to her. 

Miss Yua - Maid Marian’s lady-in-waiting and best friend. She’s the daughter of Sir Ivanhoe and longs to be a knight as well. She’s a stickler for rules and doesn’t trust Robin Hood and his gang of thieves. At first anyways, over time she too learns of Prince John’s cruelty and even becomes a victim of the tyrant’s schemes. Which puts her in direct conflict with her love, Brianna DuBois.  

Much the Miller's Son - born as Midge the miller’s daughter, the young Much longs to be accepted as a boy. As such he’s ditched his dresses, cut his hair, and ran away to Sherwood Forrest in order to be free from society’s expectations. The rest of the merry band accepts Much for who he really is, but at only 13 won’t let him join their gang. He still winds up caught up in their misadventures anyways due to his refusal to listen to anybody, and his determination to get away from his overbearing mother. 

Nurse Agnes - Maid Marian’s wet nurse and the closest thing to a mother that she has. Agnes believes in the ‘old ways’ and is very superstitious. She’s also very critical of royalty in general, but is smart enough not to say so out loud. She’s tried to raise Marian into a better person than Prince John, but eventually was dismissed once Marian had come of age. Since leaving the court Agnes has become the witch of the woods and a healer for the poor. 

Prince John - The main antagonist. Prince John believes that he needs to bring order to the kingdom of England and feels like his brother King Richard has neglected his duties as ruler and placed the kingdom in danger. He'll do whatever it takes to protect the country including subjecting it’s undesirables.  

Robin Hood - Leader of the Merry Band and archer extraordinaire, Robin Hood had to go on the lam when his father was arrest for ‘treason’. While his first priority was to keep his baby brother, Will, safe, the two of them met other outcasts in need over the years have built up an underwound network of rebels who fight against Prince John’s rule. Seemingly suave and cool at first, Robin is actually a bundle of nerves as he tries desperately to keep his friends and family safe...even if it’s mostly from themselves. His world is turned upside down though when he meets the lovely Maid Marian. 

Sheriff of Nottingham - The spiteful and cruel sheriff tries to keep the small town of Nottingham under his thumb. He hates Robin Hood and his Merry Band with a passion and sees their continued exitance as a personal insult. The only thing that will deter him from his goal of putting those outlaws in their place is his devotion to his beloved daughters Tiffany. Who distracts him with her seemingly impulsive and shallow whims.   

Sir Ivanhoe - A respected knight who once served under King Richard has returned home only to find that his king has not made the journey back as planned. He suspects that Prince John is up to no good, but is afraid to make any risky moves so long as his daughter Yua lives among the court. Her safety is the most important thing in the world to him. 

Sister Clara - The resident nerd of Sherwood Forrest and the brains of the team. Clara had joined a convent in order to receive an education and to study science, however her experiments were frowned upon by more traditional leaders of the church, like the Bishop of Hereford. She’s since renounced her monastic vows and has joined Robin Hood’s Merry Band in the pursuit of science! She’s allowed free rein on the sole condition that she doesn’t blow up the camp.  She still manages to blow up the camp, at least once a month. Still her inventions are invaluable to the team and she’s absolutely feral with her chim-bombs.  

The Trapper - A mysterious hermit who sometimes visits the local pub. He’ll often corner patrons with crazy drunken ramblings and loves to give Robin cryptic prophecies and disjoined ‘clues’ whenever they run into each other. (turns out this is an act and he’s really a spy for King Richard)

Will Scarlett - Robin’s younger brother. Will was 15 when they lost their father and now at 17 wants revenge. He’s a hothead and is constantly picking fights with everyone and anyone. While he is dismissive of Robin’s overprotectiveness, he both loves and admires his brother. Even tries to emulate him in some ways. He also would like to think of himself as a smooth talking clever con artist and ladies man but more often then not his temper gets the better of him. Like most teens he’s obsessed with the latest fashion tends and loves to wear fancy clothes (that he’s usually stolen) He’s favorite article of clothing is his impractical red feathered hat. He’s in love with Azure and is best friends with Much. 

[nerdygaymormon]

So, I know the Church places,a lot of emphasis on getting married in the temple, and I think somewhere I heard it was necessary to achieve the highest level of glory, but recently I've been considering the label a romantic for myself and I was wondering what my place in the church would be. Is marriage really necessary for exaltation?

I wrote a very long response, and then at the end figured out the answer I should give you.

Listen to your heart. What is the Spirit trying to whisper to you? 

Since you’re aro, check out the apostle Paul’s message in I Corinthians chapter 7. He says if you’re ace/aro, great! God has work for you. In fact, Paul seems to value being ace/aro over being married.

———————————————————————

I’ll still share the really long answer about whether marriage is necessary for exaltation, 

I’ll begin with the Church’s answer. Then I’ll provide some historical context. And finally, I’ll share my thoughts. 

———————————————————————

I suppose we should begin by defining what the LDS Church means by someone being exalted.

They will live in the presence of Jesus and God (which means living in the highest level of heaven)

They will become gods (children of God grow up to be like God)

They'll be united with their spouse for eternity, and linked to their righteous children and others through sealings

They will have eternal offspring (Wendy Watson Nelson is quoted in a 2020 manual for Sunday School teachers as saying marital sex "will continue eternally")

They'll receive everything Jesus and God have--power, glory, dominion and knowledge 

Two of the items on the list involve being married/sealed together, which is why the LDS Church puts such an emphasis on this.

For those who are unmarried, or whose marriages aren't sealed in the temple, they can still make it to the highest kingdom of heaven but they will not be exalted, they'll be ministering angels

——————————————————————— 

In the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament), a person has to strictly observe all the Jewish laws involving sacrifice, prayer, and observance of holy days. 

These laws cover everything from what clothes a person can wear, what they eat for lunch, and even if it’s okay to have sex with your wife when she is menstruating. God is very involved in the details.

These laws could be considered the "covenant path" of the Jewish faith.

————————— 

Jesus & his apostles reject the idea that people have to keep all the Jewish laws in order to be saved in heaven.  

Rather than a bunch of boxes to check, Jesus taught there's simply 2 great commandments.

The first is to love God above all else. 

The second is to work diligently for the welfare of others, especially the poor, outcasts, strangers, foreigners, marginalized and even those who are our hated enemies. In other words, help God accomplish His great work, which is us.

————————— 

This idea that Jesus rejected following strict laws and covenants, along with the command to love God, it lead to the Christian teaching of people being "saved" through their faith in Jesus. 

First, a person has to believe that Jesus is the Son of God

Next, they must believe that they can't go to heaven unless Jesus saves them

Then they ask Jesus to come into their life by prayer. They admit that they've sinned and ask for forgiveness and pledge to follow Jesus for the rest of their life. This is often referred to as being "born again" 

Finally, they are baptized as a sign of their commitment to Christ (baptism is not a requirement to get into heaven, but is a way to follow Christ’s example and show they've had a significant spiritual experience)

————————— 

Joseph Smith taught that most people go to heaven, and that heaven has layers. 

To get to the highest level we must complete certain ordinances and live a certain way. President Nelson refers to this as the "covenant path." 

Faith in Jesus (not an ordinance, but a requirement to begin this path)

Repentance (not an ordinance, but having a desire that to do better)

Baptism by immersion (symbolic of our repentance that washes us clean and saves us from eternal death to eternal life)

Laying on of Hands to receive the Holy Ghost

Melchizedek Priesthood ordination (for men only) 

Washing & Annointing ordinance

Endowment ceremony 

Celestial Marriage (sealed to spouse in the temple)

Sealing to parents (done in the temple, or if your parents were sealed to each other at the time of your birth, you were born sealed to them) 

These collectively are known as the saving ordinances. 

For people who died without completing this list of ordinances, these can be performed vicariously for them at the temple (except for the ordination to the Melchizedek priesthood). 

————————— 

Since Joseph Smith put this new path of ordinances in place, there’s been a big change.    For decades, "Celestial Marriage” meant polygamy, without it exaltation was not possible. 

Since the Church was forced to stopped practicing polygamy, we've changed how we interpret the scriptures that talk about celestial marriage. 

————————— 

In order to go to the temple to receive the saving ordinances necessary for exaltation, the Church requires we pass a worthiness interview. I suppose that in a sense, these are changes as to who qualifies to be exalted. This additional list of requirements includes: 

follow the Word of Wisdom

sustain the current prophet and apostles

obey the law of chastity

pay a full tithe

attend church meetings and partake of the Sacrament

if divorced, pay your child or spousal support

wear the temple garments

——————————————————————— 

A Safeguard

There's many people who find themselves outside of this Covenant Path. 

Many lived and died without knowing anything of Christ, and we do not have records for them and thus can’t do temple work for them

Some people are specifically forbidden by the Church from completing the requirements for exaltation

Queer people

In the past, people of African heritage were also forbidden by the LDS Church 

Given there's an obvious lack of fairness and opportunity, there has to be a way to fix things, otherwise God would be very unjust. 

I believe this idea has influenced the LDS concept of the Millennium, which is a period of 1,000 years of peace after Christ comes again. 

The Church believes that during the Millennium, people will be taught the gospel, repent, marry, raise children. The temples will be busy with resurrected people getting temple ordinances done. 

People who died single will have an opportunity to find someone to marry. 

Some people believe that queer people will not be queer anymore and this will make it so they can find someone to marry and be sealed together.

——————————————————————— 

My thoughts.

We know next to nothing of heaven and post-mortal life, yet we speak about it in very definitive terms--what it’s like, who’ll be there, what they’re doing.

—————————

I know we often speak of the highest level of heaven as very exclusive, but I’ve had the opportunity to speak with several Seventy and an apostle and they speak of the Millennium as the great hope. 

Parents with wayward children should have hope, the lesbian should have hope, all will be made right, we all will have an opportunity to develop and grow. It sounds like everyone will be exalted if they want to be. 

While I don’t quite agree with all the ways they think things will be fixed in the Millennium, I can get on board with the idea that God will make things right. 

For example, the idea of a queer genocide that wipes out all LGBTQIA+ people and replace them with a cishet version of the person just doesn’t sit well with me. 

What I do believe is that any blessing a person should’ve had during their lifetime will be made available to them. 

—————————

Something about the idea that in heaven married couples are having sex and creating babies for eternity is a little weird to me. Do women like the idea of an eternity of pregnancy? Imagine an eternity of morning sickness and child birth as your destiny.

Mormon scriptures teach that we all began as intelligences, without beginning or end. God came and organized intelligences into spirits. In that way we’re God’s spirit children. Does that sound like sex? It doesn’t to me. I don’t know when celestial sex became the Church’s explanation of what it means to organize intelligences.  

————————— 

The ideas of what exaltation is causes leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to struggle with the idea of people who are ace, trans, gay, aro and so on. They see themselves in the idea of heaven and not the rest of us. 

Their idea of what exaltation means makes them see no space for queerness in God’s Plan. 

That’s pretty bold to deny the existence of God’s diverse creations. Here we are, we exist, we are known, yet rather than expand the Plan, to find how we can fit into the Plan, they choose not to see us.

—————————

It makes me very sad to think our Heavenly Parents might have set up a plan that would cause most of their children to not be exalted, and that means they’d never get to see those children or speak with them again, yet that’s what many Church members seem to believe. 

If our Heavenly Parents are supposed to be a model for us on how to be parents, most humans would reject the idea of setting up a plan to make their kids fail so they would never see or speak to them again. That's the opposite of what we'd consider good parenting. 

—————————

While I find meaning in the ordinances performed by the LDS Church, I'm more inclined to believe what Jesus taught on the matter--Love God, love & lift those in need. Jesus called this "true religion" and those who follow it will find they do well in heaven, no matter what earthly church or religion they belong to. 

I think of the story of 3 eighteen-year-olds who carried members of the Martin Handcart Company across the icy waters of the Sweetwater River. Those young men died from the extreme exposure, and upon hearing of what they did, Brigham Young wept and said they’d be exalted for their sacrifice. Their exaltation wasn’t dependent on being married or having the Melchizedek priesthood. Service & sacrifice for people in need was enough. 

I imagine Mother Theresa, Gandhi, Nelson Mandela and others who've spent their life developing Christlike traits (regardless of whether they were Christian) will be much further ahead when the Millennium arrives. It only takes a few hours to complete the ordinances, and so much longer to become the kind of person who can be exalted.

I suspect a lot of Mormons will be surprised to find that their ordinances weren't enough to qualify them for exaltation

————————— 

Since I'm forbidden by the Church from being sealed to a husband, I instead focus on being a good person, on helping others, on being a great uncle and a good neighbor and friend. 

Is marriage really necessary for exaltation? I don’t know.

I don’t know what heaven is like, there’s some Mormon beliefs about heaven that I really like, such most everyone goes to heaven, and we can be together with the people we most love. 

While I don’t know much about heaven, I think we can know things about God’s character, and that’s what causes me to question some of what is taught about heaven & marriage and a Plan that excludes queer people.

[hipsofsteel]

bro you gotta tell me more about chris

Gladly! The dad man is important to me. And so, we meet…

Christopher “Chris” Lewis Joseph, personification of Eastern Oregon/Nyo!Oregon

Credit to crikadelic, who will not be tagged in this post for reasons.

Physical Description

At 5′10, with dark brown hair, dark brown eyes, and a slightly olive skin tone, Chris is a very good looking man. He’s got well trimmed facial hair that can be a bit scruffy and thin, but he maintains it well. He’s well muscled from his work as a cattle rancher, and general farmwork. He is half Nez Perce (Nimiipuu) and half English, born in the area of present day Joseph, Oregon in 1806, and celebrates his birthday on February 14th.

Chris’s face claim is model Julian Schratter. He has no voice claims at the moment.

Personality

Christopher and Beverly were cut from the same cloth in some respects. Controlling either of them is nearly impossible. He’s a force of nature when he wants to be, stubborn and insistent and nearly impossible to be forced to do something he refuses to do. He’s as free-spirited and wild as he wants to be.

At the same time, he shows a remarkable degree of caution and thoughtful behavior that his twin sister tends to lack. If not caught in an urgent situation or in his own whirlwind of passions, he approaches things with well-thought out responses and is a calm and collected and highly intelligent man. He’s a great person to go to for advice.

He’s also very attached to those he forms close relationships with, either as family or friends. He’ll always have his twin sister’s back, and anyone who finds themselves in the position of being “adopted” as his child has just gained an ally and parental figure who will love them and defend them endlessly. Although, dispute it as he does, he does have a favorite child (Adam).

Sexuality and Gender

Behold, the one and only heterosexual cisgender OC I’ve made for my States. Chris is an incredible ally however, who openly supports all his friends and family.

Also, his type of women is as follows, so I promise you can trust him.

And he means it.

Religion

Chris has a personally styled fusion between Christianity and the indigenous religions he was raised around on the Columbian Plateau. He is not really big on explaining his faith as it’s a deeply personal and conflicting matter even for himself, so I don’t have much more to say than that for him. However, one of his two most irreplaceable objects he owns is a copy of Henry Harmon Spalding’s translation of the Book of Matthew into Nez Perce. Take from that what you will.

Employment

Chris has previously made his living as a farmer and for a brief while as a blacksmith, but nowadays, he owns a cattle range and is a full-time rancher, with a large range area in Central/Eastern Oregon. He also raises horses on the side, both as a secondary income and to continue traditions of horse breeding he was raised in with the Nez Perce.

Pets

I’ll try to keep this brief, but Chris has seven animals he considers close pets/his long lifespan has affected theirs, so I’ll divide it into sections.

Dogs

Zip and Lucky

Zip is Chris’s working dog, a purebred blue heeler who knows how to move a cow herd as well as he knows that when Chris puts on dark and clean pants, he’s leaving the house for meetings (sadness) and when he puts on less nice “farm” pants, they’re working stock that day (happiness!)

Lucky is based on Rincon, the dog owned by Chris’s faceclaim. Lucky is a beloved pet mutt and gets to come with Chris and Zip to work cattle, although his main job is to sit and stay since he has zero Cow Sense.

Horses

Jackrabbit, Strawberry, Juniper, and Celilo

Is Chris a dog or cat person? Neither, he’s a horse person (followed by dogs).

Jackrabbit is Chris’s horse he’s had the longest, serving as Chris’s warhorse during his youth. He’s one of the fastest horses any of the western states own, and he’s very selective about who’s allowed to ride him (Christopher, Beverly, Adam, and Helen are the only people who can). He’s a wild tempered buckskin Nez Perce Horse stallion.

Strawberry is a red roan Appaloosa that Chris has had nearly as long as he’s had Jackrabbit. She’s a gentle mare and very good with people.

Juniper is a Kiger Mustang mare, slightly more testy than Strawberry, and more prone to being spooked, but she’s a good horse.

Celilo is a palomino American Quarter Horse gelding, bought to be a reliable pack-horse for Chris. He’s as gentle as Strawberry and loves people.

Jackrabbits

Little Lady or “Lady”

Once upon a time, Chris and Juniper accidentally spooked a mother jackrabbit into the claws of a hawk, and then nearly immediately found her babies. Chris raised the three kits and released them into the wild shortly afterwards, but Lady stuck around his house. She appears pretty reliably every year, and seems to have been affected by his long lifespan, so he gave her a name and treats her a bit more like a pet than anything else.

He loves to joke that Jackrabbit met an actual jackrabbit, and everyone around him glares at him.

Relationships with other States

Family first

Western Oregon/Oregon

Credit to crikadelic again.

Sometimes, your twin sister is a lumberjack lesbian (quite literally on both counts) with arms made of steel and one hell of a right hook. Also she’s way more liberal than you, and politically you get dragged along with whatever she wants.

Ironically, once upon a time, Beverly wasn’t the main personification of the Oregon Territory. It wasn’t until American settlement picked up that the power of the state swung to her. Before then, Christopher held most of the power, but this was also when the Oregon Territory including all of Washington, Idaho, parts of Montana and Wyoming, and since Chris was entirely east of the Cascades, well, it made sense that he held the upper hand. Only later as the size of the land they represented shrank did power trade hands.

As independent as Beverly is, and as willing to tell her twin to fuck off, they have a very close relationship. They tell each other off, and sparks fly between them quite often, with Beverly usually being the one to storm off while Chris remains a wall of a human being. But they’ll quietly make up out of sight later, and then be right back to joking around and teasing each other.

And when it comes to advice, Beverly has no closer confidant than her twin, and often shows him the vulnerability that no one else sees. They trust each other implicitly, knowing that despite their differences, they won’t lead the other astray. No one could ask for a better twin sister.

Eastern Washington/Nyo!Washington

Credit to ME! 

First off, he’s the one on the right, the one on the left is Idaho (we’ll get to him in a bit).

Adam Landes-Bush is the original cause of a radiation of dad energy that seeps from Christopher at pretty much every moment of every day. After retrieving Adam from the Whitman Mission shortly after the Whitman Massacre, Chris basically said “My weird looking white kid now” and ran with it.

He and Adam had to learn to live together fast with help from Helen, as Adam is mute, and Helen taught them both Plains Sign Talk. But Chris adored Adam and taught him how to shoot, hunt, ride, and accepted his limitations when he hit them. He did his best to give Adam a good life, even when it meant sending him away from impending war to live with Martha, who he barely knew then.

They remain close, sharing more culturally with each other and Idaho than they sometimes do with the western halves of their states. Chris was the first person Adam came out to, and the fact that Chris instantly accepted allowed him to embrace his identity as a gay man in a time that it was socially, at best, simply not talked about. Chris would and has killed to protect this boy, and would gladly do so again.

Western Washington/Washington

Credit to crikadelic

Martha, Adam’s younger sister, views Christopher as a father figure, and so, in turn, he’s a little nicer to her than he is to Beverly sometimes.

Christopher and Martha met at a crossroads in both their lives. Christopher had been involved in the Nez Perce War and come home feeling lost and alone. Beverly had taken off around the same time to run wild in the Southwest, leaving a still very young Martha to fend for herself and Clark, and now Adam. Martha was struggling to handle the load, and Christopher needed to find his place in this unfamiliar world, and fast.

They were able to cooperate quickly, Chris taking on the workload of the farm and helping with Clark, allowing Martha and Adam to start growing and learning the responsibilities they needed to run a state. And in exchange, Martha taught Chris how to read and write English, and helped him improve his skills in speaking the language. 

To this day, they haven’t forgotten this point in their lives, and tend to critique each other much more carefully than they critique the other halves of their states.

End of Family, onto other states

Idaho

Credit to crikadelic

Ah, Clark Ashley, who exists in the most interesting little place in Chris’s mind. He’s friends with this guy, almost a father figure, hell, helped raise the little twerp. At the same time, he’s made Adam cry before, so he could also wring his neck. 

Clark and Chris have a very good and amiable relationship in general, and enjoy the other’s company. Clark admires Chris a lot, and Chris views him like a much younger version of Beverly, carrying many of her same qualities of extreme stubbornness and rampant emotions, as much as Clark will say he’s nothing like her.

However, the root of Chris’s constant problems with Clark relies mainly on one fact. Clark’s internalized homophobia at himself that affects his and Adam’s relationship, which has swayed from deeply involved romance to barely tolerating being in the same room. When Clark and Adam get into spats with their push me, pull you, almost a relationship, Chris gets caught in the middle, and always takes Adam’s side in the fight. He’s tried to even discourage them from pursuing each other at times to end the constant back and forth, but it’s never worked.

However, as Clark’s started to accept himself in the 21st century, Chris has been the one person who’s been able to reassure him that , yes, for some crazy reason, Adam still likes you, and Chris thinks that this time, for real, Clark is unlearning the toxic culture he absorbed. So, he wishes that crazy kid lots of luck.

Southern California/California

Credit to crikadelic

To say Roberto and Christopher are antagonistic would be the nicest way of putting it. Despite pretty much being of equal levels of importance to Beverly in her family, they cannot tolerate each other.

Roberto blamed Christopher for some of the worst of Beverly’s behaviors in the 1870s and 1880s, and Christopher blamed Roberto for stifling Beverly so much that she hadn’t been able to emotionally mature. Both arguments had some validity, and yet, a divide in opinions had begun.

Nowadays, Chris and Roberto are mainly antagonistic on pure principle. Chris represents a part of Oregon that is noticeably more red, and Roberto represents 55 blue electoral college votes. Chris has been considerably affected by Californication (large real estate development projects generally seen as similar to those in California), and Roberto sees him as very set in the past and unable to move forward.

Let’s just say Beverly has to work out the holiday seating arrangements very carefully.

Montana

Credit to crikadelic

Helen Rankin has been a friend since Chris met her when the Nez Perce went to trade with the Crow. She taught him sign, became an unofficial mother figure to Adam, and, much later on, officially involved with Christopher himself (they dated from 1898 to 1927).

They’re close friends and allies still. Helen’s as strong as a mountain in more ways than one, and one of the few people who can sway Chris when he’s a storm of emotions. She can be just as stubborn as him, and yet he admires her just as she is, and she feels the same about him. She’s saved his ass so many times, and he’s saved hers a few himself. If they needed the other there, they’d be there in a heartbeat.

They also additionally have an “unofficial” daughter to accompany their unofficial son in Adam. I’ve been developing a Missoula, Montana OC (Mariah Welch), and she’s been heavily influenced by Chris over the years, and is about as damn close to him as Adam. 

A quick note

Before I move on to my next section, I have been tinkering with my canon in the last several months, after a friend who had allowed me to entwine my Statetalia canon very heavily with theirs ghosted me, and this has affected this character significantly.

Christopher had been involved with their Nyo!Texas in the modern day, with Helen as his best friend. However, no longer comfortable with using this person’s OCs, I have yet to decide if Chris and Helen have, in the last few years, rekindled their relationship, or if my own Texas OC, who is a woman and in the earliest stages of development, is in a romantic relationship with him. This is going to take a long while to decide for personal reasons, and I’m okay with that.

Other States-Brief Thoughts

Northern California/Nyo!California- Inexplicably, he likes Alejandra way more than Roberto. Probably because of their little side project for the independent state of Jefferson.

Kansas- Nowhere near as antagonistic as Beverly and Evelyn’s relationship. He will agree with Evelyn to a certain point, but then he has to start defending his sister. Anyhow, she’s cute.

Nebraska- Logan’s a decent guy to have a drink with, definitely would have been a good guy for Adam if Adam hadn’t been so focused on Clark. IF he and Helen don’t end up getting back together in canon, he’s lowkey pushing for Helen and Logan to get together.

New York- Literally irrelevant to him, why are you asking for an opinion on that jackass?

Texas- Absolutely one amazing, ass-kicking woman, with the gift of aim from the gods, a smoking hot body, and God, she could step on him frankly. (I reiterate, my Texas OC is in development and this is subject to change).

RANDOM FACTS

-Sniper man! Christopher has served as a sniper for several wars. The Nez Perce were noted marksmen during the Nez Perce War, and one of the US’s most noted snipers was from Eastern Oregon. 

-Additionally, Christopher has always served in the US Marine Corps when he’s been fighting for the US.

-He originally was given the same last name as Beverly, Joseph-Astor. He dropped Astor following the Nez Perce War as an act of protest.

-Chris has two “paired” names from when I created his character. Beverly’s middle name is Columbia, so Christopher and Columbia, after Christopher Columbus (something neither of them is very thrilled about nowadays), and his middle name of Lewis pairs with Idaho’s first name, Clark, in honor of that famous expedition.

-Has a knife that was from Lewis and Clark’s Corps of Discovery as a trading item. It’s his second most irreplaceable object.

-Speaks Nez Perce (Niimi'ipuutímt), Chinook Jargon, Crow, Plains Sign Talk, ASL, Russian, German, Spanish, Basque, and English. 

-Has the most currently established tattoos out of any of my OCs.

[myfandomrambles]

Nature of Adora and Catra’s relationship

So obviously they have romantic subtext. This is clear in the way it was written, the way the majority of the fandom read them and is the stated goal of the creators to have LGBT rep in the show, and teasing language in line with the show’s dialogue.

The characters themselves are both coded as Lesbians as well. The other characters around them, Scopia & Glimmer are also coded to be Lesbian or Bi. I really hope we get some more explicit lesbian relationships going forward and more time for Netossa and Spinerella. There is no debate they are working with LGBT themes including the two leads of Adora and Catra.

However,

I do not think people who point out that there are story elements that set them up to be like sisters are making stuff up. And I do not think you have to be homophobic to see these things and the response “ Harold they’re lesbians!” does not disprove this. ( I mean for one you can actually have sisters who are both Lesbians).

Because here’s the thing. They weren’t just “best friends” as little kids! Of course, you can have kids who knew each other from being little kids and date, but that isn’t the dynamic that was written.

The girls shared a room/bed their whole lives, were taught together, played together and seemingly did everything together. And by their whole lives, it seems likely since infancy. We know Shadow Weaver raised Adora from being a baby and nothing Catra says refutes it was likely similarly very early. They are then raised by the same “parents.” Having the same mother figure (abusive or not) is literally what sisters are.

The way they display the three-way relationship with the Shadow Weaver is very reminiscent of abusive family dynamics. Adora says she does mom stuff and was clearly the main caregiver practically and what little emotional support they ever had. The hyper-control to one kid and neglect to another kid dynamic is super common with abusive parents to their kids. You can't say there is inherently no validity to people saying it's kind of weird to have people who were raised essentially as sisters be a main paring/ship.

So honestly their relationship feels heavily confused to me. They are clearly flirty and have both been coded as lesbians. However, their relationship is complicated beyond just pining or ex-partners. Adora was literally the only person Catra had who ever loved her and the only person Catra ever trusted. Hell, she was the only person before Scorpia who even seemed to like her. Catra was also clearly the most important relationship for Adora.

Also consider, both them, they are distant from the concept of family (seen in Adora not knowing what the word aunt even means) however even without this information familial bonds will form. Attachment to parental figures is literally something babies and toddlers do no matter what. It's the frigging groundwork people are built on. Also, people who give you physical affection (i mean hugs here not sex) causes bonds to anyone and is crazy powerful to kids. And they clearly are affectionate to each other even when teasing each other.  Rather the langue is there or not Shadow Weaver/Adora/Catra is a family dynamic if horribly damaged by abuse and war.

I do not think this stops anyone from being gay, again I want gay relationships. And hell I wouldn't even by definition hate Catradora if they do substantial character work on both of them. However this complete lack of other emotional attachments for Catra and no unconditional love for Adora when they were 'falling in love' changes how they are viewed and interact. Also when someone is the only emotional support a person has is a recipe for unhealthy relationships, and bonds forged in shared long term trauma are strong, but being abused together also means the whole thing is shaped by said trauma and therefore can have aspects that replay previous abuse.  They are the closest thing to family while also being a crush. This is honestly heartbreaking and way more interesting then pinning, exes etc.

Like they made them have the same mother and be raised together since being super young. I didn't make that up. They also wrote in romantic subtext I'm not denying that. What I am saying is that they really did manage to write a relationship that is even more WTF then Clueless, at least they were only step sister/brother for a few years.

[randomrambings]

Little Fires Everywhere: My Opinions

(I found this as a draft and I made this towards the beginning of May)

I can't believe that I'll have to say this, but to stop the rainstorm of boohoos and 'how dare you say that about my favorite show', but this whole post is my opinion. I'm not stating facts. It's my OPINION. Okay? Okay, let's move on. Also - Strong language warning. As of writing this on Thursday, April 30th, 2020, I'm on the second episode of #LittleFiresEverywhere after a friend of mine gave me their Hulu log in (Thanks, Max). As of right now, I only truly care about is Pearl, Izzy, and Moody.

The other two siblings seem like dicks to just be dicks, I want to like Mia and Elena, but they seem every involved in themselves a lot of the time. And yes, moms should be their own persons, but the reason why I don't like them right now is that Mia didn't seem to think about staying somewhere because her daughter really wanted to, until Pearl yelled at her. I get that there's a complicated situation there that we're only scratching the surface of. And Elena just seems like one of those moms that need their kids to be perfect. To be model citizens, to wear pastels, to be basically what most people see as the picture-perfect American family, and I hate it. Not to mention how she clearly favors her older two kids over her younger two kids. And then, of course, Lexi flat out STOLE Pearl's letter about her discrimination about wanting to go to her proper math class.

It might've been how I was raised, but I was always taught to be who you are despite what other people want you to be (laugh if you want, but I was raised by young Millennial parents, so give me a break). It just seems like Elena is trying to suppress who Izzy is but anyway she can because she's scared of how different her youngest is compared to her other kids.

Despite me not liking our main characters, I'll balance it out by saying what I do like about Mia and Elena. First, Mia.

I like how Mia is so very caring towards people. Like how she offers advice to Elena when she's being harassed at school to stand up for herself, and how she cares about a co-worker that she barely even knows, and asks her what's wrong, and hears her out once the time is better.

I like how firm Elena is about her beliefs in things, and how she wants the best for her children but doesn't seem to know the best way to go about it. And despite some of her strange ways of going about it, it is clear that she does love her kids in her own way.

The show itself is really good. The characters, despite me not liking a lot of them, are well developed and I feel like I could meet them in real life.

Episode Three has more promise to it.

Adding Lexie's boyfriend, Brian, to the mix of people that I like in this show, because he pointed out how fucked up it was that Lexie stole Pearl's letter for her essay.

Watching Mia do her art is making me want to get back into art too if I'm being honest. It makes me miss it.

Anyway, I still dislike Lexie, but I love the fact that Izzy has a dress with pockets, but I think she looked pretty without getting all traditionally dressed up. With that being said, the green dress is really pretty.

Okay, something's happening at the baby shower and I feel my anxiety rising as each cup of tea is being split. (I also love the subtle relationship between Izzy and Moody. Reminds me a lot of my brother and me when we were still taking turns hating each other).

Mia is going to get into trouble for sneaking into the baby's bedroom, I can feel it. I can feel so much trouble stirring up everywhere.

Mia, why did you tell Bebe? Mirabelle/May Ling is adopted, she gave up her baby for a good reason, legally, the baby isn't hers anymore... Your heart is in the right place, but this was a bad idea. This was such a bad idea.

Is Moody not going to tell Pearl that he clearly as feelings for her??? Or is Pearl going to have to find out the hard way?

I love the mirroring between Elena and Mia towards the very end of the episode.

Episode Four:

I get why Mia did what she did, but that was a little messed up, for everyone involved. It wasn't helpful towards Bebe who was still grieving over giving up her child, and it wasn't helpful to the couple that has the baby and is nearly through with adopting her. In the previews for this episode, I would like to make a prediction to see how right I am.

Mia was a surrogate mother for a couple, and instead of giving up Pearl, she left with Pearl and has been on the run ever since, and that's the real reason why she and Pearl have never stayed in the same place for very long, and that's why she was so reluctant on staying in a seemingly perfect community, and part of the reason why she freaked out when Pearl was escorted home by what looked like a police officer at the time (that and the fact that it was the 90s, and there was terrible discrimination between cops and blacks, more than there is now). I don't want to be right, I don't want this to be a Finding Carter situation, but it would make sense.

I also really like how Izzy and Pearl are kind of opposites of each other, despite how they were raised, and who they were raised by.

Also, for all the moms out there that are scared that their kids are going to be addicted to sex after they do it the one time, and Lexie's line; "It's like when you do it once, it's all you can think about". From a 21-year-old who can very clearly remember what it's like being in high school, trust me, by the time they're like 14 or 15, they're already thinking about it a lot, in a good way or bad way, that doesn't mean that they're doing it, it's just being a teenager. (Sorry for the rant, I just know that Karens and Lindas will watch this show, hear that line and freak out even more than they already are).

"Being gay is a very rare thing". Elena, my girl, buddy, you're so sheltered from sexuality that it makes me laugh.

I really want to know what Mia's dreams mean. Hopefully, there are video essays on it somewhere that I can look at after the episode is over.

Oh my God, why is there always that one guy in these kinds of stories that always give the advice of "Just treat her like shit" or "Be an asshole the whole time, and she'll defiantly fall for you". First of all, no. Second of all, just be honest, the worst that'll happen is she'll say that she's not interested, and as long as you take it gracefully, nothing else will happen. Damn.

Also, am I the only one that finds it weird that Elena and Bill have a schedule for their sex life? Like who schedule's sex when they're not actively trying to have a baby, or avoid that, or they're old and need to make sure that no one's bones are gonna be ackey that day. I can't be the only one that finds that weird.

Elena is playing so dirty in something she should not be even touching right now, my Lord woman.

Why is Mia going through and taking a bunch of stuff from Elena's house, that's really weird?

Elena and Mia are really strange ladies, everyone's thinking about it.

I know that there is still a thing about adoptive parents vs biological parents, and I have no experience with adoptive parents, and I cannot imagine the pain that Bebe is going through, or Linda. But Bebe gave up her baby, whether or not she wanted to, and obviously is mourning that choice, but it was a choice she made. I'm on Linda's side with this, Mirabelle is Linda's baby. Bebe is the birth mother, yes, but Linda is her mom. There's a difference.

TRIP IS DOING HIS BROTHER SO DIRTY RIGHT NOW. TRIP, STOP MACKING ON YOUR BROTHER'S CRUSH WTF.

Can y'all tell that I feel things and think about stuff way too dramatically yet?

Pearl nO---!

Elena oh my fucking God, Elena, what the fuck are you doing.

Trip just spilled the beans after it was almost way too fucking late. Like I know you're a teenage boy with an attractive girl, but my dude should've said something when you were still making out.

Elena just fired shots holy shit. Do you want to start a fight with a mother? Say she's not a good mother.

Holy. Shit.

This show is really going to throw gas on the fire of biological vs adopted real quick... Not that there shouldn't be conversations about this, but its already a loaded topic.

Episode Five

That flashback kind of just explained why Elena schedules sex with her husband I mean...

I know snooping through things is bad, and I know that Izzy doesn't know that Mia snooped through and even took certain things from her house, but it's kind of hypocritical of Mia to be upset when Izzy went through her stuff when not even an episode ago, Mia was taking stuff fro their rooms.

"You should get on the pill" TOO LITTLE TOO LATE MY DUDE.

This is one of the painful mother-daughter scenes I've seen so far. Top 20.

I'm with Bill, Elena is unraveling and she's unraveling fast.

Do they really ask someone would they like to see the sonogram, knowing that they're getting an abortion? It just seems kind of mean.

I feel like Lexie can't stop doing fucked up shit. "If it got out it'd actually matter" so you used your friend's name?? So that if it got out, people would think that she got an abortion??? M'kay.

I never get show siblings. Trip and Lexie give Izzy a whole bunch of shit about how she might be a lesbian, but as soon as Izzy gives Trip a taste of his own medicine, she's the bad guy?

Holy shit I knew it!!!

Episode Six

I. Knew. It!!!!!

Such a weird way to ask someone to be your surrogate, though. Especially when the woman is obviously so young

I'm starting to see why Elena might have some resentment towards Izzy. I just wanna go through the screen and hug Linda and her husband so tightly and tell them that it'll be okay

Like I know that Mia is 18 in this, and can consent, but it's still kinda fucked, having a romantic relationship with her professor, someone of an authority figure

I think Elena might have postpartum depression. Correct me if I'm wrong, but that's what it seems like. That or just majorly regretting her life choices. Probably both

That is fucked up. It shouldn't matter whether or not Mia is regnant, she deserves to go to her brother's funeral. There'll be more questions about where she is, instead of why she's pregnant.

Episode Seven

That was so cold, April, what the fuck.

Am I the only one that thinks Elena doesn't really love Izzy?

I know what April did was really fucked up, but I want her and Izzy to be friends again.

Take some ownership, Elena, Jesus. Hey Bill, can your wife be accountable for all her actions? Including screaming at your own daughter because she refused to wear a certain pair of shoes?

Shit, Izzy, that's fucked up. Looking at you too, April.

Well, my suspicions of Elena not loving Izzy were just confirmed.

I kind of hope Brian does break up Lexie.

I am so done with Elena's crazy nosy ass. For the love of God please tell me that she didn't tell Pearl. Holy shit, so many moral no-nos happening and there is only one episode left.

Oh, Izzy...

Damn everyone just kind of sucks right now.

Episode Eight

It sucks that Lexie is sad, but, Brian deserves better so, I don't feel that bad about it

"She didn't come from my body...but that doesn't make me any less of her mother."

Would it be wrong to post blame with both Elena and Mia? I mean, if Mia didn't stick herself in the middle of something she shouldn't have, and if Elena didn't try to bribe Bebe on behalf of Linda and her husband (I can't remember his name for the life of me) then it either wouldn't have been this bad or never happened at all.

I know I said I liked Izzy in the beginning, but she's kind of a brat.

I have mixed feeling about Pearl, but I still love her and Izzy

Yep, yep, definitely hate Elena. You can't ask your friend to break the law for you because you got her the job she has.

Busted...

MOODY! I can't believe he just said that about her, what the fuck

And Lexie's choice just fucked up everything for Pearl's reputation.

Can I punch Lexie in the face?

No, Elena, you're not a good person.

Oh my God...

I don't blame them, let them set the whole house on fire. Do it. I'd do it. Fuck Elena.

...That ending left in speechless in so many ways...

[rxpunzelwrites-blog]

name: lane branson sexuality: homosexual shipped with: kimberly hawthorne

bio: This is Lane and first things first, Lane isn't aware that she's the gayest. So basically she was raised in a super conservative family who were totally racist, homophobic, all the negative -isms and whatnot. Given that she was a right chatty Cathy at school and got along with everyone and had a really wide social circle, Lane adopted her own world views from a young age which differed to that of her family. She's pretty outspoken as well and had no filter so whenever she was like 'I MADE A FRIEND TODAY WHO'S A LESBIAN' her mother would clutch her pearls and try and usher her away from said friendship. But Lane is super rebellious so she would go out of her way to make friends with people her family disapproved of and genuinely cared for them and stuff. She began listening to like rock music as well which was basically the same as doing satanic rituals in her parents' eyes but really all of this helped her older brother, Reeve, eventually come out to her. She was supportive as hell and covered for him whenever he snuck out to meet with his boyfriend and Reeve eventually built up the courage to tell their parents. It didn't go well and Lane always feel a lot of responsibility for what happened next because she was the one who encouraged him to like, stick it to the man and be true to himself and whatnot because everything she done didn't have any serious repercussions because she doesn't give a shit about anyone else's opinion. Her parents all but disowned Reeve and so began a lot of horrible arguments with other family members also throwing in their harmful two cents and it all culminated in Reeve killing himself. Lane was devastated and so were here parents because they hadn't expected it to come to this and felt really guilty but Lane wasn't ever going to let them have a pity party. She moved out at the age of seventeen and jumped from friends house to friends house, sneaking into their rooms late at night so their parents wouldn't find out and stuff, but she was determined she wasn't going to go home. Then when she turned eighteen, she immediately got a job as a waitress and rented her own apartment in Messina. She's always been an avid musician as well and wanted to pursue a singing career but there's no real, feasible way of her doing that so she pretends that it's a hobby and not something that she takes seriously. But after Reeve died he left behind a lot of poems, some were about life in general and others were about his struggles and stuff, and so Lane turned them into songs. And so she bought some editing equipment one day and basically set up her own little podcast to play her music on and tell stories about her brother and raise awareness about suicide and homophobia and bullying etc. It hasn't went viral or anything but it has a solid following and it's something she really, really cares about and never wants to end because she never wants anyone to forget Reeve. Also her best friend is Kimberly who's played by Michaela and wow imagine if Lane hadn't literally sub-consciously suppressed all her own feelings about being a lesbian because THEN MAYBE THOSE TWO WOULDN'T BE SO ANGSTY FFS.

name: peggy collins sexuality: heterosexual shipped with: unnamed boyo

bio: This is Peggy who is named after famous jazz singer Peggy Lee. This pretty much summarises her dad as he's the one who named her, because he's a jazz fanatic. Her mom left when she was just a baby but it's never been a chip on Peggy's shoulder or anything because her dad was a great parent and she always had a large number of adults around her who all acted as parental figures so she had a really stable upbringing. Her dad runs his own jazz club/restaurant where Peggy has been working ever since she figured out how to turn on the fryer. She's a pretty decent cook but when it comes to playing music, it's best to leave that to her dad. All the other chefs and waiters and waitresses and musicians grew to be like her family which is why she never ever felt her mother's absence and she really is a distant memory to her. While she's a shit musician, she /is/ a good dancer and absolutely adores swing dancing and dresses in lots of swing dresses and shoes that belong in the 20's. And she wears a ton of bandanas as well and loves the colour yellow. She really is a happy person even though she feels a little stifled being stuck in the same place all the time because she's so used to people coming into the club from all over the world who have loads of stories to tell and Peggy feels like she doesn't /have/ a story. So she's always dreamed about seeing the world but doesn't want to leave her dad because while /she/ doesn't care that her mum left, her dad totally does and so she feels obligated to stay with him. Or rather he did up until he met the woman that would one day become her step mum. Her name was Eleanora and she came to work in the club as a jazz singer and Peggy's father totally fell for her and Peggy was able to relax a little. A few months down the line and Peggy decided to go travelling herself, making spontaneous decisions about where to go and just really immersing herself in the world. On her travels, she met this guy who'll so far go unnamed bc it would be sweet as pie if he made an appearance on here (wink wink). Basically she liked him from the off and the two of them had an interest in like bettering the world so they did volunteer work and went to lots of political rallies together and stuff and this went on for like three months until they made the split decision to just... get married. So yep, these two are married after knowing each other for three months and they're muddling their way through that because Peggy doesn't regret the decision but she keeps finding out more things about him she didn't know and lots of people are dubious about it when they find out but all Peggy cares about is the opinion of her dad, which is why the two of them are going back to New York so she can be reunited with her dad again, hubby in tow.

name: zack holland sexuality: heterosexual shipped with: caoimhe o’sullivan

bio: Meet Mr Zack Attack Holland. Zack here is a big old nerd who thinks that Hans Zimmerman might be the greatest man to ever walk the planet. When he was younger, he spent all his time holed up in his room listening to and analysing film scores up until his sisters forced him to brush his hair, put on some cologne and go out and talk to girls. He always failed because not a lot of girls really thought that some blushing blonde hulk of a guy who couldn't stop talking about the Casablanca soundtrack was dating material, but Zack was rarely disheartened. He was always content to return home and play on his piano. He never really excelled in other things except music, and his grades were always pretty poor so his sisters used to tutor him a lot but he only really scraped by in high school. He was determined that he was going to be a composer for movies anyway and be the next Zimmerman or John Williams. When he met Caoimhe he chatted her ear off about movie music again but this time (and obviously this is totally up to Michaela) it actually worked and the two began dating up until their very first wee bab was born. Now with three children, the two are sort of struggling to make ends meet and Zack has long since given up his dream of being a composer because he doesn't have time to pore over sheet music and his piano when bills need to be paid and kids need to be dropped off at school. To bring in income for the family now, he works as a security guard at the Met and, as far as he's concerned, it's pretty easy money. If he ever /did/ get into some sort of altercation he's not sure how it would go because he definitely looks intimidating but also he's a big gentle giant who loves embarrassing his kids by telling dad jokes at the most inopportune moments. Also, he's super excited about getting to marry Caoimhe and can't wait to start calling her his little wifey, even though they have a loooooot of obstacles to overcome before the big day because weddings don't pay for or organise themselves.

[kaywritepieces]

Confessions of a Willowsburg Assassin

Alexander’s childhood had never been what most people in Willowsburg considered normal. His father was a mad scientist who spent the majority of his time creating strange machines that bent reality and stranger genetic monstrosities that crept in the shadows. His mother was a world-renowned assassin who hid razor blades in her long dark hair and never had fewer than four weapons within easy reach. They loved each other very much, and if they sometimes fought whenever she put one of his monsters out of its misery with a swift knife to the throat, they made it up to one another one way or another.

They had met when one of Alexander’s father’s rivals had hired her to kill him and steal the plans to his latest invention. He had defended himself with his previously untested Freeze Ray, which had exploded and left the both of them paralyzed from the neck down and with nothing to do but talk and bond over their mutual love of history. Over the course of the conversation they fell in love, and eleven months later baby Alexander was born.

Both of his parents loved Alexander deeply, and they tried to take the best care of him that they could. For Christmas when he was five, Alexander’s father built him a custom train set with over a thousand tracks and an engine strong enough to pull young Alexander across the lab if he held on too long. On his ninth birthday, his mother took him on a camping trip in the Colorado Rockies and taught him to hunt with a crossbow. For his bedtime story, his mother read him the legends of the constellations and his father told him the histories of the great scholars. He grew up reading Shakespeare, Poe, and Dante. By the time he was twelve he could crack safes, pick pockets, build and disarm bombs, fight in four different styles of martial arts, and prove difficult mathematical theorems.

When he was thirteen, his mother got breast cancer. His father worked night and day trying to find a cure. His mother pulled Alexander aside and told him very seriously, “When I go, you have to take care of your father. He isn’t like you and me; he doesn’t see the world the way that we can. People are going to come for him, and they’re going to try to hurt him, and I need you to stop them if I can’t. You need to keep him safe.” She died after six months.

Eleven years later Alexander still wasn’t sure if he’d fulfilled his mother’s request. His father had become obsessed with curing the disease that had destroyed her and had lost any sense of ethics he had once had. In the course of his quest, he lost contact with the outside world, confining himself to his lab. Alexander couldn’t remember the last time that he’d actually gone outside, let alone interacted with someone who wasn’t either part of one of his experiments, someone trying to stop them, or Alexander himself. Sometimes his experiments put the rest of the city in harm's way, and the media took notice and started to call him “Dr. Death,” as though he were purposefully trying to kill those around him. It only got worse when the man himself heard about it; he started ranting about how cancer was life, out of control and unbridled, and that “if being the arbiter of its destruction placed him on the side of death then he would gladly wield the dread scythe and follow the darkness if that’s what it took to destroy it.”

Thank god he had Ellie. She reveled in disrupting the banal, everydayness of Willowsburg with well-timed instances of out-of-control chaos, but she never did it with the purpose of hurting people. She understood just how painful it could be to be designated by the media as the villain of the story, and she could always be counted on to raise Alexander’s spirits. If nothing else, the two of them could bitch about that goddamned Black Thunder who kept sticking his nose where he wasn’t wanted and ruining their plans while somehow playing himself off as the hero saving the defenseless city.

It had been hilarious when Ellie found out about the girl. “Jane Goody,” she had said. “What dumbass hero could resist her with a name like that?” They’d played at guessing who she was to Black Thunder—a girlfriend, a sister, an alternate dimension version of himself (okay, sometimes they played over a bottle of wine, and Ellie was a weird drunk). It hadn’t really been any hardship to steal her away to his father’s lab a few times and wait for Black Thunder to appear in a shriek of pure sound waves, enraged and unthinking and ready to fight, and even though he always got away with the girl he’d leave enough blood or DNA behind that Alexander’s father could continue on with his experiments.

Of course, it had to come back to bite him. He walks into work at Cher one day (the life of a mad scientist doesn’t pay well, and besides Alexander figures that it’s important to have a life outside of villainy and vengeance) and there she is, talking to his boss about how her last place of employment got destroyed by the Gonnam’s giant robot last week and how she’s got lots of experience in retail. She introduces her self with a smile and a self-deprecating joke about “yes, that really is my last name, I swear I’m not lying,” and he smiles and nods and tells her his name, his real name because he thought that he could at least have this job without the rest of his life bleeding into it.

They work a few of the same shifts, and he tries to avoid her as much as he can without being impolite but he can’t help but learn that she’s got a boyfriend (Brad, because why wouldn’t the superhero who consistently tries to ruin his life sound like a frat boy) and that she was an English major in college and that she genuinely, sincerely believes that the world is inherently good even though he knows for a fact that she gets kidnapped on the regular, and sometimes by people much more vicious than him.

And then one day he’s talking to a customer about handcuffs and he sees her freeze out of the corner of his eye and turn a little green, and then run to the back of the store and he knows that she’s finally recognized him. He goes after her (and he brings her some water because if she’s thrown up then he doesn’t want to smell that on her breath, doesn’t want the customers to smell that on her breath, and doesn’t really think that she deserves the taste in her mouth anyway) and he makes some vague threats about outing her and her boyfriend (and it’s nice to know that he was right about the boyfriend—Brad—being Black Thunder). He goes back to work and she follows him a few minutes later and everything goes back to normal.

And when some customers come in talking about Black Thunder and how hot he is in his costume and how dreamy he must be under the mask (and he won’t lie, built and bossy may not be Alexander’s type but he is a full-blooded bisexual and he’s wondered the same thing once or twice) he hears Jane sigh and shake her head ruefully and then go deal with said customers with a cheery smile, and he remembers that she knows exactly how dreamy he is under the mask.

And when a man comes in looking for ropes he almost dies holding in his laughter because Jane cooks up some story about closeted lesbian girl scouts and a life-changing ski trip, and his life may be a mess but at least he’s never had to lie and pretend that Electriss and Aguagirl were his childhood friends who discovered their forbidden love for each other by tying him to a chair. He’s honestly impressed with the span of her knowledge though, especially since she almost definitely gained most of it under duress. He’s equally, though perhaps less honestly, impressed with her glare when he teases her about it after the customer leaves.

And when Ellie creates an army of giant hamsters (“R.O.U.S’s, Alexander, it’s hilarious!”)  using Gladiator and her own magical charms and he gets trapped in an empty shop with Jane, he learns that apparently supervillains are the world’s worst gossips and that Ellie is severely underappreciated by the community because Jane seems to think that she’s not that good of a villain and that’s just wrong. Somehow the two of them end up debating over who is the most useless supervillain in the city, and Alexander can’t help but champion Macbeth because why would an environmentalist themed villain name themselves after a Shakespeare character, and Jane starts to agree that the man really should have thought better than to name himself after the guy who loses everything and dies. But then she sees a dildo on the counter and picks it up, and she grins at him and just says, “The Plumber,” and he hasn’t laughed this hard in ages.

And when he hears some rumors about the Marion Gang gearing up for some kind big job involving the First National Bank and worrying about Black Thunder, he surprises himself when his first reaction isn’t, “Someone to take the pressure off of me and dad,” but rather is, “They better not try to kidnap Jane.” He tries not to think about it too hard, but he isn’t shocked when he finds himself bringing in a can of mace to work the next day. He promises himself that he’ll just tell Jane that there were some rumors and that she might want to be careful, but when her face turns pale and she starts to cry all of those promises fall crashing to the ground and he holds her tight like his mother used to when he had a nightmare and he tells her that nothing will happen to her, he swears, they won’t touch a hair on her head. Two nights later the cops get an anonymous tip and find the majority of the Marion Gang knocked unconscious and surrounded by drugs, guns, and records of their dirty dealings going back a year.  

And when Black Thunder finally gets him, when Alexander finally falls and has to crawl away, blood in his mouth and body aching, he wonders if this is the end. His father is in police custody and will probably get put away for life unless Alexander somehow manages to break him out (he’s not sure if he wants to break him out). Alexander is beaten, and it will be a long time before he’s in any kind of shape to go back out and fight again. It takes three days before he can even try to walk again, and he knows that he’s probably lost the job at Cher too. Everything’s fallen apart, and he doesn’t know how to get it back.

Except that when he goes back to Cher, praying like he hasn’t for years that he’ll still have a job waiting for him, he finds Jane. She looks pale and frightened, but she gets a chair for him to sit in behind the counter when there aren’t any customers and she gets him water and gives him half of her lunch. She asks if he’s okay to be at work and tells him that she can cover his shifts if he needs her to, really, it’s fine. She asks if he’s gone to a doctor (he hasn’t, technically, but he knows how to treat wounds and he knows his own limits), if he has a place to stay (he can stay will Ellie, but he only tells her that he’s got a friend who will let him crash on her couch, and she doesn’t ask who). She opens her mouth, closes it again, and crosses her arms over her stomach. She looks down and asks the floor, “will you be okay?” and he—doesn’t know (He chokes on a response and she’s there immediately, hands folding around his shoulders and shoulder cradling his head and he sobs into her shirt because he just—he messed up, he should have done better, and he doesn’t know how to live without his father’s pain and obsession to drive him.)