#Well at my old school it was 8:45 but somewhere around there | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

bratshaws · 2 years ago

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goodness gracious 67. brb x oc

a/n: overprotective parents can be a bit of a pain * laughs in knowing how the fuck that is *

check out the fic's playlist made by the sweet @wiipes !!

pairing: plus size!oc x rooster

warnings: fluff then angst because WHY NOT

chapters:

1/2/3/4/5/6/7/8/9/10/11/12/13/14/15/16/17/18/19/20/21/22/23/24/25/26/27/28/29/30/31/32/33/34/35/36/37/38/39/40/41/42/43/44

45/46/47/48/49/50/51/52/53/54/55/56/57/58/59/60/61/62/63/64

65/66

(pls let me know if you want to be added to the taglist!!)

taglist: @mirandastuckinthe80s @roosterschanelslut @wiipes @lcahwriter @shrimping-for-all @gretagerwigsmuse @frenchtoastix

@lizzie-rdj @fanboyluvr @atarmychick007 @comebacktoearthpls

@peachiicherries @mak-32 @lizziespidiepridie @roosterswifey @ollyoxenfrees @piceous21 @sqrlgrl22 @hofficoffi @lexhalstead3

@lorilane33 @legendarydreamersharkparty @luckyladycreator2 @emilybradshaw @j-6o @louisahale @leobabbyyy @kulicny @winter-run @ktjmac @graciereads

One thing she hadn’t considered after agreeing to Marcus’ photo shoot was: how would her family react? Well it wasn’t like she agreed to do something that would be considered 18+ but still she’d be wearing less clothing than her family would be used to seeing. She took an Uber to her parents’ house, stopping outside the front door and inhaling deeply for courage.

She was almost thirty, she didn’t have to explain her reasoning to her parents all the time, she could make her own choices! And she’d need the money, which after calling Marcus one more time and him saying the amount she’d get she almost fainted. It’d be enough to finance a new car, and she’d have some left for when she and Rooster moved in together.

Bea knocks on the door, waiting for her mother to show up and she does with a huge smile. Same actions as before: almost cry, then hug Beatrice, then kiss her cheeks over and over. The only difference was that she asked her about Bradley, which was more than a welcome surprise, “He’s at work mama.” she explains once she gets in and greets the pitties running her way, patting their backsides playfully, “I came to get some stuff from my old room…oh are you going somewhere?”

Her mother was dressed quite nicely for such an early morning, “I’m going to meet some of the teachers for a school meeting.” Claudia grabbed her red bag, messing around for the keys, “They want my opinion on the school.”

“But mama, you are already retired.”

“ I know, tesoro but, oh where’s the key!” Beatrice looks to the side where the said keys were on the coat hanger, lifting her arm and picking it up for her mother, holding it in front of her eyes, ‘Oh, thank you tesoro– but yes I know I am retired, but it’s…almost like a council of sorts?”

Beatrice lets out an ‘ah’. Her mother worked as a teacher for a long time, she was very respected within her school and with her work colleagues, so Beatrice thought it made sense they’d want her input in some changes they might have to make in the school, “Oh,well, I don’t know if I’ll be here when you come back so if I don’t,” she engulfs her mom in a hug, one that Claudia reciprocates and kisses her daughter’s cheek, “Ti amo, mama.”

“Anch'io ti amo, tesoro.” she lets go of Beatrice to walk out of the door, “Your dad is in the garden! Let him know you are here, okay?” the brunette nods, watching the door close and her mother’s footsteps get fainter and fainter until she hears the car leaving their driveway.

Beatrice stands in the hallway for a few seconds, the two dogs by her side before she turns around to walk out of the glass doors and into the backyard. Pomodoro and Marinara rush out to play around the grass, completely ignoring a kneeled Rafael that was currently tending some of the herbs in his garden. Bea smiles, pushing herself off the door to step closer, hearing the voice of Luciano Pavarotti in the little speaker her father kept with him whenever he was out in the backyard, singing along quietly to the Italian tenor.

“Papa?” she calls, making Rafael stop his humming and look over his shoulder with his eyes widening behind his thick glasses.

“Bambina!” he calls, pulling out the garden gloves and dropping them on the fresh earth, patting his thighs as he stands up, wrapping Beatrice in a loving hug, “Oh, my sweet tesoro, what are you doing here?”

“I came to get some stuff from my old room.” she smiles, fixing the crooked glasses on her father’s face, wiping a bit of dirt from his forehead. Rafael furrows his thick eyebrows, propping his hands on his hips with confusion.

“Get? Why would you want to get anything else? It’s fine where it is.”

She held back the sigh of absolute no surprise when her father said that, of course, he'd want everything from her childhood to stay there. But she had a long time thinking about it, her main goal was getting her journal and some of the stuff she had inside that room, some old memories she kept in a shoebox, “It won’t be a lot papa, I promise.” Rafael remained frowning, but he let out a sigh and a tilt of his head to signal he agreed. Beatrice smiled, thanking him by hugging his middle and then rushing inside.

Luciano Pavarotti’s voice returned, a bit louder this time, as she made her way up the stairs and towards her room. Her mother must’ve cleaned all the rooms up there because every door wafted the scent of jasmine from inside, including her old room. Since she knew why she was there, she zeroed her sights on the little nightstand where her journal was, repeating the motion of sitting on her bed to open the drawer and pull it out with some difficulty yet again.

Bea stares down at the mermaid, then slowly opens it up to a random page. She didn’t plan on reading it, but she couldn’t help herself.

Feb.12th, 2005

Today is my birthday! I’m very excited!I’ll get the Avril Lavigne cd I’ve been wanting for months! We are going to Mr.Scoops to celebrate it too, and we’re bringing nonna! She’s been feeling very under the weather lately so this might be a good thing for her!:)

I invited some people from my class, like Megan,Susie and Rooney! They said they’ll come over, they are my best friends! I can’t wait to see what we can do! Mama said I can even take more money to the arcade! I’m so excited!

Beatrice’s smile faltered just a bit, remembering that the said best friends were also the ones who abandoned her when they started high school. It was very fun back then, they did enjoy themselves but…well, it wasn’t going to last and she wished she knew. Not to mention this was her nonna’s final month, but she didn’t know that then, and her nonna just wanted her to have a good time even with her sickness taking over her quickly.

Bea shook her head, then flipped a few more pages.

June 24th,2008

I don’t really know what I’m doing wrong. Am I just a freak? I don’t know. I guess maybe I’m just weird…I mean, I have tried making friends ever since I got into high school and people don’t really give me much attention. Maybe I’m doing something wrong…maybe I should just keep it to myself–

She immediately turned the page, not having within herself to continue reading, clearing her throat when the discomfort of tears made its way to her eyes. The one page she landed however, made her immediately halt any movement.

May 21st,2009

I read in a magazine that if you write what you want with all your might, you will get it. So…well, I guess I want a boyfriend? A guy who really likes me, who is really in love with me and who isn’t…I don’t know weirded out to be with me either. He can be tall! I don’t mind. I kinda like brown eyes too, maybe a light brown. He could have an accent, he doesn’t have to be from Cali.

He has to have a pretty smile though, maybe it could be one of the first things I’ll see in him! It could happen right? He has to like dogs, like, really like dogs…he can be fit too (idk if that would even work for me LOL) but yeah he can be fit…or not! I don’t know, the magazine said to believe it no matter what but it’s kinda hard to me to actually believe it right now. I don’t know when I’ll meet him, hopefully soon? The magazine said to write an initial if I want to, but I don’t want to appear too picky.

Well! I think this would be all? So,I’ll end it like this!

Beatrice stared at the page, rereading everything over and over until she hurt her eyes from moving them so much. Once she’s done, she closes the diary with her mouth still parted in shock…she completely forgot about this. She completely forgot about this. When she met Eric, she took it as a job well done! After all, he loved her,right? So half of it was true and she let it go…and yet, now, now she was noticing it was never meant to be for Eric.

“Oh…my God.” she whispers, not knowing how to even react about that, how to even comprehend she basically described Bradley when she was sixteen years old? Beatrice sat on her old bed in complete shock, looking back at her closed journal, as if it somehow had a strange power she had no knowledge of. That was…really strange, but yet very reassuring? After all she did get the guy she wrote about, maybe not when she wanted but definitely when she was ready to.

Now she was definitely not throwing that journal away.

“Okay…okay…” she repeats, inhaling deeply with her hands folded on top of her thighs, trying to calm her wildly beating heart. She was a mix of surprised and overjoyed after reading that, biting her lower lip so hard she feared it’d break the skin, tapping the heels of her shoes on the floor as she looked at nothing. She really described Rooster, literally him when she had no idea he even existed. She picks the journal up after a while, holding it with both hands to look down at the dried glitter cover then hugs the journal to her chest with her eyebrows furrowed.

Beatrice clenches her eyes, feeling even more emotion bubble its way to the surface but she held it back in, she didn’t want her father to ask why her face was splotched because of tears.She eased out a shaky breath after hugging the journal tight, wiping her fingers under her eyes to wipe any tear that dared to roll out without her noticing, standing to her feet with the journal tucked under her arm.

She looks over to her single door closet, walking towards it with her eyebrows furrowed just a bit, then pulling the door open to check the insides. Some, if not most of her stuffed toys were inside in boxes of several sizes. Her old dollhouse was tucked in the corner, still inside the box it came in but definitely missing parts of the roof and her so-called ‘barbie backpack’ where she used to keep all her Barbie dolls was also next to it.

Maybe she could donate those, she didn’t have many Barbie dolls and some of them were…passed on from her sisters, but she could figure out what to do with them right? Beatrice opened the backpack to see the contents, recoiling her head when she saw Ken’s body, more precisely his back and the outfit he was wearing. She had no memory of her Ken doll having a Hawaiian shirt and she was starting to wonder if there was something happening but this Ken doll had a shirt that looked way too much like the one she gave Bradley.

She drops the backpack to the floor, holding both of her hands up, “Woah, okay, hah,” she talks to herself, then looks around out of habit, “This is weird. This is very weird.” God damn it, what was going on? Was…was this some sort of sign from the universe telling her that she was meant to meet Bradley all along? That’s something her aunt Martha would say and…while it was a good loving thought, it freaked her out just a bit.

She was happy, of course, it was just strange to consider that. Beatrice looked back down at the backpack, then sighs, wondering if it was a good idea or not to mess with that…so much like the journal, she chose to not part ways with it, simply pushing it back inside her closet with her foot, pushing the door shut soon after.

That…was weird and she had no idea how to react to it exactly, so she just grabbed her journal, shoved under her arm and walked out. Her feet hitting the stairs called her father’s attention, the smell of fresh coffee signaling that he made some to himself, “Beatrice?” he calls, making his youngest daughter stop at the bottom and then turn towards the kitchen, where she could see her father’s thick head of hair appear by the threshold, “Come, let us have some coffee together.”

“Oh, ah,” she looked back at the door, then at her phone to check the time, it was still a few minutes past eleven, she knew Brad would message her in a little bit too because he’d be on lunch break, “Okay.” She places her journal inside her bag, the one hanging from the coat hanger and wanders inside the kitchen.

Rafael smiles, grabbing a mug to pour her some coffee “Do you want an affogato?” she doesn’t have time to reply because her father is opening the freezer, pulling out a styrofoam box filled with vanilla gelato, plopping a scoop of it inside her mug, shoving a small spoon inside. Beatrice couldn’t help the smile, he’d always do that to her while she was younger. It was her ‘introduction’ to coffee, ‘There you go.”

“Thank you papa.” she says, even if the weather outside was a bit cold she couldn’t say no to an affogato, especially when it was her dad who made it. She notices his eyes are on hers as she moves the spoon around, waiting for her to take a bite - much like when she was younger - “Mmm,” she smiles chewing the coffee soaked gelato, “It’s really good, papa.”

Rafael smiles proudly, as if he made that gelato from scratch - which he didn’t -, nodding to her in thanks, “Did you get what you wanted?” Beatrice nods, watching her father lean his lower back against the kitchen counter as Beatrice remains standing, “Don’t you stand there, come on, sit. Sit!” He pulls out a chair from the kitchen table, pushing his daughter gently until she settles, “There, it’s like you are in a hurry.”

Beatrice just sips her affogato silently, but she does answer her father, “Yes, I just wanted to grab a book.” it was a lie, but not too bad of one. It was technically a book. If she said it was a journal her father would question what was in it that she wanted to remove from the house so badly? “And take it home.”

“Ah, yes, yes.” Rafael nods, sipping his own coffee quietly, then smacking his lips, “I was talking to a friend of mine, he can give you a nice car for the money you got from your old one.”

“...oh…really?”

“Yes, it’s a van.” Oh God. “It’s very spacious, very good, you can put a lot inside.”

Beatrice laughs awkwardly, “Wow…a…van…” she repeats, shoving a spoonful of ice cream inside her mouth and immediately getting brain freeze. Of course he’d say that. “I..well, I’ll think about it papa. I can take Uber until then or Brad can drive me around if I need to.”

Rafael purses his lips in a frown, “Yes, yes but Bradley works. You can’t depend on him like that,” and what does she do? Clap her hands under the rain and hope for coins?

“I don’t depend on him papa.” she says gently, “He wants to help me out until I get a new car, that’s all.” she twirls the spoon inside her mug, watching the vanilla gelato disappear inside the warm coffee, turning the dark brown into a foamy light beige. Rafael however, didn’t seem to believe it that much, the crinkle in between his brows - fondly called ‘the coin holder’ by his children - appeared as he listened to his daughter.

“Well,yes, of course. But he’s a busy man, he has to use his car.” Beatrice held back another sigh, leaning on a hand and glaring down at her affogato with a frown, “And a van, a van is good for you. Do you know why?”

She finally lets out the sigh, “No, papa, why is a van good for me?”

“Because it’s big, it’s spacious and it doesn’t call attention.”

She just stares at her father with a confused look, holding a hand up in questioning, “I…doesn’t call attention? What does that mean?”

“It’s also a 1975 van.” Oh God. “New cars are easy to spot, because of robbers.”

Beatrice couldn’t believe what she was hearing, “Papa.” she inhales to control her temper, “You have a porsche parked outside. It is a very nice car, being old doesn’t mean anything.” but her father just stared at her, just like Guillermo did the first time he went to the Hard Deck, “Look, papa, I appreciate it, but I will have to think about it, you know? Whose friend is it that’s offering me the car?”

“Oh, you know him, it’s Anthony. Anthony Schiazzo.”

“...Papa I don’t know who that is.”

“...Oh! Oh then it’s Sabrina who knows, he sold her the car she uses right now.”

Beatrice furrowed her eyebrows even more. She didn’t like how this conversation was going, “Papa, listen, I really appreciate it. I really do, but I want to…think about it some more, you know? I need to see what works best for me.” she finishes her affogato, the spoon tinkling inside the porcelain mug as she takes it to the sink, smiling at her father, “But I appreciate it, very much.” she leans up to kiss his cheek and hug his shoulders, “Thank you for the affogato, papa.”

Rafael follows his daughter towards the hallway, watching her pet the two pitbulls goodbye, “You are leaving already? You just got here.”

Beatrice looks over her shoulder, sliding the bag strap on, “Well, yes papa. I just came over to–” but her father looks so sad that Beatrice couldn’t even finish her sentence. It has been a while since she did visit, besides Christmas that is, and she was sure her parents missed her a lot. She chews her lower lip, clenching her bag strap, “Well,I mean…I…I guess I can stay a little bit more.” Rafael perks up with a smile, “Do you have anything planned?”

“I was going to the supermarket to buy ingredients for tonight’s dinner.” he smiles, “And buy another flea collar for Pomodoro,” the dog looks up guiltily, licking his maw apologetically towards the older man, “I’d like the company.”

“...well..okay.”

She follows her dad at the old supermarket, the one she came as a child many times before, following him as he picks up an eggplant from the pile,bringing it to his nose to smell it, ‘Here, tell me if it smells right.” he holds it back for her, Beatrice only leans her nose closer and sniffs it, giving him a nod, “Mm…hm! Yes, good.” he grabs a few more to place it into the colorful bag.

Beatrice could see eyes from the people she had known ever since she was a child, some of them friends from her parents who hadn’t seen her in months. “Ma che cazzo, five dollarsfor a potato?” She hears her father exclaim, putting down three potatoes and keeping only two, “I’ll plant some potatoes at home, this is a robbery.”

While she follows her father, she pulls out her phone to check if Bradley sent her a message, smiling when she sees his name pop up on her screen.

Roos (12:11)

Baby, I’m here :) Are you having lunch right now too?

Bea (12:11)

I’m actually out with my dad! Buying stuff for dinner :) How's your day going?

Roos (12:12)

Tell him hi from me and my day is going alright. Nothing new. Miss you :(

Bea (12:13)

I miss you too. We’ll see each other later tonight :3

Beatrice was so focused on answering Brad, she didn’t see her father stop and talk to someone, gesturing to Bea with one of his hands. She only looks up when she sees her father was no longer getting fresh produce but instead chatting to one of their neighbors. “Yes, my tesoro is here, Beatrice, Beatrice come on over.” she does, offering the older man and the other much younger one next to him a smile, “Do you remember Italo? And Fernando? You two used to play around didn’t you?”

Fernando offered her a small smile, he looked so much younger than she did, “Well,I think back then we did. It’s been a while.” she says with a polite smile, moving her eyes away when Fernando kept eye contact.

“And where are you working now, bambina?” Italo asks, his thick mustache curling up with a fond smile. Rafael tensed up, she could see on her peripheral vision that her father seemed very…odd.

Beatrice felt a pang of worry,but she did tell the older man where she worked, “Oh,I work at the Hard Deck, it’s a bar down in–” but the look on the men's faces, all of them, made Beatrice stop.

“A bar?” Italo repeats, sending an apologetic look to Rafael, “Dio mio, Rafael.” not even Fernando was looking at her anymore, choosing to fix the time on his watch.

Her heart fell to her stomach, looking at her father in hopes he’d at least…at least say something, say that it wasn’t as bad and that while he didn’t agree with it, he could defend her, right?

But his words just broke her heart, “Oh you know, it’s a quick job. It’s not serious. You know, she’s still young when it comes to jobs.”

Beatrice felt her heart cracking in pain and disappointment, her eyebrows furrowing with a mix of anger and sadness, she really hoped he could at least say it wasn’t what he expected but that he was happy she was happy there. Beatrice felt so humiliated and so alone, she just let out a quiet laugh “I…I need to go, papa.” she whispers, gently touching his arm, “I’ll see you l-later okay?” she doesn’t hug him goodbye, she doesn’t kiss him on the cheek as a farewell, she turns on her heel towards the exit after telling the other men goodbye too. She’s just clenching her eyes, trying not to cry, at least not with everyone looking at her.

But how is she leaving? She had no car. “Fuck.” she snarls under her breath, speeding her step when she hears her father calling her name and she quickly wipes her face off any tears that start to come down. She needed help,she couldn’t call Bradley, she could call Shells but it’d take too long for her to get there…god damn it.

“Beatrice! Beatrice,come back here right now.” she stops walking, crossing her arms below her bust to face her father. Rafael puts his hands on his hips,stepping closer, “What was that back there? Why did you leave? That was very rude–”

“Why did you say that?” she cuts him off, her voice shaky, “About my job? Why didn’t you defend me?” he blinks his eyes behind the lens of his glasses, licking his lips but remaining silent, “I-I thought you didn’t care about that anymore.”

“Tesoro, it isn’t like that. I just worry–”

“But,” she hold back a cry, making a sad noise in her throat, “I told you, everything that I do there. I told you about the people, about Penny and Shells, about Pete,Bradley and the Dagger squad…why–” she frowns, “...are you ashamed of me?” The silence that took over was so heavy it even deafened the surrounding sounds, Rafael’s eyes widened and he just moved his mouth without speaking, trying to find words.

Imagine when he finds out about your photoshoot. the goblin voice sneers gleefully in her mind Imagine how he’ll react.

“Beatrice, of course not. I am not ashamed of you, it’s just–I…” but the words didn’t come out and both father and daughter shared glances, one sadder than the other, with Beatrice biting her lip hard to hold back her crying. Her day started so good, so good and now this? Discovering that your father, and very possibly your mother as well, felt shame in the work you had? “I…it’s a different job…” her chin trembled with disappointment written all over her face, “You went to college for something else, which is…well, it’s not a normal field our family goes to either.” ah, now that too. So he not only hated her actual job, he finally voiced how he disapproved of her choice in career.

“So you are ashamed of me.”

“I did not say that.” he says quickly but he doesn’t finish the sentence, which only makes her feel worse.

Beatrice whimpers, crossing her arms over her chest and creating an invisible shield between her and her father “...I’m going home.” she mutters, “...I’m just going to go home. I don’t–I can’t talk, I–” she sniffs, “I have to get ready for my job.” she spits out the word with so much pain in her voice it startled Rafael, who tries to touch her shoulder but Beatrice just steps away, “I hope you and mama enjoy your dinner.”

He tried to stop her again, but he left the groceries inside the supermarket and the cashier called his name from the door, asking if he was coming back or not. When Rafael looked back to where Beatrice once stood, there was no one else there. His daughter disappeared from view completely, leaving Rafael Schiavoni completely alone on the sidewalk.

Beatrice managed to get a taxi, she barely remembers entering, paying nor the drive over. She was so heartbroken. She got home dragging her feet, greeted Jolene with a gentle pat before she made her way up the stairs to her bed, where she sat, looking down at her phone to see that Bradley was still in lunch break. She shouldn’t…but she had to talk to someone.

So she tapped his contact, bringing the phone to her ear.

“Baby! What a surprise! You rarely call!”

“I…I know,I’m sorry.Is it a bad time?”

There’s silence on the other end, followed by Bradley excusing himself then walking away to a much quieter area “No, of course not. What’s happening? What’s wrong? You sound sad.”

That was enough for Beatrice to break and she hated it so much. Because she was letting out her feelings to Bradley who was still at work, who didn’t have to worry about her right now, nor her feelings when it comes to her parents. But once she begins, she couldn’t stop, she blurts out her words through hiccups, hot tears trailing down her face as she painfully retells Bradley of what happened minutes ago.

Her boyfriend listens, his voice quiet when he tells her to let all go and just vent it all to him. She didn’t deserve him at all. When she’s done, when she’s just sniffling, her eyes hurt from crying and her forehead feels like it’s being hammered constantly, Rooster’s voice returns, “Baby, it’s okay. Are you okay?”

A sniff, “I don’t know. I feel like shit.”

“I know,I know, gorgeous. Fuck I’m so sorry, angel. Are you going to be okay?”

“...I have to.” she whispers, supporting her pouding forehead on a hand, sniffling yet again, “I’ll be fine…”

“Okay…Are you sure?” she hums positively, “Are you really sure?”

“Yeah… I’m sorry for calling and letting it all out on you.”

“I’d rather you do that than keeping all the shit in.” he says and the sound of his voice makes her smile just a bit “I’ll see you later, okay?I might be a bit late but I’ll be there.”

“Okay. Shells is going to take me tonight, so…” she wipes a hand on her already dry eyes, “I-I’ll see you when you get to the bar.”

“Okay…” he didn’t want to hang up, she knew it, but he had to, “See you in a few hours. Message me if you need to,alright?” she hums positively again, “Okay,I love you pretty girl. I really do.”

“I love you too…and thank you.” she whispers, waiting for him to hang up so she drops the phone from her ear so it falls on the mattress. Beatrice just stays seated on the edge of the bed, fingers interlaced on top of her thighs as she stares at nothing, completely numb.

#bradley rooster bradshaw #rooster bradshaw #bradley bradshaw x oc #top gun maverick #bradley bradshaw x reader

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sakura-83 · 3 years ago

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Things from Anne with an e that I feel like writing down

Season 1 Episode 6: Remorse Is the Poison of Life

1. Diana having to run through the dark with nothing but a lantern and quite reasonably tripping. I never really thought about how dark it would actually be out because there’s always light.., somewhere in a modern city. It’s dark but you can usually still see

2. Every time Anne and Diana are separated they end up reunited during some great tragedy and are like “I missed you so much!!” Like yeah that’s great but. Please focus

3. It’s terrifying how easily children could die before modern medicine. They still can die very easily and that’s still terrifying but back then there was no quick fixes or easily accessible help

4. “It’s an old wives tale.” “I might be one but not the other. Evidently one doesn’t have to be either thing to know it.”

5. Anne knowing how to treat croup because all of Mrs. Hammond’s sets of twins had it

6. “I was supposed to be a boy but when I wasn’t, they decided to keep and raise me.” “How extraordinary!”

7. Minnie May almost choking to death on her own phlegm and Anne ultimately saving her because there’s no way the doctor would’ve made it all the way from Soencervale in time

8. “I believe I need a brandy.”

9. It’s really interesting how much of the script comes straight from the book

10. “I’m so glad I live in a world where there are white frosts, aren’t you?”

11. John Blythe’s love for adventure and how Gilbert undoubtedly sees it in Anne

12. Eliza apologizing for how she misjudged Anne

13. “My darling Diana”

14. “I can’t tie myself down to anything so unromantic as dishes at this thrilling moment!”

15. “Even aunt Josephine said she’d like to see you again, and she doesn’t like anyone.”

16. “Shes disinclined to stay home alone since her companion passed away.” “Her companion?” “Her best friend forever and ever.”

17. “Aunt Josephine never married. Neither of them did, they lived with each other their whole lives.” “I’d live with you forever if I could. But I know you’ll leave me the date you get married to some wealthy and handsome gentleman. I hate him already.” “How’s Gilbert?”

18. “It’s very likely Gilbert’s father isn’t going to get well, so it’s more than possible that when Gilbert finally comes back to school… he’ll be an orphan.”

19. The cut from that conversation to John Blythe’s funeral

20. Matthew grabbing Marilla’s arm because he knows how much john meant to her

21. Gilbert watching the snowflakes melt in his hand

22. Marilla’s flashback

23. Young Marilla teasing john

24. Him giving her the same hair ribbon she later gifts to Anne

25. Anne and Gilbert being just like their parents, mirroring their romance and yet achieving the love Marilla and John could never have

26. Anne trying to make Gilbert feel better but making it seem like it’s about her. I often find it hard to articulate my relation to others in a way that does sound like I’m relating and not like I’m making it about me

27. Aunt Josephine on a stroll in the woods

28. Anne’s ranting about her “extensive knowledge of being an orphan”

29. Her calling Gilbert a dumb boy and refusing to think about him

30. “Romance is a pesky business. No sense to be made of it.”

31. “May I enter your humble abode.” About Anne’s run down little shed

32. “I couldn’t be less interested in Gil- that boy!”

33. “Let your ambitions and your aspirations be your guide.” “But I have so many!”

34. “I’ve always wanted to be a bride, but I don’t really expect to be a wife.” “Interesting!” “So you see the conundrum.” “I do. I have the following thoughts to offer. First, you can get married any time in your life, if you choose to do so.” “That’s true-“ “And two, if you choose a career, you can buy a white dress yourself, have it made to order and wear it whenever you want.” “Why didn’t I think of that!? I love that idea! I’m going to be my own woman!” “I’m a proponent for making ones own way in the world.”

35. “If you become a doctor, perhaps you can discover a cure for old age.”

36. Anne calling aunt Josephine her new role model, as well as Marilla and Matthew

37. “I’m going to be the heroine of my own story.”

38. Marilla finding an old letter from John

39. The theme Unrequited Love playing during this scene

40. It’s fascinating when you come to recognize the instrumentals by name, the names actually have a lot of double meanings in relation to the show. Fire in The Town not only plays when there’s an actual fire, but also when Anne’s rumors about prissy set the town ablaze

41. “If the key to a mans heart is through his stomach-“ “Which it is!” “Then, we have to make sure that this is the best shepherds pie that Gilbert has ever had.”

42. Anne wanting a boy to loved for her brain and personality rather than her abilities to keep a home

43. “Don’t you think Gilbert looks even more handsome now that he’s sad?” “I didn’t notice.”

44. I just noticed aunt Josephines mourning clothes, I know she was grieving but I didn’t put two and two together

45. “Take the boy the godforsaken pie before I suffer a mental collapse.”

46. Anne rambling excitedly about Jane Eyre.

47. Anne almost spoiling the book, just like Gertrude used to do

48. Anne suddenly breaking down over death. I’ve done that before, far more frequently in middle school when I realized that we all die someday

49. “It must be awful beyond measure to lose someone that you love deeply. In a split second, a heartbeat, they’re gone forever… and there is nothing you can do to change it or bring them back…”

50. “Anne? You’re crying on the potatoes.”

51. “There’s nothing wrong with saying ‘I’m sorry for your loss’, Ruby. And I’m going to say it because I am.” “You’re just going to make it worse if you say that. His father!! Just died!!!” “That’s what people say when someone dies.” “I don’t want you to upset him.” “He’s already upset because his father just died!”

52. “We hope you like shepherds pie.” “Everyone LIKES shepherds pie 😡. We hope it’s a comfort to you, Gilbert.🥰”

53. Anne telling “but I would make a terrible wife!” And running out.

54. Matthew offering to help Gilbert get his farm back in order

55. Gilbert not wanting to be a farmer but having an entire farm shoved off on him when his only family does, despite being… 14 at most? 15 maybe?

56. Matthew losing all his crops when the Dal Marie sank

57. Billy wanting Gilbert back to control the “ugly orphan” and Gilbert defending Anne

58. “She’s smart, deal with it.”

59. Gilbert telling billy to read a book for once

60. “I’ll give you a tip, okay? I’m not your bud. And if you ever hassle Anne again, you’ll regret it.”

61. “What’s your problem?” “Ask me that again. No, seriously. Go ahead.” “Why you gotta be like that?” “Ask me!” “…what’s your problem?”

62. Gilbert throwing his stuff at billy to preoccupy his hands and THEN punching him straight in his stupid face

63. The boys are fighting!!!! And rolling around in the snow too that’s kind of funny looking

64. Gilbert beating billy in that fight

65. Marilla telling Gilbert about his father

66. All of Gilbert’s siblings died

67. Gilbert’s father taking him to Alberta before he died, where Gilbert was born

68. “You resemble him in many ways.”

69. “He asked you to go?” I’ll always be grateful to him for thinking I’d be brave enough. Obligation… can be a prison.”

70. Anne trying to write a letter to Gilbert apologizing for what she said

71. Anne visiting aunt Josephine for advice and accidentally interrupting her grieving

72. “Emotion is rarely convenient and often intolerable, but I find at the moment that I don’t mind it.”

73. “Grief is the price you pay for live, you see. So it’s alright.”

74. “You and I are not the marrying kind.” “Ah, but I was, in my way. And we had a full and wonderful life together, and I gave no regrets. That’s all you really have to decide Anne, to live a life without regrets.”

75. Anne kissing aunt Josephine on the cheek and running off to live said life

76. No Matthew don’t make that loan deal!!!

77. Anne sprinting to Gilbert’s house bit for the first time of many to come, being too late to reach him.

#anne with an e #renew awae #awae #anne shirley cuthbert #gilbert blythe #josephine barry #marilla cuthbert #mathew cuthbert #diana barry

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sallyf4ce · 4 years ago

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wolves

chapter II

-> sally face x f!reader

-> enemies? to lovers

-> previous | next

cw: drugs, cigarettes, abuse, panic attack

*does not follow original plot of sally face*

summary: larry knocks (y/n) off her feet, literally. later, him and sal come to apologize, bearing a gift of homemade lasagna. sal and (y/n) bond over their similar bodies. his eyes look familiar.

The sound of your skateboard and the wind brushing past your ears practically deafened you, which allowed you to think in peace. Maybe you’d survive in Nockfell.

Maybe it wasnt as bad as you made it. You’d grow close to the old apartment, push through school, leave your mother as quickly as possible, and start fresh somewhere across the world. The only thing that you wouldn’t get close to is the forest surrounding Addison. It loomed over you, day and night, dewy pines poking out at you like a warning sign. Maybe mom moved here just so she could torture you with the forest. Remind you of what happened.

Loud footsteps joined the wheels of your skateboard. You looked back, and on your trail were those two kids from the apartment. The tall one’s face was almost right in yours. You let out a small yelp as your skateboard hit a rock and sent you tumbling to the ground, completely destroying your knees in the process.

“Shit!” larry yelled out in surprise as he dodged the skateboard that went right between his legs.

You quickly reached out to your head, trying to calm the searing pain pulsing through it. What the fuck just happened?

“What the fuck?” you groan. The blue haired boy, sal, grabbed your skateboard and came up close to you. pulling down his sleeves, he quickly grabbed your knees and covered them, soaking up the gushing blood.

“Larry!” sal turned around to face him. You winced as the fabric of his sweater clung to your knees. Your hands grabbed his to pull them off but you froze. They were soft and cold, almost like snow. How would it feel to hold them longer? Would you warm them up? or would they freeze you?

What the fuck?

You snapped out of your trance and moved them off your knees. You scowl at larry and pick your skateboard back up.

“Nice job, asshat.”

His face flushes at the insult and he moves back. Sally stands up and offers you his hand, but you dont need his help (obviously a lie, your entire body was aching like a scale 8 earthquake). You shove yourself up and wipe your burning palms on your jeans. With your feet back on the skateboard (it took a few tries to get up because your knees kept buckling), you flip them off and begin skating back to addison. You just wanted a nice fucking stroll alone, why were these fucks literally everywhere you went?

It’s around 12:45 now. You came home, took a bath, bandaged up your knees and took some tylenol. Mom was already in her bedroom and there were some leftover beer bottles on the coffee table, so she probably wouldnt wake up anytime soon. you quickly trashed the bottles and decided for a quick nap on the couch, since your room was… occupied. your pyjamas, for now anyway, consisted of an oversized grey ac/dc shirt and some soft-ass spandex shorts.

“finally, a fucking break from this shit.” a content sigh escaped your lips as you threw yourself onto the cold couch.

a few knocks sounded at your door.

“(y/n)? it’s uh, it’s sal. and larry.”

“fuck.”

THEY’RE LITERALLY EVERYWHERE WHAT THE FUCKKKK AGGHHH WHY CANT THEY LEAVE YOU ALONE THEY ALREADY BUSTED YOUR KNEES LIKE WHAT

“coming.” you mumbled angrily even though they couldn’t hear you.

the blinding fluorescent lights of the hallway hit you as you opened the door. along with them came the smell of freshly baked lasagna. your eyes widened for a second, before looking up at sal. he stared at you, taking in your appearance. your hair was ruffled, eyes blinking sleepily as they adjusted to the light. your shirt had ridden up and showed a bit of your stomach. he blushed as you pulled it down and glared at him, a slight tinge of red on your own cheeks.

“larry.” he nudged his friend. the brunette walked up in front of sal, holding a pan of lasagna.

“listen man, i’m sorry. i didn’t mean to fuck up your knees n shit. jus’ got excited cause of your sanity falls shirt. can we, uh, can we come in?”

Slam.

larry quickly jumped back in surprise.

“i guess that means no.”

you yelled out a quick ‘wait!’ as you cleaned up your apartment and hid your mom’s weed and other things. god, for a grown woman, she didn’t know how to clean for shit.

opening the door back up, you waved them inside.

“god, you smoke a lot.” larry coughed a bit at the smell of your apartment, which earned him a shove.

“sorry! god, sal, so mean.” he mumbled.

“s’ my mom. i only smoke outside. uh, take a seat on the couch, i’ll warm up the lasagna.” you pulled it out of larry’s hands as they both took a seat on your makeshift bed.

sal shifted. “you sleep here?” he asked, confused. maybe your room was being used as storage.

“for now. there’s some weird ghost shit going on in my room. some fucking preppy ghost woman keeps squealing when i come in.”

ghosts? you believed in ghosts? maybe they’d be able to take you on their expeditions! sal perked up at the thought of you becoming friends.

“you believe in ghosts?”

“well, i saw one, so what else could it fucking be?” you chuckled as you shoveled the now warmed up lasagna onto three plates. sal noticed and his eyes widened.

“oh, no, i- i don’t want any-” he waves his hands.

“you’re having it, i don’t care.”

larry laughs as you shove it into their hands.

“feisty, aren’t ya?” he stabs some and shoves it into his mouth. you sigh and lean back into the couch.

“you guys go to the school here, right?”

larry nods. “yeah, there’s only one school in nockfell.”

“eww, larry face, don’t chew with food in your mouth.” sally laughs. in the corner of his eyes, he thinks he can see you smile.

“yeah, we go to nockfell high. i’m assuming you’re going there too.”

“mhm. starting monday. hurry up and eat, i’m not warming it up again.” you grumble. sal doesn’t move. “god, okay, i’ll look away. i have to go clean this thing anyway.” you wave your prosthetic’s fingers.

“oh, yeah, you also have a prosthetic!” his face shifts into a child-like curiosity. it’s a face that you’ve seen before, and it makes you giggle a bit every time. you place your hand on his lap. sal does a double take and his mask raises a bit.

“you wanna touch it, don’t you. go ahead.”

“damn, sal, you get all the ladies. leave some for me.” larry chimes in, hand on his forehead in mock sadness. he chuckles.

“you gonna touch it or what?”

“uh, yeah.” sal slowly lowers his hands onto it. he traces your fingers, flexing them every once in a while. he flips your palm and looks at the graffiti ‘s’ you drew on it.

“when was this?” he looks back up at you.

“grade 10, two years ago. got bored in class and accidentally took out my sharpie instead of a dry-erase marker. god, my mom was mad.” you chuckle at the memory. she didnt let you back in the house for two days. you had to camp out in the shed, where you stored your extra food so she wouldn’t steal it.

sal hummed. “what about this one?” it was a big ‘SF’. was it for his name? of course not, she didn’t know you back then, moron. still, it warmed him up a bit.

“not for you, that’s for sure.”

“damnnn, savage!” larry put his plate down. “mind if i get more?”

“larry, we brought it for (y/n).” sal scolded.

“nah, i don’t mind. knock yourself out.” you nodded, continuing your conversation with sal.

larry trotted towards the kitchen.

larry’s point of view:

sal and (y/n) seemed to be getting along quite well. good for him, really. we might be able to coax (y/n) into our friend group. i didn’t like her at first, but i think she’s just a little stand-offish. anyway, back to the lasagna. man, i wish mom would make it more often. she only makes it for guests. where is it? oh, there. (y/n)’s going to nockfell high, right? probably should tell her about travis.

your point of view:

sal was still tracing your arm, running his pale fingers over where the prosthetic connected to your skin. the doctors could have chopped your arm off completely, up to your elbow, but you wanted to salvage as much as you could, so it stops mid-forearm.

“do you take it off often?” sal hummed. it felt a little intimate, tracing your prosthetic. it was like soothing a part of your body that was already gone. what? what was he thinking?

“mmm, i take it off every night. if i leave it on, i could get rashes ‘n shit. rashes aren’t fun. ‘m assuming you take yours off every night too.” he nods.

“i don’t like taking it off during the day. phantom limb shit, you know? it hurts a lot.” you grumble.

“got the lasagna. since you’re going to nockfell, ‘should probably tell you about travis.” larry sits down. “he’s your typical stick-up-the-ass bully. doesn’t really like sally face ‘n our crew.”

“yeah. just ignore him and you should be fine.”

“we‘ll protect you.” larry swings an arm over your shoulder.

huh? you can protect yourself. does he think you can’t? is it because of your prosthetic?

“i can do it myself, you dimwit.” you push his arm off your shoulder.

“time for you to leave.”

“woah, dude, calm down-” larry’s eyes widen in panic. he didn’t mean to offend you.

“i’m sorry!”

“i’m not hurt, just need my sleep. it’s 1:30. go on now.”

sal sets down his cold, uneaten lasagna and larry takes a quick bite out of his.

“see ya!” he mumbled, words muffled by food. you click your teeth as he walks out of your apartment and towards the elevator.

“(y/n).”

you spin around to face sal. his hand lingers on your counter.

“your knees. how are they?”

you look at his eyes through his mask. they’re light blue. like the lake that you so dreaded. like the sky that morning. like your dad’s shirt. he blinks.

“uh, f-fine. they’re fine. they should heal in a few days. time for you to go.” you grab his shoulders and shove him through the door.

“see you tomorrow?” he stumbles.

“yeah.” the door shuts with a slam and you’re filled with an overwhelming sense of dread.

oh god, not this again. your vision blurs as you try to grasp onto your breath. you can hear the blood rushing in your ears. your heart thuds like it’s going to break through your rib cage. it feels like someone is strangling you, coaxing the last breath of air from your lungs. your nails scratch at your throat desperately, your salty tears only making the marks burn more. at least the cold metal of your prosthetic cools you down a bit.

shut up, shut up, shut up, shut up, shut up. you can’t wake anyone. you bite down on your lip to suppress the strangled cries leaving your mouth. god, not the lake, please. not the forest. not the huge, dirty, rabid wolf-looking creature behind your father. not his cries. please, just make it shut up. SHUT UP.

you wake up the next morning to your alarm ringing.

taglist: @purelydarling @ghostfacefricker6969 @deadpoetsandhoney

#sally face x reader #ashley campbell #larry johnson #sal fisher x reader #sally face

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timelyowl0 · 4 years ago

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Brittana/Faberry Fic Recs

Hi! Here’s a list I compiled of some of my all time favorite Brittana and Faberry fics! I was originally going to separate the list by Faberry and Brittana, but many of the stories have both, so instead you can just read the pairings listed for each. They are sorted by multi-chapter complete, multi-chapter incomplete/in progress, and one-shots. Each title is a link you can click on to take you to the fic. All credit goes to their respective authors :)

Also, here’s a quick rating guide in case you needed to know:

GA/PG - General Audience

T - Teen

M - Mature

E - Explicit

NR - Not rated

That’s all, I hope you enjoy!

Multi-chapter (complete):

Between The Lines (T) - 19 Chapters - Pairings: Brittany/Santana and Rachel/Quinn - Rachel invites Brittany and Santana to a sleepover. Brittany/Santana with a healthy side of Rachel/Quinn

The Only True Paradises (M) - 20 Chapters - Pairings: Brittany/Santana - The tortuous evolution of Santana's feelings toward Brittany. See also "Pas de Deux," a companion piece from Brittany's point of view.

Pas de Deux (M) - 20 Chapters - Pairings: Brittany/Santana - Companion piece to "The Only True Paradises." The evolution of Santana and Brittany's relationship from Brittany's perspective.

Faithfully (T) - 5 Chapters - Pairings: Brittany/Santana - "That moment when Santana had sworn, even though she and Brittany were standing at opposite ends of the raised platform…that she could still feel Brittany's energy zinging toward her, like they were connected on the same current." Brittana, Seasons 1 through 5, as told in five increments.

My Girlfriend's Sister's Keeper (T) - 13 Chapters - Pairings: Brittany/Santana - Brittany isn't the only Pierce that has Santana wrapped around her finger. Santana's life with her two favorite people.

Mariposa (M) - 5 Chapters - Pairings: Brittany/Santana - Like a butterfly, Santana's journey out of the closet occurs in stages. From the first time she heard the word gay to the first time she flew free from her chrysalis, she can remember everything.

time passes, in love and in seasons (T) - 4 Part Series - Pairings: Brittany/Santana - Brittana, from the end of junior year and throughout senior year, told through the seasons. Mostly follows Season 3 canon.

Brittana Shorts (GA) - 8 Part Series - Pairings: Brittany/Santana - A collection of Brittana-centric short stories

it’s nice to have a friend (T) - 8 Chapters - Pairings: Brittany/Santana - They're six when they first meet. It's the first day of school in a crowded classroom and Santana finds herself drawn to the new blonde girl. OR The story of how Brittany and Santana meet and all the significant moments in their lives following the first time they see one another. - sequel

A Matter of Miserable Time (T) - 10 Chapters - Pairings: Brittany/Santana - "His voice was deep, quiet, and sure, so calm compared to the last words they had exchanged. Her voice was only a faint whisper as she questioned the man she hadn't spoken to in three years.'Papi.'"

Influence (M) - 26 Chapters - Pairings: Brittany/Santana - Brittany is perpetually cast as the dumb blonde, but the reasons behind her demeanor are more complex than that. She looks back on her childhood, her relationship with Santana, and the life-altering effects the decisions of her youth had on her future.

It’s Not Like I Wanted This to Happen (T)- 101 Chapters - Pairings: Brittany/Santana and Rachel/Quinn - Quinn takes a very drunk Rachel home from a party...encounters the Berrys…and herself. This story contains a huge amount of Brittana and a lot of Puck.

Rough Beginnings (M) - 44 Chapters - Pairings: Rachel/Quinn and Brittany/Santana - Quinn decides she needs to end this obsession once and for all, but life doesn't always work out the way we want it to. Sometimes it's so much better. Faberry.

Never Asked to Feel Your Halo (T) - 45 Chapters (1/2 in series) - Pairings: Rachel/Quinn and Brittany/Santana - The thing was, neither of them wanted this-whatever it was, but since when did the Universe care about what Rachel or Quinn wanted? Their cards had been dealt the moment they'd entered that shower together. Now it came down to how well they played them.

Standing on the Edge Dancing in the Flames (M) - 34 Chapters (2/2 in series) - Pairings: Rachel/Quinn and Brittany/Santana - Life isn't all singing and dancing, not even in Glee club. And what if being on top of the pyramid just gives you further to fall. When everyone feels like a frienemy and fathers and faculty and babies and boyfriends complicate EVERYTHING, how are you ever supposed to get anything right? (Book Two of the 'No Halo' series)

The South Side of Anywhere (M) - 47 Chapters - Pairings: Rachel/Quinn and Brittany/Santana - Sometimes you fall in love with your eyes closed, and when you open them, the person is someone you never thought it could be. It started with letters, and turned into Faberry.

Somewhere in Between (M) - 77 Chapters - Pairings: Rachel/Quinn and Brittany/Santana - Imagine if Faberry happened instead of Finchel. This is a re-telling of every episode as if Faberry were cannon. Each chapter will chronicle each episode starting at the very beginning. Some things will change and some will remain the same. Longer description in first chapter. Also side Brittana. As well as Quinntana friendship, and Puckleberry bromance.

Didn’t See it Coming (M) - 63 Chapters - Pairings: Rachel/Quinn and Brittany/Santana? - AU HS. After a devastating breakup, Quinn turns to Rachel in need of a friend, and ends up with so much more. - "If, one day, someone asks me how it all started; I'll have to say it was a granola bar that finally did me in." Faberry.

Bet You Didn’t Know That (T) - 19 Chapters - Pairings: Rachel/Quinn and Brittany/Santana - Faberry. What she doesn't know, she doesn't need to find out.

Take Me As I Am Seasons 1 & 2 (T) - 48 chapters - Pairings: Rachel/Quinn, Brittany/Santana and Kurt/Blaine - The incredibly true adventures of Quinn and Rachel, starting from Sectionals Season 1. It's just like watching the show, if Faberry were the central couple and everything revolved around them! Brittana & Klaine co-star in supporting roles.

Take Me As I Am Season 3 (T) - 26 Chapters - Pairings: Rachel/Quinn, Brittany/Santana and Kurt/Blaine - The continued adventures of Quinn & Rachel as the starring couple of Glee. Some integration of canon events, but mostly this is the story of Faberry and their world! Klaine & Brittana co-star in supporting roles

Blink and You’ll Miss It (M) - 31 Chapters - Pairings: Rachel/Quinn and Brittany/Santana - Quinn Fabray and Rachel Berry discover they like each other. Against all odds, will they be able to get together before they tear each other apart?

You’re All I Need (M) - 17 Chapters - Pairings: Rachel/Quinn and Brittany/Santana - A Faberry romance story, set when they are both single but I haven't specified when as I'm not even sure myself but most of the events are from series 3. Points of view will change every few chapters. And that's probably the worst description you've ever read but yeah I can't be bothered to change it.

quarantining or how quinn might lose it, once for all. (T) - 8 Chapters - Pairings: Rachel/Quinn - It starts like the worst horror movie ever but instead of being trapped in the basement of a creepy 50-something year old, Quinn finds herself being trapped in Rachel Berry's basement.

Once More From the Top (T) - 22 Chapters - Pairings: Rachel/Quinn, Brittany/Santana and others - Here's what you missed on Glee: McKinley's Glee Club reformed under the direction of Will Schuester. Rachel tried to recruit the Cheerios but that ended up being a total disaster. It's cool though because she heard Finn Hudson sing in the shower and he's actually really good. She successfully recruits him and now the Glee Club has enough members to be a real thing.And that's what you missed, on Glee!

Outside Hearts (M) - 37 Chapters - Pairings: Rachel/Quinn and Brittany/Santana - Rachel Berry's world is about to be turned upside down when one of Hollywood's most sought-after young actresses, Quinn Fabray, abruptly and mysteriously leaves her fame behind, moves to Ohio and tries to have a normal life while attending McKinley High. (Faberry w/ some Brittana)

I See That Ragged Soul Take Flight (M) - 44 Chapters - Pairings: Rachel/Quinn, Brittany/Santana, Mike/Tina, Kurt/Blaine and Sam/Mercedes - Ensemble cast piece exploring what happens after Season 3. Rachel, Santana and Kurt are in New York together. Quinn is at Yale. Explores adulthood, friendship and long-distance relationships. Eventual Faberry. Also contains, Brittana, Klaine, Tike and Samcedes content, plotlines back at McKinley, and frequent use of Santana POV.

All The Best (T, but I would rate M for descriptive scenes of suicide, eating disorders, rape, etc.) - 80 Chapters - Pairings: Rachel/Quinn and Brittany/Santana - After spending the entire summer away, Quinn is eager to get back to normal and make the best of her junior year. Excited to put everything behind her and start fresh, she struggles to establish a new normal. But when she's least expecting it, Quinn finds support in the most unlikely places and is forced to confront the very feelings that landed her where she is in the first place.

take these broken wings (M) - 4 Part Series - Pairings: Rachel/Quinn, Brittany/Santana and Kurt/Sam - Begins in Season one and follows Quinn through her life should she have chosen to keep Beth, realize she is gay, and fall in love with Rachel Berry. The main romantic relationship will be Faberry, with a bit of Hevans and Brittana, but apart from Faberry it will be very heavy on friendship and Quinn&Beth oriented.

the state of dreaming (T) - 3 Chapters - Pairings: Rachel/Quinn - Rachel couldn’t help the guilt that bubbled in her chest when she watched Quinn get a prom photo alone. Determined to make it up to her, she invites Quinn over for a sleepover. It becomes a routine. Set immediately after 2x20 (Prom Queen).

Enough to Believe (T) - 2 Chapters - Pairings: Rachel/Quinn - Years after Shelby ups and disappears from Lima with Beth, a blonde girl shows up on Rachel and Quinn's doorstep, armed with a lot of questions, and very familiar cheekbones.

you and her loathing this cruel world (M) - 3 Chapters - Pairings: Quinn/Rachel, minor Kurt/Quinn and Kurt/Sam - "Of all the girls he had to have sex with (which really, were none), of course it was someone with a painting of Jesus above her bed, so he knows that his only hope in hell that this will go away is in a negative test result." Season 1 AU; Kurt is pretty sure he's gay, but would like to make sure. Quinn Fabray has similar questions running through her mind. They put their theories to the test, with very much unintended consequences. - sequel

I’ve Been Trying to Reach You (T) - 25 Chapters - Pairings: Rachel/Quinn, Brittany/Santana, Santana/Puck, Rachel/Jesse and Sam/Tina - After falling pregnant in sophomore year, Quinn Fabray plummets from the top of the teen hierarchy at McKinley High to the very bottom. In an effort to give her a chance to start over, her parents transfer her to Carmel, a private school in the area with a blossoming arts program. It's supposed to be a new beginning, but what she doesn't count on is immediately becoming enemies with the most popular girl in school: Rachel Berry, co-captain of Vocal Adrenaline.

The Lopez Manifesto (T) - 8 Chapters - Pairings: Rachel/Quinn and Brittany/Santana - santana starts writing a rachel/quinn fanfic for everyone at McKinley. it’s also extremely popular as everyone awaits her weekly updates. (usually based on what the girls are doing that week.) quinn is the last to find out and is… pissed.

my heart’s a leather jacket I am waiting to give to someone sweet (T) - 15 Chapters - Pairings: Brittany/Santana - Brittany is McKinley’s resident broody rebel who doesn’t see much point to high school, and who, completely incidentally, just so happens to be kind of a math genius. Santana is Lima's golden child, the perfect and unapproachable only child of public figure Dr. Lopez. She’s also the high school’s enigma; no one actually knows anything about her aside from the fact that she’s cold, distant, terrifying, aloof, and willing to eviscerate anyone who looks at her the wrong way. Unfortunately for her, Brittany is about to get a crash course in the complete mystery that is Santana Lopez when she is asked—or, more realistically, forced—to be Santana's math tutor.

Dead Girls Don’t Sing (T) - 39 Chapters - Pairings: Brittany/Santana, Rachel/Quinn, Kurt/Blaine and Tina/Mike - S3 AU. Brittany doesn't believe in unicorns anymore, Rachel's dreams are as dead as the world, Santana is no one's hero…and Quinn? Quinn's just trying to breathe. The world as they knew it is gone -now all they can do is survive. Zombie Apocalypse. Faberrittana Friendship. Slow Burn Faberry. Character Death. COMPLETE

Simple Parts (T) - 13 Chapters - Pairings: Rachel/Quinn and Brittany/Santana - That awkward moment when you travel thirty years forward in time and find out you're married to your high school nemesis? Yeah, it totally sucks...except...maybe it doesn't.

The Lateness of the Hour (M) - 12 Chapters - Pairings: Brittany/Santana - "Brittany has much less to lose. She always has."

half of me (T) - 4 Chapters - Pairings: Rachel/Quinn - a run-in (quite literally) at the bookstore, two broadway tickets, and a seven-year-old in a plaid catholic-school uniform. what has rachel gotten herself into? future AU where quinn has beth and rachel makes it on broadway.

April Fools (T) - 10 Chapters - Pairings: Rachel/Quinn - Santana recruits - forces - Rachel to help her prank Quinn. All she has to do is pretend that a love potion has caused her to fall madly in love with the cheerleader. Simple, right? Wrong. Faberry.

Stars & the Moon (M) - 15 Chapters - Pairings: Rachel/Quinn - In the midst of dealing with Beth's adoption, Quinn ends up working on a summer community theatre production with Rachel. Hilarity ensues. Just kidding.

Love Me Any Less (M) - 25 Chapters - Pairings: Rachel/Quinn and Brittany/Santana - Junior year becomes the beginning of something no one expected, and maybe the beginning of something a few can't understand how they ever lived without. Starts mild but progresses to M rating. First fic ever! Faberry.

Better Where It’s Wetter (M) - 10 Chapters - Pairings: Rachel/Quinn - Rachel and her dads are going on a LGBT family-friendly cruise for the summer and Rachel's told she's can bring a friend. Who else to bring but Quinn?

Like a Seal Upon Your Heart (M) - 20 Chapters - Pairings: Rachel/Quinn and Brittany/Santana? - Quinn Fabray is Daddy's little girl and the perfect Christian. She CAN'T be gay. But then her friendship with Rachel Berry starts to change...

Somewhere in Brooklyn (M) - 47 Chapters - Pairings: Brittany/Santana - Santana and Brittany have been trying to get pregnant for a year without any luck. What happens when a teenage foster child and positive pregnancy test land in their laps on the same day? A unique journey of motherhood ensues.

Multi-chapter (incomplete/in progress):

Everyone's Gonna Know Now (T) - 8 Chapters (Incomplete) - Pairings: Brittany/Santana - 3/4 in series - When Santana confronted Finn about outing her, his response was, "The whole school already knows." That was pretty much true. This story is about the first moment or incident in which each member of Glee - and a few others - discovered Santana's secret.

Be Okay (M) - 2 Chapters (Incomplete) - Pairings: Brittany/Santana - “Kurt doesn’t know why he does it. It’s not as if he and Santana had ever had anything resembling a friendship, but he feels drawn to her, feels connected to the anguish in her voice as she realized that her biggest secret in the world was about to be revealed.“ This is the evolution of Kurt and Santana’s friendship taking place over a series of one-shots.

looks like a girl but she's a flame, so bright she can burn your eyes, better look the other way, you can try but you'll never forget her name (M) - 5 Chapters (Incomplete) - Pairings: Brittany/Santana - santana lopez writes down the story of her life for a reunion project set for the glee club by none other than rachel berry. aka, a deep dive into santana's life told through her eyes. very santana/brittana centric.

No One Left to Blame (M, read tags) - 30 Chapters (Incomplete) - Pairings: Rachel/Quinn and Brittany/Santana - Quinn Fabray is well-versed in keeping the truths of her family and her past firmly hidden away. But, her efforts prove to be moot when Rachel Berry, armed with her own secrets of the past, arrives at Dalton Academy and manages to turn both their worlds upside down - or, perhaps, right way up. Faberry. Trigger Warnings.

I’m not breaking, I won’t take it (M, read warnings) - 2 Chapters (Incomplete) - Pairings: Rachel/Quinn and minor Quinn/Santana - Santana gets up and starts toward her, “Jesus, what happened to you?” she mumbles, but she's softer than she was moment before. It's obvious that she’s concerned. Quinn chokes down a sob and then admits, “There’s something wrong with me.”“Hey, listen. Whatever it is, you’re going to be fine." Santana is still not getting it, but she’s rubbing soothing little circles on Quinn’s shoulders. There really must be something wrong with her too, because then Quinn is lunging forward and then she’s kissing Santana. Quinn feels her freeze, but then Santana relaxes and she’s kissing her back. or, a study in quinn fabray.

no love like your love (T) - 5 Chapters (Incomplete) - Pairings: Rachel/Quinn, Brittany/Santana and Blaine/Sam - Following the death of her mother, Rachel Berry assumes guardianship of her six-year-old brother, Daniel. After a cross-country move for his sister's job, the first friend Danny makes is a soccer-playing, lucky fin having, firecracker of a girl named Beth.

Song of Mine (M) - 18 Chapters (Incomplete) - Pairings: Brittany/Santana - Santana Lopez, the new Music teacher at a religious private school in Indianapolis, meets Brittany Pierce, the resident Math teacher. A love story with a happy ending. Promise.

Girls Over Flowers (NR) - 14 Chapters (Incomplete) - Pairings: Rachel/Quinn, Brittany/Santana - Dalton Academy—a school of prestige, refinement and the country's wealthiest students—houses the famous F3. When "commoner" transfer student, Rachel Berry directly offends F3's leader, Quinn Fabray, she becomes their target. Mayhem ensues.

we were built to fall apart (then fall back together) (T) - 8 Chapters (Incomplete) - Pairings: Rachel/Quinn and Brittany/Santana - Rachel and Quinn haven't seen each other for seven years and neither thought they'd see the other again. They certainly didn't see themselves starring together in a Broadway musical, as each other's love interests.

A Different Life (E) - 33 Chapters (Incomplete) - Pairings: Brittany/Santana, Finn/Rachel and Kurt/Blaine - Canon!Divergent Brittana. Santana and Brittany move to New York after high school. Everything is going perfectly until Brittany gets a phone call that changes everything. Seven years later, Santana has a daughter and she and Britt haven't seen each other...Canon until 3x16ish. No Louisville, no second senior year.

you get too close you’ll get a royalty high (so breathe it in to feel the love) (T) - 9 Chapters (Incomplete) - Pairings: Brittany/Santana, Rachel/Quinn, Sam/Mercedes, Mike/Tina, Kitty/Artie and Kurt/Blaine - "Alright," she began uneasily. "I'll do it. I'll go to the dumb school."Her parent's smiles beaming back at her were almost enough to make her think this could possibly be a good idea, but the nerves surging in her stomach said otherwise. Boarding School/Royalty Brittana AU

One-shot:

Tattoo (T) - Oneshot - Pairings: Brittany/Santana - "She soaks it in for a few seconds—this night, this place, these friends, this family room floor, this girl—before she says it back." Post-3x11. Brittana.

Eden (T) - Oneshot - Pairings: Brittany/Santana - Brittany and Santana teach Joe about love. 4K

Riding in Cars With Girls (M) - One-shot - Pairings: Rachel/Quinn - After Quinn quit Glee club and joined a band Rachel feels the gap Quinn has left and sets out to get her back, whatever the cost. But what happens when Quinn's only condition involves her car and Rachel's lips on hers every day at five? Punk!Quinn

and things we’re all too young to know (T) - One-shot - Pairings: Brittany/Santana - Five vignettes set after the point when Brittana become girlfriends. Not too many people would guess it, but Brittany knows that loving Santana is the easiest and best thing in the world to do; Santana is just the best person to love.

My Friends Say That I’m Falling In Love (T) - One-shot - Pairings: Brittany/Santana - Brittany and Santana spend the week leading up to Valentine's Day giving Mercedes grief about her date. Brittana romance, Brittanacedes friendship. Mouseverse. One-shot.

And What Would You Say If I Wrote the Whole Thing Out for You? (T) - One-shot - Pairings: Brittany/Santana - Some things have changed a lot since Sam left McKinley and some things haven’t really changed at all. Set circa 3x08.

The Landslide Brought Me Down (T) - One-shot - Pairings: Brittany/Santana - Our girls’ story. Sweet lady kisses, Landslide, their separation, the night of Prom Queen, Songbird, Santana’s Abuela’s rejection, the night after Santana learned about the political ad, Brittany’s senior year falling apart, the lights of New York, and other scenes.

seven (GA) - One-shot - Pairings: Brittany/Santana - A companion piece to 'it's nice to have a friend'. Takes place after the first scene in the second chapter - can be read separately to 'it's nice to have a friend'. Basically just childhood fluff that examines their friendship and the items they connect to their friendship.

baby you don't gotta fight (i'll be here til the end of time) (GA) - One-shot - Pairings: Brittany/Santana - She sees red for all of last period, a strange twinge of pain in her chest because all these people think they know Santana but they’re all wrong. or: three times Brittany tells people they've got Santana all wrong and the one time she tells Santana

The Unicorn Tapestries (NR) - One-shot - Pairings: Brittany/Santana - We lie on our stomachs on my pale blue sheets, a book lying open in front of us that we bend our heads over, sunlight all over the page and bringing bits of gold out in your skin..

But You Could Sing (NR) - One-shot - Pairings: Brittany/Santana - Why am I always the one who tells bedtime stories? Because your stories are prettier, BrittBritt. But you can tell real ones. Like what?

Colors (NR) - One-shot - Pairings: Brittany/Santana - The sunlight in my room shines from the south. The way I know: when I lean far out my window, the sun rises on the side where I can feel my heartbeat, and sets in the direction of my writing hand.

You’re Something Else (T) - One-shot - Pairings: Rachel/Quinn - 'Quinn gets the impression she and Rachel are finally on the same page about what may or may not be happening between them. All she really knows is that it's colourful.'

Raising the Bar (M) - One-shot - Pairings: Rachel/Quinn and minor/implied Brittany/Santana - Quinn never expected that the best matchmaker would turn out to be a lumpy pullout couch.

the one with the friends reference (T) - One-shot - Pairings: Rachel/Quinn, minor/implied Brittany/Santana and minor/implied Kurt/Blaine - "You can see it. Quinn standing in front of you, as close as she can get without touching you and saying, 'Are you attracted to me?'" Faberry. Post-season six.

Blame it on the Alcohol (or the gay, whatever) (T) - One-shot - Pairings: Rachel/Quinn and minor/implied Brittany/Santana - “I can’t believe what you did to my body, I used to have abs!” - In which one sentence is totally incorrect and causes chaos and havoc and Faberry feelings to happen. Also known as drunk Rachel is kyoot and Finn is stoopid.

could you pass in love? (T) - One-shot - Pairings: Rachel/Quinn and Brittany/Santana - “'Quinn Fabray, I will divorce you, don’t think I won’t!'” In which Rachel and Quinn get married, sending them into a possibly out-of-character feelings frenzy . Season Three. Faberry.

Do You Wanna Know How This Story Plays Out? (T) - One-shot - Pairings: Rachel/Quinn - It's not her fault that you feel the way you do about women, you know that, and you knew that then, too. But you've been angry at Rachel Berry for making you feel things you wanted to lock away for years, and it was far too easy to put all of the blame on her to avoid dealing with your own feelings. It wasn't and isn't fair, but it was about protecting yourself and it makes it a little easier to bear. - OR - After everything implodes with Finn, Quinn moves in with Rachel. They make out a lot without ever talking about how much more it means to both of them. Introspective Closeted!Quinn POV from second-person.

you succeed at being mine (T) - One-shot - Pairings: Rachel/Quinn and Kurt/Sam - Sequel to 'you and her loathing this cruel world'.

This Must Be The Place (T) - One-shot - Pairings: Brittany/Santana - Santana is eight years old when her Tio Carlos joins the Army. Or the less-cracky-than-you-might-expect Glee/The Losers crossover where Cougar is Santana's uncle. (If it tells you anything, i nearly titled this 'Ohana Means Family.')

This Modern Love (T) - One-shot - Pairings: Brittany/Santana - "How do you know when you're dating someone?"

Beth’s family tree (GA) - One-shot - Pairings: Rachel/Quinn - "Now that being said, my family tree is composed by both my biological family and my adoptive family" Beth explains easily enough as she clicks the mouse. But then the next slide appears and the teacher gapes at all the information, names, colours and arrows in the diagram.

pictures of you, pictures of me (hung upon the wall, for the world to see) (T) - One-shot - Pairings: Rachel/Quinn and Brittany/Santana - "Quinn looked around her room again. She'd never noticed it before, but she had a lot of pictures of Rachel." or: a faberry oneshot set between seasons 1 and 2 where Quinn reflects on a series of moments with Rachel that led to where she is now

anything could happen (T) - One-shot - Pairings: Rachel/Quinn - She stared down at the test in her hand. The line was faint, disappearing depending on the angle. It was possible she was just seeing things, but still. She pulled out her cell phone, tears running down her flushed cheeks. It felt like the earth could open up at any second, just swallow her whole. The line rang. Once, twice, she cursed quietly. She sucked in a breath as she heard a click signifying the call had connected."Hello? Rachel?" Her voice cracked. "Quinn. I need your help." A Faberry-centric rewrite of Rachel's season 4 pregnancy scare

Frannie’s View (T) - One-shot - Pairings: Rachel/Quinn - When Frannie was a child she did everything she could to make her father happy. She was a daddy’s girl through and through. She was quiet and never disrespectful. She went to church every Sunday with her mother and father and prayed every night. Frannie had a lot of friends at school and was popular and well liked. She did very well in school though her participation grades were always low. Daddy told her women were supposed to be quiet and always treat their husbands with respect. She was a princess and he was the King. He ruled the house. Frannie absolutely hated the way her father treated her little sister. Frannie desperately tried to change Lucy. She thought if Lucy could be better then their father would be happier, nicer. OR A journey from Frannie's perspective of Lucy/Quinn and Quinn's sexuality and later feelings for Rachel.

According to Judy (PG) - One-shot - Pairings: Rachel/Quinn - How Judy Fabray deals with Quinn's infatuation with Rachel.

#brittana #faberry #fic rec #brittana fic #faberry fic

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haehaeming · 4 years ago

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100 random facts about SJ members that may or may not help you with your FF

Or if you’re just... bored

1. Eunhyuk doesn’t like finger prints on screens, glasses, etc... It’s a little thing I find cute

2. Kyuhyun was a fan of SJ’s music before debuting with them

3. Leeteuk knows what ‘daddy’ means in a sexual context

4. Leeteuk also understands the concept of a sugar parent, but it was not a positive experience for him. It’s possible other members also understand this concept.

5. Kyuhyun likes men and women

6. Yesung writes his own music

7. Leeteuk has many unreleased songs

8. Eunhyuk has difficulty with his emotions in a general sense, so he’s thankful SJ understand him

9. When Kyuhyun was a teenager, he has to rebel against his fathers wishes to debut as a singer.

10. Kyuhyun dated many girls as a teenager, but only kissed one

11. Sungmin and Kyuhyun have the highest amount of testosterone among SJ members. This was public information a long time ago, though, and alcohol consumption has probably lowered the number a little over time.

12. Sungmin and Kyuhyun share a love of wine

13. Ryeowook is an affectionate drunk

14. Leeteuk is a Leo Venus which means he’s very annoying (read: passionate) in his relationships (This fact was corrected by @fanbynature , it originally said Heechul was a Leo Venus too but he’s actually a Leo Virgo, bonus fact!!)

15. Donghae thinks Eunhyuks lips look best in the morning.

16. Eunhyuk understands the concept of drag.

17. Yesung is very talkative but only when you’re close to him

18. Yesung would kiss SJ good morning back in the dorm days

19. Kyuhyun shows love through acts of service

20. Yesung shows love through quality time

21. Leeteuk is a huge flirt, any fan who met him more personally will tell you

22. As far as we know, Yesung used to collect all sorts of jewellery.

23. Ryeowook and Leeteuk are into cute things (phone cases with cute characters, charms, etc)

24. It’s said Yesung and Sungmin will sleep the least amount of time, but Ryeowook will sleep the most

25. Sungmin and Leeteuk share a moon phase (Waning Gibbous)

26. Back in the dorm, Donghae would also wake his members with affection, but no kisses.

27. Donghae lost his first love because he was too clingy.

28. Kyuhyun and Leeteuk were consider ‘mom’s friend’s kids’ in their school days because they excelled in everything they did. Like the scold ‘why can’t you be more like my friends kid’

29. Kyuhyun has a HUGE fanboy past. Now he can barely use the Internet without making it clear he’s old.

30. Shindong doesn’t like to be clothed at night or in the summer. He takes off his clothes unconsciously

31. Donghae was entrusted to Leeteuk by Donghae’s father

32. Donghae keeps his habits from the dorm days around Leeteuk even now. When he and Leeteuk would share a room, Donghae would cuddle Leeteuk. Even now, when they share a room to sleep, Donghae sings to Leeteuk to try and lull him to sleep.

33. Kyuhyuns relationship with Donghae has been a little bit confusing for him, but recently he said Donghae is like SJs son

34. Yesung’s favourite song is ‘I’ll Make Love To You’

35. Sungmin is the only introvert in SJ

36. Kyuhyun, Leeteuk and Sungmin are open to book recommendations at all times

37. Because of Koreas age system, Yesung and Sungmin are basically the same age.

38. Sungmin technically ages 2 times on his birthday.

39. Teenage Leeteuk celebrated little milestones in relationships like ‘100 days anniversary’

40. Leeteuk would rather be called his stage name than his given name.

41. DBSJ* worked with a ghost in the recording studio, according to Sungmin

42. Donghae and Eunhyuk share a love of strawberries

43. Kyuhyun does not like to be called with pet names

44. Yesung has always shown interest in Canada for whatever reason

45. Ryeowook played the triangle in his school band. Literally

46. Yesung, Donghae and Leeteuk don’t drink.

47. Leeteuk and Kyuhyun love the colour white

48. Sometimes, Kyuhyun unwinds by solving math problems

49. Kyuhyun cited himself in his college thesis on K-pop’s popularity.

50. Leeteuk is taller than Sungmin. It’s more drastic than you think

51. Donghae and Sungmin have both been deemed as ‘naturally cute’, but oddly enough, Sungmin has said he doesn’t act cute anymore. Donghae hasn’t changed in terms of cuteness once

52. Donghae is very fond of dogs. Kyuhyun and Ryeowook are not

53. Sungmin and Eunhyuk were the closest friends predebut. They would take the bus to SM together and make sure nobody else sat next to them. There’s a picture somewhere online of a predebut Sungmin resting his head on Eunhyuk during one of those bus rides

54. Leeteuk didn’t have many friends when he was younger. Leeteuk still thinks he doesn’t have many friends.

55. Donghae and Sungmin share forgetfulness.

56. Leeteuk and Heechul became friends easily because they’re the same age and look out for each other. Also because if Leeteuk was busy or resting, Heechul would be the oldest and have authority over the young SJ for him.

57. Leeteuk and Kyuhyun taught themselves how to cook. Ryeowook and Sungmin were good at it from the beginning

58. Leeteuk wanted to become an idol because of 90s kpop groups looking super cool. He wanted some of that for himself and now I think he’s one of the coolest people ever

59. Leeteuk smokes

60. Sungmin used to sleep in a pink nightgown. Even now, he doesn’t let the fact go, but he says it’s embarrassing

61. Predebut Eunhyuk stole a Shinhwa CD from SM to impress a girl

62. Leeteuks waist size is 26 inches. The ideal size for women in the west

63. Leeteuk entered to win special edition Nike shoes 100 times total. He won

64. When a younger Sungmin was frustrated, he would vent online. Similar to how Leeteuk would when he was younger

65. Sungmin recently said men ask him for his number when he goes out

66. As far as we know, Yesung used to worry about whether or not he would live to grow old :(

67. Donghae has always had a love of poetry

68. Kyuhyun’s originally near-sighted

69. Both Yesung and Leeteuk struggle to define their relationships with others

70. Yesung doesn’t smile a lot when cameras aren’t on him

71. Eunhyuk doesn’t like seafood. Donghae does.

72. Donghae doesn’t like sweets. Eunhyuk does

73. Sungmin was the first member to open his YT channel back in 2018.

74. Ryeowook is said to be a heavy drinker

75. Leeteuk finds peace in the rain

76. Kyuhyun is said to have one of the biggest hearts in SJ, alongside Leeteuk

77. Eunhyuk first appeared publicly in 1992 on a TV show by complete accident. It made him happy

78. In order to sleep in a new location, Donghae sleeps best if there’s something near him that reminds him of home. This is an old fact holds up today, Donghae often sleeps close to his members

79. Predebut, Eunhyuk and Junsu purposefully tried to make Donghae cry

80. Every roommate Donghae has had, he has had multiple complaints about all of them

81. Yesung bought a turtle a long time ago because he felt bored without a pet. Even after buying the turtle, he was still bored

82. Eunhyuk is constantly getting ‘friend zoned’ by Donghae. It’s mostly Donghae who calls them as friends, Eunhyuk got a million other words

83. Sungmin studies English and music every day.

84. Leeteuk loves to learn and is always studying something new as well

85. In high school, Leeteuk studied German

86. ‘Don’t give up’ was Sungmin’s motto in elementary school

87. Leeteuk and Sungmin are big Na Hoon Ah fans

88. When Donghae was in elementary school, he was taller than his classmates and even had a nickname relating to how tall he was

89. Sungmin is still mistaken for his 20s

90. Sungmin loves to eat, he talks about food a lot, but still diets strictly as a couple with his Saeun~

91. Eunhyuk is clumsy

92. Leeteuk is very different off camera, but he’s always aware of hidden cameras, so it’s impossible to catch him ‘normally’.

93. Leeteuk and Yesung curse like sailors

94. Kyuhyun and Shindong share great memorization skills

95. Donghae doesn’t like to eat alone

96. Yesung is the only Virgo in SJ. Kyuhyun is the only Aquarius.

97. Leeteuk finds some men to be cute. Particularly men with beards (in terms of dating)

98. Sungmin wants to record music in English for his international fans

99. Sungmin and Leeteuk both have a fan they consider a friend

100. Eunhyuk loves to be in Japan

#super junior #suju #eunhyuk #donghae #yesung #kyuhyun #shindong #ryeowook #leeteuk #sungmin #heechul #🖤 idiot

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thesaltyoncologist · 4 years ago

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WTF do oncology fellows do?

WAKE UP: 0630 - 0755

My alarm is set for 0630-0700 most mornings. I rarely, if ever, get up at that time. I usually hit the snooze alarm for at least 30 mins if not nearly an entire hour, depending on the day. I’m actively trying to get better at dealing with mornings but I honestly just suck at it. Today I hit snooze for exactly 55 minutes before rolling over in bed, grabbing my phone, and jumping on my morning conference call at 0800.

MORNING SIGN-IN: 0800 - 0830

I have a research clinic once per week, and Monday is my research group’s day. This is the one day of the week where our patients who are on clinical trials are seen in clinic. We start the morning with kind of a virtual roll call of who will be physically seen in clinic, who is going to the infusion room for treatment, and if there are any people being seen for acute problems. It’s usually pretty quick, consisting something along the lines of: “Mr. X is here for C4D1 treatment with X for his prostate cancer” for each patient. After we run the list, my drag my ass from bed and get dressed.

RESEARCH CLINIC: 0900 - 1400

What I do during each Monday research clinic varies. Today I had to physically go into the hospital because one of our patients was admitted and was scheduled to start treatment today. I met my boss up on the wards and we headed over to her room to give her and her husband an update on how the day would go. Nothing exciting, just a few hours of infusions. Provided she’s not one of the unlucky sort who have an infusion reaction, it should be a pretty dull day for her. The side effects hit later, especially after the number of cycles accumulates. She looks better today than during our last few visits. Definitely more relaxed and less emotionally wrecked. I’m sure the feelings are all still there, just controlled for the time being. She’s only 50 years old.

After seeing our patient, I head over to clinic where I work with one of our APPs who is working through a stack of papers for a second opinion later this week. It’s painfully slow work, made worse by the fact that no one seems to believe in writing an oncology treatment summary anymore. After a couple of hours we piece together a halfway decent treatment timeline. She’s another young patient who has burned through double digits worth of treatment regimens. Her local oncologist is better than his half-assed progress notes indicate, and he has her on an appropriate treatment. Unfortunately she doesn’t qualify for any of our ongoing trials. She’s only 45 years old.

We end the clinic in a similar fashion to how it begins, with a quick sign out of who was seen and the highlights of what happened.

1400-1500: ANKI

I head over to the fellow’s office and my cubicle to knock out some flashcards. Oncology boards are looming in November. Anki has always been my go-to during medical school and residency, and it continued in fellowship. All of medicine has a base of memorization. It’s unavoidable. Anki is the best way of helping me pound staging and treatment algorithms into my head. Patients rarely fit into these standard scenarios, but again, having that base knowledge is key. Somewhere in between flipping through my cards, I remember the peanut butter sandwich I stowed away in my bag for lunch. Sandwich gone. Cards reviewed. I pack up and head home.

1500 - 1600: WALK THE DOGGO

It’s a mild but sunny day outside so me and the doggo hit the sidewalks. The actual mileage we cover is pretty minimal. His legs are short, and he has yet to meet a smell that didn’t intrigue him. That’s okay by me. The fresh air helps me clear my head.

1600 - 1800: DATA CRUNCHING

Back to the house where I try to knock out some more work. Today, I’m working through some clinical trial data. Clinical trials take so long to complete that it’s hard for a fellow to work on a singular trial, from start to finish. Most of the time we just work on different parts of different trials. This is a trial that was wrapping up right around the time I joined my research group. I saw the last few patients go on trial (and progress on trial, unfortunately). So now I’m working on compiling the data that will eventually be a new manuscript. Like the majority of research trials, this more than likely a negative phase I/II trial. It’s still a good way for me to learn the mechanics of compiling data and manuscript preparation. It’s been a while since I’ve written manuscripts. I’m rusty.

1800 - 1930: DINNER

My roommate cooks and I clean. It’s a pretty sweet deal. We usually have the news on while we eat, and tonight is no different. Probably the only thing I like about this part of the country has been the politics.

2000 - 2100:

Time for a quick lifting session followed by a hot shower.

2100-2200:

Watch an episode of TV with the roommate. Tonight, he’s playing some weird show on Hulu. I spend most of the show scrolling through tik toks. Once we get finished, my phone gets plugged in and retired for the night.

2200 - 2300: WIND DOWN

Normally, I avoid all screens after around 8-9pm. Tonight is a little different since I decided to through my daily routine into a post. Normally, my wind down routine consists of reading my well loved and worn copy of ASCO-SEP... which is basically the Oncology equivalent of First Aid. Then bed. Rinse and repeat.

#medblr #fellowship #oncology #heme/onc #friends dont let friends do fellowship #pgy-5: still an idiot #A Day in My Life

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orangepanic · 3 years ago

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I saw this “100 OTP questions” by @the-moon-dust-writings and figured I'd procrastinate:

1. Who loves flower crowns more?

Neither of them really, but Asami might make Iroh wear one just to laugh at him.

2. Who is the one who likes to cuddle?

Iroh. Asami likes it, too, but he usually initiates.

3. Who has awful taste in music?

Honestly, both of them. Asami likes terrible dance music and Iroh likes obscure combinations of horns and bells and stuff from different cultures.

4. Who is the meme lover?

Asami thinks they’re funny. Iroh doesn’t quite understand.

5. How did their second date go?

Iroh tried to take Asami somewhere very fancy, but the wait was too long. They ended up making out in a shadowy doorway down the street and missing their reservation entirely. Iroh was mortified, but Asami dragged him around the corner to a low-key noodle shop that has since become their favorite restaurant.

6. How many children do they want/have?

Asami thinks about three. Iroh, as many as Asami will agree to.

7. Who hides the weapons?

Iroh hides weapons for Asami around the house so she’ll always have something on hand. In a drawer in the kitchen, on her nightstand, etc. He knows she can take care of herself… and he stashes weapons for her anyway. Asami rolls her eyes but secretly thinks it’s sweet.

8. Who is the better dancer?

Asami. She likes dancing, and learned formal dancing in school. Iroh can’t dance at all, having skipped out on all his lessons as a child after bribing his instructor. He thought dancing is boring, but likes dancing with Asami and lets her lead.

9. Do/Did they have a theme wedding?

No. They quite deliberately have a very normal wedding, including cutting out a lot of the more stuffy Fire Nation customs because Iroh doesn’t want Asami to feel out of place not having any family present.

10. What do their parents think of them dating?

Hiroshi Sato is livid, and actually tried to have Iroh assassinated from prison. His little girl, marry a firebender? A prince of the firebenders? Iroh’s parents are more accepting. Izumi initially thinks Asami is too young and gives Iroh a hard time about how quickly he got serious, but quickly comes around when it’s clear Asami is very mature for her age. Within a year Iroh’s parents are both hounding him on when he’ll make it official.

11. Are they a super sappy couple?

They are that couple everybody hates.

12. How did they get together?

They meet during the Equalist revolution, but don’t get together until long after. Iroh has a crush on Asami almost immediately, but spends forever sitting on it thinking it wasn’t the right time and trying to be friends until one day he just kind of slips up and kisses her. She kisses him back. It turns out Asami liked him, too, but she isn’t great at reading people and had no idea he was interested.

13. Who asked the other to get married?

Iroh just kind of blurts it out one day.

14. Who stays up too late and makes stupid jokes?

Asami is the night owl. Iroh makes the bad jokes.

15. Who is the nerd?

Oh my god, both of them. Asami is more of the classic nerd. Iroh is more of a dork.

16. Who knows the most obscure facts?

Iroh.

17. Who makes the other a flower crown?

Two questions about flower crowns out of 100?? Changing this to who is more dominant in bed. Asami.

18. Who likes to read?

Iroh. They both do, but he’s much more into it.

19. Who bothers the other person while the other person reads?

Asami. She has the shorter attention span.

20. Who tutors the other?

They both would in different subjects. Asami is better at math, physics, etc. Iroh is better at philosophy and languages.

21. Do they have similar taste in movies?

No. Asami likes gory slasher films and lots of action. Iroh scoffs and thinks they’re dumb. Asami, in turn, thinks his period dramas can be kind of boring, and refuses to count documentaries as movies. But there’s a healthy overlap in things like Vikings and Game of Thrones.

22. How do their personalities complement each other?

Asami helps Iroh lighten up a bit, drawing him out of his shell, and gives him an anchor and a sense of home. She’s more social than he is, and a lot of her friends eventually become his. But she’s also quiet enough and serious enough that she doesn’t tire him out and can feed his need for downtime. Iroh, in turn, loves seldom but deeply, and gives Asami the kind of fierce, unconditional love and stability she needs. He’s also genuinely interested in her projects, is smart enough to follow most of it, and is one of the only people who can occasionally beat her in Pai Sho. They have a lot of fun together just being nerds.

23. How do they tell everyone that they are going to be having a kid/adopting a child soon?

They don’t have to tell anybody. It’s all over Iroh’s face like a big neon sign.

24. Who has better fashion sense?

Asami, but not by much. She’s more up to date with trends, while Iroh’s style is clean and classic.

25. Who will punch someone out if they are rude to their partner?

Hoo boy, both of them. Do not go there.

26. What songs do they sing together in the vehicle?

Neither of them sing in the satomobile. Iroh has a decent voice, but he’s a bit private about it. Asami mostly hums.

27. What other couple would your otp get along with?

Iroh quickly becomes BFFs with Bolin. Asami and Opal aren’t quite as close, but they like each other’s company and have fun as a foursome. They also get along quite well with Pema and Tenzin.

28. Who likes to prank the other?

Iroh tries more often. Asami’s pranks are more successful.

29. Who is the one who loves to take pictures?

Iroh, though generally Korra is the picture taker in the group.

30. How would they react if they found out they were soul mates?

Iroh raises an eyebrow. “Hmm.” Asami only shrugs. They both already knew that.

31. Where would they live?

They like Republic City and decide to stay downtown, first in an apartment and eventually a larger townhouse.

32. What type of dragon would they own, if they could have one?

Whichever one Iroh made friends with. Asami is a bit wary of animals and would need him to convince her it was safe.

33. If they were both vampires, what type of vampires would they be?

The kind that live in a beautiful house with perfect collections that took hundreds of years to make. Iroh has first editions of everything in a giant library, arranged in a complex system only he understands. He’s working on his 14th language. Asami has invented artificial blood and doesn’t miss sunburns. Occasionally she’ll throw one of those big fancy vampire balls just so they can both get dressed up. They’re pretty happy.

34. What would they dress up as, for Halloween?

They once went as Lady Tienhai and the last king of Mo Ce because picking something obscure and historical was the only way to get Iroh into a costume.

35. Can they name each other’s favourite food?

Kind of. They are both really into food, so picking a favorite is hard. But if the question is can they order for one another, absolutely.

36. Do they have pet names for one another?

Asami sometimes calls Iroh “General Hotstuff” when she’s teasing. Iroh sometimes calls Asami “sex pretzel” when he’s 1000% sure they are alone.

37. How do they cheer each other up?

Asami is more of a gift giver. She’ll show up with Iroh’s favorite take-out or make him something in her workshop—anything to make him feel special and valued. Iroh is all about quality time, and will swing by Asami’s office to haul her out on surprise dates. He also gives great hugs.

38. Do they show a lot of PDA?

No. Iroh is very uncomfortable with PDA, especially when he’s in uniform. Asami follows his lead.

39. How old were they when they got together?

Asami was 19-20, Iroh 24-25.

40. Who is the one that would bring the puppy home?

Iroh, 100%. He’s such a sucker.

41. Can they do yoga couple’s poses?

Yes, though Asami is the only one who really tries.

42. What is their song?

They don’t really have one.

43. What does their room look like?

Asami moved in with Iroh, so it’s very basic. White walls, perfectly made bed, a neatly organized desk in the far corner by the window. He’s a total minimalist, having spent most of his adult life on a ship. Asami added a very fluffy comforter in *gasp* a color and lots of pillows.

44. Who would be the one to kill zombies while the other keeps them grounded?

They’d take turns, and at some point Asami would turn it into a contest.

45. Who makes the other breakfast in bed?

Iroh. Asami is a terrible cook.

46. Who loves kids more?

Iroh.

47. Do either of them have a crazy ex?

Not crazy, but Iroh and his ex are not on good terms. He doesn’t like to talk about it.

48. What are their favourite colours?

Asami, purple. Iroh, black. He gets annoyed when people get him so much red stuff.

49. Who likes to cook?

Iroh. He fired Asami from the kitchen, something they are both grateful for.

50. Who is the forgetful one?

Asami.

51. Does either of them know how to fight?

Have you met these people?

52. What do they do for Valentines Day?

Iroh would probably plan something elaborate for them to go out. Asami would plan something sexy for when they got home.

53. Who swears more?

Asami, at least out loud. Iroh mostly swears under his breath.

54. Who has the better comebacks?

Asami. It’s not even close.

55. Who would start a fight with another parent at a bake sale?

Probably Asami, unless it was about the kids. If anyone comes for Iroh’s kids, they’d better hide.

56. Who reads buzzfeed?

Asami.

57. Who is the hopeless romantic?

Iroh, hands down.

58. Do either of them know how to do a handstand?

Asami can manage it.

59. Who can rap better?

Asami, though Iroh is the only one who actually listens to rap.

60. Do either of them want to go sky diving?

Asami would love to. Iroh laughs. “Been there.”

61. What do they usually text about?

Some version of “I miss you” or random pictures of stuff. They generally only text when Iroh is away as they’re both busy during the day.

62. Who is the dramatic one?

Asami has a shorter fuse. Iroh is more ridiculous when he loses his shit.

63. Is either one confrontational?

Not really.

64. What is their favourite cuddle position?

Asami will lay on top of Iroh on the couch like a sandwich. It’s the only position she seems to be able to nap in.

65. Who are their favourite musical artist(s)?”

See above about terrible taste in music.

66. What are their parenting styles?

Iroh covers a lot of the basics. He sets a schedule, makes lunches, tells bedtime stories, is more likely to help with the homework. Asami is the one who gets them around and does most of the interacting with teachers, other parents, etc. They share things fairly equally.

67. Who would be the more laid back one?

Iroh.

68. Who listens to more vulgar music?

Asami.

69. Do either of them have secrets even the other doesn’t know?

Yes. Asami can be secretive about some of her projects, both out of an abundance of caution but also because she likes a big reveal. Iroh keeps some past relationship stuff close, and will occasionally read a steamy romance novel for “tips.”

70. Who is their go to couple for a double date?

Bolin and Opal

71. Do they tip the waiter/waitress on their date?

Iroh tips very well.

72. How do they work out a fight?

Asami yells. Iroh yells back. One of them storms off. The other one waits about half an hour then goes to find them, usually with an offering of food. There are hugs. Somebody cries. Then they finally talk it out before falling asleep together.

73. Who brings home an illegal pet?

Asami. She is less likely to have a pet, but if she does, it’s going to be a weird one.

74. What side of the bed do each of them sleep on?

Iroh is on the side by the window because he likes to get up with the sun.

75. What is their favorite photo of them two together?

There’s a photo Korra took at the beach where Iroh has Asami thrown over his shoulder right before dunking her in the water. This is the picture he takes with him when he’s deployed.

76. Who takes longer in the bathroom?

Asami.

77. Who has more songs on their ipod?

Iroh. If you can call them songs.

78. What movie did they first see together?

Iroh took her to Last Days of the Sun Warriors. She fell asleep. He said the book was better.

79. What do they like to see each other in?

Asami thinks Iroh’s butt looks great in jeans. Iroh got Asami a red silk robe from the Fire Nation and likes to see it fall off.

80. Who makes jokes during inappropriate times?

Iroh.

81. At what age do they discuss the possibility of children?

Mid-20s, though they don’t have them until a little later.

82. What do they love about each other the most?

Iroh likes that Asami is tough and smart and a problem-solver. Asami likes that Iroh is kind and brave and has a strong moral compass.

83. Who is the one that sees the big picture, while the other focus’s on the small details?

They are both big picture people, which is sometimes a problem. Of the two, Asami is probably better at details, but she’s also forgetful.

84. What would they write on their partner’s social media’s for their anniversary?

Asami would probably put up a picture of them and say something brief but sweet. Iroh doesn’t really understand social media and would just paste a heart-eyes emoji.

85. Who is bad at math?

Iroh. He’s not bad, per se, but Asami is very, very good.

86. Who googles everything?

Asami.

87. Who does stuff on impulse?

Both of them in different ways. Asami is generally more flexible. Iroh usually has a plan but makes big decisions completely off the cuff.

88. How do they comfort each other when they are helpless to do anything about the situation?

Lots of physical touch. Iroh will kind of just wrap himself around her in one giant, whole body hug. Asami will spend some time cursing out whomever is causing the issue, then let him lay his head in her lap and give Iroh a good head scratch or massage.

89. What is an inside joke they have?

There was one time they had sex in Asami’s office at Future Industries, so occasionally she’ll drop things like, “feel like coming by the office?” with a suggestive eyebrow waggle. Iroh is, predictably, very embarrassed. Also interested.

90. Who makes the other smile with almost no effort at all?

Asami: *exists* Iroh: *smiles*

91. What is their favourite holiday?

New Years is a big deal in the Fire Nation. Iroh loves his family and likes going home, and Asami has grown to love it almost as much.

92. Who is the one that is calm and collected while the other is angry and destructive?

They take turns. Both of them can have quite a temper when pushed too hard.

93. What is their favourite board game to play?

They’re both big Pai Sho fans, but can get into any kind of strategy game. Nobody really likes to play them though, they're too good.

94. Who accidentally sets something on fire?

Asami. Iroh hasn’t had a fire accident since he was four.

95. Who has the car ready while the other is robbing the store?

Asami. She’d rob the store, too, but no way is she letting Iroh drive.

96. What artist/group did they go to for their first concert?

Iroh booked a private box at the Republic City Opera, thinking that was an impressive thing he should do on a date. It turns out neither of them like opera, and by the end they were both making fun of it.

97. Who sleep talks?

Asami. Iroh thinks it’s funny.

98. Who is the more social one?

Asami, by a long shot.

99. What are their karaoke songs?

Neither of them would really sing karaoke, but Iroh cannot hold his liquor like at all so if he ever got really plastered Asami might be able to drag him up there. By which point he’d be too far gone to have an opinion on the song and would sing just about anything.

100. Who would get up on stage and make a fool of themselves just to make the other laugh?

Asami.

#irosami #this is all canon now #kidding

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chameleonsallinvermillion · 4 years ago

Text

153 Questions for Americans

Listen, as far as I am concerned, America is a place where movies are set. I know you’re all real but you don’t feel quite real, you know. Somebody actually grew up in New York? Impossible - that only exists on TV. I have questions. And somewhere out there, there is an American bored enough to answer them. Or at least some of them.

I feel I should clarify that none of these are loaded questions. I’m asking these with no agenda other than burning curiosity. There’s no judgement or meanness behind them. I’m sorry that I sound incredibly stupid.

1) Do you think of yourselves as American, or does your state come first?

2) Where does the generic American accent come from? The one most people in movies have? Is it Californian, cos that’s where movies tend to be made? That’s my current working theory.

3) Is it true that you don’t have egg cups?

4) Is it normal to live in one state all your life and never go to another, even for a visit, or would that be weird?

5) Are all school buses really yellow, like in movies? 5b) Why? Are they all owned by the same company or do different groups keep identical yellow buses for this one purpose?

6) Do you have semi-detached houses in America? They’re never in movies.

^^ These houses! Where two houses are mirror images of each other and share a joining wall. Do you have those?

7) Turkey is your classic Thanksgiving meat, I think? So what’s your classic Christmas meat?

8) There must be an insane number of colleges/universities in a country that size. How do you narrow down your choices? Do most people stay in their home state?

9) Are school sports really as big of a deal as movies make them out to be?

10) How do you decide if your school is an obsessed-with-basketball school or an obsessed-with-football school? Is it regional? Have movies exaggerated this binary too much and I’ve got the wrong idea?

11) Are there any girls’ sports teams at schools or is it basically just cheerleading?

12) What is a pep rally and also why is a pep rally? Who goes to them?

13) Do cheerleaders wear their uniforms around school casually like they do on TV? Wouldn’t a sports uniform need to be taken off post-training for cleanliness reasons? Do they only wear it before training to save the trouble of getting changed?

14) Does the average American family own a gun or are they not as widespread as it is made to seem? Is that regional too?

15) How similar is the culture between, say, Montana and New Mexico? Do they feel like the same country?

16) Do you get sheriffs in cities or is it only out in the middle of nowhere? What’s the difference between a sheriff and a police captain?

17) Is prom as big of a deal in real life as it is in movies?

18) Are prom queens a real thing and, if so, how do they work? Are there duties involved or is it just wearing a tiara for a night? Can anyone be voted in or is there a pre-prom shortlist? Do you have to apply?

19) What is stereotypically American, from the perspective of an American? I know what the stereotypes are over here, but how do you stereotype yourselves?

20) Why does Alabama have a reputation for incest? Is there a historical basis or do people just not like Alabama very much?

21) Is it true that you don’t have roundabouts, or do you just not have as many / don’t have them everywhere? (You might call them something else - the little islands in a crossroads that you have to circle round)

22) If you were asked to name European cities, what would be the first ones you would name?

Clarification: If somebody asked me to name American cities, my brain would immediately go: New York, Los Angeles, Chicago. By the time it had thought of those, it would already be saying: Las Vegas, Washington DC, New Orleans, San Francisco. Then, Detroit, Miami, Seattle, Boston, Baltimore. After that, I would have to actively stop and think of another one. So, if somebody just says ‘European cities - go!’ what does your brain immediately leap to?

23) Are those gigantic supermarkets (superstores???) standard across the country? What do the big brands (Walmart?? Target?????) look like in cities? Are they still that huge?

24) Do the big grocery brands have specific personalities/reputations? What are they? Which one do middle class people look down on, for example?

25) Is deep-frying everything something you really do or is it more of a regional delicacy / special occasion type deal?

26) Do the states that are more “famous” (California, and the like) feel more or less American because of it? Are you a cultural beacon, or are you an independent entity shackled down to the rest of them?

27) Do the states that often get ignored (Montana?? Iowa?????) feel more or less American because of it? Does your isolation make you separate, or are you bound together into a greater whole?

28) I get that different states have different laws. So say one state said you could get a driving license without having to take a test, but the next state insisted on standardised testing. Would a license issued by the first state still be valid in the second state? Could you cross the border to the state with easier specifications just to get a license?

29) Which universities / colleges are really the ones with good reputations? Obviously, places like Harvard and Yale are world-famous but I don’t really know any others unless a character in a movie is aspiring to one. Which are the names that command respect amongst real people?

30) Is the average American’s knowledge of geography or history beyond the US as poor as it is commonly described? Or is that more of a joke and the average person is perfectly well-informed, with a few outliers?

31) Are those red cups in party scenes a convenient movie prop, because they’ve become the stereotype of “oh, that cup has alcohol in it” or something, or are they actually used that universally? 31b) If they are that ubiquitous, what happens when red is the colour of the enemy sports team? That seems like something people would care about.

32) Do you really recite the pledge of allegiance at school every day? If yes, is it done sincerely or just because it’s tradition?

33) Are flags as popular a décor choice as popular media seems to suggest?

34) Which state has the reputation for having the most attractive / sexiest people from it, or the people you would most want to date? Why? (I’m assuming this won’t be fully universal, but there are definite stereotypes of ‘guys from this region aren’t the romantic sort’ and ‘girls from this region are easy’ in other countries so you must have something)

35) What kind of cheeses do you have? This probably sounds insane, or possibly a little patronising, but whenever you see cheese in an American context, it tends to be those little plastic squares that look like linoleum flooring. Yet Americans are really into putting cheese in everything, so there must be other types. But I couldn’t name a single type of cheese off the top of my head as being a known American cheese. So what are the standard cheeses of an American household?

36) Is that “biscuits and gravy” thing that people sometimes post pictures of when talking about the difference in biscuits across the Atlantic actually a thing people eat? On what occasion? And if that’s gravy, what do you call the stuff you pour on meat and potatoes? Are they both gravy?

37) Do young people really hang around at shopping malls all weekend, or is that a movie thing?

38) Do Americans eat custard? I’ve never heard an American mention custard.

39) If you had to pick an area of the country that is “where rich city folk go to pretend to get back to nature despite being afraid of dirt” where would it be? Or does every state have their own bit where people from their own cities go to buy big old houses and complain about phone reception?

40) Why do Americans still talk about themselves as being, for example, “a quarter Welsh, a sixth Irish, a bit Swedish, but mostly German”? I don’t mean the people whose parents moved there, but the people who have been there for generations. Do you really feel connected to the cultures/countries your ancestors were from? Is “American” more of a circumstance than an identity?

41) Is Easter a widespread secular event in America or purely religious-based? What would a typical Easter celebration involve? Do you have the fruit cake and funny hats, like we do?

42) If you had to pick one song already in existence to be your new national anthem, what would it be and why?

43) I know that it is possible to be made to repeat a grade, possibly several times, if you don’t get the required exam results. How common is that? Does it happen a lot, or is it more of a threat to hold over kids?

44) Are there limits on how early you can legally drop out of school, or could a child stop attending at any age? For example, where I grew up it would be illegal to leave school before the age of sixteen but movies seem to imply you can drop-out earlier in the US.

45) What is homecoming? Who is coming home, and where from?

46) What is a more important social event: prom, or homecoming?

47) Can anybody attend homecoming, even the freshmen? I have this vague idea sports has something to do with it and it would seem logical that some freshmen play sports but how does that work logistically?

48) Does homecoming also have a queen? Do she and the prom queen compete in some way? Which one outranks the other?

49) Are there buses in America? Other than the school bus or the occasional long-distance coach, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a bus in American media. Does a standard public-transport bus system exist? Is it only in some places?

50) Why are trains not a more popular mode of long-distance travel in America? Or are they but it doesn’t make for as dramatic a movie scene as a desperate non-stop road trip?

51) Are freshmen and sophomores really called that? Is it colloquial, or would you see it on official paperwork?

52) Do teenagers get to choose which subjects they study to exam level at high school, or does everybody have to take a final exam in everything?

53) Are places like Puerto Rico, or American Samoa, thought of as extensions of the country? Do they seem American to mainland Americans?

54) Does Alaska ever feel left out, being up there on its own?

56) Teen novels seem to suggest there’s an endless succession of school dances in high schools. Spring dances, winter balls, proms, homecoming, ladies’ choice dances… Is that true? If so, do people really care about them or is non-attendance no big deal?

57) Is Halloween as big an event as movies suggest, or was Hocus Pocus not representative?

58) Sometimes from the outside, it seems that we know more about what’s going on with American foreign policy than Americans do. Does it seem that way, as Americans, about other countries? That you’re getting information that is not being shared with their citizens?

59) Do Americans really like British accents that much, or is that just a small but vocal handful on the internet? Do different foreign accents go in and out of fashion?

60) What is the whole deal with white shoes and Labour Day? Or was that just a line in Legally Blonde?

61) Do American teenagers really have sex in cars a lot or is that a movie thing?

62) Do American teenagers really sneak out of the house at night a lot, especially via the window, or is that also a movie thing?

63) Are people as blasé about tornados as they seem or is that bravado? Are tornados really that common that people can just shrug about them and carry on with their day?

64) What age are the majority of people when they are learning to drive? Not what age can they legally learn; what age do most people actually learn.

65) How many of the things you might call an American stereotype really only apply to one specific region?

66) Are taxicabs yellow everywhere or is that just a New York thing?

67) Are Sweet Sixteen celebrations a real thing? What happens at one? Is it just a particularly impressive birthday party or are there specific traditions?

68) Are sororities and fraternities as common or as important to college life as movies make them out to be?

69) Why would somebody join a sorority or a fraternity? What’s the point? (I know the phrasing of that sounds critical but I really don’t mean it like that. I just do not have the cultural context to understand what they’re actually for.)

70) So, I know that the price you have on price labels isn’t the price you pay because of tax being a secret. I see you talk about this a lot. Does this mean the amount you’re asked for at the end is always a surprise, or are you all really good at mental arithmetic? Is calculating tax something you learn at school?

71) Do Americans generally have a good opinion of their fellow Americans?

72) Is New York the only place theatre really gets a chance to go big? That can’t possibly be true, it’s a massive continent, there must be incredible actors and writers and stuff hanging out somewhere in South Dakota or something. Is this why the people in Glee were so fixated on living in New York?

73) The garbage-eating drains you have in kitchen sinks…where do they lead to? Can you put anything down them?

74) Which parts of America are the parts other Americans go on vacation? Is it different to where foreigners want to visit?

75) Do any American schools have school houses or is that absolutely not a thing at all?

76) Do American schools have a system of merits or house points or some other way of giving a positive score for good behaviour that adds up to something eventually? Or is good behaviour expected and therefore not given special recognition?

77) What actually is a hall monitor, and is it a position people respect or aspire to?

78) Is it as common for people to drive themselves and their friends to school as movies make out? How is there parking space for that many students with their own cars?

79) How did the town in Footloose have the power to ban dancing? Do individual towns have that much control over their laws and citizens? Does every town council get to make decisions that huge?

80) Are big house parties the most common place for teenagers to get drunk and hook up? It seems like that in movies but surely that would be inefficient? You’d have to keep waiting for somebody’s parents to leave town.

81) What is the deal with Americans hating France? Is that a real thing or was it just a throwaway joke in enough media for me to think it’s a real thing?

82) Why do people not live in national parks?

83) Which states actually count as “The South” and which ones are officially “The North”? Because it doesn’t seem like the line is just drawn across the middle.

84) Whenever you see Americans talking about candy on the internet, it’s always the same six or seven items. Are those just the big favourites and there are lots of other candy types around the place that don’t get a place on personality quizzes, or are there really only a handful of familiar items that are widespread? Do different states have different candy?

85) Which sport is most central to American identity? I’d assume it was one of the three (baseball, basketball, American football) but is one of them more important than the others?

86) Are all your prisons out in the middle of the desert or something?

87) There’s this sort of mythology around an American idea of just getting a plot of land and building your home on it and making it your own, with an implication that you can grab anywhere and do whatever you like with it. Are planning laws that relaxed, or is that more something you could do in the 1800s that has taken up a place in cultural mythology?

88) When kids are hanging out in someone’s yard or an empty lot on a summer day, what game or sport would they be most likely to be playing? It feels like American football, for example, wouldn’t be very good for that, and it’s hard to improvise a net for basketball.

89) Is it strange to live in a large city that nevertheless is virtually unknown nationwide because all the attention goes to the enormous cities? Or are these places known nationwide and it’s just internationally that they get forgotten?

90) How far from somewhere would you have to be to consider yourself in the middle of nowhere?

91) How localised are things like local news or local tv? Is it every state? Every county? Every major town and its surroundings?

92) Does national television have to take place at different times regionally because of time zones?

93) Is there a reason why American recipes measure everything in cups, even the things that it doesn’t make sense to put in a cup e.g. solid items that don’t fill the space so could vary in cup-filling volume? A cup full of butter is a different thing if the butter is in blocks to if it is poured in, as it were, to fill to the edges completely. Is there a trick to it?

94) Is marching band the only kind of band you have at schools? Is there no orchestra? Swing band? Concert ensemble?

95) Why do you have marching bands at schools? Where are they marching to? Do you have a lot of parades?

96) If you had to choose one (non-reality) TV show that best represents what life is actually like in America, what would you pick?

97) What is spirit week? Is it important? Do people take it seriously? I think it might be something that happens at schools but beyond that, I have no idea.

98) How big is a school locker? Apparently big enough to fit a person in but are they standing comfortably or curled into a tiny ball? If it were person-height, wouldn’t it have shelves in it? Does the victim go on a shelf?

99) When you dress up for Halloween, can you be anything? I mean, could a kid going trick or treating conceivably wear any costume at all? It doesn’t have to be spooky?

100) On a similar note, in movies there are always wild packs of children roving around on Halloween, filling the streets with their trick-or-treating. It’s crowded. Kids are running everywhere. There’s a gang knocking on every door. Is that movie magic or is Halloween really like an unofficial street party?

101) Do you have half-term holidays? I assume you wouldn’t call them that. Mid-semester break, maybe? You know. The week off in the middle.

102) Do you have days when you don’t have to go to work or school that aren’t for a special celebration? Just…days when the country stops working? Or, at least, most of it because cafés would always be open on that sort of day.

103) Which is the bigger deal: Thanksgiving, or the Fourth of July?

104) How diverse is the landscape in any given state? If you take, say, Ohio, does it all look like roughly the same place all the way through or are there lots of different landscapes going on? I feel like there should be, but there’s still this very typical image of what Ohio is.

105) Do people care about what clothes they wear to school or does the fact that everybody sees everybody every day mean that it all stops mattering?

106) What makes something a diner rather than a café, a restaurant, or whatever else? What defines a diner?

107) What is the one, singular, most significant place in the USA? (I realise this could be controversial)

108) What would you, as an American, say was the best thing America has ever done, or the most important contribution it has made to the world? There’s no need to be coy here, I’m not asking for a fully-analysed unbiased dissertation on the subject, I just want to know what people are thinking. A person, an invention, an action…whatever takes your fancy.

109) How does a state fair work? Is it really a fair for the whole state? Wouldn’t it have to be the size of a city for that? Does all of that get taken down at the end of the week and packed away, or do bits stay standing?

110) Are music festivals an upper class thing? Coachella seems to be an upper class thing but, then, I don’t really know what Coachella is, only that celebrities are there. Are there other music festivals of significance?

111) When Americans say things like “We drove from New York to California last weekend, didn’t even stop to sleep, no big deal”, is there an element of bravado to that or is it completely genuine? I get that you drive long distances very casually but is there a point where those distances do become a big deal and a serious trip, you just pretend they don’t to mess with non-Americans?

112) Is summer camp a normal thing for people to do, or is it something the minority of people send their kids to but it makes for a convenient movie setting so we see it a disproportionate amount?

113) Is a maths summer camp a thing or was that a joke in one book I read once? What would you even do at a maths summer camp?

114) Is standing just inside the entrance of a shop and yelling a greeting at anyone who walks in a real job or is that a movie joke I don’t have the context to understand? If it is a job, is that the whole job or are you expected to do other things at the same time?

115) Okay, the thing about the gap between the door and the wall in a bathroom stall. Is that as widespread as people say? I mean, is it everywhere? If so, there simply has to be a reason for it, it’s too weird otherwise, so does anybody out there know what’s going on with that?

116) What actually is Kool-Aid? Is it true that you can drink it and use it as hair dye?

117) What is an American Girl Doll? It seems to be a big deal but I can’t really figure it out. Is it just a brand of doll or is there more to it?

118) Are the indicator lights on your cars officially called blinkers or is that more of a colloquial thing? Or not a thing at all? Would they be called that on your driving test? In a car manual?

119) What actually is a GPA? What is it based on? And what counts as a good one?

120) Is pancakes for breakfast a normal thing or a special occasion thing?

121) What are cooties? I feel like I ought to know this, it comes up so often in various bits of media, but I’ve never actually figured out what it means.

122) Is going to a pumpkin patch and just hanging out a real thing? Do you take pumpkins home with you? How about when you go apple picking? Are all these cutesy autumn activities a normal thing to do or is it just in romantic comedies?

123) How do school qualifications work? Are the exams you take at the end of high school, when you’re eighteen or whatever, the only ones that count if you’re looking to get a job? Or are there, sort of, mid-high-school exams that could also count towards something? Is it just “high school” then “degree” or are there other levels, is what I’m trying to ask.

124) What is making out? By which I mean, what makes something “making out” rather than just kissing? Where’s that line drawn?

125) I understand that school newspapers are a thing. But do people pay to buy them? Other students? What kind of things do you write about in a school paper?

126) How does seeing the doctor work? Do you book an appointment with a local practitioner? Are there clinics? Does everybody wait until it’s an emergency? They don’t see doctors on TV unless they’re dying.

127) In Glee, they had slushie machines in the school. Which were used as weapons of bullying. Is that real? Are you allowed slushie machines?

128) Why is the president addressed as “Mr President”? Is there some historic reason? It seems odd to me, like calling somebody Mr Shopkeeper or Mr Insurance-Salesman. Is it because it is so clearly not a peerage title and that was important when America began? That’s my working theory based on no history whatsoever.

129) I understand that tipping servers at a restaurant and so on is very, very important but does that extend to other jobs? Do you tip postmen, for example, when they deliver your mail? Or shop assistants for bagging up groceries for you?

130) Is a school mascot a) a real thing and b) a position of prestige?

131) How do Girl Scout cookies work? Do the Girl Scouts make them themselves from secret recipes? Is it just a cookie company they happen to have a good relationship with for bake sales? It seems important but I can’t unravel the mystery.

132) What’s Delaware like? No stories ever seem to be set there. Nobody ever really mentions it. What goes on in Delaware?

133) Somebody mentioned something called “color guard” once, which I think is something that happens at schools, but I don’t know what it was or whether they were messing with me. I’ve never knowingly seen it in a teen movie. Tell me about color guards. It sounds so fake. What are they guarding?

134) I know that legal drinking age is twenty-one, but what age would you say the average person started drinking? I don’t mean “had a glass of wine at a family dinner” but I also don’t mean “drank to black-out”. Just…drank socially with the aim of getting at least tipsy.

135) I can already tell that this is a silly question but what is under the bleachers? People seem to have clandestine meetings there a lot, but I thought bleachers were just benches. How do you get under them, and what is there once you do? Is hooking up there something people do in real life?

136) How small is a small town? Is it based on population or more on facilities e.g. if it has a certain number of basic shops, it becomes a normal-sized town?

137) Movies seem to think that being involved in music or theatre at school is deeply uncool. This is so contrary to my own experience at school, that I have to ask whether it is true or not? If so, is there a reason why or is it just one of those adolescent mysteries?

138) Does everybody have those netting screens over their windows or is that only in regions prone to, say, mosquitos?

139) Do small towns tend to have their own little tiny high schools or do the students have a long commute every morning to a bigger high school elsewhere? How far is considered acceptable/normal to travel to get to school?

140) When it comes to prom, is it considered really important to get a date or do lots of people turn up alone / with friends? If you do have to have a one-on-one date, is it usually romantic or is it acceptable just to pair up with a friend? Movies are very intense about this and I’m not sure the portrayal is accurate.

141) Do most schools have big theatre auditoriums with fully-functional stages and raked seating, or is that just High School Musical?

142) Is sex ed really as poor as people joke about it being, on average? Is abstinence education the norm, or is it rarer but we hear about it a lot because it’s so controversial?

143) Are chastity clubs at schools a real thing? If so, why, when almost all students must be underage? I mean, I know people are having underage sex but why make a club about obeying the law? I don’t mean for this to sound all judgemental, I’m just really lacking the cultural background to make sense of this.

144) Which is the most popular state, the one the fewest number of people hate? Is there even one that is universally well-liked?

145) Would you normally refer to your country as “America” or “the US” or “the USA” or, I don’t know, some other variation? It seems pretty interchangeable but is there a preference?

146) Is the “no outside food in the movie theatre” rule as rigorously enforced everywhere as general media would suggest? TV shows make it seem pretty militant but they might be exaggerating for comic effect.

147) Is kindergarten a part of the compulsory school system or is it more of an optional pre-elementary-school step that only some people attend? What do you do in a kindergarten?

148) What makes somebody a redneck? Is it just a catch-all for the rural poor or is there something more specific behind it?

149) Why is spring break supposedly this wild party time? What makes that a more suitable time for crazy shenanigans than, say, the autumn? Or July?

150) What is the difference between college and community college?

151) If you could pick one place to add as a new state, where would you choose?

152) If you had to get rid of one state, which one would you kick out of the union?

153) What is a letterman jacket for and why is it called a letterman jacket?

154) Washington DC. How does it work? I understand that it’s not a state, but if it’s not a state in a federal system, who governs it? Who runs the schools? And if the big elections are held by every state collecting their votes, figuring out the majority, then passing that on or whatever, how does Washington DC vote? Do they have people in the electoral college, whatever that turns out to be? What is going on there? Do real people actually live in DC or is it just politicians / people who serve politicians?

If you’ve actually read this far and have even the slightest intention of answering any of these questions, you are a true angel and I love you. I’m sorry they’re not divided up into thematic groups or anything like that. I’ve been collecting this list for a few years now and I thought I might as well just ask at this point.

#somebody has to be bored enough for this #please #america #americans #questions

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labyrinth-runner · 4 years ago

Text

Abby’s Original Stuff

Okay, so. Disclaimer. This is completely original stuff. (Currently untitled. Currently have like. 4 chaps written?) This is the first part. Its about 8000 words. Essentially the story is told through like first person and then there’s diary recaps in it because she’s keeping a journal.

Prologue, Somewhere in New England

“Alright, Class of 2018, turn those tassels!”

I couldn’t help the giant grin I felt spreading across my face as I stared out at my classmates from the podium. I had done it: I had finally finished law school. It had been a long, hard, and very expensive process, but I hadn’t given up. Inside I felt a mixture of happiness with a tinge of fear. Sure, I had just finished countless years of education to come out the other end, and I already had a new job at a law firm in New York City waiting for me to start at the end of the month, but I was also terrified. College is so easy compared to the real world. I had considerably less bills to pay while I was in school, and I didn’t have to worry about when my next meal would be since I had had a meal plan. Now, I would have to pay for the thousands upon thousands of dollars I had spent to receive my education on top of basic living expenses in New York City. That would be a problem for later, though. For now, I would celebrate with my classmates for what would be the last time until our reunion years from now where we’ll be showing off the successes we’ve had since law school.

I pushed any negative thoughts I had to the furthest reaches of my mind as I gripped my cap in my hands. I tossed my cap in the air, watching in soar towards the heavens along with my classmates’. In that moment, the sky was the limit and the world was my oyster.

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My eyes scanned around the light pink room, taking in the posters on the wall of boy bands since disbanded, the dozens of books on a bookshelf that had seen better days, the shelf of miscellaneous snow globes that had been collected from adventures over the years, finally settling on a small music box on top of a bureau. I looked down at the small blue box adorned with the word “Daughter”, rubbing my thumb across it fondly before flipping it up. My ears were greeted by the sound of “You Are My Sunshine” playing, having been wound up long ago but forgotten. I carefully pulled out a ring made up of gemstones of different colors. I slipped it onto my finger and closed my eyes. I could almost picture it being on the hand that originally wore it. It was an older, slightly wrinkled hand, but it was attached to my grandmother.

“Oh, if only you were here to see how far I’ve come,” I sighed before taking the ring back off. I gingerly placed it back into the music box, closing it and carefully placing it into a box. I closed the flaps and taped up the opening before turning back to look at the boxes strewn around my room.

I promptly decided that I was way too stressed at the moment and decided to head down to the kitchen for some good ole stress baking. It had been a week since I had graduated. I was busy packing my things into three separate piles: trash, storage, and New York bound. Looking around my childhood bedroom, I felt a pang of nostalgia as I carefully weighed the sentimental value of various items, deeming them worthy of finding a home in my tiny future apartment, worthy of making it into my future home, or worthy of the landfill. My parents had told me to sort through my things, my mother had insisted that they were going to turn my room into a guest room. However, I knew better than to take mom’s words to heart. I knew my dad would make sure that most of my things that were labeled as “storage” would end up in a room that would serve as a guest room, but would still closely resembled the room I knew and loved as a child. My dad is of the belief that every child, no matter how old, deserved to have a bedroom they could come back to when they visited home.

As I walked into the kitchen, I immediately preheated the oven to 350 degrees. I had no idea what I was going to bake yet, but that’s the magic number for most baked goods. I went around the kitchen opening and closing cabinets looking for maybe a bit of divine inspiration as to what to bake when I accidentally closed the fridge a little too hard, sending a piece of paper that had been tacked up with a magnet spiraling to the ground. I bent down to pick it up and smiled. It was a recipe for snickerdoodle cookies that I had left for my mom when I had first left for school. I discovered it by accident one day during the summer when I was stressed about work and was looking for something to bake, but didn’t have any of the conventional ingredients to bake with. I ended up using pancake mix to make cookies. They were so good that my mom made me write the recipe down before I left for school that fall so that she could make them for work parties.

I glanced down at the recipe, written in my very messy handwriting. It read:

Snickerdoodle Cookies (The internet may call them “Friendship Cookies” but they are wrong!)

3 cups pancake mix

2 ½ sticks of soft butter

¾ cups sugar

2 tablespoons molasses

2 eggs

dash of vanilla

cinnamon and sugar for dip mix

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Mash up butter, molasses, and eggs in mixing bowl.

3. Pour in pancake mix, sugar, and dash of vanilla.

4. Mix together until a dough-like consistency forms.

5. Cover bowl in cling wrap or foil and chill in fridge for 30 to 45 minutes.

6. Add equal parts of cinnamon and sugar into a small cereal bowl. You can really just eyeball this.

7. Spray either your hands or a spoon with cooking spray depending on how messy you wish to get.

8. Form dough balls and then coat them in the cinnamon sugar mix from the bowl before placing them on a bake tray.

9. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until you can stab them and they pass the toothpick test.

I nodded to myself, taking in the recipe before setting up the counter with my ingredients. It had been a while since I had stress-baked. I hadn’t done it since before my big law exam two months ago. Most people don’t like to bake when they’re stressed, because then it easily turns into stress eating, but sometimes that’s just a risk you’ve got to take. Really, stress baking is only problematic when you live by yourself and don’t have other people to also eat your baked goods when you’ve finished them. Baking, to me, was easy. It was something I could do kind of on auto pilot, but it was time consuming enough that it took my mind off whatever was worrying me. It also helps when you have music going, so I pulled my phone out and started blasting some tunes out of the speaker before starting to mix my ingredients together. My dad peeked his head into the doorway.

“Packing is going that bad?” He asked as he came in and sat down at the counter.

“It’s not that it’s going bad, per se, but it’s just a reminder of how far reaching the looming shadow of my future has become,” I responded as I folded my ingredients over and over again trying to get the right dough consistency.

“It’s not as scary as you think,” he assured me, “but, we can talk about it if you want. I’ll even break out the good scotch from the top shelf.”

“I’ll take you up on that. Let me just pop this into the fridge to set for a bit,” I replied as I pulled the aluminum foil out of a drawer. I cut a piece to fit the bowl, tucking it around the bowl’s edge before returning the rest of the foil to the drawer and popping the bowl in the fridge. My dad grabbed two glasses from the dish cabinet and the scotch from its place on the special occasion shelf. That was the shelf where we kept the fancy booze and the serving trays reserved for company. It’s also the highest shelf because I couldn’t reach it as a kid and I had a habit of breaking things on accident.

I set a timer for 35 minutes and walked around the counter to our designated dining room space. It was basically an eat-in kitchen, but since the dining room table wasn’t actually in the dining room, my mom would get mad at us for calling it that. I plopped down into a chair, taking a glass from my dad. He sat across from me, passing me the bottle of scotch after he had poured himself a drink. I only poured myself a small amount, just enough to get me through this conversation.

“So, what are you stressed about?” my dad asked in that way that parents ask their children questions even though they know the answer will be a silly one.

“I’ll be in a new city. Alone,” I sighed.

“You were at college. Alone,” my dad responded, taking a sip of his drink.

“Yeah, but that was different. College isn’t real life. College is like fake real life. It’s like a weird in-between step between adolescence and adulthood where you’re not quite a full adult, but you also can’t get away with the things you got away with as a kid either. It’s like going from a tricycle to a bicycle with training wheels,” I explained. My dad just chuckled.

“Ella, you have to take the training wheels off at some point. Sure, it’ll be a little hard to get your balance at first, but then you’ll be fine,” he said, patting my hand. I took a sip of my scotch. It burned my throat a little. I’m not sure if I actually like scotch.

“Dad,” I continued, “what if I fail?”

“You’re not going to fail. Besides, even if you do, although it’s highly improbable, you know you can always come back home. You know you’ll always have a room here.” See? I knew he wouldn’t let mom turn my room into a guest room.

“I guess you’re right,” I sighed.

“Is there anything else that’s bothering you?” he asked.

“Aside from the fact that I have too much shit?” I countered.

“Well, if you went through your stuff all those times your mother told you to back when you were younger, this wouldn’t be as hard,” he teased.

“Yeah, yeah,” I waved him off. My timer on my phone went off, so I downed the rest of my scotch and went back into the kitchen. I pulled my bowl of dough out of the fridge and started to finish my cookies so that they could be baked.

“Ella?”

“Yes?”

“I know you’re worried about your future and failing, but that’s a normal feeling. You’ve always done well, so I know you’ll do fine in New York. Don’t stress out about it too much,” he told me before placing our glasses in the sink and returning the scotch to the top shelf.

“I’ll try not to.” My dad kissed my forehead as I continued shaping my cookies.

“Do or do not, there is no try,” he said and winked at me before leaving the room. I used up all the dough and popped the baking tray into the oven, setting another timer for 15 minutes. I cleaned up all the things I had used and put them back. I used to not always do that when I was younger, and my mom would read me the riot act for it. I’ve since learned that if I can’t clean as I go while baking, that I should at least clean up everything afterwards to avoid her wrath.

I rapped my knuckles against the counter, trying to think of something to do while I waited for my cookies to bake. The kitchen was already starting to smell like cinnamon. It reminded me of the holidays. I looked over and saw my cat slinking out from the living room, stretching like he just woke up from a nap. I smirked as I slowly tiptoed over to where he was near the table before I pounced. I picked him up in my arms, rocking him back and forth as he tried to push off me.

“Hey, Mac, is that any way to treat the person who loves you,” I asked as I gently placed him down on his cat tree. He looked up at me with an indignant glare, but I just scratched his black fur behind his ear. He started purring and kneading his tree.

We’ve had Mac for years, so I can play him like a fiddle. Mac’s short for Macbeth. We were reading it while I was in high school when we adopted him. Dad worked in a theatre, though, and saying Macbeth is considered unlucky, so we shortened it to Mac. I’ve seen him high on catnip, though, so I can confirm that he is just as ruthless when he wants something as the Shakespearean character. I’ve got the scars to prove it. I know he didn’t mean it, though. You can’t hold a cat accountable for his actions when he’s high on catnip.

“Are you going to miss me, buddy?” I asked as I kneeled down to be eye level with him. I tilted my head forward and he bumped his forehead against mine. I read somewhere that that is the equivalent of a cat kiss. Or at least, I like to think it is.

“I’ll take that as a yes,” I smiled, “I’ll miss you too. I’ll even miss having to constantly buy lint rollers to get your fur off my clothes.” He always had a way of sitting on my white shirts, which wouldn’t be a problem except for the fact that he’s a black cat that sheds a lot. Mac looked up at me and blinked. It was almost as if he knew I had kind of insulted him, but also, he’s a cat.

I went back into the kitchen to check my cookies. My timer hadn’t even gone off yet, but I had made them smaller than normal so they were already done. I pulled them out of the oven and left them on the counter to cool. Although, I couldn’t help picking one up and eating it. I had to make sure they came out okay, after all. It burned a little bit, but it tasted amazing. I shot a thumbs up at Mac and went back up to my room.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

With a bit of energy, I started packing again. I was getting into the zone, which is hard to do when you’re packing. It’s almost like when you’re trying to clean your room, but keep getting distracted by all the cool stuff you forgot you had accumulated over the years. That’s what packings like, except it’s worse, because they you have to evaluate whether or not that item is worth keeping, whereas with cleaning you just have to find another drawer to shove it into and forget about it until the next time you clean. I went on this way for quite some time until a knock at the door pulled me from my task.

I smiled, knowing the familiar sound of the Shave and a Haircut rhythm as the calling card of my grandpa. He had always used that knock since he moved in with us when I was a kid.

“Come in, Gramps,” I called out as I finished taping up the box I had just filled.

“How’s the packing going, sweet pea?” He asked as he peeked his head around the door. His slippers finally passed through the doorway. He was in his flannel shirt and a pair of jeans, probably just coming back from a trip out to the river to read. He entered and handed me a hot cup of tea, “I figured you could use a pick-me-up.”

“Thanks,” I replied as I took the mug from him and sat down on my bed, “and it’s going pretty good. I’ll hopefully be done by the end of the week. I guess I overestimated how much time it would take to pack things up since I don’t leave for New York until two weeks from Saturday.”

“Well, that works out perfectly!” he beamed as he sat down on the bed next to me.

I crinkled my nose in confusion, “Perfectly for what?”

“For your trip!”

“Grandpa, I’m not taking a trip,” I told him slowly. I know people can become a little forgetful when they get older, but I had hoped we had a few more years before Gramps started going senile. I guess I was wrong.

“Don’t speak to me like I’ve got Alzheimer’s. I know what I’m saying kiddo,” he said as he patted my leg.

Alright, I’ll admit I was intrigued. I decided to bite. “I don’t understand, Gramps. What trip?”

I watched as he reached into the front pocket of his flannel shirt and produced a folded envelope. He handed it to me with a cat-ate-the-canary grin. “This trip.”

I took the envelope from his hands, skeptically looking over at him as I opened it. He definitely looked proud of himself. As I looked down and pulled out the printed sheet of paper, I knew why. It was the confirmation information for a two-week cruise.

I gasped, “Grandpa, you didn’t! But why? And more importantly, how? You don’t even know how to work a laptop when you want to find the stores for your hobby models.”

He shrugged, “I just figured that while most people take breaks and go places during the school year or during the summer, you never did that. A vacation is long overdue. Plus, you should start your new job feeling refreshed and rearing to go. You can’t give ‘em hell if you feel like hell.” Then he smiled at me, “as far as the actual logistics behind how I got the ticket, I had your dad look it up.”

I smiled at the prospect of another family vacation. It had been years since we had all done something together. “This will be so much fun! How are we splitting up the cabins?”

“There’s no need to split up anything when it’s just you.”

I paused, looking down at the confirmation paper in my hand. It just had me listed as a passenger. “You guys aren’t going?”

“Not this time. It’s time you did something for yourself and have your own adventures. You know, get some stories to talk about at the water bubbler during breaks,” he smiled, “and on a two-week trip around the Caribbean, that should be no problem. Your dad even helped me find a ship that has studio cabins, so you’ll have it all to yourself. You even get access to a special lounge for other solo travelers. Knowing you, you’ll easily make friends with some of them.”

I was in shock. “Gramps, I don’t know what to say. Thank you!” I wrapped my arms around his neck and gave him a big hug.

I felt him pat my back as he hugged me, “We’re so proud of you. You deserve a break, sweet pea. It’s long overdue.”

I pulled back and put the ticket on my nightstand so that it wouldn’t get lost in the mess of my packing.

“Well, I’ll let you get back to it,” he sighed as he pushed himself up off the bed. He reached the door and turned back to me, “Oh, and your Ma wanted me to tell you that dinner should be ready by five.”

I nodded to him and he left. I scooted myself back so I could lean against my headboard. I took a sip of my tea and surveyed the room before letting out a sigh. It looked so bare. If I closed my eyes, I could see myself as a teen struggling through some mundane high school drama or as a small child in the corner of the room playing with my old dollhouse. Where had the time gone? Sure, I was antsy to move out and start living my life, but I felt like I was a tight-rope walker who had been taught enough that I would be expected to do the tricks without a safety net now. What would happen if I fell? I shook my head and took another sip of tea before placing the mug on the table next to my ticket. I couldn’t help but smile as I looked at the slip of paper. That was enough motivation to finish packing in a record time if I kept up this pace. I turned back to my room, sliding off my bed and picking up another box. I assembled it, taping up the edges before placing more of my memories inside it. I pulled out the marker and labeled it “NYC.” My movements were almost mechanistic as the time ticked on until it was time for dinner.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I slid into my chair at the table after setting the table for my mom. I didn’t set the table that often, but knowing I would be leaving home in a couple weeks made me want to try to help out more. Part of me knew that I would miss them like crazy, which is silly considering I had just spent the past couple years apart from them at school. Moving away was basically the same thing, but it just felt different. I figured that I should try to memorize everything about my parents, even the small things. Those are the things we usually forget about people. I didn’t want to do that.

My mom placed the Dutch oven on a pot holder and lifted the lid. We were having stew that night, which for most people would be considered too hot to eat in the middle of May, but it had been a chilly, rainy spring day. In other words, it was the perfect day for a nice warm stew. I’d also like to take this moment point out that there is a difference between soup and stew. Soup is for cold, snowy days in winter, or for when you’re sick. Stew is for those wet and rainy days in spring and fall. You know the days, they’re the days where it’s not quite freezing outside, but it’s cold enough that if you stayed out long enough, a chill would probably settle deep into your bones. They’re the days where I like to watch the raindrops slide down the window from my spot on the couch where I’m wrapped up in a blanket, sipping tea, and reading a book. In fact, that was my plan for what I was going to do after dinner was over, but I still had to get through my meal first.

I dipped my spoon into my stew and lifted it to my mouth, but I put it back down before I could even take a bite. Everyone was looking at me expectantly.

“What?” I asked, bewildered.

“Are you excited?” My mom beamed at me as she tucked her brown hair behind her ear. It was beginning to fall out of her hairclip. She always put it up when she was cooking.

“Yeah, it’ll be nice to get away and relax before jumping into my new job,” I nodded. If I were to be honest, I still hadn’t given it much thought after the initial excitement had worn off. I was too overwhelmed by packing everything. That isn’t to say that I was ungrateful for the gift. I had just forgot about it for a little bit.

“I would love to go on a cruise, but you know how I get on boats,” my mom sighed.

“Oh, I know,” I said as I went to go pick up my spoon again. She gets very seasick. The last time we went on a boat trip together, she refused to go above deck. Apparently the seasickness gets worse if she actually looks at the water moving.

“Have you thought about what you wanted to do on the trip? The cruise has quite a bit of shore excursions you can sign up for. I can show you the website after dinner,” my dad chimed in. He carefully took his glasses off before he started to eat. Even with just having the bowl sitting near him, it was hot enough to fog up his glasses. I smiled at the small gesture.

“I hadn’t even thought of that,” I admitted. I had been too busy packing up my life and thinking about how much I was going to miss my parents that I didn’t even think about the things I would be doing on the cruise.

“They have all sorts of things at each port. You can still get off the ship even if you aren’t going on an excursion though,” my dad informed me.

“Tell her about the manatees, John,” my grandpa told him.

“MANATEES?” I exclaimed. Manatees are one of my favorite animals. A lot of people thought that was weird growing up, because basically they’re just knock-off mermaids, but I always thought they were cute. They’re these big sea cows and I am so happy that they are no longer as endangered as they once were.

“Oh, yeah. Your grandpa and I were looking at that. It’s one of the excursions in Florida, you can go swim with the manatees,” my dad nodded as he took another bit of his stew.

I couldn’t help it, I squealed. “Sign me up!”

“I have to tell you, though. There’s a catch to this cruise,” my mother told me as she wiped her mouth with a napkin. I sighed. There’s always a catch.

“What is it?” I asked, feeling a bit deflated. I probably had to host holidays at my new apartment for the next ten years or something like that.

My mom got up from her chair and went over to the closet. She came back with a little gift bag and handed it to me. Ignoring the inner child in me that wanted to tear through the tissue paper, I gently removed it and took a peek inside. Sitting in the bag were two books. I pulled them out and put the bag on the floor so I could take a closer look at them.

“A photo album and a journal?” I asked, tilting my head as I looked them over. They were pretty cute. The journal had the phrase “adventure is out there” written over a picture of the globe. I could dig it. The photo album was fairly plain in comparison, with only a leather spine and a navy cover.

“I want you to document your adventures. You start work soon, and I know how you throw yourself into your work. I figured that if you ever get super stressed, you can pull this out and remember a time where you weren’t,” my mom shrugged. It was a thoughtful gesture.

“Do I have to take the photo album with me on the cruise, or would it be okay with you if I just packed it for New York and put it together afterwards?” I asked. I wouldn’t have a use for it while on the boat since I wouldn’t be getting the pictures developed until later anyways.

My mom tapped her chin in thought before rolling her eyes, “I guess that would be okay.” She smiled at me before looking over at my dad and grandpa, “Does anyone want seconds? Or do you just want desert?”

“Helen, I know I didn’t raise you, but I think that I’ve lived with you and John long enough that you should know the answer to that question by now,” Gramps said, giving her a look.

“Alright, Dad, I’ll go get the cookies that Ella made earlier,” my mom nodded.

“Is Mom’s stew not good enough for ya, Gramps?” I teased.

“No, it was really good, but I want to sample some of my granddaughter’s baking before she moves away and I don’t get to have them for a while,” he laughed.

“Nice save,” I said, gently elbowing him. I was going to miss this. The witty banter and jokes. All I’d have to look forward to at home in New York would be streaming websites to watch movies on after work. Maybe I’d get a pet. I’d always wanted a rabbit.

My mom returned with a plate of my cookies and placed them on the table. Everyone seemed to enjoy them. To be fair, they were really good. They basically melted in your mouth, but left you with a nostalgic after taste. Maybe I was just biased because I made them and snickerdoodles were my favorite cookie, but I thought they were great.

“How’s the packing going?” Gramps asked.

“Well enough. I should be finished in a day or two,” I said after giving it a quick thought.

“That’s good. Don’t forget to start packing for your cruise now, too. You don’t want to pack all your clothes just to have to unpack them to pack for your cruise,” my mom pointed out. She made a good point.

“I’ll start that tomorrow. Can we look at the shore excursions?” I asked my dad.

“Sure, let me just bring up the website,” my dad said as he went into the other room and came back with his laptop.

We spent an hour or two looking over the different shore excursions as well as what was offered to tourists at the various destinations that the cruise ship didn’t have as an excursion and it helped me narrow down what I wanted to do a lot. The manatees were a must, and there were some other cool excursions to beaches and historical sites that I decided to add onto my trip as well. It was shaping up to be really cool.

Eventually, I started to get tired and said goodnight to my family before heading back up to my room. I had to move some boxes around, dropping my new photo album into one of the ones labeled “NYC.” Then, I pulled out the travel journal my mom had given me. I knew I technically wasn’t on my trip yet, but I felt as though finding out about it really marked the start of my trip, and that was just as important as the stuff that I did on the ship as well. I changed into my pajamas, and crawled into bed. I turned on the light on my nightstand and decided to write my first entry.

May 20th

Today my mom gave me this journal so that I could chronicle my adventures at sea. She wants me to be able to look back on them whenever I get stressed from work. It’s a pretty good idea, so I decided to do it. I’m not currently on the cruise. The cruise sets sail this Saturday, but I decided to document the events that led up to my journey as well as the actual journey itself, because I think they’re important. Plus, it’s been a while since I journaled and I forgot how cathartic it is. I really should get back into it, especially with how stressed I’ll probably be at my new job. I can’t constantly stress bake a batch of cookies. If I did, then at the rate that I’ll be baking I might as well just give up my dream of being a lawyer and just open up my own bakery. It’s either that or end up as a contestant on the biggest loser from all the cookies I’ll have eaten. Is that show even still on? Who knows. I’m not even really stressed about the job. I’m more so just stressed that I’ll mess up and end up having to move back home. That would be so embarrassing, not to mention my parents will probably be pretty disappointed. They would never say that to my face, though. I really just want them to be proud of me. That’s part of the reason I became a lawyer. It was something that they could brag about to their friends and coworkers. I mean, sure, I love the law, but I love seeing my parents happy more. Wow, this got deep for a journal entry about receiving a cruise ticket from my Grandpa. Dear old Gramps… my mom always used to say that my dad was my favorite family member whenever she and I used to go at it during my teenage years, but it’s really my Grandpa. He’s my hero. Not just because he bought me those tickets. That’s just the kind of stuff he does, though. He just wants to make his family happy. I can’t wait to go on this cruise! I just have to start packing tomorrow.

WHAT TO PACK:

-bathing suit (Duh)

-Flip flops (best shoe known to man)

-cocktail dress(es?)

-heels to go with the dress (beauty is pain)

-Those strappy wedges I bought a couple years back

-Tank tops

-Flowy shirts

-Bottoms

-Maybe a light button down

-Sundresses?

-Sneakers (For exploring)

-Sunscreen

-Umbrella (Be prepared)

-Sweater

-Jacket

-Toiletries (INCLUDING TOOTHBRUSH. No repeats of freshmen orientation)

-Underwear, bras, socks

-Pajamas

-Floppy sunhat. (It’s the Bahamas. Everyone needs a floppy sunhat)

-THIS JOURNAL

I’m definitely going to need to use the big suitcase…

-E

My days passed by in a blur until it was the day to leave for New York. My parents had offered to drive me to the docks so I wouldn’t have to worry about what to do with my car while I was gone. I really appreciated it. The plan was to move my things into my apartment, unpack enough that it’s functional for when I come back, spend the night and then drive to the ship in the morning. My parents were packing an air mattress so they could crash on the floor of my living room for the night. I was currently driving my car down the highway into New York, singing along to the music I listen to when no one’s around while my parents followed closely behind in their car. I was kind of shocked that most of my things fit into our two cars, but it helped that I was able to buy most of my furniture online and have it delivered later once we arrived. If it did get there before we do, then my landlord said he’d let them into my apartment. My bases were covered.

It was that confident feeling of having everything in place for once that made me crank up the volume on my radio. I could feel the bass course through my veins as I held onto the steering wheel. I have a weird obsession with early 2000s punk music and movie soundtracks. Really, my music taste is all over the place and there’s no in between. I was almost driving as fast as the beat of the song when we hit the infamous New York traffic. If I wanted to listen to something that went as slow as I did once we hit that, I’d probably listen to Largo, but who wants that? I opened my window and leaned my arm against the door. At least it was nice out. It was sunny and warm, but not hot. There was a nice cross breeze. I went to breathe in deeply, thinking it would be like the nice ocean breeze from back home. I was wrong. It smelled like sewer and pollution. I don’t think I could close my window fast enough. When I had gone apartment hunting, I had taken the train and almost went directly to Queens, so I hadn’t experienced the rich aroma of the part of the city I was currently trapped in. Then again, I don’t think anything could have prepared me for this moment. I felt like a tourist in this city that was going to be my new home. I looked at the estimated time of arrival on my phone’s GPS. Apparently we were only a couple of blocks away, yet it would take us another thirty minutes to get there at this rate and with the way the city is laid out. I just hoped my parents were doing okay in their car. My dad wasn’t exactly the most patient driver.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Eventually we made it to my apartment building on 37th avenue in Murray Hill, Queens. I parked my car on the side of the street before getting out to stretch. It wasn’t like I had been in the car for a super long time, but it had been long enough to cause some discomfort. My parents pulled up behind me shortly after. They got out and looked around the courtyard that marked the entrance.

“Not bad,” my mom nodded.

“For New York,” my dad added, “remember, there’s no shame in moving back home.”

“John! Be nice,” my mother hissed.

“I am, Helen. Ella knows I’m just kidding,” he said defensively.

I rolled my eyes and popped the trunk of my car to grab a box. “I don’t think my furniture is here yet, but I figured we could take a box or two in on the first trip and check,” I told them.

“Alright, honey. Just tell us where you want things to go when we get in,” my mom said.

I balanced my box on my hip as I shut my trunk before heading to the building. The landlord had given me the keys when I signed my lease last month, so I dug them out of my purse and opened the door for my parents.

“It’s not a penthouse suite, but I like it,” I shrugged as we walked through the front door. I put my box down against the wall and turned to see my parents’ reaction. My dad was looking around and nodding appreciatively, while my mother was craning her neck to see into the different doorways.

“As you can see, it’s fairly spacious for New York. I know you both thought I would be living in a broom closet under a set of stairs. This is the living room and possible dining room if I ever feel like buying a table. The kitchen is the first door to the right, the door straight ahead is my bedroom, and the bathroom is the second door on the right,” I explained as I pointed out the appropriate doorways.

“It’s cute,” my mom said. She then went to go put the box she was carrying into the kitchen.

“Well, I went through and labeled all the boxes with their appropriate room destinations. Go team!” I laughed as I went back out to my car to get some more boxes. On my way back, the men with my furniture showed up and started unloading their cargo. My dad took over directing them while my mom started unpacking my kitchen items for me. It kind of reminded me of when I first moved into college. All of my roommates had taken hours to unpack their things, but it had taken me two hours with the help of my parents. I had the same expectations for today’s move. We Manchesters know how to get things done efficiently and we work together really well. That’s probably something that I’ll miss the most when my parents go home. I couldn’t help the small nostalgic smile that crept across my face as I placed the box I was carrying in the bedroom.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It took about five hours to get the furniture in place and put back together. While my dad worked on putting things together, my mom and I unpacked the various rooms. I finished unpacking my closet and went to check in on my mom in the kitchen.

“How are thing’s going?” I asked. My mom closed the cabinet she just finished filling and broke down a card board box.

“Well, your kitchen is set up. Your father is currently testing out the couch to make sure it was put together properly when he should be unpacking your living room boxes,” she smirked.

“To be fair, Mom, he did help put together a lot of furniture. He can take a break. I can unpack my movies and books,” I told her as I walked towards the boxes next to the entertainment center.

“How’s your bedroom looking?” my dad asked from the couch.

“Pretty good. I have the sheets on my bed, my clothes are away. The only thing I have left to do is hang up some art, but my arms didn’t feel like going above my shoulders anymore, so I figured I’d come out here. At least I can sit on the floor to unpack this,” I smiled.

“If I’m being honest, I was a little worried about what your apartment was going to look like since you refused to show us photos, but it looks great. With all your stuff in here it feels really home-y,” he replied,

“As home-y as you can get without actually being home,” my mom added as she sat down next to my dad.

“So, I was thinking pizza for dinner?” my dad offered.

“Sounds good. There’s a pizza parlor down the street. Do you guys want to eat there or do you want to order in and watch a movie?” I asked.

“We can order in. It’ll be our last meal together for a while. I’d rather spend it together in your new home. We should set up the air mattress soon, though. Just in case the walls are thin. I’d rather not blow it up in the middle of the night and risk irritating your neighbors,” my mom reasoned.

I nodded in response, unpacking the last of my box. I walked into my room to retrieve my phone from my bed. I ordered us a large pizza and a regular salad. Then, I grabbed the air mattress from my closet and dragged it out into my living room.

“I don’t think I have the sheets that fit this, so you might just have to sleep with a comforter,” I told my parents as I set it up.

“That’s okay. Your father is essentially a human heater, anyway. I don’t need anything that will make me more hot when I’m trying to sleep,” my mom chuckled.

“What movie do you guys want to watch?” I asked, thumbing through my options.

“Pick a classic one that we all like,” my mom replied. I smiled, slowly pulling out Kiki’s Delivery Service from my collection. We always watched this movie when I was a kid. Somehow it always made me feel better no matter how bad of a day I had had. It seemed fitting to watch it together now.

“Oh, that’s my favorite!” My mom smiled.

Eventually, dinner arrived and we settled in to watch the movie. Afterwards, we all got ready for bed. It had been a long day, but I still wanted to write something in my travel journal before sleep claimed me.

Dear Journal,

Today was the day of the big move. It didn’t seem as big once I got home. I think it took us about six hours to get everything into my little apartment. It’s hard to believe that this will be the last time my parents and I are under the same roof for a while. It’s also hard to believe that this is my own apartment! I feel like such an adult. Although, saying that you feel like an adult makes you seem like not actually an adult. It’s crazy to think that my trip is tomorrow. I honestly don’t know how to describe what I’m feeling at the moment. I’m excited for all the new adventures I’m embarking on, but I’m also sad for the things I’m leaving behind. I just have to keep telling myself that when one chapter ends, another begins, and that a chapter ending does not necessarily mean a bad thing. Sure, this is a major life change, and sure this feels like taking the training wheels off of a bike and then immediately getting pushed down a hill… wait, where was I going with this? It’s been a long day, journal. Don’t judge me. I should go to bed now since we have to get up kind of early. The dock isn’t too far from here, but New York traffic is notorious, and my parents want to get breakfast before we leave at this little café across the street. The next time we talk I’ll be on a ship heading into the great unknown… well, not really unknown. We have an itinerary, but, you know what I mean, don’t you? See you tomorrow!

-E

#original story #Abby's work #Working Title

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our-happygirl500-fan · 5 years ago

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You know something? I absolutely hate comic ages and timelines because they keep on switching round and changing and some characters are allowed to age and some characters aren’t so when I try to figure out the age difference between characters I’m just like does this work? Does this work?

For example Dick’s been allowed to grow into adulthood yet Bruce isn’t allowed to be a day past 45 at most unless we’re looking at a future timeline like the Dark Knight Returns or Batman Beyond.

Damian became 13 with DC Rebirth so he could have his own Teen Titans team yet Tim, Steph and Cass have somehow aged backwards. Like Cass is supposed to be the same age as Jason (a few months older than him in fact), Steph was in college before the reboot and Tim was nearly 18 yet Tim, Steph and Cass have all been aged down to be 16 or the same age as Duke which is confusing (like there is not a three year age difference between Damian and Tim, Tim would have died in their first meeting if that was the case)

Dick’s age when his parents died has been switched around to be somewhere between 8-12, the later making more sense considering that Tim was supposed to be 3 when he met Dick at the circus and if he had met Dick when Dick was 8-9 there would have been a 5-6 year age difference which wouldn’t work since Jason met Bruce when he was 12 and Dick had just gone off to college making the age difference between Jason and Dick 5-6 years.

So to make sense of the ages let’s say that Dick became Robin at 12 Bruce in his early to mid 20′s when he takes Dick in, Dick is Robin for six years goes off to college, becomes Nightwing, drops out, moves in with Titans ect, Bruce is in his late 20′s or early 30′s at this point he meets Jason at 12-13 Jason is Robin for around three years and dies and Bruce is in his early to mid 30′s at this point.

Makes sense so far right? Right? Wrong!

Because we’re bringing Carrie Kelly into this!

A popular thing to do in fanfiction is have Carrie Kelly be the baby that Steph gave up for adoption as it’s a cool thing to do to tie Carrie into the Batfamily and also saves the trouble of making an OC yet it’s not actually possible to have Carrie be Steph’s daughter as the Dark Knight Returns is supposed to take place ten years after Jason’s death and Jason is two years older than Steph and Steph had her baby when she was 15 (got pregnant at 14) meaning that there’s about a 17 year age gap between Jason and Steph’s baby and Steph’s baby would have been around 8 at the time of the Dark Knight Returns and both Carrie and Bruce’s ages are clearly listed as 13 and 55 respectively which means that there’s a 12 year difference between Carrie and Jason.

That makes sense but Bruce being 55 during the Dark Knight Returns means that Bruce was supposed to be 45 when Jason died! Which means he was like what pushing 50 by the time Damian showed up? Which alright that I can give my parents were turning 50 when I was like 11 it happens but still wow, Bruce needs to retire and let Cass be Batman.

But anyway adding Carrie into the mix as well as the age differences we already know and taking into account that Steph is supposed to be nearly a year older than Tim and Cass is two years older than Steph as well as the fact that Cass is a few months older than Jason as she was already 18 when Bruce took her to Jason’s grave on Jason’s 18th Birthday and Jason and Steph’s Birthday’s are really close and Steph ‘dies’ a little later at 16. Also Damian is said repeatedly to be 10 during Steph’s Batgirl run “you’re a ten year old boy who doesn’t know how to have fun” and Steph is 18 in her first year of college and Tim is said to be 17 repeatedly in his Red Robin run which is furthur evidence that there’s around a one year age gap between Steph and Tim meaning there’s a 7 year age gap between Tim and Damian and an 8 year age gap between Steph and Damian. Damian is supposed to be 12 during Robin War and Duke is listed as 16 in the We Are Robin kid’s bios and we don’t really know if he’s turned 17 yet but let’s assume that there’s a 3-4 year age gap between Duke and Damian.

Barbara’s age is tricky because when she was first introduced she was already a grown up, as she was a librarian and already graduated college while Dick was still Bruce’s ward in fact Dick’s crush of Bab’s was originally supposed to be a sort of boy hood crush thing in her early appearances similar to Damian’s own crush on Steph but later on comics decided to make Barbara and Dick closer in age so they could set up a romance between the two and usually make Barbara around two years older than Dick since she went off to college before him. But then again Barbara’s age is funny especially since the reboot where it looks like DC wants to keep her young and they’ve always avoided saying her exact age unlike other characters but for the sake of simplicity let’s just say the age difference between her and Dick is two years.

So if Bruce is 55 in the Dark Knight Returns then the ages in the Dark Knight Returns that means the ages of the Batfamily in the Dark Knight Returns is:

Bruce: 55

Barbara: 33

Dick: 31

Cass: 25

Jason: 25

Steph: 23

Tim: 22

Duke: 19

Damian: 15

Carrie Kelly: 13

Okay clear concise ages and age differences so going by these ages the ages of the Batfamily during every big event would be:

Day at the circus:

Bruce: 36

Barbara: 14

Dick: 12

Cass: 6

Jason: 6

Steph: 4

Tim: 3

Duke: 0

Damian: -4

Carrie Kelly: -6

Jason Dies:

Bruce: 45

Barbara: 23

Dick: 21

Cass: 15

Jason: 15

Steph: 13

Tim: 12

Duke: 9

Damian: 5

Carrie Kelly: 3

Tim becomes Robin at 13 and meets Steph less than a year later while Steph’s 14, Steph get’s pregnant and the quake happens she has the baby at 15 and Cass becomes Batgirl at 17. Steph ‘dies’ at 16 and spends 1-2 years in Africa while Tim and Cass move to Bludhaven, Jason comes back, Bludhaven blows up, Bruce Dick and Tim travel for a year while Cass gets brainwashed by Slade and then rescued by Tim and Cass gets officially adopted. Damian shows up and then Steph comes back to Gotham then Bruce ‘dies’ and Batman Reborn happens.

Batman Reborn:

Bruce: 50

Barbara: 28

Dick: 26

Cass: 20

Jason: 20

Steph: 18

Tim: 17

Duke: 14

Damian: 10

Carrie Kelly: 8

Dick is Batman for a bit, Damian becomes Robin, Steph becomes Batgirl, Tim becomes Red Robin, Cass becomes Black Bat. After a few months Bruce comes back and starts setting but Batman incorporated, Steph goes to English boarding school for a bit Dick goes back to being Nightwing when Damian is 11 and Damian starts working with Bruce and the Leviathan stuff with Talia happens.Damian is 12 and goes off with Goliath trying to atone from the year of blood and We Are Robin happens, Bruce looses his memories gets them back, Damian is 13 forms his own Titans and Duke joins the Batfamily.

So currently what everyones ages SHOULD be in comics:

Bruce: 53

Barbara: 31

Dick: 29

Cass: 23

Jason: 23

Steph: 21

Tim: 20

Duke: 17

Damian: 13

Carrie Kelly: 11

Oh and before anyone says that Carrie appeared as a college student in the New 52 the New 52 continuity is a mess. Like Cassie, Connor and Bart all appeared in 2011 Teen Titans but then Bart and Connor disappeared and all three of them were reintroduced in Young Justice 2019. Raven’s age is a mess as well because she’s supposed to be Dick’s age but she kissed Wallace who’s only two years older than Damian and just you know it’s a mess I’m sticking to these ages this is like the third time I’ve tried to calculate this. I don’t even know where Terry or Helena’s even supposed to go.

But any way in conclusion Bruce is old and should retire and give Cass Batman

#DC comics #cassandra cain #stephanie brown #bruce wayne #barbara gordon #dick grayson #jason todd #tim drake #duke thomas #damian wayne #carrie kelley #batfamily #dc release a timeline that makes sense

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kayliemusing · 3 years ago

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1. Do you ever doubt the existence of others than you? - If you're talking about aliens or ghosts, yes lol

2. On a scale of 1-5, how afraid of the dark are you? - 3. I can manage but sometimes I get unnerved, especially if I'm alone in the dark outside

3. The person you would never want to meet? - Anyone who could hurt me

4. What is your favorite word? - Wonderstruck. I also like the word 'elegance' bc I like the way it sounds.

5. If you were a type of tree, what would you be? - cherry blossom tree

6. When you looked in the mirror this morning what was the first thing you thought? - 'Ew'

7. What shirt are you wearing? - I'm wearing a blue sweater

8. What do you label yourself as? - A few things: a romantic, writer, daydreamer, perfectionist, etc

9. Bright room or dark room? - Bright

10. What were you doing at midnight last night? - Heading to bed

11. Favorite age you’ve been so far? - I think I liked being seventeen, but I can't really remember

12. Who told you they loved you last? - My mom probably lol

13. Your worst enemy? - My sister's abusive ex

14. What is your current desktop picture? - A forest

15. Do you like someone? - No one in my real life, but I've developed a sudden crush on Evan Peters in the last 24 hrs lmao

16. The last song you listened to? - The Last Great American Dynasty by Taylor Swift, I think

17. You can press a button that will make any one person explode. Who would you blow up? - My sister's ex

18. Who would you really like to just punch in the face? - My sister's ex

19. If anyone could be your slave for a day, who would it be and what would they have to do? - Idk if I'd have a slave tbh lol

20. What is your best physical attribute? (showing said attribute is optional) - My hair, I guess

21. If you were the opposite sex for one day, what would you look like and what would you do? - I'd probably look like myself, but maybe taller and obviously more masculine. I don't know what I'd do. I don't think I'd be a writer, because maybe my experience would be different. So...not sure.

22. Do you have a secret talent? If yes, what is it? - This is weird and if anyone asks me, I'll deny it, but I can make stomach grumbling noises without opening my mouth. Honestly not hard to do, but I think I'm really good at it lmao

23. What is one unique thing you’re afraid of? - I don't really have a unique fear. I think what I'm afraid of is normal. I'm super afraid of failure, loss, and getting older bc I feel like growing old comes with loss. Terrified of spiders and most bugs. Deep water bc I can't swim well. So...Pretty basic I think.

24. You can only have one kind of sandwich. Every sandwich ingredient known to humankind is at your disposal. - A standard PB and J.

25. You just found $100! How are you going to spend it? - I'd probably just take it to the bank and put it in my bank account, which would most likely end up going towards makeup, books, skincare or clothes.

26. You just got a free plane ticket to anywhere in the world, but you have to leave immediately. Where are you going to go? - Maybe NYC? Or totally the opposite and going somewhere super quiet and beautiful, like a countryside in England or France lol.

27. An angel appears out of Heaven and offers you a lifetime supply of the alcoholic beverage of your choice. “Be brand-specific” it says. Man! What are you gonna say about that? Even if you don’t drink booze there’s something you can figure out… so what’s it gonna be? - I feel like an angel wouldn't offer me that, but maybe a dessert wine. I'm not really a fan of alcohol so Idk what else I'd choose lol.

28. You discover a beautiful island upon which you may build your own society. You make the rules. What is the first rule you put into place? - Everyone listens and loves Taylor Swift, if not, you're going to jail

29. What is your favorite expletive? - 'bitch' I think lol

30. Your house is on fire, holy shit! You have just enough time to run in there and grab ONE inanimate object. Don’t worry, your loved ones and pets have already made it out safely. So what’s the one thing you’re going to save from that blazing inferno? - My laptop

31. You can erase any horrible experience from your past. What will it be? - Probably an embarrassing moment. I would want to erase traumas but then I feel like that would actually end up messing everything up. i.e., would lead to confusion or misunderstandings about love, etc.

32. You got kicked out of the country for being a time-traveling heathen who sleeps with celebrities and has super-powers. But check out this cool shit… you can move to anywhere else in the world! - Interesting. I'm not sure what the question is, but if I could move anywhere else in the world, I'd probably move to a big city like NYC, Vancouver, or LA OR I'd go the opposite and move to a super cozy cottage in a countryside somewhere.

33. The Celestial Gates Of Beyond have opened, much to your surprise because you didn’t think such a thing existed. Death appears. As it turns out, Death is actually a pretty cool entity, and happens to be in a fantastic mood. Death offers to return the friend/family-member/person/etc. of your choice to the living world. Who will you bring back? - My dad

34. What was your last dream about? - Last night I had this bizarre dream that I was camping with Matthias from YouTube and he was being super mean to me lmao. Then all of a sudden I was in Calgary with my sister and we were just like wandering around.

35. Are you a good….[insert anything you’d like here]? - I feel like you're asking if I'm a good person, to which, I think yes.

36. Have you ever been admitted to the hospital? - No

37. Have you ever built a snowman? - Yes

38. What is the color of your socks? - I'm not wearing any, but they're usually white or black.

39. What type of music do you like? - Pop, Alternative/alternative pop, folk, country, country-pop, some 80s stuff, acoustic, etc. I span through a few genres, but I think I like something with a catchy melody and good songwriting.

40. Do you prefer sunrises or sunsets? - Sunrises

41. What is your favorite milkshake flavor? - Vanilla, bc i'm basic

42. What football team do you support? (I will answer in terms of American football as well as soccer) -I don't watch football oops

43. Do you have any scars? - A few. Mostly acne scars rip, but also a big scar on my elbow from when I fell off my bike when I was a kid. I have a few chickenpox scars on my forehead that like to peak out every now and again too.

44. What do you want to be when you graduate? - I already graduated High School, but I just applied to college so the plan is to be a Copy Editor and a novelist on the side.

45. If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be? - That I had a flat stomach

46. Are you reliable? - Tbh no. I think I'm pretty flaky :/

47. If you could ask your future self one question, what would it be? - How did it turn out?

48. Do you hold grudges? - Yes, unfortunately

49. If you could breed two animals together to defy the laws of nature, what new animal would you create? - Maybe like a bird and a chinchilla or a fox or something so it would be like this flying fox thing. Idk. I saw a fantasy drawing on pinterest of a bird/something-else and it was super cute.

50. What is the most unusual conversation you’ve ever had? - I don't know actually lol

51. Are you a good liar? - No, because I get super nervous and can't make eye contact or I start smiling. Even worse, sometimes it's both.

52. How long could you go without talking? - I'm pretty quiet, so a long time. Maybe a day, but not two days lol.

53. What has been you worst haircut/style? - I got a perm when I was in the sixth grade and everyone laughed at me so.

54. Have you ever baked your own cake? - Yes

55. Can you do any accents other than your own? - Not well, but sometimes I like to butcher a British and Australian accent. Usually happens when I'm alone which is worse.

56. What do you like on your toast? - Usually I'll just put margarine on it or jam. If I feel like being fancy, I'll put brown sugar and cinnamon on it.

57. What is the last thing you drew a picture of? - I probably doodled some hearts not too long ago

58. What would be you dream car? - Probably a red 1960-70s chevy convertible.

59. Do you sing in the shower? Or do anything unusual in the shower? Explain. - I talk to myself in the shower a lot which is weird but i'm just kinda processing my thoughts out loud lmao. Sometimes I'll sing or hum to myself.

60. Do you believe in aliens? - That would be a hard no.

61. Do you often read your horoscope? - No, unless it's in a fun meme like the signs as tv shows or something

62. What is your favorite letter of the alphabet? - I have never thought about this before tbh. Maybe S? or R? or C? Idk

63. Which is cooler: dinosaurs or dragons? - Dragons

64. What do you think about babies? - Cute

#survey

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sebsallowapologist · 4 years ago

Text

Pothos: 3

Thank you to everyone who continues to read and share what they think! Everyone enjoying it really makes me want to write more and more.

Enjoy!

***

“So should I leave?” He asks and the blood drains out of my face. Surely I wasn’t strong enough to will him back if he decided to really leave again. “Why?” I choke out and the teasing smile stays plastered on his face, but behind the eyes he looks tortured, like he’s in pain.

“Traditionally a gentleman comes by to pick up his date for dinner, leaving her time to get ready. If I'm not mistaken, I am pretty rusty at this. Perhaps times have changed?” He asks and I bite my lip. “I don’t go on many dates, so I wouldn’t know. And we have so much catching up to do and it’s still early.” I breathe and he nods, leaning back in my dining room chair. How was my $12 Ikea plastic chair keeping this Greek god up?

“You’re right, we do have lots to talk about. So do you enjoy your job?” He asks with a smile and I shake my head. “You don’t?”

“No, I do. But don’t you think I deserve to go first, questions wise?” I ask and Edward’s lips become a tight line. “Ah. Yes, what are you curious about?”

“What have you been doing the past... seven years?” I asked. “Where did you go when you left?”

“I haven’t settled down anywhere. I spent some time in the South, then South America. All over.” He explains and I sigh, not the answer I was looking for. “What were you doing in all those places? Anything important?” I ask, when I really want to know if whatever he was doing was worth ripping me to shreds.

He doesn’t answer and I roll my eyes, moving to stand up from the table. I didn’t wait 7 years to be lied to, or have things hidden from me. “No. Don’t.” He says and lighty places his cool hand on top of mine. It feels like fire ran up my arm and I was waiting for a burn that didn’t come.

I sit back in my chair and he takes my hand in his, playing with my fingers, refusing to look up at me. “I was hunting- not for food but- I was hunting Victoria.”

“Victoria? As in James’ Victoria?” I ask and he nods, turning my hand over to look at the scar that James gave me, the scar I’d become so attached to. Proof of a world that had disappeared. “She did not take it well when I had to kill James, I read that in her mind and I was never sure- but I had to be certain she wasn’t coming after you.”

“Did you find her?” I ask and he shakes his head, chuckling. “Turns out I am a horrible tracker.” I doubt that. He wasn’t horrible at anything.

“So where is Carlisle? And Esme? Were they with you?” I ask and he shakes his head no, still playing with my fingers. “They’re in New York, upstate but close enough to the city for Carlisle to work at a major hospital. He loves the intensity. Esme loves the museums and Alice is going to FID.” He smiles and I nod. Yes. The forever young repeating high school and college over and over and over again.

“They miss you.” He tells me and I nod sadly, “I miss them too.” I missed being 17, I missed my old life with all of them in it. I missed being taken care of. “Why are you sad? Is your head alright?” He asks and I nod. “Yeah- Yeah I’m just- reminiscing I guess.” I sigh and finish my water.

“May I ask you some questions now?”

“Sure.” I give in, I was too overwhelmed. I couldn’t figure out which question I wanted to ask next.

“Why Los Angeles? Because it’s warm?” He asks and I nod. “Yeah, warm. Big city. I like the distractions.” I answer and he nods. “Do you like your job?” He asks and I blush. It was like him asking if I liked his gift.

“I like my job. Well I like writing, answering to people isn’t as fun but it pays the bills and I could be doing a lot worse.” I smile and he laughs a little. “My parents get your magazine sent to the house. They’re very proud of you.”

My breath catches in my throat. “They are?” Didn’t they know they’re the ones that bought me the job, bought my education too.

“Of course.” He breaths, trying to sound as soothing as possible. “Aren’t Charlie and Renee?” He asks and I nod. “Yeah of course they just don’t- know.” Don’t know that I never earned that job- never earned anything I’ve had myself.

“I’m proud of you too.” He says and I scoff a little, my eyes pricking with tears. “Don’t cry.” He begs and stands up from the table very slowly. He grabs my side and lifts me off the chair, giving me all the time in the world to tell him no as he sets me in his lap.

It’s cold and hard, and it should be uncomfortable, but he molds his body around mine to fit me perfectly. “Why does that make you sad?”

A lot of reasons, I was sad because until today I guess that he never thought about me, or thought about me much. I was sad because he didn’t seem to realize that his gifts, the things that made me a successful person, brought me so much pain. Pain in that I never earned them. Guilt because I was taking them from someone who so badly deserved it.

“I was really hoping that something had changed, and that I’d be able to read your mind now. I should have known better.” He smiles and I laugh a little, it’s horse and broken. “Thank god you can’t read my mind.” I smile and he smiles back at me, “I do wish you’d tell me what you’re thinking.” He begs and I bite my lip.

If he knew how ungrateful I was for what he’d done for me- he’d leave again. Who wouldn’t?

“Tell me what you’re thinking first.” That would buy me enough time to think of something else to say.

“What I’m thinking? Well I’m thinking a lot. I haven’t felt this whole in years- so I’m celebrating that. You’ve somehow gotten more beautiful. I didn’t know that was possible.” He smiles and I feel the blood rush to my face. “Ah- even more so. You might be out of my league now.” he smiles and brushes his hand over my cheek. “I got old.” I mumble and he shakes his head.

“You’re 25, that is very far from old.”

“I’m older than Carlisle.” I remind him and Edward rolls his eyes. “No you’re not.”

I laugh a little and use some courage to brush his hair out of his face. “Now what are you thinking?”

“I’m just overwhelmed.” I sigh, which wasn’t a lie. “I’m so- I haven’t been this happy in a very long time. But I’m scared, I'm hurt. I’m a little mad. But I don’t even know if this is all real. It’s truly a lot for my little human brain.” I joke. I catch another cringe. God I hated seeing him so hurt over what’s become of me.

“Would you like to yell at me? Perhaps beat me up a little?” He asks, trying to keep it light.

“Ha! Well I have been taking boxing lessons.” I tell him and he looks surprised. “You have?”

“Mmhm. Charlie got real nervous when I went to UCLA and he begged. I did it to make him happy but I figured out that I really like punching things.” I smile.

Turns out, this is the funniest thing that Edward’s ever heard. He lets out a bellowing laugh and holds me tight as he curls over a little. “What!?” I ask and he shakes his head, trying to stop laughing. “It’s just- I can’t picture it.”

“Hey!” I huff a little offended. “I don’t have super human strength, excuse me, but I could hold my own.”

“I’d like to see that.” Edward smiles. I giggle a little at him. That settles and he taps my outer thigh with his hand. “So what would you like to eat tonight?”

“There's this Taco place that's really good around the block.” I tell him and he shakes his head. “No, I would like to take you somewhere nice. Alice sent me here with a suit. I think I have to use it.”

I roll my eyes at my former best friend. Sent him with a suit. Stupid “Well it’s Saturday. Anywhere good is going to be booked up.” I tell him and he shakes his head. “That's not a problem, where would you like to eat?”

Oh he thinks he can just take me anywhere? This was LA this wasn’t Forks. He couldn’t possibly just get a table wherever. “The Nice Guy.” I smile. A little challenge.

“Wonderful. What type of food is that?”

“Italian.” I laugh and he smiles. “Everything comes full circle doesn’t it?” It really did. “I should be going, I have to go get that suit and I should give my date time to get ready.”

My color leaves my face again. “You don’t have to do that. You can stay.”

“Bella.” He breathes and stands us up, placing his hand on my face. “I promise I’m coming back.”

“What if you don’t?” I ask. Because, god. What if this was just a wellness check? I couldn’t handle that. “Bella.” He makes my name sound like honey. “I came back because I couldn’t live another day without you in my life. I promise I am coming back.”

I guess if he did he did- and if he didn’t he didn’t- and I was going to have to deal with it either way. “Alright.” I sigh. He leans forward and places his cool lips on my forehead. “I’ll be back at 8:00, my Bella.” And just like that, he’s gone.

***

If Edward was going to come back, I was going to give him something that made him want to keep coming back. I was no longer the pubescent teenage girl I was when I knew him. I was older now, for better or for worse. I had a few gray hairs that most humans couldn’t see- but I’m sure he saw them, and I had a small wrinkle on the right side of my mouth.

But I had curves now, and I finally knew how to dress. Alice would be so proud at my small but well thought out closet. I got rid of the idea that dressing nicely and wearing make up was a sign of weakness and had fun with it.

I had one nice dress- my close the deal dress. Black with thin straps, it went to just above my knees but it hugged every curve I had. I kept the hair and make up simple, doing what I knew how, curl my hair and do some basic make up. Tonight wasn’t the night to try something new.

At 7:45 there was a knock at my door and my heart jumped into my throat. Oh thank god. I slip my black heels on. “Coming!” I rush to the door, throwing it open without bothering to look at the peephole. The anxiety I’d felt since he left melts away and I’m just standing in awe of him, of all his glory as he stands in my doorway holding a dozen roses.

“I said you didn’t have to get me flowers.” I laugh and he shakes his head. “I’m speechless.” He breathes and I smile. “Speechless, huh?” Never heard him speechless before, that's for damn sure.

“You look-” He just blinks. “There's not a word in any language I know that properly describes how you look.” he says and I shrug. “Good I hope?”

He scoffs, “Good doesn’t even begin to describe it.” I blush and take the flowers from him, walking to my kitchen to put them in some water.

Once I’m done with that I grab my phone and my purse and smile. “Should I call an uber?” I ask and he shakes his head, “I came prepared.” I hold my hands up in defeat. “Alright, let’s go to The Nice Guy with no reservation.” I tease.

“We have a reservation.”

“You’re- wild.” I laugh and follow him out the door. I turn around to lock up and when I look back up Edward’s standing on the curb, holding the door open to a very fancy car. “You know this is a city, people have eyes around here.” I warn and walk to the car. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” He smiles and holds out his hand to help me into the car.

An Aston Martin. Wow. He’s in the driver’s seat before I can finish a thought about the impressive car.

I didn’t forget what an insane drive Edward was, but I think my memories had dulled the intensity of it. We weaved in and out of cars on the busy street and I start to rethink honking at every douchebag who’d ever cut me off in an expensive car. Were they vampires too or just stupid humans?

I grab the door and Edward laughs a little. “I forgot you drive like we’re 30 minutes late for something.” I breathe and he smiles. “We’re not late, I just don’t like wasting time.”

“Wasting time with things like speed limits and red lights. Got it.” I breathe and he chuckles, “You’re so funny.”I want to tell him to look at the road but I know it would fall on deaf ears.

We make it to the valet at the restaurant and the man opens the door for me while Edward walks around the car at a human pace. He walks up to the hostess and smiles. “Cullen.” He tells her and she nods, looking him up and down. I was having insane flashbacks, but at least this time I knew I was hotter than the hostess at the front stand. So at least we were off to a better start self-esteem wise.

She leads us to a table near the back and Edward makes a show about pulling my chair out for me. I had only been on a few dates in my life, but of course Edward blew them all out of the water. He picks up the menu and I giggle a little bit, “What?” He asks and I shake my head. “Nothing. What looks good?” I ask and he shrugs. “I was looking over the wine list, what were you thinking about ordering for your meal? We can get a bottle that pairs well.”

“We do not need to order a bottle of wine.” I laugh. “I can order a glass.”

“Why not?”

“Because I don’t like to get fall down drunk when I go on dates with an ex-boyfriend, and I assume you won’t be drinking with me.” I smile and he nods. “A glass or two it is.” He smiles “You know I’ve been drunk before.” He smiles, proud of himself and I gasp, “Edward Cullen? Drunk?”

“Yes. My seventeenth birthday I stole some of my father’s whiskey. I can’t say I remember much else.” He chuckles and I smile. “I can’t picture it.” I shake my head and he nods. “Did you smoke pot in the 70s too?” I ask and he shakes his head no with a laugh.

I liked keeping it light, we had so much to talk about but I knew all the heavy topics were going to do nothing but hurt me, so while I could I was going to stay in the light.

The waitress comes by and asks for our order. “I’ll take the chicken with a glass of the beaujolais.” I smile and hand her my menu. “I will do the mushroom ravioli with a glass of the same.” He says with a smirk in my direction and she nods, writing it down, taking our menus.

“Aren’t you supposed to drink white wine with chicken?” He asks and I roll my eyes. “Aren’t you supposed to drink blood?” I counter and he nods with pursed lips. “Touch��, but the pasta is for you, I couldn’t not order something, it would be rude.”

“So rude.” I tease and he chuckles a little.

#twilight #twilight fanfic #twilight fanfiction #twilight saga #edward cullen #bella swan

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writing-to-stay-awake · 4 years ago

Note

ALL THE NUMBERS! *i didn’t even read them 😂

Wow Soph. Okay.

1. Do you ever doubt the existence of others than you?

Sure. Every once in awhile you get that weird feeling that the world only exists for you right? And then you have to remind yourself, you’re just a tiny speck and absolutely NOTHING is about you. I feel like that’s human, even if we don’t talk about it.

2. On a scale of 1-5, how afraid of the dark are you?

4. I’m not extrapolating unless we’re close.

3. The person you would never want to meet?

My exes parents. I’d never want to meet the person that instilled that fear in them. They sound awful while also being human enough and down to earth enough that someone normal like me could actually meet them.

4. What is your favorite word?

Fuck. It’s the most universal word that emphasizes description and can be placed anywhere in a sentence. I also love petrichor and ephemeral.

5. If you were a type of tree, what would you be?

Black Walnut.

6. When you looked in the mirror this morning what was the first thing you thought?

Wow, that’s a lot more color in my face than i’ve had. Must be feeling better. Great. Not bleeding out today.

7. What shirt are you wearing?

Grey Billabong tshirt. Nothing fancy.

8. What do you label yourself as?

Nothing, do you slap a label your skin? (kidding) I label myself a normal person with normal occasionally weird thoughts who just wants to meet other humans.

9. Bright room or dark room?

Scared of the dark but I prefer a dark room. Is that a surprise?

10. What were you doing at midnight last night?

Sleeping. Being sick with an unknown something makes you tired.

11. Favorite age you’ve been so far?

22? I was out of school and getting into shenanigans, but wasn’t so old that my friends had disappeared yet. Like, where the fuck do they go?

12. Who told you they loved you last?

My grandparents and parents when I called them with the results of my hospital tests.

13. Your worst enemy?

Heteronormativity.

14. What is your current desktop picture?

15. Do you like someone?

Sure. I like people. I’m not just gonna throw it out in an answer though.

16. The last song you listened to?

Sacrifices- The Natural Synthetic

17. You can press a button that will make any one person explode. Who would you blow up?

Funny enough, I’ve been going through an early life crisis, and have discovered, I don’t wanna blow anyone up. Not even a bad person. I can’t handle that on my conscious. I’ve even stopped slapping bugs lately. So, that’s where I’m at.

18. Who would you really like to just punch in the face?

Okay, punching isn’t death. Punching is acceptable. There’s this one girl I went to college with. I could really punch her. But I ain’t naming names cause I ain’t no snitch.

19. If anyone could be your slave for a day, who would it be and what would they have to do?

If I had had a slave for the day they would tasked with self-care. Just absolutely unable to do anything for anyone else. Stuck in a rotation of self-care tasks. That’s it. Not even for me. I don’t want anyone waiting on me without the ability to question what they’re doing. That’s disingenuous and not what I want from anyone.

20. What is your best physical attribute? (showing said attribute is optional)

I don’t want to choose one? But as a former collegiate athlete I’ve been told my arms are pretty great. There must be something to a lifting routine.

21. If you were the opposite sex for one day, what would you look like and what would you do?

I’d look like me, but I guess more narrow cause that’s men right? Or something? I don’t know, mostly I’d write stuff peeing, cause that’s the only thing I can’t do that sounds fun. I think?

22. Do you have a secret talent? If yes, what is it?

I suppose I draw and I don’t put that out there a lot?

23. What is one unique thing you’re afraid of?

People that can make you trust them with their charisma and don’t give a shit when they leave.

24. You can only have one kind of sandwich. Every sandwich ingredient known to humankind is at your disposal.

Vegetables! (I don’t eat deli meat?)

25. You just found $100! How are you going to spend it?

I’m going to buy friends something nice! I wanna share my happiness.

26. You just got a free plane ticket to anywhere in the world, but you have to leave immediately. Where are you going to go?

Australia, no joke. Gotta get in there before spider season! Also I have friends I wanna visit.

Either my favorite coffee lager, or a honey mead that I could sip. I don’t care about brand. I could care less about brand, like, who’s gonna demand a specific brand from a damn angel?

28. You discover a beautiful island upon which you may build your own society. You make the rules. What is the first rule you put into place?

Everyone contributes. Everyone benefits.

29. What is your favorite expletive?

Fuck. Or maybe Cunt. I just love expletives used in appropriate places.

Do I have my phone? Cause I’d save my phone for it’s pictures. If not, Probably my sketchbook. The drawings have serious emotional value to me.

31. You can erase any horrible experience from your past. What will it be?

The day my first super serious girlfriend broke up with me because her family wouldn’t approve, even though we both still cared about each other seriously, and even though we both would have chosen each other no matter what. Eventually you have to make choices I suppose, and she didn’t choose me. We get over those times eventually.

Or, you know, that time I got lost in the woods and thought I was going to die.

32. You got kicked out of the country for being a time-traveling heathen who sleeps with celebrities and has super-powers. But check out this cool shit… you can move to anywhere else in the world!

Wait, what? What’s the question here? Like Where’d I move? When I’d move? Isn’t the answer really, I’m everywhere at all times? Let’s be real though, I’d just wanna go somewhere I felt safe and comfortable. I don’t care where or when that is.

My dog, Brandy. She was taken too early, and I’ve never felt right about the way she went.

34. What was your last dream about?

My dreams are WEIRD. But they’re usually great. The last one I can remember was going around with some of my college friends and just trying so hard to party and also trying to hide a secret relationship I guess while she made me paper flowers out of straw wrappers? It was fun? Till I woke up and remembered the part where I’m single af.

35. Are you a good….[insert anything you’d like here]?

Listener? I think so? Athlete? Probably not as much right now, but I love to lift and throw heavy stuff? Dancer? No I’m AWFUL? Finder of non-american television? Probably? I love a good foreign language Soap. I mean, The Drama!

36. Have you ever been admitted to the hospital?

Yeah, I’ve got a few hospital bracelets now. I hate it and it’s terrifying and they haven’t fixed me yet apparently.

37. Have you ever built a snowman?

Yes! I grew up in Ohio! SO MUCH SNOW!

38. What is the color of your socks?

Black and grey. Cause who wouldn’t wanted to hide sock dirt.

39. What type of music do you like?

I like good music in any variety. I want to be exposed to lots of things. I want my friends and other people to show me stuff I haven’t heard before. I don’t want to be trapped in a musical corner. But like, most of the time I like something upbeat, or with a solid heavy beat because my mood can be dramatically altered by the music I’m listening to, and I don’t need to be sad more than I already am.

40. Do you prefer sunrises or sunsets?

I like both if I have someone to share them with. Otherwise, neither feels as full as it could.

41. What is your favorite milkshake flavor?

Mocha. But that’s just cause I love coffee. Otherwise, I’ll go....peach in the summer and vanilla any other time.

42. What football team do you support? (I will answer in terms of American football as well as soccer)

OKAY!!! I suppose I support Ohio State, cause when you’re born and bred, you never lose that love. I don’t watch professional football, cause I find that boring. SOCCER!! However. What even are men? I used to root for Portland, but then they traded Sonny and they lost loyalty. Now I root for the original underdog, aka Sky Blue. And also PSG if we’re talking international.

43. Do you have any scars?

Yes. And I’ll tell you the story of any individual one if you ask, but it’s too long to list here.

44. What do you want to be when you graduate?

Well I already graduated, and like.....Didn’t know then, don’t know now. Just happy to pay my bills!

45. If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?

My crippling self-doubt!

46. Are you reliable?

I want to say yes, and most times I’d say yes, but honestly sometimes no, and I hope my close friends know and understand why and can forgive me for that.

47. If you could ask your future self one question, what would it be?

Knowing you only have this life to live, are you satisfied with the decisions you’ve made? Was it enough and are you happy with them?

48. Do you hold grudges?

I wish I could say no, but this girl can hold a hold grudge like unopened freezer. Icy and for a long time.

49. If you could breed two animals together to defy the laws of nature, what new animal would you create?

I would not, because I’d fear the animal’s eventual screaming terror at being the only one. That freaks me OUT.

50. What is the most unusual conversation you’ve ever had?

One time, I had an allergic reaction, and got steroid shot that left me loopy as FUCK. And then talked to all my friends. Every one of those conversations was ridiculous and yet amazing. I wish I could describe more than that but that’s all I got for you.

51. Are you a good liar?

That depends on the subject. Some things yes, some things no. What I will say is, I don’t like lying, and I don’t want to. And if I am lying it means I don’t trust you, and that is the bigger issue.

52. How long could you go without talking?

Days. I’ve done it.

53. What has been you worst haircut/style?

When I was younger, my mom gave me bowlcut bangs! WHAT IS THAT! (awful is what it is)

54. Have you ever baked your own cake?

Yeah, actually. I’m surprisingly good at baking. One time, I made this chocolate toffee cake with crushed heath bits? It was phenomenal.

55. Can you do any accents other than your own?

Badly. But most people can do that.

56. What do you like on your toast?

Butter? Nothing? Nutella? Sometimes Peanut butter? Jelly? Jam? Most things are great on toast.

57. What is the last thing you drew a picture of?

I do portraits. Typically with lots of contrast. The last was of a girl. I don’t know how to be more descriptive than that.

58. What would be you dream car?

Four wheels. Dark color. Very fast. (Would love an electric version. Get on that scientists!)

59. Do you sing in the shower? Or do anything unusual in the shower? Explain.

I don’t really sing in the shower cause I don’t have a speaker in the shower to sing to. As far as unusual, I’m not sure I want to reveal that to you. My bathroom is my sacred place. 🙃

60. Do you believe in aliens?

Sure. I think it’s arrogant to believe we are the only life out there. That doesn’t mean that alien life would smart or even anything more than a simple bacteria on another planet (Most people don’t realize that something that small would count), but I don’t think we’re alone? I just think we’re either not smart enough to find them, or they’re not smart enough to find us, or (worst case scenario) we’re hidden by our stupidity and we don’t want to be found by the alien overlord. Like, let’s be real, either we’re taking them over or they’re taking us over. I don’t have strong feelings on the subject though, like, I don’t think about it daily or anything.

61. Do you often read your horoscope?

Nope not really. Do you really need to read your horoscope as a taurus or can you just assume they’re writing stuff about how stubborn you are? (Also as a cusp baby, who’s part gemini, who wants to hear we’re garbage? I’m not garbage.)

62. What is your favorite letter of the alphabet?

I think it’s K? Maybe. Or Y. I have no reasoning, that’s just what it is.

63. Which is cooler: dinosaurs or dragons?

Dinosaurs. For sure. There are big ones. And little ones. and some flew. And some didn’t. And some were smart. And some dumb. And some were like huge giraffes. and some had tiny arms. And none of them made size sense. (Also when I was little I wanted to be a paleontologist, so that explains a lot.)

64. What do you think about babies?

They’re fine, but I’m glad I don’t have one of my own right now? I suppose?

65. Freebie! Ask anything interesting you can think of.

Well, you didn’t ask anything, and I’m not about to offer something for nothing.😉

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rhetorical-ink · 4 years ago

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Rhetorical Ink Reviews: Garden of Words (2013)

** SPOILERS BELOW**

I saw this on Netflix last night, and, seeing it was only 45 minutes, thought it would be a nice little short film to round out my evening.

Holy cow, wow. I am still reeling from this.

My Top Ten Thoughts on Garden of Words:

10. If you couldn’t tell by the various gifs in this review, the animation is a smorgasbord of AMAZING, jaw-dropping combination of CGI and hand drawn animation. It’s an eye-gasm of beauty from the first frame until the end, and should be viewed just based on that alone. Luckily, that’s not all this film brings to the table.

9. We follow our protagonist Takao, a very relatable high school student who has a habit of skipping classes on days it rains to go to a garden in his hometown to practice his shoe sketches (he wants to be a shoemaker after graduating). It’s here that he stumbles upon a mysterious woman who comes to the same spots on days it rains as well.

Takao is instantly a likable character, with his innocent kindness, passion for his shoe-making, and his naivety is something any adult can relate to at that age.

8. The mysterious woman is at first a very unknown force for Takao -- she seems to only have beer and chocolate with her, which strikes him as odd, but she also seems harmless and actually very kind. He claims he’s recognized her somewhere, an important item to note for later on, though she denies knowing who he is at all.

Over the course of one month, June (which is Kanto’s rain season), the two slowly start to connect with one another and end up meeting on several occasions at the same spot on any day it rains. For us the audience, there slowly seems to be a point become clear with our protagonist...

7. It becomes painfully obvious from early on in the movie that Takao likes this mysterious woman, as he, in a beautifully done series of silent scenes, starts to sit closer and closer to her; as well as share meals and start to engage in conversation with her.

I love how he describes her as a representation of the adult world, which he believes he has an understanding of...but doesn’t. At first, I was all for their relationship developing...and then when he says he’s only 15, my heart instantly started to sink, thinking, “Oh....oh no, this is just a boy.”

It was only compounded when we find out that the woman is 27...there’s quite a gap there. Although, I LOVE her line, “I don’t feel any smarter at 27 than when I was 15.” That line. I think it’s so true for many of us...maybe not smarter, per say, but the maturity and understanding of our world definitely shifts in that time span of 15 to 27. The realization of this gap between them definitely shifted the tone of the film, which only gets more complex as it goes.

6. I love the duality of adolescence and adulthood represented in this movie, in such subtle, simple ways.

Takao’s home life seems complex, in that his mother has moved out to live with her boyfriend, the father is absent from the family “picture,” and Takao’s older brother is moving into a new apartment with his girlfriend, leaving Takao alone with his own place. Which to me, seems like such an odd move, given this IS a 15-year-old boy we’re talking about, but Takao also seems so mature, focused, and driven for his age, that it’s easy to let this slide.

Take that in contrast to our mysterious woman, who seems on the surface to have it all put together, but we find out she’s about to be let go from her job, is struggling to “taste” things (she states she can only taste alcohol and chocolate before meeting Takao -- which is why she consumes only that in the beginning of the film), and seems to be hitting an empty snag in her adult life.

As we see a montage of Takao being inspired by the woman to pursue his goal in making a set of women’s shoes and seeming so motivated and determined, we get the heart-wrenching contrast of the mystery woman having a conversation with her former boyfriend. He seems to still be considerate of her, offering her encouragement...and then we get the reveal that she’s lied to him and told him she’s been meeting up with another “woman” for lunch, and that “woman” has been helping her through her current crisis.

It’s a beautiful tragic duality between Takao -- who is steering forward towards his future post-high school with such optimism and drive, despite the seeming complexities going on in his personal life -- with this woman, who despite appearing to have it put together on the surface, is struggling to cope with the complexities of the adult world and her own personal life.

5. One of my favorite details about this movie is Takao’s doodles of feet and shoes. I could seriously re-watch this film to see the meta animation of characters...drawing characters. It’s so gorgeous and I love that there’s this underlying sexual theme with how feet are used in this movie. At one point, the woman tries to sneak a peek at his drawings, which he’s embarrassed for and urges her not to look. He also begins to have her model her feet for him to get as a reference for the shoes.

It’s these little moments that further hint his attraction to her, which we as the audience knows isn’t going to end well down the road...and spirals to a head, when...

4. The moment those two see each other at the high school, I gasped. It comes out of nowhere, and hits you HARD.

We learn from Takao’s classmates that the mystery woman, Ms. Yukino -- finally given a name -- is a literature instructor at the high school, just one Takao hasn’t had yet. Apparently, some girls in one of the classes spread rumors that Ms. Yukino was sexually harassing a male student -- which Takao’s classmate denies actually happened -- and several parents complaining has cost her position at the school.

Having personally known an actual teacher go through this same scenario, the revelation Takao gets hits home. You can’t help but feel so sorry for Yukino, especially when her students meet her outside the school for a final farewell, several of them crying. And it makes the next scene, when Takao confronts the girl who spread the rumors, all the more satisfying -- but also gut-wrenching -- as Takao gets beaten up by the students supporting the girl.

And just when you think it’s the climax of the film...it’s not.

3. Takao finds Yukino at their garden spot, and after they get caught in a gale, he goes to her apartment for them both to dry off. Despite how painful it was to see Takao get beat up, to see Yukino fired from her job when she was seemingly innocent...

... THIS SCENE is what hurt the most.

To see Takao and Yukino so happy together, sharing in each other’s company, and seeming to have a relationship with one another that most characters and ourselves only dream of...to also have the heart-shattering realization as the scene continues that....this can’t work. He’s 15 and she’s 27...there is too large of a gap right now in their age and maturity and it just can’t work as it stands now.

So, when that moment comes, when Takao confesses that he might be in love with her, and Yukino is forced to reject him...it is SO painful. Because you can see how happy they make each other...it’s just not socially or realistically feasible for either of them...or, at least that’s what we’re led to believe.

2. Because Yukino, as Takao leaves her, makes the conscious decision to chase after him. To confront him about her own demons, how he helped her “walk again” after such a critical juncture in her life, and that he does matter to her, despite the obvious hurdles placed in front of them and she doesn’t want him completely out of her life.

Takao’s retaliation is so heart-wrenching and beautiful, and her response is equally so -- these two characters laying everything about themselves to bare. It’s an amazing climax and scene in this movie, and one that I was just staring at agape the entire time -- wanting the best for these two characters, but knowing how delicate and hard their situation was. It makes the next moment all that much more rewarding...

The shot of these two, both in the rain and the sunlight, is probably my favorite in the whole film. I love it because it’s an old wives tale where I’m from that if it rains in the sunlight, that means it’s going to rain again the same time the next day. I love that detail, because it makes me think that their story isn’t over...they’re not going to just abandon each other, even if they can’t do anything about their relationship further right now.

1. I was sad during the credits, because I thought the film would just end there, and I wasn’t ready for it to be over. But please, stick around to after the credits.

There is one more scene, that shows that Takao is still working towards his goals to be a shoemaker. He still keeps in contact through letters and communication with Yukino, who has moved and re-started her career as a teacher, and that, one day down the road, he knows he’s going to see her again in person. And give her the shoes he’s made for her.

And it’s that hope, that knowledge that he’s still going to maintain that friendship, that potential relationship, that did make me feel a lot better about the ending moving forward.

Seriously, see this short film.

I am so glad I did, and I’ll probably be going back to watch it in the dub version, just to have an excuse to get transported by it again.

#Rhetorical Ink Reviews #Garden of Words #Anime Movie Review #SERIOUSLY THIS IS ART #Coming of Age #Jesus this animation #BRB fangirling #Netflix Choice #Garden of Words review #Takao x Yukino

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