#all i gotta do is make it float up and down and add some sparkly effects

[steakout-05]

i was looking at old plushies on ebay and i found this Douglas horse bag plush and you gotta look at the gif i made out of the listing pictures man its absolutely hysterical

horses ROTAT E. rotato faster horsy.

WE HAV REAHCED MXAIMUN VELOCIPY!!! S HES GOIN WILD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[always-andromeda]

would joby taylor let me paint clear nail polish with pink sparkles in it over the black?

Pink Diamond | Joby Taylor x GN!Reader

Joby Taylor x GN!Reader

Word Count | 1,003

Summary | Joby Taylor doesn't do sparkles. Not unless you want him to, of course.

Author's Note | my first ever request? and of course it's from soph!! thank you, bestie. I meant to keep it short and sweet but before I knew it, I blacked out, came back into my body and had 1000 words oops. I hope this is everything you ever dreamed of!! thank you for supporting my small business. the small business in question: me being head over heels in love with Joby Taylor.

Warnings | None!

Joby would be SO reluctant at first. Especially if you’ve just started dating him. He’d grumble about how it’s too girly and too much effort, especially if it’s before a show. But I think you can make him cave if you try to persuade him.

You’re in a hotel room with him and it’s a few hours before he has to play a show. Joby is grateful to actually have a room this time. Getting ready in a cramped convenience store bathroom was never ideal. But the hotel room starts to feel just as suffocating when you hold up a small bottle. Clear polish with flecks of bright pink sparkles floating around.

You wear it all the time and he’s not quite sure what you’re getting at until you say, “Come here, I’m painting your nails.”

He narrows his brows and nearly scoffs, “You’re crazy if you think I’m wearing that shit.” You point out that he spends the time to put on eyeliner and fill in his facial hair before shows and that a liiiittle bit of glitter is no different. He hesitates a bit, searching for some sort of retort. Fuck, you’re always good at making points that shut him up almost immediately.

Finally, he sputters out, “Baby, I’m gonna look like a fucking idiot.”

“So what? As if you don't already?” You say, already advancing closer with your weapon of choice. "Besides, at least you're an idiot with a partner who loves you enough to paint your nails. For free, might I add!"

Joby raises his hands slightly, as if it’s going to actually change your mind and make you back away, “That’s not the point. Me and the guys…we have a reputation. We gotta look the part.”

You screw your face up, “It’s so dark on stage that no one’s gonna notice anyways.”

“I’m gonna notice!” He exclaims.

Your voice is soft but stern, seeming to challenge him, “Then that shouldn’t be a problem.” You shake the bottle in your hand, swirling the tiny, packed glitters around the bottle.

Joby is quiet again. He does like the idea of having a little piece of you with him on stage. You’re always supportive of him; standing there singing along from a wing of the stage. 

Sometimes he wishes he could bring you with him, just so he can see your face while he plays. He knows he can’t do that though. Making his partner visible like that would turn off all the fans that are in love with him. But maybe just looking down at those pink sparkly nails, his guitar pick in between them…maybe that would be just enough of you right there with him.

So he feigns a sigh, throws his hands up in defeat and says, “Fine, you win. But if the guys make fun of me, it’s all your fault.”

He sighs as you paint his nails. Making him sit on the bed, you're nested between his legs as you paint. You're humming contentedly the whole way.

"You better be happy with yourself." He grumbles halfway through.

In a singsong voice you reply, "Very much so!" Joby can't pretend that he hates it for too long, though. He just can't admit to you how much the intimate moment is growing on him. So he maintains the comfortable silence, his eyes downcast until you're finished. By the time the polish dries down, he's actually surprised at how subtle the effect of the glitter is. For the most part, they look like little speckles against his normal pitch black. It's only when the light hits them directly that he can see the pink glinting through.

He can't help the tiny grin that peeks through his stubborn expression at the sight. You are absolutely buzzing; triumphant in the effort and asking him what he thinks.

Still, he won't allow you the satisfaction of knowing you've completely won him over with the silly idea. He rolls his eyes and answers, "God, you're such a brat."

When he gets to the venue and sees the guys, Joby hopes they won't notice. But the stage lights are on for the sound check and Seth, with his eagle eye, sees the sparkle. He grabs Joby's wrist, holds it up in the light and twists it around. Joby wrenches away from his grasp.

"Dude. What the fuck is this all about?"

"Just switching it up a little." Joby tries to stay nonchalant but he can't meet his bandmates' gaze. James and Malcolm, hearing Seth's little outburst, wander over. 

Malcolm slurs, clearly already a bit drunk, "What the fuck is what all about?" He squints at Joby's hand, "Whoa, what the fuck, man?"

Joby rolls his eyes, "Y/N wanted to do something nice..."

"Man, fuck them. You're gonna look like a pussy out there with that shit."

"Hey, don't be fuckin' rude, okay? I think it looks...alright." Joby doesn't want to start a fight right before a show. But he hates Malcolm's grating inflection and the stupid look on his face.

Malcolm jabs a finger into Joby's chest, "That's because you're whipped. Whipped right in the fucking face." Despite how many years they'd performed together, Joby simply accepts that Malcolm isn't his favorite person. But he'd never wanted to throw a punch at him more in his life. Who does he think he is talking shit about his partner?

James steps in like an older brother, always the one trying to keep the peace, and says, "Okay, okay, you got your point across, buddy. Leave him alone. It doesn't matter." He places a calming hand on Joby's shoulder. And with a clenched jaw, he relaxes his tight fist.

Though Malcolm shuts his mouth pretty quickly afterwards, Joby still sees him throw him some sideways glances for the rest of the night. But, Joby can't be fucked enough to care. Not when the glitter sparkles like pink diamonds under the spotlights as he sings and you stand in the wings, smiling tenderly at him.

[gwenbrightly]

Ninjago Christmas Fic #1 - Decorations

Ahhh, it’s that time of year when I speed write Christmas fics because it’s fun! Crossposted from ffnet. Takes place after MOTO.

“Let’s see what everyone was able to snag for the monastery,” Lloyd suggested enthusiastically. Having never celebrated Christmas in the monastery of spinjitzu before, the ninja had been horrified to discover that Wu hadn’t thought to invest in decorations for the holiday season. Not prone to giving up easily, they had spent several days searching high and low for trees, wreaths, lights, and anything else they could get their hands on.

“Ma and pa sent some lights they swear still work properly. Left most of em outside. There’s also a bunch of garlands that look like they’re in pretty decent shape. Perks of living in a junkyard, I guess. And uh, I think this used to be an angel?” Jay stated, holding up a sparkly hunk of metal with appendages shaped vaguely like wings. He glanced sideways at it, trying to decide if it was worth keeping.  

“I… can try to fix it later, if you want?” offered Kai, “I got a lot of practice with metalworking while Nya and I were visiting mom and dad yesterday. And the whole remaking the Golden Weapons thing probably helps too, heheh.”

His sister rolled her eyes at his self satisfied smirk. Jay nodded, handing Kai the mangled decoration.  

“If you think she’s savable, go for it!”

“Speaking of mom and dad, they gave us a box of Christmas ornaments and some other stuff, too.” Nya added holding up the blue orb with swirly designs she’d just grabbed from the uppermost layer of the cardboard box she was kneeling next to.  

“We couldda brought some tinsel, too, but we decided it wouldn’t be a good idea after last year…” she continued. They all shuddered.  

“Dad convinced the tree farm that sponsors the Royal Blacksmiths to sell him a tree for super cheap. He said he’d drop it off in a little bit.” Cole informed them, not wanting to dwell on the incident.

“Dude! That’s awesome!” Exclaimed Lloyd, his eyes lighting up. The others smiled. They’d never been able to have a live tree before. Zane nodded in agreement.  

“Indeed. I’m sure it will look lovely in the living room. I managed to locate a wreath my father built. It’s made mostly from old gears, and I know that’s not very traditional, but I’d like to put it up somewhere. If you don’t mind?”

“Of course, Zane. I’m sure we can find a good place for it.” Cole assured his friend. He understood what it was like to miss a family member during this time of year.  

“Yeah. I mean this place is huge. We need all the decorations we can get!” Kai reminded them.

“We had better get started, then.” Pixal interjected, eager to finally be celebrating the holidays without being confined to a screen (or her wonderful soulmate’s head) this year.

“Heck yeah! So where should we start?” asked Nya. They glanced around at the heaps of miscellaneous decorations, considering their options.  

“Maybe we should tackle the lights outside first? I’d rather do that before it gets too cold out.” proposed Jay. Although it had not yet snowed, the weather had been growing increasingly colder.

“I vote yes to that idea. It’s usually better to test anything the Walkers give us as soon as possible to avoid unnecessary explosions. No offense, Jay.” Cole said, giving the master of lightning an apologetic grin. Jay punched his shoulder lightly.

“None taken. We do tend to end up with... Surprises pretty often when ma and pa gift us stuff.”

“Okay, then. Outside it is. Just… try to keep the dangerous hijinks to a minimum? I don’t wanna worry Uncle Wu.” Lloyd told them, heading for the front door.  

The next hour was spent watching Jay zap each strand of lights or light up decoration with his powers as he tested them to see if they worked, waiting for the inevitable explosion. Surprisingly, they made it through 5 whole strands, two light up snowman, and a reindeer before coming across their first exploding decoration. No one could be sure if the shattering of every single bulb on the rainbow strand of lights was due to Jay’s parents tampering with the wires, or the master of lightning himself sending too much electricity into it, but the display of rainbow colored shards flying through the air was impressive to say the least. After cleaning up their mess and testing the remaining decorations, the group began the actual decorating part of the process. Pixal and Zane wrapped lights around the columns that lined the entrance to the monastery, creating elaborate patterns. Cole and Jay worked together to lift an ornate sleigh complete with reindeer onto the roof via airjitzu. Meanwhile, Nya simply tried to keep Lloyd and Kai from killing each other with additional decorations. Seeing her brother wrap the green ninja in lights, she cried, “Kai no!” in exasperation.  

“Cmon, sis! You’ve gotta admit he’d make a great Christmas tree!” He defended, before launching into singing oh Lloydie tree, oh Lloydie tree, how lovely are your branches! And receiving dirty looks from his victim.  

“Listen to Nya, Kai.” Cole shouted from above them. The master of fire relented, muttering about how no one appreciated his brilliance as he unwound his brother. Their hard work was interrupted by the sounds of a (much less irritating) Christmas carol floating into the courtyard from just beyond the gate.

“We wish you a merry Christmas, we wish you a merry Christmas, we wish you a merry Christmas and a happy new year!” Sang Lou and his quartet as they lugged a ginormous tree inside.

“Hey, pop!” Cole greeted. He left the lofty heights of the roof, followed by Jay.

“Hello, son! You’re doing a lovely job with this place!”

“Thanks!” Jay said, “You just missed the explosion!”

“… The what?” Lou started.

“So, how was your drive?” Cole inquired, cutting him off. His father gave him a strange look, but didn’t push the topic further.

“It was fine. Building that driveway was a wonderful idea. I can’t imagine how much of a hassle it would’ve been to carry this thing up so many steps.” he answered.

“It really has made life easier for all of us.” Zane agreed.  

“This tree is beautiful! Thank you so much for hooking us up!” Added Lloyd, staring admiringly at their  

“It was no trouble, Lloyd.” Lou told him, smiling warmly.  

“Wanna come inside for some hot cocoa? We were about ready to take a break anyway.” offered Cole.

“I would love to, but unfortunately we need to get going. We have a concert at the hospital to attend. Can’t disappoint the kids, you know.” the older man replied regretfully. The master of earth shrugged. Christmas was always a busy time for the Royal Blacksmiths.  

“Okay. Next time, then. Break a leg, and thanks again!”

“Goodbye son!” Lou called as his companions burst into sing again.  

“Now bring us some figgy pudding, now bring us some figgy pudding, now bring us some figgy pudding and bring some right here!”

“What even is figgy pudding?” Lloyd wondered aloud.  

“No clue.” Kai shrugged.  

“Let’s get this bad boy inside.” Prompted Jay, rubbing his hands together and grinning in a way that was only a little bit maniacal. It took a fair amount of maneuvering, but they eventually managed to get the tree situated in the living room.  

“Wow, I hope we have enough ornaments for this thing.” Nya commented. The tree looked even bigger now that it was upright.  

“We’ll think of something if we don’t. Maybe we can just put Jay to work making paper snowflakes again.” Lloyd plotted.

“I’m down for that. I don’t get why you guys think I’m the only one who’s deserving of this honor, though.” said Jay. He had never quite understood why the others were so fascinated by his ability to make paper snowflakes with such ease.

“Because you’re better at it than we are and we like the way they look.” Nya stated simply, hanging the ornament she’d discovered earlier on the tree. Jay leaned over and kissed her cheek.

“Thanks, sweetie.”

Kai rolled his eyes at them and set about digging through the boxes looking for more ornaments. He pulled out anything that looked like it was still functional, tossing a few broken ones into the garbage.  

“This one is neat!”

“Oooh shiny!” Lloyd noted. He snatched the ornament from Kai before he could protest. The master of fire decided it wasn’t worth fighting and returned to his rummaging. Kai managed to protect a few of the ornaments from Lloyd’s watchful eye, sneaking them onto the tree when he wasn’t looking.  

“Wait… how did that get there?” Lloyd asked, finally noticing one of the extra sparkly ornaments Kai had hidden from him.  

“I swear Lloyd, you’re as bad as a cat when you get like this.” Nya told him, stifling a smile.  

“Like what?” he replied innocently. Cole watched Lloyd stare longingly at another ornament.  

“All oooh shiny every time you see something cool.”  

“Nah, I’m pretty sure that stems from having a dragon for a grandmother.” Lloyd reminded them.

“Hmmm that’s a good point.” Confirmed Zane.

“Kai, I am almost completely certain that Santa was not intended to be a part of this nativity!” Pixal scolded, frantically trying to prevent the master of fire from ruining the decoration he was currently setting out on the mantle.

“Well, he is now!” Kai retorted, not caring about historical accuracy. Pixal sighed loudly.

“Can we at least discuss fixing the sheep so they don’t look like they’re fighting to the death?”

“Gee, Pix! It’s not like they’re real,” he reminded her indignantly before smiling a devious smile, “Hmmm I should add one of Lloyd’s dragon figurines...”

“Kai no! That is the most horrible idea ever.” she protested, horrified.  

“What you call horrible I call brilliant!”

“Okaaay maybe it’s time for a break before Uncle Wu comes in here and questions our collective sanity again.” Lloyd said awkwardly pushing between the irate ninja and samurai.  

“There’s hot cocoa in the kitchen, remember?” added Nya.  

“Hmmm okay, sure. Hot cocoa does sound good.” Kai admitted (totally not planning on sneaking back later to mess with the nativity some more).  

“Yeah! Let’s go eat way too much whipped cream and marshmallows!” agreed Jay.  

“Looks like we’re off to another chaotic Christmas.” Lloyd commented to Nya as they headed for refreshments.  

“Yeah, but you know you love it.” She told him with a laugh. The blonde shrugged, saying,  

“I do. Somehow this never gets old.”

“That’s the magic of Christmas for you. Or… something like that, anyway. Now cmon, let’s get some hot coco before the others drink it all.”

[bookenders]

Hey girlie!! I was wondering if you would write a short prose piece on my url, tricksexual? I literally can't wait to see what you come up with, because everything that comes out of your fingertips is fantastic.

Happy Giving Thanks Day!

Life got a bit bananas, so apologies this is so late, @tricksexual. But it’s here! Happy New Year!

Title: “Double Twist”

Word Count: 1,423

CW: strong language, thighs, and lots of pining

And it was the twist, the jackknife hip flex, a cymbal crash of knees and elbows pulling her up and over, hitting hands strong on the bend, heaving out and around. Momentum cast her from the bar, back and back below ankle bend to bounce, grab, push and pull herself up, arms loose and strong, eyes locked ahead, breath heaving.

“Fuuuck,” Laney breathed, skate bag slung over her shoulder, her white figures dangling from her fingers.

Gabriel, her pairs partner for the past eleven years, socked her in the shoulder.

“Go talk to her.”

Laney scoffed. “You can’t just talk to people, Gabe.”

Her eyes never left the gymnast as she flung herself between the bars.

“That’s illegal,” she muttered as the woman launched into an impossibly twisting dismount, thighs straining with a cleanly stuck landing, arms poised overhead. “Jesus.”

“What,” Gabe said over her shoulder, “are you feeling inadequate? Out-classed? Out-flipped?” He spun around to stand in front of her, interrupting her staring. “Has she seen our triple twist?”

“No, and she never will.” Laney glared at him, implying a threat she was all to happy to follow through on, but Gabe just smirked.

He tossed a glance over his shoulder at the small gaggle of gymnasts on the other side of the gym, watched one demonstrate a move with her hands to the woman who just finished her routine.

“Name?”

“Allison,” Laney said. “Parallel bars and balance beam.”

“Hot.”

“For the love of God,” she cursed, and dragged Gabriel, now openly laughing at her blooming blush, out of the gym.

Neither of them stuck around long enough to see Allison watch them go.

Breathing heavy, legs shaking from her fifth double toe in a row (not under rotated this time, thank you very much), Laney dragged her hands across the back of her neck, rubbing her sore muscles. Off-ice training wasn’t her favorite, but it was necessary if she didn’t want to hurt herself more than the crash pads could protect her from. And if she wanted to nail her landings, but that was a given.

Halfway through her cool down routine, Laney looked up from her place on the floor to find Allison standing a few feet away, gym bag over her shoulder, one hand clutching the strap and the other shoved into the pocket of her sweatpants. A faded Carly Rae Jepsen concert tee covered the top of her sparkly purple leotard.

“Hey.”

Laney, flat on her back with her left thigh nearly flush to her chest, sputtered out a surprised, “oh, hi.”

Allison smiled. “You’re a figure skater, right?” She shifted her weight, leaning on her right foot, and Laney was staring at her thighs oh my God please pay attention.

“Um,” said Laney.

“That’s really cool.”

Brain finally catching up to what was going on, Laney switched legs and coughed. “Thanks. I mean,” she said, scrambling for something, anything to add to the conversation, “not as cool as bars, but we can’t all be super good at flips and stuff.”

Eloquent.

“From what I’ve seen of your workouts, you’re pretty good at flips and stuff, too.”

A group of absolutely ripped high-ponytailed ladies called Allison’s name. She looked down at Laney, still flat on the floor, sweaty and flushed, and smiled.

“I gotta go. See you later?”

“Sure,” Laney managed.

She had a perfect view as Allison walked away.

The next few days found Laney and Allison smiling and waving when they saw each other arrive at the gym.

It was hard for Allison to focus on her routine when at least three of her teammates made kissy faces at her whenever she mounted the balance beam. Not to mention the looks she got when they caught Laney looking from the open space where she and her pairs partner practiced their lifts. Jessica took it upon herself to elbow her every time Laney was at the leg press.

On Thursday, while Allison was going through her beam routine step by step, slow as she could manage, Laney and her partner arrived for their evening off-ice session with their coach. The moment Laney disappeared into the locker room, her partner jogged over.

“You’re the parallel bars girl, yeah?”

“You’re the figure skating boy,” she said.

“Gabe.”

“Allison.”

She jumped and twisted sideways into a handstand, letting her legs fall into a split, calm and collected. It’s not that she was trying to show off, but.

“Well, shit,” Gabe said.

“What’s up?” Her left hand floated up beside her hip, her right bearing the full weight of her body.

Gabe blinked and gathered himself with all the grace of a baby giraffe. “Uh, we’re at the rink tomorrow morning. At eight.”

Surprise wobbled Allison’s arm. She carefully lowered herself down, legs straight up, pressing her chest to the bar before swiveling to a sitting position.

“You should stop by,” he said, walking backwards toward the locker rooms. “If you’re free, and all.” Halfway across the gym he turned and called out, “I know someone who might be happy to see you.”

It only took a moment for one of Allison’s teammates to mime kissy faces at her intense blush. What she didn’t expect - but honestly, she really should have - was the enthusiastic shoulder punch retaliation from the frazzled gymnast, who was already thinking of which sweatpants to pair with tomorrow’s leotard.

When she walked down the hallway toward the rink, Allison wasn’t sure what she was expecting. Classical music, maybe, or something from a musical. Not Carly Rae.

They were in the middle of their routine, feet carving the ice, spinning dizzy in tandem before Gabe grabbed her arm and pulled her into a turn. He took her waist in his hands, she gripped his wrists, slid a leg down and back, and a twist, launching her into the air in a whirlwind before she hit down, dipping low, flinging her arms out to catch the wind and curl into the corner of the rink. Gabe matched her movements.

Allison could imagine the sequins, the flair of a skirt spiraling into a landing, the crash of metal on ice spraying snow at the stands. It didn’t take much.

It also didn’t take much to send Gabe tripping in a heap to the ground, blade catching on Laney’s and sending him tumbling, nearly taking her with him. They laughed, and Gabe flapped his arms, making a snow angel on his back in the center of the ice.

They both turned at the sound of excited clapping.

“That was amazing!” Allison called out into the cold.

Laney froze. Gabe threw a thumbs-up straight into the air.

“Thank you for your patronage,” he replied. “Laney, please greet our guest while I peel myself off the ice.”

“That was amazing,” Allison said again, quieter this time as Laney slid over to where she stood at the boards. “Is that your routine?”

“Program,” Laney said, the automatic correction slipping out before she could stop it. “Er, yeah. One of the two for this season. The longer one. It’s a, uh, work in progress.”

“He just threw you into the air. Like it was nothing.” Allison’s eyes dipped down to Laney’s skates before quickly flicking back up to her eyes.

Did she just—

“It took a lot of practice, believe me.”

“Rude,” Gabe yelled across the rink. He was skating slow figures in the far corner, black workout pants covered in snow.

Allison smiled and fiddled with the hem of her sweatshirt. “I like your music, too.”

“I know.”

Shit, wait.

“I mean, I saw your shirt.”

“Oh, yeah, I got it at one of her concerts. When she was in town for a show.”

“Give her your number,” Gabe yelled.

Both of them went ripe as tomatoes.

“Uh—”

“Well—”

“You first,” Laney said, resisting the urge to cover her face with her hands.

“I’ll let you get back to practice. But you should definitely teach me some of those tricks. I’ve always wanted to learn.” And she handed Laney a slip of paper with ten numbers and her name.

“Yeah. Definitely. Whenever you want.”

“Great. Cool.” She just stood there for a moment, before mumbling, “have a good practice, bye.”

And she was gone.

Gabe coasted up behind Laney, hands in his pockets.

“I’m so proud of you, you little disaster.”

Laney turned and pushed him backwards, sending him careening across the ice, laughing.

“If you drop me after all that I will murder you.”

Want more original fiction?  Take a gander at my original writing tag and my short stories tag!

For writing advice and observations, check out my advice tag.

Want info on my WIPs? Have a look-see at my WIP page!

Do you like the way I put words together? Consider buying me a Ko-Fi! (Link in my blog description!)

Want to be added to my original fiction tag or my WIP tags? Let me know! 😊

Originals Tag List: @piratequeenofpixies, @quilloftheclouds, @snickertoodles, @half-explored, @purpleshadows1989, @ofvisitorsthefairest, @theevolutionofledarose, @kriss-the-writing-nerd, @waterfallwritings, @abalonetea, @timefire25, @metaphors-and-melodrama

[theyoutubedork]

I’m not a wizard: part 4

Check out my masterlist

Lemme know if I should continue this

Tag list: @strangemaximoff

When Bruce snapped his fingers, everyone who was dusted felt the same feeling. Confusion. People reappearing out of thin air, scaring those who remained. You feel yourself reappear on Titan, as with all the other guardians. You feel your legs give out again, but you slowly harness your energy so you can stand back up. You look around. Everything was the same. You see Peter and Dr. Strange as well. Where once stood was now covered in {bill wurtz voice} “space dust”, and you look to Dr. Strange. He gathers you all together.

“We have been gone for fives years since Thanos made us fade into dust. We have to go help Tony and those who were left,” he explains. You go over to Peter, who seemed very confused.

“Peter, you ok?” You ask, placing a hand on his shoulder. He nods.

“Yeah I’m ok.” He stutters, looking at you. Dr. Strange then told you that he has to find the other avengers who were dusted, and bring them to the fight. He looked at you.

“I’ll open a sling ring when I get back, stay here,” He says, jumping through a sling ring to a grassland, with people wandering around. He closes it. You look at the other guardians. You started to formulate what happened in your mind.

“Where’s Nebula?” asks Mantis.

“And Mr. Stark?” Peter adds. You shake your head.

“My guess is that they didn’t get turned into dust, I just hope their ok.” You explain, searching for your quarter staff. Peter walks up to you,

“What are you looking for?”

“My quarter staff, it must be buried under here somewhere.” You say worried, using your hands to scoop through the dust.

“Can’t you summon it to you like Thor?” Says Peter. You snap your fingers.

“You’re right! Thanks for reminding me,” You say. You take a step back, out stretching your hand, you try your best to summon your weapon, you see the end of it slither from under some debris, as it slowly wafts towards you. You see that the weapon has aged slightly. You frown.

“Looks like I’ll need to make another one,” You say, testing to see if the flail still works. It does.

You see golden sparks fly in the distance, two of them opening up. Dr. Strange floats out of one, closing it. He becones you over.

He opens a sling ring to a debris ridden field. You all rush towards it. Peter swing into action, rising from his spider like stance to look at the field. You jump on your rings, landing with a “thump” right next to Peter. You see Thanos, with Golden glad armor, and a humongous army behind him. You see Captain America. He smiles towards Peter. You poke him in his side.

“You know him?” You whisper, too curious to hold in the question. Peter laughs.

“I stole his shield, I’ll tell you about it later,” he says excitedly. You step forward to see plenty more portals opened, with more allies stepping out of it. You recognize King T’Challa of Wakanda. He releases a war cry. His army of Wakandans march out behind him.

You see Wong, along with other Masters of the Mystic Arts emerge, creating their rings around their fists. You do the same, walking towards the front of the line with Peter, holding your staff at the ready.

“Is that everyone?” Says strange.

“You wanted more?” Asks Wong.

You see a giant crash through a pile of rubble setting down what appeared to be Bruce and others. You prepare yourself next to Peter, shaking your wrists in order to calm your nerves. Peter crouches next to you, looking up at you with a determined and also giddy expression, which you return. Captain America begins to yell.

“Avengers!” He shouts summoning Mjolnir which doesn’t surprise you, “Assemble!”

You hear a collective cry from everyone, as you all rush forward. Peter swings ahead of you, as you create step pads out of rings, using your staff to vault you to them. You rush after Peter, too afraid to separate from him. You see him rush towards Tony. You hang back, fighting off a few aliens before being ready to shield them from attack. You see Peter pick up Tony, who looks shocked and relieved to see him. He looked older, with gray hairs.

“Holy Cow! You will not believe what’s been going on. You remember when we were in space? And I got all dusty? And I must��ve passed out because I woke up and you were gone, Dr. Strange was there right? And was like, ‘It’s been five years, come on they need us!’ and started doing those yellow sparkly thing he does all the time, what, what are you doing?” Peter blabbers until Tony wrappedd him in a hug.

“Huh this is nice,” Peter says. You feel your chest tighten, yet you refuse to let tears fall. You see the pure emotion in Tony’s face. What has he been through?

Tony flies away, fighting more aliens. Peter stand there. You run up to him,

“Come on, we gotta fight now,” you say, running forwards, launching your self in the air, extending your staff into a fiery flail. You whip ferociously at the oncoming enemies, some of them losing limbs when you strike them hard enough. Suddenly you hear an exchange about the stones. What? You then hear a “la cucaracha” jingle alarm ring throughout the area. You hear Cap speak into the com.

“Anyone see an ugly brown van out there?” He asks.

“Yes, but you’re not gonna like where it’s parked” a female voice answers.

“Scott, how long to get that thing working?”

“Maybe ten minutes.”

“Get it started, we’ll get the stones to you,”

You and Peter jump back into action, keeping an eye out for the stones. You see them glowing as Black Panther struggles.

“Peter! Go grab the stones!” You yell, you latch onto his side.

He flies through the air, and he grabs the glove. He quickly drops you and you land harshly on the ground. You see him clutch onto the glove.

“Activate instant kill!” He yells. Suddenly his spider tendril start stabbing left and right, so you stay back, unleashing the Bolts of Balthakk, sending a horde of enemies surround Peter backwards. More surround him, so you quickly shield yourself as you crouch next to him, afraid of the instant kill. You create a shield of seraphim, making it cascade outwards, protecting the two of you as the aliens are pushed back. You keep it at a wide radius, but you see the aliens clawing at it. You then see lasers shooting, so like your fellow “magicians” you exert more power into your shield, protecting You both from the ballistics. However the shield quickly breaks and the aliens swarm you both you try your best to hold them back.

“We got this, we got this. Ok we don’t got this. HELP SOMEBODY HELP!” Peter cries.

“Hey Queens,” says Cap, “heads up.” You see the hammer fly towards you. Peter gives you the glove, wrapping his arm protectively at your waist as he latches onto the hammer. A laser breaks his web, and you both start to fall.

“Hang on, I got you kid,” you hear pepper say, grabbing Peter, throwing him up to the Pegasus lady, as she quickly flies down to grab you. You see Peter with the glove, riding with the lady. You shield pepper as she flies around, still holding onto you. You see Peter get launched from the horse, struggling to hold onto the glove.

More flames rain down, and you slip from Peppers grasp as she’s almost hit, and you start to fall. It takes all your strength to fight against gravity, and you soften your fall enough that you don’t break anything. You groan, looking up to see a flying figure ripping through the space ships. You stand and watch the figure destroy the ship. You start to walk to Peter when you see the space woman land next to him. He hands her the glove. You walk over as you hear him say.

“I don’t know how your going to get through all that.”

You see other women surround you, igniting your spirit with a feminist power.

“Don’t worry”

“She’s got help.”

The group of women run forward going to clear a path. You wish to join them, but something forces you to stay with Peter. You hold him close to you.

“You ok? You took a hard fall,” you say, but suddenly you see Tony and Those exchanging words. Before you know it, you see him snap his fingers, but nothing happens. You look over to see Tony with the stones. You gasp. Peter clutches onto you, not being able to look away. He snaps his fingers, seeing all of Thanos’s army turn to dust. You watch it unfold. You smile satisfaction. You won. You see Tony stumble to the ground, and Peter immediately springs forward. You rush after him, letting Tony’s loved ones go to him.

“Mr. Stark? Hey! Mr. Stark, can you hear me?” He says, voice trembling, “it’s Peter. Hey. We won. Mr. Stark. We won mr. stark. We won you did it sir, you did it.” He sobs, being held back by pepper. “I’m sorry Tony.” You see him step back. You immediately wrap your arms around him, and he crawls into your embrace. You make Peter turn away as you watch Pepper kiss Tony on his cheek as the light on his chest goes out. You feel your tears slip down your cheeks. You hear everyone sobbing softly, and you see everyone start to kneel on the ground. You force Peter to kneel down with you, who leans into you, still sobbing. He kneels down completely, and you hold him in your chest, letting him empty his sorrow onto you. You stroke his hair soothingly.

“It’s ok Peter, it’s all over. You’re ok Pete,” You whimper.

[incredibeale-archive]

Well, it’s officially Christmas over where I am. (2:06 AM) So, merry Christmas everyone! And merry Christmas to my Secret Santa giftee, @freaking-isadorkable !! I’ve had a blast with this, and I do hope you like your gift. (:

I know originally, you wanted something from here, one of the last three and at first, I was totally going to do that! But then I read the 8th one down, and suddenly I had images floating in my head.

So, the original prompt is: You’re the mall Santa that made my kid cry, but I can’t be mad at you because I’m being distracted by your face au || but I may have... took some liberties there and changed it up. Anyway, I hope you like this little oneshot. :3 (perhaps in the future there will be more parts to it)

Chloe has been standing in line for almost two hours now. All just for her little girl to meet Santa. Though her feet hurt and she's tired and hungry, the wait hasn't been so bad, what with her best friend, Aubrey there with her to help keep both her and her four year old entertained.

At this moment, though, Aubrey is off somewhere in the mall, having volunteered to get snacks and drinks. Thank god, Chloe thinks, because she's pretty sure her stomach is trying to eat itself.

“Mommy! We’re next!” Chloe is pulled from her thoughts as a tiny hand tugs on her own. She looks down to her daughter and grins brightly.

“I see that, Ella-Bella!” She says, kneeling to fix a pretty green bow in neatly curled red locks.

The last kid slides off of Santa’s lap and hurries to his parents and Ella is ushered in by an ‘elf’. Chloe only has time to give them a glance because her phone goes off at that same moment. She answers it when she realizes it's Aubrey calling.

“Hey, we’re finally next. Are you on your way?”

“Yeah, I was calling to check on the line status. I've got snacks and water. I'm almost there, though so I’ll see you in a few.” Aubrey says through the phone.

Chloe goes to reply when the unmistakable sound of her daughter crying cuts her off. She turns in time to see ‘Santa’ with his beard off and getting ready to stand and a tiny brunette woman -- apparently the ‘elf’ from before -- shoves him back into his seat only to slap him upside the head. “DUDE!” She starts angrily. “You could have waited until the kid wasn't here!” This part is whispered harshly through gritted teeth

“Aubrey, I gotta go.” Chloe hangs up before Aubrey can reply and stands there half in amusement and half in shock. (There's some anger mixed in there, too because they've been here forever and this asshole probably ruined Santa for her kid!)

“Ow! What the fu--” Santa goes to say, but the elf girl slaps him upside the head again. “Hey! Stop that! It's 6 pm, my shift is over!”

“I’ll stop when you stop being an inconsiderate d-bag. What was one more kid? Whatever, just leave.” The girl snaps, shaking her head

When the elf turns to Ella, it's enough to break Chloe out of her frozen stupor and get her moving. Only as she's about to head over and console her probably scarred for life little girl, the elf girl (who is freaking adorable by the way, with her rosy, sparkly cheeks) kneels down in front of Ella. “Hey, kid. It's okay. I'm sorry about him. He's--” she falters, looking a little panicked. “He wasn't the real Santa.”

Ella sniffs, little brow furrowing. “Who was he? Where's Santa?”

Elf girl scratches the back of her neck, clearly stalling. “He's-- uh--” She chews on her lower lip before her eyes light up. “Oh! He's just like a substitute Santa, ‘cause the real one is extra busy getting things ready for Christmas.

“See the substitute Santa is supposed to report back to the real Santa and tell him what everyone asked for and tell him about all the good little boys and girls. But that substitute Santa was a bad dude. I'm gonna let the real Santa know personally what he did to you and he’ll be sure to give him a stern talking to.”

Ella stares at the elf girl for a long moment before she seems to accept this. Her face contorts into a frown though as she comes to some sort of realization. “How will the real Santa know what I want?”

The woman smiles something soft and reassuring and places a gentle hand on Ella’s arm. “No worries, little dude. You can tell me and I’ll tell him myself.”

It's this moment that Chloe decides to finally interrupt. “So, since we've been waiting for almost two hours, maybe Ella can get a picture with one of Santa’s elves?” Chloe’s lips quirk up into a smirk as the elf-girl looks up at her wide-eyed. “And she can tell you what she wants for Christmas?”

“Wha? I--” She scrambles to her pointy little shoed feet, straightening her short, green skirt.

Now that Chloe is close enough, she has to hide her chuckle of amusement, because the girl looks absolutely adorable in her costume. She's got actual little elf ears on, her cheeks rosy and lightly glittered. The small brunette is also wearing green and white striped thigh-high stockings. The bottom of her green skirt is white and fluffy, while she wears a red and white striped blouse with a button up green vest on her top half. Her wavy brown hair is curled lightly, part of it pinned up to the side with a mistletoe topped pin.

“Please?” Ella tugs at the woman’s hand, causing her to look down.

Chloe grins, knowing her daughter’s puppy dog eyes were hard to resist.

“Yeah, please uh--”  Chloe almost loses it as she spots the woman’s name tag. “-Sparkles…” She bites her lip hard on a wide smile.

‘Sparkles’ narrows her eyes as her cheeks seem to get that much more pinker. “Let me just… ask--” She moves to look over Chloe’s shoulder, so the redhead turns around to see a much taller brunette in a similar outfit (it's somehow a little more revealing than ‘Sparkles’’ costume), standing in front of a camera and smirking over at them, though mostly at Sparkles the elf. “Uh-- St--” The taller woman quirks a brow and ‘Sparkles’ rolls her eyes. “I mean Tinsel, think we can make that happen?”

‘Tinsel’ smiles brightly and nods. “Totally. On the house. Especially if you introduce me to blondie over there.” The leggy brunette nods her head toward the gated entrance of ‘Santa’s workshop’ and Chloe follows her gaze to see Aubrey making her way towards it, her arms laden with snacks and her face full of concern.

Grinning, Chloe nods. “Oh, totes! But how did you know--”

“You don't want her to answer that, dude.” ‘Sparkles’ interrupts, eyeing the taller brunette with what Chloe thinks is a mixture of exasperation and amusement.

Chloe chuckles. “Alright… well, I can make that happen.” Aubrey would either kill her or thank her, but as ‘Tinsel’ sends her a saucy wink, Chloe thinks Aubrey will totally thank her.

‘Tinsel’ brings her attention to ‘Sparkles’,  motioning her to the big chair that Santa once occupied. “Alright, B. Go on, then.”

Chloe wonders what ‘B’ is short for, but she doesn't have time to dwell on that as Aubrey comes up beside her. “What's going on?” She asks in confusion.

They both watch as Sparkles leads Ella to the large chair where she sits and Ella climbs into her lap. “It's kind of a long story, but I'm pretty sure I scored you a date with the photographer.”

“Excuse me?” Aubrey brings her attention to Chloe who offers a sheepish little smile in return.

“What? Look at her, she's hot!” Chloe watches as Aubrey finally manages to look over at Tinsel. “Plus, I'm getting these photos for free for introducing you guys, so suck it up.” But Chloe thinks that Aubrey is suddenly not as upset anymore as her eyes seem to drink up the leggy brunette.

Smirking Chloe brings her attention back to her daughter. She's smiling brightly as Sparkles whispers something into her ear.

After a few more snaps, the woman helps Ella down and points to a box full of little toys and tells her to pick something out. After a moment the two are walking back over, Ella holding up a small stuffed puppy. “Look, mommy! Look aunt Bree!”

“That's awesome, baby!” Chloe says, bending to press a kiss to Ella’s forehead.

Aubrey smiles down at the little girl. “Wow! You must have been especially good if they're letting you pick something out early.”

Ella nods, grinning brightly before she brings her attention back to her new toy, talking to it softly.

“Here you go. On the house.” Chloe turns her head to see the leggy brunette standing next to the smaller one, holding out a white folder. “There's something extra in there for you.”

“We’re real sorry about--” Sparkles glances down at Ella then back at Chloe. “Well, you know. We’ll be telling our boss about it.” She reassures.

Chloe opens the folder and smiles softly at the pictures. The something extra is apparently a few shots of Sparkles consoling Ella, her hand resting on the little girl’s arm and her gaze soft while the hint of a smile is visible on Ella’s little face. “It's okay. She seems fine.” Chloe says, closing the folder. “So, I'm not one to break promises-- Aubrey, this is-- I'm assuming your name isn't actually Tinsel.”

The taller woman laughs softly. “No. It's Stacie. Stacie Conrad.” She shoves her friend forward a little. “And Sparkles is actually Beca.”

The smaller woman-- Beca blushes and shoots Stacie a glare before smiling shyly at Chloe.

“I'm Chloe, by the way.” The redhead adds, realizing she has yet to properly introduce herself.

“Pleased to meet you both.” Aubrey says politely, though her gaze is on Stacie.

“Pleasure is all mine.” Stacie all but purrs.

Beca takes a steps away, making a face. “Oh my god, dude. Seriously? There are children present.”

Stacie grins and moves to pull Beca back into her side. “Honey, I know you're short and your attention span is nonexistent, but you're definitely not a child.”

Both Chloe and Aubrey chuckle and Beca flushes, shrugging out of Stacie’s arm, grumbling under her breath.

“So,” Stacie starts, not even phased by Beca’s mumbled, half hearted insults. “How would you ladies like to go to dinner with us, sometime?”

Before anyone can say anything else, Beca jerks away from Stacie. “Dude!”

“Shut up, Beca. Don't act like you don't have the hots for red.”

Chloe and Aubrey share a look of amusement before they bring their attention back to the pair.

Beca huffs, cheeks flushing slightly.

“Well, I'm not sure about Aubrey, but I'd certainly be interested.” Chloe finally says, eyes bright as they meet Beca’s surprised gaze.

Aubrey smiles and nods. “Me too.”

“Great! Our numbers are in that folder.” Stacie winks while Beca just smirks, despite herself.

“Mommy I'm hungry!” Ella breaks everyone from their thoughts.

“Okay, baby. We’re gonna get something to eat.” Chloe says, brushing a few strands of hair from her daughter’s face. “We should probably go. But I hope we’ll see each other soon?” She asks, voice full of hope.

Beca smiles bashfully, nodding. “Yeah, uh-- just-- just text me or whatever.” She says, before she brings her gaze to Ella. “I’ll be sure to tell Santa everything you want. Keep being good.”

“I will!”

Stacie grins at Aubrey, slowly stepping back. “Call me soon, beautiful.”

Aubrey blushes and nods. “I will. Talk to you soon.”

They each wave goodbye before heading back out into the mall, both seemingly lost in thought until Ella breaks them. “Mommy?”

“Yes, baby?”

“Did you say yes?” Ella asks curiously as she looks up at Chloe.

“Say yes to what?” Chloe’s brows knit in confusion as she glances between her daughter and the people milling around them.

“To Beca. She said you were very pretty and wanted to know if I thought you would uhm-- hang out with her. I said I thought you would.” Ella says with a little shrug.

Chloe smiles softly. “She asked that, huh?”

“Uh-huh.” Ella nods matter of factly. “Well, first she said that her real name was ‘Beca’ and that ‘Sparkles’ was just her elf name and that she liked Beca better. And then she asked me ‘bout you.”

Chuckling and sharing an amused glance with Aubrey, Chloe nods. “I said yes.”

Ella smiles. “Good. She’s nice. I like her.”

“Me too, baby. Me too.”

[peppurthehotone]

We sat outside a New York Bagel shop in Sedona, Arizona. She worked her way through an egg and cheese with ketchup and I enjoyed a smear of white fish on a toasted sesame bagel. With the mid-morning sun in Leo and Scorpio, we were two east coast girls, she much more than I, enjoying the warmth caressing our spirits. We were there to heal, as so many people aim to do when they visit this special place. We’d become Thelma and Louise, without the law after us, but the law of nature. We’d driven together from Utah, having enjoyed a whirlwind of creativity, excitement, adventure, gratitude, snow and fabulous free drinks while at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City.

Let me back up a bit to the beginning.

I’ve been in Arizona since my birthday in November. I mentioned how, after all the other stuff that happened and hadn’t recently, that all I wanted for my birthday was to be with the woman who birthed me. That happened. Mom, now retired, was gracious enough to open her arms and her home to me. Snuggled on the couch under blankies, we binged on Downton Abbey while we drank loads of Yellow Tail. We rose early mornings to the 7 am wake-up bugle from the air force base nearby, signaling our coffee time, which we enjoyed from her collection of vintage china cups while sitting like dusty desert royalty on her back patio. We’d sit and chat about how “Rocky”, her lime tree, just wasn’t coming back from the last frost, or about what plumbing she wanted to fix in the back bathroom, or about the weather. I’d open up sometimes about what I was feeling; she’d ask questions at the right time or remain silent during others, as moms are wont to do. We’d finish our coffee; mom (petite, at a mere 5’1) would run off in her over-sized outside work clothes, hammer in hand, to go and fix something around the house she was still renovating and I would retreat inside to work on my freelance writing gigs, or writing my book or writing something else. It has been this way for several, several weeks, and with this time (and my new therapy sessions!), I have begun to heal and regroup.

Earlier this month, my lovely friend Yvonne invited me to Sundance. This is the golden bugle of the film industry. I’ve always wanted to go, but never had the time or funds to do so. I hemmed and hawed about going because I couldn’t justify spending what little cash I did have on something so…frivolous. It’s not like I “LA” act anymore. Or write scripts anymore. Or anyone knows me anymore. Sundance wasn’t for me anymore. And then one evening Yvonne sent an important text, as wonderfully endearing and wise friends are wont to do. She simply wrote, “You should come.” That prophetic text pole vaulted me over my “anymore’s”. I got my head out of my ass crack (as my friend Nicole likes to say) and I went.

I decided to drive. My college friend Lisa takes road trips in her sleep; I’d never really taken one of this 12-hour magnitude, so I decided it was time. It was time to do something for myself and by myself. Make myself accountable to me. I rented a car. I booked a hotel. My mom packed the car with snacks and OJ and water and dental floss and a Tide Stick (“You never know when you might need a Tide stick!”) and I was off.

My primary destination: The Grand Canyon. In my 47 years, and with family living in Arizona for at least 20 of those years, I’d never been to the big crater in the ground! I wanted to see it, I needed to see it and now was the time.

Since I’ve been in Europe the past three years, AND I no longer have a car, it was a l-u-x-u-r-y to be in a car by myself, floating down the highway with the sunroof open, radio off, and a bag of trail mix to keep me company. Peace, peace and more peace!

I’d wanted to arrive at The GC at sunset. And arrive, I DID! Oh my gosh, you guys, if you haven’t seen this thing, it is beyond breathtaking. It is SCARY! I couldn’t go near the edge like the other tourists. I just knew some rock would rubble, a branch would break and I’d be on the 5 O’clock news with photos taken from my Facebook and IG to commemorate my shortened yet fabulous life (!!!). Couldn’t do it. So I walked along the path for walking, found a bench to sit upon, one planted far from the edge for scardy-cats like me and took it all in. I crossed my legs in Lotus, tucked my feet under me, which were ruggedly outfitted in Timberland boots the lovely Crescent gave me, and I meditated. I spoke to the trees above and the Canyon ahead. I called on the reds and oranges and the blues to come to me, to wrap me in the vastness that was them. I spoke to the open expanse and asked for forgiveness. I asked for humility. I begged for gratitude and filling-upness. I asked not just for a second chance, but a new chance and new experiences and new memories to go along with those accumulated since this past July. And then I asked for permission from this Mother Earth to please accept the spirit of the being that had been a part of me. I felt like she turned her head toward me, smiled slowly and said, “Sure, let me hold onto that for you.” I let her hold on and I let go.

Then, as the sun began to really set and the chill of air became a bit too chilly, I jogged back to the rented Ford Focus and continued on my way. Lighter.

    I will offer one caveat: do NOT drive out of the Grand Canyon at night, alone, on your way to Utah. You will find yourself on a very dark, very narrow, very spooky two-way ROAD in the gosh darn FOREST for thirty (or fifty) miles. Yes, you will be amazed at the Holy Cow-ness of the zillion stars in the sky (as the booth girl at the GC entrance told me I would be as she took my $30 to enter), but this awe will not outweigh the fear of being in the dark. Nor will it make the excitement of the three unidentifiable furry creatures that popped out into the road in front of you exciting. It will scare the shit out of you and will go on your personal list of what I will now call “Character Building”.

Howeves, my friends, the ultimate beauty of driving for hours in the dark to the Utah/Arizona border for the first time is the thhh-thhh-thrilll you will get when you wake up to the V-I-E-W of the such-n-such mountains against a nippy January sunrise. God and the Universe are truly amazing and doing a bang-up job out in Monument Valley, I tell you! You’ve never seen such a thing (unless you have).

When I lived in Prague, I was too afraid to book hostels and rent a car in a foreign land and try to travel more by myself. Yes, I made it to Croatia, Germany and the Netherlands — lovely places and proud of myself for doing so — but this trip was also an effort to make up for that limiting fear. (If we’re being honest, I was afraid to go to obscure foreign places because I wasn’t a white girl and I couldn’t bare to walk up to a hostel counter alone and get The Stare or worse. So, there’s that. I’m evolving. I’m trying. I’m countering.)

    I drove from Monument Valley towards Park City through truly amazing ringlets and valleys of roads that dipped and wove through wide expanses of mountain-dotted land. Over the Bluetooth car phone, Mom told me many John Wayne films were made in this area. I could see why. I stopped to take a picture, hoping to capture what I was feeling energetically, and came upon a Navajo woman selling jewelry from the side of the road. It was still a bit nippy even at 11 am; she emerged from her warm car as I approached her table of goodies.  I just knew I was about to have a indigenously spiritual experience as I perused the handmade earrings, sparkling with Navajo-ness. “Which one do you think is right for me?” I smiled and looked deep into her brown eyes for her inherent guidance. “Um. I don’t know. The malachite is pretty,” she said with a polite hunch. I gave her my $10 to support the life hustle and was on my way.

Three hours later, I pulled into sparkly, sparkly Park City upon which it literally began to snow. Beautiful. I drove up to my girlfriend’s condo, truly elated with myself. She anxiously greeted me in the garage with, “Love you, glad you made it, you’ve got three Uber minutes to change. We gotta go!” I threw on my Sundance gear of Timbs, jeans and a cute sweater and GO we did! We — Yvonne, her awesome husband, and their fab friend and business partner — hit a dinner party for the premier of Night Comes On (DIR: Jordana Spiro), of which she and her husband associate produced via their kick-ass company Lagralane Group, and has since won the NEXT Innovator Award. I sat across from the stunning, young lead actress Dominique Fishback, her hair braided in a foretelling crown magnified by her brilliant smile quite possibly enhanced by my favorite Ruby Woo red. From that moment on, I was their +1, their fourth Musketeer, and was enveloped into the red-hot orb that is the Sundance bubble and never stopped until Tuesday when I had to leave.

    I was granted an unexpected gift for the trip back, and this brings me back to the Thelma and Louise beginning. Over breakfast at the condo the day before I was to head back, a friend, Jen, mentioned how she wanted to rent a car and drive from Sundance back to Tucson, with a stop in Sedona. What the What?! (#CelestineProphecy) So, she jumped in the car with me, and we became a team. Both dealing with grief (hers more recent and jagged than mine); both wanting to explore nature’s purpose and add to our life-journey. We laughed, we cried. We experienced. We stopped to take pictures of stray cats and mountains. We stopped to simply marvel. We (I) took crappy video of a HERD of deer that loped across our path at sunset. We stopped and went curbside to break off and smell Desert Sage (we think). We stopped at the Old Fire Station thrift shop. We did the damn thing, together.

    It is said that Sedona has some of the strongest vortexes on the planet. It is said to be sacred, spiritual, mysterious, powerful. Jen knew this, I didn’t. I just knew there was a reason why I needed to go to Sundance. A reason why I wanted to reconnect with people who cared strongly for me. A reason why Jen and I were meant to drive. I was being pulled from the womb of my mom’s home toward something bigger. This I knew.

From the bagel patio in one of the most spiritual places on earth, Jen and I drew cards from her Moon Deck to guide us on our way.

She drew this:

I drew this.

Powerful endings to both our beginnings. I truly encourage you to listen to your intuition. I also challenge you to try a trip by yourself, as it is an electric zing for the soul and will get your synapses hummin’. In more ways than one.

Thank you,

Peppur

  When the ending becomes the beginning We sat outside a New York Bagel shop in Sedona, Arizona. She worked her way through an egg and cheese with ketchup and I enjoyed a smear of white fish on a toasted sesame bagel.