#and i bought it without even thinking about jt

[marilynthornhilllover]

Hi, Can I have a request on "strict mommy!Morticia addams" x reader?

Darling can I be your favorite?

mommy!Mortica Addams x fem! reader

Warning: smut , indecent language , reader being a brat , punishment , dress code restrictions , spanking , vampire kissing method , slight drawl of blood , praise kink , degradation kink , choking kink , spitting kink , pet names in French , slight hair pulling , finger teasing , fingering , orgasm denial , mommy kink, slight tiny after care.

You and mortica's relationship was very photogenic - meaning that no matter what aspect you looked at it from, you will always find something absolutely breathtaking. You and mortica were completely inseparable, your love for each other was as strong as European poison.

You and mortica had been married for two years, today marking your 3rd year anniversary together. Mortica had already planned something of her style for you. Today was your day and she's gonna make sure that you enjoy it to the best of your ability.

She first insured that Wednesday went to a teens camp far away where she wouldn't be able to ruin anything, and that pugsley went to golf practice with his father.

The morning started off great with soft neck kisses, breakfast in bed, and a warm bubbly bath.

You were preparing yourself in your shared bedroom as mortica also prepared herself in the bathroom. You had picked a skin tight maroon dress with an open back and slit sides to wear to dinner but you hadn't confirmed it with mortica - matter of fact you haven't even told her you bought it and had planned to wear jt.

When you were both newlyweds she'd never allow you to wear inappropriate clothing out of the house or atleast when she's not around. But that was a long time ago, maybe she'd allow it since it was after s special occasion and plus she's gonna be right there by your side.

You pulled your dress, pulling it down your legs alittle as you tried fixing the slits at the side. you hadn't even noticed that the raven haired goddess was staring at your body through the mirror. You felt her gaze burning through you, averting your eyes to hers she emerged from the shadows, her heels clicking with every step that she took.

You smiled at her, which she returned but it was a far cry from what she was thinking. Maybe seeing you in a dress like this for the first time without warning did something to her. Her hands gently snaked their way around your hips towards your abdomen giving it a slight squeeze pulling your body towards hers.

She let out a sigh while maintaining eye contact in the mirror.

" this dress is a bit short no?" You chuckled before turning in her arms. Her freshly washed hair engraved with rosemary and lavender from her shampoo plus her perfume were both intoxicating, and the way she looking at you made you want to lose you sanity.

" Yes but I can wear a stocking under it" you replied only this time she chuckled. Her eyes were always dark and showed no emotion but something about you wearing this dress in public set them ablaze as something more than lust and desire swirled around in them.

" your not wearing this dress y/n" it's not that mortica was the jealous type but she was very protective when it comes to property that's hers. It's not something that you hated, just something you tried to avoid. Too be honest there was nothing totally wrong with the dress, no excessive cleavage was being shown just your back and half of your thighs were exposed to human eye.

But for mortica that was way too much skin. Not that she didn't want you to dress up, for some things are for only her to see.

" Oh come on mortica, please, I mean tonight is our night" you spoke in a voice that usually gets under her skin, hoping that this time it would But tonight mortica was standing on business. But so were you.

" y/n I said no, now go change into something else, maybe the dress I bought you for your birthday last year" she quirked her eyebrows when you rolled your eyes but chosed to ignored it, she had no time for foolishness or else she'd have to pay a fee for being late to the reservation.

She released her arms from your body before proceeding to walk back towards the bathroom.

" I'm not changing anything, im wearing my dress as it is" you muttered under your breath fixing your hair. You didn't expect mortica to hear what you said, you barley spoke, it was as if you whispered but of course she heard. She's mortica Addams.

Mortica stopped in her tracks before slowly turning around to face you. She felt her lips curve into a sly smirk before her feet took her back to where you were standing. Swiftly she grabbed a fist full of your hair and tugged on it, you whined as your back arched onto her.

" that you hated them" you whispered noticing how much power she held in her eyes.

" what did I say about brats darling" her voice was smooth and sultry as her hot breath tickled your neck. Her grip only got tighter every second that you waited to answer. You groaned before making eye contact with her in the mirror as your hand held the one that she had in your hair.

" and what else?" She asked pulling harshly on your hair again demanding an answer. You squirmed as you could already feel how damp your panties were becoming.

" f-fuck but you love punishing them, tish please" mortica laughed as she released your hair, shoving you up against the wall, her thigh pressing against your clothed center.

" begging already ma chérie?" She asked in a deep husk voice, Feeling as her knee shifted against your clit while her hand found it's place around your neck squeezing gently. You bit your bottom lip staring into her eyes. She chuckled darkly before her lips connected with yours in a deep and meaningful kiss.

The kiss was Passionate at first causing mortica to take a further step by biting your bottom lip causing you to moan into her mouth giving her the perfect entry to slip her tongue into your mouth. You were already breathless for this woman, completely on your knees and at her mercy, ready to obey and work like a slave just to impress her.

She deepened the kiss, her tongue flicking against yours in a war like manner, it was clear that she was the dominant one, the mommy.

She pulled away from the kiss dragging your bottom lip along with her, causing you to let out a needy whine but it was already obvious that you won't be getting what you truly desired from her, after all this was a punishment. Hearing your Ridiculous cries for pleasure must have set of something in her, because it just added fuel to the fire.

She pulled on your lip a little more drawling blood, you winced pulling away from her completely as you gently bit down on the opening to seize the bleeding. Mortica smiled before sighing. She turned around and walked away from you before proceeding to sit down on the edge of the bed.

She clasped her legs at the ankle and sat elegantly, her perfectly toned legs and pretty face always did a number on you. And God you loved everything about her.

" crawl to me darling" she whispered her voice laced with pure lust. You breathed a slow chilling breath shuttering at the way her eyes ran over your body. The way her eyes gazed upon your body made your knees weak. Now you knew why gomez couldn't handle all of this. She was too much to handle in the bedroom.

" did I stutter? Or are you choosing to disobey me even more?" Her tone of voice was very Authoritative and her eye contact burning through you wasn't helping. She shook your head, a silent ' no ' before you slowly got down on your knees. you began to crawl towards her, still maintaining the soul snatching eye contact.

Her dark eyeliner and eye shadow, allowed her siren eyes to appear more vividly providing her with the most perfect, what people say " hawk eyes".

Arriving at her feet, completely at her mercy you looked away, who dared you?.

She grabbed your jaw and held your chin in her grasp firmly, not giving you the chance to look away.

" you were always such a good girl for mommy.... what happened?" You knew it was a rhetorical question, so you didn't answer but something in you told you that you should have. Her grip on your jaw tighten before she leaned in towards your face.

" when i tell you to do something you fucking do it, am I understood?" God.... the way she holding you, looking at you, speaking to you was enough to take you out. Her tone was very Orotund. You swallowed heavily, you could hear yourself breathing hard.

" Yes mommy" you replied and she smirked. But you should have know that something else was coming behind that smirk.

" good girl" she whispered beside your ear as she hesitated to nibble on it. You heard her chuckle darkly before she released a long frustrated sigh. You thought nothing of it until you felt a strong grip in your hair pulling your head back a little forcing you to look up at her.

" now your gonna bend over mommy's lap and allow her to punish you right baby girl?" You nodded and she smiled, running her tumb along your lips in a soothing manner, you opened your mouth and took her fingers in. Mortica gasped but only returned you a dirty look. She pressed her tumb flat against your tongue, a silent request to leave your mouth open.

She pursed her lips and spat in your mouth, slowly watching as her Saliva dripped into your mouth and drizzled on your tongue as if it was honey. Smirking she spoke up again.

" swallow" again you obeyed before getting up and bending over her lap. You felt as her warm hands caressed your inner thighs before pushing your dress up your ass. She massaged your butt cheeks for a while, preparing you for what was too come.

Suddenly a loud spank came down on your left ass cheek. You cried out as you clung onto the duvet.

" count for me ok?" You nodded. She spanked you again, your eyes rolled have as you tried to ignore that pain as best as possible. You could hear her deep voice above you, smoothing and comforting.

" 1 " you spoke, voice already becoming hoarse.

" such a good girl for mommy" she replied before her hand came down again with another blow, gentle rubbing the area for you.

" f- fuck 2," you spoke, but she went even rougher now. She moved towards the other cheek and spanked it, hand snaking its way between your thighs and upwards towards your core, finger tips gently brushing against your clit.

" fucking slut, disobeying mommy's commands, I had something so special planned for us and now we're going to be late hmh?" Another spank was giving. At this point your eyes were slightly puffy as tears started flowing from them. And Mortica was already proud of her work.

She slowly pushed two fingers into your cunt before swiftly removing them, your hips pushed back in attempt to chase her fingers but another blow came down on your ass.

" I said to count bitch" she spat harshly causing you to choke on your own cries obeying her order and continuing to count every time a smack was given.

" you want mommy to fuck you huh? Such a whore that you wanted to wear this dress for mommy at dinner?" She thrusted three fingers into your pussy, curling them as her finger pads gently brushed against your g-spot causing you release a pornographic moan in which your eyes rolled back.

At this point you had already lost track of what number of slaps she'd given you. The effect mortica had on you was dangerous, she was like a human drug. One had you'd die for, one that you craved daily, one that you just simply couldn't resist, one had you absolutely needed to survive.

Mortica thrusted her fingers into you slowly, going as deep as her knuckles allowed her, your greedy cunt already begging them to stay as you clenched down on them. She could already feel your orgasm coming, ridiculously fast.

She removed her fingers and chuckled before spanking you one last time before holding you by your waist and sitting you upwards on her as you straddled her hips.

She leaned towards your ear and whispered.

You were hot, needy and sweaty. Not to mention sexual frustrated and absolutely left deranged. Mortica smirked before kissing your forehead as she slowly trailed her finger nails down your abdomen making you shiver.

" put on something better, we leave in 5 minutes and when we get home I'm gonna fuck your brains out til I remind who you belong too" she pushed you off her, leaving a ghost peck on your lips before existing the bedroom.

You laid down on the bed for a couple more minutes catching your breath, you couldn't wait til later tonight, because maybe just maybe, when she said she'll be fucking you brains out.... it just might be the other way around, but either way, there's enough big straps available in your sex basket..... waiting patiently to be used.....

[consistantly-changing]

[Image descriptions in order: screenshots of reblogs on this post.

Images in the first reblog:

moregaythanyourealized: i was at an antique store in Austria once and when I went to check out they guy was like "Oh, that was my wife's. Oh well, she'll be okay without it!" I felt a little guilty]

[takk: #bought a ceramic seal at an antique store and the woman at the counter said 'do you know what this is?' and i said 'a seal?' and she said #nothing else]

[vintagegarf: #this has happened to me multiple times #I tried to buy a lamp they were using for light that got unplugged #they let me buy it but i had to haggle for a bit]

[tackyflamingosarah: I was in a local used bookstore once and they had an original finalized script for The Breakfast Club. That was pretty cool to see. Still have no idea where they got it from]

[shakespearerants: #ahahaha throwback to the one time I went into THEE most expensive antique store in the city to ask about a ring that was haunting me #and the about 90 year old sales lady a. didn't recognize the peice b. immediately told me if she'd have seen it earlier she would've kept i #for herself c. turned the tag around and was surprised to find a price in her own handwriting d. deduced I don't have a job by my manicured #for-once hands e. offered me a 100€ discount because she liked my vibes f. immediately invited me to come to her property and meet her #horses after I expressed the slightest interest. when I say property I mean castle with grounds. when I say horses I mean own private stud. #OH YEAH and this whole interaction started with her wanting to throw me out of the store as soon as I walked through the door bc she had a #private client coming in 10 minutes. #vladi speaks]

[cosmic-courtroom: #me when i find radioactive glass in some random persons booth and it's just labelled 'green glass $2.50' like. #stares. girl. and the owners of the store see my blacklight in hand and go 'oh so is it [uranium/depression] glass??' and i flash it with #light and sometimes it's the brightest shit they've seen like. Hey That's a Really High U Concentration Actually.]

[agdab: #this was how i got a cursed ring #i had to bury it in a graveyard to get rid of it]

[chikinan: #still thinking about the cow fetus]

[horneboy: #omfg no i got a 60s soviet union biscuit tin from a vintage shop #and the guy was like wtf whats this never seen it before #and i was like it's your shop blud]

[thirdchoiceurl: #love when they ask why I picked something out and I get to tell them about all the uranium they have]

[Images in the second reblog:

abyssalterrors: #me w my collectible nsync marionnete puppets #jt i WILL find you]

[therebloger22: #the employee going i don't think we have postcards cause postcard lady hasn't been in lately and then here i come with postcards]

[ghostphy: #i once tried to buy a little Pikachu figure from a thrift store #and they would NOT sell it to me #because they were convinced it wasn't from the store #so they just took it and kept it #like. ok]

[phi-says-bullshit: One was at an antique store, he asked "where did you find this?" I said, in a bucket marked a dollar? And he gave me a handful of things from the bucket for free. What a score]

[tinygreenbug: #one time i bought an atrocious lamp because it was only $4 and i thought it was funny and she went 'oh thank god']

[chrono-of-june: #me: waltzes up to the counter with a pink frilly parasol and a gruff also plush #*gruffalo #the lady there: ?????]

[mothmanns: #one time i found a little ceramic piggie at the antique store #not my first but one of the early ones #and i fell in love with him instabtly even though he is missing an ear #and i took him up to the counter and said 'i know hes broken but i love him so much' and the owner smiled at me #and she said 'he was broken when he got here but i kept him because i knew someone special would want to take him home' #and she gave him to me for free and also i cried #im looking at him rn !!!]

[speakingofdoorknobs: #I once found an autographed photo of the Professor from Gilligan's Island at an antique store #yes of course I bought it how could I not?]

[bubsu: #i went to an antique store with a basement and nothing had price tags #also you could only access stuff on the perimeter of the absolute pile of stuff #i took a pic of chairs i wanted and the guy was like oh yeah i remember those i sold them and then bought them back #couldnt buy them lest i find him in my apartment taking his chairs back in the middle of the night #also they were $400]

[stan-pines-mullet: contrary to mom n pop thrift stores, where you can go to the deepest corner of the shop, find a tunnel created by chairs and dressers, crawl into it, be meeted by diverging paths but eventually picking the path less trodded, and at the end you'll find like a cute lamp or something and bring it to the desk and shes like "ahhh yes the lamp" and probably tell you exactly when she got it and who gave her it".]

[Images in the third reblog:

fairyundead: #Or the store is owned and staffed by just one dude who knows exactly when and where he got each and every item #And while he's ringing you up he tells the story of how he found the item and how he had planned to do XYZ with it #He seems almost sad to let it go but when you're like "you don't have to sell it to me?” He's like no no it's yours now #And it makes the item just a bit more special to you whenever you see it]

[idyllic-idioms: #bought a hat at the charity shop yesterday and the guy at the checkout was like #is this hat yours #and i was like ????? #and he was like did you find it in this building or bring it in yourself #and i was like oh yeah it was in that bin over there #and he was like hmm interesting]

[sleepysuccubi: #either that or they have extensive knowledge about the random Pyrex bowl you found in the basement]

[ereborne: #when I got my cuteass little teapot I wanted a little trivet to keep on the floor in the corner of my room for my teapot to perch on #and the first of the little antique/consignment shops we went to didn't have any trivets we could find #the second one I found a trivet in the first main room and I was much encouraged! I marked its position in my mind and kept looking #and by that point my family had gone farther in (an acknowledged fact that I am always the slowest and should be left) #and the lady behind the little desk asked if she could help me with anything so I told her I was looking for a trivet #but also we were all just there to poke around no worries and she was like 'oh well I don't think we have any trivets but enjoy!' #and I was like 'ah well you do have at least one. right here. on this shelf maybe two yards from where you spend all your time' #very funny to scoot a milkjug aside and lift a bunch of plates to show a little cast-iron maple leaf trivet and see her be like oh!!!!!! #that is the trivet I ended up buying but they did have at least four in the shop. maybe more hidden where I didn't see them #and also actually we never went to the other floor so who knows how many there! but yeah at least four and the first in that front room

mariedemedicis: #quoth queue quoth i]

[dreamshappytrail: #this happened when i bought a clown once #cashier had. never seen it before ???? #so they let me have him for free :3]

[roominthishell: #this happens in normal shops too if the customers are insane enough #ive had people come up to me with our wall decorations that we like nailed onto the wall trying to buy it #and i have to be like 'where did you get this from????']

[uncivilliberties: I bought an eight inch tall cast iron Michelin Man coin bank the other day and the cashier looked at it blankly for a full thirty seconds and then just whispered "what"]

[everlastingrandom: #me every time I find a new lead crystal piece #that guy at the counter is like 'we had that in the store???' #and I'm like yeah man #:3 treasure hunting]

[wierdrocks: #bought a framed cross stitch when i moved #and the guy at the antique store squinted at it and was like #i... sold this #were there two?? #guess there were two]

[lachlame: #bought a sword at a thrift store one time #had a price tag and everything #but that cashier swore on a stack of bibles that theyd never seen it before]

[Images in the fourth reblog:

lichensings: #a friend of mine when she found a doll that looks exactly like her in the back #(they let her have it for free)]

[fisherkings: #once someone semi accusingly asked if i got my sweater there and i said no and she said hm. well i wish we sold it. okay?]

[ivytwines: #the walk of shame to show them the rando booth you picked it up at]

[aquilathefighter: #the awkward description of which booth and what dusty corner of said booth #listen gertrude i like to DIG through all the musty crap]

[obfuscatingintelligence: #i found what i think was a Christmas tree topper from the Soviet Union #hammer and sickle and everything #still no idea how it showed up in small town lowa]

[turtledactyl: #my friend once found a large jar of various stones and jewelry and the person working was like idk where you found that but its uhhh $20 #there was like hundreds of dollars worth of stones and cabachons in there]

[pumpkabitch: #i know ive reblogged and tagged this before about this #but i wanted to look at this little gold frog in a case and the guy opened it took the frog out and said Ive never seen this thing before]

[goosefeathered: #one time it was a rat #the only thing worse than being a customer is being the customer that finds that rat #she put it in a jar and gave it to me? #i let it go in a creek #weird day]

[berry-femme: #me like hello I want those three musical ceramic wall masks please #and they're like #the what now.]

[comradecrab: #that one lamp shaped like a ship i bought with little sails and an anchor #at least five older ladies crowded around me to watch me see if it turned on and cheered when it did #cashier was like i swear i have never seen this in my life anyway that'll be $15]

[Images in the fifth reblog:

ectogasm: #found this absolutely fucking DELIGHTFUL antique store in keyport the other day #just packed to the gills #some of the strangest shit just piled onto shelves #religious pamphlets from 1895 thrown into a bin stacked next to a shelf that had uranium glass plates and an old box of antiseptic dressing #nixon political pins and a BOTTLE OF MERCURY and antique rolls of film #i wanted to move in #anyway i bought a pair of earrings and had this exact exchange w the shop owner]

[thesunshookwithjoy: #shout out to the lady at the antique store who said 'what the hell is a gyroscope' while we were buying said gyroscope #and then I think just guessed at the price #it's really cool though it's from an old boat]

[midnight-herald: #LITERALLY #there was this antique store in boston i would go to after moving #because there was so much good kitchen stuff in the basement that the owners forgot about #so they'd cut me a crazy deal #i'd be trying to add up how much for everything i had grabbed based on what the signs downstairs said #and the guy working the counter would just look at this shit and me with my calcualtor (not even joking) and say '$35' #ever september we would do this song and dance #got a rlly nice cast iron skillet from him this way]

[shower-man: #everytime i come up to check out with the dustiest crustiest doll that looks like it no longer believes in light]

[bohello: #"oh yeah theres a mannequin in the bathroom btw" after getting jumpscared by the mannequin]

[tyronetoastertime: #me when I got my hand caught in a bear trap at an antique store]

[ghxsttowns: #i love tiny cutlery. like tiny tiny. and whenever i find any in antique stores and go 'hi how much will it be for this' theyre like damn #those are minuscule where were they ??? u can just take them Imao dont worry]

[songsfordustmites: #usually they dont comment on my purchases but last time they did #yes there are captain kangaroo records out there. yes i did get a great deal on that bag of colorful thread. #yes the little toy that i bought is so cute. thats why i bought him.]

[cookinguptales: #I also love the opposite #when you bring some little tchotchke up to the front desk and they're like oooh do you know what this is #and you're like yes it's a little kitty with a pumpkin and I love him #and they're like THIS is a FIGURINE that came packaged in TEA and people COLLECTED them #and you're like fascinating thank you I've named him timothy]

[maximum-snoot: I briefly worked at an antique mall in highschool, the kind where they rent out spaces to different vendors and whatnot... Well one day a customer brings this skull up to the register and like, that's fine, a lot of vendors have the occasional animal skull, but we had to be like UHHHH WHERE DID YOU FIND THIS because it was a fucking PORPOISE skull, which is EXTREMELY illegal to own and even MORE illegal to sell and I guess the vendor who was trying to sell it somehow didn't know this??? So we had to be like "Sorry, you can't buy this. Nobody can buy this. We shouldn't even have this. Please don't tell the authorities."]

[Images in the sixth and final reblog:

zooophagous: #"i got it from the booth full of santa claus decor" #i also love the random booths that are selling clearly brand new items and handmade soap #like girl youre lost this place is for mildew covered magazines and racist salt and pepper shakers]

[autisticmisabel: #my favourite thing is when they're so confused about you wanting whatever useless knick knack #that they just give it to you because they can't think of a reasonable price #it's happened to me twice now i think]

[goomygoomygoomy: #me at river market all the time #'where did you even get this' in a dark corner of the basement floor dw about it]

[quillkippsisalilbitchandilovehim: #one time i asked the guy behind the cash desk about something and he tried to walk over before realising he was literally trapped behind the #desk because of all the stuff piled up around him. had to help this dude climb out lol]

[catskincass: #when I bought a pair of vintage rare binoculars for pennies because they put the decimal in the wrong place]

[siixxeyes: there's an antique store across the street from my house. i collect vintage poodle related things (i show poodles) and i found a really gorgeous poodle brooch from the 60's. the owner looked at me and said "where the fuck was this?" and proceeded to write down my name and put the word POODLES next to it. i get a phone call every few weeks when they either find something or get something new.]

[asstrainmcfucktruck: #'who let you into the forbidden relics section' 'fred??' 'NOBODY NAMED FRED WORKS HERE']

[carneflower13: #not even the creators of the labyrinth are truly aware of what lurks within it #memes]

[zzazu: #once found a 300 year old history book and the store owner was like #where did you find this? weve been looking for this for 8 years]

[night-creeps: #the best and only time I went to an antique store #i was like 3/4 years old #i dont remember if i was with my mom or my aunt #but near the counter they had their small/ easily steal-able things in a glass case #and i saw this set if two wooden cats that are vaguely reminiscent of lucky cats #but they were painted black and with slight floral detailing #and i was obsessed with cats as a kid #and in my brain i was like convinced they were super valuable because they were in a glass case #and the lady who owned the place thought i was adorable and let me hold them #and i was begging to get them but was told we couldnt #but the lady gave them to me anyway #now that im older im p sure they arent that valuable #and i only have one becayse i gave tge other to my best friend in elementary school #but I was so wowed as a kid that the lady let me have something i was convinced was extremely valuable]

/End ID

i love antique stores you go to check out & theyre like “where the hell did you get this”

[bike42]

September 8-10, 2023 Clifden

Friday - transfer day.

We were so relieved that the hotel in Clifden was willing to have the COVID positive tour members, and Peter arranged a van to transport us there separately. We learned that Gary had also tested positive, so he joined the “Dublin Five” in the quarantine van. Our driver was Rory, and he was hell-bent on getting us to Clifden in record time. I had researched some sights along the way, but was only able to get little glimpses of Westport and Killery Fjord as we flew past in the van.

We arrived at the hotel several hours ahead of our bus (with our luggage). It was another unbelievably hot and sunny day. Jeff and I sat in the chairs out front and played a few games of cribbage, until we finally had to go inside. The room was nice, and the best amenity was a fan in the closet! It would be unusual to need AC in Ireland, so we’re doing our best trying to catch a breeze through open windows.

We were both feeling pretty good - I had some sinus congestion, and Jeff still had a bit of a cough. It seems like the meds we got in two trips to the pharmacy will see us through this.

It was a “group dinner at the hotel” night, so Peter texted us the menu and said our meals would be delivered to our rooms. It was a beautiful evening, so the Dublin Five carried our meals to the front patio and ate out there. JT and I polished off our bottle of Jameson Crested. It felt odd to have people from the group come out to say hello (from a distance). We learned that several other members had fallen ill, including Bill.

After dinner, JT and I walked around the town. The hotel is in a great location just a block from the Main Street. We walked a circle and found many shops and restaurants. At least we have a great location to have to be sequestered!

Saturday

I woke about 7a feeling pretty good. By rearranging some furniture, I was able to create enough space to do yoga. We put masks on and went down to the breakfast buffet. It felt very odd to be serving ourselves. We took our plates outside and ate our breakfast on the patio with Steve. The tour today was a hike guided by a local archeologist and it was painful to watch half of our group climb on the bus and drive off without us.

I was reminded of the disappointment I’d felt last Summer when our Yukon trip was cancelled and we had to “make the best of it” by enjoying the trip to Banff that I’d pulled together instead. We’re always good at making the best of it, but having to sit out this tour was really bugging me. I think it was because after all this time, this tour company didn’t have a plan for how to handle this. We bought our own COVID tests and confessed that we’d tested positive. There are others on our tour that are exhibiting symptoms, yet claim they’re testing negative, or haven’t said anything at all. Three couples only one is positive, which is a little unbelievable given they’re sharing hotel rooms. We’ve agreed with Peter that quarantine should be for 5 days after symptoms start, but someone at the company is now declaring it’s 5 days after the positive test, which makes no sense. I shared with Peter that the Backroads Tour policy is that anyone with symptoms or a positive test needs to wear a mask when on the bus and can’t participate in group dinners - nothing about having to quarantine in the hotel. We’re trying to be careful with Peter as he’s in the middle here and I’m sure the company is thinking about liability. However, with over half of us showing symptoms, I think they should act as if we all have it and just institute required masking and allow anyone with mild symptoms to continue. Ethically, Jeff and I felt we had to report our positive results to him. But it was so frustrating to see people getting on the bus that morning that were likely positive too (including 3 people whose spouses were positive and reportedly quite ill).

I’d found several interesting looking hikes, but it was too hard to find a way to the trailhead and back. We made a plan with Steve to take a taxi up to the Sky Road lookout and walk back. Our cab driver was “Daniel Ryan,” who said he was the great-great-grandson of the “Dan Ryan” for which the expressway in Chicago is named after. It was foggy when he dropped us at the lookout, but he said it’d clear up in thirty minutes. We stood around as the fog swirled, taking photos of the fog and the flowering hillsides - heather, yellow gorse and wild fuchsia. A cyclist came along and Jeff enjoyed chatting with him. While we had some glimpses of the Atlantic and some houses down below, it never cleared completely so we started our walk down the hill.

Walking downhill felt so different on my shins after my main focus for the last eight weeks was hiking up hill. I snapped lots of photos as we descended: flowers, cattle, sheep and the Clifden Castle gate and wall (and ruins).

We got back to the village square and decided to grab a pint and a snack. Bill texted he was ready to meet up and he came down to the square to join us. At 2:30pm Ireland was playing Romania in the World Cup Rugby match and the atmosphere inside the pub was fun (craic without the music). We watched for a bit, and it seemed it was a blowout! Back to the hotel, I had a solid two hour nap, then got up to shower. We heard from Steve that Peter was ready to meet with the Dublin Five to discuss our plan for rejoining the tour. We met him on the back deck of the restaurant that’s across the parking lot in the old train station. We agreed on five days after start of symptoms, so Jeff and Steve were in the clear. I said day number five for me was tomorrow and could I go on the tour? Peter didn’t say no, so I took this as a yes.

M&M were playing at 8:30p at Mallarkey’s Pub. We headed there after dinner and sat at a table to the side away from the rest of the tour mates (we just waved to them). Fantastic music as always, and Peter joined the for a few songs. We all had a pint of Guinness and Bill bought a round of whiskey to help with our slight coughs. We stayed while the next band got set up and started - a kind of comical overweight Irishman with a keyboardist (younger girl), drummer and electric bass player. He did 3 American songs before we left, not at all the kind of music we expected!

Sunday

Up for breakfast - feeling well enough now to stay in the dining room to eat, but masking up as we travel throughout the hotel. Felt great to board the bus again for the short drive to Cleggan where we caught the ferry for the 40-minute ride to Inishbofen. Only 14 of us plus Peter made the trip - combination of COVID and too much partying last night thinned the crowd.

Inishbofen is the westernmost part of Ireland. In Irish, it means the land of white cows. As we entered the harbor, there were dramatic ruins of a fort that had been built by Oliver Cromwell who had a base here 1649. Peter said it’s not taught in history class in the UK, but he was a psychopath that pulverized Ireland - burning villages and forests and killing thousands of people.

Peter said about 200 people live on the island, and there are many holiday homes. It’s a peaceful, laid back place to visit. There wasn’t much commerce on the island, but shops and cafes have been established with an old airstream trailer, an old double-decker bus, and by adding on to houses. It was possible to rent bicycles which I thought we’d do, but the roads on the island don’t go too far. Peter said it was best to walk around the south side - 40 minutes to get to a dramatically scenic cliff. We took off with Wayne and Sue, knowing it’d be too painful to walk with the rest of that group. They’re the youngest people of this trip (53) and we enjoyed spending the day with them. Other than Bill, we haven’t really clicked with anyone else, or found much common interest other than love for music.

It felt great to walk at a good pace and physically we both felt fantastic. We walked out to the point, and then back to the hotel that had an outdoor cafe. There we found our group - only made it that far and few ventured any further even after we told them how beautiful it was!

We sat at a picnic table overlooking the sea and ordered pints of Guinness and lunch. It started misting and we donned our rain gear, but by the time lunch came it was gorgeous and sunny! We relaxed there for about an hour, watching dogs, people and staring out to sea.

The boat ride back was uneventful and we got a text from Bill suggesting dinner at a French restaurant in town. We cleaned up and met him out front. He’d just heard from Peter that the boss man said all the remaining COVID + people have to stay in Clifden until the last night! We brainstormed different approaches he could take to get Peter to relax that a bit, then enjoyed a nice dinner and bottle of wine without talking of COVID anymore!

Back to the hotel, music tonight was provided by Pauline Scanlon - a renowned Irish singer with two members of her band (The Unquiet) and also her husband on the bodhran (he’s part of a famous Irish band that we hadn’t heard of as well). It was a lot of folk and traditional Irish music - fantastic performers. Pauline sang a ballad that she said she’d had the honor of singing at Sinead O’Conner’s funeral recently (what? Holy cow … Bill had missed that Sinead died). Another great night of music - JT and I headed up to sleep while others steered toward the bar. Tomorrow we’ll move to County Clare.

[dl4draws]

dudes i started listening to the magnus archives,, it’s very good

[fuckyeahprodigalson]

(SPOILERS)

TVLINE | Even though this episode ends with a cliffhanger, it felt — to me, at least — like it also worked as a series finale. As you wrote and produced it, were you planning the episode as a potential series ender? FEDAK | No. We were approaching it as, “What’s the most exciting way to end Season 2?” We also feel, like you do, that it is not a series finale that doesn’t work because we’ve been cancelled. It still does work… This isn’t like ALF being captured by the government before they were cancelled. It’s still a good and exciting story. SKLAVER | What COVID taught us is that you’re never sure what tomorrow is going to bring. When we knew Fox had ordered 13 episodes, we needed each one to feel like a finale. If we were only able to produce 11 episodes, then it would end with Martin in Vivian’s car, and that would be cool. If it could only be 12, then it would end with Martin and Bright on a sea boat, and that seemed like a pretty great finale. We kept pushing the bar and putting ourselves in these crazier and crazier situations. The finale really feels like we’ve earned everything that happens in that moment, but it’s pretty crazy to know, in 13 episodes, we were able to tell this story. We found it very satisfying. We have a whole Season 3 story locked and loaded, and we don’t want to stop telling this story. But we’re feeling good about how this ended on Fox. FEDAK | If you’re a network out there looking for a story, we have one. It’s ready to go. Sam and Chris will get on the phone. I feel like a rug salesman. “Come on down to Crazy Chris’s!” SKLAVER | I know. The fans are working so hard to get our show renewed. I feel like I need to do my part, as well.

TVLINE | To that end, what can you say about what was in store for Season 3? SKLAVER | Without sharing too much, it was going to be the best season of television ever produced. FEDAK | That’s true. That’s true. SKLAVER | [Laughs] No, we have a really fun Season 3 pitch. We don’t want to give too much of it away because we’re still hopeful of being able to tell that story. But Bright stabbing Martin at the end wasn’t going to make anyone’s life easier, and I think our show flourishes when all of our characters face adversity. Bright and Dani just kissed, but they’re not going to be able to get past this. Gil and Jessica are in a good place. There’s so many places that we could jump off from the ending of this season, and that’s what’s so exciting for us. FEDAK | And on a technical level, our plan was to include Michael Sheen in Season 3, so that gives you a little bit of insight into where we were going. He was definitely going to be a part of the show.

TVLINE | To what degree are conversations happening about bringing the show somewhere else? FEDAK | It’s not really Sam and I having those discussions. Those conversations are being had. I can’t speak to them, because it’s more of a studio thing. The one thing we’ll say is Warner Bros. has been an incredible advocate for the show. They’ve been great to us, and they’ve been very supportive, and they love the show. And Fox loves the show, too. The executives that bought the show and championed the show were all advocates and all gutted by the situation we’ve found ourselves in. So we’re hopeful, but it’s a studio thing now.

TVLINE | Assuming this episode does stand as the series finale, is there an interpretation of that final scene you want fans to have? Like, should we assume Martin dies in those woods? FEDAK | I like open-ended finales, but then again, I know there’s Chuck fans that still want to kill me. [Laughs] SKLAVER | Chris and I are both pleasers, as a personality trait. I would just like fans to be very happy with this finale. However they want Martin to be at the end — I know how I imagine Martin being in the end, but I don’t want to say something that makes someone less happy, you know what I mean? [Laughs] FEDAK | What a wimp. SKLAVER | No! I just want people to be happy when a son stabs his father in the gut. I hope that sparks joy for someone. [Laughs] I guess it is an open-ended finale, but I’m very happy with it, and I hope people are happy with it, as well.

TVLINE | So much of this finale centers on Martin’s capacity to change. Did either of you believe he truly could? Or did he simply want to believe he could change? SKLAVER | I’ll just say it: Even if Martin can change, he killed 23 people. And he can’t be in this world. That’s not up for debate. While the son in Bright wants to believe his father doesn’t have this darkness in him anymore, the profiler and the FBI agent knows, like Bright says, that Martin isn’t for this world. It’s not up to them to decide if Martin is allowed to be out. FEDAK | I totally disagree with Sam. [Laughs] I’d like to advocate for the serial killer in this version of the story. Can Martin change? I think the answer is kind of yes, maybe. But he is a psychopath. Michael [Sheen] had a very interesting take on this, even from the beginning of the show, which is that he can make the world what he wants it to be. It’s not like he feels tied to those 23 murders. He’s made a decision over time to say, “I’m not this person anymore.” But that doesn’t mean he can actually control it totally.

TVLINE | And a few scenes earlier, we see Martin come out of that cabin, having hurt The Woodsman, and he looks exhilarated by what he’s just done. Is that the moment when Bright realizes, “This is a lost cause”? SKLAVER | The scene before that is, in my opinion, one of the most interesting scenes we’ve ever done on our show, where Bright has to convince his father to hurt someone, when all Martin is telling us is that he doesn’t want to do that. It’s akin to forcing someone in recovery to take a drink. That scene is as consequential as what happens afterward. I’m not sure if Martin walks out of there exhilarated, in my mind, although he is in a place. He’s under a spell. But it’s a spell that, in some ways, Bright pushed him toward. There’s the reading you had, which is very valid, that this man will never change. But there’s also the reading of, “This man is in this space because I pushed him there,” and how that could affect Bright going forward is a very interesting story to me. FEDAK | You could look at that final confrontation, and Martin is so upset with his son, not only for calling the police but for getting him to hurt somebody. And you kind of understand why he’s mad! In a way, he’s been betrayed. SKLAVER | Bright wasn’t the best son. He was the best profiler. He found Jeannie Larkin and saved the girl. And that’s the problem with Bright: He’s always been a son and a profiler. And the need to save a life caused him to be a bad son, for sure.

TVLINE | Looking back on this season, was there anything else — a scene, a storyline — that you’d hoped to explore but didn’t get the chance? FEDAK | At the beginning of the season, we had a JT story that was part of our first episode, which touched upon the Black Lives Matter movement and racism inside the police force. What happened was, COVID affected the show, and whenever something would happen in regards to [production changes], we’d have to change the story, we’d have to make moves. There were parts of that story that we weren’t able to address in Season 2 that we’d hoped to get to. It was something that we had to address in a different way, with the hope that in Season 3, we’d be able to come back and give that more air and time to breathe. SKLAVER | The other thing is, toward the end of this season, we started to really love Martin out in the world — in the finale, but even in that beach house with Vivian. We’ve done a lot of episodes with Michael, and he’s always in Claremont or he’s in flashbacks. He’s always on our stage. Once we could put him out in the world — I think Michael felt it, too — it was just another version of Martin Whitly, and it’s a version that I loved. Take what you will from this, but it was something we were very interested in pushing further in Season 3, just getting Martin out of Claremont more and giving this complex character even more dimensions.

[hockeylvr59]

Secret Love Part 4 || Cale Makar

Requested: [ ] yes [x] no

Authors Note: 

Warnings: cursing, discussion of sexual activities

Word Count: 3,911

~~~~

You’d tossed and turned for almost an hour before you had eventually drifted off to sleep, only to be awoken by the Denver sunrise spilling through the window. Groaning softly you made a mental note for the shopping trip...curtains...Cale definitely needed curtains. Laying on the couch, you played on your phone for a few minutes before the need to use the bathroom finally took over. 

After knocking quietly on Cale’s door with no response, you cracked it open hoping to sneak through to the bathroom without disturbing him. As you tiptoed across his bedroom floor, you couldn’t help but let your eyes fall on him. As expected, he was shirtless, blankets falling only midway up his exposed chest. His hair was a mess, and a relaxed expression covered his face. Quietly closing the bathroom door behind you, you chastised yourself for the heat that flooded through you. You were just friends and despite his now single status, that was all this was ever going to be. 

Relieving yourself, you then quickly brushed your teeth before quietly moving back to the living room, easing his door shut behind you. His parents were going to be here in about an hour and after starting a pot of coffee you examined the contents of Cale’s fridge and cabinets. Finding bacon, eggs, and pancake mix you decided to make everyone breakfast. It was as you were moving around the kitchen that Cale finally appeared, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. 

“You’re making breakfast?” He murmured, leaning in to kiss the top of your head. 

“I am…” You smiled, checking on the bacon in the oven as you scrambled eggs in a pan on the stove. Cale poured himself a cup of coffee and you felt his eyes on you once more. 

“Anything I can do?” He questioned after a moment. 

“Get some plates?” You requested. “How do you want your eggs?” The clatter of plates filled your ears for a moment as Cale set plates beside you. 

“However you’re making them is perfect.” He insisted, sharing a warm grin now that he was a little bit more awake. Nodding you took one of the plates and scooped a hefty portion of eggs onto it before pulling the bacon from the oven and the pancakes from where they were keeping warm in the microwave and piling those onto the plate as well. 

“Eat up.” You grinned, turning to place the plate in front of one of the bar stools at the island. Doing another batch of eggs quickly you set everything aside to keep warm before serving yourself a much smaller portion. Taking a seat beside him, you shook your head as you watched Cale continue to dig into his breakfast. The moment felt a little too domestic and natural so you were thankful when there was a knock at the door that signaled that Laura and Gary had arrived. 

It wasn’t long after that before you were quickly getting ready and heading out with Laura to go shopping for things for Cale’s apartment. The first place you stopped was Starbucks and then you were off to a local shopping center to do some damage. 

“You seem more relaxed…” Laura mentioned as she sat waiting for the light to turn green. 

“Yeah uh...we talked after dinner last night. We’re good.” You shrugged. Yes you were close with Laura, but you really didn’t want to tell her the details of your friendship with her son. She seemed to accept that because she nodded and smiled. 

“Good. I’m glad.” Her response ended the subject and instead she focused on the task ahead. “So you’ve spent a decent amount of time in Cale’s apartment...what does he still need other than what he mentioned to me?” 

“Well curtains would be good. Waking up to the sun isn’t always ideal.” You said, a yawn slipping from your throat. “He could also use a throw blanket for the couch.” You added, pondering over what comforts Cale’s apartment seemed to be missing that would make it feel more like a home. 

Wandering through aisles, Laura did most of the shopping, occasionally asking for your thoughts on something before either tossing it into the cart or putting it back on the shelf. As you walked through the aisle containing photo frames you paused. 

“What do you think about surprising him with some pictures?” You suggested. He had a couple pieces of ‘artwork’ but there really weren’t any family photos to be found as far as you could see. 

“Why don’t you take the reins on that?” Laura replied, a soft look you couldn’t place filling her eyes as she handed you her phone. “Text yourself anything from my camera roll.” As she looked through possible throw pillows, you quickly scanned through the pictures, texting yourself a half dozen that would be perfect. Agreeing to meet up in about fifteen minutes, you headed back to the instant photo machine, plugging your phone in to print the pictures from Laura’s gallery as well as a couple from your own. Satisfied with what you had, you moved back to the frames, picking out one for each photo before moving to find some command strips to hang them with. 

On the car ride back to Cale’s place, you worked to get each photo into a frame. By the time Laura pulled back into the garage you were finished and you helped her carry all of the shopping bags inside. Cale had given his mom the spare key in case the two of you were done before he got back and after letting yourselves inside, you went to work on making Cale’s apartment feel just a little cozier. Together you hung curtains up in his living room, tossing pillows and the sherpa throw onto the couch. Then Laura helped you with hanging photos on his bedroom wall while a few of them were placed stationary on a side table in his living room. Laura unpacked the rest of the things Cale had asked her to buy and then the two of you settled onto the couch to watch tv until the guys arrived. 

Gary and Cale had picked up lunch on the way home, so the four of you sat down to eat. When you finished, Cale handed you a gift bag and though you had a feeling you knew what it was, you were still anxious to open it. Navy fabric accented with maroon and white spilled around your fingers and you gently ran your fingers over the number 8 and lettering of the nameplate. 

“Can’t have you come to the game tonight without proper apparel.” Cale murmured and you jumped up quickly, wrapping your arms around him in a hug. 

“It’s perfect.” You agreed. You’d packed the Makar home jersey that you’d bought yourself at the beginning of the season, but you had to admit the thirds were your favorite jersey and getting the jersey from Cale meant just a little bit more than buying one for yourself. 

As you cleaned up lunch, Cale started to settle in, getting ready to take his pregame nap. He had acknowledged the curtains, blanket, pillows and other things his mom had gotten him but it wasn’t until he disappeared into his bedroom for a moment that his eyes must have caught the photos. He’d only been gone maybe 30 seconds when he returned, pulling his mom into a huge hug, his eyes soft. 

“You framed pictures for me?” He muttered softly. 

“That idea was all Y/N.” Laura quickly clarified and immediately Cale turned to you, his arms wrapping around you just as tightly. 

“That’s incredible. Thank you.” He whispered into your ear, and when he pulled back his hands lingered on your hips for a moment more. 

Soon you were grabbing everything you’d need for the game because you were headed with Laura and Gary to play tourist while Cale napped and then headed to the rink. Laura and Gary had already headed downstairs while you debated on a shirt to wear and you didn’t even notice Cale come up beside you as you dug through your bag. 

“Wear that one.” He instructed, pointing to a wine red long-sleeved off-the-shoulder blouse. “We’re going out after the game if we win.” He clarified, rubbing the back of his neck. You were already wearing your favorite pair of jeans and had thrown on a cute pair of tennis shoes for running around. You weren’t exactly a club type of person but going out with Cale and his teammates did seem fun. 

“Okay.” You agreed, disappearing into his bathroom to change tops before returning. “Have a good nap. And kick some ass tonight.” You teased, grabbing your makeup bag because you’d barely put any on to go shopping and if you were going out tonight you were going to need to rethink your current makeup. With everything you needed, you snuck a kiss to Cale’s cheek before disappearing out the door to meet Gary and Laura down at the car. 

____

The last time you saw Cale play live was versus Calgary during the playoffs. So sitting in the stands of the Pepsi Center watching him warm up was an entirely different experience. You’d watched him on tv many times but in person it was clear to see just how much his game was growing every day. He was almost mesmerizing to watch and tucked in next to Laura, wrapped in his jersey, you felt at peace. Well, at least until the puck dropped for real. 

During a commercial break in the first period, the Avs announced a promo game. After the participant was introduced and the game was explained, a baby picture popped up on the screen. In it, a little boy, no more than 9 or 10 months old, sat between the legs of a little girl around the age of five who had a book in her hands. Immediately your own cheeks flushed as you recognized the picture, it was one of your favorites from when you and Cale were super little. The fan playing got one guess of who it was with no options to win an autographed jersey, but they were way off and guessed Nate for some reason. Then multiple choice popped up with Cale’s name, JT’s, and Gabe for a chance at an autographed puck. You didn’t even pay attention to the guess beyond hearing the boos signaling they got it wrong, but instead your gaze landed on Cale who was looking up at the screen, hiding a smile as he took some ribbing by his teammates. Eventually his eyes drifted up to where you were seated and he sent a little wink that you would have missed if you weren’t looking at him. From beside you Laura just smiled and bumped your shoulder, signaling without words just how strong your friendship with Cale really was. 

The Avs played a solid all around game and you cheered with each goal scored. Cale had two assists on the night and with the team coming out with the win you knew he was going to be in a good mood. Heading down to the locker room, you listened as Gary rambled on about the game as hockey dads do while sharing looks with Laura that made you burst into laughter. 

When Cale finally stepped out of the locker room he hugged his parents before lifting you up and spinning you around. 

“You ready to go have some fun?” He inquired, boyish smile on his face. 

“Don’t get into too much trouble.” Laura warned, though her expression wasn’t all that serious. 

“As if I’d let him.” You joked. For years Cale’s family had the running joke of you being the more responsible one keeping Cale in line. It wasn’t always true obviously, but for the most part the point stood. Still after the past few weeks Cale had had, you were willing to let him go just a little bit crazy tonight, knowing that you would be there as his safety net. 

“We’ll see you both tomorrow.” Gary grinned. “Go relax and have a good time.” Cale’s arm drifted around your waist as he tugged you to his car. Once there, you stripped off the jersey leaving you in just the blouse and as he pulled out of the garage you mussed up your hair just a little bit. Using the mirror, you carefully added a little more eyeliner before throwing on a dark lipstick, tossing both cylinders into the cupholder beside you. 

By the time you stepped out of the car at the club you felt ready for a night out and as you watched Cale shed his jacket, you felt his eyes on you once more. 

Waiting for him to be ready to head inside, you watched as a tall redhead approached, beautiful woman tucked into his side. 

“Y/N...this is JT and his girlfriend Lauren.” Cale introduced and you reached a hand out to shake theirs before tucking your hand back into your pocket. 

“So this is the best friend.” JT said, smirking. “Bout time Cale finally brought you around, he’s been talking about you for forever.” 

“Really?” You teased, ready to throw out a semi-embarrassing tidbit until Cale grabbed you by the waist, his finger falling to your lips to shush you as he guided you inside. 

“Can you at least let me get a drink or two in me before you start spilling the embarrassing stories?” He pleaded jokingly. 

“I suppose.” You conceded, smiling as he guided you up to the VIP lounge and over to the bar. Settling for a glass of wine, you watched him order a beer for himself before leading you over to one of the many couches. It wasn’t long before you were being introduced to all of Cale’s teammates.  

Gabe was boisterous and funny and the way that he looked at his wife Mel made you smile brightly. Josty was a character, he had you laughing almost immediately as he told stories about all of the media events he’d done with Cale and what he’d learned from residing in the same building. He was definitely giving you ammo to use later. Then again they all were, chirps had been flying left and right all night. 

You’d been nursing the same glass of wine for about an hour, watching as Cale downed another 2-3 beers as well as a shot that Burky handed him. It was nice to see Cale out with people that clearly cared about him and you knew this was probably the first time he had really been able to let go of all of the stress since the pregnancy scare. 

Eventually Mel and Lauren dragged you out onto the dance floor with the other better halves and even though you’d barely had anything to drink, the beat of the music had you relaxing, enjoying the time you had getting to know the people who were part of Cale’s other family. 

“You know his eyes haven’t left you all night.” Mel eventually declared, her voice barely audible over the loud music. 

“He’s always been a little protective…” You simply shrugged. The look Mel and Lauren shared suggested that they weren’t buying that logic but they didn’t push things. After a few more songs, you left the dance floor to head to the bar for a bottle of water. While there a tall….like really tall, dark haired man who looked like he should star in the next hollywood vampire blockbuster, slipped up beside you, his arm brushing against yours lightly. As you placed him as Cale’s d-partner you smiled up at him before looking back at where the bartender was rushing back and forth. 

“You know none of us have ever seen him like this before…” Ryan murmured. “He comes out but he never really lets loose. Now I don’t know whether that’s because it’s the first time we’ve been out since everything happened or if it’s because you’re here but I suspect it’s more to do with the latter.” You didn’t really know what to say to that so you shrugged. “And I’m not saying that in the manner of he feels like you’re the babysitter who will take care of him, I’m saying that he feels comfortable because you’re here in a way he was never comfortable either by himself or with Sara.” Ryan finally managed to get the bartender’s attention and he ordered your water along with whatever he was drinking before continuing. “And I’m sure Cale never said anything and neither did anyone else but...you should know everyone really likes you. And I can’t say the same for Sara.” Just as quickly as he’d appeared, Ryan had walked off and you glanced over at Cale to see his eyes planted firmly on you, his cheeks rosy from the alcohol. 

Water in hand, you moved to Cale’s side, his arm wrapping around you immediately. The redness in his eyes told you he’d had a little bit more to drink than he probably should have and you pushed your water his way, not wanting him to be completely impossible to drag home. The grin on his face was lazy as he took the bottle, showing how completely relaxed and at ease he was. 

His Adam's apple bobbed as he took a long sip of the water and you tilted your head to observe him, tie gone and the top few buttons of his shirt undone. His fingers slipped just under the edge of your shirt along your hip and you took your own sip from the bottle of water trying to hide the flush that filled your body at the feeling of his fingertips on your bare skin. Passing the water back to him, it was soon gone and once the bottle was empty you stood, looking over your shoulder. 

“Are you going to sit there all night or are you going to come dance with me?” You inquired, your tongue running against your bottom lip. Stumbling just slightly, Cale slipped out of the booth and his hand fell to the curve of your back as he guided you over to where his teammates and their significant others were dancing. 

With Cale’s chest pressed against your back, his hands fell to your hips once more and the pads of his fingers wandered over every inch of skin they could reach. His touch had never affected you like this before, he’d never been this brazen before, but you chalked both of those factors up to the alcohol. Though you’d only had two glasses of wine since you arrived, wine had always made you far warmer than any other form of alcohol so the heat in your skin was definitely just from that. 

“So I have a question…” Cale’s breath fanned over your ear as he leaned down to whisper yell at you, allowing you to hear him over the rap song that was playing. 

“Yes Cale?” You replied, tilting your body back against his so that you could see his face. It was even rosier than before and his soft smile was replaced by a serious and focused look causing your eyebrow to quirk at the sight. 

“Women like having oral sex performed on them right?” For a split second you were certain that it was only Cale’s hold on you that kept you from falling right over. Choking on your own saliva as you tried to swallow you quickly coughed, your cheeks even more flushed than you could attribute to the wine. 

“I...I mean from what I’ve heard yeah…” You finally stumbled out an answer. “Why?” Your question was ignored as Cale’s hands tightened around your hips. 

“You’ve heard?” Cale prodded. “You don’t know?” Cursing under your breath you shivered as Cale’s thumb stroked a sensitive spot along your side. 

“Cale…” You mumbled, not drunk enough for this conversation. He poked you in the side though signaling you to continue and you groaned. “I mean...I had sex for the first time freshman year of college and we didn’t exactly know what we were doing…” You explained, softly enough that only Cale would hear you. “And I mean I’ve only had sex one other time...it was a one night stand and we were both way too drunk to do anything but fuck. So yeah...I’m just taking other people’s word on it...why are you asking Cale?” You finished, twisting in his arms so that you could look at him properly. His head ducked to press against the crook of your neck and he hissed quietly as you drug your nails along his lower back. 

“Just curious…” Cale breathed. “Sara never let me...I mean I wanted to but...she told me she wasn’t interested.” For a moment you didn’t know what to say as that little piece of you celebrated the fact that it seemed there were a lot of things he didn’t do with his ex girlfriend. 

“Oh...I mean everyone has their own likes and dislikes…” You reminded him. “But generally equal reciprocation is definitely appreciated.” 

As the song ended, Gabe called Cale’s name to go take another shot and you pushed him to go murmuring that you were going to run to the bathroom. By the time you returned, you suspected it was definitely time to get Cale home, so you sidled up to his side, slipping your hand in his front pocket for his car keys. 

“I think it’s time we get you home and to bed rockstar.” You declared. Thankfully Cale didn’t put up much of a fight, closing his tab before letting you lead him out of the club. By the time you had parked in his garage, you could see how sleepy the alcohol was making him and you moved around to help him out of the car, his body nearly dragging yours down with its weight. 

Stumbling through the door, you urged him to start to bed while you got him more water and some pain killers. Gathering both, you moved to his room after checking to ensure the front door was locked. You found him sitting on the edge of his bed, dressed in only boxer briefs and though you tried not to stare, your body couldn’t help but notice that gone was the teenage boy you once knew and in his place was a man plain and simple. Setting the water and pills on his bedside table, you urged him to take his contacts out. 

Once you were certain he was fairly settled, you turned to make your way to the couch. Instead, Cale’s hands reached out to pull you back to him and as he scooted to the far side of the bed, he drug you down with him. 

“Cale…” You mumbled in complaint but his eyes were already closed and his breathing was starting to steady out, his hands keeping your body pressed tightly against his. Sighing, you managed to work yourself out of your jeans before giving in and settling in his arms. 

Between your conversation with Gravy, the looks Mel and Lauren were giving you, Cale’s inquiry, wandering hands, and this, so many lines had been blurred tonight that it was making you dizzy. 

For the second night in a row...your mind reeled as you fell into a fitful sleep. 

Blouse:

[oskea93]

My Heart Has a History (4)

I couldn't believe I agreed to show up.

I watched as scantily-clad women walked around as men followed them like dogs after a bone. In a way, I felt kind of overdressed seeing as I was the only female that had a full wardrobe on. When Jax told me to meet him at this garage/clubhouse, I figured that it was a quiet setting. I thought maybe it would just be the two of us but I figured out that wasn't the case when I pulled up. "You're a little lost, sweetheart." I shifted my attention to a leggy blonde, who like the rest of the women barely had any clothing on. "This is a closed party and it looks like you aren't on the list." I was a little shocked but more pissed off that she would speak to me like that. First off, I had no idea there was a guest list or even a fucking party. Jax simply told me to show up tonight and that's what I did. This was my first time at this place and I found it very rude that she would speak to me in such a tone. "I didn't realize I needed an invitation." I simply said as I crossed my arms across my chest. She placed a fake smile on her face as she set her drink down and walked toward me. "Why are you even here?" I looked her over and immediately felt sorry for her. It was obvious that she was an attention seeker just by her choice of clothing. Her heels were sky high, showing off tan legs that I may or may not have been jealous of. Her skirt was the shortest one I've ever seen in my life and her breast were on full display in the top she was wearing. Not to mention, her face was caked with various cosmetics that looked like a bitch to take off at night. I straightened back up and made eye contact with her once again. "Jackson Teller invited me." Her smile only grew larger as she started to laugh. "Is that a joke, darling?" She stepped closer. "Jackson Teller has all that he needs tonight. There's no room for any wallflowers in Jax Teller's world." "Maybe Jax should be the judge of that." I tried to push past her but she moved every time I tried to dodge her. "I told you to leave, bitch." Her hand pushed against my shoulder, causing me to stumble a bit. I had never been in a fight before but I wasn't going to let some whore push me around. Without even thinking, my fist swung in the air and the girl fell to the floor. It was in that moment the people around us stopped what they were doing and stared as the girl wallowed on the ground. I was a bit shocked that I had hit someone and I kind of felt bad for doing so. I had yelled at plenty of people in the past but there was something about this girl that just set me off.

"What the hell is going on here?" A woman pushed through the crowd. "Ima?" She crouched down to her level and made sure that she was okay. "That stupid bitch needs to be arrested for assault!" I looked at her wide eyed as my anger began to take over once more. "I need to be arrested-" I began to shout. "You're the one who fucking pushed me first! You fucking deserved it, stupid whore!" The older woman helped the blond up, keeping her balanced. Her nose was all bloody as the liquid ran down her chin. "You're gonna fucking pay for this, gash." I narrowed my eyes at her as I began to step closer. I didn't make it very fair when a pair of arms pulled my body against theirs. "Get her out of here!" Jax's voice caused me to jump, realizing it was him who was holding me back. At first I thought he was talking about me since he was holding me down but he was talking about the blonde. I could tell that's not what she wanted to hear as the older woman helped her out of the room. Everyone went back to what they were doing once she was gone, not even caring for her well-being. Jax was still holding onto me as I turned around in his arms. "Sorry I ruined your party." I muttered. "I don't know what got into me to do that." He had a Cheshire-grin planted across his lips as he pulled my body further into his. Within seconds, his lips were attached to mine and I no longer cared about the poor blonde…. I couldn't believe she was still here.

I watched as she walked around, flirting with the guys and showing off the new implants some sucker bought for her. Aside from the new tits, she still looked the same. Long legs for days and a perfectly tan body to match. No wonder she could bed any man she wanted, she was a walking Fembot.

While Jax and I were married, I was certain that she had sunk her fangs into him. She was always around the guys and had to make an appearance at every party they had. I knew that the guys did business with CaraCara and it just so happens that Ima was one of the best in her field. From what I've heard, she could bend in any direction and make any man feel like he was king. I guess people are born with that type of talent.

"Presley." Gemma spoke. I snapped out of my thoughts and turned around to face her. Gemma knew my hatred toward Ima ran deep. When Jax and I first got together, she would egg on the hatred by telling me that Ima was at the clubhouse or that Jax had to go over to CaraCara for the day. I don't know what she was trying to do but she knew it got a rise out of me. "Is everything okay?" She asked, placing a hand on my arm.  I just nodded my head as I handed over Wyatt's favorite toy. "Wyatt left his toy in the car this morning and I know he gets a little fussy around naptime if he doesn't have it." She looked at the toy and then looked back to me. "You came all the way down here to bring a toy?" I looked at her confused. "I already put Wyatt down for his nap and he was fine without the toy." Okay, maybe I didn't come all this way to drop off Wyatt's toy. My plan was to run into Jax, instead of Gemma. I wanted to talk to him about what happened the other night and tell him that Matt was upset about the whole thing. "Is it a crime to bring my son his favorite toy?" I questioned back. She looked right through me and knew I was lying. "Jax'll be back soon." I rolled my eyes as she took the toy from my hands and headed towards the back room. I let out a sigh as I followed her lead. Wyatt was sound asleep on his father's bed, curled into the blanket that Gemma had made for him. His blonde hair was scattered across the pillow, a spitting image of Jax when he slept. Gemma simply laid the toy next to him and gestured for me to lay beside my son. "You look like you need a nap too, darling." She whispered as she took my bag and jacket from me. In a way, Gemma Teller was my guardian angel. There were times where I couldn't stand to be around her but I knew she was only looking out for me. She loved her family with all her heart and had the need to protect them at any time, especially when they’re pregnant. She was like a mother hawk when I was pregnant with Wyatt. I could barely do anything by myself without her being right beside me. She would show up at the shop and help with the orders if I was running behind and made sure that I was always accompanied to the OBGYN. She's still that protective mother bird even now that I'm pregnant with Matt’s baby. I want this little girl to know Gemma and Clay. I want her to know who Jax and the guys are. Whether I liked it or not, SAMCRO revolved around my life. I was married into the club at one point in my life and my son's father was the vice president of the MC. No matter how hard I try, Wyatt was destined to end up just like his father. I knew that from the very beginning. Gemma even pointed it out to me way before I was pregnant. For the MC to thrive in the future, it was up to me to give Jackson a son that could learn the tricks of the trade and follow in his father's footsteps. Just like Gemma gave JT a son, who was now the Vice President of the charter… "Everyone get down now!" I stirred at the sound of a man shouting. "I said get down!" I struggled to fully sit up as the sound of heavy footsteps came marching toward the bedrooms. The door burst open as a man clad in a black swat-team vest pointed a gun in my direction. I instantly wrapped my arms around Wyatt as he cried against my chest. "Everyone needs to be in the main room, now!" He continued to point the gun in our direction. I tried my best too quickly removed myself from the bed, picking up my hysterical son in the process. The guy moved out of the way and followed behind us as I entered the room. Everyone was on the ground, including a very pissed off Gemma. "On the floor!" "She's fucking pregnant, dickhead!" Gemma yelled from her position. Before the man could give any more orders, a blonde headed lady walked through the door. Her nicely pressed pantsuit showed that she was probably the one in charge of this whole fiasco. "Leave her be, officer." The man behind me lowered his gun and stood off to the side. "I need every woman who has ties to SAMCRO to come with me." She spoke. "The rest of you are free to leave." I looked over at Gemma as she was helped up by one of the men. "I'm not going anywhere with you, bitch." Gemma sneered as she made her way over to me. She wrapped her arms tightly around me as she glared at the woman. The lady let out a chuckle, running her fingers through her hair. “Cuff em.”  

[yulmoldauer]

its better not to say such things out loud (Tyson Jost/OC): Chapter One

part 2

Story summary: Mason Wright was recently traded and because an Av. Sometimes a fresh start with a new team across the country is what a guy needs, right? It seems to work out, going to a place where no one truly knows you. That is, until someone finds out what you’re desperately trying to hide.

Chapter 1

Summary: Mason’s had a rough game, to put it simply. It was never the best idea to get into a fight with someone bigger than you. They won even with him taking a five-minute major for fighting halfway through the third period. The team goes out to celebrate his 23rd birthday post-win and Tyson takes care of getting him home and to sleep safely.

Warnings: None, I believe! Just some drinking mentioned and there’s a drunk character if that makes you uncomfortable. There’s also a slur against lgbt people used.

Words: 1,968

Notes: The title is from The Stigma (Boys Don’t Cry) by As It Is. This is the thing with the LGBT main character that I’ve had a few different people tell me they’d be interested in :) I’m having a lot of fun writing and plotting this so far, so let me know if you enjoy!

There were perks to being smaller than most other people in the league. Being an extremely fast and skilled defenseman was one of them.

Being outmatched in every possible articulation, being compared to a chihuahua yapping at a pitbull, everything like that. Which is how he ended up in the penalty box for five fucking minutes, the asshole in the box next to him chirping him the entire time, it seemed like.

“What are you, a fag?”

That was what Mason heard fly by him, aimed at Jost who wouldn’t get into a fight to draw a penalty. Mason knew for a fact that’s what the guy was trying to do. He still took the bait when Tyson didn’t.

Mason was smaller than nearly every player he knew. Watching him get into a fight was exciting yet painful at the same time for anyone with a brain. The other guy was at least six-foot compared to the five-foot-eight Mason. To say it was outmatched…

Mason was going to be lucky if he didn’t come out of this with some scrapes and bruises. A broken nose was pretty likely as well, once he thought about it.

But hearing that word ignited something in him that overtook the reasoning section of his brain and both of them were dropping gloves. Sure, he’d definitely have a black eye tomorrow, but he’d gotten a few good licks in as well.

They still won the game, which was nice.

“Dude, you gotta at least get into it with guys in your weight class.”

“You’re funny, Landeskog. Whole fucking league is out of my weight class,” Mason huffed as he stripped his padding off of his lean torso.

“Yeah, kinda the point,” Zadorov shrugged. “Not your fault you’re smaller, just the way it is.”

“I get it, I’m short,” he ran a hand through his wavy helmet hair and reached down to unlace his skates. “Z, you can fight for me, then. I’ll run my mouth and you can do all the hitting.”

“With you? Don’t take it, man, Wright can go on and on for hours,” Tyson chirped from across the room. That earned him a glove chucked at his face.

“Fuck y’all. I don’t even have a good comeback.”

“Because it’s true!”

Okay, maybe it was true. Mason was just a talker, it’s how it was.

Tyson gave him endless shit about it, but really he didn’t mind. He actually enjoyed just being able to turn his brain off and absorb whatever stuck from what Mason was going on about. Usually it didn’t even matter--ranting about how a show got robbed of some award that doesn’t even matter, spewing information about whatever book he was reading, going off about whatever asshole did something stupid during his day-- Tyson would just let him go until he ran out of steam. Conversations were nice, too, when he was in just a talkative mood as well.

Mason did know how to shut up, though. Sometimes. (Hint: that’s what made him the favorite out of the Wright/Zadorov best friend duo. He could be quieter than Z. They’ve threatened to separate the two on multiple occasions, though.)

“What’d that guy even do to rile you up? You looked pissed,” Nate broke Mason out of his train of thought.

“Just called someone something stupid. I’m not gonna repeat it.”

“He called me a fag because I wouldn’t take the bait for the penalty,” Tyson said soon after. “He’s just a fucking moron because he got a longer penalty than any of us.”

There was an uncomfortable moment as that sunk in, then a few “what the fuck” or “that’s gross” phrases before people moved on to heading to the showers.

Mason was about to sneak away when Tyson called out his name.

“Hey, I wanted to catch you before you hit the shower. You got a second?”

“Yeah, sure. I just have to do some pt kind of stuff before I shower. What’s up?” he offered with a friendly smile.

“I just wanted to thank you for sticking up for me. You definitely didn’t have to, but calling him on it drew a ton of attention to it. I think it’s really important to start weeding that shit out of the sport, y’know?”

“Yeah,” Mason smiled. “I--thanks, man. That means a lot to me.”

“‘Course,” Tyson gave a nod. “And you know if you were, like… y’know, gay or… anything, really, I wouldn’t care. And neither would anyone else on the team. It’d totally be okay.”

Mason wanted to give him a reassuring “I know” but couldn’t. Hockey was definitely not the environment known for welcoming lgbt kids and turning them into well-adjusted, accepted adults.

“Thanks,” Mason murmured. “Really, that means a lot.”

“Of course,” Tyson breathed, like he was getting a huge weight off his chest. “Um, yeah. I’ll let you go do your physical therapy stuff now. I’ll see you at the bar after everything’s done here?”

“Yeah, I’m not gonna ditch you for my birthday, idiot.”

With an excited smile, Tyson turned and headed in the opposite direction.

Once he reached an area to chill out while waiting for the showers to clear out, Mason sighed, plopping into a chair and resting his head in his hands.

Obviously he knew why Tyson brought up starting to call out homophobia and other bigoted shit they were all used to just overlooking. But why did he bring up the whole ‘we’d accept you no matter what’ thing?

The thought of ‘he was very sensitive to a slur so maybe he’s gay’ never crossed Mason’s mind. That would simply be too easy and rational.

Did Tyson know he was different? What exactly did Tyson know? There was no way Tyson would out him, but still. Trusting people to keep a secret was hard. It was just easier to bottle everything up.

God, he needed to figure this out.

Maybe he’d get drunk enough tonight to just forget for a little while. He didn’t get drunk or even drink all that often, he could let go every now and then.

At the beginning of the night, Gabe took his keys, promising that he’d give them to whoever would be driving Mason home. They all knew for a fact Mason wouldn’t drive drunk, it wasn’t even in the realm of possibilities. Honestly, they were more worried about the newly twenty-three-year-old losing them or putting them somewhere so he’d ‘remember where they are later’, which was proven ineffective at the last gathering Gabe threw.

“If you can’t figure out where the stupid keys are, he can come get them in the morning or I can drop them off to him or something,” Gabe rolled his eyes.

“You’re sure you don’t remember where you put them?” JT triple-checked. He’d been the designated driver for a few of them, including Mason, Tyson, and a couple others who had already gotten out to the car.

Mason shook his head. “I’m not even that drunk,” he insisted.

“Uh-huh. Gabe, just let me know if you find ‘em and we can work something out for him in the morning.”

Twenty minutes later, Gabe sent a picture and “anyone know who these belong to?” in the group chat. It was, without a doubt, Mason’s keys, adorned with a keychain reading “DETROIT” in graffiti lettering. He was from Detroit, and everyone knew that he refused to take that keychain off until it literally fell off for some sentimental reason, most likely.

‘Lol where’d you find it?’ someone texted back.

‘My dishwasher. His wallet was there too’

Mason has still never heard the end of that. No matter how hard he tried to explain that when he put them somewhere, it meant that he wouldn’t lose them or buy something stupid online (last time that happened, he bought a thing to hang on a window so your cat could sit on it and sunbathe. Mason has not owned a cat at any point in his life.) and he’d remember where it was once he sobered up.

Of course he still gets relentless shit for it. He wouldn’t expect any different.

Currently, Mason and Z were arm wrestling over a table in the back of the bar, people beginning to call it quits and going home. And with his pride hurt that he could not beat Z in an arm wrestling match, Tyson stole the other’s keys and wallet from Gabe, saying goodbyes and forcing Mason to as well.

“You are blasted, man.”

“Mmph,” he shrugged and laid his head against the passenger window. “I wanna lay down and sleep.”

“You can when I get you home. Gimmie your seatbelt so I can buckle you in.”

Mason followed the order with a small pout, not drunk enough to the point of incoherence but… definitely a little fucked up. Tyson had done this before: dealing with the mopey friend at the end of the night. Mason was definitely one to get mopey or clingy once they left the main event.

“My face hurts.”

“That checks out, buddy. I’ll get you some ice for it back at your place. What?” Tyson continued to ask when Mason stared out the windshield all angsty.

“Still can’t believe I couldn’t beat Z.”

“That guy could slam most of us through a table, don’t beat yourself up.”

“Can’t. Someone already did.”

“You’re full of jokes, huh?”

Mason just grinned sleepily as they pulled into the apartment complex and Tyson had an arm wrapped around his friend to keep him steady. Getting a drunk person to go to bed was usually one of the hardest parts of the night.

“Would you just--”

“I got it,” Mason huffed, fumbling with his keys near the lock of the door.

“Dude.”

“Shut up, you’re gonna wake up my neighbors,” he grumbled, finally getting the door open with a triumphant “see? I’m an adult.”

“I see. Go be an adult and get ready to go to bed,” Tyson rolled his eyes, taking the keys out of the door and locking it behind them.

“I don’t wanna sleep,” he replied quickly.

“You’re drunk, what do you mean you don’t want to sleep?”

“Not tired,” he flopped down on the couch.

“At least get out of your clothes. That way if you fall asleep it’s in pajamas.”

Mason was sprawled out, already clicking through Netflix.

“Fine, I will go get you pajamas. Here,” Tyson pressed a cold compress to a bruise on his face and headed to the bedroom.

“Thanks for driving me,” he heard from the other room.

“‘Course,” Tyson called back. “Here, put these on,” he tossed the clothes at Mason.

“Are you staying here? You can take the guest room, if you want.”

“Sure. Probably easier than trying to get home this late,” Tyson shrugged and headed for the kitchen. As he heard the rustling around of what he assumed was his friend changing, Tyson got a glass of water and painkillers for when Mason woke up.

“I can drive you home tomorrow,” Mason slurred even more heavily as he began getting more tired. He’d managed to get his jeans off and a pair of shorts on before moving onto the shirt. He’d just pulled his shirt off when Tyson walked back in the room with the water.

“Woah,” he said quietly, stopping quickly.

For whatever reason, he’d never realized that he had never seen his teammate and friend shirtless. That was weird, especially when you played sports together for a living. He assumed it was due to the faded scars along his chest, almost in a u-shape under each pec.

He didn’t even know what kind of injury would cause that kind of surgery.

“When did you get surgery?”

Fuck was all that ran through Mason’s head.

[justjosty]

For the Josty thoughts (and if you have done them already pls jump to next. I'm relatively new to the the Lost in Jost train): - Tys wanting to try and do your make up for you. - Him making sure he's holding your hand every single time you enter a building/crowded area. - Brainstorming a prank together for JT's birthday - You stressing out doing those almond butter cookies for the first time for him but its a hit - He had spotted a gorgeous dress and bought it w/o showing it to you

Damn anon you went all out with the Josty thoughts, I love it!! I’m just gonna do a short comment on all of them since I don’t think I’ve talked about these ones before :)

Tys wanting to try and do your make up

Even though he’s colorblind he’d still beg you to let him do your make up until you finally give in. He’d try so hard and you bet his tongue is making an appearance bc he’s really concentrating on getting it right

Him holding your hand when you enter a building/crowded area

He knows you can get anxious when being around a lot of people so he makes sure that he’s always holding your hand, giving it a little squeeze, to let you know he’s right there with you 

Planning a prank on JT’s birthday

Josty’s way of showing JT how much he cares about him is planning this prank and seeing as he can’t stop chirping JT about his hair it would have something to do with that. Classic Josty.

Making his grandma’s famous almond butter cookies for the first time

You were so nervous for Tys to taste them for the first time cause his grandma sharing that recipe with you is a big deal. You’re just anxiously staring at him waiting for any type of feedback but the second he takes a bite the biggest smile makes it’s way onto his face, they’re perfect and he possibly fell even more in love with you right in that moment

Buying you a dress without showing it to you first

He asked you to come to the Mile High Dreams Gala with him but you were a bit hesitant cause you had nothing to wear and didn’t know where to start looking. So Tyson took it upon himself to find you the perfect dress and bought it so you didn’t have to stress and he could show the world how beautiful his girl is

[ilumanate]

1. The way you love

2. The 'right' feeling you give me

3. You are virtuous, which really reflects your name

4. The support you show me even in my craziest endeavoura

5. The adventures we take together

6. You're childish yet mature

7. You're kind and considerate, and understanding

8. You have a good family, and you love your family

9 You think about things deeply. You are wise

10. You care for people and community.

11. The way you doubt yourself and not see how perfect you are

12. How you are willing to try new things

13. How you dare to dream outside of your lived experience

14. Your silly antics (also 6)

15. Tarian

16. We think the same way and agree on the same things 90% of the time

17. Our horoscopes match

18. Your willingness to learn and take on a different perspective

19. Your forgiveness

20. The way you behave both like a mother and a chils

21. The way your fat thighs heat up

22. The way you listen to people wholeheartedly even when you are not interested or disagree

23. Your independence and reliability

24 The way you see the good in others, and give people a chance to prove themselves before you place your judgement

25. The way you put others before yourself

26. Courage (in addition to 23)

27.. The way you try to look pretty sometimes even though I say I don't care

28. The way you look beautiful even in casual clothing

29. That you know your limits and 'no means no' and 'enough means enough'

30. That you know your dreams and priorites

31. That you are dedicated and faithful

32. The way you feel uncomfortable and ask "what" when looked at for too long

33. The way you say "fuck", because you know its a bad word but some occassions makes it appropriate.

34. You have a good heart and good intentions

35. The way you lecture me and there are different levels to it: the "concerned talk lecture (should not drive in Thailand)", "The serious talk with the annoyed eyebrow lecture", "the buay tahan going to cry lecture (don't shower, and not understanding the severity of our relationship situation)"

36. The way you were so sure we were going to be married

37. The way you planned for our future

38. How you thought what we were doing did not matter as much as our enjoyment of purely being together (bucket lists, cheap thrills)

39. How we were perfectly comfortable with each other - pooping, peeing, and farting.

40. How you refuse to cry in front of me

41. How you hair always smell like your shampoo, and your clothes smell like your detergent

42. How you bought yourself a Starbucks card for Valentine's on my behalf

43. How you taught me to be a good person and a good boyfriend/husband/lover

44. How we were already behaving like we were married

45. How you always say thank you and praise me even though we were just doing the same small things for each other that we might otherwise take for granted

46. How you see love and kinship in a way that I did not see, and practiced it in a way that I did not enjoy growing up

47. How you understood that there are many things that are more important than money. (I do too. I do.)

48. How you convinced yourself not to buy little souvenirs from trips even though you really wanted them

49. How you were always smiling and cheerful and talkative, and something was wrong when you were not

50. How proud you are to be a Singaporean

51. How bad you are in the kitchen, and scared of fire but still cooked and baked for me

52. How we were able to talk about everything under the sun (and moon and stars - mbs)

53 How you physically challenge yourself even though you don't think you were capable (MAD and OE)

54. How nerdy you look in specs and how blind you were without it

55. How you didn't give up hope on me even when I gave up on myself in JC. How you believed in me.

56. How you were a source of hope for me in all my difficult times

57. How you were more than just a partner, but a family, a friend, a best friend, a playmate, a lover, companion, travel partner, soulmate, everything

58. How you thought that having a practical opinion on a water bottle was a trait of a perfect husband

59. How you looked up to me and saw potential even when you were a med student and I was a nothing - it was something I was uncomfortable with

60. How you tolerated my stupidity and did not expect me to be any different than who I was, myself

61. How you were more daring than me - booked staycay even when I hesitated

62. How you are able to make me smile just by being present, even on the phone

63. How you are grateful for the little things

64. How you are wise and smart in the ways that I could not

65. Your family (obviously). and extended family

66. Your child-like handwriting

67. The sheepish look you give when I scold you for wasting your food

68. The way I feel like I know you. Your likes and dislikes, what you don't eat, etc

69. Wow, we got to 69

70. The way we seem to understand each other verbally and non-verbally. Sometimes creepy telepathy

71. I swear there were times when I felt we were born for each other

72. How I know that I would be happy if I had nothing in the world but you. Something that hit me very hard and very clearly July last year

73. The sound effects that you sometimes make

74. Your dimples

75. How I forget that you are a girl sometimes. This is more significant than jt may seem. That's why I feel like you were a soulmate, cos I would probably love a guy like you. With you, it's like there were no gender roles, no boundaries?

76. The way you giggle until your head rolled over to one side

77. The way we were deeply connected but also had personal space

78. The way you got pissed at me because you cared (also 20)

79. That we got favorable answers when we asked about each other in the temple

80. The way you bun up your hair with a towel after you shower

81. How you eat Mcspicy even though it gives you diarrhea

82.

[ihavejarlsberg]

Blue Christmas

Author’s Note: I had a really sad idea for a short fic, so I wrote it so you all could be sad with me.  You can pry the headcanon that one of Malcolm’s top love languages is giving gifts from my cold, dead hands. Have some Christmas angst, everyone! (Read more is added for those on mobile… head to AO3 if it’s cut off for you. :D )

Word Count: 2,300-ish.

Summary: Three days after Malcolm has been taken, the team discovers he had bought them all Christmas presents. It doesn’t help them miss him any less. Link: AO3.

They each found them on their desks, tucked in with the rest of their respective pieces of mail. It was obvious Malcolm hadn’t wrapped them, himself; he had clearly paid someone to do a better (and much more festive) job than he ever would have. But that didn’t matter. Not really.

Edrisa found hers first. It was, naturally, an incredibly thoughtful gift, based on a little seed of information about her she had thrown out once that Bright had picked up and tucked away into his pocket for later like a small boy collecting shiny stones.

It was a puzzle. A 1000-piece beauty that was clearly hand drawn by an artist. The pictures on it looked like they were taken straight from an anatomy book, then set ablaze with tremendous color by a talented artist. She loved it with her whole heart, and she burst into tears as soon as she got through the wrapping paper and saw what it was.

Who knows how long it would have taken the rest of the team to find theirs, had Edrisa not mentioned it. As soon as she did, they immediately went to their respective desks to check their own mail. It had been three days since Bright’s disappearance on December 25th; whatever postage they had been missing out on in that time frame was literally the last thing on their minds. Until now.

JT’s was the smallest, as far as size went; a maroon envelope sealed shut with gold-colored wax. It stood out like a sore thumb in his mail box amidst the standard white envelopes that had been accumulating. “Damn,” he’d said to himself, running the pad of his thumb over the dried wax of the seal, “Even this dude’s envelopes are rich.” He had quieted, though, once he’d opened up the card and started reading what Malcolm had written inside with his neat, all-capitalized handwriting.

 JT, Sorry for crashing your date. The next one’s on me.

 Merry Christmas!

 MB

 P.S. Justin? Jerico? Jeremiah?

JT had to laugh, despite everything. Attached to the card was a $100 gift card to Amsterdam Billiards. He stared at it, unblinking, for several seconds before his eyes started to water from being open too long (mostly).

“Damn it, Bright,” he muttered to himself as he closed the card. “Where you at, bro?”

x

There was a small black postage box waiting for Gil on his desk, hiding under a manila envelope. It was not the sort of small black box one would buy a woman; Gil knew was it was the moment he pulled it out from his mail pile and saw the company name stamped on the side in raised silver lettering. He stared at it for a moment, until it blurred together in his vision beneath a sheen of tears.

His fingers traced over the letters on the front of the box, and for a moment he allowed himself to just feel how smooth the cardboard was on the delivery box the gift had come in. He had to clench his jaw against the lump steadily climbing up his throat. Before he even made a move to open the box, he pulled back his right cuff, exposing the watch he wore on his wrist. Despite how worn and well loved it was, the watch was in excellent condition for being nearly fifteen years old. Especially considering that Gil literally wore it every day, to the point that he felt naked without it. It had held up marvelously over the years, which wasn’t surprising, as it had likely been expensive. Just as expensive as the new one he was holding in his other hand.

Without warning, the memory came back, unbidden. He could recall it like it had taken place last week. Malcolm, no older than twelve, handing him a dark blue velvet box with a hand that shook so fiercely, Gil immediately moved to take it from the poor kid before he dropped it.

It hadn’t been Father’s Day, then. The Whitlys didn’t celebrate Father’s Day anymore. But it had been damn close to it, and Malcolm had thought to buy a gift for Gil. As a man with no biological children of his own, Gil had cherished this more than he ever could have put into words. He still wore the same watch to this day.

And Malcolm noticed. Obviously. Because Malcolm Bright noticed everything.

“You still have that watch I gave you,” he had said, exactly 1.5 days into the investigation of the “copycat” Surgeon case, as he stared at Gil’s wrist.

“Of course I do,” Gil retorted. He was standing close enough to Bright at the time to reach out and give his shoulder a slight squeeze. “I wear it every day.”

Malcolm had all but beamed at that. “Looks a little worn, though,” he added, as his gaze drifted back down to the silver time piece on Gil’s wrist.

Gil had shrugged. “It’s well-loved,” he said simply. Malcolm had frowned just slightly at that, clearly deep in thought.

And now he knew what Bright had been thinking about: a wardrobe update for Gil Arroyo.

Gil sucked in a breath, holding the air in his chest for a few seconds to help expel some of the fear that had taken up residence there. He wasn’t afraid a new watch, obviously; unfortunately, he knew exactly what he was afraid of, and it was too terrible for words.

He was afraid he was holding the last piece of Malcolm Bright he was ever going to see.

(They all were afraid of that, deep down.)

The atrocity of that thought propelled him into action, and he started ripping open the little box’s packaging tape. Inside was a hard, velvet case, just like the one a much younger Malcolm had first presented to Gil all those years ago. The watch inside was magnificent. It was all black, even its face, and incredibly sleek. Clearly this time, Malcolm was going for an updated, modern look for him. Gil loved it. There was a small, folded card inside, and Gil pried it open with hands that had gone numb. He recognized Malcolm’s handwriting instantly. It was simple, sweet, and to the point.

 Merry Christmas, Gil!    Thank you–for everything.

 Love,

 Bright

Seeing the words in Malcolm’s handwriting was what finally put him over the edge. It had been three long days of fruitless searching for their profiler; they were all exhausted, and none more so than Gil. He reached up and pinched the bridge of his nose, not even bothering to keep the tears at bay anymore.

“Thanks, bud,” he whispered to an empty room when he could finally find his voice again. “I love it.”

x

By the time Dani found out Bright had all gotten them Christmas gifts and had them sent to the station, she was exhausted. Just at the end of her rope mentally, physically, and emotionally. When Edrisa came up to her in tears, shaking a box in her face, Dani nearly lost it on her. Until he heard what she was saying.

“He got us gifts,” Edrisa squeaked out.

Dani felt the blood rush out of her face. She had a good idea who the ‘he’ in question was, but still had to ask, “Who…?”

“Bright!” Edrisa said. “Bright got us all Christmas presents. Incredibly thoughtful, probably expensive presents.” Her lower lip wobbled, and she looked like she was going to start crying again. “I didn’t get him anything. I thought about it! But then we just got so busy with the case load and… and…” She trailed off.

“And then Bright went missing on Christmas,” Dani finished for her, deadpanning. Edrisa nodded, sniffing once. Dani looked down at the box in Edrisa’s hands, studying it. “He got you a puzzle?”

Edrisa nodded vigorously again and offered up the box to Dani, who took it gingerly, like it was something to be cherished.

“It’s gorgeous,” Dani said genuinely.

“I know,” Edrisa agreed, “I’m scared to even open it. Like I’m going to ruin it somehow just by touching it. But I thought I could get started on it tonight… Maybe have it done by the time you find him, you know?”

Dani’s heart surged at the words by the time you find him, and she ground her teeth together at the familiar tightness in her jaw that meant she was definitely close to crying. Edrisa didn’t seem to notice; she was staring at her puzzle box. Dani placed it back in her arms gently, and Edrisa hugged it to her chest. The pieces inside all fell to the bottom of the box with a soft swish.

“We’ll find him,” Dani said simply. We have to.

Edrisa gave her a watery smile and nodded. “Hopefully before I even have the chance to finish this beast.”

Dani returned her smile. “So,” she started, eager to turn the subject away from the fact that Bright was still missing. “You said he mailed it?”

“Oh, right. Yes,” Edrisa said, “Apparently he mailed them all to the station. Which is kind of silly, but he must have just paid to have everything wrapped, and then he probably didn’t know our addresses, so… They were just here, waiting for us. Since Christmas.”

Dani swallowed. Part of her almost wished Bright had forgotten about hers, that he had sent something to everyone else but her. But the thought was a wasted one; Bright would never forget about her.

Dani’s gift was a fairly large box, about the size of two shoeboxes lined up side by side. There was no way she could have avoided seeing it, once she got back to her desk. (Had it really been that long since she’d been back at her desk, away from the search for him?)

She stared at it for a few moments, willing herself to keep calm, before she took out her pocket knife to cut through the box’s tape. Dani didn’t really do Christmas presents; with her immediate family, sure, but she couldn’t remember the last time she had either given or received a gift from a friend. Even the team–Gil, JT, and Edrisa–usually only went out for a drink, rotating who would pay the tab, for holidays or birthdays. Gifts were not her forte. This was foreign territory, and it left her on edge.

She could almost feel Bright watching her, those brilliant eyes of his staring at her hopefully, like he so wanted her to love whatever it was he had picked out for her.

Inside the package, after she removed a fair amount of bubble wrap and colored tissue paper, was a large wooden box. The moment she read the scripted letters burned into the top of the it, she knew exactly what she’d find inside, and she huffed out a shaky breath. As soon as she opened it, she knew she was right; the smell wafted up from the contents of the box, despite the fact that they were vacuum sealed, and it hit her like a punch in the gut.

 I love Earl Grey.

She could hear his soft laugh, his words back to her. “I know. It’s the aroma, isn’t it?”

She was staring down at a beautiful box of British-imported loose leaf Earl Grey tea. Included was a small metal tea strainer, and little wrapped bags of spices and citrus peels, all individually wrapped and sectioned off into their own little spots in the box lined with velvet. In the center was a burgundy tin, and Dani smiled as soon as she read what it housed.

For someone whose tea-drinking habits involved microwaving water and using whatever brand of bagged tea was cheapest, the custom-built box before her was intimidating.  And somehow, Bright knew it would be. (Because of course he did.) Inside the tin in the middle were fifty already-assembled tea bags of Earl Grey from the same gourmet ingredients, ready to be slipped into hot water without hassle and enjoyed immediately.

 With friends.

It was one of the very best gifts she had ever been given in her life. And she felt a renewed hatred for Paul Lazar that Malcolm wasn’t there to share it with her. She reached down and pulled the tin out from the box. It popped open easily, and she was overtaken by that delightful smell again. She breathed it in for a few moments, until her nose grew used to it and the smell wasn’t nearly as potent to her.

Eventually, she removed the entire wooden box from its packaging, and that’s when she found the card. It was a simple folded card, red on the outside, blank on the inside, save for Malcolm’s writing. It was simple enough–just wishing her a merry Christmas and a happy new year, but the way he had signed it made the breath halt in her chest.

 Your friend,

 Malcolm Bright

“God, Bright,” she murmured, grinding her teeth again as she willed herself not to cry. But it was a fight she soon gave in to. What was the use? They had been searching for him for days, pouring everything they had into finding some kind of lead on where he had been taken, all to have nothing turn up. And then he’d gone and gotten her a damn thoughtful gift for a holiday he had been kidnapped on. It was all too much.

So Dani let herself cry for a few minutes. When it was over, she felt better and worse at the same time. She closed the lid of the wooden tea box and tucked it into the biggest drawer of her desk. The little card from Bright she taped, open, on the side of her computer monitor; she would see it each and every time she sat down at her desk.

And she vowed she wasn’t going to be drinking any tea at all until she found him, until he could sit and have a cup with her, himself.

[starrybluez]

I was tagged by 2 lovely mutuals @music-on-canvas and @duranarchy-in-the-uk to put together a list of the 10 songs I'm most obsessed with. Thank you both! 💜😊

This was tough for me to narrow down from my collection of music which songs I loved the most. Tried to just pick one per artist to make it a little easier. Almost all of these are rockers - the more easy-going mellow tunes are at the end.

1. New Religion – Duran Duran

I keep changing my mind on favorite Duran songs. Most of the early ones have become my babies so it's difficult to pick a favorite! 😅 I went with New Religion this time because that BASS. JT definitely wins my heart on this one. The live versions they did in the 80's are particularly great to watch. It's really a treat to hear Andy singing along with Simon. Love Andy. 💖

2. Get It On – The Power Station / T.Rex

Both versions sound great to me but if I had to choose, I really enjoy the power (no pun intended) of the Power Station one. Nice to hear Andy shredding on guitar and Robert Palmer's take on the vocal.

3. Gotta Get A Grip On You – Robert Palmer

And speaking of Robert Palmer, I can't get enough of this song of his. Incredible and versatile singer. I do recommend listening to the whole album “Some People Can Do What They Like” if you want to funk out a bit. My dad bought the album and I guess he's still a big fan since he recently quoted the chorus from "Addicted To Love".

4. White Rabbit – Jefferson Airplane

One of the many songs on this list I will sing along to. Yeah, most likely this is acid fuelled – or something to that effect, but what colorful lyrics it inspires! “Go ask Alice. When she's ten feet tallll!” Not that I'm encouraging everyone to take recreational drugs – I’ve never taken any and I can be weird and silly enough without them! 😅

5. I Want To Take You Higher – Sly & The Family Stone / Ike & Tina Turner

Only recently did I hear the Duran remake of this song. Love Simon's vocals but everything else on it was giving me a headache. Maybe if I heard it through the proper speakers instead of a tinny cellphone or computer, I could at least hear the bass. Still prefer the earlier soul singer versions. I don't think anything can beat those. Both Tina and Sly are so good, I don't even have the words. They render me speechless! On a side note, I did watch the Prince's Trust video from ’86 with Tina and a handful of my other favorite singers and she just outsang all those guys.

6. So Glad To See You Here – Paul McCartney & Wings

He's mostly known for his ballads, but this rocker is a favorite of mine. There's a whole slew of well-known guest musicians jamming on this. But really it's fun for me to just hear Paulie wailing his face off back in the day. Again, I highly recommend the album it's from. Very unpopular opinion, but I regard Back To The Egg as his best album, along with Flaming Pie.

7. Mystery Achievement – Pretenders

Another album from my family's music collection that I grew up listening to. And it's another one I would listen to in its entirety. The rhythm section along with Chrissie Hynde's amazing voice really drives the song at the beginning and then the guitars join in to carry it along to the end.

8. Suffragette City – David Bowie

Another one I have to sing along to everytime. The lyrics are too much fun not to. And it's Bowie, which should say enough right there. Hard for me to get through the whole song though without cracking up at the line “this mellow thighed chick just put my spine out of place”. Yes. I'm also really mature. 🙄

9. Turn My Back On You – Sade

This group does not get talked about enough. Again the bassline is what's most memorable for me. The singer is effortlessly cool. And if you've seen the music video, she rocks a suit as well as any of the guys in the band.

10. Many Too Many – Genesis

Now we get to the really mellow stuff towards the end. This piano ballad is often in my head. The beginning notes particularly stand out. The whole thing is very dreamlike. I'm actually more of a fan of their 70's songs than their popular 80's hits.

Bonus: 11. You Go To My Head - Frank Sinatra / Ella Fitzgerald

And I added this classic tune as a bonus, because I didn't think the list would be complete without one great jazz standard. I picked both singers’ versions – they are two of my favorites from the 40's and 50's era. I find myself getting lost in those dreamy vocals.

I could add some more bonuses, but then this list would be way too long. I tag anyone else who wants to participate!

[bike42]

Tuesday March 28, 2023

We’ve settled into a nice routine of waking with the light, then breakfast and yoga.

However after two days of lazing about with yoga, massage, reading and napping by the pool - we were ready for some adventure.

Against the advisement of our concierge, we set out at noon (why not go in the hottest part of the day?) and walked the 4km the the Tulum Archaeological Site (Mayan ruins). According to Google Earth, it looked like we’d walk a mile along the road and then be able to access the longest beach near Tulum, then about a mile along the beach to the Mayan ruins.

The road had a “bike path,” but it was also under construction. Traffic wasn’t too bad as only taxis, bicycles and pedestrians were able to access the ruins from this side. It was mostly jungle, with an occasional house - all looking a bit like George’s (not quite finished). Once we got to the beach, there were mainly resorts. The beach was flat and walkable, but the piles of sargassum made it difficult to walk along the water. There were dozens of boats anchored along the shore - likely for snorkeling excursions when the sea is more calm.

We got to the ruins, bought tickets and were glad to see a shop selling bottled cold water. We bought two liters, filled our water bottles and drank our fill. As we were sitting on the curb, I pulled out a pack of snack mix. Jeff said to me, quite calmly: “take a deep breath and turn around slowly.” Of course, I wasn’t about to do that, but without panic, I stood up and turned around. A two-foot iguana had been within inches of me. Yikes. Not as scary as a snake is to me, but still much closer than I ever want to be to a reptile! I stood and ate my snack mix, and we watched him go down the line of people, essentially begging for snacks.

We explored the ruins - might have been the heat or the loud tacky tourists, but I didn’t find them as fascinating as when we’d toured the close by Mayan ruins at Coba a few years ago.

We walked back along the beach, stopping for tacos and margaritas along the way. 7+ mile in the heat was rough, but it was a good adventure. I suffered a shin contusion climbing back into the “door” of our resort! I was more focused on giving the security guard our room number and didn’t step over the threshold. It’ll be a nice reminder of this trip for a few weeks I think!

We were back in our room at 5pm, showers and naps before our evening. We’d scheduled the “Sound Healing” Session to be held tonight, but when we checked in a reception at 7pm we were told it had been cancelled. Disappointing!

We walked back toward the restaurant and saw the monkey we’d heard about. There are 3-4 resident cats, and we’d heard a spider monkey just moved in. They’re not native and they’re not sure where he came from. He was swinging through the trees, then ran up the grass roof of the coffee shop, seeming to wave at us on the way! He sat on the peek and looked at us, then dove down the roof head first, as if it was a slide. Just at the end, he grabbed the tree with his tail and then bounded back up to the peak and slid down towards us again. This time he quickly sailed through the trees and disappeared. Neither of us had our phone so we didn’t get a recording of it. What a show though!

We sat on the terrace of the restaurant and had a glass of wine and shared a Crème Brûlée while it turned from dusk to dark. Good people watching too as sunbathers who’d been partying during the day began to awaken from their cabanas and stumble back to their rooms.

Back to our room for cribbage. JT is in a terrible slump - I’m up 11 games to 5, but I know how it is!

[incorrectprodigalsonquotes]

Carved in the Cradle Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Malcolm shook his head. Of course his mother had to show up now. He looked down at Isabella then to Dani. The detective nodded her head, letting him pass the baby to her.

However, the moment Isabella left Malcolm’s arms; she started to let out whining noises. First Malcolm tried handing her the stuffed pink owl that had been with her in her crib which seemed to work for a few moments until her little arms reached out to him again as she kicked her legs. Malcolm sighed as he took her back from Dani. Isabella gurgled with glee as she hugged his neck with one arm and held her plushie with the other. He gave a tiny smile before walking out to find his mother standing by one of the desks, impatiently tapping her foot.

“Mother.”

Jessica gave a forced smile, “Malcolm. I-” She noticed the baby in her son’s arms, “What is this?”

“Well, I think you would know but this is a baby.” Malcolm smirked.

Jessica rolled her eyes, “Don’t get smart with me.”

The little girl looked turned her head and blinked her bright blue eyes at Malcolm’s mother, “This is Isabella.”

Before he could continue, Jessica let out a tiny gasp, “Malcolm!” She said in scandalized whisper, “She’s not… yours, is she?”

Malcolm furrowed his brows and let out an exasperated chuckle, “No.”

“Malcolm, if you have been hiding-”

“Mother, I swear to you that this isn’t my child.” He adjusted the way he held Isabella when she started fidgeting, “She’s the child of one of our latest victims.”

While her expression didn’t change, Malcolm did see his mother’s eyes soften slightly, “I see.”

“We’re only watching her until a social worker gets here.”

“Of course.”

“So, what is it that you need to come here to tell me?”

“There is going to be a gala next week and I expect you to attend this one.”

Malcolm sighed. These galas were always his least favourite thing to do and considering that there is a lot of things he doesn’t like to do, that was saying something. “Is that all?”

“Not quite.” Malcolm raised an eyebrow at Jessica’s response, “Since you won’t take any of my suggestions, I also expect you to bring a date.”

“A date?”

“Yes, a date.”

“Couldn’t you think of something easier for me to do like… taking a bear cub from its mother?”

Jessica scoffed, “Don’t be a child Malcolm. I’m sure you can find someone suitable in time.”

Malcolm’s eyes narrowed, “What’s your angle?”

“No angle. I would just like for people to know that my son does enjoy the company of other people.” Isabella happened to giggle in that moment and clap her hands. Jessica couldn’t help but give a tiny smile, “See, even the child agrees with me.”

“I’ll do best.”

“See that you do.”

(~**~)                  (~**~)                  (~**~)                  (~**~)

“Social worker just said that all nearby foster homes are full at the moment.” Gil said with a frustrated tone as he walked into the room.

“So, where will Isabella go?” Malcolm asked as he felt the baby’s head rest on his shoulder, her eyelids growing heavy. “We can’t just abandon her.”

“Are we sure that there’s no next of kin?” Dani asked.

Gil shook his head, “None at all, not even a family friend.”

“Well, she seems fond of you Bright.” JT tried to joke, “Why don’t you take her?”

Gil smiled, “Actually, that might not be a bad idea. She is already comfortable with you and until we can find someone to take her in, it’d be good for her to be with someone she likes.”

Dani noticed the way Malcolm tensed up at the thought. He quickly covered it up by chuckling, “I don’t know. I don’t think my apartment’s baby proofed enough. I wouldn’t even have somewhere for her to sleep.”

“We could find a crib.” JT suggested, “And some toys, babies aren’t that picky. They find paper ripping hilarious.”

Malcolm was about to protest when Isabella yawned and snuggled against his shoulder as her eyelids grew heavy. He looked down at the little girl. It pained him to think of what could have happened to her if the killer had been aware she had been there… but how could he be able to take care of her? Should babies even be allowed near him? He had to sleep with restraints and a mouth guard, would he even notice if she started crying in the middle of the night?

“Bright?” Dani’s voice broke his train of thought.

“Sorry, I just…” He looked down at Isabella, her eyes now fully shut as she breathed deeply in peaceful sleep. He gave a small sad smile, “I don’t know if that’s the best idea.”

“I can help.” Dani said without thinking.

They all turned to look at her in surprise. Gil smirked, “Powell?”

Dani cleared her throat, “I just mean if I can babysit Bright while he’s high as a kite, I can help him actually babysit a baby.”

“I was higher than a kite.” Dani and Gil gave him a look, “You’d do that for me?” Malcolm asked.

She shrugged, “What are friends for?”

His eyes lit up at her response.

(~**~)                  (~**~)                  (~**~)                  (~**~)

Malcolm and Dani entered Malcolm’s apartment with Isabella and plenty of baby supplies in hand. From a crib to baby proofing supplies to new clothes and toys to baby food to even a stroller, it was all there. Sunshine’s chirps could be heard as they brought the supplies.

“Bright, I think you may have gone a bit overboard for a temporary situation.” Dani grinned as she closed the door behind them.

Malcolm scoffed, “I only got the essentials.”

“You almost bought a printer because she pointed at it and laughed.”

“So I don’t have good spending habits, sue me.” He grinned.

Dani placed some bags on the ground before raising her eyebrows, “Bright?”

“Yeah?”

“Where’s the baby?”

Malcolm smirked as he turned a stroller around with Isabella napping peacefully inside, “You didn’t think I’d actually forget about the baby, did you?”

Dani chuckled, “You did almost forget her in the shopping cart.”

Malcolm looked away as his ears turned a bit red, “Well, I didn’t forget her this time.” He knelt down to check on Isabella. She was clutching her pink owl tightly and was wrapped in her fluffy blanket. She was so tiny. Her black-brown curls being clipped back by butterfly clips. Malcolm gave a sorrowful look. This little girl really had no idea what was going on, she had no idea that she would never see her mother again, she had no idea that-

“Bright?” Malcolm’s train of thought had been broken. “What’s wrong?”

“She’s so small…”

She knelt down next to him, “Babies usually are.”

“What happens to kids in foster care?” Dani blinked her eyes and furrowed her brows. Malcolm turned his head to look at Dani, “They don’t all… get lost in system, do they?”

“I-I…” She stammered, “I honestly don’t know…” She saw the way Malcolm’s face fall as he looked back to Isabella. “I do know that babies like Isabella do have a better chance at getting adopted.” Isabella let out a noise in her sleep before calming down once again. Dani felt her heartstrings being pulled. It wasn’t that she hadn’t dealt with kids during cases before but there was just something different about this. Maybe it was because she had always kept her distance or that the kids had usually been much older than an eight-month-old.

“It’s not fair.”

“What?”

“For all the things I say against my mother… there’s part of me that’s grateful for her.” Dani didn’t say anything. Instead, she just waited for him to continue. “I remember… after Ainsley was born, Mother got sick… really sick.” He felt his hand tremble a bit, “I remember that we brought Ains home but Mother was still under surveillance in the hospital.” He took a deep breath, “When she did come home… she seemed stronger than ever.” He gave a watery smile, “Even though, a lot of the time, she tends to go overboard, she has tried her best. Part of me wonders if I would have even had the guts to call the cops about the Surgeon if I hadn’t had my mother to fall back on.” He takes a deep breath, “Isabella’s got no one to fall back on.”

“She has you.” Dani said before she could stop herself.

He gave the detective a sad smile, “For now but…”

“She’ll be okay.” Dani said, placing a hand on Malcolm’s shoulder as if she was promising him.

His smile grew slightly and he nodded his head, “Let’s get this crib built.”

After a while and a lot of cursing, Malcolm and Dani got a handle on building Isabella’s crib. They had gotten the base done and as they began to move crib somewhere suitable for Isabella to sleep. As they started putting the mattress in, they didn’t notice Isabella wake up until she started letting out little grunts and whines. Malcolm turned around and saw Isabella with her eyes tightly pressed shut and face was twisted with discomfort.

He walked over and started to detangle her from her blanket as she started squirming, “Hey… hey, it’s okay… it’s okay.” He took her out of the stroller and started to adjust her to rest in his arms, “You’re okay… you’re alright, you’re-” His nose caught something, “That doesn’t seem right.”

“What’s up?” Dani asked as she walked over. She scrunched her nose when she too caught a whiff of what had Malcolm so confused, “You did get diapers, right?”

Malcolm chuckled, “Of course I did…” His grin slowly turned sheepish.

Dani raised an eyebrow, “But…”

“I never said I knew how to change a diaper.”

I thought I’d end this on a bit of a humorous note seeing as the next few chapters are gonna get a little heavy… or they might not, I don’t know, it’ll depend on my mood XD

I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, please let me know what you thought, tell me if you have any guesses about where the story is gonna go, I’d love to hear it!

Hope I can get the next chapter out faster but I also hope you’ve enjoyed what I have so far.

[ohmyprodigalson]

Not sure if I already sent this request. I honestly can't remember, so here I am requesting it again. The reader, Malcolm's so has a really good singing voice, its strong, powerful, and passionate. One day he hears it and immediately is left in bewilderment about her rare voice type. He asks her how she does it and is just overall is adorabley curious and in love.

This is the song I listened to while writing this. I realize it’s a cover of the song put through a nightcore filter, but it’s what I imagined when describing the reader. There are no trigger warnings with this one, so enjoy!

Malcolm stood beside his bed, looking out the window at New York. He let out a deep sigh as (Y/N) slept peacefully behind him. It was his birthday, a day he dreads. His birthday was a month after the anniversary of his father's arrest. As a child, he was mute at the time and took no pleasure in anything, much less a birthday with an absent father. Jessica had thrown a lavish party, like all of the years before, and Malcolm sat quietly in the corner by himself as the other children played happily around him. Every birthday after that was nothing but a reminder of how he felt during that time. (Y/N) let out a soft moan and moved a little under the covers. She opened her eyes to see Malcolm standing by the window, mug in hand. She stretched out from underneath the covers and said, "Good morning." Malcolm smiled. Even if today was a bad day, at least he had (Y/N) to make him happy. He turned around to reveal a second mug in his other hand, which he offered to her. "Good morning. How did you sleep?"

She held the warm mug and smelled the coffee. "Really well, actually. You?" "I didn't sleep much, but I at least didn't have a night terror." Malcolm's phone started to ring. He looked at the caller ID and saw that it was Gil. "Sorry, I have to take this." Malcolm went downstairs as (Y/N) got dressed. Gil called him about a new murder and asked Malcolm to come to the crime scene. When (Y/N) made her way downstairs, Malcolm told her about the call. As he was putting his coat on, (Y/N) asked, "Are we still having dinner with your mom tonight?" Jessica was insistent that they celebrate his birthday tonight with a lovely dinner, but he didn't want to celebrate a day that brought back such bad memories. He hadn't even told (Y/N) it was his birthday because he didn't want to celebrate. Malcolm tried to hide the frustration in his voice. "Yes, after I'm finished today at the precinct I'll come back and we can go over there together." (Y/N) smiled at him. "Ok, then. Have a good day sweetheart." She gave him a kiss on the cheek as he left the apartment for the day. She had the day off from work and she was going to utilize it. (Y/N) knew about his birthday because Gil told her, and she was planning on baking a cake for Malcolm. It was going to be his favorite, a carrot cake with cream cheese frosting. (Y/N) got started right away because she wanted to have enough time to decorate the cake. She was bringing it to a surprise celebration at the precinct with the rest of Malcolm's team at the end of the day before going to dinner at Jessica's house. (Y/N) worked methodically but felt weird standing around in silence. She didn't feel like turning on the TV, so she decided to listen to some music. She actually had a playlist of love songs she secretly listened to when she was thinking about Malcolm... She let it blare from speakers she had connected to her phone because no one was there to complain about her noise. She happily sang along to a mixture of songs, including some that were just karaoke versions. There was something about singing a song and making it your own that she enjoyed. (Y/N) had finished baking the cake and put on a crumb-coating when Malcolm was unlocking the front door. He paused for a minute as he listened. Was that... music? He entered just as (Y/N) shut the refrigerator door. Malcolm thankfully didn't see the cake she stowed away, but was intrigued by what he did see. She hadn't noticed him come in and was still singing. The speakers were playing a karaoke version of 'Never Enough' by Loren Allred, and (Y/N) was singing like she was performing on stage. Malcolm was in awe. Her voice was strong and powerful, pushing through the loud parts of the song but with a smoothness he hadn't ever heard before. And when she sang the soft parts her voice carried it's power, but in a different way. He could feel it in the air, that she truly meant every word she sang with all of her heart. Her voice was beautiful and inspiring, and he thought it could surely heal even the most broken of hearts. He stood there, silently, listening to her sing. It was even more captivating to hear such a strong and unique voice coming from someone that was just singing to herself as she flitted around the kitchen. Her voice engulfed him in that moment. (Y/N) started to tidy up when she turned around to pick a spatula up off the the island. She jumped and let out a small scream when she saw Malcolm standing in front of her, eyes wide. "How long have you been here?!" She desperately hoped he hadn't seen the cake. Malcolm had to shake himself out of his stupor. "Uh, only a minute, but..." Oh no, he was going to ask about the cake. What should she say? There isn't any reasonable explanation for coincidentally baking a cake on someone's birthday, is there? Her racing thoughts were stopped suddenly by his words. "You were singing?" She let out a small sigh of relief. He must not have seen the cake if his only concern is her embarrassing singing voice. (Y/N) became sheepish as she looked at the ground, wringing her hands, and blushed. "Yeah, I'm sorry I was so loud." She reached over at this point to stop the music on her phone. "No, it's... How do you make your voice sound like that?" He still had this look of awe and shock on his face. She looked back up and into eyes. "I... What do you mean? That's what my voice sounds like." (Y/N) started laughing. It's like he asked her why her face looked the way it did. Malcolm remained serious. "I've never heard a voice so powerful and beautiful." (Y/N) walked around the island and up to Malcolm. She reached up and wrapped her arms around his neck and smiled wide. "Aww, thank you. No one's ever liked my voice before." His seriousness broke as he smiled and wrapped his arms around her waist. "Well I love it. Will you sing for me sometime?" "Of course." She gave him a quick kiss. Malcolm looked around as he asked, "What's that smell? Have you been baking?" He looked back at her with his eyebrows raised quizzically. Her heart stopped. It still smelled like cake in here, but she had to keep his birthday surprise a secret. "Ummm... Oh! No, I bought a new candle." "It smells good. But where is it?" "I already blew it out and put it away. You just missed it." "Oh." He returned to smiling at her. This was nice. He hadn't expected to smile like this on his birthday. Then it hit (Y/N) that he was supposed to be at work. "Did you get off early? Or..." "That's right! I forgot my glasses." Malcolm let go of (Y/N) and went upstairs to get his reading glasses from his bedside table. He could see well enough without them, but he usually wore contacts instead of carrying his glasses around. Today was a break day, when he would wear glasses to let his eyes take a break from wearing contacts. When Malcolm came back downstairs with his glasses he walked past (Y/N) and she reached out to touch his arm as he passed her. They said goodbye and (Y/N) took a deep breath. That was close. (Y/N) spent the rest of the day decorating the cake, and the finished product still looked homemade but was pretty. She waited until she got a text from Gil letting her know that they were wrapping up for the day at the precinct and she should come by with the cake. She packed it safely in a cake case and started her journey. She snuck into Gil's office and he said he would be back with Malcolm. (Y/N) uncovered the cake and started to light the candles as Dani, JT, and Edrisa joined her. When Gil came back, he opened the door for Malcolm and everyone shouted, "Surprise!!" Malcolm's look of surprise faded into a wide smile. "Guys! What is this?" (Y/N), holding the cake, looked at the others and started singing 'Happy Birthday.' Edrisa joined right away and the others joined in quietly and slowly. (Y/N) beamed at Malcolm as she sang. And there it was again, that beautiful voice. Malcolm never intended to be happy on his birthday. He never intended to celebrate it with his friends and his girlfriend, but here they were, making him smile. This was the happiest birthday he could remember having in a very long time. 

[fuck-customers]

Starting to think this one manager is either terrible at her job or trying to screw me over

Back from JT Xamm. So we have one manager who’s been with us since opening, who started out as an assistant manager and his since moved up. No qualms there originally. She’s generally a nice person, I thought. But overtime she’s done some things to really leave a bad taste in my mouth.

Had one shift that I stay a bit longer for to help out and add an hour onto my work. I’d have gone until close except I would have had to take a lunch and end up being paid for the same amount of hours. The manager in charge of scheduling and the person we tend to treat like HR was the person I spoke with on that. (No complaints there, she’s amazing) So as I’m about to head out 30 minutes before closing the problem manager tells me that all I have to do is take another 15 minutes and I’ll be okay to work until close. I take her word for it, and then as I’m heading back to the front run into my other manager who’s confused as to why I’m still there. Turns it that’s a hard no, and I had to race to clock out before I ended up in violation for not taking a lunch.

After she got promoted she did a lot of openings including coming in to set up the markdown team. Our team is two main people(me and and a coworker) and the. The occasional extra person. Mostly it’s just us. We’re good at markdowns and have been doing them for over six months. We know what we’re doing and we do it pretty well. Unfortunately manager didn’t get that memo. She didn’t give us the sheet telling us the departments to markdown, and instead dictated the first two she wanted done. While getting a certain area done first if it’s a lot or in the way of customers is all fine and dandy, having to stop every other department to track her down and wait for her to tell us what to do next was a time wasting pain. Store manager found out and set her straight after complaints.

Then comes the Fourth of July. That’s unfortunately my birthday. My personal life got turned end over end over the winter, and I was kinda bummed and ready to forget about the danm thing if I could. But my coworker remembered and told a lot of people and then went and bought me some gummy bear and a nightshirt from our store. It was a super sweet gesture and it cheered me up a lot. So I’m there until close and go put my gift in my locker. Once we’ve closed up I go get my stuff and we wait to lock up the doors. Problem manager is closing and was giving me grief over not telling people about my birthday (?????why??? It’s not important to most folks? We don’t do anything for those, so...) and she sees my bag. I’ve already eaten the gummy bears on break, but my nightshirt is there and there’s not a receipt. No tag either, but whatever. So I’m told by problem manager that without the receipt from my coworker it has to go up front. This despite the person who oversaw that transaction pointing out that she could confirm my coworker bought it for me. I don’t have any of my coworkers contacts so I can’t ask her if she still has it. I have to wait until we’re both there. I left to go home and sit with my cat, because outside of my grandparents and cousin that was the only gift I got, and it meant a lot, and I was pretty sure I wasn’t going to be able to prove it had been purchased.

So fast forward to a few days later when we’re both there and all my other coworkers now know the story. Most tell me I should’ve walked out with it anyway, but are hard on that gossip train. My coworker who bought the gift comes in and hears It and is understandably upset. Worse, she says problem manager saw her buy the items, even asking her what she was buying. So coworker asks her girlfriend to check her purse, and low and behold she’s able to find it. Danm miracle. So during my break we go to our manager on duty, who’s the scheduling manager. She goes looking for it up front and texts both problem manager and store manager about the situation, because apparently that was handled incorrectly. They couldn’t find it in the front and I was hoping that my coworker could at least get her money back for all the trouble. Well she found the nightshirt—on the sales floor, still missing its price tag. After checking the description to the item, I was handed both the receipt and my nightshirt. Wild ride for a birthday gift.

There are other minor things people have told me, but I won’t go into them based on the fact that there’s no evidence for them. These probably wouldn’t upset me as much either if she didn’t give weird vibes off after being caught in a mistake. I know being chewed out is no fun, but if you don’t own up and learn from mistakes you don’t grow. Don’t shoot me looks and complain how your way way made sense if your senior managers are telling you you’re wrong. And don’t get hissy with me when I double check things with them because you’ve proven an unreliable source of information in the past that could land me in trouble. We’ll see how she handles this chew out (I was told it would be happening by scheduling manager as a promise from Store manager) hopefully she learns. But I’m not putting any money on that.