#and then i got the kit and it's very lennie as well

[llama--plumbobsims]

I would like to say a very belated thank you to @trillyke for making the Sweet Slumber Party kit specifically for Lennie and Maisie

[wonderlandleighleigh]

A follow up follow up to Kitty helping Lenny say sorry for being a coward please

"She's here, she's here!" Kitty squeaks as there's a knock on the door.

Lenny settles the chicken stew he's made on the counter and sets the pot holders down. "Okay, Kit, stay cool."

"I'll get it!"

"Kit, wait!"

It's too late. Kitty flings open the door and smiles up at the woman standing there. "Hi!"

She looks surprised to see a little girl, but smiles back. "Hi, there," she says, leaning down. "I'm Midge. Is your daddy home?"

Kitty nods. "He made dinner for you, because he wants to say he's sorry for being a big scaredy-cat."

Midge laughs softly. "And is your daddy a good cook?" She stage-whispers playfully. "You can tell me the truth."

"Daddy's can't cook lots of things?" Kitty admits. "But he's good at some things."

"Well, it smells good," Midge grins.

"Good to know," Lenny says, leaning against the kitchen door.

"Hi," Midge says, gazing at him as she stands up straight. "Thanks for the invite."

"Hello," he nods. "Thanks for accepting."

Midge smiles at him. "I like your apartment. It's nice."

Lenny shrugs. "It's nice enough that I can have Kitty with me."

Kitty smiles. "I like it here! It snows here!"

"It does," Midge smiles back. "Did it not snow in the last place you lived?"

"No," Kitty tells her. "I lived with Grandma Sally in LA and it was always warm."

"Ooooh, LA is warm," Midge agrees.

"Daddy bought me a new winter coat because it's cold, and it's purple. Do you want to see it?"

"I would love to see it," Midge beams, watching as Kitty rushes off.

Lenny shakes his head and sighs softly.

"So part of your apology is letting me meet your kid?" Midge asks, quirking an amused eyebrow.

"I figured I'd better pull out some stops," Lenny admits. "Considering my cowardice got me a call from your manager."

"That was all her, I told her not to," Midge laughs.

"I likely story," Lenny smirks.

"It...may have been a little satisfying to hear her chew you out," Midge shrugs.

"I don't doubt it."

"So? What are we having for dinner that smells so good?" Midge asks as she sheds her coat and hands it to him.

He takes it and hangs it up for her. "I uh...I made a chicken stew. It's not terribly fancy, but it is good."

"I can't wait to try it," she tells him, just as Kitty comes out with her coat.

"This is it!" she announces.

"Oooh, it's lavender!" Midge says, sounding impressed. "And it's very pretty."

Kitty smiles proudly and hops up to hang her coat next to Midge's.

"Are you two ladies hungry?" Lenny asks.

"Yeah!" Kitty cries, dashing to the kitchen.

Midge grins and shakes her head at Lenny. "You helped make that little ball of energy."

"Yes, I did," Lenny chuckles. "She is delightful, but I have no idea how this happened."

Midge nudges him, and heads into the kitchen.

[theycallme-thejackal]

One MidgeLenny x TSwift Fic Per Day

62. 'tis the damn season

Joel was more than a little annoyed when Midge left for Hollywood.

It wasn’t ideal for her either, but when Lucille Ball herself asks you to come out and film a couple episodes with her, you jump at the opportunity.

It’s snowing when she leaves the airport, and she looks up at the sky, glad to be back home. As wonderful as the experience was, she’s missed New York. She’s missed her kids. Her parents.

As she heads to catch a taxi, she sees someone else she’s missed. “Lenny?”

He turns, the cigarette in his mouth nearly falling as he spots her, and next to him is a little girl around Ethan’s age, holding a teddy bear in one hand and Lenny’s fingers in the other. “Midge,” he breathes as he removes the cigarette from between his lips. “What are you doing here?”

“I just got back,” she says. “I was in Hollywood for a few weeks. The Lucy Show,” she explains.

His brows lift. “We must’ve been on the same flight,” he says. “I was getting Kitty from my mother’s.” It’s then that Midge notices the small pile of suitcases next to the father-daughter duo.

“I’m living with Daddy now!” Kitty cheers, releasing Lenny’s hand in favor of hugging his leg, and Midge sees him smile in a way she’s never witnessed before. Pure joy, unfiltered by anything but affection for his little girl. “You’re Midge?” Kitty asks.

“Yes,” Midge replies. “I’m Midge. I’m a friend of your daddy’s.”

“You’re pretty.”

Midge laughs quietly. “So are you. I love your dress. Pink is my favorite color.”

“Me too!” Kitty squeals, and Lenny laughs a little. Then the tiny blonde looks up at him, and he bends down as she whispers something to him.

“Yes, she’s very nice,” Lenny agrees, and then Kitty whispers something else that makes him chuckle before he stands upright and looks at Midge. “It seems Kitty would like me to invite you over for dinner,” he says.

“Oh,” Midge says, surprised.

“Honestly...I’d like it, too,” he adds after a moment.

She smiles softly. “Well, I can’t tonight,” she explains. “I haven’t seen my own kids in three weeks, and if I delay for even one more night, Joel might implode.”

Kitty furrows her brow. “Who’s Joel?”

“Joel is...my ex-husband,” Midge explains gently, and she watches Kitty’s eyes light up.

Oh.

"What about tomorrow?” Kitty asks sweetly.

“Kit,” Lenny scolds mildly. His daughter looks up, faux innocence painted on her face. She’s good, Midge thinks, laughing softly to herself. A cab pulls up next to them, and Lenny looks at her. “You wanna share this one?” He asks.

“Isn’t the Upper West Side a little out of your way?” She asks.

He shrugs, a little wave of his hand. “Not so much nowadays,” he replies, reaching for the door.

She’d love to take him up on the offer, but between Kitty’s luggage and Midge’s many, many suitcases, there’s no way they’re all fitting into one taxi. “I’ll get the next one,” she replies.

His expression loses a little mirth, and he nods. “Okay,” he replies quietly as he starts to pack up the car.

While Kitty climbs into the back seat, Midge follows Lenny to the trunk, and when he’s done loading Kitty’s things, she smiles up at him. “Hey, Lenny?”

He squints at her a little. “What?”

She tips her head up and whispers, “Happy anniversary,” before placing a soft kiss on his lips.

He chuckles as they part. “It’s December,” he points out. “Our anniversary was last month.”

“That was a test,” she teases.

He grins, covering it with two fingers the way he’s wont to do. “If I call you in the next couple of days...think you might be up for a little belated celebrating?” He asks, arching a brow playfully. “‘Tis the season, after all.”

She smiles. “I would love that.”

“And maybe before we...celebrate, I could buy you dinner.”

Her smile widens. “Sounds perfect.”

[irishmacguirefucker]

More of the gangs hobbies after settlin down? Maybe for Tilly, Sean and Javier?

I hope these are alright, it was a little hard to think of one for Javier because i feel like I don't know his character very well, but i feel like he’s one of those people that can just pick up any instrument and learn it with a few pointers and some practice. my sister is the same way lmao. Tilly was inspired by the idea of her having this beautiful plant covered bedroom which I thought suited her. Sean was the easiest because he already has a hobby, and honestly he doesn't seem like the hobby type of guy so at least I had a jumping off point. 

Ranch AU masterlist

Tilly:

When they got to the house, the study and most of the rooms all had bookcases filled with every kind of book from encyclopedias to romance novels to medical texts, anything you could think of. So when they all got there, those of the gang who could read and enjoy doing so were in absolute heaven. Any free time was immediately spent on one of the plush armchairs cracking open a dusty book. Tilly was certainly part of this, and in her reading, she gained a huge interest in plant husbandry.

She insists it’s a hobby because her favorite focus is on rare plants that often have no practical use, but she ends up with extensive knowledge of most herbs and plants. She is a big help in the herb garden, especially when they were figuring out which herbs they could grow where and what they could be used for. Her pride and joy however are the plants she grows in her room. All the upstairs bedrooms have large windows, and over time her bedroom has become full of plants. 

Her room is covered in live plants, rare plants that the others found and brought back, rare plants that she went hunting for, ivy and flowers, everything. She has hundreds of pressed and dried flowers in books and decorating her walls, and she is even learning to make teas, inks, paints and makeup with them. (homemade cosmetic recipes used to be placed in women’s magazines in the 1800s as cosmetics were a staple but not everyone could afford to buy them.)

Sean:

As we know, the man enjoys whittling. Before the ranch, he didn’t take it far beyond some sharp sticks, a few arrowheads and some crude figures, but at the ranch he found himself encouraged to take up this hobby to its fullest. It wasn’t his idea really, Lenny encouraged him. For all his fumbling, he really wasn’t bad with that knife of his and Lenny found a couple of books on whittling. It became both an encouraging way to teach Sean to read and a way to learn more about the trade.

Over time he was following the books himself and carving little animal figures and toy soldiers. He got really good at it, and for his birthday, Hosea and Lenny got him a real wood carving kit with curved knives and instructions on how to make a chess set. Hosea said he promised to teach them all how to play chess if Sean could carve them a whole set, and with that encouragement he got to work. Overall the man isn’t the ‘sit down for extended periods of time’ type guy, but it’s great as a more passive hobby when he feels like resting.

It’s especially great for instances where he has to chill out. For example, he actually managed to dislocate his ankle on the way down the stairs and was down for 6 weeks. When staying still got too hard and Grimshaw wouldn’t let him put weight on the foot, the whittling helped. It gave him something to focus on that wasn’t the feeling of being useless or the energy thrumming through all his muscles.

Javier:

At the ranch, there is a beautiful grand piano in one of the sitting rooms. Benefits of inheriting a rich family estate and all that. For a while, nobody really touched it because nobody knows how to use it. Javier had always been musically inclined, he can hold a tune and play the guitar effortlessly. When he was a teenager he picked it up mostly on his own, he just had a knack for music. The piano, however, can be a daunting instrument. It was a while before he touched it. In fact, it wasn’t until an early morning when half the house was outside and the other half was passed out drunk before he did. 

The only reason he wasn’t out working himself was that he was sick with some sort of stomach bug and technically wasn’t supposed to even be out of his bedroom. He didn’t really play anything that first day. He tested the keys, played them all just to know what sound they made. Before he had really gotten to know the instrument, Ms. Grimshaw burst into the room and he was busted for breaking his quarantine. 

It was a woman at the local bar that taught him how to play it a bit more. She was passing through town for a few days with a group of people and playing music each night for a little extra cash. He found himself flirting with her as she took breaks from playing for the bar, and they enjoyed the fleeting company. She showed him a few basics and he took to it like a fish to water. Like anything, it took time and practice but it was a rapid increase in skill, and eventually, he was playing for them all in the sitting room just like he does with his guitar.

[morgans-cowbaby]

Hey cowbabies this is for the @rdr-secret-cupid @charlessmithhasmyheart this is for you :)

I really hope you like this one. this is my first time writing for rdr and writing something in another language :O (i will double check my spelling but i apologize in advance if there’s some nonsense down below)

RELATIONSHIP: Lenny Summers X f!Reader

WORD COUNT: 1,549

WARNINGS: A LIGHT MENTION OF BLOOD/WOUND.

fluff with a soft touch of angst (honestly guys i don’t know)

All this running from the law, pinkertons and now this Angelo Bronte guy did you no good. You were tired, Miss Grimshaw had you working non-stop for days since the gang moved, you needed some peace. The swamp air is thick and you're covered in sweat, but still, all you could think about was him. You knew that talking to him would wash all of your worries away. So you sit on a log sewing a pair of old jeans, roaming your eyes around in hope to find him. There he was, sitting in the main room at the old manor house planning a coach robbery with Arthur, Lenny Summers. You were good friends since you joined the gang, he could always tell when you were not feeling ok and he would do anything to cheer you up. One night you woke up having a panic attack, shaking and crying, trying to scream but nothing came out. Lenny was on guard duty but he left it immediately when he saw your situation. Poor boy, he knew nothing about anxiety crises but he did his best to calm you down, and it was that night you finally realised, you are in love with him. Since that night, you’ve been trying to approach him in a flirty and romantic way, but you saw it, you were no dummy. The way he talked with her, you saw every subtle move he made towards Jenny Kirk, and the worse of all, you remember how devastated he got after the blackwater incident.

You didn't hate her, you couldn't. She was so young and you were sure that Lenny would be more than happy to have her by his side right now, but oh well, you can help wishing you were the one he dreamt of.

Suddenly you feel a soft touch on your left shoulder

“They will be fine. I'm sure they have a good plan, and Arthur is our best gunslinger, he will bring your boy back” It was Hosea.

Oh no you were so lost in thought that you didn't notice you've been staring at him for way too long. Did he noticed?

“M-my boy? whatchu' mean Mr. Matthews?” Was it that obvious?

“C'mon now dear, I've seen the way you look at each other. Just like me and Bessie used to do” He says “And you are not very good at hiding it”

“I'm sorry but I don't know whatchu' talking about Mr. Matthews" You can feel your face burn with shame.

“Lenny got his heart broken after what happened, he would never be interested in another relationship" You think to yourself

“Sure you don't”. He says with a soft smile on his lips.

“But I'd tell you, if my Bessie was alive, I wouldn't waste any time” He says while walking into the manor to check that stagecoach robbery plan.

You try to focus again on sewing the jeans in your hands but you just can’t stop thinking about what Hosea just said to you. After all, having a relationship and taking the risk of ending with a broken heart was something you could not afford, not right now. By now, you’ve finished all your chores of the day and decided to watch the beautiful dusk from the balcony, from up there you could see Lenny and Arthur getting ready to leave camp. You have a weird feeling in your gut, like when something bad is about to happen, “What could go wrong? Lenny and Arthur can handle a simple stagecoach robbery” you thought as you walk back to your tent “and besides, they have planned it thoroughly” As you’re getting ready to sleep that weird gut feeling strikes again but you just brush it off, slowly closing your eyes.

Suddenly you wake up to the familiar sound of horse hooves hitting the soft mud, but something is wrong, that gut feeling is back and it’s stronger. You head off your tent expecting the worst but you see them, Arthur and Lenny, getting off from their horses with some cash and valuables in hand. “Well, everything is fine” You thought as your eyes roamed over Lenny’s body and then you finally found out why you had the weird feeling in your gut. Lenny was shot, you froze in place when you saw the big blood stain on his right arm. You ran to him.

“Lenny oh my! What happened to your arm” You said loudly, but not loud enough to wake the camp

"The boy’s gonna be ok Miss Y/N” Arthur said heading inside the manor, leaving both of you alone.

"Yeah, that’s nothing to worry about. I was grazed by a bullet, I’m not feeling any pain” Lenny said gently, while making his way to his tent.

"Please let me take a look. You said grabbing his hand lightly and guiding him to your tent”

"It’s ok Y/N, I’m telling you”. He protests but still, he follows you.

“I don’t want to bother you this late at night”, he says while standing at the opening of your tent.

"Nonsense” You said motioning for him to sit on your cot. He slowly makes his way to your thin cot and starts to roll up the blood soaked white sleeves from his shirt.

"Oh no, this is bad”. You say grabbing the little first-aid kit you kept next to your clothes. “But luckily you won’t be needing stitches”. With iodine and a clean gauze in hands, you lean forward and start cleaning his arm.

"Hey that hurts!" Lenny said as he flinched

"If you keep moving it’s gonna take longer to finish it”. You said holding his arm down

“It’s easy to talk when you’re not the one with medicine on your wound” He says jokingly

“I would never hurt you Lenny” You said while cutting a piece of the gauze to make the final bandage. “I love you actually”. You freeze, you can’t believe you just said that, but you did. And worse comes next.

Lenny had a confused look in his face, his mouth was open but he didn’t say a word. You look away and start to have a panic attack “WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT OH LORD WHAT DO I DO NOW?” You thought while wrapping the gauze around his arm as fast as you could, without looking at his face.

“Well, we’re done!” You said basically screaming “You can go to your tent now Lenny, if you need anything I’ll be here” Your legs were shaking but you managed to stand up and walk to the front of your tent.

“Y/N…” Lenny touched your shoulder “You serious?” He asked

“I’m so sorry Lenny I don’t know why I said that. I shouldn't, you’re still in love with Jenny and I’m sorry about what happened to her. But please don’t be mad at me it’s ok you can leave and we’ll never talk about this again” You talked so fast that it felt like the words were pouring off your mouth.

“Y/N calm down… look at me please” He spoke to you so softly, it was almost a whisper. You lift your head up, eyes feeling heavy with tears and cheeks burning like fire.

“It’s true, I loved Jenny and to be honest… I still do, even after what happened in Blackwater.” Your heart sinks as he speaks, the feeling of guilt running freely through your body.

“But she’s gone now”. The sadness in his eyes is slowly fading away. “Y/N, I like you too” Your body is finally relaxing, his reaction wasn’t so bad, was it? He didn’t say i love you back to you, but at least he wasn’t angry.

“And…. umm…” Lenny was the nervous one now “I like you enough to have you as my partner”

“REALLY?” Your heart jumps with joy only to be interrupted as he continues to speak

“But not right now, we have the law and pinkertons on our neck, I just can’t afford to lose another loved one”.

Now what? Your body is burning from embarrassment, eyes feeling heavy with tears again while you open your mouth to say something but your brain is not cooperating, your mind is blank. Lenny cups your face with his calloused fingers and lays his rough lips against yours, kissing you. You were surprised at first, but you kissed him back.

“It’s ok Y/N, you don’t have to say a word. I know you’re feeling confused right now but we will soon be out of this mess” He says as he caresses your face

“Yeah, I heard Hosea talking about a bank robbery, it seems like a good score.” You said while sitting back on your cot

“It better be” Lenny says as he sits by your side and pulls you for a hug “With that amount of money on our hands, we can leave this whole mess” He pulls you again for a passionate kiss, this time you open your mouth and let his tongue in.

“I think we’re going to Tahiti,” You say while letting out a soft chuckle and he slides his fingers through your hair.

“Honestly, I’d be happy anywhere.” Lenny says “As long I have no worries and you by my side”.

[cloveroctobers]

ELISA FRANÇOIS —

IG info/bio: @/elisacoisbabe | 34.2k followers | why yes I’m shaking my ass while having a mental breakdown, mind ur business yeah?? 👸🏿

22 (23) years

Born in Louisiana, New Orleans

Has two sisters: Camille & Manon

Raised by her aunt & uncle in London, England

Does not address her birth parents as her real parents, her aunt & uncle hold that title & deff has a lot of anger towards her birth parents—to her they’re as good as d*ad

Haitian roots

Keeps her family life as private as she can, however her fans occasionally see her sisters on her channel

Social media influencer who got her start from posting makeup looks on her YouTube channel & her story times

Canon: calls her fans “Elisa-bee’s��� we don’t know why either

Loves 80’s style blush

Loves 80s music & aesthetic and she liked it before u teenagers hopped on the bandwagon, sorry not sorry ;-)

Doesn’t feel Lottie is competition at all when it comes to posting content even if fans feel that way, they have completely different techniques

Vacations in Paris & Louisiana often

Her older sister, Manon resides in Louisiana and when they link up??? Issa vibe

Camille is the youngest & kinda a party pooper, she’s more on the serious side

Loves snacking on macaroons... salted caramel praline & lavender white chocolate are her favorites (I feel like I said this about someone else too...)

She’s scared of owls/any type of birds partly from a childhood trauma where she was attacked by a bunch of seagulls on a pier & as punishment when she was up to no good, her parents would force her to watch “the birds” (1963) strapped to a chair

Went thru a “ugly phase” growing up & was often called “lady-b*y”

Has been in multiple relationships/entanglements/situations/experiences but there are many that she doesn’t count & or acknowledge “I hope no one considers me an ex especially if they couldn’t make me c*m”

Has had threes*mes before

Sex posi!

Supports trans lives!

In the last few years she was recently diagnosed with borderline personality disorder

When she finished secondary, she didn’t think uni was for her. Found school rather boring although she did quite well at it. She was exhausted with everything that came with it & decided to go into stripping for a couple of months (almost a year) before she decided to work on her YouTube channel

Currently in a polyamorous relationship

A few of her experiences with her significant others got jealous of her job, the attention she got from it & the time she put into her job as a influencer— it was annoying

Gemini sun + Sagittarius moon + Capricorn rising? Idk man but she’s got Leo & Scorpio in her chart too I’m sure of it

Has no problem bringing her issues with someone to the table

Kinda likes confrontation but only if SHE’s the one to start it, not if SOMEONE ELSE does it FOR her, due to her spreading the info around in the first place...

Will try her best to read someone but sometimes her comebacks lack...

Still doesn’t like Chelsea, Jo, OR Shannon & it’s been a year but she don’t gaf

Found herself a friend in Blake

They’re opposites, she’s more laid back & slightly reserved whereas when Elisa enters the place you KNOW it because she makes it known—she loves to be seen

After Marisol & Graham called it quits, Elisa swept in & they explored what they could be? Intimately. Yet Elisa doesn’t seem like she’s ready to settle down right now & she doesn’t HAVE to while Marisol seems like she likes to have fun too BUT is also always thinking two steps ahead—she’s calculated, so a small part of her thought of the what if’s? But knew there was a chance there shouldn’t be any strings attached

That shifted their friendship forsure!!! Priya told them it was a bad idea from the start but Elisa had some snippy words for her ofc “mind ur business luv, or I’ll do it for ya x”

She thought about ghosting marisol for a little bit to see if she’d chase after her, she loves to be chased but decided not to. She was upfront about their rendezvous after awhile, she agreed if they ever got lonely again to hit each other up...but marisol doesn’t feel like what they had was based on loneliness...

Probably still has a crush on Bobby & was kinda mad he asked someone else to marry him but she still showed up to the reunion/wedding like the baddest bitch she knows she is, ‘got to make him regret not choosing me, ya know?’

Will chat with him every now & then but Bobby being the friendly guy he is doesn’t pay much attention to her seduction or rather he ignores it but if it gets too much he’ll gently tell her about herself

Hey, Elisa knows shade when she sees it & can be a shady bitch when she wants to be too

Only drinks the real ginger ale not the fake one the rest of u lot drink

Has no issue showing her figure, she loves her body, she loves herself, & that took along time to appreciate so she doesn’t care if people view that as arrogant, most don’t know her story & if they still shitted on her for it then they can all fuck right off

She has a soft side too...somewhere in there but it’s very rare to see! Only ONE of her exes had the chance of seeing it

She has a image to protect & show the world but there’s going to be a time where she gets tired of constantly putting on a show

Is a sucker for animation films & whenever there’s a sad moment in the film she deff triggered!

Has two dogs: Dachshund & a chihuahua

Makes the best Pikliz

loves a good lace front, will drop bands on one whenever she feels like she needs something new & that’s quite often

Owns a bedazzler kit

Has a stun gun

Can make her own jewelry + working on starting a line for it

Body scrubs are to die for in her opinion, her skin HAS to be soft & she’s always moisturized. That’s right stay away from her if ur ashy cause she’ll bring shame to you

She’s slightly a mean girl/bitchy I feel like we all know this lmao

Live tweeted about season 3 & dragged it like we all did with no remorse

I feel like she’s a wild sleeper? Lol

Enjoys not only 80s style music but Lofi beats, cocaine80s, PARTYNEXTDOOR, IAMDDB, Ravyn Lenae, VanJess, Ibeyi, Tayla Parx, CITY GIRLS, & Kash doll, saweetie, etc

Celeb crushes: Zoe Kravitz & Lenny Kravitz, Issa Rae, Winston Duke, Theo James, Robert Pattinson, Alexa Demie, Kelvin Harris Jr., Kedar Williams-Stirling...

Anthem: Dreezy ft. Kash Doll — Chanel Slides

[watatsumi-island]

If Blades of Light and shadow was a show and me and my family watched it part three UwU

(chapter 2 and 3 were in the same part. This will be in two parts since this would be very long otherwise 😅. So there will be 16 parts sorr about that. I'll post it tommorow or in a few days skskksks. Enjoy! 😊🤗💙)

Characters are not mine and belong to Pixelberry Studios.

My mom: Alright time for episode 4.

*theme music starts*

My mom: Lauren? Are you sure we'll see Mal aga-

Me: YES. MOM.

Tyril: *says Run again*

Me and my Tyril simp sister: *CoUgH cOuGh* hand in marriage sir *CoUgH*-

Tyril: You may call me Tyril. Of House Starfury.

Me: *chokes*

Mal: ....we're stuck with you aren't we?

Tyril: For now.

Me and my sister: forEVER BITCH-

The crew: *enters the deck*

Me knowing what scene comes next: ehehehehehehehhehehehehehehhehhehehehehehehe-

Elmira: Guys calm down. I have the perfect solution.

Me: 😏😏😏

My mom: 👀

Elmira: Tyril can sleep with me.

My mom: 👁👄👁

My sister: Hot DAMN GIRL-

My dad: She forward-

Me: YASSS QUEEN! YOU GET YOUR MANSSSSSSS!

Tyril: Ex--Excuse me?

My family: *insert Lenny face*

Elmira: My bunk's not that big but, that will make it just nice a cozy.

My mom: HOLY GOD SHE BOLD. YAS.

Me: YASSSSSSSSSS-

Elmira: Mind if I join you?

Me: Oh honEY. HE DOES NOT.

Tyril: *smiles softly*

Me: *screams* HIS SMILE IS SO CUTE AND PRECIOUS AND ADORABLE AND SWEET AND PERFECT MY GOD I LOVE HIM.

Tyril: Fine you got me. If I minded your company I would have asked you to leave.

Me: Told ya-

Tyril: So I suppose...your welcome to join me. If you enjoy looking at the sky, and if my company seems adequate.

My mom, sister and me: 🍿OwO🍿

----

Elmira: what are you thinking about?

Tyril: The passage of time.

Elmira: ah. Yes. How delightfully vague...

Tyril: I'm suprised you think so. I suppose you are young for an Elf.

My mom: WAIT. *Pauses it*

Me: what is it mom?

My mom: If she's young for an Elf, how old is he-

Me who is in the fandom and can't bother with that shit anymore unless someone from the Blades writing team or book two says something: HE DIDN'T MEAN IT LIKE THAT ALRIGHT LET'S PLAY IT.

-----

Tyril: Today I'm supposed to be leading a toast to the legendary archer Lantris. Instead I'm here. It's strange, where time's passage takes us.

Elmira: Do you wish you were in Undermount, leading that toast?

My dad: He's definitely gonna say yes-

Tyril: Hmph. No.

My dad: O_O .......

Tyril: A waste of time. I have more important things to do.

Elmira: *snickers* sorry it's just...WOW you're awfully serious aren't you?

Me: Bitch I know It's fucking annoying-

Tyril: *smiles again*

Me: O///w\\\O

------

Tyril: Look! Fae Fish!

-----

Elmira: Wow...they're beautiful.

Tyril: Yeah. They really are.

Me: Soft Tyril I- 🤧

My mom: 🍿👀🍿

-----

Elmira: Wow. You were pretty into those fish huh?

Tyril: Er...well the truth is. This is my first time on a boat. I've only read about Fae Fish before.

Me, my mom and my sister: He's so precious sskskksksksksk 🤧😳😳😳😳

My (poor straight) dad watching us fangirl: 😑

-----

Tyril: Everything was always about House Starfury. We had to be the best, the richest, the most influential.

Me and my mom: Oh poor cinnamon roll 🤧🤧🤧

----

Tyril: And I could forget about frienships.

My dad: Oh he's antisocial and his family always tried to help him poor bo-

Tyril: I couldn't so much nod at another elf without considering the political ramifications.

My dad: Oh it WAS his parents- O____O

Elmira: So you're saying you never had a childhood.

My mom: I'LL GIVE YOU A CHILDHOOD CINNAMON ROLL-

Tyril: No.

My mom: Wait what did-

Tyril: But there were balls and council meetings to keep my interest.

My mom: .......Oh.

Elmira: Oh Tyril, you need a hug.

My family: 🍿👁👄👁🍿

Tyril: Excuse m--

Elmira: *hugs him*

My family: ehehehehehhehehehe...

Elmira: i'm sorry it's just that your pain was rolling off you in waves and I just had to do something.

My mom: .....she know what she did.

Me: Oh dat bitch KNOW what she did.

My sister: She know she gonna be in his dreams tonight.

My dad: we been knew UwU.

My sister: ......never say that again dad.

My dad: Damn ok-

----

Tyril: ...Elmira?

Elmira: yeah?

Tyril: Thank you.

My family: Awwww...

Elmira: Anytime Tyril. Anytime.

My mom sister and me: *stands up and claps*

Me: A+ ACTING BITCHES. 👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽

My mom: *sniffling* that was beautiful. 🤧🤧🤧

My sister: YASSS HOE. 🤘🏼🤘🏼🤘🏼🤘🏼

My dad: 👍🏽👍🏽👍🏽

Mal: Hey Kit! Elf boy! What are you doing all the way over there? Fun's this way!

My mom: *sighs* Listen Mal I love you but you just ruined the moment-

Pt. 2 of this is in a day or two. I know most of you wouldn't read it or all of it if I put everything together. 😅😅😅

[zarcake-writes]

Secrets and Wishful Thinking

Hello everyone! I took so long to come up with a title and I still don’t like it. Anyways, here is the first part of my oc Kit’s story. I’m so excited and I hope you all enjoy it. Also, I hc that Arthur is bisexual, so he’s gonna be bi in this fic. 

Tagging: @reddeaddenial 

Part 1

Arthur Morgan grumbled to himself when he saw how low the food supply was in camp. It felt like he was the only one doing anything lately. He was going out hunting, running stupid missions for everyone, donating money, saving idiots from death. Hell, he even had to chop wood the other day because no one else would.

Turning from Pearson, Arthur looked around the camp. Horseshoe Overlook was quiet for the moment. The camp was situated off the main road among some trees; it was quiet and hidden. It was just the type of place everyone needed after the horrible time spent in the mountains. The sun felt good on his skin, and the cool air made Arthur feel alive.

He frowned when looked around the camp for someone suitable to accompany him on a hunting trip. Lenny was out with Micah, poor kid. Charles was busy making arrows and had guard duty later. John was… was useless at the moment. Hosea was still “recovering” from the bear hunt. Dutch couldn’t leave camp. Arthur almost gave up until his eyes rested on Kit, the newest member of their gang and no doubt the quietest.

The kid joined up with them just before all hell broke loose in Blackwater. Hosea had brought him into the gang, claiming he was a good thief. Kit was quiet and short, shorter than Javier. He had a baby face, which he usually kept hidden beneath the brim of his hat. There wasn’t anything special about him. He did as he was told, helped out around camp when no one else would, and kept to himself. The only people who regularly spoke with him was Miss. Grimshaw, Karen, Hosea, and Charles.

When Arthur first saw him, he thought the kid would be dead in a week. But here he was, still alive. He had lived through them fleeing Blackwater, helped fight off the law and Pinkertons who were hunting them, and even survived all that snow. In the mountains, Kit not only gave his heaviest jacket to little Jack but was also one of the reasons the gang didn’t starve.

He was one of the best hunters in the camp, right after Charles. He helped make sure the camp had food, whether it was rabbits or deer. The pelts he brought back were always perfect, and always worth something. It was when the gang was hiding in Colter that Arthur learned of the game Charles and Kit played.

“You gonna tell Kit you caught these two, Charles? Or let him think he’s the better hunter?” Pearson asked Charles.  

“Kit is an accomplished hunter, there is no need for me to lie to him. However, it will be funny seeing his reaction. Oh, there he is. Arthur, play along.” Before Arthur could even react, Charles was calling Kit over. “Hey Kit! Come here!”

Kit was in the middle of walking pass them when Charles yelled his name. He looked over to the men and frowned, there was a dusting of snow on his hat and shoulders. For a moment, it looked like he was going to ignore them, but after a sigh, he made his way towards them. The jacket he wore nearly covered his whole body, making him look smaller than he was. When he saw the deer, he gave Charles a suspicious look.

“Like my catch?” Charles asked. Arthur saw what looked like a smirk on Charles’ face. Pearson was doing his best to hide his face, and Arthur found the burning coals in front of him to be very interesting.

“You caught these? Bullshit. Your hand is hurt.”

“A skilled hunter doesn’t need both his hands.” Kit narrowed his eyes at Charles, then glanced at the other two men. Pearson was looking away, but Arthur made the mistake of meeting Kit’s eyes. Arthur’s face must have said it all because Kit let out a noise and hit Charles.

“Oh, you liar, playing me like that. This doesn’t count, you know? You didn’t kill them, Arthur did. Didn’t he?” Charles and Pearson let out soft laughs, and Arthur smiled at how perceptive Kit was.

“Yeah, Arthur killed them. Not bad, huh?” Charles said. Kit squatted down to examine the carcass on the floor.

“Not bad at all. Maybe we should invite him into our game. What do you think Charles?”

“Game? What game?” Arthur asked.

“It’s something Kit and I do. We try to outdo the other when we go hunting. Responsibly, of course,” Charles explained.

“One day he’ll bring in a buffalo, then next I’ll bring in a moose,” Kit said.

“You’ve never killed a moose.”

“Well, not yet I haven’t.”

“Oh, I’m not much of a hunter,” Arthur said. Charles and Kit turned their attention back to Arthur.

“So, you got lucky with these two then? Well, I suppose you should leave the hunting to the real hunters then,” Kit said. The challenging look on Kit’s face caught Arthur off guard. He was so used to Kit rarely speaking and barely looking him in the eyes. Arthur found he rather liked that cocky look on Kit’s face, for some reason he wanted to see it more. Especially if it meant he could see Kit smirk at him again.

“I think I’ll join this game of yours. Better get ready for an ass-kicking, Kit,” Arthur said.

“Only ass getting kicked around here is yours, Mr. Morgan,” Kit replied. That smirk remained on his face, and Arthur couldn’t help but grow warm the longer he looked at Kit.

That had been several weeks ago. Now, at Horseshoe Overlook, Arthur was eager to see just how good of a hunter Kit was. The thought of putting that boy in his place made Arthur march over to where the young man was resting against a tree.

Since arriving at the new camp, Kit hasn’t gotten the chance to leave. He’s been on guard duty most days, or he’s spent his time doing the chores no one else wanted to do. No doubt he was itching to get out of camp.

Walking towards Kit, Arthur noticed he really was asleep. His head was down, the hat he claimed was lucky covered his face, and the old brown jacket he always wore was open slightly. His black shirt was buttoned up to his neck, but Arthur could see the slow rise and fall of his chest. His rifle was resting on the ground beside him.

“Kit! Kit! Get your lazy ass up!” Arthur said as he kicked the bottom of his foot. Kit jumped and let out a startled noise that sounded like a yelp.

“What the fuck? Micah, I’m gonna fucking ki- Oh! Mr. Morgan.”

Arthur couldn’t help but smirk at how nervous he suddenly became. He was ready to fight Micah, the biggest asshole in the gang, but when it came to Arthur the kid was all nerves. Arthur didn’t know if he should be flattered, or insulted at how nervous the kid was around him.

“I’m up, Mr. Morgan.” Kit stood up quickly. He hung his rifle over his shoulder and buttoned up his jacket.

Arthur examined the young man’s face. Soft features and warm, nervous eyes. His black hair was wavy and shoulder length. Kit usually kept it hidden beneath his hat. The few times Arthur saw it, he would only slick it back with pomade and put the hat in place.

He was so much shorter than Arthur, even shorter than a couple of the women. The tattered brown jacket he always wore covered most of his body from being seen. It was several sizes too big and had a discolored patch on the back.

“You are now. Come on, I need someone to go hunting with me.”

“Ah, eager to see how good I really am?” Kit said with a grin. The nervousness was gone and the cocky attitude, again, took Arthur by surprise. He was tempted to smack it out of Kit, but he wanted to see just how good this kid was.

“If Charles says you’re a good hunter, then I believe him. The camp needs food, and I figured if two people go out, we can catch more. I would ask Charles, but he’s busy at the moment.”

“Course I’ll go; we got to feed all these people. Where are we heading? What are we hunting?”

“I was thinking just deer, but Pearson was complaining that people want variety. So, I suppose some rabbits would be good to add.”

“If we’re gonna get rabbits, let me grab my varmint rifle.” Arthur followed Kit to his small tent and waited for him outside.

When Kit joined the gang, he showed up with the tent. It made Arthur wonder just how long the kid had been on his own. Arthur glanced inside but was only able to glimpse a small cot before the covering fell in place. Kit exited a moment later, a small rifle in his hands.

“You know where to go for rabbits and deer?”

“Was thinking around Valentine.”  

“Sounds good. Lead the way.”

The ride started off quiet. Arthur was lost in thought and enjoying the ride. The country around them was beautiful. The wide blue sky above them, the warm sun beating down, and the open land before them set Arthur at ease. He was looking out for any animals or trouble when Kit spoke.

“I take it you don’t trust what Charles says about me?” Arthur glanced at him and let out a dry laugh.

“I trust him. But, no offense kid, you don’t look like you would be a good hunter, or good at anything really. If I hadn’t seen you use that rifle of yours, I wouldn’t believe anyone who said you were good with it.” Glancing back at the kid, Arthur saw he was giving him an unamused look. He wanted to laugh at how insulted the kid looked, but that would only further piss the boy off.

“Thanks for the show of faith, Mr. Morgan,” Kit said dryly.

“Don’t take it the wrong way kid, but look at you. You’re small and you don’t talk much. Shit, sometimes I forget you’re even part of the gang. You ain't even got any facial hair."

“What about Charles? He barely talks.”

“Yeah, but that man is huge. You see him when he walks in a room. You ain’t got any facial hair, and you don’t have the deepest voice. You… well, you look like a kid wearing daddy’s clothes.”

There was no reply to Arthur’s comment, only silence. Glancing at Kit, Arthur saw his head was bowed so his hat covered his face. Realizing he might have taken his joke too far, Arthur felt bad. It wasn’t something he was used to feeling, but it happened occasionally.

“Oh, don’t get so sour kid. I was just playing.”

“I’m sure you were.”

Kit urged his horse to move faster and took the lead, leaving Arthur to chase after the kid.

Several hours later and the two were heading back to camp. Their hunt was successful. Between the two of them, they had caught two deer, a turkey, and a rabbit. Arthur regretted doubting Kit. He was a skilled tracker; his eyes were sharp and he seemed to know where the animals would be. He could move through the brush quietly, which was a surprise for Arthur, who felt like he was stomping loudly everywhere he went.

Kit was just as skilled as Charles when it came to using the bow. Arthur found himself fumbling with his own bow at times, while Kit made it look easy. Each of Kit’s kills was clean and quick, leaving the carcass hardly damaged. At the end of the day, Arthur regretted agreeing to play Charles’s and Kit’s game, there was no way he would be able to beat either of them. Well, he did have that map of legendary animals, maybe those will help him win.

“Hey Kit?” Arthur began.

“Yeah?”

“I didn’t mean to insult you earlier, I was just playing. And I’m sorry for doubting you kid. You’re a good hunter.”

“Thanks, Mr. Morgan. You’re not too bad either. A bit stiff and you tend to stomp around, but not bad.”

“Jeez, you heard that?”

“Everything heard you, Mr. Morgan. It’s why we had to head a bit further north.” Kit laughed. Arthur joined him and nodded his head in agreement. He glanced at Kit and saw he was smiling at him. It was a small smile, just the corners of his mouth were turned up. Arthur looked away and back towards the road.

They both grew silent. The sun was setting and the air was growing colder. Arthur rolled down the sleeves of his shirt and wished he had brought a jacket. As they continued to ride on in silence, the sun was beginning to set. There was the faint chirping of crickets, and the sound of an owl hooting in the distance.

Arthur couldn’t help but glance at his companion. There was a peaceful look on Kit’s face, and for once his hat wasn’t hiding his face. Kit was looking up towards the sky, a small smile graced his features. His eyes were dark, but Arthur could have sworn there was a hint of green in them earlier. Arthur’s gaze traveled back down to Kit’s mouth. His lips were slightly parted now, and he was still focused on the darkening sky above them.

“Where did you learn to track and hunt?” Arthur asked. He was quick to look away from Kit, and he prayed the blush on his face wasn’t visible.

“I kind of taught myself. Failure is a wonderful teacher.”

“It is. Why did you start?” Arthur glanced at Kit when he let out a long sigh. The smile on his face was gone now, and he looked sad.

“My pa was a hard-working man, but he enjoyed drinking. There were times he would vanish for a few days and we would run out of food. So, one day, I stole a bow or tried too. I got caught by the man, but he felt bad for me. Think he saw how skinny I was. He gave me some tips and sent me on my way. It took some time, but I managed to get the hang of it.”

“Survival drove you, then.”

“Yeah. For myself and my siblings. My older sister was busy taking care of my younger sister and managing the house. Our wonderful mother ran out on us after my youngest sister was born. Think that drove my pa to drink more. I had to do something to put food on the table. But my sister and I learned really quick that food wasn’t all we needed. We needed money, and with our dad drinking all his money away, we had few options. She could become a whore or I could start stealing. I decided to steal and rob didn’t want to put my sister through that.”

“That’s admirable of you.”

“Nothing admirable about it, Arthur. They’re my sisters. I would die for them.”

“Still. I know men who would sell their sisters instead of doing something themselves.”

“Well, it’s not like I was working an honorable job. I robbed drunks and started breaking into homes. Soon, I was a rather accomplished thief. I never liked stealing from people though, but I had to help my sisters out somehow. Hell, I’m still helping them out.”

“Even your father?”

“Nah, he died a few years back. Pneumonia. Just doing what I can to help my sisters.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be. By the time he died, he had stopped drinking so much and was much more helpful. His death was hard on us, but watching him die was harder. This jacket is all I have left of him. Some debtors came through after he died and took almost everything of value. I was so angry and my sisters were so scared. I started stealing and robbing more after that.”

“That’s when you met Hosea?”

“A little after that. The gang I used to steal with started getting bigger ideas and wanted to rob from hard working people. I only robbed assholes or people who could spare losing the money. I headed to Blackwater and sent my sister’s further west.”

“How did you meet Hosea again?” Arthur couldn’t hide the smile on his face.

“Oh gosh. You know the true story.” Kit waved his hand dismissively, but there was a smile on his face again.

“Do I?”

“Yes. We were robbing the same target and happened to bump into each other while we were sneaking through the house. That’s all. There was no dancing, swapping clothes, or impersonations. I didn’t play his long-lost son, and he didn’t fake an illness. Hosea has a tendency to embellish his stories.” Arthur let out a laugh and Kit couldn’t help but join in.

“That he does.”

A comfortable silence fell between them once again. Arthur had to admit, he didn’t expect to enjoy his time with Kit. Yeah, the boy was quiet and always seemed nervous, but once he got used to Arthur he seemed to open up. Arthur glanced back at him once more. He was looking straight ahead this time, that small smile was back on his face.

When they arrived back to camp, the sun had almost fully set and the camp was winding down. Arthur carried the deer’s while Kit grabbed the turkey and rabbit. The boy might be a good hunter, but he struggled to lift the carcasses. It concerned Arthur that the boy was so weak. He wondered if he needed to eat more.

“You do know this doesn’t count, right?” Kit said.

“Count for what?”

“The game. You need to go hunting alone for it to count.”

“I know that. Charles told me,” Arthur said. Kit let out a hum and nodded his head.

“Now that we have food, do you need help with anything else, Arthur?”

“Not now. I have to collect some money for Strauss. Might do that tomorrow or the day after. You ever been collecting?”

“Nope. You sure I’ll be of help? I’m not very scary looking.” Kit gestured to all of himself. He was right, he wasn’t very scary.

“No, you are not. But I’ll show you how to appear scary. I’m sure we can add some makeup or something to your face.”

“Maybe Micah can pass some of his ugly onto me, that will be a good start.” Arthur let out a loud laugh and grabbed a beer from Pearson’s wagon. He handed one to Kit and motioned for him to follow him to the cliff along the side of the camp.

“We want you scary, not ugly.”

“Yeah. Well, you’ll have to teach me to be scary then Arthur.”

“Gladly Kit.”

The two stood there in silence and drank their beers. Kit was the first to sit, his legs dangled over the edge. After a moment, Arthur followed suit. He noticed how much longer his own legs were compared to Kit’s. He didn’t say anything, he simply glanced at the young man beside him, then continued to admire the view.

The world around them continued to darken and the moon rose. The sounds of Javier’s guitar and Karen’s singing drifted over towards them. There were laughs and stories being told further in camp, but for the moment Arthur and Kit weren’t interested. They sat on the edge of the cliff together, drinking their beers and enjoying the quiet night.

[irepookie]

Infinity Chapter 4-

Meet The Family (PT.1)

Summary: QUEEN AU where Rog (aka Rowan Queen) is a young single dad struggling to make it into music industry.

Warnings: not really. Just fluff, sappiness and swearwords here and there

Disclaimer: I don't own the pictures. The boys are based on Queen, but Piper, Gina and Callie are mine

John: Rick Lincoln (Cause he is John Richard Deacon born on August 19th 1951™™™™™)

Brian: Terry Garrett (Cause my uncle used to have a black puddle named Terry and I had no choice)

Freddie: Len Mars (Yea I couldn't help myself)

Chapter 4- Row opens up with the boys about the raisin.

“I'm a dad”........

"Okay, let's... let's get over this again: A daughter?" Terry, the band's guitarist couldn't believe his ears.

"Yes, Terry. A daughter" Row repeated for the 19th time from the other side of the phone.

"A baby." Len said, taking another sip of his tequila.

"No, a 30 year old alpaca." Row said sarcastically. "Yes, a goddamn baby. Fucking gorgeous, just so you know"

"And you're gonna keep her." Rick, who had been quietly plunking his bass' strings, added. "Are you sure?"

"It's done. I've already kept her. And it's not like I'm rescuing a shelter dog. She's mine. Period."

"Sorry, was just trying to... Wrap my head around it"

To be honest, Row still couldn't quite believe it (that he was a father). Not even now, as he tried to convince his best friends while holding his girl with the other arm.

"And is your mom okay with it?" Terry asked

He scoffed, clutching his Lil raisin close at the thought "My mom has no say in this".

"But she knows" Rick said.

He sighed "Yes, she knows. And she was a bitch about it, okay? She can disown me for all I care". It's not like there was much to inherit, anyway.

There was a general sigh from his three best friends.

"And what are you gonna do?"

" 'bout what?"

"Um, I don't know, man. About School? Maybe about your life in general?"

"School ain't something I'm worrying about".

"What a surprise" Rick rolled his eyes.

"But you're still in the band right?" Len said

"Oh, of course. Of course. You guys are gonna be the only ones keeping me sane"

They chuckled

"But we ain't gonna babysit for you, huh?"

"As if you knew anything about babies"

"Well, the same as you." Terry said

"Just what I was saying: nothing at all" Row grinned

"Her future looks bright, then" Len half teased.

"Incandescent, in fact" Row could pretty much hear Terry's arched eyebrow.

The youngest member could only roll his eyes and try not to take it as an insult. He knew this was a lot to process all of a sudden and that in the inside, beyond the sarcasm and teasing, they were happy for him.

"Whatever, guys" he replied, as Pips began to frown. He sighed, knowing that meant smelly treat was on its way "Gotta go. By the way, she just told me she thinks you guys stink" he grinned, before hanging up.

The other three men exchanged a confused glance, and stayed in silence for a minute, until Len broke it:

"I say he'll go completely nuts in seven days".

"That long? Nah, I think less than 24 hours after they leave the hospital." Terry said

Len smirked "Bet?"

"I'm a bit tight at the moment, pal"

"Then not money. If I win, you'll be my model for the midterm design project. It's 30's fashion. For ladies, of course".

"Ok. But if I win you'll do my chores for a whole weeks."

"A whole week?!"

"Seven days, if you prefer it."

They shook hands "Deal. Rick? Join us?"

"I actually rather believe that they'll be alright" Rick got up and stretched.

"Well of course they will. Eventually. Row always figures things out." T said

"The fun part is to watch him go crazy in the meantime" Len chuckled "Like when he first moved in and left a fork in the plate when first using the microwave"

They laughed, remembering how their friend had called them at 9 PM in panic, screaming the microwave had exploded.

"Let's just hope for the best. I mean he seemed quite sure of himself this time. And who knows, maybe being a dad is the best way to grow up." Rick defended

"Yea, well a bit radical, don't you think?" Len said

"Like sock therapy. If smokers quit when diagnosed with lung cancer, maybe Row settles down now he has a baby"

"I just still don't get why he didn't just put her in adoption" T said

Rick shrugged "Would you if you were in his shoes?"

"Absolutely"

"That's exactly how Row would've answered, say, a week ago. That's what we all answer. Until it really happens. I think it's one of those situations where you can't really picture until you live it."

"But this is Rowan Queen we're talking about. Rowan <<Made out with both Jones Twins at the same party Cause I didn't remember which was which>> Queen. I mean, he does know that a kid is gonna freeze his sex life for indefinite time, right? What the hell was going through his head?" Terry said

"I can't believe you think that." Len interjected "I mean, I'm the one who's never gonna be a dad here, and the one who failed biology, but even I get it. He met her right? Before any decision was made, he met her. Once you meet your kid, you're tangled up forever. And you might think you're not but if you give them away you'll never get rid of a feeling of remorse."

"Wow, Lenny, that was deep"

"Yea, where'd you get that from?"

"Just common sense."

"Funny, considering you're the one who's started the bet" Rick grinned

"One thing doesn't prevent the other. And out of the two of us, I'm the optimistic! He gave him one day, I gave him seven! I trust him"

"Well I'm not sure if I do. I mean, I love him, he's a great guy, a great musician, and everything else, but he's not reliable. Remember his first job as a waiter? I'm still waiting for the fish and chips I ordered last April"

The other two chuckled "I once lent him a t-shirt, and I swear I saw Liz Michael's wearing it" Len said

"See what I mean?"

"Yes, well, we can't do anything about it, T. It's his life"

"But this affects us too, one way or another. This affects the band. And he didn't even consult us"

"Well what did you expect him to do? Call and go <<Hey guys, are you fine with me having a daughter? No? Okay, just checking. Bye>>?" Rick imitated a phone with his hand, doing a decent impression of their friend's high voice.

"A head's up would have been nice"

"Terry, just chill for fucks shake. I mean, this is unexpected, but Row's our best friend, our brother, and we have to support him. Because, if he's a dad, that's makes us her uncle's. And it'll be fun having a little niece we can spoil" Len smiled at the idea.

"Spoil? With what money?" Terry, always realistic, put his hands on his hips

"With the upcoming tour's, of course darlings" he twirled majestically around the room

"First, that's in four months" Rick reminded

"If it does happen at all"

They still had one last song to arrange And record. Plus, they didn't know how Row was gonna make it work now he had a baby. But nobody addressed that concern out loud.

"Oh don't be so goddamn negative, fellas! C'mon! We're uncle's! Row's made a very important, life-changing, mature decision, and we should be proud of him. So" he went to the fridge and returned with three beers "I say we toast for him and the lil Queenie"

The other two grinned and accepted the cans, opening them.

"Oh, I say we Split a fourth beer in his behalf, cause parents shouldn't drink while breastfeeding" Terry mocked, earning a laugh

"To the Queens" Rick raised his can "For our little bro to take this seriously and not fuck this kid up"

"To the Queens" Terry and Len crashed theirs as well.

🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁

Meanwhile, in the hospital...

"Goddamn it, raisin! How can someone so small produce so many colors of something so stinky?" Row exclaimed, holding his breath as he clipped the fresh nappy on his daughter "We only feed you milk! Like... Like white milk! How can you turn a white liquid into rainbow pudding? Holy shit" he held the dirty one at arms length and threw it in the bin "It's a damn good thing I love you, cause I won't do this for anyone else" he told her, lifting her up to his chest again before walking around the room

"You gonna be a good girl for me for the next eighteen years? Huh?" He kissed her chubby cheek "What am I saying? You're my daughter, of course you're gonna be a trouble maker. But we'll get along, you'll see. I ain't gonna be like my parents. Don't worry. I won't be a bloody pain in the ass like mom, and I will never ever do anything my old man did. That I can promise. But I gotta admit I do want you to be like Gina. Yea, she's a control freak sometimes, but let's face it: she's gotta be the strongest person I've ever met. You should've seen her kicking the bastard out the house. She took no shit."

He smiled somewhat proudly at the memory, and for a second forgot how mad he was at her for turning her back on them.

"You wanna be a badass gurl like her? Huh? Yes you do. Yes you do" he cooed, craning his neck so he could brush his nose with her little button one. Her fist chose to close around the nearest strands of blond hair on reach, which he found secretly adorable.

But a part of him did wish he had mom's support. After all, despite the rough patches through his teens, they had always had each other's back; through thick and thin. She had have to raise him all alone, and although he hadn't even begun with Pips, he already knew it hadn't been easy. She may be stern, and a bit inflexible when it came to negotiating allowance. She could come across as rude if you caught her in the wrong mood (which many neighbors had) but above all she was a good person and a good mother.

And looking back, he hadn't been such a great son. He could have been more responsible, less handful and more obedient. Less rebellious, too. He could have thanked her more often for the thousand things she did everyday. For the meals. For all the jobs she had taken to provide for the two of them. For the surprise birthday gift she had got him with the money she had been saving: a real drum kit. For helping him move out her house into that one room crappy appartement which would be Pip's home.

But still she had rejected Piper without a second thought, regardless of her anger towards him; Pips was her granddaughter, she had done nothing wrong and as her father, Row doubted he would ever forgive Gina.

He sighed, untangling the hand of his hair and bringing it to his lips "But you don't have to worry about all that. Just concentrate on staying strong and growing up. And I promise I'll focus all of me on being the best dad. That you'll never miss a mom cause you don't need one. You've got me and I swear I'll be enough. Even if I'm still young: I'll have it all more fresh won't I?" He grinned "You're the one person who's never judged me yet, and I don't wanna let you down"

That a was vow. And he was determined to keep it.

🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁

This one goes to my mega-paragraphist @definitely-darcy who's got my engine going through the usual inspiration blocks, and who's reviews help me improve. She's made me believe in this fic, and encouraged me to keep going despite the one digit notes.

Xx- Pookie

[carryforthtradition]

Exploring kombucha in Australia by Alex Joseph

Kombucha is one of those interests you can explore by experimenting at home or by going out and trying different brands. These days due to lockdowns in response to the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus many kombucha companies sell online too.

Back in September 2019, when we were free to travel cross-state, my wife Sarah and I embarked on a tour across Australia. Our kitted-out Kia Preggio van took us across six jurisdictions over four months. 

In that time I got to try a lot of kombucha. Australia is home to at least 70 registered kombucha companies, but that does not include some of the health shops that make and sell their own. Kombucha, also known as booch, is very accessible; even supermarkets sell it.

Brief History of Kombucha

Kombucha is an ancient drink made of tea, sugar and a weird fungus-looking thing. That thing is called a SCOBY (Symbiotic Colony Of Bacteria and Yeast) not scooby. When fermented together for a period of time a tasty and tangy, and sometimes fizzy, drink is produced. 

Kombucha’s history spans back to 220 BC, around the time of the Qin dynasty in ancient China. It is possible that when kombucha making techniques spread from China to Japan, and then to Eastern Europe, some people shared it to the Pacific regions at the same time. Kombucha is a part of China’s cultures 5,000 year history. It represents the birth of fermented drinks and it connects the dots in the development of drinking and processing tea in China.

From the Outback to the Coast

The kombucha tasting journey started in Victoria, where we went along the Great Ocean road, to South Australia. From there we went to the heart of the country at Uluru, then across to Far North Queensland and down the East coast.

There are two places one must visit in Northern Territory, obviously Uluru (also known as Ayers rock), and Afghan Traders in Alice Springs. 

This amazing little store had kombucha on tap and another fridge filled with kombucha and other health drinks. They had this lemon and lavender flavour which was just so refreshing. After being in the baking hot outback, top notch kombucha is what you need. Lavender is not an easy flavour to incorporate as it can be overpowering or underwhelming, I’ve tried making it myself and failed.

La Few kombucha bar in Cairns is by far one of my favourite bars in Australia. I loved their plant-based menu and their booch selection on tap. They had their original blend, then some unique flavours such as; lime and ginger; dragon fruit; pineapple, lemon and ginger; and my favourite, turmeric and chamomile. They let you sample them all! If you over do it on booch (as if that ever happens) then they have a great range of teas too. I highly recommend visiting this place, even if you are not really into kombucha.

We met a lot of good people on our travels. At a farmers market in Noosa, we met Lenni & Shaw, a really nice couple who own Nourishing Wholefoods. They specialise in, not just kombucha, but also kefir and other fermented goodies such as kimchi and sauerkraut.

Their first flavour to catch my eye was umeboshi kombucha. I wondered if there was a Japanese theme going on. Their pineapple, passionfruit, lime and mint kefir was the best in my opinion. I didn’t realise how popular passionfruit was in Australia; back in the UK I remember it being pretty pricey and scarce.

Meeting Jessie from LORE Australia.

When you meet certain people, you get more than you bargained for. Jessie, the owner and operator of LORE Australia, welcomed us like old friends.

He gave us tips of where to camp and the local sights of Bellingen, New South Wales. He even gave us his insight on Guradji bush tea.

During the tea talk he told us about his first nation roots and explained the philosophy of his business which is based on the three principles of traditional lore: Country, community, and spirit. Jessie’s booch flavours are the only ones I’ve come across which use all native ingredients.

If you really want to experience native kombucha, I’d say check out his website-

https://loreaustralia.com

In the background of the image above you can see our little van outside of Lovemore Fermentary in Lismore, NSW. If it wasn’t for the fact that our van had a solar powered fridge, we probably wouldn’t have been able to keep our booch cold.

Kombucha should be stored in the fridge and it will keep fermenting, unless of course its pasturised and there is no live culture in it.

When you buy kombucha from Lovemore Fermentary, you also get a piece of fruit floating around in the bottom of the bottle. Their miminalist and raw approach was a nice change away from all the fancy packaging.The cafe kind of reminded me of Bristol in a sense that it had an industrial feel about it.

Most of Australia’s kombucha businesses are based in NSW, so competition is tough. Kombucha Zest from Central coast claim they have made the “best tasting kombucha… Ever!” I can see why they would say that because they have a clever brand. All their flavours are based on well known cocktails, there is dark and stormy, mojito, and pina colada and more. I’d have to try all of them to pick a favourite. I think they did a good job with the pina colada as coconut can be difficult to incorporate into kombucha.

All in all I didn’t really count how many different types of kombucha we tried on the trip, but I’m sure it was well over 30 different types.

I hope from reading this its inspired you to try out more kombucha. Head to your local health store or cafe. If they haven’t got it, remind them that they are missing out on a drink that has been around for over two thousand years.

Follow me on Instagram for more tea and kombucha adventures.

@alex.c.joseph

[robininthelabyrinth]

Now I just need post kronos Mick and Iris to just chill and bitch together and have many lazy cuddles (And maybe lazy sex) just them taking care of each other

so this didn’t go the way I expected. hope you still enjoy!

Mick/Iris snippet

direct ao3 link

——————————————————————————

The armor of the Time Masters’ bounty hunters is tough and heavy and creaky, but it doesn’t impair motion and it is virtually impenetrable, and that’s what’s important.

Equally important, though, is that it’s recognizable. The Time Masters may be gone, murdered at the hands of one of their own prodigals - Kronos, the youngest, who freed the Titans from the grip of their oppressive progenitors - but the sight of their bounty hunters still strikes fear into the hearts of the developed universe.

Indeed, the people standing in the hallway of the space station quickly scatter at the sight of the brown-and-grey armor and the tattered cape, some pretending they abruptly remembered somewhere else to be, others forgoing that pretense and just turning tail and running.

Good.

After that last battle, civilians are far too annoying to deal with. The Dominators’ alliance with the forces of Apokalips was a living nightmare for everyone in this portion of space-time, and the constant incursions by their advance scouts have become increasingly more clever.

Luckily, this is the last hallway before the blessed silence of the warrior’s quarters. No civilians here.

Sure, it takes four different passwords in four different doors to get through all the traps set to deter uninvited visitors, but the security is worth it.

Especially when the door opens and it turns out the bed isn’t empty.

The figure in the bed stirs and yawns. “Welcome back,” her lover says roughly.

She drinks in the sight of him, her helmet helpfully providing statistics on him: his heartbeat is slow, calm; his blood pressure tells of a recent injury but nothing too bad; his temporal signatures indicates he has returned to this time within the last few hours.

“I wasn’t expecting you until tomorrow,” she tells him, her voice tart. “Has Kronos returned empty-handed?”

Her lover snorts in amusement. “Caught him early,” he says - Kronos, inadvertent leader of Earth’s Defense Satellite, the savior of the Titans, he who freed the timeline from the Time Masters’ authoritarian grasp.

Mick Rory, Heatwave, supervillain.

Hers.

“Of course you did,” she says, unable to keep from smiling.

“And you?” he asks with a smirk in return. “Did my Mnemosyne return empty-handed?”

“Oh, yes,” she says. “Empty-handed - because there’s nothing left of them. Now, move over and let me in, Mick.”

Mick snorts. “Sure, doll.”

She reaches up and unclasps her helmet, shaking her black hair loose, revealing her smile. “One day I’ll get you to call me Iris.”

“I barely even call Iapetus by his name anymore,” Mick points out even as he does move over to make space for her. “And I’ve known him a hell of a lot longer than you.”

“Yes,” Iris says. “That’s the only reason I’m not jealous.” She pauses, considers. “Well, that, and his expression when you call him Lenny. I’ve never met someone more pleased about getting a new nickname.”

Mick grins and pushes the blankets aside for her. “Get your kit off and get in bed. I’m due to be off duty all day.”

Iris feels her smile broaden. “You know, I was wondering why Hyperion offered to swap shifts. That means that he’s got Iapetus all to himself.” Her voice is fond, the way it always is when it comes to Barry.

It had taken a long time to break herself of the habit of calling him Barry in front of other people, long enough that she’d decided quixotically that she wanted to use everyone’s personal names when they were alone, but time is one thing the Titans had in abundance.

At least, they do now.

When the first attacks on Earth had come, they had been devastating. Heart-breaking. Iris’ hands had been stained red that browned into black with the blood of her loved ones - Joe, Wally, Cisco, Camille, Linda, Caitlin…

Iris had demanded that Barry fix it, but he couldn’t. He could run into the past, but he had no way of stopping the attacks. Even with a second shot, there was no way to stop the inexorable wave of violence.

Hope had been lost until the Waverider came.

No, not the Waverider.

Sara had refused to alter the timeline for what she called ‘personal reasons’, too nervous about the side effect such major changes - the lessons of the Time Masters, the Time Bureau, and Rip Hunter too firmly imposed on her brain.

Iris had slapped her. Barry had had to break them up.

Mick, though - Mick came to Iris, after, and he’d offered her more than she’d ever thought she could have. A time ship of his own, an opportunity to change time, even armor of her own, stripped from someone who would soon be a corpse, so that she could travel through the timeline as a feared figure, safe behind her mask and his training.

And all he wanted was help saving a life of his own.

Barry and Iris signed up in a heartbeat.

They’d raided the Vanishing Point, Mick showing them where the Titans kept their armor, and they’d rescued Len.

Not just Len - a few of the Titans had heard Mick’s warning and decided to defect with him. Koios came, the eternal questioner, and Themis, too, the warrior of justice that had been stolen from Thermysica well before her rightful time. Tethys and Oceanus both came, the eldest of the Titans, and - more importantly - the trainers. They refined what Mick taught Barry and Iris and eventually Len, and they made them what they are now.

Warriors, in defense of a world that both fears and reveres them.

Together, they created the Defense Satellite and they fought off the first wave of attacks and now they keep watch on the planet’s defenses until the day comes that they can eradicate this threat once and for all.

That day will come soon enough.

In the meantime, Iris is content to take the occasional day off to curl in bed with her lover.

(It just sort of happened, really. She’d been so angry, so consumed, burning from the inside; she couldn’t pour her soul out to Barry, who loved her with the endless faith of a child first finding love, so she’d ended up somehow with Mick. Mick had understood. It had developed from there - it was nothing like she’d had before, her high school boyfriends, her college girlfriends, Eddie, Barry, but it worked for her. She’d been guilty right up until the moment Mick had pointed out that Len and Barry had been getting their own version of close, at which point she’d talked with Barry and they’d formed a mutual agreement and encouragement society. It worked for them right now, even if the door was still firmly propped open for them to return to each other’s arms when things calmed down.)

Iris pulls off her armor and hangs it up for the automatic cleaner. She would never neglect her armor, no matter how much the bed calls, and Mick doesn’t push her.

That done, she crawls in beside him.

“You’re warm,” she says, as pleased by it as she was the very first time.

Mick pulls her into his arms. “And you’re soft.” He runs his cheek against her hair. He likes doing that; he has relatively little feeling in his burns, so he likes a diverse set of sensations where he can feel it. “You wanna sleep?”

Iris considers it. Mick had been napping, before, and he was still tired from his longer mission; he had more experience with solo missions through the timeline and got the harder jobs as a consequence. She was a bit tired herself, too; her own jobs were not easy. Protecting the world rarely was.

Mick wouldn’t object to just holding her. But he’s definitely not wearing anything under the blankets, and - armor and underarmor removed - neither is she.

And it has been a while…

Iris smiles wickedly, letting her thoughts show. “Not that tired.”

Mick hums happily and leans down to brush his dry lips against her neck.

Iris shivers happily. Mick’s been trading tips with Barry again.

Mick’s hands are gentle, despite what she thought the first time they came together, but he’s not afraid to play rough when she pushes for it. There’s a lot of ways to stroke a fire, as he likes to say.

He’s also open to other forms of play that Iris has decided she rather likes.

Iris rolls them both over, pushing him down onto his back and crawling on top of him.

“How long did you say until you had until your next shift?” she purrs.

He grins. “Long enough,” he says, and runs his hands up her sides.

She takes them and firmly places them above his head by the headboard, which he obediently grips and keeps in place.

“Good,” she tells him, and watches as his eyes brighten. No matter how long it’s been, she loves seeing it - it’s all the affirmation she needs. “In that case, I’ll take my time.”

[wonderlandleighleigh]

Could we see more of the interrupted date with Midge and Lenny at the hospital with Kitty?

By the time they get to the hospital, Kitty already has stitches and a bandage around her hand, and she bursts into tears, likely not for the first time that night upon seeing her father.

Lenny holds her in his arms tightly, soothing her, and pacing back and forth. "It's okay, Kit. You're gonna be okay."

Midge watches from the doorway of the little exam room, holding Lenny's coat and letting him do the dad thing.

He's really good at it. She can tell just by the way he holds her in his arms and kisses the side of her head. He's really, really good.

She steps into the room and sets his coat down carefully.

Lenny turns to her and hesitates for a moment before taking a breath. "Kit, do you wanna meet Daddy's friend?"

She nods, though she's still teary-eyed and tired-looking.

"Kitty, this is Midge. Midge, this is Kitty."

Midge beams and steps over. "Hi, Kitty."

Kitty waves with her good hand and rests her face against her father's shoulder.

"Kitty," Midge says, grinning. "Did you know that you're the bravest little girl in the whole world?"

Kitty looks up at her and shakes her head.

"You are," Midge tells her. "I had a friend - a grown-up friend - who cut his finger while chopping an onion. It wasn't even very deep. He didn't have to go to the hospital at all. We just put a bandaid on it. And he cried and yelled about it for hours afterwards. And look at you. You had to get your whole hand stitched and bandaged, and you're not kicking and screaming at all."

Lenny tilts his head at Midge, clearly wondering who this mystery friend might be.

"It hurts, though," Kitty sniffles.

"I know it does," Midge assures her. "But you," she goes on, reaching out to poke the little girl in her little nose. "Are very, very brave. And I bet your dad is very proud of you."

"You bet I am," Lenny agrees.

"I got blood on me," Kitty tells them, tugging at her little dress.

"We can fix it," Midge assures her. "It'll be good as new."

"Really?" Kitty asks, hopeful if still sad-looking.

"Oh yeah, easy," Midge smiles.

The doctor comes in then, and Midge stops when she sees Mei.

"Mei," she says, grinning a little. "Hi."

"Oh. Wow. Midge," Mei says quickly. "Uh...hi. What uh..."

"This is Lenny," Midge introduces them. "My date tonight, and his daughter who had a little accident with the babysitter. Lenny, Kitty, this is Mei. She is my ex-husband's fiancee."

"Hello," Lenny nods, still mostly paying attention to Kitty.

Mei takes a breath, obviously trying to steady herself a little. "Right. Hi. So Kitty is going to be fine. Bring her back in a couple of weeks to get her stitches out, and give her baby aspirin for the pain. Keep it dry and clean to avoid infection."

"We can do that," Midge grins.

"Good to take her home?" Lenny asks.

Mei nods. "Good to go."

"Thanks, Mei," Midge grins. "See you at family dinner next week."

Mei tries for a grin. "Sure."

"Okay," Lenny says, grabbing his coat and Kitty's as well. "Time for all wounded little girls to go home."

"Can Midge come?" Kitty asks.

He frowns, and turns to Midge. "Well...nobody's eaten yet...we could get some takeout on the way home..."

Midge grins and shrugs. "Sure. I'll show you how to clean that dress after dinner."

"Thank you, because I have no idea," Lenny admits.

[theycallme-thejackal]

One MidgeLenny x TSwift Fic Per Day

50. I Knew You Were Trouble

She knows Lenny is trouble.

But as she stands in his bathroom, looking at vials and needles in a black bag, she’s confronted with just how much trouble. She vaguely registers the sound of his voice as he talks on the phone in the next room, but she’s more focused on the labels on these tiny glass bottles.

Dilaudid.

She furrows her brow. What the fuck is dilaudid? She knows two people who would know, but neither one of them is here right now, and neither is particularly fond of her anyway.

She hears his voice calling to her, getting closer, and she puts the bag down where she found it. She turns on the sink and splashes a little more water on her face, trying to hide her nerves.

“ - so I was thinking we could go spring the riff-raff and then I’ll take you for some truly terrible Chinese food,” he tells her.

She reaches for one of his very soft Carnegie-provided towels and pats her face gently before looking at him. He’s leaning on the doorframe in his boxers and looking at her with that signature smirk that screams trouble.

And she can’t help but smile at the sight.

He may be trouble - he’s definitely trouble - but she can’t help being more than a little in love with him. Especially three orgasms later. “I still don’t have my purse,” she points out.

“So either we brave a snowstorm so I can pay twenty people’s bail and buy you dinner...” He steps further into the room, and his hands find her waist, sliding along her bare skin until his arms are wrapped around her. “Or we stay here, in my warm hotel room, and I make you come a few more times?”

“Yes, those are our options,” she replies. She runs her hands up his arms to the back of his neck, twisting his hair between her fingers. He practically purrs at the feeling.

“Let ‘em rot,” he murmurs, closing the distance and kissing her slowly.

A soft moan escapes her as his hands wander south, gripping her ass and pulling her closer to him. “They’re your friends,” she whispers against his lips.

“I like you better,” he protests as he presses her against the sink. Her hand flies backward to help her balance, and the bag clinks, the contents spilling out, vials and needles landing in the sink.

He freezes, his hands on her waist, and she looks up at him with wide eyes, wondering what’s about to happen, and he just relaxes his grip on her. “Get dressed,” he murmurs a little awkwardly. “I’ll buy you dinner.”

“Lenny,” she says, dipping her head to find his averted gaze. “What’s Dilaudid?”

He sighs, looking defeated. “Nothing you need to worry about,” he tells her, nudging her to the side so he can put the items back in the toiletry kit.

“That’s not going to stop me from worrying,” she replies. “I’m Jewish. It’s in my genetic code.”

“Midge,” he pleads gently. “Forget about it and get dressed.”

Instead she closes the toilet lid and sits, crossing her legs and looking up at him as she fastens a couple buttons on the shirt draped around her. “Talk to me.”

He sighs again as he zips the bag. “I don’t want to talk.”

“You love talking.”

“Not about this,” he snaps, and she recoils in surprise. “This...I didn’t want you to see.”

“Why not?” She asks, and he looks at her a little condescendingly. She just asks again, “Why not, Lenny?”

He puts the bag back on the sink. He presses his hands on the counter and leans heavily on them, looking anywhere but directly at her. “Because I have worked very hard to make sure you only ever see the good parts of me, as few as they are.”

“You’re selling yourself short,” she replies, nudging his calf with her foot. “You’re a pretty great guy, Lenny.”

“You don’t know me that well,” he points out.

She shrugs. “Maybe not...but I’m still here.” She stands then, leaning on the sink next to him and rubbing his back gently. “And I’d like to know more of you.”

He swallows and looks at her out of the corner of his eye before finally relenting. “Dilaudid is...a pain medication. I got hurt during the war.”

“And you’re still on it?” She asks, worrying her brow.

“Not...legally,” he admits. “It’s, uh...highly addictive.”

She doesn’t miss the wordplay there, and her hand stills. “Oh,” she whispers, feeling like the breath has been stolen from her lungs.

“I haven’t taken it in a few days,” he tells her, suddenly insistent. “I just...sometimes I need to...”

She nods slowly in understanding. “Can I help?” She asks quietly.

“Probably not,” he admits, turning and leaning back on the sink, folding his arms over his chest. “You shouldn’t be here, Midge,” he mutters. “Tonight...you shouldn’t have said yes.”

“I wanted to,” she replies. She moves to stand in front of him. "Let’s go spring the riff-raff, you can buy me some awful Chinese food, and we’ll figure this out.”

“Don’t you need to get back to the hospital?” He asks.

“Moishe has a whole hospital staff looking after him in addition to his family and my parents. My being there isn’t going to make much difference. I think you need me more, and honestly...” She lifts her hands to cup his cheeks gently. “You’re more important to me.”

He uncrosses his arms slowly and clasps her forearms in his hands, but he doesn’t pull her away, instead running his thumbs tenderly over her skin. “Okay,” he concedes.

She kisses him gently. “Okay.”

[owlaholic68]

A retrospective

It’s been about eight months since I wrote the first multi-chapter fic that I ever finished: If at first you don’t succeed..., and I thought it might be fun to look back on my writing process, how I’ve learned, and maybe a little bit of behind-the-scenes inspiration.

In general

my original inspiration for this came from a lot of places. I was starting to write more stuff with Carla, developing her character in the wake of having finished my very first Fo2 playthrough. Also, I had just listened to The Adventure Zone podcast, in particular the story arcs “The Eleventh Hour” and “The Stolen Century”, which both feature some sort of time travel/rewind. The Eleventh Hour has the same hour repeating over and over, with only the PCs knowing. The Stolen Century is about the characters travelling to different worlds, but only being able to stay for a year, and then they have to leave, and their bodies reset, even if they’ve died. That’s where the whole year idea came from. 

This was supposed to be a side story to my other multi-chapter going on at the same time, but ended up stealing the show instead! 

Chapter-by-chapter rundown

Chapter One: 

A little shorter than I would probably do today. I would have probably fleshed out the first death more. But since we saw Frank Horrigan again, and there were going to be many more deaths, it’s not something I’m particularly concerned about.

I don’t know if I explained it well here, but the reason that the Enclave didn’t find Arroyo as fast was because, like Fo1, Carla’s presence and work in the wasteland drew attention to the village. Since she didn’t leave the village this cycle, I had them come a little later.

Chapter Two:

Carla really cannot use grenades. She has about a 10% throwing skill, at most.

In the canon timeline, you do actually run into Frank Horrigan in the middle of the desert on August 30th I think.

Radscorpions sounds like a violent death. It was sort of sadistically fun after a while to come up with new side deaths for her.

A lot of characters this chapter! Sulik, Lynette, Lenny! Oh yes, and the car. Not having the car for the first cycles really hampered her progress, because travel took so long without it. 

This is where I started keeping a log of cycle numbers, because I had to do a lot of digging and math to get the pacing right. 

Chapter Three:

Hakunin is a character that I think is much more important to Carla than how I usually write him. Also, I definitely took away Hakunin’s visions in this fic, because I didn’t exactly know how they would fit in thematically. 

Don’t worry, the Toxic Caves will not collapse in-game, but it was a fun idea anyways. A real nail in the coffin of Carla using grenades.

Oh yeah, and you only need ONE tool and ONE wrench for the super repair kit, I only realized when I was going through my second playthrough doing this quest. Speaking of me playing it, too, I play the European French version, so I actually don’t have kids, so I have to hike down to Redding to get a wrench. 

Lenny actually only needs I think an Approved reputation in Gecko, but getting both him and the car together felt right. Lenny is a funny character to me because I actually didn’t travel with him in-game too much. I realized as I was writing that Marcus wasn’t in it yet, and I traveled with Marcus probably 70% of my playthrough.

Chapter Four:

 Lots of main quest getting on track here with Navarro! I do like that I had us meet Matthew while it was Carla’s third time talking to him, to really see how she acts when she knows exactly what’s going on. 

I wanted this Carla to not end up like canon Carla, and here’s one big difference right away, which is that she doesn’t have to sneak into Navarro. 

Oh yeah, you absolutely cannot blow up Navarro. Sorry. It was a good plot idea, though, foreshadowing the end of the story. I had them retaliate by killing everyone, leaving nobody for her to save. This one definitely got a little darker at the end, and I don’t think Carla ever really got over the fact that she just killed two of her friends in cold blood.

Chapter Five: 

It is actually talked about in canon that the Highwayman does have an unstable motor, and that’s why you have to park it on the edges of towns and settlements. 

Oh my goodness it took her forty-five cycles to get to New Reno! I do actually like the way I paced it, because it doesn’t end up dragging out too much in the middle, which is what I was worried about when I was writing. I actually didn’t plan out too much in advance, but I always kept an eye on the final number, since I wanted it to round up to 100. I had a vague idea of big milestones, like getting to the Rig for the frist time, things like that. 

I feel like her skills have continued to grow even from cycle to cycle, and that’s why she has good Barter and Speech skills. I think her physical combat ones would still need honing to get back up to where she was, but her mental ones would probably continue to grow. 

Death by centaurs. I was starting to run out of monsters to kill her.

Finally, Marcus! I tried to incorporate the idea of looking up quests ahead of time, so for example making sure you have power armor when you get to Broken Hills. 

Oh shit angst time, I do like this scene, and I feel like I was really getting to start getting a better handle on the pacing. 

Chapter Six: 

I can’t believe it took this long to get Goris here too! 

This is one of my favorite sets of cycles, because there are so many ways to get the fuel. What I like that I did is that this Carla failed at the things that canon Carla did, namely killing the AHS-9 and saving Badger’s girlfriend. But this Carla had high enough Charisma and Karma to just get it from the Shi. 

It’s been a while since I’ve had a companion die, and I wanted to illustrate the feeling I get when I play and they die, and I just have to restart, because what is the point in going on without them? It was supposed to parallel Carla’s death a few chapters ago when she first met Len. 

Chapter Seven:

one of my favorite deaths, the electrocution. I do like the way I wrote it, it’s also one of my longer scenes. 

I wish I would have spent more time describing the Oil Rig itself, since I kind of skimmed over the description. 

Oh, I’m so bad at these kinds of puzzles. I did literally just hit every button and keep myself going with Stimpacks. I promised myself I wouldn’t look up a walkthrough my first time playing, and I stuck to that. When I got to the end, I’d lost 60 HP, and that was after resting in both of the side rooms and using a ton of Stimpacks. 

We skipped ahead a ton in cycles here. I wanted to emphasize that all of a sudden we were in the 90s, when I think she started her Rig journey in the 70s. 

Chapter Eight: 

Finale!!!!! 

If there’s anything I would like to change, this would be a big one. I really wish I’d introduced the fact of it being her birthday way sooner, like in the first chapter. But I didn’t even consider it until I started writing this one. 

Also on the subject of her age, I actually had to go back and find a save that I’d named “BOXING QUEEN ONLY 19″. I guess she was 19 at the beginning, which makes sense, because I was 19 when I started playing, and I turned 20 shortly before finishing. 

I had a lot of different ideas surrounding what was going to happen to her. The loss of limb and hearing I kept, but I was going to have the Elder die I think? Or somebody important die, and have her have to decide to keep going in spite of that. 

FUCKING CHRIST Henry doesn’t heal people. He’s not a medical doctor. I realized this only when writing “A Cup of Kindness”. Whatever. Nobody remembers the NCR’s actual doctor anyways. Here’s here to stay, I guess. 

Pip-Boy as an assistive device was a great idea, I think. It also parallels my own use of subtitles while playing Fallout games. 

This has the most parallels with canon Carla, particularly how she kills the President. She still ends the fic being very different, but this is one thing that stays the same. 

Epilogue (Chapter Nine):

I like it! I’m glad I added it, even though I wasn’t planning on doing so at first. It really tied it all together. 

[beermanoftana]

suicidals anonymous // chapter 1

warnings: swearing, drinking, vulgarity., mentions of death and attempted suicide. not edited as good, sorry about that. notes/disclaimer: this fic is set in the philippines (my home country). there will be some tagalog words but i will be translating them and hopefully i don’t miss anything. this is actually a novel that i’m hoping will be published one day. this is one of three that i’m working on atm. summary: university student kitty is back to attending her suicidals anonymous meetings. and she also has a secret admirer (signed as “dog lover”) she talks to pretty much everyday. her older brother wes wants her to end things. but her other best friend, cassie, has 4 prime suspects: cirian “wolf” (her brother’s best friend), duke (her childhood friend), baste (her crush and Duke’s twin brother), and tom (her sa mate). chapter summary: for her older brother, a secret admirer isn’t always a good thing but kitty’s not having any of that, and he also thinks it’s time to go back to her sa meetings

Dog Lover: Did you get the flowers I sent you?

The ding of that message in Kitty’s phone startled her. She was in her room, supposedly doing homework, but she was staring off into space instead. Usually, the message notifications don’t bother her, in fact, she gets excited when she hears them. Lately, she’s been texting with that one person back and forth for the past few weeks.

She reached for her phone just a few inches away from her book and smiled as she saw the text. Immediately, she replied.

Kitty Langit: They were very lovely. Thank you.

Dog Lover: Aren’t those your favorite?

Kitty Langit: I don’t think I ever told you what my favorite is. Dog Lover: Because you have a lot. I chose the big gerberas especially because I know they’re your number one fave. Kitty Langit: Then goes the white and pink roses with three sunflowers. Dog Lover: I’m glad you like them.

Kitty smiled. Her heart fluttered. This guy really knew her yet, she didn’t have a clue as to who he was.

Kitty Langit: I have to do some homework. :(

Dog Lover: Aww :( I was hoping we could chat some more. Kitty Langit: Tell you what, I’ll finish my papers and message you when I’m done. Dog Lover: Sounds like a plan. Just ring when you need me. Kitty Langit: Haha. You any good at philosophy? Dog Lover: …no. Kitty Langit: :P I’ll message you later, oki? Dog Lover: I love you. Kitty Langit: Oh please. :P

Kitty skimmed through her book and quickly wrote down her thoughts. Philosophy was not one of her strong subjects so thankfully she only had one class of that her whole university life. Math came and went; now that was one of her strong subjects. She loved analyzing numbers and solving problems. English and Literature were so-so. She liked the subjects but not to a great extent. She did love reading Smaller and Smaller Circles in her Lit class.

She closed her book after reading a few chapters, leaned on her chair and sighed. “Done,” she murmured. Glancing at the clock, she grinned when she realized that it only took her about two hours to finish everything.

Quickly, she fixed her desk and placed everything she needed in her bag that she had to bring the next day. She had hoped that her mystery admirer messaged her without her noticing but she had no new message and she heaved a sigh of slight disappointment.

She knew she should not feel so entitled just because she had an admirer. On lonely days, she would be the first to message them, then regret it as soon as she did. Luckily, her admirer would reply with an “I was just thinking about you” or “I was going to message you in awhile” and all those other comforting one-liners…but who knows when he’ll begin realizing that she isn’t worth it.

Sighing, she flopped down on her bed and raised her phone up to her face, waiting. She knew she should be the one to message first, she was the one who had to go earlier. But she was scared. She didn’t want to annoy him or anything. What if he was busy studying or working? He had told her that he was a working student. And he assured her that he was a ‘he’; not that she had a problem if he were a ‘she’.

Finally, she gave a firm nod to herself and opened her texts. She quickly typed a short “Hello :)” and sent it but quickly regretting that she initiated it. In less than a minute, she got a reply from him.

Dog Lover: Hey! You done with homework? Kitty Langit: Yeah. Wasn’t as difficult as I thought. You studying or working? Dog Lover: Neither. Not on shift and I was studying while you were, too. Kitty Langit: Fuck, did I disturb you? Dog Lover: You know as much as I do that you are never ever a disturbance to me. Kitty Langit: You really know how to make a girl feel good, know that?

Then there goes that feeling of a pit in her stomach again. He was probably doing this to other girls, too. She can just feel it.

Dog Lover: ;) I’ve been told I’m a smooth talker.

She doesn’t respond.

Dog Lover: Shit. I didn’t mean it that way. Kitty Langit: Haha. It’s fine, don’t worry about it. Dog Lover: You’re the only one, I swear. Kitty Langit: I didn’t think that, haha.

Dog Lover: I don’t believe you.

Well, it is true that she wasn’t thinking that. But she wasn’t thinking that she was the only one either. She may not know how this guy looks like but he sounds like just her type. Call her superficial but that’s just the way it is for some people.

Dog Lover: Can I call?

That wasn’t unusual. He would sometimes call her. She was wary at first but when she became curious, she decided to try it out. And God did she love his voice.

Dog Lover: If you don’t want to then it’s okay. I just wanted to hear your voice.

Kitty rolled her eyes. She’s heard that line before so many times…all from him.

Dog Lover: Please, Kitty? Kitty Langit: I have to go get dinner. Dog Lover: After? Kitty Langit: Let’s see.

She dropped her phone on her bed and pursed her lips. There were times she wanted him to just go away. But no matter how much she pushed, he would always come back. He’d send her sweet messages and chocolates and flowers and really, anything she wanted she found herself getting it.

There was another ding from her phone and she read it.

Dog Lover: I’ll wait for you, okay?

“Wait until you drop dead,” she muttered. She frowned. She knew that was mean. Damn her and her mood swings.

She got out of bed and exited her room. She went down the stairs and turned to the kitchen to find some grub. “We got anything to eat?” she asked the housemaid Lenny. “I am hungry.” That was one of her quotable quotes…she would say that every single day.

“The cake that your secret admirer sent you,” Lenny replied. Esther, the other maid who happened to pass by, nodded. “We’ll eat if you don’t,” she joked.

Kitty sighed and closed the refrigerator. “I don’t feel like eating that. I want some chips.”

Esther shook her head. “You’ve been eating chips for the past three days. No, I’m cooked some bistek [Filipino beef steak]. You’re eating that.”

Kitty pouted but sat on the kitchen table anyway. Lenny brought out the cake and said, “Why don’t you want to eat it? You were happy to see it awhile ago.”

Kitty propped her elbow on the table and placed her head on the palm of her hand. “I changed my mind,” she grumbled. Her chest heaved as she thought of Dog Lover’s response earlier. That he was told to be a smooth talker. She may have read it a bit too much, maybe he really just was. Maybe he actually didn’t have anyone else he’s courting. Maybe…just maybe. “They’re all maybe’s,” she muttered.

After eating some dinner with their housemaids, she loved talking to them during meal times, she headed back upstairs and dropped on her bed. She reached for her phone and saw that she had three messages. One from Dog Lover, two from her best friend Duke.

Dog Lover: I hope you’ll allow me to call. :(

Duke Montemayor: I need help with the philo homework. Duke Montemayor: Come on, Kit-Kat. Just because we’re not in the same course doesn’t mean you can’t help me. We’re still in the same class!

Kitty rolled her eyes at the drama queen. And just then, another ding from him.

Duke Montemayor: I know you’re probably talking to Mr. Casanova but I really need your help.

Immediately, Kitty answered.

Kitty Langit: Sorry, I was eating. And don’t call him that. I’m not associating Dog Lover with Wolf Casanova.

Duke Montemayor: He’s your brother’s best friend. Kitty Langit: And your point is…? Duke Montemayor: Nothing, I have no point. But know that you gave Wolf his nickname, which is pretty similar tot Dog Lover. Kitty Langit: Cirian was really hard to pronounce! Anyway, video chat so I can help?

And not a minute later, he called her via Skype.

After forty-five minutes of bickering back and forth, the two finally bid farewell knowing they might not be able to see each other the next day. There was another text from Dog Lover a few minutes ago asking if she had fallen asleep.

Kitty puffed her cheeks then blew out the air. Fine, she thought.

Kitty Langit: Hey. Dog Lover: Can I call?

She thought it over for a minute before giving her response. A few seconds later, the familiar tone of her phone blasted and she slid her thumb after five seconds. “Hey,” she greeted.

“I didn’t mean…I…you’re the only one, I swear.” His voice was deep and heavy; as if he was thinking of what to say yet did not get it right. “My friends say I’m a smooth talker. And yes, other girls have said that well, but I swear, I don’t smooth talk them the way I with you. You’re the only one I’m courting, I swear.”

“Dog Lover—”

“You’re the only one I want.”

Kitty sighed. “Yeah, you’ve said.”

“It’s true.”

Silence.

“Do you want to put down the phone?” he asked.

Kitty shook her head despite knowing that he couldn’t see her. “No, it’s cool. We can talk.”

“Great.” She can feel his grin. “How was your day?”

“The highlight was definitely those flowers. That’s the first time you’ve sent me a bouquet.” She smiled. “Any special reason?”

“I just wanted to surprise you.”

“All the girls were so jealous,” she said, proud. She replayed the memory.

She was sitting on a chair, waiting for her turn to sing a song in front of those auditioning with her. Before her were some of the best singers she’s ever heard of and she knew she had no chance but she wanted to give it a shot.

“I was the only one who got a ‘great job’ gift.”

She returned to the back room where they were all waiting for instructions. Her head was low and she could feel the eyes on her. As she was about to sit down, someone had called her. Initially, she thought that she was the first go but she only saw a huge bouquet of assorted flowers being held by the attendant standing by the doorway. He repeated her name as he looked at a clipboard he was holding on the other hand.

Kitty raised her hand. “That’s me!”

The attendant looked through his clipboard, turning the page once, twice, three times before nodding his head. “These are for you.”

She rose from her seat feeling eyes on her again. As she got the bouquet she heard the attendant mutter, “Lucky you.” And really, who wouldn’t be proud of that?

Immediately, she examines the gift before looking at the tag. “Break a leg!” And under it, in smaller handwriting wrote, “And if you do, I’ll be there to catch you.” She grinned. Of course, the usual paw print was the signature.

“You can sit back down now, Ms. Langit,” the attendant said.

Kitty blushed and returned to her seat. Some of them cooed and teased her, others stayed put and were either indifferent or looked at her with envy.

But in the end, she wasn’t even in the shortlist.

“You were a little too late though,” she told her admirer through the phone.

Dog Lover sighed. “I know. I heard from a source that the attendant didn’t give it to you until after the audition.”

“A source, huh,” she murmured. “I’m not even surprised anymore.”

He chuckled. “You know me so well.”

Kitty smiled at that. “You know me more.”

The two talked to one another until the wee hours of the night. When Kitty yawned a bit too many times, Dog Lover said it was time for her to sleep. She refused and said that she was still up and about.

“Shadowcat,” he started, “you’ve been mumbling things that don’t make sense anymore.”

“What are you talking about?” she said, yawning once more.

“You’d just be embarrassed,” he said. “Come on, it’s time to sleep.” But she continued to refuse. “Tell you what, I won’t put down the phone until I know you’ve fallen asleep. Sounds good?”

“What if you fall asleep first?” she half-said, half-mumbled.

“I’m not. Because when we get married, I’ll be watching you while you sleep.” Kitty told him how creepy that would be just as he said, “And I’ll be the luckiest guy in the world.”

She smiled. “You’ll be the luckiest guy in the world when you score with Ariana Grande, or J-Lo, Kathryn Bernando…”

“Too loud, too old, not my type…I’d still be a bit lucky if it were Liza.” He laughed nervously. “And I said a bit because you know she’s my celebrity crush.”

“I’d be lucky if I had Paulo, or Albie,” she murmured.

“Now that hurts.”

“Are you not as macho as them?” she teased.

“You know I am.”

“I’ve never seen you.”

“Just know that I’m better.”

Kitty rolled her eyes. “Whatever.”

“So, about that sleeping deal…”

She hummed. “Yeah, okay, sounds good.” She stood up to turn on her lamp before turning off the main lights. She sighed as she laid down on the bed. “How do we do this?” she asked. “Do I get my earphones or something?”

“Have you been talking without them?”

“Yeah,” she answered. “Hold on.” She turned to her side and fished for her earphones from the side table. She plugged them in and put on one bud. “Okay, I’m ready.”

“Do you want me to sing you a lullaby?”

“Are you a good singer?”

“Um…” he began, “I think I’ll leave the singing to you. Sing to me?”

She smiled. “But oh/can’t you see/that no matter what happens/life goes and on/so baby/just smile/’cause I’m always around you/and I’ll make you see how beautiful life is for you and me…”

And as she sang, she began drifting off. When Dog Lover realizes that she had fallen asleep, he smiled. “Goodnight, Kitty. I’ll see you soon.” Click.

The next day, Kitty was walking to her usual spot in the garden of her university. People never sit there because the room behind it would always be left open and the AC was on at maximum level. Plus the area would always be a target of the strong winds during a good day, or the drizzles of rain when the water would pour.

Unfortunately, it was a rainy day and although she brought her cardigan to block out the AC and wind, she hadn’t expected a heavy downpour. She shivered a little as the water touched her skin from time to time.

She felt a poke at her cheek and she didn’t bother whirling around to see who it was. Wolf used to do that to her when they were younger…and he never stopped. Her cheeks were puffy then, her weight wasn’t what you called average, and so Wolf teased her all the time. Even as she worked hard to get to her weight now, he wouldn’t stop. Wes Langit, her older brother and Wolf’s best friend, wasn’t really helping much.

“You’re cold,” he stated.

“Yeah,” she said, shrugging, “I don’t really listen to the weatherman.”

Wolf chuckled. “Here,” he started. Kitty turned to her side and saw him removing his hoodie. “You can have it for the day.”

“What about you?” she asked but not refusing his offer. She had given her belongings to him as she put on the hoodie. It has his number on it, 3, and his last name. She has always wondered what the number 3 meant to him. It was her lucky number, that’s for sure, but that didn’t really add up. “Thanks though.”

He shrugged. “I’ll live. Besides, Wes would kill me for not being a gentleman to his baby sister.”

Kitty rolled her eyes. “Yep, he would.” They reached the stone bench with a matching stone table. There were seats on either side. “Sit with me?”

Wolf nodded and sat down. Kitty sat opposite of him.

“Is Duke coming?”

Kitty shook her head. “Just me and you for now. Cassie’s coming, though. We have Lit together and she wasn’t very impressed with Circle.”

“Nice,” Wolf murmured.

Kitty couldn’t hold back a scoff. “You do know she’s gay, right?”

“Can’t I admire her?”

She nodded her head slowly then shrugged. “I suppose so.”

The two took out their materials in silence. Before Kitty could start on problem number 1, Wolf cleared his throat.

She looked up and tilted her head a little to the left. “Yeah?”

“How’s Dog Lover?” he asked, looking anywhere but at her. “Everything good?”

She smiled. “Yeah, everything’s fine. I still get wary and all but he seems good. Thanks for asking. But…why did you ask? Hasn’t Wes filled you in?”

“Wes doesn’t really like talking about it,” he admitted. “He doesn’t like the idea that…” he trailed off, “that some guy is getting too close to you and you don’t even know him. He could be doing all these things to impress you but he has other agendas.”

Kitty puffed her right cheek. “Possible.”

“But…?”

“I’m just enjoying the moment for now, I guess.” She shrugged. “No one has ever noticed me.”

Wolf rolled his eyes. “Keep telling that to yourself.”

“Wolf,” she began, “you know my past…relationships, if you can call it that, have been huge failures. Maybe this time it isn’t!”

“He’s a stalker, Kitty.”

Kitty paused. “True. But he gives me things.”

“So you’re using him?”

Kitty shook her head. “No, of course not.”

Just a Wolf was about to speak, Cassie arrived and sat beside him. “Okay, so Circles made me fall asleep and—oh hey, Wolf. What’s up?”

“Nothing,” he grumbled. “I was just asking Kitty how she’s doing.”

Cassie laughed. “Bullshit. But okay, okay. Anyways,” she took out her materials, “I was hoping you could help me with this part…”

The three spent some time together before Cassie had to go again. “You coming to practice or have you gotten another audition?” She smiled. Kitty knew Cassie supported her but she has been missing practice a lot.

“I’ll be there,” Kitty replied.

“Great. The team hasn’t seen you in awhile.”

But awhile meant a day, Kitty gave a sorry smile either way. “I know.”

Cassie nodded and waved before leaving the table. And as soon as she left, Wes Langit appeared and sat beside his sister. “Cassie hates me.”

“She does not.”

“After what happened?”

“You didn’t mean it.”

“But I still did it.”

Both Wolf and Kitty sighed.

“Have you been going to the meetings?” Wes asked, turning to his sister. Just as Kitty was about to reply he stopped her. “Don’t,” he held up his hand, “don’t even bother answering that question.”

Kitty bit the bottom of her lip.

Wolf said, “The meetings are on Sundays, right? Usually after the first mass of the day.”

Kitty nodded.

Wes sighed. “It’s for your own good, Kits. I know it can be a hassle but it helps.”

“How do you know?” she murmured.

“Because when you were going to them, you made pretty good progress. You were more jolly, you kept telling yourself that there are always solutions to problems…that you weren’t alone in fighting this battle. You would always go to me, you know?” His eyes softened. “I know you don’t really like going to Mom and Dad so you would go to me.”

Kitty laughed a little. “You were the one who signed me up.”

“And it worked, didn’t it?”

Kitty shrugged. “I guess so.”

Wes shook his head. “I’ll go with you.”

“You can’t enter the room.”

“Then I’ll wait for you out there. I’ll have my phone to keep me company.”

Kitty stayed silent for awhile. She turned to the side and saw Wolf waiting for her response as well. “Okay,” she said. She looked back at her brother and nodded. “Okay, I’ll go back.”

Wes smiled. “Great. That’s great.” He looked at her for a few seconds then frowned. “Why are you wearing Wolf’s hoodie?”

Kitty replied, “He knew I was cold.”

Wes sighed and shook his head at Wolf. “No wonder people have been giving her the stink eye.”

“Like that’s my fault,” Wolf said defensively

Kitty scoffed. “It’s all your fault.”

Wes chuckled, Wolf followed right after.

Later that day, the practice was kind of better than she thought it would be. She knew none of her teammates would criticize her for missing a day to audition for a small role she didn’t even get. They knew her love for singing matched her love for archery. They supported her, but they also had to think of their team, and she understood that. If she wasn’t a good singer in the eyes of the judges, then there’s nothing to worry about, she was a good archer, that she knew.

She stretched her arm, leveling it to her lip. She let out a bit of breath, locked her eyes on the red dot then released.

Straight hit.

Someone from behind her clapped. “Nice.”

Kitty smiled and turned around. “I’m just as good as an archer as bad as I am as a singer.”

“You can carry a tune,” Cassie said.

A small, sad smile appeared on Kitty’s face. “Not enough, I guess.”

Cassie frowned. Putting her bow down on the table, she shook her head then looped her arm around Kitty’s. “There’s a play in my village. It’s a small production but it’s something.”

Kitty placed bow next to Cassie’s. “I’m not from your village.”

“I know,” she said. “But no one wants to join but the people have already spent all the budget. They’re pretty desperate.”

Kitty giggled. “That doesn’t sound very nice.”

Cassie sighed. “Mm, yeah, it is their fault.”

“What play?”

“An original one.”

“Nice. You wrote it?” Kitty knew about Cassie’s love for writing. “I bet you did.”

“If I said yes will you join?” Cassie grinned.

“I’ll consider it.”

Cassie laughed. “I didn’t write it. Some twenty-something who works for the barangay did. I don’t know what it’s about.” She shrugged. “Probably something about lost love or a forbidden one or…I dunno, something about love.”

“Don’t you write about love?”

“I don’t go all cliche if you must know.” Cassie looked up and nudged Kitty lightly. “Duke Montemayor sighting.”

Kitty could never admit but she always found Duke cute in his boy-next-door kind of way. But she’s known him her whole life, ever since they were both whiny babies until they hit puberty and were each other’s first kiss until now where they realize nothing is ever going to happen to them…despite admitting that they were attracted to one another.

“Oh, and look who’s with him.”

Baste Montemayor, Duke’s twin brother, was with him. And he was the one that Kitty couldn’t help but imagine was Mr. Dog Lover. They had the same voice and Baste’s love for dogs is no secret either. Kitty’s had a thing for him since she stepped foot on the school grounds.

Baste had lived with his father after his and Duke’s parents separated. Duke never talked much about him since they were never close, their father leaving their mother when they were just two-years-old. But they reconnected when they realized they were in the same university.

“Oh,” she sighed. Her heart fluttered, she knew that it was the same flutter she felt with Dog Lover, and she had a strong feeling that they were one and the same.

Duke waved his hand as they got closer. “Hey,” he greeted.

“Nice of you to visit,” Cassie said.

Duke shrugged. “Baste wanted to see the archery range.”

“Are you sure that’s what he wanted to see?” Cassie narrowed her eyes at the two boys. “Nothing else?”

Kitty could feel her neck getting red.

Baste chuckled. “I’ve always been an archery fan but I’ve never seen one up close. Duke said he was on his way here and I jumped at the chance to ask him if I could come along.” His head circled the place and he nodded, a smile forming on his face. “It’s nice.”

“It should be,” Kitty can’t help but murmur. She could then feel someone’s eyes on her and she dared look in front. Baste Montemayor was looking at her with interest. “We have some classes together,” is all she can say after racking her brain for something to say to him. “Lab, math and—”

“Filipino,” he finished, nodding his head. “Katharine Langit, right?”

Cassie tilted her head. “She’s Duke’s best friend.”

Baste nodded again. “Yeah. But I’ve never interacted with her,” he explained. “This is the first time we’ve been up close.”

But you’re such a stalker, Kitty thought. She bit her lip from saying anything. “Do you want to try to shoot?” she offered.

Baste’s eyebrows raised. “Legit?”

Cassie shrugged. “Yeah, why not? Come on.” She gestured for him to follow her.

Kitty and Duke were left alone.

“You agreed to bring him here,” she said, not bothering to look at him. “When you know I’m not ready.”

Duke rolled his eyes. “Oh please. Even if I tell you, give you a warning, you would never be prepared.”

Kitty nodded once. She then watched as Cassie taught the guy how to hold up his bow.

Unlike Kitty’s pink bow, Cassie’s was a neutral blue.

Cassie then put leveled his arm and nodded. Kitty heard her say something about aiming and a second later, he released the string and the arrow flew to the board…missing the bullseye by a foot.

Duke couldn’t help but laugh. Kitty nudged him. They walked towards them just as Cassie’s arrow hit the board, missing the bullseye by just a few inches.

“That was so cool!” Baste clapped. “Do it again.”

“Who am I? Your dog?” Cassie glared at him. She noticed Kitty and Duke beside her and smiled. She turned back to Baste and smirked. “Watch the pro.” She looked at Kitty. “You ready.”

Kitty snapped her head back a little but a part of her knew that this was going to happen. “Yeah, sure.” She took Cassie’s bow and got an arrow from her quiver. She put it in place, readied her stance, let out a bit of breath and released.

Like earlier, she hit the bullseye with ease.

When she turned to look at Baste, and feeling very proud of herself, he was gaping.

“Y-y-you h-hit the uh…um…bullseye,” he stammered.

Kitty smiled. “I did.”

“Amazing!”

Kitty blushed. You should know that, the voice said. She shook her head. You have no proof, Katharine. No proof at all. But good Lord did she wish that he was just a really good actor and that he really was Dog Lover.

“You should definitely teach me!”

“You’d have to sign up and try out first,” Cassie told him with a roll of her eyes.

“Be nice,” Duke teased.

“During your free time?” Baste asked, hopeful.

“She auditions for musicals or bands during her free time,” Cassie continued to talk for the lady in subject. “I don’t think—”

“Let Kitty speak for herself,” Duke said in a serious tone, but it was obvious that he wanted to laugh at the scenario.

Cassie shut her mouth. The three then looked at Kitty and she felt very pressured. “I suppose it’s fine,” she said with a shrug. “There’s an archery range not too far from my house. If you’re willing to—”

“Yes!” Baste interrupted her.

“Great,” she said. A smile was on her face.

Duke pursed his lips. “Well, I think we have to go.”

Baste frowned. “Okay then.”

Kitty hid her disappointment. If you want to spend time with me then this is your chance, the voice inside her shouted. Another voice told her to shut up. “Just tell Duke if you’re still interested.”

He nodded. “I will. Definitely.” He smiled. “Thanks, Katharine.” Then he turned to Cassie. “You, too, Cassie.”

“I never told you my name,” she said, surprised.

“I’m friends with Duke, remember?” he chuckled softly.

Cassie lifted her head a little. “Right.”

Duke grabbed Baste’s arm and began dragging him. “I’ll see you later, Kit-Kat!”

“Meatloaf for dinner!” she shouted.

“YES!”

Cassie laughed. “He really loves his meatloaf.”

Kitty watched the two disappear. One second Baste looked back at her, and three seconds later it was Duke’s turn. Her heart began to beat faster. Cassie noticed her frozen form and reached for her hand.

“We don’t know who it is, Kit-Kat.”

Kitty sighed. “Yeah, I know.”

It has only been a few days but Kitty was getting anxious about Baste’s offer to be her student. Duke hasn’t mentioned anything and she didn’t really want to pry. So she stayed quiet.

But it was Sunday and she and her family had just finished hearing mass. Like their excuse before, Wes said that they would be having some sibling bonding at the ice cream shop nearby. They knew their parents didn’t have sweet tooths so it was the perfect alibi.

As they walked to the building next to the Church, Wes began giving her a lecture. “I haven’t been able to hear mass with you on Sundays because of training. I asked them to give me a day off. So please, Kitty, the next time I’m not here to have mass with you, go to the meeting. It isn’t hard. It’s free. It helps.”

Kitty’s head was low. “Yes, Kuya [older/big brother].”

They reached the building and then entered. Wes pushed the door open and allowed Kitty inside first. There weren’t much people and she was still familiar with how it is. She walked in and inhaled the scent that she had been missing out on. She can’t help but admit that she liked the vanilla and pumpkin aroma. They headed up the second floor and walked to the third door on the left.

Before them was one of her meeting members. Tom. They only knew each other by the names they want to be called.

Tom noticed that he was being watched. He looked up and a grin formed on his face. “Kitty. It’s been awhile.”

“Yeah,” she said with a small smile. She introduced Tom to her brother and her brother to Tom. “I’ll see you later?”

Wes nodded. “Yeah, I’ll see you. Be good. Or else no Sundae’s Best after.”

Kitty smiled. “You really know a way to get to a girl’s heart.”

They chuckled and Wes left.

Kitty walked over to the door and Tom let her in first.

As Tom closed the door behind him, the sign on the door became very visible as the blinds behind it closed.

Suicidals Anonymous.

[mbtizone]

Caitlin Snow (The Flash): ISTJ

Dominant Introverted Sensing [Si]: Caitlin doesn’t seek out adventure or stimulation. She’s perfectly happy to be in the lab, going about her regular, day-to-day routine. She enjoys predictability and is content to work within an established structure. Caitlin’s past has a huge influence on who she is. Both of her parents were doctors, and that’s the only thing she’s ever wanted to be. While Caitlin enjoys helping Team Flash, was also very comfortable in her modest, regular life and would have been fine with having her career and marrying Ronnie. She doesn’t like having powers and wants to be normal. She enjoys her work and is always prepared, even keeping a blood sample kit in her purse. She has a difficult time moving on and letting go of the past. Following Ronnie’s death, Caitlin was in a state of depression for nearly a year, rarely laughing or smiling. She’s very cautious and doesn’t like to face the unknown. She couldn’t even bring herself to enter the room where Ronnie was killed during the particle accelerator explosion. She prefers to have as much information as possible before going up against a meta-human.

Auxiliary Extroverted Thinking [Te]: It’s difficult for Caitlin to believe in something that hasn’t been proven. She needs facts and evidence. Caitlin’s logical framework is external. Her knowledge comes from what she has read, seen, or experienced (Si-Te). She’s direct, focused, and stays on task. She doesn’t think up her own ways to do things. She sticks to what she knows. Caitlin has a lot of self-control and gets things done. She doesn’t let her emotions rule her or keep her from making logical decisions. When Caitlin explains something, she explains it in a very factual, unembellished way. She doesn’t speculate about things when she doesn’t see a concrete basis for it (unlike Cisco). Wells can’t be the Reverse Flash! He’s in a wheelchair!

Tertiary Introverted Feeling [Fi]: It’s not easy for Caitlin to open up about her feelings. She suppresses them because she doesn’t want them to take over. She establishes one-on-one connections and gives advice, which she often bases on her own, personalized experiences. Caitlin has a lot of compassion and, though she cares deeply for people, she maintains a very small circle. She’s loyal to Team Flash (when she isn’t Killer Frost, anyway) and devotes the majority of her time and energy to making Central City a safer place, which is important to her.

Inferior Extroverted Intuition [Ne]: Getting Caitlin out of her shell can be hard. She isn’t a spontaneous person and is partial to what is familiar to her. Her lack of imagination sometimes prevents her from keeping up with Cisco’s train of thought. She’ll often shoot down ideas that she deems to be unrealistic, or if she feels they have no rational basis. Her train of thought is clear and linear. Sometimes, Caitlin can get very worried about things that might go wrong. Thinking about the future (especially where her powers are concerned) causes her anxiety. Caitlin tends to take life very seriously, which is why she enjoyed being with Ronnie, who got her to loosen up and laugh.

Enneagram: 6w5 Sp/Sx (Probably 612 tritype)

Quotes:

Barry: I just noticed you don’t smile too much. Caitlin: My once promising career in bioengineering is over, my boss is in a wheelchair for life, the explosion that put you in a coma also killed my fiancé; so, this blank expression kind of feels like the way to go.

Caitlin: I don’t understand. What do Dr. Wells and The Reverse-Flash have to do with each other? Barry: Um… They’re the same person. Caitlin: That’s impossible. Barry: Look, Caitlin, it took me a long time to believe it too, but it’s him. Caitlin: Dr. Wells is a speedster? He’s paralyzed. Joe: Is he, though? Caitlin: And why would he kill Barry’s mother? It doesn’t make any sense. Cisco. Say something. Cisco: I’ve been having these dreams. Mostly at night, but sometimes during the day. But they don’t really feel like dreams. They… they feel real. Barry: What happens in the dream? Cisco: Dr. Wells is The Reverse-Flash. And… he kills me.

Caitlin: Cisco says I don’t have a life. Barry: You don’t, do you? Caitlin: I do! I cook and I eat and I read and I help you. Barry: So what you saying is, you do everything that has nothing to do with having a life.

Caitlin: Trigeminal headache? Cisco: What? Caitlin: Trigeminal headache. Brain freeze. Cisco: Then why don’t you just call it a brain freeze?

Jay: What’s Christmas? Caitlin: Oh, well, it’s this holiday we have where we cut down trees and sing songs to celebrate the birth of a baby 2,000 years ago, and then the Romans killed him, so we give each other gifts… Cisco: That’s your explanation? Jay: I know what Christmas is.

Caitlin: I like you, Julian. I do. And I like that you like me, but I’m also afraid of my powers. And not what they could do to me, but what they could do to anyone who gets close to me. Julian: Caitlin, I’m not afraid. Caitlin: You should be. Fear me, Julian. It’s not a threat. Just… good advice.

Barry: I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you, leaving like that. Caitlin: It’s okay, I get it, you had to go. It’s just… that’s the last thing Ronnie said to me that night. Barry: My mother died 14 years ago. I used to think that the further away I got from it the less it would hurt, but some days the pain is worse than the day that it happened. Some things you can’t fight. Caitlin: For so long I’ve been terrified of going into that hole. Barry: What if I went with you? [They go down to the particle accelerator and Caitlin flashbacks] Caitlin: He saved so many lives that day, and no one will ever know what he did. Barry: I do. He was a hero. Caitlin: I didn’t want him to be a hero, I wanted him to be my husband.

Caitlin: Please tell me this is a joke. Lisa: Oh, you were right, Lenny. She is very uptight. Caitlin: I am not uptight. You can’t call me uptight.

Caitlin: Cisco, I’m so sorry about how I overreacted. I understand why you told everyone. Cisco: Never helps when we keep things from each other. Caitlin: You’re right. And I’m glad that you told everyone. I’m just not very good at asking for help. I get that from my mom. Cisco: You’re better than your mother.

Cisco: You’re being shut off. You’re being detached. You’re being cold. Caitlin: Because I HAVE to be right now. I just watched Jay being killed right in front of my eyes, just when I was starting to feel normal again, just when I was beginning to love him. So, if I let myself feel, if I let all of that pain and anger out, it’s never gonna stop, and that’s not gonna help me, either, so let’s just get back to this research and figure out how to find King Shark.

Barry: How long have you known? Caitlin: A few months. First, I didn’t want to accept what was happening to me, but then I had to. So then I tried to suppress my powers. There’s no suppressing these powers. I just can’t believe that this is my life. Barry: It shouldn’t be. None of what’s happening to any of you should be. What do you mean “any of us”? Barry: I mean… Doctor Alchemy, Wally, you getting powers. Even Dante being dead in this timeline. It’s all because I created Flashpoint. Even Iris, who, I don’t know, I think she’s disappointed that she doesn’t have powers and everyone else does. And no matter what I do now, everything’s different. Caitlin: So none of this happened before? Barry: [shaking his head no] I’m sorry, Caitlin.

Caitlin: Both of my parents are doctors. It’s all I ever wanted to be. Growing up, I used the Hippocratic Oath. I was obsessed with it. If anyone was gonna step on a bug, I would say, “Do no harm.” It’s built into my DNA. Unfortunately, my DNA isn’t what it used to be. So, believe me when I say answer every one of my questions, or I will harm your family. Who is Alchemy?

Caitlin Snow (The Flash): ISTJ was originally published on MBTI Zone