#auntie nic

[nicistrying]

Sat 5th October

Up early today to come look after my brother in law's pups. Took them for a walk (it was carnage I had just untangled them in this photo)

Got my nails done for my friend's wedding on Thursday (dress code is all black, our bridesmaid dresses are black with embroidered flowers and greenery they are so fucking cool)

Came home to see my mams and Nanna Mary who had come to visit Maggie

Went back and walked the pups again in the sunshine. Turned my head for all of two seconds to get a poop bag and when I looked back Dusty had his head under Daisy's ass while she was shitting. And he's looking at me with shit on his head like auntie Nic what is happening

I howled and took photos before I cleaned him up obvs. Took them home and bathed him

Brought their laundry in, tidied up a bit then snuggled down and read my book until brother and sister in law got home.

Came home and snuggled with my own baby

She looked so sweet but she's so unphotogenic it's ridiculous. We all cuddled like this for a good 30 mins. Now time for bath & bed 😴

[sturionic]

Activism is not cold-calling.

Activism is not cold-calling, and this is critically important to understand.

I'm seeing a lot of posts on here about 'building bridges' and 'finding community,' and then (extremely valid) response posts saying "BUT HOW??" And I'm going to explain something that can be very counter-intuitive: there is strategy involved in community.

As a longtime volunteer labour organizer, I’ve taken and taught many trainings on the strategy of talking. Something that surprises a lot of people is the very first thing you do in a union campaign. You sit down with your organizing committee, take out pen and paper, and literally map it out. You draw a physical map of the workplace: where are the entrances, exits, break rooms, supervisor offices. Essentially, ‘where is it safe to have a union conversation.’ Then you draw another physical chart of your coworkers. You sort out who is union-friendly, openly hostile to unions, or somewhere in the middle, and then you plan out very deliberately and carefully who talks to whom and in what order.

Consider: If Vocally Leftist Jane walks up to Conservative David and says "hey what do you think about unions," David is going to shut down immediately. He's not inclined to listen to Jane. But if Jane talks to Moderate Jason and brings him into the fold, then Jason is a far more effective strategic choice to talk to David, and David may actually hear him out without an instant reaction.

IMPORTANT CAVEAT: If Conservative David turns out to be Alt-Right David, and could be dangerous to follow organizers, we write him off. We are not trying to reach Alt-Right David. We are trying to reach Conservative David, who may actually be persuaded to find solidarity with other employees as fellow workers. Jason is a safe scout to find out which one he is. It does no one any good if Leftist Jane (or even Moderate Jane who is a visible minority) talks to Alt-Right David and puts herself on his radar. Not only has she done nothing to convince Alt-Right David to join a union - she's probably actively turned him against the idea - but now she's also in danger and the entire campaign is at risk. NOBODY WANTS THIS. Jane was NOT a hero for doing this. The organizing committee was foolish and enacted a terrible strategy to everyone's detriment.

Where you can make a difference is with people who will listen to you. You having a conversation with your well-meaning but clueless Centrist Democrat Auntie, and maybe gently helping her understand some things the media has been glossing over, is way more strategically useful than you marching up to MAGA Neighbour You've Met Once and trying to "build community" or "understand" them. They don't care. They're impervious, dangerous, and cruel. But maybe your beloved auntie will think about what you said, and then talk to her friend Anna who IDs as "fiscally conservative" but didn't vote because she can't bring herself to get on board with Trump. Then perhaps Anna talks to her brother Nic who has MAGA leanings but isn't all the way there yet. Proto-MAGA Nic would not have listened to you, nor would he have listened to Centrist Democrat Auntie, but he might absorb some of what his sister is saying.

This is not a cop-out or an echo chamber. This is you spending your time and energy strategically and safely. You are not a useful activist to anyone if you’re dead. Anyone who is telling you to hurl yourself directly at MAGA assholes like cannon fodder has no understanding of the strategy behind community building, and you should feel comfortable writing them off.

Last point: If you are tired, emotionally devastated, and/or in danger: take a break. This post is for people who would feel better jumping into action, not for people who are too overwhelmed to even think about it right now. You are worth so much even if you’re not actively Doing Activism, and your rest is worth more than “a break period so you can recharge and Do More Activism.” We all deserve the individual dignity of being worthy of comfort, rest & safety just on the basis of being human, outside of whatever we're doing for others' benefit. To deny ourselves that dignity is to devalue ourselves, and that’s the absolute last thing any of us should be doing right now.

[ghostherlig]

johnshi^2 nickname hcs!!

for those of you who remember my original johnshi nickname hcs, here's some for johnshi^2 bc i love those fools and im thinking about them <3

(under the cut bc there's four of these fools and they have so many nicknames- 💀)

johnny

superstar - john calls him this the most, although kenshi will sometimes dip into it too- usually just when they're very endeared or are reminded how much they love him

hotshot - john calls him this when he's starting to get riled up and wants to make it worse

mini me - john is the only one who calls him this and it's only when he can really see where they overlap with each other

starlight - kenshi calls him this when he wants to fluster him or coax him into doing something, usually a little nefarious

koinu (little dog/puppy) - one of taka's only nicknames for him and it's used quite a bit and in almost every scenario

johnathan - also one of the only nicholas-names that taka uses, sometimes kenshi and john use it too, but mainly to mess around and playfully scold him

shujin (husband) - also a taka favorite, usually only uses it when talking about johnny in japanese

kenshi

baby boy - one of john's favorite nicknames for him, calls him this when he's being teasing or when he's holding kenshi and is reminded that he's just a little bit smaller than him

kendoll - a johnny favorite that john will dip into sometimes, basically replaces kenshi's name in johnny's vocabulary

babydoll - the johnny special, used when he's being teasing or a prick

hun/honey - usually used by johnny and john, always when they're feeling extra sweet

kenny - john's favorite, basically replaces kenshi's name in his vocabulary

koneko (little cat/kitten) - taka's nickname for him, used quite a bit when they're in private

otto (husband) - a taka favorite, calls him this when they're speaking in japanese to each other

john

tough/big guy - one of johnny's favorites, can be used to be endearing and soft or when he's being a prick

handsome - used by johnny, really only when john is all dressed up and he just has to remind him

old man - johnny and kenshi use this to get on john's nerves/rile him up bc it works every time

starlight - kenshi also uses this for john, loves how it always gets him to soften out

dear - used by kenshi, usually in a teasing way but sometimes when he can tell that john is really soft or really needs the reminder that he's there, he'll use it too

inu (dog) - taka's classic, calls john this almost all the time when he's in a comfortable setting

tsuma (wife) - taka calls him this when he's speaking about him to kenshi in japanese, and calls him this to his face and has for almost thirty years... john still doesn't know what it means.

takahashi

taka - used by all of them, basically replaces "takahashi" in all of their vocabulary's-

big guy/big man - johnny and john use these the most, usually on account of his size but also as a way to relax his nerves when he's upset

anta/anata (you) - usually only used by kenshi in an endearing way when they're with his family, always gets this really soft little smile out of taka

mr. cage - used by john and johnny to tease, always gets taka to huff and smile

ojiisan (old man) - usually used by kenshi and johnny, is meant to be teasing bc taka pretends to hate it, will groan and make a show of turning to leave, but he loves it... it gets him all melty if they call him that in the morning...

baby - a john special, usually only calls him this to tease or in more dire situations where taka needs to be grounded

moonbeam - one of john's nicknames that he uses on the rare occasion that they're alone and he wants to hold taka's face, trace his features and really get a feel for him again... always said with a reverence that taka forgets exists until he says it again.

bonus/miscellaneous nicknames!!

obasan/obaasan (auntie/grandma) - takeda calls john this after years of hearing takahashi call him "tsuma"... usually says it to tease- john does not know what these nicknames mean either 💀

peepaw - cassie calls takahashi this when she thinks he's being an old man, the usual phrase being "peepaw needs his nap" when taka says he'll be "returning to his office" around noon

stinky - kenshi and taka usually use this to refer to johnny or john after sparring or a workout, will scrunch their face to say it in this kind of scrungly voice- always gets a little pout out of either of them and they think it's super cute

brat - almost always aimed at johnny and kenshi, usually john saying it through grit teeth and with a hand squeezing their nape

little demon - a taka nickname for kenshi when he's being a mischievous little bastard (which is quite often)

"my ____" - used by all of them to refer to each other, usually to put an emphasis on the fact that they're together or to tease/fluster each other

"your ____" - used by mainly kenshi when talking to taka in japanese, most often used to refer to john as "your (taka's) wife" to tease- always gets taka to smile with a certain smugness... also used by all of them when referring to each other in certain situations- taka will refer to johnny and kenshi as "your (john's) boys", john and johnny will refer to taka and kenshi as "your takahashi" or "your kenshi" if they don't want to be the one to deal with their nonsense, same the other way around with "your cage" or "your johnny" when taka and kenshi dont want to deal with them 💀

they're so silly i love them <3

[herejusttosufferalong]

I was listening to Tif today, and she went through 2023 tol July. She mentioned that L's mum, grandma and auntie liked not only Polin, but only Nic related and some Lukola stuff earlier. L's stepdad followed - follows Nic. Not the sister, but Tif does nothing against her. She will post p1 of her timeline on IG.

That was new to me, I only joined the ship in May, I only heard them following A.

I’m only sharing this because Tif has posted it so it will be more common knowledge now

I prefer to keep N, L and A’s family commentary to a minimum.

[marcmarcmomarc]

Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse

Shameik Moore

Hailee Steinfeld

Brian Tyree Henry

Luna Lauren Vélez

Jharrel Jerome

Jason Schwartzman

Jake Johnson

John Mulaney

Kimiko Glenn

Issa Rae

Karan Soni

Amandla Stenberg

Masi Oka

Shea Whigham

Greta Lee

Lily Tomlin

Andy Samberg

Pedro Pascal

Marc Maron

Liam Neeson

Bobby Cannavale

Mark Hamill

Keanu Reeves

…with Mahershala Ali

…Nicolas Cage

…Daniel Kaluuya

…Kathryn Hahn

…Liev Schreibner

…and Oscar Isaac

Cast

Shameik Moore as Miles Morales

Hailee Steinfeld as Gwen Stacy

Oscar Isaac as Miguel O’Hara

Mahershala Ali as Uncle Aaron

Bryan Tyree Henry as Jefferson Davis

Luna Lauren Vélez as Rio Morales

Jharrel Jerome as Miles G. Morales

Jason Schwartzman as Spot

Jake Johnson as Peter B. Parker

John Mulaney as Spider-Ham

Kimiko Glenn as Peni Parker

Nicolas Cage as Spider-Man Noir

Issa Rae as Jessica Drew

Daniel Kaluuya as Hobie Brown

Karan Soni as Pavitr Prabhakar

Amandla Stenberg as Margo Kess

Masi Oka as Takuya Yamashiro

Shea Whigham as George Stacy

Greta Lee as LYLA

Lily Tomlin as Aunt May

Andy Samberg as Ben Reilly

Kathryn Hahn as Doc Ock

Liev Schreiber as Wilson Fisk

Pedro Pascal as Otto Octavius

Marc Maron as Adrian Toomes

Liam Neeson as MacDonald Gargan

Bobby Cannavale as Aleksei Sytsevich

Mark Hamill as Maxwell Dillon

Keanu Reeves as Flint Marko

Melissa Sturm as Mary Jane

Michelle Ruff as Mayday

Peter Sohn as Ganke

Rachel Dratch as Ms. Weber

Ziggy Marley as Lenny

Nathalie Morales as Miss Calleros

Erick Avari as Inspector Singh

Priyanka Chopra as Gayatri

Elizabeth Perkins as May

Atsuko Okatsuka as Yuri

Jack Quaid as Peter Parker

Freida Pinto as Maya Auntie

J.K. Simmons as J. Jonah Jameson

Zoë Kravitz as Mary Jane Watson-Parker

Edwin H. Bravo as Visions Academy Guard

Lorraine Vélez as Maria

Ayo Edebiri as Glory

Nicole Delaney as MJ

Antonina Lentini as Betty

Anthony Ramos as Benny

Chris Pine as Spider-Man

Marvin Jones III as Tombstone

Joaquín Cosio as Scorpion

Jorma Taccone as Adriano Tumino / Green Goblin / ‘67

Jorge Gutierrez as Officer Gutierrez

Donald Glover as Aaron Davis

Stan Lee as Stan

Lake Bell as Vanessa Fisk

Kim Yarbough as Alchemax Scientist

Nic Novicki as LEGO Spider-Man

Sofia Barclay as Malala Windsor

Taran Killam as Web-Slinger

Danielle Perez as Charlotte Webber

Michael Rianda as Max Borne / Ezekiel Sims / Spider-Man Patient

Leland “Metro Boomin” Wayne as Metro Spider-Man

Yuri Lowenthal as Insomniac Spider-Man

Josh Keaton as Spectacular Spider-Man

Rino Romano as Spider-Man Unlimited

Grey DeLisle as Spinneret

Meg Turney as Annie-May Parker

Paola Andino as Anya Corazón

Ryan O’Flanagan as Tarantula

Lauren Ash as Cyborg Spider-Woman

Daran Norris as Spidercide

Tara Strong as Spider-Canada

Jess Harnell as Officer Parker

Robbie Daymond as Ultimate Spider-Man

Post Malone as Brooklyn Bystander

[sketchedboba]

How I see this going down pt. 6:

The Aunty Princesses

Daisy: Alright, who's up first?!

Larry: Me! Me! *hops in the catapult sling*

Daisy: ready?

Larry: Yeah! *Goes into his shell*

Peach: hey Daisy-

Daisy: AH! *launches Larry*

Larry: WEEEEEEEEE *spins out into the sky*

Peach: Did...you just launch Bowser's spawn?

Daisy: noooo...

Luigi: Dinner was nic- *gets knocked in the face by Larry*

Bowser: GREENIE! Larry?! Kid, how did you get here?! *picks up a passed out Luigi*

Larry: Aunty Daisy said we can play slingshot!

Bowser: *trying to resuscitate Luigi* Stay with me, Luigi!

Daisy and Peach: *running over*

Daisy: *panting* sooo, how was date night?

Bowser: *stares at her in anger* you LAUNCHED our kids?!

Larry: *runs over to her* Again!

Daisy:... Peach approved-

Peach: what?!

Kamek: And that's why we don't let the princesses watch the kids anymore. That's your job now.

Mario: ....*sigh*

[nuctoria]

Child of Prophecy (Part 1)

A young boy of about 11 years old, wearing a red cap, ran around his home, evading his various family members so he won't be interrupted. Most told him to be careful or to not run at all in the house but no way he was stopping now that he had started. Until he was caught by two big hands and lifted into the air.

"Daaad!" whined the boy, pouting at his run being interrupted. "Don't start whining at me, kid, you're lucky you didn't hurt yourself. Again." scolded his dad, carrying him to the dining table to eat dinner.

The dad sat the boy down on the chair next time him, the boy still pouting until his mom set a plate of spaghetti in front of him. The boy perked up before making a disgusted face upon seeing the mushrooms on his plate.

"Ugh, mushrooms again? I don't like mushrooms!" whined the boy. "Come on, son, everyone likes mushrooms!" teased his dad, taking a big bite from his own and making a loud humming sound. "Not me" pouted the boy. "Come now, sweetie, they're healthy for you. At least try them" encouraged the boy's mom, patting his shoulder. The boy hesitated but mastered up the will to try and lift the smallest piece of mushroom to his mouth for his mom, only to gag the second it touched his tongue and for his two uncles to start laughing their butts off. The boy's only auntie shook her head at her husband's attitude and kindly offered to take the mushrooms off of her nephew's plate to which the boy happily agreed to instantly. Dad didn't approve of it but said nothing and kept eating his own portion.

The family sat together, chatting and eating happily as they did every day. The boy didn't pay much attention unless someone talked to him directly, focusing on his food so he could run off again to play. That was until he heard a car stop right outside their house to which he rushed to look out of the window. His dad told him to sit back down but the boy didn't listen, watching eagerly from the window at who got out of the car outside. He was very disappointed and sad when he saw only adults leave the car with no young boy his age with them. He returned to his seat and looked less happy now. "What was that just now?" asked his dad, confused. "I thought it'd be him this time..." mumbled the boy, poking at his remaining food with his fork. "Who? A friend from school?" asked the dad again but his son shook his head. "No, my brother" answered the boy, frowning when he heard almost everyone sigh or groan, especially his dad. "We've been over this, you don't have any siblings" his dad told him in a displeased tone. "Yes, I do! I know it! I've seen him! A man took him!" the boy raised his voice, frustrated that no one believed him. "It was just a dream, buddy. If you had a brother we'd all know" tried one of his uncles in a more calm tone but still keeping it a tad bit stern. "It wasn't a dream, I saw him! He's out there and I have to find him! Why won't anyone believe me?!" shouted the boy at this point, fired up. "MARIO!"

Everyone went dead silent when the boy's name was shouted out by his dad with a harsh slap on the table, rattling everything on it. Mario was momentarily frightened but the anger quickly came back when he was ordered to go to his room. He did but he was fuming, tempted to slam his door in retaliation but knew it'd make things worse. He shut his bedroom door and curled up under his blanket, hugging his hat. He fumed silently under there, gripping his hat to death before the tears started making their way out of his eyes, along with quiet sobs.

He knew he had a brother. He saw him that night. But why doesn't anyone know him, not even his own family? Where was his brother now?

---

The boy stared at himself in the huge mirror of the room, moving his body all around so he could see how his new outfit looked on him. It was a mostly black outfit, with only his cap and the green bandana around his neck.

"Well, what do you think?" asked the short, robotic lady next to him. "I-it looks nice, thank you Mimi! But um... Does it have to be so black?" the boy asked nervously, hoping he didn't upset his friend. "But of course! Black goes with everything, plus you need to look the part for this team!"

The boy nodded, jumping in fright when there was a knock on the door. Mimi allowed whoever was on the other side entry, which so happened to be the man who'd brought him here and his assistant.

"There you are, young man! I trust Mimi has been treating you well while putting you in your new attire? Asked Count Bleck" "Y-yes, my Count, she has." the boy replied nervously, fidgeting with his fingers. "It does seem a bit baggy, but you should grow into it soon" commented the Count's assistant, adjusting her glasses as she critically evaluated the nervous boy.

The boy get another look at his attire as Mimi chastised the assistant, Nastasia, for being rude to a little boy. He didn't really listen, however, having something else on his mind, he was too reluctant to ask though. Despite this, the Count was quick to notice the child's busy mind.

"Well, boy, do speak your mind if you wish. Offered Count Bleck" the boy flinched when the Count addressed him and made the two ladies in the room stop bickering. "I-I... I..." the boy struggled to speak. "Well?" prompted the Count. "I... Why must I fight my b-brother? Can't we simply...you know, recruit him t-too?" the boy kept his gaze down as he asked that question, knowing full well what the response would be.

He was proven right when he heard a loud sign from the Count as he approached and knelt down next to the boy, moving his head up slightly with his cane.

"Your brother is the enemy, child. It is as the Dark Prognosticus says and we must act according to its plan. He will attack you, he will hurt you, so you must learn to lock away those feelings of yours and win. Do you understand me, Luigi?"

Luigi nodded and the topic was dropped that very moment as if it didn't happen. This was always the answer he got from the Count and the other team members so he really didn't understand why he kept asking over and over again.

Why didn't it feel like this was true? Why didn't it feel like his brother is his enemy?

--------

@istadris @itsavee4117 @darknadaworld @fruitytiff @billinshoes @ceo-of-kirbandee @keakruiser @peaches2217 @kuramirocket @amybizarre

[steampoweredstrawberry]

I am now fully convinced that no one in the group can cook with the skill required to feed the whole tadpole gang regularly. And the first few nights at camp were literal torture for Gale because everyone is doing a little Girl Dinner about it. He's going through a whole Dickensian character arc in those nights where he's being haunted by the ghosts of Dekarios Yiayias past who are saying things like "Lae'zel is too skinny! You should cook your Auntie Diana's lamb for her; the one braised in the tomato and cinnamon sauce, not Cousin Nic's with the mint sauce (it's too dry and tough)".

[porygon-supremacy]

[Meanwhile, off-screen (via rotomblr DMs)...]

PC: Torrent, hey honey... I'm sorry for not talking with you; I've been having trouble with gliscord lately. Do you have time to talk?

To: helo auntie yes i hav tim 2 talk

PC: I'm glad... I saw your rotomblr posts recently; I'm worried.

To: am sory 4 wory u auntie. . . wil try 2 do betr

PC: Hey... It's okay. You don't have to apologize for how you feel, dear.

PC: Sometimes, things happen, and they're out of our control. That's never your fault.

PC: You're allowed to be upset about it. You don't have to go around trying to make things better.

PC: And honey, whoever called you awful doesn't know a single thing about you, I'm sure. You're wonderful! I've seen how many friends you've made; I don't think you'd make as many friends as you do if you weren't. And people like you as you are now.

To: but mama hav frends and she cal herself awful

PC: That's... More her mind is convincing herself of that, than an actual fact. But tell me - do you think she's awful?

To: no, nevr! mama is so nic and specil!

PC: Then who's to say it's any different for you?

To: i gues it mak sens... but y person say it 2 me and othr frends?

PC: Sometimes, people will say things with the intent to upset someone else. There can be multiple reasons... Often either out of fear, or perhaps they're hurting... Or they do it for a sense of control.

To: lik boss ardos...

PC: Like Ardos, yes...

To: i forgot peopl can be lik that somtim. oop.

PC: It's okay, honey. If anything, it's nice that you see so much good in the world for that. Don't let anyone or anything take that away, okay? But also try your best to keep yourself safe.

PC: I love you, and so does your mama, and your siblings, and your cousins, and all of your friends. And they love you for just the way you are. You don't ever have to change a thing.

To: thank u auntie i lov u 2

To: tel belle and circuit that i also lov them!

PC: I will. You take it easy if you can, okay?

To: u 2, auntie!

[sgt-scottymoreau]

Behind the nickname

Summary: Scotty as mamy nicknames from the people around her. But it seems like a pattern or an unspoken rule revolves around some of them. One particular. Ghost is about to find out the meaning of it.

Warning: None

Words: 1.3k // Masterlist

A/N: This was supposed to be a very small fic, turning into an above the 1k one. Welp. Also, although it is in my plan to visit Keukenhof (I tried this year but schedule didn't work out BUT next year for sure!) I haven't gone yet and so I was very vague on the description of it. Not helped that timeline wise they would have visited in 1997, what did the park even looked like back then?! Anyway, just a little fluff fic! Oh, Scotty's kid/baby pictures are inspired by my own.

“Auntie, what was the thing I was supposed to say if grandma was about to embarass you?” Nicolas asked as soon as his head popped in the door frame of the kitchen.

Camille lifted her head from the drawing she was making with Mathéo, rather confused. “I don’t remember, why?”

“Grandma is about to show an album to Uncle Ghost.”

“What! SHI- Mom!” Camille dropped her pen, jumped off the chair as if it was on fire, the said chair creaking loudly on the floor. The woman passed her nephew, almost shoved him out of the way in the wall. “Sorry Nic!” The two brothers looked at each other confused. 

Scotty arrived in the living room out of breath, hands crisped on the doorframe and sadly too late. Suzanne was seated with Ghost next to her, him half bent to check on the album she had placed on her and his laps. He lifted his head, a grin behind his mask. Despite being considered family, he wasn’t too comfortable yet to show more of his face. Yet she could still see the glimpse of amusement in his eyes when their gaze crossed. “A little hippie? That’s adorable.” 

“Shut it, Riley. That was for the carnaval, my mom did a great job on the costume.” Scotty rolled her eyes and joined them. She saw the picture he was commenting on. She was maybe five or six, all smiling with baggy pants and white long sleeve shirt, a too big headband on her forehead decorated with a peace sign, and a necklace with an even bigger one. In retrospective, she found herself ridiculous in this, however Ghost wasn’t so wrong, it was also adorable.

“Oh wait, this one is my favorite!” Suzanne said pointing at a picture on the next page. On this one Scotty was around the age of two, a cup of chocolate mousse in her hand and a nice little chocolate mustache on her face. “Her first time trying mousse. It was a mess to clean.”

“Mom, please!”

“Don’t be so embarrassed, tulip.” Henri chimed in from behind his newspaper. “She hasn’t shown him you naked in your first bath at least. Well, not like the young man hasn't seen you naked already.”

“Papa!” Scotty almost shrieked, face turning red.

“Henri! Pour l’amour de Dieu!” For the love of God. Her mother agreed on the boldness her husband just showed. The glare she gave him meant a thousand words. He cleared his throat and adjusted his newspaper, making himself as small as he could in the seat. Ghost was sitting there with a smile spread on his face. It was funny to see them like this. However, a little something caught his attention and the question burned his tongue. It wasn’t the first time he heard them calling her that way. Actually it seemed they were the only ones to do it. He never heard her sister or nephews use it.

“Why do you call her tulip?” He simply asked. There was a small silence. Not the awkward kind. The look Camille gave to her mom silently begged her to not tell the whole story. But the woman had none of it. She waved at her daughter to take a seat because if this man wanted to know the story behind the nickname he would have the whole story.

“It was her first word.”

*****

It has been a long road trip from their town to the Netherlands. Especially with two young kids. Luckily one of them slept almost the entire three hour ride. Gabrielle was getting restless near the end and as soon as the car stopped in the parking lot she was ready to jump out and stretch her legs. She was already working on the seatbelt keeping her restrained. Her mother was quick to tell her to wait till her dad would do it. Suzanne stretched her back, went on the other side of the car and took care of the baby who was slowly waking up from her slumber. 

Anyone would have wondered why a florist who would see flowers on the daily, work with them, arrange bouquets for all occasions five days a week would want to travel such a long distance to see flowers. Simply because Keukenhof had a reputation to have one of the best gardens of many species of plants. Although mainly known for its field of tulips, her favorite. 

It had been awhile since the whole family had been able to do something together, for once that Henri was home, Suzanne appreciated having all her loved ones together. To make it a better day, the sun was shining bright, not a single cloud in the sky. She couldn’t ask for anything better. Little Camille started to wiggle in her seat, smiling as her mother lifted her up and placed her in the scarf. The woman wrapped the rest around and secured the cloth in her back. Her daughter was facing away from her so she could see the world around them. Once everyone was ready, the family headed to the entrance eager to start their walk in the park and see what beauty it had to offer. Gabrielle held both her parents' hands, skipping happily as they walked down the path, already seeing some beautiful composition and arrangement here and there. The mix of different colors was pretty making up for very nice pictures. Henry took a few of them hoping they would turn out good once developed. He was never the best photographer in the family. 

“Mom, when do baby speak? Because all Camille does is…” She imitated the babbling her sister always did. Camille wiggled in the scarf with a small laughter. 

“It depends, but probably soon.” Her mother replied. Suzanne was stroking the baby’s cheek and Camille was more than eager to bite on her finger. Her mother’s reaction made both girls giggle. The family kept walking around till they found themselves in front of a small field of tulips. Suzanne’s favorite. 

Gabrielle went ahead to check on the small pond followed by her father who better keep an eye on her. The wind gently blew in the field, allowing some sensation of cool as the day was getting hotter. For a spring day, it was warmer than expected. Carefully, Suzanne crouched at the flowers level. Gently her fingers brushed on the soft petals. Camille whined a little from the change of position before extending her arms, trying to grab at the flowers. The woman moved her out of the scarf to be more comfortable sitting on her laps. “Carefully sweetie. They are pretty, aren’t they? These are tulips.”

“Too-pip!”

“What?” Suzanne looked at her daughter surprised. Camille repeated the word, hand reaching for the flower. It suddenly hit her that she just spoke her first word! A wide smile grew on her lips and called up her husband, happy to share the news! 

*****

“It’s Henry who then started to call her Tulip afterwards. It became our nickname for her.” Suzanne’s fingers lingered on a picture of a baby Camille sitting with a background of tulip. “Surprisingly, Camille grew to also love these flowers. Alright I think I embarrassed her enough for today.” She closed the album, put it back where it belonged, just in time when her grandkids came to ask if they could go buy some ice cream to the store. Scotty proposed herself and Ghost to take them. It would be nice to take a breath of fresh air, they could easily walk there.

As the two boys walked four steps ahead of them, Ghost leaned closer to her, his hand taking hers. 

“Too-pip uh? That's a good call sign, I like it.” He teased. 

“Don’t you even dare mention this to anyone. This is between you and me, you take this to your grave!”

“As you wish, Too-pip.” Scotty elbowed him hard in the side, but it was worth the laugh.

[nicistrying]

Sunday 29th Sep

Spent all day yesterday at my best friend's house helping out with baby Teddy's bday party. We had a lovely time ❤️

Today I tagged along to take him to Edinburgh zoo! It's been a great day and he really enjoyed it!

[bookishfeylin]

Hi! Hope you're doing alright w/your busy work schedule. Got a book recs question for you, if you're so willing!

So, my cousins' kids are in a Reading Age (preteen-ish) and their parents have been asking my parents/me for book recs for them, largely to try and gently, ah, steer them away from the Wizard T*RF books, which are pretty omnipresent at their schools rn.

I know you typically rec Black Adult/YA, but if you have any recommendations or resources for that age range, I would be immensely grateful to you, Bookish <3

(I sent some of what *I* read when I was that age, but that trip down memory lane made me realize a lot of what I read that age was pretty cishet and v. v. white)

Internet searches keep turning up YA that they're not quite old enough for me to be sending for their birthdays without getting murdered by Auntie Kalyna lmao

Hi!!!!

The very simple solution is that you’re looking at the wrong age group! For preteens you should be looking in middle grade, not YA (young adult), as YA is for 12-18 year olds. My scholastic book fair didn’t have many Black books when I was that age, sadly, hence most of the books I rec being adult or YA, but times have definitely changed. I recommend scouring these two goodreads lists (both of them also contain like to other lists covering previous decades btw!), the first for Black middle grade books of every genre and the latter one for fantasy books in particular:

[wilsweb-asientour]

Tag 8. 11.07.2023

Generationen. Wir standen relativ früh auf, um Wilson (Nics Vater) und Sam (Bruder) Tschüss zu sagen. Kurz daraufhin waren Nic und Webster im Park laufen. Aufgrund der hohen Luftfeuchtigkeit war Webster jedoch auch nach seiner Dusche weiterhin mit Schweiß bedeckt. Als Nächstes aßen wir Frühstück mit PawPaw (Auntie Emily), Nics Großmutter. Es gab Kaya Toast mit weichen Eiern. Wilson schloss sich dem Kaya-Fanklub an, zu Nics Vergnügen, Webster war nicht der größte Befürworter.

Zum Mittagessen ging es ins Intercontinental Hotel, denn Julia lud uns freundlicherweise zum Mittagessen ein. Das Essen war grandios, der absolute Hammer. Insbesondere gefiel uns der Bonito-Fisch, köstlich. Wir unterhielten uns kurz mit dem Koch und liefen dann zur „Arab Street“, die Ecke Singapurs, wo die sogenannten „Malays“ wohnen. Die Sultan-Moschee hatte offen und wir schauten eifrig ins Innere. Danach aßen lokales Eis und liefen zur Formel-1 Zielgerade. Im September findet hier das berühmte Rennen statt und schon jetzt werden Zuschauerbühnen aufgebaut. Wir liefen dann zur Merlion Fontäne, wo Wilson das obligatorische Touristenbild machte, und holten Chicken fürs Abendessen. Es gab ein Schweinefleischgericht, ein filipino Auberginengericht und unsere Chicken Wings, dazu Wein. Julia nahm nach dem Abendessen Abschied und fuhr mit dem Taxi zum Flughafen - es war wirklich ein wunderschöner, unerwarteter und gemeinsamer Aufenthalt in Singapur mit ihr. Danke dafür, dass du unseren trockenen Humor und unsere Albernheit mitgemacht hast! Julia einen guten Weiterflug nach Australien (Auslandssemester) und euch allen eine gute Nacht! Morgen geht es nach Indonesien, sp. nach Bali.

Day 8. July 11, 2023

Generations. We got up relatively early to bid farewell to Wilson (Nic's father) and Sam (brother). Shortly after, Nic and Webster went for a run in the park. Due to the high humidity, Webster was still sweating even after his shower. Next, we had breakfast with PawPaw (Auntie Emily), Nic's grandmother. We had Kaya toast with soft-boiled eggs. Wilson joined the Kaya fan club, much to Nic's delight, but Webster wasn't the biggest advocate.

For lunch, we went to the Intercontinental Hotel because Julia kindly invited us for a meal. The food was fantastic, absolutely amazing. We particularly enjoyed the bonito fish; it was delicious. We briefly chatted with the chef and then walked to "Arab Street," the corner of Singapore where the so-called "Malays" reside. The Sultan Mosque was open, and we eagerly peeked inside. After that, we had local ice cream and walked to the Formula 1 straight. In September, the famous race takes place here, and spectator stands are already being set up. We then walked to the Merlion fountain, where Wilson took the obligatory tourist photo, and we picked up chicken for dinner. There was a pork dish, a Filipino eggplant dish, and our chicken wings, accompanied by wine. Julia bid farewell after dinner and took a taxi to the airport - it truly was a beautiful, unexpected, and memorable stay in Singapore with her. Thank you for enduring our dry humor and silliness! Julia, have a safe onward journey to Australia (study abroad semester), and to all of you, have a good night! Tomorrow, we're heading to Indonesia, specifically Bali.

[kaitidid22]

Fanfic: Peaches (Conrad/Billie)

Summary: Billie takes Gigi for their annual peach picking trip, and Conrad shows up unexpectedly wanting to talk. (Canon-friendly & mention of Conrad/Cade.)

A/N: Don’t get me wrong, I love that we finally have forward momentum in this ship. But I wish we had seen more of Conrad’s feelings, or he and Billie outside the hospital, or at least together with Gigi. 

It’s implied that Billie is super aunty always on call for Gigi Time (and kind of a defacto co-parent, if she’s picking Gigi up from school), which is so sweet and makes complete sense. I kept expecting more scenes of Billie with Gigi throughout season 5 and now 6 but never got them. 

Anyway, I have all these brain worms of what those scenes might have looked like. So, I decided to write a few of them. There’s no point to these little vignettes. Just fun.

Peaches

Billie held open the bag and let Gigi drop a few more peaches into the nearly full canvas.

“We’re going to need another bag,” Gigi said seriously.

Billie patted the coat pocket where she had stowed her extra canvas bags. “I’m all over it,” she promised.

Gigi grinned before turning and darting away again. Billie watched Gigi’s sequined Uggs sparkling in the sunshine, bright hair streaming behind her as she ran down the line of trees.

We should have braided her hair, Billie realized, kicking herself for the amateur mistake.

She made a mental note to take a brush to it before lunch. She was supposed to drop Gigi at home by three, and Billie didn’t want to leave Conrad stuck with detangling the inevitable knots before he put Gigi down for a nap, or took his daughter out for whatever he had planned that evening.  

Billie felt lucky that Conrad had let her take Gigi for such a large chunk of his day off. He was home and usually, if he had nowhere to be or adulting errands to run, he spent all his free time with his daughter.

Billie knew it was irrational, but she didn’t want to give Conrad any reason to pull Gigi back from her relationship with Billie. And she knew he wouldn’t because of a few knots in his daughter’s hair—she knewthat, she really did. But things were different now. He had Cade, and where once there had only been the three of them, now there were four. Billie was the odd man out, and she was still finding her feet in their new dynamic.

Maybe Cade remembers to braid Gigi’s hair, Billie’s brain said in a nasty tone.

And that was stupid and insecure and jealous because she didn’t even think Cade was close enough to Gigi to braid her hair. Conrad had mentioned Cade generally slipped out early in the morning before his daughter was even awake. It had been a point of frustration with him as he tried to integrate Cade more fully into his life.

Billie shook off the maudlin thought, not wanting to ruin her good mood. Today was special. Today was the start of peach season. Bad thoughts weren’t allowed on Peach Day.

Warm spring air pressed against her skin, the Atlanta humidity just beginning to rear its head. The beginning of peach season had been Billie’s favorite growing up. As a little girl, the time in between peach picking days—only one year, less than really—seemed to stretch out in front of her like an infinite highway. She had been just like Gigi: vibrating with excitement as the day grew closer.

That had been before everything. Before the rape. Before the birth. Before Billie and her family moved away, and she lost touch with Nic. Before her mother died and her father grew lost.

Billie knew they were just peaches. They weren’t really a time machine. But, for one day a year—when the tree branches were heavy with ripe fruit, the air was sweet with the smell of peaches, and the sun still a soft, warm kiss and not summer’s molten fury—Billie could remember what that hopeful little girl had felt like.

“Hey.”

Billie spun at the sound of his voice, the heavy bag of peaches swinging back more slowly than her body and whacking her in the knee hard enough that her leg collapsed. Conrad took an involuntary step forward, hands outstretched to catch her, as if afraid she would fall.

She didn’t. Her other leg stayed strong beneath her weight. But she cursed under her breath and reached down to rub her knee. She forced a self-deprecating smile because she was, in all honesty, happy to see him.

“Hi,” she said.

“I didn’t mean to startle you,” Conrad said.

His deep voice was always pitched low, and he rarely raised it to show emotion unless he was excited and happy. It was smoky and smooth, and Billie had to fight the way her stomach twisted at the sound. When it went gravelly, though, it meant he was worried, and she could feel the weight of it in his gaze, too. She had first seen it when he found out about the rape and Trevor—a constant watchful, searching look in his eyes. Like he thought that if he looked away, she might disappear.

Or maybe fall apart, she thought, chastising herself.

It was one of the reasons she so rarely told anyone about what had happened to her. The fear of someone not believing her had never been quite as great as the fear that they would always see her as a victim. Weak. She wasn’t either of those things.

But she hadn’t needed to worry about that with Conrad. The look had faded over the weeks that followed the medical board meeting. He had slowly reverted back to the usual teasing glances and elbow jostling when he thought she was being too serious. Plus, he had been distracted falling for Cade—though Billie hadn’t realized it at the time.

“It’s fine,” she assured him, steadying herself. She ran her eyes over him, looking for clues. “This is a nice surprise.”

A slow smile spread across his face, and he ducked his chin before glancing at her from beneath his lashes. The day she had realized that arrogant, combative Conrad Hawkins could be bashful had been the very last gasp for Billie’s poor, wasted heart.

It was just too much. He was too much. She couldn’t keep him out anymore.

Conrad reached out and gently tugged the bag of peaches out of her hands. His fingers brushed hers and, like the lovesick idiot she was, she cleared her throat to cover a tiny gasp at the contact.

Cade, she reminded herself, shoring up her spine.

As much as Billie hated to think about the what ifs, there was a distinct possibility that Cade was going to be Gigi’s stepmother someday. And Billie needed to remember that.

“I thought you were meeting Devon for lunch,” she said as she turned and began meandering down the line of trees again.

Billie scanned through the orchard for Gigi’s sequined Uggs. She had told Gigi that the one rule of peach picking was that Gigi had to stay in sight of Billie at all times. Gigi was a good kid, so Billie knew she wouldn’t have gotten far.

Finally, she spotted the boots one row over and halfway down the line of trees. Conrad followed as she changed direction.

“I was planning on it,” he said, ducking under a few branches.

When he didn’t elaborate, Billie glanced at him. “Did he get called in?”

As a surgeon, Billie was always on call. It was the nature of the job. With internists and ER doctors, though, the schedule was a bit different. The ER doctors were usually only on-call for night shifts because weekends were generally covered in full at Chastain due to the trauma center load.

She’d had a lot of experience with Conrad’s schedule over the past five years, as well as his rare, vaguely panicked calls asking for her help with Gigi when the sitter wasn’t available. She had never seen Conrad called in for coverage—sometimes for an existing patient, and many times for the Go Team, but never to cover a shift or because the ER was overloaded.

But it could happen, she thought to herself.

“No,” Conrad said, shaking her out of her thoughts.

Okay. The word drew out into a drawl in her mind.

The cagey answers were making her intuition tingle. And she was self-aware enough to admit to herself that if anyone else were sidestepping her like this, she would be irritated for a moment and then dismiss them. Few people she had ever met made her want to spend more than a few minutes in their company. But Conrad was one of them. And she was starting to get worried.

Her eyes narrowed on his profile. The bashful look was back on his face—the one that made her stomach turn somersaults.

“Conrad Hawkins,” Billie said in as teasing a tone as she could manage. “Did you want to pick peaches that badly? So badly that you crashed your own daughter’s peach date?”

He laughed but looked away, and Billie felt her stomach drop. She was close to the truth. She hadn’t hit it yet, but it had something to do with Billie and Gigi’s peach date. It wasn’t that simple. She knew him well enough to know something else was going on.

But she also trusted that he would tell her when he was ready—she just needed to wait him out. So, she pushed the worry aside as best as she could and tried to make him comfortable.

“Peach Day was my favorite growing up,” she said.

“I know.”

Her lips parted in surprise. “How?”

“Gigi told me today at breakfast,” he said. “She was really excited. I think it might be her favorite now, too.”

“She didn’t stop talking about it for weeks when we went last year.”

“Months,” he said, this time with a grin that looked easy on his face. “I swear I still have some of the peaches frozen in the basement.”

“I swear I tried to limit her to two bags, but she’s just so darn cute,” Billie said.

Conrad laughed. “She’s a menace.”

“She’s the best,” Billie said, smiling back at him.

“I can only hope she continues to use her powers for good and not evil.”

A comfortable silence fell between them as they smiled at each other. After a moment, she looked away, eyes finding the sequined boots again among the trees. God she loved this. She loved the days they were all together, when it felt like they were…family.

You’re still family, a voice that sounded disconcertingly like Nic’s said in Billie’s mind.

I know, Billie told her.

“You’re always welcome to join us,” Billie said, staring resolutely at his daughter.

“You sure?” he asked.

And there it was: whatever was bothering him. She could hear it in his tone—to anyone else the words would probably sound light and teasing, but she could hear the real question there, the seriousness he was trying to gloss over. He wasn’t quite ready to reveal the full extent of his fear, but he was reaching out anyway, hoping she would reach back.

And she did because, with him, she would always reach back.

“Of course.” She met his eyes with a smile that she knew was a little too soft and added, “Always.”

His eyes latched onto hers with that sharp searching gaze, capturing her, not letting her go. She told herself to look away, that he was seeing too much. But then he opened his mouth, and her eyes dropped to his lips, leaning forward as if to read the words he was about to speak. Somehow, she knew that whatever came out next was important, and she couldn’t miss a second of it.

“Daddy!”

Billie jerked back, putting distance between her body and Conrad just as Gigi threw herself and an armful of peaches into her dad’s arms. He caught her with the ease of a five-year veteran and straightened to his full height, the peaches safely cradled between their chests.

Gigi demanded a kiss, which her father granted with a grin. Then the little girl leaned her forehead against her father’s, armful of peaches squeezed between them. She stayed there for a moment that was no longer than the span of a breath but that still managed to twist Billie’s heart in chest, and then Gigi wriggled to be let down again.

“Give Aunt Billie your peaches first,” Conrad said. “We don’t want to drop them.”

Gigi turned big eyes towards Billie in a silent plea for help, and Billie pulled the next canvas bag out of her pocket.

“I gotcha, kiddo,” Billie said.

She reached between their bodies and gently tugged the peaches out of Gigi’s vice grip. Father and daughter were pressed close together, and she had to ignore the few times that her fingers brushed against Conrad’s chest.

His shirt, she told herself. Nothing but cotton.

When the peaches were all safely stowed, Conrad set his daughter back down on her feet. Gigi stared up at him as she leaned back against Billie’s legs, hand tangling in Billie’s coat. Billie smiled down at the top of Gigi’s blonde head, love ballooning inside her chest, pressing against her ribs like there wasn’t enough space to contain it in her body. She really had no idea she could love someone so much until Gigi. Until Trevor. She let her hand smooth down some of Gigi’s flyaway hairs, swallowing past the lump in her throat.

Billie looked up again just in time to catch Conrad’s eyes jerking away and back to his daughter.

“What are you doing here?” Gigi asked her father. “Where’s Uncle Devon?”

“Uncle Devon is at home with Aunt Leela,” Conrad said. “You made peach picking sound like so much fun I just had to come and try it myself.”

“It’s so much fun!” Gigi agreed with an excited wiggle that dislodged her from Billie’s coat. “I can show you how to find the best ones. Aunt Billie showed me last year.”

“Did she?” Conrad murmured. He glanced up at Billie through his lashes, a smile toying with his mouth.

Billie shrugged modestly. “A lifetime of practice.”

Gigi practically vibrated with energy in front of them. Billie bit her lip to hide her smile, and Conrad waved his daughter off.

“Go on,” he said. “Your old dad will only slow you down.”

Gigi rolled her eyes. “You’re not old, Daddy,” she said, but the words were called over her shoulder as she ran down the line of trees.

“Yeah, Dad,” Billie said. “You’re not old.”

“I feel old,” he said.

Conrad absently reached a hand up towards a low-hanging peach.

“Not that one,” Billie said.

Conrad looked at her, then glanced up at the peach, hand still hovering in the air. When his eyes met hers again, all humor had drained out of them. “Why not this one?”

The question meant something else to him. The shadow of seriousness had once again settled across his face. Under his scruffy beard, the corners of his mouth were turned down. His eyes had darkened to near black, his forehead had crinkled into crepe.

“It’s not ready yet,” she said quietly, eyes searching his face for any hint of what he was really asking.

At her words, his lips twitched upwards, and crinkles fanned out from the corners of his eyes. “How do you know when it’s ready?” he asked, voice gone gravelly again.

“All the green is gone,” she said, eyes trapped in his again. “And it’s just a little soft when you touch it.”

His hand closed the remaining distance to wrap around the peach and squeeze gently. His lips thinned as he pressed them together, but his eyes lightened to their normal brown.

“You’re right,” he said, eyes laughing now. “Still hard.”

“I told you,” she murmured. “I’m a peach expert.” Then she grinned at him. “That’s okay, though. There are plenty of peaches in the orchard.”

A tiny voice rang out down the line of trees, “Aunt Billie! I need the bag!”

“Coming,” she called back. She looked back at Conrad. “Try the one next to it.”

His eyebrows lifted, but he moved his hand to the next peach. She felt smug when he felt it, and she saw it register on his face. So smug, in fact, that a broad smirk spread across her face.

Something flashed behind his eyes as they met hers. Something that made her stomach dip and her toes tingle. And then he looked away, and her stomach dropped again at the feeling of rejection.

“Yep,” he said. “That’s ready.”

“Told ya,” she said over her shoulder as she walked towards Gigi. “Grab it, and let’s get a move on, Hawkins.”

“Billie.”

She glanced over her shoulder, not willing to give him all of her. But the look on his face had her turning completely back.

“What’s wrong?” she asked.

“We’re ok,” he said. It wasn’t a question.

She blinked. “Yes?” Hers was.

Determination settled over his features. She was used to this expression—had been since their first days as equally arrogant and outspoken interns at Chastain. Back when he had resented her for every breath she took and had to steel himself to even interact with her on the few occasions their patient load overlapped.

But this was a different Conrad, and she was a different Billie, and he was steeling himself for something else now.

“Last week…” He trailed off, hands finding his hips as if to brace himself. “You’ve been avoiding me,” he said instead of finishing whatever he had started about the week before.

“I haven’t,” she said.

And it was true. She had sought him out at work a few times, just wanting a chance to talk, catch up about their lives. She had picked Gigi up from daycare three times that week, and always passed her over to Conrad in the hospital lobby with light conversation and a dash of their usual teasing. Billie had made sure to follow up with him on the nightmares—still nothing new—and the cold he’d had three weeks before. They had talked. She had made sure of it.

He tilted his head, eyes calling her on the sidestep. “Outside of the hospital,” he stressed.

She hesitated. She hadn’t thought he had noticed. She had assumed he was distracted. She looked at the ground, eyebrows coming together as she wondered how to talk around this.

Despite AJ’s insistence that Conrad was in the dark, part of her was sure Conrad knew how she felt about him. He knew her too well not to have seen the change in her. They had come so close to discussing it so many times, always skirting around it with innuendo and metaphors that all amounted to the same thing: Billie wanted, and Conrad didn’t. For a long time, she had thought he was saying Not yet. But the night of Kit and Randolph’s engagement party, she had realized he had been saying You’re not the one.

Thoughts swirled through her mind. Possible answers presented themselves and then dissolved just as quickly. She was left with the truth—at least part of it. They talked about everything. They could talk about this.

“Touché,” she finally murmured. She sighed and turned to walk again. “I’m not avoiding you,” she said.

“Billie—” he started to say, with the infinite patience he had developed after becoming a father. Or maybe it had been before that, and Billie just wasn’t allowed to see that softness in him until he began letting her share Gigi.

“I’m not,” she stressed. “I just don’t know how to do this yet.”

“Do what?” he asked, voice a gentle murmur.

“You with a girlfriend,” she said.

Too close, a voice in her mind chided her. Too close to the truth.

He let out an awkward laugh. She rushed on so that she wouldn’t need to hear his response.

“It’s always been the three of us,” she said, gesturing at his daughter down the row of trees. “You, me, and Gigi.”

Gigi had lost interest in waiting for Billie to show up with the bag and was currently trying stuff a peach in the tiny pocket of her jean jacket. The little girl was going to be a sticky mess, and Billie felt a surge of affection—and gratitude that she had remembered to stash baby wipes in her glove box.

“Holidays,” Billie said. “Weekends. Movies and zoos and museums. We’ve always done it together, been together.”

“Right,” he said. “And Gigi loves that.”

“So do I,” Billie said.

“So do I,” he stressed.

On the surface, his deep voice was teasing, happy. But she could hear his confusion and frustration, too, and she stopped walking to face him.

“Conrad, it’s different now,” Billie said.

Is that too close to the truth? she wondered. But it was too late now. The words were floating between them, and the searching look was back on his face.

“Why is it different?” he asked.

“Conrad—”

“It’s not different,” he said, sidling closer to her. “Billie, you’re family.”

He moved slowly, as if scared she would shy away like a horse. And, for a moment, she hated how well he knew her. She did want to take a step back and away, use that distance as a buffer between her very bruised heart and this very sweet man. But he was being so vulnerable, and she knew it had to have been hard for him to bring this up. So, she steeled herself, too.

“I know,” she said. “You’re my family, too. But Cade deserves a chance to build a relationship with Gigi. And, if you think highly enough of her to bring her into Gigi’s life, then Gigi deserves that chance, too.”

Conrad’s mouth worked for a moment, as if this was the very last thing he had expected her to say. “And you think that can’t happen if we’re spending time together?”

Too close, she thought.

“I think us spending time together muddies things,” she said. She dropped her poker face and sighed, letting her own confusion be visible to him. “Don’t you think it does?”

He hesitated, appearing to struggle with something. She gave him almost a full minute, but no words left his mouth. She sighed again.

“I don’t know, Conrad. That’s what I meant when I said I don’t know how to do this yet.”

“You think I do?” he asked with a laugh. “This is weird as hell.”

She couldn’t help it—she burst into laughter. Delight lit up his face as he watched her.

“Are we as much of a mess as we feel?” Billie asked, turning to walk again.

“I think we have everyone else fooled,” he assured her. After a moment, he asked, “You feel like a mess?”

“Only about ninety-five percent of the time.”

“I never would have guessed.”

She shrugged, and a comfortable silence settled between them again. When they had wandered close enough, Gigi ran over, threw her armful of peaches in the bag, and ran off again without a word.

“Look,” Conrad said, voice barely more than a murmur. “Maybe you’re right. Maybe having you and me and Gigi spend time together while she gets to know Cade isn’t the right move. Thank you for thinking of it. I should have.”

She nodded. She hadn’t realized until this moment that she had been hoping he would argue with her. Hoping he would tell her that he couldn’t do that, that their time together with Gigi meant too much to him. Hoping he would tell her he had been wrong to choose Cade.

Stop it, her brain ordered.

“But Billie…” He paused to take a deep breath. “You’re her favorite person.”

She knew what he was saying and suddenly understood what his real worry was. “I will always be there for Gigi,” she assured him. “And she knows that.”

Relief eased his brow. “She does, right?”

Billie let herself press closer into him, wrapping her fingers around his forearm and squeezing gently. “She does.”

“Can we just figure it out together?”

Startled, her head jerked in response. Not a nod, but not a head shake either. Not a yes, and not a no. Just confusion.

“You’ve helped me figure out all this parenting stuff,” he said, a wry grin toying with his mouth and crinkling his eyes. “You can’t abandon me now.”

Her fingers tightened on his skin. “Never.” She tried to make the word light-hearted, but her breath caught in her throat.

“I thought…” He trailed off with a nervous laugh. He’d been laughing that way a lot recently.

“You thought what?” she asked, curious.

“That you were avoiding me.”

He was obfuscating again. That wasn’t what he had been about to say. But she didn’t call him on it.

“So you said. Why would you think that?”

“Because… you were avoiding me?” he asked.

She shoved lightly against his shoulder. “I just told you I wasn’t.”

“But it looked that way,” he said, slightly defensive.

“You’re my best friend, Conrad,” she said. “I’m never going to avoid you.”

It was the first time she had said the words to him—“best friend.” The second time she had said it out loud to anyone, actually.

“You’re my best friend, too,” he said, blowing past it and not catching how much the words meant to her. “Which is why I was in a panic and trying to figure out a way to fix this.”

“Is that what today’s surprise visit was about?” she asked him, glancing sideways at his profile.

He didn’t look at her. But she could see his lips twitch under his scruffy beard. “Maybe I wanted you to remember how much fun we have.”

Her heart skipped a beat. “We do,” she agreed. “Always.”

“Good.” He cleared his throat. “So, where are we going for lunch?”

“Oh, you’re joining for lunch now, too?”

“You’re going to make me haul seven tons of peaches around and not feed me?” he asked, eyes wide in shock. “Monster.”

She swallowed her giggle. “Fair point. I was planning to take Gigi to Cierra’s.”

“Barbecue,” Conrad said, genuine surprise on his face.

Billie rolled her eyes. “I’m not all tea sandwiches and white linen tablecloths.”

“Who are you, and what have you done with Billie Sutton?”

She bumped her shoulder into his.

“Kidding,” Conrad murmured. “I wonder if we can get Gigi to sweet talk Cierra into grilling up some of our peaches.”

Billie drew in a quiet breath and slipped her arm through his elbow. “Yes. You’re brilliant. Grilled peaches are my favorite.”

“Yeah,” he said in a low rumble. His eyes were light and happy and affectionate. “I know.”

[marcmarcmomarc]

Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse

Cast

Shameik Moore as Miles Morales

Hailee Steinfeld as Gwen Stacy

Oscar Isaac as Miguel O’Hara

Mahershala Ali as Uncle Aaron

Brian Tyree Henry as Jefferson Davis

Luna Lauren Vélez as Rio Morales

Jharrel Jerome as Miles G. Morales

Jason Schwartzman as Spot

Jake Johnson as Peter B. Parker

John Mulaney as Spider-Ham

Kimiko Glenn as Peni Parker

Nicolas Cage as Spider-Man Noir

Issa Rae as Jessica Drew

Daniel Kaluuya as Hobie Brown

Karan Soni as Pavitr Prabhakar

Amandla Stenberg as Margo Kess

Masi Oka as Takuya Yamashiro

Shea Whigham as George Stacy

Greta Lee as LYLA

Lily Tomlin as Aunt May

Andy Samberg as Ben Reilly

Pedro Pascal as Otto Octavius

Marc Maron as Adrian Toomes

Liam Neeson as MacDonald Gargan

Bobby Cannavale as Aleksei Sytsevich

Mark Hamill as Maxwell Dillon

Keanu Reeves as Flint Marko

Melissa Sturm as Mary Jane

Michelle Ruff as Mayday

Kathryn Hahn as Doc Ock

Liev Schreiber as Wilson Fisk

Peter Sohn as Ganke

Rachel Dratch as Ms. Weber

Natalie Morales as Miss Calleros

Ziggy Marley as Lenny

Erick Avari as Inspector Singh

Priyanka Chopra as Gayatri

Elizabeth Perkins as May

Atsuko Okatsuka as Yuri

Jack Quaid as Peter Parker

Freida Pinto as Maya Auntie

J.K. Simmons as J. Jonah Jameson

Zoë Kravitz as Mary Jane Watson-Parker

Edwin H. Bravo as C. Salas (Visions Academy Guard)

Lorraine Vélez as Maria

Ayo Edeberi as Glory

Nicole Delaney as MJ

Antonina Lentini as Betty

Anthony Ramos as Benny

Chris Pine as Spider-Man

Marvin Jones III as Tombstone

Joaquín Cosio as Scorpion

Jorma Taccone as Adriano Tumino / ‘67

Jorge Gutiérrez as Officer Gutierrez

Donald Glover as Aaron Davis

Stan Lee as Stan

Lake Bell as Vanessa Fisk

Kim Yarbough as Alchemax Scientist

Nic Novicki as LEGO Spider-Man

Sofia Barclay as Malala Windsor

Taran Killam as Web-Slinger

Danielle Perez as Charlotte Webber

Michael Rianda as Max Borne / Ezekiel Sims / Spider-Man Patient

Leland “Metro Boomin” Wayne as Metro Spider-Man

Yuri Lowenthal as Insomniac Spider-Man

Josh Keaton as Spectacular Spider-Man

Rino Romano as Spider-Man Unlimited

Grey DeLisle as Spinneret

Meg Turney as Annie-May Parker

Paola Andino as Anya Corazón

Ryan O’Flanagan as Tarantula

Lauren Ash as Cyborg Spider-Woman

Daran Norris as Spidercide

Tara Strong as Spider-Canada

Jess Harnell as Officer Parker

Robbie Daymond as Ultimate Spider-Man

Post Malone as Brooklyn Bystander

[thecount03]

I don't know what Fang and Trip's relationship is exactly in my Fang the dad au atm just that they're on good terms

But Nicki calls Trip mum one day and both Trip and Fang just freeze up

Because Trip was at this point used to Nicki calling her Auntie Trip

Either way, despite their relationship with each other, Trip and Fang are this kid's parents

Fang also just knows Nic is probably teasing him from the afterlife

Also fyi when Nicki does this she's around ten so Trip is like 35 and Fang is in his 40s I can't remember the exact age I gave him in the initial post but either way both of them are grown adults here

But yes it does make them wonder what the hell they are to each other because they've been living together raising Nicki for ten years