#chantel's reading notes

[thingsreadinthedark]

Checking In

Hey - it’s been a minute. Life has been busy as hell.

At the inspiration of a friend… I bought myself a new kindle, and I’m seeing that it’s the wave rn.

It’s interesting interfacing with new tech because I’m such a staunch iPhone/mobile/app-reader that I’ve conditioned myself to read in a certain way, with a certain layout, at a certain brightness and at a certain speed on my device. All of that, with this kindle, and more has been upended.

I’m having fun with the kindle and feel like I may reduce the amount of books in my home which frees up counter and shelf space.

Anyway, how’s things?

I’m currently realizing that I’m not going to make my GR book self-challenge this year and honestly, I’m good with that. Life is life-ing and time ain’t what it used to be - even I always try to grasp my free time with both hands. ALSO, we still have like 5 months of the year so I’m hopeful things will always improve, but I’m also alright if it stays right where it is!

Currently reading:

Big Machine by Victor LaValle on the Kindle — it’s dope. I started reading this book A LONG TIME AGO but then in typical cnx fashion, I forgot about it. I started it over and am remembering why I enjoyed it the first time around. I love LaValle’s writing style. No, I haven’t read The Changeling.. but Lone Women was great.

Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett - still! I’m picking away at it and nope I won’t let it go. I love the story so far. It’s calming to read even tho there’s so much DRAMA in Kingsbridge Priory.

The Same River Twice by Alice Walker — this is a niche work. I love niche works because it allows super fans to dig deep. It’s the equivalent of a rare find when crate digging and I’m so glad that my mind told me: Chantel, buy this book when I was in a BMV in Downtown Toronto. Best $7 bucks I ever spent so far and learning about the process of creation, the emotional turmoil and the fight to right oneself after being dragged for absolutely no reason. I’m feeling all the feelings with mother Alice Walker and I’m feeling like Salamishah Tillet right now.

Anyway, you know I’m always reading a whole lot more.. checking out some magazines and newspapers and AVSI’s. Blog visitors might see some random posts that are literally just interesting tidbits, as usual, from the daily reading. I just felt like I haven’t touched base in a minute. So I wanted to wake this shit up! 👋🏽🙋🏾‍♀️😊

- Chantel

[fleckficgirl]

Heartthrob | Arthur Fleck x reader 💗 CHAPTER 10

Summary: Attempting to conceal her checkered past, a young dancer in Gotham (Y/N) lands a job at Ha-Ha’s and finds herself increasingly drawn to a shy, lonely clown named Arthur Fleck.

Warnings: This chapter contains mugging, memory loss, traumatic brain injury. This fic as a whole contains sex, language, violence, mental illness.

Word Count: 3164

Chapter List: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9

Author’s Note: I’m back! Obviously, it took me sooo long to figure out how to write this next chapter, but I finally got it together. I really appreciate your patience in the meantime & hope you enjoy reading it. The plan is to post more regularly soon (Chapter 11 is almost done).

“Makeup is an art,” Chantelle and Tina had explained to you the night before. “Think of your face as a canvas.”

Despite all their well-intentioned beauty coaching, the cold, hard truth was you still had no idea what the hell you were doing - you couldn’t even keep the differences between moisturizer, foundation and concealer straight in your brain. And after twenty minutes of attempting to “paint” your face like the natural-born Rembrandt they were convinced you were, you’d stared back at your reflection in the mirror and decided you looked like a clown…and not in a sexy-Arthur-Fleck kinda way.  

Exasperated, you’d washed everything off, opting instead for a tiny bit of mascara, lip gloss and powder.

But then there was the issue of your hair. You’d burned your fingers on Tina’s flat iron before managing to get things somewhat under control. But as soon as you stepped out onto the street the rain began to fall, causing your already-unruly mane to frizz up completely by the time you reached the subway.

Chantelle’s handpicked outfit, however, remained the only unblemished element of tonight's ensemble: her tight-fitting angora sweater did things for your non-existent cleavage you’d never imagined possible. You’d be sure to thank her profusely later…even though she thought you were going out with someone else tonight.

You’d never cared how you looked in front of a guy before…but Arthur Fleck wasn’t just a guy. To say he’d gotten under your skin was, perhaps, the understatement of your life: you were becoming crazy about the man.

You didn't know how you were going to survive this date. You could barely hold it together in Arthur’s presence without wanting to reach out and smother him with affection, and the kiss between you earlier today had only solidified your deepest desires. You wanted Arthur in so many ways…ways you didn’t even understand yet. It reminded you of the first time you’d ever rode the Giant Dipper at Amusement Mile: the sensation of your stomach flying up into your throat as you went over that first terrifying drop…a disconcerting mix of fear and exhilaration. Was this what being in love felt like?

***

The bouncer at Pogo’s frowned as you handed him your ID.

“Are you…um…are you alright, miss?” he asked, concern in his eyes.

You were thrown off by the question. “Of course. Why?”

“Don’t take this the wrong way, but…have you looked in a mirror recently?”

You shook your head. The jerk was actually making fun of how bad your hair and makeup had turned out. People in this city really didn’t know how to act.

“Wow, you’re hilarious,” you rolled your eyes at him, snatching back your ID. “Can I please go inside now? My friend’s about to go on.”

You pushed past the rude bouncer and entered the club, scanning the room feverishly for an empty seat. Spotting one parallel to the center of the stage, your eyes lit up and you rushed over to claim it. As you sat down, a strange chill ran up your spine as you slowly began to realize: everyone was staring at you. Faces of concern and mockery swam around you, and you weren’t sure why.

Oh shit, you thought. Do I have something on my face?

Unfortunately, you hadn’t brought a compact mirror (Tina and Chantelle had given you a five minute lecture on the importance of always carrying on in your purse), so you couldn’t check. And you couldn’t get up to go to the bathroom because then you’d lose your seat. You shifted uncomfortably in your chair, then glanced at your watch and saw the glass was cracked.

Weird. You hadn’t remembered smashing it against anything on the way over.

Your concerns about your appearance, however, were quickly dissolved as the current act wrapped and the emcee took the mic.

“This next comic describes himself as a lifelong Gotham resident who from a young age was told that ‘his purpose in life was to bring laughter and joy into this cold, dark world.’ Umm. Okay? Please help me welcome Arthur Fleck!”

You applauded along with the rest of the half-faded crowd as relief washed over you. Thank God you hadn’t missed him. As Arthur took the stage, your heart began to throb again. There were simply simply no words to describe how incredible he looked tonight. His red vest. The crisp, white button-down shirt underneath it. The matching slacks.

And his hair. His hair.

You were certain his hair was going to be the death of you. How was it possible that you and that gorgeous hair inhabited the same planet without the entire world imploding?

Arthur squinted out at the crowd before speaking. You knew he was searching for you, needing to see you in the audience, needing to know you were there for him. And you were. When the two of you locked eyes, he smiled. You smiled back at him and everything else fell away. It was you and Arthur again. And nothing else in this cold, dark world mattered.

You didn’t care that Arthur had a laughing episode at the beginning of his act. You didn’t care that basically all his jokes fell flat, either. You didn’t care about any of that. All you cared about was how proud you were of him. So proud, you felt like you could burst into a million pieces.

When he finished his set, you leapt to your feet, clapping and screaming. Arthur blushed from the stage, embarrassed…and pleased. Everyone was staring at you, then back at Arthur, then back at you in dazed confusion. Two weirdo peas in a pod…and proud.

“We’re gonna take a short break,” the emcee announced.

A moment later, you and Arthur found each other at the back of the club.

“You were amazing, Arthur!” you exclaimed as you threw your arms around him.

“I'm so glad you came tonight…” he hummed into your ear. Of course, your depraved mind twisted the meaning of those two words in your head, and you found yourself having to stifle a blushing smile. You felt your body quaver with excitement at being next to him once again.

“Wait a minute…” Arthur pulled back to look at you, shock and concern flooding his face.

“Y/N, what…what happened to you?”

You blinked. “What? Nothing happened to me.”

“You’re…you’re hurt.” Arthur looked you up and down, then lifted your hands to eye-level. Bruises in the shape of what looked like fingers and fingertips lined the insides of your wrists. You frowned at the sight, utterly confused.

“Y/N, who…who did this to you?”

“I’m fine!” you insisted. “I mean…I have a slight headache, but, y’know,  it’s probably just the rain.”  

“Y/N, look at me. Tell me what happened. Can you remember?”

It took a minute for your brain to register Arthur’s question, which you realized was a little strange.

“Well,” you inhaled, trying hard to formulate your thoughts. “I got on the subway…I know that. And I took it all the way to…well, whatever this stop was near here, you know? And then I got off the train and went up the stairs…and then…” you looked up into Arthur’s beautiful eyes. “And then I was here. Watching you perform for the very first time. And I’m so proud of you, Arthur!” you squealed as if you’d seen him for the first time tonight all over again.

“You don’t remember anything else? You must have hit your head.”

“I'm fine!”

“Y/N,” Arthur’s worried eyes blinked at you. “I don’t think you are. I think I need to take you to the hospital.”

“But it’s our big date!” you wailed. “I got all dressed up and everything!”

At that moment, a few Wall Street bro types brushed past and snickered at Arthur.

“Nice set, freak. In case you didn’t get the memo: you’re supposed to tell the jokes and the audience is supposed to laugh…not the other way around.”

"He has a laughing condition, you assholes!" you snarled at them without hesitation.

To everyone’s surprise, the bros paused, thrown off by the fact you’d called them out.

“Sorry…” Arthur interjected, glancing at the dudes apologetically. “She’s…she’s not feeling well.”

Arthur shot you a desperate please-shut-your-mouth-before-you-get-us-both-killed look, but you could see there was a tiny, triumphant smile curling up his lips underneath it. Still, the words were flying out of your mouth and there wasn’t much you could do to stop them.

“Yeah, I’m not feeling well,” you continued loudly, glowering at them. “Maybe if assholes would shut their fat faces and stop acting ignorant, I’d feel better.”

“Okay, you’re coming with me now!” Arthur wrapped his arm around your shoulders and scooted you towards the door. You looked over your shoulder to see them staring after you, dumbfounded. The sight of it made you laugh.

“Y/N,” Arthur pulled you into him as soon as you were outside. “I’m taking you to Gotham Hospital. We’ve gotta get you checked out.”

“No, Arthur!” you protested. You didn’t exactly know why you were so opposed to the idea, but your first instinct was to protest.

“I’m worried about you,” he emphasized.

“I’m fine!”

“Y/N, please. Please? Just do it for me. Just so I know you’re okay.”

“Okay.”

You’d switched it up so quickly, Arthur blinked in disbelief. He cleared his throat, nodding.

“Uh…okay. Good. Let’s go.”

**

“This is not where I expected to end up tonight,” you lamented. Arthur sat next to you, a clipboard given to him by the nurse at the front desk in his lap. He was trying to fill out your paperwork for you.

“Um. Your last name is…L/N right?”

“Yeah” You smiled at him. “How’d you know?”

Arthur blushed. “I…might have looked at your timecard. I was…curious about you. This was before…you know…we became...closer.”

“That’s so sweet! I looked at your timecard, too!”

Arthur stifled a laugh. “What’s your date of birth?”

He patiently wrote in all the answers and brought the completed forms back up to the desk.

“I’m surprised there aren’t more people here,” you observed, looking around at the handful of other patients. “It is a Friday night, after all.”

“It’s only ten o’clock,” Arthur reasoned. “My guess is things get crazier out there in a couple hours or so.”

“I feel like things are flying out of my mouth tonight without any filter,” you blurted. “And I’m not even that angry.”

“I feel like they are, too,” Arthur agreed. “But, that’s okay. I’m glad you agreed to come here. I’m…I’m still worried about you.”  

You narrowed your eyes at him, leaning in. “Can I ask you a personal question?”

Arthur looked a little startled, but he nodded.

“How do you get your hair to look so good all the time?”

Arthur’s eyebrows arched and he laughed.

“I'm serious!”

“No…I'm sorry,” he demurred, looking down at the tile floor. “It's just that nobody’s ever said that to me before.”

“Nobody ever said your hair looks incredible?” you asked. “Like it's the most gorgeous hair in the world? Nobody ever approached you to do shampoo commercials?”

“Maybe that's my true calling,” he joked.

“What shampoo do you use?”

"That's a personal question," Arthur teased as the door to the back of the ER swung open.

“L/N? F/N L/N?” the nurse called out.

You leapt to your feet. “Oh! That’s me.”

“Do you want me to wait here?” Arthur asked.

“Are you kidding?” You extended your hand and pulled him up. “Of course I want you to come. You’re my emotional support clown.”

**

After weighing you, taking your blood pressure, asking if you had any allergies to any medications and all the other boring details that entailed a medical visit, the nurse set you up in an examination room and read through your paperwork, pursing her lips as she centered in on the handwritten scrawl (Arthur’s handwriting of course) that explained why you’d come to the ER in the first place.

“It says here you…think you hit your head?”

“He thinks I hit my head,” you clarified, jerking said head towards Arthur. “I’m still not sure. There’s a big gap in my memory from tonight and I don’t know why.”

“There are bruises on her arms,” Arthur added. “She came to meet me and she looked…disheveled. Like someone had…”

He paused. The nurse looked you up and down.

“You don’t remember what happened to cause the bruises?”

You shrugged. “I can be clumsy sometimes.”

“You’re not…that clumsy,” Arthur murmured under his breath. “I mean,” he looked up at the nurse. “She’s a dancer. She’s…one of the most graceful people I’ve ever seen.”

“Arthur, that is so sweet!” you exclaimed.

The nurse shot you both a skeptical look, then smiled. “Your husband obviously cares for you a great deal.”

“Oh,” Arthur blushed. “I’m…not her-”

“Yes, he’s a wonderful husband!” you interjected, flashing him a slightly maniacal smile. “So protective of me. I couldn’t ask for a better one.”

“It sounds like you might have taken a fall,” the nurse continued, jotting down a few notes on your chart. “But the bruises on your wrists do look like they were caused by someone else’s hands.”

“My watch is broken, too,” you blurted.

“I’m wondering if maybe you were mugged. It happens to women in Gotham all the time, unfortunately.”

“But I still have all my money,” you pointed out, opening up your purse to show off your untouched wallet.

“Maybe you fought them off,” Arthur suggested. It wasn’t a completely outlandish notion. You were known to bring out the feistiness if the wrong people pushed your buttons.

“In any case, we’ll run some tests to check for concussion and other injuries.”

The nurse opened a drawer and handed you a light blue paper robe. “You can put this on. I’ll inform the doctor and he’ll check you over.”

“Thank you,” Arthur said.

“Of course. He should be by in just a minute.”

“What a nice lady,” you said to Arthur after she left you alone. “Don’t always meet people like that around here.”

“Very nice,” Arthur agreed. He cleared his throat. “Um…do you want me to leave, or…turn around while you get changed?”

You blinked, the reality of everything that had happened tonight finally hitting you.

“I just can’t believe this is how tonight turned out.”

“What do you mean?” Arthur asked softly.

“I had a whole outfit planned, Arthur! And my hair and makeup. I wanted to impress you and look beautiful for you tonight.”

“Y/N…” Arthur stood up to face you. “You are beautiful. No matter what. All I care about is that you’re okay.”

You sighed, moved by his sweet words, but you still felt utterly crestfallen and defeated. “I ruined our first date. And your big stand-up debut. I wanted tonight to be perfect so bad…”

“You didn’t ruin it,” Arthur interrupted. “I…” he paused. “Of course I wish none of this had happened to you. This city is…awful. In so many ways.” He paused, taking your hand into his. “But…I just love being with you. It doesn’t matter what we’re doing, as long as we’re together.”

You wanted to kiss him again, but suddenly the door flew open and a man in a white coat suddenly stood before you both.

“I hear somebody got banged up tonight.”

**

Dr. White’s bedside manner was on the complete other end of the spectrum of your nice nurse’s from a few minutes before, but you’d come to expect that from men with MDs. After performing the perfunctory tests of shining a light in your eyes, examining your body for additional trauma or bruising (none was found) and asking you a few routine questions, he announced his evaluation:

“My guess is you got mugged. Maybe the muggers chickened out before they could actually…you know…mug you. It does look like you’ve got a concussion.”

“What can you do for that?”Arthur asked, concerned.

The doctor snorted at what he obviously deemed a dumb question. “Not much. Just wait it out. Don’t go to sleep for a while.”

“What happens if I fall asleep?” you asked.

“You could die.”

“Oh.”

“Your brain’ll heal itself,” the doctor continued. “Might take a little time. Just try to take it easy and don’t be in places where this could happen to you again.”

“You mean the entire city?” you asked, raising an annoyed eyebrow at him. You knew what he meant, but the slight insinuation that getting mugged was somehow your fault didn’t sit great with you.

“What can I say?” Dr. White shook his head and shrugged. “Welcome to Gotham.”

“I’ve lived here all my life,” you informed him dryly. “Gotham’s a jungle.”

“Then welcome to the jungle.”

**

“Are you hungry?” Arthur asked in the lobby of the hospital. It was past midnight. “There’s a diner down the street people seem to like.” He paused. “That is…if it’s not too late for you.”

The way you saw it, you’d stay up all night with Arthur if he’d have you.

“Let’s go to the diner. I could really go for a cheeseburger."

Arthur laughed. “Okay.”

The rain had stopped and the air outside felt crisp and freshly-washed. For a brief moment, it made you forget that the garbage strike in Gotham had just entered its seventh week.

You and Arthur moved through the crowded sidewalk together, stumbling through the endless obstacles of people and garbage. A startling headline caught your eye as you walked past a newsstand, and you stopped in your tracks to read it:  

KILLER CLOWN ON THE LOOSE. LATEST NEWS ON THE MURDERS, PAGE TWO.

Beneath was a drawing of a vampiric clown.

“Can you believe that?” you asked.

Arthur paused alongside you, his eyes wide as he soaked in the headline.

“I watched this on the news last night."

Arthur nodded, pulling out and lighting a cigarette. “They worked at Wayne Enterprises. All three of them.”

You rolled your eyes. “That figures.”

Arthur cocked his head to one side. “What do you mean?”

You continued, lowering your voice. “Between you and me, I actually knew one of them. Back when I was still at college. He was a complete asshole, and that’s putting it nicely.” You sighed. “And if I had to guess, those ‘friends’ of his were cut from the exact same cloth. But it looks like he finally picked the wrong person to fuck with. And I can’t say I’m shedding any tears.”

Arthur nodded slowly, taking in your words.

“I’m sorry,” you stopped yourself. “You must think I’m crazy for talking like this.”

“No,” he shook his head. “I don’t think you’re crazy at all.”

“Three less pricks in Gotham City,” you quipped. “Only a million more to go!”

Arthur threw back his head and laughed. You took it as a good sign: despite the traumatic brain injury and the chaotic night you’d shared, his smile still made you go weak at the knees.

🤍🩷 Thanks for reading. Visit my Masterlist for all my Fleck writing, including future chapters of Heartthrob.

💕💕 If you enjoy my writing and find it valuable, please consider leaving a tip to support my work. Thank you! @ghastella xx 💕💕

[therealtruealiyah]

NOVA - the enlivening

Raine stirred slightly, engulfed in her Egyptian cottoned white blanket on her extra wide bed. She reached to the other side of her bed only to find it empty and cold like before. Raine blinked sleep out of her eyes as she realized her predicament. She was all alone — and what's worse... Nova was gone.

Raine sat upright in her bed and threw her face into her hands.

"God, I'm so stupid!" She exclaimed to herself. After a few minutes of attempting to compose herself, Raine got out of bed and began making it.

Back to business as usual. She thought, fluffing the final pillow in her set. Just then, a note on her nightstand caught her eye. With wide, hopeful eyes, she lunged for it and began reading.

Raine sat on the edge of her bed holding the note to her chest. There were a lot of emotions rushing through her at once. Some were strong and definite and the others, she couldn't quite gauge. One thing was for sure, though... Nova had completely changed Raine's life. She knew that she’d never be able to carry on without her and she was perfectly ok with that.

________________________________________________

Raine had it bad. Every time she heard the front door's bell, she rushed into view of it to see if it were Nova. But it never was and that royally fucked her up.

"Welcome to The Ridge." She would greet the strangers in monotone with zero percent of enthusiasm. This was unlike Raine. Before yesterday, she was the most energetic, upbeat person that Mr. And Mrs. Ridgemore has ever placed upon their payroll. They were damn proud of it, too, as they named her employee of the month for eight months in a row.

"What's going on with you today, Rai?" Raine's co-worker and good friend, Chantel Moore nudged her gently in the side, halfway snapping Raine out of her funk.

"I just... got a lot on my mind." Raine mumbled, busying herself by refolding the same display of polo shirts for the third time today.

"I see that. You've been folding these shirts for half an hour now." Chantel joked. "Tell me what's going on."

"Okay, but you have to promise not to judge me." Raine turned to her friend with pleading eyes.

"I promise I won't judge you. I'm here to support you." She placed her right hand over her heart and lifted her left hand up to the gods as a symbol of trust and truth.

"So, last night, while I'm cleaning and getting ready to head out, I hear someone enter the shop and immediately I'm like shit, I didn't lock the door. I walk up and, I shit you not, the most..." Raine sighed with heavy adoration, "gorgeous being I have ever seen is standing within 15 feet of me."

"So, naturally, you froze." Chantel chimed in.

"I froze, Chantel. She was so tall and beautiful and intimidating!"

"And that turned you on."

"Ugh! You cannot begin to comprehend how turned on I was! And I felt so wrong about it because I didn't know this woman and I was already feeling all of these— things."

"Naughty things?" Chantel cocked a playful eyebrow and leaned closer, invested.

"We went to Luigi's and had an absolute blast! But then, we went back to my place..." Raine trailed off, looking at Chantel expectantly. Immediately, Chantel's jaw dropped, her mouth forming into a smile.

"You didn't!" She hit Raine gently on the arm.

"It was the most amazing night ever. Nothing I have ever experienced can compare to the way she made me feel."

"Ohhh! So that's why you've been pouting at the door every time it opened! You've got the fever!" Chantel teased.

"Oh, come on, I do not have the fever." Raine lied. She knew she had it and she had it bad. She needed more of Nova.

More of her touch.

More of her kiss.

More of her everything.

Raine was obsessed with the sublime magical beast she had only met less than twenty-four hours ago. She craved more.

_________________________________________________

Later that night, when Chantel and her other coworkers went home and the store was now closed, there Raine remained with the front door unlocked hoping that she'd walk through it once again.

It was now fifteen minutes past 9, an hour fifteen past closing, and Raine was just about ready to call it quits. With a heavy, disappointed sigh, Raine cut off the lights and made for the exit. Then is when it happened... the door swung open. Raine's heart picked up speed, for the door seemed have been swinging in slow motion. The world around her warped to a blurring halt as the person opening the door came into view.

"Hello, my love." Nova grinned. "Have you missed me?"

There she was. Her hopes, her anticipation, her super Nova— In the flesh.

[embracedthevoid]

Soooo, I wrote a quick valentines day thing. Fair warning in typical Chantel fashion it doesn't end particularly happy, but only because I wanted to keep things in canon! So it's more like an unofficial 'missing moment' of sorts.

Full credit for the poem and fic title goes to Nella's talented and lovely brain.

Before the Valentine's ball, Wilhelm leaves Simon a note in his locker.

Read on ao3

Hope you guys enjoyyy.

[thatpunkmaximoff]

[Book Five of..]

Story: 5 out of 5 Smut: 2.5 out of 5

Wow. This priest/stripper story is the best I’ve ever read. And that’s something I never thought I’d say lol.

The forbidden aspect between these two, and the angst and drama will definitely keep you coming back for more.

Amaya’s definitely had a hard life, all thanks to her jealous mother that abandons them. She ends up having to pay her mother’s debt to Parker… and let’s just say that you’re gonna wish a thousand bad things to happen to Parker and her mother. Serious bad things.

And then there’s Father Cade who’s not quite the normal priest. Seriously, his darkness is off the charts, but he’s someone you’ll be pulling for no matter what.

I did not see how this was going to have a happy ending, but leave it to Emily McIntire to figure it out. Though I was nervous about how this could possibly end on a good note, I couldn’t be happier about how all the loose ends were tied up.

* Damn. We kick off the book with Father Cade murdering someone. I like this man already 😂

* Amaya’s mom Chantelle is a total bitch for ditching the way she did. And the mom’s bf Parker would sell her? But since she dipped, Amaya has to take her place? wtf! I hope Cade kills him.

* Deh. Pissing contest between Father Cade and Parker. I love it. Put his little bitch ass where he belongs.

* Fuck. Parker raped Amaya? Oh hell no. Cade really does need to kill him.

* Damn. Father Cade is super horny for Amaya, but he thinks her a demon and it’s his job to snuff out demons 😬

* I fucking loathe Parker.

* Oh fuck. Sister Genevieve is Amaya’s mother, isn’t she? Bitch is hiding out as a nun.

* Wow. Chantelle (Amaya’s mom) and Florence (Parker’s side piece) are fucking cunts. They rather hate Amaya for his fixation on her rather than hate the man who’s stringing them along 🤦🏻‍♀️ And then Chantelle fled in the middle of the night? What a bitch. I hope Amaya finds her and makes her pay for all the shit she’s been put through.

* Father Cade sticking up for Quinten (Amaya’s little brother) makes me so happy. Now Cade just needs to get over the obsession of wanting to kill Amaya 😂

* “Leave it to me to finally have sexual attraction to a man who’s so off limits, he’s a one way ticket to hell.”

* Damn. Cade killed the guy who tried assaulting Amaya in the alley. That’s my priest! Lol.

* Wow. Father Cade finger fucked Amaya and then told her she’s worse than a whore. Why does that hurt me so much?

* Aw fuck. She went to Parker for help. This is going to end so badly.

* Damnnn. Father Cade is not impressed that Amaya is marrying Parker. KILL HIM!!!

* So Cade has finally realized he doesn’t wanna kill Amaya. Good. Now he’s gotta make her the perfect little catholic wife. Pft. Good luck with that.

* Oohhh. Cade is piecing together why Amaya is suddenly dating Parker. And that she went to him first, only for him to turn her away.

* Damn. He killed another man to give Amaya an alibi. That’s my guy right there lol.

* “You consume me, Amaya. Break apart my faith with the fire of a thousand suns and dominate every nightmare until all I dream is you. You think you’re obsessed, petite pécheresse? You don’t know the meaning of the word.”

* Oh shit. He fucked her. He finally did it. Now murder Parker and Amaya’s mom who I know is that fucking nun in the mountains.

* I fucking hate Parker with a passion.

* Fuck yes! She beat the fuck out of that jealous slut Florence! Possibly killed her too 😂

* Oh. Oh no. He’s taking her to the mountain. She’s gonna see her mom 👀

* AND NOW HE’S LEFT HER ALONE WITH THE “SISTER”. Fuck, dude, IT’S HER MOM!

* Oh no. He fucking assaulted and killed Amaya’s best friend 😔 He fucking has the little brother Quinten!

* Holy fuck. Cade really did a number on Parker 😬

* lol. Bye-bye, mother dearest. Knew she wasn’t gonna last long. Dumb bitch.

* Ahahahaha. He blackmailed Florence into pinning it all on Parker!

* Holy shit. He didn’t make Amaya sign a pre-nup so now everything is hers!

[chantelbedford]

Everything below this post is from a previous roleplay, but is relevant to Chantel Bedford and her character's history. Below the cut are some changes that was made for this character. ♥

HOUSEKEEPING THINGS TO NOTE

Chantel got an updated biography, which you can read here.

Chantel's will be getting a new intro update to reflect the locations in the new group which you can find here once it's posted.

Chantel's statistics and quick facts on the thread tracker sheet have been updated and finished.

Chantel's wanted connections did change slightly to include some new ones, you can check them out here.

MAJOR CHANGES TO NOTE

Most of Chantel's background is the same, but some things to note moving forward are:

Chantel did live in a fixer upper home in Kismet Harbor in Driftwood Haven when she first moved here. That house was fixed up by Andrew Jackson's construction team and placed on the market and the Ruiz-Peterson family (Sarah, Gale and Klaus) bought it and now live there.

Chantel's cousin Sophia (one of the cousins from her wanted connection on the main) showed up to Charlie and Chantel's place on the farm after exchanging letters and phone calls for months with Chantel. She showed up very pregnant, and asked Charlie and Chantel to get her back on her feet post pregnancy, which the couple gladly accepted.

However, after nearly a month, Sophia left a note and her baby boy in the middle of the night, leaving him with Charlie and Chantel. The two now have emergency custody of the infant for the sake of doctor's appointments and such are trying to navigate how to raise a baby.

[masterofd1saster]

CJ court watch 26may23

SCt decided three cases yesterday.  Two seem significant.

Sackett v. EPA,  598 U. S. ____ (2023) unanimously held that EPA exceeded its authority in defining the Sacketts’ yard as “waters of the United States.”  Congress did not clearly define “waters of the United States.”   This is important b/c nobody ever elected anyone in the EPA.  There were a couple concurrences.

Michael and Chantell Sackett have spent well over a decade navigating the CWA, and their voyage has been bumpy and costly. In 2004, they purchased a small lot near Priest Lake, in Bonner County, Idaho. In preparation for building a modest home, they began backfilling their property with  dirt and rocks. A few months later, the EPA sent the Sacketts a compliance order informing them that their backfilling violated the CWA because their property contained protected wetlands. The EPA demanded that the Sacketts immediately “‘undertake activities to restore the Site’” pursuant to a “‘Restoration Work Plan’” that it provided. Sackett v. EPA, 566 U. S. 120, 125 (2012). The order threatened the Sacketts with penalties of over $40,000 per day if they did not comply****

According to the EPA, the “wetlands” on the Sacketts’ lot are “adjacent to” (in the sense that they are in the same neighborhood as) what it described as an “unnamed tributary” on the other side of a 30-foot road. [emphasis added] App. 33. That tributary feeds into a non-navigable creek, which, in turn, feeds into Priest Lake, an intrastate body of water that the  EPA designated as traditionally navigable. To establish a significant nexus, the EPA lumped the Sacketts’ lot together with the Kalispell Bay Fen, a large nearby wetland complex that the Agency regarded as “similarly situated.” According to the EPA, these properties, taken together, “significantly affect” the ecology of Priest Lake. Therefore, the EPA concluded, the Sacketts had illegally dumped soil and gravel onto “the waters of the United States.”***

[The EPA/Corps of Engineers] puts many property owners in a precarious position because it is “often difficult to determine whether a particular piece of property contains waters of the United States.” Hawkes Co., 578 U. S., at 594; see 40 CFR §230.3(t) (2008). Even if a property appears dry, application of the guidance in a complicated manual ultimately decides whether it contains wetlands. See 88 Fed. Reg. 3117; Wetlands Delineation Manual 84–85 (describing “not . . . atypical” examples of wetlands that periodically lack wetlands indicators);***

As noted, the Act applies to “navigable waters,” which had a well-established meaning at the time of the CWA’s enactment. But the CWA complicates matters by proceeding to define “navigable waters” as “the waters of the United States,” §1362(7), which was decidedly not a well-known term of art. This frustrating drafting choice has led to decades of litigation, but we must try to make sense of the terms Congress chose to adopt. And for the reasons explained below, we conclude that the Rapanos plurality was correct: the CWA’s use of “waters” encompasses “only those relatively permanent, standing or continuously flowing bodies of water ‘forming geographic[al] features’ that are described in ordinary parlance as ‘streams, oceans, rivers, and lakes.’” 547 U. S., at 739 (quoting Webster’s New International Dictionary 2882 (2d ed. 1954) (Webster’s Second); original alterations omitted). This reading follows from the CWA’s deliberate use of the plural term “waters.” See 547 U. S., at 732–733. That term typically refers to bodies of water like those listed above. See, e.g., Webster’s Second 2882; Black’s Law Dictionary***

This reading also helps to align the meaning of “the waters of the United States” with the term it is defining: “navigable waters.”***

Wetlands that are separate from traditional navigable waters cannot be considered part of those waters, even if they are located nearby.***

we hold that the CWA extends to only those wetlands that are “as a practical matter indistinguishable from waters of the United States.” Rapanos, 547 U. S., at 755 (plurality opinion) (emphasis deleted). This requires the party asserting jurisdiction over adjacent wetlands to establish “first, that the adjacent [body of water constitutes] . . . ‘water[s] of the United States,’ (i.e., a relatively permanent body of water connected to traditional interstate navigable waters); and second, that the wetland has a continuous surface connection with that water, making it difficult to determine where the ‘water’ ends and the ‘wetland’ begins.” Id., at 742.***

***

Tyler v. Hennepin County,  598 U. S. ____ (2023) is another unanimous decision.  The result is so obvious to me that I’m a little surprised Hennepin Country litigated this case so far.  J. Gorsuch had a concurrence worth reading.

Hennepin County, Minnesota, sold Geraldine Tyler’s home for $40,000 to satisfy a $15,000 tax bill. Instead of returning the remaining $25,000, the County kept it for itself. The question presented is whether this constituted a taking of property without just compensation, in violation of the Fifth Amendment.***

Geraldine Tyler is 94 years old. In 1999, she bought a one-bedroom condominium in Minneapolis and lived alone there for more than a decade. But as Tyler aged, she and her family decided that she would be safer in a senior community, so they moved her to one in 2010. Nobody paid the property taxes on the condo in Tyler’s absence and, by 2015, it had accumulated about $2300 in unpaid taxes and $13,000 in interest and penalties. Acting under Minnesota’s forfeiture procedures, Hennepin County seized the condo and sold it for $40,000, extinguishing the $15,000 debt. App. 5. The County kept the remaining $25,000 for its own use.***

The County had  the power to sell Tyler’s home to recover the unpaid property taxes. But it could not use the toehold of the tax debt to confiscate more property than was due. By doing so, it effected a “classic taking in which the government directly appropriates private property for its own use.”***

The principle that a government may not take more from a taxpayer than she owes can trace its origins at least as far back as Runnymeade in 1215, where King John swore in the Magna Carta that when his sheriff or bailiff came to collect any debts owed him from a dead man, they could remove property “until the debt which is evident shall be fully paid to us; and the residue shall be left to the executors to fulfil the will of the deceased.”***

The Takings Clause “was designed to bar Government from forcing some people alone to bear public burdens which, in all fairness and justice, should be borne by the public as a whole.” Armstrong, 364 U. S., at 49. A taxpayer who loses her $40,000 house to the State to fulfill a $15,000 tax debt has made a far greater contribution to the public fisc than she owed. The taxpayer must render unto Caesar what is Caesar’s, but no more. 

Because we find that Tyler has plausibly alleged a taking under the Fifth Amendment, and she agrees that relief under “the Takings Clause would fully remedy [her] harm,” we need not decide whether she has also alleged an excessive fine under the Eighth Amendment. Tr. of Oral Arg. 27. The judgment of the Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit is reversed.

[legendreign-archived]

featherchan:

Only a few trusted individuals, such as the Pope, the Gold Saint, and trusted Saintias, knew of the existence of Hades's spouse, her aunt, Persephone, the Goddess of Spring, and the Queen of the Underworld. The goddess once met Persephone many decades ago, in her many previous reincarnations. She discovers that Persephone has cursed herself to reincarnate to find her beloved Hades again. Unfortunately, Demeter's meddling results in Persephone's cycle of rebirth being unpredictable, which means that sometimes she is not fortunate enough to be reunited with her true love. The Goddess of Wisdom, Athena, wondered what would happen if Persephone were made aware of the tragedy that had befallen her husband. She feared that should the news reach her, she would not take it well and her aunt might seek retribution.

"No..." Athena raised her hand to stop them. "We must keep this matter to the utmost secret for now." Though they finally obtained peace after defeating Hades, the air of hostility and distrust still remains among the Saints, a severe damage that was created by Pope Saga. "Remember. That we have multiple training grounds across the world. And to hunt down just one individual will be tedious. And based on the color of their eyes alone will discriminate against them." Sighing, she leaned back in her seat. "I will bring this matter to the Pope, but this information must not leave this room..." She spoke. "Am I understood?" The Goddess of Wisdom emphasized her order, noting the severity of the situation.

Outside of Athena's temple, somewhere in Santuary, the Lioness hums as she rests under a tree and looks up at the leaves that are shielding her from the sun. She looks slightly exhausted, as she is once again haunted by a forgotten dream. And being woken up by several nights in a row has left her feeling restless and exhausted. Yet, the unknown song she sings is the only source of comfort to the troubled Lioness' mind.

~~~~

After listening to Athena's advice, Delphinus Chantelle lowered her head out of shame.

"...Yes, I apologize for my foolishness, Lady Athena."

Cygnus Allette closed her eyes as she bowed her head.

"Yes, Lady Athena."

Lynx Saya also lowered her head as she said.

"Yes, Lady Athena."

As the three Saintias were finally being dismissed, Allette whispered as they started moving. "I don't think it was a completely foolish idea to take note of potential suspects but as Lady Athena said, this task would be painstaking and would result in too many suspects to narrow down as well as result in an unintentional discriminatory witch hunt."

Chantelle replied "Mmm." as she nodded her head.

Saya smiled as she tried to reassure her leader as she placed a hand on the taller girl's shoulder. "We'll figure something out, don't worry."

Chantelle nodded as she smiled. "Oh, that's right, you two haven't eaten breakfast yet. Chidori made some avocado toast for Lady Athena if you're interested."

Saya smiled. "Toast isn't enough for me, I need my protein. I'll ask Kanaria to cook me some eggs to go with it."

Chantelle added. "I'm sure she'll be happy to do that for you.

Allette mumbled. "...I'll just have some eggs as well. Avocado toast doesn't sound very appetizing..."

Chantelle and Saya froze in their tracks.

The indigo-haired girl replied "Oh, but you don't want to hurt Chidori's feelings... Why don't you try eating some toast then if you don't like it, you can tell her no?"

"...Fine." Allette yielded but only because she didn't want to deal with the youngest Saintia's crying. It was irritating. “…In either of those scenarios, that girl will still cry.”

~In the Saintias' Dining Room~

"Hey girls, I made you all some eggs to go with Chidori's toast kashira!"

Saya beamed. "Thanks Kanaria, you read my mind!"

"Of course, you're my bestie kashira!"

Allette took a bite out of the toast when she felt her fellow Saintias stare at her. How did they all enjoy this type of toast?! Did they enjoy lemon and salt too much?! She spat out her toast.

"It's salty and sour!"

[thingsreadinthedark]

A beautiful panel from Wonder Woman Historia: The Amazons — gorgeous!

[musicfordinner]

Something sweet for a Wednesday morning.

Yo, I love Amel Larrieux! She can do no wrong in my eyes. Her voice is literally magic. It's soft, strong, layered, heavenly and filled with so much soul.

I read this book over the past two days called His Only Wife by this writer named Peace Adzo Medie and this song goes along so well with the read that they bounced off each other, taking up space in my mind.

It captures the madness of women living in situations with men that they "love" but who are totally wrong for them in some manner or another.

"I've got misery cause I know loving you's a sin, you got me - on my knees, praying that I don't give in, baby - you and me, never ever should have been, but I got misery - because I love you till the end..."

Sounds like torture right? Yeah. Her voice makes it all sound plausible! A track! ✨

[thingsreadinthedark]

GANG GANG GANG —

feeling like rolling through Animorphs would be an adventure / a blast from the past.. my hopefuls include

The Invasion

The Secret

The Unknown

The Sickness

The Prophecy

I chose strictly based off cover but I’m here for it so let’s gooooooo.. lol 😂

Yo the fact that there’s an animorphs reading guide finds me intrigued!

Okay new plan

@farfrompleasant

@nerdyvirgo

@neshatriumphs

@stsathyre

@takingmyselfhostage /@thingsreadinthedark

From the FIFTY-FOUR books in the Animorphs series, we all pick our top 5? 10? most we're most interested in, and whatever gets mentioned the most/ranked highest, is the one we'll go for?!

(a simple point system would be top five is worth 5-1 points ((top ten would be 10-1)) and then we add up how many points each title has so if it was ranked number 1 out of 5 by me it would earn five points from me, and if it were number 4 on someone else's list, that's another (1) point and if no one else ranked it that specific title would have a total of 6 points, is that good with everyone? Not to be a stereotype but I love data 😅 I can do the tallies if we'd all just rank them??)

[lizard-reads-the-world]

Book Review - Our Shadows Have Claws

Trying to catch up on some older Netgalley reviews!

This is a compilation of Latin American monster stories by YA authors - many known names as well as new writers. I’m a little late as it’s past Halloween but this is a great anthology for any season. Note that it isn’t billed as horror stories - while some of them are a bit creepy depending on your tolerance, others are tales involving folkloric creatures and legends, so exactly that: Latin American monster stories.

The stories vary in length and at 15 total, this a great volume to pick up and read a story every once in a while. From Haitian lougarou to Columbian la patasola to completely original creatures, this anthology is a rich bundle of creativity and culture.

My favorite, while not at all creepy, was probably Blood Kin by Ari Tison, a captivating tale of family, heritage, and eco-exploitation where the real monsters are the evil oil companies.

Other favorites were the opening tale, The Nightingale and the Lark by Chantel Acevedo, a Romeo and Juliet forbidden romance in Cuba with a monster-hunting twist; Dismembered by Ann Davila Cardinal, a horrifying but touching tale set in Puerto Rico; Beware the Empty Subway Car by Maika Moulite and Maritza Moulite, an emotional and lovely-written take on the lougarou legend; Leave No Tracks by Julia Alvarez, a feminist-focused story of finding magical heritage.

The Other Side of the Mountain by Claribel A. Ortega is unique for being the only male protagonist in the collection, otherwise the stories exclusively feature Latina teens. ¿Dónde Está el Duende? by Jenny Torres Sanchez is arguably the creepiest of the stories, next to Dismembered.

Altogether this was a very high-quality collection of spooky stories, also made interesting by being spread across a wide variety of locales in both Latin America and the United States. Each story also has its own illustration, which were a nice touch and added to the atmosphere.

★  ★  ★  ★   ★    5 stars      

[ilyasorokinn]

running scared , matthew tkachuk

note, surprise shawty! this is part of demi's (@antoineroussel) winter fic exchange, so here is my piece. @hockeyshitandstuff this is for you! i really hope you enjoy this. this is work of fiction, everyone keep in mind i read a lot of romance novels, so i love a good cheesy storyline, even if they're stupid and make no sense. flashbacks in italics. another note, i'm making up random people within the media department just because i don't know anyone in within that department and i don't think anyone else does either. thanks :) pair, matthew tkachuk x reader summary, matthew and y/n were best friends since they were kids, but after a falling out in high school, they quickly became enemies. flash-forward a few years, they find themselves forced to work together when y/n gets a job working for the flames media. warnings, mentions of sex (but no smut), mentions of anxiety (but not many), alcohol consumption (all of legal age), a curse word word count, 3547 words (this is really long. wow)

(gif not mine)

Your relationship with Matthew Tkachuk was quite a doozy. You were best friends since childhood, but mid-high school was when things took a bad turn and you started to change.

You and Matthew got drunk one night and slept together. It was heat-of-the-moment, but unbeknownst to Matthew, you had the biggest crush on him, so when you woke up the next morning and found him gone, it hurt.

His siblings, who were more like family, knew of your undying love for their brother/son. So, after you stopped coming around, they questioned Matthew about it, to which he came up with some lie about you being busy.

*FLASHBACK*

"So, where's Y/N?" Chantel asked Matthew as the five of them sat at the dinner table, enjoying their meal.

Matthew set his cutlery down rather aggressively, causing everyone to flinch, "She's busy." He snapped, quickly coming up with a lie.

"Really? I saw her at school today, and she looked almost as miserable as you." Brady cut in, taking a sip of his milk.

"Shut up." Matthew glared.

"Matthew, stop." His mother scolded.

Matthew picked up his fork again and began shoving his mouth with food so he wouldn't have to answer any other questions. After his parents shared a look of concern, they moved on to a different topic.

The next morning at school, Brady spotted you at your locker and sprinted over to you. You jumped when he saw you standing next to you, "Um... hi." You smiled, avoiding eye contact with him.

"Hi." He smiled goofily, "So, we've all been wondering where you've been. You haven't been coming to Friday night dinner or Sunday movie nights. We've all been kind of worried." He told you.

"You're all worried? Really?" You raised a brow, then scoffed, slamming your locker shut.

"What? What happened?" Brady asked, following after you like a lost dog.

"Oh, Matthew didn't tell you?" At Brady's head shake, you laughed, "Of course, he didn't."

"What'd he do, Y/N?" Brady asked.

You looked around and noticed people were not paying attention, but you still grabbed his arm and pulled him down a hallway you knew wasn't busy.

"We slept together." Brady made a face of disgust, "Yeah, think whatever you want of it. But then I woke up the next morning and he was gone."

"What do you mean "gone"?" Brady asked, confused and concerned.

"What do you think I mean? He was gone! No letter, no text, no call, no email, no freakin' carrier pigeon!" You yelled.

"He left? Like in the middle of the night?"

"I don't know, Braeden. Go ask your brother. He's been dodging me since that night. He even asked for a new science partner."

"How long ago was this?"

You went silent, and looked down at the floor, which seemed a lot more interesting, "A month." You finally answered, but your voice was so quiet he almost couldn't hear you.

"A what?"

"A month." You repeated, louder and clearer. He stared at you in shock, "Look, I really gotta get to class." A lie.

"Right, right, of course." Brady nodded.

"I'll see you around." Another lie.

"Yeah, see you around." He nodded again, watching as you walked away and turned to the corner.

*FLASHBACK OVER*

After that day, you completely distanced yourself from the Tkachuk family. You stopped answering their calls, stop going over to their house, stopped any and all communication with them. Matthew made it clear he wanted nothing to do with you. You got the message loud and clear, so you stayed away.

After high school, you moved away as fast as you could. You got accepted into a good college in New York, and moved, not even saying goodbye to the family who had practically been your second family.

-

After college, you moved out of New York after getting a job for the Calgary Flames. You knew it was a hockey town but had no idea who was on the team.

You woke up and your body was filled with anxiety. It was your first day and you were nervous. You got dressed like you would any other day, but internally were panicking and running through every possible worst-case scenario.

"You got this, you got this." You whispered to yourself as you looked over your appearance one last time.

You drove to the arena, swiped your new badge, and found your parking spot, "Ah, you must be the new recruit. Y/N, right?"

"That's me." You nodded, flashing the man a nervous smile.

"Well, the man you're looking for is right down this hallway."

"Thanks." You smiled, gripping the handle of your bag tighter as you walked down the hallway. You knocked on the door.

"Come in." You heard. You pushed the door open to reveal a man sitting at his desk, typing away at his computer, "Ah, Y/N." He smiled.

"Mr. Greene." You smiled.

"Please, have a seat." He gestured towards the chair in front of his desk. You removed your purse and set it in your lap before taking a seat, "So, I see you found your way just fine."

"A little confusing, but there are signs everywhere." You joked.

"Well, we're all super glad to have you on the team." He smiled, "So, let's get started."

-

Within your first day, you were running all around the arena. You were introduced to the other people on the team, as well as coaches, other members of staff as well as players.

"I don't think I'm going to remember everyone." You laughed.

"It's all good. It will definitely take some time, but you'll get it." Another girl who you worked with, Leah, told you.

"Let's hope sooner rather than later." You smiled. She laughed along with you.

"Leah, there you are." You both turned around, and you felt every part of your body just give out on you, "Jacob said you wanted to talk."

"Oh, yeah. We just got a new recruit on the team and we're introducing her to everyone." Leah smiled, "Matthew, meet-"

"Y/N?"

"You two already know each other?" Leah asked.

"No, I've, uh, never met him before." You shook your head.

"But he knows your-"

"Lucky guess." You shrugged, not even sparing him another look as you walked away from him.

-

Days turned into weeks and weeks turned into months and before you knew it, you were coming up on your 6 month anniversary of working for the Flames media team.

You loved everything about it. You were doing the thing you loved in a city that you had grown to love. From the day you met her, Leah had basically taken you under her wing and taught you the ways of life. If it hadn't been for her, you probably wouldn't have any friends and would be spending every weekend alone in your apartment.

In the year you had been in Calgary, you had managed to avoid Matthew as much as possible and only talking to him when needed to.

Within those 5 months, you knew Matthew was attempting to try and talk to you, but every time he tried, you made up some excuse as to why you were busy or couldn't.

"So, a few of us are going out tonight and you're coming," Leah told you, leaving no room for question.

"What? What if I had plans?" You asked.

"Yeah, sitting at home alone eating ice cream with a ladle and watching old reruns of NCIS isn't classified as plans." She raised a brow.

"Yes, they are." You fought back.

"I'm picking you up at 7. You better be ready or I'm gonna beat you up." She threatened.

"Fine, fine." You raised your hands in surrender, "I'll be ready at 7." You nodded, "But you owe me wings."

"Deal." She nodded.

-

You watched Leah dance on the dance floor with the rest of your friend group. You were seated at the table you had "reserved" and nursed a beer instead of dancing.

"I see dancing still isn't something you like to do." You heard a voice from behind.

You rolled your eyes, "What do you want?" You asked.

"What I've been trying to do for months, I just want to talk," Matthew told you.

"And I guess you didn't pick up on the signs. I don't want to talk to you." You sent him a glare, then turned back to your friends.

"Come on." He whined. "This happened almost 10 years ago."

"No, yes I've moved on, but that doesn't mean that I forgive you. What you did that night, hurt, Matthew. And maybe it didn't hurt you, but it hurt me. I really don't get it. How you can go from being someone's best friend then just dumping them." You shook your head and looked around, noticing her were gathering a crowd.

"I'm not gonna talk about this with you right now, or ever for that matter. Just stay away from me." You grabbed your stuff and stormed out of the bar.

"Wait, just... wait!" Matthew shouted, running after you.

"No, I'm really not gonna talk about this with you. I'm done, Matthew. Just please, leave me alone." You begged, walking away from him, the same way he had that night in high school.

-

The next day on Monday, you could tell people were avoiding you, or at least the people who went out on Friday, "Hey..." Leah approached.

"It was a long time ago and I just want to forget about it." You told her before she could even formulate a question.

"All right." She nodded, "Do you have your report? Greene wants it on his desk like two days ago." You handed her the report and she made her way away from your desk.

"A delivery for one Miss Y/L/N." Another intern, your friend Kevin, approached your desk with a bouquet of gorgeous flowers and a box of chocolates.

"Who's it from?" You asked, confused as you reached for the card. You read it, and sighed, "Nevermind." You shook your head.

"Where do you want them?" Kevin asked.

"The trash."

"What? They're gorgeous. Who are they from?" He asked, reaching for the card.

"Yeah, but I'm allergic." You told him, "You can keep the chocolate if you want."

"Ooh." He winced, "I'll get rid of these then, but I will definitely be keeping the chocolate." He smiled, rushing off to get rid of the flowers.

You sighed, sitting back down at your desk and attempting to get back to work, "You're not allergic to flowers." Matthew noted, walking up to your desk.

"What part of "leave me alone" do you not understand?" You asked, letting out a heavy sigh in annoyance.

"Nothing." He smirked.

"I'm serious, Matthew. Just leave me alone." You told him, pushing your chair out and storming away.

-

You were prepping dinner for yourself when your phone rang, "Hello?"

"Matthew called." Your mother told you, not even saying hello back.

"Hello to you, too, mom." You sighed.

"He told us you haven't been talking to him." Your mother scolded. You never told your parents about what Matthew had done. They knew it was some boy at your school, but you left out the part about who it was, so to them, Matthew was still your childhood best friend, the kid that you would build sandcastles with and do science projects together.

"Mom..."

"No, I want you to talk to him. He sounded really upset on the phone." Your mother told you.

"Mom, would you just listen?"

"No." She cut you off, "Talk to him, Y/N." She told you, then hung up.

"I just love these talks, mom." You joked, even though she had already hung up.

-

You stormed into the office the next day on a mission, "You called my mom?" You asked, storming up to Matthew who was getting ready to get onto the ice.

"Well, yeah, you wouldn't talk to me." He shrugged.

"That's below the belt, Matthew. Dragging my mother into this?"

"It got you to talk to me." He shrugged again.

"God, you are so infuriating." You groaned, dragging your hands through your hair in anger, "You wanna talk? Let's talk. We slept together. Great! Totally fine. Then I wake up the next morning, and you're gone."

"I had something I needed to take care of." He answered.

"And you don't call to tell me that?"

"My phone was dead."

"For a month? Your phone was dead for a month? And even then, it's not like we didn't see each other at school. You asked to change lab partners. Stop making excuses and just tell me the truth. Why did you really leave that day?"

"I was scared, okay? We were best friends, and us sleeping together changed everything." He told you, finally being honest.

"Why didn't you just tell me that? You've had almost 8 years to tell me that."

"I was scared you wouldn't talk to me. It took you 6 months to finally talk to me." He pointed out.

"God, if you had just come to tell me that, I would've listened." You told him, a sad look in your eyes.

"Would you?" He asked.

"Yes, I would've." You nodded.

-

"So, let me get this straight." Leah rubbed her temples as you explained the happenings of your's and Matthew's tumultuous relationship, "So, you guys were best friends as kids, then when you were a junior and him a senior, you slept together and when you woke up, he was gone?"

"Yup." You nodded, downing the rest of the wine in your glass.

"Huh." She nodded, "And I thought my love life was complicated." She chuckled, "Did he tell you why he dipped?"

"Said he was scared." You looked down at the empty wine glass in your hands.

"That's such a guy answer." She rolled her eyes, "I hate guys."

"Me too." You hummed.

-

You were downloading photos from a photographer's camera to upload onto Instagram when a box of your favorite chocolates was placed in front of your face.

You looked up, and when you saw who it was, you pushed his hands out of your face and attempted to get back to work, "Look, let me say my piece, and when I'm done, I'll leave you alone. For good." Matthew pleaded.

You sighed, contemplating your options, but finally looking up at him, "Five minutes." You started a timer on your watch.

"All right, I know what I did really hurt you that night, because, in the process of hurting you, I was hurting myself, too." You raised a brow, "Come on, you don't really think all your feelings were one-sided, did you?"

"I mean..."

"Nope, let me finish." He cut you off, "I was scared because, at the time, I wasn't sure if you felt the same way." He told you honestly. You would tell he was being serious and telling the honest truth just by looking in his eyes. Even as kids, his eyes were a dead giveaway.

"Four minutes." You announced.

"I'm not even asking for another chance because I knew I blew it. I'm just asking for you to hear my side of the story before you decide anything."

"And what's your side of the story, Matty?" You asked, the old nickname slipping from your tongue before you could stop it.

At the use of his old nickname, a big beaming smile found its way onto his face, "My side of the story is that I loved you with my entire heart and soul and I was a scared 18-year old kid who was about to move away to Calgary."

"I was scared you didn't feel the same way, and I was scared if we did ever go anywhere, we would become one of those couples in those movies we used to watch together. You know? The ones who would try long distance but would just fall apart after 3 months."

"Yeah, I know what you mean." You nodded, feeling the shell you had built around your heart all those years ago begin to crack and chip away.

"And I didn't want to ruin what we had, but I guess in the end, I ended up ruining things anyways." He looked upset and defeated.

"Do you still feel the same way?" You asked.

"Do I still love you?" You nodded, "Of course, I do."

-

Ever since your conversation with Matthew, it had been running through your mind 24/7. 'Do I still love you?' 'Of course, I do'

"Gosh, darn it!" You cursed as you spilled a cup of water on yourself.

"You all right?" Leah asked, having heard your accident as she walked past the breakroom.

"Oh, yeah, just a little distracted." You smiled, grabbing a few paper towels and attempting to clean off the water.

"Is it Matthew?" She asked.

"How'd you guess?" You sighed, dropping your head in defeat.

"What'd he do this time?" She asked.

"He finally told me the truth about why he left."

"And?"

"Then he confessed his love for me." You whispered.

"What?!"

"Keep it down." You told her, reaching over and covering her mouth.

"What did you say?" She asked.

"Nothing. I was too stunned, so he walked away."

"Well, what're you doing here? Go talk to him." Leah encouraged.

"No, I can't." You shook your head.

"Why not?" Leah asked.

"I just can't." You shook your head, grabbed your mug, which was now filled with more water, and left the breakroom.

-

Leah was getting tired of watching you mope around, so she decided to play cupid a little and decided to talk to Matthew herself. Once practice was over, she set her plan into motion and dragged Matthew away before he could make it to the locker room door.

"What? Leah, what are you-"

"You need to do something." She cut him off.

"Do something where?" He asked.

"With Y/N! She's miserable." Leah told him.

"I can't. I told her I would leave her alone." Matthew shook his head, making the move to walk away.

"I don't care. She might've put on the front and said she was fine and wanted you to leave her alone, but she's miserable. Your love confession sent her over the edge."

"Leah, I can't." He shook his head.

"Are you not listening to me?" Leah shouted, catching the attention of a few players who were walking past them, "She's in love with you!" She practically shouted.

That knocked the breath out of him, "She's in love with me?" He asked, almost breathlessly.

"Yes, you idiot!" She hit him in the side of the head, softly.

"Well, I-I, where is she?" Matthew stuttered.

"She's getting ready to leave. go get your girl, dude. and I'd go fast. She took next week off." Leah pushed him in the direction of the elevators towards the parking garage. It didn't matter that he was still in his practice gear, he would run to the ends of the world if it meant getting to spend a moment with you.

He anxiously bounced his foot as the elevator went down. Once the door opened, he turned in every which direction trying to find you. He finally spotted you, putting stuff into your trunk.

"Y/N!" He shouted.

"Matthew?" You asked, confused. He ran over to you as he could considering he was still wearing skates, "What're you doing?"

"I love you." He blurted out, which shut you up. You knew he did, but hearing him say the words just solidified everything in your brain, "And I know you love me."

"What? I-"

"I know you do. Don't try to deny it." He shook his head.

"Get to the point of whatever this is then." You crossed your arms.

"I love you, and I'll spend every day for the rest of my life loving you. That's a fact and it's something I know is true." Your eyes began to water at the love in his eyes and the tone of his voice, "I know I fucked up, but I was a dumb kid who made a dumb decision. I know it hurt you, and I'm going to make up for it every day of my life."

"What're you trying to say?" You asked.

"I'm saying I want to be with you. I want to try this thing out." He told you.

"Are you being serious? Like, you're not playing around?" You asked, looking at him in his eyes.

"I'm being serious. Not playing around." He nodded. You continued to look into his eyes, the key to tell you if he was telling the truth.

"All right, let's give it a try." You nodded, watching his face light up.

"Really?"

"Really." You nodded, smiling at his reaction. Before you could even get another word out, Matthew was surging forward and picking you up, spinning you around, "Whoa, whoa!" You held onto him tighter.

"Right, sorry. Skates." He nodded, setting you back on the ground.

Once you were on the ground, you wrapped your arms around his shoulders, "If you pull something like you did in high school, you're gonna be out for the next season." You threatened.

"I promise I won't do that again." The look in his eyes, once again, told you he was telling the truth.

-

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[sturchling]

Adrien salt where Adrien tries to date a girl he thinks is Ladybug, but she's already dating someone and honestly doesn't like Adrien since he keeps pulling the poor little rich boy act. Adrien doesn't give up and it gets him in trouble.

Adrien was practically vibrating with excitement. Today was the day. Today was the day he would ask his lady out on a date as civilians. He had been working for weeks to determine who her civilian identity was. Adrien was sure that would prove to his lady that his affections were genuine. It had taken several weeks, but he was sure he had figured it out.

------------------

He had spent weeks pouring over security camera footage surrounding akuma attacks, and any students in the city that had unexplained absences or were frequently late. At first he didn’t see anything, and began to feel like it was pointless. Then Adrien noticed the same girl showed up on different security cameras around the city, near where Ladybug had just disappeared to detransform. 

-------------------

At first Adrien thought it had to be a coincidence, this girl didn’t look  like Ladybug. Sure, her hair and eyes were the same color, but her hair was much longer. And she was more tan then Ladybug. But the more times she appeared on camera, the more Adrien was sure. After all, his miraculous makes his eyes completely green, who is to say the miraculous couldn’t shorten his lady’s hair and make her more pale. This had to be her. Adrien was sure. Plagg kept trying to talk him out of it, but Adrien was sure that Plagg was just trying to keep the secret. But it wouldn’t matter soon, once Adrien and his lady were dating, they would deal with whatever consequences came from knowing each other’s identities. He was sure their love could overcome anything.

-----------------

After a little more research, he found that the girl from the security cameras attended his school, and even used to be in Mrs. Bustier’s class before she transferred to Mrs. Mendeleiev’s class. Now it all made sense why Ladybug’s kwami had been at his school, Ladybug herself went to his school. That even explained why the kwami had been in Mrs. Mendeleiev’s classroom, because that is Ladybug’s classroom. Everything made perfect sense now. This girl had to be Ladybug, it was the only thing that made sense. 

---------------

The only problem now was during his research, Adrien found out that this girl, who he learned is named Chantelle, is already dating someone. Of course Ladybug had told Adrien that she was already in love with someone else. But Adrien believed that she had said that to try and keep them from knowing each other outside the mask. Once Chantelle knew the lengths he had gone to prove his love, and that he already knew her civilian identity, she would leave her boyfriend and then they could finally be together.

--------------

Sure in his plan, despite Plagg’s best efforts to convince him otherwise, Adrien left for school, excited to profess his love to his lady. He got to school early, hoping to find his lady alone. He got lucky and found her in the library, reading. He walked up behind her, and said, “Good morning my lady.” Chantelle whipped around to face him, looking confused. “What did you say?” Adrien smirked, “I said, good morning my lady.” Chantelle rolled her eyes and turned back to her book. “I am not your lady. I’m not your anything.” Adrien hesitated a moment, before reassuring himself that his lady was just playing hard to get, and wanted to pretend at still have a secret identity. If that is what she wanted, he would play along.

-----------------

Adrien switched gears, putting away his Chat persona for now. He and his lady could discuss their identities another time. All that mattered is that he made her his girlfriend. “I just wanted to tell you that I like you a lot and would love to take you out sometime.” Chantelle stood up, gathering her things since the late bell had just rung. She was just going to reject him as nice as she could and then leave. “Look, your Adrien right? While I am flattered, like I said, I’m taken. And while I’m flattered, I don’t feel the same way. All I ever see or hear you do is mope about how your father doesn’t treat you well. And while I feel bad for you, I don’t like this poor little rich boy act you do. So, sorry, but I don’t like you the same way. I have to go, I’m late for class.” Chantelle leaves the library in a rush, and Adrien is left standing there wondering what had gone wrong.

-----------------

By the end of the day, Adrien was frustrated. He understood her wanting to keep identities a secret, and had even played along. But she still rejected him. Surely she could feel that they were destined to be together. Why didn’t she react to his confession the way she was supposed to? She must have thought that Adrien wasn’t serious. That he was just being Chat and playing around. But Adrien would show her she was wrong. He would prove his love. No matter what it took, she would be his.

-----------------

The next several weeks, Adrien would constantly try to contact Chantelle. He had found out her phone number, and her email. He texted and emailed her constantly. And he still tried to talk to her during school. But Chantelle continued to play hard to get and wouldn’t give him the time of day. She even had the nerve to start running from him when she saw him coming. She had even started having her friends escort her to and from school. Like she was afraid of him. But Adrien knew it was all part of the game, and she was making him prove he loved her. 

----------------

Adrien started to become angry. As much as he enjoyed this little game, he wished his lady would just stop with the nonsense and admit she loved him too. So he decided to prove his love as best he could. He had found out Chantelle’s home address by following her friends when they went to pick her up one morning. Adrien decided to send her a dozen roses. When Chantelle went out that morning and saw the flowers, she initially hoped they were from her boyfriend, trying to cheer her up. But deep down she knew they weren’t. The note on the flowers simply said, I hope these flowers prove how much I love you. I will never give up on you my lady. - Adrien. Chantelle was horrified that Adrien had found out where she lived. She slammed the door shut, and locked it with shaking hands. She started to panic at the realization that Adrien was truly stalking her and wouldn’t stop. Then an eerie calmness washed over her and a soothing voice introduced itself as Hawkmoth.

---------------

Adrien arrived at the akuma fight slightly late, but was happy to see his lady. Surely after his gift this morning, she would be willing to speak with him after the battle. The akuma was a girl scared of a stalker. They quickly deakumatized her and Adrien was shocked to see Chantelle sitting there. Ladybug offered to help her with the stalker and Chantelle instantly burst into tears and explained the whole situation to Ladybug. Marinette was shocked to hear what Adrien had been doing to this girl, it didn’t seem like him at all. But this girl was obviously scared, so she knew something had happened. And when Chantelle mentioned that Adrien kept calling her my lady, Marinette felt the pit in her stomach grow as she realized that Adrien and Chat Noir were one and the same. She turned to face her partner, who was still staring at Chantelle in shock.

---------------

Adrien was standing in shock, just staring at Chantelle. She isn’t Ladybug? She had to be! It was the only thing that made sense. Adrien was so shocked, he didn’t notice Ladybug approach him and remove his ring. The transformation dropped, revealing himself to everyone watching. He turned to Ladybug, “Why did you take my ring!?” Ladybug glared at him, speaking in a cold tone. “After what you did to her, you don’t deserve this ring.” Adrien desperately tried to plead his case. “Please, I thought she was you! I was just trying to prove my love. I didn’t mean to betray you!” Ladybug’s glare somehow became colder. “That isn’t the issue. The issue is you have been stalking this girl for weeks and terrifying her. Someone who does that isn’t worthy of a miraculous.” Ladybug signaled to officer Roger, who had been observing the scene for a while and heard everything, for him to come over. Officer Roger placed Adrien under arrest for stalking and took him down to the station. The whole way to the car, Adrien pleaded with Ladybug to reconsider and to help him, but she just turned away from him. As Adrien sat in the police car, he wondered how things could have gone so wrong. 

[bridgeportbritt]

Chapter 8 Summary

Read the chapter here or read the summary below.

In Chapter 8, we follow the stories of three main characters - Crown Princess Diana, Duchess Ella, and now Ambassador Grayson. Plus, we’ll see Spencer’s story, as well.

Diana - Official portraits and titles are released from Princess Diana’s wedding. Diana’s working (and watching Grand Duchess Bria’s new talk show) when Maranda enters her office with a note from the Royal Physician. After recieving the letter, she decides to heads down to see King Spencer to try to convince him not to abdiacate one last time. He assures her than he plans on abdicating, but wonders if there is something more to her inquiry. She says no.

Diana is distracted later that day as Gerhard tries to tell her about his day. He reassures her that she will make a great Queen and supports her brother’s decision to abdicate. She reveals to him what she recieved from the phsyician - she is pregnant.

Diana embarks on a Solo Royal World Tour then she accompanies Spencer to open Parliament, then she hosts an Ambassador’s dinner.

Alexandra visits Diana and apologizes for her role in bringing Chris to her wedding. Maranda interrupts to inform them that Chris’ interrogation was leaked and he admitted to wanting to kill Diana.

Diana visits Lillian in the hospital and the ladies resolve the bad blood between them. Diana runs into the Duke and Duchess of Parkshore who are expecting once again. She feels sadness towards her own pregnancy due to all the changes coming once the baby is born.

Diana’s busy schedule leads her to open the Britechester University of SimDonia which is her passion project. However, she collapses while given a tour.

Ella - Ella reminisces on moving from Brindleton Bay, Simerica to SimDonia. She interrupted by her school friends Victoria, Erik, Chantel, and Anthony at lunch. They chat about Karlee ditching them, the football player she has a crush on, and the new ballet teacher. Ella meets the new teacher at ballet practice, he is attractive and takes ballet seriously.

Karlee and football caption, Luka, invite Ella out. She pretends she’s going out to study but meets them at the old quarry which is closed but full of high schoolers. Luka is clearly flirting with Ella which annoys Karlee. The cops show up to break up the party. Luka runs Ella to safety and then kisses her. Later the girls dish about it, Karlee pretends it doesn’t bug her. Ella is unsure of their relationship, but goes to Luka’s football game. But jealous Karlee, kisses him to congrtulate him on winning. Ella leaves.

A sad Ella goes to ballet practice early and talks to her new ballet teacher who encourages her to stop focusing on non-issues. She develops a crush.

Grayson - Grayson is helping his brother move into Del Sol Valley. They talk girl troubles. Grayson is worried about his relationship with Sarah and living in Selvadorada where his first crush Olivia lives. Gianni says to not worry about girls and that he’s going to basically be a player.

Grayson officially moves out of Britechester and says goodbye to Sarah who is also nervous about his move. Grayson likes his new place and is invited to the palace for dinner. Olivia who lives with the Royal family is there and dinner goes well. After dinner, Grayson is approached by the Princess Royal who kisses him.

Diana - We see Diana is in the hospital on bed rest after her collapse, but she still wants to work which worries Gerhard. Diana lashes out at Maranda which further worries Diana. She hears his concern and rests.

In a dream, Diana is visited by her parents who assure her that she is ready to be Queen. They tell her to find strength in her loved ones. She decided to name the baby after her father.

Chris’s trial plays on tv and he is found guilty.

Diana apologizes to Maranda for how she acted and gives her the day off. Soon after, she goes into labor. Parker Johannes Winston De Geloes is born.

Ella - Victoria wants to talk to Ella about what happened with Luka but she is not interested. Erik is upset that Luka hurt his friend. Luka approaches and Ella says she doesn’t want to pursue anything with him despite him saying the kiss with Karlee was not mutual.

Ella fantisizes about her ballet teacher, but is interrupted by Vickie who reminds her about their styling appointment with Bria. They head to KBE SimDonia and meet Bria in her office and try on homecoming dresses. 

Back at school, Erik is trying to talk to Ella about homecoming but they are interrupted by Karlee talking smack about Ella. Ella confronts Karlee who just insults her more which leads to Ella punching Karlee in the face. An angry Bria has to go to the Deans office to talk punishment, the Dean suspends Ella from the dance and ballet.

Ella goes to grab the last of her things in the ballet room and runs into her ballet teacher Jonah. He expresses his disappointment and reveals he’s planning on getting engaged. This makes Ella even sadder.

Ella sooms with her friends at the dance who miss her. Erik isn’t with them. Soon he shows up at her home because he felt bad about her missing out. They hang out together which helps Ella feel better.

Spencer - Spencer finalizes his abdication with the Prime Minister at the Parliamnet building. He goes to meet with Diana and his nephew. Diana feels more confident about becoming Queen. Spencer officially abdicates and it’s all over the news.

Grayson - Grayson is taking on his new role very well while trying to maintain a long distance relationship with Sarah that is not easy.

He finds time to explore with the King’s son in law. He talks about the importance of supporting your partner’s interests. Olivia is also there because she is studying culinary and wants to test out a new recipe. When Olivia and Grayson are alone the connect well.

Olivia helps Grayson bring some artifacts home and they reminisce on how things were back in SimDonia. They are interrupted by a surprise visit from Sarah.

Sarah and Grayson’s trip is just alright. They aren’t entirely on the same page. Sarah expresses that she is nervous to meet his family who are in town for his college graduation.

Grayson’s family arrive and they seem to like Sarah. At lunch, Bria upsets Ella by telling Grayson about her punching another student. Grayson goes to check on his sister. Ella tells Grayson she is frustrated with their mom and he tries to reason with her. They also talk about his relationship with Sarah and Grayson finally admits things aren’t going well. Ella encourages him to break up with her.

As Sarah is preparing to leave, they finally talk and Grayson struggles to break up with Sarah but she does it for him and cites his relationship with Olivia as a reason. 

Olivia tries to offer support and Grayson takes her up on her offer to talk. He heads to the Palace but is cut off by the Princess Royal. Katalina demands that Grayson enter a relationship with her or she will sabotage his job.

Diana - Diana prepares for her coronation, but still feels some doubt. Her father and now grandfather are summoned to her in spirit form. Her grandfather offers some tough love which helps Diana confidently go to the ceremony. She is offically crowned as Her Majesty Queen Diana Ophelia Winston De Geloes, Grand Duchess of Sage.

[jamesshawgames]

Character Profile: Cleo Stone

Time for another Relics character profile. This time, in honor of her triumphant return in Book 2 Chapter 6, we’ll look at one of Dr. Spillane’s best friends and allies (and potential romance interests), the mighty Cleo Stone!

Name: Dr. Cleopatra Melissa Stone

Place of birth: New Orleans, Louisiana

Date of Birth: 5 May 1906

Appearance:

Two notes: 1) She’s supposed to have a silver nose-stud, but I couldn’t figure out how to do that on Artbreeder; 2) She’s a Tall Lady!

Bio: Cleo is the daughter of Wendell Stone, a dock worker, and Patricia Stone, a secretary. Tragically, Patricia died in childbirth, leaving Wendell alone to raise his only daughter in their poor but proud home in the Tremé district. Wendell was a stern but loving father, and young Cleo never found it difficult to break through his strict exterior and bring out his inner mischief-maker. She got the measure of her dad early, and soon had him wrapped around her finger. Wendell had never had much formal education growing up beyond being taught basic reading and arithmetic, but times were beginning to change in Louisiana: while the education system was still segregated, community organizing was increasing educational opportunities for African American children as Cleo approached her teenage years. In 1917, the city’s first high school for African American students, McDonogh 35, opened its doors, and a couple of years later young Cleo enrolled and gained access to a whole world of learning that her father had never enjoyed.

But it was her father, not her teachers, who helped her find her real passion. Though Wendell didn’t really understand much of what his daughter was learning, he did his best to encourage her interests, including taking her on one fateful trip to the Louisiana State Museum. There, Cleo first heard of Chantelle LaValle, a woman whose story would grip her and, ultimately, lead her to her professional destiny. Chantelle had been born the daughter of a royal rebel against the Kingdom of Kongo in the late eighteenth century. After her father’s rebellion was put down, she was sold into slavery, eventually ending up on Haiti on the staff of a French landowner. When the landowner fled Haiti during that island’s slave revolt, he took Chantelle with him to New Orleans; later, she would get her freedom and establish herself as a powerful and influential woman thanks to her knowledge of vodou, becoming one of the first so-called “Voodoo Queens” of the city. Cleo found this story fascinating, and began reading everything she could find in the school library about Chantelle, vodou (though her interest is purely academic: she is a thorough rationalist, atheist and skeptic in terms of her personal beliefs), and Haiti. Eventually, her interests led her to read up on the Kingdom of Kongo, where Chantelle spent her early years, and she couldn’t believe that this great Central African superpower was so unfamiliar and under-studied in the modern age. She eventually decided that this was to be the project of her life’s work: to uncover the history of Kongo, and to re-establish it as one of history’s great civilizations.

Her excellent grades secured her a scholarship to study at Xavier, one of New Orleans’ Black colleges, where she majored in archaeology and anthropology. Her time in college was foundational: not only did she get a fuller education in her intellectual passions, but it was also at Xavier as an undergraduate that she was able to explore and accept her bisexuality. Furthermore, she also became interested in college activism, joined the NAACP and participated in protests and campaigns against the Jim Crow laws. In the end, she did well enough to be able to follow her dreams by securing funding to study for a PhD. Wendell has basically no idea what his daughter is doing with her life, but still, he’s as proud as it’s possible for a father to be.

At the time when she first meets Dr. Spillane, she’s still new to academia, still the most junior member of faculty at Xavier, but everybody agrees that this won’t be the case for long; her talent and ambition are clear for all to see. She has already earned a reputation as something of an adventurer-archaeologist, having had a variety of exciting run-ins over the course of her PhD studies and early career work. She once had to fight a Nile crocodile bare-handed. On another occasion, she had to escape from a dungeon and flee across a border after angering the ruler of a small kingdom by refusing his sexual advances. She enjoys a bit of one-upmanship with Spillane over which of them is the most badass adventurer. She has excavated in several different parts of the world, but her main area of specialism remains Central Africa, and she’s convinced that, somewhere out there in the jungle, there’s a lost city waiting for her, and that discovering it will help her write her name into the annals of legendary archaeologists.