#grandma bought a zoo

[a-bleak-gallery]

Worked on this some more. Have been messing around with a really blown out limited palette because I'm not good at interesting colors. Fun to use someone else's palette to try things (shamelessly stealing colors from the incredibly talented @requinoesis - still have no idea how they do it).

[deathclassic]

alrighty another week another tag game <3 thank you for tagging me @celestialmickey @creepkinginc @energievie @michellemisfit @transmickey @surviving-maybe and @juliakayyy <3 <3

you can call me: molly

pronouns: she/her

sun sign + favorite flower: virgo and hydrangeas

what time did you wake up today? 7 i think and then i fell asleep again and woke up at 9 and had to rush to get to classes

what kind of phone do you have? iphone 7

pick one: beach, mountain, desert, or forest? mountain definitely

favorite vegetable: broccoli

last person you talked to on the phone: my grandma :D

last person you texted: my mum lol

you're at the smoothie shop, what are you getting? ooooh mango magic OR if i want a little treat a king william chocolate

you're at the zoo, which exhibit are you seeing first? whatever is closest to the entrance so probably reptiles or something

last movie you saw in theaters: Barbie 

last movie you saw at home: guardians of the galaxy 3

something that sparks joy: going to concerts! bought last minute tickets to see la dispute this sunday which might be a mistake bc im going on a cooking trip the next morning

and finally, what’s your current obsession? i found a diamond painting in the cupboard and im like,,,obsessed??? i need to find more immediately

AND i was also tagged by @mikhailoisbaby @energievie @transmickey @auds-and-evens @lingy910y @celestialmickey and @juliakayyy to do this cute picrew!

not tagging anyone but if youre reading this: hi how are you

[shojizbae]

Chuseok

Min Ho x Fem! Reader

Masterlist

♨︎☤♨︎✄

Chuseok arrived soon enough, meaning Principal Han gave speeches to the class on the importance of family and then reminded us to study hard for finals. This also meant that the majority of the school was going home for the week we were given to ourselves and 'family'. Unfortunately, when I text my dad that he should expect me home in about 48 hours all he responded with was 'why'.

message received he doesn't want me around. I wish all my roommates a happy Chuseok as I see their smiles. they all are happy to go home to their parents. I decide to visit the family plot and pray for my brothers' health.

I feel homesick.

I put on my headphones and opened the mother's notebook. It's full of all my mom and grandma's best recipes. It's a tradition in our household that I prepare our special maejakgwa. Mom used to make them every Christmas, Chuseok, and birthday but she can't really do that anymore. Luckily, Kitty is planning a friendsgiving and needs help at the market.

She meets me at my dorm to help me pick out an outfit. I'm still struggling to accommodate all the new choices. Not much familiar. She picks out a pair of slightly platform vans, and a knit, a green-striped mini dress which is a little showy for my tastes. There's a slight wind chill today, so she pairs to be in a different denim jacket than the other day. Seriously Min Ho bought like nine of these.

She puts my wallet, tampons, and other doodads from my last purse into a cross-body bag from YSL. Then she ushers me out of school and into a bus. The city is a little less crowded with all the college kids home for the holiday. That doesn't mean that the families that do live in the city don't the marketplace an absolute zoo. Kitty doesn't have a clue how to read any of the labels so I translate while she fiddles with a playlist of Tik Toks. I show her the bargains but she insists on getting the exact products used in her tik toks.

Kitty is insistent on getting a very pricy bottle of soy sauce. I try to tell her no but she places it in the cart. we move down the aisle. We're doing well until Min Ho approaches,

"What are you doing here?" He asks Kitty, still oblivious to my presence.

"We are getting ingredients for Chuseok dinner."

"Do you even know what you would do with this?" he holds up a bag of rice cakes

"Yes, I do! C'mon Kitty, we only need a few more things." I grab her enormous cart and grunt it forward. Min Ho catches up with us. Probably because I can only go snail speed with the massive cart.

"Here let me help you," he put his very small basket in our cart nad pushed forward. He retuned most of the supplies claiming he already had it up in his dorm.

"Min Ho, who are you buying chocolate strawberries for?" Kitty picks up a heart shaped box

"Someone." he snatches the box back and his phone dings "Ooh it's Lulu, we've been flirting since her trainee days." something in me wilts. That's new.

He ushers us to the registers and it takes much less time to check out if I let Kitty take the ropes. Min Ho brings us to his driver and has him load our groceries in. It feels weird to let people serve me. Were driven back and go right back to the Song-Ho dorm.

Kitty and I put their groceries up in the refrigerator and in the cabinets while Min Ho puts on a movie. It's one that his mom starred in. I missed the tragic opening scene of the movie as I sort out the groceries I need for my recipes.

Min Ho plops down in the center of the left cushion and Kitty joins him at a comfortable distance at the center of the right cushion. This leaves an awkward situation. There isn't enough space to sit between Kitty and the armrest. This means that I have to sit between the two of them. I take my jean jacket off so I don't scratch either of them with the buttons.

Kitty scoots closer to the armrest when I sit and I focus in on the plot. the premise is an uber successful businesswoman whose conglomeration is just a front for her underground ring. Because of Korean censorship laws, they couldn't actually show real drugs but it's heavily implied that she's creating and selling some crazy hallucinogen. The twist though is that she starts to fall in love with one of her lackeys who recently got hooked on her products. This lackey is tied to the company because he's using his labor to pay off his debt. I heard that the movie ends with his mom pregnant because of course no woman is truly fulfilled until she's a mother.

I watch Min Ho's amber eyes light up as he recounts details and stories from the set. From the skeezy director who was hooking up with a sound tech girl. To the producer who showed up drunk every two weeks. He tells me how one arts producer almost quit because he had to keep rebuilding props. and even the fight that went down between the hair designers and the costume team. I start to lose interest though when he brags about the crafty that he hooked up with while his mom performed a very emotional monologue. I swivel my head back to the TV screen as she begins that very monologue.

Her sorrowful words bring tears to my eyes but weight over rules that as I feel exhaustion kicks in. Man, I didn't realize I was this tired. The world swirls to pitch black as I hear his mom sigh and lament.

♨︎☤♨︎✄

I awake to someone gently but incessantly poking my cheek. I peel open my eyes and wipe the crust from my eyelashes. I catch the trail of droll that rolls down the corner of my mouth.

"Man you are not a pretty sleeper."

"Min Ho!" Q, I think yells from the kitchen "That is not nice!"

"I'm just saying, you snore like an ogre." I feel the seam of a blanket tickle my chin as I try to swivel my stiff neck.

"Why is there a blanket on me?" I sit up and let the blanket fall to my waist

"Huh,"

"Why is there a blanket on me?" I inquire with some 'tude

"Because I didn't want you to get cold." min ho mutters but I'm still half asleep so comprehension is still kind of out the window

"What was that Minnie?"

"I didn't want you to get cold!" he half yells half whines

"Aww, you can be sympathetic." I stand up and drape the blaket on his shoulders using it as leverage to pull him close to my face "That's sweet." I tug one side so it flies off his neck and wrap it around my shoulders.

in the Kitchen Q and Kitty are still pulling gout take-out containers. I grab a pair of chopsticks and steal a box of shrimp lomein. Q picks out a pox of fried chicken and some pork fried rice, and Kitty produces a white box of crab rangoon which she munches on happily. Min-ho returns to his room and scoffs at us. he digs through the fridge and pulls out a cabbage and starts chopping it up.

"Are you making Kim Chi for Chuseok?" Dae inquires

"Yeah,"

""Aw man. I almost wish I wasn't going home."

"You're lucky you get to go home. You don't have to be poisoned at Chuseok by Min Ho's kimchi"

"You will not be poisoned, my kimchi is nothing short of orgasmic." I stop and pause with my chopsticks an inch away from my mouth.

"That's disgusting, I suddenly would much rather sleep completely alone in my dorm now." I collect my jacket and my bag of groceries and hike back to the girl's dorm. It's cold and empty in the dorm, I have to turn on every light to see anything. I toss my jacket into oblivion bit then I pause and pick it up and hang it on the coat rack.

I switch the TV on for a source of white noise. The news anchor drones on in Korean about some scandal or another. I circle back to the bag of groceries and start disbursing them throughout the shelves. The majority of our food is freezer meals, sodas, and snacks so I did drop a few dollars on flour. I decide to call it a night. The dorm is lonely, there is no waiting for an obscene amount of time to use the bathroom. I just march right in and line up the products I'll need. I won't need to hide them for the next 6 days.

huh

I clean the bathroom after I've cleansed and wiped and moisturized and serum my face. No one is going to screw this up. I think as I observe the spotless space

huh

With a final brush to my teeth and an adjustment to my braids, I turn the bathroom lights out and lock the front door to the dorm. I flip off the lights in my dorm and tug my hoodie hood up. I pull my covers on and plug my phone in and scroll through Tik Toks. I poke a leg out and flip over on my mattress. I toss and turn for another forty minutes before exhaustion consumes me.

♨︎☤♨︎✄

I arise with perfectly soft and styled hair, and cute matching silky pajamas. Min Ho is in my kitchen preparing me a macchiato without his shirt on.

"Good morning gorgeous." he holds the cup up to me and I hold it. It's the perfect temperature and its tastes lovely when I take a sip. I lick my bottom lip of some loose foam. Min Ho walks around the counter and stands really close to my face. He smells warm and clean, like fresh laundry. In fact, his body radiates warmth.

"Uh oh, You've got a little something." He brings his thumb up to my lip and swipes excess foam off my lip. He puts his thumb to his lips and gently runs his tongue along it. Everything seems to slow down and time ticks by "Well, that was sweet," He leans in and kisses me. He leans back and his eyes flit between mine. I curl up to my tippy toes and kiss him again and his tongue licks across my bottom lip. I open my mouth and let him in.

His kiss feels incredible.

I put my cup on the counter and wrap my arms around his neck. He grabbed me at the back of my thighs, not my ass, just below. I jump up on him and he grabs on tight. He marches me into my room and sets me on the mattress. Everything feels silky, the sheets, his hair, his pajama pants, his skin. His lips feel like warm velvet cake and his body weight feels so comfortable.

I wrap my legs around his waist and he runs his hands up my neck and through my hair. He's locked in and I start rolling my hips against his groin. He feels hot against me. Everything feels hot and silky. In a startling and almost abrupt manner, I feel an oncoming orgasm. My body feels somewhere between weightless and tingling.

I wake up with a startle before I can climax.

My body was shaking. My feet feel like they're full of pins and needles. I walk around and look in the mirror. I try to look at myself but I feel so disgusted. It's not even light out I notice as I take a glance to the window.

I grab my phone and text Q

'emergency hike as soon as you wake up' 02:33

'now?" 02:34

'Oh shit, I guess' 02:34

I run into my room and find some better clothing. All I'm wearing is a hoodie and underwear. I put on a clean pair of underwear and some calf-high socks. I find a cute body suit with a chest cut out and high hips. I find a matching tech wear joggers and cropped hoodie set and throw that on with a pair of high-rise vans. I didn't take the time to put in contacts or put on makeup I just grabbed my phone and ran out the door. Q was waiting for me looking just as glowing as he normally did.

"How do you look so pretty at four in the morning?" I tuck my glasses up

"There is no need for you to be asking me questions. Why did you call an emergency hike? You were so opposed to hiking earlier?"

"Well that's because I didn't want to be around a bunch of people to just stare at me."

"Well you picked a good time, any sane person is still asleep."

"Yeah, that reminds me, why aren't you in bed?"

"Because you texted."

"Well, yeah but," We hit the first hill on the path

"Quit stalling, why did you text me?" He gives me a punitive look in my eyes. I stall until we've reached the apex, and begin our decent

"Uhh, I had a dream."

"Alright Dr. King, about what?"

"Umh about, Min Ho-"

"YOU HAD A SEX DREAM ABOUT MIN HO!"

"Well, um yeah sorta. We didn't have sex but we were making out and it was like hot."

"Ok, so do you think you like Min Ho?"

"No, I'm actually repulsed by him, but like my brain clearly wants me to like him. I'm just, I'm simply lost. Like I have a tangy feeling in my mouth just thinking about kissing him."

"Could that just be morning breath?"

"maybe, but what does this mean? I've never, er I've never really had. sex dream before."

"Never?"

"Well, not this vivid. I had one but it was like I was getting caressed by all these shadows and you could see hands and mouth coming out and attaching to my body but it was no one specific."

"That sounds hot."

"That's not the focus! what am I supposed to do Q?

"I think you should ask Min Ho to be your date to Chuseok."

"I don't think I should get a date to chuseok, especially since he's supposed to be hooking up with Lulu some time soon."

"Lulu she's totally gorgeous and has a beautiful singing voice and she's great at dancing."

"Q" I whined "You're not helping."

"Oh, so you like him?"

"NO, I'm repulsed by him."

"But you dreamt about making out with him?"

"I don't know Q," we round the corner which brings us to the end of the trail "This whole thing is so weird. It's like He's so physically hot that I would be attracted to him scientifically. But his personality is just repulsive. His ego makes me nauseous but every once in a while there is this crack in his persona. You can see this like, genuinely caring and gentle person. But his goodness doesn't outweigh his horrible terribleness."

"Well, maybe you should just make out with him and see if it fucks up your psyche."

"That's terrible."

"You should just try kissing him. Get this out of your system and then see if he wants to keep kissing you or you to him."

"That's nauseating." we reenter the school grounds and sit in the little circle with a cherry blossom tree.

"Well you were the one who dreamed about him all nakey and rubbing up on you."

"Uh gross, I need to go wash my brain and body with holy water."

"No, look, the sun is about to rise!" he points me toward the sky and we get to see the beautiful sunrise. It's so wonderful. It makes my mind clear almost instantly. I look at the conglomeration of colors. The many swirling clouds of violet ad tangerine swirl into a lovely rose to tint the clouds. I sigh and run through all the possibilities of if or If I were not to kiss him.

Every time I come upon a negative answer I just look back into the sky and I see the swirling rainbow. The world looks so pretty when you're not worried about it.

"Alright, we're going to need to get back to the dorm if we want at least an hour of sleep in us before classes." Q shakes me but I remain fixed on the sky

"Why bother, let's just skip."

"No, we don't skip this is a boarding school. Have you forgotten where you are?"

"No,"

"Well maybe you've forgotten who you are."

"Maybe. Ever since this whole transformation I really feel like a whole new girl. I've never felt the desire to rebel like this. What's wrong with me?"

"Nothing, you're doing what normal people do at 12. Some sort of sexual awakening mixed with the urge to rebel."

"You sound like me," I finally get up and join him. We walk back to the dorms. Well I to mine and him to his. I shower thoroughly and brew coffee instead of just using instant coffee. I blare music through the kitchen speakers and sing along to my heart's content. While the coffee brews, I dance around and get dressed. I've got my shirt half-buttoned and tucked sloppily into the skirt. I'm halfway through tugging my left sock on when my front door opens. I scream and topple over.

"Oh my god! Don't ever make that sound again!" from the ground I see Min Ho plugging his ears. He looks handsome in his school uniform, mmm but his tie is sloppy.

"Min Ho," I stand up and brush myself off "Ughh, Alexa volume two. Min Ho, how did you get in?"

"You left your door unlocked. Someone could have broken in." He closes the door behind himself and I hear the lock click.

"Why'd you lock the door?"

"So no one could interrupt us," he stalk closer to me and hold me around my waist. "You know coffee seems to be a good taste on your tongue." He kisses me again. It's even more heated than the first one. Except this time it's real. I can feel the warmth of his body against mine.

"UH (Y/n)?" Q shakes me awake "(Y/n), you were drooling into your coffee." I grunt myself awake and take in my surroundings. I'm not in my dorm, I'm in the boy's dorm. I've got contacts in and I'm quite neatly dressed. Even someone had french braided my hair. Kitty.

I scan over and see that Min Ho, too is very neatly dressed and his tie has been placed impeccably. Except he's not in his uniform he's just dressed for a business meeting.

"Why are you dressed so fancy?"

"I told you we're going to have a photo shoot. If the press sees what charity I've done it'' will reflect well that my mother has raised a gentle and caring son."

"And why am I being used as a pawn to further your mother's success?"

"Because I gave you a makeover. Scratch that I gave you the opportunity not to die a virgin." I slap Min Ho sharp across the jaw

"You deserve the makeover." I point in his face "I may have been ugly on the outside, but you are far worse. Your insides are hideous, you're a slimy festering worm, a conglomerate of all things evil culminating on the insides." I punctuate most of my words with a poke to his chest. Slowly I back him into a wall.

"Woah what the hell is happening?" Dae questions

"This better not be another dream," I push the door open behind us

"Another dream?"

"(Y/n), you're drooling again?" Dae shakes my shoulder

"Fuck I need to get some sleep." I wipe my eyes "And not have a sex dream." and groan into a pillow

"I'm sorry, what?"

"You're continuously having sex dreams?" I hear Min Ho say from the kitchen.

"No,"

"Who are they about?"

"None of your business. Dae shouldn't you be home?"

"I was just about to leave, but you were groaning in your sleep. Are you alright."

"I'm fine. Go home Dae," I put a hand on his shoulder.

He seems ready to leave, picking up phis duffel and almost running out of the room.

"How did I end up here?"

"Q said you passed out after taking a hike with him at four in the morning. We didn't have your card so we couldn't get into your dorm."

"Wait wait wait, before we go any further, am I dreaming?"

"You just woke up?"

"Yeah well, I've been fooled before."

"you're awake. Oh how do you say to a photoshoot with me after chuseok?"

"Holy shit am I psychic? Or is this deja vu?"

"what are you talking about?"

"I swear I just had this conversation with you. But in my dream."

"Oh, so you are having sex dreams and dreaming about me?"

"Sorta, but in this last dream I was just yelling at you. You seemed kind of turned on by it." he rears back

"So you're having multiple sex dreams about me?" I sit up and tuck my knees in

"Sort of? I was talking to a friend and they said I should just try to make out with you to get out of my system."

"What, who said that?"

"I'm not going to reveal my sources."

"Well why don't you try and kiss me and get it out your system."

"Because that's gross."

"Well, you're the one who's dreaming about it."

"I should have never told you, I knew this would go poorly."

"If you don't kiss me, maybe I'll just kiss you."

"Oh brother," I drop my face into a nearby pillow

"What," he drags me back up by my shoulder. He smiles and it just feels magnetic

"That's something you would have said in those dreams. Something super cliche and Wattpad-y"

"Well, If I kiss you what will happen?"

"I don't know," I gasp as he leans with gently puckered lips. I put a hand on his collar and give him a gentle pushback. "And I don't want to find out. I don't think I'm emotionally mature enough to be ready for a relationship with you. You're very handsome, but I'm not ready to handle you the way you are. I'll see you at dinner tomorrow Min Ho." I get up and leave the dorm. I've learned from my dreams in several ways and picked up all my belonging after making a dramatic exit.

♨︎☤♨︎✄

I decided to catch up on my sleep. And man was I exhausted. I slept for almost 16 hours and woke up the next day. It was actual Chuseok day so I needed my head screwed on straight. I got out my mom's cookbook to get the maejakgwa recipe. Because my family couldn't get them fresh I was going to make two batches. Baking always takes my mind off everything. I get so focused on the details. The timer dings as I scrub some dishes and I pull the ginger cookies out of the oven.

They smell delicious.

I want to eat all of them.

I let the cookies cool down and find a fun box to package them. I try to write out a letter to my family but I end up sobbing onto the sheet of paper. Before I can get too emotional I text a hand delivery service and tell them that I need a box of cookies brought to my friends. I prepare the box and wait by the front entrance of the school. A man on a scooter collects the box with a smile. I return to the dorm and prepare my main dish.

My granny's muguk.

I had to buy beef broth because I didn't have the time to prepare true broth. while that boils I chop radish and scallions and then slice up the beef. The dorm swells with the smell of Granny's delicious soup. It's what reminds me that I have yet to eat breakfast. I throw the final seasonings in the pot and wash my hands.

There's not much in the fridge but I find two Chobani flips and guzzle them down. Then I take down a box of strawberries. I lower the heat on the soup and let it simmer for another hour. I spend that time getting ready for dinner. I find a big slouchy cardigan and a really cool long pleated skirt. I add a simple white tank top under the cardigan and match it with some white sneakers. That sense of rebellion rises and I keep my glasses on.

I give my hair a curl and clip some pieces back and put o a light layer of makeup on. The sun is starting to set so I pot my soup and bring it down to the common area. I run back up to my dorm and retrieve the cookies and when I return the hall is almost full of expats.

Unfortunately so are Professor Finnerty and Professor Lee are there as well. I have nothing against Professor Finnerty. He's handsome and understands the students better because he seems like he's fresh out of the womb. But, Professor Lee is too intense for my peers. I like him though. I see Kitty, Q and Min Ho pull up. They place down big bowls of food and everyone finds a seat to get situated.

"Kitty, why don't you make a toast?" Q pushed her up to stand

"Well, hello everybody this is my first Chuseok but I'm going to make sure it isn't my last." There's a scatter of giggles "I want to make this toast out to my mom. Wherever you are, I love you, Mom, Happy Chuseok!" we all cheer and clink our glasses together. I find my soup and take a healthy portion of my muguk. Then I get a scoop of white rice and some japchae.

I say thank you for the food and dig in. Someone brought a gallon of Arizona iced tea so I grab a cup when I burn my tongue on the beef. I meet Min Ho at the drink station

"Oh Hello, (Y/n)."

"Min Ho you look kind of sweaty," I reach up for his forehead and it feels clammy.

"I feel fine."

"Well, you have that date tonight, right?"

"Yeah, how did you-"

"I hear you bragging about it. Just here, "I dig around my sweater pockets and provid some pills. "You look like you may need some meds. Here's Dramamine for nausea, tums, if your stomach starts spinning and cramping. It's an anti-acid. And for general pain here's some Advil." I hand him three little bottles

"Oh, why are you giving me meds. If you saw I was sick wouldn't you love that my date be sabotaged?"

"What who do you think I am? If I ugh If I like someone I'm not gonna purposefully let them have a bad date so they can crawl into my arms. Here, get Lulu an ice cream I hear she likes strawberries."

"Actually we would need to get sorbet."

I return to the tasty Japchae and my muguk. I was enjoying it until someone brought up that Min Ho is the one who cooked it.

"You cooked this Min Ho?" I pulled my utensils from my face

"Yeah, it's my mum's recipe."

"Well, it's delicious." I give him a smile and take another bite "Could use some salt."

"Is this your soup?" He takes a small bowl and has a bite "Could use some pepper."

"Well, you should try my maejakgwa cookies. Maybe bring some to Lulu."

"come here," He stands up and grabs me by the elbow. I'm taken around a corner and pressed against the wall. "what are you doing?"

"What do you mean what am I doing?" I look into his eyes and shake his hand off

"Why are you being so nice to me?"

"Because I'm a nice person?"

"Well stop, you used to have so much fire why'd you give up?"

"Because you obviously like Lulu. And she's way prettier and better at dancing than I am. So just go on that date and have fun."

I get up on my toes and give him a kiss on the cheek.

I take a deep breath and I limp back to the table ad take the display of steamed dumplings and stuff a stack of napkins in my pocket. I have no thought process my body just moves to its only comfort. I begin blindly stuffing my face until there's no elasticity left in my cheeks. I continue this self-pitying tirade until Professor Lee slams on the table to get everyone to quiet down. I realize what I've done and leave the room.

On my out of the dining hall, I find a nearby garbage bin and spit out my cheek fulls of soft gyoza. Tears are already running down my cheeks from shame. I doubt more than two people were looking at me but my brain tells me my worst fears. Everyone was watching the 'used to be' fat loser cry and stock her cheeks with pork and chicken. I get one of those napkins from my pocket and wipe the corners of my mouth. When I spot and exit I slam the metal and glass door open and continue half-assed splits as cool air hits my reddened cheeks.

"(Y/n)? What are you doing out here?" Oh no, oh god no. I turn on my heel. easiest way to avoid your problems is to run from them "Wait (Y/n) Erg!" Min Ho's distresses gurgles quell my escape

"Are you alright?" I get closer to him"what the hell's wrong with you?"

"I think someone poisoned me."

"What!" I grab my phone and start dialing the poison helpline all while blubbering nonsense Min Ho

"No, I think someone poisoned me with dairy."

"Ohhh that's why you would get sorbet." I reach through my pocket but only find the empty paper cube where the Lactaid pill I took this morning sat. "Oh shit, just," I grab him around his arms and help him up the stairs where we connect with Kitty.

"Finally, you took your sweet time,"

"Wait, you texted Kitty for help?" I let go of his shoulders

"Yeah?"

"Alright," Min Ho's phone interupts me

"It's Lulu she just pulled in. Someone cover for me. But make her feel allured, make me interesting."

"I've got it." I look Kitty in the yes and she grabs onto his bicep and they waddle to a nearby bathroom. I spin on my heel and brace the outdoors.

"Who are you? Have you seen Min Ho?"

"No, Ive been texting him nonstop but he hasn't responded." Her eyes light up. I know it's because she knows min ho is blowing me off to test her "He was supposed to take me for sorbet at six but I guess he got us both."

"Really he double-booked me with you? But you're so, whatever. You tell Minnie that we're going to dinner and sorbet at six tomorrow. One night with me and he'll have no reason to be late again." She turn on her heel and get's back into her fancy private car.

I swallow a ball in my throat and march back up the steps. Kitty is waiting for me ad Min Ho emerges from the doors looking relaxed and refreshed.

"Sooooo?"

"You two have a date tomorrow at six, you're getting dinner and sorbet. make sure to bring a condom." I pat his shoulder with the hand holding my phone. I sway drunkenly back to my room and get undressed. I line up some skin care on the ledge of the bath while it fills with hot water. I fill the tub with confused tears as I take my makeup off and comb my soppy hair.

[zehraxaksoy]

✦ CEMRE BAYSEL, CIS WOMAN, SHE/HER ✦ ZEHRA AKSOY  the TWENTY EIGHT year old has been in Hidehill for HER ENTIRE LIFE (LEFT TO TOUR ON AND OFF) and was a ONE NIGHT STAND to Carter Thompson, one of the shadows. Whispers on the streets are that the POP STAR who lives in HARLOW ESTATES are said to be TRUST WORTHY and SNAPPY but I guess we’ll find out for ourselves. {DANI, 26, GMT, SHE/HER.}  

BASICS

Full Name: Zehra Aksoy

Nickname: Z

Age: 28

DOB: July 14th 1994

Parents: Hande & Ahmet

Siblings: n/a

Hair colour: black

Eye colour: dark brown

Piercings: tba

Tattoos:  tba

Sexuality: Bisexual

Occupation: Singer in Femme Fatale (hiatus), Actress, Solo Artist

Voice Claim: Little Mix (group work), Ariana Grande (solo work)

LINKS

character playlist

discography

pinterest

connections

BIOGRAPHY

Zehra was born and raised in Hidehill. She was an only child to Hande and Ahmet, though her parents wanted more they knew financially they couldn’t support anymore children other than Zee.

She grew up in a large, close-nit family and was always very close with her cousins. She would often spend weekend sleeping at her grandparents house with all of her cousins and would often go on trips to zoo’s and parks.

Zehra discovered her love for singing after her Grandad bought her and her cousins a karaoke machine at Christmas for when they visited on the weekends. They realised she had a natural talent and though they couldn’t afford to put her into lessons they decided to buy her a karaoke machine for at home too and her parents have lots of home made videos of her singing her little heart out.

her grandad passed and she was absolutely devastated by this, she felt like she lost her best friend and for months she barely left her home. She wrote songs which even to this day she can’t read back.

A year after his passing she auditioned for the xfactor with four of her friends as a girl group nammed ‘Femme Fatale’. Her mum encouraged her and it the best thing that ever happened to her.

She gained this lifestyle she never thought she could have, she was able to give her parents and grandma a life they truly deserved and its all she could have ever asked for.

Femme Fatale consisted of 4 girls and went on to release 6 studio albums and achieve 5 number one singles.

Eventually one of the girls left due to differences (wc) and Zehra, Sasha and (tba) went on to continue as a trio before announcing their hiatus.

[gemz2001]

Now those toys bring back so many memories. The zoo near mine had loads of them but I could never afford one.

I know it not the same line of toys but this is my little owl toy and it's name is Grandma. My grandmother bought it for me when I attended a science fair as a little treat when I was young. She's sadly not with me anyone but this toy is and it's very dear to me as it hold special memories :)

wild republic 🪶 european audubon birds 🪺

[athoughtfullyautomaticcollection]

Food Hunt

Daily writing promptList your top 5 grocery store items.View all responses Shopping, it can be a zoo. We have two major supermarket chains and a local natural food store. And there are one or two rinky-dink places where you may need to sanitize anything bought there. We live in a reasonably cosmopolitan area, so why can’t I find pasta de guava or halvah? Searching for poppyseed for Grandma’s…

[aoyesoup]

ʚ(╹ڡ╹)ɞ 03.04.23 Trip to Zoo ¨♡

Went to the zoo yesterday for my sister's birthday. It was so much fun! In the past we weren't able to really go out for our birthdays to celebrate so it was nice being able to get out of the house and explore. We got to see all of our family members throughout the day, some met with us at the zoo and others went out to eat with us later in the night, then we walked around downtown until like 1am. Best. Day. Ever. Haha, we even got Dippin Dots icecream. Its hilarious because my siblings and I are 19+ and we all were giggling like children with our Dippin Dots. Man, we got to see so many animals in person. Ostrich, Hippos, Rhinos, Lizards, Snakes, I wish we got to see the Lemmurs lol BUT THATS FINE! I hope to see them with my boyfriend when we see each other again <3 We live far from each other but one day we won't ~. After visiting the zoo, we went out to eat at this wonderful Mexican restaurant, the staff were so friendly and luckily, they're margaritas were strong enough to where we could just drink there instead of going bar hopping later in the night LOL! We met up with more family then finished our meals and stayed at our grandma's for a bit then drove to our cousin's new apartment and chilled there. Vibing out to music with people you love, enjoying drinks, and just talking is so underrated. I'd love doing that everyday if I could :,) After vibin at the apartment, we hit the streets of downtown and oh my god, lemme tell ya, the city is so beautiful. Lights and projectors, music, drunk people, sober people, families at parks, couples taking strolls, all of it made for the perfect film-like scene. I literally felt like we were in a movie with some of what we experienced during that walk aaaah! I may move to the city one day just to see the night life and early mornings. Here are some photos I took while we were at the zoo. There are many more but I think I'll keep those in my phone for now. I wanted to take my new Sony camera while we were out, jeeez those would've been some fire pics if I did. Would start with photos from the drive to the zoo and end with blurry downtown selfies of everyone laughing in the street and stumbling into a corner 7/11 for the second time LOL! I gotta take my camera out more. I have 3 total; Polaroid Now 2(? I think thats what its called), Canon Rebel x(?), and Sony RZsomething haha. And hell no I'm not rich! The Canon was a gift from my dad when I was like 15. The Polaroid was a birthday gift I bought for myself specifically to take photos of my boyfriend and I when he came down to visit for the first time (our first real life encounter o3O we some online daters lmao) in 2021. The Sony is my newest baby, was also a self birthday/christmas gift in 2022. One of the best decision of my life has been purchasing that camera... For many reasons.. ANYWHO these photos from the zoo were captured on my lovely, timeless iPhone 6s :) Enjoy my wonderful pixels ♡

[huggybug]

for dilf day can you y/n and their daughter going to visit trevor on the road but they went back to the hotel before the game was over and so when trevor gets there their daughter is super excited to see him and she’s like “ we need to wake up mommy she wants to see you” and trevor tells her that they should let mommy sleep and they she will see him in the morning then when trevor is getting ready for bed their daughter is just talking about what’s been going on scene trevor left ( OMG this is so long i’m sorry but i think about this a lot) also can the daughter be like 3-4

okay… i totally thought somewhere in the ask i saw it was for poppy?? obviously it doesn’t but i didn’t notice until after i wrote it so i’m sorry but it’s about poppy😭😭

When Trevor finally got back to the hotel, he walked into a dark room to find Poppy sitting on the small couch, watching a show on her ipad while you were fast asleep in bed.

“Daddy!” Poppy jumps up, throwing the ipad down as she runs to Trevor who lifts her in his arms, dropping his bag as he carries her away from the door. 

“How was the game baby? I thought you’d be asleep by the time I got home” It was late, close to midnight and while it wasn’t exactly a problem that she was awake, he figured since they weren’t there after the game, it was because Poppy was too tired to stay the whole game.

“So fun! Mommy’s tired” Poppy says loudly, pointing over to where you were asleep on the bed. 

“Shh c’mon babe, let’s let Mommy sleep while we get you ready for bed” He walks into the washroom, shutting the door quietly behind them so that Poppy’s loud voice doesn't wake you.

“Mommy was sad” Poppy says after brushing her teeth (like a big girl!).

“Oh? Why baby?”

“She wants to see you. You weren’t at home” Trevor’s heart pounds. He hated leaving them, even if he had been for years now, that didn’t make it any easier.

“You know Daddy has to work though, right? That’s why I can’t always be home” Poppy was smart for her age, she understood that Trevor had to leave. That he plays hockey and sometimes that means he can’t be home.

“I know and Mommy knows but Baby Lu doesn’t know that. He’s sad too Daddy” Poppy explains like Trevor’s silly for not knowing that her unborn brother was upset about it all.

“I’ll have to tell him then” Trevor smiled softly. “I’ll do it tomorrow okay? But I missed you P, tell me what you did at home this week” That sets her off, she talks about the baby store you took her to and all the baby boy things you bought. She recounts the visit with your mom, the day at the zoo with Grandma and how you all went for ice cream afterwards. She talks the whole time Trevor’s getting ready for bed and all the way over to her bed.

“Okay, bed time P” Trevor sets her down, tucking her in. Poppy wiggles out from under the covers to get her arms around his neck, pulling him down into a hug.

“I missed you Daddy. I wish you didn’t have to leave to play hockey”

“I know babe, I missed you too. We have all day tomorrow but you’ve gotta sleep now so it’ll come quicker” That's all it takes for her to flop down into bed and she's asleep before Trevor can get into bed himself. You feel the bed dip and roll over to see Trevor carefully maneuvering himself to try and disrupt you as little as possible but being in your second trimester, any movement was enough to wake you.

“Shit sorry baby” He whispered, pressing a kiss to your forehead.

“Sorry we left early today”

“I heard it was because you were tired, didn’t know my playing was so boring these days” Even through the darkness, you could see the smirk on his face.

“Hm I wasn't tired, it was all Lu” You smiled tiredly when you felt his hand land on your belly.

“Can’t be mad at that then can I?” Trevor whispered. “P told me you were sad, that’s why you guys left” 

“Just missed you” You were still half asleep so it all came out mumbled together.

“I missed you too baby” Trevor wrapped his arms around you as best he could, in a form of a makeshift hug. “Season’s almost over though, then we get four uninterrupted months of each other”

“Oh aren’t I lucky?” You say sarcastically and he pokes your side in retaliation.

“The luckiest” He winks and kisses you before saying goodnight and passing out with you following close after

[william-t-sickofyourshit]

Their whole museum tour passed in such atmosphere – to Sebastian’s delight grandma Charlotte was happily sharing dozens of cute anecdotes about little William, and then William would pout, all embarrassed, and in turn he would tease Sebastian too. Their constant banter made Charlotte laugh, they were so cute together! And Sebastian was just so charming and funny, a delight to be around. She could see clearly why her grandson considered him his best friend – Sebastian’s company was wonderful.

They didn’t get to walk around the entire museum, because that would really take a whole day. And they had dinner reservation, after all.  But since Sebastian had this little printed guide with a map, they strategically walked around the exhibitions that interested them the most. They went to historical fashion exhibition, which was especially a treat for Charlotte, but also Sebastian. William especially liked the exhibition about birds – there were beautifully painted illustrations from old zoology books, and also they displayed stuffed bird species. Which was of course sad, but very informative, and honestly the only change to see some of the rare kinds.

In the end, they spent almost three hours waking around the museum, and by the end of it their feet were sore, and they were all very hungry. Fortunately, it was almost time for their dinner reservation, so Charlotte decided that Thomas should take them to the restaurant right away. But first – of course – they needed to visit the gift shop. William bought himself some postcards with bird paintings, and for Sebastian he got plush a saber-toothed tiger. “Here. Together with the one I got you at London’s zoo it seems you’re starting your own collection.” William chuckled.

Once shopping was done as well, they left the museum, and found Thomas waiting with the car on a nearby parking spot. Little did Sebastian know – while they were touring the museum, Thomas, working on Charlotte’s instructions, went back to the music store to pick up the violin. The instrument was now safely waiting in the trunk of the car, waiting to be gifted to Sebastian later in the evening, back at the mansion.

For I have sinned...

The principal cleared his throat, eyes scanning the notes that he had wrote down before this meeting. It already lasted an hour, and the teachers gathered in the faculty room were becoming restless and bored. But indeed there were some things to discuss, with the concert that the senior class was supposed to perform at the end of the semester, and with recent staff changes. 

William glanced down at his watch, sighing softly. His class was starting in 15 minutes, so at least, whether the meeting will be done soon or not, he will get to excuse himself. He looked out of the window, his mind wandering. Principal’s voice turned into white noise in the background. It was a pleasant day, late summer. But William was looking forward to a slightly cooler weather. Wearing all black could really be bothersome at times. 

“And lastly, I am pleased to announce that we have finally found replacement for the violin teacher. Dear Mr Tanaka, may he rest in peace, was with us for so many years that I’ve been concerned we won’t be able to find someone as good as to fill this position.” the principal spoke. “But Mr… Michaelis, was highly recommended to me, and he indeed has impressive references. He will be starting this week, so please welcome him warmly once he will arrive. Ah yes… about that. He will arrive today at noon, I need someone to pick him up from the train station and bring over for the tour around the school. Any volunteers?” 

William was barely listening, and definitely not paying much attention. He glanced at his watch again, and saw that it was time to leave, as his class was about to start. He raised his hand to excuse himself, and little did he know, he just volunteered.

“Father William! Excellent!” the principal exclaimed. “Just don’t be late, the train arrives at noon.”

“Train…?” William questioned, raising his brow. He had a feeling he was missing something…

***

Right after the meeting, William had to run for the class, so he had little time to clarify what exactly he had volunteered for. He was a piano teacher in this Music Academy, but also he served as a priest in local church. Well respected, and rather liked. So when he later found out it was about the new violin teacher, he didn’t refuse. Who, other than himself, would be a better choice to introduce a newcome to their community?

So even though he raised his hand by accident, he accepted this fate.

After classes, at noon, William took a taxi and drove to the train station, to pick up their new teacher. Wearing black trousers, and a black shirt with a thin tie, was absolutely dreadful in this weather, so William quickly found shelter under the roof of the station platform, that provided some shade.

The train had just arrived. William had no idea how Mr Michaelis looked like, but he figured he will just look for someone carrying a violin case with them. 

He was in for a bit surprise.

@crazyvik97

[issyromero]

✦ ALEXA DEMIE, FEMALE, SHE/HER ✦ ISABELA ROMERO the TWENTY-SEVEN year old has been in Hidehill for TWO YEARS and was a ONE NIGHT STAND to Ronnie Nilsson. Whispers on the streets are that the POP STAR who lives in HARLOW ESTATES. She is said to be TRUSTWORTHY and SNAPPY but I guess we’ll find out for ourselves. { DANI, 26, GMT, SHE/HER. }

BASICS

Full Name: Isabela Jade Romero

Nickname: Is, Issy, Bella

Age: 27

DOB: 5th November 1995

Parents: Adriana Romero (née Garcia) & Gabriel Romero

Hair colour: black

Eye colour: brown

Piercings: ears

Tattoos:  none

Sexual Orientation: Bisexual

Occupation: Singer in Rhythmix (On Hiatus)

Positive Traits: Friendly, Trustworthy, Thoughtful, Patient

Negative Traits: Snappy, Clumsy, Foolish, Sensitive

LINKS

Discography

Pinterest

Playlist

Connections

BIOGRAPHY

Isabela was born and raised in Oldham, Greater Manchester, England. She was an only child to Adriana and Gabriel, though her parents wanted more they knew financially they couldn’t support anymore children other than Issy.

She grew up in a large, close-nit family and was always very close with her cousins. She would often spend weekend sleeping at her grandparents house with all of her cousins and would often go on trips to zoo’s and parks.

Issy discovered her love for singing after her Grandad bought her and her cousins a karaoke machine at Christmas for when they visited on the weekends. They realised she had a natural talent and though they couldn’t afford to put her into lessons they decided to buy her a karaoke machine for at home too and her parents have tones of home made videos of her singing her little heart out.

her grandad passed and she was absolutely devastated by this, she felt like she lost her best friend and for months she barely left her home. She wrote songs which even to this day she can’t read back.

A year after his passing she auditoned for the xfactor. Her mum encouraged her and it the best thing that ever happened to her. From there the girl group Rhythmix was formed and she found the sisters she always wanted.

She gained this lifestyle she never thought she could have, she was able to give her parents and grandma a life they truly deserved and its all she could have ever asked for.

Rhythmix consisted of 4 girls and went on to release 6 studio albums and achieve 5 number one singles.

Eventually one of the girls left due to differences and Issy, Zay and Liv went on to continue as a trio before announcing their hiatus.

They moved to hidehill two years ago after signing to a new record label in nashville with the remaining band members and bought a house with olivia and zaylee in harlow estates.

[underburningstars]

Sequel to peter seeing ghost, so tony and peter are married and they adopted a kid, who can see ghost as well but didn't understand and is scared because no one believed him

Part One

on ao3

Series

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

Pairing : TTony Stark/Peter Parker

Tags : Light angst, fluff, supernatural elements

TW : mention of past child a*use

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

The caretaker is packing his bag. Because his new parents are coming to take him. Eddie had talked to them before. They took him to a zoo and bought him lunch, even gave him ice cream.

They seemed like nice people. But the parents he had before were nice too. At least nice until he told them his secret. Being called a 'freak' didn't have anything nice about it.

Eddie, in his tender age of seven knows well enough that he should never tell others about his curse ever again. He's determined to hide this from his new parents.

More so, because one of his parents is a superhero. Surely they would never like their child to be someone like the evil villains they hate. A freak.

Eddie is washed and clothed in a brand new outfit by the time his new parents come to take him. The worker tells him that from now on he's Edward Parker-Stark. He likes it. So he plans to do his very best to make it last.

They are waiting outside for his parents to come. They're running a bit late and for a moment Eddie feels fear creeping in thinking that maybe they found out about his curse and changed their mind.

But then a fancy black car parks outside the centre and two men walk towards him. The shorter man crouches in front of him, "Hey Eddie, remember me? I'm Peter"

"Hello, Mr. Peter." Eddie greets meekly. Mr. Peter and the other man - Iron Man! - share amused looks.

"You can call me Papa, if you like. And you can call him," Mr. Peter - Papa - points at Iron Man, "Dad. Would you like that?"

It sounds nice. Papa and Dad. In his old house he had to call them sir and ma'am. So he smiles and nods, "Yeah, I'd like that."

Papa smiles widely at him, "Okay, let's go to the car, shall we? Tony will do all the boring paperwork." Dad narrows their eyes at Papa and he and Eddie both giggle while walking towards the car. Eddie thinks maybe this 8s his chance to be happy.

-

Soon he finds himself loving his new home. It's big and pretty. He also gets his own room. But what he most likes that Papa always makes the tastiest breakfast and Dad's hot chocolate is the best food in the world, he likes that they help him fit in and study for his new school, that they take him to trips and picnics every Sunday and never force him to do anything he doesn't like.

He likes that he now knows what it's like to be part of a family. He also likes it when Papa's uncle visits them, or his grandpa and grandmas. But that's a secret he makes sure to always keep to himself.

It's a sunny day when all things get ruined for Eddie. The day was bright and there was the perfect amount of wind. It was something that one would describe as the perfect day. Dad said so too. That is why now they were on their way to a picnic.

It's been a while since they've been to a picnic. Dad and Papa have been busy with work the past days and Eddie too spent a lot of time with his new friends. So he's quite excited for this trip.

His favourite thing about picnics is when the day before they all prepare the food together. But this time it was possible because he woke up in the morning to his Dad loudly announcing that it's picnic day. Thankfully it was a Sunday. So Papa didn't protest. Much.

Dad ordered food from some restaurant and after picking them up they were headed to the picnic spot. The place was big and green and there wasn't anyone else besides them. He thought maybe Dad did something for that. He's starting to realise that his Dad is a very powerful man. Even outside his Iron Man suit.

Eddie has always been the type to run around aimlessly. The foster care and the people at his old house didn't like it. They used to say that he's ruining their peace. But Dad and Papa never say anything to him about it. Just watch him fondly and shake their heads with a smile.

So Eddie runs around all he wants for the rest of the day. He plays Frisbee with Papa, eats his lunch and helps Dad push Papa into the nearby lake and then jump in themselves.

On the way back he's so tired that he can barely keep his eyes open. That's when things go wrong. Halfway through the ride home grandpa Ben joins them in the car. Eddie can see him smiling at them all.

Especially at Papa when he grumpily tries to scold Dad, "You'll both get sick now! What were you thinking?"

"Oh, come on honey. It was fun wasn't it. And Eddie enjoyed himself too. Right Eds?" Dad puts the car on self driving mode and turns to him with a smile.

"Yes, Dad. It was fun." He answers sleepily, rubbing his tiny fists on his eyes as if it would make the sleep go away.

Beside him Grandpa Ben shakes his head laughing, "Oh come on Peter. You enjoyed it too. Stop the grumpy act already."

Eddie's mind was too fogged with sleep to be careful about his secret when he said, "Yes Papa. Listen to Grandpa Ben and stop the grumpy act."

Dad and Papa freeze in their seats and look at him but by then he had already closed his eyes and was deep in sleep.

-

The next morning when he wakes up he notices that the environment is tense and all his Grandparents except Grandma May us here. He looks around the table confusedly but doesn't say anything.

"I'm not going to school today?" he asks.

"No Eds, today we're taking a break." Dad smiles at him and Eddie feels relieved to see that his smile is genuine.

"Okay." he nods his head and digs into his breakfast.

-

After breakfast they all sit in the living room, playing something on the TV none of them are actually paying any attention to. Eddie thinks that maybe this is it. They probably got sick of him or realised that he's not the son they actually want and are gonna send him away.

"Are you-are you sending me back?" he asks, not actually wanting to know the answer.

Papa quickly turns to look at him, his brows creasing him worry, "No sweetie, of course not. Why would you say that?"

"Yes bud. You're our son. We love you. We would never send you away." Dad quickly adds.

"Then why are you being like this?"

"Eddie, yesterday," Papa starts talking, "Yesterday in the car, you said something about Grandpa Ben. Why did you say that?"

Eddie feels frear creep into him. His breath quickens. Oh no, oh no. They know. They know I'm a freak. No no no…

"Eds, Eddie bud look at me." Dad picks him up and starts rocking him gently, "It's okay it's okay. Breathe kiddo. There you go. Yeah."

He hides his face in Dad's chest and starts crying. Grandma Maria is smiling at him from beside Dad, trying to calm him down. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry, I don't know why I'm like this. Please don't send me away." He sobs.

"No one's sending you anywhere hun. And you've done nothing wrong." Papa says after coming beside him.

"I can see ghosts. I'm-I'm not normal."

"Eddie, look at me." Papa says, "Grandma Maria is sittinon the ofa and looking at us right?" he asks.

Eddie looks at hi Papa in confusion. How does Papa know that? He slowly nods his head, "Yes, she's there."

"Wearing a light blue dress?"

"Wearing a light blue dress."

"Eddie, there's nothing wrong with you." Dad says after kissing his forehead.

"But-but I'm cursed! I can-I can see dead people. So, I'm cursed right? Are you cursed too Papa?"

"It's not a curse, Eddie." Papa smiles at him sadly, "It's a blessing. To be able to be with your loved ones after they're gone."

"A blessing? A good thing?" he asks.

"Yeah Buddy. A good thing." and Papa confirms.

"I don't understand." Eddie says with a tiny whimper. "So does that mean I'm not a freak?"

Eddie feels his Dad tensing up under him, "Who said that to you? He sounds angry but he understands that the anger isn't directed towards him.

"Not now Tony." Papa tells Dad and then turns to him, "No, Eddie you're not a freak. Not at all. You're a lovely child with the most wonderful blessing. That's what you are."

Eddie feels himself calming down and lays back on Dad's chest. It's still a bit hard to believe that he's blessed. After being told for so long that he was abnormal, the situation feels too surreal.

But maybe in time he'd get used to this too.

[firealder2005]

Infodump, infodump, infodump!

If yes or used to please say in the tags whats it's name,what animal it is and how old it is"

[crimsonblackrose]

I was tagged by

@ceruleangold

to talk about good things happening around me lately: (Her words are “to babble about good things happening in my atmosphere lately” which I adore) This is longer than I expected mostly about being home (ish, I grew up like an hour away from where I am now, so not quite, but close) so it’s under the readmore so I don’t destroy anyone’s dash and because there are heavy topics mentioned.

Tagging: @youandthemountains, @zerrah, @kellmeo, @hatethatoneguy   (totally optional, sorry if you’ve already been tagged.)

I’ve spent 2 weeks back home(ish) with my birth mom’s side of the family. I haven’t seen them in a long time, hadn’t met 2 of the little ones.

I’ve gotten to work in the back office of the family business which is kind of fun. It used to be my grandpa’s. My aunt made me a sandwich, a little bag of chips, and got me chocolate milk to have for my first day with her.

The baby smiles whenever she sees me. Learned that babies are heavy.

I’ve gotten to hang out with 4 dogs, 3 cats, 2 cows, 10 chickens, 2 goats, and a donkey. All of the dogs and cats have been super sweet, which was a needed reminder because our rescue doesn’t like cuddles and is an anxious ball of nerves and kind of stuck in toddler terrible twos. Really loving all the dog snoring. It’s weirdly comforting.

Got to hang out with some step/half cousins who I don’t know well but got to get to know better. One I’ve known of but have only met in brief moments and we actually hung out this time and he made me a cosmo. Kind of fun getting a pink drink handed to me by a tattoo’d trucker. 

One of my little cousins was super shy but very adamant later in this trip that I hold his hand through the dark and it was adorable. I’m curious to see how he reacts when I come over again to stay with his family before heading home. Because he ignored/hid from me the first time I stayed with them.

I got to swing by all the houses I’d planned to, stayed at 3/4 of them only because there’s not really enough room at that 4th one for a guest. But it’s been nice to work from everyone’s homes. Currently I’m at the goth house which honestly I love it a lot. There’s a goth lounge bar where my cousin made me a bright green cocktail when I arrived and I failed at using any of the TV’s which I found hilarious.

My cousin did my nails, it’s my first gel set, I made cupcakes that everyone’s enjoyed.

 The toddler at this house gave me a hug yesterday before going to bed and I’m not sure he’s figured out my name yet but he’s a sweetie. 

My cousin keeps buying me mochas so I have a nice cup of tea in a elixir potions advertisement for eyes of frog mug and a starbucks frappe. 

I got to meet the guy my family always talks about who makes natural punk rock deodorant. He laughed at all my stories and was a great audience, though I’m pretty sure it was 99% because he was super super high. Also he brought stuff for my aunt and she tried to cover my eyes. Lol and then ten minutes later he offered me his e-cig. (Didn’t, but I would like to just note for my amusement that I think that’s one of the first times anyone's offered me any, all the PSA’s are lies lol)

Arguably good thing. For closure I guess. Tonight we’re going to the cemetery to finally spread my birth mom’s ashes. She passed a couple years ago but the timing was always bad. That’s two now in like a monthish for spreading ashes. We did my dad’s in February. Weird fact: My grandma bought me and my cousin (possibly other family members, I’ve never seen it) a grave so that’s going to be super super weird to see today. Family reminded me like hey, just as a heads up we’re also going to see your grave. Thanks grandma. 

I get back home Saturday in the morning and if all goes well a friend’s going to meet me and we’re going to go to the zoo.

I got to write an article for work last week and it was a travel article and I’m very happy about it and just nervously awaiting feedback from the head editor, which I was told she’s doing today. Also I’m editing for the vertical I was pulled from so that’s weird, and also waiting approval on that one. 

Next month one of my friends whose usually super busy and now has a kid and I are going to catch up.

Earlier this month (I think?)  a friend came by with a love bomb, which was my first time witnessing that in real life and I just sat in her car and she held my hand while I cried. 

I have something waiting for me at home when I get home from friends. I’m still slowly processing things and untangling my feelings and where I am let alone telling people about my Dad, but friendship just always brings me to tears. Like in a good way. 

When it warms up I plan to go kayaking which is exciting.

There’s this awards thing for a fandom I’ve been writing for and we’re doing the first round of voting and I’m stunned how many times the fics I’m writing pops up for different sections or a character. I usually pop in and out of fandoms, but the big fic I’m writing has kind of, without meaning to, is getting me through arguably one of the roughest patches of my life and introduced me to wonderful people who as I’m voting I’ve realized I now actually kind of know more of these people beyond their usernames and how kind they are and it’s just such a wonderful thing. And it’s comforting and fun and I’m enjoying it. So thank you to ceruleangold, I’m really grateful to be here (and there). 

[gravelyhumerus]

Criminal Minds College AU - Chapter Ten

Fandom: Criminal Minds

Title: “I may just take your breath away”

Relationship: Jemily

Total word count: 47,939

Summary:

Emily tries apple cider, things get corny, Spencer wins a prize, and the night ends with a kiss.

Slow-burn Jemily college AU where they live across the hall and despite all odds, the universe pushes them together. AKA they’re silly gay babies who pine after each other for months. Takes place over the span of the first semester of their sophomore year.

Read it on AO3

Tumblr:  One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six, Seven, Eight, Nine, Ten, Eleven, Twelve, Thirteen, Fourteen, Fifteen, Sixteen, (bonus scene), Seventeen, Eighteen, Nineteen, Twenty, Epilogue

“See, I told you it was good,” JJ grinned up at Emily, adjusting the blue scarf that was wrapped tightly around her own neck against the cool air. 

Emily licked her lips as she held a paper cup filled to the brim with apple cider tightly in her hands. 

“Ok fine,” Emily admitted, “You were right, cider is good.”

JJ watched as she took another sip, as a smile spread across her face at the taste. JJ knew she was right, that apple cider at a fall fair always tasted better than anything from the grocery store. 

The two of them walked across the leaf-strewn grass, trailing behind their friends to talk. When JJ had told Penelope about her conversation with Emily about how the girl had never been to a fall fair, her roommate insisted that they rally the troops to make it happen. 

Both JJ and Emily still had a lingering cough, but other than that, they had just about made a full recovery. Somehow, the others had escaped coming down with the same thing, and so all of them were able to make the trek to the other side of their college town to attend the fair. JJ had the day off from soccer, a rare thing these days with playoffs imminent, and during essay season, and she intended to make the most of it. 

JJ kept catching Emily looking at her. It was the same way that a wild animal would look at her if she was offering food, nervous, waiting for the other shoe to drop. She could tell something was bothering her. But knew the more she probed, the more Emily would shut down. 

She wondered if Emily felt awkward after sleeping in her bed, and worried that she had pushed things too far. JJ had been forward, and felt slightly guilty about that, but in her own feverish state, her sole focus had been to make sure Emily was alright. JJ reminded herself that Emily was here, and hadn’t run from her despite all that had happened. She could take a slightly closed-down Emily over none at all, any day. 

The fair itself was located on a farm on the outskirts of the city. Their school had arranged for a shuttle bus to facilitate this wholesome entertainment for their undergrads. It deposited them on a muddy grass field filled with carnival games, a midway, vendors and miscellaneous fall themed activities.

Golden leaves shone in the sunlight, and JJ raised her face to feel its warmth. It was a nice day, the first after weeks of rain. Her wool sweater was more for the fall festivities than for warmth, as it was pleasant outside, but she knew once the sun set she would be grateful for it. 

Emily was looking as beautiful as ever, wearing a maroon turtleneck underneath a black corduroy jacket that looked soft to the touch. Her lips matched, painted with a dark purple-red hue that made her look elegant and mysterious.

She hoped that today would be fun for Emily, knowing that the girl missed out on a lot of the childhood staples of the average American, and JJ wanted to rectify it. Hopefully it would also ease some of the tension between them as well. 

JJ gasped when she saw the petting zoo near the entrance, which was a spacious zone filled with chickens, goats, two llamas, some sheep, cows, and most importantly, the most beautiful horse she’d seen in ages. It was, in fact, the only horse she’d seen up close since that summer, and it was quite scruffy up close.

In her excitement, she found herself reaching out her hand, grasping Emily’s and pointing as she exclaimed: “Horse!” 

She internally cringed at her own behaviour, but Emily looked excitedly where she pointed and followed at her side as she veered towards the animals. 

The horse was a brown gelding, with a black mane and a stripe down his nose. As JJ approached he leaned his head over the fence in anticipation of some treats. Slowing down, JJ approached, still hand in hand with Emily, quietly and calmly so that she didn’t startle him. 

His brown eyes watched her, his ears forward and relaxed, and leaned into her outstretched hand as she reached to pet his nose. JJ’s cold bare hand met warm horse face and her mind flashed back to all the times she rode her grandmother’s horse as a kid.

“He looks like Socks,” JJ giggled, as the horse tried to nibble gently at her sweater, “You’re a good boy, aren’t you?”

“Socks?” Emily asked, with a quizzical look on her face, keeping distance between her and the horse. 

The others caught up with them, milling about the petting zoo and interacting with the various animals. Derek and Penelope bought some feed with a quarter from the dispenser and used the flat of their hands to feed some sheep.

“One of my grandma’s horses,” JJ explained, “His name was Socks. He was her favourite and when she got too old to ride, I would.”

“You ride horses?” Emily asked. 

“Not that well,” JJ admitted, “But Socks was patient with me.”

Noticing Emily’s hesitance, JJ smiled at her, trying to reassure her friend. 

“Do you want to pet him?” 

Emily nodded. JJ guided her hand onto his neck, leading her as she stroked it gently. A look of awe crossed Emily’s face and JJ couldn’t help but giggle at the sight. 

JJ removed her hand and let Emily take over, watching as the horse nuzzled Emily, taking great interest in her hair. JJ reached her hand out—and just in time—moved his mouth away just as he attempted to take a mouthful.

“Don’t be rude,” JJ exclaimed, guiding his face away from her friends hair, “That’s not for you.”

Emily’s jaw had dropped, holding onto her hair in horror. 

“They do that sometimes,” JJ explained. 

Emily nodded sagely before nervously returning to give him another pat, her reservations clear on her face.

“Why Socks?” Emily asked, after a moment. 

“He had white marks on his legs,” she explained, “They looked like socks.”

“Seems reasonable,” she said. 

The crew left the petting zoo and walked towards the carnival games area. A wave of nostalgia hit JJ like a truck. Every fall when she was a kid, she and her sister would always beg her for their parents to take them to the fair, insisting that they play all of the games and go on the rides multiple times. In retrospect, it probably cost a ton of money which they definitely could not afford, but her parents would hand them a stack of tickets and let themselves be dragged around the fair by the two girls. 

JJ closed her eyes, breathing in the scent of popcorn, funnel cake and corn dogs—not altogether an entirely pleasant smell—but one that brought her back to being six years old and walking hand-in-hand with her sister.

Emily knocked their shoulders lightly, the motion bringing JJ back into the present, locking eyes with Emily.  

She couldn’t wrap her head around the fact that this was Emily’s first fall fair. The other girl looked onto the attractions with apprehension, gawking at the sheer mass of fried food and the loud rides and hordes of people swarming the games. 

“These games are all rigged,” JJ explained. “They’re next to impossible to win.” 

“But you can win,” Emily said, a challenge in her voice. 

JJ nodded.

“I’ve seen some folks walking around with that bear at least,” JJ gestured at a fuzzy brown teddy bear that sat on the top shelf of the dart game’s prize shelf. Other prizes included dangling stuffed snakes and some other plastic toys. 

“It’s cute,” Emily commented, smiling up at the bear.  

JJ smiled as her whole group went head to head on the water gun game, lined up in a row and shooting at the targets as if they were at a shooting range. Each played the game with the focus and determination as if it were a life or death situation, and not a carnival game. 

After, they all spread out around the stalls of games, competing with each other or going it alone as they played games that interested them. 

Emily’s smile kept crossing JJ’s mind as the games wore on, and the thought of that bear stuck in her mind. It’s cute, Emily had said. JJ could get it for her. She was great at darts. 

JJ circled back to the dart game, slamming a five dollar bill on the table and getting a handful of darts. She tossed one. The balloon popped. Another. Pop. Another. Pop. She hit every single one she threw. 

This was harder than it looked, as the balloons were barely filled, it needed a lot of force, and a wicked aim to pop them. JJ, luckily, had both. 

“Pick something from the first shelf,” the employee told her. 

JJ frowned, looking at the fluorescent stuffed animals on the first row. They looked cheap, and none were as cute as the bear, which sat between a monkey and a rabbit on the top shelf. 

“How do I get the bear?” she asked. 

“Win again,” he said, with an apathetic shrug. He was just a teenager, probably only getting paid minimum wage. JJ couldn’t help but glower at him.

JJ sighed, paying him for another round. She knew that the toy itself was worthless, but it wasn’t about that. It was about winning it for Emily. 

“What are you doing?” A voice asked her from behind as she lined up her next shot. 

Spencer. He was standing to her right, clutching a plastic bag in his hands. He wore a pair of sunglasses and smiled awkwardly in greeting. 

“Darts,” JJ answered, “What does it look like?”

She looked at the bag. It was clear and filled with water, with a small goldfish swimming around inside. 

“You won a fish?” JJ asked.

“Yup,” Spencer said, gesturing over at a game that was essentially beer pong, but instead of cups full of alcohol, it was a series of fish tanks. 

He explained that he had won on his first try, and now was a proud owner of a goldfish. JJ was certain it would die before they got back to residence, but decided not to burst his bubble. The kid was smiling at his fish, looking proud of himself. 

JJ turned back to the game and focused on an orange balloon that waved in the wind. She threw. Hit. The balloon popped. 

“I just want that damned bear,”  JJ hissed, gripping the dart tight in her hand. 

“Why?” Spencer asked, his forehead furrowed. 

“Why” was a great question! For my not-girlfriend because I’m just such a good friend, was the answer, but she wasn’t going to say that . Because I want her to like me, and I want her to date me, but I can’t work up the courage to ask her. Because she might be gay, but might not, and I haven’t even asked her that. Because all I want is for her to smile. 

JJ sighed. 

“I want to win it for Emily, ok?” JJ said.

“You could buy her a nicer bear if you wanted with this money,” he pointed out. 

“I know,” JJ said, aiming her dart. Another hit. “I just have to hit three more and then I win.”

JJ was being pointedly obtuse, she knew if she began to explain, it would all come rushing out. She could handle Penelope’s teasing, but that was her limit. 

Spencer began to speak, but she shushed him. She threw another. Hit. The balloon popped with a satisfying pop. Two more. 

Reid held his fish up to his face, examining it close up. Just as she was about to throw her last shot, she felt a hand clap her on the back in the unmistakable gesture of Derek Morgan greeting her. 

“What’re we playing, kids?” he asked. 

“JJ wants the bear,” Spencer informed him. “For Emily.”

Derek grinned at her. JJ ignored both of them, squinting at a bright red balloon and taking her aim.

Pop. She did it. Both Derek and Spencer cheered for her, despite their earlier misgivings. JJ slapped the metal barrier between her and the employee in glee as he nodded approvingly at her achievement. 

The employee used a telescopic grabber to lift the bear off a tall shelf and handed it to her with a smile. 

She hugged the bear to her chest, elated with her accomplishment despite Derek’s probing looks. She wasn’t quite sure what to do with Emily’s best friend these days. He seemed to know something that she didn’t, and she caught him smiling at her and Emily when they spoke. 

JJ was relieved when he shifted his attention to discussing the logistics of goldfish ownership with Reid.

The three of them wandered through the stalls, taking a break for Reid and Morgan to pick up candy apples, then ran back into the rest of the group. Penelope, Hotch, Rossi and Emily were still at the water gun booth, cheering Emily on as she played against a boy that looked like he was about their age. 

A bell rang, and a light flashed over Emily’s head. She had won. 

JJ walked up behind her, watching as Emily got to point out her prize. She pointed to the exact same bear as JJ had tucked behind her back. 

“JJ will love it,” Penelope said to Emily, neither girl knowing that JJ was right behind them. 

“Love what?” JJ said, confused. 

Emily turned around looking at JJ, clutching the bear to her chest. 

“Uh, you said you saw these bears around,” Emily said, “I thought you might want one.”

Derek and Spencer both burst into laughter, as JJ felt blush creep over her face. Emily held the bear out to her, with a shy look on her face. To her left, Penelope’s jaw had dropped and both Hotch and Rossi’s usually serious expressions were filled with bemusement. 

JJ pulled out the bear from behind her back and presented it to Emily. Both girls were holding identical bears out to each other, each having independently decided to win it for the other. 

“This is the cutest thing I’ve ever seen,” Penelope squealed. 

JJ and Emily exchanged identical bears, both feeling quite silly. JJ was speechless, simply grinning at Emily, who smiled down at her. 

Hotch broke the silence after a minute, pointing to what was in Spencer’s hand. “Is that a fish?” 

   “We should do the corn maze next!” Penelope squealed, pointing at the painted wooden sign leading towards a field with what looked like an endless maze. 

“Mazes are actually quite simple,” Reid said, “You have to hug the right side wall for the duration of the maze and you will eventually reach the exit. It beats getting hopelessly lost in the hopes of entertainment.” 

“That’s one way to do it,” Hotch commented, looking over to a smirking Rossi.

“Come on Reid,” Derek chastised, throwing an arm around his shoulder, “You couldn’t possibly think that’s the best way of doing it.

“How do you suggest we should approach it?” Spencer asked as he shrugged Derek’s arm off of him.

“You gotta get a feel for it,” Derek replied. “Remember where you came from.”

Spencer made a non committal noise.

“Getting lost comes with the territory,” Derek added, “It’s part of the fun.”

Emily gave him a look, but didn’t contribute to the debate. 

“You won’t be saying that when you’re lost, cold and surrounded by corn,” Spencer retorted.

���He’s got a point about the corn,” Hotch quipped. 

“I’ve never seen this much corn in my life,” Emily admits, “I haven’t spent much time around farms.”

Emily touched her hair absentmindedly,reminded of the horse trying to eat it from earlier in the afternoon. “Aren’t you a farmgirl, JJ?” Derek teased.

“No!” she said, “I lived in the suburbs near Pittsburgh. She lived an hour away so we’d visit on the weekends and on holidays.”

“They had cows!” Penelope blurted, “She showed me pictures once. They’re so cute as babies.”

JJ nodded, she loved visiting her grandma when she was little. She and Ros would be allowed to collect the eggs in the morning, and JJ always loved grabbing hay for the horses. 

“What’s your take on mazes?” Derek asked her, “Oh farm girl?”

JJ punched his shoulder in retaliation.

“I say that you two should put your money where your mouth is,” JJ said, “See whose method works in the end.”

“You talking about a race?” Derek asked. 

“That seems only fair,” Emily said, “Since both of you have such strong opinions on how to go about tackling this maze. Let’s see who’s right.”

“Shall we split up?” Hotch asked.

“Very Scooby-Doo of you, sir,” Penelope cooed, “I like it.”

Hotch did not acknowledge this beyond a glare. 

As they approached the maze entrance, a teenage girl, a bit younger than them and wearing a green shirt branded with the name of the farm handed them a map and began to explain the rules of the maze. No smoking, drinking, cheating by ducking under the red ribbon that marked the paths, she told them.

She then offered them a map, a black and white printout that marked out the route. 

“No thanks,” Derek said in a haughty tone, “We’ll figure it out ourselves.”

“I legally have to give it to you,” the girl said, her braces giving her a slight lisp. “It’s a safety issue.”

Derek and Spencer looked at each other, each taking a map, but folding it up and placing it in their pockets. Hotch also took a map, as did Emily. 

“I call dibs on Der-bear,” Penelope said, wrapping her arms around his bicep. “And JJ will go with Emily of course.”

“I’ll follow the wall,” Hotch says, “Reid, you better be right about this wall thing.”

Rossi looked around and seemed to decide to see whether the boy-genius was onto something or not. 

JJ felt a little shy at the assumption that she and Emily would naturally be together. Penelope was getting more and more bold with her attitude towards the two girls. 

The teams set out into the maze, splitting up at the first fork in the road, the boys staying right, Derek and Penelope heading straight ahead, and JJ and Emily veering left.

“What do you think of your first fair?” JJ asked, fiddling with the stuffed bear in her hands. 

They trudged through the muddy maze, with the sound of the fair in the distance, a pleasant hum of music and the clamour of the rides. 

“It’s not what I expected,” Emily said, “I only really saw this stuff in movies.”

“Better or worse than you imagined?” she asked. 

“Better,” Emily said, “but that’s probably just the company.”

“Good friends make a difference,” JJ said. 

“Yeah,” she agreed, “friends.”

JJ hummed, smiling as she felt the breeze in her hair. She loved the outdoors. She spent way too much time cooped up in the library these days. Emily, on the other hand, was picking her way through, careful not to step in any puddles or trip on fallen corn stalks. 

“Left or right?” Emily asked as they neared an intersection.

“Right,” JJ said. 

They headed deeper into the maze, turning left, then right, then hitting a dead end and back tracking. The corn rose above their heads, limiting their vision to a few feet in front of, and behind, them at all times. 

A few times, they bickered over directions, as JJ was certain that they were walking in circles. 

“How long was this supposed to take us?” Emily said, after twenty minutes passed. 

“Not this long,” JJ admitted. 

“Where are we?”

“I have no idea.”

She stopped, and paused waiting for Emily to do the same. JJ listened hard, straining her ears to listen for the direction of the music. 

“I can’t hear the carnival anymore,” JJ said, “We must be on the far end of the maze.” 

“Are we lost?” Emily asked. 

“I think that’s the whole point of it,” JJ said with a laugh. “Let’s head this way.”

“Should we check the map?” Emily asked. 

“Sure.”

Emily looked at JJ expectantly. 

“ You took the map, Em,” JJ said with a laugh. 

“No I didn’t,” Emily replied. She rifled through her pockets, then held up her hands in a gesture of: see? Nothing!

She checked her own pockets, and inside the small purse hanging over her shoulder. No map. 

“You sure you don’t have it?” JJ asked, hearing the stress in her voice. 

Emily’s eyes widened, checking her own pockets more frantically. 

Neither had it. JJ began to laugh. Of course she’d get lost in a corn maze with Emily. Of course. 

JJ’s phone pinged. Penelope had texted her.

Penny G: where are you? are you making out in the corn? 

JJ: no, we’re lost. are you all done already?

Penny G: yup. Spencer was a few minutes behind us  

“They’re already out,” JJ explained to Emily. 

“Figures,” Emily huffed. 

Penny G: we can wait for you? we’re going to try the rides 

JJ: i’ll text you when we get out, go ahead

JJ slipped her phone back into her pocket, noticing Emily poking at the edge of the corn with her hands, trying to peer through. 

“More corn,” Emily said, sounding defeated. 

JJ thought for a second, trying to weigh their options. 

“Get on my shoulders,” JJ blurted. 

“What?” 

“So you can see,” JJ said, “I’ll lift you up.” 

Emily looked flustered for a moment, opening and closing her mouth at the thought, but eventually nodded. 

JJ knelt down slightly, letting Emily put her legs on either side of her head. JJ knew she was strong. She could lift more than double her own weight at the gym. Once Emily was settled, she lifted her with ease, standing straight up and holding onto her thighs with her hands to steady Emily. 

“I see, uh, a highway behind us, more fields,” Emily said, then JJ turned a bit to give her another angle, “We’re almost there. We’re on the far right side, but the path is fairly clear. We go left, then it doubles back. But I think I can get us out of here.”

JJ stumbled under Emily’s shifting weight as she turned, finding herself tilting forward before she could adjust, tipping forward and sending both girls tumbling into the corn. 

Emily landed on top of JJ, their limbs tangled, with a loud “fuck!” as they made contact with the mud.   

JJ sat up, rubbing the back of her head where Emily had accidentally kicked her. 

“Sorry,” JJ said, “are you ok?”

Emily sat up, rubbing her wrist which caught most of her weight. Both girls had come out of the fall mostly unscathed.  

“The corn broke my fall,” Emily said with a laugh. 

They burst into laughter, and JJ reached out her hands to help Emily up. 

The girls retrieved their bears, both unsure whose was whose, and began to make their escape from the corn. 

Emily navigated them out of the maze, which, despite their tumble, made JJ’s idea worthwhile. 

“I don’t think I ever want to see corn again,” Emily said as they left the maze. 

“I guess you won’t have roasted corn for dinner?” 

“God no.”

They laughed. 

For the next hour or so, they visited the midway, braving an assortment of spinning rides that bore names like The Annihilator, and The Brain Blender, that were next to carousels and other rides clearly meant for children. 

JJ had a blast, she was definitely an adrenaline junky and the rides gave her the same endorphin high as sports. 

Emily was clearly nervous, but was a good sport. She took a couple rides off, claiming to need to babysit Spencer’s new fish (he decided it was too cold out for the goldfish, so he had been wrapping it in his coat to keep it warm. Emily did the same during her time as babysitter as Spencer rode the ride.)

The sun began to set, and as the sky filled with colours, the carnival lights dazzled them, glowing in a rainbow of incandescent light. 

“One more ride?” Hotch asked them, as he noticed their energy fading and their stomachs growling. 

“The Ferris wheel!” Penelope announced, “we have to.”

“The last Ferris wheel I was on was the London eye,” Emily commented. 

“We’ll miss jet setter,” Derek replied, “this will probably be a bit less glamorous.” 

They waited in line for it, laughing and goofing around. JJ smiled at her friends, while her nerves grew in her stomach. She tugged on her sister’s necklace, pulling it tight against the back of her neck to calm her. 

“Hey,” Emily whispered, “what’s wrong?”

“I’m fine,” JJ said back, quietly. “Just a little nervous with heights.”

Emily smiled down at her, with no trace of judgment on her face, and JJ softened. 

“Didn’t you just ride The Bonebreaker earlier?” Emily asked, talking about a ride that locked them in a cage, and flipped them in punishing rotations. 

“Those are different,” JJ said as tucked her hair behind her ears, trying to find the words to explain. “You’re strapped in, and there’s a cage. Ferris wheels have just the bar. You’re exposed.”

“Are you good to do it?” Emily asked, concern etched into her features.

“Yeah, of course,” JJ said, setting her shoulders back and gritting her jaw. “I’m not actually scared.”

JJ forced herself to relax, making good on her promise, leaning onto the chilly metal barricade. She was so happy that her little troupe of Penelope and Spencer had expanded to include all of these new people. Their dynamic was fun, and warm, and felt… right. 

“This would be a beautiful photo,” Penelope exclaimed, pulling out her phone and gesturing at the whole group to get in close. 

JJ turned to face the camera, smiling wide and meaning it. Reid and Emily wrapped their arms around her shoulders, and she was squished into the big group of friends. She felt the happiest she had felt in years, despite the creeping fear building up inside her. 

The line moved quickly and they were shuffled into their seats, two by two. Emily and JJ were together, like before, and soon they were slowly lifted into the sky, side by side. 

“It’s beautiful,” Emily gasped.

She looked down onto the fair, leaning forward as she gazed into the quickly shrinking fairgrounds. 

Emily’sbeautiful, JJ thought, looking at her friend as she looked out into the night. 

“Yeah,” JJ agreed, feeling a touch of vertigo, breathing deep to keep calm. 

“Thanks for bringing me,” Emily said. 

JJ clutched the bear tightly, as though someone was going to take it away from her.  

“I told you that you’d like it,” JJ said, focusing on Emily’s face instead of the height. 

“I admit it,” Emily said. “I like apple cider. Fairs are fun. I’m a country girl now.” 

“Not yet,” JJ said, “we’ll work on that.”

“I’ll hold you to that,” Emily said with a smile. 

The Ferris wheel slowly turned as new passengers boarded, raising them higher into the air until they were at the very top, when they stopped. 

Emily leaned forward, then back, making the chair swing slightly. JJ gasped as her stomach clenched, the fear of her plummeting to her death high on her mind. 

JJ realized that her hand had shot out and now rested upon Emily’s. The other girl did not pull away. 

“Sorry,” Emily giggled. “I had to.”

JJ glowered at her, but knew she was kidding and wouldn’t actually put her in danger. They rested at the top of the Ferris wheel, their chair swaying slightly, hand in hand for a few minutes. 

JJ shifted closer to Emily, mentally telling herself that she was doing it to get closer to the warmth. Emily leaned towards her, allowing their shoulders to meet softly. 

“We’ve been at the top for awhile,” JJ said, a little nervously. “Do you think it’s stuck?”

“I can’t imagine these things get stuck,” Emily assured her, “it’s probably someone getting off or on.”

This did nothing to quell the bundle of nerves in JJ’s stomach. She clutched the bar even tighter. 

“JJ look at me,” Emily said, her voice soft, but stern. 

JJ complied, tearing her eyes away from the ground far below her feet and focusing on Emily, sitting right next to her, feeling her warmth radiate out from her hand. 

“You’re ok,” Emily said, calmly. “Don’t worry.”

JJ believed her, knowing that whenever they were together, nothing ever seemed to go wrong. 

Their eyes locked, and for a moment, the world faded away. JJ got lost in her warm brown eyes that looked at her with concern. Emily had done a perfect wing of eyeliner, sharp on the corner, and covered her lid with a neutral brown eyeshadow. Emily was so beautiful. Her brows framed her eyes so perfectly, forming a graceful arch. Her cheekbones were sharp and her smile warm, but rare on the serious girl’s face. JJ took her in, relishing the moment to look unheeded. 

JJ felt Emily’s grip on her hand tighten, and there was something about her eyes that beckoned her closer. JJ felt herself, acting almost on autopilot, leaning towards Emily as if she’d done it before.

Emily’s arm, which was thrown casually over the back of the chair, wrapped around JJ’s shoulders, pulling her oh so slightly closer. An invitation.

Without thinking, JJ found herself just inches from Emily, their breaths mixing as their foreheads touched. 

Jennifer Jareau couldn’t believe this was happening, that Emily Prentiss, the girl across the hall, who she had been pining over for months, was probably about to kiss her. 

She did not think of the billion ways this complicated their friendship, or the fact that she didn’t know if she could even handle jumping back into a relationship, or how she was thirty feet in the air on a rusty ferris wheel, all she could think about was the idea of Emily’s lips on hers. 

Their lips met. Before this moment, JJ thought the phrase “sparks flying” was an exaggeration, but the electricity that she felt when Emily kissed her set JJ’s body on fire. 

Her lips were soft, velvety, perfect. At first, it was chaste, with their hands nervously still holding onto the railing. Then, it deepened, lips moving slowly against the other. Emily’s hand moved from on top of hers up to her face, pulling her closer than before. JJ did the same, tangling her fingers into Emily’s black hair. Their matching stuffed bears were squished between them. 

JJ’s mouth opened, and Emily’s tongue gained entrance, rubbing against JJ’s. It felt heavenly, and in that moment JJ decided that she didn’t want to do anything else in life but kiss Emily. 

Their kiss was gentle, yet needy, with a passion that made JJ’s head spin. Emily’s hands rested delicately on her face, stroking her cheek, and wrapped almost protectively around her back. 

The two girls only came up for breath, kissing like their life depended on it. 

JJ felt her heart race, but a wave of calm washed over her. It felt like a kiss she had had a thousand times, and one she would have a thousand more. As familiar as something that she had experienced in her past lives, and something she knew she wanted to do for the rest of this one. 

Suddenly, the chair rocked, and the Ferris wheel roared back to life.

They pulled apart, looking away from each other and catching their breath. JJ could feel a blush rise up her face as Emily tugged her arm out from behind JJ’s back.

Neither made eye contact as the Ferris wheel spun around, the carnival blurring out as they picked up speed. 

They turned once, twice, a third time, before it slowed to a stop and people began to exit. 

JJ no longer felt the acute fear of heights tug at her stomach, on the contrary, now it was the knowledge that she had just made out with her floormate weighing on her mind. 

Her head was spinning and her lips tingled with the memory of the kiss. Her blood roared in her ears, as anxiety took over as her brain flashed with all of the million ways this could go terribly wrong. 

Wordlessly, they dismounted and waited quietly for the rest of their group, who all babbled about how pretty the wheel was and how Derek wouldn’t stop swaying the chair. JJ scanned their faces, wondering if anyone could tell what had happened.

JJ drifted alongside the group, lost in her thoughts, unable to meet Emily’s eye, clutching her bear tightly to her chest all the way home.

[willow-salix]

(Fluffember prompt: Name)

Day 4 of isolation on Tracy Island 2.0

"I don't care, you're coming with me," I told the love of my life, who wasn't looking very happy about it. 

"Why me?" he whined, and if you've never heard John whine before, or don't actually believe he's capable of it, let me assure you that he is very capable and it's very pitiful. But I am immune (mostly) and continued to stand my ground. 

"Because I can't leave you alone with them, you can't stand up for yourself and they can't be trusted."

"That's not true! I can…" he saw the look on my face as I mouthed 'mattress' and trailed off, admitting defeat. "Fine, but just the one shop."

Now, I know they say never take your husband shopping, but I honestly, TRULY thought that mine would be an exception. He's the organised one, he's the sensible one, the one that correlates all the data and sorts out all their problems. 

How wrong I was. 

It was actually quite pleasant to be alone for a few hours, it hadn't been that long since I'd made my less than dramatic return to the island but since the world was nowhere near normal we hadn't had that much time to ourselves lately, so I was going to take full advantage. 

"What do we need to get?" he asked in that long suffering tone that all husbands adopt when faced with the prospect of a trip around a shop with their woman. 

"Not that much," I assured him. I was lying. 

"Show me," he ordered, knowing I was lying. Must work on my 'believe me' voice. 

I lifted up the list, which unfurled itself into something roughly the length of Alan and watched as his eyes tracked its descent. I also watched the life drained out of them as he faced his doom head on. 

"Really?" 

I nodded, folding the list back up again. "It won't be that bad," I promised him. "It's one massive shop, we should be able to find everything there."

"Why didn't you take Virgil instead? Why must you torture me?" 

"Because you're my man and it's your job, plus I want to spend some alone time with you."

"I can think of much better ways to spend alone time," he grumbled under his breath as he steered the plane towards the landing strip. I declined to comment. 

                 ***

"Now, whatever you do, don't wander off," I reminded him, looking up from the list where I had sensibly been highlighting different categories of products so we could hit the different areas in order. 

I almost laughed when I saw that my poor, put-upon man was slumped against the plane, hands in his pockets, eyes downcast like he was fully expecting the grim reaper to show up any second and whisk him away from my evil clutches. Keep on dreaming, boy. 

"I'm not Alan," he sniffed. "Or Scott, I don't wander off, you wander off."

"I do not!" 

"You're the one that didn't tell me you were going to look at the meerkats when we went to the zoo."

"Babe, it's meerkats, you should have known I'd wander off to look at them, that's just common sense. I didn't need to say it."

He looked at me like he thought I had no idea what common sense even was. He's probably right, since I agreed to both marriage and staying on the island again. 

"Come on," I held out my hand, wiggling it in invitation, "it won't be that bad."

He sighed and took my hand. "I'm going to regret this, aren't I?" 

"Probably. Now, masks on, sanitiser at the ready, grab that trolly for me and let's do this thing."

                        ***

You know how it is when you're mostly in a shopping daze and can't focus on anything but getting in and getting out as quickly as possible? Like you're so focused on the list and making sure you don't forget anything and trying to locate the actual items you need versus the ones you suddenly want and can't do without? That was me. 

So it took me a few minutes to realise that I'd lost John. I don't know how it happened, I don't know when and I couldn't say in good faith that he hadn't been kidnapped by aliens, it was that kind of day. 

He'd shuffled along behind me, pushing the cart into which I was throwing all manner of things that I could tell he thought were useless and unnecessary. How little he knew. 

"You can put some things in too," I reminded him as I tossed a loaf of fruit bread over my shoulder towards the cart. He didn't answer. The bread landed on the floor with a soft flump. 

"John?" I turned around but he was gone, the cart too. 

"What the heck?" Where was he? I fumbled in my bag for my phone. Where was it? Why was I losing everything important today? I had a sudden mental image of my phone sitting on the coffee pot where I'd propped it while making breakfast, I'd been watching YouTube videos and needed both hands…

"Damn it." I didn't have my comm with me either, I only ever took that out with me when I wasn't home. Which would be now… "DAMN IT!" 

In my defence, I hadn't thought that I would actually lose him. I thought he was more sensible than that. 

I retraced my steps, going back down four aisles to the place I knew for certain I'd last seen him behind me, pushing the trolly like it was a protective force field against shop workers and old people that didn't know the meaning of social distancing and kept getting up in his face asking him to reach the high shelves for them. 

"John?" I called, sticking my head around the corner. Nothing. 

"Bugger."

Where the heck could he be? 

"Jooooohhhnnnnn!" I yelled a bit louder, starting a full sweep search, marching down the center gap between the aisles and glancing down each one. Nothing. 

"Excuse me, young lady."

I skidded to a halt, almost flattening an older man. 

"Hi, yes?" 

"Have you lost someone?" 

"Yep. Lost, one gorgeous ginger dumbass, if found please return to the witch in aisle 26." The man looked at me like I was crazy, but I'm used to it. 

"Oh, I thought you might be Mrs Tracy."

"No, Grandma's at home."

He gave me a funny look and I stared right back, I didn't want to be impolite and just walk away but yeah, kinda on a mission here, Grandpa.

It was then that I heard it, a voice coming over the tannoy. 

"Can Mrs Tracy please come to lost property at Customer Services."

It's a little surreal to hear someone calling you when you don't expect it and it took a few moments for it to register and my brain to process the information. 

The old man looked at me again, head tipped to one side. 

My brain clicked over. 

"Shhh…ugar! That's me! Lost husband! Thank you," I screamed over my shoulder as I hot footed it to the customer service desk. 

"Hi," I gasped, slightly out of breath (it's a very large store) "you…called," I gestured up to the ceiling and circled my finger like that would make sense to anyone but me. "Tracy…" I slumped, panting. 

"Oh," the lady at the desk finally lost the blank look on her face, figuring out what I meant. "He's in the lost child room."

I frowned, the what now? 

I dutifully followed behind the counter and through the door marked 'employees only'. 

"A customer found him standing alone in the bread aisle looking confused and lost so they alerted us."

She pushed open the door to a cheery yellow room with dancing clowns on the walls that looked like they wanted to eat my soul. 

"I'm sorry, I think there's been a mistake, I haven't lost a ch-" I stopped dead, blinking to make sure I was indeed seeing this correctly. 

"Where have you been?" John demanded. 

He was sitting forlornly on a chair that was so small it looked like it should have belonged in a doll house. His knees were higher than his chest. Some helpful soul had given him a colouring book but he'd ignored it although he was wearing a sticker that told me that he had been a super brave boy. 

"You left me!" 

"I did not!" 

"I turned around and you were gone! I tried to call and Scott answered!" 

"My phone's at home."

"I know that now! Because you abandoned me!" 

"I…I…" I splutted, not knowing what to say to that. 

"May I suggest a leash next time," the woman from the counter said as I dragged him to his feet. I couldn't tell with her mask on, but I'm pretty sure she was smirking. 

"Babe, you're fine, it's just a mega shop." 

"It's hell."

"You're being dramatic." 

"I'm never coming shopping with you again," he grumbled as I thanked the lady and towed him back into the shop. 

I have no idea where he lost the trolly, neither does he. I bought him a sausage roll in the cafe to appease him, leaving him there with his phone while I shopped on my own. Some things are just not worth the hassle. But I do know that next time someone calls my name in a shop, I'll pay attention. 

[localhumanwreckage]

(Part two of my message)

These are not the people I know. These are strangers who have been led astray and brainwashed by people who don’t think of anyone but themselves. My own family is almost unrecognizable to me. There are moments where I feel like I know them, when my grandmother will ask me to help her fill up her hummingbird feeder or sit down and tell me stories about her life or about my mom. Or when my papa will talk my grandma into letting me do something (yes, I’m a legal adult, but I’m still a kid to them) and then wink at me behind her back. But then they go back to being strangers, to people I sometimes feel uncomfortable just sitting down with. To conspiracy theorists, to people who, if they knew my whole belief system, might think I was evil. And it’s all because you value money over human beings. It’s all because you’re selfish. I miss the grandma who always bought me cotton candy when we went to the children’s museum, even though she knew I would get her car all sticky. Who taught me how to sew and helped me print off coloring pages and turn them into little coloring books. I miss the papa who would always carry an unreasonably big camera around his neck when we went to the zoo, who played basketball with me, and who let me ride on his lap while he mowed the lawn. I miss the people I knew. Those people are gone now, and I don’t know if I’ll ever get them back. I hope and pray that I will, but I doubt it very much. It’s a strange experience, watching someone become more distant every day, and yet still feeling them right beside you. Still getting encouraging texts and talking to them on the phone. It’s weird to sit right across from someone and recognize their face, but not the person behind it. It is extremely difficult, almost impossible, to come to terms with the fact that your family is gone when they’re standing right in front of you. It’s a kind of grief that is not easy to explain, and not recognizable to most people. But it is there. So, to everyone I addressed this letter to, to the people who have profited off of people’s radicalization, I don’t want an apology. I don’t want you to suddenly start fact checking and taking down disinformation. It is far too little and far too late. This is one of those mistakes that you simply cannot fix, no matter how hard you try. The only thing that you can do now is recognize what you have done, and let the guilt haunt you for the rest of your life, and I truly hope it does, because you stole my family from me, and I will never, ever forgive you.