#gross rosa those are our DADS

[meidui]

pov your dads are not impressed

[danandfuckingjonlmao]

dan and phil are like jesus in that they’re dramatic ass fruity men in their 30s always going like “i am making this SACRIFICE for THE PEOPLE” and everyone is like “no one asked you to do this in fact we’d all rather you just did not do this” and they’re like “IT IS TOO LATE NOW YOU HAVE TO LIVE WITH THE CONSEQUENCES THIS IS WHAT YOU WANTED” and we’re like “no no we didn’t want this actually and you made this decision with your whole ass adult brain you truly could have just not done this and we’d all be better off for it but now we all have to suffer because YOU refuse to say no to shit” and i think that’s ridiculous stupid annoying awful beautiful

[daegutowns]

svt as brooklyn 99 characters

tags: b99 au, i am obsessed, i’ve been rewatching this series for the 600th time now, only 80% accurate, i stretched it a little bit

thank you to alice (koogyv on twt) for the amazing thread that i highly interacted with as inspiration. there are many similarities. i expanded upon it more.

this is my take: 

det. jake peralta 

hoshi 

“i wasn’t hurt that badly. the doctor said all my bleeding was internal. that’s where the blood’s supposed to be!” 

arguably, this is the best pairing made. he’s silly, hard-working, creative, and most of all -- he’s gunsta think about the turtles. even as a jokes-first seriousness-second type of person, jake is a thoughtful and caring person who would put himself down to save others. he’s sharp, perceptive, and great at deduction, but often discredits himself with his great delusion, playfulness, and childish nature. he’s a trendsetter and loves to joke around, and when he has a great thought, he’s going to put it into action. (“yeah, that’s right. i’m about to monologue, son.”) his favorite movie is die hard (hoshi as a shawol), is canonically broke (hoshi’s constant money loss due to him spoiling everything), and tries to annoy suspects into confessing their crimes. 

men can have duality. they can be serious and also put orange soda in their cereal. hoshi, as a Super Gemini™ knows all about it. he’s playful but knows when to be serious and takes his line of work very seriously. sure, he has some growing up to do and can immerse himself in a different role (horanghae <3) very easily, but he plays to his strengths and that of others with his determination and persistence. 

capt. raymond holt 

seungcheol  

“wait a minute. this isn’t the championship cummerbund. this is some common cummerbund. and, you’re not cheddar. you’re just some common bitch!” 

“this bitch? please. watch.” (to the dog, ‘some common bitch’) “shake… shake! psshh. idiot.” 

this is probably the most obvious and predictable choice after jake=hoshi. a born leader, full of wisdom, and no-nonsense… well, some nonsense is okay. captain holt is ambitious and looks after his squad with both care for their goals and their personalities. even though he may seem a little unapproachable or stoic, he’s actually a really funny and goofy guy. he laughs when he eats marshmallows (“a marshed mallow? don’t mind if i do.”) he’s very adamant about his passions (like john phillip sousa being the skrillrex of his day) and his a very consistent guy (ref. rock painting no. 367). he is sassy to the max and will tell you things exactly as he finds them. and he does NOT mess around when it comes to his dog. 

cheol, most of all, is the ultimate dog dad -- just like holt. cheddar is to holt like kkuma is to cheol. he spoils his dog, and he is proud of it. he’s someone who caters to the learning style that each person needs: stricter but with jokes for jake (hoshi), encouraging for rosa (woozi), detailed with a binder and written formalities for amy (seungkwan), and with actions (ref. the croque monsieur) for charles (dk). he’s attentive, thoughful, and silly at heart. 

det. amy santiago 

seungkwan  

“gross, rosa! those are our dads! i mean, that’s not what i think. captain dad is just my boss. never mind, i’m teaching father the math. whatever, rosa!” 

super badass, but also a teacher’s pet, know it all, and scrapbooking expert. may come off as super uptight or a buzzkill, but genuinely cares about the other detectives on the squad. when you have hella big aspirations, it’s not that unreasonable to see why competitiveness, sharpness, and intellect are his best traits. under all of the work-oriented personality, there’s someone who is ambitious, thoughtful, clever, and protective of the people he loves. it’s hard to not be so uptight and to let loose (as opposed to some totally scheduled fun!), and don’t make fun of him if he sucks and is horrible at it. (title of his sex tape.) 

seungkwan was my top choice, mainly because of his competitiveness with hoshi (jake) as svt’s most famous frenemy pair. there’s a lot of responsibility and workload that seungkwan carries and continues to put on his shoulders, which his members love and appreciate (just how the squad appreciates and acknowledges amy’s dedication to being a detective). things can get wild and crazy sometimes, which is why seungkwan just needs to recharge sometimes. 

det. charles boyle 

dokyeom 

“i got this low tag performance polo with moisture wicking technology. kept me dry all morning. and a dry boy is a smart boy.” 

if you’re looking for a supportive best friend who will always cheer you on, this is him. he’s a major foodie, he loves jake (hoshi), and his arch nemesis is sergeant peanut butter, who is a horse. he’s possessive and jealous almost as much as he is a superb friend, which is obvious by the way he instantly is suspicious of every other best friend jake (hoshi) can make in his life. (“don’t make any new best friends! haha… maybe you shouldn’t go…”) he gets jealous of many, like old beat cop partner stevie schillens, brian (?) from camp, and even cannibal jail cellmate caleb. also definitely dresses up as people from halloween that no one but him can understand. he is just someone that is the embodiment of living life according to his passions. very caring, thoughtful, and funny. 

dk was a good choice for boyle for me since he is super clingy and also is a supportive friend. even if he knows it’s silly or mischievous, he will play along. dk is relatively less prone to disgusting and gross sexual innuendos than charles, but is still super excited to share his jokes and hobbies. has a lot of holiday cheer and his down to be friends even after being turned down. 

det. rosa diaz 

woozi 

“plans are plans. i’m a badass, not an anarchist.” 

mysterious, a little scary, but reasonable and thoughtful. rosa is a character that’s easy to stereotype, though also arguably one of the more complex characters in this show. hard working is an understatement, and even though he may not be the most outwardly affectionate at first glance, rosa is super thoughtful. work comes first, but through the many trials and tribulations that life throws, business remains separate from personal… except the friendships. rosa went through the academy with jake (hoshi), so they’re really close. as much as jake jokes around and everything, they still trust each other and work with each other really well. (“diaz has been chuckin’ d-holes into my mouth since the academy.”) on top of that, is a bicon (bi icon). 

woozi was my go-to choice on this one. his demeaner seems a little intimidating (especially because of all his muscles now too!), but he means good. he gives off mysterious vibes, but he’s just figuring it out. now he is truly no-nonsense, and he makes sure others know this. he’s still down for the different personas and everything, but he lives his life by a strict set of rules. his neighbors think he’s emily goldfinch (woozi)… his coworkers think his name is rosa diaz (wooahae)… wait. what? 

sgt. terry jeffords 

mingyu  

“terry loves yogurt.” 

literally just a big softie that looks scary/big/muscular but is actually so babygirl. he’s so caring and loves the squad to death, always making sure that they have all the resources they need to survive. even when other captains come and go, terry is always there. terry loves yogurt, terry loves love, and terry loves foreign films.  kind of has a rivalry with boyle (dk) for strange reasons instigated by boyle himself, but is supportive nonetheless. (“hey, people like the way i look.” “sure they do, big guy.) he’s actually very well-educated (studied abroad in japan), is a great dad, and is always down to help others work out the right way.

this was such an obvious choice for me (with the only other option being cheol). mingyu is an inherently kindhearted person like terry, but also knows how to draw boundaries. he is someone who is worried about the safety of the people around him because he’s a family man, but also someone who loves to get down as vacation terry. also talks in the third person, but it’s okay since he’s hot. 

gina linetti 

myungho  

“aren’t you forgetting something?” [...] “no! pay your bill! damn, who raised you?” 

the human form of the 100 emoji. would be the perfect human president, based upon his skillset, dance ability, and bloodlust. he is the paris of people. has been jake (hoshi)’s childhood friend and went through high school with him. cares enough to steer jake (hoshi) on the right track (ref. brandon bliss) but to also enable him in their own goofy shenanigans (the DDC + the lacroix siblings). super smart and well-versed in the people around him because only gina would suggest savant (vernon), the hacker, to become their new IT guy. iconic entrepreneur. 

i know that hao is super humble, and gina says that being humble is her best trait. despite this, there is no one else who would love to not be involved with all this police nonsense (bc gina “does not listen to a lot of things you all [the detectives] say”) but also be relevant. she’s actually very street-smart, great at comebacks, and the ceo of her own company that she literally just made up. 

dr. kevin cozner 

wonwoo  

“that’s the oompiest oomph you’ll get.” 

prim, proper, and unhinged. he loves raymond (cheol) but most of all, allows love to prevail. works as a classics professor at a university, spends a sabbatical in france to enrich his teaching experience, and loves a good croque monsieur. would absolutely go off on jake (hoshi) if he gatekept a nicolas cage movie that's a period piece set in greece based on some dumb book. despite his no-nonsense attitude sometimes, he is still down to dress like a pervert to go to the library with jake (hoshi). also, super badass because he runs over seamus murphy with a car. 

i was kind of going for wonwoo’s quieter but more serious and studious vibes. i think super knowledgeable, especially about gaming and editing, while kevin is knowledgeable about classics like boetheus and the odyssey. both are super smart, sassy, and protective people. 

doug judy 

jeonghan 

“i sold a guy a fake pekinese. twas a cat.” 

he’s in and he’s out! he is there for the vibes and the elaborate schemes. he will outsmart everyone in the NYPD and get away with it. (many, many times.) one of jake (hoshi)’s best criminal friends but would still betray him every time. he would definitely lie and tell his family that he owns an architecture firm instead of being the pontiac bandit, and jake (hoshi) is his assistant mangy carl, whom he saved from a life of living on the streets selling his body. goofy and silly, but don’t underestimate him. you’ll always be one step behind him. 

i think jeonghan is definitely slick and goofy enough to be doug judy. above all else, jeonghan’s mind works harder than anyone else in mafia. just like how he immerses himself in different roles (and often makes them up) in don’t lie and bad clue, doug judy has transformed into many different roles in his life (cruise ship singer, architect, etc.) 

capt. jason stentley (CJ) 

jun 

“okay muchachos, let’s roll up on these muchachos!” 

great start, and love the double use of muchachos, jun. became a captain due to his extreme luck. he is just always in the right place at the right time. showed up to his first day in grey sweatpants because he “totally biffed it” and spilled hot cocoa on himself. introduced himself as ‘captain stentley’ but didn’t like how formal that sounded. ‘captain jason’ wasn’t it either, so CJ was the move. numbers are so crazy, and overall so, very supportive. he just wants to help. 

i was just thinking of someone a little silly and laidback. will be strict if you ask him to, but he’s honestly more there for the vibes. he can be a little clumsy, but i was mainly just going for the slightly airheadedness vibes and the lovable nature. 

det. adrian pimento

joshua 

“whoo… haha… hey chuck! it’s pimento.” 

just a little bit insane. it’s a side effect of being undercover for 12 years for jimmy “the butcher” figgis, but i digress. he sometimes still calls himself paul sneed due to being extremely traumatized. overall just a funny and great character. used to be boyle (dk)’s roommate and just found himself in his son’s closet at some point in time… got mistaken as a closet monster… just normal human things. (but he was also screaming with dk and his son.) has a very riveting, intense, and sexy relationship with rosa (woozi). 

this one was a little more of a stretch, but only because pimento is actually insane. all the years of ptsd has made him into a very strange person. josh is a little strange, and maybe he could be pimento if pimento was watered down into a lacroix. (like, the flavor is barely there.) there’s a distinct slight insanity that josh has (ref. gose episode the8 and the 12 shadows) that is hard to replicate. 

fire marshal boone  

dino  

“your only move is passing the ball to jeffords and running across the field.” “i’d like to see you try!” 

so done with the entire police department. will always be down for a rivalry or argument but genuinely a softie. just generally suspicious of jake (hoshi) and charles (dk) due to their antics and strong adherence to the rivalry. demands an apology because this is the fire department’s jurisdiction! all of that comes crumbling down though, when jake (hoshi) reveals his sad past with sal’s pizza…. but he still competes with jake (hoshi) on arresting the criminal in the end. some things never change.

i was honestly looking for someone who would love nothing more than to call out hoshi and dk on their BS and tomfoolery without enabling it and thought of dino. boone is a pretty lovable character for someone who is supposed to be a villain of some sorts, and it fits in pretty well with dino. plus, he’s the head of the fire department, kind of like how dino had to choose being the maknae of svt versus being the leader of a younger group. (kind of.) 

! vernon

okay i was genuinely very torn about who should be vernon, because i genuinely had a lot of different options. 

corey park (savant) 

hacked into a police precinct’s computer system just because he could. (he only exposed everyone’s search history.)  “it was like taking candy from a baby.” he was turned in by his mom, but fortunately now has a job -- courtesy of gina (hao). very intelligent and laid back

i saw vernon here because he definitely has a mischievous side. while his pranks and jokes are on the mild side, he’s definitely still a troublemaker. he’s down to work for the greater good. 

cheddar the dog  

“this isn’t cheddar, this is just some common bitch.” a very special someone. definitely is seungcheol and wonwoo’s child. loves wedding cake and is very well-behaved. extremely intelligent and loves participating in halloween heists. does not like being jake (hoshi)’s dog bra :// 

this was based on alice’s thread and was so funny. if cheddar were a human, vernon would be cheddar. the sass and intellect can only be matched by Thee hansol vernon chwe. 

other fun character pairings that i thought of: 

kkuma as cheddar the dog: two words -- so spoiled. also would be cheol (captain holt)’s baby. i digress. 

jun & dino as young hitchcock and scully: just two people motivated by helping the city. kind-hearted and brave people, who may or may not have gotten addicted to wing sluts while checking in on a witness that their captain screwed over by not putting in the witness protection program. outstanding people who became a lot more interesting, to say the least…. 

josh as madeline wuntsch: strangely tense relations with holt (cheol) due to their rivalry, but overall an outstanding cop. ½ of svt’s evil twins so you know he’s down for some evilness. oh raymond, i notice you haven’t done your time as a beat cop…. (if josh is here, who’s guarding hades???) may be a cheuksin, a korean toilet ghost who--

jun as mlepclaynos (the clay is silent): opens the door, is questioned by detectives, takes the picture of the suspect. he’s from neokrakagovia and celebrates dogs losing their virginity. jun definitely would! less because he’s weird and more so because he’s so kind and willing to go with the flow that it just happens. later says he’s not mlepnos. did you sell him horse blood? would you like to buy horse blood? he plays the violin beautifully. “guitar.” (ref. some day morning)

[muskratcactus]

What? Gross, Rosa! Those are our dads! I mean, that’s not what I think, captain dad is my boss.

Wow.

Never mind, I’m teaching father the math!!

[letsgobethegoodguys]

MAKE ME CHOOSE - @iamadreameroftheday asked: Rhett & Link or Ethan & Markiplier

[peralta-guaranteed]

One of my favorite things to imagine and think about is how Rosa and Jake met. Like here is this doofus looking white boy, and this badass scary Latina (who is honestly probs nervous for the academy). Rosa gets worried when he starts talking to her but he just talks about die hard and sour candy the whole time???? Is not racist or sexist??? Or hitting on her??? And she is,,,,, confused?? Like who is this straight white boy and why is he not being a dick?

Rosa canonly said it took her a couple of weeks to like him so I’m just imaging those weeks of her realizing she has this friend who is amazing and it warms my heart every time. I need more fics from Rosa’s POV of them meeting

Day 1 - everyone here sucks. As expected. At least it'll be over in 6 months and I can get to actual work. Day 2 - we were separated in groups and would you believe it, my whole group is nothing but white dudes, how wonderful. They already made 4 jokes about 'those latinos'. Day 3 - One of the dudes picked a fight with the latino jokers. Might not be the worst apple of the bunch. Day 4 - IS HE EVER GONNA SHUT UP Day 5 - he does not shut up Day 6-7 - weekend and peace, no noise. Definitely don't miss the constant background chatter about stupid things. Day 8 - Made the mistake of asking him how his weekend was. 3 hour chatter. Day 9 - he brought in donuts and offered me one, no thanks. Not gonna go down that flirting route. "They're for everyone" okay but he offered none to the others and ate them all himself. Day 10 - Donut holes this time. I ate one. Is this what you call someone's face "lighting up"? Gross. Day 11 - whole box of donut holes for him, whole box of donut holes for me. Wanted to throw them in his face telling him not to try any shit with me, I can see the random flirt / guilttrip coming. He turned it into a fucking game instead. Day 12 - I can't believe he caught that donuthole from seven rows down, actually impressive. Day 13-14 - weekend and peace again. Did not consider ordering donut holes during brunch. Day 15 - brought my own donut holes so there wouldn't be any misunderstandings about who owes who. He managed a double-wall-hit catch. Biggest grin after my thumbs up, that was probably a mistake. Day 16 - off-track training. He ate face 15 minutes in. Only helped him up so our team time wouldn't suffer. Did earn me good help during the next obstacle course. And a high five, which I refused. Day 17 - he did the off-track training without fail, he deserves that high five. Day 18 - apparently he's a huggy drunk. And even chattier. Not good. Note: watch out for his dad during graduation. Bring knife. Day 19 - he came in with a black eye and wouldn't explain. Finally did when I twisted his arm just right. Latino jokers took it too far yesterday. Note: do not leave bars before him. Day 20-21: weekend is too quiet. Does he have an icepack for his eye? Gonna text him to buy frozen peas. He definitely does not have vegetables anywhere in his place. Day 22: His eye looks better. Asked if I needed any peas for dinner. Day 23: One of the latino jokers is out of the class. Teach wouldn't explain why. Got a clear wink from his black eye, though. Does that mean I owe him now? Day 24: patrol training. Thought his chatter was bad? Try his radio singing. Day 25: patrol training again. Apparently we were meant to pick partners and switch around. Was not notified of that when he handed me our assignment. It's fine though. Day 26: patrol training. Fuck, can he run, though. Chased that decoy perp for 12 blocks, I recon. Then texted me he got lost. Day 27-28: weekend. Text for drinks. Did not leave bar before him because I had to bring him home. His place is horrible. Fixed the broken oven so now he can have 'the best frozen pizza in the world' again. Day 29: His mom called during lunch break. Adorable how his voice changes. But shit, he talked about this 'cool friend' he made. Day 30: mom called me, asked how I was doing. Seemed very happy I mentioned a new friend. Day 31: there was only one orange soda left at the bodega for lunch break. That and donut holes got me a hug. Feels weird. But good.

[tsigililimclean]

Hey! First of all, thank you for being so understanding to the rest of this fandom! I agree SO much with how everything canonical about Piper has some tones of racism or stereotyping. If you don't want to answer this then it's totally okay. But I would like to hear your thoughts on Tristan's relationship with Piper and her abandonment issues.

thank you for your kindness and appreciation 💕

as for piper and tristan's relationship canonically, i dislike how they're written- quite frankly, i'm very VERY tired of seeing parents of color written as neglectful or abusive by white writers because it feels exploitative. i also just. dislike how tristan is written because the "i hate being a native" schtick coming from the white man who wrote his native girl character as a walking talking stereotype is fucking gross. piper being upset over him not wanting to play the roles of native characters in movies such as tonto pissed me off because lone ranger is fucking racist, not to mention native actors are often made to play characters who are racist caricatures- like why the fuck would she be upset about him turning down those roles? she should be more pissed about him playing roles meant for actors of other ethnicities lmao. if tristan were trying to make it big in hollywood or even if he were just trying to make ends meet, it would be highly likely that he would have taken on some particularly shitty and stereotypical roles before making his big break, and after that, it would be much more understandable that he would never want to work those kinds of roles again, but of course rick riordan has no fucking idea how to give characters of color ANY kind of depth in relation to their identity. not to mention it's horribly ironic that piper, a character who lives and breathes native stereotypes, is pissy with her dad for not wanting to play a stereotype- it's like rick riordan was so so close to understanding and yet so incredibly far. in regards to their relationship, it's fucking sickening to me that rick thinks that tristan ignoring his daughter and having her be looked after by jane and sending her off to fucking boarding schools because he couldn't handle her or whatever was an intelligent plot move. HELLO! does this man have any fucking idea the kind of trauma that native people in america have towards boarding schools? tristan would NEVER have WILLINGLY sent piper to a boarding school, not when his own father or other relatives might've been children during the time of which native children were being tortured and assimilated in indian residential schools. it would make more sense if there were outside influences (COPS) forcing his hand, but willingly sending her to a place like that? fuck no. it honestly makes me nauseous to think about. in my head, tristan is a much more complex and well written character, and he and piper have a very nuanced but loving relationship, but in canon? the lost hero made me want to rip my hair put everytime piper talked about her dad, ESPECIALLY in regards to tsalagi culture because the way rick talks about our culture is so fucking distorted and disconnected because he did the bare fucking minimum of research and didn't bother having a cultural consultant or a sensitivity reader. he has a pattern of writing parents and guardians of color as bad parents and it's really fucking telling to me. obviously tristan didn't get the worst of this kind of treatment (because rick seems to hate women of color even more than men of color, as proven by how he wrote marie levesque and leo's tía rosa), and his and piper's relationship is better towards the end of toa to my knowledge, but tristan and piper's writing overall is what bothers me, not just in regards to their relationship, but their individual characterization.

[tenacityreturns]

I AM SO BB IN NG FUCK

[slytherinbarnes]

Sub Rosa [41]

xii. demons

Pairing: Bellamy Blake x reader

Word Count: 5.2k

Warnings: violence, mentions of blood, fighting, death, description of a gross death, near death experiences, language. 

Summary: a return to Arkadia results in an unexpected reunion. 

a/n: VERY IMPORTANT NOTE!!!! for those of you not in the US or in the Southern US, we are currently facing a hurricane down here. this has the potential (and likelihood) of knocking out our power. this means that I am unsure about the other updates for this week! I don’t know if I’ll have access to power or internet, and I will likely be focused on other things. because of this, considered the other two updates for this week temporarily delayed. if things change and I can post, I will, but I just want you to all be aware! the taglist for this series is open! I hope you enjoy, please let me know what you think!!!

previous chapter // season masterlist // series masterlist

Sometime during the night, when everyone else is asleep, Monty nearly drives off the road. You and Bellamy are the only two awake to witness it, both of you too wired to sleep. Though it’s not like you usually slept well anyways. 

You force him to stop and climb into the back with the others, while Bellamy slides into the driver’s seat. You get into the passenger seat beside him, looking back over your passengers and making sure everyone is okay before you nod at him to continue. 

The ride through Azgeda territory, back towards Arkadia, is more peaceful than any of your previous trips, despite your tension with Bellamy. You glance over at him, noting that he’s rigid in the driver’s seat, grip tight on the wheel, jaw tense with stress. You can tell he’s playing Raven’s words over and over in his mind, reminding him of the guilt he was already carrying. He senses you looking at him, and he turns to look at you quickly before looking back at the road. He takes in a breath like he’s about to say something, and you look away, out the window, scared that he might change his mind. “When you first told me you were cursed, I thought you were being dramatic. I didn't understand how someone could blame themselves for every bad thing in their life, whether they were responsible for it or not. And then I started to do the same thing.”

He pauses for a long minute, looking out at the road in front of him with an intense expression. “Seeing Shumway with you that night in the woods, and then me failing to protect you, it hit me that I had failed you. And then you got stabbed looking for Clarke, and you nearly died in Mount Weather because I made you stay, it hit me again that I failed you, and I swore I wouldn't let that happen again. And along came Pike. I was hurt and afraid to lose you, and Octavia, and I let him convince me that the Grounders were the problem. But like Octavia said, that’s no excuse, because people got hurt. The army, Niylah’s dad, Indra, Monroe, Lincoln, Octavia…”

He turns to look at you, and you meet his gaze. He softens a little, some of his stress melting away. “You. The two people I swore to protect no matter what, and all I did was hurt them both.”

“You were doing what you thought was best for us.”

“I was wrong.”

You shake your head. “But that doesn't change your intention, Bellamy. You and Pike are not the same, you know that, don’t you?”

He doesn't say anything, just glances your way, then back to the road, the muscle in his jaw shifting, and you realize he doesn't see a difference. “Pike is brutal and manipulative and power hungry, and he only has one goal in life, which is to kill Grounders. He thinks they’re heartless savages that need to be broken and put down, but you know that none of that is true. We have always had a complicated relationship with the Grounders, and I won't blame you for lashing out from fear. But I know you and I know your heart, and I know that you don't genuinely believe that all Grounders are monsters.”

“We’re all just doing what we need to do to survive, right? Us and the Grounders alike.”

You almost smile, remembering the conversation in the woods, the one he’s quoting back to you now. A conversation that feels so long ago, back before Mount Weather, and Pike, and an AI hell bent on taking over the world. You nod, still believing in your words. “Yeah. Doesn't mean anyone is right or wrong or good or bad for it. It just means we’re trying.”

He’s quiet, absorbing the conversation. Some of the tension has left his body, his posture relaxing slightly, and that brings you relief. Bellamy’s guilt won't disappear overnight, the same way he can't earn his forgiveness from the others overnight, but this feels like a step in the right direction. 

-

When the sun rises high enough in the sky, and the others have woken up, Bellamy parks the rover in a field to let it charge. As him and Monty adjust the solar panels, getting them right, the rest of you spread out in the grass, passing around rations and chatting about nothing. Bellamy plops down beside you when they finish, and you pass him the package of nuts in your hands, which he takes with a quiet thank you.

Raven sits sandwiched between Clarke, who is checking over her wounds, and Sinclair, who refuses to let her out of his sight. Octavia is on your other side, quiet, watching the others, and Jasper and Monty sit across from you, side by side. Before Clarke settles back into the grass, she pulls out a small container, and slides the lid far enough back to check on the small chip inside. Satisfied that it’s in place, she pushes the lid closed again, and tucks it into her pocket, looking up and finding your eyes, which are watching her closely. You nod to her pocket. “How did you get it?”

“It’s the Flame. Each Commander gets it during the Ascension ceremony, and after death, it is removed for the next Commander. Lexa always talked about how her spirit would choose the next Commander and how she would never truly die, but I just thought she was talking about reincarnation. I didn’t know it would be an AI.” She takes in a shaky breath, steadying herself. “I was there when Lexa died, so I saw Titus remove it. When Ontari became the new Commander, he knew she couldn't have it, so he gave it to me, and told me to find Luna.”

Bellamy looks at her in confusion. “Why couldn't Ontari have it?”

“She murdered all the novitiates in their sleep so she could be the last one standing.”

“Holy shit.”

Raven shakes her head. “If the Grounder’s don't know that it’s an AI, how do they know what to do with it?”

Clarke reaches into her jacket, and pulls out a small notebook. “Because Becca left them instructions.”

Raven’s eyes light up, already reaching for it. “May I?”

Clarke passes her the notebook, and Raven opens it eagerly, already absorbed in Becca’s words. Clarke fills the rest of you in on everything that happened in Polis while the rest of you were in Arkadia dealing with Pike, and it’s almost hard to believe everything she’s telling you: a coup against Lexa, Lexa’s fight against King Roan, the murder of the Ice Queen. Finding the army, stopping Lexa from retaliation, Emerson being gifted to Clarke, Octavia arriving, Murphy arriving, Lexa’s death. And despite the dark subject matter, you can almost pretend that you’re all just a normal group of friends, laying out in the sun, catching each other up on your lives. You can almost forget that your people need to be saved. Again. 

But Octavia is the first to remind you, and after checking on the rover and seeing the battery full, you know it’s time to go, so you all pile into the rover again, this time with you behind the wheel and Bellamy beside you, ready to make the last bit of the trip home. 

-

You’re close to Arkadia when Raven finally looks up from Becca’s notebook, her voice full of awe. “Becca's journal is amazing. At 26, she found a pathway to access the human mind. That same year, she had to lock up Alie because her answer for what was wrong with the world was 'too many people'. She was 27 when it launched the bombs.”

You glance over at Bellamy, who is half turned in his seat, listening. Clarke asks, “What did she write about the Flame?”

“Alie 2.0. She saw it as a way to atone for her sins. She designed it to not just access a human mind, but to merge with one. It could never wipe us out because it would be one of us. She would put it in herself first, altered her genes so her body wouldn't reject the implant.”

Clarke hums. “Bekka Pramheda, the first Commander. The gene therapy made her blood black, didn't it?”

“Yeah.”

Octavia glances at Clarke in surprise. “How did you know that?”

“Nightblood, that's where it came from. Somehow, it became hereditary. Luna has it, which is why we have to find her, because if she can access Alie 2...”

“She can tell us how to stop Alie 1,” you finish for her.

Bellamy turns back to the front, and when he sees where you are, he tells the others, “Eyes sharp, weapons hot. We're almost home.”

You grab the radio, ready to warn the others. “Miller, come in.”

You receive no response, so you try again. “Harper, you there? Your ride's two minutes out.”

You are met with silence, and the heavy feeling of panic washes through you. You exchange a worried glance with Bellamy as Jasper muses, “Good start.”

When you reach the edge of the woods, Bellamy puts a hand on your arm. “Stop here.”

You stop the rover as he turns and looks at the others. “Monty, you take the wheel, Raven you’re up front with him. Jasper, you’re in the turret, and the rest of us are outside the rover, walking alongside it. I want eyes on all sides.”

No one argues, grabbing up their weapons and taking up their positions before Bellamy motions for Monty to drive the rover into camp, slowly. As you get closer, you can see that the gate is wide open, which Clarke also notices. “We left two days ago, why haven't they fixed the gate?”

“Maybe because there's no one here to fix it.”

As the rover rolls through the gate and into Arkadia, you are met with nothing but silence. No guards, no kids, no Pike, no Grounders, nothing. You feel a heavy pit in your stomach as you turn to Bellamy. “It's like a ghost town.”

Bellamy lifts his radio and asks, “Miller, where the hell are you?”

When he receives no answer, he turns to you, shaking his head. “I don't like this.”

“I don't either.”

Jasper looks around, then glances down at Bellamy. “Maybe they got chipped.”

“If they got chipped, they'd be waiting at the gate.”

“Maybe they saw the open gate, went in for Lincoln's book.”

Octavia glares up at him. “Maybe you should stop saying ‘maybe’.”

“If they’re chipped, then Alie already knows we're coming.”

Monty stops the rover on a small patch, allowing all of you to look around for any sign of something. Octavia walks over to your side of the rover, and she freezes in place beside you, causing you to look at her in alarm. You follow her gaze to the ground, finding a dark red stain in the mud. Blood. Lincoln's blood.

You swallow a wave of emotion, the sadness that threatens to rise to the surface, and Octavia never looks away from the spot as she snaps, “Let's get his book and get the hell out of here.”

“That's a plan I can support.”

Octavia runs back to the other side, and Clarke and Bellamy step up on either side of you, looking down at the blood stain. You whisper, “Lincoln.”

You can feel Bellamy tense up beside you, and he looks at the stain for a long second before he bangs on the back of the rover, signaling for Monty to keep moving. You all progress through the camp slowly, finding nothing as you maneuver the rover towards the hangar bay. Monty stops the vehicle inside before closing the door to the hangar bay quickly, leaving you all in partial darkness, the only light coming from the rover. 

You all walk through the hangar bay slowly, in a tight group, weapons drawn, looking at the scene before you. Half eaten plates of food, card games abandoned mid play, projects left incomplete. Clarke looks around in confusion. “It's like they just got up and walked away.”

Bellamy looks at the others. “We're in and out. Pack as much gear as you can into the rover.”

“I'll get the map.”

Jasper nods towards Octavia’s already retreating figure. “I'll uh...go with her. Probably shouldn't be alone.”

Raven gets out of the rover, and joins your group. “What's the rush? They won't be coming back.”

You turn to her, unconvinced. “How do you know?”

“Alie’s mission is to chip everyone. It wouldn't make sense to return to a place she's already taken.”

Sinclair shrugs, “Might make sense if there was someone in that place, i.e. you, who could tell us stuff like that.”

“Good point. Let's load gear.”

You turn to Bellamy, “Armory?”

“I’ll go with you.”

You nod and open the hangar bay door just enough for you to both slip through, not wanting to walk through the dark halls of Arkadia. You head across the camp to the armory, grunting in annoyance when you try to open the door but find it locked. Bellamy steps towards you, motioning for you to move away, “Step back.”

You do as he says and watch as he kicks the door in, and motions for you to go in first. You lift your weapon and step inside, looking around for anyone hiding in the shadows, but when you find nothing, you holster it and head straight for the rifles. Bellamy follows behind and you both pull open the doors, finding almost every weapon left behind. As you start digging through the containers beneath the rifles, you almost laugh with relief when you find case after case overflowing with bullets. Bellamy smiles at you, feeling the same excitement as he lifts his radio. “Everyone finish what you're doing and meet us in the armory.”

Clarke is the first to answer. “Why? What's going on?”

“You'll see when you get here. We just got lucky.”

“On our way.”

You turn to Bellamy, and nod towards the guns. “We’re gonna need bags to carry all this. I’m gonna go grab some.”

“I’ll go with you.”

You shake your head, waving him off. “No, don’t worry about it, I’ll be fine. Just stay here and wait for the others, I’ll only be gone for a minute.”

“Radio if you need me.”

“I will.”

You walk out of the armory and head to the room where they keep most of the extra inventory, sure that they have bags laying around in there. When you reach the small room and step inside, you feel the hairs on the back of your neck stand, though you don't know why. You look around in worry, searching the room for any sign of danger. You swear you see a shadow shift, and you reach for your gun, but before you can grab it, you’re knocked to the side. 

You turn around in surprise and open your mouth to scream when you come face to face with a Grounder in a skull mask. They swing an arm around to punch you, the hit landing on your cheekbone, the same one left bruised by Gillmer, and your scream dies in your throat. Your survival instincts kick in, and you scramble to your feet, away from the Grounder. You reach for your gun, pulling it from your holster, but as you lift it towards them, they knock the gun out of your hand, sending it flying across the room. 

You hear it slide across the ground and you use the distraction to close the space between you and the Grounder, swinging an elbow towards them, hitting them in the stomach. You hear the air leave their body in a whoosh, and they double over, grunting in pain, and you grab their head and pull it down towards your rising knee. You hear a crack as your knee makes contact with their face, and they pull away in pain, the move effectively removing their mask. You look up at the Grounder, surprised to see that it isn't a Grounder at all, but Emerson from Mount Weather.

“Of course you’d be the last Mountain Man.”

You drop the mask at your feet as he clutches his nose, blood rushing between his fingers. He shifts the bone, setting it back in place with a pop, before smirking at you. “You’re so much like your sister.”

For the first time in your life, the compliment chills you to the bone, because the information is not something that he should know. His smirk grows wider at the sign of your shock. “Imagine my surprise when I find out the great Wanheda has a weakness. A twin. Echo wasn't good for much, but she was good for that.”

You stand staring at him, trying to figure out what to do: run? Fight? Warn the others? You decide the the last option is the best, and you grab the radio from your belt with lightning speed, scrambling backwards as you rush out, “Bellamy, help-”

The rest of your plea is cut off when Emerson comes running at you full speed, crashing his body into yours, knocking you backwards and knocking the wind out of you. As you lay gasping for breath, Emerson gets to his feet and pulls you to yours, before spinning you around and wrapping his arm around your neck, trying to knock you out. You feel your feet lift off the ground and panic sets in as spots dance at the edge of your vision, unconsciousness on its way. The last thing you hear before the world goes dark, is Bellamy frantically calling your name over the radio, sounding worried.

-

The first thing you notice when you wake up is a growing ache in your shoulders. You pull your eyes open, and they land on your hands, tied to the wall above your head. A gag is pulled tight in your mouth, and you feel your anger grow. Someone to your right is trying to call your name, but it comes out muffled, and when you turn their way, you see Octavia, also chained to the wall, and also gagged. To your left you see Jasper and Raven, both chained up and sitting. Behind you, on the opposite wall is Miller, chained up like you and Octavia, and Monty, Harper, and Bryan are all chained like Jasper and Raven. 

You feel relief flow through you when you don't see Clarke or Bellamy amongst you, but that relief is short lived. Emerson steps into the room, and for the first time, you realize you’re all chained up in an air lock. He walks over to you and pulls the knife from the holster on your thigh, before grabbing your hair and pulling your head back. You hear the others try to yell through their gags, but it’s nothing more than a symphony of muffled cries. Emerson uses the hand in your hair to turn your head to the door of the airlock, and seconds later Clarke steps into view, hands raised in surrender. You try to yell at her through your gag, urging her to turn around and run, save herself, but none of that comes out. Her eyes fall on you, face etched in worry before she moves her gaze over to Emerson. “I held up my part of the deal. Your turn, let my friends go.”

He lifts the knife to your throat, pressing the blade into your skin slightly. “Tell Bellamy to show himself first.”

“I don't know what you're talking about.”

You can see Emerson nod his head once, annoyed, and he abruptly turns and punches Octavia in the stomach. She doubles over with a cry of pain, and a second later, Bellamy appears from around the corner, gun raised, yelling, “No!”

“Okay now, take out the clip and throw it down the hall. Put the gun on the ground and get inside.”

You and Octavia both protest the best you can, yelling at him to turn around and run. When Bellamy takes too long to do as Emerson says, he steps away from you and grabs Octavia, yanking her head back and dragging your knife across the skin of her chest, cutting her. The sight of her blood is enough to send Bellamy into action. “Okay, okay! Just stop!”

He pulls out the clip and tosses it down the hall, before tossing the gun down the other. He slowly reaches down and discards his knife and radio the same way, before walking towards the airlock with his hands raised. Emerson nods to a third pair of cuffs on the wall, beside you. “Those are yours.”

Bellamy locks himself in place, and Emerson pushes Octavia away from him, stepping back. He pulls out a gun and lifts it, pointing it at your twin, “Get on your knees, Clarke.”

You start to struggle, trying to slip yourself from your cuffs. Beside you, Octavia is also trying to escape, using her feet to push off the wall and create tension on the cuffs. Both of you struggle to no avail, as Clarke sinks to her knees. Emerson yells, “Put your hands behind your head.”

She does as she is told, and he keeps the gun trained on her as he steps out of the airlock and presses a button, sealing the door closed. You feel your panic start to rise as he closes the space between himself and Clarke, and she starts to beg, voice sounding muffled through the thick doors. “No, you can do anything you want with me. Just let them go!”

He grabs her by the hair and pulls her to her feet, before he pushes her towards the door, pressing her face into the glass and forcing her to watch you. He lifts the gun to her head and wraps an arm around her throat, cutting off her airway, and you struggle harder, trying to free yourself. 

“You murdered 381 people. You took the lives of my children, my brother, my friends. Did you really think that I would be happy with just one life in return, hmm?”

He loosens his hold slightly and Clarke struggles to breath as he pulls her back towards the control panel for the airlock. He presses a button and a red light starts to flash in the small space, the voice on the P.A. system announcing, “Airlock 5. Oxygen venting.”

Dread lands heavy on your stomach as you realize what he’s doing, killing all of you, and forcing Clarke to watch. He presses her up against the door again, giving her a front row seat, but you struggle to pay attention as the oxygen gets sucked from the room. Every one of you immediately starts to struggle for breath, and you pull hard against your cuffs, your fight or flight instinct kicking in. You can feel the metal biting into your wrists, breaking skin, blood already blooming there. You feel the burn in your lungs start grow, the lack of oxygen getting worse, making you feel heavy and useless. 

The fight starts to leave you, and your body sags, all of your weight supported by the cuffs around your wrists. Bellamy and Octavia are in the same state, struggling to breathe, and you hear Octavia let out a desperate cry for Bellamy. You turn towards him, but he’s already looking your way, gaze flitting between his sister and you. You glance over at Clarke, watching as she struggles against Emerson, sobbing, before your gaze moves back to Bellamy again. Your body grows heavier with each passing second, until your legs can no longer support you, and you hang there, watching Bellamy. 

His eyelids flutter close, the fight leaving his body, and yours do the same, the energy leaving your body at an alarming rate. You try to ignore the burn in your lungs as your body gasps for air, taking what oxygen it can as the rest is sucked out. You feel yourself start to lose consciousness, and you know it’s just a matter of time before you take your last breath. You feel regret that your relationship with Bellamy is still rocky, and that’s how it’ll end, with Bellamy full of guilt and acting distant. Just as the darkness starts to take over, leading you towards death, you suck in a deep breath of air, rich with so much oxygen it makes you dizzy. 

You don't question it, you just sag against your restraints and pull in deep gasps of air, letting your senses return to you slowly. You feel hands brush over yours, and your cuffs are unlocked, releasing you. Someone catches you as your weak knees fail to support you, and lower you to the ground. You open your eyes and see Clarke in front of you, blood spread over her cheekbone, smiling in relief. You smile back and she pulls you in for a hug, bone crushingly tight, but you don't care. She pulls away and Bellamy is there next, pressing kisses onto your face and your hair as he checks you over. 

Everyone stays in the airlock for a while, gathering oxygen and strength, before someone mutters, “Can we please get the hell out of our almost coffin?”

There’s a collective sound of agreement as everyone pulls themselves to their feet and trudges out of the airlock. Bellamy helps Octavia and Clarke helps you, and as you walk by Emerson’s body, you pull out of her grip and kneel down beside him. He looks terrible, blood dripping from nearly every orifice, and you ask, “What happened?”

“The Flame. If you take the Flame without Nightblood, the Flame takes your life.”

“Intense.” You shake your head, and start to dig through his pockets. 

“What are you doing?”

You glance at your twin, before returning to your search. “Getting what belongs to me.”

You feel your hand close around the familiar handle, and you pull your knife from his jacket with a smile, before returning it to its rightful place in your thigh holster. Then you stand and follow the others back to the hanger bay, away from near death.

-

The drama of the night continues upon your return to the hangar bay, where you discover Sinclair’s body. Clarke bandages everyone’s wounds as Bellamy takes charge and directs half of the group to construct a funeral pyre in the center of camp, and the other half to go to the armory and start loading weapons so you’re ready for anything. You follow Bellamy and some of the others to the armory, but halfway through you notice him slip away. You sneak after him, watching as he slips out of camp, beyond the walls. You follow, keeping your distance, doing your best to stay quiet, but it's not long before Bellamy turns around and finds you in the shadows. “You’re not nearly as quiet as you think you are.”

“Damn.” You shrug and step out of the shadows, opting to walk at his side. You don't bother to ask where you're going, his demeanor clearly closed off and not open to conversation. You walk for a few minutes into the woods before Bellamy stops, and points at a strip of white fabric reflecting in the moonlight. As you walk closer to it, you realize it’s a body, and you have a sneaking suspicion of whose as you drop to your knees and pull back the fabric around the head. 

Your eyes fall on Lincoln and your tears instantly start falling, mourning the loss of your friend, properly, for the first time since you witnessed his death. Bellamy lets you cry for a few minutes, kneeling beside you with an arm wrapped around you, until he whispers, “Grounders burn their dead.”

You understand what he means and you stand and step back, allowing him to lift Lincoln in his arms. You walk by his side as he carries him back to camp, and as you walk through the front gates, your eyes seek out Octavia. She’s kneeling with her back to you, loading up ammo, and Monty puts a hand on her shoulder to get her attention. Everyone turns your way as Bellamy carries Lincoln into camp, laying him down softly at Octavia’s feet. 

She shifts over to Lincoln, pulling the fabric away from his face to see him one last time. A brokenhearted sob breaks free from her, and she starts to cry over her dead lover. There’s nothing the rest of you can do, other than watch on in sorrow, allowing her the chance to mourn. When her cries die down, she presses a kiss to Lincoln’s head and then steps back, allowing Bellamy to lift Lincoln and carry him over to the pyre, where Sinclair’s body is already waiting. 

Bellamy puts Lincoln down on the other end, and the rest of you spread out around the pyre. You ready the torch and light it, passing it to Octavia. She waits, allowing Raven to say her goodbyes to Sinclair, and when she steps back, Octavia moves forward, lighting the pyre and stating, “Yu gonplei ste odon.”

Your fight is over. She steps away from the pyre as the fire spreads and the rest of you repeat the words as you watch the bodies catch fire. You reach for her hand and she lets you take it, accepting the comfort you offer. You stand there watching for a while, all of you lost in your own heads, quietly mourning the loss of Lincoln and Sinclair. It’s hard for you to accept the fact that Lincoln is really gone. He’s not just away looking for someone, or playing diplomat in a nearby village, he’s dead, lost to the rest of you forever, killed by a fascist asshole. You’ll never get to see him put Bellamy on his ass during a sparring session again, he’ll never finish teaching Trigedasleng. He’ll never offer you comfort when you’re hurting, or joke about how overprotective Octavia and Bellamy are. His body is in front of you, alongside Sinclair’s, overtaken by flames, as tradition states.

You can feel Octavia tense beside you, tucking away her sadness before she breaks the silence. “It’s time to go. I'll get the map.” 

She abruptly turns and walks away, and when you and Bellamy lock eyes across the fire, you can see the concern in them. You give him a reassuring smile, your way of saying she’ll be okay, though you’re not sure if you believe it yourself. You feel a drop of water land on your forehead, and you look up just as more start to fall, the sky mourning Lincoln and Sinclair with you. 

-

Everyone heads back to the armory, grabbing the discarded weapons and ammo and taking them back to the rover, loading everything as quickly as you can. Once everything is packed up, you all gather around the rover, and Bellamy looks at Raven, who looks like she’s going nowhere. “Hey, we're leaving. Why aren't you ready?”

“We're not going with you.”

Clarke starts to protest, “Raven-”

“I can barely walk and my shoulder's killing me, but my brain is all kinds of awesome.”

Monty looks at her with admiration. “She remembered that Alie downloaded herself into the Ark mainframe. If it's still there, we can find a back door.”

“I'm guessing once you connect Alie 2 to Luna, we'll need to find Alie 1 to take her down.”

Bellamy turns to Miller and gives him a serious look. “Miller.”

Miller motions between himself and Bryan. “We'll keep them safe.”

Harper smirks and points to them. “I'll keep them safe.”

Bellamy turns to Jasper. “How about you? It's gonna be dangerous.”

“You know me well. I'm in.”

He already knows he doesn't have to ask you, Octavia, or Clarke, because you were always in, no matter what. Everyone says their goodbyes, hugging and waving to each other as one group prepares to leave, and the other stays behind. Once the goodbyes are said and a chorus of “may we meet agains” has been exchanged, Bellamy walk to the drivers side and gets in. You take the passenger seat while Clarke, Octavia, and Jasper all get in the back.

 As soon as everyone’s inside, you turn to look at them. “Ready to save our people?”

“Let’s do this thing.”

-

next chapter

[gloriousstudentfury-love]

No Mass ✰

y/n’s POV

"I'm going to the Alvarez's!" I yelled

"Did you eat breakfast?" Schneider asked

"Yes." I groaned, knocking my shoes on the ground as I was anxious to get over there

"Obviously, you didn't brush your hair." Schneider said, gently patting my head

"What? Yes, I did." I gasped, pushing down my hair

"My bad. I know you didn't take your medicine." He said, shaking the orange bottle he took out of his pocket

"Come on, I'm fine. I promise." I said

"Nope. Come here." He ordered, putting one in my hand

I glared at the little white pill in my hand, wanting to put it in the trash

"Promise me you'll take it." Schneider begged

"I promise." I sighed, walking out the apartment door

I shut the door and crushed the little pill with my foot. I used my heel to push the dust under the welcome mat. 3

__________

Once I got to the Alvarez apartment, I walked right in as if I lived there. I practically did.

"What's going on today Alvarez family?" I asked, shutting the door gently behind me

"We're just moving the Pope." Penelope said as if it was a normal thing

"Do I want to know? Actually, don't answer that. I don't." I said, sitting at the kitchen table next to Alex.

"Did you take your medicine?" Alex asked, raising his eyebrows in question

"Yes." I lied, patting his shoulder

I turned to find Lydia putting up a picture of the Pope on their counter. We laughed at her as she continued to dance her way to her room.

_________

Later, I was back at the Alvarez's house. Lydia invited me and Schneider over to eat dinner with them.

"You can probably dump that whole thing on there." Schneider said, referring to the food Lydia was passing out

"Next time." Lydia, lovingly, laughed

"Hi!" We all said, as the door slammed following Penelope's entrance into the apartment

"Welcome home, Lupita. We are almost done, but there is plenty left." Lydia said, pointing to the dinner on the table

"Aw. Dinner with my entire family... and the whitest people I know." Penelope said, gesturing to me and Schneider

"We're not that white." I said, unconvincingly

"Honey, you're as white as your converse..and those are really white." Penelope joked, making everyone laugh

"Yes, I invited them, again. They're orphans." Lydia said

"Do orphans always have rich dads who buy them buildings?" Alex asked

I tensed at the mention of a dad, but shook it off with a smile. I wasn't going to cause drama in a situation that didn't really involve me.

"Hey, I may have money in the bank and two living parents, and four living stepmothers...but there is a hole in here. We never had family meals. I ate alone in front of the TV. At least now, I have this one." Schneider argued, ruffling my hair

I instantly felt guilty about not taking my medicine. I knew he wanted what was best for me, but I just couldn't bring my self to do it.

"Ay, pobrecito Schneider." Lydia said

"Oh, don't get me wrong. It was a massive TV. Sometimes my nanny would join me, but only if I agreed to watch telenovelas." Schneider said

"Ooh, those are so over the top." Elena groaned

"Right? This one time, Rosa got jealous of the housekeeper cause she was makin a move on her man, so she threatened to throw live scorpions on her while she slept." Schneider said

"Sounds good. Which one was that?" Lydia asked

"Oh, no. Rosa was my nanny. Ex nanny. Now, stepmother. I'm so glad to be here." Schneider sighed, rubbing the table

"I'm just glad to be home with everyone." Penelope said, smiling at her family

As if on cue, Elena's goth friend walked out of the bathroom and sat in Penelope's chair.

"Who the hell are you?" Penelope asked

"This is Carmen, my best friend. I'm doing my history project with her." Elena said, introducing the stranger

"These all sound like things I should know. Hi, Carmen." Penelope smiled, introducing herself

"Hi." Carmen sighed, dramatically

"I'm Penelope. Kind of a big deal around here. So, uh, what's this history project you're working on? And then maybe later you can show me how you turn into a bat." Penelope asked, teasing Elena's friend

"Well, we just got done explaining the whole thing." Elena said

"Oh, come on, mija, I missed it." Penelope begged

"Oh, wait. Alex, y/n, tell Penelope that funny story that happened in chemistry class." Lydia laughed

"Again?" Alex asked

"Okay, I'll tell it. So, there is the floor and... slip. Oh, that Dylan." Lydia laughed as she barley got through any of the story

"Oh, That story never gets old." Schneider said, laughing at Lydia's incoherent story

"I've been working so much. I've been missing all the scoops plus Latina Twilight over here. Careful. There's a lot of garlic in that chicken." Penelope said, continuing to tease Carmen

"Your mom's kinda mean. I'm obsessed with her." Carmen, oddly, smiled

"Who would like a pastelito?" Lydia asked

We all eagerly took one, ignoring the pizzas Penelope had brought home

"Mm! You know what? How about we go on a hike this Saturday like we used to?" Penelope asked her kids

"Mom, Uh, Carmen and I need all Saturday for our history thing." Elena said

"Yeah, and Abuelita, y/n, and I have tickets to wrestling." Alex cheered

"I don't understand why you waste good money on that." Penelope sighed

"It's educational." I said, attempting to convince her

Penelope stared at me with a "we both know that's bullshit" look.

"Eh, I don't know." I shrugged

"Okay, Saturday's out. How about we go on a hike Sunday morning before it gets hot?" Penelope asked

"You seem to have forgot. Sunday morning is for church." Lydia said

"So, we skip church." Penelope suggested

"You seem to have forgot. We don't skip church." Lydia said, shaking her head at her only daughter

"Mami, it's okay if we miss it one time. It's not gonna kill us." Penelope insisted

"Oh, really? My great uncle Luisito skipped church, and on the same day, he was crushed by a runaway tractor." Lydia said

"Why don't you just go to church and then go hikin' after?" Schneider asked, solving their obvious problem

"We're Latinos, Church takes all day. By the time you're done with mass and you've said hello to fulano y fulana, it's five o'clock." Penelope said

"Oh, you exaggerate. 4:30." Lydia insisted

"I wanna see these guys this weekend. Come on. Cause I like them." Penelope said, pulling her kids close to her

"I have to put my foot down. Sundays we go to church, and then sometimes we go to Applebee's." Lydia said

"Well, I have a foot, too, and I'm gonna put my foot down and say this Sunday we're not going to church." Penelope argued

"Well, I am putting both of my feet down. We are going and that is the end of it. Ya!" Lydia said, shushing Penelope

"That's not your decision to make." Penelope said, beginning to get angry

"It's starting to feel kinda like home in here." Schneider smiled, making me shake my head

"I'm with Mom. We don't need to go to church. After all, Abuelita, you don't believe half that stuff." Elena said

"I believe everything." Lydia argued

"Really? When you take the communion you believe you're eating the actual blood and flesh of Jesus?" Elena asked

"Ay, no, it's a symbol. Don't be gross." Lydia said

"Okay. So, if you believe that then you're Protestant." Penelope said

"There is no need for name calling. All I know is that a good Catholic does not skip church. Right, papito?" Lydia asked, looking towards Alex for support

"I like church. I see my friends and I eat some donuts." Alex said

"Now, this one gets it. We're going." Lydia said, patting him on the back

"No, we are not! I work hard all week. When I get home, there's barely enough time to have a meal with the kids. Weekends are my only chance. So, this Sunday, no church. End of discussion." Penelope said

Lydia stood up and said something in Spanish, confusing me and Schneider.

"Ooh." Alex and Carmen said

"What? What'd she say?" Elena asked, who was also confused

"I am raising my voice, because I cannot believe we're having this discussion! I'm their mother! I don't need permission! I decide." Penelope fought

"And I am your mother, and I decide what you decide." Lydia said

"We are a family, damn it! Don't make me choose between you." Schneider said, "Okay, I'd choose Lydia because of her warm food and even warmer hugs. But I'd feel really bad about it."

"All right, everybody, go do your homework. Schneider, take y/n and go call one of your moms." Penelope said

"Fine. Guess we'll just eat this all alone in front of my massive TV." Schneider said, storming out

"Thought that was at his dad's house-" Penelope started

"He has one too!" I yelled as we stormed out 2

_________

The next morning, I was sitting on the couch before school when someone knocked on the apartment door. Schneider went to open it to reveal the whole Alvarez family.

"Hello, Schneider. Listen have you—" Penelope started

"Wow! I always forget how huge your apartment is." Alex said, barging into the apartment

I waved from the couch before going back to my TV show, trying to ignore the chaos around me.

"Nah, come on, it's not that big. But let's talk in the parlor." Schneider said

"Schneider, have you seen my mom?" Penelope asked

"Gosh, no." Him and I, suspiciously, said

"Then why do I smell fried plantains and Cuban coffee?" Elena asked, glancing around the apartment

"Fine! She spent the night. But I want you to know, nothing happened." He promised

"Ew." I said, shaking my head at the older man

"What were you thinking chasing that women away? She's funny, charming, and when she gets angry, she cleans." He said

"Where is she?" Penelope asked, ignoring most of what he said

"I don't know. After last nights ugliness, she spent the night and left without saying goodbye. So, she already knows the drill." He said, referring to the previous women that had been in the apartment

"Again, Gross." I groaned

Then, a girl walked out a Schneider's room wearing just a shirt. Alex stared at her, making me laugh at his immaturity.

"Unlike some people." He said, glaring at the girl

The girl walked into a different room, and everyone turned their attention back towards Schneider

"What was that? And why was she drinking my coffee?" Penelope asked

"Well, when my family oasis blew up last night, I had to seek solace in the arms of.. I don't know her name. Your mom called her the stick girl and made her eat plato de huevos." He said

"Did Abuelita forget to give her her pants, too?" Alex asked, making me laugh

__________

Later, Schneider and I were still at the Alvarez's because Lydia wasn't there when Alex and Elena got home from school.

Penelope walked in and we all greeted her with smiles and waves, still worried about Lydia.

"Welcome home, Lupita! We already started, but I insisted nobody say anything interesting till you got here." Schneider said

"Aw, that's so sweet." Penelope smiled, looking at all of us sitting at the dinner table

"It's been weird." Elena sighed

"Did you find Abuelita?" Alex asked, desperate to see his grandma again

"Yeah, she's with Jesus now." Penelope said2

"What?" We all screamed, thinking she meant Lydia had died

"No, no. Sorry. She's at church. Poor choice of words. Uh, whoa! What do we have here?" Penelope asked, looking at everything Schneider had set up

"Oh, Nothing special. Just some nutted quinoa, wilted broccoli with radish micro greens, and venison carpaccio on a bed of nettles. Grab a cedar plank and dig in." Schneider said

"Big change from Abuelita's cooking, huh? You like it?" Penelope asked all of us

"I can't wait to have eaten it." Elena said, as Schneider stared at her waiting for an answer

"I didn't think I would like nettles, and I was right." Alex said, setting down the fork he was using to eat

"Well, I'm competing with perfection here." Schneider sighed

"It's okay, Schneider. We all thank you for this very Caucasian meal. Good to see you again, Elena's best friend, Carmen, you beautiful weirdo." Penelope smiled

Carmen stared at her, uninterested in what Penelope was talking about.

"I'm sorry things got crazy the other night. That's- that's not us." Penelope insisted

"Seems like us." Alex disagreed

"We have all kinds of arguments in my family. I have two brothers. Ones a priest, ones a witch, so..." Carmen said, making us look at her oddly

"I'm really glad I'm getting to know you better, Carmen." Penelope

"Hello!" Lydia said, dramatically making her reappearance through the front door

"Oh, Thank God!" Schneider said, running ahead of everyone and hugging her

"I am so glad you're home. I was wilting under pressure to be you." He groaned

"Oh, hello, babies." Lydia said, hugging Elena and Alex, then me

"I'm sure you did fine. Who threw up in the table?" Lydia said, approaching the table and judging Schneider's cooking

"What were you doing all day?" I asked

"Oh, you know, saying my Rosary, praying for the departed souls...Asking forgiveness for your mother." Lydia said

"Why?" Elena asked

"Oh, She didn't tell you? She's no longer going to church. Ever." Lydia said

"We can do that?" Alex asked

"You can't. We will all go together. Us. Your mother will go hiking with Satan." Lydia sassed

"Yeah, and then we'll go to Applebee's. Cause Satan loves the Fiesta Lime Chicken!" Penelope sassed right back

"So, I guess you want to take my grandchildren to hell with you." Lydia asked, furthering the argument between her and Penelope

"I don't wanna go to hell." Alex cried, making me pat his shoulder

"There is no hell." Penelope said

"Don't worry, papito, there is." Lydia said, not making Alex feel any better

"Okay! You- you really wanna do this? All right, let's do this. I am not even sure I even believe in God, Okay?" Penelope said

"Hardcore." Carmen said, as the Alvarez's gasped

"Oye, you're so smart. If God doesn't exist, who made all of this?" Lydia asked, gesturing around the apartment

"Target." Penelope said2

"Okay, can we agree that if there is a God, it's gender neutral and not a He or she?" Elena asked

"No! God is a man. If he were a woman, there would be less problems. Pobrecito God. He tries so hard." Lydia said5

"Look, Mami, I get it. You like going to church. It's habit. You go out in lipstick, get dressed up, see your friends, gossip. It's your little social club, Mami, and that's fine." Penelope said

"It is more than that. I pray. I seek forgiveness." Lydia said

"And I am so glad that that gives you comfort. But that doesn't mean that God exists, okay? I'm sorry." Penelope said

"He kept you safe. Every day that you were gone, he kept you safe. My little girl says she wants to go in the Army, and then the army sends her to Afghanistan where she is getting shot at and I don't even know what else. Do you have you any idea... how much I worried? When you were deployed, I went to church everyday and I prayed that he would keep you safe. And he did. So don't you tell me about God. I know that God exists, and he is great." Lydia said, crying as she finished her story

"Mami, I'm sorry. I had no idea. You know, you went missing for one day and I was worried sick. I can't imagine what it must feel like to worry all those years." Penelope said

"All those years putting up with Birdie, with her terrible hairdos and her smelly breath." Lydia said

"Look. I still wear the cross you gave me." Penelope said, showing her the dainty cross necklace

"So you do believe!" Lydia exclaimed

"No, I don't wear it because it's a cross. I wear it because you gave it to me." Penelope said

"I don't understand the difference, so please just let me have this." Lydia said

They both sobbed and hugged each other, as everyone else looked on with a smile.

"So, are we going to church or not?" Elena asked

"Yes. Wait, no. Wait.. Sometimes, okay?" Penelope asked

"At least at Christmas and Easter. And one other time, so we are not those people." Lydia said

"And I'm not saying God doesn't exist. In fact, I check in with him constantly, you know, like, 'please God don't let Elena come home with a face tattoo.' And Mami, I am glad that you find comfort in church. I just find it in different places." Penelope said

"That's how I feel when I watch John Cena." Alex said, making everyone laugh

"Exactly, or Sonia Sotomayor... or Death. Everyone has something that inspires them." Penelope said

__________

The next morning, I was sat on the couch with Alex watching the News. All of a sudden, a story about a car swerving off a bridge, into a lake, came on.

I stopped focusing on what Alex was talking about and stayed glued to the TV. As the story went on it started getting harder to breath, and I was shaking, and my eyes were tearing up.

"y/n? y/n! What's wrong?" Alex asked,  grabbing my hand when he heard my labored breaths

"I... can't... breath." I said, shaking my head and crying

"Mom!" Alex screamed, calling out for an adult to come help

"What?" She asked running in, quickly rushing to the couch

"Something's wrong with y/n." He said, tearing up as I continued to shake and attempt to catch my breath.

"I'll go get Schneider. Wait here." She said, running out the apartment door

Elena, Alex, and Lydia tried to get me to calm down, but I just couldn't.

"Where is she?" Schneider asked, running in with Penelope.

When he saw me on the couch, he sat down and placed his hands on my shoulders, forcing me to look at him.

"Okay, okay. Remember your breathing. Breath in, 1,2,3,4,5. Breath out, 6,7,8,9,10." He said

We did that couple times, and I calmed down to the point where I could at least talk.

"What happened, kid?" He asked, rubbing my back in comfort

"The news. And the story, the car, bridge, lake." I said, beginning to tear up again

"y/n. Why didn't you take your medicine?" Schneider asked, realizing what had happened

"I did." I lied

"No, it wouldn't have been this bad if you had." He insisted

"I can't, okay? Every time I take those pills, I feel numb. And as crazy as it sounds, I want to feel the pain. I need to realize that what happened to my parents is real, not some horrible nightmare that I can just forget. I need to remember, and I need to heal on my own. I know I'll never have a mom who cares for me, or siblings to comfort me, or a dad to hang out with. I miss that, but pretending it's not real is worse." I said crying

Everyone stared at me either with teary eyes or sympathy, making me want to sink into the couch.

"Hey, I may not be your mom or your dad, but I'll always be there for you. I didn't think I'd enjoy taking in someone else's child, but since you've been with me I couldn't imagine life without you. You're my family." Schneider said, hugging me, "You can't hide these kind of thing from me, though. You have to try and be honest about it."

"We'll always be here too. For anything." Alex said, coming in to wrap me in hug

The rest of the family joined in one big hug, making me realize that Schneider was right. I may have lost my biological family, but family isn't just about DNA. It's about surrounding yourself with the people who will love and care for you through everything, and that's what Schneider and the Alvarez's are to me.

_________

Alright, I hope this chapter provides an idea of what happened to her parents. Thank you guys for the reads!! And please, any feedback is welcomed.

[straygodess]

do you sometimes think about sex positive ace Amy Santiago

[honeyrose-tea]

all the risky and really asks. -🌙

ok you asked for it, but be prepared, I'm hella boring lol

1. “@” people you want to be friends with

I know this is lame but I don't really have anyone? maybe on my old blog, but on this one I mostly just have old mutuals who I already consider myself friends with.

2. screenshot the tabs you have open

I won't do that to my camera roll bc there are at least 30 BUT I'll give you the highlights:

a hilarious music video by a boy from school, filmed in our dorm (and no, there's no context, he just made this for fun): https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=qaqk3PmQv20

this ring I want (which I can't afford lmao): https://www.dior.com/en_us/products/couture-JROC95024_0000-rose-dior-pre-catelan-ring-small-model-in-18k-pink-gold-and-amethyst

this wikipedia article: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Controversies_about_the_word_%22niggardly%22

multiple articles about sharks (I'm obsessed with sharks)

a lot of me searching for memes or vines which I just forgot to close lol

recipes for berry crisp (Dan's fav dessert), watermelon sorbet (one of dad's fav desserts), and creme brulee (something I wanna make)

reddit nosleeep

me trying (and failing) to find a free pdf of the DSM (manual for diagnosing mental disorders)

me trying to identify a bird from my backyard

the coca cola freestyle machine locator (I'm addicted to creme soda with peach flavoring)

this article: https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.theodysseyonline.com/10-chris-evans-movies-ranked-by-hotness.ampe

and finally, a tab of me searching for where to buy the unedited version of Anne Frank's diary (she was bi!!!)

3. the last text you sent to someone?

"lol" to my mom... srry I'm not more fun

4. do you have a nsfw blog?

I do not

5. i dare you to _____ 

can you give me a truth instead? lmao

6. screenshot the first page of your search history

I use an incognito browser...

7. tell an embarrassing memory or story

one time I walked into the mens room behind my dad bc I was so zoned out I forgot I couldn't follow him everywhere

8. how often do you take showers?

depends. if I've worked outside or something then I definitely take one right after. but on a daily basis? probably once a day or every other day, if I'm home. if I'm at school I try to take one at home on Sunday, one at school midweek (possibly two), and then one as soon as I get back on Friday. I hate showering at school bc we have community bathrooms and you have to wear flip flops. it's gross

9.  what was your first blog URL?

I honestly don't remember my first one but I know at one point toward the beginning I was called "frozenfloralpolaroids"

10. if you draw or write, show some of your really old work

I don't draw and I don't write recreationally, the only things I can think of are some pieces I wrote for school projects, which I probably don't have on hand. once again sorry I'm lame lol

1. if you had to hug anyone who would you hug

uhhhhh probably my sweet internet friend who we'll call M. he needs a hug and I feel like he would give good ones:)

2. whats your favorite flavor of ice cream?

depends on the mood! if I'm feeling fruity I'll go for like a cherry cordial or a strawberry milkshake or maybe even a fruit sorbet! but if it's like a rich desserty mood I like anything with peanut butter or caramel or chocolate (or all three!). tldr; if you give me ice cream I will eat it

3. whats your favorite color?

idk? being LGBTQ+ I feel like I have some license to just say "the rainbow" but. for the sake of answering, I guess purple. I like purple a lot.

4. if you have pets, what are their names?

my dog that passed a year or so ago was named Haley, after Haley's comet. we called her a beagle/hound mix but she was really just a mutt. I loved her a lot:(

my other dog (still living) is my best friend. her name is Izzy and she's a golden retriever, though I'm convinced she's actually an angel

I have 18 chickens! here are the five who are still remaining from our first flock:

Annalise/Anna, a buff orpington (golden colored) who's big and floofy. she's Loud and likes to let us know she's laid an egg by singing an "egg song", which basically means clucking loud enough that we can hear her inside our house

Rosie/Rosalinda/Rosa, a rhode island red (a dark auburn color) who is debatably the alpha. she's a people-lover, and the best one to let kids hold as she's very calm. she'll fall asleep in my arms. but don't let that trick you, she's still bossy with the other chickens and aggressive when it comes to food (but aren't we all?)

Marsha, a black chicken (can't think of the breed rn) who is hearty and medium-sized. she's calm and demure and she has pretty brown eyes:)

Elsie and Stella, easter egg chickens (smaller breed that lays pastel green eggs) who are named after my maternal grandmother and great-grandmother. their names fit the way their namesakes were- Elsie is a lighter brown color and quite shy and sweet, Stella is skinny and darker and mean. not mean, really, but she has taken to bullying our new chickens which we've been trying to get her to stop doing

now for the new babies! (who are almost adults now!)

Rory and Lorelai, barred rocks (black and white striped) who are named after the Gilmore Girls characters

Violet and Iris, lavender orpingtons (gray with a hint of purple) who are both very sweet and named after their color, of course

Molly and Edith, two more easter egg chickens who are named after two more of my ancestors!

Clarice and Clover, buff orpingtons (like Anna) who are both super shy and precious (unlike Anna)

Ora and Georgetta. Ora is a golden-laced wyandotte while Georgetta is silver-laced (basically, they're dark-colored except for the ends of their feathers, which have a colored detailing. also come in blue and red varieties). they're named after two of the old ladies at our former church

Josephine/Josie and Penelope/Penny, new hampshire reds (a little lighter than Rosie but same idea) who are both so cute. they have a bit of black in their tail feathers and are just so so pretty:)))

finally, our special girl Buttercup! Buttercup was an extra because we ordered our babies as hatchlings from an online store, and they said we could have an extra for free! Buttercup is pure white and she is such a chracter. she likes roosting up really high and has fun doing things she knows she's Not Supposed To Do. she's funny and I love her

5. do you like a warm bed or a cold bed?

cold! I lovvvve sleeping in the cold. I like having the room super cold and then cuddling up under my blankets bc........... I'm baby

6. whats a really good memory you have?

strangely, the first thing that popped into my head was sitting on a rooftop with T on a really nice night. I'm not sure why, as I don't think about him that often, but I guess that goes to show that you can still love the memories even if you don't love the person anymore

7. favorite song you cant stop listening to?

Sweet Life by Frank Ocean, and the entire EP "This Thing Called Living" by Eloise

8. do you drink water with or without ice in it?

with ice, unless it's a bottle from the fridge. I love cold water though, and will very rarely drink room temp

9. do you like to use correct grammar when you type or just type all lowercase?

both? I don't capitalize the beginnings of sentences, but I do capitalize proper nouns and use correct punctuation and all that. I just feel like it looks too stuffy when there's all those capital letters

10. whats something thats made you laugh recently?

I was at a restaurant tonight where the servers sing throughout the night (they're all trying to make it on Broadway) and one guy sang a love song directly to this girl and threw confetti on her, which was funny. other than that probably just like. memes

[danandfuckingjonlmao]

meanwhile i’m out here still trying to process the bdsm thing

[roonil-wazlib-in-the-tardis]

I saw that they uploaded this and I was immediately cheered up. This has to be one of my favourite episodes ever, purely because of the Full Bullpen™ and everything about this video.

- “Kevin is right.”

“You’re fired.”

- “Kindergarten Statistics.”

- “Funky Cats and their Feisty Stats.”

- “They just need to bone.”

“Gross, Rosa, those are our dads! I mean, that’s not what I think. Captain Dad is just my boss.”

  “Wow.”

  “Never mind! I’m teaching Father the math! Whatever, Rosa!”

- Rosa’s face during that entire exchange.

- “Come on, sir. The math thing isn’t the problem. The night shift’s keeping you and Kevin apart. You two just need to bone.”

“What did you just say?”

“I said you two need to bone.”

“hhhhOw dArE yoU dEtEctIVe DiaZ, I AM YOUR SUPeriOR OffiCER! 

BOOOOONEEEE.”

And every single glorious second that comes after that exchange, complete with Amy rocking back and forth in her chair.

And then, the pinnacle of it all:

“See, what happened is, your dads had sex.”

“Okay, Rosaaa!”

[head-hopping]

What’s In a Name...

As the paved road wound through the Florence countryside, a sole car took its turns smoothly, only the purr of the Maserati engine filling the interior. Three young girls, all about thirteen in age, canted to the side window behind the passenger casting occasional smiling glances at the man driving. The car hadn’t been silent since they left the city itself, but the moment they’d turned off the main highway, onto the drive leading off the main path, an almost reverent hush fell over the car, brimming with barely contained excitement.

One girl in particular, whose auburn curls were bound in a brightly colored scrunchie, practically pressed her face to the window glass, the fog of her breathing spreading and vanishing along under her nose and mouth.

At the mere peek of white stone flashing through the trees, one of the other girls gasped, swatting her arm. “Look! Look!”

“Yeah, I see it, geez!” she complained, but there wasn’t any bite in her tone at all. No, she was too consumed with not blinking in case the missed the sudden full appearance of the villa as they finally took a final turn, slipping from the tree cover. A curved drive spread before them, standing old guard before the slightly faded face of the wide structure. “Oh man…” she breathed, now her hands pressed to the glass as her dad slowed along the gravel driveway, eventually coming to a stop in front of the now empty home.

“People would live here?” one of the other girls asked, in utter awe. “It’s so big!”

“Um, hello,” the dark-headed girl scoffed, flicking a careless glare over her shoulder, as if everyone should know this. “They had staff and vineyards and stuff. It wasn’t just the main family who lived here, but a bunch of other people too. Right, Mama?”

The woman hummed an affirmation, but any further explanation was lost as the car doors audibly unlocked. “Girls, mind the gardens in the back!” the woman called over the spill of gangly limbs all trying to unbuckle and clamor out the same door at the same time. “They haven’t been tended in a while! Rosa!”

“I hear you, Mama!” the girl called, though she hardly paused as the giggling trio rushed towards the massive front doors waiting up the steps.

---

“Wow, Rosa…” Stella muttered to herself. The girls, once the front door was unlocked, had all but flew through the foyer to explore, eventually ending up in a ballroom that appeared long out of use. Some hints of renovation could be seen, and even some left-behind boards lay against the wall, untouched probably for years. The chandelier that once hung in this room had been sold a long time ago, apparently by Rosa’s great-uncle in order to pay off some sort of debt. Course, she didn’t know what it’d been, but she quietly wished she could have seen this room in the height of its use. Pretty ladies in dresses and handsome fellows in suits, drinking fancy drinks and chatting, some dancing. Maybe even something bad had happened here, like a fight.

After all, the distant DiRusso side of the family, now apparently long-gone, hadn’t been up to much good back in those days.

“Wow,” Stella muttered again, now standing at the back ballroom doors leading to a balcony outside, where much of the family property stretched, now somewhat overgrown. “This place is so pretty.”

Rosa bumped her sneakered foot against the door frame, but the balcony was still locked, so all they could do from here was look out through dirty glass. “If you think this is great, you should see that cottage out in the woods,” she sniffed, reaching up to tighten her ponytail. “It’s where like, one of my great-great uncles stayed for a while after World War One, I think. Something like that. Anyway, it’s kept in better condition last I remember.”

“I thought your mama said the last time you came here was when you were three,” Angela intoned, shooting Rosa an almost withering sort of look, like she was telling her stories yet again.

Rosa only shrugged. That much was true, though. Last time she came here, she was three, and her great-grandmother had been about to die. But that didn’t mean she was clueless. “Have you seen our family tree records? No. Great-grandma put together this huge family history. Even some stories of what happened.”

Stella turned wide, gullible eyes on Rosa, practically begging to hear something interesting—or romantic. “Like what?”

“Well—”

“Oh, here we go.”

“Look,” Rosa snapped, though Angela didn’t seem all that phased by the glare, but rather snorted at her best friend. “You didn’t have to come all the way out here if all you’re gonna do is poke fun at my history.”

Angela pressed her lips together and pivoted away, but both she and Rosa secretly smirked over the whole thing while Stella looked on with a touch of concern.

“Anyway,” Rosa sighed, flapping her hand in the air. “Let’s see what we can find out back.”

---

“So what were you gonna say before?” Stella asked, sounding just as eager as before. She trailed alongside Angela while Rosa teetered along an old wall partly surrounding one of the old winepresses on the property. This whole visit, one Rosa begged to go on, was so her dad could examine the older buildings and see what he could do to restore them. Being an architect sort of ran in the family, and there were plenty to be found in some degree all through her family tree—at least, it started up about four or five generations ago.

Rather than just sell the property, or hand over the manor to the local government to make a museum, Papa wanted to try his hand at sorting things out on his own. To him, it just didn’t seem right to pass on the place just yet, even if they lived in the city.

“Say what about before?” Rosa asked, wheeling her arms a bit when she momentarily lost her balance. The wall wasn’t all that tall…but it was also kinda old, so she had to be careful. And make sure Mama didn’t see her up here.

“About the stories!” Stella insisted, her laugh a touch nervous for insisting so much. “You said there’s a whole bunch of them about your family.”

“Uh. Yeah.” Rosa hopped off the wall, tripping a bit when she landed, but she just brushed the dirt off her hands when she stood up again. “Like…the time when apparently this whole fight happened over like a great-great-great-grandmother that happened hundreds of years ago or something. Can you imagine it? The guy shows up and is all ‘NO, you’re not marrying him, you’re marrying ME’ and I dunno, maybe someone got shot.” She sounded so flippant that Stella actually looked distressed.

“But…that’s so romantic,” she breathed, hands clasped tight and pressing against her heart.

Snorting, Rosa tugged her denim jacket off her shoulders and tossed it over the wall, her shirt collar a bit off center as she propped hands on her hips. “I’m with Angela on this one, Stella. It’s probably not even true. I bet the real story is so boring and bland.”

“Mhm,” Angela added from where she crouched, prodding with a stick after she’d upturned a loose stone in the walkway. “Booooring. Didn’t happen. I bet it was all arranged. They did that all the time back then.”

“Can you imagine!” Rosa threw her arms up. “Being stuck with some gross dude for the rest of your life? I. Don’t even like boys. They’re gross.”

Even Angela lifted up from her inspection to toss Rosa a disbelieving look and rolled her eyes. “Sure, Rosa. Because I didn’t see you kiss that American guy on the cheek the other day. He was only in school for a day.”

Rosa tossed her head a bit, a haughty sort of expression of neither denial nor admitting anything all over her slender little form. “Anyway, like I said, who knows about that one. But we do know that’s probably about the time that the property changed hands, in a way. By a bunch of legal records and whatever. Bottom line is, this place has been in the family for yeeeeeears.”

A sudden call caught all of their attention. Rosa’s mama, probably in the overgrown garden area, calling for all of them to leave. Stella expressed her disappointment only with a sigh, but Angela pushed to her feet and wiped off her hands.

“Time to go! But we should come back again, I think. Once your dad’s gotten a lot of work done here. This would be an awesome winter home.”

“Maybe,” Rosa shrugged, starting off back towards the house, the two of them following along. “He hasn’t decided anything yet. But…I hope he does decide to keep it.”

As they made their way along the house, Rosa stopped suddenly, turning back to run and get her jacket draped over the winepress wall, telling her friends to go on ahead without her. On the way back, though, she spotted another small building sitting off to the side, jutting out from just beyond yet another section of gardens. Curiosity got the better of her, despite knowing she needed to hurry, and she followed a dark, overgrown path to a small white building that might have once been pretty. Looking around, she froze upon seeing the grave markers in the ground, going back around to the other side of the small building. Despite how creepy that was, Rosa shuffled a little closer. Trying to read whatever was carved above the locked doors. But instead she startled so badly that she yelped.

“Rosalinda Barozzi!”

And that sounded like her dad. She darted off, forgetting all about the mausoleum for now.

The name above the locked doors of which, in bold script, read BAROZZI even though the structure stood among the much older graves, all of which instead carried either names too marred to read, or the faded last name DiRusso.

Hidden mostly by the flowered vines now well overgrown, yet still readable if the greenery was pushed aside, was the script carved in a more flowing nature:

Per il campione, chi è l'amore.

[madeleinedevalois]

where is my amy 'rosa, gross, those are our dads!' santiago and jake 'i want you both to be my dads!' peralta gifset