#he gave the gift of breakfast to 5 hungry birds

[archipelago-siren]

I'm at a city train station and on the platform there was a pigeon trying to find crumbs near a large sturdy biscuit, unable to do so.

Then a gentleman came over, stomped on the biscuit to create crumbs, and 4 other pigeons flew over and snacked.

I don't know who you are but I would die for you pigeon snack saviour

[prettyinlimegreenboots]

The Perfect Morning

You have been asking for it loud and clearly so I decided to write the Sprace baby you’ve all been waiting for. This is part of the “Life in the ER'' Series but a rare moment that doesn’t take place in the hospital. There are curse words and mentions of a hospital/working in a hospital. As always, feedback would be wonderful and would make me very happy. And if you have anything you’d like to see happen in the series, just let me know - I’m always looking for new situations to put our favorite characters into!

April 17, 2021

The house was quiet when he woke. It hadn’t been that quiet in almost six months and his first thoughts were holy shit. The second was questioning the time. He rolled over and looked at the green numbers of the clock - 7:34.

Running a hand over his face, he sighed before letting the hand flop to the other side of the bed. Empty. Cold. Sitting up, he blinked a couple of times, allowing his eyes to scan the room.

“Spottie?” He called, pushing himself off the bed and heading towards the room across the hall.

Pushing open the door, he was surprised to see it was empty. The dark wooden crib they had spent hours debating about sat across from the door, a light blanket thrown over the side. A mint green onesie was haphazardly thrown near the hamper and a stuffed elephant was nearby but otherwise nothing was out of place.

Continuing on his journey, he headed towards the living room thinking his husband and young child could be there but he came up empty once more. The dog was even missing which caused him to pause in his hunt.

At that moment, he fell in love with his husband a bit more. Here it was a rare morning that Spot didn’t have an early morning shift at the hospital; yet he had gotten up, taken care of their child and puppy so he could sleep in a bit.

Their lives were flipped upside down with the adoption of their daughter. It had been a period of adjustment for all of them, especially for their puppy, Sassie. From the moment they brought their little girl home, life had completely changed for the good. The two of them had always been a great team; however, they didn’t know how good of a team they would be until the doctor handed them Mackenzie Jayne Higgins-Conlon and wished them congratulations.

Pouring himself a cup of coffee, Race grinned putting in creamer before heading out to their front porch. He shouldn’t be surprised Spot would do this - it’s just him and his little ways of showing love. Taking a seat, he took a sip of his coffee as he waited for the rest of his family to return from whatever adventure they had gone on.

Relaxing into the chair, he sighed, listening to the birds chirp in the trees as he held the warm mug in his hands. Just as he went to kick his feet up, Sassie came bounding up the stairs, with her leash dragging behind her. Putting his mug on the table, he bent over and rubbed his hands up and down her sides, wishing her a good morning.

“Where’s dad, Sass?” He asked, looking down the street for him. What he saw caught him off guard.

Spot was pushing the jogging stroller that Jack and Kat had gotten them as a shower gift, shirtless, hair pushed back by a headband and sunglasses over his eyes. Race took a moment to publically ogle his husband, appreciating the physique that Spot effortlessly maintained. Race was careful not to let his jaw drop at how utterly gorgeous his husband was. There were very few times he could unabashedly stare at his husband and he was going to take full advantage of it.

Unclipping Sassie’s leash, he opened the front door for her to go inside before he bounded down the stairs to where Kenzie and Spot were. Race couldn’t help but catcall and whistle as he came closer to the two. “Hey good lookin.”

Grinning, Spot looked up from where he was unclipping Mack. “Hey yourself.”

“Have I mentioned how utterly gorgeous you are lately?” Race saunted closer to his husband and daughter with a shit eating grin on his face.

Spot adjusted Mack in his arms before throwing his head back and laughing. “Right now I’m a sweaty mess but thanks for the compliment. I wanted to give you a chance to sleep in since you’ve been taking night duty.”

“Sweaty mess or not, you’re hot. Own that. And thanks, I appreciate it.” Race leaned over and kissed him. “Did little miss enjoy the run?”

Spot kissed him back before handing Mack over to him. He leaned down to grab something out of the bottom of the stroller before giving Race a bright smile. “She was fussy when we first started but seemed to settle down as I got into a rhythm. I did about a 45 minutes run. We ran through town, picked up breakfast before heading back.”

“You’re my hero.” Race said, walking back up the stairs to the front porch. “Do you want a cup of coffee or water?”

Spot waved him off. “I’m going to take a quick shower. Do you need anything before I do that?”

“Nah, we'll just hang out here. If she wants, send Sassie out here.” Race pressed a kiss to Kenzie’s forehead. “Come back out when you’re done.”

Spot dropped kisses to both Race and Mack’s foreheads before slipping into the house, only to open the door again to let Sassie out.

Settling Mack with her back against his chest, Race relaxed in the chair, listening to Mack babble to herself. “Did you have fun with daddy this morning, Kenzie?”

She tried to adjust herself to see Race. He picked her up so she was standing on his legs as she continued her babble. Race continued his conversation with her as she tried to put her fingers in his mouth. He playfully ate them as she dissolved into baby giggles. They continued that game until she caught sight of her puppy.

Soon she was leaning forward to try to pet Sassie. Putting her on the porch floor, she babbled to and crawled over Sassie as the dog watched her young sister protectively.

He heard the door open and close just as he took the last sip of his coffee. He smiled gratefully at Spot as he spied the cups of coffee in his hands. Spot handing him one with a smirk. “Thanks. Feeling better?”

“Much less grimly and sweaty.” Spot took a seat, watching Sassie and Kenzie with a proud smile. “What’s the plan for the day?”

Race shrugged. “As far as I know, there are no plans. Jack and Kat mentioned getting together but nothing was ever put into place.”

“If they don’t reach out, I’m all in favor of a lazy day. We haven’t had one of those in a while so that’s my vote.” Spot said, stretching his legs out in front of him as he reached out and laced his fingers with Race’s.

Race nodded, squeezing their hands. “If I haven’t mentioned it lately, I’m proud of the life we’ve built. Perfect husband, perfect daughter and dog. Jobs we both love and great friends and family.”

“Sap.” Spot was quick to tease him but squeezed his hand. “I love our life too. Love you Racer.”

“Love you too Spottie.” Race leaned over and kissed him. “What did you bring for breakfast?”

Spot chuckled, shaking his head. “It’s always food with you.”

“Not always.” Raising his eyebrows up and down suggestively, Race smirked. “But I’m hungry for food right now.”

Spot pushed himself off the chair before sauntering into the house and returning with the white bag from earlier. “I got a couple of different things - didn’t know what you would be in the mood for.”

“Thanks snookums.” Race opened the bag, pulling out a cinnamon twist donut before taking a bit. “When do you work next?”

“Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday this week.” Spot drug through the bag taking out a donut. “Plums is working Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday with me so it’ll be a good couple of shifts.”

“Kenzie in daycare Wednesday and Friday?” Race inquired trying to keep the schedule fight.

Spot nodded. “Yea. You’ve got what seven weeks left of the school year?”

“I think. Days are starting to blend together.” Race sighed. “I’m just ready for summer.”

“We’ll have to figure out what we’re going to do. I have a couple of weeks of vacation that need to be used up before September.” Spot gave him a look. “Maybe we can head to the mountains or a beach. She’ll love the water.”

Race nodded. “Maybe Kat, Jack, Al, and Finchie would want to do something, at least for a few days.”

“That’ll be fun. We know how much Kenz loves Addie.” Spot grinned, thinking about the trouble the two would eventually get up to, as the two were only 4 months apart.

Race groaned. “No talking about the two of them growing up. They’re 5 and 9 months old and that’s all my poor heart can take.”

“Calm down papa bear. She’s still our little girl and Addie is still our little niece.” Spot squeezed his hand. “But I do love your idea of making it a family affair. Maybe momma and Smalls would want in.”

Race relaxed in his chair, thinking about all the adventures they would have ahead of them. With Spot and Kenzie by his side, he was content and happy. A thought popped into his head as a sly grin crossed his lips. “So, uh, Spottie . . . wanna tell me how you’re such a ripped dad?”

Spot threw his head back laughing before reaching over and shoving Race’s shoulder. “I could but you wouldn’t be able to keep up with me.”

“Is that a challenge?” Race raised an eyebrow in a warning.

Spot snorted loudly. “Race you complain when you have to walk to the mailbox to get the mail - no way you’re running 45 minutes with me.”

“I can kick your ass boxing.” Race gave him a look as Spot sighed. “Want me to reserve the ring for next weekend?”

Picking up Kenzie, Spot gave him a look. “Sure and we can see who’s king of the ring. You’ll always reign supreme running circles around me but I might be able to take you in the ring.”

“Keep up with the trash talk . . . we’ll see who’s still standing and who will get the bragging rights.” Spot gave him a knowing look.

Race held out his hand as Spot interlocked his hand with Race’s with a grin. “You’re on.”

He watched Spot tickle their daughter’s belly as a shrill laugh escaped her mouth. She pushed at his hands as he looked down on her fondly. “Hey Spottie?”

“Yea Race?” Spot looked up from their daughter with a smile on his face.

“If I haven’t said it, you’re a really good dad. I love watching you two interact.” Race said as a fond smile crossed his face.

Spot leaned over and kissed Race. “You’re a really good papa with her. We make a pretty good team, huh?”

Race nodded, reaching over and tickling Kenzie’s stomach as the girl looked at her dads with a gummy smile. In Race’s book, there was no better place he’d rather be than on their front porch with his husband and daughter.

So what did you think? Feedback would be wonderful. If there's something specific you want to see in this verse, feel free to send me a message.

[every1studio]

“the golden year of the golden mask” [ateez: ???]

genre: FLUFF + hints of angst + fairy tale + reverse harem + female reader 

ficstyle: bulletpoints + mini series? + [LONG INTRO] [PART 2]

prompt: Cinderella with a twist - Everyone was invited to your royal masquerade for the New Year; it was just an excuse for your father the king to find you a suitor. He wanted you to find someone who you are compatible with, hence the masquerade. Little did you know, you’d find love.... and little did you know that, love was closer than you thought... 

note: I hope that you all leave the bad things behind in 2019 and start the new year with positive vibes only~ 

you rolled your eyes as your father went on and on about finding a suitable man for yourself

“HE HAS TO BE STRONG! but he can’t be stronger than me.. AND he has to be able to play chess with me!” he was throwing his hands here and there in excitement

“yeah yeah.. you’ll be the first to know if I’ll find someone..”

his eyes soften as he sits on the edge of your bed, “I just want to make sure that you’re in good hands when something happens to me..”

you smiled at him, “I can take good care of myself and this kingdom...”

“you’re so much like your mother.. I wouldn’t be the man and king that I am today without her.. I just want you to be in love the same way we were-”

“even though mother wasn’t of royalty? from what you want, you just want someone who this kingdom can benefit from and not who I want...” you pushed your comforter away to get out of bed 

“Y/N...” your father reaches for you but you push him away

you spoke with grimace, “I know... killing two birds with one stone.. I’ll be out in the greenhouse..”

the greenhouse was the last gift you had receive from your late mother; she passed away from an incurable disease  

the greenhouse was one of the most beautiful places in the kingdom, it was your go-to place to be 

you washed up and threw your hair in a messy ponytail held by your late-mother’s favorite golden ribbon 

you didn’t take into your consideration how fast you’d open your door until you hit someone 

“OH MY- ARE YOU OKAY?”

the boy started to laugh as he rubbed his forehead, “nothing like a good morning kiss from the princess’s door to wake a man up~”

“Hongjoong... are you sure you’re alright?” you reached to make sure he was fine

but he shot up so quickly, not letting you touch him

“don’t worry about me, princess.. I’m just a mere pierrot-”

“you’re a human before your status,” you stepped closer to the king’s jester, “are you really alright?”

Hongjoong hid his feelings for you behind that clown’s mask of his for years now, but why was it so hard to push you away?

you were a princess, of royalty 

and he was a nothing more than someone used to entertain those of royalty 

“I’m better after seeing a smile from you, milady~” he bows as he hands you a rose, an orange one to be exact; to symbolize a bold, fiery desire 

that was one thing that you two shared in common, sharing the language of flowers 

as soon as you took it, he excuses himself away 

you walked out to the greenhouse, smiling down at your rose, when the smell of sweet, buttery pastries hits you in the face

you popped your head into the kitchen and a warm smile washes over your face, “Yeosang!” 

he turns around with flour dusted over his face, “princess! what are you doing up so early?”

“father woke me up today.. talking about the masquerade.. but enough of that!” you reached up to brush the flour away 

Yeosang blushes uncontrollably but that could be easily excused from the heat of the kitchen, “ju-just a simple souffle.. with a chocolate ganache filling...” 

“SOUFFLE?” you clapped your hands together as your eyes lit up

Yeosang couldn’t help but smile at your face, “it’s New Year’s Eve.. I thought it would be fitting to end the year with your favorite...”

“you’re absolutely thoughtful, you make THE BEST souffles... thank you Yeosang..”

he loved the way you said his name, but how could a chef even imagine about being with the princess? 

“you flatter me too much, princess.. I’ll have someone bring it out to the greenhouse for you..” 

you pat him on the arm before placing your arms behind your back; putting a little pep in your step 

you finally got to the greenhouse; you took the time to tend and care for all of the greenery in the greenhouse even though you had professional gardeners tending them when you are away 

one of the gardeners was near your age, so you found it easy to talk to him and ask him about how to tend for the greenery 

“morning Yunho~” you chimed as you saw the tall boy wiping the dust off of a giant butterbur 

“morning, princess~” he couldn’t help but return the same tone of voice in his greetings 

you grabbed a sprayer and started to mist some plants nearby, “I see we got a new plant in the greenhouse today..”

Yunho points to the cherry blossom tree sapling that has yet to be potted in the middle of the greenhouse, “that little thing? the king just had it shipped here from Japan for your New Year celebratory masquerade..”

you crossed your arms as you smirked at him, “you told him to get me a cherry blossom tree, didn’t you?”

he places the towel down and crosses his arms right back at you, “I suggested it to him, princess.. I would never tell the king what to do..”

you raised your brows at him in a cheeky matter, “even if it was for my sake?”

Yunho could feel his heart explode in his chest but he could only continue on with life looking at you from outside and outside only 

“even if it was for you sake..”

you pouted and huffed, “just wait until I’m queen...”

“you’d make a wonderful queen..” 

you and Yunho turned around to see your personal butler Seonghwa

and he had your delectable cup of souffle with a side of vanilla ice cream 

“Seonghwa! you have excellent timing! I was starting to get hungry~” you skipped to the table you had in the greenhouse

Yunho waves to say goodbye as he makes his way to trim some foliage outside the greenhouse 

Seonghwa places your plate down but stops you before you scarf down the sweet breakfast 

“princess, you need to properly set up before you eat..”

“I’M NOT EVEN IN FRONT OF ANYONE BUT YOU!” you sulked, you hated to be proper but it was Seonghwa’s job to make you a proper young lady 

“you won’t even try to be a proper lady for me?” he raises his brows; he was genuinely curious about your answer

after all, he’s covering up loving you by being a caretaker 

you couldn’t look at him in the eye as you took the napkin and placed it over your lap, “happy?”

he would be lying if he said he wasn’t but he couldn’t show it, “that’ll do..”

you chatted with you butler until it was time for you to take dance lessons 

“don’t forget you have dance lessons with-”

“yeah yeah.. I know, Seonghwa...” you waved him off as he clears the table 

you made your way to the dance room but you were pulled into a room by someone; you were about to scream and thrash until you saw who pulled you in

“did you see someone? maybe he’s over there!” 

“I SWEAR TO GOD IF I EVER GET MY HANDS ON SAN I WILL MURDER HIM!!” you heard one of the maids screech as a bunch of them stormed down the hall

San exhales as he heard them pass

his eyes widened when he saw who he had in his arms

“your highness! I apologize.. please don’t throw me out of the castle..” the boy went onto his knees to beg 

but you brought him up from his knees, “I’m not going to throw you out.. what kind of person do you think I am? by the way, what made the maids want to murder you?”

this was the first time San ever talked to you; he was a new hire in the castle and he’s only seen you a couple of times, even came to your aide a couple time

he didn’t know anyone could be so beautiful until he saw you 

“I walked into a room trying to get towels.. I didn’t know that it was the maid’s changing room... none of the rooms are labeled and are only numbered.. I don’t have all the rooms memorized yet...”

you snickered at him, “you’re a cute character.. tell you what, I’ll let you in on a little secret about the rooms that even the maids don’t know about..”

you pretended like it was this BIG secret by leaning into his ear to tell him

he almost couldn’t take in the information with you being so close

“oh..wow.. I didn’t even know that was a thing..” he murmurs to hide his shaky voice

you looked up at the clock in the room and jumped up in a hurry, “sorry.. uh.. what’s your name?”

“San, your highness...” he spoke up 

“San.. let’s catch up another time, I’m terribly late for dance lessons!”

you ran out before he could say anything

but he was grateful enough to even have the chance to talk to you 

you burst into the room that the dance lesson was being held at

“your highness.. you’re 5 minutes and 47 seconds late..” your instructor announced as he kept his eyes on his watch 

you pouted, “but Wooyoung...I’m here, aren’t I?”

Wooyoung pushes his glasses up before playing music from the gramophone 

“I hope you’d like to start out with waltz, your highness..” he smirks as he gives you his hand to take

you gave him an soft smile as you took his hand, “I do prefer waltz over the other dances..”

Wooyoung was the youngest dance instructor in the kingdom; the king thought it would be a good idea for you to be taught by someone closer to your age, it would be more comfortable for you 

in fact a little too comfortable, there was always this underlying tension between you two and you could never place a finger on it 

Wooyoung know his boundaries; he couldn’t help but use his chances to charm the most beautiful girl in the entire kingdom 

how lucky was he to hold your hand?

place his hand on your waist?

pull you close into his chest?

and not have the king throw him into excel?

it was close to what he had in mind for a perfect dream; almost because perfect dream would have you wrapped in his arms for eternity and not until the song ends 

you stepped on his foot by the end of the song and he yelps in pain

“I’m sorry.. I was dazing off.. are you alright, Wooyoung?” you bent down to check his foot

“your highness... you’re meaning to tell me that your attention wasn’t on me but some place else?” he gently lifts your chin up to look into his eyes with his finger

your eyes widened by his touch, but you were interrupted by a taller gentleman 

“princess, it’s time for horse riding lessons~”

Wooyoung rolled his eyes at the gentleman at the door, “Mr. Mingi...”

“Mr. Wooyoung”

Mingi was also one of your instructors for the many activities you were required to do and his lessons were always 15 minutes after Wooyoung’s

“now if you don’t mind~” Mingi takes his hand out for you to take, “the princess has lessons with me”

you took it after curtsying to Wooyoung, “have a good day, Wooyoung”

“you too, your highness”

you and Mingi were always kind of close; he was so smiley all the time 

“why don’t you like Wooyoung? there’s obviously some tension between you two,” you mentioned as you were feeding you horse carrots and apples

Mingi can’t say that they were fighting for your attention since they both liked you

1) that would be childish 

2) neither one of them, who were below royalty, could confess to you 

Mingi shrugs, “I don’t know, your highness.. I just think that some people just aren’t compatible with each other.. BUT HEY, do rode Luna without needing me to guide either one of you two. you’re doing a great job~”

“really?! that just makes me want to go for another ride!”

“wait.. I don’t think you should take her for a ride just yet... she just had a ton of apples so she’s- YOUR HIGHNESS??!!!” 

Mingi’s voice became distant when your horse took off at the speed of light 

nothing you did or said could stop your horse

the only thing you could do was hold on for dear life 

a shooting arrow that flew passed your horse startled it; causing it to rise up 

you couldn’t defy gravity no matter how tight you held on and you started to fall back

but when you fell, you fell into a pair of arms and not the graveled ground

“YOUR HIGHNESS ARE YOU ALRIGHT?”

“get her horse for her, will you?” the knight called out to Mingi 

Mingi nods and runs after Luna

the knight places you on your feet as gently as possible 

once he takes off his helmet, you couldn’t help but squeal and hug him

“Jongho!! when did you get back from traveling??” 

Jongho was the general’s son and your childhood friend; he had been gone on a business trip to another kingdom 

although being your childhood friend, there was a certain time where he stopped laughing with you  

it was probably when he got dubbed to a knight of the royal kingdom

it was a serious job and he took it very seriously 

well, at least he could smile

Jongho didn’t think that he could hold back smiling whenever he’s with you; you make him feel that way 

“of course I had to come back.. it’s your masquerade to find suitors. I need to make sure that they are worthy enough to have you..” he says with his chest all puffed up 

you hit him in the chest, he coughs in a sarcastic manner

“I’m not interested in snobby suitors.. you know that...” you murmured 

“well it’s getting late.. so that means you have to go back and get fancied up, princess~” he sticks his arm out for you to take 

you don’t know why, but you don’t like it when Jongho calls you princess

maybe it’s because you’ve known him all your life, you rather have him call you by your name 

“okay fine... Mr. Knight~ lead the way,” you link your arm into his 

what felt like an eternity went by was all worth it

you never felt more beautiful; even though your face was partially covered by a light golden mask that was held up with your mother’s golden ribbon 

you wore a champagne dress that was flowy but it wasn’t poofy; in fact, it draped around your figure just nicely 

your father would be furious with the high slit that sat above your thigh, but that was your way of rebelling against him 

you wore uncomfortably gorgeous pair of sequined heels that laced up your legs 

“milady, are you ready?” one of your maids came to collect you, “must I add that you look absolutely stunning.. any man would be an idiot not to fall for you~”

you beamed, “thank you..oh.. I see that you’re all dressed up as well”

the maid nodded as she placed her mask on, “the king said he invited everyone in the kingdom and us workers from the castle are invited as well!”

you smiled at her excitement

you were glad that everyone can enjoy themselves without worrying about who they are and who they talk to 

and with that, you walked out to the grand staircase

of course, everyone is going to know who you are but the real fun is who is everyone else? 

from looking at you, he knew this was his chance 

he knew that it was now or never

he was going to confess to you

To be continued.

[ masterlist + guidelines ]

[underoosweb]

Salvation Ch.7

WARNING: ANGST, FLUFF

5.6k words

Tags are open

PAIRING: Tony Stark x Stark!reader, Pepper x Stark!reader, Morgan x reader, Peter Parker x Stark!reader (eventually)

Everybody tried to move on with their lives. Peter went back to school, Clint went back to his family, T'challa went back to Wakanda. Everyone was broken but they tried their best.

“Hey Pepper.”

“Hi, Sweetie.”

“Can’t sleep?”

“No, you?” Y/N sighed

“Nope. How’s Morgan?” She asked while sitting on the couch across from Pepper.

“She’s doing good, I don’t think she fully understands yet but in time she will.” Y/N nodded

“How are you doing?”

“Me? Well you know, feeling weird. Everyone who survived aged 5 years and the rest of us are the same age.”

“How are you doing with Morgan?”

“I’m shocked she even knew about me. She really is a good kid. It feels weird though being called a big sister.” Pepper laughed

“Of course she knows about you. Your dad used to tell her stories about you. Morgan always wanted to meet her big sister. Turned out he was right, he was always right. ”

“Yeah, that sounds like dad.” Y/N smiled

“I miss him, Pepper…”

“I miss him too..”

“The funerals tomorrow right?” Pepper nodded

“Is…is it ok if I sleep with you tonight?” Pepper smiled, she was suddenly reminded of the small 6-year-old girl who would never leave her side or her stuffed aliens. Y/N was holding Stitch again, it was as if it were her comfort blanket.

“Sure, come on.”

Y/N woke up to the sun shining on her face and birds chirping, she groaned completely annoyed. She heard a little giggle. Y/N opened up one eye to see Morgan staring at her.

“Good morning Y/N.”

“Morning Morgan” Y/N muffled out

“Mama said to come and wake you. She said guests are coming in 2 hours.” Y/N sighed

“Thank you, Morgan.” The girl nodded and made her way back to her mom. Y/N stood and made her way towards the bathroom, she didn’t bother to look at the reflection she already knew what she looked like. She jumped into the shower and just stood there until the water turned cold. She shivered, wrapping the towel around her body, she entered her bedroom and changed. She changed into a red and gold dress. She combed her hair, grabbed her Stitch and made her way downstairs. Everyone was in black, where she grew up people always wore colors to funerals never black. It was a way to celebrate their lives, Pepper turned towards Y/N and smiled.

“I made breakfast, eat something.”

“Thank you, Pepper.”

“Y/N why do you call mama Pepper?”

“That’s her name, Morgan.” Y/N said while munching on a pancake

“Do I call mama Pepper too?”

“Nope, you call her mama.” Morgan’s eyebrows furrowed

“I have a different mama, so I call your mama by her name.”

“A different mama?”

“Yes.”

“How come she doesn’t live with us?”

“She went to a faraway place when I was your age.”

Morgan nodded seeming to understand. Y/N snuggled her Stitch tighter against her. Happy made his entrance.

“Little Stark.” Y/N smiled and hugged Happy

“I don’t think I’m the little stark anymore Happy.”

“Hey to me you’ll always be little Stark.” Y/N smiled

“Hey, squirt.”  Morgan smiled and ran to Happy

“Uncle Happy.” Happy picked her up and took Morgan to the couch. Y/N sat back down on the stool, munching away on her pancake, she heard the door open once again, only this time it was Peter. Y/N hadn’t seen Peter since that day and god did she miss him. Peter stood there and stared at Y/N, she looked beautiful as always, to Peter she always looked beautiful, in a simple red and gold dress, her hair combed back, her e/c eyes twinkle. His heart began to race, Y/N could feel her heart racing.

“Hey…”

“Hey…” The two just stared at each other not knowing what to do. Y/N stood from the stool and Peter moved, he never moved so fast. He wrapped his arms around her waist and she wrapped hers around his neck. Peter could feel the hot tears wet his shirt but he didn’t care. She used his favorite perfume, she always smelled like f/s.

“I missed you.” He heard her say

“I missed you too.” Peter slightly stood on his tippy toes and kissed the top of her head. Y/N pulled away from Peter and gave him a small smile.

“Y/N it’s time.” She looked at Pepper and back at Peter. Peter gave her hands a squeeze and started to make his way back to the yard

“Actually Peter, stay.”

Peter looked at Pepper

“Are you sure?” Pepper nodded

Y/N grabbed his hand, Stitch in the other and they sat next to each other on the couch, Rhodey stood behind the couch and Happy sat on the other side of Peter. Morgan wrapped her arm around her older sister’s arm. Y/N smiled at her and Pepper turned the iron helmet on, Pepper sat next to her youngest and a hologram of Tony appeared.

“Everybody wants a happy ending, right? But it doesn’t always roll that way. Maybe this time. I’m hoping that if you play this back, it’s in celebration. I hope families are reunited, I’m hoping we get it back and something like a normal version that the planet has been restored, if there ever was such a thing. God what a world. Universe now. If you told me 10 years ago that we weren’t alone, let alone, you know to this extent. I mean I-I wouldn’t have been surprised but come on. You know the epic forces of darkness and light that have come into play and for better or worse that’s the reality that Morgan and Y/N are going to have to find a way to grow up in. So I thought I better recited a little greeting in case of an untimely death on my part. I mean not that death at any time isn’t untimely. This time travel thing that we’re trying to pull off tomorrow, it’s got me scratching my head at the survivability of it all, that’s the thing. Then again that’s the hero game, part of the journey is the end. What am I even tripping for? Everything is going to work out exactly the way it’s supposed to. Hey bug,”

Y/N looked into the eyes of her dad.

“I really do hope this works, after I found out what happened to you, I couldn't… I couldn’t go on. I felt, no, I did, I broke my promise to you, that I wouldn’t let you get hurt and I failed, you’re gone. God I miss your smile, it reminds me so much of your mother, I never really told you much about us, I was young and in love, but… I got scared and ran away from her. Her nickname was sunshine because her smile could light up a whole room, it lit up my world at one time,”

Y/N let the tears fall and she smiled.

“I wanted to call you that but I feel like someone else is meant to call you that.” Tony chuckled and looked to his side right where Peter was sitting. Peter blushed and Y/N looked at her dad confused. Everyone in that room knew the two liked each other but they chose not to interfere.

“When you came into my life, I’ll admit I wasn’t happy, I got used to my lifestyle that I thought a kid was going to ruin it, but you…you are one of my greatest gifts. I love you. Forever and always.” Tony and Y/N smiled.

“Hey, kid. I know you’re going to be here too. I want to tell you things but in private, so if I see you remember what I said to you. I’m sorry I couldn’t protect you as well. You are like a son to me, I’ll get you back. I promise. Kid, I love you.” Peter choked back a sob and looked down at his and Y/N’s intertwined hands.

“Morgan, you are one of my greatest gifts, I’m sorry I won’t be there to see you grow. But you have your mother, hopefully, your big sister and a brother. Be good and listen to them, go to bed on time or else mama will sell all your toys. I love you 3000.”

“Hey, Mrs. Stark. Remember when I drift off, I’ll dream of you. It’s always you.”

Tony smiled one last time and then the hologram turned off. Everyone choked back a sob, Pepper stood to grab the roses off the table, Happy and Rhodey followed. Peter, Y/N, and Morgan stood after, their hands still intertwined and Morgan held onto her sister’s waist. Y/N looked down at her, she turned and set Stitch down onto the couch and grabbed Morgan’s hand. The group went outside, everyone was there. The guardians, Bucky, Steve, Sam, T'challa, Thor, May, Harley, Wanda, Clint and his family, Bruce, Dr.Strange, Carol, Wong, Nick appeared last. Peter, Y/N, and Morgan stood next to May, she wrapped her arm around her nephew’s shoulders. Pepper set the roses down at the lake with Tony’s life force. Proof that Tony Stark has a heart. Mostly everyone left after a couple of hours, Peter sat next to Y/N on the front porch steps while Morgan went and sat next to Happy

“Hey, you hungry?” Morgan nodded

“What would you like?”

“Cheeseburgers.”

“You know your dad liked cheeseburgers..I’ll get you all the cheeseburgers.” Y/N smiled at Happy, she turned her attention back to Steve and Bruce

“You sure about this?” Bucky asked Steve

“Yeah.” Steve nodded, he looked at Y/N and smiled.

“Don’t do anything stupid while I’m gone.” Bucky chuckled.

“How can I? You’re taking all the stupid with you.” Steve smiled back

“Alright, you ready? I’ll pull you back in exactly 5 seconds.” Bruce said, Steve nodded while standing on the platform, then he was gone.

“1….2…..3…..4…….5……” Bruce flipped the switch and Steve was back, he made his way to sit next to Y/N.

“You came back?”

“Yeah. why wouldn’t I?”

“Peggy?” Y/N shrugged

“I saw her… she was already married with kids.”

“Oh… I’m sorry uncle Steve.” Steve’s eyes were filled with tears

“It’s fine, I got family here.”  He rested his hand on her shoulder and gave her a small smile. Bucky and Sam stood in front of the group.

“Ready Cap?”

“Yeah.” Steve stood

“I’ll see you around Uncle Steve, Uncle Sam, Bucky.”

“See you around Little Stark,” Sam replied, the three made their way to Bruce, got into a car and left. Y/N sighed and looked at Peter.

“How’s school, Peter?”

“Oh… Umm, it’s going ok. Ned and MJ are still there and sadly so is Flash.”

“He still bothering you?”

“Yup.”

“How are Ned and MJ?”

“Good, MJ’s still MJ and Ned’s still Ned. The other day, they came over and we watched Star Wars together. We actually have a trip coming up for school in like a couple weeks, we’ll be going to Venice and the Czech Republic. Nothing like taking a vacation… I think we all need a vacation. Do you want me to bring you a souvenir? I can bring you a Traditional Venetian Mask, you know that umm the masks have always been an important feature of the Venetian carnival. Traditionally people were allowed to wear them between the festival of Santo Stefano-” Y/N turned to face Peter

“Peter,” he stopped and looked into your e/c eyes

“Yeah?”

“You’re rambling.” Peter blushed

“Sorry.”

“It’s ok, it’s cute.”

“Peter..”

“Yeah?” Y/N took his hands into hers, intertwining their fingers

“Will…. Will you stay with me tonight?” Peter felt his heart skip a beat, his heartbeat echoed in his ears, it beat so loudly that it seemed to want to escape his chest, blood rushed to his cheeks, his breathing became heavier, his palms were sweating and his mind filled with a thousand thoughts.

“Peter?” Peter snapped back, turning his head back to you. His eyes widened when he saw how close your face was. He could feel your breath on his lips, his eyes looked down to her lips and back to her e/c eyes. She got worried when he didn’t respond, Y/N felt her face heat up, she didn’t realize how close her face was to Peter’s.Y/N stared into Peter’s brown eyes, she really did love his eyes, they were so warm and inviting. Y/N licked her lips and looked down at Peter’s lips. She noticed Peter slowly lean in, Y/N’s heart echoed in her ears, she was pretty sure Peter could hear it. She shouldn’t be doing this, this isn’t right, they were at her fathers funeral, this was not the time nor place to be doing this. Peter might just be doing this because he feels bad, he wants to make her feel better, he really didn’t like her. This is wrong, Y/N didn’t want a relationship because they were both broken. She shouldn’t have happiness. Y/N coughed and pulled away

“Oh, Sorry about that…” Peter scratched the back of his neck.

“No.. it’s ok.”

“About tonight-”

“You know what Peter, I change my mind.” She smiled quickly

“Oh… You sure?” Y/N nodded quickly

“Yeah, sorry it’s just been a while since we’ve hung out and I wanted to hang out but it’s ok you should go hang out with your friends. I’m pretty sure you don’t want to be reminded of my dad because of me, I wouldn’t want to be around me. Be normal you know. Forget about being Spider-Man for a bit and relax.”

“But I-”

“Peter, seriously it’s fine.” Y/N looked away from Peter and looked at her shaking hands sitting on her lap, Peters eyes filled with sadness, he placed his hand on top of her shaking ones.

“Hey… look at me.” Y/N looked away, Peter sighed, his other hand reached across her, placing his hand on her cheek he turned her head to look at him. Y/N had tears fill her eyes when she saw Peter’s eyes filled with sadness.

“I will always want to be with you nothing will ever change that. You are my… best friend and I’m not going to lose you and let’s be honest nothing about me is normal I mean I got bit by a radioactive spider and climb on walls and swing around with webs,” Peter moved his hands all over the place, Y/N laughed and Peter smiled.

“There we go. There’s that beautiful smile and laugh.”  Y/N lightly punched Peter’s shoulder

“Ouch, that hurt.”

“You are such a liar.” Y/N laughed.

“Y/N!” Morgan yelled, the two teens turned around

“Yes, Morgan?”

“Uncle Happy brought me all these cheeseburgers! Look!” Morgan held up a bag full of burgers

“WOAH, are you gonna eat all of those burgers?” Morgan nodded excitedly

“Woah there Morgan you can only eat 1 or maybe 2, don’t want you to get sick.” Pepper said from the door, Morgan pouted.

“But, but I want to eat all the cheeseburgers.”

“Tell you what Morgan, how about you eat them throughout the week that way you can cheeseburgers every day,”  Peter said, Morgan thought about and her eyes lit up

“OKAY! MAMA LET’S DO THAT! THANK YOU PETER!” Morgan yelled

“No problem Morgan.” She giggled and ran inside the house with Pepper

“Thanks, Peter.”

“No problem Mrs. Stark.” May came out of the house just as Pepper went in.

“Peter, you ready to go?” Peter looked at Y/N

“It’s ok Peter, rain check.”

“Rain check.” They both stood, Peter, wrapped his arms around her waist, Y/N wrapped her arms around his neck. The two stood there embracing each other for what seemed like forever. Peter pulled away, making his way down the porch stairs with his Aunt May, he turned back and smiled at Y/N while waving bye; Y/ N did the same. Y/N watched as Peter and May made their way to the car, Happy trailed right after.

“I’ll see you later little Stark, gotta drop off the kid and his aunt.”

“You sure it’s because you have to drop them off? Cause from the looks of it, you seem to be pretty friendly with May?” Y/N raised her eyebrow, Happy just smiled

“We are acquainted, nothing more.” “Whatever helps you sleep at night….” Y/N said under her breath

Y/N nodded and hugged Happy

“See you later Happy.” Peter turned back and waved, Y/N waved back and went into the house. She saw Morgan sitting on the table still eating her cheeseburger, Pepper was picking up the dishes, Y/N sighed and made her way to help Pepper, slowly collecting the dishes and placing them in the sink Y/N turned the water on and washed them for the tired widow. Y/N finished: making her way to the couch where Pepper was sitting, Pepper didn’t cry; she didn’t want Morgan to see her break down. Y/N quietly took hold of Peppers’ hand and stared at the turned off the tv. “Is Morgan going to be going to school now?” Y/N asked trying to get Pepper’s mind off of things

“I’m debating on it. Homeschooling, public school or private. I have no idea. Dad and I were discussing it before everything but we never really went through with plans since most of the schools weren’t fully staffed and great.” 

Y/N nodded

“You’re getting homeschooled maybe the same teacher can teach Morgan.” 

Y/N hated the thought of being homeschooled again, she didn’t want to be in the house, she started to pick at her nails. “Umm Pepper about that..” Y/N trailed off. Pepper looked at her concerned“What’s wrong?” “Can…I not… be homeschooled?” Y/N looked up with hopeful eyes. “You don’t want to be homeschooled anymore?” “I never wanted to be. Dad thought it was better since he could teach me, but I want to be normal, have friends, you know outside the Avengers.” Pepper nodded

“That’s understandable, you deserve to have a shot of normal especially after what happened. If you want on Monday we can go and register you, hopefully, it’s not too late.

”“Really!?” Y/N’s face lit up, Pepper let out a chuckle

“Yes. There’s a school not too far from here, so we can g-” Pepper stopped when she saw Y/N’s smile drop.

“Oh..”

“You don’t want to go to school here?”

“I was kind of hoping I would go to school with Peter..” Y/N mumbled 

“All the way in back in New York City?”

“I mean it’s fine, the school’s far so I understand.” Y/N looked defeated. She wanted to go to school with Peter since he was her only friend.

“No. It’s fine, just we have to arrange for Happy to pick you up and drop you off.”

“You sure?” Pepper nodded

“Yeah, I’m sure.” Y/N’s face lit up once again and she smiled brightly.

“Thank you, Pepper!” Y/N pulled Pepper in for a hug

“No problem sweetie.” “I wanna go to school with Y/N mama.” Y/N and Pepper looked at Morgan, who was now standing in front of them. “Morgan, umm how do I explain this? You would have to go to a different school,” Y/N explained

“Why?” “Because I’m older than you, I have to go to high school and you would be in elementary.” “They’re different schools?” Morgan asked sitting in between Y/N and Pepper. “Yes, most of the time they usually only go up to middle school.” Morgan’s eyebrows furrowed

“But I want to be with you,”

“Umm…” “Morgan, sweetie, if you want we can go look at schools with Y/N on Monday? Ok?” Pepper said. Morgan nodded and smiled. “Y/N can you color with me? Please?” Y/N smiled

“Sure.” Morgan ran up the stairs to go get her coloring book and crayons. “She’s different from you, you really liked to work with your dad on building things and keep to yourself, Morgan likes to run around and play pretend.” “She’s a kid, basically. I wish I acted like a kid when I could have.” Morgan sat on the floor, placing her coloring book and crayons on the table, she turned; grabbing Y/Ns hand, Y/N moved down to the floor and started coloring. Pepper watched as the two girls started coloring, no matter what she will always have a piece of Tony, her eyes filled with tears, she silently started to cry. Darkness settled and Y/N looked at Morgan sound asleep with her head on Y/N’s lap, she ran her fingers through her hair

“Hey, I got her.” Pepper said reaching down to the sleeping girl

“You sure? I can take her.” Pepper shook her head

“Yeah, I’m sure.” Pepper picked Morgan up and carried her up the stairs. Y/N sat there staring out the window, she could see the fireflies floating around. Y/N smiled, yet she felt numb inside. She couldn’t feel anything, empty and hollow. She sighed and got up from her spot, grabbing Stitch off the couch, making her way upstairs

.“Hey Pepper.”

“Yeah?”

“I’m gonna go to bed… Long day.” Pepper nodded

“Ok, goodnight sweetie.” She hugged and kissed Y/N’s cheek. Y/N went into her room, putting her legs against her bed and slid to the floor, she hugged her knees, putting her head down and began to cry.

Monday, 3:25 am

All she could see was darkness, it enveloped her. Y/N started to panic, her breathing became shorter, heavier, her heart raced.“HELLO!” Y/N yelled out into the darkness, she looked around frantically“IS ANYONE THERE? CAN ANYBODY HEAR ME?” Y/N yelled and yelled until her throat became sore, then a light shined. In all her years, people tell her to avoid the light, but something about it was tempting, Y/N was skeptical, slowly she made her way towards the light, she closed her eyes and when she opened them she saw bodies lying on the floor, it was a massacre, the battlefield. Y/N’s breathing became heavy again, she could barely see through the tears in her eyes. She tried to wipe the tears away but when she looked down all she saw was blood. Y/N screamed. She ran and ran, bodies kept dropping around her, then she saw him and stopped. Dad.

“Dad…” She said and started to run again.

“Dad…DAD! DAD! DAD!” Tony turned towards her. Y/N caressed her dad’s face“

Dad… You’re ok, You’re ok.”

 “Am I?” Tony replied, pushing Y/N away.

“Dad? What’s wrong?”

“This happened because of you.”

“What?”

“I died because of you. I didn’t want to die, I had a family. I had Morgan and Pepper, we were happy without you. I wish you never came into my life, I regret taking you in. You did this.”

“You’re… You’re not my dad.” Tony smirked, he started to transform, Y/N backed away

“Thanos..”

“Hello little one.” he held up the gauntlet and snapped his fingers, nothing happened.

“No..” Y/N whispered out and turned around, Tony kneeled on the ground.

“NO!” Y/N ran towards her father. Please don’t, please let me get to him on time, please let me save him. PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE DON’T DIE.

“And…..I……am………Iron man.” Tony snapped his fingers.

 “NO!” Y/N kept running to her father, she fell in front of him. 

“No..No…No…No…No..” She grabbed Tony’s face

“Please don’t die..” Tony smiled

“I love you. Forever and always.”

“No…No… Please, Please don’t leave me. I’m sorry. I’m sorry.” She felt Tony’s heart stop, Y/N screamed.

Y/N woke up sweating and gasping for air, her cheeks wet. She started clawing at her clothes, she couldn’t breathe, why couldn’t she breathe. She could vaguely hear F.R.I.D.A.Y speaking. Y/N fell off the bed, gasping. The door opened and Pepper came running in, she moved Y/N, lifting her to sit up

“Hey, hey. Sweetie, I need you to look at me.” Y/N turned her head

“Can't…..BREATHE.” Y/N gasped out

“I know, you’re having a panic attack. I need you to try and breathe in for 5 seconds and out for 5, you can do it. That’s it.” 

Y/N tried to breathe in and out.

“Mrs.Stark? Would you like me to call for medical assistance?” F.R.I.D.A.Y asked

“No, I got this, no hospitals. Thank you F.R.I.D.AY.”

“Of course, Mrs.Stark. Miss Y/Ns breathing and heartbeat are slowly returning to normal.” Pepper nodded, her eyes still locked on e/c eyes. Pepper was worried. Y/N finally calmed and wiped the tears away from her face.

“I’m sorry.”

“Hey, you have got nothing to be sorry for.” Pepper smiled and placed her hand on Y/Ns cheek

.“Are you ok?”

 “Yeah… I’ll be fine. What time is it?”

“3:40 am Miss” F.R.I.D.A.Y answered, Y/N sighed and leaned her head on her mattress.

“Do you want to talk about it?” Pepper asked Y/N shook her head

 “Not right now.”

“Okay. Do you want to come and sleep with me?”

 “No, I’ll be fine Pepper, thank you.” Y/N smiled

“Alright, I’ll bring you some water and go back to bed.”

“Thank you, don’t worry F.R.I.D.A.Y will let you know if anything happens again.” Pepper stood from the floor and left the room. Y/N could hear her pouring water into the cup, she heard Pepper’s footsteps head up the stairs. Pepper entered the room and placed the cup on Y/N’s side drawer.

“Do you need help getting up?”

“No. I just want to sit here for a bit.”

“Alright, goodnight sweetie.” Pepper kissed Y/N’s forehead

“Goodnight.” Pepper left the room. Y/N continued to sit on the floor, she felt tears prickle her eyes and soon she broke down.

Monday 8:00 am

Y/N was exhausted, she couldn’t sleep after that afraid she might have another nightmare. Y/N stared out the window, nothing but trees were passing by, Morgan singing along to the radio, Pepper and Happy were chatting. Y/N wanted to sleep so bad, she felt her eyelids become heavy shaking her head, no she had to stay awake but in the end, sleep won.

“Y/N”

“Y/N”

“Y/N sweetie, get up we’re here.” Pepper shook Y/N awake

Y/N slowly opened her eyes and groaned when the first thing she saw was sunlight. She rubbed her eyes and looked around, Morgan smiled and giggled at her sister, Y/N returned the smile.

“We’re here,” Pepper repeated, Y/N looked outside the window and was greeted by a green field, Y/N helped Morgan out of her car seat, they all got off the car, Morgan grabbed Y/N’s hand and all 4 went up the stairs entering the school. The halls were empty, Y/N looked into some of the classrooms, mostly all the students were paying attention, others were doodling, some asleep. Y/N looked into the chemistry room and she saw him. Peter Parker. He wasn’t paying much attention to what the teacher was saying, she could see him writing down and scribbling, Peter was writing formulas for new web designs. Old habits die hard. Y/N could see Peter’s eyebrows furrow, his brown hair fell out of place and he quickly moved to put it back into place, his tongue slightly sticking out, he licked his lips and scratched his head. Y/N giggled, he looked like a confused puppy. Peter’s head shot up, he heard a giggle, he knew that giggle, that giggle has made his heart race and face heat up more times than he could count. Peter looked around the room, that’s not possible she couldn’t be there, maybe he was just hearing things. Peter looked to the door, through the tiny window he saw her. Peter broke out into a wide smile, his eyes lit up, he stood from his chair, knocking over his notebook in the process.

“Yes, Mr. Parker?” Mr. Cobbwell asked Peter felt the blood rush to his cheeks

“Oh, um nothing sorry.” He replied, picking up his notebook

“Well then, get back to the lab work.” Peter nodded and sat down. The door opened, little footsteps ran towards Peter.

“PETER!” Morgan yelled, she threw herself on him and hugged him

“Hi, Morgan!” Peter hugged her back and smiled. Y/N entered the classroom

“Hi, I’m so sorry for the interruption.” Y.N went towards Peter and Morgan.

“Morgan, come on, Peter is in class we gotta go.”

“But I wanna stay with Peter.”

“You can see him later. Ok?” Morgan pouted but nodded

“Bye Peter.” she waved sadly

“Bye Morgan.” Peter looked at Y/N. Y/N smiled. She leaned down and whispered into his ear.

“Bye Spider-ling.” She gave him a wink and walked out with Morgan, Peter sat there, mouth wide open, cheeks red

“B-By-e-ee Y- Y- Y/N.”

Y/N walked down the hall with Morgan in hand, Pepper and Happy were already in the office with the principal.

“Sorry, she wanted to see what I was looking at and she sa-”

“Peter?” Y/N blushed

“Yeah and ran in.”

“It’s fine, thank you for getting her.”

“No problem.” Y/N sat next to Pepper and Morgan sat on Y/N’s lap. Y/N turned out most of what the adults were talking about.

“She can start tomorrow if that is alright with her.”  Pepper tapped Y/N’s shoulder

“I’m sorry, what was the question?”

“Is it alright if you start tomorrow?”

“Really?” The principal nodded

“Yes!”

“Alright, tomorrow just come back into the office to grab your schedule and locker, then head to the library for books.” Y/N nodded. Pepper collected the paperwork and the bell rang. Maybe she could meet Peter’s friends. She always wanted to meet Ned and MJ. Y/N walked with her hand intertwined with Morgan’s, Peter was standing in front of his locker looking past the crowd of kids, Ned and MJ stood next to him staring at him.

“Peter, you ok?” Ned asked

Peter wasn’t paying attention, he kept his focus down the hall. Ned repeated his question, Peter saw a hand wave back and forth in front of his face, he blinked and turned to his friends

“Sorry. What?”

“You ok?” Ned asked again

“Yeah, Yeah I’m fine. Why?”

“Who are you looking for?” MJ asked

“What?” Peter quickly looked back to MJ

“Who are you looking for?”

“I-I-I’m not looking for anyone.”

“Yeah right.” MJ rolled her eyes

“Sup?! Penis Parker.”  Peter groaned and Flash smirked and hit Peter in the stomach, Peter could hear the other students laugh.

“HEY!” the group turned and saw little Morgan making her way towards them

“LEAVE PETER ALONE.” Morgan stood in front of Flash hands on her hips

“Awww, Parkers got a little bodyguard. You need a little girl to fight your battles, Parker.” Everyone laughed at that statement. Morgan puffed her cheeks, raising her foot she kicked Flash in the leg.

“OW!”

Peter’s eyes widened, Mj chuckled and high fived the little girl.

“MORGAN STARK!.” Morgan winced as she heard her mother yell her name, Pepper quickened her steps, standing in front of Morgan; she bent down

“That was not nice, say you’re sorry.”

“But he was being mean to Peter.” Morgan pouted

“You still shouldn’t kick people, say you’re sorry,” Morgan grumbled

“I’m sorry. You should say sorry to Peter.”  Flash glared at Peter

“Sorry.” Flash placed his hand on Peter’s shoulder

“See you later, Penis Parker.” He whispered and walked away, Peter sighed, looking down at Morgan who had a big smile on her face, he knelt down and smiled

“Thank you, Morgan.” He said while ruffling her hair

“You’re welcome Peter.” she wrapped her arms around his neck. Pepper stuck her hand out, Morgan pulled away from Peter and grabbed Pepper’s hand, waving bye to Peter the two walked off. Peter stood up, placing his hand in his pockets he went back to his locker, where was she? Did she already leave? Why did she leave without saying bye? How was she? He wanted to see her again. Happy and Y/N made their way slowly down the halls filled with students, Y/N wanted to be happy to start school, to be normal, but she still felt empty. Happy stared at Y/N, she had a blank expression on her face not paying attention to her surroundings, Happy made sure she didn’t bump into anyone or anything. The bell rang again and the students all made their way back to their classes. Peter didn’t see her again, he sat down in class and sulked. Y/N and Happy finally made it out of the school, Pepper was watching Mogan run around the field, Morgan noticed Happy and Y/N and ran back towards the grown-ups. Pepper, Happy, Y/N, and Morgan entered the car and drove home.

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[talesofealdancynedom]

Leo Greenwood, and his familiar Dolly. I forgot to include him earlier, because this character design was an excuse to use green markers.

Tale 21: What The Wagon Was For (chapter 5 - Exact Change 5/8 ) part 6. Stories of wizards

domestic violence, self harm

           Childlike wonder; this phrase is used to describe magic in Ealden Cynedom. Here, people who love magic, feel a unique sensation, that can only be described this way. The sensation of awe, mixed with an innocent curiosity; How could something so impossible, and wonderous exist? This state of simple joy, brought on by something so small, yet feels so new and big. Magic has a wonder and whimsy, that never grows old.

           For Morgan’s next appointment, he brought Leo a vile of potion. It had fancy silver floral cap. Morgan had a whicker basket, full of various potions, of varying complexity, function, fancy containers, and value. Leo was impressed. Morgan wielded swords, restored ancient book, took care of fey, sang, gardened, and baked; But Leo had no clue Morgan was interested potion brewing. The potion vile Morgan pulled out, in the red and silver vile, was called Rosa Sanguine; A potent, rare, and precious potion. It is used to cure the hemorrhagic fever from any causes. Rosa Sanguine is a S-Class potion, on the A-Z apothecary system; A medium-high level potion. The vile was dusty; which meant it was likely brewed long ago.

“This is the first potion I ever made. It requires a special ingredient: The red petals of the White Winter Cereus. That fey is only found in Rosethorn Manor.” Morgan explained. Morgan was talking. It was bringing Leo to the edge of his seat.

“Your friend, Amadeus, gave you the ingredients?” Leo asked.

“Nope.”

“So, this isn’t going to relate to your loneliness, or bullying issues?” Leo said. Morgan shrugged.

“Why did you bring so many potions then?" Leo persisted.

“Because I couldn’t use a wand, after I saved up to secretly buy one; But I could make potions and summon things. I summoned the unbreakable bow and blade in my bedroom, with sidewalk chalk. But potions are both my downfall and insight. The reason I couldn’t use a wand, is because I’m a mage; But like wizards, mages can make potions. Even better then the most practiced apothecaries. I wanted to be one once; Because I thought it was all I was capable of. I got the petals in the shadow veil.” Morgan said quietly. He was gazing into the wicker basket full of glittering bottles. They were labeled with masking tape.

           Morgan got an allowance; His parents wanted to teach him money management. But instead of cool shoes, Morgan secretly went into the magic markets after school, on his way home. The exact opposite of what his parents wanted. Morgan saved for a wand that didn’t work, and then bought, or was given, old books to restore. These mage journals contained a lot of knowledge; including magic instructions. Each charming ballad, potion recipe, summoning diagram, and more, had to be tried; Just to see if something wonderful would happen. More then getting lost in these mage’s mythical legends, Morgan was learning how to use magic.  Without him, or anyone else, noticing.

One day, Morgan decided to go shopping to make a healing potion. He had read an inspiring recipe. In the tree kingdom, a winter white cereus, who had gone red, gave him petals in thanks for watering. Morgan knew how valuable a gift that were, and wanted to use them. He purchased glass ware, a vile, a burner, and the rest of the ingredients; Then smuggled them up to his room. It was no different then baking a cake for him. In fact, the instant success of potion brewing was anti-climatic. Morgan shoved the mage journals in his bed end trunk, and the vile of potion in his junk drawer, and began to clean up. His room was now covered in homework, apothecary tools, clothing, and first aid supplies. It was overwhelming, causing Morgan’s bed to call him. On his side table was a cardboard box full of different summoning sticks: charcoal, blood wax, bees wax, Vetician chalk, sidewalk chalk, pen woad….

           Morgan was violently shaken awake by his father. It was dinner time, but super would have to wait. His father pulled him out of bed, tightly by the wrist, and pointed at the dirty potion set.

“What is this?” He yelled.

“Um… A chemistry set?” Morgan lied. His heart was about to jump out of chest. He knew that lie was transparent. There were apothecary brand-name packages in the waste bin.

“Chemistry? You’re in middle school Morgan! Why are their magic supply boxes in the trash?” His father yelled. Morgan saw his mother in shock by the doorway. She was wearing an apron with pastel plaid on it. Still holding Morgan’s wrist, his father began to shatter the glassware, and shove it all into the garbage. Then he lifted his hand.

“Did you make something? You’re lucky you didn’t get hurt trying; Potions are dangerous. Particularly if you’re not a trained apothecary!” He scolded. Morgan stayed quiet, and looked at the floor. Like he knew his answer wouldn’t stop his father, and resistance was futile. Morgan knelt there, waiting for the blow.

           Morgan spent an hour applying first aid. Most of his injuries were bruises, a few cuts on his face. But the rest he did himself. Morgan had fallen down a lot, trying to escape down the hall. Defeated, he returned to his room, from the bottom of the stairs, empty inside. He sat at his desk, and cried on it. The potion was still in the drawer, and the broken apothecary set on the floor; Which he was expected to clean up himself. He regretted acquiring the set, or ever thinking about trying to make a potion. What a waste of money and time, he thought. In the homework pile, was a filled, and unsigned, application for the local magic academy. A specialty wasn’t selected. Unable to use a wand, Morgan assumed he wouldn’t get in, even if his parents allowed him to go. Morgan was spiralling into despair; He was filled with meaningless regret and guilt. He felt insufficient, tiered, and in need of a hug. He wished he had someone to talk too. Then, a knock on his door. Morgan stopped breathing, and didn’t look up. His mother came to in, and put a plate of food next to him.

“Saved you some supper. Though I don’t think your hungry right now. But you might be later.” She said quietly. Icthya put her hand on Morgan’s shoulder, and he flinched. She recoiled, and couldn’t describe the guilt she felt in that moment. Because she was a bystander, trying to keep the family safe, she had let Morgan become traumatized to the point of rejecting any human contact.

“I heard you crying; Do you want to talk? Potion making is dangerous if your untrained, and I think that was a bit risky. But your dad shouldn’t have been so aggressive. We just love you, and want you to be aware magic can hurt you. You shouldn’t keep meddling with it.” Icthya said. Her comment wasn’t helping. Morgan didn’t respond. His mother stood up, and saw the academy application on top of the homework pile. She sighed despondently, and left the room.

           Morgan was sick of being taunted, shoved into lockers, and not having none one he could trust with his feelings. No one understood how he felt around magic, or what his dreams are. Then he got a smashing idea! Why not try and summon a familiar? The most harmless spell in the book, and the highest failure rate. But Morgan didn’t have a wizard text with that spell in it. All he had was an old journal of Helrem Monafyra, that had a summoning diagram, labelled: For Familiar Summoning, that had one instruction: ‘Speak your complete self’. Very helpful. The thought of someone who would share his feelings, and hugs, was enticing. Morgan couldn’t wait for a friend, when the possibility of a familiar entered his mind. He immediately decided he would give the spell a shot; If he could keep it a secret, that is. To be sure of his success, Morgan checked to make sure his parents were asleep, then grabbed the blood wax from his dresser. He drew the diagram on the floor, and stood directly in the center of it. Then Morgan began to quietly talk about himself, to himself. Morgan’s whispering, transformed gradually, into desperate crying:

“My name is Morgan Cynedom. I love my family, baking, gardens, and reading old books. I, I think magic is pretty, and friendly. I want to be a seer. I have no friends, but want them so bad. People scare me, and I’m scared if I talk, I will get hurt. I hide my injuries because I want to stay with my parents. I hate them for stopping me, but love them so much. I wish I could have adventures like the mages I read about. I think the shadow veil is better than home. I hate coming home. I hate myself. I know I am a mage, but I don’t want to pursue it; Even if it makes me happy. Because I want to belong, and feel safe. But I know doing ancient magic, that people think is dangerous, will only scare people away more. I feel so trapped and scared, all the time.”

Morgan woke up on the floor in the mourning. The alarm started with the weekend radio broadcast. Across form him, was a golden Eagle.

“Hello sir.” It spoke. Morgan was amazed. He reached out to pet the bird, and felt himself being petted as well. He felt the joy of the eagle, as it was ruffled. It was mildly disturbing. Morgan was still excited; He had a new friend, to go with him everywhere.

“I’m Morgan, Can I call you Icarus?” Morgan gleamed.

“Certainly, young master.” Icarus said. “I felt that part about bringing me around. Judging by the blood on the floor, by a bin of broken magic memorabilia, some people will not take kindly to you having a familiar on your shoulder. But if that doesn’t bother you, I would love to.” Icarus explained. He had a good point. Familiars had a tendency to be a magic user’s conscious, being based in their master’s inner nature. Summoning a familiar, is actually summoning yourself.

“Follow me by flying? Maybe stay perched just out of sight?” Morgan bargained. He knew that would only work for so long.

           At breakfast, there was a ring at the door. Morgan’s mother answered it. Icarus was nested in Morgan’s linen basket, in the closet. Morgan was waiting for toast, and his father was finishing his coffee.

“Cetus! I’m so happy you visited! But you didn’t send a letter… Brother, why are you here?” Icthya asked, blocking the doorway.

“Can I see Morgan, Icthya? Mother said he was looking rough, and suggested Odysseus may be hurting him; Crazy I know. Came to check anyway, since I was near the ranch. Me, Jupiter, and our girl, came for a-” Cetus said. Icthya slammed the door in her brother’s face. Morgan ran out of the kitchen, and up to his room. He locked the door, then went into his closet, holding Icarus tightly. He heard yelling downstairs, then someone coming. Morgan was shivering and dizzy. Luckily, it was his Uncle Cetus.

“Hey sport; Want to open up and give your uncle a hug?” He said, in a cheerful tone. Morgan didn’t move.

“With all due respect young master, I think your uncle isn’t going to hurt you.” Icarus whispered. Morgan took a breath, and pushed the closet door ajar. Cetus crouched just outside. Morgan was curled up on his coats. He was covered in bandages and bruises. His wrist was taped, and looked like he’d never slept. He was gripping Icarus for dear life.

“Oh no.” Cetus said.

“Don’t take me from my parents.” Morgan cried.

Morgan ran away later that night. His grandmother had filed a domestic violence investigation, and Cetus came to get a witness account.  Yet, it was too late; Morgan was gone, before family services could pick him up in the mourning. If he ran away, he could always come back. But if the police or wizards got their hands on him, he could be locked up and never see his family again.

NEXT--->

<---PREVIOUS

[swankymikehanlon-blog]

The Losers: Always and Forever

7 teenagers, of different high school backgrounds, would rather die than become a breakfast club 2.0

Words: 44,266

Warnings: Fat-shaming, name calling, Jerks

Chapter One: The Introduction

Monday, September 25, 8:10 a.m

Bill Denbrough tapped his pencil along the edge of the metal bleacher, admiring the sun and the clouds that accompanied it. A blue notebook laid in his lap, some pages blank, some with drawings in them, and some with random notes. He watched the wetness of the grassy football field reflect the rays of the September sun as students rolled in and filled the parking lot.

On days that were bearable, he sat on the football bleachers and drew what ever inspiration came to him. But today, there was no inspiration and the melodies of the birds just sounded like they were mocking him. He frustratingly closed his notebook and pushed it to the side all while sticking a pencil atop of his ear. He rested his chin on his hands, feeling the dig of his pointy elbows into his thin thighs. The day hadn’t even begun, yet he felt the tug downward of his eye lids.

Behind the closed curtains of his eye lids, Bill imagined a world where he had friends.

Where he was greeted through the halls, where someone would smile at him and just say ‘Hi’. But dreams rarely turned to reality, so Bill had to open his eyes and return to the living hell he called life. He had met someone, Eddie Kaspbrak, but they weren’t friends. More like acquaintances, sadly.

He took his pencil away from his ear and threw it. Sudden sadness and anger washed over him like a tsunami. Bill sat there and watched his classmates laugh with each other as the school day was in moments of beginning. He noticed a car, a car that seemed to always be there when he was there, parked far away from the others. The car’s headlights were still on, and from Bill’s angle he could see a boy, sitting still. Without context, Bill assumed the boy was having a breakdown alone. Bill chuckled a hoarse chuckle and thought-

Me too buddy.

Monday, September 25, 8:18 a.m

Richie Tozier was still asleep. Face down in a puddle of various colored blankets, his alarm continued beeping.

He hadn’t changed out of his clothes from last night, why bother, not like he has any other type of clothing. 

His Ramones t-shirt hadn’t been washed in a while, the smell proving it, and his jeans had rips upon rips. 

The beeping of his alarm clock never ceased and Richie grunted, extending his arm from under his head. His fingers barely touched the table and he gave up, a stream of soft-spoken profanities leaving his sinful mouth. 

His floor was cluttered of random school work and dirty clothes. His legs slowly rounded the bed and dropped to the cold hardwood floor. His mind, still a groggy mess from a night before, felt like bombs dropping on an unsuspecting city. Richie looked ahead, at nothing in particular, and let out a groan. He got up, cracked his back, hands, and head as he headed towards his closet. He looked inside, smiling at the ‘variety’ he had. Picking a shirt from the clutter of blackness, he tossed it on his bed and proceeded to his bathroom. 

His bathroom, a whole other mess, consisted of very few toiletries. A green toothbrush, Colgate, and a towel were usually all Richie used to freshen up in the morning. As he brushed his teeth, he looked in the mirror and noticed the redness of his eyes. He had forgotten to take his contacts out the night before and regretted it as he struggled to take them out.

“Oh fuck, fuck, fuck.” Richie swore as he plucked the dry contacts from his eyes. Motherfucker seemed the like the appropriate word to use as he dug the palms of his hands into his eyes. Leaning against the sink he felt the wetness collect in in his tear ducts. He managed to open his eyes, but all he could see was the blurriness of his silhouette. He blindly searched for his glasses, glasses he hadn’t worn in years, and chuckled when he found the slightly broken frames.

He put them on and squinted, prescription strong enough to give him ultra-seeing powers, if that were even possible. Richie walked back into his room and looked at his bed, a black t-shirt still crumbled in a heap. His eyes flew to his obnoxiously bright blue alarm clock, 20 minutes until he had to leave. He contemplated the thoughts in his head but stopped to plummet down on the bed.

5 more minutes.

Monday, September 25, 8:28 a.m

Beverly Marsh sat at her vanity, applying her red lipstick with precision. She hummed along to a song that crackled in the background. The breeze of the day trailed into her room, via her ajar window, and made goosebumps appear along her freckled covered arms and legs. Her blue eyes looked like cocktail ice under the blaring sun. 

At least that’s what her father always said. 

She stood up and went to her bed, sheets neatly folded and tucked into the metal frame. Grabbing her brown book bag, she threw it over her shoulder and went downstairs. Halfway down the stairs she stopped and came back up to turn off the record player that was snug in the corner of her room.

Making her way downstairs for the second time, a sudden dread washed over her heart. She only had to get through four classes, but those classes lasted a century and a day. Soon, when the school day ended, she’d be back to working at Ophelia's until close up and avoiding her drunk father’s wandering stare. She bounced off the steps of her worn down stairs, and walked into the small kitchen that didn’t hold a lot of food. 

Opening the middle cabinet, she reached in. Standing on her tiptoes, her finger tips grazed the dusty carton box that contained her favorite cigarettes. Grabbing it on a jump she brought it down and placed two cigarettes in her book bag and another in her mouth. Placing it back in the cabinet she turned around, taking out a gold lighter with her initials on it. 

Lighting the cigarette, she walked outside, and took notice of her father’s vanished car. Scoffing, she made her way down the street. There she waited for the bus, hip stuck out, and fingers tapping the smoke. As the bus strolled up, Beverly dropped the cigarette, stomped on it and found her way into the bus filled of ignorant, idiotic, and disgusting passengers. 

Monday, September 25, 8:30 a.m

Ben Hanscom sat at the family table, picking at his waffles with his fork, as his family ate and conversed. Background noise from outside set a ‘Nuclear Family’ setting for Ben. He didn’t have a sister, or a brother, not even a dog. His parents thought he was enough. 

“Benny, aren’t you going to eat?” Ben’s mom said as she stuffed a piece of her omelette in her mouth. Ben’s father was busy watching the morning news on his unusually big phone. Ben smiled at his mother, and put his fork down.

“Nah, I’m not really hungry, I’ll get something extra at lunch.” Ben shuffled out of his chair and gave his mother a kiss and his father a fist bump. He made his way upstairs to retrieve his backpack. His room was like any other room, besides the huge monitor screens that were around his computer.

Other than that, a completely normal room. His lights were off, but the room was illuminated by a green light due to his gaming keyboard he got as a Christmas present from last year. His backpack was hung on the back of his door but his textbooks were opened on his desk. 

He grabbed them, making sure the homework was done and packed it away in his backpack. He closed his door, backpack hanging low on his form. He said goodbye to his parents and walked outside to his car. A jeep wrangler, previously belonging to his father. He got in, setting his backpack in the passenger seat and drove to school with the windows down.

Modern pop played on his speakers and Ben felt the hot air touch his face. Ben had lived farther away from the school, but traffic wasn’t that bad on specific days. Today had been a lucky day since very few cars were on the road. He felt the bass of the lower speakers by his feet vibrate through the car and it made him smile.

Today was gonna be a great day.

Monday, September 25, 8:45 a.m

Eddie Kaspbrak sat on his rolly chair, across from Phil, his goldfish. His mother was loading the laundry in the room below him, making quite the noise. Eddie had been up since the ass crack of dawn, studying for the quiz he had in chemistry. Although Eddie always got an A on every single assignment and quiz that was thrown at him, a little extra studying never hurt. Eddie’s lucky pencil twirled around his fidgeting fingers and his bottom lip started to hurt. 

Eddie was always nervous. Because of this, he had to develop mechanisms to calm him down. Mechanisms that would drive his mother up the wall. Aggressive lip biting that left his bottom lip sore for days, fidgeting loudly that the neighbors could hear, and when the nerves became too much, excessive mumbling that made him want to throw himself at a brick wall.

His nightlight was still on, faint stars remained twinkling on the beige ceiling. Noticing this, Eddie felt himself reach a normal state of relaxed breathing. The nightlight was gifted to him by his mother, when he was six years old, and it’s been working ever since. Eddie had a lot of lucky amenities in his life, a pencil, a lamp, a shoe, his bed sheets, and maybe even his toothbrush. With all this luck charms you’d think Eddie would be lucky all the time.

But that’s not the case, no, Eddie didn’t have the best luck at all. He rubbed his right forearm, recalling memories of his nasty fall, a few months prior, that left him with a broken arm and a nice white cast. The way he fell was, well, stupid. He fell out of a tree. Eddie didn’t, couldn’t, remember why he, of all people, fell out of tree or the reason he was in a tree in the first place. 

Eddie was brought of his thoughts by the a hard knock on his door.

“Eddie Bear, time for school!” Eddie rolled his eyes at the pet name he had been given ever since he was a child. He sadly said goodbye to Phil and grabbed his bag, proceeding his way out of the room. Eddie didn’t drive a car, hell, he probably won’t ever be able to as long as his mother was breathing. He also couldn’t ride the bus. The bus was filled of bacteria that would give you cancer. His mother’s words, exactly. So he only had one option left; walking. When Eddie approached the idea to his mother, she laughed, a wicked laugh and immediately scratched that option off. 

So really, the only option he had left was having his mother take him. Though he was grateful for the ability of having a parent take you places, showing up to school, your senior year, in a 1990′s Volkswagen wasn’t exactly the best thing. Eddie despised the faded red the car was painted and the way the fabric of the seats itched his skin. 

“Did you take your meds Eddie Bear?” His mother pulled out the driveway, carefully, and put the stick shift into drive. His mother drove cautiously, and with driving cautiously came driving slowly. Eddie nodded and let out a soft sigh as the long drive began.

Monday, September 25, 8:50 a.m

Mike Hanlon sat on the cold concrete floor, headphones in, and folder on his lap. He had early morning practice and just finished his daily morning shower when he forgot to do his chemistry homework. His eyes had gone wide under the water. He closed them in acceptance, acceptance that he was going to fail the chemistry quiz. But with small hope, he got out of the shower, dried himself off, put his school day clothes on, and began to last minute study.

He never dried off all the way and hated himself for it because it was fairly uncomfortable to have a cotton t-shirt stick to your skin. Mike had his playlist blasting, almost all noise was cut out as he focused on the confusing chemistry problem.

“Hanlon. HANLON!” Startled, Mike pulled the headphones out and looked at Chris, his friend, with bewilderment.

“What?” Mike asked the chuckling boy standing above him. Chris was just like Mike, a stocky build, calloused hands, and a toothy grin. Chris was like a brother to him, they had know each other since freshmen year, and it’s been a miracle they’ve kept in touch ever since.

“Ya know, if you need help, there’s a guy who tutors people for free. His name is Eddie Kaspernackle or something, I don’t really know, but he tutored me and got me from an F to a B in no time.” Chris smiled, putting his hands on his hips in a complete mom fashion.

“His name is Eddie Kaspbrak, and I don’t need help, I have my grades in control.” Mike smirked and out his headphones back in leaving a less than believing Chris standing there. After moments of no action, Chris walked away and Mike let out a guilty groan. He indeed need help, but he would never in a million years say he needed help on a homework assignment.

Not that Mike prided himself too much. But being a football player, a role model to his fellow classmates, made it almost impossible to do things with teamwork. 

In Derry High, it’s every man for himself. 

Ironic really, their school motto was ‘Teamwork makes the Dream Work’. Everyone knew it was a lie. Here at Derry High, everyone who was your friend, wasn’t your friend. Mike knew this, Mike had a lot of friends. 

Monday, September 25, 9:02 a.m

Stanley Uris sat in his car, music playing softly, and a half empty cup of ice tea was snugged in the cupholder to his right. He had parked his car in the school parking lot almost an hour ago, something he regularly did, and watched the students, who seem to never notice him or his car, walk to their first class of the day. He tapped his fingers against the steering wheel, matching the drumming of the song, while random thoughts danced in his head.

Did I eat dinner last night?

Do I have work today?

When will you start playing piano again?

Loser.

Stan grumbled at his own self deprecating thoughts and turned off his car. Grabbing the notebook from his passenger seat, he got out the car, lanky legs out the door one by one. His knit sweater caught on the door handle and without hesitation San ripped it off. A small hole appeared but Stan didn’t care. 

He rolled his eyes and slammed his door shut, following the line of kids that went into the hallways of Derry High. The temperature, drastic from the comfortableness of his car, made Stan scoff in annoyance. It was hot, almost humid in the hallways and he regretted wearing knit sweater. At least he looked nice, 

not that anyone would comment. 

He made his way to his locker, graffiti that lined the east wing lockers was sprawled all over. His combination was easy, 00 23 14, and he always opened it on a first try. Inside his locker it was bare. Much like everything else in his life, there wasn’t much decor or color. All but a sticker, a smiley face, left by the student the year before him. 

Grabbing his geometry textbook, he flipped through the dusty pages, and began reading the homework assignment. He had forgotten to read it, again, but at the moment he had time before geometry started so he used it to his full advantage. Entering geomtry class, everyone huddled into their friend groups. Mrs. Cassie worked at her desk, surely last minute grading their previous test. 

Ben Hanscom sat at the front of the room and watched a live stream of ‘Mario Kart 8′ being played. One headphone in his ear and the other held in his hand. Someone bumped into his desk and uttered an apology. Ben brushed it off and took his geometry text book it of his bag, preparing his desk for first period. 

Stan’s hip bumped into a table and he muttered a sorry before finding his desk at the back of the class. Losing his place in the text book, Stan looked to see who’s desk he had bumped into. Ben Hanscom’s, a boy he had worked with once on a project. He looked down back at his textbook and started reading again.

Monday, September 25,  9:54 a.m

First period was a bore. For every student really, but especially for Bill. Learning about the Gold Rush was cool and all. But, having a teacher, who might as well be a 100 years old, lecturing the students in such an agonizingly slow speed made Bill want to jump out of the second story window to his right. No one was really paying attention, they either slept or sneakily typed away on the dimmed phone screens. Bill on the other hand, scribbled and doodled on the corners of his blue notebook.

The room he was currently in was the farthest classroom in D Hall. Meaning whenever the bell rang for dismal, he and other students would have to run to their classrooms which were basically on the other side of the school. Somehow, his history class was the only senior class in freshmen territory. Bill hated it, whenever he walked, ran, down the hallways he felt their prepubescent judgeful  stares. 

His ears caught wind of small giggles from the back of the room. He turned his head and found a girl, a girl with short red hair and red lips. She stared at her lap, at what Bill guessed was her phone. He didn’t know her name, probably never will, but to say he was intrigued was an understatement.

“Mrs. Marsh!” The teachers voice boomed, octaves lower than her usual lecturing voice. The girl looked up, startled, and braced her hands on the desk. Bill was taken aback. She was beautiful. Her hair was shorter than he had noticed before, and her eyes looked like glowing ice blue orbs. Her lips, colored red, emphasized her maturity and Bill suddenly forgot how to function.

The girl, Mrs. Marsh now, smiled a warm smile and fixed her posture, which previously before was sluggish. She now sat straight up, spine aligning like the eight planets. Bill watched, almost as in a trance as the teacher resumed her reading. Mrs. Marsh looked at the students who quickly went back to ‘paying’ attention before making eye contact with Bill. His breathe get caught in his throat and a warm feeling blossomed on his cheeks. He turned around, fingers slightly shaking as he quietly closed the notebook.

Beverly looked at the boy, with a tilted head and squinted eyes. She slouched back in her seat, arms crossed over each other as she continued staring at him, specifically his shaking fingers. Beverly had seen the boy hanging around on the bleachers occasionally. Bill. His name was Bill. she only remembered it because the teacher would call roll in the morning. A sudden shrill of a bell brought her out of her thoughts. 

“C’mon Bev, we’re going to be late.” Beverly’s friend hauled her up by the arm, distracting her from Bill. She realized more than half of the classroom had left, those including Bill. She sighed and walked out of the class, arm in arm with her friend.

Monday, September 25, 10:26 a.m

Richie was sure to start a fire. The whole setting felt like a scene from ‘Riverdale’. A burning trashcan, a boy in all black, and cigarette buds lying on the ground. Definitely a ‘Riverdale’ vibe. Stan Uris stood farther away, reading from a small book. 

After first period, there was a thirty minute window for high schoolers to do whatever the hell they wanted. This thirty minute time window would morph into lunh time, so basically this was every high schoolers favorite time of the day. Stan had always come to hang out behind the school, in solitary silence long before Richie Tozier had shown up

“So do you talk?” Richie flicked another piece of paper into the burning bin. The smoke was getting thicker, but Richie continued to throw his bad grades in. Stan ignored him and flipped to the next page of what seemed to be a ‘Moby Dick’ kind of novel.

“Cool, cool. Are you like a murder?” Richie at this point threw his whole folder into the trashcan. Stan paused and looked at Richie with a glare before resuming his reading. Richie put his hands up in a mock surrender

“All I’m saying, you show up every time I’m here, and you just stand there.” Richie put his hands up in a mock surrender before pointing to Stan’s casual lean against the brick wall. Stan rolled his eyes, for what seemed like the billionth time today.

“I’m not. A Murderer.” Stan closed his book and placed on his left hip. Richie clicked his tongue and chuckled.

“Hmm, sounds like something a murderer would say.”  Richie clasped his hands behind his back and smirked at the annoyed boy. Before Stan could respond, a man, who strikingly resembled Charles Xavier rounded the brick wall.

“What do you two boys think you’re doing?” Richie chortled and waved. Stan’s eyes went wide at the sight of the assistant principal and felt the book drop out of his hands.

“Conversing.” Richie declared. The smoke had become darker in the span of barely a minute and gave him a coughing fit. Stan just looked at him with disgust as the principle crossed his arms firmly. 

“I’m not with him.” Stan said, making Richie scoff in disbelieve.

“Well young sir, you obviously are. Both of you. Detention after school in Mrs. Knotts room. If I see another cloud of smoke reach over the top of the school building, both of you are suspended.” Before either of them could react he had walked off to make more innocent victims. 

“Thanks.” Stan bent down to retrieve his book and gave Richie a few more glares before walking off.

“You’re welcome murderer.” Richie murmured as he toyed with the frays of his jean covered thigh. He looked at the cloud of smoke that dispersed in the sky and watched the flames die down. With a over-dramatic sigh Richie kicked the can for weird pleasure. Stuffing his hands in his back pockets he walked off.

Monday, September 25, 11:13 a.m

Mike stood in line, lunch tray filled to the brim with protein and questionable sides. Students filled the cafeteria with chatter and morning gossip. The lunch line always went out the door into the main hall, since Derry’s time schedule was a mess. They had all students of all grades have the same lunch, in order to have everyone participating in class and gaining the same amount of knowledge at the same time as everyone else.

Stupid idea really. Mike sighed as the usual annoyance of the students behind him began.

“What’s taking so long.” A girl behind him asked the friend next to her who just shrugged. Mike didn’t mind the wait. He was the only one who didn’t mind the wait.

“MOVE IT FAT-ASS!” A yell, few feet behind him, erupted from someone he knew. His football teammate, Angelo, who always had a stick up his ass. Mike turned around and looked at him with pure annoyance before looking back to the front to see a boy struggling with entering their id.

“Can this fat-fuck move any slower?” Mike started tapping his foot as Angelo kept referring to the boy with insulting names. He had enough when Angelo didn’t stop.

“Hey, Angelo, why don’t you shut the fuck up, huh?” Mike got out of the line, not caring that all eyes were on him. Angelo looked surprised at Mike’s burst of colorful words. Angelo laughed and stepped out of  the line as well.

“You really defending the pig holding up the line, Hanlon?” Angelo was a few inches taller than Mike, but that didn’t stop Mike from standing chest to chest with him.

Ben heard the name calling and felt red all over. He had been used to it, but someday the name calling was worse than others. He was shocked to find Mike Hanlon, a football player, the most popular football player stand up to Angelo.

“Don’t call him a pig, if anything you’re the pig.” Beverly’s voice caught attention of the two boys who were ready to fight. Angelo rubbed his chin and smirked.

“What are you gonna do about it Bitch?” Beverly was taken aback by the remark. Mike didn’t hesitate to pop him in the mouth. Beverly scooted away from the growing fight and collided with a boy. He caught her by the waist, but immediately retracted his hands. 

Ben blushed as Beverly smiled a thank you. Mike and Angelo were laying punches on each other and Ben hesitated to pull Mike away. When Mike began to get the upper hand, Ben with all his might broke the fight up by pulling Mike away. Angelo stood there, huffing with a busted lip and a bruising temple. Mike looked as if nothing had even  touched him. His face was clean of any marks, but his fist looked like a crayon box. Blood and bruises were evident. Beverly, on a whim, went up to Angelo and smacked him. 

Angelo clasped his face and let out a gurgled yell. Beverly had slapped him with her ring hand.

“That’s for calling me a bitch, you dick.” Beverly tried to walk away but Mr. Westenburg had been standing at the entry of the lunch line. He had a look of utter disappointment as he told Angelo to go to the nurse. Mike, Ben, and Mike stood there, afraid of the inevitable consequence.

“All of you Mrs. Knotts room after school. Failure to show up will be an immediate detention. You all engaged in the fight so you all deserve the consequences. I don’t want to hear any excuse.” Mr. Westenburg’s voice silenced any all conversations in the lunch room.

Mike sighed and rubbed the dried blood off his knuckles into the sides of his jeans. Beverly felt her lips feel chapped all of a sudden and Ben felt the guilt spread through out his body. Mike didn’t speak to either of them as he walked out of the lunch area and the cafeteria completely.

Eddie and Bill had watched it all go down. They sat in the middle of the cafeteria, lunch boxs opened and sandwhichs’ half eaten when the ruckus of a fight was heard. They watched Mike Hanlon, Football Varsity Captain, land punches on a boy who seemed larger in height. 

Bill and Eddie sat together at lunch, but never really conversed. They’d help out Mrs. Knott with grading papers and any other work she needed some days, but other than that, they didn’t really consider each other as friends.

Eddie, confused, continued to watch the fight, the same as everyone else, and saw a boy pull Mike away. Bill didn’t seem intrigued in the fight and put his headphones in before continuing to eat. When the violence was thought to have ended, a girl had slapped someone which caused a loud yell. The slap was loud to bring Bill out from his own bubble. He saw Beverly withdraw her hand from what he assumed was a persons face. His eyebrow quirked up at the sudden form of action Beverly had took.

Principle Westenburg’s voice echoed and had a one-sided conversation Mike, Beverly and one unknown boy. After moments of awkward silence, Mike stepped out of the cafeteria line and walked, quickly down the middle of the cafeteria. He passed by Eddie and Bill.

Eddie caught glimpse of Mike’s bruised knuckles and desperately wanted to help but he decided against it. He wouldn’t have any way, Mike doesn’t even know him. He also doesn’t have the bit of confidence to do anything in the presence of someone like Mike, so he did whatever one else did and continued on with their lunch. Bill’s attention was brought back to Beverly but she had disappeared from eye sight. Eddie and Bill looked at each other and resumed their lunch.

Dawggggg, I finally wrote the fic. Whipppp. I’m fairly excited to see where this goes, if this goes anywhere, I kinda have it planned out and I hop I attract readers. If anyone is wondering what the endgames are for this fic, it’s gonna be.....I’ll tell you next fic lmaoooo. (Also this is more of an introduction to the characters rather than a full on story chapter, next chapter is really where the story begins.)

Tagged: @asteroidbill (hmu if you wanna be tagged)

[fleurdelissaswords-blog]

Tupeck the Rapping Parrot’s ThugLife Bible Study #6: IT’S EASTER Y'ALL!!!“ (The Easter Story, Attempt #5) More in our Conversations with Talking Parrots Series.

We’re watching The Jesus Strand: A Search for DNA this Easter Sunday on the History Channel. We look forward to all of the awesome religious shows and docs on Easter weekend each year. Studying history and theology and science is a passion of mine I share with my feathered and furry family members as well… and it always makes for some funny content as I attempt to get my ThugBirdie Tupeck to get some religion. The talks after leave everyone hysterical.

This show aims at finding the true DNA of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, and that of his family to help science and religion come together to finally bury the friggin hatchet. Can’t we all just get along? I happen to be a fan of both. It is my feeling that if God created the universe and all of this, and us, the more we understand it, the more we understand how perfect God’s plan really was. We are just observing the principals of this perfect world and explaining it in scientific terms that humans understand better.

Many of our readers and fans know that living with a parrot who wants to be the world’s first rapping parrot, and being talked into managing his career by the bird himself, is a challenge. Birds are typically NOT an easy type of pet! There exotic animals with exotic diets. Food items are often the stuffs of our conversations with the birds to help them learn to identify and request different food types. In fact Tupeck’s first original song was about how he had blueberries and Greek yogurt for breakfast. Lol. So we included the original artwork for the show, as well as a cute drawing of foods from Jesus’ time we found online here: http://gssroom9.blogspot.com/2014/03/re-jesus-strand.html… we get really into these birdie Bible lessons, but our birds are super smart! So join us on this Easter Birdie Bible Lesson! They’ve already requested the next Bible lesson being about the Last Supper. Lol. 😂🙈

I’m the mom and the manager of a parrot who wants to rap. Lol. And for years Tupeck parrot begged and I kindly said "hells nah! Not happening… you’re a bird!” But years later I realized he was really talented and loved music and hip hop, and that it was therapeutic for him in a way… and I’ve also just given up trying to get the ThugLife out of him. It’s just who he is. And in this family we accept each other for who they are. But my influence over the years has helped make his musical tastes a lot more diverse and he’s calmed down a lot. Yay patience! Lol. And Praise the Lord! 😜✊🏽🙏🏽 #LoveWins

Many of you also know that every Easter we have this weird family tradition of trying to give Tupeck a bible lesson and see if he will finally accept Jesus. In previous years he decided that since “Tupac was coming back too” and cuz he can rap on top of that, that Tupac held the top position in Tupeck’s heart when it comes to any religion. Lol. It was his very first Easter Sunday lesson after we got him that he said that. That’s how smart he is. He had already drawn a comparison between what Jesus did and Tupac’s life. Meaning he understood abstract human concepts more than the average bird! His vocabulary is also quite large… a lot of it we cannot repeat here and he knows he is not allowed to say and we don’t encourage it. But that’s how hard birds are. Imagine trying to have a family dinner while a bird raps and discusses his biz plan for becoming the next rap superstar?… and your mother is there. Get the idea?!

So for our yearly Easter Birdie Bible Study Lesson, I decide to taker a more scientific genetic route to explaining this to Tupeck. Maybe that would help? One can hope… so this ThugLife Bible Study Lesson is for Easter 2017! And our new attempt at getting Tupeck born again. We often use analogies that may not make sense to the common Christian, to explain things in terms a thug celebirdie can comprehend. It may be unorthodox, but we hope it’s slowly working. He didn’t like the audio bible we tried a while back. So yay for being innovative to get thru to inner city birds. Lol. We hope it doesn’t offend anyone… cuz tbh that’s Tupeck’s job as much as we try to keep him from doing so. He is bound to offend someone’s sensibilities… we were fans of anything ThugLife before this bird came into our lives either. Everything I know about hip hop I’ve learned from my parrot. Lol.

Let our ThugLife Bible Study Lesson begin…

Me: “Do you know why this religious documentary show is groundbreaking?”

Tupeck: “Absolutely!” 😚 (but I can tell he has no clue)

Me: “I’ll give u a hint: it’s possibly groundbreaking for television, history, and religious studies!” E Tupeck: “And Tupac!” 😜✊🏽

We all laugh. 🙈

Me: ok kiddo, and Tupac… of course. Now, on this show, they’re trying to find Jesus’ family of priest kings from the Davidic line using any dna they can track down to test.“

Tupeck: weird confused look. 😳

Me: "yeah part of the big deal about Jesus was he was from the line of David, therefore a priest king… this was back when they preached while they also kinged and stuff!” (The Messiah concept)

Tupeck: “YEAH?!” (Now he gets it! We’re taking about a VERY important person! We now have his attention… he is really only interested in celebrities.)

Me: “Yes… it was a different time.”

Tupeck: “Tupac was a priest king… and a talker!”

Me: 😂😂😂🙈"Yes Tupac was a good talker. Preachers were very good at talking! It’s what they did.“

Me: "If Jesus was alive today, what do you think he would say?”

Tupeck: “he’d be talking!” 🤗(thank you Captain Obvious! Lol)

Me: “yes cuz preaching is very similar to talking, except, they talk about God… and paying more attention to your bible studies!”

Tupeck: *beatboxes* cuz all Bible studies require beatboxing. And all good talkers in his opinion, should know how to beatbox. 🙈 Crap, is this lesson going downhill already? Ok time for a new strategy!

Me: “well if you were to make a song for Jesus, what would it be? Let’s make a song for Jesus… cuz that’s totally a thang.”

Tupeck: *thinks for a min, then lays down a few beats for mood* “Ooooh, baby I looove yoooou!!!” 😚

Me: 😂👍🏽 “I consider this a success, even though it’s basically your epic love ballad you intend to record on your first demo…”

We all sing a few more repeats of this one line… cuz the song so far only has or needs this one important line. Tupeck is proud. I’m just proud he finally made a Christian-ish song of some sort after 6 years of trying to get some religion into him.

Me: “have I told you about the story of the loaves and fishes?… you like bread!”

Tupeck: listens intently… cuz indeed he does love bread. Lol “Yeah yeah!” (Said in a Beavis and Butthead voice)

Me: “now back in Jesus time, there were crowds at his shows too… they called them ‘the multitudes!’”

Tupeck: “ok.” 😯

Me: “I know you think only rap stars have crowds, but Jesus drew big crowds too! Once thousands had come to hear him talk, like people went to hear Tupac talk, and at the end they realized the multitudes were hungry, but they didn’t have enough food to feed everyone who’d traveled a long way to hear Jesus talk.”

Tupeck: 😱 (this is indeed a problem)

Me: “here, watch this scene from YouTube about this… Jesus did something really cool to make sure everyone had food!”

Link: https://youtu.be/GolUi2yu7nA (I show Tupeck this clip cuz if it’s on YouTube, in his head, it’s true! He’s the biggest YouTube addict. Lol. We had to set some limits and Parrontal Controls cuz it became a problem.)

Me: “that day Jesus did something REALLY COOL. Cuz he believed in taking care of his peeps. He only had a couple loaves of bread and few fishies. But Jesus was the Fisher King, so he gave thanks to God and blessed the fishies and 💥 BAM! 💥 Food for everyone appeared and everyone was happy!”

Tupeck: “woah!”

Me to myself: “this is actually finally working… he seems interested in learning about Jesus! HUZZAH!!! It’s a miracle!!!” *gives thanks to God* 🙏🏽

Me: “remember when Pac hosted all of those picnics in the park for the gang kids in California, and brought in Snoop Dog and other artists, and told the kids they’d keep hosting those events as long as people all got along… and the ThugLife code was born from those events trying to bring inner city kids together without hurting each other.”

Tupeck: 😱 *Gasp!* (he has found another thing in common between Jesus and Tupac… which of course was my brilliant idea! *high fives self!*

Me: “kinda is a lot like how Jesus talked to the crowds and fed them afterward cuz he cared about his people and mankind. Tupac did too!”

Tupeck: *beatboxes more excited about this idea*

Me: “what if Tupac could have been one of these living decendants of Jesus like this show is trying to solve? They seem to have a lot in common. Tupac did a lot of the same stuff Jesus did to try to teach and help people. It was just a different time and different problems in the world. Cuz they both wanted to help the world.”

Lil Homie, Tupeck’s number one crew member and fellow flock member who isn’t famous and doesn’t wanna be, has been listening intently and chimes in here to tell us he likes this idea of people (and creatures) taking care of each other. Awe. 🤗 He may have some big questions about how Tupeck has been running his crew of homies (aka: flock) after this lesson. Lol. 🙈

Me: “on this show, they’re trying to track down blood and bones that may have belonged to Jesus to do sciencing tests to see who the rest of his family is and find out more about Jesus… pretty cool huh! Cuz there’s a lot we don’t know about this guy yet he is the biggest most important historical figure of all time according to many humans. He was either the Messiah, or a gifted Prophet, or a loving teacher of men.”

Me: “Tupeck?… 😳… Tupeck?!… hey, why are u preening during our Easter Sunday bible lesson? It’s time to listen and learn.”

Tupeck: “meh” 😒

Me: “welp, I had him for a moment!… it’s better than Easter sermons of years past… YAY PROGRESS!!!… and for once no talk of Llamas in God’s plan!” 😜✊🏽 (cuz we all know Llamas were either a glitch in evolution or God’s biggest mistake, depending on which you subscribe to. Llamas are an obsolete model. But this is the source of ongoing arguments between myself and a Tupeck parrot. *See our series on this blog: “The Ongoing Llama Feud between FleurDeLissa and Tupeck Parrot.”)

And Look for Tupeck the Rapping Parrot’s Gospel-Inspired song soon on a digital media site near you! 🎼🎤🎧 (Yeah, Tupeck made me say that plug.)

Overall we liked the show. I really enjoyed learning about the reliquaries they were using and their history. They discussed the link between John the Baptist as a cousin of Jesus too, which I really loved and have always thought myself. Just ask Da Vinci! He knew.

They showed a lot of historical sites from the Bible stories too, like the place where Jesus fed the multitudes as told in this story, and where he walked on water… tbh i woulda done the SAME thing the guy did on the show upon seeing it! I’d love to go to those holy sites someday myself.

So be sure to check it out on History Channel Easter Sunday (& in sure they’ll rerun it and have dvd’s of the show to add to my growing collection of religious historical documentaries!)

It was really good and I like how they traveled to different locations of where real reliquaries have been kept to show more context for the story that is sure to continue to evolve, as scientists and universities do more DNA tests on remains of people from biblical times found. I like how they retold some of the stories and how excited one of the guys was to be seeing these historic places. At times his buddy was just like 😳?? And he was all 😱😜✊🏽!!! Lol. although tbh my personal feeling was that Jesus walked on water cuz he was smart and new sharks and beasties live in the oceans. So when Tupeck asked about that, I calmly referred to the atrocious campy horror about bullsharks killing peeps at the beach playing on Scy-Fy at the same time. It seemed to work for now, but maybe our next ThugLife Bible Study will be about that biblical story.

Submit your ideas of which bible stories we should teach Tupeck the Rapping Parrot next, below in the comments or on my Twitter! And be sure to check out my archives for the rest in the Tupeck's ThugLife Bible Study series to find out what Tupeck the Rapping Parrot thinks about Judas, and other notable biblical figures! I promise they're all funny and will make you laugh. And check out my other TV show and movie reviews and recaps! Don't forget to follow me here as well to stay updated on what Tupeck parrot is doing next... and yes the Latin-inspired collaboration album for charity with the llama factions is still in the works! Whodathunk this bird could actually find a famous llama on twitter to connect with... then he drafted the ThugAnimal code when he heard there was a war going on between the Llama and Troll factions... whom he also found on twitter... cuz Twitter. 🙈 And Tupeck sends all of his loyal fans a big huge air kisses and a "Keep Your Beak Up!"... cuz #ThatsMyBoy. Lol.

For more info on this documentary, click here: http://www.history.com/specials/the-jesus-strand-a-search-for-dna

© 2017, Fleurdelissaswords, Tupeck the Rapping Parrot (yeah he demanded rights to all content about him in our “contract negotiations.” 😂🙈 Lol) Sharing is Caring so pass this blog on! Share it with your animal loving and Jesus loving friends!… and yeah even those annoying ThugLife friends. Lol. 😉😘❤

-Keep Your Beak Up!- is copyrighted and trademarked… cuz “dang contract negotiations with parrots!” 😱

@historychannelvikings @historychannel @tupac-2pac @tupactheoutlaw @makaveliminded @makavellian @makavellidon-blog @thuglife @thuglifepanda @thuglife1990s-blog @2pacdaughter @2pacsoul @2pac-makaveli-shakur @2pacabra @hiphopclassicks @hiphopcassette @hiphopfightsback @hiphop-in-the-brain @parrots4cake @parrotsland @parrotsbeak @parrotsdoinghumanjobs @parrotswithbenefits @birdsonly @birdschoolforbirds @birdstump @animalstalkinginallcaps @animalswithstuffedanimals @animalsthatdopeoplethings @puglifestyles @puglifedallas @catsofinstagram @grumpycat @grumpycatfan @celebritycloseup @celebritypets @celebritypetsargentina @famousdogs-blog @jiffpom @jiffpom24-blog @boothedog @dogshamingusa-blog @dogshaming @catshaming @cattechnology @kittenskittenskittens @kleeklutch @mimithebabyfox @charlesgame @macawclothing @macawsrule-blog @conuresagainsthomework @conures-life

[coffey-to-go]

Beijing 2016

Beijing With the Tresemers

Thursday 10 November 2016.  Beijing

We landed in Beijing around 1130 with carry-on luggage only.  This was our first flight without pump equipment and not having that stuff made a world of difference.  We were able to move quickly to the airport express train that takes us to city center for 25 RMB.  It is about a 20 minute ride.  When we reached the city we bought metro passes for 20RMB and loaded them with 30RMB which was just enough money to get us around for 4 days.  We jumped on line 5 and reached our stop, Chengwengwen which happens to be right near our hotel, the Novotel.  

The Tresemer’s were staying pretty close to us and they were still waiting on their room to be ready.  We got settled in and let the boy nap while I went in search for diapers and organic milk.  Near our hotel are a few malls so I didn't have to go far to find both.  I bought GB diapers at the World mall and found some Italian imported milk at a bakery just outside the mall.  Beau and Jaci came over to our hotel around 1600..  It was good to catch up with old friends and they even brought us some Germany goodies such as chocolate, gummy bears, kinder eggs and my favorite, Lowen senf.  After chatting for about an hour we decided to get a move on and head over to Tiananmen Square.  The smog level was very high reading in the mid 200s for most of the day.  When you step off the airplane the smog is the first thing you notice.  It is a real shame because Beijing is a wonderful city.  

We masked up and set out for the square.  We stopped and took a few photos along the way and eventually made it to the busy Tiananmen Square area.  Unfortunaly the square was already closed for the evening but we could still see it from the outside.  We were able to pose for a few photos then decided to walk around a little until we found a restaurant.  We just so happened to stumble upon a Cantonese restaurant so we thought we could introduce the Tresemer’s to a little taste of Canton.  We ordered a ton of food including some jiaozi, baozi, and some fried spicy cauliflower which was great.  The highlight was the pork with with wonton wraps served Mexican style.  It was a lot like carnitas so we called them “ Chinitas.”  After dinner we walked back towards the hotel and decided to call it an early night since we had an early morning the next day.  It was time to get some much needed rest for all of us.

Friday 11 Novemeber 2016.  The Great Wall

We woke at 0530 to get ready for our excursion to the Great Wall of China.  Kira hired a driver that was referred to us by the Wynn family.  Our destination was a two hour drive to Mutianyu which a section of the wall which has been restored and is usually not crowded.  We at breakfast on the go which included some fruit that we bought they night before and some bread and pastries that the Tresemer's picked up as well.  The driver had some water and bananas for us too.  The plan was to arrive right when the ticket offices open at 0830.  We did just that and stayed ahead of most of the tour groups.  After we got our tickets we had to catch a bus that drove us about 10 minutes toward the base of the mountain where the wall is.  We caught the first bus and were among the first to arrive at the starting point.  There are two options for going up to the wall from the starting point.  You can walk up a ton of well paved steps or for a little more money you can take a gondola.  We chose to go on foot which cost 45RMB per person.  It was a great opportunity to try out Nolan’s new Kelty backpack.  I started off carrying him in the pack and as I write this on Monday the 14th my calves are still hurting.  It was well worth the climb and the backpack was worth every cent.  

We climbed and took in the fantastic views that the wall had to offer.  We spent a lot time walking around and taking photos.  It was easy to get photos without other people in the background which is a rare feat at a tourist attraction.  We had a snack and gave Nolan a diaper change before back down.  The tour buses were arriving so things were about to get crowded.  Getting there early is highly recommended.  

Around 1330 we returned back to our driver via the bus and let the Tresemer's do a little shopping around all the gift stands that are set up everywhere around the entrance.  Kira bought an over-priced Chinese crepe which she was able to get a lower price because her Chinese was good according to the crepe lady.  We peeked in one restaurant but they were all severely over-priced.  We loaded up in the van and hit the road.  About a half hour into the drive our driver pulled over at a small restaurant in the small village.  We ordered some beef noodle soup dishes, jiaozi and Jaci got a chicken lo mein dish.  Everything was good and cheap….40RMB for everything including a couple of beers.  After lunch we returned to the hotel for a much needed recharge.  

Around 1700 we meet back up and headed out to find a quality place for a foot rub.  I scouted out a place not far from the hotel but it was way too expensive.  The area we stayed at is where a lot of tourist stay so naturally prices are inflated for everything, for example, I went to buy a gallon of water from a girl in a small shop and she quoted 50RMB for a bottle that I can get for 5 to 10RMB anywhere else.  Kira had heard of place that wasn't far from the restaurant we intended to eat at so we hopped on the metro and made our way.  The place is called Liangzi and the service and massages are phenomenal.  We all had a room together and you could order drinks and snacks during the session.  Nolan had a great time crawling around during the whole process.  When we return to Beijing we will definitely go back.  

After the amazing foot massages we walked over to Da Dong to feast on some Peking duck.  Da Dong is one of the top restaurants in Beijing and there service and food is second to none.  We order a lot of food for 5 very hungry people.  We started with some fresh salmon sashimi and it was very fresh and buttery.  We also had some deep fried pork which was a hit but the roast duck is the star of the show.  We ordered one and half ducks to make sure we all got our feel and it was the right amount.  The ducks are all roasted at the giant oven roasting pit in the middle of the restaurant for all to see.  They are then brought table side then skillfully cut into pieces then reassembled carefully on a serving dish then served.  The duck is moist and full of flavor.  The fat on the bird melts in your mouth.  I think for anyone visiting Beijing a trip to Da Dong is a must.  It is pricey but worth it.

12 November 2016   Forbidden Palace

The next morning we all skipped breakfast and just kind of snacked a bit as we made our way to the Forbidden Palace.  We have heard that you can spend all day at the huge compound so we decided to get there right when doors opened at 0830 and hopefully stay ahead of the huge crowds.  With it being a Saturday though, crowds were hard to avoid.  The good thing about the size of the palace is that it can easily accommodate very large crowds so it’s not too overwhelming.  It was 80RMB per person for a ticket and you can choose a free audio-guide that we all thought was worthless.  It was supposed to use GPS to track where you were and it would automatically start talking about something but it hardly ever worked.  If you really want to know more about the palace we highly recommend hiring a personal guide.  

After about two hours of exploring the compound we made our way to a famous kite store that Jaci had read about.  They wanted to buy a kites for there nephew and we decided to buy the biggest baddest one they had for Nolan.  It was 200RMB and we later found the same kit at a market for 150RMB before negotiating.  Oh well.  For lunch we found a Xinjiang restaurant serving up some incredible lamb skewers, veggies and bread.  We ate a ton and it was all fantastic.  After lunch we made short walk over to Great Leap Brewery which was recommended to us by a mutual friend.  They brew their own American style beers and they all were pretty good.  You can order a flight of five picks for 50RMB.  After a few beers we returned to the hotel to get some rest.  

In the evening we didn't really have dinner plans so we went to a little indoor market that I found the day before.  It wasn't anything fancy but it had just about anything and everything.  We bought some jiaozi, noodles and stuffed buns and chowed down in the dinning area.  After that we bought some fruit then and I took everyone over to the tea section of the market.  We sat down for some gong fu cha.  Beau really fell in love with the tea culture so he and Jaci loaded up on a variety of teas to take home.  

13 November 2016  Temple of Heaven  

On our last full day in Beijing we decided to just check out the city and later do some shopping.  We first visited the Temple of Heaven.  When we arrived at the Temple of Heaven park there were tons of older people who all seemed to be advertising something.  Apparently they were all playing match-maker trying to find suitors for the sons and daughters.  Everyone with a daughter had their eyes on Nolan.  After getting a few phone numbers we made our way to the Temple of Heaven.  It cost 28RMB for a ticket but it is worth it.  Seeing the Temple of Heaven wasn't high up on my list but I am glad we went.  It is a really cool structure to see and you don't need that much time there.  The whispering courtyard was cool to see too.  Kira could stand on one end and whisper into the wall and I could hear her…pretty neat.  

After an hour or so there we hopped on the metro and maid our way to Olympic Park which was all built for the 2008 summer Olympics.  The giant “bird’s nest” is quite a site to see.  We made our way to it and grabbed a hamburger from the McDonalds inside of it.  We could also see the athletes village and the water cube where Michael Phelps crushed everyone.  It was pretty cool just to stroll around there for a bit.  After that we made our way to Hongqiao pearl market which is a giant indoor market where you can buy cashmere and pearls along with just about anything else.  On the first floor there are a ton of food stalls so we all grabbed something different.  Kira and I went with some hand drawled noodles which were awesome.  After lunch it was time for four hours of shopping.  There was only one person selling tea so I haggled for a good price on some to give to a friend.  Kira and Jaci were doing battle with the cashmere ladies.  One lady got a little hot with Kira accusing her of swaying Jaci to go to another vendor.  When we made it to the jewelry section Beau and decided it was time for beers.  After four hours and and a few hundred Yuan later we decided to head back to the hotel to freshen up before tea and dinner.  

Kira had heard of tea house that wasn't too far away so we went there before dinner.  XXXXX is nice but a little pricey.  We enjoyed a few pots as I served the tea out gong fu style.  After that we made our way to Hai Di Lao hot pot restaurant.  It is in the New World mall which is not to far from our hotels.  We had to wait a long time and just as we were throwing in the towel to find a different place they opened up their private dining room for us.  It was a nice meal complemented by a lot of beer.  We had different broths for dipping a ma-la (numbing spicy) and a non-spicy.  Nobody but me could handle the ma-la so it was all mine.  It definitely had my nose running and it was tasty.  After dinner we said our see ya laters to the Tresemer’s as we all had early flights the next morning.  Beau and Jaci were headed to Guilin and we were going to make our way back home in GZ.  The plan was to meet back up with them when they get close to us in either Macau or Hong Kong.  

14 November  Home

Early the next morning we caught the airport express to the airport and made it back to GZ just before noon without any issues.  

Take-aways.  

We really liked Beijing as it has a ton to offer.  There is a lot of culture and history to the city and a lot to do for sure.  The only negatives are the poor air quality and the millions of tourist that flock to this gym of a city.  

When we return we have a list of places to check out from our friends Ralph and Coco.

Jin Ding Xuan:  A 24 hour restaurant near Di Tan Park.  

29 Chunxiu Road Branch:  The location of a Sichuan noodle shop that specializes in youpo mian.  

Duck de Chine:  Great place for Peking duck on Gongti Bei Lu.  They also have amazing jiaozi.

Maliandao Tea Market:  Awesome tea market on 12 Maliandao Lu.

Yuexi Xianglin:  A tea house that is near the Lama Temple.

[therantingtales]

One thing I neglected to mention in my previous post, about my spot at the Kalaloch Campground, was just how close it was to US-101.

When I pulled into the site, I noticed a little opening that looked perfect for the tent. As I went to inspect it, I realized it was maybe 100 feet from US-101. You can see in the above picture a break in the trees, just past that was the highway. Even with 18 wheelers jake-braking down the highway, I’m a heavy sleeper. I just knew I wouldn’t be able to go to sleep if I was worried about cars spinning out of control and landing on top of my tent.

My first stop on the morning of the 11th was something I’d noticed on my way to the campsite the night before. About 5 miles north of the site was a sign for The Big Cedar Tree. It was only one-tenth of a mile from the trailhead parking lot, and it was indeed a big cedar tree.

Kalaloch – Big Cedar Tree

Kalaloch – Big Cedar Tree

Kalaloch – Big Cedar Tree

Kalaloch – Big Cedar Tree

Next on my list was the Pacific Way Bakery & Cafe, just over the border between Washington and Oregon in Gearheart, OR. Gearheart is the childhood home of the world-famous chef, James Beard, so I thought how lovely it would be to pick up some bread from this well-known bakery. What I didn’t know and found out after three hours of driving was that the bakery closed at 2 pm. I got there at 2:30. Ravenously hungry and frustrated I thought I’d try the cafe. But after standing by the host stand in this white tablecloth establishment for several minutes, I felt an air of old money snobbery that made me change my mind. I hopped back in the car and found a Taco Bell in nearby Seaside.

It’s important to note that US-101 is very curvy with fantastic views of the Pacific Ocean. So driving was a combination of mental and physical gymnastics with the commentary in my mind of “slow down slow down, curve, oooooooh pretty, no pay attention to the road!” Oregon became the first place on the road trip where I encountered aggressive drivers. I’m sure the fact I was following the suggested speed limits for curves and my out of state license plate added to their frustration. However, one of them damn near ran me off the road. Here’s how I described the encounter to my mom later that day.

Well maybe they were both California drivers. One in a beat up station wagon I didn’t think could go faster than 50 was riding my bumper when I was going 5 over the 55 speed limit. The next one way worse… I slowed down for a curve and he didn’t. And then started honking at me, so I honked back, then threw my flashers on while maintaining 40. He crossed the double yellow and flew around me honking. I honked back and flipped him off.

(My response was not the most appropriate, but I was not going to be intimidated.)

I pulled over at the next overlook (Neahkahnie Viewpoint) after the encounter to reset. It gave me a great opportunity to take some pictures of the coast with the road weaving around the mountainside.

Neahkahnie Viewpoint

Neahkahnie Viewpoint

Neahkahnie Viewpoint

Neahkahnie Viewpoint

From there it was just an hour more of driving to my reserved campsite at Cape Lookout State Park. When I arrived at Cape Lookout I was exhausted and quite loopy. I gave the woman my name, and she couldn’t find my information. After a little panic and much confusion, I realized I arrived a day before my reservation. To make matters more nerve-wracking, the campgrounds were completely booked. However, the woman came to my rescue (took pity on me?) and opened up a small overflow lot for me to camp in for the night. The overflow lot was ideally situated right behind the dunes with the ocean just on the other side. Soon I had new neighbors (you’re welcome guys!) and I headed up the dune to watch the sunset.

The next day I would be able to move to my reserved site after 2 pm. Even though it had only been a few days since I left Seattle, the white-knuckle rookie driving I’d done down the coast encouraged me to take the extra day, and just be a beach bum.

Something we don’t see on East Coast Beaches – Cape Lookout State Park

Cape Lookout State Park

Cape Lookout State Park

Cape Lookout State Park

Cape Lookout State Park

Cape Lookout State Park

Cape Lookout State Park

Cape Lookout State Park

September 12th was a perfect beach bum day. I left the overflow lot and enjoyed a huge breakfast at Denny’s in Tillamook then spent some time in the Day Use area of the park while waiting for my reserved campsite to be ready. Once I set up at my reserved campsite, I spent the rest of the day on the beach reading.

Cape Lookout – Day Use Park

Cape Lookout – Day Use Park

Cape Lookout – Day Use Park

Cape Lookout – Day Use Park

Cape Lookout – Day Use Park

Cape Lookout – Day Use Park

Cape Lookout – Day Use Park

Cape Lookout – Day Use Park

I made friends with the neighbors over breakfast on the 13th. They were seasoned Pacific Coast campers with tons of great advice. The husband referred to my car as a “Nice Rig.” Both Baby (yes, named after the ’67 Impala in Supernatural) and I blushed. They also recommended I take a break from the white-knuckle driving by hopping over to I-5 in Crescent City. That recommendation from well-traveled folks made me feel better about my struggles with the curves on US-101. We also talked about their son who’d just finished a thru-hike of the Pacific Crest Trail, and how flooding on the southern portion of the trail had made a difficult path even more challenging. This information would come back into my mind as I was bumping along a washed out road in the middle of the Mojave Desert.

On the 13th I was determined to get out of Oregon. I had reservations that night at the Crescent City / Redwoods KOA Holiday, 20 miles into California. The nights were turning cold, so I stopped to get a knit cap and some Cuddl Duds leggings and undershirts. Along the way, I stopped at the Heceta Head Lighthouse. When I pulled into the parking lot, there was a gentleman on a motorcycle waiting for his wife to come back from touring the lighthouse. In his saddlebag was a large, half hidden, bag of popcorn. Just behind him was a couple of big birds getting ready to make their move. I warned him that he was about to lose his entire bag of popcorn just in time as the birds swooped in. He took to making sure the bag was better secured as I made my way to the trailhead to the lighthouse.

Heceta Head Lighthouse

Heceta Head Lighthouse

Heceta Head Lighthouse

Heceta Head Lighthouse

Heceta Head Lighthouse

Heceta Head Lighthouse

Heceta Head Lighthouse

Heceta Head Lighthouse

Heceta Head Lighthouse

As was a continuing theme, I got to the lighthouse after they’d stopped doing tours, but I browsed the gift shop and enjoyed the views along the trail to the lighthouse. After about 45 minutes at Heceta Head Lighthouse, I continued on my journey down US-101. I stopped briefly at the Sea Lion Caves just south of Heceta Head but opted not to take the tour because it was getting late in the day and I wanted to make sure I was at camp before dark. As I continued on, I came across one of the most regrettable things about traveling a two-lane highway during the school year – being stuck behind a school bus dropping kids off at the end of their day.

Between the curves and the school bus, my total driving time for 295 miles was about six hours. One interesting side note is the road has a number of signs that inform drivers that it is “Illegal to delay 5 or more vehicles,” since there are no passing zones on US-101, so there are designated places for slower drivers to pull over. I took use of these zones whenever possible. I don’t care for being the lead car on an unfamiliar road.

I arrived at Crescent City / Redwoods KOA Holiday about 20 minutes after the sun began to set and desperately needed to pee. Since the office was closed, I needed to grab my packet from the bulletin board, and then I rushed to the bathroom. Much to my chagrin, there was a bathroom code. I finally figured out while doing the pee-pee dance that the code was on my packet. With that issue resolved, I tried to read the map to figure out where my site was. It took a few missed turns and loops before I found my site, nestled on the curve of the camp road next to two occupied campsites. I could barely see the boundaries of my site and as far as I could tell the tent pad was right at the curve of the road. I was not having that, so I ended up having to put it on a slightly slanted part of the ground with the picnic table between me and the road.

The campsite made a lot more sense in daylight and realized where I was supposed to set up the tent was further back into the woods. It’s all good, it was still a wonderful site I’d love to go back to. Sleeping under the redwoods was really nice.

My car was where my tent should have been. Never show up to a new campsite after dark! Crescent City KOA

Crescent City KOA

On the 14th of September I decided not to take the advice of the campers in Cape Lookout because I wanted to drive through the redwoods, and if I’d gone over to I-5 I would have completely missed one of the best parts of the Pacific Coast. But, I’ll save that part of the trip for next time.

Until Then!

The Pacific Coast; Washington and Oregon One thing I neglected to mention in my previous post, about my spot at the Kalaloch Campground…