#i spent waaaay to much time making this photos

[sheikahwarriork]

i couldnt stop myself from giving my plushimitri his very special tea-birthday-party 💙

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DIMITRI!

[sorencd]

day trip date hcs

a/n: a short thingy i needed to barf out!! after listening to day tripper for like the thousandth time the thought of going on a cute little road trip to the next state with wilson stuck with me whshsehd enjoy! AND!! AND the steven one is next this was just sitting in my drafts rotting for so long i had to post it dhasd

yesterday, you've already practically spent the entire morning until noon in bed lazing off in wilson's arms. only occasionally going out to grab something to eat and swiftly returning under the covers. now that you've recharged your drained out battery caused by a hectic last week, you brought up the idea of spending the day off on the road to wilson.

he loved it of course! he's already packing up all the stuff u need waaaay before you. he prepared the food, snacks, your favorite tunes, a map so u know where you two would like to stop, and of course he can't forget ur trusty camera!

you've decided to drive through west virginia and kentucky, and each time you saw something that you find interesting (even if it isn't that interesting) you'd ask wilson to stop for a bit and pose beside it so you could take a photo of him. and he would stand so awkwardly by it but his smile makes it all worth it!

"we need to take a photo of you and mothman."

"why?"

"you two would look so cute!"

and that brings u to him standing beside the infamous mothman, his thumbs up with a goofy smile and a pair of shades on him! u could've considered him a dad atp with the fit he was wearing.

and how could i ever forget singing songs with windows rolled down??? screaming the lyrics at the top of both your lungs like absolute loons??? you've seen so many confused looks from many of the cars you've passed by lol

and when the dopamine blast has settled down and the car is engulfed in silence, which is something u aren't really fond of since u can't last like more than 5 minutes without hearing wilson's voice, you'd be spitting random facts left and right.

"what do you know, female hyenas have dicks. huh. did you know that?"

"??? did i need to???"

he's grown accustomed to it and has learned to accept the sudden bombardment of unnecessary information.

you love feeding him the snacks he brought!! he suggested multipled times that he could always stop at a gasoline station or restaurant but you always insisted that you would give it to him instead. wilson wasn't one to complain though and happily obliged without hesitation.

your camera roll would be filled to the brim with both cute and silly photos!! there would be some polaroids scattered around the car of a close up of james' nose, or his eye, a weird selfie you took while he was focused on driving, or maybe him doing a funny expression beside a landmark u two stopped by to see!! your collection of polaroids that u put on the refrigerator door continues to grow by the second, and u love it!

when the day comes to an end and he's driving back home with the sun setting down, u tugged on his shirt and asked him to watch the sunset. he thought this only happened in movies! james could feel his heart swell when he looked to left to see your pretty face that he loved so much being hued by the setting sun on the horizon.

DUH how could he not kiss u at that moment??? he softly grabbed your chin to crane your head towards him and kissed you, causing a surprised yelp to escape your lips. and after that he jusy continued driving and left u all blushing and stuff lol

masterlist

© sorencd . 2023 ─ do not copy, repost, translate or claim any of my works as your own.

[thefandomenchantress]

HAPPY NEW YEARS ENA!!!!!! Since its New Years, how do you think everyone will celebrate it?

God damn it’s so far past new years. Sorry I somehow didn’t see this until now, but better 2 and a half months late than never…?

———

Teruko Tawaki: Regularly forgets its New years. She had more important things to worry about on the run, but at Hope’s Peak she tried to join in on the festivities and pretend she cared. She enjoyed being invited to a party for once.

Xander Matthews: …It was never the same celebrating after his family died. Just like how everything else wasn’t the same. Another year without them. Yay. Being surrounded by friends at Hope’s Peak helped get his mind off things, though, and he brought some alcohol to the class party. Unless the school staff asks, in that case he totally didn’t.

Charles Cuevas: It never held too much importance to him. He did find it annoying how he had to remember to write a different year every time he tried to write down the date, because he’d often forget and have to rewrite it. Whit convinced him to celebrate New Years with the class, and he had a decent bit of fun.

Ace Markey: He gets extremely existential, unsurprisingly. Being reminded of the passage of time makes him anxious, so he’s not the biggest fan. He went to the party and was one of few to not drink Xander’s totally-not-alcoholic beverages, and from listening to what everyone was saying while intoxicated he knows many more secrets than he should.

Arei Nageishi: Probably throws confetti at midnight and then makes someone else (Eden) pick it up. New Years never garnered much fanfare at home, but she joined Ace in not drinking and took many photos for blackmail—Er, totally not malicious purposes.

Rose Lacroix: Falls asleep waaaay before midnight and misses all the festivities. She went to the party, but ended up falling asleep at the snack table. Eventually she got woken up by Nico right before midnight, and as soon as that was over she made a beeline for her dorm. A bed sounded nice.

Hu Jing: She enjoyed spending time with her family, even if she thought staying up that late could be exhausting. At Hope’s Peak she was just trying to make sure nobody died during the party, which was surprisingly hard. Still, the promise of a New Year, full of new possibilities did bring her a bit of excitement. She’s overcome with the joy of the realization she’s made it this far and managed to make so many new, valuable connections.

Eden Tobisa: An excuse to celebrate something with her close family and friends?!? Count her in! She likes it not only because of her birthday, but because she loves the feeling of new beginnings and a chance to turn everything even better. She loved seeing everyone spending time together and having fun at the party.

Levi Fontana: He isn’t too passionate about the holiday, but he likes to make New Year’s resolutions and trying to improve himself. He’s in the 2% minority of people who don’t give up on their resolutions a month in. He joins Hu in trying to make sure nobody dies at the party.

Arturo Giles: He likes to see what celebrity is on TV and preforming a New Year’s Eve show, but other than that he’s not very interested. He didn’t want to go to the party, but Veronika dragged him along. He didn’t even try to pretend he didn’t want to be there.

Min Jeung: In the past, she mostly just spent New Years studying, unsurprisingly. One year closer to seeing if she would become the Ultimate Student. She ended up hiding under a table and reading during the party, eventually joined by Teruko.

David Chiem: Time to profit off of everyone’s newfound desire to change themselves for the better! While this time of year has his business more profitable than usual, that means to maximize profits he has to work more, which he finds exhausting. He finds everything about this time of year exhausting. At the party, he ended up kissing Xander…Ten bucks says neither of them remember by morning.

Veronika Grebenshchikova: Horror movie marathon until midnight, naturally. She finds the New Year ever-so-slightly exciting, she supposes. At the party, she tries to get everyone to play truth or dare and proceeds to either try and make them reveal incredibly personal secrets or do incredibly dangerous things. Xander is the only one who tries one of her dares, but ends up getting stopped before the can accidentally hurt himself.

J Rosales: Another year with her Mom, great…She was pretty neutral on New Years in the past, honestly. She went to the party and had a decent bit of fun, and once again made the New Year’s resolution to go to the gym more so she could get really buff and shit (She rarely follows through for more than a month or so, but she’s planning to ask Levi if he could be her gym partner and she hopes she’ll be too prideful to quit if someone else is doing it with her).

Whit Young: Used to spend New Years alone at home. He is now making the most of having friends around, and gleefully goes to the party. He teases a lot of people about who they’re going to kiss at midnight, but mostly gets responses asking about if he’s going to finally make a move on Charles and he immediately gets flustered and changes the subject.

Nico Hakobyan: They usually aren’t thrilled about spending five extra hours around people when they just want to go to bed. They begrudgingly attend the party after much contemplation, because they get nervous they’ll miss out on something and regret it later. They end up sleeping at the snack table with Rose for most of it.

———

Thank you for the happy new year, by the way! I hope you have…er, had a happy new year, too! Thanks for the ask!

[sugar-omi]

daddy derek headcanons? oh ive spent waaaay too much time thinking abt it. there's nothing quite like the image of a big beefy dude being super soft and sweet with his kids. Derek gives off roman reigns tea party / Terry crews in b99 energy. there is absolutely nothing he wouldn't do for his little angels.

I'm talking being front row at every recital/game/talent show, you name it. any extracurricular activities? you got it, baby. dad's gonna take you. you need a new costume? help doing your hair? don't worry, dad's got everything you need. Parent volunteers needed? he's the first name on the list. other parents are intimidated at first, but he's so good at being a team player that he always manages to bring out the best in others. he's gotten better at time management, so he doesn't over-commit and try to run everything, but if it matters to his babies, it matters to him.

all the kids love visiting your house because Derek loves taking care of his kids and their friends. homemade drinks and snacks afterschool? you bet! he even cuts things into fun shapes to make it more exciting (things being star-shaped make them taste better, just like the fruit bouquet). he'll play video games with the kids, or ref any games, or just let the kids climb on him and swing them around. there is no shortage of fun with Derek around.

he still loves big family trips to the boardwalk or to the water park. he's always prepared. he is a master packer and his travel bag has a little of everything. he keeps up the snack bag tradition with his kids, but he always makes sure to pack a little extra.

it wouldn't surprise me if Derek eventually decided to just be a stay-at-home dad to make sure he's got all the time in the world for his babies. his ego doesn't require him to be the breadwinner for his family, he just wants to make sure everyone is taken care of.

OMG THATS SO CUTE

everyone wants to go to your house bc of your kid/s super cool dad (parents definitely think he's a dilf n he so would be)

also I could definitely see him being a sahd!!!

he'd prbly work part-time or smth from home, at least a job w flexible hours and allows him to run to his kids needs. altho if you wanna do that, he's happy to make sure you can do so comfortably (just make sure he doesn't overwork himself)

also there is a whole shelf of dvds that are of your kids school plays, music or dance recital, sports game, you name it. lots of home video as well, just you guys playing in the yard n stuff <333

so many pictures on the wall, like you have to stop him from covering every inch of the house (you have multiple photo albums)

[dissonantdreamer]

okay so shout out to  @caitsyoi​ for this post, which prompted a search to try and figure out the umbrellas (only thing i could think of was umbrellas being there the first time and last time they were in Jackson together but that is a stretch) and led to an entirely different discovery about just how much detail went into Ellie’s trauma.

I made a separate post because this gets super long and don’t want to detract from the original goal of the post with a rambling hugely unrelated tangent. So go check out all cait’s in game detail posts cause holy fuck are they good good details.

Anyway details about Ellie’s trauma manifesting that might have been missed under the cut:

The photo of Ellie’s flashback set my brain off. I’ve stared at this game far too long and I distinctly, vividly remembered a different door in my mind. I panicked because my memory is shit so when I know i remembered something and there is proof that contradicts it I have to double check. So I looked up the door in the chalet and my dudes, my fuckin’ DUDES! Naughty Dog has done something, cause I didn’t misremember the wrong door: Ellie’s brain gave her an entirely different door.

Here is the door Ellie actually goes through just before Joel’s death scene (and the one I remembered):

And here is the door that we see in her PTSD flashback:

Her recollection of events when compared to the actual event becomes a fucked up Spot the Difference game. The handle, something she physically grabbed has changed as well as the design of the entire door. Which is something that happens with PTSD. And now I’ll lead you through my thought process, cause I processed all the wrong things but it’ll make sense I promise so the info is staying in.

-So I’ll admit, I got real excited and spent almost and hour scouring gameplay videos scrubbing and pausing trying to find the door in Ellie’s flashback. Initially thinking it was a different door she couldn’t get through from some other traumatic point in the game. Was it a door in Joel’s house? No. What about her door in Jackson? Nope. Hmm. Maybe, I thought, it was in Part I. How fucking brilliant would that be, to tie in some other big moment of upset from the first game with this moment here in the second game and show the lasting effects of trauma and how it doesn’t go away completely. It wasn’t a door she went through around Tess, or Sam and Henry. David! It could be the door she escaped him through! No dice. Left Behind! Riley. And the answer to that friends is that a “yes” would be a  biiiiig ol stretch:

Sort of similar handle but it’s still too different to be the correct door details. Still there could be some overlap.

I got stumped and then my brain kicked in and reminded me, “Hey remember how trauma affects memory, how you can remember certain details of what happened that day, but your shoes are never right?” and I was like “What the fuck are you on about brai- oooooh fuck you’re right.”

-Naughty Dog, layered her trauma in a way that we might not have noticed because depending on difficulty, it’s about 15 plus hours in between these two scenes (plus personal breaks which could be days or more at at time).

Ellie’s traumatic memory of that moment doesn’t just replace details of the door, her mind pieces things into the scene that never existed. Sights and sounds, possibly the smell of blood given her journal about the boar. The blood and Joel’s screams turned to him calling out for her, being the most notable change we recognize ourselves, a manifestation of her guilt and failure to help Joel. It’s draws your attention and in the moment, entrenched in Ellie’s pain with her it’s all we can really focus on.

Look at the photo above and compare it to the one below. How many differences can you find?

-Memory is a weird, complex thing.  With the most basic knowledge of how trauma affects your memory, I’m going to dumb it waaaay down to my level and do my best to explain:

The process of storing a memory involves that primal part of your brain that recalls and collects the moments you felt fear and of danger, it’s survival and how you survive this part allows you to remember the next time “Oh hey, maybe I should not have put that metal fork in a light socket. That fucking hurt the last time I did that.” The process also involves the part of your brain that serves as a librarian of memory, storing and cataloguing details of events in bits that can be put together like a puzzle. When shit goes down your brain focuses on the “OH SHIT DANGER” more that it focuses on making the pieces of the puzzle. So later when your brain recalls the event you got pieces missing.

You don’t know what your brain will remember after a traumatic event. The memory itself will be the result of those two parts of your brain making a final product, which is almost always a deeply negative emotional memory. Encountering anything that reminds you of the event, like the sound of a boar dying or a shovel falling over onto a bucket, your brain begins triggering that flight or fight response because last time this meant danger fuck, looking at the bigger picture for context clues.

During a flashback your brain will try to fill in the gaps however it can to complete the puzzle even if it means using pieces from another puzzle that fits. Little details that might not be noticeable once the picture is completed and you are looking at the final product.

-The moment here seen here shows that her brain worked to create a memory with, some correct details from that day and some details to fill in the gaps. She gets the umbrellas, a painting, something hanging off the coat hanger, a box, a pair of boots, how there was a storage bench of sorts.

Her memory omits the white gloves, the baseball cap, the color of the umbrellas, the photo in the frame, the contents of garbage on the floor. It adds smudges on the top of the box, changes the door entirely along with the bloody signs of a struggle that never happened smeared from under the door along with Joel’s screams.

One of the biggest details that got me, is the building here. Because to me it looks like an approximation of a building we’ve seen in Part I. Either an old statehouse in Boston or a building on the UEC campus (Go Big Horns)

Her brain is filling up the scene as best as it can, taking details from other moments and replacing the fuzzy bits. The puzzle has to be completed. How many nights did she stay awake post flashback trying to fit the pieces of her memory with what she just saw in this vivid reliving of that moment. These little details show how deep, how damaging Joel’s death was.

Sometimes, with trauma and memory the details you do remember are ones you wouldn’t think you would even notice in the moment. Like a broken fuse box and the switch of a light, the way the wallpaper cracks and peels.

These are just the things replaced about the stairway, and the moments leading up to the event.  There might even be things we never get to see in the flashbacks she may have. Being in the room during Joel’s death, waiting next to Joel’s body while Dina rushes off to get Jesse might go differently in her mind than what actually happened.

What happened vs. what Ellie remembers, we’ll never fully get to know. (Not that we need to know every fine detail of her trauma.)

I did wonder briefly if she remember it right for the first time on the beach? And after watching a few scenes over and over. No, she’s remembered that moment with crystal fucking clarity since Dina found her on the chalet floor. She can’t not forget the new hole in Joel’s skull, the sickening way his eye stares at the floor, out of focus, out of light.  Her brain has formed a memory around those details, it’s where all her attention went. She might not even be able to recall the room at all beyond the spot where Joel died. Or she might remember everything. It’s hard to tell with trauma.

If you pause on Joel’s face before she fights Abby, really look at his eyes, you can see why Ellie can’t sleep why she can’t draw his eyes anymore. She can’t close her own eyes without seeing his dead ones. That’s why the memory of Joel pulls her out at the end. She can remember his eyes bright and alive again. That’s the moment of hope that she can recover, it’s going to take a lot of work given the fact that dealing with mental illness in the world requires adaptation to what is available. It’s still possible for her to live and we see that she understands that as she leaves the guitar behind and heads off the farm to an unknown.

The depth of nuance to Ellie’s trauma has continued to surprise the more that’s uncovered. Naughty Dog and Ashley worked extremely hard to portray PTSD and dealing with it going untreated as accurately as possible and I’d say they’ve put the effort in. Because the details that say the most are the ones that often go unnoticed.

[love-fireflysong]

yIt's done. It took me waaaay to long to write this piece out but between June and my computer apparently deciding to kick me in the teeth this month, the fact I made it to 5 full squares completed anyways I will gladly take as a victory! And, just fyi, this WILL be the last piece for this month. I know that there is still another four days left of June, but I am sick and tired of dealing with my keyboard so this is the last fic you're gonna see from me until I get a new laptop hopefully fairly soon. (Unless I decide that I'm desperate enough to try and write things out on my tablet of course...)

Anyways, the First Date trope was specifically requested by @jesus-hotsauce-christmas-cake when I let her know that the one she did guess (road trip) was going to be a second chapter of a twoshot. Which you still might get because I'm very likely going to be sharing the short little summary blurbs I had written down for each trope so people can very easily bully me into writing them anyways if people still wanted to read them. And even though it would be like months and months late, still post them under this bingo board because I can and I had a cool idea for what I was doing with the colours and layout before life decided to say 'NO!' in a very firm voice. (Unless of course the three lovely ladies that came up with this idea in the first place say no obviously)

Rambling over though now I promise. Chocolate Covered Confessions can be read over and AO3 of course, with the full fic also under the readmore as well.

Chocolate Covered Confessions

Trope: First Date Fandom: Until Dawn Characters: Ashley Brown, Chris Hartley Words: 8214 Rating: General (though reader beware there is some almost scandalous hand holding and a couple of scandalously public kisses. You have been warned...) Authors Notes: Oh look, more chrashley fluff. Who da thunk it? Pride month? What pride month? This is just me apparently figuring out how many different ways I can get Chris and Ash to confess their feelings. Because you only read like three of them, I still have another two waiting in the wings. Plus at least three others if you count climbing chrash lol.

Something was...weird. It wasn't something that Ashley could put her finger on just yet, but something was definitely off that was for sure. The problem of course was that she didn't even know where to start looking in the first place, because for the most part her day had been extraordinarily ordinary.

She, Chris, and Josh had planned to go and see a movie Saturday morning a few days back and then hang out the rest of the day. But seeing as they were, you know, best friends that certainly wasn't the issue. Not even close. They always made plans to do stuff like that together. And yeah, okay, so maybe Josh had 'coincidentally' texted them just before the movie started to let them know that something unavoidable had come up and he wasn't going to be able to meet up with them. And when her and Chris had brought up just waiting until a later showing when he was free, he had immediately been quick to affirm that nope, he was going to be busy the whole rest of the day actually. So the two of them could continue with their original plans and they could make it up to him another time.

While certainly suspicious, that wasn't what was wrong though. Josh had been flaking out on their plans more and more, especially when it was plans that took up an entire day. Ashley Brown wasn't stupid. No siree Bob she was not! She knew exactly what Josh was trying to do by leaving her to spend the day with Chris. Alone . And she appreciated it (she really did!), but if Chris was going to make a move then he would have done it ages and ages ago, because she sure as hell wasn't going to do it! Ashley Brown wasn't stupid, but she also wasn't exactly what you would call brave either.

Not that Chris had seemed to notice what Josh was pulling though, he had just sighed and rolled his eyes with a grumbled "fucking typical", and then the two of them had entered the theater to watch the movie. And as per their usual shtick when Josh wasn't there with them, Chris paid for the tickets while she paid for the food and drinks. Or, at least, that was how it normally went. Instead, when she had decided to take a run to the bathroom while he held their spot in the long concession line, she had come back to Chris waiting for her with the pop and popcorn already in hand. After brushing off her flustered apologies, he had explained that shortly after she had left, another cashier had popped on till so the line had gone down in half the time either had expected. And it seemed like a dick move to just wait there until she came back so he had just decided to get the food instead.

She still felt a little guilty about it honestly, even after swearing that she would get both the tickets and food next time.

And, to be completely fair to Josh, he hadn't exactly been missing out on a lot by skipping out on the movie. It wasn't a horror flick (he would never even think of skipping out on that after all) so it wasn't one that he would feel the need to make the two of them watch again with him. Which was more than fine honestly, because if she was to describe the movie in a single word, well, that word would definitely have been 'dreadful'. If she was given a few more words, then she would have easily elaborated and stated that it was 'a boring, plot-hole driven mess, with only extremely over-the-top action scenes and explosions every five minutes to carry any semblance of the extremely loosely written plot'. In other words, she had lost interest in the movie barely half an hour in, and considering that Chris had started scrolling through his phone bored, she wasn't alone in this boat either.

Still, Ashley had resolved herself to sit through this over-budgeted explosion fest if only because movie tickets were horribly expensive. Not to mention the fact that Chris had shelled out money for both the movie and the food. But then he had turned to her, asked if she was as bored to tears as he was, and once he got that confirmation, asked if she wanted to just ditch the movie entirely. And she did—she really, really did—but didn't want Chris to waste the money he had spent more. And then yet another explosion...exploded on screen, and she realized that she was wasting precious hours of her life that could be used to do something more fun and less mind-numbingly boring.

Like watching paint dry. That at least had a semi-cohesive plot.

And so the two of them had walked out, continuing to share the extra buttered popcorn between them (the movie may have been awful, but the popcorn certainly wasn't) as they left the movie theater behind and wandered into the nearby mall. That wasn't the strange thing either. The mall and subsequent window shopping had absolutely been part of their day plans after, even if those had been unexpectedly pushed forward a couple of hours.

Admittedly the art show that the mall was running in one of the empty storefronts was unexpected, but  it had been simply a nice surprise and a great way to kill time. So after paying the $2 entrance fee, the two of them had continued to share the popcorn as they looked at some of the paintings and sculptures that had been on display, giggling childishly at most of them. And okay, so one of the curators had been glaring at them( or rather, at their greasy, butter-covered fingers) the whole time, but that had just been a little rude and insulting. Not strange. And that had stopped almost the moment they had run out of popcorn, Ashley nudging him in the stomach with her elbow as she licked her fingers clean, and the two of them laughing under their breaths at the curator who had looked exceptionally much more at ease once Chris had crumpled the empty bag into a ball.

The rest of their day in the mall had just been spent following the rest of their day's plan, wandering from shop to shop and browsing at all the things that caught their eyes, and then taking a break after a few hours to have a late lunch in the food court. The two of them checked out another couple of stores, these ones to try and get some ideas for Josh's birthday in another month, before moving onto the small arcade on the top floor. As part of their deal and agreement since it had just been Josh and Chris (Ashey not joining the duo until five years later), Chris bought the tokens needed while she scouted out the various games for an empty console and claimed it until he could join her in another couple of minutes.

They spent the next hour in there, trying to beat each other or work together depending on the game in question. They almost never played a game twice before moving onto the next one, in hopes to both try as many games as possible before their self imposed hour ended and to see if they could beat their previous high scores or make it onto the leaderboard in only a single try. But as the hour came to a close, they both made their way over to their final game: one of the racing simulators scattered around the arcade. And as had been done for ten years now, played to determine which of them would be paying for the tokens next time they came.

And once the race ended, with Ashley winning by photo finish for the third time in a row (and celebrating her winning streak by maturely sticking out her tongue and doing an awkward little shimmy dance in the seat while Chris jokingly sulked and pouted), they had finally left the mall altogether and got into Chris's truck. There, he had surprised Ashley with the novel she had been eyeing in the bookstore (or at least, eyeing closer than all the rest she had picked up) and that he had somehow been able to buy without her noticing. And that certainly hadn't been weird, because it had been so exceptionally sweet of him, sweet enough that Ashley had so badly wished that she could thank him properly. But as mentioned before, Ashley Brown was a coward pure and simple, so she had just clutched the book to her chest and beamed at Chris in heartfelt thanks instead.

He may have said something in reply, but Ashley had already settled into the passenger seat and opened to the first page of the book, so she was already long gone. A fact that Chris had anticipated, if the light chuckle he had let out before starting the truck meant anything. And no, Ashley reading a book while Chris drove them to their usual game store across town was not the strange thing either. If Chris hadn't wanted her to read on the drive over and talk to him, then he never would have given her the book now of all times. He would have waited until he had dropped her off home, or not even bought the book in the first place. After over a half a decade of friendship, if anyone knew what would happen after giving Ashley Brown a new book, it was Chris Hartley.

The drive over is done quicker then she had expected, and even then Chris still hadn't let her know that they had arrived until she had finished her chapter. Yes he had certainly teased her about it the entire time, joking about how she would never find someone as understanding of her reading habits then him (he didn't know how right he was, that she didn't want to find anyone else), but the fact that he had just continued to let the music play in the truck and distracted himself on his phone was so unbearably sweet that she decided to let it lie.

The fact that Ashley and Chris hung around in the game shop comparing dice and looking at new books while wincing over the prices for nearly two hours wasn't what was off either. Hell, if anything the fact that they only spent a couple of hours there before leaving was weird! Her, Chris, and Josh could easily spend almost half a day in there flipping through comics and rolling dice to test them out, only leaving because a tired employee was forced to ask them to leave for making too much noise and taking up a table when they weren't playing anything, especially when there was a group that had been waiting for a table for close to an hour now.

Which brought Ashley to where she was right now, sitting at a sticky plastic table under the shade of a cheap umbrella while Chris had run off to get them some ice cream before dropping her off at home. Her new book was open in front of her, the pages crisp white even in the umbrella's shade, but her mind wasn't on the book anymore. A random line had a character mentioning that something had been feeling off all day ever since they woke up ('like everything had been moved three centimeters to the left, so while it all looked normal, nothing felt right anymore'), and Ashley had also realized that hey, wait a second, her day was also feeling just a little wonky too! But no matter how hard she thought about it, she couldn't put her finger on exactly what it was. Today had just been a normal day hanging out with Chris after all. They went to see (and bailed) a movie, spent hours hanging out in the mall and at the game store, and now they were each going back home. Nothing unusual had happened, so why did it feel like something hugely monumental had been going on all day?

"Oi. Earth to Ash, you okay in there?"

A light flick to the center of Ashley's forehead has her blink in surprise, and she finds herself back into the present once again. Chris is standing next to her, carefully balancing the two cones in his right hand and his left ready to flick again if needed, and a bemused smile on his face.

"Oh, uh, sorry Chris. Got a little too into the book I think." She closes the book, not wanting to get melting ice cream all over its crisp white pages (and she really hasn't absorbed a single word for nearly ten minutes now), but Chris doesn't hand her the cone just yet.

"Yeah, I'm not buying that," Chris says as he snorts in disbelief. "I know your 'praise be to books' look, and that was not it. That was your 'head full, too many thoughts' look."

"Excuse me? What? I do not have a reading look! Or a thinking look for that matter!"

"Oh you do. You really, really do. Trust me. You may have been staring at that book but there was no way that you were reading, I would bet my own ice cream here on it." Chris brandishes his double chocolate cone at her, then seems to reconsider and switches to show off her own dipped soft serve that he still has yet to actually let her eat. "Actually, you know what? I would eat your dipped monstrosity if I'm wrong."

Ashley sighs, but she can't keep the smile from her face. "It's not that bad this time, oh my god. It's chocolate ice cream dipped in blueberry syrup. This is actually a normal combination for people who go out of their way to order more exciting cones then two scoops of chocolate." She leans forward and places her elbows on the table to support her head in her hands. "But I wanna see you do it anyway, so tell me exactly why you're so convinced that I wasn't reading."

Chris opens his mouth, but immediately closes it a second later, as though he didn't realize exactly what he had signed himself up for here until now. Ashley of course takes it as a sign of victory. "I knew it. So let's see this Chris, I wanna see you eat something that isn't—"

"When you read you get, like, super attentive." Chris's face is pink, and not looking at her but at the book on the table as he bashfully continues. "You become so drawn in to whatever you're reading that you ignore everything going on around you, because all of your attention is now on that book. Pretty sure a bomb could go off right next to you and you wouldn't even notice sometimes. And it's always so easy to tell what's happening in the book when you're reading too, cause your face is always so expressive. Like your eyes get big when something exciting or surprising happens, and when you're really enjoying whatever it is you're reading, you start giggling like a loon."

Ashley is too stunned and, quite frankly, her heart is beating too fast for her to even think of a proper response to that . She manages to squeak out a quiet little "oh, um" but Chris doesn't notice. Not when he's still babbling and not looking at her at all.

"But when you get deep in thought, you're not like that at all. All of your attention goes inward, and everything around you disappears cause all the important stuff is going on inside your head right now. Your mouth falls open just a little, sort of like you're gaping at all the information in front of you. And-and sometimes you'll mouth out what's going on inside your head as you try to fit the pieces of everything together so it's neat and tidy like a puzzle. And even though you have the, like, blankest stare imaginable, it's not empty at all if that makes any sense. Cause your eyes narrow and your forehead scrunches just the tiniest amount so you have a small little wrinkle form like right here—" with his unoccupied hand Chris points at the bridge of his nose right between his eyes "—and it's weirdly, insanely cute? But when you finally figure out the puzzle in your head, your face lights up like a kid on christmas morning and...and..." He lets his words trail off and stops awkwardly there, as though finally realizing exactly what he's been saying this entire time.

His face is almost beet red now, and Ashley is pretty sure hers is too. "Oh, uh, wow. I-I didn't realize you paid any attention to me when I was like that..."

Somehow his face only gets redder, and though he mumbles the words under his breath, Ashley can still make them out. "I'm always paying attention to you."

But not close enough attention it seems, she thinks sadly. If you did then you would have noticed something way more obvious than that. But she doesn't want to embarrass him anymore than he already is (then she already is), and she isn't sure what else she could possibly say that wouldn't be her blurting out that she likes him, so instead she pretends that she hadn't heard a single thing and wordlessly accepts the ice cream that he hands to her, accepting her defeat as she takes a small bite of the blueberry covered chocolate soft serve.

...The blueberry covered chocolate soft serve that he had bought for her. Or, you know, the ice cream he had paid for himself. Just like he had paid for everything today. Kind of like it was almost a, uh, date. Like he had taken her on a date.

Oh .

"Oh boy, let me guess: I was right and your ice cream really is a crime against taste buds?"

Ashley comes crashing back down to reality to see Chris, his face still a little red but the playful smile back on his face as he teased her. And yet, that only makes it worse as she can't help but feel the usual gymnastics routine the butterflies in her stomach perform at that particular smile, only they're a thousand times worse now that's she's realized exactly why today had felt so strange. And she can't help thinking how much everyone else would classify what was just a day hanging out with her best friend as a date. And how much she really, really wished it was one.

"Nope," she unfortunately squeaks out, and clears her throat so she can continue in a more normal tone of voice. "Nope, sorry to disappoint Chris, but the ice cream tastes fine." She takes another bite for proof (and to her credit she's not lying, it tastes more than fine). "Just, uh, realized something funny that's all." And the moment the words leave her mouth she realizes just how badly she's screwed everything up, because there is no way in any world that Chris Hartley is just going to let that comment lie.

"Funny? Oho, well now I'm interested. You mind sharing your glorious epiphany with the rest of the class Miss Brown?"

Taking another small taste of her ice cream, Ashley averts her gaze as she gives what she is kicking herself for is obviously an extremely forced laugh. "Did I say funny? I meant boring, just super boring actually."

"Well now I just want to hear it more."

"No, you don't. Trust me, you really, really don't."

Chris's brows furrow in concern. "Ash? You okay?"

She isn't, of course she isn't. She's now realized exactly what a date with Chris would be like, and it would be exactly like this. With them going to all the same place and doing the same things but she's allowed to hold his hand and kiss him when he does stupid sweet things like buying her the book she's been eyeing and talking about all day. She's never wanted something to be so true so badly in her life. And it's likely this thought in her mind that causes her to blurt out "A date." before she even realizes what she's said.

That only makes the confusion on Chris's face go deeper, which is appropriate considering she's sinking deeper and deeper into her chair in a futile effort to hide or escape as well. "What? Are you saying that you just remember what date it is today? Or that you had something you were supposed to do today instead? I'm not really following you right now Ash..."

This is perfect. It's the perfect excuse, she could laugh and say that she totally forgot what day it was and that she had an essay due pretty soon, or that she was supposed to babysit for a neighbour tonight. Anything really, the sky was quite literally the limit. And instead she just bit her lip and stared at the ice cream melting in her hand before weakly admitting "No, a, uh, date. As in, the romantic kind. I realized that today probably looks like a date to anyone else. Funny, huh?"

She's not sure how Chris would react to that. Maybe a startled laugh, and hand wave as he brushes her off. A scoff as he assures her that this definitely isn't a date, cause they're just friends and that's all they'll ever be. Whatever the reaction she expected, it was certainly not the fumbling for his ice cream as he nearly drops it in his shock, and how absolutely flustered he sounds as he trips over his own tongue. "W-what? I-I-I, uh—I mean, th-this obviously isn't—Who would even—? Wh-what would even give you the idea that we could um, possibly be on a date?"

Ashley shrugs weakly. "Isn't it obvious Chris?" She ignores his even more flustered babbling that no, he absolutely did not see what was so obvious as she continued on, still too nervous to look him in the eyes. "You've kind of paid for everything today."

"I wha—? I mean, no I haven't!"

"You kind of have, Chris. The theater?"

"You know I always pay for the tickets, and it would have just been really rude to make the line even longer!"

"The art show?"

"It was just a couple of toonies! And you saw the face of the worker there, they would have kicked us right out if they'd had to break a twenty. It was just easier."

"Lunch?"

"They-they'd had a special on for a two-person meal at that stall in the food court, and they wouldn't let each of us pay half..." he neglected to point out that Ashley could have easily paid for their lunch, and probably should have, but before she had been able to offer he'd already been swiping his debit card.

"The arcade?"

"Okay, that was my turn to buy the tokens, you know that. That one doesn't even count."

Ashley lifted her eyes from the ice cream to the book that sat menacingly and innocently all at one at the center of the table, it's pristine cover mocking her. "The book?"

"T-that was just a gift! You seemed really into it at the store and friends buy each other gifts all the time—"

There was no describing how soft and nervous her voice got as she asked the question that would put the final nail in the coffin. "The ice cream?"

"I, uh, it was just—um..." Chris let out a breath in a weak chuckle. "Shit, I guess I kind of did, huh?"

Ashley doesn't say anything, and neither does Chris, as the table goes silent. She's bracing herself  for when Chris inevitably shoots her down and confirms that it doesn't matter. That the two of them will never be anything more then friends and that she never should have hoped for anything more and by revealing this she's ruined their friendship for good—

"Hey, uh, Ash?" He sounds so nervous that it immediately takes Ashley out of her anxiety driven thoughts of doom and gloom, but she can't do anything more than just shakily nod to let him continue. "It's, uh, probably like a really, really, really stupid question but—" he takes a nervous breath "—did you want this to be a date?"

Her head immediately shoots up as she stares at him with wide eyes, her breath caught somewhere in her throat where her heart is currently lodged. She frantically rakes her eyes over Chris's face looking for any hint that he's mocking her, or playing some cruel joke on her and her feelings, but all she sees is just nervousness all over a pale, shaking face with what she thinks ( prays ) is a glimmer of undisguised hope. But it's still too much uncertainty, and she's too scared to risk it all on a mere glimmer that she is likely only imagining because she wants it so badly to be real, so she throws the question back at him instead.

"...would you have been opposed if this was actually a date?"

"Nuh uh, I asked you first."

Ashley realizes that he's just as scared at what the answer might be as she is. She wants to tell him, has wanted to tell him for years and years and years. And maybe this is the chance she's been waiting for her whole life. The two of them sitting at a sticky plastic table under the early evening sun, long forgotten ice cream melting in their hands, and she can finally tell him that she's had such a huge crush on him since she was twelve.

"Yeah." The word is less choked out than it is released. Like it's a breath of fresh air and she feels simultaneously lighter and heavier for it. "I-I think I would have liked that. I would have liked that alot."

Chris snaps his gaze up to meet hers, and the glimmer of hope that she had seen earlier has now nearly taken over his face at the disbelieving smile that's threatening to crack his face in two. "Really? I-I mean, uh, I would have been alright with the idea too. More than alright actually."

She can feel her own smile start to nervously match his, and then the first giggle breaks out. His own ecstatic laughter quickly follows her own until the two of them are both giddily laughing at the table, but too embarrassed and bashful to even look at each other now. The giggling abruptly cuts off when Chris lets out a yelp of surprise when he realizes how much of his ice cream has melted onto his hand and Ashley joins him in trying to finish off their ice cream before it's melted entirely. But there's definitely a change in the atmosphere around them now. The contentness and laid back ease that always formed between them whenever they hung out was still there, but there is a charge that hadn't been there before either. An excited anticipation that only surges higher and higher whenever Ashley shyly glances in Chris's direction to find he's looking at her with the same disbelieving smile beaming on his face.

They never say anything more about it as they both finish off the ice cream, but Ashley knows. With that little agreement, the entire day had changed. This wasn't just them hanging out as friends anymore, this was an actual, factual date now, pure and simple. So when Chris hands her a couple of extra napkins to clean herself off, she may have let her fingers brush against his for just a moment. The resulting blush and dumbstruck smile on his face when he cautiously took his hand back so he could clean up the rest of the mess on the table was oh so worth it. And when he returned from his trip to the garbage can and held out his hand as an offer to help her up from the chair, she accepted it readily.

Once she's back on her feet, the two of them drop their eyes to stare at their still clasped hands, realizing that they could easily hold hands the entire short walk back to Chris's truck if they wanted. And she does want that—horribly in fact—but it seems it's still a little too early for either of them to make that teeny tiny but monumental jump to hand holding so they let go awkwardly and slowly, letting their fingers linger against the others before letting go completely. As though giving themselves a taste of what may yet actually come to pass in the (hopefully) very near future.

The short walk back to the truck is filled with both anticipation and dread alike, but unusually silent. Ashley knows it's because she's now a buzzing ball of nervous energy, terrified that saying anything at all will shatter this dream that's apparently coming true before her eyes, but Chris is different. He looks more like he's trying to work up the courage to say or ask something, and is spending all his energy on that alone. So when he reaches out to open up the passenger side door for her, Ashley can feel her heart pick up speed when he stops with his hand on the door handle and looks at her nervously. His mouth opens and shuts a couple of times as he tries to work up the courage to say whatever it is he wants to say, and all she can do is stare at him expectantly as she struggles to hold back an excited smile.

"Hey, Ash, ca—nevermind. It's, it's stupid. Don't worry about it." A second later, he has the door opened for her and the moment she can't see his face, she lets her smile fall crestfallen. But only for a second before a polite one replaces it as thanks when he closes the door for her and continues to his side of the truck. It's fine, she supposes as she buckles herself in, while the two of them have been hanging out all day, it's only been an actual date now for barely ten minutes. And once he drops her off home in just another few short minutes it's going to be over. The fact that she even managed to get this far is franky mind blowing, so expecting anything more from her dreams would just be extremely selfish. She can't have everything she wants all at once, no matter how long she's been waiting for it.

The drive back to her place is also quiet, filled with only the droning of the radio playing in the background. Ashley's returned back to her book, but she knows that Chris knows that she's not absorbing a single word, hasn't turned a single page even. She keeps glancing at him out of the corner of her eye as he nervously taps at the steering wheel, and then tightening his grasp when it looks like he's going to say something, only to return to the nervous tapping when he inevitably backs out at the last second and returns to the frantic pep talk he's likely giving himself. The air that fills the vehicle is heavy and thick with anticipation and it's taking almost everything in Ashley to not start shaking the question out of Chris at every red light they stop at.

But, eventually, they pull up in front of her place and Chris stops the truck. There's a moment where the two of them just sit there, not wanting to leave because leaving means the end, and Ashley schools her face into a cheery smile in an effort to hide as much of the disappointment as she can when she turns to face him and bid him farewell, only to have it fall to confusion when he starts fumbling at his own seatbelt.

"Chris? What are you doing?"

He struggles further at it, frustrated that the buckle's apparently decided that now is the perfect time for it to stick once again. "Trying to get this fucking thing off."

"Yeah, I figured that much. But why are you trying to take it off, you're just gonna leave right away again anyway."

He slows his fumbling as cheeks start darkening in embarrassment. "I, uh, I just thought that was something you were supposed to do after a date, walk them to their door to stay goodnight. I mean, at least I think this is a date now? And, and only if you're okay with it! I can stay in here instead if you don't want me to. I was just hoping..."

The once forced cheery smile on her face is certainly not being forced any longer, if anything she's trying not to show how much the idea of Chris walking her to her door thrills her. "N-no!" Well, so much for trying not to show how desperately she wants that. The startled look he gives her at the unexpected outburst had her trying to control her voice into something less desperate, but considering she doesn't think she's ever going tame the frantic butterflies that have been flapping around non-stop in her stomach ever since the ice cream realization, she's probably doing a terrible job of it. "I-I mean if you want to, it's completely up to you after all..."

"Cool. Cool cool cool. Just, just give me a second." He continues to struggle with his seatbelt buckle, letting out more and more agitated curses escape the longer the thing continues to stick, and Ashley is getting the feeling that if he was able, Chris would have ripped the entire thing straight out of the seat by now. Broken safety laws and ensuing repair costs be damned. The moment he finally manages to unstick the traitorous buckle it's with a cry of victory and relief so exuberant that Ashley finds herself laughing in disbelief and awe that he had wanted to walk her the short ten or so feet to her front door that badly. Thankfully, for both of them, her seatbelt unclicks easily and much more quickly in comparison, only taking another couple of seconds to grab her bag from the footwell and joining him.

The far too short walk up to her door is over before either of them realize it. One second the two of them had been standing awkwardly and nervously by the truck as she fought the urge to reach out and grab his hand, and the next they're standing just as awkwardly and nervously (if not moreso) in front of the front door. Both of them waiting for the other to say or do something to break the tension, but cleanly aware that doing so would signal the very final end of the day, and the date. In fact, just knowing that Chris doesn't want this to end just as badly as her, is what gives her the courage to look at him with a surprisingly heartfelt and soft smile.

"Today was fun."

Chris lifts his eyes from where they had been staring at the dried leaves on the doorstep to match her smile. "Yeah. It was."

"And thanks. For the movie, and everything else." Ashley raises her hand to give the new and still shiny paperback a small wave. "And, you know, the book too. Of course."

"Yeah, it was no problem. Anytime." There's something with how he says the last bit—not really emphasizing it but making it clear all the same that he means 'anytime'—that causes her face to flush giddily as she pulls her lower lip in between her teeth in a weak effort to fight back against the ecstatic smile that forms anyway. And when she sees his eyes lower just a smidge to follow the motion and the way his shoulders stiffen in reaction, Ashley very quickly also finds she's trying (much more successfully) to hold herself  back from just saying 'to hell with it' and throwing her arms around Chris so she can finally kiss him silly and until they're both breathless. But considering that she's too much of a coward to initiate something as innocent as hand holding apparently, there is absolutely no way that something as...as scandalous as kissing him on her doorstep is ever going to happen. Clearly.

And yet, she gives Chris another few seconds to try and work past that blockade in his throat, but when he still can't muster a single word, she decides to just put the both of them out of their misery. Or further into it. It's probably just the same thing really. "I guess I'll see you next time. I'll talk to you later, okay?" She turns away and puts her hand on the doorknob, and tucks the book under her arm so she can dig into her bag for keys, but is stopped when Chris's hand abruptly snakes out and wraps itself firmly around her wrist before she can reach into the bag. And it works—boy does it ever —turning back to him and the hand wrapped around her wrist as excitement just starts to bubble up inside of her.

A second later though, his brain has apparently caught up with the movement he clearly hadn't intended to make, because his face goes beet-red and he's dropped her hand so he can shove both into the pockets of his jeans. He averts his eyes so he's back to staring at the loose gravel and dried leaves under their feet.

"Oh, uh, sorry about that. I didn't mean to..."

"It's fine, Chris." Ashley tries to smile softly at him in reassurance, but it's considering she's gripping the doorknob in an almost vice-like grip in anticipation, it's likely far more eager than she would like. "What is it?"

Somehow, his face goes even redder and he blurts out the question so fast that it may as well have been one word. "CanIkissyou?!"

Immediately, Ashley's gaping at him wide-eyed and her mouth open in shock as her heart's beating so fast that she's pretty sure it's ready to burst out of her chest at any moment. "Wha—"

"I-I mean goodnight. Can I kiss you goodnight? That's what people are supposed to do on dates, right? A-a-a-and I think we agreed that this is a date now, or at least I really, really hope we did. Cause I've wanted to go on a date with you for the longest time and-and-and I didn't want Saundra or-or-or any of your neighbours to see cause I know that would just really embarrass you and me but I've been trying to ask you for the past thirty minutes now cause I've wanted to kiss you since forever but I was scared about how you would react cause I really, really, really like you Ash and I just wanna to kiss you so fucking bad right now you have no idea and—"

Ashley would like to believe that she's brave enough to throw her arms around Chris and drag him down into that searing kiss she's been dreaming about forever and ever, but she doesn't. Even with a confession that is everything she's ever wanted to hear and more. That's not to say that she doesn't want to do it—god does she want to do it—but she's so frozen in place from shock that she physically can't. So instead she just continues to gape at him as he (adorably) rambles on and on, and giggles out an elated little "okay".

His nervous rambling stops dead in its tracks, and he finally looks back up at her, nervous relief evident all over his face. "Really? I mean, are you sure? I'd understand if you didn't want to—"

" Chris ."

That immediately shifts the relief to a different kind of nervousness entirely, one of excited disbelief, but even then neither move to actually initiate this promised kiss for several seconds. Instead just staring at each other waiting for the other to be the first to move, Chris with his hands still in his jeans pockets and Ashley glued to the doorknob with her other hand frozen as it hovers over her bag. Finally, Chris is the first to slowly bend down to meet her awkwardly half turned body, and she unsteadily tries to rock herself onto the tips of her toes without losing her balance completely and falling over. And still, they both pause about an inch away from each other's faces, though whether to give the other an out if needed or just to work through the logistics of how to do this exactly without their foreheads or noses smashing into each other or Chris's glasses getting in the way is anyone's guess.

But finally, mainly due to the fact that Ashley can't lean forward anymore without falling completely on her face, Chris closes that final bit of distance and kisses her. It's a nervous brush of the lips really—a quick peck at best —but they jolt back from each other so quickly that the single action may as well have activated some hidden magnetic repel function that neither had been aware of until this moment. Both of them are staring at each other wide-eyed and breathless as the magnitude of what they had both finally managed to accomplish hit them. The kinda-sort confession and the almost hand holding meant absolutely nothing in comparison to this. Those she could have (and would most likely have) brushed off as her reading too much into innocent statements and gestures when she thought over everything that had happened today in the safety of her room later tonight. But this? This was physical proof .

Looking back, Ashley's not sure which of them moved first. One second they had been staring at each other in disbelief, stuck in the same awkward bent and leaning stature from before, and the next it's as if the magnetic attraction between them reverses its flow entirely. Chris is cupping her cheek with one hand as he kisses her in the way she always dreamed he would, his other hand slowly skating across the back of her neck so he can pull her up closer to him. The book that had once been clutched protectively under her arm was completely forgotten about—fallen to the ground with a sharp crunch as it crushed the dried leaves beneath their feet—as her arms wrapped possessively around his shoulders as she props herself as high as the tips her toes will allow her. She can still taste a hint of the chocolate from earlier on his lips, and the small part of her that isn't being blown away by all of this is wondering if he can taste the blueberry and chocolate on hers as well.

She's not sure how long the two of them stood there on her doorstep, kissing for all the world to see, but she does know that they still separate much, much too soon for her liking. Not that they fully separate of course. She may be back on the soles of her feet, but neither of them have removed themselves from the embrace itself. And with the way that Chris is lightly brushing his thumb over her cheekbone as he just stares at her with the same stupidly giddy grin she's got, Ashley would be perfectly fine if they could just stay standing like this forever.

"So..." she starts, and stops to take a moment to giggle when Chris bumps his nose into hers. "I think that was a perfectly acceptable first date if you ask me."

Chris doesn't let go of her when he leans back to consider her, the comically raised eyebrows in shock doing nothing to take away from the absolutely thrilled beam of his smile. " First date? Why Miss Brown, are you perhaps asking me out for a second one already?"

"I mean, if it's not too presumptuous of me, I suppose I am. I-if you're not opposed to it of course." She can't help the way her nervousness starts to bleed through with that last sentence, already panicking that she's somehow completely misread everything that's just happened and that maybe that kiss didn't mean as much to him as it did to her after all.

His next words completely derail those fears entirely. "Of course I'm not, I would love nothing more than to go on a second date with you. Followed by a third and fourth and even a fifth if you have the time for it."

"I mean, I'm a pretty busy girl but I think I can open up as many days in my schedule as it takes if I need to."

Before she knows it, the two of them are leaning in for another kiss when the sound of pot being dropped in the nearby kitchen through the open window jarringly brings them back to reality and the two of them let go of each other red faced and embarrassed. Oh no, how much of this had her mother heard? Or worse, saw? She wants to leave the doorstep (which is rapidly becoming her favourite place in the whole entire world) even less now, but the longer she takes the worse the excited interrogation from Saundra will be so she starts digging back into her bag to try and find her keys once again.

"I'll text you later, okay? And, maybe, we can talk some more about that second date...?"

The reply from Chris is flustered but eager. "Yeah, totally. I-I wouldn't miss it for the world."

"Cool. And um, the next one's one me. The date that is. It's only fair after all."

"Yeah, right. Only fair. Totally. And, uh, your book..."

She finally finds her keys from where they had sunk to the bottom of her bag, and looks up at him and the paperback book that had fallen during their, uh, intimate embrace. "Oh! Uh, right. Thanks." She could easily leave it at that, but the last few minutes have made her bold so when she reaches out to take the book back from him, Ashley curls her fingers over his and bounces onto the balls of her feet so she can give him one last kiss on his cheek—almost the corner of his mouth really—before finally stepping back with the book and keys in her hand. "I mean it. Thanks . For everything."

"Yeah. No problem. It was my pleasure."

She lets herself have one last glimpse of the stupefied grin on his face just as he turns to walk just a little unsteadily down the path back to his truck. The only sounds being the leaves crushing underfoot and the jangle of metal as she sticks her keys into the door to finally unlock it. A sound that it quickly interrupted by not only the click of the door unlocking, but a muffled shout.

Alarmed, she turns quickly expecting to see Chris having accidentally shut his coat into the door as he is sometimes known to do when the weather gets colder, but instead watches in elated shock as he continues to keep energetically flapping his arms and fist pumping into the air and screaming what she can vaguely make out as 'yesyesyesyesYESYESYES' over and over again.

Suddenly it hits her. Despite the shy confession over ice cream, and then the much more rushed and rambled one only minutes ago, and followed by the kiss(es) that are still sending her heart into rapid fire, Ashley still hadn't believed what all the evidence had been saying. Chris liked her. He really, really liked her. Possibly as much as she liked him even! This wasn't just a one-off event that would now make things awkward between them for the rest of their lives. This was happening. They'd just had a first(!!!!) date and after Chris had kissed her goodbye, she had asked him out for a second one.

And he had accepted .

Ashley fumbled with the door and the moment she was in the house, slammed the door behind her, not even bothering to lock it. She let her bag fall from her shoulder to the floor with a soft thump and slowly slid down the door until she was sitting against it with her eyes wide and breathless. She ignored the surprised clatter coming from the kitchen as Saundra immediately dropped whatever it was she had been doing in and held up the book so she could stare at the once innocuous cover in amazement.

He had bought her this book and the ice cream because he liked her and he had gladly and excitedly accepted to go out on another date with her. And even more if he had been serious about that third date and beyond line.

And not that either would ever know it, Ashley mirrored Chris at that exact moment by placing her head into her hands and screaming as the built up joy and bliss finally exploded out of her.

[ashandant3]

Not just another “Unicorn Hunter”

This has been bothering me for quite some time, and now it’s time to talk about it.

I am a happily married bisexual woman, and my husband and I have been together for 10 years (never a night apart) and I have always wanted a female partner to go through life with. Not a sex toy, not a maid or a babysitter, a partner, a love, a hand to hold when my husband is at work and I have a moment of weakness and in turn, I want someone I can hold when she needs me, someone that can count on me to listen when no one else will or defend her against a freak mountain lion attack.

For some reason, this is apparently a bad thing, and I(we) should not be “looking for a third” according to so much of what I have read written by so many offended bisexual women out there. 

Personally, I would think that it would depend on your definition of “a third”. 

So, from what I gather, because I am a bisexual woman in a happy relationship with a man who is looking for a woman to fall in love with, I should be ashamed of myself, that a polyamorous relationship should be open and dreaming of a tight-knit closed triad relationship is what exactly?...disrespectful to the ideals of polyamory in general?

If that is so, what should I do, exclude myself from having this idea, because polyfidelity isn’t supposed to exist? 

I am not asking that a girl has to sleep with my husband or she can’t be with me, no doubt, that would be a shitty thing to do to someone. I am looking for someone who would consider trying a relationship based on equality, trust and a family dynamic where all are equal. 

Sure, I understand the intimidation factor - “Oh, they have been together for 10 years, there’s no waaaay I’m going in there”  

Of course it is a scary situation, but so are all relationships when you first begin. 

To so many out there, this makes me a bad person, apparently. So how does a successful polyfidelity/poly-triad relationships start? Do 3 random people crash carts at Walmart and instantly get googly-eyed? No, they find each other because they are looking for that bond to begin with. 

My husband has always been ok with the idea, he has never told me it has to be one way or no way, and if the girl of my dreams didn’t want to try, she would never be here in the first place. 

I see so many on tumblr saying dating sites are not for “unicorn hunters” that it ruins them for bisexual women. I definitely understand this , most couples are on there looking for a sex toy, looking for that “threesome” milestone in their relationship, so they typically lie, saying they are a bisexual woman looking for a woman, and don’t let on that they have a husband until later. 

I see it all the time on a site I frequent, and it pisses me off too. All it does is create a stereotype that not all of us fit in to. And we don’t all deserve to be put in that (pun intended) group. 

I am on a dating site, AND up front about my husband in the first sentence, and do not hound or message anyone.... at all. I put our info, photos, tastes and our goals on there, and nothing else.

A threesome is easier to come by than most think, this doesn’t mean that every couple is just looking for a night or two of physical bliss.

I want a friend at first, because without that, why bother. My husband is my best friend, if he wasn’t, and it was just sexual or financial or anything else, then, like most people we know, we might not have made it this long. 

I understand, fidelity is not for everyone, and I am fine with that, as they say, “whatever floats your boat” ...though, I’ll just stick to the shore, because, truth is, I can’t swim.

As far as my female partner, I long for that friendship as well, after all, if we have nothing in common, then the bond will probably crumble. After time goes on, maybe more will happen, I can imagine that first exciting kiss that I have longed to feel for many years, and if she falls for my husband as well, and is truly looking for polyfidelity, then we might have a shot at something beautiful, something special. 

I feel if it is at all possible, she will come my way, as I am not “hunting” anyone. 

She would be a unique and amazing individual, with her own mind and choices, and neither one of us making them for her.

For now, until that day comes, I keep this dream on a shelf. I might be considered a "unicorn hunter", but this isn't about sex, or house cleaning, or any other excuse people have to put me, and my sexuality... in a box. 

We are a tad bit introverted, we’re not rich, so not looking for a sugar-baby either, we live a pretty lame life, but if you could see yourself wanting to hike in a huge woods or spending all day picking out beads to make a gemstone bracelet, then give us a shout if you want to start a conversation that might never end.

This is about having someone of the same sex to share a life with, this is about love and fidelity, and if you can’t see that, then you spent entirely too much time reading this.

[surveys-at-your-service]

Survey #467

“oh, mary, mary, ain’t this fun?  /  mary, mary, i’ve got a gun”

If the last person you kissed asked you to marry them, what would you do? Pray to god it wasn't in public and tell him it's waaaay too soon for that one. Does your favorite uncle have any children? Yeah, a son and daughter. Name all the members (first, middle and last names) from your favorite band. Ha, it's funny how once upon a time, I could do this. All I've got now is John Michael Osbourne. Have you ever heard a young child swear? Maybe? Have you ever seen someone get a piercing/tattoo?: Yes to both. Has a taste of something ever made you smile? Boy meet me at The Cheesecake Factory and see what my face does lmaooo As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up? I wanted to be a paleontologist sooo badly. I wanted to discover new dinosaurs, put a shitload of work into unearthing fossils and being so proud to see the final results... Even now as an adult, if I could handle the heat, traveling, and hardcore school, I'd still love to do that. Would you cuss the person you hate the most out to their face? No. My hatred for her is unjustified and I'd rather just not say anything to her. Have you ever spent more than two weeks in a wheelchair? No. Where do you see your closest friend in ten years? As one of the strongest people around. I imagine her with a job in medical coding, while also pursuing the hobbies of ball python breeding and writing. I'm sure she'll have loads of pets to love, too! Do you like Florence + The Machine? I've never listened to them. Did you watch the presidential debates? No. Do you ever watch Dr. Phil? No. Are you typically unattracted to people outside of your race? No; I can be attracted to any race. Have you ever ridden any animal other than a horse? No. Do you brush your hair when it’s wet? Yes. Do you eat the crusts of your bread? Yeah, I always have. Have you ever flown a kite? Yeah! At my childhood home, there was a tobacco field directly across the street, and when they weren't in season so the field was flat, Dad would help us with getting kites set up and in the air. Those are good memories. How are you for money? I don't make any money. Mom is struggling. Do you think you are more intelligent than the average person? Ha, no. Do you ever think about why we are here? Does it matter? We're here, so make the most of it. Do you like cherries? I fucking hate cherries. Name a celebrity that you admire that nobody would expect you to: Jeffree Star, probs. Can you use a yoyo? Not well, but yeah. Do you think Jenna Marbles’ videos are funny? I've actually never watched her. Do you like folk music? NOOOOOOOOO Ever had a crush on somebody of the same sex? Yes. Do you know any lesbians? Yep. Favourite member of your favourite band: I'm unfamiliar with all but Ozzy himself. And Ozzy is rad. Who’s your favourite female rapper? I don't have one. When you were younger, were you ever in a relationship with someone you now realize was way too old for you? No. Have you ever had a seizure? No. I sometimes have very, very quick spasms when I'm falling asleep that feel like what I assume a seizure would, but they barely last a second. They seriously jerk me awake, though, and are very startling. What’s the oldest man-made object you own? I dunno. Is there anything you feel like you need a break from? Not really, no. What do you hate to hear people joke about? I will actually and remorselessly deck you in the jaw if you make a joke about rape. There are other things that are absolutely forbidden joking matters for me, too. What’s the largest animal you’ve seen in the wild? Hmmm... Nothing that big, really. Maybe a whitetail deer buck? Do any of your friends or family members have strange occupations? Not to my knowledge. Have you ever been in weather so severe that you feared for your safety? Oh yeah. We've had some savage thunderstorms. What political issues are the most important to you personally? LGBTQ+ rights and just equality in general, the pro-choice movement, environmental conservation, gun control, the abolishment of poverty and homelessness... There is honestly a lot. I could keep going. Do you know anyone who doesn’t know how to cook even just simple recipes? ... Me. :x Especially now that I'm in a relationship, I really want to make a greater effort to learn. I want to prove to him I give a damn about the success of our relationship and that I'm capable of being an adult that can take part in general adult responsibilities. ^What’s stopping them from learning this basic life skill? Laziness. Forgetfulness. The fear of getting burned. What small thing makes you automatically distrust someone? I can pick up on sketchy body language from a mile away. I'm too paranoid not to. Of all the states/provinces in your country, which one is your favorite? At least from photographs I've seen, Utah appears BEAUTIFUL. That whole region of the U.S. in general. Are there any obscure foods you’ve eaten that most people have never tried? That's very unlikely. I'm far from explorative with food. When you travel to other countries, do you always try the local cuisine? I've never been outside the U.S. I would probably do that, though. I'd really want to experience the culture as thoroughly as I could. What did you do for your 19th birthday? Hell if I remember. What’s the kindest thing a total stranger has done for you? I remember as a young kid, my parents, two sisters, and I were getting food at McDonald's, and whoever was in front of us paid for our meals. Such a sweet gesture for a larger family. Have you ever used a meal kit delivery service? No, but there actually is one that I can't recall the name of that I'd like to try when I cook myself, especially getting started learning, but yeah, subscription fees. You see a lot of YouTubers get sponsored by them, if that rings a bell. Do you have any psychological issues rooted in events from your childhood? Possibly my fear of men, with my dad having been an alcoholic that had a 50/50 chance of being very angry when drunk. How organized are the files on your computer? Pretty organized, I'd say. I put stuff into folders. Would you date someone with braces? Yes? Do you ever rehearse conversations before you have them? Only always. Do you get angry at yourself or at others more often? Myself, for sure. When taking a cab, do you talk to the driver? I've never even taken a cab. Who or what greets you at the door every time you come home? Nobody, really. My cat is occasionally in the living room to see who's home, but not always because he's a lazy cat, ha ha. Do you ever chat about your favourite video games with your friends? Not really, no. I wish. Have you ever supported anyone’s Kickstarter? If so, what was it? No, bc I'm poor. Are you currently studying a language? If so, which one? No. Ever had a friend online for a long time without seeing a photo of them? Yeah. Do you carry pepper spray? No, but I want some 'cuz I'm paranoid as hell. Are you waiting on anything right now? No. Have you ever been described as shy? Is it true? Oh, always. It's absolutely true. Name something you’re a complete sucker for? Baby animals, to name one thing. Do you remember when you first went on the internet? Nope. What is one way someone could completely put you off on a first date? Arrogance/over-confidence. What about a way someone could make you like them more on a first date? Make me genuinely laugh a lot, to name one way. Are you in love right now? Not yet. I love him with our decade of history, but I need more experience as a couple before I've got the confidence to say that. Do you wanna get married anytime soon? It wouldn't be smart to. I want to be in a strong relationship for quite a few years before I want that. Have you ever kissed someone in a band? No. Has someone ever made you a Build-A-Bear? No but oh my fucking god I wish!!!!!! Did your mom or dad ever put soap in your mouth? No, but Mom would threaten to. What was the last fruit you ate? Well, I had strawberry yogurt earlier today. Who was the last person to make you laugh? Girt. He is very, very good at that. Have you ever dated someone with more piercings than you? No. Would you kiss the last person you kissed again? Hell yeah man. Is there one night of your life you wish had never happened? I wish it hadn't happened the way it did. Do you have a close relationship with your sibling(s)? No. What was the last thing that you shared? Some watermelon Sour Patch Kids with my mom. Do you think people talk behind your back? You couldn't get me to believe my mom doesn't at least sometimes to my sisters even if you tried your absolute damnedest. In real life do you laugh like ‘haha,’ 'hehe’ or something else? It depends on what I'm laughing at/at what intensity. Do you have any unusual skills? Nah. Who’s your favourite person? I don't have a sole favorite person. I love many people in different ways for varying reasons. Are there any chores you actually enjoy doing? No. When did you last have an "Oh, I get it now!" moment? Watching Attack on Titan yesterday w/ Girt. Have your parents ever suspected something untrue about you? My mom HAD to have suspected I was doing something FAR worse than innocent meerkat RP to have borderline fucking traumatized me invading my privacy and forcing shit out of me regarding what I was always doing on the computer so secretively. Like I get it, she was a concerned mother, but I was a fucking WRECK because I found it so embarrassing. It was insulting that she didn't trust her well-behaved daughter. What do you think about video games? They're great for both the creators and consumers. They're wonderful expressions of creativity, and so much fun to experience as a player, delving into a new world and getting engrossed in the story. I could go onnnn and onnnnn about what video games mean to me. I've gone my whole life as a loyal gamer. Are there any forms of Art you personally find pointless? I really, really don't get a lot of abstract art that's worth fucking thousands, BUT, I absolutely disagree that they are without purpose. The artist created what they did for SOME reason. As a distraction, a method of expressing emotion, to convey an idea... Are you tired right now? I have been SO ridiculously tired today. Like it's unreal. I've taken I wanna say three naps and I'm still sleepy. What’s something you do a lot? Drink something. I'm not talking about alcohol; just in general, I ALWAYS need some kind of drink by me, and I go through drinks pretty quickly. Are you currently on any other websites? Yeah, I'm watching YouTube. Are you good at using Photoshop? I'm decent, I guess. Have you ever been told you naturally tilt your head a certain way? Yes, actually, at least by my mom, and she's right. My head tends to tilt VERY slightly to the right, and I can tell by how easy it is to bend my head that way as opposed to left. I'll feel a biiiit more strain.

[phoenixfire-thewizardgoddess]

Hey guys, 

This is the local dog rescue charity that we were carers for, for several years. May do it again in future, but after Debbie (who was rescued by Precious Paws), it feels like we need a break. 

We have had three foster fails, but two puppers came through our home, learned to feel safe and loved, and went on to a perfectly matched new family.

There is always a demand for carers, so if you think you can, have a look at their Carer Info. Or look into the FB page, to keep your eyes open.

The best way to find new carers for animals is having a network of people sharing the Urgent statuses, which flags the attention of new groups of people. No dog will ever be LEFT on death row. They look for carers until the last second, but will absofuckinglutely take the dog anyway and put them in a boarding kennel short-term whilst a carer is located.

No doggo left behind.

It can be a bit confronting, though, so I understand if you cannot. The majority of the dogs have been surrendered to the pound, for various reasons, and the rescues in the region put their hands up for the ones slated for being put down each week. This list constantly refills, so there is always a need.

Some other dogs, like Debbie, are rescued directly from the disgusting human slime of the world who have caused them pain, injury, or attempted to kill them.

Carers open their homes to as many as they can, but there will always be more needed. A dog can be with you for a few months, to a few years, depending on their needs. 

Little Willow was so scared of everything when we got her, it took 5 months to get her to trust men near her due to where she came from. But after nearly a year, she was ready for adoption and went to a new mother; happy, healthy, and confident. She was fast, smart and a very delightful little doggo. I do miss her, sometimes, but her new mother sent us photos of Willow on her first and second adoption anniversaries. 

And little Gemini’s face, when her new family sent a photo from her first meeting with her human brother, was SO BIG!

It is hard to say goodbye, because they are with you for a long time, and you have to work hard with them, so they are an integral part of your life. But it helps to know that their future family is out there, not yet aware that there’s a dog shaped hole waiting to be filled.

As my parental unit says, “In reality, if they were not with us, they’d be dead. Someone without any heart dropped these animals off to be killed, and because of all these rescues, all these dogs and cats get another chance at life.”

Harvey, who we have now, was 9mths (Willow too) when they came to us. BABIES who just were too energetic or too big, so they had to be sent away. It takes a while to rebuild that trust in them.

Not to mention the absolute FUCKS who take their little old dogs, who have known and loved them their WHOLE LIVES to the pound and walk out with a new puppy (or kitten). FUCKS.  Those little doggos are never forgotten, PPARs and the other rescues make sure they have somewhere to go as well! I know of a 16yo bulldog called rosie, who was snappy when she first came and very depressed, who blossomed with her carers into a happy old girl. She was adopted recently!!!

It is important to be aware that these animals are often traumatised and have behaviours that some can consider ‘naughty’. You have to be understanding. Like traumatised kids, the worst thing you can do is yell or hit or whatever, even if they piss on your favourite rug or chew a beloved pair of shoes.

They may snap and snarl. Might shy away from men, or women, or teenagers. Might cower away, or show subservience constantly. Might hide for a few weeks. Might wet themselves or run to hide if something makes a loud noise or there is a specific trigger. They might rip up the couch twice, or hump your pillows. Try to escape the yard (need strong fences). A trigger? One of our kids was terrified of men, the noise of a powertool, and anyone having the hood of their car open. Would sit, shaking, panting in fear if these things were present. Still a bit much for her, but she knows to go to a human, who will keep her safe. Or sit with her sister doggo, who will protect her.

Willow was scared of men, shouting, and would be immediately wet-herself-afraid and show her belly in subservience. My giant bearded mountain of a sibling would lay on the floor with her, and talk gently, let her come over to sniff him. Eventually, she would lay next to him, and finally he could pat her, and it progressed from there. This took months of consistency and care.

I know of another carer couple who had this tiny little dog who was SO SCARED of everything she spent absolute months hiding under their bed or sofa. Too scared to be touched. They fed her and never made a fuss if she had a little accident indoors. And one day, she popped her head out while the male carer was pretending to be occupied... and licked his arm. That was it, went straight back under the bed. But it was a huge step. She can now be held and cuddled, and loves her little life. But it took the time, understanding and patience of these carers to get her there. It’s important to note that carers dont normally have the whole backstory for each dog, but after a while, you tend to get good at figuring it out based on behaviours. Harvey’s behaviours were extremely frantic for attention, he didn’t know how to sit or be still, he was desperate for attention; his behaviours increased when on a lead (which had to be used for the first few weeks and outside time, as this was a New Household Member time).  It was clear that given his age, when we got him, and his behaviours that he’d been an xmas gift puppy that had gotten WAAAAAAY bigger than anticipated. When he was small he’d been the fuss of what we suspect was at least 2 children. After getting too big, he was put on a leash in the yard, and had no real interaction.

Harvey would go BALLISTIC if given even a glance from a human. He NEEDED attention, and it took months of careful work with him to teach sit, stay, look, settle, back back, etc. He’s still a bit ridiculous, sometimes, but he can sleep on a bed with a human and only half drown them in spit (ugh) lmao. 

So consider if you could be a carer.  Or, if that isn’t realistic for you right now... donate.

-------- 

Donate, if you can.

If you’re in Brisbane, you might see them doing sausage sizzles at Bunnings on the weekends to raise needed funds! 

-------

COVID-19 hit all the rescue charities hard. Their normal fundraising was crippled by the lockdowns, but animals are always in need of new homes and protection.

If you can help out your local shelters, they’d appreciate it!

There’s food and supplies that need to be paid for; PPAWs specifically help out pensioners who take on an animal, by providing the food and toys, collar, bedding, etc. There’s desexing, microchipping and all vaccinations to be paid for. Some animals have extreme medical issues that need to be fixed (such as a dog surrendered with a broken hip, or dogs like Debbie, who were starved almost to death. Who need intensive and long-term things; with Debbie, my family put money forwards for her insulin and eye surgeries, etc. bc we could budget for it. Not everyone can, though.

There’s also little emergencies here and there that they jump in for, to assist.  [E.g early on when the caninculin levels were being sorted, Debbie had a random fit, so I rushed her in and they discovered her BSL had hit 1 - very dangerous. PPAWs got on the phone and said, “Any tests, any medication, any fluids, anything that needs to happen for that little girl, you DO IT” and they stabilised her. PPAWs also helped fund the full-day glucose testing and blood panel the next day and an overnight with the vet, that was pretty expensive. To be clear, it is expected that her starvation and new diabetes was likely to experience highs and lows, so we had bought a glucometer, and had squeezy-top bottles of honey all over the house as an emergency-response kit. When Debbie went funny, we filled her mouth full of honey and transported; which was the protocol, as was taking her medication chart (she’d been waaaay high for BSL that morning so this dip was SCARY). It took another incident before the vet decided to use an interstitial fluid monitor, and the results backed up our concerns that Debbie was having completely random highs/lows and spikes with no real pattern. She had the vet recommended food and no treats outside of the ones she was allowed, and at times suggested by the vet. Except on her last day when the vet said she could absolutely have a wholw happy meal, and little Debbie was DELIGHTED. I have the funniest photo of her with it all in her mouth looking excited but not sure where to go from there, but it still makes me cry to look at it because we lost her just three weeks ago. (We did rip it into little mouthfuls for her, though. Just to clarify.) She was placed on a higher dose, after that, and was completely stable from there. It was the testing that initially identified a flaw, though, and we are forever grateful that PPAWs stepped in on that day.

And the point of my rambling speech... is that shit happens. Especially with these dogs, cats, horses, and all the other animals they rescue.  Emergencies are often the most expensive to cover for charities.

On the upside! Donations also help with a) transporting animals to carers around the region, and b) on the occasion that an animal’s new furever family is interstate, they can be flown to them!

Lots of stuff.

Think about the mess of words, and consider donating - to PPAWs, or find out the name of your local charity and see if they need help!

[journal-of-an-outlaw]

The Price to be Paid

Hey gang! 

This is my very first Tumblr fanfiction. I used to write waaaay back but it’s been awhile. Just finished my first playthrough of Red Dead Redemption 2 and of course needed to write something about my story with it. 

Feel free to message me with feedback or thoughts, like I said it’s been a few years so I’ll post this to Ao3 after awhile. Please like and reblog only, no reposting. 

Chapter 1 

“See that one? Easy. Go nick his watch.”

You laughed and smiled over your shoulder at Abigail as you walked over towards the cart that had stopped from one of the nearby farms selling apples in the middle of town, red and bursting to be eaten. A man who was picking out which ones looked best out of the pile didn’t seem flustered by your sudden appearance which was good. It made the next part easier. 

“Oof! Excuse me sir, I didn’t see you there. Are you okay? Oh, let me help wipe that off your shirt.” 

Coffee bled a dark brown down the man’s white shirt as he hastily moved to grab something to stop the spread, and you were ready with your handkerchief. While he snatched it out of your hands, you removed his pocket watch without him knowing, the pressure of your hands on his torso masking the motion. The cold coffee had been sitting on the edge of the cart as if someone had forgotten it in their haste to leave for the center of town. He huffed and hawed and made a bigger fuss than you could have hoped for, but the nearby prying eyes only saw a silly girl who managed to spill coffee onto the boy buying apples. 

You smiled one last time at him and batted your eyes then flounced down the street and around the alley to meet Abigail. She laughed and grabbed your shoulder while you showed her the watch; no engraving or photo slipped inside which made you relax at the fact it wasn’t overly sentimental. 

“Now see, this here is exactly what you can pawn off. A good 8 dollars for this, plus whatever else you can grab adds up fast. Then maybe...a way out?” her eyes were kind as her mouth twisted into a coy smile. 

You smiled back at Abigail. The past few months while she and her gang were in town you had grown close. She hadn’t divulged too much about the people she ran with and that you could understand. The world was dangerous and full of opportunities and you couldn’t judge her for the choices she had made to keep her and those she cared about safe. You had never really left the town you were raised in and your family was your ‘gang’, but their secrets would never haunt others that you choose to surround yourself with. You knew she had a man, maybe not a husband but someone she loved. And a son that she loved more than anything in the world. Although she’s never told you outright about him, you’ve seen her buy (or steal) little trinkets and toys that no grown man would want. That’s when Abigail taught you the same tricks. How to divert the attention of shop owners so your hands could dart into your pockets with stolen food, or how to nab items to pawn to build up your own funds when you bump into folks and cause a scene. You had been eyeing the mountains outside of town a lot more lately, and thinking how great of an escape you could make. 

“Where would I even pawn these? Do I walk in with everything at once?” you asked her. She contemplated for a moment. “You don’t want to walk in with arm loads of stolen things, but a few here and there should be okay...maybe clerks will let you trade them for goods! Like for food or clothes and such. There’s a good pawn shop in Rhodes, but that’s a long ways from here in Blackwater.”

Your hometown, or at least the place you had been raised in, was hot, dry, and desert like most of the year. The people were kind and you liked being situated by the river. On particularly hot nights you would sneak out and sit by the slow and lazy moving water, imagining it was carrying you someplace new and far away, where no one would know you and you could start over. But you knew that idea was just that and there was no escaping. Small fantasies were all you had. Some nights you yearned for your life that began in Boston, but Blackwater was the only home you had ever known.

Abigail brought you back to the present with her hand on your arm. “Y/N, I might have to leave soon. I don’t want to but there are things I can’t change that are set in motion by the people I’m with. You’re...well I guess my friend and I wanted to let you know.” You laughed at her hesitation to call you a friend. Knowing her it isn’t an insult. If anything, she means it as a way to say she doesn’t get close to many people and has somehow chosen you. 

“Abigail I appreciate you telling me, but I’ll see you again! I am not worried.” Sometimes your blind optimism got the better of you. Damn those novels that you got lost in. Few things brought you pleasure like the chapters of a book. 

The two of you clasped hands and parted for the day as the sun set behind you. Slowly but surely you were building a collection of items that had been lifted off the residents of Blackwater and were going towards your future pawn trips. As much as you loved the town and its dusty, dirty humbleness there was a darkness that lived there. 

You neared your house and felt your heart drop to your stomach as the parlor light flickered on meaning your mother was not home, but your father was. Dad had a mean drinking problem, and as the man in charge of  some government organization had power which mixed terribly with his vanity. He wanted everyone to know that he and he alone was in charge. 

Climbing up the steps quietly you hoped to sneak by. That damn fourth step gave you away, and you silently swore as your father barked for you to come back down. 

“Y/N! Get down here. How dare you walk by and not say hello to your father?” You mumble an apology and kissed him on the cheek, the smugness in him as strong as the whiskey on his breath. As you turned to head to the kitchen for dinner he grabbed your elbow hard enough to make you wince. “Were you in town today,” he asked, but it was more of a statement than a question. He must have seen you, or heard about Abigail somehow. “Y-yes father, I spent the day in town. At the market, there was a wagon from a nearby farm…” you drifted off and tried to walk to the other room. Your father stood abruptly, but was distracted by your mother opening the kitchen door. She was a force of pure good and the only thing that could tame your father’s wild ways. Her face beamed and invited you both for dinner. 

“How was town today, Y/N? The apples look delicious.” You mother winked at you and motioned to the three red apples sitting on the counter waiting to be baked into a pie for dessert. While in town you didn’t even notice her so she must have moved quietly. The roast chicken and potatoes were delicious and you couldn't eat fast enough. After dinner, your father went out to the back porch to smoke while your mother sat and played cards with you. 

“Mother, why don’t we just leave?” you whispered. This was a conversation you had had many times in the past. “If we packed and left at midnight he couldn’t track us. We could go to the mountains, move west or even north again! A new city with no one following us and we could make a new life. Work in an art gallery or a farm or...just some place nice and safe. Where no one could hurt us.” The darting of your eyes was not missed by your mother who had never known about your father and how his rage manifested late at night. He always did have a knack for hitting you in places that no one else would ever see.  

Her hand was soft as it wrapped around your own. You knew this fantasy would never happen but you always hoped someday she would finally agree. 

“My dear, we musnt run away from those things that we fear. Fear only increases when we turn our backs to escape rather than face it head on.” 

********************************************************

The next day in town you met up with Abigail again. You knew the time was coming for her to leave from the way she clung to you a little tighter and laughed more forced and often. It made you sad to think that this bright light in your life lately would just be gone due to...whatever it was that would drag her away. Loyalty and family all meant something to you of course. But it was still upsetting to think that this exciting time would soon be over. 

“The last thing I’ll teach you as a thief is this. In order to pull off a good heist, you have to believe. With everything you have. A poor orphan left to die on the side of the road? Believe. Someone who just got robbed and needs a ride to town? Believe. Someone who isn’t being abused by a man somewhere in town? Believe.”

She stared you down hard during this last line. You flinched and moved to cover the bruise that had been exposed when you rolled your sleeves up from the heat. A soft expression met you when you looked up to her blue eyes. 

“I...It’s nothing I promise.”

“And that, hon, is exactly what I was talking about. You have to believe. Make it out of this town, safe. Please. If not for me, maybe just for you.” You watery eyes meet hers and you realized that it’s obvious to everyone but you that leaving may just be your last hope to being happy. The only issue you have is leaving your mother behind with the monster that hides behind the eyes of your father. His rage wasn’t always there. Mother said as a child you lived happily in Boston just the three of you. It was supposed to be four, and that’s where the trouble began. When your brother was lost a few days after his birth your father couldn't stand it. The whiskey was his crutch, and it soon became more of a constant burden. Every day it seemed he stumbled in from work already drowning in the vile stuff. Even the thought of its scent brought you gagging now. Your mother says that’s the reason you had to leave the northern city and move to the nowhere town of Blackwater and start all over again. That drink and the havoc it caused. 

While you had the time the two of you decided to celebrate. Sitting in the saloon you clinked your drinks and cheersed to seeing each other soon someday. Abigail loved hometown whiskey and your poison of choice was gin. Many drinks later and the two of you stumbled out to the main road, needing fresh air after leading the whole bar in a great rendition of a popular song. You swayed in the heat that met you outside of the doors. A huge commotion down by the water caused half the town out to come bursting out to the roads behind you. Galloping horses, screaming, and gunshots were all you could make out. Damn those drinks and whatever was in them! You couldn't see more than four feet in front of you, and everything beyond that was a big old blur. 

“Y/N! We need to move. Now!” Abigail somehow sobered up and was in charge of the whole situation. “Get behind that building and pretend you don’t know me-” but her words were cut short by a man grabbing her arm and yanking her down the road. 

“Abigail!! Hey! Let her go!” You chased, well, more like stumbled after, the pair and beat his arm with your fists. He released Abigail and grabbed your hands, shoving them down by your sides and forcing you to stare into his eyes. 

“Now what in the hell are you doing?” You stare dumbstruck into his face thinking that you might have landed yourself right into one of your novels. Beautiful blue eyes searched your drunken face and you couldn’t even speak. His eyebrows pulled together and crows feet showed around the edges of his eyes, years of the open sun and road changing the landscape of his face. Stringing coherent thoughts together was a struggle when Abigail shoved the man. “Arthur! Let her go she’s my...she’s my friend.”

Arthur raised his eyebrows, “Abigail I have to get you back to John-”

Three men raced around the street corner on horseback and shouted in your direction. “Those three! Stop them! They’re linked with them gangs from the riverboat!” 

You swung around to face Arthur and Abigail. “What have you done. Your gang! What did you do!” 

Arthur swore and grabbed you by your waist. “Abigail, get on that grey horse there. The bay is mine.” She nodded and took off down the road. You cursed and swung as hard as you could but it was no use, this man had you captive as he put you on the horse and followed Abigail. The lawmen were not too far behind and you heard the bullets they fired whisk by you and hit the buildings down the street. From the back of a horse you watched the faces of people you knew zip by faster and faster, and with them the memory of who you were confined to be quickly slipped away. What a strange turn of events in the past few months. Abigail had taught you how to pickpocket and thief your way hopefully to a new life, but instead of taking that route here one was riding you off on a horse. It scared you, but you couldn't look back. 

A sharp and terrible pain grabbed you suddenly as a bullet met your left side below your ribs. Screaming, you almost fell off the horse but managed to clutch onto Arthur’s shirt with weak fingers. He turned around at the noise and seemed upset as his face filled with worry when looking at the blood spilling onto your shirt. The pain proved too much and the last thing you remember was landing on a hill of grass with dust swirling all around as the sound of pounding hooves raging your ears from all directions.

[sally-mun]

Ever met a celebrity or anybody famous? The most famous person I've met was a former pro boxer, by the name of Ray 'Boom-Boom' Mancini at a charity dinner at the banquet center I worked at 4 years ago. Nicest man you'd ever meet and he even sent me a signed autograph picture in the mail. I'm a Star Trek fan and I'd love to meet the cast of TNG, but autographs and conventions are so expensive. Of course there's the chance you could catch one of them on a bad day and get the brunt of it

If we’re including conventions, then yeah I’ve met several famous people before. I’ve met and gotten autographs and/or selfies from voice actors and screen actors, and I’ve occasionally met some artists too! Outside of that, though, I can’t really say I have. Even my best and most extensive meeting was still at a convention. You could even argue that Mario Marathon was kind of a convention in a sense, albeit a super limited one!

I wasn’t sure if I should include a list or not, so as a compromise I’m going to do so below a cut!

Voice Actors:

Sonny Strait (voice of Krillin) -- Got to spend basically an entire day with him! Unexpectedly encountered him at a convention waaaay way back in the day and he just kind of adopted me and the other handful of fans that were hanging around. He gave us all free DBZ CCG t-shirts, let us sit in the DBZ hummer, and signed anything we put in front of him!

Christopher Sabat (voice of Vegeta) -- I brought him a set of cookies made to look like dragon balls, and brought my favorite Vegeta card that I’d been saving for something like 17 years or so on the off-chance I could ever get it signed. He was so moved and impressed that he gave me two other autographs for free~

Todd Haberkorn (voice of Jaco) -- This was the same convention where I got to meet Chris Sabat, and I also brought him a box of cookies. He was so excited that he dug into them right then and there, and then when signing my card he even wrote “Thanks for the galactic cookies!”

Chuck Huber (voice of Android 17/Hiei) -- I’ve gotten autographs from him a couple of times for different characters. One of the items I got signed was one of the original Hiei action figures back when Yu Yu Hakusho first debuted in the US. He was impressed that I had it at all, let alone that it was in the box. (Amusingly, the only reason I did was because I had one previous to it that was out of the box on display and whose sword had broken. I got a new one intending to replace it, but just never opened it.)

Chris Rager (voice of Mr. Satan) -- SUCH a nice guy! We had a nice little chat and I offered him some dragon ball cookies I’d been handing out that day. He signed my trading card and took a selfie with me! I caught him at a panel where he told some absolutely amazing behind-the-scenes stories that I still tell to other people to this day.

Chris Cason (voice of Tien) -- Not much to say about this encounter, I didn’t get to say much more than a hello and thank you before he had to go. I’d missed the official signing session and just happened to catch him after a panel.

Team Four Star -- I catch these guys every opportunity I can manage, and every time I bring them some DBZ-themed treat. I refer to myself as “Snack Girl” when I come to get autographs, and at my last encounter Lanipator mentioned that I looked familiar when I came to the table, so I guess I’m making an impact! I have several stories concerning these guys, way too many to list here.

Little Kuriboh (YGOA voice of Merik, DBZA voice of Freeza) -- Amusingly I met him the time I was at a convention in my Piccolo costume, and that ended up being a whole conversation by itself. It then immediately turned into a conversation about Fallout because someone had brought him some New Vegas playing cards, lol. He was enamored with the trading card I had brought him to sign, and we had a discussion about a fund raiser he’d hosted to raise money for disaster relief where I’d won one of the auctions he’d held.

Kevin Conroy (voice of Batman) -- I found out very late that he was going to be in town, like maybe a week or two before, and dropped EVERYTHING to be able to meet him. When I was in line for an autograph I was so worked up that I kept getting light headed and having heart palpitations. By the time I actually made it to the table I was so starstruck that I could barely say anything. I’m pretty sure I said “I can’t believe you’re here” (??? wtf past-me) and something about him being so talented. He thanked me and didn’t really say much. I had also paid for a photo with him, and in the photo you can see my hand gripping the side of my leg REALLY tightly because I had a very strong instinct to hug him and I WAS NOT ABOUT TO BE THAT FANGIRL.

Charles Martinet (voice of most of the Mario cast) -- Holy shit, this man is playful! He was an absolute delight to talk to, and even just to watch with other people while I was in line. He was very open to whatever sorts of fan requests each person had and was just so warm and gracious with each person that came up. I mostly just wanted to shake his hand and tell him that Mario games basically set me up for the person I grew up to be today. The thing that amused me the most is that if you had him autograph one of the prints at the table, which had all the Mario characters on it, he’d do the voices of each character while doodling little word balloons for them~

Screen Actors:

John Barrowman (Captain Jack Harkness in Doctor Who/Torchwood) -- This was one of the first times I’d gone to a convention specifically to meet an actor. He was a lot of fun and did his best to be chatty, but his handlers were kind of hurrying people along. He was especially tickled by my name (I guess he doesn’t sign too many autographs made out to “Leda”), and he even signed a second item that we happened to have for free!

Cary Elwes (Wesley in The Princess Bride, among other things) -- This was another one of those moments where the weight of just WHO I was meeting got to me and I completely lost my voice. I think I said something about having grown up watching Princess Bride ever since I was a little kid?? I honestly don’t remember what I said, it’s kind of a blur. All I know is that I was so struck by the moment that I didn’t even remember to say that I also love him in the Saw movies.

Billy Boyd (Pippin in Lord of the Rings) -- Not a lot I can say about this one because it was a very fast-paced, conveyor belt sort of affair. We exchanged greetings and he thanked us very much for coming out to see him, and we all agreed that Pippin is totes the best hobbit.

Robin Lord Taylor (Penguin in Gotham) -- One of my favorite interactions meeting a celebrity, for sure! He was actually really interested in knowing about -me-, which completely threw me off-guard. He wanted to know where I was from and what I did for a living, and when I said I was a manager at Spencer’s he got really excited and squeaked “I LOVE Spencer’s!” While he was signing my doll I explained that Penguin is by far my family’s favorite character in Gotham and that we had a joke where, anytime the show switches back to him, we say “Meanwhile, with the REAL main character...” He got a big kick out of that~

Khary Payton (King Ezekiel in The Walking Dead) -- So I don’t watch a huge amount of Walking Dead, but I watch enough that I wanted to come along when my mom went to go get an autograph from him for my brother. He’s definitely the friendliest celebrity I’ve encountered -- so much so that he wouldn’t stay behind the table! He spent the entire time in FRONT of the table so he could hug every single person that came to see him! It was a nice strong hug, too, and he was just so welcoming and pleasant. I told him that, if I had to choose one of the communities in The Walking Dead, I’d absolutely choose The Kingdom. He threw his hands up to his sides and said dramatically, “You will always have a place in my kingdom!”

Penn & Teller -- This year my mom took me on a surprise trip to Las Vegas, and while we were there we got to see Penn & Teller perform, which has always been a dream of mine! After the show they came out into the lobby and they did autographs and selfies with anyone that wanted one, and I got to meet them each. It was a little disarming hearing Teller talk, and Penn was as funny as ever because he’d loudly comment whenever someone’s phone wasn’t working. During this trip I also had my Boris plushie as my “traveling doll” and asked if they’d take pictures with him as well, which they both obliged. Teller seemed particularly amused by Boris.

James Rolfe (the Angry Video Game Nerd) -- So I actually have kind of a long history with him, which originated with me contacting the show to donate a fairly odd peripheral accessory. I given a green light and provided an address, and since I was going to be mailing him anyway, I basically just got a big box and threw in any video game related stuff that I didn’t want anymore and didn’t feel like putting the effort into selling. It ended up being a HUGE box, so much so that I included an inventory list to make sure he didn’t accidentally throw something away. To my surprise he actually mailed me back an autographed AVGN print thanking me for the donations! I thought that’d be the end of it, but he’s actually since featured that peripheral several times on the show, and even included an Easter egg that I asked for twice! This year I got to meet him at Too Many Games and introduced myself as the one that sent the item in. He mentioned that they had a lot of fun messing with it.

Mario Marathon team -- I’m known as one of the regulars since I’ve been around since the first year, and a couple of years ago I was actually invited to the marathon itself as a player! It’s definitely one of the most amazing experiences of my life, and I only wish I could do it all over again! Everyone was just... wonderful~ I was there for several days so there’s obviously way too many stories to tell, but at least in this case you can always go watch the videos on Twitch.

Artists:

Steven Butler -- This was particularly amusing because I was the one that caught him by surprise. I happened to be making my way through the Artist Alley when I realized he was there, and since no one was at the table at the time I went over to talk to him. We had an awesomely long chat about his work (I was going through a sample book on the table) and his time drawing for the Sonic comics. He tried to bring it up as a talking point, and I told him “I know, I own some of your pages!” which REALLY threw him for a loop! He showed me some art for a new Sonic-style story he’s been working on, and I completely fell in love with a character that was clearly inspired by Sally (and I’m not just assuming, he confirmed as much). I then started talking about @fini-mun and how it’s only a shame he couldn’t meet Deebs too, and was talking about Deebs’ history with art and almost getting recruited to be in the Archie art stable as well and how they now do art streams. He was particularly interested in the streams, and I was like “Oh yeah, that’s actually why they aren’t here now, they have a stream today!” so he gave me a free print to pass along to Deebs as a show of interest and support!

Veronica Vera (from the Not Enough Rings comic) -- This was another chance encounter in Artist Alley. I was just kind of poking around to see everyone’s work, and I realized I recognized the comic she was selling. I commented that I loved that comic, and she said she was selling hardcover copies of the entire series. I love the comic and I wanted to show my support, so I bought a book and she signed the inside cover! Unfortunately Oliver Bareham wasn’t there at the time, so no autograph from him. Maybe one day if I’m incredibly lucky, I suppose.

Rich Koslowski -- This was at one of my very first conventions ever. He was an inker of the Sonic comics at the time, and I was only.... 12, I think? I mostly was just excited to be meeting someone that works on Sonic stuff, and I can’t remember much about the encounter aside from just babbling about liking Sonic. I remember him being very kind.

And unfortunately... Ken Penders --  This was at the same convention I just mentioned with Koslowski. As stated above I was only 12, and I was just excited to meet someone who works on Sonic stuff. I believe I was there because of a post on Archie’s Sonic website. Anyway what strikes me as the most surprising about this encounter is how -normal- it all was, at least as far as I remember it. I’ve heard some horror stories of Penders being horrible to fans at conventions, but at least way back at this time (like 1997 or so), he was passing for a normal human. He didn’t say anything mean to me (that I noticed), and he actually gave me some free Sonic loot, which I can’t imagine him ever doing nowadays. I still have the comic book he signed, and I legit consider burning it on a regular basis.

OKAY this ended up way longer that I thought it would. I think even -I- forgot how many people I’ve met before. If I think of anyone else I’ll add it to the list later!

[thewritewolf]

The Search for Halloween Chapter 4: Speed Run + Ride

An amusement park is pretty similiar to Halloween... right?

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 (Final)

@unusual-october

Read on Ao3.  My ko-fi. Enjoy!

The art of this chapter by @noanieactuallydrawingalot

It wasn’t until late in the following week that they had an opportunity to continue their ‘research’. There was a lack of anything Halloween to do in Paris, leaving them scraping the bottom of the barrel. So when Alya frantically spammed their chat with advertisements for a local theme park that had decided to adopt a spooky theme for the month, they had to jump on the opportunity.

...And Marinette was finding that her dislike of scary movies definitely extended to thrill rides. The idea of getting on one of their roller coasters was enough to turn her legs to jelly, but so far her friends had been fairly understanding. Well, in the sense that Alya didn’t badger Marinette too much about it as she dragged Nino with her to ride ALL the rides.

In the end, it meant a lot of cotton candy, teacups, and log rides for her and Adrien. But she could tell he wanted more.

He didn’t say anything, of course. At this point, though, she could read her kitty by body language alone. And as much as he didn’t want to admit it, she could see from the way his eyes wandered to the tracks and how his ears perked up at the delighted screams that he was yearning to get onto one of those rides.

Sighing, she leaned up against him. He tensed a little before relaxing and resting a tentative arm around her. It was much closer than they usually got as Marinette and Adrien, but it was nothing new to Ladybug and Chat Noir. And maybe, just maybe, she could borrow a little of her alter ego’s confidence and bravery. Just for a little bit.

“You really want to go on one of those rides, don’t you?”

There was a pause. “I don’t want you to be alone down here.”

“That wasn’t what I asked.”

He chuckled and looked down at her. “Well… it would be nice to feel something in my heart besides my father’s neglect.”

There was a flicker of a smile across her face before she reached for his hand and squeezed it. “Your jokes suck, sunshine.”

“They make you smile. That’s all they were ever meant to do.”

She sighed and got up, tugging Adrien along behind her.

“Um, where are we going, bugaboo?”

“Alya and Nino went over here, so we’ll meet up with them and head over to that big roller coaster they were talking about.”

“...Are you sure? Maybe we should start smaller-”

She shook her head. “We’ll have time for one more ride, so we’d better make this count. Make up for the wasted time.”

“Hey, it wasn’t wasted. I spent it with you, after all.”

She stopped to bury her head in his arm, fighting back a fearsome blush. “You need to stop being so sweet or you’ll have nowhere to go when we actually start dating.”

That was enough to shut him up as his cheeks reddened.

They caught up with Alya and Nino. The only clue they gave that they’d noticed how flustered Adrien and Marinette were, was a raised eyebrow from Alya and a subtle thumbs up from Nino.

“So, dudes, you want to head out now or-”

Marinette cut him off, pushing her words out so she wouldn’t chicken out. “I want to go on Dead Man’s Speed Run!”

There was a silence following her declaration.

“Uhh, dude are you-”

“You heard the girl, Nino!” Alya quickly snagged Marinette’s hand and dragged everyone towards the looming monstrosity that was Dead Man’s Speed Run.

The crowds had been thinning out as closing time approached. There was practically no wait for them as they rushed to the front of the line to get strapped in, the last charge of the Dead Man’s Speed Run before they shut the ride off for the day.

The whole ride took maybe three minutes, if that. Looking back, Marinette could pinpoint the exact scariest moment. It hadn’t been the last third, when they emerged from the dark tunnel into disorienting lights and projections. It wasn’t the bulk of the ride where it was basically one long fall down a hill, accompanied by a long scream that she suspected was hers, but wasn’t entirely sure. No, the scariest part was when they’d fastened in and the ride shuddered to life as it began its tortuously slow ascent.

Because it was at that moment that it clicked - there was no turning back. There was only bearing through it.

When they got off the ride, Marinette realized she was clutching to Adrien’s chest. She couldn’t do anything about it, though, since her legs felt like jello underneath her. Almost all her focus was on returning feeling to her limbs, which very nearly made her miss the conversation going on.

“I dunno, dude, those pics are a scam. Waaaay jacked up prices, ya know?”

“Maybe, but I just have to have it. I mean look at this!”

Marinette finally looked up and raised her eyebrow at the picture in front of her. Adrien noticed the look she was giving it.

“Mari-”

“Don’t you dare.”

“But you look so cu-”

“Put your wallet away, Agreste.”

“But Mari,” he whined and she could already feel her resolve crumbling. “I don’t have any pictures of all my friends together and who knows when my father will let me out again…”

In her foolishness, she looked up at his face to see him giving her the widest, greenest kitten eyes she had ever seen in her life. Any thoughts of denying him dissolved into nothingness.

After letting out a long groan, she said, “...Fine.” As Nino and Alya went to grab some cotton candy for the road, Adrien and Marinette stood off to the side as they waited for the picture to be framed. She whispered to him, “I have plenty of embarrassing photos of Chat Noir anyway.”

A dusting of red covered his cheeks, but he still smiled down at her.

“I guess I have a lot of catching up to do, huh?”

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

When Adrien finally made it home, he pulled out the framed picture and set it on his bedside table and looked at it one more time before getting ready for bed.

In the front row, Alya and Nino’s faces were pressed close together as they shared a kiss, their hands interlocked into the shape of a heart. Behind them, Marinette’s arms were latched around Adrien’s waist as she screamed, eyes closed in a mix of anger and fear. Meanwhile, his arms were thrown up high, not a care in the world.

And really, as long as she was right there, he didn’t.

(Second link for the picture)

[tellywoodtrash]

ebss 21+24.06.19 lb

i spent my weekend binging/reading good omens. completelyyyyyyyyyy worth it!!!!!!!!!!!!

———————————————————————

21.06.19

oh boy, amma also being dragged into anti-kavya lobby. janhviiiiiii yaaaaar, tu apne maksad par focus kar na.

lol as usual, she's mad at dhruv for calling.

“main kya karoon is dhruv ka???” meri maan, maar de. bas maar hi de ab. chai mein thodi zeher ghol de.

amma is concerned. our girl seems to be unraveling. quickly.

kavya still picking up the ghar ka phone willy nilly huh.

is ghar mein literally itne saare log hain, why couldn't he tell jai or sonali to give the wallet. lord.

yeh bewakoof bhi she has no issues wandering into their room, while knowing exactly what she's been accused of just yesterday.

nope. fucking nope. i don't wanna see chachi's bs. fwding.

ughhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

“pooja sharma??” and “dhruv bhaiyya ki purse se nikal gayi hogi” were said in two contrasting emotions that made nooooooo sense coming from a normal emotionally stable person.

there it isssssssssss.

join the dots ho gaya kya????????

who this new kaamwaali?

snort. ofc. i wouldn't eat a single thing in this damn house. god knows what this one adds to every dish. minimum toh thookti hi hogi sab mein, if not for the addition of rando meds and goldfish.

BITCH WHY YOU SNEAK UP LIKE THI?!?!?!?! JEEESUSSSSS.

janhvi getting way too overconfident and not letting kavya speak. mehenga padegaaaaaaa.

god i hate all the mittals except kabir, honestly. dadaji + pk, why don't you do us all a favour?

OMFG STOP YELLING AT JAI AND SONALI FOR NOTHING. JESUS.

oh god you idiot pls don't ask in front of everyone. lordddddddd kavya, you have dung for brains.

kabir telling chachi to stfu is a big mooooood.

hein ab yeh kaun?

vyom's parents. where did they appear from exactly?

want to keep aarush? excoos? you didn't give a shit about his existence till now.

they're ordering his stuff to be packed as if they're at a mcdonalds drivethru. literally wtf.

lol. rare moment of pk being savage to the right ppl.

janhvi is me. i am janhvi.

blah blah blah.

excuse me? who tf are you ppl to not approve of kabir and kavya's wedding, when you didn't even accept her as vyom's wife? man desi elders really be wild with their obnoxious sense of presumptuousness.

kabir on the same page as me.

ouffff janhvi ne aarush ko chaabi lagaai to call them. abbe yaaaar.

time for kabir to open a can of whoop ass, which is koot koot ke fortified with ‘sabhyataa’. *giddy excitement*

my boy pulling receipts on these haraami buddhe like a cvs cashier.

(also trollololololol at pk side eyeing vyom’s parents too!)

okay vyom's maa is asking to be bitchslapped.

OMFG PLS DON'T TELL ME KAVYA BREAKS HER MARRIAGE WITH KABIR TO GO WITH THESE ASSHOLES. PLEASE GOD. SHE'LL HAVE A WORSE LIFE THAN SHE HAS WITH THE MITTALS.

pk still on that same track. abbe chup na.

ok uncleji asking to be kicked in the shin too. kabir pls. do something.

oooh he gonna spill the truthhhhhhhhhhh about vyom.

kavya, you partypooper. shoulda let them know that their son was no doodh ka dhula.

lmao pk's drama-loving ass is mad too, ki itna achcha mauka haath se nikal gaya.

kaanooni karwaahi ki dhamki.

lol idc bitch. bring your lawyers. my wife and kid going nowhere.

GOD WHYYYYYYYYY ARE THEY GETTING RID OF KAVYA/AARUSH. I LIKE THIS FAMILY MAN SIDE TO KABIRRRRRRRRRRRR. UGHHHHHHHHHH.

are they going to make janhvi more and more and more unlikable like this????????? like, she was fun earlier tageting the dumbass mittals, but this is crossing the line. how are we supposed to root for her when she's using a kid as a pawn to attack his mother???? ugh stopppppp writing her badlyyyyyyyyy.

DON'T TAKE MY BIRUSH AWAY FROM MEEEEEEEEEE AAAAAAAAAAH THEY'RE SO CUTEEEEEEE EES MY TINY LIL ADOPTED FAMILYYYYYY I LOVE THEMMMM

yes this the drama i'm here for!!!!!!!!!! more of this pls!

ouff, her face.

ugh can you two just leave this damn house away from alllllllll the crazies and be your own family?????? honestly, whattttttt is to be achieved by living here??????

she's still got that photo clutched in her hand. lord.

behen, aarush ko sabse badi takleef hai tere naam pe yeh roz roz ke phadde. SO JUST MOVE THE FUCK OUT THE THREE OF YOU.

NOW WHY ISN'T SHE OPENING HER MOUTH AND TELLING KABIR ABOUT THE PHOTO????????? GOD KAVYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA.

yes, suman ka drama shuruuuuu. ab aayega mazaaaaaaaa.

oh ho poora drama hone nahi diya is ep mein. good thing i waited till today to watch instead of agonizing over it on the weekend.

———————————————————————

24.06.19

yes mummy, yes!!!! spill the truth about dr. ashok!!!!!!

OMFGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG THIS FUCKING ASSSSSSSHOLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE WHAT THE FUCKING FUCKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK

ABOUT TIME. ABOUT FUCKING TIMEEEEEEEE KABIRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

fuck you dadaji. god why do they have all these annoying characters. cut them instead of kavya!

oh no kavya has gotten a brainwave.

oh god she's questioning janhvi about dr. ashok. oh god.

this one is ready to murder her with her eyes.

idk what exactly she wants to ask wrt the pic. like......... how is she going to frame the question??????

kabir asking pointed questions to dadu. chalo ab jawaab do, puraane paapi.

LIES. LIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEES. BURI MAUT MAREGA TU BUDDHE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

appropriate reaction to this story.

oh god. kabir's leaving the house to go meet his lawyer friend. dude why rn? and in the dead of the night. jesusssssssssss. not good.

great. iski bhi ghanti baj gayi. behen why now??????? RAAT KO???? TUM LOG SOTE KYUN NAHI HO???? OR AT LEAST SCROLL INSTAGRAM FOR 3 HOURS LIKE THE REST OF US NORMAL PPL????

chotu just spilled the beans ki badi maa uksaofied him to call dadaji.

yup. i feel you girl. i feel you. now just gtfo this house with your kid. please.

why is she panicking like this?????? just wait till kabir gets back. oh kayaaaaaaaaaaaa.

omg girl, you gotta control yourself, why are you like thisssssssss?!?!?!!

great. she just spat it allllllllll out.

LMAOOOOO PK SAID SHABAASH, AND SHE'S LIKE THANK YOU PAPA. LOLOLOLOL KAVYA YOU IDIOT.

asaldajsdjsalkjdlks he thinks KAVYA'S POOJA SHARMA. janhviiiiiiiii has struck againnnnnnnnnnnn.

ouff i really don't like the turns this show is taking these days but your face, shrenu. your heckin’ faceeeeeeeeeeeee. it compels meeeeeee.

kitniiiiiiiiii safai se she planted the idea in his mindddddd.

lol bade ‘god bless you’s de raha hai. god ne isse bless kiya toh tera patte bichch jaayenge, pk.

and she arranged for amma to plant documents too.

ok too muchhhhhh drama.

god this idiot also has to get involved.

who the hell would trust these ainvayi ke papers??? literally any 2nd grader can make this in MS word.

janhvi bribed some warden at the orphanage too. gosh too much pohunch she hassssss.

kavya trying to counter with logic, but...... yeh toh YEH hai.

god i'm bored. fwding.

great, kavya's having a breakdown. siiiiiiiigh. this show just got waaaay too dramatic and shriekyyyyyyy.

isko bhi abhi maidaan mein utarna hai. lord.

~ACTING~

damnnnnnnn, fierce kavya's here again and got her claws out.

oh stfu dadaji. god i can't wait till you allllll drink the tears of bloooood that you're about to shed. i really can not wait.

chotu bhi aa gaya. oh god. tooooo much melodrama.

jesus christtttttttttttttttttttttttttttt.

———————————————————————

i'm guessing and hoping that kavya's made her exit from the house, coz amma's talking about *if* kabir "finds" kavya.

kabir did fiiiiiiind kavya. and they're both referring to “janhvi”??? no bhaabi???

pooJanhvi isn't too worried about kavya telling kabir. everything's moving acc. to her plan.

ouff behen kar jaldi jo bhi karna hai; yeh roz roz ka cheekhna-chillaana is getting on my damn nerves.

[katastroficwriter]

I have a headcanon that Kokichi loves baking gingerbread men and gingerbread houses on Christmas, and that Kiibo has never understood why. Later Kokichi reveals that the reason is because he used to make them with his older brother, who he doesn't get to see that much anymore, and it reminds him of the time when they were younger.

Humans are fond of asking strange questions in the hopes of getting a glimpse of how other humans view them. One such example would be, “If you were food, what would you be?”

“I think Ouma-kun would definitely be an eggplant,” Yumeno declares. “It’s purple, and its name is misleading–a lie! Eggs are not long and purple, yet it’s called an eggplant.”

Kiibo somehow found himself trapped in such a discussion. And since Ouma wasn’t around, they were the ones trying to find a fitting food that best describes the supreme leader.

“Actually Yumeno-san, it’s called an eggplant because in its earlier stages, the plant clearly resembles an egg before growing elongated and turning purple. That’s how it got its name,” everyone stared at the robot, who never spoke during the discussion until now. “Though I agree with you, it does resemble Ouma-kun to some extent. Like how it seems like it’s deceiving people, when in truth, it’s just hiding its honesty.”

“Honesty? Him? I seriously don’t understand how you could see something pure like that in a degenerate male like Ouma-kun,” Chabashira huffed. “I thought you of all people would know how terrible he is since he targets you the most.”

“I suppose that’s precisely why I can say that much about Ouma-kun since he hangs around me frequently,” Kiibo resisted the urge to roll his eyes. ‘You noticed such a detail yet you didn’t do anything to assist me.’

“What’s this, what’s this? Am I being summoned?” Ouma popped from behind the android, grinning when the latter almost fell off his seat from shock. “Man, you guys really can’t go one day without calling my name, huh~”

“Ugh…speak of the Devil…” groaned the magician.

“Don’t you dare pull any more of your nasty shit, twerp!” Iruma pointed an accusatory finger at the newcomer.

“Oh wooow, pot calling kettle black. At least my entire existence isn’t a crime against the universe like yours is!” Ouma sneered at the inventor with disgust.

“Y-you didn’t have to put it that waaaay–!!!” whined the blonde.

“Knock it off Ouma, you just got here and you’re already pissing everyone off!” Momota slammed his hands on the table.

Ouma tapped his chin, smiling such an innocent and sugary sweet smile that would no doubt trick anyone who didn’t know him. “How are you so sure that that’s what everyone else is feeling, Momota-chan? Stop assuming everyone shares the same opinion as you all the time!”

“Now, now, let’s not fight,” Akamatsu raised two placating hands. “It’s almost Christmas after all–”

“Pfft, Christmas? What are you acting all goody-goody for exactly, Akamatsu-chan?” Ouma tilted his head to the side playfully. “…Is it Santa? How embarrassing! You’re already a high schooler but you still believe in a big faker like Santa Claus?”

“N-no, that’s not–”

“Alright, that’s it! C’mere!” The astronaut got out of his seat and charged his way towards the supreme leader’s general direction.

“Uwaaah! Momota-chan’s turned into a BULL-Y!!!”

“Ghhrk! I’m not a bull OR a bully! I’m Momota Kaito, Luminary of the Stars!!!”

“So you keep saying ad nauseam. Don’t you have other voice lines? Then again, I guess I can’t expect too much from a side character! Nishishi~!”

“Who you calling side character?! I’m the hero!”

Kiibo observed his two classmates run around the limited space of the dining hall until Ouma eventually got bored of the chase and decided to run out the exit that led outside of the school building, leaving Momota tired and out of breath.

“Idiot,” Harukawa uttered under her breath before heading out the other door.

“Hey!” huffed the astronaut.

Once the commotion had settled, everyone left the dining hall one by one, unknowingly leaving behind their robotic classmate, not that the latter minded. Kiibo leaned against his seat, closing his eyes.

“If they asked me, I’d say that Ouma-kun resembled a gingerbread man more,” he murmured to himself. “…Small, fragile, yet proud and untouchable.”

– [Run, Run, Run, as fast as you can. You’ll never catch me, I’m the gingerbread man!] –

Usually, Kiibo spent nights cooped up in his room just reading the books he retrieved from the school library. His learning is composed of developing his social skills through his everyday interactions with his peers, and the other one pertains to diligent studying through research. However, he was feeling rather rebellious tonight, that’s why he decided to take a tour around the school instead. In the day, he frequently finds himself getting swept along his classmates’ pace, so he never really had the time to just roam around and observe the environment on his own. That’s one of the advantages of being incapable of sleep, he supposes.

He was blindly following the path that led to the dining hall after making his rounds in the courtyard.

“Hm?” He carefully climbed the steps and noticed that light was spilling from the cracks of the door. ‘Is someone in the dining hall? What could they possibly be doing up this late?’

The android silently pushed the door open so as not to alarm the room’s occupant, and was surprised to find no one in the room. He shut the door behind him just as silently as he had opened it and walked towards the middle of the room. That was when he heard the sound of metal against metal. Perhaps a whisk lightly scraping against a bowl?

‘In the kitchen, huh…’ Kiibo carefully made his way towards the kitchen. He opened the door just a crack, and was surprised to find the supreme leader whisking a white mixture with practiced ease.

His hair was pulled back in a small ponytail and his bangs were kept out of his face by a set of white barrettes. Instead of his usual tattered white gakuran or his pajamas, Ouma was wearing a plain white shirt, a pair of black basketball shorts, and a light blue apron to keep the mess off of his apparel as he whisked away.

“Get in and close the door, it’s bothering me,” Kiibo hit his face against the door from shock. He was being completely stealthy, yet somehow he got found out anyway.

“S-sorry…” murmured the android as he entered the kitchen. “How did you know I was here?”

“I felt like I was being watched,” Ouma made a show of tapping the white and fluffy mixture out of the whisk before continuing. “Also, I saw you walk out the dorms earlier. I knew you were the only one out there gallivanting around the campus while everyone’s asleep.”

“I wasn’t gallivanting, I was taking a stroll,” huffed Kiibo. “What are you doing in the kitchen this late at night? Preparing a late night snack?”

“I suppose you can call it that. It’s actually meant to be a surprise, but you ruined it the moment you entered the kitchen. Then again, you can’t exactly read the atmosphere since you’re just a robot. ” the supreme leader moved to pour the white mixture into separate and smaller bowls evenly. “Anyway, since you’re already here, you might as well give me a hand instead of standing around being all useless.”

“You didn’t have to be so rude about it,” Kiibo frowned, but made his way towards the shorter teen regardless of the other teen’s robophobic statement. “…What do you want me to do, exactly?”

“Print photos of our classmates.”

“What for?”

Ouma raised his head from his task of mixing purple food coloring in one of the small bowls and rolled his eyes. “Gee, Kiiboy, I wonder what? What could I possibly need our classmate’s ugly mugshots at 2 am, some bowls of thick icing and a bunch of food coloring for?”

Kiibo wanted to call him out for his rude behavior, but that was when he noticed that there was tray of faceless gingerbread men and women on Ouma’s left. “…Oh.”

The supreme leader snorted before covering the purple icing with plastic wrap and moved on to the next bowl. “Good to see that you’re not as dumb as you look.”

“I take offense to that!” Kiibo crossed his arms in indignation. “Anyway…I don’t need to print a photo of you, correct?”

“Yeah.”

“Got it.”

Whirrrrrr.

Out comes a clear photo of Chabashira, Yumeno, and Yonaga meditating inside the aikido master’s dojo from the android’s lips. “Here. I thought it would be more efficient to take photos of my memory where more of our classmates would fit in the frame.”

Ouma let out a whistle, “So you really can be useful when you put your mind to it. Good job. Anyway, place it where I can see it so I can mix the colors right.”

Truth be told, the unexpected praise from the trouble making supreme leader took him off guard and made him feel rather conscious of himself. He looked away in an attempt to hide his embarrassment. “Alright.”

He moved to the other side of the counter and placed the photo right in front of his companion, but not too close to the bowls so as not to dirty it. He started printing more photos while watching Ouma mix more colors into the bowls he had laid out.

“You’re not going to just run out of batteries after printing everything, right?” Ouma lifted his eyes for a moment before going back to mix blue food coloring in the icing.

“Of course not. I have long since optimized my energy efficiency after I–”

“After your batteries died while climbing up the stairs?” Ouma snickered as he was reminded of the day where everyone found the robot passed out by the dormitory staircase while making a ridiculous yet inhumanly possible pose.

“…Yes. That. Let’s never speak of that again,” Kiibo shuddered at the shameful memory. “A-anyway, what I mean is, using my functions will no longer take up too much of my power like before.”

“Great! Then that means you can help me load these piping bags with these suckers,” Ouma grinned as he lifted a bowl of colored icing. “You gotta be quick though, this thing hardens like concrete.”

Kiibo wasn’t really well-versed with cooking or baking, so it took him a while to get a hang of filling the piping bags with icing without getting some on his fingers. He thought the supreme leader would mock him for his clumsiness, but it seems like Ouma was completely focused with the task. It didn’t take them too long to finish, thankfully.

“Gimme your hand.” Ouma beckoned the android with a hand.

“Huh?” Kiibo stared at him in confusion, his ahoge curling into a question mark to reflect his curiosity.

Ouma rolled his eyes before pulling the robot’s hand to his mouth and licked the icing off his fingers.

“I don’t like wasting ingredients.” Was what he said before directing his attention to the tray of gingerbread, not even giving the albino time to process what had happened.

‘W-what was that all about?!’ Kiibo inwardly screamed as he inspected his hand.

“Hey! Earth to Kiiboy, work’s not over!” Ouma easily dragged the android back to the present with his usual demanding tone. “I intend to work you down to your last percent for ruining the surprise.”

“Y-you’re saying that as if I did it on purpose,” Kiibo grumbled. “I didn’t even expect that you would be the one inside the kitchen. I wasn’t aware that you were skilled with baking either.”

“Mmmm… Not really,” Ouma hummed as he passed him a macaroon yellow piping bag. “I’m not good at baking in general. I only learned how to bake gingerbread because of family.”

Aquamarine lenses lit up with interest. “Family?”

“Nope. I’m not going to say anything more until you start decorating,” Ouma stuck out a tongue as he waved a white bag. “That said, you handle the girls, and I handle the guys.”

Kiibo stared down at the piping bag in his hand before nodding. “Fair enough.”

– [I ran from the baker and his wife too. You’ll never catch me, not any of you.] –

Decorating gingerbread men, or in his case, women, was surprisingly fun and fulfilling. With the photos as his guide, it was as if he were giving life to a coloring book. And seeing his classmate’s faces staring up at him with a pleasant smile somehow made him feel warm in its metaphorical sense.

“Mmm, that looks impressive coming from a newbie,” Kiibo met the other teen’s gaze, eyes wide from mild surprise. “Have you seen gingerbread men somewhere before? I thought that since you were a robot, you’d try to copy the photo exactly as you see it.”

“Oh, um…” the albino found himself looking at the tiny Akamatsu on the tray before responding. “Back when I was still in the developing stages–a child, so to speak, the Professor would leave the television on a kids’ channel for me to watch while he worked on his other projects. It just so happened that one of the songs that played for me was the Gingerbread Man.”

“Heeeh, is that so?” Ouma moved to grab a green piping bag. “So you learned things appropriate to your ‘age’ just like a human.”

“Yes. My development was purposefully modeled after a human child’s. Though the only difference is that I was able to walk as soon as I was active,” Kiibo smiled, pleased that he was finally able to have a decent conversation with the other boy. He set the piping bag on the counter since he was already finished with his own batch. “Hey, Ouma-kun.”

“Mmm? What is it?” the supreme leader still had his eyes on his handiwork, decorating the gingerbread men with utmost precision.

“…About your family…is it okay for me to ask about them?” Kiibo fidgeted, ahoge drooping nervously.

Ouma paused to glance at Kiibo’s tray before heaving out a resigned sigh. “Eh, you did your work. So I don’t see why not. What about them do you want to hear?”

“Umm…I hope I’m not being rude by saying this, but…” Kiibo averted his eyes before continuing. “I’ve actually heard from the others that you were actually orphaned, so…”

The android flinched when the shorter teen suddenly threw an empty piping bag against the counter. But despite this, his voice remained calm when he spoke. “You mean since I’m orphaned, I wouldn’t have a family to speak of right?”

“…Y-yes…” Kiibo found himself staring at the ground, wondering if he’d triggered a mine.

“Technically you’re right. But let me tell you something–family isn’t restricted to blood relations. You should know this by now, since you’re a robot,” Ouma puffed his chest. “Yeah. I'm an orphan. But everyone in the orphanage was my family. Just like how you and your Professor are family too.”

Kiibo’s eyes widened with awe. That’s right. He and Professor Iidabashi…they are family. He’s referred to him as his father from time to time, but called him by his title out of respect. Perhaps…he should start calling him as ‘father’ more frequently.

“…That being said, I really do have a family…now, at least,” Ouma turned his head to flash the android a rare sincere smile. “I got adopted by a baker. Their son–my older brother, I guess, taught me how to bake gingerbread houses and gingerbread men since that was the only thing he knew how to bake well at the time. It was his way of bonding with me I suppose.”

“Oh!” gasped the android. “How are they like? Your family?”

“They’re good people. I like them.” Ouma hummed, tapping a finger against his chin. “Big brother was kinda annoying though. Whenever it was Christmas, he would annoy me until I finally agreed to bake some gingerbread with him.”

“So it has become some sort of a family tradition,” Kiibo smiled. “…I’m glad that you were taken in by such a loving family, Ouma-kun.”

Ouma looked away in an attempt to hide his blushing face. “S-shut up. I wasn’t joking about big brother being annoying, you know! Always talking about baking and studying abroad to improve his skills…”

“Where is he right now?”

“…France,” Ouma set another piping bag on the counter, gently this time. “Would you believe that? He actually went abroad to study more baking techniques just like he wanted.”

…

….

The supreme leader suddenly grabbed the hem of his apron to hide his tears. “We…we haven’t baked together in a long time. It’s annoying. But I actually missed it. Those annoying days…”

Kiibo hastily searched for the roll of paper towel Ouma had prepared earlier and pulled two sheets from it, which he handed the supreme leader. “Ouma-kun, here…”

The raven-haired Ultimate simply nodded his thanks and dabbed his eyes with the paper towel. Kiibo wasn’t sure how to react in this situation, so all he could do was rub comforting circles on his classmate’s back as he cried. It took a couple of minutes for Ouma’s crying to die down. He left the android’s side in favor of washing his face by the sink in order to hide the evidence of his vulnerability.

“You saw nothing.”

Kiibo nodded. “I didn’t.”

Ouma flashed him an appreciative smile before re-tying his hair. “Anyway, enough of that sappy talk. We still have a house to assemble. Let’s get working!”

As he listened to the leader’s instructions, Kiibo couldn’t help but smile to himself. He’s gotten to understand more about him…their class’s very own gingerbread man.

– [They were all hungry and ready to eat, but the gingerbread man was quick on his feet.] –

“Huh? Isn’t this…me?” Akamatsu regarded the miniature version of herself, which was standing by the gingerbread house. “The attention to detail is amazing…!”

“Ah, Gonta’s here too!” the entomologist cheered.

“Ku ku ku…It seems everyone is here,” Shinguuji chuckled. “Wonderful, truly wonderful!”

When everyone entered the dining hall, they were surprised to find the gingerbread display on the table. They couldn’t help but crowd around it with wonder and amusement as they admired the accuracy of the gingerbread men and women’s designs.

“Did you prepare this, Toujou-san?” Amami turned to look at the maid, who was standing just behind him.

“That’s…”

“Uwaaah! What’s this? Gingerbread?!” Ouma boisterously barged into the room, eyes sparkling with delight. “Toujou-chan made this didn’t she? I don’t think anyone else here can cook besides her!”

Toujou regarded the supreme leader with a neutral look before bowing slightly. “…Yes. Since it is almost Christmas, I believed that preparing gingerbread for everyone would fulfill everyone’s wishes of having an enjoyable Christmas.”

“As expected of the Ultimate Maid! Only she’s capable of pulling this off!” Ouma praised.

His smile widened when Toujou offered him another bow. “It is my pleasure to serve.”

It was probably unhealthy, but they decided to just have gingerbread for breakfast and warm cocoa or milk to go with it. Kiibo, who was unable to eat, found himself staring back at his smaller, more edible version in interest.

“Toujou-chan’s really nice, huh! She even baked you one even though you can’t eat~” Ouma took a bite out of his gingerbread version’s leg as he sat himself beside the lone robot. “Or maybe that’s actually more cruel. Giving you something that’s meant to be eaten, yet you couldn’t eat.”

“I can at least enjoy its scent,” Kiibo huffed. “The smooth blend of spices and sweetness…it’s quite pleasant.”

Ouma shook his head, “Stop. You’re making me feel bad.”

“I didn’t mean to put it that way,” Kiibo rolled his eyes. “Though I would appreciate it if you could explain to me how eating this feels like.”

“Mmm…” Ouma mercilessly bit off his gingerbread counterpart’s head this time with a crunch. “Although it breaks off with a loud crunch, but it’s actually pretty chewy–melts in your mouth too. As soon as you open your mouth, you just get hit with the spices, and the more you chew the sweeter it gets. You can taste the spices but it’s not spicy at all.”

“Thank you for your input.” The android nodded, taking in the information. “Umm… why did you lie about it earlier?”

“Wow, I wasn’t aware that we were playing 20 questions, I’m leaving–”

“Ouma-kun.”

The supreme leader blinked once, twice, before heaving out an exasperated sigh.

“…I ordered Toujou-chan to help me hide the gingerbread dough while I had it cool overnight over the past few days before I was able to bake it last night,” Ouma popped the remaining body parts of his gingerbread self in his mouth. “No one would eat it if they found out I was the one who made it, after all.”

“Oh…”

“Mmhm! Besides, it’s more entertaining this way,” Ouma yawned. “And needless to say, if you dare speak a soul about this, I’ll have you assassinated by my men.”

“There’s no need to go to that extent,” frowned Kiibo. “If you wanted me to keep it as a secret, then all you have to do is ask.” He passed his gingerbread to the sleepy supreme leader to represent the metaphorical olive branch.

“You’re giving me your share?” Ouma regarded the android with amusement. “Not the others, but me?”

“You’re already here anyway. I don’t see the need to go anywhere else,” Kiibo shrugged. “And although I can’t eat this, I still appreciate that you took the time to make one for me.”

“Mmm, is that so?” Ouma nibbled on the cookie’s ahoge. “It’s actually quite rude to return gifts, you know. Well, since you’re a robot, I guess it can’t be helped. There’s one thing you can do to show me how grateful you are, though! I’ll let you guess what it is~” He completely bit off the ahoge, giving the android a mischievous smile.

“O-oh! Yes, you’re right,” Kiibo shifted into a more erect sitting position and gave a small bow, smiling as he said: “Thank you, Ouma-kun.”

               – [And that was the end of the Gingerbread Man] –

Rrrrrring! Rrrrrrrrrriiiing!!

Click.

“Kiibo? Did you need something?”

Hearing the Professor’s voice on the line made his metaphorical heart swell with gratitude and adoration.

“F…father,” Kiibo’s grip on the phone tightened, willing his blush to go away lest he gets caught. “I’ve called to greet you a Merry Christmas.” His forehead creased with worry when the line went silent. “Father…?”

“…M-Merry Christmas, son.”

Kiibo stood in a more confident manner and wore a wide smile. He and his father ended up having a long conversation, with Kiibo just sharing his experiences the past few days with his only family. Iidabashi on the other line was resisting the urge to cry as he listened to his son speak with much excitement.

[id-antonettereyes]

Climbing Luzon’s ceiling, Mt. Pulag via Akiki-Amba Trail

After my first major hike in Cawag Hexa, my friends invited me to finally go ahead and climb Luzon’s highest mountain, Mt. Pulag.  More than that, they were so confident to advise to hike the mountain via the Akiki Trail. 

It is known as the most difficult route to summit. Most tourists opt to climb Pulag through the Ambangeg Trail since it’s easier, and even considered as a minor climb. And as I wanted to challenge myself, I prepared myself to experience Luzon’s highest peak via the difficult route. The Akiki trail.

I went to Basekamp in Market! Market! to make sure that I have sufficient gears for this hike. Headlamp (because using just powerbank flashlight in Cawag was ridiculous), hiking bag, sleeping bag, water bladder, etc. 

The store staff realized that I am a beginner since I’m just starting to collect necessary hiking gears. He asked me which Mt. Pulag trail am I gonna do, and he gave me such judgy look when I answered Akiki Trail. He said that the Akiki trail is composed mainly of  steep ascents and painstaking assault. But that just made me more excited for my upcoming hike.

As usual, meet-up point is as Greenfields, Cubao. After long-drive from Manila, we took a topload jeepney from the local barangay where we had our physical examination and orientation. 

From there, we road the monster jeepney again going to Akiki Ranger Station for the arrangement of guide assignment and optional porter designation.

Out of curiosity, I weighed my bag and it’s 10kilograms. Some of the other hikers hired a porter for PHP500/kilo. I was thinking of getting a porter as well but I felt like I need to experience greater challenge of hiking with heavy loads.

After all the final preparations, porter assignment and guide designation, we started initial trek at 11:30 AM. 

We reached the dirt road after the strenuous and continuous assault. The group paused for a while on the waiting shed. This is where I asked our organizer if I can keep going and go on the same pacing with the porter ahead of us, and she allowed me to do so.

When I reached the Eddet River Campsite (Camp 1 - Akiki Trail),  I took the opportunity to chat with the porter. He told me he’s carrying 30kilograms sack of baggage. There’s also water source at Eddet River Campsite but I still have enough so I didn’t have to refill. After resting for about 10 mins, I resumed trekking and crossed the bridge along Eddet River.

A steep ascent with sudden elevation gain follows after crossing the bridge along Eddet River. The trail is covered with pine-trees a.k.a twilight kind of scenery.

Akiki Trail Rhino Photo spot, in the midst of Twilight zone. This steep ascent to the Marlboro Campsite is also where fatigue usually starts to be a factor. It is not uncommon for hikers to suffer cramps in this part of the trail. I just slowed down a little bit and ate some of my trail food.

At 4:30 PM, I reached the Akiki Camp Site. That’s around three and a half hour of trekking from the Ranger Station. So good to have enough time to rest while waiting for the rest of our group but since I’m alone, I’m not very comfortable with the attention I’m getting from my friends here, lol cute cows. I took a nap while waiting, not minding the fog that just started to creep in around the surroundings.

Since we need to wake up around 2AM the next day, I already took a rest after dinner at 11:PM. The next day, we packed up around 2AM, had breakfast, and continued our journey towards the summit. 

Since I was on the lead, I usually get confused which trail should I follow. I just continued despite of so much cold. I was basically navigating the steep trail amidst the cold mossy forest by myself.

As I reach the grassland,  I can already see the horizon ahead. Walking on thin air slowed me down but I pushed myself to walk and ran faster in the midst of dark mossy forest and frozen grassland. I thought that what I was looking at is already the summit but it’s just the junior pulag. And actually, I have barely scratched the distance that we aimed to cover being on an overnight hike.

After the final ascent, and trekking for more than three hours the day before, and another three hours from the camp, I finally reached Luzon’s highest mountain at 5:25 AM. 

Since I arrived on the summit earlier than the rest of my team, I took my time to savor the beautiful sunrise and enjoy the scenery. I had to spent an extended time at the summit and took the opportunity to chat with other hikers and watch the sky change its color. 

After waiting for two hours, my team arrived at 8:30AM.

Started descent from summit 8:10 AM and navigated the rolling hills of ambangeg trail. I’m glad the Ambangeg trail is relatively easy and I was able to hop and run along the trail. 

I reached the Akiki Ranger Station at 10AM. The descent only took me approximately two hours as we took the easy route down.

T’was indeed a strenuous climb but I’m glad that my hexa hike prep me for this. Nonetheless, the chilling trail from the cold breeze, and freezing temperature gave me waaaay different experience than that of hell-hike cawag die-hike. I am thankful to see Mt. Pulag in different sceneries and level of difficulty by going up through the difficult route and descent via easy way down.

Mt. Pulag, you are truly the playground of Gods and it’s definitely magical to experience being with you.

[longroadstonowhere]

okay y’all, is my birthday and i have to spend a majority of it at work, so i’m gonna drop this new chapter of wild child on y’all this morning

it’s a bit short, but as i’ve mentioned before, the rest of the story has been rough drafted, so i should be publishing it all within the next month or so (as evidenced by how there’s actually a set number of chapters for the fic now) - the only reason it might take a bit longer is cuz i like when numbers match up so i might spring for some kind of significant date, haha

(1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 ao3)

"This place is huuuge!" John said, his words distorted a little by the window he was currently smashing his face against. It was still early enough in the evening that he could see how the roads leading up to the airport's parking garages twisted around each other, making complicated loops that had to run around the whole complex. He could almost pretend they were on the edge of an epic car chase, one that would have his dad swerving between lanes, taking supersharp turns to throw off their pursuers until the only course left... was straight onto the tarmac!

Distracted by trying to compose the perfect high-octane music score, John didn't realize his dad was saying something to him until he was almost done talking. "... Thankfully we'll be able to park fairly close to our terminal, since getting from one end of the airport to the other can be quite the journey, It wouldn't do to miss our light due to such a silly thing as that."

"Uh, yeah, sure, that would probably be real bad... So hey! What kind of plane are we flying on, anyway? Is it one of those super cool double-decker ones? It'd be so awesome to climb a flight of stairs when you're actually flying waaaay above the clouds!"

His dad chuckled. "Sorry John, but I'm afraid those kinds of plans are usually reserved for international flights, not domestic ones."

"Oh." There went another possibility to reenact some cool movie moments. "Well, whatever kind of plane it is, it'll still be really cool to really be flying. Do the tops of clouds look different from the bottoms? I mean, they look kinda different in the movies, but movies make a lot of stuff look different."

"It depends on the kind of cloud," Jade piped up from the backseat. She and Bec were sprawled out together, soaking up every minute they could before they had to get on the plane separately - Bec was way too big for any airline to let him ride with the passengers, sadly. "I got to see a few different formations on our trip from the island, and the cumulus clouds looked pretty much the same from above and below, but the stratus clouds will look way different cuz the sun hits them in different ways."

John twisted around in his seat as he said, "That's right, I totally forgot you've been in a plane before, Jade! That's so cool!" Then he frowned. "Wait, that means you got the chance to fly before I did. That's lame."

Jade laughed and stuck her tongue out at him. She showed a little too much of her teeth when she did, so it looked kinda weird, but John was almost impressed she'd picked up such a classic childish expression, Of course, he had to shower her how the pros did it.

John's masterful expression provoked Jade into making another face back at him, and soon the two were embroiled in a contest to see who could make the most unhumanly ridiculous face possible. By the time Dad parked the car, no victor had been declared, but John was in physical pain from all the laughing.

Security lines were boring. And slow. No wonder movie heroes always skip them, John thought as he waited for his dad to finish collecting all the stuff he'd had to take out of his pockets. He'd let Jade and John go first, which was probably the gentlemanly thing to do, but it also meant they had to wait when all John wanted to do was run around and look at all the neat airport shops. He bounced in place until, finally, his dad had tied his shoelaces into the perfect knot. "Our gate is A5," he said, with a gesture of his hand, which clearly meant 'go ahead'.

John didn't ask twice - he was off like a shot, tearing past the other people in the hall on the way to their gate. He didn't get very far, though - as he turned a corner, he stopped short, in awe of the sight before him.

He'd entered what looked like the main hub for all the branches of the airport, a two-story open room with tables and chairs scattered around, a few of them taken up by travelers getting in a quick bite. The truly spectacular thing, however, was that the entire outer wall was made of glass, letting him see the airplanes as they trucked around between gates. The sun was almost done setting, but it still scattered a few golden beams across the sky. It was one of the most beautiful things John had ever seen in real life.

Staring out the window, John didn't notice his dad catching up to him until his hand came down on his shoulder. He looked up into his dad's face, who smiled and said, "Exciting, isn't it?" John just nodded, words failing him for once. "We'd best make our way to the gate, then. Wouldn't want to miss our flight, after all."

Paul leaned back in his seat and rolled his shoulders, taking a break from reading his novel. Checking his watch, it looked like they were about two thirds through their flight. He'd taken a small nap earlier, but he'd never been able to sleep well outside of a bed.

He glanced at John on his left, who was leaning against the wall of the plane, completely unconscious. It even looked like he was drooling a little. Paul grinned and took out his Blackberry to get a quick photo. These doohickies are certainly more convenient than carrying a proper camera around, even if the pictures aren't quite as good, he mused. It looked like John was taking his first flight well, though.

On his other side, Jade also seemed to be sleeping, though it was hard to tell if she was truly out or just keeping very still. She had adapted to life in this country extraordinarily well so far, but she still held many unconscious habits from her time living alone.

Paul sighed to himself. Uncle Harley, some of the decisions you made... I just can't understand them. His mother had never gone into much detail about why Uncle Harley never visited, she'd just said he needed a lot of space. He'd sent a couple letters filled with tales of his adventures, which his mother had used as bedtime stories, but they never had much in the way of personal sentiments, and he couldn't recall his mother sending any back. He'd never questioned that distance growing up - that's just how family was sometimes.

Now, though, he couldn't help but wonder how his mother had really felt about Uncle Harley's long absence from her life. Did he even know about me? Paul suddenly thought. He'd never met the man, after all, and he'd started his adventurous lifestyle long before Mother adopted him. As far as Uncle Harley knew, his sister had spent the rest of her life alone.

Paul shook his head, forcing the morose thoughts away. That's in the past now, for better or worse. He had to focus on taking care of Jade, not musing on what had led Uncle Harley to keep her isolated on that island. It was hard to think of the future, though, knowing what the most likely outcome of this trip was.

He looked at Jade's still face and took a deep breath. I have to do what's best for Jade. No matter what. With that resolve in his heart, he leaned back and closed his eyes, hoping for a little more rest before their trip together ended.

Jade stared out the car's window, watching the landscape race by. Bec was draped halfway across her body, making up for the time together they'd lost because of that airline's policies on traveling with dogs. The pilot on her flight off the island had been much more reasonable.

Then again, that had probably been considered "special circumstances". It still would've been nice to fly with him again.

Next to her, John was still chattering excitedly about their trip thus far. He'd been pretty groggy when they got off the plane, but all his usual energy had come back in a flash when he'd noticed the professional driver waiting for them with a sign that said "Egbert". Apparently he'd been sent by the woman they were here to visit, Doctor Lalonde. John had just been excited to have such a "celebrity moment" happen to him, as he'd repeated several times during the car ride thus far.

Mr. Egbert was listening to John from his position in the front seat, so Jade didn't feel too bad about keeping her attention on the world outside their car. It definitely seemed more... wild than the area around John's house. Not the same as her island, of course, but the only real sign of people was the road they were traveling on. Otherwise, it was all trees and rocks as far as she could tell. It would be nice to spend time here.

After some time, the car pulled around a curve and revealed a majestic, sprawling house nestled into a large clearing. Jade pressed against the window, trying to catch as many details as possible. "... Is that a river running through that place?" she asked, unable to trust her own eyes.

"Seriously??" John stretched toward her side of the car, trying to look out her window, but the car turned to drive toward the house before he could get a good view. "That sounds super awesome! Like a supervillain's lair! Hey, wait, she's not really a supervillain, right?" John turned towards his dad again. "Dad, we're not visiting a supervillain, right?"

Mr. Egbert chuckled. "Son, Dr. Lalonde is a kind and generous woman. She was the one who paid for our flight here, you know, and arranged for the excellent service of our chauffeur here." He nodded respectfully to the driver, who murmured "Thank you kindly" in response.

As the car pulled up to the house, John kept talking. "I dunno, supervillains can be really charming, and this could all be some kind of trap. Paying for the hero's transportation is a total villain move."

Now Mr. Egbert frowned. "John, your imagination is a powerful tool, but while we are Dr. Lalonde's guests, I trust that you'll treat her with respect. Understood?"

John slumped back in his seat. "Fiiiiiiiine." Quieter, he said, "That's way less cool, though."

When the car stopped, Jade let Bec out first so he could get some of the kinks out of his legs. He'd had to stay in that traveling container for a really long time. For her part, Jade got out and looked up at the house again. It was a pretty ridiculous house, really - it looked way bigger than any person really needed, and building your house on top of a river just seemed unnecessarily dangerous. There was something about the place that felt... weirdly familiar, though...

Jade's attempts at placing that feeling were interrupted by a loud voice from the house. "Oh! My! GOSH! You're here! You're all here!" A woman with short blonde hair wearing some kind of labcoat dress was rushing down the path towards them. "Please, please, let Noah take care of your luggage, you've had a long trip and I'm sure you're all completely exhausted!" She came closer showing all her teeth in a wide grin, and Jade had to suppress the urge to run up a tree. She'd gotten better with figuring out when people were just being friendly, but...

Fortunately the woman seemed to be focused on Mr. Egbert for now - they were talking about how the trip went, which seemed useless to her, but whatever kept the doctor's attention off her for now would work. She watched as Bec poked around the landscape, staying within a fairly close distance in case he was needed. It was good she was able to bring hi, She'd have to thank Dr. Lalonde for that, right? Mr. Egbert would probably expect that of her.

"Oh, what am I doing, blabbing your ears off out here! Come in, please, we'll all have plenty of time to get to know each other." She gestured toward the front door and they all slowly made their way into the house.