#mariah carey mom and sister death

[rihanziad]

Mariah Carey Confirms Her Mom Patricia and Sister Alison Both Died on Same Day: 'My Heart Is Broken' (Exclusive)

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[ghostfacd]

WIRED AUTOCOMPLETE. | TOM BLYTH

PAIRING. tom blyth x fem!actress!reader

SUMMARY. in which you and tom make a special appearance on wired’s autocomplete interview

installment of this au | recommend reading for more context

“Hi — we’re Y/N Avocot and Tom Blyth — and this is the Wired Autocomplete Interview!”

You’re both handed a white board, bigger than your face, and there’s a list of questions with some of the words covered.

“Do you want to go first?” Tom asks, giving you a small smile.

“Yes! I’m pretty excited actually,” you begin to peel off the first question. “Okay, first question: what was Y/N Avocot’s first role?”

You think for a moment, “well in terms of roles in general, my first acting role was very small and I believe it was for this ice cream commercial as a kid. I’m not sure if it’s still up but my mom had signed me up for it and they thought I was a really cute kid so they casted me.”

Tom laughs, “really?” He then retrieves his board from the crew. “Okay my turn. Why does Coriolanus Snow turn evil?”

That question makes you slightly giggle, because it’s so broad that it’s nearly impossible for Tom to narrow down exactly what it is that made Coriolanus suddenly switch. “I believe you should be asking Suzanne Collins, shout-out to her for making the entire trilogy and prequel. But honestly? I think he was always power hungry, and even though Tigris tried her very best to bring out the humanity in him, it was just never enough. Especially after Sejanus’s death, I think Coriolanus realized there was no going back.”

“Oh wow,” you say, very impressed with how he decided to answer it. “That was a terrific answer Tom.”

“Thank you m’lady.” You giggle at his antics, rolling your eyes jokingly.

“What role does Y/N Avocot play in The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes?” You clear your throat, imitating one of your character’s iconic resting bitch face.

“I play Balleona Laurent, duh.” You joke. “Anyway, yes, I play Balleona, also known as Leona. She’s originally from the Capitol just like Coriolanus. They met at the academy and she automatically knew she had to have him. She comes from the Laurent family, which is a very very wealthy, well off, intimidating family that Coriolanus knows he just has to get into, which is why they start dating. I don’t wanna spoil too much of Leona and Corio in the movie, soooo you guys should definitely check it out!”

“Alright,” Tom adjusts himself in his seat, ripping off the paper for the next question. “Does Tom Blyth have a girlfriend?”

He pretends to think, which makes you bite your lip, suppressing a laugh. “Hmm, very complex question.”

“Oh give the people what they want!” You tease, “yes he does. He’s inlove with Jennifer Lawrence.”

“I am not inlove with Jennifer Lawrence!” He exclaims quickly, “although I greatly admire her work. My girlfriend is Y/N Avocot over here, sadly.”

“Sadly?!” You fake offense, “cut the cameras. I’m gonna beat Tom up.”

You peel away at your next question, the interview already being loads of fun for the both of you. “Is Y/N Avocot a good singer?”

Your head falls forward, and Tom’s automatic instinct is to catch you, not realizing you’re only joking. “Oh God, I hope so!” You say, laughing as you pick your head up. “I’m no Mariah Carey but I like to think I’m a pretty okay singer.”

“More than okay,” Tom chimes in, which makes you laugh.

“Aw, thanks Tom.”

Tom reaches to peel another question off. “Is Tom Blyth American?” This question makes you almost spit out the water you were currently taking a sip out of. “Well, a lot of people get shocked when I say I’m from the UK. I mean, is my American accent that good?”

“Guess so,” you shrug. “Okay next. Is Y/N Avocot in The Summer I Turned Pretty?”

You clasp your hands together excitedly, giving the camera a wide smile. “Yes! I play Maekella Fisher, also known as Ella Fisher, Steven Conklin’s love interest and sister to Conrad and Jeremiah. The first season airs out soon so please stay tune for that! I’m so excited to be apart of this amazing show with such amazing people.”

“I always come to watch her on set,” Tom says, “they’re all such funny and charismatic people. I swear I’ve became friends with everyone on Y/N’s cast.”

“Okay, my last question,” Tom peels off the paper, grinning. “Will Tom Blyth star in another movie soon?”

He smirks, eyes playfully looking into the camera. “Who knows? But I do know that something exciting will be coming out soon so prepare yourselves!”

“Way to tease the crowd Blyth,” you say, rolling your eyes. “Anyway! My last question, this was quick. What is Y/N Avocot’s skincare routine? Oh, I’ve been waiting for this one.”

You sit on the edge of your seat, and Tom finds it endearing that you’re so excited about something as small as this.

“First, I rinse my face with cold water and I dip my face in a bowl of ice and water for 3 minutes. Afterwards, I put on my dewy toner from Innisfree, it’s so smooth and nice. Sometimes I’m too lazy for this step but I also put on sunscreen, it’s important so I always remind myself to not forget— but I love to use Supergoop Unseen’s Sunscreen. I use drunk elephant’s bronze drops if I wanna go for a sunkissed look that day, but I usually don’t. And then I just shake my Tower facial spray and spray it all over my face. Usually, I touch up my eyebrows and do my eyeliner but that’s really about it!”

“It’s true,” Tom adds. “She asked me if I could go buy her the tower spray yesterday because she was almost out.”

“No need to expose me like that,” you say, clinging your arms onto his. “Well thank you guys for watching!”

“Thank you!” Tom and you wave at the camera, smiling brightly.

[luckyshotwrites]

Ch. 102 // How Do You Feel? // Day 78

Contents (Warnings): Sum up what's left (Angst, character and monster info as always). Read full chapter on A03

Wordcount: 2,000+

Song I correlate to this Chapter: definitely not Mariah Carey's all I want for Christmas is you.

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

(Dec. 20th, Tuesday)

Lynette

It had been nearly two weeks since the incident.

After we were collected, given immediate care, exchanged our testimonies, and debriefed, we were allowed to go home. 

Most of it was mashed together in my mind. I figured it was due to how fast everything happened. Working at the pizzeria is a testimony to that statement. 

I knew there were mass casualties—most of the people in the basement were recovered, and Andras, along with Victoria, were in custody, most likely going to be put to death.

I didn't know the extent of the C.P.P.A.'s legal system and wanted to avoid asking Wicks. Despite claiming he was okay, I knew he wasn't. 

Lately, he was antsy. He'd check on me every hour, and each time he did, he'd offer me sweets—far more than usual. His excuse was that he had to dispose of the ever-increasing keep-away-from-Lentils stash.

And before I left today, he made me promise three things. 

"One, you won't go out with anyone, monster or not, unless Charletta, Mom, Dad, or I go with you."

It felt fair for now. I hadn't made any human friends. 

"Two, IF anyone bothers you after you tell them to leave or you feel uneasy about them in any way. Use your knife."

I received it after finishing my training last week. I currently had it strapped to my belt, concealed behind my jacket at my back. 

I was afraid to admit that even thinking about seriously stabbing someone scared me. 

It'll get more manageable if I keep training with Garter. I assured myself.

"Three, if you get in a coworker-related trouble again at any point, you're quitting."

It was the only compromise I'd give him. It wasn't their fault. Neither Claudia nor Drake expected that to happen. I convinced him to agree, but I wasn't sure if I'd go back or not.

"Here's your pretzel," my sister said. She unconsciously hummed the current Christmas song on the speakers: ' All I want for Christmas is no copyright infringements.' 

We were at the mall together, getting last-minute Christmas gifts for the family. All we had to do was wait for Wenna to arrive. 

I still think dragging me along with them is a bad idea. I thought.

After what happened, Drake wasn't permitted to be around me for the next month. Because of the extreme stress of being constantly deprived of energy and drinking my blood back to back to back, he got addicted. 

From what I understood, if a vampire was under pressure and continued to drink from the same person, their body deemed no other "resources" available, so it'd become possessive and protective over that "resource." That'd also mean they'd exclusively crave that being's blood. 

So, Drake would be drinking animal blood for the next month to 'reset his palette.' This apparently happened to him with Elise, Viola's partner as well.  

Wenna assured me she'd stay at Viola's house after she left the mall, so Drake wouldn't have exposure to my scent either. 

It made giving him a birthday gift a little more complicated. I said in my head as I took a bite of the pretzel while we walked. Charletta happily tore into hers beside me.

We had yet to walk into any festively decorated storefronts, but seeing them made my smile come alive. Not that I hadn't been to the mall in a while—Wicks and I'd come here at least once a month since the rock climbing place we visited every week was next door.

The adorning wreaths and garlands in cahoots with the cinnamon and pine scents delighted me. I loved buying gifts for people, and this was the holiday with the biggest and best excuse to spend my money on it. I hadn't had a reason to use much of the money I'd made at the pizzeria. 

This realization brought me back to what I should do. If I stayed, I planned on going back after Christmas. 

After I finished my pretzel, I threw away the napkin, and Charletta tugged my arm. 

"Hey, we should sit at those chairs you like." She slipped her phone back into her pocket. 

Before she continued to drag me, we waited for the excited kids to run by to see Santa at the huge, well decorated, Christmas tree.

"I remember when you and Madre had to put up with me pulling Wicks to Santa." I chuckled as I plopped onto the chair, feeling the motionless massagers underneath me awaiting my money. I also noted the other person using one behind mine. 

Charletta fell back on the one next to me and laughed, too: "That first time he was put on his lap. He was bawling and begging for Mom to get him." 

I whimpered, "I still feel so bad. I thought you guys knew who Santa was!" I put a dollar into her chair and mine. 

"We had a monster similar to Krampus back on Yexodele, but no Santa." She said with a shake of her head. 

A monster similar to KRAMPUS? I would have asked further, if the other part of what she said didn't get my attention too. "On Yexodele?"

"We lived there before we came here." Charletta closed her eyes and relaxed back. "We should get a massage at one of the shops with Wenna." 

"Then why did you..." It had been so long since it was mentioned to me, but I remembered what Drake said. 

"I never saw it, though, Yexodele. I was born on Earth." [...] "There was a big war that broke out between the strongest nations, and now nearly all of it is uninhabitable."

"Oh, right." I sheepishly replied.

Despite Charletta's smile, her face contained freckles of concern. She asked, "have you been told about it?"

"Yeah, Drake told me some things about the war."

"It was crazy. I was thirteen when we came here." She bustled with laughter and waved her hand around, seemingly to avoid the topic. "You know how hard it was not to use any of my tricks in front of people and to be around people that looked like me."  

I didn't press her. "I think it's similar to how I feel knowing about everything now." It was disorienting to see some people at the mall, knowing one could be a giant monster living here peacefully or, like Andras, not so much.

I followed her lead and shut my eyes, too. Beneath my eyelids, the images of what has happened so far, the good and the bad, fluttered about. It's been, what, a little over four months? 

"Speaking of things you can't always see," Charletta nudged my arm with her elbow. "What's on your mind?" 

I flinched as the massage chair got to my neck. I pulled away from it for a moment and sighed.

"What should I do?"

"About?"

"You know…" How could I explain it?

Charletta turned her attention to mean, leaning up in her chair. "What do you feel you should do?"

I shrugged and played with one of my curls. "I don't know. Claudia's nice, and Zilla's not bad. As long as she's not using me in some hair-brain scheme, she's fine. Lev is Lev, Drake... I don't blame him for what happened." It was all Andras. He abused us both and manipulated Drake. I'd attempt to treat him the same; even with the incident at the festival, he was the only one who acted friendly and genuine to me. 

"And Alexander," my thoughts sank. There had been so many things dwelling under the surface of my mind. Yet Alexander's face stuck out the most. I had never seen him like that. He was always annoyed, unbothered, or hungry, never terrified. 

"I-I never had someone look at me like that before." I kept vividly hearing his raspy, hard breathing and seeing his body shake and stammer in retreat. "He looked afraid of me when he's the scary opposing one-" I don't understand how Andras could derive satisfaction from it. It made me feel sick and overwhelmed with the need to chase him. I wanted to know why he ran away from me and refused to accept what I said.

"From what Wicks told me, things went down, and Alexander had other complicated feelings at the time," Charletta said calmly.

I didn't know Wicks talked to you about it. "That's why I was trying to get it through to him. He went back to help Wicks!"

"Knowing you, of course, you did," Charletta said as she paid the chairs for us this time when they ran out. "You shouldn't fret too much about that big softie. He'll be fine."

I did a double take and choked on my spit. I coughed, "wha-" I continued the fit for a little longer. "He's not a softie!"

Charletta pursed her lips together to hold back her giggles, then popped them when she got a handle over herself, "I did my own investigation during Thanksgiving because Wicks wouldn't stop complaining about him."

"Huh?" That's right. She sparred with Alexander during the party. "that's why you fought him?""

She tilted her head, "duh." She rested her hands behind her head momentarily before she realized the robotic massage went up to it. "I wanted to know if he was as stupid and rude as Wicks described. " 

He's blunt and abrasive. I didn't know whether I'd call him dumb or not. Just not as receptive?

"I think he's pretty simple," she scoffed. "He's definitely quick with magic and a lot more trusting than I imagined." Charletta rested her head back, "even after I threatened him." 

"Threatened?"

She brushed her wavy brown locks from her face. "What? You think I'm not a little peeved that he might not treat my little sister respectfully?" She grabbed my hand and squeezed it. "It worked out well."

"I guess." 

"Do you think otherwise"

"I wouldn't fight someone for that reason," I muttered quietly. 

Charletta flicked her hand from mine and pushed my chin up, "And there's your answer."

I didn't move from the position she put me in, "not to fight people?" I could have told you that.

Charletta tipped her finger off my chin. "You decide what you do." She put her hands flat over her chest. "I can say what I think is best, same as I'm sure everyone else has or can for you, but we aren't you."

She pointed at me. "You're going through everything, Lyn. You know what you can handle and what you can take. And if you don't know yet, you'll learn." 

She's right. I was afraid to make this decision alone—why did I keep fighting with Wicks then? I don't want to give up, do I? 

"It's your decision, not theirs," she said, teasingly poking me. "I know it can be tough, especially with Mom and Wicks always coddling you."

My smile wavered. I let my head fall, staring at my knees, going over the side grooves in my jeans with my fingers, "What if I fail again?"

"You don't fail if you try. You fail when you give up and stop trying entirely. If you leave or stay now and leave later, that doesn't mean utter defeat. You tried, and you can work elsewhere if it doesn't work out there." She leaned closer; our chair timers were up. "Like, does it make you a failure at rock climbing if you can't do a wall?"

I shook my head. "No. I'd do a different one until I get good enough to do the one I couldn't." 

"Exactly, or you might never go back to that wall again. It might not be your style, fit your groove, or it'll change. So, you aren't a failure unless you stop entirely and deem yourself one."

I puckered and relaxed my lips, still brushing the seams of my pants, while in thought. I do plan on working more after the year. I want to get better at art so I can make silly animations. 

My hands rested on my thighs. And if I do quit, I will still do what I can to make that dream a reality. I'll work anywhere else and keep saving.

I looked up at her. "Thank you."

"We're always here for you, Lyn. We'll support you no matter what," she popped up from her chair and offered me an arm up, too. "just don't drive us too crazy, okay? Unless you want Madre and Wicks to seal you away like a Rapunzel forever."

Wicks is already doing that, I thought as I took her offer. "I'd also like to make another thing clear." She brought me close and sharpened her gaze. "When you ask yourself what you want, don't think of the money as a way to pay us back."

"But,"

"We're here for each other. If things didn't work out between Ulysses and me, you all would be there, showering me with everything under the sun. It's no different from us to you, no matter what your brain tells you. Got it?"

"O-okay"

"Good." Charletta glanced at the chairs back to back with ours. "Are you going to hide there all day or give us hugs?"

"Sorry!" Wenna popped up from the chair. 

My cheeks were red with embarrassment. People passed us during this conversation, sure, though none were listening. Knowing Wenna was there the whole time, my cheeks were hot. 

"I didn't want to ruin your sisterly moment." Wenna came around the chairs to us. 

"You're allowed to join them being our sister and all too."

Wenna squealed and grabbed me first in the hug, then Charletta. "Yeah, I am!" Because of Wenna's height to me, we were nearly cheek-to-cheek.

I glanced up at Charletta as she squeezed us back. 

My mind was still wrecked, trembling when I thought of what had happened so far, but for some reason, whether it be my stupid determination or the feeling of wanting to prove myself, I wasn't keen on making a decision until after the holidays.

…

Hey, you, thank you so much for reading. I'm glad I put out a story that people can enjoy! I hope you continue to enjoy it as WE have a LOT more to go! YOU BETTER KEEP PROSPERING! (Nonnegotiable, as always~).

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What I’d do for a Livable Income Part 2 (Synopsis/Chapter - List)

[yoosmekihyun]

Conversations in the Dark (pt. 4)

Summary: After a series of major personal events, you decide to move to New York (in part) so you can have a relationship with your newly discovered half-sister, Karen Page. Matt Murdock and Foggy Nelson become additional important figures in your life as you navigate new relationships and figure out how to live your life.

Genre: Fluff, Angst, Smut (sometimes), we run the spectrum of emotions here

Warnings: mention of death, grief, anxiety, drinking, pining (so much pining), self-deprecation, chapters with sexual content will be marked with their own warnings, violence or attempted violence (i.e. Daredevil related)

Word Count: 3.4k

Part Four

The smells coming out of your kitchen had you in heaven. After a rough couple of weeks organizing the delivery of your household goods and learning how to sleep with the city noise outside your window, you were starting to feel settled. To celebrate, you invited Karen, Foggy, and Matt over for dinner as a small and cozy housewarming. You found your mom’s lasagna recipe when you were unpacking your kitchen and after you sat on your floor and cried, you knew what you needed to do.

You checked on the lasagna in the oven to make sure all was well and were pleased. You unpacked the French bread and started preparing it for garlic bread. One of your more upbeat playlists was on in the background and you chuckled at the irony as one of your favorite Mariah Carey songs started. You began to sing along:

Oh, when you walk by every night Talking sweet and looking fine I get kinda hectic inside Mmm, baby I'm so into you Darling, if you only knew All the things that flow through my mind But it's just a sweet sweet fantasy baby When I close my eyes You come and you take me It's so deep in my daydreams But it's just a sweet, sweet fantasy baby

It was if you could have written this song considering your current state. Matt had continued to be a considerate neighbor and was quickly becoming a friend you truly trusted. It wasn’t his fault that you practically swooned every time you were together and struggled to keep your composure when he brushed against you or flirted.

But was it flirting? You sighed as this thought crossed your mind for the millionth time since the almost kiss. It seemed like he might have been interested in something with you but after that evening, nothing happened. There were casual touches, but it appeared to be in the same way he interacted with Karen or Foggy and sometimes you wondered if it was simply accidental. He always had such a sweet smile for you, but you’d seen him give the same smile to one of your neighbors who opened a door for him. You were just living in a Fantasy like Mariah.

As soon as you finished wrapping the garlic bread and slipping it into the oven with the lasagna, you heard a knock at your door. You wiped your hands on your apron as you made your way to answer. Taking a breath, you opened your door to see Karen with a bottle of wine and a bag with “Casa Delica” written on the side. Smiling, you grabbed the bag and gave Karen a quick hug as you led her inside.

“Thank you so much for picking up the dessert order for me!” you grinned at Karen.

“It was no issue, they had it ready to go and told me to tell you they made the adjustments you asked for.”

“Ah, good! I paid a bit extra for that, but I think it’ll be worth it,” you replied as you slipped the container out of the bag to take a peek. “These are going to be amazing!”

Just as your oven timer started to go off, there was another knock at the door. “Would you mind getting that? I need to make sure everything cooked properly.”

Karen gave you a smile and a nod and headed to answer the door as you pulled the lasagna and bread out of the oven and checked everything over. Satisfied, you turned and nearly lost your balance as you bumped into Matt. Unconsciously, you settled a hand on his chest and he slipped his hands onto your hips to steady you. You had a fleeting thought of him gripping your hips as he slowly entered you and you felt your arousal roar to life. Matt’s hands flexed slightly as if he had the same thought before he dropped his hands and took a small step back. He flashed his standard charming smile at you, “Sorry, I just wanted to greet you…and get a closer sniff of our dinner. It smells amazing, I can’t wait.”

Matt leaned in and brushed a gentle kiss to your cheek and then whispered softly in your ear, “Thank you for cooking.”

Your heart was beating so hard at this point it was a miracle you could hear anything over the thundering in your ears. You licked your lips as he pulled back and attempted a response of “My pleasure,” but even to you it sounded whiney and breathy. Matt’s smile shifted slightly to a devilish grin as if he knew exactly what he was doing to you.

Over Matt’s shoulder, you saw Foggy arrive. You relaxed slightly in relief and gave him a grin as he threw open his arms, “Y/N! Get over here! You deserve all the hugs because I can’t remember the last time I had a homecooked meal like this!” You moved across your kitchen to oblige Foggy’s request and you laughed as he proceeded to give you a tight bear hug. As you moved, you missed the slight frown that flashed over Matt’s face at the loss of your attention. Karen, of course, managed to take in all of this and packed it away for later.

“You guys have great timing!” you started, “It’s ready so have a seat and I’ll bring everything over.”

Foggy helped Matt to the table while Karen came to help you. You both placed the salad, bread, and lasagna on the table along with the small bowl of freshly shredded parmesan and you poured wine from the decanter you had ready on the table. As Foggy reached to help start serving the salad, you touched his arm to still him.

“Before we eat, I just want to say how much I appreciate you all and how welcoming you’ve been. It’s been a hard couple of years but I’m grateful that it’s led me to this moment with all of you.” You could feel the tears starting to prick your eyes as you attempted to blink them back. Karen’s eyes also appeared a little glassy and Foggy gave you a soft smile and patted your hand. Matt’s head was bowed but he was gripping your other hand and softly running his thumb across your knuckles. “Okay, that’s it! Before I cry into everything and ruin it, let’s eat!” You chuckled as you pulled your hands back and wiped your eyes as a couple tears escaped. As Karen and Foggy started, you quietly offered to make Matt’s plate for him. He agreed with a soft “Thank you,” and smiled.

Dinner quickly became an animated affair with groans over your cooking and laughter over the stories being told. Your mom taught you that food, especially good food made with effort and love, could bring joy and light into the home. As you all ate and drank and laughed, you could feel her with you, and it filled you with happiness and peace.

“Okay okay,” Karen laughed, “we know Matt refuses to do karaoke—”

“Because I can’t sing and I can’t read the monitor.”

“Yeah, whatever. All I hear are excuses,” Karen teased with a drink of her wine, “Foggy, what’s your go-to karaoke song?”

Matt started laughing at the question and Foggy shot a glare his way, “Despite Matt’s derision, the best karaoke song is ‘Purple Rain’ and I crush it every time, no matter what my detractors say!”

You burst out laughing along with Matt as you unconsciously gripped his shoulder in your mirth and tipsiness. “Purple Rain is one of the hardest songs EVER and that’s what you go with?”

“It’s classic, it’s timeless, and, I’ll have you know, it has gotten me laid quite a few times thank you very much!”

With a thumbs up, you respond, “Fair enough. Far be it from me to criticize the apparent animal magnetism of a drunk Foggy Nelson hitting those high notes. Ultimately, an unexpected yet…expected song choice. All right, Karen, what about you?

“Oh, I’m all about ‘Jolene.’”

“Ah, I should have known my own sister would love Dolly as much as me!”

Matt interjected, “So Jolene is your go-to song too?”

“Oh, definitely not. I love Dolly, but if I’m getting up to sing in front of strangers, I’m getting the bar singing with me. Depending on the crowd it’s either ‘Party in the U.S.A.’ or ‘Friends in Low Places.’ Get a read on the crowd by the end of the first beer and you know which one to do.”

“Genius!” Foggy exclaimed, “If you’re a little too drunk, the crowd does the work for you and everyone still has a good time.”

“Exactly! You get it Fog!” as you clinked wine glasses.

“Okay so karaoke isn’t Matt’s thing, so how about…” Karen pondered for a moment, “top three favorite songs, go!”

“Oooooo,” you and Foggy said in unison as your focus returned to Matt. The wine had stained his lips a slightly darker hue and you licked your own and caught yourself before you leaned in to taste his. Matt’s lips quirked up on one side as if he knew what your body almost did without thought. He considered the question and took another sip from his glass. You nearly whined at the sight, the sound catching in your throat before it released. You sat up straighter and mentally shook yourself—you had other people at your table! It would be rude to crawl into Matt’s lap and run your nose along his jugular before nipping at his ear…

Yes, it absolutely would be rude! Control yourself!

Matt set his glass down and turned slightly to face you, almost as if only the two of you were playing this game and you had asked the question. “Top three favorite songs would probably be… ‘Only Wanna Be With You’ from Hootie and the Blowfish, ‘I Want You to Want Me’ from Cheap Trick and… ‘Let’s Stay Together’ from Al Green.”

As Karen and Foggy began to tease Matt over his choices, he continued to face you with what you would only describe as a shit-eating grin on his face. The wine was slowing you down a little—were these really his favorite? Or is he trying to say something else? Was he flirting? You were beginning to wonder if maybe drinking around Matt like this was a bad idea.

“I know Y/N has better choices than these so I gotta hear!” Foggy exclaimed while Karen cheered you on. You thought for a moment but you knew what your favorites were. While they weren’t songs you listened to regularly, they were songs that touched your soul deeply. “All right so, the best song ever created is clearly ‘Ain’t No Way’ from Aretha. You can’t argue with the Queen and it’s perfect.” Karen interjected with “Hot damn! Murdock, Y/N shows superior taste with just a single song!”

“Hey! You said favorites, not best ever made!” Matt teased back.

“That’s a fair point,” you started, “however, mine happen to be both faves and excellent.”

Matt smiled at you fondly and replied, “I’d expect nothing less, sweetheart.”

Foggy, too blissfully unaware of the tension between you and Matt interrupted, “While that Aretha choice is top notch, you still have two more to give!”

You cleared your throat and finished your wine in hopes to settled yourself after Matt’s use of ‘sweetheart.’ He was still grinning at you as if he was completely sober and aware of everything he was doing to you and you were tempted to excuse yourself to your bedroom so you could change into fresh panties considering how uncomfortably damp your current ones were becoming.

“Um, well, my other two favorites are a little sad and dark but I think they’re both perfect too.”

“Don’t leave us in suspense!” encouraged Karen with a smile.

“Right, so it would be ‘Never Going Back Again’ from Fleetwood Mac and ‘I Will Follow You into the Dark’ from Death Cab for Cutie.”

“Oh, those are sad,” Foggy murmured as he stared into his empty glass. You weren’t sure how much he had with dinner but you had a feeling that if you didn’t shift the topic, you might see a drunk and weepy Foggy at your table and you really wanted this to be a happy occasion.

“I think,” you started, “that it’s time for dessert.”

The mention of dessert had Foggy lifting his head with interest and your glances at Karen and Matt confirmed you made the right call. They were both holding back laughs at Foggy’s quick mood shift.

You smiled at Foggy and patted him on the shoulder as you got up. “I found this little Italian bakery nearby and I ordered cannoli. I asked them to adjust the recipe a tiny bit so I hope they’re still good.” You brought the container over to the table and placed one on Foggy’s plate as he gave you a drunk, yet happy smile. You served Karen, Matt, and yourself as you settled back into your chair.  

You took a bite out of your cannoli and the flavor burst on your tongue and you hummed with pleasure. Casa Delica would definitely have your business again. You watched Karen and Foggy enjoy their dessert and then glanced at Matt, a little nervous. Karen had mentioned that certain foods could be a little overwhelming for him and you had explained this to the bakery and they were more than willing to make a couple adjustments so the sugar and chocolate wouldn’t be too much for him.

As you watched him, Matt took a tentative bite and his face flashed with surprise. He took another and hummed as if he were pleased. As he chewed and savored his bite, he turned slightly towards you and took his glasses off. His sightless gaze lingered around your collarbone and he asked, “What did you have them adjust?”

“Oh, um, well,” you started a little nervous now with Matt’s beautiful eyes and your unobstructed view of his face on display to you for the first time, “Karen said taste can be a bit intense for you. I explained this and they adjusted their recipe to account for that. They just asked if it worked for us to let them know so they can keep a record of it for the future. Is it okay?”

Matt took another bite and chewed slowly as he continued to face you. You began to twist your fingers in your lap as you watched him, unsure of what was happening. Across from you, Karen was watching you both with a sharp eye while Foggy reached for a second cannoli. After he swallowed, Matt answered, “This may be the best dessert I’ve ever had. Or at least since my accident. It’s perfect.”

A grin broke across your face at his compliment, happy you thought to ask for the adjustment. Matt reached over and placed his hand on yours as he continued, “That was very kind. Thank you.” Emotions were flitting across his face as he kept his glasses off.

“It was a simple ask, I didn’t really do much,” you responded softly.

“You don’t understand,” Matt began as he squeezed your hand a little tighter, “this kind of thing doesn’t occur to most people. The fact that it occurred to you shows how thoughtful you are.”

You began to get emotional again hearing this from Matt, at the thought of so few people taking his struggles into consideration. You realized that he had a low bar for the expectations of how he was treated, and it broke your heart. Now that you were here and in his life, you promised yourself you would make sure he knew he was valued and remembered.

“Oh Matty,” you said tenderly as you reached up without thinking with your free hand to run your fingers through his hair along his temple, “I’m so sorry this isn’t the norm for you.”

Before you could drop your hand back into your lap, still not quite realizing what you had done, Matt grabbed your hand and kissed your knuckles. You smiled at him and enjoyed the warmth in your chest until you heard a throat clear. Reflexively, you yanked your hand from Matt and looked up to find both Karen with a raised eyebrow and smirk and Foggy with a half-eaten cannoli in his hand and his mouth slightly slack.

“When did this happen?” asked Foggy.

“Nothing’s happening,” you quickly responded as you picked up your dishes and headed to the sink. With your response and abrupt departure from the table, Matt frowned. He slipped his glasses back on, suddenly self-conscious.

Matt’s head tilted slightly as he heard Karen whisper as softly as she could manage, “Don’t take it to heart, Matt. You make her nervous and she’s been single for a long time.” He relaxed slightly at Karen’s reassurance, relieved that he didn’t seem to have overstepped and made you uncomfortable.

Since you started cleaning up, the others began to rise from the table to help. Once you realized what was happening you stopped them, “Wait, wait! You all are guests! I’ve got it, I promise.”

“I don’t like the idea of leaving this mess for you,” Karen started.

“Seriously, don’t worry about it. It’s all part of the process for me. I’ll do what needs to be done tonight and finish in the morning. It’s important to me that tonight was only about good food and good company for you all. No chores for guests!”

“Can we at least help clear the table?” asked Foggy.

“Foggy,” you began slowly, “I will never cook for you again if you do.” His eyes grew wide at your threat and he put his hands up to show he wasn’t moving anything. Matt and Karen laughed and gave up their attempts as well.  

Knowing Matt still intended to do a quick patrol that night, Karen spoke again, “It’s getting late and I think we all *cough* Foggy *cough* may have overdone it on the wine a little. I think it’s time we headed out.”

“Hey! No fair!” Foggy responded with a slight slur.

You all laughed and started to make your way to the door. You pulled Karen aside, “Are you good to make sure Foggy gets home okay?”

Grinning at you, Karen replied, “This ain’t my first rodeo. Don’t worry about us.”

You gave Karen a tight hug, “Please let me know when you drop him off and when you get home, okay? I’ll be worried otherwise.”

“Of course. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”

You leaned on the doorframe next to Matt as you watched Karen and Foggy slowly make their way down the stairs. On the first landing, Foggy saw you watching and waved enthusiastically causing you to chuckle and wave back. Matt turned to you with a confused expression, “Care to share with the rest of the class?”

“Oh,” you started, still smiling at Foggy’s goofiness, “Foggy was waving to us after he got to the landing.”

Matt smiled fondly and replied, “He always was a happy drunk. He was the best roommate in that regard.”

“I’m glad you two found each other. I don’t believe soulmates just means romantically; I think there are people we meet that are meant to be family too. Like family soulmates.”

Considering you for a moment, Matt placed a hand on the doorframe above your head and your breath caught in your throat at his sudden closeness. He slipped his other hand to rest on your hip again as he leaned his head down to whisper in your ear, “Does that mean you also believe in romantic soulmates? One person you were made for who was also made for you?”

His deep voice speaking so softly while his lips brushed the edge of your ear short circuited your brain as both hands flew to his chest and gripped his shirt to help ground you and to keep your knees from giving out from underneath you. You took a shaky breath, vaguely aware that you had officially soaked your panties, and managed a response.

“Um, yes, I do.”

“Hmmm,” Matt began thoughtfully as he nuzzled gently along your jaw and throat. His stubble scratched deliciously along the delicate skin and the light smell of his shampoo and soap caused you to take a big inhale and sigh. “I’m beginning to think so, too.”

As suddenly as he caged you in, Matt stepped back and gave you a smile. “Thanks again for dinner, sweetheart. I can’t remember the last time I had something so…delicious.”   

With that, Matt turned and strolled to his door, leaving you completely dazed and ruined.

Copyright © 2023 by yoosmekihyun. All rights reserved.

[perezhilton]

Mariah Carey just went through something so traumatic and… https://perezhilton.com/mariah-carey-speaks-out-after-announcing-mom-sister-deaths/

[bop-culture]

“You do not have to be good”: A Consideration of Sugar Ray’s “Fly”

When we were toddlers, my twin sister and I would climb to the top of our dad’s busted-ass recliner, frantically doggy-paddle our hands in the air, and participate in a shared delusion that we could fly. We’d plan our flights in advance, through places as exotic as the woods in our backyard and the church nursery, and report back to each other on the ground to verify the truth of our ability. It is remarkable how the human brain can adapt to survive harm: now that I am far removed from the fearful, angry house we lived in, it seems obvious that our pretending was a four-year-old’s magical form of dissociation. 

 We lost our aerial gifts around the time we began Kindergarten in 1997. That same year, Sugar Ray had their first hit with “Fly.” It was undoubtedly a staple of the boombox radio at our local pool in the summers, but lay dormant in my subconscious for decades until a recent vivid dream in which I argued its greatness in a perplexing attempt to impress a crush. It is a well-known schtick of mine to passionately defend pieces of pop culture deemed low-brow (see: Mariah Carey’s Glitter, the Real Housewives franchise, the Josie and the Pussycats soundtrack) but the question of  “Fly” followed into my waking hours: could it, in fact,  be a good song? 

“Fly” and its accompanying music video are a free-association exercise in musical trends of the late nineties and early aughts.  The song starts with a simple, repetitive bass riff (The Breeders). The band has a DJ (Incubus). Jamaican dancehall legend Super Cat makes a baffling yet compelling guest appearance (Shaggy).  The music video features an extended bit of lead singer Mark McGrath traversing the walls and ceiling of a small room (Jamiroquai).  Band members wear flashy pants and have an obscene amount of gelled hair and carefully trimmed goatees (Smash Mouth). But despite being endlessly referential (or in some cases, prescient), the overall effect is both like every local garage band and like nothing else in pop radio. 

For all his outward appearances of douchebaggery, lead singer Mark McGrath contains multitudes. According to genius.com, “Fly’s” opening lyric, “All around the world/statues crumble for me” could be an allusion to Shelley’s “Ozymandius.” This is perhaps a generous reading, but it nonetheless warms my heart to consider the possibility that a man who has said that he got into music to pick up chicks has a healthy respect for  English Romantic poetry.  (He also has a healthy respect for matriarchy. The lyrics frequently reference moms, and the moving conclusion of the “Fly” video sees the members of Sugar Ray exit a car to meet their assembled mothers.) 

Sugar Ray, a band whose oeuvre includes a 2009 album entitled Music for Cougars, has never taken themselves too seriously. They’re a bunch of dudes who got a record deal at a time when a bar cover band with two songs could get a record deal.  In a world of self-important songwriters, there’s something to be said for music that doesn’t try too hard. The vocals are out of tune, the iconic guitar riff seems to be composed specifically to sound kind of  shitty, the production veers abruptly into disjointed segments (Synthesizers! Spoken word! Compressed drum tracks!) with little cohesive vision. It’s sloppy, it’s human, it’s charmingly approachable. Life doesn’t always have to be profound- wouldn’t that be exhausting? 

McGrath has explained in interviews that the line “25 years old/ my mother god rest her soul” is a reference to the iconic Gilbert O’Sullivan single “Alone Again, Naturally,” widely regarded to be the most depressing pop song ever recorded. (Cass Elliot’s version is sublime, by the way.) “Fly” is about nothing, but it’s also about death! (“No one really knows/the starting or the end.”) There’s something beautifully democratic about a mediocre band vibing to what is essentially the dirtbag interpretation of a gospel standard. In the end, it doesn’t matter if “Fly” passes any test of musical quality. An attempt to evaluate its merit misses the point. Love cannot be earned: put your arms around me, baby. 

[rebeleden]

Mariah Carey's Never-Ending Agony Over Mom and Sister's Deaths on Same Day

CC SATANIC FOLLYWOOD

[valentin10]

Mariah Carey Confirms Mom and Sister Both Died on Same Day (Exclusive)

“I appreciate everyone’s love and support and respect for my privacy during this impossible time,” says Mariah Carey following the deaths of both her mom Patricia and sister Alison. The singer had complicated relationships with both relatives. — À lire sur people.com/mariah-carey-mom-patricia-sister-alison-both-died-same-day-exclusive-8701561

[10011212]

My deepest condolences to Mariah and her family in this difficult time 🦋💐💐🦋

[seasonsofeverlark]

Spreading Christmas Cheer

Author: @mega-aulover​

Prompt: Everlark the movie Elf [submitted by @alliswell21​]

Rating: G

Author’s Note: This is a story based off of the movie Elf as requested by @alliswell21​ It’s from “Jovie” i.e. Katniss POV, what she would have seen and fell in love with one Peeta ‘Buddy’ Mellark. 

Special thanks to @norbertsmom​ for her betaing skill and for the name of the story. Parts 3 and 4 will post separately.

_____________

Pt 1

I watch Peeta gently kiss the top of our first born’s head. Holly’s dark hair is braided into two plaits; her blue eyes closing softly. 

“And Papa Elf said, grandpa was on the naughty list…” his voice is soft.

Suddenly Holly’s eyes widen as she remembers something. Her blue eyes are laser focused on Peeta. “Papá, es verdad que mamá estaba en la  lista de los niños malos?”   

“Y quien te dijo esto?” I ask from the door. We never discuss my role in Peeta’s adventure, or the fact that I was on the naughty list. Ever. 

“Santa,” Holly says.

Ese gordo, Santa has loose lips. I think about teaching him about keeping secrets until it’s time to explain to our child about the past. But before I can say anything, Peeta gives me a look. He always knows when I’m having evil thoughts. I sigh, and redirect my thoughts, because Peeta made me believe in love, joy, and Christmas.    

“Your papa saved more than grandpa that Christmas. He saved me too.”

Holly’s eyes lit up like her father’s before the sleepiness creeps back into their depths.

“Now go to sleep so Santa can come down the chimney.”

“Night, mama, night papa,” Holly whispers right before she drifts off to sleep. 

Together we walk out of our daughters bedroom. Peeta slides an arm around my shoulders. He dips down and nuzzles my cheek. He steers me to the living room. I drag my feet. Peeta is up to something.

“Okay, spill it, Mellark.”

He gives me a wide eyed smile.

The hair at the back of my neck stands up straight. 

He’s got that look, that please tell me a bedtime story stare, and not just any story. 

“No.”

Peeta pauses and gives me a puppy dog look with a full lip pout.

“No.”

“Come on, Sweetums, my li’l sugar plum,” Peeta says in an excited whisper.

“No…no don’t waggle your eyebrows at me, Peeta. Buddy. Mellark.” I pronounce each one of his names.

Peeta’s grins so brightly; his eyes shine brighter than Christmas lights. His hat is slightly crooked as he hops and does that stupid little dance of his that makes me want to tear off his green tights. Yep, I said tights. My husband was raised as an elf, a six foot two, blond, wavy haired, giant with broad shoulders, washboard abs, and is genuinely sweet. Sweeter than eggnog.

He grabs me by the waist. “You know you wanna,” he says in that sexy time voice of his that’s reserved only for me. 

Canasto! 

I should clarify for everyone listening to my tale; you should know canasto isn’t a vulgar or bad word. It means basket. But I like the way it sounds in Spanish. So I say it with real vehemence. It’s like peaches in Spanish sounds like a curse word. Melocotón! Tu eres un Melocotón! Which translates into you’re a peach. 

I digress.

I let out a big sigh. There’s no way I can say no to him and he knows it! Canasto!

“I love it when you tell the story of how we met from your point of view.“ 

"You’re an evil gremlin,” I say with no heat in my voice. It’s my personal nickname for him. As in the gremlins when they ate after midnight. However to be fair, if you see Peeta, he’s not scary at all, he’s more like a big teddy bear.  

Peeta laughs and my heart flip flops. Because he is anything but; he is so congenial.

Peeta puts his hands on my belly, my very big belly. It’s baby number 2; actually it’s baby number two and three. They are counted as one until they’re born. I know what he’s doing, the evil gremlin! He’s trying to distract me because I’m due to give birth. I have mild pangs because I’m carrying twins and I’m nearing my due date.

He carries me and sits me on his lap. “Now start from the beginning.”

“From the candy cane forest?” I ask.

“No from your point of view,” his eyes dance gently as he rests me against his chest, rubbing my bulging belly.

“Okay,” I say quietly.

“Don’t forget to start with once upon a time,” Peeta insists, trying to contain his excitement.

“Once upon a time.”

“This is going to be good,” Peeta whispers.

“Are you going to let me tell the story?”

“Oh yea,” Peeta placed a kiss on my nose. “Go ahead.”

Closing my eyes I picture the year things changed. Because everything in my life was about others and never myself. I was always trying to be someone else, what everyone expected of me. 

It’s hard being a foster kid, and getting out of the system is kind of like getting out of jail. Suddenly you have all this freedom, but you’ve been conditioned to follow all of these rules, so when you are free, you do one of two things. You get in trouble, and try to get sent into an institution; some of us call it the iron college. Or you try to keep your nose clean and learn in the school of hard knocks. In my case, I kept my head above the water for my sister’s sake.  

“I love my family,” I muttered underneath my breath. 

I muttered it again as my sister destroyed, no scratch that, mutilated Mariah Carey’s “All I want for Christmas."  

Did I forget to mention that I love my family?   

I do. I love my family and there’s nothing I wouldn’t do for them, but at that moment I wanted to scratch my ears out with dull spoons.  

My perfect baby sister is a smoking hot blonde runway model and the muse for Karl Lagerfeld, but she has the worst singing voice known to man. You want to torture someone, hire my sister, and have her sing to the person you want to torture. Within 3 seconds flat, she can have even the most hardened of spies spilling their guts like a canary.

The one thing I could not stand beside my sister’s singing was Christmas. 

I loathed Christmas.

I was not ashamed to say it.  Every fiber of my body I hated Christmas!   If I had ever met the real Santa back then, he had better hoped that I was not holding my bow and arrow, because I would have shot him through the eye. Not that I believed in Santa then, but if I had known there was a real life Santa Claus, I’d have hunted him down, and burned the fat man’s jolly red outfit. I would then gleefully take a joy ride in his sleigh into his workshop like Bill Murray did in Groundhog Day when he allowed the groundhog to drive him off the cliff into a fiery death.

At this point you are wondering why I hated Christmas so much.

There were many reasons why the holiday was so contemptible to me. One, my father died on Christmas day. Two, my mother checked out on us that same Christmas day. The next Christmas Eve was when my sister and I were separated into different foster homes.  It took me a few months to find my six-year-old baby sister. I had been sent to a foster family who used foster kids for slave labor, to have them wipe and clean their floors while the Mrs. of the family spent the whole day in luxurious spas and getting Botox treatments, as if that was going to improve her mug. 

My baby sister was luckier. Primrose was placed in a foster home in the middle of suburbia with a 2 story house with a picket fence. A woman named Cecilia and her husband Ronald had never been able to have kids, and they doted on my sister. They brought her up to be the princess she always said she was. Honestly, they were rather shocked when my twelve-year-old cynical self rolled up into their home screaming for my baby sister, Primrose. Prim came running out of nowhere and latched herself on to my leg like an octopus. Best Spring ever, so I do love the Spring. 

But before you think we were reunited, we weren’t. The family that had Primrose never wanted me. And even if they did, we technically didn’t have the same last name. Primrose carried my mom’s last name while I carried my dad’s. My sister was Primrose Emmerson and I was Katniss Everdeen. Our parents had a silly agreement. They were also foster kids, so they decided that I would take dad’s name and the next one born would take our mothers name. 

They didn’t have family, and her parents lived a common law marriage. Their childish decision caused havoc. There was a mix up and we weren’t processed as sisters. Plus, I never stayed in the same foster home for long so even if they wanted me, they never knew where I was, but no matter where I was, I found a way to talk to Primrose, because as long as Prim was loved and cared for, my situation didn’t matter.

After our brief reunion, I had to go back to the family that I was placed in, and my sister stayed with her family. I didn’t stay with mine for very long; I became a statistic. A rolling number on someone’s computer screen. I was bounced around from one family to another in all sorts of seedy homes. 

So you can see why I’m so jaded. Every bad thing that ever happened to me, has happened on that freakin’ holiday. And there was one more reason I disliked that holly jolly holiday so immensely. For some reason, the universe hated me. 

No matter where I went, what city, what town within the state, I could guarantee you that it was a racket, a billion dollar racket to make parents crazy and buy things for their kids they didn’t need. For some reason, it pleased people to take my olive skin, dark hair, scowling self and put me into a sparkly Christmas cheer, “gag” pointy eared elf costume.

So with a week until Christmas, I was listening to my sister butcher another holiday favorite song. Then Prim screeched. And I sighed in relief.

"Katniss,” Prim said, coming out of the bathroom. “The water is cold!”

I looked heavenward. “The pipes. I forgot they’re working on the water main outside. They said there would be interruption to service.”

“Oh, you know I can get us a hotel room,” Prim said toweling dry her pale blonde locks. 

My studio apartment wasn’t what my sister was used to. She was a freaking couture runway model, six foot one, so slim nothing off the rack fit her. “I’m sorry Prim, I was so excited to see you.”

Prim smiled. “Look, I only have a few hours left. How about I treat you to lunch before I go back up to Connecticut to spend Christmas with Cecillia and Ron.” Prim smiled at me. “You know you’re more than welcome to come. They always ask about you.”

I loved my baby sister. She was amazing. And I was damned glad that the Henderson's were an amazing couple, but I knew the score. They didn’t know what to do with me. “As long as you don’t mind me wearing my elf costume.”

Primrose chuckled. “You make the cutest elf though.” She patted me on the head using a baby tone with me. Prim was taller than me by a foot. I was tiny, or as Prim said, compact size.

“I could still put you over my knee, little duck,” I growled. “Así que mira ver.”

My sister laughed and she delighted in taunting me. Prim no longer spoke Spanish, but she understood the language. “You’re adorable when you’re angry, an angry little elf, aren’t you?”

“Primrose,” I said in Spanish. I rounded my ‘r’s’ when I said her name. 

“Awe, I don’t don’t get why you hate Christmas so much.” Primrose winked going to the screen divider to get dressed. My sister was used to dressing and undressing in front of dozens of people. I, on the other hand, was not so free with nudity. Primrose said I was a prude. If I hadn’t I told her to use the screen, she would have changed right in front of me. 

“Did you know there are only three jobs an elf can have,” Prim said from over the screen.��

I sighed. Unlike me, Primrose loved Christmas. Hell, she even suggested that there might be a real Santa Claus. I told her the only people who look for ways to sneak into people’s houses were criminals. 

Prim continued her story about elves. “The type of elves that live in trees and make cookies, the types that make shoes, and the best type.”

“Let me guess, Christmas elves,” I said, rolling my eyes.

Prim grinned. She came around the screen wearing thigh high red boots, jeans and a camel tunic sweater that looked like cashmere. “Come on sis, let me treat you to breakfast so that you can go terrorize the children of Macy’s toy department.”

  Pt 2 

Peeta grins excitedly, breaking the narration. “You know she’s right. Papa says the cookie elves have high insurance premiums because their tree catches fire all of the time.” 

“Peeta,” I huff. “Do you want me to finish the story?” 

“Absolutely,” he hugs me closer. “I’m so sad you and Prim never got to grow up at the North Pole with me.”

I can’t help but smile at his sincere wish. “Oh Peeta,” I kiss his cheek.

“The only thing I would never let you do was toy testing,” Peeta whispers.

I chuckled. Peeta hated Jack-In-The-Box’s. They scare the dickens out of him. I lay my head on his shoulders. “Are you going to let me finish the story?”

“You know,” he says, blue eyes twinkling. “I’d spotted you in the city that first day.” 

“You were jumping across the lines of the cross walk, “ I grin at the memory. 

“I followed you until I saw the Empire State Building. Then I went to see my father.”

“I know,” I caress his face.

“Start from that point.”

“Okay, you ready now.” My babies were moving in my belly.

“Right, you were in your father’s office delivering the most awkward Christmas gram.” 

Peeta chuckles. “I don’t have your pretty voice.”

I sigh. “Peeta.”

“Right, I’ll be quiet.”

I give him a look. 

“But just so you know, when those guards told me to go back to Macy’s, I was curious as to why you were dressed as an elf.“

I roll my eyes. Did I forget to mention my husband is a talker. He is a chatterbox. I swear Peeta is the type who’d make friends with a paper bag.

"I thought your elf name was so pretty,” he sighs happily.

“Peeta, if you want me to tell the story. You have to hush!” I admonish, if I didn’t we would be here until tomorrow.

“Oh,” he gushes. “Yes, tell the story.” 

“So, there I was in the middle of New York, like a morsel in shark infested waters. I.E….”

“That passion fruit spray is horrible,” Peeta grumbles. “I do not know how women drink that stuff.” 

I want to laugh. There are still things that Peeta doesn’t understand about human society; perfume was one of them, and that fact endeared him to me.

“Can you start at the moment our eyes met?” Peeta gives me a wobbly smile. 

Ah, now I know why he’s interrupting so much. “Okay.”

Sighing I recall that day. Prim and I were out to breakfast. She was harping on me to find someone. Did I fall to mention Primrose was only twenty years old at the time, and at that age I was ancient at the tender age of twenty six. Seriously twenty-six. So what if I had never dated, never had a boyfriend, and never kissed anyone. My sister was right. I was a prude, but I’d seen how love could screw you over. My mom never recovered and she died alone in some home of a broken heart. All I had in the world was my sister. My Prim, and she was the only person I would love. Until that afternoon. 

“Seriously Katniss, you’re twenty-six,” Prim said. 

Eye rolling was a national pastime when speaking to a glamazon who thought I needed to date.

“Don’t roll your eyes at me,” Prim said, removing my sunglasses. “And also, sunglasses in the middle of December, so not tre chique.” 

Eye roll, eye roll, eye roll. Fake smile. CANASTO!

“You are the worst,” Prim hissed.

I knew my sister wasn’t mad at me. Annoyed, yes. Mad, no. “Prim, it’s just I’m not interested in dating anyone.” 

“Katniss, I just don’t want you to impersonate elves for the rest of your life, and when you’re like forty-six, you’ll realize you’re alone with a cat, who pisses in your shoes, and scratches your furniture.” 

I moved to pay our bill.

“No way,” Prim said, slamming her hand on the bill. “I make what you make in a month in two hours of work. This is on me.”

“Fine,” I grumbled. 

“Also, stop closing yourself to Christmas. Santa isn’t going to leave you anything under the tree.”

“Like Santa exists,” I snorted.

Prim gasped. “You take that back. Santa Claus is real Katniss, just like the rainbows, and pigs and frogs having a long term, caring relationship, and love exists.” 

My sister’s wide eyed passionate confession shook me, but the only words that came out of my mouth were, “a frog and a pig?” 

“Miss Piggy and Kermit are together, and if they can make it, no matter what the media says, anything is possible.”

“Huh,” I said, leaving the luncheonette near Penn Station. We walked to the corner, where she’d take the stairs to the lower level. 

I took a look at the stairs, knowing this was the moment I would say goodbye to my sister once again. My eyes filled with unwanted tears. I could still recall the little girl with the untucked shirt that looked like a duck tail. It’s where the nickname li’l duck came from.

“Don’t cry,” Prim whispered. “Quack, quack.”

“I hate it when we have to say goodbye,” I said quietly.

“It’s not goodbye, Katniss; it’s until the next time.” Prim grinned then she took my elf hat and put it on my head. “Go on, terrify the poor children of the city with your menacing scowl. But you better watch out, better not cry.”

I groaned. “Prim, I would rather hear seagulls squawking then you singing.” 

“I know, that’s why I do it,” Prim said.

“You’re a brat.”

“Brat, I’m on Santa’s nice list. You’re the one on the naughty list.”

“There’s no such thing as Santa…” the words died on my lips as I saw a huge man dressed in an elaborate elf outfit jumping on the lines of the crosswalk gleefully. I was struck by the joy on his face.

He looked like an angel with wavy blond hair and innocent blue eyes. It was one thing to see a six-year-old child with that wide eyed innocence, but a tall, broad shouldered man with large hands made me think perhaps he’d escaped his caretakers. His elf outfit wasn’t like the cheap one I had to wear. It was made from a rich fabric with elaborately embroidered gold thread. 

If there was something I knew about, it was fabric. I never had soft fabrics growing up and I was obsessed over soft materials. I dreamed of cashmere, Egyptian cotton, mulberry silks, and linens. His green tunic was made from merino wool, like the ones they made in England in those bespoke shops.  Even his hat, although a ridiculous cone shape, was not some cheap fabric covered cardboard that you’d find in a costume shop. It was made from genuine thick green wool felt with a yellow satin ribbon wrapped around it. A red feather bobbed up and down as he jumped.

He was so happy. He looked up, as if sensing my presence. Our eyes met and he smiled jovially and waved at me. My mouth went dry, because, gaw, Canasto!

This man-child was gorgeous. 

“Earth to Katniss.” Prim snapped her fingers in my face.

“Sorry.” I looked back to my sister.

Prim looked over her shoulder. “Are you okay.”

I dipped out of my sister’s way. “I think I saw an elf.”

Prim laughed. “It’s Christmas, Katniss. Santa’s elves are everywhere.” Prim gave me a hug before descending the stairs to the lower level of the station. 

Seeing my sister go was difficult, but I couldn’t shake the tall man dressed as an elf. He even had on yellow tights with black elf shoes. 

I made my way to Macy’s. I could see the Empire State building in the background as I took a left to head to the employee’s entrance. 

When I arrived, the floor manager Brutus headed straight to me. He was a ridiculous man with muscles in his neck and a bald head. His meaty fingers held a tiny clipboard. 

Brutus did not believe in technology. He refused to use a tablet. He said the muckety-mucks, as he called them, were out to get him. He wore dark brown pants that were too small for his large frame and even when he stood you could see his white socks. He wore a sweater vest with various pens in his front pocket and a cheap plastic necklace that was supposed to look like tree lights.  

“Jovie,” Brutus said looking over his shoulder.

“Yes, Brutus,” I smiled. Jovie was my elf name.

“Our last Santa quit, and we have no one, so until then I need you to help out in gift wrapping. Don’t forget to make sure the ribbon curl is six inches.”

“But you need more than six inches, to make a good curl.”

“Six inches.”

Sighing I walked to the station and nodded to the girls who were at the gift-wrapping station. I sat there trying to make six inch curls. People were insane at Christmas; they were stressed out to buy things, and things never made anyone happy. Things were just things.  

The line of people got shorter and I noticed the tree in the center of the sales floor was looking a little sad. So getting the ladder, I rearranged the ornaments and noticed one of the lights was out. From this vantage point I saw Brutus drag him in, the elf I saw on the street.

Heat rushed to my cheeks and I focused on the tree, eavesdropping the entire time. 

“Buddy, you need to remember you get a half-hour break when you work under six hours and a one hour break when you work over six hours. If I catch you on the floor again I’ll have to write you up.” 

His name was Buddy. My lips formed a goofy smile at his name. Up close he was prettier, his wavy hair curled up at the ends. A shiver ran up my spine at all of those curls. I could picture little boys with blond ringlets and a little girl with dark tresses in green colored elf clothing. I held on to the ladder as I swayed. 

“Wow, what’s this?” HIs eyes quickly darted to the crowded sales floor. 

“This is the north pole,” Brutus said looking at his precious clipboard.

“No it’s not,” Buddy waved at a pair of babies inside of a stroller. 

“Yes it is,” Brutus said.

“No it’s not,” Buddy eye’s traveled to the tree and I hid behind it so that he didn’t see me.

“Yes it is,” Brutus put his hands on his wide hips.

“No it’s not,” Buddy said smiling. “Where’s the snow?”

“He’s right, there’s no snow,” a six-year old girl said. She’d been listening to the conversation.  

I nearly snorted. 

“Why are you smiling like that?” Brutus brows knit together.

“I just like to smile, smiling’s my favorite thing,” he said. Bouncing to the Christmas music that was being pumped through the speakers. 

“Well stop smiling, and make work your favorite thing to do. And who gave you that outfit?”

“It’s mine,” Buddy said, splaying those large hands on his chest looking down at his elf outfit. 

Brutus looked at the intricate gold embroidery. “Fine, if that’s your story. You should make work your priority instead of shopping.” Brutus sighed, looking at his clipboard again. “I have to make the announcement.”

Buddy nodded, but once more was looking around. 

I was working on the tree lights by now and really didn’t want to get down because I wanted to keep staring at him. At his great legs. Normally tall guys had spindly legs. Not his, yum. 

“Okay I’ve got an announcement. Santa will be here tomorrow at 10AM. Keep your receipts so you can see Santa.” 

“SANTA!” Buddy yelled. He jumped, clasped his hands and a little girl next to him joined him. Soon there was a flock of kids doing the same thing, all speaking at once and he was nodding and speaking to them as if he knew Santa. 

I chuckled cause I’ve never seen Brutus look so stunned and speechless. He was carried away by Chaff, his second in command. 

Buddy turned and focused on me. I pretended that he wasn’t just a few feet away from me. I could feel his gaze as I fixed the bulb that was not letting the string of lights to turn on. The tree lit up and I swear his eyes seemed to glow brighter than the lights on the tree.

My stomach did a little flip-flop. “What!” I said defensively. I turned and saw how big his eyes were and the genuine smile. “Are you enjoying the view?”

“I love Christmas trees,” he said hesitantly. “It’s nice to see someone else who enjoys elf culture as much as I do.” 

Of course the guy that would make butterflies dance in my stomach was a wackadoo. I scowled. This wasn’t happening. Getting down from the tree, I quickly walk away, grabbing a few stuffed animals that were discarded and putting them back on the display.

“Looks like someone needs Christmas cheer and the best way to do it is to sing.”

“I don’t sing,” I muttered.

“Of course you can.” He chased after me.

“No,” I said trying to get him to stop, but liking that he’s walking after me like a wide eyed puppy-dog.

“Anyone can. All you have to do is put a group of words together in a tune,” he said sweetly.

I hopped on up on the stage where the guy in the red suit would be seated tomorrow. I turned to look at him. As I spoke to him, I couldn’t keep the hurt from my voice. Because the last time I sang a Christmas song it was with my dad, hours before he died.  “I know that, I can sing, but I choose not to sing.”

“Look, I’ll do it for you maybe it will make you smile,” Buddy said. He takes a deep breath, “I”M SINGING. I’M IN A STORE AND I AM…”

It was horrible, but I couldn’t help but smile. 

“THERE’S NO SINGING IN THE NORTH POLE!” Brutus comes running out from behind the registrar.

“Yes there is,” Buddy says grinning at me. “I’m Peeta.”

“Wait I thought your name was Buddy?”

“That’s my middle name,” Peeta said. “Is Jovie your name?”

“No,” my voice sounds breathy. “Jovie is my elf name.”

“So what’s your real name?” His voice sounded deeper and I swear I could see nothing else but his big blue eyes tenderly gazing at me.

“Katniss,” I said, wondering why my knees were so wobbly. I couldn’t fall for a guy who thought he was an elf. A very good looking, broad shouldered guy with the face of an angel, but nonetheless, a complete wakadoo.    

The ten minute warning came on letting people know they needed to go home.

“Oh I’ve got to get ready for Santa,” Peeta muttered under his breath. But before he could move Brutus appears. 

“Buddy,” Brutus grabbed him by the arm and hauled him away. I was left standing on that stage with a big old goofy grin on my face.

[bubblegumlover99]

Tia's Bio ^^ (tw suicide and death mention)

Name: Tia Mitchell Species: Cat Age: 21 when the show started, 27 when the series ended, 52 in the 25 year reunion Height: A little shorter than Mordecai Eye Color: Hazel Hair Color: Dark brown with purple streaks Fur Color: Tan Outfit: It varies, but she usually wears a white tank top and jeans. Sometimes she doesn’t wear shoes, but when she does, they would be sneakers that turn to roller skates and jet boots, or high heels. Also known as: Tiana (her real name), Kitty boo (Benson), Night Cat (Detective name), Tee (her mom and her friends), Sweet T (Benson), Nerd (Rigby and Muscle Man), Kitty Puff (playfully from Benson) Date of Birth: July 22nd, 1989 Family: Tiffany (mother), Connor (deceased father), Clyde (stepdad), Leah (older twin sister by 5 minutes), Ryan, Chloe, Tony, Carol, Penny, Johnny, Kyle, Sam (all cousins as seen in another version of Family BBQ), Andy, Stanley (uncles as seen in another version of Family BBQ), Kimberly, Samantha (aunts as seen in another version of Family BBQ), Benson (husband in the finale), Stephanie (Tia and Benson’s daughter in the finale) Personality: Caring, playful, affectionate, tomboyish, smart, funny, aggressive, hot-tempered, adventurous, determined, sneaky, hard-working Friends: Mordecai, Rigby, Benson, Skips, Pops, Muscle Man, HFG, Thomas/Nikolai, Margaret, Eileen, CJ (stopped being friends with CJ after the events of 1000th Chopper Flight Party, but reconciled with her after they worked it out with Margaret and CJ), Techmo, Gary, Starla, Celia, Pam, Death (sometimes), Katrina Kittyhawk (My OC, only when Fifi isn’t around), Janet Sweetington (My OC), Megan (@paulichiwi’s OC), Becca Luna (@flufflepops OC), Fifi (eventually in the second half of Season 6) Enemies: Death (mostly), Fifi Quinn (My OC), Vivian (My OC, the daughter of Susan from Benson Be Gone), Natalia, Audrey, Gene, Party Starters Vince and Tommy, pretty much every villain she encounters xP Talents: Tia can run a little faster on all fours than Rigby, so she’s labeled as one of the fastest members of the park. Being a cat, she has retractable claws, sharp feline teeth that can be seen whenever she’s angry, enhanced agility and a fluffy, yet strong tail she can use to hang upside down on a tree branch. When she wears her shoes, they can turn into roller skates or jet boots with a click of her heels. Tia can also play the acoustic guitar and rap a few bars, since she mostly picks it up from Mordecai and Rigby. And despite having a deep, but still feminine voice, she uses it as an advantage to sing some low notes, but she can still sing some high notes as well, though not as high as Mariah Carey could go. xP Tia learned Chinese and Japanese in her school years and she can mainly speak Chinese fluently, which helped when she went to China with Benson in “Hello China.” Likes: Hanging out with her friends and family, playing games, drawing, singing, rapping with Mordecai and Rigby, playfully teasing Benson, Wing Kingdom, skating in the park, catnip, fighting her enemies, chocolate, soda, burgers, dressing up for Halloween, music with bass, breaking the 4th wall Dislikes: Asparagus, being insulted, the Unicorns, having to deal with Fifi, Mordecai and Rigby slacking off, CJ’s constant misunderstandings about Mordecai and Margaret, Quips and his jokes, Thomas (Death’s child), being criticized for the clothes she wears (her mom usually tells her that her pants were too tight, even though they weren’t to Tia), Muscle Man’s pranks, mostly dogs, cucumbers Fears: Bees, the dark, the thought of losing her friends and family, losing all of her 9 lives Catchphrases: “OHHHHHH!” “Hmm! Hmm!” “Yeah-yuh!” “Aw what?” “Ah sick!” “Dude.” “Bruh.” “YEET!” “Hell yeah!” “Fffffffffuck me.” (in frustration) “Well shit/fuck.” “Ohhh... my god!” “Suck it!” (in triumph) “(name), you son of a bitch bastard!” “You stupid (insult)!” “You wanna go, gumball? >:3” (to Benson whenever they start a playful fight) “I swear, if you (something), I’ll (threat)!” “Why me?!” (in despair) “WTF?!/WTH?!” “WHOOOO!!” “Sup?” “Shut up!” “Shut the

hell/fuck up!” “Dammit”

“I’ll kill

‘im!” “HOODY HOOOOOO!!” (sometimes uses it as a battle cry) Weaknesses: I don’t think she has any weaknesses atm, but yarn balls and laser pointers will distract her, no matter how hard she tries to resist it.

Extra info (if any):

Tia never had a graduation party after her senior year, because of a fight that happened between her and Fifi, but everybody turned their back on Tia ever since while Fifi pretty much got off scot-free. Nobody invited her to the graduation party, which lead to her deep depression and her near attempt to commit suicide by slitting her throat with her claws, but thankfully her sister Leah stopped her before she could do such a thing to herself. After that, Tia’s family and friends helped cheer her up, making her feel like she had her own graduation party, which made her feel so much better.

Her father was killed in a bank that Tia was trapped in during a robbery attempt when she was 19.

She secretly has a blanket from her childhood that she never let go of.

While not as strong as Skips, Mordecai or Muscle Man, Tia is strong enough to fight her own battles, and will not be afraid to stand up for her friends.

Tia is Autistic.

When Tia was 18, she worked as a delivery girl for the post office, but it doesn't go well when dogs were involved.

She actually had 6 fingers on each hand when she was a newborn, until the doctors took the extra fingers off, leaving a bump on the side of her pinkies.

In an envisioned episode of Skunked, instead of getting sprayed by the were skunk, Tia got bitten by it, yet the bite is still active in her even after she splattered tomato paste on her at the end of the episode. So she would use her werecat ability again in a different version of Real Date. Though Tia can’t use the ability on command; only when she’s completely enraged, that’s when she’ll turn into a werecat.

(If u want me to change anything, plz DM me :3)

[midnightswithdearkatytspb]

Everything’s Gonna Be Alright

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x OFC Stark

Rating: PG

Warning(s): Mentions of Character Death, Fluff & Angst

Word Count: 2,235

Info: I entered @littledarlinhavefaithinme Sebastian Stan Summer Song Writing Challenge. I choose to do it based off of Lullaby by Shawn Mullins. So I loosely and I mean loosely based it off the song, where she grew up with Tony, and Bucky does quote my favorite line of the song at the end. Also big thanks to @coffeebucko for making my moodboard!

Synopsis: Bruce snaps everyone back into existence and Thanos is gone. 5 years have passed and many things have changed for Remedy Stark, she’s an older sister, her dads gotten married to her mother figure and she isn't sure where she fits in it all.

Remedy Stark was born at the tail end of the ’80s, her father couldn't tell her much about how she was born but he could tell her about her mother and the story of how she was brought to him. Remedy could recount the story of being dropped off at her dad, Tony’s front doorstep by her mothers grieving friend. How Tony took one look at six-year-old her and cursed under his breath.

Remedy started showing her mutant abilities just a few months after she had moved in with her father. Tony had been working with some tools when he cut his finger open, feeling bad Remedy walked over grabbed her father's finger and kissed it. After telling him it was all better Tony looked down to find it healed with not even a scar left behind. That night they sat at the breakfast nook where Tony made Remedy promise she would keep her powers to them, and she did till she fixed Uncle Rhodey’s broken arm.

Tom Cruise, Johnny Depp, Bono, Mariah Carey, 2Pac, Elon Musk, Madonna, Michael J. Fox, Kevin Costner, Liv Tyler, Whitney Houston, Richard Branson, Steven Tyler, Bruce Springsteen, Celine Dion, and Leonardo DiCaprio were among the few who partied at the Stark mansion, getting to see Remedy Stark grow up. She learned to speak many languages, her best friend was an artificial intelligence named Just A Rather Very Intelligent System, or Jarvis for short, her father created, till she went to a private charter school.

Now Remedy, wasn’t as smart as her father, but she did skip a few grades here and there, graduating at the age of 14 in 2001. The same year Pepper Potts entered both her and her father's life, she watched them dance around each other in fawning, praying for the day when either her dad grew mature or one of them made a move. That was also the year her second mutation activated, all Remedy had to do was think of a place she wanted to be and she would end up there, unfortunately, it happened in front of both Pepper and her father. It became a family secret.

Years went by, she watched the only woman she ever saw as a mother figure dive in love with her father, while he became a superhero. Aliens it turned out were real, a frozen super-soldier her father spent his entire existence in the shadow was alive, assassins could have their own family and be a damn good friend, also Nazis it turned out were still around.

Being called an Avenger was pretty amazing, but what felt even more amazing to Remedy was saving lives. Fixing the wrongs in the world that you could. Remedy found a family in the Avengers. Wanda was someone who was her own and that could relate to the pressures of being someone with powers. Steve soon after the battle New York, became her best friend, a brother she never she wanted, along with Clint and Sam. Natasha, well she was another Aunt and another mother figure of sorts who brought along Bey. Bey was Natasha’s child, her pride and joy, but also Remedy’s best friend.

Turns out when you get shocked by Thor when trying to save a small nation, well it can awaken hidden powers where you can open portals. Soon everyone knows your secrets and governments well they don't care that you are a Stark, or that you save lives, they notice the fallout you leave behind.

Remedy knew Steve and her father Tony getting along was never going to last, they always had a fallout but they always came together in the end. This time Remedy wasn't able to foretell the destruction, Thunderbolt Ross would have on the group. Remedy left to go bury her Godmother Peggy Carter, then the next thing she knew she was a wanted fugitive.

Tony wanted her to hate Bucky, for killing her grandparents she barely knew, but she couldn't find it in her. It wasn't Bucky’s fault it was the men behind the controls. She could be angry at Steve for not telling her father but she could easily forgive him attempting to protect his best friend, she would do the same for Wanda and Bey.

When it was all over, said and done, T’Challa welcomed Remedy along Bey to lay low in Wakanda when they weren't trying to be vigilantes. Pepper would meet up with Remedy behind Tony’s back, updating her on her father as well as her godfather. Always going their separate ways with a hug and tears in their eyes.

Than Thanos happened and one moment she was assisting Natasha to get up after healing her broken arm, getting ready to open a portal, next she saw her body turning to ash before her very eyes. Next, she was standing between Sam Wilson, Bucky with Bey who was transformed into a Mammoth with both Princess Shuri and Spiderman on their back, as they were being portalled back to New York.

Remedy fought long and hard, the burning feeling in lungs, long since came a constant reminder she was alive. Working back to back with Wanda most of the fight, sending people her way, or defending Spider-Man, or well Peter, he had stopped to introduce himself and to apologize for the black eye back in Germany. Yeah, she could grow to like the kid and could see why her dad did too.

Seeing her dad again for the first time in what felt like forever, was crazy, especially when Remedy half expected him to yell at her, instead he hugged her. Remedy honestly couldn't remember the last time her father had hugged her. He held her tightly to the metal suit he had long lost his helmet it seemed, Remedy could have sworn she felt tears hit her scalp.

“You are so grounded young lady, I don’t care if you are 30 years old, you are grounded! No television, phone, no boys, we are going to have a long talk about what it means to be a vigilante and not talk to our parents.” Tony broke the silence that surrounded them, trying to make his daughter laugh, while she tugged him down to dodge a laser beam heading their way.

Remedy wasn't sure how long the fight even lasted but for her, it ended with her on Bey’s Polar Bear form a few yards away from Bruce Banner who was in possession of the gauntlet. Bruce snapped and the next thing she noticed was the aliens they had been fighting were turning to dust. Thanos was defeated and all of a sudden it felt like a weight was lifted off their shoulders. Exhaustion hit Remedy hard and it was expected so the last thing she remembered was the white fur, hitting her face before she was caught by Clint.

The drive to wherever they were going seemed to drag on as Remedy got stuck between the two super soldiers, a guy named Frank Castle was driving and he wouldn't let anyone touch for stereo. Somehow Sam had won a coin toss and got to ride shotgun, while in the very back Bey was sharing their iPod with Wanda and Karen Page, was snoring.

When Remedy came to in the back of a truck that belonged to Castle, Pepper had been pushing her hair back. Tears had been cascading down her face even though she was smiling, Remedy had tried to smile but everything in her body has hurt. Pepper was in her suit of armor, Remedy remembered choking out the colors were far better than Dad’s, making Pepper laugh. Tony had leaned over the side of the truck kissing the crown of her head, reminding her favoritism sucked.

Soon they were invited back to Stark-Potts household because of course they got married, but it turns out they no longer lived in the city but out by Lake George. The two-hour drive listening to classic rock and alternative rock, barley any legroom, the constant sniff, and cough was starting to get to Remedy. Almost making her wish she had taken up the Peter Quill guy, or even Scott Lang offers up for a lift.

As Hozier’s voice crooned about how he should have taken better care of his lover, the road Frank had turned on to suddenly became bumpy. Steve sat up straighter, suddenly elbowing Remedy in the ribs with his sharp elbow, causing her to take a deep intake of breath. Bucky reached around Remedy smacking his best friend on the back of the skull, getting a laugh out of Wanda and Bey in the back. Steve gave her an apologetic look as they drew closer to a cabin that looked almost luxurious, right away Remedy knew this was one of her Dad’s places.

As the Range Rover came to a slow stop, Remedy noticed Happy, Pepper, and Rhodey standing on the porch together, with drinks in their hands. Remedy followed Bucky out of the car and saw the lake to her left, it's beauty was serene, she could see why Pepper and her Dad would settle here. Suddenly arms were around Remedy’s legs and holding on tightly to her, with no foreseeable plan to let go it seemed.

“Remy, Daddy said he would bring you home and he did! Mom said you would teach me how to play guitar and you’d Dutch braid. I’m so happy your home.” Remedy stared down at the little girl at her legs in confusion before she heard footsteps nearing, and a hand was placed on top of the little girls head. That hand is turned our belonged to her father and beside him was Pepper, both of which were smiling at her.

“Remedy, this is Morgan, we had her shortly after the snap. Morgan this is your older sister Remedy.” Tony was now holding Morgan in his arms, who continued to stare at Remedy was adoration.

“I know who Remedy is Daddy, I have her picture at my bedside, I tell her goodnight every night and I read to her. Well not her, the picture of her, but now I can read to her because you brought her home to us, as you promised!” Remedy felt her heart rate skyrocket, she had a sister, she had been gone five years and so much has changed. To the right, she could hear Bey screaming no, as Clint was saying sorry, everything felt louder, her breathing more shallow.

“Remy?” Pepper put her hand on her shoulder like she used to do when she was a teenager, and she felt the world was out to get her, but Pepper always reassured her, she was stronger than those who brought her down. Remy tried her hardest to smile at Morgan, but she felt perhaps it still came out more like a grimace than anything else.

“Morgan, it's so good to meet you. If you don't mind, I just need a second to catch my breath.” Remedy had reached over and squeezed her little sister soft delicate hand in a loving gesture before she turned away from her family. Her legs taking her out towards the edge of the dock of the lake, hands-on her hips she found herself struggling to breathe as her mind raced.

Where did she belong now? Why did she have to leave all those years ago, she should have come home with the tail tucked between her legs and signed the accords, they could have been a family. She had missed out on the wedding, the one she had wished for since she was a pre-teen, on her birthday cakes and falling stars. Tony had taken in Peter Parker, Spider-Man who was a pretty cool kid, but still, she missed out on seeing them interact. Here she was a big sister and she missed five years of bed life and yet she seemed to know everything about her, acted like she was the best thing in the world. What would Morgan think when she found out that she wasn't all that great?

An arm around her shoulder, the scent of metal, tea tree, sandalwood, amber, leather, and moss hit her nose, indicating Bucky was the one at her side. He ran his flesh hand up and down her arm, as he put his face in her hair shushing her as she began to cry. Remedy didn't need to be told that Natasha was also gone, along with Vision, people they lost in the war. Her family was falling apart and she felt so broken, yet here was a man she spent weeks on the run, months in Wakanda with, comforting her.

“I’m not sure about you, but I feel a little lost right now, but that's because we are in a strange place, but I promise you Remedy, you got me. You aren’t alone and we’ve got Sam and Bey as well as Steve.” Remedy kept her head in the crook of Bucky’s neck as the vibrations of his voice soothed her along with the smoothing up and down motions of him rubbing her back.

“Everything’s going to be alright.” Bucky kissed the crown of her forehead and looked out at the water while he just held Remedy in his. He vowed to keep her safe and maybe they could help each other piece themselves back together in this messed up world.

[eyeliveonmusic]

I kept a meme log for the year 2017

January Mariah Carey Jersey shore as movies Parks and rec season 7 Hollywood sign That meat guy/salt bae How bow dah Alternative facts Beyonce having twins You can’t ___ if you ____

February Gif of guy blinking That chart with brain scans getting more intense Shooting star Wot in Tarnation If your LGBT reblog with your opinion on ___ One fear comic How Italians play video games

March Student athlete Meryl Streep singing your favourite song Ghost in the Shell “Guess I’ll die”

April

Drake from hotline bling and two choices House hunters Eyes on drugs I’m weird. I’m a weirdo. Spotify playlists Dennys CEO

May

Mocking spongebob Facebook pictures “click on me” with a much longer picture Avocado toast Cracking open a cold one with the boys Covfefe

June

“Why is my sister named ___? Because you’re mom loves ___” Babadook Dwayne “the (rhymes with rock)” Johnson The floor is ___ One thicc bih Sensitive content Cuca the alligator Guy mowing lawn with tornado behind him Fireflies by owl city Snapchat location In this house we love and respect Drake bell vs josh peck

July Stop to clean of ___’s star. Nothing but respect for MY president How to correct people Mickey Mouse pic “it’s a surprise tool well use later” Snapchat hotdog Chris Christie on the beach Sometimes…things that are more expensive…are worse Thank you for always not you being a good ___ Living in 3017 Tom Holland mouth frog Me talking about myself .01sec / me talking about my friends 1094749 sec Dream daddy Crash bandicoot

August In front of my salad? Mood He protecc Sarahah Fancy font Hewwo The picture of that guy walking with his gf staring at another girl walking by and the gf’s face is like “the fuk” and there’s white boxes to label who is what I’m sorry the old ___ can’t come to the phone right now. Why? Cause she’s dead.

September You’ve heard of elf on the shelf Nah but someone on this site would say that “Saying a spongebob quote in a city you’re not going to” events on Facebook That guy screaming no Inhaling seagull

October The death of AIM That monkey getting a haircut photoshopped with other pictures Grey and blue/pink and white shoe Jolene

November Beyoncé as nala That horse picture that someone thought was a meme but wasn’t intentionally Who would win Yeah sex is cool but 1-9 pick your mood

December Season greetings picture (seasons greasons) Making pictures through safari pages “Who?” “The person reading this” Elf practice from Rudolph Zootopia comic Singing a duet in front of a mirror Hank hill in kingdom hearts If you play “_” at “_” it will play “_” at exactly midnight. Start your year off right. The year is ___ you’re doing___ The simpsons predicted the future “She’s right” I look around for the owner of the voice. Bitcoins Forbidden foods (tide pods)

[callioope]

11 Questions Meme

I was tagged by @letthepeoplesay-oh and @ta-dala -- thanks both of you because I love these! Also I’m just going to combine these into one long post so I cut it so it wouldn’t be ridiculous.

Rules: Answer the questions given to you. Make 11 questions of your own. Tag 11 people.

First set: (letthepeoplesay-oh)

1. If you could have any animal (real or fictional) as a pet, what would it be? My actual dog is pretty awesome, but that’s probably not the point of this question. So I’m going to say a red panda because they are the cutest animal and that’s a fact.

2. What’s your Hogwarts house? (Or your best guess, if you’re not a fan!) I spent all my life thinking I was a Hufflepuff, but Pottermore put me in Ravenclaw.

3. If you could change the smell of rain to any other smell, what would you choose? Ummmm so I can’t actually smell so I don’t really know how to answer this question. Isn’t the smell of rain supposed to be pleasant? 

4. What was your favorite book as a child? Haha well ok. My sister and I always loved to check out There’s a Hippopotamus on Our Roof Eating Cake by Hazel Edwards from the library. I don’t know what we loved about it, maybe that the hippo got up to so many strange activities on a roof? So we recently found it super cheap on Amazon and reread it, and it’s actually kind of creepy? There’s a line where the kid is talking about how they like to watch TV and it goes “He watches. I know he does.” So anyways. We liked a weird book.

5. If the police came to your house to arrest you right now, what crime would they charge you with? Listen, when it comes to cops, I am basically Ben Wyatt. I’m Lawful Good. I’ve refused to jaywalk before. I don’t even know how to answer this. I cannot imagine myself committing a crime.

6. If you could sit on a bench in a beautiful woods, who would you like sitting next to you on the bench and why? My fiance because we always go hiking together and idk there’s no one else I’d rather be with 

7. If you could choose your age forever, what age would you choose and why? I think 27? Idk why it just seems like the sweet spot between feeling young and feeling old? At least for me. 

8. What’s your earliest childhood memory? I used to say it was when I was 3, sitting in our backyard in San Antonio, our neighbor’s ball landed in our backyard and I liked it so I just decided to keep it. But I think that’s more a memory of a memory at this point. So I’m going to go with... I was 4, saw Beauty and the Beast on ice at Hershey Park in PA, would fall asleep listening to the soundtrack.

9. If you could go back in time and change history, what would you change? Everything? There’s too much badness in history, I’m struggling to pick one thing. Maybe stopping Christopher Columbus. I think this would have just delayed the horribleness that was wrought upon the Americas but... maybe if he was stopped, it could have been different. Anyways Orson Scott Card wrote a book about this (Pastwatch: The Redemption of Christopher Columbus. It’s probably problematic (I mean the title sounds kind of problematic); I haven’t read it in years, and Card has a tendency to be problematic. But it certainly was an interesting thought experiment.)

10. If you were to change your name, what name would you adopt going forward? I used to use Fiona as a pen name before I started using Callioope... I guess I also like Abigail. I wanted to use this name for a future kid, but my fiance’s aunt is named Abigail so now we can’t use it. Dumb. Anyways I’ve always felt really lucky that I like my name and wouldn’t want to change it.

11. How do you like to spend a rainy day? Curled up on the couch, hot tea in hand, reading.

Second set: (ta-dala)

1. What is the “craziest” thing you’ve done for the love of something? Well. I went skydiving for my fiance. I have a strong fear of heights, he’d been wanting to do it for years and said he’d prefer to share such a life experience with me (so he wouldn’t go with anyone else). I refused for many years, but this past summer I finally took the leap (har har) and bought a groupon for it for his bday. I actually ended up having a blast, so I’m glad I went, but… I definitely thought it was a thing only crazy people do, before I did it.

2. What is your ultimate bucket-list travel destination? I would have said Efes, but I had the fortune of going there in 2014. (Both my user pic and cover pic are from Efes.) Otherwise there are so many places I want to go that it’s hard to choose just one. Hmmm we didn’t do Pamukkale when we were in Turkey soo maybe that. I mean, basically, ancient ruins are usually at the top of my list. And there are a lot of ancient ruins in Turkey along the southwest coast that we didn’t go to that I want to go back for. Oh and hot air ballooning in Cappadocia!

3. Cats or dogs? Dogs. I have nothing against cats, but I grew up with dogs all my life because my mom was allergic to cats.

4. If you could be anywhere in the world right now, where would it be? I mean, right now I’m sleepy and still not quite 100% (but very close) recovered from being sick, soo… being at home, in pjs, on my couch is pretty appealing. But my usual answer to this is somewhere in Turkey, or maybe München. I’d move to München if distance was somehow made negligible by science fiction-esque modes of transportation and thus I wouldn’t be so separated from friends and family.

5. Write me a piece of advise that you’d go back and give to your younger self. Perfection is the enemy of good enough — you don’t even have to be great at something as long as  you try and give it the best you can.

6. Share one sentence of something you’ve written and tell me why you like it. “She discovers him on Endor, eyes dark and far away even after the Death Star disintegrates into fireworks above them, and they spend a night separate from the celebration, their own relief soft and slow and solemn as they reconcile their fears of tomorrow against its new promises.” from “if i wait (will you stay?)”

I enjoyed writing the imagery here; I liked the idea of Jyn and Cassian keeping their celebration of the destruction of the second Death Star private, it’s too deep and personal for them; I liked the alliteration of ‘soft and slow and solemn.’ The victory/beginning of the end of the war would be so charged for them because this is a war they’ve been fighting all their lives and it’d be the first glimpse of the light at the end of the tunnel and I think that would terrify them as much as it would excite them.

7. Can you still love/be a fan of something/someone and be critical of a choice or decision? Why or why not? ABSOLUTELY!!! Thank you for this question, this is a good question and one I feel very strongly about. (Look, I’m a fan of A Song of Ice and Fire/Game of Thrones, there’s no way I haven’t learned how to take enjoyment from something while still being critical of it.)

I’d argue that maybe you don’t really love something until you’re honest about its faults. That seems a little dramatic to say though. And I don’t want to devalue someone’s love of something because they’re not critical of it. (Also, some things just… are less problematic.)

With my own experience in fandom, I’ve felt more sincerely and honestly connected and engaged with a work once I’ve acknowledged its criticisms. I think it comes about naturally when you pay enough attention to something or analyze it deeply enough. And to some extent (depending on the work), I feel if I wasn’t honest about its faults, there’d be a level of idolization happening that isn’t 100% sincere. Placing works or people on a pedestal is dangerous. Understanding the faults of a person or thing, to me, seems like a more true/sincere/honest understanding of it.

Also, nothing in this world is 100% Perfect and Good. It’s possible for a Thing or Person to both propagate very good, positive, progressive ideas and beliefs and commit mistakes and misunderstandings that aren’t great. In fact, most things in life are probably this way. Open honesty about how something is good and how something is bad is a natural, and I’d say necessary, course for progressing and improving and gaining a better understanding of the world.

8. Rogue One. Dead or alive?  ;) I don’t… I don’t understand this question. What do you mean dead? Why would they be dead? Obviously alive… :P

9. You can only eat one food the rest of your life. What is it? (You really didn’t want to ask me this question. I apologize in advance.)

It’s potatoes. There are so many different ways to cook them. I’m assuming that I’m allowed to cook them in different ways? Boil ‘em, mash ‘em, stick ‘em in a stew? I mean, in addition to what Samwise already wisely (heyyy) pointed out, there’s baked potatoes, potatoes au gratin, Hasselback potatoes, roasted potatoes — and so many ways to roast them! You can also make french fries, you can make potato chips. Cream of potato soup. Hash browns! Tater tots! Gnocchi! (I have leftover gnocchi from Maggianos in the fridge and it’s time for dinner and guess what I’m doing when I’m done here. I took a break to eat) And honestly?? I’ve only really covered western cooking for potatoes here. I’ve had potatoes in Indian cuisine that is delicious!! I just can’t remember what any of those dishes were called.

Look, I just googled all the ways you can cook potatoes and the first line of the first link that came up said “the potato is the Mariah Carey of vegetables.” They’re not wrong.

10. Give me your Desert Island Discs list. This was very hard and for the record, these only reflect my tastes as of today.

Records: 

All This and Heaven Too by Florence + the Machine

Sibelius Symphony No. 2 by Jean Sibelius

While My Guitar Gently Weeps by The Beatles

(Can I count the end of Abbey Road as one medley? I mean, can I just bring Abbey Road? Only one song? FINE) it’s going to be whatever the best cover of Carry That Weight is with the longest jam session in it, research pending

Night on Bald Mountain by Modest Mussorgsky

Between Two Lungs by Florence + the Machine

Cassiopeia by Sara Bareilles

Howl by Florence + the Machine

On the Radio by Regina Spektor

A Day in the Life by the Beatles

Book of my choice: The Golden Compass. But I was very tempted to take Wicked. Gregory Maguire’s prose is next level it’s so beautiful I just…. But he’s a little darker for me. The Golden Compass has been a solid fave for a long time.

One luxury item… pen and paper?

11. What is your favorite curse word? I’m not really creative when it comes to cursing, I generally just say ‘fuck’ a lot.

My questions:

What was your favorite game to play as a child?

You hear just the first few notes of a song, recognize it instantly, and are filled with joy -- what song is it?

Name any goal you ever set for yourself that you are proud to have accomplished.

If you had to pick a senior yearbook quote today, what would it be?

What would your daemon be? (aka an animal manifestation of your ‘inner self’)

What was the first concert you ever went to?

If you were a city, what city would you be and why?

If you could automate a chore so you wouldn’t ever have to do it anymore, what would it be?

What is something you’ve learned in the past year?

Name a person, real or fictional, that has inspired you and explain how.

What is something anyone can do to make the world around them just a little bit better?

Tagging: @ta-dala (you seemed like you wanted more tags, so tagging you back! :) ), @theputterer, @magalis, @latinaspitfire, @thenewleeland, @estherlyon, @thestarbirdfromtheashes, @jenniferjuni-per, @lustfulpasiphae, @caffeinosis, @imsfire2 (and of course the disclaimer: no pressure/no worries if you don’t want to do it! and apologies if you’ve done it already)