#mom is in town visiting but I’m stuck at my place and she’s stuck at the hotel

[two-crabs]

myself and everyone i care about is safe which is why i’m allowed to complain that mostly this hurricane is Boring

[jubshead]

𝐍𝐢𝐜𝐤𝐢𝐞'𝐬 𝐦𝐨𝐦

Paring: Agatha Harkness x Reader | Platonic Nicholas & Reader

Summary: Visiting your friend has some unexpected benefits when his mother is home.

A/N: This is the biggest thing I’ve written so far and I hope you guys like it!

This fanfiction is inspired by the song Stacy’s mom. There are a lot of references to the lyrics and the clip, so let me now which ones do you guys catch!

OH AND if you guys click on the clothe I’m describing, a link will take you to the image a had in my mind while writing.

This isn’t beta read and english isn’t my mother language, so bear with me.

Warning: Smut, (18+) age difference, (brief) mommy kink, fingering.

Word count: 8.1k

Date: Oct 29, 2024

Comments and constructive criticism are always welcome!

Masterlist

Tag list: @nyoclosmom @stayevildarling @sasheemo @thefutureisus2020 @harknessshi

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Being back in your hometown feels weird, the feeling of seeing people stuck in time and unsatisfied with their life always gives you a turn on the stomach. You’d rarely come up here after your family moved a few years ago, the main reason for visiting was your bestfriend Nicholas, but more times than not he was the one who traveled to spend time with you. Your city was so much better in multiple senses, especially now that you live at the college dorm. 

As you didn’t have any relatives in town, you inevitably stayed at Nickie’s house. This time though, you felt like an intruder. Your friend commented on his parents’ recent divorce and how tension had been high for a while in their house before the separation. 

During the years you’ve known Nicholas, you hardly ever saw his parents, they were always on some kind of work trip and left Nicholas to be the host of the house when you were there. Weirder, though, was the fact that they were never together. From what your friend had told you, they traveled at the same time, but to completely different places. Apparently they were both on the enterprise business, you weren’t really sure of what. 

You’d cross paths with Mr. Scratch a couple of times, but you hadn't seen his mother since moving away as a child, you just remember her imposing presence and the overwhelming crush you used to have on her. 

Your friend had mentioned that she would be home this time. She hadn’t taken a vacation in years, but the separation seemed to bring calmness to her and she was trying to spend more time with her son, at least that’s what he told you, and it wasn’t like she needed to work overtime for money, they were rolling in it. 

You shyly roll your suitcase into the house’s pathway, anxiety eats you away and you hope that the person who greets you is your friend. It would feel awkward enough having Mrs. Harkness around the house while you were there, you didn’t want to re meet her after such a long time without Nicholas as a bridge. 

Letting out a breath when you see your friend’s smile, you jump into his arms, barely giving him time to catch you. His forearms circle your waist and lift your feet off the ground, shaking you left and right like a ragdoll. You huff and hear the sound of your bag hitting the ground after colliding with your foot. 

“Okay, okay. That’s enough.” You playfully pat him on his back and wait for him to settle back down. 

“Excuse me for being excited to meet my friend, who I haven't seen in over a year, 'cause she’s too preoccupied with her studies.” He uses your own words to mock you.

“Well…I’m here now, aren’t I?” Your shrug and he raises an eyebrow at you. “Come on, be useful for once and help me with my bag.” You walk past him and leave your suitcase at the door. 

“I forgot how insufferable you are.” He complains loud and clear, you turn back around in time to catch the smile in his face and stick out your tongue. 

“You know you love it!” 

“I might.” He mumbles under his breath and you ignore him, turning back around and going up the stairs. 

Your relationship with Nickie has always been light and playful, he was like the little brother you never had and you allowed yourself to act childish in his presence. He reminded you of your childhood in this town and running across the street with the other kids. So, when he’d drop hints of something else, you’d just brush it off. 

“Same room as always?” Your head peaks through the top of the stairs and you stare down at him as he struggles with your bag. 

“Actually, no. My mom is remodeling that one into a massage room.” You raise an eyebrow and he shrugs. “You can stay at the end of the corridor. It’s a little further from my room, but I’m sure you won’t mind.” He settles the suitcase at the top of the stairs and leads you in the direction you’re not accustomed to. 

“I sure don’t.” You assure him. “But I do wanna know where’s the illustrious Mrs. Harkness.” He lets out a chuckle at your nervous joke. 

“She went out to run some errands, but said she’d be back soon and bring us pizza for dinner.” He stops at the end of the corridor. At the front wall there’s a door and on its side another one. He opens up the one on the right. “Like I said, my mom is remodeling some stuff, so this is the closest room we have available on this floor. This door is her bedroom.” He points to the other entry and you try not to react. It would be fine. 

“Okay!” You exclaim and enter the enclosed space. The place was very similar to the one you were accustomed to, the only difference was spatially. 

It had a window, wardrobe, bed and bathroom like all the others you had visited at the residence, but this one was faced to the back of the house. A big window opened up to the backyard and you could see the glistening pool water reflecting the orange light of the sun set. Facing the window was the bed and, on its left side, the bathroom. 

Falling backwards, you bounce on the mattress and cover your eyes with the back of your elbow, all the adrenaline of the trip seems to leave your body at once. 

Your friend throws your bag by your side. “What the fuck did you bring? It feels like there’s 20 bricks in here.” 

“Stuff.” You reply passively, not moving a muscle.

He scoffs at you. “Okay, I can clearly tell you’re tired from your flight, so I’ll let you take a shower, put your ‘stuff’ away and I’ll call you when my mom arrives with our food. Does that sound good?”

“Yes, thank you!” You answer him gracefully and only take your arm away from your face when you hear the door close softly. 

Lazily you sit up on the comfortable surface, open up your suitcase and search for your shower essentials. You feel clammy and stinky after spending a few hours at the airport and on the plane, so a bath is the first thing on your mind. 

Finding a towel and adjusting the temperature is easy enough and in a few minutes you’re under the water pressure, tiredness mixes with anxiety and you slump against the wall. 

You feel an overwhelming excitement at seeing Nichola’s mother and while it feels like meeting your boyfriend’s mom, it is also a completely different feeling. You don’t care if she thinks you are good enough for her son, especially since you don’t have that kind of relationship with your friend, but you wanted it, craved even, that she liked you. 

Yeah, your childhood crush hadn’t passed.

You try not to let your thoughts eat you away by focusing on your routine and relaxing into the warm water. 

When you’re done, you get out of the shower and wrap yourself up in a towel. Brushing your wet hair, you look out of the window, the day passed and with it the sunlight. You hope your hair will dry before bed. 

You hear a soft knock and your friend’s voice. “Can I come in?”

“Gimme a second!” You scream back and hurriedly search your bag, grab a big shirt and pajama shorts. “Yes, come on in.” 

Your friend pokes his head into the room and stares at you. You must be quite a sight from the way his eyes rank over your body. Your hair is dripping, wetting your shirt, there’s a brush in your cream slicked hands and your shorts are hardly poking out from the shirt’s waistband. You don’t understand the appeal. 

“Yes, what is it?” You drawl out, taking him out of his trance. 

“Mom is home, brought us pizza.” He beams at you. “I told her you like pepperoni.” 

“And you are right as always, my friend.” You tell him in the worst southern accent someone has ever heard. 

He chuckles and you throw the brush on top of the bed, grab the towel to clean your hands and follow him out of the room. 

All your anxiety comes back as you go down the stairs, the smell of pizza fills the air and you hear movement in the kitchen. Entering the cooking area, you spot her right away. 

“Mom.” Nickie calls by your side. 

When she turns around, you feel trapped in a movie. It would be one of those scenes where a character is introduced and turns around in slow motion, with some random song in the back.

You try very hard not to gape at her. She is wearing a light brown loose suit accompanied by a white dress shirt underneath, her sleeves are rolled up to her elbows and on her feet you see expensive pointy black heels. Her hair is dark and matches her gold jewelry, she aged so well you feel like you’re one point away from falling to your knees in front of her.  

She opens up the biggest smile upon seeing you. 

“Oh hun, come here! Let me take a look at you.” She motions her hands towards herself and you timidly step into her arms. 

She places her hands on your forearms and slowly runs her eyes over your figure. You squirm under her intense gaze and uncomfortably think about your choice of clothes. You should have dressed up, she looks so elegant. 

She lets out a hum deep in her throat and you feel like a bug caught in a spider’s web when she looks into your eyes and smirks. 

“It’s lovely to finally meet you, dear. Nicholas spoke highly of you, but I must say his words don’t do you justice.” 

“Yeah? Wait until she opens her mouth.” Your friend says by your side and you shove him slightly. 

Agatha laughs at your antics and winks at you when you look back at her, making you blush. 

“Let's eat, shall we?” She claps her hands and brings them close to her chest, turns around and grabs the carbon box. 

Nicholas leads you into the dining table and you sit in front of him, on the left side of the head of the table, where Agatha settles down. You were starving, eating was the next thing on your mind after a shower and now that you are clean, you can enjoy the meal. Politely, you wait until Nicholas takes a slice and offers it to you, nodding eagerly, you extend your plate in his direction. 

You dive in and barely listen to the conversation they are having, that is, until you hear your name. 

“Yes?” You swallow hurriedly and feel the piece burning your throat as it slides down. 

“I was asking how college has been treating you, hun.” You gulp down the soda in front of you to smooth the pain. You are pleasantly surprised she knows something about you and is interested enough to ask.

“Oh, it’s been great! I really enjoy the course and the professors. It’s also a bonus that I moved out of my parents’ house.” You answer her excitedly. 

“I bet you are taking full advantage of that, right dear?” She says with a playful smile and scrunch in her face, before sipping her glass of wine. 

“Mom!” Nicholas exclaims by her side and you let out a nervous chuckle at the joke.

“I’m just kidding, honey.” She winks at him and waves her hands in the air in a dismissal movement. 

“I sure am, Mrs. Harkness.” You return the jab and she turns to look deep into your eyes, her mouth slowly grows into a grin. 

Distantly you hear your friend clean his throat and mumble “I didn’t need to know about that.” 

You slowly let go of her intense gaze to turn into your friend’s direction. 

“Don’t be a baby.” You throw your napkin across the table and he huffles in response.

After that, dinner doesn't last long. You patiently wait for Nicholas to finish what must be his fifth slice, before getting up and unspokenly offering yourself to clean up the dishes by grabbing the plates.  

You feel a light touch on your arm. “You don’t have to do that, dear. You must be tired from your flight, Nicholas will clean up for us.”

“I really don’t mind, Mrs. Harkness.” You feel her hand run lightly up to your elbow and you hold in your shudder. 

“Well, I insist.” Looking in your friend’s direction, he gives you a small smile and a nod. “And call me Agatha, hun.” 

Rapidly blinking, you turn to face her and are met with a smile. 

“Okay, humm…” Gently setting down the plates, you feel her hand slip from your arm. 

You hesitate and Mrs. Harkness encourages you. “Go on.” 

“Goodnight, then.” You practically run out of the room, stopping to glance back at them and give an awkward smile.

As much as you’d like to protest, Agatha is right. With a full belly, you feel your energy drain, your eyelids become heavy and you can only think about the big warm bed waiting for you. 

The worry of being a bad guest slips from your mind as soon as your head hits the pillow. 

─────── ⋅•⋅⊰∙∘☽༓☾∘∙⊱⋅•⋅ ───────

The detergent runs down your hands and into the drain. 

The window in front of the sink gives you a full view of the house’s backyard. The midday sun shines down into the grass, the pool glistens invitingly and a light breeze blows away a stuffy day.

Your night was uneventful, exhaustion seemed to take the best out of you and you woke up practically at lunch time. This time, though, you insisted on washing the dishes and wouldn’t take ‘no’ as an answer. 

You got carried away by your task a while ago and now your hands move in their own accord. The idea of spending a day under the sun brings a renewed energy into your body and you practically vibrate in anticipation. It’s been a while since you’ve been to a pool or the beach.  

You startled when your friend jumps to sit on the counter next to you.

“Jesus, Nicholas!” You exclaim loudly, stopping your sopped hand midway and preventing a wet shirt. 

He gives you a boyish smile and says. “Sorry, didn’t mean to scare you.”

“It’s fine.” You murmur out. 

One second away from articulating your thoughts and suggesting your idea, you are interrupted by your friend.

“Should we spend the day outside?” He says and you look at him with big eyes and a wide grin. 

“That’s exactly what I was thinking!” You exclaim. “I’m almost done here. You can go upstairs and change already.” 

“Okay, bossy.” He playfully jabs while hopping out of the counter. On his way out of the kitchen he tells you. “I’m going to ask my mom if she wants to join us.” 

Your whole body freezes. The image of Mrs. Harkness wearing only a bikini comes into your mind and leaves you lightheaded, when you look back at him, he’s already gone. Fuck. 

You rapidly finish the dishes and dry your hand on a towel, run upstairs into your room and close the door softly. 

Placing your suitcase in the bed, you sort through your clothes in an attempt to find your best bikini. Sprawling everything around and leaving a mess behind, you try to breathe and be reasonable. She wouldn’t be looking at you in the same way that you would look at her, there is no reason to be worried. Yeah, right. Just because she wasn't attracted to you didn't mean you didn't want her approval.

Pulling out your favorite red bikini, you let out a small commemorative sound. The two-piece consisted of a top adjustable sideways and held by two strings that made a bow on your nape. The bottom was very similar in style, the front covered you up and was held by little bows on the side that lead to a thong. 

You change into it and look at yourself in the mirror. The color complemented your skin tone and the shape matched your body type. You repeat to yourself: there is no need to be worried. 

Easier said than done. 

You distract yourself by going into the bathroom and grabbing the sunscreen, the last thing you needed was to overthink and start biting your nails. 

As you leave the bedroom, you follow the sound of someone in the kitchen and find Nicholas eating some kind of fruit. 

His back is turned and you take a moment to really look at him. He was tall and defined, with a boyish light nature that seemed to make life easier. His light brown hair matches his father’s, but, other than that, he was Agatha though and though. Just as attractive as her and definitely broke as many hearts as his mother did. Maybe in another life things would be different between you two. 

You shudder at the thought. Definitely not this one, though. 

You approach him and grab a strawberry, barely registering his gaze appreciating your body as you lean into the counter and try to casually ask. 

“What did your mother say?” You take a bite of the berry.

It takes a hot minute for him to take his eyes off of you and respond. “Said she’s happy to join us. She’s changing, but told us to go ahead if we want to.” 

“Let's go then!” You exclaim and rapidly grab your friend and the bowl of fruit. 

You open the glass door and a light breeze invades the house, you don’t stop to appreciate it. Afraid of fainting if you saw Nickie’s mother only in a bikini, you struggle to get into the pool before she comes down. 

Placing your towel and the sunscreen in one of the chairs, you ignore your friend sitting next to you and move into the pool stair. 

“Why are you acting crazy?” He asks with a frown while you step down into the water. 

“I’m not.” You reply and he lets out a hum. Fuck him for seeing right through your bullshit. “I’m just excited, that’s all.” 

You dive in. The pool is in the perfect temperature for the hotness of the day. It was mostly covered by the shadows of the trees, so, for now, you don’t have to worry about sunscreen. 

Resurfacing and pulling your body into the pool’s edge, you throw a bit of water into your friend and say. 

“Aren’t you coming in?” He nods and you add. “Bring the strawberries with you.” 

Resting your head in the water, you let your body float freely. Your hearing is muffled and you take a moment to breathe in the space and relax. Having Nickie’s mom around was making you more anxious than you were prepared for. 

You look up into the bright blue sky and observe the clouds. The day was so beautiful and your need for praise and validation was quickly increasing. There was nothing wrong with having a crush, but if it was affecting you this much, you needed to let it go for a while. 

Your arms flow by your side and you clean your mind.

Time seems to stop in this position and you feel your body ease up for the first time since your friend told you his mother would be around. You hear a commotion outside of the pool and remain with your eyes closed, enjoying the empty pool before Nicholas jumps in and disturbs your peace. 

That doesn’t last long. A few seconds later you feel drops of water splashing on your face. You look up from between wet lashes to find Nicholas with his feet partially inside the water and his mother by his side. He had been calling you. 

“Yeah?” Wiping the excessive water from your face, you stand up.

“Would you mind sharing your sunscreen?” He asks you. 

“Of course not.” You reply and change focus.

His mother looks even better than you’d imagine, if that’s even possible. She’s wearing a black two-piece and from afar you can see the lace covering the fabric. It fits her body perfectly, the top is similar to yours, but it isn’t sideways adjustable. The bottom, though, is very different, where your bikini is thin and revealing, hers has thick strands and you can see that it covers her butt a lot more than yours do. You were right in assuming you’d faint if you saw her outside of the pool. The image makes you dizzy.

“Enjoying the water, hun?” She tracks your body with her eyes and licks her lips. 

You follow the action and it takes a noticeable second for your brain to process the question.

“Yes, I am, Mrs…Agatha.” You correct yourself and blush, from the slip up and the delay. Your face gets even hotter when she smirks and you realize you’ve been caught staring at her. 

You just can’t help yourself. She sits down and spreads sunscreen on herself. This woman is a goddess you’d pray for until the day you die. Her belly is straight and defined, her boobs are small and compliment her body perfectly. When she turns around, asking Nicholas to help reach her back, you blatantly look at her ass. It was round and perky. You feel like a pervert, but that doesn’t change the fact that you wish it was you spreading sunscreen on her back.

God, if you had seen her anywhere else, you’d never guess she was more than 45 and had a son. 

She catches you staring for a second time and winks at you. You dive back into the water to hide your red cheeks.  

The afternoon runs smoothly. Nicholas joins you in the pool and you try to distract yourself by playing with him. If took a peak or two at his mother bathing in the sun, who could blame you?

It's around 4pm when your friend decides to go inside and grab more fruits. You had devoured the strawberries a long time ago and were now starving after splashing, fighting and swimming with him like a kid. The day had turned out as great as you had expected it to be. 

You rest your tired head against the edge and hear a faint sound. You feel Agatha walk behind you, all the way to the pool ladder and fight against opening your eyes to stare at her backside. 

It is the first time she joins you on the water and you hear Nicholas from inside in the kitchen. Your thoughts run free and as relaxed as you are, you get distracted by the image conjured up in your head of your friend picking up fruits and washing them. 

You get slightly startled when you feel a hand running through your hair ends. Opening your eyes, you breathe in and try not to take a step back. Somehow, in your relaxed state, Agatha has crept up on you and is now standing a foot away. Her eyes are focused on the way her fingers twiddle your tips and in this proximity, you feel how hot her body is from soaking in the sun all day. 

“I was trying to remember you as a kid.” She starts and looks up into your eyes. “You were the one with the pigtails, right?”

“Yeah.” You let out a laugh as you remember your signature hairstyle back then and add a nervous joke. “I’m all grown up now, though.” 

“Yes, I can see that.” She replies slowly, her gaze drifting to your breasts. 

Her hand leaves your hair and descends through the water until you feel a faint touch of fingers in your waist. She smirks, closing up the space between you two. The top of her bikini brushes against yours and pressed against the pool’s edge and her body, you panic when you hear the glass door open behind you. 

She laughs at your wide eyes and dips her head into the water. Thanking all the heavens and architects that built this house, you turn around in time to see Nicholas rounding the corner. 

“There you go.” He sits on the floor next to your sprawled arms and places the bowl in front of your face. 

Feeling your heartbeat on your throat, you shove a grape on your mouth to calm yourself down. 

“I think you should put on some sunscreen now. Your cheeks are really red.” You cough and blush even more, he runs his thumb through your face and you try not to flinch at the image he could have walked on. 

“I was actually about to get out and stay under the sun for a while, so I’ll definitely do that.” You push yourself out of the water and feel eyes on your backside as you place your knees on the floor before getting up. Like mother, like son.

“Aw, you are getting out already?” He asks you with pleading eyes and you ignore him as you place yourself in one of the chairs.

“Already? I’ve been in there for hours. Look at my fingers.” You raise your palm up to show the wrinkled digits.

“You do look like an old mop.” He tells you with a side smile, you can only roll your eyes and let out a sarcastic laugh. “Come on! My mom just got in, we can’t leave her inside the water by herself.” 

“Oh no, I’m not staying.” You both turn to look in her direction. “I just wanted to dip in to cool down. Grab me a towel, will you?” She tells her son with a flourish of hands. 

He picks one from the pile while she steps up the pool stairs. You close your eyes, it wouldn’t be good to stare at your friend's mother in his presence. 

They exchange a few words and Agatha goes inside. Nicholas sits by your side and relaxes into the lounge, mimicking your facing up position. The bowl is placed between you two and from time to time you brush your hands against his when grabbing a berry. 

The sun shines down and your body heats up. The droplets of water evaporate and you avoid thinking about your little moment in the pool, you had promised yourself you would stop getting anxious around the house. What if Nichola’s mother may or may not be interested in you? That doesn’t change anything. 

Yeah, right.

God, if Nicholas found out about this crush he’d be heartbroken. It’s been clear for a while that he has feelings for you that aren’t reciprocated.

He doesn't even know you are a lesbian.

“Tell me again, when will your classes start?” You ask and remain in the same position. A plan to let him down gently already formed in your mind.

“Same as yours.” He replies without looking at you. 

You hum. “Are you excited for college?” 

“I honestly am, which is unexpected.” He holds the conversation and you both remain with your eyes closed.

“Yeah.” You let out a small chuckle. “For a few years there I thought you had given up on the idea.” 

“I had. I was thinking of taking over my parents' company.”

“Oh yes, I forgot you are a nepo baby.” You interrupt him and snort when you feel a towel landing on your face.

“As I was saying. I might still do that, but I shouldn’t run the business just because I’m their son. I want the knowledge to back me up.” He looks into your eyes and you give him a small genuine smile.

“Well, I think that’s very mature of you. I’m sure moving out of your mother’s house will help you decide what you want.” Sometimes you forget the 2 year difference between you two. 

“Yeah.” He replies and pauses before adding. “Sorry about my mom’s comment yesterday.”

You frown and take a while to remember what he was talking about. The dormitory innuendo.

“It’s fine really, she’s right.” You laugh.

“She is?” He looks at you with big puppy eyes and you brace yourself for the blow.

“Yes. My roommate is cool about it and, more times than not, she thinks the girls I bring in are only friends.” You try to respond to it conversationally.

You look into his eyes and wait for a reaction, his brain doesn’t automatically catch up and he stares at you like you had grown a second head. As soon as it dawns on him you watch in slow motion as his eyes grow abnormally wide and his mouth hangs open. You were more worried about his feelings than a rejection, you know he’d never hurt you intentionally. 

“Oh.” He lets out in a breath. 

He seems to be stuck  in place as he takes in the information, so you decide to move for both of you. Grabbing a towel, you place yourself on your feet and get up from the chair. Stretching your arms up and letting out a small groan, you turn in his direction. 

Out of curiosity, you take a second to look at the house and search for your room’s window. It doesn’t take long to find, it’s the second last to the left and by its side a balcony leads to a spaced bedroom. Squinting your eyes against the sun, you try following the movement you see inside. It takes a while, but your eyes settle against the difference in clarity and you almost fall over. 

Your brain catches up with the fact that Agatha’s room is next to yours a little late and inside the space you observe as she slowly unties her bikini with her back turned to you. She passes her head through the top knot and stretches her head from one side to another, before smoothing her finger through the indents caused by the bikini. You register your friend calling you and answer without taking your eyes off of her.

“Yeah?” You hum and add. “I’m gonna go take a shower.” 

You start walking without waiting for a response. You can’t take your eyes off of the scene being displayed in front of you, wishing she would turn a little more in your direction. When she starts removing the bottom, you feel the ground under your feet evaporating. 

Literally.

One second you are walking along the pool’s edge and the next one you feel the breath leave your body as you collide hard against the ground. Your head swims and your left side hurts like a bitch, with your attention somewhere else you forgot the pool floor was wet and slipped on it, hitting your back and hip. 

You faintly hear your friend getting up and have difficulty breathing through the pain, the world seems to twirl in front of your eyes and at the back of your mind you hear Mrs. Harkness calling out for her son. 

“Did you hit your head?” Nicholas casts a shadow on you as he crouches down to inspect the situation. 

Your only response is a groan. 

Embarrassment doesn’t even cross your mind, the pain radiates all the way from your ass to your left shoulder and leaves you thoughtless. The only thing you can concentrate on is trying to help your lungs do their work. 

“Can you get up?” Your friend tries again. 

“Give me a second, will you?” You wheeze out. 

“She’s fine!” He turns his back and shouts. 

Dropping your head in the direction he’s facing, you see his mother’s face full of concern as she leans over the balcony with a towel on. 

Your friend helps you up and you put all your weight on him as you hop into the house.

You throw yourself in one of the kitchen’s chair and your friend grabs a cup of water and pain medication, unspokenly offering to you. 

Nicholas helps you all the way upstairs and into your room. When he leaves, you rapidly get under the water stream and wash out all the chlorine sticking to your body before exhaustion leaves you infunctional. 

Out of the shower, you take a moment to look at your back in the mirror, purple spots are already forming and you just know you’ll be sore for days.

You throw yourself in bed and immediately pass out, wet hair and naked. A day in the pool has drained all your energy and the medication seems to knock you out completely. 

Even as tired as you are, your sleep in conturbed. You turn around and rumble your bed, trying to find a comfortable position for your throbbing left side. 

When you wake up, you are completely disoriented, night has fallen over and your room is pitch black, the only light comes from the moon as your open window curtain is blown away by a light breeze. You search around in the dark for your phone, the bright light shines in your eyes and you squint to look at the time: 1AM. You throw your head back and groan, you had fucked up your sleep schedule and everyone else was probably already asleep. 

The feeling of an empty stomach gives you enough energy to get up and move to the kitchen. Ignoring the main light, you turn on a few lamps and lighter illuminations around the house, creating a cozy environment. You find a white box on top of the balcony and pop a pill into your hand, swallowing it down with a cup of cold water. The effect of the medication had passed during your afternoon nap. 

Opening up the fridge, you find the leftovers of last night's pizza. You settle in the counter and eat it straight from the box, don't even bother heating it up. You shove up three slices and, in the meantime, decide to watch a movie. Throwing the empty box on the trash, you go into the television room and settle yourself laying sideways, your right side resting against the sofa. 

You hear a faint sound of steps coming from upstairs and ignore it. Someone must be going to the bathroom. Deciding on a random channel, you relax into the couch, the ambience and light sound from the television helping with your pain. 

The medication must be really strong, because you doze off once more. You open your eyes slowly and take a second to realize what has woken you up. Someone’s fingers are brushing through your hair lightly and a voice calls out your name. 

Your vision settles on the image of your friend’s mother sitting by your side. She’s wearing a long black robe, its pattern has a mixture of purple and green and her hair is resting mainly on her right shoulder. You thank the darkness for hiding the blush covering your cheeks as she looks down at you and asks. 

“How are you feeling, hun?” 

“Better. I just took another pill.” You whisper.  

“Do you mind if I take a look at your back?” Her fingers move from your hair and settle themselves lightly in your left rib. 

You shake your head and lay more into the sofa. A shiver runs down your body as she slides the thin material of your silk pajama blouse and brushes her hands through, what you assume, is the purple blooming on your skin.  

“Oh.” She lets out. 

“Is it that bad?” You ask, already knowing the answer. 

“Yes, but I’ve got just the stuff for it.” She tells you and gets up, disappearing into the house. 

You frown at her ways and focus on the television while waiting. Nicholas was probably asleep and wouldn’t wake up until tomorrow, being alone with his mom made you nervous beyond words, especially after earlier. You had no idea if she was only pushing your buttons, because she noticed you had a crush on her or if she was actually interested. 

The teasing made the thoughts of her having been with a woman cross your mind again. You could imagine, she traveled a lot, her husband was never around and she didn’t seem to have an interest in him anymore. It would be so easy for her to fall in bed with a woman on one of her trips.

You hear her bare feet walk into the living room and look up to catch a smile on her face.

“Come one, turn over for me.” Her choice of words makes you obey without a second thought. 

You cross your arms in front of your face and rest your forehead against them. You feel her presence behind you. Your back is turned to her and this time she doesn’t ask for permission before lifting up your shirt. Her nails run through your skin, following the movement.

“Nicholas has probably mentioned to you that I’m turning the upstairs room into a massage space.” You hear the lid of a bottle opening, before feeling something cold against your back. “Actually, dear. You should remove this.” She grabs your pajama top and you lift your head without a word.

Your bare breasts rests against the cushions and your head swirls. 

She hums before spreading the lubricant around, it brings a nice sensation to your heating skin. Inspecting the damage, she concentrates the oil mainly on your left side. 

Her movements are light until they aren’t, she puts pressure at the purple spots and you groan, pain blooming from your back and making you arch your chest into the couch, trying to avoid her feeling. She holds onto your waist to stop the motion, her hands are slick and placed much lower than normally appropriated. 

“Come on, this will be good for you.” She whispers close to your ear and her hair tickles your back. 

Like a child waiting for praise, you relax into her touch.

She continues the torturous massage and you can only let out painful moans that seem to sputter her on. Her fingers focus firstly on your shoulders, the reason for removing the shirt apparent now as her fingers circle around the muscle and ease up the tension. This part doesn’t hurt as much and you’re able to appreciate it when her fingers work on the tired knots. The tension starts leaving your body and from time to time you let out timid groans of appreciation.

The oil heats up against your back and her hands press down into your ribs. Her hands circle your body and her thumbs work hard on liberating the coagulated blood under the skin. The burning sensation brought by the lubrication helps with the pain and the way she aggressively grabs onto you leaves traces behind, you feel your hard nipples brushing against the sofa. 

“Oh, honey. This is worse than I thought.” She tells you as her hands cascade into the worst part. 

You fell ass first and most of the impact has been on the area. She runs her digits on the lower side of your back, brushing from time to time against the thin material covering your bottom. This part is more painful, but you face it up like a big girl. The bone causes a harder surface and she incessantly moves. You hiss through clenched teeth and pray she will be over soon. The pain is worse than in the other parts and the massage seems to stretch for an absurd amount of time, in agony you can’t even appreciate the fact that Agatha Harkness has her hands on you. 

She finally stops and you relax into the couch. The silence hangs around you and you wait for her to get up and go back to sleep.

“Do you mind if I take this off?” She asks, stretching the waistband of your shorts before letting it go. 

You blink rapidly and freeze. The question catches you off guard and you don’t have an automatic reaction. 

“I’m not wearing underwear.” You whisper shyly. 

“Not a problem, hun.” Somehow you can hear the grin on her voice. 

Before you can move, she’s already running the fabric down your legs. Changing your body’s weight into your forearms, you help her by lifting your behind. 

“Wait. Stay like this.” Your brain short circuits at the demand. 

You are practically doggie style and your naked center is squeezed by your thigh in a pitiful attempt to hide it from her. You feel her moving behind you before placing a pillow under your hip.

“There we go. Are you comfortable?” She asks you without reservations. 

You inspect the position you’re in. A large bolster props your uncovered ass up, your back is partially arched, following the weight deposited in your arms. Your hair is in a bun and your skin is covered in oil. Your nipples are hard rock and your breasts are begging for attention. You feel wetness in your lower lips. 

Biting your lips, you nod.

“Great.” She lightly claps behind you.

You feel the couch dip by your side and tense up as she straddles the upturned side of your legs. Her thighs are pressed against yours and her weight doesn’t bother you. You estimate your ass is leveled with her ribs. If she got on her knees, she could be fucking you from behind. 

Oh god, honestly the worst thought you could have when your cunt is practically in her face. 

Her body shifts as she picks up the bottle on the table, a light texture is poured on top of your rear and you feel it run down your legs. She places the bottle back down and grabs a fistfull of your ass, you let out an involuntary moan and hear a malicious chuckle behind you.

“Enjoying yourself?” She teases you.

Your cheeks heat up at the joke and you don’t respond, your voice seems to have escaped you. 

Her hands wander around and squeeze, you have the vague impression that she’s feeling you up instead of actually doing a massage. The palpation worsens your current aroused situation and you try to close your legs as much as possible without her notice. She focuses all of her attention where the purple is mostly concentrated, her fingers are firm and direct, this time though, the pain mixes with pleasure and you grab hard into the sofa in an attempt to hide your needy moans. Her hands graze your center a few times and everytime it happens, you buck into it. 

You feel like a bitch in heat. 

The wetness between your legs seems to gather unstoppable and you are barely able to contain your sounds. You’ve never felt this aroused in your life. 

You faintly register Agatha calling out for you. 

“Yes?” You hoarsely let out, previously unnoticed drools run down your chin and your eyes are shut closed. 

“You are making a mess of my hand, hun.” You blush so furiously a salmon would be jealous of you. 

You register the wetness of your center sticking in your thighs and joining the oil she was using. You are left speechless for what feels like the 100th time in her presence. Her hands move up through the outside of your legs before harshly grabbing your hip and bringing it close to her own center. She leans over the curve of your back to whisper in your ear.

“Let mommy take care of you.”

You moan aloud at the name.

You feel her breath ghost against your cheek as she laughs at you. Her nails run down your ass and brush your center, ignoring it. You knew in your state it wouldn’t take much for you to come, but, unfortunately for you, Agatha’s number 1 hobby seemed to be teasing.

She pulls back and focuses her attention on your backside, while her white acrylics run from your knees all the way up, her mouth works on scratching her teeth through your right ass cheek. 

Her palm carefully grope your purple spot and you let out a small yelp at the harsh bite she delivers on your good cheek. She kisses it better and shows the same light appreciation to your hurt side. 

Her lips leave your skin as she manhandles you. The grip on your hip pushes your ass higher and you rise up on your elbows. If you were playing about having your center in her face before, you definitely weren’t laughing now. 

“Oh, dear. You are drenched.” On her knees, she parts your folds with her fingers and you lean against her. She runs her digits down and easily finds you clit, pressing it lightly and causing a restrained whine to escape you. 

“Don’t do that. I want to hear all your pretty sounds.” She tells you in an almost sing-song voice, but you know she's not asking. 

Obeying as she applies more pressure, you let out a free moan. Your face burns and you pant against the couch’s armrest. The oil on your skin seems to be some kind of special brand as it burns you up, your nape feels sticky as sweat starts to leave your body and you can’t focus on anything else besides the pleasure Agatha is giving you. 

Your head swims when you feel her digits run up your slit and enter you. She pauses inside and you thrust back, whining from the delay. She seems to find amusement in your torture and laughs before slowly moving her digits. 

She takes pleasure in watching you bend yourself to chase her finger and holds into your waist to contain part of your harsh movement. She teases you by letting her finger plunge in the slowest motion possible. 

Even with the leisure pace you feel your pleasure building brick by brick. It’s a new sensation to have your orgasm sluggish reach you and, as good as it feels, it’s also not nearly enough to drive you over the edge. You moan, whine and trash against the sofa.

“Agatha, please!” That’s just about what your brain is able to formulate in your aroused muffled head. 

“Such a pretty girl using her words.” The praise only seems to worsen your condition and you let out a frustrated cry at the light way her fingers keep moving. 

The sound has an effect, though. She applies pressure and curls her fingers, hitting just the right spot to make you sob. She sets a forceful rhythm by using her hips as leverage, enough to make you hit your head against the couch headboard and hold onto it for dear life. 

Your moans come out uncontrollably and you barely register, you could be screaming at the top of your lungs and you wouldn’t know. The pleasure comes in waves, your back undulates against her firm grip and your nails scratch at the fabric under your fingers. It’s so much and not enough at the same time. You try to voice your thoughts, but only a groan leaves your mouth.  

“Yes, I know.” She smoothes you and gently takes your hair from your face, contrasting her other actions.

She does seem to know, because a few seconds later her hand joins the other one in your center, her movement is continuous and it takes a second for her to find your clit. When she touches it and applies pressure your vision turns black. You’d be worried about your temporary blindness if the circular motions on your clit, coupled up with her finger hitting the perfect spot inside you and her nails leaving a delicious stinging behind, hadn’t made you double over as your climax finally hit you. 

You’re sure this is the longest time you’ve spent coming in your life. The waves seem to crash into another as Agatha keeps entering you and drawing out the pleasure. Her pace doesn’t slow down and when you think it’ll be over it starts for a second time. Your head in thoughtless, you had literally been fucked stupid and was pretty sure that somewhere your mind couldn’t reach, you heard yourself moaning like a bitch. 

After what felt like minutes, your body completely slumps down into the couch. Your breath is coming out in harsh puffs and you don’t even feel the pain of the fall anymore. Someone brushes fingers through your scalp and you look up to catch Agatha’s dirty smile. 

Her robe is rumpled and open, you barely have time to appreciatively run your eyes down her naked figure before hearing. 

“Mom?” 

Fuck. 

[stanleypinesgf]

Falling for Mystery - Chapter Eight

Falling for Mystery Masterlist

Warnings: mentions of abusive ex (i hate this guy and i wrote him lmao), general feelings of being misunderstood, we're getting to the good stuff now though folks! Please note: this is a slow burn fic with eventual smut and mature themes, 18+ only and please check warnings at the start of chapters! TYSM for all the support so far!!

w/c: 2,289 The air between us wasn’t hostile, but something about Stan had changed. He still talked to me, still helped me with the little things, but we hadn’t shared a real moment together since that kiss. He’d stopped joining me on the porch in the evenings, opting instead to vanish without a word for hours at a time. Sometimes, I’d catch sight of him near the woods, like he was avoiding me, but other times he seemed to reappear in the living room out of nowhere, like he’d been there all along.

I didn’t ask where he went. It wasn’t my place, not after I’d been the one to pull away.

The distance between us wasn’t helping, though. If anything, it made me feel worse. Keeping him at arm’s length was supposed to protect me, but all it did was make me more miserable. I was starting to rethink everything, especially my reasons for keeping him out. I knew I was pushing him away for all the wrong reasons.

At work, I stuck to tasks that kept me busy and distracted. Stan handled the tours and put on the show for the customers, while I focused on stocking the trinket shelves, ordering stock and ringing up tourists. The energy we once had, that easy banter we shared, was gone. Neither of us wanted to admit it, but something had cracked between us, and I didn’t know how to fix it.

And maybe I didn’t deserve to.

Still, there were those moments—small, fleeting signs that things weren’t completely broken. I’d catch him watching me, like he was trying to figure out what was going on in my head, but he never asked. And sometimes, when I made dinner, he’d come in quietly and start chopping vegetables without a word. It was his way of showing me he was still there, still paying attention.

But as much as I appreciated it, the silence between us was getting too heavy.

That night, after Stan disappeared into the woods again, I couldn’t take the tension anymore. It wasn’t just Stan that was getting to me; it was everything. The strange feelings I’d had since arriving in this town, the woods, and most of all, the memories I was trying to outrun.

I needed something normal, something from my old life. Without another thought, I grabbed my phone and called my mom.

Her voice on the other end was instantly comforting, like a warm hug. “Hey, sweetie! It’s been a while.”

I smiled faintly, though it felt forced. “Yeah, sorry. I’ve just been settling in here. It’s... nice. Quiet.”

“Away from everything, huh?” she asked, her voice knowing. “Away from Jake?”

The name hit me like a slap, my smile dropping. I hadn’t heard anyone say his name out loud in so long, it almost felt foreign. “Yeah. That’s... part of it.”

There was a brief pause before she continued. “Have you thought about... giving things with him another chance?”

I froze, gripping the phone tighter. My heart started racing, a familiar panic bubbling up inside me. “Mom, no. I left for a reason.”

“I know, but sweetheart, he seemed so sorry. Jake was good to you, wasn’t he? Maybe he just—”

“No,” I interrupted, my voice sharper than I intended. “He wasn’t good to me.”

There was a pause, and I could feel her confusion through the line. “Honey, I’m just saying... he’s been asking about you. He’s still really upset. I’m sure he didn’t mean for things to get so bad.”

I bit back the urge to scream. It was like she wasn’t listening, like no one ever really understood. “Mom, he hurt me. You know that.”

“I know he wasn’t perfect, but he loved you,” she said softly. “He did so much for you. He was always so polite when he visited—”

“You don’t know what he was really like!” I snapped, my voice breaking as the tears threatened to spill over. “He made me feel worthless, Mom. He broke me.”

The silence that followed was deafening. My chest tightened, the weight of her misunderstanding crushing me. She didn’t get it. She never had.

“I have to go,” I muttered, ending the call before she could say anything else.

I dropped the phone onto the table, feeling the dam inside me burst. The tears I’d been holding in for so long finally spilled over, and I sank to the floor, curling up as sobs wracked my body. I couldn’t hold it in anymore. It was all too much—the fear, the anger, the memories of what Jake had done to me. I thought I’d left it all behind, but the pain was still there, gnawing at me like an old wound that wouldn’t heal.

I didn’t hear the door open, but I felt the shift in the air, the familiar presence behind me.

“Hey,” Stan’s voice was soft, gruff.

I didn’t look up. I didn’t want him to see me like this, falling apart. But I couldn’t stop the tears.

Stan’s footsteps were quiet as he crossed the room, kneeling beside me. “What happened?”

I shook my head, unable to speak. How could I explain everything to him? He didn’t even know who Jake was, or what I’d been through. And I wasn’t sure I could tell him. Not yet.

Stan didn’t push. Instead, he reached out and placed a hand on my shoulder, his grip firm but gentle. “C’mere.”

Before I could react, he pulled me into a hug, his arms wrapping around me protectively. I stiffened for a moment, surprised by the sudden closeness, but then I melted into him, letting the warmth of his embrace ground me.

For a long moment, we didn’t say anything. My tears soaked into his shirt, and I could feel the steady rise and fall of his chest beneath me. It was oddly comforting, being held like this, like the world wasn’t crashing down around me for just a second. His scent was soothing, slowly grounding me and bringing me back to the moment.

After a while, Stan pulled back just enough to look at me. His face was serious, his eyes dark with concern. “I don’t know what’s going on, but I’m not stupid. There’s something you’re not telling me.”

I hesitated, biting my lip. “It’s... complicated.”

He raised an eyebrow. “I can handle complicated.”

I gave a small, shaky laugh. “I’m not ready to talk about it all yet, but I left Portland to get away from someone. He wasn’t good to me...”

Stan’s jaw tightened, but he nodded. “Okay. I won’t push. But if this guy—whoever he is—is the reason you’re like this...” His voice took on a protective edge, his eyes narrowing. “I need to know if he’s still a problem.”

I looked away, wiping my eyes with the back of my hand. “He’s not here. I made sure of that when I left.”

Stan exhaled slowly, like he was holding back a wave of questions. He didn’t say anything for a moment, just watched me with that sharp, calculating gaze of his. “Well, if he shows up anywhere near you...”

His voice trailed off, but the threat was clear. Whoever Jake was, Stan wasn’t going to let him anywhere near me.

The thought of Stan protecting me, of him taking on that role, made something inside me soften. Maybe it was the relief of knowing I wasn’t alone in this anymore, or maybe it was just the way he’d held me without asking for explanations. Either way, I felt safe with him, and that was scaring me less and less. He had seen me upset and he hadn’t dismissed my feelings once. If Jake was a wolf in sheep’s clothing, maybe Stan was the opposite. The gruff conman exterior almost didn’t fit with his kind heart.

“I don’t want you to worry about him,” I said quietly. “I’m trying to move on. I just don’t know if I can let it all go so easily.”

His eyes softened, and he nodded slowly, the rough edges of his usual gruff demeanor melting away as he watched me with quiet understanding. He didn’t say anything, but he didn’t need to. The way he looked at me—the way he held onto me—said more than words ever could.

For a moment, I just stood there, letting the silence fill the space between us. It wasn’t the tense, suffocating silence that had hung over us before. It felt different. It felt... safe.

“I’m not asking for all the answers right now,” Stan said softly, his voice a low rumble that seemed to settle deep inside me. “I just want you to know that... I’m here. You don’t have to handle this alone anymore.”

Something inside me shifted at his words. It was like a weight I hadn’t realized I’d been carrying started to lift, piece by piece. I didn’t know if I was ready to open up entirely, but the fact that Stan was willing to wait, to be patient—it meant everything. I looked up at him, and for the first time in a long while, I allowed myself to really see him. The way his brow furrowed slightly, the way his eyes searched mine with such sincerity, such care. It was overwhelming, but in the best possible way.

“Stan...” I started, but the words caught in my throat.

He didn’t push. He just held my gaze, waiting, his hand still resting gently on my shoulder.

Without thinking, I closed the small gap between us, my body moving on instinct. My hands found their way to his chest, fingers trembling slightly as they brushed against the fabric of his shirt. I felt the steady beat of his heart beneath my palm, grounding me, calming the storm that had been raging inside me for so long.

Stan’s breath hitched, and his hand slid down to rest on my waist, his touch light but deliberate. My pulse quickened as I felt him lean in, his forehead gently pressing against mine. For a moment, the world seemed to narrow down to just the two of us—our shared breath, the warmth radiating between us, the quiet tension crackling in the air.

“I... don’t want to mess this up,” I whispered, my voice barely audible, afraid of the vulnerability in the words.

“You won’t,” Stan murmured, his voice rough with emotion. “Not with me.”

The way he said it—so certain, so unshakable—it sent a shiver down my spine. And in that moment, something inside me broke free. The walls I’d built, the armor I’d worn for so long, it all started to crumble, piece by piece.

I leaned in closer, my lips just inches from his, and I could feel the heat of his breath against my skin, the anticipation hanging heavy between us. Stan’s hand tightened on my waist, pulling me just a little bit closer, and I could feel the unspoken question in the air—both of us waiting, teetering on the edge of something we couldn’t take back.

“I trust you,” I whispered, the words slipping out before I could stop them.

Stan’s eyes flickered, something raw and vulnerable flashing across his face, as if this meant more to him than I could ever know. And then, without a word, he closed the remaining distance between us, his lips brushing mine in a soft, tentative kiss.

The world seemed to still for a moment, the only sound the quiet hitch of my breath as I melted into him, the feel of his hands steady and warm against me. The kiss was slow, unhurried, as if we were both testing the waters, afraid to dive too deep too fast.

But it wasn’t enough. Not for me. Not anymore. I could feel Stan holding back, clearly letting me set the pace for now.

I deepened the kiss, my fingers tangling in his shirt as I pulled him closer, desperate for more—for the connection I had been denying myself for so long. Stan responded in kind, his grip on my waist tightening as he pressed against me, his kiss growing more urgent, more certain.

And just like that, the space between us disappeared. The tension that had been building for weeks, the emotions that had been simmering just beneath the surface—they all came rushing out in a wave of heat and longing.

Stan broke the kiss, his forehead resting against mine as he caught his breath, his chest rising and falling rapidly. His hands trembled slightly as they slid up to cradle my face, his thumb brushing over my cheek.

“Are you sure about this?” he asked, his voice rough with emotion.

I looked up at him, my heart racing, my pulse thrumming in my ears. And in that moment, there was no doubt, no hesitation.

“I’m sure.”

Stan’s eyes darkened, a flicker of something intense passing over his features. He leaned in again, his lips brushing mine in a kiss that was both tender and desperate, filled with everything we hadn’t said, everything we hadn’t done.

And then, just as the heat between us reached its peak, just as the world seemed to narrow down to the feel of his hands on me and the press of his body against mine...

I pulled back, my breath ragged, my heart pounding in my chest.

“Not here,” I whispered, my voice trembling.

Stan’s brow furrowed in confusion, but when he saw the look in my eyes, understanding dawned. He nodded slowly, his hands sliding down to my thighs, his strong arms lifting me with ease as i wrapped my legs around his waist.

Together, we moved towards my bedroom, the tension between us crackling like electricity, unspoken promises hanging in the air. Previous Chapter | Next Chapter

[surftrips]

SNOW ON THE BEACH

OBX WRITING WEEK DAY 2 — MEET CUTE W/ JOHN B. 

word count: 1158

summary: after y/n's flight is delayed, she ends up stranded in a cafe in kildare, rescued by a golden-haired boy.

a/n: my first time writing for john b. and i had so much fun! it's been so hot where i am so i am yearning for winter and cozy vibes in case you can't tell haha

Y/N’s flight to Boston had been delayed at the Kildare Airport, out of all places. And out of all the reasons, it was because of an impending snow storm. Who even knew that it snowed in North Carolina? She couldn’t believe her luck, she was supposed to be going home to visit her family for winter break and now she was stuck in the middle of nowhere. 

She supposed the Outer Banks would’ve been beautiful any other time of the year, but it was December and there was no one left but her and the locals. With an indefinite layover, she decided to leave the airport and head into town. Y/N was in desperate need of caffeine. 

After hailing a taxi and asking to be taken to the nearest cafe, she lugged her carry-on and suitcase into the store before realizing that she had no place to stay. She knew no one in the area and she was sure all the hotel rooms for the night would have been booked by now. 

Groaning, she ordered a hot caramel latte and slumped into a seat by the window. Y/N shot her mom a quick text about her flight being delayed, not in the mood to call her and explain the whole situation. Next, she pulled open her laptop and started looking into a cheap AirBnb or motel nearby. 

In the middle of doing so, she was interrupted by a voice behind her.

“Hey, you’re not from around here,” he said. 

She turned around to see who it was. Her initial guardedness went away when she saw that the boy was around her age. “Is that a question or a statement?” she replied.

Smiling, he said, “I’m pretty confident it’s a fact. I’ve never seen you around here before.” 

“Don’t you get a lot of tourists?” 

“Not many as pretty as you are.” 

Y/N found herself blushing despite how ridiculous this situation was. “I’m just passing by,” she muttered out, unsure of how to respond to his straightforwardness. 

“Really? You didn’t plan on vacationing in the Outer Banks in the dead of winter?” 

She laughed, the ice having been broken, and decided that it was probably safe to introduce herself to this (admittedly) cute stranger. 

“Haha, no, not really. I’m Y/N, by the way.”

“My friends call me John B. Y/N, what’s your story?”

“Well, my flight here was awful, thanks for asking. Then I found out my connection to Boston was delayed because of a New England storm or something and now I’m stuck here indefinitely,” she sighed.

“Shit, sorry to hear that. You must be really unlucky because it never snows around here.” 

“You’re really helping me feel better John B.” 

“Sorry,” he scratched his head. “How can I help?” 

“Seriously? You want to help me?”

“Yeah, sure. Got nothing better to do.” 

“Well, unless you have a place where I can crash I don’t think you can help me very much.” 

With that, the boy’s eyes lit up. “Actually, I do happen to have a place for you to stay.” 

“Oh, I-I was sorta joking you really don’t have to do that.” 

“It’s no big deal, my friends crash there all the time. My dad’s not home that much and even if he was, he wouldn’t mind.” 

Y/N was starting to wonder what the catch was, sure the boy looked nice and like he meant well, but at the end of the day, this was a stranger. He could be luring her back to his house and she would never be seen again. 

“I know what you’re thinking,” he started again. 

“What?”

“You can trust me. Look, it’s a small town, everyone knows me. I’ll even invite all my friends over so you can feel safe. Two of them are girls.” 

Y/N really wanted to say yes. She had been silently begging all day for a miracle and this was the closest thing to it at the moment. 

Sighing, she gave in. “Okay, fine. How far away do you live?” 

“Like ten minutes that way,” he pointed east from the store. “We can get there in the Twinkie.” 

“The what?” 

He led her outside where he had parked his van, infamously named the Twinkie. John B. carried her suitcase into the back while she held onto her carry-on. 

“And this thing is safe?”

“Yes, she is safe to ride in. My friends and I have been through a lot worse than a minor storm with her.” 

“Whatever you say,” she said, still not convinced. “Hey, what time do you think it’s going to snow anyway?” 

“Who knows if it even will? My buddy Pope said it probably won’t get cold enough.” 

What was supposed to be a short ride back to his house ended up becoming a very elaborate tour of the town. It started with John B. pointing out a few of his friend’s houses, then the The Wreck where his friend Kiara worked, the high school they all went to, and finally, they ended up at the beach. 

Y/N had to admit, it was a nice beach. Even in the dead of December, the sand looked clean and the sparkling ocean had not yet frozen over. As John B. admired the landscape, she used this time to get a good look at him. His golden brunette hair, the blue bandana around his neck, the slight hint of a smile on his face as he looked out into the water. She couldn’t decide what was more beautiful to her at that moment, the boy or the sea. 

“Oh my god,” his voice snapped her out of her thoughts. 

“What? What?” 

Wordlessly, he fumbled open his side of the door and raced outside. 

“John B? Where are you going?” she called out after him. 

“I can’t believe it,” he said, in awe.

“Can’t believe what—” Y/N stopped in her tracks. There, in front of them, and above and behind, were small white flecks. They could’ve been lights, or fireflies, but she knew they weren’t. He knew it too, even though he had only seen it a few times in his life. 

“It’s snowing,” he said, incredulously. 

“Oh my god, it is!” Y/N had grown up with the seasons, had felt the wrath of a New England blizzard ten times over, but this, this was something magical. 

“Is this what it feels like? It’s like a scene from a movie,” he was smiling like a little kid now, reaching to grab a pocketful before the flakes melted in his hand. 

“This is so weird.” 

“But beautiful,” he looked over at her then, taking in the moment. Her smile was like she just won a contest, and she found no need to hide it anymore. 

John B. pulled his arms around Y/N, wrapping her in his embrace. They stayed like that watching the snow come down, silently.

[ambrossart]

My question is a bit far-fetched😅 but well I'll still say it, if Evelyn leaves Derry for whatever reason at this moment in the story, she moves with her family to another place or maybe she moves alone to live with a relative outside from Derry or something like that, let's suppose that Evelyn leaves Derry as a possibility (which now in this age and this stage of history I think is impossible, it's just a supposition) how would her surroundings react, especially Henry, I think he would be the one who It would affect him more and what about Patricio???? and Victor??

Somehow I got this idea in my head because Evelyn wants to move when she grows up and she has postcards in her room with places she wants to visit and she once said she wants to leave Derry.

Far-fetched or not, I absolutely love this question! I was gonna save this one for next week, but I need to answer it now; otherwise, it’s just gonna nag at me all weekend.

So let’s jump right in! (This is gonna be really scattered and unorganized because I’m just word-vomiting all my thoughts right now.)

The Bowers Gang Reacts to Evelyn Moving

tw; brief mentions of murder and suicide.

— Henry

Henry has massive abandonment issues, so congratulations, you’ve just unlocked his greatest fear.

Evelyn entered Henry’s life the day after his mom left, so he’s developed a very intense and almost childlike attachment to her.

He’s demanding and possessive, but most of all, he’s terrified of losing her, which is probably why he feels the need to test her as much as he does, but that’s a whole other discussion.

Anyway—

If Evelyn leaves, Henry’s not just losing a love interest—he’s losing his sole source of safety and comfort. He goes to her when he needs to escape all the shit he deals with at home. If she leaves, where’s he gonna go? What’s he gonna do? He’s gonna be stuck in a town that he hates, in a house that he hates, with nothing but bad memories and bad feelings. It’s a recipe for disaster.

When Evelyn tells Henry she’s leaving, his initial reaction will be utter disbelief.

Evelyn can't leave Derry. They're supposed to leave together.

Henry has been wanting to leave for years, but he's stayed in this shitty town for her.

How can she just leave without him?

And then that little voice will kick in. You know the voice. It’s his dad’s voice.

Of course she’s leaving, that voice will say. That’s what women do. They’re selfish whores who leave you.

Turns out, his dad was right yet again.

And that's when Henry’s rage will take over. He’ll lash out at Evelyn and say horrible, hateful things.

He'll probably break stuff. Stuff that holds a lot of sentimental value for Evelyn.

Will he get violent with her? Maybe. I’d like to think he wouldn’t, but in this case, there’s a fair chance he could.

Regardless, he’ll refuse to see her on her last day in Derry.

Evelyn will want to say goodbye (and she’ll feel so, so guilty and heartbroken over this whole situation), but Henry won’t let her.

Knowing Evelyn, she’ll probably write him a letter or something, and Henry will keep that letter for the rest of his life.

Even if he hates her, he'll keep it.

He’ll go to her house once it’s empty.

He'll lie down on the floor of Evelyn’s bedroom and stay there for hours.

He'll keep visiting the house until it sells and another family moves in.

And then he’ll inevitably self-destruct.

He’ll get a lot more aggressive and violent. He’ll probably start abusing alcohol or some other drug. And if he doesn’t end up in jail for killing someone (like his dad), he’ll probably end up eating a bullet at some point.

Are you guys sad yet? I’m sad.

— Patrick

With Patrick, I think it depends on where he and Evelyn are in their relationship.

If he’s already had his fun with her, he won’t even notice she’s gone. He’ll have already moved on to his next obsession.

Evelyn? Who’s Evelyn?

This is the best-case scenario. The alternative is… well honestly it’s kind of terrifying.

Evelyn and Patrick’s relationship is built upon this mutual fascination they have with each other. So if Evelyn leaves abruptly, before Patrick has fully sated his curiosity…

Well that just isn’t allowed.

See Patrick thinks he’s the center of the universe and that everyone else exists solely for his pleasure and entertainment.

He doesn’t recognize other people’s thoughts or feelings because in his mind they’re not supposed to have their own thoughts and feelings.

They’re no different than the flies he used to kill with his ruler.

Why would Evelyn think she can just… leave? Who gave her permission to do that?

So Patrick will be confused, like genuinely confused, probably the most confused he’s ever been in his life.

This doesn’t ever happen. This isn’t supposed to happen. Why is this happening?

(And why is it bothering him so much?)

He’ll probably start questioning his own reality, honestly.

When Evelyn breaks the news to Patrick, he’ll be calm… like eerily calm.

He’ll probably say something like, “Well that’s too bad, isn’t it?”

And there will be something in his tone that makes Evelyn very uncomfortable. It’ll make every hair on her body stand on end.

She’ll convince herself that she’s overreacting, of course, because in reality what’s Patrick gonna do? Kill her?

Famous last words.

On Evelyn’s last night in Derry, Patrick will sneak into her room for one last goodbye…

and Evelyn will finally meet the monster under the mask.

— Victor

I think Victor would handle this situation the best, honestly.

He’ll be sad, of course, but he’s mature enough now to know this isn’t the end of the world. People move all the time. It's a natural part of life.

And it's a good thing Evelyn's getting out of Derry. She deserves better than Derry.

He’ll probably help Evelyn pack up her things.

During this time, they’ll probably spend a lot of time reminiscing and going through all of Evelyn’s old keepsakes.

All those letters she wrote Vic? All those drawings? Yeah those are definitely coming out of storage. Victor’s mom will probably bring them over herself, and she’ll be a sobbing mess about the whole situation.

If Vic ever plans to confess, this will be the time he does it.

Maybe Evelyn will reciprocate his feelings.

Maybe she won’t.

Either way, they’ll stay in touch after Evelyn moves. Evelyn will make sure they do.

They’ll talk on the phone regularly, exchange letters, and Vic will probably send her a postcard or two (because Vic knows how happy that would make her).

Once Vic graduates high school, he’ll probably try to move closer to Evelyn, especially if she responded positively to his confession.

He’ll either try to get into the same university or one close by.

(And could you imagine if Jimmy also went to that school and the three of them had a little reunion?)

(Perfect ending! 😂)

Yeah, those two will be fine.

— Belch

I know you didn’t ask about Belch, but Evelyn leaving would seriously affect his life, too!

Evelyn helps Belch keep Henry from going off the deep end.

With her gone, Henry’s gonna start to unravel, and Belch isn’t gonna be able to hold him together on his own.

So Belch will have a choice to make: he either goes down in flames with Henry or he steps away and separates from him entirely.

For Belch’s sake, I sincerely hope he chooses the latter.

He deserves to be happy.

[veryhardymemes]

Noah Kahan Sentence Starters Stick Season (We’ll Be Here Forever)

Content Warning For: Suicidal ideations/imagery, mentions of alcohol/drugs, depression/melancholia, mentions of COVID

Northern Attitude:

How you been? Settled down?

How’re your kids?

Where are you?

What does it mean?

Forgive my northern attitude

Stick Season:

I am stuck between my anger and the blame that I can't face

Memories are something even smoking weed does not replace

Doc told me to travel but there's COVID on the planes

I love Vermont, but it's the season of the sticks

I saw your mom, she forgot that I existed

I just like to play the victim

I thought that if I piled something good on all my bad that I could cancel out the darkness I inherited from dad

I’m no longer funny

My other half was you

I hope this pain’s just passing through 

I doubt it

All My Love:

How have things been?

Well, now that you mention it

I'm saying too much but you know how it gets out here

No winter coat could keep out all the cold of your atmosphere

You got all my love

If you need me dear, I'm the same as I was

You burrowed in under my skin

What I'd give to have you out from me

I just hope that your scars heal

I swear I was scared to death

She Calls Me Back:

Oh, there was heaven in your eyes

Everything’s alright when she calls me back

Look at me and don't you lie

For bullshit I do not have time

Does it bite at your edges?

Do you lie awake restless?

Why am I so obsessive?

This town's the same as you left it

The radio is taunting me

I don't get much sleep most nights

I'm seeing you in every dream

If only I could wake you up

If only I could fall asleep

I'll love you when the oceans dry

I'll love you when the rivers freeze

I was too afraid of living life in your footsteps

Come Over:

I’m in the business of losing your interest

Don't you know there's a coffin buried under the garden?

You won't have to guess who they're speaking about

I'm in the process of clearing out cobwebs

I was taking the wrong meds

It feels good to be sad

I know that it ain’t much

I know that it ain’t cool

You don’t have to tell the other kids at school

Someday I’m gonna be somebody people want

New Perspective:

Silence is making me nostalgic

We were kids but that don't make this less hard

If I could fly I doubt I'd even do it

You made Ohio feel just like Central Park

You and all of your new perspective now

Everywhere, Everything:

It's been a long year

Would we survive in a horror movie?

We trust everyone we meet

I wanna love you 'till we're food for the worms to eat

Keep my hand in yours

Orange Juice: 

Honey, come over

We know you got sober

There's orange juice in the kitchen

It’s yours if you want it

We're just glad you could visit

The last time I drank I was face down passed out there on your lawn

Are we all just crows to you now?

Are we all just pulling you down?

You didn't put those bones in the ground

Strawberry Wine:

Darling speak to me

Remember telling me that you thought you were cursed?

I'm in love with every song you've ever heard

If I could lose you I would

We buried your bones in plywood

I said love is fast asleep on a dirt road with your head on my shoulder

For you, darling, for you

No thing defines a man like love that makes him soft and sentimental like a stranger in the park

For a few moments, I see you

Growing Sideways:

So I took my medication

We argued about Jesus

I said I’m cured

I’m still angry at my parents

But it’s a start

I ignore things

At the end of the day I know there are worse ways to stay alive

I'm terrified that I might never have met me

I guess I’ll drive

So I forgot my medication

Now I’m suffering in style

Why is pain so damn impatient?

It's better to die numb than feel at all

Halloween:

I'm sailing away to a place I'm afraid of

I'm drinking my days with the coastal longshoreman

I drink 'till I drown and I smoke 'till I'm burning

I worry for you

You worry for me

I'm leaving this town and I'm changing my address

I know that you'll come if you want

There's a murder of crows in the low light off Boston

Homesick:

Two months since you got back

Are you bored yet?

The weather ain’t been bad

If you’re into masochistic bullshit

This place is such great motivation for anyone tryna move

Time moves so damn slow

I swear I feel my organs failing

I would leave if only I could find a reason

I'm mean because I grew up in New England

I got dreams but I can't make myself believe them

I’m homesick

Still:

I don’t want to say goodbye

You find love that lasts a while 'till you lose the reasons

You miss something that you can't place but you can't deny it

It's like I'm still here with you

It's a bottomless hole I've found out here with a trace of no one

The View Between Villages:

For a minute the world seems so simple

I’m seventeen again

I am not scared of death

I’ve got dreams again

Your Needs, My Needs:

Oh well, who was I?

Who was I to watch you wilt?

You ain't gotta tell me what it means

You'll always be a flower on my skin

I promise to be there this time

I'm naming the stars in the sky after you

Dial Drunk:

I'm remembering I promised to forget you now

I ain't proud of all the punches that I've thrown in the name of someone I no longer know

I don't like that when they threw me in the car

I gave your name as my emergency phone call

Even the cops thought you were wrong for hanging up

I’d die for you

The dial tone is all I have

I beg you, sir, just let me call

Let's wait I swear she'll call me back

Son, are you a danger to yourself?

Son, why do you do this to yourself?

Paul Revere:

This place had a heartbeat in its day

The boys are drunk

But it just ain't that simple, it never was

One day I'm gonna cut it clear

I’m not from around here

I'll leave before the road crew's out

Folks just disappear

If I could leave, I would've already left

No Complaints:

Thought I had something

That's the same as having something

I'd get mad at nothing

Blame my dad for something

I'd pull no punches

Thought I was raised better

Hope the skin heals where the pain enters

I set a time, then I showed up

Now the weight of the world ain't so bad

I filled the hole in my head with prescription medication

Who am I to complain?

And now the pain's different

I can finally eat and I can fall asleep

Call Your Mom:

Oh, you’re spiraling again

Don't let this darkness fool you

All lights turned off can be turned on

I’ll drive all night

I’ll call your mom

If you could see yourself like this, you'd have never tried it

Oh dear, don't be discouraged

I've been exactly where you are

Throw a punch, fall in love, give yourself a reason

Don't wanna drive another mile wondering if you're breathing

Won’t you stay with me?

You’re Gonna Go Far:

This is normal conversation, babe, it's all fine

The college kids are getting so young, ain't they?

I got tired of the frat boys with the brights on

"This is good land" or at least it was

Say whatever you feel, be wherever you are

We're overdue for a revival

We spent so long just getting by

You told me you would make a difference

[akenvs3000f24]

BLOG 1: My Connection With Nature

Hello! My name is Angela, and I’m a third year student majoring in Zoology at the University of Guelph. I’d like to officially welcome you to my blog– I’m excited to start sharing my posts with everyone from here on out. 

My relationship with nature is one that I’d consider special in my life. Being outside is nearly like my own sanctuary, a place where I can truly feel at peace. Growing up, although my family mainly lived in urbanized areas, I always felt a connection with the outdoors. My parents often caught me outside playing and running around, and they found pulling me away to be a struggle if I spotted a small critter on evening walks. I like to believe that my love for the outdoors stemmed from my mother, as she was and still is an avid gardener of both vegetables and flowers (so much so that I’ve gotten invested in it now as well!). The flowers would invite insects like butterflies and bees to our backyard, and the vegetables would attract rabbits, squirrels and chipmunks. She would often take my siblings and I out on hikes. My grandpa also taught me a sense of appreciation for the life around us through fishing. These experiences allowed me to grow a deep respect for wildlife and nature and the inner workings of their ecosystems; everything that exists on Earth serves a purpose– even mosquitoes, as annoying as they can be.

[Pink and white hyacinth pearl flowers backed by a sunset]

I’m privileged enough to have a few areas I’d consider my “sense of place”. My first real exposure to nature was back in 2017 on a trip to Europe with my brother. He took me on a trail that went around Mont. Blanc– the highest mountain in the Alps and Western Europe– and we hiked in the mountains for two weeks. Along the path we met lots of different kinds of people from different countries, but there was one thing that we all shared: a love for nature. As we hiked and chatted with the people we met, there was a sense of community that formed which led to memories that I cherish to this day. The trail took us through a few small towns in the valleys, and through the locals we learned bits of their history, family roots, and what sort of significance the land held for them. It was this particular trip that solidified my admiration for nature and all the things it had to offer.

[My brother and I's tent on the top of a mountain in Europe]

Most recently, I found another sense of place in Banff, Alberta. I spent most of my time hiking trails and visiting lakes, learning about the history and significance of the mountains that surrounded me. We were lucky to see a fair amount of wildlife, including deer, elk and mountain goats. One encounter that stuck in my mind was when we encountered a female elk and her baby. There was something so surreal about it, seeing them in the bush gorging away at some leaves. We had just finished stargazing and were right beside a busy highway– seeing a mother and her baby on the side of the road was the last thing that we expected. It reminded me of the simplicity and beauty of life. While in Banff my family and I also visited the Athabasca Glacier; there, we learned that every year it shrinks about 5 meters due to global warming. As an individual I always valued the importance of protecting the state of the natural world, as humans have been negatively affecting the Earth for years. Both of these encounters reinforced in my mind how important conservation and preservation is to nature and the future generations.

[Picture of a female elk and her calf under a starry sky]

In the end, my relationship with nature developed from one of simple curiosity and fascination to one of admiration and respect, connected with a drive to protect the environment. While I've said that my "sense of place" is mostly with the outdoors, the people who gave me that sense of place would most definitely be my mom, grandpa and brother.

[iluffyouxo]

ρℓυм αηԃ ѕυցαя || ℓєση ѕ. кєηηєԃу

Resident Evil 4 — leon s. kennedy x black, female oc

There was something in his boyish look as he stared into space, a hand stuck in between the tresses of his ash blonde hair.

Next to him, on the table, sat a half-empty glass of Hennessy and, in front of him, the tv displayed a show Sigrid had forgotten the name of.

Not that it really mattered.

She could tell he wasn’t paying attention to the background laughter and characters’ smiles shown on screen.

Rather he was glancing behind it at the window which faced a high view of the city line that met the downcast of the evening sky.

Leon had returned from his trip to Spain quicker than Sigrid had anticipated.

It had been a rather dull, grey afternoon spent cleaning indoors—though, in that late hour, the winds began to moan and the rain crashed against the window panes—when Sigrid opened the door to a drenched and noticeably jaded Leon Kennedy. “Oh, Leon…”

It was her usual greeting upon his typical unannounced arrivals.

Though, she never knew the context of his trips, she knew that they were important and never questioned why or how he was leaving for some no-name town in another country in the earliest hours of the morning—or be it the middle of the night.

The two weren’t dating, the two weren’t lovers, they were only roommates that had survived the same tragedy. Roommates that held the same trauma. It was best that they didn’t fall in love.

(Even if Leon had already broken that unspoken rule).

She didn’t really have a right to know. He could walk right out of her life, and it wouldn’t really matter. They weren’t even best friends—that title easily belonged to Chris and Claire.

However, that didn’t stop Sigrid from getting to know him better than the back of her right hand.

Leon had a huge sweet tooth, and the one weirdest combination that never failed to cheer him up was her mom’s sugarplum cake.

And she was currently plating a slice on one of her more aesthetically designed plates. “Here, Leon,” Sigrid hands him the plate, “I made you mom’s cake.”

He glances down at the plate in his hands before placing it on the table in front of him and giving her a quick nod in gratitude…or acknowledgement.

Sigrid sighs, planting a quick kiss atop his head, “I’m gonna be gone for a few days to visit my aunt. You’ll be okay, right?”

Sigrid knew he wouldn’t. After the five years of being roommates with each other, it took only a few months for her to gauge the fact that Leon had an abandonment issue—a severe one at that.

In the recent years there have been a few times that Leon knocked on her bedroom door (most likely after awakening from a nightmare) at the hopes that she was still there. That she hadn’t left him behind. And he’d sleep on her floor without a word of granting explanation in the morning.

Leon looks up at her, pale blue eyes glossed over, and his lips parted in an attempt to speak. “I…” What exactly was he going to say? No? He couldn’t keep Sigrid from seeing her family. That’d be selfish.

(Even if his second mind told him to say no. Even if he wanted so badly to tell her to stay).

“Ummm…yeah, I’ll be fine,” his voice cracked. “I’m no Boy Scout in need of babysitting.” The dim-witted joke catches Sigrid off guard and she huffs out a laugh. “Then, I’ll leave the house to you and your terrible jokes.”

Leon returns Sigrid’s halfhearted laugh with a small grin. He liked it when she made fun of his idiocies.

Leon leaned against the doorframe, watching as Sigrid pulled out a large suitcase from under the bed. It hadn’t been touched since they had first moved in together. Her tight coils had been pulled into a high afro puff and he thought it looked like a crown atop her head.

He had come back to her hair dyed a pearl blonde and it was pretty, a nice contrast to her dark brown skin. His own ash blonde didn’t fit him well since his skin and eye color was already pretty pale. Leon just guessed he was meant to be a somber and dry person.

“Hey, Leon.” He blinks out of his daze, turning to look up at her. “You’re crying.”

Leon lifts a hand to his cheek…oh, my face is wet. He uses the back of his wrists to wipe at his eyes. “…Sorry.” Sigrid was already in front of him, though, forcing his hands away and using her thumbs to brush his cheeks. “You said you’d be okay.”

He downcasts his blueberry gaze. “Leon…you lied to me again, didn’t you?” Of course she knew the answer to this. But, obvious questions were the only way to get him to talk. “I’m…no, I won’t be okay. Sorry.”

With a sigh Sigrid reaches around his shoulder, Leon instinctively flinches, to rest her fingers in the thin strands of light grey tresses. Sigrid begins pushing his head down leading him to lay his head on her shoulder. She sighs again and leans her head against his gently. “Just ask me to stay, my aunt will understand.”

Sometimes he forgot how sympathetic—or, rather, perceptive—Sigrid is. Despite her dominant demeanor and introverted attitude. It was the main reason why the pair lived with each other in the first place.

She could apprehend the feelings of his, considering Sigrid had also survived Raccoon City just a year prior. The imagery daunting and fresh. They had been interrogated by the same secret service (though, he had been the only one recruited by them).

With his attraction seemingly evident by everyone but her and Sigrid’s own kindness they had decided to take up an apartment somewhere in the suburbs of Washington DC. And they’ve lived with each other for the past five and a half years. Even so, sometimes he does forget why he likes her because it just feels…right to have this fondness weld up.

“I almost died, again; I almost didn’t keep my promise to not end up a Leon pancake.” Sigrid genuinely laughs at that, “You’re so silly, Leon.”

“Thanks,” he mumbles into her oversized hoody. It smelled of morning dew and woody sage. The fragrance was completely Sigrid Monroe. “I think that’s why I like you.”

Leon quickly jumps out of Sigrid’s embrace at her remark. She smiles, “And I know you like me, too.”

Before Leon can respond back Sigrid takes his hand in hers. “C’mon, your sugarplum cake is waiting on you.” Leon decides to keep quiet and grin. Sigrid’s said everything, anyways. No sense in ruining a good thing.

[trivialbob]

Back home after a fun weekend.

Saturday during the day I visited downtown Chillicothe. That afternoon our clan went out to a country house and wedding venue for my cousin Kate’s daughter’s wedding. (There was some discussion about 2nd cousins, or cousins once removed, etc. I stuck with the bride’s name, Molly). This is my mom’s side of my family.

The property had a horse stable that had been converted into a two bedroom, one bath man cave, complete with a huge bar. I want one for myself now. It would be so cool to park my motorcycle outside my bedroom door. I assume Sheila would get an equal thrill parking her scooter there too. Or we could park them in the second bedroom. Those sliding horse doors are HUGE.

The ceremony was held outside, under bright sun and a perfect 72°F temperature. The bride was beautiful. The groom was handsome. Tissues were necessary.

After a not-too-long ceremony we all moved over to an open sided building for the reception. This is farm country. Many of the men had large, fancy belt buckles, western shirts, cowboy boots, and best of all -- cowboy hats. I loved it. I’ll be on Amazon later tonight.

My branch of the family occupied two large tables. We had a great time together. My uncle Bob and his wife Debbie were there, along with Bob’s son Greg and his wife Melinda. It’s always nice catching up. Not only do Bob and I share a first name, we have a mutual interest in beer.

Because the wedding and reception were outside, a porta potty was the closest place to pee. Melinda, who is a little older than me, literally had never set foot in a porta potty. Not even once, not in her entire life.

There was plenty of drink on hand. Eventually Melinda had to pee. One of my sisters told her to just use the porta potty, because ti was close by. Reluctantly, Melinda agreed. Somebody should have done one of those “first day of school/first time in a porta potty” photos. Had I been right there I would have insisted on it!

As I heard the story, Melinda entered, then exited very quickly. She can retain her claim to having never peed in a porta potty. Not even once, not in her entire life. She found indoor plumbing to complete the task.

The father of the bride, Mike, shares my enjoyment of saving money. Note to self: Sometime ask him about pizza-flavored Goldfish crackers.

Along with some kegs and cans of beer, there were wine bottles everywhere. Rumor had it the wine was sourced from the Aldi region of Chillicothe and was not expensive. My cousin Jenny asked Mike if it was five dollar wine. “Oh goodness no, Jennifer. This is the $3.50 wine!”

Frugal and proud of it!

Jenny told Mike she was going to be sure to drink $10 worth of his wine. I’m not sure if that pleased Mike or made him want to put a donation jar on the table.

This morning a group of us ate breakfast at our hotel then hit the road. My dad and I took a shorter but more scenic route out of Chillicothe to the Interstate. The pretty landscape was covered by farms, horses and some three-person towns. We had to cross a single-lane bridge along the way. There was a lot of driving. I’m tired now, though I had plenty of good conversation with my dad.

Below... cousin, cousin and mother of the bride, cousin, brother, sister, sister, cousin, and me! I have two more cousins, but they couldn’t be there.

[myfckingnameisnuwanda]

CH.2 Money Doesn’t Fall From the Trees

November 21, day 15.

Hey, mom.

I’m sorry to say we are no closer to finding out how to go back than in my first letter.

It’s been two weeks now, and Sam is getting out of his dissociative state. He now interacts more with Other Mia. I think he wants to make her his girlfriend after her and Sammy’s terrible break up. I know he doesn’t want to hear it, but Jake, Felix and I know it’s not going to work. He also avoids his Other Family like the plague.

Not that I fault him. I don’t think interacting with our Other Families is doing any good to the rest of us. Seeing them makes me miss you all even more. And Felix seems almost obsessed with Oscar. Jake is starting to avoid his Other Parents, too. I think he fears his Other Mother may put a restraining order on him.

I think I also should get away from my Other Family.

I’m trying to be objective here.

They are not my family.

They don’t owe me anything. And they have done plenty enough to help already. We are not their responsibility, and we can’t expect them to take care of all of us much longer.

To be honest, I may never have put myself in their shoes in the first place if it wasn’t because I found Other Nai Nai’s account book yesterday. They are losing a lot of money on us. Feeding us and clothing us. Not even helping them out in the restaurant will help, since they have the regular workers too.

We also can’t keep eating exclusively chinese food every day, I’m going to get sick. I’m grateful, but, also, I very much can't keep eating it anymore. I want mac and cheese so bad.

And that’s without mentioning dumpster food. The last donut Jake ate left him stuck in our bathroom for ours. Or at least I suspect it was the donut. It may have been the carbonara sauce (it was just the sauce, mom. A packet of 250mg of expired carbonara sauce) but Sam also ate that and he was fine. Though, Sam’s stomach could be an object of research for scientists.

What I'm trying to get at is; we should start looking for jobs.

I talked to the boys about this last night. They agreed with me after I explained my reasoning behind it.

Jake says he will look for a job at the convenience store, since he can probably get away with taking all the recently expired food to the cabin. He is out right now, talking with the manager. He should get it, after all, they always have that big job advertisement in the window besides the door.

Felix said he would look in the records store, or the library, but he seemed unconfident about getting the job, for some reason. Maybe he fears he won’t get a job because of his appearance?

I just got to the cabin after visiting Other Nai Nai with the news that we were looking for jobs, and she offered me one, as a waiter or a delivery guy. I rejected her offer, but asked her if she would accept Felix or Sam for the job. She looked at me like she knew exactly why I rejected her, and accepted.

But it can’t be on delivery, because we don’t have any form of transport or licence to use one, and Sam’s stolen skate isn’t something Other Nai Nai accepts to deliver food. Too unsafe, she said.

But, anyways, these days, when I’m not in town or with the boys, I walk down the stream of the river besides the cabin more often than not. And in the past week, I have been meeting this old man that spends his afternoons fishing. He talks about fishes, and rows, and bait, and I listen and nod.

It’s interesting, and I’ve never felt this close to nature. I’m sure you would be against it, but I’m going to ask the man for a job.

He sells bait and fishing rows, and rents boats out to other fishermen. He also owns a dock in the widest part of the river, where he keeps his rentable boats.

He doesn’t sell fish, though. He says that’s for him and his family.

He gave me a fish three days ago, but I have no idea what to do with a fish that’s not even descaled at the very least. I asked the guys if they knew how to prepare it, but it was futile. We had to let the fish go in the river.

I will ask him to teach me, when I ask him for a job tomorrow.

We will be okay, I believe.

I miss you so so much. I love you, mom.

Tired of chinese food,

Andy.

<- Ch.1-Ch.2 In Betweens

Ch.2-Ch.3 In Betweens ->

Summary

[auror117]

FORGOTTEN MEMORIES PART3

Forgotten memories part 3/4

Hongjoong pov

The decision to go to the reunion wasnt an easy one. I thought again and again about it and my parents werent happy at all. Mom tried to stop me for whatever reason, but deep in my heart i felt like i had to go no matter what. Now that i'm here and now that i've seen my friends i have no regrets in coming here.

It 8am when Seonghwa knocked on my door. I was barely awake but he was good and ready to go. He was always a morning bird, the responsible one.

Now we are walking to Jieuns cafe. A million thoughts run throught my head, how is she now? Is she the same? Did she miss us? Did she miss me..........

Hwa; " Isn't it weird, walking this path after so many years " he asks while looking around. It was weird, our childhood was filled with this town until we left and now that we are back the feeling is unfamiliar but familiar in a way.

" Yea it is weird but it also brings back some memories" I reply

Hwa; " You remember getting beat up in that alley by those boys from our next class " he points towards an alley with a smile. I laugh at the sudden rush of memories.

" You mean the time when Jieun had to save us from them. I still remember her running towards us holding her hockey stick and just swinging it around with her eyes closed " I chuckle while speaking.

Hwa:" And she almost hit us with that stick too" he replies with a wide smile. " Do you ever wish that you hadn't left?" He turns to look at me.

I didnt know how to answer that question, did i regret leaving?. If i hadn't left how different would my life have been, but at the same time i cant seem to regret because of how much i've achieved.

" At one point i did but then i never really though about it" i reply, not looking at him.

He was silent for the rest of the journey. As the cafe came in site i couldnt help but get nervous, my heart started beating fast and it felt like i was taken back in time.

Seonghwa's POV

He was different now, much different but i cant help but identify some similarities of his old self. He still dont make eye contact with me and he still holds much in his heart but speaks less. But hearing him say that he doesn't regret leaving made me think, maybe he is different now.

The cafe looks the same as it did in the past. It looks so alike that i felt like time reversed. The memories that this place has holds endless meaning but instead of looking forward to recall those memories i see myself searching for something else.

Before we could enter the cafe Jieun comes out and walks towards us with a bright smile, i felt like time froze. Seeing her now made me realize how much i missed her. Hongjoong rushed forward and hugged her tightly but i couldnt move, it felt like my feet were stuck in the ground.

I just stared at her without a word unable to process whats happening until she pulls me into a hug. I found myself tearing up while inhailing her scent, its the same her smile, hair, scent its all the same. For a minute i hoped that time would actually stop but i know its a hopeless dream to want this moment to last forever and to want her.......

Jieun; " You both have no idea how much i missed you two, look at you both gosh i'm so proud of you" she breaks the hugs and looks at us with a teary smile.

Hongjoong; "You haven't changed at all, still a cry baby" he says with a small laugh

Jieun; "Oh shut up its been years since i've seen you both let me be emotional" she wipes her tears as she speaks.

" And the behaviour is the same too, it truly feels like nothing has changed" i pat her head with a smile.

Hongjoong; "So what are we doing today?"

" How about we visit our hideout?" i suggest

Jieun; " Great idea! I looked after it after you both left, dont worry i didnt change anything its still the same" she says as she leads the way.

Our hideout was situated at the top of our school, a small room we decorated and used as our safe place. It is filled with sad and good memories of ours.

Hongjoong's POV

She looked so beautiful, so unreal that it feels like a dream to see her but when i hugged her i realised that this is not a dream. She is really here in front of me, the familiarity fills my heart with warmth. This is not like the countless dreams i had of her, she's really here.

At the mention of the hideout i cant help but feel anxious, the last memory i had of that place wasnt pleasant. Looking at Seonghwa it feels like he's forgotten everything that happened that day ofc he has, he had nothing to lose, not then and not now.

Thinking about it, this is a journey to uncover forgotten memories even the cruelest of them all. Maybe recovering them will lead to some mystery and maybe just maybe this time i may win.

[restforthe-burdenedsoul]

M told his mom and brother yesterday of our plans to leave the state. Neither are supportive. His mom is making it all about herself and how she bought a house in this town so she could be closer to him. As if he isn’t allowed to ever move away from a town that he never wanted to settle in for the rest of her life. His brother told him that their mom is his responsibility as his brother went into the military to give her money, so M has to stay here with his mom to support her physically.

I don’t understand his family. He’s been giving to them his entire life. He’s put their needs first. Whenever he sets a boundary, he’s guilted for setting it.

His mom is still relatively young. At least another 10 years before she’ll need consistent help and maybe even more. My parents are close to that, but still not even there. My parents are ten years older than her. 10 years is still a long time. We’re not gonna be stuck in this oppressive state because his mom *may* need more help in 10 years.

I have not told my parents yet. I don’t think they’ll support the reason, but I don’t think they’ll guilt me for leaving.

I think part of it is cultural and I don’t know how to navigate that with M. My parents have always cared for me, given me things, helped me do things. They still do and I’m in my 30s.

The tables are starting to turn a bit. I do help them when I can. I stayed with my dad in the hospital, I helped my mom that whole week with the house and the dog, I help with the dog when they go away, I try to clean or do something helpful when I visit. The bottom line right now is that they don’t need help even if I offer it. I feel like I sound like an ungrateful kid right now, but they’ve never made me feel “responsible” for them. They’re the parents, I’m the child. Yes, when they get older and they can’t do as much for themselves, I will be there. And at this point if I can’t be there in person, I’ll help with the finances of hiring someone. My mom wants to be in a nursing home if she ever gets to that level because, in her own words, she doesn’t want me to give up my life like she had to for her dad. I’m not saying I’d do that, just that my parents have always done their best to let me be present in whatever place of life I’m at.

When I have kids, I hope I can do the same as my parents (minus the gay hating bullshit). But his mom throws everything on him. A light bulb goes out, she calls M. A frog is on her front door and she is afraid to get inside, she calls M. Something breaks in her house and she needs a repair person, she calls M. These are very little things that she can do all on her own. I’m sorry to be a bitch about it, but she doesn’t NEED M in these kinds of moments.

Now, one time his grandmother fell and we both rushed over. He spoke for them at the hospital. Yes, that’s a big needed moment. There was a hurricane and his mom didn’t feel safe at home because it’s a manufactured home, she came here. Yes, that’s a big needed moment. Etc.

But the day to day…he’s dealing with his own day to day.

For our own safety, I truly believe we need to leave this state. For my own mental health, we need to leave this state.

And honestly? How dare his family put this kind of weight on his shoulders while he’s literally terrified to walk out the door in this MAGA trump loving desantis worshipping state.

I don’t believe we’re being dramatic. This is a matter of safety.

[skyler10fic]

Home for the Holidays: New Year’s Wishes

A short follow-up to Home for the Holidays: Evergreen Lane (Ao3 | Tumblr)

Summary: Carol gets two heart-warming surprises for New Years.

Read on Ao3 | Listen to the soundtrack for this fic on YouTube

Back in the city, Carol grimaced at the stiffness of her new skates. She called to Daisy that she’d just be a minute and skated off the ice to sit on a bench. As she fumbled with the laces, adjusting here and there, she heard her name. 

“Carol? Is that Carol Danvers?” A beautiful woman with short white hair and bright eyes stood in awe. 

“Aunt Wendy?” Carol sat up. “I … thought you were in California?”

“I’m in town for New Year’s and some friends thought it would be fun to skate for the evening. Are you living here now?”

“Yeah! Yeah, I work with Stark Industries, a few blocks away,” Carol explained. She noticed Aunt Wendy’s eyes dart to her laces. Before she could explain, Daisy skated up to the rink wall. 

“Hey, you okay?” Daisy checked in. 

“Aunt Wendy,” Carol introduced with a slight hesitation but a defiant set to her jaw. “This is my girlfriend, Daisy Coulson. Daisy, this is Wendy Lawson, my mom’s sister.” 

Daisy stuck out a hand and held on to the wall with the other. “Pleasure to meet you, Ms. Lawson.” 

“Oh, just Wendy, please.” Wendy shook it with a curious smile. She turned back to Carol with a twinkle in her eye. “You know what’s odd? I hadn’t heard from my sister in nearly seven years until I got a call from her on Christmas Day. I thought it might have been the season, forgive and forget and all that for the holidays, but she didn’t mention you had a girlfriend. Only that I should get in touch. And here you are.” 

Daisy took a deep breath, watching Carol cautiously and ready to step in if needed.

A middle-aged brunette woman approached. “Hey honey,” she said to Wendy and held up her phone, “I’m just going to step out for a call.” She waved to Carol and Daisy.

“That’s my wife, Victoria. She’s very busy.” Wendy raised her eyebrows in anticipation of Carol’s reaction. 

Carol stared after Victoria and back to Aunt Wendy. “That’s why you disappeared? You’re… you’re like me?” 

“Things were a lot different 10 years ago, Carol. I couldn’t stay. Not that your parents would have wanted me to.” She let out a bitter laugh. “After I told them, they said I wasn’t allowed to see you or your brother. As if I was contagious or something. But it seems their efforts were in vain.” 

Aunt Wendy sent a satisfied smile to Daisy, still watching and listening from the rink wall. 

“Wendy,” Daisy interjected. “Would you like to skate with us?” But Wendy hesitated, looking for Carol’s approval.

“I’d love to catch up,” Carol confessed. “There’s so much I’d like to ask you, and a lot that you should probably know if she didn’t mention us.” Carol pointed to Daisy and back to herself. 

Aunt Wendy agreed and the three of them skated together as they talked. At the end of the night, they exchanged numbers and email addresses with the promise to stay in touch. 

Outside the rink, as they were saying goodbye, Aunt Wendy placed a hand on Carol’s shoulder. 

“You haven’t lost all your family, Carol. I’m here any time you need me. And you two come visit in California, okay?” She smiled at Daisy too. Carol hugged her and they parted ways. 

“You okay?” Daisy asked as they walked away, skating bags at their sides. 

Carol nodded and swallowed before she could speak. “Yeah, that just… that meant a lot to me. I know I have you and your family, but to have her say that…” 

“Oh babe, yeah, of course it would.” Daisy shifted her skating bag and took Carol’s hand as they walked. They stopped at Daisy’s car. “You’re not alone, okay? Not in any of this. And now you know your aunt has been there too. Hey, I have an idea. What if we go stay with them this summer?” 

“Yeah, I’d like that, if you know, we stay in touch and the timing is right for them too and the offer’s still on the table.” Carol shivered as this new reality sunk in. She had an aunt to go visit far away. Family who not only loved and supported her but who understood exactly.

Daisy walked around to the driver’s side. “C’mon, for now, it’s winter and I’m freezing.” 

Carol gratefully got in the car and they drove back to Daisy’s place, where they were spending the night to prepare for their New Year’s Eve party. 

—------------------

The next evening, decorating and food prep and music set up went faster than anticipated, so they were ready on time, but their guests were late. 

Daisy was stunning as always, in the dress and necklace Carol had gotten her for Christmas and strappy heels. Carol wore a loose open blazer, a white flowy blouse, and black slacks, with bouncing waves Daisy had done to perfection. 

“Wait here.” Daisy held up a hand as they stood in front of Daisy’s couch. “Just. Have a seat. I have a surprise.” 

She emerged from her bedroom a few seconds later with a small box. Carol’s heart jumped, but it was longer and flatter than a traditional ring box. Still, Daisy knelt in front of her and opened the box to reveal a key, painted sparkling red and gold. 

“I know you are trying to decide on whether to renew your lease, and your roommate is taking most of the shared furniture so you’d have to buy all this new stuff, and I just thought, you practically live here anyway, why not make it official?” 

Carol stuttered. “Is this? To?” She pointed at Daisy’s front door. 

“Yeah. Move in with me? Make this our home.” Daisy looked down at the key and then back up at Carol’s stunned face shyly. “Together?” 

“Yes!” Carol finally got out. “Oh, my god. Yes.” She pulled Daisy up to the couch and kissed her deeply. In spectacular timing, the doorbell rang as their first guests started to arrive. Daisy watched as Carol subtly slid the key onto her keyring, where it hung like any ordinary key and not a momentous step in their relationship. 

They started the music and answered the door, as a full night of friends and food and partying began. At midnight, they turned on the TV to watch the ball drop in Times Square. Carol pulled Daisy in close and watched her instead of the countdown. 

“4… 3… 2… 1…” everyone else shouted. Carol and Daisy shared a New Year’s kiss to remember as a romantic start to their new chapter. 

[redladydeath]

Compiling all the Proto Vox stuff that I didn't include in the master post because it heavily features my OCs here.

It'd require some weighing of options on Vox's part. He might not even know they're in Hell since he's kept so cloistered in his overlord's base. If he did somehow find out, first he'd have to decide if he needs to tell his boss. She has the resources to make sure they end up somewhere safe, but Vox is certain that the only way she'll agree do so is if he sells her his soul (they have a deal, but she doesn't completely own him yet), cutting off any hope that he might escape her one day. Even then, there's a good chance she'd use them to torment him, and he's not sure he could handle his children seeing him like this. But if he doesn't do something, who knows what could happen to them on streets of Hell, stuck in children's bodies for the rest of eternity (a condition he's now intimately familiar with)? It’s sort of a test of Vox's selfishness. I feel like his worse instincts might win out.

The second option is Niffty. If he's met her by the time of this discovery, he has to decide if he trusts her enough to 1) hand her this incredibly sensitive piece of information about himself, and 2) take care of his children. It's a better option than "do nothing" or "possibly fuck up you and your kids' afterlives for good," but he doesn't know Niffty well enough to tell if it's truly a safe option.

Hopefully, the kids eventually wandered into Cannibal Town and were taken in by Rosie. If not, and Niffty does manage to find them and convince them that their dad sent her, I can see them developing a bit of a resentment of him for knowing where they are but being completely MIA for a decade, even after he's freed from his boss, not wanting them to see him until he's finally comfortable with his body.

-

Now I’m wondering what Rosie (and/or Niffty) would be like as the kid’s parent? Would she give them to Vox after he’s comfortable with his appearance or keep them? Would the kids even want to leave Rosie?

Niffty would give them back, once Vox is willing to take them. She always wanted to be a mother, but she knows they're not hers to keep. At first, it would sort of be a similar situation to the main AU where they're stuck in an apartment while Niffty's at work, but she'd definitely be a more comforting, attentive presence than Vox. She'd enjoy doting on them once she has the resources. Since he knows where Thomas and Sarah are in this scenario, Vox might write them letters, just to let them know that he hasn't abandoned them.

Rosie would be a great mom, although I feel like she probably has a bit of a "it takes a village" mindset, given how community-focused Cannibal Town seems to be. Having an attentive, loving, emotionally intelligent parent is almost as jarring to Fineas and Ondine as having to get used to eating human flesh and pretending like it's the 1890s all the time (ironically, Ondine probably takes to the cannibalism easier since pilot fish are carnivorous).

I could see Vox reuniting with them by accident in the Rosie scenario: he accompanies Alastor to Cannibal Town to visit a friend, notices some aquatic sinner children who look out of place among all the mostly-human cannibals, takes a closer look, and HOLY SHIT THOSE ARE HIS KIDS. They might not recognize him at first since he looks so different, but after seeing his reaction and listening to the cadence of his voice (Proto Vox sounds mostly the same as normal Vox, but with a slightly higher voice (and possibly a lisp)), they realize who he is. Not exactly the reunion any of them were hoping for/expecting. How their future relationship shakes out depends on if Vox knew they were dead/if he can lie convincingly enough to get them to believe he didn't know they were in Hell. Alastor thinks this whole situation is hilarious.

What if Carmilla found the kids? That would be fun. I am very sure she wouldn’t give the kids back the Vox. Clara & Odette becoming big sisters to Sarah & Thomas sound super cute. (Does anyone have any good headcannons on Clara & Odette? They are pretty blank slates in cannon. I like @kaledya’s idea of Clara being the one to make the weapons and Odette being the one to test them but even that’s not that deep.) Oooh and uncle Zestial I almost forgot!!!!! Do you think Sarah & Thomas would ask him questions all the time since he’s so old?

I don't think Carmilla would take them in. While she does have a soft side, she seems like she's mostly a "me and mine" type of person. Overlords tend not to do things out of the kindness of their heart. Rosie's willing to take people in not just because she's empathetic, but because she seems to draw her power from having a large community of people, and thus, bringing more people into the fold benefits her. Carmilla's an arms dealer who has no use for stranger children who can't do anything for her– if she picked up every stray she came across, she wouldn't be as successful as she is now.

(Also, I can totally see Vox putting his kids in a fishtank in this scenario.) Would the kids even want to leave Rosie? (Thomas would definitely not, but what about Sarah? Would this be enough to stop putting her father on a pedestal and admit that he sucks?)

The kids are in a tough situation. There are so many branching paths here.

Niffty shows up out of nowhere and takes them in, saying their dad sent her. She gives them letters from him; he says he can't see them right now, but he'll come get them eventually. They know that he must not be too tied up though, since Niffty goes to visit him regularly. Years pass and he doesn't make any attempt to reunite with them. They start to wonder if Niffty is faking the letters. And then Vox finally shows up, newly christened as an overlord and ready to take them back as though nothing happened.

Thomas and Sarah wander into Cannibal Town. They're taken in by the community and provided safety in exchange for conforming to their way of life. They spend years getting accustomed to living like that, only to reunite with their father via a chance encounter. He insists that he had no idea that they were in Hell and, if that doesn't work, that he couldn't come seek them out– he was trapped! ...until a couple years ago. They have no idea whether he's telling the truth or not.

The Cannibal Town scenario, except Vox only shows up after attaining overlord status. Clearly he knew where they were since he's not acting surprised that they're here. People don't become overlords overnight. He's been here for years, knowing exactly where they were, but never trying to contact them.

Thomas and Sarah have every right to be bitter and distrustful of him, regardless of the specific circumstances. Sarah would be more inclined to be understanding in the Niffty scenario since at least he was trying to maintain contact with them, but there's still a strong sense of abandonment. The fact he was an absentee father when they were alive doesn't help matters; he didn't want them in life, of course he wouldn't want them in death. Thomas is beyond pissed in the Rosie scenario, believing that his dad intentionally left him and his baby sister to wander the streets of Hell because seeking them out would be too much effort. Sarah... she still wants to love her dad, but it's been so long and they've been through so much, she can't help but think that Thomas' view of things is probably right. Having Sarah turn on him would be heartbreaking for Vox. Part of the reason he was so fond of her was because of the way she always saw the best in him, regardless of how often he fell short of her expectations.

It's a nasty situation, but... Vox isn't going to take "no" for an answer. He's taking back his children, whether they want to go with him or not. In option 2, Alastor has to ask Vox to find somewhere else to live since he'd rather not be holding children in his home against their will. In options 1 and 3, the fish tank finally makes an appearance. Vox wasn't able to keep them safe when they first fell, but now he'll never leave them on their own again.

-

Vox is a fundamentally selfish person. He’s fully capable of love and can make the right decisions if the circumstances are right, but in this scenario, he makes a selfish (yet understandable) choice that leads to more selfish, less understandable decisions until he finally ends up wrecking his opportunity to have a real second chance with his kids.

If RAM happens, it’s more or less the same as the non-Proto Vox scenario, just with more complicated feelings. Val and Vel keep them around because they’re good for Vox. Vox is deep in his delusions and doesn’t remember the whole fish tank thing. Fineas is bitter, Ondine is struggling.

Things are made especially weird if Vox has reverted back to his old body. Fineas and Ondine finally understand the real reason he avoided coming to get them all those years and that he was telling the truth about being unable to do so… at first. It’s not a good enough reason. They might be able to forgive him somewhat in the Niffty scenario. Not sure about the Rosie scenario. Either way, seeing him in that body, caught up in old memories, is like pulling teeth (it’d also be pretty rough in an AU with Proto Vox and young adult Fineas and Ondine, although a lot more straightforward).

I can imagine Sarah singing “Neptune” by SJ Tucker and “Better Off Gone” by Jakeneurton to try and finally move on from her father. Do you think “Never Love An Anchor” by The Crane Wives would fit Vox in this scenario?

I suppose. “Guilty not remorseful” is a good line for Vox in this scenario.

Aside from Valentino and Velvette not letting them go, I’m not sure they’d be able to bring themselves to return to Rosie, knowing she’ll welcome Alastor back with open arms once he returns.

Charlie is, uh. regretting not getting to know more about her residents before now (granted, Vox wouldn’t’ve been able to tell her about this whole mess even if she had asked).

She’s not enthusiastic about it per se, it’s just easier for her than Fineas. Sarah’s usually very skittish, getting upset at the sight of blood (unless the circumstances have desensitized her to it), but… well, it’s not like she has another option.

-

I Must Torment The Television

Vox catches sight of Sarah and Thomas on the street during a rare excursion out of the base just a few days before the Extermination. He panics; there isn’t enough time to figure out a better option, so he agrees to sell his soul to his boss in exchange for her taking them off the street and keeping them safe. They negotiate the contract very closely. Vox attempts to cover all his bases, trying to ensure his boss can’t reveal who he is to the kids; he can’t bear for them to see him like this. The deal goes through. His boss compliments him on what a good father he is. Vox feels like his “life” is over.

Vox’s boss holds up her end of the bargain and takes the kids off the streets, giving them a safe place to live… at her compound. They’re confused why this one overlord suddenly took them in when everyone else just pretended they were invisible, but it feels rude to look a gift horse in the mouth. The overlord seems very kind and doting, so maybe she just has a soft spot for children?

Vox doesn’t know the kids are at the compound, believing that he worded the contract in such a way that she’d have to send them somewhere else. Things continue as they had been for a while (just with Vox internally despairing that he's now stuck here forever), until one day, while Vox’s boss is toying with him, Sarah comes knocking on the door, wanting to ask the overlord about something.

The overlord enthusiastically invites her in. Vox is horrified seeing Sarah walk through the door and buries his face in his boss’ shirt, feeling as though if he looks Sarah in the eye, she’ll somehow know it’s him. Sarah notices Vox hiding from her and asks his boss if she did something to scare him. The overlord assures her that she didn’t do anything wrong; he’s usually not this shy, but meeting new people can be scary sometimes!

Vox keeps his face buried in his boss’ torso, absolutely mortified. The overlord tells him to look at their guest and say “hello.” He glances at Sarah for a millisecond and mumbles a very clipped “hi,” before going back to hiding his face. The overlord just laughs indulgently.

Vox feels as though he could crawl out of his “skin” when Sarah asks his boss if she’s his mommy— he is sitting on her lap, after all. The overlord delightedly explains that, no, she’s not his mother, he’s just her sweet little jester. She asks Sarah if she's ever had a favorite baby doll that she enjoyed bringing everywhere; that’s what Vox is to her.

Sarah feels a bit weird, privately wondering if Vox is actually a person or just an enchanted, life-sized toy due to his wooden body, but moves on, inquiring if she can ask the overlord something. Vox’s boss obliges and Sarah asks how long her and Tommy will be allowed to stay here, and if they’ll have to go back to the streets. Kindly and warm, the overlord tells her that they're welcome to stay as long as they like.

They chat for a bit as Vox is reeling, trying to figure out if his boss has violated the terms of their contract just to humiliate him. She was supposed to send the kids somewhere else, right?! Right?! The two finish their conversation, and the overlord tells Sarah that she’s welcome to come play with Vox any time she wants. Sarah shyly agrees, says goodbye to Vox and his boss, and exits the room.

Vox, besides himself with fear, anger, and humiliation, pulls his face from his boss’ shirt and shakily says that she broke the deal; she was supposed to send the kids somewhere else, and she isn’t allowed to let them know who he is. The overlord just smiles down at him, pointing out that she only agreed to keep them somewhere safe. Where’s safer than her compound? And she has no intention of revealing who he is to the children. If they figure it out on their own, well, he should be pleased that they know their father so well!

Vox spends his next couple encounters with the kids doing everything in his power to avoid speaking. Eventually, though, the truth comes out when his boss orders him to sing while in their presence.

-

okay, new agonizing scenario: what if the kids never recognized him? what if vox looks, sounds, and acts so different that it never even crosses their minds that he could be their father? so vox just has to sit there, playing the fool in front of his unsuspecting children and having his boss offer to share him with them like a literal toy until alastor shows up.

-

Thinking about Sarah taking the overlord up on her offer and visiting Vox when he finally has some downtime, asking if they could play. Vox is horrified to see her in his room. He's desperate to avoid letting her hear his voice, so, on the spot, he decides to start communicating solely through title cards displayed on his screen. Sarah's a bit confused why he isn't talking now even though he spoke when she first met him, but Vox makes up some spontaneous lie about being on the fritz. Good enough for Sarah. She wishes he could talk though; she's only a second grader, so the title cards can sometimes be a little hard for her to read. Shyly, she asks Vox again about playing; it's lonely, only spending time with Tommy and a bunch of random adults every day. Vox is mortified, but he doesn't want to raise suspicion by kicking up a fuss, or give his boss a reason to be cross with him now that she has such strong leverage against him, so he reluctantly shifts into performance mode and does something he's only done a handful of times: he actually plays with one of his children.

-

Thank you so much for tagging me! I feel honored. So Juicy!!! The idea that Vox loves his kids so much that he sold his soul is heartbreakingly beautiful. I’m absolutely in love with Vox’s complicated relationship with Sarah & Thomas. Vox will stuff them into a fish tank for disobeying him or leave them on the street because his ego couldn’t handle their reaction to his appearance, but he will SELL HIS SOUL to keep them safe. SO. MANY. LAYERS!!! (He’s like an onion!)

Vox doesn’t feel particularly selfless for making the choice he did. Of course he couldn’t leave his own children to die by an exorcist’s blade. He’s only been dead for a couple years at this point and has spent most of that time locked up in a gilded cage, so his baseline human morality is still mostly intact. If there was a better option, he would’ve taken it, but he only had a matter of days to find a way to save them from permadeath, and, as painful as it was, this was the only option he had.

From a more Doyalist perspective, it’s just fun to explore different possibilities. What if Vox did make the “right” choice in this scenario? What would the circumstances need to be in order for him to make that choice?

Wonder how Alastor deals with this? Maybe he gives the kids to Rosie (at least until Vox has accumulated enough power and modified his body, though I guess this could be a 4th branch: After Alastor kills Vox’s Overlord and they become friends Vox asks if Al knows anyone who could look after his kids. Alastor suggests Rosie and soon the kids find themselves in Cannibal Town, with the occasional letter from their father and a visit from Alastor who claims to be their Dad’s friend.)

Things are awkward and humiliating and sad once the kids figure out who Vox is, but once they’re over that hump, things mellow out. Vox is with his boss most of the time, but when he’s not, the kids (mostly Sarah) try to spend time with him. He’s sort of reluctant to see them most of the time since he’s so ashamed of what he’s been reduced to, but they live in the same building, so it’s hard to be avoidant without being outright rude. Sarah’s not judging him. She’s not judging him at all, but he can’t fully believe that. Thomas is trying to figure out if he pities his dad for the sorry state he’s in or if he agrees with Vox's boss that he kinda deserves it, so he mostly avoids him as well.

When Alastor abducts him, after he assures Vox that he has no intention of harming him, Vox requests that they go back for the kids. A power struggle is going to break out once Alastor starts broadcasting his boss’ screams, and who knows what will happen to them if they get caught in the crossfire. Alastor obliges but says he’d rather not have two children trailing after him. They come to the decision that Rosie is the best possible option and take them to live with her.

The kids aren’t sure how to feel about their dad handing them off to someone else; they can’t tell if this is a legit necessity or if Vox just doesn’t want them around. He communicates with them mostly through letters unless Alastor insists that he accompany him on his visits to Rosie. There’s a bit of a feeling of abandonment, but they both know how much he hates them seeing him in his Hell form, and knowing the reason makes it a bit easier to understand. Still doesn’t feel great though.

He starts willingly visiting them in person once he starts getting real deep into the augmentations. Sarah’s just glad to see him (and see him happy), Tom’s got complicated feelings, as usual. When he achieves overlord status + his ideal body, he takes them back and starts trying to make up for lost time, doing everything he can to impress them and reestablish himself as The Masculine, Respectable Father. No fish tank, just a lot of overcompensating that never feels like enough.

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Emotional. Sarah's beyond touched that he was willing to do that in order to keep them safe. Vox can do basically any awful thing he wants now and Sarah will never waver in her belief that he's A Good Father/Person, Actually. Thomas... uh, it's messy. He resents his dad and was trying to get comfortable with thinking his new form was deserved, but now that he knows that Vox is willing to stick out his neck for them like that, everything's suddenly become all complicated. So he does love them after all? Why only now? Does he actually love them, or did he only do it because that's what he "should" do? He doesn't really get a chance to unpack all those feelings though, given how much he and Vox avoid each other.

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Sarah : Feels bad for Vox and tries not to make a big deal out of his new appearance/job.

Thomas : Thinks the situation is kind of weird and uncomfortable, but also feels like Vox deserves it, at least to a certain extent. It’s complicated.

Helen : Would laugh her ass off if she could see where her shitheel of a husband is now. It’s so cathartic, seeing him be humiliated, especially by a woman. Might have some reservations about the physical abuse his boss sometimes inflicts on him, but mostly thinks this is karma.

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vaguely thinking about a scene where vox runs into his wife of all people while performing at a party. she recognizes him by his voice and jumps at the opportunity to get him in (relative) private to taunt him. vox is mortified when he realizes who this random wasp lady really is. at first, he tries to pretend that he has no idea who this "vaughn" guy she's talking about is, but once it becomes clear that she's not buying it, he starts hissing out insults at her as she laughs about how cute his act was.

queenie's only there to be some powerful person's arm candy, and vox will 100% start calling her a slut and a whore and god knows what else once he realizes she's a sex worker now.

vox better hope that his boss doesn't notice this interaction, because she would be fucking thrilled to meet his ex-wife.

only after this little reunion ends does vox calm down enough to think through what the implications of helen being there actually are. she's dead. tommy and sarah are orphans now. they're probably being cared for by their grandparents– possibly his parents. the ones he had deliberately cut out of his life. the ones who, the moment thomas was born, had asked him if he would be getting him involved in the industry once he was old enough (i.e., as soon as he could walk). between that and the humiliation he just endured, vox feels like he's going to be sick.

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(Just had a thought: When Alastor kills an Overlord do all the souls they owned transfer over to him? If yes, does that mean Alastor would own Vox’s soul? How would the dynamics change? I’m guessing the Mindbreak never happens in this timeline since Alastor would be in full control of Vox (who definitely doesn’t become an Overlord). Does that mean in the future he becomes part of the Hotel staff? How would Vox react to Mindbreak Niffty? Does Niffty even become Mindbroken? Would Velvette and Valentino still become Overlords? [Wait did I just combine 60s Swap & Proto Vox-?]

I think when an overlord is killed, their murderer has the choice to steal their contracts or just let them be nullified. Alastor seems like the type to alternate. Sometimes, he lets everyone go free, sometimes he adds them to his collection. Whatever will be more entertaining/beneficial to him. If Alastor takes possession of Vox’s soul, then yeah, I don’t think they’d be able to break apart since Al can just force Vox to stop doing anything he doesn’t approve of. It sort of ends up as what most people theorize Alastor and Niffty’s relationship in canon is: Al owns Vox, but Vox isn’t all that upset about it. Maybe a bit resentful that he’s been stuck in the same role for 70 years, but overall, he and Alastor still get on fine. Al might get curious about his mind-destroying powers, but he doesn’t target Niffty. Val definitely still becomes an overlord, although Al could eventually take possession of him à la the 60s swap AU. Vel could make it on her own, or she could get snatched up by Niffty or whoever.

Tbh, this is now basically just a regular role swap, minus the RAM stuff.

[Wait new idea: 60s Swap + Proto Vox. Wonder how different Valentino and Velvette’s relationship with Vox would be?]

Not significantly different. It takes a while for them to get past Vox’s appearance, but eventually, they start recognizing the parts of him that they respect and like. Val and Vox might even end up dating in the non-RAM path. Val loves his evil little toon, and Vox does his best to talk Alastor out of hurting Val too badly when he steps out of line.

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Would Alastor let Vox augment his body if he owned his soul? (Just read the rest of the post, I guess no then?)

Maybe at first, but something might go down between them that makes Alastor go "Nope, no more, go back." Or he could've said no from the start, so Vox doesn't have to go through the heartache of tasting something better only to be forced back to square one. Either works.

Vox eventually learns to use his appearance to his advantage though. He's still not fond of it, but he has to admit, it's really easy to get people to trust you when you look like you couldn't hurt a fly. He and Alastor (and later he and Valentino, when Al goes missing) have a nice little scam going where Vox acts as bait before the other one pounces, turning the tables on the victim. Trust him, he's just a wittle guy :3c

It’s interesting (and a little sad) that one of the few scenarios where Alastor & Vox’s is happy and fluffy is the one where Alastor OWNS VOX’S SOUL.

One of the toxic yaoi couples of all time. Both of them are just like "All I need is to own you, mind, body, and soul, and then everything will be great between us!"

“Tbh, this is now basically just a regular role swap, minus the RAM stuff.” Well at least we can have fluff without too much darkness in the background. “Val and Vox might even end up dating in the non-RAM path. Val loves his evil little toon and Vox does his best to talk Alastor out of hurting Val too badly when he steps out of line.” The mental image of Valentino snuggling with Proto is way too adorable!! I need that fanart!!

Suddenly remembering a post where someone suggested that Proto Vox, janky Lolita clown Velvette from the pilot, and theoretical caterpillar Val should be a team. The future of the hotel belongs to the Vees!

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Yeah, I like the idea of her being an orchid mantis. It fits her whole "sweet on the outside, dangerous on the inside" thing. Mantises don't do this, but I have this mental image of her face being smooth and human-looking, but being able to unfold to reveal her mandibles+more alarming features when angered. Also, the gender dynamics work well given her resentment of entitled men and how small males of that species are compared to females.

Between this lady, Helen/Queenie, and Valentino, Vox just has a knack for getting into toxic/abusive "relationships" with insect demons.

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I've only recently begun to think about her as a character rather than just a force that does things to Vox, so I've only got a handful of traits for her so far:

Was a loving mother and devoted wife when alive. However, her husband was abusive both verbally/emotionally and physically. Might be in Hell for killing him, but that feels a little too obvious.

Has a deep resentment of entitled men who think they can treat the women and children in their lives like trash.

Doesn't feel like she deserves to be in Hell for whatever she did. Decided to do a 180 and give in to all her worst impulses since apparently this is what you get for being "good". Eventually gains the mindset of "Well, if I'm stuck here, I might as well torment those who actually deserve Hell." She believes her cruelty is justified, but in reality it's mostly just an excuse to take out her directionless anger on others.

Became an overlord after Alastor's initial purge, so some time in the mid-late 1930s or 1940s.

Has a preconceived notion of the type of man Vox is/was (arrogant, condescending, cruel to those around him). It's accurate, but it's mostly guesswork. In her mind, she can do whatever she wants to him and it will always be justified– men like him deserve to feel like they're nothing. She's his punishment, and he's her toy.

Arrogant. Thinks she can tell the type of person someone is just by looking at them. Likes to play mind games.

Beautiful and glamorous. Hides her more demonic traits in order to lure people in better.

Miiiiiiiight start to buy her own bullshit about Vox loving her towards the end or think she's broken him, not realizing he's just gotten really good at keeping up the act.

Vox miiiiiiiight have somehow instigated Alastor coming to kill her. He wanted OUT.

The vibes of the picture you included are fitting, even if the fur is a bit much. She treats Vox like a purse dog, so "glamorous rich woman" is probably the right aesthetic for her. WAIT I JUST REALIZED. INSECTS+SICKLY SWEET+HIDING A DARKER NATURE: SHE HAS OTHER MOTHER VIBES.

Not sure about her industry. I feel like it has to be something significantly monetizable, but I'm not sure what. Could have something to do with entertainment and that's why Vox went to her specifically, thinking that he was going to get a normal job, but idk.

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I don't think so. I think most overlords have personal moral lines they won't cross, but it's very rare for them to do something selfless if there's nothing in it for them. There's a difference between "not hurting children" and "going out of your way to protect children," after all. I think Vox's boss would dote on Thomas and Sarah once she had them, but she wouldn't've looked twice if Vox hadn't drawn her attention to them and presented her with such a delectable offer.

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Looked at a list of major industries and I found four that I thought might be good:

Pharmaceuticals (would sort of tie back into the possible plant theme)

New media (would be appealing to Vox at first)

Advertising (maybe Vox learned a few things while with her that he'd use in this future career)

Retail (so like, owning Hell's department stores)

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Yeah, I think pharmaceuticals might be the way to go. Maybe she was a pharmacist in life who started poisoning people she had grudges against. It could also be part of the reason why she chose Vox as a “companion”; it’s more of a challenge for her to break his will since he’s not affected by drugs like biological sinners are (no mouth, no lungs, etc.)

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Decided to nail down some backstory concepts for Proto Vox's boss.

Fell in love with a charming older man when she was young (18 or 19). Married him and moved away from the community she’d lived in all her life to join him in his small hometown. Husband ran an apothecary/pharmacy, so she began helping him run it.

Once they were married, her husband turned abusive, hitting her, forcing her to have sex when she didn’t want to, and verbally belittling her. They had four children (3 sons and 1 youngest daughter), who he would occasionally turn his ire on too.

Things remained the same for a little over ten years. Eventually, she reached her breaking point. Desperate and scared, she used her knowledge from years of working in the apothecary to slowly poison her husband. To everyone else, it looked as though he’d just gotten sick, and no one bothered to look any deeper into things when he died.

Her eldest son was too young to inherit the business, so she began managing it herself. She started forming close relationships with the other women in her community, learning about their struggles with their own husbands. Once she realized she was in the clear regarding her husband’s murder, she eventually convinced herself that doing the same to other people’s abusive spouses would be doing them a favor. When one of those men became sick, and their wives came to her, she would lace their medication with poison, slowly killing them. This happened at least twice.

As he aged, her eldest son tried to take on more responsibilities in/control over the apothecary. She refused to let him, insisting that she would take care of it and he should just relax and enjoy his childhood. He began to resent her and slowly became more like his father as he aged. Eventually, as he reached adulthood and their conflict became worse, she convinced herself that she had to kill him too; she’d be doing the world a favor by taking out someone so similar to her dead husband. She successfully poisoned him to death, but given his young age and the way death seemed to follow her, people finally became suspicious.

She was investigated by local law enforcement and was eventually arrested. She either killed herself in prison rather than face execution or died at the gallows. Died believing that everything she’d done had been justified and was outraged when she woke up in Hell.

Manifested as an orchid mantis demon due to the way she used poisonous plants to kill her husband and other men. Sinner name options are “Azalea,” “Belladonna,” and “Lantana.” Eventually became the Overlord of the pharmaceutical industry after Alastor’s first purge in the 1930s. 

Was approached by a recently deceased Vox in 1957. He was desperate to get off the streets since he was such an easy target for other sinners. She thought he was adorable and struck a deal with him: she would provide him with a safe place to live in exchange for his services as an entertainer. Vox, too desperate and green to fully think it through (other than refusing to give her his soul), agreed.

Soon, she began to get a sense of what kind of man Vox was beneath his precious exterior— arrogant, self-centered, and entirely too much like the men she had once killed. Despite Vox refusing to tell her much, if anything, about his human life, she started filling in the gaps mentally, making assumptions that weren’t entirely accurate (Vox was verbally/emotionally abusive towards his wife but never beat her or their children). However, instead of killing him, she began deliberately humiliating him and trying to break his spirit/pride. She thought it was cathartic, taking this man with an over-inflated sense of his own importance and treating him like a silly little boy at best, a mindless pet or doll at worst. He deserved to feel like he was nothing. Obviously.

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Honestly, after four years under her thumb, Vox found Alastor's cheerful, openly callous brand of evil refreshing. At least he never tried to pretend what he was doing was for anyone's sake other than his own.

Of course, later on, Vox would learn that Alastor did, in fact, have standards that he held himself and those close to him to. It was infuriating to Vox to have yet another person get all high-and-mighty with him when he'd seen them inflict horrific acts of cruelty with his own two eyes.

Vox eventually found the "honesty" he was looking for when he met Valentino.

[pixielovers2account]

You could have it.

Nancy wheeler x female wolf reader

This story starts with an end.

An end of a life to give birth to something greater.

To give birth to you was the best thing your mother has ever done.

They say that the child that is born of the red crimson moon will be stronger than any other wolf and alpha above all. No one will stand up to the crimson colored wolf nor will they disobey.

But some also say the girl that was born with a blue clear eyes will have courage and faith the girl born of the blue moon will kill the crimsons evil within setting the girl within free of a curse.

Or so people think.

I closed the door with a smile “but it’s just a story no way anyone’s gonna kill me.”

…

We moved into a town called Hawkins Indiana it was 1980 I’ve been alive for a long time. Guess that’s the perks of being a child born of red. “Are you ready Hanī?” I nodded with a smile. We pulled up to our new found neighborhood and a huge White and gray House sitting within the end of the street that we pulled into. I noticed the White House across from us my stomach feeling a tight towards it. And the scent of cinnamon and- “we’ll come on let’s hurry your cousins are already inside.” I smiled at my Okāsan/mom we both sat our shoes at the beginnings of the door just like all the other littler shoes. As we carried out bags in.

Unpacking etc. I found myself sitting on the porch watching as cars passed by and the loud sounds of teens getting it on really wasn’t ideal. Too bad I wasn’t joining them.

“Hey.” I snapped out of my thoughts looking up into hazy blue eyes. A wrinkled complexion from all the years of stressed build up. “Are you the new family in town.” The woman asked with a smile. I nodded finally taking note of the tray on her hands “we were wondering if you want to come over for tonight you know it’s good to have friends on the block.” She says kindly. “Uhm yea sure my mother would love that.”

“Great I live across the street. And if you need anything please call.” I nodded as the older woman handed me the tray of food smells like rich people food such as shrimp and chicken. Maybe a bit of crab oh my cousins will have a filed day with this. “Thank you mrs I’ll go inform my mother.”

“Oh please honey call me Karen.” She waved me goodbye before running over to her own side.

I smiled as I went inside. “Ma! I got some food from the neighbors she said she’d love for us to visit sometime.” I closed the door as my mother came out from the kitchen with a smile “oh how sweet is that?” I nodded as I placed the plate down “you know y/n I’m so glad your calling me mom now.” My ‘friend’ or mother Jane said happily. Clasping her hands together she called the boys and girl down “Eric, Astro, nebula get down here.”

The sounds of littler feet putter pattering down the steps as soon as their care taker called.

“Is dinner ready?” Eric asked Astro pushed his brother on his side “of course it is idiot can’t you smell it?”

Nebula was the first to sit and also the youngest. She was quite all the time. Only stuck to her drawings. Like I always did when I was little. I sat beside her with a smile. As we continued to eat.

Tomorrow was school. And I have a pegging feeling that it’s going to get interesting.

[yundk]

The next few days, we followed the Lenca Trail, an unofficial roadmap of cities and towns that are home to Honduras’ largest indigenous population. From Gracias, the former capital of the region of Central America before it moved to Antigua, Guatemala, we rode a van 45-minutes on rocky roads up into the mountains to a small community called La Campa, which is famous for its Lenca clay-making tradition. Unfortunately, we had gone on a Sunday, and the town was spookily quiet, as is customary on Sundays but considering how isolated this community was, the eeriness was heightened. After strolling about and visiting the home of an elderly pottery maker, who gifted my mom clay pieces of two birds (one of them accidentally cracked by my mom after dropping it) and a butterfly for good luck, we caught the bus back to Gracias three hours later.

Our next stop on our itinerary was to La Esperanza and Intibucá, the city with the highest altitude and coolest climate in Honduras, which my mom was especially looking forward to. From here, we ventured into the community of El Cacao, known for its Lenca textile weaving, again taking a minibus deep into the mountains but this time, we missed our stop and had to backtrack for miles on the winding dirt road. We had no idea what we were looking for, and no bus was coming our way. My mom must have been desperate to find a way out, because as soon as she saw a truck, she jumped into action and frantically waved her arms to ask for a hitchhike. I found this absolutely hilarious, while my mom said she was just doing what she could to not get stuck in the middle of nowhere. We didn’t end up needing the hitchhike though, because tailing right behind the truck was a minibus. Eventually, we found our way to the place in El Cacao that we were supposed to look for: a small one-room workshop with several loom stations. At the sight of this, both of us couldn’t help but express amusement at the comicalness of it all. We were expecting an entire community of Lenca textile weavers, a mini-factory perhaps. We had literally trudged over mountains to come here, and the view was bluntly underwhelming. This is not to underrate the work of the textile makers themselves; after sharing a moment and a hearty laughter of watching a cheesily steamy make-out scene of a movie that they were watching, a woman kindly offered us a demonstration of her at work. Her eyes, hands, and feet moved in quick, dexterous coordination, weaving to life the knit piece and vivid colors that pattern the textile. Single threads affixed together to fashion a piece of art. A handiwork created new but following tradition passed down for centuries. I’m learning from my past, from my mom. We may be in a different country, in times new, but in some way, I’m traveling back to the country of my mom, to the green pastures and livestock grazing, to the handmade potteries and textiles, to a renewed sense of appreciation for the earth that gifts us life.