#my cat letti has started up a new game

[carnivalcarriondiscarded]

waking up means starting the day's long battle of fighting to stay conscious

[the-pale-goddess]

Ethan & Tiffany: Endgame (HC)

A quick reminder: I've rejected canon Third Year completely, so mind that none of OHTY bs happens in my E&T canon timeline.

A/N: I tried my best to write every major fact down - hopefully the final product isn’t too messy or too boring, I’m new to the headcanon business and this isn’t even written in the headcanon form because I’m a rebel lol

Huge thanks to the lovely Anon who requested this HC and every single one of you still interested in E&T’s shenanigans, your support is the greatest gift I could ever receive! If you have some more specific questions about these two, feel free to hit my askbox anytime 💕

Now let’s check what’s in store for Tiffany and Ethan!

Children

Neither of them planned children in their lives; they were perfectly comfortable in the relationship they had—living together, advancing their glittering careers while supporting each other, slaying the game as the ultimate power couple.

But life has its ways, of course, and a week prior to their third anniversary Tiffany found out she was pregnant. The news sparked blind panic in the 30-year-old doctor; she thought her whole world fell like dominoes. Tiffany wouldn't intentionally start a family: she'd just started turning her dreams and plans into reality and she didn't even consider herself fit to be a mother (even though deep down she craved it).

She'd spent an entire week full of doubts, listing all her options, before she finally shared the news with Ethan. His reaction was surprisingly calm, considering his stance on having children. Based on the evidence gathered throughout the week, he'd already suspected pregnancy and did some calculations on his own.

They both agreed it wasn’t the best time—their busy schedules didn’t allow them to even reconsider the concept of starting a family. Nevertheless, the baby was coming, and their hearts filled with strange excitement. Having a baby on board seemed surreal at first, but after the dust had settled they felt oddly content about the unforseen circumstances.

E&T's world turned upside down the second their son was born. Raising a child happened to be the greatest challenge these two brilliant doctors had encountered. Luckily, they both relish a good challenge. Guided by the unexpected overflow of affection, they quickly settled into the alien routine of parenthood.

Nathaniel Jonah (also known as NJ, Nate) turned out to be a perfect blend of his parents' most prominent features & traits: Ethan's ocean eyes and stubbornness mixed with Tiffany's smile and warm heart.

Three years later, another surprise awaited. The most shocking thing about the second pregnancy was that it didn't happen sooner (they'd been exceptionally careless). Nicolette „Letty”, a spitting image of her mother, stole Ethan's heart from the start, bringing even more joy to their controlled chaos.

The fancy condo was too small for a family of four, so The Ramdams were forced to find a new home. They moved to a dreamy house in the Boston suburbs merely a month before their daughter was born.

The third one (for a change) received a proper invitation to this world. Tiffany wasn't the biggest fan of the idea of having another baby, but her window was closing (she was 38) and Ethan's palpable excitement tipped the scales. Everyone jokes Aine must be adopted because she's the most unproblematic angel, unlike her parents.

The family wouldn't be full without pets: Nettie (British Shorthair cat) & Hopper (English bulldog).

Marriage

Marriage was never on their agenda. Neither of them felt the need to make their relationship formal, it wouldn't change anything between them—they were already acting like a married couple. Both Tiffany and Ethan think there are more valuable symbols of love than some paper signed in the presence of everyone they know. Partnership they were in seemed like the most comfortable and obvious choice.

The topic resurfaced with the pregnancy news. Our good guy Ethan, our Mr Must-Do-What’s-Right, proposed to Tiffany on their third anniversary dinner, right after they discovered they were expecting. He did it because it made sense. Because it was convenient. Because it was a decent thing to do.

But guess what...Tiffany rejected the proposal. She didn’t want to marry out of obligation. If they were really going to jump into marriage, she wanted it to matter. Ethan understood her point of view, though it didn't stop him from jokingly annoying her on every given occasion that she rejected him.

He waited two years before popping the question again. This time she said yes.

Dr. Grumpsey was willing to agree on a lavish wedding if Tiffany would insist. Lucky for him, his woman hates big, conventional weddings and all that unnecessary attention around the reception. They're both very private people, so they planned the wedding they were actually excited about.

They eloped to Miami where it all started, exchanging vows to the accompaniment of the ocean waves, with little NJ by their side. The wedding reception was just three people enjoying their day at the beach.

As you may suspect, their friends and family flew into a rage when they found out the wedding took place behind their backs. Jackie's death threats were particularly disturbing, so E&T decided to throw an afterparty for their loved ones only.

Career

Tiffany saw her future in diagnostics and followed that path, balancing her personal goals with striving for improvement in patient care. The word about her accomplishments with one of the best diagnostics teams spread fast; shortly after her challenging yet successful residency, Doctor Addams quickly proved to be one of the most valuable and respected diagnosticians—not only at Edenbrook, but also statewide, and later nationwide. She cracked some of the toughest, most hopeless cases, saving lives of many patients considered lost causes.

During her first pregnancy, her career was already on high speed and the situation made her even more determined to keep it that way. She didn't want to sacrifice her newly established position and Ethan did everything he could to support her and her career development.

She remained a vital part of Edenbrook's Diagnostics Team under Ethan's leadership for a few years. Their minds combined gave spectacular results and above it all they truly enjoyed working together. However, when Letty was born sharing responsibilities at home and managing the time got significantly harder. With minimal hesitation, Ethan decided it was his cue to leave.

He'd been thinking about the change for much longer than he was willing to admit: over the years he'd accomplished everything he could dream of and Edenbrook had become more of a duty than a challenge. So he quit, leaving the team in the most capable hands of Doctor Addams-Ramsey.

For a year and a half The Ethan Ramsey was a stay-at-home dad, juggling family, research for his second book and setting up his clinic with none other than Tobias Carrick.

Ethan wasn't 100% convinced if starting the practice with Tobias would be a wise move, but the clinic exceeded his expectations. Apart from the great sense of accomplishment, he finally gained full independence at work. And there were no bloody interns to babysit anymore.

When little Ramdams got older, he approached Tiffany with a job offer; the best diagnostician in the country was the last missing link in his clinic. She let it marinate for a few years and accepted the offer at the launch of her second book, soon after Letty's 18th birthday.

____

If there’s a typo or a mistake somewhere...No, there isn’t kgjdkgjdk

Thanks for reading 🥰 I have a few exciting fics in the making (both AUs & canon) and I hope I’ll be able to finish them soon!

[calpops]

one night | l.h.

In which you spend one night away from Luke and your babies, but he’s got it all covered—he doesn’t have a ‘world’s best dad’ mug collection for nothing.

1k words

hemmings family intro

Copyright © 2020 calpops. This original work is not allowed to be reposted on any platform in any format (translations included).

<< >>

“Babe, I know,” Luke said and cut you off amid your explanation about what to do while you were gone; how to care for your three daughters. “I’m their dad not some newly hired babysitter.  And it’s only one night. I’ve got it.”

“I know,” you said around a sigh but still a nervous energy lingered within you. “But—it’s just—I’ve never left them overnight before. And you’ve been gone for promo for two weeks. A lot can change in two weeks!”

Luke grinned in good jest at your small spiral and the worries that plagued you; knowing they were only created from being a good parent.

“And I called every morning and night while I was away. They’re still the same three little girls they were two weeks ago. Except one of them got a haircut… oh which one was it? What’s her name again?” Luke teased and pretended to ponder as you rolled your eyes but picked up your overnight bag nonetheless. You knew he would take care of them, how much the girls adored him but weight still felt like it sat on your shoulders.

“I’m just gonna miss you all,” you admitted and felt that weight start to lift at the realization.

“You’ll be back in the morning, you won’t even have time to miss us,” Luke responded.

“That’s not true.”

Luke smiled and shook his head back and forth. “Go, have fun. I’ll hold down the fort. I am the world’s best dad—if my mug collection has any merit.”

He won you over with a laugh and bid you one last goodbye with a kiss. You’d already said goodbyes to the girls; knowing you might not leave if you said them at the door.

As soon as the door shut Luke turned, scoped out the living room where the girls were sprawled out among the couches with Petunia and their new cat Mini. They didn’t like that you left and Luke knew he needed to keep them busy.

“Run!” Luke yelled animatedly to get their attention as he clapped a hand over his eyes to indicate hide and seek was beginning. “One, two, be careful, three, four.”

He heard scattered footsteps padding through the hallway, likely headed for the bedrooms, goggles echoing and little shushes coming from Lyla as she tried to corral her younger sisters. He counted to thirty out loud, one hand covering his eyes while the other tapped against the countertop in time with the numbers.

“Ready or not here I come,” Luke warned at the end of his counting. He headed for the hallway, paused at the line of doors and tapped a finger to his chin. “Where are you?”

The question was rhetorical, meant to show he was nearing.

Leo’s voice rang out. “We’re under your bed!”

“Leo, no!” Lyla squealed as Luke laughed and opened the bedroom door, spotted a small hand peeking out and waving from under the bed.

“Hi daddy!”

“Hi little one,” Luke greeted his youngest, knelt down to the ground and tapped her hand, welcomed her as she crawled out from under the bed with a broad smile. “Got one, now how about my other two?”

Luke heard Lyla and Lettie’s sighs as they slid out from under the bed but brightened when they joined him and Leo.

“Next time we hide by ourselves,” Lyla chirped but didn’t tell Leo off for blowing their cover. His girls were much gentler with each other than Luke’s brothers had been as he was growing up. He admired the love and affection they had for each other so naturally.

“No more hide and seek,” Lettie exclaimed through a pout and Luke realized she was never quite so fond of the game. She would never be it—threw a fit if elected and cried to be outside with her flowers instead.

“No more hide and seek,” Luke agreed and wracked his brain for new ways to spend the day.

Outside was promising, the sun was out but white clouds drifted by in a calming breeze. Flowers were blooming and he knew Lettie would love to wander the garden. Lyla would happily accompany her twin around the grounds and steal Luke’s phone to take as many photos as possible. Leo would enjoy a gentle swing on the swing set. They headed out without any fuss, only Petunia was slow to rise and clamor her way out the sliding glass door. The day was peaceful; lunch was rated outside and Luke made sure to prepare it exactly to their likings. Peanut butter sandwiches; no crust for Leo, cut diagonally for Lettie and crunchy peanut butter for Lyla.

Once the sun went down the evening was spent inside with take out dinner. Princess movies were watched while the girls painted Luke’s nails and eventually collapsed into a pile against him for a nap that had him carrying them off to bed. It came as no surprise when they all woke in th middle of the night and climbed into bed with him.

You came home to a clean house. Whatever Luke and the girls had gotten up to in your absence as cleaned up and put away. Not one dish was left in the sink. Not one toy was abandoned on the floor. Petunia didn’t stir when you walked in but Mini greeted you with a rub against your legs and small meow. The house was quiet and you wondered if they were still in bed or had left for the morning. The girls rooms were empty but you stopped short with a smile as you saw all the loves of your life piled into the big bed, all snuggled together with breakfast in their laps.

“Saved you some,” Luke said as he spotted you and waved you over.

A muffin greeted you and coffee was set on the side table. You grinned at the mug proclaiming world’s best dad and knew it to be true—always had and always would; but reminders like these amplified the meaning and made your heart swoon.

<< >>

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[silvermuffins]

NieR:Automata: oof, been a hot minute

Let me hit up two big topics before we dive in, for the maybe five people who will read this and the one of you who was awaiting this but already knows the deal: Firstly, the five month absence of anything from me was the result of work getting super busy (STOP MAKING YOUR MOVIES TWO AND A HALF HOURS LONG, HOLLYWOOD, NOBODY ACTUALLY WANTS THAT). My other hobbies also got busy. And, well, both getting the PS4 going and liveblogging as I play games took more spoons than I was left with. Things are finally kind of chill again, at least for now, AND the two cats who pilot my meaty contraption actually agree on what to do, so here I am! Secondly, my laptop's keyboard is kind of fucky and some specific keys ain't workin' right. They are: A D B N X , . / - and enter. We may see some typos, folks! Or some completely incomprehensible bits, won't that be fun!

ANYWAY, let's get into it!

haven't even started the game, have no memory of where i'm at so we're just gonna Go

man i need a less awk setup

oh right fuck i got new internet and need to hook my ps4 up to it

hot damn i actually remember the new wifi password. doot doot updates and shit, probably shoulda done this before i started the post but you know what, I have never once in my life not been a disaster so why would i suddenly start now

okay NOW we Go

see if i even remember how to play

probably not

i have sidequests to turn in!

gee this map really is a lot bigger than i got to explore the first time through the game....hmmm

being friends with the meeses now really do be like "/walks out of vending machine" "/suddenly, MOOSE"

this leadup suggests either i am going to have to fight Jackass or she is going to explode me

i am pretty sure there is lore somewhere in this game as to why there is no day/night cycle but fuck if i have found it

found the Cruel Blood Oath! I am excited for this sword purely because my bestie and I used it for something in some of our secret fandom shenanigans--

i feel like this "project gestalt" is going to be relevant somehow

anyway i found jackass and it feels weird because i think even without the whole....alternate runthrough thing we've technically met her before

9S sweetheart please don't try to lie, you're bad at it

speed star wont talk to me which is fine because i suck at his quest anyway

fuck you, sir star

oh right this sidequest was shaping up to make me feel weird in the moral bits, like several others have done

Type-E?

ooooh

oooooooooh

dont like that

creepy chant starts up!

............i have questions about if those she was ordered to kill were really deserters

..............

well. at least she DID pay me.

2B did not confirm she didn't know

time to have a go at Daddy Serves

......i regret typing that but fuck it it's staying in

so he has 10 levels on me but i fight well and have healing items

.....sir are you going to just, have me cutscene kill you, or do i gotta get through another hp bar first?

iiiiiit's the latter

anyway pascal gave me monies thank u pascal

....wait what was i supposed to do to progress plot again? where do i find that out??? is there a main quest tracker somewhere???

literally right on the front of the goddamned menu letty be less stupid

....i don't have much to say to this part, okay, i already did it as 2B

i sorta wish i could find a list of the sidequests that are only completable as 9S? and maybe of the hackable things. just for completion's sake.

my cat really wants snuggles but has something against bent knees so she won't lapcat

forgot a dead machine's head hatches into emil

wha

flashback to the forest king founding....

time to finish off the photographs sidequest! see if this one will make me feel uncomfy in the moral bits,

it did not!

but as usual it was pretty existential

....i am losing steam i think imma call it here tonight

[youreverycolor]

An Unlikely Love: Perfect Again (Rafael Barba x Anna Stein)

AN: Prompt #156 from 200 Prompts from @drink-it-write-it (“He stares at you every time you look away.”)

Also, I’ve decided to start adding songs to go with these stories. For the previous ones, here is a list (these will all take you to Youtube).

Post-Script: “My Shot” from Hamilton Admissions: “Tiny Voice” by Lexi Walker Unspoken: “Tale as Old as Time” from Beauty and the Beast Redemption: “Skin” by Rihanna

Tagging: @thatesqcrush @madpanda75 @misssirenlove @danahart1 @nikkijmorgan @ele-esposito @dianilaws @sunnyfortomorrow @mommakat32 @lucifersadvisor @gibbs274 @oliviamariathegirl @evee87 @tropes-and-tales @garturbo @delia26 @neely1177 @jennisdirtyimagines @lostintech0011001 @letty-o @lucifersadvisor @sunnyfortomorrow @literallyprentissstwin

Song: “You Make Me Feel Like a Natural Woman” by Aretha Franklin

~*~*~*~

“So, I’m guessing I won’t be seeing you for a few weeks?” Rafael stirred the salsa that was simmering on the stove as Anna sat on the other side of the breakfast bar, hunched over a book.

She barely looked up. “Maybe.”

He smiled. “Well, your exams are coming up, aren’t they?”

“Mmhmm,” she mumbled absently.

“I guess I’m going to have to hang out with Carisi to fill the time.”

She turned the page. “Fine by me.”

He was entertained by this little game. “And then I’ll do a striptease across the squad room.”

“That’s good.” Then, as if she had snapped out of a trance, her head jerked up. “Wait—what did you say?”

He laughed and checked the beans, which were almost ready to mash. “I see how it is. You ignore me until you hear the word striptease. Then I have your attention.”

She rubbed her eyes with the heels of her hands. “I’m sorry. I was just—”

He smirked. “More interested in the Rule Against Perpetuities than in me?” He walked around the counter to stand behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist. “It’s okay. It has that mysterious and sexy vibe.” He pulled her sweatshirt—well, actually, his sweatshirt—aside and nuzzled against her neck.

“You keep doing that and it won’t get any less mysterious to me,” she whimpered, reaching her hand up and around her head to caress the back of his head. “Or I’ll just get turned on in the middle of the exam.”

“Nobody understands that rule.” He gave her a quick nip on her earlobe but released her from his grip and went back to the food. “In some states, you can’t actually be sued for using it wrong.”

“I wish that applied to civil procedure, too. I will never understand Pennoyer.”

He cracked two eggs into a skillet that had once held tortillas. “More stuff you will never use. I do, however, expect you to get a perfect score on your criminal law exam.”

“What happens if I disappoint you?”

He glanced up at her and saw that her face had fallen just slightly. Despite her notoriously great poker face, the longer he was with her, the more he was able to read her micro expressions. “Mi corazón, I was kidding.” He tilted the pan to redistribute the oil and then went back to the beans. “You could never disappoint me.”

She sighed. “I’m worried I’m going to disappoint myself.”

“How?”

“I worked really hard to get into school. And I’ve worked really hard all semester to keep up with the work. It’s a lot harder than I thought it would be.”

“Si, pero you’ve come this far. Exams are just regurgitation of what you’ve been discussing all semester,” he replied. “I promise, the hard stuff is what you do in class. And if it makes you feel any better, how you do in law school—or even on the bar exam—doesn’t tell you how you’ll be as a lawyer.”

She brightened a bit. “Really?”

“Yeah, I mean, look at Carisi—”

“Raf, you know that’s not nice!” she scolded. “Sonny is a perfectly fine attorney.”

He finished plating their dinner. “Sorry. I’m just saying that some of the best attorneys I know were only average in school. It doesn’t mean anything.”

She raised an eyebrow. “Oh yeah? And how did you do in law school?” It was a rhetorical question. She knew perfectly well how he’d done.

He pushed a plate across the counter from her and sat down next to her with his own. This was where they usually ate together; the dining room table had other uses. “Don’t compare yourself with me, Anna. Don’t compare yourself with anyone. You deserve to be a lawyer more than anyone else I know. And I will be as proud of you the day you take that oath as I am right now just for working as hard as you are.”

“Are you sure you won’t be disappointed if I—”

He set his fork down and took her hands in his. “The only way you could disappoint me, Anna, is if you’re so worried about the lawyer you’ll be that you forget about being the woman you are.”

She dipped her head for a second and then kissed him. “Thank you. I needed to hear that.” She took a bite of the huevos rancheros he had prepared and sighed. “Jesus, this is delicious. Is there anything you’re not good at?”

He thought for a second. “Stripping?”

When she threw her head back and laughed, he knew he had broken through the wall of negligence and consideration, theories and rules. After her shower, he caught her singing along to Disney soundtracks in the bedroom as she blow-dried her hair. When she saw him watching her, she motioned for him to join her one-woman concert, creating the perfect harmony. And for the rest of the night, Anna was his Anna again, and there was no way he could ever be disappointed with that.

***

The day grades were posted on the school’s intranet, Anna had to wait all day to check them because she wanted Rafael to be with her when she did. And of course, that had to be the day he got home late; a trial had run over and then he had to meet with the squad regarding a new case that had just come in. By the time he arrived at her apartment, she was clawing the walls. When they finally sat down to look, she couldn’t do it—she made him open up the website and look for her while she paced between the couch and her kitchen counter.

“Well?” she asked, impatiently.

His face betrayed nothing. He took a deep breath and looked up at her from behind her laptop screen. “Do you want the bad news or the good news first?”

Her heart fell into her stomach. This was torture. She prepared to hear that she had done poorly enough that she wouldn’t be able to return for the next semester. “Just get the bad news over with, I guess.”

“Well,” he continued, “you’re probably going to want to get very drunk.”

“Oh God,” she said, walking to her liquor cabinet. “Do I want wine or scotch?”

His face started to twitch. “Don’t you want the good news?”

She turned back. “Oh. Well, I guess that couldn’t hurt. What’s the good news?”

He stood up. “The good news is that you’re going to want to get very drunk celebrating with a bunch of people, because, mi corazón, your GPA is a 3.0.”

Her ears filled with the sound of her own heartbeat. She wasn’t even sure she had heard him correctly. “I’m sorry, did you say—”

A wide grin stretched across his face. “I did!” He threw his arms around her waist and spun her around. “You did so well, Anna! I’m so proud of you.”

But her face was not what he had expected it would be. She didn’t look as happy as he thought she would have. Although she was smiling, it wasn’t the genuine smile he loved so much. She pulled herself out of his arms and sat on the couch to examine the grades more closely. She had an A in criminal law—no surprise there—and another in torts. But civil procedure and property had been her downfall: she’d only managed to pull C’s in those two classes. Her eyebrows pinched together. What happened? she wondered.

Rafael, however, seemed thrilled with her work, and she didn’t want to dampen his mood with her own. She would have plenty of time to analyze what had gone wrong when she was alone. So she put on the happiest face she could muster and stood up to face him again.

“Thank you, honey,” she said. “I appreciate how supportive you’ve been all this time.”

He smiled at her and tilted his head. “Are you all right? You seem a bit—”

“Oh, no, I’m fine!” she said, a little too emphatically. “It’s just kind of one of those adrenaline things. You know, anticipation and then…”

He squinted at her just a bit and took her hands. “I love you. We should go celebrate.”

She shook her head. “Oh, Raf, I’m not—I mean, it’s late, and I’m kind of tired. Stressful day, you know? Can we just—”

“Chinese?” he offered. “You may even be able to convince me to watch the new version of Beauty and the Beast.”

“Sure.”

“Are you sure you’re all right?”

She kissed him on the cheek. “I’m fine, Raf. Really.” Then she went into the kitchen to find the menu for their favorite Chinese place down the street, leaving a trail of lies in her wake.

***

A week later, just before Christmas, Rafael had a surprise for Anna. Between his work schedule and a two-day migraine she’d had, they hadn’t had time to celebrate properly. Getting the squad together was like herding cats, but he had managed to do it. He organized a small get-together at Forlini’s with them, plus a couple of Anna’s friends, to celebrate the successful end of Anna’s first semester of law school. The night of the party, he arranged for the two of them to Uber from his apartment to the restaurant, as if it were just another date night. Anna didn’t ask too many questions, although she was surprised that he suggested Forlini’s, as it was where he usually went to drown his sorrows after a tough loss.

“I’d like to start associating this place with good things,” he said to her as they exited the car.

“Gotcha. I’m kind of excited to go here, to be honest. Maybe I’ll start feeling like I might actually become a lawyer someday.”

Over the last week, Anna had made a few offhanded comments like that, and it concerned him slightly. Ever since grades came out, she hadn’t quite been herself. He assumed it was the migraine and also the post-exam comedown, but something seemed a bit off. He tried to put the thought out of his mind; he wanted tonight to be all about her and her success. After all, they had celebrated enough of his victories.

“Surprise!”

To Anna’s utter and complete shock, she entered the main dining room to find Olivia, Fin, Sonny, Amanda, and three of her friends gathered around a long table, cheering and shouting congratulations. She had no idea how to react at first—she hadn’t been expecting this at all.

“Holy sh—what are you all—”

Sonny came around the table to high-five her. “Rafael thought it would be a good idea to celebrate. He said you did really great your first semester!”

“Yeah, a 3.0? That’s better than I ever did, even in high school,” Fin added.

“No shock there,” Amanda said, elbowing him playfully. He gave her a faux glare.

As everyone else around the table offered their congratulations, Anna was aghast. She had no idea how to react to this. She knew that everyone gathered around this table was there to celebrate her, and that they all genuinely believed she’d done well. But all week, she had been turning the semester over in her head, trying to figure out how she had done so poorly in civ pro and property, and how she could have done better in her other classes. As soon as she got back to school, she planned to ask for copies of her essays, after which she would spend a great deal of time reviewing them and making notes on what she had missed. For now, though, she didn’t want to disappoint all these people who had made time out of their busy schedules to come together on her account. So she plastered a smile on her face and thanked each of them individually before they all sat down to dinner.

All through dinner, Rafael barely stopped touching her. He would squeeze her leg under the table or hold her hand while they waited for their next course. They made small talk with her friends, who would later tell Anna that they couldn’t believe he was as old as he was because he was so handsome, and, of course, they asked all about how she was liking law school. She gave the appropriate answers, told them what she knew they wanted to hear. After a while, though, she knew her façade was starting to falter, so she excused herself to the bar to get another glass of wine.

“I’ll go with you,” Amanda said, signaling to her empty glass. “If I’m paying a sitter, I might as well live it up.” While they were waiting for their drinks, Amanda glanced backward at the table. Rafael was sitting at the end of the table facing the bar, and although there was conversation going on all around him, his eyes were focused on Anna. He was clearly trying to be subtle; his eyes occasionally darted back to someone else’s face, and he would take a sip of his scotch. But inevitably, his bright green gaze would land back on his girlfriend, like he was worried that if he looked away too long, she would disappear. “He stares at you every time you look away,” she finally said.

“Excuse me?”

Amanda smiled and leaned toward Anna, lowering her voice conspiratorially. “If you looked over your shoulder right now, you’d see it. He’s so proud of you. And Barba is never proud of anyone. He barely said congratulations to Carisi when he passed the damn bar exam.”

“I don’t know why,” Anna said sadly.

“Because he thinks Carisi is enough of a puppy dog and doesn’t need any more encouragement.”

“No, that’s not what I meant. I mean, I don’t know why he’s proud of me. I didn’t do as well as I’d hoped.”

Amanda played with her empty glass. “A 3.0 is pretty damn good if you ask me.”

“I’m dating Rafael Magna-Cum-Laude-At-Harvard-Law-School Barba,” Anna said. “The guy who started as a poor kid in the Bronx and moved up to be—well, look at him.” She gestured to Rafael, in his three-piece suit, now debating the latest gun control measure in the state legislature with Sonny. “How the hell do I live up to that?”

Amanda set her glass on the counter. “Does he make you feel like you have to live up to something? Because that’s not what that stare says to me.”

Anna didn’t say anything for a long while, and then she looked at the usually cynical blonde. “So, detective, what does that stare say to you, then?”

“Look, I’m no romantic,” Amanda began, “but I’ve known Barba for years now, and I can tell you right now that I have never seen him look at anyone the way he looks at you—especially when he knows you’re not looking. It’s like a compulsion or something.”

Anna felt a flush wash over her skin. Suddenly, she was very aware of the pair of eyes on her from across the room. It wasn’t creepy; on the contrary, he looked at her the way she always hoped someone would look at her. But she still couldn’t shake the idea that she hadn’t earned that look, that she had somehow failed to live up to what Rafael Barba deserved in a partner.

Just then, their drinks appeared on the bar. “Thank you, Amanda,” she said, bracing herself for round two.

“No problem. And for what it’s worth? Carisi only got a 2.9 his first semester.”

***

“Did you have fun?” Rafael asked as he shut her apartment door behind them.

Anna stepped out of her painfully high heels, suddenly becoming shorter than him again. “Yeah. I’m just surprised you were able to get everyone together!”

He loosened his tie. “It wasn’t easy, believe me. Not that they didn’t want to come, but, you know, kids, grandkids, that kind of thing. You should be very aware of how much they care about you.”

“You mean how much they care about you,” she muttered, heading to the kitchen for a glass of water.

“What does that mean?”

“What are you, a bat?”

“Don’t deflect. What’s wrong, Anna? Something’s been off all week, and I can’t figure out what. Did I do something wrong?”

“No,” she said, a hint of sadness in her voice. “That’s the problem.”

“Well, now I’m very confused.” He took her by the hand and led her into the living room, pulling her onto the couch with him. “Sit. Breathe. Explain.”

She sighed deeply. “It’s not easy being your girlfriend sometimes, you know.”

He laughed a little. “I could have told you that months ago. In fact, I think I did tell you that.”

She shook her head. “No, it’s not—it’s not that you’re doing something wrong. You’re easy to be with, actually—a lot easier than you think you are.”

“That’s an argument for another day. What’s not easy, then?”

She tried to look away, but he turned her head back gently. “Do you remember when we were just barely together, and you asked me why I chose you?”

He nodded. “That was the first time you said you loved me. How could I forget that?”

She gave him a sad smile. “Well, as easy as it seemed for me to say that, it wasn’t.”

“Why not?”

“Because,” she replied, “I had the same question for you.”

It was his turn to be aghast. His eyes widened and he took her hands in his. “Why in the world would you have to question that? If anyone should be insecure, it’s me. But I know you love me. So why do you doubt that I love you?”

“It’s not that I doubt that you love me, Raf. It’s that I don’t know why. And last week just made it worse.”

His brow furrowed in confusion. “What happened last week that would make you wonder—” He stopped. “Oh, Amor, you don’t mean your grades.”

A tear fell from her eye and she tore one of her hands away from his to wipe it away. “I told you I was afraid of disappointing you, and myself. My grades were—well—not what I expected.”

“Mi amor, it is so common for your first semester of law school to be imperfect. And you did remarkably well, especially considering you also have a job.”

“You did remarkably well. I’m just…average. And when I look at you, when I see you in court, when you sit there and debate gun control with Sonny, it becomes all the more apparent to me that you could do so much better, and—”

“Anna, listen to me. There is nothing better than you. I could look for it and I wouldn’t find it because it doesn’t exist. You could work at McDonald’s for all I care. You are not your career. I know I make it seem like that’s a lifestyle, but if you haven’t noticed, I’m not the most well-adjusted person.” He gave her a small smile, trying to make her laugh, but she didn’t.

“I just wanted to make you proud of me.”

“I’m proud of you every day. Why do you think I can’t stop touching you when we’re out? It’s not that I’m trying to tell the world that you’re mine.”

She wiped another tear away. “No? Then what is it?”

“It’s that I want everyone to know that I’m yours,” he said. “I want people to know that you chose me. I told you, Anna. The only way you could ever disappoint me is by forgetting who you are in favor of what you’re becoming. And you shouldn’t be disappointed in yourself, either. What you’ve accomplished in the last two years is nothing short of amazing, and if I have to tell you that every day, I will, until you believe me.”

She looked up into his now-watery eyes, and in that moment, she was so grateful for having a partner who was just that—her partner. He never made her feel silly for having feelings or that she had to be something more than what she was. And then she thought about what Amanda had said about him staring at her, and suddenly she realized that her insecurity wasn’t coming from him. It was only coming from inside her head.

To his great relief, she finally broke into a smile. “You know what really would make me feel better?”

“What’s that?” he asked.

“Seeing if you really are good at stripping.”

[cygnahime]

FFX Liveblog Repost 1

I posted this on my DW (cygna_hime FTR), but no one seems to be interested in talking about my FFX Opinions over there today, so I’m reposting it over here. This just gets us to Besaid village. Yeah, I talk a lot.

I'm feeling a yen for cutscenes, so am starting a new save, this one with the original sphere grid and music. I also have a save that's in the endgame sidequest zone, but I'm not feeling blitzball or monster catching at the moment (and I'm never feeling chocobo racing, worst minigame in history that isn't an escort mission). Tidus is very different in the brief time we see him in his element in Zanarkand, where being a sports star has slightly gone to his head (or at least made him think he can flirt). Being perpetually wrong-footed is good for his personality. Although, if I were a national (worldwide? it's not like there's anywhere but Zanarkand) sports star at seventeen, I'd probably have some ego too. When was he allowed to start playing professionally? He has to have been new and shitty at some point. Duggles player with the braids remains super hot. That's just facts. Too bad she's, like, double-fictional. I also still want Bahamut's excellent hoodie. Good fashion choices, although I would wear a shirt under it. So is the sword one of Jecht's old ones, or is it literally a "gift" in that SinJecht has been leaving presents on Auron's doorstep like a cat for the last ten years? Someone fic that, please. It is profoundly hilarious to me that Auron is supposed to be like 30, the more so now that I'm 30 and still have a severe case of babyface. He still looks much more like my dad (age 60-odd) than like me - more hair, but also deeper face lines. Then again, I guess when you're dead you look as old as you feel, in which case I don't want to think about how I'd look. Quantumly uncertain, I suspect. Is she a Literal Child or aged beyond belief? It's both! Still, JRPG ages tho. G-d, I'm older than almost all these characters who still "feel" my age. I mean, part of it is that life-stage-wise I'm somewhat younger than Tidus still (job whomst), which is...pretty depressing...and part of it is that JRPG ages are fundamentally arbitrary, but also, fiction is funny that way. I mean, Tidus, Yuna, and Rikku are believable as teenagers, it's just that when I see them I'm on some level their age and meeting them for the first time. Spiran ecology count: 1 hawk/eagle/seagull thing. It took me a minute to figure out the Al Bhed Compilation Sphere, which I'm not sure I've ever actually used before. I want to know what the Al Bhed at the beginning are saying for once. I'm impressed Tidus knows how to make a fire with flint and tinder. I sure don't. Maybe he was a Zanarkand Scout. It makes pretty much 0 sense that the Al Bhed, an ethnic minority, are confused by the idea of someone not speaking Al Bhed. Especially considering that Rikku speaks Spiran/Common/whatever without even an accent. So does her dad, for that matter, but her brother struggles later to put together a few words. I guess it's a skill only some Al Bhed take up? I presume anyone who goes among Yevonites with any regularity speaks Spiran, even if they pretend not to. It can be a great advantage to be assumed not to understand. Spiran ecology count: a bunch of fish. Tidus's brain carefully elides the fact that in his world no places other than Zanarkand exist. I mean, that's how dreams are: you don't always think about stuff. And of course Jecht shows up to get us on course for the plot. This is much less of a plot device if you think of it as the character having an itinerary for Tidus to follow. Spiran ecology count: a flock of seagulls. aaaand it's my dude Wakka! He knows two things, and they are blitzball and adopting stray teenagers. Well, I guess he's also fairly well up on Yevonite religious doctrine, but that is literally all lies he's going to have to unlearn in the course of the game, so it doesn't count. /gently swims over to pick up the Moon Crest before Tidus has any reason to know it's there or might have any use to him whatsoever. I love the Aurochs, not least because all of them (except Letty) give me free items. I try to keep as many of them as I can on my blitz team. Unfortunately in my other save I had to let Datto go to make room for Nimrook. Can't let other teams have Nimrook. There's an entire post in here about FFX and breathing underwater, which is apparently just a skill that you can learn that then allows you to play a five-minute half of physical activity and being tackled without coming up for air. I have a feeling Wakka and Chappu pushed each other over that cliff a lot. Wakka is probably literally wondering if this is his brother somehow come back with different hair and clothes, on a subconscious level even if he doesn't let himself think it out loud. Tidus is not yet having it. He'll get there. They're both friendly guys. Spiran ecology count: 1 fuckton of coral. Beautiful. "If we give it our all, I can walk away happy." No, Wakka, we are going to win, and I will reset as many times as it takes to make that happen. I wonder what the religious landscape of Spira was like in the pre-Sin days. They presumably had one, or several. It's a people thing. Something animistic, maybe? I mean, presumably fiends and the whole pyrefly situation were still there. Spiran ecology count: 2 cats with weird spine fluff. I want to pet them. Spiran ecology count: 1 dog which I also can't pet. I wonder what the many other statues in the temple are supposed to represent. In my little worldbuilding corner, they were all High Summoners, and the four big statues are just the most famous or recent. Keeps the stonecarvers in business. But I think it's supposed to be that only the four were successful, over a thousand years. That's a little too depressing for me, though. Especially given the number of summoners per year we see kicking around. Three at a time at least, plus more for there to be "rumors" of them disappearing before any of the named ones were missing...Surely it's more likely for one of them to make it through. If you don't turn her away, Dona shows up in Zanarkand shortly after you do. I really love the NPC dialogue. Everyone has their own sentence or two, and they change throughout the game based on plot progression. There's worldbuilding - I love the fact that Besaid is known for its weaving - metaplot, and just all kinds of flavor that make the world feel lived in.

[cursed-saphire-hart]

Clowns Are Creepy

I stayed up all might on this, it was meant to be serious, but not...

@croctus @misssnicket @supernaturalcakes @blotink @nekodorei-mod @theonceler @procrastinatingmod @avoidghost

Title: Clowns are Creepy. Pairing: N/A Au: St. Sea Angel Word Count: 4,528 Rating: T Summary:

Clowns are suppost to be things that entertain at kids parties, not terrorize people...

 Summer had ended and school was back in session again with some new students joining the mix once again.

With Halloween only being a few days away, like always the school work became holiday themed, the little ones learned more about the holiday, and the day of the holiday a big assembly would be held about Halloween Safety, one that was held, every. Single. Year….

Though the cram school students would be attending a special one.

"I can't believe we have to go to that stupid assembly again this year." Zero complained finding all the detailed explaining about what could go wrong and what to watch out for to be incredibly boring. "They just want to make sure we keep everything important in mind." Ser consoled his friend as the four of them walked to class together.

"I'm with Zero, they tell us the same crap every year." Dre agreed sighing annoyed, "Well teenager especially do tend to get crazy on holidays," Glitch reasoned, "I'm a prime example," he was referring to how he was hit by car driven by some drunk teens one Halloween night, resulting in him now being half ghost.

"Yea but we're not regular teens, for one, Dre has crazy psychic abilities, Sers of angel decent, and Glitch is basically a ghost with a body."

"And your part Hellhound," The four flinched at the others sudden appearance, "All more reason they have these safety assemblies every year." The blond told them as she walked past. "For the love of Satan! Make noise when you walk!" The hound teen shouted after her, "It's creepy how you just sneak up on people!"

Edna was one of the new students to join the school, she was sensitive to the paranormal and was attending the cram school too, which was where the group was headed.

Zero watched as Tzili caught up with the blond and the two started talking.

"Those two really seemed to have hit it off," Otis said aloud as he walked up from picking up the girls from cram school, three of the four greeted him while Zero just grumbled.

The fix teen flicked his tail, "Zero complaining about the assembly again?" He asked as Desi trotted off to Neko, another new student who she had quickly became friends with. "How'd you guess?"

…

The cram school lessons went about like always, a few not paying attention to the lessons, other's keeping up fairly well until the bell finally rang to let class out.

"Otis look!" Desi chirped holding up a crayon drawing she drew when she should have been paying attention. "That's very good Desi," the fox praised and the little one smiled brightly before trotting off to show the others.

"Hey Otis, are you planning to go out on Halloween this year?" Queen asked sitting next to the other casually, "It could be fun~" he smiled hugging the other's arm. Otis just blushed as his fox ears popped out, and Queen giggled.

On Halloween kids had the option of either going out, or staying on campus for the evening, be it that they got back before the dorm curfew. The school always threw a party for holidays, but still a little of students liked to go off cause!pus to enjoy a little freedom.

Clearing his throat Otis said that he would be taking the girls trick or treating for a bit after making an early dinner for everyone. "Your so sweet Otis, if you like, I could help you make dinner so it can get done faster." The pink and blue eyed teen offered.

"Uh," The fox gulped, "That… would be great, thank you." a moment later Zero called him out on his flirting and Otis ended up chasing him out of the classroom while everyone else laughed.

"You really should stop teasing him like that," Lettie giggled pushing her friend gently, "I can't help it, big guys are so cute when they're such softies."

Soon it was back to the dorms for the day.

Halloween was a big thing around campus for more than one reason. The legends about a vale becoming thinner on the 31st was true, and could often affect those who were either sensitive to the paranormal, to those who were part paranormal. Not just that, but things could tend to go wrong during that time of year.

Hence why there was always safety assemblies each year.

Like always Otis got to making dinner for that night, being that it was Friday, Ryan came to spend the night and needless to say the little ones chattered non stop about the upcoming holiday at in the rec room while waiting for dinner.

Dressing up and free candy, what kid wouldn't be excited.

Desi was planning on dressing up like a witch and Rosa was going to dress like a little pledge doctor, and the two giggled happily while sitting at the counter.

"Those two seem rather chatty today, is it because of Halloween?" Middcat asked as she stretched just waking up. "Yep," Otis answered as he cut up some vegetables for the meal he was making. "If I recall correctly, my old contact holder enjoyed this holiday too."

Middcat was different from Kumo or Peaches, a witch or wizards familiars tend to become more than just animals, after a while attaining a little magic of their own. The talking black cat had come to school with Neko, the two being quite the pair, even if most people didn't know Neko was a werecat.

Said werecat walked through the doorway of the dining hall with a few shopping bags on her arms. "I'm back, I got the things you asked for." She said taking the bags back to the fox.

"Thanks again, and sorry for sending you out on an errand like that." He apologized, he had planned to go himself, but she offered to do it do he could focus on dinner. "It's no problem, I like being of help." She smiled and was almost pushed over when the little green eyed girl jumped her happily.

Otis lightly scolded her for jumping on someone before getting back to making dinner.

Instead of the usual Japanese style meals they often had, Otis decided to try something different for the season.

Chestnut salad, a nice warm autumn chowder, and sweet potatoes and chickpea patties. Though to be honest, Otis had had the entire month's meals planned out using potatoes, mushrooms and chestnuts as the main ingredients. Luckily the meals were different enough that they all didn't taste exactly alike.

Once dinner was done everyone got their portions and sat down to eat.

Everyone chatted together while eating, the kids still talking about Halloween and all the fun they would have. But in the middle a few of the students who had Yahoo news on their phones, got a urgent news report.

The headlines were…

Killer Clowns Spotted In Town.

And the report was that a group of teenagers dressed as creepy style clowns had broken into and torched the an apartment building in Chinatown. Luckily no one was killed, but still it had caused quite a panic, this had happened the night before, and hadn't been the first report on the killer clown group.

"What's wrong Otis?" Ryan asked his friend seeing the look on his face.

"... Nothing…" he said shaking his head before going back to eating.

This was not good…

…

Killer clowns had been more of a common craze in Europe, but if a bunch of jerks were bringing it here, that was not in the least bit good. It would be one thing if they were just pulling harmless pranks, but these people were outright trying to cause a panic…

A panic caused negative energy, negative energy fed the fear and anger, causing more and more negative energy, and on Halloween night, that was a cocktail for a dangerous night…

And seeing as many Supernatural beings absorbed strong energy, it only caused more concern for the students in the special dorm. A concern that was addressed at the assembly the day of Halloween.

The teachers told everyone to stay in groups if they were leaving campus, and that curfew was two hours earlier, as well as the usual check your candy and watch your drink talks and the usual safety tips to try and keep the students safe, and the assembly let out.

It had been a shorter day than usually because of the safety assembly being earlier than usual, then everyone returned to the dorms, or wherever they were going for the day.

Otis noticed that Tzili and Edna we're heading off towards the school's gym, when he asked about it, the demon tamer just said, "I'm going to work out my anger before it kills someone…" knowing that the crazy group had started to get on a lot of people's nerves, Otis understood why she was going to take it out on a sandbag.

…

"I can not believe these people!" Queen shouted looking ready to throw his phone across the room if not for Monster and Lettie attempts to calm him down, "Who do they think they are!? They're going to ruin Halloween for everyone at this rate!"

"You really should stop reading those news reports," Neko suggested, though she felt uneasy too. "They're only going to rile you up more."

A lot of the special dorm students agreed though. It was obvious the group were hiding behind masks to cause panic amongst those who they didn't approve of as they pleased. At this point, most wouldn't be surprised if people didn't hand out candy this year.

After a bit a coxing, the two managed to calm their friend down who groaned about needing a latte as he sat on the rec room couch.

Luckily most of the kids were outside playing to hear all the yelling, less it ruin their holiday spirit.

"I get a lot of people are upset about the clowns and they're antics, but we shouldn't let it get to us." The angel teen reasoned as he carried in some snacks Otis and Ryan had made.

"Yea, but how do you expect people to act?" Glitch responded as he kept playing the Syfy video game he had gotten, "This bullshit is stuff you watch on American Horror Stories, not experience."

"What do we have to worry about anyways?" Zero said leaning against the wall, "Not like they can do anything to us, those guys may be psycho, but more than half of us are more dangerous than them."

"Yea, but still, these freaks are actually 'trying' to hurt people for no reason," Monster huffed before eating a few pumpkin cookies, "None of us have done that."

"Enough, all of you, none of this is helping." Otis interrupted as he walked into the room. "Every one of you knows what happens when there's too much negative energy, it's going to just call more trouble, and not just for us either." He wasn't going to lecture them, but he just suggested they all go out in a big group so the little ones can have they're fun, then come back and watch movies the rest of the night. If they got riled up now, it would just affect the kids in a horrible way.

Tzili and Edna came back a bit later, having used the gym showers to clean up, and after dinner and eaten everyone got ready for the night out.

A few got dressed up in costume, Middcat having agreed to being Desi's black cat, therefore joining them on their trip around town.

Mr. Adam was asked to chaperone them, to make it a bit more easier to get around with a small bus the special dorms used. Plus it felt safer to have an adult with them with everything that had been happening.

The children seemed to still be oblivious of what was happening around them. Which was good, they deserved to have a good time, not thinking about what was happening.

Mr. Adam parked the bus at the beginning of a neighborhood's street, and let the students out. Rosa held Tzili's hand as the toon kept a grip on Kumos leash, Desi was walking with Neko, and Krump was riding on Zero's shoulders as they walked down the street.

A few of them kept looking around keeping an eye out for anything… off, about their surroundings.

Kids were walking with their parents or in groups going door to door for free candy. After letting the three loose, they made sure the kids didn't get out of sight. They visited houses and stores that were handing out candy or treats.

They even stopped by a starbucks for coffee, it was a cold night and a warm drink was welcomed happily.

After about two hours of walking and driving around they decided to go to a few more houses before heading home, and through the laughter, that's when they heard it.

The ones with sensitive hearing could hear the 'Pop Goes the Weasel' theme song for an ice cream truck. Which should have been impossible, do to the weather and time of night, that wasn't a good sign.

Because it was a sign those clown creeps were coming down the street.

It also meant a whole lot of trouble was coming their way…

"We have to go…" Otis said, and before long he urged everyone to get back to the bus quickly, instead of dragging the kids back to the bus, a few snatched the three up and they all ran back.

But before long, they could now see the headlights of the dented up ice cream truck and hear the music as it came speeding down the street without any regard for the people.

They could hear the laughs of the crazy clown dressed freaks as they tossed things out of the truck, mostly firecrackers or beer bottled, all causing a huge panic on the street.

By now the kids knew what was going on and were scared out of their minds as they climbed into the bus.

Desi was sobbing into Nekos shoulder as the two took their seats quickly, Krump was clinging to Queen just as scared, while Ross was trying hard to keep calm, but it was obvious she was freaked out too.

Kumo barked out the window at the ice cream truck that, for whatever reason, just stopped in the middle of the road, with the other cars parked on the sides, that didn't leave a lot of space to drive past them.

That was probably their reason for doing do, it only worried the students more, because they were also blocking the way back to the school.

Adam cursed and honked at them, he was obviously angry, especially after they had just scared the crap out of everyone on that street.

When that hadn't worked, he decided the fastest and safest course of action would just to be to take another path, he had to get the students out of there. If one of them snapped, that would not end well in the slightest, they couldn't let loose in such a populated area.

But the moment he tried to get out of the space he had parked in, the truck would run their engine, and stop when Adam stopped.

Those assholes were threatening them…

They had chosen their target, now they were trying threaten them.

Not a good idea.

Kumos barking soon turned to loud snarling, he could feel they're intent, and see could a lot of the other students. Ser had to hold Zeros hand tight as an attempt to keep him from going out there as he slowly started to go demon.

Otis, who was doing a better job of keeping it together kept a firm grip on Tzili whose red eyes were starting to glow, her body trembling with anger.

Edna who was sitting at the front of the bus was on the phone with the police, having just gotten through to them, however before she could give them any useful information, the line went dead.

"What the hell!?" She shouted, and Glitch told them to look outside.

The clown driving the truck was holding his hand out the window, holding a device, waving it around tauntingly.

"The hell is that thing?" Monster asked aloud.

"It's a jammer…" Glitch stated mournfully, and everyone took his word for it, if anyone knew gadgets it would be Glitch and Zero up. They cut off the cell connection near by.

"These ass holes are toying with us," Zero snarled as his black spikes started to come out.

"Hold it in Zero, we can't let loose here, or we'll just ended up causing more damage. This isn't Harry Potter ya know." Otis barked at him warning him to stay down.

"Everyone stay seated and hold on…" the dormmaster said starting up the bus, "I'm getting us out of here."

Doing as told, everyone held on tight as he quickly ripped out of there, nicking the ice cream truck as it tried to ram them.

"The hell is wrong with these guys!? Why are they even after us!?" Queen screamed as they were being chased.

"Considering they're racist bastard mad at the world for their own misfortune and feel the need to take it out on others," if the clowns weren't scary enough, how well Otis was keeping it together was terrifying, "We're a group of teenagers of different skin colors, so they're taking it out on us as opposed to attacking a bunch of kids…"

"Why Are You So Calm!?"

"Because if I freak out, I'll lose it and probably eat-" the truck rammed into the back of the bus causing most of them to scream and panic even more.

At this point all three kids were sobbing and so were a few teens. They're normal lives were scary, but at least in usual situations they could let loose, but they were still in town, which meant they couldn't, and they were stuck running until otherwise.

With each time the bus was rammed they swerved more and more, until…

CRASH!

Thank god for quick thinking…

The blue and green lights that had filled the bus started to die down as the two teens let out the breaths they held when they activated their abilities. Needless to say, doing it at random and on the spot like that left the two drained, but thankful they were both thinking the same thing.

The bus had ended up crashing into a street light, and if it weren't for Dre and Ser using their abilities to keep everyone in place despite how hard the accident caused them to jerk, the impact could have injured a few of them pretty badly.

Still, they couldn't stop the hard shock of what just happened from sinking in. "Is everyone ok…?" Mr. Adam asked panting, nearly having a heart attack when they are forced to crash.

All the students were either stunned, or scared stiff, but otherwise alright.

Probably more traumatized than before this, but relatively ok, as ok as a group of kids with paranormal lives could possibly be…

"I think I peed a little…" Desi gasped breaking the silence in the bus.

But it wasn't over yet…

Because those clowns weren't done with them yet.

"ok… " Tzili growled, "Enough is enough…"

"Tzili-" "Shut Up Otis! These guys are road kill!" And before he could stop her, she kicked out the window with her stiletto high heel boot, beyond pissed off at this point.

Zero followed in suit, and no one tried to stop either of them.

There was no stopping them at this point, not with what was happening, the bus wasn't going to run, so they couldn't run away anymore.

And like Hell they were going to sit there and continue to be terrorized anymore.

The clowns laughed like it was all some big joke, a few had knives, one was carrying a bat with, another a pipe, and-

"Is that a fucking machete …?" Zero asked pointing to one of them. "An M1 Ops Renegade Tactical Stainless Steel to be exact…" Tzili corrected cracking her knuckles, "I have one stashed in my Amazon cart."

It was pretty obvious the group of clowns didn't know who they were dealing with, because the one with the bat came ramming at the two, ready to use the make shift spiked club like the crazy person he obviously was.

But before the bat could connect with her head, Tzili managed to stop it. He put all his strength into the swing, but then tried to take it back when it didn't work, however, Tzili's grip was much stronger than his.

She had no fear for him, not his creepy clown mask, the tattoos on his arms, or the fact he was a head taller than her.

"ya know, I've seen how heinous people can be…" She said ripping the bat from the guts hands, "And compared to my parents and the crap they put me through," she took a step forward, and through his own crazy the guy must have recognized just how screwed he was because he took a step back. "You guys might as well be party clowns." she tossed the bat aside.

Tzili was a boxer at heart, she got into positions, putting her whole body into the swing and combined with her demon like strength, it didn't take much when her fist connected with the clowns jaw to send him flying backwards like a ragdoll that had been thrown.

Zero cackled watching one of them finally get what they deserved. He was all for causing trouble, but what these guys were doing was not ok with him. But now was time for a little payback.

Getting down on all fours, and with a blaze of green fire, he turned into a hound as he charged at them, causing a few of them to scream.

One, probably a girl, slashed at him frantically trying to cut him as he lunged at her, but the cheap knife crumpled like tin foil between his teeth.

Despite recognizing that they were all royally screwed, the other leaped blindly into the fight like a bunch of idiots.

Though it looked like a few others were smarter than that because they disappeared from sight.

"What's going on," Rosa asked getting up to look out the window, wanting to see what was happening, but before she could take in the show, Dre put a glowing hand over her eyes, pulling her away from the window,"Sorry, but I gotta censor this," before she could protest, the girl passed out in seconds.

One fun thing about his powers were that he could actually make someone fall asleep, though it worked better on people who weren't part creature.

He had already done the same to Desi and Krump, because what was going on, was not something children should see first hand.

Ser on the other hand worked to clear their heads of the trauma that had been caused, they didn't need to remember something like this so clearly. Not yet anyways.

Glass shattered and the teens jumped startled as a brick was thrown through one of the bus windows.

A fight always going on, and two of them decided it was a good idea to attack the bus anyways. It's been said before, many times, but these people were out of their minds.

The next thing to break another window and an emergency hatchet that managed to barely miss hitting Edna in the head, "Son of A FUCKING Bitch!" the blond fell back.

They had thought they could at least stay safe on the other side of the bus, but the other one had went to the other side to continue their violent antics.

The axe was pulled out and before it could break another window, the students piled into the aisle to avoid getting killed with another brick or a fucking Axe.

"Ok… now I can loose my cool…" The fox teen said getting up.

"'Now' You Can Lose Your Cool!?" Monster roared, "We're Being Attacked By Clowns Here! Your Choosing 'Just Now!?"

"Don't shout…" the white haired teen said forcing open the bus doors. "I'll Shout If I Want To!"

When the guy with the axe tried to put it through the kitsune's head, Otis returned the favor by pulling his head through one of the unbroken windows. A moment later he was hit in the head with a brick.

He turned to look at the shorter clown creep, "Really…?"

The sound of a store window break ripped through the air as he threw the idiot through it.

"Hey quick question, why do people just go for it when it's obvious they won't win?" Otis asked Edna as she stepped off the bus, "I don't know, but did you just kill that guy?"

"No, at most he's bleeding internally and has a few broken bones. He'll live."

A car alarm went off as another clown was thrown into it with enough force to crack the window.

The two peeked around the bus to see Zero standing there, "He was asking for it!" the hound justified before they could say anything. "You know they we-Ack!" one if them managed to drive they're steak knife into his side, but before they could even think about doing it again, Zero tore into the clowns wrist, making they shriek in pain as they dropped the knife.

The hound spat out the blood and snarled at them, "Are you kidding me!? I was talking you ass!"

The night was soon lit up with blue and red and sirens rang loudly.

The clowns, finally wising up, well the conscious ones anyways, tried to make a run for it, which didn't work out, because of the second cop car responding, both responding to the stores silent alarm, the one whose window Otis broke.

"About fucking time…" Queen groaned finally feeling a bit at ease, "Cops… never around when you need them…"

…

Halloween night was a lot more… eventful… than they would have liked, especially since the cops brought them to the station for questioning.

So by the time they finally got home, it was dawn.

Everyone just went straight to bed.

That was a long, long, night.

And now was time to forget all that and sleep.

"I hate clowns…" Tzili sighed burying her face in her pillow as Edna flopped on her bed groaning.

"Apparently… so do I… I preger mimes… no one's ever been terrorized by mimes…"

"Mimes are creepy…"

[rivermoose-vlogs]

I wasn’t tagged – and what is it with me and doing things I wasn’t tagged for vs. things I was? – but Icebreaker694 – who’s blog is AMAZING and you should go check it out – did this tag and tagged anyone who wanted to do it, so here I am.

I LOVE Ghibli movies. I’ve been watching them for YEARS. Like, I watch them in Japanese when I am too impatient to wait for the english dub to come out. So I wanted to do this okay?!

Bonus from Icebreaker: PlayBuzz quiz to see what Ghibli Heroine you are: Link if you want to play – I got Nausicaa from Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind!

The Rules:

Please pingback, rather than link to Kate@Melting Pots and Other Calamities. She will only know if you’ve done this tag if you pingback.

Tag as many people as you want. Ghibli movies aren’t as popular as Disney or Pixar, so be careful that those you tag are at least somewhat familiar with Ghibli.

You can use examples from books, movies, TV shows, anime/manga, and webcomics.

As this tag celebrates heroines, please name either a piece of fiction or a female character, if you’re able.

Have fun!

Questions!

Nausicaa, Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind: (Even though this isn’t technically Ghibli, it’s still marketed that way). Nausicaa is a princess in a post-disaster world. She is compassionate and brave, a daring explorer who is capable and selfless.  Name a strong female leader. 

Uhura from Star Trek. Seriously. She’s not the captain, but she’s an irreplaceable part of the Bridge Crew!

(Never seen this one…)

  Sheeta, Castle in the Sky: Although Sheeta may have a quieter demeanour than other Ghibli heroines, she is not a damsel in distress. She’s royalty, but doesn’t stay on the sidelines; she is involved, kind, and despite a sad past, hopeful. Name an inspiring member of royalty.

Leia from Star Wars. As if any other answer is acceptable!

(Great movie – though not one of my favorites)

Satsuki and Mei, My Neighbour Totoro: Before Anna and Elsa, before Lilo and Nani, there was Satsuki and Mei. Satsuki was incredibly young when their mother was hospitalised, and with their father at work, she has to take care of Mei. And Mei is only four, with a big imagination. Name a pair of siblings (or two friends who act like siblings). 

Katniss and Primrose from The Hunger Games. Katniss takes care of Prim the same way Satsuma takes care of Mei.

(Arguably my favorite Ghibli movie – Soot Sprites! The Totoro song that with forever be in my brain!)

Kiki, Kiki’s Delivery Service: Kiki has to go off on her own to live alone, as is the custom among witches. She goes through many things that newly independent young adults face, like money problems, finding a place to stay, job searching, and loneliness, before finding her way thanks to her special abilities. Name a female character who has supernatural gifts.

Jessica Jones – A kickass super-heroine with super strength. Does that count as supernatural? I’m going with it.

(I’m DYING to see this movie!)

  Gina and Fio, Porco Rosso: Gina and Fio are both heroines in this film, and they couldn’t be less alike. Gina is a young woman who is very feminine, a singer and a restaurant owner. However, she is very resourceful and capable. Fio is a teenage mechanic who is independent, goes against the flow, and isn’t afraid to get her hands dirty. She may be one of the best mechanics of her time. Name two inspiring heroines; one who is unabashedly feminine, and another who is more of a tomboy. 

Izzy from TMI – super feminine and super badass!

Lada from And I Darken – A serious tomboy, like that is 90% of her characterization.

Angel, On Your Mark: On Your Mark is a music video that Ghibli helped a music group with. It may not have much of a story, but it’s beautiful and interesting, and not may people are aware of its existence. Name an underrated heroine.

Maximum Ride! Not enough people seem to have read the books – and…well…winged humans.

(I didn’t know this video existed…)

Shizuku, Whisper of the Heart: Shizuku is an eighth-grade student who can’t quite focus on school as much as on her favourite books. However, through encounters with an ambitious boy who seems to have a likely chance at meeting his goals, a cat who rides trains, an antique shop owner, and a cat statue called The Baron, Shizuku is determined to meet her own goal and become a writer. Name your most relatable character. 

Cath from Fangirl. She is literally me!

(I can’t remember if I’ve seen this movie…)

San, Princess Mononoke: San has been raised by wolves her whole life. When humans begin to invade her home forest to make towns and use the resources for themselves while killing the spirits and animals within, San refuses to let it be. She takes a stand and becomes the village’s  greatest obstacle. She is such a force to be reckoned with that they even give her a name; The Princess Mononoke. Name a female character who is physically strong.

Kara Danvers (AKA Supergirl) – she’s literally an alien was super-strength – okay?

Chihiro, Spirited Away: At the beginning of Spirited Away, Chihiro starts off as a whiny, spoiled ten-year-old girl. However, during her time working at the spirit’s Bath House, she discovers parts of herself she didn’t know she had. The story is about her finding the strength she already had but was unaware of. Name a character who has an amazing character journey.

Tessa Gray from The Infernal Devices. A lot happens in a short frame of time for her – but she grows a lot as a character.

(I love this movie so much you don’t understand!)

Haru, The Cat Returns: Haru is a typical high school girl; kind, clumsy, and a little forgetful. But she soon finds herself involved in events that are out of her control. In a way, it is because of her normalcy that she can find her way out of her situation and become stronger because of it. Name a female character who may not have any supernatural abilities herself, but is memorable anyway.

Tohru from Fruits Basket! Even surrounded by guys who turn into animals she stands out!

(Haven’t seen this movie…)

  Sophie, Howl’s Moving Castle: Sophie doesn’t think much of herself for a lot of the story. She doesn’t think she’s pretty or memorable, especially when compared to her younger sister, Lettie. It gets even worse when she’s cursed to look like an old woman. When she finds a new life that involves the mysterious wizard Howl, a fire demon, Howl’s apprentice, and many others, she is shown to be resilient and intuitive. Name an emotionally strong character.

Kaori from Your Lie In April – I won’t say too much as its spoiler-y. But, for real. Wow.

(I LOVE Howl’s Moving Castle – one of the best Ghibli movies for sure. Its the Ghibli version of Beauty and the Beast)

  Ponyo, Ponyo: Ponyo is one of the youngest Ghibli heroines at only five years old. But she still gets a lot done, including becoming human, discovering things, finding a best friend, and saving the world. Name a hero who happens to be a child.

Chiyo from Azumanga Daioh (an anime I love). She’s a 10-year-old genius child who is skipped ahead to high school and faces all sorts of interesting obstacles because of her age.

(Ponyo is the one Ghibli movie most people know since since did the dub – its basically the Ghibli version of The Little Mermaid and its great)

  Arrietty, The Secret World of Arrietty: Arrietty is a Borrower; she is tiny and survives by stealing small things that humans won’t miss. Yet she’s curious about the human world, and does braver things than most humans would be incapable of doing, despite her tiny size. Name an unlikely hero.

Skye / Daisy Johnson from Agents of SHIELD. Her entire character arc – especially in the first season – is how she doesn’t think she fits the bill of being a hero (and she so is).

(I love this movie – its also a really great book-to-movie adaptation!)

  Nahoko, The Wind Rises: Nahoko has tuberculosis during World War 2. However, she doesn’t allow this to cripple her, and enjoys life to the fullest anyway, which includes painting and falling in love. Even being placed in a sanitarium doesn’t break her. Name an inspiring character with some sort of obstacle. 

Naho from the anime Orange. She gets lets from her future self and has to try and fix things without really knowing what happened and I’d say she handles that obstacle better than I ever could.

(I haven’t actually seen The Wind Rises – though I want to!)

Kaguya, The Tale of the Princess Kaguya: in a time where women were expected to follow social norms such as blackening teeth, shaving eyebrows, and being forced into arranged marriages, Kaguya refuses to play along. She would much rather be outside, dance, and play with friends. Name a female character who challenges social norms.

Definitely Haruhi from Ouran High School Host Club. She ends up cross-dressing and pretending to be a boy in order to pay back her debts to her school’s host club and it is one of my favorite animes!

(Haven’t seen this Ghibli film either…)

There we go! That was the Ghibli Heroines Tag! I had a lot of fun! And now I want to go watch a Ghibli movie…

A little sad two of my favorites “From Up On Poppy Hill” and “When Marnie Was Here” weren’t here, but oh well!

If you like Ghibli, or you liked this tag, and you like video games, you should play Ni Nu Kuni: Wrath of The White Witch – its a JRPG animated by Ghibli and one of my favorite games EVER!

Let me know what you think of this tag!

What is your favorite Ghibli movie / which do you want to see?

Tag:

Like Icebreaker, I don’t know who would want to be tagged in this.

So I’m tagging anyone who wants to do this / likes Studio Ghibli!

The Ghibli Heroines Tag I wasn't tagged - and what is it with me and doing things I wasn't tagged for vs.