#no one died (yet - the dog might) and mom is getting care

[the-everqueen]

need distractions. AMA. inbox is open and anons are on.

[pink-sparkly-witch]

The One That Got Away - Chapter Five

Warnings: tw: child abuse, tw: physical abuse, tw: slut shaming, angst, language.

Word Count: 1.5k

Pairing: Firefighter!Dean Winchester x Female Reader

A/N: There are TRIGGER WARNINGS in this part - please heed these, and if you think you’ll be affected by any of them, please do not read.

You can catch up here!

 My Masterlist AO3    Ko-Fi

“Dean,” Mary got up from the table and went to the fridge, opening its door and pulling out a beer bottle. “Have a seat, sweetie,” she said, pulling out a chair and putting the bottle on the wooden dining table.

“Thanks, Mom. So, what don’t I know?”

“Sounds like Y/N might be back in town, son,” John said. “We don’t know for sure yet, only Jess has seen her, but she’s a nurse, and if it is her, she’s going by Singer now,” John carefully eyed Dean. Seeing his son go through such a range of emotions was heartbreaking.

“Yeah, it’s her,” Dean whispered, wiping his hands down his face.

Clearing his throat, Dean downed half of his beer in one swallow. “Bobby told me after Thursday's shift before I went fishing with Benny and Cas. Danny’s not got long left. His liver and heart are going, and he’s in a hospice. So, Bobby called her and said it might be time to think about coming home.”

“I didn’t even think of making the connection to Bobby,” Jess said softly. “He’s her uncle?” she clarified, and Dean nodded.

“Her mom’s brother. Caroline died in a fire when Y/N was little. Then her dad turned to booze and beatings to cope with his grief,” he glanced at Jess, who had a horrified frown on her features.

“From what I saw today and how caring and kind she was to me, I’d never have guessed she went through something like that,” Jess commented, and Dean chuckled.

“That’s Y/N for you! Carries the whole damn world on her shoulders, and you’d never know it. She cares about those around her way more than she cares about herself. She always has,” he smiled.

“You guys were a thing back in the day?” Jess asked curiously, and Dean let out a soft laugh.

“Yeah, you could say that! Dad, Bobby, and Danny go way back, and Mom and Caroline became best friends, so Y/N and I grew up together. We were best friends before we became childhood sweethearts. She was my first everything, and I was hers.”

“They could’ve been married with a couple of kids and a dog by now if he’d asked her to stay,” Mary pointed out, and Dean shook his head in exasperation. “Did Bobby say if anyone came with her?” she continued, trying to find out if someone had followed her from her past life.

“No. No husband or boyfriend,” Dean smiled, knowing the real reason behind his mom’s question. “Bobby said she dated but never settled with anyone. Apparently, she was a love them and leave them, too!” he chuckled just a little bitterly.

“Cute little thing like her, bet she broke some hearts!” Mary grinned. “Now that she’s back, are you gonna finally tell me why you didn’t ask her to stay back then? You and I both know she would’ve if you’d asked her to,” she enquired gently.

“I wanted to. God, I wanted to so bad! But I couldn’t do that to her,” Dean rubbed a hand down his face. “You’re right, Ma. She’d have stayed if I asked her to, and she asked me to ask her. If I had, I’d have married her as soon as we were eighteen, got her out of that godforsaken house. Ain’t no doubt about it. But I couldn’t.” He stood from his seat and brought the whiskey out of the liquor cabinet with three glasses. Mary wasn’t a whiskey drinker, and Jess was pregnant, so John took one of them and Sam another.

“She took a damn beating every day for fifteen years, Ma, from the one person who was supposed to protect her. He was her only parent, and he beat her because she looked too much like her mom. Because she survived,” Dean fumed as he fought to keep the tears at bay.

“Her mom begged him to get her out of that house, and he punished her for it. She was only three years old! That’s her first memory, the fire and her mom screaming at her dad to make sure she got out. Did you know that?” It was a rhetorical question, but the hurt and shock were hard for everyone to hide.

“I don’t know if she still does, but before she left, that memory used to replay itself as a nightmare whenever she was scared or stressed. Y/N didn’t deserve any of it. She deserved a life without beatings and abuse, and hatred. And if going to Chicago instead of Lawrence, fuck, even Kansas City or Wichita gave her that, then who was I to stop her?

“If I’d asked her to stay, her life wouldn’t be any better because of it. Sure, I could’ve protected her from the beatings and got her away from him. But Jody would still call her whenever he got arrested. Y/N would still have to deal with his rage, and she’d still fall victim to his verbal assaults and vulgar degrading. I did the only thing I could to truly protect her and… I let her go.”

Mary rushed over to him and hugged him tightly, trying to ease the pain her eldest son still felt after all this time, and she knew then what she had to do. Mumbling that she’d be right back, she headed upstairs to her bedroom and opened the drawer on her bedside cabinet. She pulled the ageing envelope out, the word ‘Dean’ scrawled in blue ink in unmistakable handwriting and returned downstairs.

“Years ago, Y/N wrote me a letter,” Mary explained to Sam and Jess, as the others already knew about it. “She was in therapy, and her therapist thought it’d be a good idea to write letters to the people she cared about most, and she told me what happened. We all knew something was happening, but I had no idea the extent of it. The fractured skull when she was six? Choking her at seventeen because she missed curfew?” Mary shook her head in disgust. John wrapped his arms around Mary to stop himself from getting in his car and killing the sick bastard himself.

“Was it ever…?” Sam let his question hang in the air, not wanting or needing it to be said aloud.

“It fucking better not have been, or I’ll kill the bastard myself!” John fumed.

“No, thank God,” Dean answered. “Always physical and verbal. The fractured skull and when he choked her were the worst he’s done to her. There were countless other fractured and broken bones, though. He was smart, and that made me so fucking mad! He’d always play off the broken bones as just a kid being a kid, you know? He’d say she fell from the climbing frame in the park or got injured doing gymnastics or playing hockey or netball. She fractured her skull and had a severe concussion from falling down the stairs, not because he pushed her so hard she fell into a fucking hardwood coffee table. 

“The manipulative bastard hardly ever left a mark where anyone could see. She had a few black eyes and bruises on her arms throughout the years, and that was it, at least until he tried to strangle her. He damn near killed her that night. She was blacking in and out of consciousness and only got him off her by hitting him over the head with her mom’s crystal vase. She knocked him out cold!” he chuckled sadly. “All because she was helping me graduate. He thought she missed curfew because she was “whoring herself out” to me, but she was helping me study. I never forgave myself for that.”

“Don’t blame yourself, son. Y/N told me you knew everything and made her feel safe and loved. She told me you blamed yourself for what happened to her that night, but she knew it would have been something else if it wasn’t because she missed curfew. She never blamed you for it. For any of it,” Mary smiled sadly at Dean’s scoff of laughter. “And she apologised. For leaving you and breaking your heart,” Mary said, desperate to comfort him.

“I broke hers more when I didn’t ask her to stay,” Dean responded. “If I could go back, I’d…” he sniffed, wiping the tears from his cheeks.

“I know you were hurt when a letter never came for you. But one did, and it was in with mine. Y/N told me to give you this when the time was right and if it was in your best interests. I honestly didn’t know if I’d ever give it to you. If the time would ever be right, but that time is now. I’m not gonna apologise for keeping this from you,” Mary held her hand up to cut off his rebuttal. “If I’d given this to you all those years ago, you’d have run off after her, and I don’t think you’d like what you would’ve found,” she finished as she handed him the letter.

Dean sobbed as he recognised her handwriting and ran his fingers gently over the faded ink. Turning it over, he glanced up at his mom, a silent question hanging between them.

“I didn’t read it. It wasn’t my place to,” Mary raised her hand, wiped his wet cheeks, and gave him a gentle wink. Dean tore open the envelope without another second’s hesitation.

Next Chapter >>

Tag list: @deans-baby-momma @deans-spinster-witch @leigh70 @stoneyggirl2 @hobby27 @candy-coated-misery0731 @iprobablyshipit91 @twinkleinadiamondsky @mrsjenniferwinchester @spnwoman @snackles87 @perpetualabsurdity @hoboal87 @synmorite @nancymcl @trannydean @nic-kolas @jc-winchester @winchestergirl1720 @globetrotter28 @nelachu2423 @kayleighmeister @venicesem @ladysparkles78 @roseblue373 @suckitands33 @tristanrosspada-ackles @silentbutscreaming @lacilou @sandlee44 @kmc1989 @chriszgirl92 @ashbatz @k-slla @jamerlynn @waters-2567 @kazsrm67

[jjenjoyer]

roslyn - jj maybank

warnings : mentions of abuse, injuries, angst to fluff, heavy themes, sad jj (a crime punishable by death)

summary : jj shows up to your window in the dead of night, desperately in need of patching up-- and a hug would be nice too.

playlist:

last words of a shooting star - mitski

i bet on losing dogs - mitski

roslyn - bon iver

[lower case intended ; third person pov ; 1.3k words]

gentle tapping from outside your window pulled you from your sleep, (if you could even call it that, insomnia has been kicking your ass lately) startling you, the idea of it being an intruder flashing through your mind before you remembered that your best friend since kindergarten and crush since 5th grade, jj maybank, had done this a couple weeks prior, although the reason for it wasn't as pleasant and romantic as one would expect.

suspecting a repeat of that incident, you stood and jerked your curtain open, the moonlight highlighting the unmistakable silhouette of jj crouched at your window. you hastily opened the window, catching the boy as he practically fell into your room.

the faint illumination your fairy lights provided gifted you the ability to see the palette of texture and colour on his face, highlighted by the dried tear stains streaking his cheeks.

your heart sunk, the only word you could utter was his name, the heartbreak evident in your voice. you knew all too well the struggles jj went through at home, the boy was forced to watch his dad fall apart after his mother died in an accident when he was in primary school, eventually losing all conscience and beginning to take his anger out on the being who resembled her down to the dimple (a rare yet heavenly sight). he, of all people, was the last person to deserve it. nobody deserves to feel threatened in their own home, but especially not the brightest, kindest, most caring boy you know.

you thanked whatever gods were out there that you decided to start working out a couple years ago, as it came in handy in the process of practically carrying jj to your bed, the mattress sinking under his weight as you shoved your ikea shark into his lap, letting the barely-present boy know that you were going to get the first aid kit you kept in case of this exact scenario repeating. he looked worse this time though, and you hoped the kit would be enough, knowing his hatred for hospitals.

returning a couple minutes later with the first aid kit, along with all the spare bandages of various shapes and sizes you found in the drawers, a pair of ice packs and a water bowl, your eyes locked on jj, sitting in the middle of your twin sized bed wrapped around the large shark plushie, cradling his right wrist (with oddly devoid of blood knuckles) with a pained expression and dull eyes that lit up slightly at the sight of you, to which you smiled softly, taking a spot in front of him after flicking on the bedside light for a better view.

your breathed hitched at the gut-wrenching sight, yet you kept your composure. you had to be strong for him.

he watched silently as you dipped a small cloth into the slightly soapy water bowl, wiping the blood from his eyebrow, nose, cheekbone and lip, disinfecting it and blowing on the area to ease the sting, a trick you had learnt from your mom, later proceeding to stick cute blue band-aids with stars on them over his nose and cheekbone wounds, those being the biggest.

he finally cracked a smile upon seeing you pull the band-aids out.

"i didn't think you would actually buy those."

"don't be silly. you said you hated the plain ones, so deal with it, my north star."

the statement was true though, jj pouted relentlessly when you stuck a plain band-aid on him last time, and he would always be the brightest star in your night sky, leading you home wherever you might be. all factual.

you then gave him the ice pack with the instructions of placing it over the bruises, and the fact that he took the ice pack in his left hand confirmed your suspicion.

"can you move it in a circle?"

jj tried rotating his wrist, which moved at 10 fps, but hey at least it moved. he then moved it up and down, wincing slightly at the action.

"i think its just sprained." you stated, hearing a sigh of relief escaping the blond boy's lips.

after wrapping his wrist with the ace bandage and sticking a ruler inside it as a makeshift splint, you instructed him to take his shirt off, to which he saluted you with a "yes ma'am.", and proceeded to struggle, possibly a trap, since he whistled suggestively when you helped pull it over his head. ok, you walked right into that one, but it was good to see his humour come back.

the sight was bittersweet, the soft light hitting his incredibly toned torso like an artist's brand new wooden palette tainted by an assortment of purple, yellow, green and maroon shades of oil paint, as no matter how much he scrubs at it with turpentine, the essence has already sunk in for eternity-- even once the colour is gone, the oil residue will remain, buried deep.

you couldn't do much for his torso but ice it with the second ice pack, rubbing his back as he cringed at the contact.

once satisfied, you rummaged your closet for those black adidas men's shorts you bought against your mom's wishes and handed them over to jj, since there was no way you were gonna let him sleep in those dirty cargo shorts, and you turned with your face against the closet door as he changed, the sounds of struggle nearly prompting you to help him, but you assumed he wanted privacy. its not like you haven't seen him in his underwear, john b's pantsing prank was diabolically brutal-- speaking of which, why didn't he go to john b for help?

you were ripped from your thoughts by jj's voice stating that he finished.

you pulled him up to the pillows, where you laid beside him after turning off the bedside lamp, the fairy light's soft glow creating an ambiance in which you couldn't help but pull him into you, hugging the boy tightly as he trembled in your arms, subtle shivers which morphed into full-out richter scale level 9 shaking as he sobbed into your shirt, to which his hands clutched on for dear life. you rubbed his back comfortingly while whispering assurances into his hair, interrupted only by the odd kiss for what seemed to be an eternity, and eventually the sobs turned into sniffles as he pulled himself up to your level, storm-laden blue eyes piercing yours, the turbulent ocean trapped behind them seeping into your body, flooding it with pure intensity.

"do you want to talk about what happened?"

"not really..."

a silence washed over the two of you, before jj broke it hesitantly.

"you.. do know that i love you, right?-"

"yeah, j. of course, i love you too."

"-...not in that way."

your eyes went wide as you came to the conclusion that your entire "unrequited love" soap opera was a concept made up by none other than yours truly. however, you knew better.

"tell me that again in the morning, when you're thinking clearly."

jj sighed, having no will to fight, and nodded, placing a kiss to your forehead.

"i will. thank you, for everything. goodnight my darling."

"goodnight j."

the following morning, you had woken up earlier than jj and decided to make him his favourite chocolate chip pancakes, knowing he needed that right now. as you were pouring the last spoonful of batter onto the pan, you felt a large pair of arms snake around your waist, along with a head finding its spot in the dip of your shoulder, blond hair peeking in through your peripheral vision.

"i meant it."

"perfect timing, ninja. so did i."

he spun you around, tilting your chin up with his good hand, pausing for a moment to see if you wanted it, before you both brought your lips together, a kiss long overdue.

"ok now gimme them pancakes, i came here like a floating cartoon character at the smell."

[miguelmeiai]

Life is Strange - What if Esteban hadn't died? - Part IV

Esteban and his sons are by the fire. They are eating marshmallows. The wind blows gently. The atmosphere around them is soothing. The sound of the crickets, the water, and the leaves can be heard. ─ Dad, why did my mom run away after she gave birth to me? Was it because of me? Daniel's eyes become watery. ─ No, Daniel, that's not it. It's just… she was unhappy with her life. It's not your fault, Daniel. Maybe I, as her husband, could have done more to… ─ Dad, it's not your fault that that selfish woman decided to abandon us for no reason. ─ I know, Sean, but I was her husband, I shoulda… Sean looks at Daniel. ─ Promise to me we won't talk about this ever again! ─ Come on, Sean! ─ You two, please, don't get into a fight! We came here to relax a bit.

─ Dad, I deserve to know about my mom! Why does Sean forbids me to ever ask about her? ─ I do that to protect you, Daniel, but you're so heard-headed. ─ Okay, Sean, enough. He is only nine years old. ─ This is so unfair. Why do we need to care about her and pity her? Dad, I remember all those nights you stayed up and crying because of her when she left us. Don't you remember how much you suffered because of her? ─ Case closed, Sean! God teaches us to always forgive people, regardless of what they have done. It was hard for me to accept the truth about what happened, I even doubted many times if I could handle all that, plus take care of you and Daniel. Daniel yawns. ─ I think I'm going to sleep. I'm so tired from all that walking. ─ I imagine so, son ─ Esteban laughs. ─ But I kinda have to pee before I sleep. ─ Hm, you can pee behind a tree. But please don't go very far, or else you'll get lost. ─ Okay, dad. Daniel gets up and search for a place to pee. Esteban looks at Sean. ─ Sean, we need to talk. You have been acting so immaturely and aggressively with Daniel. What's happening? ─ Dad, you only stay by Daniel's side. And the lame excuses are all the same. Esteban sighs. ─ I know teenager years aren't the easiest. I know you might be stressed out. I get you. Daniel has been complaining about you. ─ Complaining about me for what? ─ He wants your attention. All you've been doing was pushing him away when he needed you the most. He almost got hit at school and he tried telling you, but you didn't listen. ─ I'm sorry about that, really. ─ I know you hate to babysit him, but listen, Sean: having a brother is one of the most amazing gifts God can give us. ─ But dad, I do love Daniel. It's just… he is annoying sometimes. ─ You were annoying too sometimes when you were younger. Yet I didn't push you away. Sean sighs. ─ I get it, that. I promise I will try to get closer to him. ─ You know your behavior directly influences his. You are his role model. ─ I know, dad, I know. You have been saying this to me like every day. Daniel comes back. ─ Woah, Daniel, you really took a long time to come back. ─ I got distracted by some cute dogs. Esteban laughs. ─ Great, little boy who never runs out of energy. Now it's time to sleep. Daniel lies down on the floor and shortly after falls asleep. Esteban looks at the stars and Sean looks at his phone. As he is about to text his friend Lyla, it runs out of battery. ─ Fuck, my phone ran out of battery! ─ Take it as a positive thing. It feels good to be disconnected from everything and just seize the moment sometimes. That's why we came here, right? ─ Yeah… They both lie on the grass and look at the clear sky filled with stars and a crescent moon. ─ Another thing I enjoy about the wild is that we can see way more stars. Sean looks at his dad and notices he already fell asleep. ─ Dad… you must have been tired as well. He yawns. ─ I think I'm gonna sleep too. Sean closes his eyes and begins having a nightmare about him and his brother at the front of their house and that same police officer from the previous day. Dad comes, and the police officer shots at him, instantly killing him in front of them. Anxious and highly emotive, Daniel accidentally activates his telekinesis powers and ends up killing the cop. Sean and his brother run away from the city as fast as they can, afraid of the police.

[eddiemunsonswhxre]

where have i been?

an update for those curious.

hey there my loves, long time no see.

i’m not sure how many of you will actually read this or care to see why i haven’t written in over a year now but typing this stuff out helps me process and get back into my groove.

well, today is january 16, 2024. the last thing i posted that was an actual one shot was posted on january 3, 2023. i haven’t written since. 2023 was my worst year yet and caused me to learn a lot about people and myself.

things were going alright in the beginning, i was in my second semester of college and my biggest problem was 2 of my 3 roommates (lived in a quad) hated each other so me and my bestie/3rd roommate had to play mediator and it was exhausting. i started liking a guy and got my hopes up. and i started to get more and more annoyed with school and my living situation every day. i was ecstatic to move out of that room despite hating my hometown. the day of move out, one of my roommates who i thought was someone very close to me blocked me and all of our friends on everything with no explanation but we knew she wasn’t coming back for 23-24.

i like where i grew up for a maximum of a week at a time, after that my depression just kicks my ass and im not having a great time. my plan for the summer was to work my ass off so much so that i wouldn’t have time to think of anything else. that backfired, because a few days after i came home one of my two jobs fell through unexpectedly and my other job was giving me less than half the hours they promised me. i was broke. everyone says it’s so easy to get a job these days because everyone is hiring but i applied to over ten places within a reasonable distance from me and didn’t get a single one. so i spent too much time with myself and that’s not normally a good thing.

to make matters even worse, in june my mom was sentenced to three years in prison for a crime she committed back in 2020. i don’t want to get into too many specifics, but my mom would never harm anyone she just has struggled with addiction. my mom was my constant emotional support, and knowing she was no longer going to be around ripped me to shreds. not even a month later after my mom was shipped off to prison, my dog died. and i know you might think “dogs die all the time it’s a pet.” but my dog was much more than that. she wasn’t even three years old and was a beautiful great pyrenees german shepard mix and she was the sweetest girl ever. i don’t care how ridiculous it sounds, because i know my soul and hers were meant to be together. i was even in the process of registering her as an emotional support animal so i could take her to college with me because she was finally old enough and for the most part out of the puppy phase. but one night out of nowhere she got really sick and within an hour of her showing signs something was wrong she died while i was holding her. not the greatest thing for a 19 year old who’s already struggling to experience. it took my over a month to stop seeing her like that every time i closed my eyes. call me dramatic, but that dog really was a child to me.

after that, i went to stay with my cousin for a few weeks and that was nice but i still knew i wasn’t feeling right. i moved back to school in august and had way too high of hopes that everything would fix itself. surprise, it didn’t. in fact, i just got worse. i reached lows i haven’t hit in over two years. i was having roommate problems, i was trying to do way too much at once, and i was neglecting my health. i had a breakdown.

the highlight of my semester was taking a week off to visit my best friend since age 2 for her birthday (she lives roughly a 2 hour plane ride away from me now) with our other two best friends. then i came back and immediately totaled my car. my car was a piece of shit yes, but it got me places. not having a car when you’re a person who drives around to destress is not fun. i was even worse mentally at this point and i was trying so so hard to get into my overbooked doctor to get my medications raised. the only constant i had were my three friends at school and my studies. so i threw myself into them. i was never alone and if i was i was nose deep in a text book. i was just avoiding the rest of my existence. i was able to get my meds upped and decided i was done wallowing. i started a diet that is actually manageable and enjoyable and discovered for the first time workouts that i actually liked doing. it was something small, but i knew i was turning myself around.

i went home for winter break knowing it was going to be tough. i also had to spend this time looking for a new car. it was an extremely stressful process to say the least. but i focused on myself, taking all the time for myself that i needed and processing everything that had made me get to such a bad place. i’ve always been very spiritual, so i dove more into that as well as trusting the universe.

i’ve decided that 2024 will be my best year yet. i got a new car, im getting a new job, im doing great in school, my mom is getting released from prison literally six hours after i post this, and im taking care of myself in more ways than one. while doing a lot of that reflecting, i remembered how much i used to love to write and how that passion just died after loving it since i was ten. i started small, doing short story exercises and getting into reading again. i finally, after an entire year, have my passion for writing back.

i can’t promise i’ll be consistent with uploads because i’ve decided that my goal for the year is to write a novel. so that project is going to be my main focus and it isn’t anything fanfic related, it’s actually a psychological thriller. more than likely i will be asking for opinions on here throughout the year as well.

with that said, my plans this year for this blog are to keep posting. eddie munson is mainly who i write for, but i want to expand my horizons. i want to challenge myself with genres and types of characters. i will greatly appreciate any requests you can give and i promise i will read through them. if i don’t post them right away, just know it may come out three months later. sometimes inspiration sparks at weird times.

if you’ve read this far, thank you. i hope this can inspire you to see that there’s light at the end of the tunnel but sometimes you’ve gotta dig the extra dirt to it yourself. beyond thankful to anyone who was here a year ago and has come back to read my new stuff- you made an aspiring writer really proud of herself.

much much love

-eddiemunsonswhxre 🤍

[deathsmallcaps]

ATLA Modern USA Battle of the Bands AU - Katara focused. I thought this up in the car so it isn’t polished. Check out comradekatara’s AMV for what inspired this.

Katara is a 18 year old Tlingit girl who is part Makah on her grandmother's side. She just graduated high school.

Due to work, she hasn't seen her Dad for a while, as he's constantly traveling from Juneau to DC and back trying to get elected to Congress so he can pass more protections against the Oil companies in the area, especially the long standing Caldera Oil Company (COC). And between that, he has a job fishing, because he isn't rich. Gram Gram, not wanting to worry her son, doesn't tell him that there's been some suspicious businessmen who've recently bought the local bank and jacked up the mortgage and rental rates in the area, so that they might lose the house.

(Katara's mom worked in city hall and was the only one to know that COC had applied to drill and then found a major oil reserve right under their town. So she was murdered)

Sokka and Katara overhear Gram Gram talking about this with the other adults who are affected and are devestated. Of course, that's when a big dog walks into their lives. He's dirty, he looks like it hasn't been taken care of in a while, but Enamored, the siblings take him in.

That's when, of course, the 16 year old Tibetan-American John Doe wakes up at the local hospital, the only survivor of a terrible car wreck.

His name is Aang, he's a musical virtuoso, and his parents died for similar reasons like Katara's mom.

Unlike Katara's mom, his parents shared the info with him. The hit men thought he died.

Gram Gram is the only certified foster parent in town, so she takes him in. Aang reunites with his dog Appa joyously. He hasn't processed his parents' deaths yet.

The kids get to see Zuko (nickname for Zachary Sozinson, disgraced spare to the COC throne) threaten Gram Gram in their home. They manage to scare him and his bullies off, though not before they see recognition of Aang and then a regretful look on his face. The next morning, they see a commercial on TV - there's a rock music contest!

Three cities across the USA (Seattle, Chicago, DC) will have 'Diversity Bands*' battle for the chance to get out on records. Each band member has to be from a visibly different race.

The contest in Seattle needs a solo or duet act, the contest in Chicago two to three people, and the one in DC three to five people. Previous contestants are allowed to recompete as long as they add to their band.

There is also cash prizes for the second and third place winners for each city/category.

*yes it sounds very tokenizing and faux-left corporate and there's a good reason why narratively. Hold on.

Katara and Aang decide to hit the road, using what little savings he inherited from his parents and her money from her job during the school year. As she's only 18 and can't get hotel rooms, and Aang is still a minor, Sokka agrees to be their driver/ roadie/hotel dude when they can afford rooms. They rescue a raccoon kit along the way and name it Momo.

Shenanigans ensue, Zuko is kind of haunting them along the way, they can't tell if he's following them or if he's just going to the same place they are, etc. Aang stops by his old house only to find that it's been taken over by a COC worker who has been using/covering up his parents' proof papers.

The gaang convinces him to be a whistleblower as they leave. They also meet John John (Jeong Jeong), who they briefly consider adding to their band if they don't make it this round, and who is currently embroiled in a case against COC and thus needs to stay on the move for safety reasons.

He teaches Aang another instrument, though for once Aang REALLY doesn't take to it. Along the way they meet Suki, who is in a all girl band and is also going to compete, though they're going to wait until the Chicago contest so they all can get into the contract, etc. Sokka learns to respect girl bands.

Jet, who is also just going to go to the DC one for his big band, reveals to them that the record label is owned by COC, who wants to appear hip with the kids and not a conservative's wet, polluting dream. He feels that since he knows this stuff and how to defeat them (supposedly) he is justified in ruining other bands instead of winning honestly. That isn't good, obviously, so they distance themselves from him.

Eventually they make it to Seattle, Sokka and Katara are invited to stay with some Makah cousins they haven't seen since they were little.

Aang comes too of course, but isn't the reason they were invited in.

Katara learns more about music composition. There Sokka meets and falls in love with Yue, daughter of the mayor. She has to compete with her

'boyfriend' who is really just using her as a beard (consensually) but is very respected by her parents.

Zuko, who realized who Aang was and wants to capture him to bring him back to his Dad, so that there's less whistleblowers for COC, and thus regain his standing in the company, ends up wrecking their performance.

So 'the Gaang' only gets third place, but enough cash to let them squeak by until they reach Chicago. Yue gets first place, breaks up with her boyfriend, and ascends to star-(moon?)-dom. She is extremely busy and does not get to hang with the Gaang much for the rest of the series.

They travel to Chicago, Aang doesn't recognize his old friend Bumi from High school and gets teased relentlessly about it. Meanwhile, they're also looking for a third band member, Aang wants to learn a new instrument and Katara and Aang end up kissing, much to their embarrassment. Zuko and Iroh are on the road too, Zuko embarrassed by the even more public failure to help his father's business take down an individual with so much power to hurt COC (Aang). Similar plot lines with Jet, Azula and Katara's relationships with Zuko occur. Iroh opens a cafe.

Eventually, they make it to Chicago, where they see this 14 year old absolutely destroy everyone in a rap battle while ALSO playing drums. It's Toph! They trick her parents into letting her compete in the Chicago contest. Chicago is where COC wants to move their headquarters, and the local government wants their business, so many higher class people are in serious denial about their effect on the environment.

This time, the get second place, because Jet, who had been tortured for information by COC, manages to escape during their performance and cause a ruckus (he gets treated and reunited with his family don't worry).

Azula and Zuko (it's complicated like in the show) manage to take out Aang via a last minute stage mishap involving a heavy light falling on his head Iroh gets pinned for some COC crimes that Jet did manage to get public, Zuko returns to the top with Azula, etc. Suki's band wins and gets signed, but due to interference from Mai and Tai Lee, their contract is shittier than Yue's and they have to work a ton initially for low pay.

Toph's parents are NOT fans of how this turned out, but Toph's underground fans manage to placate her parents, and then they're on the road again.

Along the way Zuko has his change of heart, Iroh escapes, Katara's Dad is stuck in DC, Gram Gram might lose the house soon, and Aang is growing out his hair for the first time since his parents died. Katara meets Hama, who has a story pretty similar to both hers and how her mom died. When she hands Katara an [instrument] she modified to work as a poison dart gun who would ever check that for poison!] Katara hesitates to take it. She does end up taking it, but switches out the poison for a nerve stopper poison (I can't think of the right way to say it makes you fall asleep/unable to move for a while?).

Also Hama teaches her more music composition and really rounds out her skills lol.

(The painted lady episode WILL happen of course. If I ever write this.

It will probably happen in WV)(as will the school dance episode. Probably in. A rich area just outside DC)

Sokka learns to video edit and starts making music videos for the band. He also meets back up with Suki! Her initial hard-core tour is done, and she's taking a break from her band members for a bit.

When Zuko joins, he and Aang learn how to play his instrument best, he and Sokka finally visit Hakoda and tell him what's going on at home, and he and Katara track down her mom's killer. She poisons him, even keeping Hama's dart in hand just in case, but ultimately lets him live. Even though Zuko assures her he knows how to make it look like an accident. Aang learns how to write a very powerful song from an old person.

They win the big battle of the bands of course. COC then holds a concert to celebrate its 'new, future-forward clean image. There, Katara composes the music to Aang's song, and as their big finale, they play a song - with visualizer proof in the background on huge screens cut together by Sokka and partly by Hakoda) that exposes COC and Ozai.

The series ends with Zuko shifting the company to clean energy, Katara and Sokka returning home triumphant with Aang and his animals in tow, Hakoda gets elected, Toph lives independently and everyone gets to be happy. Except 'Oz' (Ozai) and kind of Azula.

[shenzaibird-art]

Sooo I watched all four days of Crufts this past weekend and was possessed by the urge to draw various dog breeds. Child me would be so proud. (I still have the book of dog breeds I was obsessed with as a kid, and I still have an old little paper inside it with a list of dog breeds I wanted to draw... and pretty much all of these were there) Info about all of these people under the cut thingy:

Brelyn: A Grand Augur of necromagic. Probably will replace Morrok as Sellatrix's master and head of their team because I like her. Gentle and easygoing, likes to see innovative projects, hence her being okay with taking Verloren into her team. A powerful mage, much more deadly than she looks. Might be a witch as well or at least respect witchcraft. (Rip Morrok the owl, didn't even get a chance to exist and was already replaced, I might reuse the concept for another char or smth) Silverstrand: Was supposed to be a Grand Augur of necromagic but he has SUCH a geomage vibe that I'm not sure anymore. Either way, he's very serious and strict, and prefers things done "the right way" rather than experimental weird stuff. Basically the opposite of Brelyn a bit. If I make him a Grand Augur of geomagic, then he might be head of Lazuli's team. One of the king's most trusted Grand Augurs, warned him that exiling Verloren was a terrible idea (but got ignored anyway). King Harlin Devandell III of Houndsdagger: Proud and stubborn, likes to show off his power and skills. Grew up hearing that his mother the Queen never did enough, so he tries to do too much. Doesn't know much about magic and severely underestimates it. Ended up killed when Verloren didn't take being exiled very well. Wasn't too old, probably just a bit older than Verloren, so not even 50 yet when he died. Pommie: Finella's personal maid since she was a teenager. Very kind and caring, often felt more like a mom to Finella than her real mother. She's a household-wizard (someone who helps with trivial magic tasks, such as preparing baths with warming crystals and fancy fur potions or lighting up light orbs around the house) and taught Finella some basic magic when she asked her. The only one of this batch that I actually already had a full concept of for a while, even the breed, I just hadn't drawn her yet. Nivenyr: One of Sellatrix's witch friends. He's from the village and not related to the castle or any noble business. He works as a mage, making spells and stuff that he sells in his little shop. Somewhat cryptic. Possibly younger than he looks, I have no idea what's his age yet really. Might be more fit for my other setting that's about edgy emo witches (I mean he has emo hair even on his hands) but I'll try to keep him in this setting because Sella can't be the only witch around. Lazuli: A geomagic augur, friends with Finella. Calm and collected, she doesn't say much but judges everyone silently. Kinda tired of everyone's crap but tries to be non-violent, despite sometimes wishing she could kill some people. Her parents were jewelers and when she learned she could do magic with crystals and gemstones, she became a geomage and also learned to make art with magic crystals. Cyrus: A phytomagic augur. Extremely average guy. Obnoxious with his hate of necromagic. Was married to Finella at one point and he constantly tried to prove her how phyto is so much better than necro (Finella is a necromage, she just tried to ignore him when he went on a rant). When Verloren took over, Cyrus was among the phytomagic augurs who tried to ambush him and take him down, and was defeated and killed like all the others. Finella had mixed feelings about the incident. There were more people I wanted to make, like a pumi guy that I couldn't settle on a design for, and a girl that'll be either a papillon or a spaniel of some kind. But yeah I love dogs.

[osmiumamygdala]

Negative comic rant ahead.

Article that gives you instant heartburn (I've supplied the link in case anyone wants to see it firsthand, but I've summarized it as well):

And usually I wouldn't post anything about articles like this because it has its fair share of typos and is lacking sorely in context BUT it is posted on the official Marvel website which is Worrisome

Like

Colossus was forced to kill in self-defense. And he was ANGRY while he did it! Oh no! Gasp! I'm scandalized! He should have made the Good Boy choice of dying and letting everyone die, obviously! /s. Also... you skipped Proteus. He also did this to Proteus, remember?

Ah, right. Colossus joining Magneto. Which was super shocking, but... he didn't... actually do much of anything during this time other than stand around, talk beliefs, and take care of Magneto. I mean yeah his inaction in the face of crime IS grey. Also, his sister just died and he didn't get to be beside her. His brother just "committed suicide" again, and his mom and dad just died. I... kinda don't care that he chose to join Magneto at this time. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Good for him, in fact.

WHY ARE WE ACTING LIKE AN ALTERNATE UNIVERSE/DYSTOPIAN FUTURE MEANS ANYTHING CONCRETE FOR CURRENT MAINLINE COLOSSUS, ARE YOU KIDDING ME?

Yeah, no excuse for this one. This decision wasn't even "morally grey" it was straight fucked up. Though Warren Ellis is on record saying that he did this specifically to character assassinate Colossus because he hated him, he regrets it deeply and wouldn't do it again given the chance.

He was manipulated and being controlled. Next.

Manipulated and being controlled. There was a whole follow-up comic where Storm goes after the Pheonix 5, and she states that he's a victim in the whole thing and apologizes to him. You might as well throw the Proletarian scene in while we're at it! Next.

Manipulated and controlled! 3rd in a row! Wow!

So, to recap; we have 2 responses to extreme grief, one case of actual character bastardization, an ALTERNATE TIMELINE, and 3 cases where he is NOT IN CONTROL OF HIMSELF. By DEFINITION, MORE THAN HALF OF THOSE ARE NOT "CHOICES" THAT COLOSSUS HAS MADE. I don't care if people hate the character or want to talk about him being morally grey, I just wish it could be accurate, consistent, and fair.

Why am I posting about this? Because Colossus is not a hugely popular character, and here's Marvel outlining his "crimes" out of the blue. And I am CONCERNED

BECAUSE

The senior X-Men editor, JDW, hates Colossus with a passion and holds a grudge against the character. Multiple Marvel creatives have talked about pitching a Colossus story and being shot down. Look, I don't want to accuse JDW of anything or implicate that he would let a silly grudge against a fictional character get in the way of Story but... this is Marvel, and I have seen worse.

I also don't want to believe that Percy is going to nosedive into strictly villainizing Colossus. He promised at the beginning of all of this that Colossus fans would like this story and that it would he his Biggest Story yet. So far, Percy has done nothing to back up those claims. I still want to have faith, even though it appears there might only be 6 issues remaining in the series (not really a whole ton of time for a satisfying conclusion, wouldn't you say?) And being as we are still seeing Wolverine grappling with the whole Being Beast's Man-Slave/Attack Dog thing, and Wolverine isn't being villainized for it... it would be a double standard to not follow a similar structure for Colossus, don't you think? Wolverine gets controlled and does horrible things, and we can agree he's not at fault, but the same thing happens to Colossus, and it's different somehow...? Yeah, I don't buy it.

The trend this article sets is concerning to me. I hope this isn't a thing where Marvel is preparing us for Villain Colossus, primarily because the way it's set up reeks of victim blame. We SEE that Colossus is struggling, fighting, and screaming in his mind because he doesn't want to be doing what he's doing. His body, autonomy, and freedom have been stripped from him. He is a PAWN. This is not a conscious decision he is making! So unless they can develop a good reason for that character direction, I don't want it! Really hoping this all turns out to be a rug-pull!

Like... as it stands now, Colossus has ample reason in my book to go full villain. The lack of care he has received in and out of universe is frankly disgusting. Nobody in his life has paid any attention to him for literal years! There were so many red flags that got sped past. He is living in a nightmare where his "friends" either aren't there for him or shrug off his concerning behavior. The friends he left his family for. The family that got torn apart and slaughtered in his absence. And this is a PATTERN for him, which we can actually SEE illustrated in the examples the article gave!

I love Heroic Colossus. That's what drew me to him in the first place! I would love it if he could come out of all of this swinging with his head held high! I want him to prove everybody wrong, to work through his trauma, be genuinely himself, and to finally make some PEACE about his place in the world. But if Colossus is gonna go full villain, I do NOT want it to be half-assed. It needs to be BIG. I want to see his justified RAGE. I want to see all the pain and grief he's bottled up just EXPLODE out. I want him to stop holding back and pulling his punches. No more "morally grey," no toeing the line, FULL SEND IT. To pitch it-- He joined the X-Men for family. The X-Men then BECAME the only family he had. Now, even THAT'S gone!

[forgotten-mem0ries]

5:23 PM July 4, 2024 The Therapy Session

I went to the first one Tuesday. It got pushed back by my therapist, Dr. Monroe. My anxiety shot through the roof as soon as I even approached her office. I brushed it off and continued on in.

She was waiting for me by the door. She looked at me like I was a photo ripped in half. I trudged into her office before she could say anything, welcoming myself to a chair in front of her desk. I leaned back in the chair and waited for her to come in. Her office looked the exact same as the last time I was here, multiple years ago when she told me 'you're starting to remember more'. Wish I hadn't.

She still had the same photo of her and my dad on the desk in front of her flower pot on the window sill. Them graduating college in their red caps and gowns. The same one I plan on going to. My mom also asked me about that recently, but that'll be for a separate entry.

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

"Can you turn the photo around?" I asked, giving a lazy point to the photo of her and my father.

"Yeah of course, sorry." She turned it around so it was facing out of the window at the street behind the building. It wasn't a busy one. She sat down and gave a small sigh.

"Surprised you haven't asked about anything yet, thought I was gonna be bombarded by questions as soon as I walked into the building."

"I have more respect for you than that."

"I appreciate it, I really do, wish I wasn't here on the occasion of him dying but it is what it is."

"Yeah...your mom mentioned you were the one that found him."

"Of course I did, it's always the youngest that goes through the most apparently, thought it was bad when I found the dog dead, boy oh boy it got so much worse."

"Dog?"

"Yeah, Molly, when she was in the yard playing with the neighbor kid--"

"Melanie."

That shut me up for a few moments. Fucking hell. It's like every problem that happened the last times I had been in this office was coming back.

"Right, yeah, yeah, Melanie."

"Has your memory been bad recently? Or is this the first mess up from last time you were here?"

"This is the first time of what I remember, ha...sorry, not something to joke about--yeah, first time since."

We both went silent for a few moments as she flipped through her notebook and pulled out a pen. She looked at me again.

"Do you wanna talk about your dad today? Or use this as a catch up session?"

"Catch up, please, I don't really wanna talk about him right now."

She gave a small nod and set down her notebook, flipping it so the cover was closed again.

"Tell me anything." She muttered.

"I graduated high school, uhm...I kissed someone, a girl, Frankie, but that was a couple months ago, I did just see her at a party recently, Shaun dragged me there so I wouldn't isolate myself again, Leo was there too and I caught up with them, Remy got a new job, Grant's back in town from college--I'm not on speaking terms with him."

"What happened between you two?"

"He wouldn't answer my messages for days at a time and would reply like nothing happened--just pissed me off and then he came to the funeral, like what right does he have to even show up there?"

"Are you more mad at the fact that he showed up? Or that he didn't tell you he would."

"...Both, I guess, I didn't expect him to, he doesn't care about anyone else but himself, doesn't try to reach out to me, hell, he didn't even respond to the text when I told him he died."

"But he looked at it?"

"He looked at it, and didn't say a single word. I yelled at him at the funeral and was throwing rocks at my window trying to get my attention but every time I go to look it stops."

"Maybe he just gets scared you might see him, yell at him again, or fight him--"

"Me? Fight him? I wouldn't do that."

"With everything you're going through right now, I don't think anyone would be surprised if you fought someone."

"I still wouldn't do--"

"Dakota, what I'm trying but failing at saying, is that you need to just give him a chance, text him or next time he throws a pebble at your window, just talk to him, hear him out on his bullshit or whatever."

"I need more time to deal with this, he's just one of them that pities me."

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

I left soon after that, driving back home in silence. My mother asked how it went and I just shrugged with a simple "caught up" and went upstairs. Remy checked up on me and we watched a movie, Sinister.

I actually fell asleep and had a nightmare about some kids chasing after me. They weren't normal kids--or didn't look normal at least, they had black eyes. It hasn't been the first time I've dreamt it, I used to when I was a kid, I would tell my father I saw them around the house out of the corner of my eye. But every time I turned my head to look, they would be gone. He never believed me.

[beyondglass]

I think a lot about made up scenarios and what if situations but I think my favorite one to ponder on over the last year has been "what if the world went back to the year 2013 with all the knowledge of 2024?"

Like you go to bed one night and it's tonight in 2024, you wake up and it's today's date in 2013. You still have all the knowledge you have now, just your body is 11 years younger. Everyone has all the knowledge they have now, just their bodies are 11 years younger.

But it goes deeper than that. Anyone who's died after this date in 2013 is alive again, with no memory of being dead or the pain of dying. Their last memory is the last time they were actively alive. Anyone born after this date in 2013 doesn't exist anymore. If your wife died in 2015 and you remarried in 2020 would you go back to your first wife? Would you stick with the one you remarried? If you had a kid with your abusive ex in 2014 would you get back with them and hope you can recreate the child you had come to love and care for over the last 10 years? Or would you accept the loss of the person you loved more than anything?

The world is exactly as it was in 2013. Any businesses that someone had spent their life savings on creating afterward is just gone, even if everyone knew you had that business in 2024 you won't have the money to create it quite yet. Any media made after 2013 doesn't exist yet, it's up to the artist if they want to officially recreate it, but some assholes will inevitably "create" it first and copyright it so the original artist won't have the rights to it.

Also anyone who was a kid in 2013 but an adult in 2024 loses all purpose for a bit until everyone can come to an agreement about them. Legally they're kids right? But they've already gone through school. They've lived on their own, they've had their own kids. Are they supposed to stay with their parents until they're legally of age again? Are they allowed to drink still even though it might fuck up their developing brains?

It's also a precovid world but with all the knowledge of covid. It's a pre trump America so would the Maga crowd fight for him to be able to run another 2 times even though we all know he's already been president before?

Personally for me, I imagine going to bed in my own house in 2024 that I share with my cat and roommates. When I wake up in my parents house in 2013, I'm disoriented. I don't realize exactly where I am at first but I realize I'm not where I'm supposed to be. My alarm clock for school is going off and it's that shrill alarm clock sound rather than the hazbin hotel songs I have set as my daily alarm clock now. It's all very confusing.

I shut the alarm off and see the posters on my wall are completely different than the ones I have in 2024. My green day poster in particular is still on my wall and not torn apart in the trash like the last time I saw it. I hear pants and growls coming from the kitchen and my stomach drops.

I open my bedroom door and across the hall is the bathroom I grew up using, it's walls still covered in a nautical theme. This must be a nightmare i think. The pants grow louder and i even a hear a yip. I turn and see my childhood dogs in the kitchen with a baby gate up so they couldn't escape in the night. I almost fall, on the verge of tears. My dog, milo, died during my first year of college. This couldn't be real.

I let the dogs out, my feet feeling the old carpet on the way. My parents tore this carpet out after i moved out. The walls of the livingroom are still ugly red and brown from my step mom's "south west" phase of decorating. The kitchen walls are a bright yellow in contrast. None of this makes sense.

I hear another alarm- my dad's. His heavy footsteps make their way around his room, and finally into the livingroom. He hasn't noticed the changed house yet. How could he? He lives here. He woke up in the same place he went to sleep last night. What he does notice however is that I am here. His daughter. Who he hasn't seen in 5 years. We stand there in shock staring at each other.

After this whole part I'm not exactly sure what would happen, my parents would either go super extreme and force me to live with them until I'm 18 again so they can control me or they would kick me out and make me find my own way again even though I'm 14. There's really no in-between for them. At first they wouldn't believe the world was back in 2013, they would think i did something to make the house look like it used to until they watched the news and saw the chaos unfold.

As soon as I would get ahold of an internet connected device I would try to find my friends and make sure they're all alright. I would maybe crash with one of them or my brother while the world figures itself out.

[such-a-downer]

I'm in denial right now. Milktea is gone, barely 2 months old. She was still well yesterday.

She wouldn't have to die if she and the other pups weren't born to begin with.

I don't know where i went wrong because i did what i can to take care of the puppies. I don't know if it's my shortcomings or because of the stress of rainy season.

I can't help but blame myself and i hate my sister for practically dumping this responsibility that i never wanted.

I can't keep things to myself anymore so I'll let it out here.

Let's trace back to september or october of 2022.

My sister told us that her boyfriend was planning to give her a male puppy (as monthsary gift iirc). We strongly opposed against it because of a number of reasons. First of all, we already have 2 female dogs and taking care of them is already tough as it is. Second, everybody is busy. She's already busy with her work from home setup, me and our younger brothers still have school, and mom also have on-site work. So basically, no one's free to tend to it. Third, i repeatedly told her that our dogs are not yet spayed. Of course i want to have them spayed but i still didn't have money and there are still things to consider before doing that (transportation, separating them while healing, followups). I guess I'm the number one who's against the puppy. And the final and MOST IMPORTANT reason why we are against the puppy is because my sister doesn't have the TIME AND PATIENCE to take care of it. She's too much of a baby sissy to do menial things and loudly complains with the smallest mishaps.

But my sister being selfishly stubborn, still accepted the said puppy and named him Andrei. Ever since then, everything became dreadful. I had a hard time trying to feed the dogs even with other's help. The two female dogs, Amber and Sophie behaved differently around Andrei. Amber befriended Andrei but Sophie was kinda off with him. Things didn't go well, Amber and Sophie fought several times. And the worse thing is, Andrei kept on climbing over the wire fence to go scavenging. As more time passed, his behavior didn't improve at all. December came, he bit me twice, one on each hand when i picked him up from scavenging and when i gave him a bath.

Like I already mentioned, my sister doesn't have time and patience for puppy rearing. Yea, she would baby carry and babby talk to Andrei from time to time. She bought dog food, cage and chain (because Andrei might get ran over by vehicle if he kept on jumping over the fence). I'd give her that. BUT THAT'S NOT ENOUGH. Instead of actively feeding and bathing Andrei, she spent her free time playing mobile games. Despite having a fight with her over the matter, I still took care of Andrei.

2023 finally came and a few more months passed, Andrei was suddenly taken back by the boyfriend because his relative needed a dog to guard their store. It was unexpected but i felt temporary relief. Not long after, I found out that Sophie and Amber were pregnant. And just this July, they both gave birth on consecutive days.

They both have 5 puppies. Unfortunately, one of Sophie's puppies died. It was hard to accept because i think it's partly my fault. Because when Sophie's water broke, i left her in the cage for her to be alone so she won't be stressed by my presence. The cage was lined with cardboard bits so she wouldn't be uncomfortable. I let dinner pass before i checked again on her. The dead pup was covered with a smaller piece of cardboard but the rest are safe. We buried the pup. The cage is located in my grandma's ragged house because that was the only isolated place available and it's dark there. As for Amber, she gave birth the next day. She was in poor shape and her pups are smaller. I felt so sorry that my dogs had to go through all that.

July was a bad timing. It's already rainy season and our place is prone to flood. Me and the others quickly did some rearrangements because we had to keep both dogs and their puppies separated and prevent them from fighting. It rained and it flooded. Amber and her pups are transferred to our living area and Sophie and her pups were kept in the cage and situated in the kitchen. Tending to the dogs and their pups quickly took a toil on me. Of course the others helped me too. But the stress was eating me.

And because there's still flood, doing chores became even more stressful and took me longer doing them. I'm sacrificing so much of my time and energy on taking care of the puppies. Instead of being able to focus on thesis and having time for other things like cleaning and hobbies, i kept on compromising my sleep schedule. I ended having a breakdown because I'm trying so hard to squeeze in the additional responsibility on my plate.

Two of Amber's puppies were already given away. Next, one of Sophie's. Six puppies left. Sophie and Amber then have less restrictions and the remaining puppies were transferred to the cage which was placed on top of the wooden chair-platform. The puppies are situated just outside grandma's house (still under the roof). I placed covers on top and by the sides of the cage to keep them dry and warm.

Just recently, the weather was bad and the rain was on and off for a week and the flood came back again. The situation headed for the worst as we're running out of food and only managed to feed all dogs just once a day. Supposedly, two more dogs were to be given away but the shitty weather caused class suspensions so my mom couldn't hand them over to the ones who wanted to adopt them.

A few days ago, my sleep cycle started to become a total mess. I would sleep late, suddenly wake after a few hours, then I'd fiddle with my phone till i get sleepy, and finally wake between 8 and 10 am. Today i got out of bed late again. I was pretty sure that i still heard Milktea barking so i let the puppies be. There's still flood so i admit that i was too lazy to check on them right away. After lunch, i started preparing their food. Preparing puppy food was rather tedious because i have to mash the food well and had to add hot water to keep it warm. I fed Amber and Sophie first before i headed to the puppies.

Then that's when i saw Milktea just lying there behind other puppies, her back was on me and she was on the back side of cage. I took her right away and panicked. I showed her to mom and i attempted to resuscitate her despite already feeling her coldness. I was trying to convince myself that she might still be saved.

I just hate it. Why did she die so suddenly? My main suspicion is that she might have been bullied by the larger puppies. Her fangs were somewhat protruding when i found her.

We buried her right away. It was suffocating for me because i can't baby talk her anymore.

"Milktea! You're so small, you're so tiny."

I can't say those words anymore because she's suddenly gone.

She was the smallest of all the puppies and she fit right in my palms.

And my sister know nothing of my anxiety and hurt. She probably doesn't give a damn at all because she's too busy with her own problems. I just really hate her right now. I never wanted any of this.

I hate my sister for other reasons too but she should at least take care of herself once she starts her new job.

[dumvixerum]

Yeah.

I might write a fic about this one :')

I'M SO PROUD OF THEIR CHARADESIGN GEGEGRGUHSDVCH

so, let me give some informations nobody wants :)

Ocean "Honey": don't ask for the name, it's a pet name or whatever you say. Uh so i previously had this idea of her wanting to be an organ doner and wanting peace in the world so i gave her happy and childish clothes an very bog eyes bc whyy not :I

Jane Doe: so this one i kinda madec her randomly i guess :III i already knew that she wouldn't have any face bc as i said before,, she was disfigured and i'm kinda proud of how it turned out ? and her mouth is her belly bc on the first drawing i've made a little funny looking line and it looked like the outline of a monster's mouth so- and she don't move her arms bc she is the most charismatic creature you could ever see so arms behind her back and slay :DDD

Constance "Soap": Mischa named her and she liked it so yeah. she have thpse weird limbs made in some sort of cloud, nobody knows why even her. But she also have a broken jaw bc "Jawbreaker" and this thick line on her eyes bc no gore in the choir >:((

Ricky "K-9": I thought it would be funny to have a ricky dog monster bc he wants to be the opposite of it and as you can see i'm not into giving the kids their dreams. So i kinda gave him this animal (?) looking body, but you must know that i'm not rly into drawing furry or animals (i kinda suck at it) so yeah. You can see that he have ears, three fingers and a thumb on his forearms and dog (i think) looking legs. But i delibarately decided that he shall not have a tail bc first of all i need to remind you that not a single one of them can be considered human because of their weird proportions or other and also bc ricky needs to be at least a bit human. Also maybe I should change his pronouns by it/they or something like this. Not a professional on pronouns so if you guys have ideas i might take them (this also counts for Jane)(and after this i don't rly know it might sadly just harden the writing for me) (bc in france we don't have a lot of pronouns :( ) (but i can try)

Noel "Gibeau": not a lot to say on this one, he's the mom friend bc he remembers things from before even at the end where his memory would have finish to "burn". I don't know if any thing that i'm saying makes sense, i'm doing my best (plus my laptop is so slow lmao). He's the most intelligent one and tries to get things clear with Karnak but they can't rly have a proper discussion bc the whole choir are walking suicidal babies.

Mischa "King Midas" or simply "Midas": this may be one of my favorites. So this little guy here thinks he's Midas. But maybe he is. We don't rly know bc his powers are apparently too powerful so it can become dangerous. So he wears gloves :I he's the selfish/proud one so he found himself a little crown (who is it fact a princess toy crown but nobody tells him even Honey). He have a little bonus, and it's that he falled in love with the first person he saw- this person being Gibeau because we always love some fancy Nischa >:)) and at the start it's onesided. I mean it's normal bc Noel is the one taking care of eveeryone and there's this weird teenage fucker who comes and heavily flirts with him so yeah. And I actually don't know if gibeau will ever like him back. Maybe after the equivalent of Talia (where i think we could have a little lament replacing all the romance) he would kinda fall... yeah i don't know

Karnak "Zolar": yeah K-9 give him his nickname like he gave one to Jane in the canon. He's not really special c ompared to everyone else, he's just the tired dad who will die in one hour.

lemme know what you guys think of that, i was planning on calling it the Catastrophy AU or something in this spirit because it's not really happy to have six unidentified teenagers who died. Yeah sorry if my english's awkward, not bilingual yet :I

okay okay, hear me out

An AU where all the kids from the choir are Janes/John's Doe ? And like, their memory wouldn't be completely erased (bc Jane had her head chopped off so kinda radical) and like, with the thing they remember, they sing their song.

And it would be interesting to have the wounds that caused death also involved in the loss of memory. Because the original jane knows how she died, the kids would also know. And each wound would be related to the characters : like Noel would die with a lot of burn marks (because fire is usually the element of passion) and so his memory would progressively burn too (at the start, he would remember a lot of things and look a bit human, before slowly degrading), etc

For the wounds I thought :

Ocean would have perforated eardrums (because as a leader, you're supposed to listen to the others but she didn't)

Noel would have the burn marks

Mischa would have scrap perforating his heart (I think this one is pretty obvious, but it's bc he's very emotional)

Ricky would have his vocal chords completely wasted by the smoke (because on zolar, his capacity to sing very high is important I guess ?? and also because when you want peace, you need a voice)

Penny/Jane would be disfigured (do I really need to explain why ?)

And Constance would have a problem with her eyes, I don't really know what exactly. Perhaps she could have her eyes uh- you know, gone (i'm trying to keep this family friendly 😭😭) or maybe the smoke or maybe the sparks, I don't know (this one is bc in sugar cloud, she refer a lot to the vision so yeah)

And like at the end they still didn't understood wtf they needed to do so Karnak dies and like

They stand here

And happy ending : they see the light and are like "ooh fancy" and go in it or bad ending : they stand so still that they slowly become ruins, not dying completely, just here, standing, without any will to live

Yeah imma make a second post bc I like this a lot 🗿🗿

[rainybyday]

Graves aren’t the only place people die and rest

People don’t die at their graves, nor do they all die from accidents. Logically Danny knew this, he knows this. 

Maybe it’s because of Amity Park. Amity is just a small town, a place out of the way from the rest. It’s not completely isolated but it’s not really close to any other town or city as well. 

Then again, his ancestors did burn witches so it might have added more into his surprise in later years once he realizes what ‘dead’ is. 

It started off as one of mom and dad’s normal ghost hunting trips. It was a new location and this time both he and Jazz were being brought with them since it was the spring break. The location was an empty cabin, it was old but well cared for and clean. The couple that owns the cabins said that some unusual actives were happening which caught the interest of his parents. And as usual, they had to get rid of the ‘spook’. 

Danny didn’t care as much as he should have, having grown up with his parents' wild urges to find anything remotely close to their research of ghost and getting rid of them. Ever since he became Phantom, he started to care a whole lot more since, after learning and understanding the spirits of the dead, were just people who can’t officially cross. 

But that wasn’t the story. It was when night fell, did he realize an important fact about ghost. 

It was a night flying, just a bit of air and quiet time after dealing with his parents rambling all day and avoiding their weapons. He needed a breather, and nothing brought he more peace than a nightly timed stroll. 

Then that's when he felt it. 

A ghost was nearby.

Huffing that his parents were right, he flew towards the direction of the ghost he detected.

Now Danny isn’t a stranger to childlike children ghost. Sidney and Youngblood were one of the few child-like ghost he met. Cujo was a dog and others like Ember and Kitty were practically teenagers when passed on. 

(And he himself knew that his death should not have happen, should never happen. He was a child when he lived, and he was a child as he died. But he likes to think the moment he became Phantom was the moment he had to grow up.)

In other words, he wasn’t a stranger to young looking ghost.

He was a stranger, however, to the tense aura of fear-help-sorry-fear-fear-hurt-pain-scared-scared-mom-help washing over him as he looked upon a girl was no older than he was, crying over a crack in the ground. 

It was the first time he saw the effects of a newly killed ghost. 

Things became a blur after that, but the moment Danny woke up with white eyes watching him in curiosity did he remembered what happened. 

Her name was Anna, she loves to do photography. She wanted to take pictures in the woods. She saw a man in the woods. She turned around. She made a mistake. She died with a stab wound and her body was left to rot in that crack in the ground. She wasn’t buried. She was killed and left behind. 

She died two months ago. 

That was when Danny remembered that not everyone can die a quiet death. 

(He helped her cross over and brought her to a city in the zone. He didn’t want to leave, not yet, but he knew he had a duty and promised to visit. 

It took a couple of weeks until he saw her smile through her endless tears.)

Then months passed and more trips became a common thing during the summer break. Since it was the summer, their ‘ghost hunting’ trips would take them further away from Amity and all over the state. 

In that one summer season he found other ghosts that were just like Anna. Some in alleyways, others on the road, some at gas stations, a few in front of their homes and the scary sad few that were found in the middle of nowhere. 

Murdered, killed, car accident, strokes, hunger and more.

Death is not something Danny thought of as scary. He thought that those that had died already, those that where ghost, the scary ones. He forgot that death was not something everyone wanted.

(He repressed the memory of how painful his death was.)

But he learned, he remembered, and he helped. 

He wanted to help, to help those that died to soon or to sudden, He wanted to help the ghost that seem so angry, so sad, and the few that looked so empty and helpless that they look worse the living. 

Those looked like they never lived at all.

So, he helped, he helped because this was all he can do. If he can give at least one ghost a peaceful passing, then he can trade those few hours of sleepless nights happily. 

half a year later his parents chose to make an extended trip during the winter break (which he didn’t mind since they would miss chrismas in Amity Park, a miracle all on its own.)

The problem is that the place they wanted to take a trip was in Gotham. 

A city where crime and death rates are at their highest.

He wasn’t surprised when he saw a ghost in Gotham, however, he was surprised when most of the ghosts seemed to be far more calming then all the rest. 

They did not wail in sadness nor did the scream to the high heavens of the unfairness of it all. No, they simply watched over the people that lived there for years and lifetimes more than them.

He thought that it might be easy to take them across the zone and back to their home because of how calm they were, how reasonable, however, that was not the case. 

Instead, they wanted him to help Gotham and the people that lived in those very streets. 

He should have said no, he should have turned away, heck, he should have dragged them back to the zone and be done with it all. 

But he looked deep into the eyes of the dead citizens of this crime filled city and saw sadness. Sadness for the living that had to walk a life of danger, a never-ending release. 

They cared not of their own undead lives but the ones that have yet to die. 

And the undead teenage can only sigh before reaching out his hand as a sign of peace. 

“Who would you like me to save?”

[simpforfandoms]

head canons for dating billy hargrove

IM GLAD SOMEONE ASKED BOY DO I HAVE A LOT

masterlist

- at the beginning of the relationship he would be so reserved. he would hardly open up and he was so angry all the time not at you though

- 2 months in he finally kinda opened up about his dad

- well he didn’t really, you walked into his house as his dad was ‘yelling’ at him

- he was mad at first but once he realized you didn’t judge him, he felt comfortable about opening up

- you let him come over to your house whenever he needed to

- he just lays in bed with you. you guys end up cuddling having deep conversations

- “Im going to move back to California away from this hellhole”

- “alright California sounds good to me, I always wanted to go to beach and learn how to surf”

- “really? You’d go with me”

- “I mean of course, what kinda of girlfriend would I be if I didn’t”

- “I love you”

- “I love you too”

- that’s how your first ‘I love you’ happened

- billy didn’t mean for it to come out like that. he said it without thinking. Really. It was only 5 months into the relationship he was worried that if he said ‘I love you’ it would ruin the relationship.

- when you said it back without hesitation, you could feel him let out a breathe he had been holding. You didn’t mention it though and just said ‘goodnight’ and fell asleep in his arms

- you and billy first met at a party

- you’ve heard of him and his playboy ways so when he walked over to you, you weren’ surprised by his flirty behavior

- when you rejected his offer to ‘head upstairs’, he visibly frowned

- no girl had ever rejected him

- “sweetheart are you sure? I can really show you a good time”

- “no, I can show you a good time” with that you grabbed his arm and dragged him upstairs

- he was so ready to bang you because he’s never been with a girl that takes charge

- but instead you brought out a Nintendo console, he was shocked

- “it just came out and I’ve been dying to have someone to play it with me”

- billy raised his eyebrows at you

- you just begged him to play with you

- he eventually did

- honestly it was the best time he’s had in a while

- he asked you to go on date after playing for a while

- yes, the Billy Hargrove asked you to go on a date. He didn’t know what came over him but he had such a good time with you.

- “yes, but only if you promise to finish this game with me”

- “I promise”

- and thus the greatest relationship was made

- you always went to his basketball games

- one time you missed it because your dog had died

- billy immediately noticed you missing from the stands

- he told the coach he was leaving and left quickly

- he went to your house only for your mother to answer the door

- “hello is y/n here?”

- “yes she’s upstairs, but her dog died, I think she might just want to be alone”

- screw that

- he ran pass your mom and into your room

- he saw you crying on your bed

- your face was all wet and snot was running down your nose, yet somehow he still thought you looked beautiful

- honestly seeing you cry made his heart break

- he rushed over to you and comforted you

- “you shouldn’t have come you have your championship game”

- oh I forgot to mention it was his championship game

- “y/n I don’t care about that, your all that matters to me. Well you and my car”

- you laughed at him

- he was so happy to see you smile

- you always tried to make him into a better man

- when the whole max thing happened you tried your best to calm him down.

- you told him to stay in the car as you got her

- max liked you, you were like the older sibling she never had. She liked that because of you Billy was getting nicer

- when you brought her to the care with her Billy lashed out on her

- You tried to get him to stop but that just made him mad at you

- “Oh my god Y/N do you ever know when to shut the fuck up”

- you weren’t having it. Max was crying and you were done with it. Billy was going 80 in a 50

- “Billy pull over”

- “No.”

- “I’m going to jump out of this car if you don’t”

- “you wouldn’t”

- with that you unbuckled and opened the car door. Max screamed when you did that and Billy grabbed onto your arm and slammed in the breaks and pulled over

- “What the fuck were you thinking?”

- you simply didn’t respond and mouthed an ‘I’m sorry’ to Max and walked out of the car

- Billy followed you

- “Y/n you can’t just walk away, why the fuck did you do that!”

- arguing with Billy while he was furious was a dangerous thing to do

- “you need to come to your senses”

- with that he just looked at you with the most sad look on his face

- he walked up to you and just hugged you tight. He started to cry

- “I’m sorry. I can’t loose you. I love you. I’m sorry”

- “Billy you don’t need to apologize to me you need to apologize to max”

- with that you and Billy walked back into the car with a crying max

- the rest of the ride to Billy’s house was silence

- when you got his street billy pulled a U turn

- “what the fuck are you doing?!?” Max yelled

- “we’re going to y/n’s for the night”

- “what? Why?”

- “look max I’m sorry for tonight and I know if I go back to that house with my dad he’ll be ducking furious at me. If I just stay the night at y/n’s he’ll have time to cool off”

- “GIRLS NIGHT” you screamed

- and with that started the girls night + billy

- you and max put face masks on billy and braided his hair

- “Max I swear to god if you tell anyone about this”

- “I know I know” she giggles

- “your lucky I like you”

- you whisper to max “that his way of saying he loves you”

- “Y/n quit filling my little sisters head with lies”

- “what it’s true you love her”

- “shut up”

- then you two start chasing each other around the house while max laughs and watches movies

- while that day was the biggest argument of your relationship it was also the day that max and billy rebuilt their relationship

- the next day Max explained everything to Billy’s dad, that why he couldn’t get mad at Billy

- “It was all my fault I didn’t tell billy where I was and I hid from him when he tried to find me

- after you guys graduate you move to California

- he never pressures you into doing things

-like if you didn't want to be sexually active he wouldn't pressure you

-he proposes to you once you've lived in California for a year

-by then I guess you wouldn't be dating

- you love him and he loves you

[bowieandqueen11]

One Good Scare / Steve Harrington Imagine

Request: Can I please request a Stranger Things oneshot where the reader and Steve Harrington are watching horror movies, and the reader suddenly gets frightened and Steve surprisingly shows his softer side, and comforts the reader, and they end up sharing a kiss, please? thank you so much!

Oooh yes of course! I’ve missed Steve! If you enjoy, please do comment!!

(Gif credit goes to @lauriestrowde. I do not own Stranger Things or its characters, all rights go to creators.)

☆.。.:*・°☆.。.:*・°

You swore to yourself that the next time Steve Harrington suggested you watch some of the movies from his (very limited) collection, you were going to bury your head in the sand.

The next time, definitely, you were not going to end up stuck with your bottom on Steve’s sofa, even if it did allow you to snuggle closer into the man’s side. Even though you truly believed it was only due to the creepy stomping music and the Captain Kirk mask radiating from the small television, you could feel his breath hitch every time you tighten your grasp on his arm and stuff your face into the crook of his neck. He glanced nervously over at you each time you jumped a little when the killer came on screen, not meaning to kick his shin from where they rested comfortably against his own. Yet, his eyes always softened, despite the thundering in his chest, as soon as he saw the fear etched into the crinkles under your distraught eyes. His heart ached with the need to touch you, and the quickening of his heartbeat reassured you that he was still here next to you.

‘Steve. Steve! This was such a bad idea. Why the heck did we think watching Halloween when we’ve already spent most of the year being chased around by a massive shadowy monster and its demon dogs would be sensible?’

‘I-AGH- don’t know This wasn’t my idea, blame yourself!’ Steve pops his head back down underneath the pillow, voice trembling with each incher lower he goes.

‘Steve, would you get out from under there’, you begin chuckling, all the fear from earlier dissipating as you glance at the pair of wide eyes that barely peer out at you from behind a very ornate throw pillow his mom had bought him last Christmas, not knowing or really caring what else her child might want or need. ‘I’ve known you for… a number of years. And each year you do this, and each year we have to spend the rest of the morning hiding under your duvet until the sun finally comes up.’

‘That’s what I tell everyone, you’re bad at maths,’ he shoots back, finally emerging from underneath his cover and throwing the pillow behind his back. With a smug smirk, he finally settles against the back of the settee and wraps one arm around your shoulders again, rustling you sarcastically into his side a few times. 

‘It’s okay, a lot of people don’t get past third grade either.’

Steve laughs to himself, his eyes moving to trace your own screwed up expression of mock disgust as he leans his head back. His eyes never leave your face, the glimmering low lights of the few orange twinkling pumpkins and squeaking bats he had managed to scrounge up his own money to buy and hang pathetically on the bare walls of his family home illuminating the reverential way those big brown depths grin at you. His father had torn a few down and crushed them at his feet, but Steve didn’t care. You had giggled the first time he showed them to you, admiring their strange cuteness and festivity, and so up they went with his hack-job of messy tape and crumpled string.

Although he sees you’re wracking up your mind to try and capture the words for your own insult, he knows you won’t hear him as he sighs out through his nose gently. Blissful, that’s the only word he could find to describe the way he feels about you, his oldest and closest friend. Blissful agony, he thinks, as he reaches over and tentatively- gently traces just the tip of his pointer finger agonisingly slowly up the side of your arm.

‘You can talk, considering you-AGH!’

The rest of the light hearted insult dies on your lips as soon as a loud flash of light explodes from the scream, and the sound of a shrill scream begins harmonising with your own. Ducking your head, you nearly knock Steve flying butt-first onto the floor as you headbutt his chest and collapse on top of him.

‘Hey- hey, it’s alright. My joke wasn’t that bad, I promise.’

‘Steve… not the time’, you whisper, clenching your eyes shut and reaching up to ball fists into the front of his vampire jumper. Not knowing what else to do, not thinking life would ever allow him to be so close to everything he’s ever wanted, he finds himself freezing up for a second. When you start sobbing though, he comes to his senses and runs his hand down your head, once, twice, just repeating the gesture until he can finally hear the sniffling slow.

For a moment he wants to poke fun, as he usually does, but when he lays his hands flat on your back and properly begins to feel how much your trembling under his fingertips, distress plagues his mind instead.

‘Can you… can you just hold me, just for a second- please.’

‘Hey… hey now, hey. Y/n, it’s okay, really. I promise. I’m… I’m right here, and I’ll never let anything hurt you. Babysitter Steve has got this’, he murmurs, trailing off as he very gently tries to juggle holding you fondly against his chest, and reaching his arm out towards the table. Biting the edge of his tongue in concentration, he finally manages to reach the remote and turn the movie off. The sudden lack of screen plunges the two of you into near darkness, save the navy waves of moonlight that reflect off the pool outside the living room’s bay window, and washes over the two of you like waves of velvet.

‘I swear it’s okay, I’ll never let anything hurt you-’. You can tell he’s starting to panic now, by the way his voice is speeding up and slightly cracking under the weight of everything he’s trying to convey to you through useless words alone. His knees start bouncing as you raise your head to glance at him, trying to quickly wipe away the tears that cowered at the corners of your eyelids. Before you can even make a move, though, Steve has let go of you and shuffles his thighs until they’re pointing straight at you. Leaning over your chest, slightly, you can make out the large thumb that comes and wipes away the droplets.

‘I’ll never let anything hurt you, because I’ll never leave you. Ever. I promise.’

He reached down to press a quick, awkward kiss on your forehead, before realising himself and almost jumping back onto the glass coffee table. But you manage to catch him by the collar just in time, your grief-stricken eyes and reddened, open lips dropping slightly open, unaware of what your hands were doing.

For a moment, it’s just you sitting against the sofa, and Steve leaning slightly over you. He had managed not to fall on top of you completely, not wanting to make you uncomfortable or hurt you in any way by collapsing his full weight on your chest, by catching the back of the settee with a clenched hand. Just the two of you, slightly panting in the engulfing silence of the night that would always belong to the two of you, and you only.

Before allowing himself to chicken out, Steve found himself slowly being drawn down towards you, eyes dropping open in a gleaming mixture of shock and awe. He was scared- terrified, but he kept going, leaning closer and closer until you could feel the edge of his heaving chest resting against your own. His warm breath brushes against your chin, laboured and heavy but still it tingles and burns against your skin as if you’re suddenly alight with the exaltation of it all.

His free hand clumsily bumps against the underside of your chin, pushing you up until you can meet his eye. And in that moment, the corner of his frightened lips curled up into the beginning of a smile when he catches that same, strange, old mix of love and awe and reverence light up the irises of your eyes. 

And so he does the one thing. The only thing he has ever cared about in his life. The only thing he has spent every single moment, of every single day since he had met you wondering and hoping and knowing deep in his soul that would lead to the life he had dreamed of.

He kisses you, rushing down until his soft lips meet your own. He slightly butts you with your forehead, the cut on his lip the demadog gave him still slightly bleeding and coppery against your mouth but you just don’t care. It’s all warmth and passion and exhilaration and rushed, sloppy movements that align into something greater than the two of you, something the gods could only dream of creating. He tilts into you, elbow giving out as he tries to crawl closer so he finally falls on top of you, knocking you onto your back and him flat onto your stomach.

But you don’t care. Steve Harrington loves you. And you love Steve Harrington, and in the end, when all the sadness and heartache and pain and loss that Hawkins can throw at you is done, that’s all that’s needed. That’s all that matters.

Steve Harrington will always love you. And he has every Halloween for the rest of his life now to prove it to you.

[mandi-celeste]

I wound up putting the Beast book back in my TBR pile because I wasn't in the mood for it and REALLY wanted to read Spells For Forgetting (which, aside from being a bit let down by the ending, I really enjoyed).

I read As Old As Time (a BatB Twisted Tale) last month, which was okay (it was better when the focus was just on Belle and Beast-the flashbacks were mostly boring and I hated her Mom) but not something I enjoyed enough to read again.

I finally finished The Great Alone this month, and I honestly kinda hated that one. It's a shame, because before the time jump I was really enjoying it. After the time jump it got repetitive, soapy in a not-fun way, and boring. I skimmed the last chapter or two to hurry up and finish it.

Here's the next line up of Currently Reading:

I started reading Devoted last month, and am just about to start Chapter 26.

It's a little campy, but most of the Koontz books I've read have a certain degree of campiness to them. All I know is that if there's a dog on the cover, and/or the description of the book features a dog or special kid as a main character, then I'm most likely going to enjoy it.

I've heard this one is a spiritual successor to Watchers, which I LOVE (one of my all-time favorite books since I was a tween), which is why I picked this one up. It very well could be an actual sequel though, unless the book reveals later on where the original dogs came from and it doesn't trace back to Einstein after all.

Well, we'll see.

For the Bridgerton book, I'm nearly halfway through it. It's very different, character personality-wise and tone-wise, from the show. Definitely a rom-com, which I like.

Daphne's way better in the book. I couldn't stand her in the show, and never did finish watching S1 because of that (I ended up picking the show back up for S2 because of a clip I saw that hooked me back in).

Malcom seems the same as I remember from the show, but Violet and Anthony are wildly different from their show counterparts (well, S1 & 2 Anthony anyway-his protectiveness, playfulness, and affectionate way with Kate were one of the few highlights of S3 for me).

It's a quick and fluffy read, which I like to have to fall back on if I'm not in the mood for the other books in my Currently Reading rotation.

Especially if I'm reading a long angsty/dramatic fic on top of that (which I always am).

I haven't started Montana Sky yet, and think I might start it tonight. It's not the kind of story I typically see for Nora Roberts (no love interest mentioned at all, it's about estranged sisters coming together after their father dies), so I'm looking for way to reading it.

Since I'm doing this post to keep track of what I read during the year (until I get the SD cards for my Dana Alphasmart-where I'll do my book/fic tracking logs in the future), here's what I've tackled fic-wise this year:

Pick Up The Pieces And Go Home by iguessyouregonnamissthepantyraid

The fifth story in the Oh, Hey There, Mr. Blue series-which is a fantastic MCU fic series where Loki joins the GOTG. The whole series is absolute gold. Loki fits in so well with my favorite surrogate family!

Amend by ancalime8301

This was a re-read. It's one of my favorite Tony Stark fics. A post Civil War fix-it fic where the Rogue Avengers are pardoned, come back to HQ, realize exactly what Tony deals with on the daily and what he does for them and the health toll it takes on him, and actually come together to take some of that burden and help him negotiate the terms of the Accords and become the strong and supportive team they never really were in the movies. Excellent fic.

Lilacs Out of the Dead Land by AngstyDathomirians

Part of the fantastic Here To Stay series, which is post-No Way Home. Most of the series focuses on Otto, and to a lesser extent on Peter, but this last one was from Norman's perspective.

Life Was Easier When I Only Cared About Me by leaden

DuckTales 2017 fic about Donald's younger years (so far). Pretty good, but the swearing's overdone at times. Donald being recognized as the BAMF he is is something I yearn for in fic and can never get enough of! The dialogue and the whole Mickey & Minnie are Hollywood stars angle also reminds me of a Disney for grownups webcomic I read YEARS ago on DeviantArt.

(War) What is it Good For by Hope4Tomorrow

Good Omens X Supernatural fluff fic where Castiel gets hurt and blasted into the GO verse, and the hubbies take care of him. I need more Castiel Gets Taken Care Of By People Who Actually Care About Him fic in my life.

Fracturing Time by ofdogsandwriting

ROTMNT post-movie fic where Bad Future Mikey doesn't die opening the time portal for Casey, but accidentally travels back in time too. Lots of angst and family fluff. Can't wait to read more!

The Ace Chronicles series by cazflibs

Excellent Red Dwarf series that I was feeling nostalgic for and re-read the last three fics back to back. To this day I'm still impressed by how well the author captures the show's style of humor, while also telling such action-packed and heart wrenching stories.

Nano!Rimmer will forever have my heart!

warm summer nights by tinysmallest

A Steven Universe X Danny Phantom fic about Greg stumbling across a homeless Danny and trying to help him. Greg's a character who doesn't get enough attention or love, so it's refreshing to read a fic about him and his role as a parent. Hope this one gets picked up again, it's really good so far.

late night at the 7/11 by Reddew and also The Halves That Make Us Whole by The_Oaken_Muse

They're also SU X DP crossovers. They have similar plots: Steven makes a pit stop in Danny's town during his road trip, gets weird vibes about the place, and has a weird encounter with Danny that rattles both of them and kind of puts Danny against Steven.

You cannot swallow. by wetsocks (Nicky_boy)

This is a Danny Phantom X TMNT 2012 fic (I was on a DP crossover kick) where Casey and Danny are cousins, and Danny goes to live with Casey after his family dies. Wouldn't mind seeing this expanded into a multi chapter fic.

Danny's Demons by Firestorm808

This is a Helluva Boss X Danny Phantom fic, pre-series for both of them, where Danny summons Stolas to learn more about space and they bond. It's a fluffy fic so far, and I love Stolas's role as a surrogate father to Danny here. It's got potential to be a grander fic if it wants to be.

Heal Thyself by astolat

This is a Drarry fic I devoured in one sitting today. LOVED it! It's Draco-focused as he slowly redeems himself and finds his place in the world as he becomes a Healer.

It's kinda got the same kind of vibe as What We Pretend We Can't See (a Harry-focused Drarry fic), which I also loved.

Second Chances by Takada_Saiko

A Tony Lives post-Endgame fic where Steve brings Peggy back with him from the past and Howard can't resist hitching a ride.

Another old favorite of mine that I felt like re-reading this year.

The Rose And The Crown by ScipioSmith

A Disney's Cinderella fic about what happens after she puts on the glass slipper for the Duke. It's long, with an equally long sequel, but a great read so far. Cinderella struggles to adjust to being a princess, and all the social rules and expectations that go along with it, while people are out to get her and take her crown.

Draco Malfoy and the Mortifying Ordeal of Being in Love by isthisselfcare

This is a very fun Dramoine fic. I saw the fan art cover for it a while back, which reminded me a little of Norman Rockwell artwork and also of 1950s rom-coms, which prompted me to check it out. This one had me laughing a lot!

Bending Light by scullymurphy

This one is a Draco's In Exile fic where Draco, Hermione, and a couple of their classmates are in exile in Italy under witness protection while Dumbledore and the Order deal with Voldemort and the Death Eaters.

Draco's there because he took up Dumbledore's offer for help and protection instead of trying to kill him as ordered.

I started reading this last year, and really liked it, but it felt like the characters were a lot older than they were supposed to be (to the point I kept forgetting they were supposed to still be in Hogwarts), and kinda killed the fic's flow for me when we were reminded of that.

I dropped it for a bit, but really did like what I read of it and found myself thinking about it, so I'm back at it again!

Currently Reading:

Both are very good so far.