#petition to call it Pickle Parents

[mx-whimsy]

hear me out

ok gang

Ok gang

Hear me out

Polycule between Vanessa, Francis, Frank, and Dan.

NO BECAUSE THINK ABOUT IT!!!

Frank and Vanessa are already into each other (clearly)

I can already see Vanessa and Francis being an iconic duo, like seriously think about the dynamic

Dan and Vanessa could totally bond over being parents and the struggle over it

They can all really bond with one another about their struggles and help each other out

And Laurie and Rochelle can be sisters, because omg they are already besties. They would be the best sisters

They can all adopt Tom

Like hello??? "I wish you where my mom" HELLO????

[madelenaokoro]

[ … ] ❀ you’re not from around here , are you? i figured because you totally just missed { MADELENA OKORO } walking by. don’t tell me you don’t know who { SHE } is/are ? they kind of look like { ZENDAYA } and i could be wrong but i think that they might be { 28 } years old right now. they’ve been living in palmview for the last { SIX YEARS }. and i don’t know if anyone has ever told them this before but they kind of remind me of { JESSICA DAY } from { NEW GIRL }. if you stick around the town long enough you might catch them in action working at { LITTLE LIGHTHOUSE PRESCHOOL } as a { TEACHER }. you see this town isn’t really that big of a place, some folks like to call them the { DIAMOND IN THE ROUGH} of palmview! they took a liking to the name too after a while, go figure. oh crap, they must have heard me yapping. they’re coming this way. i got to warn you though, rumor has it they can pretty { SELF DOUBTFUL } at times. i wouldn’t take it too seriously though, from the times i’ve spoken to them they seemed pretty { SUPPORTIVE } to me. we see each other all the time since they live in that { THREE ROOM } apartment beside me over in { SUN SHORES }. i better leave you to it. it was nice meeting you!

character information

name: madelena okoro

nicknames: madi, mads

gender & pronouns: cis woman, she/her

sexuality: pansexual

relationship status: single 💔

age: 28

birthday: september 1, 1996

place of birth: charleston, sc

occupation: teacher at little lighthouse preschool

neighborhood: sun shores

time since arriving in Heartford: 6 years, since august 2018

pets: corgi named pickles

appearance:

faceclaim:  zendaya

height:  5'10"

build: petite

eyes:  Brown

hair:  dark brown

piercings:  nostril, both ear lobes, daith, belly button

tattoos:  diamond on ankle.

personality:

traits:  self doubtful & supportive

labels / tropes:  the diamond in the rough

mental health:  good

physical health:  healthy as a horse

likes:  children, giving back to the community

dislikes:  ignorant people, entitled people, & complainers with no actions.

fears:  snakes & some insects

phobias:  heights

hobbies:  reading, collecting shot glasses, & shopping

skills:  vanish without anybody knowing where she went

biography: tw; death, tw; illness, tw; hospitalization

most people could tell when madelena was younger that she was going to be different from the rest of her family. the only one in her family that she really felt like she connected with on a deep level was her twin sister, diamond. she and madi were always being seen with one another to the point that it made her older sibling jealous because they always felt left out. when madi was fourteen years old, her sister fell ill. the family did everything they could to be there for her but madi would have to be peeled back from her sisters bed and brought home from the hospital. 

luckily though, diamond made a recovery and everything seemed good for a few years but right before their senior year the illness came back and it came back strong to the point where there was nothing that the doctors could do. the doctors told the family that she was going to have to remain in the hospital until they could find something to heal her. diamond and madelena knew what was happening and were ready to accept the reality. all that diamond asked for from her sister was to walk across the stage at graduation. of course madelena made that happen. she snuck her sister out of the hospital and made sure the two of them walked across that stage together. of course her parents were furious because they were in denial, but the two young girls knew it was the right thing to do. that night, diamond passed away. 

madelena was a wreck for the summer between senior year and freshman year of college. her family tried their best to be there for her but she couldn’t be in the same place anymore so at the last minute she took the acceptance from miami and she attended college there. she was going to fulfill the dreams of her sister and become a preschool teacher because it just seemed like the right thing to do. 

when she was in college, she met celeste who reminded madi of her sister that it made her heart so happy. the two became inseparable, especially after celeste had the falling out with her friend group. celeste was looking for a new roommate and of course madi was more than happy to oblige and they moved in with one another. 

after college, madelena decided to move to palmview with letty and build a new life for herself. she works as a preschool teacher and absolutely loves it. she didn’t think that it was going to be the job for her but it feels like home to her when she’s there. 

[natasha-in-space]

Okay so can you write about how it'd be like if yoosung was in a relationship with a male mc who is tall and very muscular (hes built like hulk) but is a very soft and gentle guy. Basically the definition of "gentle giant" and is extremely shy asf. He is also very clumsy and is a shit cook. I imagine when yoosung said that "please dont be afraid when u see me, im still the man who loves you" the mc felt the same. Like ofc yoosung knows hes a dude but he doesnt know how he looks.

Also i am thinking how it'd be like him introducing this dude he now is in a relationship with to his parents (i want to think the reaction is positive).

I just wanna imagine someone as petite as yoosung with a big guy

OUGH, anon, I LIVE for this kind of dynamic! You made me giggle and kick my legs with your ask.

While, yeah, I think Yoosung would be rather... surprised the first time they finally meet one another face to face, it's mostly just the natural reaction of unexpectedness, nothing negative. Yoosung simply had a bit of a softer image in mind, due to his MC's sweet and kind demeanor in chat and on the phone. You can't really help the fact that we naturally tend to assign certain characteristics to people we haven't met yet! He's definitely not dissatisfied, though. In fact, I think he'll find it rather adorable! It makes him feel a lot better to know that he wasn't the only one nervous about making a good first impression, and, in a way, this shared anxiety helps them both relax and laugh with each other after a while.

Yoosung will be looking up at this MC with stars in his eye and a huge smitten grin stretching his cheeks. And, once the initial surprise dissipates, he will end up asking MC plenty of questions, as well as offer some clumsy, but genuine compliments.

There's just something about a broadly built man that is apparently more attractive to him than he thought. Looks like there is some personal discovering to be made here! It's not solely based on appearance, though. (Although Yoosung definitely thinks about being picked up by his new boyfriend and being pampered without a care in the world). MC's soft and loving personality is also a huge focus of his affections. MC not threatening or off-putting to him in any way, and it is very easy for Yoosung to feel relaxed and open with him in even the most mundane of conversations.

His chest is filled with a small sense of pride as he talks to MC. What he did back at Mint Eye... he did it to protect MC and to prove to himself that he is capable of being the man he wants to be. Yoosung struggles with his masculinity at times, and, knowing that he managed to successfully protect MC, despite being on the smaller side... It makes him feel very good about himself. MC's direct mention of it in particular will make him giggle and rock on his heels in pride.

When it comes to the actual relationship between them, the dynamic is going to be rather endearing! I feel like Yoosung would be the more bold and outspoken one of the two of them. Yes, the 'Hey, he asked for no pickles!' type. It's adorable, really. Wherever MC is shy for any particular reason, Yoosung can be outgoing for both of them. It's really lovely to see. He'll be quick to slip into the conversation if he feels like MC needs some moral support, or he can be the one to call the shots full stop. MC doesn't have to worry about feeling awkward in public spaces with Yoosung there nearby. He got his boyfriend's back.

Subsequently, there will be a lot of physical affection between these two. It'll take them both some time to figure this out (as this is Yoosung's first real relationship), but, eventually, they both come to a mutual agreement that they actually quite enjoy the size difference they share with each other! MC never makes Yoosung feel as 'less of a man' for not being overly tall or muscular, and Yoosung makes it crystal clear that MC's kind and gentle heart is the most amazing thing about him. They are both completely at ease with each other, inside and out. So, when Yoosung admits to the fact that he'd like MC to carry him more often... It's the first step to many more similar instances to come.

Interestingly enough, I like to think of this MC as the little spoon of their relationship. It's certainly amusing to witness such a huge man nuzzle up into Yoosung's chest with a happy sigh, but it happens every day in their household. Meanwhile, Yoosung adores feeling his boyfriends strong arms circle around him, pulling him close to his chest, especially whenever he hugs him from behind in the morning, as he's preparing breakfast. (Too many meals were burnt due to him getting way too distracted by MC's comfy warmth and a desire to turn around and kiss him.).

It's a win-win situation!

In my opinion, Lisa will quickly make MC her favorite person. That kitty always finds a way for them to be together. She is always on his lap, happily purring away. And she always tries to sleep on him, despite his numerous attempts to gently put her down, since he's scared of accidentally hurting her in his sleep.

And, if this MC has a tendency to be clumsy? Yoosung will make an effort to catch him every time. And fail. The first time it happened, poor MC got so worried, he apologized to Yoosung for the entirety of that day. With time, Yoosung simply learns his boyfriend's body language well enough to see him about to stumble before it even happens. There won't be any fall incidents for them to fret about from then on.

Yoosung's mom is going to love MC. Mostly because he's such a softie. I'd like to imagine him always making an effort to help out Yoosung's mom with the chores or carrying around heavy things. Needless to say, she always hands him tons of homemade snacks whenever they come over. Yoosung is a bit flabbergasted at the way his mom coddles his boyfriend, but, hey, at least she definitely loves him! While Yoosung sister is going to tease her brother about MC being a 'big strong man'. It's all lighthearted and nothing ill-spirited, though. She sees how happy Yoosung is, and that's the most important thing in the world.

...In the end, she sleeps on his head.

[purplesurveys]

1792

Have you ever had any article of clothing tailored? What for? Sure. I've always been petite so when I'm gifted or handed down clothes that are a bit too large on me, I have them altered when I have the time.

Do you watch Degrassi? If so, what do you think about it? I've never watched Degrassi but I'm quite familiar since I used to have an internet friend who was otherwise obsessed.

Do you welcome people back when they say they have returned? For the most part, yeah. Enthusiastic greeting is in my Filipino DNA, lol.

What are two foods you think taste good with whipped cream? Nothing, to be honest. Whipped cream doesn't even taste like anything lol and while I don't have anything bad to say about it, it's also not really value-adding taste-wise.

How long would it take you to walk to the nearest fire hydrant?  I'm not sure tbh...5 minutes? 10 minutes? I should pay attention to where we have fire hydrants around here haha.

Do you own anything that has the words or picture of ‘moustache’?  Nah, definitely not since the early 2010s.

When you see a feather on the ground, do you ever pick it up?  Nope.

Are you able to play the harmonica? Do you ever want to take lessons?  I don't know how to play it expertly, though it also doesn't sound like something for which I'd be interested in taking lessons.

If you eat it, what is your favorite way to eat beef?  Rare steak and in burgers. That's about it. I'm not a big beef fan.

How would you feel marrying the man you love who has already a son? Continued from who know when? If I'm marrying them I would assume I would have also already accepted becoming a mom.

Have you ever played Roller Coaster Tycoon? What did you think of it?  I've heard of it many times before but don't think I ever played it. I played tons of many other knockoff rollercoaster games though.

What foods go good with radishes?  I usually have pickled radish on the side when I have jjajangmyeon.

When you are chopping onions, does it really affect your eyes personally?  I don't cook, but when my parents cook and use onions it does sting a lot, to the point that it would be unbearable to be downstairs for a few moments.

How long can you hold your breath for? Is there anyone who is better?  I don't know but generally my track record isn't great. I could do close to a minute to a little over, and I know others could do much better.

When was the last time you had a pet goldfish? What was its name?  I wouldn't remember specifics but I'm sure I would've still been in the single-digit ages.

Would you rather have a loaf of bread or meat loaf right now?  Bread. Meatloaf looks so nasty.

Are you insecure about your height? What made you think this way?  Nah, I've learned to embrace being smaller than average haha. Filipinos are also short anyway so even though I'm only barely 5'2", I don't stand out.

Do you enjoy mayonnaise with French fries? Why or why not?  It's the only way I eat my fries, if not on their own.

What are the oldest pair of pants you still wear? How old are they? I have a pair of high-waist denim jeans that I've had since like college.

Did your last significant other have a huge temper? They did if you called them out because apparently they're incapable of making any mistakes and shouldn't be criticized ever.

What was the topic discussed in the last meeting you attended? An upcoming event we're supposed to be planning for.

What is your opinion on Indonesia? Would you ever travel there? How about Syria? Would you ever travel there? Why or why not? I love lndonesian cuisine, and yes I've already been there – I was around 14 and our family took a week-long trip to Bali. I don't have much of an opinion on Syria but don't really plan on heading there.

What are the three events this year you are looking forward to?  My birthday, seeing Seventeen next week, and getting Jin and Hobi back from the military.

[avengerscompound]

Until the End of the World - 13

Until the End of the World: A Captain America Fanfic

Masterlist PREVIOUS //

Buy me a ☕ Character Pairing:  Bucky Barnes x Steve Rogers x F!Reader

Word Count:  2085

Rating:  E

Warnings: pregnancy

Synopsis: Four years after Steve and Bucky got to the bottom of the HYDRA conspiracy that had led to you and your son being hunted for the first three years of his life, you, Bucky, and Steve have carved out a nice life together.  Things are calm and you feel like a family unit.  When Geo starts calling Bucky and Steve ‘dad’, a decision is made to try and add to your family.

Things aren’t as calm as they seem.  When your pregnancy hits the papers, HYDRA rears its head once again, and Steve and Bucky need to track you down to protect the family they had created.

Chapter 13

The paperwork was all put in to adopt Geo.  Steve had put his lawyers on it, petitioning to allow both he and Bucky to go onto the birth certificate as adoptive parents, while you also kept your legal rights as a parent too.  The lawyers had said for everyone not to get their hopes too high, it was hard to be the precedent, but they were on it.  Bucky hoped it worked.  He read that in Canada there had been not only a lesbian couple that had been allowed to have both mothers and the donor father listed on the birth certificate of a child, but also a polyamorous family with two fathers and a mother all listed as parents on their child’s birth certificate too.

Bucky hoped that maybe if both he and Steve could adopt Geo, it would lead to both being listed on their little girl’s birth certificate too.  He hadn’t brought up his idea to go to Canada to have the baby yet.  It might be a little much to convince Steve to have a Canadian baby considering who he was.  But he might if it meant they could both be listed as her parents.

For now, Bucky would keep his fingers crossed and hope that the world might just surprise him and accept him and his family for what they were, even if maybe that was more than he’d earned yet.  There were other things to worry about.

The apartment was finally finished and you, Steve, Bucky, and Geo were moving your things back in.  It wasn’t a huge job, as almost everyone’s belongings had stayed in the apartment and just been covered in drop sheets while the work was done.  But still, there were clothes and Geo’s toys and random miscellaneous items that had drifted to the guest apartment they’d been using while construction had been underway.  Not to mention, even though all their things were there, the new rooms were empty and things needed to be reorganized to fit the space.

Bucky and Steve were in charge of moving the larger things, while you and Geo did smaller runs back and forth with clothes and toys and went about putting up pictures in new places and spreading out nicknacks.

“The baby doesn’t have a bed yet,” Geo said as nosed around the rooms, trying to get a feel for the new space.

The nursery had been done.  It was painted a light purple and Steve had been spending some of his free time painting a forest mural on one wall, but aside from the furniture they’d had built-in, like the wardrobe and sets of drawers, the room was still completely empty.

“We wanted to wait until the place was ready before we bought any,” Steve answered, ruffling Geo’s hair as he passed him in the hall, one large bag hefted over his shoulder.  “Did you want to go out and help us pick when we do that?”

Geo shrugged.  “I don’t mind.  I wanna buy her some toys.”

“We can do that,” Steve agreed.

You came out of the bedroom and dragged the drop sheet off one of the couches, before flopping down on it.

“You okay, babe?”  Bucky asked, stopping near you with his arms full of clothes.

“Yeah.  Just my back is aching and the baby is kicking me so much,” you complained.

“Let me just put this down and I’ll come and rub your back,” Bucky said, carrying the things into the bedroom and dumping them on the bed.  He came back out and removed the drop sheets from all the furniture and took a seat beside you.   “Can you get in a comfortable position?”

You got on your knees and leaned over the arm of the couch, resting your head on your arms.  Bucky began to gently work out the tension in your lower back.  Steve came back through the room followed by Geo as Bucky began to feel your muscles relaxing.

“Maybe it’s a good time for a break anyway,” Steve said.  “Do you want a drink?”

“Lemonade, please,” you half-moaned.

Geo sat down on the recliner and popped it out.  He was still quite small and in the large chair, he looked tiny.  His legs barely went over the side even when it wasn’t in the recline position.  He grabbed his tablet and immediately began playing a game with FRIDAY.  His eyes flickered as he communicated with her using his technopathic abilities.

Steve bought over a tray with a jug of lemonade and five glasses.  “Do we want to order lunch in?”

“Yes, please,” you moaned.

“Maybe you should rest and Bucky and I will finish unpacking,” Steve suggested.

“Gee, thanks for volunteering me, pal,” Bucky teased, earning a soft laugh from Steve.

Steve grabbed his phone and started to flick through it.  “What are we feeling?  Subs?  Something from a deli?  Something a little more hearty?”

“I’m feeling sandwich and soup, and a pickle on the side,” you said.

“I’m fine with that,” Bucky said, his hands sliding up your back a little while he massaged you.

“Geo?”  Steve said.  “You want soup and a sandwich?”

“Mac and cheese, please,” he answered without looking up.

Steve chuckled.  “Always have to make things difficult.  I’ll see what I can find.”

He tapped around on his phone for a little while before he found somewhere and then handed his phone to you.  You added some things to the cart, while Bucky massaged you.  “What are you feeling, Bucky?”  You asked, holding the phone for him to see.

“The Italian and-” his eyes flicked over everything as you scrolled down.  “-the loaded baked potato.”

You added them and sent the order in.  Bucky kept massaging you back and for a while that the only sounds in the room were the hum of the aircon, the tap of Geo’s fingers on the screen of his tablet, and the groans you would make when Bucky hit a particularly sensitive spot.

Eventually, you seemed to tire of the position you were in and you sat back, and put your feet in Bucky’s lap.  He immediately began to rub your feet.

“The good news is, we’re nearly done with the big things,” Steve said.  “We still have to spread out into the extra space, but there’s no rush to do that.”

“That’s good.  Your daughter is kicking the hell out of me,” you said.

“I’m sorry, honey,” Steve said.  “And she’s a little super soldier.”

“Yeah, be careful she doesn’t break one of your ribs,” Bucky said and ran his hands up your leg and pressed it against your stomach.

“How am I supposed to be careful?”  You snarked, moving his hand so it was in a better position.  No one else had been able to feel the kicks yet but this was a normal routine for the family.  You’d tell them you could feel the baby.  Steve or Bucky would put their hand on your stomach.  You’d move it to the spot you could feel them, and then nothing would happen.  Bucky lived in hope though.  It had to happen sooner or later.  “She’s inside me.  What can I do to stop her?”

Bucky chuckled and leaned over and kissed your forehead.  “Nothing with that attitude.”

He sat back and pressed his metal hand down against the baby bump where you held it.

He wasn’t particularly fond of his metal arm.  Sure there was this objective part of him that appreciated the technology.  It was very advanced, even for today’s standards for prosthetics, and he had always been a big fan of technology.  He appreciated that it allowed him to function easily.  He could get by without it and had done for a while and despite the fact, his hair would get caught in it from time to time, it did make it easier to do things like washing his hair and fastening the buttons on his clothes.

However, there were a lot of issues too.  It was heavy for one.  He had to lean to the right to compensate, which made his back ache on the best of days and meant his gate was a little off, and if he had to do a lot of walking or running, his hips would be screaming at him by the end of the day.  The new one was lighter but it still wasn’t as light as his flesh and blood arm.  The way it connected to his body caused problems too.  He wasn’t exactly sure they were all physical problems, or just in his head, but the way the skin rubbed against metal was irritating, and he knew, at least originally, HYDRA hadn’t cared about him, just the arm, so the connections weren’t the best, and they hurt all the time, sometimes sending painful spikes right to his head.  He used to scratch at it a lot like he was trying to dig the metal out of his flesh.  The problem was, all that should have been fixed with the new one, but he still felt it from time-to-time and he’d still find himself stretching at it.

It was how it made him feel about himself that was the worst.  Even though this was a new arm, it served as a constant reminder of what had happened to him.  It was an ever serving trigger to his past torture and enslavement.  It meant that he was never going to be a person first.  It was always the weapon, and then the person.  If he ever got too comfortable in his place at home with you and Steve he just had to look at his arm and remember, he wasn’t a boyfriend and a father.  He was a weapon who was lucky enough to have something to come home to.

It was advanced though.  He could hold it against your stomach and feel the texture of the fabric of your clothes and the slight movement of your body shifting under him.  He didn’t exactly know how they’d made it so he had such fine control and was able to perceive touch with it, but it worked.  Not as well as his real hand, but enough that he would use either when testing fruit for ripeness, or the temperature of water.  He’d never really appreciated that before.  But when he felt that press from inside you as the baby kicked, he had never appreciated that prosthetic arm more.

“Was that her?”  He asked, sitting up quickly.  “I didn’t just glitch did I?”

Steve moved so fast that one second he was over on the recliner and the next he was on his knees beside you.  “You felt her?”

“She did kick there, so … yes?”  You answered.

Bucky switched hands, pressing down on your stomach.  It was like the baby pushed back against him, trying to repel the thing intruding on her limited space.  “I felt her.  It’s soft, but I can feel her.”

Steve pushed Bucky’s hand out of the way and pressed his hand where Bucky’s had just been.  It took a moment but Bucky saw exactly when their daughter kicked because Steve’s face lit up from within.  So much happiness and love and excitement were written on his features.  He leaned down and pressed his forehead on your stomach.  “Hey in there,” he whispered.  “Are you giving your mommy trouble?”

Bucky looked over at Geo.  “G, you want to feel the baby kicking?”

Geo looked up.  “Yeah?”

“Yeah, bud,” you said, waving him over.  “Come feel your sister.”

 He slid off the recliner and came over, Steve made room for him and guided the little boy’s hand to the stop on your stomach where the baby was kicking.  He looked down furrowing his brow.  “Does it feel like a little bump?”  Geo asked.

“Yeah, like a twitch.  She’s still very very small,” you explained.

“I feel it,” he said grinning.  “That’s my sister?”

“Yeah, that’s her,” you said.

“You think she’s giving you a high five, bud?”  Bucky asked.

Geo giggled and nodded. “Yeah, she is.”

Bucky chuckled and rubbed Geo’s arm.  It was strange, he hated his metal arm, and yet, it was what drew Geo’s attention that day he met you, and now it was the one that felt the baby kick first.  It was a sign of so many things that were taking from him, and now it was bringing him new, amazing things.  Maybe he could start seeing it for the positives too.

// NEXT

[peskygirl13]

Bruce “I’m Never Going To Have A Normal Family” Wayne

@ozmav Because they made the Maribat Au

@thebookwormfairy Because their account is where I found the post

Inspired by this post

~~~

Bruce was never going to have a normal family, was he? 

When Damian, the last person Bruce ever expected this from, got a girlfriend, Bruce was hopeful that maybe, maybe, this girl would bring a slight sense of normality into his family.

Yeah, those dreams were shattered pretty quickly.

When Bruce first met Marinette Dupin-Cheng, his first thought was; ‘new child.’

Black hair, blue eyes, has been mistreated; Hell yeah! New daughter!

But he resisted the urge. He could wait for Damian to propose. 

Anyways, he adored the petite french girl. Smart, kind, talented, and all without having an ego or being a push over. 

When the boys met her, they fell in love with her just as quickly. (Tim and Jason are still trying to figure out how the Demon Spawn got a literal Sunshine embodiment to date him.)

However, they unfortunately didn’t see her in person often as she still lived in France. But now, three months later, Mari was coming to visit Gotham.

To celebrate, Bruce decided to take the family out to dinner to a super fancy rich person restaurant. 

(Marinette looked like she was about to pass out just by looking at the size of the doors and immediately felt self conscious of what she was wearing because Bruce didn’t tell them where they were eating or to dress nice so she was wearing her normal pink pants, white floral shirt, black jacket, and ballerina flats.)

Despite that, dinner went off wonderfully. Marinette told them about her newest fashion projects and how her parents were doing (Bruce and the boys noticed she purposefully avoided talking about school and all made a mental agreement to look into it later.) and the boys did the same. (They did avoid talking about their ‘nightly activities’ that the girl didn’t know about.)

However, as usual, trouble follows them. They were just finishing their meals when Killer Croc made his appearance. 

He had been caught by someone while he was steeling drugs from a warehouse not that far from the restaurant. So, Croc decided to go the the restaurant and hold the people there ransom, knowing that Batman would come after him.

What he didn’t know was that Batman was already in the same room as him. 

And in quite the pickle. 

Bruce looked around the restaurant at the terrified patrons and then at Marinette. He and the boys where stuck between a rock and a hard place. There was no way for them to slip out and change, and even if there was, there was no way Marinette wouldn’t notice their disappearance. 

What where they going to do?

Screams tore Bruce out of his thoughts. 

He looked around and quickly learned that they weren’t screams of terror, but screams of shock.

Marinette, sweet, kind, SMALL Marinette had grabbed Killer Croc by his tail and pulled him out of the restaurant. 

Everyone in the restaurant stared, dumbfounded, as the petite french girl with pigtails dragged one of Gotham’s deadliest villains out by the tail, which was bigger than her whole body, mind you.

The moment Marinette stepped out of the restaurant with Killer Croc, the patrons immediately called the police. 

The Batfam ran out after Mari, praying that the girl was ok. What they didn’t expect was Killer Croc on his knees in front of the girl, looking like a child who’s parent caught their hand in the cookie jar, while Marinette scolded him.

For once, the boys had no idea what to do, so they just watched her with wide eyes.

By the time Gordon and the Police Force arrived, Killer Croc was crying and apologizing. 

(Gordon had seen a lot of shit in Gotham, but this takes the cake. (Mmm, cake. Maybe he could request Marinette to make him some once she was done lecturing the mutated villain.))

After Croc had been arrested, Mari looked over at the boys with a smile before it dropped when she saw their stunned faces.

“What?” She questioned, genuinely confused.

Bruce groaned and held his head in his hands.

He’s never going to have a normal family.

~~~

Sorry if I screwed up Killer Croc. I don’t know as much about him as I do the other villains.

(I also know that Killer Croc doesn’t have a tail, but in ‘Son of Batman’ he was upgraded with one, so I just used that.)

[loptyrs-moved]

Can you talk more abt ur fandoms ocs? I like your writing a lot and would like to know more abt em

Oh my goodness I’m 🥺🥺🥺🥺 you’re SO sweet thank you!

Well, I have quite a few and some have their own deeper lore stories that go with them. If you guys want more information on them, I can do separate posts on all of them. But Here they are! I’m so excited to share my babies with you!

More is under the cut. The Picrew I used is here.

Ikemen Revolution

Black Army Side

Corrin Fukui

Age: Appears to be in mid-early twenties

Hair: Brick white

Eyes: Blood Red

Height: 4′11

Any other Qualities:

Draconic features -- She’s literally a dragon but not by nature

Curved Opalescent Horns

Shimmery opalescent tail

Wings that also shimmer in the light

retractable?

Pointed ears

Easily frightened by loud noises and sudden movements

stunted growth

Hoards blankets and comfort items

writes in a journal every day 

its one luka got for her and she refuses to write in anything else. she pours her heart out on the pages, and all her memories

she had a brother! but he passed away because of the magic tower :(

turns into a gIANT DRAGON 

ICE ICE BREATH BABY

Was found by Luka while on a patrol near the forbidden forest, lost and afraid, so she was taken in

Had amnesia at first

She actually is an experiment of Amon and she managed to escape

Excellent at sewing and gardening

Sufficient with baking

She’s for Luka! The way they fell for each other was a slow, gradual trust, and mutual understanding. She saw him as a man, as he was, and nothing else.

Sometimes is called Corri

gentle hearted and innocent

but not as innocent as you’d think 

she’s a dragon, and she’s a greedy little one

Ophelia Dae

Age: 24

Hair: Crimson red

Eyes: Jade green

Height: 5′8

Any other Qualities:

A skilled swordsman, and one of the Chosen Thirteen

9 of Spades baybeee

While she is more accustomed to short swords and sabers, Phelia is a magic user! But she isn’t really in agreement with Ray with his stance on magic

BOMBASTIC AS HELL

BISEXUAL

“Is he bothering you Queen?”

Trans

Was friends with Ray and Fenrir while in school, and was just as much of a hellraiser as them

she was there when the day things went dark happened and was almost taken but that day is a blur for her

phelia REFUSES to talk about it

she still has nightmares

raised by a single mother

TRIVIA! She was an old fire emblem oc i had and she was the daughter of Arvis -- so if you squint when she uses magic you’ll see Valflame

joined the army probably because Fenrir was too, and she was inspired by him 

she joined for her own reasons but he made it easier for her to do it too

his passion was what made her fall for him in the first place

has a personal vendetta against the magic tower for what they did to her and her friends

AND CORRIN JEEZ

will sacrifice herself if necessary to the cause

PROBABLY HAS ALMOST DIED BECAUSE OF IT

Bruh girl

Amira Nasiri

Age: 22

Hair: Chocolate brown

Eyes: Turquoise blue

Height: 5′3

Any other qualities:

My version of Alice! Difference is that she’s Persian

That’s it

She’s just as spunky as Alice 

however she responds with being called Alice a little different

she’s adamant about being called Amira

At some point she just accepts Seth does it to distance himself

also an avid baker like alice

pISTACIOS

BAKLAVA

Amira is just Alice except she’s just my take on her. 

She has the same vibrant spirit as Alice

and I personally consider Seth the canon route for REASONS

just ask me why fjgdfgjksd

Red Army Side

Azul Flores

Age: 25

Hair: Raven black

Eyes: Wisteria purple

Height: 5′0

Any Other Qualities:

An old friend of the Queen of Hearts

like she met him when she was 8 years old

fought his bullies when they would give him a hard time when he was a kid

they dated for a WHILE

did NOT work out

HARD CHILDHOOD

Ambitious, hard working young woman who was married into a high standing family on the Red side. Her mother was a teacher and gained the attention of one of the Chosen Thirteen on that side, and got married

Azul is NOT the officer’s daughter. She’s his step daughter

Has had extensive studies on the History of Cradle and of the Red Territory.

Wants to be a Cradle Historian

Works for the Red Army as a personal assistant to the queen

UNINTENTIONAL

THEY ACTUALLY CANT STAND EACH OTHER

Unless....

Look their story is very dramatic and it hurts me every day so please stay tuned with them. 

CUT THROAT BITCH

YOUR DEVIL

DEMON

Heckles Jonah like its her job — she knows him better than anyone elsd, if anyone knows his bs, its her

Bad resting bitch face

Actually really shy, and quiet when in different surroundings

A sweetheart and will cut a bitch for you once she knows u

She is perhaps one of the most transparent, honest, genuine person. there is no bullshit with her. she will tell you her honest thoughts with you

Cerise Nam

Age: 19

Hair: Berry Pink

Eyes: Petal Pink

Height: 5′2

Any other qualities:

Her mom came to Cradle from a far off place, and set up a food and pastry shop in the Central Quarter. Met her dad. Been there since

They live in Black Territory

She works for her parents and works with the pastries/desserts

loves making desserts from where her parents are from

She knows the Queen of Hearts VERY well since she makes the best mille feuille

Got a job from him actually, and works for the Red Army Headquarters kitchen

Loves to cook and bake!

a little naïve, but she’s a realist

youngest of FIVE kids!!

Morning girl

She may be petite but she can HEAFT heavy bags of flour/rice/dry goods

Met Zero by accident, and crashed into him while in town

love at first sight for her. how can you fault her?

she thinks he’s dreamy... and sweet...

does she flirt with him a little? Cerise can’t help it...

She and Zero have more of a hidden relationship because she fears her parents won’t approve

family stuff -- and she understands

RED ARMY OFFICER?? BLACK TERRITORY GIRL

look im cheesy

dont worry it works out

zero has to consider himself and his own personal stuff too so its a little difficult 

Non Army Suitor(s)

Lucile Lidell

Age: 20

Hair: Straw blonde

Eyes: Aqua blue

Height: 5'1

Any other qualities:

She and her twin, Noelle, are the actual descendants of the original Alice

Inherited unusual hairpins that were from cradle

More of the 'modern woman stuck in the wrong time' kind of gal

Rebellious

Noelle and Luci: partners in crime

Short skirts galore

Does not give a singular shit of what MEN think of her

Wants to be taken seriously

Sometimes acts like an airhead in order to get attention. She's actually pretty somber as a person and prefers to be in the background as her sister takes the stage

loves her sister more than anyone else in the world

When she and Noelle fall into Cradle, they kind of hightail it and live in the woods with Harr and Loki

Sticks with Harr since he's literally the least threatening man ever

First man to feel safe around

"Excuse me he said NO pickles!"

Will cut a bitch for him, or use magic -- luci will hurt someone if they even think a bout looking at him wrong

Loves to make clothes

'I mended the holes in your cloak for you...' 'Bye Harr, be safe and have a good day.'

'Welcome home, I missed you.'

Puts up a tough girl front but she's just a big softie just like him

Doesn't realize she has a crush on him until shit starts to hit the fan

Actually very vanilla tbh but wants to spoil her bf

Ikemen Sengoku

Ito Tsunade

Age: 26

Hair: Straw Blonde

Eyes: Molten Gold

Height: 5′5

Any Other Qualities:

Graduate student at the same university as Sasuke 

got stuck in the storm with him and Mai, and was tossed into the sengoku era

but she got separated from Mai

Met Shingen first much to her luck because uh.... lets say Tsunade is aint the sharpest tool in the shed

HEAD EMPTY

ZERO THOUGHTS

AIRHEAD

her aesthetic when she gets there?

TITS OUT

BIG HONKERS BIG TATA

HOT

her head might be empty but her tits are fat and they will protect you

Music nerd — loves traditional Japanese instruments, especially the difficult ones

Specializes in girl metal in modern day

eventually proves herself and plays some sick chords for the takeda/uesegi forces

she has entertained them for now

puts sake away like a monster

when she meets sasuke, she finds comfort in the fact he’s also lost with her, so she clings

asks him how to protect herself from shingen bc he’s horny lolol

genuinely thinks sasuke is hilarious

also does NOT realize she’s in love with him until the gravest of grave happens

her name was UNINTENTIONAL

Aibana Hinata

Age: Presents in his early-mid twenties

Hair: Black Midnight

Eyes: Haunting gold and vermillion

Height: 5'3

Any other qualities: 

The concubine of Nobunaga

Please know I made him a long while before the other guy was dropped so I’m just gonna offer this little gay boy

Nobunaga bought him from a brothel after being so intrigued by him. Hina entertained him so well that he was set for life

A RIGHT SNARKY BASTARD

HE KNOWS HE’S PRETTY AND CAN GET AWAY WITH MURDER

Likes to challenge Nobunaga in battles of wits

board games

debate as pillow talk

swordplay if the lords will entertain him enough

Bisexual as hell

Gender? Don’t know her

He uses all pronouns

True pronoun: princess

ONLY EXISTS IN A UNIVERSE WHERE THERE IS MAI

Nobunaga/Mai/Hinata........

Unless.......

Smart, and educated

former geisha

he can read! and write!

LOVE FUCKING WITH HIDEYOSHI

if there is mai, he would bond with her like no one else

he would be her best friend

her confidant

genuinely adores her

even if she is pursuing nobunaga, he doesn’t resent her ... he just wishes that she would find room in her heart for him too

puts up a tough exterior

a softie.....

[mobius-prime]

197. Sonic the Hedgehog #129

Tossed in Space (Part Six): Space Gamble

Writer: Romy Chacon Pencils: Dawn Best Colors: Jason Jensen

Sonic has found himself in a pickle reminiscent of (and inspired by, according to the title page credits) Star Wars Episode I, where his ship is damaged and the only way to get enough money to fix it is to compete in a local race. Of course, he's confident he can win, being the self-titled Fastest Thing Alive, but since he's bet his ship as the entry fee he's still cautious, knowing that if he loses he's stranded. The race begins, and while the other aliens are fast, he's able to pass them by one by one. Eventually it comes down to the final alien in first place, and he speeds up to pass him…

Sonic is upset but agrees that the other alien won fair and square, but just as he begins telling him where to find his ship, the announcers interrupt with a new development - playing recorded footage back has shown a tiny rocket booster strapped to the back of the winning alien, making his victory forfeit. Sonic is the true winner after all, and now he can finally get to Argentium and find a way back home.

Tossed in Space (Part 7): Welcome to the Wheelworld

Writer: Benny Lee Pencils: Art Mawhinney Colors: Jason Jensen

Hey, look, a story split that actually makes sense this time! Sonic has made it to the Wheelworld, home of the Bem, and he's certain that he can find a way home from here as the Bem have been to Mobius before - if you'll remember, they're the ones who did the whole robots vs. organics test with Sonic and Eggman and their respective sidekicks. However, the space traffic controller tells him that he's only allowed to dock currently if he's here to watch the trial of Ceneca-9009. Sonic has no idea what she's talking about, but hastily agrees as he can't afford to be turned away.

The idea of ringworlds like this in sci-fi have always been the coolest to me. It's just so interesting and so far the opposite of the world we live on that they make the perfect setting for a story in an alien galaxy. Sonic files into the chambers where the trial is being held, and finds out that apparently the Bem are an all-female species that are all named "Ceneca" plus a number, and that they're also authoritarian materialists who seem to view all problems through a coldly utilitarian lens. Uh, sure, okay!

Ceneca-9009 is on trial, as it turns out, for a very interesting and relevant reason. Apparently, a long time ago (not clear how long, as they use vague terms like "cycles" and "rotations" to describe units of time), Ceneca-9000 found a planet, Biotex, full of robotic beings. She assumed that this was a terrible plight that they suffered under, and invented a deroboticizer of her own which she used to turn all the inhabitants of Biotex into organic beings. Unfortunately, their planet's atmosphere was full of toxic microbes that were deadly to their organic forms, and they all perished before the situation could be corrected. Deroboticization was subsequently outlawed, though Ceneca-9009 escaped punishment due to it being an honest mistake, but many years later, she happened upon a little orb called Mobius and observed the current goings-on of the planet, finding particular interest in a certain Overlander dictator in a region that used to be North America.

Ceneca-9009 rescued Amadeus, as well as his wife when she discovered what was going on, and deroboticized the former, keeping them aboard her spaceship for their safety. At the same time, Robotnik began his initial takeover, roboticizing citizens left and right, and Ceneca-9009 returned to her homeworld to beg her fellows for permission to intervene on Mobius. Instead, they denied her petition and imprisoned her for using the outlawed deroboticizer tech, because they have absolutely no sense of perspective or context. Sonic, upon hearing this, stands up and shouts out in outrage, because obviously to him Ceneca-9009 did the right thing. The Bem on the stage take notice of this outburst… but so do two other individuals in the crowd, who shout out to Sonic in joy. Sonic runs to them, recognizing them as none other than Amadeus and Rosemary Prower!

The trial goes on, explaining that after Ceneca-9009 served her sentence in prison she once again approached the scientific elite for permission to help on Mobius. They sanctioned her return, intending for her to pit organics against robots in a test of which was truly superior, and we know how this went - Mechas Sonic and Tails won the fight, with even Eggman trying to use this as "proof" that robots are inherently better than organics. When Ceneca-9009 brought back her findings, the scientific elite merely saw evidence that roboticized Mobians were better than their fully organic counterparts, and ordered her to roboticize the rest of the world's inhabitants immediately for their own good. Instead, she did the exact opposite - meaning that she's ultimately the one behind all Mobians being returned to normal! The entire planet has her to thank for things returning to some semblance of normality, and of course Sonic shouts out once again that she did the right thing, but the council ignores him and pronounces their sentence - Ceneca-9009 is to be executed tomorrow for her supposed crimes. Sonic is extremely upset, but still pleased that at least he's found his best friend's parents safe and sound in such a remote place. He leads them to the docking bay to show them his spaceship, hoping to use it to get themselves and Ceneca-9009 out of danger once he busts her out as thanks, only to find it being taken apart as travel to and from Mobius is currently forbidden due to fears of the Xorda in that sector. Sonic fears they're stranded here, but then an unexpected figure approaches them to offer her help.

With the promise of help, Sonic rushes to Ceneca-9009's cell to break her out, and they meet in a remote docking bay, where Ceneca-10050 gestures to a tiny ship only big enough for one of them, the only thing she could procure on such short notice. Sonic, ever the noble hero, offers the ship to Ceneca-9009 since she's the one most immediately in danger, and so it comes to pass that the ship blasts past the Bem's defenses surrounding their artificial wormhole, heading straight for Mobius. The authorities try to stop the ship, but they're too late, and it makes a successful getaway.

Aww, looks like in the end, things have somewhat worked out, and Sonic gets to finally go back home after all! Once through the wormhole, his ship begins to shake dangerously, but he can see ahead a familiar sight - a broken moon! (Oh huh, I guess Eggman did break the moon during Sonic Adventure 2 after all. But then that just raises the question of how the hell no one else noticed while it was all going on, considering that in the game the only reason Eggman breaks the moon is to scare world leaders into surrendering to him, and we have no evidence that he made any such demands in the comic…) Sonic descends into the welcoming, familiar atmosphere of Mobius, excited to finally see his family and friends again after a month and a half away…

[quinzelade]

Making One’s Bones (chpt 7)

Chapter List

--

Porter Gage is in a pickle. Nuka-World needed a new boss and some woman just killed her way to the top. But a pre-war Mafia boss on the theme park's throne? Well...at least she'll have experience.

--

Pain and Promises

--

Sarah dreamed of Mr. Glass again.

He pushed her down into the dirt as she tried to hold onto his legs. Bella Buttercup lay at her feet, her chipped, painted yellow face smeared with red.

“I can’t stay here,” he whispered, not meeting her eye. Sarah couldn’t believe it. He’d promised a world of toys, toys to make together.

And suddenly, he was not Mr. Glass. Sarah looked down to see herself standing at a window outside the Slog’s meeting hall. Three figures were sitting around a table. One of them was her father, another Wiseman.

The last was a tall, scarred human woman, with heavy lidded, angular eyes, and dark hair scraped back into an aggressive bun. Her skin, naturally pale, was milk white. She leaned away from the two ghouls, her chair pushed back as far as decency permitted.

Mom.

Sarah continued to watch. Her dad looked upset, but couldn’t quite meet her mother’s eye. Instead, he stared at his hands as he spoke. “We...we need a place to stay. Somewhere to keep Sarah safe.”

“All of you?” Wiseman rasped, scowling at Sarah’s mom.

“No,” she said, folding her arms and glaring back. “Just my husband and my daughter. I told you what I do. I can’t risk it.”

“Maybe we can’t risk it either,” Wiseman said crisply.

She snorted. “Don’t give me that shit. I know what you ghouls are like. You look after each other.”

“Because no one else gives a damn.”

“Then we’re agreed.” She jumped to her feet, while Wiseman looked irritated, but resigned. “Look after them. Please.” She strode away quickly, as if trying to leave before she changed her mind.

“Hon.” Sarah’s father stood up so suddenly that his chair fell over with a clatter. “Wait.”

Her mom halted at the threshold, biting her lip, but not turning around.

He stared at her back for a moment, and then dropped his gaze. “What...what do I tell Sarah?”

“Tell her I’m dead,” she said to the wall, blinking rapidly now. “And...and...” She closed her eyes, taking a deep breath through her nose and out through her mouth. “She was loved.”

Was?

“And if Sarah asks—?” her father began, but her mom’s eyes snapped open. She reached the door in two paces, shoved it open, and disappeared into the night.

Slowly, her dad sank to his knees, burying his head in his arms on the dingy table. Wiseman hesitated, then reached out and touched the other ghoul’s shoulder. Her father shook him off, scrambling up and snarling, “Don’t touch me.”

“You’re a ghoul now,” Wiseman said patiently. “Best get over the self-loathing quickly. You got a kid to raise.”

Sarah moved from the window, staring out into the darkness. She could see someone in the distance—Mom?—moving further and further away. For a second, she considered following her, but then stopped.

She doesn’t love me anymore.

--

Sarah woke with tears in her eyes. She blinked them away as she slowly sat up, her dream slipping through her fingers like sand. She remembered Mr. Glass, her father, and…

Sarah closed her eyes again, biting her lip. There was an ache in her heart, though she couldn’t say why. It twisted like a knife as she tried to recall the dream, sharpening as a long lost face surfaced from the mist.

“You okay, kiddo?”

Sarah jumped and turned to see Oswald sitting at his desk, pencil in hand. He set it down and frowned at her.

“Fine,” Sarah murmured, rubbing her eyes. The distraction had driven the dream completely from her mind, but she didn’t mourn the loss. It had been a bad one.

Instead, Sarah glanced around the room, trying to avoid Oswald’s gaze as she rubbed her eyes and sniffed. He’d given her a tour of Kiddie Kingdom, let her go on all the rides, and even shown her the fun house. Finally, when she’d dozed off on one of the spinning tea cups and been flung out of the ride, Oswald insisted she go to bed. He took her to his room, high in the rafters of the castle, through a hidden trap door, and told her he would sleep in the room below.

Sarah begged him to stay.

She wasn’t sure why; Sarah had never been scared of solitude before. Maybe it was because of Mr. Glass. Or the collar around her neck. Or just sheer exhaustion. The reason didn’t matter. Oswald settled himself at the desk near the bed, put on the small electric lamp, and pulled out a book. It looked like he hadn’t moved since.

Sarah’s eyes trailed across the peeling pictures on the wall, and realised they were photographs. They showed lots of people—real people—in a world that looked whole and happy. They were even smiling. One of them was tall and thin, with dark hair and a beard, wearing Oswald’s tophat and suit. Only the suit looked clean and new. Next to him was a pretty, petite woman in a light floral dress. He had his arm around her.

“You sure you’re alright?” Oswald said.

Sarah rubbed her eyes one last time, and finally looked at him. “Yeah. What are you doing?”

Oswald stared at her shrewdly for a moment, but then apparently decided not to press the matter. “Writing.” He shuffled a bunch of papers on his desk. “To my partner.”

“Partner?” Sarah blinked. “Like a girlfriend?”

He grinned. “Yeah, a girlfriend.”

“Her?” Sarah pointed to the photographs.

Oswald gazed up at them for a few seconds, a small smile on his face, his luminous green eyes drinking the pictures in. “Yeah, that’s her. Rachel.”

Sarah hesitated, a strange feeling rising up through her throat. That was her mom’s name.  She swallowed with difficulty, trying to act normal, and said, “Where is she?”

“Finding a cure for...well.” Oswald turned to her. “Some of my people are ill. So she’s going to help them.”

“Is that why Pansy and Petey can’t talk?”

“Something like that.”

“Wiseman told me it’s called ‘going feral,’” Sarah said, recalling the conversation with him. Feral ghouls were only dangerous to humans, but they were nice to other ghouls. “He said it can’t be fixed.”

Oswald’s expression tightened, but he didn’t reply. Sarah thought he might be mad at her, but when he spoke again, his voice sounded calm and friendly. “I write to Rach almost every day. No mail anymore, and no idea where she is, but it feels good. Like she’s still here.”

Sarah considered the idea. She could understand trying to talk to people who had left. She’d done it herself, whispering promises into the night while her dad slept alone in his bunk. The dream, still fresh in her mind, resurfaced, and her eyes pricked again.

“Hey.” Oswald got up, walked over, and sat down on the bed. He raised a hand, as if trying to comfort her, hesitated, and then set it back on his lap. “Talk to me. What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” Sarah mumbled, hating the hot tears rolling down her cheeks. “I just...hurt.”

That was true enough. Her body ached from her flight for her life, and particularly her legs and chest when she’d slipped and crashed into the trash can. But she didn’t want to talk about her mom. Not just now.

“Still?” Oswald frowned, gripping her arm without pause this time. The warm rush of his magic powers dulled Sarah’s pains, his glowing skin brightening until it illuminated the whole room. The warmth stayed with her even when he let go, and she sank back into the pillows, oddly content. Oswald bit his lip. “Better?”

Sarah nodded. “Thank you.”

Oswald didn’t reply for a moment. Eventually he said, “Who hurts you?”

“Raiders,” Sarah mumbled, feeling pleasantly heavy. It was hard to be upset like this. “They beat me if I don’t do my chores. Or if I get in their way. Or if I’m just there, sometimes. I think they chased me for fun yesterday. There are other people with collars too, and they get hurt as well.”

“Are they the same as you and me?”

“No. I’m the only ghoul. The only ghoul in the marketplace anyway. The new boss is one too. That’s neat.”

“Wait, the raiders have—?”

“How does the magic work?” Sarah interrupted, wondering about Oswald’s powers. Wiseman had never mentioned anything like this before.

“It heals people like us,” Oswald rasped, and for the first time Sarah noticed how hard he worked to avoid the word ‘ghoul.’ “But for everyone else, it hurts them.” His expression suddenly darkened. “And if anyone tries to hurt you again, I’ll make ‘em disappear.”

“Promise?”

“Promise.” Oswald paused. “Cross my heart and hope to die. Stick a needle in my eye.”

Sarah peered up at him, worried. “Why would you…?”

But Oswald was laughing again. “Just an old expression, kid.” Oswald held out his hand as a wilted mutfruit flower shot out from his sleeve. “Will this cheer you up instead?” He offered it to her and she took it with a small smile. It smelled like overripe tarberries.

“Thank you,” she murmured, pressing the flower to her face.

“No worries,” Oswald replied with a grin, standing up again. He returned to his desk and continued to write, shooting her concerned glances when he thought she wasn’t looking. Sarah thought about her mom, who she hadn’t seen in years. Her dad, who always tried to hide his disgust whenever they were together. He never stopped hating being a ghoul. Was it really so different to being a human? She couldn’t even remember anymore. She’d only been little when she’d turned.

“Mr. Outrageous,” Sarah said suddenly, and Oswald looked up, before bursting into laughter. Sarah blushed, and after a few seconds, laughed with him. “I mean...Oswald.”

“Yeah, kid?” he said, his smile lingering.

“Can I write to people too?” She paused, feeling stupid. “My parents. And...people I miss.”

Oswald’s expression softened. “Of course you can. Hang on.” He bustled away for a moment, returning with another pencil, paper, and a book to lean on.

Sarah took them with a smile, and waited until Oswald was seated again before bending over the paper. This was private. She didn’t want him to see. But who to talk to first? Her dad, taken away by the mutants? Wiseman, so nice and funny? Or maybe Mr. Glass?

Or…

Sarah licked her lips and put the pencil to paper, scrawling out her first words.

“Mom…”

--

A whole week passed under Oswald’s care. He introduced Sarah to all his friends, and showed her the inner workings of Kiddie Kingdom, from the traps in the funhouse to the sprinkler system.

“Full of radiation, see,” he said as they walked through the mist. Sarah spun around as they went, her arms outstretched, enjoying the cool, tingling feel of the water on her skin, mixed with the warmth of the radiation.

He showed her books and magazines from the Old World, toys salvaged from the rest of the park before the raiders moved in, and pressed flowers his girlfriend Rachel had made before the bombs fell. Sarah stared at them in wonder, imagining how bright they’d been when they’d first bloomed.

However, the longer she stayed with Oswald, the more she thought about the others back in Nuka World. It started as an uncomfortable presence in the back of her mind, but slowly blossomed like the long dead flowers into something sharp and overpowering.

And finally she remembered her first day in Nuka World. The awful feeling of the cold, heavy collar being snapped around her neck. The sneers of the raiders as they told her if she strayed too far, it would kill her. Then a raider dragging her to the market by her arm, a sack dripping red in his other hand. The other marketplace workers were lined up inside, on their knees and clearly scared. The raider dropped her to the floor, kicked her towards them, and then opened up the bag and tipped it upside down.

Cries of horror filled the air. Sarah turned to see a head rolling out across the floor.

“We caught this one trying to leave. Thought he could beat our collars.” The raider cracked his knuckles. “You know what that means.”

All of them had been battered. One by one, pulled out in front of the others, kicked and punched and stomped until they lay trembling on the ground. One woman even died. Sarah was last. They didn’t care if she was new. She had to know her place.

“I need to go back.”

Oswald, who had been making some sort of lunch for the two of them, lost his grip on the bowl he’d been holding. It shot out of his hands and hit the floor, shattering and spilling something he’d called ‘pancake mix’ everywhere.

He ignored this, staring at her. “No you’re not. Not if I have anything to say about it.”

“But...the others.” She explained the situation at the marketplace as best she could, her voice rising frantically with her heart rate. The more she thought about it, the more she realised the danger she’d put them in. She struggled up from her chair, babbling. “If I don’t go now, someone could be hurt. Or killed! And it’ll be all my fault. All my—”

“Woah, woah!” Oswald said, kneeling down next to her. He clamped his hands on her shoulders, forcing her into the chair and holding her in place until she calmed. Then he said, “They aren’t your problem anymore, kid. You need to think about yourself.”

“I can’t!” wailed Sarah. “Mackenzie is my friend! She’s always nice to me; she looks after me! And Mr. Corbett gave me a bag of candy apples for following the new raider boss, and they let me pet Buttercup, and—”

Oswald’s expression grew uglier with every word she said, until he apparently couldn’t hold it in any longer. “They sent a little girl to spy on raiders,” he said, his voice trembling with anger, “and gave you apples as a reward?”

Sarah gaped at him, slighted. Didn’t he understand what it was like at Nuka World? What a risk it was to give away candy instead of selling it? “They were really nice apples!”

Oswald closed his eyes, as if in pain. When he opened them again, his features were fraught. “Sarah, listen to me. And really think about what I’m saying. Have any of your friends ever been as nice to you as I am?

Sarah opened her mouth to say ‘yes,’ but then stopped. She couldn’t say it, because it wasn’t true.

Oswald had been nicer to her in one week than anyone in Nuka World ever—even Mackenzie. But he was also free. The others had collars on. She knew if they’d been free too, they would be just as nice. Wouldn’t ask her to do dangerous things. Wouldn’t let her take most of the beatings…

Sarah bit her lip, trying not to cry.

“You can't go.”

“You're forcing me to stay?” she whispered, her eyes widening.

Oswald released her instantly, looking horrified. “No. I mean, maybe. I…” He stared helplessly at her. “I'm just trying to protect you. They aren't like you and me. They're outsiders. They hate us. Treat us like monsters.”

Sarah's mom flashed before her eyes.

Oswald pressed on. “You know what I mean. They take advantage of you—use you because you aren’t a person to them. They’re just giving you treats to keep you sweet and on their side, so when the hurt happens, you accept it. They are not your friends. But no matter what they say, what they do, you’re not a ‘ghoul’—you’re human, just like me.”

He gazed at her imploringly, worry etched into every line of his ruined face, though he didn't touch her again. He looked at her the way Wiseman and Mr. Glass did. The way her father hadn't. Like she was a proper person.

Oswald shook his head. “I've been here a long time. I see what those ‘normal’ humans do to us. Even the ones who aren't raiders. If you go back, they will kill you, Sarah. Stay here with me. When Rach brings the cure, all of us will look after you. No one will hurt you again.”

Sarah stared up into his green eyes, knowing he meant every word. He’d told her how long he’d been alone. He probably liked her company. Or maybe he was just a good person. But Mackenzie’s face pushed to the forefront of Sarah’s mind. Mackenzie, who could die because she had ran away.

“Promise me you’ll stay,” Oswald said, his glowing gaze burning into her. “Promise me.”

Sarah licked her lips. “I promise.” She hated herself for the lie.

His mouth turned into a sly grin. “Cross your heart and hope to die?”

Sarah blinked, and then forced a grin back. “Stick a needle in my eye.”

Oswald beamed at her.

--

Night fell before Sarah finally made her move. She pretended to be asleep while Oswald scratched out his letters, thinking of the stack at the edge of his desk she’d written herself. Some to Wiseman, asking how the Slog was and thanking him for teaching her to read and write properly with Deirdre. One to her dad, telling him she missed him, and how she hoped he was happier now. Two to Mr. Glass, and how sorry she was for leaving him behind.

The rest were to her mom. They were...mixed.

Sarah eased herself out of bed as Oswald’s snores filled the room. He’d laid his head on his desk and dozed off where he sat. He must have had terrible back pain all this week, but never complained once. Well now he could have his bed back. Sarah hoped Rachel would come home to him soon. She hoped he wouldn’t be lonely for long.

Like a radroach in a metro station, Sarah crept through the room, pausing only to pick up her letters. Oswald had never asked what was in them, or even tried to read them. He’d respected the rules of the letters, of who they were meant for. Tucking them under her arm, Sarah carefully lifted the trapdoor and made her way back down into the castle.

Most of the feral ghouls were asleep, or crawling around, sniffing at the floor. They didn’t notice her as she slipped by, and it wasn’t until she reached the front door that one of them looked up.

Pansy locked eyes with her, froze, and then threw back her head and let out a long, guttural howl. The other ghouls reacted instantly, doing the same.

Sarah ran.

Oswald must have told them to watch out for her. She didn’t understand how—feral ghouls were supposed to mindless! But there was no time to dwell on it. The ghouls were bounding after her, and for the first time in her life, she was scared of them.

“Sarah!”

Oswald’s voice rang out from the battlements as she burst into the courtyard. She didn’t stop, didn’t even look back. He sounded frantic...fearful. Sarah ran on, ducking out of the way and melting into the shadows. But she had to keep moving. Wiseman had never told her how well ferals could smell, and she didn’t want to find out.

A group of Oswald’s ghouls clustered around the exit, blocking her path. Sarah, moved away before they spotted her, reaching the outer wall and quickly finding a crack she could fit in. Sarah pushed herself through, drawing over some of the ghouls, who tried and failed to follow her. When Oswald caught up, she’d already made it to the other side.

“Sarah, stop!” he screamed, banging his fists on the wall.Then she heard his feet as he sprinted away towards the entrance.

Sarah gritted her teeth and darted for the nearest patch of bushes, throwing herself into them and concealing herself as best she could. By the time Oswald made it to where she was, she’d completely blended into the darkness of her surroundings.

Oswald searched for hours, calling her name over and over, firing up his magic so the green glow stretched far and wide. Each burst of energy sent a warm rush through her, and each time Oswald looked more and more exhausted. She watched him as he strayed further and further from Kiddie Kingdom, still shouting her name. Every time he did, he sounded more desperate. So desperate, Sarah almost called back. But she thought of the others waiting on her, relying on her. And so she stayed hidden and quiet.

Finally, as dawn broke over Nuka World, Oswald returned. He let out a string of swear words as he threw his hat, kicking violently at the wall. Then he leaned back against the cracked paintwork, slumping to the floor with his head in his hands.

The other ghouls came over to him, nudging him and bringing back the hat. Oswald ignored all of them, gripping tightly at his scalp. Sarah watched until the ferals drifted away, leaving him alone at the wall. She wanted to go to him, to stop him hurting the same way he had helped her.

Instead, she turned and crept through the underbrush back towards Nuka Town.

[philcmenabadadink]

cisfemale — ever hear people say PHILOMENA CARMICHAEL looks a lot like NATALIA DYER? I think SHE is about 19, so it doesn’t really work. The FREELANCER is here because THEIR VAN BROKE DOWN and they are from WOODSIDE, CA. They can be WHIMSICAL, but they can also be APATHETIC. I think PHILLY might be N/A. ( snot goblin. 20. est. she/they. )

hi hello friends ,,, i bring to u my third character and the Newest Muse i have created ... which means i’m still working on her ! so pleathe bare w/ me as i have no idea how she’ll rly truly turn out. but !! as always, give this a LIKE and i’ll come bother u !!!

TW: CANCER, IMPLIED TRAUMA, DEPERSONALIZATION / DEREALIZATION DISORDER ( ALT. MENTAL HEALTH )

a e s t h e t i c s

wildflowers in your hair and bare feet against moss, binoculars and maps, madonna beating out of half-dead speakers in a half-dead van, whipping wind, jumping off cliffs and rolling down hills, a bandaid wrapped around each finger, cryptic bumper stickers and cryptids in the woods, facing the sun and letting the rays hit you, counting stars late into the night, mismatched socks and lucky ribbons, hoarding a box of special treasures, shoplifting and diner-dashing, bleach against roots, pink sweaters paired with ripped fishnets and slip dresses with knock off uggs, willingly wearing crocs, glitter stickers.

general info !!

full name: philomena brontë carmichael

nickname(s): philly, phil, mena, etc.

b.o.d. - april 20th lmao !!

label(s): the amaranth, the halycon, the neophyte, the wanderer, etc. etc.

height: 5′4″

hometown: woodside, ca

sexuality: ??? $500 ebay mystery box. pansexual if you had to label it.

pinterest

stats

biography !!

a middle child belonging to christopher and imogen carmichael - two stanford professors. christopher specialized in british literature whilst imogen specialized in the classics. hence the name.

the order of siblings goes as such: lysander, elektra, juno, philomena, and twins orion & valora. the deal was that everybody had a greek (or in juno’s case, roman) first name and a middle name inspired by a piece of british literature circa 1800s and under. a family of nerds, if you will.

so, clearly - right off the bat, their parents are ... eccentric. they’re both in love with their respected topic, and with each other, and with their kids. the carmichael family is a happy family.

they each have their own quirks and whatnot - though philly’s always been particularly dreamy - even as a child, she’d spend hours watching clouds or caterpillars or the leaves blow in the wind rather than play with other kids. she wasn’t a shy kid - she just had her own interests.

hardship doesn’t hit the family until philomena is five and starts having splitting headaches. they’re slow at first - but as soon as she’s seeing spots and unable to walk in a straight line, doctor appointments are made.

it doesn’t take long for them to discover the tumor, though the official diagnosis of malignant ependymoma comes a month later.

it’s grade ii but slow-moving, small enough to not be as much of a threat as worried, but big enough where removal is necessary. philomena earns a scar and brings it in for show-and-tell. for two months afterwards, philly’s at radiotherapy monday through friday.

they’re lucky - philomena’s considered cancer-free by the next year. she’s babied at first - handled delicately, as if she could break if touched - but with five other children ... it doesn’t last for too long.

and life continues as normal.

her personality doesn’t shift much over the next few years - she’s awfully independent for a kid, and awfully quiet - when she speaks it’s about faeries and bigfoot, about how the sky is so blue and if you listen quietly, you can hear the leaves whisper their secrets to each other. this is not odd.

she’s close to all her siblings, but she idolizes her older sister - elektra. elektra’s six years older and dyes her hair whatever colors she wants. elektra bought a knife off a seedy guy downtown. elektra threw away all of her heels and renounced god. elektra is god. her music is loud but it’s not heavy - it’s florence and the machine.

they’re opposites - elektra’s boisterous and feels loudly, philomena’s softer and feels...less. when elektra sneaks out, philomena keeps watch. they are a duo.

philomena is smart - but she’s fifteen and hates school. hates sitting inside all day. hates the same routine - day after day - it’s all the same. her parents’ routine is the same, philly feels contained and she wants to live.

elektra’s twenty-one and just bought a brand new spanking (used but not falling apart) 19-something volkswagen ... van - using her entire savings account. she says she’s tired of routine, she’s leaving the next day.

naturally, philomena stows away in the back and isn’t discovered until they’re two states away and she’s got to pee. elektra nearly crashes the van in shock.

it’s an argument - philomena vs. elektra, then them vs. their parents, then their parents vs. the school, the state - it’s an ordeal. philomena switches to an online program in the end.

it hurts christopher and imogen - lysander’s not having any of their nonsense, juno’s betrayed and alone - the twins are twins. in the end, it’s alright. the carmichael family is a happy family.

philomena and elektra take their time - it’s not a road trip, it’s their new life, permanently on the road. they stop and explore often - they do odd jobs in whatever town they settle in. they dine-n-dash, they shoplift. they survive in their own way. 

she drops out of high school officially when she’s seventeen - they have to drive all the way back to california to deal with the wrath of their parents and to deal with paperwork, but it’s done. philomena doesn’t know what path she wants in life - but it’s not that.

it’s during this time that the episodes occur - philomena’s outside her body, philomena’s wrapped in cotton, her memories are not her own. she’s looking in the mirror and she doesn’t recognize herself. they take shelter in a city for six months, long enough for her brand spankin’ new therapist to figure out what’s wrong with her. she’s diagnosed with depersonalization / derealization disorder - they think it’s stress. philomena doesn’t get stressed. they think it’s trauma. she laughs - she never laughs.

she gets medication, and life is normal.

it’s four years later and they’re in vermont when their good ol’ trusty van - affectionately named florence - breaks down in a town called livingstone. the cost is more than they have at the moment, and they’re stuck. philomena thinks she likes the town - but she doesn’t know about the watershed. 

personality !!

she’s quiet but she’s confident - her voice sounds like rustling leaves, if leaves smoked a pack of cigarettes a day.

often underestimated - philly’s petite and looks like she’d fall over if a plastic bag blew too close to her. she’s independent - for the most part. elektra is the only person philly takes orders from.

has always been considered odd - weird, strange. still talks about the trees as if they’re listening, as if they’re old friends. she’s vague and doesn’t elaborate on the things she says.

believes in pretty much any superstition you throw her way. luck is very important to her. if you ask her if the earth is flat, she’ll say probably. believes strongly in bigfoot and the lochness monster. has personally seen aliens, and loves ghosts almost more than herself.

she can be amusing - whether you ‘get’ her or not, her outlook is often bright - she talks about the negatives the same way she talks about the positives. can be seen as naive or gullible, but she’s plenty smart. even if half of her education has come directly from google.

philly doesn’t laugh. a smile, yes - often, in fact - not always reaching her ears, or bearing teeth - but these are not indicators of her happiness. philly is consistently content. she thinks many things are funny - she still will not laugh.

her voice is often monotonous - she doesn’t sound dreary, she sounds far-away. her voice carries. her emotions are often unknown to others.

is apathetic in most situations. she’s hard to bother - she’s incredibly patient and enjoys the company of most - tolerates them at the very least. it’s hard for her to express her emotions, because she feels them so little that it’s very nearly not worth it. her affection is not verbal - it’s small touches and gestures of kindness, love in her own way.

is a fan of knock-knock jokes and bad puns. she won’t crack a smile while telling you them, nor does she expect you to laugh. she just enjoys them.

she owns a motorola razr covered in puffy stickers - hasn’t ever had a smartphone. she’s a fan of emoticons. her favorite is :o)

has a lot of bruises and scratches and scars - she’s often getting herself into pickles. there are always, at the very minimum, three bandaids on each hand.

she has insomnia, so she’s awake often. is often seen wandering town - even when she shouldn’t be, even when it might be dangerous. her intuition is delayed. when she does sleep - her dreams are vivid and fantastical.

keeps a box of memories - sentimental bits and pieces she’s picked up over the last few years. there are a lot of buttons and postcards, but any teeny tiny object will do.

her style changes every week - most, if not all, of her clothes are thrifted. one week she’s baby spice and the next she’s lydia deetz. she combines pieces from different styles often - she looks like a barbie clothed by a child. she feels most comfortable like this.

will either patch-up the clothes that get too worn or reuse them in some way. sometimes donates the clothes she gets tired off - isn’t minimalistic, but she’s learned to keep only a small amount of possessions.

the only consistency is her lucky ribbon - it’s pastel yellow and silky and as thin as a shoelace. she ties it onto her outfit of the day, everyday. if she loses it, she’s lost. elektra has a matching ribbon.

has no problem with minor theft - she only takes bare minimum, puts herself and elektra first and that’s how it’s always been. she tries to be good while in livingstone - would hate to make enemies whilst florence is getting repaired.

they’re staying in a motel, currently, in the cheapest room they could get. philly will still visit florence. will sometimes go home with strangers purely to take advantage of a comfortable bed and a shower with better pressure.

it’s a common occurrence - she doesn’t sleep with them - but somehow, she weasels her way into their homes anyway. has come out mostly unscathed, on most occasions. this has been a practice ever since they’ve been on the road.

really, truly - has not slept with anybody, had her first and only kiss at thirteen with a frog. this doesn’t bother her. 

will consume a n y t h i n g you put in front of her - isn’t picky.

listens to whatever they’ve picked up along the way but she likes instrumentals the best. her second favorite genre is 1990′s and 2000′s top hits. they’re nostalgic for her.

loves storms - will go out in the rain and will risk her life for it.

owns a pair of roller-skates and is often skating rather than walking. unless she’s on grass - then she’s walking barefoot.

has many hobbies, and gets bored of them often. her favorite hobby is welding. she’s not certified.

also, juggles.

the kind of girl who’ll do any job you give her. odd jobs are her favorite jobs. babysitting is her least favorite - but she does it anyway. has lost children before. have they ever been found? not by philly.

dyes her hair blonde often and cuts her own hair - bangs included - finds it cathartic, likes the itchiness of bleach.

everything she does is often in pursuit of feeling free, alive, and meaningful.

wanted connections !!

random encounters - she’s new in town and doesn’t know many people - if anybody at all, so :-)

alternately, people she’s run into with elektra during their journey. whether they’ve stolen from them or stayed with them somewhere or just, ate dinner with them. anything.

someone whose couch she’s crashed on after a night of whatever - a party, adventure, etc.

people she does jobs for !! people who commission her to make stuff for them. people who need a babysitter.

people who think she’s weird - and those who like it. or those who hate it. people who don’t understand her - people who do, in their own way.

someone trying to get closer to her but she keeps slipping out from between their fingers.

a parental / older sibling figure !! they take one look at philomena and instantly want to swaddle and protect her.

people who take an immediate liking to her. people who introduce her to the music scene. people who show her around town.

someone who catches her stealing or about to dine-n-dash.

late-night walking pals.

a dealer b/c weed ? a thing.

someone who gets into a debate with her about conspiracies or superstitions or anything !! someone who gets frustrated at her apathy.

somebody who just immediately distrusts her for whatever reason.

??? you don’t have a smartphone ??? cue someone trying to teach her how they work - and philly hating it !!

thrifting pals.

m a y b e a hook-up, eventually, but it’s questionable.

something unrequited, likely on their end b/c philly is ... a hard egg to crack.

maybe something returned !! eventually. slowly. slow.

god ... someone she just tells her entire life story to. like this meme. 

i’m rly down to brainstorm and think of anything !!! dnt forget 2 leave a like :)

[honestlyhaikyuutrash]

RESULTS ARE IN!

Sorry for the late update post, but here are the results!

Oikawa:

–Pro-Athlete 38.89% –Doctor 5.56% –Nurse 5.56% –Teacher 5.56% –Sports Physical Therapist 22.22% –Model 5.56% –Reporter 0% –Cop 0% –Sports Coach 5.56% –Other: astrophysicist (NASA or such) 5.56% /commentator on official volleyball matches) 5.56%

Kuroo:

–Pro-Athlete 5.56% –Doctor 5.56% –Nurse 11.11% –Teacher 11.11% –Pharmacist 16.67% –Nanotechnologist 50.00% –Reporter 0% –Cop 0%

Daichi:

–Pro-Athlete 11.76% –Doctor 23.53% –Nurse 0% –Teacher 23.53% –Reporter 0% –Cop 29.41% –Banker/Finance 5.88% –Real Estate 0% –Coach 5.88%

Ushijima:

–Pro-Athlete 73.68% –Doctor 5.26% –Nurse 0.00% –Teacher 10.53% –Reporter 5.26% –Cop 0% –Other (Farmer) 5.26% Bokuto:

Pro-Athlete 61.11% –Doctor 0% –Nurse 0% –Teacher 11.11% –Reporter 0% –Cop 5.56% –Sports Coach 22.22% Sugawara:

–Pro-Athlete 0% –Doctor 22.22% –Nurse 16.67% –Teacher 33.33% –Librarian 16.67% –Reporter 0% –Cop 0% –Banker/Finance 0% –Lawyer 5.56% –Real Estate 0%0

Iwaizumi:

–Pro-Athlete 0% –Doctor 16.67% –Nurse 11.11% –Teacher 11.11% –Cop 5.56% –Reporter 5.56% –Lawyer 11.11% –Sports Coach 22.78% –Banker/Finance 5.56% –Other (carpenter) 5.56%

Akaashi:

Pro-Athlete 5.56% –Doctor 11.11% –Nurse 0% –Teacher 0% –Model 27.78% –Veterinarian 22.22% –Reporter 0% –Sports Coach 0% –Cop 5.56% –Banker/Finance 0% –Lawyer 22.22%

Thoughts:

I was so glad that people got to participate! I hope you guys enjoyed it too! Below are my thoughts, and I can’t wait to hear yours too! Let me know if you would like to have another poll/survey in the future!

Oikawa- I was honestly waiting for someone to include ‘alien specialist’ or such, but wow lots of you hoped Oikawa became a pro-athlete! I hope he does too, he just needs to take better care of himself. In fact, let’s just bubble wrap him up and he can just roll around and not injure himself further. And send him to space.

Kuroo- what a nerd, and most of you agreed too. Nice. Yeah science, bitch! Get ready to hear some science pick up lines every time- “Do you have 11 protons? Because you are sodium fine.” His all time favorite: “If I were an enzyme, I’d be DNA helicase so I could unzip your genes.”  But imagine him in a lab coat? ٩(ˊᗜˋ*)و givemegivemegiveme

Daichi- Oh hell yeah. Daichi in a nice suited cop uniform. ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) extra nice. You know he would eventually rise up to the top ranks and be in charge of a precinct. He’d ace all the physical exams with a breeze, no I mean SMASH through the exam, have you seen his thighs?? He’s not called THIGH-CHI for nothing. 

Ushijima- lol of course pro-athlete, didn’t really expect anything else. He is the belle of the ball. And whoever replied with ‘farmer’...ok, but I like how you think. I’d like to think he would have a cow and name her “Betty”. People assume it’s a girl he’s seeing, but nah. Just giving updates on good ol’Betty to everyone. 

Bokuto- Another pro-athlete, which he deserves 100%. I mean have you seen him? He is 99% pure muscle and 1% dank memes. Bet he can crush a whole watermelon with just his biceps alone. Need help opening that pickle jar? Ask Bokuto to open it for you, he’ll flick off the cap with one finger. Boom. But I could also see him struggling with simpler things. You know those perforated plastic seal wraps you see on bottles? Yeah he can never get the tab to rip correctly so he’ll be gnawing on it for a couple of minutes. 

Sugawara- teacher! I should have been more specific with this, because I can see him as an elementary school teacher, middle school, or high school teacher. I personally see him as either an elementary/pre-school teacher. All the moms would love Mr. Sugawara and no one would miss ‘meet the teacher/parent teacher’s conference’ night. Moms would LOVE to shower him with gifts at the start and end of the school year. He’d walk out of the school with handfuls of chocolates and flowers. Even more chocolates and flowers on Valentines Day! EVEN MORE CHOCOLATES AND FLOWERS ON HIS BIRTHDAY!! And you know his classroom would be all decked out with lots of the kid’s artworks and cute/inspirational quotes. The students totally adore and respect Suga but the rare instances when the students are bad, he’d have the mouse cursor still lingering right in the middle of the screen just to irk the students. If his school held those annual ‘best decorated door’ contest, he’d win first place hands down.

Iwaizumi- Sports coach! Nice. If he ever happen to teach a gym class at a school, I’d be the first to fail for some extra credit, if ya know what I mean( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°). God, never mind, he would probably make the kids that fail his gym class to write an essay ABOUT the importance of having physical education. MLA style, not double spaced, font size 10, margins set to narrow, and minimum 3 pages. Gross. But having him as a sports coach totally fits him and he would be the best at it.

Akaashi- Maybe it’s Maybelline~ Any magazines that are blessed with Akaashi’s face on it would be the first to sell out- and you know Bokuto would be the first one to purchase it. He would eventually switch his career over to acting and be the main cast in some lovey dovey Korean drama. You know the type- the cool, stand-offish, but super sexy, that eventually wins over the girl’s heart OR is the friend of a rich bratty kid and wins over the girl with kindness and double points if the girl comes from a poor family and he’s the son of a billion-dollar company and he first experiences ‘normalcy’ with her because he always missed out for being too rich. (boohoo, must be nice)  Petition to have someone start an artwork of Akaashi as a Korean drama actor. I got 2 buttons and a dollar in my pocket to offer. 

And that’s that! I got more head canon ideas based on the results, and if you would to hear more, let me know! 

[huntload625]

Dye Free Mac And Cheese

Dye Free Macaroni And Cheese

Mac And Cheese With Velveeta

Fat Free Mac And Cheese

Sep. 8—COLUMBIA, S.C. — Not to be pigeon-holed as a side dish, macaroni and cheese is the star of a new restaurant opening in Columbia this month.

I Heart Mac & Cheese, a fast-casual chain with more than 100 locations across the country, will open its first South Carolina restaurant in northeast Columbia.

The restaurant specializes, as one might guess, in macaroni and cheese, with specials ranging from 'lobster and white truffle mac' to Cuban-sandwich-inspired mac. You can have your choice served up in a bowl or on a grilled cheese sandwich. (Yes! A grilled mac and cheese sandwich!)

There are also options for building your own cheesy bowl or sandwich with a range of bases including pasta, quinoa, vegetables and tater tots plus a variety of cheeses, sauces and mix-ins ranging from pepperoni and chicken to pickles and jalapenos. There are vegan options, too.

The restaurant plans a grand opening on Sept. 22 with chances for customers to win free mac and cheese for a year, gift cards and a free order of 'mac bites.'

What happens when you take a perennial family favorite, get rid of artificial dyes (known in the food industry as yellows No. 5 and 6), and replace that with paprika, annatto, and turmeric? You get artificial ingredient-free Kraft Mac and Cheese. The annatto tree grows 20 or 30 feet in height and when its seeds are stirred in water, they produce orange annatto dye, also called achiote, used to color foods such as cheese, butter, and mustard. Many cultures use achiote oils and pastes, with their mild flavor and intense color, on meat, fish, and rice.

Located just off Killian Road at 1031 Roberts Branch Parkway, Suite 202, the Columbia restaurant will be the chain's first location in South Carolina. The nearest locations are in Augusta and Athens, Georgia.

The SpongeBob mac and cheese will ditch the artificial dyes, while the original flavor from Kraft will continue to use them. (Photos: SA_Steve; KateMonkey)

Six months after a petition to remove certain controversial food dyes from Kraft Macaroni & Cheese products made national headlines, the company has announced that it will remove artificial dyes from three kid-targeted mac and cheese products. However, Kraft will continue using the dyes in the “original flavor” versions that include elbow macaroni.

According to the AP, Kraft denies that this decision has anything to do with the Change.org petition that has gathered around 350,000 signatures since being posted in March. Because heaven forbid the company appear to be responding to a massive public request.

While the elbow macaroni versions of Kraft mac and cheese that most people have in their cupboards will still use the artificial dyes, Kraft will stop using the coloring in products with SpongeBob Squarepants, Halloween and winter shapes, along with two new pasta shapes to come.

Dye Free Macaroni And Cheese

The artificial dye will be gone and paprika will be used to boost the coloring, explains Kraft.

Mac And Cheese With Velveeta

The dyes in question aren’t used in Kraft products in Europe, and the company offers items stateside that don’t use artificial dyes. Considering the company already goes the natural coloring route elsewhere, why can’t it make the change across the board, argued the petitioners.

The mom who created that petition told the AP that this is just the first step in the long process of changing Kraft’s ways.

“I knew all along that it wasn’t going to be an overnight change,” she explains. “This is a big corporation, and this is one of their biggest products.”

Fat Free Mac And Cheese

Want more consumer news? Visit our parent organization,Consumer Reports, for the latest on scams, recalls, and other consumer issues.

[mildredsoftwaretech]

The Eight Best Films To Stream On HBO Max

Most of us didn’t know HBO max even existed before Jack Snyder dropped his cut of Justice League that we all pleaded for and petitioned. You might even call it his home or something that revived HBO Max. But slowly, it is starting to grow on people. They realize HBO max is a more fun place to be than they realized they have more entertaining stuff to enjoy. Now due to the pandemic, it is becoming a place where Warner Bros can drop many bangers in the coming few months. Through theatrical and streaming release plans. These include some of the biggest movies of the year like “In the Heights (June 11)”, “The Suicide Squad (Aug 6)”, “Dune (Oct 1)” and the last one for which we have been waiting for ages the one and only “The Matrix (Dec 22)”. We all you will want to hit the theatres for these movies, and if you get a chance, please do. In the meantime, let us tell you some of the best collections of HBO max originals in the meantime.

Godzilla vs. Kong

Godzilla vs. Kong was just there. You missed it by a whisker. It is no longer available here. Following its March release, it was here for a month and then removed from here now, if you ask me why it is still on the list. To help you remind what other bigger, better things are going to come for their one-month window as part of Warner Media for side-by-side release of streaming service and theatre release. Coming up: In the Heights (June 11), The Suicide Squad (Aug. 6), Dune (Oct. 1), and The Matrix 4 (Dec. 22).

Zack Snyder’s Justice league

We all know this as Snyder cut. This one was for the people who were Zack Snyder fans or liked his film-making style, dark and gritty. The fans who campaigned for Zack to get a second shot at finishing the movie, which he left in the middle due to personal reasons or tragedy. Then stepped in Joss Weldon and completed the movie, but it was a box office failure. Now Snyder cut is released, which is 4 hours long and with scenes and couple of new villains and with a great epilogue. If you like the style of Zack Snyder and his slow-Mo style, please check out the movie.

An American Pickle:

This movie mostly hinges on Seth Rogan and how much you like him. You will be getting a lot of him in this movie, playing two roles of different eras. You can find him first playing Herschel Greenbaum, a struggling Jewish laborer who emigrates to America in 1919. He found a job in a pickle factory, and some things happen here, and he falls into the vat of pickles, and his body is preserved for 100 years and wakes up around 2019 in Brooklyn. This is a good low-key comedy which you can enjoy.

Unpregnant:

This is what we call a gem of a movie. It is available on HBO max, but for how long we don’t know, so you should go and check it out. It has few different stars like HaleyLu Richardson and Barbie Ferreira. They are a buddy duo crossing the states to where their friend veronica (Richardson) can get an abortion. Veronica’s parents refused her abortion. It’s a beautiful journey of 2 friends across states.

Charm City Kings:

In love with motorbikes, this coming-of-age drama is for you. This movie stars a young star and fresh cast, including Jahi Di’Allo Winston as Mouse, a 14-year-old swept up in the biking world of Baltimore, much to his mother’s dismay. This is a beautiful journey, and a good casting cast makes this movie better with good bike action scenes.

The Witches:

Not so eye-pleasing, a more chill movie that you can just watch without thinking anything. The director Robert Zemeckis and Anne Hathaway did their best to bring back Roald Dahl Classic but weren’t so successful. Jahr Kadeem Bruno is a hero in this movie and is converted to a mouse by the wand of Anne Hathaway. Not as good as the original, but you can take a look.

Let Them All Talk:

The name Meryl Streep grab your attention for the movie. She boards a ship with some of her old friends. They inspired her work as she was a novelist, so the tension between them and her was strong. It looks good. Most of the dialogues are improvised. You can watch her story here about how she manages to win them back.

Locked Down:

This is also one of Anne Hathaway’s specials, also starring Chiwetel Ejiofor in a simple rom-com heist. This film is made by Doug Liman. This movie is about a couple joining hands to rob jewelry. The movie was shot in lockdown and also featured the lockdown in its backdrop. You should include this movie in your watch list.

We have provided you the best movies to watch on HBO Max. Hope you find this useful. Thank you for the read.

Source: The Eight Best Films To Stream On HBO Max

[girlglassestheotherone]

Any triplet "things you said in your sleep"

2029

“Sonia, you have to hearthis,” Stephen said as he walked into his sister’s open room. “Westley istalking.”

“Yeah, I know, he startedtalking again like two years ago,” Sonia said, not looking up from the textbookshe was reading at her desk. Stephen sat down on the bed and examined the pileof notes she had around her desk.

“Are you correcting thetextbook?”

“It’s riddled with errors.Whoever is handing this out to Pawnee Community College accounting teachers touse should be executed.” Sonia had recently petitioned her parents and PawneeHigh School to take math classes that she called more her speed

“Good lord,” Stephen said,before he remembered why he came in his sister’s room. “So, Wes talks inhis sleep.”

“He’s asleep? It’s only,”Sonia examined the clock on her wall, “huh, 1:45 am. Lightweight.”

“Yep. You have to hear it.”Stephen stood and gestured for Sonia to follow him. Reluctantly Sonia closedher book and followed him down the hall to the room her brothers shared. 

“So he’s done this before?”Sonia asked in a whisper. 

“Probably, I don’t alwayssleep here,” Stephen whispered back. “Beds are so constricting.” In theKnope Wyatt house Stephen was notorious for sleeping anywhere. The previousnight he had slept in a pile of clothes in the laundry room and not for thefirst time.

“I don’t think you get howsleep works.” Sonia whispered, even quieter as Stephen slowly pushed his dooropen. Both of them could see Westley asleep on the top bunk bed. “See thisis how normal people sle-,” 

“Why yes I would like apizza,” Westley said, cutting off Sonia’s comment. Sonia froze but Stephencasually walked over to a night stand and picked up a bowl of popcorn. “Extracheese and pickles.”

“He’s a deep sleeper,” Stephenexplained, turning to Westley and shouting “Wes!” and tossing a piece ofpopcorn at his brother’s face. Westley remained asleep, muttering somethingabout a library fine. Sonia grabbed a handful of popcorn and sat down on thefloor next to Stephen.

“Then why were we whisperingbefore?” Sonia asked, realizing the answer as soon as she asked.

“It’s more dramatic!” Stephensaid at the same time Sonia mouthed “it’s more dramatic.”

“I’ve never kissed anyone,”Westley muttered, “I’ll kiss you.”

“This is the best show ever!”Sonia clapped. “Who is Westley going to kiss?”

“Hello this is Pizza Hut,”Westley said, rolling over in his bed.

“Ugh, commercial break,”Stephen sighed.

[alexjarvisworld]

How the truth came about

Zalia pulled her light weight jacket around herself. The wind was howling and the rain was bucketing down in sheets of silver. She had no idea where she was. What planet was she on again? The filth? Sixth? One the list. She couldn’t remember. 

Zalia walked slowly on the tracheal land looking for her camp site. They gave her the latest technology that wasn’t available to the civilized market. A few yards ahead she found the glow of the new technology fire that was a couple of meters away from the setup of her tent and her surveying equipment. Zalia still had a lot to do this night but all she could think about was getting warm and dry. 

Once Zalia was in warm and dry clothes she walked over to her tech hut, as she called it, and hung out her soaking wet clothes out to dry after she rang them out. She grabbed a ration pack, the ones that the military on Earth used when deployed, out of the cabinet and placed it in the microwave. Then Zalia went about her work, she pulled out the samples the samples that she had taken throughout the day. She put some of them on the slides that were provide to her, and the others in a syrup, like they do in the lab of the TV show NCIS, and placed them in the maspectromitor for DNA testing. The slides, Zalia, placed next to the microscope when the microwave dinged. She sat at her microscope and looked through the slides as she made notations onto her laptop as she ate her Quarter pounder and large fries. 

When her work was done with the slides, she logged onto her video dairy to record her activities for the day. 

“Date is the July 8th 2021. Time is 22:00. Same results as yesterday. Still no sign of life forms on this planet. It would be good if I knew what I was meant to be looking for besides life forms. Still not giving exact coordinates of location, until you tell me what I’m meant to be looking for.” She logged out of her video diary and turned off her laptop before the FBI could track the recording. Why she kept on doing the video dairies, she did not know. 

Zalia looked at the time on the maspectromitor and sighed when she saw that it had hours still to go. She threw her trash in the bin and shut down most of her tech hut for the night. Zalia then went inside of her tent and lay down in her bed. Five minutes after her head hit the pillow, she was fast asleep. 

She knew she was having that dream again. The dream where this all started. Zoya came home from school, as she did every school day, and saw black on black unmarked cars parked in front of her house. She hoped that they were here for her drug smuggling and girl trafficking father. She begged her mother several times to leave him before he killed them, but her mother always refused. Zoya walked inside of the front door that was always unlocked for some strange reason and headed towards her room. She didn’t make it. 

She was half way down the hallway when her mother called out to her. “Zoya? Zoya, can you please come here?” 

Zoya stopped short in the hallway and hung her head as she sighed. She really didn’t want to get involved. Her mother knew that too, but persisted on getting Zoya to talk to the police when they came around about her father. 

“Coming,” Zoya replied with regret in her voice. She went down the hallway, went into the lounge room, saw her mother in her usual chair by the window, and men and women in dark coloured suits in every available chair left. 

Zoya walked over to her mother and sat down on the arm of the chair. She looked at the man that she thought that was in charge and said, “What’s this all about?” She always said the same thing to the police when she had to talk to them, which was when they came around. The police always seemed to come around when her father wasn’t here. 

“Miss Stanislav. I’m Special Agent Carter. I’m with the FBI. My colleges and myself, have come here today to talk to you about a grave matter.” Said the man that Zoya picked out of the pack to be in charge. He continued, “Miss Stanislav, you were adopted a month after you were born-” Zoya looked at her mother in shock, she was never told a thing about this. “-Your parents died in a fatal car accident on their way to the hospital, just minutes after the accident you were born.” She looked back to the FBI Agent and mentioned with her hand to continue. Zoya was an expert at hiding her emotions in front of everyone. She saw the FBI Agent take a deep breath before he went on. 

“Your parents were a different species from a different planet. In fact, they were royalty and the leader of their people. They were killed by their enemies. You have two older brothers that were left behind when your parents came to Earth. They were safe until a couple of years ago, when they were attacked by the same enemies that killed your parents. We need you to help us find them.” Special Agent Carter said all this surprisingly sober. 

“What?” Her mother exclaimed in an up roar as she jumped out of her chair. “You want to use the daughter that I raised for sci-fi brains? Get out! Right now! Get out!” 

The FBI that were sitting down jumped to their feet as they were ushered out the door with the rest of their colleges. A petite woman placed a card in Zoya’s hand still hands, without Zoya’s mother, Mishka, seeing, before she left with the rest. 

Left alone, Zoya rose to her feet, walked down the hallway to her room in shock. She closed and locked the door behind her. That was definitely new. None of the other police have ever pulled something like that before. Zoya had always believed that she was different from her family and friends. And now she may have the proof. 

With a start, Zalia opened her eyes and saw that it was still dark. She put her arm up so she could see the time on her watch, which was more than a watch, saw that she had only been asleep for a couple of hours. She looked up at the top of the tent and sighed inwardly. Zalia hated when the dreams started. She knew that she couldn’t stop them when they started. She had had tried everything that she could think of to stop them. Her eyes grew heavy again. She didn’t fight the sleep that claimed her. She knew from past experience not to fight it. 

Zoya snuck out of the house that night. 

After the FBI left, she went into her room and stayed there for hours. As the hours went by she listened to her parents fighting as usual. How could she not hear them, everyone on the street could hear what they were fighting about. The only time anyone got a break from it was when her father, Andrei, wasn’t at home. But this time it was about what the FBI had come for. 

Zoya waited until her parents went to bed before she started packing. Then waited until she knew that her parents were asleep before she left the house with her bag and left the house for the last time. She didn’t leave a note. She didn’t want them to able to find her. 

She walked a few blocks to the CBD then caught a cab to the airport. On the back of the card, that the female FBI Agent gave her, Zoya looked at the writing thoroughly for hours, she knew that there was a plane ticket waiting for her to Washington DC at the airport. 

Zoya got out of the cab and paid the driver then entered the airport. She headed towards the lockers to the right to get her ticket, she went to the check in and found out that she was on a private jet and that it was waiting for her. This excited her, she had never been on a private jet before. Zoya was shown the way to the jet by a tall, broad-shouldered security guard that had a military style haircut, he led her out of the building of the airport, across that tar mat, to a small airplane hanging that wasn’t that far away from the airport proper. She thanked the security guard with a pleasant smile and small nod as she boarded the jet that was empty. Once Zoya seated herself, she strapped herself into the luxurious chair and looked out of the window. 

An air hostess came up the aisle and stopped just before her seat. “Hi, I’m your air hostess, Cara. We are waiting for the flight clearance before we can take off. Is there anything that I can get you after we take off?” Cara smiled warmly at her. At quick once over, Cara appeared to be a female in her mid to late 20’s wavy chocolate brown hair from Spanish decent. Her make up wasn’t heavily applied and was simple. 

“Um, yes. I would like a can of coke and a pickle egged and lettuce sandwich please?” Zoya was quick to reply after having looked over the plane’s menu when she was waiting for the other passengers to be seated. Government agents always travelled together. 

The air hostess, Cara, promptly continued down the aisle until the piolet spoke over the PA system. “Good evening everyone this is your piolet, Captain James Crips, and welcome aboard flight US246. We will be taking off shortly. Please watch the air hostess’s as they show what to do in case of an emergency, and then we’ll be on our way.” 

The air hostesses promptly got with the program with the emergency procedures, and then the seatbelt light dinged on, indicating that it was time to fasten the seatbelts because the plane was about to start down the runway. Zoya looked out the window as the plane started down the runway, speeding up every second and very soon they were in the air. There wasn’t much to see out the window as night fell. 

Zalia woke up to the sounds of the birds coming awake. Sunrise. The sunrise here in Felidae was the weirdest that she bet that anyone could ever imagine. It literally rose in the north. Australis rose in the south. And Zalande rose in the boring east. Tohkar-Chin had no sun and no moon for that matter, it was constantly day time there. Afrikah, she never saw the sun rise so she didn’t know. 

She started off with getting ready for the day. First off, a shower as she didn’t have one the night before. Which probably wasn’t the best idea. She showered regularly because no one knew what the planets did to one’s skin seeing though as far as anyone knew, she was the first and only one that has ever been to these planets before. Therefore, no data about them anywhere. 

After stripping of her still damp clothes, Zalia stepped into the cubical as she told the water to come on. In no time at all the hot water came to the perfect temperature. She went about washing her body and hair, as she thought back to when she decided to change her name from Zoya Stanislav to something else. 

Zoya was a long way into the training program when her adopted parents finally convinced the government to allow them to see her. She didn’t want it. Didn’t want anything to do with them anymore. They both lied to her all of her life and there was not a bit of remorse of any kind from them. Zoya knew that she’ll never get the slightest apology from them. They were that cold hearted. Always have been. Always will be. So, she had no use of them and the FBI agreed with her on that matter. But the president of USA was a parent himself and agreed with the Stanislav’s. 

After that first visit the FBI spoke to her about the visit. She could remember the wad of tissues in the bin beside her as she sat in the chair. They thought that she missed them. But that wasn’t even close. Had never been close to the truth. 

On the classic metal plastic, basic chair that was found in hospitals and government buildings, Zoya sat with her forearms on her lower thighs, her head in her hands with the FBI team that was assigned to her around her in a lose semicircle. Agent Carter had gone off somewhere and they were waiting for him. Somehow, he always got her, knew what she was thinking as she was thinking it. Sometimes even before she was thinking it. That was kind of creepy, actually. But at least she didn’t have to go in length with whatever she spoke to him about. 

Five minutes later, Agent Carter was back with something in his hand. She had to call him Agent Carter when they weren’t alone and that was a lot of the time. When they actually were alone, she got to call him Lois. To this day, she still thought that his parents wanted a girl when he was born, and when he came out they still decided to call him Lois, regardless of the fact that he was a boy and the bullying that he would receive growing up. 

Looking at the piece of paper that had suddenly appeared in her line of sight as she stared at the floor. Flicking her eyes up at him, he smiled his very white tooth smile and waved the paper. “Choose a name and it’s yours.” He was very calm and straight forward about it all that got her curiosity up. 

Taking the paper, Zoya scanned the list of names. Twice. There were plenty to choose from. Not being able to pick one, and knowing that she had to be quick about picking one, she decided to do the eny-miny-moe. Pointing a finger at the page and closing her eyes, she said the nursery rhyme in her head. When she opened her eyes, she looked at the name that she was pointing at and then looked up at Agent Carter. “This one.” 

From that day forth, she was known as Zalia Knight.

[wierdogal]

Flip A Coin?

Author’s Note: Still at the hospital but hopefully getting out tomorrow. [Finger’s crossed.] But that won’t stop me from posting my last one-shot for Rumbelle Is Hope. Not my last fic update though because I have one last update for my birthday week. This is a prompt from the same AU list. [Ok, I might have cheated a little.]

Prompt: "I decided to flip a coin about every decision in my life for a week and that's how we ended up on a date."

On AO3

"You really don't have to do this too Papa," began Neal as he and his father finished washing the dishes. "I mean Emma and I want to teach Henry the importance of decision making and-"

"The lad stays with me quite a lot during the week and it's better that he sees this little demonstration everyday." argued Gold as he handed his son another plate to dry. "Besides, it won't make much of a difference because my decisions are usually if I'll eat lunch at Granny's or just order take out."

"Oh really?" challenged Neal. "Not scared that it'll be to either give someone an extension on their rent or not."

Gold glared at his son and resisted the urge to splash soapy water at the smug smile he was getting.

Henry had decided to head to Granny's with his friends earlier, a decision he had arrived because he had flipped a coin whether to go with his friends or not.

So Emma and Neal had decided to teach the boy a lesson by being practical. The entire family would decide on some things by flipping a coin. Emergencies or other important matters on the other hand would not be affected.

Extending one's rent didn't qualify on those terms.

Gold had offered to do the exercise as well seeing as Henry usually spent some of his time after school at his grandfather's pawnshop, when both his parents had town meetings to attend.

"Henry isn't usually at the shop when things like that happen," said Gold. "Besides, rent day is next week."

"Don't go beast mode on me when one of your tenants charge at the shop while Henry's there." remarked Neal with a smile. "Because that isn't a family emergency or an important matter and you're going to have to flip a coin."

Apparently the lesson had been paying off, as Henry complained about eating nothing but vegetables for the past two days because they've been flipping a coin on what to eat.

"The other night it was peas and carrots and last night we had a spinach casserole," groaned Henry as he watched his grandfather fix a clock. "I'm glad that at least I got to have dessert last night but that was still a 50-50 chance."

Gold chuckled as his grandson continued to narrate the past two days of life by the coin as Emma had coined it, no pun intended.

"What can I tell you lad," began Gold as he kept his tools and looked over the watch Marco had asked him to repair. "You win some, you lose some."

"Well I've learned my lesson," began Henry as he got out his homework. "Maybe the sentence could be reduced?"

Gold smiled at the tactic and ruffled the boy's hair. "As much as I admire the cunning attempt, my boy, the final say has to be from your parents."

"Come on Grandpa," began Henry. "You didn't come over last night because the coin said so. Don't you miss me?"

"Guilt-tripping your grandfather isn't going to work," said a voice and Neal came through the curtain separating the main shop from the back room. "But I do need to know if we're expecting you for dinner or not."

Gold smiled and got a coin from his pocket. "Heads, yes, tails, no." He tossed the coin and let it land on the table, Henry whooping as the coin finally declared heads.

Before Gold could answer, he heard the bell signal someone had come in. He turned to his son, "You didn't flip the sign?"

"Five to five, Papa," chuckled Neal. "Technically, you're still open."

Gold glared at the laughing forms of his son and grandson and made to go to the front of the shop to tell the person to leave-only to stop dead in his tracks when he saw who the customer was.

"Hi, Mr. Gold, I'm in a bit of a pickle," began Belle French as she clutched an old tattered book in her hands.

"What can I do for you Ms. French?" asked Gold as he walked over to the counter, hearing his son and grandson scamper in the back room but they did not emerge.

"Well Regina and I overlooked the curiosity of young Roland," began the petite librarian. "As we were talking about the library's activities for the coming months, Roland managed to grab this book and well you can see the result…"

The pages of the tattered copy of "Her Handsome Hero" had fallen off from the spine. The pages weren't dented or folded at the edges, it was just really that the pages had fallen off.

"Given that it's an older book, I don't think simple tape would be enough to fix it," began Belle. "And I don't really want to just tape it all together. I know some paste and stitching is involved in these situations and I was wondering-"

"Say no more, Ms. French," began Gold with a smile. "I'd be happy to restore this for you. I'd just have to do a bit of research before I try though. I do not want to ruin this book because of my lack of book restoring skills."

"That would be fine, Mr. Gold," replied Belle with a smile.

"I hope you don't mind me asking," began Gold as he delicately gathered the pages of the book and stored it for safekeeping. "Wouldn't be faster to just buy another copy?"

"Yes, but this particular copy is part of the first editions of this book," began Belle with a slight blush. "And it isn't actually the copy of the library's...well it's actually-"

"Yours?" asked Gold with a smile. He knew that she was ad avid reader, why he wasn't surprised when Regina had said that Belle French was coming back to town to run the library. She was also a collector of first editions. From what he could remember, he had appraised the book for Maurice French when he had found it in some sale. He had given it to his late wife Collette as an anniversary present. "I remember your father bringing it to me before, asking for its authenticity."

Belle laughed and Gold found himself smiling wider. "Yes, I remember that story. Mother had thought he was going to sell it only to find that father just wanted to make sure that he was giving her something of value."

Gold nodded and eyed the book once again. "Then I'll make sure to give me the utmost care and attention, Ms. French. I wouldn't want to do any harm to such a very important piece of literature."

"Every written word is an important piece of literature, Mr. Gold," began Belle with a smile. Gold raised an eyebrow at her which prompted a chuckle. "Well some pieces weight more than another."

"Like hardbound, first editions?"

"Like books passed down from parent to child," replied Belle and Gold gave her a thoughtful smile.

"I agree on that front," said Gold. "I'll inform you as I can if I can restore it. If not, I'll try and find someone with more experience."

"Oh I wouldn't want to be a bother-"

"You're never a bother Ms. French," replied Gold and the loud chuckle turned cough could be heard loud and clear from the back. "I'm happy to be of service."

He all but glared as his son emerged from the back room, followed closely by Henry.

"Hi Ms Belle!" greeted Henry.

"Hello Henry, Neal," said Belle with a smile. "Well I best not keep you from a family dinner. Thank you again, Mr. Gold."

She departed with one final wave and as soon as the door closed Gold glared at his son. "Really, Bae, eavesdropping?"

"It's not eavesdropping if you can clearly hear the conversation," remarked Neal with a teasing smile. "Henry, why don't you pack up your homework and call your mother to expect Grandpa."

Henry did as he was told and Neal turned to his father, Gold slightly worried about the glint in his son's eyes.

"You know why don't you just ask her out for dinner," said Neal as Gold opened the safe and placed Belle's book inside. "It'll save all the town the trouble of being witness to the slow burn of romance that is you and the librarian."

"What do you mean the entire town?" asked Gold in surprise and horror.

"Come on, Papa," whined Neal. "The only people who can't see that you are entirely in love with each other are the two of you."

Gold snorted. "I doubt Belle French has any sort of feelings-"

"Wanna bet?" asked Neal. "Look just ask her out for coffee or something. What's the worse that can happen?"

"I don't think-"

"Flip a coin?"

Both adults turned to Henry as he emerged from the back. "It's not a family emergency. So that decision warrants a coin flip."

Neal's smile widened as his son's logic sank in and turned to his father, the glint in his eyes back with full forced and Gold found himself swallowing nervously. "Henry has a point dad...and I did say you could get out of this little life lesson."

Gold sighed and resigned himself to his fate. He got the coin from his pocket. "Heads, yes, tails, no."

He held his breath as the coin soared and landed on the counter and sighed in relief as the coin landed on tails.

Neal eyed his father but a smile was still on his face. "Well it's a long week...and there is a 50-50 chance."

"There has to be a rule that you can only flip a coin once for a given scenario," said Gold as he helped Emma clear the table.

"Nobody forced you to join the lesson Gold," began Emma with a smile. "Neal gave you an out but you insisted. Ergo, all decisions this week will be decided by the coin."

"You make it sound so ominous, Em," said Neal from the sink as he began washing the dishes. "But I agree with her Papa, I told you that you didn't have to take part but you insisted. And so talking to Belle, whether or not to give her a call or to walk over to the library is now decided by a coin."

"Not when it's not really part of my day," mumbled Gold.

"But yes when we pester you about it," said Neal with a smile. "Be thankful it's night time and we don't really want to look like stalkers. But tomorrow when I'm at the shop-"

"I'm closed." said Gold as he placed their leftovers in the fridge.

For the past two days, Gold has flipped a coin in deciding if he should ask Belle out to dinner, give her a call to ask the same question, go over her booth to again ask the same question. All prompted by Bae and Henry, all getting a no.

Frankly. Gold was relieved. As much as he really did want to go out on a date with Belle French, he really was buying his time. He didn't want to look like a creepy old man with a crush on the beautiful librarian.

As Neal would say it, he was playing his cards right.

But then Neal's words from the other day came back to him...the entire town thought that she had feelings for him? That was absurd. She was friendly to everyone, and she was always pleasant to talk, even to people like Keith Nottingham. She didn't act differently when she was talking to him...I mean they did talk an awful lot about books and other things they had in common.

"Uh hello, universe to Papa, anyone in there?" cae Neal's voice and Gold was startled out of his thoughts as his son's face appeared in his line of sight. "You know what, forget the coin, go over to the library tomorrow and just ask her out already."

"Nope, that's for the coin to decide," said Emma. "If he keeps getting a no, then maybe there's good reason."

"You believe in fate and destiny and all those things Emma?"

Emma gave him a confident smile. "Well Gold, if you asked me a decade ago, I'd have probably dumped some expensive wine over your head...but I've changed a few perspectives of mine."

She didn't glance Neal's way but Gold got the point and returned her smile. He and Emma had gotten off on a rough start but when both saw how they cared about their mutual loved ones, it was an easy built relationship.

He just hoped that she was right and it was an easy built relationship with Belle French as well.

Gold was able to find some instructions in restoring an old book and was able to do it. He was a spinner and needle work was never an issue. He was very scared to damage the pages and didn't pull the thread to tight as he binded the pages together before gluing them to the spine.

He had informed Belle to come by the shop the following day and as he waited (shooing Henry to the diner and had asked Granny to watch over the lad) he stared at the coin on the shop counter.

Belle was due to arrive in five minutes and he still hadn't answered his question.

The question being if he was going to ask Belle to have dinner with him tomorrow. To be honest, even without the coin, he didn't know the answer.

At least with the coin, he'd be forced to follow its decision-

Gold groaned. He couldn't he was going to let a coin dictate his life. But this was what he had agreed upon with his son and his family. It wasn't just some nonsense...it was a lesson all of them needed to understand...about decision and how life-changing one small decision can be.

Why decisions were always pondered upon and never just a toss up.

He sighed and took the coin. Heads, yes, tails no. He took a deep breath and tossed coin-

"Hi Mr. Gold," came Belle's voice and Gold was to startled to catch the coin and he managed to swat it away, the coin landing on the floor and rolling towards Belle.

Belle picked it up and gave him an amused look. "You know I've been seeing you, Neal, Henry and even Emma flipping a coin almost the entire week. Is there something going on?"

"Ummm," began Gold as he internally groaned. Way to sound smart Gold. "I-well we-I mean-"

Belle gave him a look mixed of amusement and confusion as she walked over to the counter. "Would you prefer to ask the coin whether to let me in on the Gold family secret?"

She held the coin out to him and Gold swallowed the forming lump in his throat. He took it slowly and Belle eyed his every movement. "Heads, yes, tails no?"

Gold nodded and then he tossed the coin and they both watched flipped in the air, finally landing on Gold's palm.

Heads.

"So?" asked Belle with a triumphant smile. "What's going on?"

"You remember the incident with Henry and his friends?" began Gold, resigning to his fate.

"Oh you mean the Nevengers?" teased Belle which got Gold to smile a little, the tension in him cracking a bit. "Yes, I did."

"Well apparently their exploits are decided a tossing a coin," explained Gold. "So Neal and Emma have decided to teach young Henry a lesson about proper decision making by making him experience how tossing a coin is not the ideal way to decide on things."

"I gather the coin hasn't been on his side much," asked Belle with a small chuckle.

"Apparently he's only had vegetables for dinner this past week," answered Gold with his own laugh. "And he's only had hot chocolate with cinammon once."

"Ouch," said Belle. "That must have been the kicker."

"Indeed," said Gold. "I took part in the lesson because Henry is by the shop more often than not."

"You would risk giving someone an extension on your rent by flipping a coin?" asked Belle, an eyebrow raised.

"Why does everyone think that is the worst case scenario?" asked Gold, feigning being insulted but Belle could see the playfulness in his eyes. "Besides, I agree with the lesson. Decisions are meant to be thought over...not just going with the flow as the young seem to do these days."

Belle gave him a thoughtful look. "But over thinking something is also not the most ideal when it comes to deciding something." She paused as she played with the coin, spinning it on the counter top. "People also tend to over think, looking at the worse case scenario when deciding on things. Even for the most trivial things like talking to someone...what if he doesn't want my company? What if we can't talk about anything? What if I just stare at the person because he is just too beautiful to look at?"

She paused and met his gaze. "Sometimes you don't need think at all...but have the bravery to take the leap."

Goold stood wide-eyed out. What was Belle-

"Hey grandpa, hey Belle!" greeted Henry as the door to the shop opened. "Dad said to wait for him here. I can do my homework at the back, can't I grandpa?"

"Of course, my boy," said Gold as he cleared his throat.

"Are you here to pick up your book Belle?" asked Henry as he went behind the counter towards the back room. "Grandpa and I worked hard to make sure it was in near perfect condition again."

"It looks perfect Henry," said Belle as she picked up the book. Henry smiled and went to the back, leaving the two adults alone again.

The two shared a look and Gold began to talk about the things he did to restore the book. Previous conversation seemingly forgotten as they talked more about old books, how to take care of them and the usual debate of print versus digital copies.

"As much as I want to return this book to its proper owner," began Gold. "I still do have to inspect it if the binding held."

"I understand," replied Belle with a smile. "I'll come back when it's ready but thank you for informing me that you managed to restore it."

With a nod, she turned to leave and Gold knew this was now or never.

Belle's hand was already on the handle when he heard the familiar sound of a coin being flipped. She turned just in time for Gold to catch the coin, his hand closing on it so that the decision was hidden from them both.

"Mr. Gold?" asked Belle.

"I decided to flip a coin about every decision in my life for a week." began Gold, shyly as he met her gaze. "And that's how we ended up here…"

Belle turned to him in confusion but then she smiled softly. "And what decision does the coin must ponder on about this time?"

"Whether or not if I should ask a beautiful librarian for dinner tomorrow night," said Gold. Belle's smiled brighter and she closed the door before walking around the counter to stand next to him.

"What made you change your mind?" asked Belle.

"You said it yourself, be brave and take the leap," said Gold with a sheepish smile. "Well here I am...doing the brave thing and hope that bravery follows."

Belle smiled and covered his hand over the coin with her own. "You do realize whether the coin says no, I still do expect a formal invitation."

"Sod the coin," whispered Gold as he turned to look if Henry was eavesdropping. "Besides the rules were that we didn't have to flip a coin for very important decisions."

"You still flipped it," teased Belle. "Besides, I'm curious to see what the universe has decided for us."

"And what if it says no?"

Belle's smile was infectious and Gold knew he had nothing to worry about. She chuckled Belle and prodded him to open his hand. "Sod the coin."

There gleaming in the light of Gold's shop shone a coin...with the face of heads.

They both smiled and turned to each other. "The coin has spoken."