#pta extended universe

[box-dwelling]

So I wanted to make a pinned post compiling every post I've made that I have any intent at all to do anything with as a fan work.

Most of these are just drafts currently but as stuff gets released I'll edit this post and reblog with the news.

This post is long so the info will be under the cut but as a contents:

Franmaya Narumitsu Kids Au

Turnabout Orca

Ace Attorney DnD

Narumitsu Enjoying Art

Trucy V Kristoph

PTA Narumitsu

No Children Krisnix

Narumitsu Who Wait Too Long

Full Breakdown of My Plan For a Fic EU:

-Untitled Disbarment -Untiled Turnabout Trump Missing scenesand Fallout -Untitled Hell -Turnabout PTA -A Stray Turnabout -Turnabout Orca -A Christmas Turnabout -Untitled DnD -Turnabout Date -A Family Turnabout -The Perfect Wedding Turnabout -2 Bonus Fics

FranMaya Narumitsu Kids Au

Original post - full AU breakdown. Warning it's long

Ask about the Richards relationship to his sisters

Plan:

I'd love to do some fun comics. Maybe a fic but it would be a bitch to format as such. May become a series of drabbles instead

Current status:

No words on the page for fics. Ideas planned for comic but I'm really not happy with my art style at the moment and struggling to get someone drawn that I don't instantly hate and want to restart. Happy to take ideas to expand on this AU with questions

Turnabout Orca

Original post - Concept Breakdown

Additional post - Additional discussion of concept

Fic link

Plan:

Fic. A part of my larger series I have planned that I don't talk about that much here but separate enough to be posted on its own before the rest

Current Status:

Chapter 1 published. Chapter 2 needs edits but could honestly be posted whenever. I just keep procrastinating. I had ideas for a chapter 3 when playing this case but don't remember what it was so I'd need to replay the case.

Ace Attorney DnD

Original post - Character role breakdown

Character sheets

Plan:

A spin off midquel of a fic within my extended fic universe

Current status:

Ugh. So. I have a Klapollo Christmas fic within the previously mentioned extended fic series. There are 4 fics I need to post first or else it will make no sense.

The fic itself has a good amount written but is not finished but I probably could write the remaining scenes pretty easily. I would love to post this at Christmas but erm. We'll see.

I could cut down the previous references and just have it all be out of order as I post.

The first fic is a good good way done.The second is short sweet and basically done. The forth is a short sweet fluff fic that's not got too much written yet but should be easy enough to bang out. The third one is a complete god damn shitshow that I'm really unhappy with at the moment. I want to rearrange a tone of stuff before I post it. There's some stuff in there I adore. Then there's other stuff I hate and want to cut out immediately but can't because the stuff I like its currently dependant on it. It's got no coherent structure. There's a million things I want to cover in it but not over riding theme. A lot of the later stuff hinges on events in this one so I can't just completely kill it. It's overstuffed and just a complete Trainwreck. I recognize that what I post doesn't have to be good and this is a fan space but I genuinely don't want to put this out there in this state. Like to explain what a state it's in its currently dealing with a mirror to FmT, sibling reveal, setting up Klapollo, Manfred's execution, Narumitsu proposal, another thing on this list, AJ fallout, and Edgeworth's promotion and very very little connective tissue between these concepts.

This is relevent because the DND fic is kind of a midquel to said Christmas fic so need to come out after it.

Idk guys Christmas sounds a little too optimistic. I may post the Christmas fic very very late.

Narumitsu Enjoying Art

Original post - concept breakdown

Plan

Included in a part of one of the fics in the extended fic universe

Current status

Hey so remember what I just said about the third fic having a planned segment for another point in this list. Suprise guess which one it was. This one. So yeah development hell. I've not even written that part yet because even opening that doc demoralises me. Will it be in the end product? I literally have no fucking clue. It's linked in with the FmT mirror segment which is the most likely to get the axe and also the hardest to fucking cut so just ugh.

Trucy V Kristoph

Original post - beginnings of concept

Extended post on this idea - concept breakdown

Plan:

Finally, its own thing. A multi chapter canon divergence fic

Current status:

Honestly doing pretty well. I've got like 3 chapters written but am struggling to know where to go from where I am. Kind of on hiatus but I could also just post what I have so far and then have it be a more public hiatus.

PTA Narumitsu

Original post - concept discussion

Plan

Fic. Similar to Turnabout Orca in that it fits within the canon of the extended fic universe and may get plonked in there as a series but works as a stand alone

Current status:

One scene written. I have ideas but it's a hard one to get motivated to write. I love the concept but it's just not the document I instinctively open up.

No Children Krisnix

Original post- lyric by lyric scene description

Link to homeforall's own version of said idea

Plan

Animatic

Current status

I have done a handful of scenes but I'm having the same issue I was with the Au comic. I just need my art to be a bit better to feel comfortable.

Narumitsu Who Wait Too Long

Proper concept breakdown

Related prior post

Plan:

It's own fic as its own thing but also a general feeling and concept I try to bring in whenever I write 7yg stuff

Current status:

A brief scene written as its own thing though I may change it to go a different way because I have being think about it more. Also a theme I have in the first of the extended fic universe stories

Aforementioned extended fic universe

Ok so this one is more complicated because I don't really have posts for it but I did want to break it down for me and for future reference.

1: Untitled: Disbarment

Concept:

Begins with some small stuff during the trilogy, Choosing death, forbbien hospital scene and what not but is primarily about Phoenix's disbarment. Narumitsu fic mainly but there's a good deal of Franmaya and also some deeply toxic Krisnix.

Status:

A lot written but missing a lot of connective tissue and I want to put in some fluff padding at points. Also there's probably a smut scene or two that I want to write but have been putting off.

2: Untitled- Turnabout Trump Missing Scenes and Fallout

Concept:

Kind of tieing some loose ends from the last fic with some headcaons I have about this case in particular. Short. Probably a one shot. Could be an epilogue to the previous but I think will be worth publishing as its own thing.

Status:

Basically done. Need to be published in order.

3: Untitled Hell

Concept:

After Turnabout succession Phoenix goes to Europe with Edgeworth and Trucy and Apollo stay behind to take a case. When Apollo is writing up his journal notes from the Misham Trial they look through Phoenix's paper work to clear up some loose ends and find out a lot they didn't know. Meanwhile stuff gets more and more out of hand in Europe

Status:

Already said. Absolute hell.

4: Turnabout PTA

Concept:

When Edgeworth gets promoted to Chief Procecutor, Phoenix takes him to the PTA to show off. Chaos ensues

Status:

Already said. This and turnabout Orca are the only ons before the Christmas Turnabout that doesn't have to be posted before it. This one could probably come out on its own but it's best after the 3rd fic

5: A Stray turnabout

Concept:

Short sweet fluff fic. Athena meets her Boss's fiance. Edgeworth worried about Trucy's grades. Phoenix adopts a stray puppy. Apollo gets to subject the agency to one of his special interests

Status:

Like half written and the other half is inmy brain. It's just not been a priority.

6: Turnabout Orca

Concept:

Turnabout reclaimed from Edgeworth's perspective

Status:

Already said. Will be posted when it's posted.

7: A Christmas Turnabout

Concept:

Just after the end of dual destinies, Apollo invites Klavier to the Wright-Edgeworth Christmas party given that his previous plus one is now dead. It's the obligatory Klavier joins the found family and gets "forgiven" (read: realised he was never blamed I'm the first place) for Phoenix's disbarment fic that I always eat up. Also dealing with the fallout of DD and Clays death and Klavier's fallout after AJ. Big ensemble cast. Angst and fluff.

Status:

Solid half way done

7.5 Untitled DnD

Concept:

Some for the cast are bored and unable to sleep on Christmas Eve so Trucy runs a Christmas one shot for their DnD party.

The idea for this was that all the family members have a DnD character but it's kind of expected that not everyone can always make it. So it's an induction for Klavier and Simon into the fold by making their characters and joining in. The players for this fic are Klavier, Apollo, Simon, Athena, Kay, Pearl and Sebastian. Maya, Phoenix, Ema and Edgeworth all also have characters but aren't present for the game for reasons that make sense in context.

Status:

Already said

8: Turnabout Date

Concept:

A direct sequel to A Christmas Turnabout taking place a day or so after that one leaves off. Klavier has asked Apollo on a dated to an intimidatingly fancy restaurant.

Meanwhile as the anniversary of DL6 draws closer Edgeworth ends up giving up and giving the prosecutors office a holiday break until the New Year. In turn Phoenix gives the WAA the time off too given the stress of the last week. Both offices decide to help their respective idiot in love prepare for the date. Though the weird girls of Maya and Kay end up on the opposite of their usual sides as Phoenix needs requests the aid of everyone's favourite great thief and Maya get caught up in the chaos after an attempt to seduce her girlfriend.

Status:

About a third written. I'm really really fond of this one though.

9: A Family Turnabout

Concept:

A pair of ghosts from Phoenix's past turn up on the agency door all related to Athena's most recent case. A poisoning in a tea shop that she herself witnessed.

Tensions are high as more than one Wright family member's life hang in the balance. As Phoenix's mental state grows slowly more unstable, his relationship with his daughter is put to the test.

While Athena and Apollo butt heads about how much their powers are to be trusted and ask they begin to learn more and more about the mysterious group the victim and defendant belong to, Phoenix's protegee are forced to ask serious questions about what justice really means and if the WAA's tactics in court are really moral and safe.

Status:

Hey idk if you can tell. This is my favourite. If I could just post this and focus on it I would. Unfortunately it needs a lot of fucking context. Stuff that's fine to just be explained to a reader who knows they can learn more in other available fics but will sound insane if not. How much is written. A whole lot. The stuff that's missing is the case fic stuff but I know exactly what I'm doing with that now so it just needs to be properly written out. There's probably a few posts I could have linked to put this bad boy on the mentioned works in progress section but that would probably spoil it a bit and I don't want to do that.

10: A Perfect wedding Turnabout

Concept:

Narumitsu wedding. Big old ensemble piece. Stuff will get crazy but I don't want to spoil anything. But those two could never have a normal wedding come on.

Status:

This was like the 3rd fic is started writing and well. It shows. I don't love how a lot of it reads. I want to rewrite a tone. But there is a lot already on the page. The other 2 I wrote this early were a very early draft of the first fic which has been revised enough to be fixed and then the 3rd fic which is the bane of my existence. I like the plot concept I have. But I worry about the prose. When I wrote this is had been a long ass while since I'd tried to write a big cast like this and it fucking shows. Also just the character voice is off. It's kind of expositiony. It's not as unsalvageable as 3 it's just not there yet.

2 Bonus fics

Status:

Completely unwritten

Concept:

I kind of want to do a narumitsu fluff fic of them buying a house together and putting up furniture after 3 and I wouldn't mind a reunion faraskye fic before 3. But the benefit of me having written nothing and having planned nothing is that they have no vital link to the others so they can just be punished whenever and I'll say where they are in the timeline.

[ear-worthy]

Surfing Corporate Podcast: Helping You Navigate The Corporate World

Conservative politicians love to wax nostalgically about how small business powers the U.S. economy. In truth, however, less than 45 percent of employees work in small businesses. The majority work for big business or big government. 

Working in a corporate setting is wandering into a universe where the rules are different and sometimes inverted. 

 In the corporate world, political infighting is bloodier than in the current U.S. Congress. Power, ego, and control are the holy trinity of the corporate chalice. Psychopaths, sociopaths, and people afflicted with borderline personality disorder often hold seats of power and prestige.

Worse, employers furiously deny that they care more about profits, the stock price, and EBITDA than their own employees. Corporations are in love with the adage,"Employees are our greatest asset," which they announce even during massive layoffs done to jumpstart the stock price.

Even if there is a code of silence, that doesn't seem to bother The Surfing Corporate podcast. The show "tackles the themes and issues of corporate life with a humorous and relatable point of view."

The podcast's elevator pitch is: "Hosted by Aileen Merciel and Glenda Pacanins, former media executives who have experienced first-hand what really goes on behind fancy corporate doors (and have a slightly evil sense of humor), this podcast aims to entertain as well as provide practical advice to employees who are currently navigating turbulent corporate waters."

The show lives up to its promise. It's engaging, has a sense of humor, describes the incongruities of corporate life, and offers solutions. The podcast shares true stories of bizarre and embarrassing experiences veteran corporate surfers have been through, and tell you how they came back to the surface after those life-threatening wipeouts. The podcast even defines its audience: "If you’re a corporate employee who gets stressed, anxious, burned out, depressed, and occasionally feels like you’re losing your mind, this is the place for you."

The podcast's self-described mission statement incorporates the ambience of the show: Serious with a chance of humor. "Our goal is to help you not only navigate the corporate waters, but to surf the hell out of them, and all without throwing fellow employees to the sharks or promising your firstborn to Satan. It CAN be done." The co-hosts, Aileen A. Merciel and Glenda Pacanins, are ideal for podcast hosting with their prior media experience. They are good together, complement each other well, and are genuinely funny. I enjoyed their on-air chemistry, which sounds like it extends to their personal lives.

Aileen A. Merciel was a Senior Vice President, Marketing & Creative – NBC Universal, Telemundo Enterprise. Merciel is a Venezuelan-American media executive who started out in Sony Pictures Entertainment Networks Latin America Venezuela as an On-Air Promotions Producer. She held corporate positions in Venezuela, Mexico, and the U.S. On the podcast's website, it says: "Coming from a creative background, Aileen was not blessed with a nose for office politics."

 On the website, her bio includes these interesting tidbits:"She was bestowed with the invaluable gift of a slightly evil sense of humor that was critical to her survival. Her unique multicultural insights and her bullsh*t-free lens bring a fresh voice to discuss the challenges of the workplace.

Aileen believes that corporate could benefit tremendously from a rebranding that truly questions its values and goals. She also believes that people who don’t like chocolate shouldn’t be trusted."

Glenda Pacanins was a Senior Vice President, Programming and Content Strategy NBC Universal, Telemundo Enterprises.

After working in corporate for more than 20 years, Glenda Pacanins is a self-described “recovering suit,” although she still can’t stop wearing heels to podcast recordings and PTA meetings. 

Unlike Merciel, Glenda somehow managed to surf corporate relatively well. 

Again, the podcast's website says: "She is fluent in English, Spanish, and most importantly, corporate bullsh*t. 

She has written enough corporate lingo emails, memos, and presentations to last her a few lifetimes, and she lets people think that she has her sh*t together no matter how dire the situation (clearly a by-product of working in corporate for so long)."

The first episode I listened to of the podcast was ironicallythe March 13, 2024 episode. It's ironic because it's their first show as a podcast part of the Airwave Podcast Network. The show began in September 2021, so for two and a half years, these women bootstrapped an indie podcast that was successful enough to attract the attention of a legitimate podcast network like Airwave. 

 In addition, the co-hosts announced that they were up for a 2024 Ambie Award as an independent podcast. The Ambies are a series of awards given in the podcast industry. They are awarded by the Podcast Academy in two overall categories: Show Recognition and Talent Recognition. The co-hosts know their stuff about corporate "clown car" behavior, corporate processes like recognition and employee reviews gone wildly astray, and how to deal with the politics in corporate, which, as I said, can make Congress look like rank amateurs. My favorite episodes to date include Top 8 Toxic Bosses from October 2021; The Delicate Art Of Corporate Communications from September 2021; Why Humor At Work Should Be Taken Very Seriously from Jun3 2022; Why Work Recognition May Be Better For Employers Than Employees from March 2024, and HR That Says F*ck(And Other Things) February 2023. Check out Surfing Corporate. It's an excellent podcast on a topic that is not covered enough in audio, and has two superb co-hosts who have been in the corporate foxhole, taking fire from friends and foes alike. What I like most about it is that these two former Senior Vice-Presidents have a robust sense of humor, an eye for the absurd, and the ability to poke fun at themselves I worked for a lot of Senior Vice-Presidents in my time. I wish they were more like Aileen Merciel and Glenda Pacanins. Let me paraphrase Dale Carnegie, who once said: "When dealing with corporate people, remember you are not dealing with creatures of logic, but with creatures of emotion."

[padhaicrew]

Parental Involvement: How IIS University Encourages Family Participation in Education

IIS University, renowned as the best girls' university in India, believes in the power of collaboration between educators and families. The institution recognizes that parental involvement is a cornerstone of a student's success, and as such, it has implemented initiatives that actively encourage family participation in education. Join us as we explore how IIS University creates a supportive environment where parents are valued partners in the educational journey.

Open Communication Channels: Bridging the Gap

IIS University prioritizes open communication between parents and educators. Regular parent-teacher meetings, newsletters, and online platforms facilitate ongoing dialogues about a student's progress, challenges, and achievements. By keeping communication channels open, IIS University ensures that parents are well-informed and actively engaged in their daughter's educational experience.

Family Inclusive Events: Celebrating Milestones Together

The university organizes family-inclusive events that go beyond traditional parent-teacher meetings. Celebratory occasions, academic showcases, and cultural events provide opportunities for families to actively participate in and witness their daughter's educational journey. These events strengthen the bond between the university and families, fostering a sense of community.

Parent Education Programs: Empowering Families

Recognizing that parental involvement extends beyond attendance at school events, IIS University offers parent education programs. Workshops, seminars, and informational sessions equip parents with insights into current educational practices, helping them support their daughter's learning at home. Empowering families with knowledge enhances the collaborative partnership between parents and educators.

Student-Led Conferences: Putting Students in the Driver's Seat

IIS University takes a student-centered approach to parental involvement through student-led conferences. During these conferences, students take an active role in discussing their progress, goals, and achievements with their parents and teachers. This approach not only encourages student accountability but also strengthens the bond between students, parents, and educators.

Online Parent Portals: Accessible Information at Your Fingertips

In the digital age, IIS University understands the importance of accessible information. Online parent portals provide parents with real-time access to their daughter's academic records, attendance, and other relevant information. This transparency fosters a sense of involvement and allows parents to stay actively engaged in their daughter's educational journey.

Parent Volunteer Programs: Hands-On Participation

IIS University encourages parents to be actively involved in the campus community through volunteer programs. Whether it's assisting with school events, participating in extracurricular activities, or contributing to special projects, parents are invited to lend their skills and time. This hands-on participation not only benefits the school community but also reinforces the idea that education is a collaborative effort.

Parent-Teacher Associations: A Platform for Collaboration

IIS University facilitates Parent-Teacher Associations (PTAs) as a formal platform for collaboration. PTAs provide a structured space for parents and educators to discuss school policies, curriculum updates, and strategies for enhancing the learning environment. This collaborative approach ensures that the perspectives of both parents and educators are considered in decision-making processes.

Parent Support Networks: Building a Community

The university recognizes the importance of building a supportive parent community. Parent support networks are established to connect families, allowing them to share experiences, insights, and resources. This sense of community strengthens the support system for students and reinforces the idea that education is a collective effort involving both the school and parents.

Family Workshops: Promoting Holistic Development

IIS University organizes workshops that focus on holistic development, covering topics such as mental health, career guidance, and overall well-being. These workshops create spaces for parents to engage in meaningful discussions, share concerns, and collaborate with educators to ensure that their daughters receive comprehensive support for personal and academic growth.

Celebrating Parental Involvement: Recognition and Appreciation

IIS University actively recognizes and appreciates the contributions of parents in the educational journey of their daughters. Appreciation events, acknowledgments, and awards are bestowed upon parents who actively participate and contribute to the school community. This recognition reinforces the value of parental involvement and encourages continued engagement.

Feedback Mechanisms: Continuous Improvement Through Input

IIS University values the input of parents and actively seeks their feedback through surveys, focus groups, and suggestion boxes. This continuous feedback loop allows the institution to make informed decisions and enhancements to its educational practices. By involving parents in the feedback process, IIS University ensures that the educational experience remains responsive to the needs of both students and families.

A Shared Commitment to Excellence

In conclusion, IIS University's commitment to parental involvement goes beyond a mere partnership; it reflects a shared commitment to the excellence and well-being of each student. Through open communication, inclusive events, educational programs, and recognition initiatives, the university creates an environment where families are integral contributors to the educational journey. At IIS University, education is a collaborative effort that involves educators, students, and parents working together to empower the next generation of leaders.

[getmyvewor]

Apple student discount macbook air

APPLE STUDENT DISCOUNT MACBOOK AIR HOW TO

APPLE STUDENT DISCOUNT MACBOOK AIR PRO

APPLE STUDENT DISCOUNT MACBOOK AIR CODE

APPLE STUDENT DISCOUNT MACBOOK AIR MAC

So getting a new MacBook Air student discount shouldn’t be a problem. To start, just note that Apple college discount works only for iPads and MacBooks. You need to scroll down to the bottom of the website, choose Shop for College, and check that Education Store Home bar is displayed at the top.Īs Apple doesn’t show the original price of the products, realizing whether you’re buying a discounted product can be perplexing. There are essentially two ways to buy Apple products with the Apple Student Discount: Apple’s own website and UNiDAYS.Īs mentioned above, seeing Apple education pricing on its website is easy, but a bit confusing.

APPLE STUDENT DISCOUNT MACBOOK AIR HOW TO

You might love to check out How to get Student Discount on Flights How Do I Get An Apple Student Discount The categories of people who qualify for Apple for Students discount are:

APPLE STUDENT DISCOUNT MACBOOK AIR CODE

Luckily for consumers, Apple keeps the Apple promo code student eligibility deliberately wide. SEE ALSO: How To Get An Apple Music Student Discount In 2022 Fast | Best Offers Who Is Eligible To buy from the Apple Education Store? Parents can get the discounts when they buy devices for their children if their children are currently attending or have been accepted into a public or private Higher Education institution. PTA or PTO executives who are currently serving and were elected or appointed can also get the deals.Īnyone who works at an institution of Higher Education and any students who are attending or have been accepted into the Higher Education system can get the discounts. Homeschool teachers are also eligible, as are currently serving school board members who have been elected or appointed to their posts. “Those eligible to purchase from the Apple Store for Education Individuals include teachers, staff, students, and parents as follows:Īnyone who currently works at a public or private K-12 school can get the discounts. Let’s check those Apple terms and conditions in full: Apple refers to “any educational institution”). (This is not limited to higher education institutions. Basically anyone who works at a school, college, or university. It does not only cover teachers and professors but also covers administrative and other employees. Again, this is limited to parents of post-secondary students.Īlso, anyone who works in an educational setting is eligible for a discount on Apple computers.

APPLE STUDENT DISCOUNT MACBOOK AIR MAC

Parents of students are not eligible when shopping for themselves, but they can purchase a discounted Mac for their son or daughter at the education store. Accordingly, it excludes sixth-form colleges, though it may be worth asking at the Apple store to see if the company is willing to relax the rules). (Post-secondary means university, or any other formal education that takes place after completing high school. If you are enrolled in post-secondary education or have been admitted to a post-secondary institution, you are eligible. 1 Who Is Eligible For An Apple Education Discount?Ĭurrent and newly accepted college students and their parents and faculty, staff, and homeschool teachers of all grade levels are eligible for an Apple Education Discount Additionally, when you buy Mac and iPad models with education pricing you’ll get AirPods and 20% off AppleCare+.

APPLE STUDENT DISCOUNT MACBOOK AIR PRO

With the education discount, students, school staff, and students’ parents can save up to $400 on an iMac Pro desktop, $200 on MacBook laptops, $100 on select iPads, as well as extended trials and discounts on student music and Apple TV +. How to Get An Apple Student Discount FAQs:Īpple offers student discounts to current or newly accepted college students, parents of students, and faculty, staff, and home school teachers of all grade levels.How To Sign up For An Apple Music Student Membership Discount.How Do I Sign up For A Student Membership Discount For Apple Music?.What Can I Do With the Apple Music Student Discount?.What discount will I get on the Apple Store for Education?.Who Is Eligible To buy from the Apple Education Store?.Who Is Eligible For An Apple Education Discount?.

[davidfosterwallaceandgromit]

Dean and Cas are both nightmare PTA parents, because their usual personality issues are switched. In this setting, dean is the one who causes problems on purpose (flirting with pta moms, homewrecking) and cas is the one who is like “i must control everything.” 

The slippery slope of shared involvement in this organization is that cas develops a vendetta against a rival mom named Helen, and takes dean, who is just having a fun time flirting with the moms & being a homewrecker, and recruits him to run interference and gather intelligence on her campaign for PTA presidency while CAS launches his OWN ruthless campaign for PTA presidency. 

Importantly, nobody knows the first thing about either of them,

because they are trying to live simultaneously in the smalltown settled-down world and also their world of incredible violence

Nobody knows what the angry trenchcoat dad’s deal is because they have never had a normal conversation with him 

but the moms speculate WILDLY about dean

and they hear weird things from their kids who know Jack

But in order for the scheme to work, none of these women know that Cas and Dean are associated with the same kid, never mind with each other.

So,

It’s been abt a year since Cas became an overly involved PTA parent and established himself as a rogue element in the Smith Center United School District, where Jack attends the high school and plays trumpet in the marching band. Cas is off on a hunt, asks Dean to go to the wednesday meeting for him. 

Dean goes, and is colossally bored

Until the coffee hour in the gym

Bc the PTA moms are VERY interested in this new hot dad 

Dean of course enjoys the attention and flirts back shamelessly

talks up his kid jack like “Oh yeah his mom is dead, it’s so sad :(” (because Dean is a terrible person) 

so normally, Jack just takes the bus or flies to school if he’s going to be late (bc he overslept after staying up late playing Portal 2, or just wanted to hang out for breakfast). But once Dean starts getting attention from the moms he can’t resist the drama and offers to drive Jack to smith center HS. 

Jack says yes of course

Dean waves ‘hello ladies’ to the carpool moms, roguish wink

this will backfire later on when one of them starts following him around town to figure out where the fuck he lives

Next PTA meeting rolls around, cas is heading out, and dean asks to go with. cas is like wtf?

Dean’s agenda is: 1. i love attention and flirting and destroying the nuclear family. and 2. if I piss off cas enough, he will make out with me IN the back seat of the Impala IN the school parking lot

so at the post-meeting coffee hour in the gym

Cas is late bc he’s discussing something w another parent

Dean is flirting with the moms again

and they are complaining about mr kline, the angry trench coat dad

cas comes back into the gym and sees what’s going on, gets jealous/territorial, drags dean out

after dean’s goal #2 has been achieved and he is fixing cas’s collar in the back seat of the impala, cas is like okay hilarious (not) but do not flirt with those women again. 

And dean’s like (fixing cas’s tie) dude, those women, the other moms, they do not like you. especially not helen, and she’s running for PTA president — and cas is like, wait hang on, she’s doing what? 

little does Dean know that helen is cas’s #1 PTA enemy, and if she wins, she will cut the music/theater budget in favor of increasing sports funding. cas cannot allow this to happen, but this is useful intel

So cas is like well....... what else did you find out? 

so begins the campaign of conspiracy and cahoots

the local moms fawn over dean every wednesday at the pta coffee hour and then on sunday at the church coffee hour they discuss him extensively

his cover story is that he’s a bartender at a place called doyle’s up in webber (40+ miles away, no one would ever drive out and check, right?). prevailing theory is that he’s ex-military 

[looking at Jack's soccer registration forms] "Their address is on Bromfield road. but there aren't any HOUSES on bromfield road"

after witnessing dean do some special ops shit, a new theory is born that he’s in witness protection

they also hear things through their kids cause 1. Jack is a bad liar and 2. He IS doing magic tricks to look cool for the other kids.

Dean’s cover story about the bar is a shield for reality, which is that he and cas run a hunter pub/diner, called rocky’s or the roadhouse 2.0 or w/e, but it’s in a weird secret off-the-beaten path location that no Lebanon/normal people should stumble upon

Because Dean—now that he is out and settled down and going to AA and living a stable life—now lies about new stuff. His child. His family. His normal human job. Just because. 

No one knows what the angry trenchcoat dad does or which kid is his bc no one has ever had a normal or personal conversation with him.

“What is he?” Accountant? Community college accounting professor? Realtor who only sells business parks? Lawyer for realtors? Is he in publishing? 

whatever it is that he does for work, it is causing him a LOT of job stress, that much we can tell. He is using this as an outlet for Something. We have concerns. 

Cas knows all of Jack’s teachers personally and has also menaced various administrators, but in the PTA meetings he is just sort of a nondirectional force of nature not associated with any specific child.

Jack is a band and theater kid of course. He plays trumpet in the marching band in the fall, and the colorguard girls love him. Additionally he is also in the crew for the musical, and he’s also a weird forensics kid (speech team). 

jack on the trumpet from a distant room in the bunker: doot. doot. doot. doot. doot. doot. 

Dean in the kitchen: 😐😐

Cas, putting a hand on dean's arm: we're being supportive

Sports subplot: Dean gives Jack a (relatively gentle) hard time about doing music and theater but not trying any sports. To gain dean’s approval Jack is trying out the soccer league this fall but it’s not really his thing. 

This is relevant shan’t elaborate.

Eventually Jack gets roped into the scheme, but he is not happy about it because he does not like lying.

Cas must destroy helen because of her anti-performing arts agenda but also because she was the first person to be rude to him at his first-ever PTA meeting, and bc the moms function on midwestern church lady politeness rules, they all exclude him together (sin of exclude the freak)

So Cas, in response, commits the Sin of Nemesis

(in his eyes she represents the threat of local (and more broadly, human) culture excluding Jack) 

bc Sin of Nemesis is Cas’s fatal flaw in this story that means when the stakes get higher he will Go Too Far (gaslight, gatekeep, girlboss); his numerous Sins of Jealousy are just a fun subplot

Once, one of the parents witnesses Cas doing some angel magic when he doesnt think anyone is looking. Like he spills something, tries to mop it up, then gives up and just snaps it. 

Later on in the election when things have gotten heated, someone else spots him using his super strength to move a large object (for sabotage purposes) and thinks they imagined it.

kathleen (friend of Helen) is suspicious of Dean’s whole deal, even more so after she and her husband actually end up stopping at the bar in Webber, and she casually tells the owner that she knows Dean, and the guy is like ? who? 

“you know? dean campbell? Tall, chiseled, dresses like a lumberjack?”

“ma'am, I don't know anyone by that description, and the only people allowed behind this bar are me and my wife”

kathleen already doesn’t like dean because publicly flirting every wednesday isn’t proper, and also he’s distracting helen from her campaign and also from her, like, there’s a little jealousy there

but when she tries to tell Helen, of course, helen brushes it off

Dean is running interference on the enemy campaign

By distracting Helen and the moms and being a homewrecker

but also by infiltrating / getting inside info about Helen’s plans

He keeps it above-board — he never meets outside of the pta meetings and never accepts invitations to drinks/sunday dinner (gotta go, night shift at the bar. etc) bc if he actually started going to knitting circle or the pyramid scheme container parties he would definitely get too deep into it and also blow their cover 

And where is Sam in all this you ask? He and Eileen live a 2hr drive away with their newly adopted child. Though they come down for sunday dinner once a week, the campaign is never mentioned by dean or cas. they know absolutely nothing about it. 

This all will culminate when Cas eventually wins (he will, of course, win, despite a near-miss when he almost goes too far with the schemes, gaslight gatekeep girlboss), with grand reveal, when cas is up on stage in the gym, giving his big acceptance speech, and finishes it with “and last of all, i would like to thank my husband... dean :)” The chaos is instant and complete.

[casheavennow]

I am simply biding my time until santa clarita dietnatural

[fernpost]

Cycle 0 - Interviews

[read on ao3]

[next]

Taako Taaco. 114. Elf. Wizard; Specialization in transmutation and inventive magical applications.

Previous experience: Top of class at Tredore, Academy of Magics and Technology; recently graduated.

Criminal Record: Multiple counts of petty theft.

Davenport likes to think of himself as calm and composed. It’s hard to throw him off. He has to be in order to have gotten this far in his mission as fast as he has.

But when he turns around from shutting the door to see his interviewee with his feet kicked up on the table, twirling a wand through his fingers, he’s a little shocked. He’s been doing these interviews for two days now, and even the more relaxed and confident people have held a bit more sense for decorum.

It’s a bit rude.

It’s also a little interesting.

He sits at his desk, pulling the elf’s papers away from his boots (shiny, and though they look expensive he can see they’re worn down and well taken care of) and glances down. “Tell me, Taako Taaco, what makes you want to explore the planerverse?”

“Bored.”

If the feet on the desk threw him off for a second, that floors him entirely. “Bored?”

“I’ve got nothing else to do on this plane, why not, you know?”

“No burning desire to go further than any being has gone before?” That’s one of the normal responses, the well-planned out speeches he keeps getting in response to his opening question.

The elf crosses his feet, leaning back somehow further into the provided chair. Davenport worries for a second that he may fall as he continues on, “that’s cool too, I guess. But I figure, why wouldn’t you want the great Taaco name aboard your ship.”

Davenport picks up a pen from his table and makes a small note on the paperwork, “no offense, Mr. Taaco, but you’re rather cavalier about this interview that determines whether or not you’re accepted into a program that may redefine our understanding of the world.”

The elf shrugs and takes his feet off of Davenport’s desk, flashing him a smirk, “you’ve seen my sister’s paperwork, yeah? No way you’re not going to accept her, and we’re a package deal. Says it right there in bold at the top of my application, my man.” It does, in fact, say that at the top. Cursive words noting how he refuses to accept any position on the ship if his sister isn't there too. When reviewing who he was interviewing today, he saw similar words on Lup Taaco’s paperwork.

“You’re very confident in your sister’s abilities.” Davenport begins, pausing for a second as he notes the way the elf begins to tense up before continuing, “however, I wouldn’t sell yourself so short. You also graduated top of your class, and excelled in the art of transmutation multiple times. One of your letters of recommendation even noted how you made many spells easier to cast, somatically speaking.”

“What can I say, I’ll find any short cut I can.”

Davenport makes another note on his paper. “Now, I do need to ask about your record of petty theft.”

“Oh, natch.”

Lup Taaco. 114. Elf. Wizard; Specialization in evocation and applied magic regarding planar research.

Previous experience: Top of class at Tredore, Academy of Magics and Technology; recently graduated.

Criminal Record: Multiple counts of petty theft.

“Lup Taaco, it is nice to meet you.”

“The pleasure is all mine, Captain.” The woman in front of him smiles. The resemblance to her brother couldn’t be more clear, and though her demeanor is quite similar, she at least doesn’t have her feet on his desk.

Not that his desk is anything fancy, but the point stands. “I’m not technically the captain yet, you know.”

“Potato, potato.”

Davenport is fairly certain that’s not how that phrase is used. “You did research into the planes at Tredore, correct?”

“Quite a bit, yeah. I’m sure my brother told you?”

The slight tilt of her head and lit of her voice tells Davenport this is some sort of test, which is confusing and a bit disconcerting, considering he is the one conducting the interview. He checks a quick box on his papers. “He talked you up a bit, yes. But this is your own interview, and I wanted to discuss your own knowledge with you, personally.”

She smiles, a touch more warmth to it than her previous attitude. “Oh, of course. Did quite a bit of studying at Tredore. First real school we attended. Kinda boring at times, you know?”

“If you’re accepted into this program, it’s going to be four intense months of studying and teaching you the more complex workings of the ship. Plus the two months of actually being on the ship.”

“That’s the fun stuff. Not a third semester in a row of another language I already figured out most of years ago.”

“How many languages do you speak, Ms. Taaco?”

“Including common, five languages.”

“Impressive.” Davenport himself only speaks three. “Now, I would like to ask you about your criminal record, if you don’t mind?”

Her smile grew sharp as she laughs.

Honestly, he isn’t surprised. Her explanation is the same as her brothers. Grew up on the road, needed food and other items on occasion. Didn’t always run fast enough. Davenport can’t fault them, and certainly won’t hold it against them.

He glances down at her paperwork, about to ask another question about her education, when she speaks up. “I’ve got a question for you, Captain.”

“Oh?”

“The ship- we’re really going with the name ‘The Starblaster’?”

Davenport sighs. He knew this question was coming, but he was expecting it to come during a press conference from a reporter, not a potential shipmate. “Yes. To be fair, it was a communal name we put to a vote from everyone who worked on building the engine.”

Ms. Taaco smiles. “Dope.”

Barry J. Bluejeans. 37 years old. Human. Wizard; specialization in applied magic regarding bonds and planar research.

Previous experience: Current assistant professor at Duffman University of the Arcane, part-time employee at the Institute of Planer Research and Exploration.

Criminal Record: Previous altercations regarding necromancy; no crimes against the nature of life and death ever committed.

Mr. Bluejeans is an interesting man. By the look of him, you’d expect to see him fumbling his way through a PTA meeting for his two kids. Instead, Davenport is staring down the word ‘necromancy’ on his paperwork on an application regarding literal planar travel on a ship called 'the Starblaster.'

So far, the interview has been going well. He’d listened to the man explain his research into the arcane, and he’d understood planar travel as well as any of the current scientists and engineers at the Institute. He was called in often for conferences and meetings about the bond engine. He’d seen the man walking around on occasion. They’d never been in a meeting together before, but he’d seemed nice.

But he also had a history of necromancy.

Now, Davenport doesn’t like to judge people. However, being in an enclosed space with someone who needed to specify he had never technically committed “crimes against the nature of humanity” isn’t the most comforting.

But, he was a smart man. Easy to get along with, too. So far. Necromancy notwithstanding.

Best to get it over with, “so, Mr. Bluejeans. I do need to ask about your criminal record-”

“Oh! Yeah, I never killed anyone. Or un- killed anyone. Uh, resurrected, I mean. Just did lots of studying into the application of necromancy and necromantic spells. Got in trouble because I toed the line of ‘research’ and ‘bringing my cat back to life,’ but got a stern talking to. Didn’t try it again, and don’t plan on needing to deal with those types of authorities again.”

Okay, normal enough answer, far as the situation applies-

“My current research into it has stayed purely theoretical, and it won’t interfere with the mission at all.”

So the man is still into necromancy.

Davenport glances down at the man’s file, thick with it’s attached papers Bluejeans has done on planar research. He’s not even stuck up about his level of education, and that’s extremely rare for the field.

Holding back a sigh, Davenport asks, “Can you explain the paper you wrote on the outer planes interactions with the inner planes for me?”

It was a really good paper.

But the man is still into necromancy.

Lucretia. 20. Human. Chronicler; Specialization in journalism.

Previous experience: Due to multiple NDA, she is unable to give us the exact number and titles of books she has written, but she sent letters of recommendation from Duke Rensburg, Lady Norabelle, and Warren of the Seatree Clan.

Criminal Record: Acquisition and attempted use of a false ID.

“So, Ms. Lucretia, I understand you cannot provide us with most examples of your works, but from what you have provided, you seem to be very, very good.”

“I like to think so, yes.” The young woman in front of him seems polite. She’s quiet; he saw her waiting outside with a few others before her interview, and while most of them were engaged in some awkward small talk, she sat away from them. Likely partially due to her age- she is much younger than the people outside- but she also simply seems quiet.

Which wouldn’t be the worst quality in someone you would be sharing a small, enclosed space with for an extended period of time. But, if she couldn’t bond with the others sufficiently, the bond engine won’t work.

(Hell, the bond engine was already finicky, they figured out the tech only a month ago, and they only have four months to bond an entire crew to pilot it and-)

“Can you explain to me why you acquired a fake ID and tried to use it at a, uh,” Davenport glances down at the records in front of him, holding back a chuckle, “at the forbidden section of the Library of Runar?”

Lucretia looks uncomfortable for a second, and he’s sure if the lighting in the room were better he would be able to see her flush with embarrassment. She gives him a hesitant smile, “I can’t get into the explicit details, but I was working on a book for an older client whose memory was becoming patchy, and I wanted to confirm some details before I put their name to it. They wouldn’t allow me into the section without the proper documents, but my client refused to agree that I should double check his work, even though I was almost certain he was wrong, so I simply… found a way to get past their guard. I wasn’t going to steal anything and I was going to use the proper equipment to read through the documents.”

Davenport smiles, “pursuit of knowledge and truth is important to you, then?”

“I don’t think spreading lies, especially in that context, is very honorable, no.” Her hands are folded in her lap now, and she seems a bit more relaxed.

Considering the others he is planning on accepting, he may be wrong about her getting along with them. Anyone willing to break the law just to prove an old man wrong would at least get along with him. Davenport refuses to have any pushovers aboard his ship.

Magnus Burnsides. 19. Fighter; Specialization in protection fighting and mechanical engineering.

Previous experience: Current bouncer at Apex Club. Currently enrolled in Gallier’s Fighter Academy and College.

Criminal Record: One count of assault and battery, appealed for defense of another person present. One count of indecent exposure and public intoxication.

Davenport will be the first to admit it can be tricky to follow human aging patterns, but he knows he’s not mistaken in thinking the man in front of him is barely out of “child” territory. Nineteen is a very, very small amount of time to be alive. Also, a very, very small amount of time to learn important things, like how to run what is basically a ship right out of a science fiction novel- complete with breakthrough technology.

Despite this, it’s hard to not find the young man in front of him to be endearing, and mostly knowledgeable in the things they need him to be.

“Magnus. You’re very young, one of the youngest applicants we have. What makes you think you’re qualified as the head of security of the ship?”

The young man in front of him- Gods, he really is young- grins and lifts his arms to flex, a show of pride and ego almost unbefitting of an interview setting, “Have you seen my muscles? I’m very strong, and a very good fighter.”

Many of today’s interviews have been quite different than he was expecting.

“I was referring more to job experience.”

“Oh!” Magnus shifts in his seat, fingers drumming against the table as he thinks. “I worked as a bouncer for a club while I was in college and did, if I must toot my own horn, a very good job. You should have a letter of recommendation from the owner-” He leans forwards, reaching a hand out as if to look through his own files to show him the letter.

“Yes, I did read through it. She was very thorough in stating how eager you were to help.” Davenport glances down at the papers in front of him, holding back a sigh. It truly was a glowing review of this young man. While his grades from the aforementioned college weren’t the highest, especially in classes one might consider important for an institute of planar research, the two letter of recommendations he submitted from teachers of his explained how Burnsides was very persistent when he wanted to learn something he didn’t know. He also had taken quite a few classes regarding vehicles- not enough to claim the young man was an expert but enough to provide a solid basis to show him how things worked and could be repaired on the ship.

The kid’s attitude was something of a breath of fresh air in this place. However, there was one glaring concern.

“I was also a bit concerned about the criminal record we have on file for you. Assault and battery as well as the indecent exposure and public-”

“In my defense for the second one, I was drunk with some friends and maybe thought it’d be funny to streak in the lake. Who hasn’t been to a party that gets a little out of hand.” He holds his hands out as if to say “am I right?”

Off the record, Davenport is inclined to agree that he was right. On the record, he is choosing to ignore it. “And the assault and battery? The file says it was in defense of a young person.”

Burnsides grins, “that’s how I got hired as the bouncer!”

He waits a moment, expecting Magnus to continue. When it seems the young man is assuming that is enough explanation, he prompts, “by beating up a man outside the club?”

“Yeah! He was harassing someone outside, and I was walking home and passed by. I told him to step off, and he didn’t. So I decked him, and he was out right away.”

It lined up with the records he had, and honestly, seeing someone so ready to step up to the defense of a stranger was a good quality. Better than some of the older applicants who were much more… formal in their training. He wonders briefly how Burnsides would react to an altercation against someone with magic.

Glancing down at his records, he guesses he would run headfirst without thinking.

Stifling a small grin, Davenport continues, “Now, tell me. Assume we’re up in space, and something goes wrong with the bond engine. What would your course of action be, Mr. Burnsides?”

Merle Hitower Highchurch. 214. Cleric; Specialization in botany, religion, and medical treatment.

Previous experience: Current botanist at the Institute of Planar Research and Exploration. Professor of botany at Narvick’s University for four years.

Criminal Record: Multiple counts of loitering.

The door is pushed all the way open before Davenport can even call out the next person.

A short dwarf slides into the room with a wide grin, “hey Dav!” A mug of tea is pressed into his hands.

“Hello, Merle. You do know this needs to be at least a little formal, yes?”

“Formal schmormal. Ask me your silly questions already, bud.” Merle Highchurch, resident botanist at the Institute of Planar Research and Exploration, plops right down in the seat he’d taken to commandeering once a week, for the past three weeks.

Davenport had seen him around before, but a botanist in an institute designed for exploring other planes that had little capabilities to actually go to those places yet was rarely busy, and even more rarely called upon. He still barely knew the guy, but after the day they’d gotten stuck in the elevator for ten minutes when it broke down, the dwarf had come to his office for tea each Wednesday.

It was a bit strange, but the tea was good.

“Tell me about your work experience.”

Merle laughs heartily, “they barely have me do anything around here, ‘cept tend to the couple of plants they’ve grabbed from the ground plane.”

“It’s the Elemental Plane of Earth, and don’t sell yourself short, Merle. This is basically a job interview, you know.”

Merle slurps loudly at his own mug, “aren’t you planning on nepotism hiring me, because we’re buds?”

“That isn’t even what that word means, Merle.”

“Isn’t it?”

Davenport stares into the tea, “is this made from the Earth plant?”

“Maybe?”

Davenport. 276. Captain and navigator; Specialization in mechanical engineering and arcane components combined with contemporary technology.

Previous Experience: Crewmate on the Lady Blue for twenty years. Graduated from Grensville University. Current staff at the Institute of Planar Research and Exploration.

Criminal Record: Unlawful resistance of orders from captain, raising of commotion on board ship while employed.

Davenport handed the six files over to Selune, “These are them.”

The halfling woman flips through them, eyebrows raising higher with each one she sees. “You’re sure you grabbed the right ones? A few of these I understand, but you do know we had the Issaiah Broler apply.”

He folds his hand in front of him, nodding. “I also know that during the interview he made me want to pour my tea on his lap. There’s no chance of getting the bond engine going with him. These are the six I picked. They’re all qualified- and the ones that are less educated in the specifics in the field I’m sure will pick up on the important information quickly. The Taaco twins already will give the bond engine a huge boost. Ms. Lucretia will ensure we have everything chronicled, something I’m sure you can appreciate, Selune. Mr. Bluejeans previous work shows he will thrive given the opportunities awaiting us. Mr. Highchurch is an educated man, and I trust him to keep the crew healthy and provide ample information on anything botany related we encounter, and I’m certain Mr. Burnsides will provide ample help in any task we show him how to do.” He sighs, glancing out the window of her office. There were a few people lingering outside in the courtyard of the Institute. “We have been given a tremendous opportunity to explore beyond what we can imagine, Selune. The last thing I want is to be bogged down by people stuck in their ways, who have been working in this field long enough to have their preconceived notions about what to expect and who will react badly when they’re proven wrong. I trust my own judgement in picking a crew, and I hope you trust my abilities to get these people ready to set sail in four months.”

What he doesn’t say is that he doesn’t want a bunch of stuffy jackasses on his ship. He’s not even sure picking all the over-qualified people would pass through the higher-ups' inspection of the crew. The people he picked were qualified enough to get a quick sign-off, but not too much. Anyone “overqualified” would probably get rejected. The ship had been built in basically six months. It’d get them off the ground, sure. It wasn’t going to explode on them once they got up there, but it wasn’t safe. There was a reason Davenport was the captain at all.

The six candidates in those files didn’t have a name for themselves as “important” to any stuffy scientific group or noble family. These people he picked were just that- people. A group of people who he believed deserved this opportunity. If anyone was getting the chance to make a name for themselves- to have the chance to redefine everything they know about the planar systems, he wanted to make sure they deserved the chance. A dangerous chance, sure. But what was science if not a little risky.

She sighs, opening the file on top. Her hand reaches for her pen, “Davenport, I got the final say on the name of the ship, I suppose the least I can do is give you final say on the crew.” She begins to write ‘approved’ at the top of the file, flipping through each one before giving him a pointed look. “But when I get angry calls about how you approved a bunch of nobodies and two people not even old enough to drink, I’m transferring them straight to your crystal.”

“And I will not be answering a single one.”

“I wouldn’t expect you to, Captain.”

[crashdevlin]

Another Second Chance 1- Black Hole

Another Second Chance Masterlist,  Happily Ever Eventually Masterlist

Author’s Note: The final (hopefully) installment of the Happily Ever Eventually RPF series.

Summary: It's been five years since Jensen broke Y/n's heart and she's avoided him completely, but avoidance only lasts so long.

Pairing: past Jensen x Reader

Word count: 2302

Story Warnings: past cheating, little bit of background angst, mostly no warnings.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Things change. Either gradually or in catastrophic leaps, things change. Fact of life, unfortunately. Songs have been sung, books have been penned, movies have been made, all centered around that single inarguable fact.

When I was a younger woman, I thought that nothing really ever changed, that the facts of my life were that I was weak and stupid and I was always going to be in love with people who didn’t want me and were too good for me, that I was going to be miserable and alone forever. I was certain that I was the same person at 26 that I was at 16 and that’s just how things were always going to be.

I can honestly say, at 34 years old, I’m a different woman than I was at 16 or 26 or 30...and I may be alone, but I am not miserable.

I’m successful. I’m happy. I have friends and I have fans. I am well-rounded and, despite a hundred things working against me, well-adjusted. I’ve learned that I don’t need to be dating someone to be happy. In fact, without all the drama surrounding me whenever I do date someone, I’m happier. I have my children and I have my friends and I am happy. 2025 is shaping up to be one of my best years yet and I am ecstatic to see where it leads.

I’m sitting at my computer when my phone goes off. I don’t recognize the number so I Google it. King Woods Private School, the school Jensen wants to send Mav to. Weird that they’d call me when Jensen has primary custody. I answer immediately. “Hello?”

“Is this Miss Y/l/n? Maverick Ackles’ mother?”

“Yes, I am.”

“Hi, Ma’am. I’m Caroline Smith, Dean of Admissions for King Woods Private School. Your son’s father applied to our institution for the Fall semester for Kindergarten.”

“Oh, yeah. He told me. Said his father is very excited to get him in there.”

“His father didn’t tell you?”

“Mav’s nanny mentioned it, too, but...Jensen and I-”

“Had a very public falling out a few years ago, we’ve done our research,” she interrupts me. “But the thing is, King Woods is a very family-oriented institute and we need both parents to participate in all activities like monthly PTAs and volunteer nights. We need to make sure that both active parents can work together amicably. On that note, we have an admissions interview with little Maverick on Friday and we require your presence. Can you make it? 10:30 am.”

“Ten-thirty on Friday? Y-yeah. I can...I can totally do that. I will...see you then, Mrs. Smith.”

“See you then, ma’am. I’m looking forward to meeting you and your son. Goodbye.”

“Goodbye.” I set my phone to the side of my laptop and take a deep breath. Jensen and I haven’t been in the same room since NolaCon 2020. We’ve emailed a few times, but haven’t even spoken on the phone...in several years...and that’s better. It’s better for everyone if we don’t talk because then we don’t argue and we don’t fall into patterns that leave us in bad shape.

But for Maverick’s future, for Maverick’s good, I will have to do it.

I call Misha. He encourages me and tells me it’ll be okay. He supports me. He’s an amazing friend, has been for years, one of the few I got in the breakup. Most of our friends specifically didn’t take sides. Kim and Briana and Misha, they sided with me...the girls a little more vocally than Meesh, but it ended up a small rift between Misha and Jensen. I put an end to J2M and it hurts a bit when I think about it. They still talk sometimes but nothing like they used to.

Jared still talks to me every once in a while, but he sided with Jensen. Of course he did. Jensen’s his brother. But Jared tries to keep me involved in his life, he tries to stay a friend...but he’s Jensen’s first, always has been.

“It’s gonna suck,” I say, shaking my head.

“Yeah. But still. You gotta do it, right?” Misha says and I chuckle. To the point with Mr. Collins.

“Yeah. I gotta do it. It’s just...I haven’t seen him in years. I mean...except pictures on Instagram. It’s gonna be weird.”

“You know what I say about weird, right?”

“Yeah. But this isn’t the GISH and Random Acts kinda weird, this is...a pit in my stomach that feels like a bowling ball and a fear of reversion to the person I was in the past kinda weird.”

“You’ve grown too much to revert and that bowling ball will go away when you get comfortable again.”

“That’s…that’s the problem. What happens if I get comfortable with him again, Misha?” I’m scared of it. “He’s like this black hole that sucks me in every time and the only way I’ve been able to stave off the destruction of my universe these last five years is to keep my distance. I don’t know what to do when I’m in close proximity to the black hole.”

“You can do this, Y/n. You won’t have any problems...and maybe Jensen’s grown over the last five years, too.”

“Well, you’ve talked to him more than I have. You’d know how much growing he’d done.”

“Yeah, but it’s not like we’re spending all our time together anymore.”

I nod. “So...hope for the best, that he’s grown and things will be okay, and keep my distance from the dark vortex.”

“Exactly.” Misha smiles and looks directly at the camera. “You got this.”

Yeah, I do. I got this.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I wear an embroidered black silk Joanna Mastroianni dress to the interview. Not a lot of makeup, but enough to accentuate my features. I keep my hair out of my face and I wear sensible, cute shoes. I look good, but not like I’m trying to look good. I look like I’m trying to look presentable and classy for the people in charge of my son’s education.

I make it to the school first and I sit in a plush chair in the waiting room and wait with my legs crossed neatly to the side. I pull out my phone and start playing a game of Solitaire.

“Mommy!” Maverick’s voice pulls my attention away from the Seven of Hearts that is stuck behind the Six of Diamonds that is arresting my forward momentum in the game. I smile as he runs at me, full-speed, and I slip my phone in my purse as he throws his arms around my neck. “I missed you!”

“I missed you too, Mav!” I exclaim. I lean back and look into the beautiful green eyes he inherited from his father. “Have you been having fun with Daddy?”

“Yes! All the time!” Mav says.

He turns his head to look at the door to the lobby as Jensen walks in. Holy shit. He let his hair grow out a bit...little longer than when he was playing a demon. It's multi toned, what would be called 'Salt and Pepper' in any other man, but it looks more like 'Walnut and light Roux' on him. He's rocking his ginger beard and it has some actual salt in the color. He's wearing a blue suit...a masterpiece tailored to take away your breath. The man knows how to make an entrance.

He's still gorgeous...and I’m still stuck on him. Fuck.

I stand and take Mav’s hand as Jensen steps closer. I focus on his forehead. I can’t look at those eyes. I can’t look at those lips or those freckles on his cheeks. Forehead is safe. He tucks his hands in the pockets of his slacks and licks his lips. “Hi,” I greet him, and my voice sounds awkward, too high-pitched.

“Hey,” he responds and oh, God, that voice.

Breathe. Stay away from the singularity, avoid being pulled into the black hole. “You doin’ good?”

He nods. “Yeah. You?”

“Just fine.” Dying, being sucked into a vortex in space.

He opens his mouth like he’s gonna say something else when a tall brunette woman in a smart pantsuit walks out of the office. “Mr. Ackles? Miss Y/l/n?” We nod as she drops to kneel in front of Mav and me. “And this must be little Maverick.”

Mav turns and hides his face in my skirt. “Sorry. He’s a little shy around new people. He’ll warm up to you.”

“It’s okay. It’s natural.” She stands and extends her hand to me and then Jensen, shaking our hands. “Good to see you both here. So, we’re going to take Maverick in and watch him play a bit, get a sense of his social and developmental placement and if he’s a good fit for King Woods, then we will make that happen.”

Jensen and I nod, then I gently pull Mav away from my legs. “You’re gonna go with the nice lady and play with some toys, answer some questions, okay? You can rock that, right, buddy?” Mav nods and smiles at me and Jensen.

“And you two will be just fine out here together, right?” Mrs. Smith says. She’s making sure we won’t freak out on each other. Freaking out on each other is not the problem.

“Of course we will,” Jensen answers. “We’re gonna park ourselves right here in these chairs and wait for you to tell us how brilliant our boy is.” He winks at the woman and she swoons a bit...I have to stop myself from doing the same as I step back toward the chair I was sitting in before. She offers Maverick her hand and he looks back at me before he takes it and follows her as she leads him away toward a playroom. I play with the hem of my dress for a few moments as Jensen takes the seat next to me, his bowlegs stretching out in front of him a bit. “So...listened to that cover album you did...with, uh, Rob, Rich, and Mark. It came out real good. ‘A Little Dive Bar in Dahlonega’ was perfect.”

I look down and my cheeks heat up. “Thanks. Uh...you and Steve are working on Volume Four, right? How’s that comin’?”

“Pretty good. Not bad at all, actually.” There’s a moment of silence and I sneak a look at him. He’s biting his bottom lip. Black hole, black hole, black hole. “Oh, and how’s that Shakespeare thing goin’?”

My eyes light up and I look over at him. “Midsummer! Yes. My pet project! It’s coming. Rich has signed on to direct a few episodes and Matt signed up to be my Puck. I’m really excited to see what we can do with that universe. Fairies are so my jam!”

“Are you just producing and writing it, or are you gonna be acting in it?” he asks, leaning forward, showing interest, active listening.

“I’m Hermia, actually. It’s coming along very well.”

“That’s really good. I’m...happy for you.” He smiles and I bite my tongue. God. This is bad. This is so fucking bad. I look away from him. “So, uh, I heard that you RSVP’d to Padalecki’s July Fourth barbecue, but you never showed up.”

I shake my head and sigh. Of course Jared told him I flaked on Independence Day. “Yeah. I was, uh...I was gonna go but-”

“But then you heard my shoot in Georgia got rescheduled and I wasn’t gonna be in Atlanta like I planned so you decided not to risk runnin’ into me?” he guesses.

“Yeah.” I nod and look over at him. “It was fine. I ended up watching fireworks with Nova over Skype.”

“You know...it’s been years. You don’t have to avoid me. We can be adults. Jared misses you.”

I lick my lips and nod. “It’s just hard for me to be around you. I miss Jared too, but I can’t be around you. It’s too hard.”

“This is hard?” he asks. I open my mouth to respond ‘Unbelievably’, but he keeps talking. “Because it’s not hard for me. It's the most natural thing in the world to me.”

I close my eyes and shake my head, settling back in the chair to lean away from him. “This is why it’s hard.” I open my eyes and pull my phone out to finish that game of Solitaire.

He doesn’t say anything else until Mrs. Smith walks out with Maverick fifteen minutes later. “They had a lot of toys in there!” Maverick shouts.

“Indoor voice, Mav,” I say as I stand up. I focus on Mrs. Smith. “So?”

She smiles brightly. “He’s a brilliant child. We would absolutely love to have him here at King Woods.”

“That’s great news!” Jensen exclaims.

“Indoor voice, Jay,” I joke before it hits me that I just called him ‘Jay’ and teased him. Slippery slope. Don’t get comfortable. “Uh, a-anyway. That is great news.”

“We’ll send you the information for tuition and supplies. It was wonderful to meet you both,” Mrs. Smith says.

I bend down and give Mav a hug as she walks away. “You’re awesome, kiddo. I’ll see you this weekend, okay?”

“Okay, Mommy!”

He runs to his dad and I pick up my purse, stepping toward the door. Jensen puts his hand out as he picks Maverick up to hold him on the other side. He pulls me into a half hug and I go stiff as his hand lands on the small of my back. God, he smells so good...and his hand is so big and…

I pull away and lick my lips. “You and Daddy have fun, Mav!” I almost run out of the lobby and into the parking lot.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Kitchen Sink - @emoryhemsworth @flamencodiva @wasabiwitteks @rainbowkisses31 @rissbennett @mariekoukie6661 @officiallyunofficialperson @dolphincliffs @mrs-meghan-winchester @gayspacenerd @foxyjwls007 @ilovefanfic86 @marvelfansworld @f-yeahfandoms @wonderlandfandomkingdom @hhiggs @sev3nruby  @hobby27 @paintballkid711 @divadinag @thewhiterabbit42 @fantasymyth-1 @queenoftheunderdark @cosicas-cuquis @superfanficnatural @letsby @supernatural-bellawinchester @onethirstyunicorn @swinchester27 @chalicia @sunnyroadtrips @screechingartisancashbailiff @death-unbecomes-you @dayasvalkyrie Hunter Tags - @atc74 @sandlee44 @spnbaby-67 @kalesrebellion @tumbler-tidbits @hoboal87 @stoneyggirl @kbl1313 @cookiechipdough @mrswhozeewhatsis @winchesterxfamilybusiness @holylulusworld @pretty-fortune @screechingartisancashbailiff @we-are-all-a-bunch-of-idjits @imperiusimpala @supernaturalenchanted Gaga For Green Eyes Tags- @typicalweirdbookworm @deanmonandnegansbitch @jadesupernatural @stoneyggirl @4fareader @squirrelnotsam @lyarr24 @akshi8278 @pretty-fortune @we-are-all-a-bunch-of-idjits Happily Ever Eventually Tags- @deanmonandnegansbitch @jamielea81 @xhannahbananax03 @traceyaudette @fabinaforever11 @pretty-fortune @vicmc624​

[domorebemore]

Haim doing a cover of the Chanukah Song means in my mind that Eight Crazy Nights is now a part of the PTA Extended Universe

[homophobicdean]

what pta fics would you recommend ?

anon you’ve come to the right place

while it’s not a fully fledged fic, davidfosterwallaceandgromit’s pta extended universe is essential reading 1 2

and the only actual pta fic i’ve ever read or been able to find is: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29112834/chapters/71466033 which was inspired by previously mentioned pta posting 

otherwise there are some Very good pta adjacent posts:

this post which shows how jack would draw his family tree which results in the teacher calling an emergency parent teacher conference

@skepticalfrog ‘s baby/kid jack domestic deancas pta art like this !! and bonus ones i say count because dean picks up jack from school and dean is wearing a pta shirt

i know there are more domestic deancas kid jack fics that aren’t strictly pta so if anyone has any recs pls share!! i am also so serious about doing a pta themed event if that interests anyone pls tell me if so cuz im obsessed with it lol AND on the topic of events y’all should check out @spnpocweek which i think is super cool and going on rn! <3

[thatfanficstuff]

Sunday Brunch - Steve Rogers

Pairing: Steve x Reader

Warnings: Language. Always language. And douche-tastic family. 

A/N: So an eternity ago (7 months) the lovely diinofayce gave me an eternal extension on my challenge entry for her because my life was falling apart. So I finally sat down to write this “little” one shot. 3500 words later, here you go. My prompt is in bold. Enjoy.

***

You sat at the end of the table, shoulders slumped with a cup of coffee in your hands. The rest of the team filed in and you ignored them, your mind already on what you had to endure today.

“What’s up with you?” Clint asked.

You glanced at him before grunting and taking a sip of your coffee.

“Seriously, Y/N, what’s wrong?” That came from Steve. Your gaze darted to him over your cup. The concern in his voice almost had you explaining, but he could wait until after your coffee. You’d been up all night worried about today and you needed the caffeine more than you needed air at this point.

“It’s today, isn’t it?” Natasha asked and you nodded. She was the one of the few that knew the extent to which you were dreading this day.

“What’s today?” Steve sounded near panicked. You couldn’t really blame him. Your usual pleasant demeanor was nowhere to be seen at the moment.

“Sunday brunch,” Nat answered for you.

Tony’s head shot up in the kitchen. “That’s today?”

You hummed in agreement. He muttered something you didn’t catch before heading over with a bottle of Bailey’s in hand. “Ah, thank you.” You took the liquor from him and topped off your coffee. “That’ll help immensely.”

“What’s so horrible about brunch?” Bucky asked around a mouthful of food. Steve, Sam and Bucky had been on mission the last time you went so they had missed the fallout. Lucky bastards.

“It’s not just any brunch. It’s brunch with her family,” Clint offered before shooting you a sympathetic smile.

“And?” Sam prompted after no one proceeded to fill them in on the rest.

You raked a hand through your hair. “My parents have a skewed sense of reality. They were both born into money, have always had it and are used to getting what they want. Part of that is a particular set of expectations for their children. None of which I have fulfilled.”

“It can’t be that bad,” Sam said.

You arched a brow. “I am not above slashing my own tires to avoid this brunch.” Even the thought had you smiling though it faded quickly. “Who am I kidding? They’d just send a car.”

Steve studied you with his intense blue eyes and a furrowed brow. “I don’t understand, Y/N. What expectations could they possibly have that you don’t meet? You’re amazing.” His cheeks flared red as if just realizing what he’d said. “I mean—”

Bucky placed a hand on Steve’s shoulder. “What Stevey boy here meant to say was he thinks you’re gorgeous, talented, badass, and sexy as hell.”

“Bucky!”

The dark-haired super soldier grinned and shot you a wink which had you chuckling as you sipped your coffee. He loved to give Steve shit.

“Y/N, I didn’t…I mean what Bucky said—”

You waved a hand through the air to let him know it didn’t matter. Steve glared at Bucky as he rubbed a hand across the back of his neck. “I could single handedly find the cure for cancer and I would still be a disappointment to my parents. My mother in particular. I am a daughter. Expectations for me include marrying a nice, respectable man. Preferably one that can support me in the lifestyle my parents think I should have. He should have a boring job and boring hobbies. We should then have at least 2.4 children and a dog. Just one; a pure breed that costs more than any animal should ever cost.”

The room around you remained silent as you took a sip of your coffee. Steve opened his mouth to say something and you lifted a finger to let him know you weren’t quite finished. “I should not work as it gives the impression my husband cannot support our family on his salary. Even if I am three times as brilliant as him my only job should be my volunteer efforts. PTA. HOA. Or whatever the acronym of the week is. My only value comes from the man whose arm I am on.”

“So just don’t go,” Sam said as if it was the simplest thing in the world.

“If she doesn’t go, she doesn’t get to see her nieces and nephews,” Nat explained.

You shook your head as you leaned back in your chair. “We all know it’s ridiculous and stupid. My brothers do at any rate. My sister should but she plays her role with a tight smile and dead eyes and resents every second of my rebellion. My brothers are married but they could always do whatever they wanted. They’re boys after all. Mom makes their lives miserable if they don’t give in to her. I don’t really care, but I love the kiddos.”

“Does she have a date for you this time?” Tony asked, his gaze darting briefly in Steve’s direction before coming back to you. He took every opportunity to remind you of the crush you’d stupidly admitted to him one night.

You sighed. “I hope not, but I didn’t tell her I was bringing anyone so probably.”

“I could go with you,” Steve’s voice was so soft you barely heard him.

You sat up in your chair and looked at him, hope blooming in your chest. “What did you say?”

He cleared his throat. “I could go with you.”

“Do you mean that? You’ll really go with me and pretend you’re head over heels for me so they’ll back off for a while?”

Bucky laughed. “I think he can manage to pull it off.”

“Stow it, Buck,” Steve grumbled before turning back to you. “Yeah, I can do that. I’d be happy to help.”

You squealed as you jumped up from your seat and ran around the table. You planted a big kiss on Steve’s cheek. “You have just made my whole day, Rogers.” You hurried to your room to get ready.

***

“This is your parents’ house?” Steve asked as you stood beside the car you’d borrowed from Tony.

You glanced up at the huge house in front of you and imagined how it must look to someone who grew up dirt poor in Brooklyn. “This is it. No backing out now Rogers. I need you.”

His hand found yours and grasped it, lacing your fingers together. “I’m not going anywhere, doll.”

Your face heated at both the nickname and the gesture. You pressed against his side. “Thanks, soldier.”

The door swung open before you could even knock and you were swept into a massive hug. You grunted as your feet came off the ground. “Put me down, you ape.”

“Is that anyway to say hello to your big brother?” Adam teased, though he did set you back on your feet.

You grinned as you straightened your clothes. “Hello, Adam. Steve, this is my oldest brother. Adam, Steve.”

Steve extended his hand, but Adam just stared at him with wide eyes. Finally, he seemed to snap out of it and took the offered hand. “It’s an honor to meet you.”

“Um…thanks.” Red tinged the ridges of Steve’s cheeks and the tops of his ears.

You smiled and took his hand back in yours once your brother finally released it. Adam’s eyes immediately latched on your joined hands. His gaze flicked between the two of you then he grinned. “Nate, get out here,” he called over his shoulder.

You turned toward Steve and dropped your voice so only he would hear. “My other brother. And major Cap fan. Sorry.”

He squeezed your hand to let you know it was fine just as your other brother appeared in the doorway beside Adam. “What is it?” he asked, then his gaze moved to you and Steve. “That’s…”

“Yeah,” Adam said.

“And that’s our sister.”

“Yep.”

“But they’re holding hands.”

“For the love of…” You shoved between your brothers to make an opening and pushed your way into the house, pulling Steve along behind you.

“Nate, Steve. Steve, Nate.” You moved to let go of Steve’s hand so he could shake Nate’s but he kept his grip on you.

Instead, he held out his left hand. “Nice to meet you.”

“Yeah…”

You rolled your eyes. “You guys know I’m an Avenger. Why are you so surprised to see me with Steve?”

Adam scratched the back of his head. “Honestly we kind of thought you just made that up to mess with mom and dad.”

You blinked at them as you processed this. “I have literally been on the TV.”

They both shrugged and you closed your eyes and prayed to the universe for patience. Steve chuckled beside you but quickly covered it with a cough when you opened an eye to glare at him.

“I should have realized I’d find you in the middle of the noise, Y/N.”

You barely resisted the urge to growl at the voice and opened your eyes to see the smirking face of your brother-in-law. “Paul. Where’s Amanda and the kids?”

“They’re in the drawing room with your mother and the other women. Your dad sent me to see why these two hadn’t returned to the den. Who’s your friend?”

“Steve Rogers.” He held out his right hand this time and you bit your lip to keep from laughing when Paul winced as they shook hands.

“Well, Steve, you should join us for a drink before dinner,” Paul suggested and did his best to hide the fact he was flexing his hand.

“I think I’ll stick with Y/N. Thanks though.” He put his hand on your back and kept it there as you moved to the drawing room.

“Aunt Y/N!” Announced your presence as the two of you entered the room and were instantly swarmed by children.

“My minions!” You gave them all a hug and a kiss on the head before glancing at Steve to find him watching you with soft eyes and a big smile. “This is Gabrielle, Grant, Kenzie, Jacob and Jasper.” You pointed to each one in turn. “Hester and Prudence are there by their mother, my sister Amanda.” Amanda gave a tight smile and rested her hand on her obvious baby bump. The point four of her perfect 2.4 children.

You wove your way through the kids and took your littlest nephew from his mom. “And this little guy is Charlie,” you cooed as you cradled the three-month old in your arms. “This is Adam’s wife Cecilia and Nora belongs to Nate. Everyone, this is Steve.”

Your lips twitched as you realized that Nora and Cici were already staring with wide eyes. Amanda kept darting glances but refused to look outright as if she didn’t have a poster of him on her wall growing up. The kids were too young to care or know who he was without his suit on. Steve greeted everyone and moved to where your mother sat watching with a disapproving gaze.

He offered his hand and kissed the back of hers when she gave it. “You must be Mrs. Y/L/N. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

She looked from him to you. “This one has manners. That’s a pleasant change.”

You ignored her but didn’t miss the slight stilling of Steve’s form before he returned to your side. He smiled down at Charlie. “He’s adorable.”

“Thank god they all take after Cici,” you teased.

“Her name is Cecilia and the baby is Charles as you well know, Y/N.”

Steve’s fingers flexed against your back but he followed your lead and ignored her. “All?”

You grinned. “Jasper is Nora and Nate’s. The rest are Adam and Cici’s. They take that whole be fruitful and multiply thing very seriously.”

“Y/N,” your mother chastised. Fortunately, the dinner bell rang before anymore conversation was necessary.

***

After introducing Steve to your father, you all sat for dinner. You slid your chair closer to Steve’s needing his nearness. Your hand found his under the table and pulled it into your lap as you played with his fingers. He placed his mouth beside your ear. “You okay?”

“Because of you, yeah.” You sucked in a breath when you realized you’d said that aloud. Steve’s only response was a gentle squeeze of your hand.

“So, Steven, what is it that you do?” your father asked.

Your brothers and their wives exchanged glances before looking down at their plates to hide twitching lips. “I believe he said he was a captain in the army,” Adam contributed.

A glance at Steve showed him fighting his own smile and there was a wicked glint in his eye you rarely saw. You thought about intervening, saying something in clarification but why? Might as well let them have their fun. “Retired,” Steve amended.

“You don’t look old enough to be retired.”

“He’s older than he looks, dad.” There was a burst of stifled laughter.

Paul glanced around the table with a frown, obviously realizing he was missing something. At this point in his life he should really be used to that by now. “Military work can’t pay well. Though I hear you can make some good money in the private sector once you’re out.”

“I do well enough. Though Y/N makes enough on her own she doesn’t need to depend on me.”

You nearly choked on your dinner and took a drink of water to help wash it down. Steve’s hand rested on your thigh and you nearly choked again. Damn, he was trying to kill you.

“Surely you don’t intend for her to continue working once you’re married?” That came from your mother.

Steve frowned. “I’m pretty sure the world will still need saving regardless of her marital status.” Before anyone could respond to that, he turned back to your brother-in-law. “And what is it you do, Paul?”

He straightened in his seat and patted his mouth with his napkin. “I’m a doctor. Top in my field.”

You wiped your mouth so you could cover your next words with your napkin. “He’s a podiatrist,” you said only loud enough for Steve to hear.

“That’s…” Steve’s voice caught and he cleared his throat before trying again. “That’s great.”

Your mother nodded. “It’s wonderful. As soon as they married, Amanda left her job. Of course, she’s very busy with her children and her volunteer activities.”

“Yes, well. Not all of us can be as industrious as Amanda,” you added, not bothering to keep the bitterness from your tone.

Steve rubbed your thigh with his thumb and you bit your lip to keep from saying anything else.

“Would you just stop?” Amanda said quietly though she slammed her silverware on the table. “We all know you’re jealous so just stop.”

Your brows shot up. “Exactly what am I supposed to be jealous of?”

She looked at you like you were the stupidest thing she’d ever seen then gestured around the table. “This. All of this. You could be married and have children but you just have to be different.”

“Amanda,” your mother chastised. “We have guests.”

“Who? Steve Rogers? You do realize that is Captain America, right? She just enjoys making people feel stupid. He’s not a guest. He’s a decoy. There is no way someone like him would date someone like her.”

“Oh, shit,” one of your brother’s muttered.

You clenched your jaw and kept your gaze focused anywhere but Steve. You couldn’t even argue with her. Every word she said was true. It took a moment for you to realize that Steve was standing beside you with his hand out. You frowned at him. “I think it’s time for us to leave, Y/N.”

“Of course,” you agreed automatically and stood. He was probably embarrassed beyond belief and you weren’t going to make him suffer any longer than necessary.

“Absolutely not. Sit. Down.” Your head jerked in your mother’s direction. “Your friend may leave if he wishes, but you’re not going anywhere until you apologize to your sister.”

“Karen, let it go,” came from your dad.

She ignored him and glared at you. “Apologize at once. Then you can apologize to your father and I for this farce.”

“Mom—” Adam started and you held up a hand to cut him off.

“Apologize to her? What the fuck for?”

“Y/N,” your father snapped.

You whipped around to face him. “What? Just sit there quietly like you always do. Like you did when Amanda quit the six-figure job she loved because it was expected. Or like you did when Adam knocked CiCi up Senior year and all mom was worried about was what your friends would think. Sorry Cici.”

She lifted her mimosa glass in a little toast. “Don’t mind me. This is the best brunch I’ve been to in years.”

“Cecilia, don’t encourage her,” your mother said.

You turned back to her. “Her name is CiCi. Your refusal to use it doesn’t make you cultured, it makes you rude. Just like your poking and prodding at Steve makes you rude. I don’t give a shit if he was a private fresh out of bootcamp with not a dime to his name, I’d still love him. Not that it’s any of your goddamn business.”

As you struggled to catch your breath, you realized what you’d just admitted to. Well, just add it to the embarrassment of the day. You might as well go all in while you were at it. “I thought if I brought him here, you’d back off. Just for the day.” Your voice was softer than it had been and an angry tear rolled down your cheek. Steve reached out and took your hand in his. “I should have known better. You just can’t stand for me to be happy even for a moment.”

“Well, you can forget coming to any family events until you find a way to apologize for this horrid display. I’m sure the children will miss you,” was your mother’s cold response.

The silence stretched as you realized not one word you said had been heard. Not by your mother or your sister at any rate.

“You heartless bitch,” came from the last person you expected and you turned to gape at Steve in surprise. His face was red and his jaw set in anger. Damn. This was probably the wrong time to be getting turned on.

“Excuse me?” your mother gasped.

At the same time your father said, “You can’t talk to my wife like that.”

“Watch me,” Steve snapped back. He pulled you closer to him and kept a firm hold on your hand. “I don’t know what game you’re playing at here, but it needs to end. Y/N is one of the kindest, most generous people I have ever met. She has literally helped save the world more than once and you’re treating her like she’s a nuisance or a pawn to control.”

“Now, just a—”

“I’m not finished. She has so much love to give. I know because I spent a great deal of time hoping to be the recipient of even a small part of it. And now you try to manipulate her using the love she has for her family? If there’s one thing today has made perfectly clear, you don’t deserve her.” He shifted to take in your brothers and their wives. All four of them were looking on in stunned silence. “And frankly, neither do any of you if you let her use you like this.”

Steve turned abruptly and pulled you through the house until the two of you were outside with the front door shut behind you. He took a deep breath. “I’m sorry, Y/N. I—”

You grabbed the front of his shirt and yanked him forward. Your lips crashed into his. It only took a moment for him to respond and as he kissed you back, his hands found your waist to pull you closer. When you finally separated to take a breath, he pressed his forehead to yours. “I’ve been wanting to do that for ages.”

“Me, too, Rogers. Thanks for sticking up for me.”

“That was…I don’t think I’ve ever been in a situation where I had to bite my tongue quite so many times. I just snapped.” He helped you into the car and shut the door for you. Once he was settled on his side, he turned to face you before starting the car. “Can I ask you a question?”

“After what you went through for me today you can ask me anything you want.”

“Did you mean it when you said you loved me or was that just part of the act?”

“I’m not that good of an actor,” you assured him before leaning toward him for another kiss. For once, you were happy you didn’t skip out on brunch.

[lianadrayton]

**CURRENTLY UNDER CONSTRUCTION 11/19**

UPDATED: NOVEMBER 19th, 2020

@tupeloextras

KANE // 24 // SHE/HER // EST

DISCORD: whiskey#6583

I work nights so my replies on the dash and in discord are kind of all over the place time-wise

I am irresponsible so here is a 3rd I said I’d never have

LIANA DRAYTON-CRAWFORD

Full Name: Liana Selene Drayton-Crawford 

Nickname(s): Lia, Duchess 

Birthday: July 5th, 1978 (42) 

Hometown: Chanute, Kansas

Education: Bachelor of Science in Chemistry with a minor in Biochemistry from Northeastern University

Occupation: Waitress at Red’s Diner

Faceclaim: Amy Adams

Content Warning(s):

Divorce, Emotional Manipulation/Abuse (Implied), Cheating, 

BACKGROUND:

Liana was born & raised in Chanute, Kansas to young parents (18, 19) who had no concept of the amount of work it took to raise a child

She was raised on hard work, thrift shops, and Sunday mass by her maternal grandparents as her parents never stepped up to the plate to try their hand in raising their daughter

Already absent in much of her life, the couple broke up in their mid-20′s and her father moved to Washington state and was not heard from after that point 

Her mother never ended up going to college and ended up marrying a lineman and moved away against the wishes of her parents, officially leaving Liana behind with her grandparents

Though her parental situation was different her life with her grandparents was great

They may have been some of the poorest people in the already poor, little midwestern town.. but they were all rich in love which was what mattered the most 

The moment that Liana could get a job she did and her first job was working in a local flower shop and then moved to picking up shifts at the diner 

All of the money she made went to help her grandparents with bills even though they would protest and downright refuse her offer to help. Liana would often secretly go and pay off some small bills anyway behind their backs to help 

Anything extra of Liana’s that could be spared was saved so she could purchase a car. Her first vehicle was a 1985 Ford Escort (9 years old by the time of purchase). Issues with the vehicle were worked on by her grandfather (and sometimes Liana herself) as he used to be a mechanic in the town

Even with juggling working and school Liana managed to post outstanding scores and was named the valedictorian of her class (even though it was a small class it still felt like a great accomplishment with the way her parents had both barely graduated from high school) 

She was accepted and granted a scholarship to attend Northeastern University in Boston, Massachusetts for chemistry

While in Boston, Liana met Alexander “Lex” Crawford who was attending Harvard University in the neighboring Cambridge, Massachusetts for law 

The two began dating officially roughly 6 months after meeting

During Liana’s 4th year at Northeastern and Lex’s final year in law school, Liana found out that she was pregnant with Lex’s child (~2 months before graduation)

After graduation Lex proposed to Liana and the two had a fast-tracked wedding late that summer

The two would end up having 3 children in total and remain happily married for over 10 years before issues arose

MARRIAGE & DIVORCE: TW Divorce, Emotional Manipulation/Abuse, Cheating 

They welcomed their first child in 2000, a boy, named Theodore “Theo” Crawford

Even though Liana had her degree her dreams of pursuing a career were cut short and she instead became a stay-at-home mother to care for Theo full time (as per the request of her husband and his family)

Five years after the birth of Theo, Liana and Lex had another child in 2005 - this time a girl named Ava Crawford

For the first few years of marriage Lex was fairly sincere and loyal to Liana but was often swept up in the scandals of his own family’s bad behavior 

This bad behavior was often praised by other members of his family and he grew to resent Liana for keeping him from enjoying his youth 

Liana spent much of her time with the children and trying to be the perfect housewife 

In a matter of years she had gone from the only thing in her name being a 1985 Ford Escort to having access to a house in the Hamptons, cars, lake homes, and expensive time shares overseas 

She cooked, cleaned, decorated the house for each and every occasion and was always the parent who attended parent-teacher conferences and was also part of the PTA/PTO 

Lex started to go behind Liana’s back with other women (most of whom were college interns or assistants for the law firm) 

Everyone knew about it but no one would say anything since Liana never brought it up as she preferred to pretend that it wasn’t always the hot gossip amongst the circles she was in 

Lex would reel Liana back in by preying on her love for her children, informing her that if they were to divorce he would take the children and she would be left with nothing 

He would also often switch between threats against Liana and grand romantic gestures (empty, of course) to keep her attached to him just enough to not leave

She preferred to wear the rose colored glasses as long as she could though eventually they would break

The worst came when Liana would have their third child together, another boy, in 2015 (Benjamin “Bear” Crawford) 

From there things escalated quickly between Liana and Lex and they divorced in 2018 

Lex would gain full custody of the children at this time by accusations against Liana that she was alienating the children from him

The Crawford reach extended into many of the rich and elite in New England so there was no concern from Lex about keeping custody no matter what Liana did, in fact the custody battle was an attempt to lure her into doing something uncharacteristic then using that against her to ensure that the children would stay with him (though he did it for revenge against her, not because he cared for the children)

Additionally, the Crawford family did not care for Liana that much overall, believing that she was still “some girl from a cornfield in Kansas” and they often called her Dorothy 

Liana would battle with Lex in court over custody until the money ran short, additionally she would see how much of a toll the fighting took on the children and knowing she would never be able to beat her then-husband in court she stopped fighting 

Lex also took out a restraining order against Liana after their legal proceedings were finished

Even though the children had spent 90% of their lives with their mother, their father’s words (and Black Amex) proved to be much more alluring than staying with the person who had seen them through everything in their lives 

By the time the legal battles had settled down, Theo was of-age and went to college. Liana tries to keep in contact with him but he has not been that responsive (reasons not known, suspected influence from his father paying for his schooling) 

Lex offered Liana a large share of money during the divorce as well as vehicles and vacation homes all of which she rejected, only taking what was in her name only 

PERSONALITY:

Liana is very dedicated and loyal to her friends and family (even if sometimes they don’t deserve it) 

Strong work ethic! She never lost this even while being married to someone who would’ve rather just paid for everything to be done rather than do it himself

Very maternal, she tries not to mother everyone but kind of accidentally does it sometimes (she’s working hard on reeling it in) 

She’s very sweet, likes to help others when possible

Tries to see people for the best instead of the worst (hence staying with her husband for so long) even if it comes back to bite her in the ass

Can be almost a little too kind, this usually lead to her being used like a door mat but her divorce gave her some strength to push back once things got to be too much 

Walking Pinterest board, she’s creative and enjoys her little projects. Often subjecting friends to testing them out with her (whether it’s building something or baking a recipe that looks good) 

FAST FACTS:

Liana moved to Tupelo as an attempt to go somewhere where no one would know her 

She could not go home as her family there is no longer around and no one could ever track down her father after he moved to Washington 

She has deep regrets and embarrassment over not being able to get custody of her children and does not speak of them (as she does not want to explain anything) 

Her home is bare of any photographs that would hint that she has children 

She will speak of her ex-husband, but only briefly and not mention what he did but instead say that they split due to differing opinions on where they wanted their lives to lead 

She still enjoys cooking and decorating as they are some of the few things she finds comforting, she also finds having live flowers in her home 

Liana has two pets - a Great Dane named Salem and a brown tabby cat named “Billy the Kitten” based off the character of the same name from the popular mobile app Neko Atsume (both pets were handed over to Liana during the divorce) 

Liana now lives in small home with a decent yard, using the remaining money she had to purchase it mostly for the yard for Salem (the inside of the home is lined with carpet runners for the dog and there is not an abundance of furniture that is not necessary as to accommodate Salem’s size) 

Liana can be seen walking Salem often or having Salem outside with her while she gardens, Salem can wander freely around the property when Liana is outside - otherwise he is limited to the fence (which he can stick his head over) 

She has a Mercedes (which she hates) and can never get it worked on without taking it to a larger city 

She kept the Crawford part of her last name as (for whatever reason) it makes her feel closer to her children in some small way 

BEST FRIEND FROM COLLEGE TM:  (Taken WC by Ethan Morris, Jake Gyllenhaal FC)

These two met while attending Northeastern and quickly became close friends 

Just because they were close didn’t necessarily mean that he always supported or even liked the fact that Liana was dating Lex Crawford

He & Lex shared a mutual distain for one another

Even with this, the two would eventually attend each other’s weddings 

Right before he got married he asked Liana to leave Lex and to essentially have a modern-day runaway sequence with him (no points for timing) 

Unfortunately, she could not bring herself to divorce her husband at the time 

After he got married they began to drift apart

CONNECTIONS:

Friends! 

People she mothers on accident 

Other dog people (and cat)

Those who benefit/are subjected to taste testing random recipes she finds

Regulars at Red’s 

Her kid?? This could be a WC at some point I guess (We out here being flexible on most of that)

She’s not really looking for anything romantic at all - but y’know sometimes it hits you when you least expect 

Maybe someone who actually did know her from the east coast (whoops)

Everything!!

[corystssides]

Roommates, Part 7

Yes, it has been almost a year since I updated this. No, I do not have an excuse.

Words: 2971

Summary: It’s game night

Warnings: swearing, implied family troubles, brief impromptu coming out scene (roman), I think that’s it but lmk

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6

Logan didn’t show up to Chemistry. Virgil took it as a good sign. Hopefully, Logan was taking an extended afternoon nap and he would be peppy and cheerful for game night. Virgil made sure to take extra good notes today, because no doubt Logan would want to look at them later. He even made sure to put them back into his binder instead of shoving the pages haphazardly into his backpack to sort out later in the day. Then, to perk himself up a bit, to make sure he wasn’t a downer during game night, Virgil went to the little food shop in the university center and bought an energy drink. It had started raining outside, and while right now it was just a light drizzle, the darker clouds in the distance seemed to promise a downpour.

When Virgil got back only to see that Logan wasn’t there, he thought that was a little odd, but not something to worry about. He was probably hanging out with those friends he’d finally seemed to have made. The ones with the poor taste in music that he was talking about at lunch.

It was really only around dinner time that Virgil started getting concerned. Logan still wasn’t back, and it was getting closer and closer to game night. They’d all decided to skip dinner in favor of Patton’s tofu loaf, so the neighbors were coming over at 6:30. And it was pouring outside, so no doubt Logan would want to change before then.

Virgil decided to text Logan, in case he’d gone to the library and fallen asleep or something. No sooner had he sent the text though, than he heard the buzz-buzz of Logan’s phone, coming from Logan’s bed.

Great.

Virgil tried to not worry about it. Logan had probably just forgot it. He was angry after lunch and decided to take a walk and just forgot his phone. No biggie.

He definitely hadn’t decided that he’d had enough of Virgil and college and just decided to leave. That was ridiculous to consider. There’s no way that he’d decide to just hop on a plane back to Ohio and leave his phone so that he’d never even have to think about hearing from Virgil again. It was Logan, after all. He might have had a bit of a temper over the last few days and maybe he hung on to stupid things for a bit too long, but it still took him at least three business days to make a decision about anything.

Then again, their big fight had been Sunday. Three business days from that was Wednesday. Which was today.

But surely he wouldn’t flake out on his friends? The ones who invited him to the concert?

Unless that was a lie Logan had made up to have an excuse not to hang out with Virgil on Friday. Because he would be gone.

Virgil found himself knocking on the neighbors’ door at 6:25. “Have either of you seen Logan since lunchtime?” he asked.

“Wasn’t he in Chemistry with you?” Roman asked.

“No, he skipped. I haven’t seen him since lunch,” Virgil said.

“That’s when I last saw him,” Patton said, shrugging.

“I didn’t see him, but he was in the dorms talking to someone on the phone right before Chemistry,” Roman said. “He left right after he finished the call, so I thought he was just hoofing it to class so he wouldn’t be late. Have you called him?”

“He left his phone on the bed,” Virgil said.

“Ah,” Roman said.

“I’m sure he’ll turn up!” Patton said. “He wouldn’t want to miss game night!”

Virgil wasn’t so sure, but he let the other two guide him back to his room. They had Risk, Monopoly, and a deck of cards. Not wanting to start either board game without Logan, they decided to play Go Fish.

Roman was in the middle of totally winning Go Fish when Logan finally showed up, at 7:13 pm. He was soaking wet, dripping on the hardwood, shivering, and looking generally miserable. He didn’t say hello, opting instead to say, “Did you know that our school IDs work as free bus passes?”

“If you took the bus, why are you soaking wet?” Patton asked.

“I’m Jared, I’m 19, and I never learned how to read bus schedules,” Logan muttered, slipping off his shoes and walking over to his closet. “And I am going to put on dry clothes now because I’m freezing.”

“I can put this tofu loaf in the microwave for you, that should warm you up quicker,” Patton said.

“Thanks,” Logan said. “Sorry for being late, everyone.”

“What were you even doing all day, besides apparently skipping class?” Roman asked.

“First I walked downtown, then I walked uptown, and I made it to 71st street, which is basically out of town, and then I decided I didn’t want to walk back so I waited for a bus, and that took me to the mall, but I couldn’t figure out which bus I needed to take from there so I just walked back to campus.”

“Don’t you have a car? Why didn’t you just drive?” Virgil asked.

“I didn’t intend to walk that far,” Logan said. “Also even if I had, this town is basically impossible to navigate and I left my phone here, so I probably would have been lost and taken just as much time getting home anyway.”

“How do you not know how to read bus schedules?” Patton asked. “How did you get places as a child?”

“I live in rural Ohio,” Logan said. “The only buses out there are school buses, so all you have to know is your bus number.”

“How did you get places?” Patton asked, now even more bewildered.

“For the most part, I didn’t really go anywhere, so I didn’t have to worry about it,” Logan said. “But also, I made sure to pass my driving test.”

“Ah,” Patton said. “I haven’t taken that yet.”

“Why?” Logan asked, joining them now that he was in dry clothes.

“I just haven’t gotten around to it yet. It’s not like I really need it. I have my permit for ID and we have a bus system in town for transportation, and I have a bike too.”

The microwave beeped, and Patton took the remaining tofu loaf out. Virgil pulled a plastic fork off his desk and handed it to Logan. “Thanks,” Logan said to the two of them.

“Are we gonna finish this game or are we gonna switch to Monopoly?” Roman asked.

“I’m pretty sure neither of us can beat your number of pairs, so let’s just say you win,” Virgil said, starting to gather his cards.

“Sounds good to me,” Roman said, pushing all of his pairs on the floor into a pile.

Patton gathered up his cards and then took the cards from the other two. He plopped them into the card box and then handed Monopoly to Roman, who started setting it up.

“I haven’t played Monopoly in forever,” Virgil said, swiping the instructions. “I don’t think I remember how to play.”

“Too many fights break out when you play?” Roman asked.

“Nah, my sib’s just not fond of it. They think it’s boring and takes too long. So we play Risk or Candyland instead.”

“Your sibling...Elijah, right?” Patton asked.

“Eliot,” Virgil said.

“Hand me the instructions when your done, please, Virgil,” Logan said. “I’m pretty sure I don’t remember the way Monopoly is actually played either. When I used to play it on tennis trips we had to make up so many house rules to avoid fights that I’m pretty sure we were actually playing an entirely different game.”

“I’m sorry, did Astro Boy over here just admit to being a jock?” Roman asked, passing out the money.

“I played for two years, so not really,” Logan said, meticulously lining up the money piles that Roman handed him.

“Why didn’t you stick with it?” Patton asked.

“The administration cut tennis at the beginning of junior year to ‘save money,’” Logan said. “Not really sure how they saved anything, considering we the players had to buy our own equipment and uniforms and we had to do our own fundraisers in order to raise the money to go to competitions, but that was their excuse.”

“Oh my gosh, you’re bitter,” Roman said, delighted.

“Listen, the girls’ tennis team won state for five years in a row before they cut us, and while the boys didn’t have quite that record, we were still pretty high up there. Football, on the other hand--which, by the way, gets their uniforms paid for by the school and got a new scoring sign my junior year--the football team wins like one or two games a year. They suck. But sure, let’s cut the state champions who pay for all their own stuff and keep buying the football team nice things that they don’t deserve.”

“You’re so fucking bitter dude oh my gosh,” Roman said. “Did you like, create a barricade in the lunchroom and demand the reinstatement of tennis or no one gets their pizza? Because if you’re still this upset about it I can’t imagine how you were junior year of high school.”

“I’m taking the dog piece guys,” Patton said.

“I want the hat,” Logan said, taking the small silver piece and putting it on Go. “We took it to the administration, the PTA, even the school board. Mary, the captain of the girls’ team, she started a petition. But--” Logan shrugged, “--it’s tennis. Nobody cared.”

“That sucks, dude,” Virgil said, handing over the instructions.

Logan took them from him and started speed-reading them.

“Hey I vote that we have a house rule that landing on free parking gets you the chance money,” Roman said.

“I’m good with that,” Virgil said.

“Me too,” Patton said.

“Sure,” Logan said, putting down the instructions. He noticed that Roman and Virgil had picked the car and the shoe. “Let’s roll and see who goes first.”

Patton rolled highest, so he went first, followed clockwise by Roman, Virgil, and Logan. Virgil’s very first move put him on a Chance spot. He drew a card and swore.

“What?” Patton asked.

“I’m going to jail on my first turn!” Virgil said, moving his piece into the jail box.

Roman cackled. Logan rolled and got to the “Just Visiting” part of Jail.

The four of them snatched up the properties fairly quickly, though Virgil ended up getting the least amount of properties of all of them. He kept making poor rolls while in jail, so he ended up having to wait out the entire sentence while the other three commenced bouncing their pieces around the board. Patton dominated the conversation, talking about all the dogs he’d seen on campus today, and how intimidating his French class was, and how everyone else was better at speaking French but he was still the boss at grammar, and how boring his history homework was. Virgil chipped in when relevant, and Roman sometimes derailed the conversation or responded with a story of his own. Logan was quiet, mostly just eating his tofu loaf when it wasn’t his turn.

“Hey Astro Boy, you okay over there?” Roman asked.

Logan scowled. “Please tell me you’re not going to keep calling me that.”

Roman grinned, “Only until I find something better.” Then he turned serious. “Are you okay though?”

“Yeah,” Logan said. “Just tired.”

“Like I haven’t heard that excuse before,” Roman said.

“I’m being perfectly honest here. I took a several-hours long walk, I don’t have the energy to feel anything but tired,” Logan said with the ghost of a smile.

“Okay, well as long as you’re sure,” Roman said.

“I’m always sure,” Logan said.

Virgil swore under his breath again, and Logan looked over to see that he’d landed on Boardwalk, a property that Roman had been lucky to get. Scowling, Virgil handed over the money. “I’m gonna be out of the game in like ten minutes at this rate,” he said.

“I’m sure your luck will turn around,” Patton said comfortingly.

As he said that, Roman landed on the “Go to Jail” box. “What?!” he shrieked. “Oh, the indignity!”

“You’re right, Patton, my luck did just turn around.”

“You’re so mean to me, Virgil!” Roman said, pouting. Virgil just laughed.

Logan rolled the dice and landed on Park Place, which had so far not been purchased.

“Don’t you dare,” Roman said.

Logan smirked. “Patton, hand me the property card for Park Place, please,” he said, drawing up the correct amount of paper money. Roman made a dramatic noise of despair as the exchange was made.

The game went on. Roman had to spend two turns in jail, but did roll doubles on the third try. All the properties were finally purchased. Patton got the “Get out of jail free” Chance card. Now Monopoly started in earnest.

Virgil was barely hanging on. He kept hitting properties that belonged to someone else, especially on the expensive side of the board. If it weren’t for the $200 bonus for passing Go, he would have been out by now. The only thing that was saving him was the fact that no one had a monopoly on any of the colors yet. None of the other three had brought up trading or buying properties so far. It seemed they were waiting for an opportunity.

Virgil’s phone buzzed. It was someone from Biology, asking what answer he got on one of the homework questions.

Homework...questions?

“Shit!” Virgil said.

“What?” Logan asked.

“I have Bio homework due tonight!” He stared at his Monopoly stuff, thinking about what to do. “Here Roman, you can have all my properties.”

“What? But Virgil, we’re roommates.”

“Yeah, but Roman and I are friends.”

Logan gave him a look of affronted disbelief, but then he laughed. “Okay, I feel like I deserved that.”

Virgil walked over to his desk, and with a sigh, flipped open his laptop. At least he’d remembered before 11:59. He opened up the questions and started his biology while also keeping half an ear on the conversation that the others were having. For the most part, it was Logan and Roman getting indignant over bad rolls while Patton giggled in the background.

Virgil started with the question that his classmate had asked him about. He vaguely remembered reading about it on the assigned reading. He sighed, and dug through his backpack for the book. Already he could feel that he’d be missing out on the rest of game night.

As he focused on the homework, he stopped paying attention to the others. He pretty much tuned them out until he heard Roman say dramatically, “Listen, Logan, I am simply too gay to do math right!”

Virgil turned around just in time to see Logan go through all five stages of grief in two seconds, and then say, “I’m sorry?”

“I like men, Logan, if that disturbs you we can’t be friends.” Virgil saw an all-too-familiar look of fear that maybe-coming-out-was-a-mistake-and-the-level-of-ok-with-gay-had-been-miscalculated on Roman’s face. Oh dear.

“No, I got that, that’s fine. I don’t get why that means you can’t do math.”

“It’s a joke, Logan,” Virgil said.

“It’s an internet stereotype,” Roman said.

“...Ah,” Logan said.

“One of these days, I’m going to set you up on social media, and that’s a threat,” Virgil said.

“I’m on social media,” Logan said. “I have a Facebook account.”

“Do you have Instagram?” Roman asked.

“No.”

“Snapchat?” Patton asked.

“No.”

“Twitter?”

“Myspace?”

“Tumblr?”

“No, and isn’t that last one like, a porn site or something? I know it was banned at school for being inappropriate.”

“I mean...yeah, there is a lot of porn there, but technically it’s pretty much twitter without the character limit,” Virgil said.

“I see.”

“Why do you have less social media presence than my grandmother?” Roman asked.

“I only had a flip phone until this year, so that means no Snapchat and no Instagram, and I’m overall not very fond of the Twitter format, so I didn’t ever make an account.”

“That’s so wild, dude,” Roman said, landing on Free Parking and collecting hella money. “I don’t think I would have survived high school with a flip phone. I love taking pictures of my friends too much, and you can’t do that with a shitty flip phone.”

“My phone had a camera,” Logan pointed out.

“Yeah, but I bet it had a resolution of like, 100 by 100. I like taking good pictures.”

They bickered for a bit about the pros and cons of flip phones, and Virgil turned back to his homework. Not much later, they abandoned the game, citing boredom. They gave Roman the credit for winning again, since he was the only one with a Monopoly (on the green properties, which he got when Virgil gave him all his stuff). Roman brought up that they could still play Risk, but since Virgil was out, having to do homework, and Logan was visibly exhausted, Patton quietly suggested that they call it early this week and just play Risk next week. The three who were not doing homework cleaned up all the game pieces and empty plates, and then Roman and Patton said their goodbyes.

Once the two neighbors left, Logan flopped onto the bed. He gave a cursory glance at his phone, which had a few texts from his father and one from Remy, and then popped it into his top right desk drawer without answering any of them. Despite the lights being on and Virgil working away on his homework, Logan was asleep within ten minutes. Virgil supposed he really was exhausted.

With a sigh, he turned back to his homework. It was only a few hours until 11:59, after all.

[howtotrainyouragents]

Agent H’s Book Reactions

You Think It, I’ll Say It by Curtis Sittenfeld 

A collection of short stories looking at love, sex, missed opportunities, and the stories we tell ourselves. 

-I devoured this book in three days, but I can’t actually tell you if this book is any good. I MEAN, I loved it because its white people drama, and that’s my guilty pleasure. Literary or emotional value? *shrugs*

-Okay, that’s not entirely true. One thing I loved was how it quietly subverted our expectations. It addresses story cliches we know really well- the cheating spouse, the high school crush, the glamorous best friend- and then completely goes in the opposite direction. The people act like people (both in bad ways and good). They think with reason and logic. Things get awkward and then nothing ends up happening. And I can definitely see the fact that nothing happens in these stories as a strike against the collection, but I gotta say it’s refreshing to read a story about a spouse thinking about cheating and then responsibly decides not to (And what the fudge is wrong with our society that I find THAT refreshing??)  

-I think I liked The Wold Has Many Butterflies the best, even if the ending was a little confusing

-I strangely, comfortingly related to Vox Clamantis in Deserto (for being a shy college girl), Volunteers are Shining Stars (for the OCD), and Do Over (for being a shy high school girl) the most. They were not reflections I wanted to see in myself, but I recognize them and am almost touched to see them. 

-Okay, let’s talk about the representation. 

-1) Plausible Deniability clearly has an aromantic protagonist, but the word is never said so I don’t know if the author intentionally did that? Not bad rep though, and I appreciate that it wasn’t a secret longing. He just genuinely was not interested in her that way, but he still loved her all the same. 

-2) The Prairie Wife was about wlw relationships. Idk, if everyone else liked it just for that (this is the favorite of the collection or so Goodreads tells me), but it felt like a straight woman trying to write wlw relationships. I appreciate Lucy’s speech, but honestly the whole story felt a little too inauthentic. Idk, might just be me. 

-3) The only times any non-white person is in this book is in the homeless shelter in “Volunteers are Shining Stars” and when Clay and Sylvia discuss how their black friends were unsurprised by Trump winning the election. *Looks into the camera like I’m on The Office*. To put it more directly, OH MY GOODNESS WHY IS THIS BOOK SO WHITE

-4) And the damage of lacking representation doesn’t extend to just the fact that non-white people aren’t in this book. It bleeds into the plot and very mentality behind the book. This book depicts one very small segment of life: middle class white people. Like every other middle class white people book, it convinces the audience that their problems are universal. Their issues of “I’m bored with my life”, “I didn’t have sex until senior year”, “I can talk shit about other parents at PTA”, and I’m just like... Other people have real problems. Not everyone was having sex in high school or even college and that’s not a bad thing. People get actually harassed and called offensive names all the time, so you’re just being a dick. 

-Look, I knowingly endorsed this book by reading it, but that doesn’t mean I endorse the messages it unwittingly tells. This is a whole rant for another day, but essentially there’s a danger in the realistic fiction genre where they present a singular demographic’s experience as universal. Because realistic fiction, in particular stuff like this, is by definition supposed to be humanizing, relatable, personal to the audience. So what the fudge are the audience members who can’t relate supposed to believe? We feel dehumanized if we can’t relate to the “most relatable, universal experiences”. It’s not this book or any one particular book’s responsibility to change this, but rather a collective literary and societal responsibility to recognize that considering the white man/woman as the baseline universal experience is no longer acceptable and then work to redefine our societal stories and expectations. And if stories like these aren’t supposed to be relatable, universal experiences, then we need to collectively acknowledge it. Call it out for what it is, “Crazy Rich White People”, and be done with it. 

[davidfosterwallaceandgromit]

more from the PTA extended universe

One day, rival mom kathleen finally gets fed up with Dean and decides she's going to tail him for real. Unfortunately, she just happens to pick a day when he's doing extremely normal and regular errands. 

Drops off Jack. Post office and stands in line for a while. He gets a sandwich. He goes to the gun store. He buys some groceries. 

kathleen: [angrily watching through binoculars]

Only thing she does see is him talking to Cas at Jack’s soccer game. she does not realize they are together bc they meet like spies in a park and stand on opposite sides of the chain link fence to have their conversation. 

She tells Helen all this and says she suspects they could be working together and Helen says kathleen please, you are being ridiculous.

I really like imagining the accidental intersection of the PTA world and the world of incredible violence that they normally live in. Like did i see you burning a body in the cemetery? No, surely that was not you.

“Is that a knife sheath on your ankle? At this high school theater production of Pippin?” (Jack is crew. Is he using a little psychic powers to move things when no one is looking or when it’s dark? Perhaps.) What? Oh, yeah. It’s uh. for hunting. “Oh of course, hunting. A normal activity that my husband also does!”

“but you still don’t really need to bring a knife to the musical?” Ha yeah. a knife. that’s all i have. one single knife.

Working theory among the moms is that Dean’s in witness protection from formerly being part of the mob. Kathleen is a strong proponent of this theory too, except that it makes her say “...so he’s dangerous!!” while the rest of them are like “ooh!” like how ppl used to find whitey bulger hot

Kathleen tries to do some research to back up this theory but unfortunately she is not very tech literate so after she finishes reading about midatlantic mobs of the ‘00s and ‘10s on FBI.gov, she hits a dead end. She asks her husband what he thinks and he just asks if she’s been rewatching The Sopranos again

Dean loves The Sopranos btw. That’s where he gets his ‘face-cradle other men in moments of concern’ thing

PTA nemesis Helen’s son Sawyer is: a jock, raised Christian but ambivalent about all that; he plays football in the fall (running back) but his true passion is a weird niche sport: Curling.

Jack is aware of him and avoids him bc he’s afraid of letting slip something about Cas. But then gym teacher pairs them up for the badminton tournament and they get to talking.

Helen's surprising humanizing moment is when sawyer tells jack that his mom is very supportive of the curling and drives him long hours to the tournaments during the season

Close call: somebody’s sister-in-law Mandy is in town for a visit, and Mandy has a true crime hobby. when she sees Dean she recognizes him, and is like. Is that fucking murderer and fugitive Dean Winchester? [THE dean?] “No, his name is Dean Campbell?” “What?” “What?”

Another close call: gay teacher Mr. Curtis flirts with Dean, and Cas does NOT like that. (burly bear guy, science teacher at the middle school, does he look like a certain vampire friend? Perhaps)

dean flirts back at him, and all the moms are like :o well. i guess he's a queer. but we can work with that

One mom: “Oh he must be bisexual, I know about this from Shadowhunters:) which I watch with my daughter. He’s like Magnus Bane!”

Anyway Mr. Curtis hunts, like normal hunting, bowhunting maybe, and is like “you hunt?” and dean’s like “actually yeah,” and the teacher is like we should go together sometime! And Cas does NOT like this, and almost blows their cover

[overhearing this muttered conversation with his angel hearing during the meeting (which he is running because it’s the performing arts subcommittee and he’s the committee chair)]: [[abruptly bangs gavel loudly]] THIS CONCLUDES THIS WEEK’S MEETING. GOOD NIGHT EVERYONE HAVE A VERY SAFE DRIVE HOME.

One day in town, Dean does some heroic physical violence in public, witnessed by one of the moms and her child. Guy in the grocery store goes berserk, Dean tackles him, saving mom and child. It’s very dreamy of him

What they don’t know is that the guy had a spell on him as a direct result of some case they’re working on, inadvertently inviting the forces of darkness into Lebanon

But it’s still very sexy of him and the mom and kid who witness this will be telling this story over and over for WEEKS.

Mom tells it w great relish at church coffee time.

Kid tells this story with great relish at school. Jack: oh, god...

This is the point where Jack’s "your dad is so cool" reputation tips from "yes" to "this is stressing me out"

If the PTA eu is doing its job then it should be parodying “we protect suburban/small-town white america,” and one way it should do so is that the people actually bringing the danger INTO town are of course, them. And there’s always the risk of being found out, and ejected. But they’ll manage to stay under the radar and keep living these two coexisting, ultimately incompatible lives.

[smilingformoney]

America’s Most Eligible 2 Diamond Scene: Northern Lights with the Jury

You: This is too good an opportunity to pass up. Thanks, Jen! Jen: Have fun! As she slips out of the room, you call over to the others. You: Hey guys, why don’t we check out the northern lights? I’d be a good chance for all of us to catch up… Yvette: The instructor of my Baby and Me yoga class swears by moonbathing. Count me in. Ronan: What an inspired idea. Bianca: Good call, Jamie. I’ve been dying to check out the view since we got here. You: Then follow me!

You climb the stairs to the roof, the air growing colder until you push open the heavy, metal door and are met with an icy wind. You: Brr! It’s a little colder than I expected… Heath/Eden: It’s Iceland. Obviously, it’s gonna be cold. Yvette: Heath/Eden, that’s enough, kiddo. We’re here to have fun!

-If you eliminated Ivy

Ivy: You actually think this’ll be fun? Ivy: Aw, bless your heart.

-If you eliminated Slater

Slater: Yeah, right. Jamie wouldn’t know fun if it bit her.

You: Don’t worry, you guys. We’ll stoke the fire a little, and it’ll be toasty in no time. Ronan: Allow me. I’m something of an expert on tending a burning blaze. Ronan: When I was in Guyana trekking through the Amazon, I fended off a jaguar with nothing but a lit torch and… While Ronan rambles on, Bianca lowers her voice and whispers to you.

-If you don’t have a strong relationship with the Jury

Bianca: Uh, Jamie? I hope you’re not expecting us to gather ‘round the campfire and sing ‘Kumbaya.’ Bianca: What else do you have planned?

-If you have a strong relationship with the Jury

Bianca: Babes, you know I’m Team Jamie, but I’ve done my cryotherapy for the week. Bianca: You’ve gotta liven this party up… Fast.

You: Oh, uh… Let’s… -Make hot chocolate!

You: Some melty marshmallows will get this party started. Yvette grabs the supplies from the kitchen, and whips up a batch. Yvette: You’re in for a treat! As Den Mother for my son’s troop, I’ve perfected this recipe.

-Chug some cocoa!

-Break out the champagne!

You: The AME All-Stars are taking over Iceland. We should celebrate. Bianca grabs a bottle from the kitchen, and starts pouring. Bianca: Par-tay!

-Sip some bubbly!

You: Whoa, you guys. Look at that! All at once, the Jury Houses members fall silent as they notice the northern lights floating through the night, and everyone chooses a place on the roof to watch.

Who do you talk to? -Ronan and Yvette

You spot Ronan and Yvette sharing a blanket on the lounge chairs and head over. You: You two look cozy. Ronan: We’ve become fast friends, she and I. Yvette: It turns out, we’ve both got some stories to tell.

You: Let me guess. You bonded over… -The good old days of AME? Ronan +2, Yvette +2

You: Minimal rules and a cast of gorgeous strangers in the golden age of reality TV? The mansion has to be insane! Ronan: To a degree which you could never fathom, young one. Ronan: As it stands, I remain the only cast member to do a perfect swan dive into the pool from the roof. Yvette: Things had calmed down by my season, but that was the year production banned parkour from the mansion… Ronan: But those are, of course, the preoccupations of our younger selves…

-Your real world adventures? Yvette +2, Ronan +2

You: You took different routes, but you’ve both led pretty fulfilling lives. Yvette: I’ll say. Being in the older AME crew, we’ve had some life changing experiences. Yvette: Between managing soccer practices, baby ballet and my dental practice, the years between my seasons have just flown by, but… Yvette: I wouldn’t change a thing. Ronan: I’ve sailed seven days to the remote island of Tristan da Cunha and farmed gingili with the indigenous people of Motuo. Even still…

He turns to face Yvette. Ronan: I quite prefer this moment. Yvette blushes, and you take this as your cue to leave…

-Eliminated Villain and Heath/Eden

You head over to the railing to talk to Eliminated Villain and Heath/Eden. As you approach, they stop speaking and turn to look at you. You: Do I even want to know what you two are talking about? Heath/Eden: Just our master plan for your general downfall. No biggie.

You: Seriously? -At least you’re consistent.

You: You were fierce competitors in the mansion, so it only makes sense you’d be a strong presence in the Jury House. You: May the best player win.

-Can’t we call a truce?

You: We’re three thousand miles from home watching one of seven natural wonders of the world… You: Just for tonight, can’t we enjoy each other’s company?

You extend your hand… and both Heath/Eden and Eliminated Villain shake it in return! Eliminated Villain +2 Eliminated Villain: That’s… surprisingly civil of you, Jamie. Heath/Eden +2 Heath/Eden: Yeah… Heath/Eden: But this doesn’t change anything. We’re still coming for you. You: Then I guess it’s game on. You turn and leave them stunned as you survey the other Jury members…

-Bianca Bianca +2

You head over to sit next to Bianca at the fire pit as she warms her hands. You: It’s beautiful out here. All the mountains, and lights, and snow…

You: I’ll bet you’re itching to… -Get back to the beach.

You: This isn’t exactly a balmy night in Salinas. Bianca: I may be a NorCal girl at heart, but I’ve always been obsessed with snow. In another life, I’d be a snowboarder. You: Gotta admit, I wasn’t expecting that. You: How did you end up in front of a camera instead of heading down the slopes? Bianca: I have my senior prom date to thank for that. Bianca: If he hadn’t ditched me at the last minute, I’d have never traded in my ball gown for a bikini to show him what he was missing. Bianca: I got kicked out of prom, but the video went viral, and I was signed to an agency by graduation. You: His loss is the world’s gain. Bianca: Exactly.

-Stage a photoshoot.

You: This would be perfect for your portfolio. Bianca: ‘Bianca Sandoval, international swimsuit model’ does have a ring to it… Bianca: And the extra exposure would be the perfect way to finally launch my fashion blog! You: You kill it on AME, grace the cover of every magazine, and now you’re coming for the web too? What can’t you do? Bianca: If I’m being honest, there’s not much. Bianca: Everyone thinks I’m just some airhead model, but you wouldn’t believe the plans I’ve got for the fashion industry. You: Well, I can’t wait to see what you’ve got up your sleeve.

Bianca: Thanks for inviting us out here, Jamie. It’s nice to know we still have friends in the mansion. You: Always. You pat her on the back, and stand to look out at the beautiful view…

As the night winds down, you lift your drink in the air. You: I’d like to propose a toast.

You: To… -Iceland! Ronan +2, Yvette +2, Heath/Eden +2, Eliminated Villain +2, Bianca +2

You: Here’s to new countries and all the adventures that come with! Ronan: If adventure is food for the soul, then I wish to die a portly man. Yvette: Amanda and the girls in the PTA aren’t going to believe this. Heath/Eden: I guess this is kinda cool… Eliminated Villain: I’ll give credit where it’s due… This was a good idea. Bianca: Nice one, Jamie.

-Building bridges and tearing down walls. Eliminated Villain +2, Heath +2, Ronan +2 Bianca +2, Yvette +2

You: I won’t pretend this night fixes a season of competitiveness, but I have hope that it’s the starts of new friendships. Eliminated Villain: Only time will tell… Heath: Always the optimist, Jamie. Ronan: Friendship is the most universal currency. Bianca: Cheesy, but… I guess it’s kinda cute. Yvette: Competition breeds excellence… but friendship is nice too.

-America’s Most Eligible. Bianca +2, Eliminated Villain +2, Heath/Eden +2, Yvette +2, Ronan +2

You: Here’s to this crazy show that brought us all together. May it always see another season. Bianca: And may its contestants always be as hot as us! Eliminated Villain: Let’s face it, any season without me is going to pale in comparison. Heath: Next time I’m in the mansion, I’m going all the way. Yvette: Oh, you guys keep me young. Ronan: What good is a life lived, if it leaves no legacy?

You all clink your glasses together and sip quietly as you take in the sights and sounds of your beautiful host country.