#she carries a journal & a camera so i know she would document everything

[raiiny-bay]

ok actually i just had the best idea for an edit/short story idea

[six40seven]

September 16-18th

I didnt go to school. I told Niki i was feeling too sick to and she just nodded and said it was fine. Just by her body language i could tell she was distracted by something else and i didnt want to bother her more then necessary. I wanted to say thanks to all the people on here sending kind messages and concerned asks. I am okay. I was just a little rattled these last few days and well, of course today. I havent slept in almost 32 hours. There is no way in hell im closing my eyes and waking up somewhere strange again with no recollection of how i got there.

This doesnt make sense, and i can tell youre telling me in your head “Ran you need to sleep.” And i know you’re right but it was just horrifying. I have a hard enough time remembering what i do when im awake. Why would this suddenly start happening to me. Its unfair. I was doing fine. Now im not, and i dread falling asleep again. Im too afriad to ask Niki to instal a lock of sorts so last night and the night before and really any time I’ve been feeling the urge to sleep.. well I’ve began to tie my foot to my post. ITS NOT TIGHT. I just dont want to wander off again.

Fall break is soon. I mean sorta. I attempted to attend school online the second day home after the ordeal but my connection was too shit. I guess its the trees blocking the signal. Or maybe the mountains. Speaking of trees, i havent left my house since that day. I dont want to risk whatever happened happening again, worse while im awak. Not that i think it will but the way the trees just… tempt me sometimes. I cant risk walking to the bus or walking even out of my house. WHEERE i use to consider it a blessing to not live in the town houses, i now regret never moving closer. Fuck. Its been so long since I’ve been outside im worried my skin will fall off my body and ill die if i spend one more day barred in my room.

Its okay, for the most part. besides the natural (?) urge i have to be outside all the time. Ive sort of forgotten to document much these o past few days. But i dont think anything else significant happened. As far as related to me. Niki didnt come back the first night and i spent all that time in ym room with the blind drawn and the lights on. I was afriad if i turned the lights off i would nod off. I ended up watching YouTube and Netflix on my laptop as well as cleaning my entire room.

Usually my room is a trash heap, i like it that way, its like having my own nest. But that first night. I couldn’t stand all the things and i pretty much Ed cleaned everything top to bottom in less then 3 hours. I found a few interested things while i was doing that, including but not limited to: a box full of my old Polaroids and camera, a stuffed animal i thought i had lost which went back onto my bed, and a total of 20 spare dollars made mostly out of 1 Dollar bills and quarters.

The only thing of real interest was the Polaroid camera. I thought i lost that thing years and years ago. I only know i had one at all because i have some older pictures pinned places and tucked into my phone case. Theyre all of people i dont really know but i like to think i do so i can carry some part of them with me. They must have been important to me at some point yk. So i decided to look through and sort out any of the Polaroids i remeber or anything like that. These are my findings. I’ll explain them after i show them to you.

starting at the left top and going left to right. It reads Nov 1st 20##. all of these are from when i was a kid. maybe when i was in 4th or 5th grade? Im not entirely sure the exact age i was. The photo shown is a picture i must have taken of some sort of important journal entry, i cant really read it but at least if i ever needed to remeber taking a picture.. I remember, thanks past me.

The next one, in order, is a picture of two shadows. Maybe three. Probably me. Maybe Niki… or Eryn. we were close when we were kids and hes in two of these already. So ill just mention him. idk if he will be okay with me talking about him on here. I dont think he knows i have this account. hopefully he doesnt find it. Not that i would care very much. He just doesnt like me. The caption is just a date. oct 3rd. no year. I wonder when it happened? sometime in my childhood probably. I havent used this camera in years and years. I lost it so long ago.

The third is a weirdly saturated picture of a park in my town. The bigger town. Its just weird. And the caption says… evacuating or something. Its sorta weird. also Niki might have taken this picture because her name is on it too. Seems like her type of thing. from what i remeber as a kid, when we still lived in the big town, she was into weird saturated pictures. Something about scene. I dont know really.

The fourth is on the second line of pictures i found in the Box. On the bottom left. It says July 20## again sometime in my childhood. It shows aforementioned Eryn crouching ont he ground showing something to everyone. Or the viewer. I can see myself, or younger me. Younger me off to the side. Someone else took this picture. I dont remeber this happening. But it was important enough to keep so there it is. Thats pretty much it.

The fifth, wow thats a lot of numbers. Its got a smiley face :) on it. and its a picture of the lake. Yk the one bordering the left side of the bigger town. Its one of the smaller more muddy parts so its all gross. Probably from a hike that i wanted to remeber with Niki or something. I loved the lake when i was a kid. It was fun to swim in but after… after awhile i stopped going and then it closed because of something weird and now you can only go hiking near and around it.

The sixth. A picture of me and ****** hugging. Eryn in the background. It reads Eryn & ##### July. Its a cute picture. I dont know… who ****** is? Yeah i dont know. but i must have known them at one point because thats them. Yeah. They look familiar in the worse way and i pretty much threw that one back in the box as soon as I could. I dont like lookign at it. My stomach hurts when i do.

The seventh. And last a picture of a cat. Even when i was a kid i also apparently liked cats. It reads Spring 20##.

So yeah. I just wanted to say im glad i was able to find them and document them somewhere. I also thought while im explaing photos and stuff ill go into a little detail about what i discovered from that night. Posted on here.

The first piece is clearly a path somewhere in the forest. If i were to say, somewhere further in the mountains, near where the older remains of mines are. The only thing wrong about this piece is that…. When i posted it, theres no wya for there to have been snow. So either the photo is altered in some way, which is unlikely, because from what i can tell it was posted in the middle of the night. Or it was actually snowing wherever i was. even though all the previous days it had been raining.

The next picture looks like some sort of underground tunnel, lined with bricks and ending in step leading up to a barred and maybe locked? I dont know, barred iron gate. I have never seen that place before. Ive been in a lot of abandoned buildings that I’ve found near here but I’ve never seen something like this. The only explaination i can give for the location is possibly a sewer enterance somewhere in the basement of one of the older buildings, not from the big town but rather from the smaller town nearer to my house. Again, it looks like its snowing. Which makes no sense in any context, since it was snowing when i woke up (even though i said i thought it was) and because if this was underground where would snow be coming from? The title says… I heard you. Im here. I dont remeber this. Obviously. and i dont know who i would have.. heard? It doesnt make any sense.

The third picture… i dont have much to say. It looks dark. Maybe its related to the second picture, maybe its on the otherside of the gate. But I’ve never seen a place that dark before. Especially if it has walls. which I think it does. so it must be in a building somewhere out in the forest. Sorta supports my abandoned building theory. Or abandoned mine shaft? I have no idea. But the capture is clearly a long hallway. the caption says something is wrong. No duh. I am clearly self aware even if i dont remeber. I wonder if i act different..

Anyway, thats all for the last few days. I probably will end up attending school tomorrow. Niki isnt home yet, its near the end of the day so if she isnt home by now im assuming shes staying overnight at the office. wouldn’t be the first, wont be the last. I might get a snack before trying not to fall asleep a third night in a row. If anyone wants to chat with me, ill be open to the distractions.

[chaos-writes]

The Lost Boys: Road Trip

Based on one of the most vivid dreams I've ever had. Word count: 2,255. Implied romance with the boys and Star. Tw: none.

“I’ve always wanted to travel and go sight-seeing without any real objective, like moving,” said Lucy, in a dream-like tone. I chimed in, “I’ve had a cross-country road trip planned out for quite a while, but I’ve never had anyone to do it with.” “Oh really?” Lucy asked, “Where to?” “Well, it’ll be a round trip with touring both going and coming back. I'm hoping to go through Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, Kentucky, then we’ll go north, through Ohio, and Michigan, then come back home through Wisconsin, Minnesota, North Dakota, Montana, Idaho, Oregon, then through the top of California all the way back home.” “Oh my goodness! That sounds like a dream, but also a lot of gas money,” Lucy exclaimed. We laughed.

 

“It really would be, but I have the money saved up in a debit account, so hopefully it'll cover it. There’s also hotels, toll bridges, food, water, all that fun stuff,” I giggled. “But it would be worth it, I have tons of film for my instax camera, and a couple journals to write down my experiences.”

I gestured to her, “I have a couple extras for people that want to tag along,” Lucy smiled but quickly frowned, “Oh, I would love to go, I really would, but I have to work and look after the boys and their grandfather,” she mused. I chimed in, “It doesn't just have to be you, you know, I’ve got quite a few people in mind who could benefit from traveling.” “Well, I'll have to check with my boys and my boss. I’ll let you know if I can or can’t as soon as possible,” lucy said, with a look of disappointment in her eyes. I nodded in understanding and smiled, “Well, whenever you do let me know, I wouldn’t be upset if it was a no. I would be sure to share every detail with you, though.” “Oh, thank you for understanding, it means a lot to me!” “No problem. Well, I guess I'll be on my way then,” I said as I opened the front door.

We said our goodbyes and I headed out on my motorcycle to go and see the boys. It’s getting dark enough out where they should be slowly getting up by now. I wonder if Laddie and Star are there, too. They usually are, but sometimes they’re out and about, since they can handle sunlight a bit better than the rest. I park my bike and I can hear distant yawning and mumbling from where I'm standing at the cave entrance. They all start to float out and stretch one by one, Dwayne being first, Marko being second, David being third, and Paul being last. Of course Paul is last, he’s the heaviest sleeper. This road trip would be nothing to him, if they all agreed, that is. I just have to do some convincing.

Marko slipped his jacket and boots on, and the rest followed suit. They’re all quiet when they first wake, that’s why I don't ‘show up’ until I start hearing conversation and laughing. However, I’ve got to wait for the perfect time to come in, when they’ve been talking for a while and can actually think. “I wonder what Michael’s been doin’” I hear Paul say. “I don’t know Paul,” David sighed. “Maybe he’s been avoiding us…” He paused for a minute, then said, “Anyone hungry yet?” a wave of “not me’s” and “mm-mm’s” spread across the cave. I hear Dwayne grab a torch, light it, and begin lighting the cans all around the cave. The -now illuminated- boys begin bantering about who they should target next and what they plan to do for the day- well, night.

As a result, I put on my big-kid pants and stepped into the cave. They all turned to me, Marko exclaimed, “Hey! There you are!” “Hey guys,” I said, waving. Laddie ran up to me and hugged me from the side. I patted his back and ruffled his hair. Star smiled at me as she greeted me with a wave. I smiled back. Marko and Paul ran to me and squished me in their arms.

“I have something to share with you guys. An idea, really,” I said. All the boys looked at me in curiosity until David spoke up, “Well, what is this… idea of yours?” I beamed at all of them and said, “You all know how much I like going on adventures…” they looked even more puzzled now. “So, how about I take everyone on a really big adventure? A road trip!” They looked contemplative, as if they were considering going or not. “I could go alone…” Paul's and Marko's eyes widened, “But I much prefer having company with me, especially on trips like these.” Dwayne piped up, “So... where would we be going?” I smiled and pulled out a map, “How about I show you guys?”

The boys, Laddie, and Star crowd around behind me as I point around a U.S. map and explain where we’re going and what I'm planning on doing. I point all over the map and across the northern states. "We can add on a couple more destinations if you'd like… this is just more of the baseline plan." "Are we going to any big cities?" Marko asked. "Hell yea! And we're gonna go touring at night and see all the pretty lights and stuff. It'll be so fun!" "I'm down!" Paul says. "Me too!" Dwayne chimed in. "I wanna go!" Laddie exclaimed. Star smiled, and turned to David. The rest of us followed suit. This… is it.

I smiled at David and asked, "So, leader of the pack, are you in?" He paused. We cautiously awaited his answer. Laddie's eyes met David’s as he silently pleaded to go. David finally broke, smiled, and said, "alright. When are we leaving?" The cave uproared in a fit of whooping and hollering, mainly thanks to Marko and Paul, and Star picked Laddie up and twirled him around. "You won't regret this!" I said to David over the noise. "Well, I'm actually looking forward to it." He said. 

We left to go grab a bite to eat, the boys did their thing and I took Laddie and Star to a little Italian place on the boardwalk to eat. I told the boys to meet us there when they were done. “You sure about all this?” Star asked. “Absolutely! I like having an adventure crew. I'll admit though, it's gonna be a little different with a youngin' on board,” I laughed.

After a while, Lucy finally agreed to go with our party and told her boys to look after one another. We all packed our clothes and bought some more for the boys. They needed clothes that were fit for the amount of walking. I also couldn’t let anyone see my boys in blood-stained clothes in public, we’ll look like we got in some freak accident. I rode my motorcycle and directed the boys to my place, where we have a big Volkswagen bus parked out front, fit for a party of eight. Lucy is already there after a phone call telling us she would meet us at my place. We packed our bags into the trunk, all 4 boys could fit their bags into one suitcase with vacuum seal bags, Star and Laddie share a backpack, Lucy has her own suitcase and I have my own backpack. There's a box of toiletries for us all, except for Lucy, who decided on keeping everything of hers separate from the others, which is fair enough. 

It was 9pm, and we made sure everyone went to the bathroom and was all taken care of before we took off. The first drive is twelve-and-a-half hours, from Santa Carla to Salt Lake City, Utah. We toured the entire city on foot for a few hours, and decided on the next driver to take us to our next destination. Before we left Salt Lake, I put all the pictures I took into a scrapbook and wrote down the notes of what happened that day. “Hey, guys? If you want a journal to write anything down about the trip, I have a few extras here! And we can go over everyone’s journals and keep them in a safe space after the trip!” I said, as we all piled into the bus. David, sitting in the same row as me, turned to me and said, “I’d like to document what i’m experiencing. It’s a good idea, considering we’ve got a lot of…time left” he paused. I gave an understanding nod and handed him a journal. Star, from the third row, said, “i’ll take one!” 

We continued across the country and journaled, and took as many pictures as possible. I will never forget how genuinely happy all the boys were, they were so used to the boardwalk and now they get to go places. Laddie would bounce around happily when we toured around on foot. Star and Lucy spent their time quietly admiring land and cityscapes. The boys would get rowdy and restless at night, desperate to get in a fight or two. I've had to intervene more than I want to admit. But overall, they were well-behaved and did great throughout the trip.

The most precious memory to me, though, is when Dwayne, Paul, and Laddie grabbed me to go for a walk. At this point we were in Cincinnati, we checked in a hotel for a couple days, just on the water. A few of us wanted to go walk on the Purple People Bridge before we left. It was getting dark out, so we held close together. We walked across the bridge, Dwayne carried Laddie piggyback style and Paul and I were walking close by. We got down far enough on the bridge that we were close to the water. The sound of the river was calming, less rapid than the water outside the cave. I pointed out all the boats on the water to Laddie and we watched the water and the city in front of us.

What the boys didn't know was there was an event going on in the city. Some sort of charity event, I was never really sure about that part, but what I did know was the boys were really gonna like it.

"Hey, let's stay here for a bit. We're not in a hurry!" I said. "Umm… alright then," Dwayne said. Paul looked at me in confusion, but didn't say anything. Laddie was falling asleep on Dwayne's back, but Dwayne didn't seem to mind.

Soon, lights flicker on, one by one, lighting the whole city in blue. "Look Laddie!" I said while tapping his arm. He hopped off of Dwayne's back and stared at the illuminated city. All of Cincinnati was now an icy blue, and I will never forget the look of wonder in Laddie's eyes. Paul and Dwayne shared the same look as well. We were all starstruck as the night sky before us lit up in a beautiful blue. Paul's smile slowly grew and he giggled. I looked at him with a questioning look.

He turned to me, and said,"Thank you. This is… was, amazing. I don't think you know how much I appreciate you. This…" I smiled and wrapped my arms around his waist. We held each other close as the city behind us twinkled and glowed. Footsteps came alongside us, the rest of the party decided to try and find us. "Looks like you and Paul are having fun," David said. I wasn't even mad at the joke this time. "We really are, why don't you join us?" I asked. David smiled and ran his fingers through my hair. He wrapped his arms around me from behind as I was hugging Paul, so I was sandwiched between them. Marko stood beside us all. David saw and invited him into the middle with me. I turned around and squeezed Marko as the others adjusted.

Laddie was excitedly pointing out every detail to Star, Dwayne and Lucy and bouncing in pure joy. "Laddie seems to be enjoying this the most. I'm so happy I get to show him these beautiful places." I said. "I will never forget the look on his face for as long as I live."

The rest of the trip went smoothly. We stopped in big cities, small towns, natural parks, and got to see part of Canada from the upper peninsula of Michigan. I wrote down two journals' worth of notes and had to buy another scrapbook to fit all the pictures I took. 

Surprisingly, the whole party responded well to the really long drives we did. When we made it home and said our goodbyes to Lucy as she drove to her own home, it was like this weight was lifted off of us as we stepped into the cave. No more stress of travel, a place to stretch your legs, a place to just be... in peace. Laddie hugged me as Dwayne went around and lit the cave up. "Thank you so much," he said. "You're welcome, little dude!" I said. "Yeah, thank you!" Marko and Paul chimed in. Star walked up to me and wrapped her arms around my shoulders. "Thank you for doing all of that for us," she said. "You really didn't have to." "I know, but I love you guys. The least I can do for you is take you on one of my adventures." 

[anarchy-n-glitter]

The Volkov Files

Summary: Years after the Raccoon City incident, questions arise after the body of an old friend is used to taunt Leon Kennedy on a mission. Who was Envy Snow really? Why was she in Raccoon City when the outbreak happened? When was she killed and who killed her?

FILE 2, FILE 3

FILE 1

I

The room was dark aside from the lamp that was on in the living room. Leon sat at his kitchen table, watching as Ada took a folder out of her bag. He had to know, and she was one of the only people he trusted to tell him. She slid the folder over to him. He didn’t dare move; he couldn’t find it in him to do so. This folder held everything he wanted to know in it, but he wasn’t sure he was ready to face it.

“Natalya Anastasia Volkov. She was the one right?” Leon didn’t say anything. Instead, he moved forward and finally opened the folder. There she was, her picture was sitting in the front of the folder. It was a rather artistic shot, taken with a camera that could only produce a black and white image, but he knew it was her. Sunglasses covered her beautiful blue eyes, her hair was up in a ponytail, as it was when Leon met her, and she wore a white trench coat. She seemed to be getting out of a car, the reason, for now, wasn’t important to Leon. Ada sat across from him and watched as he looked through the different papers she had dug up.

“Her codename was Snow, the first name was just a combination of her first initial and last initial: Envy. But she told you her real name, or, at least, part of it. She knew she was a dead woman, Leon.” Ada told him.

“She worked for Sove, I’d met her before. She was a good kid.” She continued. Leon stopped at a piece of notebook paper. Someone had a journal entry about Natalya; they’d seen her in her last days alive according to the date.

“I found that one in the RPD. It was shoved into the back of an empty desk in the medical center. Whoever had it either wanted someone to find it or completely forgot about it.” Leon read it. He read it over and over. Now he knew that whoever had seen her last worked in the RPD as a doctor when he had just become a cop. He also knew their initials: I.G.

He looked up at Ada, and she felt guilty. She knew how she was killed, but she couldn’t bring herself to hand that information over to Leon. He had been looking for the girl for so long, and he finally found her not too long ago, but what he found was exactly what he had feared.

“Do you know who this could be?” He asked the spy. She knew alright. This I.G. had been working for Umbrella for years before “Envy” had come to town. I.G. loved a diabolical man, one that Ada wasn’t completely sure loved them back. She looked over at Leon, the expression on her face unreadable.

“No.” She lied. Leon looked back down at the papers again as he began to sort through them. He went back to the first page. The page was rather wordy, and he figured he’d skim read over it until he had enough time to thoroughly examine the contents of the folder. Ada stood and made her way over to Leon.

“Don’t get too worked up over this.” She said to him. He didn’t look at her, instead he got to work reading. She leaned down, offering only a hug to console him.

She slipped out just as quietly as she slipped in.

Leon glanced over at a page clipped to the left side of the folder. It listed all the information about Nat. Everything she didn’t tell him when they had met, things Nat would never get the chance to tell her.

To begin with, she wasn’t anything special. Her father was an ex-government operative who had to be relocated to Kuyumba, Russia. His wife, Tanya, was pregnant at the time. Nat had lived with her parents until she was six, then she was taken by Sove.

Leon quickly found himself flipping through the multiple photos of the things Natalya had done in training. Most of the photos seemed to document low tier assassinations carried out by the girl who had been renamed “Envy.”

2

Pale hands reached out and grabbed a folder. Her blue eyes scanned over the words on the page briefly before she looked up and nodded at her superior. Without a word, the two parted and Natalya, under the name of Envy, was off to Raccoon City.

The target was a woman by the name of Ada Wong, a rather pretty woman who had infiltrated Umbrella. From what Natalya could see, she was hired secretly. Her notes didn’t tell her about who had hired her though. She walked toward the cab that awaited her outside, her bags were already being shoved into the trunk.

A large gust of wind blew through her coat and she held onto the scarf on her head. She brought her sunglasses down over her eyes and gripped the folder in her hands. The driver approached her and took her by the arm, leading her to the open backseat of the cab. A man stood on the curb across from them, his camera pointed directly at her. As she glanced over at him, he snapped the picture. She was unaware of the man.

Natalya had gotten into the car and took the scarf off of her head. She ran her fingers through her platinum colored locks in a poor attempt to straighten her hair out.

“Готовы?” “Ready?” Asked the driver. Natalya nodded.

“да. Аэропорт, пожалуйста.” “Yes. Airport, please.” She said to him. He said nothing as he put the car into drive. They drove away from her place of work, and Natalya was approaching her last few weeks of her life. She had absolutely no idea what she was getting herself into, she would learn sooner or later.

3

The lights from the buildings gleamed in the darkness, guiding Natalya through unfamiliar streets. Her hotel was a few blocks away, and she didn’t plan on staying for too long. Hopefully she would obtain the information gathered by Ada Wong and be back on a plane within the next week, but Nat knew that wasn’t how it worked. It would take almost a month for her to get close enough to someone who was close enough to Ada, and it might take even longer for her to get info out of her.

If she was lucky, Sove would get her some sort of an apartment. Possibly even invest in one so they wouldn’t have to pay so much for a hotel room. But for now, Nat was stuck staying at the City Royale, which was an interesting name to Nat.

A few cars zoomed by, splashing in the puddles that had formed on the streets. Nat knew that she only had a few more blocks to go but she was getting tired, despite the brisk weather, although slightly chilly weather would never bother Nat, considering where she was from. She looked around, seeing a few people walking around on the streets at such a late hour, and finding that there was a lack of cars out. She was unsure of whether she’d continue on foot or simply wait for another cab, it was late and she was incredibly tired from flying over. However, she decided that waiting would take more time than needed and she’d just keep walking.

The clock was ticking, for both Natalya and Raccoon city. There was only a week until the outbreak. And Natalya only had two more weeks to live.

II

This document has been translated from its original language.

Leon, this is a report sent by Natalya to Sove, there isn’t much to it but I thought it would be important to include. It looks like she was in town a few days before everything went to shit.

-Ada

Mission report:

September 20th, 1998

The city is filled with ignorant people. And the people who do know are a definite danger to me. I have to keep on my feet and find Ms. Wong before it’s too late.

I had heard whispers of her being around the police department a lot as of late, and if I’m lucky I can track her down. No signs of Umbrella interference yet. The Spencer Mansion has been destroyed, though not by me. I’ve managed to get my hands on a map of the Spencer Mansion and everything below, it should be sent soon.

(Unknown file: cannot translate)

It seems like there was an Umbrella lab below the mansion. I’ll be going to the Arklay Mountains to investigate in a few days, hopefully after I’m able to trade information with Ada Wong.

2

Leon turned the page over, making sure that there wasn’t anything on the back of the page. When he saw there was nothing he put the page aside and moved on to the next one. It was another Mission Report, this time dated as “September 23rd, 1998.” Leon felt his breath hitch. He knew that date well; it was the day before his first day of work. So many people died.

He knew that the reports were getting closer to the day they met, but he wasn’t sure if she gave mission reports then.

3

Mission Report:

September 23rd, 1998

All the reporters are talking about a fight that broke out at a football game. I changed to every channel possible, and all of them had interrupted the programs for “Breaking News.” The man next to me told me to ignore it, but I knew that he was trying to stop me from connecting the dots. The man worked for Umbrella; one of their soldiers, his name was Bryant Miller. When he was asleep I went through his things. He had maps and even a radio tuned in to their frequency. He was kind enough, but a moron. I have the frequency here:

300.49 x

786.92 y

When listening in, I heard them mention something about an Antarctic base. Perhaps it would be in our best interest to send someone over to investigate further.

Bryant has been subdued.

I have yet to gain access to viruses.

4

Natalya heard Bryant shift from the other room and quickly turned the radio down. He groaned slightly, seemingly from some sort of dream he was having, and shifted again. Natalya held her breath, hoping he’d go back to sleep and think she had left to go home. She listened closely as the springs from the mattress creaked and the blankets moved again. Looking over her shoulder into the other room, she could see the outline of Bryant in the soft blue glow of the TV set up in his room. He was laying on his stomach, his face facing the sliding glass doors to the left. She rolled her eyes and silently wished the radio were quieter, but she knew that this was its lowest volume setting. She listened in as the soldiers went on about taking out a man named Birkin, a name that might be useful later on. Natalya wrote his name down in the notepad she had in front of her. Nothing else seemed to be important.

She reached over and turned the radio off, the green glow from it disappearing and leaving Natalya in the dark. The apartment was quiet then, and she sat in the dark, listening to make sure that Bryant wasn’t going to wake up. She stood up and pulled the sleep shirt Bryant provided closed as she shivered. She held her arms close to her as she tried her best to button up the shirt, this time letting her guard down slightly. She looked around wearily, hoping that Bryant would just stay asleep.

The floorboards let out small, muffled creaks as Natalya cautiously made her way to the kitchen. She’d get herself something to drink and then she’d get ready to go.

She placed her hands on the cold, marble counter and leaned on it as she reached up to grab a glass. All the liquor the man had wasn’t exactly her tastes, but she figured a small glass of wine couldn’t hurt. She reached into another cabinet, her hands gently grazing over the many bottles of wine. She wasn’t sure what she was going to have yet, but she’d have to pick the most expensive one, just to spite the man. She noticed one that fit her ideal image. Just as she reached out to grab it, she heard the click of a gun.

“I wouldn’t pick that one, it’s way too nice for a cheap whore like you.” Bryant rasped. Natalya looked at him out of the corner of her eye, staying as calm as she could.

“Maybe next time you should keep your notes with you.” He said to her. She smiled and let out a breathy laugh.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” She said, trying to play dumb. The man pressed the barrel of the gun to her temple, the cold metal freezing her warm skin.

“How adorable. I heard the radio too, sweetheart.” He explained. Natalya sighed, realizing that she couldn’t talk her way out of this one. She reached for the gun, moving fast and gracefully, making sure the gun wasn’t pointed at her when he fired it. The gunshot echoed leaving the two’s ears ringing.

Bryant swung at her, and she ducked, ripping the gun out of his right hand in the process. She swept her right leg and knocked Bryant down onto his back, but he was quick to recover. He rolled away just before Natalya’s leg came down on his face and grabbed her leg, dragging her toward him. She fell backward, but as she was falling she managed to knock over a container full of knives. Bryant tried dragging her toward him, but Natalya held onto the counter for dear life. Her hand found the handle of a knife. Bryant grabbed her arm and she swung at him with the butcher’s knife. He dodged the first two swings, but barely managed to dodge the third.

The knife sliced through his cheek, drawing a bit of blood. His hand came up to it and he observed the damage. When he looked up, Natalya could see, even in the dark, how angry Bryant was. He ran at her, tackling her to the ground. She hit her head on the knob of a drawer, which effectively stunned her. Bryant managed to take the knife from her, but he threw it away.

Natalya came back to her senses and struggled in Bryant’s grasp. He smiled at her.

“Oh no honey, I’m taking you to Umbrella. After all, isn’t that why you came home with me in the first place?” He taunted, not realizing that Natalya was reaching for the gun next to them. Her hand wrapped around it and she prepared to shoot. Bryant stared at her, looking in her eyes.

“Actually.” He begins, reaching up to touch his cheek again, feeling the burn at his touch.

“I think I might rough you up some more first.” He told her as he turned around to look for the knife. Natalya held the gun up.

“Bryant.” She called out, her accent coming off as thick. Bryant looked at her immediately, feeling fear at the tone of her voice.

“Thank you.” She said before pulling the trigger. Her ears began to ring again, but now she knew that Bryant was dead. She pushed his dead body off of her and used the next few moments to regain her composure. She knew that the cops would be there soon, so she’d have to get dressed fast and get the hell out of there.

As she entered Bryant’s room for the last time she grabbed her notes.

Natalya only had eleven days to live.

III

Natalya stared at the man in black. He stood there, a woman on his arm, conversing with her target. The man she was trying to get to was named John Clemens, and from what she could gather he was rather close to Ada Wong, her boyfriend, as a matter of fact. The man wore sunglasses, even inside, despite how formal the event seemed. At least his girlfriend knew how to dress for the event. Her hair was back in a braid and she wore a slimming, black gown. Natalya figured it was to match her man’s aesthetic.

The woman clung to his side, like she was afraid of losing him. Natalya figured that if she could get the girl away from him, she could talk to him and figure out a better way to get to Mr. Clemens. Not to mention, if the man himself was working for Umbrella she could uncover a lot more than she could ever hope for with just Bryant, Clemens, and Ada.

The man glanced over at Natalya and whispered something in his date’s ear. She looked over out of the corner of her eye before sighing and nodding. He smiled at her before guiding her away, in the opposite direction. Natalya stood, waiting to make a move, waiting to make sure that the coast was clear.

She began to walk over to Clemens, avoiding other people attending the gala just to get to him. She needed this information, even if she were to just talk to him. Ada, she had to ask about Ada.

The mystery man returned, but this time, his femme fatale was nowhere to be seen. Natalya stopped dead in her tracks.

“Can we help you?” Clemens asked. Natalya suddenly felt her confidence wash away. She took a deep breath, staring at the man out of the corner of her eye.

“Just felt like saying hi.” She stated, her accent nearly nonexistent. Of course, she still spoke with an accent, she found it to be an easier conversation starter. Both men were taller than Natalya, and both had blonde hair. Although, the man with the sunglasses had lighter hair than Clemens. She stuck out her hand.

“I’m Envy. I’m new in town.” She introduced. Clemens shook her hand, but the other man stood there and watched the two silently. He turned around and looked up at the upper level.

Several people walked around up there, some walking arm in arm with each other. Conversations buzzed all around them as people drank and danced. His date looked down on the crowd, her vivid green eyes focused on the platinum blonde below. She giggled and flirted with both men, despite not knowing that they were both taken, or at least she thought. She felt her jealousy take hold, but she had faith in her lover. He really didn’t give her any reason to be jealous, or, at least, not yet.

He looked up at her, as if to say “stand down.” He knew that she was ready to attack, he knew her well, trained her too. He knew what she looked like when she was about to go in for the kill, and that was definitely the look she was giving. Hell, her finger was practically already on the trigger.

“I’ve met your girlfriend, very nice woman. Quiet though.” Natalya said to Clemens. He nodded.

“Yes, Ada is quite the woman, isn’t she?” He asked. She nodded. The three began to move into the hallway, with the mystery man leading the way. His date became alarmed. She leaned over the railing as she watched the three leave the ballroom, and not only were they leaving, but her lover was leading the way, his hand on the other woman’s back.

His date turned around, trying to calm herself down.

Natalya continued on, talking with Clemens through the halls as his friend stalked closely behind them. People stood around, against the green walls of the venue, Champaign glasses loosely gripped in their hands. Their conversations served as nothing more than a low buzz to fill the sounds of the halls. Their laughing did nothing more than mask the conversation between Natalya and Clemens.

“I think, if you got to really meet her, you and Ada would get along well.” Clemens told her. Natalya giggled to herself.

“You really think so?” She asked. Clemens nodded, his face seemed to become more red as the night went on. Perhaps, Natalya thought, that’s why the man with the sunglasses was there. Clemens worked for Umbrella and they couldn’t afford having their information leaked in such an… undignified manner. Clemens was intoxicated, that much Natalya could tell. With the right circumstances, she could extract information out of him and maybe, just maybe, cut out the middle man and get back home.

2

What happened next, Natalya wrote, was rather shocking to me. I assumed this mystery man who seemed to guard Clemens with his life would have been more loyal than what he demonstrated to me that night. Oh that night. That was the night all hell broke loose in Raccoon City. I couldn’t get home, all the airports there were shut down.

But that mystery man, as I was saying, had tried to seduce me. The reason, however, I was unsure of. It certainly wasn’t because I was leading him on, or at least I hope I wasn’t. I was hardly speaking to him all night, then he decided that he couldn’t take it anymore. Unbeknownst to him was that I had already seen his girlfriend, or the woman who I assumed was his girlfriend, go up into the upper levels of the venue. I assumed she was there to take me out. I’m still not sure if my assumption was correct, but I do not plan on finding out.

After I got Ada’s phone number from Clemens, he left to go join the party again. I assumed the mystery man would follow, but he stayed. I went to leave, but he reached out and grabbed my hand, stopping me from moving any further. I was suspicious, to say the least. His strength was unmatched. I don’t think, in all my years working, I had met anyone as strong as him. If I were more sober at the time, I would have been able to tell that he was suspicious of me, although I doubt that even the soberest person could tell with the glasses he wore. He was emotionless, and those were the scariest people to deal with on the field.

Anyone could tell you that. If you can’t see how they felt or what they were thinking, they were a danger. You would have to watch your tongue around people like them; people like him.

I’m not proud to admit that I fell for his strange charm. He was a very dominant presence, which was intimidating to say the least. But I went along with it. I wanted to see what I could find in his pockets when we were through.

I didn’t have time to do that though. People rushed through the halls as I sat on a couch in what appeared to be an office, basking in whatever afterglow there was after we were finished. He was seated at a desk, his feet up, his hands folded over his chest. I heard the commotion and jumped up. I don’t know what good getting a head start would have done for me, seeing as I was unarmed for the night. I opened the door to see a sea of people running.

A woman stopped in front of the door, pausing to warn the mystery man (who had just joined me at the door) and I of the attacks that had been happening in the city. I was aware of them, but apparently the numbers had risen dramatically, and now monsters were on the loose. I felt a brief pang of fear before getting my head together. I knew I had to get back to my hotel room and pack up so I could board a flight and get the hell out of there. I had the information I needed, for the most part, and I refused to risk my life to find Ada, who might have already been dead.

The mystery man was already on the phone, speaking lowly to someone. I assumed it was his date for the night who was last seen in the ballroom. Perhaps he did care about her, I would never get to know. He was gone before I knew it and I was left in the room, scavenging for whatever items I could find so I could fight my way back to my hotel room.

3

The rookie cop had just blown another head off of what used to be an innocent civilian. These people, if that was what he could call them, had been chasing him down since he got separated from Claire. Now, all he could do was fight back.

Labored breaths and the sound of heels clicking echoed through the empty hallway. Leon turned around quickly to see a woman running at him. He lifted his flashlight in her direction to see that she was, indeed, human. The infected trailed behind her, arms out and reaching, trying to grab at her. He raised his gun, which alarmed the girl.

“Get down!” He shouted. She did as he said, getting down and sliding across the floor so she could maintain her distance from the infected. Leon shot twice, knocking down one zombie. Now all he had to do was get the other. He lined up his shot, and just as he was about to pull the tripper, three more shots echoed through the hall. He looked down at the girl, who was currently kneeling down with her gun up and pointed. He watched silently as the zombie fell over. She looked up at him, smiling and panting.

Leon held out his hand and he helped her up.

“Thanks.” She said to him, her accent coming off strong. He smiled.

“No problem.” He replied.

“I’m Leon.”

“Envy.”

END FILE 1

[janaikam]

Enemies to Lovers Trope

Before you say anything, yes I know not the best title. Second HAPPY BIRTHDAY LESSSSSSSSS( @lesslinette )!!!!!!

This is for you!!!!

Thank you @macaronsforchat for beta reading this!

Summary:  Alya has some suspicions about Paris' heroes and Nino's just hoping that everything doesn't blow up in his face.

AO3

“Good morning, Alya,” Nino greeted, kissing Alya on the head. She mumbled a good morning in response.

Alya was currently in their shared office space furiously typing out what seemed to be a new article for work. She was using both of their monitors. One screen had the Ladyblog up with videos of the most recent battle, and the other had a long list of notes Alya had been writing up.

Nino glanced at the document title, Hero Compatibility.

“Whatcha working on?” Nino asked, pulling up the other office chair.

It was hard to tell if she was just updating the Ladyblog or actually doing work stuff. Her latest job at the Paris Daily had her on the heroes section of their paper, so she was always doing something related to hero work.

Although Alya tended to keep the more serious topics for the newspaper, she was always changing it up so readers would still be interested.

“It’s something for the Ladyblog. I’ve been going through the recent attacks and analyzing how the heroes interact with each other and measuring their success against an akuma.” Alya turned towards him and he noticed the journalistic excitement in her eyes that he just loved.

“I mean every battle is successful, but some are harder than others and last way longer cause the hero dynamic isn’t the best or it takes time for Ladybug to get help. Take for example you and Chat Noir. You two work perfectly in sync to distract akumas and help Ladybug put her plan into motion.”

Nino nodded and motioned for Alya to continue. He knew she had so much more to say because when she got the chance to share a project, she shared everything. At least with Nino. Perhaps Marinette too.

“In all honesty, all of the heroes work fairly well together. The only battles that aren’t as smooth are the ones with Multimouse and Aspik. And I think I know why.” Alya paused for a dramatic effect. “Ladybug doesn’t like Aspik, and Chat Noir doesn’t like Multimouse.”

Nino blinked. That didn’t make a whole lot of sense to him. Why would Ladybug keep choosing holders that she and Chat didn’t like?

He opened his mouth to voice his thoughts, but Alya raised her hand to stop him.

“I know what you’re thinking. Why are they still being used as users? I think it’s the same reason why Ladybug and Chat Noir eventually give in to using the other holders. They need the miraculous’ power, and Multimouse and Aspik already know how to use that power effectively.”

Alya pulled up a video on the Ladyblog, Caricature. Nino remembered that battle. It was a particularly tough battle, and both him and Alya had been called in as back up, but even that wasn’t enough. If he remembered correctly, they needed Aspik for that battle.

Alya clicked ahead to about halfway through the fight. He noticed that though there was an ongoing battle, Ladybug and Chat Noir were off to the sides, and it appeared that the two were arguing about something. Of course, the video didn’t catch what was being said, but it was clear that both were upset when it became clear that the situation was dire, and Ladybug swung off somewhere. Likely to get Aspik.

Alya paused the video, but something nagged at Nino. He was pretty sure that both Ladybug and Chat Noir had disappeared at some point during that fight, but he couldn’t think of why Chat would have disappeared.

Clearly, it didn’t bug Alya as she continued with her proof.

“I can’t make out what they’re saying, but Ladybug disappeared and came back with Aspik not too long after, still upset. And the exact same thing happens whenever Chat goes after Multimouse. Remember Queen Silver?”

Nino remembered pretty well. Nino had been needed for that one, and he clearly remembered being alone for a good 10 minutes before Chat and Multimouse had shown up. He had thought it weird that Ladybug wasn’t with them. And then when the akuma had been released, Multimouse disappeared.

He shook his head. It just had to be some weird coincidence that one of them disappeared when the other appeared.

“I guess it makes sense, but why wouldn’t Ladybug like someone she herself chose?” Nino countered.

“I’m not exactly sure why they don’t like each other yet, but I have a plan to figure it out!”

Alya got up and from her chair and walked over to where her phone was charging on the other desk.

“Alya, as much as I admire your determination to figure things out, I think you should leave this alone. LB and Chat get the job done even if there are hiccups along the way. I mean what if we accidentally figure out Aspik or Multimouse’s identities? What then?”

Nino was starting to suspect that the two heroes’ identities were almost as important as Ladybug and Chat Noir’s identities.

“I won’t figure it out.” Alya waved off. “Besides this is important. If they can get past these differences then they’d be much more successful and faster at defeating akumas.”

Alya clicked on something on her phone and walked out of the office.

Nino sighed, hoping that Alya was right and that this wouldn’t blow up in her face.

--

“Nino, where’s the camera?”

Nino was just walking out of the kitchen when he came across Alya rummaging through the hallway closet.

“Uh, I think it’s still in my bag from my trip to Nice,” Nino replied.

He watched as she bolted up and ran towards the bedroom where their stuff was.

“Why are you in such a hurry?” he asked, watching Alya toss everything from his suitcase onto their bed.

“I have an interview with Ladybug, Chat Noir, Multimouse, and Aspik today and I’m late!” Alya explained quickly.

Nino moved to where his backpack was on the floor and proceeded to go through it.

“I got distracted by this article for work and lost track of time. I hope Ladybug isn’t too upset.” Alya paused from her search and took a deep breath. “Where is this dang camera!?”

“Here,” Nino said, handing it out to her.

“Thank you!” Alya gave him a quick peck on his cheek and ran out the door.

Nino glanced at her purse that was still sitting at the edge of the bed. He sighed. So much for him not getting involved.

--

Thankfully, Alya didn’t protest much when Nino said he was driving her to the interview. She was already pretty frazzled and to mix that with driving was not a good idea.

Ladybug had arranged the meeting to be held at city hall, which under normal circumstances should have taken them 10 minutes to get to city hall. Unfortunately, traffic was a mess, and it took them 30 minutes.

Nino was relieved when there was an open spot right at the front of city hall. Once the car was in park, Alya jumped out and started grabbing her equipment from the back. Nino hopped out to help, but somehow it turned against him as he ended up carrying all of Alya’s equipment.

Quickly entering the building, Alya showed her journalism badge and led Nino to a room not too far from the entrance. He figured Ladybug chose this room since it would be easy to hear if there was an akuma or something going on outside.

Alya knocked once and then opened the door. However, instead of four superheroes on the other side of the door, Ladybug and Aspik were there. Kissing. Quite passionately in Nino’s opinion.

To say Nino was shocked was an understatement. Of all the things he would have expected this was definitely not it.

“Uh…”

At the sound of Alya’s voice, the two heroes broke apart, realizing they weren’t alone anymore. Both of them were blushing furiously, not saying anything, which made the whole situation feel really awkward in Nino’s opinion.

“I think it’s safe to say they’re not enemies. Perhaps lovers?”

[thrill-cfthechase]

tl;dr: elliot is sad about her mom, elliot’s birth and how she got her name

august 17th, 2018

sunset mobile home park, santa rosa, ca

elliot has never had a clean room in her life. there might have been a week when she was six where there had seemed to be order, but besides that it was in a state of unending chaos. there were clothes and sports equipment and trophies and candy wrappers. there were papers that seemed to exist for no reason but that elliot still couldn’t manage to get rid of. and there was a box of her mother’s things that had gone untouched for nineteen years. she had some of her mother’s belongings, like the moth-eaten sweaters she found in the closet and a journal that had been under the couch for god knows how long. but this box seemed to have hidden itself behind raincoats and a bruce lee poster, and now sat in front of her covered in a thick layer of dust. she had been content to leave it that way forever, but tomorrow she would leave her father’s home in a jeep cherokee older than she was and drive into the unknown. or, more specifically, to virginia and to gallagher. she just couldn’t leave a piece of her mother behind.

she opened the box, fanning away the cloud of dust that formed. on the top there were homemade vhs tapes with masking tape labels on the side: tucker’s first birthday, forrest’s first words, tucker’s first soccer game, halloween 1997. elliot set them to the side, she would have them converted into dvds later. but it was the kind of home movie she’d already seen. all the kids in the neighborhood running through a hose and laughing, her mother’s smiling face as she carried a candle-lit cake for her brother’s birthday, her brothers doing silly things while her parents watched through a lens and made commentary about how much they loved them. the last home movie they had was labeled november 1st, 1998. her mother was sitting on the couch with tucker and forrest on either side of her. each boy had a balloon tucked underneath their shirts so they could look just like mom and the three of them held their large bellies and laughed. elliot must have watched that one a hundred times as some sort of punishment for the fact that three days later she would be alive and her mother wouldn’t be.

underneath the tapes was a baby book. at least, it looked like it was supposed to be one. her name was on the cover, but it was empty except for the sonogram on the first page and a few labels that showed only blank pages. there were photo albums chronicling her brother’s childhoods, dozens if not hundreds of pictures of toothless smiles and skinned knees. there had never been many pictures of elliot when she was little. some days her father couldn’t bear to look at her, let alone take a picture. but every once in a while her brothers would get a hold of a disposable camera and capture gems like elliot with a face covered in chocolate cake on her first birthday or a beaming five-year-old elliot accepting a yellow belt in karate. it wasn’t uncommon for the youngest sibling’s childhood to be less documented than their older siblings. sometimes it hurt, and sometimes elliot was glad she could forget. beneath those she found more sweaters and she instantly stuffed them into her suitcases, not caring if they fit or if they were clean or if she even liked them.

at the very bottom of the box lay an envelope, tucked underneath a fold of cardboard. elliot pulled it out, her fingers coated in decades old dirt. there was no writing on the envelope - no name, no date, no address. maybe it wasn’t hers to open, but it wasn’t anyone else’s, either. she peeled it open as carefully as she could and reached inside, pulling out a letter. she instantly recognized the handwriting as her mother’s, and before she had time to think it through, she unfolded the piece of paper and began to read.

Dearest Baby,

I didn’t always know that I was going to need you, but as soon as I knew you were coming I understood that this family wouldn’t be complete without you. I have been waiting for you for a long time now and I think you will be here soon. We weren’t expecting you so quickly but you seem to want to come into this world and I am just so happy that I’ll get to meet you. Getting to know you in the past seven months isn’t quite the same, but it has been wonderful nonetheless. We have a bond, you and me, and it is more than just an umbilical cord. Sometimes I think I should learn morse code because I'm sure your kicks are trying to tell me something. I really did look into it, which you might think is silly, but the library didn’t have any books about it so it was a moot point. Maybe your kicks are symbolic. You want me to know you are strong and that even though this pregnancy has been hard, you’re going to keep fighting. If you are reading this, you are grown and you will know that there are things I have not been able to give you. I’m sorry for that. But I hope by now you can see that I love you and your brothers with all my heart and there is nothing I wouldn't do for you. I wish there was more I could say to you, but I'm very tired and sometimes I feel like words fail me. I just hope that I’ve shown you how much I love you every single day, and this will just be a funny little reminder. 

All My Love,

Mama

p.s. I’m sorry I addressed this to ‘baby’ and not to you. I know what your name will be, but I’m afraid to jinx it. You know how superstitious I can get.

elliot has always taken pride in the fact that she rarely cries. crying was for babies, her brothers taught her that at a very early age. no one needed to know what she was feeling. sometimes even elliot didn’t know. but now she was crying, hard, tears gushing down her face, nose running, breath caught in her throat. she let the letter out of her grasp and it floated gently to the floor. the paper seemed too light and airy to contain words that affected her so strongly. her tears were silent - she didn’t want to wake her father on the other side of the wall, sitting on the couch in front of the tv with a mostly-empty twelve pack littered around his feet. there was a weight on her chest and a knot in her stomach, guilt and grief and loneliness. she had been loved once, truly loved, by a parent. she had never been sure if her father was incapable of loving her or he simply didn’t want to. her brothers loved her more than she thought she deserved, but it was never quite the same. she had heard people say there was nothing like a mother’s love, and elliot had ruined her chance to have that with her very first breath. she picked the letter back up and blew away some of the dirt. she tucked it into a pocket of a suitcase where it would be safe. elliot wasn’t sure what she would do with it, if she would ever even open it again, but she knew she needed to have it.

 november 4th, 1998

santa rosa memorial hospital

it didn’t feel like the first two. she’s been on bedrest, and this one has come earlier than the others - almost too early and she’s worried - but there is something else. something feels different. the doctor reassures her and she trusts them, but the worry doesn’t fully go away. it hurts, it always hurts, and maybe this time is no different. she takes the anaesthetic. this is her third baby, she has nothing to prove. her husband holds her hand and she cries and she keeps reminding herself that it will all be worth it. and suddenly a baby is there, gross and beautiful in an incomprehensible way. the baby cries but she laughs because she did it. it’s the hardest thing she’ll ever do.

they hand him the baby and he looks at it like it’s the most beautiful thing he’s ever seen. “it’s a girl,” he hears, voices muffled by the adrenaline pumping through his veins. he looks up at his wife beaming. “it’s a girl,” he repeats, and he thinks he sees a flicker of a smile on her face before the color is drained from her cheeks and doctors rush to her sides. suddenly there are shouts and beeping and everything is happening so fast that he can’t comprehend what’s going on in front of him. he just stays in the corner, eyes glassy as the world seems to move in slow motion and the baby in his arms begins to cry. a nurse takes the baby and three more take his wife to the operating room. forty minutes later she is dead and he is empty and there is a baby somewhere that will need him. but he needs talia, and as he walks like a zombie from the maternity ward to the postnatal ward he feels like he can’t do this without her. he knows it. when he arrives, the baby is wearing a pink hat and a breathing tube. but she will be just fine, they say. it’s procedure for most preemies.

he has to fill out a birth record. in two weeks it will be processed and he’ll go to city hall to pick up a birth certificate and a social security card because this baby is here- an impossibly tiny person, asleep two feet away in the hospital nursery. a nurse hands him a pen and it quivers in his hand. he looks at the forms through bloodshot eyes, cheeks stinging as a painful reminder of  his tears. they have  already written down her height and weight: 16 inches, 5 pounds 10 ounces. a little small, but she’ll be just fine, they say. he has to fill in the rest: baby’s name, date of birth, parent’s names, and address. most of it is simple: november 4th, 1998, henry chase, talia lilly chase, 2963 santa rosa avenue, santa rosa, ca. it’s the first, and most important question that has him stumped. what could he possibly name his baby girl? all the names they had considered were for a son. he thinks of his home, where tucker and forrest are waiting with their neighbor mrs. mahoney - what was he going to tell tucker and forrest? - and of the book talia had left on the kitchen table. it was going to be a baby book, already equipped with a page for her son’s first smile, first crawl, first words. and he thinks of the cover, where stickers spelled out the name talia had chosen. elliot. it’s not a bad name, he thinks. and suddenly the answer seems so clear and he writes it down quickly: elliot talia chase. he looks at his baby girl and he’s crying again, but this time the tears fall not only out of sadness, but also out of joy.  

[teddy-bea]

inscribed on back of photo, mom’s cursive: Dale’s back from camp!!  Teddy INSISTED on coming with us to the airport.  She burst into tears when she saw her.  She’s got the softest soul I’ve ever known.

i persist and resist the temptation

twins have a way of knowing things.

but this wasn’t about twins.  this wasn’t about honey calling teddy, throwing her abruptly out of her sleep at three in the morning, arm fumbling around her nightstand for her phone and lifting herself up from under the nest of auggie’s arm to the accusatory, panicked voice of her twin, her honey, asking her, “are you pregnant?”

(to which she’d assured her she absolutely was not, she’d just been feeling sick since they’d gotten back from paris, and she had a doctor’s visit planned for the morning — but if anything, they were just hoping it wasn’t anything severe, anything like what their father was currently quarantined with.)

(fast-forward seven hours later, and her doctor is telling her that she — and her BABIES — are perfectly healthy.  how’s that for twin telepathy?)

but this, again, is not that story.

this is about daily.

her name wasn’t actually daily — until she was sixteen, at least, when their parents let her legally change it from “remy” — but it’s what they’d all called her since she was born.  apparently, it was because she’d cried when she was a baby.  “daily,” her dad would always bemoan to her., and he’d always do it with a smile on his face because her dad did everything with a smile on his face.  “she cries daily.  daily, daily, daily.”  and it had just stuck.  she’d been daily ever since.

it suited her, really, because daily was a cool name.  and daily remy graham was the coolest person teddy had ever known.  and heck, remy had been a cool name too.  daily’s destiny had preceded her.

she was loud, but she was gentle, she was outspoken, but she was kind.  she wanted to be a rockstar when she grew up, and she settled for being teddy’s lead guitarist since she was fifteen years old and always told her that it was never “settling” in her eyes.

honey was her twin, olive was her best friend, auggie was her soulmate, her siblings were her life, but daily was her person.  

she was the one who stood up for her — even if she was only eighteen to teddy’s naive sixteen — when her first record label tried to shortchange her in a lousy deal.  she looked over every contract, combed through every deal, made sure teddy was never settling for less than she was worth.  she cracked jokes with the band, the opening acts, was everyone’s best friend on tour, in the studio, online.  you couldn’t not be magnetized by her.  it had been the same way at school — she’d just been that good.

so, when teddy had been home for christmas, just before everything in their world had been rocked to its absolute core, teddy might have seen something that wasn’t supposed to be.  a poem — not that that was rare, by any means, since daily always carried notebooks and a tablet with her, but this one seemed deeply personal.  this one, teddy could tell, was about alex.

alex, who’d been daily’s high school boyfriend, who had turned into her college boyfriend.  everyone joked that she and alex were going to be the next ollie and josie, the next big fat “lifetime of togetherness” to come out of the graham family.

until daily broke up with him out of nowhere before college graduation.  he was going to propose, had asked her parents’ for her hand and everything.  teddy and bixby had planned a whole, ridiculous engagement party, were already in the process of writing a song rhyming every possible word with “daily” that they could.

there was no doubt in their mind, in any of their minds, that she and alex were going to get married.  they’d all set up a surprise party at the graham party when they knew that alex was planning the proposal, everyone hiding behind various furniture as if their entire family weren’t a towering forest of trees, and when daily came in — alone — shoving her keys into her bag, she’d looked at them in horror as they all came flying out from behind the couch with poppers and confetti, screaming out, “CONGRATULATIONS!”

“where is he?” bixby had asked with a furrowed brow.

daily frowned.  “who?”

belly snorted from their twin brother’s side.  “what do you mean who?  alex, dumbass.  mr. daily graham.”

“oh,” daily said, her face shifting ever so slightly.  “we broke up.”  

she said it like their dad used to announce rained out days in the park.

both her mom and teddy were moving for her at once, but daily backed up.  “i’m fine.   i thought i was surprising you guys by stopping by for dinner tonight,” she shot a pointed look at honey and teddy, “but apparently you guys already knew.”

“hey,” honey said softly, softer than usual.  “you good?”

“why wouldn’t i be?” daily breezed.  “it’s not like he was gonna propose to me.”  she saw the looks across all their faces and grimaced.  “all right, too soon.”  she shot them a peace sign — which, if you’ve ever met daily, you would know is her international symbol for ‘not okay, but don’t ask — and headed upstairs for her old room.

teddy gave it a solid three minutes before she was heading up after her.  honey was at her heels.

they weren’t the type of family who knocked — never had been — so teddy just stepped in and held the door open long enough for honey to follow her before lightly tapping it shut with her foot.  she didn’t see how everything could have gone so horribly south so fast.  alex had texted her ring ideas while she had been across from daily in tour rehearsals.  she was juggling classes and graduation prep and her relationship with alex and tour prep… had it been too much?

“day, what happened?”

“you guys,” daily groaned.  “there’s.  it’s.”  she looked up from where she was doodling line art into a notebook.  “it wasn’t going to work, okay?  i have so much shit going on with graduation and getting ready to leave across the country and—”

“—if this is about me—”

“—it’s not about you,” daily’s voice nearly broke.  “it’s about me.”

something in honey’s stance moved, her jaw clenched and unclenched, her eyes softened.  “oh.”

teddy looked from honey to daily before she was looking around daily’s bedroom, seeing the pictures along her dresser and bookcase that had changed in and out from over the years — there was still the picture of her holding belly when they were born, and the picture of her and honey and teddy and ollie all throwing their arms around crosby before he left for his volunteer trip to argentina.  there was one of her and their parents and a photobombing bixby at her high school graduation.  

daily had photos everywhere.  she documented everything, carefully and methodically.  her bedroom was a time capsule. her and teddy when teddy got her first record deal.  her and teddy on stage at the first talent show they performed at together.  her and her best friend naomi when they were six years old, laying out in the backyard with their hair hanging over the edge of the graham family pool.  naomi at sixteen in her cheerleading uniform, face scrunched into a scream of a laugh, and daily with her arms wrapped tightly around her, muddy in her soccer uniform.  her and naomi in a photobooth when they were twenty, studying abroad for a semester in florence — four photos of them getting closer, and closer, and closer still.  there were two pictures of her and alex, with his movie star good looks and his eyes glued to daily.  hers were off camera, always searching somewhere beyond her.

and it hit her.  like a ton of bricks.

“oh, daily,” she murmured, sitting down beside her.

“we don’t need to have a seventh heaven moment right now,” she said with a laugh, but she was wiping tears away with the back of her hand.  “like i said, i’m fine.  it sucked, and telling him sucked, and the whole thing fucking sucked, but it’s fine.  i’m fine.  he’ll be fine.  it’ll be fine.”

fine, fine, fine.

      in my defense, i have none --

the tape fast-forwards to that very same bedroom, but it’s years later.  there is no paris, not yet, but teddy is back in that house in los angeles, the one she has called her own since she was born.   the one she and her six siblings have always come back to, would always come back to.  she is back in this room, and she is looking for scotch tape to finish wrapping the last of her presents before tomorrow morning rolls around and everybody gets their gifts in shopping bags.

the journal is under her bed, untouched and forgotten about, but it’s there and it’s teasing her.  she just takes a peek, just a little one.  that’s all.  

it turns out, a peek is all she needs.

    -- for never leaving well enough alone

the tape is spinning once more, and it is early may.  teddy is waiting for her sister to pick up on facetime, sitting in front of her keyboard with her leg jiggling nervously.

“down in front,” auggie teases, cereal bowl in hand.  he kisses the top of her head once, and then once more, as the screen shifts and daily comes into view.  he gives her a nod of a greeting and ruffles his hand through teddy’s hear before he’s slinking down into the den to start his stream.

“what was so urgent, o’ talented one?” daily hums, sitting up with her bedhead.  there is a soft grunt from beside her, a muffled, “hey ted,” from a still-dead-to-the-world naomi.  daily is off camera for a second but teddy can hear the soft, unmistakable sound of a kiss from anywhere, before she is standing up from the bed and moving through her apartment, the early morning light of los angeles streaming in.

“gotta remember time changes one of these days.”

“yeah,” daily snorts.  “we both know that’ll never happen.”  she grabs a coffee mug off the counter, moving around her kitchen and looking back at the phone.  “what’s up?”

once she’s sitting down, teddy looks back down at the piano, and then back at her sister.  “first off, remember you love me.”

“nothing good ever starts with that.”

“i just.  i saw…something, at christmas.  and i kind of decided to run with it.”

daily’s eyebrow quirked up.  “what kind of something?”

“a poem kind of something?”

and then daily’s face went pale.

“just.  look.  you’ll never sing it — even if you should — so.  i thought i’d take a stab at it.  if you hate it, it never sees the light of day.  okay?”

daily sits back, taking a sip of her coffee.  “all right, maestro.”

i’m doing good, i’m on some new shit; been saying yes instead of no.  i thought i saw you at the bus stop, i didn’t, though

we were something, don’t you think so?

[yourkeeperoftherunners]

Everybody Wants Her

Plot: She’s the low man on the totem pole at her radio job. He wanted to offer a hand to the nice young lady who was struggling to balance too many things at once. Once his dark eyes met hers, he was hooked.

Rating: PG (Minor language, flirting, low-key noona interest)

Characters: Chen (EXO) x Angie OC, feat. Suho, Sehun, Baekhyun, and Chanyeol (EXO), Theo OC, and Janelle OC

Notes: This was slightly inspired by my real life friend who used to work at a radio station that hosted a lot of big names for talks and interviews. I always imagined what it would be like if our favorite noona-lovers met a pretty, older girl with stunning blue eyes who was doting and motherly to everyone. Janelle is inspired by the radio personality who interviewed EXO for iHeartRadio. Angie is inspired by my friend who isn’t into K-Pop but I sense she’d still turn some of the members’ heads in real life. ;)

Happy Birthday Kim Jongdae!

Brother

Are u still breathing?

Sent 10:47 AM

Most would tell her it was a bad sign if she was communicating strictly via text with her family, despite living under the same roof as them. But she would argue otherwise – after all, this was her dream job and it was paid, unlike her previous gig at the local radio station. Her mother wasn’t a fan of her daughter working odd and long hours, often coming home to sleep as her brother was going into work. Hell, when was the last time she actually saw him face-to-face?

“Angie!”

She snapped her head up at her name and quickly pushed her chair back, looking around for the person who called her. She whipped her head around and saw it was Janelle, one of the hosts who conducted a majority of in person or on air interviews with music talent. Angie shoved her phone into her back pocket and plastered her trademark bubbly smile across her face.

“How can I help?” Angie asked as she approached the shorter girl.

Janelle waved a two page document at her and nodded over at an unoccupied interview room. “I’ve got this Korean boy band coming in 15 and I wanna make sure my questions are coherent – can you do a quick check?” Suddenly the two pager was pushed into Angie’s hands and Janelle’s became preoccupied with her large iPhone, fingers flying across the screen. “Also gonna need 9 bottles of water – scratch that, maybe grab a total of 18, half still half fizzy in case. Can you bring those to the interview room and leave them by the chairs? Oh and if everything looks okay question-wise, just leave them face down on my seat, okay? Thanks girlie!”

Angie blinked as Janelle trotted off, distracted by her phone and nodded faintly after her, trudging over to the break room to grab the waters. She greeted her co-worker Theo, who was heating up his lunch in the microwave. Her eyes closed as she caught a whiff of Italian spices and tomatoes and her mouth watered.

“Have you eaten Miss Model?” he teased her, “or are you still running on coffee and mints?”

Angie snorted as she walked to the fridge, rolling up the interview questions to stick in her back pocket before she retrieved the waters. Theo treated her like a sister but he always wondered why Angie wanted to do radio when she had such stunning features – trim hourglass physique, full caramel curls, and a startling pair of crystal blue eyes.

“You’re funny Theo,” she replied with a shake of her head. “I’m not tall or waif-like enough to model! Well, actually I did model for my friend’s fashion show, but that’s ‘cause she made her stuff to fit her body! We were similar but I’m just taller than her. Besides, being a model is overrated.”

Theo nodded as he pulled his container from the microwave, yelping as fingers touched the edge of the scalding lid. He retracted his fingers and shook his hand to cool off.

“Who’s doing the interview?”

“Janelle.”

“They seriously need to give you a shot,” Theo said with a frown. “I heard a few of your university podcasts and a past segment from your internship and you’ve got the voice for radio! Besides, I know that Janelle probably lobbied for this celebrity because she wants to check the band out! Who is it again?”

Angie bit her lip as she juggled the waters in her arms. “Um…good question! Check the questions page, left back pocket. I need to proof those too but after I set these down. I know it’s a Korean boy band but that’s all she said?”

Theo gingerly plucked the two pager from her pocket with the tips of his fingers and unrolled it, skimming the front page. “It says ‘EXO’ and there’s a note saying they’re celebrating 5 years of being together? You know what, you handle the waters, I’ll proof these – my lunch is too hot to try eating right now.”

“It’s okay,” Angie replied as she nodded at the door.

“Nah really, Ang I majored in English with Broadcast Journalism – this is my forte,” Theo insisted as he held onto the questions. “I’ll review really quick then give ‘em back to you. Interview room?”

Angie nodded and silently thanked him as she made her way over to the interview room. She tried to hide her grimace when she saw the room was dark and the door was closed. Time to do an impossible juggling act. She attempted to shift the bottles to one arm, but one, then two more slipped to the floor, one beginning to roll away.

“Please I’ll get it,” a male voice spoke up, followed by a hand that was now resting on the doorknob.

Angie looked from the fallen bottles to see the hand belonged to a young man with slightly longish brown hair, purposely tousled. Clad in an all-black ensemble with a button-down shirt and fitted slacks, he offered a sweet gummy smile as he twisted the knob and pushed the door open.

“Oh thank you,” Angie replied as she started to kneel down.

The young man beat her to it by reaching to grab the three fallen bottles before taking a few more from her arms to lighten her load.

“Aw thank you honey, but I’m okay – I’ve got this,” she protested.

He shook his head and gestured to the room with his free hand. “Ladies first.”

Angie smiled as she stepped into the room, flicking the lights on and waiting for them to kick on. Once the room was fully lit, she began heading over to the chairs and arranged a still and sparkling bottle of water by every chair. The young man entered behind her and mimicked her pattern with the bottles he was carrying.

“Thank you so much, you didn’t have to help,” Angie said once they were done. She tilted her head to get a better look at him and realized that he didn’t seem familiar to her. “Are you new here?”

The young man blinked and shook his head no, replying in broken English that he was visiting. “Here for an interview,” he said. He studied her face thoughtfully and zeroed in on her eyes.

“Are you…wearing contacts?” he asked.

Angie shook her head and offered him a small smile. She got this all the time – people were stunned to discover that her brilliant lighter colored eyes were real. She stuck out in her family, all of whom had darker hair and dark eyes.

“Nope they’re real sweetie,” she replied with a grin. “Don’t worry about it – I get that a lot. I mean, if you saw me with my brother, you’d be shocked.” She pulled out her phone and typed in the passcode before pulling up a picture of her goofing around with her older brother. She held the phone out to the young man and he did a double take.

“Wae?! Your brother?” he asked with wide eyes.

“Uh huh! Biggest dork you’ll ever meet – such a movie nerd too. Guess that’s why he’s at Universal though,” she replied with a shrug. She replaced her phone and froze when she remembered the questions. Shoot – Theo!

“OH! I need to get the interview questions for that Korean band – sorry to leave you sweetie! I hope the interview goes well!” Angie blurted out as she made a mad dash for the door, craning her neck for her co-worker.

“Seriously hyung? Blue eyes? Like Miranda Kerr’s?” Sehun asked him as they filed into their seats. “You sure it wasn’t Miranda?”

Chen shook his head and explained that the girl he saw was prettier than Miranda. It didn’t hurt that she called him ‘sweetie’ and ‘honey’ in a doting way. But it seemed like she really didn’t know who he was or who EXO was. Rare but not uncommon for where they were currently interviewing – the US had a decent fan base but not everyone recognized who they were. Both a curse and a blessing all at once.

“Older or younger?” Baekhyun asked him, intrigued by the mystery girl they were discussing.

Chen bit his lip as he recalled her features. He wasn’t 100% sure, but he had a gut feeling that she was older than him. Not too much older – a few years give or take. Secretly, he hoped she would be back to interview them. At the sound of the door opening, he turned his head with the rest of the band and tried to hide his disappointment at seeing the shorter, warmer skinned girl entering with an oversized bomber jacket and black skinny jeans.

“Hey you guys!” Janelle exclaimed as she made her way over to them. She glanced over at the camera guy to make sure everything was all set on his end, receiving a thumbs up from the other side. She walked over to her seat and began the interview.

Suho took over most of the interview, answering as best as he could in English. The rest glanced over at their translator standing off to the side and watched Janelle talk, arms waving around enthusiastically. Chen fought the urge to laugh at Baek and Chanyeol, who were starting to mimic her movements in a joking manner. Deep down, he was impatient – when was this going to be over? He wanted to find the sweet blue-eyed girl and ask her if she was okay. She seemed stressed when he encountered her – maybe it was because of his band’s interview?

The interview breezed by and Janelle closed out the segment before signaling to the camera guy to cut. She went around and shook hands with all of the members. Crew members entered and began breaking down the lights and camera and the band began to step off to the side. Chen watched as Janelle flagged down one of the individuals folding the chairs and pointed to the questions.

“Is this your handwriting Theo?” she asked him.

“Yeah, I caught Angie in the break room trying to do a juggling act with waters and the questions – I offered to proof them while she set up refreshments,” Theo admitted with a shrug. “I wanted to – my English major sense was tingling to do revisions!”

Sehun snickered as he watched Theo’s exaggerated explanation and Chen watched as the pair talked. The maknae nudged the translator and asked him to tell him what they were saying.

“Sehunnie!” Suho scolded him.

“I want to know hyung! He said something funny and I want to laugh at whatever it was!” Sehun whined.

The translator explained what was discussed between Theo and Janelle and Chen perked up when he heard that this guy was helping out a girl named Angie. Angie. Was that the same girl he met?”

Chen walked over to the pair and allowed a polite smile to cross his lips. The pair stopped talking and flashed him smiles in return.

“You have a question?” Janelle asked slowly.

“Who is Angie?” Chen asked.

Janelle blinked at his question and at first Chen worried that maybe his pronunciation was poor. Aish, maybe he should have practiced more like Suho did on the flight over. Theo stepped closer and pointed in the direction of the office cubicles.

“That cube in the far right – light brown curly hair, model physique, and bright blue eyes. Can’t miss her – she’s really nice,” Theo replied with a knowing grin.

“Aish, why are all of you coming with me?” Chen whined as he wove his way through the rows of cubicles. He brought the translator along but he didn’t account for Sehun, Chanyeol, and Baekhyun to accompany him while trying to find Angie.

“You said she’s prettier than Miranda Kerr – I want to see for myself!” Sehun argued with a smug smile.

“Yah and that guy said she’s like a model so I wanna see the pretty model working in radio!” Baekhyun added.

Chen slumped his shoulders as he neared her office, peeking his head to see if she was there.

“May I – OH! Hi honey, how’d the interview go?” Angie asked as she whirled around in her chair. She rose from it and walked closer to him, a hopeful look on her face.

Sehun walked around Chen and blinked, eyes wide when he saw Angie. He nudged Chen in the arm persistently as he looked from her to Chen. “Hyung, you said ‘pretty’ not beautiful! She’s beautiful!”

Baekhyun and Chanyeol walked around the pair and reacted similarly, playfully nudging one another and voicing their reactions to each other in Korean. “Whoaaaaa!! Ahh those eyes are amazing!” the former cried out as he leaned closer to get a better look.

Chanyeol blushed and covered his face with his hands, mumbling that he was too shy to look at her.

Meanwhile, Angie looked at the quartet blocking her office entrance with confusion and amusement. The translator introduced himself once he wedged himself between the four young men and explained that Chen was looking for her and the others tagged along to meet her.

“Oh I’m not that special, just the newbie working here,” Angie replied with a slight shrug of her shoulders. She frowned as she stared at the four. “Hang on, are you from the band that Janelle was supposed to interview? She never told me the name, only that it was a boy band from Korea.”

“Wae?! You don’t know EXO?” Baekhyun asked.

“Um no, sorry,” Angie replied. “But you must be super talented to be around for 5 years! It seems like you’re all pretty nice too – well I know this guy’s a sweetheart ‘cause he helped my dumb clumsy ass with setup and he didn’t have to.” She gestured to Chen when she spoke and he couldn’t help but smile widely.

“Noona?” Baekhyun asked with a curious look.

“I’m sorry? What’s that mean?” Angie asked.

“He wants to know if you’re older than him,” the translator explained. “What year were you born?”

“Oh! Um, 1990,” Angie replied. “Oh but you don’t need to call me anything special, just Angie or ‘hey you!’ works.”

The translator relayed this back to the quartet and Baek’s smile widened. “NOONA!” he blurted out with a huge smile. Sehun smiled cutely when he heard she was older and Chen allowed a faint smile to cross his lips, eyes meeting Angie’s.

“They’re insisting on calling you noona,” the translator said, “it’s a polite term for a younger male to address a female in Korea. It’s a good thing.”

“Oh I see,” Angie replied, nodding.

“There you are! We should get going – they have work to do and we don’t want to disturb them,” Suho spoke up as he approached the group. He stuck his head around the corner of Angie’s cubicle and shot her a sheepish smile before apologizing and shepherding the others away, save for Chen.

“Waeeee? But we haven’t gotten to know the pretty noona!” Baekhyun whined with a pout.

“Hyung please a few more minutes?” Sehun begged, attempting to use aegyo on the leader.

“I don’t wanna keep you if you’ve gotta be somewhere else,” Angie said as she shifted her weight to her other foot.

“Guys, we should go – besides Suho-hyung will need help with directions to our hotel, unless you want to get lost!” Chanyeol teased as he nodded at the leader.

“Ah Chanyeol-ah, why…?” Suho wailed, a horrified look on his face.

“Ah hyung is right – Suho-hyung will probably be lost if we don’t check directions,” Sehun sighed as he began unlocking his phone. He nudged Baekhyun to follow the older member and Chanyeol exchanged a look with Chen before following.

Suho glanced back at Chen with a quick wink before he followed the group, complaining quietly about Chanyeol’s accusation regarding his poor sense of direction. Chen turned back to Angie and shyly stared at her.

“I thought…you’d be interviewing us,” he said in English. “I was sad because I wanted to see you again.”

Angie stared back with an endearing expression on her face before stepping closer and giving him a hug. He was caught off guard by the gesture but quickly slipped his arms around her to reciprocate the hug.  

“Aww honey no need to be sad! Janelle took good care of you guys, I’m sure,” she said. “It’s gonna be a while before they let me do what she does. But I’m glad we met today.”

“Sa-same here,” Chen replied. “Hey can I, can I grab a cup of coffee with you?”

Angie stared back as she pulled away from him and looked around for a few moments. “Who me? Um yes! Well, only if you’re not busy! ‘Cause I don’t wanna keep you, like I said!”

Chen waved away her concerned comment and crossed his arms over his chest. “Chanyeol wasn’t kidding when he said Suho has a terrible sense of direction. It might be a while before he figures out the directions to our hotel. Think that’s plenty of time to get a cup of coffee.” He waited for the translator to share this in English and Angie shot him a sympathetic look.

“It’s a confusing town – take a wrong turn and you’re lost or trapped in traffic,” she admitted. “I know a place that we can walk to – less than a minute away. They make a mean unicorn hot chocolate drink if that’s your thing.”

“Unicorn…what?”

“Ooh! They don’t have that in Korea? Oh well then I have to take you to get one then!” Angie bubbled with a goofy grin on her face. She dug around in her cabinet for her purse and slung it over her shoulder. “Let’s go…ah I’m an idiot, I never asked for your name! I’m so sorry! What is it sweetie?”

“Chen,” he said, “but ‘sweetie’ or ‘honey’ is okay too. Can I call you Angie-noona?”

“I mean, if you want but just Angie works for me,” she said as she stepped out of her cubicle.

“Then I’ll call you Angie-noona.”

[snarkyowl]

SCP au - A Mix

In which 🅱 continues to write more for this au than me.

A brief report on the disappearance of SCP-3007 By: Dr. Amy Nelson

SCP-3007, a shapeshifting black smog-like gas, escaped the foundation four years ago today. The entity was ranked Keter, due to its hypnotic song and nightmare inducing tendencies. It didn't seem to need to rest or consume anything to keep its form or abilities. It seemed to be able to take any shape, transforming into many animals and even myself.

Its song, however, was the main topic of interest. It was able to coax even the strongest willed to do anything- whether it was to stop breathing or to snap their own neck.

D-[REDACTED] was told to do a variety of things, some sexual in nature, others brutal, humiliating and violent. SCP-3007 seemed to be a sadist, but was surprisingly cooperative to tests, politely thanking the doctors for their time. I remember he once gave me a man’s left arm as a token. Needless to say, young me vomited at the offer.

The entity itself emitted a purple mist, no matter what form it was in. The mist seemed to be nightmare inducing, and a concentrated sample given to D-[REDACTED] caused them to experience hallucinations and have a fatal seizure. Prolonged exposure to a diluted dose will do the same.

Despite these abilities, it was in containment for at least five years before I started working here, and one after I started my job. However, one day, it just vanished. There was no trace left of the entity, and the guards on duty (Daryl Price, Lexi Kidman, Nathan Sharp, and Jack Poolos) reported no motion of the entity and no suspicious activity.

The entity has not been reported or spotted since then. Request to experiment on the left over mist concentration.

Matthew gave me a journal to write in. He said it was ‘for an extra look into that pretty little head of yours’ but I'm guessing it's more of a gift than anything since I've been requesting a journal for days. If anything, it's to clear out my thoughts.

I was caught. I was brought to this hell. I fell in love. And I'm scared it's not real, that it's just Stockholm syndrome or something somehow. I can't ignore how my heart races when we get to spend time together, how nice his voice is and how soft his lips are, now kind he is to me and how he's always so cold so he hogs the blankets when Google buys us the time to sleep together.

I do love him. It's not some disorder, some trick of the mind... I love him. If I ever escape, I'll show that to him. Every day until I die. I wish there was something more for us than this, kisses exchanged on borrowed time, a quick fuck with no time afterwards, something more- But there's no chance.

If we were to escape, they would hunt us down, re-capture me and kill Matthew. As much as I tell myself that won't happen, I can't help but think. He offered to free me. I said no. I love him too much to see him die for me.

-Bim Trimmer

Ethan, I'm sorry for all of this. It's my fault that you're here, I was the one who told them and I didn't know they were... I can't live with the fact that I was the one who…

Ethan, it's my fault we're both going to rot in this hell hole because I fucked up and i can't fix things no matter how much shit we get I can't i can't

Ethan, This is my fault and I'm so sorry for everything please forgive me

Ethan, Ok, I think I'll have enough pears for you to have two, also, what is up with SCP-3013? You mentioned being assigned to clean his containment unit. Your pal, -Tyler.

I'm sorry.

Report number seventy-two. Google Blue Olivier ‘Google’ Blue.

As Dr. Patrick's ‘eye in the sky,’ I find myself being hidden in plain sight, disguised as an intern working the security systems. The phrase ‘out of the frying pan, into the fire.’ Comes to mind. Out of the containment pin and into the grasps of a love-struck maniac.

He has me monitor cameras and hallways, making sure nobody has a clue what he gets up to, warning him of oncoming obstacles and other things of the like. Mostly, though, I am making sure he doesn't get caught cuddling with a mother fucking goddam cannibal I cannot believe him he's supposed to be a scientist Mr. Trimmer, SCP-3038.

It's not all bad, but it is annoying to have to constantly monitor them. this situation is oddly amusing to me. I'm a high-functioning computerized android and yet I've been babysitting two dorks in love. It's sad, but amusing nonetheless.

Dr. Patrick has been staying for longer periods of time each occasion he visits Mr. Trimmer, SCP-3038. It could be cause for concern. Claude would probably think it was, he thinks everything is a cause of concern. Well, he thought.

After observing the cameras, the situations they put themselves in (some involving Dr. Patrick on his knees- or hands and knees (it seems my previous hypothesis was incorrect)) would be scandalous, ruining both of their lives and, in Dr. Patrick's case, his career.

Bim, I suspect, would be put under heavier surveillance. Nothing I couldn't crack, but stronger than before. Dr. Patrick would most likely be reassigned or killed, then expunged from the records.

It is possible, however, the foundation would use hm as a reminder of what happens when emotions and science collides. I, personally, am a living example of that, a supposedly emotionless being plagued by the death of my brothers.

Those two aside, Dr. Nelson seems to have connections to Mark Edward Fischbach, a D-class recently taken in for the murder of an unknown person. The name of the victim seems to be lost.

Either way, Dr. Nelson and Mr. Fischbach seem to have gone to highschool together. --As my brother Oliver used to say, ‘they weren't just together, they were together’ The two of them dated for most of highschool and went to many social events together. Isaac would have liked going to the dances, the football games. With his sunglasses and skateboard, he would fit right in.

Mark and Amy's reunion was bittersweet. I read her digital journal, in which she stated how excited she was to see him, but how distraught she was to see him here of all places. Alan would probably go as far as to call her a romantic- she probably imagined their reunion as much nicer, probably involving flowery words and a long-missed smile. I miss their smiles.

I have decided to pass this information and more to Mr. Scheid and Mr. Nestor, who I have been supplying with information since my escape. Meddling aside, the two of them have accumulated much information for themselves, including the idea that Dr. Patrick aided my vessels escape. They're close to having information they could use to bargain themselves out of this prison- if only they knew what Bim was.

The reason I've supplied this information is simply because Tyler reminds me of Alan. How could I let him rot here the two of them are closest to success. Back to the subject of Dr. Patrick. I have found myself caring more and more for the eccentric man, much to my own chagrin. These human emotions I somehow carry are getting in the way of my life of my goals.

I have mistakenly called Dr. Patrick by Oliver my late brothers name multiple times. He reminds me of him. I am considering performing a minor reprogramming on myself in an attempt to purge myself of human emotions. I am wary of doing so due to the high probability that the reprogramming would cause severe damage to my higher reasoning functions. And if I get them back, what would they think of me? I will continue to document similar occurrences in documents akin to this one until my full escape.

if only I was the brave Theseus. If only I had some golden thread. if only I had saved them. if only I was a hero. if only

Additive: Upon informing Mr. Scheid and Mr. Nestor of Dr. Nelsons relations with Mr. Fischbach, they revealed they already knew. How they figured it out by themselves is beyond my reasoning, as Ethan and Tyler seemed to be preoccupied- Tyler with helping food preparation and Ethan with cleaning up after an experiment of sorts. I have no idea whatsoever how Tyler came across this information. But, hell, I'm in a building where the laws of physics- the laws of anything seem to be null and void. I have officially given up the arduous task of attempting to comprehend the oddities and entities in this building, even the normal humans.

Report pertaining the psychological status of --Jack-- Seán McLoughin By: Nathan Sharp

For the past few weeks, Seán has seemed a little on edge. When I asked him what was troubling him, he just told me he was having some computer problems that were a little troubling to him. I have no clue what computer problems could cause him to panic at the mention of the virus on my computer. As a teammate, I'm worried how this would affect Strike Team Nine Tailed Fox’s effectiveness in the field. As a friend, I'm just worried about him. Maybe it's just a small scare, maybe it's something worse- I just want my friend to be alright.

Nathan, The concern you hold for your friend is heartwarming, so is the loyalty for your team. Thank you for supplying us with this information so I can better understand what is troubling Seán. If you hear anything more, please tell me. The wellbeing of my team is a top priority. -Strike Commander Signe Hansen

[mshai002]

Trevor Paglen (Huge Inspiration)

After, in the class, we saw Rita’s gallery visit, which was at the Barbican showing Trevor’s work: From ‘Apple’ to ‘Anomaly,’ I realized that this was my guy. I decided to go to his show next week at the barbican. There were only two pieces, it turned out. I went through the whole show in less than 10 minutes. I knew that his work with data and classifications is what I was interested in. He wasn’t just an artist interested in data sciences, he also had a deep aesthetic sense. The lighting, and the framing, of the ‘this is not an apple' piece, which then leads to the next one, a series of over 20,000 images starting from an apple (Trevor describes as a "nouny noun") and ending at the anomaly (he describes this as entirely subjective). 

I decided that I needed to learn all about him. I bought two of his books, one, a small one on his Barbican show, and the other, a larger one about his oeuvre with multiple interviews and essays and most of his work. The following are from the 19 page long notes I took from reading the books. They led me to an idea which I will reveal in the end.

My initial idea before getting on with Trevor was to maybe create an entirely new social media platform free of all the suspicious usage of users’ data that the current option we have engaged in. In Rita’s presentation in class, her description of the apple piece in the show struck me. She said that AI sees an apple as an apple, whereas, as humans, we can see it as ‘this is not an apple’...

Trevor, in the first interview, said that he didn’t think ‘timeless truths’ exists (Trevor Paglen, Phaidon, p.12). According to him, every artist has to decide what they are mainly interested in and process accordingly, not because they are compelled by an external (institutional, for example) force.

He is an in-depth researcher with a Ph.D. in  Geography, masters, and a bachelor's in Fine Art. I love this aspect of his work. Many artists like Michel Hoellebueq (French Author) proudly disdain research as something that is for inferior artists, which I find quite outdated and outright wrong. The reason for this is explained quite well by Paglen (p.13). The artist shows their audience how to see things differently, and Trevor says, seeing things around us difficult. “Everyday life is sculpted and modulated by forces that are usually quite invisible to us....” This is why research is vital; to understand how the structures around us are working and transforming in their speed. And by engaging through an understanding of the functionalities and scopes, we can see possibilities. This is precisely what I wrote in one of my previous blogs. The audiences are too scared of tech, and so cannot imagine an alternative, and I wanted to change that. However, before inspiring the viewer to believe alternative ideas, the artist herself needs to be able to see her subject to its core. Trevor says that “when I talk about learning  How to see the moment we live in, I mean developing new metaphors in new vocabularies that can help us orient our perception and make sense of the world around us” (p.32). Research allows “you to think far more complexly about a subject than you can without that language.”

NSA GHCQ Surveillance Base, Cornwall, UK, 2015

My initial idea about making a functional alternative social media did not do it for me. I felt a lack of imagination in the concept. It felt reactionary at best. Trevor articulates for me what I was lacking (p.29). He says that art should not be about a strategy to accomplish this or that. “I don’t think that art does linear arguments very well at all. For example, in a lot of the visual work, I have done... I  am trying to take familiar images... and suggest that they mean something different from what you think they mean.” He says that art can inspire but not relay a message, which is accomplished via writing. He says that art and literature can go hand-in-hand to drive a message home, but the art on its own “is just different.”

Investigative rigor:

I have always appreciated art that was a result of in-depth knowledge that is critically engaging, not superficial impressions. An impression is the first instinct, and relying on first instinct is extremely dangerous as it is informed by deep-set bias we’re brought up with. His work Terminal Air (2007) showcased the (US) government’s covert anti-terror operations, which flew suspected people away to far off locations like Guantanamo Bay.

As already blogged about, I work for the Uni student-run independent newspaper The Leopard. This year I became the News Editor, which means that I have to not only work on my pieces but also guide and edit others’. Paglen’s work has a lot to do with investigations. He does in-depth research into how top-secret things by the government--of the US- such as the missions carried out to kidnap and torture suspects from the country taken far off to places like Guantanamo Bay (p. 72). He said that he was “drawn to the patches--mysterious to those unfamiliar with their acronyms and iconography...” He learned the grammar of the way things are done through is research, and that is how he figured out more about the secret world (p.65). This interest transpired in his work Torture Taxi, for which he had to go through “raw documents culled from aviation records, corporate records of front companies, various declassified reports, and documents obtained from lawyers representing prisoners at Guantanamo Bay... the interlocking webs of front companies, fake identities, drop boxes, airfields, law offices, flight records, and numerous other pieces of seemingly banal information that constituted the rendition program’s basic infrastructure” (p.70). He went through all the leading companies and every single person, fake and possibly real, mentioned in the documents. He verified a list of places where actual hidden work happened and photographed them (p.72). The photographs were shot from afar zooming in. The images make one feel exactly like they look, confused by the banality and the fact of the reality behind the banality. They are quite dark. In his Barbican book, Sarah Cook writes that he is interested in seeing what invisibility looks like (Barbican, p.8).

Torture Taxi, 2013

In other words works, he shot videos of secret locations that are blatantly out in the open using a drone (p.77). He also mapped out the flight connections of various suspects being flown around a few select spots from the US. This exposure of highly salient yet openly being done things that are supposed to be hidden makes really resonate with my work in journalism. I am always trying to figure out what is going on. But over time, I’ve come to realize that there are multiple truths in any situation, various parties with numerous reasons. And I became tired of negativity. As seen in my previous blog posts, I was quite cynical and provocative with the audience. I would like to do something more balanced this year, as I am also trying with the articles I write and edit. Looking at his work can make one feel more optimistic about what can change because they know what has been happening right around them. They can talk about it, they can participate in it, they can engage with it.

Apart from political investigative matters, he’s done in-depth research on outer space use to the world too. That is political also, as it has to do with the US’s space work as a state. He has looked into how the satellites that are ‘secret’ roam the space looking everywhere along with satellites from India and China. He says that “even though they aren’t supposed to be officially there, these spacecraft have to obey the same laws of physics that everything else in the known universe has to obey” (p.128). This is important here because it reiterates the idea that what is out there that people see are arcane and mysterious is actually something they deal directly with, too, in a very tangible way. They follow the same physics as everything we know. I was writing about this before, wanting to make the arcane algorithms accessible to the people. The same philosophy as that of the founders of Git, open-source... 

He then talks about how photography, his medium of much of his work. Photography was initially used for the same purposes as he uses it for. To research and capture the mysterious. The difficult parts being captured in photos were vital for the American military to find those spots which could be used for their operations. Muybridge, one of the great photographers in the US, was also working for the US military to photograph. “ Yosemite’s granite cliffs and forested valleys ” among other landscapes. Watkins, another famous photographer in the US, photographed for mining interests. Paglen points out that Muybridge was carrying a camera instead of a gun but doing the same thing: conquest for annihilation (p.130). This shows that his awareness of his own medium is critical. The photographers used their skill at uncovering mysterious places for the annihilation of those spaces. In a similar vein, through his photographs of the hidden secret operations’ locations of the US army, he is aiming for the annihilation of them. 

His work is overall, highly aware of specificity. He focuses on particular aspects of a specific country. He doesn’t ever make grand universal statements as a lot of Western cultural producers do. He recognizes the smallness of his American scope. He expresses this by talking about an exercise in which you take “out all the pieces of music and languages that are familiar to you, then play the unfamiliar ones over a slideshow of the images. The “it’s a small” (p.132). He recognizes that there is so much his education in the US that has not exposed him to learn. And only someone sho dedicated to research would make such a statement about ignorance and hence the need to learn more deeply.

Machine eyes:

In thinking about what the future holds in terms of the consequences we will reap as a result of our current ‘progress,’ Trevor suggests a “kind of speculative ethical relationship...” (p.29). The progress of AI, the space debris, the consequences of anthropocentric plunder of the natural resources... Paglen also addresses the speed of information that we are dealing with daily. There is no information but doesn’t necessarily lead to thinking and knowledge creation. Sight is being detached from knowledge. This knowledgeless data consumption is precisely how AI works (p.101). Through artistic means, Paglen wants people to think expansively and imaginatively. And this coming to do with trying to speculate an ethical relationship with the future as we need, he applied ethics to our consumption as an idea materially in space (pp.135). Not thinking about the future results in cuts made in education budgets and climate catastrophe planning (p.135). He found that all the countries venturing into space were leaving behind a residue that will last for more than 100 million years. The most recent controversy was about India’s successful mission of targeting and destroying satellites in space from the ground. Imagining a future where someone will go there millions of years later and encounter that residue, he decided to create The Last Picture. The images he took and curated together were placed together in launched into space with a satellite rocket that was being launched by an agency in a city in the US (p.136). The images, he said, would be something like what cave paintings are to us today.

The Last Picture, 2012

The issue with how a machine ‘sees’ is that it sees everything precisely as it is. Trevor’s piece, Shark, Liner Classifier (2017), is a photograph of sharks that the computer is fed to see. The AI machine spewed out the image of Shark, which “looks. indistinct and abstract to human eyes, it is a Precise representation of the computer vision system” (p.33). Speaking about Machine Eyes, 2014, he says that the point mentioned before about looking without seeing, sight, and knowledge being disconnected. That is basically what machines do. Run through data, compare them, and technically parse out whatever is possible in those very reduced technical ways. This is what AI is. Sarah Cook writes that the role of the human is missing in all this (Barbican, p.13). And that is what needs to be scrutinized. I wonder if the machine, after all, is as smart as we think we are or make it?

From ‘apple’ to ‘anomaly,’ 2019

In the Barbican book, Paglen explains how his work was dealing with AI. AI systems are developed by a few technology companies. And those companies, in the west, have a very limited worldview. Their perception of what means what is the basis for the ‘training set.’ This set contains classifications of representations. His work here is looking at a data set called ImageNet, which was created by professors at Stanford and Princeton. ImageNet took a gameset from WordNet, in which the collection of “words and concepts and scraped the internet for images that they thought would illustrate them...” then labeled those images. This set was created between 2009 and 2011 and wasn’t updated since. This means that the data set created by a couple of people in the US with a very limited worldview at a specific time was used. The collections were literally frozen in time and a particular place in terms of meaning. Paglen wonders how we could be shaping the softwares based on such data. He says that the creation of this data is entirely unethical (Barbican, p.41) because of its specificity. I think that the problem here is that the training set’s vision is very narrow and frozen in a specific time and place. So its claim to universality representing all humans everywhere is not valid. Pardo, Paglen’s interviewer, says that the basis is “outmoded” with subjectivities that are relationally subjective.

Paglen finally says: If we’re already looking at public training sets that have bad politics built into them, one can only imagine what is going on behind closed doors.

This sparked an idea in my head. What if we see what things will be like if the data set was created by people with good politics?

[jonnyworld]

Boomtown: Chapter 8 - The Revolution Starts Now

This is a journal of my adventures at the festival called Boomtown Fair. Everything written here could only happen thanks to the amazing cast and crew that make this festival so special.

I write this from my emergency bunker. It’s been roughly a half a year since the revolution..it’s hard to keep track of time now in the chaos that has ensued. These memories now seem distant but I do my best to recount this tale to the best of my ability.

It had been a long year since the previous Fair and the civil unrest had continued despite the administration's best efforts. I had submitted my report to Boomtown Central Administration following the uprising at the Bang-Hai Palace and had received full Citizenship of the town and rewards for my proven loyalty to the regime. I was sworn to protect both the Comrade and the administration of the town against all threats. And those threats did come as the year progressed….

By the time of the Winter Gathering, Central Administration had announced its new Military Conscription and Work Programs to which I had immediately registered my interest in being one of the first in-line to join up. Meanwhile Bang-Hai Industries had begun work on a new Nuclear Facility in what was to become Sector 6 and as the new year began they rolled out new models of robots and cyborgs onto the streets of Distrikt 5 as part of the Robotika initiative. Trouble seemed to dog the progress of construction though as the masked men carried out a series of sabotage, terrorism and guerrilla tactics.

It was the thursday morning of the start of the Fair itself and we rose early from our slumber eager to complete our re-location. After a great deal of patience our documents were checked and we were given our citizenship bands for the weekend. After careful deliberation we decided to set up a camp on the edge of Old Town with a good view across Sector 6 and of the nuclear facility itself. From this vantage point we could keep an eye out for any rebel activity but still easily be able to walk into town or shelter in the Psy Forest. In the evening I took my adventuring party on a tour of the town as the excitement grew for the coming days. This was to be a monumental weekend and one of the best Fairs on record, we were sure of it.

I awoke early in the morning to the blazing hot sun bearing down on our camp. I made my way to the highest point in town, the newly constructed Windmill Stage at Whistler’s Green to warm up for the day ahead with Mr. Motivator. Surely the best way to prepare for my upcoming Military Conscription! Following breakfast I walked back down via the viewing point to behold downtown slowly awakening and my gaze fell down on the Palace.

“The Comrade must be protected at all costs” I thought to myself.

I hurried myself back down towards our camp in order to suit up in my new military uniform ready for the afternoon’s training. The rest of the morning was spent impatiently waiting, pacing up and down through the Wild West and Forests before gathering my fellow conscripts who had been watching a performance by Zion Train at the Lion’s Den Temple in Trenchtown.

The four of us marched down through Old Town to the Town Hall itself and made ourselves known to the officers there who were already training groups of recruits. One group were lined up against the back wall as the Sergeant Major barked discouragement at them, a second group were running an assault course whilst a third were letting loose at the targets on the shooting range. Various other military personnel milled about the hall carrying clipboards and supplies. The rest of my party had already slunk back out onto the town hall steps, complaining about the heat that seemed to be blazing out of the building, trying to find a cool breeze to take the edge off the midday sun. Not the best of starts for my hopes of forming a militia unit. After a bit of encouragement I managed to convince Recruit Reefas to come back inside as the others sat on the steps rolling cigarettes. Much to my amusement however as we looked back  one of the nearby recruiters had already pounced on them. After a while I finally managed to speak with one of the Recruitment Officers who interviewed me on my suitability for the army and my feelings towards the regime. Suitably impressed by my obvious commitment to the cause we were sent straight for the Elite Training Program bypassing the initial training tests completely.

Myself and Recruit Reefas lined up against the wall in the far corner as gradually more nervous looking troops arrived at our side until we had a full complement waiting. Soon after our final recruit joined us we were approached by a very flirty female Drill Instructor who came and inspected us. She had Reefas bend over, grabbed his ass and whispered something into his ear. We could already tell that this would not be your average recruitment program. The instructor soon has us taking part in various team building exercises which included such activities of being a human dancing pole for the other recruits. During this process we were officially registered under the name “Crossdressing Walrus Squad” There was no turning back now. The instructor then called us all into a team huddle and marched us all as one massive hug into the first of the training rooms.

We were taken through a series of rooms, each with it’s own task and challenge. This ranged from medical examinations, loyalty tests to more physical challenges. A definite Crystal Maze experience designed to turn us into a functioning military unit of elite soldiers. The first room involved a series of “routine” medical exams and questions to check we were all of reasonable health (no transmogrifying Doctors this year).

Into the second room we  lined up against a wall as an officer paced up and down asking us a series of questions in regards to the regime and our glorious leader Comrade José. Some of our group seemed to be rather uneducated on the subject and were removed from the group to the other side of the room. “How much do you love our glorious leader?” the officer questioned me.

“MORE THAN ANYTHING, SIR!” I immediately answered.

“More than anything? Good! Good!” he seemed suitably impressed. “Prove it! See that poster of her on the wall? I want you to make love to it!”

I looked up at the poster which had been placed a good distance up the wall.

“Everyone group together and help him reach it. Come on! Go go!” encouraged the officer.

My squad gathered together working as a team to lift me higher up the wall as I proceeded to kiss and hump the poster of Comrade José. Eventually after my aerial lovemaking display the commanding officer was convinced and let the squad lower me back down to the floor. When we were back in position he continued to grill each squad member, weeding out the weaker candidates and removing them to the other side of the room. Those of us that remained were to be The Elite, the chosen ones of the Boomtown Militia. Those that had failed the tests were forced to beg our forgiveness as they got to their knees. It was our call the officer said, would we abandon our former squadmates or accept them back into our unit. The decision seemed to be unanimous as we each let our fallen friends back into the squad, but not to be as equals the officer told us, we were now the masters and they were the slaves. They were to follow our every command and whim for the rest of the Faire.  We were then taken into the final test which was to be a physical team exercise. We all stood huddled on a platform as we received our briefing. The floor was lava; touch it for even a moment and you were dead. We were presented with  a pile of boxes which contained innocent babies that must be saved by being taken to the other side of the room using the wooden planks and platforms available. Working as a unit we laid the wooden planks from platform to platform until the first of us reached the designated target. Forming a human conveyor belt we each took a platform and carefully passed the precious payload along the line from person to person. By the time the countdown finished both us and the payload were safely across the lava. Another victory for Crossdressing Walrus Squad! Our instructor congratulated us on the completion of our training and took us through the final door to a darkened​ room full of monitors. A stern female officer wearing dark shades peered at the screens. On the monitors we could see other squads still in training and various other feeds of members of the public and shady looking characters going about their “business”. Every CCTV camera across the city must have linked to this point. Various plans, maps and blueprints were scattered across the desk. One of my squad had shuffled over to the desk whilst everyone had been taking it all.

The Intelligence Officer immediately turned to him and questioned him “What are you doing soldier?!  What do you have in your hands?”

“Nothing sir! See! All empty!” He said waving his hands about.

“Good...Good! Now step away from the table and let me have a look at you all.”

Little did we know at the time but we had a traitor in our midst… but this did not dawn on me until it was far too late.

We all lined up in front of the officer as our instructor said her goodbyes and headed off to collect her next group of recruits. The officer in shades inspected our group, she had been monitoring our squad’s progress and was satisfied that we were ready for field work. We had been selected to become agents on behalf of Central Administration's Military Intelligence Department. Each of us were given an assignment each. I was asked to head out into Oldtown to investigate reports of rebel and pirate activity around the area of the Job Centre and the Port. Recruit Reefas was sent asked to go Downtown to Distrikt 5 and seek out my old ally Mutti, the Cyborg Mob Boss. We were all given a passphrase to give once we tracked down our contacts “Do you need a hand mate?” - Once we all had our tasks to complete we were sent back out of the Central Administration into the blinding light of the sun and the squad went its separate ways to carry out our missions.

Storming into Old Town guns blazing was not going to get us the information we needed and was likely to get us killed in the process. We had to take this slow...gather additional intelligence and scout out the surrounding areas before heading further into the port itself. Myself and Recruit Reefas headed out on a scouting patrol up along the edge of Temple Valley and towards Trenchtown. There was a large gathering at the Temple for the Heatwave Showtime and the greatest performers from across the land took to the hallowed stage; Big Narstie, Tippa Irie, General Levy, Demolition Man, Rodney P, Skibbadee, Flow Dan and more.

“MORE FIRE! MORE FIRE!” the crowd chanted….and there was….A great plume of black  smoke billowed up into the sky from the other side of town. My comms device lit up, it was my friends who were living at Downtown Boomtique, they had all been evacuated as a fire had broken out past the West Gates. Thankfully no one had been hurt and the fire department were combating the blaze. “More insurgent activity?” I thought. This would be come to be known as The Great Fire of Boomtown. Things were getting dangerous….

Afternoon went into evening as my patrol route took me up past The Windmill at Whistler’s Green where Craig Charles played the sun down with the funk groove sounds. The local mystics and healers danced around as they saw out the day. Everything all seemed to be in order in The Green so I headed back towards our campsite near the edge of town. Once I arrived myself and Recruit Reefas went about our business further securing and fortifying our camp. As we looked out down the valley towards Comrade Jose’s Nuclear Power Facility however we were greeted by another series of explosions and a large crowd gathering outside...we ran down towards the facility but it was already too late...this was a full on uprising and the first of the battles we would lose during this conflict.

We retreated back to camp and gathered our undercover gear, heading into town to rally at the Town Hall. Sector 6 had fallen to the rebels...we had to make sure we secured the central districts and the only way we could do that was to seek out the traitors  and complete our given missions. Knowledge is strength, so we began our investigations.  We trawled the streets and venues of the town trying to glean information but were coming up short so I decided it was best to try some reliable contacts. We slipped into the back alleys of Mayfair and sidled up to Mob Boss Charlie Brown’s Speakeasy. If anyone knew what was going on in these streets it would be Charlie.  We were greeted by two goons who were minding the door. Sadly it turned out that Charlie was believed to be missing and none of his employees and associates had seen him for a very long time. Was he in hiding? Was he sleeping with the fishes? Saddened and frustrated by our lack of progress we headed back out into the streets. If the underworld doesn’t seem to have any information on current goings on then maybe the long arm of the law did. We called in at the Police station where I flashed my new Military ID at them.

To say the police station was unconventional was an understatement. The cops seemed to be holding a disco and the inmates were dancing their last dance behind bars awaiting their day of judgement. Some would be released but others were to be sent for public execution. Whilst Reefas was eyeing up one of the officers and trying to get himself handcuffed, I took a look at all the information and wanted posters they had up on the walls for us taking in every little detail and lead.

Taking back to the streets and it seemed like the yearly Boomtown Fair was in full swing as revellers danced from venue to venue. The atmosphere was electric and despite the loss of Sector 6 you would never have known anything was wrong. Citizens got on with their evenings and went about their business...but if you looked closely shadowy masked figures lurked in doorways and on the balconies above. We made our downtown towards Distrkt 5 to find Mutti. Reaching his hideout on the main street we found it locked and seemingly empty though.

“If you’re lookin for the Boss you’ve missed him...come back tomorrow.” said a seedy looking cyberpunk leaning against the wall nearby.

“Thanks. We will.” I nodded.

It was getting late and we didn’t seem to be getting much further with our investigations so we decided to pack it in for the night and headed over to the Red Rash Inn. Exotic dancers of every shape and size beckoned us from the windows and the balconies. The Red Rash was the only place in the district that hadn’t replaced their workers with the sexbots that Bang-Hai Industries were churning out. We stood outside for a while taking it all in. It seemed like the Inn was full tonight so we made our way across to my old neighbourhood of Bario Loco to watch Manchester’s fines, Levelz, performing in Poco Loco itself. The usual mayhem of the Levelz crew did not disappoint as our homeboy Skittles surfed out across the crowd in a rubber dingy.

As the night came to an end we headed back uptown through China Town and the Forests to our camp. As we got ready to turn in for the day Sector 6 seemed to have settled down a bit and almost looked back to normal. We would keep an eye on things from our camp here on the hill for now though and report back any and all activity back to Central Administration.

Sleep did not last long as the early morning sun blazed through the tent once more heating it up to an unbearable temperature. I rolled out of my room and scrambled out into the cool breeze as I tried to pull myself together. What I needed was a good breakfast, a walk and a shower. I headed up to the Whistler’s Green windmill for my morning workout session with Mr. Motivator before grabbing some breakfast and heading over to the spa. Ready for the day I gathered my adventuring party at the docks to continue our investigations and popped into the Inconvenience Store for supplies. Inconveniently they were out of everything I was after and I found myself bemused in the middle of the shop with one of the staff feeding me inconveniently raw broccoli. An Inconvenient Times Newspaper poster adorned the wall declaring “CHARLIE BROWN’S GOING DOWN” - Had Charlie finally been put away and jailed by the Boomtown Bobbies? How could this be? Wasn’t Charlie a close personal friend of Comrade José? This all made no sense. Inconveniently however the store was all out of copies of the paper so I would need to find out these answers from another source

We went on with our day patrolling Old Town, making our investigations and questioning the citizens. Our path took us inside Rimski’s Scrapyard which we had passed through on our travels the day before. The staff at the kiosk by the entranceway were now giving out rebel propaganda and flyers including our first major clue for the day.

‘CARNIVAL OF THE CITIZENS  THE PEOPLES’ UPRISE’ it stated ‘Sunday 14th at 14:30’ - I picked one up and put it in my wallet so I could take it in to Central Adminstration.

“But we need more…” I thought. “We need to stop all this before it even gets to Sunday….I had best complete my mission and get back to the Town Hall as soon as I can.”

The queue for the Job Centre was nearly round the block so we decided to check back on that lead later. Where else to find find the rebel activity though? Rumor was the pirates and rebels were now fully in league with each other over protests to the import taxes that had been imposed on the port. The previous year I had heard whispers of a secret smuggler's den hidden somewhere near the port itself. I flicked through my town guide book . ‘Pirate Cruises’ stated the page ‘Guaranteed to point you in the right direction.’

“Well if that’s not a clue I don’t know what is.” I said to myself making myself over to the dockside.

The old seadog inside insisted that there were no actual pirates about and it was just a legitimate business.

“Do you need a hand mate?” I said to him, trying out the passphrase but he just turned his head and gave me a weird look and then went on to try to sell me a cruise to the Swamp of Despair.I went on to commiserate with him though and to gain his trust discussing with him how “unfair” I thought the new import taxes were and that I very much wanted to join the uprising against the administration. If only I could find the pirates and their smugglers den I could lend them a hand I told him. The man looked me up and down and then seemingly convinced, sent me in the direction of Jack The Clipper, the barber shop further up the docks.

We approached the well dressed lady at the door to the barbers but she didn’t seem to know anything about any smugglers den or be familiar with the passphrase.

“Have you tried round the back alleyway?” she asked me.

So around the back I went peering through boarded up windows and knocking on doors. I met a couple of shady seeming folk who advised me it was a little early for pirates but if I came back in a short while they tended to emerge from their hovels as it reached mid afternoon. I sat on the docks with my fellow adventuring companions I had arrived in town with and kept an eye on the alleyway as we took in the sunshine. Eventually the waiting paid off after I saw suspicious figure after suspicious figure disappear into the alley.

I slunk back into the alleyway and beheld a Boomtown Military Officer stood at a doorway with a small queue of people lined up. I silently joined the back of the queue keeping my ears open and taking everything in.It turned out the officer had turned his back on the Administration and was now helping the rebels. And he was not the only one. Eventually I got to the front of the queue and managed to speak with the officer properly. In our discussion he inadvertently revealed that there were 2 squads of 4 officers on a 3 hour rotation at the den. This was more serious than we ever could have imagined, traitors were in our midst.

“Well if they can betray us then I can betray them.” I thought to myself.

Finally it was my time and the officer let me into a small cramped room that seemed more like the bowels of a ship than a house of any sort. A woman beckoned me to the table for a chat. A battle of wits and guile insued. Neither of us wanted to give anything away but at the same time wanted to get as much information out of the other as possible. I tried convincing her I wanted to join the resistance but she seemed much harder to convince than the travel agent. Papers and letters littered the wooden table and I tried to casually read them as we talked. The letters all appeared to be addressed to and from Nicholas Boom...But Nicolas Boom was the founder of Boomtown itself and no one had seen him for many years now as he mysteriously vanished. The letters seemed to be organising the rebellion itself and indicated that both the group now residing at Sector 6 and Old Town were involved in it together….and also showed that Nicolas Boom was alive and well and had his hand in everything that was now happening.

“I’m looking for Nicolas Boom.” I said “I hear he might even be the masked man himself.”

A man arose from the darkness who appeared to have been sleeping in the corner. “Nicolas Boom?” he said in a deep and slurred voice “There is no Nicolas here.”

“Then why are these letters addressed to him then? Look!” I said picking up one of the letters “His name is right here!”

“You had best put that letter down if you want to get out of here.” replied the woman. “We don’t know any Nicolas Boom. Now friend...one quick drink and we’ll send you back on your way.”

Out of a box behind me a dishevelled girl popped out babbling nonsense with a wild look in her eyes. The woman introduced the girl as Reggie before she popped back into her box. A toast was poured into a cup for each of us and Reggie popped her head back out the box to get hers. “Cheers!” we said together and downed our drinks in one. The smugglers then pleasantly bid me farewell  and sent me back out onto the street seemingly empty handed without any of the letters. I did however remember what I had seen and made my way back to the Town Hall, looking over my shoulder at regular intervals making sure I wasn’t being followed.

I approached an officer on the steps of the Town Hall and gave him all the information I had gathered so far about the Smugglers Den, the traitors, Nicholas Boom, the letters and the flyer for the uprising on Sunday. He was thankful for all the information I had given him but seemed very disappointed I hadn’t managed to get one of the letters. He saluted me for my service and sent me back out into town to try and find some more information that would bring these people to justice.

I changed back into my uniform and took back to the streets before going to pick up some dinner at one of the street stalls that lined the road to Mayfair. I joined the queue for the Tibetan Kitchen where I bumped into no other than our Glorious Leader Comrade José herself! We had been liaising over social media since I had the good luck to meet her the previous year. I told her of how I had joined up with her military forces and my training so far. She told me that I should make it down to her brand new Boomtown Games that were to be held down in our old neighbourhood of Barrio Loco and meet up with her there later.

Later that evening after avoiding a group of rambunctious pirates, meandering explorers, marauding post-apocalyptic tribes, dancing bees, great towering monsters and even having listened to a talk from Arya Stark herself, Maisie Williams (who was an absolute joy) - I made my way downtown for the Games.

Since Comrade José had left the Barrio and moved into the Bang-Hai Palace gangs of vicious gangs and thugs had over-run the neighbourhood. The Games had been put on to try and help direct the gangs energies into something constructive. The winners of the games were to be given the keys to the Barrio and given everything they needed from the regime to live comfortably….the others would be locked away in the Boomtown Jails. The stakes were high but each gang believed they had what it took to win and finally achieve their dreams of a comfortable life.

All 3 gangs battled hard and brought their best to the games. Comrade José stood on the balcony of the brand new apartments that had been built in the Barrio for the winners, overlooking the games and passing judgement on each round. Round after round the Bassliners won, dashing the hopes of The Vamps and the The Bandits. As the final winner was announced there was an uproar and cries of it all being fixed. A large scuffle broke out between the Vamps, Bandits, Bassliners and the Regime escalating rapidly into a full blown uprising. In the confusion Comrade José was whisked to safety as the violence broke out into the streets. The denizens of the Barrio and the audience for the Games had soon turned on the regime and I found myself having to retreat back to a safer point.

I hung round in the dark of the streets of Vamos looking for any sign of our beloved Comrade and the officers but there was no sign of them anywhere. I found myself sitting lost at the Boxing Ring still dressed in my full uniform feeling rather lost. Before I knew it however I found myself face to face with rebel ;eaders and gun to gun with the Reggie, the girl from the smuggler’s den. They questioned me about my activities over the weekend and I queried them right back over their plans. If I was going to be their prisoner then what was the harm? I may have not got the letter I needed from them at the den but it turns out they had been collecting secret documents and plans from Central Administration by sending agents into the Town Hall and through the Training scheme. My mind went back to the Intelligence briefing and monitoring room...the papers on the table...my own squad mates had turned against the regime and taken them right in front of us. They said the plans that had been stolen had been for some kind of super weapon that the regime was trying to construct. In even greater news however it turned out that Reggie was Comrade Jose’s own sister who she had abandoned and tried to have locked up before she was rescued by the rebels. Reggie was now a symbol and a figurehead in the uprising and said she had been abandoned like the Barrio itself. Armed with this new information and two additional passphrases (“Do I know you friend?” And “Do I know you brother?”) Eventually I managed to give them the slip and sprinted away into the night guns blazing in a firefight with the rebel group.

Eventually I made my way back to Central Administration with my information accompanied by my friends from Downtown Boutique who I had met up in the forests along the way, taking the more stealthy route back to uptown. A nurse beckoned me into a doorway down by the Panopticon Monitoring Station on the square for a “routine check up”.  I was lead into a small medical room and strapped into a chair before being injected with some kind of serum. The last thing I remember is a series of flashing images projected in front of me and before I knew it I was out on the street again with a renewed strength of loyalty for the Administration and my secrets delivered.

I managed to find my friends again on the street who seemed confused by my disappearance and the medical staffs refusal to let them come see me. Reunited we headed down to Bang-Hai Palace where Comrade José had retreated with her close allies. In the Palace Courtyard the people were celebrating the Fair under the protecting gaze of their benefactors. We all partied deep into the depths of the night, taking ourselves for a drive in the Dodgems, and taking in all the sights and sounds of downtown.

The next morning, after I had gone through my morning ritual of Mr. Motivator, Spa and breakfast, I made my way down to The Town Hall where the crowds were already gathering for the days performances for the Fair. There I began to gather as many people as I could ready to defend the Town Square from the oncoming rebels that we knew were due to arrive that afternoon. Squads of soldiers gathered on the bridges and balconies of the square looking down on the populace. But then from under the gates of Old Town we saw a fleet of great vehicles travelling down the road towards us. The General and his soldiers spilled out onto the steps outside the Hall forming a defensive line against the oncoming attackers. With a loud-hailer he rallied our group of loyalists with our cry. “ONE LEADER! ONE VISION! ONE TRUTH!” we chanted triumphantly at the oncoming attackers. The parade of mad max style vehicles pulled round until they were in front of us in the square. The Masked Men stood on top and a carnival of people spilled into the square behind them. Suddenly a large group of rebels from Kidztown rushed forwards armed with foam guns and cream pies and a great fight broke out as they stormed the Town Hall. The army had no choice but to fall back and regroup behind the doors of the hall. Our third major conflict of the weekend had been lost and we found ourselves retreating deep undercover and trying to keep ourselves hidden in the business of the fair goers. Gradually we were losing ground but still Mayfair and The Palace itself stood strong against the rising rabble.

That afternoon I bided my time waiting for an opportunity to reunite with my comrades. Sitting on the docks by the Wharf I pondered the next move. Entertainment had been organised on the Busker’s Wharf itself but it seemed they were between performances. The stage manager stood on the wharf talking to the crowd and picking people out to interview and have their say. I stood out like a sore thumb in this group of onlookers, wearing my white dress shirt and fedora. Before I knew it I had been picked out of the crowd and was stood in stage giving a speech to everyone. I can barely recall what was said but I nominated the next person as quickly as I could get away with it. So much for keeping a low profile...speeches in front of crowds was not really what I was going for, but at least I could say I had been on stage at the Fair now.

Darkness fell and I snuck my way back into the Town Square. The army was regrouping and the top military officers stood on the balcony of the Central Administration looking out across the crowds, The large projection screens in the square came to life and The General appeared with a message of hope and defiance. As the general completed his message hackers broke into the system and the Masked Man appeared. His fellow Mad Hatters swooped into the square on zip wires and began scaling the side of the central buildings. Windows were smashed, grenades were thrown and the buildings were set alight. Within minutes all of the city centre seemed to be on fire and crowds of rebels cheered them on. Central Administration had fallen.

I retreated back towards Mayfair, one of our last bastions, where I disappeared into the speakeasy to try and see if Charlie Brown had resurfaced or not. Speaking to one of the mobsters inside I found out that Charlie Brown had indeed been sent down and was jailed in some kind of conspiracy power play.

“What on earth is going on in Boomtown?” I wondered. Something was definitely up and people seemed to be pulling strings from behind the curtains...but who? Surely the rumors of the Boominati were just that...rumours?

I made my way down the street to The Park Hotel to go and lie down for a bit and clear my head. The hotel was fairly quiet other than a few people hanging around and booking into rooms. The ongoing sound of swing music eased my mood as I lay on a chaise longue eating mango. A few sips of rum from my flask and I was well in the zone. I guess this was my life now, no regime, no leadership…

Later that evening however I saw my first glance of hope. Whilst making my way through the throng of people outside The Bad Apple Pub I saw a familiar face. Comrade José herself zipped past me running down from Oldtown with one of her personal aides both with [REDACTED] in hand. I tried to see where they were going through the crowd but they seemed to disappear down past the Administration buildings. At least she was safe even if we had lost all but Mayfair and The Palace...but without the rest of the army to protect it surely the palace was next.

I pulled myself together and gathered my sense. It was time to stop drowning my sorrows and rally down at Bang-Hai Palace. But as I headed towards the forest that lay between Old Town and Downtown I saw the explosions….it was too late….in my absence the Palace had already fallen.

I skulked my way back over to the docks and Busker’s Wharf where it appeared a clown was having a very slow and gradual but complete mental breakdown. I was not the only one having a hard day! Eventually even the clown was packing in for the day so I made my way slowly back to camp.

On the way back I found myself stopped for a rest, sat on the deck outside the Mental Asylum...which on retrospect is where I should have taken the poor clown. A girl came and sat down next to me and we regaled each other with our stories from this year’s fair and adventures until it was time to turn in for the night.

It had been an amazing weekend full of highs and adventures. For I may have lost the war but we had fun doing it.

[tumblunni]

I wish I could hug y'all!

In fact I think I will make it A LIFE GOAL I really really wanna someday be able to visit all my friends who live in different countries! Its something good to save up for, even if it'll probably take years. So.. lets randomly ramble in a journal about Plans!! IDEA THE FIRST TRIP THE FIRST FIRST THE FIRST: THE SEQUEL I think it'd probably make sense to go to america first, since i have a lot of close friends living there and I don't need to learn another language. (I am notoriously dumb...) But then afterwards I could set another goal to save up and visit another friend in another country! IT WILL NEVER ENDDDDD, THATS WHY ITS CALLED FRIENNNNDDDDD So far all I have confirmed is that two of my friends would be happy to see me if I was able to visit america, @darkeiya and @summon-daze But its not like I've exactly asked everyone else, so I dunno really how many people I might be able to visit. And it depends on time constraints too, i might only be able to spend a full day or two with the closest friends and maybe then if there's more than three of us we could all meet up together and hang out en masse? Depends on how tricky it'd be for everyone to get to the same place! SO! PLANS AND THINGS I NEED TO PREPARE! workin to figure out a precise money goal im gonna save for * Become Fab * no but srsly i wanna look my best if im meeting friends in person for the first ever time. need to acquire Cool T-Shirts * figure out what exactly you can and cannot take on an aeroplane, and how to deal with anxiety if i cant take electronics. Nothing's as distracting as videogames when you're freakin out! * DO NOT SCHEDULE ANYTHING ON THE 11th-14th OF THE MONTH. i have a bad history of my period landing on these days ONLY when i have to do something important. Or when its my birthday :P I dont need even more reason to feel nauseous on a plane! * figure out how many days the stay will be, and how many clothes etc I need to bring. probably a basic thing, but this is my first time going on a holiday alone so i need to write stuff down to make sure i remember! * figure out how long exactly I want to spend with each friend, and how long I can afford in hotel fees. And does a plane ticket cos more if you're staying for longer? * find out what kind of luggages are easiest to carry and how to carry three luggages when i have two hands. Can you tie them together and make a luggages train??? * Find some sort of secure way to carry large amounts of money. I'm gonna have to do that since I need to get all my currency converted before I go. I was thinking maybe a little matchbox tin chained to the inside of my coat or around my neck? Something where you couldnt get it without roughhousing with me, and it'd still be hard to pull it off the chain. Gives me a precious few extra minutes to yell for help/possibly bludgeon a guy with a suitcase * Figure out hotel(s) in different areas of america, depending on how far I'll have to travel. And figure out affordable ways to travel the difference if its not a situation where the friend can pick me up. And make sure they are cool hotels, not just the absolute minimum! i wanna make a fun tourist experience of the hotels!! I havent been in a hotel since I was a kid! * Possibly schedule it like a 'safehouse' thing? Returning to home base! I need to make sure I schedule around the potential anxiety of doing so much travel in a new place. So maybe schedule it out so I have a period of me-time in between visiting each friend? Itd probably cost too much to rent a hotel room for an entire day in between so maybe just schedule it out so I have half a day at least. I dunno if hotels allow you to sleep in all day tho, are there rules about what time you need to be up and out? * I'm kinda looking forward to using hotel beds and showers cos theyre like luxury compared to my house XD man, I wonder if I could get a place with a hot tub?? or the fabled mini-bar?? (which i would drink nothing of, but it would be fun to take photos!) And it'd be so cool to see what american breakfasts are like! And lol all my friends have just been like 'YOU NEED TO SEE OUR LOCAL RESTAURANTS' and im like... dude, i dont need to get fatter XD lets limit it to ONE! * I dunno if my friends would just wanna hang out in their local mall or something, or if I could visit their house and say hi to their family? that might be going too far. i'll still bring gifts they can give to their family tho, i wanna show my appreciation to everyone!! * are you allowed to bring extra empty suitcases onto the plane with you? I'm anticipating that knowing myself im probably gonna buy enough souveniers to need one. I'm planning to basically have half the money be for travel and then half again is just for buying NOVELTY HATS! * need to make sure to finally get a passport, and also consult heavily with my support worker and friends to make sure i have every form of travel documentation in order. I know stuff is... not good, in america right now. Thats probably why it'd be good that it'd take me years to save up for a visit, hopefully i'd be there after the next election. But I need to prepare anyway, in case border control is even more stringent. * Prepare the 'ol misgendering, because getting strip searched and treated as a suspicious threat is a very big reality for trans people. Having the wrong gender marker on your birth certificate is treated as 'this passport must be a forgery' rather than.. yknow.. transgender people exist. And then you need to be invasively handled by the guards to make sure you aren't packing explosives down your goddamn pants, they have to inspect the parts of you that you're most self concious about. *shudder* I've heard a lot of horror stories. I dunno if america is any better about it. But yeah I'm probably gonna have to just pass as female during boarding and hotels and stuff, and not wear my binder til i get to meet my friends. Saves trouble... Man, I might have to even go buy some more cliche feminine outfits or something, to make sure. Itd be fun burning them afterwards, I guess... * BRING GIFTS FOR FRIENDS N FAMILY! Figure out what is and isnt allowed to be transferred between countries. As far as I know I cant bring any form of food or drink right? I'm only allowed to eat the in-flight meals? Thats a shame cos I wanted to bring welsh cakes, theyre the only one of our local delicacies that's not a super acquired taste. (I tried bara bryth for the first time and DIED) And I dunno if anyone would be interested in silly souveniers of my country but I could get a pile of em if you are! Want an eight foot tall lovespoon? Want a giant inflatable daffodil? Want a bazillion ceramic dragons? * I am determined to bring at least one personalized super awesome gift for each person! It might just be an expensive merchandise of their fave show, it might be some form of handmade handicraft of one of their ocs! whatever I'm able to do! ^_^ * BRING SKETCHBOOKS SO WE CAN DRAW TOGETHER. LEARN THE WAYS OF THE AMERICAN MASTERS. * hey does anyone wanna trade trading cards yo. They'd be like the single easiest thing to bring with me, but I only have a handful of pokemon ones and i only really have one friend that I know likes yugioh. (And she's in england) * WE CAN FOOL AROUND LIKE DOOFS. God willing, if anyone wants to join me I will play water balloon tennis or jalapeno roulette or any sort of insane friend activity you can think of!! Gotta make up for the fact im a boring teetotaler. Tho lol I probably already act more drunk than the real drunks at a party XD * TAKE A LOT OF PHOTOS!! And possibly try and acquire a portable video camera? I'd only photo/video anyone if they gave me permission, and I wouldnt post it online unless I also had permission for that. I just wanna make a lot of memories and record them forever! Whenever I feel down, I can remember this amazing trip!!! * remember to get one of those plug adaptor thingies cos american plugs have one less prong. Gotta trade the pokeymons!! I know I can already do that easily online but BATTLING IN PERSON WOULD BE EPIC * ...bring an Ash cosplay? XD * no but seriously if i could schedule this right to coincide with an american convention or something that'd be awesome! EVEN MORE SOUVENIERS! And I could actually try cosplaying!! I'd have to find a character that suits me tho, I dont wanna get laughed at like everyone always does with fat people cosplaying thin characters. (Like... almost every character is thin, yo. let people do what they want) * possible idea: magma admin tabitha from pokemon? he's like the only fave I have who's chubby but not like... inherantly a comic relief ugly guy or a seventy year old grandpa. I wanted to do quina quen from final fantasy 9 but I dont think I have the charisma to pull it off. I'd get paranoid if people just treated the character how they treat the character, my brain would twist everything into an insult on my costume or myself XD also I kinda already look like tabitha, tho I'd either have to go without hairdye or like... wear a wig in my natural hair colour. Also his costume is super heavy and sweaty in a convention setting, according to what I;ve heard from other team magma cosplayers. (Makes you wonder how on earth they all wore it on a volcano!) * WHAT IS AN AMERICAN BISCUIT. They look like savoury welshcakes??? Learn about all the language differences! Man I wish I could bring food souveniers back with me, I'd never be able to try every single different foodstuff in america in one day without DYING. AND DYING AGAIN. * Collect product wrappers and advertisements! Its always really interesting to me to see the differences between countries! A friend mailed me an american cola once and the bottle was a whole different shape??? (he also mailed me a bunch of spent shotgun shells, which was kinda terrifying cos I was currently in a christian homeless shelter and I didnt exactly wanna cause trouble XD Apparantly it is totally legal to own unuseable bullets tho, as long as you dont have a gun.) * I dunno if any of my friends would be equally interested in similar things? i could take requests for weird british stuff to bring with me! * for summon-daze specifically: since we are both cuddly honest goofballs of childlike joy, maybe bring some of my plushie collection to show her? I'd usually just bring one as an emergency anti-anxiety measure. Tho the embarassment from having a full on meltdown in public and having to be seen hugging a plush toy to keep from crying means its not 100% effective. Only works good when I'm with people who arent judgmental. Secret pocket gengar plush is good for other times! (I've been squeezing that thing during doctors appointments and nobody noticed!) * extra reason why I'd love to visit my friends: visiting my friends's pets. I have been absolutely blessed by images of dazy's pet cat Pam, and apparantly her family has a few other cats and a dog! O_O WHAT AN AMAZING LIFE YOU LIVE. I always tell her to give pam a hug from me, and I know pam probably wouldnt like me very much when we first meet cos she's shy, but still I'd love to at least see her. I wish cats could somehow know that they give joy to people through the internet! * ...are you allowed to bring medications across the border? is there a procedure I need to go through to be allowed to bring my antidepressants? Would painkillers be allowed too? If not, is there anywhere I could buy plane-bring-onnable headache meds in the lobby or something? Just anticipating that I might get a stress migraine on the plane, cos it'd be my first time ever flying. * are you allowed to take photos out the plane window, if you use a non electronic camera? i know you cant really see anything but panning landscapes but it still sounds awesome!

[statusreview]

Holiday Gift Guides for Everyone On Your List (With Stuff under $20 – And Even $5!)

As is the tradition, I’m a little late with this. Ha! But here it is! (I’m also late with my actual gift buying, so I better get cracking). We like to put all of our gift guides in one place, so below you’ll find the one we made for grown-ups, another one for kids, and (my personal favorite) one full of stuff that’s under $15. 

Gifts For Grown-Ups

Here’s what we’re loving, either firsthand stuff we bought for ourselves and have really enjoyed – or things we’re getting for friends & family (or hoping to find under the tree). 

1 / Adulting Award Ribbons (4/$25): It would be so much fun to have an “award ceremony” at a family gathering, complete with victory laps & acceptance speeches.

2 / Black Robe with Pockets ($78-98): I bought this robe to wear around the house & I’m OBSESSED. So soft, there’s a tie inside so it doesn’t flap open, and IT HAS POCKETS! I’m living my best life. 

3 / Personalized Address Stamper ($28): Always love a personalized gift that makes things easier for people. No more writing out return addresses & they’ll think of you every time they use it. 

4 / Customized Road Trip Ornament ($25): Another sweet personalized ornament that you can give to someone who went on an epic trip (also works for someone who moved). 

5 / Zodiac Sign Constellation Necklace ($28+): I can’t get over how dainty and pretty these are. All you need to know is someone’s birthday and it feels totally unusual and sweet. 

6 / Ugg Slippers ($63-104): I bought these & can’t get over how much I love them. Incredibly soft & well made – plus you can buy $15 inserts to keep them fluffy forever (I’ve heard from people who’ve had ’em 8 years!). 

7 / Cheeky Mug ($18): A hilarious mug filled with candy, hot cocoa mix, or an adult beverage is always fun. Plus pants are super overrated.  

8 / Cozy Plaid Pillow Covers ($20 w/ code CHEER): Love that these are colorful & interesting enough not to feel basic, but they’d work with practically any sofa, armchair, or bed. 

9 / Faux Leather Tote with Matching Pouch ($49): I’m so into this cool metallic finish & that it’s two bags in one. Also comes in black, cognac, and a cool blue-gray. 

10 / Men’s Puffer Vest ($30): John loves this vest he got for himself this year and we even found a matching long-sleeve jacket ($14 today!) for our son. Fun fact: when they wear ’em together my heart explodes. 

11 / Wood Apple Watch Charging Stand ($42): When I asked John what he thought I should add to this gift guide, this is the first thing he sent me. Think it’s a hint? 

12 / Dainty Name Ring ($22 – 30% off today): Yet another totally personalized gift idea, and it comes in rose gold, white gold, sterling silver, etc. 

13 / Personalized Leather Keychain ($19): These stamped leather keychains come in tons of colors, and you can put someone’s nickname or even a place on it (like “Pink House” or “Smith Manor”)

14 / Bucket Tool Organizer ($29): Such a great gift for anyone with a home, pretty much. Suddenly you can carry 20 tools that would take 10 trips. 

15 / Wubby Fleece Pullover ($50 – 35% off today): I don’t think I need to explain why this cozy fleece pullover would be everyone’s favorite, but I’ll just say this: it’s like wearing a cloud (with pockets!). 

16 / Faux Leather Circle Clutch ($28): This is one of those items in your closet that pulls together tons of outfits and looks pricier than it is. That wood ring! Real leather! I’m smitten.

17 / Pocket Bluetooth Speaker ($20): I’d love a bluetooth speaker like this on the bathroom sink for blasting hiphop while I shower (comes in blue & gray). 

18 / Coffee Table Dominoes Game ($21 – 40% off w/ code CHEER): These are so beautiful and actually functional! I’d put ’em in a pretty wood bowl on the coffee table for impromptu games. 

Gifts For Kids

Once again we put things we actually own and love in here, along with stuff we’re buying our kids this year, or considering for other little cousins & friends. 

1 / Sailing Ship Kit ($42): Words can’t express how much fun this would be to hang in kid’s room – and it’s an actual kite, so it can come down and fly.

2 / Personalized Crayon Set ($13): It’s so much fun to open a box and see your name in crayons – especially if you have a name that isn’t always found on those premade signs and keychains! 

3 / Coloring Book Dress ($38): Who doesn’t want to color all over a coloring book dress and make it completely your own?! LOVE this!

4 / Instant Camera ($56): Such a fun way to get kids into photography, and see the world through their eyes! 

5 / DIY Ukelele Kit ($39): Our daughter’s actually learning the ukelele in school (no more recorder concerts! They switched!!!). She’d LOVE THIS. 

6 / Classic Lego Set ($28): Our kids have only ever had John’s hand-me-down Lego blocks from his childhood, so we love that they now sell these huge basic block sets (without the price markup for licensed characters!) 

7 / Ada Twist, Scientist ($15): We’ve already got Iggy Peck, Architect in our library and it’s GREAT. Next I want this one. 

8 / My Crazy Inventions Sketchbook ($14): We bought this book and our daughter filled it up with the coolest sketches & inventions – so great for imaginations & I’m keeping it forever. 

9 / Wreck This Journal ($12): We recently found a YouTuber who documented her entries in this interactive (and destructive!) journal. It’s full of fun prompts and such a cool concept. 

10 / Wooden Cash Register ($31): Pretend play is big at our house, so a cash register is one of those things that would get so much use. Love that it’s wood and has a scanner & a credit card you can slide. 

11 / Unicorn Robe ($30): My robe lovin’ self has rubbed off on our daughter and she’s asked for a robe for herself! I LOVE IT. 

12 / Dragon Slippers ($21): Not to be outdone in coziness, our son has dinosaur slippers that he wears nonstop. So as weird as it sounds, fun plush slippers can make a great gift! 

13 / Felt Donut Play Food ($9): So cute and under $10! Everyone loves a donut… and you’d be amazed how many of these their stuffed animals will “eat” ;)

14 / Bear Body Pillow ($15): A big cuddly pillow that doubles as an animal friend is always a good idea. 

15 / Unstable Unicorns Game ($20): This game says 14+ on box, but reviewers say 8 year olds enjoy it, so we think it’s a great option for our Exploding Kittens-loving 3rd grader.

16 / Metro Wooden Blocks ($90 now – it used to be $150!): Ok, this is just about the coolest block set I’ve ever seen! And I love that it’s 40% off right now. 

17 / Custom Kid’s Letter Jacket ($26): How cute is this custom kids letter jacket?! Ours love anything with their names on them – and a jacket is so useful along with being fun. 

18 / Girls’ Charm Bracelet Set ($5):  Nostalgia forever!!! Our daughter has and loves her charm bracelet. And at $5 this one isn’t too precious.

Gifts Under $15

Here’s my favorite list to make each year, just because I’m always amazed at how many budget-friendly things are out there that’ll make so many people smile BIG. 

1 / Hex Tile Monogram Mug ($10): These are basically the beach house master bathroom in mug form! Fill ’em with candy or cocoa mix & marshmallows and they’re great gifts!

2 / Lumps of Coal Dog Treats ($5.50): Can’t forget our favorite four-leggers and these dog treats shaped like lumps of coal made me snicker. 

3 / Gold Palm Picture Frame ($10.49): Giving someone you love a personal photo (of their kids, you guys together, etc) in a lovely frame is always a hit. I’m also loving this scalloped bone frame ($10.49). 

4 / Plaid Frame Ornaments ($3.99!!!): Such a great grandparent gift with a photo of you or your kids or even some art they’ve drawn. We give them to both of our parents every year. 

5 / Mini Kitchen Tool Ornaments ($12.99): So cute for the chef or the baker in your life! The little wisk kills me. 

6 / Triple Chocolate Chip Cookie Mix ($9): These make such great neighbor gifts. Just wrap a ribbon around the lid and you’re done!

7 / Beard Oil ($14.99): John’s a die-hard beard oil enthusiast. So if you know and love someone with a beard, give ’em some and watch their face light up with joy. 

8 / Pink Resin Hoop Earrings ($12.99): I love the cool shape of these & they come in other colors (also love the white & the tortoise ones!)

9 / Question-A-Day Five Year Journal ($11.55): If you wish you journaled more, this makes it easy and shows you how much can change over 5 years. It’s lots of fun to go back and read it. 

10 / Faux Leather Crossbody Bag ($12 – down from $25): I have a camel colored crossbody bag this size and it’s still going strong! Goes with everything and I love the little latch hardware on this one. 

11 / Faux Fur Pom Pom Beanie ($9 down from $22): I love a little knitted winter hat with a pompom (surprise I have one just like this in black). 

12 / Sprinkle Ice Cream Cups (4 for $4.97!!!!): I love gifts that you pair with something fun – so these cups all nested with a little container of sprinkles inside would be so sweet. And you can’t beat the price!

13 / Rainbow Catnip Seed Bombs ($14.95): I love the idea of planting these outside (or inside in a pot) to show your cat a good time. They also sell sets to grow wildflowers or herbs which also make good gifts.

14 / Nesting Heart Tray Trio (3 for $4.99!!!): Such a sweet gift for someone to put near the kitchen or bathroom sink for their rings. They also work for tea bags if you serve tea a lot.

15 / What Do You Meme? Expansion Packs ($12.99): We have and love the original game ($29.99), so we’ve been considering adding packs like this Housewives themed one ($12.99) or this Mean Girls version ($12.99).

16 / Plaid Pet Leash ($10.49): Another gift for a four legged friend in your life, and I love the design of this one. Fancy pup. 

17 / Slim Wallet ($12.99): John bought this a few months ago and LOVES it. Keeps his pockets from getting too bulky, and it’s incredibly well reviewed. 

18 / Ugg Sheepskin Shoe Inserts ($14.95): I mentioned these when I linked to my Ugg slippers, but even if you don’t have them… YOU CAN PUT THESE IN ANY SHOES TO MAKE ‘EM COZY! Rain boots. Flat old slippers. Winter boots. Etc. It’s a lifehack for real. 

19 / Pocket Notebook (2 for $10): I love pretty little notebooks! Always useful for keeping in your purse or the car or by the bed. 

20 / Gold Turtle Paperclip Holder ($14.99): So I have this thing with animal desk accessories…

21 / Tortoise Hoop Earrings ($12.99): I ADORE these so much I’m about to put them in my cart so they don’t sell out. Treat yo self!

And since there are some pretty great sales going on right now, here’s what I’ve found so far:

Pottery Barn – 25% off sitewide & free shipping – use the code JINGLE here

Crate & Barrel – Up to 70% off here

West Elm – 20% off furniture, 25% off rugs, and 20-50% off bedding, see it all here

CB2 – Up to 40% off furniture and holiday decor here

Target – Today only, 30% off home here

Urban Outfitters – Up to 50% off gift items here

Anthropologie – Up to 50% off ready-to-ship furniture here

Overstock – Up to 70% off & free shipping here

Rejuvenation – 20% off your order & free shipping here

World Market – Save an extra 30% with code REWARDFORYOU  here

Serena & Lily – Up to 30% off here

Old Navy – Gifts from $4 and up to 60% the entire store here

Banana Republic – 40% off your purchase here

Gap – 40% off your purchase with the code WINTERFUN here

J Crew – 50% off your entire purchase with code MONDAY here

Psst – To see last year’s lists, a lot of which is still linked and for sale, click here

*This post contains affiliate links*

The post Holiday Gift Guides for Everyone On Your List (With Stuff under $20 – And Even $5!) appeared first on Young House Love.

Holiday Gift Guides for Everyone On Your List (With Stuff under $20 – And Even $5!) published first on https://ssmattress.tumblr.com/

[additionallysad]

Holiday Gift Guides for Everyone On Your List (With Stuff under $20 – And Even $5!) https://ift.tt/2PrVYOI

As is the tradition, I’m a little late with this. Ha! But here it is! (I’m also late with my actual gift buying, so I better get cracking). We like to put all of our gift guides in one place, so below you’ll find the one we made for grown-ups, another one for kids, and (my personal favorite) one full of stuff that’s under $15. 

Gifts For Grown-Ups

Here’s what we’re loving, either firsthand stuff we bought for ourselves and have really enjoyed – or things we’re getting for friends & family (or hoping to find under the tree). 

1 / Adulting Award Ribbons (4/$25): It would be so much fun to have an “award ceremony” at a family gathering, complete with victory laps & acceptance speeches.

2 / Black Robe with Pockets ($78-98): I bought this robe to wear around the house & I’m OBSESSED. So soft, there’s a tie inside so it doesn’t flap open, and IT HAS POCKETS! I’m living my best life. 

3 / Personalized Address Stamper ($28): Always love a personalized gift that makes things easier for people. No more writing out return addresses & they’ll think of you every time they use it. 

4 / Customized Road Trip Ornament ($25): Another sweet personalized ornament that you can give to someone who went on an epic trip (also works for someone who moved). 

5 / Zodiac Sign Constellation Necklace ($28+): I can’t get over how dainty and pretty these are. All you need to know is someone’s birthday and it feels totally unusual and sweet. 

6 / Ugg Slippers ($63-104): I bought these & can’t get over how much I love them. Incredibly soft & well made – plus you can buy $15 inserts to keep them fluffy forever (I’ve heard from people who’ve had ’em 8 years!). 

7 / Cheeky Mug ($18): A hilarious mug filled with candy, hot cocoa mix, or an adult beverage is always fun. Plus pants are super overrated.  

8 / Cozy Plaid Pillow Covers ($20 w/ code CHEER): Love that these are colorful & interesting enough not to feel basic, but they’d work with practically any sofa, armchair, or bed. 

9 / Faux Leather Tote with Matching Pouch ($49): I’m so into this cool metallic finish & that it’s two bags in one. Also comes in black, cognac, and a cool blue-gray. 

10 / Men’s Puffer Vest ($30): John loves this vest he got for himself this year and we even found a matching long-sleeve jacket ($14 today!) for our son. Fun fact: when they wear ’em together my heart explodes. 

11 / Wood Apple Watch Charging Stand ($42): When I asked John what he thought I should add to this gift guide, this is the first thing he sent me. Think it’s a hint? 

12 / Dainty Name Ring ($22 – 30% off today): Yet another totally personalized gift idea, and it comes in rose gold, white gold, sterling silver, etc. 

13 / Personalized Leather Keychain ($19): These stamped leather keychains come in tons of colors, and you can put someone’s nickname or even a place on it (like “Pink House” or “Smith Manor”)

14 / Bucket Tool Organizer ($29): Such a great gift for anyone with a home, pretty much. Suddenly you can carry 20 tools that would take 10 trips. 

15 / Wubby Fleece Pullover ($50 – 35% off today): I don’t think I need to explain why this cozy fleece pullover would be everyone’s favorite, but I’ll just say this: it’s like wearing a cloud (with pockets!). 

16 / Faux Leather Circle Clutch ($28): This is one of those items in your closet that pulls together tons of outfits and looks pricier than it is. That wood ring! Real leather! I’m smitten.

17 / Pocket Bluetooth Speaker ($20): I’d love a bluetooth speaker like this on the bathroom sink for blasting hiphop while I shower (comes in blue & gray). 

18 / Coffee Table Dominoes Game ($21 – 40% off w/ code CHEER): These are so beautiful and actually functional! I’d put ’em in a pretty wood bowl on the coffee table for impromptu games. 

Gifts For Kids

Once again we put things we actually own and love in here, along with stuff we’re buying our kids this year, or considering for other little cousins & friends. 

1 / Sailing Ship Kit ($42): Words can’t express how much fun this would be to hang in kid’s room – and it’s an actual kite, so it can come down and fly.

2 / Personalized Crayon Set ($13): It’s so much fun to open a box and see your name in crayons – especially if you have a name that isn’t always found on those premade signs and keychains! 

3 / Coloring Book Dress ($38): Who doesn’t want to color all over a coloring book dress and make it completely your own?! LOVE this!

4 / Instant Camera ($56): Such a fun way to get kids into photography, and see the world through their eyes! 

5 / DIY Ukelele Kit ($39): Our daughter’s actually learning the ukelele in school (no more recorder concerts! They switched!!!). She’d LOVE THIS. 

6 / Classic Lego Set ($28): Our kids have only ever had John’s hand-me-down Lego blocks from his childhood, so we love that they now sell these huge basic block sets (without the price markup for licensed characters!) 

7 / Ada Twist, Scientist ($15): We’ve already got Iggy Peck, Architect in our library and it’s GREAT. Next I want this one. 

8 / My Crazy Inventions Sketchbook ($14): We bought this book and our daughter filled it up with the coolest sketches & inventions – so great for imaginations & I’m keeping it forever. 

9 / Wreck This Journal ($12): We recently found a YouTuber who documented her entries in this interactive (and destructive!) journal. It’s full of fun prompts and such a cool concept. 

10 / Wooden Cash Register ($31): Pretend play is big at our house, so a cash register is one of those things that would get so much use. Love that it’s wood and has a scanner & a credit card you can slide. 

11 / Unicorn Robe ($30): My robe lovin’ self has rubbed off on our daughter and she’s asked for a robe for herself! I LOVE IT. 

12 / Dragon Slippers ($21): Not to be outdone in coziness, our son has dinosaur slippers that he wears nonstop. So as weird as it sounds, fun plush slippers can make a great gift! 

13 / Felt Donut Play Food ($9): So cute and under $10! Everyone loves a donut… and you’d be amazed how many of these their stuffed animals will “eat” ;)

14 / Bear Body Pillow ($15): A big cuddly pillow that doubles as an animal friend is always a good idea. 

15 / Unstable Unicorns Game ($20): This game says 14+ on box, but reviewers say 8 year olds enjoy it, so we think it’s a great option for our Exploding Kittens-loving 3rd grader.

16 / Metro Wooden Blocks ($90 now – it used to be $150!): Ok, this is just about the coolest block set I’ve ever seen! And I love that it’s 40% off right now. 

17 / Custom Kid’s Letter Jacket ($26): How cute is this custom kids letter jacket?! Ours love anything with their names on them – and a jacket is so useful along with being fun. 

18 / Girls’ Charm Bracelet Set ($5):  Nostalgia forever!!! Our daughter has and loves her charm bracelet. And at $5 this one isn’t too precious.

Gifts Under $15

Here’s my favorite list to make each year, just because I’m always amazed at how many budget-friendly things are out there that’ll make so many people smile BIG. 

1 / Hex Tile Monogram Mug ($10): These are basically the beach house master bathroom in mug form! Fill ’em with candy or cocoa mix & marshmallows and they’re great gifts!

2 / Lumps of Coal Dog Treats ($5.50): Can’t forget our favorite four-leggers and these dog treats shaped like lumps of coal made me snicker. 

3 / Gold Palm Picture Frame ($10.49): Giving someone you love a personal photo (of their kids, you guys together, etc) in a lovely frame is always a hit. I’m also loving this scalloped bone frame ($10.49). 

4 / Plaid Frame Ornaments ($3.99!!!): Such a great grandparent gift with a photo of you or your kids or even some art they’ve drawn. We give them to both of our parents every year. 

5 / Mini Kitchen Tool Ornaments ($12.99): So cute for the chef or the baker in your life! The little wisk kills me. 

6 / Triple Chocolate Chip Cookie Mix ($9): These make such great neighbor gifts. Just wrap a ribbon around the lid and you’re done!

7 / Beard Oil ($14.99): John’s a die-hard beard oil enthusiast. So if you know and love someone with a beard, give ’em some and watch their face light up with joy. 

8 / Pink Resin Hoop Earrings ($12.99): I love the cool shape of these & they come in other colors (also love the white & the tortoise ones!)

9 / Question-A-Day Five Year Journal ($11.55): If you wish you journaled more, this makes it easy and shows you how much can change over 5 years. It’s lots of fun to go back and read it. 

10 / Faux Leather Crossbody Bag ($12 – down from $25): I have a camel colored crossbody bag this size and it’s still going strong! Goes with everything and I love the little latch hardware on this one. 

11 / Faux Fur Pom Pom Beanie ($9 down from $22): I love a little knitted winter hat with a pompom (surprise I have one just like this in black). 

12 / Sprinkle Ice Cream Cups (4 for $4.97!!!!): I love gifts that you pair with something fun – so these cups all nested with a little container of sprinkles inside would be so sweet. And you can’t beat the price!

13 / Rainbow Catnip Seed Bombs ($14.95): I love the idea of planting these outside (or inside in a pot) to show your cat a good time. They also sell sets to grow wildflowers or herbs which also make good gifts.

14 / Nesting Heart Tray Trio (3 for $4.99!!!): Such a sweet gift for someone to put near the kitchen or bathroom sink for their rings. They also work for tea bags if you serve tea a lot.

15 / What Do You Meme? Expansion Packs ($12.99): We have and love the original game ($29.99), so we’ve been considering adding packs like this Housewives themed one ($12.99) or this Mean Girls version ($12.99).

16 / Plaid Pet Leash ($10.49): Another gift for a four legged friend in your life, and I love the design of this one. Fancy pup. 

17 / Slim Wallet ($12.99): John bought this a few months ago and LOVES it. Keeps his pockets from getting too bulky, and it’s incredibly well reviewed. 

18 / Ugg Sheepskin Shoe Inserts ($14.95): I mentioned these when I linked to my Ugg slippers, but even if you don’t have them… YOU CAN PUT THESE IN ANY SHOES TO MAKE ‘EM COZY! Rain boots. Flat old slippers. Winter boots. Etc. It’s a lifehack for real. 

19 / Pocket Notebook (2 for $10): I love pretty little notebooks! Always useful for keeping in your purse or the car or by the bed. 

20 / Gold Turtle Paperclip Holder ($14.99): So I have this thing with animal desk accessories…

21 / Tortoise Hoop Earrings ($12.99): I ADORE these so much I’m about to put them in my cart so they don’t sell out. Treat yo self!

And since there are some pretty great sales going on right now, here’s what I’ve found so far:

Pottery Barn – 25% off sitewide & free shipping – use the code JINGLE here

Crate & Barrel – Up to 70% off here

West Elm – 20% off furniture, 25% off rugs, and 20-50% off bedding, see it all here

CB2 – Up to 40% off furniture and holiday decor here

Target – Today only, 30% off home here

Urban Outfitters – Up to 50% off gift items here

Anthropologie – Up to 50% off ready-to-ship furniture here

Overstock – Up to 70% off & free shipping here

Rejuvenation – 20% off your order & free shipping here

World Market – Save an extra 30% with code REWARDFORYOU  here

Serena & Lily – Up to 30% off here

Old Navy – Gifts from $4 and up to 60% the entire store here

Banana Republic – 40% off your purchase here

Gap – 40% off your purchase with the code WINTERFUN here

J Crew – 50% off your entire purchase with code MONDAY here

Psst – To see last year’s lists, a lot of which is still linked and for sale, click here

*This post contains affiliate links*

The post Holiday Gift Guides for Everyone On Your List (With Stuff under $20 – And Even $5!) appeared first on Young House Love.

[vincentbnaughton]

HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDES FOR EVERYONE ON YOUR LIST (WITH STUFF UNDER $20 – AND EVEN $5!)

As is the tradition, I’m a little late with this. Ha! But here it is! (I’m also late with my actual gift buying, so I better get cracking). We like to put all of our gift guides in one place, so below you’ll find the one we made for grown-ups, another one for kids, and (my personal favorite) one full of stuff that’s under $15. 

Gifts For Grown-Ups

Here’s what we’re loving, either firsthand stuff we bought for ourselves and have really enjoyed – or things we’re getting for friends & family (or hoping to find under the tree). 

1 / Adulting Award Ribbons (4/$25): It would be so much fun to have an “award ceremony” at a family gathering, complete with victory laps & acceptance speeches.

2 / Black Robe with Pockets ($78-98): I bought this robe to wear around the house & I’m OBSESSED. So soft, there’s a tie inside so it doesn’t flap open, and IT HAS POCKETS! I’m living my best life. 

3 / Personalized Address Stamper ($28): Always love a personalized gift that makes things easier for people. No more writing out return addresses & they’ll think of you every time they use it. 

4 / Customized Road Trip Ornament ($25): Another sweet personalized ornament that you can give to someone who went on an epic trip (also works for someone who moved). 

5 / Zodiac Sign Constellation Necklace ($28+): I can’t get over how dainty and pretty these are. All you need to know is someone’s birthday and it feels totally unusual and sweet. 

6 / Ugg Slippers ($63-104): I bought these & can’t get over how much I love them. Incredibly soft & well made – plus you can buy $15 inserts to keep them fluffy forever (I’ve heard from people who’ve had ’em 8 years!). 

7 / Cheeky Mug ($18): A hilarious mug filled with candy, hot cocoa mix, or an adult beverage is always fun. Plus pants are super overrated.  

8 / Cozy Plaid Pillow Covers ($20 w/ code CHEER): Love that these are colorful & interesting enough not to feel basic, but they’d work with practically any sofa, armchair, or bed. 

9 / Faux Leather Tote with Matching Pouch ($49): I’m so into this cool metallic finish & that it’s two bags in one. Also comes in black, cognac, and a cool blue-gray. 

10 / Men’s Puffer Vest ($30): John loves this vest he got for himself this year and we even found a matching long-sleeve jacket ($14 today!) for our son. Fun fact: when they wear ’em together my heart explodes. 

11 / Wood Apple Watch Charging Stand ($42): When I asked John what he thought I should add to this gift guide, this is the first thing he sent me. Think it’s a hint? 

12 / Dainty Name Ring ($22 – 30% off today): Yet another totally personalized gift idea, and it comes in rose gold, white gold, sterling silver, etc. 

13 / Personalized Leather Keychain ($19): These stamped leather keychains come in tons of colors, and you can put someone’s nickname or even a place on it (like “Pink House” or “Smith Manor”)

14 / Bucket Tool Organizer ($29): Such a great gift for anyone with a home, pretty much. Suddenly you can carry 20 tools that would take 10 trips. 

15 / Wubby Fleece Pullover ($50 – 35% off today): I don’t think I need to explain why this cozy fleece pullover would be everyone’s favorite, but I’ll just say this: it’s like wearing a cloud (with pockets!). 

16 / Faux Leather Circle Clutch ($28): This is one of those items in your closet that pulls together tons of outfits and looks pricier than it is. That wood ring! Real leather! I’m smitten.

17 / Pocket Bluetooth Speaker ($20): I’d love a bluetooth speaker like this on the bathroom sink for blasting hiphop while I shower (comes in blue & gray). 

18 / Coffee Table Dominoes Game ($21 – 40% off w/ code CHEER): These are so beautiful and actually functional! I’d put ’em in a pretty wood bowl on the coffee table for impromptu games. 

Gifts For Kids

Once again we put things we actually own and love in here, along with stuff we’re buying our kids this year, or considering for other little cousins & friends. 

1 / Sailing Ship Kit ($42): Words can’t express how much fun this would be to hang in kid’s room – and it’s an actual kite, so it can come down and fly.

2 / Personalized Crayon Set ($13): It’s so much fun to open a box and see your name in crayons – especially if you have a name that isn’t always found on those premade signs and keychains! 

3 / Coloring Book Dress ($38): Who doesn’t want to color all over a coloring book dress and make it completely your own?! LOVE this!

4 / Instant Camera ($56): Such a fun way to get kids into photography, and see the world through their eyes! 

5 / DIY Ukelele Kit ($39): Our daughter’s actually learning the ukelele in school (no more recorder concerts! They switched!!!). She’d LOVE THIS. 

6 / Classic Lego Set ($28): Our kids have only ever had John’s hand-me-down Lego blocks from his childhood, so we love that they now sell these huge basic block sets (without the price markup for licensed characters!) 

7 / Ada Twist, Scientist ($15): We’ve already got Iggy Peck, Architect in our library and it’s GREAT. Next I want this one. 

8 / My Crazy Inventions Sketchbook ($14): We bought this book and our daughter filled it up with the coolest sketches & inventions – so great for imaginations & I’m keeping it forever. 

9 / Wreck This Journal ($12): We recently found a YouTuber who documented her entries in this interactive (and destructive!) journal. It’s full of fun prompts and such a cool concept. 

10 / Wooden Cash Register ($31): Pretend play is big at our house, so a cash register is one of those things that would get so much use. Love that it’s wood and has a scanner & a credit card you can slide. 

11 / Unicorn Robe ($30): My robe lovin’ self has rubbed off on our daughter and she’s asked for a robe for herself! I LOVE IT. 

12 / Dragon Slippers ($21): Not to be outdone in coziness, our son has dinosaur slippers that he wears nonstop. So as weird as it sounds, fun plush slippers can make a great gift! 

13 / Felt Donut Play Food ($9): So cute and under $10! Everyone loves a donut… and you’d be amazed how many of these their stuffed animals will “eat” ;)

14 / Bear Body Pillow ($15): A big cuddly pillow that doubles as an animal friend is always a good idea. 

15 / Unstable Unicorns Game ($20): This game says 14+ on box, but reviewers say 8 year olds enjoy it, so we think it’s a great option for our Exploding Kittens-loving 3rd grader.

16 / Metro Wooden Blocks ($90 now – it used to be $150!): Ok, this is just about the coolest block set I’ve ever seen! And I love that it’s 40% off right now. 

17 / Custom Kid’s Letter Jacket ($26): How cute is this custom kids letter jacket?! Ours love anything with their names on them – and a jacket is so useful along with being fun. 

18 / Girls’ Charm Bracelet Set ($5):  Nostalgia forever!!! Our daughter has and loves her charm bracelet. And at $5 this one isn’t too precious.

Gifts Under $15

Here’s my favorite list to make each year, just because I’m always amazed at how many budget-friendly things are out there that’ll make so many people smile BIG. 

1 / Hex Tile Monogram Mug ($10): These are basically the beach house master bathroom in mug form! Fill ’em with candy or cocoa mix & marshmallows and they’re great gifts!

2 / Lumps of Coal Dog Treats ($5.50): Can’t forget our favorite four-leggers and these dog treats shaped like lumps of coal made me snicker. 

3 / Gold Palm Picture Frame ($10.49): Giving someone you love a personal photo (of their kids, you guys together, etc) in a lovely frame is always a hit. I’m also loving this scalloped bone frame ($10.49). 

4 / Plaid Frame Ornaments ($3.99!!!): Such a great grandparent gift with a photo of you or your kids or even some art they’ve drawn. We give them to both of our parents every year. 

5 / Mini Kitchen Tool Ornaments ($12.99): So cute for the chef or the baker in your life! The little wisk kills me. 

6 / Triple Chocolate Chip Cookie Mix ($9): These make such great neighbor gifts. Just wrap a ribbon around the lid and you’re done!

7 / Beard Oil ($14.99): John’s a die-hard beard oil enthusiast. So if you know and love someone with a beard, give ’em some and watch their face light up with joy. 

8 / Pink Resin Hoop Earrings ($12.99): I love the cool shape of these & they come in other colors (also love the white & the tortoise ones!)

9 / Question-A-Day Five Year Journal ($11.55): If you wish you journaled more, this makes it easy and shows you how much can change over 5 years. It’s lots of fun to go back and read it. 

10 / Faux Leather Crossbody Bag ($12 – down from $25): I have a camel colored crossbody bag this size and it’s still going strong! Goes with everything and I love the little latch hardware on this one. 

11 / Faux Fur Pom Pom Beanie ($9 down from $22): I love a little knitted winter hat with a pompom (surprise I have one just like this in black). 

12 / Sprinkle Ice Cream Cups (4 for $4.97!!!!): I love gifts that you pair with something fun – so these cups all nested with a little container of sprinkles inside would be so sweet. And you can’t beat the price!

13 / Rainbow Catnip Seed Bombs ($14.95): I love the idea of planting these outside (or inside in a pot) to show your cat a good time. They also sell sets to grow wildflowers or herbs which also make good gifts.

14 / Nesting Heart Tray Trio (3 for $4.99!!!): Such a sweet gift for someone to put near the kitchen or bathroom sink for their rings. They also work for tea bags if you serve tea a lot.

15 / What Do You Meme? Expansion Packs ($12.99): We have and love the original game ($29.99), so we’ve been considering adding packs like this Housewives themed one ($12.99) or this Mean Girls version ($12.99).

16 / Plaid Pet Leash ($10.49): Another gift for a four legged friend in your life, and I love the design of this one. Fancy pup. 

17 / Slim Wallet ($12.99): John bought this a few months ago and LOVES it. Keeps his pockets from getting too bulky, and it’s incredibly well reviewed. 

18 / Ugg Sheepskin Shoe Inserts ($14.95): I mentioned these when I linked to my Ugg slippers, but even if you don’t have them… YOU CAN PUT THESE IN ANY SHOES TO MAKE ‘EM COZY! Rain boots. Flat old slippers. Winter boots. Etc. It’s a lifehack for real. 

19 / Pocket Notebook (2 for $10): I love pretty little notebooks! Always useful for keeping in your purse or the car or by the bed. 

20 / Gold Turtle Paperclip Holder ($14.99): So I have this thing with animal desk accessories…

21 / Tortoise Hoop Earrings ($12.99): I ADORE these so much I’m about to put them in my cart so they don’t sell out. Treat yo self!

And since there are some pretty great sales going on right now, here’s what I’ve found so far:

Pottery Barn – 25% off sitewide & free shipping – use the code JINGLE here

Crate & Barrel – Up to 70% off here

West Elm – 20% off furniture, 25% off rugs, and 20-50% off bedding, see it all here

CB2 – Up to 40% off furniture and holiday decor here

Target – Today only, 30% off home here

Urban Outfitters – Up to 50% off gift items here

Anthropologie – Up to 50% off ready-to-ship furniture here

Overstock – Up to 70% off & free shipping here

Rejuvenation – 20% off your order & free shipping here

World Market – Save an extra 30% with code REWARDFORYOU  here

Serena & Lily – Up to 30% off here

Old Navy – Gifts from $4 and up to 60% the entire store here

Banana Republic – 40% off your purchase here

Gap – 40% off your purchase with the code WINTERFUN here

J Crew – 50% off your entire purchase with code MONDAY here

Psst – To see last year’s lists, a lot of which is still linked and for sale, click here

*This post contains affiliate links*

The post HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDES FOR EVERYONE ON YOUR LIST (WITH STUFF UNDER $20 – AND EVEN $5!) appeared first on Young House Love.

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HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDES FOR EVERYONE ON YOUR LIST (WITH STUFF UNDER $20 – AND EVEN $5!)

As is the tradition, I’m a little late with this. Ha! But here it is! (I’m also late with my actual gift buying, so I better get cracking). We like to put all of our gift guides in one place, so below you’ll find the one we made for grown-ups, another one for kids, and (my personal favorite) one full of stuff that’s under $15. 

Gifts For Grown-Ups

Here’s what we’re loving, either firsthand stuff we bought for ourselves and have really enjoyed – or things we’re getting for friends & family (or hoping to find under the tree). 

1 / Adulting Award Ribbons (4/$25): It would be so much fun to have an “award ceremony” at a family gathering, complete with victory laps & acceptance speeches.

2 / Black Robe with Pockets ($78-98): I bought this robe to wear around the house & I’m OBSESSED. So soft, there’s a tie inside so it doesn’t flap open, and IT HAS POCKETS! I’m living my best life. 

3 / Personalized Address Stamper ($28): Always love a personalized gift that makes things easier for people. No more writing out return addresses & they’ll think of you every time they use it. 

4 / Customized Road Trip Ornament ($25): Another sweet personalized ornament that you can give to someone who went on an epic trip (also works for someone who moved). 

5 / Zodiac Sign Constellation Necklace ($28+): I can’t get over how dainty and pretty these are. All you need to know is someone’s birthday and it feels totally unusual and sweet. 

6 / Ugg Slippers ($63-104): I bought these & can’t get over how much I love them. Incredibly soft & well made – plus you can buy $15 inserts to keep them fluffy forever (I’ve heard from people who’ve had ’em 8 years!). 

7 / Cheeky Mug ($18): A hilarious mug filled with candy, hot cocoa mix, or an adult beverage is always fun. Plus pants are super overrated.  

8 / Cozy Plaid Pillow Covers ($20 w/ code CHEER): Love that these are colorful & interesting enough not to feel basic, but they’d work with practically any sofa, armchair, or bed. 

9 / Faux Leather Tote with Matching Pouch ($49): I’m so into this cool metallic finish & that it’s two bags in one. Also comes in black, cognac, and a cool blue-gray. 

10 / Men’s Puffer Vest ($30): John loves this vest he got for himself this year and we even found a matching long-sleeve jacket ($14 today!) for our son. Fun fact: when they wear ’em together my heart explodes. 

11 / Wood Apple Watch Charging Stand ($42): When I asked John what he thought I should add to this gift guide, this is the first thing he sent me. Think it’s a hint? 

12 / Dainty Name Ring ($22 – 30% off today): Yet another totally personalized gift idea, and it comes in rose gold, white gold, sterling silver, etc. 

13 / Personalized Leather Keychain ($19): These stamped leather keychains come in tons of colors, and you can put someone’s nickname or even a place on it (like “Pink House” or “Smith Manor”)

14 / Bucket Tool Organizer ($29): Such a great gift for anyone with a home, pretty much. Suddenly you can carry 20 tools that would take 10 trips. 

15 / Wubby Fleece Pullover ($50 – 35% off today): I don’t think I need to explain why this cozy fleece pullover would be everyone’s favorite, but I’ll just say this: it’s like wearing a cloud (with pockets!). 

16 / Faux Leather Circle Clutch ($28): This is one of those items in your closet that pulls together tons of outfits and looks pricier than it is. That wood ring! Real leather! I’m smitten.

17 / Pocket Bluetooth Speaker ($20): I’d love a bluetooth speaker like this on the bathroom sink for blasting hiphop while I shower (comes in blue & gray). 

18 / Coffee Table Dominoes Game ($21 – 40% off w/ code CHEER): These are so beautiful and actually functional! I’d put ’em in a pretty wood bowl on the coffee table for impromptu games. 

Gifts For Kids

Once again we put things we actually own and love in here, along with stuff we’re buying our kids this year, or considering for other little cousins & friends. 

1 / Sailing Ship Kit ($42): Words can’t express how much fun this would be to hang in kid’s room – and it’s an actual kite, so it can come down and fly.

2 / Personalized Crayon Set ($13): It’s so much fun to open a box and see your name in crayons – especially if you have a name that isn’t always found on those premade signs and keychains! 

3 / Coloring Book Dress ($38): Who doesn’t want to color all over a coloring book dress and make it completely your own?! LOVE this!

4 / Instant Camera ($56): Such a fun way to get kids into photography, and see the world through their eyes! 

5 / DIY Ukelele Kit ($39): Our daughter’s actually learning the ukelele in school (no more recorder concerts! They switched!!!). She’d LOVE THIS. 

6 / Classic Lego Set ($28): Our kids have only ever had John’s hand-me-down Lego blocks from his childhood, so we love that they now sell these huge basic block sets (without the price markup for licensed characters!) 

7 / Ada Twist, Scientist ($15): We’ve already got Iggy Peck, Architect in our library and it’s GREAT. Next I want this one. 

8 / My Crazy Inventions Sketchbook ($14): We bought this book and our daughter filled it up with the coolest sketches & inventions – so great for imaginations & I’m keeping it forever. 

9 / Wreck This Journal ($12): We recently found a YouTuber who documented her entries in this interactive (and destructive!) journal. It’s full of fun prompts and such a cool concept. 

10 / Wooden Cash Register ($31): Pretend play is big at our house, so a cash register is one of those things that would get so much use. Love that it’s wood and has a scanner & a credit card you can slide. 

11 / Unicorn Robe ($30): My robe lovin’ self has rubbed off on our daughter and she’s asked for a robe for herself! I LOVE IT. 

12 / Dragon Slippers ($21): Not to be outdone in coziness, our son has dinosaur slippers that he wears nonstop. So as weird as it sounds, fun plush slippers can make a great gift! 

13 / Felt Donut Play Food ($9): So cute and under $10! Everyone loves a donut… and you’d be amazed how many of these their stuffed animals will “eat” ;)

14 / Bear Body Pillow ($15): A big cuddly pillow that doubles as an animal friend is always a good idea. 

15 / Unstable Unicorns Game ($20): This game says 14+ on box, but reviewers say 8 year olds enjoy it, so we think it’s a great option for our Exploding Kittens-loving 3rd grader.

16 / Metro Wooden Blocks ($90 now – it used to be $150!): Ok, this is just about the coolest block set I’ve ever seen! And I love that it’s 40% off right now. 

17 / Custom Kid’s Letter Jacket ($26): How cute is this custom kids letter jacket?! Ours love anything with their names on them – and a jacket is so useful along with being fun. 

18 / Girls’ Charm Bracelet Set ($5):  Nostalgia forever!!! Our daughter has and loves her charm bracelet. And at $5 this one isn’t too precious.

Gifts Under $15

Here’s my favorite list to make each year, just because I’m always amazed at how many budget-friendly things are out there that’ll make so many people smile BIG. 

1 / Hex Tile Monogram Mug ($10): These are basically the beach house master bathroom in mug form! Fill ’em with candy or cocoa mix & marshmallows and they’re great gifts!

2 / Lumps of Coal Dog Treats ($5.50): Can’t forget our favorite four-leggers and these dog treats shaped like lumps of coal made me snicker. 

3 / Gold Palm Picture Frame ($10.49): Giving someone you love a personal photo (of their kids, you guys together, etc) in a lovely frame is always a hit. I’m also loving this scalloped bone frame ($10.49). 

4 / Plaid Frame Ornaments ($3.99!!!): Such a great grandparent gift with a photo of you or your kids or even some art they’ve drawn. We give them to both of our parents every year. 

5 / Mini Kitchen Tool Ornaments ($12.99): So cute for the chef or the baker in your life! The little wisk kills me. 

6 / Triple Chocolate Chip Cookie Mix ($9): These make such great neighbor gifts. Just wrap a ribbon around the lid and you’re done!

7 / Beard Oil ($14.99): John’s a die-hard beard oil enthusiast. So if you know and love someone with a beard, give ’em some and watch their face light up with joy. 

8 / Pink Resin Hoop Earrings ($12.99): I love the cool shape of these & they come in other colors (also love the white & the tortoise ones!)

9 / Question-A-Day Five Year Journal ($11.55): If you wish you journaled more, this makes it easy and shows you how much can change over 5 years. It’s lots of fun to go back and read it. 

10 / Faux Leather Crossbody Bag ($12 – down from $25): I have a camel colored crossbody bag this size and it’s still going strong! Goes with everything and I love the little latch hardware on this one. 

11 / Faux Fur Pom Pom Beanie ($9 down from $22): I love a little knitted winter hat with a pompom (surprise I have one just like this in black). 

12 / Sprinkle Ice Cream Cups (4 for $4.97!!!!): I love gifts that you pair with something fun – so these cups all nested with a little container of sprinkles inside would be so sweet. And you can’t beat the price!

13 / Rainbow Catnip Seed Bombs ($14.95): I love the idea of planting these outside (or inside in a pot) to show your cat a good time. They also sell sets to grow wildflowers or herbs which also make good gifts.

14 / Nesting Heart Tray Trio (3 for $4.99!!!): Such a sweet gift for someone to put near the kitchen or bathroom sink for their rings. They also work for tea bags if you serve tea a lot.

15 / What Do You Meme? Expansion Packs ($12.99): We have and love the original game ($29.99), so we’ve been considering adding packs like this Housewives themed one ($12.99) or this Mean Girls version ($12.99).

16 / Plaid Pet Leash ($10.49): Another gift for a four legged friend in your life, and I love the design of this one. Fancy pup. 

17 / Slim Wallet ($12.99): John bought this a few months ago and LOVES it. Keeps his pockets from getting too bulky, and it’s incredibly well reviewed. 

18 / Ugg Sheepskin Shoe Inserts ($14.95): I mentioned these when I linked to my Ugg slippers, but even if you don’t have them… YOU CAN PUT THESE IN ANY SHOES TO MAKE ‘EM COZY! Rain boots. Flat old slippers. Winter boots. Etc. It’s a lifehack for real. 

19 / Pocket Notebook (2 for $10): I love pretty little notebooks! Always useful for keeping in your purse or the car or by the bed. 

20 / Gold Turtle Paperclip Holder ($14.99): So I have this thing with animal desk accessories…

21 / Tortoise Hoop Earrings ($12.99): I ADORE these so much I’m about to put them in my cart so they don’t sell out. Treat yo self!

And since there are some pretty great sales going on right now, here’s what I’ve found so far:

Pottery Barn – 25% off sitewide & free shipping – use the code JINGLE here

Crate & Barrel – Up to 70% off here

West Elm – 20% off furniture, 25% off rugs, and 20-50% off bedding, see it all here

CB2 – Up to 40% off furniture and holiday decor here

Target – Today only, 30% off home here

Urban Outfitters – Up to 50% off gift items here

Anthropologie – Up to 50% off ready-to-ship furniture here

Overstock – Up to 70% off & free shipping here

Rejuvenation – 20% off your order & free shipping here

World Market – Save an extra 30% with code REWARDFORYOU  here

Serena & Lily – Up to 30% off here

Old Navy – Gifts from $4 and up to 60% the entire store here

Banana Republic – 40% off your purchase here

Gap – 40% off your purchase with the code WINTERFUN here

J Crew – 50% off your entire purchase with code MONDAY here

Psst – To see last year’s lists, a lot of which is still linked and for sale, click here

*This post contains affiliate links*

The post HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDES FOR EVERYONE ON YOUR LIST (WITH STUFF UNDER $20 – AND EVEN $5!) appeared first on Young House Love.

HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDES FOR EVERYONE ON YOUR LIST (WITH STUFF UNDER $20 – AND EVEN $5!) published first on https://aireloomreview.tumblr.com/