#side note i had to stop drawing the hannah one because i laughed so hard at his dumb lil face i almist choked

[for-the-love-of-avo]

POV: you find a character you can ship with anyone...

[roman-writing]

no great revelation (7/8)

Fandom(s): The Haunting of Bly Manor / Star Wars

Pairing: Dani Clayton/Jamie Taylor

Rating: M

Wordcount: 6,244

Summary: Jamie  just wants to enjoy a drink after a hard day’s work on the Telosian  Restoration Project. The last thing she needs is to get herself  caught  up in a mysterious woman with a lightsabre at the local bar.

Aurthor’s notes: Please note the rating change

read it below or read it here on AO3

VII.

—

Jamie swiped up on the tablet to throw the video to the feed at the centre of the table.

"Rebecca, this is everyone," Jamie said. "Everyone, this is Rebecca."

"I thought that maybe you'd been making up your Jedi friends this whole time. Nice to see I was wrong about that." Rebecca gave a little wave. "Hi, Dani. How's the ghost?"

Dani sank down a little in her seat, and her answering smile was more of a grimace. "Hi. Sorry," she mumbled.

"Yeah, about that," said Jamie. “Back on Quint’s ship, you said you knew what was happening at House Thul.”

“Oh? Finally ready to listen to me, are you?”

“Don’t push me,” Jamie growled, jabbing the tip of her finger at Rebecca’s face on the screen. “Remember. Galaxy’s Biggest Favour.”

Rebecca rolled her eyes. She had taken the call with her back to a wall, so it was impossible to glean her surroundings. "The Empire wants a foothold on Alderaan. It's a strategic location in the Core Worlds. They have been working over Lord Wingrave after the death of his brother and sister-in-law, helping him fabricate claims to the House, claims to his niece and nephew, claims to a position in the Republic Senate. You know the drill. Traditional blackmail."

"What else?" Jamie pressed.

For a moment Rebecca glanced over the top of the camera as if looking at something else out of frame, but then her attention returned back to the screen. "The children are Force Sensitives. The Sith have been helping Lord Wingrave keep that under wraps, so that The Order wouldn't take them away to the Temple for training. My sources tell me that the plan was for a Sith Lord to create sleeper agents out of the children through the use of some ancient Sith device containing a ghost."

"Which Sith?" Hannah asked.

"I'm not in the business of keeping tabs on Sith Lords. By the way," Rebecca pointed through the screen at Hannah. "How have you found shaving your head? Because I've been thinking of cutting my hair back, but I’m not sure about going all the way."

Running a hand along her shaved scalp, Hannah said, "There's nothing quite so freeing."

"Good to know. Thanks.” 

"Oi," Jamie snapped her fingers. "Focus. The Sith Lord."

"What else is there to say?" Rebecca replied dryly. "They're a Sith Lord. They're scary. They're dangerous. They're not to be fucked with. Your Jedi friends probably know the drill better than me."

"I hope not," Owen said under his breath as he took a sip of tea.

Hannah sat up a little straighter, hands clasped neatly on the table before her. "Do we know where they are? Where they're going, perhaps? Any information you give us may be vital."

Leaning her back against the wall behind her, Rebecca pursed her lips in thought before answering with a shake of her head. "I know they want the children, and I know they want the holocron. So - Alderaan."

"But the holocron isn't on Alderaan," Dani pointed out.

"They don't know that," said Rebecca. "Peter lied to buy himself time, and told them it was still in the estate of House Thul."

"But -" Dani frowned. "House Thul has its own militia of guardsmen. I know Sith are powerful but the Empire would need to send troops if they wanted to break in and hold ground."

"Then I guess the Sith Lord will be invading with troops as well."

Sighing deeply, Jamie lowered her face to her hands, letting her fingers scrub through her hair. Then she looked up again, hands hooked behind her neck. "Right. Guess we're off to Alderaan, then."

Rebecca laughed. When nobody else joined in, she stopped. "Wait. You're serious? Did you not just hear me say 'Most likely a Sith Lord is going to invade House Thul?' As in — with a shock legion. As in over a thousand soldiers led by a malevolent Force User, who can and would probably kill a room with a snap of their fingers?” 

Lowering her hands, Jamie said, "Yeah, you - uh - you mentioned that. Good thing you'll be right there with us."

"You have got to be joking."

Jamie said nothing. Just gave Rebecca a long look.

"Jamie," said Rebecca, her expression horrified, "You can't be serious. When I said 'favour' I didn't mean 'suicide.'"

"We can’t let them have those kids. Trying to mobilise Republic troops or The Order without enough evidence is a fuckin’ waste of time. We need to get into the estate of House Thul," Jamie gestured around to everyone at the table. "You're a smuggler. So, smuggle us in."

Rebecca pinched the bridge of her nose. "Alderaan is Republic territory. Why do you need me to smuggle you onto the planet, when you can just fly and land there yourself?"

"Because of her." Jamie gestured towards Dani, who looked both startled at being mentioned and guilty. "I don't want Pasha and his Troopers linking Dani to this in any way. They can't know she returned to House Thul. She has to come out of this squeaky clean."

Groaning, Rebecca said, "Fine. When do you want to go?"

"As soon as possible," said Owen.

"I'm -" Rebecca looked over the top of the camera again, craning her neck slightly. "Thirty two hours from Alderaan through hyperspace. Meet me in orbit around the planet. How's the ship I gave you?"

"Rude," Jamie said blandly. "It keeps insulting me."

A smile tugged at the corner of Rebecca's mouth and she began tapping at the buttons below her screen. "That sounds like Jane."

Jamie's face screwed up. "Jane? It has a name?"

"It's a JN class droid uploaded into the ship’s mainframe. It likes being called Jane. Didn't you ask it?"

"No?"

"Well, no wonder it's rude to you. By the way, I’ve just dropped you those pictures of my godson that you asked for last time. They should be appearing on your device now.” Rebecca waved with a little flutter of her fingers. “See you in thirty two hours.”

The video feed winked out. 

"I rather like that young woman," Hannah said.

“Get in line,” Jamie grumbled. 

The video had been replaced by a file icon. Jamie clicked it and brought up the first photo of Rebecca carrying a blue-skinned Twi’lek child on her back, both wearing big beaming smiles. 

“Oh, they’re adorable,” Owen sighed. 

Fuming, Jamie flicked to the next photo, which was equally adorable. “Fuck. Okay. Yeah. They are.”

—

After cleaning up in the dining room and kitchen, Hannah gently nudged Jamie's arm and indicated she should follow her. Jamie glanced over at Dani, but she was engaged in a lively conversation with Owen while they dried dishes together. Dani's smile had lost its tentative edge the longer Owen spoke to her, but there was still a tenseness to the way she held her shoulders, the same tenseness that had been present back in Ho'kyn's bar on Telos IV, as though she were afraid someone would batter down the door at any moment.

Jamie followed Hannah, who led her up a set of stairs to a mezzanine floor where the walls were floor to ceiling scrolls and books and objects of cultural curiosity.

"Find anything new?" Jamie asked. She leaned back against the railing of the mezzanine which overlooked the lounge below.

Hannah plucked a tome from its shelf, dusted it off, and opened it to a page that had already been marked with a length of ribbon. "Yes and no. Nothing helpful, anyway."

She came to stand beside Jamie so that she might also look at the book. Jamie peered at it from the corner of her eye, not recognising the script around the drawing of a grey-skinned woman in dark red robes with a deep cowl.

"That a Sith?" Jamie asked.

Hannah hummed a curious note. "A Witch of Dathomir. Dark-aligned, for the most part, but not Imperial. They're the only practitioners of possession I've been able to find record of at all. I believe The Lady might have been an early precursor. Or perhaps they developed similar techniques independently."

Jamie stood straighter, hands tightening around the railing. "Wait, so - you can reverse it?"

Hannah snapped the book shut. "No. Though a visit to Dathomir might be in order, should we survive. However, if you chose to go, I won't be accompanying you. They dislike Jedi as much as they dislike Sith."

"Good thing I'm not a Jedi."

"I doubt they'll see the difference," Hannah said, and she tucked the book beneath one arm. "Failing that, the only other people who might know anything about this ghost are the Sith themselves."

Jamie scoffed, smiling. "Right. I'll just sail into their capital on Dromund Kaas and ask for help, then. Great advice."

A flick of the Force against Jamie's ear made her wince.

"Don't be cheeky," said Hannah.

Rubbing at her ear, Jamie opened her mouth to retort but stopped. Beneath them Dani and Owen walked into the lounge, still talking. Dani moved her hands when she spoke, and Owen watched her with a fond if guarded smile.

"I am afraid for her," Hannah murmured so that they would not be overheard.

Jamie nodded. "Yeah."

"For someone like our lovely Miss Clayton, the Dark Side is not a lure so much as it is a glue trap," Hannah mused aloud. "It has a gravity of its own, the darkness. And once there, it becomes more and more difficult to claw your way free. Even if you want to. Even if you know you should, but can’t bring yourself to try. Fear is her failing. And fear is the relinquishment of logic."

Jamie glanced at Hannah. "Can you teach her when this is all over? You're the best of the best in The Order when it comes to balance in the Force."

Without looking at Jamie, Hannah lightly smacked her arm, just a dismissive tap with the back of one hand. "Don't try your flattery on me. I've known you too long for that nonsense."

"That nonsense," said Jamie, "has gotten me out of more sticky situations than you know."

"But it won't get Miss Clayton out of this one."

Muttering a curse under her breath, Jamie sank down a bit, gripping the railing as she did so until she stood bent over and leaning against it. "Don't you start, too. I had Owen in my ear last night about it."

"Good man," Hannah murmured appreciatively.

"Bloody hypocrites. The both of you."

"You can't solve everything with your curmudgeonly charm," said Hannah.

"I fuckin' can."

"Sometimes," Hannah turned, leaning her back against the railing, arms crossed over the book gripped loosely to her chest, "a helping hand can only do so much. A person needs to want to help themself."

Jamie scowled. "So, what? If we can't help her we just ship her off to the Empire? 'Here, have a new Sith apprentice?' You haven't even given her a chance, and you two are already lecturing me on how I need to let go." She shook her head with a bitter chuckle. "Unbelievable."

And of course Hannah remained infuriatingly unflappable, her voice calm when she replied, "I will do everything I can, as I know Owen will, too. But — even should we survive this ordeal — our time with her will be limited. She will not be safe on Tython, where some overzealous Knight will surely sense her presence and jump to conclusions."

Jamie's mouth went dry. She swallowed. "Then where am I supposed to take her for training?"

Hannah smiled and placed a warm hand on Jamie's forearm. "Wherever you want, dear. So long as you're there."

Face screwing up in confusion, Jamie straightened. "But you just - You were just telling me how I needed to keep my distance and all that shite."

"Was I?" Hannah murmured, and she let go of Jamie's arm to instead toy at a gold earring. "I don't recall saying that at all."

And with that she crossed back over to place the book on its shelf.

"What do you mean? Hannah?" said Jamie, turning around.

Humming to herself as if she hadn't heard, Hannah drifted off down the stairs.

"Hannah," Jamie repeated, louder this time.

"We really must pack, Owen," said Hannah, ignoring Jamie completely.

Hitting her fist against the railing, Jamie turned back around to glower down at Hannah, who appeared on the floor below. Hannah urged Owen down a hallway with instructions to pack for the trip, leaving Dani standing in the middle of the lounge, alone. Dani looked up, and Jamie's fist loosened.

The last time Jamie had seen her from this angle, Dani had been in the full thrall of The Lady back on the luxury cruiser, her red-gold gaze piercing through a camera in the ceiling. Now, Dani blinked up at her with none of that cold malice to be found. She opened her mouth to say something, but then Hannah's voice called down the hallway.

"Miss Clayton, what's the weather like at House Thul?"

Dani turned and began walking towards the sound, already answering Hannah's question, and leaving Jamie staring after her from the mezzanine floor, lost.

—

The gangway automatically lowered to the ground when Jamie got within a certain distance from the luxury cruiser still docked where they had left it.

"Good afternoon, Bollocks," said the cultured male baritone of the ship's computer. "You've brought guests."

Beside her, Owen mouthed the word 'bollocks?' at Hannah, who looked like she was trying very hard not to laugh.

Jamie rolled her eyes and shooed the two of them up the gangway, trailed by Dani. "I have, yeah. Anything interesting happen while we were away, Jane?"

There followed a pause that was slightly too long for a droid of this calibre, and then the ship's computer replied, "Nothing of note. I did not tell you to call me that."

"Oh? Don't like it? Should I call you bawbag instead?"

Another pause, this one affronted. "Jane," said the ship's computer, "is perfectly serviceable."

"Glad to hear it, mate," Jamie drawled and stepped into the ship proper.

As Dani stepped up behind her, the ship's computer said, "And a good day to you, too, Miss Clayton. You're looking very alive today."

"Uh -" said Dani, and she ducked her head sheepishly. "Thanks."

The gangway lifted and sealed behind them once everyone had entered the main atrium, where the ship’s computer had already sent out a small service droid on trundlers bearing glasses of some kind of pale carbonated alcohol. 

“Don’t mind if I do,” Owen murmured, picking up a glass and taking a sip. He made an appreciative noise. 

“Where would we like to go?” the ship’s computer asked.

Jamie waved the service droid away when it tried to press an insistent drink into her hand. “No, thanks. Jane, calculate a route to Alderaan. We need to meet someone in orbit around the planet in thirty two hours.”

“Route calculated,” the ship’s computer replied almost immediately. “The journey is only expected to take twenty one hours through hyperspace. I will chart a circuitous route so that we arrive on time. If it would please you, you may make your way to the dining lounge. I have prepared a light lunch before we depart.” 

Frowning, Jamie looked up at the ceiling. “How the hell did you even know we were coming?”

“I have access to the station’s security cameras and systems.”

That gave everyone pause. Owen froze in the act of draining his glass, while Hannah and Dani shared looks. 

“You hacked the station’s security system?” Jamie said.

“Negative, Bollocks,” said the ship’s computer. “I asked the mainframe for access very nicely.” 

“Are you lying?” Jamie turned to Hannah and Dani. “Can droids lie?”

The ship’s computer did not answer. Which wasn’t concerning. Not at all. Owen suddenly looked a bit queasy, and he gingerly lowered his near empty glass back onto the tray held out by the service droid. 

“You need not fear for the condition of food and drink aboard this vessel,” said the ship’s computer. “I am programmed to care for and protect any legitimate member of this crew as designated by the Captain and owner.” 

Jamie pointed jokingly at Owen and said, “Better watch yourself, then.”

Placing a hand over his chest, Owen pretended to look insulted, then followed Jamie further into the ship towards the dining lounge. 

“May I ask,” started the ship’s computer, “what are we going to be doing on Alderaan?’

Jamie dragged her hand along one of the polished white walls as she walked. “Getting in over our heads.”

“Please clarify.”

“We’re going to have a fight. Why?” Jamie asked dryly. “Do you also happen to have ion cannons strapped to your shiny exterior?”

“Negative. But I do come equipped with some accessories the crew might find useful in the event of a boarding attempt.”

One of the panels beneath Jamie’s hand pressed inwards, and a whole section of the wall peeled back to reveal racks upon racks of blaster pistols, blaster rifles, grenades, vibroweapons with wickedly curved blades some small enough to strap to the leg, others long enough to be wielded with two hands. Everything that would make a Republic Trooper get all hot and bothered. �� 

All four of them stopped in their tracks and stared. 

“Definitely an ex-Czerka ship,” Hannah muttered under her breath.

Hand on the hilt of the lightsabre at her hip, Dani said, “I think I’ll stick with this. I’d be more likely to shoot my own foot.”

“Likewise,” said Owen. 

Meanwhile Jamie reached out and hefted a blaster pistol. She turned it over in her hands for closer inspection, careful not to graze anyone with the barrel, but all defining marks or serial numbers had been either scrubbed off or hadn’t made it far enough in manufacturing to be stamped in the first place. With a shrug, she took one of the holsters and belted it around her waist. 

Owen gave her a look. “Really?” 

“What?” Jamie holstered the blaster pistol and waved at the other three. “You all have lightsabres, and we’re going up against who only knows what. Am I supposed to just hide behind a pillar while you lot do all the fun stuff?” 

Before they could answer, the ship’s computer chimed and said from its hidden speakers in the ceiling. “Not to interrupt,” said Jane, “but the tea is getting cold.”

Immediately Owen’s eyes brightened. “Oh, tea?” 

It was in fact high tea. Three tiered platters. Fine bone china. Petit fours. The whole lot. They amused themselves in the various lounges and quarters of the ship for hours before departure, at which point the ship’s computer insisted upon harnesses being secured. The jump to hyperspace left Jamie feeling on edge, as though she had left her stomach behind on Tython. And she couldn’t have been the only one. Their talk had been too forced, their laughter too loud, Owen and Jamie swapping stories to the delight of Dani and Hannah, who would chime in every now and then. And when Jane rolled out a more formal dinner, it felt like some kind of last meal before execution at dawn by firing squad. 

Jamie couldn’t find it in herself to enjoy the meal. Every bite tasted like ash. The ship’s computer on the other hand seemed thrilled that its crew was finally taking part in its carefully scheduled meals and activities. More than once Jamie thought she heard a low-pitched contented hum from the belly of the ship. Or perhaps that was simply the engine room. 

Eventually, Jamie made her excuses and left the others to their own devices. Jamie walked into the same bedroom she had taken during the initial trip on this vessel. First one on the left from the main lounge. There were at least four other rooms of generally equal size and accommodation on the ship; Jamie had simply picked this one because it was closest to the helm, easy to access and nothing more. 

Jamie sighed and stopped in the middle of the room. She unslung the holster and pistol, dropping it to the ground, then began to unbutton the crisp white shirt she had stolen from the medbay. Back on Tython, Hannah had offered her a spare set of robes, which she’d declined. Jamie hadn’t worn robes since she was a padawan, and after years of boilersuits and undershirts, she wasn’t about to start again any time soon, thanks. Even if it meant dumb slacks and collared shirts made of some anti-wrinkle fabric that cost more than her apartment back on Telos IV. 

She just needed to make it one more day. Just one more day. The last few weeks had shaved off a good few years from her life. Probably. And by this time tomorrow this whole ordeal would be over, alive or dead. Probably. 

There was a knock at the door. With a frown, Jamie turned, hands paused in the act of unbuttoning the shirt halfway down her stomach. “Yeah?” 

The door hissed open and shut again behind Dani as she stepped into the room. “Hi.”

Jamie blinked. “Hey.” 

For a long moment Dani did and said nothing. Her mismatched gaze flicked down to the narrow v of skin and the dogtags revealed by the open shirt, only to dart quickly away again, studying the bedside table with a fixed intensity it did not deserve. 

“Sorry,” said Dani. “I just - It's been a few days since we’d really spoken, and I wanted to check in.”

Jamie nodded. “Ah - yeah. I’m good. Are you -?”

“Yeah. I’m okay.” 

Another lengthy pause.

Dani gestured to the door behind her. “Hannah and Owen are very nice.” 

“They are, yeah. Good people. Trust ‘em with my life, and I don’t say that lightly.” Jamie tried to smile, to make light, but Dani had turned that wide-eyed fixed intensity upon her now. It was difficult not to squirm in place when Dani looked at her like that.

Dani took an abortive step forward, only to stop herself before she could venture too close. “Are we okay? It’s just - on Tython you seemed to want your own space, and I thought -” She paused to clear her throat, glancing briefly down at her feet. “Did I mess this up or -? I mean - I know I’m not the best option for anyone, and you deserve someone nice, someone who’s not completely messed up or possessed by an ancient Sith ghost or something. But I -” she paused to close her eyes and draw in a deep breath. “I really like you. And if you don’t want anything to do with me after this is all over, I would completely understand, but I -”

Jamie tried. She really did. But the next thing she knew, she had taken a step forward and pulled Dani in for a kiss. Dani made a small noise of surprise in the back of her throat that Jamie chased after, feeling her respond in kind, feeling the Force welling up beneath Dani’s skin like a hand reaching out in offering. 

“Do you think -” Jamie said, pulling away just enough to speak, “- that I did all this because I don’t like you?”

Dani gave a breathless little laugh, her hands cupping Jamie’s jaw then sliding to cradle the back of her head. “I thought you did it because you’re good and noble and you’re drawn to a lost cause.”

“Can be lots of things, can’t I?”

They were close enough that Jamie could feel the pull of Dani’s smile against her own lips, their noses brushing. 

“I know you like your life to be boring. So, I was thinking," said Dani, "how nice Corsin must be at this time of year. Just a getaway planet in the middle of nowhere. No Sith. No Jedi. That could be boring, couldn't it?"

Jamie swayed forward, eyes half lidded, and murmured, "Could be awfully boring."

Hannah and Owen be damned. The little voice in the back of her head telling her this was a bad idea be damned. Dani was kissing her again and every thought flew right out of her head until there was nothing but this. Nothing but today, this moment, the call of blood in her veins, life as it was and nothing else. 

There was not push towards the bed, no drive to action beyond this. Still Jamie paused, one hand remaining anchored at Dani’s waist.

“You can still go alone,” Jamie said, “if you want. Doesn’t have to be with me.”

Even as she said it, Jamie dreaded the answer. Knowing Dani’s predilection towards shrinking away from things that were too difficult to face alone. Knowing her own history of always being the odd one out, passed from place to place, from Corps to Corps, unfettered, unwanted. 

Dani’s hand tightened in her hair, holding her close. “Want it to be with you.”

Want this, Jamie thought as Dani kissed her again. Want this, too.

Removing Dani’s cloak and tossing it onto the floor beside the blaster pistol had never felt so easy. Kissing her, unhooking the lightsabre and setting it onto the table had never felt so easy. Unzipping Dani’s vest while Dani finished unbuttoning what Jamie had started had never felt so easy. Being with someone else had never felt so easy. 

Jamie’s shirt was discarded onto the ground beside the bed just as Jamie sank to her knees there. Dani’s hair was mussed, her mouth parted, her eyes fixed and unblinking as Jamie began to slowly drag down the zipper of her trousers. She toyed with the chain of Jamie’s dogtags, winding it around her fingers at the back of Jamie’s neck. 

When Jamie began to tug down the material, Dani sat on the edge of the mattress so her pants could be peeled off and placed aside. Jamie leaned forward and stroked her tongue along the soft skin of Dani’s inner thigh, feeling a hand grip her hair when she bit down gently, and making a low dark sound in the back of her throat. 

Already Dani was moving her hips in small motions and Jamie hadn’t even started yet. Jamie laughed softly.

“What?” Dani breathed.

Jamie shook her head, but the movement was restricted somewhat by the tight grip Dani had on her hair. “Nothing,” she murmured and bowed forward to place her open mouth against slick wet and wanting heat.

Wanting nothing but this. The spread of Dani’s legs on either side of Jamie’s head. The taste of her when Jamie swiped her tongue in long slow strokes. The sound of her name gasped in Dani’s voice. The ache between her own legs as Dani rocked her hips to the rhythm Jamie set with a barely restrained urgency. 

Where last time had been fast and hard, Jamie did the opposite now. She traced Dani with the tip of her tongue as if trying to map her to memory, finding the best reactions and storing them away for later, for a time again with her that may never come. One of Dani’s heels came up to press into the small of Jamie’s back, and Jamie could feel the way the muscle of Dani’s inner thigh trembled against the side of her face. The same way her fingers trembled as they combed back Jamie’s hair. 

Want this, Jamie thought as Dani’s groan ended on a broken noise, as Dani’s hips arched up to press more firmly against her mouth while Jamie offered only a gentle suction. Want her. Want us. 

Dani hauled Jamie up by the chain around her neck to kiss her deeply. The kiss was slick and messy and tasted of her, and when they parted Dani was panting. 

“Did I mention,” Dani said breathlessly, “that I really like you?”

Jamie laughed and allowed herself to be pulled up onto the bed. Smiling broadly, Dani kissed her and rolled her over to start unbuttoning Jamie’s dark-washed slacks. Before she could do more than flick open the first of two buttons, Jamie placed her hands and Dani’s hips and encouraged her to rock against her thigh.

“That’s -” Dani swallowed back a reckless sound, her eyes squeezing shut. “I’m going to ruin your nice slacks.”

“Fuck ‘em.”

Dani’s answering laugh was breathless. “Do you mean that literally, or -?”

The question died on her tongue when Jamie pressed her knee up and wedged a hand between them just enough that she could brush her thumb just so. She watched as Dani’s face screwed up, as her mouth dropped open and her hips bucked out of time until she came again — smaller this time, but no less gratifying.

Dani slowed to a halt, trying to catch her breath. “All right,” she said. “It’s definitely your turn.”

When they’d finished, Jamie sank bonelessly back onto the mattress. Their clothes were strewn all about the room, and the ship’s computer had set the lights to dim automatically to match a normalised sleep cycle, so that the ceiling was a map of constellations. Dani was stark naked and wiping her hands clean on a shirt with a self-satisfied expression before she crawled back up the bed and snuggled into Jamie’s side.

Jamie rolled onto her side and draped an arm across Dani’s waist to hold her loosely there. She needed to take a shower, but couldn’t find the energy within herself to get up. Not when recent sex had turned her bones to jelly, and not when Dani started to trace the curving lines of Jamie’s monochromatic tattoo. 

Exhaling slowly, Jamie sank further into the mattress. Her eyes slipped shut and she allowed herself this moment of brief respite. 

“Do you ever think,” Dani asked softly, “this was supposed to happen?” 

Blearily, Jamie opened her eyes, lulled half asleep by the way Dani was touching her. “What d’you mean?”

Dani shook her head, admiring the way her fingertips drifted across the pattern of ink on Jamie’s bare shoulder. “I don’t know. I just - When I chose the ship to Telos IV, it wasn’t the fastest or the cheapest or even the one leaving the soonest. I was still in shock, I think. From what had happened on Vurdon Ka. There was another transport leaving three hours earlier, heading towards the Outer Rim, but when the droid asked me what ticket I wanted I bought the one to Telos instead.” Her words slowed to a mumble, and her caress stopped. Dani stared at the flowers on Jamie’s skin as if in wonder. “I don’t know why I did that.”

“Coincidence?” Jamie offered, watching the flicker of Dani’s brow in response.

Dani seemed to be trying to remember something intently. “Maybe, but it was so strange. I had this - this feeling. And when I landed on Telos, you know, I -” She broke off with a small incredulous laugh. “I walked straight to that bar. Just - straight there. Didn’t even ask for directions.”

Jamie blinked, more awake now. That hum of energy had returned, threading between them like an arc. Dani’s presence was stalwart, nothing wavering or questioning about it. 

“I don’t know anything about the Force,” Dani continued, “but I’m glad to have met you.” 

A smile tugged at the corner of Jamie’s mouth. It was brief but the warmth pooling in her chest was verdant and budding. “Yeah. Me too.”

—

Rebecca’s ship dropped out of hyperspace only three kilometers from the luxury cruiser, so that the two vessels drifted in orbit around Alderaan side by side. The planet below was a vast curved horizon of blues and greens, struck through with white cloud. Sitting in the pilot’s seat, Jamie noticed how Dani’s gaze kept drifting towards the broad windows of the left wing, staring out at the planet below with her shoulders tense and her hands clasped behind her back. 

The moment Rebecca’s ship came into view, Owen leaned over Jamie’s shoulder and hit the comm button, requesting a transmission, which was immediately picked up.

“Hello again,” Owen greeted jovially down the line. “We see you’ve just arrived in orbit. And might I say - your ship is exactly what I expected from a smuggler.”

“Aww, thanks,” said Rebecca, her video feed flickering into view. “I worked hard to get it just right.”

Rebecca’s ship was a single bladed shape of stark grey material, like a shark’s fin parting the surface of water. Jamie knew from experience that its small size could mislead larger ships into underestimating its speed and firepower. She also knew from experience that the sleeping cots were cramped and uncomfortable, and that more often than not Rebecca slept in a hammock strung up in the cockpit itself. 

Jamie elbowed Owen in the gut so she could have more room. “Status report?”

Rebecca rolled her eyes. “What are you? Fleet Commander Taylor?”

“Just tell me how we’re getting down to the surface without being noticed,” Jamie said.

“Funny you should ask that,” Rebecca replied, trailing off.

Owen made a face. “Oh, no. Is it bad?” 

“Well…”

“Get it over with,” groaned Jamie. She could hear Hannah and Dani walking closer to join the conversation. “Put me out of my misery.”

Rebecca hit a few buttons to switch over the feed, and the screen suddenly displayed a scene much nearer to the surface. She must have hacked into a few security cameras, because the view turned slowly alongside her tapping away in the background. A towering estate in slate greys with parapets like speartips jutting into the sky dominated the screen, flanked by snowy mountains. A broad bridge led to the front entrance, and a hundred or so guardsmen had set up allacrete bollards behind which they were taking cover to avoid incoming fire, peeking over to return volleys before crouching down again.

“That’s,” Dani said slowly, pointing towards a crest-emblazoned purple and red banner hanging from the manor walls on the screen, “House Thul.” 

Jamie squeezed her eyes shut and tipped her head back towards the ceiling. “Don’t tell me.”

“They’re being besieged by the Sith Lord,” said Rebecca.

“I said don’t tell me.”

Hannah peered over Jamie’s shoulder to get a look at the screen. “Can you get us to the surface?” she asked.

“Yeah,” said Rebecca. “But after that, I’m all out of ideas. I told you: I’m not a Core World girl. I don’t know Alderaan from a bottle of spotchka.” 

“I do.” 

Jamie opened her eyes and lowered her head. Beside her Dani had lifted her hand slightly as though waiting to be called on in class. “There’s a side entrance used primarily by servants and staff.”

“What? A side entrance dug all the way through the mountains?” Owen pointed to the snowy peaks pressed in tight on either side of the estate. 

“No, it’s here.” Dani tapped her finger against the screen just off to the side of where the camera was currently showing. “It’s where the guards sleep. You go through a security checkpoint and then down a tunnel which leads into a room off the great hall.” 

“Don’t think the security checkpoint won’t be a problem this time,” said Jamie.

“Yeah,” said Rebecca slowly as a guardsman on screen was shot dead and slumped to the ground, only to be pulled back over the bollard by one of his comrades. “They look a little occupied right now.” 

Chatter fizzed from another speaker on the dashboard. Frowning, Rebecca sat in the pilot’s seat and turned a dial until the frequency better matched. They could hear a staticky voice shouting frantic orders over the comm.

“That’s a Pub frequency,” Rebecca said. 

“The Empire has revealed its hand,” Owen said. “The Republic will be arriving with reinforcements soon.”

“Yeah, but not soon enough,” Jamie muttered darkly. 

Hannah hummed in agreement. “Unfortunately, yes. A fully fledged Sith Lord? They can tear this estate apart and be out with what they want before Republic troops make it into orbit.” 

“Yeah, well, hopefully we can do the same.” 

From the sidelines, Dani suddenly spoke, “Can we talk about the children for a sec?” When she had everyone’s attention, she took a deep breath and continued, “What’s going to happen to them now that we know they’re Force Sensitive?” 

She looked towards Jamie, who raised both hands and shook her head, pointing towards Owen and Hannah. Hannah was looking at Owen, who shrugged and made a gesture, which Hannah reacted to with an emphatic tilt of her head, the two of them engaged in the kind of silent conversation only two people who had been together for so long knew. 

“Are you going to share with the class?” Jamie drawled. “Or are you two lovebirds just going to keep having your weird psychic talk that nobody else can hear?”

Hannah gave Jamie an arch, brook-no-nonsense glare, while Owen stuck out his tongue at her. 

“I think it best if we take them back to Tython,” said Hannah to Dani. “There they can be trained in the Force properly.”

Some of the tension held in Dani’s jaw slackened, and she breathed a sigh of relief. “Okay. Yeah. Thanks. I needed to hear that.” 

“Anything else we need to discuss before we leap into the fray?” Rebecca asked from the pilot’s seat. 

Silence. 

“Right,” said Jamie, hand on the holster of her blaster pistol. “Let’s get this over with, then.”

[uncloseted]

How Can I Care Less About My Image Like Effy? Less About Impressing Others And More About Just Doing What I Like Without Letting Them Influence Me?

Anonymous said:

So I have some problems with my confidence. I can be confident at times but it lasts for a very short time and I begin analysing every part of myself and find new insecurities. Sometimes it makes me feel really disgusting so any advice?? Thank you for this blog btw

Anonymous said:

Even though there are people who like me I feel like I'm not a likeable person because I'm insecure and this gets in the way of me socialising, having fun and having good relationships with people. How do I stop feeling this way?

Anonymous said:

last night i had the worst breakdown i’ve had in foreve about how ugly i was, every single detail about myself was so prominent and i’ve fallen so deep down this hole where i couldn’t hate myself more. i’m so unattractive andthat’s the only thing that people give a fuck about , relatives, friends, family, employers, it’s consumed my life. sometimes i’ll look in the mirror and like what i see &for that fleeting moment i’m so fucking happy you can’t imagine but then i go back to seeing the truth

Anonymous said:

I hate myself. How do I mask my insecurities and make people think I'm confident and make it look like don't care about what they think?

Anonymous said:

how can i appear more confident?

Anonymous said:

how do i deal with fear of being judged? I'm always so scared that people I've known for a long time will remember embarrassing things I've done and still laugh at me for it

Anonymous said:

I'm so insecure because I care so much what people think, its so bad that I don't even want to leave my house. When I go out with all my friends, almost all of them get complimented somehow and I never do, it might sound selfish or something but it really brings down my self esteem, I start feeling like I'm invisible or that people only hang out with me because they feel bad for me, and it makes me want to stop being social/getting out of the house, etc.

Anonymous said:

I sometimes hate my face so much and I feel so insecure and it's the worst feeling :( I hope I like the way I look one day but it seems so hard.

Anonymous said:

I can’t be confident with myself, I’m a huge ppl pleaser bc it feels like is the only way to keep them around, and I guess that’s ok but what frustrastes me the most is the fact that ppl don’t see me or my personality, it’s like I’m just there to help them out, to be their side kick... whenever I try to be confident I cringe at myself... How can I feel more secure with myself?

More than any other question, the thing I get asked most is how to build self-confidence, overcome insecurities, and deal with the fear of being judged.  In this post, I’m going to put every tip and trick I know about becoming confident, no matter who you are and the situation you’re in.

The first thing to remember about confidence is that people aren’t drawn to people because they’re beautiful, or smart, or kind, or fun, or interesting.  People are drawn to people who are confident.  If you’re confident and weird, you’re not weird, you’re a visionary.  If you’re confident and ugly, you’re not ugly, you’re “unconventionally beautiful” or a trendsetter.  If you’re confident and overly serious, you’re not boring, you’re a leader.  A lot of people think it’s the other way around- that only beautiful, smart, charming people who are well-liked can be confident- but it’s not true.  To use a Skins example, Tony’s not a good person.  He’s manipulative and cruel.  But people like him (at least in the beginning) and go along with what he says because he’s confident.  The same goes for Katie.  You can argue about whether she’s objectively the most attractive girl in the group, but she acts confident in herself and in her appearance, and it works. Lots of guys are attracted to her.  So that’s the first thing- don’t focus on changing yourself (physically or emotionally) in the hopes that you’ll be more confident.  Instead, focus on changing your mindset to that of a confident person.  It will make a huge difference. 

Of course, that’s all easier said than done, and the process of building self confidence can take a while.  In the meantime, while you’re on the journey of actually becoming confident, one thing that can help is “faking it until you make it”.  When you’re going about your day, ask yourself, “how would a confident person who’s never experienced insecurity or anxiety handle this situation”?  Then do what a confident person would do.  If you have a really confident friend, it can help to imagine what they would do in a given situation and then do that.  Pretend everyone you meet already loves you and thinks you’re great.  Pretend like you think you’re great.  It will feel uncomfortable at first, but you’ll start getting used to it and the “confident” responses to things will start feeling normal.  One thing that can make this a little bit easier is to talk to yourself in the second person.  By saying things like “you’ve got this”, your brain will (sort of) feel like you’re receiving advice from somebody else, which is more motivating than getting advice from ourselves.

There are also some exercises you can use to build your self confidence on your own. Some of you have heard this one before, so bare with me, but the first thing I suggest is:  every morning, look at yourself in the mirror and say some things you like about yourself.  I know you probably feel like you can’t find any, but try.  Focus on those things that you like and try to only focus on those things.  Write them down, either physically (on a sticky note on your mirror, maybe) or in your phone.  Each day, try to add a new thing to the list.  When you’re out and about, remember those things that you like about yourself, focus on them, and try to draw attention to them.  When other people compliment you, add those to your list as well.  I think eventually by recognizing all of the things that you like about yourself, you’ll be able to feel like there are things about you that you can be confident in, and you won’t focus so much on the things that you feel are negative.  These don’t have to just be things that are physical.  You should include things you like about your personality as well.

I mentioned this trick the other day, but I want to put it here as well.  A lot of people who are insecure use deprecating humor to cope and as a bid to get other people to like them.  But I think that can be really emotionally damaging.  Like Hannah Gadsby said in Nanette, “I have built a career out of self-deprecating humor, and I don’t want to do that anymore..do you understand what self-deprecation means when it comes from somebody who already exists in the margins? It’s not humility. It’s humiliation. I put myself down in order to speak, in order to seek permission to speak, and I simply will not do that anymore, not to myself or anybody who identifies with me.”  Self-deprecation impacts our self-esteem, and it impacts the way people around us view us.  The more times we say something, even as a joke, the more we start to believe it, and the more the people around us start to believe it.  So instead, make fun of yourself by pretending you’re really, really cocky.  If you trip and fall, instead of saying, “I’m such a disaster”, replace it with “I’m the epitome of grace and beauty”.  If you make a piece of art and you think it sucks, say, “Obviously I’m the next Di Vinci/Michelangelo/whatever.”  If you say something dumb, instead of saying, “I’m so stupid,” say, “I’m clearly the next Einstein.”  You still get to make a joke and diffuse any awkwardness the situation has, but you also get practice saying nice things about yourself.  And eventually, you’ll get so used to saying nice things about yourself as a joke that it won’t feel so weird to say those things about yourself in a serious way, too.

For those people who feel insecure about things they did in their past, try and think of something embarrassing one of your friends has done.  Can you think of anything?  The vast majority of people remember their own embarrassing moments really vividly, but don’t remember things other people have done at all.  Reminding yourself that you’re probably the only one who remembers or cares about the mistake you made can help you let go.  The mistakes you’ve made in the past are learning experiences that you’ve grown from and changed from, and the fact that you’re embarrassed by them is a good thing.  It means that you’re not that person anymore- that you’ve become someone better.  I think that’s something to celebrate instead of something to cringe at.  It can also help to talk to yourself as if you were a friend who’s remembering an embarrassing moment. Would you tell them how embarrassing that moment was and how much they suck?  Probably not.  You’d be nice to them and tell them things will be okay.  Talk to yourself like you would a friend.

The fact that people aren’t paying attention to what you’re doing doesn’t just apply to cringey things you did in your past.  People are unlikely to remember that one time you tried a new hairstyle or wore an unusual piece of clothing.  They’re unlikely to remember that one time you asked someone out and they rejected you.  So many of the social pressures we feel can be remedied by remembering that most people are way too worried about what they’re doing and how they appear to the world to care about what you’re doing. 

One more piece of advice- stop comparing yourself to other people.  The old adage, “comparison is the thief of joy” is totally, scientifically proven to be true.  Comparing ourselves to other people (or to TV shows, movies, characters in books, etc) makes us much less happy because we’re comparing everything we know about ourselves, good and bad, with a curated version of this person.  We don’t see them when they wake up in the morning with crusty eyes and frizzy hair, or when they have the flu, or when they’re overwhelmed and anxious and lashing out at the people around them.  But the truth is that everyone, even the people you think have perfect lives that you see on social media, are just people.  They have bad habits and negative traits and days where they’re not at their best, just like the rest of us.  If you really want to start being confident, one of the best things you can do for yourself is to mute or unfollow the people who make you feel insecure online, and replace them with people who inspire you- artists or activists or cute videos of animals, whatever works.  You’ll never be able to feel good about yourself if you’re constantly tracking all the ways in which you feel you don’t measure up.  But you will if you’re constantly seeing all the ways in which you do.

Last thing. Basic life care stuff, like good posture, exercising, eating well, sleeping well, meditating, and just generally practicing self-care and taking care of yourself can improve your confidence as well.  If you’re not starting on a strong foundation, it’s hard to build anything that will last.  But if your foundation is solid, all of the things you do to build your self-confidence on top of that will be, too.

[winterisakiller]

Get Better - Chapter One

Title: Get Better

Chapter: 1/18

Character: Tom Hiddleston/Cath Richardson (OFC)

Genre: Romance

Rating: Teen

Summary:  Love. Companionship. Family. These are all of the things Tom Hiddleston desperately wanted. But his life and his choices left that a distant and unlikely prospect. So he did his best to move on and live his life as is. When an opportunity to return to the theater arises, he jumps at the chance and along the way finds that maybe, just maybe, those distant and unlikely prospects are closer than he could have imagined. Sequel to Brave Face.

Authors Notes/Warnings: So as I was writing Brave Face I knew that Tom’s story wasn’t over, even if that particular part of it was. And while I knew, more or less, what the overall ending to the story would be, its taken me a while to figure out the time in between.  Thanks to @redfoxwritesstuff for letting me continually throw ideas off and at you. I still can’t fathom why you put up with it, but I am eternally grateful you do. This story will update on Thursdays.

Tag list: @tinchentitri @theheartofpenelope @nonsensicalobsessions @blacksuitofdoom @noplacelikehome77 @messy-insomniac-bookgirl @wolfsmom1 @just-the-hiddles @theoneanna

CHAPTER ONE

 The breeze ruffling through his hair as he walked down the busy London pavements was wonderfully cool; something Tom Hiddleston was infinitely grateful for. While it wasn’t a particularly scorching day for mid-August by any standard, it was still quite warm for London and any relief at all was welcome. As he meandered, Tom found himself watching the people around him as they passed. Most paid him little mind or, if they did, only muttered quietly under their breath but made no effort to approach him. It was a marked difference from the previous few years, and a welcomed one. True, there was still the occasional paparazzo or bold fan, but it was nothing like it had been in recent years. And he was grateful for the relative anonymity.  

 He’d been surprised, but happy, when Ben had called out of the blue the week before, trying to arrange a time for the two of them to get together and ‘catch up’. Which, as Tom had come to learn, meant Ben had wanted nothing more than to grill him about his life and then try to fix it. Tom adored the man but he was a mother hen in the absolute worst way; settling down and having children only made it worse. It had been several months since they’d had the chance to truly sit and reconnect in a non-work related setting and, though he knew it would probably regret giving Ben the platform in which to undertake said interrogation, Tom was quick to agree. Finding the time however, took a fair bit of maneuvering.

 Tom slowed his pace as the familiar house came into view. He smiled as he buzzed the gate, noting how a small cash of toys including a red plastic tricycle had started to take over the front garden. It was a comforting and domestic sign and it fit his friend’s life to a tee. Ben’s garbled voice echoed from the small speaker and a moment later the gate clicked open. Tom quickly made his way up the walk and towards the opened front door where Ben now stood, his eldest clinging to his leg, small blonde head peeking out from behind the tall form of his father.

 For a moment Tom was struck dumb by the sight.  He could so clearly remember the utter joy and disbelief in Ben’s voice when he called to announce that Sophie had given birth. “A boy, Tom. I have a son.” It was nearly impossible to reconcile the tiny infant that had been placed in his arms a few days after that call with the small boy before him. He would be three now. Three? How had three years passed already?

 Crouching down on his heels, Tom smiled at the boy now at eye level. “Hello there, little man. You’ve grown quite a bit haven’t you?”

 The boy blinked at Tom and then up at his father before running back into the house. Ben sighed and shook his head. “Sorry. He’s been going through this shy phase as of late. Usually, you can’t get him to stop wanting to say ‘hello’ to everyone.”

 Tom shrugged and pushed himself back up right, “My niece went through something similar. I get it.” He took Ben’s outstretched hand and pulled him into a one armed hug. “It’s good to see you, mate. How have you been?”

 Ben chuckled as he closed the door and led them towards the living room. “Can’t complain overly much. I’ve got a fair bit of free time before I start filming so I’m trying to enjoy as much time as I can here with this lot.”

 A loud cry echoed from the living room as they approached and moments later a slightly harried Sophie emerged carrying her squirming and fussy youngest son. She smiled brightly as she caught sight of Tom. “Well hello stranger!”

 Tom’s face broke into an echoing smile and he moved to pull Sophie into a brief embrace, kissing her softly on the cheek. “Hello you. And don’t tell me this is…” Tom paused, eyes widening, as Sophie nodded. “He can’t be this big already!”

 Both Sophie and Ben laughed at this. “He’s almost a year now. Time certainly seems to fly,” she sighed before turning to look at her husband. “Alright, I’m off. You boys have fun and remember if you need a break, you’re more than welcome to join me and our little terrors at the park.”

 Balancing her youngest son against one hip, bending down to take her eldest son’s hand as he materialized at her side at the word ‘park’, which he then repeated loudly before launching into an explosion of words about the swings and the slide and all the activities he wanted to do. Sophie smiled indulgently at him and headed towards the front door, pausing to kiss Ben as she did so. Tom saw her grab a bag that had been left by the door, something he’d missed on his own way inside, and in a flurry of noise disappear from the house.

 “Ah…Silence,” Ben exhaled with a quiet laugh, turning towards Tom. “I love them dearly, honestly I do. But I do admit that there are times I miss silence.”

 “Now that I can believe,” Tom agreed with a smirk “And I’ve often heard my sisters’ make very similar remarks...” Causing both men to laugh and shake their heads. After several moments silence, he clapped his hands together. “So I do believe I was promised lunch…”

 Which earned him an exaggerated eye roll. “I see how it is, Hiddleston. And I must say I am genuinely hurt to hear that my company ranks beneath food for you. If only your fans could see you now; gentleman, my left foot.”

 Tom only shrugged in response. “I’m a man of simple needs.”

 Lunch was a causal affair; Ben had thrown together a handful of sandwiches and various sides under the watchful eyes of his wife and the greedy hands of his eldest. They sat at the scarred wooden table in the kitchen and traded stories, catching up on the last few months of each other’s lives. Tom found himself relaxed and content in Ben’s company. They so rarely got the chance to do such things; work and the everyday happenings of life taking up so much of their time.

 Ben rambled in his usual fashion about his latest filming experience and the trials and tribulations of being a father to two young boys. He joked about the latest project he was in talks for and the drawing his eldest had made him, “He swears up and down it’s a cat, but for the life of me I cannot see it.”

 The drawing in question hung on the fridge held up with two cheery yellow magnets. And no matter how Tom squinted at it, he couldn’t make out what the squiggly blob was either and told him so. Ben laughed and shook his head.

 “So what’s new in the life of the infamous Tom Hiddleston?” Ben inquired with a waggle of his eyebrows.

 Tom leaned back in his chair, stretching his arms over his head. “I’ve got a few conventions scheduled in the States,” he paused and rubbed his over his beard in thought. “And a couple fun one off theater activities…And potentially a play if things continue to fall into place. So quite a bit actually. Which is nice. I’ve been starting to get rather antsy of late.”

 Ben nodded. “Now that I can understand all too well.” He leaned forward and smiled at Tom in the way that always meant trouble. “And anything happening in the non-working vein, my friend?” And there it was, the long awaited subtle-not-so-subtle pry into his personal life. He’d known it was coming. It always did. But he’d remained ever hopeful Ben would let it slide. Just once. Alas, today was not to be that day.

 “You’re lack of subtlety never ceases to astound me,” Tom chuckled, resting his elbows on the table. Ben merely shrugged and leaned back, shooting Tom a knowing look. They sat in silence for several moments before Tom let out a resigned sigh and admitted, “Nothing of note.”

 He had been on a few one off dates and more than a few ‘my friend knows this wonderful girl I think you’d really get on with’. They were, as a rule of thumb, lovely people and quite a few Tom had genuinely liked, but in the end nothing seemed to stick. It had been disheartening, but not at all surprising. His life, even now when things had calmed significantly, had made anything beyond casual difficult to maintain. And he’d learned the hard way trying to force something only ended in disaster.

 “What about that one girl…Hannah, was it? You seemed to get on fine with her…”

 Tom shrugged, “Hollie, actually. And it fizzled out.” He leaned back in his own chair, running his hand over his eyes. She’d been a charming woman and they’d gotten on well, but she’d had…expectations of his time that he hadn’t been able to meet. His schedule, while very much slowed, still kept him relatively busy and had cut into time with Hollie, something she had not appreciated. So they had parted ways after a handful of weeks. “Sometimes I wonder if any of it is actually worth the effort.”

 “Stuff and nonsense. You and I both know you don’t believe that for a moment.”

 “Just because things worked for you doesn’t make it so across the board,” Tom pointed out, taking a long swallow from his bottle of water. “Not everyone in our line of work gets so lucky. I’ve been home more now in the last few years than I have for most of my adult life, which is all well and good. But as a general rule, my life isn’t exactly settled and nor is it easy. And I don’t know too many non-industry women who’d be perfectly content to be with a bloke who’s rarely home or one whose life is picked apart and therefore puts their own into that domain.” He shrugged, placing his bottle back onto the table. “That just leaves fellow actors and the like and I’ve had more than enough experience with how that can go wrong to want to subject myself or any potential partner to that any time soon.”

 Ben grimaced. “Things weren’t ever really going to work with that relationship and I think you knew that from the start.”

 Tom opened his mouth to deny Ben’s words but quickly let it fall shut. That relationship was over long before it had really gotten the chance to start. But his own stubbornness and determination hadn’t let him walk away. He’d known shortly after their initial meeting that this thing that had sparked between them would never work. But he’d perused it anyway, blindly seeking something real. It had been a reaction to Amy’s wedding, to seeing her happy and settled and wanting that so desperately for himself. He knew that now, but then…He’d let himself it caught up in the rush of emotion and hadn’t paused once to really think what he was doing. And it had ended just as quickly as it had begun and just as publicly.

 He’d dealt with the confused stares and the whispered conversations from friends and family alike. Dealt with the backlash and the blatant mocking and ridicule of the press and from the fan base. It was a reaction he hadn’t expected and at first didn’t know how to handle. And looking back, Tom wondered just how he’d navigated through it all and come out as unscathed as he had.

 Ben leaned forward and rested his hand on Tom’s forearm. “I get that you’re a fair bit jaded and not exactly convinced, but don’t simply write it off. The most spectacular things happen when you least expect them to. Look at me. I’d known Sophie for years. We’d cross paths and almost dance around each other but nothing ever came of it. Until it did. And it’s been wonderful.” Tom quirked an eyebrow and Ben paused and laughed. “I’m not saying it’s been easy because lord knows it’s been trying at times, but I wouldn’t change any of it for the world.” He clapped Tom on the shoulder. “It’ll happen, mate. Just give it time.”

 Tom shrugged. “Maybe. Maybe not.”

 “I’ve never known you to be a pessimist, my friend.”

 Tom shook his head, “Not pessimism, more trying to be realistic about it.” He waved off Ben’s protestations. “It’s fine, honestly. I’ve got a pretty decent life going, if I do say so myself. And if something ever does happen…Well that would be grand, but I’m not waiting with baited breath over it either.”

 Ben simply shrugged and the matter had been dropped. Tom had let himself sit, idly talking with Ben for another hour; only taking his leave when Sophie and the boys had returned in mass, both little ones tired and cranky from their adventures. Sophie had stuck her head into the kitchen on her way upstairs to settle the children down for their afternoon nap, “I see my darling husband hasn’t scared you off just yet.”

 Tom laughed heartily, “Nah, takes more than a bit of nosing about to send me running for the hills. But,” he started, stretching as he stood from the table. “It is about time I was off. Bobby’s been in the back garden and I really should check and make sure he’s not dug himself to China or ruined the flowering bushes…Again.” Both Ben and Sophie laughed. “I will see you lot, later then?” The nodded their ascent and Tom made his way out the front door and back into the pleasantly sunny and warm London afternoon.

 The walk home had been just as uneventful as the walk there had been, allowing him time to mull over his talk with Ben. It was the same thing, just with slightly different wrapping around it, and while he knew his friend meant well, talking only made the differences in their respective lives all the more apparent. Tom let out a long sigh of frustration as he turned onto his street, determined to put it out of his mind. There were far too many things needing settled in his life to even contemplate any of that. He managed to smile and wave at one of his neighbors as he climbed his front stairs, unlocking and pushing in the black lacquered front door. The foyer was markedly cool and the sudden temperature change sent a shiver down his spine.

 Bobby, thankfully, hadn’t dug up the back garden. The spaniel, thrilled at both his master’s return and the prospect of going back into the house, had jumped and barked like mad, running in tight little circles around Tom’s feet before dashing inside. Tom laughed despite himself. His life, though not quite how he’d pictured it, was decent and more than fulfilling. So it wasn’t perfect, but it was enough.

Next Chapter

[winterisakillerwrites]

Get Better - Chapter One

Title: Get Better

Chapter: 1/18

Character: Tom Hiddleston/Cath Richardson (OFC)

Genre: Romance

Rating: Teen

Summary:  Love. Companionship. Family. These are all of the things Tom Hiddleston desperately wanted. But his life and his choices left that a distant and unlikely prospect. So he did his best to move on and live his life as is. When an opportunity to return to the theater arises, he jumps at the chance and along the way finds that maybe, just maybe, those distant and unlikely prospects are closer than he could have imagined. Sequel to Brave Face.

Authors Notes/Warnings: So as I was writing Brave Face I knew that Tom’s story wasn’t over, even if that particular part of it was. And while I knew, more or less, what the overall ending to the story would be, its taken me a while to figure out the time in between.  Thanks to @redfoxwritesstuff for letting me continually throw ideas off and at you. I still can’t fathom why you put up with it, but I am eternally grateful you do.

CHAPTER ONE

The breeze ruffling through his hair as he walked down the busy London pavements was wonderfully cool; something Tom Hiddleston was infinitely grateful for. While it wasn’t a particularly scorching day for mid-August by any standard, it was still quite warm for London and any relief at all was welcome. As he meandered, Tom found himself watching the people around him as they passed. Most paid him little mind or, if they did, only muttered quietly under their breath but made no effort to approach him. It was a marked difference from the previous few years, and a welcomed one. True, there was still the occasional paparazzo or bold fan, but it was nothing like it had been in recent years. And he was grateful for the relative anonymity.  

He’d been surprised, but happy, when Ben had called out of the blue the week before, trying to arrange a time for the two of them to get together and ‘catch up’. Which, as Tom had come to learn, meant Ben had wanted nothing more than to grill him about his life and then try to fix it. Tom adored the man but he was a mother hen in the absolute worst way; settling down and having children only made it worse. It had been several months since they’d had the chance to truly sit and reconnect in a non-work related setting and, though he knew it would probably regret giving Ben the platform in which to undertake said interrogation, Tom was quick to agree. Finding the time however, took a fair bit of maneuvering.

Tom slowed his pace as the familiar house came into view. He smiled as he buzzed the gate, noting how a small cash of toys including a red plastic tricycle had started to take over the front garden. It was a comforting and domestic sign and it fit his friend’s life to a tee. Ben’s garbled voice echoed from the small speaker and a moment later the gate clicked open. Tom quickly made his way up the walk and towards the opened front door where Ben now stood, his eldest clinging to his leg, small blonde head peeking out from behind the tall form of his father.

For a moment Tom was struck dumb by the sight.  He could so clearly remember the utter joy and disbelief in Ben’s voice when he called to announce that Sophie had given birth. “A boy, Tom. I have a son.” It was nearly impossible to reconcile the tiny infant that had been placed in his arms a few days after that call with the small boy before him. He would be three now. Three? How had three years passed already?

Crouching down on his heels, Tom smiled at the boy now at eye level. “Hello there, little man. You’ve grown quite a bit haven’t you?”

The boy blinked at Tom and then up at his father before running back into the house. Ben sighed and shook his head. “Sorry. He’s been going through this shy phase as of late. Usually, you can’t get him to stop wanting to say ‘hello’ to everyone.”

Tom shrugged and pushed himself back up right, “My niece went through something similar. I get it.” He took Ben’s outstretched hand and pulled him into a one armed hug. “It’s good to see you, mate. How have you been?”

Ben chuckled as he closed the door and led them towards the living room. “Can’t complain overly much. I’ve got a fair bit of free time before I start filming so I’m trying to enjoy as much time as I can here with this lot.”

A loud cry echoed from the living room as they approached and moments later a slightly harried Sophie emerged carrying her squirming and fussy youngest son. She smiled brightly as she caught sight of Tom. “Well hello stranger!”

Tom’s face broke into an echoing smile and he moved to pull Sophie into a brief embrace, kissing her softly on the cheek. “Hello you. And don’t tell me this is…” Tom paused, eyes widening, as Sophie nodded. “He can’t be this big already!”

Both Sophie and Ben laughed at this. “He’s almost a year now. Time certainly seems to fly,” she sighed before turning to look at her husband. “Alright, I’m off. You boys have fun and remember if you need a break, you’re more than welcome to join me and our little terrors at the park.”

Balancing her youngest son against one hip, bending down to take her eldest son’s hand as he materialized at her side at the word ‘park’, which he then repeated loudly before launching into an explosion of words about the swings and the slide and all the activities he wanted to do. Sophie smiled indulgently at him and headed towards the front door, pausing to kiss Ben as she did so. Tom saw her grab a bag that had been left by the door, something he’d missed on his own way inside, and in a flurry of noise disappear from the house.

“Ah…Silence,” Ben exhaled with a quiet laugh, turning towards Tom. “I love them dearly, honestly I do. But I do admit that there are times I miss silence.”

“Now that I can believe,” Tom agreed with a smirk “And I’ve often heard my sisters’ make very similar remarks…” Causing both men to laugh and shake their heads. After several moments silence, he clapped his hands together. “So I do believe I was promised lunch…”

Which earned him an exaggerated eye roll. “I see how it is, Hiddleston. And I must say I am genuinely hurt to hear that my company ranks beneath food for you. If only your fans could see you now; gentleman, my left foot.”

Tom only shrugged in response. “I’m a man of simple needs.”

Lunch was a causal affair; Ben had thrown together a handful of sandwiches and various sides under the watchful eyes of his wife and the greedy hands of his eldest. They sat at the scarred wooden table in the kitchen and traded stories, catching up on the last few months of each other’s lives. Tom found himself relaxed and content in Ben’s company. They so rarely got the chance to do such things; work and the everyday happenings of life taking up so much of their time.

Ben rambled in his usual fashion about his latest filming experience and the trials and tribulations of being a father to two young boys. He joked about the latest project he was in talks for and the drawing his eldest had made him, “He swears up and down it’s a cat, but for the life of me I cannot see it.”

The drawing in question hung on the fridge held up with two cheery yellow magnets. And no matter how Tom squinted at it, he couldn’t make out what the squiggly blob was either and told him so. Ben laughed and shook his head.

“So what’s new in the life of the infamous Tom Hiddleston?” Ben inquired with a waggle of his eyebrows.

Tom leaned back in his chair, stretching his arms over his head. “I’ve got a few conventions scheduled in the States,” he paused and rubbed his over his beard in thought. “And a couple fun one off theater activities…And potentially a play if things continue to fall into place. So quite a bit actually. Which is nice. I’ve been starting to get rather antsy of late.”

Ben nodded. “Now that I can understand all too well.” He leaned forward and smiled at Tom in the way that always meant trouble. “And anything happening in the non-working vein, my friend?” And there it was, the long awaited subtle-not-so-subtle pry into his personal life. He’d known it was coming. It always did. But he’d remained ever hopeful Ben would let it slide. Just once. Alas, today was not to be that day.

“You’re lack of subtlety never ceases to astound me,” Tom chuckled, resting his elbows on the table. Ben merely shrugged and leaned back, shooting Tom a knowing look. They sat in silence for several moments before Tom let out a resigned sigh and admitted, “Nothing of note.”

He had been on a few one off dates and more than a few ‘my friend knows this wonderful girl I think you’d really get on with’. They were, as a rule of thumb, lovely people and quite a few Tom had genuinely liked, but in the end nothing seemed to stick. It had been disheartening, but not at all surprising. His life, even now when things had calmed significantly, had made anything beyond casual difficult to maintain. And he’d learned the hard way trying to force something only ended in disaster.

“What about that one girl…Hannah, was it? You seemed to get on fine with her…”

Tom shrugged, “Hollie, actually. And it fizzled out.” He leaned back in his own chair, running his hand over his eyes. She’d been a charming woman and they’d gotten on well, but she’d had…expectations of his time that he hadn’t been able to meet. His schedule, while very much slowed, still kept him relatively busy and had cut into time with Hollie, something she had not appreciated. So they had parted ways after a handful of weeks. “Sometimes I wonder if any of it is actually worth the effort.”

“Stuff and nonsense. You and I both know you don’t believe that for a moment.”

“Just because things worked for you doesn’t make it so across the board,” Tom pointed out, taking a long swallow from his bottle of water. “Not everyone in our line of work gets so lucky. I’ve been home more now in the last few years than I have for most of my adult life, which is all well and good. But as a general rule, my life isn’t exactly settled and nor is it easy. And I don’t know too many non-industry women who’d be perfectly content to be with a bloke who’s rarely home or one whose life is picked apart and therefore puts their own into that domain.” He shrugged, placing his bottle back onto the table. “That just leaves fellow actors and the like and I’ve had more than enough experience with how that can go wrong to want to subject myself or any potential partner to that any time soon.”

Ben grimaced. “Things weren’t ever really going to work with that relationship and I think you knew that from the start.”

Tom opened his mouth to deny Ben’s words but quickly let it fall shut. That relationship was over long before it had really gotten the chance to start. But his own stubbornness and determination hadn’t let him walk away. He’d known shortly after their initial meeting that this thing that had sparked between them would never work. But he’d perused it anyway, blindly seeking something real. It had been a reaction to Amy’s wedding, to seeing her happy and settled and wanting that so desperately for himself. He knew that now, but then…He’d let himself it caught up in the rush of emotion and hadn’t paused once to really think what he was doing. And it had ended just as quickly as it had begun and just as publicly.

He’d dealt with the confused stares and the whispered conversations from friends and family alike. Dealt with the backlash and the blatant mocking and ridicule of the press and from the fan base. It was a reaction he hadn’t expected and at first didn’t know how to handle. And looking back, Tom wondered just how he’d navigated through it all and come out as unscathed as he had.

Ben leaned forward and rested his hand on Tom’s forearm. “I get that you’re a fair bit jaded and not exactly convinced, but don’t simply write it off. The most spectacular things happen when you least expect them to. Look at me. I’d known Sophie for years. We’d cross paths and almost dance around each other but nothing ever came of it. Until it did. And it’s been wonderful.” Tom quirked an eyebrow and Ben paused and laughed. “I’m not saying it’s been easy because lord knows it’s been trying at times, but I wouldn’t change any of it for the world.” He clapped Tom on the shoulder. “It’ll happen, mate. Just give it time.”

Tom shrugged. “Maybe. Maybe not.”

“I’ve never known you to be a pessimist, my friend.”

Tom shook his head, “Not pessimism, more trying to be realistic about it.” He waved off Ben’s protestations. “It’s fine, honestly. I’ve got a pretty decent life going, if I do say so myself. And if something ever does happen…Well that would be grand, but I’m not waiting with baited breath over it either.”

Ben simply shrugged and the matter had been dropped. Tom had let himself sit, idly talking with Ben for another hour; only taking his leave when Sophie and the boys had returned in mass, both little ones tired and cranky from their adventures. Sophie had stuck her head into the kitchen on her way upstairs to settle the children down for their afternoon nap, “I see my darling husband hasn’t scared you off just yet.”

Tom laughed heartily, “Nah, takes more than a bit of nosing about to send me running for the hills. But,” he started, stretching as he stood from the table. “It is about time I was off. Bobby’s been in the back garden and I really should check and make sure he’s not dug himself to China or ruined the flowering bushes…Again.” Both Ben and Sophie laughed. “I will see you lot, later then?” The nodded their ascent and Tom made his way out the front door and back into the pleasantly sunny and warm London afternoon.

The walk home had been just as uneventful as the walk there had been, allowing him time to mull over his talk with Ben. It was the same thing, just with slightly different wrapping around it, and while he knew his friend meant well, talking only made the differences in their respective lives all the more apparent. Tom let out a long sigh of frustration as he turned onto his street, determined to put it out of his mind. There were far too many things needing settled in his life to even contemplate any of that. He managed to smile and wave at one of his neighbors as he climbed his front stairs, unlocking and pushing in the black lacquered front door. The foyer was markedly cool and the sudden temperature change sent a shiver down his spine.

Bobby, thankfully, hadn’t dug up the back garden. The spaniel, thrilled at both his master’s return and the prospect of going back into the house, had jumped and barked like mad, running in tight little circles around Tom’s feet before dashing inside. Tom laughed despite himself. His life, though not quite how he’d pictured it, was decent and more than fulfilling. So it wasn’t perfect, but it was enough.

Next

[singledarkshade]

The Future

Summary: Rip Hunter spent his life trying to protect time and the people he loved but lost absolutely everything because of it. No family, imprisoned by the organisation he created to replace the one that betrayed him and shunned by the team he brought together. Safe on a new Earth with the now human Gideon, Rip has a chance of a new life with his best friend at his side once more. After everything that happened Gideon is finally safe. Now she and Rip are starting their future together.

Author’s Note: For TimeShip Week Day 7: If there’s anything we missed or something you didn’t get the chance to share, this is a perfect day to post it. So, for the final day of Timeship Week, I thought I would do a small add-on to my The Lost Ones series. The previous stories can be found here: The Lost Ones, Moving Forward Holding Back, Left Behind, All I Desire, A Part Of Something and Burning. Enjoy.                                 ********************************************* “Good morning.”

Gideon laughed when Alex threw open the door to her spare room that Gideon had been staying in for the night with a breakfast tray, setting in on the bed with a flourish.

“This was nice of you,” Gideon smiled shyly as she looked at the breakfast Alex had made her, “It is strange to have slept here last night though.”

“Of course it was,” Alex chuckled as she stole a piece of toast giving her friend an amused look, “Don’t think I don’t know you snuck upstairs last night for a few hours.”

A blush covered Gideon’s cheeks.

“Anyway,” Alex continued, “Eat up. I will draw you a bath. Hannah will be here in just over an hour to do your hair and make-up.”

“Alex,” Gideon called before she left, “Thank you for all you’ve done.”

Moving back to her friend, Alex squeezed her hand tightly, “You guys are getting married. It’s your day today.” Leaning over, Alex kissed the top of her friend’s head, “Now, eat your breakfast and don’t worry about anything. We’ve got you while Winn and James are getting Rip sorted.”

  Gideon lay back in the warm water filled with bubbles that smelled like strawberries. It was eight months since she’d had the baby, and they’d had to say goodbye to the child. Gideon took some time to get over the loss, and Rip let her have as long as she needed. Always by her side, never pushing and she loved him more for it.

She had no idea Rip was going to propose to her. Gideon never suspected he was even considering it because how could he remarry anyone else after Miranda? She was perfect.

The night he proposed he made her dinner, with all her favourite foods and just before dessert he placed the ring box on her plate while she was distracted.

Gideon would never forget the flutter in her stomach when she opened the box and found the small diamond ring inside it. Turning to him, she saw Rip on one knee at her side. Even better was he had made her favourite triple chocolate cake for her to eat for dessert.

Now, three months later Gideon was going to marry her Captain with all the people she loved surrounding them.

It was something she never expected to happen.

And she couldn’t wait.

  It was very relaxing having someone fix her hair and Gideon was enjoying having her friends around her while she was getting ready.

“You said Winn and James are sitting on Rip,” Hannah asked as she wrapped a section of Gideon’s hair around the curling iron.

“Rip will be fine,” Gideon told her, “He has done this before after all.”

Alex and Eve both started laughing while Kara patted Gideon’s hand.

“I’m sure he is just as excited as you are,” Kara told her sweetly, “And as nervous.”

Gideon smiled at her friend.

“He’ll be driving them crazy,” Alex laughed, “You know Rip.”

Eve nodded, “The man cannot sit still.”

The two women shared a smile making Gideon and Kara smile as well. Since she’d joined them Eve and Alex had become close, spending a lot of time together and Gideon hoped they would soon become more than friends.

“Here,” Eve handed Gideon a glass of orange juice, “Alex won’t let me open the champagne yet.”

“We want Gideon to walk down the aisle,” Alex chuckled, “Not stagger down.”

Rolling her eyes, Gideon took the glass, “Thank you, Captain Baxter.”

“My name, Gideon,” Eve chuckled.

Gideon blushed, “My apologies, Eve.”

“You’re getting there,” Eve squeezed her hand.

Alex laughed, “She still calls Rip Captain at times.”

“I bet she does,” Hannah smirked suggestively making Gideon blush even more.

                                  *********************************************

  The Phoenix had been decorated for the occasion. Gideon wanted Gilbert to be present for their wedding so Rip had ensured he would be. J’Onn was performing the ceremony while Winn was his best man and Alex was Gideon’s Maid of Honour.

It was going to be a perfect day.

When he had promised Gideon that they would start looking towards the future, he hadn’t considered marriage. They didn’t need a piece of paper to tell everyone they were committed to one another but the more he thought about it, Rip realised that it was more than a piece of paper. It was them standing together in front of everyone who cared for them declaring that they were committed to one another.

Roping in Alex to find the perfect ring for Gideon, Rip planned a proposal which had Gideon’s favourite foods and flowers. Extremely happy, and relieved, when she said yes.

  “How are you doing?” J’Onn asked, bringing Rip out his thoughts.

Rip nodded, “I’m fine.” At the disbelieving frown from the Martian, he shrugged, “A little nervous she’ll realise that she can do so much better than me.”

J’Onn laughed, “Well we all know that.”

Rip chuckled softly, “There was a time, not long ago I never thought I would ever find peace again. Never mind,” he motioned the room around them, “This.”

“Well,” J’Onn said, “I’m happy for you both.”

Rip smiled turning to look at the room around him, surprised by how many people there were for the ceremony. But Gideon was adored by the entire staff of the DEO and, to his own surprise, Rip had made a few friends outside the core group.

“Kara, just texted,” Winn appeared at his side, “The ladies are here. Let’s get to our places.”

Swallowing nervously Rip nodded and moved to join Winn at the front of the makeshift aisle.

He saw J’Onn nod slightly to James, and music filled the air.

  Gideon stepped out the elevator with her entourage excited and nervous.

“I’ve told Winn we’re here,” Kara said, she gently squeezed Gideon’s hand, “We’ll see you after the ceremony. I’ll be ready in case he runs.”

“Alex will have tackled him before then,” Eve assured her.

Chuckling Kara and Hannah headed in to join the rest of the congregation leaving Alex, Eve and Gideon.

“Ready?” Alex asked, holding the small bouquet of yellow roses that matched the flowers in her hair.

Gideon nodded, “Yes.”

“Then I’ll let James know,” Alex stepped forward towards the doors.

Gideon turned to Eve, “Thank you for being Gilbert’s proxy today.”

“I’m honoured that you asked me to and so is he,” Eve replied, holding out her arm, “Shall we?”

Taking a deep breath, trying to settle the flutter in her stomach, Gideon took Eve’s arm. When the music began they started walking into the room Gideon was going to marry her Captain.

The bridge was decorated but she didn’t see any of it. Gideon’s entire focus was on her Captain standing waiting for her at the end of the aisle. He was wearing a suit despite the fact Gideon had originally wanted him to look as he always did on the Waverider, Alex had talked her out of it. Instead they found a suit that was similar to one of her favourites that he had worn on missions.

Rip’s eyes were on her, a smile on his lips.

The moment she reached him, Rip offered his hand and Eve gave him a quick nod before she stepped back to join Kara and James.

  Rip was speechless as he watched Gideon walk towards him in a floor length satin white dress with her long hair curled falling around her shoulders. Her cheeks held a slight blush as she smiled brightly, her eyes shining as she held Eve’s arm. Eve was standing in for Gilbert to walk Gideon down the aisle, while his hologram sat watching over them.

When she reached him, Rip offered her his hand, smiling at how tightly she gripped it, showing she was just as nervous as he was.

“Welcome to everyone who has joined us today,” J’Onn started, “Friends and family to celebrate the union of two of our own.” He paused and smiled at them before continuing, “Gideon came to us with no knowledge of she was but instantly became loved because of her open heart. A few months later Rip joined us in what we now know is his normal fashion of utter chaos and sheer bloody mindedness.”

A ripple of laughter circled the room.

“He brought back Gideon’s memories,” J’Onn continued, “And, even though he tried not to for a long time, became a valuable member of our team as well as one of the family.”

He stopped again and smiled at them, “Rip and Gideon have written their own vows. Rip.”

Taking a deep breath, Rip turned to Gideon taking both her hands in his, “My dearest Gideon, my rock when I was lost. I don’t deserve anyone as amazing as you are, never mind you but I promise to always do my best to be worthy of the love you have given me. I love you always.”

Winn handed him the ring and Rip slid it onto her finger.

“Rip,” Gideon said, through tear-filled eyes, “My dearest Captain. I have been trying hard to think of what to say today, how to express all that you mean to me. I have loved you before I was human, when it was not even possible for me to love. That we are doing this, standing in front of everyone means more to me than I can say. I love you.”

Alex gave her the ring and Gideon slipped it on Rip’s finger.

“It is my great pleasure,” J’Onn said softly, “To pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss your bride, Mr Hunter.”

Applause surrounded them but Rip ignored it as he pulled Gideon into his arms and kissed her.

                                  *********************************************

  Gideon sighed softly as she danced with Rip, her head resting against his shoulder while he gently drew his hand along her spine.

“Hey,” Rip murmured softly, “Look over there.”

Gideon followed his line of sight and smiled to see Alex with Eve hidden away in a corner, standing close together. After a few seconds Alex leaned in and placed a gentle kiss on Eve’s lips.

“It’s about time,” Gideon laughed softly.

Rip tightened his arms around her, “It looks like I owe Gilbert an upgrade. He predicted this would happen today.”

“My brother has always been a hopeless romantic,” Gideon smiled, looking up at Rip, “Thank you for finding a way to include him.”

Brushing his lips to hers Rip breathed, “He’s your brother. Of course he had to be here. Everyone else we know and care about are here.”

Gideon smiled as she looked around the room including Eliza Danvers along with Cisco who was representing the Star Labs team. So many of the DEO had come to celebrate with them and the people they had come to call family.

“How about we leave everyone to the party,” Rip suggested, with a smile.

“You want to go home?” Gideon asked surprised.

Rip took her hand, “We’re not going home. We have the honeymoon suite at the National City Grande, then tomorrow we’re going away for a few days to a small hotel in the country.”

“You…”

He grinned, “I thought that we should take some time together alone.”

“A honeymoon,” Gideon said, wrapping her arms around his neck, “Sounds like a wonderful idea.”

“Glad you approve,” he kissed her softly.

Gideon smiled before pulling back, “Wait, I’ve not packed anything.”

“I asked Alex to pull some things together for you,” Rip told her, “Everything is in the car waiting for us. Are you ready?”

Taking his hand, Gideon nodded, “Let’s go.”

Slipping away from the crowd, Rip led Gideon down to the car that he had packed for them without her suspecting. Sliding into the passenger seat Gideon looked across at her Captain, now husband and smiled. Rip leaned over to kiss her softly.

“Are you ready to go to our future?” he whispered.

Gideon smiled, stroking his cheek, “Completely.”

With another quick kiss, Rip started driving, heading for their future.

[winchester-writes]

A Queen for the King #7

Summary: With a righteous blow, Arthur defeated Vortigern, destroyed the looming tower, and had taken his rightful place on the throne, vowing to do whatever was necessary to defend the kingdom, and her people. He was a King of the people; honest, compassionate, hard working. Everything that Vortigern was not. There was just one thing missing; the woman he was betrothed to as a child. There is a saying, after all; every king needs a queen. Characters in this chapter: Arthur Pendragon, female reader, Hannah [minor ofc] Characters mentioned: People of the kingdom  Pairing: Arthur Pendragon x female reader Word Count: 1,483 Warnings: Cavity-inducing fluff Author’s Note: Thank you so much for all the support and positivity you have shown us! This series would be nothing without you.

Co-written with @mrs-squirrel-chester

***Our work is not to be posted on any other sites without our express written permission.***

PREVIOUSLY ON A QUEEN FOR THE KING

Sighing in contentment, you spoke, not afraid of the words that were about to leave your lips, not after the incredibly private moment the two of you finally shared. “I think I'm falling in love with you.”

“That’s good,” he chuckled, turning to kiss your forehead. “Because I have already fallen.”

The day had finally come; you and Arthur were to be married, become husband and wife, strongly loving one another till your end of days. It's been three tiresome weeks as you helped plan out your wedding.

The morning after you spent a most magical night with him, was when he asked you to officially marry him, that he couldn't stand another day without you having the Pendragon name as your own. You agreed, and within that day, the two of you started making arrangements.

It was to be a grand wedding, one fit for a King, but it was also to be a small wedding as Arthur wasn't a fan of grandeur. The two of you compromised certain things, but he left a majority of it for you to decide since this was a dream come true for you; something you had been looking forward to since you were little.

Now, there you stood, in front of two giant doors separating you from the man who was to be your husband, your King, forever. Bedivere smiled down at you in your elegant, flowing white dress, cream, lace butterflies and ribbon elegantly twisted throughout your long, braided hair.

“Are you ready m’lady?” He could not help but chuckle as you grinned wide, nodding your excitedly. You held your breath as soon as the doors were opened, and the moment you caught eyes with Arthur, it felt as if all the air had been stolen from your lungs.

There he stood, at the end of the aisle, donning his best white uniform, the one you begged him to get tailored and wear, sword at his side, golden crown sitting proudly atop his head. His eyes grew wide, and he gasped at the sight of you, his lips moving as he talked to no one but himself. You found yourself wanting to know what he had said, but Bedivere squeezed your hand, drawing your attention back to the present.

“Thank the gods for you,” you breathed. “I would not be able to walk on my own.”

Bedivere smiled. “It is an honor to escort our future Queen.” Arriving at the altar, Bedivere placed your hands in Arthur’s, and bowed out of respect more than duty.

“You are a vision, my love,” Arthur whispered breathlessly, his hands squeezing yours.

Blushing under his words and the weight of his gaze, you sniffled, determined not to cry. At least, not yet. “Thank you,” you replied, mere seconds before the ceremony started.

The ceremony was traditional; the vow of fidelity, to love one another, no matter the hardship, pledging honesty and obedience, the exchange of rings - a simple gold band for Arthur, a sapphire encrusted band for you, and the blessings the minister bestowed upon you.  As soon as the minister gave his permission for Arthur to kiss you, he had you wrapped tightly in his arms, and there was a chorus of exclamations as soon as Arthur’s lips touched yours.

The rest of the day was spent in celebration; drinking, dancing, and laughing. Surrounded by family and friends, the extremely sweet people of the kingdom, you could not be happier.

The next week was your coronation; you were going to be crowned Queen, and rule alongside Arthur. The title was not important to you, as long as you and Arthur together for the remainder of your days, you would be the happiest woman alive.

Arthur led you to the altar, your hand draped over his, crown adorning his head, wearing the same suit he wore the week prior. Seeing him in it made your stop flop lazily, and a blush colored your cheeks.

“Easy, my love,” he purred into your ear. “You can undress me later.”

“Is that a promise?” you asked, licking your lips in a suggestive manner. With a wink, Arthur nodded before giving his full attention to the man standing ahead, sparkling crown at his side, large book in his hands.

As soon as the Archbishop began to speak, butterflies erupted in your stomach. You knew nothing about leading people, providing for a whole kingdom. What if you were a terrible queen, one that made one wrong decision, and ended up getting people hurt, even killed? You felt nauseous and lightheaded at the thought.

"Oh gods, the crown of the faithful; bless we beseech thee and sanctify this thy servant, our queen, and as thou dost this day set a crown upon her head, so enrich her royal heart with thine abundant grace, and crown her with all princely virtues through the gods eternal. Amen,” announced the Archbishop.

Arthur accompanied you to the throne, where the two of you sat while the Dean of your kingdom carried the crown; the Archbishop trailing him. The Dean placed the crown in the Archbishop’s hands, who then reverently placed it upon your head.

As soon as the Archbishop stepped back, the kingdom rejoiced, “Gods save the Queen. Gods save the Queen. Gods save the Queen!” Arthur was clapping and wearing a proud smile, his men had their fists clapped to their chests, over their hearts, bowing to you as they have their King.

Finally, the Archbishop, standing before you, said, “Gods crown you with a crown of glory and righteousness, that having a right faith and manifold fruit of good works, you may obtain the crown of an everlasting kingdom by the gift of him whose kingdom endureth for ever."

To that, the guests, with heads bowed, and concurred, "Amen."

Later, at the celebration, you and Arthur spun lazily around the dance floor, one arm around your back, securing you to his chest, looking deep into your eyes.

So much had happened in so little time, everything was overwhelming, at least that was the reason Arthur gave you when you woke up earlier the next week not feeling so well.

When Arthur woke up that morning, he barely brushed back the curtains, only letting a sliver of light into the room. Opening one eye, you were able to catch his bare ass walking through the bathroom door. Smiling, you rolled over, but regretted it as your stomach turned. A small groan fell from you, gaining the attention of your husband.

The bathroom door creaked open, and Arthur walked over to you, crawling in behind you, and holding you close, his lips below your ear. “Still not feeling well my Queen?”

Shaking your head was all you could muster, as you felt you would have to rush to the bathroom to dry heave, if you spoke. He brushed a stray strand of hair out of your face before placing a kiss on your cheek.

“I have some ‘Kingly’ duties to do today.” He put air quotes around Kingly, he hated having to leave you when you felt like this. He stressed that the first day you felt this sickly, and he could do nothing to help. “I should be back around lunch time. If you're feeling well enough I will see you in the dining hall. If not, I will come see you in here again.”

“I'm sorry I cannot attend again, my love… I know we are a team now, and I'm lacking in my duties as Queen.” You cupped his face and ran a thumb across his freshly shaven cheek.

“You get your rest, that is more important than any royal duties, the people will understand.” Arthur rose from the bed and started to get dressed for the day.

Once completely dressed he was giving you one last kiss to your forehead before walking out of the room. Just as the door latched closed, it opened again, this time with Hannah walking through it.

“M’ lady, may I discuss something with you?”

“Of course,” you obliged, sitting up as well as you could, giving her a soft smile, patting the side of the bed. “You know you can always talk to me about anything.”

Hannah nodded before she came to sit next to you in the bed. “If I may be so bold, I may have a reason as to why you've been so tired and not feeling well, your majesty. I've seen it a few times with some of the girls at the brothel.”

Your brow furrowed as you cocked your head at her. “How is it that a prostitute and a Queen have something in common?” You did not mean it to come out so harshly.

“I meant no disrespect, m’lady. It's just… your sheets have been clean for over a week, you're emptying the contents of your stomach daily, and feeling dreary,” Hannah stated as she nervously played with a string on one of the blankets.

The wheels turned in your head, but you were not sure if you were ready to believe what you are thinking was true or not. “What exactly are you saying Hannah?”

“I think you are pregnant, my Queen.”

EIGHT

ALWAYS & FOREVER: @deansdirtylittlesecretsblog @busybee612 @awkward-squash-sparrow @waywardimpalawriter @thinkwritexpress-official @mrs-moose-chester @dean-in-the-devils-trap @badassbaker @honestly-how-do-you-art @lucifer-in-leather @sunriserose1023 @storytelling-reader @thing-you-do-with-that-thing @screeching-pterodactyl-fangirl @xtina2191 @deaths-damn-fruit-basket @number-one-supernatural-trash @mizzezm @padathatackles @howlingbarnes @mizzzpink @sherrybaby14 @jensen-gal @dragontearsandunicornfears @vale0413 @youtoldalie @oriona75 @just-another-busy-fangirl @docharleythegeekqueen @palaiasaurus64 @iamwarrenspeace @gallxntdean @caitsymichelle13 @queencflair @sallyp-53 @mogaruke @lilacs-lavender @percywinchester27 @einhornisch @psychicwitchphilosopher @juanitadiann @pabegay1 @angelsandwinchesters @melanie451 @sgarrett49 @avengersgirllorianna @thecynicalnerd @moonlessnight14 @gemini75eeyore A Queen for the King: @because-imma-lady-assface @katymacsupernatural @concertxjunkie @the-witching-hours12-3 @sgtjamesbuchananbarnes107th @rebelslicious @rda1989 @notyetraised-fromperdition @gettinjoyful @carbonated-beverage @fast-times-in-the-impala @mylittlefandomfanfictions @goldenolaf25 @deangirl1992 @fangirl--of-everything @brewsthespirit-blog @delicrieux @nuvoleincielo @vikingsfloki @darkkittymews @thebabeontheback @thevioletthourr @imyourliquor-youremypoison @i-never-said-a-pilot @faegal04 @blu-eyed-devil @hopplessdreamer @jessilliam-caronday @deekaahtj @succubussass @trisclary123 @aeryntheofficial @garnetandlace @whispersofjoy @sweatshirtsfromsatan @damnandriel-in-hell @14readwritedraw96 @meganlpie @aworldwideapart @caitlyn-blackwell @ellen-reincarnated1967 @ktgracee19

[gillytweed]

Cat Nap Chapter 2

Notes: And here’s Cat Nap chapter 2! Took a bit but I’m hoping to hop back into writing now that I’m no longer working and have more me time. 

The first chapter can be found here!

Akko had to hide behind her book to conceal her chuckle. The sight of Diana stretching in her cat form was rather hilarious if one knew she was actually human. The thought of the blonde stretching the same way but as a human always made giggles bubble in her throat, but thus far she’d done a good job of hiding her mirth. A good track record considering they’d had this arrangement going for about two months now. She let her eyes track Diana’s tail as it swished through the air, a low groan of satisfaction rumbling in the cat’s chest as she finished her stretch. The blonde shook herself, a few strands of fur flying into the air and settling on the table they’d situated themselves at in the far corner of the library before returning to her reading on Magic Linguistics.

After a bit of research, Akko was fairly certain that as a cat Diana was an American Short hair. A bit hilarious considering the blonde was from Scotland. Her blonde coat, a bit lighter than her human hair colour, was dotted with a ever so slightly darker pattern of spots and stripes, and her blue eyes somehow looked just as sharp and intelligent in the face of a cat as they did when she was human. It reinforced the fact that Diana was, in general, a beautiful creature no matter what form she took.

Akko shuffled a bit, blushing at where her thoughts had gone, and tried to relax a little more into her chair as she attempted to refocus on her book. Magic Law wasn’t the most interesting of subjects, but she did feel a bit of pride in the fact that she was getting better. Even more so now that she was taking Diana to the library practically every weekend, where she really didn’t have much else to do but study as well.

Out of the corner of her eye she could see Diana absorbed in a book on advanced Magic Linguistics. The book was propped up by several others of varying subjects, which let the girl turned cat simply swipe the pages on her own, as when the book was laid down, her claws would more often than not tear the pages or her paw would swipe at an awkward angle, crumpling the paper. It was an idea Akko was rather proud to say she came up with, especially after her concentration was broken so many times when Diana would meow for the page to be turned, which happened rather often considering Diana read fast. The blonde could blaze through a chapter in the time it took Akko to get through a few pages of her own, an ability that made her status as the top student all the more obvious.

Taking a deep breath, she dragged her eyes away from Diana. She’d found it had become much harder to focus on her own studies the longer they stayed in the library. The first hour or so would be rather productive. She’d finish a chapter or write some notes, maybe even do a practice sheet of questions, but almost every time they’d reach the sixty minute mark her focus would begin to wander. Gradually at first, the flick of Diana’s tail would catch her eye, or the sound of a yawn would pull her attention over, then she’d simply lose time as she’d observe the other girl.

The way she sat, spine straight and regal with her tail wrapped neatly around her paws, always brought up an image of human Diana in her mind. As did the way she’d tilt her head slightly as she considered something she’d read, and how she’d reach out with her paw to turn a page. Every action always seemed to create a ghost in Akko’s mind, her imagination showing her the human equivalent. She couldn’t exactly say that it was a bad thing, but it sure was distracting.

Yawning a little, she slumped a bit in her chair, letting her eyes fall shut as she rested her book on her chest. A few moments to rest her eyes wouldn’t hurt. She’d done it before and she’d generally managed to focus a bit better after the fact. Another yawn slipped from her as she took her break. It was a couple hours from dinner time, so the sun was just starting to set, making warm sunlight stream in through the many windows and heating the room to a comfortable warmth.

She could have sworn she’d closed her eyes for only a few minutes, but when she opened them she felt groggy and the library had been thrown into a soft darkness. The large clock above the checkout desk told her that it was about half an hour before dinner. She yawned widely, letting her jaw pop as she stretched her arms above her head. Blinking, she turned to look for Diana, heart stuttering when she found the girl turned feline gone from her perch on the table.

Trying not to look visibly panicked, as there were still quite a few people left in the library, she scanned around to the other tables, trying to catch sight of a flickering blonde tail. After she couldn’t spot her in the main area, she began to wander between the shelves. She couldn’t have wandered that far could she? Diana wasn’t one to simply vanish without a word or at least leaving a note.

When she couldn’t find her after several minutes of searching, her imagination began to wander. Had she somehow been catnapped? She was adorable after all. Akko wouldn’t be surprised if someone resorted to catnapping simply to have such an adorable cat. Could she have wandered into the restricted samples section and gotten eaten by a carnivorous plant? There were some pretty dangerous magical objects in there and as a cat she was rather small, then again it was restricted. Her imagination continued to distract her, so much so that she nearly ran full on into another student.

The other girl blinked, a stack of books in her arms, as Akko weaved around her awkwardly, almost falling over in an attempt to avoid a collision. Once balanced, she straightened and felt another surge of panic as she realized she’d almost run into one of Diana’s roommates, Barbara.

“Oh, hi Akko, where’s your cat friend?” Akko smiled awkwardly. Apparently more than a few people had noticed her new companion, and in hindsight just suddenly having a cat wasn’t exactly subtle.

“Uuh, I was just looking for her actually…” She tried to inch away, hoping to end the conversation before something that could compromise her and Diana’s arrangement happened. If they were found out it would be kind of hard to explain. What would they say? ‘Oh Diana was stressed so I turned her into a cat to avoid everyone.’ Yeah, that would totally work.

“Oh cool, I’ll help you. What’s her name?” Well tits…. Akko had always found Barbara to be a bit more friendly than Hannah, even more so now that she and Diana seemed to be on good terms, but in this situation she wished that Barbara would go back to being her original mocking self.

“Di-cat..uh.” She fumbled for an answer, starting to automatically say ‘Diana’ before she caught herself. She winced a little as Barbara gave her an odd look.

“Dicata?” She sounded sceptical, and honestly who could blame her. Akko had vomited syllables hoping it made sense.

“Uh, yes?” She knew even she sounded unsure, but she tried to hide it with a sunny smile and laugh. “It was a spur of the moment name.” Yeah, no kidding. The other girl simply nodded, looking amused as she set her books down.

“I’ll look on the other side of the library while you continue here, okay?” Akko nodded, feeling a slight surge of panic. What would happen if Barbara found Diana first? She had to hurry.

She waited for Barbara to turn a corner before she began speed walking down the aisles, searching as quickly as she could. With any luck, she’d find Diana first, explain the situation, and avoid any awkward miscommunications. Of course, luck was rarely on her side, so obviously several minutes later, the other girl reappeared, Diana trapped snuggly in her arms.

“I found her! She was near the Magic Linguistics section.” Of course, Diana was studying Magic Linguistics before, so of course she’d go and browse to continue her reading. Akko resisted the urge to smack her own forehead because of her stupidity, instead taking an indignant Diana into her arms, small questioning meows slowly growing louder in volume.

“Uh, thanks. We won’t miss dinner now.” She tried to make it sound like a joking comment but the questioning glare Diana was giving her made her swallow thickly, ruining the tone she was trying to go for.

“Well that’s good, don’t want this girl to starve now do we?” Barbara scratched behind Diana’s ears lightly, drawing out a soft purr. It seemed Barbara was a cat person.

“Yeah, I should probably clean up my books though. Thanks again for the help!” She slowly inched away, Diana letting out a slight burble of disappointment when the scratching stopped. Barbara simply waved goodbye with a smile, returning to her own little pile of books that she’d had before.

Akko made her way back to the corner table, letting out a relieved sigh once she was far enough away. Diana continued to look at her skeptically, and suddenly she wished she knew what Diana was thinking. They couldn’t exactly communicate very well, seeing as she couldn’t understand Diana without an awkward game of charades.

“Sorry, I woke up and you were gone. I kinda panicked and Barbara offered to help look for you.” She admitted as she set the blonde feline down on the table and slumped back into her chair, letting her head rest on the tables edge. She moved to scratch behind Diana’s ears to further her apology, but a gentle paw stopped her, pushing her hand down until it rested on the table.

Diana looked up at her with an expression she couldn’t exactly decipher. There was at least one part exasperation, something that seemed like mirth, maybe affection, and something else that she wasn’t entirely sure what to call. Either way, the look eased the knot of anxiety in her chest that she hadn’t realized had remained even after finding Diana. She gave a small smile back, unsure of how to respond.

The small feline stepped forward, nuzzling against her face and letting out a soft purr. Diana’s fur tickled, drawing small giggles from the human girl, as well as the slightest urge to sneeze. She continued to laugh softly as she pulled away, patting Diana on the head as she started to stack the books into neat piles. She didn’t dare attempt to actually put them away herself. The sprites in charge of the library had a system that they were so set on that even a slightly crooked book made them mad, so she simply made them as neat as possible and placed them on the return table before returning to scoop up Diana.

“Shall we go get dinner?” She asked as she exited the library. They’d taken to getting dinner together after their little library sessions. It was a way to unwind, and Diana could relax just that little bit longer and eat uninterrupted before returning to her human life. Diana meowed softly in agreement, resting her head in the crook of Akko’s elbow. Humming softly, she made her way to the dining hall, letting her thoughts wander.

For a while she wondered what was for dinner, what Lotte and Sucy were up to, would they want to go into town with her in the next while, would Diana want to come with them, then Akko nearly stopped walking when she wondered if Diana was aware of her cat persona’s new name, and how long she had to fully explain if she didn’t. Diana looked at her inquiringly, meowing softly, obviously wanting to know what was wrong as Akko chuckled nervously. Really she needed to figure out a way to communicate with the other girl when she was in cat form. It would make life so much easier.

[x-irememberyearsago-x]

Notes – Zach Dempsey x Reader

Summary: 13 Reasons Why. On tape number 7, as we all know, is the chapter of Zach Dempsey and the "joke" that makes Hannah with the note in her bag.

I heard this song while I was writing.

Words: 2590

Reader's point of view.

Enjoy it!

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What were they debating? I listened to many voices, each giving their opinions on the subject that was written on the board. It had turned out to be a suggestion from some of us, anonymously, it might even have tried one of my ideas, but I was sure I had not written anything and put it in the teacher's bag. I went back to reading the blackboard, drugs, which is so much seen and boring. As if none of those around me knew the subject perfectly, and worse, they had put it into practice. I shrugged and continued to scribble in my notebook as I listened word after word, it was unbelievable that some defended the fact of being killed that way, and they did it in front of an authority. What a bah, at last was the life of everyone.

The bell rang, I sighed, relieved that the torture was finally over. I didn’t complain about the class, it was good as long as the subjects were of the same quality. Not any nonsense that we have been informed since we have "enough maturity" to cover those issues. It was urgent for me to be in college.

"Remember to check your bags!" Exclaimed the teacher in a jovial tone.

I smiled, it was a little exaggerated enthusiasm. I knew how many notes I would have in my bag, maybe one or two, I was safer than one. To get rid of some sermon, Skye and I made a pact, I left a note in her bag and she did the same in mine. We were friends, not intimate but whenever we took the paper we were giving a look and smile of complicity. And there it was, unfolding the piece of paper with a simple hello and an emoticon :P I laughed and put it in my pocket. I had another, I unfolded it, Sheri, and another ... Zach? I frowned, he had never left me a note; instead, I thought I didn’t even know i existed for him. I looked at him out of the corner of my eye as he checked his bag, on the contrary, I knew he was on this planet and at school. For a few seconds I noticed his face of disappointment and I waited patiently to get something out of his bag, but nothing, now understood the reason of his expression. What the hell? How could someone as known as Zach Dempsey, basketball star, not have a note? In what world had we fallen? As far as I was concerned, the sportsman was the most beloved, even a Troy Bolton in person.  I buffet in my interior, how curious.

I bit my lip. I had never stopped to leave a note to the aforementioned, I thought that, with so many that would have, mine would be one more of the pile and insignificant. Because i liked him a lot, but, i wasn’t a cheerleader or someone with a notorious talent. I hated it when Mom dragged me to gym classes. And give encouragement? I barely and could give them myself before stepping into this jungle every morning.

"Another rabbit?" I heard to my left.

I turned to see Sheri and Hannah smile at the small drawing the latter held in her hands. I smiled when I saw it, how funny and tender. Hannah started to laugh. Apparently it was not the first time she received one but she seemed to love it.

"It's beautiful," I said. Both girls turned to see me and nodded.

I left the room even without reading the little note of Zach, I was dying of the emotion to know that said but also filled with fear. The main rule of notes on paper bags was that they should only leave positive messages, so it was more or less certain, never really known.

At lunchtime I was sitting with some friends with whom I didn’t share many classes, but we got together from the first year and they were very nice companies. In my hand I still held the paper already wrinkled by my nerves. They all knew about the class I took and also my taste for a sportsman, almost everyone encouraged me to read it at one time, others, wanted to keep an eye on it and warn me if it was worth that I knew its content or if It was just a bunch of crap. In the end, I took courage and decided it was time, however, before opening the paper I heard an angry scream on the other side of the cafeteria.

I turned. Zach Dempsey was standing in front of the person who had heard the scream, when it moved, we all realized that it was Hannah Baker. The place was silent, making that moment more uncomfortable between the two of them, and even for me. I had never seen those two together and to be honest, the reaction I got wasn’t good at all, I mean, Hannah was really beautiful, I could not compare to her. I crumpled the piece of paper again and hid it in the depths of my backpack. Whatever I said there, it would only serve to excite me.

Zach left the cafe in silence, without turning to see anyone. I also did it, but on the opposite side from where he had left.

Two days later

"Oh, fuck!" I exclaimed as I quickly stood up from the bench where I was resting with Skye. I had passed olympically from the cafeteria.

"What?" My friend seemed surprised by my reaction.

"I forgot my hearing aids in the communication class"

It was unforgivable that I would walk in this jungle without the faithful company of music. I just couldn’t believe I forgot them, they were my best friends. I said goodbye to her and I almost ran down the hall, there was a chance that I would never see them again and the money I had, I was saving for something else, if I invested in new hearing aids, I would have to practically start Of zero my savings, which wasn’t much by the way.

I dodged the people I ran into in the hallways. I looked like the devil's soul, but I felt that with every second they were alone at my desk, more danger ran. I stopped to recover the air a few meters from the living room door. I wasn’t an athletic girl and this was too much of a stretch on my part, I needed to sit down soon.

When I looked to the front, I discovered that Hannah peered almost desperately into the classroom. I missed myself and I hit the lockers hoping to see what happened. She made several gestures, surprise, indignation but, at the end of all, sadness. But what was happening? I took a step with the intention of approaching her and investigating what she was spying ... or who. Suddenly, the identity of the "stranger" was revealed. Zach came out of the classroom with a paper in his hands and the blank expression, almost guilty, seemed nervous. Had he finally received a note? So why his reaction like that?

"Why me, Zach? Why me?"

I jumped. I hadn’t realized how much the boy had advanced, but most of all, that Hannah had walked almost to my height. I felt her tear-filled eyes as she faced the boy for what to know. As in the cafeteria, we all fell silent, apparently this couple had a lot to show. I dared to look at Zach, even with the paper in his hands and his serious countenance, stopped in the middle of the hall and watched the one who had shouted at him, I couldn’t decipher the way he looked at her, but I could still feel guilty ... Or maybe regret, it was hard to tell, Zach was a guy full of surprises.

Finally the tense atmosphere dissipated when he broke the bubble. He turned and left without even responding to Hannah. She turned, too.

"Hannah" I said without thinking, but she didn’t hear me and disappeared at one of the corners of the hall. I felt bad even though I didn’t know exactly what it was all about.

 At the end of class, I decided that I didn’t want to go home soon and I remembered that for the moment the auditorium would be empty, the practices would not start for forty-five minutes, enough time to finish some homework or just read without the annoying murmurs Which were heard in the study area. I just wanted silence, to be with my music and the notebook in my lap. As I predicted, the place was empty, I smiled as I climbed the steps to be in the middle and proceeded with what I had planned, however, my concentration wasn’t in the equations in front of me, but rather in what had happened in the hallway does only a few hours. As I watched, Zach was a good guy, maybe something childish from time to time, but i couldn’t imagine that would bring against Hannah but above all, what will have done. I bit my pencil, he had a note in his hand when he left the classroom ... What if it was not for him? What if it wasn’t from his bag? I bit the pencil harder, why did Hannah spy on him? why she? I got an idea of ​​what might have happened and maybe it would be related to what happened in the cafeteria.

My heart began to beat faster. I understood that he had some interest in her, of course. A hint of disappointment hugged me and I realized that I still hoped he would look at me, but how to do it if we have not even crossed words at any time? Or at least not to any class. I sighed.

I turned off the music on my phone, ready to leave. Being in school made me think about everything that happened here; At least at home I could be distracted by Netflix or loud music and hundreds and hundreds of homework. As he heard me around again, I heard the bounce of a ball, I looked up. Right in front of the basket I recognized Zach's body, especially for the height. My heart raced on instinct and I hated it. So, I had two options, to leave like a ninja, that is to say, without being heard or to be seen, or to leave the shyness and cowardice and finally to speak to him. I bit my lip but cheered.

"Zach!" I exclaimed as I approached him.

He dropped the ball and turned to raise his eyebrows. Yes, I'm talking to you. I tried not to roll my eyes.

"Hey, Y/N" He greeted me as if greeting one of his friends. Well, it was a start.

"You're good? You look kind of annoying "

Conversation. I really needed some conversation.

"I'm fine." He hesitated a little. "Did you read my note?"

His note? Holy sh*t! I had completely forgotten, had to remain in my backpack, crushed by my books and other nonsense. I bit my lip. My face was a poem and I knew I had given the answer to his question when he chuckled.

"I'm sorry" I whispered "It's ... it surprised me, I mean, I didn’t even think i existed for you"

"Why do you say that? You look like a great girl. I like your opinions in class, when the subject interests you"

I blushed. Zach Dempsey had watched me, and more than that, he seemed to know me at least a little of what I could have imagined after this conversation. I smiled. He was undoubtedly speechless.

"Anyway, I'll see you later, Y/N"

He took the ball and walked to pick up his backpack and jacket. What? Had that been our whole conversation? I stood there as he left, then noticed that a piece of paper had fallen to him.

"Zach, wait!" I shouted but not hoping to be heard.

I went to where he had collected his belongings and took that forgotten paper. I know I should not read it, not even open it, but I was curious, whether it was the one Hannah had been angry about or was simply a task that was aimed at there. Anyway, I opened it and read its contents. My heart was broken as I read every word Hannah expressed there, her feelings, emotions, how she was happy to receive his drawing of rabbit every time we had communication, as a small detail illuminated her interior ... and that Zach had snatched her away, so my conclusions weren’t so far-fetched. Zach Dempsey stole the bag notes from Hannah Baker!

With tears in my eyes and anger at something that didn’t belong to me, I ran to the parking lot, I knew the sportsman's car and I was glad to find him, but above all, to him without leaving. He was throwing his backpack into the back seats when I confronted him.

"Why did you do it, Zach?"

He looked at me confused. I handed him the note and he took it, deserved to keep it as a constant reminder of his acts of immaturity. All because of a rejection? I had lived with at least three and that wasn’t stealing valuable belongings from each of them. I clenched my hands in fists, perhaps mine were simple jealousy, that his attention was on her not me, or perhaps the actions he did. I didn’t know and I didn’t stop to find out.

"You didn’t have to read this, Y/N." He shook the note in front of my nose and tucked it in his pants pocket.

"I didn’t, but I did. Why are you so cruel? Why do that?"

"It's just silly, I don’t know why you take it so hard" He opened the driver's door "Besides, it's supposed to be Hannah who should be here, you have nothing to do with this"

"Did you at least understand what that letter meant?"

I hated a lot when someone hurt someone else's feelings, especially in such a stupid act as the sportsman had carried out.

"I'm sorry, alright? Is it what you want to hear? I won’t mess with that stupid bag ever again"

"You don’t have to apologize to me" I said seriously.

"But at least it made you happy, didn’t it? What I wanted to get when you read my note"

"What?"

Zach got into his car and started off at full speed exiting the parking lot.  I was stony again, staring only at the smoke that the car had lifted when it left. Make me happy?

Hyperventilating I knelt on the floor and began to pull my things out of my backpack wanting to look for that note. When I finally found it I unfolded it, wanting to smooth it, but the pile of wrinkles indicated that that was already impossible. I felt a lump in my throat as I read what I had written.

You look pretty in that color. Maybe someday you want to go out with me, because I want to go out with you.

"Oh, fuck!" I whispered, reading those words more than once.

I looked back to where I had seen her car one last time and I felt like the dumbest person in the world. Why had not I read the note when I had the chance?

[onlyangcll]

answer all of those questions

okay im gonna do it

1. coffee mugs, teacups, wine glasses, water bottles, or soda cans?

water bottle

2. chocolate bars or lollipops? 

chocolate bars

3. bubblegum or cotton candy?

cotton candy

4. how did your elementary school teachers describe you?

uh as smart and kind when in reality i never knew what the fuck was happening

5. do you prefer to drink soda from soda cans, soda bottles, plastic cups, or glass cups?

soda bottles

6. pastel, boho, tomboy, preppy, goth, grunge, formal or sportswear?

can i wear pajamas

7. earbuds or headphones?

earbuds

8. movies or tv shows?

tv shows 

9. favorite smell in the summer?

the smell after it rains

10. game you were best at in p.e.?

if you though that i ever participated in p.e. in any point of my life ur funny

11. what do you have for breakfast on an average day?

i dont eat breakfast on an average day oop

12. name of your favorite playlist?

u already know blue gang babeys even though it scares me a bit

13. lanyard or key ring?

lanyard

14. favorite non-chocolate candy?

sour worms 

15. favorite book you read as a school assignment?

either secret life of bees or fucking of mice and men FUCK 

16. most comfortable position to sit in?

i would prefer laying on the floor tbh

17. most frequently worn pair of shoes?

u already know my air force 1′s babey

18. ideal weather?

crisp fall day where its under 60 degrees 

19. sleeping position?

usually just laying on my side

20. preferred place to write (i.e., in a note book, on your laptop, sketchpad, post-it notes, etc.)?

i’ve been writing in my journal a lot to vent so i guess there bc i dont rlly write other than that

21. obsession from childhood?

hannah montana

22. role model?

my mommy she is amazing

23. strange habits?

idk i bite my nails i dont rlly have that many weird habits

24. favorite crystal?

bruh when i was younger i had this whole crystal obsession and i love amethyst and it is my birthstone

25. what is the first song you remember hearing?

chasing cars 

26. favorite activity to do in warm weather?

go to the beach which i have only done once this summer because i had a major fucking breakdown after going and it made me not want to go for a while

27. favorite activity to do in cold weather?

not going outside oop legit just staying inside and watching netflix im a loser

28. five songs to describe you?

i am too lazy to find 5 songs to describe me can i just put yeah! by usher

29. best way to bond with you?

show me pictures of literally any of your animals and i will cry

30. places that you find sacred?

what is this even supposed to mean im confused

31. what outfit do you wear to kick ass and take names?

another question im confused by i will wear sweatpants and a t shirt

32. top five favorite vines?

- lets go to the beach each... ninki minjaj

- godzilla seems like a nice man i, i just wanna take him to red robin

- road work ahead... uh yeah i sure hope it does

- you spilt lipstick in my valentino white bag????

- look at all those chickens!

33. most used phrase in your phone?

me going “oop”

34. advertisements you have stuck in your head?

idk i dont watch much tv or anything to get them stuck but i constantly have pewdiepie’s tuber simulator ad at the end of his videos in a loop in my head

35. average time you fall asleep?

it can be anywhere between 11-7 am

36. what is the first meme you remember ever seeing?

uhhh idk probably like a minecraft meme or something i have pea sized brain i dont recall

37. suitcase or duffel bag?

duffel bag

38. lemonade or tea?

lemonade babey

39. lemon cake or lemon meringue pie?

lemon cake

40. weirdest thing to ever happen at your school?

... pen stabbing

41. last person you texted?

audrey?? maybe idk

42. jackets pockets or pants pockets?

pants pockets are weak always jackets pockets

43. hoodie, leather jacket, cardigan, jean jacket, or bomber jacket?

i LIVE in my jean jacket during fall and winter so i would say that

44. favorite scent for soap?

i am a whore for anything vanilla scented

45. which genre: sci-fi, fantasy or superhero?

fantasy

46. most comfortable outfit to sleep in?

i’d say a hoodie and sweats

47. favorite type of cheese?

CHEDDAR

48. if you were a fruit, what kind would you be?

watermelon

49. what saying or quote do you live by?

i heard this on a tv show once and it b cheesy as fuck but i love it

“everyone you meet is fighting a battle you know nothing about. be kind. always.”

50. what made you laugh the hardest you ever had?

if im being completely tbh i dont think i have ever laughed as hard as i did after anything cat said on the phone the other day

51. current stresses?

everyone in the groupchat has me stressing ab my future 

52. favorite font?

i dont fucking know????? times roman point size 12 double spaced - mrs. christina

53. what is the current state of your hands?

they are pretty freaking cold

54. what did you learn from your first job?

i learned how to fold t shirts properly and to always be scared of men

55. favorite fairy tale?

the little mermaid

56. favorite tradition?

uhh idk anything involving christmas

57. the three biggest struggles you’ve overcome?

- getting clean from self harm

- coming to the conclusion my dad won’t be there for me

- that i can’t control everything in my life which i still b working on

58. four talents your proud of having?

- i can paint pretty well

- makeup

- kind of can dance

- i cant think of a fourth oop

59. if you were a video game character, what would your catchphrase be?

skskkskskskskskks and i oop!

60. if you were a character in an anime, what kind of anime would you want it to be?

never have i watched anime

61. favorite line you heard from a book/movie/tv show/etc.?

shut up about the sun. SHUT UP ABOUT THE SUN

62. seven characters you relate to?

this takes too long all i can say is i relate to stiles stillinski on a different level

63. five songs that you would play in your club?

can this stop making me list things i dont have the fucking patience i would play hotel room service by pitt bull and thats it

64. favorite website from your childhood?

animal jam was my shit

65. any permanent scars?

well the thing is yes the thing is i would rather not speak of them

66. favorite flower(s)?

sunflowers

67. good luck charms?

i dont rlly have any

68. worst flavor of any food or drink you’ve ever tried?

i tried these dill pickle flavored chips and wanted to vomit

69. a fun fact that you don’t know how you learned?

i don’t know many fun facts i small brained

70. left or right handed?

right handed

71. least favorite pattern?

i dont rlly dislike any patterns

72. worst subject?

math

73. favorite weird flavor combo?

i will eat almost anything with hot sauce so i guess that

74. at what pain level out of ten (1 through 10) do you have to be at before you take an advil or ibuprofen? 

at least a 5 or a 6

75. when did you lose your first tooth?

when i was 6

76. what’s your favorite potato food (i.e. tater tots, baked potatoes, fries, chips, etc.)?

french fries

77. best plant to grow on a windowsill?

i had cacti for like 2 years but they died,, may they rest in peace

78. coffee from a gas station or sushi from a grocery store?

considering i don’t eat sushi or any kind of fish i would have to go with coffee

79. which looks better, your school id photo or your driver’s license photo?

i don’t have a license so i guess school ID

80. earth tones or jewel tones?

jewel tones

81. fireflies or lightning bugs?

fireflies

82. pc or console?

pc

83. writing or drawing?

drawing

84. podcasts or talk radio?

podcasts

85. fairy tales or mythology?

i am a whore for mythology

86. cookies or cupcakes?

cookies

87. your greatest fear?

bugs

88. your greatest wish?

to be a fucking cowboy

89. who would you put before everyone else?

i think u already know the answer to that

90. luckiest mistake?

my mistakes don’t end up lucky

91. boxes or bags?

boxes

92. lamps, overhead lights, sunlight or fairy lights?

christmas lights but all year long

93. nicknames?

jill, jilly bean, jillie, jilly pops (that one is cat), beans, dumb bitch

94. favorite season

FALL BABEY

95. favorite app on your phone?

instagram probably

96. desktop background?

considering this is not my computer,, it is just default

97. how many phone numbers do you have memorized?

i have one memorized and it is mine

98. favorite historical era?

i like the one with the dinosaurs

[fesahaawit]

A handful of SUPER clever ways to spend $100 this holiday season :) PLUS: Our Christmas Stimulus winners!

‘Sup sup!

J. Money Claus here to spread the wealth, both literally and figuratively! ;)

Just spent three solid hours reading and responding to all the great entries from last week’s Christmas Stimulus giveaway (over 800+ comments!), and WOW was it fascinating! You guys are so freakin’ creative!! We had the usual “I’d pay down debts” or “I’d bank it/invest it” or “I’d give it all away to charity” responses of course, but I was blown away by the level of thought that a lot of you put into this too.

You’re good :)

But since I can’t give $100 to *everyone* who made me smile today (and also because I made this a *randomized* drawing vs hand-picking the winners), I wanted to showcase a lot of these gems I came across in case they help you with your OWN ideas for the upcoming holidays, but also just to show these commenters some love too. Perhaps the fame you get off it today will amount to more than $100 over time? I mean, this IS the most fantastic blog in the world, you know!

Before we get to all that though, let me announce the 5 people who DID win the contest so you’re not biting off all your nails and annoying your co-workers.

So drum roll please…. dum ditty dum ditty dum…

The 5 lucky winners of $100 a piece are:

Nicole P.

Maisie

Sarah P. 

Danny (Commenter #633)

Mike (Commenter #756)

Woo! Congrats! I’ll be reaching out to you on the side to get your money, and be sure to not be strangers the rest of the year as if this was some sort of Church where you only pop over on the “important” days ;) Free education is better than free money, damnit!!

Now to the fun ways to use $100 this holiday!

(Or really, any time – because why only be nice once a year?)

We’ll start with the ones that made me laugh the hardest, and then go down the list to those that were just clever as hell, and then finally right into the ones that make you say, “awwwwww….”

Runners up to the people who mentioned: Chuck E. Cheese’s, doorbells, monks, manatees, accordions, tacos, sensory deprivation tanks (?), pickles, cabin escapes, tequila, fruit roll-ups, marijuana stock, escape rooms, “dutch ovens” (hah!), lunch tables, baseball cards, greenhouses, livestock water troughs, and finally to the one who almost made me spit out my coffee with their “Careergasm courses” line, haha… *goes to turn browser on “private” mode*

Now to the ones we’re paying in fame:

*******

The Prankster

I’d take it to the bank and ask for all quarters, and then take the quarters and glue them to the sidewalk and sit on my porch with my phone filming all the kids so excited to see 400 quarters on the ground, and then me laughing at them because they can’t pick them up.

Then I’d start a YouTube channel with my daily videos and take my millions of dollars from my massive subscriber growth and buy a cabin up in the mountains and buy all the turtles from pet stores to start training them to fight terrorism and then set them free all around the world. – Lance

*******

The Jeffersonian

First I would ask to be paid in $2 bills! Then I would stack those Jefferson’s as high as they would go and just admire them a bit. Then I would hop on my electric bike and head downtown handing them out to anyone in need, ending up at my favorite watering hole with just three of them left. I would then order my favorite IPA and drop my last three Jefferson’s on the unsuspecting waitress and call it a day! – bmiles62

*******

The Convert

I’d convert the $100 all into pennies and leave noticeable and various pennies around the house to drive my brother crazy. – Kevin

(Editor’s Note: I don’t know why that would drive him crazy? It’s FREE MONEY!!! :))

*******

The Goldbug

I would buy gold. Then, I would ask my friends what they would do if they had $100 worth of gold. The best response gets the gold! – Meghan

*******

The Kidder

I would use the $100 on hookers and blow. Just kidding. Something boring like saving for my kids education. – Josh

*******

The Original Zac Efron

I’ll buy 2 MyHeritage DNA kits at a discount. One for myself and another for Zac Efron. I wanna prove everyone wrong that he’s not my twin brother :) – Menard

(Editor’s Note: I actually DO want this kit! It’s pretty cool!!)

*******

The Gamer

I would throw a $100 party. It would consist of me and my girlfriend maybe a brother or cousin in there randomly sitting on the couch at my place drinking crown royal (750ml) $22.97. I would eventually get off the couch, and cook up some ribs (3 racks $38) that had been marinating in the fridge over night (spices and various ingredients $10). After the food is consumed we would partake in a intense game of drunkin-go-kart on the Nintendo 64 (24 pack of Bud Light of Coors Light $20). With the remaining $9.03 we would donate it to a random homeless person. – Heath

*******

The Gambler

Put aside for buying lottery tickets in all of 2018, because someone once said “Is $1 a week worth a chance to win $100,000,000 or even $1,000,000,000?” For me it is. – Nitin

*******

The Adventurer

We’re looking to convert a school bus over the next year and then take a leap year to travel with our 5 kids (ages 4 months-18yrs) all over the US. I’d add it to our school bus fund! – Aden

*******

The Stealthy Kleenexer

I will exchange them into 100 $1 bills and treat my 10 friends with a box of Kleenex each for Christmas. And after the first couple of Kleenex, there will be surprises waiting. – Kim

*******

The Money Oozer ;)

I would use an extra $100 to buy a bottle of Chanel Mademoiselle perfume. My kids love it when Mommy smells good and it makes me feel sexy – LIKE $$ MONEY $$! – Rebekah

*******

The Dollar Tree Fan

I would get 50 $1.00 bills and hide them around the Dollar Tree with my granddaughter. Then take her to lunch and leave the rest for a tip. What a fun day! – Rose

*******

The Financial Gabber

I would use it to pay you $100 for a 30 minute phone call for some financial advice. This would be the biggest gift of all. I feel like the hardest part is talking about money with other people (no one want’s to hear your problems) and it’s driving me crazy because I really want to talk about it and get good sound advice on how to get out of the mess I’m in. – Mike

(Editor’s Note: This is actually a REALLY good idea and there’s a big need for this in our community! Unfortunately I don’t do coaching anymore, but here’s a list of other people in our space here that do – in case anyone else is looking for a good money coach: http://ift.tt/2jvY42T)

*******

The Brainstormer

I have 2 Ebay stores that have been running for a few years now and need to know how to increase our sales… I would use this for a brainstorm session at our local Panera or Starbucks hoping to find someone that could help me with promotion of our sites – or run a contest online for the best idea. – Kate

*******

The Quitter

I will put in my 2-weeks notice at my job for early/mini-retirement on Friday! – JP

(Editor’s Note: I sure hope $100 isn’t the only thing stopping you from doing this! :))

*******

The Self-Promoter/Do-good-er ;)

I’d buy 49 copies of my book, Success: For Minority Teens (& Their Friends) at $4.99/copy, defraying the cost of taxes, and I’d give these to 49 of my most needy 8th grade students at school. So many need a book like mine but can’t afford to buy on Amazon. – Carlos Gomez

*******

The Gardener

I would buy $100 worth of seeds, plant them and go back and give them out to all of my elementary school classrooms. Learning how to tend to a garden, getting your hands dirty, keeping plants alive and getting to enjoy the result of your hard work is one of those timeless lessons that is hard to recreate in our candy crush obsessed society. – Alicia

******* The Compassionate Knitter

If I won the money I’d use it to buy yarn to knit a blanket for my mother-in-law. The yarn is sort of expensive, like $70 per blanket, and it takes about 15 hours of knitting (so not a smart time or money investment) but it is a handmade blanket, and relationships with the in-laws are important. – Hannah

*******

The Knowledge Pusher

I’ll use the money to buy books related to Investing and give them away to my coworkers. I have given 2 books away for my coworkers In the past years: Total Money Makeover, The Millionaire Teacher. – Vielka

*******

The Tree Gifter

I’d use $100 to purchase a bike for a little boy – there’s a giving tree at my local wellness center with tags listing gift wishes from local children in need. This particular tag has been languishing as it’s a request for a larger gift. I’ve purchased a few gifts to match other requests, and saw this tag when I delivered the gifts. It’s been weighing on me since – I’d hate for this little one to go without and will find a way to get a bike to him – Heather

*******

The Perfect Wife ;)

I would use the money to buy my husband 10 movie tickets so he could get out of the house, take a break from the kids, and treat himself to a movie about once a month! – Kayla

*******

The Fiscal Librarian

I’d use the money for books that I want to read. Then I’d donate the books to my local library so everyone else will have a chance to read them too. Not a big choice for money management, retirement, investment, or financial books available and I’d like to change that. – Michelle

*******

The Best Christmas Game (Not really an entry, but still a fun idea!)

Every participant puts in twenty bucks cash. The wad of money is wrapped in paper, then more, then a box, then more paper, another box, etc. until you have a large box wrapped. You set a timer or play music and you have only so many seconds to unwrap. When the timer dings, you have to pass the wrapped wad of cash. Whoever touches the cash first wins it all!!! One year I used my teeth – she said it wasn’t allowed but I say house rules. – Victoria

 *******

And lastly, The Boobie Award

I’m not going to lie, I’d probably blow the $100 on food and drink for Christmas day… Probably why I’m in debt and reading this blog… – Kate

And that’s why they pay me the big bucks ;)

Happy weekend, y’all!

****** Links to Amazon products above are affiliate links, and I want you to buy 1,000,000 of those books/DNA kits so I can give away another $500 and keep being entertained by you all… Make it happen!

[Photo by Dakota Corbin via Unsplash]

A handful of SUPER clever ways to spend $100 this holiday season :) PLUS: Our Christmas Stimulus winners! posted first on http://ift.tt/2lnwIdQ

[heliosfinance]

A handful of SUPER clever ways to spend $100 this holiday season :) PLUS: Our Christmas Stimulus winners!

‘Sup sup!

J. Money Claus here to spread the wealth, both literally and figuratively! ;)

Just spent three solid hours reading and responding to all the great entries from last week’s Christmas Stimulus giveaway (over 800+ comments!), and WOW was it fascinating! You guys are so freakin’ creative!! We had the usual “I’d pay down debts” or “I’d bank it/invest it” or “I’d give it all away to charity” responses of course, but I was blown away by the level of thought that a lot of you put into this too.

You’re good :)

But since I can’t give $100 to *everyone* who made me smile today (and also because I made this a *randomized* drawing vs hand-picking the winners), I wanted to showcase a lot of these gems I came across in case they help you with your OWN ideas for the upcoming holidays, but also just to show these commenters some love too. Perhaps the fame you get off it today will amount to more than $100 over time? I mean, this IS the most fantastic blog in the world, you know!

Before we get to all that though, let me announce the 5 people who DID win the contest so you’re not biting off all your nails and annoying your co-workers.

So drum roll please…. dum ditty dum ditty dum…

The 5 lucky winners of $100 a piece are:

Nicole P.

Maisie

Sarah P. 

Danny (Commenter #633)

Mike (Commenter #756)

Woo! Congrats! I’ll be reaching out to you on the side to get your money, and be sure to not be strangers the rest of the year as if this was some sort of Church where you only pop over on the “important” days ;) Free education is better than free money, damnit!!

Now to the fun ways to use $100 this holiday!

(Or really, any time – because why only be nice once a year?)

We’ll start with the ones that made me laugh the hardest, and then go down the list to those that were just clever as hell, and then finally right into the ones that make you say, “awwwwww….”

Runners up to the people who mentioned: Chuck E. Cheese’s, doorbells, monks, manatees, accordions, tacos, sensory deprivation tanks (?), pickles, cabin escapes, tequila, fruit roll-ups, marijuana stock, escape rooms, “dutch ovens” (hah!), lunch tables, baseball cards, greenhouses, livestock water troughs, and finally to the one who almost made me spit out my coffee with their “Careergasm courses” line, haha… *goes to turn browser on “private” mode*

Now to the ones we’re paying in fame:

*******

The Prankster

I’d take it to the bank and ask for all quarters, and then take the quarters and glue them to the sidewalk and sit on my porch with my phone filming all the kids so excited to see 400 quarters on the ground, and then me laughing at them because they can’t pick them up.

Then I’d start a YouTube channel with my daily videos and take my millions of dollars from my massive subscriber growth and buy a cabin up in the mountains and buy all the turtles from pet stores to start training them to fight terrorism and then set them free all around the world. – Lance

*******

The Jeffersonian

First I would ask to be paid in $2 bills! Then I would stack those Jefferson’s as high as they would go and just admire them a bit. Then I would hop on my electric bike and head downtown handing them out to anyone in need, ending up at my favorite watering hole with just three of them left. I would then order my favorite IPA and drop my last three Jefferson’s on the unsuspecting waitress and call it a day! – bmiles62

*******

The Convert

I’d convert the $100 all into pennies and leave noticeable and various pennies around the house to drive my brother crazy. – Kevin

(Editor’s Note: I don’t know why that would drive him crazy? It’s FREE MONEY!!! :))

*******

The Goldbug

I would buy gold. Then, I would ask my friends what they would do if they had $100 worth of gold. The best response gets the gold! – Meghan

*******

The Kidder

I would use the $100 on hookers and blow. Just kidding. Something boring like saving for my kids education. – Josh

*******

The Original Zac Efron

I’ll buy 2 MyHeritage DNA kits at a discount. One for myself and another for Zac Efron. I wanna prove everyone wrong that he’s not my twin brother :) – Menard

(Editor’s Note: I actually DO want this kit! It’s pretty cool!!)

*******

The Gamer

I would throw a $100 party. It would consist of me and my girlfriend maybe a brother or cousin in there randomly sitting on the couch at my place drinking crown royal (750ml) $22.97. I would eventually get off the couch, and cook up some ribs (3 racks $38) that had been marinating in the fridge over night (spices and various ingredients $10). After the food is consumed we would partake in a intense game of drunkin-go-kart on the Nintendo 64 (24 pack of Bud Light of Coors Light $20). With the remaining $9.03 we would donate it to a random homeless person. – Heath

*******

The Gambler

Put aside for buying lottery tickets in all of 2018, because someone once said “Is $1 a week worth a chance to win $100,000,000 or even $1,000,000,000?” For me it is. – Nitin

*******

The Adventurer

We’re looking to convert a school bus over the next year and then take a leap year to travel with our 5 kids (ages 4 months-18yrs) all over the US. I’d add it to our school bus fund! – Aden

*******

The Stealthy Kleenexer

I will exchange them into 100 $1 bills and treat my 10 friends with a box of Kleenex each for Christmas. And after the first couple of Kleenex, there will be surprises waiting. – Kim

*******

The Money Oozer ;)

I would use an extra $100 to buy a bottle of Chanel Mademoiselle perfume. My kids love it when Mommy smells good and it makes me feel sexy – LIKE $$ MONEY $$! – Rebekah

*******

The Dollar Tree Fan

I would get 50 $1.00 bills and hide them around the Dollar Tree with my granddaughter. Then take her to lunch and leave the rest for a tip. What a fun day! – Rose

*******

The Financial Gabber

I would use it to pay you $100 for a 30 minute phone call for some financial advice. This would be the biggest gift of all. I feel like the hardest part is talking about money with other people (no one want’s to hear your problems) and it’s driving me crazy because I really want to talk about it and get good sound advice on how to get out of the mess I’m in. – Mike

(Editor’s Note: This is actually a REALLY good idea and there’s a big need for this in our community! Unfortunately I don’t do coaching anymore, but here’s a list of other people in our space here that do – in case anyone else is looking for a good money coach: http://ift.tt/2jvY42T)

*******

The Brainstormer

I have 2 Ebay stores that have been running for a few years now and need to know how to increase our sales… I would use this for a brainstorm session at our local Panera or Starbucks hoping to find someone that could help me with promotion of our sites – or run a contest online for the best idea. – Kate

*******

The Quitter

I will put in my 2-weeks notice at my job for early/mini-retirement on Friday! – JP

(Editor’s Note: I sure hope $100 isn’t the only thing stopping you from doing this! :))

*******

The Self-Promoter/Do-good-er ;)

I’d buy 49 copies of my book, Success: For Minority Teens (& Their Friends) at $4.99/copy, defraying the cost of taxes, and I’d give these to 49 of my most needy 8th grade students at school. So many need a book like mine but can’t afford to buy on Amazon. – Carlos Gomez

*******

The Gardener

I would buy $100 worth of seeds, plant them and go back and give them out to all of my elementary school classrooms. Learning how to tend to a garden, getting your hands dirty, keeping plants alive and getting to enjoy the result of your hard work is one of those timeless lessons that is hard to recreate in our candy crush obsessed society. – Alicia

******* The Compassionate Knitter

If I won the money I’d use it to buy yarn to knit a blanket for my mother-in-law. The yarn is sort of expensive, like $70 per blanket, and it takes about 15 hours of knitting (so not a smart time or money investment) but it is a handmade blanket, and relationships with the in-laws are important. – Hannah

*******

The Knowledge Pusher

I’ll use the money to buy books related to Investing and give them away to my coworkers. I have given 2 books away for my coworkers In the past years: Total Money Makeover, The Millionaire Teacher. – Vielka

*******

The Tree Gifter

I’d use $100 to purchase a bike for a little boy – there’s a giving tree at my local wellness center with tags listing gift wishes from local children in need. This particular tag has been languishing as it’s a request for a larger gift. I’ve purchased a few gifts to match other requests, and saw this tag when I delivered the gifts. It’s been weighing on me since – I’d hate for this little one to go without and will find a way to get a bike to him – Heather

*******

The Perfect Wife ;)

I would use the money to buy my husband 10 movie tickets so he could get out of the house, take a break from the kids, and treat himself to a movie about once a month! – Kayla

*******

The Fiscal Librarian

I’d use the money for books that I want to read. Then I’d donate the books to my local library so everyone else will have a chance to read them too. Not a big choice for money management, retirement, investment, or financial books available and I’d like to change that. – Michelle

*******

The Best Christmas Game (Not really an entry, but still a fun idea!)

Every participant puts in twenty bucks cash. The wad of money is wrapped in paper, then more, then a box, then more paper, another box, etc. until you have a large box wrapped. You set a timer or play music and you have only so many seconds to unwrap. When the timer dings, you have to pass the wrapped wad of cash. Whoever touches the cash first wins it all!!! One year I used my teeth – she said it wasn’t allowed but I say house rules. – Victoria

 *******

And lastly, The Boobie Award

I’m not going to lie, I’d probably blow the $100 on food and drink for Christmas day… Probably why I’m in debt and reading this blog… – Kate

And that’s why they pay me the big bucks ;)

Happy weekend, y’all!

****** Links to Amazon products above are affiliate links, and I want you to buy 1,000,000 of those books/DNA kits so I can give away another $500 and keep being entertained by you all… Make it happen!

[Photo by Dakota Corbin via Unsplash]

A handful of SUPER clever ways to spend $100 this holiday season :) PLUS: Our Christmas Stimulus winners! published first on http://ift.tt/2ljLF4B

[unrequitedmime]

Crashing debris. A scream. A sob. A name.  His name. "Diana," i hear his voice. I open my eyes, slowly, blink into the darkness. "Diana," his voice is impatient as he grabs the covers and begins to pull them off my body. "Yuri," i curse, "Piss off!" Yuri. Yuri? I throw myself up, and stare at my brother. He sits across from me on the bed, watching with amusement. "Yuri," i whisper. He smiles softly. My heart soars. "Hey," he whispers. I let out a cry as i throw myself across the bed, wrapping myself around him. He squeezes me back just as tight, and i feel all of the sadness and the anger that has been inside of me for the last 8 months suddenly fly away. His body is warm against mine. Warm, and alive. I draw back and stare at him in wonder, letting my eyes trail down his sun tanned skin and floppy strands of hair. "You're alive," i breathe. His eyes twinkle with sadness for a moment before washing over with love, "I'm here." I frown, unsatisfied with his vague answer, but before i can tell him, he interrupts. "How's Macie?" he asks, leaning forward tentatively.  I blink, "Umm," i stutter, "She's safe. She managed to escape the attack on the Centre, and although she hasn't told anyone where she's hiding, i know she's safe in LA with Fiona."  Yuri's body deflates in relief when i say Fiona's name. Fiona was Yuri's best friend before we left for the Centre. They had never lost contact, and have remained best friends ever since they were 12. Fiona is like our sister.  He nods, and lays down in bed next to me on top of the covers. He lets out a breath as he stares above at the ceiling. The moon shines through the thin sheet in front of my window, and cast shadows across the walls.  "I miss you," he whispers, "A lot. It's hard because i can see how much you're suffering," my heart stops, "And because i know i can do nothing to help you. I see that you miss me as much as i miss you. I'm so sorry, Di."  His voice cracks.  My heart shatters.  I turn my head to look at him, and blanch back in shock. Dust and loose glass hang in his hair and mask his skin. His eyes shine with sadness, and blood runs down his cheek from a cut on his forehead.  "I'm so sorry, Di."  I sit up with a scream. My voice cracks and my screams turn into sobs. I clutch desperately at the blankets, pillows, trying to forget. I pull at my hair as my body shakes and I whisper his name over and over. My door swings open, and suddenly warm arms encircle my body and lift me off the bed. I focus on the warmth of these hands as they carry me, hold me together, realising that Wyatt's hand are alive, and that Yuri's were deathly cold in comparison to these.  Wyatt settles me down onto his bed, and i fall onto his soft pillows with a deep breath. I stare at the ceiling. He sits wordlessly beside me, waiting. I stare ahead, and focus on calming my mind, numbing my pain, forgetting my heart. I drown everything.  I become numb.  We stay in silence for a long time, perhaps half an hour. "Thank you," i whisper to the darkness. He doesn't respond, but i feel him nod. Silence. "I'm going to take my shift now," i tell the ceiling. Wyatt finally speaks, "It's not time yet," his voice is rough with exhaustion. I think for a moment, calming my tired heart.  "There is no way I'm going back to bed after this, and you're exhausted. I'll watch him until morning."  I feel Wyatt think, fighting himself and his thoughts. Without waiting for him to decide, i climb over him and out of the bed.  As i close the door i hear a soft, "Okay."  I stand in the hallway for a few minutes, calming myself down. I close my eyes, and welcome the darkness of my mind. I count to ten, and take deep breaths.  I hide myself away from the world. I open the door to Hannah's room as quietly as i can, slipping in without a word. George lays on the bed, sleeping peacefully. A lamp on the desk is on, and the room glows with a soft, warm light. I settle myself into the recliner chair next to the bed, and pick up my book from the floor.  Hannah and Broc have been gone for a few days now.  They left the day after George arrived.  I had woken up in the morning, clumsily stumbled past Wyatt, sitting outside George's door, and climbed down into the kitchen to make breakfast.  I hadn't found the note until I was eating my pancakes.  I had sprinted up the stairs, making a racket, gasping with shocked breaths. Wyatt had met me at the top, and grabbed my hand, pulling me close.  "What's wrong!" he had asked, his eyes burning with intensity.  I thrust the note into his chest, "They're gone, Wyatt," i whispered.  He frowned in confusion, and a storm gathered in his eyes as he read through the note.  "No," he said quietly, "No freakin way."  Something inside of me snapped. "YES WAY!" I screamed in panic, "THEY'RE GONE, WYATT. AND THEY WANT US TO SAVE THE DAY! HOW COULD THEY EVEN THINK WE'D BE ABLE TO DO THIS!"  Wyatt stared at the note, reading it over and over again. His beautifully tanned face had paled, and his eyes widened. I stared at the paper in his hands, hating the words on them, the request that Broc had left for us.  The dangerous mission he was sending us on.  "We can't do that," i say quietly, "We're good agents, but we're not that good."  He gulped, and looked up at me, his eyes clearing with determination. I sighed at the shine in his eyes, understanding.  "No."  He nodded slowly, "We have to, Di. We're the only ones he trusts."  We had stared at each other for a few minutes, my eyes shooting daggers and his brightening with plans. Something inside of me understood that we had to do it, that we were the only chance the Centre had for safety, the only chance Macie had for a home again.  Macie.  The thought of her in danger was what broke me. I felt my resolve shatter in my chest.  I closed my eyes, and took a deep, calming breath. I finally looked up at Wyatt, and slowly nodded. We stared at each other for a few moments more, and the message i sent him was clear in the slump of his shoulders.  He understood.  He understood how hard this was going to be. How tiring and dangerous and life-threatening. He understood that i was putting my life into his hands, and my trust.  And my sister's life.  He took a moment to let the weight of the responsibilities settle on his shoulders before slowly nodding back.   "I'll check George."  George.  I have been an agent for almost 3 years now, and seeing George drop to the ground that day was the most terrifying thing I've ever witnessed. As soon as he had dropped, i had screamed for Wyatt and rushed to George's side. Everyone had come running, and Hannah had wordlessly taken him up to her room. For 24 hours they were confined to that room, healing.  Wyatt stood outside of it every minute of the day.  Hannah had finally come out, claimed that George was healthy and stable, and went downstairs. Wyatt had rushed in, and stayed in there all night. I thought they were talking, bonding, but when i had popped into the room later, i realised that George was unconscious, had been unconscious since he passed out in the kitchen. But he was alive.  Hannah had healed him perfectly.  I stare at him, watching his chest expand with deep, even breaths as he dreams. He's been drifting in and out of consciousness for three days now, having fitful nightmares and long sleeps.  Hannah said that this is his body's way of dealing with the trauma that he's experienced. That we need to give his body and mind a few days to stabilise, to heal itself.  So we wait.  We gave up the mission and our roles as school students as soon as Broc came to town, so during the day we stay home. I usually sit in George's room in this reclining chair and read while Wyatt organises the mission.  I don't organise the mission. I refuse.  So instead i read. George lays silently by my side all day long, sometimes muttering in his sleep and sometimes waking up with a scream. In the moments that he is conscious, he isn't aware. His eyes are blurred and he stares around in confusion for a few moments before passing out again.  It's terrifying.  He looks alive tonight. He's nearly back to normal.  I begin to read by the lamplight next to George, and eventually i lose myself in the book. I read for a few hours before i blink away from the story and check on George.  He lays peacefully under the covers, and the moonlight kisses his skin, making it glow with a certain softness. The sharp angles of his face are illuminated in the soft light of the room, and his long eyelashes flutter against his cheekbones as he stirs. His dark curls are fanned out on the pillow and around his face, curling with a playful wildness, an innocent messiness.  His lips part as he releases a sigh in his dreams, and a long slender hand comes to rest on his chest as he mumbles to himself.  I stare at the sleeping boy in front of me, and realise that he is a canvas.   A canvas of deep blue eyes and sharp angles and shadows that fall upon his skin.  This polite and witty and smart boy is quite a piece of art.  His eyes suddenly flutter open, and i startle. He lets out a breath. He glances around the room and swallows, letting his eyes roam over the paintings on the walls before allowing them to rest on me.  His eyes are clear, focused.  "Hello," i whisper.  He smiles a small smile, "Hello, Diana."  "How are you feeling?" i ask, closing my book.  He thinks for a moment before slowly nodding, "I feel like i just died and came back to life. So, above average."  I let a small laugh escape my lips, and i lean forward to check his temperature. He shivers.  "Your body is stable," i say, leaning back. I pause, "I'm not sure about your mind, though."  He doesn't look at me as he struggles to sit up, resting back on his propped up pillows. His bare chest shines with small patterns of scars. Knives have been dragged along his skin.  He's been tortured.  He follows my gaze down to his skin, and allows himself to laugh.  "They liked knives," he whispers to his chest.  My heart constricts, and i let out a small, strangled breath.  "George," i whisper, and he closes his eyes, "What happened in those days after the attack?"  He rests his head against the headboard of the bed, and for a few moments we sit in silence.  "I was a good fighter in the attack," he finally answers, his voice barely above a whisper, "I was taking down Rebels, getting agents to safety. So they took me," he shakes his head, "Shot me with a tranquilizer gun and got me the hell out of there. When i came to, i had no idea where i was. In some sort of," he thinks for a moment, "church. Yeah, it was a church."  I wait. He takes a deep breath and opens his eyes. He looks at me, and the intensity of the deep blue takes my breath away.  "Torture," he says simply, his voice dead, "They tortured me for three days. Tried to pry information out of me. They wanted to know where the other agents were hiding, where Broc was hiding. At that time i had no idea, and even if i did i wouldn't have told them," he bites his lip,"It became a daily ritual. They would come and tell me to give them names and locations, and when I'd say no, they'd bring out the girl."  I frown, "The girl? What girl?"  He blinks up at me, and his eyes slowly lose their brightness. My stomach drops.  "She was our age," he smiles fleetingly, "Stunning. Long, tan legs. Blonde hair, green eyes. A very nice smile. The first time she introduced herself, i thought she could help me," he's quiet, "And then she brought out the knives."  I close my eyes for a moment, blinking away tears. He stares at the blanket, lost in his memories.  "Her name was Casey," he says, "I hated her. She stabbed me twice. Within the space of ten minutes."  I stand up, my fists balled. Anger burns in my blood, and i want to kick something.  "She tortured you?" i demand, "For three days? She cut you and stabbed you and did god knows what else, for three days?"  He frowns up at me in confusion for nodding slowly. I pace the room in silence, telling myself to calm down. He watches me. I stop pacing, and turn to face him.  "I'm going to find her," i announce, "And I'm going to kill her."  We stare at each other for a few moments. He watches me carefully, analysing. Eventually, a small smile spreads across his face, and his eyes brighten.  "My hero," he teases.  I hear it, in his voice. The strain of his words. The anger that burns in his own heart. I understand that he's asking me to calm down, to stop addressing the situation. That it hurts too much for him.  I slowly sit back down.  "How did you escape?" i ask quietly.  He shrugs, "I don't know. I passed out in the church, and woke up on the street outside. I saw this house, and suddenly recognised it from Wyatt's photos that he had sent me. I knew better than to bang on the front door, so i stumbled around to the back and i let myself in."  I nod. We both think it, and the unsaid question hangs in the air between us. Silence settles.  "Who brought you here?" i finally say, my voice shaking.  He stares ahead, and after a few moments, shrugs.  "I don't know," he whispers back, "I just don't know, Diana."

unrequited 

[fesahaawit]

A handful of SUPER clever ways to spend $100 this holiday season :) PLUS: Our Christmas Stimulus winners!

‘Sup sup!

J. Money Claus here to spread the wealth, both literally and figuratively! ;)

Just spent three solid hours reading and responding to all the great entries from last week’s Christmas Stimulus giveaway (over 800+ comments!), and WOW was it fascinating! You guys are so freakin’ creative!! We had the usual “I’d pay down debts” or “I’d bank it/invest it” or “I’d give it all away to charity” responses of course, but I was blown away by the level of thought that a lot of you put into this too.

You’re good :)

But since I can’t give $100 to *everyone* who made me smile today (and also because I made this a *randomized* drawing vs hand-picking the winners), I wanted to showcase a lot of these gems I came across in case they help you with your OWN ideas for the upcoming holidays, but also just to show these commenters some love too. Perhaps the fame you get off it today will amount to more than $100 over time? I mean, this IS the most fantastic blog in the world, you know!

Before we get to all that though, let me announce the 5 people who DID win the contest so you’re not biting off all your nails and annoying your co-workers.

So drum roll please…. dum ditty dum ditty dum…

The 5 lucky winners of $100 a piece are:

Nicole P.

Maisie

Sarah P. 

Danny (Commenter #633)

Mike (Commenter #756)

Woo! Congrats! I’ll be reaching out to you on the side to get your money, and be sure to not be strangers the rest of the year as if this was some sort of Church where you only pop over on the “important” days ;) Free education is better than free money, damnit!!

Now to the fun ways to use $100 this holiday!

(Or really, any time – because why only be nice once a year?)

We’ll start with the ones that made me laugh the hardest, and then go down the list to those that were just clever as hell, and then finally right into the ones that make you say, “awwwwww….”

Runners up to the people who mentioned: Chuck E. Cheese’s, doorbells, monks, manatees, accordions, tacos, sensory deprivation tanks (?), pickles, cabin escapes, tequila, fruit roll-ups, marijuana stock, escape rooms, “dutch ovens” (hah!), lunch tables, baseball cards, greenhouses, livestock water troughs, and finally to the one who almost made me spit out my coffee with their “Careergasm courses” line, haha… *goes to turn browser on “private” mode*

Now to the ones we’re paying in fame:

*******

The Prankster

I’d take it to the bank and ask for all quarters, and then take the quarters and glue them to the sidewalk and sit on my porch with my phone filming all the kids so excited to see 400 quarters on the ground, and then me laughing at them because they can’t pick them up.

Then I’d start a YouTube channel with my daily videos and take my millions of dollars from my massive subscriber growth and buy a cabin up in the mountains and buy all the turtles from pet stores to start training them to fight terrorism and then set them free all around the world. – Lance

*******

The Jeffersonian

First I would ask to be paid in $2 bills! Then I would stack those Jefferson’s as high as they would go and just admire them a bit. Then I would hop on my electric bike and head downtown handing them out to anyone in need, ending up at my favorite watering hole with just three of them left. I would then order my favorite IPA and drop my last three Jefferson’s on the unsuspecting waitress and call it a day! – bmiles62

*******

The Convert

I’d convert the $100 all into pennies and leave noticeable and various pennies around the house to drive my brother crazy. – Kevin

(Editor’s Note: I don’t know why that would drive him crazy? It’s FREE MONEY!!! :))

*******

The Goldbug

I would buy gold. Then, I would ask my friends what they would do if they had $100 worth of gold. The best response gets the gold! – Meghan

*******

The Kidder

I would use the $100 on hookers and blow. Just kidding. Something boring like saving for my kids education. – Josh

*******

The Original Zac Efron

I’ll buy 2 MyHeritage DNA kits at a discount. One for myself and another for Zac Efron. I wanna prove everyone wrong that he’s not my twin brother :) – Menard

(Editor’s Note: I actually DO want this kit! It’s pretty cool!!)

*******

The Gamer

I would throw a $100 party. It would consist of me and my girlfriend maybe a brother or cousin in there randomly sitting on the couch at my place drinking crown royal (750ml) $22.97. I would eventually get off the couch, and cook up some ribs (3 racks $38) that had been marinating in the fridge over night (spices and various ingredients $10). After the food is consumed we would partake in a intense game of drunkin-go-kart on the Nintendo 64 (24 pack of Bud Light of Coors Light $20). With the remaining $9.03 we would donate it to a random homeless person. – Heath

*******

The Gambler

Put aside for buying lottery tickets in all of 2018, because someone once said “Is $1 a week worth a chance to win $100,000,000 or even $1,000,000,000?” For me it is. – Nitin

*******

The Adventurer

We’re looking to convert a school bus over the next year and then take a leap year to travel with our 5 kids (ages 4 months-18yrs) all over the US. I’d add it to our school bus fund! – Aden

*******

The Stealthy Kleenexer

I will exchange them into 100 $1 bills and treat my 10 friends with a box of Kleenex each for Christmas. And after the first couple of Kleenex, there will be surprises waiting. – Kim

*******

The Money Oozer ;)

I would use an extra $100 to buy a bottle of Chanel Mademoiselle perfume. My kids love it when Mommy smells good and it makes me feel sexy – LIKE $$ MONEY $$! – Rebekah

*******

The Dollar Tree Fan

I would get 50 $1.00 bills and hide them around the Dollar Tree with my granddaughter. Then take her to lunch and leave the rest for a tip. What a fun day! – Rose

*******

The Financial Gabber

I would use it to pay you $100 for a 30 minute phone call for some financial advice. This would be the biggest gift of all. I feel like the hardest part is talking about money with other people (no one want’s to hear your problems) and it’s driving me crazy because I really want to talk about it and get good sound advice on how to get out of the mess I’m in. – Mike

(Editor’s Note: This is actually a REALLY good idea and there’s a big need for this in our community! Unfortunately I don’t do coaching anymore, but here’s a list of other people in our space here that do – in case anyone else is looking for a good money coach: http://ift.tt/2jvY42T)

*******

The Brainstormer

I have 2 Ebay stores that have been running for a few years now and need to know how to increase our sales… I would use this for a brainstorm session at our local Panera or Starbucks hoping to find someone that could help me with promotion of our sites – or run a contest online for the best idea. – Kate

*******

The Quitter

I will put in my 2-weeks notice at my job for early/mini-retirement on Friday! – JP

(Editor’s Note: I sure hope $100 isn’t the only thing stopping you from doing this! :))

*******

The Self-Promoter/Do-good-er ;)

I’d buy 49 copies of my book, Success: For Minority Teens (& Their Friends) at $4.99/copy, defraying the cost of taxes, and I’d give these to 49 of my most needy 8th grade students at school. So many need a book like mine but can’t afford to buy on Amazon. – Carlos Gomez

*******

The Gardener

I would buy $100 worth of seeds, plant them and go back and give them out to all of my elementary school classrooms. Learning how to tend to a garden, getting your hands dirty, keeping plants alive and getting to enjoy the result of your hard work is one of those timeless lessons that is hard to recreate in our candy crush obsessed society. – Alicia

******* The Compassionate Knitter

If I won the money I’d use it to buy yarn to knit a blanket for my mother-in-law. The yarn is sort of expensive, like $70 per blanket, and it takes about 15 hours of knitting (so not a smart time or money investment) but it is a handmade blanket, and relationships with the in-laws are important. – Hannah

*******

The Knowledge Pusher

I’ll use the money to buy books related to Investing and give them away to my coworkers. I have given 2 books away for my coworkers In the past years: Total Money Makeover, The Millionaire Teacher. – Vielka

*******

The Tree Gifter

I’d use $100 to purchase a bike for a little boy – there’s a giving tree at my local wellness center with tags listing gift wishes from local children in need. This particular tag has been languishing as it’s a request for a larger gift. I’ve purchased a few gifts to match other requests, and saw this tag when I delivered the gifts. It’s been weighing on me since – I’d hate for this little one to go without and will find a way to get a bike to him – Heather

*******

The Perfect Wife ;)

I would use the money to buy my husband 10 movie tickets so he could get out of the house, take a break from the kids, and treat himself to a movie about once a month! – Kayla

*******

The Fiscal Librarian

I’d use the money for books that I want to read. Then I’d donate the books to my local library so everyone else will have a chance to read them too. Not a big choice for money management, retirement, investment, or financial books available and I’d like to change that. – Michelle

*******

The Best Christmas Game (Not really an entry, but still a fun idea!)

Every participant puts in twenty bucks cash. The wad of money is wrapped in paper, then more, then a box, then more paper, another box, etc. until you have a large box wrapped. You set a timer or play music and you have only so many seconds to unwrap. When the timer dings, you have to pass the wrapped wad of cash. Whoever touches the cash first wins it all!!! One year I used my teeth – she said it wasn’t allowed but I say house rules. – Victoria

 *******

And lastly, The Boobie Award

I’m not going to lie, I’d probably blow the $100 on food and drink for Christmas day… Probably why I’m in debt and reading this blog… – Kate

And that’s why they pay me the big bucks ;)

Happy weekend, y’all!

****** Links to Amazon products above are affiliate links, and I want you to buy 1,000,000 of those books/DNA kits so I can give away another $500 and keep being entertained by you all… Make it happen!

[Photo by Dakota Corbin via Unsplash]

A handful of SUPER clever ways to spend $100 this holiday season :) PLUS: Our Christmas Stimulus winners! posted first on http://ift.tt/2lnwIdQ

[fesahaawit]

A handful of SUPER clever ways to spend $100 this holiday season :) PLUS: Our Christmas Stimulus winners!

‘Sup sup!

J. Money Claus here to spread the wealth, both literally and figuratively! ;)

Just spent three solid hours reading and responding to all the great entries from last week’s Christmas Stimulus giveaway (over 800+ comments!), and WOW was it fascinating! You guys are so freakin’ creative!! We had the usual “I’d pay down debts” or “I’d bank it/invest it” or “I’d give it all away to charity” responses of course, but I was blown away by the level of thought that a lot of you put into this too.

You’re good :)

But since I can’t give $100 to *everyone* who made me smile today (and also because I made this a *randomized* drawing vs hand-picking the winners), I wanted to showcase a lot of these gems I came across in case they help you with your OWN ideas for the upcoming holidays, but also just to show these commenters some love too. Perhaps the fame you get off it today will amount to more than $100 over time? I mean, this IS the most fantastic blog in the world, you know!

Before we get to all that though, let me announce the 5 people who DID win the contest so you’re not biting off all your nails and annoying your co-workers.

So drum roll please…. dum ditty dum ditty dum…

The 5 lucky winners of $100 a piece are:

Nicole P.

Maisie

Sarah P. 

Danny (Commenter #633)

Mike (Commenter #756)

Woo! Congrats! I’ll be reaching out to you on the side to get your money, and be sure to not be strangers the rest of the year as if this was some sort of Church where you only pop over on the “important” days ;) Free education is better than free money, damnit!!

Now to the fun ways to use $100 this holiday!

(Or really, any time – because why only be nice once a year?)

We’ll start with the ones that made me laugh the hardest, and then go down the list to those that were just clever as hell, and then finally right into the ones that make you say, “awwwwww….”

Runners up to the people who mentioned: Chuck E. Cheese’s, doorbells, monks, manatees, accordions, tacos, sensory deprivation tanks (?), pickles, cabin escapes, tequila, fruit roll-ups, marijuana stock, escape rooms, “dutch ovens” (hah!), lunch tables, baseball cards, greenhouses, livestock water troughs, and finally to the one who almost made me spit out my coffee with their “Careergasm courses” line, haha… *goes to turn browser on “private” mode*

Now to the ones we’re paying in fame:

*******

The Prankster

I’d take it to the bank and ask for all quarters, and then take the quarters and glue them to the sidewalk and sit on my porch with my phone filming all the kids so excited to see 400 quarters on the ground, and then me laughing at them because they can’t pick them up.

Then I’d start a YouTube channel with my daily videos and take my millions of dollars from my massive subscriber growth and buy a cabin up in the mountains and buy all the turtles from pet stores to start training them to fight terrorism and then set them free all around the world. – Lance

*******

The Jeffersonian

First I would ask to be paid in $2 bills! Then I would stack those Jefferson’s as high as they would go and just admire them a bit. Then I would hop on my electric bike and head downtown handing them out to anyone in need, ending up at my favorite watering hole with just three of them left. I would then order my favorite IPA and drop my last three Jefferson’s on the unsuspecting waitress and call it a day! – bmiles62

*******

The Convert

I’d convert the $100 all into pennies and leave noticeable and various pennies around the house to drive my brother crazy. – Kevin

(Editor’s Note: I don’t know why that would drive him crazy? It’s FREE MONEY!!! :))

*******

The Goldbug

I would buy gold. Then, I would ask my friends what they would do if they had $100 worth of gold. The best response gets the gold! – Meghan

*******

The Kidder

I would use the $100 on hookers and blow. Just kidding. Something boring like saving for my kids education. – Josh

*******

The Original Zac Efron

I’ll buy 2 MyHeritage DNA kits at a discount. One for myself and another for Zac Efron. I wanna prove everyone wrong that he’s not my twin brother :) – Menard

(Editor’s Note: I actually DO want this kit! It’s pretty cool!!)

*******

The Gamer

I would throw a $100 party. It would consist of me and my girlfriend maybe a brother or cousin in there randomly sitting on the couch at my place drinking crown royal (750ml) $22.97. I would eventually get off the couch, and cook up some ribs (3 racks $38) that had been marinating in the fridge over night (spices and various ingredients $10). After the food is consumed we would partake in a intense game of drunkin-go-kart on the Nintendo 64 (24 pack of Bud Light of Coors Light $20). With the remaining $9.03 we would donate it to a random homeless person. – Heath

*******

The Gambler

Put aside for buying lottery tickets in all of 2018, because someone once said “Is $1 a week worth a chance to win $100,000,000 or even $1,000,000,000?” For me it is. – Nitin

*******

The Adventurer

We’re looking to convert a school bus over the next year and then take a leap year to travel with our 5 kids (ages 4 months-18yrs) all over the US. I’d add it to our school bus fund! – Aden

*******

The Stealthy Kleenexer

I will exchange them into 100 $1 bills and treat my 10 friends with a box of Kleenex each for Christmas. And after the first couple of Kleenex, there will be surprises waiting. – Kim

*******

The Money Oozer ;)

I would use an extra $100 to buy a bottle of Chanel Mademoiselle perfume. My kids love it when Mommy smells good and it makes me feel sexy – LIKE $$ MONEY $$! – Rebekah

*******

The Dollar Tree Fan

I would get 50 $1.00 bills and hide them around the Dollar Tree with my granddaughter. Then take her to lunch and leave the rest for a tip. What a fun day! – Rose

*******

The Financial Gabber

I would use it to pay you $100 for a 30 minute phone call for some financial advice. This would be the biggest gift of all. I feel like the hardest part is talking about money with other people (no one want’s to hear your problems) and it’s driving me crazy because I really want to talk about it and get good sound advice on how to get out of the mess I’m in. – Mike

(Editor’s Note: This is actually a REALLY good idea and there’s a big need for this in our community! Unfortunately I don’t do coaching anymore, but here’s a list of other people in our space here that do – in case anyone else is looking for a good money coach: http://ift.tt/2jvY42T)

*******

The Brainstormer

I have 2 Ebay stores that have been running for a few years now and need to know how to increase our sales… I would use this for a brainstorm session at our local Panera or Starbucks hoping to find someone that could help me with promotion of our sites – or run a contest online for the best idea. – Kate

*******

The Quitter

I will put in my 2-weeks notice at my job for early/mini-retirement on Friday! – JP

(Editor’s Note: I sure hope $100 isn’t the only thing stopping you from doing this! :))

*******

The Self-Promoter/Do-good-er ;)

I’d buy 49 copies of my book, Success: For Minority Teens (& Their Friends) at $4.99/copy, defraying the cost of taxes, and I’d give these to 49 of my most needy 8th grade students at school. So many need a book like mine but can’t afford to buy on Amazon. – Carlos Gomez

*******

The Gardener

I would buy $100 worth of seeds, plant them and go back and give them out to all of my elementary school classrooms. Learning how to tend to a garden, getting your hands dirty, keeping plants alive and getting to enjoy the result of your hard work is one of those timeless lessons that is hard to recreate in our candy crush obsessed society. – Alicia

******* The Compassionate Knitter

If I won the money I’d use it to buy yarn to knit a blanket for my mother-in-law. The yarn is sort of expensive, like $70 per blanket, and it takes about 15 hours of knitting (so not a smart time or money investment) but it is a handmade blanket, and relationships with the in-laws are important. – Hannah

*******

The Knowledge Pusher

I’ll use the money to buy books related to Investing and give them away to my coworkers. I have given 2 books away for my coworkers In the past years: Total Money Makeover, The Millionaire Teacher. – Vielka

*******

The Tree Gifter

I’d use $100 to purchase a bike for a little boy – there’s a giving tree at my local wellness center with tags listing gift wishes from local children in need. This particular tag has been languishing as it’s a request for a larger gift. I’ve purchased a few gifts to match other requests, and saw this tag when I delivered the gifts. It’s been weighing on me since – I’d hate for this little one to go without and will find a way to get a bike to him – Heather

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The Perfect Wife ;)

I would use the money to buy my husband 10 movie tickets so he could get out of the house, take a break from the kids, and treat himself to a movie about once a month! – Kayla

*******

The Fiscal Librarian

I’d use the money for books that I want to read. Then I’d donate the books to my local library so everyone else will have a chance to read them too. Not a big choice for money management, retirement, investment, or financial books available and I’d like to change that. – Michelle

*******

The Best Christmas Game (Not really an entry, but still a fun idea!)

Every participant puts in twenty bucks cash. The wad of money is wrapped in paper, then more, then a box, then more paper, another box, etc. until you have a large box wrapped. You set a timer or play music and you have only so many seconds to unwrap. When the timer dings, you have to pass the wrapped wad of cash. Whoever touches the cash first wins it all!!! One year I used my teeth – she said it wasn’t allowed but I say house rules. – Victoria

 *******

And lastly, The Boobie Award

I’m not going to lie, I’d probably blow the $100 on food and drink for Christmas day… Probably why I’m in debt and reading this blog… – Kate

And that’s why they pay me the big bucks ;)

Happy weekend, y’all!

****** Links to Amazon products above are affiliate links, and I want you to buy 1,000,000 of those books/DNA kits so I can give away another $500 and keep being entertained by you all… Make it happen!

[Photo by Dakota Corbin via Unsplash]

A handful of SUPER clever ways to spend $100 this holiday season :) PLUS: Our Christmas Stimulus winners! posted first on http://ift.tt/2lnwIdQ

[heliosfinance]

24 Ways to Spend $100 This Holiday Season :) (Plus: Our Stimulus Winners!)

‘Sup sup!

J. Money Claus here to spread the wealth, both literally and figuratively! ;)

Just spent three solid hours reading and responding to all the great entries from last week’s Christmas Stimulus giveaway (over 800+ comments!), and WOW was it fascinating! You guys are so freakin’ creative!! We had the usual “I’d pay down debts” or “I’d bank it/invest it” or “I’d give it all away to charity” responses of course, but I was blown away by the level of thought that a lot of you put into this too.

You’re good :)

But since I can’t give $100 to *everyone* who made me smile today (and also because I made this a *randomized* drawing vs hand-picking the winners), I wanted to showcase a lot of these gems I came across in case they help you with your OWN ideas for the upcoming holidays, but also just to show these commenters some love too. Perhaps the fame you get off it today will amount to more than $100 over time? I mean, this IS the most fantastic blog in the world, you know!

Before we get to all that though, let me announce the 5 people who DID win the contest so you’re not biting off all your nails and annoying your co-workers.

So drum roll please…. dum ditty dum ditty dum…

The 5 lucky winners of $100 a piece are:

Nicole P.

Maisie

Sarah P. 

Danny (Commenter #633)

Mike (Commenter #756)

Woo! Congrats! I’ll be reaching out to you on the side to get your money, and be sure to not be strangers the rest of the year as if this was some sort of Church where you only pop over on the “important” days ;) Free education is better than free money, damnit!!

Now to the fun ways to use $100 this holiday!

(Or really, any time – because why only be nice once a year?)

We’ll start with the ones that made me laugh the hardest, and then go down the list to those that were just clever as hell, and then finally right into the ones that make you say, “awwwwww….”

Runners up to the people who mentioned: Chuck E. Cheese’s, doorbells, monks, manatees, accordions, tacos, sensory deprivation tanks (?), pickles, cabin escapes, tequila, fruit roll-ups, marijuana stock, escape rooms, “dutch ovens” (hah!), lunch tables, baseball cards, greenhouses, livestock water troughs, and finally to the one who almost made me spit out my coffee with their “Careergasm courses” line, haha… *goes to turn browser on “private” mode*

Now to the ones we’re paying in fame:

*******

The Prankster

I’d take it to the bank and ask for all quarters, and then take the quarters and glue them to the sidewalk and sit on my porch with my phone filming all the kids so excited to see 400 quarters on the ground, and then me laughing at them because they can’t pick them up.

Then I’d start a YouTube channel with my daily videos and take my millions of dollars from my massive subscriber growth and buy a cabin up in the mountains and buy all the turtles from pet stores to start training them to fight terrorism and then set them free all around the world. – Lance

*******

The Jeffersonian

First I would ask to be paid in $2 bills! Then I would stack those Jefferson’s as high as they would go and just admire them a bit. Then I would hop on my electric bike and head downtown handing them out to anyone in need, ending up at my favorite watering hole with just three of them left. I would then order my favorite IPA and drop my last three Jefferson’s on the unsuspecting waitress and call it a day! – bmiles62

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The Convert

I’d convert the $100 all into pennies and leave noticeable and various pennies around the house to drive my brother crazy. – Kevin

(Editor’s Note: I don’t know why that would drive him crazy? It’s FREE MONEY!!! :))

*******

The Goldbug

I would buy gold. Then, I would ask my friends what they would do if they had $100 worth of gold. The best response gets the gold! – Meghan

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The Kidder

I would use the $100 on hookers and blow. Just kidding. Something boring like saving for my kids education. – Josh

*******

The Original Zac Efron

I’ll buy 2 MyHeritage DNA kits at a discount. One for myself and another for Zac Efron. I wanna prove everyone wrong that he’s not my twin brother :) – Menard

(Editor’s Note: I actually DO want this kit! It’s pretty cool!!)

*******

The Gamer

I would throw a $100 party. It would consist of me and my girlfriend maybe a brother or cousin in there randomly sitting on the couch at my place drinking crown royal (750ml) $22.97. I would eventually get off the couch, and cook up some ribs (3 racks $38) that had been marinating in the fridge over night (spices and various ingredients $10). After the food is consumed we would partake in a intense game of drunkin-go-kart on the Nintendo 64 (24 pack of Bud Light of Coors Light $20). With the remaining $9.03 we would donate it to a random homeless person. – Heath

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The Gambler

Put aside for buying lottery tickets in all of 2018, because someone once said “Is $1 a week worth a chance to win $100,000,000 or even $1,000,000,000?” For me it is. – Nitin

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The Adventurer

We’re looking to convert a school bus over the next year and then take a leap year to travel with our 5 kids (ages 4 months-18yrs) all over the US. I’d add it to our school bus fund! – Aden

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The Stealthy Kleenexer

I will exchange them into 100 $1 bills and treat my 10 friends with a box of Kleenex each for Christmas. And after the first couple of Kleenex, there will be surprises waiting. – Kim

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The Money Oozer ;)

I would use an extra $100 to buy a bottle of Chanel Mademoiselle perfume. My kids love it when Mommy smells good and it makes me feel sexy – LIKE $$ MONEY $$! – Rebekah

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The Dollar Tree Fan

I would get 50 $1.00 bills and hide them around the Dollar Tree with my granddaughter. Then take her to lunch and leave the rest for a tip. What a fun day! – Rose

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The Financial Gabber

I would use it to pay you $100 for a 30 minute phone call for some financial advice. This would be the biggest gift of all. I feel like the hardest part is talking about money with other people (no one want’s to hear your problems) and it’s driving me crazy because I really want to talk about it and get good sound advice on how to get out of the mess I’m in. – Mike

(Editor’s Note: This is actually a REALLY good idea and there’s a big need for this in our community! Unfortunately I don’t do coaching anymore, but here’s a list of other people in our space here that does – in case anyone else is looking for a good money coach: http://ift.tt/2jvY42T)

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The Brainstormer

I have 2 Ebay stores that have been running for a few years now and need to know how to increase our sales… I would use this for a brainstorm session at our local Panera or Starbucks hoping to find someone that could help me with promotion of our sites – or run a contest online for the best idea. – Kate

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The Quitter

I will put in my 2-weeks notice at my job for early/mini-retirement on Friday! – JP

(Editor’s Note: I sure hope $100 isn’t the only thing stopping you from doing this! :))

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The Self-Promoter/Do-good-er ;)

I’d buy 49 copies of my book, Success: For Minority Teens (& Their Friends) at $4.99/copy, defraying the cost of taxes, and I’d give these to 49 of my most needy 8th grade students at school. So many need a book like mine but can’t afford to buy on Amazon. – Carlos Gomez

*******

The Gardener

I would buy $100 worth of seeds, plant them and go back and give them out to all of my elementary school classrooms. Learning how to tend to a garden, getting your hands dirty, keeping plants alive and getting to enjoy the result of your hard work is one of those timeless lessons that is hard to recreate in our candy crush obsessed society. – Alicia

******* The Compassionate Knitter

If I won the money I’d use it to buy yarn to knit a blanket for my mother-in-law. The yarn is sort of expensive, like $70 per blanket, and it takes about 15 hours of knitting (so not a smart time or money investment) but it is a handmade blanket, and relationships with the in-laws are important. – Hannah

*******

The Knowledge Pusher

I’ll use the money to buy books related to Investing and give them away to my coworkers. I have given 2 books away for my coworkers In the past years: Total Money Makeover, The Millionaire Teacher. – Vielka

*******

The Tree Gifter

I’d use $100 to purchase a bike for a little boy – there’s a giving tree at my local wellness center with tags listing gift wishes from local children in need. This particular tag has been languishing as it’s a request for a larger gift. I’ve purchased a few gifts to match other requests, and saw this tag when I delivered the gifts. It’s been weighing on me since – I’d hate for this little one to go without and will find a way to get a bike to him – Heather

*******

The Perfect Wife ;)

I would use the money to buy my husband 10 movie tickets so he could get out of the house, take a break from the kids, and treat himself to a movie about once a month! – Kayla

*******

The Fiscal Librarian

I’d use the money for books that I want to read. Then I’d donate the books to my local library so everyone else will have a chance to read them too. Not a big choice for money management, retirement, investment, or financial books available and I’d like to change that. – Michelle

*******

The Best Christmas Game (Not really an entry, but still a fun idea!)

Every participant puts in twenty bucks cash. The wad of money is wrapped in paper, then more, then a box, then more paper, another box, etc. until you have a large box wrapped. You set a timer or play music and you have only so many seconds to unwrap. When the timer dings, you have to pass the wrapped wad of cash. Whoever touches the cash first wins it all!!! One year I used my teeth – she said it wasn’t allowed but I say house rules. – Victoria

 *******

And lastly, The Boobie Award

I’m not going to lie, I’d probably blow the $100 on food and drink for Christmas day… Probably why I’m in debt and reading this blog… – Kate

And that’s why they pay me the big bucks ;)

Happy weekend, y’all!

****** Links to Amazon products above are affiliate links, and I want you to buy 1,000,000 of those books/DNA kits so I can give away another $500 and keep being entertained by you all… Make it happen!

[Photo by Dakota Corbin via Unsplash]

24 Ways to Spend $100 This Holiday Season :) (Plus: Our Stimulus Winners!) published first on http://ift.tt/2ljLF4B