#since having Good Food is definitively an issue jeremy has had

[rhimorechill]

i think jeremy mostly eats microaveable foods (learning 2 cook is HARD and he cares mostly for gaming), but i also think the mells have taught him a few things about cooking + the squip made him cook

are you a "jeremy knows how to cook because of his living situation" person or a "jeremy eats microwaveable foods" person

[mariacallous]

It won’t be Boris Johnson, but whoever the new prime minister turns out to be, they will have been dragged into office by “economic orthodoxy” and its henchmen. Their mandate is pre-written in the data you have been deluged with about the impact of unfunded tax cuts, from the depreciation of the pound to rises in interest rates, and the untenable upward effect this has had on mortgages and rents. The charts have spoken – an ideological experiment has gone terribly wrong and must be reversed.

But it is a tale of two crises, and only one is being told. Attracting far less fanfare is another set of statistics about cold and hunger. More than a million people are expected to be pushed into poverty this winter. Their slide into deprivation will test an informal support network already stretched to its limit. Last week, the food bank charity the Trussell Trust launched an emergency appeal for donations because need for food banks has now outstripped donations. Charities like this, private citizens and schools are mobilising to bridge the gap.

The hole is too large to plug. Half of all primary schools in England are trying to feed children in poverty who are ineligible for free school meals because their parents’ income does not meet the threshold. But there are 800,000 of them. It can be hard sometimes to grasp the scale of the problem through bare statistics, but vivid and haunting details can flesh them out. Children are eating school rubbers to line their stomachs and dull the ache and nausea of hunger. Others are bringing in empty lunchboxes then pretending to dine on their phantom food away from classmates, too ashamed to reveal that they have nothing to eat.

If these children’s families can’t afford to eat, they definitely can’t afford to keep warm as winter approaches and energy prices rocket. How can children expect to learn with their minds impaired by hunger and cold? Over the past year, reading ability among seven-year-olds from poor families fell at double the rate of those from affluent families, their future prospects receding before they have even begun.

But my goodness, the scenes in Westminster! Kwasi Kwarteng sacked on a plane, Suella Braverman gone for a data breach, reported manhandling, jostling and shouting outside the voting lobby. And if that wasn’t already enough to drown out the rumble of tummies and chattering of teeth, Liz Truss threw in the towel, kicking off another attention-sucking vortex of new leadership speculation and horse-trading.

“I worry,” Naomi Duncan, chief executive of Chefs in Schools, told me, two hours after Truss resigned, “that the ongoing political turmoil will divert attention.” The solution for her is simple: to give one meal a day to all children based on need, not an income calculation that has long since ceased to be relevant.

It does sound simple, doesn’t it? But the sort of government that tackles poverty, hunger and cold is not the government anyone who matters is clamouring for. As the emergency intensifies, politicians and opinion makers are calling not for a firefighter to treat this as the crisis it truly is, but for a “grownup” to make those economic charts read better.

“The grownups are back,” declared Liam Fox, after Jeremy Hunt and Penny Mordaunt’s performance at the dispatch box last week. “If Truss cannot quickly sort herself out,” the Sun (of all papers) told us, ‘“the grownups need to get in a room” and “agree a peaceful transition to a sensible figure”. This trope exemplifies the detachment of both Westminster and Westminster watchers. As the country enters into the winter crisis proper, those at the top are looking for a leader with unspecified technocratic skills who, like a contracted management consultant, will be able to “stabilise” UK plc. It’s not the mouths of children that need feeding, but the markets.

If this new leader must have an ideology, it should be one that aligns with the aim of “fiscal responsibility”, itself a byword for reduced state spending. They must “look like a leader”, and enact whatever callous cuts they have to, preferably while exhibiting suitable regret at having to make “difficult decisions”. The result of this settlement is a chilling absence of politicians able to articulate the exceptional pain the public is going through. Also absent are any policies that would tackle the cost of living and energy emergency through higher taxes on the wealthy, or an economic stabilisation agenda that addresses the goals not only of those who want to prosper, but those who need to survive.

Even among a fuming opposition there is a sort of bloodless anger. “The damage to mortgages and bills has been done,” tweeted Keir Starmer as if the economic impact is being felt by pieces of paper rather than people. It seems everyone has understood that injecting feeling and channelling the fear and deprivation that stalks people every day disqualifies you from being taken seriously as a politician. The “adult” approach seems to be keeping the markets happy and achieving abstract “growth”, rather than also prioritising the security of those so on the margins they cannot benefit from that growth; those who will suffer most when the next round of soberly dictated cuts arrive.

To include in your economic vision the importance of benefits, subsidies or improvements to public services to the wellbeing of those not able to fully participate in the housing or job market is somehow outside the parameters of acceptable politics.

But it is staying in that lane of acceptable politics that has resulted in our political and social crises. The delusion is that if we try just one more time with someone like Rishi Sunak, a man who flat out complained of funding being “shoved into deprived areas”, the right or right of centre will crack it. Despite the fact that this is the tribe which over the past two decades pursued the deregulation agenda of big businesses, allowed working conditions and wages to be run into the ground, slashed benefits, and failed to invest any money saved from painful cuts into, to take just one example, any future-proofing green energy that would have mitigated this winter crisis.

I wonder, even with attention constantly yanked back to the Westminster spectacle, just how many more chances the grownups can get away with when every day another adult or child starts to go without food, or another family bundle themselves up at night instead of putting the heating on. Just how much longer can people put up with a consensus that placates the financial system with an “acceptable” number of losers? Grownup politics is literally that: disregarding those who do not “matter”, considering the economically marginalised simply as collateral damage, excluding their passions from the cool halls of power and cultivating resignation to ever more suffering. But with their numbers rising and their pain intensifying, that may be about to become an impossible task.

[cosplayinamerica]

COSPLAY THEME PAGE : WE ARE BLACK COSPLAY

Last year I started doing interviews with Instagram cosplay theme page. I’m always curious about how theme pages get started so I decided to talk with WeAreBlackCosplay.

How did WeAreBlackCosplay start? What was the spark that lead to the creation?

We Are Black Cosplay started back in April of 2016 late one night when we were browsing some of the newly posted pictures after some of the conventions we attended.

We saw a lot of cosplayers being praised for their costumes with the exception of most of the poc cosplayers. Their comment sections were riddled with toxic and racist remarks on their appearance about how their costumes were “inaccurate because -insert character here- isn’t black/etc”.

So it was at that moment we decided to try to provide a safer space for pocs to share their hard work and get the recognition they deserve rather than be torn apart simply for wanting to dress up as their favorite characters.

What was your first experience at a convention like and along the same line how did you discover cosplay?

Jeremy: The first convention I attended was an eye opening experience, I never thought so many nerds could exist in one space. It was exciting sharing the same space with some of the same voice actors I love as well as checking out all the panels the convention had to offer. I discovered cosplay by scrolling through Facebook and coming across cosplay pages.

Wes:  I was amazed that there were so many like minded people that loved the same thing and support each other that also liked the same thing. It was like a giant community where people could escape reality for that weekend or however long the convention was and enjoying their fan base. Originally I discovered cosplay online but after attending my first convention it truly opened my eyes to cosplay being able to see the cosplays in person and understand how much work goes into creating the costumes.

Mookie: My first experience at conventions was definitely eye opening and fun experience. I had always looked at convention videos and cosplays online but being able to actually attend a convention was a different experience. Seeing all the amazing cosplays and props I immediately fell in love with it all. I discovered cosplay from seeing pictures online and just seeing cmvs and skits being shared around.

How has WeAreBlackCosplay  grown from the beginning to now?

Since starting back in 2016 we’ve grown consistently each year which has been amazing. We’ve been able to promote more cosplayers and get their work out to a much larger audience. Originally we had around 1-3k, but we started picking up traction once more people found out about the page and telling their friends about us.

What’s the best part/worst part of running a theme/share page?

The best part about running a page like our is seeing how excited people get when their costume gets posted and they’re flooded with love and positivity. We get quite a few messages from people who were on the fence about cosplaying and then they stumbled upon our page. They tell us about how it inspired them to cosplay and ignore the negative people in the community.

The hardest part about this all are the constant amount of people complaining that it's “adding to the racial divide” or the most common message we get is “what if I made a we are white cosplay page?”. 

The fact that so many pages such as ours exists shows that there are a lot of unresolved problems in the cosplay community but so many individuals would rather ignore it and lash out at anyone that brings up said issues.

We typically just remove any negative comments on the photos and as for the messages we receive, we explain our reasoning even though we don’t have to. We’ve come across some people that were genuinely unaware of how bad things were.

What do you hope people come away after viewing your page?

We hope that after people view the content of our pages they feel inspired to cosplay and understand what it means when people say cosplay is for everyone. Anyone can do it and people shouldn’t be bullied because of their gender,race,etc. This is a niche community filled with people that were bullied for being into anime and cosplay so the fact so many people do it despite having been on the receiving end of that in the past is hypocritical.

Do you really have guys DM y’all asking y’all out ?

You wouldn’t believe how many messages we get from dudes thinking that we are some of the girls that we share on the page. We’ve explained countless times and even made posts informing people that they aren’t us but thirst is indeed a thing lmao.

It is 2021 and how do you see cosplay and race relations between now and say 5 years or 10 years ago?

We think that things have definitely gotten worse compared to how they used to be back in the day. Back then no one really cared about your race when it came to cosplay just the accuracy of your costume and wanting to take a picture of someone dressing up as their favorite character. Now there’s so much focus on telling people who they can’t cosplay due to a number of factors that shouldn’t even matter. We’re here to have a good time and share our love for the characters with one another.

What’s in store for WeAreBlackCosplay in the future?

One of the main things we would like to do is get back to our roots which was interviewing cosplayers about their experiences,favorite cosplays,conventions, and things of that nature. We also plan on hosting events somewhere down the line to bring people together and make sure they have an amazing con weekend. We definitely have a few projects in the works! 

What anime series are y’all watching right now?

Dr. Stone, Attack Of Titan, Food Wars, Haikyuu!, and Alderamin on the Sky

https://linktr.ee/weareblackcosplay

[zalrb]

hmm maybe you could just rank them according to your personal preference?? i think it would be a little different from the other one right

Sure! I’m sticking to canon ships.

1. Stelena

I have an entire masterlist dedicated to why Stelena is number 1.

2. Forwood

Oh, Forwood:

Caroline and Tyler were fundamentally altered because of their supernatural conditions and that shift was the basis of their relationship. Becoming a vampire empowered Caroline, she had a sense of strength that she never had, she was confident and centred, she became everything she wasn’t in season 1,

which allowed her to be emotional support for Tyler

who, because of the werewolf curse, became everything he wasn’t in season 1 too: humble and vulnerable and grateful for assistance

and that allowed him to actually take the emotional support from Caroline

so they actually grew together through this time, complementing each other and seeing different sides of their personalities, surprising each other even though they’d known each other since childhood.

And also no one gives Tyler credit for being a loving, whipped boyfriend

and like

and just look at them

I don’t care what anyone says, this is such a cute exchange

3. Stebekah/Steferine

I put them together because which one I prefer more depends on the day. I like Stebekah because they’re dark and there was a lot of potential there:

I think that Katherine unfairly gets credit for the second half of a Dark Stefan ship. Every time Stefan has been rebellious or dark and has had a woman at his side, it’s been Rebekah such as in the 20s:

And such as season 4. When Stefan was just tired of all the Delena and   Defan and triangle bullshit and was like fuck it, I’m doing something �� for me, I don’t care if it’s a bad decision, he went to Rebekah for some  crazy sex with a crazy ass vampire: 

So I think Rebekah has insight into the depraved, dark, deviant Stefan because she relishes it with him

I like Steferine a) because of Dobsley chemistry b) because I find their dynamic interesting

[Steferine is] the one ship that the show portrays the baggage and the hurt and the sort of inescapability of certain connection quite well although it’s not emphasized so I wonder if they actually portrayed it well on purpose? But anyway.

The reason why I think it’s done well is  because I think the relationship contradicts the idea that loving someone is always good, Katherine’s “love”/obsession with Stefan in fact  continuously destroys him and hurts him […] She  is more in love with the idea of Stefan loving her than she actually is  with Stefan. That’s why she hijacks Elena’s body in season 5 and  attempts to seduce him because  let’s think about that. Katherine hijacked the body of a woman she  hates and tries to seduce Stefan as that woman, a woman whose break up with him was a trigger for his PTSD, a woman who was in a relationship  with his brother and she doesn’t think or care about how seducing him as this woman would fuck with his head:

It’s also why in season 2 she threatens to kill Elena while Stefan watches because it doesn’t matter if he’s scarred or hurt, what matters is owning him:

And Stefan knows that about Katherine and yet Katherine knows Stefan’s psychology, she knows how his mind works, she knows which ways to get through to him:

and that creates a lot of tension for Stefan and you see it because it’s like, “you legit ruined my life though, like you completely fucked with my head, fucked with my life, I hate you, like I legit hate you”

and yet, AND YET, I can’t help but be of comfort when you’re in need

and as much as I hate you, when you’re around there’s just, there’s this thing (because Stefan always looks like he’s a half-step away from having hate sex with her)

At the same time, Stefan is never able to let Katherine in completely

And  he also experiences catharsis by being able to torture her in season 2  then kill her in season 5 and despite dying with her, killing her again  in season 8, he gets to continuously avenge himself which other victims  on TVD don’t get to do

4. Beremy

Here is the thing about Beremy and my opinion on them is definitely framed by the fact that I now know that the only other relationship Bonnie is really in is with Enzo and I think Bonenzo is bullshit, but the thing about Beremy is that Jeremy goes hard for her (especially in season 2) and I don’t think that’s quite acknowledged.

I definitely think that Kat deserved a better screen partner because Steve didn’t really have much of a presence onscreen

but I do think his lack of presence is also why a lot of good and cute Beremy scenes go unnoticed.

and I don’t think their chemistry was bad, like it’s not Grahamwood chemistry, it’s not Somergraham chemistry but it’s not like Steroline flat or Delena cringey, it’s decent:

like their first kiss is a good first kiss

and I’ve also said that they’re at their best when they do angst, that’s where they live. It’s not Stelena angst or Forwood angst but it’s pretty good angst

The way Enzo is supposed to love Bonnie, I think we actually see with Bonnie and Jeremy

Jeremy is this puny pre-hunter human but he goes into the tomb for the moonstone so Bonnie won’t have to use her magic.

In 2x18 when it was all don’t tell Elena that Bonnie will die trying to take down Klaus, Jeremy essentially chose Bonnie by telling Stefan what was going to happen.

Like look at the way he smiles here:

but the writers really fucked this over: And here’s the thing about that. I can understand the fact that Jeremy never really got closure from Anna and that seeing your girlfriend get dragged out, screaming, by cops and knowing that your uncle killed her would be traumatic. But it’s like JP wanted to humiliate Bonnie with this triangle because first of all, Bonnie is the only character who’s been cheated on and not only are the overall stakes of the show super low for the consequence of Bonnie using her magic to be Jeremy being able to see his ex-girlfriends, it’s a petty way to punish Bonnie. Moreover, it’s not just that Jeremy kissed Anna, it’s not even just that he’d been talking to her and essentially having an emotional affair with her, it’s that he degrades his relationship to Bonnie for Anna and when Bonnie finds out, Jeremy legit couldn’t give a fuck and he does nothing to get her back and he’s just never apologetic about it, not toward Bonnie anyway and then it just gets to the fact that Jeremy has a tendency to only care about the women he dates when they’re about to die and it’s just, I understand why the whole Anna situation keeps people from shipping them or giving Beremy the time of day.

5. Maroline

OK Maroline gets a lot of flack and it’s not that I don’t understand why and it’s not like they didn’t have issues but 1) their coming together was organic and on a show like TVD, having two people come together organically is actually pretty rare, it’s basically Stelena, Forwood and Maroline. I enjoyed the fact that despite being opposites, they found emotional common ground, they bonded over the fact that they were both lonely and they both felt isolated and they were both desperately seeking someone to love them

and their respective stories support this interaction

it’s not just something that’s said to be said, we see Matt’s life, we see him have no parents, we see him to the best of his ability try and keep tabs on Vicki, who is dead but he thinks she bailed, we see Elena fall in love with someone else right in front of him, we see Caroline’s abusive relationship with Damon, we see her insecurities from Day One in the pilot but their bond didn’t just stay at them wanting company, they actually had fun spending time together, they actually liked each other

and I liked that it was no pretense, I liked that it was Family Guy and junk food. You know, Klaroline ha the champagne and the ball gowns, Forwood would just “be” a lot, you know, they were the enjoying each other’s silence kind of ship, Steroline as a couple .... but Matt and Caroline, like, hung out and I liked that.

2) They were super realistic for a teenage relationship and I respect that. Like this is so high school

I remember being 16 and doing things to “test” my boyfriend or the guy that I liked, I remember my guy friends being reluctant to express liking a girl because of what their friends would say, I remember being a teenager and just doing teenage things, which is what Maroline did,

I don’t fault them for that, and yes, in season 1, Matt would be like, we’re not going to last etc.

and I don’t blame people for being put off by that, I wasn’t because it’s pretty 16/17-year old boy but you also see how that doesn’t seem to be what he actually thinks

and we see that expand in season 2

which is why the infamous Mattlena hug scene in 1x17 had me, like, the writing is just contradicting itself now because in 1x16, we have this out where Matt  explain being over Elena and seeing her as a friend and at peace with the fact that she loves Stefan because he’s into Caroline so having Caroline look in on them again was like, we’ve already covered this especially since it’s not consistent after 1x17 either.

Like the whole thing is that she can be exasperating --- and people forget that Caroline actually can be exasperating, she made an offhand classist remark about Bonnie liking the bus boy, which Matt overheard, she was dealing with vampirism and Tyler’s transformation but Matt didn’t know anything about that so she just came across to him as hot and cold, he didn’t have context --- but he loved her anyway

With regards to when he finds out she’s a vampire, I like how people are more pressed about Matt being involved in trying to take her down when he has no frame of reference for vampires other than the fact that one killed his sister and they’re not like, wow Liz, that’s your daughter, but I also like how as they ‘grow up’ and become entrenched in the Supernatural, despite the fact that Matt consistently says he wants nothing to do with it, both of them look out for each other

6. Klaroline

I’m pretty indifferent to Klaroline, I don’t have strong feelings about them but I have maintained that they are better than Delena

Even Klaroline does a better job with that dynamic and those kinds of arguments than Delena because you see Caroline be like “I can’t do this, why the fuck am I even here?” every time they’re together  

the dynamic DE was supposed to have better, the “fiery” “passionate” thing works for them because they know how to argue and because they play up the conflict

I’ve also maintained they have good chemistry: and yet their chemistry begins winning me over in the scene and I think what really sells it is that Candice reacts to the phone call in a way I’ve only seen Caroline react to Klaus and it’s this sort of… she catches her breath/is stunned

I have a vid that’s basically just of their gazes because they’re always charged, they have a very seductive chemistry and it suits their dynamic because the more Caroline interacts with Klaus, the more she’s drawn to him and that shows with the kind of chemistry they have where, as someone who is quite indifferent to their dynamic, the more they interact onscreen the more I want them to remain onscreen, I start off unimpressed (much like Caroline) and move toward being engaged (again like Caroline) and like I said, they do their dynamic well too, Caroline’s annoyed-but-charmed and Klaus’ arrogant-but-charming

(although their physical chemistry is not great) I just don’t think they have any real narrative.

7. Simara

This is purely about Dobsley chemistry: I have spoken about Silas and Amara quite a bit actually, but honestly, mostly in relation to the chemistry between Paul and Nina because I think that the SIlas and Amara storyline is textually weak and it felt rushed, there isn’t much nuance so I don’t find their story particularly tragic because we didn’t spend enough time on it but I still find them tragic because of how Paul and Nina played the tragedy.

Like it was a storyline that just let Paul and Nina do their magic onscreen,

they didn’t have to try to undercut it with dialogue or anything so I appreciate Simara because I love seeing Nina and Paul working together but in terms of the content, I’m like I don’t really care.

Last: Delena/Bonenzo/Steroline

You can look at the masterlists!

[bbwoulfc]

ML NY Special Review

Finally finished my review on the ML NY Special and it’s going to be a long review, I won’t lie.  I will be breaking this down in two sections.  First section will be focused through the perspective as a professional (animation industry) and the second section through the perspective as a viewer and ML fan.

I won’t deny, I will be criticizing a few things and really give large opinionated thoughts; I’m sure it will piss people off, but I’m gonna be honest and I don’t give a damn.  I’ve been here since the beginning and I’m gonna go all out.  It wouldn’t be the first time I pissed people off.

Again, keep in mind these are my views/opinions as a professional and as a viewer/fan.  If you can’t handle some of the strong opinions that will come from this review, then keep moving on.  Don’t waste your time if you can’t handle certain characters or subjects being discussed in a different light.

If you wish to continue, then click the “keep reading” option.

As an animator, this is one of my favorite things to do with animated shows or movies.  I absolutely love breaking things down and giving opinions on the whys, whats, and hows.  Never do I aim to prove my opinions right.  My goal is to simply make you think and consider.  And if you don’t agree then that’s completely fine.  That’s how it works.

Now, the NY Special has definitely exceeded the quality than what I expected.  I absolutely love SAMG as a company.  I think this is by far one of the best that SAMG has produced for Miraculous as a whole.  Even better than the origin episodes. The lighting is probably the best I’ve seen in a 3D animated tv series, by far. It was stunning and gorgeous and worked well with the given mood that was set throughout the hour of the special.  I would say there are two scenes in particular that I felt were the best lit scenes. 

The first scene is definitely near the beginning when the class landed in NY and where traveling in the bus.  They stopped either at the hotel or museum and the shot was the buses in front of the large building where you have the other city buildings around it.  That shot was gorgeous; the orange hues falling on top of the buildings and gaining that purple and blue shadows was great.  It’s honestly one of my favorite complementary color schemes to use when lighting most scenes in animation.  It helps achieve a nice balance when setting mood but also to get a nice glance at the shapes of the models in the scene.  Perfection.

As for the second scene, I would have to say it was the moment Adrien left and Marinette was biking to chase after him and she fell.  That moment the scene focused on Marinette on the ground and in the rain spoke many volumes.  The color tone of the scene was perfect and captured the common traits used in many shows and films to further drive the sense of sadness and overall emotional effect; using the traditional trait of rain made the scene work and stand out during the struggles that Marinette was dealing with. 

The rain in general was outstanding on it’s own.  Liquids in animation are tough, not an easy thing to do. The way the rain was animated was probably the best rain I’ve seen in most 3D animated tv series.  I will even say it beats the rain from the origin episodes which is amazing because it shows the growth alone that SAMG has come from since the first season of the series.  

They create stunning quality work and by far are the best of the best from all the companies that ZAG uses or had used for the show.  I won’t lie, I still can’t fathom how Jeremy/ZAG could let such a company go but Jeremy isn’t the greatest with the money, so it’s not a shocker.  It definitely shows that man doesn’t know how to properly run a company and treat a show.  I honestly blame him for pretty much the entire outcome of the series and that’s my god honest opinionated truth as a professional. 

The pacing of the special I felt was good, though I do think it would have been nice to have had an extra 30 minutes to help flow areas a bit better or more, but I can understand the time constraints, especially after hearing about how Thomas stated that the special was going to be two hours originally. And I will be honest, I wouldn’t have minded that.  I think it would have been fantastic to have had a longer span episode special, but I understand a lot of the struggles that no doubt the team had endured.

Overall, some issues, but 10 out of 10 on animation and quality output.

Now the second section; viewing through the eyes as a viewer and fan.

As a fan of ML, I will not beat around the bush, I truly believe this special was disappointing plot wise.  And I don’t blame Thomas and his team for the issue.  As stated previously, my anger and frustration is more on Jeremy/ZAG for everything that has come from ML as a show and especially the result of the NY special.

My biggest issue with the special was the focal point: Adrinette.

How many damn times must I hear, “they’re meant for each other” or “aren’t they perfect together” and so forth.  I get it. You can adore Adrientte but I don’t need it shoved down my throat every five minutes.  I don’t give an ounce of care that Adrien and Marinette are endgame and that they’re “soulmates”.  The romance between those two means absolutely nothing to me.  It was cute and fun in the beginning when the series first started, but I’m tired of it.  I don’t care about the love square.  I don’t care about the “soulmate” trope when in reality anyone can be someone’s soulmate with the right care.  That was no doubt the biggest issue for me in the entire special.  

In my opinion, it would have been perfect if it wasn’t Adrinette centric.  This was the best moment to show Marinette is improving herself but it had to become fan service because god forbid it felt like they needed to please the Adrinette shippers that their ship is still valid. If we’re judging this based off the season 3 finale, I won’t lie, this special fit better as a season 2 finale or mid season 3 than the end of season 3.

I’m seriously more disappointed that the special wasn’t more on Marinette and herself as a character.  They were in New York, another strong hub for fashion.  This was a perfect opportunity to explore more of her interests as a fashion designer and maybe meeting some new people.  Who knows, maybe even Jagged Stone as an international rock star. But overall it was a lost opportunity to expand more on her for the sake of shipping.  

I think it would have also been cool to see her and Chat Noir maybe learn some methods/training from the US heroes and get a glimpse into a world of heroism that is different in cultures and circumstances.  Which honestly made sense to me how US heroes didn’t care about identity because Ladybug and Chat Noir have magical based items that are no doubt more powerful and outside sources that I’m sure would be willing to destroy to obtain it.

Another problem I had was how I felt we were robbed without having Kagami and Luka go to New York. Or if anything, more with Luka than Kagami. I love Kagami with all my being, but I doubt her mother would let her go to New York.  But imagine Luka being there. We could have had a flipping jam session between Luka and Jess.  I felt we were cheated, it would have been amazing to see two incredible guitarists jam it out and two people who have a passion for music find a friend in each other. I would have given anything to have had that moment.

Though in general I would have enjoyed anything else if it just wasn’t Adrinette centric.  I’m positive everyone in the fandom is on the same page that they’re “soulmates” but there’s more that can be done than a damn ship that has followers that attack and annoy anyone who doesn’t ship them.  Because, god forbid, Adrien and Marinette apparently aren’t allowed to be happy with others. I swear, half the fandom (hardcore adrinette shippers) treat Adrien more as an object than the ML characters themselves. 

Nothing against the ship, but it’s just not for me and that’s okay.  I simply can’t relate to Adrien as a romantic choice of a character.  When Luka came into existence, I was in awe. I found a character I could relate too because I was as close to similarity than any other character in a show before.  And that’s something I’ve noticed with this fandom, hating characters because to them they’re nothing but boring.  

Fans need to understand that one will not understand everything in a show, especially characters.  Just because you hate a character and find them boring doesn’t mean they’re terribly written.  You as a viewer simply can’t relate to them and that’s completely fine.  There will always be some who can relate and understand while others don’t, but that shouldn’t be a reason to argue against people who love a certain character.

And I’m being serious, I enjoyed the 30 seconds of Kagami and Luka with their love interests more than the hour of Adrinette.  It’s just overall sad.  There is so much potential that could have been the special focus wise but felt it was there to show why Adrinette is “superior” when it’s really not.  They’re only one of many ships that are equally good.  It comes down to how it’s portrayed and done.

However, since I know we’re stuck with Adrinette no matter what, I’m going to end this review with this as a food for thought but again, this is a simple opinion.

There was one thing that stood out and caught myself and some of my friends in a ML server attention.  In the NY special there were strong moments that revolved around bikes.  So, out of curiosity, I searched for symbolism meanings about bikes during the server’s conversation and it might hint to what might happen or what might come in the future of the show.   

The bike symbolizes the moving circle of life. 

Seeing a bicycle is a hint that you will reach somewhere. This could either be your motivation or your future plan. Cycling refers to the different moods that a person feels. Bicycles are also related to the ups and downs of life. For instance, riding a bicycle gives you both smooth edges and rough pebbles on your journey. The smooth edges are related to the happy times of your life and the rough pebbles denote the challenges of life. 

So, if we want to use this to break down ML, this in a way, represents Lukanette and Adrinette.  Luka are the smooth edges in Marinette’s journey.  He’s the one that calms her, helps her think things through, focuses on what Marinette wants to do rather tell her what she should do.  Never once does he tell her to do this or do that, but simply asks her what it is she wants. Luka, is pretty much her guide. The happy times as Marinette where she appears happiest without the burdens and overwhelming stress of her other life.  Whereas Adrien is the rough pebbles in her journey, the challenges to properly talk with the one she views as a love interest or simply to build that perfect friendship/relationship.  Yes, they’re friends, but they’re not as strong as friends like Marinette and Alya or Adrien and Nino. Adrien is a challenge in her life and always will be until she learns to let go and mature.   

The other moment that stood out with the bike was the moment Marinette was pressured to chase after Adrien to get him to stay.  She chases after him on a bike but falls off in the end. 

Falling off the Bicycle: This indicates that you are losing your self-confidence. 

Spend time with your loved ones and take suggestions from the experienced people. Join a course on building your personality and motivation. Do things that interest you the most and this will surely help to bring back your confidence level. This indicates a frenzied lifestyle and the need to slow down. 

This here makes me believe that Luka is the “experienced people” in Marinette’s life.  Other than Kagami, Luka is the only mature one in Marinette’s life in her friend group.  He’s one of the biggest motivators in Marinette’s life as of recent.  Putting her interests at heart that have helped her build her confidence.  We know Marinette has a frenzied lifestyle with everything that she has on her shoulders as well as her passions.  And Luka is one of the very few, if not, only one in her friend group that can calm Marinette and help her slow down and simply relax.

I know Adrinette is endgame, but I won’t deny when I say if there was anything that ML could do, is that they make Adrigami and Lukanette endgame.  So many shows always pair the two main characters, always.  If there is any message that I would have loved to see come from a show like ML, it would simply be “Your first love/crush will not always be the one and that’s okay. That your first crush/love could be the greatest friendship you ever have. And the second chances in your life are just as valuable as the first and may be even better for you.”  

Fans might hate Kagami and Luka, but as far as I’m concerned from everything I’ve watched since the beginning, the only reason you’re getting your Adrinette in the end is all because of Luka.  If it weren’t for him majority of the time, y’all wouldn’t have half of your love square moments.  So, Luka is the true MVP in my book.  Because unlike many of the others, he doesn’t put pressure on Marinette and that’s what Marinette doesn’t need right now, more pressure.  

Adrien and Marinette might be endgame, but those two need people outside of their classmates because everyone is too tunnel vision.  Luka and Kagami are the only ones that will help Adrien and Marinette mature, cause those two will not be able to do it themselves.  So, if you want your Adrinette, you’re gonna have to suffer through Lukanette and Adrigami.

[440mxs-wife]

The Wedding Date

Pairing: Castiel x Reader

Your phone notification dinged, indicating an email had been sent to you. When you opened the email app, you noticed it was from your mother. The subject line was: Your Cousin Jenna's Wedding RSVP. You closed your eyes and groaned in frustration.

This was your youngest cousin getting married, and she asked you to be one of her bridesmaids. Once she was married, it would make you the last of the cousins to still be single. You didn't even have a boyfriend or any prospects of one except maybe....

Castiel....

Not even Sam or Dean had any inkling about your attraction to the blue-eyed angel, or at least you didn't think they knew. Castiel was always kind to you, sweet, understanding and seemed to enjoy your company. He especially was there with you any time you were in the kitchen, particularly when you were baking. It was one of the few times when you had his undivided attention.

His smile made your heart feel lighter, and his deep, gravelly voice turned your knees to jelly. His sapphire eyes appeared to burrow their way into your soul. You hoped that he couldn't see all the way in to where you kept hidden your true feelings towards him. You doubted that he returned those feelings, and you certainly couldn't bear the embarrassment if he knew how you felt.

As you were reading the email with the itinerary of wedding festivities, Dean entered the library. He was passing through on the way to his room, but with one look at your face, he knew you were upset. "Hey, are you okay?" he asked.

You sighed deeply before answering. "My cousin Jenna is getting married in two weeks, and my mom just emailed me the schedule for the wedding activities," you answered.

"That doesn't sound so bad. What's the problem?" he pushed.

"The 'problem' is, I told my mom that I kind of....had a boyfriend. Now she wants to meet him, and I can't bring someone who doesn't exist," you finished.

"You could say that you broke up with your imaginary boyfriend, which would solve the whole 'meeting your mom' problem," Dean suggested.

"True, but that's not the only issue. My ex, Jeremy, is also supposed to be there. He and I broke up well before I came here and started hunting with you guys. He's friends with the best man, so it's going to be very hard to ignore him the whole time. Besides that, I wanted him to see me with someone. Then, I could rub it in his face that I'm with someone much better than him," you explained.

The more you thought about the situation, the more you decided that you were going to send your regrets. You would attend the ceremony, maybe the reception, but you would definitely skip the pre-wedding activities fiasco. Dean told you not to be so hasty, to tell your mom that there would be two of you. What little time there was before you had to travel would be spent trying to think of a way out.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

A couple of days later, you still hadn't come up with a solution. You went to the kitchen for something to drink, and came back with a bottle of water. When you returned to the living room, you noticed that Castiel had appeared. As soon as he saw you, he broke into a huge smile, which lit up his entire face. "Hello, Castiel," you greeted him with a shy smile.

"It's lovely to see you. I hope your day is going well for you," Cas remarked.

"So far, so good, Cas. I hope you're having a good day as well," you replied. You dropped your gaze because you were blushing furiously and didn't want anyone to see, especially Castiel.

Cas hooked his finger under your chin and tilted your head up to meet your eyes. "You have such a luminous smile. You should show it more often. And for the record, any day that I get to see you is a good day," Cas said, placing his other hand on yours.

"Thank you, Cas," you gave him a smile. As you went to the library to do some reading, you ran your hand across his back from one shoulder to the other.

As Dean watched the exchange between you and Castiel, a plan began to form in his mind. "Yeah, I'll be right back. I'm headed into town to pick up something for dinner," Dean explained. "Hey Sammy? Let's go for a food run!" You heard Sam shout back that he would meet Dean in the Impala.

A short while later, your phone dinged with another email notification. You opened the email and frowned as you read it. Cas noticed your facial expression. "Is something wrong? You look unhappy," he noted.

"Hmm? Oh, it's nothing, Cas. Just another email from my mother about my cousin Jenna's wedding in a week or so. I'm one of the bridesmaids. Mom is 'overjoyed' at finally meeting my boyfriend, and, of course, has told my entire family about it," you grumbled.

An unpleasant and slightly unfamiliar feeling came over Cas in reaction to your statement of your mother meeting your boyfriend. "I didn't know you had a boyfriend. Do Sam and Dean know him? When will I get to meet him?" he asked tightly.

"Probably never, Cas, he doesn't exist. I don't have a boyfriend now, and probably never will again," you muttered.

"Then why did you tell your mother you had one?" he asked, his head tilted to one side.

You looked down at your hands, not really wanting to answer. "Because," you started. "I was tired of her asking me when I was going to get married. So, I lied to her, and before you say it, yes, I know it was wrong. But, I never thought there would be any occasion that she would ever need physical confirmation that I actually had a boyfriend. Now there is," you finished quietly.

"I see. Why don't you think you'll ever have another boyfriend?" he asked innocently.

"Cas, I'm sorry, but I really don't want to talk about this anymore. Excuse me," you quickly got up from your chair and ran to your room before he could see your tears.

Sam and Dean came down the spiral staircase in time to see you bolt from the library. Cas stared after you, wondering what he had done to make you leave like that. "I don't understand, Dean. One minute we were talking about her cousin's wedding and her 'boyfriend', and the next minute she's running out of here....in tears," Cas explained sadly. "It's my fault that she's crying. Maybe I should go in and talk to her--"

Dean cut him off. "Whoa, buddy hold on there a minute. Give her some time. She'll come back out when she's ready," Dean assured Cas.

"Since when does she have a boyfriend? I've never seen her with anyone," Sam interjected.

"She doesn't have a boyfriend, Sam. She told her mother that because she was tired of being asked when she was going to get married. It makes me sad to hear her say that she doesn't think she'll ever have another boyfriend, or someone to care for her in that way," Cas added.

"Really, Cas?" Dean asked as he leaned back in his chair. "Well, now that we're on the subject, what do you think of her?"

Castiel thought for a minute as a smile slowly crept across his face. "She's the most amazing woman I've ever met, with such a beautiful soul. Her eyes are so expressive, I can tell what she's thinking without reading her mind. When she smiles, I can't help but smile with her, and her laughter makes me feel warm inside.

"Whenever I'm around her, my heart races and I have this feeling in my stomach. And it feels like a part of me is missing when I'm not with her. Is this what you humans call....love?" he asked, a blush creeping up on his cheeks.

"I would say that's exactly what it is, Cas. You're in love with her," Sam confirmed with a grin.

"And judging by what I saw earlier, I'd say she also has feelings for you, Cas," Dean added.

Cas let the knowledge sink in about the possibility that you would return his affection. "Love," he whispered, a grin slowly spreading across his face.

"Gentleman and Angel-man? We have a very distraught woman--whom we love--who's crying in her room and needs our help. Between the three of us, I'm sure we can come up with some sort of plan to help her out," Dean winked conspiratorially. "Here's what I think we should do," he started, as he and Sam dug into the pizza.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

The day came when you had to fly out to be at Jenna's wedding. On the way to the airport, Dean had told you not to worry, that he discussed your situation with an old friend of his.

He said that this friend has agreed to meet your mom and pose as your boyfriend for appearances' sake. His friend would be by your side for the wedding and reception. Dean assured you that his friend was definitely someone better than your ex-boyfriend, Jeremy. And, he would be more than enough to make him jealous. All you had to do is tell your mom and everyone that he had to work, but would meet you at her house in time for the wedding.

You took a taxi from the airport to your mom's house. You walked up the steps to the porch and rang the doorbell. Your mom threw open the door and squealed at seeing you. She burst through and nearly knocked you over when she hugged you. She pulled back from the hug and looked left, right and behind you. "So, where is he?" she asked excitedly.

"He had to work, Mom, but he said he'll be here in time for the wedding. Let's go inside, okay?" you suggested. She threw her arm around your shoulder and you went inside the house.

You went up to your old room, pulled out your phone and called Dean. You thought they might be out on a hunt, but to your surprise, Dean picked up after two rings. You told him you made it to your mom's house safely, and that she already asked about your "boyfriend". You wanted to make sure that his friend would still be there for the wedding events. Dean told you to have a little faith, and assured you that his friend would be there in time. You thanked him and hung up.

After your phone call to Dean, you went down to the kitchen to see if you could help your mom with anything. She was making some food for the rehearsal dinner tonight. You sat down, pulled grapes from their stems, sliced them in half and added them to the fruit salad.

One of your cousins, Brenda, came in for something to drink. While you were growing up, she always knew just how to get under your skin about certain things, especially your love life. She noticed you sitting at the kitchen table and said how nice it was to see you. "So," she started. "Where's this 'mystery man' of yours?" she asked.

"He's not a 'mystery', Brenda," you replied wearily. "He had to work, so he'll be flying in a little later, in time for the wedding," you answered.

"Really? Come on, let's be honest. You don't have a boyfriend, do you? If you did, I'm sure we would've heard something more about him by now. Usually, you don't bring a new boyfriend to this kind of thing anyway. Too much pressure, you know, all those relatives," she smirked.

"Tell us about him, sweetheart," your mom prompted.

"Well......," you started. You had no idea what Dean's friend looked like, so you based your description off of the only man who has had or will ever have your heart. "He has dark hair, not too tall, intense blue eyes," you smiled as you thought of Castiel. "He's kind, sweet, likes to spend time talking to me while I'm in the kitchen. Especially when I'm baking," you giggled.

At that moment, one of your cousin's kids came in to tell you that there was a visitor for you at the door. Could this be Dean's friend, arriving early? you asked yourself as you made your way to the front door.

More of your cousins' kids were running around, playing hide-and-seek, and one of them happened to run into you. "Hey, now, how about keeping your eyes open next time," you playfully growled. You grabbed the offending child in a hug, kissed the top of his head, then sent him back to play. Grinning, you looked up to see who your visitor was, and gasped when you saw a familiar trench coat. "Castiel?!?"

"Hello Honeybee, I'm so sorry I'm late," Castiel smiled as he  gathered you into his arms. "Dean said I should do this when I first see  you," he whispered. Cas lowered his head and pressed your lips to his  in a soft, sweet kiss. Remind me to thank Dean when I get home, you thought. "I won't let you forget," Cas murmured in your ear. You blushed as you remembered he could hear your thoughts.

Your mother came to the door just in time to see Castiel  giving you his "hello" kiss. "Mom, I would like you to meet my  boyfriend, Castiel. Cas, this is my mom, Ava," you said.

Your cousin Brenda wasn't far behind your mom, and when she saw you  and Castiel kissing, her mouth nearly dropped to the floor. "Close your  mouth, Bren, if you don't want to catch flies," you smirked.

"A pleasure to meet you Ava," Cas clasped your mother's hand in  greeting. "Welcome, Castiel, so nice you could join us for such a  festive occasion," she remarked.

"Thank you, I'm glad to be a part of it. Anything for my Honeybee," he grinned as he took your hand, intertwining your fingers.

"Do you need help with your luggage, sweetheart?" you asked Cas. "I just have the one bag, darling, but I can get it, thank you. Um, where should I take it?" he asked. You looked at your mom, and she indicated that he could take it upstairs to your room. She gave you a wink as you started up the stairs, blushing the entire way.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* You closed the door to your room once Cas was inside. "C-can I take your coat, Cas?" you stammered. He handed his trench coat and suit coat over so you could carefully hang them up in your closet. You went over to sit on your bed, and soon Cas joined you. "Are-are you sure you want to go through with this? Pose as my boyfriend until after the wedding is over?" you asked timidly as you looked down at your hands. Cas turned so he was facing you straight on.  "I am honored to do this for you and be your boyfriend," Cas replied. "But I have a few conditions," he quickly added.

"Such as?" you asked, slightly raising your head.

Cas leaned closer to you before listing his "conditions" to being your boyfriend. "First, you must not speak badly about yourself to yourself," he stated, kissing your nose. "Second, you must always remember what a stunning, vibrant woman you are," he added, kissing your cheek. "Last, but certainly never least, remember that you are deserving of love, and know that I will never cease to remind you," he promised.

His thumb brushed lightly over your lips. "I think it may be time for a reminder. May I show you?" he asked. Curious, you nodded slowly. Cas cupped his hand behind your head, pulling you closer to claim your lips with his. You wound your left arm around his neck, while running your right index finger along his strong jawline.

When you finally broke the kiss, you were both breathing heavily. "That was....amazing, Cas," you whispered. He touched his forehead to yours. "I would say the same, Honeybee," Cas agreed with a grin.

You and Cas sat and talked about what to expect this weekend. You warned him that he would likely meet many more of your family members. Aunts, uncles, more cousins and more of their kids, all sure to be curious about him. Being one of sixteen grown-up first cousins meant that there would be lots of kids.

About an hour later, your mother started packing up the food. She knocked on your door to let you know she was leaving. Everyone was headed out to the church for the rehearsal and then to decorate the reception hall. You said you and Cas would meet her there shortly, and that you would take your car.

A 1968 Royal Blue Chevy Nova with a white racing stripe was parked in your mom's driveway with a car cover on it. You pulled off the cover and stowed it in the trunk then slid behind the wheel. You turned the key in the ignition and grinned as the engine roared to life then settled into a gentle purr.

The rehearsal went off without any problems, except that Jeremy was your escort down the aisle. You thought to yourself how you'd almost rather be mauled by a werewolf than be anywhere near him. Unfortunately, you had no choice in the matter, so you decided to focus on not tripping on your dress and ignoring Jeremy.

On the drive over to the reception hall, you told Cas that the decorating would be done the old-fashioned way, using no angel mojo to zap it in place.  He pretended to pout, which made you laugh at the funny yet adorable face he made. Cas grinned as he picked up your hand again in his and brushed his lips over the back of it. This small but intimate gesture sent a jolt of electricity up your arm and made your heart beat a little faster.

Your mom put you and Cas in charge of table decorations. First, you and Cas covered the tables with linen tablecloths. In the middle, you placed a vase with silk roses, while Cas added the electric candles around the vase. You stepped back to view your handiwork, and when you turned to look at Cas, he had a smile on his face. More than a few times, he brushed his lips across the back of your hand. He was happy to be helping and spending time with you, becoming closer with you.

At one point, you ran out of tablecloths, so you left Cas to look for your mother. As you turned a corner, you nearly ran into Jeremy. Your near-collision caused him to spill his drink all down his chest. "Now look what you did, you idiot!" he snarled, then he caught your eye. "Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't realize it was you! Are you okay?" he wondered.

"Like you care. I need to find my mother to get some more tablecloths, Jeremy. Excuse me," you retorted as you tried to push past him.

"Wait, wait a minute, would you? I haven't seen you in so long, how have you been?" Jeremy asked.

"I'm fine, Jeremy, nice talking to you," you answered.

He caught your hand and rubbed his thumb on the back of it. "You look amazing," he remarked. "Can we please go somewhere and talk?" he pleaded.

"I don't think that's such a good idea, Jeremy. Besides, I'm with someone," you announced as you pulled your hand from his grasp.

Jeremy gave a loud snort. "Oh, that's right. Brenda gave me his description, but where is he? Oh, and we want to know for the record--which escort service did you get him from? Must have cost a small fortune," he snickered.

You couldn't believe your burning ears. Not only did your ex-boyfriend think you were incapable of finding someone who loved you, so did your cousin Brenda. You turned away before Jeremy could see the tears building in your eyes. "I need more tablecloths. Excuse me," you whispered as you ran off to find your mom.

The decorating was finished about an hour later, so you went back to your mom's house. You were a bit nervous, because you hadn't yet discussed sleeping arrangements with Cas. It was late, so you and Cas changed into sleeping attire and prepared to slip beneath the covers.

Cas got in first and held out his arms, indicating he wanted you close by his side. Here it was, you were about to have one of your dream scenarios happen in real life. Heart pounding wildly, you moved closer until your head was resting on his upper chest. Your left arm was wrapped around his midsection while he curled his free arm around you. "Goodnight, Castiel," you murmured.

"Sweet dreams, Honeybee," Cas whispered, placing a soft kiss on your forehead.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

The next morning was a flurry of activity, getting ready for the early afternoon wedding. You made sure to get one or your mom's famous cinnamon rolls and a decent cup of coffee. After that, you went back up to your room to shower and get dressed to go to the church. Cas was already dressed by the time you came back upstairs.

You put your hair styling gear and makeup in a bag, grabbed your shoes and your dress then you both headed downstairs. Your bridesmaid's dress was a strapless, floor-length, navy blue A-line dress with a criss-cross bodice. Fortunately, the bride said it didn't matter if everyone's shoes matched, so you settled on some silver sparkly flats.

You and Cas went in your car to the church, in case either of you felt like leaving early. Pictures with the wedding party were taken after the ceremony, then you drove your car over to the reception hall for the dinner. Afterwards, members of the wedding party offered their toasts to the bride and groom, yourself included. Then tables and chairs were cleared to reveal the dance floor so that the music and dancing could start.

At one point, you stood alone, listening to the music. You scanned the room for Castiel and watched everyone else out on the dance floor. You had just placed your empty champagne flute on the table when you felt two strong arms snake around your waist from behind. You turned around in his embrace, winding your arms around his neck. "There you are, I've been looking for you," you grinned. "Cas, honey, would you like something to drink, or perhaps a piece of cake?" you asked.

"No thank you, sweetheart. But would you like to dance?" he said as he tugged a bit on your hand.

"I would love to," you smiled and allowed him to lead you to the dance floor. The DJ played a slow song, so Cas spun you around once before drawing you into his arms. He had one hand holding yours and the other splayed across your upper back.

As you and Cas swayed together in time with the music, he couldn't stop gazing into your eyes and smiling. "In case I forgot to tell you, you look absolutely gorgeous, my dear," he remarked, pulling you closer.

Your cheeks felt blazing hot as you dropped your gaze. "Thank you, Cas," you replied with a shy smile.

When the song ended, you decided you'd had enough fun for one evening. "Cas, I'm a little tired and I'd like to head back to my mother's house. If that's okay with you," you hastily added.

"Of course, whatever you wish, Honeybee," Cas replied.

"I probably should tell Mom where we've gone," you remarked as you scanned the room. Cas said that he would find your mom and inform her of your whereabouts. As soon as Cas left, you heard a voice you'd rather forget. "Well, well, so he's your 'boyfriend', hmm? You two looked awfully cozy out on that dance floor," Jeremy smirked.

You pinched the bridge of your nose, wishing Jeremy would just go away, but you knew he wouldn't. "Jeremy, why must you torture me? Didn't you do that enough by cheating on me after we were together five years?" you asked.

"Oh, come on! Drop the act and just admit it! You two aren't really together, you only hired him to be your boyfriend so you didn't have to look so pathetic!" Jeremy exclaimed.

Something in you snapped and you got right up in Jeremy's face. "You are a jackass. You have no right to disrespect me or Castiel with your ugly assumptions, and I won't stand for it. He's a million times the man you could ever hope to be. He's kind, compassionate and he's never cheated on me," you retorted.

Castiel must have sensed your distress because in a split second, he was dodging chairs and tables left and right to get to you. "Sweetheart, are you all right? You look upset," Cas was back at your side, taking you into his arms.

"I'm fine," you replied. "Can we please leave?" Cas nodded and kissed your forehead. With his arm around your shoulders, he led you out to your car.

Once you were back in your room, you both changed into pajamas and sat on your bed talking, your backs resting against your headboard. During your conversation, you explained about what happened between you and your ex-boyfriend Jeremy. How you were together for five years, but for some reason, he decided he didn't want you anymore, because he cheated on you. "I guess that's why I keep thinking I'll never find someone to love me," you finished.

When he heard this, Castiel was almost overwhelmed with emotion for you. He was angry with Jeremy for betraying you this way. He didn't want to imagine how hurt you must have been when you discovered the infidelity. His heart ached to hear that you seemed to have given up on finding someone to love you.

He shifted on the bed so he was facing you and so he could look into your honey-and-green eyes. Castiel cupped your cheek and caressed it with his thumb. He slowly leaned towards you until your lips were only a  fraction of an inch apart. "You are so beautiful to me, my lovely  Honeybee. I think it's time for another reminder," he remarked softly before capturing your mouth in a searing kiss.

"Oh  Cas," you breathed, incapable of much verbal expression beyond that.  You slipped your hand up to his neck, tracing his strong jawline on the  way. Your touch seemed to awaken something in him. You could almost  swear you heard him growl softly just before he deepened the kiss. You're so wonderful and amazing, my angel,  you thought, not caring if Cas heard you say this in your mind. Between  kisses, your name mixed with sweet words of love in Enochian dropped  from his lips like a prayer.

When you finally broke apart, you  both were trying to catch your breath with your foreheads touching. You  grinned at each other, holding hands with interlaced fingers.

You decided to test the waters a bit. "Cas, you being here with me....this isn't pretend for you, is it? Because you should know that this is very real for me. I've had feelings for you for quite some time," you blurted out. "I mean, I understand if--" he placed his index finger on your lips. "No, my love, this isn't pretend for me. And it warms my heart to know that it's real for you. When Sam, Dean and I came up with this plan to help you, I told them how much I cared for you. They helped me to see that what I was feeling for you was love. Dean told me he suspected that you had feelings for me as well," Cas finished. "Well, he was right about that," you smiled. "It feels so empty when you're not around, and I always look forward to the next time we might see each other. The time we spend together while I'm working in the kitchen is very special to me. Maybe we could find other things to do outside of the kitchen," you suggested. Cas reached over and tucked a wayward lock of hair behind your ear. "That sounds like a wonderful idea, sweetheart," he grinned before pulling you into another passionate kiss.

"I love you, Cas," you said softly.

"I love you, my Honeybee," Cas replied.

[spacesuitsforemergency]

I Hate Myself for Loving You

Word Count: 4.3k

Summary: You and Roy Harper hated each other, ever since you met. Who knew a dog and an 8 year old would make you realize your true feelings for him.

Pairing: Roy Harper x Barton! Reader

A/N: Scott and Clint’s friendship inspired by Paul Rudd and Jeremy Renners friendship. I’m really happy and proud of how this came out.

“I really don’t see the point in training with them again.” You mumble as your dad practically drags you down a hallway.

“It’s good exposure to others’ styles!” Your dad, the one and only Clint Barton, A.K.A the mighty Avenger Hawkeye, insists. “Besides, Oliver’s a great archer, and Roy and Artemis have different styles than you.”

“Roy and Artemis have sticks up their asses.” You roll your eyes.

“Be nice.” He scolds as you finally reach a large, metal door. “Use your manners, don’t kill anyone. And ask before you take any food.”

“Dad, that rules more directed at you.” You poke his chest.

“Nope, remember when we got invited to Wakanda last weekend?” He reminded.

“They really should put up a sign that says ‘reserved for royalty’.” You shrugged.

You tap your foot impatiently while your dad puts in the code, and it flashes red. He grins nervously at you and tries it again, punching the dial pad when it’s wrong again.

“Having technical difficulties, are we?” You tease him.

“No!” He pouts. “Ollie must’ve given me the wrong code. Let me call him, this will all be resolved.”

You lean against the wall and yawn as your dad talks to Oliver on the phone, then punches in another code. This time it lights up green, and you’re let in.

You follow your dad inside, peering around. You hadn’t been to this facility before, they had come to yours before now. It was a cave of some sorts, but definitely technologically advanced. You see a few heroes your age you recognized from the news, all still in their costumes. Your eyes land on Roy Harper, the most infuriating man on the face of the planet.

“Oh great. You again?” He sneers down at you.

You glare at him and start to charge at him, but your dad ruins your fun and grabs you. You try to pry him off and kick him, but he doesn’t budge. Roy gives you a smug grin that you wished you could wipe off of his stupid face, and you notice the other two archers next to him.

“Sorry about her.” Your dad laughs awkwardly. “She’s a little...aggressive today.”

“I am not aggressive!” You finally kick him in the shin and he drops you, clutching it in pain.

“You are so grounded for that!” Your dad snaps.

“Clint, nice to see you made it past the door.” Oliver chuckled. “And Y/N, please excuse Roy’s comment. He also has some...behavioral issues.” Oliver narrows his eyes at the boy.

“I was just saying.” He shrugs.

“Can we get on with this, please?” Artemis crossed her arms in annoyance from behind Oliver.

“Yes, we should. Follow us.” Oliver says.

Your dad and Oliver strike up conversation and start nerding out over...whatever. You didn’t pay attention, your focus fixated on Roy.

He was strutting ahead of you, head held high and that stupid smirk on his face. You rolled your eyes, glaring daggers at the back of his head.

“So what have you been up to?” Artemis asked you.

“Nothing much. I kicked Falcons ass last Friday though. That was fun.” You shrug.

“No way.” She shook her head in disbelief.

“Um, yes way.” You playfully nudge her. “I’ve got in on video, I’ll show you after this torture session.”

“Are you two hens done clucking yet?” Roy asks, stopping at another room.

“Are you done being an asshat?” Artemis sassed back.

“Let’s watch the language, please?” Oliver sighs.

“What? I said hat.” She deadpans.

“Hawkeye and I will demonstrate, then how about we have a little competition?”

“Yeah, whichever one of you gets the most targets gets to...not run 50 laps!” Hawkeye announces.

“Well that’s stupid.” You scoff. “Don’t you know my stamina is not quite up to par lately?”

“Well maybe it would be if you woke up for training on time. Steve has been trying to tell you-“

“If the sun isn’t up, I’m not up.” You cross your arms.

“Oh, so you’re lazy as well as annoying?” Roy raised an eyebrow at you.

“I’m gonna-“ You lunge at him, but he ducks out of the way and you fall on your face.

“Ooh.” Everyone that saw that graceful move winced.

“Wow. So you’re lazy AND bad at aiming.” Roy tsked. “I don’t know if you understand the concept of an archer, but those are some essential attributes-WOAH!” He shrieks when you grab his ankle and tug him down. “Ouch!”

“That’s what you get for mouthing off again.” Oliver shakes his head as your dad pinched the bridge of his nose.

“Get up, losers. I’m ready to beat both of your asses.” Artemis hauls both of you up.

You and Roy glare at each other during the entire demonstration, not paying attention when the pro archers announce the rules and guidelines. You both race each other into the training room, and he growls when you beat him inside.

You bolt after each other as you jump through the course, shoving the other out of the way as you try to hit the target first. He laughs loudly when you miss the first one, then yelps when you shoot an arrow at him, grazing his hair.

“Hey, watch it! I just got it cut!” He whines as you shoot the target.

“Your precious hair is fine, I barely got it.” You rush ahead of him as he loads his bow, aiming for the target in front of you.

You quickly shot an arrow as his nearly hits the target, knocking it out of the way and hitting a bullseye. You turn to give him a cocky grin, yelling when he kicks you out from under your feet. He runs past you, but not before you grab his calf and bring him down with you once again.

“Idiots.” Artemis rolls her eyes as she stomps past the both of you, now wrestling each other on the floor.

You both watch with hopelessness as she hits the very last target, perfectly shooting the center. You groan and flop back down on the floor, dreading the laps you’d have to run. What was even worse, was that you had to run them with Roy. Stupid, arrogant, idiotic Roy Harper.

You had known the guy for exactly 3 weeks now, and you already hated him. You hated how he thought he was better than you. You hated how he smirked at you all smugly. You hated how he was actually really hot. He was buff and surprisingly a good shot. You will never say that though, his ego was clearly way too high for someone his height.

“Artemis, go treat yourself to some down time. You two ding dongs, get running!” Oliver shouts over to the two of you, still sprawled out on the ground.

Roy sighs as he gets up, and offers you a hand. You slap it away and get up yourself, and he raises his hands in surrender. You both get started on your laps, and on your 32nd one you’re about ready to pass out. You groan as you hold your head, feeling dizzy and faint.

“Can’t handle some light running?” Roy comes up behind you, grinning at first before he notices you’re sweating and your pupils are dilated. “Hey, are you okay?”

You respond by blacking out, and he quickly catches you in his arms. You drift in and out of consciousness as he yells for help, your dad and Dick Grayson rushing over to you. Your dad says something, but it’s echoey and indecipherable to you. Roy holds a water bottle to your mouth, helping you drink a few sips.

“...yo. Y/N, wake up.” Your dad lightly smacks your face. You blink a few times, slowly sitting up with Roy and Dicks help.

“That is the dumbest way to wake someone up.” You groan.

“You good?” He asked. “You didn’t drink enough water today, did you?”

“I had...some.” You mumble.

“Y/N!” He scolded.

“I got distracted!” You defend yourself. “It’s not my fault Lucky kept barking at me to take him for a walk!”

“You need to rehydrate yourself.” Dick says. “Your done with laps for the day.”

“Yes!” You grin as your dad helps you stand up. “Maybe I should be dehydrated more often.”

“No!” They all yell at you.

“Alright, Alright.” You mumble, trying to blink black spots out of your vision.

“I think we’re gonna head home.” Clint tells the others. “Thanks for helping her, Roy.”

“Sure.” He acted like it was nothing, but the voice in the back of his mind was telling him to worry and panic.

Roy watches as your dad leads you out of the cave, and he plops down onto the couch. He stared blankly at the tv, which was playing some horror movie Wally and Dick had put on.

He totally wasn’t worried about you at all! And he definitely didn’t freak out when he saw your eyes roll back in your head. His heart obviously didn’t drop when you passed out into his arms. He wasn’t concerned about your well being in the slightest. He hated you! You were annoying and you thought you were the better archer just because your dad was a famous Avenger.

“Dude, you good?”

“What?” His attention snapped back to reality, seeing Dick and Wally staring at him, Artemis, Megan and Kaldur snooping from the kitchen.

“Bro, what is wrong with you?” Wally laughed at him.

“Nothing!” Roy glared at his fellow red head.

“Your face is red, you’re sweating, and you’re bouncing your leg.” Dick blinked at him.

“He’s got the L word!” Wally sang, zipping over to Roy and slinging an arm around his shoulder.

“I don’t have time for this.” Artemis shook her head and left, Megan and Kaldur walking over.

“The L word?” Megan asked.

“Shut up, Wallace!” Roy hissed before he could even open his mouth.

“Dude, you’re crushing on Barton?” Dick snickered.

“Isn’t he a little old for you?” Megan asked.

“The other Barton.” Kaldur whispered to her.

“Ohhhh!” She said. “You guys didn’t know that?”

“You knew?” Wally asked.

“Why didn’t you tell us?” Dick asked.

“I do not have a crush on Y/N!” Roy stood up defensively. “You guys are stupid!”

“Roy and Y/N, sittin’ in a tree.” Wally sang, much to Roy’s annoyance.

“K-I-S-S-I-N-G!” Dick joined in, Kaldur chuckling and Megan just wondering what they were doing.

Roy rolled his eyes and stormed off, trying to block out their idiotic singing. He would deal with those punks later, but right now he had a lot of thinking to do.

•

“Wait, they’re coming here?” You trail behind your dad as he goes to the kitchen. “I thought only Uncle Scott and Cassie were gonna be here tonight!”

“Yes, for the football game, dear.” He sighs, patting your head teasingly. “I told you this last week. Now clean up the dog toys.”

“I get why Oliver’s coming, but why does Roy have to?” You complain, ignoring your dads order. “Can’t he watch it by himself? I would say with his friends but it’s hard to imagine he has any.”

“Y/N, he’s coming. And he’ll be here in 20 minutes, so pick up the damn toys.” He says, sternly this time.

You roll your eyes at him but oblige, picking up Lucky’s toys that he leaves everywhere. Once your done you rush to your room, making sure you look presentable.

Wait, why did you care? You hated Roy. He was an arrogant asshole, and a total dick. You hated how slick and charming he was, you hated his stupid smile and wanted to smack it off his face. His smile was dashing and gorgeous, but it made you furious. No, you didn’t really hate him. You hated how he made you feel. Vulnerable and...ew, giddy. You weren’t into all that lovey-dovey shit, no matter how many romcoms and chick flicks your father forced you to watch with him.

Your thoughts are interrupted when you hear the doorbell ring, and you hear Cassie happily saying hi to Uncle Clint. You check your appearance one more time, before walking out.

“Y/N!” Cassie runs towards you and hugs your legs. “We brought chips and salsa!”

“You did?” You smile as you kneel down to hug her properly.

“Well, half a bag of chips and what’s left of Hope’s salsa.” Uncle Scott shrugs, holding said bag out of Lucky’s reach as he jumps up. “So I hear we’re meeting some fellow archers?”

“Yup, my friend Oliver and his old protege.” Your dad nods as he tosses Scott a can of beer, and tugs Lucky off of him. “And Y/N’s arch nemesis.”

“What’s an arch nemesis?” Cassie asked, her innocent eyes peering up at you.

“Nothing, Cass.” You ruffle her hair, and she just shrugs and wanders over to your dad. “Uncle Clint, do you have any paper? Daddy forgot it.”

“Of course we do, come on.” Your dad leads her to the laundry room, which is in the back of the kitchen.

You notice your Uncle Scott grinning at you, a mischievous glint in his eyes. That was never a good sign.

“What?” You raise an eyebrow at him.

“Nothing.” He takes a sip of beer.

“Scott...” you warn.

“You don’t actually hate this guy, do you?” He asks.

“No, I do.” You shake your head. “He’s inferior in every sense of the word.”

“Mmmmhmmmm.” He pursed his lips, that evil glint never leaving his eyes.

“Uncle Scott!”

“Fine! Okay, I’ll drop it.” He chuckled in amusement.

It’s silent for a few moments.

“Is he cute?”

“Scott!”

Then the doorbell rings, and dread washes over you. You suddenly get a little anxious, now nervous about how the night was gonna go. Your Uncle Scott goes to the living room and turns on the tv, peaking over the edge of the couch as you open the door.

“Wassup, man?” Your dad shouts from the kitchen.

“Wassup, dude?” Oliver walks past you, Roy awkwardly following behind.

You shut the door and begin the usual glaring match with Roy, but quickly drop it when your dad carries pizza boxes to the living room, Oliver behind him with soda, beer and chips. Lucky runs over when he smells new people, immediately jumping up on Roy in excitement. Roy lets the dog sniff his hands, but jumps back when he barks at him.

“Ha! Even the dog doesn’t like you!” You laugh at him.

“Oh, haha, very funny.” He says sarcastically as he nudges Lucky away from him with his foot.

“Lucky, come on, boy.” You giggle, taking pity on Roy and pulling your dog away from him, then pat his head. “Good boy, protect us from the scary man.”

“Wow, you’re just so funny tonight.” Roy says dryly, despite the grin on his face. He goes to join the guys on the couch, while you lead Cassie and Lucky to the dining room.

Your dining room is connected to the kitchen and entryway, giving you a view of the back of the couch and the tv. You listen to Cassie as she draws and tells you about her dads latest adventure. Your eyes keep drifting to Roy, even though you can only see the back of his head, and part of his face when he occasionally turns to talk.

“Who’s he?” Cassie whispers to you, even though they would never hear anything you said over their cheering, complaining and hollering.

“That’s Roy.” You tell her. “I work with him sometimes.”

“Is he your partner?” She asks. “Like Daddy and Hope?”

“Kind of, Yeah.” You nod. “Well, actually, exactly.”

“So is he your boyfriend?” She asks innocently, and you nearly choke on your soda.

“Um, I guess not exactly. No, he’s not my boyfriend.” You shake your head, clearing your throat of soda.

“Really? But you looked at him like Hope looks at my daddy.” She says.

“What? When?” You ask. You feel sort of ridiculous, defending yourself against an 8 year old, who barely understood the concept of love in the first place.

“At the door. When Lucky attacked him.” She giggled, reaching down to pet the dog, who’s laying under her chair and staring up at you to beg for food. “Hope looks at daddy like that all the time.”

“Does she, now?” You raise an eyebrow, tossing Lucky the rest of your pizza crust.

“Yup.” She nodded, turning back to her drawing.

You look back over to the guys, smiling in amusement when your dad and Oliver cheer, Roy and Uncle Scott groaning. Roy stands up, grabbing empty pizza boxes and soda cans. You quickly turn back to Cassie as he makes his way over, pretending to have been listening to her the whole time. Lucky growled as he got closer, but you ordered the dog to ‘stay’, and thankfully he did. You didn’t need to deal with your dog biting Roy or anything.

Roy tried not to look at you as he passes, he has to remain inconspicuous. He steals a few glances while he stuffs the pizza boxes into the trash, smiling softly as you laugh at one of Cassie’s stories. He’s surprised you’re so good with kids, since all he knows is your guys’ little rivalry attitudes. It’s actually really cute, your kind and gentle smile makes his heart skip a beat.

You look over at him when you realize he’s been standing there for a few more seconds than he needed to, making eye contact with him. It takes a moment for him to realize he had been caught, clearing his throat and quickly rushing back to the couch, keeping an eye on the growling retriever. You turn back to Cassie and you both giggle. Even the little 8 year old understood what just happened.

“What’s so funny, back there?” Scott turns around to see his daughter and non-biological niece grinning at the back of Roy’s head.

“Nothing.” You both sing, and you turn to signal Cassie to be quiet. You both giggle again when Scott stares at the two of you in confusion.

After the game is over you say goodbye to Cassie and Uncle Scott, then start to clean up. Your dad and Oliver are still chatting away, so it was looking like Roy would also be staying for awhile, since Ollie was his ride.

“Need help?” He asked after he got bored of listening to the two men talk about physics and shit.

“Uh, I guess.” You shrug as you pick up the drawings Cassie made, then gather all the blank paper. “Just grab the trash from the living room, I’ve got this covered.”

“Cool.” He nodded, before doing as you told.

You both clean everything up quickly, then it’s awkward silence again as your mentors blab on and on about arrows, coffee and hero business. Lucky is on the couch, watching the both of you over the back of it. It’s actually quite funny, his eyes fixed on Roy, which made him uncomfortable that a dog was giving him a death glare.

“We have a dart board and pool table in the basement.” You suggest after awhile. “Little competition?”

“Anything’s better than listening to the two grandpas over there talk about taxes.” He agrees.

“Hey! We are very interesting people!” Oliver snaps playfully.

“No killing each other! I’m not driving anyone to the hospital if you decide you throw a dart at the others face!” Your dad shouts as you lead Roy to the basement door.

“I promise!” You call over your shoulder as Lucky barrels over, running downstairs before you can grab him.

“Oh great.” Roy mumbles as you shut the door and take the lead. “Is your dog gonna jump me as soon as I get down there?”

“Lucky’s harmless, you big baby.” You tease, flicking the light on and seeing Lucky had claimed his spot on the couch.

Your basement was pretty big, you and your dad had turned it into, essentially, a man cave. You had a bigger tv down here, and a smaller couch. On the other side of the room there was a pool table and a display rack, where you kept bows and arrows that were either your dads old ones or collectibles. On the other side of the room there was a stereo system that lined the wall, which sat on top of shelves of CDs, vinyls, and mixtapes. The carpet was a hideous red, which your dad insisted looked good. Yeah, maybe in the olden days, pops. Lastly, across from the pool table was a dart board mounted to the wall, Robin Hood: Men in Tights posters on either side (which Scott has gotten as a joke).

“Dang, cool place.” Roy said as he looked around the large room.

“Thanks. It’s mostly my dads stuff from the 80s.” You say. “Y’know how adults are about that stuff.”

“Oh yeah.” He nods.

“Now, ready to get your ass beat?” You grin, picking up the box of darts.

You play 3 games of darts, to which he won and made fun of you over. You had started up the stereo, playing your dads 80s rock mixtape to fill the moments of silence. Then you began to play pool, making quips and laughing if the other missed.

You watched as he lined up his cue, lips pursing and eyes narrowing in concentration. You watch his muscles flex as he prepares, catching yourself totally checking him out. You blush to yourself, thankful he was too focused on beating you to notice.

“Yeah, good luck winning now.” He says cockily as he straightens back up, smirking down at you smugly.

“Thanks.” You flick his nose, before lining your cue up.

You carefully calculate how this will end, grinning when you find the perfect angle. You cheer in victory as you pot the 8 ball, winning the game. He throws down the cue, as you gloat to him. You drop the cue as if dropping a mic, singing that you won in his face.

“Alright, I get it.” He pouts, despite the amused smile making its way to his face.

“So who has the better aim? Who’s better than you? That’s right. Me.” You boast, playfully shoving his chest as Joan Jett starts singing from the stereo speakers.

“You know, you should learn when to shut up.” He growls under his breath.

“Excuse me?” You raise an eyebrow.

Your eyes widen when he pulls you forward, crashing his lips into yours. You stiffen at first, completely stunned. You quickly get over it though, grabbing the sides of his face to bring him farther down to you.

He backs you up, then taps the back of your thigh to silently signal you to jump. You hop up onto the pool table, making it so he doesn’t have to lean down so far to kiss you. One of his hands is tangled in your hair, the other squeezing your thigh as you wrap your legs around his waist. Your hands move from his face down his torso, your hands sliding up his shirt and pressing against his abs. You part your lips to deepen the kiss, both of your tongues fighting for dominance. You feel him smirk into the kiss when he wins, but you don’t feel the need to particularly care in the moment.

Suddenly he jerks back, and at first you think he changed his mind or you did something wrong. Then you see Lucky, who had woken up from his nap and seen what looked to him like Roy attacking you. He tugged at the hem of Roy’s jeans, effectively knocking him to the ground. You doubled over in laughter as your dog climbed on top of Roy, nipping at his arm, which he had held up to block his face.

“Are you just going to sit there or are you going to call off the hound?” He asks desperately, trying to push the large golden retriever off of him.

“Lucky! Lucky, down boy.” You wheeze from laughter, gesturing for the dog to come to you as you jump down from the pool table.

You continue to die of laughter as Lucky happily bounces over to you, Roy slowly getting up and brushing himself off. You pet your dog, laughing so hard you snort when Lucky growls at Roy.

“What is going on down there?” You hear Oliver shout down the steps.

“I told you no murdering each other!” Your dad reminds.

“I don’t think Lucky likes Roy!” You call up, trying to hold back your laughter, since your sides were starting to ache by now.

“Lucky! Come here, boy!” Your dad calls in his ‘puppy voice’. Lucky bolts up the stairs, probably hoping that meant more leftover pizza crusts.

“Roy! It’s time to go!” Oliver yells.

“I’ll be up in a minute!” Roy shouts to him, then turns to you.

“Are you okay?” You giggle at him.

“Fine.” He mumbles, making his way towards the stairs. “Uh, I’ll see you later?”

“Yeah.” You nod, watching him head up the stairs. Then you rush after him and grab his hand. He turns back around and you tug him down by the collar of his shirt into another kiss. He wraps his arms around your waist, lifting you so that your body was pressed against his.

“Roy!”

“I’m coming!” He breaks the kiss, yelling at his mentor, annoyance evident in his voice. He turns back to you, voice and expression softening. “How about I pick you up tomorrow? No interruptions.”

“Sounds great.” You smile up at him.

He gives you one last kiss, before going upstairs. You grin and giggle to yourself in happiness as soon as the door closes, then fall onto the couch. You grab your phone out of your pocket, excited to tell your Uncle Scott about the amazing night you just had, and the date confirmed for tomorrow.

[the-hoely-bleach]

People seemed to like this post and @im-a-creepy-cookie @joyfulness03 and @thomassandersstolemysoul in particular seemed to want more so I’m world building a bit!

(This ended up being really long but I’m on mobile, I’m sorry)

Virgil is also a robot and it’s no secret

His function is essentially to be a bodyguard

There’s a small glitch in his “recognize threat” system though so he tends to overreact

Like Patton, he’s a newer model with better, more “human-like” coding

However, where Patton was programed with empathy and a strong moral compass, Virgil has sarcasm, snark, and is basically programed to be kind of a dick to everyone except who he’s meant to be protecting

To be clear, their programming is not the same. Robots are specifically coded for their job; if it’s not needed for the job, the robot doesn’t have it.

Virgil is meant to protect and guard at all costs, and for that his doesn’t need empathy or morals; he needs to be intimidating, thus the snark and general meanness (the above mentioned glitch is caused by his sarcasm detectors. He has them, and he himself can be sarcastic, but he has trouble filtering out when other people are sarcastic)

Patton, alternatively, is meant to be approachable and kind of parental, so he’s programmed with something like empathy and a sense of humor (his creators managed to work out the cause of Virgil’s bug so Patton can actually tell when others are telling jokes as well for the most part); he doesn’t have a good grasp on sarcasm, however, because sarcasm is something generally considered unapproachable

Speaking of the creators, Patton and Virgil were made by Joan and Talyn

Roman is their nephew, which is why he and the other sides have access to these extremely new and high-tech robots and also why no one knew that Patton was a robot

Joan and Talyn were test running Patton in the high school where Roman works to see if he could pass as human

Also Virgil is Roman’s bodyguard bot, which is a lot less freaky than it sounds

You wouldn’t know Virgil was a robot no one told you, so most people think Virgil is just a close friend of Roman’s, which is partially true to an extent

And for the non robot things~

Roman teaches Spanish and Virgil sort of acts as a coteacher

He also runs the theater club, which isn’t an actual class because the school cut funding; he’s working really hard to bring the actual class back

Patton is the school nurse because obviously; students adore him and often bring him gifts and snacks, which he politely accepts (he passes the snacks on the Joan and Talyn and keeps the non food gifts for himself- do not try to take them from him, he will go absolutely haywire)

Janus teaches history and English, and yes, actually likes the job, don’t let them fool you

Janus is genderfluid and just has the students call them Dee because honestly fuck gendered honorifics as well as honorifics in general

Students like them because not only are they a good teacher, they also have an explicit distain for The System and will rant about it if asked

Once went on the a thirty minute tangent about how yes, they/them pronouns are grammatically correct and should thus be respected, Jeremy

Logan is the duel credit physics professor as well as the regular math teacher; he also occasionally substitutes for Janus and Roman

With just that you can see why people assume he’s a teacher bot or something

Remus is the janitor (because I honestly just can’t see him being a teacher) and he also works in the next town at the local theater

He often shows up at Roman’s theater club, sometimes to help out, most of the time to mess with Roman

Remy is the librarian and actually got fired after putting a coffee machine in the library

“The students are difficult enough to manage WITHOUT caffeine, Remy!”

“The students are falling over in their desks, Logan!”

The students made a petition to against firing him and there was actually talk of picketing the principal’s house

Needless to say Remy was quickly rehired

The school commissioned Joan and Talyn to build Emile to replace the previous school counselor who had a nervous breakdown and quit; it’s been a year and half and no one will take the job

Emile is still in progress and will have empathy, a sense of humor, and sarcasm because that’s necessary for working with students’ issues and also because Joan and Talyn have realized at this point that they may as well put all since they know how to do it now

They want Emile to be “hip with the kids” but are not exactly sure what teenagers are into these days, so they’re just giving him a base knowledge of cartoons and some movies leaving it at that for now

Eventually Emile will be able to take the pop culture references that students make, research all about them, and incorporate them into his speak

(Basically Emile accidentally becomes the first proper AI because they gave him the ability to learn)

That’s basically all I’ve got for now! I’m not sure if this still counts at sci fi since it’s basically our world but with robots(or is that the definition of sci fi? I know not), but I did my best!

[popculturebuffet]

OK KO Reviews: Back In Red Action

As you can probably tell by the fact Red Action week started 4 days ago my schedule slipped a bit, with a bunch of unexpected stuff, an expected job for a friend, and a day of laziness with the isle of armor meant I never got around to writing it. As such i’ve decided to play catchup.. all 3 reviews, HOPEFULLY all in one day. And yes 3 as I decided to cut Plaza Prom for a number of reasons: It’s not all that necessary, I was doing it more for myself, and if I find time before or after pride ends, I can easily cover it in isolation, so being done in a timely manner isn’t an issue like it is for the red action ones, or the other three pride month reviews I have planned after red action week. So witht hat dust settled let’s talk about Enid.  While I went on about Enid a LOT last time, for good reason, a LOT has happened since episode 3 as you’d probably guess, episodes I will cover in the future because enid is awesoeme. And the two episodes that built her up a bit had plaza prom as the creamy filling for that airing sandwitch, and were unsuprisingly good. But since we’re not covering them just yet Enid confronted her ex best friend and dealt with her and rad’s bumpy past, and that coupled with our previous episodes and some others have melted down her walls a bit. She’s still a bit distant, and still terrible at her job as ever, but she’s grown as a person and grown past her past. Now it’s her turn to do what K.O. has done for her, he was inttrumental in getting her to stop ignoring Elodie and confront her, for someone else. Let’s recap this.  back in red action under the cut...

We open with a normal day at the Plaza and Enid’s alone, with K.O. offscreen and Rad not in this episode so he’s not around and Gar clearly gone or else he’d be yelling at enid probably.  Enid’s checking around on her phone and after checking to see if anyone’s there, once again decides to look at Red’s social because that’s not creepy. But Enid browses it wondering why Red came here in the first place, figuring there’s probably better food, better this , better that and trips up on a picture of Red with her old girlfriend, Yellow Technique.. and yeah i’m not beating around the bush, while they never come right out and SAY IT, the episode contextualizes things as such. I Mean granted given my shipping habits on this blog, you can see i’m willing to ship plenty of kids together, and even then only in a “Awww” holding hands, maybe an awkard kiss way, and am a shipping monster who has plenty, but here i have no horse in this race, it’s just really obvious subtext. 

Anyways enough Cul De Sacs, Enid sees a new picture... Red taking a selfie with an unaware Enid.. and who probably just heard Enid’s last few sentences and at the very least dosen’t care. After a flirty “Hey Ya” and enid awkardly hiding her phone, Red buys some gum for cover then invites Enid to hang out for the afternoon then leaves.  Then KO pops up out of nowhere hilariously, and for his only scene this episode to gush about Enid’s sorta date, though Enid is paranoid it’s just a setup for some sorta joke or prank.. which given that red was willing to set a child on fire while her friend spanked him because that’s not weird at all, yeah kinda a good point, even if she’s ignoring the obvious signals that, for once, Red seems to be genuine. She WAS a bit awkward at times during asking her out, pausing or stammering, she just quickly recovered. But it also shows the downside, if breifly to red’s kind of life: If your an ass to everybody, even people who genuinely like you may worry your just messing with them. 

But when Enid goes to return the gum, she finds Red not only waiting but ninja snatching the gum.. and doing that to a NINJA takes skill. Top notch. Enid realizing this isn’t a prank holy fuck her crush really did ask her out out of nowhere, suggests a few things before Red shoots them down gently and revealz their going crusing. She also has enid turn her back and cover her ears while she summons her submarine.. using a sentai/power rangers set of poses and summon chant, as you do.  With their ride here and enid buckeled into Red’s Submarine, and Red dodging any questions Enid has about her past , you know, the oppsitie of normal first date behavior. Everyone knows your supposed to talk a lot, get them coffee, look deep in her eyes and tell her about your family, hold hands then shoot cocaine into your eyes and rock a buglarly. 

But no instead of any of that Red has something just as romantic and dangerous planned their going high into the...

Which, befiting this wonderful show, is an actual place that’s full of explosions, maurading gangs and dinosaurs.. I mean every place is full of dinosaurs but this place has extra dinosaurs. It’s like the savage land if it didn’t annoy me as a setting. So the two cruise on exotica style, though in a great bit Red keeps enid from unbuckling, and when asked about her past again Red dodges and instead takes them down thunder road, where the lightining strikes.... I.. I can’t stop waxing lyircal this review. Help.  On thunder road the two share a moment when both go up top and see how damn pretty the place is, what with all the glowing orbs, Red gets electrocuted and both look at each other lovingly at diffrent points with that faded light effect, you know the one. I”d name it jeremy but it definitely has a name. The two really bond and it’s telling that it’s those moments where things go well: Enid’s not nervously trying to ask first date questions, if not wrongfully and Red isn’t running from them. Their just two teenagers attracted to one another getting to know you getting to know all about you.. getting to know if you like me.  Anyways, enough of my nonsense that’s now clearly a medical condition, Red’s old friends show up to spoil the mood, with Red brushing them off as performance artists, and a chase insues.. and it’s really well done. I’ll get into this more in a minute. The two max max race, Enid gets into the cockpit and makes good use of it as it’s just like shooting womp rats back home. With help from red, they manage to get two of the hue troop cars to collide and the two hide behind a sign despite it telling them not to back to the future style. It’s here we get into the heart of the episode and what makes it really work for me: For most of the season, before and though not as often after this, Enid’s been standofish even to people she cares about, blunt and hard to get to open up. But the two incidents I mentoined last time that caused her to harden her heart and swallow her tears... got some closure in thos enidcentric eps. IN short Elodie returned and Enid tried to act like it didn’t bother her and Elodie throwing their relationship away like hot garbage for her own admitssion into point and then came back smug as ever, but KO once again got through to her and convinced her that she needed to face her and in a stunning action sequence, i’ll gush about it more when I review the episode eventually she whalloped her and got closure, even if Elodie was ssitll super popular. She then patched things up with rad after Cupid showed up to force her and rad on a date to deal with their sexual tension since Rad went on one with her in middle school that went terribly because rad listend to his friends and his friends are obnoxious piles of toxic masculinty who sucked and were not unsuprisngly phased out of most of season 2 aside from the one episode they were needed and only showed up in season 3 for rad to tell them off. It went poorly, Enid nearly died and Rad saved her and apologized for being a dick, taking the two from would be exes who are understandibly bitter to best friends at long last. 

So Enid’s healed some of her wounds.. sure she’s still standoffish.. but she’s finally opening up and letting the right ones in. And now it’s Red’s turn. Red has the same problem: She dosen’t hide but she does run or scream at issues, and as someone who tends to be quick to anger I totally understand that, a tendency to lash out due to some other thing bothering you even when the person did nothing wrong. But her crush, and now possible relationship with, Enid gets Red to finally stop dodging Enid’s questions and open up and we get Red, and her friends Backstory Red and Friends are The Hue Troop, a group of warriors founded by a woman who long ago found a powerful prisim that linked to the mysterious Zordon-like alien Ren-Bow, a precog who could sense oncoming disasters and thus empowered the woman and her 4 friends with attitude to  stop them. Like Minority Report meets Power Rangers but the Minioirty Report part actually works. And like civil war 2 if the leaders of both factions weren’t douchebags especially you Carol. But given the fight is eternal they pased their powers on generation after generation , and it was Red and co’s turn. But Red chafed at being part of a team, wearing uniforms, following orders from a rock, doing sily poses, which came to a boil when she accidently, truly accidently broke the Prisim and rather than face up to what she’d done, ran for it and thus ended up here, hiding from her past in the past.  It’s also revealed Enid’s one way crush on her is not one way. Red had also been stalking HER social media, like Enid too intimidated to make a move before now, though we DO have an explination for what changed things coming. She liked how unlike Red enid had her own style, moves and a disregard for authority. it also frankly explains a lot about Red.  spent her whole life probably, given we see what could be a kid version of red or red’s mom in the finale, preparing to be a hue trooper, given the whole generational thing i’m theorizing the Hue Troop we see are the kids of either the first gen hue troop or the second, the flashback also supporting this. Her whole life being what other people told her to be, following orders doing poses.. not being her own woman. So when being forced to turn fugitive meant she had to hide, it also meant she was free to do what she want, and went about it in the worst way: being rude to people and lashing out at them because she could, only spearing the girl she found cute and her two friends, who went along with the beahavior likely due to both liking red and being deeply insecure themselves as we saw last time, from her obnoxiousness. Even if it wasn’t a generational thing, I still supset the pressure of having to be part of a regimented group drained her and rather than talk about it she likely just avoided it like she tends to do.. and like ENID tends to do.. So it’s says something for Enid’s own development when she encourages Red, who also asked her out since Red figured shed idn’t have much time left, to STOP RUNNING and face her problems.. and punch them in the face.

Yellow shows up right as Red agrees, and a fight breaks out.. and a damn good one. I put a pin in this earlier, but the shows battle scenes, vechicalr and man to mand, are utterly gorgeous, well coregraphed and part of why I belive the animation style is so simplified. Besides allowing for the necessarily unique background cast, it also means that when it’s time for an action scene they can go balls out and give it everything without the episodes taking as long as say steven universe or a disney show.And it shows as even this brief fight is tense, well done and full of emotion as Red’s ex and her former friends fight Red and her new girlfriend with both sides having every reason to go at it. It’s crimnally cut short when a metor hits.. the same metor delivers the crystal. While the rest of the Hue Troop instantly realize this and run, Red dosen’t because it was in the distant past.. and in a great move Enid has to tell her dumbass girlfriend that they ARE in HER past. They run, Red is hit and we get the cover image for the shippers and to make it CRYSTAL CLEAR that yes this was a date. They didn’t steal a few picassos while on a sexy date heist but still. 

Also  Red stole the crystal, and her friends assume it was her plan all along. Red almost takes credit for it.. but a glare from Enid shoots that plan down and Red, once again genuinely opens up, apologizing for running from them and her problems,and implicitly hurting Yellow, as while they clearly aren’t together anymore, either due to this or other shenanigans, it still had to hurt what red did. She also thanks Enid for being the one to show her the error of her ways. that being said with a fresh prisim, it’s just as likely that the Hue Troop can now clone it and get a copy back to the past for Red to be her own grandma, as I theroize given the finale again and all and red still being around.. more on that nexttime, the troop have a working prisim till then. They part as friends with the rest of the troop encoourging enid to visit sometime and Yellow giving her approval and getting her own closure as the troop leaves.  And so we end as Red and Enid decide to resume their everything but saying it’s a date date and go Lava Surfing as they drive out into the sunset. THE END.

Final Thoughts: Just as good on rewatch as the first time around and a great ep, not just for the LBGTQ rep, as while I belivie we’ve seen a bi flag sticker on enid’s bike helmet at this point, and would in all future appearances of it and she’d later stick one on her flying motorcycle she gets in the last season, and there was subetext with elody and red and text with rad, this showed she was a bisexual beyond any shadow of a doubt and did everything short of having them kiss, that comes later, to confirm it. But besides being one of the series delightfully gayest episodes, it has good story, good charcter progression for enid as we see how far she’s come from those early episodes, and Red gets a good character arc that both explains her past actions and has her grows as a person. And we’ll see more of this next time as we hit 88 miles per hour and Red Action to the Future. Until then, follow for more reviews of animated shows, check my blog for more as I have pages for each show, and hit me up iwth an ask if you have a show you’d like me to review or force me to review it for 2 bucks by asking for a commission! 

[themagicaltunaa]

Answer all the questions

well i have nothing to do so sure

1. What have you eaten today? 

some toast for breakfast, leftovers for lunch, and some cereal for dinner

2. Who was your last kiss with? Was it pleasant?

never kissed anyone, don't really care about that

3. What color shoes did you last wear?

light grey sneakers

4. Who has made you laugh the hardest in the last week?

Jeremy did, when I was watching his Alien Isolation stream on monday

5. What is your favorite scent?

I love the smell freshly baked goods

6. What is your favorite season? Why?

I love fall. I just love the aesthetic of the season, and my favorite holiday is during fall. I would love to experience it one day

7. Can you do a handstand or cartwheel?

lol nope. I was barely able to do it as a kid. If I tried now i’m pretty sure i’ll break something.

8. What color are your nails?

the regular pink color? I don’t paint my nails

9. If you had to get a tattoo on your face to save your life, what would it be?

aw geez, uhhh idk maybe like a tiny star or something

10. What is something you find romantic?

i dont know romantic things 

11. Are you happy?

eh

12. Is there anything in particular making you happy or sad?

no not really

13. Dogs or Cats?

cats. i like dogs too, but sometimes they’re too much to deal with. i’m more comfortable being with cats

15. Which do you prefer:a museum, a night club, the forest or a library?

museum

15. What is your style?

my style is “im trying”

16. If you could be doing anything you like right now, what would it be?

stay up all night to catch up on videos

17. Are you in a relationship or single?

single babeyyyy

18. What makes you attracted to the person you like right now?

nothing, because im not attracted to anyone

19. If you could replace your partner/best friend with a celebrity of your choice, would you? Who with?

i dont like celebrities

20. Are you holding on to something you need to let go of? If so then what?

i’m pretty sure i’m holding on to a lot of stuff, but I can’t seem to remember anything specific. if this question means metaphorically, the answer still works

21. How did you celebrate last Halloween?

I went to a drive thru haunted house with my 2 friends, and after we got some taco bell and went to the beach to eat our food. we sat there for like 10 minutes before it started to rain on us

22. Have you recently made any big decisions?

nope. I try not to in general , I hate having to make any sort of big decision because I starting stressing 

23. Were you ever in a school play?

I’ve always had stage fright so no

24. What movie would you use to describe your life?

uhhhh, I dont watch enough movies to pick one

25. Is there something you have dreamed of doing for a long time? Why haven’t you done it? 

oh there’s plenty of things that I've dreamed of doing, but I just can’t do it because of anxiety 

26. Complete this sentence, “I wish I had someone with whom I could share…”

I dont like sharing

27. What are two things that irritate you about the same sex?

uhhh idk? maybe the whole makeup culture thing? but it’s not like it irritates me I just don’t get it. I can’t really think of a second thing

28. What are two things that irritate you about the opposite sex?

too much to list

29. What is the best thing that has happened to you this week?

fuck if i know

30. What is something that makes you sad when you think about it?

can’t think of anything rn

31. How long was your longest relationship?

never been in one

32. Have you ever been in love?

pretty sure I have not

33. Are you currently in love?

nope

34. Why did your last relationship end?

see question 31

35. What jewelry are you wearing right now, and where did you get it?

not wearing any atm. actually, I just don’t wear jewelry in general

36. When was the last time you cried and why?

I think it was last week? I don’t remember why, it was probably something stupid

37. Name someone pretty.

the anon that sent me this ask

38. What did you receive last Valentines Day?

oh! I got a few gifts from my bestie :)

39. Do you get jealous easily?

no

40. Have you ever been cheated on?

no

41. Do you trust your partner/best friend?

sure

42. Ever had detention?

no because I was a good bean in school

43. Would you rather live in the countryside or the city?

city. the countryside sounds nice, but just the thought of being out in the middle of nowhere especially at night makes me nervous 

44. What do people call you?

by my name

45. What was the last book you read?

I do not remember. It’s been years since I’ve read a book

46. How big of a nerd/dork are you?

uhhh idk

47. What kind of music do you listen to?

anything that catches my fancy. I don’t really stick to one kind of genre

48. How tall are you?

my doctor said I’m allowed to say i’m 5′2

49. Do you like kids?

they’re alright. I can handle be around them for a bit, but I would never want to have any 

50. Favorite fruits?

watermelon, starfruit, and tangerines

51. Do you wear jeans or sweats more?

jeans

52. What’s your earliest memory?

I was like 3-4, and I was at disney world with my family. I remember seeing a stage show of Bear in the Big Blue house, and I remember walking around ToonTown when it still existed

53. Ever had a poem or song written about you or to you?

i hope not

54. Do you prefer to be behind the camera or in front of it?

behind it

55. Do you have a collection of anything?

I used to collect seashells as a kid and I still have some of the collection somewhere in my closet. I wanna start a new collection of something but idk what

56. Do you save money or spend it?

i try to save it

57. What would your dream house be like?

something cozy and not too big, with a cat or 2

58. What top 5 things make you the angriest?

its 11pm at the time of answering this, i really can’t think of anything to fill a list rn

59. What top 5 things always brings a smile to your face?

see the previous question

60. You are walking down the street on your way to work. There is a dog drowning in the canal on the side of the street. Your boss has told you if you are late one more time you get fired. What do you do?

save the dog. i hate my job anyways so I don’t care

61. 72: You are at the doctor’s office and she has just informed you that you have approximately one month to live. a) Do you tell anyone/everyone you are going to die? b) What do you do with your remaining days? c) Would you be afraid?

I would definitely tell my closest friends, and some of my family members, probably my mom’s side of the family. If I had the money to, I would like to travel to some places that i’ve always wanted to go to. I would have a month to accept that i’m gonna die so i think i would be fine. i’d rather get plenty of time to know i’m dying rather than like last minute. this has been a topic that i’ve been thinking of for a while now, not because I’m like thinking about death or anything, I just need something to kill time with at work

62. Give me the first thing that comes to mind when you hear the word; heart.

a heart?

63. You just got a free plane ticket to anywhere. You have to depart right now. Where are you gonna go?

aw cmon, I can’t just think of stuff like that on the spot. I don’t even know where I would want to go

64. Do you like the beach?

It’s nice, especially in the early morning when everything is still calm and the beach isn’t packed with people yet

65. Ever sleep on the couch or a bed with someone special?

no? wtf does someone special mean?

66. Do you have a middle name? If so what is it!

Doesn’t everyone have a middle name? But yeah i do and i hate it so im not saying anything

67. Do you talk to yourself?

in my head all the time

68. Describe your hair.

brown, curly, very long because I haven’t cut it in almost a year, it’s very annoying

69. What is the meaning of life.

I wish i knew

70. What is your ideal partner like?

no one

71. Do you want to get married?

no

72. Do you want to have kids?

 ew no

73. Like or dislike your family?

 they’re bearable

74. Are you Chunky or Slim?

I’m more than chunky, i’m just straight up fat

75. Would you consider yourself smart?

lol no. I’m an absolute dumbass

76. What would you change about your life?

everything if i could

77. Religious or Not?

no not really

78. You’re drunk and yelling at hot guys/girls out of your car window, you’re with?

I don’t drink so this would never happen

79. You’re locked in a room with the last person you kissed, is that a problem?

it sure isnt because no one is there

80. Does anyone regularly (other than family) tell you they love you?

uhhhh no. I don’t really care tbh

81. If the person you wish to be with were with you, what would you be doing right now?

idk

82. So, the last person you kissed just happens to arrive at your door at 3AM; do you let them in?

i’m not opening the door because no one is there

83. Do you like when people play with your hair?

ehh not really. It’ll just make it frizzy

84. Do you like bubble baths?

no

85. Have you ever been pulled over by a cop?

I need to drive in order for that to happen

86. Have you ever danced in the rain?

no. its not fun getting soaked in the rain

87. Do you trust anyone with your life?

not really? 

88. What was your first thought when you woke up this morning?

why does god allow suffering

89. If money wasn’t an issue, what top 10 places would you travel to? (You get to stay at each place for a week)

1.greece

2. peru

3.disney world only because I have not been to all the parks yet, also i can bug my brother while i’m there

theres a lot more but i’m too tired to fill out the rest of the list

90. How was your day today?

it was fine

91. Play an instrument?

used to play mellophone/french horn in band in high school. after I graduated I haven’t touched an instrument since

92. Describe the what you think of the ocean.

it’s scary

93. Do you believe in aliens or ghosts?

aliens as anything that counts as a living organism not of this world, not green little men from mars nonsense. the universe is too big for only life to be on earth. for ghosts, i’m still iffy about them, but that doesn’t mean i’m gonna start walking around haunted places and call the ghosts a bitch

94. Honestly, are things how you wanted them to be?

abosolutely not. every day I regret all the decisions i’ve made through my life. does that mean I’m trying to fix said mistakes or try not to do them again? lol no 

95. Do you have a mean bitchy scary side?

in my mind i do. I’m too scared of everyone to actually do it

96. When are you vulnerable?

always

97. How much free time do you have?

doesn’t feel like much. saturday and sunday go by way too fast and i feel like when i go home from work theres just not enough to relax. im tired all the time

98. Do you like to go hiking?

never been

99. Odd or Even Numbers?

even

100. Would you ever go sky diving, bungee jumping , cliff diving, wing suit gliding, parasailing, snorkeling, or other extreme activities?

no because I actually have self preservation. I am also a very big chicken

[laceypruett]

Traveling After a Pandemic

If you knew the angst that went into simply agreeing on a title for this piece, you would laugh. This is our current world. We have a scarcity mindset, mixed with some fear over what we’ve been through this past year. I’ve had seasons of scarcity, fearfulness, and oh the worry. Worry laced everything in 2020 and tied it in a bow, so when I shared my potential title, I was met with, “but we’re still IN a pandemic.” Are we?

According to historians, pandemics typically have two types of endings: the medical, which occurs when the sicknesses or death rates plummet, and the social, when the epidemic of fear about the disease wanes.

“When people ask, ‘When will this end?’ they are asking about the social ending,” said Dr. Jeremy Greene, a historian of medicine at Johns Hopkins.

In other words, an end can occur not because a virus has been vanquished but because people grow tired of panic mode and learn to live with a virus.

I chose the title I did, because, for me, it is the truth. The cool thing is that you get to decide for yourself, your family, and your life experience what is true for you. After this way-too-long discussion with some fellow authors, there was a moment when I said, “no more.” No longer will I live in fear, and no longer will I worry myself about what may happen. Death rates have plummeted (one of the medical ends to a pandemic) and the virus strand is weakening. This is great news! Precautions I’ve taken since last March can now soften a bit. I definitely won’t worry about things out of my control. An example of something out of my control… what others think of my life decisions.

When some of the world lifted their restrictions on air travel, my husband and I booked a few flights to some of our favorite places. “You’re going to travel out of the country, right now?” It echoed for several days, but it’s just one more reminder to make your own rules for your life. Yes, the pros outweighed the cons, for us, and that is enough. I wondered what it would be like “out there,” and what the experience would really be, and curiosity squashed fear.  We considered our safety, security, and health, in this decision to fly internationally, and we booked accordingly. You see, for us, the world is vast and there’s opportunity to expand one’s life perspective with traveling and seeing the world. Staying at home doesn’t make sense to us, as a long-term decision, especially if health and vitality are the goal. We take good care of our health, and we take proper precautions, so for people in our situation, travel is an option. If you have the travel bug, I invite you to get out there again, too. I’ll explain why later in this article.

When the COVID-19 flu strand pushed us into a global pandemic, my husband and I were crushed. We had four trips we now had to cancel or that were canceled on us. Birthdays, anniversaries, France, Spain, British Virgin Islands, and Cabo San Lucas all vanished off the calendar. We were sad but worked to quickly shift mindsets. We would have different types of adventures for a while. We would make an adventurous life at home, under these new daily, safety standards. We would enjoy the Texas beach house more.  We would spend time enjoying new hobbies, activities and a slower pace. The re-wiring of adventure expectations took some ebb and flow (especially by me—I already purchased new outfits for Spain and for France), and while I look back on the memories, we made last year, I am grateful for them. More on that later… let’s get to the good stuff. Traveling internationally, after a pandemic, was different but worth it. It’s easier if you plan ahead, set some new expectations, and give just about everything and everyone some added grace. 

Here are my tips and awareness (based on separate trips to Cabo San Lucas, and Riviera Maya, Mexico, flying commercial airlines, and staying at a resort & spa property (not private residence):

1.     Clean up your diet, increase your fitness routine, and be impeccable with nutritional supplements months before traveling. Do a 7-14 day detox if possible. This is key! Don’t travel with a weak immune system.

2.     Don’t fight the masks. It’s happening, and it’s nobody’s preference. (At least, I don’t think anyone loves wearing them?) As of today, wearing a mask is required  in all airports, on all commercial aircraft, and it was required in the lobby areas and restaurant entries. You can wear a mask whenever you want, but these are the places a mask was required. I wore a separate mouth and nose covering for the flight that met the required standards. It was more comfortable than my mask and worked well.

3.     Bring your own anti-bacterial soap. At the end of each day, it felt nice to scrub away the day with an extra anti-bacterial protection. Even if you don’t usually use an anti-bacterial soap, use one now for ease of mind. One bar of Dial soap lasted 10 days.

4.     Pack a pen! In addition to the usual customs and immigration forms, there’s a new COVID disclaimer form to fill out and turn in upon arrival at the airport and again at your lodging.

5.     Bring your usual daily multi-vitamin, but add in the following every day: Zinc, an immune modulator, extra vitamin C & D. These helped me feel armed against new elements, foods, and the new environments.

6.     Expect delays at check-ins. We arrived at the airport, our hotel, and even at restaurants that each had their own added health screenings or checks. The oddest one was a device you step into (think air brush tanning days) that sprays you with an antimicrobial solution. It’s light and dries quickly, and at its worst, just slightly annoying. They spray your baggage on arrival at the hotel with this solution, too. Some take your temperature, and some offer you (and expect you to take) hand sanitizer.

7.     Make reservations! Most restaurants are requiring them to comply with the distancing needs of the tables (Mexico restaurants and bars filled up but we were spaced out really well.) Don’t expect to just show up, without a reservation, and get seated anywhere. If it happens, yay!

8.     Hire private ground transportation. This minimizes your exposure to new taxi cabs and drivers each time you need to go somewhere. Walk whenever and wherever you can. Exercising keeps everything moving, even the bad bacteria and virus strands, and these getting stuck in our body cause the problems.

9.     Tip generously, when appropriate. Hearing the stories of how this year has been for different people, really opened my eyes to the outlier issues we’re now facing, outside of the actual sickness. By traveling soon, you are helping to reverse some long-standing financial damage people and businesses are facing, due to closures and restrictions. Select local businesses, restaurants, foods, and entertainment when possible. You can immerse yourself into the culture of where you’re visiting, and meet some wonderful people at the same time.

10.  Call ahead and ask what’s new due to the pandemic. Being aware of expectations, protocols, and changes will allow you to prepare yourself accordingly and to enjoy the experience better. None of us are at our best when expectations are not met. Proactively do some research and set yourself up for success.

Go explore! My soul came alive immediately as I started roaming one of my favorite areas of Mexico. Being in the elements, the sun, especially, taking in the sights, sounds, and feelings filled me up with vitality. Don’t wait any longer! Find your next adventure spot and start booking. I am grateful for our continued health, and we remain protective of it. You are in control of how you protect yourself, and it is possible to feel safe and protected while traveling the beautiful world again. Be respectful of others’ “house rules,” as everyone is trying to help everyone feel as comfortable as possible right now, and by respecting these efforts, we all get to feel a little more freedom. 

For us, the pandemic was a temporary situation, not a permanent change to our way of life. This travel experience has been educational for us, as many things felt differently than what we’re used to, but necessary for where we currently are with pandemic concerns. While we hope even more of the restrictions lift and more countries open up to American travelers, we hope some of the new practices never leave. Airplanes, airports, hotel rooms, and bathrooms have never been cleaner! I see people giving everyone space and washing their hands longer. Que Maravilla! On that note alone, take a deep breath and go explore somewhere new. Let me know what you find!

[exxar1]

Aaron

10/29/2020

This picture was taken at my 9th or 10th birthday party, which would make it summer of ’87 or ’88. Pictured from left to right are Aaron Walker, my brother Jeremy, me, Jeff Reed and Brett Biers. Aaron, Brett, Jeff and I grew up together in Twin Falls, Idaho. I can’t tell you exactly when we all first met, but I don’t remember my grade school years without any of them, and I know there’s a photo album in my parents’ basement with a picture of me and Aaron playing together when we were only a few months old. The four of us were inseparable, and, while there were others in our circle of friends, these three guys are the main cast in my memories from childhood.

Yesterday, as I clocked off for my lunch break at Walmart, my watch signaled a new text notification. I glanced down, and the world around me came to a grinding, silent halt. It was from my dad, notifying me that Aaron had died.

I stared at the message, not quite comprehending what I was seeing. I read the words, but they had no meaning. I just kept reading them over and over, trying to wrap my mind around this terrible news. I finally forced myself to get moving, and I called my dad for more details as I left the store.

Even now, as I write this, it still doesn’t seem real.

I spent all that afternoon in that strange, detached daze that only sudden grief can cause. Memories flooded me in tidal waves that forced me to fight back tears as choked out the words “Good afternoon, welcome to Walmart” to the strangers coming into the store. There was, thankfully, only two hours left in my shift and, as soon as it was over, I wasted no time in clocking out and racing for the solitude of my car.

Here’s a few memories of my old friend:

Aaron, Brett, Jeff and I at our friend Jake’s dairy farm in Jerome, Idaho. There was a massive, deep manure pond that we all loved to chuck giant rocks into and then leap back to avoid the splash effect. (It’s a wonder none of us ever fell in.)

Sitting on the grass outside school during lunch, bartering for each other’s desserts, and then swapping dirty jokes, making sure to speak low enough so the nearby teachers wouldn’t hear. Aaron and Jeff had the best ones, as I recall. Most of them were about Pollocks and Jews, and more than a few were good, old fashioned fart jokes. (There is no one outside the age of grade school boys who can truly appreciate the fine humor of bodily functions.)

Aaron, in particular, always made me laugh. He was the one in class sticking pencils up his nose or using scotch tape to make funny faces. And, if I’m recalling correctly, he could also use scotch tape and notebook paper to make the sharpest Chinese throwing star this side of the Rockies.

Aaron – like his father – had a particular sense of humor. In addition to the aforementioned jokes, he loved nothing more than a good prank. His favorite one was to pick up a deck of cards and ask me if I want to play “Fifty-two card pickup”. I said, “Sure.” He then tossed the entire deck on the floor and said, “There ya go. Now pick ‘em up.” (The sad part is, I fell for that joke more than once.) He also enjoyed reaching across the table at lunch and jamming his finger into the middle of my PB&J while asking, “Is that your sandwich?” That one always pissed me off and I’d retaliate by mashing his sandwich or tossing his chips on the floor. (Something else you should know about grade school boys: we don’t have the best of manners, and we show our friendship in odd ways.)

(And, while we’re on the subject of practical jokes, Brett once gave me what I thought was a chunk of oat bran cereal to snack on. After eating it, he laughed and told me it was dog food.)

I remember fishing trips with the Walkers and me trying to learn the fine art of skipping rocks on the lake water. Aaron and his dad taught me and my brothers how to properly gut a fish. That I still remember clearly, and I could probably do it right now if I had a fresh fish and knife here on my coffee table.

I also remember the four of us hiding from the 6th grade bullies at recess, and there was one time when Aaron had to be rushed to the emergency room because one of the older boys gave him a white piece of candy that was actually a mothball. (These were the same older boys that always teased me for sometimes playing with the girls at recess.)

I remember sleepovers at the Walker house where Aaron and I played Frogger on his Atari. (I believe that Jeff was the first among us to have an original Nintendo system, and it was at one of his birthday parties that I was introduced to Super Mario Bros.) The Walkers were also professional UNO players, and I almost always lost to Aaron, his brothers, or his dad.

There were summer trips to Red Cliff Bible Camp in Pinedale, Wyoming, where we spent a week enjoying all kinds of outdoor recreation as well as nightly church services. If my memory is correct, Aaron and I were the only ones from our circle of friends in grade school who attended Red Cliff once every summer. While I still remember bits and pieces of those summers, there is one clear memory that stands out from the rest. It was one night towards the end of the week, and a bunch of us kids were seated around a large campfire in front of – or near to – the main lodge. It was one of those perfect summer nights – not too cold, just a hint of a breeze, and vast sky full of stars. We were all in the midst of a sing-a-long being led by one of the counselors, and, in the middle of it, Aaron turned to me and put his arm around my shoulders. He smiled at me, and, with tears in his eyes, said, “I love you, man!” “I love you too,” I replied, throwing my arm around him.

For most of high school there was only ten in our class, and we became as close as any group of kids could be at a Christian private school in a town of less than forty-five thousand. There were Friday night ski trips where I remember Aaron on his snowboard, swooshing down the mountain at various speeds and trying not to faceplant. I’m pretty sure it was either him or one of his brothers that ended up crashing into a tree because he went off the trail after dark. (If not Aaron, it was somebody in our class, I know that much for sure.)

In our senior year, during homeroom on Monday morning of each week, our class would select a saying or motto to write in the upper corner of the blackboard that would stay there the whole week. For awhile, Aaron was the one picking the sayings, and they were usually lyrics from current, popular rock songs. It took a few weeks before our teacher, Mrs. Tutty, finally caught on and gave us all a good scolding. In the years since, whenever I hear the song, “The World I Know” by Collective Soul, I always think of Aaron.

Also during our senior year: a winter trip to South Dakota that was just us boys and Brett’s dad. We spent a weekend up in a cabin in the mountains and rented snow mobiles. There’s a lot from that trip that has stayed with me these many years, but the only thing that’s relevant here is that Aaron succeeded in crashing his snow mobile when he tried to cut through a grove of trees. Thankfully, the worst of the damage was a cracked windshield that was easily replaced. The rest of that trip was a lot of guy bonding time that definitely included more dirty jokes and Jeff once again demonstrating his remarkable ability to make fart noises with his armpit.

In the years after high school, as we all set out on our respective paths into the world, we promised we would stay in touch. And we all did . . . for awhile. The path I chose was the Army and it took me to a posting in Germany. But that career didn’t end well, and when I needed a character witness for my courts-martial, I called Aaron. The Army flew him overseas, and were briefly reunited in Hanau, Germany, in fall of ’99. We hadn’t seen each other for a couple years, and we had fun catching up. He told me about a girl he met at college, and I told him all about life in the military. (It wasn’t great.)

In the years that followed, as life took us further and further apart, all of us from the class of ‘97 lost touch, as childhood friends often do. Aaron and I, however, stayed in sporadic contact with one another since we were both back living in Twin Falls by 2001, but we didn’t really hang out on a regular basis. I eventually moved to Boise in the fall of 2003 to attend BSU, and Aaron was busy getting his realtor’s license. He even spent the night at my apartment one time because one of his tests was at a campus in Boise. We ordered pizza, watched a movie, and spent the rest of the evening get caught up on each other’s lives. It was at this time that I decided to tell Aaron that I was gay. I don’t think he quite knew how to react, and, while he tried to be supportive, my confession turned the evening awkward. I changed the subject, and we didn’t speak of it after that.

After I graduated BSU in December of 2005, I moved back to Twin, but Aaron and I didn’t get together anymore. I tried a few times to get in touch with him, but my calls and texts went ignored. I was a little hurt, at first, but I didn’t know what else to do so I just let it go.

A few years ago, after I had relocated to Las Vegas, and when I was back up in Twin for a family visit, I received a text from Aaron. He wanted to take me to dinner. I said yes, and, while I was excited to be reunited, I was also nervous. We hadn’t talked in many years, and it seemed a little strange that he suddenly wanted to hang out with me again after all this time.

One of the things that I’ve always loved about Aaron is that he’s so easy to talk to. Our dinner conversation started where we’d left off several years earlier, as if nothing had changed. I told him I was glad he had reached out to me, and that I was afraid I had alienated him because he wasn’t comfortable with me being gay. Aaron assured me that, no, that wasn’t it, and he had no issue with it. He’d just been going through some things in his own life at that time, and he hadn’t meant to lose touch the way he did. The rest of our conversation was spent like the others before: catching each other up on what we’d been doing for the last few years. He had accomplished way more than me: a beautiful family and a very successful real estate business.

After dinner, we ended up at Elevation 486, where we sat outside on the canyon rim by the fire, and we continued talking. At some point, another guy took one of the empty seats on the other side of the fire, and I don’t remember if it was Aaron that struck up a conversation with him, or if the stranger made a remark about something Aaron had just said to me. Either way, Aaron and this guy started talking, and their conversation lasted for several minutes. I watched, amazed, wondering if Aaron already knew this guy through work or something else. By the end of their talk, as the guy stood up to leave, Aaron gave him a business card and told him to contact him if he ever had any real estate needs. After the guy left, I turned to Aaron. “Was that one of your friends?” I asked, but I already knew the answer. Aaron just laughed and shook his head. “No.” I laughed too, utterly amazed and a little envious. I have never been able to be that kind of a people person. I’ve always been too introverted and socially awkward to be able to instantly connect with strangers the way Aaron connected to that guy that night around a fire pit.

That, in a nutshell, was Aaron. He was the friendliest, kindest soul you would ever meet, and he knew no stranger. Even if he and I hadn’t started out in a playpen together, we would have probably met somewhere on the road of life and been instant friends. He, like all of us, had his demons, but he loved God and he loved his family, and he will forever be missed during the rest of our time down here. I look forward to that time when we can be together again on the other side, reunited at the feet of our Heavenly Father.

Goodbye, my old friend.

[thistlepath]

stuff about Aggy

this is for that meme i rebloged a bit ago, i was asked to answer “all of them” for a character of my choice. this is gonna be kinda long.

What is your OC’s favorite color?

Dark purple :3

Does your OC collect anything? What do they collect?

No, he’s not very materialistic and hasn’t had much of a chance to collect anything anyway.

What kind of things is your OC allergic to?

As a Carlec he’s automatically incapable of eating plants or dairy without getting really, really sick if that counts.

What kind of clothing does your OC wear?

Basically pink pygamas and a cape, that’s just how Carlec dress.

What is your OC’s first memory?

A vague memory of some kid being annoying and him scratching their face way back when he was about 7 or 8.

What’s your OC’s favorite animal? Least favorite?

Favorite: their version of turtles, he thinks they’re cute and they like to eat his /least/ favorite animals.

Least favorite: it’s a tie between a type of fish that enjoys trying to eat kids that fall into rivers and a type of beetle that enjoys trying to eat dead, dying, and/or injured unconscious critters and people.

What element would your OC be?

Fire, i think. He can be destructive and horrifying, but also helpful and fun :D

What is your OC’s theme song?

Hmm… there are a lot of them XD

maybe i’ll post a list later.

Do you have a voiceclaim for your OC?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D5m_W31hDeU

He’s jeremy.

What deadly sin would best represent your OC?

Wrath. Definitely wrath.

What are your OC’s hobbies?

He likes to make dye, dance, and rip the legs off of beetles :3

How patient is your OC? How hot-headed are they?

That depends, most of the time he’s /incredibly/ hot-headed, like murderer levels of hot-headed, but if he really, /really/ likes you he’s incredibly patient and understanding.

What is your OC’s gender / sexuality / race / species / etc.?

male. weird Carlec sexuality that most resembles a combo of bisexuality/pollyamory (i don’t know all the different sexualities and such, if there’s a name for that i’d be happy to hear it) but is basically the Carlec version of being straight. mountain/marsh Carlec :3

What foods does your OC like to eat? What are their least favorite foods?

He likes to eat beetles and large, winged insects. If you only count food he can eat safely, his least favorite food is turtle. They’re too cute to eat and he doesn’t like breaking their shells.

If your OC could have any pet, what would they choose? Why?

Probably a turtle, though an Alvean bird would also be pretty cool!

What does your OC smell like?

At the very beginning of the story: dried blood, mildew, and an odd acidic smell that builds up on Carlec when they’re unhealthy.

After a while of being outside and a nice change of clothes: dead leaves, dirt, and just a hint of blood.

How do they make a living? What kind of job do they want / not want? What is their dream job? What do they think of their current job?

Currently he doesn’t, he’s working to get his /freedom/ back, he isn’t getting paid. He wants to be a dye-maker like his mom once all of this is over, it’s been his goal since he was little. He /really/ doesn’t want anything to do with mining, he’s spent long enough trapped without sunlight and warmth, thank you very much. He also doesn’t want to be a hunter.

His current job is basically escorting an idiot and an old lady from point A to point B without them getting murdered, it’s fun when he gets to threaten people or fight wolves, but it’s mostly just walking around (at first.)

What are your OC’s greatest fears? Weaknesses? Strengths?

Hmm. the Carlec have this idea where you basically have to /earn/ having a soul, and doing stuff that makes their deity upset with them starts to slowly destroy their soul. Murder is one of the things that makes her angry, and he keeps getting put in situations where he basically /has/ to kill people. He’s terrified that by the time he dies he’ll be so far gone that he’ll just disappear. It doesn’t help that he’s almost entirely sure that if he /doesn’t/ fade away he’ll end up as some kind of ghost.

He also has a fear of deep, fast water :3

What kind of music do they listen to? Do they have a favorite song?

Carlec music is nothing like any human music i’ve ever heard, so it’s a bit hard to pick out different styles and such. He likes happy music being sung by groups, which sounds a bit like if you crossed a choir, a barbershop quartet, a bunch of purring, mewling cats, and a bunch of little birds together and had them sing pop songs.

If they came from their world to ours (if not already in our’s) how would they react? What would they do?

He’d be absolutely terrified. Our world is incredibly foreign to him and i seriously doubt people would have a very positive reaction to him. Plus, unless he ended up somewhere really warm and humid he’d likely get sick pretty quickly. He’d find some place to hide and then stay there, to scared to come out for anything but food.

What personal problems/issues do they have? Pet peeves?

Well. he just got out of prison and now has to babysit an insensitive, ignorant Alvean and a grumpy old lady, he’s convinced that he’s missing a chunk of his soul, his dad died while he was away and he didn’t have a chance to say goodbye, he’s constantly anxious and lashes out at people violently when startled, he feels incredibly uncomfortable in the center of attention but also feels like he has to be the most intimidating, loud person in a room to feel safe… the list just goes on.

He really doesn’t like being interrupted or asked stupid questions.

What kind of student were they/would they be in high school?

If the teacher was nice he’d be incredibly respectful and work very hard to do well. if they were a jerk (or he saw them as one) he’d be a rebellious little monster, seeming to do everything in his power to either get them fired or get himself kicked out of the class.

What is a random fact about your OC?

He wears his cape over his right shoulder to hide the lack of spines on his upper arm. He’s asymmetrical, something that isn’t too uncommon when Mountain and Marsh Carlec mix, but that’s still incredibly uncommon in the general population. He was teased for it as a kid and is still insecure about it.

What is their outlook on life? What is their philosophy / what do they think in general about living?

He tries to be optimistic, but a life of bad luck and being treated like garbage has kinda made that hard.

What inspired you to create them / how did you create them? Were they originally a fancharacter? What was their personality / design like when you first made them?

I was bored one day and ended up coming up with a scene of a token-evil teammate finding out their mom was super sick and trying to hide their panic and sadness from their team because their merciless, sadistic reputation needs to be upheld, dang it! And i wanted to draw it. I used a random generator to get the basic idea of what the Carlec look like (slender, delicate build..same height as the average human..reddish/grayish brown skin..muted black hair..very large ears..giraffe-like spots on arms and legs..large, brown/red eyes..colorful, modest clothing.) and made a ton of potential designs for him before eventually settling on one that’s very similar to how he looks now, just with smaller ears, more spots, slightly different hair, and a slightly different face shape. I never ended up drawing that scene, but i decided to keep him anyway. His personality started out as a manipulative, sadistic, just about irredeemable monster with the redeeming qualities of “he loves his parents” and “he /eventually/ cares about his teammates.”

Who is the most important person in their life? Why? Who is the least important to them (that still has an impact and why?

His mom. After the events that caused his issues she was the only person who really stuck with him. His village decided he was possessed and thus dangerous, his dad disapproved very vocally of his decision to become a maker instead of continuing his training as a hunter, and his best friend/fiancée eventually betrayed him. His mom never stopped supporting him and believing that he could get better.

Hmm. Aggy’s weird in that once he cares about you he /doesn’t stop caring/ no matter what you do, so i don’t know if his friend can be counted here? If so, then definitely her. She was one of two actually good things in his life, then she had him sent to a human prison for murdering a pair of assassins. That place was absolutely /horrible/ and it was probably the worst thing that could’ve been done for his mental health.

If she doesn’t count, then probably the first prisoner he ended up killing while in prison. That idiot trying to kill him is what set him firmly on the path towards what he is today, if that hadn’t happened the queen probably would have had him released years ago.

What kind of childhood did your character have?

A not very nice one. Way too much being treated like some kind of monster, too much of his parents arguing about him, too many former friends avoiding him, too many injuries, and nowhere near enough support, love and guidance.

What kind of nervous habits do they have? Do they stim? Do they have any kinds of addictions?

When he’s nervous he tends to swish his tail back and forth like an angry cat, and also often bites and chews on things when they’re available.

If those count, then i suppose so? I don’t know a whole lot about the subject.

Not at the moment, but he used to have a bit of one to this special drink the Carlec have at parties. It makes people more energetic and cheerful, then incredibly tired as soon as it wears off. The Carlec have a lot of parties, so most have at least a bit of an addiction to the stuff.

If they could choose their epitaph for their grave, what would they choose?

Hmm. he’d just have somebody else chose it if he could, but if he absolutely had to choose it’d be something along the lines of “i promise i won’t haunt you guys. Probably. I’ll have to think about it.”

Do they want to get married? Why or why not? Would they ever want kids? Do they have kids? Why?

No. he’s pretty much done with romance after what happened with his Ex. there’s a chance that someone could change his mind with enough time, but it’s gonna be difficult.

He’s not sure about having kids, but he doesn’t think there’s much chance of it anyway if he never gets married.

What is their most traumatic memory/experience? What is their favorite memory?

Most traumatic memory: his entire village turning on him and his best friend in the whole world not only not defending him, but making sure he gets punished even more harshly than he would’ve otherwise.

Favorite memory: this one’s more vague, it’s stuff that happened almost every day and kinda blurred together, but it was all equally amazing as far as he’s concerned. Waking up every morning, warm and safe in his comfortable, cozy home. Spending several hours making dye with his mother and laughing with her about how it had somehow gotten all over their hands and faces while his dad went out hunting. All the little things that he had to go without for so long.

If they could have one thing in the world, what would it be?

Freedom, of course.

Would they ever kill someone? What would someone have to do to push them to kill someone? If they would kill someone, why?

Hahahahahahahaha

Aggy’s got this thing, it happens sometimes to Carlec who’ve been through something traumatic, where he’s constantly on edge and automatically reacts to perceived threats with violence. It’s incredibly difficult to keep under control, and even when it is it often just builds up until they eventually snap and get even more violent than they would have otherwise. In serious cases the Carlec will seem more like a feral animal than a person, luckily Aggy doesn’t have it that bad but if things continue the way they have he’s gonna get there within a few years.

What social groups and activities does your character attend? What role do they like to play? What role do they actually play, usually?

He used to love helping with the music for parties, he’d play bells and sing.

How is your character’s imagination? Daydreaming a lot? Worried most of the time? Living in memories?

His imagination is a bit caught up with imagining horrible situations he could end up in, potential escape routes for every room he enters, and stupid nicknames for everyone he meets.

What does your character want most? What do they need really badly, compulsively? What are they willing to do, to sacrifice, to obtain?

To go home and be happy. That’s his main goal at all times, ‘make sure this goes well so i can go home’, ‘save [insert person here] so i can redeem myself so i can be happy’ etc.

He needs to hurt critters and fight people and kill things. He gets super anxious all the time, and that’s the one thing he’s found that helps him calm down.

He’s willing to do a whole lot of things. He won’t hurt anyone he cares about, and he’d prefer not to die, but other than that he’s pretty much gonna do anything to get what he wants.

What’s something that your character does, that other people don’t normally do?

Well.

He eats his food raw. He kills people. He torments small creatures. There’s a lot of stuff he does that most people wouldn’t.

What would your character do with a million dollars?

Use it to try to free one of his old prison-friends and then give him whatever’s left. Carlec don’t really use money.

What is in your characters refrigerator right now? On their bedroom floor? Nightstand? Garbage can?

He’s currently homeless and has no possessions other than the clothes on his back and a knife.

Your character is getting ready for a night out. Where are they going? What do they wear? Who will they be with?

Well, if he’s free to have a night out in the first place he’s probably home, so most likely some kind of party, his party outfit, and either his team or his parents. He doesn’t have many friends :D

What does your character do when they’re angry? Why?

Attack things. Make things hurt. Cause whatever pain he can in whatever made him angry. It makes him feel somewhat better.

Does your character have any scars? Where did they get them from?

Not really, it’s hard to scratch a Carlec through their scales, and it takes a lot of damage for an injury to show through them after it’s healed. If he were human he’d have scars all over from fights, running through dense forest, falling in a river and nearly dying as a kid, etc.

What was the most offensive thing your character had ever said?

Oh, that’s hard. Aggy loves to offend people, it’s one of his favorite hobbies.

How does your character react/ accept criticism?

That depends on both what’s being criticized and how the criticism is given. It could be anything from quickly accepting it and asking for advice to /literally/ killing you.

If your character was given a slice of pineapple pizza and they HAD to eat it (or something bad would happen), how would they react? Do they even LIKE pineapple pizza?

Well. almost literally /nothing/ on pineapple pizza is edible for him, so he’d react pretty badly. Whatever this ‘something bad’ is has to be pretty bad. He’d eat it, but would clearly hate every second of it and would get really, really sick afterwards.

Your character is given a voodoo doll of themself. What do they do with it? Do they see if it actually works?

He would immediately believe it was real and quickly hide it in the safest place he can possibly find.

Can your character draw? What do they like to draw? Do they doodle?

Not really, he could probably make little stick-figures, but that’s about it.

What were their parents like? How has that affected how they are as an adult?

Evr, Aggy’s mom, was very loving, supportive and comforting, she was his mentor and primary source of advice, help and positive social interaction.

Kven, his dad, started out the same. Unfortunately Aggy becoming ‘possessed,’ deciding to be a Maker despite clearly being a natural Hunter (that’s a huge deal to a lot of Carlec), and losing his cheerful, friendly attitude kinda messed up their relationship. He was usually either angry at him or ignoring him.

He doesn’t know Rili or Tin very well, they married his mom about two years after he was kicked out.

Does your character like candy? Do they get sugar rushes? What are they like when they get a rush?

The closest thing to candy the Carlec have is this super sweet nectar that they make into drinks or soak meat in, and it’s literally made to give anybody/anything that drinks it a sugar rush. When Aggy drinks it he gets even more jumpy than usual, but also super giggly so it seems like he’s having fun?

If your character was presented with imminent and unavoidable death/fatality, how would they react? Would they try to avoid death anyways? Would they try to make their last days count?

He’d be horrified and depressed, this means that he won’t get his chance at redemption or see his family again. He’d do everything he could to both prevent/delay his death and get home as soon as possible, desperate to see Evr again and at least say goodbye.

[bughead-fic-request]

I would like to thank @leaalda for making these amazing banners.

This is an effort to spread the word about all fan fiction writers in our little fandom. If you would like to be featured or nominate a writer, please contact me. Please reblog this post if you can and check out some of @allskynostars work!

1. First things first, if someone wanted to read your stories where can they find them.

The can find them on my tumblr;  https://allskynostars.tumblr.com/tagged/allskynostars-fics  or on AO3;  http://archiveofourown.org/users/allskynostars/pseuds/allskynostars/works

2. Tell us a little about yourself.

My name is Jenna, I am 23 (24 in a couple of weeks!). I have 3 brothers.. It's been a struggle haha. I was born in London, my parents and I moved to New Zealand when I was 6 months old. And just two months ago I moved back to London with my boyfriend. I've written a few fics, and have just finished my first multi chapter Ever Since New York. I am currently unemployed, but looking for Pharmacy work as that's what I did at home and would like to continue.

3. What do you never leave home without? 

My phone! And keys.

4. Are you an early bird or a night owl?

Night owl, 100000%. I suck at mornings.

5. If you could live in any fictional world which one would you choose and why?

Maaan, probably Middle Earth. Like I would kill to be an elf and shack up with Legolas. Or Thranduil, keep it in the family yunno. Or the Harry Potter universe because magic? Yes.

6. Who is the most famous person you’ve ever met.

I've 'met' a whole heap, like I've paid at cons and things to meet Aidan Turner, Dean O'Gorman, Andrew Scott, Karen Gillan. I went to the Age of Ultron prem when I was in London last time and got photos/signatures with Mark Ruffalo (ultimate fav), Chris Hemsworth, Jeremy Renner, Aaron Taylor Johnson. I got Robert Downey Jrs autograph but no photo. But just by chance without planning too I met Jenna Coleman. We were visiting my family in Wales and just so happened to drive past during filming. Didn't quite get to meet Peter Capaldi though. And then I was in London last time, me and my best friend walked into Jamie Campbell Bower in the street. The story Is actually so cool but I feel like this answer is long enough hahah.

7. What are some of your favorite movies/TV?

Movies: Eternal Sunshine, Only Lovers Left Alive, Big Daddy (my go to movie when I'm sad, I love Adam Sandler). I always struggle to answer this because after I think of one I should have mentioned! Shutter Island. 

TV Shows: There are far too many but right now Riverdale, obviously. And I just smashed through Brooklyn 99. The OC, Game of Thrones, Doctor Who, SOA, Friends, Being Human, the list goes on...

8. What are some of your favorite bands/musicians?

SO my first favourite and was Panic! At The Disco. Then My Chemical Romance took over my life. Now I'm into The 1975, Arctic Monkeys, Bastille, Hozier, Tom Odell, James Bay, Ed Sheeran. Thanks to my Dad I love Alanis Morrissette and Radiohead. Thanks to my Mum I have a soft spot for Robbie Williams. My music taste is diverse so I listen to a lot of rap. I'll defend Kanye West to my dying breath, I really like Post Malone at the moment too. It chops and changes so so much. Also I've seen One Direction 4 times so judge as you will, ahaha.

9. Favorite Books?

Pretty generic, really. Harry Potter series, LOTR, The Mortal Instruments series and all that go with it. Fault In Our Stars, All The Bright Places, Lovely Bones.

10. Favorite Food?

I love Mexican food.

11. Biggest pet peeve?

Sidewalk Hoggers who walk SO SLOW.

12. What did you want to be when you were little? What do you want to be now?

I always wanted to sing or act, but seeing as I can do neither.. I always wanted to work in the entertainment industry and sometimes still do, like behind the scenes. Maybe in Media. But for now I love working in Pharmacy and want to train to become a Pharmacy Tech.

13. What are your biggest fears? Do you have any strange fears?

I don't have many fears, I have no issue with the dark or heights or anything like that. I HATE bugs, like any kind of insect or creepy crawly, just no. Sometimes even butterflies irk me.

And as far as strange fears, everyone always looks at me weird when I say this, I have a fear of whales.. Like I don't like the ocean or fish, sharks etc, but I can handle it. But whales? No. I get goosebumps and feel like my throat closes up when I look at them. I think it's to do with their sheer size and power. I don't even know why but I just, I can't.

14. When you are on your deathbed what would be the one you’d regret not doing? 

Seeing the world.

Okay... lets talk about your writing!

15. Which is your favorite of the fics you've written for the Bughead fandom?

Probably Who She Was, How She Loved. It was only a one shot, and it hurt like hell to write, but it seemed to get a reaction from everyone who read it and that's what we write for, right? I don't even know where I pulled that fic from, but I really love it. It feels real.

16. Which was the hardest to write, in terms of plot?

Ever Since New York, just to keep it going. I didn't want to drag it out too much, but it needed a fair amount of content. So I struggled at the end there.

17. How do you come up with the ideas for you fic(s)? Do you people watch? Listen to music? Get inspired by TV/movies?

A lot of it definitely comes from music. Like, if the lyrics to a song resonate with me I always think of a story to go with it. Always, even if I have no intention of writing it. I also pull inspiration from certain movies and things, but it is definitely music at the forefront.

18. Idea that you always wanted to write but could never make work?

I really love the idea of room mate fics, I haven't actually tried though. Maybe I could do it.

19. Least favorite plot point/chapter/moment you’ve written?

I only posted the last chapter of ESNY the other day, and the response has been good, but I'm still not happy with it. I couldn't even read it over. I don't really know what my problem is, I guess I just felt it was very anti-climatic.

20. Favorite plot point/chapter/moment you’ve written?

In my fic And Then? There's a scene where Betty & Jug are in the ocean yelling, and I really loved that moment.

21.Favorite character to write? 

Jughead. Always. He has layers...  

22. Favorite line or lines of dialogue that you've written?

Dark. Brown. Not round, more sleek. The complete opposite of the girl who's face was flashing through Jughead’s mind at this very moment. Which he knew, of course he did. That's why he had picked her. With her dark head of hair, and her dark eyes, he would never have to be reminded of the one he was missing.

Except for the fact that he saw Betty Cooper in everything. And everyone.

23. Best comment/review you’ve ever received?

Every comment someone goes out of their way to write about something I've spent time on is amazing. I think it always makes me smile though when they say they can see it all happening as they read. And you know, making them cry when they say fanfic never makes them cry.

24. How do you handle bad reviews or comments?

I haven't been 'lucky' enough to have to deal with this, yet. But I think I would just ignore and delete the comment. Who needs that negativity.

25. If you could change anything in any of your stories, what would it be?

I think I would have included more characters in Ever Since New York, like Archie etc.

26. What is your favorite story you’ve ever written? Any fandom?

I've only ever written for the Bughead fandom, but my favourite is Who She Was purely for the emotions. I'm a sucker for emotions.

27. What are you reading right now? Both fan fiction and general fiction?

I have 51 bookmarks on AO3. So I am reading basically everything right now haha. But in terms of general fiction, I haven't read anything in a while and I need too.

28. Do you have an advice for writers that want to get into this fandom but might be scared? 

As typical as it sounds, just do it. I was so nervous, but this fandom is hands down the best. Everyone is so, so welcoming, and if there are so many people to reach out too if you’re ever feeling unsure about your own work or anything. Just take the dive guys, it's a fun ride.  

[laceypruett]

Traveling After a Pandemic

If you knew the angst that went into simply agreeing on a title for this piece, you would laugh. This is our current world. We have a scarcity mindset, mixed with some fear over what we’ve been through this year. I’ve had seasons of scarcity, fearfulness, and oh the worry. Worry laced everything in 2020 and tied it in a bow, so when I shared my potential title, I was met with, “but we’re still IN a pandemic.” Are we?

According to historians, pandemics typically have two types of endings: the medical, which occurs when the incidence and death rates plummet, and the social, when the epidemic of fear about the disease wanes.

“When people ask, ‘When will this end?’ they are asking about the social ending,” said Dr. Jeremy Greene, a historian of medicine at Johns Hopkins.

In other words, an end can occur not because a disease has been vanquished but because people grow tired of panic mode and learn to live with a disease.

I chose the title I did, because, for me, it is the truth. The cool thing is that you get to decide for yourself, your family, and your life experience what is true for you. After this way-too-long discussion with some fellow authors, there was a moment when I said, “no more.” No longer will I live in fear, and no longer will I worry myself about what may happen. Death rates have plummeted (one of the medical ends to a pandemic) and the strand is weakening. This is great news! Precautions I’ve taken since March can now soften a bit. I definitely won’t worry about things out of my control. An example of something out of my control… what others think of my life decisions.

When some of the world lifted their restrictions on air travel, my husband and I booked a few flights to some of our favorite places. “You’re going to travel out of the country, right now?” It echoed for several days, but it’s just one more reminder to make your own rules for your life. Yes, the pros outweighed the cons, for us, and that is enough. I still wondered what it would be like “out there,” and what would the experience be during the journey. We considered our safety, security, and health, in this decision to fly internationally, and we booked accordingly. You see, for us, the world is vast and there’s opportunity to expand one’s life perspective with traveling and seeing the world. We take good care of our health, and we take proper precautions, so for people in our situation, travel is a must. If you have the travel bug, I invite you to get out there again, too. I’ll explain why later in this article.

When the COVID-19 flu strand pushed us into a global pandemic, my husband and I were crushed. We had four trips we now had to cancel or that were canceled on us. Birthdays, anniversaries, France, Spain, British Virgin Islands, and Cabo San Lucas all vanished off the calendar. We felt empty, but worked to quickly shift mindsets. We would have different types of adventures this year. We would make life at home, under these new daily standards an adventure. We would enjoy the Texas beach house more.  We would spend time enjoying life at home. The re-wiring of adventure expectations took some ebb and flow (especially by me—I already purchased new outfits for Spain and for France), and while I look back on the memories, we made this year, I am grateful for them. More on that later… let’s get to the good stuff. Traveling internationally, after a pandemic, was different (understatement) but worth it. It’s easier if you plan ahead, set some new expectations, and give just about everything and everyone some added grace. Here are my tips and awareness *based on a trip to Cabo San Lucas, MX, flying commercial airlines, and staying at a resort & spa property (not private residence):

1.     Don’t fight the masks. It’s happening, and it’s nobody’s preference. As of today, wearing a mask is required on all commercial aircraft, and it was required in the lobby areas and restaurant entries. It wasn’t required in the pool areas, while eating your meals, or while walking around or exercising. You can wear a mask whenever you want, but only in common areas were masks required. I wore a separate mouth and nose covering for the flight that met the required standards. It was more comfortable that my mask and worked well.

2.     Bring your own anti-bacterial soap. At the end of each day, it felt nice to scrub away the day with an extra anti-bacterial protection. Even if you don’t usually use an anti-bacterial soap, use one now for ease of mind. One bar of Dial soap lasted 10 days.

3.     Pack a pen! In addition to the usual customs and immigration forms, there’s a new COVID disclaimer form to fill out and turn in upon arrival at the airport and again at your lodging.

4.     Bring your usual daily multi-vitamin, but add in the following every day: Zinc, an immune modulator, extra vitamin C. These helped me feel armed against new elements, foods, and the new friends we were making each day.

5.     Expect delays at check-ins. We arrived at the airport, our hotel, and even at restaurants that each had their own added health screenings or checks. The oddest one was a device you step into (think air brush tanning days) that sprays you with an antimicrobial solution. It’s light and dries quickly, and at worst just annoying. They spray your baggage on arrival at the hotel with this solution, too. Some take your temperature, and some offer you (and expect you to take) hand sanitizer.

6.     Make reservations! Most restaurants are requiring them to comply with the distancing needs of the tables (Mexico restaurants and bars filled up but we were spaced out really well.) Don’t expect to just show up, without a reservation, and get seated anywhere. If it happens, yay!

7.     Hire private ground transportation. This minimizes your exposure to new taxi cabs and drivers each time you need to go somewhere. Walk whenever and wherever you can. Exercising keeps everything moving, even the bad bacteria and virus strands, and these getting stuck in our body cause the problems.

8.     Tip generously, when appropriate. Hearing the stories of how this year has been for different people, really opened my eyes to the outlier issues we’re now facing, outside of the actual sickness. By traveling soon, you are helping to reverse some long-standing financial damage people and businesses are facing, due to closures and restrictions. Select local businesses, restaurants, foods, and entertainment when possible. You can immerse yourself into the culture of where you’re visiting, and meet some wonderful people at the same time.

9.     Call ahead and ask what’s new due to the pandemic. Being aware of expectations, protocols, and changes will allow you to prepare yourself accordingly and to enjoy the experience better. None of us are at our best when expectations are not met. Proactively do some research and set yourself up for success.

10.  Go explore! My soul came alive immediately, as I started roaming one of my favorite areas of Mexico. Being in the elements, around the people, and taking in the sights, sounds, and feelings filled me up with vitality. Don’t wait any longer! Find your next adventure spot and start booking.

I am grateful for our continued health, and we remain protective of it. You are in control of how you protect yourself, and it is possible to feel safe and protected while traveling the beautiful world again. Be respectful of others’ “house rules,” as everyone is trying to help everyone feel as comfortable as possible right now, and by respecting these efforts, we all get to feel a little more freedom. 

For us, the pandemic was a temporary situation, not a permanent change to our way of life. This travel experience has been educational for us, as many things felt differently than what we’re used to, but necessary for where we currently are with pandemic concerns. While we hope even more of the restrictions lift and more countries open up to American travelers, we hope some of the new practices never leave. Airplanes, airports, hotel rooms, and bathrooms have never been cleaner. On that note alone, wash your hands often and go explore somewhere new!

[jads1000]

Steroline Appreciation Week (#scaw17) The Snow Globe Part 2

Continued from here X

Writing this has made me feel super emo. I tried to combine all the elements of Steroline I love (friendship, teasing, angst, romance and passion). It’s basically a trip from S2 to S8 and I hope you all enjoy it.

***

Approaching her doorstep, Caroline let out a breath she didn't know she was holding. After being locked up and tortured by a pack of werewolves, all she wanted was a hot bath and a lot of junk food. Stefan followed behind, concern dripping off him, his shoulders tense with anxiety. As bad as her ordeal had been, it could have been much worse if it hadn't been for the Salvatores and creepy Dr Martin. She shivered as she pulled her key chain from her pocket. Behind her, she sensed his footsteps pause obviously waiting for her to open the door. Then she heard it.

A stifled chuckle.

Was he laughing at her? Because if he was, she was about to kick his ass, hero hair or not.

She spun around to see Stefan's grin smooth out into his more standard earnest face. "What was that?"

"What was what?" He replied, the picture of innocence.

"See, I thought I heard someone laugh and we both know that's not really your style." Her eyes narrowed. "Is being burned with vervain and shot with wooden bullets amusing?"

"No, no, no." His own eyes widened in horror. He gestured at the key in the door as yet unturned. She gave him a 'wtf?' look. "You said it was a shit gift!"

Dangling down was that damn snow globe. After having misplaced her keys several times recently, she had resorted to attaching them to something big and ugly. Funny how she never had that issue since. "It IS a shit gift, but because I am gracious, I will admit it has it's uses. Still, I don't know if I'll ever forgive you." She turned to Stefan who was grinning from ear to ear like she was the most amusing thing in the whole world. Just for a moment, she forgot the existence of vampire hating werewolves and psychotic doppelgangers.

"I'll take useful."

"Oh, shut up!"

***

Stefan had passed a fitful night on the Forbes' family couch. He was grateful to Caroline for putting him up after Elena moved into the boarding house to avoid by murdered in her own bed by Jeremy. Still he wasn’t looking forward to having to discuss their sire bond revelation with his brother. Stepping out of Caroline's en suite shower, he picked up the towel she had left him and wrapped it snugly around his hips. It didn't leave much to the imagination, all Liz's bigger towels must have been dirty. He moved into her room to start dressing.

Caroline's room was pretty and feminine. To say she was a neat freak was an understatement. Stefan hadn't really been in here before and interested to see what secrets her boudoir might give up. In one corner, there were several shelves containing cheerleader trophies, commendation medals for various good deeds and a suspiciously home-made certificate declaring her third grade hopscotch champion. Caroline Forbes really was multi-talented. In pride of place, her Miss Mystic Falls trophy twinkled and next to it, hung on a small hook, was the snow globe key chain from his one and only attempt at Secret Santa.

His heart fluttered in his undead chest.

Why would she still have this given how much she hated it?

He ran his fingertips over the rounded surface and for the first time in weeks, he smiled.

***

Stefan and Caroline stood watching the burning log shed. Even as a ghost, Enzo was a royal pain in ass.

"I have a secret for you."

Caroline mesmerised by the fire was stumped. "What?"

"I have a secret I never told Elena." Stefan grinned. "Aside from the ‘dirt on your cheek’ thing."

"Okay." She looked dubious.

"You remember that Secret Santa gift?"

She rolled her eyes at him. "How could I forget!"

Stefan looked chastised. "I had a completely different gift for you, but Damon being Damon ruined the whole thing."

"So not a snow globe then?"

Doubt etched Stefan's face. He had always figured that someone as whimsical as Caroline would love such things, maybe he didn’t know her so well. "It was a snow globe, it was just a better one." He went on to describe the pretty, glass globe and where and when he had got it. At the mention of Lexi, he glanced away as if wishing to hide his sadness from her.

"It's okay to miss her. Damon may be your brother, but he's also a complete dick."

"I'm no better than him."

"Duh, you're a 1000% better."

"I killed Enzo."

"Your brother left him to die in a fire." Caroline cocked her head to one side. "Anyway, I don't want to talk about Enzo or Damon, who is this Disney character you associate with me?"

"Tinker Bell." He replied simply.

"I've never seen Peter Pan."

"Disappointed it wasn't Cinderella?" He teased. She narrowed her eyes. "Tink is misunderstood. People see her as impatient, jealous and impetuous." She frowned at him and opened her mouth to protest. "But it comes from a place of love, she would do anything for her friends." He smiled at her. "And she has really cute shoes."

She punched him on the arm. "You're so annoying."

He smiled. "I just can't believe you've never seen the film. Youngsters of today, don't know you're born.”  And then, even though, he really didn’t want to, he added “Come on, let's go check on Damon and Elena."

***

Spending an afternoon watching movies with her mom had been one of Caroline's favourite childhood things to do. Now Liz was dying, Caroline was desperate to make as many memories as possible. Stefan had dropped off a couple of DVDs from his collection, along with some chocolates and popcorn so she decided that given how miserable the weather was that was what the two of them would do. Liz was installed on the couch, tucked under a blanket. She looked pale and worn, the fragility of life etched across her features.

One of the movies Stefan had picked was Peter Pan. Curious, she popped in the DVD in the DVD player and snuggled up next to Liz.

"This takes me back." Her mom commented. "I know it's a cartoon, but it's kind of dark. Do you really want to watch it?"

"Wouldn't be Disney otherwise. Besides..." She looked away coyly. "Stefan once told me that Tinker Bell reminds him of me."

Liz made a strangled noise, half way between a snort and a gasp.

"What?" Caroline demanded. “She’s an icon!”

"Nothing. Let's just watch the movie." Liz passed her daughter the popcorn and they settled down to enjoy the film. "He's nice, Stefan. I mean for a vampire."

"Well your comparison is Damon so..."

"Still, he made us dinner the other night, he cleaned up and loaded the dishwasher. I don't think your father ever did that."

"He's trying to get in your good books." Caroline scoffed.

"Ask yourself why he's doing that." Liz glanced over. "He likes you."

"He's my friend, that's all."

"I don't think that's true. He cares about you Caroline and when I'm gone, you're going to need someone there for you."

"I don't want think about that."

The movie continued to play. Tinker Bell appeared on screen, jingling her bells and never once uttering a single word.

"I'm going to kill Stefan." Caroline complained.

"I thought you might." Smiled Liz.

***

Caroline didn't know how long she could keep up this book club ruse. Her Nook kept her from having to explain the physical lack of books to Alaric, but even with vampire healing, her eyes were constantly red and puffy. Stefan had been gone for six long months, the twins were exhausting and Ric was frankly as much use as a chocolate teapot. Which seemed to be the default setting for most new dads, but then he had a knack of making dusty academia seem like the hardest job in the world. For all his 'you can't explain what you love' bs, she suspected Klaus had never changed a diaper in his life.

Stefan, however, would have been different. She was certain of he would have got up in the night, warmed bottles and changed diapers even the really disgusting ones. He would have decorated the nursery and child proofed the house with bitching and moaning about needing easy access to a crossbow.

She opened the glove box and took out the pile of letters tied in a red ribbon and the snow globe. The key chain was a comforting weight in her palm as she handled the envelopes. She desperately wanted to open them, to indulge in his words, but part of her was too scared to admit he was gone. What if he told her that he no longer wanted her, that he was in love with someone else. By not knowing, she could live in her fantasies of a perfect life with the perfect man.

Turning the globe upside down, she focused on the swirling white flakes. This stupid tacky gift brought her closer to Stefan, easing the ache in her heart. It gave her the reminder he had promised her all those years ago.

Home, it reminded her of home.

***

"Put me down."

"No, I said I would carry you over the threshold and that's what I'm doing, damn it."

"It's not like we're getting married, I'm just moving in." She squealed.

"Well, Caroline. It is a slippery slope. Just go with my old fashioned, traditionalist ways." He gently set her down, smiling.

She grinned back at him. "So, you want me to be a prim Victorian lady?" She batted her lashes coyly at him before looking demurely away.

In a flash, she was pressed up against wall, Stefan's hands firmly planted on her hips as he raked his dark eyes down her face, settling on her lips before, meeting her eyes once again. "Definitely not." He growled. Hungrily, he pressed his lips to hers as one hand snaked up her body and into her curls. The jokey atmosphere dissipated, replaced by desire.

"I need to unpack." She murmured initiating another kiss.

"That can wait until later." He groaned back and whisked them upstairs.

A few hours later, Caroline was curled up, content in Stefan's arms, planning where all her stuff was going to go. There was some decent closet space and Stefan had cleared some shelves for things she wanted to display.

"I can hear your mind whirring."

"Shut up."

"It's getting late. May I suggest we take a shower together and I’ll help you unpack tomorrow?" He waggled his eyebrows suggestively.

She shot him a thoughtful look. "There's just one of thing I need first."

Stefan hoped that it was some sexy nightwear, preferably short and sheer that he could get his teeth into, literally. He wasn't prepared for her to open up a bag and slide out the snow globe. She proudly placed at eye level, front and centre of the shelf. "You've still got that?"

"Of course." She replied incredulously. "Now let's get that shower."

***

"I understand." She paused in her message.  "I will love you forever." She broke down, sobs wracking her body. She didn't want to get back into the car. She didn't want to be 'safe'; she wanted to be with Stefan. But she did understand. He would always choose to die if it meant protecting others, that was just him. Stefan the Hero, Stefan the Martyr. The things she both loved and hated about him.

She rooted through her handbag to find the one thing that always gave her hope. When she couldn't locate it instantly, she started to panic. Then her fingers met the cool plastic right at the bottom of her bag. Only it felt slimy.

She pulled the key chain from her bag to see it cracked and broken. The contents had leaked out and the snowflakes no longer danced. She knew, then, her home was gone.

***

Two hundred years later

The sunlight shone through the window waking Caroline. There she was, in her old room at her mom's house, laid on her old bed, dressed in a short black dress with low black pumps encasing her feet. Shards of memories flooded her brain - the crackle of magic, the screams of vampires as they were felled, the sharp spike of wood between her ribs and the warmth of Ilya Bennett’s arms as the world finally faded to black.

To die protecting one of Bonnie’s distant relatives that was a pretty good way to go.

So, this was peace.

She was surprised. She expected to wake up in Salvatore Mansion her home for the past two centuries. She got up, smoothed her dress and took a look around. The room was obviously old fashioned, but warm, neat and stuffed with childhood memories.  Her eye was instantly drawn to the snow globe, hanging on its little hook. She welcomed it like an old friend taking it in her hand and fingering the smooth surface.

There was a knock at the front door, the sound of knuckles on wood could only mean one person.

She raced down the stairs and paused at the bottom.

Standing at the door, no curtains to obscure him, was Stefan, a large toothy smile on his face. She turned the door knob, smiling back at him.

"Caroline.” He said warmly, taking her hands in his. "I see you found it."

"Well, obviously." She replied, holding up the gift.

"Who would have thought Heaven would have a Quick Stop?" He grinned, brushing his lips against hers.

"Shut up." She murmured as she pulled him into a deeper kiss.

She was home.

The End