#so RIP i won’t know who the dad is and same for Dina and her kid looks asian

[intomybubble]

I’m still playing Sims 4 and so I made a household with a Sim of myself so I can try doing a bunch of different careers (for the items lol)

I ended up romancing Don Lothario and accidentally had his kid after downloading and trying out the WW mod (we had 1 date prior, and I asked for him to live in with me afterwards).

I wasn’t paying too much attention to his name (since this was my first time playing Sims 4 since mid 2010s and I don’t know characters or lore), and used the random name generator and named our daughter, Dawn. I did not realize I basically named her after him lol.

As things are now

We’re partners and “soulmates”

I go out to work (currently doing the spy career), while he’s basically my househusband

He was a creative freelancer when he was added to my household so he makes A LOT from paintings, and sometimes music

I gave him an variation of his default everyday outfit to give him glasses (bc I’m into glasses, but “lorewise” he spends more time at a screen for work so he started to need them)

I used a mod to change his “non-committal” trait into being a family man, and bc he’d still get tense from being “non-committal” (despite trying to get rid of it) I got a “carefree” potion from the rewards store RIP

I don’t 100% remember before changing it, but he was a decent dad beforehand. Now, its super cute seeing him chat and play with our daughter

My Sim wants to marry him, but I’ve been worried about him potentially refusing so I’ve just stuck with being “partners”

I did do a wedding on a different household (OC marrying Liberty) and that was a mess especially since I have no idea what I’m doing

I do now have actual venues to use in the future instead of the ugly base game park 👍

I did give my Sim the same necklace that he wears as a sorta “promise ring” in her outfits (I think its cute lol)

Bc I’m stuck on leveling stats, we don’t leave the house that often. But the WW mod has kept things… spicy without actual dates lmao

I think I’m going to try proposing and just having an incredibly long engagement soon…

[dumdumsun]

Forever and Never

A/N: Enjoy ❤️

Warnings: mentions of marijuana and rape

Word Count: 2493

—————————————

Five: The Beauty That Is Stanley Barber

“And after I found out what happened, I became kinda cold towards him…”

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

That Monday, I had felt like absolute shit. I had never gotten that drunk before, that I guess I was still recovering from Ricky’s party. I hadn’t remembered much of anything other than dancing, kissing Stan, and being alone with Ricky. My mind went blank once that door locked. It truly angered me that I let myself get intoxicated enough to lose my virginity to the one person I wanted to keep it away from, but that was just the story of my life. I hadn’t spoken to anyone since then, not wanting my headache to increase by staring at a phone screen. When Pam got home, she only tutted at me as a ‘told you so’ before proceeding to baby me for the entirety of Sunday. I hadn’t complained, not for a second. In her care, I almost forgot what it was like to be swarmed by my overbearing school body. Walking into school that Monday instantly shifted my mood. The overlapping conversations, the constant bumping into everyone, countless greetings I didn’t bother to return. I just rubbed my temples and sped down the hall. Almost at my locker, I heard a familiar voice call out to me. It was too familiar to ignore, so I turned to find Dina, standing at her locker with a friend. She whispered something to her companion, leading them to smile at us both and walk away. Her eyes assessed me as I approached her, leaning against her neighboring locker. She chuckled and crossed her arms. “Well, someone is still fucked up.”

“Yeah, I feel like shit,” I mumbled. “Is Ricky looking as bad as I am?”

“No,” Dina frowned in confusion. “He was nowhere near as drunk as you.”

Despite its protest, I snapped my head up to attention. “Huh? Yeah, he was. We were both shitfaced.”

“I’m telling you, (Y/N), Ricky was tipsy for, like, half an hour. He had been looking for you once he sobered up.”

My heart dropped to my stomach as my mouth dried up. Pushing myself off of the locker, I turned and walked away, my head too foggy to hear Dina calling after me. He can’t and won’t do that to you again, (Y/N). That’s what I told myself right before entering that party.

Well, he did. And he did so much worse.

Ricky wouldn’t do that without consent, right? He was so respectful towards me, he was patient with me.

He never was patient when it came to sex. That’s why I avoided him in the first place.

My breathing was labored, my vision was clouded by tears, my mind went haywire. Ricky raped me. I got drunk and I isolated myself in a room with him. A locked room. He knew what he was doing. As I passed the girls’ bathroom, I saw a familiar blur of curls, but my mind forced my legs to keep moving. I caught onto the last bit of what he was saying to me.

“-- doing okay? How are you feeling?” When I didn’t respond, he sighed. “Why is no one talking to me today…?”

Maybe it was his defeated tone, maybe it was the fact that I trusted him most, but without a second thought, I grabbed Stan by the wrist and dragged him around the corner. I led him under the stairs and stopped when we were consumed in darkness. I opened my mouth to tell him, but where do you even start with this? My hands flew to my mouth to muffle the broken sob that escaped. Stan stiffened at the sound before ducking his head to search my face. “(Y/N)? Hey, talk to me. What happened?”

“S-Stan, Stan, I… Me and Ricky had sex at his party.” I shakily whispered. His brows furrowed, and I noticed an eye twitch, but he slowly nodded for me to continue. “B-But… But I-I just t-talked to Dina and s-s-she said that Ricky wasn’t even drunk. I-It was just me, Stan, it was just me.”

“Shit, (Y/N)...” He whispered and let me fall into his chest. I always felt safe in Stan’s presence, in his arms, and he was usually who I turned to if I ever wanted to spill out my feelings to someone. “I-I’m so sorry… Hey, hey, do you wanna go home? I-I can take you home, Nugget.”

“No, I don’t wanna go home.” That was a lie, but Pam and David were sure to be notified if I had missed any classes.

“Well, then… tell me what to do. Do you want me to kick his ass? I’ll kick his ass for you, I swear to god, (Y/N)-”

“No, don’t fight him,” I sniffled. “He’ll beat the shit out of you.”

“Hey…”

“Sorry,” I hiccupped and let him brush my tears from my cheek ever so gently. “I’m so pissed… Like, that was my first time? I didn’t get to even consent to my first time?”

“You know, I heard that if you didn’t consent, it doesn’t count. So… you don’t have to worry about that.” Strangely, his awkward approach at comforting me was what prevented me from curling into myself and spiraling. That had been a gift of his.

Pulling away, I noticed a mark on his face. When I reached up and gently brushed my thumb across the bruise on his eye, he flinched back. “W-What happened to your eye?” When he hesitated, I knew immediately. His dad was home.

“Don’t worry about it,” He mumbled, holding my hand in his. “I just wanna worry about you right now… Because this whole situation is so fucked up. Are you sure you don’t want me to fight him?”

“Well, I want him to get hurt, but not by you.” I tried a smile, but it fell immediately. With a huff, Stan wrapped his arms around me yet again and pulled me against him, letting the sounds of our fellow peers take over.

-------------------------------------------------

“As the temperature increases, if an atom loses one or more electrons, it becomes oxidized!” When Mr File realized his exclamation fell upon deaf ears, he faltered. “Uh… Yeah, okay. Goggles up. Bunsen burners on, and please, please, please, nobody burn down the school.”

Stan carefully watched me as I slapped my goggles onto my face. His hand held mine under the table, causing me to turn to him. “Hey, Nugget, I need to talk to Sydney. Are… you gonna be okay if I-”

“Go ahead.” I whispered, my eyes never leaving him. Ricky was only a table away, and I watched as Stan checked him before giving me a nod. When he turned around to talk to Syd, I felt unsafe. I felt exposed. I felt open to Ricky. My shoulders tensed as I took a deep breath, trying to focus on my work. I felt Stan’s hand on my shoulder as he leaned in close.

“I’ll be right back, I won’t leave you.”

“I know.” I nodded, allowing him to leave the table and follow Syd. My table mate asked if I could hand her the test tube with the blue liquid. I hoped to god she didn’t notice my hand trembling as I reached out to pick it up. Ricky was looking at me. I could feel it. His eyes bore into the side of my face and my hand wouldn’t stop shaking and my table mate was looking at me oddly and-

“Hey! Where are you-”

“Bathroom!”

The sudden exclamations from Sydney and Mr File snapped me out of my daze, my hand naturally letting go of the test tube. Both my classmate and I yelped as the liquid spilled across our table. We stood as our teacher quickly gathered paper towels.

“Shit, I’m sorry! I’m sorry!” I apologized profusely as I felt someone tug me away from the table. The gentle touch informed me that it was Stan and I was safe. He turned me to face him, and I felt hot tears prick the corners of my eyes.

“It’s okay, Miss (Y/L/N). Did any of it get on you?”

“Yes, it got all over me! I have to go!” The warm touch of Stan’s hands slid from my shoulders as I raced out of the classroom. I gasped aloud when I felt Ricky touch my arm.

“Babe, are you-”

“No!” I shouted at him, ripping the door open and dashing down the hall. My heart pumped in my ribcage as I flew down the stairs, hiding in the same place Stan and I were that morning. My knees pulled into my chest as my hands clutched my head.

Calm down, (Y/N)... Calm the fuck down. Think happy thoughts. Think happy thoughts, (Y/N).

Memories of my dad, of Jacob, of Stan flashed through my mind. My dad and I engaging in a tickle fight. Jacob practically flinging me around his bedroom to the beat of his favorite song. Stan using his comb as a microphone, pointing to me as we belt out the lyrics to some 80’s song blasting throughout his bedroom. The flat of my chest wasn’t heaving as much as I leaned against the wall. I felt safe, I felt calm.

Then I felt a hand on my wrist.

Gasping out, my head snapped up and my gaze focused on Stan. His eyes were searching my face, his hand left my wrist, but hovered close. “Do you… want a hug…?”

I was safe again. “Please.”

The rest of my day consisted of ignoring Ricky and staying under Stan’s protection. I didn’t eat lunch, despite his insisting, I almost had two more panic attacks when Ricky found me alone, and my throat was sore from holding in sobs for hours. In the end, I made it. When I came home, I locked myself in my bedroom and called my dad. He wouldn’t have to know about everything, but it would have filled my heart with so much relief if I could at least hear his voice. The dial droned once, then twice, thrice, and a fourth time before it went to voicemail.

“Please leave a message at the tone.”

My tears spilled over once I heard the high-pitch beep. “D-Dad, hey… Uh, it’s (Y/N)... U-Um… I-I’m not having a good day today, and I know you’re probably hella busy, but I just… I really need to talk to you today. So, please call back as soon as you get this. Please. I-I love you.” And with a shaky breath, I hung up. Three soft knocks averted my attention to the door, where Jacob had just entered.

“Hey, Bug…”

“H-Hey…”

“Do you… maybe wanna watch some movies with me? Your pick.”

“That sounds really great, Jake, but not tonight. I’m just, uh… wanting to be alone.”

“I get it. Totally get it,” He nodded and backed out of my bedroom. “Just know that if you change your mind, I’m down the hall and very willing to drop everything.”

I only nodded as he closed the door. I hadn’t trusted myself enough to spend dinner with the family, so I laid in bed and tried my best to fall asleep. But it wouldn’t come. I was too occupied by my thoughts, too alert. It was honestly stressing me out to the point that I ironically began falling asleep once the sky faded into night. Just as my eyes drooped, I heard a soft tap on my window. I wanted to ignore it but it happened again. And again. And again until I heard a tap that could’ve cracked the window. Jumping up from my bed, I rushed over to find Stan. He had one hand full of small rocks, the other ready to launch. Of course, he stopped upon seeing my form at the window. He dropped the rocks and waved with both his hands. Softly chuckling, I slid my window up. “What?”

“Wanna go for a drive?” He loudly whispered.

“Hell yes.”

I didn’t realize how much I missed Stan until we were on that drive. With his windows down, soft rock music gracing our ears and the wind blowing in our hair, I was brought back to the summer. When we’d spend the day in this car, cruising around Brownsville. We had not a care in the world. We lived in bliss, only with each other for company. Selfish with each other’s time. I had him all to myself those days. As I looked over at him in that moment, I couldn’t help but grin. The curls on his forehead were now leaning with the wind as his fingers tapped to the beat of the song on the steering wheel. He looked so pretty like this, the moonlight kissing his pale skin just right. He was so beautiful and he didn’t even know it. He glanced at me from the corner of his eyes, a blush spreading across his cheeks. “W-What?”

“Nothing, just… I’m happy to be here.”

Later on, we parked in the middle of an empty grocery store parking lot. Reclining the seats all the way back, we let our legs drape outside the car window. In that moment, everything felt perfect. The sweet melody of Vanilla Skin rang throughout my ears as the sound of Stan’s lighter flicking accompanied the night critters’ chirping. This was everything I needed. Bloodwitch, a joint, and Stan by my side. It took us only twenty minutes for our highs to kick in, but this time, it was different. We weren’t stupidly laughing. It was comfortably quiet between us. I suppose we both had our own battles we were fighting that day because at the same time, we both inhaled deeply and soundly exhaled.

“Stan, why isn’t every guy like you?” I quietly asked. He looked over at me with furrowed brows.

“Huh?”

“I mean, why can’t they just be patient? And considerate? And just naturally sweet people? Why can’t they do something for a girl without wanting something else in return…?”

“Why can’t every girl be like you?” He sighed as I reached my arm in the air, fingers grazing the top of his car. “Why can’t they understand that I’m here to help?” He reached his hand up towards mine. “That I wanna help?” Our fingertips touched. “That I love helping?” And our fingers interlocked. Slowly, our joined hands rested in between our bodies, our heads simultaneously turning to each other.

“I don’t know… maybe we’re not meant to meet other people like ourselves…”

His mouth quirked up in a hesitant smile before he leaned closer. I met him in the middle in yet another kiss. I knew that after, we wouldn’t speak of this. We’d reset and go back to normal so that Stan could keep trying with Sydney. I knew he wasn’t mine, that I wasn’t his. But-

Just let me have this.

—————————————

Taglist: @nate-hargreeves @sapphicsyn @stqnley @lonely-kermit @juliet-doesnt-give-a-fuck @moatsnow

[youeverfeelcursed]

On The Narrative of The Last of Us 2 (1 of 2?)

I am impressed by how many people are hating on this game and its narrative when I’m finding it how amazing its written even though it broke my heart in so many pieces I’m not sure I’ll be able to stick them together for a while. Reading most of the arguments against the game it feels like people are simplyfying the story of both game to worrisome levels.

This is going to be a long text, and obviously, it’s going to be FULL of spoilers so: SPOILERS AHEAD.

Let’s start by going back a bit and into the Last of Us.

Naughty Dog and the importance of being human: The Redemption of Joel

I think before we start we need to talk about the most important detail of The Last of Us franchise - onwards TLoU -  and that is that its never been about zombies, or survival, or Joel or Ellie but about humanity, or better yet, about what is being human and what makes us human. It doesn’t matter if its Part 1 or Part 2 but keep in mind that this concept is the driving force of this story, subtly hiding in our protagonists and their friends stories. You wont find easy blacks or whites in their storytelling, because being human is not that simple.

Now that we have that clear, keep in your mind too the word monster.

With TLoU - Part 1, we get in the skin of Joel Miller, an assholish smuggler based in Boston. From the beginning we can see that Joel is not a good person and through the whole game is heavily implied that he’s been less that nice to humans to survive. The player can “easily” forgive these flaws of him because we can empathize with the lost of his daughter during The Outbreak but even if we empathize we can’t just ignore that Joel is not a hero, he’s just a broken survivor.

Many people think that TLoU is all about the connection of Joel and Ellie, but in the end it’s all about Joel and his “redemption”, his coming back up from being a murderer, a smuggler, a shitty person to a human with feelings again, with so many feelings he makes the worst decision for the survival of humanity: he saves Ellie. He saves Ellie because he cares, because he learnt to care so much  that he put his own selfishness above humanity’s well being. He’s battled thousand of zombies along the way but we know they are mostly not aware of their actions anymore, they can’t choose to hurt people, they just do it because it’s what they do but Joel made a conscious decision. A horrible decision.

And after, he lies to Ellie. He takes the chance of deciding about her own life only because he desires to keep her alive. And this is what it is about, how beautiful can it be to be human, and how horrible can it turn into.

TLoU Part 2, the death of Joel and the descent of Ellie.

We begin Part 2 with Joel narrating what happened in the hospital to a flabbergasted Tommy. I’m not sure how most people felt during this sequence but during it I felt shitty for actually being happy that he saved Ellie, which was alleviated by Tommy’s acceptance of it (”I can’t say I’d have done different”). I’m not sure if I were to be Tommy I would have reacted the same way, but props to him for forgiving his brother.

So times passes and we land on Ellie. This is where everything begins.

The transformation of Ellie is like a trainwreck, you know it’s going to end badly but you cannot stop looking.

When we get control of Ellie we get our old Ellie back, maybe a little less cheerful but it’s normal, she’s already 18 and she’s been hit hard by life, multiple times. Still we can see that underneath all that tough and grumpy behaviour (I mean seriously, she’s just like Joel) there’s the Ellie we loved from the first part.

Up to the point Joel is killed.

Oh how I fucking hated that moment and it’s not because it felt stupid - it truly didn’t to me - but because I was at the same time expecting it, and not expecting it. Because that’s how death gets to you and I found the setting horribly marvelous.

Many people think that his dead was stupid, that he didn’t go in a grand way but just simply got his face smashed by Abby. I hated it, because the whole scene I was like Ellie hoping for Joel to pull through and save himself, I couldn’t believe he would die in the first 3 hours of the game!! Naughty Dog what the fuck!?

But you know. That’s it. That’s the point. Things come and go and most of the time we don’t really expect what happens. And it’s traumatizing, it’s unbelievable, it’s shitty. But it’s life. One night I was saying goodnight to my dad, the next day he was dead. It happens. Death is not grand, death is not heroic most of the time, it just is.

And that’s the feeling that they manage to convey, that it’s not real. We are feeling the same feelings as Ellie, thinking that somehow, in some crazy way he’ll be back to come back. But he won’t. There’s a grave. And yet the feeling is there. If Joel’s death had been shown differently, we - as players - could find some closure, but this way? This way we are stuck. Just like Ellie.

Just like the beginning of the end of Ellie. Because the next part is all about losing yourself. We can see it in tiny details like Ellie’s hair. In Jackson, she’s got a tight bun, controlled and when she and Dina are getting to Detroit, part of that bun is loose as an analogy of her slow demise, how she slowly loses control. It’s also represented by the weather, with one of the most ruthless scenes happening during the huge storm of Detroit: Mel’s death. 

It would be easy to just blame this turning into a monster on Joel’s death, but there’s multiple factors affecting Ellie during this time, apart from the trauma from watching Joel be killed in front of her own eyes. 

The first one is that she was forced to miss the chance of being useful, useful as a cure for the whole world, for her life to have meaning. It must be really hard to love someone so much - Joel - and hate them at the same time, and plus to all of that, you dont get the chance to forgive them because it was ripped from your own hands.

Next is what she deems as a betrayal from Dina, her pregnancy. This is where the queer theme comes strong, because who hasn’t been in a situation in which we feel we will lose our loved one to the straight ex? The feeling of being powerless specially because Jesse is her friend. She loves him, she loves them both. But it’s obvious she doesn’t feel worthy of Dina, and when the pregnancy comes, it just pulls at her strings. She starts to go alone on missions, reckless crazy missions distancing herself from both of them to the point she crashes hard and makes Nora talk. 

Ellie much to our liking and hate, grew up under the care of Joel, a sweet and wonderful man with his own troubles but a great problem of sharing his feelings, something I feel was passed to Ellie. She doesn’t speak of her feelings, she keeps them inside until they break her apart, so this descent wasn’t caused by just one simple happening, it was a collective of shitty feelings. And we could argue, “but its obvious Dina likes her!”. Well yeah, it’s obvious to us, but for someone that lost so much so fast, how obvious can it be?

Finding Abby is not just about revenge, is about having control over her life. That’s something she can do, she can find Abby kill her and get revenge for Joel. It keeps her grounded while slowly plummeling her into turning a monster. Because sometimes we hold onto the most stupid things just for the sake of being grounded, even if that thing destroys what’s left of us.

I know many people were angry at how a LGTB+ was treated but I personally don’t think this demise would be as hardcore if it had been a straight white girl. If this representation is good or bad its up to everyone’s opinion but I personally think Naughty Dog did a good job in here. I know people are tired of traumatic stories, but there’s a lot to chew in this game to just reduce it to “sad gay story”. For the instance, Ellie is consciously destroying her own life, personally I think because she felt she should be dead plus everything mentioned beforehand. When she leaves Jesse behind to go get Abby instead of saving Tommy that’s the point of no return.

Well, there’s more to unravel but I feel this post is long enough already and we still have Dina, Tommy, Jesse and Abby to talk about. So I’ll take a breather and keep writing later. Sorry for typos and keep safe.

[bluebellhairpin]

Nemo Watches ; Attack on Titan (S3)!

So I put up earlier (last night for me) that I’d simmer of the last few episodes of Attack on Titan (S3) and write up my ‘watching for the first time’ commentary on it. 

Here it is.

I started writing with about halfway through the third-last episode, so it all takes place after the Shiganshina Arc. Nevertheless, I’m still putting all the commentary under the cut to avoid spoilers for anyone who hasn’t seen it yet. 

I think I might do this for the S4 episodes I watch too, depends how you all like it. - Nemo

For context, this starts in the middle of the episode when Grisha is at the border of Marley and Paradis, kneeling and waiting to be turned into a titan with his fellow revolutionaries. 

I have left the commentary as un-edited as I can bear it to be. 

HIS SISTER WAS FED TO THE DOGS hOW HORRIBLE CAN YOU POSSIBLY BE TO DO THAT TO AN EIGHT YEAR OLD GIRL???? I’M PUKING A LITTLE RN NGL

What's the bet one of these guys from the Eladian Subjects of Ymir are goona turn into the smiling titan?

DINA DINA DINA SHES THE SMILING TITAN OHMYGOOOOOOOOODDDD

Push him off.

YES HE WAS PUSHED OFF EXCELLENT. 

EREN KURGER IS THE ATTACK TITAN?????? 

Yes! Wow. Okay. 

Pffft Eren and Grisha are wearing the same shirt. 

Why are the teenagers in cells? Armin and Eren I get - titan shifters - but Mikasa? What's she supposed to do? Accidently go Ackerman buckwild? 

They Handmaiden those Eladian women for Marley huh. Damn.

It's Always the sunset scenes. They're the emotional ones. The ones that push thy forth into a new beginning or something corny. 

ERENS STIKL 15 UEARS OLF. I CALL CHILD LABOUR. 

Oh so they’re like borderline criminals or something? That’s why they’re in the cells?

It was a love letter? I'm crying. Boo.

YMIR NOOOOOOO -

Historia Still so cute tho aha.

SASHA AND HER APPLES. GIRLS GOTSA EAT YAAAA!!!!

Hange do not put that idea in Eren's head you dumbass.

EREN YOU DUMBASS DON'T KEEP THESE THINGS TO YOURSELF I'M GONNA COME FOR YOU AND RIP YOU - 

Huh. Can he see the future? Eren KURGER tell me all your secrets. 

OH thank God, only one episode left of the season. Lets get it out of the way then, shall we?

Oh damn then I'll be all caught up. How odd. I've never been that before. 

These last few episodes have felt tedious. Is that just me?

Historia Setting things straight. 

LEVI LOOKING FINER THAN A SET OF CHINA TEACUPS. SERVE KING. YES.

Oh look, fine china teacups.

PFFFTTT LEVI JUST - oml, zero tact. I love it. 

If I ever EVER see Fletch - I'm gonna deck him. Then slam his face into the pavement. We anti-stan him here. 

I actually will. 

No I won't.

I kill him.

THANK YOU JEAN. Someone knows whats up. 

FLATSH. SHUT. UP. I AM THIS FONGING CLOSE BUDDY I SWEAR. ZIP THY MOUTH. 

Oh so they're metals. 

Aha, Historia, I wish that were me. 

THE FUCK WAS THAT HUH.

Why Eren got that face? It's so u g l y. 

Wow, A lot of titans in one year. Very efficient. I'm proud. 

SEAGULL. 

That titan looks like a potato. 

AHAHA THAT WALL. THE ONE FROM before. 

The horse hooves should not be making that noise on sand.

They look so in awe at the ocean. Wow. How wholesome. 

Hey, I did that today too Armin. 

JEAN DRANK THE,,,,, OMY THE BEACH EPISODE. HOW LOVELY. 

I'm glad to see Dad has healed up well tho, that's really good. 

SASHA I mean to say SASHA. 

Deadass tho, we’ll pause here for a sec because like - no one has ever mentioned Sasha got that hurt at Shiganshina? Why? Potato girl could’ve died and no one (the fandom, namely) said anything? 

EREN STOP BEING EMO YOU'RE RUINING THE VIBES.

EREN. THIS IS WHY I DON'T LIKE YOU. EREN. THIS IS THE START OF YOUR I N S A N I T Y. EREN. 

Hanges sea cucumbers tho *wink wonk*

[incorrectdeceptionquotes]

Fortuitous

A multi-chapter gift for @deceptionheadcanons based off of one of her wonderful fanfictions.

If you have not read her fanfiction Before and After... what are doing with your life? Go read it, you’ll... well, if you’re looking for fluff, you won’t thank me but if you’re looking for angst, go and behold that fanfiction!

Spoilers for her fanfiction below:

We have been talking about a slight AU from that fic where when Cameron grows up, instead of switching lives with Jonathan, he becomes a foster parent and takes care of kids the way Emma and Oliver took care of him and Jonathan when they were younger.

Cameron, Jonathan and their whole deception team help build children back up from their past traumas in order to help them find their new families. However, one little girl will give them a very different yet familiar experience.

“Alright, I think you’re all set.” Cameron smiled as he knelt down in front of a little boy with green eyes and curly dark brown hair. He placed a navy blue Monsters University backpack next to him. The boy’s little chin began to quiver and Cameron was quick to gently place his hands on the child’s shoulders, “Hey... hey, Lewis, look at me.”

Lewis pouted as his big eyes looked at Cameron and he clutched the teddy bear he was holding, “I’m going to miss you Cameron... and Johnny, and Dina, and Jordan, even Gunter.”

Cameron chuckled, “We’re going to miss you too buddy but remember, I left our numbers in your storybook so if you ever need anything, call us.” He ruffled Lewis’ hair, “And I mean anything, kiddo. Even if you just want to talk about Monsters University.”

“Do you... do you think they will like me?”

Cameron’s smile grew, “They’re going to love you. They’re going to be your family. You met them a few times and you like them, right?”

Lewis smiled and nodded, “Yeah, they’re really nice.”

“Well, there you go.” Cameron grinned, “Now, can I get a hug before you go?” Lewis nodded and wrapped his little arms around the magician’s neck, “Good luck buddy. We’re going to miss you.”

“Me too.” The little boy whispered.

Just then, there was a knock at the door. Cameron let go of the child and went to open the door to find Janice Salero, the same middle-aged woman he had seen multiple times over the past few years. Every time that there was a child, who needed to be fostered one-on-one, she brought the child to him and his team. Cameron, Jonathan and the others helped bring these kids come out of their shells, help show them that the world isn’t always going to be against them.

Long ago, Cameron and Jonathan thought they had no way out, they thought it would always be them against the world but thankfully things changed. Cameron and Jonathan were taken in by Emma and Oliver, and it wasn’t long before they adopted the brothers, making them feel loved and more importantly, safe. That’s what Cameron hoped to do for these kids, make them feel loved and safe until the time came for them to be adopted by a new family who could appreciate how amazing each of them were.

Cameron gave a small smile to the middle-aged woman, “Hello Mrs. Salero, we were just saying our goodbyes to Lewis.”

The older woman gave a slight nod, “Well, the Karlsons are excited to welcome their new son.”

“Hear that Lewis?” Cameron smiled down to the little boy, “And you were worried about them liking you. They’re excited to have you!”

Lewis giggled as Mrs. Salero held out her hand to the little boy. Lewis waved, “Bye Cameron! Thank you!”

Cameron smiled and gave him a tiny wave back, “Of course Lewis.”

(~**~)                  (~**~)                  (~**~)                  (~**~)

The next day, Cameron got a call from Janice Salero. There was a new child that had been brought in who desperately needed a faster home. Cameron, Jonathan and the others were more than happy to accept a new foster child to take care of.

A few days later, the middle aged woman returned to the Archive and with her was a tiny little girl. “This is Anna.” The small child looked down at feet and Cameron noticed that her shoes looked worn and way too big for her. Her auburn hair was messy and tangled and obviously had not been well kept. Mrs. Salero knelt down and placed a gentle hand on Anna’s shoulder, “Anna, this is Cameron. He and his family are going to be taking care of you for a little while.” Anna just whimpered slightly. “Don’t worry,” The older woman assured, “They’re not going to hurt you. They just want to help you.”

Cameron also knelt to the ground to try to reach the little girl’s eye level. When he got a closer look, he noticed that there were slight bruises on her face and she was far too skinny as her pajamas just hung off her shoulders and her cheeks barely filled out her face. His heart pained slightly but he gave her a friendly smile, “Hi Anna, I’m Cameron; it’s nice to meet you.”

Anna lifted her head slightly and looked at Cameron for a moment, her dull blue eyes taking in his appearance. Mrs. Salero gave her a tiny smile, “You’ll be staying here for a while.”

Cameron held out his hand, “Do you want to come meet everyone?”

Anna looked at his hand for a moment and then took a glace over his shoulder. Suddenly, she ripped herself from the social worker, ran past Cameron to the dining table, and huddled underneath into a little ball. Cameron and Mrs. Salero stood up and looked at the little girl under the table. “She was like that when we found her.” She said, referring to Anna hiding under the table.

“What happened to her parents?” Cameron asked as his heart broke at how scared the little girl looked.

“They were both heavily under the influence. There was a call in from a neighbour who suspected domestic violence after hearing screaming from the mother. The neighbours didn’t even know that they had a kid.”

“How old is she?”

���Four years old as of last month. The father was not only incredibly intoxicated when we found her but he is currently being charged with child and domestic abuse.”

“And the mother?”

She sighed, “Passed out drunk on the couch but also showed signs of having been abused. We’ll know more once she woken up in hospital.”

“She... Anna,” Cameron hesitated, “She hasn’t been...”

Mrs. Salero shook her head, “Thankfully, the abuse never went that far” She sighed once more as she whispered, “Unfortunately, as I’m sure you noticed, she was ill-treated quite a bit and underfed.” She shook her head, “And her environment was just filthy, the house looked like it had barely been cleaned at all. These were the only clothes she had that were intact.”

“Well, thankfully, when Dina heard we were getting a girl to take care of for a little while, she went and got a couple outfits. I’m sure something will fit.”

Mrs. Salero gave a small smile, “Well, I should be off. If there are any issues you can’t handle, give me a call.”

Cameron nodded, “Of course.”

The social worker walked out, closing the door behind her. Cameron looked at the little girl hiding under his dining room table. He remembered how scared he was when he and Jonathan had been taken away by social services. However they were much older than Anna, they were aware of exactly what was happening. He wasn’t even sure if Anna knew what was happening.

Jonathan walked in with a smile on his face, “So, is the new kid here?”

“Yeah...” Cameron gave a sad smile and motioned his head to the dining table.

Jonathan looked over and saw the tiny girl curled up like a baby armadillo. His gaze turned sorrowful as he was suddenly reminded of how Cameron used to be. How Cameron would curl up just like that when he was upset. Of course, Cameron hadn’t been distressed like that in years but the memory was still fresh in his mind like it was just yesterday. “She’s been hurt.”

“Yeah.”

Jonathan winced slightly as a question occurred to him, “Was she-”

“No,” Cameron quickly shook his head, “Thank God it didn’t go that far.”

“She looks terrified.” Jonathan said, not realizing he was thinking out loud.

“She hasn’t even said anything yet.”

“Maybe you could call Mom and Dad and ask them what to do?”

“How would they know-” Jonathan shot Cameron an amused look. The younger twin’s face gained a slight pink colour, “Oh... right.”

“I’m just saying that they might be able to help.” He gave his brother a small smile, “They always want to.”

“That’s not a bad idea.” Cameron let out a tiny chuckle, “Although, knowing Mom, she’ll probably show up with like a hundred freshly baked cookies.”

“You say that like it’s a bad thing.” Both brothers shared a silent smile which quickly faded when their eyes fell on the frightened little girl, still hugging her knees.

(~**~)                  (~**~)                  (~**~)                  (~**~)

About half an hour went by; Cameron had been sitting near the dining table, fiddling with his phone waiting for Anna to say... something, anything. He looked over to the table and found Anna’s big blue eyes looking at him before she noticed that he caught her staring. She was quick to look down and hugged her knees closer to her chest.

He felt his chest tighten. There must be some way to make this little girl smile. He racked his brain. She clearly wasn’t the talking type. He glanced at her and noticed her tracing her finger on the floor. He smiled as he rose from his seat.

He came back with a couple of colouring books in hand along with a box of crayons. He sat down on the floor, slightly under the table but not getting too close to Anna. He placed the materials down in front of her, “I figured that it can’t be much fun just sitting here with nothing to do.” She didn’t respond. He knew he probably wasn’t going to get her to talk but he wanted to make sure she knew she was allowed to have fun. “Do you want to colour?” She still didn’t respond. He gave the tiniest of sighs but gave her a small smile, “You don’t have to if you don’t want to but if you want to, you can.” He opens the colouring book in his lap and grins, “Now if you don’t mind, this puppy needs to be coloured.”

She watched Cameron just colour the page of the book he was holding, not paying her much mind. She continued to watch him for a few minutes before she slowly picked up the other colouring book that he had placed in front her and took a few crayons out of the box. He didn’t lift his head but Cameron couldn’t help give a tiny smile to himself as Anna opened the colouring book. She looked at him with slight caution but when he didn’t show any negative reaction, her shoulders relaxed slightly. She flipped the pages until she got to a page with some characters from Sofia the First and she silently started colouring Sofia’s dress with a purple crayon.

They just continued to colour in silence for a good twenty minutes when, out of nowhere, somebody’s stomach started growling. Very loudly. Cameron couldn’t help but look up at the sound and saw Anna’s eyes widened in fear, “I’m sorry! I be quiet!” She exclaimed as she curled back up into a little ball.

Cameron’s eyes widened at the first words that came out of the little girl’s mouth since she had arrived. He shook his head and gave her a gentle smile, “Hey... hey, you didn’t anything wrong.” He gave a tiny chuckle, “You’re just hungry.” She just stared at him as she hugged her knees. “Do you want something to eat?”

She just stared at him for a few moments before she warily nodded her head.

Cameron’s smile grew the tiniest bit as he got out from under the table, “Okay, I’ll be right back.”

“Okay...” She whispered.

He went over to the kitchen. “Cameron?” He heard Dina call as she also walked in, “I heard our new friend has arrived. Where is the little darling?”

He gave a sad smile and motioned to the dining table, “I’m afraid we’re going to have to postpone the big movie night we had planned.”

Dina’s eyes found the little girl with messy red hair hiding under the table. Her heart broke at the sight, “She’s so small...” She looked to her friend, “How old is she?”

“She’s only four.”

“Has she said anything?”

“She just apologized for her stomach growling.” Cameron sighed, shaking his head, “She’s hungry and she thinks that’s something she had to hide.”

“I could make her a sandwich. Something simple.” Dina offered.

“Thanks D.”

“Of course.”

When Dina finished making a very effortless turkey sandwich with lettuce, tomato and mayo, she handed the plate to Cameron. “Thanks Dina, do you want to meet Anna?”

“Her name is Anna?” Dina gushed as Cameron nodded, “Oh, I’d love to but... I don’t want to overwhelm her.”

Cameron remembered his own experience of him and Jonathan having been taken away for their own good. He hadn’t wanted to speak to anyone and every single tiny change made him scared. He couldn’t do that to Anna. She needed to become comfortable with her new surroundings.

“You’re right...” He gave her a sheepish grin, “Maybe tomorrow.”

“Whenever she’s ready...” Dina took another quick look at her and smiled, “I’d love to meet her.”

“I hope you get to, soon.” Cameron smiled back as he went back to the dining table and carefully wiggled his way under the table once again.

Cameron gently placed the plate in front of Anna and made it a point to remind her that it was okay for her to eat it. She eyed the sandwich for a moment before her stomach growled again. She gingerly put down the crayons she was holding and went to pick up the sandwich. As she picked it up, Cameron realized just how tiny she was as she could barely bite into the sandwich. Once she took her first bite, she didn’t even lower her hands until she got halfway through which at that point, she placed the sandwich back onto her plate.

“You can keep eating if you want.” Cameron said.

She slowly shook her head, “Full.”

“Did you like it?” She slowly nodded her head which made him smile, “You can finish it later if you get hungry.” He noticed Anna look down at her hands which had some mayo on them. “Do you want to clean your hands?” She nodded, her cheeks turning a little pink upon noticing the sauce on her hands. Cameron got her to look at him as he somehow managed to pull a tissue out of thin air, earning him a great big smile from Anna who seemed to be amazed at his little trick. He helped her clean up and as she wiped down her hands with the napkin, he couldn’t help but notice some tiny faded scars on her palms. What had this child been through?

(~**~)                  (~**~)                  (~**~)                  (~**~)

A few hours went by as Anna began to warm up to Cameron a bit more as they managed to colour about ten more pages and the little girl even managed to finish her sandwich. Cameron smiled at seeing her finish her food. He remembered that he was quite the opposite when Emma and Oliver started taking care of him and Johnny.

“Full?” He asked.

“Yeah.” Anna whispered.

After a few moments, she let out a bit of a whimper. Cameron grew concerned, “What’s wrong?”

“I gotta go to the potty.”

“Oh!” Cameron exclaimed letting out a tiny chuckle, “There’s a bathroom right around the corner.” He noticed her hesitate, “I can stand by the door outside if you want. So nobody walks into the bathroom.”

She nodded, “Okay...”

Ten minutes later, Cameron led Anna back and sat under the table with her as they went back to colouring. It was very quiet until she let out a great big yawn. Her eyelids began to droop as she rubbed her eyes with a tiny fist.

Cameron smiled, “Tired?”

Anna nodded, “Sleepy.”

“Well, we have a bedroom all ready for you.” He offered, “Do you want to come see it?” Anna just hugged her knees. “What’s wrong?”

She sniffled, “Wanna be here...”

Cameron nodded as his face fell slightly. However, he could understand wanting to stay somewhere that felt safe and comfortable, “Okay.” He saw Anna smile a little bit. “Can I bring you a blanket and pillow?” It took a moment but the little girl nodded, “Okay, I’ll be right back.”

He left her for a moment and after a few minutes; he came back with a few blankets and pillows in hand. He set down a soft fluffy blanket so Anna wouldn’t be lying down on the cold hard floor. He set down a few pillows to give her a choice of which one she’d want to sleep on. Anna patted some of the pillows with a tiny smile, “Squishy.”

Cameron smiled, “Yeah, I got the squishiest pillows for you to sleep on.” Anna’s smile grew as she crawled onto the fluffy blanket and laid her head on the biggest pillow of the bunch. Cameron gently placed another blanket on top of her to keep her warm. “Oh, before I forget!” He exclaimed as he pulled a soft plush bear from behind his back, “Here’s a little friend to keep you company.” When he brought the bear down next to her but Anna’s smile faded and she was hesitant to take it. Cameron pursed his mouth before he thought of something, “Can I tell you a secret?”

Anna nodded before letting out a tiny; “Uh-huh.”

“Did you know that teddy bears like this little guy help defend against night monsters and bad dreams?”

“Really?” Anna looked at Cameron and the bear with wonder as she pulled the bear close to her and hugged it tightly.

“Yeah, they’re always gonna be there for you” Cameron smiled as Anna started to drift off to sleep, “Good night Anna.”

“Nigh’, nigh’.” Anna whispered.

Cameron moved out from under the table and gave a long look to the sleeping little girl before he got up. Jonathan walked over to him and saw the little girl sleeping under the table in the little DIY bed Cameron had made for her, “Couldn’t get her to come out from under there?”

Cameron shook his head with slight disappointment, “No... she’s still too scared to.”

Jonathan gave a sigh, “At least, she’s warmed up to you”

“You think?”

“She definitely didn’t mind you staying with her all day after a little while”

Cameron’s mouth twitched upwards, “That’s true.” He narrowed his eyes for a moment before saying, “Maybe I should stay out here tonight.”

“You sure Cam?”

“The couch does pull out.” He snapped his fingers, “And I should get her a nightlight, she might not like the dark.”

Jonathan chuckled as he watched his brother run off to get some old nightlight he just knows Cameron has hidden away somewhere.

(~**~)                  (~**~)                  (~**~)                  (~**~)

Later in the night when Anna woke up for a brief moment, she turned her head and cracked her eyes open. She noticed Cameron lying on the couch nearby but she didn’t feel the same unease she did when she would see her father asleep on the couch. She didn’t even notice her own mouth form a tiny smile as she hugged the soft teddy bear Cameron gave her and closed her eyes, letting sleep take over. For the first time in forever... she finally felt safe.

Hope you enjoyed the first chapter and let me know what you thought, hopefully I can get the next chapter out sooner rather than later and until then, have a nice day <3