#sunny doesn't get paid enough for what she deals with

[lakesbian]

Dearest Aisha, I hope this letter finds you well on this horrible sunny day. I’m leaving you this message because my heart is twisted in twain, and you must know that it’s not you, it’s me. What we had was wonderful, but alas, my future in the Bay is either woefully short or non-existent and as such I must bid you adieu. Or in plain English, I’m leaving because this whole plan Glory and Taylor cooked up isn’t my thing and would just put a target on my back. Maybe things would’ve been different if we weren’t pulling up the curtain, but oh well. Try not to be too upset about it. I left the playstation behind, and feel free to save over my old files. Say bye to the others for me, just don’t be too mushy about it. -Alec.

JESUS. WHY DO PEOPLE THINK HE TALKS LIKE THIS. alec wouldnt say bid you adieu if you paid him. or Twain. or Dearest Aisha. oh my god hed gag before saying dearest aisha. hang on we need a full count off of the sins here

the base premise that he didn't discuss his feelings about victoria and taylor's plan with aisha beforehand is absurd--they're extremely communicative with each other

the base premise that taylor would go along with anything victoria cop dallon said in the first place is insane and makes me want to see the person op thinks victoria is killed badly by bugs

the base premise that Aisha is fine with victoria cop dallon's plans instead of going "alec isnt this fucking sucks." is insane.

the base premise that alec is the only undersider not okay with victoria cop dallon's plans is also insane. I'm going to be real with you they would kill her immediately and without hesitation for alec and they dont even like him that much.

again, it's absurd to act as if aisha and alec are noncommunicative enough that he would drop this on her as opposed to telling her he was considering leaving off the bat. also i think she has enough wrong with her that she would want to go with him. but i digress, that's besides the point because

alec would not want to leave without aisha in the first place. people latch on so hard to him casually suggesting leaving the undersiders in that one early chapter but like. he's doing that bc it's in the context of a hypothetical scenario where his dad is getting after him. he always unequivocally backs them & follows their lead when they get into Shit That Is Not About Him--he's just both not wanting 2 burden the undersiders w/ having 2 deal w/ his dad + assuming that they wouldn't necessarily Want to help. once they say they would help he's like. oh ok. and this is certainly the last time he ever even considers leaving. those are the only ppl he has he's not walking his ass out of there. he Thinks he doesn't care but in any situation where he's at risk of exiting or losing one of them he leans HARD into backing them up. e.g. knocking himself unconscious to help brian sacrificing himself for aisha suggesting leaving town As A Team when the s9 is there and explicitly mentioning stopping to pick up rachel first. his actions demonstrate how he feels even if he isnt consciously aware of it. this entire situation is cartoonishly implausible but even if it did happen he would just not react this way

anyway the fic literally just ends like this.

A/N: And so the curtain rises. Or sets? Maybe it’s an interlude? Or a intermission? I didn’t really think this metaphor through. Writing Alec is hard, but I’m hoping I managed well here. No, this is not an elaborate rug pull or “oh he shows up later”. Alec is gone. He doesn’t show up for the rest of the story. And the reasoning for that should be laid out pretty clearly here. Maybe in another world, where Tori and Taylor resolved the communication issue before this point, they could’ve had that conversation. But they didn’t and he didn’t. So the only way out was out. Alec was never going to be willing to unmask. And with that knowledge, what happened last chapter should be a lot clearer. Today’s rec is an essay on Alec’s Costume by ewingstan on Tumblr, which does an excellent job breaking down his character in terms of psychology and code switching between his cape self and who he is regularly. Or rather, how there’s not much difference at all. I’ll see you all next week.

YOU DID NOT MANAGE WELL. HOW ARE YOU READING AND LINKING GOOD ALEC POSTS (albeit ones i had a bit 2 expand on but like. Its a good post it stands on its own.) but not internalizing Any Of Them. my god. this is so funny. there he goes fucking off into the sunset leaving literally his entire life behind because op understands nothing about him. resti n peace boy. ok thus concludes my Complaining. i'd apologize but its my blog and i can do what i want forever

[biillys]

no context cos who needs that. anyway. love it here. thanku @ breaking bad for letting me borrow ur villains.

anyway. here's some billydaryl becos i'm feeling brave and also becos i can.

“you bring your kid with you to fuckin’ deals?” the guy spits at him, throwing his cigarette on the ground and stomping on it.

billy feels his heart stop and slowly backs away from him, making it a few steps before fucking bolting for the truck. when he makes it, he yanks the door open and finds sunny sitting up in her seat, a piece of paper on her lap and pen in her hand, and a fucking snackbox of chicken nuggets and fries sitting beside her. 

“hi, daddy. are we going yet?” she asks, smiling up at him.

billy feels relief flood his veins at seeing her safe, then fucking dread and paranoia take over, slowly turning back to face the stranger who now not only knew he had a kid with him, but apparently got close enough to give her colouring in, to fucking feed her.

“what do you want?” he asks, swallowing thickly, suddenly feeling heavy. 

the guy gets up close and personal, stepping right up to his face. “i want you to sort your shit, and stop bringin’ her on fuckin’ drug runs.”

billy swallows again, his mind going a mile a minute, trying to get his head around the fact that there's now four entire people in the world that know about sunny’s existence. billy, todd, sunny herself, and now this random stranger from the parking lot of one of todd’s buddies bar. fuck.

billy looks at him, feeling his eyes fucking well up. “i can’t,” he breathes out. wants to yell at him, ask him if he thinks he fucking chose this.

“can’t? or won’t?” the guy asks, his leather vest catching the streetlight. 

billy closes his eyes and clenches his fist, quickly turning to look at sunny who’s watching on apprehensively, before turning back. “i can’t,” he pushes out, voice cracking. “i don’t have a fucking choice.”

the guy steps back slightly, his face going from angry to slightly worried, still mainly angry though. he flicks a look over billy's shoulder to sunny, before focusing back on him. “you one’a jack’s crew?”

billy’s blood freezes. he takes his own step back and feels his back hit the truck door. no one that knows jack or todd is someone billy can trust. this guy’s probably already got his hand on his phone, ready to call billy’s personal monster the second he floors it out of here. 

he doesn't respond.

“todd’s a piece of shit, get a new fuckin’ job, man,” the guy eventually says, giving billy another look before turning to walk away. 

billy watches him leave, eyes glued to the angel wings on the back of his vest. 

he has no fucking idea what just happened, but he thinks he might actually be safe. with the way his face twisted whwn he said todd’s name, billy doesn't think the guy's gonna rat him out about meeting sunny. not that billy thinks todd will care, since he’s the one that made billy bring her in the first place, but it wouldn’t be the first time todd’s put him between a rock and a hard place and expected miracles.

the next week, billy triple checks the carpark before leaving sunny.

“we don’t talk to strangers, we don’t take food from strangers, and we don’t get out of the truck,” he repeats, hand on the door handle before turning to look at her one last time. “i’ll be back before you know it, okay, just stay down.”

sunny stares at him, face scared.

he holds his pinky out and waits for sunny to slowly interlock her own with his, then shakes.

“okay, daddy.”

he swallows, gently tucking a lock of her hair behind her ear, before pushing himself out of the truck. 

inside, he deals with the usual crowd, giving ceaser his stock then handing out merle’s and axel’s. gives phillip’s and joe’s theirs, too, counting out the money they paid him, then finally, he splits.

he makes it two steps out of the bar before noticing the guy from last week. 

stopping dead in his tracks, he takes in how close the guy is, the way he’s leaning through the truck’s open window–a window that was rolled up when he left but is now somehow fucking open–and is just–talking to sunny. having a fucking conversation with her. 

suddenly, billy feels every bit of anger and pain and unfairness he’s buried down for the past five years. 

he’s gonna fucking scream.

who the fuck does this guy think he is?

sunny’s four, and this guy can’t stay away? 

billy’ll fucking kill him. 

“get the fuck away from her,” billy basically growls, coming up behind him.

the guy spins around, his eyes wide, but before billy can do anything, sunny shouts out to him, happy as fucking anything.

“look, daddy! he got me sauce this time! have you ever had sauce?”

billy looks at her then and finds her face covered in ketchup, a half eaten nugget in her mouth and a bitten nugget clutched in her hand. 

billy can only feed her what todd buys them back home, and todd’s fucking stingy with the groceries. it's ramen noodles on a good day, and moldy bread on the bad, and billy hasn't had nuggets or chips since before, let alone fucking sauce. he hates himself in that moment for feeling jealous. knows he should be happy that she’s experiencing something normal for once. that her world’s expanding. meeting new people and trying new foods. all the things billy dreams about giving her, but can’t.

as quick as it came, the fight drains out of him, and he’s just so fucking tired. looks at the tomato sauce covering her face and hands and just wants to climb into the truck and take a bite for himself.

“what’d we say about talking to strangers, and eating food strangers give us?” he asks tiredly, scrubbing a hand down his face.

sunny freezes, mid-chew, looking at him with sheepish eyes. “not to?” she screws her face up then, suddenly looking defensive. “but he’s not a stranger, his name is daryl!”

“knowing a stranger’s name doesn't make them not a stranger, punk,” he replies, looking at daryl cautiously.

daryl chooses that moment to back off slightly, taking a few steps back. they stare at each other for a moment silently before billy makes a move to get in the truck, and this time, daryl doesn’t have any parting words for him. billy gets in and floors it out of there. 

billy spends a lot of time between that drop and the next drop attempting to teach sunny about stranger danger.

it’s not easy, though, considering sunny’s world consists of only three entire people, and before daryl, it was only two. 

she knows other people exist, of course, billy’s told her enough stories over the years for her to know about max, her aunt who's a badass on a skateboard and has bright red hair. that billy has a mum somewhere in california, and the second they can, they're gonna go track her down and find her. she knows he grew up with a best friend named argyle, before he got ripped away from that home and planted in hawkins, indiana. but all those people are just stories to her, and even though he tries to make them as real as possible, he knows she thinks of them like she thinks of all her bedtime stories. 

nothing but a tale.

after struggling with it for a few nights, billy cracks.

“you just got me, okay, kid?” it comes out harsher than he intended, and he fucking hates himself when he catches her flinch.

forcing himself to take a deep breath, he turns around to face her fully from where he was scrubbing a plate. 

“you’ve just got me, and i’ve only got you,” his voice wobbles, threatening to break. fuck, he’s such a shit fucking dad. all she’s trying to do is understand the world and he can't even explain the concept of people to her without making her cry. he swipes a hand at his nose before quickly sitting down beside her, letting her curl up into his side.

“remember,” he murmurs into her hair, placing a gentle kiss there before tugging her in close and hugging her tight. “it’s just you–” he pokes her, “–and me–” he tickles her, getting a small giggle, “–against the world. we don't need no one else, yeah?”

she blinks up at him, eyes wet, then slowly nods. “i remember.”

she cuddles in close again, tucking her head under his chin, and he lets his head fall back and stares up at the ceiling of the peice of shit buried rv, trying not to break down.

god, all she’s got is him–a complete and utter fuck up that has absolutely no business being a dad. she should be out there in the real world; making friends, learning things, eating birthday cake, playing with fucking toys. she should be living life like a typical four year old, with the entire world at her fingertips. not living in some hole in the fucking ground, eating mold, and living in fucking rags. 

he just hopes that one day, if they ever get free, she’ll forgive him. 

for not being enough.

touching a hand to his stomach where he can feel it getting firmer, he stuffs a fist in his mouth as a sob threatens to break through. 

he prays they can forgive him, too. 

“what's your favourite-ist food, daddy?” sunny asks without even looking up, too busy colouring in a falling-to-bits colouring-in book that todd gave her months ago.

billy puts the book down that he was reading, a book he's read quite literally over fifty times now, but its one of seven that todds gave him, and it’s the least boring one he’s got.

he doesn't remember an exact favourite food or its taste, just vaguely remembers eating fucking everything, whenever he wanted. remembers the way he used to be able to go to the cupboard or fridge in the kitchen, and there’d be options. his dad might've been tight on what billy was allowed to just open, getting riled up about food waste and what not, but still, it was an option. susan used to cook dinner most nights, and on special occasions like max’s birthday, or the night they moved to hawkins, they had takeaway. 

he remembers fast food, and milkshakes, and susans shitty casserole. he remembers pizza, and birthday cake, and a thanksgiving spread. he remembers argyles mum’s special after school brownie, and the way he ate four pieces and made himself sick.

he tries to tell her about all of them, but when she looks at him lost and overwhelmed, he decides to dial it back and focus on one thing.

“me and max sometimes used to go to the takeaway shop, on summer break. we’d go after she’d stacked it on her board too many times and i couldn't be bothered surfing anymore,” he starts, trying to keep emotion out of it. “and she’d ask for ketchup on her fries, and since i was a dickhead older brother, i’d tell them to put barbecue sauce on them instead.”

sunny puts down the crayons she was using to look at him.

“what's that?”

billy rubs a hand down his face before sinking into his seat further, taking a deep breath.

‘i don't even know how to describe it, punk. it’s like–wait, you know what daryl gave you last week? nuggets and fries, right? so, fries are just like–okay, so. imagine bread–carbs–but deep fry it, and also make it not moldy. and then fish is like–” he stops, trying to figure out where to even start. “it's like–deep fried as well, but fish is salty, i guess.” he pauses, thinking about it. “well, it actually depends on what kind of fish you get," he corrects, “and then sauce is just, like, sugar with flavouring. sort of,” he concludes lamely, shrugging. “ketchup's meant to be tomato flavoured, and it's as red as shitbird’s hair was. you had some, remember? and barbecue sauce is brown, so it kind of looks like shit. max hated it. was probably the only reason i liked it.” 

sunny says nothing.

billy wants to bang his head against the wall. that was the world's worst explanation, and he knows it. sunny’s only ever had those two deep fried things in her life, just three days ago, and sauce? his kid’s barely even tasted sugar.

sunny beams at him, though, when he finally looks at her, completely captivated. 

“one day i wanna have fish and fries, and i wanna have ketchup and barbie sauce,” she dreams, her eyes wide. 

billy chokes on the lump in his throat.

“one fuckin’ day, punk. i promise.”

on their way out to the drop the next week, sunny shoots him troubled looks the entire way. 

pulling into the car park, billy turns to her, waiting expectantly. 

sunny doesn't make him wait long.

“is daryl a stranger, daddy? because i love nuggets.”

billy stares at her wordlessly then sighs.

“if daryl brings nuggets, then i guess–” he stops, taking a second to compose himself. can’t actually believe he’s letting this happen. “then i guess you can have them. but do not leave this truck, you hear me?”

she smiles the worlds biggest smile at him, and billy thinks the only reason he doesn't fucking hate todd down to his core is because of this. because she looks so much like him when she smiles, or laughs, and billy spent so long worrying he would resent her when she came, but turns out, he loves her more than life itself. she’s all he has, even if she did come from the worst thing in his life.

“please–just, stay in the truck, okay?”

“okay, daddy.”

daryl leans against the wall in the alleyway, watching as the guy gets out of his truck then heads inside the bar.

blowing out a lungful of smoke, he keeps one eye on the entire car park, and another eye on the truck.

he doesn't have to wait long before the kid pokes her head up, pulling faces in the window then drawing pictures with her fingers in the fog of her breath.

he takes another quick surveillance of the car park before quickly ducking in the sidedoor of the bar kitchen, grabbing a takeaway box filled with nuggets and chips and sauce that he ordered earlier–just in case–before quickly ducking back outside.

slowing his stride down considerably and making sure he's as unthreatening as possible, he crosses the car park and quietly knocks on the driver's side window.

thinks–this is the creepiest thing he’s ever done, trying to befriend a fucking child, but then the kids face lights up at the sight of him, and she basically dives over to her dad's side of the car to press the unlock button on the door.

daryl opens the door and passes along the box of food.

“hi!” she exclaims, grabbing it from him and digging in, and daryl winces. she may as well’ve just yelled it. he quickly checks the car park again, and when he finds it still empty, he focuses back on her.

“i’m just gonna–” he starts, then rolls down the window before stepping back and closing the door. taking a step back in, he folds his arms and rests them on the now open window sill, and settles in.

“you good?” he asks, not knowing why he gives such a shit about this whole situation, just knows he does. 

he went from thinking her dad was a piece of shit, to thinking maybe there's something going on, with the way he looked when he said he didn't have a choice. hasn’t figured out whether he believes him yet, but aside from sitting shotgun to drug runs, this kid seems well-loved. still, doesn't hurt to keep an eye out. daryl knows too many kids that got caught up in this shit from lowlife parents, grew up right along side them. most of them never got out. daryl barely has.

“i love nuggets,” is all she says, then she holds one out for him.

“nah, i’m good. all yours, kid,” he waves her off.

she grins at him then looks down at her feast, fingers hovering over which nugget to pick next.

“daryl. do you have bar-bee sauce?” she asks next, screwing her face up when she can’t get the right word out. “barbie sauce. bee-bee?”

“barbecue sauce?” he offers, watching her eyes go wide and her head start nodding frantically.

“yes! bar-bee-que sauce! daddy says it’s his favorite, and he hasn’t had it since before,” she explains, sorting her food out and splitting it all in half, placing some on the lid side of the box and leaving the rest in the container part. “and he hasn't had nuggets, or fries, or ice-cream, or cake, or pizza. daryl,” she asks, looking up with a confused look on her face, “what’s pizza?”

daryl stares at her blankly, trying to keep up with the conversation. the past two times she’s barely spoken to him, this is a whole new side of her.

“uh, pizza’s like–i don’t know,” he shrugs, biting at his nail when she gives him an unimpressed look. “just pizza, i guess.”

“that means nothing to me,” she sasses back, all attitude.

he nods to where she’s arranging her food, “you gonna share that with your dad?” he questions, trying to figure out what she meant when she said ‘before’. before he started working for jack? before he moved to georgia? before he had a kid? feels weird to stop having pizza, of all things, for any of those occasions, though.

“yep. he’s gonna be so excited. he’s always puking, and i’m always holding his hair back. but he says if todd gave us good food that wasn’t moldy, then he wouldn't be sick all the time, and he could eat. daryl, is this moldy?” she asks, holding up a fry, reaching her hand out as far as it can go so daryl can inspect it closely.

daryl takes a long and hard look, all for show, then gives her a thumbs up. “all good. no mold.” 

she grins up at him again then starts eating from her stash. “good.”

“you want me to get some barbecue sauce for you? so you can surprise him?” he asks awkwardly, not really knowing what to do now he’s pretty sure she's not like, actively being abused and in need of help.

“oh please! please please please! yes!” she shouts, almost tipping the snackbox off her lap. 

daryl snorts then nods at her, telling her to lay low again and he’ll be back. thinks her dad will probably be back out soon, since he always seems to be straight in and out, no fucking around.

ducking back in the kitchen, he grabs a few barbecue sauce sachets, then at the last minute, steals another box of nuggets and chips and two sodas.

heading back out to the truck, he presents the kid with his haul.

“more nuggets!” she yells, before her eyes catch the drinks. “wow, what are those?” she asks, mesmerised.

“soda,” daryl says, passing her one. he watches her shake it and turn it around, looking at every part of it, then look back up at him. 

“what do i do with it?”

daryl feels himself stare at her. knows she’s a fucking kid, and by the sounds of it, a sheltered one at that, but still. how can you not know what a can of soda is, let alone how to open it and drink it. her dad’s a fucking drug dealer, you can't tell him that he’s one of those freaks who doesn't allow sugar in the house.

just as daryl’s about to take it back and open it for her, he hears the front door of the bar open. looking over, he sees her dad walking their way and braces himself for whatever mood he’s about to deal with.

sunny seems to catch her dad walking over as well, and immediately unbuckles her seatbelt and kneels up on the seat, showing off her haul. her dad’s steps slow as he takes it in and he turns to daryl with wide-eyes.

“daddy, we got you barbecue sauce! i told daryl it was your favorite-ist, and he went and got some! and, he got soda!” she announces, holding up the can to him as he reaches her door. 

billy brings his hand up to shush her, looking around the deserted car park before opening her door. she launches herself forward and into his arms and he catches her with ease, but he looks straight at daryl from over her shoulder, looking fucking blindsided.

daryl thought this guy was in his twenties, even his thirties before he got a closer look at him, but now, standing right in front of him, no posturing or outbursts getting in the way, daryl’s starting to doubt he’s even cracked eighteen. jesus fucking christ. how the hell’s he wound up working for todd and jack already.

the guy eyes the food and the drinks then looks back at daryl. 

“you can have ‘em, don’t want ‘em back. you’re good, man,” he nods at him, trying to come off as non-threatening as possible. 

the kid mentioned her dad had been throwing up a lot, and standing there and taking him in, daryl can honestly say that the guy looks like shit. like he hasn’t showered in a while, or cut his hair. like he hasn’t eaten, or slept, or smiled, or even fucking existed. 

he looks like what daryl imagines ghosts would look like. like they're hanging on by a thread, tethered by one single reason left to exist, and the knife to cut the string is hovering just out of sight.

the dad’s hand slowly inches forward and swipes a fry, dipping it in the brown sauce. bringing it to his mouth, he closes his eyes as he puts it in, and when he finishes it, he opens his eyes back up to look at him, and daryl realises he’s crying.

“thank you,” he manages to get out, wrapping both arms tight around his daughter again and burying his face in her hair, his shoulders shaking slightly.

“daddy, are you okay?” she pulls back enough to ask, wrapping her arms loosely around his neck.

her dad nods jerkily and wipes at his eyes. “yeah, sun. i just fucking miss home.”

“and your sister? who has red hair?” she checks, then double checks, making her dad laugh. 

“yeah. i miss mad max and her fugly hair.”

the kid turns to him then, still hanging off her dad’s neck. “daryl, have you ever met someone with red hair. dad says his sister has red hair, but that's crazy. you can’t have red hair.”

daryl’s about to bullshit a reply when suddenly the front door of the bar opens.

the dad all but throws sun down in her seat, looking completely fucking terrified.

daryl decides then and there he’s gonna do whatever he can to help. doesn't know what shit they're involved in, but–fuck it. 

everyone's involved in shit in this part of town. him and this guy basically run in the same circles anyway, if he’s his brothers dealer, and daryl works at the bar he conducts business at.

he nods at the dad to get in the truck before taking a step back, casually making his way over to dwight who just stumbled out. 

distracting him with shoptalk, he watches as the guy climbs in the truck quietly before starting the engine, throwing his arm over dwight’s shoulder when dwight automatically goes to look over. 

“how’s sherry likin’ your new hours, man? glenn said negan’s runnin’ that place into the ground.”

dwight takes the bait, going on a rant about how negan knows what he’s doing, there's just gonna be an adjustment period is all. daryl couldn't give less of a fuck. just needs the dad and the kid to fucking leave already.

finally, their truck passes, and daryl drops his arm and stops, pulling his pack of smokes out.

“you good to get home like this?”

“what, you gonna drive me home, dixon?” dwight laughs, making it to his piece of shit toyota.

“get fucked.”

[gracland]

alec stifled a chuckle at the dismay riddled in her voice over something as inconsequential as ‘too short bangs’ that wouldn’t fit the look ( not that he would ever speak that thought into existence in fear of receiving a lecture in return ). in her tangent to convince him to go to this halloween party, she had mentioned the costume contest and something about a couples category, but truth be told, he hadn't paid enough attention to capture every detail of what she'd said outside of saying yes ( almost instantly ) to being her date. he was determined to share a successful first halloween with her which meant executing his boyfriend duties to the absolute fullest — even if it also translated into watching how to lose a guy in ten days with her and agreeing to go as andie and ben. the best part of this whole deal was how simple and matter-of-fact ben's look was: a black suit and tie. getting to forego an uncomfortable, tacky costume was more than ideal. "i'm sure you'll look perfect, long bangs and all." he said right as morgan finally walked out of the bathroom, his cerulean irises drinking her in. she looked unbelievably gorgeous in the nearly identical sunny yellow gown that andie wore in the movie, her bangs that she insisted were too long framing her face perfectly. "shut up, ugly doesn't even exist in my vocabulary to describe you. you're nothing short of stunning, mor. and that's still an understatement at best." alec stood up and took her hand, giving her a little twirl before leaning in to kiss her forehead. "i'm the luckiest guy in the whole damn world."

“my bangs are too long and it's ruining the entire look!” morgan called from her bathroom. the place was a mess, which was very unlike morgan. makeup littered the counter, various gold tinted products scattered along the sink. every year, one of her friends from law school threw a halloween party. she went all out — going as far as creating a 'judges panel’. they voted for a few categories — one of them being best couples costume. despite alec meeting her friends before, this was the first time they'd be a matching item together. when they stumbled across andie anderson and ben barry, she knew they'd crush it together. finding a costume was the fun part — making it perfect was another story. tugging at her bangs again in hopes that they'd magically shorten, morgan let out a huff before pulling open the bathroom door. “do you think i have time to trim them or do i have to go looking ugly?” a playful pout formed, dramatically placing her hands on her hips as she stepped closer to alec.

[exhaustedly-orbiting]

"Please just take a breath."

"But why would she kiss me like that if she didn't like me?!"

Well that was a fair point, Sunny gave her friend a sympathetic look as she watched Taeyeon pace back and forth. They had been rambling out what had just happened at the Jung sisters party.

Jessica had suggested a game of the classic, spin the bottle.

"We are all adults, we can have fun right?" she had said after downing the last sip of soju left in the bottle and placing it on the coffee table.

With all of their friends tipsy enough the game was going fine. Most of the kisses were silly little pecks on the corner of the lips or cheek. Maybe a forehead kiss like when Jessica's spin landed on her sister Krystal of course. But otherwise things were still tame.

That was until it came to Tiffany's turn. Taeyeon felt herself both hoping and dreading for the bottle to land on her. She and Tiffany were really becoming close friends but she didn't want to come on too strong. Especally after Tiffany's still fresh break up.. but maybe that was why she acted how she did. Nichkhun was at the party with his pals after all.

Maybe that was why when the bottle landed on Taeyeon, Tiffany gave a giddy squeal of happiness. She came over with all the fanfare of a show about to be preformed. The giddiness from her washed over all those playing the game and even drew in people from the outskirts of the game who were just vaguely watching. Tiffany was nothing if not a brightness that drew in attention.

Taeyeon felt her entire body warming with all the attention starting to be placed on her. How could she get out of this when it's something she wanted? Sensing the tension when close enough Tiffany whispered a flirty, "Don't worry Tae, I'll take it easy on you," before leaning in and capturing her lips in a tender kiss.

Taeyeon's eyebrows rose but her eyes remained shut, this felt better than she had thought it could, but she was reminding herself not to want more, this should be ending soon... but it didn't.

In fact, it grew deeper. She felt a nip at her bottom lip and couldn't help but part her own slightly, giving enough of an opportunity for a warm tongue to glide across her lip. She had to fight back a sound from escaping her as the sounds of their friends making cheers quickly drew her back to reality.

And almost as if the moment never happened, Tiffany gave her another peck before pulling away completely.

""You have such soft lips Tae." Who says that after you kiss?!" Taeyeon yelled before flopping down on the couch besides her best friend.

Sunny patted her friend's head in a soothing manner, "Well.. I suppose we will just have to ask her and find out then huh?"

[monty-glasses-roxy]

to add to the freddy, bonnie and chica soft tail upgrade headcanon, what did their friends think of their new soft tails? i imagine gregory liked how fluffy freddy's new tail is and roxy helped chica dye her new tail to make it colorful (in the past, foxy was the only one of the original 4 with a tail, he still has his fluffy tail in the present day)

Roxy would be so happy for them. She'd be saying things like "It's about time you guys got tails." and stuff, giving 'protips' like "don't catch it in a door dumbass" and "yeah Chica your tail gives away how you're feeling now. Suck it up buttercup welcome to my fucking world." She and Chica definitely spend a long while figuring out how to maintain Chica's tail feathers and Roxy finds the way they flutter when she's happy or flare when she's annoyed adorable.

Monty is basically reacting the same way. Just "yeah watch out for the door, Chi." but shows up with a comb to help Bonnie and Freddy untangle the fluff on theirs. He takes any excuse to touch those tails they're so fucking soft he thinks they're so damn cute. He's so happy they got one and is laughing with Roxy and Foxy over Chica adjusting to it giving her every feeling away.

Foxy loves them. He's also saying things like "about time too." and stuff. He's actually trying to coach Chica on how to control her tail feathers so she doesn't give away her emotions so much and how to untangle the fluff. He convinces Roxy to help with that eventually. He's much more helpful than Roxy and Monty about it. Definitely thinks they're all cuter with these tails though.

Sunny has bear hugged the three of them about a dozen times, he's so excited for them. He makes sure they celebrate the new upgrades in DJ's club and he's not taking no for an answer! He's trying to stop Foxy from teaching Chica how to control the tail feathers because he doesn't understand why anyone would even want to stop the happy lil fluttering. Is definitely bugging staff to update the plushies sooner rather than later.

Moon loves them. He thinks they're adorable too. Will they admit it? No. Absolutely not. Gets an excuse to touch them and takes it though. Is also bugging staff about the plushies needing updating because the kids deserve accuracy and they really wanna see the tails on the lil plushies too.

DJ Music Man is throwing them a party at Sunny's insistence and is thrilled to see everyone so happy about this new upgrade. He thinks it's cute and all but doesn't entirely get what the big deal is. He sees Chica's feathers flutter when Roxy says something to her and he's like "oh... I see why they're celebrating that's adorable." He's happy for them, and idly wonders what it'd be like to have a tail himself even if he'd never get one. He's curious!

The Minis think this is great and all but are like "why do they get an upgrade like that when we still have to live in the vents because management want us dead :(" They're happy for them though! They all seem happy about it so the minis are too! They deserve it! The Minis are also laughing over Chica's emotions being so much more obvious now. Like, they were obvious before but now they're glaringly so and she keeps getting lightheartedly frustrated over it. It's good entertainment!

Vanessa isn't paid enough to care. However! She silently thinks it's neat but also how come they can afford that and not afford to give her raise, hm? Doesn't seem fair.

[sunnysviolin]

currently having so many thoughts about aubrey getting sick of her moms mess one day and packing her bunny into her carrier and just leaving... she drifts about friends houses for a while before basil braves up to ask if she's okay :(( she's all out of energy + too stubborn to go home so she doesn't bother arguing and lets him take her to see polly (sorry me again with aubrey ramblings pls tell me to shush if you dont vibe w it)

Wow....I love this so much so I’m gonna combine it with that ask I got the other day and noodle on this a bit. Hope you don’t mind me taking your idea and running nonnie!!!

This got really long and kind of intense, so I’m putting it under a Read More. There’s also gonna be way more ahead!! This AU has caught me. But y’all Serious warning for emotional child abuse and neglect. Aubrey’s mother is decidedly not a good person, and their relationship is very damaged. Read only if you know you mentally can handle it, and no shame in skipping this. This part of it is heavy.  TW: Child abuse and neglect. TW: Alcoholism TW: Running Away TW: Homelessness

In the end it’s the rain that does it. The rain, the drafts in their weary old house, and the bucket that sits in the corner of her room next to her half broken laundry basket

On the last night Aubrey spends in her mother’s house the rain is coming down in freezing icy sheets. It’s bitterly cold, and she is weary. 

The summer of her 16th year has come and gone, and they are firm into the grip of September. It was a summer that had changed everything in her life. A summer where she found her way back to her chosen family, while becoming more isolated than ever from her real family. She had spent almost every hour out of the house- riding scooters with her gang, reconnecting with Basil, finding her way back into Kel’s loyal heart, letting her walls down around Hero, even discovering a hidden strength within her to forgive Sunny.  

It was the best summer of her life, even beating out the perfect summers spent in her childhood with Mari. In those days Aubrey had been naive. She didn’t know what she had, she just assumed she would always have it. This summer she had seen every experience for what it was- a gift. 

Fall coming had been difficult. Really almost nothing had changed, except it had. 

Hero had gone back to college, promising to visit at every chance he could. Aubrey had pushed down the spike of jaded denial that had risen up inside her at his words, and put her arm around Kel who was misty eyed saying goodbye to his brother. 

Sunny had spent most days in Faraway at either Kel or Basil’s house over the summer, but now he only came on weekends. He had started school again, a new school where no one knew his name or his face. He didn’t say much about it, but he hadn’t stopped going yet, so Aubrey considered it progress.

Kel and Basil had stuck close to her, and she was thankful for it. Aubrey knew now that nothing would ever separate the five of them again, but there was still the irrational fear inside of her that they would all leave her sooner or later. Her gang must’ve seen something too, because they had been awkwardly affectionate in a way that both irritated and comforted her.

But her mother....

Her mother had changed too. 

By sixteen Aubrey knew her mothers rhythms like the back of her hand. She knew the cycles that played out. Her mother would circle through various moods- cleaning, ignoring, depressing, drinking, regretting, promising, and then cleaning again. 

The regularity of it all had numbed her to the terrible conditions of her childhood home, and Aubrey spent most of her time out of the house anyway. (She had never been so grateful for nine hours at school, four hours after school goofing off in a big group, and the usual invitation to dinner with Polly or Kel’s mother. Aubrey usually only went home to sleep these days)

But her mother had added and taken away from her cycle. There was a new cycle now, and it was impossible to deal with. 

Ignoring, Depressing, Drinking, Angry, Regretting. Rinse and Repeat. 

Angry was new. Angry was (terrifying)....Angry was new. 

Aubrey had never tried to disrupt her mother’s cycle before, but Angry was enough to get her to try. She would clean the house top to bottom, putting in an effort she had never put in before to make things nice. She had thrown away bottles, cleaned dishes, cooked food, on and on all in an effort to change what she knew was coming. It still came. Her mother still wailed like a banshee, shrieking and hollering loud enough neighbors had called. 

The calls were the worst part. The low humiliation that sat in her stomach as she assured these people who didn’t really care that everything was fine, all while her mother continued to scream in the background. 

With Angry, Regretting was also different too. Aubrey, never one to take things lying down, screamed back until angry tears burst from her eyes. She would break down and sob in front of her mother, her walls finally ripped apart brick by brick by the woman who was supposed to love her most. 

Then her mom would hold her tight and promise things would be different. Regretting had mixed with Promising, and as much as Aubrey wanted to shove away the confusing affection, she couldn’t bring herself to. 

Screaming at each other was the only time that Aubrey’s mother looked at her. Curled in her mother’s arms weeping was the only time that her mother had a kind word. Aubrey couldn’t resist what she always craved, and some sick twisted part of her even longed for the point where her mother would snap and start yelling, just because she knew the release of emotions was soon to follow. 

That last night in her house was one of those nights. Her mother was yelling, too incoherent for Aubrey to even make out the words, but the tone said everything. Her mother had lost it over the dishes in the sink piling up. Aubrey had done them this morning, yet somehow she came home to a sink full of chipped dirty dishes. Those dishes felt like an ironic symbol of her life. No matter how many times she wiped it away. The dishes would be dirty the second she turned around. 

Aubrey was already in tears, her fists bunched at her sides and her teeth grinding down against each other. Soon enough it would be time for her to start yelling back, and the cycle would go on and on and on. The dishes would never be clean. 

Aubrey didn’t want it to go on. Not even her mother holding her was worth how torn apart her heart was becoming. She fled upstairs, slamming the door to attic and locking it tight. It didn’t matter anyway. By this point of drinking, her mother could barely stand, let alone climb a ladder. 

The rain was slamming against her windows, a steady drip already starting in the bucket in her room. It was freezing cold, and goosebumps rose on her bare arms. Maribelle was sitting in her pen, her nose twitching as she watched her Aubrey. Aubrey brushed at her damp cheeks and picked her bunny up, snuggling the tiny white creature close to her chest. 

Maribelle was too cold. Her mother hadn’t paid the heating bill again. The rain was too loud, and the wind sneaking in wrapped Aubrey in a tight grip. Aubrey sat on the edge of the bed and rocked her bun, trying in vain to warm them both up. A single thought ran through her head over and over

This wasn’t worth it. This wasn’t worth the love she craved from a woman who couldn’t give it. This wasn’t worth her pride at keeping things together. This wasn’t worth trying to fix over and over with no results. 

The rain began to slow to a quieter drizzle. Her mother was silent below. In the cold wet of her tiny attic room, Aubrey decided. 

No. This really just...wasn’t worth it. 

Aubrey slipped onto her knees, keeping Maribelle close as she pulled her backpack towards her and began to empty it out. She kept only her English textbook and her history notes. Everything else she could get a spare of. in her bag went two spare shirts and one pair of jeans. She packed in underwear and socks into the smaller front pouch. Aubrey stood and pulled the false bottom out of her desk drawer, taking the cash and the pack of cigarettes she had pinched off her mom and throwing them in as well. 

Finally there were the pictures. The frame of her photo of her and Kim had to be abandoned, but the actual picture was placed carefully inside her backpack. She had never been more happy to have her tiny carrier for Maribelle. The bunny happily hopped inside and burrowed deep in the soft downy blanket Aubrey put inside for her. 

It was depressingly easy to pack up her important things. Shockingly simple to write a note to her mother (I’m leaving. I’m not coming back. Two short sentences and that was it) It hadn’t even been hard to sneak out. After the hour or so it took to gather the rest of her necessities from the house and steal whatever money was in her mother’s purse, said woman had passed out on the couch in an alcoholic haze. 

Aubrey locked the door and stared at the silver key gleaming in her palm. She had only her backpack, a messenger bag, and her tiny bunny carrier. Her whole life fit into two bags. Aubrey left her key on the doorstep. 

She wouldn’t need it anymore. 

The rain had let up, but a harsh breeze whipped around her as she walked, pushing Aubrey to move faster. She took the sidewalks she had taken since she was little, letting her feet move as her mind went blank. Before she knew it she was standing on another street, one more familiar to her than her own. 

Aubrey spared a long look at Kel’s hosue. The lights were on inside, bathing their front yard in a warm golden glow. She stared at it for a moment, considering, and then the chill became too great. 

Aubrey bypassed Kel’s house and quietly snuck into the backyard of Sunny’s old home. The elderly couple that owned the house now was sure to be asleep. Kel said that they were quiet and almost never noticed anything going on. Perfect. 

Aubrey knew exactly where she was going. It was still standing. Faded and beaten down, probably rickety too, but it would be safe for her and her Belle. 

Besides only four other people even knew this treehouse existed. No one would ever find her here. 

[blueangelicrose]

A New Beginning: Chapter 9 (part 1): The Sister Arrives

It was a bright and sunny day outside. Flowers blooming and birds singing, it was the perfect day for having a picnic or just having a good time in general. Unfortunately that wasn't the case for Josephine. It had only been a week or two since the convention and had gotten back to work, and she was already in a bind. She was trying to retrieve an ancient relic that had been stolen from a sacred church that laid hidden deep in Inkwell Isle's forests. The church was once Inkwell's most powerful influence of Christianity since way before the Devil made his presence known on the Isle. It was referred to as, "God's doorstep", for it was believed that once you took one step in the church, you would immediately feel as if you were almost in Heaven itself! The church was so highly revered and spiritual that even the atheists paid their respects to the congregation of the church. They even donated money and items just to get on the church's good side. Back then, the church was God's most divine house and was not to be disrespected. But as the years went by and the Devil had set up shop in the city, the church goers became less and less. Eventually, all the citizens either gave up hope of ever being freed from the Devil's grasp or had just forgotten that the church was there in the first place. And of course it didn't help when the Devil placed several of his minions to lead the church goers astray from attending the church. The church then faded away from Inkwell Isle's history books and the citizens memories. But God wouldn't let the precious place that His people worshipped and loved him in to go to ruin. He sent his angels to guard and keep up the place in order to keep His spiritual powers flowing throughout the building in order to protect all the living creatures that lived in the surrounding forests. God also decided to use the church as a place to store some heavenly relics for the angels to use just in case of an attack on them, the church, or some of the other priceless treasures from Heaven. Unfortunately, just a few hours ago, one of the imps from the casino somehow managed to sneak into the church and stole a sacred dagger that was used in one of the wars between Heaven and Hell. It was said that it could cut through even the most thickest of armours, weapons, shields, and even spells. This weapon was called, "The Dagger of God's Wrath." And only the good Lord knows how such a low level demon managed to sneak inside the church and steal such a priceless treasure. But now it was up to Josephine, who, by the way, volunteered to take the mission for personal reasons, to retrieve the weapon, interrogate the suspect, destroy the suspect, and then put the weapon back to where it belongs.

But, from what should've been a simple task, is turning out to be a major pain in the butt! She chased, hunted down, searched high and low, and chased again the little imp until she came upon the city limits. She knew that if she were to continue chasing down the little imp into the city with her wings on full display, she would definitely cause a ruckus. So she shape shifted herself into that of a humanoid cheetah woman to keep herself on low profile. She then charged after the imp at full speed. The imp looked back, and was frighteningly surprised that instead of a pretty angel chasing it, it was a menacing but attractive looking cheetah lady! It continued running for it's life until it reached an alley corner and hid behind it. As it nervously peeked out of the corner to see if she was there, it sweated profusely and swallowed hard, fearing that she was right there. But as it looked back, she was nowhere to be found. It raised a brow and looked back and forth to see if the coast was clear. All seemed calm and clear. It breathed a sigh of relief and wiped its nervous sweat and without a care in the world walked away hoping to get to the casino before Josephine caught up to it. Unfortunately for the creature, it was not so lucky, kinda funny and ironic since it worked for a casino and had supernatural powers. As soon as it turned the corner of the block, it literally bumped into a pair of slender feminine legs. He nervously looked up, and saw a very ticked off cheetah lady with arms crossed and giving it a look that said, "Really? You think I'm THAT dumb?" Responding to this development, it slowly backed away, turned away, started to walk away, then made a break for it. Josephine sighed, continued to chase it until she was in front of the imp.

The imp then tried to run in the opposite direction, but was inevitably caught. She picked up the imp by its scruff and had it look her in the face. Without saying a word, she held out her other hand for the imp to give back the blade. The imp looked back and forth between her eyes and her open hand, until it finally got the message. (Not very sharp, is it?) It smiled nervously and held up one if its hands up to tell her to hold on for a minute while it used its other hand to, what seemed like it was going to hand her the blade. But really it was digging around its bag to grab something else. And she wasn't able to find out until it was too late. The imp flung a dark purple colored powder at her face, literally BLINDING her! As she screamed in pain, she had no choice but to drop the imp and try to wash the stuff off. The imp took this chance and made its escape. Unfortunately for the imp, it accidentally ran into a gang of werewolves, who by the way, owed a great deal of debt to the Devil's Casino. They recognized the little imp and decided to take away the bag to see if there was anything valuable in it to trade in for some cash to pay for their debt. Although stealing from the Devil just to pay back their debts that they owe to the Devil, is probably not the smartest idea in the world. They pretty much took everything that looked valuable in the bag and LITERALLY threw the imp away from them. And when the imp tried to get the bag back, one of the werewolves gave a menacing glare and snarl basically telling it to back off and for it to scram. The imp got the message and swore to them that the boss will hear about this and that they were going to regret it. Most of them didn't pay much heed into it, but the somewhat smarter and paranoid ones were a little more cautious to the little demon's warning. They decided to change to another one of their secret hangouts until they were in the clear. Then trade the stuff that were in the bag to various pawn shops to earn enough money to pay off their debt.

While on the other side of this perplexing situation, Josephine was writhing in agony as the powder in her eyes was starting to burn like fire. It was so intense that it felt like Hellfire had been thrown at her face by the Devil himself. She didn't want to make this situation any more worse than it already was and attract any unwanted company. So using her teleportation abilities, she moved to somewhere more private and secluded to remove the powder from her eyes. There was only one place that she could think up on the spot that matched those descriptions. And in an instant, she teleported to the creek in the woods where she and her sister first met the Cup Brothers. Ever since her childhood days, she always wanted to go back to the woods where she and her sister spent that wonderful year with their Earth family. Those were happier and simpler times. Where she and her sister could relax and be actual normal kids without the fear of their lives being at risk at every single corner that they turned. And she could never forget the day where her sister fell in love for the first time. She never felt so happy for her sister before in her entire life when that happened. Josephine dubbed the creek where it all started as, "First Love Creek." So when times got tough for her and her sister, she would remember her favorite memories to make herself happy. And her sister falling in love on that day was definitely in the top five of her most favorite memories. As she was wrapping up from traveling down memory lane, she carefully inched close to the rushing water. When she reached the waters edge, she fell to her knees and started scooping the water with her hands and started to wash her eyes out. She managed to get the powder out from her eyes, but the magic effects from the powder wasn't so easy to get rid of. She finally recognized what the powder was and was immediately infuriated. The imp had thrown at her, "Blinding Powder", and just like the name suggests, when thrown in someone's face, it blinds them for 24 hours, if the victim doesn't get killed while doing something stupid. Josephine knew that she was going to have her work cut out for her for the next 24 hours. The first thing she needed to do was to find a temporary home to live in until she could find that imp, or somehow break into its boss's headquarters and retrieve the dagger. But most of the money that she had was spent on sea fair, necessities for hunting down demons, and of course, fashionable clothing and such. She had no choice but to earn some quick cash for her to be able to afford living anywhere.

About an hour or so later, she had reverted to her human form, she decided to wear more or less showy but still fashionable clothes, and painfully reported back her situation to her superiors. They were a little shocked and a little irritated that something like this happened. But they digressed, and told her to do what needed to be done in order to bring back the relic. But not to harm any civilians and not to get discovered at any cost. She agreed and promised that she would do her absolute best to abide by those rules. As soon as she signed out, she grabbed her guitar, a fold out chair, and a pair of sunglasses that she had stashed away in her own angelic inventory. She then headed towards Inkwell's most busiest and populated place for people to go and relax; Inkwell Isle's Central Square. She figured if she could use her angelic voice to get her enough money to get to a decent place to stay, then she was willing to give it her all. She placed her little setup right in front of a beautiful water fountain. With her guitar at hand and the guitar case open wide on the ground for people to put money in, and of course with her brilliant disguise as a normal human woman on, (sunglasses included), she was ready to sing! She sang for hours and hours, and even though she was blind, she could still see the gray blurry figures going to and froe not even stopping to listen to her sing. And even though she was blind, she could tell that not a single person had thrown any money in the case. Frustrated at the harsh treatment, she decided to just sing to herself some songs that her mother taught her from all the travels that she spent going back and forth between dimensions. She figured that it could relieve her from the harsh critisim and a chance to reminisce about the happy parts of her childhood. She started to quietly play a sad but sweet lullaby that was written and played by an up and coming Mexican mariachi musician. As she played quietly, figuring that no one wanted to hear her sing, she started to wonder how her sister was doing, and if she met up with their mother at the convention yet. As she was lost in her thoughts and was playing the last music notes of the song, she suddenly heard clapping and then a charming southern like male voice. "Well, well, well~ ...... I heard a lot of things in my day, but I never heard such a sweet and soothing sound as your voice my dear. And that's coming from me! Do you mind if you could play that song again for me, but a bit louder this time?" She wasn't sure what to make of this strangers compliment and request. She was about to ask him who he was, but she was cut off. "Oh dear! You're blind? But you can still play the guitar! That's quite something! And I see that no one has had the courage to give you payment on your wonderful services! If I may, would you please play that song again and teach me the lyrics? But of course you will be rewarded most generously." He gently grabbed one of her hands and put a couple thousand dollars in the palm of her hand then closed it to tell her that it was her money to keep. She couldn't read how much there was but could tell that it was a lot judging by the thickness of the bundle of cash in her hand. She was about to refuse and say that it was too much. But the man cut her off again saying that he just wanted to hear her sing. She couldn't help but be flattered by his words and agreed to his strange song and teaching request. She sang a song that you can find on You Tube under the singer that my character sounds like: Song: Remember Me from the movie Coco

Singer: Anna

YouTube name: annapantsu

Lyrics:

"Remember me~

though I have to say goodbye,

Remember me~

don't let it make you cry,

for even though I'm far away I'll

hold you in my heart,

I'll sing a secret song to you each

night we are apart,

Remember me~

though I have to travel far,

Remember me~

each time you hear a sad guitar,

know that I'm with you the only way

that I can be~,

until you're in my arms again~,

Re~mem~ber~ Me~!!!!"

To Be Continued....

End of chapter 9 (part 1).

To be continued in chapter 9 (part 2).

[pbandjesse]

I love my scarf so much. I did not actually wear it outside at the house. I wear a jacket. But I've had that scarf on pretty much all day. It is the best scarf even if it sheds a lot.

Today was a good day I did not accomplish everything I wanted to accomplish but I did a lot. I slept really well last night. Had very bizarre dreams. But I got up and felt good. I woke up and had biscuits for breakfast. Got dressed and walk to the grocery store. I brought my grandma card and bought lots of food for the week. I am trying to eat at home more this week. Especially since my hours are very weird. I wandered around for a bit and then went home. I am packed everything and then I had it over to Eddie's to get a couple things I can't get at streets Market. I biked over to Eddie's though and was only there for a couple minutes. I still need to get milk and I'll probably have to get eggs at some point but for now it's fine. I used my heart boiled egg cooker to while I was gone and didn't check the eggs but I'm assuming they're okay. I'm very excited about my hard-boiled egg maker though and I really hope that I can figure out the best time frame to leave them in there to cook.

Once I got everything unpacked I made lunch. I rested for a little while and made some plans. And then I headed out to go catch the bus. I left a little bit earlier than I really need to because I wanted to get the earlier bus just in case. I think I am going to be able to get away with getting the 12:30 bus. But just so that I get used to when I'm getting off going 20 minutes early. It's nice that that bus runs so often though.

It was nice and sunny out. There's a chill in the air but I was never uncomfortable or anything. In either direction. Hot or cold. I had a nice talk with an old man at the bus stop. And then the bus came. And it was a nice ride. It's like a 25-minute ride and it's very comfortable. I got up to Wildwood and like I said I was like a half an hour early. So I walked around the neighborhood.

The neighborhood very much reminds me of Mayfair in Philadelphia. It's mostly row houses with little front yards. Lot of Old Stone. In the direct neighborhood it's all houses in churches. There's not even a corner store. I think maybe at some point I'll try to wander out a little bit farther and see if there's somewhere to eat. Now that I really plan on it but just in case something happens and I have to get something close by.

When I got there Fitsum was already there and said that Tiffany wasn't in yet. So we sat in the waiting room and talked. We accidentally both were wearing the same outfit. Well not exactly. We're both wearing brown jackets and are in shirts. And I made us laugh. It seems like we are going to be together but it's still unclear at this point. I hope we do though because he's a sweetheart. Tiffany came and found us because it turned out she was there. But it was no big deal. We went back to your office and did a bunch of paperwork. Went through how are lesson plan is going to work. And I feel so excited about it. I was pretty nervous at first but now that all my questions are answered I'm like excited. And I have so many ideas. I've written 8 months of vague themes and topics in my tablet. I think I'm just going to keep everything on my Google Drive since now I paid for it for the year anyway. I was considering getting a Chromebook since I'm going to have to be doing a lot of writing. But instead since my tablet doesn't work very well I just decided to buy a Bluetooth keyboard for it. So that should be here on Thursday. And then I can actually do my lesson plans for real. I feel very excited.

We just did a lot of going through packets and making sure all of our paperwork was good and it was just nice to be able to honestly answer questions and not have to feel silly for wanting clarity. I got my direct deposit setup and we have to take 15 hours of professional development courses over the school year. And so she help me setup my account for that. And I was able to get into the CPR first aid training class on Friday morning. So I get my first three hours of PD in and I'm excited to have that certificate my record. Even though it was a little bit of a hassle trying to figure out how to make an account for some reason. They make it like all secret like.

After we finished all of her paperwork and spent a lot of time discussing how things go. We did another walk around the building. This time we actually got to meet the other teachers that we may be working with or will be the team with the 5th graders. They were both really nice and I would be equally as excited to work with them. I think it might be nice though to have a blank slate with the new class with fitsum and there won't be a weird power Dynamic there. Of having a current teacher and a new teacher. But regardless the students were there too. They were all so sweet. They liked my jacket and they asked me if I could teach him how to sew and they asked me about other different projects that they were interested in doing. And it was just so cool they were so engaged and so sweet. I'm really excited to get to work with them. There was a couple big personalities but in the best ways. I'm very excited for this opportunity. I really think that this is going to be the exact thing I've been looking for. The rest of my jobs and lives are going to have to sort themselves out. Maybe I'll slow down my work at the BMI and take my mornings for myself. Or maybe I won't and maybe I'll still do exactly what I'm doing now. I just don't want to burn out. I want to really enjoy being able to teach and museums and do all the things that I do. But today really made me excited for going forward.

Fitsum was nice enough to give me a ride again. I'm going to have to figure out a way to tell him I will give him money. Because him giving me a ride back is saving me like $16 every time. It's like even if I throw him like 20 bucks a week or something. It would be worth it to me. You also just lose them walking into my apartment though so I think he just it is being kind and just giving you rides. But I don't want to take advantage he's so nice. I really just hope that we become friends too cuz I think he's a really cool guy. He was telling me some about working in Ethiopia and the culture there. And I'm curious to learn more.

Once I got home I have kind of a going back and forth doing things all night. I watched the new Shane Dawson documentary series. And I ate snacks. I've been eating snacks all night. I work in my studio for a while. I played with the new Furbys. They both had some corrosion inside of them from their batteries leaking so I had to clean that up with vinegar. But they're both working just fine and they were chatting with each other. They do make that high-pitched screeching sound that I read about. So I may take them apart and disconnect the wires. Honestly I might disconnect all of their speaking wires because I'm not super a fan of their voices. But I still think they're very cute. I like the way that they move they're very active. So I think painting with them is going to be really interesting.

I talked to James for a little while he's at his apartment having a D&D night. I think I just have too much social anxiety to participate. I told him I would be a guest are at some point but I just don't know if I could play with them and feel comfortable enough to do it. But we'll see I don't know. I like doing it one on one with James that one time though I hope we can do that again cuz I did enjoy that.

I did fall down the stairs. I hurt my hand a little bit but I'm okay. I mostly just scared me. I took a shower and wash my hair. And it's just chilling at my apartment and I'm wearing Chenille socks and leggings and I feel very cozy. I think I'm going to switch my stuff for work into my new work tote bag. That I have gotten from my causebox. It's such a pretty bag and I think it's going to be perfect for carrying all my papers and things. And it stands so I feel like if it gets paint on it and stuff it'll be cool. I think now though I'm going to start winding down for bed. I have to wake up early tomorrow and try to get some more done. And then I have to go over to Northern Parkway to get my fingerprints done for the city to get an ID and a background check. And then I have to go to Wildwood at 12:30 for staff meeting. I'm very excited for that I think it's going to be very fun. I'm excited too more formally meet everyone. So I hope it's just another really nice day. I hope you guys all have a great night and sleep well. Be safe out there. Be kind