#the dad gets new cars all the time they sold their house and have nothing left to show for it and are renting a huge house that costs too mu

[sirfrogsworth]

Adventures in Cooling

The 5-star rated HVAC repair service I used kind of depressed me.

It was almost... too good?

Like, they offer 24/7 service. They have a text message system that lets you know when the tech is coming. Every tech has their own custom van that serves as a giant advertisement. The entire process is documented with a tablet computer. Every serial number and model number must be photographed. He has to follow a diagnostic checklist. And an upsell checklist. And a repair checklist. He had so many checklists that at one point he pulled a card out of his wallet to make sure he didn't forget one of the steps. He had a poorly memorized speech for every upsell. You could tell he didn't have "his" tools, but the company's tools that he borrowed.

None of this was "bad" as far as a workflow. The service was flawless and nothing was forgotten. But you could tell that every detail was micromanaged and if the tech didn't follow the procedures to the letter, he would probably get some kind of demerit.

I felt sorry for my tech. He was in his 60s and clearly had a severe chronic knee injury. He walked slower than I do. He was quite monosyllabic and difficult to make conversation with. Not unpleasant, just not great at communicating.

At one point I asked him if I was a good candidate for a heat pump and he was like, "Everyone is."

End of advice.

Oh, and the uniform.

The uniform was very silly.

Every square inch of his shirt was meant to assure people they have a qualified technician. The one sleeve listed his certifications from some Alphabet Association that certifies such things. And then the other sleeve made sure to let me know my technician was drug tested and background checked.

The entire visit I kept trying to imagine how being stoned might negatively affect HVAC repair. I mean, if he was on a little cocaine perhaps we could have wrapped things up 30 minutes sooner. Marijuana might have helped him communicate. Opioids could make his knee feel better. I don't think shrooms would have been a good idea. If he hallucinated an angry fan monster in my A/C unit that could have been really awkward.

He was a terrible salesman—but for some reason, I fell for every upsell. Actually, I sold all of the upsells to myself in my head. I got a new filter and had him install it because I worried I would forget or I would install it improperly (not really possible, you just stick it in). But for the price I paid I could have bought 6 years worth of filters.

I just wanted everything sorted. I am so stressed and do not have the bandwidth to deal with A/C troubles. So I just said "yes" to everything. But the price kept inflating as we went along and every time it inflated he required a signature on his tablet.

This repair business had been corporatized to death and it made me miss all of my dad's friends from the old days who he would ask for favors. He always "knew a guy." He would trade car repairs for discounts on things we needed around the house. And they all worked for themselves and had their own tools and their own shitty truck and they all said, "There's your problem!" with the same masculine affect.

Their uniform was a flannel shirt and jeans and I bet some of them were high as fuck.

And this elderly gentlemen with the bum knee kept checking his checklist to make sure he checked every check because he feared managerial discipline.

He got to the sales pitch for the fluorescent dye. He was like, "Do you want this? You don't have to buy it." And I started selling it to myself in my head despite his assurance it wasn't really necessary. I worried if I had a big leak and I don't discover it until the middle of July, I would regret saying no in this moment. But then I realized he hated the dye injection process. And his poor salesmanship was mostly him not wanting his hands to be fucking radioactive yellow for the rest of the day. He tried wearing gloves to avoid it, but he still ended up with yellow hands and grumbled, "I really hate this stuff." Which was one of the few unrehearsed things he said to me the entire time.

Once the checklist was complete and the house was already starting to cool, he had one final sales pitch for me. He asked that I give his company a 5-star review and to make sure I mention his name. He told me that in July all of the techs with the most 5-star reviews will have their names put in a hat. And "the boss" will give one lucky employee a free vacation.

This vacation thing sounded like such a manipulation. And I'm sure "the boss" has instructed his techs to tell this tale of the free vacation so customers will be like, "Well, shit. I don't want this poor old guy with the shitty knee to miss out on that."

And it was then I realized just how this company got so many 5-star reviews.

Diabolical.

But the good news... my house is cold as heck.

And I keep shivering because I can't figure out the perfect setting on my thermostat. I guess I was used to the inefficiency and I will have to recalibrate.

[eyesofshinigami]

Leave It All Behind

Rating: G

CW: None

Tags: Established relationship, fluff, new beginnings

Prompt: For @acasualcrossfade "Love is having hope for the future together"

WC: 1112

Written for @steddielovemonth Day 12

Steve stands in the middle of his empty bedroom, hands on his hips, trying to untangle the knot of emotions in the pit of his stomach. He’s not sure how to feel; as much as he hates this house and its shadows on the wall, it was still home for most of his life. They made some good memories here. Late night movies with Robin, hosting Hellfire for the club, and he and Eddie’s first time right there where the bed used to be. 

But, on the other hand, he can’t wait to get out of this place. Not just the house, but this town; he struggled with the idea for a long time, feeling like he was abandoning the kids, but they called him on that pretty early on. Now that the gates were closed and the Upside Down had collapsed in on itself, El promised that there was nothing else they had to worry about. No more fighting. No more saving the world.

They could just be people again. 

Steve’s not entirely sure he remembers how. When he thinks of his life over the last four years, it’s mostly a blur of blood and nightmares that have left him a little changed, a little broken. He knows things and sees things that he would never wish upon another human being, and most days it feels like he would never be free of the marks it has left on him.

But. But. 

The car is packed. Eddie’s van has been sold, since it would be too big to drive in the city. Their whole lives have been taped in boxes to bring with them to the apartment waiting for him and Eddie in Chicago, along with Eddie’s record store job and Steve’s waiting teaching program. 

Now he just has to say goodbye.

“You okay in here, Stevie?” Eddie calls from the doorway, his footsteps light across the beige carpeting. “What’s on your mind?”

Steve sighs. “Just not sure how to feel. I hated this place, but it also��” he trails off, not sure how to put it into words. It’s complicated.

“It kind of feels like letting go of something important?” Eddie finishes for him. Of course Eddie would be able to find what Steve was trying to say. Months of living out of each other’s pocket and loving each so thoroughly tends to do that to people. “I get it. As much as I would love to see Hawkins burn to the ground in a blaze of unholy glory… I think I would actually be sad about it.”

Steve can’t help his chuckle. “Yeah. I’ll just be glad to get gone, you know? Leave this place behind once and for all.”

Eddie wraps his arms around Steve from behind, pulling his body into a gentle sway. They’re about the same height, but feeling Eddie pressed against his back like that always makes Steve feel small and loved and cared for. “Going to be a whole new world, baby boy. Just you and me and the Big City! And, you know, maybe Robin and Nancy when they can make it down.”

That idea settles something inside Steve. Robin and Nancy are heading to Boston, three days after he and Eddie hit the road. The kids will only be a four hour drive away, practically nothing in the grand scheme of things. They’ll be fine without him, he knows, and he’s glad that thought doesn’t make him want to curl up and die anymore. 

“I can’t wait to do this with you,” Steve whispers into the empty room, turning around in Eddie’s arms so that he can rub their noses together. This wasn’t the life he had planned on having, but he’s so grateful that he gets to have it. He never thought he would find happiness and peace in someone like Eddie; frankly, he never thought he’d find it at all. He had spent so long convinced that he was going to be just like his dad, angry and bitter and mad at the world because he was trapped in a life he didn’t want but thought he had to live. 

Not Steve. He shed that shit the moment that demogorgon came after them in the Byers house, slowly shaping into the person he is now. A person moving to Chicago to start a life with the man he loves more than life itself, who is planning on being a teacher and starting a garden on their little rooftop. 

A person he can be proud of. A person he can learn to love like Eddie does.

“And I can’t wait to do this with you, baby. No one else I’d rather do this with. The words are whispered against Steve’s lips, like a secret just for the two of them, even if they both tend to wear their love on their sleeves. “Just think, in like… ten hours, we’ll be unpacked in our new place and we can break in our new bed tonight. Scare the neighbors, you know?” Eddie grins against his mouth.

Steve rolls his eyes and shoves him back, even if he loves the pleasant little shiver Eddie’s words produce. Their place. Their bed. Their life together. “Come on, you menace. Let’s go say our goodbyes and get this show on the road.” 

They walk down the stairs hand in hand, after Steve gives one last silent farewell to this room, this place. One day he’ll be able to put it away, fold the memory of this place up like a letter and hide it in the back of his drawer, never to think about it again. Today? Today he lets it hurt, just a little. 

They give hugs and kisses and noogies to the assembled crowd that’s here to see them off. Their going away party had been the night prior, a perfect send off that had Steve crying into Eddie’s shoulder when they went to bed in Eddie’s trailer for the last time. It was perfect, all that he could ask for. 

It’s not forever, but it’s definitely time. Steve’s ready.��

He climbs into the driver’s seat and gets settled in, giving a few more last minute waves as Eddie climbs in on the other side. He starts the car and pulls down the driveway, trying to swallow the lump growing in his throat. 

It hurts, but in a good way. Kind of like the way a healing bruise feels when you flex the skin. Painful, but bearable. Especially when Eddie takes his hand and holds it over the console, squeezing it tight as they make their way out of Hawkins and into their future.

Together.

[bangtanhoneys]

Grace & Places

SEOKJIN - LONDON

“So this is where your eomma comes from,” Seokjin stated as he looked at the house before him on a random street just outside London. He had no clue where he was and he honestly had no clue what day it was, he just knew that they had landed in the UK two days ago, they had just done Britain’s Got Talent and they had one day before they performed two sold-out nights at Wembley Stadium.

“Born and bred,” Grace proudly stated as she looked at the house. It was nothing when you compared it to some of the expensive property inside the city of London and it was nothing compared to what her mother was currently living in just outside Seoul, but this was Grace’s roots all the same. “My grandparents bought the house off my grandmother’s parents who had lived there before them and my great-great-grandparents lived here as well,” Grace explained as Seokjin linked their fingers. “So it’s home in a weird way.”

Of course, Grace had been born and bred in Manchester and until there was an opportunity to show Seokjin as well as the rest of the boys her hometown, London would have to do for now. Being a mixed Korean-British idol, the first of hopefully many, and performing at Wembley was a big dream come true and the fact she could show off her heritage to her boyfriend was just another spoonful of sugar added to the cup of tea.

The bodyguard near the car looked unimpressed just as Seokjin had. 

“Hmm, I hope you don’t expect us to find something like that in Seoul,” Seokjin mused as they turned away from the house after sending a picture of it to her mother. “I don’t think the security on it would hold the world away.”

“I think Taehyung has his sights on us all living together until we’re eighty,” laughed Grace as she took the keys from their bodyguard. “And I’m pretty sure he’d marry all of us at once if he had the chance.”

Grace was glad she got the opportunity to return home, albeit briefly. And maybe one day she would come back with her parents, then with the rest of the guys and maybe, just one day, with a family of her own.

YOONGI - LAS VEGAS

All Yoongi had heard the moment they stepped foot on the Vegas strip was ‘Yoongi marry me.’ 

It had been a running joke for a while now, appearing in various live videos either of Yoongi on his own or the group. And then the boys had started running with it and it only got worse after their live video they did when they had returned from the Grammys, empty-handed once again.

“How do you know so much about marriage in Las Vegas?” Grace questioned the next morning, all of them meeting in the suite to have breakfast together. Yoongi and Grace were the first ones to arrive, Seokjin had been the first awake but he had been taken by the medic to get his bandages changed.

“You know I look up everything about where we go,” Yoongi shrugged as he poured his coffee. “Plus, I wanted to know what the rules were in case you and Jin-hyung decided to surprise us all and get married at one of those chapels.”

It was hard to hide his grin when he heard his twin scoff, knowing full well there would be a slight blush on her cheeks. It had been five years now since Seokjin and Grace had finally got together and while it was old news, no one had stopped teasing the two eldest members.

“Do I look like the type of woman to be married by an Elvis tribute act?”

Yoongi paused and glanced over, taking in their female member with a serious expression. “Maybe if the tribute act belonged to Beyonce but definitely not Elvis.”

“See if you ever get invited,” Grace mumbled as she took her plate to the table.

“I have to be invited. Who else is going to know the rules and regulations and do all the legal bits for you? Who else is going to be able to stand there and help?” Yoongi followed Grace to the table, taking in great delight in where this train of thought was going.

“My Dad,” Grace replied with a grin, ignoring the put-out look that was tossed her way.

HOSEOK - LOS ANGELES

It was difficult to get time off during concerts, especially on a world tour and it was even harder when you were in the middle of celeb central, Los Angeles. But there was a need to stretch the legs and enjoy the California sunshine, which is why Grace was being cajoled into going on a trip to Melrose Avenue to get some ice cream, maybe do a bit of shopping and just enjoy themselves.

“You only dragged me along so I could do all the translating,” Grace sighed after she handed Hobi his ice cream, another bowl of ice cream to their bodyguard and lastly she took her own little bowl of banana ice cream which was covered in whipped cream and sprinkles.

“Noona! I’m offended,” Hobi dramatically gasped then pretty much squealed when a big bumble bee flew past.

“That’s karma,” Grace pointed out with a grin as she stuck her spoon into the ice cream and followed their bodyguard down Melrose Avenue. 

“Well, the translating is a bonus point but no, I just wanted to spend time with my noona. It’s not often we get to just come outside, and be normal for an hour before we’re locked away or on our way to the concert,” Hobi said as he kept his ice cream close in case any other insect decided to try.

“You just had to pick Los Angeles to do it in.” And she had a point because there were plenty of people milling around and Hollywood was just abuzz with news of whatever gossip was going around and it didn’t help that the biggest band out of Korea was in town.

“But at least we got ice cream.”

NAMJOON - SEOUL

Namjooning - the act of living as Kim Namjoon, including taking walks through parks, admiring nature, and feeding your mind and soul by doing the things you love. 

That was the definition that Google gave and it perfectly describes the situation that Grace currently found herself in. It was hard to say no to dimples when they flashed briefly and that innocence that was there when Namjoon came knocking, asking his noona if she wanted to go out for the day.

It was just damn hard to say no.

Which is why she found herself climbing up Inwangsan Peak, on a warm day, in not so suitable clothes. Maybe shorts had been the wrong idea and certainly the sneakers she had worn were going to give her blisters when she got down but listening to Namjoon talk about nature, the wildlife, how the plants grew in this particular region of Seoul and how he just thrived in being outside - whatever discomfort she was feeling or suffering with, Grace kept her mouth shut and simply enjoyed her time with Namjoon.

By the time they got to the top, Grace was more than ready to fly down and get herself an iced coffee and Namjoon…well, Namjoon had the biggest smile on his face as he took various photos of the view. She couldn’t help but laugh at how excited he was, even if this wasn’t his first time up the peak and that he was sweating just as much as she was.

“Joon, next time you want to do something like this, think of your poor Noona and pick an easy hike because these thighs can’t handle a peak like this,” Grace sighed as she rested her hands on her knees.

She couldn’t help but laugh along with Namjoon who took one look at her and started laughing, reaching into his bag to hand over a bottle of water. “Sorry noona, next time I’ll make sure we hike towards a bookshop.”

JIMIN - JEJU ISLAND

Hearing her phone alert her of an incoming facetime, Grace paused what she was doing and reached for the phone that was vibrating against the material of the desk. Seeing Jimin’s name flash up as well as the photo he had put as the profile picture, Grace chuckled to herself and answered the time.

“Noona!”

“Jimin! Where are you? Oh you're in Jeju, aren’t you? Are you enjoying yourself?”

Jimin turned the camera slightly, showing the Snoopy figure next to him. “My friend and I are having an amazing time.”

Grace snorted to herself as she took in the statue and shook her head, wondering not for the first time why Jimin had decided to go to Jeju Island in the middle of winter and from what she could see, there were some snowflakes on his coat.

“You must be crazy to be going there at this time of year,” Grace mused and frowned to herself when she realised her mug was empty. “But at least you're enjoying yourself and having a great time. Are you bringing me back anything?”

It had become a long tradition that if any member of the group was travelling abroad or even in Korea for work, vacation or just for a day away, they always brought their noona something back. The only two people who often forgot were Yoongi and Jungkook but Jimin always remembered.

“Of course! I’ve got it already in my suitcase for you and I’ll be back home in a few days so we’ll have to make arrangements to meet up. Don’t work too hard noona and I’ll see you soon.”

“Stay warm Chim and have a lovely time.”

TAEHYUNG - PARIS

Paris. The city of love, music, food and architecture. 

A second home to Taehyung who suited Paris with every fibre of his being. If there was a city that suited a person, it would be Taehyung. 

Grace could see that as they both journeyed to the Eiffel Tower, the final pit stop of the day before their concert. Yet there was a bit of concern as the cold affecting Taehyung had hit his voice badly and she was worried about him, she knew what he was like when it came to his health and how he would try and push himself to breaking point to achieve what ARMY wanted.

But for now, the two of them were exploring the city to see much of it before they had to leave and go onto the next city.

For Taehyung, having his noona there meant an extra layer of security, an extra layer of comfort as well as someone translating for him. He knew enough French to get by but having someone who could speak English better than Namjoon was even better, especially when his voice was starting to give way.

He tried to thank her when she handed him a drink as well as a small figurine of the Eiffel Tower, which probably cost enough euros for someone to blink rapidly at, but Grace just smiled and opened the bottle of water for him. It was a silent journey through all the sights but no words were needed to be said, as the two of them strolled arm in arm around the city that would welcome back Taehyung time and time again.

JUNGKOOK - BUSAN

It was odd that this would be the last time that all eight of them would be on stage together and that it would be another three years before the eight of them would be fully reunited. And in two days the announcement would come that seven members would be enlisting in the military, Seokjin going first.

Jungkook quietly watched everyone go about their business as normal - there was still that chaotic energy, the staff were still on stress tenterhooks, the band were excited and the group known as BTS were a mix bag of emotions. They would be seeing ARMY one final time and then would come their solo albums and then the military.

And all that would be left was Grace. 

His adopted mother would be the only one left holding the flag while also preparing for her own solo career. 

It seemed as if she knew what he was thinking as their eyes met and Grace made her way over, taking her place next to Jungkook. No words needed to be said as his tattooed hand reached over and gently took hold of Grace’s fingers, holding them tightly as they both watched time tick down before they would be called on stage.

Yet to Come in Busan would be the closing of chapter one and the start of chapter two. And the woman who Jungkook had known from when he entered Big Hit as a small teenager would start her own chapter in two years, ready to take the world by storm. 

[just-wrting]

The Babysitter (Part 1)

Title: The Babysitter (Part 1)

Pairing: Aaron Hotchner x Reader

Summary: After the family you babysit for moves, you meet with a father and son duo who are about to change your life.

Word Count: 1438

Master List Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4

A/N: This took forever mainly because work has been kicking my ass with all these 9-hour shifts that switch from mid-morning one day to close the next. Part 2 will be up in a few days though I promise!!!!

You can hear your phone ringing in the next room. It’s probably not anything, but since you had spread the word that you need a new babysitting gig, you rushed to get it. Nothing said perfect timing like that call.

“Hi, this is (Y/N) (L/N). What’s this call about?”

You tuck the phone between your ear and shoulder as you scoop up the youngest of the kids into your arms.

“Hello, this is Aaron Hotchner. Someone told me I could call you about babysitting. Is now a good time?”

“Yes! Now works, though pardon the screaming in the background. The parents are running a little late but are almost here.”

In fact you could see their car just a few houses down the street. Granted, taking the call made you feel a bit guilty, but the parents had assured you that if you had someone call about your offer you could take the call.

“I can call back later if that works better.”

You pulled the plastic fork out of one of the boys’ hands and mouth ‘don’t you dare’. You can respect the sibling urge to annoy the younger siblings, but you can’t let him chase his siblings with forks.

“Actually the parents are pulling into the driveway. If you want, I know a place we could meet. It’ll give me a chance to introduce myself to your kid or kids. Does this number work to text you the address?”

You wipe the youngests face off, freeing their smile from pizza sauce. A car door closes and a chorus of ‘mom’ and ‘dad’ ring from around the kitchen.

“Only if it’s alright with you. I don’t want you to go out of your way.”

“No, it's fine. There wasn’t enough food for me to eat anything so it’s a good time for me to have dinner.”

You hand the youngest off to the open arms of their dad. You hear the flurry of kisses that makes the toddler laugh. It’s adorable to see how much the family cared for each other.

“Alright, I’ll meet you there.”

“Sounds like a plan. I hope to see you in about twenty minutes.”

—

“I’m so lucky you guys had mac and cheese left. This usually sells fast.”

You flash a smile at your friend. This was definitely your favorite spot. Practically everything they sold was homemade, from the mac and cheese right down to the cupcakes. It was all made with love, and perhaps tiredness. Not to mention, as a regular you got to try the new stuff early. That includes the napkin of cookies that they gave you after they took your order.

“Just for you, my loyal customer. Besides dinner, why are you here? Got a hot date or something?” she gives you a cheeky grin.

You wipe your mouth and shake your head. “Nope. Meeting a potential gig here. Figured since I needed to eat here works.”

At that moment, the bell above the door rings. In steps a man, smartly dressed in a clean pair of jeans and a maroon polo, with his son in tow. The man locks eyes with you right away before quickly scanning the whole cafe. His son was eagerly looking at your stack of cookies.

“I’m Aaron Hotchner. I was looking for a (Y/N) (L/N)?”

You stand up. “Right here. I’ve already had dinner but if you two would like something feel free to order it. I’ll pay for it.”

The son is quick to make a dash to your table once his dad strides toward you. He puts his little hands on the table and looks up at you with big eyes. You can see the lights reflected in them and you know that if you get the gig those eyes will be the death of you.

“Can I have one of those cookies, please? There aren’t any of them in the case.”

Aaron puts his hand on his son’s shoulder and steers him toward the counter. “It’s not nice to ask for other people’s things, Jack.”

You hide a smile behind your hand. Sure you shouldn’t want to give him a cookie, but he asked nicely and is just too cute. As much as you want to spend time fawning over the fact that not only is the kid adorable, he’s got good manners, you try to focus on Aaron.

Given the fact that he didn’t mention or bring a wife with him, you figure that she isn’t in her son’s life anymore. You make a mental note to ask about it in private. That sort of topic is sensitive for kids, so you don’t plan on broaching it in front of Jack.

“I don’t mind letting him have one of my cookies. I don’t think I’ll be able to eat all four of them by myself anyway.”

Aaron gives Jack a gentle nudge your way. It takes him just a few steps to run to your table. He climbs up on a chair and sets his hands in his lap. He never looks directly at you, only at the table and the stack of cookies.

“It’s fine if you have one. Your name is Jack, right?”

Jack nods his head and reaches out for the cookies. He held it in his hand and took a tentative bite out of it. Crumbs fell to the table and you slide a spare napkin across to him.

“I’m sorry if I had called at a bad time, I didn’t realize you would be busy.”

Aaron sets down a cup in front of Jack. There’s whipped cream poking out of the top signaling it’s a hot chocolate. Jack seems eager to keep the sweets coming as he starts to drink.

“It’s not a big deal. If everytime someone called was a good time, it would probably be a bad sign.” You took a sip of your coffee. “Actually you had great timing. Today was my last day with the Smiths.”

“If you don’t mind me asking, how long have you been babysitting?”

Jack eyes the cookies as he polished off the one he had grabbed. You slide them a little closer to the boy and give him a nod. He looks up at his dad for his confirmation.

“Since high school. I was already watching my younger siblings and figured what’s a few more. I even scheduled college around one of the families. Most of the families I’ve worked with work long or random hours.”

“That’s good to hear. I tend to have to go out of state for my job.”

As you sit and discuss things like pay and qualifications, Jack falls asleep on his dad. You can hear the soft little puffs of air as he dreams, and you realize it’s gotten later than you anticipated. The cafe is supposed to close in ten minutes and you feel the exhaustion hit you like a truck.

“If it’s okay, I can start tomorrow. I’d be more than happy to take care of Jack.”

Aaron runs his fingers through the boy’s hair and lets out a sigh. You know he’s thinking hard about what he should do. The conversation shows how much he loves his son. It’s heartwarming to see and you want to take a picture of them.

“That sounds good. I’ll text you the address later, but I think it’s time to go now.”

You chuckle. “Yeah he’s out for the night. I’m surprised he fell asleep so quickly even with the sugar.”

Aaron gently picks Jack up. “It’s been a long day.”

You follow him to the door. He does his best to walk in a way that doesn’t disturb Jack, and you find yourself admiring him. Being a single parent can be hard, and Aaron seems to handle it with grace.

“I’ve got it. I can get the car door for you too.”

Thankfully, the car was right in front of the cafe. There’s a booster seat in the back seat, and you can see a variety of kids' toys littering the floor. It doesn't take long for Aaron to buckle Jack in. The kid doesn’t even stir.

“Thank you for being able to meet me here. I know it’s not a very convenient place, but I’m so grateful,” you say.

Aaron gives you a soft smile. “Thank you for being able to start tomorrow. Jack seems to like you so I think you’ll be a good fit.”

“Well then I’ll be at your place at 6 am sharp. Have a good night, Aaron.”

“Get home safe, (Y/N). I’ll see you in the morning

[michaelangdonsslut]

𝐓𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐎𝐟 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐡𝐚𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐬 // 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐎𝐧𝐞

hey pookies! here's the first chapter of tales of the shadows ౨ৎ

please read the introduction post before reading this chapter!

hope u enjoy <3

𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙙 𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙩 : 1.5k

no warnings! (yet hehe)

---

- 𝑇𝐻𝐸 𝐻𝑂𝑈𝑆𝐸 .

Riley Bennett felt the wind brushing her face faintly as she opened the window to her dad's car. It was a cloudy Wednesday morning when they finally decided to move all the way across the country.

Riley was a 17 year old troubled teenage girl who often struggled with fitting into her new surroundings.

They were a typical wealthy family from LA and had everything, so why did they decide to move to a small town in Massachusetts? This is what Riley has been wondering all the time ever since her dad talked about moving to Chesterfield. "I don't even know why we have to move here It's so cloudy and looks boring. I already miss LA and my friends.", Riley said nonchalantly looking at the window trying to look for anything interesting about this town. "Come on Riley don't be so grumpy, it can't be that bad!" her dad tried to reassure her but it didn't really work. She was going to miss LA and there was nothing they could say about it. 

About 20 minutes later, they finally arrived in front of the house. It was a beautiful Victorian house, a mix of light pink and dark blue, and Riley couldn't help but admire the huge house in front of her. It looked so old and vintage, that house actually reminded her of Coraline, she loved this movie as a child. “ So what do we think ?” Mr Bennett looking smiled at Riley knowing how much she loved old fashioned houses. " This house is beautiful Peter, and look Riley there's a swing!",  said Mrs. Bennett eagerly.  "I'm not a little girl anymore mom I don't really care about that" , Riley said rolling her eyes as the family parked in the driveway.  “And besides, this house looks kinda haunted.”  Mrs. Bennett scoffed taking her sunglasses off. After some time, they finally get out of the car and start grabbing their stuff from the car boot when a lady approaches them.  "Hello, I'm Dina the real estate agent! I'm here to show you around the house"  A huge smile was plastered on her face as if she was happy someone was finally interested in this house. 

" Oh hello! I'm Peter Bennett and this is my wife Marie " they both shake Dina's hand, her smile never leaving her face. " It's really nice to meet you. Oh and I suppose this is your beautiful little sweetheart ", she says as she walks over to Riley; " Uh yeah. I'm Riley. " Dina shakes Riley's hand and Riley can't help but find her a bit...  eccentric .

“ All right, I’ll show you the inside of the house right now !” Mrs. Bennett smiled eagerly looking at her husband with stars in her eyes. 

The family stepped into the foyer, greeted by the grandeur of a bygone era. High ceilings adorned with intricate molding loomed overhead, while a majestic staircase beckoned from the center of the room. Sunlight filtered through stained glass windows, casting a warm, ethereal glow. Dina, with a practiced smile, gestured towards the sprawling rooms adorned with ornate details - antique chandeliers, mahogany wainscoting, and a fireplace steeped in history. A sense of both elegance and mystery enveloped them as they took in the timeless beauty of their potential new home.

"This house is goddamn beautiful. We're taking it!" , said Ms. Bennett eagerly with a huge smile of anticipation.

"Yes, this house sure is beautiful although I must mention, it comes with a bit of a past."  Dina seemed unsure and anxious, but she kept going; " full  disclosure requires that I tell you about what happened to the previews owners.

“Jesus, don’t tell me they died in this house did they?”  Mrs. Bennett turned around to look over at Dina with a concerned look plastered on her face. "Yes actually, both of them died here. Murder-suicide. I sold them the house too. They were the sweetest couple. You never really know what happens behind those walls I guess.

"That explains why this house is half the price of every other house in neighborhood I guess."  Mr Bennett sighted, crossing his arms.

“Where did it happen?”  Riley asked curiously.

 “In the attic.”

Riley pauses for a second, a smirk forming on her face as she decides to speak up; “ We’re taking it.”

ii

After the initial excitement of choosing their new home, the Bennett family embarked on the task of settling into their Victorian mansion. As they unloaded boxes and furniture from the moving truck, Riley couldn't contain her curiosity about the attic. She'd always been drawn to mysteries and the thought of living in a house with a dark past only fueled her intrigue.

Once they finished moving the essentials into the house, Riley dashed up the grand staircase, eager to explore every nook and cranny. She pushed open the attic door, the creaking hinges echoing in the vast space. The attic was dimly lit, dust particles dancing in the sunlight that filtered through the small windows. Old trunks and forgotten relics littered the space, each one holding a piece of history.

Riley's eyes widened with excitement as she imagined all the stories hidden within these walls. She spent hours rummaging through the forgotten treasures, uncovering vintage clothing, dusty books, and antique toys. Despite the tragic events that occurred here, Riley felt a strange sense of belonging, as if the house welcomed her with open arms.

As the days passed, the Bennett family settled into their new life in Chesterfield. Riley's room became her sanctuary, a reflection of her eclectic personality. She adorned the walls with vintage posters and fairy lights, transforming the space into a cozy retreat. She spent hours scouring antique shops and thrift stores, searching for unique pieces to add to her collection.

One afternoon, while exploring the local flea market, Riley stumbled upon a mysterious key hidden amongst a pile of trinkets. Intrigued, she purchased it for a few dollars, wondering what secrets it might unlock. When she returned home, Riley headed straight for the attic, her heart pounding with excitement.

She searched every nook and cranny until she found a small locked chest hidden beneath a pile of old newspapers. With trembling hands, she inserted the key into the rusty lock, the mechanism clicking open with a satisfying sound. Inside, she discovered a collection of letters tied with a faded ribbon.

As Riley read through the letters, she uncovered the tragic love story of the previous owners. Their words painted a picture of a forbidden romance torn apart by societal expectations and family obligations. Riley felt a pang of sadness for the couple, their lives cut short by tragedy.

And as she looked out the attic window, watching the sun set over the sleepy town of Chesterfield, Riley saw a shadow lurking behind the trees, It was like someone was staring at her. She rubbed her eyes thinking she probably hallucinated, and just like that, the shadow was gone.

iii

As the sun dipped below the horizon, casting a warm glow over the sleepy town of Chesterfield, Riley found herself drawn to the attic once again. She climbed the stairs with a sense of anticipation, eager to lose herself in the stories of the past. But as she reached the top, she was met with an unexpected sight—a boy standing in the dimly lit space, his silhouette illuminated by the fading light.

"Who are you?" Riley asked, her heart racing with a mixture of fear and curiosity.

The boy turned to face her, his features obscured by the shadows. "I'm Andy," he said, his voice soft and haunting. "I live next door."

Riley took a step closer, her eyes adjusting to the darkness. Andy's appearance was striking, with tousled hair and dark brown eyes that seemed to hold a hint of sadness. He reminded her of a character from one of her favorite movies, mysterious and enigmatic.

"What are you doing up here?" Riley asked, her voice tinged with suspicion.

Andy shrugged, a faint smile playing on his lips. "Just exploring," he said. "I like to come up here and think."

Riley nodded, her curiosity piqued. She had always been drawn to people who were different, who didn't fit into the mold of society. And there was something about Andy that intrigued her, something she couldn't quite put her finger on.

"Are you new here?" Andy asked, breaking the silence that had settled between them.

Riley nodded. "Yeah, my family just moved in a few weeks ago. What about you?"

Andy smiled wistfully. "I've lived here my whole life," he said. "But I've never really felt like I belong."

Riley understood the feeling all too well. She had spent her entire life searching for a place where she truly felt at home, a place where she could be herself without judgment.

"Well, you're not alone," Riley said, her voice soft but determined. "We can be outsiders together."

Andy's eyes sparkled with gratitude, and for the first time in a long time, Riley felt a sense of connection—a bond forged in the darkness of the attic.

"You should probably leave now tho, before my parents see you here and call the cops thinking you're here to rob us or something", she giggled slightly, looking at the boy right in front of her who's been smiling at her. It was like he was admiring her, feeling safe by her presence.

He got up and left the attic without saying a word to her, leaving the house so quietly It was like he was never there.

-------

a/n : idrk what to think of this but i truly hope y'all enjoyed this chapter, lmk if you wanna be in the taglist !!

[billdecker]

I have finished a new Mills & Boon!!

Get ready and steady yourself for the rundown on Extreme Provocation (from 1993).

I will say before you hit the Read More that there are plenty of triggers in this for sexual assault. I thought Gentle Savage was something but get ready for this one...

SO Lucy is a nursery teacher in London. She's from a very rich family. Her grandad owned the ENTIRE SQUARE of Georgian houses. But her dad is wastrel. He's sold every single house on the square except for their own and he's gambled and drunk ALL of the money away. Lucy has had ENOUGH so she goes to the casino, Marlborough's, and plans on dragging him away.

When she gets there she demands to see him but this massive ripped dude with a scar on his face says that she can't and takes her to his office. He's sparing her, you see. She's just dressed in this tiny little silk dress that clings to her tiny itty bitty waist and big boobs and the men in there will eat her ALIVE.

And this is where his first sexual assault takes place. He decides he's just gonna do that instead and kisses her without her permission. She tries to fight him off and struggles, only getting free when she scratches his face. She runs out of the casino and goes home, leaving her shawl behind.

The next day she's doing some shopping and a big penis-extension sports car pulls up by her side and it's the dude from the casino. He's called Randal and he's got her shawl. She says thanks and tells him to go away, but he won't . He MUST have her and he's going to have her. He calls himself a hunter and she's the prey and he says delightful things like this DIRECT QUOTE:

'You really are a tempestuous little creature, aren't you?' he murmured. 'It's funny. I've always had two types of women. Can never decide which I prefer.' He looked her up and down slowly drawling, 'Virginal blondes or tempestuous whores.'

A real charmer, right? And he drawls a lot. The writer has him always drawling when he speaks or he's talking flatly. He's always looking at her mockingly.

So he follows her around the shops and refuses to leave her alone, eventually following her into what I assume the writer is describing as Boots. Lucy goes to the perfume counter and he follows. He picks up a tester and in front of everyone he spritzes her neck with it and tells her he wants to perfume all of her pulse points, and tonight she will go home smelling of him. Lucy rightly runs away. This time he doesn't follow.

But when she gets home, there's a parcel waiting for her. It's the perfume from Randal. She chucks it down the sink.

Lucy has a boyfriend. He's called Edward, and he's her father's accountant. She's known him since childhood and they're promised to marry each other. Edward is just as much of a prick as Randal. He tells her that her job is nothing and the best job in the world for her to do is to make him and her father dinner and she needs to stay in the kitchen and not worry her pretty little head about her father gambling and drinking them into destitution.

By this point Randal has already forcibly kissed Lucy on about four different occasions and each time is just more gross than the last. And each time her pulse goes so haywire this girl needs to get hooked up to an ECG.

Lucy's dad then gets an invitation to a thing called the Mallory ball. Apparently it's an exclusive society thing but no one has heard of it. Lucy is like, 'We can't afford dad!' But he's like, 'Don't worry, I'll get you a ballgown from Harrods.' This ballgown is more like something from a period drama than from Harrods. It's all hoop skirts and a busty number.

And guess what... Of COURSE Randal is the owner of the Marlborough casino and is the host of the Mallory ball! And he's there, all suave and with a scar that she says makes him look like a pirate, and encourages her dad to go off and get pissed so he can take her alone to his office where once again, you've guessed it, he forces himself on her. But this time his mum appears, thoroughly embarrasses him, and he has to take Lucy back to the ball.

Lucy's dad has driven to Kent for the ball and can't drive back because he's pissed so Randal insists that Lucy and her dad stay the night. He sorts out one of his mother's neglieges for her (I KNOW), which is a size too big and hangs off her body showing off her boobs. Lucy locks the door because she knows he'll only try to get in and sexually assault her YET AGAIN.

The next morning Randal knocks on the door and he's got a dress for her. It's a pink silk number that again BELONGS TO HIS MUM, and he tells Lucy how ravishing she is going to look in his MUM'S DRESS. Again the dress is too big and the straps fall of her shoulders. Then he practically forces Lucy back onto her bed and forcibly kisses her again until his housemaid knocks on the door.

At breakfast, Lucy's dad invites Randal to lunch later that day. Lucy hatches a plan to invite Edward too so Randal won't do anything bad. But Randal gets there first and follows her into the kitchen, where, you know the story by now, he forcibly kisses her AGAIN. He's only stopped by the knocking on the door of Edward.

Randal chats to Lucy's father and Edward follows Lucy into the kitchen. He can tell that she's kissed Randal and he wants to know wtf is going on. So he agrees to publicly announce the engagement, but only so Randal will stop stalking Lucy.

But it doesn't work! The next day Lucy finishes work and Randal's penis-extension car pulls up beside and he's like, 'Hey, I've just bought a horse, wanna come see?' He's called it Miss Lucy's Passion. So they go to his Newmarket home to see the horse. Then he takes her to his house where they chat before he chases her, demanding that he's finally going to bed her this time!! He literally chases her through his house, but she opens a door and it's a bedroom, and he backs her onto the bed, and the Benny Hill theme is going through my head.

And basically they tear their tops up, and he sucks her tits or whatever, Lucy wants Randal but then he stops and laughs at her and is like, 'I told you you couldn't resist me! Put your clothes back on, you whore!' Then he drives her home.

She goes to bed but then in the night she hears her father return home late and he looks like something has terrible has happened but he won't tell her what. Later that day Randal arrives and reveals to Lucy that not only is her father now bankrupt but he's in debt. She asks how he knows and it turns out that of coure Randal owns the bank her father uses!

Randal says he'll give Lucy's dad a job. Lucy is horrified by this because her dad has NEVER WORKED. Her dad agrees to take a job but that's not enough. So he doesn't get taken to bankruptcy court LUCY MUST MARRY RANDAL.

So Lucy agrees and they buy a ring, but then she has to tell Edward. She asks Edward why he didn't tell her about the state of her father's finances and he's like, 'You're a woman! You're too silly to know anything about money!' Which quite rightly pisses Lucy off. Then he notices the ring and Lucy tells him she must marry Randal because of this. And Edward is upset but he's also like 'WE MUST BE STRONG! WE MUST BE STRONG!' like a shit Brief Encounter or something, and then he runs away.

Randal thinks this is hilarious and then he and Lucy argue again. And then this is another genuine quote from the thing:

'You can take a horse to water,' he drawled softly. 'Or should I say - a whore.' Somehow she got her wrist free and slapped him again, harder. His teeth met and he jerked her hard against him. 'Don't you hit me again, you little bitch, or I'll prove what I'm saying by taking you up to bed immediately and giving you what you so obviously, desperately want!'

By this point I was genuinely longing for Marshall and the cement mixer accident. I was two-thirds through and I didn't know how much more of this I could take. But also I like to self inflict shitness on myself and purposely watch terrible things and read shit like this because I can't just leave it alone, I HAVE to finish it.

Three weeks later, Lucy marries Randal. At the wedding, he tells Lucy that Edward is actually a bastard. That he stole all of her father's money and that's why he has nothing and Edward has spent it on a flash car and a Park Lane flat. Lucy doesn't believe. She thinks she still loves Edward but she's getting more of the hots for Randal.

He takes her to Rome on the honeymoon where all they do for the first few days all they do is bang. Which Lucy loves, but hates. But then she loves banging so much she realises she's in love. But they argue all the time. He says Lucy is his wife but he always wants her to be his mistress. She keeps saying she hates him, and when they go out for gelato they bump into one of his old flames, Apollonia.

Apollonia is curvy and her dress can barely contain her rocking tits. She flirts with Randal and invites them to a party. Lucy accepts to prove to Randal that she doesn't care about him.

So at Apollonia's party, Randal goes off with her to dance. It's like Danny and Cha Cha, but not as hot. So Lucy starts talking to a American-Italian film director called Michael Salvatore and he's like, 'Your husband is being cad, lets get some air.' So he takes her outside. He tells her that a blonde actress has pulled out of his latest film and she would be perfect for it. He then kisses Lucy on the lips. Randal comes out just in time and decks Michael and drags Lucy away.

They come home and there is this cracking little paragraph

By the time they flew back to London, Lucy was a sunblushed beauty with tousled blonde hair, a love-bruised mouth, and a penchant for off-the-shoulder clothes.

Back in London, Lucy decides she's going to secretly visit Edward while Randal is in Newmarket. She doesn't believe what Randal has told her about the embezzlement, but then Edward lets her into his flat. They argue. She can't believe what he did to her dad. She storms away and when she's outside Randal is there waiting with his penis-extension car to take her home.

They argue. He doesn't come to bed. It's the first time they haven't shagged since Rome and. Lucy is so sad about this she genuinely contemplates throwing herself off the bedroom balcony at Mallory. When he does come to bed, he stinks of whiskey. Randal is convinced that Lucy still loves Edward. He's not meant to be bothered seeing as he only married her for sex and to always call her a bitch or a whore (he does this frequently, and she constantly wants to slap him)

At some point they argue and he literally physically forces himself onto her to have sex and my jaw was genuinely dropped for the fuck knows how many time.

The next day she goes to London again to tell her dad the truth about Edward. Edward turns up. They argue. Her dad hits him and Edward falls into Lucy's arms. Randal turns up. He shouts DON'T TOUCH MY WIFE and hits Edward. And Edward was all 'SO IT WAS YOU WHO GRASSED ME UP TO THE INLAND REVENUE' and runs away.

At home that night, Lucy confesses that she told her father everything because she wanted to stop protecting Edward because she no longer loves him but loves Randal. Randal confesses his love back. And then they bang again. The end.

[sjsmith56]

The Trap, Chapter 23 - Eyes of the Father

Summary: While Lacey and the Barton’s deal with the discovery she’s been tracked to the farm, Bucky and the Wakandans realize the auction is a trap.

Length: 4.7 K

Characters: Almost everyone.

Warnings: Violence causing injury.

Author notes: More heroic Bucky (I find it hot 🔥).

<<Chapter 22

🏰 🌓

Barton's Farm

As soon as Lacey and Terry walked through the portal onto Clint's farm, she and Tommy ran to each other with their arms outstretched. He almost bowled her over when he hugged her. There were several minutes of crying and kissing they both had to get through before they could speak.

"I wanted to hurt that tattooed man who took you," said Tommy to his mother. "I could tell he was bad just by how he looked at you."

"He didn't hurt me," replied Lacey, "but he turned me over to a man and a woman so they could sell me. Your Dad and another man rescued me."

"He rescued me, too," stated Tommy. "We made up. Did you make up with him?"

"Yeah, I made up with him," she answered, with a big smile. "We worked it out. When he's finished his mission, he'll come here."

"He's an Avenger, Mom," boasted the boy. "My Dad is an Avenger."

She hugged him. For so long he had only known Bucky via her phone, then they both had to live with sorrow when they thought he was dead. Now he was one of a group of heroes and she could see the pride in Tommy's face as he talked about his dad.

Standing up with her arm around Tommy's shoulders she looked at the farm, remembering much of it. Clint and Laura strode up to them and she hugged them both.

"Thank you for looking after him," she said emotionally. "I'm still short of a few memories and they come back at the weirdest times so if I laugh or cry out of turn, you'll know why."

"What about you and Bucky?" asked Clint. "Have you made up?"

Lacey smiled remembering the previous two days. "Yeah, we made up," she repeated, then put her arm around Tommy. "He said we're getting married as soon as we can."

"I'd like to walk you down the aisle then," said Clint.

"Laura, would you be my matron of honour?" asked Lacey. "I'm not even sure when we're going to do it but you were my closest girl friend for a long time. That I do remember."

"It would be my honour," said Laura. "Come on in ... you too, Terry, and have something to eat."

They all went inside where over breakfast Lacey told them everything that happened from when her memory was taken from her through to her old memories returning and the rescue at the airfield. Clint told her about the mission in Madripoor and how Bucky had taken a leadership role in planning the rescue and destruction of the lab.

"Why did that Sharon woman sell me?" asked Lacey. "It was like she hated me from the moment she saw me."

Clint looked at Tommy, not sure if he should say in front of him but the boy looked at his mother and put his hand on hers. "She was jealous of you, Mom," he said. "She had a thing for Dad, and he wouldn't even look at her that way. I heard some of her guards talking about it and laughing that he loved you over her."

"It's true," said Clint. "The scientist she found to recreate the serum said her goal was to remove Bucky's memories and reprogram him to be her lover and chief of security. He was to be in charge of a team of super soldiers that answered to her. She tested the memory machine on you but only once, thinking it was enough. The man she sold you to, Sergei Dendrov? He's one of the men who came looking for the flash drive at your house when you first met Bucky. It's likely he killed your brother Tom, as well."

"Terry said Tom was dead," replied Lacey. "I guess I have to wait for all the memories of that time to return. I do remember that man looking at me in the car like I was ... nothing, then driving to an airfield near New York and giving me to another man and woman. They spoke another language the whole time which I realized at some point in the flight was Russian. That's when my memories began returning. If they hadn't, what would they have done with me?"

Clint shrugged. "You were a blank slate," he said. "I'm guessing you would have been trained to become an assassin. That auction they were flying you to is a high level affair apparently. If Bucky and the Wakandans are successful at infiltrating it they could put a serious dent into several traffickers, not just the ones that had you."

Lacey nodded her head soberly. It had been a brief glimpse into a sordid world for her, one that almost swallowed her up. Perhaps it was something that she could write about in a future book. She smiled, realizing she just remembered she was a writer. Another memory rebuilding in her mind. She looked at her brother, still getting used to seeing him as an adult, then at her son. He had his own experiences that would need dealing with but she was sure Bucky could help him with that once he returned. She wondered if Bucky and the Wakandans had started the final part of their mission yet.

"Just come back to us," she thought, sending her wish to Bucky.

She rubbed her hands over her arms, feeling a little chill suddenly. There was a bump on her left tricep and she felt it closely, not recalling how she got it at first. It must have shown on her face as Clint looked at her with some concern.

"What is it?" he asked.

"Nothing, I hope," she replied, then she turned her arm to him. "Can you see a bump here on my tricep? I don't recall having it before."

Clint looked closely at it and ran his fingertip over it. It was hard, about the size of a grain of rice, and it looked like there was a small puncture wound at one end of it. Quickly he went to a cupboard in the kitchen and pulled out the first aid kit.

"Laura, get some rubbing alcohol," he said. "Clean all around that bump." He pulled a razor out of the first aid kit and poured the rubbing alcohol over it then held it over Lacey's arm. "Take a deep breath. This might hurt a little."

Gently he sliced open the skin over the bump. Laura doused some forceps with the rubbing alcohol and handed them to Clint. As Lacey took another deep breath he inserted the forceps into the cut and grasped the bump pulling it out, revealing it to be a small electronic device. Carefully he looked at it then dropped it on the floor and smashed it with his heel while Laura put a bandage on Lacey's arm.

"We have to get out of here," he said suddenly. "Where are the kids?"

"The boys are at the treehouse," said Laura. "Lila's upstairs. Clint, what was that?"

"A tracking device," he said, looking intently at Lacey. "You don't remember them putting it in your arm?"

Her face was shocked, and she racked her brains trying to think when they could have done it. "The man on the jet injected me with something before we landed," she cried. "I thought it was something to knock me out, but it didn't."

"He injected you with a tracker, probably to lead them to Tommy," said Clint. "It was a setup. I have to get the boys."

"Let me go," offered Tommy. "I'm faster than you, Uncle Clint. I can get there and bring them back."

Clint hesitated for a moment. "Go," he ordered Tommy who took off as fast as he could. "Terry, come out to the barn with me. I have weapons there."

"What about the protection spell?" he asked as he ran to the barn with Clint. "It's what gave us enough time to escape when they came for Lacey and Tommy before."

"No, it's not on anymore," said Clint. "Once I was back I told them I could handle it. We can try texting Wong but I'm guessing the traffickers will be here within minutes."

They went into Clint's workshop, and he pressed a button, opening a secret room that Terry never knew existed the whole time they were living on the farm during the Blip. Clint pulled out several handguns and magazines to fit, handing them to Terry. Then he pulled out his bow and a quiver of arrows. Pressing the button to close the room they ran back to the house at the same time as Tommy showed up carrying Nathaniel on his back, with Cooper trying to keep up. Clint pulled Cooper inside where Laura had already closed all the windows and with Lila's and Lacey's help moved heavy furniture in front of them to keep anyone from coming in.

"I called Fury," she said. "They're under attack but will send help as soon as they can. They're also sending backup to the chateau in France where the auction is." She looked grimly at Clint and Terry. "They think it was all a trap to lure Bucky in. The leader of the trafficking cartel has been identified as Viktor Orlov, former KGB General and former HYDRA."

Only the presence of his children kept Clint from swearing. He looked at his three and then at Tommy. "Get into the storm cellar below the stairs," he said. "I want you down there while we handle the intruders up here."

"Uncle Clint, I can help," offered Tommy. "I know how to fight."

"I know son," replied Clint, smiling fondly at the boy. "But your Dad would want me to make sure you're safe. If they get to us up here, you'll have your chance, but I hope it doesn't come to that. Now get down there and stay quiet."

Clint looked at Lacey, unsure if she was strong enough in her current state to handle a gun. With a steely look she picked up a handgun, loaded a magazine into it and grabbed two more magazines.

"Where do you want me?" she asked.

They built a barricade of more furniture and all of them got into it except Clint who had kept part of one window open so he could see outside. They waited and within minutes several vehicles pulled up well away from the house. Each vehicle held four people, male and female, all of them fully armed. Clint looked back at Laura, meeting her eyes with his. They smiled at each other then he nodded his head, notched an arrow into his bow and let it fly through the open window to the closest vehicle, blowing it up and knocking several of the intruders onto their backs. Without hesitation he did the same to the next vehicle, taking out more of the intruders at the same time. The others got smart at that point and split up, surrounding the house before opening fire and driving all of them to take cover inside. They could see several people come up onto the porch and break the windows from the outside, trying to push the heavy furniture out of the way. Terry went to one of the windows and with his handgun shot wildly from a small opening before hitting the floor. He knew he hit several people as he heard their bodies hitting the porch deck. Changing to another window he did the same but Clint told him to get back to the barricade before he got shot. Reluctantly he climbed back over the furniture and took his place.

"Man of the house!" yelled a person from outside with a Russian accent. "Give us the boy and we'll leave you alone. Surely the life of your own children and your wife is worth one small boy."

Clint looked at Lacey and Terry. "Not happening," he yelled firmly. "You leave and you'll get to live."

Those outside opened up again and fired incessantly on the house. Several shots made their way inside, hitting the opposite walls. Then a flash bang landed indoors and went off, stunning all of them. As they coughed and tried to get their senses back they heard the sound of one of the pieces of heavy furniture being moved and footsteps entering the house. All of them looked up to see several high powered assault rifles aimed at them.

"Checkmate," said the same voice that had yelled from outside. "Drop your weapons."

"Drop yours," said a voice from the stairs and Wong sent an energy pulse through all of the armed intruders causing them to collapse. He turned to look at Clint. "Sorry, we're late. We had to deal with the attack on the compound before we came here. It appears they hoped to take us all down at the same time."

Clint went over to the intruders and pulled their guns away from them. Then he went to the storm cellar door and opened it. The kids looked up the stairs at him and he motioned for them to come up. Nathaniel came up first and hugged his parents, followed by Tommy, who hugged Lacey and Terry. Clint then went to where the intruders had entered and saw the rest of them under guard of several MPs. He turned back to Wong.

"What about Bucky and the Wakandans?" he asked. "Was it really a trap?"

Wong grimaced in his understated way. "Yes, but I don't know how it's been resolved," he replied. "We did send reinforcements, but no one has reported back yet."

Chateau Louis XIV, Provence

The convoy of three Audi sedans pulled up to the gates of the chateau. The first vehicle with Everett Ross at the wheel was approached by a man with an iPad. Behind him, another man with a machine gun watched impassively as the occupants of the vehicles were checked in.

"Buyer's code 7398," said Ross, in French.

"Lower the back seat windows for visual verification, please," replied the man with the iPad in accented English. "Your French is terrible."

Ross shrugged and lowered the windows. In the back Bucky and Ayo sat, both of them wearing nano masks. The man looked at them carefully, comparing their faces to the information on his iPad. He nodded his approval then went to the second vehicle and did the same for the King's Guard driver, and for a member of the King's Guard, Themba and Nomble, acting as buyer's assistants and also fitted with nano masks. The third vehicle with Yama alone as driver to transport their purchases after the auction also passed scrutiny. The man went back to the first vehicle.

"You will park where directed," he informed Ross. "Drivers are to stay in the vicinity of their vehicles. Buyers are to proceed inside where they will be directed to the salon for refreshments."

He stood back and pressed his comms piece saying buyers code 7398 had just arrived. The gates opened and Ross led the convoy inside, dropping off Bucky and Ayo at the entrance before following the parking attendant to his designated parking spot. He got out of his vehicle and watched as the other two vehicles were parked next to him. He scratched his ear then gently touched his comms piece.

"We're in," he said quietly, then pulled a cigarette package out of his pocket and lit a cigarette, blowing smoke out forcefully.

Inside the four undercover operatives approached another check-in station, this one armed with a metal detector. Bucky waited until the other three were with him then addressed the woman at the computer with perfect French.

"Buyer's code 7398," he said, perfunctorily, then waited as if he was bored.

He looked around him, taking in the rich surroundings, while also assessing the security. Holding on to his arm possessively Ayo, who had assumed the persona of a very well-kept woman, also looked around although she often looked up at Bucky adoringly. Behind him, Themba and Nomble assumed the persona of buyer's assistants, waiting to be directed by their boss. The woman at the check-in looked at something and her face underwent a subtle change which Bucky noticed.

"Is there a problem?" he asked in French.

"No, monsieur," she replied. "Our host has requested a private meeting with you, but he hasn't arrived yet. It's most unusual."

"May we go to the viewing salon while we wait?" he asked with a sense of exasperation. "I did want an opportunity to view the merchandise before the auction."

"Certainly," she replied. "There is no problem with you attending the pre-auction viewing. Marcel will escort you and your entourage there. When General Orlov arrives, you will be summoned."

Bucky bowed his head slightly, while searching his memories for an Orlov in his past. The only one he could think of was Viktor Orlov who had been part of the KGB, then HYDRA while he was still the Winter Soldier. The last he heard the man had been taken down by SHIELD. As they were escorted to the viewing salon Bucky pressed a button on his watch which would render his vibranium arm invisible to the metal detector. The others had a similar button on their jewelry which hid their spears and metallic weapons. He noticed there were only guards in attendance in the viewing salon. He looked at Ayo and she whispered to him.

"Trap?" she asked.

He nodded, then looked at the two behind him who had also become more alert, noticing the same things he did. Themba tilted his head and Bucky nodded once. Then he turned to look at the dozen people up for sale in the auction, each one in their own windowed cell. They all looked terrified. Slowly he walked towards the left, closer to the final cell where an armed guard stood. He glanced to his right noticing Ayo, Themba and Nomble were spread out to the right. Leaning forward to look at the supposed abilities and possibilities with the person on display he pulled out a set of glasses, as if he was having trouble reading something.

"Tell me," he glanced at the guard, speaking in French, "what does this mean? What are they flexible in?"

The guard smirked and answered in English. "This must be your first time at one of our auctions," he replied smugly, letting his guard down slightly. "Physically flexible as in you can bend them any which way but not break them."

"That's what I thought," replied Bucky, in English. "Thank you."

Grabbing the man's firearm, he shoved it into his face while simultaneously lifting him and throwing him against the wall knocking him out immediately. Behind him Ayo and Nomble had extended their spears which had been in their clutch purses in a retracted state. Both attacked the guards nearest them while Themba attacked the guard nearest to him in much the same manner as Bucky. His guard fought back and Themba found it necessary to run up the man's body, wrap his legs around his throat and squeeze until the man fell unconscious. The people on display were all on their knees pounding on the glass. Bucky could hear them calling for help even though the glass was soundproof. His superior hearing could hear their faint but frantic calls. Taking one of the guns he aimed at the top of one of the windowed panels shooting a short burst, but it was bullet proof glass. One of them, a young woman pointed at the panel below her window, and he pried it off with a nod. He looked up at her and she yelled which wires to cross. He pulled out two of them and touched their metallic ends together. A small click sounded and the panel on her window raised. Bucky offered her his hand as she scrambled out. Then he pulled his nano mask off.

"Red wire and blue wire," he said to the others as they pulled off the rest of the panels.

"Thank you," she said gratefully. "There's a dozen more in another salon. I was employed here as a server until one of the women on sale killed herself by breaking her food plate and cutting her own throat. They made me take her place. I swear I didn't realize it was human trafficking. We were told they were psychiatric inmates, members of wealthy families."

"Can you get us in there?" asked Bucky, pointing to the entrance to the next salon. She nodded and he turned to the other people they had just freed. "Grab a gun. We've walked into a trap and the only way out is to fight." He pressed his comms and heard nothing. "They've blocked our comms. Hopefully those outside have realized this and are calling in the cavalry."

The others took what firearms they could from the four guards and Bucky directed them to follow him and the young woman.

"What's your name?" he asked as they made their way to a doorway that she said led to the next salon.

"Raina," she replied, then choked back a sob. "They were going to sell me to the highest bidder, weren't they?"

"Yep," he answered. "You might have been lured here for the server job but I'm guessing by how attractive you are they always intended for you to be part of the auction."

"Fuck," she muttered. "How do you know this?"

"They took my girlfriend," he replied. "Wiped her memory then when it started to return they were going to kill her. We hacked into their computer system and found out where they were going to drop her off. You were already in the catalogue. I'm guessing they let us hack them so they could lure us here. The four of us are pretty valuable as possible slaves."

They came to the closed doorway and the Wakandans moved up to be next to Bucky. Ayo looked at him.

"White Wolf," she said solemnly. "Us three are expendable but they must never get you. There are likely more armed guards in there. Let us three take the room."

"No one is expendable, Ayo," he said, focusing on her. "I am faster than any of you. I can take them all out before you even get in the door. If I die in the process, you just get the others out of their cells and get the hell out of here. Tell Lacey and Tommy, I love them."

Before she could say anything Bucky raised his firearm and ran through the door. They watched in amazement as he went from guard to guard, firing first then punching, throwing and kicking them into submission. A couple of the guards did manage to get some rounds off which hit him but he never stopped until he had all of the guards down on the floor. Slowly he turned, making sure all the guards were down, and Ayo was relieved to see his bullet wounds were not in a critical area. He went to the nearest panel, pulling it off and opening their doors. She and the others did the same. One of the people on display came down and stood in front of Bucky. A man in his mid-40s, he looked at Bucky with recognition.

"You did get away," he said with admiration. "Thank you Soldat for my freedom."

Bucky looked at him and put his hand on the man's shirt front, dragging him close to his face. "I am no longer the Winter Soldier," he declared. "I am James Bucky Barnes and as much as I hate that you were part of HYDRA you are part of my efforts to make amends."

"I am Hans Meyer," replied the man quickly. "I went straight after HYDRA fell and refused to be their tool anymore. I went into legitimate medical research. But Viktor Orlov found me, kidnapped me, and put me up for sale. This is his doing."

He gestured at the environment around them, and Bucky released him. "Then we both better get out of here before Orlov arrives," said Bucky. Turning to the others he noticed that the remaining captives had armed themselves and he gestured back to the doorway which led to the rest of the chateau. "Anyone know if there's another way out that doesn't involve the main entry?"

Raina put up her hand. "Servers have a door to the kitchen and there's a door to the outside there," she replied. "The only problem is you need a special bracelet to open the door and they took mine."

She showed them to the door that led to the kitchen and Bucky looked closely at it. He fired a long burst at its hinges then kicked it. The frame cracked and he kicked it again, dislodging the door. Several of the young men grabbed it and pulled it away. Leading them into the kitchen, which was empty, Bucky took the point position, making sure there were no surprise guards. They made it to the outside door and Bucky turned the handle determining it was unlocked. The others started crowding towards it to get out but Bucky and the Wakandans blocked their way. The four warriors were all suspicious at the ease of their escape.

"It's too easy," said Bucky, looking back at Raina. "Tell me the truth, were you really on display for the auction or were you put there to make sure we all came out of this door?"

Her face coloured and she became defensive. "I told you what happened," she protested.

Another who had been in the second room looked closely at her. "I saw you," she said, grabbing Raina's arm. "You were flirting with a guard while I was being locked in my cell. That wasn't even an hour ago."

Bucky shook his head at Raina then grabbed her and shoved her out of the door before closing it and locking it from the inside. They watched through a window as all sorts of floodlights came on and she raised her hands screaming that she was one of them. She ran forward then fell after a single gunshot and Bucky saw two guards run to her, dragging her away.

"Well, shit," he said and turned to Ayo. "Suggestions?"

She looked at him with her usual no nonsense attitude. "We post a guard on this door and the one to the salon," she said. "I take care of your bullet wounds while we come up with a way to destroy this chateau and get everyone out alive."

"Destroy it?" repeated Bucky. "We're still in it, Ayo. I don't think any of us wants this building falling on us while we're trapped in the kitchen."

Ayo looked up to a corner of the room and he followed her gaze with his eyes noticing an active security camera. He looked back at her quickly then raised his gun and shot at the camera until he destroyed it.

"This was never about the auction of slaves," she said firmly. "You were the auction. They were the bait to bring you here. I am guessing we were allowed to hack into their computer to lure you here and see you in action. First when you rescued Lacey and then when you led this rescue. Someone has gone to a lot of trouble to set this up. They aren't going to let you destroy the building with you still in it. The rest of us are expendable, to them."

Bucky swore and wondered how long it would be before he could finally remove every remaining HYDRA agent or cell from the face of the Earth. He would never return to them willingly and he sure as hell wouldn't let them get Tommy. They would have to begin brainstorming how to get out of the chateau and how to stop them permanently.

Chapter 24>>

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[deathofpeaceofmiiind]

high infidelity | twenty one

"I rent a place on Cornelia Street", I say casually in the car. We were a fresh page on the desk, filling in the blanks as we go. As if the street lights pointed in an arrowhead leading us home

*Ellie's POV* A few days later…

I was finally back up in Vancouver and with Liam, I missed him so much and being with him gave me a sense of stability. Tyler put the house up for sale and it sold on the same day which was incredibly lucky but very normal for Vancouver real estate. Liam and I have just been staying with my dad for the time being, which my dad enjoyed. Danielle even found me a condo and I was getting ready to move into it already. I had to admit this transition period in my life was going a lot easier than I expected. I had such an incredible support system that made it even better.

“I can’t believe this place is mine.” I mused as I walked around my new home. It was right in the heart of Vancouver, bright open layout, lots of windows, a large patio, and even better it had three bedrooms so Liam could have his own space and I could still have a guest room. Danielle looked over at me at smiled, “It’s all yours babe, time for a fresh start.” “Absolutely.” I mused, still not believing I was finally out of that house and didn’t have to walk on eggshells. I could decorate it the way I wanted, adopt a cat if I wanted, put my Christmas tree up early without someone bitching in my ear. Hell I could drink wine and dance around naked if I wanted to. “When does the furniture arrive?” “Tomorrow.” I had taken some of my money from the house selling to get new furniture, cause I wanted nothing from the house in here besides Liams room. Danielle and I were gonna mirror it to his old room to help him with the transition. “It was nice of them to leave this couch.” “This couch is fucking sick.” Danielle agreed, it was a giant cloud couch that almost wrapped around the whole living room. I couldn’t wait to have Noah and the guys up here to hang out and have family dinners or even football Sunday’s with them. I went to check on Liam, but as soon as I did my phone buzzed, it was a text from Noah. “Special delivery at your front door.” I raised my eyebrow and walked towards the door. My footsteps felt heavy the closer I got, I checked the peephole, but he wasn’t on the other side of the door. Filled with confusion I swung the door open and saw a giant bouquet of ivory roses. My heart skipped a beat, they were my favourite. How did he know?

I grabbed my phone and face-timed Noah, he answered and saw me with the flowers,“Congratulations on your new home baby.”

I blushed as I stared at the screen, he was sitting in his home studio as his favourite Naruto hoodie hugged his body. “Thank you these are gorgeous.” “I thought you deserved a house warming gift.” “I’ll never say no to flowers. Are you happy to be home?” I replied as I sat down on the floor in my empty bedroom, completely consumed by Noah’s voice. Funny how a few short years ago I found comfort in his voice on Twitch and now he’s FaceTiming me daily, it was something out of a teenage dream. “I am.” He replied as he scanned his room. “It’s just missing something.” Rolling my eyes, already knowing the answer, “hmm, what could that be?” “You, obviously.” His smile faded and turned into a small pout, “I miss you so much, Ellie.” My heart sunk as it hit me that he really wasn’t here with me, but he was in another country. At least we were in the same timezone but it still wasn’t enough. “I miss you too, Noah.” “I actually have a question for you.” He started. “We upgraded to a bigger venue tomorrow and the remaining tickets sold out quickly so we added a second show the night after. I was wondering, if you’re able, do you want to come down for the second show?” “I’d love to Noah.” A smile appearing on my face, “I want to see what your life is like down there. Only thing is, I’d have to fly down the day of the show. Liam goes back to his dad’s tomorrow after dinner.” He smiles at me through the screen, “Works for me.” “I can’t wait to see you.” I stopped myself, every cell in my body wanted me to tell him I loved him. I wanted to tell him, but over the phone just didn’t seem right. “I can’t wait to see you either.” He was cut off by his doorbell ringing. “What are your plans tonight?” “Inhale this ramen that just arrived and watch more Demon Slayer.” His dark eyes burned a whole into my heart as he looked at me, “Isn’t your boyfriend so exciting?” “Very.” I chuckled. “I can’t wait to see you.” “Once this tour’s over I’m coming up to stay with you with no interruptions okay? I gotta go though, Jesse might steal my food.” He replied, referring to his roommate Jesse Cash, who was also in a band called Erra. Noah started to walk out his room and I could hear him yelling at Jesse to not go to the door. Jesse told him to get fucked and went anyway. “Goodnight babe.” I hung up and I just sat there, feeling tears in my eyes. How can I have so much going for me but I feel deflated? I didn’t want to feel like this. I didn’t want to be this attached to him this fast but he made it impossible, especially with how he’s been so devoted to me. This felt like the cruelest way to fall in love, but I knew it was something I would have get used to with his career. “Mama?” I looked up, Liam walked into the room and towards the flowers. I smiled at him as I wiped the tears from my eyes, he caught me and walked over to me. It amazed me that even at his age he felt my sadness and wanted to make me feel better. He crawled onto my lap and hugged me, putting his head on my shoulder. I held him close to me as I felt more tears escaped my eyes. It can only get easier from here…right?

[mattscoquette]

I was just thinking about the live yesterday and how you said you don’t like to go out and that’s I how met my boyfriend. I thought I shared the story but I don’t think I actually did , but I have nothing better to do so here’s the story.

My friends wanted to go to this house party but i didn’t they ended up convincing me i chose to be DD because I don’t really like to drink. He was also at the party he was DD cause he had work the next morning. I can’t really stand drunk people like they’re annoying so I was just sitting on the couch and I had seen him i thought he was cute I looked over at him a couple times but i wasn’t about to make a move. He came up to me and was like “ water are you the dd” i honestly don’t remember. I’m really awkward so I just laughed and said yeah. He ended up sitting with me and we talked the whole night. I saw my friends were getting a little to drunk so I decided it was time to go so I sold him bye didn’t get his number or anything. And when we finally got to my car it wouldn’t start and I was trying to figure out what was wrong for like 10 min. He saw me when he was leaving and asked if i needed help I told him yeah he tried to turn it on and figure out it was my battery and said that my battery was dead I was confused he said he’ll jump start it for me and to tell my dad I needed a new battery. I thanked him and asked how i could pay him cause he got all dirt and said how about you give me your number and we’ll call it even. I was blushing so hard he texted me the next day and wanted to plan a date and said he’d pick me up cause he doesn’t want to get stranded with a “stranger” and still till this day he doesn’t really let me drive often but if it wasn’t for my friends making me go to the party i don’t think I would have ever met him. And now 2 years and 3 months later here I am .

Anon 🧛🏻

wait i think u have told me this :((( that’s so sweet omfg i need to go out more fr

[rayne-storm]

But Hold Me Tight and Fear Me Not

AUgust 1 - Dark Fantasy

Fandom: 10th Kingdom

Summary: Virginia x Wolf

Virginia, due to her father's gambling addiction, is promised to the king of a fae court. Wolf, for his part, is unsure of this arrangement.

A/N: I might do more with this in the future, but I like this as a jumping off point. Also, yes, I know that 10th Kingdom is, technically, already a Dark Fantasy. Oh well.

"Listen, Virginia, I know it's not ideal, but-"

"But nothing, Dad! You're saying you tried to sell me! Like, like some cheap hooker or something! Hell, did you even haggle, or was it a relief that anyone would pay anything for you to get rid of me?"

Virginia Lewis was furious. Tony, the man who claimed to be her father, was saying some extremely problematic shit. In his gambling addiction he'd lost a lot of money (nothing new), they couldn't afford this apartment any more (nothing new), but he'd found an ingenious way to save them (nothing new):

He sold Virginia (ALARMINGLY NEW).

Like an old car or some ugly chintz her grandmother would give her-

Grandmother.

She could go there.

Legally, she was an adult and there was no way in hell she'd just meekly obey whatever bullshit pedophile he'd sold her to (because no way did someone just try to outright buy an adult woman, right?). She could go stay at her grandmother's house and Tony could deal with his problems by himself.

He was still shouting something as she left, she was too angry and focused on leaving to hear it, slamming the door as she crossed it. Did it hit him? Hopefully.

She'd made it out of the apartment building and halfway to a park bench to call the old woman when someone in a brownish-grey robe appeared in front of her. Literally, out of thin air, and she walked right into them, crashing down hard, luckily not hitting her head on the ground.

"Ow, what the- are you okay?" She scrambled up to help them, but they hardly seemed phased, though they did take her hand as she overcorrected and stumbled forward.

"Virginia," the mysterious person said, voice soft but brooking no argument.

"Who's asking?" She asked, glaring, snatching her hand back. She rubbed her forehead, looking the stranger up and down.

"I am not asking, I am saying," they replied simply, shrugging their shoulders.

"Yeah? Cool. Sorry, but I need to go."

She moved to walk around them, but they followed her, blocking her way.

"Virginia, you have been sold to-" they began, but she whipped around, fist on their chest. She didn't strike them, but it was quite clear she meant business.

"No one. I don't know who the hell you are, or what bullshit my dad did, but I am not sold to anyone. Leave," she all but commanded, and shoved off, pulling out a flip-phone to call her grandmother.

The creepy stranger sighed, shaking their covered head, and followed behind. The robe's hood fell back to reveal and older man with piercing blue eyes and long, braided salt-and-pepper hair.

"Virginia," he began again, but she ignored it, walking faster.

Humans. Always so difficult. Though he remembered a time when he was so stubborn.

In front of her he appeared again, prepared this time to catch her before she fell, though she did scream something fierce.

"Forgive me, but it's not so simple," he said over her cursing him out and beating his chest.

"Let me go! Let me go right now or you're gonna regret it, asshole! Help! Hel-"

A hand on her head and a whispered spell sent her into a nice, compliant sleep.

As Rutger the Hunter made his way into the woods with the girl, he shook his head. Humans were always so stubborn, and this would certainly be far more than the council was prepared to deal with… but he quite liked her already.

-----

As the Hunter came in, bartered bride in tow, he tried to think of how this could end happily. The girl was a spitfire, and who would not take any kindlier to the situation now than she had earlier. Still, he could tell she would make an amazing queen, and an amazing bride for his king. His Majesty, King Wolfric Fenris Von Hood, was perceived often as cold and impassive, but the Hunter knew much better. The man had a heart as tender as a maiden’s, and could use someone like the girl to lean on.

The King, Wolf as he was known around the castle to the few that were close to him, watched quietly as the woman was set in a bed in the dedicated Queen’s Chambers. The Hunter bowed to him as he left, and Wolf entered quietly, to see the woman who’d been… purchased. To be his companion. He would help her escape, come the morning, but… he wanted to see her. To have at least a chance to dream of the maybes.

He remained a respectful distance away, but lit a candle to see her.

Oh.

She was beautiful. She had a boyish charm, some might say, but he only saw delicate, dainty, beautiful features. He felt his heart swell and then shatter. He had found his soulmate. And he could never have her. Not like this. No matter how much his heart sang that she was to be his mate for life. He hadn’t approved of the way she had come to his lands, and he couldn’t keep her in good conscience.

He wanted to leave. He needed to leave, before she woke up, and he saw her eyes, saw her fear and fury. As beautiful as it would be, most certainly, he didn’t know if he would survive that level of heartbreak.

But then her eyes opened, and for one brief, beautiful moment they saw each other, and he felt complete. But then, as he feared, she panicked.

“Who the hell are you? Where am I?!”

Ah, even her angry-fear was stunning. He fought down a soft coo of adoration, opting more to focus on calming his “bride.”

“Whoa, hey, sorry, I know this is frightening. I’m going to help you get out of here.”

That seemed to calm her down the slightest bit.

“It wasn’t a dream,” she gasped.

“No. I’m sorry. It seems… someone did some bartering on my behalf. It absolutely wasn’t my intention to… to trap some innocent maiden here like some kind of storybook monster,” he said, hanging his head.

Virginia, for her part, could almost see ears and a tail similarly lowered in shame, and through her anger and fear, felt pangs of… something. Against all of her best judgements, her heart seemed to trust this strange man in the room. Definitely more than she was ready to trust anyone else.

“What’s your name?” She demanded.

He looked up, tilting his head.

“...My friends call me Wolf. Just Wolf.” It’s all he felt he’d ever really amount to.

“Virginia,” she replied, sitting up carefully. A sudden dizziness proved that a bad idea, and the mysterious Wolf man caught her before she could keel over. Intriguingly, the action seemed to surprise him even more than her, and he quickly retreated.

“Sorry! Sorry, you probably don’t want some strange man touching you. I… I can get out of your hair while you sleep off the effects of Hunter’s spell, and then we’ll get you home,” he offered, standing.

She shook her head.

“No, no, please, I… I really would like not to be alone right now. This is… too much, honestly, but you seem like you won’t kill me or anything in my sleep. And I’ll feel better if I’ve got someone I can try to trust watching my back,” she said, rubbing her head. She stretched out under the very luxurious blankets, and decided that she’d get out of here, but might as well enjoy this creature comfort while she could.

Before she passed back out, she heard the softest little whimper, like a dog comforting their companion. It was sweet, and she felt a lot better going back under than she had coming up.

[queerfables]

911 Season 6 liveblog part one

6x01

Character: "Nothing's going to happen"

Me: "Something's gonna happen"

My wife, chiming in from across the room: "Noooo, what could go wrong?"

Me: "I know right! On the Things Go Wrong show?"

My little boy is watching with me now and he's very excited about the fire engine. "Car!! Truck!!"

He lost interest once the vehicles were off the screen lol. A boy who knows what he's about.

Aw Bobby and Athena are being cute

LOL @ "Buck, you don't even have a couch" Get him, Chris

Oh Jesus Christ not hand gore I can't deal with hand gore

Josh is me "Why not? You guys love each other, just get back together already."

I've missed Josh and Maddie's dynamic

Lol at threatening to cut the car up so they could take it to the hospital with the contestants

Oh no are they finally gonna get back together?? Thank goodness

I'm way too soft about them

Did Chimney just call this a one night stand oh my god??

Listen I have casually hooked up with exes after the break up and this was. Not that.

Noah seems nice

Oh no Maddie helping the older brother find his little brother in hide and seek because he was scared he'd run away that's so soft

Lmfao Buck has a clipboard again

Hen calling it a weapon in the wrong hands

Crying with laughter that Bobby didn't know why Buck was being so weird

But very emotional that he picked Hen as his interim replacement

"Is this because I don't have a couch?"

I love how the couch is such a blatant stand in for Buck's relationships

6x02

Okay I'm in love with these neighbours having an affair and being so extra about it that they built a secret fucking tunnel between their houses

Plus the wife is so hot, if her husband isn't going to romance her then someone should

Watching Hen be the cap is great, she's really good at it

Oh Hen, running out of time in the test is crazy stressful I have so been there

Oh my god she fell asleep at the wheel that's terrifying

Jeeze, having to triage who has the better chance of living is really rough

Hen and Buck are both gonna take this so hard

Eddie and Chimney trying to take care of them

Oh Hen no. You just took on so much and you haven't slept right in days.

Holy shit they found a body???

Holy shit the kid who

The kid who went missing

The reason Athena became a cop

Holy shit????

6x03

Tiny Athena is so cute

Could the girl have fallen in accidentally?

Bobby can't you see she's afraid he did it?

I'm high key obsessed with the missing girl's older sister.

It doesn't make sense that Reggie Senior did it. I think he hid the body to protect his kid.

Jeeze I really thought this was gonna turn out to be a tragic accident, I can't believe Junior targetted and killed her on purpose.

This was honestly a great episode. I didn't think that solving this mystery could live up to the impact of leaving it without a resolution but they really proved me wrong.

6x04

Holy fuck he got buried under the tree that's crazy

I love watching all the kids get older and go through new challenges and develop who they are. Lol at Christopher getting snarky with his dad in new and exciting ways.

And lying to him, apparently. Good for you, Chris.

I'm crying with laughter over Chimney getting accidentally abducted and Buck chasing him on a bike

Aw this heart to heart with Eddie and his dad is really nice

It's interesting but I've been thinking about the fact that s5&6 had a different show runner to the other seasons, and what I'm really feeling is that the character she doesn't quite get is Buck. I just feel like the story arcs he's been getting lately have been stuff that's come out of nowhere, like they're not sure what to do with him. I'm just not completely sold on this sperm donor arc and I remember reading some stuff about where it goes that has me very dubious

Noah thinking maybe someone else heard to get the address was a good call

Jeeze these kinds of calls are always gonna be so rough for Maddie

Wow Hen I love your sweater

Hen was such a good choice for Buck to chat to about this, she's been through it from a few different angles and she has great advice

That dog actor was very excited about getting its "stand up now" command, the tail was wagging like anything

Oh Eddie, I get that you're pissed but that was not your best moment

Very soft that he was able to pull himself back and actually talk to his kid. He's a good dad.

Oh I'm really happy that Maddie was able to help that mum and her daughter T_T

6x05

Athena snarkily calling Buck "Detective Buckley" my beloved

"The raccoon definitely didn't do this" Oh Athena you don't get to mock Buck any more you sound like you're trying to do the opening credit zinger

Oh God he's gonna get buried in insulation goop

Gosh I hope Noah wasn't the one behind these robberies

Shit I bet it was, since there was the whole thing about Maddie showing him how to access past calls

And it was done under Maddie's name? Yeah I just bet it was oh no I liked him

Oof well at least he had an empathetic reason

"That was weirder than usual" lol

Awww Hoover

I'm really happy he found a good home in the end

An explosion at the - Oh shit Karen!!!!

6x06

Omg it's Karen and Hen's origin story and it's CUTE

This is SO CUTE

Hahaha and Chimney was behind it? He's diabolical I adore him

"That woman is not even my type" PLEASE

Denny is sweet, I'm happy we finally got to see more of him after those first couple of seasons where he was important to the story but not actually on-screen much

I'm really happy to be seeing more of Karen in her element too, this is a cool episode

"It's pretty cool except they want to catch an alien and mom won't let them" CUTE

Denny is ok thank goodness

Oh I'm emotional about the fact that Hen can't accept Bobby telling her not to suit up until she meets Chimney's eyes and sees his nod. Their friendship means so much to me.

I love seeing the way Hen and Karen have changed since being together in the way they are with each other in these early flashbacks. I just think they've made each other better people and it's cool to see that even just in the little ways their actresses play them

LOL CHIMNEY CATCHING HEN SNEAKING OUT AFTER SPENDING THE NIGHT WITH KAREN

Oh I'm really glad Toni called so Athena could show up for Hen

Chimney I'm so obsessed with your matchmaking techniques?? Set them up on a blind date without telling one of them? Call to say their ex is dead so they won't get on a plane???

This is a nice scene for Hen and Denny

Little baaaaaby!!

I have mixed feelings about Hen giving up on med school. But obviously I'm happy she isn't leaving the team. Maybe something for her to revisit at another time in her life, idk.

6x07

Dedicated skeptic Eddie is my fav

HAHAHA OMG BUCK IS DOING SELF IMPOSED ORGASM DENIAL TO HELP WITH THIS SPERM DONATION THING? AMAZING

FOUR WEEKS????

Please tell me someone has written fic about this I'm desperate here

But probably not as desperate as Buck

A WEEK FROM TUESDAY?

The universe is conspiring to trap Buck in a kinky chastity fantasy

I literally could not be happier

LOL Chimney and Hen's reaction to Eddie picking up the "cursed" braclet

Oh no wonder Eddie hates superstition

You guys should just do this the old fashioned way. with a turkey baster.

(or, you know, a $2 syringe from the pharmacy)

It would be cheaper and more convenient

This is not relevant to anything but god Eddie is so pretty

This Felisa is also very pretty

Just doing the math here but maybe they should make out

Buck finally got to make his, ahem, donation. Happy for you, bud.

6x08

"The terrible twos are no joke" "she's not even two yet" "try telling her that" Yeah that's. Real. Lmfao.

(The little guy is definitely at the age where he has big feelings about the things he wants and not such a big capacity to understand reasons)

Babysitter Buck is soooo cute

"Come on, you must be hungry, I am" give it up, Buck, that kid will eat or not on her own schedule

Am I supposed to recognise Darius? I don't remember him

Did that guy just kill his boss with his mind?

Oh it was just a fantasy lmfao

Omg Christopher has a crush on someoooone

Yeah setting up your toddler's bedroom in the living space was never going to work

Why are these idiots on the roof of the fire truck

Absolute dumbasses

Wow Bobby's taking his engine's honour real personally

Lol I love this guy calling himself a "nice guy" vs Darius as a macho jerk who treats women like crap when not ten minutes ago he was calling May a bitch and Darius was telling him not to

May was a badass on that call

Awww and she got the guy, too. Very cute.

"Look! Swords!" Buck you dork

Buck and Hen being cute buddies I love them

6x09

Is this some kind of homage? I don't recognise it

The Santa Ana stuff is making me think of Crazy Ex-Girlfriend and honestly that would make a HILARIOUS cross-over

My wife keeps laughing at me because of the faces I make at this show. It's a shame xe've gone to bed because the expression I pulled when that dog dropped a human hand on the doorstep was a doozy

Oh no this is CUTE. They were both so worried about each other's lost appendages they didn't look for their own, but they found each other's.

LMFAO IT WASN'T HIS FRIENDS FINGER THERE'S ANOTHER VICTIM

Oh it's cool to see Bobby's sponsor

"It's a haunted house." "Yeah. With really good bones" Lol it would be the housing market that cures Chimney of his superstitions

Oh no Wendall T_T

This midnight team group chat is adorable

Heeee that was a fun prank on Josh and the way he figured it out was extremely funny

Awfully convenient that nothing terrible actually happened in that house

Still, I'm happy for Maddie and Chimney

[laureljacobs]

(DECIDEDLY TOO LONG) HEADCANONS

laurel's love of baseball is one of the only things she's taken from her dad, a lifelong astros fan. on a weekend she had at home while she was in the system, on one of his more lucid days, he drove her all the way down to houston for a game and bought her a hat. he ended up getting drunk, picking a fight with a security guard, and they were tossed from the stadium by the sixth inning. laurel had to drive them the three hours home even though she didn't have her driver's license yet and had only gotten behind the wheel of a car once before, with an older foster sister who'd volunteered to teach her. she still has the hat, but she can't stand the astros.

she was a walk-on for the softball team at texas a&m after playing in her last few years of high school, when she was settled for a while with a foster family in dallas, and she was actually good enough to grab a bench spot. she never cracked the starting lineup, but she didn't care. when she did come into games, she usually played second base, which is where she plays now on her softball team in AB.

joining the rec softball team (part of a pretty small league of just six teams, which she found advertised on a little pinup cork board at driftwood) in AB was the first thing she did for herself since moving, after she got her business to an okay place. it's been a year or so now, and it really is one of her favorite things to do. she's only ever missed one practice because of a food poisoning spell. she led the league in doubles last year, even though she was wheezing every time she made it to second base.

that little team, a stereotype though it is, has sooooo much gay girl drama. laurel's managed to evade most of it, because she knows well enough from college that dating a teammate is a bad idea (her first real girlfriend was another softball girlie who ended up cheating on her with another teammate), but that usually puts her in the role of mediator or unlicensed therapist. she's pretty cool with most of her teammates except janice, the center fielder. she hates janice.

her house is dark pretty much all the time. she detests overhead lighting and has a lot of lamps to compensate, but she just leaves the curtains open during the day. if she's working, she usually completely loses track of the day going by and only realizes it's gotten late when she starts not being able to make out what she's reading or writing.

she bought her house without ever stepping foot into it. she found it on zillow, messaged the realtor, and bought it within a day, including all of the furniture they'd used to show the place. she brought her clothes, old files, and old items with sentimental value over from new york, otherwise everything was trashed or sold. other than the odd knickknack or piece of art she picked out here and there, her house is almost totally devoid of personality.

when she decided to start her own practice, she thought she was going to keep business downstairs and be good about leaving it there, but that didn't last long. she knows it's not good for sleep hygiene, or whatever, but likes working from her bed with physical copies of everything spread all over.

a foster brother taught her how to play poker when she was twelve or thirteen, and she's only gotten better at it since. she's hustled many an old man out of their money at the four leaf, but usually gives it back or puts it toward a round for the bar unless her opponents are real dicks, then she keeps it and doesn't look back.

only smiled at @benj-hyun five times throughout their years in high school, and she knows because she kept track.

outside of sexual/romantic contexts, laurel keeps pretty much all physical contact to handshakes unless she’s drunk. she decidedly does not do hugs, even with most of her closest friends.

she hasn't talked to her dad since she graduated high school, and knows nothing about his current whereabouts. on some bad nights, she gets the urge to google his name, but she has yet to give into that urge.

she's a homebody at heart and actually sort of detests traveling. the last time she left the country, she went to a conference in london during one of her last years in new york and hated every second. it wasn't because of the city itself, necessarily, and she did enjoy what she saw of it, but all she could think about was her own bed.

so incredibly bad at video games. she can never remember what button has which letter on it, so if she's ever roped into playing them she ends up looking down at the controller too much and, especially if it's a shooter game or anything requiring quick reflexes, is a total liability.

is not/has never been in therapy even though she definitely needs to be in therapy

loooooves a long, quiet movie. jeanne dielman? that's her shit. the only place she would ever be caught dead crying in public (unless under real duress) is a movie theater, but she's pretty picky about the ones she chooses to see. she saw perfect days recently and definitely cried even though she'll deny it if pressed.

to be updated!

[floosies]

Radio

early 2000s au

eddie munson x fem!oc

warnings: mentions of drugs, cursing, eventual smut, mentions of abuse, friends to lovers 18+

a/n: i just wanna say this fic is an ode to what i wish i could have be doing in the early 2000s if I hadn't been in elementary school. i know alot of us twenty somethings wish we would have been older than we were.

Sophomore year, 2007

Eddie had repeated the eighth grade, so when he started high school, he should have been sophomore, but his uncle was determined that kid needed to be held back, his teachers too, he's wasn't stupid but living with his dad in the early years of his childhood had fucked with his education. He either did or didn't go depending if his dad was on the run for jacking a car or something. So much for no child left behind, and in Hawkins of all places, they would hold him back as much as they could, not just in school, but in life too. Most of the student body saw him as trailer trash and nothing more. His uncle had taken him in before he entered middle school, and while he tried his best to stay out of trouble, he wasn't gonna let assholes bad mouth the only real father figure he had.

It didn't matter though, he'd gotten his shit somewhat together to get into high school. Barely passing and not really caring, he wanted to at least try and get his diploma for his uncle's sake. System of a down was blasting from his best friend's room. He'd known Jeff for some time and even though his parents didn't like the 'influence' Eddie had on him, he was thankful for him. Jeff had been one of the few kids who actually thought Eddie was cool. They'd been friends since, and he was kind enough to let him hang at his place afterschool, where'd they'd use his computer to post band stuff and update their myspace accounts.

Today though Ed had gotten lucky. He'd jacked some kid's locker and scored an ipod in there. Sure stealing was wrong, but he was broke, too broke at least to afford an ipod. He'd spent the summer trying not to get caught working for his dad's friend to make enough for the iphone. It was easy money in reality, but he knew his uncle wouldn't have been happy to know he was selling drugs to people. The phone was easier to hide than what'd he'd been up to in the summer, even then he still sold every once in a while. Band equipment and his car were never ending needs he had to deal with.

The plan had always been the band, he'd learned to play the guitar on his own accord, rock music was his home away from home. It helped having friends like Jeff who understood what music was really about. Anything they ever earned at a gig was saved in a one of those gallon jugs, they were midway but the hope was to make enough to get to LA or New York and get a studio session. Their live demos and shotty youtube videos got them some online views but not enough to call the attention of anyone yet.

-

Julie had a whole different life from his. Her parents were loving sociopaths, who controlled her life as best they could. Nevertheless, it didn't do much. She would still sneak around and hang at house parties on the weekends or get drunk at sleepovers with her best friend. She was well known online as a party girl and whether it was her myspace or livejournal she had somewhat of a following for her antics.

At most she was thankful her parents had no clue about the internet. They'd gotten her a digital camera and an ipod with no clue what she really did with them. They were naive at best but could be ruthless at worst. They'd take away her things for months on end if they felt she had been on some sort of weird or rude behavior. It didn't stop her though. Despite her popularity online, in school it was a whole quieter ordeal. Sure she was known, but people only want to associate with others under certain circumstances. Her group was small, and the outfits she'd wear on a friday night weren't what'd she'd been seen in on a monday morning in class.

She wasn't a genius by any length but she wasn't an idiot, she was getting by with decent grades and fake persona for her teachers and parents. It's the only thing she had to keep them from really looking into who she really was, or was at least trying to be.

-

Blame the internet, they met through their myspace accounts. She had mentioned one of their songs or more like she was looking for one of their songs because they had played at a party she had gone to the weekend before. Eddie couldn't believe he didn't know her, they went to the same high school and were in the same grade. They started talking almost immediately, about everything and anything.

It didn't take long for cellphone numbers to be exchanged and to agree to finally meet at lunch. She had told him not to ditch for her lunch period but he didn't really care about it. To Eddie she was someone who finally understood what he was trying to do here. They were both surprised when they finally met up, she swore she could feel her heart racing out of her chest. It was one thing to talk on the phone or through text, but being actually with him felt like something else.

He felt the same way about near her, she had mentioned to him that he probably didn't recognize her because she wasn't wearing the kind of stuff she usually wore on the weekends out. Its what they ended up talking about that whole lunch period, about how few moments they had where they could really be themselves. Only difference is Julie still felt her parents held the control in her life. That's something Eddie no longer tied him down. Still, he felt for her, from their long talks on the phone and at lunch, he was getting to know this girl for who she really was and that mattered to him. He even ended up walking her to class.

Her friends did give her a couple of glances when she walked into class that day. Questions on why she was hanging out with him and who even was he? One of her classmates heard her mention his name and said Eddie had always been chaotic and liked to start shit for fun. Sure she could have listened to them, but all the stuff they were saying didn't matter because she knew him well enough after a month or so of talking to him, to know that if he came off that way it was intentional.

From that point on, they would try to hang out as much as they could. Parties and after school days when she would go over to his place, despite him initially saying that she probably wouldn't wanna be seen at a trailer park. She honestly didn't care, all that mattered was not being near her hellhole house and that she was able to do her homework. Meanwhile he played guitar hero for her and showed her songs he was working on. Every now and then she would try and get him to do his homework too, which would in turn lead to them not doing anything because he'd use anything as a means of distraction.

Then there was a week when he got suspended for accidentally bringing a pocket knife to school. He told her he had been helping his uncle fix up a patch on the roof and forgot he had left the knife in his jeans pocket but they probably just wanted an excuse to get him out of their hair. His teachers ended up confused when she showed up that week asking for the notes and missing assignments he would have. Maybe she shouldn't have but she did them for him and when they met up on friday night she handed them in exchange for a couple of pre rolled joints and some tabs.

He watched as she went off with her girlfriends that night and got blacked out. They were only getting to know each other though, he didn't wanna overstep anything with her, but he made sure she got home alright. The following Monday it was as if it had never happened and he didn't really mind.

Sophomore year had been a trial and error of getting to know each other and figuring out how the friendship would work. By the summer they had it down, they were comfortable enough with each other to not really care too deeply about things, but also were practically glued to one another. She met the rest of the band and his other friends. She'd shoot their sets for them and post them on their youtube, hell she even added them to her top five. Of course everyone around them could see that there was more going on between the two but neither Eddie nor Julie were going to ruin whatever they had going on already to start something intimate.

[mbrainspaz]

I posted 3,907 times in 2022

That's 1,137 more posts than 2021!

565 posts created (14%)

3,342 posts reblogged (86%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@mbrainspaz (I feel called out.)

@b1y7h3shifter

@dkpsyhog

@geeneelee

@curlsabroad

I tagged 2,865 of my posts in 2022

Only 27% of my posts had no tags

#tiktok - 154 posts

#funny video - 131 posts

#personal problems - 112 posts

#life of a texan peasant - 91 posts

#funny story - 78 posts

#funny post - 77 posts

#us politics - 75 posts

#gifs - 68 posts

#writer problems - 63 posts

#lmao - 62 posts

Longest Tag: 139 characters

#i will continue to enjoy my trash entertainment where everybody comes back to life and nothing makes sense and villains are inexplicably ho

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

Can people change?

Yes

Can you change them?

Nope!

85 notes - Posted June 27, 2022

#4

I keep coming back lately to how f*cked up it was that my dad never let me mess anything up. Oh no, don’t climb out the window and sit on the roof--you’ll damage the shingles. So I put out beach towels and was extra careful, and he still got mad. Some of my best childhood memories were sitting out on that roof with my brother or my friends. Man f*ck the shingles. We sold that house a year later anyway. I waited years for him to fix the toilet paper roll holder in an upstairs bathroom--then one day just broke down and fixed it myself. It took me 5 minutes. And he was mad because I didn’t use the right kind of screws. F*ck the right screws. It looked perfect and it worked just fine, at least until I moved out. Now I’ve been out here living with a bunch of rogue ranchers and old engineers and it’s given me a whole new perspective on life. The first day I moved onto this ranch the owner got out an electric saw and cut a hole straight through a sewer pipe. I nearly panicked! Like--YOU CAN JUST DO THAT?!?! Just break something?! It was a horrible job! But BAM--it was done! And that sh*t changed my whole worldview. Last week I helped remodel a bridge with some spare logs and a pickaxe. I’ve sawed open the roof of my house and glued it back together. I’ve torn wall fixtures off and burned them in a bonfire. 

GO AHEAD! BREAK IT. Wear down the shingles. Cut holes through the wall. Get mud on the sofa. Put stickers on your car. Break the world around you just a little instead of living in fear of losing resale value you rarely get back anyway. It’ll be fine. 

198 notes - Posted April 7, 2022

#3

How much did I want a horse?

A totally sane amount. 🫣

406 notes - Posted September 1, 2022

#2

have I mentioned how hilarious it is to me when people ask me about my gender and I tell them I'm non-binary and they go "well I don't believe in all that." Cool beans pal. And I don't give a f*ck about your beliefs. Have a nice day. 😂

448 notes - Posted June 16, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

mom: It’s so crazy it’s like everyone around me is getting covid.

me: that’s why it’s spiking, mom.

mom: no like your dad was saying I’m the carrier, haha. 

me: Well you might be. You were sick over christmas and everyone else had it after. [and I begged you to wear a mask but you went around kissing everybody instead]

mom: But my symptoms were really mild and allergy meds made mine go away.

me: allergy meds can treat symptoms. My regular ones have helped with covid too.

mom: huh. But your dad’s symptoms are totally different. He’s got a fever and he’s been throwing up. It’s really bad. Same with our friend from church. 

me: Were they vaccinated?

mom: no. 

me: THAT’S WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU’RE NOT VACCINATED.

mom: But your dad already had covid before the pandemic. 

me: IT’S A DIFFERENT STRAIN MOM. PEOPLE CAN GET COVID MULTIPLE TIMES MOM. THAT’S WHAT THE VACCINE IS FOR MOM. THAT’S WHAT I’VE BEEN TELLING Y’ALL FOR TWO YEARS MOM.

mom: Well...

675 notes - Posted January 16, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[russetfur-1128]

I was raised upper middle class, but that doesn't make me part of the problem. And even "privileged" kids can actually be pretty bad off depending on the situation.

I was raised in a well off, three story home. Had money for tons of stuff, and was "spoiled" by many people's standards.

However my guardian was cheap. Sure we had a wii, TV, DVD players, DS, Netflix, cable, and a bunch of other luxuries, but food was closely monitored. Treats were rare. If we ever wanted anything, it was always "we don't have the money for that."

Now while that isn't necessarily a bad thing to tell kids, when you can afford to get your kids things from time to time, you should. Nothing we had that were luxurious actually came from our guardian. They were all birthday or Christmas gifts from our grandparents. Any real DVDs were gifts, game systems were gifts, new toys were gifts.

Anything from my guardian was second-hand and always broken or missing parts. My "new" computer she got me overheated and shut down randomly. Toy sets were missing pieces to properly assemble them. The keyboard had multiple broken keys that wouldn't play.

Food was another issue. Unless it was meal time, we couldn't eat. If you didn't eat at meal times, oh well, you starve. As someone with a fast metabolism and being in need of a high sugar, sodium, and protein diet, I was always hungry and always craving things. I would sneak food at night and in the morning when my guardian was in the shower. I would steal food from my grandparent's house and other places where I could. This rule only changed when my anxiety made me so sick that I rarely could eat and was losing a lot of weight. And even then, I was shamed for eating "junk food" when I did eat.

My guardian had the money to send me to a good school. She didn't. We went to the same public school as everyone else in the area. The middle and high school had the highest rates of teen pregnancy in the area. The high school I went to had one of the lowest graduation rates of the area.

When my guardian died, I moved in with my aunt. She was slightly better about spending money on us, but bigger things that could help us in life, she didn't care about if she could make it benefit her.

I was almost 18 and my brother was 15. My aunt had plenty of money and could have paid to keep our childhood home for a few years and us move back there to take care of it together. Instead, she immediately sold the house for as much as she could.

Our guardian had two cars, a minivan that was her main vehicle, and an old Prism that was supposed to be my car once I got my liscence. My aunt could have kept both and me and my brother each have a vehicle to use. Instead she sold both. The irony is that she had to get a minivan for herself later due to my brother doing stuff with friends a lot.

After I turned 18 and graduated, I ended up pretty much completely cut off. I was kicked out by my aunt and she told me that I should go to a homeless shelter and figure things out. My guardian had a plan in her will for us that if anything happened where we couldn't stay with her sister, we would be cared for by our honorary aunt. If that wasn't possible, then her best friend was supposed to care for us. My aunt manipulated my honorary aunt and guardian's friend into not helping me. She told them I was completely unstable and my only goal was to cause problems and tear our family apart.

I moved in with my mom, who was lower class. She turned out to be abusive and ended up kicking me out and leaving me at a homeless shelter.

I then moved in with my dad, again lower class, extremely struggling. He's also severely abusive, but I envy his kids to some extent. They are spoiled with new toys, the newest gadgets, snacks and junk food. I ended up leaving due to the abuse, though.

I have been homelessness for the last 5 years. Tent camping, squatting, and couch surfing. I struggle to keep a job due to disability, and can't work very much even when I do keep a job. I don't qualify for disability or SSI. I barely have enough money to survive. I wouldn't be if I didn't have food stamps. For a while I was doing okay medically because I had medicaid. But then last October they changed what qualifies as disabled and I don't qualify any more. And I don't make enough for subsidies on paid insurances. My aunt could help if she wanted. She could give me a safe place to stay, she could help with a little bit of money to help me survive better, she could help with actually getting me some land so I'm not at risk for being run off. She won't.

I will say I'm extremely lucky for what I DO have. I have $10,000 in inheritance from my guardian. However my aunt is in charge of it, and refuses to use any of it to help me. I don't get it until I'm 35. I'm 24. Many people don't have that, and I'm greatful for it, however at the moment it doesn't do me any good, and actually harms me, because it's considered an asset. Because I have an asset, I don't qualify for SSI or disability. They don't care that I can't access it for 11 years, all they care about is that it's there.

Anyway, all this to say, even if someone was raised "privileged" it doesn't necessarily give them any actual privilege once they're out in the wild world like everyone else.

As a kid, when your parents are poor, you're poor. If they don't have money, that means none of you have money. But if someone's parents are rich, that doesn't necessarily mean the kid is. Sometimes rich peoples' kids aren't rich kids, they're just some rich freak's exotic pets that can talk but aren't allowed to.

[seven2got]

I grew up in a fairly normal lifestyle I guess, looking back at it now I suppose my idea of what normal was isn't what most people would consider normal. I didn't figure it out until he was arrested that my dad was a fairly big drug dealer and my sweet little mother was laundering the money for him. I just thought my dad made all this money from selling cars out of our driveway. It started out with him selling some normal everyday cars like sedans and coupes, maybe a pickup here or there. I didn't really pay much attention on the price he was asking because I never knew what he paid for it. I knew that he was very good at fixing anything that was wrong with it and my mom was amazing at detailing them. I'd see a car that looked nothing like the car they had just bought, sometimes it looked like it was brand new. I figured with my dad fixing any problem and my mom making them look like new that people would pay lots of money for a really nice car. Well I was only about 7 or 8 when we moved from a little suburb out into the country just outside of city limits. They bought about 1/2 an acre of land with a 3 bedroom house and a 3 car end to end shop already built. I never even thought how much it would have cost them. Not long after we moved there I began to notice the types of cars my parents were buying and selling, no more Caprices and Dusters, now he was bringing home Corvettes and sports cars. I didn't see any problem with it, I was a cool kid at school being dropped off in a nice hot rod classic Camaro and picked up in a convertible classic corvette the same day. Over the years it evolved into even more exotic cars like Porsche, DeLorean, even a Ferrari. My dad loved Corvettes though, so he primarily bought and sold those. At one point we owned like 12 Corvettes at one time. I didn't find out until years later when I asked him but it turned out that someone had approached my dad with an idea, this guy would supply the crank, or methamphetamine packaged in bricks and for certain people. This person would be bringing $7,000 for this much product so if you're asking $6,000 for this corvette, put the package in the Corvette and when "so&so" gets here he'll give you $13,000 and he leaves with the Corvette and the package. Done deal. No hand to hand transactions, easy money, the guy who would bring the packages started leaving more and more for my dad to move and once that was gone he'd deliver a stack of cash and more drugs. At some point the guy who was behind the scheme got arrested and my dad had enough cash set aside to invest in a couple kilos and began packing cars himself for pick up. That nearly tripled the money he made for the same work he had been doing. Now he had to get the orders ready, weigh out the right amount and then pack it. I guess my dad was careful and because of his system he didn't think he would get caught. A undercover agent from the fbi had infiltrated a well known California biker gang and just happened to be at my house when a package arrived and my dad was showing all these guys that he was the man and ended up telling the fbi exactly how he was fooling them, they thought my dad was selling illegal guns but it turned out the guns were legal but the money he was buying guns with came from selling drugs. Addiction to drugs and alcohol both run deep in my family, even though I had swore I'd never be like my dad and I'd stay away from drugs & never drink. All these years later I'd find out the hard way that no matter how I felt about drugs or alcohol, addiction would decide what I did or didn't do. I was in for a rude awakening.