#the summer camp job i did last year that i didn't have a fun time in the second session

[averagelonelypotato]

i have no idea why my french teacher kept on saying I look sad today in class, I was just tired 🧍🏽‍♀️

[howlingday]

Ironwood: ...Let me tell you a little secret, Rose. Every adult you've ever known was a kid at some point in their life. You think we don't remember summer vacation? Riding bikes down by the crick? Catching tadpoles and pollywogs in jars? Camping out under the summer stars?

Ruby: !

Ironwood: Well, you're wrong! Some days I'll sit in my office, looking at you kids in the courtyard and thinking, "They don't know how good they've got it. In just a few years, they'll all be grown up, like me, and all those good times they had will just be memories for them, too."

Ironwood: So go ahead! Put that whoopie cushion in my chair! Pour fake vomit on my carpet! Make fun of my flat, metal keister! But don't you EVER say I never care about summer vacation! Because those memories are the last part of childhood I've got left.

Ruby: ...

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

Ironwood: Actually, Rose, I should be thanking you.

Ruby: Huh?

Ironwood: You did me a big favor dragging me into this mess. I didn't take this job as a teacher to get promoted or to get a pension plan or so I could get to the golf course by three-forty-five. I... I did it so I could help you kids. I forgot that...

Ironwood: (Looks at happier memory) ...'til today.

Ruby: (Knock at the window)

Yang: C'mon, Rubes!

Jaune: The lake's waitin' for us!

Ruby: I'll be there in a sec!

Ironwood: Heh, it's a beautiful summer day and your friends are waiting for you. Go have some summer fun... Rubes.

Ruby: Sure thing... Jimmy.

Ironwood: (Smiles)

Ruby: (Jumps out window)

Ironwood: Oh, and don't forget! Come September, you're mine! I haven't forgotten about that metal keister comment of yours!

Ruby: Yeah, well, September is still a long ways away!

[helloalycia]

𝐒𝐓𝐔𝐏𝐈𝐃𝐋𝐘 𝐉𝐄𝐀𝐋𝐎𝐔𝐒 [𝐅𝐎𝐔𝐑] — 𝐀𝐋𝐘𝐂𝐈𝐀 𝐃𝐄𝐁𝐍𝐀𝐌-𝐂𝐀𝐑𝐄𝐘

one / two / three / five / masterlist / wattpad

summary: as you try to avoid witnessing Clayton making moves on your girlfriend, you start to hang out with the help some more, only making Alycia jealous in return.

warning/s: none.

author's note: super delayed (my bad), but here’s the final part! hope you guys liked this one :)

Alycia's parents were treating her to lunch today, so I busied myself with icing the cupcakes Millie let me help her bake yesterday, and also the little 2-tier cake I'd baked for Alycia as a surprise.

It was fun, I wouldn't lie, even though I was terrible at baking and icing and anything creative in that aspect. But Millie was great company and it was a nice enough distraction from the utter boredom I otherwise would have felt with Alycia being gone. 

"So, how did you and Alycia meet?" Millie was asking as we dyed our icing.

"It was actually at a job, working over the summer at one of her parents' camps," I answered. "Though, back then, I definitely didn't know she was the daughter to millionaires."

"Would that have changed anything if you did?" she asked with an amused smile.

I shrugged, weighing it up as I'd never really thought about it. "I'm not entirely sure... I think if I knew before speaking to her, I may have avoided her. But that would have been based on a preconceived idea that she's stuck up and spoilt, y'know? Obviously, I spoke to her because she was my buddy at the time and we got along from there. And by the time she told me about her parents, well... she's lucky she's cute."

Millie laughed at my joke. "That's adorable. You guys make a lovely couple. And you're right about getting to know Alycia. I've worked here for a year or so, mostly for her parents, but the few times she's visited and we've interacted, she's been kind."

I smiled, knowing that sounded like Alycia. Nothing like her parents, thank God.

"So, how did you end up being a private chef?" I asked curiously.

We passed time as we decorated, talking about how she went to culinary school, what she did when she wasn't baking and her love for it all. It was refreshing, especially because I'd never met anyone who did this for a living. And after she helped me not make a fool of icing the cakes, but also assisted me in decorating Alycia's, a waiter entered the kitchen to let us know of Alycia's return.

"That's your cue," Millie encouraged, before nodding to the cake in the box on the counter. "Knock 'em dead."

A little excited, I smiled gratefully before grabbing the cake and heading to the front door with hopes of finding Alycia. They were still outside, I noticed, when I glanced out the window, and then I realised they weren't alone. Her parents, her and fucking Clayton of all people were getting out the car, chatting and smiling. Had he gone to lunch with them? What the fuck? I literally stayed behind so Alycia could have some bonding time with her parents, not him.

Frustrated, I stepped away from the window and realised my anger had gotten the better of me because I'd unintentionally squeezed the box in my hand and, consequently, the cake.

"Fuck," I mumbled, before backing away from the door and returning to the kitchen.

"How did she– wait, what happened?" Millie started, but stopped herself when I tossed the cake box on the counter.

"Fucking Clayton and his fucking lack of boundaries," I muttered with irritation, before leaning my head in my hands on the counter to contain myself.

"Oh, Y/N..."

I'd never discussed anything of my feelings towards Clayton to Millie, but it was pretty evident how I was feeling right now. I thought I was over it, especially after Alycia's reassurances last night, but clearly I wasn't.

"It doesn't matter," I said with a heavy sigh. "It was stupid anyway. Just throw it out. It's basically bird food now anyway."

No doubt giving me a disapproving look, Millie grabbed the box and said, "Don't be silly."

I glanced up when I heard her shuffling about, only to see her taking the cake out the box and cutting a decent enough slice that wasn't destroyed by my inability to contain my anger.

"Go," she ordered, pushing the plate towards me. "Give this to your girlfriend."

I narrowed my eyes at the cake. "She's too busy with Clayton."

Millie gave me a knowing look. "It's her dad, not her, now go." I just about rolled my eyes when she added, "Don't be a child, Y/N."

Grumbling to myself, I straightened up and grabbed the plate. But not before glancing at her and saying, "You're getting too comfortable with me."

She cracked a smile, resisting the urge to laugh, before wafting me away with her hand. I groaned inwardly before returning to the front of the house, where Alycia, her parents and Clayton were just entering the atrium. As soon as Alycia spotted me, her face lit up and she ran to me, almost making me drop the plate as she hugged me. Admittedly, it made me forget why I was annoyed in the first place and I immediately returned the hug.

"Ooh, what's that?" she asked distractedly, eyeing up the cake slice. "My surprise, perhaps?"

Unable to stop my smile, I was about to reply, but was instantly cut off by her father.

"Oh, that can't be Millie's handiwork, surely," he said with a loud laugh. "What on earth is that decoration?" Glancing at Clayton, he added, "This is why you have to be picky with the help."

Clayton laughed at his joke whilst I tried very hard not to throw the plate at his head.

"Dad!" Alycia scolded with a look. "That's not nice!"

Her dad played dumb, then looked to Clayton for approval, which only boiled my blood more.

"Y/N, what is it?" Alycia asked, expression softening when she looked back to me.

"Nothing," I managed to say without flipping out irrationally. "Just leftovers from a practice batch Millie made." Swallowing hard, I took a step back. "In fact, I should probably throw it out. It's not that nice anyway."

Alycia frowned, about to speak, but bloody Clayton of all people spoke up.

"Alycia, your dad and I are going to get a drink, would you like to join us?"

Seconds away from smashing this plate on his head, I rolled my eyes and turned to leave instead. Storming back to the kitchen a second time, I made a beeline for the bin.

"Seriously?" Millie asked with playful disbelief. "You still haven't–?"

"It was a stupid idea," I snapped, setting the empty plate before her, before leaving to get some fresh air.

—

Not even half an hour passed when Alycia found me returning to the house after a well-needed sulk around the property.

"Y/N!" she called once she spotted me by the outdoor dining area. "I've been looking for you everywhere!"

"I haven't been very far," I said nonchalantly.

She frowned guiltily, eyes flickering between mine. "I didn't know Clayton would be there. My parents took me out and he was already sat there at the table."

"He always seems to be present, don't you think?"

She sighed. "I know."

I lifted an eyebrow questioningly. "Seriously? Why not doing something about it, Alycia?"

She raised her eyebrows too. "Don't you think I'm trying?"

I tried not to scoff as I crossed my arms. "Well, not hard enough."

Definitely surprised by my attitude, she gave me a look. "Y/N."

I looked down at my shoes, knowing my anger would return if we discussed this any longer. "Forget it. See you at dinner."

"Y/N," she started as I began to walk away.

"Or maybe we'll see Clayton, who knows?" I said sarcastically, before rolling my eyes as I left, ignoring her calls.

It wasn't her fault, I knew that, but she wasn't exactly telling her father to back off, at least not well enough. I was uncomfortable and her parents were doing a pretty great job at making me want to leave. So, why couldn't we?

—

Dinner time that same evening was awkward as hell and I was counting down the seconds before I could leave to go up to our room. Her parents were chatting, talking about the business and Alycia, and I was staying quiet because I seriously couldn't be bothered. The only relieving thing was that they hadn't invited Clayton.

At one point, the dessert was brought out – the cupcakes that Millie let me help her make, though she did ninety-nine percent of it – and her dad felt the need to comment.

"Ah, see? This is Millie's handiwork," he said with a smile as the waiter placed some cupcakes before us all. "None of that rubbish from earlier."

I bit my tongue as I distracted myself with my cup of tea. Alycia glanced over at me, wanting to say something, but as usual, she didn't.

When the meal was over, Alycia and I headed straight upstairs for bed. I never usually went to sleep so soon after eating, but I didn't want to stay awake and have to talk things out with Alycia, not when I was still so upset at the situation. So, after getting ready for bed, I jumped right in and laid down, turning my back to Alycia who was still unchanged from her day clothes.

"Y/N?" she called gently. "Can we talk?"

I closed my eyes, frowning to myself. "I'm tired."

I heard her sigh from behind me, and though a small part of me felt bad for treating her like this, the rest knew that it wasn't fair how I was being treated this whole trip. The sooner we left, the better. But for now...

"Okay," she muttered. "Goodnight, I guess."

I didn't say anything, but the door closed and I assumed she'd gone into the ensuite to get ready for bed, too.

—

I'd hoped going to sleep would put me in a better mood, but when I woke up the next day, I was only reminded of how shitty everything had been and my mood still remained.

There were only two days left before Alycia and I could go home, but for now I had to suck it up. I still wasn't in the mood to talk to Alycia, so I avoided her the best I could, which I soon discovered was ideal because none other than fucking Clayton was back at the house again. Apparently it wasn't for Alycia, based on what the staff chatter had to say, but rather for a business meeting with her dad. Either way, it was an excuse for him to be around and I would have rather stayed away.

Deciding that Millie was the only other person here that I knew and felt comfortable enough to be around, I went to bother her as she worked in the kitchens. Plus, I owed her an apology after my outburst yesterday.

When I found her, she was preparing some ingredients for something and almost didn't notice my presence until I stopped by a stool at the counter.

"Hey," I said with a small smile.

When she saw me, she returned my smile with a relieved one. "Y/N, hey. How are you doing? You seemed really upset yesterday."

I leaned in the palm of my hand nervously. "Yeah, look, I'm sorry for snapping at you. It wasn't very nice, especially not after you tried to help me with the whole situation."

"It's okay," she assured. "I can see how annoying it must be to find out Clayton is always around. I'm guessing that's why you're here now."

I sighed, trying not to get worked up at the mere mention of him. "Yeah. I hope that's okay. I just can't stand being around him. And Alycia isn't helping the situation, so we're kind of not talking."

At this, Millie gave me a disapproving look. "You can't just not speak to her. You know this is an awkward spot for her. It's her parents, not her."

"I understand that, but how about me? I'm at my girlfriend's house to hang out with her family and instead of that, they're trying to show her off to another guy right in front of me. Why do I have to be okay with that?"

Millie sighed, shrugging as she worked. "You're right. It's shitty. But you need to communicate this to Alycia, not avoid her."

I put my head in my hands and groaned quietly. "Can I avoid her a little longer? I'm not in the mood."

Chuckling quietly, Millie nodded. "I suppose so. Maybe I can teach you how to make fresh pastry."

Glad she was letting me stay, I smiled for real and jumped off the stool. "Thanks, Millie."

It was probably a terrible sign that I enjoyed spending more time with a pastry chef than I did my girlfriend's family, but I didn't care. If they couldn't bother to make half the effort with me that I was making with them, then I couldn't change that. Besides, there were only two more days left. I could surely survive that.

After spending the morning with Millie, chatting away mindlessly and watching as she worked because it was better than watching TV for hours on end, it was soon lunchtime. We were supposed to be having an outdoor afternoon tea for lunch, with some baked goods that Millie and a few of the other chefs had prepared in advance. I was stood outside with Millie after she set the table, the two of us talking by the doors, when Alycia found me.

Millie and I's conversation ceased as soon as Alycia stopped by us, glancing at me with a tense jaw.

"Alycia," I greeted, still mildly irritated.

"Can I speak to you, please?" she asked with a raised eyebrow. Before glancing at Millie and adding, "In private?"

I looked at her with disbelief, but before I could say anything, Millie nodded awkwardly.

"I should get back to work," was all she said, before returning to the kitchen.

When she was gone, I looked back to Alycia. "That was a little rude, don't you think?"

Alycia's green eyes stared holes into mine. "What are you doing?"

I was confused. "What?"

She crossed her arms with annoyance as she asked, "Do you like her?"

Absolutely baffled now, I raised my eyebrows and stared at her. "What? Are you joking right now?"

She clenched her jaw, unimpressed. "All you keep doing is avoiding me and hanging out with her instead. What gives?"

The audacity of her to make such assumptions was laughable, to the point where I had to stop myself from doing so.

"Wow," I said with both irritation and impatience. "You're kidding me, right?" Judging from her know-it-all expression and the patronising glare she was giving me, I knew she wasn't. I continued, "Maybe if you stopped appeasing your dad's wishes this whole trip and hanging out with Clayton all the time, you'd see that I'm bored! Millie is the only bloody person I can hang out with here!"

Alycia scoffed frantically, shaking her head and looking away. "That's hardly fair."

I widened my eyes as I gave her a questioning look. "Isn't it?! What's not fair is that I'm here to bond with my girlfriend's parents and, instead of doing the same, they're trying to set you up with a new man whilst I'm literally right here!"

"That's not what's happening–!"

It was my turn to scoff as I cut her off. "Sure it's not. Because he just so happens to be around all the time, doesn't he?" Giving her an angry glare, I said, "He drools over you, Alycia. And do you think I like watching him check you out? Because I bloody don't!"

She opened her mouth to speak, but just on cue, someone approached us and interrupted, and it was damn Clayton.

"Sorry to interrupt, ladies, but Alycia–"

"Oh, for fuck's sake!" I shouted at him, before losing my patience and shoving past him to return indoors. I didn't have to deal with this – it wasn't fair!

Storming up to our room, I shut the door and tried very hard to contain my frustration, but it was too late, I was already fuming. It wasn't fair! I didn't deserve to be treated like this! And I wasn't going to stand for it anymore. Being here was only making me miserable, so I had to leave. Alycia could stay the rest of the trip with her parents, but they didn't want me here and I didn't want to be here.

Pulling out my suitcase, I grabbed as much as I could from the wardrobe and threw it in, deciding to pack everything up. Clayton and Alycia's parents could live happily together, but I didn't care to see it.

I was midway through packing when the door suddenly opened and Alycia appeared.

"Y/N, we need to talk," she said sternly. "Not argue."

"I'm not interested," I said dismissively, throwing another shirt in.

She must have realised what I was doing, finally paying attention, as she lost her irritation and looked to me sadly. "You're leaving?"

I narrowed my eyes at her. "No, I just thought the suitcase was a looking a little empty. What do you think?"

"Y/N!"

I ignored her and continued to pack, moving to grab some toiletries from the dressing table.

"Please, let's just talk this through," she tried again. "I don't want to fight."

"Neither do I, but I can't be here anymore," I said, throwing my toiletries in my bag. "We can talk it through at home. You should stay the rest of the week."

"We're literally talking right now," she pointed out, making me roll my eyes. "C'mon, just sit. Please."

I met her eyes with a hardened stare. "Not in the mood."

She frowned and then her jaw clenched and I saw her impatience shining through. "Y/N."

I was stubborn, but so was she, and I refused to let her get her way this time.

Returning to my packing, I planned to ignore her presence until I finished, and even when she rounded the bed to approach me, I blanked her out. A little too much, in fact, as I didn't realise she'd pulled out some handcuffs from her back pocket and snapped them onto my wrist, connected to hers.

"Alycia!" I scolded. "Unlock it right now."

She pursed her lips, shaking her head. "Nope."

I bit back my irritation. "Maybe when you were a kid this sort of behaviour was cute, but it's not now, so let me go."

"Talk to me then," she insisted. "I don't like how things ended before and I don't like seeing you upset."

"Well, I'm not in the mood to speak to you right now and I just want to leave," I retorted. "So, respect that."

Her gaze softened. "Please."

I outstretched my free hand. "Key. Now."

Just when I thought I'd have to wrestle it from her, she sighed and gave in. "Fine."

As she patted down her pockets, I pushed my hair from my eyes and groaned inwardly. "Where the hell d'you even get handcuffs anyway?"

"Toy set from when I was a kid," she mumbled, before I watched her pat her pockets some more. Judging from the worried look she had, I couldn't imagine the news being good.

"Alycia, give me the key," I repeated, growing nervous, and she tensed her jaw with annoyance. "This isn't funny."

"D'you see me laughing?" she snapped, before checking her back pockets and coming up with nothing.

I tried to pull my wrist from the metal cuffs, but it pulled her wrist too, making her yelp, and that's when I realised she really wasn't joking.

"Alycia, are you insane?!" I shouted, already stressing because of what this meant.

"Just shush!" she ordered, though the guilt was seeping through. "Panicking doesn't help!"

I gasped sarcastically. "Sorry if we're bloody handcuffed together and I'm panicking! Because in case you didn't realise, darling, we're handcuffed together!"

"I know!" she shouted right back, before giving up with her futile searching. In a quieter voice, she said, "I've lost it. I must have missed my pocket when I put it in."

I groaned loudly, attempting to sit on the bed, but she of course came with me and I had to remain standing.

"Look, let's just go back downstairs and retrace my steps," she said hopefully. "It'll show. And if not, there's gotta be some tools somewhere."

I stayed quiet, not wanting to snap at her even more when I was already pissed off and she was the last person I wanted to be handcuffed to right now. Instead, I let her lead me downstairs and around the living room and old playroom, with hopes of finding the key on the floor somewhere. But we searched everywhere and there was nothing. Not wanting to give up, Alycia assured me we might be able to find some tools in the shed outside. But of course, it was just our luck when there was nothing there either.

"No offence, but you're terrible at this," I told her bitterly, before flagging down the pool boy who was nearby. "Hey, mate, are you alright to give us a hand? Alycia over here has handcuffed us together and we need something to unlock it with."

The pool boy, more of a man in all fairness, glanced at our handcuffed wrists. "Have you tried the key?"

I closed my eyes, containing my constant frustration that didn't seem to leave me today. Thankfully, Alycia responded so I wouldn't have to.

"We lost the key. We were thinking something like a screwdriver or a hammer. Anything else, really."

"Hmm...," he thought to himself. "I'm not sure about the wrist part, but I can definitely separate you by chopping the chain with a butcher's knife."

How hadn't I thought of that? It was genius!

"Yes!"

"No!"

I blinked, looking to Alycia. "I'm sorry?"

"Y/N, are you insane?" Alycia asked with disbelief. "That's so dangerous! What if he missed?!"

I opened my mouth, stunned. "Are you– are you kidding me right now, Alycia? Insane? You bloody handcuffed us together! The only insane one here is you!"

Taking that as his cue to leave, the pool boy turned on his heel and left Alycia and I to bicker.

"How dare you!" she exclaimed, not even attempting to disguise her annoyance anymore. "Sorry if I had to take extreme measures to talk to my girlfriend!"

"I said I would talk about it back home!" I reminded her, before yanking our wrists towards me. "Now c'mon! I don't want to be handcuffed to you any longer!"

"I said no!" she said, yanking me back as I attempted to walk away.

Frowning, I pulled her towards me. "We're using the knife, dammit!"

"I said no!" she repeated firmly, yanking me back towards her.

"Alycia!"

"No!"

"We're going to the–!"

"You're not listening–!"

"Alycia–!"

And before either of us knew it, she'd yanked me too hard, enough for me to go tumbling right into her and knocking us both into the pool. The cold water shocked the anger right out of me and I immediately tried to resurface, gasping for air. I made sure Alycia was okay beside me, momentarily stunned, and when she was pushing her wet hair from her eyes, the realisation settled in and my anger returned.

"I can't believe you just did that!" I shouted.

"Me? You're the one who fell into me!"

Swallowing hard, I began to swim to the stairs. Thankfully, she got the hint, and we both returned to our room dripping wet.

"We'll go to the garage in town first thing in the morning when it opens," she suddenly said when we were stood there making a mess on the carpet. "They'll have tools."

I resisted the urge to glare at her. This was probably the biggest fight we'd ever had and, right now, I hated her.

"I'm showering," I said without giving her much choice. "Come on."

Yanking her into the ensuite, I shut the door and grabbed a towel, mumbling to myself, "I'd have a bath but I can't because tweedledum is handcuffed to me..."

"I'm not stopping you," she said defensively. "Go for it."

I glanced at her, trying to see if she was joking, but when she wasn't, I thought what the heck? I deserved a nice, relaxing bubble bath. Though preferably one that didn't include her. Unfortunately, I couldn't manage that, but I could still have the bath, so I filled it up as I undressed and forced her to sit on the edge of the tub, look at the door and be quiet. Being Alycia, however, she couldn't manage that, and she was nonstop talking about how she didn't like Clayton or what her dad was up to or anything about this week so far. And I'd finally had enough.

"Alycia!" I snapped, opening my eyes. "The whole point of this is for me to relax. Be quiet, please."

She sighed, but thankfully listened, and I closed my eyes again, trying to forget that she was attached at the wrist and sat on the edge of my supposed-to-be relaxing bubble bath. Just when I thought I was doing better, she suddenly moved, making me open my eyes, and then I saw her jump into the bath with me, sitting opposite me and with her clothes still on.

Widening my eyes, I looked to her. "Alycia!"

"I'm sorry," she said with a pained voice, ignoring my shock and her current situation. "I know I need to do more. This week hasn't been fair on you. But my dad doesn't listen and I don't know what else to say. I don't mean to appear ignorant. I care about you, Y/N, so fucking much."

The sincerity in her voice was convincing enough, but I was still staring at the fact that she was soaking wet and fully clothed in the bath with me.

"Say something," she pleaded.

"You're wearing clothes?" I said with disbelief.

She rolled her eyes. "Forget that. Just talk to me. Please."

Despite the stupidity of everything, it was the distraction I needed to finally tell her how I was feeling. I hesitated, not planning to do it whilst sat naked before her in a bubble bath, but she clearly wasn't going to leave, so it was now or never.

"I've tried to be respectful, but your parents don't like me, Alycia," I started, meeting her eyes. "I can't stay here any longer whilst they do what they're doing. I just want to go home. This whole week has been a train wreck."

She sighed dragging her hand down her face. "I know."

I sighed too, looking down with embarrassment. "I know you don't like Clayton. But seeing him with you doesn't feel good. It's not that I don't trust you, but I can't help it if I feel jealous sometimes. Especially when I'm here because of you. I don't know. It just sucks."

She rested her cuffed hand on mine, rubbing her thumb gently. "I feel the same with you and Millie. And it wasn't fair of me to accuse you of anything. I was just pissed because you already hated me and she was making you smile and I got stupidly jealous."

I frowned, meeting her eyes. "I'm sorry to make you feel like that. I don't hate you, Alycia. I've just been upset. I'm not usually the jealous type and it got ugly."

"You're not," she agreed. "Neither am I. I guess this whole trip has just pulled us apart, huh?"

I hummed in agreement, leaning on the side of the tub with my elbow. I didn't know where to go with this. Her dad wasn't listening and that couldn't be changed. So, now what?

"I love you," she said, earning my attention. "I want to make things right. And that starts with you being comfortable. So, we'll leave tomorrow."

"It's your family, we can't just leave."

She lifted a brow. "Wanna bet?"

I gave her a knowing look. "Alycia. No. Look, I'll go. You stay. I'll see you back home in a few days."

"I'm not staying without you, and you don't want to stay, so we go together," she insisted, moving closer to me, unbothered by the fact that she was chest deep in water. "Besides, I don't really want to stay either. Not when my girlfriend is being shit on time and time again."

That was all I'd wanted to hear, selfishly enough.

"You're sure?" I asked. "I'll stay if you really want me to. And I won't sulk."

She cracked a smile. "I'm sure, love. We've been here long enough."

I nodded, relieved. "Thank you, Alycia."

"Thank you," she corrected. "For being so patient."

I gave her a small smile, before nodding to her clothes. "Take them off, idiot. You've already made a mess from jumping in here."

She laughed, pulling off her clothes whilst still in the water, only making a further mess of water on the floor. I rolled my eyes but gladly pulled her towards me, struggling at first but managing to keep her between my legs and hold her tight.

"Sorry, I was jealous," I mumbled into her shoulder.

She kissed my cheek and leaned back. "Me, too. And I'm sorry I couldn't try the cake you made me. It looked really nice."

I sighed. "No, it didn't."

She began to smile, her body moving slightly as she held in a laugh. "Yeah, no, it didn't."

I squeezed her playfully, making her laugh properly, and refused to let go.

[glittter-vamp]

Burnin' For You | J.B AU

Warning: 18+ MDNI! 1980s Camp Counselor Joe! Smut. Unprotected sex. Alcohol, drugs. Super shitty and rushed but something different I guess.

Watching the kids in the lake have fun, you were sat in a beach chair with another camp counselor that you had befriended last year when you signed up for this job at Camp Rosewood. It was a very hot summer in July of 1984 and you two were under a beach umbrella, both in bathing suits, cut off shorts and flannel shirts you both probably stole from your dads closet before leaving. You two cooled off with some soda's as you listened to the small portable radio that sat next to you both in the sand. "I can't believe we used to be like them about 10 years ago." Paula snorts. "My parents never let me go to sleep away camps and honestly...I now thank them, these kids are gross." You shake your head sipping in your Pepsi and you two continue to watch the kids while listening to endless Pat Benatar and Cyndi Lauper. 

"You two seriously sitting under here gossiping instead of being in the water? In this heat?" You hear a familiar annoying voice say. It was none other than another camp counselor, Danny. Danny and Paula were a thing so he'd come over with the other nuisance Joe, to bother you both but unlike Paula, you weren't amused by it. Danny and Joe were both in charge of the sports both being football players at their colleges. "What are you boys up to?" Paula asks them. "Sammi and Tracy took some of the kids for a hike, so we thought we could come cool off with you guys! Hope you don't mind." Joe answers with a smirk which made you wanna slap it off his annoyingly handsome face. "Oh, we don't." Paula smiles at them and you remain quiet. "Cool." They both say in unison as they set up chairs next to us.  You sat there annoyed. You just wanted to enjoy this day since it had been raining most of the week and here come these two to annoy you. The guys take their shirts off and you really couldn't help but stare at Joe's physique. He was tall and lean but also pure muscle. Every girl here at the camp wanted Joe which of course boosted his already inflated ego. He wasn't necessarily a jerk to you like Danny at most times was but you just didn't want to be grouped in with all the other girls that wanted Joe. He was also a gigantic flirt and rumors travel pretty damn quick around here since there was only about 20 of us counselors here with limited gossip magazines and TV. 

You divert your gaze off the tall blonde and focused on the kids which you were suppose to be doing anyways. "Would you mind holding onto my necklace? I have this thing about losing it in large bodies of water, it's sentimental." Joe asks you and you sort of freeze up but before you could reply Joe speaks up. "Actually...Here, put it on so that way it's extra safe." Joe says walking behind you and putting the silver chain around your neck. You were a bit stunned with your breath hitched in you throat feeling his finger lightly graze your neck and under your ponytail. "Thanks." Joee winks at you before him and Danny run to the water like two kids themselves. "What...the fuck was that!?" Paula squeals and you look down to the necklace round your neck. "I don't know...I've barely even talk to him since we got here last month?" You say confused by that very out of pocket action from him. "There's the bonfire tonight after the kids go to bed...you should take him back to the cabin!" Paula suggests and you roll your eyes. "What world do you live in? He obviously did this just to fuck with me and make me look stupid." You scoff grabbing another soda from the small cooler you guys brought. "He was definitely flirting with you." She rolls her eyes. "As he does with anything that has a pulse, I bet he'd flirt with a stick if it would respond back." You shake your head. "Why is it so bad if he did flirt with you? At least he's not being jerk. You should flirt black, I mean...fucking look at him. If I wasn't already messing around with Danny, he'd be on my list." Paula smirks looking at the guys jumping off the dock. "You have a list?" You chuckle looking at her. "Yeah, if Danny was out of the picture it's go, Joe, Steven, Ryan and Robbie." She shrugs. "Robbie!? I grew up with Robbie, in the 8th grade he didn't bathe for a month to protest to his parents about getting the video game Pong for his birthday." You gag. "Eh, there's something about him...I think he'd be a good lover." She smirks and you cringe. 

Paula maybe wasn't wrong about Joe though...he was hot and you couldn't deny it, especially when when he had one of his famous outfits on the consisted of the tightest shortest shorts , Ray-Bans and old cropped muscle t-shirt from his college showing off his muscles. Which also left very little to the imagination and that were paired with his already perfect honey locks as long as Matt Dillon's hair, Rob Lowe's blue eyes and luscious lips. It really was no wonder that all the girls drooled over him and all the boys wanted to be him. Plus he drove a badass Trans Am that you were positive had been mostly used for sex than for driving with the stories you heard about him. 

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

Evening comes and you four make your way to the cafeteria to grab some dinner. As you made your way to get some fruit, none other than the campsite bitch rolls up to you. "Leave some for the rest of us will ya?" Molly says and you roll your eyes at her. "Aren't you a little too old to try to be a high school mean girl?" You scoff, a group of kids snickering behind you. Molly opens her mouth to reply but freezes when she spots what's around your neck. "What the hell is that? Where'd you get this!? Are you fucking Joey? You slut..." She asks tugging on the necklace. "Get your nasty hands off me!" You slap her hands away. "Hey! Back off will you?" Joe says to Molly coming out of no where behind you. "I was just asking her a question Joey..." Molly says putting on this fake voice and smile at him which made you roll your eyes. Setting the tray you had in your hands down, you quickly took off the necklace. "Take your stupid necklace, I'm not here to be apart of some sick game between the two of you." You say pissed off and handing the necklace to Joe before storming off. You hear him call after you but you then start running to your cabin. 

Of course Joe did that to get a rise out of Molly, what could you expect from a guy like him. What a complete dick, you thought to yourself. You calm down laying on the shitty bed the camp provided when you hear a knock. "Go away!" You yell. "It's me, I brought you your food." Paula says and you sigh sitting up. "Thanks...sorry I thought you were Joe." You say a bit embarrassed. "It's alright, I got you an extra pudding pop. Stole it from Joe's tray actually when he wasn't looking." Paula says making you chuckle. "Thanks." You smile at her. "He told Molly off by the way... in front of everyone. I wish you could of seen her face...apparently she's obsessed with him and he's pretty weirded out by it." Paula says. "Don't know how much of that I would believe, she's the hottest counselor here next to you." You sigh. "Uh, no... you're the hottest counselor here next to Joe." Paula says and you roll your eyes. "Do I need to take you to the nurse for heat stroke?" You ask making her laugh. "Eat your dinner so you can go shower and then we can get ready for the bonfire later tonight. The guys told me they snuck off last night and got a keg thanks to Joe's older brother. They bribed the cafeteria lady and it's been sitting in the big freezer all day." Paula winks leaving you.

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It was now well after 11PM which meant all the kids were asleep and the Bonfire in the woods was on. You debated on going after what happened but you wanted to have some sort of fun this summer that didn't include doing arts and crafts with a bunch of 11 year old's all day. You and Paula were dressed in dolphin shorts, tube socks, old converse and in your college hoodies with enough aqua net in our hair to stop a bullet. "Wait, lip balm!" Paula says before you two leave. You dig into your teal and pink caboodle and find your watermelon tin lip balm applying some before stuffing it into your pocket. "Okay, let's go get fucking drunk." Paula says. You two walk arm in arm to the bonfire hearing Billy Idol already blaring on one of radio's already. Walking up to the bonfire there was surely other people here that didn't work at this sleepaway camp seeing there was like 50+ people here instead of the 20 that worked with you but you didn't really care and just wanted to drink. "You ladies finally made it." Danny says comin gup to you two with two plastic cups with beer. "What cheap beer did you guys get?" You raise an eyebrow smelling the beer. "Oh you know, good old Schaefer." Danny winks at you both before you and Paula clink cups and drink the bitter cold liquid. 

Someone calls Danny over and he tells us he'd be back so you two find a place to sit. "Looks like word got out about this." Paula says. "We live in the mid-west I bet cops would come to these so they can do something fun for once." You chuckle. Finding a bench you two sit there and talk about the plans for your upcoming fall semester at college and then you notice Joe. He was in his usual tight denim shorts that molded his perfect ass and bulge, along with a tight red and white tank top tucked into them. "I swear his pants get tighter everyday." Paula mutters and you quickly divert your gaze elsewhere. "So...I'm assuming you and Danny will run off somewhere for the night." You ask. "Doubtful, I got my period this morning." She rolls her eyes. "Well that's a good sign since you guys have been at it like rabbits since the third day we got here." You snort. "Hey, I'm on birth control and it's the fucking 80s...I'm allowed." She defends herself making you laugh.

After little while of just bullshitting with Paula she goes off somewhere with Danny to probably make out like the horn dogs they are, which left you alone. You decide to talk to some of the other counselors and get another beer before going back to where you were seated to people watch and enjoy some music. "Is this seat taken?" You hear someone say and you almost say no before you realize that it was Joe. "Okay... can we at least talk?" Joe asks and you give him a dirty look and he sighs rolling his eyes. "You guys good over here?" You hear Danny say coming back with Paula with his arm draped around her. "I don't know... are we?" Joe asks you and you stand up. "You have two minutes." You say walking away to a more secluded spot, Joe walking behind you. "Can I ask why you're mad at me?" Joe asks and you turn on your heel. "You knew Molly was going to do act that way didn't you?" You ask Joe who stays silent. "Didn't you!?" You repeat yourself. "Okay! Maybe I did... but I just wanted her to leave me alone she's been border line stalking me no matter how I let her down." Joe say and you sigh. "You're a dick for that!" You scoff shaking your head. "I am.. I know I am! I'm sorry but... I did really liked how my necklace looked on you." Joey says his tone changing with that last park about the necklace, which made you feel weird inside. 

"Why do you do that?" You ask him sipping on your beer. "Do what?" He raises an eyebrow. "You flirt with every girl over the age of 20." You state. "Uh, negative! I flirt with you...and maybe with one or two more but definitely mostly you." Joe smirks getting closer to you. "Whatever, I'm getting another beer." You say trying to not let him get to you like he gets to other girls. "I'll get it...wait here." Joe says taking your cup from you and you roll your eyes letting him get you another drink. By now people were becoming pretty inebriated and the smell of weed and cigarettes filled the air along with the burning wood. The air had become more chilly as well and the music was still blaring, now with Sweet Dreams By Eurythmics which had more people dancing and getting close to each other than before. Joe comes back with a refill of the beer along with one for him. "I see your lover found herself a victim." You snort looking at Molly basically swallow some guys tongue against a Volkswagen beetle. "Poor guy." Joe shudders looking away. "Wanna take a walk?" Joe asks. "In the middle of the woods at midnight...have you seen horror movies?" You look at him crazy. "What? Scared Jason is going get you?" Joe smirks walking away from backwards and you roll your eyes following him. You two make it to the parking lot of the camp and head over to his car. Joe chugging his beer and chucking his cup to the ground. 

Getting in his car he turns the radio on and Burnin' For You by Blue Oyster Cult starts to play. "Didn't peg you as a Blue Oyster Cult fan." You look over at him, the car light illuminating his perfect face. "No? What do I look like I listen too?" He asks looking at you. "Styx." You nod. "Styx!? You know what...get out of my car." Joe jokes making you laugh. "You know, you have a really cute laugh." Joe smiles at you. "Oh shut up." You blush which makes him chuckle. " Oh, here we go." Joe says nodding turning up the song. "I'm living for givin' the devil his due and I'm burnin', I'm burnin', I'm burnin' for you I'm burnin', I'm burnin', I'm burnin' for youuu..." Joe sings which makes you smile and chuckle. "You sound exactly like Eric Bloom." You tease. " I like to think so too." Joe says making you laugh. You turns the song back down and you finish your beer. "I like a girl who can drink." He nods chuckling. "I like a guy who can sing Styx." You bite your lip. "Man, I guess you're out of luck tonight." He shakes his head. You two stare at each other for a moment before Joe leans in for a kiss. You didn't know if it was the beers you had just drank or all those sexual feelings you suppressed about Joe finally coming out but you kissed him back hungrily. Your tongues dancing inside each others mouths, tasting the beer you two had drank. 

"Is that Watermelon lip-balm?" Joe smirks as you two pull apart and you smirk. "Maybe..." You say out of breath. "Just how I imagined." He licks his lips. "Are you saying you fantasize about me?" You gaze at him. "Every night since we've gotten here. That red swimsuit you wear and these shorts you put on drives me insane. Worse than that poster of Farrah Fawcett hanging in the guys cabin." Joe says lowly as he slowly runs his fingers along your bare thigh. You could feel yourself becoming quickly aroused. "Is that so?" You smirk. "It is so...and I think these shorts... as much I love how they look on you have to go." Joe hums. You slip off your shorts with the help of Joe leaving you in your white lace underwear that you had underneath. You take your hoodie off leaving you in your bra and you can feel Joe's hungry gaze on you. "C'mere." Joe says sitting back in the drivers seat, seeing how hard he already was for you in the tight shorts that looked like they were about to burst with the size of his thighs and growing bulge. Moving from your seat over to his, you straddle his thick thighs and latch your lips again onto his. Joe groans into your mouth as you grind onto him. "You need to take this off." You breathe out as your hands try to work the buttons and zipper on his shorts. You and Joe laugh as you two both struggle with his tight shorts. "Maybe I should size up." He sighs when he finally gets his shorts off. "They're worth the struggle." You bite your lip as you palm him making him whimper. Your lips find each other again and you feel his hands wonder up your bra and Joe unlatches it. You take off your bra and throw it to the side. Joe's mouth immediately latched onto one of your breasts making you moan as your fingers pull at his feathery hair. 

Not being able to take it anymore you feel Joe move your panty to the side and release himself from his own underwear. "Ready?" He asks huskily and you nod kissing him. He aligns himself at your core and you sink onto him, both of you moaning into each others mouths. He was a lot bigger than you had expected. "Tell me if I'm hurting you." Joe says kissing your jaw as he pushes a strand of hair out your face. After a moment you then start to move. "Shit...you feel better than what I imagined Y/N." Joe hisses as his hands grab your ass cheeks and help you bounce on him. "Oh god... Joe." You moan. You feel his mouth all over your neck and chest as you keep moving your hips. You two finish rather quickly but you didn't care, you needed to release all that pent up sexual frustration. Leaning your sweaty forehead onto his you look him in his gorgeous eyes and you both smile breathlessly before giving each other a sweet tender kiss. Moving back onto the passenger seat you slip on your hoodie and and shorts. "Do you want to go back to the kegger or to your cabin?" Joe asks getting dressed as well. "I could go for another beer...plus you me a Styx song." You smile stuffing your underwear into the pockets of your hoodie. "A beer and a Styx song it is..." Joe smiles giving you one last kiss.  You two leave his car and walk back hand in hand to the bunch of drunks you left, knowing the rest of the summer of 1984 sleepaway camp was going to be quite interesting between the two. 

[friendshipgun]

😈

💖-specifically, when did you start writing, what kind of things did you write, what inspired you, how has your writing journey looked?

and uh i fuckin forget the emoji but character headcanon(s) for mia winters and/or jesse evilwest (and his twin??)

hope these are fun to answer!

Has there been a point in a story where you did something just to be playfully mean to your readers?

i think maybe you asked this one the last time i reblogged this ask meme but there has also been Fic Progression so i also understand lol. but no, not really. a lot of the time i don't even clock something that might read like that until i get comments about it. i am however mean to Karl and Ethan on purpose and so there is probably splash damage from that lol.

(and i'm gonna have to readmore the rest bc it gets long, apologies) What made you start writing?

i don't know when exactly i started, just that i remember putting little books of "stories" together in elementary school. i wrote what i think technically counts as LOTR fanfic and MLP oc fic lmao. but what i mostly wrote was original fiction. a cousin i was close to as a kid was also big into writing and we ended up attending a summer camp for the arts together in middle school, so i was writing mostly poetry there, but prose too. i also started writing fic with another friend in middle/high school (stuff like pokemon crack fic lmao), but i was still mostly writing original fiction. in high school in particular i got BIG into writing poetry (idk if anyone else knows about allpoetry.com but i sure was spending a heck of a lot of time there), was editor of the high school literary magazine, etc etc. basically i was never not writing. i was also posting way more fic in high school, writing primarily angst at that point and largely for Final Fantasy.

then i went to college and stopped writing for a few years barring academic papers. started taking writing seminars the last few semesters i was there which got me writing again. again mostly original fiction. a lot of supernatural stuff, not really poetry anymore though, which is kind of a shame bc of how much i had liked it. started writing fic again too, a lot of Naruto stuff that i never posted anywhere. then my dad of all people got me into Supernatural and i wrote a bunch of fic for that that i also never posted anywhere. then i went to grad school and the "not writing anything except academic papers" thing started up again rip. really didn't pick it up again as a regular practice until after my dad died a few years back. wrote a bunch of stuff about grief that was uhhhhhhhhh pretty clearly me trying to process shit.

and then it was covid and i lost my job and i was watching playthroughs of re7 and re8 almost concurrently going "but what if you put Heisenberg in the swamp WHAT THEN." as for what inspires me, i guess just about everything? like the number of stories i wrote set in Japan after i'd studied abroad there...is a lot. and with fic it's just like "i just think it would be neat if character i like was in a Situation." when i was writing poetry a lot of it was teenage angst bc i was in high school but i'd also write about cities or people or fantasy epics. anyway this is already really long but yeah basically if i think about it for long enough that it becomes "I Just Think They're Neat" territory i'll want to write something about it.

Mia Winters Headcanon:

she doesn't trust easily and has for a long time kept things about herself secret, or lied outright, as a way to protect herself. she'd been doing this long before she met Ethan and then after...it was habit. and it was easy to keep things about her work secret because it did feel like she was protecting him. and it wasn't like it was going to be forever, she was planning on getting out. she was working on it. she hadn't even thought of something like that--a normal life--until she'd met Ethan, and then it had seemed like...like something attainable. there wouldn't be the need for secrets then, when it was just the two of them. (or so she told herself: it's like pulling off her skin, being that exposed, having nothing between herself and someone else. being seen. completely seen.) anyway this got away from me a bit lmao. but basically i like to try to reconcile her going back to lying post-re7 as a defensive move to protect herself, especially when the BSAA knows everything about her past. i don't think she was intentionally trying to hurt Ethan or anything, just that after Dulvey she'd feel ever more the need to have those secrets as a buffer, combined with a deep, deep fear that Ethan would hate her if he knew. (this is how i am personally smoothing down Mr. Capcom's writing decisions.) Jesse Evil West Headcanon: he has had a crush on Edgar since he was a kid and is outright tormented by it. i imagine him taking issue with how his dad treated Edgar. or feeling jealous of Edgar's loyalty to his dad. just let's give Jesse more issues regarding his dad lmao. the little joke he makes in the game about Edgar kissing him is a ""joke"" but like he is internally yelling UNLESS?????? as vehemently as he can.

thinking also about post-game events, how Bloom was joking around with Edgar and Jesse can absolutely get jealous about that too, like just he's a mess and i don't know if it's better (worse) if he has actually confessed to Edgar and was shot down or has just never confessed to Edgar for fear of getting shot down.

and if you want to bring in Jesse's twin (who is also named Jessie i guess we can just give him an extra vowel) i think it's very funny if both of them alternately fight over and tag team Edgar. co-op, as it were.

[pbandjesse]

Hello thank you for your patience! Are you picking up a day camper or overnight? Do you know the age or gender of your child? Also do you know where you're going?! I had to say that about 130 times in the last hour.

Pick up is so silly. I don't know how many people come and they just have no idea where they're going or anything about the person they're getting except their name. But everyone got picked up and I was able to leave only a little bit later than I had hoped. I really like doing the bears honestly I think it's fun. I just am so beat this summer. I tried my best to not burn myself out but the schedule was really rough. Today was a good day though. And that brings us to the end of another week of camp with only one week left.

I still didn't feel great this morning though. I did not take the new medication. Falling asleep was a little harder. And then I got woken up at 1:00 when James went to use the bathroom and then I knocked my tablet to the ground and they turn the light off while I was trying to find it because they didn't realize what was happening and I got very worked up. And then I was convinced my tablet was broken. And I was just not having a good time. And then when my alarm went off at 7:00 I was just sick I felt so tired. And I decided that I would sleep another hour. I always go in early anyway so it's not like it really matters. But that extra hour really was important.

When I did finally wake up I felt more like a person. I still didn't feel great but I thought that if I went and got food it would fix me. So I got dressed and I felt pretty cute. And I grabbed my backpack and I was out the door a little after 8:00.

I went to McDonald's and I got two hash browns to have for breakfast and I saved my sandwich for lunch. I would have a pretty solid drive into work. I listen to music. I tried to listen to a podcast but I just could not. I need to find something new to listen to I think. But it was still a nice ride and I got to camp right after pickup was over around 9:00. And went right up to arts and crafts after saying hello to a couple people on my drive-in.

I didn't have a lot to do. I knew I wanted to get more of my cleaning and organizing done today so after I took a brief walk and went down to the office to say good morning I would go up and get things ready. I had stopped to talk to Heather and let her know that I had so much trash and to please ask her daughter, Sophie, to come and grab the bags from me because that is her job this year. And then I talked to CJ for a bit. I told her I was feeling better but not perfect. And she seemed to be doing a little bit better today too. We had a nice big hug and then I went back up to work on my organization.

And I did get a good amount done this morning. I knew that woodlands would be late because they always are. But they were actually more on time than normal. I was cleaning when they showed up and they did a really good job all things considered. They made some really nice pieces and apparently they had a very dramatic night. They had their prank on the barber shop and accidentally shattered one of the windows. Boys are crazy.

I had pioneers next and it was a very small group. Just six little boys and they were very sweet. Everyone seemed to enjoy the art today and I enjoyed working with them. And while they were working on that I was working on sorting string. Because our yarn box has been destroyed. Everything is a big tangled mess. I had three CIT girls come up to help me and that was really fun. Two of the girls were sorting the string and one was playing with a string and trying to make her own knitting needles out of sticks. And she actually was able to cast on so that was pretty cool. She kept apologizing for something and I was like you didn't do anything and apparently it's like a thing. I know the people are like that and they just say sorry all the time even if they didn't do anything wrong It's like a tick. But I kept telling her you have nothing to apologize for you are totally fine.

during lunch I ate my sandwich and then I got right back into organizing. I was making great progress and I started labeling things. And I was super happy with that. Just finding new spots for everything. CJ and Sophie after getting the trash brought me two three drawer organizers and I was very excited to get those settled. And while I was there organizing who would show up but Lindsay! Lindsay from nature! I was so happy to see her she looked great. And we caught up for a little while and she told me about her job troubles and how alexie's giving her a reference somewhere and we just caught up and I told her about the wedding and me and James's plan to try to buy a house and have a child and all that kind of craziness. Be in a grown up! But it was just really nice to see her face because I've always really enjoyed her. And I told her that I would tell James that she says hello.

After she left I went right back in to organizing. I had an idea of how I was going to put all of the drawing utensils in the three drawer but then one of my things didn't fit and it had to change my plan but I came up with something better that I think will work better at the long run. And then I started sorting my markers into cups so that they could all be color organized. And it was just very productive. And that felt very nice.

When the group finally came I was happy to see them because their day camp one and they're very cute. Kenny put an acorn in my shirt pocket. He's so sweet and his language skills have really developed a lot this summer. He was speaking in sentences at the beginning but he talks way more now and it's just really nice to see him growing up. He's going to be five this month! That's so crazy

All the kids though today were really sweet. After my half hour break where I continue to just clean. Stockade came and they mostly wanted to do bracelets and a few of them did clay. And worked on organizing my string and putting away construction paper. I had a few different boxes. One that has fancy paper, then one for scraps, and then one for full sheets. I also moved some furniture around and opened up the space a little bit mostly in preparation for the tables to come inside. I'm very pleased that when I came to be a different space and I think that's really good.

The boys though were pretty interested in their bracelets and their place sculptures and they were too a really good. Manny told me some stuff about how things are going and I talked to Aaron about his plan to try to do homestead next year. I offered my help with lesson planning and he seemed to actually grateful which was really nice. Then we talked about movies and how I really loved Barbie because I'm really interested in the gendering of toys and that's what I would love to do a PhD program on Sunday. And then we talked about Oppenheimer and how I love rockets and Jack Parsons and I love all of that world war II storytelling. I don't really care about war but I care about the people behind it and I think I will really like the movie I just don't know what I will have time to watch a 4-hour movie. Not that I don't watch 4 hour things all the time but it's different watching it in my house while I'm doing other stuff. So we'll see if I see it in theaters or not.

then after the boys left I had my last group. And last group can sometimes be rough but they did a very good job even if they were complaining that there weren't very good things for their mosaics anymore. It wasn't even true because they ended up making very pretty pieces but there was no big stuff. Which is always an issue and I tried to space it out throughout the week but it is so hard. I was left with two small boxes of mosaic materials that I packed up and put on my shelf. And maybe next year I will be able to get more stuff we'll see.

Once they left I was really able to look over my whole building and see all the hard work and cleaning and organizing and everything that I did. All the labels make me just so incredibly happy and once I finish putting this week's project away I went through and made a poster for next week and I talked to Annabelle about getting the to make the project work the way I want to. And then Celia came up to bring me some materials that she had borrow. And she was like hey nobody's down in the field. this week was carnival. And there's a bounce house. And it's not being supervised right now. So we very quickly ran down and as we were getting there CJ Annabelle and Lindsay were also running down and so we were all in the bounce house together screaming and trying to go up and down the slide but it was too squishy and it was really difficult. But we were laughing and being very silly and it was a lot of fun. But then I was very light-headed because that was a lot of exertion that I am not used to. And it was hard to get out of bounce house. But once we were free of the bounce house I went back up to the art building and I had a snack. And was able to collect myself again. I finished up setting all my materials out for next week and chatted with Annabelle for a few minutes. I got in my car to drive down to the bears.

I stopped till Chris that he has to go look at how nice I made it look and then I texted Heather the same thing. Heather said that I did an amazing job. And then I was just waiting for parents. And everyone was really nice. I did have to hold them down there for like 10 minutes because I had been sending people up thinking that everything was ready but the kids were not ready to be picked up yet and we're not at their cabins with their medications and so with a whole thing. But I was able to make everyone feel like everything was okay and just be like a very calm presence and nobody was angry. I thanked everyone for their patients as they came through and little chats. I even had a nice moment with a parent who had the same sunglasses on his face. And around 6:15 I was curious if we were done and if I could go home. But they asked me to wait for an extra 10 minutes just in case. And as I was getting in the car ready to leave another parent pull through. And I directed them where they were supposed to go and then I was off.

I don't mind leaving this late because there is no traffic. But I am tired. And James hopefully got my text message about warming me up dumplings. If not I will take a shower first. I hope that you all have a very nice night. Tomorrow I am driving to New Jersey. To go to Jess's house for the very first time. I am so excited. I am so proud of her and I'm so excited to see the cute little house she got. And I just hope that we have the best time unpacking and making it a beautiful space for her. Or just continuing the trend organizing spaces.

Be well everyone. I hope that you are taking care of yourselves and each other. I love you all.

[citrusreadstoa]

Reading The Hidden Oracle: Chapter 20 (SPOILERS)

"Of course, the previous Oracle had been a withered corpse, so perhaps the bar was low." Yeah, that's... that's a pretty low bar. Is the Oracle a job you can really bring excitement and vigor to? Most of the time it's just going about your day and making sure you're prepared to be possessed at any moment, right? Sometimes getting prophetic visions (in Rachel's case, prophetic paintings) and the occasional prophecy poem?

"Miss Dare looked thinner and older . . . She was not the same person." Wow, I guess the capture of Delphi not only affects the Oracle spirit but also its host vessel? That, and she just came from the Clarion Ladies' Academy, which cannot be a fun experience.

"stale crackers from the Oracle's larder." LARDER (n.): a room or large cupboard for storing food

"[Millard and Herbert] arrived at my house badly wounded. They... they didn't make it." What killed the satyrs??? Did the Beast send someone or something after them to try to keep Rachel from getting to camp? Omg imagine being Rachel: the Oracle suddenly stops working, all prophecies stop working even after Gaea is gone, then in the middle of your miserable boarding school year, two satyrs arrive at your home bleeding to death and you come to camp hoping for answers only to find the god that's supposed to help you fix the prophecies has been turned human. Bad year. Anyway, neither of them were the satyr that was teaching the music class or announcing the death race, right? No, I looked it up. That was Woodrow.

"That is the building you described last summer . . . where you parleyed with the Romans." "how did the Romans take over such prime Manhattan real estate on such short notice?" WAIT THAT'S RIGHT. I always thought we were just supposed to suspend our disbelief on stuff like that, like how and where the Romans got enough cars to take them and all their stuff across the country or whoever Octavian bought those HOUSE-SIZED onager catapults from. I just assumed they had connections with demigods who made it out in the mortal world.

"The mother company is something called Triumvirate Holdings." That sounds very Roman. "a ruling council of three . . . in ancient Rome." "three shadowy figures stood talking together--men in business suits" Is this serious? Is the Big Bad of this series going to be a corporation? Is Apollo's task going to be to... Is Apollo going to have to take down capitalism? Is the Big Bad capitalism? LMAO prophecy and capitalism: the two themes of TOA (jkjkjk)

"Adult demigods? I can't imagine they would be Greek, but perhaps Roman?" PFFFT HAHAHA Yes, because CHB doesn't prepare their kids for life in the outside world; they just assume they won't live 'til twenty and if they do, they won't last out there for long! :D

"the weapons were paid for by Triumvirate Holdings." Oh, so they paid for it, but they still bought them from somewhere. WHO??? Who sells ancient Roman siege weapons? "Luke Castellan mentioned he had backers in the mortal world . . . enough money to buy a cruise ship, helicopters, weapons . . . mortal mercenaries." OH AND LUKE! This goes far back! And lol, yeah, cruise ship with mortals included. This goes deep...

"What if this company is the root cause of... well, everything?" What are they, the Illuminati? Did they cause the Great Stirring or at least profit off of it?

"Rachel sat up straight. 'Excuse me? Oracles plural?'" Lol Rachel, you should be familiar with the gods and their infidelity by now. Jkjk but it's funny to see her jealous of him having other Oracles even though Delphi is obviously his favorite.

So, a triumvirate is a leading group of three -- a trio. And it's implied that Triumvirate Holdings is run by three ancient Romans. But the Roman emperors quiz I took on the Read Riordan website had four possible results! (The words "YOU GOT CALIGULA!" will forever haunt me.) Let's just see how this goes, then.

[camp-counselor-life]

Im in college and last year was my first year as a counselor, I had a really fun time but as this summer gets closer I still havent applied and down know why im so unsure about going again. I just didnt make many friends with the other counselors and feel kinda like weighted down by the idea of going again. How have you kept the motivation to work with camp so long ?

Ok, so, I've been thinking about this for the last hour while I go about my life, and I think that working at camp is honestly less about "fun" and more about what you're getting out of it overall.

Like, if asked I say that camp is a fun experience, which it is, but that's not necessarily what I was getting out of it that mattered to me. I didn't make a ton of friends either, mostly because I'm an awkward and unsocial person, but the friendships I did made supported me a lot and that was a big factor in coming back. Just having the one friend was enough. But I'll tell you all my reasons:

In 2014, I came back because I had been diagnosed with a mental illness and needed to be home, but also didn't have a whole lot of other job prospects where my parents live for like internships. I had enjoyed my first summer and that was enough. I also had a close friend who was going back and I had liked the experience overall.

In 2015, I switched camps, and came back because I was having second thoughts about med school and the only thing I really wanted/could think of that I could do to do was have a camp experience again.

In 2016 I came back because I had such a rewarding experience in 2015 with my CITs that I changed my whole career trajectory to spend more summers at camp. That was my director summer, and I almost quit several times, but I stuck around because this was my career goal and I wanted the experience. Plus I'm not a quitter.

In 2017 and 2018, I came back because I wanted the mentorship and experience as an assistant camp director, but also because my time at camp felt unfinished. I could have done a dozen different things, but camp called to me, and so I went back.

I've spoken about benefits of working at camp before, but some ideas of things that might speak to you include mentorship, communication practice, youth work experience, and spending time outdoors or being active. For me, being active and having a varied work schedule were key in managing my mental health. I also really enjoy kids and believe in the Girl Scout mission.

Fun can be enough, but it's ok if it isn't. Best of luck in your decision!

[copingmechanism1899]

Sept 4, 2023

I am... really bad at this journaling thing.

Anyways, this came about because today was the first day of classes for me, and the last friend at home flies back to school tomorrow.

~~~

I've been at school basically all my life. I've probably typed it before, but I did summer school going into freshman year of highschool, and kept doing that until it became CLEP testing and literally nothing (because of physical injury).

2 summers ago was the first summer I didn't have summer school. I thought it was going to be my one summer to fuck around (and maybe get a job) before I got serious. Make it the summer that would appear in a horror movie where a group of people have no responsibilities and just... go somewhere to get k*lled do something.

But that didn't happen because I got injured and couldn't walk.

So I wasted away, doing CLEP tests and being generally bored. I can barely remember what I did. I know I spent time with family, and I'm sure I did something fun, but there's nothing that really comes to mind when I give it a thought.

This summer is not much better. I know I mentioned going out of state to visit family, and that was fun. But what else did I do? What was the most exciting part of my summer? I'm being asked this in every meeting, class, gathering... and I don't know how to answer without it being... weird.

"Summer was fun! I found out that I have idiopathic hypersomnia, and I could be medicated, but I can't because I'm in a different state." (yeah, I did a sleep study, more on that later.)

Or perhaps "Oh yeah, this summer I spent three months in what felt like school with a bunch of people who are also mentally unwell. Thankfully only a few of them annoyed me, the rest were all unmemorable."

Yikes.

For a fleeting moment at the end of the last school year, I thought, "Damn, I didn't make it last year, but maybe this year I'll at least go do something for myself." (More than like, reading or drawing, or something that can be done when/wherever.) I thought that maybe this summer I'd actually get the balls to check out something like Omegamart or even just go camping with friends. I don't know, I just really wanted some time to do... nothing.

And I know that sounds bad. I don't want to be a NEET or a freeter, but I just needed time so stop. I ended the last semester in tears, finishing packing mere hours before it had to go into storage. I couldn't even remember what I brought home. I wasn't sure that I wanted to go back.

But I got home, and not even a full week after classes ended, I was in PHP. I don't even think I managed to unpack before I started. But my mom wanted me to try, so I agreed. I don't think I understood how much time this was going to take up.

Three months. Approximately 90 days. I heard that number a few times but it didn't hit me how much that was until it was over. I don't know what I was thinking, but I guess I thought I would still have some time to myself this summer.

But with a 4 year old sibling, and everybody home all day, I think (not including driving, which doesn't count because I shouldn't zone out then), there was less than 24 waking hours where I was alone. And not just alone in a room, but actually alone enough to relax and let go.

Now I'm in a dorm room (without roommates, thank every god), and while I'm technically alone, I have school. I already have 3+ assignments, and I'm in the mindset that I can't relax until a break.

But even then I'm not sure I can. Because our productions made us work over the summer. And I had to do things as class rep over the summer as well. Even though there was no summer school this year, there was still CLEP, and PDSM and responsibilities that I had to complete.

So I guess in a way, it's nice because if I never stopped school, then I don't have to worry about going back because I never left in the first place.

~~~

But back to the convo from tonight. I was thinking about how school grants me this structure, and so did PHP/IOP. And now I'm thinking about how messed up I'm going to be once I stop going to school. The "real world" without a consistent schedule is going to have me in ruins.

We typed about how we hope our jobs will give us structure, but I said "if productions are any indication... I will be searching for a 9 to 5 [...] because working with these people are shit, and I'm terrified that the rest of the world will be this way too".

And of course, being the friend that they are, they said: "no way [...] how i see it is there’s 8 billion people, not all of them are going to be annoying [school name] students"

And that's true. There are only 13.5k students here right now... But seem to be the luckiest person in that I always seem to find the worst ones.

Because it's not just the people at this school. It's been everyone in my whole life. So now, every time I meet a half-decent person, I'm afraid that it's simply first impressions and they're going to fuck me over. It was in freshman year here, highschool, middle school, and I can think all the way back to elementary instances of people being borderline cruel to me. And while I know I'm no saint, I'd like to think. I didn't deserve what they did to me.

My friend typed back a paragraph with the line "okay, i don’t know what exact advice to offer so plz take it with a grain of salt, except to trust that it does get better".

And I like them, I really do. And I'm genuinely happy that they've built such an amazing community after their shitty freshman year.

But I don't know if I can trust it.

I don't want to sound all negative and "woe is me" and shit, so this is not me complaining (or maybe it is, but this is my journal so fuck it, I can do what I want).

I want to trust that there are better people out there, and there clearly are, because I have you the 3 people I still talk to from high school, and like, 2/3 people here. But just looking at the past and (bringing up something I was told in therapy:) playing the tape forward, I feel like I've been through this before, and I already know how it's going to end.

I want to be hopeful, and I want to be able to work on things I like with people I like (or at least that I can work well with). But I'm just so scared. I literally don't think I could ever say the right words to describe how terrified I am of the future and the unknowns that come with it.

I don't know if I have the skills to interact with people who stress me out in a way that doesn't end with me having another breakdown. I don't know if I have the capacity to interact with strangers who have thoughts about me that I don't know about.

It's not a question of my effort or work ethic or desire (because I don't really have that last one anyways). It's a terrible feeling that no matter what I do, I'm going to run into people that will make life harder for me.

I don't know that I want to do theatre design, or design at all for that matter. I keep saying things when people ask me, or I'll say I'm interested in music videos or film design. I'll lie and say I'm having fun during the process, and I'll tell my family that I want to finish here.

But I just want the diploma. I want the proof, and the validation that I got through it. I want that "key" to open doors that supposedly are locked without a degree. But I'm a theatre major, so it's actually useless. This industry is "all about who you know", and I only know the worst people.

If it were up to me, I think I'd like to disappear. I'd like to stop existing. Not die necessarily, but I'd like to not have to think about the future, or the now, or the anything. I don't want to stop where I am, because then I'll probably miss my family and the few friends I have (and I'd like to think they'd miss me), but if everything stopped existing- if I didn't exist- everything would be so much better. So I guess not so much disappear, but rather not have appeared in the first place. I didn't choose to be born, and if given the choice, I don't think I would have.

~~~

Oh, I did go to the ren faire. It was... "fun", I think I like following my friends around when they seem excited for things. But it was more tiring and I don't think I like just walking around, surrounded by temptations to waste money. But some of the shows were entertaining. And my friends here also want to go so... I guess I'll follow them around soon. I think going once is enough. I don't think I'd ever be compelled to go on my own volition.

Well, it's 12:25a now, I think even if I did have more to type, I'm too tired and my head hurts too much for me to continue.

Oh shit, tired. The sleep study. Next time.

Goodnight.

[spei-sidus]

The Binoculars

Rating: Mature

No Archive Warnings

I didn't know if I could post this kind of content so I didn't at the time. I'm doing it now.

Written for UsaMamo Week 2023, Day 4

A day at the beach leads Mamoru to ask Usagi out.

“YAY it’s Summer Break and we get to PAR-TAY!” Usagi cheered.

“Time to hit the waves!” Ami said.

“And meet some guys!” Makoto said. 

“Lots of guys,” Minako said, drooling.

“You girls,” Luna moaned.

“Speaking of guys,” Minako said slyly, "I invited Motoki-kun.”

“You didn’t!” Makoto said, blushing.

“It’s your time to shine, Mako-chan!” Usagi cheered. There was a time when she crushed on Motoki, but she was now firmly in the Tuxedo Kamen camp. She’s known Tuxedo Kamen since she became a Senshi four years ago. Meanwhile, Motoki and Reika broke up six months ago because she wanted to solely focus on her career. Makoto had been crushing on Motoki for as long as Usagi on Tuxedo Kamen. 

“He didn’t want to be the only guy there, so I invited Mamoru-san, too,” Minako added. 

“Of course you did,” Usagi said with a groan. Mamoru was a third year student at Keio University which just went on Summer Break. He and Motoki, being only two years apart, were good friends. 

“Be nice, Usagi-chan,” Rei warned. “I want to actually enjoy this trip. It’ll be our last before we part ways.”

“Not completely,” Usagi whined. They still had to fight the Dark Kingdom and gather nijizuishou. None of them could go too far from Tokyo, where the enemy centered its attacks.

“No, not completely. But we will be on our own paths otherwise,” Makoto said sadly. All of the girls except Usagi were attending University in Tokyo, but each of them got into different schools. 

Usagi didn’t try to go to college because she knew Sailor Moon would be needed at every battle, and so had to be available at all times to fight. What was the point of a career when you had to keep deserting your job all the time? 

Rei laid out the beach blanket while Makoto pitched the umbrella. Minako brought out some binoculars and began scanning the beach for “hot guys”. Usagi ran after Ami to dive into the ocean.

“Cold! Cold! Cold!” Usagi yelled after she resurfaced. 

Ami giggled. “Here, this’ll help you acclimate,” she said before she made a large splash.

Usagi spluttered. “How dare you splash me! That’s unforgivable! In the name of the moon, I declare Splash War on you!” She retaliated, but Ami, being the Senshi of Water, was able to dodge and redirect the flow seamlessly. Once again, Usagi was left spluttering. Ami laughed as she swam away. “Hey! No fair! Aaaaaami-chaaaaaaan!” Usagi wasn’t going to let Ami get away. She started swimming, coughing her way through the waves. Ami took pity on the Senshi of the Moon and turned about, treading water. Usagi similarly began treading water, and then it was a fest of splashing, round and round, amidst peals of laughter. 

“It looks like they’re having fun out there,” Rei said with a smile. At least Ami didn’t bring a book this time!

“Look at this cutie,” Minako nudged the miko, leading Rei to look.

“Hey, girls!” 

“Motoki-kun! Mamoru-san!” Makoto greeted. She nudged the voyeurs next to her. 

“Oh, hiiii Motoki-kun, Mamoru-san,” Rei said, blushing a little at having been caught staring at guys.

Minako had no qualms. “Hello!” she said with a megawatt smile before getting her binoculars back from Rei.

“What are they doing?” Motoki stage-whispered to Makoto as he and Mamoru settled in.

“Boy watching,” Makoto stage-whispered back, blushing.

“Only because I was waiting for you two to show up,” Rei said smoothly, staring daggers at Makoto, and then at Minako. 

“You only live once!” Minako said, correctly for a change.

“So how are you both?”

“I’ve still been managing the arcade. My parents have let me take over full-time. There’s a lot on the business side I need to learn.”

“I’m glad it’s Summer Break. I’ve been studying nonstop.”

“You haven’t been to the arcade the last couple of weeks.”

“Finals,” Mamoru said with a grimace. “I couldn’t spare the time.” 

“Not even for coffee?”

“If it were just coffee…”

“Ah. No time to fight.”

“Right.” He was very moody because of it. He missed his arguments with the blonde. That was in large part why he agreed to Motoki’s invitation. “Where is Odango, anyway?”

The girls pointed over to the ocean where Usagi and Ami were still having their Splash War. The girls were circling each other and laughing. Mamoru smiled. He loved Odango for her bubbly personality, which was clearly on display now. 

“I win!” Ami shouted as she swam back to shore.

“Hold it right there!” Usagi shouted.

Mamoru froze. Usagi had sounded an awful lot like Sailor Moon just then. But of course that’s just silly. Odango Atama, Sailor Moon? Odango was far too sweet and innocent to be the heroine that faced youma on a regular basis. Then the two girls were out of the water - and there was nothing sweet and innocent about that body of hers. Usagi was clad in a pink bikini which left nothing to the imagination. Wide eyes took in her perfect breasts, toned stomach, perfectly flared hips, and long, slender legs. Her wet hair and skin glistened in the sun. How had he never noticed before that Odango was downright gorgeous?

Usagi’s breath caught as she drew near the group. Mamoru was sitting on the blanket facing her, shirtless, revealing well sculpted muscles and bulging arm muscles. Eyes burning blue went down her body and back up again. He was checking her out, too! “Hi,” she croaked. She cleared her throat. “Hi, baka,” she said.

“Hi, Odango,” he said.

“Wanna play volleyball?” Minako asked suddenly.

“Sure!” Makoto and Motoki both said.

“No, no,” Usagi said, waving them off. “You know me.”

“That you’re the biggest klutz of all Tokyo? We definitely know.”

“Is there one day - just one day - where you aren’t mean to me?” The others had retreated at this point. 

“The truth isn’t mean.”

“Yes it can! It’s how you say it that makes the difference.”

“I don’t think there’s a kind way to say you’re a klutz, Odango. You also walked right into that one - pun intended.”

“Ooooh,” she groused before picking up Minako’s binoculars, determined to ignore him.

“Now what’re you doing?” he asked irritably. “Watching for hot guys?”

Actually, she’d been scouting for good food places for later, but she’d never admit it. “So what if I am?”

“I’m not going to sit here and watch you ogle other guys, Odango.”

“Can you please stop with the nickname? My name is Usagi! U-sa-gi!”

“You’ll always be Odango to me.” Then he growled, “Put. The. Binoculars. Down.”

“Okay, baka, geez. I didn’t think you cared.” She did as he demanded, shifting back to look at him fully.

“I’m not having a fight with you when you aren’t looking at me.”

Looking? Usagi had to shut her eyes for self-preservation. He was still sitting there, looking gorgeously sexy, and shirtless… “I’m not looking at you,” she said with a half-groan.

He stared intently at her eyes shut noting how the lashes were long and lightly curled, all framed by her heart-shaped bangs, which still glistened. He heard her groan and decided to edge closer. “Well, I’m looking at you,” he murmured.

“Only to find fault, I’m sure,” she said, her eyes still closed.

“Far from it, Usagi.”

Her eyes shot wide open. His eyes were dark and intense as they regarded her, desire in their depths. He wanted her! 

Her eyes were wide, confused, but he also found desire in their depths. She wanted him - and was likely too nervous to do anything about it. He understood. They were Odango Atama and Mamoru-baka. Could they suddenly turn from being worst enemies to being lovers?

“You’ve been missing, you baka.”

Well, that was said churlishly! “I didn’t know you cared,” he said tauntingly, throwing her earlier words back at her.

She grimaced, then said quietly. “Well, yeah. Who else am I gonna yell at?”

“We could do something other than yell,” he said seductively. “Maybe scream?”

“Umm,” she incoherently choked out, images coming unbidden from just that one word. “Can you please put on a shirt?”

“No,” he chuckled.

“Why not?” she whined.

“Because you’re still clad in that skimpy outfit, which would be unfair.”

“Unfair?”

“Yes, Odango. You drive me to distraction.”

“But - but we’re worst enemies!”

“So? I want you, and I know you want me.”

“I’m not going to - to do that. We aren’t even dating!”

“I’m asking you out, Odango.”

“Just like that?”

“Just like that.”

“Well, I can’t!”

“Why not?” he growled.

Tuxedo Kamen. She wouldn’t do that to him. Ever. “I like someone else,” she said weakly. 

“He obviously doesn’t like you back, or you’d be with him.”

“It’s complicated.”

“Then forget him. Give me a chance,” he pleaded.

Forget Tuxedo Kamen?! Could she? “You can’t make me forget Tuxedo Kamen,” she murmured, and then her eyes went wide. Oh no.

“Tuxedo Kamen?” He was stunned for a minute. “You like a superhero? Someone you haven’t even met?! And that’s why you won’t go out with me?!”

“Like I said, it’s complicated.” He shook his head at her, but his eyes were gleaming. What was he so giddy about? “What are you thinking about?” she asked warily.

“I refuse to be in competition with a guy who’s never going to know who you are,” he said confidently, because he knew he was going to keep it that way.

Usagi frowned. Tuxedo Kamen certainly knew Sailor Moon, but he didn’t know Tsukino Usagi. Nor would the others ever let her reveal her identity to the hero. Perhaps she could fool around a little? Mamoru and she did have explosive chemistry together, if their fights were any indication! She took a deep breath and said, “Fine. I agree - but only to a few dates!”

“I’d say we’ve done a lot of ‘dating’. We’ve met for coffee and shakes for years. We’ve had drawn out ‘discussions’ with one another. I think we’re ready for…other things - I mean, if you are.”

The gauntlet was thrown, and Usagi was quick to snatch it up. “Of course, I’m ready,” she said hotly, “and - hey! What are you doing!” she screeched as she was tossed over his shoulder. 

“They have a nice resort over there,” he said. “I’m checking us in…so that we can get on with the screaming.”

Motoki and the other girls had paused their game to gape as the blonde yelled in protest for him to put her down while Mamoru walked away. 

Minako sighed. “At least one of us got a hot guy today.”

The End

[lowkeycasanova]

summer camp

plot: Vinnie and Y/N are camp counselors

thanks to @vhackerrs and @takecareluv for helping me out with this one!

masterlist

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

A summer camp with a bunch of little kids was the last place that anyone would find a tattooed college student. Vinnie's mom, Maria, had suggested it to him. And he laughed at the idea. But she told him that the pay was good and he'd have the nights and weekends to himself. He honestly couldn't think of anywhere else to work. Plus, it was the first place that hired him.

"Who's that?" your friend Amelie asked as she pointed into the distance. You turned to see a guy with shaggy brown hair that you've never seen before.

You shrugged. "Not sure."

All the counselors knew each other and you and Amelie have been working here for the past three years. So you would recognize a newbie.

Because Vinnie was new, he didn't know anyone and felt left out. The only person he talked to regularly was Amber, the director, despite literally sharing a room with a guy his age named Jesse. He also wasn't counting the twelve year old girls who had a crush on him. Asking where he went to school, what he did for fun, and what his social medias were.

One afternoon as Vinnie was doing a basketball activity with the kids, he was getting frustrated. He was constantly telling them to stop doing things and play by the rules. Near the end, he was kinda just letting them do their own thing because he didn't know the best way to correct them. Amber watched from afar and could tell that Vinnie was having trouble being an authoritative figure. So she had gone to you and asked if you could please take him under your wing. He didn't have a solid history of dealing with children and she knew you could help.

**

One early morning, Vinnie was by himself, setting up the area for relay races when you walked over.

"Need some help?"

Vinnie set the last flag down that marked the finish line. "Nah, I just finished. You're Y/N, right?" He wiped his forehead as it was humid outside and he was starting to sweat a little and would much rather be in bed rather than thinking ants were on him every thirty seconds.

"Yep, how's it going?"

Vinnie shrugged. "It's...going. I'm not really good at this stuff though."

"Did you have a job before this?" you asked.

"Yeah, I worked as an electrician with my dad."

Since he was finished doing what he was instructed to do, he started to walk back towards the main cabin and, to his surprise, you followed suit.

"An electrician? Really?"

"Yeah," he scratched the back of his head. "You sound shocked."

"No no no, I just didn't expect to hear that."

Vinnie stifled a laugh. "What did you expect?

"Not an electrician, that's for sure." you bumped his arm. "Is this your first time working with kids?"

He nodded, the sound of damp grass underneath your shoes.

"Can I give you some advice?"

"Please, because I feel like I'm not doing well."

"Well, first and foremost, you have to be patient with them. They are kids at the end of the day and have short attention spans and can get rowdy, but don't let yourself get stressed out. Keep it entertaining, be creative and enthusiastic. I believe it helps keep them motivated. Oh and also, try not to criticize them a lot." you explained.

"Oh yeah, I try not to do that because I'd feel really bad." Vinnie replied.

"But do show authority when needed." you pointed out. "But other than that, there's not much else left to say. The kids are great and they really like you."

His eyes flickered from the ground to you. "What?" he asked like he couldn't believe it.

You nodded. "Grace says that she likes when she's in your group and Michael said that he likes that drawings on your arm. Did they hurt by the way?"

"Um, I have a tree on the side of my ribcage, and that hurt like hell. So did the one near my v-line. And the spider on my chest."

"What do they look like?" you asked but then immediately regretted it because of how it sounded.

"Oh you wanna see 'em?" he raised his eyebrows suggestively.

"I mean...not like that but if you wanna show me-"

"Alright." He cut you off and started to lift up them hem of his shirt but you stopped him, laughing. Vinnie's lips twitched into a smile.

"No! Just finish your explanation." You said. But you were actually curious to see them as you had only seen the ones that were visible on his arms.

"Well other than that," Vinnie examined his arms. "not too painful. Looking back, it's not as bad as I thought.”

"What was your first one?" you inquired.

He pointed to his left arm to the two hands. "The Creation of Adam. I was freshly eighteen and just moved out when I got it."

As you two walk, you grab a hold to his arm to look at it and ran your thumb across it. He's surprised by your sudden touch but he doesn't pull away. He finds it comforting and he's not sure why.

Then, as you two are walking closer tot he cabin, your friend Amelie comes out and sees you with Vinnie.

"Hey, we were looking for y'all. Staff meeting is about to start."

Vinnie barely payed attention during the meeting. His mind kept wandering to his conversation with you.

**

A few hours later, Vinnie was in the grassy area, playing football with the kids. He said "fuck it" to the actual rules and they all just ran around together.

"Touchdown!!" Vinnie shouted with a big smile and threw the ball on the ground as he reached the 'end zone'.

"Not fair, you cheated." Grace laughed.

"Girl, ain't nobody cheated. You're just slow." Vinnie replied and poked her stomach.

She poked him back with turned into a game of tag between them. He pretends to be tired and catch his breath and their game attracted some of the other kids and they came at Vinnie in all directions and started to jump on him, pulling him down.

"You guys are too strong for me!" Vinnie said as they began to topple over him.

You admired the scene in front of you as you watched from the sidelines. Vinnie was a natural and they loved him.

The days went by quickly and Vinnie developed quite a few friends that made this whole experience so much better.

Jesse was his closest guy friend as they did share a room. They both liked gaming and anime so that was something that they could share.

Peter was by far the most hilarious and it was always a good time when he was around.

Maya and Jason actually go to the same school as Vinnie and they made it a point to hang out one day.

Brandon was someone that Vinnie was the least closest to. They never talked much, and when they did, Vinnie initiated conversation and was always nice, but for some reason Brandon didn't reciprocate, even though he was very talkative with everyone else.

The most significant relationship that Vinnie had with anyone was with you. You two spent a lot of time together. You showing him the ropes in certain situations and always having his back when needed. When the both of you with with your own group of kids, you'd tease each other from a distance.

**

That Friday, you had walked into the laundry room with a bucket full of towels to fold and found Vinnie doing the same, nearly running into him.

"Oof, sorry." You muttered and step aside, setting your basket on the counter. Vinnie came next to you, looking you up and down and you caught his eye.

"What?" you questioned and became a little annoyed when he started chuckling.

"Nothing." he said firmly. "I just didn't know it was twin day."

You were a little slow and it wasn't until Vinnie tugged on your sleeve when you understood.

Every counselor gets a variety of t-shirts to wear in different colors, and you could wear whichever color you wanted. But not only were you and Vinnie wearing the same color shirt, but also sported matching white shorts and shoes.

"Oh god." you groaned which made Vinnie laugh again.

You two folded the towels in comfortable silence. You watched his precise movements, taking such a simple job seriously.

You had been meaning to ask him something all week but didn't know how to bring it up in conversation. Now that it was nearing the end of the shift, you knew you needed ask now before it was way too late.

"Are you going to the lodge tonight?"

"Hmm?" he replied, having to take a second to process.

"Maya's family's lodge. She's having that get together thing tonight."

"Oh yeah, she did invite me to that and Jesse mentioned it too. But...uh, I don't know." He mumbled. Vinnie tended to keep to himself and watch tv or play video games.

Maya's family owned this resort style lodge nestled in the perfect location within the trees a few miles away. She frequently invited everyone over and it was always a good time.

"You should come." you urged. "We never see each other outside of work. It'll be fun."

You then started to feel nervous like he might turn you down, even though you weren't the one who technically invited him.

"Are you going?" he asked.

The question caught you off guard since you had already expected him to say no at this point.

"Yeah, told Peter I'd be there."

"Well if he's going, then I might go too." He teased and you just chuckled in response.

As you folded your last towel, you used that as an excuse to be done.

"Well looks like I'm finished. Hope to see you around this weekend."

“Oh yeah, see you Y/N.”

After Vinnie's conversation with you, it didn't take much convincing to get him to go. He even went to the extent of trying to pick the best outfit, settling on a plain gray tank top (that exposed way more of his tattoos than the short sleeve he was supposed to wear for work), blue jeans, and some white and blue Nikes. He walked out the house with his hair still wet from the shower.

Upon arriving, he let himself inside since the door was unlocked. He followed the sound of talking and laughter until he reached the living room/kitchen where everyone was. And he could tell he caught them by surprise.

“Vinnie!”

“What’s up Vinnie?”

“Hi Vinnie!”

They all greeted.

He actually came, you thought.

You smiled at him and waved. He came over to you first and gave you a hug as you were the closest to him. He waved to everyone else and gave Peter and Jesse those bro hugs that guys always do. The sight warmed your heart, seeing how he’s become so comfortable around everyone.

“You could’ve knocked you know.” Maya told him and playfully punched his arm.

“Knocking is overrated.” He joked. “Nice place you got here.”

He admired his surroundings. It was mostly wood, so a good use of brown. Lots of glass windows, trees around the house, and even a lake nearby with a boardwalk leading to it that you could see out the living room window.

“It’s my parents’, so I can’t take all the credit, but thanks.”

Everyone then headed over to the huge couch in the living room. Maya picked up the remote to the smart tv and started flipping through her streaming services to find something to watch.

Vinnie glanced over at you as if to say, “you coming?”. You were still at the kitchen island trying to get your drink together. You gave him a look back that said, “in a second.”

You finally walked over and saw that the space next to Vinnie was empty. With confident strides, you headed over just for Bianca to sit there instead. You couldn’t be mad, it’s not like it was a saved seat, but still. He looked over his shoulder and gave you an apologetic look.

No big deal, you just sat next to Maya, a few feet across from them. You didn’t know Bianca all that well. You didn’t see much of her at work due to the fact that she usually worked with the older kids, but you two were friendly when you saw each other.

You overhear her tell Vinnie that she’s glad he’s here and from that point on, it’s like you can’t even pay attention to what everyone else is saying because you’re so focused on the two of them.

Bianca asks Vinnie is he works out, feeling his bicep in the process. Like no shit he does.

It bothered you that she was being so flirty. If you had to guess, you would’ve thought that Vinnie didn’t really talk to her, but they obviously hung out a lot or something in order for her to be that comfortable.

You kept zoning in and out. Peter mention something about watching American Horror Story and then somehow the conversation was about ghosts, with everyone sharing anything supernatural that occurred in their life.

Perking up for the first time in a few minutes, you shared a story about when you were a kid and you heard someone calling your name in your house. Although you and your mom were the only people home and she said it wasn’t her.

Making eye contact with Vinnie, you finally got his attention, as he started listening when you began talking. His eyes were wide upon hearing your story but you shrugged it off like it was no big deal.

Bianca quickly wanted the attention back on her and she tapped Vinnie on his shoulder to get him to look at her. Slumping in your seat, you frowned as she frilled her pin straight hair over her shoulder.

She seemed to be only making conversation with Vinnie and if you were honest, it was a little rude that she didn’t make an effort to talk to anyone else. You slumped in your seat and folded your arms over your chest.

Their whole engagement made you bitter. Bitter enough to admit to yourself that yes, you had a crush on Vinnie. One bigger than you’d like to admit. Seeing them talk and flirt together made you realize that you don’t want to see him with another girl.

What you didn't know, was that Vinnie wasn't flirting back with her. He genuinely thought she was just being nice. He also kept glancing over at you to make sure that you were doing okay, after seeing the grimace on your face.

Doing your best to try to ignore them, you grabbed the remote to the tv and tried to find some music to play. Everyone was throwing song names and artists at you. You turned to Vinnie see if he had any input, but Bianca was taking a selfie with him.

A few moments later, she asked Vinnie if he wanted to go check out the lake, maybe even go for a swim.

Vinnie looked past her, out the window, to see small waves from the lake being illuminated by the moonlight. "But I don't have a swimsuit." he told her.

"Neither do I." she answered and raised her eyebrows suggestively.

He just looked at her, dead serious. "So I guess we can't go then. Not to mention that it's nighttime, prime bug time." He laid further back into the couch to get comfortable and pulled his phone out of his pocket.

Bianca looked at him with confusion until she got up from her spot. "Suit yourself then." she mumbled and walked off.

Jesse had eyed the whole interaction.

"What?" Vinnie questioned when they made eye contact. Jesse sighed in disbelief, then started laughing.

That got the attention of everyone else.

"What's so funny?" a girl named Gabby asked. "I wanna laugh too."

Jesse looked around to make sure that Bianca was out of earshot before he recapped what had just happened.

“Ain’t no way you didn’t pick up on that.”

“So embarrassing for her.”

“She definitely wanted to go skinny dipping with you.”

This was your last straw.

You shot up out of your seat, fuming but tried your best to hide it. “I’m gonna go get another drink.” You told everyone but walked off before they could answer. You make your way to the kitchen, trying to calm yourself down.

Vinnie’s worried gaze instinctively follows you and all of a sudden he can’t hear the people around him. He gets up as well a few seconds later. “Yeah, imma get one too.” He tells them.

Gripping the refrigerator door with your hand, you don’t even know what you’re looking for. Thought after thought running through your mind. Shutting the door, Vinnie’s tall frame leans against the counter and the sight of him startled you for a moment.

“What’s wrong?” He asked, his voice careful.

You folded your arms over your chest. “Why do you care?”

“Because you seem upset. I’m concerned.”

Fighting the urge to roll your eyes, you said, “Because…I thought we…” then you paused. “You know what, never mind.”

You turn to walk away but he grabs your arm to stop you.

“Seriously? You were the one who wanted to hang out outside of work but I haven’t spoke to you since I got here.”

“Hmm, I wonder why that is.” You stated and looked at him directly in the eye.

He then avoided your gaze and sighed. You glanced at the others and tried to make it look like you were doing something they wouldn’t wonder what was going on.

“Look,” he started. “I wasn’t flirting with her. And if I’m honest, I didn’t even know she was flirting with me until Jesse said something. I’ve been bad at picking up stuff like that. And maybe you’re bad at picking up hints too because if you haven’t noticed…I’m kinda crazy about you.”

The way that he was looking at you with so much care made you realize that all of the thoughts about ignoring him for the reminder of your time was ridiculous. Whether you liked it or not, he had you wrapped around his finger.

“I actually thought I was reaching the signs wrong. I thought that you and Bianca had something going on.”

Vinnie shrugged. “Maybe she thinks that, but no. In fact, I was disappointed when you couldn’t sit next to me.”

“Well if it’s any consolation…I like you too.”

You hated being so cheesy.

Now that it was all explained, it made sense. He inched closer and opened his arms for you to walk into, which you did. You liked how warm he was.

“I’m sorry for making you uncomfortable.” He mumbled into your hair.

“Don’t worry about it.” You responded.

He pulled away and gave you a soft kiss on your cheek. He then pulled out two drinks from the cooler and passed on to you.

“Cheers.” He smiled and clinked his glass with yours.

You two made your way back to your friends, hoping they didn’t see any of that because you really didn’t need an earful from them. They were still having a good time, the laughter and music blended together. The boys setting up a table for beer pong. You sat down on the couch while Vinnie took his spot next to you.

[noveratus]

The Quarry: Review/Rewrite

Spoilers for the game!!!

Just finished watching a playthrough of the Quarry and I gotta say, I kinda really like this game. It's not the type of game that takes itself too serious and can be quite scary in certain parts, but in the case of the Quarry what really makes or breaks the game are the characters. They are all your normal stereotypes characters you find in horror games/movies but with an added level of complexity to them, which makes them very interesting. You understand them, why they do what they do even if you disagree and you really wanna keep them alive. I think this game does this a lot better than Until Dawn, and while it doesn't have a narrative and plot as strong as that game, the whole point of these medias is to try to keep the characters alive, and you definitely want to do that here way more. I remember playing until dawn specifically so I could kill the three characters I disliked and that was it. Here I don't really dislike anyone- well, with one exception: Ryan.

It's kind of interesting how Ryan is kind of set up to be the main protagonist here, but is the least interesting character of them all. I will talk more about him later though.

To me, the biggest weakness in this story comes from the narrative/plot. It starts out strong with the kids being stuck in the summer camp with werewolves, but then it gets a little too confusing and weird by trying to put too much at once. You didn't really need the Hatchet family to be bigger than Chris, his children and Travis. You didn't need to add the family and the convoluted thread points regarding the land. I also feel bad that the main point regarding this is Silas and yet you only get to learn about him in the last 30 minutes of the game. The ending was also really bad, I know they wanted the banter between the two hosts to be endearing, but it was just annoying. I would have preferred just a picture of the newspaper instead.

All and all fun game. Not amazing, but I think it did a good job with whatcit tried to do. 7/10

The Rewrite

Now that the review is over, we can het to the rewrite. Just a heads up, I have not seen all the endings so far, only the main, true ending. This will be a rewrite of that.

The only thing I would change with Laura and Max is that, in this version, they get to the camp a lot sooner. Travis does not run into them. Laura has a brief encounter with the hag before they find the area where Chris is being kept. From there, game goes as normal with Travis eventually running into them, drugging Laura and shooting Max

We start off the same, last day of summer, the instructors are getting ready to leave, but Jacob wants one last night with Emma so he sabotages the car.

They sit around the fire, but before they start playing truth or dare, they ask Ryan to tell them a scary story and so starts. Around 50 years ago, a woman moved into Hackett's Quarry with her circus and her son, a child born half human half wolf. The locals believed that the woman was a witch and so they burned her alive with her troop, but in doing so permitted the boy to run free. Legend said that he was still alive and looking for the remaining members of the family that burned them down to kill them. No one believes him until he reveals that should know, because his family is one of them.

See, in this version, Ryan's parents are rich and are the ones who actually own the camp. He has come there every year and Chris is practically an uncle to him as well as a father figure since his father died in a car accident a long time ago- or so he was told. People laugh it off and truth or dare starts.

Game continues as normal with Nick getting bitten by one of the werewolves. The werewolves here are closer to your normal media, big fluffy men wolves. Like wolves, these wolves hunt in packs with the leaders being the strongest ones. The other wolves must obey the leader wolf and this wolf is the only one with some understanding of what he is doing. The only way for you to become the alpha is by defeating the current alpha in human form.

The pack starts hunting down the human, but interestingly enough they don't seem too interested in killing them. Just biting. Here is the part where your characters can get bitten. Since the wolves aren't out there to murder you yet, the game is a lot more forgiving.

As the wolves stalk the kids, they also seem to be looking for something- or someone-

This is also around the time that Travis, Laura and Max arrive at camp. Laura is there to kill Chris, the wolf who infected Max and who the Alpha of the werewolves is looking to force him join his pack. He isn't aware of Max yet, but if they run into him they will force him to join as well.

Travis runs into Jacob and Emma and arms them to go hunting for Silas, revealing them about how the curse started. Not only was Ryan's story true, but the White Wolf returns to camp every five years or so and occasionally infects more people. One year, he returned two early and infected a child that was here at the time, the son of Chris, Caleb. Instead of becoming a mindless beast, however, the curse affected Caleb differently (possibly due to his age, he was the same age Silas was when his mother died.) Caleb was not only able to control his transformation, but also control the wolves in his lineage to do his every bidding. Caleb then went on to infect his sister and his father and then more people before he made a whole pack for himself. Caleb managed to escape with his sister, but not with his father, so now he does his best to keep Silas safe so the curse doesn't end while looking for Chris and Travis so that their family may be completed once more.

Meanwhile, Laura tells Ryan, Dylan, Nick Abigail and Keitlin a very different story of how she had been kept prisoner in the police station with Max for the past two months.

Now we have two groups: one trying to hunt down Silas and one looking for Chris with Caleb's wolves tracking down both of them. Travis group is attacked constantly while things are quiet with Laura's group up until they find Chris. This was all Caleb's plan, however as he instead frees Chris and forces him to join his pack. He threatens to do the same to the humans, but Laura is unwilling to go do down without a fight, and so Laura shoots some of the wolves including his sister. Now, Caleb, may or may not be able to speak, but I do think it would be cool if he did.

I would be interested in creating a parallel between Silas and Caleb since they are the only two wolves capable of controlling their transformations, both had terrible things happen to them while children and both value family. The difference is that Silas was a quiet boy who never wanted to hurt people, he just did it when he felt threatened and then was misunderstood for being a dangerous animal. Meanwhile, Caleb comes from a not so great household where all he ever wanted was to get power and upon getting this power he made it his life goal to use it to create a family: even by force.

This is the part in the game where mercy gets thrown out of the window. Any characters infected by the curse are forced to join Caleb as he pretty much takes control over the player- including Nick who was still human up until this point. Any characters will get brutal deaths from now on if you mess up. All the wolves try to devour the humans, getting Laura bitten in the process and the group ends up splitting up with Keitlin and Dylan on one side, Laura and Ryan on the other and Abigail by herself. And so the hunt begins.

Dylan's group find themselves in the junkyard where they are forced to fight some of the wolves, including Chris. Laura and Ryan are followed by the main pack led by Caleb and a single wolf goes after abigail, Nick. Depending on who is turned the distribution may change. It is also heavily implied the hikers are the other wolves, now enslaved by Caleb. I will say his Original group was composed of 12 werewolves, himself, his sister and 10 more. After she dies, that numbed goes down to 11, then as he recruits his father and Nick, 13. The more people were bitten, the more difficult the game becomes. If no one is infected, each group has 3 wolves on them. The scary things about these monsters isn't so much their individual abilities, but how they swarm you and attack in groups. They are surprisingly intelligent hunters (no blood logic here) and will almost always attack in groups.

Dylan and Keitlin manage to kill their wolves, including Chris himself, curing Max in the process. Abigail traps Nick where Chris was being held without harming him and then both groups leave to the lodge, having survived their encounters.

Now Laura and Travis' group reunite and I think it would be cool for the witch to have been playing tricks in Travis' groups so you play through these illusions. Maybe there is even a chance you shoot each other. When you meet, the illusion fades and you quickly find yourselves following a wolf track bigger than the ones before. This is where Silas is, in his old cage, possibly cuddling an old skeleton. In front of him, a group of six werewolves awaits them led by Caleb. Travis ans Caleb look at each other, Travis tries pleading with him to let him end this, but Caleb refuses. He won't let his new family go. He tries to force Laura to join with their connection, but she is able to resist for now and so the fight breaks out. This is by far the longest fight in the game and the hardest. You jump from character to character trying to keep them alive. You can choose to kill the wolves here or spare them, but the latter is considerably harder. Eventually, Travis allows Caleb to bite him to make him think he has won, only for Laura to be standing there with the shotgun ready. She shoots Caleb's brains off, ending the fight and all the werewolves are released.

All but one.

Silas appeared to be unbothered by the fight, just silently whimpering on his spot. Here you get to make one last choice: let him live or put him out of his misery. If you let him live, he will keep infecting people, if not, he is reunited with his mother and they are both allowed to move on.

The game ends with the characters saying goodbye, but not for long, after all the police will want to hear from them. Yeah, it was a tough night, but they survived it and, what doesn't kill you, makes you stronger.

[xoluvx]

betty; p.parker

» pairing: peter parker x reader » song: betty » word count: 1.9K

There was a flutter in Peter's heart as he watched you from behind his locker. He was pretending to dig for something, but his head peeked from behind the door watching you enter the school. The glow of senior year oozed off you and the never-ending giggles of your friends wrapped around you like a safety blanket. Your bag hung on one of your arms as the other linked with an arm of one of your friends.

Peter's heart thumped as you approached his locker. Usually, you would come up to him, peck his cheek, tell him how much you missed him, and celebrate the fact you were finally seniors in high school. But that wasn't the case. You walked right past him as if he were invisible.

He followed you down the hall with his eyes, the chatter among your friends grew softer as you disappeared in the crowd of freshmen rushing to find their classrooms. His eyes were on you when you briefly turned your head finding his eyes. Embarrassed, you turned quickly. But his eyes were still on you until he lost you in the crowd.

Shutting his locker, Peter sighed.

"Hey," Ned's voice rang in the hallway as he hurried to Peter.

Peter greeted Ned, as they walked side by side towards their first period. "Are you going to her party?" Ned asked glancing at Peter. He knew it was a sensitive topic, one he hadn't disclosed all the details about yet.

"She hates me," Peter responded shrugging his shoulders digging his hands in the pockets of his jeans.

"What happened with Gwen anyway?" Ned asked bluntly. He was tired of being left in the dark, of tiptoeing around the issue and tired of his best friend ditching him for most of the summer.

Peter turned to look at Ned with a blank look, flashbacks of summer invading his mind.

"Do you need a ride?" The voice startled Peter. He'd heard the car coming, but he hadn't turned to see who was approaching him. When the car stopped next to him, he recognized the girl. She had been in one of his classes, but they'd never spoken before.

"Oh no, thank you." Peter shook his head politely. He was carrying his skateboard, a wheel was busted so he was left to walk the rest of the way home.

"It's not a problem, I have nowhere to be." She added smiling at him, lifting her sunglasses, Peter made eye contact. Her eyes were friendly, lips curling into an inviting smile. "I don't bite," she added unlocking her car.

Peter gulped but approached her car. If he walked, it would take him another half hour. Why not?

"Peter, right?" she said. It was then Peter realized she was chewing gum, she blew a bubble take popped as she brought her sunglasses down. Peter nodded.

"Gwen. We had English together," she mentioned driving down the road. "Why are you out here all alone?" she asked casually keeping her eyes on the road.

Peter shifted in his seat, his skateboard awkwardly between his legs. "I was at my friend Ned's house," He said looking at her briefly. "But my skateboard broke-" he continued talking looking down at the skateboard with the missing wheel.

"You know how to fix it?" she asked.

"I think I have to get it fixed," he confessed. Or maybe Ned could help, but that would require transportation that he didn't have.

"I can take you," she offered and Peter's eyes widen a bit. He was confused by her generosity. He barely knew this girl.

"I have to get home. My aunt is waiting for me." It was true. Aunt May didn't play when it came to dinner. Even though the sun was still out, he had to be home for dinner in less than an hour.

"Tomorrow," she shrugged nonchalantly glancing at Peter as they stopped at a red light. Peter's eyes scanned her face, her round features, and her long lashes. The gum expanded once again in a small bubble.

"Sure. Okay," Peter smiled as he gave her directions towards his house.

Peter should've known then. He should've known how things would end, but he was too gullible and he missed you too much. You'd taken the camp counselor job and though you would only be gone for five weeks, they felt like the longest five weeks. Gwen was filling that void.

Gwen's company made the days slightly more bearable. It was innocent. It started that way at least.

"I saw them at the arcade together," Inez's voice was becoming staticky. Your thoughts fogged as you heard what she was saying. "I wanted to call as soon as I saw, but you were at camp." She frowned, it was ingenuine though. Like she was living for the hurt expression on your face.

She went in for a hug, but you moved out of her way leaving the mall. You weren't going to entertain this. Is that why Peter wasn't there like he said he would? At your doorstep waiting for you to come back from camp?

You could feel the tears forming as you approached your car. Fumbling with the door you finally pulled it open sliding into the driver's seat slamming the door, gripping the steering wheel as you let the tears flow. Your chest felt tight.

This had to be the worst welcome home ever.

"Hey," Ned waved and you turned in his direction. He was waving at you with a friendly smile. Peter was next to him looking like a lost puppy. You faked a smile and waved, ignoring Peter, before you got pulled away by your friends to your table in the cafeteria.

"Are you going to talk to him?" one of your friends, Alice, asked drinking from her juice box. Another cut in and it was all too much for you to process. They knew as much as Inez had told you, and they knew you hadn't spoken to Peter since you left for camp.

"I think you should talk to him," Abigail added with a concerned expression.

"No, don't. He's not worth it. Remember how he didn't even come and rescue you when Jack refused to take no for an answer at the dance?" Rebecca retaliated.

You remembered clearly. You'd just started dating. Peter was still shy. It wasn't a big deal. You weren't even expecting Peter to come to the dance and you wouldn't have known that he was there unless Inez made it a point to tell you later that night as you walked towards the parking lot.

"We've already gone over that, it wasn't a big deal." You reasoned still on Peter's side. Because that was the thing, even if Peter had betrayed your trust, you felt like you'd always be on team Peter.

Glancing at his table, you saw him talking with Ned and you wished you could just go up there and forget everything ever happened press reset, and start senior year how you'd been planning with Peter.

"What if he shows up at your party?" Rebecca asked and you snapped back to your table. Shrugging you poked at your veggies before pushing your tray away. You weren't hungry.

The week went by in a flash, but each day felt longer than the previous. You wrapped your cardigan tightly around your body as you got out of bed. It was Saturday, in a few hours crowds of people would be in your backyard celebrating the start of the last year of high school.

But you were too caught up on Peter.

The sound of a text notification caught your attention.

Can we talk? - Ned

That was weird. Ned wasn't usually one to text you. Peter was always there as the middle man. You were curious.

What's up? You typed waiting for his text in anticipation. Your phone rang and you caught your breath. You were expecting him to continue texting.

"Hello?" you asked cautiously.

"Don't hang up, please. I need to talk to you. You need to hear me out, please-" it was Peter. His voice filled your body with warmth until you remembered.

"Peter," your voice cracked. What could you say to him? Nothing, you were about to hang up when you heard his voice again.

"Don't hang up. I was stupid. I missed you and Gwen was there, and I know that's not an excuse for what I did but I never stopped thinking of you-" he was out of breath speaking quickly.

You felt your heart tighten, the familiar feeling of tears forming in your eyes took over.

"I'm sorry, Peter." You hung up. You couldn't deal with this. Not when Abigail and Rebecca were on their way. Wiping the tears, you discarded the cardigan on your bed. The one he'd bought for you last Christmas.

-

"Are you having fun?" Abigail asked squeezing your hand lightly. She was speaking over the loud music, her nose close to your ear. Nodding, you feigned a smile before looking into the crowd. No Peter.

"I'll be back," you motioned towards your house letting her know you needed to grab something.

But in reality, you needed some space. You'd been looking forward to this day. Towards your last year of high school, but plans changed. Sighing you sat on your porch. You could still hear the music and though the party was in your backyard, you needed a breath of air that wasn't congested by teens.

Swinging on the porch swing, you leaned your head back looking at the silent street. That's when you saw a figure. One hand deep in the pockets of his jeans, a skateboard in the other. It was Peter.

"Hi," his voice echoed drowning out the music. Your heart skipped a beat and you straightened up on the porch swing. You planted your hands on either side of you grounding you.

"What are you doing here?" you asked carefully getting off the swing.

"Just listen to me please," he said climbing up the three steps of your porch. "I messed up, I know I did." He looked at you with sad eyes placing his skateboard down. "It meant nothing to me. Gwen was a distraction. One that ruined the best thing that's happened to me," he was sincere with his words. His tone was gentle as he stepped forward.

"I thought becoming an Avenger was the best thing that happened to you," you joked folding your arms. That got a small chuckle out of Peter.

"That's a close second," he joked back, this time it was your turn to laugh softly. You were falling back into your comfortable state. One where only you and Peter existed.

"I can't ask you to forget what happened-" he was stepping closer. "-but please forgive me, I will do anything." He reached for your hands, your fingers intertwining easily.

"Anything?" you asked, your voice cracking.

Peter squeezed your hands nodding.

"Kiss me," you whispered pulling Peter closer with your hands still tangled together. A goofy smile spread across Peter's face and he happily closed the gap between your bodies.

He let go of your hands so he could cup your face. Yours instantly wrapped around his torso.

"I missed you," he whispered against your lips, your noses touching.

Smiling you kissed him again. The fabric of his soft lightweight sweater felt right under your fingertips. You could smell his fabric softener and shampoo.

It felt like home.

folklore masterlist

[forestwater87]

Okay, for all of you who don't feel like watching Miles RP as David

Here are some of my favorite quotes. Context may be added if I feel like it. Reactions are my goblin brain screaming. All of these came from a discord so if they don't make sense . . . see goblin brain comment.

(That link should start directly at the point where he becomes David; if it doesn't, skip to 1:40:33)

In roughly chronological order:

David: "Teachers are sort of like camp counselors during the rest of the year."

The thing is David is absolutely up his own ass enough to think this.

David: "Trail mix is expensive!"

^ said to show he understands why not everyone can donate to the charity for teachers. Very adorable, am crying.

David's "ooooh" seeing one dude was extremely non-heterosexual. Fucking bicon. Him losing his mind that one of the arenas is called "Survey camp"

David: "A person's hitting me -- I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry this is just pretend!"

This is just canonically how David plays video games. Either this or he's unwilling to commit violence at all, but I'll defer to Miles.

David: "That's very goat of you!"

Spencer: "Is David popular amongst his campers?"

David: "I like to think so! There's only 3 staff members, so I'm definitely in everyone's top 3."

"That also means you're in the bottom 3."

David: "Well, I choose not to think of it that way."

(I have to keep adding reacts so you can tell when one quote ends and another begins. Judge not lest ye be judged)

I think the other person in the stream is named Spencer. Friend of Miles. I know literally nothing else about him and am not even confident on those facts.

Every time he says something so non-David in his David voice I die: "I have a lot of grenades!"

David: "Oh my goodness, would you look at this beautiful scenery! Can we hike that mountain?"

This is so goddamn cute. I am dying. Miles looked at his fans and said "they will eat tonight" and I am so relieved.

David: "Not to be a couple of Greedy Garys, but I say we get this [care package] and then I'll drop another one!"

The fact that Miles is grinning like a lunatic the entire time is very good. (Also if this is formatted badly then I'm sorry but not all that sorry. I'm doing my best and David would be proud of me.)

David: "Didja getim? Didja getim? didja getim? How 'bout now?"

Spencer: "I didn't get 'em."

David: "Well, you tried your best and that's all that matters."

He calls healing "a little health kiss." I'm not sure why but it's very important to me.

David: [while jumping to murder someone] "Hi! Scuse me!"

(i just need something to separate the quotes okay)

David: "Well you know what gang, we did our best. You don't always win the 3-legged race. You did a wonderful job!"

Then there's a bit where they talk about Spencer's time at summer camp:

David: "ooooh hand-holding's pretty serious!"

David is too pure.

David: [dreamily] "Did you fall in love, Spencer? A summer love?" [puts hands up to his face]

Then there's the fact that David/Miles gets to pick where they play each round, and he keeps insisting on going to the one called "Survey Camp" every single time because it has the word "camp" in it.

David: "Now, I don't like to disagree, but . . . I was thinking we could go . . . to Survey Camp!"

Spencer reminds him that technically since David's the one with the power to choose, his opinion is the only one that matters:

David: "Everyone's opinion matters. And my opinion is we're going to camp."

David just steamrolling over Spencer's interests is very good. There are these little selfish nuggets sprinkled in among the wholesomeness that really capture the full David experience.

David: "Well, he's climbing up . . . he's coming my direction . . . oh, he looks scary . . ."

Spencer: "Is he coming towards me?"

David: "Oooh, I don't know. I'm dead!"

The positivity is relentless. I think Miles said on twitter afterwards that this whole thing was exhausting and I can see why. Being David is no picnic . . .

David: "I have a question: do we have to shoot each other in this game?"

And then a few seconds later:

David: "I'm just wondering if maybe there's a way we can, you know, help others. Talk through our issues."

And a few seconds after that:

David: "I was asking if they wanted to be friends in the game!"

I believe that moved killed him, too. Precious.

Also we're interrupting the real Miles!David content to share something my friend suggested to me while I was watching this and giving her quotes; she said that maybe David just calls everything camp to make life more fun, and then sent me this imaginary exchange that actually killed me all the way to death:

David: Gwen Santos would you go to marriage camp with me

Gwen: I'm going to have to change this story when I tell everyone

It made me laugh quite a bit.

Anyway, back to the video!

Spencer: "How do you sign up for [Camp Campbell]?"

David: "Well, um, you can fax, uh, an application to CameronCCampbell@hotmail.realwebsite.noreallyrealwebsite.com. And . . . you can know that myself and Gwen and Quartermaster and sometimes Mr. Campbell will do our best to make sure they get what they need! Which more than anything is love and support. And friendship."

Spencer: "How many dollars does this camp cost?"

David: "You know . . . it is, um . . ."

And then the conversation switches subjects and David breathes a sigh of relief.

Very shortly after this he changed his character from a woman (she was wearing a yellow shirt, which he liked because the campers wear yellow shirts) to "a Forward Scout with a positive attitude!"

"I like his style."

Spencer: "Does everybody abuse David verbally?"

David: "You know, sometimes people have harsh words. Mostly Max, and Neil, and Gwen, and Quartermaster, and Nurf."

Spencer: "Did you just list almost everyone?"

David: "Mmm . . . I'd say maybe a third."

Poor David. Somebody please protect him.

Spencer: "Yeah, I think people abuse David. I get that vibe. Or at least, I feel it in my heart. Like I wanna put ants in your bunk or something."

David: "Well, I think that says more about maybe some of the hurt you're carrying with you. And sometimes when people don't know how to process that, they act out. Do you want some trail mix?"

David just said his favorite part of trail mix is the raisins which is so cute. "They have a little bit of salt on them, which isn't typical for a raisin."

And he keeps telling chatters to watch their language.

David: "Who is my favorite camper? Aww, you know I couldn't pick a favorite! . . . But I know who has the most potential, even if he doesn't want to admit it."

I KNEW IT!!!!!

I've been saying for years that David doesn't have a favorite and gravitates towards the ones he thinks need him the most AND I FINALLY GOT ONE RIGHT!

David: "Well you know, Gwen swears and that's okay."

shipping intensifies

David: [gasp] "The moss is growing on the north side of the rock!"

Every time he nerds out about weird shit in the game I gain 3 seconds to my life.

Spencer: "Did you get teabagged?"

David: "What's that?"

Spencer: "It's where somebody places their most intimate bits on you for . . . friendship."

David: [softly] "Oh, I don't know about that."

Also David confirms that the whole show has been a single summer, so please see the "vindication" gif above.

David: "I know a lot of fun camp songs."

Spencer: "Sing 3."

David: [starts singing] "Bum-bum-bumblebee, bumblebee tuna, I love bumblebee, bumblebee tuna . . ."

Spencer: "Okay, please stop. I immediately regret this decision."

David: "Max said the same thing! One of my campers. And, uh, and my co-counselor, Gwen."

He's literally made of sunshine. I would die for this fictional man.

Spencer: "Are people at camp against their will? I feel like they are."

David: "No! . . . They don't always like it immediately, but it grows on them."

Spencer: "It sounds like they're there against their will."

David: "Well I just think that's a negative way of looking at it."

FWIW Spencer makes an excellent foil to David. Not as aggressive as Max or as dour as Gwen, but he brings a very . . . like, straight-man energy to the conversation. Like how a normal person would react to David IRL. I'd enjoy seeing these two interact more.

Spencer: "It's like your overpositivity is wanting me to balance it out with negativity."

David: "You know, I feel like that dynamic's pretty popular with me."

eeeeeeee <3

And the last one that I personally found noteworthy:

David: "One day we'll be able to afford safety equipment. Until then, we'll just have to deal with Quartermaster's Ropes Course. And a lot of pillows."

There's point near the last 20 minutes where either it got kinda boring or I just got too tired to keep track. But if there are any quotes you think I missed, please share them! This was a really lovely bit of content to feed our starving maw, and I appreciate Miles very very very much for taking one for the team.

[grittyreadsfic]

hello my friends, one singular person asked for this weeks ago so i’m here with my most unhinged rec list yet: tk and nolan.

now, this one was hard to reign in, so i really didn’t. this pairing had maybe 230 fics in the tag when i first started reading hockey fic, and it’s now over 900, and i’ve read far too many of them, and that makes it so hard to parse it down. so i just...didn't!

so with that said, please enjoy so you want to get into tknp: a beginners guide to a classic case of idiots to lovers

i told myself that i couldn’t rec an author’s entire body of work but then i remembered this is my blog and i do what i want, so i did some consolidating. here’s a list of the quintessential authors for this pairing, you can start at any of their profiles and pick any of their fics at random, and it’ll be one of the best ones for the pairing, hands down.

therainbowsedge: i’d start with the summer camp fic, or the sex toys one, as both beautifully capture the true idiots to lovers nature of this pairing, but just top tier writing all around

manybumblebees: the wedding fic is so tender and port stanley is a classic, but literally pick any single fic and you’ll have a perfect tknp fic. i’m not kidding

jamesvanriemsdick: their tknp fics in their series are some of the hidden gems of this pairing (the tk heartbeat fic makes me LOSE it) but the delaware fic or the seattle fic…..there’s really something for every mood

catchascatchcan: start with era of gods because i could write literal essays on how it’s some of the best fantasy worldbuilding i’ve ever read, but then just read everything else on their account, including non tknp fics. you won’t regret it

hackysack: ao3 user hackysack has written one of two timeloop fics that i absolutely adore, and i thought about just calling that one out in particular, but all of their work deserves the attention

canary: nothing to prove was the first tknp fic i ever read and i was immediately hooked. all of their fics are a good starting place for the pairing, and just really give you a feeling for the pairing

and now, for the fic recs!

to be, despite it all by smudgedfreckles

summary: or, nolan patrick’s gender thesis, by travis konecny.

why i love it: there’s not a lot ofo nonbinary characters in media, even in fic, but this fic’s treatment of nolan and their path to figuring out their gender just feels so real and made me feel so seen. tk’s characterization is also just top notch, and it’s just a super sweet story about two people who love each other

last ones standing by makeit_takeit

summary: If you’re committed to finding your future spouse, reads the last line of the ad, and are ready to look at yourself and your love life in a whole new way, apply now.

At the bottom of the ad there’s a link, and Travis finds his finger hovering over the screen, lip still caught between his teeth.

“I mean,” he says very reasonably, speaking out loud to his empty apartment like some sort of possibly-crazy person, “just applying doesn’t mean anything. Maybe I just fill it out, and see what happens. It’s not like I’m really gonna get picked to be on TV, come on.”

He snorts out loud, just to show his apartment he hasn’t lost his grip on reality or anything; he fully understands how ludicrous that would be.

Then he clicks the link anyway, because yolo or whatever.

why i love it: what part of a married at first sight fic doesn’t make you want to immediately dive right in? the concept is fun, the execution is absolutely flawless, and it captures their dynamic so well while letting it develop naturally

motivation by connectknee

summary: Kevin knows when to back off, the article said. He knows just when to shut up and leave Patty alone, something Travis has never known how to do.

why i love it: the thing i love about this pairing is that tk is loud and in your face, and nolan’s more reserved, a little quieter, a little harder to read. this fic does a really great job of exploring how tk could feel like maybe he’s just a bit too much and is one of my favorites in terms of miscommunication

a tenderness grows by rusesdeguerre

summary: Nolan wouldn’t say that landing a job as the Philadelphia Flyers’ psychotic and probably clinically insane mascot was a childhood dream of his. Maybe tangentially: playing pond hockey in –30°C weather and pretending to be Sidney Crosby is practically a rite of passage when you grow up in Manitoba. That, and experiencing the distinct displeasure that is thousands of mosquitoes sucking your blood out when your father drags you on a father-son camping trip into the backwoods of the northern Canadian Prairies.

why i love it: this was the first fic i recced on this blog, and i stand by that decision. a fic where nolan is not only not a hockey player, but is in fact the person in the gritty suit? absolutely perfect, and so charming from start to finish

meet me at my window by springsteen

summary: Travis has lived in Philadelphia for a few years now, long enough to know there isn’t a major city in America where superheroes don’t destroy an entire city block trying to save humanity or whatever. He can deal with all the super-shit, but Travis did not sign up for getting woken up from a deep sleep because some fucker’s trying to break in through his window.

(5 times the super-villain known as "The Cat" breaks into Travis's apartment, plus 1 time Travis invites him in.)

why i love it: there’s a lot of things to love here, but the concept is just absolutely one of my all time favorite aus ever. it’s fun and charming and the perfect glimpse into a world where heroes and villains exist, and what it’s like just to be a run of the mill kind of guy existing in it. tk and nolan’s back and forth in this make it so engaging, and it’s such a top tier fic

body’s in trouble by cloudsandpassingevents

summary: “Oh, sorry,” someone says. “Didn’t know anyone else was here.”

Nolan freezes, then turns around very slowly. When he looks up, Nicklas fucking Backstrom is standing behind him in a hoodie and baggy sweats, holding the biggest bag of Swedish Fish Nolan’s ever seen in his life in one hand.

“Uh,” Nolan says around the pop tart between his teeth. “Yeah.”

What the fuck, his brain helpfully supplies.

why i love it: from nolan’s inner voice, to the way the author explores all the dynamics within the team, to the way they write the unexpected but actually, it kind of makes sense friendship between nolan and backstrom, is just absolutely fantastic. there’s a lot of moments that circle back and build on each other in a way that really just makes it super compelling

rhizomatic foundations by lighthousetowers

summary: Twenty days after he moves in with Kevin Hayes, twenty days – three months, five months, depending on how you look at it – after not talking to TK, TK shows up at the front door with a plant the size of a basketball in his hands.

TK grins. "Patty, meet Reginald." He lifts up the plant. "Reggie, meet Patty. He's going to be your new - caretaker."

"What the fuck," says Nolan, not moving a single muscle.

Or: That Nolan can hear the plant talk might as well just happen.

why i love it: this is probably my favorite magical realism fic just about ever. it’s fun and charming and a little weird, but in the best possible way. there’s such a wonderful narrative in it, and lighthousetowers always has such beautiful writing, and it really shines in this one. the dialogue and nolan’s characterization are also part of what set it apart for me as one of the best tknp fics

in the dark of any town by mengetpegged

summary: If the voice has an accent at all, it’s a flat prairie Canadian, with none of G’s French-Canadian softness at the edges. But mostly, the accent is just ‘pissed off,’ which TK believes is a default setting for ghosts.

“Who are you?” TK asks, and he doesn’t like how strained his voice sounds, doesn’t like the tinge of anxiety tinting the rise of his question. He tries to regulate his breaths—in through his nose, hold, out through his mouth—but it feels like he’s not getting enough oxygen, which makes him panic even more.

“Someone with a fucking migraine, dickhead,” the voice says. “So keep the lights off and shut the hell up.”

(or: Nolan Patrick, Hotel X Ghost)

why i love it: i’m usually not super into ghost fics, both the spooky kind and the nonspooky kind, but this one is a rare exception. it’s charming and fun and tender and it’s got some of, in my opinion, the best characterization of tk and nolan in any fic. the way the author writes their dynamic and their dialogue is just unmatched

lets_make_this_moment_a_crime.mp3 by honeydripping

summary: Travis meets Nolan at a Midtown show in 2002 when he punches Nolan in the face. He can’t help it, “Like A Movie” just goes off.

But he does feel guilty about it.

or

TK and Patty work at a bakery together. They go to punk shows to pass the time.

why i love it: idk if anyone asked for an early 2000s emo/punk/alt au but wow! i sure am glad it exists! really the vibes of this fic, as silly as that sounds, are absolutely unmatched. i love the structure with the music, the development of their relationship, and just everything about how the author wrote the setting (there’s this whole thing with tattoos in it that makes me feel absolutely insane)

you’re ripped at every edge by you’re a masterpiece by conformityissuicide

summary: “Ugh, look, this yoga teacher has it out for me, man. And I can’t go back there without at least having some of the basics down. I’ve got to win this battle.”

“Yoga isn’t really something you win at,” Hartsy starts.

Travis cuts him off, “You can win at anything if you try hard enough.”

+++

OR that time Nolan's a grumpy yoga teacher and Travis realizes he wants to bone him and prove him wrong about Travis' non-existent yoga abilities.

why i love it: listen, if you want tknp, at least one of them has to be an idiot, and this tk absolutely captures the obliviousness i love to see in him in fic. it’s such a great characterization of them both and such a great concept (and even better execution)

you form a terror pack (and i’m aware of that) by dalmatienne

summary: “Can I help you?” TK snarks, both eyebrows hiked up in a way that has earned her many elbow checks to the ribs.

The chick looks down her nose, long thick eyelashes fluttering. Red-bitten lips part to blow a florid pink bubble and TK can smell the chemical sweetness when it pops.

“Yeah,” she says in this monotonous voice that seems almost at odds with her bubble gum and neon skates. She jams her stopper into TK’s thigh again, literally inches away from where it’d really hurt. “Tie ‘em.”

why i love it: to be honest, i generally don’t read rule 63 within hrpf, but this one is just absolutely knocks it out of the park. the concept (i fuckin’ love roller derby), the characterization of nolan, the pacing, the rituals, the tone of the entire fic, it’s just all around a perfect read from start to finish

thrills and grills by bitter_leaf

summary: Travis can’t even begin to wonder what he did in a previous life to incur the wrath of this fucking cook. Travis thinks he’s a nice person, doesn’t conduct himself in any way that could be considered particularly dickish, and unless this guy has some sort of issue with hockey bros or people from the boonies, he’s not sure how he started shit without even knowing.

__

Patty has a vendetta. Travis just wants to eat his eggs in peace.

why i love it: honestly this is the enemies to lovers fic i’ve been waiting for. i remember seeing the reddit post when it first went viral and thinking it would make such a great fic premise, so stumbling across this one was just so wonderful. super engaging and fun and so hilarious to read!

nothing but room for you by fightingfuries

summary: When his agent tells him he’s going to be traded to the Devils, Nolan isn't sure how he feels about it. Might be easier if he was going somewhere farther away, like California or fucking Florida. Somewhere sun-soaked and foreign. Someplace so different from Philadelphia that he can forget he ever played for the Flyers, forget everything that happened there.

Or Nolan fucks up, gets traded, gets his shit together and falls in love. Not necessarily in that order.

why i love it: i cannot stress to you how much i love trade fics, and this one is one of my absolute favorites. the trade to the devils-so close to philly, still, but there’s more to distance than physical miles-was such an excellent choice and the split timeline adds so much to the narrative, and the emotions are real and messy and complicated in the best way

a couple of runaways (i’m glad you stayed) by overturnedgoal

summary: The person in the video he’s watching is super annoying. Some obnoxious holier than thou granola type who keeps talking about their environmental impact as if they aren’t driving a gas guzzler around, but the basic idea of living in a van, driving around wherever, camping all the time, just going hiking and swimming and seeing the whole country? It sounds pretty dope, honestly.

why i love it: i like to watch tours and conversions of vans/buses into tiny homes as a self soothing method, and this fic has the same impact that watching those do. it’s such a fun concept, and it’s so fuckin’ soft, and the dialouge between tk and nolan is just *chef’s kiss*

all candor and style in the crook of your smile by p3trichor

summary: It’s a photo of Nolan on his knees with someones’ fingers in his mouth, lips slick with spit. Travis flicks by it almost too fast and he’s only got seconds to decide if he wants to screenshot it, if he wants to just give up the ghost right then and there. Except Travis’s phone freezes momentarily and then the group refreshes, sidcros87, Bert59 and 14 others took a screenshot!

It’s gone before Travis even has time to process it and he already wasted his replay of the day on a stupid video of a stupid fish that Hayes caught.

Can you send me that screenshot Travis texts Bertuzzi before he can overthink it, his dick already stirring in his sweats. Tuzzi sends back the cry-laughing emoji and then the screenshot before Travis can be too annoyed at him.

Or, Nolan is being weird about Travis's break-up and TK is maybe not straight.

why i love it: i genuinely don’t think i have words for the amount i love this fic. it took me forever to actually read, but it’s absolutely one of my favorite fics, and it’s an absolutely riot to read. carter’s meddling and the presence of tyler bertuzzi both make it extra fun, in my humble opinion

[stackofstories]

What If...?

Connor Stoll was laughing.

He walked with his older brother, Travis, around the National Mall. There were crowds of people, made up of mostly tourists and schoolchildren. They alone weren't funny, it was their reactions. Connor had empty pockets.

People had too much stuff anyway. Designer sunglasses and watches, a few Jackson's and Benjamin's (who used cash nowadays?), iPhones and cameras, wallets. Connor knew they didn't miss them when they were gone because they didn't notice. Like, in his hands, he fiddled with his new iphone while the old owner, a man in his late fifties, walked away more interested in his gal-pal. Judging by the pictures and texts on his phone, between his ungrateful kids and his fugly wife, Connor saw why he was best-buds with twenty-year-old babysitter Helen Troy.

"You better get rid of that fast," Travis said, looking at Connor's phone.

He was being uncommonly thoughtful. There was no sarcastic smile on his lips to mirror Connor's, instead his blue eyes were hard. His shoulders were tense.

Connor paused, shaking his head. "Chill, bro. We're supposed to be having fun today."

"I know! But, tomorrow we go back to Camp and Luke..."

"Shut up." Connor conveniently found the nearest trash can and dropped the iphone in there. He faced his brother. "I don't want to hear anymore about Camp or him until tomorrow."

Lucas was their older half-brother and former Head Counselor of Cabin 11. Last summer, Percy Jackson, son of Seafood, revealed that Luke had stolen the lightning bolt and went rogue. Connor knew better. Luke had to be like a spy, or brainwashed by the other side. There was no way he was a bad egg. "Okay."

"Don't just say okay, dude," Connor said. He fell back in step with Travis. "Be okay."

Travis shrugged as if to say I'll try. Connor snorted. He didn't know what he expected from today.

This summer was supposed to be fun. Mama had asked if they wanted to stay with her for the summer. With some hesitancy they agreed.

Mama (i think i actually want her to linguistic professor with a specialization in dead languages like ancient egyptians and hierogylphics at the university of memphis, so, she is close with Dr. Thoth and clear-eyed), had gotten out of the halfway house and was in a tiny-teeny apartment with hot water and electricity was constant. Ma had managed a job as an administrative assistant, hours were rough and her boss was shit, but it was steady. Connor and Travis had secured part time positions at Sonic and Cheek E Cheese's respectively ... all was good for a week until Trav and Mama started to snap at each other, spitting poison and shooting death glares and putting him in the middle. It also didn't help that Mama's local nosy neighbor might just be Susan the Satyr, Susan had the strange habit of popping up wherever Travis or Connor were. Plus, Susan was unusually interested in taking all their used soda cans for scrap metal.

"Whoa-hey!"

Connor bowled over a kid. He did a spectacular dive curl onto the pavement. Connor had a sneaking suspicion in his other life he had been graceful. He got to his feet, scowling at the kid. Colorful cards spilled around him. Pokemon? Yugioh?

"Watch where you're going, kid!"

The boy had a nasty glare and a devastating kick to shin; Connor jumped, yelping. The boy hurriedly shoved the cards in the pocket sticking out his tongue and pushing off to disappear into the sea of people. Connor only stared, half wondering where the kid's parents were. Connor bet money on the kid being no older than ten.

Connor turned toward his brother, his shin pain already receding. Travis laughed in his face. Bright red colored in his cheeks. "I can't believe he did that--your face---pft."

It was good to hear Travis' laughter. On the other hand, Connor hated being the butt of the joke. Connor shoved Travis lightly, he growled, "Shut up."

"You don't need some ice for that pipsqueak's finishing move?" Travis cackled.

Connor knew he was going to be like this all day. If Mama didn't strangle Travis when they went home Connor would.

"Nico!" a girl yelled nearby.

She slipped into the spaces afforded to her. She caught Connor staring at her because she marched up to him. Most of her face was hidden by a dark green floppy hat, her long brown hair spilling out underneath. It didn't hide her glare. If the boy's glare had been nasty, her's was vicious. "Have you seen my brother?"

"Um?"

"He's about this tall, has hair like mine, maybe playing with cards?" she spoke rapidly.

Travis stepped in. "Yea." He pointed in the direction the kid had taken off. "We saw him. He went that way."

The girl glanced over her shoulder and back at Travis. She nodded once before she took off, bellowing her brother's name.

It was only when she was gone Connor noticed Travis had a new green hat.

Travis wiggled his fingers in Connor's face as if he read his mind. "It's all in the hands, bro."

"Whatever," Connor said. Perhaps, this day could be saved. "I'm hungry."

"Let's go get lunch."

The museums were the only thing free in Washington D.C. Everything else was a scam; Connor would know, he smiled as he read the prices off the menu.

Still. Connor was a fifteen-year-old boy that appreciated the finer things in life: overpriced half cooked mac & cheese and dino-shaped nuggets. He had Dylan Mandali to thank for he and his brother's meal if the credit card was anything to go by.

Travis went for the main food groups, three slices of cheesecake drizzled in strawberry sauce, four sugar cookies, a slice of lemon bread and the fruit juice counted as a daily serving of vegetables.

"Can I drive tomorrow?" Connor asked.

"Gods no," Travis shot him down with the expertise of a fly swatter. He played with the green cap.

"Why not?"

"You suck at driving, dude. You almost ran over our neighbor."

"Mrs. Gunderson came out of nowhere," Connor protested. "C'mon, that was my first time behind the wheel."

"Like your second time was any better." Travis crossed between incredulous and amused. "You ... "

"Icrashedintoahouse."

"What was that?" Travis cupped his ear, leaning over. "I crashed into a house."

"Bingo!" Travis pointed at him. "You crashed into a house. Thankfully, it wasn't our house or car and we're fast runners."

"But!" Connor had been getting better. Since the incident, Connor had successfully driven around their neighborhood. He was ready to drive on the real road.

"You don't have a butt, Con," Travis said. "You aren't driving."

Connor's ears grew hot. He abruptly got up. He went to get a water ice to cool his head. It was just like Travis to not listen to him and treat him like a child. He was only a year older and he flaunted it with every opportunity. It was another reason he missed Luke. Travis complained about feeling like a kid whenever Luke chided or sidelined him.

"Mommy! I'm hungry!" wailed a kid?

He looked like Dudley Dursley 2.0. Fat, round, and taller than kid Connor had ever seen.

Mommy was built like a famous bodybuilder, rippling muscles, thick brown hair, and enough makeup to make Paris Hilton gawk. She caressed her son's wobbling chins with one large hand. "Hold on, sweetie. We'll get you a juicy hero burger for lunch with a side of fries."

"Hero burger?" Connor muttered the Smithsonian cafe came up with names for their food all the time, but hero burger was a bit lame even for them. Maybe the Museum of Air and Space...

"Sir?" the cashier said. "What would you like?"

Oh. Connor smiled sheepishly. "Can I have the blue one." he handed her the stolen card. His water ice was given to him in a jiff.

The beauty of fast food. He grabbed a spoon walking by the screwball family. "I can smell 'em, Mommy. I want my hero burger now!"

"FEMUR BITER JUNIOR," Mommy yelled. People only glanced their way probably used to displays of outbursts by parents. "One more word and you won't be biting into any half-bloods."

Connor swallowed the ball of water ice. He looked at the family as if seeing them in a new light. In a way he was. The Mist was a pretty strong force that tricked mortals and demigods on the regular into seeing the true world as it made sense to them. Mortals saw a fat kid and a harried mom, Connor saw a baby giant and his giant ass Mama.

Connor tried to be casual as he hurried to brother's side, eating his wet ice as fast as he could. He tugged his brother by the arm. "Grab a cookie, lets go now," Connor said.

"Where's the fire? We just got here."

Connor glanced over his shoulder. Mommy and Femur Biter Jr were still arguing. "And now we are leaving. There are monsters here and I don’t think they're here to admire Washington's Dick."

Travis nodded. He did a grab cookie and Connor thought they were home free until Thing 1 and Thing 2 showed up.

Thing 2 shouted, drawing the attention of absolutely everyone. "That's Bianca's hat!" A damming finger pointed in their direction.

Travis and Connor stared at each with blue eyes for a moment. A moment was enough to share an entire conversation, at this moment they had one word on their mind: Run. They took off through the lunch doors, blowing passed the kids from earlier.

Connor waved a short goodbye. He was too busy trying put serious distance behind him and the monsters. Travis matched him step for step. He didn't know where they were going. Home might be a good option.

"Hey!"

Connor looked over his shoulder. His eyebrows shot up to see both Thing 1 and Thing 2 were surprisingly keeping up behind them and more importantly so were the Mommy and Femur Biter Jr. "They're on our tails," Connor said helpfully.

"Thanks for the traffic report. Do you have any update on the weather?"

The brothers rounded a corner. They squeezed into an elevator, panting. "Sorry," Connor said as he leaned against a shriveled old man like an arm rest. "We, erm, are really excited to see those exhibits."

The old man swatted him with a scowl and a mutter about the youths these days. Connor was happy to endure geriatric growls if it meant he would live to see another day. The elevator dinged. Connor and Travis rushed out.

Travis pulled him toward a high school crowd, one without the preppy school uniforms and the nosy chaperones. Travis found a chick with tight cornrows and warm chocolate skin and started up a conversation while Connor found a tall blond about the same age as him, staring at the T. Rex in awe. Connor attempted to do the same. He noticed the guy wore a redskins jersey. “Peter Pan fan, huh?”

“What?”

“Um.” Connor glanced at his brother trying to motion for help. His brother was much too interested in his conversation with the girl, as usual, forgetting the objective at hand like they were running for their lives not trying to flirt with pretty people.

“You!” roared Mommy.

“Hero Burgers!” cheered Femur Biter Jr.

They had given up the pretenses of playing human, or maybe, the Mist worked its magic despite their asses on the line. The mortals probably saw something like a mad Mommy dragging her kid along and Connor was a poor intern trying to escape. Normal stuff. It didn’t help Connor in his situation, his mortal freshener left him to the mercy of the giants.

The giants were bigger than any man. Mommy had to be at least thirteen feet tall. Male giants had arrays of tattoos of Valentine’s Day hearts, kitsch names, and barbed wire. Mommy had Meat Crusher scrawled in loopy cursive across her lower back. Female giants got tramp stamps, what nice bit of trivia. Her son was about half of her height, twice as big and with no tattoos. They both had a single eye, big and black, pinned on him.

Connor froze. Travis rushed to his side.

“I told you to bring our weapons, Chiron always says to be prepared,” Connor shot at his brother.

“Con, I hear you bro, but is this the right time?”

“When would be the right time; while you and I are digesting in their stomach acids?”

They both turned to glare at each other. Travis was right, they probably should not be splitting hairs at this crucial moment; Connor panicked. They hadn’t dealt with monsters in years, they were kept safe by Camp’s barriers and only fought monsters in structured, generally safe settings.

“Found you!” Thing 2 crowed. He jumped in the air.

“Hey kid, you did, but can you skedaddle, we’re kinda in the middle of something,” Travis said, ever the big brother.

“Bianca!” Thing 2 yelled, ignoring Travis. The kid seemed to be realize the tension in the air. He looked from Connor and Travis to the giants. There was a gleam in his eyes, his lips formed an ‘o’ as if he couldn’t believe what he was seeing. “You look so cool!” he pronounced, he hopped from one foot to the other. “Cyclops, right! They have 1000 attacks points and And +1 intelligence. Nobody is their ultimate weakness!”

“Uh, kid,” Travis said anxiously.

“They’re stupid, but cool.” The kid really had a motor-boat mouth, he just kept talking seemingly unaware of the trouble he was in. It was Femur Biter who had enough. He grabbed the kid with one huge hand. He roared in the kid’s face, spittle covering the poor kid in stank breath and thick coat of spit.

The kid reddened. Oh no.

“Bianca!” he wailed.

Was it Connor, or was it darker in the exhibit room? The shadows in the room, few as the were, seemed to curl and writhe in the corners. The lights above flickered. The kid continued to cry, struggling mightily in the giant’s hold. Travis moved first. He began to pelt the giants with anything within range - potted plants, his shoes, even the the shiny the little map. It wasn’t much use.

Mommy cackled. “Puny little heroes!” She edged closer to her son. “Go on and eat him, sweetie; heroes are tasty fresh!” she poked the kid on his head.

Oh no, Connor’s stomach twisted and turned. He wanted to move, he did, but...

“Let go of him!”

Connor jolted when he saw her, a cold weight settled in his belly. She was possessed, he thought anxiously. The shadows from the corner rushed toward her. The bones in the exhibit seemed to vibrate with each step she took. “Let go of my brother,” she repeated.

“No!” Femur Biter Jr said with all the intelligence of a three-year-old. Mommy was quieter, she looked at Bianca with fear. Femur Biter Jr opened his mouth, the kid dangled in the air above his mouth for all of mouth. He was dropped, yelling for his life.

Bianca and Travis yelling rushing toward the giants and the T. Rex creaked to life, bulldozing into the Femur Biter Jr. The mortals scrambled in toward the exits. Security rushed to the scene. Connor froze.

The kid popped up from the fallen giant. He scrambled away as fast as his little legs would take him to his sister. Bianca caught him, she ran shaky fingers through his dark hair. She alternated between speaking fast and chiding him. Connor was pretty sure she wasn’t speaking english either. Italian?

“What was that!” Travis blurted. “The T. Rex? The freaky light show? Are you guys half-bloods?”

Those were the wrong words. Bianca protectively pushed her brother behind her. She was speaking again, in Italian, and the T. Rex moved with her words. He might have been a million-years-old reptile with no skin and eyes, but Connor recognized some pretty universal cues like the way the T. Rex swung its tail and poised its skull toward them. And not just the T. Rex. Femur Biter was out for the count, but Mommy was up and she was angry.

“Shit.” Connor cursed. He moved in front of Travis. “Look, I’m sorry for whatever he said that offended you. I really am, but we have bigger issues like one hot Mama!”

Bianca didn’t seem to care, or if she did, she was much focused on the slight. Connor jabbed Travis in the elbow. “Apologize.”

“Ouch, I didn’t say anything wrong,” Travis said stubbornly.

“Dude.”

“Dude.”

Mommy didn’t like to be out of the conversation. She roared politely reminding them she was still there and she still hungered for their blood mixed with a bit of Mama bear protectiveness. Bianca was having none of it today.

She pointed her finger at the T. Rex. Go fetch! Connor imagined she would say if she were like a princess or if they were in a Michael Bay movie with lots of explosions in the background. T. Rex listened. It pounced on Mommy, fighting her with everything it had. As awesome as it was, and trust him, it was pretty spectacular. He almost wished he had that iphone to capture it.

“C’mon while she’s distracted.” Connor and Travis started to run, Connor paused. “C’mon,” he said to Bianca and Nico who watched the fight. “Unless, you guys have some celestial bronze, which is the only thing able to kill those monsters by the way, then we have got to go. It’ll come after us next.”

“We aren’t going anywhere with you,” Bianca insisted. Nico had since calmed down, he peered behind his sister once more making the stink-eye.

“We have gotten to a rocky start,” Connor said. Bianca and Travis snorted at the same time. “But, I don’t have time to explain the level of danger we’re in right now as we’re speaking. I can already see how tired you are.”

Bianca’s face was paler than a ghost. She trembled. It had taken some major mojo to do all that.

“And the giant has your scent. She won’t stop looking for you and there is no guarantee that there'll be any T. Rex’s to save your behinds next time. So, come with us.”

“Where are we going?” Bianca asked.

“Neverland.” Travis deadpanned.

“Really?” Nico said.

“No, ignore him,” Connor directed the conversation back to the main topic. “I think we should go to Camp Half-Blood,” Connor saw how Bianca’s hackles raised and looked like she was ready to kill them again. “It is a summer camp for people like us, half-bloods, the children of the olympian gods and mortals.”

“There is only God and he has only one true son.”

Connor inhaled. “Okay.” he stretched out the word until it filled his entire mouth. He was not going to get into that conversation. The movie at Camp explained things so much better. Wow, Satyrs had a tough job. He ought to send his satyr a fruit basket one day.

“Listen, we can go back and forth about the particulars all day, what really matters its the only place that’s safe for people like us,” Travis interrupted. He was using the big-brother tone where he wasn’t having any arguments. “You can come with us and live, or die here. Choose. Me and Con are leaving now.” And he grabbed Connor’s arm roughly, he felt his fingers press imprints into his skin. He walked them to the elevator.

“Travis, what.”

“Shush.”

It was less than a minute later before Nico came to them. Bianca followed behind at much slower pace, but she was there and Connor because what if they hadn’t followed along. How would they explain to Chiron that they just left a couple of demigods to the mercy of the giants. He shivered to imagine the amount of pegasus shit and dishes they have to clean for that offense.

“You guys have a car?” Bianca asked suspiciously.

Travis hummed as he found an unassuming ride in the lower levels of the parking deck. A beaten up honda from the late 90s. Travis had it up and running in thirty seconds. “Now, we have a car,” Connor said as he slipped into the driver’s seat ignoring Travis’s scowl. He reached to fiddle with the radio. Bianca and Nico were in the back.

“Seatbelts,” Connor reminded.

They were off Camp Half-Blood.