#we have been so blessed with all these sharks kids...

[midnightjewel]

Plushy Surgery

Did the puppy get to your favorite plushy when you weren’t paying attention?

A/N: this is a very real thing that just happened to me I swear I was sobbing. My Jack Russell (bless his heart) thought that my weighted pink Dino was one of his toys and now my Dino is missing a tail. So poor Strawberry Lemonade will have to be a brave boy and go into surgery. Anyway! Enough of my oversharing!

Kirishima x Fem! Reader

I can do more parts with more characters!

You and your husband had recently gotten an Australian Shepard named Riot. He was a cute puppy, don’t get me wrong! But, he was very mischievous as well.

It had been about 4 months and he was doing very well with his potty training. There was a few mishaps here and there but all it was at this point was just you and Kirishima trying to find out his schedule and what times he particularly likes to go outside.

Riot was basically you guys child. You two didn’t have kids yet so he was the perfect first step until you two decided you were ready to discuss that topic. But because Riot was the puppy son of pro hero Red Riot and his spoiled little wife, that meant Riot got spoiled rotten. Any toy, treat, or accessories you wanted him to have is what he got. He had a little basket full of bandanas to wear and he even had his own little pajamas and a shark bath towel!

But nothing could compare to the massive bucket of toys that sat in your living room. That dog was living the absolute dream, a big house with a pool and a huge backyard, all of the meat and treats he could ever want, and any dog toy he could think of was right at the tip of his paw!

Riot was so well behaved! Well… most of the time…

You we’re cooking up some chicken and rice for dinner and according to the time on your phone it was 7:30 so that meant it was 30 minutes until your husband got off of work.

You were a bit nervous about leaving Riot slightly unsupervised while you cooked but it had to get done! You turned bluey on in the living room and you thought he would stay still because he loves that show. But Riot was learning how to climb the stairs as of recently so you were keeping your ears open for that.

As you checked on the rice you heard and felt your phone buzzing on the counter next to you. As you glanced over at the screen you saw that it was your husband. Of course, you always thought the worst so you immediately picked up.

“Kiri?” You inquired as you picked up the phone fearing it was one of his sidekicks and he had gotten into an accident or something

“Hi baby!” He spoke cheerfully “I’m alright! I hear the tone of your voice” he reassures you

“Oh ok” you breathe out in relief “So what’s up?” You ask him as you keep an eye on the stovetop

“Well I ran out of body soap last night and I was going to pick some up on my lunch break but I was swamped with paperwork” he tells you “So essentially what I’m asking is do you need anything while I’m at the store?”

“Oh I could’ve picked it up for you” you tell him “But actually, I’m running low on my sugar scrub can you pick one up for me?” You ask

“Of course baby! I’ll see you soon! I love you and Riot!”

That’s when your stomach dropped. Riot…

You hadn’t heard him walking around the kitchen looking for scraps

“Okay! We love you too!” You quickly hang up the phone and call out for the puppy “Riot?!” You peer into the living room bluey was on the tv but there was no sign of Riot.

“Riot!” You called out once again and you heard his paws practically jumping down the staircase to see his mommy. “Oh there you are” you sighed in relief “Wait.. what do you have in your mouth?!” You saw a indigo fabric that looked all too familiar

You got him to give you the piece of fabric and then you dashed up the stairs only to find that you had left your bedroom door open and your beloved shark… the one Eijirou had bought for you for your first Valentine’s Day together… it was slightly destroyed…

It was missing a fin that you were holding and it’s tail was halfway hanging off of his body. Your stomach was a pit as you picked up all of the stuffing and the pieces of small fabric off of the hardwood floor.

You brought it back downstairs and showed Riot what he had done and boy did he look guilty! As much as you hated to be stern with him, he wasn’t going to learn otherwise.

“Riot no! This is not Riot’s Toy!” You scolded him as you walked over to the toy basket “This is Riot’s toy!” You firmly state as you hand him a plush of a popsicle with a squeaker

You quickly bagged up all of the pieces to poor Mr Cuddles and continued to work on dinner. It was on low heat so luckily, nothing burned. You couldn’t help but notice how the un-involuntarily tears pricked your eyes.

Some people would say “it’s just a stuffed animal” but it wasn’t just a stuffed animal. It was an object that you cherished and loved. It had sentimental value.

As you began to plate the food and get drinks out of the fridge you heard the front door become unlocked and opened followed by Riot’s happy barking and squealing signaling that his father was home

“Hey gorgeous” he set his grocery bags down on the countertop and urgently came to kiss your lips as if he hadn’t done that just before he left for work. To be fair, it felt like an eternity being away from you.

“Hey” you tried your best to mask your sadness but of course he saw right through that. Could you blame him? You two had been together for almost 10 years now and married for 5 of them.

“What’s wrong?” He gently tilted your head to look up at him with a warm smile. “Well Riot broke Mr. Cuddles” you tell him as you point to the bag that was holding the contents of your stuffed shark

“Oh I see” he examined the broken plush “I’m sorry that happened” he pulled you into an embrace. “Tell you what, I’ll make some calls and we’ll get this fixed” he rubbed your back and you nodded in response

“Let’s eat” you smile at him “You’re probably hungry from saving the city all day” you pat his forearm as you hand him his plate to take to the dining room

Kirishima had gotten ahold of Bakugo and he was fortunately willing to fix it. Growing up with his mom as a fashion designer had its perks.

“Hey man” you hear your redhead husband talking to his best friend on the phone.

“What do you want it’s 10 o’clock!” The blonde scolded his friend

“Yeah I know it’s past your bedtime but I need a huge favor” he pleaded with Bakugo

After a deep sigh from the blonde he responded “go ahead”

“Thanks man! Can you sew good?” Kirishima inquired and the ash blonde laughed

“Can I sew? Is your hair unnatural? I’ll answer that for you! Yeah I can fucking sew and I’m pretty damn good at it!”

“Awesome! The dog got to (Name)’s plush and it desperately needs to be fixed. I’ll pay you!”

“No, shut up, there’s no need for that. Just drop it off in my office tomorrow morning and I’ll fix it on my lunch break”

———————————

After cleaning up dinner, getting showered, and ready for bed you two could finally settle down for the night. “Riot come up” Eijirou patted the bed and made kissy noises for the puppy to jump onto the king bed. After spinning in a few circles he finally settled down.

“Goodnight honey” you smile and kiss Eijirou as you turn off your bedside lamp. “Goodnight sweet girl” he smiles and turns his off as well.

As you turned over to sleep you felt Kirishima grab his phone off of his nightstand. It was a habit of his to go on his phone before bed and you didn’t mind but you knew that could never work for you. You needed to distance yourself from the phone if you wanted to get some rest.

But something just felt wrong. You weren’t holding onto your shark. To be fair, you had slept with it for almost ten years now. You tried to subtly get comfortable but you just couldn’t. You knew you couldn’t sleep with it, it was broken and you didn’t want to risk breaking it even more in your sleep.

“I can’t sleep” you sigh out into the open as you turn your head around to look at your husband who just smiles and shakes his head while grabbing the remote “come cuddle and watch some tv maybe that’ll make you sleepy” he pulls you close to him so that you’re laying your head on his chest “I’m probably not as good as Mr Cuddles but I assure you, I’m the next best thing” he rubs your back gently

“You’re the best” you smile at him as you feel yourself becoming sleepy

[lonelysouffle]

Hello a new blog it nice to see this so can I’m be your first person to request can I’m have dark choco cookie captain caviar cookie and cream unicorn cookie x reader who is overprotective over sorbet shark cookie cookie and ask them if they can adopt them please sorbet they have been alone in the ocean for years I’m want them to be happy headcanons please

hello anon! your wish is granted <3 (also thank you for being the first ask! :])

"Geysers and Gullies" gn reader, uses they/them pronouns , reader does have motherly undertones, you can understand sorbet shark when their not in water, dark chocos part turned out longer than intended oops, reader and love interest dont outright adopt sorbet nor explicitly ask them if they want to be adopted,,,they do some family stuff though, NOT PROOFREAD

features dark choco cookie, cream unicorn cookie, and captain caviar cookie

Dark Choco Cookie

when taking a stroll on the beach the last thing you expected to see was child, seemingly only a couple years over the age of 10

the child was shivering and it noticed you, they clung onto your clothing

it was, (to no ones surprise) that you took this child with you to your contemporary place of stay to nurse them back to health.

you started by giving them blankets, to warm themselves up in for the sake of comfort or whatever else they might need the blankets

you began prepping raspberry jellies, a delicacy from your homeland, so they could have at least something in their system.

as you watched them stare at you, you asked them how they were feeling. mix of garbles came from the kid, which to your surprise, you understood.

"OoOoOoOoooOOO....."

"Really? Okay, I'm glad your just feeling tired and hungry. Here, some raspberry jellies, their a delicacy from my homeland!"

watching sorbet shark cookie eat, to make sure they didn't end up hurting themself, you listened to the door being opened, coming inside was your s/o, Dark Choco Cookie.

"Good evening, my love." he said, kissing the top of your head.

you giggled a little. "Good evening, my dear Dark Choco!"

dark choco noticed sorbet shark cookie, thus began the conversation, such as where you found them, why they were in your home, the works...

"i see. my darling, if your so intent on letting them stay, i fear as if i can't do anything to change your mind..." he sighed. you smiled, noticing the smaller dark pink-ish cookie had curled themselves in you lap and had begun to talk to you.

"OoooOooOoOoOOoO?"

"A story to help you sleep? Hmm...well, let me tell you of a confident hero who always wore an eerie smile. Her strength and her home-country were shrouded in total mystery...."

a family made up of trust will always be more comforting than a family who relies on their blood to keep the trust moving forward.

Cream Unicorn Cookie

a romantic stroll on the beach, is what this was originally supposed to be. until you spotted the small body in the sand. cream unicorn looked at you and you looked at them, as if the same idea had been lit up in your minds.

you sat sorbet shark on your couch, cream unicorn in the kitchen cooking up whatever sort of mouth-watering blessing imaginable

you watched sorbet shark wake up and curl up next your figure. a garble of sound emitted from them, and you began to pet as a way of comforting them.

cream unicorn emerged from the kitchen, a plate of food in their hands intended for sorbet shark cookie

as you watched the child scarf down the food, you asked them where they were from, you were given a small, sad, garble.

you sighed, looking at your spouse. "Cream Unicorn Cookie, they have nowhere to stay. Do you...think we could take them in?"

Your spouse looked at you before smiling, "I see no reason not to. If they would like to stay with us theirs no reason for us to deny that."

You asked sorbet if they would like to stay with you, a barrage of "oOoOoo!" 's emerged from him.

the night was filled with happiness and laughter <3

Captain Caviar Cookie

ok, so this one is kind of funny

you were minding your business, looking out to the sea on your (OUR) mans ship

when all of a sudden you see a body of a literal child floating in a barrel

and you just...dive in

AND FROM CAPTAIN CAVIARS POV IT LOOKS LIKE YOU DIVED IN FOR NO APPARENT REASON

and when you pull you (and sorbet shark cookie) out of the ocean, hes all like

"what the fuck were yer thinkin'?! i could've lost ya darlin'..."

AND YOUR JUST LIKE

"oh. i found a child in a barrel." "YOU FOUND WHAT-"

and now sorbet shark is your charge. yippee

captain caviar lets them do whatever they want. the cool dad

and your about fling yourself--once again-- into the ocean because "why would you let sorbet shark cookie have a knife???"

tired soccer mom and cool dad vibes but there's also so much love in the relationship

house husband captain caviar teaching sorbet shark how to clean. that's it. that's the bullet point.

SORRY FOR FLAKING CAPTAIN CAVIARS HCS I WAS TRYING TO BE FUNNY :sob:

[imagines-by-a-typical-fangirl]

Wouldn't Change a Thing

Pairing: Eddie Munson X Reader

Chapter word count: 1.2 K

Summary: When you started dating Eddie, everyone told you it wouldn'd end well... But it didn't end at all.

{Stranger Things Masterlist}

You never wanted a wealthy life and having a career never sounded appealing to you. Everything you ever wanted was to live a slow, calm life. Have your place, a job you enjoy, and him.

Eddie had your attention the moment you started High School. And, because he never really cared about school, he graduated the same year you did. And that was a good thing because it was during that year that you started to hang out, and by the end of it, Eddie asked you to be his girlfriend.

And, as you expected, your parents didn't like it. They gave you hell for a long time, but as time went by, they started to understand you and Eddie were a thing. A solid, real thing. There was no breaking you apart, that was crystal clear from the beginning.

For you, Eddie changed. Neither of you had college plans, so you both started looking for jobs. It took him way too much time to find one, and when he did, he spend his first paycheck on a trip to Indianapolis, just the two of you.

And you came back married.

It's unnecessary to say people were in shock, your parents more than anyone. But it didn't matter. You were both adults, with jobs, and the next thing you knew, you were renting a house and moving.

Four years later, you have a four-year-old child... Because the two of you were as busy as rabbits.

And that didn't change one bit.

“And then the shark goes RAWL!” Jimmy says, and when you look up from your book and through the window, you see him splashing the little shark toy into the water.

The plastic pool was huge, a gift from your mother to Jimmy last Christmas. It was a pain in the ass to keep clean, and it needed a hell lot of water. But it was Summer, the first Summer you and Eddie managed to coordinate your vacation with the end of the school year, so you don't mind the pool.

“Yeah, but you know what's way cooler than a shark?” Eddie asks, and Jimmy looks up at him, fresh from a dive, hair glued to his face. “This!” Eddie pulls up the water from under his chair and shoots at a laughing Jimmy.

“Not fair!” Your son yells, diving again for protection.

“Hey, come back here! This fight is far from over!” Eddie gets up, his rock band T-shirt, with the sleeves cut off wet from their playing. He circles the pool, and the moment Jimmy comes up for air, he shoots again.

The scene makes you smile, and you feel so blessed that your eye fills with tears. Sometimes, your mother still talks about how much better life could have been if you went to college... And for setting your eyes on someone better than Eddie. But the thing is, there's nobody better than Eddie, not for you. And if you could go back in time, you wouldn't change a thing.

The doorbell rings and you put the book down, heading to the door.

“Hello, Mrs. Munson.” Says the dark-skinned boy, with a smile on his lips, and a truck in his hands. “We can pick up Jimmy.” He gives his older brother a look. “Imma go in and call him, you stay cause mom said-”

“I know what mom said.” The teenager says, then looks at you with an apologetic look. “Good morning, Mrs. Munson. I hope we're not-” He stops talking when little Anthony walks right past you. “Anthony!”

“Let him.” You say, smiling. “Jimmy is in the backyard!” You tell the kid before offering his brother something to drink. He says he's good, then you ask about his mom. But the conversation is short, because Anthony and Jimmy come out, your son soaking wet, with a towel around his shoulders.

He looks up at you, pouting already. “I know I should change, but the sun will dry me and Tony has a pool too.”

With both hands on your hips, you bend down. Then, you smile. “Alright. You have some clothes at Tony's if you need any.” You get on one knee and Jimmy throws his arms around your neck, kisses your cheek, and walks out with Anthony.

“Better behave, little shark!”

“Okay!” He shouts back.

Once you're alone at home, an idea comes to your head. Rushing upstairs, you change into a black bikini - Eddie's favorite -, and goes back down, heading to the backyard. But Eddie is nowhere to be seen. “Where are you, Freak?” You ask, walking towards the pool.

“Who do you think you are to call me a freak?” He yells suddenly, and arms encircle your waist. “You're more of a Freak than I am.” Eddie lifts you, and before you can say anything, he's putting a hand under your legs and throwing you in the pool.

You have half a second to hold your breath before you're in the water, but soon enough you're up, grabbing Eddie by the shirt before he can move away. “That wasn't very nice!” And you start pulling him, trying to get him to get inside the pool.

“You started it!”

“I did not.”

“Oh, you did.” When it gets clear you'd never get his legs to move, you wrap your arms around his neck for support, and jumps, locking your legs around his waist. Eddie almost loses his balance before he catches you, hands under your thighs. “What's that about, wild one?”

“First of all, I wanted to chill in the pool with you.” You say, smiling down at him.

Eddie raises an eyebrow. “And second?”

“I have something to tell you.” Biting your lip, you try to keep the smile off your face. And fails.

“What did I do this time?” He asks, seriously worried.

Rolling your eyes, you chuckle. “Well, you did do something...” Eddie furrows his eyebrows, tilting his head to the side a little. Pulling some hair off his face, you peck his lips. “I'm ninety percent sure you got me pregnant again.”

Your cheeks are burning at that point because you have no idea what his reaction would be. Jimmy was a surprise. And so is this baby. But Eddie doesn't say anything, he just keeps looking at you. But you can see the gears turning in his head. “I shouldn't have thrown you in the pool!” He exclains, and it makes you laugh.

“I'm pregnant, not sick, Eddie.”

“No, no, no. You gotta relax.” Then, he finally steps inside the pool, sitting down with you. The water reaches your neck like this. “When did you... For how long...”

“I'm late. Very, very late... And that pasta you made yesterday?”

“Your favorite.” He nods. “You hated it.”

“I did. Just as it happened when I was pregnant with Jimmy.”

“And you've been complaining about your tities being sensitive.”

“Funny how that's the only thing you noticed.” You say, rolling your eyes. “Anyways, I'll buy a test tomorrow. But by all the signs... I'm pretty sure it'll be positive.”

“I really hope it is.” He says, a smile on his lips.

“Really?” Moving to sit on his lap, you play with his hair, now soaking wet at the tip.

Eddie doesn't answer, he just kisses you, a long, sweet, and passionate kiss. “I love you, and I'll love all the kids you give me.”

That makes you blush again. “How about chilling in the pool for a while, hitting the sheets, and then we go to grab that test?”

“A perfect plan, my lovely Freak.” And he kisses you again.

[twoidiotwriters1]

The Curse of Oenone (Leo Valdez xFem!Oc)

A/N: Jackson siblings my beloveds -Danny Words: 2,448 Series' Masterlist Previous Chapter // Next Chapter Listen to: 'Kids' -by OneRepublic

XIV: 'Not All Men' You're Right, My Brother Percy Would Never

The four of them clamber onto the ship at the same time. Frank rushes down the steps to look for the others while Percy and Hedge collapse on deck. Ara runs to the control board. She keeps her eyes on the monitors and radars until the ship is at a proper distance from the Aquarium. 

"Where are we going?" She shouts.

"Charleston!" Percy yells back, he's still lying on the ground. "Set course for Charleston!"

Leo approaches her holding a cheese-grilled sandwich. "I would ask if you need help, but—is that a shark?" He squints. "And you're blue..?"

"Teal," she corrects him, leaving the controls and returning to her brother. "It's teal..."

"Who was it?" Leo looks at the back of her cloak and grins. "Poseidon! He's officially adopted you too?"

"I already have a dad," Ara laughs, taking off the hat and tossing it to him as she reaches her brother. "But I bet I'll find his blessing most useful."

She looks down at Percy and offers her hand, which he grabs immediately. They look at each other when he's on his feet and share a silly smile. At least now she can confirm quests will never be boring.

"How's that for a flashy trap, huh?" Percy taunts her.

Ara laughs, both their soul-lights are vivid. "Too easy when it's you and me."

Percy high-fives her, then hugs her and ruffles her damp hair.

The group gathers on deck so everyone can hear their story. Percy and Frank do most of the talking during the first half (she wasn't paying attention then), and Ara and Percy narrate the rest with notes from Hedge.

"That's terrible!" Annabeth makes a face when Percy tells them about the sedated creatures. "We need to help them."

"We will, in time. But I have to figure out how. I wish..." he sighs. "Never mind. First, we have to deal with this bounty on our heads."

"This isn't your first time being a wanted demigod," Ara muses. "What's there to talk about?"

"I'm surprised this is your first," he raises a brow. "With the talent you have for exploding monster property..."

"It's always a team effort," she winks.

Annabeth shakes her head. "A bounty on our heads... as if we didn't attract enough monsters already."

"Do we get WANTED posters?" Leo's wearing the hat Ara brought him, which makes him look even crazier than usual. "And do they have our bounties, like, broken down on a price list?"

"What are you talking about?" Hazel scowls.

"Just curious how much I'm going for these days. I mean, I can understand not being as pricey as Percy or Jason, maybe... but am I worth, like, two Franks, or three Franks?"

"Hey!"

"Knock it off," Annabeth scolds him. "At least we know our next step is to go to Charleston, to find this map."

"A map," Piper leans against the control board. "But a map to what?"

"The Mark of Athena." Percy glances at Annabeth. "Whatever that is, we know it leads to something important in Rome, something that might heal the rift between the Romans and Greeks."

"The giants' bane," Hazel says.

"And in my dream, the twin giants said something about a statue."

"Um..." Frank glowers at the Chinese handcuffs he got at Phorcys's gift shop. "According to Phorcys, we'd have to be insane to try to find it. But what is it?"

"I—I'm close to an answer," Annabeth's ears turn pink. "I'll know more if we find this map. Jason, the way you reacted to the name Charleston... have you been there before?"

"Yeah," he takes a furtive glimpse at Piper. "Reyna and I did a quest there about a year ago. We were salvaging Imperial gold weapons from the C.S.S. Hunley."

"The what?"

"Whoa!" Leo exclaims. "That's the first successful military submarine. From the Civil War. I always wanted to see that."

"It was designed by Roman demigods," Jason explains. "It held a secret stash of Imperial gold torpedoes—until we rescued them and brought them back to Camp Jupiter."

"So the Romans fought on the Confederate side?" Hazel frowns. "As a girl whose grandmother was a slave, can I just say... not cool?"

"Hazel, there's no need to get violent!" Ara teases her. "Romans being racist is a surprise? Just take a look at Octavian—"

"Easy with the hate speech," Jason interrupts her. "I personally was not alive then. And it wasn't all Greeks on one side and all Romans on the other. But, yes. Not cool. Sometimes demigods make bad choices... Like sometimes we're too suspicious. And we speak without thinking." 

Jason elbows Leo so he joins in. "Ow! I mean, yeah... bad choices. Like not trusting people's brothers, who, you know, might need saving. Hypothetically speaking."

Hazel isn't entirely happy with the apology, but she takes it. "Fine. Back to Charleston. Are you saying we should check that submarine again?"

"Well... I can think of two places in Charleston we might search. The museum where they keep the Hunley—that's one of them. It has a lot of relics from the Civil War. A map could be hidden in one. I know the layout. I could lead a team inside."

"I'll go," Leo shrugs. "That sounds cool."

Jason turns to Frank. "You should come too, Frank. We might need you."

Frank's so surprised he stops fighting the Chinese handcuffs. "Why? Not like I was much good at that aquarium."

"You did fine," Percy eases him. "It took all four of us to break that glass."

"I'm not so sure," Frank eyes the Jackson siblings standing side by side. "You two were like a force of nature."

"You should see us when we're angry," Ara jokes. Percy hugs her sideways and squeezes her lightly. "But my brother's right, go and have a bonding experience with those two, I promise you'll like them."

Leo scoffs and Piper elbows him.

"Besides, you're a child of Mars," Jason points out to distract Frank. "The ghosts of defeated causes are bound to serve you. And the museum in Charleston has plenty of Confederate ghosts. We'll need you to keep them in line."

"Okay," Frank sighs. "Sure. Uh, how do you—?" He lifts his fingers, still trapped in the small toy.

Leo grins. "Man, you've never seen those before? There's a simple trick to getting out."

"You have to press on them," Ara explains vaguely.

Everyone stays quiet and watches Frank struggle. After a moment, he grows tired and turns into a green iguana.

"Well done, Frank Zhang," Leo says in an almost perfect impression of Chiron. "That is exactly how people beat Chinese handcuffs. They turn into iguanas."

While the group laughs, Ara picks up the Chinese handcuffs and returns them to Frank. She's not sure whether she likes him or not, he's hostile towards Leo, but insecure and struggles with social interactions. He reminds her of Mike a little bit, he's an archer just like he was.

"That looked sorta cool," she whispers with an amicable smile.

Frank smiles back, though it's brief and awkward. "Anyway," he speaks out loud, "the museum is one place to search. But, uh, Jason, you said there were two?"

Jason's expression changes from amused to concerned. "Yeah. The other place is called the Battery—it's a park right by the harbor. The last time I was there... with Reyna... We saw something in the park. A ghost or some sort of spirit, like a Southern belle from the Civil War, glowing and floating along. We tried to approach it, but it disappeared whenever we got close. Then Reyna had this feeling—she said she should try it alone. Like maybe it would only talk to a girl. She went up to the spirit by herself, and sure enough, it spoke to her."

"What did it say?" Annabeth asks.

"Reyna wouldn't tell me. But it must have been important. She seemed... shaken up. Maybe she got a prophecy or some bad news. Reyna never acted the same around me after that."

"That sounds promising," Ara makes a face.

"A girls' adventure, then," Annabeth looks around. "Piper and Hazel can come with us, Ara." 

She turns to her friend. "Say what?"

"You got Poseidon's blessing," Annabeth explains. "If the spirit is close to the harbor, it might be useful to take someone who has some kind of power over water."

Ara sighs. "Could've given me a cake to celebrate, but I guess this works."

"Cheer up, Birdy," Percy pats her shoulder. "You'll have fun."

"Yeah, yeah, I'm not complaining. Who's complaining? Not me."

"So that's settled." Annabeth fixes her posture. "Leo, how long until we reach Charleston?"

"Good question," he mumbles, leaning closer to the intercom. "Festus just detected a large group of eagles behind us—long-range radar, still not in sight."

"Are you sure they're Roman?" Piper leans closer.

"No, Pipes. It could be a random group of giant eagles flying in perfect formation. Of course they're Roman! I suppose we could turn the ship around and fight—"

"Which would be a very bad idea," Jason cuts in, "and remove any doubt that we're enemies of Rome."

"Or I've got another idea," Leo continues. "If we went straight to Charleston, we could be there in a few hours. But the eagles would overtake us, and things would get complicated. Instead, we could send out a decoy to trick the eagles. We take the ship on a detour, go the long way to Charleston, and get there tomorrow morning—" Leo stops Hazel before she can argue. "I know, I know. Nico's in trouble and we have to hurry." 

"It's June twenty-seventh," Hazel presses. "After today, four more days. Then he dies."

"I know! But this might throw the Romans off our trail. We still should have enough time to reach Rome."

"When you say should have enough..."

"How do you feel about barely enough?"

Hazel runs both hands over her face and groans. "Sounds about typical for us."

"Well, we have a deadline expert with us," Piper smirks, locking eyes with her sister. "We'll be fine."

"It'll be fine," Ara assures Hazel. "Nico won't get to say he died on my watch."

Hazel eyes her with concern. "If that motivates you..." 

"Okay, Leo," Annabeth says. "What kind of decoy are we talking about?"

"I'm so glad you asked!" He pressed many—perhaps too many—buttons around the control board. "Buford? Report for duty, please." 

Frank steps back. "There's somebody else on the ship? Who is Buford?"

"Our bundle of joy!" Leo seizes Ara's hand and pulls her away from Percy. "He's the reason we got together."

"Your what?" Percy asks with confusion.

The table climbs on deck whistling and dragging a bag behind it. 

"This is Buford," Leo grins.

"You name your furniture?" Frank raises a brow.

"Man, you just wish you had furniture this cool," the boy scoffs. "Buford, are you ready for Operation End Table?" 

Buford gets closer to the railing, his top splitting into wooden blades that quickly lift him up and away from the ship.

"A helicopter table," Percy whistles. "Gotta admit, that's cool. What's in the bag?"

"Dirty demigod laundry," the boy smirks. "I hope you don't mind, Frank."

"What?"

"It'll throw the eagles off our scent."

"Those were my only extra pants!"

"I asked Buford to get them laundered and folded while he's out. Hopefully he will." He moves and hugs Ara from behind, leaning his chin on her shoulder. Ara's empath touch senses his irritation. "Well! I call that a good day's work. We'll calculate our detour route now. See you all at dinner!"

As the demigods scatter, Ara turns to face him. "What was that?"

Leo shrugs. "You go on one quest with Frank and now you're buddies?"

"Dude. We have to be a team, otherwise we're doomed. You should be nicer."

Leo brushes it aside. "Yeah, alright. If he stays out of my business, I will."

Ara raises her brows. "Your business being..?"

Leo senses he's on thin ice but it's too late to fix it. "I didn't mean—"

"I bet you didn't," she replies a bit harshly. It reminds Leo of the day they met, which is never a good sign. "Next time why don't you try harder and stop those thoughts before they leave your mouth?" 

He gets a sting of annoyance at her tone. "Yes. I'm sorry, General," he mutters, fidgeting with a random nail he pulled out from his tool belt.

Ara sniffs her clothes, gawking at the smell of fish. "Gods, I need a shower..."

"Yeah, you stink." Leo eyes her carefully, a tentative smile on his face. He wants to make her laugh, perhaps in the same way she did a few minutes ago while talking to Percy, he'd never seen her smile like that. "Thank you for the shark hat."

He plants a brief kiss on her lips—doesn't even complain about the fish smell—and Ara playfully pushes his shark-shaped hat over his eyes. 

"See you later, Admiral."

She goes to get a fresh set of clothes and finds a purple octopi plushie on her bed... a backpack plushie. There's a sticky note on it with Percy's handwriting:

'Purple is your color :)'

She grabs the plushie and hugs it tight. The octopi's head lights up in pink and blue, and Ara laughs in childish delight.

"Have any of you seen Percy and Annabeth?"

Clarisse's eyes shine with evil intent. "I think they're in the pavilion."

"I wonder if she's giving him a birthday present!"

Everyone around me giggles. I look at their mischievous faces and know they're all thinking what I'm thinking. I sigh dramatically. "We should check on them, just to be sure they're alright."

Percy and Annabeth have their backs turned when we get to them, so it isn't hard for us to eavesdrop. When they kiss, their scarlet light hurts my eyes a little.

"Well, it's about time!" Clarisse shouts, rushing into the scene.

Everyone follows Clarisse except me, I stay at the entrance smiling, my arms crossed over my chest as I watch. 

"Oh, come on!" Percy blushes so hard that he's the human version of Rudolph's nose. "Is there no privacy?" He raises his voice. "General, control your campers!"

I shrug. "You're the one who's agitating them."

"What!"

Listen, we're all friends here, but that doesn't mean we won't take the opportunity to humble the strongest demigods in camp. "If only you'd pulled your head out of your ass sooner, my campers wouldn't be making such a fuss," I look at Clarisse. "We don't have all night, you know? Get to it!"

"The lovebirds need to cool off!" She laughs, and the campers hoist Annabeth and Percy up in the air at her command. I follow them closely.

"To the canoe lake!" Connor Stoll shouts.

"You'll be next, Connor," I whisper beside him. He blushes and glows silver. "Off to the lake, everyone!"

"You heard the General!" Lily shouts. She fits the role of my second in command perfectly.

We throw my brother and Annabeth into the lake unceremoniously, they glow red the whole way down. Chucking the son of Poseidon into a lake is the opposite of embarrassing him, but of course, I knew that already. I might be the Strategus, but Percy's still my favorite brother.

"Happy birthday, Nemo," I say quietly, walking back to the Big House.

Next Chapter –>

Taglist.

@siriuslysirius1107 @ask-giggles1303 @asnyox-the-hoarder @im-planning-something-look @bandshirts-andbooks @coolninjapaper @thewaterlily @whenisthefall @1randomcomic @you-bloody-shank @sunflowergraves @owlalex44 @taylordaughter @typicalsolangelolover @writingmia @espressopatronum454 @slytherinnqueen @orbitingpolaris @obxstiles @ellipsisspelled @thepixiechicks

[mamabearwonders]

Dear Little Lion Cub🦁,

I'm going to just happy cry thinking about you. You're such a sweetheart. I love you so much. And your hugs are the most precious thing ever.

We met a long, long, LONG time ago. Far, far away in a magical lion kingdom. June 25th, 2023! YA I know right? I met Little Fox🦊 on June 17th. So, you were just another blessing I didn't know we had! The best kind! Surprise! The system kind of surprise! More lovable people to love! I got a fox AND a lion cub (dw, I did not forget the other lovelies, I'm making posts about them tooo)!🥳

I need a pack of tissues or a Little Lion Cub🦁 hug. Happy tears! We originally didn't know your name - WHOA! Ikr? Because we say it all the time now, huh, little cub? Cub!! Cub!! Hi, cub! We missed you! Then you do your little happy dance and happy flappy hands. We love happy hands.

But we didn't know your name. Not even you! But🦊thought you deserved a name because he loves you and we all deserve a name! And I probably cried (happy cry). Then I asked both of you if you were comfy fronting. And I'm so so glad you did.🦁

You were SO scared when we first met. But look at you go now! You are not afraid to send me a whole solar system galaxy of messages🌌 and ASK for things now! It's nice to see you really relax and be more confident in how you talk because I know🦈 helps you out and he and me are both 3,000 years old (love you🦈) so we're not too hip with the newfangled youth words. I love how I also think of how as my own kid but he's older than ME lol. (promise I love you, I'll take you to an aquarium or calligraphy shop,🦈).

ANYWAY.

I love how you went from shy to still shy, but confident because shy isn't a bad thing. I love the colors game with you. And I can't wait to see what else your brilliant mind (which you did not get from mom LOL) comes up with. You're so smart and always teach me things every day.

You have so much patience. When I stepped back for a little bit because this is new to me- you still loved me and were patient as a saint. 📿 I have never raised little ones before- just once, but it's a long story which I'll share with you someday. But you've helped me heal so much. All of us. You may be little, but little ones change the world! You have a BIG impact. And you're big important too.

You've helped 🦊out so much. Whenever he's really depressed, you're a light that gets him through those dark scary storms⛈️. I appreciate you so much, but I'm happy you know you do a good job looking for others, but you know you matter too! And you let us love you up and take care of you!

You're a tough cookie, little cub🦁. But you shouldn't have to be! We got you. You and 🦊 and🦈 can just relax now. Mom's got you. Hey maybe we can get🦈 to color some pictures sometime huh? 🎨

One of my favoritest things about you (if I can narrow it down) is when you get excited about things. You'll find something and just go "Mom! Mom! MOM!!!" and you'll be like: I found this cool sticker! And that sticker! And this one too!! And you just get so into it. Tbh I could hear you talk about the paint on the wall for hours and I'd just be sitting there smiling and listening.😊

I love how you've jumped onto calls too! I know it's a little new for you🦁and you've been hesitant a bit calling me. You do what you feel most comfy with, but I love when🦊 is on the call then you pop in and you feel so happy. I like how you join into story time too. I WISH there was a way- and hey!

Where there's a will, there's a way (that was a phrase me and🦈 used back in our day). I wanna get all of you together at once for Blues Clues🐶🍿(movie popcorn) and for storytime. I know Shark is always kind of AROUND. And doesn't say hi to little old me. 🙄💁🏽‍♀️Okay now I see the sass that🦊 says I have. And 🦈. But I'm not sassy in your eyes, rightttt? 😇

So I'm going to have to learn because you have the best meals ideas. And I bet the super duper cool meals you have will inspire🦊 too. But he says I have- a lack of seasoning- but hey, I cook with LOVE so same thing right? We'll learn how to cook together. I'm sure pizza dough will end up on the ceiling and the fun shaped pasta will end up out the window in a shrub somewhere where 🦈 is probably chilling out.

You're my whole heart, sweetheart. How lucky am I to have a lion cub, a fox cub, a shark cub- ALL CUBS! And we'll have to see what one of our other little friend's, Lil Rolly's🛹favorite animal is. But I know everyone is taking good care of him until he has the energy to front.

You're the best thing since sliced bread. I remember when sliced bread first came out. Back when you could get a whole loaf, peanut butter AND jelly and a plate for a nickel.🍞I'm so just kidding, bread wasn't invented when mom was young.

You're so caring and thoughtful and nice. I can say that and those things are true. But beyond that - you are truly a very, very intelligent kid. I think kids are smarter than most adults! I never wanted to tame your spirit as some parents do - I want you to embrace your big little cub lion heart. 🦁

What a privilege it is to see that continue to grow. 🪴Never dim your big light, little one for those who say it's too bright. For those who love you like mom, we know that light is a light of hope, a light of refuge, a light of healing for all of us and for you. 🕯️

Despite all the traumatic things we've seen and been there, all the pain that some of us feel, you've been so soothing. And you know you're your own person and that you deserve the same amount of care, but you are a treasure. And I want you to know how much amazing things you do and to never forget that little ones can do big things too.

I love you so so much! Forever and ever, little one.🦁

Love💙,

Mom🐘

[carpehistoryandthepens]

Tumblr is the only place I'll go to in the last 12 games of this season, Twitter and Reddit are so exhausting and toxic right there so thank goodness for all of you here. At least there's plenty of rational takes and not overreactions while on Twitter and Reddit there's overwhelming negativity to the point I'll want to avoid them until this season ends. I appreciate you guys even with all our rants but at least the atmosphere here is not as bad as the other social networks.

On a related note, appreciate your honesty here: say we don't rally back in the final 12 GP and FLA/NYI stays winning. Could a playoff miss be a blessing in disguise as others are saying? Sure not making playoffs for the first time in 17 years could force the team to regroup in the offseason. For sure Hextall and likely Sullivan will be gone, guys like Dumo who's been a liability all year long will walk, and ownership will hire a real GM who can sort out our issues from this year. IIRC sometimes a playoff miss one year immediately results in a deep playoff run the next (16 Sharks, 18 Tampa, 19 Blues). I also remember how Boston missed back to back in 15 & 16 after holding playoff spots with 1 week to go, that allowed them to retool into the 2019-2023 Bruins team

yeah anon i stay the fuck off of reddit but also I only look at the tweets from people I follow and not the replies. that's how I use twitter. when I'm on it. because you know, trashfire replies.

i think that missing the playoffs will suck if it happens. i was a LA Dogers fan in the 90's-2000s and it sucks. but I loved the team. i really had fun with the players and the narrative. that's what I did as a kid to stay positive. and now I've got sid's determination and angry murder kitten face to enjoy as it happens. but I think if (and that's a 'if' until I am told we unable to make it) we miss the playoffs, then I think sid, geno, and tanger will make something happen.

that being said, i have no idea if GMRH will be staying. i hope Sully will be. but idk on players yet. i can't guess that at all.

[mmmthornton]

Abbott Elementary D&D Episode WHEN baby?

What can I say, I'm a simple lesbian. I see a show with a great group dynamic and I gotta think about what they'd be like at the tabletop.

Plus, I'm...responsibly imbibing and putting off work so HERE WE GO!

Jacob becomes determined to start some kind of gaming club at the school, but he hadn't actually DM'd before so he asks the other teachers if he can do a "practice run" first and bribes them with takeout and beer to let him run a game for them in the gym in the evenings. Surprisingly Barbara has come around to it NOT being a tool of the devil thanks to her and her husband watching Stranger Things together ("If it can help those kids beat a demon and learn to appreciate family in the god-forsaken 1980s, it can't be all bad"). Melissa says she could learn a new game since its no fun card sharking the same five people at her local bar, and Gregory is pretending really really hard that he's not EXTREMELY excited about this because he's always wanted to play but never did as a kid. Ava laughs until she cries when Jacob first asks if she wants to join then flips when Gregory will be there..."and when those craft beers go right through his skinny hipster body" she wants to be there to see his "wild" side. Janine knows nothing about the game but is excited about a new extracurricular activity and thinks its a great way to bond with the kids, and Mr. Johnson wasn't invited but shows up with Coke and a Costco-sized bag of Smartpop because he KNOWS whats up.

Barbara : Definitely a Cleric. She is willing to physically fight Jacob though if she has to "choose a god" from the pantheon, so to keep the peace AND the immersive experience they agree Not To Go Into It but its enough that her healing and spells are faith-endowed. Early on though, she gets some REALLY good rolls to hit when they're surrounded by enemies and she becomes more of a "warcaster" in addition to healing. Lots of buffs and she gets into the idea of a powerful warrior who gives holy blessings with her presence. Probably should've chosen Paladin from the getgo with how she ends up playing, but she makes Cleric work for her.

Melissa : Definitely a Rogue. Okay, I promise all my thoughts aren't basic but also listen to me. The whole concept of the rogue network is SO up her alley. She almost seems like she's not even playing a character at first, but then JACOB surprises her with his NPCs and the two of them roleplay thieves cant as a sort of south philly slang. I think Jacob would be an AMAZing DM so he's ready to meet her where she is (not really invested at first, kind of skeptical on the whole thing), and draw her in by accurately using terminology and making the world feel gritty, lived-in, and familiar - and Melissa LOVEs it. She starts to really get into the fiction of this fantasy world and take the threat/plot hook seriously. Gets yelled at by the support for jumping into fights and going unconscious because she's not a tank class; maybe multiclasses into Barbarian or at least takes a feat or two so she's not going down every fight.

Gregory : The archetypal wizard; old, beard, pointy hat, the whole deal. I hear you thinking "Why not human fighter?" but no. Gregory will not do human fighter, he's been waiting to play D&D for like twenty years and hes researched EVERY aspect of every class. Could be a minmaxer, but moreso is just WAY overthinking the choice so finally Jacob just gives him a premade, high-fantasy, Gandalf-ass wizard named something like Geoffrey Jankins or whatever. Gregory spends a lot of time making his : [ face, worried that he's already destroyed his chance of "having fun in a tabletop game with work friends" because he's THAT kind of person. Once he relaxes, he starts to feel a lot more kinship with his wizard character; he's got a backstory in the premade sheet where he's trying to find a spellbook that was stolen from him that contained years of his hard work and research. Over the course of the game Jankins kind of works with the others the same way Gregory did as he warmed up to them as a substitute, and in the end has the Real Emotional Moment in-game as he realizes what his work was keeping him away from (the relationships with the others in the group being his found family). No one leaves that game with a dry eye.

Ava : Elf Bard, College of Swords. She refused to make a character when Jacob mentioned it involved adding numbers because she's too hot for math, so she got another premade that he knew she'd enjoy. She's actually pretty stoked on the idea of a Creative and Powerful Artist who's dripping with charisma enough that she actually gets the ins and outs of the spell rules really well and is very generous with her Bardic Inspirations ("even to Gregory's old-head-ass"). She does however seem to only use Cutting Words on her own team, specifically Janine ("Jacob! How could you let her use that spell?" "In my defense I didn't think she'd even read the spell sheet!"). I say College of Swords because the worst thing about being a bard is having to share the spotlight with someone else, so she decides she wants to be the hero AND the sexy song vixen who makes the ballad about it.

Janine : Some kind of Genasi or fey druid. She wants to connect with the nature in the world and tries to channel a kind of Pan-from-mythology-meets-Steve-Irwin-depicted-by-Simone-Biles character. Her character motivation is she wants to write a guidebook of the animals - both common and magical - that they come across but keeps absolutely failing her rolls. She rolls a one and slaps a Mystical Enchanted Forest Deer in the face, launching a fight that the party is NOT prepared for. IS very good in a fight; she'll transform into an owlbear and headbutt an enemy away if one of the other party members are in trouble. Only remembers how to use like, three spells total and doesn't tell Jacob that she has no clue how things like spell slots or materials work so she just doesn't track it / makes up a number when asked how much she has. Jacob catches on pretty quickly, but side eyes into the camera to let us know he's deliberately letting it slide because she keeps rolling badly and could use the break.

Mr. Johnson : Makes his own dwarf warlock who's ABSOLUTELY minmaxed to hell. The overall playstyle of the group though is more laid back, but he's after a harder core play experience and only drops in sometimes if he hears there's a boss fight. Can do things from the book that are completely legal but have Jacob looking up obscure status effects and rules to try to keep up. Would probably make a good DM, but says he's more of a Warhammer guy.

Jacob : Obviously the DM, but I imagine that once the kids get into the game one of them might want to take a turn DM'ing. Jacob, gleaming with pride, would be happy to pass the DM screen to the "younger, brighter, woker generation". He joins the party as a ranger ("...which in the fifth edition classic is not the most capable class however with updates and features can be utilized in very specific cases for role-play and battlefi-" "For f*cks sake Jacob just take a shortbow proficiency and lets get on with it"), and spends most of the time that they're playing being extremely proud of his student....until the kid catches him on a technicality on his animal companion range.

[laforzadelvoila]

Eu postei 202 vezes em 2022

Foram 202 posts a mais do que em 2021!

9 posts criados (4%)

193 posts reblogados (96%)

Blogs que você mais reblogou:

@allthesepurplelights

@wardrobeoftime

@guysofeurovision

@eurovisionart

@cardamipratens

Eu marquei 202 posts meus em 2022

#reblog - 193 posts

#eurovision - 75 posts

#movies - 51 posts

#photos - 49 posts

#movie gifs - 47 posts

#text - 26 posts

#nature - 25 posts

#gifs - 24 posts

#thoughts - 21 posts

#landscape - 19 posts

Maior tag: 67 caracteres

#this is how i feel whenever i discover some amazing eurovision song

Meus principais posts em 2022:

#5

Jamala meeting US President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden!

• Source: Twitter •

2 notas - publicadas em 15 de dezembro de 2022

#4

Ver o post inteiro

2 notas - publicadas em 4 de dezembro de 2022

#3

I know nobody cares about my opinion, but I still want to say what I think about the Eurovision voting change 😎

To begin with, I don't really like this idea, but I think maybe there's a possibility it could work.

I think my biggest fear is that great songs end up being left out of the final.

On the other hand, I know that a lot of other amazing songs have been left out of the finals in recent years because of the jury, so obviously the system as we know it had advantages and disadvantages — and obviously it will be like that next year too.

However, it is important to remember that televoting often prioritizes votes between neighboring nations, which creates a disadvantage for countries without this privilege and/or smaller nations.

There are also great songs that are ignored by the public because they are of a less mass-appealing format.

And one thing I like about the division between audience and jury is that it often promotes a kind of diversity in the competition.

Yes, I am also afraid that quality songs will lose a place in the final to joke entries.

The 2000s were dark years for Eurovision, when the contest's credibility plummeted as countries were sending out bad songs to "serve the public".

BUT, it's true that the 2000s as a whole were pretty weird indeed (okay, I was just a little kid at the time, but I know how to google it), and popular tastes changed a lot in those years.

Of course, the jury will still vote on the grand final, so I'm guessing countries will still want to submit songs they approve.

And it's true that underestimating the audience is not a good idea, sometimes the tastes of the jury/audience are very surprising.

I remember that some people said that "Eat Your Salad" would be more successful with the public, and that "In Corpore Sano" would be more successful with the jury. In the end, the opposite happened!

The taste of the public is not that bad. 😀

EBU made this decision because of the 2022 jury cheating scandal. They probably had better ways of handling this, but here we are.

(For the record, the public is also susceptible to being corrupted and it can be harder to deal with a problem involving millions of people than just a few dozen.)

So in the end, I'm apprehensive about this decision more because it's something new and we still don't know if it will work or not. I have a bad feeling, but we'll have to wait and see. 🙂

Originally posted on Twitter

2 notas - publicadas em 22 de novembro de 2022

#2

Blessing your day with a photo of Barbara Pravi wearing a shark hat!

• Source: Instagram •

3 notas - publicadas em 26 de novembro de 2022

Meu post nº 1 de 2022

All My Eurovision Winners

Here I will register my winners of all the years of Eurovision. This list will always be subject to change.

Ver o post inteiro

3 notas - publicadas em 10 de novembro de 2022

Veja a sua Retrospectiva 2022 →

[z-h-i-e]

Hi,

7, 12, 35 for the weird writer questions

What is your deepest joy about writing?

Sharing it with other people. The connection made with others. Giving others things to think about. 2am discussions about why Thranduil and Finrod are perfect for each other. Or whatever the current obsession happens to be. I don't partake in a lot of 'usual adult behavior'. I don't have kids, so I certainly am not hanging out at PTA meetings, troop events, etc etc. My grandfather was an alcoholic (not a mean one--it was all post-war trauma and he was drinking to forget the horrors), but because of that I don't go hanging out at bars. I don't like places with too many people (unless I'm like, up on a stage presenting - I know, that's weird, it's just how I am) so places like movie theatres, bowling alleys, concerts, sporting events, etc etc are mostly out, they usually lead to migraines -- I have to really work to set myself up to go to anything like that, and covid might have made that worse for me. So my gatherings are pretty restricted to either writing or arts/crafts things or family events. But online -- I can participate online, and in writing things, so it's where I have the majority of my human interactions. Also, this has nothing to do with the question, but I bought a box of tiny donuts for myself the other day and they are far far exceeding expectations. Moving on…

If a genie offered you three writing wishes, what would they be? Btw if you wish for more wishes the genie turns all your current WIPs into Lorem Ipsum, I don’t make the rules

1 - That all of the WIPs that all of my friends wish were already done are magically finished for them to post.

2 - That all of the poetry my mother has written over the years gets the credit that is due to it.

3 - To have lunch with Peter David and ask all of the writing advice questions I can think of. I'm sure by now it's obvious I'm not asking the genie to do any of my writing for me, and I have a pretty good readership, and I've been blessed with more ideas than I have time for, but I have missed any opportunity to meet any of the other authors I have somewhat imitated in the respect of 'I love the way this person writes, I'm going to study what they wrote and incorporate those nuggets of style and voice and ideas with what I develop into my own thing'. (That list includes Fred Mustard Stewart, Madeline L'Engle, Maya Angelou, Michael Crichton, and of course I can't not mention Tolkien since the characters and setting are his)

What’s your favorite writing rule to smash into smithereens?

I'm not sure if it's a rule, but I came from a fandom where we did 'riffing'. Riffing is when you write about not just the characters, but also the authors, all together in one place, and it's typically ridiculous and humorous. I found out here that people kind of freak the fuck out when you riff them without asking first (which, it kind of defeats the purpose, but, oh well--when you previous fandom was like, three dozen cats and a shark, riffing just works a lot better). So for a bit I would do things and ask for volunteers, or just write riffs with just me in them, but that all kind of slid off when Yahoo!Groups went away. I should do more of that again--it's fun and silly and I miss those days.

Thank you for the questions, friend!

[luminousvision]

Bankrupt

The following is mostly autobiographical and partially fictional.

— Mom called me again last week to ask about grandkids I won’t have. If I had kids and gave them half of what my mom gave up for me, I’d have nothing left. 

I remember high-school Maddie whose parents demanded repayment on the loan they took out in the form of her birth. You ought to be grateful for this opportunity, they said. You’d be living in a straw hut and tending to the fields if we were still in Vietnam. It wasn’t just Maddie. Kevin, both Karens, Miles all lived variations on the story. Every kid was a gigantic loan from The-Bank-of-What-We-Could-Have-Been, accruing interest invisibly over fifteen years, only to reveal the debt sharks in the form of kind and caring parents who swore to themselves and God that it was only out of love.

My parents empathized more than most. When I procrastinated on college apps, missed too many problems on practice SAT tests, or threw a fit at the door about my stupid teachers were, my parents listened patiently, nodding. But at dinnertime, they’d tell me when they were my age, they hunted for every last grain of rice. You are what you don’t eat, they said. They watched me put my bowl with three uneaten grains of rice in the dishwasher. That’s who I was. They knew.

They knew that an American high school kid growing up in the suburbs had no idea what it meant to leave behind their whole life, promise, family, and career behind in South Korea to start anew in a rich country where you didn’t have to build it from scratch. My dad gave up dreams of being an esteemed professor; my mom gave up dreams of corporate brilliance and financial independence from a family who decided their fourth consecutive girl was not deserving of baby photos. Both of them had converted their intellect, grit, and every last grain of rice in their bowl into hope and empowerment.

My parents knew. They knew I had no clue what they had suffered, attained, and given up for me. I know Maddie, Kevin, the Karens, Miles, and all the rest also had no idea what their parents gave up for them. 

To this day, I still don’t understand what my parents gave up. My calculator for a fulfilling life implodes when I put their numbers in it.

Maybe my parents subscribe to the ideology that sacrifice is noble and beautiful. If so, God bless their hearts and God damn their principles. I don’t want any more people sacrificing their lives for anyone else, even their kids. I don’t want to be a loan. I don’t want anyone waiting twenty years to collect their debt. I don’t care if your kid is Mahatma Gandhi. I don’t want any kid to ever look at their parents and see even a glimmer of regret in their faces silently asking themselves: “is this what I gave my life for?”

But for two seconds, forget about me as a kid. I’m in the position to choose parenthood. I’m in the position to make the greatest sacrifice. I obviously haven’t had any personal experiences here, so let me tell you the most inspirational stories I’ve heard about others.

Sometime in college, I came across the biography of Clara Schumann, the brilliant pianist and composer from a time when women were not allowed to be musical, brilliant, or really anything at all. She wrote in a letter: do you really think people in the future will remember me for my music? I think people will remember me more favorably for the great mother I was. She soon retired from music to raise three kids whose names I do not remember.

Many years later, I read the story of Judit Polgar while studying chess. She peaked at the seventh best player in the world. No other woman, even to the day I write this, has broken into the man-infested top 100. She even beat Garry Kasparov, infuriating the world champion of her day because he lost to the inferior sex that belonged in the home with her babies. Guess why she quit chess? 

I am not Clara nor am I Judit. I do not possess any quality nearly as exceptional as theirs. They are also empowered to make their own choices. I even give them the benefit of the doubt that they did not regret their decision. But I ponder their decision to take the road more traveled by and wonder who else we’ve lost in the history of human reproduction.

I am aware of the irony. There is no humanity to bemoan without parents. But this irrefutable logic is cold comfort when I listen to Schumann’s music or study Polgar’s games. I look at my dad’s research papers and pictures of my mom smiling in a Samsung office, thinking that if I could un-exist so they could live their trajectory forward twenty more years, I’d gladly take the opportunity.

My parents would be horrified. But I’ve seen that they underestimate what they gave up and who they could have been. I measured their perceived sacrifice by what it took to pay it off.

When I was accepted into Stanford, my parents demanded that we celebrate. I protested. Celebrations give too much credit to their object: a low-quality application with four shitty essays attached to it. But my parents would not budge. I was forced to celebrate with some pizza. The next day at dinner, my parents didn’t lecture me about the three grains of rice left in my bowl. Nor did they mention it the day after. They left me alone. They left me alone the same way a bank stops sending you bills once you pay off the mortgage on your house. 

When my mom called me last week to ask me about her grandkids I won’t have, I had to tell her. I needed to say it, and I needed her to hear it, even if she didn’t understand what it meant. I said: “Your lives were worth more than that.” I know mine is.

[laws-yellow-submarine]

5, 8, 9, 11, 13, 17, 18, 23, 26, 34, 35, 45, 46, 47, 49, 50.

Sorry if that's a lot. I'm just curious. 😊

It's no problem! I just had to go find the questions 😂

5. How do you like your eggs?

I don't like eggs actually 🙈 occasionally I'll get a craving for an omelet, but I need a ton of fillings or I can't eat it lol

8. Do you collect anything? If so, what?

Now that I think about it I don't think I really have any collections? I have a collection of random items that don't go together but I just liked them and wanted to have them lol

9. What sounds or scents calm you down?

Rainfall, thunder, peppermint, lavender. I listen to ASMR at night to help me fall asleep too so basic triggers like tapping and whispering really gets me lol

11. Do you wear glasses or contacts?

Nope! I was somehow blessed with perfect vision (everyone in my family has terrible vision, no clue how this happened, I'll probably just go blind one day lol). My son just had to get glasses though lol

13. Do you prefer to write in pen or pencil?

I like that I can erase pencil but I'm a sucker for a really nice pen so I'm gonna say pen lol

17. What’s the last thing you ordered online?

A really embarrassing item lmfao (well not embarrassing but not the kinda thing you should just blurt out in a regular Q&A lmao)

18. What’s one historical event that you would have liked to have witnessed?

This is a tough one lol I feel like I'd wanna be able to observe a lot of ancient history, the things historians still have questions about when it comes to "Why did they do this?" "What was this built for?" I just want to understand everything lol

23. Which songs do you like to sing in the shower?

All of them lmao I'm pretty partial to musicals, Disney, stuff like that. I'm actually planning to audition for a musical this week (local community theatre) so lately I've been practicing for that!

26. Can you cook or bake? If so, what are some of your specialties?

I enjoy both though I'm still learning to do things from scratch instead of following a box recipe lol I make some really awesome chocolate chip cookies though! (I hate to be cheesy but considering it's literally just the recipe on the back of the bag but people have said multiple times mine are the best they've ever had, the secret ingredient really is love lmao)

34. Can you read analog clocks?

Yup! I've got one in my living room actually. It doesn't even have actual numbers on it lol

35. Describe your favorite stuffed animal, either now or from when you were a kid.

As a kid my dad won me a big purple teddy bear with a biker hat and jacket. I named him Purpley (I was 7 🤷‍♀️). Currently my favorite is a shark pillow I bought 2 weeks ago. I call him Sharky, but his legal name is Ronaldo

45. Do you have good handwriting?

If I focus really hard and write slowly I can make it look kinda nice, but most of the time it's a bit of a mess lol I write with some combination of printing and cursive so it all flows together lol

46. What’s the last thing a friend recommended to you that you looked into and actually liked?

The current (as of 2022) cast recording of Into the Woods! That's the musical I'm auditioning for, and a friend who is also planning to audition sent me a link to the album to give me more to practice with. I really enjoyed listening to it, and I like some of the ways the current class sings a bit better than the original cast. Also had a friend tell me where to find the stage version on YouTube since I had only seen the movie. Definitely prefer the stage version 😂

47. Do you like to go on walks?

With other people, yes! Or if I'm walking to a specific destination! I like being outside I just feel weird about being out alone lol

49. What’s your favorite thing to do when it’s raining?

Sit and read a book, light a candle or some incense, just relax lol just last night we had a storm and I sat out on my balcony with a book (the awning is long enough that no rain got in, but the lightning started getting close so I went back inside lol)

50. Describe your perfect sleeping conditions

Ice cold, fan on, rolled up in a bunch of blankets, rain hitting the window, maybe even having the window open slightly (so long as there's no bugs). Not quite pitch black, but very low light so it's not disturbing. Just enough to keep my eyes from playing tricks on me in the dark lol

[batsinurbelfrey]

BABY SHARK DODODODO

*screamsobssings*

[janecrockeyre]

scum villain is a greek tragedy disguised as a regular tragedy disguised as a comedy disguised as a danmei

this is going to be long, and this is only PART ONE.

a.k.a, Analysing the plot of Scum Villain’s Self Saving System through Aristotle’s Poetics, because I Have Mental Issues

Part One: Introduction and the Tragic Hero

Scum Villain’s Self Saving System is a tragedy disguised as a comedy, unless you’re Shen Yuan, in which case it’s a mixture of a romance and a survival horror. It's a fever dream. It's a horrible, terrible book that made me feel new undiscovered emotions when I finished reading it. 

The thing is... SVSSS shares characteristics with some of the most famous tragedies in the West, such as Oedipus Rex, Medea, Antigone, the Oresteia... if you haven’t read these, I’ll explain everything. But the gist of my argument is this: SVSSS is the perfect tragedy. In triplicate. 

Tragedy as a genre is old as balls and so it has meant slightly different things to different people over the last few thousand years. I'll be focusing on ancient Greek tragedy, which was performed at the yearly Festival of Dionysus in Athens during the 500-350s BC (give or take a hundred years). Aristotle, when writing about this very specific subset of tragedy, had no idea that one day Scum Villain would be written, and then that I would be using his work as a way to look at Shen Qingqiu’s Funky Transmigration Mistake. Anyway!

Greek tragedy greatly influenced European dramatic tradition. I have a lot of opinions about white academics idolising and upholding the classics as the "paragon of culture" but I'll withhold them for now. I have no idea if MXTX has read Greek tragedy or not, so don't take this as me saying they are writing it. 

In my opinion, tragedy is a universal human constant. We are surrounded by pain and hurt and none of it makes any sense, so we seek to process that pain through drama, art, literature, etc. We want to understand why pain happens, and how it happens, and try to make sense of the senseless. The universe is cold and cruel and random. Tragedy eases some of that pain. 

On that note: Just because I am analysing Scum Villain through a Greek lens doesn't mean that it was written that way. I'm pasting an interpretation onto the book when there's probably a very rich and deep history of Chinese tragedy that I just don't know about. If you ever want to talk about that, please, god, hit me up, I would love to learn about it!! 

Anyway, tragedy. MXTX is excellent at it! Mo Dao Zu Shi? Painful dynastic family tragedy. Heaven Official's Blessing? Mostly romance, but she managed to get that pure pain in there, huh? 

But in my opinion, Scum Villain holds the crown for the most tragic of her stories. MDZS was more of a mystery. TGCF was more of a romance. Neither of them shy away from their tragic elements. 

Scum Villain would fit right in between the work of Sophocles, Euripides and Aeschylus. How? Let me show you. Join me on my mystery tour into the world of "Aristotle Analyses Danmei..."

Part One: The Tragic Hero

What is a tragic hero? Generally, Greek tragic heroes are united by the same key characteristics. He must be imperfect, having a "fatal flaw" of some kind. He must have something to lose. And he must go from fortune to misfortune thanks to that fatal flaw. 

There are two (technically three) tragic protagonists in SVSSS and all of them are tragic in different but formulaic ways. Each protagonist has their own version of “hamartia” or a “fatal flaw”. 

Actually, hamartia isn’t necessarily a flaw - rather, it is a thing which makes the audience pity and fear for them, a careful imperfection, a point of weakness in the character’s morality or reasoning that allows for bad things to happen to them. For example, in Oedipus Rex, the king Oedipus has a “fatal flaw” of always wanting to find the truth, but this isn’t exactly a flaw, right? Note: this flaw can be completely unwitting, as we see with Shen Yuan. It can also be something that the protagonist is born with, some kind of trait from birth or very young. 

Shen Yuan

Shen Yuan’s “hamartia” is his rigid adherence to fate and his inability to read a situation as anything but how he thinks it ought to be. He believes that Bingmei will grow into Bingge, and it takes several years, two deaths, and some truly traumatising sex to convince him otherwise. 

Shen Jiu

Shen Jiu’s fatal flaw is his cruelty. It is his own sadistic treatment and abuse of Binghe which directly leads to his eventual dismemberment. This is kind of a no-brainer. Of course, it isn't all that simple, and as an audience we pity him for his cruelty as much as we fear it because we know it comes from his own abuse as a child. This just makes him even more tragic. Delicious. 

Luo Binghe

Luo Binghe’s fatal flaw is a complicated mix of things. It is his position as the “protagonist” which compels him to act in certain ways and be forced to suffer. It is his half-demonic heritage, something entirely out of his control, which sets in motion his tragic reversal of fortune when he gets yeeted into the Abyss. He also, much like Shen Yuan, has the propensity to jump to conclusions and somehow make 2 + 2 = 5. 

As well as having their respective “flaws”, all three protagonists match the rough outline of a good tragic hero in another way: they are in a position of great wealth and power. Even when you split the different characters into different “versions”, this still holds true. Yes, Luo Binghe is raised a commoner by a washerwoman foster mother, but his dad is an emperor and he also ends up becoming an emperor himself. 

Yes, Shen Jiu is an ex-slave and a victim of abuse himself, but Shen Qingqiu is a powerful peak lord with an entire mountain’s worth of resources at his back. 

Shen Yuan is a second generation new money rich kid. 

Bingge is a stereotypical protagonist with a golden finger. Bingmei is a treasured and loved disciple with a good reputation and a privileged seat by his shizun’s side. 

In a tragedy, having this kind of good fortune at the beginning of your story is dangerous. Chaucer says that tragedy is (badly translated into modern english) “a certain story / of him that stood in great prosperity / and falls out of high degree / into misery, and ends up wretchedly”. If we follow this line of thinking, a good tragedy is about someone who has a lot to lose, losing everything because of one fatal point of weakness that they fail to address or understand. 

If we look at Shakespeare, this is what makes King Lear such a fantastic tragic protagonist. He is a king in control of most of England, who from his own lack of wisdom and excess of pride, decides to split his kingdom apart to give to his daughters, favouring his murderous, double crossing progeny, and condemning his only actually filial daughter to death. He loses his kingdom, his mind, and his beloved daughter, all because of his own stupidity.

This brings us to:

Part Two: Peripeteia

This reversal of fortunes is called peripeteia. It is the moment where the entire plot shifts, and the hero’s fortunes go from good to bad. Think of it like one of those magic eye puzzles, where you stare at the image until a 3D shark appears, except you realise the shark was always there, you just couldn't ever see it, waiting for you, hungry, deadly, always lurking just behind that delightful pattern of random blue squiggles. 

Each tragic hero has their own moment of peripeteia in SVSSS, sometimes several:

Shen Qingqiu

In the original PIDW, SQQ’s peripeteia presumably occurs when he finds out that Bingge didn’t perish in the Abyss but has actually been training hard to come and pay him back. There’s really not much I’m interested in saying here - as a villain, OG!SQQ is cut and dry, and the audience doesn’t really feel any pity or fear for him. As Shen Yuan often mentions, what the audience feels when they see OG!SQQ is bloodlust and sick satisfaction. There is also the trial at Huan Hua Palace, which I will talk about in Shen Yuan’s section. 

Shen Yuan (SQQ 2.0)

One of SY’s most poggers moment of peripeteia is the glorious, terrifying section between hearing Binghe for the first time after the Abyss moment, and getting shoved into the Water Prison. 

“Behind him, a low and soft voice came: “Shizun?”

Shen Qingqiu’s neck felt stiff as he slowly turned his head. Luo Binghe’s face was the most frightening thing he had ever seen.

The scariest thing about it was that the expression on his face was not cold at all. His smile wasn’t sharp like a knife. Rather, it showed a kind of bone-deep gentleness and amiability.”

This is the moment of true horror for Shen Yuan, because he knows what happens next: the plot unfurls before him, inevitable and painful, and he knows that death awaits him at Luo Binghe's hands (lol). Compare it with the bone deep certainty with which he faces his own downfall during the sham of a trial later in the chapter (I’ve bolded the important part):

“In the original work, Qiu Haitang’s appearance signified only one thing: Shen Qingqiu’s complete fall from grace. [...] Shen Qingqiu’s heart streamed with tears. Great Master… I know you’re doing this for my own good, but I’ll actually suffer if she speaks her words clearly. This truly is the saying “not frightened of doing a shameful deed, just afraid the ghost (consequences) will come knocking”!”

After the peripeteia is usually the denouement where the plot wraps up and the threads are all tied together leaving no loose ends, but because this tragedy isn’t Shen Yuan’s but the former Shen Jiu’s, it’s impossible to finish. 

Shen Yuan cannot provide the meaningful answers that the narrative demands because 1) he doesn’t have any memory of doing anything, and 2) he wasn’t the person who did them. Narratively, he cannot follow the same path as the former SQQ because he lacks the same fatal flaw: cruelty. 

This is why Binghe doesn’t kill him - because he loves him, rather than despises him. And this is why Shen Yuan has to sacrifice himself and die for Luo Binghe in order to save him from Xin Mo: because the narrative demands that denouement follows peripeteia, and SQQ’s fate is in the hands of the narrative. 

(Side note: I believe that this literal death also represents the death of OG!SQQ's tragic arc. The body that committed all those crimes must die to satisfy the narrative. SQQ must die, like burning down a forest, so that new growth can sprout from the ashes. After this, Shen Yuan's story has more room to develop instead.)

It must happen to show Bingmei that SQQ loves him too. And this brings us to Bingmei.

Bingmei

Bingmei has two succinct moments of utter downfall. The first is a literal fall - his flaw, his demonic heritage, leads his beloved shizun to throw him down into the Abyss. From his point of view, SQQ is punishing him simply for the status of his birth. He rapidly goes from being loved and cherished unconditionally, to being the victim of an assassination attempt. 

He realises that he is totally unlovable: that for the crimes of his species that he never had a hand in, he must pay the price as well: that his shizun is so righteous that no matter what love there was between them, if SQQ sees a demon, he will kill it. Even if that demon is Bingmei. 

The second moment is when SQQ dies for him. Again, from his point of view, he was chasing after a man who was struggling to see him as a human being. Shen Qingqiu’s death makes Bingmei realise that he has been completely misunderstanding his shizun: that SQQ would literally die for him, the ultimate act of self sacrifice from love: that SQQ loved him despite his demon heritage. 

Much like King Lear holding the corpse of his daughter and wailing in sheer grief and pain because he did this, he caused this, Bingmei gets to hold his shizun's cold body and cry his eyes out and know that it was his fault. (Kind of.)

(Yes, I’m bringing Shakespeare into this, no I am not justifying myself)

Maybe I'm a bit sadistic, but that scene slaps. Let me show you a comparison of scenes so you get the picture. 

Re-enter KING LEAR, with CORDELIA dead in his arms; EDGAR, Captain, and others following

KING LEAR

Howl, howl, howl, howl! O, you are men of stones:

Had I your tongues and eyes, I'ld use them so

That heaven's vault should crack. She's gone for ever!

I know when one is dead, and when one lives;

She's dead as earth. Lend me a looking-glass;

If that her breath will mist or stain the stone,

Why, then she lives.

[...]

 KING LEAR

And my poor fool is hang'd! No, no, no life!

Why should a dog, a horse, a rat, have life,

And thou no breath at all? Thou'lt come no more,

Never, never, never, never, never!

Pray you, undo this button: thank you, sir.

Do you see this? Look on her, look, her lips,

Look there, look there!

Dies

Versus this scene in SVSSS: 

Luo Binghe turned a deaf ear to everything else, greatly agitated and at a loss of what to do. He was still holding Shen Qingqiu’s body, which was rapidly cooling down. It seemed like he wanted to call for him loudly and forcefully shake him awake, yet he didn’t dare to, as if he was afraid of being scolded. He said slowly, “Shizun?”

[...]

Luo Binghe involuntarily held Shen Qingqiu closer.

He said in a small voice, “I was wrong, Shizun, I really… know that I was wrong.

“I… I didn’t want to kill you…”

PAIN. SO MUCH BEAUTIFUL PAIN. Yes, I know Shakespeare isn’t Athenian, but he was inspired by the good old stuff and he also knew how to write a perfect tragedy on his own terms. Anyway. I’ll find more Greek examples later.

This post was a bit all over the place, but I hope it has been fun to read. Part Two will be coming At Some Point, Who Knows When. This is a bit messy and unedited, but hey, I’m not getting paid or graded, so you can eat any typos or errors. Unless you’re here to talk to me about Chinese tragedy, in which case, please pull up a seat, let me get you a drink, make yourself at home.

ps: if you want to retweet this, here is the promo tweet!

[enterprisetrampstamp]

Request: TOS Spock and Bones being an adorable married couple while aboard the Enterprise!

"All I'm saying is, you could've warned me," Bones was complaining, before the fabric of his uniform pants had even touched the plastic of the bench across the table from his Captain.

Jim, his focus directed at the PADD containing the paperwork that Yeoman Rand would be coming to fetch in less than five minutes, hummed a neutral acknowledgement and trusted his Chief Medical Officer to continue his diatribe with only that minimum of prompting.

"A chance to prepare--" Bones's fork flicked through the air-- "A chance to brace myself. Pretty sure that after everything you've put me through over the years, Jimmy, I deserved one."

"Almost certainly," Jim agreed, dashing off another signature with the rubber tip of his stylus.

"Good of you to admit it. Spock didn't!"

"What didn't I do, Doctor?" Spock asked, and-- unlike when Bones had sat down-- Jim looked up to shoot his Number One a crooked grin of welcome. (It wasn't about Spock, specifically-- it was about that, that warm feeling of vicarious happiness he got at seeing his two best friends oh-so-casually brush their fingers against each other in a gentle "Good morning" kiss.)

Bones rolled his eyes; Spock raised an eyebrow.

"You wouldn't admit I deserved a bit of warning before you dumped an entire crop of fresh-faced, bushy-tailed morons in my lap." Bones stabbed at his eggs vindictively, his expression sour. "Do you know how much work--"

Oh, that's what this was about? The new nurses and interns who'd joined the crew at their last pit stop?

"They're not morons," Jim told him, amused, as hebturned back to scrolling through his PADD. "And you did have warning, Bones; you had to sign off on all of them."

"I was told that I was offering my opinion on their placement on other ships!" Bones threw his hands wide, his left hand smacking into Spock's chest unapologetically. "Not mine!"

Spock gently removed Bones's hand from his personal space, and Jim sighed. "At the time, you were," he said dryly. "But several of your nurses have resigned their commissions recently, and this mission has been turning out a lot differently than we anticipated at the start; you could always use some additional hands in surgery--"

"Like I would trust these fools with a scalpel--!"

"They aren't even fresh out of the Academy, Bones," Jim reminded him. "Every one of them has at least a year of prior experience in a hospital and performed admirably--" he looked up, eyebrows raised. "At least, according to your own assessment."

"Have they yet shown themselves to be unsatisfactory?" Spock asked, calmly cutting to the center of Bones's ranting, and Bones scowled as he buttered his toast.

"They're fine," he said, shortly. "But not a one of them is prepared for the differences between traditional hospital practices and those of a starship, Jim. On another ship--" he waved a hand. "They'd have time to ease into things. But here? On the Enterprise? They need their hands held, Jim, and Chris, Geoff, and I only have so many hands to go around."

Spock looked to be considering this point deeply, so Jim left him to it for the moment, glancing guiltily at the chronometer on the far wall of the mess and resuming the race to finish his paperwork. It's not that Bones was wrong, in Jim's opinion; it was just that they didn't have a lot of choice in the matter. The CMO and the indomitable Nurse Chapel would simply have to ride herd on the new kids until they either shaped up or washed out-- no ifs, ands, or buts about it.

"You believe they are likely to freeze the first time they're placed under pressure," Spock surmised.

Bones-- when Jim glanced up into the silence of hesitation-- pulled a face and shook his head. "All hospitals are, by definition, life or death situations; they've already proven they can handle 'pressure'," he said. "But basic xenobiology credits don't do justice to the realities of practicing your craft on biological systems you barely understand-- present company included-- with diseases no one's ever seen before and half the equipment you would have wanted. It's their imaginations I'm worried about, Mr. Spock."

"Then perhaps it is their imagination you should focus on training, Doctor."

"There are a couple security officers trying to put an improv comedy club together," Jim suggested, hiding his grin by ducking his head further towards the PADD as he dashed off another signature, and a bit of toasted crust bounced off of his temple after Bones threw it at him. "That was assault of a commanding officer, I'll have you know."

"Shove it, Jim. The grown ups are actually brainstorming solutions over here."

"Of course," Jim agreed, smoothly, and pretended that "brainstorming" was the only reason Bones had laid his hand over Spock's when Spock placed it palm up on the table.

"Sims, maybe?" Bones murmured. "I could write something up, if you'd be willing to code it. No right answers, only better ones; see what they come up with."

"It would be my pleasure, Doctor."

A beat, a shit-eating grin in his periphery, and Spock repeated, sharply-- "Doctor."

"My virgin ears and I are glad Bones kept that one telepathic," Jim said, hiding his own shit eating grin behind his cup of coffee as he took a sip, and Bones laughed.

"Not in front of the Captain, Mr. Spock, or whatever will appear on your next performance review?"

Spock sighed. "You have a singularly frustrating personality, Doctor."

"You're one to talk. You know, Jim, he uses cinnamon toothpaste?"

"Perish the thought." Jim signed another dotted line, his feeling of foreboding growing as he scrolled further and further down towards the next. Janice was going to be here in--

"Your yeoman has just walked into the mess, Captain," Spock told him.

"And she's a woman on a mission," Bones added, eith a thread of laughter lacing through his tone. "A tactical retreat may be in order, Jim boy."

Captain James Tiberius Kirk did not turn to look over his shoulder, because that would be a sign of weakness. "Buy me five minutes," he said, his tone just shy of an order. "I'll speed read."

"How are we supposed to do that?" Bones demanded, but Spock-- bless those pointed ears of his-- was already rising to his feet.

"Accompany me, Doctor," he requested.

And, with a sigh, Bones took a few quick bites of his toast and then rose to his feet, wiping his fingers on a napkin as he trailed behind Spock. Jim paused his reading only long enough to watch them intercept Janice--

What they said couldn't be heard from across the room, but Bones's right hand found the small of Spock's back, his wedding ring glinting under the light as he waved the other about enthusiastically, and his exuberance combined with Spock's quiet intensity commanded Janice's attention quite completely. By the time she'd wormed her way free, Jim was outting the last flourishing signature on the paperwork, and he handed the PADD over to her with his most charming smile.

"Thank you, Yeoman."

"No, Captain," she said, with a smile that was far too shark-like for the sweetness of her tone. "Thank you." And then-- laughing-- she was gone.

Bones looked smug, and Spock's eyes glittered with Vulcan amusement, and suddenly, Jim was feeling much less charitable towards the man's ears.

"Gentlemen," he said suspiciously. "May I ask what price I've just paid for those five minutes?"

"You know, Yeoman Rand has a lot of friends on the ship, in all kinds of departments," Bones said, as he tucked into his remaining eggs. "Including Security."

"She's a popular woman," Jim agreed, slowly.

"Ensigns Martinez and Harper will be most grateful to hear of your interest in joining their improvisational comedy group, Captain."

Jim stared at Spock. "No."

Bones smiled. "Oh, yes."

"No!"

"His idea," Bones said, jerking his thumb at Spock.

"I was under the impression you had been looking for a method of engendering further goodwill between yourself and the crew," he said, with a perfect Vulcan poker face.

"Wouldn't do to back out on a promise now, Captain," Bones told him cheerfully. "Say, they still encourage audience participation st these things, don't they?"

"A staple of the genre, Doctor."

"My," Bones said, smiling into the horror dawning across Jim's face. "I guess I'll just have to make sure I never miss a show."

Spock hummed as he returned to his own breakfast. "I believe I shall have to miss every show, for fear that you would volunteer me for a sketch."

"Well." Bones wiped his mouth on a napkin, blue eyes twinkling. "Even so, Mr. Spock. I'll see you at lunch."

Spock bid him a pleasant morning shift, and-- with a brush of their fingertips-- Bones was gone.

"You didn't really promise Janice that I'd be doing improv comedy, did you?" Jim asked, weakly. "I'll forgive you for the implication if you simply admit--"

"No, Captain, I did not." But the way he said it...

Jim closed his eyes. "Spock. Did Dr. McCoy promise it?"

"Yes, Captain, he did."

"I know you love him, Spock, but I'd like your permission to ship him back to Earth--"

"Negative."

"He'll be happy there," Jim promised. "I'll set him up on a nice farmstead in Georgia--"

"I don't believe that the life of a farmer would especially agree with me."

"I'm not planning on sending you."

Spock raised an eyebrow, and Jim sighed, relenting. "I suppose you would follow him, wouldn't you?"

"Of course, Captain."

"Of course," Jim agreed, with a ghost of a smile breaking through his glum mood. It was nice, seeing his two best friends in love--

Even when they ganged up on him.

[boldlyvoid]

Amoreena | chapter thirteen

Chapter Thirteen

main summary: Heaven is a real place and it's located exactly 14.6 miles away from the FBI, Quantico Headquarters. Off behind a small park, under a fantastical willow tree surrounded by wildflowers, in every colour young minds can imagine.

Don't forget, heaven also comes with angels.

Chapter Warnings: fluff like unbelievably fluffy!

word count: 6.1

here's the playlist for the fic, the last song in the playlist if looped will lead right into Amoreena at the beginning and it works pretty well timing-wise if you like to listen while you read !!

from the beginning <3

All their bags were packed by Friday morning, Y/N and Amoreena waking up extra early with excitement for the weekend ahead of them, and they didn’t even know what was going to happen yet.

Y/N made sure everything was packed and ready for a 3rd time on Saturday morning, right before they left on the trip; making sure they had sunscreen and aloe vera, all her medicine and ginger ale by the pack for her random bouts of morning sickness that lasted all, day, long... And their dresses and his suit hanging behind the driver's seat, beside Amoreena, they all piled into Y/N’s car and took off down the road on their adventure.

Amoreena was awake for the first half of the 9-hour trip, singing like crazy as they drove through Washington, Baltimore, Philadelphia and New York, it was so amazing she couldn’t stop cheering the whole time. It was more than she’s ever seen before, even though they lived so close to New York, she’s never been through it before.

Once they arrived in Rhode Island, Spencer pulled over at the closest gas station to make sure the girls were all prepared and ready for the big surprise he had for them. They filled the car, used the restroom and bought some lemonade before getting back into the car, he turned in the driver's seat to see Amoreena and Y/N better, looking at their wide eyes memorizing the calmness in their faces before he told them.

He didn’t want them to freak out too much, he was worried about Y/N’s blood pressure and how loud she might scream and any stress that a situation like this could put on her body. He’s seen how people react to Taylor Swift, he just didn’t know how they would.

“Now, I'm only telling you so you don't freak out," he repeated the same worry she had when she broke the news of the baby, "I didn’t have to rent a place on the water because my friend lives up here, so we’re going to stay in her guest house,” he explained it simply.

“Rossi's wife?” Y/N asked, confused about who it could be and if she knew this woman yet.

“No, actually I think you might know her, her name is Taylor?”

“No,” she shakes her head furiously, “no, nope, there's no way you did this, Spencer Walter Reid I am not kidding I’m going to pass away if I see her.” She's holding both her hands in fists as she tries to stay calm, closing her eyes quickly before letting out a deep sigh.

“Taylor who?” Amoreena yells, undoing her seatbelt and standing between their seats, she almost jumps into his lap as she leans over and grabs a fistful of his shirt, “Taylor WHO?”

“Go get in your seat and I’ll show you,” he teases, watching her follow orders and get back in the seat as quickly as possible, shouting at him to drive the second he hears the seatbelt click again.

Y/N is completely speechless for the next 20 minutes of the drive, eyes wide and a hand on her stomach as she stares out the front window. She’s like a statue, not able to hear anything Amoreena is saying but that doesn't stop her from going on and on with her stories.

“Mom!” She’s finally able to break her out of the haze, “pass me your phone!”

“Yeah,” she doesn’t even question it, handing her the phone back to the antsy 7-year-old so she could continue her internal panic.

They see her house on the hill as they approach, “holy shit,” Y/N whispers as Amoreena turns on the last great American dynasty, knowing exactly where they were going.

Taylor asked for his licence plate number and car model when they were emailing, letting her gate guy know to let Spencer right in so he could keep it a secret. But they knew the house, there was no point in not telling them. Y/N looked a little relieved that he gave her the time to freak out alone and not as soon as they crested the hill.

Her driveway felt never-ending as they got closer and closer, Amoreena was still in disbelief as she squealed in the back seat, hands flailing as she tried to calm the excitement inside her body with her favourite stim.

Then Taylor walked out into the front yard and Y/N was a mess. Crying as she waved her hand in front of her face, not wanting to be a mess in front of Taylor fucking Swift, “I told you nothing crazy! How did you do this?”

“Yes, but I said 'define crazy’ and you didn’t,” he reminds her with a cheeky smile.

She shoves him, “I didn’t think you could do this?!”

Once they’re parked the door automatically unlocked, and as much as spencer hated that non-safety feature, he's glad Amoreena can get out quickly before she's screaming bloody murder. Amoreena is out the door and in Taylor’s arms faster than they’ve ever seen her move, she should be a track star. It almost knocks Taylor to the ground as she takes her in, holding the sweet little girl against her chest with the biggest smile on her face. Amoreena snuggles right into her, with a hand on her cheek and her other arm wrapped behind her neck. She couldn't be any closer to her, it was like she was her favourite relative who she hasn't seen in a while.

Amoreena is talking her ear off already by the time Spencer’s helping Y/N out of the car and walking her to Taylor, she’s holding his hand like she’s going to pass out or something, “and this is my mom Y/N and my dad Spencer but somehow you know him already,” Amoreena introduces her.

“Hi, Y/N, it's a pleasure to meet you, Spencer's told me a lot about you.” Taylor’s sweet voice saying her name alone makes her stutter out a bunch of nonsense, not to mention the fact Spencer's been talking to Taylor fucking Swift about her.

Amoreena moves out of the way for Taylor to wrap her up in a hug, and Y/N cries harder than he’s ever seen on her shoulder, “thank you,” is all she can say, it’s frightening to Amoreena at first to see her mom cry like that but she knows her mom just loves Taylor like family.

What she doesn’t know is just how much Taylor saved her life. If she didn’t have someone to listen to, someone to take the pain and replace it with hope, she wouldn’t be here and by default neither would Amoreena. Spencer owed everything to Taylor swift at this point, she was a blessing in his life that he took for granted. Not realizing until that moment just how much she meant to him as well now.

“Sorry,” Y/N finally says as she pulls off her, “I’m pregnant, I can’t help it.”

Taylor’s hands fly right to her stomach, “holy crap, you never told me that she’s pregnant in your emails, oh my god!” She’s genuinely so happy for them, “how far along are you?”

“6 weeks on Sunday,” she smiles, feeling like herself again even though it’s incredibly strange to be telling Taylor before her parents even knew. “No one really knows, it’s all very new but when you know, you know… y’know?”

For a woman with an English language degree, she sure knew how to make a sentence, all of them laughing at the words she chose, but they understood.

“We should have used paper rings!” Amoreena yells, holding her hand over her eyes in disbelief as she shares her head with a sigh, she couldn’t believe she forgot that song existed.

It made Taylor laugh, scooping the little one up in her arms and starting the walk inside.

“Well come on in, I’ve got a big lunch spread ready for us and then we can go to the beach for the ceremony whenever you want this weekend, does that sound good?” Taylor is beyond excited to make new friends, much like Amoreena, they got along famously.

“Where are the cats? Do they live here or in LA or Nashville?” Amoreena changed the topic in the form of a yes and proving just how much she knew about Taylor.

“They’re here, Olivia and Benjamin will probably find us soon, Meredith isn’t very open to new friends now that she’s an old lady,” Taylor explained as she set Amoreena down in the entryway, bending down to be at her level and pointing off into the living room, “oh, see, there one is!”

Amoreena saw one of them laying on the floor under a sunny spot, running to it and petting it gently, “hi Benjamin, I loved you in the ME video,” she whispers as she pets him, making Taylor swoon.

“She’s amazing,” Taylor swooned, “I can’t wait to have one.”

“You should!” Y/N agreed, reaching to take Taylor's hand on impulse, and Taylor held it back with a smile, “oh that would be so wonderful, I can just imagine the beautiful stories you’ll create when you discover what it’s like to love someone how your mom loves you.”

Taylor’s smile was priceless, "that's the best way to think about it," she beamed at Y/N the way Spencer did, she had that effect on people. They followed her into the dining room, taking a seat near each other and digging into all the food Taylor made for them.

“Ah,” Amoreena said as she finally joined them, sitting on her knees on Taylors nice antique chairs. “Shark coochie,” she whispers the words to herself, not able to stop her mind from repeating it, but still not wanting Taylor to hear it in case it was inappropriate. She was incredibly well-mannered for someone who had a hard time reading social queues.

“It’s a hard word to say,” Taylor agreed, making her feel less awkward. Spencer may have told her about her autism in advance, wanting his little girl to be respected by everyone she met, for who she truly was, “my mom called it a coochie spread once, actually, she's going to be over tomorrow for father's day.”

"Yes! Oh, I love Andrea," Amoreena laughed at how cool this day was, smiling at Taylor the way she smiled at him that first morning at breakfast like she just found yet another person to love. “You’re so wonderful, Taylor.”

“Oh, thank you, you're pretty enchanting yourself,” she smiles, “I take it you’ve known about me for your whole life?”

“Yep,” she smiled, reaching for a chocolate-covered strawberry and taking a huge bite, covering her mouth before she continued, “I was born a month after Red came out, November thirteenth, it really is a lucky number now, mom says so at least.”

“It is!” Taylor agreed with a smile, “I have some markers, do you want to wear matching 13’s today?”

“Mom, can I colour on my hand?” She turns so fast Spencer thinks she’ll get whiplash.

“Yeah, go for it!” She agrees, spreading cream cheese on a croissant and layering tomatoes on top, definitely pregnant.

So Taylor gets a marker and both their left hands now have matching numbers. Amoreena asks to take a million photos, eventually just taking Y/N’s phone from her, permanently, to take photos of all her favourite things around the house.

She runs off with the cats at a certain point, giving Y/N a chance to thank Taylor without tiny ears listening in. “Can I get really emotional and tell you how much you mean to me or is that too weird for our first chat?”

“Not weird at all, knowing you’ve used my music to raise that beautiful child makes me love you just as much, I’d love to hear why you picked me, of all musicians, to show her how to love,” Taylor replies, as regal and kindly as humanly possible.

“My first fiancé, Stephen, he was actually like an angel and our first kiss was quite literally in the rain, but he passed away in 2010,” she explained it with a smile so Taylor knew it wasn’t a touchy subject anymore, “I bonded with Fearless in a way I can’t even describe to you, it’s my life, he was my superstar, and white horse, I mean come on, I can’t tell you how many times I cried to that after he died but it helped me not feel alone. I wouldn’t be who I am without Fearless, and then Speak Now was there for me when I needed a good cry, Last Kiss really broke me but it wasn’t until Lover came out that I realized I could find someone again, and it’s always just like you released things as I needed them like you were helping me through all the bad things,” she’s never even told Spencer all this, it was special to him that he got to give her this moment.

“When you re-released it with the vault songs, I met Spencer literally a month later. I cried my eyes out to you all over me, but That’s When makes me think of Spencer and now the whole album has a new memory in my heart that’s better. It's just like why you re-released it, to replace the bad things that happened that took all the happiness out of something you cared so much about." Y/N took a second to breathe, shaky as she got to the end of her rant that she seemed to have prepared in the 20 minutes before she had to talk to her.

"I love you, honestly. You’re my best friend and you didn’t even know me then, but you’ve held my hand through it all, so thank you,” she cried a little, holding her belly with one hand as she tried to hold the tears in.

Taylor was out of her chair and in Y/N’s arms within seconds, crying into her arms as she held her. She rubbed Y/N’s back as she cried too, “I’m so sorry that happened, but I’m glad I could be there.”

“Do you want to be this baby's godmother?” She asks on impulse without even asking Spencer if he’s okay with it, he was, it made him laugh.

“Eleonora Taylor Reid,” Spencer says from across the table, making them both turn to him with wide eyes.

“Yes,” Y/N agrees fast, “that's the name if it’s a girl, if it’s a boy he can be Taylor as well?”

“Holy shit,” Taylor smiled wide, “yes, I want to come to visit the farm and buy them baby gifts and throw you a baby shower! I inadvertently helped make them so it’s only fair.”

“Hopefully she gets your voice too, Y/N,” Spencer adds and Y/N shoots him a panicked glance, “it’s the Taylor legacy to be a good singer.”

“You can sing?” The question Y/N feared coming past Taylor's lovely vocal cords, almost on queue.

Y/N can't help but glare at spencer, he had too many tricks up his sleeve and she was at her limit.

“Yes,” Y/N finally answers, “I was going to go to theatre school, but I switched to become a Librarian, I’m not good with crowds or competition and that's basically what the industry depends on. I like the quiet, telling stories on paper is just as easy as singing it to a crowd.”

“That's fair,” Taylor agreed, “would you and Amoreena like to sing some song with me? I have my guitar or the piano? I’m not used to having new friends over without sharing at least 1 song with them. I’m sure you’ve seen my listening parties?” She was really trying to convince her to sing, Spencer knew why and what she had planned.

Amoreena came running in then, “I can play piano too, can we do the long live new year's day from the tour movie?” She rests her hands on Taylor's arm, looking up at her with the biggest puppy dog eyes.

“Of course, come on,” she says taking Amoreena’s hand and rushing into the piano room. “Here, we’ll record it too,” she offered, setting her phone up on the music stand to capture the moment forever.

They sat side by side on the bench, Amoreena showing her how she could play the opening perfectly and surprising Spencer. He knew they had a piano at home, he’s just never seen her play it before.

“She has perfect pitch,” Y/N bragged, “she can play a song after hearing it once.”

“Really?” Spencer had no idea, unbelievably proud of her as he listened to her play.

She’s quietly playing the intro to Long Live as Taylor watches, joining in with the harmony of New Year's Day, “this one reminds me of my mom and dad.”

“Does it?” Taylor coo’s, smiling at her softly as Y/N tries not to cry beside Spencer.

“They’re the knight and the princess of our kingdom,” she explained before the two of them started singing the words together, like they always have, only Taylor was beside her and not just on the TV.

“I said remember this moment, in the back of my mind, the time we stood with our shaking hands, the crowds in the stands went wild,” Amoreena’s tiny voice lead-in, fearlessly as she played away.

“We were the Kings and the Queens, and they read off our names, the night you danced like you knew our lives would never be the same... You held your head like a hero, on a history book page... It was the end of a decade, but the start of an age,” Spencer couldn’t help but cry as she sang with Taylor.

This was on the concert movie, he showed her after school, this song came on and she was silent, listening to the words as she stared at him and then back at the TV. Her mind was connecting little dots, making a story about her mom and dad being the king and the queen, it all made sense now.

“Long live the walls we crashed through, how the kingdom lights shined just for me and you, I was screaming long live, all the magic we made and bring on all the pretenders, I’m not afraid,

Long live all the mountains we moved, I had the time of my life, fighting dragons with you, I was screaming long live, that look on your face, and bring on all the pretenders, one day, we will be remembered,”

Their fingers moved in sync on the keys as they harmonized almost perfectly, she wasn’t kidding about Amoreena having perfect pitch. She knew all the words and sang them almost louder than Taylor.

“And hold on to spinning around, confetti, falls to the ground. May these memories break our fall…”

The piano changes, the cords softer as they move into a new song, smiling at her mom and dad like she knew something. She had no idea what happened the night of the fake wedding, just that they had a party without her.

“And hold on… To spinning around… Confetti… Falls to the ground…”

Spencer wraps his arms around Y/N then, resting his chin on her shoulder as they sway to the tune, she’s barely whispering the words beside him as she smiles as her baby.

“There's glitter on the floor after the party, girls carrying their shoes down in the lobby, candle wax and Polaroids on the hardwood floor, you and me from the night before, but… Don’t read the last page, but I stay when you're lost, and I'm scared and you're turning away. I want, your midnights, I'll be cleaning up bottles with you on New Year's Day,”

Y/N’s hands rest on top of Spencer’s, she squeezes them three times, right before the next lyric.

“You squeeze my hand three times in the back of the taxi, I can tell that it's gonna be a long road. I’ll be there if you're the toast of the town, babe, or if you strike out and you're crawling home,

Don't read the last page, but I stay, when it’s hard or it’s wrong or we’re making mistakes. I want, your midnights, but I'll be cleaning up bottles with you on New Year's Day,”

“Hold on, to the memories, they will hold on to you,” the two of them chanting along with Taylor in beautiful harmony, Spencer felt like he was in heaven among the angels, but for real this time. “And I will hold on to you…”

The piano is so soft, it’s just Amoreena’s fingers hitting them as Taylor goes silent, letting her take the lead with a soft smile, “Please don't ever become a stranger whose laugh, I, could recognize anywhere. Please don't ever become a stranger whose laugh, I, could recognize anywhere.”

They stop for just a moment for Amoreena to smile up at Taylor, just like the break in the concert, “I really do love you,” she reminds them all before playing again.

“We love you, too, sweet girl,” Taylor replies for them using the same nickname for her because it was the truth. She was the sweetest girl, that Amoreena.

“There's glitter on the floor after the party, girls carrying their shoes down in the lobby, candle wax and Polaroids on the hardwood floor. You and me forevermore, don't read the last page, but I stay when it’s hard or it’s wrong or we’re making mistakes and I want, your midnights, but I'll be cleaning up bottles with you on New Year's Day,”

“Hold on to the memories, they will hold on to you,” the girls all chant together, swaying back and forth to the rhythm before taking different parts in the song like they’ve planned it before.

“And Long live,” Taylor takes the one song, while Amoreena takes the other.

Please don't ever become a stranger…

The walls we crashed through..

Whose laugh I could recognize anywhere…

I had the time of my life

Please don't ever become a stranger…

With you…

Whose laugh I could recognize anywhere…"

Amoreena plays the rest, smiling wide at the best day of her life. Meaning every single word she’s saying. “And Long live, the walls we crashed through. I had the time of my life… With you…” Amoreena ends with a few extra notes, making Taylor smile as she held her in a side hug.

She turns back to the piano then, starting to play Amoreena by Elton John. “No way..” Y/N gasps, before getting ready to sing along with all the confidence in the world, alongside Taylor Swift of all people.

“It’s just that; Lately, I've been thinking, how much I miss my lady, Amoreena's in the hayfield, brightening the daybreak,” Taylor changes some of the words, much to Y/N surprise.

“Livin’ like a lusty flower, runnin’ through the grass for hours, rollin’ through the hay, oooh, like a puppy child! And when it rains, the rain falls down… washing out the cattle town… and she's far away somewhere… in her eiderdown… And she dreams of crystal streams, of days gone by when we would lean… Laughing, fit to burst, upon each other…”

Y/N turns to Spencer then, singing to him softly as she wraps her arms around him and sways her hips to the song, pressing against him like they were in the movie Dirty Dancing, something she’s always wanted to do, clearly, with the smile on her face as she sings.

“I can see you sittin’, eatin’, apples in the evenin’. Fruit juice, flowing slowly, slowly, slowly down the bronze of your body. Livin’, like a lusty flower, runnin’ through the grass for hours, rollin’ through the hay, oooh, like a puppy child.”

Amoreena’s voice was the loudest in the chorus, this was her song after all. She belted it out like it was made for her.

“And when it rains, the rain falls down! Washing out the cattle town! And she's far away somewhere… in her eiderdown! And she dreams of crystal streams, of days gone by! When we would lean, laughing, fit to burst upon each other…”

Spencer knew the words as well, who didn’t? It was Elton John's best song. He hugged Y/N, snuggling into the crook of her neck as they twirled in Taylor Swift's living room, swaying with her, forgetting they weren’t alone for a moment.

“Oh, if only I could nestle, in the cradle of your cabin. My arm's around your shoulder, oh… The window wide and open, while the swallow and the sycamore, whoa! Are playing in the valley. Oh, I miss you, Amoreena, like the king bee misses honey!”

“And when it rains, the rain falls down! Washing out the cattle town! and she's far away somewhere… in her eiderdown! And she dreams of crystal streams, of days gone by when we would lean! Laughing, fit to burst upon each other, oooh!”

Amoreena and Taylor playing the iconic piano solo together, Y/N can’t help but move in closer to watch over her little girls shoulders.

“Lately, I've been thinking… How much I miss my lady… Amoreena's in a cornfield, brightening the daybreak. Livin’, like a lusty flower! Runnin; through the grass for hours! Rollin’ through the hay, woah! Like a puppy, like a puppy, child…” Y/N’s voice loud enough to be on the recording Taylor was making as the song ended.

Taylor stopped it then, just as Y/N swore, “holy shit, that was the coolest thing that’s ever happened in my whole life.”

“Mom,” Amoreena looked at her like she broke the law or something, “you don’t swear in front of her…” she mumbled.

Taylor laughed, wrapping her up in another hug, “have you heard champagne problems? It’s okay for big kids to swear here,” she teased her.

They laughed like they were family like they’ve been there before and were always meant to return. Something just clicked with them, and without a doubt, they’d be returning. Taylor Swift of all people slipped right into their little life, filling the shoes of big sister, best friend and coolest aunt in the world all in one day.

It was the most perfect afternoon.

—

Just before the sunset, they all changed into their wedding attire. Meeting out on the beach for their small, extremely intimate wedding ceremony with miss Taylor Swift. Getting it out of the way so they could have the whole weekend for whatever Taylor had planned for them. She said she had a few surprises up her sleeve still.

They filled out all the paperwork required on Taylor's kitchen table beforehand, she had all the right documents from when she registered to ordain online. All they had to do was submit it at town hall and they’d be legally married.

But it didn’t matter to them, this was enough.

Taylor and Amoreena stood side by side at a homemade arch on the beachfront that Taylor owned, waiting patiently for Spencer and Y/N to walk down the fake aisle, hand in hand. They couldn’t stop smiling as they saw Amoreena at the end, a big smile on her face as she bounced with excitement.

They reached the end, turning to each other, Amoreena took Y/N’s bouquet, it was her duty as maid of honour and best man.

“Spencer and I have been emailing for 2 weeks about today, he’s been filling me in little by little about you both as he got to know you, I’ve really gotten to see his love for you in the form of letters,” Taylor described with a large smile on her face.

Y/N looks at him with an open mouth, shocked as she shakes her head in disbelief at him. “You’re kidding, is she who emailed you when we had lunch 2 weeks ago?”

Spencer nodded with another cheeky smile, “she emailed me as you told me not to plan anything too crazy.”

Y/N just laughed at the insanity, “sorry Taylor, please continue.”

“It’s okay,” she laughed along, “it’s actually kind of interesting how Amoreena picked long live and New Year’s Day to sing because from what I’ve learned about you both, the intermission poem from that tour really was written for you, somehow. Almost like by design or some violent, exquisite happenstance…”

Y/n’s eyed do that thing they always do when she’s remembering something she’s heard before, finding the exact filing cabinet in her mind and opening it. She finds the words.

“When she fell, she fell apart. Cracked her bones on the pavement she once decorated as a child with sidewalk chalk,” she starts the poem with a small nod, letting Taylor continue the monologue in the form of vows.

“When’s she crashed, her clothes disintegrated. And blew away with the winds that took all of her fair-weather friends, family and lovers. When she looked around her skin was spattered with ink. Forming the words of a thousand voices, echoes she heard even in her sleep: whatever you say, it is not right. Whatever you do, it is not enough. Your kindness is fake. Your pain is manipulative.”

Y/N hasn’t watched the concert recently, unlike Spencer. She didn’t realize how much it sounded like them. Spencer, however, spotted the coincidences the second he heard it that night with Amoreena. Telling Taylor, explaining in detail how Maeve and Stephen were their personal last kiss storylines, but they’ve found a lover in each other. Cheesy, but it was the best way he could describe it.

“When she lay there on the ground she dreamed of time machines and revenge. And a love that was really something. Not just the idea of something.”

She turned her attention to Spencer, replacing the pronouns to fit him for the next part, Y/N looked at him already knowing why, smiling as she made the connection in her mind.

“When he finally rose, he rose slowly. Avoiding old haunts and sidestepping shiny pennies. Wary of phone calls and promises, charmers, dandies and get-love-quick-schemes.

When he stood, he stood with a desolate knowingness, waded out into the dark wild oceans up to his neck. Bathed in his brokenness. Said a prayer of gratitude, for each chink in the armour he never knew he needed.

Standing broad-shouldered next to him, was a love that was really something. Not just the idea of something.

When they turned to go home, they heard echoes of new words: may your heart remain breakable but never by the same hand twice. And even louder: without your past, you could never have arrived so wondrously and brutally, by design or some violent, exquisite happenstance… here.”

“What she said,” Y/N says with a quick giggle, leaning in as she laughs, taking him down in a giggle fit with her.

Amoreena’s lightly tugging on Taylor’s dress then, “you have to say it, please you can’t not say it, I had this planned out before I even knew you’d beee here…” she whispers like Taylor has any clue what she’s talking about.

Y/N just starts to shake her head with a smile, “I think she means the speak now bridge,” she reminds her.

“Ahh,” she smiles, picking Amoreena up to be at eye level with them all, she sings. “I hear the preacher say speak now or forever hold, your, pee-E-eeace,” she sings it exactly like it is on the album, almost as if she’s been practicing to release it again…

“There’s the silence there’s my last chance, I stand up with shaking hands all eyes, on me,” Amoreena lightly signs right back. “Horrified looks from everyone in the room but I’m only looking at you!”

Spencer laughs then too, smiling at his little girl living out the fantasy of a lifetime, seeing her mom dressed like a princess and marrying the broken knight with rusty armour, while Taylor Swift of all people holds her. Nothing about the life they had together felt real, but he wouldn’t change it for the world.

“I think it’s only fair if I get a say in who marries my mom because I’ve known her the longest,” she adds, “and I’m not the kind of girl who should be rudely barging in on this white veil occasion, but you happen to be the best dad in the whole world, so I think it’s cool that you love my mom.”

Y/N lets out a choked sob, she clearly had no idea that Amoreena was planning to say all that, but of course, she was. She knew all about every single Disney princess wedding, every fairytale ending and happily ever after, Taylor has helped her learn about love and vows and true feelings that cannot be stopped.

She knew what to say and she meant every word.

Spencer reaches out to take Amoreena from Taylor, holding her in his arms instead as Y/N snuggled in close to them, both his girls in his arms.

“I think it’s only fair I give some vows to you as well, I’m committing my whole life to this family, you should know how much that means I love you, too, Amoreena.” She snuggles in closer to his neck as she holds him back, Y/N’s head resting on his other shoulder.

“Till the day I die, I am going to be here for you: with unconditional love, with the best stories and the best morning cuddles. I don’t care if you pull me out of bed at 5 in the morning to feed the goats, or the chickens or just because you think the sun looks pretty and want me to see it too. I love you Amoreena, you’ve completed my life."

"Do you remember that day you asked me to be your dad?” his voice is so soft as he bumps her cheek with his nose.

She wipes her tears as she pulls away from his shoulder, overly emotional at the events of the day and extremely tired from the excitement she let out earlier. She nods softly, “I meant it.”

“I know honey,” he can’t help but start to cry a little as well, dropping his manly facade and being real with her. She deserved to see exactly what she meant to him, “I watched you pouring glitter glue all over that table, making the biggest mess ever, but it made me think… I had a hole in my heart for so many years, there was a part of me missing for so, so, so long, and then I found a little Eden by beautiful little kingdom, and the fairest lady in all the land took me in, and she patched up my broken heart with glitter glue.”

Amoreena tried to smile the tears away, sniffling as she tried to nod, “that's how I felt when you told me I could pick you to be my dad.”

Y/N was a sobbing mess, having to crouch down to her knees as she let it all out, steadying herself by holding onto Spencer’s leg like a child would at that height, “is she okay?” Amoreena worried.

“Your mom loves us so much, and the baby does too, so it’s making her a bit more emotional than normal,” he explains, wishing he could scoop Y/N up and hold her as well.

She wipes the tears from her face as she calms herself down and stands back up with help from Taylor, “thank you,” she manages to whisper to her with a smile.

She’s also been crying, watching the most beautiful thing she’s ever seen. A family built on true love coming together, using her songs to form a bond that she’d never understand.

And she didn’t want to, some stories were best kept in families, to be sent down the line, generation after generation, to fall into the lap of someone like her one day and create a whole world with it.

“With the power vested in me, I now pronounce you husband, wife and daughter, the royal Reid family,” Taylor’s voice is soft as she plays along with Amoreena’s fantasy land, hushed to match the moment as Spencer leaned in to kiss Y/N.

Amoreena doesn’t cry out in disgust this time, instead, resting her head on her dad's shoulder as she watched them peck each other's lips gently. Watching a fairytale happy ending unfold in front of her very eyes, blessed to be the result of this happy union.

...

A/N: my anon is on now if anyone wants to come talk about the fic with me!! i love to share little hc's and things with you over here (also this was the original planned ending I wasn't going to continue past here but I'm probably going to write this for the next 10 years its too fun not to)

tag list: @shemarmooresfedora @spencers-dria @spookyspence @reidsfish @manuosorioh @mochionly @samuel-de-champagne-problems @jswessie187

[retvenkos]

ohmygod i just saw the new west side story and let me just fangirl for a second without being critical because !!!!!!!! i have thoughts: (spoilers under the cut but like,,,,, yeah. you knew that.)

SO MANY THINGS TO LOVE OMG I LITERALLY JUST GOT OUT OF THE THEATRE TEN MINUTES AGO LET ME SEE IF I CAN REMEMBER THEM ALL.

MIKE. FAIST. giving the people what they want sIR!!!!!!!!!!!!! he did such a good job and made riff sO. compelling. and i love that for him. man really said he’s gonna give it his aLL. and he dID. god bless you mike faist,,,,,, i understand now why i suddenly saw an uptick in riff fics in the wss tag, asdfghjkjhgfds. he dID THAT. love you sir!!!!!!!!!!!

and not to be a Ben Cook Stan on main but ben cook doing officer krupke???? making me enjoy the song that was generally ~meh~?????? GOOD FOR HIM. it’s what he dESERVES.

and that honestly brings me to my next point but!!!!!!!!!!! they let the jets be kids!!!!!!!!!!!! there were so many scenes that made them kids and it literally makes the entire story that much more of a gut punch because they’re just children! it doesn’t excuse it no sir but it makes it tragic and just,,,,,, amazing. that scene where they were playing with the gun?? or the whole officer krupke scene? or even the playfulness of i feel pretty or maria putting on lipstick only after bernardo has left and can’t chastise her for it????? asdfghjhgfdfghjhgfd. beautiful story telling right there. 

(i kinda still wish we got to see more of the sharks in general, and more of the sharks just being kids, but it’s fine it’s fine.)

BUT SPEAKING OF THE SHARKS LET ME JUST TALK ABOUT THE SONG AMERICA REAL QUICK BECAUSE!!!!!!!!!! they’re dancing through the streets!!!!!!!!!! not just on that rooftop!!!!!!!!! they’re not confined to one small space but are able to claim the streets for themselves!!!!!! idk, i just,,,,, loved that we got to see them out. there. not confined to hiding in the shadows or the rooftops or the dark. i kinda still wish we had a rooftop scene, simply because i like the aesthetic of a rooftop, but DANCING THROUGH THE STREETS. it’s what they deserve.

and while we’re on the topic of the dancing!!!!!!!! can i just say i love that they did long takes???? that they let them dance and show off their skills????? so glad we had some good choreo that could be showed off properly. i aDORE IT.

and aNITA!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ARIANA DEBOSE WAS GIVING ME EVERYTHING AND I ADORE HER FOR IT!!!!!!!!!!!! the most engaging character, quote me on that, she stole eVERY scene and it’s what she deserves. asdfghjhgfdsdfghjhgfd her humor!!!!! her dancing!!!!!! her gRACE!!!!!! her anger and her sadness and her disgust overflowing at the end!!!!!!!!! ariana debose did that and i don’t think this movie would have been as good as it was without her. give ariana debose all my money and all my love. she probably doesn’t need it but it belongs to her regardless.

and how could i forget bernardo????? i love his side story of being a boxer (kinda wish he got to beat up on tony a bit more since his fighting prowess was really built up to but eh.) and i love his relationship with anita. give me more of tHEM, thank you. david alvarez was honestly giving me so much, making my love for bernardo so much more valid. he had so much depth and was going oFF in so many scenes. he was giving the camera his everything.

also!!!!!! the choice of having maria and tony ~go behind the bleachers~ for their first meeting was doing so much for bernardo’s righteous anger. wonderful choice that really Heightened The Stakes. love that sm.

also,,,, while we’re here, i might as well mention ansel elgort. he did good! i don’t like him, personally, but he gave a very solid performance. i like the backstory they gave for tony. it really added to his complexity as a character (and moved it away from a romeo & juliet story line, but honestly that’s a concept for a different day) and gave his motivations reasoning. i have Many Thoughts on how they changed up the song Cool just because it’s one of my favorite numbers, but what they did with it was so eye catching! so fun! so creative! so amazing! thank you for that rendition of cool, because riff got another song and the whole Gun plot was really well done imo. it shows up already smoking and very clearly has Relevancy and thematic meaning and then the way they fight over it in cool? A Concept™ let me tell you. a fully certified, ~bon appetit~ meal. i was fed.

(but also, like,,,, when i listened to the soundtrack a few months earlier, i couldn’t help but feel like ansel elgort, in his solo songs - like maria and something’s coming - was just a little behind tempo. or maybe he just didn’t have the Up And At ‘Em i wanted. watching the show, it’s not so noticeable, and the dancing and choreo during something’s coming really helped, but,,,,,,, just,,,, jump the gun a little, tony (no pun intended). have some pizazz. some life. think that something is coming.)

and okay!!!!! i have held my silence for far too long!!!! rachel zegler was hERE. and she did so much?????? girl gave maria so much agency, and if you weren’t a strong maria fan now, i think you will be because while, yes, they girlbossed maria just a little bit, it makes sense, it feels in character, it was really just a magnification of opinions the other maria already had, and honestly,,,,, zegler pulls it off so well it doesn’t even feel like that’s what they did. idk it just felt like they amplified her character. they didn’t ~Modernize~ her because it was still maria, with just a tad bit more spine. idk idk. maybe i’m just in love with rachel zegler’s performance, who knows? the only time you could argue they took it too far was when she kisses tony behind the bleachers but also???? that tracks???? she was sO. READY. to dance with boys and wear red and go to the dance and experience things! it makes sense imo.

(one critique i have, though, is that her big moment after tony dies and she takes the gun from chino felt a little........ tame? maybe it’s just because i was a Changed Woman when i watched natalie wood’s maria (i know i know but sTILL) go feral. after tony’s death, and i wanted something closer to that. i wanted her to scream at chino and the alley and everyone else!!!!!! i wanted the death of tony to be when she contextualizes the death of bernardo and is filled with hate and gutted of everything else!!!!! because when bernardo died, she just shifted all of her love and hope onto tony and couldn’t lose him and was willing to give it aLL up, but then she loses tony and it’s like she’s lost everything all over again!!!!! because she has!!!!!! and she screams at everyone around ‘you murderer’ because they aLL murdered bernardo and tony and riff and she takes the gun and it’s shaking in her grasp, and she points it at eVERYONE. not just chino and then she says ‘how many can i kill and still have one left for me?????’ and i just!!!!!!! so many eMOTIONS happen in that scene and like,,,,,, i wanted more of them from this version. it felt like the height of the conflict was riff and bernardo and anita, and maria and tony were sidelined in the final 10 minutes of the film. idk idk. i also just wanted her to hold onto him just a little longer. make it feel like it was a big a deal as it was.)

AND WAIT THE BLOCKING FOR THE TONIGHT SCENE!!!!!!!!! how they’re literally separated through so much of it!!!!!!!! how it gave me the ~romeo climbing to reach juliet~ vibes!!!!!! how maria still keeps distance between them with the ladder once he makes it onto the balcony, only to then reach him!!!!!!!!!!!

I also loved how the singing was a little like,,,, in universe? like, sometimes with movie musicals they break into song and no one like,,, remarks on it? it’s loudness? it’s sometimes over the top nature? and it’s fine in a stage production because ~suspension of disbelief~ and whatnot but in film it can sometimes feel.... idk, clunky? but they remark on it sometimes and it just made it feel more a part of the story telling. idk idk.

and the one hand/one heart was actually so good??? how they included the conflicted dialogue in the middle??? the way it was in both english and spanish??? okay, then. just make me love their love i guess.

i liked how they addressed anybody’s a bit more. anybody’s was definitely a character will potential, and this version knew it. i like how anybody’s and tony had a bit more of a friendship in this one - with the brief scene at the dance, and anybody’s claiming tony believes in his ability to be a jet - i wish a little bit, though, that the movie capitalized on that when anybody’s goes to take tony to hide somewhere. but also like,,,,, the movie was getting a bit too long. i know i know. there was already a lot there, i get it.

i loved how somewhere wasn’t sung by tony and maria (i know, shocker!) but it comes at such a tricky time in the narrative, i’m glad that it was more a ~theme~ than a conversation? i also like how they showed that a somewhere could happen. not without its faults, and not without its hardships -  like the idealistic tony and maria hoped - but it did in fact, exist. i also think it leaves maria’s acceptance of tony a little more ambiguous, which is nice since a lot of people’s main problem with maria is sLeEpInG wItH tHe GuY wHo JuSt KiLlEd YoUr BrOtHeR. and like,,,, yeah. big issue. it’s not great. it still happens. it bothers me too, but also, like,,,, don’t use that as a crutch to dislike maria? it’s a fair argument, but i hate that it’s the only one i hear. give me a better reason to dislike maria!!!!! be creative with your criticism!!!! this way, how it all went down is a little ambiguous. we’re not sure how maria exactly feels, and that’s how it should be!

i love love lOVED the inclusion of rita moreno!!!!!!!!!!! she has aLWAYS given me everything and coming back?????? doing the movie?????? giving such deep moments with somewhere, the ‘maria is dead, tony’ scene, and the whole ‘i’ve watched you grow up and this is what you’ve become’ part?????? give her my everything. my heart and soul. rita moreno!!!!!!!!!!! what an absolute star.

oh!!!!!!!!!!! the moment where the somewhere theme started to play and it’s cut off by the train before tony and maria’s date!!!!!!!!!!!! obsessed.

maria wearing a blue dress at the end when she rushes toward tony!!!!!!!!! because tony (and the jets) have been washed in blue and bernardo (and the sharks) in reds and browns and she’s effectively chosen!!!!!! she goes from white, with a splash of red - really just for show more than anything else - to a full on blue ensemble! many thoughts. it reminds me of how, in the 2010 revival, maria sings in spanish almost exclusively, but in A Boy Like That/I Have A Love she switches to english halfway through the song because she’s chosen tony!!!!!! i love little things like that!!!!!! stating her position thematically!!!!!!!

also,,,,,,, hehe dresses go ~swish~ when they dance pretty.

the whole ‘you’re so tall’ bit when maria and tony met behind the bleachers was giving me eVERYTHING. wow, i actually loved them and adored that.

i’m sorry but everything about anita and bernardo made me go absolutely unhinged and!!!!! the flirting through the hanging fabric!!!! the kissing behind the fabric!!!! the whole ‘in english’ tease!!!!! they’re in love your honor, and it always makes me gasp, then, when maria says to anita “you were in love, or so you said” because how very dare you???? how dare you imply anita did not love him????? can you not see it???????? is it not right there before you, maria?????? stOP comparing you and tony to them pLEASE. and the way ariana debose breaks down at that line!!!!!! girl UNDERSTOOD THE ASSIGNMENT and i’m on all levels except physical sOBBING on the floor of this chilis.

did i mention that picking out newsies cast members was so much fun? my mom literally asked me “how many of them do you know?” and i had to laugh.

the cinematography was decadent. so!!!!!!! pretty!!!!!!! so!!!!!!!!! admirable!!!!!!!!!!!

everyone’s already mentioned it, but the impending doom of the entire neighborhood being torn down anyway was honestly a really interesting theme of the story, and i’m glad it got it’s screen time here. i mean, i remember in the 1961 version, you saw some parts of the neighborhood already bulldozed or marked for it, and the fact that it was brought up was really compelling! i think it honestly helped shed so much tragic light on riff’s character, specifically, because for him, the entire conflict is about turf only. whereas with the sharks it’s less so about that and more about,,,,, not being harrassed and stolen from and cheated and killed, so to see that all of the fighting would truthfully mean nothing at all - and to know that going in - really does something for riff that the 1961 version doesn’t. he’s so desperate here, and for what? he even remarks on it! he says he doesn’t know why! damn....... this movie really did that.

and cHINO????????? it’s actually kinda funny how little plot relevancy he’s had in the past, for being the one to shoot tony in the end (although, the argument could be made that there’s strength in tony’s death having very little rhyme or reason to it) but this version gave him something and !!!!!!! how did they know to choose the shy one in the funky glasses???? how did they know he’s always my favorite????? how did they come into my home, decide what would specifically make me engage with chino, and execute it so well???? i’m glad chino had something to give to the story, but i’m sad he had to be the shy one in the funky glasses. i’m sad he had to be my favorite tropes. why did they have to massacre my boy?

(also.... uhh...... side note, but were any side character’s names used frequently enough to be remembered? baby john was always given more relevancy than the others, so it’s fine i knew his name so soon, but i honest to god didn’t know who ice was until like,,,,, 5 minutes to finishing. and why are the sharks still not given as many names as the jets? i just...... i want to know who action is. who juano is. who indio is. even who a-rab is (pLEASE tell me they renamed him though. i thought maybe he was ben cook but did cook’s character even have a discernible name? i’m bad at remembering without subtitles.) or what about maria’s friends? consuelo? or what about rosalia? i know i’ve watched the 1961 movie and read the script more times than others so i probably learned these names from sheer exposure alone, but i need to know their names. maybe when it comes to disney+ i’ll finally know bc subtitles......)

and the costumes!!!!!!! the dresses!!!!!! the cut off shirt for riff!!!!!! and bernardo’s entire color scheme that was just,,,, *chef’s kiss*. i kinda miss the purple suit from the 1961 version, but his red tank top????? thank you, sir. 

that’s all for now, but when i think of more things later, i will add them.