#will probably be spending most of my day focusing on wrangling this into a full on story

[nixie-deangel]

For @tothepayne who asked for:

🥰 Kinktober - Virgin Bradley - x3

Well. He might have had the time to try but he’d put all his energy into trying for the academy again, only to find out he was too old now. Then it’d been boot camp and fighting tooth and nail to get selected for flight school and get his wings. And well. By the time he’d gotten them he’d already been an awkward 27 year old virgin and decided it was probably best to just… let the notion of finding someone. Of experiencing those things go and focus on his career. After all, he might not have had Mav to fuck him over, he still had Ice and his rank hanging over his head. So he’d just accepted it’d be something he wouldn’t have in his life. And while it was fine, it was… whatever he guessed. Usually he didn’t even think about it. Kept his mind focused on his deployment or on his training when he was working and when not, it was easy to follow his squadron mates and friends into thinking he was hooking up.

Make Nixie Write!

[walviemort]

Fairy Godfather, part 3

Summary: The fairies have asked a monumental favor of Killian: be the surrogate for their babies—all nine of them. He’s been pregnant before, but this? This is a whole other level. What has he gotten himself into? And just how big will he get?

A/N: Another update! Thank you to @sancocnutclub​ for her continued encouragement...which will be very apparent in part 4 ;)

rated T / 2.4k words / part 1 / part 2 / AO3

Though he had just passed the first trimester mark in this oversized pregnancy, Killian was pleased to find he was not lacking in the energy department. Granted, his first pregnancy had been similar—he’d had the most energy during the second trimester, despite the increasing size of his belly.

But his belly was a fraction of the size back then. Now, at 13 weeks, it was much closer to the size he’d been at 35 weeks with Hope. But he had yet to slow down—as evidenced by his and Emma’s morning activities; he was even on top.

There was no denying his present form was bulky, but he’d been too fatigued at this size with Hope to do much but sleep and eat. That was not a problem now, and both he and Emma were reaping the benefits. Reaching orgasm while she was caressing his bump? It was impossible to describe how amazing that felt.

However, he’d hardly finished when Hope began to cry out from her nursery. As much as he was still feeling good, moving did take a bit more effort than it had. This bump also weighed as much as his last one, and was only going to get heavier; at least it hadn’t dropped yet. But it meant that Emma was still quicker to her feet than he was, and sprang up to retrieve their 13 month old before she tried to climb out of her crib on her own.

Hope finally figured out walking a month or so ago—just in time for her first birthday—and he was well aware of the comical sight he’d made at her party, chasing after her with his protruding stomach. But at least he still could, even if he got winded more quickly than he’d like. 

Tink had been snickering at him during one such moment. “Hey,” he chastised and patted the bump. “Your kid is in here, so I’d watch the mocking when it comes to running after mine.”

“That’s fair,” she’d conceded. “Just let me know when you need help, though—I’ll gladly go after the little hellion.”

“I’ll hold you to it.”

They hadn’t needed her help yet, but it was only a matter of time—especially by the sound of tiny but insistent footsteps that were getting faster every day as they ran down the hallway. 

“Dada!” her little voice called out as she charged into the room and threw herself against his legs as he sat on the edge of the bed.

“How’s my little cygnet today?” he enthusiastically replied as he bent down to pick her up. He had to open his legs to make room for the bump, but it was still an achievable feat, and Hope giggled as she flew into the air and the curled in as he carefully tucked her into his side. 

After a brief cuddle, she squirmed for him to set her down on the mattress, and gave his bump a gentle pat. “Hi babies,” she said (or tried to; some of those sounds were still being worked on). She’d noticed the bump a few weeks ago, once it had really started popping out. They couldn’t tell if she actually understood what was going on—and were glad she was young enough to not have to explain it—but she was at least careful and affectionate. 

He just hoped that continued as she grew steadier on her feet—and he grew larger and less so. 

Hope tucked herself back into Killian’s side and Emma sat down on the other. “This is a pretty perfect morning,” she sighed as she laid her head in his bare shoulder. “Do I really have to go into work?”

“I’m of the same opinion—but wasn’t Tiger Lily coming for training today?” She was the fairy who’d offered to take over his deputy duties once he no longer could—and he had a hunch she'd be an acceptable long-term hire. 

“Yeah,” she complained. “Just wish it could wait another day.”

“Or,” he suggested, “we get through today and then we can spend tomorrow in a similar manner.”

“I like the way you think,” she replied, then pulled him in for a kiss. 

He set Hope down on the bed, where she proceeded to tackle the pillows, and went about the process of getting dressed. His sleep pants still fit, although they were reaching the point where they were almost too snug on his hips, which had definitely widened more than last time. 

Thankfully, his maternity jeans were as stretchy as ever, and he hadn’t yet exceeded their capacity; the elastic panel hugged his belly comfortably as he slipped them on. 

Emma had bought him a collection of soft, short-sleeved t-shirts a size larger than he typically wore, and one of those slipped on easily, but the bump still stood prominently under navy cotton. Hopefully, they made these in several larger sizes. 

They stopped at Granny’s before heading to their respective workplaces for the day, and Killian consumed a larger stack of pancakes than he’d like to admit; good thing Belle took his measurements yesterday. At least there was also a generous side of fresh fruit. 

When he and Hope arrived at the library, he was only semi-surprised to see Blue there; she seemed to be showing up once a month or so to check in, but today had another goal. 

“Would you be okay with getting an ultrasound?” she asked. 

That was shocking. “Sure,” he said, “but will it be okay for them?” he countered, rubbing his belly. Inside, they seemed to be fluttering nervously. 

“If it’s fine for a human baby, it should be for them. It’s just—I see all these thorough notes and comparisons, and I’m curious what that would reveal.”

“Whale says he has an opening,” Belle added, phone in hand. “Shall we?”

They did, and headed out en masse to make the short walk to the hospital. At least, it should have been short, but Hope insisted on walking on her own and Killian’s pace wasn’t as fast as it normally was. 

Whale met them in the waiting room when they arrived, though, an eager look on his face. “Wondered if I'd see you this time around,” he greeted. “I’ve gotta say—I’m pretty curious about this.”

“Aren’t we all,” Killian answered dryly, bracing his hook against his lower back. 

“Come on; let’s take a peek in there,” Whale beckoned, and led them to an exam room. 

Killian passed Hope off to Blue and began the process of climbing up on the exam table; again—he was doing fine on the energy front, but a large bump was a large bump, and it not only was an obstacle to his mobility, but he was carrying around some weight he hadn’t been 13 weeks ago (and in more places than just the bump).

But he managed to get up there and lifted up his shirt without prompting; he knew the drill. During his seemingly arduous climb, Whale had been looking over Belle’s notes from both pregnancies. “Damn,” he commented. “I think your notes are more detailed than my charts.”

“That’s not reassuring,” Killian called out; Whale just chuckled and moved to ready the ultrasound machine while Belle rolled her eyes and readied her pen. 

Killian had forgotten how cold the gel was, but he got over it quickly as Whale began to move the probe over his (thankfully stretch mark-free) stomach. 

“Well I’ve never seen that before,” Whale said after a bit, and everyone focused on the screen. 

“I thought those were only in black and white?” Belle asked. 

“They are,” Whale confirmed. 

And yet, as the tiny images of multiple babies appeared on the screen, each one was showing up in a different color—the color of the orbs they started as. Tink’s green stood out front and center, but as Whale moved the probe over the dome that was Killian’s abdomen, all the other colors showed up, except—

“Where’s mine?” Blue asked, understandably worried. 

“Hmm,” Whale hummed, investigating. “One, two,” he started counting, finding 8 that were easily visible. “But it looks like…” He pressed harder on Killian’s belly, to the point of discomfort, but he didn’t complain—not when Blue looked so worried. 

“Yeah, there’s definitely one hiding in there,” Whale said. “I just can’t zero in. There’s some color bleeding through, though…”

And in between a pink-hued and navy-hued fetus, a bit of bright blue was visible. Blue sighed in relief. “Yeah, she’s just being stubborn,” Whale assured her. “You can probably blame it on Hook.”

“Hey!” he protested, but Belle’s snicker suggested she agreed.

“Anyways—from a development standpoint, yeah, I’d put you right at 13 weeks, although probably half the size. Were it a normal pregnancy, I’d guess you’d only go to 30 weeks or so, for safety—but I’m guessing that won’t be the case here?”

“No,” Blue said. “He’ll go all the way to full term.”

Whale whistled. “Thank goodness they’re small then.”

Several copies of the sonogram were printed off—as mysteriously colorful as they were on screen—with Killian taking one, another going in Belle’s notebook, and the rest going with Blue. There was some discussion of doing another ultrasound at the second trimester, but it was ultimately deemed unnecessary.

Whale bid them adieu but they lingered in the room, if only because it took Killian a bit to clean off the gel (he hated the way it got caught in the bit of hair on his stomach). Belle was wrangling the kids, but Blue was staring at the pictures, almost in awe. 

“You were worried, weren’t you?” Killian asked softly. “That she wasn’t there.”

“Yes,” Blue admitted. “It’s rare, but sometimes, they don’t all take. And I’ve just—I’ve waited so long for this.”

“I understand.” It had taken him and Emma quite some time to conceive Hope, and obviously they required assistance. 

“I guess I’ll just have to be patient,” she sighed. 

“Aye,” he agreed. “But—” He placed his hand on the top of his bump and furrowed his brow in concentration. “I’m almost positive she’s kicking my bladder at the moment.”

It drew the polite chuckle he was going for, but also meant he needed to excuse himself. Blue also took that moment to take her leave, but not without an emphatic thank-you.

He had to admit, as he shuffled off to the bathroom—he’d definitely been resentful of this arrangement to an extent. But seeing Blue’s genuine emotions there at the prospect of parenthood made that feeling dissipate. 

He was sure he’d have a mountain of complaints by the end of this, but being able to grant so many others the joys he’d found as a parent—that would be worth it. 

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

At 16 weeks, he hit the same measurements he had when he was at full term with Hope (literally those of the day before he’d gone into labor). But the bump still sat high on his frame. “I wonder if whatever magic is preventing stretch marks is also holding it aloft,” he quipped as he traced the curve of his belly. 

“It’s entirely possible,” Belle concurred. “Look at the difference.” In addition to measured data, she also had photographic documentation of his various milestones in both pregnancies; comparing the picture she’d just taken on her phone to the one from right before Hope entered the world, it was plain to see the similarities in how much they extended in front of him, but the difference in where it sat on his body. 

“We’ll see how long it lasts, though.”

In answer to his theory, he got another few weeks before things began to sit lower, though his stomach continued it’s outward expansion—a couple centimeters every week. But by his 17th week, he finally started feeling the pull of gravity and had to dig out the belly band he’d relied on the last month or so with Hope. 

But he soon noticed another issue. While he remembered what it was like to not be able to see his feet, and had gotten used to the obstacle about his midsection, he wasn’t prepared for it to stick out even more. 

Case in point: one morning during his 18th week, when he was attempting to surprise Emma with breakfast (usually she rose first, but a flurry of activity in his belly had woken him early). However, he was a bit farther from the stove than he was used to, as well as the cabinets, and he kept knocking into the chairs around the table; Hope was watching him from her own high chair in amusement, far more interested in his slapstick endeavor than her cereal. 

“What’s going on?” Emma’s sleepy voice asked after he cursed at nearly burning his belly on the oven. 

“Nothing,” he huffed, rubbing the spot on his bump that was just a bit too warm. “Just a failed attempt at treating my amazing wife.”

She glanced around, then smiled. “You were trying to make me breakfast but then your belly got in the way?”

“Aye,” he sighed. 

She walked over to him and pulled him into a hug—from the side, since she already couldn’t get close enough from the front—and turned his face towards her to kiss him. “You’re too sweet,” she said, tucking herself into his side. “And you treated me plenty last night,” she added in a low voice; he swallowed at the memory of their shared moment—probably one of the last times he’d be able to make love on top for a while, unless they got creative with the logistics, but dammit, he did it, and it was amazing. 

“I can finish this up; take a seat, okay?”

“I should be able to do this, though,” he complained. 

“And you will—in 5 months or so. But I told you I’d support you with this, so let me.”

He sighed again, but complied, and ignored the creak of his chair as he sat down (angled away from the table—he was also up a size in shirts, but his jeans were holding on…for now). “How did the gods see fit to bless this poor bastard with such an amazing woman?” he asked, watching the blush rise on her cheeks. 

“The same way they did for this lost girl,” she countered, then put a (heaping) plate in front of him. 

“I love you so much, Swan—thank you.”

She placed another kiss on his lips. “I love you too—always.”

Even if this wasn’t an ideal situation, he knew that he was blessed to have Emma at his side; he wouldn’t be able to get through this without her. 

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

thanks for reading! tagging @wyntereyez​ @jennjenn615​ @superadam54​ @ashley-knightingale​ @justsomewhump​ @teamhook​ @88infinity88​​ (let me know if you want a tag!)

[qvid-pro-qvo]

Hello sweetie. May I have 7) “I dreamt about you last night.”, 14) “Can I have this dance?”, “I couldn’t live without you.” and “I’m yours, in every way possible.” with Sonny Carisi (I'm heads over heels for that man) with female reader, please. Thanks :) - @reading--mermaid

for @reading--mermaid. sonny carisi x female!reader.

word count: 2240

rating: e for everyone, because a wedding brings everyone together, for better or for worse, but in this case definitely for the better (pretty much fluff! tw: mentions of alcohol.) 

-

For the moment, you remember why you wish you could be an only child.

“You’re bringing your boyfriend. No ifs, ands, or buts about it.”

“You know, when I dreamt about you last night, I completely forgot about the part where you’re absolutely insane,” you comment mildly. Your hand reaches for your glass, and Jane just sighs. “Guess it just slipped my mind.”

“Uh-huh. So he’s coming, then?”

Your sister is glaring at you from across the table, but you don’t look at her, focusing instead on the brunch menu.

“Seems like I might try the scallops today,” you hum, and she just rolls her eyes.

“You’re allergic to seafood, dumbass, and you’re bringing your boyfriend.”

“No, I’m not, Jane.” Your voice is firm, and when she narrows her eyes at you, it’s your turn to give the dramatic roll. “Look. I don’t want to bring him. Barb’s my friend, and I love her, and I’m excited for her, but that wedding is going to be shitshow. The last thing I want is to scare him off because dear old Uncle Phil decides to get too rowdy and Aunt Julia decides to drink two bottles of wine instead of one at the reception.”

“That’s just how weddings work,” Jane counters, and when you open your mouth again to argue, she raises her hand. “It’s a shitshow, but it’s sweet. You’re a bridesmaid, sweetheart. And unless you want one of the bridal party trying to flirt with you all night, your boyfriend is the perfect protection. Plus, I want to meet him!”

With a sigh, you lift up your hand to tie your hair back, your scrunchie forcing the mess into a bun. “You’ve met him,” you say, with no lack of petulance, but Jane just sighs.

“Once. For like, ten minutes, in passing. You’re both always busy, and not only that, but I know Mom and Dad wouldn’t mind meeting the guy that you’re basically swooning over every time you talk to them on the phone. How long’s it been that you’ve been gushing about him? A year?”  

That makes your brows raise, and Jane can surely see them even over the menu. “They’re coming, then? For sure?”

“For sure. Uncle Phil paid for their flight. Said he wanted the whole family there, and that means every brother they can manage.” There’s a moment of silence as Jane glances around. The waiter still hasn’t come for your order, and so she busies herself with a drink of water before speaking again, letting you ruminate on the fact. “Just. Think about it. Please? For me?”

So, you do. You think. And while the prospect of Sonny meeting your… eclectic family is terrifying; you can’t help but think that he’s… well. He’s Sonny. And when you think about him meeting your parents, finally…

With a sigh, you put down the menu, interlock your fingers, and when you look up, your sister is flashing her puppy eyes at you.

“Fine. Fine! I’ll ask. And if he’s not busy, which he always is, I’ll bring him,” you relent, just to get her to stop looking at you like that. There are practically tears in her eyes. Immediately she breaks out into a grin, a little cackle added on. “But you owe me the name of your firstborn. I don’t care what David says, sister’s honor.”

“No shit,” Jane returns. You shake on it, making you chuckle. “Easiest deal I’ve ever made.”

-

Sonny says yes. Immediately. No hesitation. It’s a testament to how fantastic he is that when you bring it up over takeout that night, he seems absolutely delighted at the prospect.

Of course, you try to warn him.

“You might not be available the day of,” you point out.

His response is easy as he takes off his jacket, drapes it over the back of your couch. “If you give me the date, I’ll take time off right now. Liv’ll be fine with it, you know that.”

“My parents will be there,” you warn, and while the moment gives him pause, he ends it with a smile.

“Good.”

Good. Good. To meeting the parents? You want to poke him, see if he’s an alien or something, but he’s still smiling and all you really can do is kiss him for it.

“You know, all of my family is a pain in the ass,” you state bluntly, a last ditch effort. He snorts, and you reach to stab him with your plastic fork, the takeout he brought home not yet opened up and dug into. “I’m serious! It’ll be a mess, okay, and if I can spare you that –“

He just chuckles, reaching to pull you into his embrace. You melt into it – by this point his button down is off, leaving just his undershirt. He smells like home, and you can’t help but sink into the feeling. “Sweetheart, that’s family. Trust me, all right? You’ve met my sisters, you’ve met my parents. It’s about time that I return the favor.”

When he kisses your temple, you’re realizing with a twist of your lips that he’s unfortunately pretty damn great.

“You know, you won’t be able to really talk to me until the first dances,” you tell him, just for shits and giggles, and that earns you another kiss, this one on your cheek, your neck, your jaw, behind your ear.

“But I’ll be able to see you.”

So, it’s done. The car is rented, the hotel is booked, and when the weekend of comes around, and the two of you hop into your car and make the three-hour ride up.

Of course, the wedding is about as much of a pain as you expected it to be.

It should be noted that you love being there for your cousin, and she looks absolutely stunning her gown. It’s not the gown, or your own dress (which is plain and deep burgundy, styled perfectly with a matching lip). It’s not the ceremony, which makes you tear up, as her and her wife seal the deal with a kiss that you hoot and holler at. It’s not the food or the drinks or the venue or anything else that came together for Barb’s perfect day.

It’s the family.

Aunt Julia goes just as hard as you expect her to. Uncle Phil’s jokes are crude, but… inevitably get a laugh from one side of the family or the other. Your nieces are chaos incarnate, and half your time as bridesmaid is spent wrangling the dog that was made the ring bearer, your bathrobe getting caught on every doorhandle in the place. By the time the reception comes around, you’re exhausted and close to tipping over, navigating the intricacies of a big family with poise and grace you’re sure God probably gave you just for that day or something.

It’s a mess.

It’s your mess.

And Sonny, that day? Well. Sonny… is Sonny.

Sonny helps you catch the dog the first time it escapes (and the second time, and the third time). Sonny, due to some last-minute stomach bug, ends up helping out as usher, and makes every single family member he escorts to their row and aisle and seat smile. Sonny, at his place at the table where your parents sit, spends the whole night chatting them up, and you and your sister at the table with the bride and groom, can only watch from a distance.

“He’s crushing it,” Jane tells you. David’s sitting there, too, and he’s also enraptured with your boyfriend. The weariness of the day starts to wear off, and now that the pictures are done the drink in front of you is white wine and your belly is full. “Don’t look now, but I think Dad’s writing the invitations for Thanksgiving.”

There’s a pride that fills you, then. It’s been coming the whole day, but in that moment, you feel like you’re about to burst. You’re grinning, and when he glances over to where you are, well.

“You know what? Let him,” you say, and your eyes don’t leave Sonny as he winks and goes back to his story. “He really is crushing it.”

Soon the meal is done. There’s cake, and laughter, and you watch as Barb shoves her piece into Meredith’s face with unbridled glee. At that point you look around for your boyfriend, but he’s nowhere to be found. Neither are your parents for that matter, and you’re sliding out of your heels so you can troll around, eating cake, looking around for them.

Eventually, though, they come back. It’s in the middle of the first dance when you feel the familiar presence behind you, and his hands move to wrap around your waist as you watch the brides sway together, the rest of their lives ahead of them.

“Just in time,” you tease. “I thought I’d have to go solo out there.”

He turns you, so your vision of the brides is now full of him. You haven’t got to linger on it yet, but right here and now, he looks stunning. While the men in the bridal parties have black suits, Sonny’s is a beautiful navy, with a pocket square that matches the color of your dress (you’re almost ninety percent sure it’s from that lawyer he knows, but you don’t bring it up, kind of hoping he’ll keep the full ensemble). “And keep the world from seeing my awesome dance moves? No way.”

You giggle. The wine, the meal, the end of the day approaching. You’re loose, and he’s smiling, which makes you grin. “Saw you dodging the chocolatey fingers of my nieces and baby cousins,” you point out, and his eyes widen for a second before he glances around, peeks over your shoulder.

“Yeah, just, uh, don’t tell ‘em where I am. I think it’s part of their game to see who gets the most fingerprints on me by the end of the night.”

The DJ announces the end of the first dance, welcoming the bridal parties onto the floor. Sonny lights up at this, and offers his hand to you. “Can I have this dance, beautiful?”

Your smile softens, just a tad. “I thought you’d never ask.”

The music is slow, but not glacial, and Sonny starts it off by holding you proper. Soon enough, though, you’re moving into each other, and your head is resting on his shoulder, the slow sway of the brides what you’re mimicking. It’s gentle, and sweet, and for the moment you allow yourself to close your eyes.

Everything else slips away. All that’s left is the music and Sonny against you. Your dress brushes against your feet, still bare and cold against the dance floor, but nothing can bring you out of this ecstasy.

His voice is low against your ear, almost raspy as the song fades into something new, and the DJ announces the rest of the group can join with their significant others. “You know, I had a good time with your parents,” he murmurs, and you laugh lazily against him.

“I noticed. Be careful, I think my mom was thinking of kidnapping you so you can tell her all the Carisi family recipes.”

“Now those are top secret,” he informs you, seriousness in his tone, and when you pull back to look at him there’s mirth, even with his little pout.

“Obviously. I’ll distract, and you’ll hit the road.”

He laughs now, and it’s easy. It’s like breathing, the two of you. “Right. Well. We did talk about other things, while I was ensuring the safety of my family’s legacy.”

That peaks your interest, and you raise a manicured brow. “Like what?”

For a moment, he pauses. He’s caught, looking at you, under the lights, and for a moment you think he’s not going to say anything at all. But then he leans in, presses your foreheads together, and the world stops.

“I told ‘em… I told ‘em I’m yours, in every way possible. I told ‘em how I couldn’t live without you, and I told ‘em how I don’t want to.”

Your breath catches in your throat, and when you blink a couple of tears fall. “Sonny…”

“I told them, how one day, I’m gonna propose, and I’m gonna ask you to marry me. And I told them, how I really, really, hope you say yes.” His voice is definitely raw, now, and your swallow is tight. “You don’t have to say anything right now. Of course not, I’m not proposing now, but. I just… I need you to know how much you mean to me. How much being a part of your family, how much it means to me. And… I hope you want to be a part of mine.”

The slow music ends. The DJ is cheering now, and the crowd is clapping, and soon something more upbeat starts. But you’re stopped, in the middle of the dance floor, and before you can think you’re pulling him into a deep kiss, pressing up into it on your toes.

When you pull back, your mascara is running. But you don’t care. You couldn’t possibly care less. “If you think I’m saying anything but yes, whenever the hell you ask me, Dominick, I –“

He kisses you again. And when the world fades away once more, it’s because the two of you know that your whole lives are ahead of you, too.

[gravelyhumerus]

Criminal Minds College AU - Chapter 8

Title: “I may just take your breath away” / Sweater Weather AU

Relationship: Jemily

Word count: 35,604

Summary:

Penelope hacks the college. JJ pets a cat. There are three blowjobs. Need I say more?

Slow-burn Jemily college AU where they live across the hall and despite all odds, the universe pushes them together. AKA they’re silly gay babies who pine after each other for months.

Read it on AO3

Tumblr:  One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six, Seven, Eight, Nine, Ten, Eleven, Twelve, Thirteen, Fourteen, Fifteen, Sixteen, (bonus scene), Seventeen, Eighteen, Nineteen, Twenty, Epilogue

JJ adjusted the textbook in her hands, rolling onto her side to get comfortable with it. Behind her, was the calming sounds of Penelope’s pop music and her dancing fingertips as she typed code into her computer. 

She had only a few pages left to read, but she was having a hard time focusing. JJ’s brain kept drifting to the events of that weekend. On Halloween, they played spin the bottle. JJ’s spin landed right on Emily, meaning that they had to kiss. 

But it was not chaste. As Penelope most eloquently put it: “you two were seconds from ripping each other’s clothes off in front of us.”

JJ couldn’t wrap her head around it. 

Emily had really kissed her. There was tongue. It was not a peck to play the game; they had gone at it like teenagers in the backseat of a car at a lovers’ lane. 

It made reading her textbook difficult when she knew what Emily’s tongue felt like against hers. It made doing her essay challenging when she could remember the taste of her lips. It made doing just about anything next to impossible when JJ was desperate to kiss Emily again. 

“Did you know that it’s Hotch’s birthday tomorrow?” Penelope asked, spinning in her chair to look at JJ. 

“Wait, what?” JJ asked. She looked up from her textbook.  

“So... I’ve hacked into the college database,” Penelope said, turning back to her computer, her hands were once again typing a mile a minute. “Because of the whole thing with Reid not telling us about his birthday, the poor thing, and I didn’t want to miss anyone else’s.”

“Maybe we could do a co-birthday?” JJ mused, thinking about the logistics of that. 

“You read my mind, my beautiful sporty friend,” Penelope replied. “I’ve almost got everyone’s, just a minute.”

JJ stood up, walked over to Garcia’s side of the room. Somehow, her side of the room was cleaner than JJ’s, despite the sheer amount of things. Her desk was covered in trinkets, decorations and her wall covered in posters, art prints and photographs. JJ’s, on the other hand, had significantly less stuff, and way more mess. She was a busy girl and her desk was basically useless with all of her books and loose paper and miscellaneous things she needed to deal with ages ago. 

“Did you know that Morgan is a gemini?” Penelope asked. 

“Figures,” JJ replied, hoping that was the right response. 

Garcia had two monitors on her light, wooden desk, and a large desktop computer that she had built herself tucked underneath. On one monitor, was a file that she was slowly adding to, of birthdays written in white text on a grey background. Her own was there, alongside Spencer, Hotch, Derek….

JJ then watched as Garcia typed out Emily’s birthday: October 12. They had missed it too!

“Oh my god,” Penelope said, “why don’t they tell us these things?! How did we befriend such secretive people.”

“Wait, when was that?” JJ murmured, grabbing her wall calendar and flipping through the pages. “Oh my god I saw her that day. She was baking cookies, alone.”

“Alone?” Penelope whimpered. 

JJ thought back to that night. She had barged into the kitchen, talked all about her impending break up with Will, and ate Emily’s cookies. She felt awful. Obviously they didn’t know each other as well then, but why was she alone?

“She didn’t even tell Derek,” Penelope said, “oh that sweet summer child. Who hurt her?”

JJ always celebrated her birthday. Be it a family dinner or a full on birthday party when she was a kid, JJ was used to a fuss made about her each year. It was harder after Ros, but her parents refused to let the day pass without at least a cake and a present. 

As she befriended Penelope last year, their birthdays were filled with presents and friendship and alcohol, both girls making sure to give the other a thoughtful gift and make a fuss for the day.

Her heart was breaking that three of her new friends were about to let theirs pass without anything to show for it. 

“We should have a party,” JJ blurted. 

“You read my mind.”

JJ frankly welcomed the distraction from her circular thoughts about her kiss with Emily.

 ——— 

JJ left another store empty handed. She had first placed an order at a store downtown for a birthday cake, with three names on it which confused the baker, then began to wander downtown searching for presents. 

She had another half hour before she was supposed to meet back up with Derek and Penelope, who were at the dollar store buying decorations, and she had hoped to find something for Emily by then. 

The three of them were quite efficient at party planning, and they had to be with such a quick turnaround time. JJ had been tasked with finding a present for Emily.

For Hotch, they wrangled a bottle of the nicer whiskey that he liked, because even at the age of 21, he was somehow already an old man in his tastes. Spencer was also easy, because Penelope was working on knitting him a scarf. Apparently it was from the show Dr. Who, but JJ didn’t really know much about that besides that it was British and both he and Penelope were big fans. 

Emily was a lot harder to shop for. 

What could JJ get for her with the thirty dollars that they all had pitched in to fund her present? Not much. Especially since JJ knows that Emily comes from money. If she wanted something, she could probably just buy it for herself, right? 

It was also difficult because it would be from her. It would be a token of her affections. What were her affections? Did she want to simply sleep with her? Date with her? Be her best friend? JJ’s thoughts were a mess.

JJ had been in just about every store downtown, browsing clothes, gift stores, even a plant store in which she contemplated the meaning of getting Emily a cactus. Nothing was quite right.

She had almost given up when she wandered past a used book store. She had never been in before but always meant to. Out front was a stack of old milk crates filled with books, mostly romance novels and thrillers, and inside the window, beautifully bound antique books were resting in the display. 

A bell dinged as she walked in, and an elderly man waved at her from the counter before returning to his own book. 

Inside, the smell of old books filled her senses, mixed with the smell of apples and cinnamon and the earthy smell of all the old buildings in her college town. 

Stacked floor to ceiling were mountains of books, towering over her head. 

There were a few other patrons in the shop, some sitting and reading, others wandering the stacks, pulling out the occasional book. 

JJ slowly made her way through the maze. It was larger inside than she expected, with thousands of old books surrounding her, no matter where she looked. At times, she had to step over a pile of books in her path. 

The books were organized by topic, but within that, JJ couldn’t discern a clear system. 

She climbed the creaky staircase and pondered what kind of book Emily would like. Is buying her a romance novel too forward? JJ wondered. She probably wouldn’t be able to find one with two women anyways. 

Did Emily like fantasy? Sci-fi? Non Fiction? Should JJ get her something she’s read? JJ realized that she hadn’t read anything that wasn’t for school in ages. 

JJ felt overwhelmed. Was she thinking too hard? 

She did a double take at the window sill, realizing that the movement that caught her eye was a black cat basking in the sunlight. 

JJ reached out her hand tentatively to pet it. The cat nuzzled her hand, and began to purr. JJ smiled, spending a few minutes giving the cat much needed attention. 

The cat then stood, apparently growing bored, and ran off to investigate something or chase a mouse or whatever bookstore cats got up to. 

Where it lay was a small book. It was old, but not as old as some of the other leather bound texts in this store. Its white cover had a simple drawing of a boy, and written in a looping script: “Le Petit Prince.”

JJ smiled slightly, picking up the thin book. She leaned against the windowsill and carefully flipped through the pages, admiring the illustrations and trying to decipher the premise with her limited understanding of French. 

It seemed like it was for children, with whimsical art of a boy on a small planet, a king, a rose and a fox, among other things. She read the first few pages, about a boy falling in love with a flower, and decided it was perfect. 

It was a sign, JJ thought, the cat led her to this book. 

The cat—which reminded JJ of Emily with its standoffish exterior but affectionate personality—had clearly shown her that this was the perfect present. 

There was no price on it, and JJ worried that it would be out of her budget. Holding it to her chest, she descended the steps and brought the book to the clerk. 

“Hello sir,” JJ greated him, setting the book down on the table, “How much is this book? ”

He was seated in a comfortable looking chair behind a counter with an old-fashioned cash register. The sign on it read, ‘cash only’  and there was a tip jar in the form of a cat mug. 

“Oh this is an excellent choice!” The man lifted the book up, examining the cover. “On ne voit qu’avec le cœur.”

That was French. JJ didn’t know what it meant, only catching the word “heart” at the end. She nodded nonetheless. 

“You speak French?” He asked her. 

She shrugged. “I’m learning.” 

“This book will teach you more than just French,” the man said. “Trust me.”

JJ didn’t know what he meant, but nodded. He still hadn’t told her how much it was. 

“It’s a gift,” JJ explained, “for a friend.”

He handed her back the book, smiling at her. He gave it to her for fifteen dollars, seeming to make up the price on the spot. The black cat waited for her near the door, letting her pet him on the ears before she left. 

JJ left the door, hugging the book to her chest. 

 ——— 

Wrangling three of their friends into attending a surprise party was harder than it looked.

With three student athletes, nights during which none of them had games, or practices were scarce, so it took them until the next Friday before they found a free evening. Then, they had to go through the ordeal of convincing them to show up at Derek’s room at the right time. 

JJ felt giddy with the secret, greatly enjoying the party planning and doing something special for her new friends. On her Wednesday afternoon study date with Emily, her excitement for the party almost overpowered her nervousness with the girl due to their recent kiss. JJ caught herself looking more at Emily than her notes, alternating between imagining them kissing and imagining the look on Emily’s face when she received her present. 

By seven that Friday night, they had fully decorated Derek’s tiny dorm with streamers, balloons, and just about anything Penelope could find at the dollar store. A happy birthday sign was strung over one of the windows, with the addition of their friends' names written in marker on poster boards taped underneath.  

Their presents were wrapped messily, as JJ wasn’t particularly good at using wrapping paper. The cake sat on Derek’s desk reading “Happy (belated) birthday Emily, Hotch and Spencer!” in red icing on white cake. 

The three of them were frantically blowing up balloons and checking their phones. JJ felt slightly light headed by the time they were done. 

Hotch and Emily were coming for a “study date” with Derek, and Spencer was expecting a Dr. Who marathon with Garcia. All were supposed to be there any minute.

There was a knock on the door. 

“Get ready!” Garcia squealed, “someone’s here!” 

She opened the door, and instead of the birthday kids, it was David Rossi, who JJ had met for the first time a few weeks prior. He was 22, only a few months older than Hotch, in his first year of his masters. He and Hotch were close, and Emily and Derek knew him well since he TA’d one of their classes. 

“Rossi?” Derek said, “you came!”

“I never turn down an invitation to a party,” he said. 

“I have to admit,” Derek said, “it’s not that much of a party.“

“It’s more of a magical birthday get together,” Penelope said as she ushered him in. 

“Good thing I brought enough alcohol to make it a party,” he said. 

He pulled a very expensive looking bottle of vodka out of his backpack, and more beers than should fit in a normal sized bag. 

“I take it back,” Derek said, “this is definitely a party.”

There was another knock on the door.

“Come in!” Garcia said, picking up a balloon to throw. 

Spencer opened the door trailed by Hotch and Emily, all looking confused as they were bombarded by a dozen balloons cascading down from above and a series of hugs from the group. All were looking around with a mix of shock and happiness on their faces.

“It’s technically none of your birthdays today,” Penelope said, “Because you are all such awful private people, BUT I got the goods and figured it out. We thought we would celebrate all of you guys, and our amazing friend group, with this little shindig.”

“It’s wonderful Garcia,” Hotch said, almost smiling, “Thank you.”

“Don’t just thank me!” she said, “It was Miss Jennifer’s idea, and she got the cake. And my beautiful Derek helped me with the decorations and loaned his room, which might I say, is strangely large for a single room.”

Derek chucked, “It was my pleasure, happy birthday you three.”

He pulled Spencer in and ruffled his hair. 

“We’ve ordered pizza too!” JJ announced, “It should be here any minute now.”

“You’re too good to us,” Emily finally spoke up, after standing in the doorway with a dazed expression on her face. 

Penelope guided them in, and the group exchanged hugs and laughter, and Hotch got a very Italian kiss on the cheek from Rossi. Penelope put silly birthday hats on their heads, and took photos like a proud mother. 

After a few minutes of chatter—about the decorations, how they managed to keep it a secret, and most importantly, the illegality of Penelope hacking into their personal data on the university server— JJ’s phone pinged and she ran to the foyer to get the pizzas. 

Munching on greasy food, there was a companionable silence with the cheery sounds of the music in the background. 

As pizza wrapped up, their chatter resumed and the room filled with overlapping conversations. JJ noticed Rossi had snuck off to fish something out of Derek’s mini fridge, pouring something out into shot glasses. Then she heard the sound of whipped cream. 

At that sound, all heads turned towards him. He had three cups filled to the brim with whipped cream and he looked like he was about to burst into laughter at any point. 

“BIRTHDAY SHOTS!” Penelope squealed. 

“No way,” Hotch said, “I’m not doing one of those.”

“One of what?” Spencer asked nervously. 

“It’s not a blowjob is it?” Emily asked with a laugh. 

“A blowjob?” Spencer asked even more nervously. 

“It’s a shot, kid,” Derek assured him, “you just can’t use your hands and there’s the-“ 

He gestured at the whipped cream with a laugh.

“White stuff!” Emily said, tying up her hair into a ponytail in preparation. 

Rossi had to explain the premise several times, before it sunk in that they had to fish out the small shot and drink it all without using their hands. Reid looked at them suspiciously but he warmed up to the idea after Hotch offered to go first so he could see how it’s done. 

The older boy had definitely done a blowjob shot before, efficiently grabbing the plastic shot cup and downing it, his cheeks covered with whipped cream. 

Emily was enthusiastically buried in the whipped cream but struggled on the follow through, spilling most of the vodka into the larger cup before she drank it. 

Reid seemed nervous to get the whipped cream on his face, reeling back and wiping his cheeks then trying again. 

Eventually, Derek reached his hand into the cup, retrieved the shot and held it up to Spencer’s mouth.

“Look ma, no hands!” Morgan quipped before rubbing some leftover whipped cream on the younger boy’s face as the group laughed. Reid was laughing happily, beaming as he wiped his face. 

With the celebratory shot in their system, it was time for cake. JJ carefully used Penelope’s bright pink lighter to ignite candles on each piece for her three friends as they sang Happy Birthday to them.  

“Happy birthday to you!” They sang, “happy birthday to you! Happy birthday dear Hotch, Spence and Emily! Happy birthday to you!”

They blew out their candles. All were instructed to make wishes. 

As the night progressed, JJ got more and more nervous about the present. What if Emily hated it? Would she ruin the whole night? Penelope and Derek had assured her that it was a good present but what if they were wrong too?

JJ busied herself with cutting the cake, distributing pieces and making sure everyone had forks and napkins. 

Rossi, who was their unofficial bartender, was stationed near the mini fridge and passed out fresh beers when called upon. 

“Gifts!” Penelope exclaimed once they had made good work of the cake, dragging the presents out from their hiding space under Derek’s desk.

She handed them over to Emily, Hotch and Reid. 

“We all pitched in,” Derek said. 

All three looked perturbed at the fuss, murmuring “you shouldn’t have” as they looked at the gift. Spencer opened his and laughed, wrapping the incredibly long striped scarf around his neck and thanking Penelope. Aaron actually did smile at his present and expressed his gratitude by pouring them all shots. 

Emily held hers for a moment, staring at the wrapped book with an unreadable expression on her face. JJ watched, holding her breath as she turned it over, then placed it back down. 

“Will you excuse me for a second?” Emily said, her voice tight and sounding very… formal. 

JJ gulped as Emily stood, and exited the dorm, shutting the door behind her. She immediately thought that she had done something wrong.

The group looked back and forth, not quite sure what to do, as the commotion happened mid way through Hotch doling out shots of whiskey and some were already half raised. 

A moment passed as JJ thought about whether it would be worse for her to follow or leave her be. Maybe she wanted to be left alone? Maybe JJ was the last person Emily wanted to see?

She knew there was a lot about Emily that she didn’t know. Like JJ, the other girl kept a lot close to her chest. Over time, JJ had learned some details of her childhood, but not all, and what she knew didn’t look good. Maybe all of this was a bad idea? Emily might have had a reason that she didn’t celebrate her birthday. This could have been an awful plan and it would have been all JJ’s fault. 

She stood and grabbed the book, deciding to follow Emily. She slipped out the door and walked slowly down the hall, unsure of what she would even say to Emily once she faced her. Hey I just gave you a gift and you all but ran out of the room before you opened it, did I offend you somehow? Or I’m sorry?

JJ wasn’t sure what she was sorry for. She just knew something was upsetting Emily and the last thing JJ wanted to be was the cause of that. In fact, she wanted to make Emily happy and make sure nothing ever bothered her ever again. It would probably be weird for her to say that, right? 

She assumed that Emily had gone to the communal bathroom, as she left her lanyard with her room keys behind her in Derek’s room. If she had left the floor she would have been locked out. 

JJ took a breath outside the door, then pushed it open. 

Emily was standing in the bathroom that all of the girls floor shared, with its small row of stalls, old fashioned sinks and blue tiled floor. A frosted window that looked out into the courtyard. Many mornings JJ found herself brushing her teeth next to the other girl. 

Emily had her arms braced on the sides of the sink, leaning forward and looking at herself in the mirror. Her cheeks were flushed and her breathing was coming in quick breaths. 

“Em?” JJ said softly. 

Startled by the noise, Emily looked away from her, quickly pulling up a corner of her shirt to wipe her eyes. 

“You ok?” JJ asked, tucking the present behind her back. 

“I’m fine,” Emily said, standing up straight and giving her a half smile. Her posture was stiff, her smile forced.

“You don’t look fine.” 

Emily stepped back, leaning against the window sill. She crossed her arms, still avoiding any eye contact. 

JJ walked forward, slowly closing the distance. 

She leaned on the wall beside Emily, trying not to stare at her and make her feel uncomfortable. 

“Did I do something wrong?” JJ asked. Her voice sounded small in her ears. She immediately kicked herself, upset at how this might sound like she was making it all about herself. 

“No!” Emily exclaimed, shaking her head. “No. It wasn’t you it’s…”

She trailed off. 

“I’ve never had all this before. The friends and the party and the gifts. All this attention… it’s a lot.” 

She slid to the floor, hugging her knees to her chest. JJ did the same, turning to face the other girl. She didn’t want to push too hard lest Emily flee from her again.

“It’s all so nice,” Emily whispered. 

“Then what’s wrong?” JJ asked softly. 

Emily sighed and began to bite her nails. Her posture was hunched over, curled up on the cold tile floor. 

She began to speak, then stopped herself, gritting her teeth and blinking hard. She looked over at JJ reluctantly, seeming to think hard about how to answer that question. 

“I was always the new girl wherever I was,” she said. “I was never anywhere enough to make friends, real friends that is. Or have anything like all this. I would do anything to fit in and it never seemed to work.”

JJ’s heart felt like it was breaking for her friend. She tried to imagine Emily trying to be anyone else other than the Emily she knew and couldn’t. Fitting in is hard, let alone fitting into new countries and learning new languages. JJ knew she wouldn’t have been able to keep it together.

Emily shook her head, picking at the skin around her nails anxiously, JJ could tell that sharing all of this was incredibly difficult. 

“I lived in a dozen different countries and was barely  there long enough to make friends and when I did…” Emily sighed. “I fucked it up. I make things worse for people.” 

Emily buried her face in her hands, her breaths coming harder now. Her voice was shaky and quiet, almost whispering to JJ. 

“My mom was never around on my birthdays. She would leave me a present. Maybe. This year she didn’t even call.”

Emily paused. 

“And then you guys do all this.” 

Emily looked up, staring with unfocused eyes into the bathroom, JJ could tell she was thinking of someone else, some other day. She looked lost. 

JJ wanted to hold her hand, wanted to comfort her, keep her close. She was always called the mom friend, it was in her nature to try and make sure her friends were taken care of. Her feelings for Emily complicated things. If she was anyone else, she would grab her hand, no questions asked, but she felt herself second-guessing each move.  

Her actions suddenly felt like they had more weight to them. Knowing that she liked Emily made everything strange. If she held her hand, would it be weird? She didn’t know. Normally, she wouldn’t question holding a friend’s hand, hell, she’d already held Emily’s hand. 

But that was before she was gay, or bi, or whatever. Before she knew she liked girls. Liked Emily. Now, touching her felt scary, like she was doing something wrong, even if she was simply trying to be nice. 

Fighting against her anxious thoughts, JJ reached out, tugging at Emily’s wrist until her hand clasped onto hers. JJ ran a reassuring thumb over her hand. She sighed a breath of relief when Emily leaned into the touch. 

“You’re our friend,” JJ said, simply. “And we care about you.” 

Emily nodded, still not looking at her. 

“When I held your present in my hands,” Emily said, “I just couldn't stop thinking of my friend Matthew. He surprised me on my sixteenth birthday, pulling me out of some stupid event my mother had dragged me to. That was the only time I got a real birthday present before now.”

JJ hadn’t heard about this friend. Emily didn’t really talk about her past, beyond the general facts. JJ had to stop herself from prying, fighting back her curiosity in favour of letting Emily talk. 

She squeezed Emily’s hand in a gesture she hoped would be encouraging.  

“Your gift just brought back a lot of memories,” Emily said with a whisper. “Matthew basically saved my life. He was the only friend I had before now I guess.” 

She looked over at JJ. 

“I’m sorry,” Emily said, wiping at her eyes. 

“Don’t be.”

JJ pulled Emily into her, wrapping her arms around her and holding her tight. Emily let out a muffled sob and fell into her, with her head tucked under JJ’s chin. They sat like that for a while, JJ listening to Emily’s ragged breathing and JJ running a calming hand over her back. Emily’s face was buried in her shoulder, her soft hair tickled JJ’s face as she held her tight.  

She focused on rubbing Emily’s back, making patterns with her hand on top of her soft sweater. Emily’s arms were wrapped around her waist. 

For a moment, tears pricked at JJ’s eyes. Watching Emily finally be vulnerable to her, for her to share something, even if she left out details, was a lot. She blinked them back and focused on steadying her breathing, being a calm presence for Emily. 

After a moment Emily pulled away, creating some distance between them, wiping her face with her sleeve and sniffling. 

“JJ I don’t want you to get hurt,” Emily said, her voice cracking, “I just bring people pain.”

“What happened, Em?” JJ asked. 

Emily looked at her with teary eyes and shook her head. 

“You don’t have to tell me, Emily. But I need you to know that whatever it is, I’ll still be here. I care so much about you and just… like being your friend. I don’t care what happened in your past or if you think you’re going to hurt me. All I care about is us.”

“I like being your friend,” Emily said with a teary laugh. 

JJ smiled at her, pulling her into another hug. Holding her tight feeling like the girl would break into pieces in front of her if she let go. 

“Do you want your present?” JJ asked carefully, still hugging Emily. She could feel the other girl nod. 

JJ pulled back, taking the wrapped book from the tile floor and placing it in Emily’s lap. Emily carefully began to unwrap it, as if she wasn’t allowed to rip the brightly patterned paper.

“You know you can rip it, right?” JJ said with a kind laugh. “Just tear it open, it’s part of the fun!”

Emily looked at her nervously, and half heartedly tugged at the wrapping paper. 

“Harder!” JJ said, demonstrating by pulling on it and making a satisfying tearing noise. JJ assumed that the girl didn’t have the opportunity to tear open presents as a kid, and JJ wanted to make sure she didn’t miss out on that joy anymore. 

Emily laughed and tore at it, ripping the paper off and revealing the small book underneath. Le Petit Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. 

“I read this as a kid,” Emily breathed, staring at the cover reverently.  

She opened the cover and looked through the first few pages. 

“L’essentiel est invisible pour les yeux,” Emily quoted the novel just as the book shop clerk had done.

“What is essential is invisible to the eyes,” JJ translated. “I don’t really get it. I tried to read it before I gave it to you, but didn’t make much headway.”

“It’s about love,” Emily said as she flipped through the pages.

Emily slowly turned the pages, smiling down at the whimsical illustrations and murmured about it in French that JJ couldn’t quite make out.

“I could translate it for you if you want?” Emily offered.

“Is it as good in English?”

“No,” Emily said with a laugh. 

JJ beamed, happy that her gift was no longer making Emily upset. She hoped that whatever bad memories she had about birthdays were being amended with some joy from today. 

“Well then I just have to get better at French so that I can understand it,” JJ said. “I’ll need a good tutor.”

“This is an amazing present. Thank you JJ.”

They smiled at each other.

“I’ll read it to you,” Emily said, “And you can stop me and I can explain anything you don’t understand.”

JJ’s heart fluttered at the thought of Emily reading a love story out loud. Though, from what she saw it was about a boy being in love with a flower so it couldn’t be that romantic, could it? 

“Sounds like a plan,” JJ said. “Should we get back? I wouldn’t want to worry the others.”

Emily nodded, then the two of them stood up together. JJ’s legs had fallen asleep while sitting on the cold, tiled floor so she dramatically shook them out, making Emily laugh. 

God her laugh, she wanted to hear that forever. She’d do anything to keep Emily smiling and happy.

As they walked back to the party, it was Emily who took JJ’s hand. 

Maybe they could be friends. Maybe that would be enough. 

[allsassnoclass]

hi hazel!! how about “i got you for secret santa so i got you this really expensive but sentimental gift that you’ve always wanted, hoping you’ll never find out it’s from me - and that i’ve been in love with you 1234567 years” with hmmmm mashton? maybe? feels mashton-y to me but whatever u think works best is good with me <3 love you <3

anything for you Iba <3

Ficmas day 10

Rating: T for language

Read on AO3

Getting Ashton for Secret Santa is both a blessing and a curse: a blessing because Michael already knows what he wants to give him, a curse because he wants to give him the world.  Well, more accurately he wants to give him the entire universe.

Ashton Irwin is arguably the universe’s finest creation, founded on stardust and made up of infinite galaxies.  Michael has been in love with him since around the time they met.  Ashton deserves something as wonderful and celestial as himself, but that would require Michael to suddenly develop the ability to trap the universe in the palm of his hands, cradled close until he could hand it off to someone worthy enough to hold it.  Even if he could, the universe seems like a fragile thing.  He’d probably drop it, knowing him.

Maybe getting Ashton was more of a curse than a blessing.  If he can’t give him some sort of celestial body, he’s out of ideas.  It’s probably for the best, because he’s not exactly keen on letting Ashton know that he’s been in love with him for so long, and you can’t give someone the entire universe without prompting a few questions.

He seeks out Calum for advice, because Calum is great at gifts, but he doesn’t want him to know who he got so he asks what he would give Luke instead.

It turns out Calum is so great at gifts because he knows exactly what each person needs.  Knowing what Luke needs does nothing to help Michael figure out what to get Ashton.

Michael spends a lot of time googling stuff like good gifts for friends and good gifts for crushes and then backtracks, because most of those imply that he would be revealing his crush.  The search for good gifts for someone you’re in love with who is also one of your best friends WITHOUT letting them know you love them but still the best present yields no useful results.  Michael doesn’t want to regurgitate generic “sentimental” gifts suggested in lists on various websites, he wants something that Ashton will truly appreciate.  He wants to get him something that only someone who knows him would give him.

He’s pretty sure buying presents isn’t supposed to make you want to pull out all of your hair, but Michael wants to pull out all of his hair.  The one solace is that they selected their people early, so he still has a lot of time to figure out a suitable present.

-/-

Michael mostly forgets about the stresses of Secret Santa for a while.  He has to get presents for other people, too, so he focuses on that, and decorating the house, and baking some Christmas cookies, and everything except Ashton’s present.  Unfortunately, this means that by the time Ashton hosts his yearly It’s a Wonderful Life watch party, it’s late enough that Michael should start panicking a little.

Each year, Ashton invites as many friends as can fit in his basement over to watch his favorite Christmas movie.  He used to watch it with his mom every year, and even though they live physically far apart he once told Michael that it makes him feel closer to her.  Over the years, the night has turned into an entire event.  Ashton sets up a projector and prepares more snacks than can be eaten.  Michael attends every year, even though the movie seems to get longer every time he watches it.  Last year he kept dozing off, enough so that Ashton had let him curl on the couch with his head in his lap and sleep for most of the second half.  The weight of Ashton’s hand resting on his shoulder and the occasional gentle fingers brushing over his hair are something Michael thinks about often.

This year he ends up in an armchair, Luke between his legs on the floor and Ashton all the way on the other side of the room.  It makes him focus on the movie a bit more, and during the scene where George asks what Mary wants and says he’ll lasso the moon Michael thinks yeah dude, you get it.

Unfortunately he is not George and Ashton is not Mary, and by the time he leaves his house that night, lingering late enough that Ashton offers to let him stay, he is no closer to figuring out his gift.

-/-

Michael can’t lasso the moon, but maybe he was onto something there.

He can’t stop thinking about space.  Ashton has always had an appreciation for it, but since his trip to the desert where he was finally able to see the Milky Way unobstructed he’s developed a new fascination with it.  He’s not going to be an astronomer, but he knows more about constellations than Michael does, and he knows a lot about astrology even if he doesn’t fully believe in it.

Michael has wanted to give him the universe this entire time.  Maybe instead of finding a different present, he should focus on figuring out a way to do that.

Maybe he should just get Ashton one of those model solar system kits that kids assemble for science projects.  That would be giving him the universe in a punny way that he might appreciate, but then he’ll have to explain that give you the universe was his original goal, which will still prompt questions.  Without that sentiment, it’s kind of a crummy gift.

He needs something that isn’t punny but that manages to accomplish his goal without revealing that he’s in love.  He’ll find a way to accomplish that out of sheer stubbornness if he has to.

-/-

Schedules don’t properly align for a full group Secret Santa exchange, so everyone is tasked with contacting their present recipient and setting up a time to give them their gift.  Michael sends Ashton a text that reads hey when do you want your secret santa present and gets a string of emojis in response.  Eventually he manages to wrangle a time from him and loads the present into his car.

It’s a decent gift, in his opinion.  He’s both relieved and nervous about having to give it to Ashton without the full group, because there’s significantly less people who can judge him but there’s significantly more opportunity for Ashton to ask uncomfortable questions.

The drive feels longer than it should.  That doesn’t bode well.

Michael lets himself in once he gets to the house, because there’s no telling where inside Ashton might be.  He calls his name and gets an answer in the direction of the bedroom, toeing off his shoes and getting rid of his coat before setting off towards his destination.  Ashton is sitting on the bed, scribbling something furiously in a journal.  Michael waits until he’s done and tosses the small leather book aside to fully enter the space.

“Hi,” Ashton says, beaming.

“Hi,” Michael says.  “Special delivery.”

The package in his hands is rectangular and flat, covered with shiny red and green paper.  Ashton eyes it curiously, taking it when offered and frowning at the weight.

“There’s a few parts, so be careful,” Michael says.

“I will.”

Ashton tears through the paper inelegantly, strips of it floating down to the floor, and Michael watches him read the framed certificate on top.

“I got you a star,” Michael says.  “That’s the certificate for it, and it’s under your name in a database.  There’s a star map, so you can try to find it the next time you have a clear sky.”

“Michael, this is amazing,” Ashton says, aglow with enthusiasm.  “This is so fucking cool!”

He looks at the star map, eyes tracking over the many tiny dots on it and the one circled that’s his.

“Wow.  My very own star.”

It wasn't quite the whole universe or lassoing the moon, but Michael thinks he did alright given the circumstances.

The next frame is a bit bigger, a blue background with a white star chart and lettering at the bottom that reads July 7, 1994 - a star is born.

“Tell me something, boy,” Ashton croons.  “Which one of us is Lady Gaga and which one of us is Bradley Cooper?”

“Neither of us,” Michael sighs.  He wants to facepalm.  He knew this was a risk when he put that inscription.  “Did you even watch that movie?  You want us to end up like them?”

“No,” Ashton says.

“You’re the star,” Michael says.  “It’s a map of the sky when you were born.  I thought it was a fitting caption.”

“Aw,” Ashton says.  “That’s the sweetest thing anyone has ever said to me.”

“You don’t have to make fun,” Michael says, embarrassment flaring inside him.  This was a last-minute decision off one of those generic lists, and he’s regretting it.  Getting teased for his crush was not something he anticipated nor wanted today, especially since Ashton should know better.

“I’m not making fun,” Ashton says, tearing his eyes away from the chart to look up at Michael and frown.  “You just compared me to an actual celestial body.  That’s really fucking sweet.  The only thing sweeter would be if someone wrote me a proper love song.”

Michael could try his hand at that.

He shrugs.

“It’s almost romantic,” Ashton says.  Michael’s breath freezes in his chest.  Ashton puts the gifts down on his bed and shifts so he can face Michael fully, eyes assessing.

“Do you have feelings for me?” he asks.

Brush it off, Michael tells himself.  Laugh and call him bro and say you don’t.

There seems to be a communication delay between his mind and his body, because Michael doesn’t do any of those things.  He stands there like a deer in headlights, paralyzed the longer Ashton looks at him.

“It’s okay if you do,” Ashton says.  “I just want to know.”

Well what the fuck is he supposed to say to that?

No!

What comes out sounds more like a choking cat.

“Okay,” Ashton says.  “You want to sit down?”

Again the answer is no, but that word seems to have left his vocabulary, so he sinks onto the bed next to Ashton.  He reaches out a gentle hand and places it on his forearm.

“You know, you not saying anything is making me nervous, but I’m just going to keep going.  You can tell me to stop at any time,” Ashton says.  “I like you, and I’ve been getting the impression that you like me, too.  If that’s wrong, then correct me, but if that’s right then you don’t have to be embarrassed or upset, because it’s mutual.”

Michael turns the words over in his head, giving them a second perusal to ensure he had heard correctly.

“What?”

“Oh, he speaks,” Ashton says dryly.

“I was not picking up any vibes from you,” Michael says.  “Now you expect me to believe you like me?”

“Well it’s not like I wanted you to know,” Ashton says.  “Seriously, do you think I let anyone sleep through It’s a Wonderful Life?  You got lucky last year because I like you.”

Now that he thinks about it, Ashton might have a point.  Other people who doze off get food thrown at them with the excuse that they should have stayed home if they were planning on sleeping.

“Huh,” Michael says.

“So,” Ashton says, “do you like me?  You never actually confirmed it.”

“Oh.  Yeah, I guess.”

“You guess?”

“Look, I’m processing a lot right now.  I bought you a fucking star, Ashton.  Use your context clues.”

“Use my context clues?  What are you, my literature teacher?”

“What about your boyfriend?”

Nice.  That was smooth.

Ashton smiles.  Just like that, the bridge Michael was standing on made of their banter melts into a gooey mess, dropping him into a bunch of sappy feelings below.  He could bask in that smile forever, shining brighter than all of the stars in the sky.

“That sounds good to me,” Ashton says.  Michael smiles shyly back, something that makes Ashton’s eyes crinkle at the edges.  He reaches out and squeezes his hand, something he’s going to be able to do freely now, and Ashton tangles their fingers together.

All things considered, Michael thinks he one-upped George Bailey here.  George said he was going to lasso the moon and then didn’t even do that.  Michael bought Ashton a whole fucking star and got his own star in return.  He’s probably the luckiest man in the universe.

[tentavamp]

Here’s the sequel to my Stone Ocean Bad Girls Club headcanons for the Good Girls Club. This one is probably gunna’ have WAY more detailed information in it because I’ve worked on them a lot more. A lot of this comes from my canon-divergent fic series where those killed by Made in Heaven are brought back and the universes are re-merged with Pucci’s death, so a lot of “action” is implied to come after canon. Sans the fics... I guess... they’re just really angsty and sad lmao.

Jolyne Cujoh

Age: 19

Age: 19

Sexuality: Lesbian (Ew comphet)

Relationship to Others

Hermes: Loves her. A lot. But she doesn’t know, because it only seems to manifest in the desire to impress her at all times. Finds it frustrating that she doesn’t often return the “friendly” PDA, but is very understanding towards the discomfort she has about herself.

F.F.: Loves her as well. A lot. Is also very worried about her. She thinks the Stand is too reckless with her body for a creature that would die without it. But she likes listening to her ramble. She isn’t smart enough to get most of it, but Foo being excited is enough to make her happy.

Headcanons

-Is very ADHD, so her decisions are heavily based on intuitive impulse. They’re a little less intuitive when she’s panicking. She was able to overcome Jailhouse Lock because of her lifelong experience with memory loss.

-Somehow inherited her dad’s attitude towards gender. They both believe that they have to be as masculine as they can to be taken seriously, but Jolyne’s experience with her father and her outwardly loving nature have made it less severe for her.

-Is very clingy towards the people she cares the most about. God forbid she’s dating you. If she gets too excited, you have to wrangle her in every once in a while. Ironically, she enjoys playfully bullying and annoying the shit out of them as well.

-Romeo was a very unfortunate comphet boyfriend, but she’s unable to see her feelings for Hermes as a crush because her repetitive trauma with men has left her hesitant to explore love.

-Can’t cook for shit, and lacks a lot of life skills. She believes her street smarts make up for it, but only because her life has never been slow enough for her to think about being domestic.

-Can drive a motorcycle, but can barely drive cars.

-Is absolutely terrified of losing Emporio for any reason. She’s willing to sacrifice the quality of her own life to ensure that she doesn’t perceive herself as abandoning him and mirroring her father.

-Tried to smoke weed once. Almost died.

-Still holds much animosity towards Gwess. Rightfully so, but over time, her cellmate has shown traits that remind her of some of her own weaker points, and she hates that. She wants to be rid of the discomfort between them, but Jolyne can’t bring herself to trust her being as vindictive and guarded as she is.

Hermes Costello

Age: 21

Sexuality: Butch Lesbian

Relationship to Others

Jolyne: She thinks Jolyne is really cool, but in the same way an alligator in a snapback on a skateboard would be cool. Her openness with affection intimidates her, but she’d be lying if she said she didn’t wish she could love her... Too bad she thinks the girl’s straight... for now.

F.F.: Finds the Stand strange and awkward. It took some time for her to trust Foo, but she can see the pure goodness in her heart. Sometimes she very shamefully finds herself jealous of the time Jolyne and Foo might spend together, but she would never bring it up.

Headcanons

-Could not commit to helping her father and Gloria run the restaurant because she feared ruining such an important factor of their family. She wanted to put her effort into cross-country, hoping to bring in good money doing something without too many attachments that she knew she was good at.

-She still greatly loves cooking, because it reminds her of her time at home and outside of work when everyone in the family was happy. She retained the majority of what her father taught her.

-Has trauma relating to the constant expectation placed upon her to mirror Gloria in every way, and her identity was a result of that trauma and need to feel as far from her sister as she could possibly be. Her tight grip on herself has very slowly loosened over the years, even so far as to where she unknowingly has become a very Gloria-like figure towards Jolyne and Emporio.

-Is fairly uncomfortable with PDA, platonic or romantic. She’s more focused on action, and is much more likely to return affections in private, which is a luxury in prison. This is because she’s used to affections being somewhat rough and competitive, having spent her gay youth alone and in the bar scene. Neither her father nor her sister ever learned about her sexuality.

-Opposite to Jolyne, she’s not comfortable with the idea of raising a kid, and believes that Emporio needs something more than they can provide to live a happy, full rest of his childhood.

-Is actually a very strong runner, and was well on her way to being a candidate for a cross-country scholarship before she was forced to drop it. She still runs every so often to clear her mind, but she laments the loss of the only dream she feels she ever had.

-Despite her intelligence, maturity and strong personality, she secretly feels lost in life. She came from a home that instilled in her the need to care for her family, but she has none left. She had ambitions, but they were ripped away from her. She feels that she’s been reduced to living life day by day.

Foo Fighters

Age: 20

Sexuality: Inability to show preference or attractions on a human scale.

Relationship to Others

Jolyne: Cares about Jolyne more than her own life, because she believes the girl gave her that life. Wants to stay by her side forever, and is unaware that this would be considered a “relationship”. Absolutely loves Jolyne’s PDA.

Hermes: Still sometimes finds the woman intimidating and feels like she doesn’t like her too much, but she wishes they could get closer. She believes the two may have more in common than expected.

Headcanons

-Is always making silent observations about what it means to be human. Many of them leave her with more questions than answers, and she hates that she seems to fit in well enough without fully knowing how she’s doing it.

-Since she’s merely piloting Atroe’s body, her sense of touch is severely dulled. Her pain-tolerance is extreme, and is often the subject of many stupid experiments conducted by Jolyne and Hermes.

-Would absolutely be in a committed relationship with Jolyne if she knew what such a thing was. Being inhuman, she has no personal metric for love or sexuality, so her love can only be shown through her undying loyalty and mirroring Jolyne’s own affections.

-She’s an excellent shooter, and has become fascinated with the handful of cowboy and spy movies they have in the lounge because of this.

-Enjoys studying human anatomy, and has often joked about “creating new and useful body parts” for herself with her abilities... Well, half-joked.

-She keeps count of every single book she’s ever read, and she actually reads and retains information very quickly.

-Loves looking at the stars, but she doesn’t get to see them often.

[wheresmynaya]

Two Ghosts Ch.22 | Brittana

Available on ff.net (x) ao3 (x) & below the cut!

If you would’ve told Santana Lopez a year ago that she would be spending her Friday in a janky bus full of rowdy high school cheerleaders who insist on bugging the crap out of her with their constant cheering and on her way to Cincinnati for a Cheerleading competition of all things while sharing a seat with her former girlfriend who is also her current co-coach, she would’ve told you to fuck off, loser because never in a million years…

Yet, here she is doing just that because apparently – even in death – Sue still had a way of making Santana’s life a living hell. 

Although with Brittany by her side again, how bad could it really be?

She’s come a long way since waiting on Karens back at the Spotlight Diner, but she can’t say that becoming a Cheerios coach is fulfilling a lifelong dream. The hours are more reasonable than the doubles she use to pull, the pay’s a lot better thanks to Sue, and she even has benefits now but she doesn’t think coaching is something she’d consider doing forever. It’s just nice to have a something stable for once, even if she has to put up with bratty teens for a few hours a day. They’re not really all that bad when she thinks of it. In fact, she was probably worse growing up.

Santana surprises herself when she thinks of it, but she actually believes she makes a damn good coach.

She wonders when she suddenly became this person that was so involved but she thinks about the years she has spent on the squad herself and her brief time as a Louisville Cardinal and it’s not really so surprising. Cheering has always been a big part of her life.

In a way, if it wasn’t for Sue insisting she join the Cheerios, she would’ve never met Brittany. And again, if it wasn’t for Sue and the Cheerios, she might’ve never reconnected with Brittany years later too.  

To top it all off, she’s wearing her Cheerios Alumni sweatshirt and reading through last month’s issue of Inside Cheerleading. She swears it’s purely for distraction purposes because she can only handle the girls’ chatter for so long and she doesn’t want to end up murdering anyone during the 2 hour drive.

\\

On one side, she and Brittany share a seat because Quinn called dibs on the last open booth and they’re apparently 12 years old again and calling dibs is a thing still. Santana had grumbled about it while watching Quinn make a show of all the space she had, fluffing her bookbag as she rested back on it like a pillow.

Brittany only laughed at the pair and dragged Santana to sit down next to her.

“You should’ve got that booth, Britt,” Santana urges then turns back to Quinn and says in a much louder voice, “Quinn’s stubby little legs don’t need all that room.”

Quinn just smirked and raised both middle fingers up, the high back of the chair successfully blocking her from the squad’s view. Santana pursed her lips at her friend’s cockiness.

“It’s okay, San, I like sharing with you.” Brittany replied easily then came in close so that only Santana could hear, “Don’t you remember all the fun we had on these long bus rides? We use to sit at the back and wait for Quinn to fall asleep…”

Santana’s eyes go wide at the memory and she quickly turns to find Brittany grinning. There’s a box of Dots in her hands and she pops one into her mouth, letting it bulge at her cheek.

The look is of pure innocence, but Santana knows better.

There’s mischief behind those piercing blue eyes and Santana’s not going to let Brittany get away with it. The tension has been pretty record-breaking over the last couple of weeks as they focused their attention on preparing for Sectionals, but being flirty with Brittany was always one of the easiest things to do, always one of Santana’s favorites.

Since Thanksgiving, that’s practically all they do now.

“Careful Pierce, two can play that game.” Santana warns with a smirk.

She reaches for the box of Dots in Brittany’s hands and shakes it until a Dot falls to her palm, her eyes never leaving blue. She’s trying to be seductive and judging by the look on Britt’s face, it’s totally working. She takes the Dot to her lips and slowly bites into it but then the taste of the candy hits her and she remembers something: she hates Dots.

Brittany starts giggling as Santana’s face screws up in disgust at the flavor.

“Yeah, I was wondering where that was going,” Brittany snickered, “I give it an A for effort though.”

“God, I don’t know how you eat those things. That one tastes like soap,” Santana grumbles, reaching for a water bottle to wash out the taste in her mouth.

“Awh, that’s the best flavor!” Brittany whines sarcastically, knowing full well that Santana always compared the taste of the green ones to soap. She pops another Dot into her mouth happily though and Santana cringes.

“I’m not kissing you until we’re at the hotel and you can brush your teeth,” Santana says to her lowly, out of Quinn’s earshot, “The taste lingers.”

“Like you can last that long,” Brittany jokes and Santana hates how right she is.

\\

It feels like they’ve been driving for years and the girls have now moved from reciting cheers to singing and Santana can’t decide what’s worse. It reminds her of the times she’d travel with the Glee Club where they’d occasionally break out into song, but that was expected from a club based on singing.

The Cheerios? Not a thing and there’s a reason for that: they suck.  

But she can tell they’re having fun, Alex in particular, and as offended as her ears are for how badly they’re butchering a perfectly good Ke$ha song, Santana can’t find it in her to channel her inner Sue and tell them all to shut up. They’re kids and they spend so much time being serious about competing, it’s good for them to let loose a little.

She’ll never say that out loud though. She’s got a reputation to uphold.

So she dives back into her magazine; she’s on to the newest issues now in hopes that she doesn’t change her mind and end up doing something ridiculous like a Diva Off against the whole squad just to reassert herself as the best singer here.

Reading a cheerleading magazine is still for distraction purposes, obviously, but Quinn and Brittany don’t believe her. Especially when Santana starts parroting interesting articles she has read or shows off pictures of cute uniforms from different squads across the nation.

When she catches their judgmental smiles, Santana huffs and closes up the magazine.

“Awh, why’d you stop reading? I was really getting into it.” Brittany pouted, already trying to open up the magazine again.

Santana just holds it away from Brittany’s prying fingers, “I will not be judged for my interest in improving the squad’s fashion sense.”

Brittany gives her a soft smile while Quinn laughs.

“Like we have any control over the design of the uniform,” Quinn replies, “I’m sure if it were up to you though, they’d all look like a bunch of mini-Santanas in tight skirts and high heels.”

“So cute,” Brittany deadpanned with a nod.

“And if it were up to you, they’d all be in like turtlenecks and headbands,” Santana quipped.

“Ooh, My Headband. Great song. Right, Q?” Brittany interrupted but Quinn only quirked her brow.

“Santana, we wore turtlenecks. The girls are wearing turtlenecks now, it’s winter.”

“See, that’s exactly what someone who is pro-turtleneck would say.”

“What now?”

“I’ll bet if you had your way it would be apart of their uniform year round.” Santana challenges but Quinn doesn’t look fazed.

“Most squads were them. Didn’t your Cards uniform involve a turtleneck?” Quinn asks and Santana scoffs at the implication in her tone.

“Yes, but I looked smokin’ hot in that uniform.”

“Yeah, you did!” Brittany whooped, pumping her fist in the air.

Santana and Quinn just laughed, Brittany always had a way of lightening the mood. Not that Santana and Quinn were being serious, bantering was like second nature to them, but Brittany still fit in perfectly.

It makes Santana smile at how they’re all still so in tune with each other as if no time had passed at all.

\\

As soon as they arrive to the hotel, Santana thinks she has just entered Hell and they haven’t even gotten off the bus yet. There are teenage girls everywhere and Santana watches as coaches try to wrangle their squads for check-in but it looks like a losing battle. Luggage lie abandoned, girls are running around, coaches look like they’re visibly regretting their career choice.

It’s sheer madness and there’s no way Santana is going to go through all that.  

When the bus rolls to a stop and everyone starts up with the excited chatter again as they collect their things, Santana stands and moves to the center aisle with a steely gaze.

“Oh no.” Quinn mutters while Brittany quietly watches, already knowing what’s about to happen. The two blondes stand to flank Santana regardless, always showing the squad that they are one unit.

“Hold up ladies, before any one of you even thinks about stepping off this bus let’s just get one thing clear.” Santana starts with a clap of her hands to get everyone’s attention. Everyone instantly freezes and turns their attention to Santana.

From the corner of her eye she can see Quinn pressing her lips so tightly together, as if she’s trying to keep from interrupting. She doesn’t care though, what’s the point of being the disciplinarian if she doesn’t instill the fear of God every once in awhile?

“I’d like everyone to look out the window,” Most girls look towards the side where the most action is while some look towards the parking lot, “You three, what are you doing? Other side. Yes, good. Everyone seeing what I’m seeing right now? Everyone witnessing the utter chaos happening out there?”

Most girls nod and there’s a few yes coach’s in the crowd and Santana nods too.

“Good. That’s exactly what you all aren’t going to do when you get off this bus. None of this running around like complete fools all of a sudden just because you’re away from home and your parents and you’re staying at a relatively nice hotel. You think, ooh new city? New me.”

Some girls exchange nervous looks with one another while others continue staring out of the windows.

“Nah. Not having it,” Santana tells them, “We are your coaches. We are not your babysitters and you will not have us running around after you. You’re going to act like you’ve got some damn sense hidden away in those high ponies and behave yourselves because if you don’t – so help me God – I will go all Lima Heights on every. single. one. of. you. And let me tell you, that won’t be pretty.”

The girls are still focusing on what’s going on outside, but Santana’s able to catch Brittany staring at her. She can’t linger long because Brittany’s smiling so proudly that it nearly breaks Santana’s character and she’s trying to seem threatening right now so she can’t have that.

“Focus up, ladies.” Quinn says suddenly and the squad turns to her at the command, “Coach S is exactly right. The best way to show these other squads that we’re coming home with that first place trophy tomorrow is by remaining composed and united. You are going to get off this bus in a single fill line and wait patiently for us to check you all in and hand out room keys.”

“And I don’t want to see anyone breaking ranks and socializing with the enemies.” Santana adds.

“But Coach S, my sister is on one of those squads.” Someone says and Santana just shakes her head.

“Sister? Not during Sectionals. She’s the enemy as far as I’m concerned. Look around you, kid. These are your sisters.” Santana replies, waving her hand out at the squad. She catches Alex’s eye and amends her statement, “Metaphorical sisters. Whatever non-platonic pairings going on are none of our business.”

“And won’t be considered incest.” Brittany adds too in a matter of fact.  

Alex’s cheeks instantly pink and Maddy has to stifle a laugh.

“Oh my God,” Quinn mumbles and whispers for Santana to wrap it up.

She waves the blonde off and continues, “So everyone is to behave or expect a visit from Aunty Snixx.” She can hear someone in the crowd whisper who’s that to the girl standing next to them causing Santana to groan, “You don’t want to know, alright! Is everyone clear on what we expect from you?”

There’s soon a sea of confident yes coach and it fills Santana with pride. She totally still has it and looks to Quinn, “The floor is yours.”  

Quinn just shakes her head and goes on to instruct the girls, “Okay then, grab your stuff and get in line.”

Santana turns to grab her bag too, surprised that Brittany’s already holding it out for her to take.

“Great speech,” Brittany compliments with a wink.

“Just a little something off the top of my head,” Santana smiles proudly as she follows Quinn out of the bus with Brittany tagging along behind.

\\

“I’m sorry, there has to be a mistake.” Quinn says to the receptionist, “You expect us to share one room? I specifically made a note that this squad has three coaches.”

“I understand that Miss Fabray, but we simply do not have the rooms available to accommodate your request. We’re currently housing several squads and their coaches for the competition this weekend. I’m sorry.” The young man behind the desk explained, Santana could tell Quinn was doing her best to keep calm while the squad waiting off to the side watching.

“Is there at least more than one bed?” Quinn asked with a sigh, “No way I’m sharing with these two. That one kicks in her sleep.”

“That was one time,” Brittany protested.

“Of course, you have been upgraded to the mini suite which contains two double beds.” The man states and Santana stiffens.

Two beds? There’s three of them which means someone’s going to have to double up.

She and Brittany have been taking things slow and although they haven’t really had a conversation with Quinn about what’s going on, Santana’s pretty sure she knows something already. However this thing between her and Brittany hasn’t reached the let’s share a bed level just yet, but she doesn’t think there’s any way to avoid it now. It makes her nervous, but it’s not like anything’s going to happen with Quinn there.

Then again, when has that stopped them before?

No. She likes how their relationship is progressing and involving great sex into the mix is just going to complicate things and Santana doesn’t want to do complicated with Brittany anymore. They’ve wasted too many years doing that.  

“And because the Cheerios are regular guests here,” The man continues, “Your squad has also been allocated to rooms on the highest level on the city-view side.”  

Santana tilts her head at Quinn, looking impressed, “Well that’s almost acceptable.”

“There is also a substantial credit left on the account,” The man adds, “Compliments of Sue Sylvester. Any room service or restaurant charges are covered.”

“Does that include the mini-bar?” Brittany asks from over Santana’s shoulder.

“Yes, it does.” The man answers.

Santana and Brittany’s eyes go wide while Quinn gives her famous Queen Bitch Smirk. She has no idea how much money is left on the account, but it has to be a lot because room service is hella expensive.

“That’s more like it.” Quinn says and proceeds with the check-in process until the man is handing her a stack of keycards.

“I knew Sue was loaded, but damn.” Santana says as Quinn divides the stack and hands them out to Santana and Brittany.

“Yeah, no way Figgins was going to cover this on his own.” Brittany agrees before they’re heading over to the squad.

They go over the rules and schedule they’ve been drilling in the girls’ heads in the days leading up to this trip, including Santana’s last minute rant from the bus. It’s nearly dinner time so Quinn reminds the girls to eat, whether it be in the restaurant or room service and to text the WhatsApp group chat she organized just incase they need anything before sending them off to get settled in their rooms.

\\

Brittany’s the first to enter their room with Quinn and Santana following close behind.

The room is huge with two super comfy looking beds on one side of the room, flanked by night stands with modern lamps atop. Dividing the room, there’s an arm chair with a tall floor lamp behind it, the design similar to the other lamps. There’s a small, circular coffee table off to the side, topped with an all white flower arrangement and a couple books on architecture. Across from that is a matching couch facing a giant tv mounted on the wall above a sleek desk that stretches along the wall’s length.

There’s contemporary art in black frames thoughtfully placed around the room that tie into the modern light fixtures. It’s pretty swanky, Santana thinks, so she can only assume the bathroom is just as dope, but the view is what makes the coaches stop and stare.

It’s close to dusk and the lights of the city shine brightly against the darkening sky. The assortment of buildings and lights almost reminds Santana of New York and for a moment she kind of misses her life there.

“What a view,” Brittany breaks the silence and moves closer to the windows, pulling back the sheer curtains to fully take it in.

Quinn agrees but Santana’s moving to stand next to Brittany, watching her curiously as blue eyes dance all over the city lights. She hasn’t seen this kind of wonderment in awhile and she finds herself thinking of their first trip to New York for Nationals because that was the last time she ever saw this look. Everyone had been excited that day, it was all their first out of state trip and most of them barely left Ohio except for Brittany who would occasionally visit her family in Santa Fe. It was like a whole new world to them full of possibilities and suddenly Santana wonders if Brittany still thinks of New York in that way.

“Which side do you guys want?” Quinn asks, Santana didn’t even hear her starting to set up her suitcase on the luggage rack.

“What makes you think Brittz and I are the one’s sharing?” Santana huffs, crossing her arms over her chest.

Quinn looks up from her belongings and smirks, “You trying to tell me you wanna share, Santana?”

Santana scrunches her nose, “No. I can’t think of anything worse actually.”

Quinn chuckles and turns to Brittany, “Britt? You wanna share?”

Brittany just shrugs and reaches for her little suitcase, “I have a preference but I don’t mind switching things up.”

Santana’s surprised by Brittany’s answer and steps in, “We want the side furthest from the window.”

Quinn smiles back knowingly and moves to claim her rightful nightstand. In passing, she whispers to Santana, “That’s what I thought.”

“Whatever,” Santana grumbles and goes to unpack too.

\\

A couple hours later, they’re surrounded by various dishes from the all-day dining menu while they watch old episodes of Keeping up with the Kardashians. There’s a perfectly good couch and coffee table, but their beds are more comfortable and they sit at the edges trying not to spill anything on the white duvets.

Santana notices Brittany had gone a little quiet after the second episode and glances over to find her busily scrolling on her phone. There’s a frown on her face and Santana wonders what is causing it when there are things like Khole’s witty comebacks to laugh at.

“Hey,” She says softly, bumping their shoulders together, “Everything okay?”

Brittany’s slow to look away, but when she does she smiles and it’s genuine.

“Yeah, I’m just double checking my flight details for next week.” Brittany explains, “I forgot to send my mom the itinerary and she got worried that I forgot to book again.”

Santana tries to keep from looking anything but a little sad. She had almost forgotten that Brittany was going to San Francisco for the holidays so she could visit with her family since she missed out for Thanksgiving. Deep down, Santana is happy for Brittany; she’s told her before that it has been awhile since the Pierces have been together and she knows how much Brittany cherishes family time.

She’s just bummed that they won’t get to spend Christmas or New Year’s together. It’s silly because she’s gone 5 years without spending the holidays with Brittany, but after everything that happened on Thanksgiving, Santana thought things would be different.

The slight disappointment must show on Santana’s face because Brittany’s quick to slide her hand over and cool fingers wrap around Santana’s wrist and begin to travel up her forearm.

She smiles almost teasingly and asks, “You gonna miss me?”

Santana wishes she could say something witty to throw Brittany off her scent, but she struggles and replies dismissively, “I don’t know. Maybe.”

Brittany snickers and glances over at Quinn, too busy with cutting into her chicken to notice them, before pressing a quick kiss to Santana’s cheek.

“You’re cute,” Brittany whispers to her and Santana blushes, “And I’m gonna miss you too.”

“Cool,” Santana beams which is decidedly not her best response but apparently Brittany brings out the dork in her.

Brittany doesn’t seem to notice as she averts her eyes to her plate and picks at a fry. Santana can tell she’s deep in thought and whatever it is isn’t something good as Brittany begins looking somewhat dejected. She considers asking what she’s thinking about but Brittany speaks first.

She goes on to say quietly, “I didn’t even think to ask if you wanted to come with me. I mean, I did. I actually thought about it a lot but I just...”

Santana’s smile fades as she listens and watches Brittany shrink further in on herself. It makes Santana feel horrible, but she doesn’t know what to say to make the feeling go away.

“I guess I wasn’t sure if it was something you’d want to do considering we’re just – you know – and I thought about my family and how I’d probably have to explain our dynamic and I didn’t think you’d want to deal with that so early on.”

“Oh.” Santana breathes out because it’s the first thing that comes to mind.

Brittany bites her lip nervously, “Sorry, I said too much.”

Santana sighs because she hates seeing Brittany like this and even more so that she’s to blame. She thinks about what Britt must’ve felt when she was contemplating on inviting Santana to San Francisco and she knows that has something to do with how Santana has decided to move forward with their relationship.

They haven’t labelled anything or even gone on a date yet. Maribel and Quinn still don’t know and at first Santana categorized that as taking things slow but maybe she’s been dragging her feet?

Santana’s not really sure, but she hates the idea that Brittany feels the need to tiptoe around her again, so unsure of what’s okay and what isn’t. Things weren’t suppose to be like this and Santana feels like a complete ass for letting it get this far, but she can at least try to make up for it.

Even if it’s only something small, she makes a decision.

“Don’t be sorry, Britt.” Santana assures her, “I don’t think I’ve been very fair to you.”

Brittany’s suddenly confused but Santana just shakes her head and moves to squeeze Britt’s hand as she musters up the nerve.

“Hey Q?” Santana calls out after giving Brittany one last look.

“Yeah?” Quinn answers and when she turns to them there’s pasta sauce dribbling down her chin.

Santana doesn’t bother to point it out and proceeds with a calming inhale, “I’ve got something to say.”

Quinn quirks a brow and wipes at her moth with the napkin, “Okay?”

Santana swallows but she isn’t as nervous as she thought and the words fall freely, “Brittz and I are kind of seeing each other again.”

They’re not the exact words she wanted to go with, but the look on Brittany’s face let’s her know that she appreciates them regardless. Brittany’s been so patient with her, as always, and again Santana didn’t notice how selfless Brittany was being. If Santana was so committed to doing things right this time, she has to start holding herself accountable too. She has to take Brittany’s wants and needs into consideration too.

Quinn’s brows rise as she glances between the two before she smiles, “It’s about time! You know how hard it is to pretend I don’t overhear all your constant flirting? It’s cute but gross.”

“Hater,” Santana scoffs but she can’t stop from smiling while Brittany just rubs comforting circle against Santana’s back.

“Hater? I love you guys,” Quinn adds, “And you know I’m happy for you.”

Santana and Brittany send each other knowing looks and Santana’s heart soars.

“But just because I love you both and I’m happy for you does not meant you can try hooking up in the night because let me tell you,” Quinn says, “From past experience with sharing a room with you two, you’re not subtle.”

“Wow, way to ruin the moment.” Santana sighs with the roll of her eyes.

“See, I told you.” Brittany deadpans and Santana knows it’s meant to lighten the mood but Santana’s cheeks pink instantly.

“Britt..” Santana chastises but Brittany just looks back innocently while Quinn continues.  

“At least wait until I’m in the shower or tell me to leave the room? There are these great signs you can hang on the door that say do not disturb too, you should really try them out. They come with the room,” Quinn suggests before taking another bite of her chicken.

Santana just lets her face fall to her hand and mumbles, “Why are you like this?”

“Will do, Quinn.” Brittany answers a little louder and the proud smile is so worth the slight embarrassment Santana has to endure.  

[docholligay]

One of the major drivers of these four episodes is Ami’s descent into evil, and I think it MIGHT be my favorite arc of the whole thing, for two reasons: It allows a really negative thing to ride out more than one episode (We don’t even finish it in these four) and it make Ami interesting in a way that she really never is to me. 

While technically you could have this happening to any of the supporting Senshi, I think it’s impact would be drastically reduced for anyone but Ami. Mina is basically a force unto herself at this point, and while the whole idea of ~the princess has been turned evil~ could be fun, she’s not close enough to any of them --with the possible exception of Rei and even then they’re still working out that whole hate to love thing--for it to have the emotional impact. Rei is a grumpy gus with an axe to grind against THE ENTIRE WORLD and she and Usagi don’t have near the relationship that they do in the anime, so the idea of her going rogue lacks punch. Mako is nice and all, but it would be pretty easy for me to see her taking that hatred of Tuxedo Mask, which I love, and being flipped based on the idea that she’s “helping” (which I like in and of itself, but also, Mako is the least developed of the five girls in PGSM, and so we aren’t as engaged with her as the others. 

But Ami? We know that Ami really never had a friend before Usagi, not one she thought she could trust, and we’ve seen how jealous and invested in Usagi she is. Out of all the girls, the idea that she might go after Usagi is the most shocking. It also helps that her personality supports none of this: She’s meek, she’s shy, she lacks a backbone most of the time. And full kudos to the actress playing her, and I’ll get into that more later in post, she totally plays Ami and Darkury totally differently, down to facial expressions, movement, tone of voice, even when she’s dressed up as “Ami” the effect is completely different. 

But how did we get here? How did arguably the most faithful senshi to Usagi PERSONALLY (vs Sailor Moon/Princess) come to long for her destruction? Kunzite’s mind control is obviously an agent here, but I think there’s also an undertone of Usagi’s failure to appreciate Ami for her contributions. 

Over the past few episodes, and well on into these ones, we’ve seen Usagi sulking over Mamoru Chiba and her fucking shocking desire (seriously, how did all the inners get such great characterization and Mamoru is wallpaper paste? It’s so disappointing, especially since the sentient gay rocks are so good in this) to be with him. To the point that it becomes all consuming. Ami has been so ill that she’s not at school, and it seems like the only one who’s noticed is Mako. 

We know that AMi’s mother is never around, but that’s not really brought to bear in the anime. It simply exists as a convenient excuse, like most of the absent families in Sailor Moon, to have the Senshi swear immediate fealty to Usagi without caring about their families. PGSM is unique in this regard, that it actually wrangles with these ideas. Ami is a lonely enough kid that she’s literally passed out on her bed when Mako comes to get her, and literally no one has so much as called to come and check on her. Not her mother, and certainly not Usagi, who is, might I add, literally pouting under the covers in her room over Mamoru: 

So Mako comes over and makes her eat and there’s a miraculous recovery: 

It’s tempting to say that the Evil Inside is the source of this remarkable and immediate energy, but I don’t think that’s true. I’ve seen this arc multiple times, and I keep coming back tot he fact that this is one of the few signs of affection that Ami gets, and I think that, more than any congee, however delicious, is what revives her. Now the easy answer for “why the amusement park?” is clearly that they let PGSM film there all the time and probably for a very reasonable price, but in-universe I would say its because Ami wants the experience of having fun with someone, of enjoying her time with Mako when it’s focused only on Ami. Someone spending time just with Ami is a rare treat--we remember how they’ve been ignoring her and her friendship mittens over the course of all of this, and I think her need, when she’s sick off her ass, to create some kind of nice memory with Mako is part of this. 

Because it leads into THE DARKENING and also something that I think makes this more effective for me than most “brainwashing” shit: Ami is deeply, deeply angry. What makes you say that, Holligay? Well, why wouldn’t she be? Usagi has pressed her into all of this, she worked through her jealousy regarding Naru, and now she is being ignored even in her weakest moments for fucking MAMORU, who, it must be said, at this point isn’t giving Usagi the time of fucking day. We know from previous episodes of this show that AMi can be a deeply jealous person, and I think that’s just more of what’s coming out here, that some part of her believes Usagi deserves to be punished, that they all do, for the way they’ve treated her, and SHE ISN’T WRONG. 

BUt I think there’s also this deep sense that Known Titmouse Ami Mizuno isn’t what she wants to be: 

She’s not “evil” quite yet, Mako is actively trying to save her, but AMi REJECTS that. I think there’s a part of her calling toward this, calling toward this space where she doesn’t have to be herself and so can be fully assertive, powerful, commanding, even in a way that she’s never been able to be in her life. I think that’s extraordinarily tempting, and it makes perfect sense to me why Ami of all people would get into it, even as I think it’s the least “obvious” answer from an audience standpoint (I made the joke in the stream that if we’d had the full complement and Michiru had been the one to turn, Mina would just say “I’ve only been saying this for YEARS”) And that’s part of why I think PGSm is, for people named Doc, who are me, PGSM provides the most compelling characterization of the Inner Senshi.

[theeeveetamer]

I'm pretty sure my computer would burn and die if I tried to play the Sims 4 but tell me anyway which packs are the best to buy!

Sims 4 is actually easier to run than Sims 3! Especially if you only have a few packs and no mods installed! They designed it for longevity, and it initially came out in 2014. There’s even a laptop mode designed specifically for people with lower end systems.

And, fun fact, you can try it for free! Origin allows a free trial for the Sims 4, so if you’re worried it won’t run or you’re worried you won’t like it you can always download the trial and test it out! That’s actually how I got into the game.

Though I will note before getting started: Some of the newer packs require a 64 bit operating system or a Metal-supported Mac system. Anything released after October 2019 cannot be played on a 32 bit/non-metal system.

Though at the moment that basically just excludes you from the University pack.

Also note! Different people like different stuff out of their Sims game, so if it sounds interesting don’t worry if I don’t rate it highly. I tend to play with a more realistic slant, and for items I tend to like more modern aesthetics when it comes to clothes and items. With that in mind, let’s get to the list! I’ve divided them up by pack type (Expansion, Game, or Stuff).

Expansion Packs:

1) Seasons: Must Have

I will always, always, always shill for the seasons EP of any Sims game. Frankly, I am of the opinion that it should just be base game, but whatever. It adds dynamic weather and, well, seasons which are two things that will affect your game no matter how you choose to play.

Sims 4 is rather unique from previous sim games in that it adds a calendar system and holidays. Not only can you celebrate holidays, you can actually create your own and freely edit or move them around! I’m not kidding, you can get pretty wacky. Like, worshiping garden gnomes and punching each other in the face wacky. Or you can be a loser like me, make every single Three Houses character, and make them all have a lovely Christmas together because they deserve it :x

2) City Living: Good to Have

This one is down to personal taste. I love the city aesthetic, and the apartments are pretty fun to play around with. City Living also adds some interesting festival activities and four unique city districts. Another boon, if this is something you’re interested in, is cultural diversity! Sims 4 has been making a concentrated effort to include more diversity in their games, and a lot of outfits and objects in this pack reflect that!

All of the festivals and events will still occur regardless of if you live in the city or not, so you don’t have to miss out on all of the features even if you don’t choose to use the apartments 100% of the time. Though the bulk of the new game-play really is in the city neighborhood.

3) Discover University: Good to Have (Note: This is one of those 64 bit packs)

I admittedly haven’t played around with this one extensively since it just came out, but I think it’s great fun! I put Sim Sylvain, Sim Felix, Sim Dimitri, and Sim Dedue through college and it was a struggle (in the best of ways). Dorm life, subsisting exclusively on Ramen, and staying up until 2 am working on that term paper that’s due tomorrow... What’s not to love? I’m always a big fan of University packs because, again, I like to play pretty realistically. With mods I managed to get them into a collective $80,000 of college debt and can you tell that I’m an American yet? 

Plus, this one added the teaching, law, and engineering professions to the game and I will never not enjoy making Dimitri a psychology professor for the irony.

University isn’t really necessary to your sims’ lives, but it certainly does help them out along the way. You can choose to ignore it if you want to, but I don’t really see myself doing that when I play, which means this pack will get a lot of use from me personally.

4) Cats and Dogs: Good to Have

If you’re really into the whole rustic aesthetic then this is definitely the pack for you. The town they added is very cute and one of my more well used towns (currently the residence of all of my Blue Lions Sims). If you want your Felix sim to have 6 cats then this is also the pack for you, because you can’t have pets otherwise.

You can also create your own veterinary clinic, which is a feature I’ve barely touched but I’m sure someone will get a kick out of! It’s similar to running a business or owning a restaurant from some similar packs.

God, and you can do some crazy fuckin things to these pets. You can basically cross breed to your heart’s content, so you can get some weird ass combinations. There’s also a paint tool, so you can have dogs with rainbow fur and cats with green paws. Oh and you can have pet foxes and raccoons, but they basically function as dogs and cats respectively.

All in all a fun pack, even if I don’t use all of its content 100% of the time.

5) Get to Work: It’s Alright

Here’s where I start getting a little lukewarm. Get to Work added three active careers (Doctor, Scientist, and Detective) as well as the ability to own and run your own retail store. And these features are fun! ... If you use them.

With the way the Sims 4 is built, having a Sim in an active career and a Sim family with more than one or two sims can be difficult to manage. You can only load one lot at a time, so if you follow your sim to work then you can’t play your sims at home and vice versa, you have to load through every time you switch. There are no “home businesses” either, so your sim either has to live “off lot” and travel (aka you have to sit through a loading screen) tp the retail store every time you do business, or you build a living space on the retail lot and try to wrangle the game into working. This means you have to manually bring your sims “home” to the store every day, and it causes some issues.

Personally, I don’t like being minorly inconvenienced, so after the novelty wore off I barely touched these features again. Most of the CAS and Build/Buy items are career or retail focused too, so I can’t say it has any must have items. I’m putting it at #5 though because I know many people love these features and happily play around the limitations.

6) Get Famous: It’s Alright

I’ll admit, I had a lot of fun with this pack when it first came out! It adds a lot of really cool stuff, like the reputation system, fame, and what is essentially a YouTuber career. There’s also another one of those active careers (actor/actress) if that’s your thing.

Fame also works in a very interesting way in this pack, too. There are “perks” and “quirks”, so your sim can have their own celebrity brand and hordes of followers, but have extremely volatile emotions or a fear of being touched. Kind of an interesting reward/drawback system that hasn’t been present in previous sim games.

Personally though, this pack doesn’t have much longevity to me. Just like Get to Work it was fun for a little while, but I don’t particularly like playing “famous” sims so many of the pack’s features go unused. The town, Del Sol Valley, is pretty underwhelming with only a handful of lots, and kind of a sunny desert-y aesthetic. Which doesn’t pair well if you like the rain and snow from Seasons like I do.

7) Island Living: It’s Alright

This pack is great if you love island-aesthetic items and clothes, tropical islands, and/or mermaids. Personally? I love all three of those things. I’ve been using quite a few of the outfits and objects and roleplaying them as “Duscur themed” for my Dimidue family. I mean, we have no idea what Duscur actually looked like, but the items are distinct enough from most of the typical items in the game that it kind of works?

Anyways, the reason this is so low is because there’s just not much to do in this pack. Mermaids and swimming and that’s basically it. There’s only one new career (conservationist) and three part time careers (diving, fishing, and life-guarding, which I kind of thought were going to be full time careers when I bought the damn thing...)

I’ll talk about this later, but the mermaids are by far the least interesting altered life state/occult in the game. Vampires (and I believe witches) have skill trees of powers and drawbacks, similar to those celebrity perks and quirks I talked about before. Mermaids have nothing like that, so they get boring to play with rather quickly. Watching their tail flop out while they’re in the bath is kinda fun though NGL.

The town is really cool though. I love basically all the pre-built lots and I love the items, but again if you like snow this probably isn’t a world you’re going to be using much. That, and to use many of the new features (like boats and ocean swimming and building houses out over the water) you must be in this world.

8) Get Together: Skippable

I honestly don’t think I’ve ever seriously used any of the features from this pack aside from the town. The build/buy is a lot of Tudor style stuff, which I don’t tend to use, and a lot of the clothing is weirdly ugly clubbing clothes.

The clubs are really the big feature of this pack. Similarly to the holidays from Seasons, you can create clubs of sims that will get together and do activities. Basically any action in the game can have a club associated with it (from cleaning to “woohoo”) and you can have club perks that make your club more powerful, and sometimes infamous!

My main issue: If you aren’t actively using this feature it doesn’t really do anything. It just kind of exists as an extra sim panel in the bottom right corner of your screen. And I didn’t use it. Like, at all. That said, I know a lot of people find it very fun! I’m just not sure it’s worth spending $20-$40 of your money on.

Game Packs

I’ll just say right off the bat, I’m not going to talk about Realm of Magic. It adds wizards and wacky magical hijinks, but I bought it at the same time as University and I haven’t gotten around to playing it much yet. I will say, they added a ton of really cool objects and outfits! Especially the rugs. God, the rugs are to die for.

1) Parenthood: Must Have

Two words: Teen Angst. This pack fleshes out a lot of the younger life states. It adds teaching moments, punishments, “character value” traits such as polite or irresponsible, curfews, volunteering, sibling rivalries, mood swings, phases, etc. You want your kid to come home dressed like a bear randomly one day? This is for you.

I admit, I find a lot of the younger life stages in this game boring to play without this pack. I don’t think I could ever go back to vanilla sims after having used it, I find it that essential to my play style. Keep in mind though, this pack will only give you good mileage if you play families with sims of all ages.

2) Dine Out: Good to Have

You can own and operate a restaurant, which functions similarly to the retail stores and vet clinics I mentioned before. However, if you don’t want to own one then you can still plop them down in your town and your sims can travel there for dinners and such.

It’s really good for role playing dates and family nights out and such, but if that’s not your thing and you don’t care about owning one then this is not the pack for you.

3) Vampires: Fun, if You’re Into It

I actually played around with Vampires a lot when the pack first came out, which was honestly just a result of my life circumstance at the time (I was taking a literature course about vampires so I had vamps on the brain).

The vampire skills and vampire banes are pretty fun to mess with, and you can create a lot of pretty unique bloodsuckers. I had a Leo and Takumi sim, and the former was extremely weak to the sun and the latter could walk around in it no problem. Made for some fun role playing.

My two criticisms:

Vampires live forever, which means you’ll eventually get bored of playing the same sims.

Vampires don’t really sleep. They only sleep to recover their vampiric energy, which is only expended through the use of powers. It does not deteriorate naturally, so your vampire could be awake 24/7 for several sim days. Thing is, that just leaves you with too much time to do stuff. They’ll max their skills pretty quickly and then what do you do? Nothing.

Oh, and if you’re in to gothic-style stuff this is a must have for you.

4 & 5) Jungle Adventure and Outdoor Retreat: They’re Alright

I’m putting these in the same slot because they basically serve the same function: Vacations. One involves diving into ruins and hacking your way through jungles, the other is camping, but they’re both basically sim-vacations.

This is another one of those pack types where either you use it or you don’t, and if you don’t it doesn’t really do anything for you. Most of the game packs are like that, actually. Personally, I don’t take my sims on sim vacations very often so I mostly keep these packs around for the items.

Though I will say Outdoor Retreat added a ton of plaid so if that’s your aesthetic then go for it.

6) Spa Day: Skippable

This one basically just allows you to place and build “spa lots” in the world. It added the wellness skill, which ties into the meditation and yoga activities. There’s also saunas and massage tables, but I have rarely if ever placed them in a home lot for personal use.

Another use it or don’t kind of thing. I don’t even have a spa lot placed on my current world, so that just goes to show you how much I use this pack.

Some of the items are cool. Unless you really like those I’d say pass.

7) Strangerville: Honestly It Just Doesn’t Make That Much Sense As a Sims Pack?

Strangerville basically added a story and quest line to the game. I hear it’s pretty fun, but I don’t really play Sims for stories and quests, I play it as a sandbox game. So although I have the pack I’ve never actually played the “story” of it. It’s really not the best Game Pack to get as an entry to the series since it’s such a departure from the typical sims experience.

The town is alright, but again another desert so forget it if you like rain and snow. Unless you really really want the military career or you like the outfits and objects then I wouldn’t personally recommend. Especially for newer players to the series.

Stuff Packs

Honestly there are waaaaaay too many of these for me to rank and I wouldn’t really describe any of them as “must haves”, so instead I’m just going to put down my five favorites. But it’s really up to you to look at the items and decide if it’s worth your $10. Each pack adds a new “game-play” feature, though they’re very small and can be lived without pretty easily.

1) Laundry Day Stuff

This entire pack was actually voted on and “created” by Sims players so that’s a huge plus! More rustic-style items, and the game-play feature here is, obviously, laundry. Since I like playing more realistically, adding another chore was actually worth the money for me lmao. Plus all of the clothes are cute and comfy looking!

The Sims Team also has an amazing sense of humor and named an entire set of the items “Wicker Whims” after the WickedWhims sex mod for the game. Which, honestly? When a dev interacts with players like that it’s always really endearing to me.

2) Movie Hangout Stuff

The aesthetic of this pack is Boho-chic for some reason, so if you like that this pack delivers! The new game-play feature is popcorn and watching movies which can be fun for roleplaying families.

3) Kids Room Stuff

Another one that’s only useful if you play families, but it did add a cute little trading card game for kids. They can collect cards and battle them, similar to Pokemon. Unfortunately, adults can’t play, but I’m sure there’s a mod out there for that somewhere. A lot of the items look really good too, and I use them all semi-frequently. Kids tend to get the short end of the stick when new packs come out, so getting a bunch of hair, outfits, and items for them fills a good niche.

4) Perfect Patio Stuff

Lots of outdoorsy type items, as the name implies. Wicker chairs and outdoor counter tops and the like. This bad boy also brought the return of hot tubs (which probably has the cutest woohoo animation in the game, just saying).

5) Moschino Stuff

The items have a mostly modern, sleek aesthetic, and it adds the freelance photographer career to the game (which is currently what Sim Sylvain is employed as). I basically recommend it on those merits, because the clothes it added are godawful ugly and I’m otherwise not a huge fan of brand-sponsored packs. They’re nothing really new for The Sims, but luxury brands with hideous overpriced clothes aren’t really my thing.

Some Other General Advice for Starting Out

I covered some of this stuff further up but I’ll repeat in case people just skimmed this really long post.

I will warn everyone stay away from “My First Pet Stuff”! You are basically required to own Cats and Dogs to make use of a good chunk of its items, so you might just be wasting your money.

You can get a trial of the game for free if you just want to test it out to see if you’ll like it or if your computer will run it.

Never buy a pack at full price. I’m not kidding when I say they have sales for this game every couple of months. Even if there isn’t a sale there is a bundle option, which is significantly cheaper than buying individual packs! Discover University was $40 at full price. I purchased a bundle with Discover University, Realm of Magic, and Moschino Stuff for $50. Had I bought them separately it would have ran me $70.

In fact sometimes they give the base game out for free! I know they did a promotion like this this past summer. Sims really makes their money from Expansion Packs, so one of their marketing strategies is to give the base game out for free to entice you to play. Even if it’s not free, it’s always steeply discounted during sales. I believe you can get it for $6 right now. I have 1000+ hours in this game, so six dollars is pretty cheap for that much entertainment.

You can see every single item and outfit in a pack before you buy it. So if you’re not sure if it’s for you, just look! The items are listed right there on the Origin store page.

Mods are amazing. Custom content is amazing. If anyone is curious I can create a list of the mods I use/Custom Content I use for my various Fire Emblem sims.

[tmorriscode]

More Than Enough (Ace!Charlie x Fem!MC)

Serious talk between Charlie and MC.

Each of these Hogwarts Mystery imagines are set within the same basic continuity. You don’t need to read them to read this one. But if you want more, you can go here.

—

You are sitting in a chip shop, staring at a stack of applications for archaeology digs, and wondering which one to apply for when the waitress sits a pint on your table.

You blink in confusion. You definitely didn’t order that. Being a starving student means you are somehow more broke than when you were a starving apprentice curse breaker.

“From that fit ginger bloke over there.” The waitress points toward the door.

That’s when you notice Charlie standing there. How long has he been waiting on you to notice him?

You clear the applications off to one side and wave him over.

“Where did you get hurt this time, Dragon Boy?”

“What makes you think I got hurt?” He sounds too innocent.

You raise your eyebrow. “Two reasons: one, you weren’t supposed to have a few days off again for another week, so you must be on an enforced rest. You never stay at the reserve when you are on enforced rest. It’s too tempting for you to help out. And two: you come see me whenever that happens, because if you go home, Molly will fuss.”

“You know my schedule that well, do you?”

“You’re changing the subject.”

Charlie looks shamefaced. “They were able to reattach the hand, and I only passed out a bit.” He holds out the appendage for your inspection. You have to really look to see the thin white line encircling his wrist.

“Was the dragon ok?” You ask because you know that would be Charlie’s bigger concern.

“Under watch, just to make sure there’s no lasting indigestion.”

There’s no sense being upset, so you tell yourself you won’t be. You’re quite stern with yourself about it. To get your mind on something else, You sip the pint gingerly.

Most of the Weasleys think they know more about muggle culture than they really do. So there is no telling what’s in the glass. To your surprise, It tastes like top shelf lager. “How much did you pay for this drink?”

“I used one of the notes with the queen’s face on it.” Charlie shrugs.

“Charlie! They’ve all got the queen’s face on them!” You roll your eyes. Completely hopeless!

—

Back in your flat, he curls up with your kneazle, Indiana and watches telly while you look over the applications again.

You think he might be watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer, because occasionally he’ll mutter something about how they have vampires, werewolves and magic all wrong.

Which does not seem to keep him from watching. So you suppose it must be a bit of alright, for muggle telly.

Eventually he turns the set off. “What are you studying?” He asks as he stretches.

“Figuring out which dig to go on next year.”

“Not going back to the Americas are you?” He sounds slightly worried.

You’ve varied the archaeology studies that you’ve gone on while chasing your four year degree. In the process, learning how to do everything from excavating ancient trash pits to underwater archaeology.

You even have a nifty cutlas scar on your right shoulder from when your muggle team accidentally disturbed a zombie pirate near Oracoke island in North Carolina, which is probably the incident Charlie is thinking of when he sounds concerned.

You learned the hard way on that trip that MACUSA Aurors don’t mess around. They nearly obliviated you along with the rest of the students on that dig before you could tell them that you were a wizard.

How were you supposed to know that you needed to register and get a wand permit when you crossed the pond? You were there with muggles! At least In another year or two they might actually let you back into the region.

You hope so. You liked Oracoke. It had sea turtles and wild horses.

You push away the applications that you’ve already discounted. “I’m at the point where I need to narrow down my field of study, and I think that the golden age of piracy is right out. I can either go back to Ireland, which sounds appealing since I would be near the Irish National Quiddich Team’s training grounds.”

“Thinking about sneaking in to watch practice?” Charlie teases.

“Orrrrr I can go here.” You drawl as you hand him an application.

“A study of the Carpathian campaign of 1916.” He reads, then looks at you skeptically. “This is in Romania.”

“You know your geography.” You slow clap mockingly.

“(Y/N), I hope you’re not thinking about this because of me.” He says.

“That would be a bonus, but I’m actually thinking of narrowing my field of study down to the two world wars.

“I know that the muggle conflicts were spillover from the war with Grindelwald. But I’m starting to wonder more about how the two were interrelated. I know that thanks to the statutes of secrecy, wizards weren’t legally supposed to participate. But Madame Hooch once mentioned that her broom was singed by anti-aircraft fire during the Great War.”

“And Newt Scamander was wrangling Ironbellies,” Charlie adds.

“Exactly!” You point at him. “There are always wizard eyewitness accounts, but in the heat of battle and with the distance of time, those are usually a little exaggerated. It would be nice to find artifacts to back up primary sources. I know that any soldiers who saw magic would have been obliviated, but there may still be trench art, or something of that nature. And of course, I’ll need a related, muggle focus for my thesis.”

“Then what?” He sounds interested.

“Then I start publishing to challenge this whole smash and grab, treasure-only focused arm of curse-breaking. Jacob and Rowan both said that when I’m ready to write a book, they want to help with the research and the editing.”

You bite your lip. Now that you have a clear direction for your life, you feel like you are at a crossroads. Either path will get you where you want to go. But only one path remains in your favorite dragon keeper’s orbit. “Would it be so bad if I was working in your neck of the woods?”

Charlie hands your application back to you, but doesn’t answer.

You sigh. This is a conversation that’s been long in coming. But neither of you seems eager for it.

“Charlie, we’re more than just friends, aren’t we? Or am I imagining this thing between us?”

He’s quiet so long that you have to fight the urge to dissapperate, or at least run from the room and hide your face. When he finally speaks, his voice is thick with emotion. “You’re not imagining it. But (Y/N), you deserve more than this.” His wave encompasses the both of you.

You want to be righteously indignant, but all you can muster up is relief that you’re not completely mental, imagining a one-sided relationship. “Why don’t you let me decide what I deserve?”

He looks as miserable as you feel. “I see what my parents have,” Charlie said. “I don’t think I could give you that. I’m not the guy who remembers flowers on an anniversary, or comes home for Christmas.

He looks like he wants to dam up his speech, but the words pour out of him like a flood. “Some of the blokes at the reserve have posters of girls.” His blush tells you of the nature of these posters. “That’s not me. I don’t spend my time thinking about . . .that.

“But when I want to share good news with someone, I think of you first. If it was anyone, it would be you.”

He looks both earnest and like someone gutted him. “Some of the other keepers at the reserve say that sooner or later if you have someone - bird, bloke, whatever - that eventually you have to choose between the dragons or the relationship.”

It’s . . . a lot to chew on. You aren’t certain where to start. Finally, you pick up the nearest application.

“I’m going to be living out of a tent for a large part of my life,” you wave the application for emphasis. “Possibly in places only reachable by owl post. What makes you think I’m going to want what your parents have?”

He looks confused at that. Like he couldn’t believe that anyone wouldn’t want that. Which breaks your heart. Had Charlie thought he was some kind of oddity for choosing dragons over people?

“You know what I think?” You say quietly. “I think you’re scared, Dragon Boy.”

His eyes narrow, but you have his full attention. Calling a Griffindor scared is fighting words. “You think you have to choose between the dragons and this.” You wave between the two of you. “And you’re afraid I’m going to be mad that the dragons would win the competition.

“There’s no choice to make, here. I’ve always known it would be the dragons.” You smile tenderly. “I’ve never cared. We’re more alike than you think. Maybe that’s why this thing between us has lasted this long. Because for us, it makes sense.”

He puts an arm around you, resting his head against yours. “You’re unbelievable.”

“Yeah, the mental Hufflepuff with the weird visions and the obsession over cursed vaults.” You laugh. “You know how to pick a girl.”

“I do, though.” He’s looking at you like he just won a galleon draw, and he can’t quite believe his luck. You know that look will only last so long. Sooner or later he’ll be back with his dragons. But that’s ok. You’ll be out with your ancient dirt and your muggle pot sherds.

It’s more than just enough, it’s everything.

—

A/N: Buffy the Vampire Slayer premiered in 1996, so about two Ish years before the battle of Hogwarts.

MC doesn’t know it, but Charlie also dosen’t want to go be with his family right now because they aren’t at the burrow, they’re at Grimmauld Place.

Oracoke island is one of the islands in the Outer Banks region of North Carolina. Just off the coast is an area known as “The Graveyard of the Atlantic”. Lots of shipwrecks to explore. Blackbeard the pirate made his home there. There really are wild mustangs and sea turtles on the island. No zombies, that I’m aware of, pirate or otherwise.

A/N 2: I just re-read that Charlie supported Ireland during the World Cup from book 4, so I re-wrote that bit of dialog to be more canon compliant.

[rikrakyarnncrafts]

Crossings – New Exclusive Cable Collection

Crossings is our newest cable collection, and I really think we had the opportunity to collaborate with some wonderful designers and put together some smashing patterns. These cable collections are regularly the most popular books and patterns that we produce, and Crossings is in good company with Celtic Journey, Woodsmoke, and Windward. If you’ve been wanting to take advantage of the Book Sale, then it’s a great time to get this new collection for 40% off.

For this year’s cable collection, we decided to focus more on historical cables. This means that we were looking not only for traditional motifs and stitches, but also traditional construction. Because of that, many of these sweaters are seamed. Seamless sweaters seem to be all the rage these days, so I thought I’d take the opportunity to explore why seaming can, in fact, be desirable. Seaming comes with three main advantages over a seamless construction: easier sizing, portability and manageability, and most of all stability. Let’s look at some of the sweaters in Crossings that really illustrate these advantages.

Seamed Sweaters

Clarsach Pullover, Turfside Sweater, and Inis Aran

The Clarsach Pullover has the traditional textured stitches at the sides of the body and underside of the arms. This keeps simpler stitches in areas prone to wear, so you don’t spend all your time working fancy cables only to have them pill from friction. This also emphasizes a key benefit to pieced sweaters: sizing. The simple textured stitch provides an easy way to add or take away stitches without interfering with a complicated or large scale pattern. Sure, you can do this in a seamless sweater, but piecing means you can more easily add stitches exactly where you need them. Add a few extra stitches in the front to accommodate an ample bosom, add to the back to fit particularly broad shoulders, or adjust the sleeves for differently sized arms. When you work seamlessly, adding these stitches in one place affects your knitting in other places, requiring careful planning and execution. It’s much easier to get a customized fit with pieces.

The Turfside Sweater is a special case for seaming because it’s the only pattern in this collection that calls for a yarn with alpaca. This emphasizes another major benefit of seaming: stability. Even a wool-blended alpaca like City Tweed doesn’t have the memory and resilience that a 100% wool yarn does. While this translates into incredible softness and enviable drape, it also means growing and stretching. All knitting stretches, but alpaca is just more prone to distorting out of shape than wool. Seams act as linear anchors for your knitting. Any one piece can stretch, but seams create a stable framework that limits how much any piece can distort. Seams help any sweaters, even wool, keep their size and shape, but that’s especially important for alpaca.

The Inis Aran calls for a full 6 inches of positive ease! It’s meant to have a relaxed and casual look, which also translates into a looser garment with a lot of yarn. The largest size will weigh almost 3 pounds! This highlights the next benefit of pieced sweaters: manageability. With seamless sweaters, at some point you are going to have basically the whole sweater hanging off of your needles. Imagine what it would be like to wrangle 3 pounds of yarn in your lap while keeping your stitches even. It also becomes much less portable. All sweaters at some point become “home only” projects, but seamless sweaters reach that point much more quickly. Only the working piece of a seamed garment needs to be carried around, leaving you with just finishing and perhaps a collar to work when the entire project is together.

McKenna Cardigan

When it comes to seams, cardigans are a special case, and the McKenna Cardigan is no different. The key advantages to piecing apply double to a cardigan. If you think of a sweater like a building, then the foundation is actually at the shoulders, with the sides being the walls. Pullovers are essentially tubes, so the sides are attached to each other back and front and have at least some inherent stability, even without seams. A cardigan side’s are only attached one way, so the shape and hang is always going to be more important than it is for a pullover. And it’s especially important for cardigans without buttons to keep everything in place. A cardigan without seams relies almost entirely on the structure of the yarn itself. Seams stiffen and support the walls of your sweater, ensuring your cardigan stays the same size and shape, helping it to lay, hang, and drape correctly.

Seamless Sweaters

Riverfall Pullover

All of that is not to say that seams are absolutely essential. Ultimately what really matters is the design, and nowhere is that more apparent than in the Riverfall Pullover. Full Disclosure: this pattern is made by one of my favorite designers, so I am utterly incapable of an unbiased opinion. Luise’s cables are always stunning. This pattern also contains one clever technique that mitigates some of the problems with a seamless construction: the 3 needle-bind off shoulders. This solid bind off closely imitates a seam at the top of the shoulder, providing stability where it’s most needed and making a good foundation for the rest of the sweater.

Retro Pullover and Lucky Gansey

Two of the other seamless sweaters in the collection, the Lucky Gansey and the Retro Pullover, also have a clever solution to the seaming conundrum: the saddle shoulder. There are many ways of making a saddle shoulder, and both of these sweaters opt for one of the more stable options: picking up stitches. While not as stable as a seam, an edge does have more structure than the middle of your knitting. (Have you ever had to frog an oddly shaped project because your edge was too tight? I know I have.) Picking up stitches from an edge puts a light anchor line in the middle of your fabric, like a false seam. Because of the unique construction of the saddle shoulder, this puts two of these faux seams at each shoulder. Compare that to, say, a raglan sleeve without seams or picked up edges, and you can see how such a saddle shoulder will provide a much more stable foundation.

(Hint: If you hate picking up stitches (like me), then consider getting real familiar with seaming.)

Not Sweaters

Tuckamore Wrap, Lundy Wrap, and Inis Meain

What I’ve been largely ignoring for most of this post is probably what you are all focusing on anyway: the cables. That’s really what we do these collections for: intricate, exquisite, amazing cables. Frankly, I think the cable work stands on its own, and that’s particularly apparent in the handful of non-sweaters in the collection. The Tuckamore Wrap has a more traditional set up, with a statement panel of tightly interwoven cable braids and borders of moss stitch-embedded diamond cables, while the Lundy Wrap has some more complicated weaving cables nestled against each other with a moss stitch border that somehow emphasizes the sinuous cabling while still allowing for a straight edge. If you really want to work on your cable stitches, I suggest one of these wraps, since you don’t have to worry about construction or seaming or anything but getting your cables right.

—

If you enjoyed any of our previous cable collections, you’re sure to love Crossings. And these wonderful sweaters are the perfect excuse to learn to love seams too. You can get the entire collection as a print book or eBook, or you can buy each pattern individually as a downloadable pdf. (Also remember that all books are currently on sale, so you can get a print copy of Crossings 40% off for just $17.99, less than $2 per pattern, if you order before February 13th.)

The post Crossings – New Exclusive Cable Collection appeared first on KnitPicks Staff Knitting Blog.

from KnitPicks Staff Knitting Blog http://bit.ly/2FHFgtq via IFTTT

[adriata-archive]

Breakaway (ACOTAR College AU)

Special thank you to @helloetherealsunshine​, @swishandflickwit​, and @acourtoftruelove​ for encouraging me and screaming along with me while I got this fic off the ground.

Also available on AO3

Chapter One 

Feyre loved flying.

Not in planes - never in planes. The idea of being trapped in an airplane for hours at a time, completely at the mercy of the pilot, terrified her. Putting her life in the hands of people she didn’t know, people she didn’t trust, wasn’t in her nature.

But stunting with her team? That was a whole different story.

Feyre loved the rush of adrenaline, seeing the faces of everyone in the crowd and feeling the steady support of her teammates around her, the rush of wind during the dismount before she was being set back down on the ground. She had known after her first ever basket toss that cheerleading was the sport for her, and she thanked her lucky stars every day that Velaris University had thought she was good enough to offer her a full ride if she cheered for them. She was doing what she loved and getting an education for free because of it, and if that wasn’t enough, she was able to go to practice every day with her best friend so that they could cheer for her boyfriend together.

She was a lucky girl, and she tried to remind herself of that fact as she half-heartedly listened to her roommate explain that she was moving out of their dorm.

“Sorry, I know it sucks to get a new roommate towards the end of the quarter, but ever since my parents got divorced my mom needs help wrangling all of my younger siblings under control,” Clare said, her voice apologetic as she tossed clothes into a suitcase. They hadn’t been the best of friends, Feyre and Clare, but they had gotten along well, and they had a system that worked - not everyone could say the same of their roommates.

Feyre had been lucky with Clare, and that alone made her sad to see her go.

“I get it,” Feyre said, and she did, she really did. “Family comes first, always.”

“Maybe you won’t even get a new roommate,” Clare said hopefully. “You could end up having the dorm all to yourself.”

Feyre smiled. “Fingers crossed.”

-/-

“Did I tell you that Clare’s moving out?” Feyre asked, motioning for an increase in pressure until her forehead was pressed flat against her legs.

“Tam might have mentioned it,” Lucien said, removing his hands from Feyre’s back and sitting on the gym floor in front of her. “He told me you sounded stressed out about someone new moving in.”

Feyre raised her eyebrows and suppressed the urge to roll her eyes. “Usually I think it’s cute when he worries about me, but that’s a bit of a stretch. I think he’s more concerned than I am at this point. If I get a nice roommate, cool, but if I don’t, it’s not like I spend much time in my dorm anyway. I spend most of my free time at your apartment.”

“You know how he is,” Lucien said, shrugging. “Besides, he has the big game in two weeks to worry about.”

“They’ll win.” There was a confidence in Feyre’s voice that she almost didn’t recognize when she talked about Tamlin and the rest of the football team; as one of the few sophomores on the cheer team, she often felt that she had to earn her place, and knew that she worked harder than half of her teammates to stay in shape and be what everyone expected a VU cheerleader to be.

It was exhausting, but it was worth it. Being able to go to school and cheer on her boyfriend made it worth it.

“He told me to ask if you’re coming over once Captain Bitch ends practice.”

“I believe that’s Junior Captain Bitch, actually,” Feyre corrected, not even bothering to mask the disdain she felt for Ianthe. If ever there was someone who should not have been allowed to be in a position of authority, it was Ianthe.

Personal biases aside, Feyre hated Ianthe purely because the latter insisted on sleeping her way through the males on the team. Feyre really could have cared less, if it had all been completely consensual. If asked, she had no doubt that all of the men Ianthe had slept with would say that they were willing participants, but she had a reliable source that had told her otherwise.

Feyre was all too aware of the dangers of antagonizing one of the junior captains of the team, but when she caught Ianthe attempting to send a seductive smile Lucien’s way, she openly glared. She might not have been able to spare any of Ianthe’s other victims, but she could protect her friend.

“Ignore her,” Lucien said, the words coming out rough instead of reassuring, as Feyre knew he’d intended. “She’s not worth our time.”

“How’d she even get to be junior captain, anyway?” Feyre asked. “She’s probably the worst flyer we have and her dancing is awful.”

Lucien grinned. “You mean you don’t think that watching her writhe around the gym floor is a fantastic way to spend your time?”

Feyre laughed and punched him in the shoulder. “Shut up.” She could feel Ianthe’s eyes burning a hole into the back of her head, but she wasn’t going to allow the other woman to dictate how she interacted with her friend. Ianthe could pout all she wanted; nobody else decided what Feyre could and could not do.

Lucien’s eyes, which had been laughing back at Feyre, suddenly focused on the entrance to the gym. “Tam’s here.”

“Tamlin’s here? Why?” Feyre couldn’t help her brows from furrowing as she looked over her shoulder to see her boyfriend casually leaning against the doorway. “I told him I’d call after practice, and he asked you to check if I was coming over.”

“Practice is running a little later than usual,” Lucien offered, waving a lazy hand in Tamlin’s direction.

“I guess,” Feyre said dubiously, following Lucien’s example and waving at her boyfriend before going back to stretching. “He’s going to be bored, though, if we don’t get out of here soon.”

“Maybe if she notices we have an audience, Her Ladyship will relieve us from our duties.”

Feyre snorted and leaned forward, her voice dropping into conspiratorial whisper. “If you ask me, it’s high time for an impeachment.”

“Whatever you say, poly sci major,” Lucien said, smirking as he avoided Feyre’s half-hearted swing at him.

Neither of them noticed the way Tamlin’s carefully neutral expression slipped into a frown as Ianthe told them they’d be running through partner stunts, or the way he stiffened as Lucien placed his hands on Feyre’s waist.

-/-

“Hey, babe,” Feyre said cheerfully. Tamlin slung an arm around her shoulders and pulled her close, despite the fact that she was covered in sweat and had never been a fan of public displays of affection. It made her acutely uncomfortable, but Tamlin was almost her polar opposite in that regard, so she compromised when she could.

“Yeah, hey, babe,” Lucien repeated with the same level of enthusiasm, snickering when both Feyre and Tamlin shot him withering glares. He dismissed Feyre’s without a second thought, but something in Tamlin’s eyes prompted him to stall so that he was walking on his roommate’s other side rather than next to Feyre.

Feyre had to try hard to pretend not to notice.

“How was practice?” Tamlin asked, pointedly not looking in Lucien’s direction.

“As good as practice led by a would-be dictator can be,” Feyre quipped.

“Ianthe’s not that bad,” Tamlin protested, opening the passenger side door of his car for Feyre. “If you guys hung out with her outside of practice you’d know that.”

Feyre arched an eyebrow. “You have to say that. You’re in the same major. Solidarity and all that. And haven’t you known her since high school?”

“Middle school, actually,” Tamlin said stiffly. The apartment he shared with Lucien was only a few blocks from the university gym, but their practice had gotten out later than usual, and he didn’t want Feyre to be walking around in the dark, even if he and Lucien were with her. “She’s one of my oldest friends. You could at least try to like her.”

“I could,” Feyre agreed. “But I probably won’t. You have the whole childhood nostalgia thing working for you when you talk to her - we don’t.”

Tamlin sighed, his hands tightening around the steering wheel as he pulled into a parking space. “Can you try? For me?”

Feyre frowned, but she didn’t say anything about the way her boyfriend shifted into park with more force than was necessary. “Okay. I’ll try.”

“Thank you,” Tamlin said, his smile little more than a thin line as he motioned for Feyre to stay seated while he got out of the car and walked around to open her door for her. She was more than capable of opening her own damn door, but the protest died on her lips when she saw how tense her boyfriend was.

She didn’t say anything when Tamlin interlaced their fingers and squeezed, even when it started to hurt.

-/-

“Clueless,” Feyre said, shifting from her spot on the couch to rest her head on Tamlin’s shoulder.

“We watched Clueless last week,” Tamlin reminded her, idly running his fingers through her hair. “Maybe we could move out of the nineties tonight?”

“Fine,” Feyre said, grinning up at him. “How about Dirty Dancing?”

Tamlin chuckled and pressed a kiss to her forehead. “You hate Dirty Dancing. You think it’s cheesy.”

“Yes, but it’s one of your favorite movies, so we should at least consider having to endure Patrick Swayze teaching someone named Baby how to dance.”

Lucien groaned from his spot on the floor, sprawled out in front of the TV as he sorted through their DVD collection. Feyre had tried (and failed) to convince one of them to get a Netflix account since she’d first started hanging out at their apartment, but both Tamlin and Lucien were surprisingly old school, and she’d had to learn to make her peace with it.

“Will you two just pick a movie already?”

Tamlin laughed again, his arm loose around Feyre’s shoulders as she tucked herself further into him. She liked him like this; relaxed and easy-going, free to be affectionate in the comfort of his own living room. He’d been tense lately, the pressure from the football team growing to be a little too much this far into the season, and she wasn’t sure what she could do to help him carry what seemed like the weight of the world.

“Let’s watch Clueless,” Tamlin said, his smile soft as Feyre clapped her hands.

“Excellent choice.”

-/-

It was late when Feyre got back to her dorm, but she figured that since Clare had moved out and her new roommate wouldn’t be moving in for a couple of days, no one could complain. Tamlin drove her back and insisted on walking her to her door, lingering a little longer than was necessary. She was fairly certain that he was waiting for her to invite him inside, but she had class the next day, and so did he - a fact which she firmly reminded him of before kissing him goodnight and sending him on his way.

Something eased in her chest as Feyre watched Tamlin disappear around the corner of her hall, something that she didn’t care to dwell on.

She let herself into her room, leaning against the door after it shut behind her, and contemplated whether it was worth taking a shower this late. When she opened her eyes, though, she found herself wondering if she’d left the light on the entire time she’d been at practice and then at Tamlin’s, and finally saw the boxes on Clare’s old side of the room.

“Hey,” Feyre said slowly, focusing on the girl methodically unpacking boxes and stowing clothes away in the other closet. “I’m Feyre.”

Her new roommate turned around, and Feyre blinked despite herself. The other girl was absolutely stunning in every way, but what caught Feyre’s attention was the large bruise covering half of her face.

“I’m Morrigan, but you can call me Mor.”

Tagging: @darlingfireheart, @goldbooksblack, @who-tf-was-i-before-fandoms

[ankhlesbian]

FE Rarepair Week: Day 1

Prompt: Snow, for @ferarepair-week

Fandom: FE Echoes: Shadows of Valentia

Pairing: Faye/Silque

AO3 Link: Here

Length: ~2k

Title: in a polaroid picture

A gust of wind howls by, biting at Faye’s uncovered skin. She shivers, wrapping her arms around herself. Her usual outfit has served her well so far during their journey across Rigel, but the days just keep getting colder and colder. Silque glances over at her, frowning.

“We should be able to procure warmer clothes next time we find a village. It’s the right season for it, after all.” Faye nods in agreement.

“It never got this cold in Zofia.” she says mournfully. “Do you think it’ll snow?” Ram Village never saw real snow. Even if a few sad flakes did start falling, they never stuck to the ground for longer than just a couple of minutes.

Silque tilts her head towards the sky, full of swirling wispy clouds, and hums thoughtfully. “It might.”

Faye watches her closely. She seems much more animated than usual, her eyes twinkling. She’s… excited?

“How long has it been since you saw snow?” She knows Silque has been to Rigel before, a long, long time ago. Silque hesitates.

“Years, I suppose. I don’t remember much from my time here. Most of my memories are from growing up on Novis Isle.”

“Do you miss it?” It’s perhaps a rude question, but the piercing cold and the somber grey sky above and the muted grass beneath their feet has Faye feeling oddly pensive. Silque’s lips quirk upwards, not quite a smile.

“Of course. But if I had gone back, I’d just be doing what I was doing before the war. After everything, I couldn’t go back to sitting around. There’s people who need healing, people who need guidance now that Mila has left us. Besides, I enjoy getting to see the world.”

Faye can understand that. Before deciding to join Silque, she had gone back to Ram Village to see her parents. It hadn’t changed at all, but it still seemed emptier. There wasn’t much there for her, not anymore.

“Ah yes, who wouldn’t want to enjoy this glorious view?” She says, instead of voicing any of that. She gestures out at the barren landscape around them. Silque elbows her, but she’s smiling, for real this time.

“Don’t be so crass! There’s all sorts of wonders out here.” And as if on cue, something cold and wet hits Faye’s cheek. She gasps, touching the spot instinctively.

Silque giggles, and then it turns to laughter as she sees Faye’s face. Her head is thrown back, blue hair all the more vibrant thanks to the shining white snowflakes falling down around her. It’s a positively radiant sight, and Faye finds herself laughing too. She raises her hands to the sky, trying to catch a snowflake. Her lingering homesickness dissipates, and she wonders how she ever thought she liked Alm. He never made her feel like this, like this moment alone was worth a lifetime of loneliness.

They goof off for the next few minutes, mission forgotten. It’s like being a child again. Of course, they eventually tire of throwing snowballs at each other, and reality sets in. It’s getting late, and the snow shows no sign of letting up. The wind is also picking up, blasting ice into their faces.

“I think it’s a blizzard.” Silque says, voice shaking despite her attempt to stay calm. Faye’s own teeth are chattering. She takes a moment to compose herself.

“It doesn’t look like it’s gonna stop. We need to find a cave or something.” she agrees, because they’ve both looked over their map, and they both know they’re too far from any towns to seek shelter there.

The terrain isn’t rocky enough for caves, but they do manage to find what appears to be an old shed. The windows have been shattered, and the wood looks like it’s rotting, but the roof is intact and it’s better than nothing. They stumble inside and slide to the ground, resting their weary legs.

Faye cups her hands around her mouth and breathes out, rubbing her hands together. Silque is doing something similar, and she also adjusts her headdress, tugging it down over her ears.

They sit shoulder to shoulder, the warmth comforting. Faye cranes her neck so she can peer out a window without having to move. All she can see is white. There’s a nice little pile of snow collecting underneath the windows.

Her body complains, but she forces herself to get up. Silque furrows her brow, opening her mouth to protest.

“I’m going to block off the windows,” she explains. There’s scattered wooden planks on the floor, and some tarps, and even some spare tools on old shelves. She doesn’t dare touch those, for fear of accidentally chopping off a finger, but she manages.

“Hopefully that’ll keep the chill out.” She settles back down beside Silque. The cold seems to slow down even time, for the moments trickle by slowly, until finally the sun is set, and it seems her efforts were in vain, because now her and Silque are both shivering nonstop. Silque’s cheeks are a rosy pink, which would look quite nice if the situation wasn’t so uncomfortable.

“Here,” Faye says quietly, taking off her cape. She wraps it around both of their shoulders before retying it. Silque’s practically sitting on top of her, but she doesn’t think either of them mind. She may even get feeling back in her fingers. Without thinking, she reaches out for Silque’s hands, grasping them tightly. Silque doesn’t complain, only readjusting her arms to a more comfortable position.

“I really wish I had decided to keep studying black magic with Kliff now.” Faye complains. Healing spells are useful, but none of those will create a nice, sizzling, cozy fire.

“It’d probably just sap your energy, anyways.” Silque offers. “It’s not like white magic. Maintenance is harder. Black magic is just meant to harm a foe, then fade. No longevity.” Faye turns her head to look at Silque, and finds her face embarrassingly close to hers. She quickly turns away.

“I didn’t think you knew much about it.” Faye knows her way around multiple weapons, thanks to Sir Mycen, and picked up white magic during the war, but as far as she knows, most priories don’t make a habit of teaching black magic.

“Well, it certainly isn’t standard. But there was a library in town, and only so much to do as a bored child in the Priory.”  The image of a young Silque carefully sneaking around the watchful eye of older clerics to read makes Faye smile.

“I bet you were a real troublemaker.” she teases.

“Not as much as you were.” Silque fires back. “Alm’s told me stories, you know. Something about you being banned from learning dark magic.” Faye had hoped she would just think it was a deliberate choice, and not a strict rule imposed by Sir Mycen.

“I don’t know what you mean.” Silque raises an eyebrow at her. Faye caves.

“I may have set one of Sir Mycen’s sheep on fire,” she admits. Silque starts to laugh, but she breaks off into a fit of coughing. Faye wraps an arm around her, awkward from their positions, to help stabilize her.

“I’m fine.” Silque says, only wheezing slightly. “Would you tell me another story, one from your childhood?” Faye nods, resisting the urge to bite at her lip.

The talking is a good distraction, but time keeps on ticking. Faye can feel the cold air sapping her energy, can feel it right down to the bone. Her stream of words trails off, despite her best attempts at wrangling her brain into order.

“Faye?” Silque is worried, her hair tickling Faye’s chin as she scrambles. Silque presses her fingers to Faye’s neck, and somehow, they feel even colder than her own skin.

“M’fine.” She mumbles, sluggishly swatting at Silque’s hand. She isn’t looking at her, but she swears she can feel Silque’s unhappy frown. Silque grips her hand, holding it close to her chest.

“You are wearing less layers than me.” Faye isn’t a chaste woman of the cloth, though. “We should keep talking. Let’s talk about- about Alm?” She wants to talk about something Faye’s interested in, she recognizes. But Silque hasn’t been present for her internal monologuing. Alm is old news. She thinks she only liked him because he would never like her back. A good reason to show interest in no other boys.

“That’s okay. How about you? Life on Novis Isle? You’re prettier than Alm, anyways.” That last bit just kind of slips out. Thankfully, Silque seems more concerned with the talking idea.

“Well, I didn’t spend a lot of time with Celica and her friends, but—”

Faye lets her voice wash over her. It’s soothing, and entirely counterproductive to staying awake. Silque’s head is nestled into Faye’s shoulder, and it’s so easy to just let her head fall on top of Silque’s. So easy to just shut her eyes and shut out the numbness she can feel. She focuses on Silque’s voice, low and sweet, until she can’t focus on anything any longer.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Faye jolts awake an indeterminate amount of time later. Miraculously, she doesn’t feel quite as cold anymore.

“Thank the Mother,” Silque breathes, from where she’s standing above Faye. She reaches out, gently grabbing Faye’s face with a hand, tilting her head to the side as she examines it with a critical eye. “I was afraid the cold had taken you.”

Faye pulls herself to her feet, stretching her arms upwards. “I wouldn’t let the weather take me out, not after surviving an entire war.” Silque doesn’t look convinced, but she does seem relieved that Faye’s in good spirit.

“You’ll probably have to tell me about your childhood again later, though.” she admits sheepishly. “I fell asleep before you got to the interesting stuff.”

Silque rolls her eyes. “It would be my pleasure.”

Outside, the sun is shining bright. It makes it hard to see, since there’s piles and piles of snow reflecting the light.

“It should start melting soon.” Silque says from beside her. “Then we can slog our way to a village.”

They stand in comfortable silence for a while, admiring the sight. The landscape is much more interesting when covered in snow. There aren’t any trees nearby, but Faye bets any evergreens look stunning right now. She glances at Silque out of the corner of her eye.

She remembers complimenting her, and she’s sure Silque remembers it too. Maybe she just thinks Faye was completely out of it. She could let it lie, let the two of them sweep it under a rug and move on. It would be a risk to bring it up again. But it was a risk to leave Ram Village with Alm wasn’t it? And a risk to leave a second time, to accompany Silque on this journey. Risks pay off.

“It’s certainly very pretty out,” Faye says abruptly. Silque is startled out of her own inner monologue, and looks over at Faye. “But not as pretty as you.”

“Faye—”

“I mean it. I’ve had a lot of time to think, lately. And I’ve realized that I like you. You’re caring, and good at healing, and you tell the best stories. And you were patient enough to put up with me, back during the war. I don’t want to lose you.”

Silque looks stunned. Is it that much of a shock? Anyone from the Deliverance could tell you that Silque was worthy of all sorts of praise. Her face goes red, and it takes her a few tries before she’s able to reply.

“Are you sure?”

Faye crosses her arms. “I don’t say things I don’t mean.” Silque rubs the back of her head, scuffs a foot across the ground awkwardly.

“Of course. I did not mean to imply anything untoward about your character. It was just… unexpected. I’m honored.”

“Just honored?” Faye can’t keep the disappointment from her voice, but she has to know. She isn’t going to sit through another bout of unrequited love.

“…More than honored.” Silque amends, finally looking up and meeting Faye’s eyes. “I’m a bit delighted. I think you’re wonderful, too, Faye.”

Despite the weather, Faye feels warm all over. She beams, and Silque’s face softens.

“That’s a good look on you.” she says, voice going quiet as she steps closer. She reaches a hand out and brushes her thumb over Faye’s lips.

“You always seemed miserable, back then. You deserve to be happy.” Faye takes her hand gently by the wrist and lowers it.

“I am happy.” Her volume lowers to match Silque’s, adding a level of intimacy to their conversation. Her eyes drop to Silque’s lips, dart back up to her eyes, then dart down again. They both lean in at the same time, and then their noses crunch together audibly, right before their lips touch.

They both recoil, clutching at their faces. And then they’re both laughing, just like yesterday, and Faye can’t help but think that she could live the rest of her life like this.

[aimskyymama-blog]

New York New York

There is so much I can say about New York, but I will try to stay focused on the task at hand! :) This was Micah’s first trip and we had a blast. If you stumbled on my blog out of curiosity, welcome. If its to read about our trip, my advice or just to see some photos then stay tuned.

Although we travel a lot I wont lie, my husband and I were nervous about traveling with a 4 month old. I was a little less nervous than him. Being a flight attendant for five years has helped me. I always marveled in awe when I would watch a mama wrangle a baby and/or a toddler all by herself flawlessly. So I always took mental notes for the future (thank you super mamas). We worked as a team and didn’t let any of the small stuff sweat us or slow us down. I honestly want to give him the dad of the year award for several reasons, but more on that later…

This was a very short trip. We left Florida around 6am on a Tuesday and came back at 7pm on Thursday. I will try to break this trip down by parts so I can stay organized haha.

Flights

We each had one carry on so a total of three. I packed my bag with half of Micah’s clothes and half of my own. I made sure to pack him 2-3 outfits for each day (whatever he was wearing and 2 extra in his diaper bag just in case so about 5-6 total for the whole trip). I packed him 2 footed pajamas (he wore one on the flight there), socks, diapers, wipes, his favorite teething toy, hand sanitizer/wipes, four spit up cloths (he didn’t use all four so I think 2-3 would’ve been fine for us), his muslin blanket (he used this a lot since its light enough for hot days but can be used to keep warm when folded), one thick blanket (also never used), soap and wash cloth, no need for formula since he is breastfed (which also made this easier), his LilleBaby carrier, and his Chicco bravo travel system (which I wish we didn’t take or found another option but ill explain why below). Micah’s carry on was his diaper bag and it had the things I normally pack for him.

My husband carried the bags and pushed the stroller while I wore Micah through the airport. This is why I wish we didn’t take his travel system. Getting through TSA, gate checking it, and most of all carrying it up and down the subway stairs (FYI, most subways in NY DONT HAVE ELEVATORS) was such a pain. This is why my hubby wins the prize, he did that heavy lifting. We thought about leaving it and buying a collapsible stroller that can fit in the over head but we knew we needed it for his naps and a car seat for any car rides. That’s where I learned the hard way that you can actually request a Lyft or Uber with a car seat. Whoops, lesson number one learned. So my advice, skip the bulky stroller and try to go for a small one that can fold up like the GB Pockit Stroller (if baby is 6 mos and up) or Doona (if you need the stroller to sit at an incline for naps) which is a car seat and stroller in one.

Once we got through TSA and to our gate I carried Micah onto the plane, we checked his car seat and stroller and then put his carrier either under the seat or in the overhead bin. Micah was awesome on the flight. We purposely did an early morning one because he normally sleeps until 8-9am so we knew he would sleep on the flight. I nursed him on both take off and landing to help clear his ears of the pressure. He didn’t ever seem phased.

Once we landed in LGA we hit the ground running! We dropped off our bags, freshened up and then headed to the subway to go to the American Museum of Natural History. 

Coming from Queens, this felt like it took forever. Probably because we had to take Micah in and out of the stroller to go up and down subway stairs and we had to transfer trains. Again, hubby wins the prize because he did all of the navigating. Thankfully because of him, we never took the wrong train or got lost. 

I was busy keeping Micah entertained and taking pictures (I’m always the photographer on our trips). Weather was cloudy and chilly (high 60’s is chilly to Floridians). But as the day progressed the sun came out and it was gorgeous. High 70’s low 80’s. I dressed myself and Micah in layers for that reason. As the temp went up I peeled off the layers.

Food

So as most of you know I am dairy, soy and egg free because of Micah’s intolerance’s to them. Total bummer because hello, PIZZA. :( But, NY is so accommodating when it comes to allergens. Almost every food spot had their ingredients listed and/or vegan meals on the menu. I was able to find a lot of options and if you know different foods, you know what you can eat. For example, I had a delicious Panang chicken Curry from a Thai joint. I knew it was usually made without soy sauce and is made with coconut milk and I simply confirmed with them before ordering. It was delicious. I also had an amazing dairy free sourdough flat bread with their house made vegan cheese in Grand Central Station. SO damn good. But my favorite was carne and pollo asada tacos from Los Tacos No.1 in Chelsea Market. Best tacos I have ever had. I cannot recommend going there enough! I ate like five of them and I had no shame haha! Being restricted from food has been tough so to find such delicious food that fit my diet made me feel so happy. We definitely will be going back as soon as I can have cheese so I can eat my heart out with pizza. If you also have a food intolerant little babe then you know how you always have a moment of fear when checking a diaper after eating something new. I cant tell you how many times I’ve been told in a restaurant  "no egg" or “no dairy” and then Micah’s poo goes from normal not smelly yellow poop to nasty, green, messy and smelly poo but we had none of that. :)

Transportation

We only took a car ride to and from the airport. We used Lyft and it was very easy and not pricey. Besides that we either used the subways or the bus. We purposely chose NY as our first trip with Micah for this reason. We found it easier to go to a destination that we can walk around vs having to rent a car and drive. The subways were pretty easy to use. We filled up a metro card that we used for both the bus and subway rides. We didn’t spend very much at all. I loved taking the subway (minus the stairs part. I know I cant get over it lol). My husband used Google maps to figure out which ones to take and where we should transfer. For the most part it was not too busy and if the car was full we waited for the next one since we had the stroller. 

People were awesome (except the ones that didn’t ask to give their seat) but that was expected haha. Almost everyone held a door open for us or asked if we needed any assistance when we were carrying the stroller. I really appreciated that. We walked. A whole lot. We walked half of Central park. We started at the museum. The museum is great but it was very busy when we went. Probably best for children a little older. The noise and stimulation was a little much for Micah so we didn’t do too many exhibits. After the museum we walked to the boating lake, Bethesda fountain and then through The Mall down to 57th. 

There we walked around and then finally around 4pm we started to make our journey back to Queens so we could get some early rest for the next day. I think personally, Central Park was the highlight of the trip for me. There are so many artist and musicians. For some reason being surrounded by so much nature and natural beauty but having the city around was so cool to me. I absolutely loved it and would love to go back in the fall when all of the tree’s are changing colors or even in the winter to see The Mall covered in snow.

I highly recommend using a carrier. We used ours each day and it made getting around so much easier. Unless Micah was asleep in the stroller, we tried to consistently carry him so he wouldn't get sick of being in the stroller. The carrier we used is LilleBaby. This is really a great carrier with back support (super important especially for those heavier babies)

 It was very comfortable to use and Micah loved it. We bought the Airflow model because its breathable and we knew we would be walking around outside with it. It also comes with a snap on hood.

On the second day we took it much easier. We got ready and headed out to midtown. We ate breakfast at Grand Central Station and then stayed around gawking at the beauty it is. 

We decided to do a little shopping in H&M (that’s where I got my super cute jean overalls on sale. Yassss). I also had to nurse Micah in the fitting room because he is SO very easily distracted now when he nurses. After that we decided to keep walking and sight seeing. Finally we decided to hop on the train and head over to Chelsea Park for a bite to eat and to explore.

Micah took his naps like a champ. All on his own. He ate, babbled, laughed, played with strangers and then on his own in his stroller he would just knock out. Then repeat. Haha. We went to the Highline which I highly recommend. Id rate that 2nd for our trip. We started around 24th street where the elevator would have been but it was just our luck that it was broken. So we muscled up and carried everything up the stairs.

We walked down to 18th on the Highline to look at the water and then like real tourist, we walked back to 24th only to realize that the Highline connects to Chelsea Market. Whoops number 2! Micah slept through it all and I had to wake him up once we were done so I could nurse him plus I thought the park was a nice place to do it. At Chelsea Market we went into every food spot like the foodies we are. I cant wait to return when im not on any kind of restricted diet!

On our last day the early AM flight we wanted to get on was full so we decided to hang around for a bit longer. We took the train and got off on the stop that took us to Gantry Plaza state park.

Then we walked towards the park and took some more photos while sight seeing. We hopped back on the train to Queens and then made our way back to LGA.

I love this photo my husband took of me nursing Micah while waiting for the train in the subway. It was hot, Micah was fussy because he was hungry, and I finally had a moment to sit and nurse him. People think its so easy to just throw a blanket over your baby (which Micah HATES) or to wait until you are somewhere private. The truth is, a hungry baby waits for no one :)

Over all we loved New York and we highly recommend it to any family that is looking to Travel to a family friendly destination. We cannot wait to go back. I hope you guys enjoyed this blog post as much as I did writing it. Hopefully you enjoyed it enough for me to continue blogging. :)

Thanks for reading!

[pegs-and-dinos]

*dusts off tumblr*

Well hi. It's been pretty much forever since I posted an actual content update. Apparently babies are a timesuck, who knew.

M&N are exactly 7 months today, they are the cutest and most adorable babies ever and I will fight anyone who doesn't agree. (Hormones, man. They're a fucking trip.)

They are pretty all-consuming though. The wife and I both have full-time jobs so babies are in daycare 45 hours a week, which kind of sucks even though we're pretty happy with their quality of care. But I just feel constantly exhausted and like I can never get through even half of my to-do list or enough time snuggling babies. Pretty much every waking moment is fully consumed with either a) work (of the bill-paying sort), b) baby-wrangling, or c) immediately necessary life-survival chores like eating and a minimum of laundry and personal hygiene. (TMI: weeks where I get to shower every other day are great! They don't happen very often! It's a good thing I don't have strong natural BO!)

Knock on wood, the babies are actually great sleepers and most nights sleep for 11-12 hours in their cribs without interruption. It's amazing and I don't want to jinx it or minimize it because it's pretty fucking fantastic, I recognize that and wouldn't trade it for anything. But on the flip side, they are terrible nappers. They don't nap enough or easily and when they do it's almost never at the same time as each other. If I didn't have to do anything but play with a singular baby all day this would be okay, but unfortunately I do need to get other shit done during the day and that's 1000% harder with 2 cranky undernapped babies demanding constant focused attention.

Also since the beginning of August and lasting until the end of 20-fucking-17, I am spending literally every other weekend either out of town (with the crew, no baby-free vacations here!), solo parenting while my wife is out of town for work trips, or hosting houseguests. I've already made my resolution for 2018, which is to get better at saying no. Apparently some people find the experience of having a new baby isolating? We somehow have the opposite problem. #introvertproblems?

Other shit that's going on: my job's (probably) ending in September November? December? whenever my boss stops dithering about pulling funding from the project I manage. It's fine, I'm actually looking forward to not working full-time, but the bait-and-switch of is-it-isn't-it ending is a bit jarring.

Also, my grandfather died fairly unexpectedly a few weeks ago and I'm sad but I haven't really had time/energy to process it. His memorial service isn't being held until December so maybe I'll figure it out before then.

[freehealthguider]

How Sneakers, One of This Year's Coolest Books, Came to Be

How Sneakers, One of This Year's Coolest Books, Came to Be

Talk with any devoted fan of sneakers and odds are they’ve probably got an amazing story to tell you about how they snagged each of their favorite pairs. That passion is at the heart of a new book, simply called SNEAKERS. Written by Alex French and Howie Kahn, with design by Rodrigo Corral, the book is full of stunning imagery and dozens of incredible tales that knit together every aspect of modern sneaker culture.

The team of three spoke with Men’s Journal about the importance of those personal narratives, how the book came together, their earliest sneaker memories, and what it was like to talk with Serena Williams, Kobe Bryant, and the other boldface names who helped the book come alive.

Courtesy of Penguin Random House

What was the most interesting thing you learned while researching the book?

HOWIE KAHN: The thrill of writing this was how many surprises and moments of extreme interest came up along the way. They happened daily. To learn that one of the most accomplished sneakers designers in the world, Tiffany Beers (at left), got her start designing lids for Pringles potato chip canisters was a fascinating moment. It speaks to coming of age and personal development and how far people can get when they truly activate their talents. Tiffany recently took a job at Tesla, so now we’re seeing people from footwear really getting a crack at shaping the future outside of what’s on your feet. That will happen more. And NASA figures into the book in two different places. The idea that designing footwear can exist in the same category as the space program shows how ambitious this world really is.

10 Sneakers That Are More Expensive Than A Car

You guys have spoken about how your approach to writing the book shifted and changed throughout, ultimately deciding to really focus on personal stories. Was there a specific person or story that was the catalyst to move the rest of the project in this direction?

KAHN: What changed, which is what should and must change while writing on a topic for a couple of years, is the overall depth of understanding. We really came to internalize the idea that every shoe, or every part of every shoe, is connected to a series of decisions, to the tension surrounding those decisions and ultimately to a story that resolves it. The greatest sneakers solve a problem—they’re an object lesson in resolving tension. Their essence is narrative. So, the deeper we got into it, the more and more we sure we became about the idea of SNEAKERS being about people first and foremost.

Courtesy of Penguin Random House

You were able to get some really interesting people, from Bruce Kilgore (the creator of the Air Force 1s), all the way to Kobe Bryant and Serena Williams. Who were you most surprised to get and who did you want to speak with that you couldn’t?

KAHN: It’s not that there was an element of surprise. Celebration, sure. It’s amazing when you get a “yes” back from Serena Williams, but Serena is also one of the kindest and most generous people around, so she’s just sticking to form. Overall, we got a great response. We proposed to all the people in the book that we were out to write the greatest sneaker book ever, one focusing on their stories and one coming from a place of respecting their creative, technical and personal contributions to this world. We wanted it to be emotional for them; we also recognized that people wanted to be in this book. In large, sneaker stories exist online. But, at their core, sneaker people are people who care deeply about objects. It’s one thing to be on an Instagram feed, even with a million followers. It’s another thing, and maybe a deeper one, to be in a book like this. People in the book have now been asking for an extra copy for their mother, so they’re proud to be in SNEAKERS. All that said, wrangling interviews is a craft. Each one took plenty of time to land, especially because we targeted subjects with huge careers and packed schedules. But, all in all, we got who we wanted. We do have a list in development, though, in case there’s enough interest for SNEAKERS 2.

The Story Behind the Rise of the Sneakerheads

Rodrigo, how did the book’s overall design came together?

RODRIGO CORRAL: As the contributors content started coming into the studio, we quickly realized that the shoes they talked about and the stories they told were too important to live inside a rigid template. Instead, we approached each chapter and contributor individually, giving each one custom art, photography and illustrations for readers to explore.

Courtesy of Penguin Random House

Can you describe the collaboration process between you, Alex and Howie?

CORRAL: Alex and Howie drove a lot of the access and provided amazing content. They made intros so we could work directly with the contributors. We would take those relationships and fly out to Portland for private photo shoots with Nike execs. Howie and Alex’s content came in flurries, and it acted as an amazing springboard to keep us inspired and creating strong visuals.

The Most Famous Sneakers in Film

What was the hardest part of the book to design for you?

CORRAL: It was a lot of work. We were very ambitious and wanted every contributor to have unique illustrations, art, or photography. We also had to locate, travel and shoot many of the sneakers they talk about. As the chapters started coming in and we were climbing to 300 plus pages, it started to feel like we were crazy for trying to make each chapter so custom.

The cover is instantly striking. How did you land on that particular design?

CORRAL: Sneakers means so many things to so many different people. I don’t want to explain SNEAKERS away visually, but it also can’t be too conceptual. It needs to grab your attention and then let you make it personal. You know which shoes are inside the white box, I’m don’t want to fill that space for you.

Courtesy of Penguin Random House

What’s your earliest sneaker memory?

HOWIE: Not being able to fit into the earliest Jordans because I was in kids’ sizes and they weren’t making them in my size, at least not where I could find them. So, I’d buy the smallest size I could find. My feet would be lost in them, but I felt like I could dunk.

ALEX FRENCH: Walter Payton’s signature shoe. I was probably seven when they came out and I had to have them.

CORRAL: I was a basketball kid and I wanted a pair of Air Jordan 1s. Of course my Colombian parents wouldn’t spend the cash, so they bought me a pair of JOXS instead, super embarrassing. It’s also my earliest memory of knowing I was going to have to work hard to get what I wanted in life.

The Complete History of Air Jordan from 1984-2016

What sneaker do you covet the most?

KAHN: I’m going to stick to my conviction here that, for me, it’s about the stories first. I love my Mars Yards. Tom Sachs, the prolific contemporary artists worked with the scientists who worked on the Mars Rover to make them. They’re amazing-looking shoes and I feel lucky to have a pair, but I feel that way because the story behind them is so resonant to me. It’s Chapter 24 in the book and it’s about exploration and deep research and going into the field to find answers. It’s about the risk in creativity and it’s also about making mistakes. And learning from them. These are human themes. You don’t need to be a sneakerhead to be pulled in. The whole book reads like that. Whether or not you care about shoes, the stories will speak to you.

FRENCH: Daniel Bailey’s NASA shoe. The one he made with Android Homme. I am also deeply in love with a small LA-based company called No.One. Their shoes are so beautiful. I will also very likely lose my mind in February when Nike re-releases the Jordan 3 in black!

CORRAL: That’s always changing. I still want the Mars Yards 2.0, but couldn’t make the Governors Island event happen. Tom, if you’re reading – I’m size 10.5!

Courtesy of Penguin Random House

What is it about sneakers that has made them so prolific?

KAHN: Sneakers are powerful because they’re so personal to people. They’re both accessible and cool. They’re sophisticated, but they maintain a kind of innocence. It’s hard to think of another object that resonates that much with its audience. The closest comparison is maybe the iPhone, but people who love their iPhones won’t buy a new one every week. Sneakers are perpetual.

FRENCH: And the Internet. There are so many daily sneaker resources and so many releases. It’s so easy to get sucked in.

CORRAL: Most everyone wears sneakers at some point and with so much great design, it’s become an opportunity to reflect your identity or even how you’re feeling that day.

Sneakers is now available for purchase online or in a bookstore near you.

Want more?

Sign up for our newsletter to get the latest adventures, workouts, destinations, and more.

You have successfully signed up.

Source link

قالب وردپرس